1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



719 



much better to the low and burning valleys- than 

 to the olevatoil jiarts of the Cordilleras. Not be- 

 ing milked so olien, it has not those large teats 

 which render it so remarkable among us. In this 

 animal, n change may be observed analogous to 

 that which we noticed in the cow. 



S'lrds. 



Among the bird-tribe, very icw changes have 

 occurred. The domestic fowls present little 

 or no difference li^om those of Europe. But in 

 warm countries, and among the acclimated species, 

 a remarkable anomaly presents itself. Chickens, 

 whose parents have lived for a great number of 

 generations, in a medium temperature, above 28°, 

 (Reaumur,) are hatched with but little down upon 

 them, lose that liitle very soon, and lor more 

 than two months have no feathers except on the 

 wings. 



Chickens not acclimated, (and twenty genera- 

 tions are not sufficient to acclimate them,) cherish 

 their first down as if they needed it, How many 

 years, asks our author, must have been required to 

 have effected this very sensible change in their or- 

 ganization ? 



The common hen has thrived very well in most 

 of the islands in which it was rirst introduced by 

 the Spaniards. But in some higher regions, as at 

 Cuzco, and throughout the whole adjacent valley, 

 great difficulty was found at first in propagating it. 

 By care and perseverance, however, some chick- 

 ens wereobtained. These were by no means fruit- 

 ful, but their descendants have become extremely 

 so, and at this day they propagate with the same 

 facility as in our climates. The same phenomenon 

 appears to have taken place with the goose, 

 which has only within a (ew years been intro- 

 duced into Bogota. The peacocK; the speck- 

 led-hex,* and the pigeon seem to have under- 

 gone no change. The first has even preserved 

 the variety of colors for which it is distinguished 

 in Europe. 



Conclusions. Although the foregoing obser- 

 vations have not been made by the author for the 

 support of any particular system, it seems to us 

 that we maj' very naturally deduce the Ibllowiug 

 inferences : First, that species must be acclima- 

 ted as well as individuals. Second, that domestic 

 animals, left to themselves, have a great tendency 

 towards the organization of those of the same spe- 

 cies which we observe in the savage state, and 

 that a very few years sufficed to effect this trans- 

 formation. 



[The further contributions of the translator of 

 the foregoing article, will be thankfully received. 

 Ed, Far. Reg.] 



From the Agricultural Magazine. 

 AN ACCOUKT OF AIV IM3IENSE CHIMNEY, RE- 

 CENTLY BUILT AT CARLISLE. 



"The immense chimney attached to the new 

 cotton factory, now being built for Messrs. Peter 

 Dixon and Sons, in Shaddongate, had the last 

 stone placed upon it on October 24, 1837. It is 

 one of the highest buildings in England, being 

 305 feet fron^ the ground ; and for the purpose to 



* Pintada, or Guinea fowl? — Ed. 



which it is to be applied, is understood to be tho 

 highest erection in the world. It may be distinctly 

 seen lor many miles in all directions around Car- 

 lisle, and Ibrms a beautiful object in the view of 

 our city, (rom whichever quarter you approach 

 it. The building is of the octangular form, and 

 ia built with brick, the angles being formed of 

 stone. The base, which is built with fire-bricks, 

 is 17 feet 8 inches in width inside, and the 

 thickness of the wall at the foundation is 10 

 ft. It tapers upwards to a width, inside, of 6 ft. 

 3 in.; and on the outside 8 ft. 9 in. Near the top 

 there is a cornice of stone, 7 ft. in depth, which 

 projects 3 ft., and above this there are 8 ft. 3 in. of 

 brickwork, surmounted by a coping stone one foot 

 in thickness. The cornice gives a finished and 

 classical appearance to the building; and the whole 

 would be taken lor some splendid national monu- 

 ment, rather than a mere conduit pipe lor smoke. 

 It is not a little creditable to Carlisle, that this 

 magnificent work was entirely executed by a na- 

 tive of that city, a builder, a Mr. Richard Wright,, 

 who has completed it in the way to give the most 

 entire satisfaction to every scientific man who has 

 examined it. Considering its immensity, the work 

 was completed in an incredible short period of time. 

 Tlie foundation stone was laid on Sep. 11, 1835, 

 by P. Dixon, Esq.; the first brick was laid by Mr. 

 VVright, on Sep. 17.; the last course of bricks, also 

 by Mr. Wright, on Oct. 22, and the last coping 

 stone on Oct. 25, 1836; thus completing the work 

 in thirteen months. The erection was carried on 

 from the inside, stages being erected as the work 

 proceeded, and the workmen and materials being 

 taken up in boxes prepared lor the purpose, by a 

 crab worked by four men; anditisgratilyingto add 

 that the whole was finished without any accident 

 occurring to any individual engaged in it. 



THE MILK SICKNESS, AND THE BOHAN UPAS 

 OF THE WEST. 



The mysterious disease which bears this name, 

 is peculiar to the region west of the mountains, 

 and prevails only in certain districts of that re- 

 gion. Many parts of Kentucl<y, Indiana, Illinois 

 and Missouri, iiave been greatly afflicted by it, 

 hundreds have died its victims, and some districts 

 of country are almost uninhabitable on its account. 

 The Kentucky legislature has long since offered 

 a reward to any one who could ascertain the 

 cause of this terrible disease, but all inquiries upon 

 the subject have been hitherto unsuccessfiji. The 

 St. Louis Bulletin, however, contains a letter on 

 the subject, said to be from the pen of an intelli- 

 gent gentleman, in which the cause of the disease 

 is referred to a tree, the properties of which are 

 described to be very similar to those attributed to 

 the Bohan Upas of the East Indies. The letter, 

 which will be Ibund interesting, is subjoined: 



Femmc Osage Toionship. > 

 St. Charles Co., jMc, Nov. 9, 1838. \ 



Mr. Koch — Dear Sir — I herewith transmit to 

 you one of the genuine apples of Sodom. It 

 grew on a large Sodomite tree in Femme Osage 

 bottom, in St. Charles county. The tree is nine 

 feet thick, one hundred and forty feet high, and 

 straight in the body, there being no limbs for 

 forty six feet above the ground. In a fruitful year 



