THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



J75 



the stamp of the face Divine must luxuriate in ex- 

 travagance, must throw away thousands for useless 

 decorations either of their persons, their dwellings 

 or their vehicles of pleasure, let tliem do their own 

 country so great a favor as to employ American 

 industry at home for articles of more value and of 

 greater elegance than can be imported either from 

 the British islands, from France, Italy or the far- 

 thest India. 



An aged Soldier. 



There resides in the town of Andover, N. H. a 

 pensioner of the United States, named Samuel 

 M'GuiNN, who was born at a place called Wick in 

 Scotland : his father, he says, was a farmer nanied 

 James M' Guinn — tlie maiden name of his motlier 

 was Elizabeth Southerland. He was impressed 

 and put on board the ship Arabcl of Greenock in 

 Scotland, in the year 1775, when he was in his for- 

 tieth 3'car : she was a private transport vessel. The 

 Arabel having been captured on her voyage by an 

 American armed vessel, he arrived at Boston a 

 prisoner. He was exchanged at West Point, but 

 instead of joining the British army, he enlisted in- 

 to the American service, and served long enough 

 to be entitled to a pension under the act of 1818. 

 He is ai, this time 104 years of age, and lives with a 

 wife much 3'ounger than himself: he is poor, but 

 lives comfortably — is extremely neat and cleanly, 

 and retains his reason and recollection of ancient 

 events perfectly. He never returned to or corres- 

 ponded with his relations in Scotland, because, as 

 he says, he feared the forfeiture of his life would 

 be the consequence of his discovering himself. 



The above facts were obtained of Hon. Israel 

 W. Kellkv of Salisbury, who resides within a few 

 miles of M'Guinn. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 Bone as a Slanure. 



The use of bone as a manure for crops, particu- 

 larly the drilled or root crops, is rapidly increasing 

 in this country, wherever the ground article can be 

 procured, and it appears to justify all the reasona- 

 ble exjiectations that have been formed respecting 

 its application. Mills for grinding bones have been 

 erected near Bostoij, New York and Troy, where 

 the dust is sold by the barrel or bushel, and where 

 tried, has generally been highly a]iproved. In all 

 our cities or large villages, almo.st any desirable 

 quantity of bones could be procured, were it of con- 

 sequence to preserve or obtain them ; and as the 

 expense of a mill for grinding cannot, we think, 

 be great, would it not be well to have one at least 

 in every place where a saving or sale of this mate- 

 rial is )iractlcable. Bones simply crushed are use- 

 ful, and their effects are more durable than when 

 made line ; but when applied in tlie form of dust 

 the effect is quicker and more sensible. 



That bones should be an active manure when ap- 

 plied to plants, is evident from their composition. 

 According to the analysis of that excellent chem- 

 ist, Mr. Hatehett, the component parts of bones are 

 chiefly four, — the earthly salts, fat, gelatine and 

 cartilage. The earthly salts are three in number : 

 First. Phosphate of lime. 

 Second. Carbonate of lime. 

 Third. Sulphate of lime. 



The following is a table calculated from the a- 

 nalysis and experiments made on the bones of dif- 

 ferent animals, and of human species, by the same 

 chemist: 



Kinds of bones, 

 100 parts. 



Experience in the use of bones has proved that 

 the o-elatine is the most valuable part of the bones, 

 and this analysis proves, tliat of all bones those of 

 man and the calf are most servicable as manures. 

 In Eno-land, the dust made from bones brought 

 from the battle fields of Europe, has been most es- 

 teemed, and until that source of supply was ex- 

 hausted, ship loads of them were imported annual- 

 ly for grinding. Boiling bones for the purpose of 

 making portable soups by extracting the fat and 

 gelatine, injures them for the purpose of agricul- 

 ture, in proportion to the quantity extracted. Bones 



from soap makers when crushed, are little more 

 than the salts of lime ; and these, though very val- 

 uable on some soils, (particularly the phosphate,) 

 can be obtained cheaper other ways. The average 

 quantity of gelatine is not far from 1 16 of the 

 bone. 



Bones, then, to produce their full effect, should 

 undergo no roasting or boiling processes, that shall 

 extract any of their essential parts ; and it is proba- 

 bly owing to the different treatment the bones from 

 which the dust has been made, has undergone, that 

 the value of different parcels of dust is so various ; 

 and hence also has doubtless arisen the somewhat 

 conflicting estimates of those that have used this 

 manure. A lot of dust made from bones from which 

 the gelatine had not been extracted, used by one 

 man,would justify a favorable report ; a lot, which by 

 being made from bones from which the gelatine 

 and fat had been extracted, would be little better 

 than lime, would naturally disappoint the user, and 

 produce a report unfavorable to its virtue as a ma- 

 nure. 



From the Ciios [Jeiimcrat. 



Comparison between the iveather in Lan- 

 caster, N. H. and Wisconsin Territory. 



Below we present our readers with statements of 

 the weather, during the month of September, at 

 Beloit, Wisconsin, and at Lancaster. The table of 

 this town v/as kept by Maj. .Inhn W. Weeks ; that 

 for Beloit by Hazen Cheney, Esq. now of that place 

 but formerly a resident of this vicinity. The fol 

 lowing is the weather for Lancaster: — 



30 22 54 44 



From an inspection of the above tables, we infer 



that the average difference through the month in 

 fiavor of Beloit is about fixe degrees. It appears 

 to us, that the difference of five degrees, is hardly 

 asuflicient compensation, for the fatigues, and per- 

 ils by 'land and water,' which the emigrant experi- 

 anees in travelling all the way to Wisconsin. 



Coal in England. — Her coal is eighteen hundred 

 feet below the surface of the earth. As late as the 

 thirteenth century, coal was prohibited by royal 

 proclamation, from being burned in London, be- 

 cause it was a public nuisance ! J\'ow, the quanti- 

 ty used in that city annually, ia not less than 2,- 

 500,000 tons for fuel, and 230,000 tons for gas — 

 Great Britain yearly consumes and exports 30,000,- 

 000 tons ; of this 61.5,255 tons goes to foreign coun- 

 tries, and 40,000 to the United States. 



Labors of the Srcedish Army. — It appears from a 

 statistical account of the public works of Sweden 

 that from 1818 to 1838, the Swedish army per- 

 formed, in works of public utility, 5,360,700 _/'okc- 

 nics (the jovrnce is the day's work of one man ;) 

 viz: canals and rivers, 4,164,000; roads and bank- 

 ing, 130,000 ; civil constructions, 241,000; fortifi- 

 cations, 501,700. It is by this means that, in 1832, 

 the canal of Gothia, which connects the North Sea 

 with the Baltic, across the widest part of the Swe- 

 den continent, was completed. 



Yesterday the great sale of cattle under the di- 

 rection of the American Institute took place at 

 Harlem. The prices ranged from $1,100 for Bulls 

 to .$50 for Bull calves, and from ,«f;475 to f 265 for 

 Cows. The famous Sir John, owned by Mr. Wil- 

 liams, brought $1000 ; the Harlem Comet, owned 

 by Mr. Hall, $560, and the Red Comet, owned by 

 Emmet, $475 ; the imported Cow Seraphina, own- 

 ed by Mr. Williams, brought $472, and the others 

 $250 to $265 ; one Boar Pig sold for $150, and oth- 

 ers with Sows ranged from ,>!!i60 to $35. 



JV! Y Gazette, Oct. 23. 



Exchanges. — Kvery commercial paper has so 

 much to say about exchange and the rate it bears 

 in the market, that it may not be useless to make 

 some explanation on this subject. Prior to July 

 1834, the value of a pound sterling of Great Brit- 

 ain was $4,44, in this country. By the alterations 

 of the standard of gold coinage in June of that year, 

 our gold was debased and become less valuable th.xn 

 the British; consequently the value of the English 

 sovereign, the representative of a pound sterlmnr, 

 rose in nominal value in this country and the stand- 

 ard was then fixed at the Custom House at $4 SO : 

 it was, however, and is now actually worth $4 86 

 and a fraction over. 



Still the practice is retained of quntini' the pr'"e 

 of exchange upon the pound sterling of S4 4 , 

 For instance we observe m the papers that i x 

 change is selling at 9 1-2 per cent above par in New . 

 York ; it means no more than that 9 1-2 cents are 

 added to each dollar of the pound sterling of $4 

 44, which i.^ a fraction over forty two cents, to 

 bring it up to the actual pound sterling in Ehgland 

 where you wish to send your money. This is pre- 

 cisely equivalent to the sovereign standard weight 

 and 22 carats fine. 



It is therefore easy to perceive that this mode of 

 selling or quoting exchange is founded upon a false 

 par value and absurd. It should conform to the 

 fiictand be stated at so many dollars and cents for 

 the sovereign of $4 S6. By the common mode of 

 quotation, it would appear that exchange on Lon- 

 don is bearing a premium of 9 a 10 per cent, when 

 in fact it is at its actual par value ; that is, it costs 

 no more to procure a bill of exchange on England 

 for a hundred pounds sterling than it does to buy 

 a hundred sovereigns or so many Spanish dollars 

 as they will come to nt the value of a pound ster- 

 ling in our money. — Portland Courier. 



The following prices brought by some of the fe- 

 males at Henry Clay's, jun. sale, near Lexington, 

 considered in connection with the times, are such 

 as to encourage the liberal improvers in our domes- 

 tic races of animals. 



Victoria, white, 2 years old, by C. Curie, for $835 

 do roan, 3 years old, by A. &. Win. Warner 745 



" " " " " " ■ '510 



520 

 340 



Venus, roan, 5 years old, C. Curie, 

 Fanny, roan, 1 year old, J. G. Giles, 

 Dutchess, roan, 4 months old, J. R. Dunlap, 

 Jane, red and white, 9 months old, A. & Wm. 



Warner, 

 Daphne, white, 5 months old, J. G. Giles, 

 Beauty, roan, 2 years old. Snail & Caldwell 

 Daphine was sick and doubts were expressed as to 

 Beauty's 'Steeimg.— Lexington, Klj Intelligencer. 



300 

 230 

 176 



