DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



lOnmrstit IJntinu 



The Poetry of Whittling.— The Rev. 

 John PiEEPONT, in a clever and witty poem, 

 delivered at the centennial celebration at Litch- 

 field, Conn., thus admirably sketches the uni- 

 versal New-England juvenile habit of whittling, 

 and its significance in more ways than one: — 



The Yankee Ijoy. before lie's seiil to school, 



Well knows the inysleries of ihal niaa^ic tool, 



The pocket kiiile. To that his wislfufeye 



Turns, while he hears his mother's lullablyj 



His hoarded cents he gladly gives lo gel it, 



He leaves no stone uniurned, till he can whet it : 



And, in the education ol' the lad, 



No little pari that implernenl halli had. 



His pocket knife to tlie yonnsr ^vlnl!ler brings 



A growing knowledge of material things. 



Projecliles, innsic, and llie sculptor's art, 



His chestnut vvliislle. and liis shingle dart, 



His elder pop-gun with lis hickor\ rod, 



Its sharp explosion and relionnding wad, 



His cornstalk fiddle, and the deeper lone, 



That iTiurniurs from his punipkin-leaf Iioinhoiie, 



Conspire to teach the boy. To these succeed 



His bow. his arrow of a feathered reed. 



His wind-mill; raised the passing breeze to win, 



His water-wheel that turns upon a pin; 



Or, if his lather li\es upon the sliore, 



You'll see his ship. '■ beam-ends"' upon tlie floor. 



Full rigged, with raking masts, and limbersstauneli. 



And waiting, near the ^\ash luu. lor a launch. 



Thus by his genius and Ids jack-kn.fe driven, 



E're long, he'll solve you any problem given ; — 



Make any gim-criick, musical or mute, 



A plough, a coach, an organ or a flute, 



Make you a locomotive or a clock, 



Cut a cauni or build a Hoat.tig dock, 



Or lead forth Heauly I'lcnn a marble block; — 



Make anythiug. in short, lor sea or sliore. 



From a child's rattle to a seventy-four — 



M;d<e !«, said I ? Ay, when he undertakes it 



He'll make the thing, and the machine thai makes it. 



And. when the thing is made.^whether it be 



To move on earth, in air. or on the sea, 



AVhelher on water, o'er the waves lo glide, 



Or, upon land, to roll, revolve, or slide; 



Aviiether to whirl, or jar, to strike or ring, 



AVhelher it be a piston or a spring, 



"Wheel, pulley, lube sonorous, wood or bra«s, 



The thing designed shall surely come to pass; — 



For when his liaiid's upon il, you may know, 



That there's go in it, and lie'il make it go. 



Craneerries on Dry L.\nd. — A great deal 

 has been "written and .said, the last two j-ears, 

 about the possi! ility and jivofit of cranberry 

 plantations, made on dry upland. Knowing the 

 habits of the wild cranberry to be tixcdand not 

 variable, we have never had the least failh in 

 the practicability of cultivating this sub-aquatic 

 plant in this way. "\Vc notice that several of 

 the so-called successful experiments, have at 

 length turiied out failures, and it will be found 

 that people who wish to grow cranberries for 

 must have the command of low grounds 

 abundant supply of water. If ever the 



cranberry is made to thrive on dry lands, it will 

 be by raising it from seed, and so gradually 

 adapting the constitution to the akscnce of 

 moisture — and not by talving the wild plant from 

 the swamp where it grows naturally. 



Hussey's Reaping M.\chines. — It would ap- 

 pear from the Englisli papers, that Hussey's 

 Reaping Machine, (which we believe has always 

 had the preference of experienced judges in this 

 country,) has taken the first rank in England, 

 after repeated trials in the open field. At the 

 Great Exhibition trial it failed, from not being 

 in working order .and from having beer, managed 

 by a common porter. The Cleveland [English] 

 Agricultural Society, however, ajipoiiited a 

 special jury to test McCorjiick's and Hussey's 

 machines. Over a thousand persons were i)re- 

 sent . and Hussey's machine was pronounced by 

 the judges, superior to McCormick's: -'doing 

 more work, causing less waste, cutting the grain 

 in a better manner, and being less in cost." 

 Foul weather in harvest time, is far more com- 

 mon in England than America, and Hussey's 

 machine lias proved its superiority on trial, par- 

 ticularly as regards its capacity for cutting 

 grain in a wet and fallen harvest. We under- 

 stand the foreign demand for this Reaping Ma- 

 chine is large, and that Mr. Hussey is taking 

 out patents in France, Rus.sia and Prussia. It 

 is pleasant to find that Brother Jonathan can 

 take the lead in the harvest field of the old 

 world .sometimes, though Prof. Johnston, the 

 profound, has said we were all beggarly farmers. 



Hybrai'Lic Ram — Vineries, &.c. — Mr. 

 Downing — Dear Sir: I wish to trouble you 

 with a few inquiries about the water ram, and 

 glass structures, such as cold graperies. The 

 principle of the water ram hasbeen made plain, 

 through the Horticulturist and other papers, 

 but the cost of the apparatus, and the effective 

 force of the instrument, with the conditions 

 necessary to its use, are data which I have been 

 waiting some three years to know. We have 

 never been able to learn what relative quantity 

 of water is required to be discharged, to elevate 

 a certain quantity a given height; nor have I 



