No. 11. Importance of Botanical JVames. — Analysis of Lime. 



347 



For the Fanners' Cabinet. 



Importance of Botanical Names. 



As the lantruage of botany is understood 

 in every country, by all who are acquainted 

 with the science, there is no difficulty in 

 desiguatinor all the different kinds of seeds 

 or plants, either at home or abroad, leaving 

 no excuse for the vender in supplying a 

 wrong article. The use of common or local 

 names frequently leads to mistakes and blun- 

 ders truly vexatious : for instance, the seed 

 known in Boston as herd-grass, is called in 

 Philadelphia timothy, and what goes under 

 the name of herd-grass in Pennsylvania, is 

 the red-top of the north ; and as these seeds 

 are very different in kind as well as price, a 

 person may instruct his correspondent in 

 either city to purchase for him, and find him- 

 self much disappointed in what he receives, 

 although it may be known by that name at 

 the place of purchase. Not many years 

 since, a gentleman from the Eastward en- 

 tered into a written contract with a merchant 

 of Philadelphia, to furnish him with a large 

 quantity of Pennsylvania herd-grass seed, 

 (supposing he was to have timothy.) The 

 order was accordingly executed, and shipped 

 for Boston, when lo, on its arrival, it was 

 discovered to be nothing but red-top ! and 

 was refused to be received as the article or- 

 dered. A suit at law was the consequence, 

 when the Eastern gentleman had to abide by 

 the written contract, and pay a large price 

 for seed he did not want. If he had taken 

 the precaution of adding the botanic name, 

 (Phleum Pratense,) the vender would have 

 been compelled to furnish timothy, the arti- 

 cle desired. 



The herd-grass of the middle states (Agres- 

 tic Vulgaris) is the red-top of the eastern 

 states ; and the herd-grass of the eastern 

 states is the timothy (Phleum Pratense) of 

 the middle states. 



The blue grass of Kentucky, so called 

 here by many, is not the Poa Cumpressa, or 

 blue grass of botanists, which is wiry, and 

 flat stemmed, but is the (Poa Pratensis) of 

 Doctor Darlington and others. Having re- 

 ceived a sack of the seed in the panicle, 

 enabled me to determine this to satisfaction. 

 It is our green grass. C, J. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Analysis of Lime* 



Sir, — I consider the article in yonr last 

 number, " On the analysis of limestone," 

 by Agricola, as far more valuable to the 

 agricultural public than the cost of many 

 years' subscrijition to the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 I perfectly agree with the writer, that " every 



intelligent and observing farmer ought lo be 

 attentive to every circumstance conncclfd 

 with tiie use of so important and valuable an 

 agent in agriculture as lime," and unite with 

 him in impressing upon them the neres.sity 

 of noting down in a journal, every thing re- 

 lating to it, not trusting to memory even for 

 a day. He remarks, that the difference of 

 seasons, as regards heat and moisture; the 

 time of year, and the manner of making the 

 ajiplication to land ; and the slate of the 

 soil to which it is applied, as well as the 

 quantity, will conspire greatly to produce 

 results somewhat differing; and that there 

 might be, even yet, other circumstances not 

 enumerated above, which may have an in- 

 fluence in producing different opinions in 

 regard to the good to be derived from its ap- 

 plication. Now all this is very well; but 

 I, for one, must be permitted to believe that 

 the fact, long since ascertained in other 

 countries, that magnesian limestone is in- 

 jurious to vegetation in proportion to the 

 quantity of magnesia which it is found to 

 contain, is as truly to be depended upon in 

 this, as in any other country ; and that under 

 the same circumstances, it will be found to 

 operate in the same way, and to the same 

 extent. I say not this, however, to induce 

 any one to take the thing for granted : by no 

 means — experience keeps the best school; 

 and when we can induce men to prove all 

 things, there is no fear but they will hold on 

 to that which is good. 



But the question will be set to rest by the 

 forth-coming table of analysis of limestones, 

 which is promised in the report of the State 

 Geologist for the present year, just published; 

 and which, it is promised, will be made to 

 embrace every section of the state : the 

 geologist says, " It is believed, by the end 

 of the autumn of 1841, that the chemical 

 department of the survey will have made 

 known the nature of every material of any 

 value within the state, and shown its adapta- 

 tion to useful purposes :" one of which, if 

 not the most valuable, is, assuredly, lime, and 

 its application to agricultural purposes. I 

 confess, however, that my suspicions are 

 strengthened, in a great degree, by a remark 

 which I find at page 35 of the report, where 

 it is said, " we here notice several varieties 

 of the limestone, some belts of which are 

 highly magnesian, and, therefore, well adapt- 

 ed for the manufacture of hydraulic cement. 

 It is a matter of just surprise that we have 

 hitherto had no manufacture of this valuable 

 article any where in the southern limestone 

 belts of this state, where the material is so 

 abundant, and where outlets to market, pro- 

 cured at so vast an expense to the common- 

 wealth, are numerous and convenient. Many 

 chemical analyses already made, and others 



