THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



27 



city of Portland, he will discover, at once, that it 

 is made up from the detritus of granite and gneiss 

 rocks, while the ledges in that city are wliolly 

 composed of the argillaceous, talcose, and mica 

 slate-rocks, and granite and gneiss occur in great 

 abundance to the Nortliward. 



All the markings on the surface of the rocks, 

 and the scattered boulders of granite and gneiss, 

 ■which abound in that soil, indicate its origin to 

 have been in the North 15 d. or 20 d. West. I 

 merely quote the above locality, on account of its 

 being a spot where most persons will have occasion 

 to examine the facts stated. Tlie various sections 

 of the State present ample illustration of the same 

 fact, and every one who will take the trouble, may 

 convince himself of its reality. 



The tertiary deposits of clay, sand and marine 

 shells, were evidently produced in tranquil water, 

 since their strata indicate, by their situation, struc- 

 ture and beds of shells, that the clay was gradually 

 and slowly deposited, allowing time for the propa- 

 gation and growth of the various shell fish in its 

 several layers. Not so was the diluvial matter de- 

 posited, for we find it to bear marks of sudden and 

 violent transportation and deposition, the various 

 pebbles, boulders and erratic blocks of stone being 

 mixed in great confusion. I have formerly men- 

 tioned a locality, in Bangor, near the court-house, 

 where, it would seem, there are proofs of a gradu- 

 al subsidence of the diluvial current, the various 

 particles becoming smaller, as we ascend the em- 

 bankment, until we come to fine clay, which must 

 have subsided from tranquil water. 



We observe, then, that the tertiary deposits were 

 cut through by the diluvial waters, which have ex- 

 cavated deep vallies, and heaped up long ridges^ 

 called horse-backs, and the general direction of 

 these vallies and ridges, coincides with the direc- 

 tion formerly indicated, as the course in which the 

 current swept. 



Although we are informed in the scriptures, that 

 the Deluge was ordained for the punishment of 

 wicked men, it is certain, that there was mercy 

 mingled witli lliis dispensation, for the soils were 

 comminuted, transported, and mixed in such a man- 

 ner, that their qualities were improved, and ren- 

 dered more suitable for the growth of plants, so 

 that the surface of the globe was not only purified, 

 but new and more fertile soils were prepared for 

 coming generations, who literally reap advantage 

 from the Deluge. 



Besides the ancient aqueous current, we see ev- 

 ry day the action of water modifying the surface 

 of the globe, transporting fine particles from the 

 mountain-side, and depositing them in the valleys 

 and along the margin of running streams. Espe- 

 cially during fresliets, when the rivers burst their 

 narrow confines, and spread out over the intervales, 

 do we see rich deposits formed ofallucial soil. 



Such currents, arising amid decomposing vege- 

 table matters, transport an infinity of fine particles 

 of such matter, and deposit it with the various 

 earthy ingredients, which form our richest mead- 

 ows, and luxuriant intervale soils. Thus are form- 

 ed many of thoae bottom lands, which occur along 

 the river courses of the Western States, and the 

 banks of rivers in Maine, under similar circum- 

 stances, are found to be composed of like soils. 



A river, coursing its way amid various rocks, 

 carries down and deposits fine particles of every 

 kind, which it meets with in its way. 



If the rocks above are limestone, we shall have 

 calcareous soil brought down and deposited by the 

 river. So on the banks of the Aroostook, we find 

 a rich alluvia! soil, equallmg in fertility the famed 

 regions of the Western States, and capable, even 

 under a less genial clime, of producmg crops of 

 wheat and otlier grain, fully equal in abundance 

 with any soils of which we have any recjrds. 



That river, with its wide and fertile intervales, is 

 destined to become the granary of the Nortli, and 

 whenever the policy of the State shall complete 

 the roods, and offer facilities for settlement, we 

 shall turn the tide of emigration, populate a fertile 

 district, and I trust forever place that portion of 

 Maine beyond the power of foreign aggression. 



Soils are powerfully modified by the circum- 

 stances under wliich they are placed, and it will be 

 useful to consider, how this may be affected by their 

 order of super-position. 



I have had occasion to examine two portions of a 

 field, in the town of Saco, where the superficial 

 soil was uniformly composed of a light brown san- 

 dy loam, and in one part of that field, the Indian 

 corn iTowing upon it, was tall and luxuriant, while 

 on the other, it was short and feeble. The several 

 parU of this field were treated with tlie same kind 

 of manure, and planted with the same grain, in the 

 same manner, so that their circumstances were ap- 

 paj-ently alike. On searching into the cause of this 



difference of fertility, it was discovered, tliat in the 

 luxuriant part of the field, there was a deposit of 

 clay, from one to two feet from the surface, while 

 in the other, it was four feet below. Hence it 

 would appear, that in the first instance, the clay 

 served as a retainer of moisture and of manure, 

 while in the other, these indispensable requisites 

 for healthy vegetation, sank beyond tlie reach of 

 the corn. Tlie remedy was at once apparent, for it 

 was only necessary to mix clay with the barren 

 soil, to make it retentive. 



It frequently happens, also, that we observe a 

 farmer toiling upon a tough clayey soil, which it is 

 in vain for him to attempt to keep loose, for with 

 the first rain, the clay is washed down into a slimy 

 paste, which by the ardent sun-beams, is soon bak- 

 ed into an impermeable mass, wliich prevents the 

 free germination and growth of the seed. Now, 

 hard by, occurs a hill of sand, that nature seems 

 kindly to have placed at his disposal, and he is on- 

 ly required, after ploughing his clay soil, to cart a 

 quantity of sand into tlie furrows, and harrow it in, 

 in order to produce a soil of good texture, which 

 may then be manured as required, and will pro- 

 duce well. In such cases, the sand may be added 

 every year, until there is a sufiiciency. Such soils 

 are hitfhiy retentive of manure, and arc worth the 

 labor of reclaiming, and I should denote the neigh- 

 borhood of Bangor, as a suitable field for such im- 

 provements ; and I doubt not, that the market of 

 that city would, by its demand, amply repay the la- 

 bor and mone}' expended. 



Froiu till! Southern Literary iMessengBr. 

 Superiority Conferred by Science. 



A shop keeper in China, sold to the purser of a 

 ship a quantity of distilled spirits, according^ to a 

 sample shown; but not standing in awe of eon- 

 science he afterwards, in the privacy of his store- 

 house, added a certain quantity of water to each 

 cask. The spirits having been delivered on board, 

 and tried by the hydrometer, was discovered to be 

 wanting in strength. When the vender was charg- 

 ed with the intended fraud, he at first denied it, for 

 he knew of no human means which could have 

 made the discovery ; but on the exact quantity of 

 water which had been mixed, being specified, a 

 superstitio^fc dread siezed him, and having confess- 

 ed his roguery, he made ample amends. 



The above is one instance among many which 

 miglit be mentioned, of the advantages scientific 

 knowledge gives its possessor over the ignorant. 

 Whilst the pliilosopher in his study is engaged in 

 the laborious investigation of abstract truth, the 

 question is often asked " <■«! bono?" [For what 

 good >] But when the results of his investigations 

 are applied to the affairs of real life, their benefits 

 are at once evident. Perhaps one or two more in- 

 stances may set this truth in a stronger light. 



On mount Philatus, near lake Luzerne, is a val- 

 uable growth of fir trees, which on account of the 

 inaccesssible nature of the mountain, had remain- 

 ed for ages uninjured, until within a few years a 

 German engineer contrived to construct a trough 

 in the form of an inclined plane, by which these 

 trees are made to descend by their own weight, 

 through a space of eight miles from the side of a 

 mountain to the margin of the lake. Although the 

 average declivity is not more than one foot in sev- 

 enteen, and the route often circuitous, and some- 

 times horizontal, yet so great is the acceleration 

 that a tree deseends the whole distance in the short 

 space of six minutes. To the spectator standing 

 by the side of the trough, at first is heard, on the 

 approach of the tree, a roaring noise, becoming 

 louder and louder ; tlie tree comes in sight at tlie 

 distance of half a mile, and in an idstant afterwards 

 slioots past witli the noise of thunder, and almost 

 with the rapidity of an arrow. But for the knowl- 

 edge of the inclined plane, which the German en- 

 (vineer had previously acquired, such a work as this 

 would have appeared impossible. 



The chronometer, a species of watch constructed 

 to go with great accuracy, has been applied to the 

 purpose of determining longitude at sea. " After 

 months spent in a passage from South America to 

 Asia," sayj Arnott,"our captain's chronometer an- 

 nounced that a certain point of land was then bear- 

 ing east from the sliipat the distance of fifty indes; 

 and in an hour afterwards, when a mist cleared 

 away, the looker out on the mast gave a joyful 

 call, 'land ahead !' verifying the report of the chro 

 nometer almost to a mile, after a voyage of thou- 

 sands. It is natural at such a moment, with the 

 dangers and uncertainties of ancient navigation be- 

 fore°the mind, to exult in contemplating what man 

 has now achieved. Had the rate of the v/onderful 

 little instru'.uent changed even a little, its an- 

 nouncement would have been worse than useless— 

 bnt in the night, and in the day, in storm and in 



calm, in heat and in cold— while the persons around 

 it were experiencing every vicissitude of mental 

 and bodily condition, its steady bent went on keep, 

 ini' exact account of the rolling earth, and of the 

 stars ; and in the midst of the trackless waves, it 

 was always ready to tell its magic tale of the very 

 spot of the globe over which it had arrived. In one 

 point of view, this result appears to arise from the 

 perfection of the chronometer's mechanism ; but 

 had not the men of science determined the exact 

 figure of the earth, and its rate of motion around 

 both its own axis and the sun, the clironometer 

 could have given no information respecting the lon- 

 gitude ; it would have told its tale indeed, but with- 

 out science as its interpreter, the tale would have 

 remained wrapped ia the mystery of an unknown 

 tongue. 



From tliB riiilaJel|)lH:i Fanner's Catjinel. 

 Agriculture of the Ancients. 

 "Hate not hii.5bandry, wllicll llie .Most High li.illi (,riliilned." 

 Columella, who wrote an elaborate treatise on 

 husbandry, in twelve books, more than 18U0 years 

 ago, and which was translatjd and printed in Eng- 

 land about a century since, observes, " Tliat the 

 bodies of cattle ouglit to be rubbed down daily, as 

 well as the bodies of men ;" and says, "it often does 

 them more good to have their backs well rubbed 

 down, than their bellies well filled with proven- 

 der." 



The work of Columella appears to un of the pres- 

 ent day as most extraordinary. It treats most elab- 

 orately and sensibly of many matters connected 

 with husbandry, down to tlie rearing of poultry. 

 The diseases of animals engage a due share of no- 

 tice, and in regard to the care of sheep there is 

 scarcely any thing new could be written at the 

 present day. And what is remarkable, many of the 

 common practices, opinions, and notions prevalent 

 through the country at the present time, arc so ac- 

 curately depleted in his work, as to render it cer- 

 tain that tliey have been handed down to us from 

 that remote age of the world. In regard to making 

 hay, he says, "But it is best to cut down hay beforo 

 it begins to wither ; for you gather a large quantity 

 of it, and it affords a more agreeable food to cattle. 

 But there is a measure to be observed in drying it, 

 thj.t it be not put togetlier over dry, nor yet too 

 green ; for in tlie first case, it is not a whit better 

 Than straw, if it has its juice : and, in the other, it 

 rots in the loft, if it retains too much of it ; and of- 

 ten, after it has grown hot, it breeds fire, and sets 

 all in a flame. Somctlincs, also, when wo have cut 

 down our hay, a shower surprises us. But if it be 

 thoroughly wet, it is to no purpose to move it while 

 it is wet ; and it will be belter, if we suffer the up- 

 permost part of it to dry with the sun. Then wa 

 will afterwards turn it, and, when it is dried on 

 both sides, we will bring it close together into 

 cocks, and so bind it up in bundles : nor will wo 

 upon any account delay to bring it under a roof ; or 

 if we cannot conveniently either carry the hay in- 

 to the manor house, or bind it up in bundles or 

 trusses, it will certainly be proper to liuild it up in 

 ricks, whatever part of it shall be dried in the man- 

 ner it ought to be, and to form them into very sharp 

 points ; for thus the hay Is commodlously preserv- 

 ed from rains ; and, though there should be none, 

 yet it is not amiss to maku the aforesaid rick, so 

 that, if there be any moisture in tlie horbs it may 

 sweat out, and be dried up in tke stacks." 



I have copied out the above to show the farmora 

 of the present day what was known 130U years ago 

 about making hay, which you may print in the 

 Cabinet, if lt°is thought of suflicient Interest. C. 



Test of Good Flour. 



Mr. John Babcock, of London, gives tlie follow 

 ino- rule to ascertain the quality of flour : 



"Flour which is pure and unadulterated, may bo 

 known by your seizing a handful briskly, and 

 squeezing it half a minute; it preserves the form of 

 the hand in one piece, although placed rudely on 

 the table. Not so with that which contains foreign 

 substances ; its adhesive property is weak, and falls 

 to pieces immediately. The wliiteness of flour ia 

 no evidence of its goodness ; the different materi- 

 als used In adulterating flour, have a tendency to 

 whiten it." 



Advice to Parents. 



There is nothing so destructive to the morals, 

 and we may add, to the peace of any community, 

 as the neglect of parents, rich or poor, to teach their 

 sons the importance of being early engaged in some 

 active employment. Too many of the citizens of 

 every place, under the influenco of false pride, suf- 

 fer their sons, after quitting their academical stud- 

 ies, to lounge about tlie p^h'ic oiHcea and taverns 

 of their place of reaidence, rathsr than eeuse-theoa 



