334 THE FARTHER AT HOME. 



strong and efficient fertilizer when applied to the soil in its trude state, 

 especially if the texture of the land on which it is spread, is light and 

 dry. All the animal excrement, and decayed vegetable matter pro- 

 duced on the surrounding hills, naturally finds its way into these pools 

 or ponds, and is there retained till removed, often forming rich muck 

 and presenting an almost inexhaustible source of fertility to the farmer 

 ,who is possessed of sufficient enterprise to avail himself of its latent 

 wealth. By hauling this rich deposit into his yards exposing it to 

 the free action of the frost and air, in open situations, or by spreading 

 it upon the surface of light lands, he will find it productive of highly 

 beneficial effects. As a top dressing for grass lands, it possesses great 

 efficiency, and retains its energies unimpaired for a longer time than 

 stable manure, or perhaps any other decomposable manure that can 

 be applied. 



POPPY. The species of poppy are herbaceous plants, all bearing 

 large, brilliant, but fugacious flowers. One of them yields the opium 

 of commerce, and the juice of all is lactescent. Most of the species 

 are natives of Europe, often occuring as weeds in fields and waste 

 places ; but, in this country, we only see them in gardens, cultivated 

 for ornament. One, indeed, the papaver nudicaule, is found in all 

 the extreme northern regions of the globe. Their roots are annual or 

 perennial ; the leaves alternate, and the flowers terminal and droop- 

 ing until they are expanded ; the calyx is composed of two leaves, 

 and the corolla of four petals ; the stamens are very numerous, and 

 the capsule is one-celled, but is divided internally by several* longi- 

 tudinal partitions, and contains a multitude of seeds. 



PORK. The hog is the only domestic animal that we know of 

 no use to man when alive, and therefore seems properly designed for 

 food. The Jews, however, the Egyptians, and other inhabitants of 

 warm countries, and all the Mahometans at present, reject the use of 

 pork. The Greeks gave great commendation to this food, and their 

 Athletae were fed with it. The Romans considered it as one of their 

 delicacies. With regard to its alkalescency, no proper experiments 

 have yet been made ; but, as it is of a gelatinous and succulent na- 

 ture, it is probably less so than many others. Upon the whole it 

 appears to be a very valuable nutriment. The reason is obvious why 

 it was forbidden to the Jews ; their whole ceremonial dispensation 

 was typical. Filth was held as an emblem or type of sin. Hence 

 the many laws respecting frequent washings ; and no animal feeds so 

 filthily as swine. Mahomet borrowed this prohibition, as well as 

 circumcision and many other parts of his system, from the law of 

 Moses. But it is absurd to suppose, as some do, that Moses borrowed 

 any thing of this kind from the Egyptians. 



POROSITY. Porosity is a property common to all the bodies of 

 nature, at least we know of none in which the particles are contiguous 

 to one another. In some, as sponge and cork, the pores are visible to 



