1879.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



343 



cover whether he knew a thistle for instance, 

 or two or three more weeds, especially when 

 they are so ready to drop seeds all over the 

 park, and then instructed to pull and destroy the 

 noxious plants, he might lind a delightful occu- 

 pation, and a change from his ennui. — One of the 

 people.'''' 



Statistics. — There are a few persons who don't 

 like statistics, — we propose to aftlictthem. There 

 are over thirteen million cows in the United 

 States, or a cow to every five persons through- 

 out America; three thousand factories for mak- 

 ing cheese, or three hundred and fifty million of 

 dollars for cheese and butter. But Avhat shall 

 we say to the amount of perfumery used b}' peo- 

 ple of cultivated or uncultivated noses. It can 

 only be understood by glancing over the figures 

 relating to this great scented subject. Europe 

 and British India alone consume about 150,000 

 gallons of handkerchief perfume yearly; the 

 English revenue from French eau de Cologne of 

 itself is ??40,000 annually, and the total revenue 

 of England from other imported perfumes is es- 

 timated at §200,000 each year. There is one 

 great pei'fume distillery at Cannes, in France, 

 which uses yearly about 100,000 pounds of acacia 

 flowers, 140,000 pounds of rare flower leaves, 

 32,000 pounds of jasmine blossoms, and 20,000 

 pounds of tuberose blossoms, together with an 

 immense quantity of other material used for 

 perfume. The value of perfumes to countries ad- 

 apted to their production may be gathered from 

 the following estimate of their growth and value 

 per acre : An acre of jasmine plants, 80,000 in 

 number, will produce 5,000 pounds of flowers, 

 valued at SI ,250; an acre of rose trees, 10,000 in 

 number, will yield 2,000 pounds of fiowers, 

 worth $375 ; 300 orange trees, growing on an 

 acre, will yield, at ten years of age, 2,000 pounds 

 of flowers, v'alued at S^250 ; an acre of violets, 

 producing 1,000 pounds of flowers, is worth SSOO; 

 an acre of cassia trees of about 300, will at three 

 years of age, yield 900 pounds of flowers, worth 

 $450; an acre of geranium plants will yield 

 something over 2,000 ounces distilled attar, 

 worth $4,000 ; an acre of lavender, giving over 

 3,500 pounds of flowers for distillation, will 

 yield a value of Si ,500. But how small all this 

 sounds after a statistic or two from AVashington, 

 about tobacco culture. In 1770 the quantity 

 sent out of the country was 22,000.000 pounds. 

 In 1877 the total amount exported and manu- 

 factured was over 403,000,000, the whole crop 

 being estimated at 490,000,000 lbs. The culture 



is extending to new grounds; even Pennsylva- 

 nia finds it succeed. To continue a little, we 

 answer tlie query of a correspondiMit : An acre 

 of good land at the South, well tilled, will yield 

 a bale of cotton weighing 450 lbs, worth S45 — 

 possibly S55. Of whisky statistics it is unneces- 

 sary to give any calculation, as no really good 

 gardener is ever produced under its influence. 



It is conjidentlij staled that tlie railroads in the 

 United States reach the length of ninety thou- 

 sand miles, and that they require forty millions 

 of railroad ties yearly. What resources are 

 there to permanently supply this and an increas- 

 ing demand? Iron is proposed as a substitute. 

 Straw paste-boards was once suggested. 



The jwlishinfj stone called tripoli, is composed 

 of fragmentary shells. Similar infusorial forma- 

 tions are found in several places, Bohemia, etc. 

 The layer at Bilin is fourteen feet thick, and 

 Ehrenberg has estimated that it contains 41,000,- 

 000,000 shells in every cubic inch, while all are 

 united and imbedded by an amorphous silicic sub- 

 stance forming compact masses of rock. Similar 

 deposits appear in many parts of the world. 



Education. — It may safely be said that the at- 

 tention of thinking American people, if not of 

 all thinking men, is now turning to the fact that 

 the knowledge so-called of the old schools and 

 universities will not compare with a knowledge 

 of the useful arts. A young man who is a 

 Greek scholar after years of study, is not the 

 equal in the practical uses of life of one who 

 understands the steam engine, or can speak 

 French or German. A late work entitled, 1st 

 "Addresses, Political Education," and 2nd, "Sci- 

 entific lectures by Sir John Lubbock," the po- 

 litical economist and n;\iuralist, is full of 

 thoughts on these topics. We should surely 

 endeavor, he says, to give children some in- 

 formation in reference to this beautiful world in 

 which we live, the commoner plants of our 

 woods and fields, some explanation of the com- 

 moner and ordinary phenomena of nature, the 

 causes of Summer and Winter, of the phases 

 of the moon, the nature of the sun and stars, 

 the properties of air and water, some elemen- 

 tary knowledge of light and heat, of the rudi- 

 ments of mechanics, etc. How many leaving 

 school know anything of horticulture? 



A new and veri/ nutritions plant, a native of 

 Mexico, has lately been introduced into Egypt, 

 and proves a great acquisition. It attains the 

 height of thirteen to sixteen feet ; so rapid 

 is its growth, that it grows one foot in four days. 



