FARMERS' REGISTER. 



319 



tion — and we the sovereign people are paying 

 thousands per diem to inquire inio the facts of a 

 case, which is a stain upon our national council. 

 O lempora, O mores ! 



FORCE OF INSTINCT. 



Mr. Southey, in his History ot" Brazil, thus de- 

 scribes the perilous situation ol' Cabeza de Vaca, 

 who, sailinij towards Brazil, is preserved from ship- 

 wreck by a irrilloor ground cricket : — "When they 

 had crossed the line, the state of the water was in- 

 quired into ; and it was Ibund that of a hundred 

 casks tliere remained but three to supply lour 

 hundred men and thirty horses : upon this the 

 Adelantado gave orders to make the nearest land. 

 Three days they stood towards it. A soldier 

 who set out in ill healili, had brought a grillo, 

 or ground cricket, with him from Cadiz, think- 

 ing to be amused by the insect's voice ; but it 

 had been silent the whole way, to his no little 

 disappointment. Now on the fourth morning 

 the grillo began to ring its shrill rattle, scenting, 

 as was immediately supposed, the land. Such 

 was the miserable watch which had been kept, 

 that upon lookmg out at this warning, they per- 

 ceived high rocks within bow-shot: against which, 

 had it not been lor the insect, they must mevitably 

 have been lost. They had just lime to drop 

 anchor. From hence they coasted along, the 

 grillo singing every night as if it had been onshore, 

 till they reached the islands of S. Catalina." 



SQUASHES. 



From the Maine Cultivator. 

 If you would raise squashes for winter use, mark 

 out on the surlace of the land six or eight spots for 

 hills, eight fijet apart each way. Then take a spade 

 or shovel and dig out a circle, say three leet in di- 

 ameter, throwing the earth out six inches deep. — 

 Into each hole empty a wheelbarrow load of old 

 rotten manure, mixed with ashes, — and if there is 

 a little lime in it, so much the better. On to this 

 draw^ the loose earth back which you throwed out 

 of the hole. Now take your spade and dig and 

 mix the soil and earth well together, taking care to 

 pulverize the whole mass laithlully. Level the 

 top ofT and sprinkle half an inch of rich loam over 

 the top. Drop a dozen seeds on the hill, and press 

 them an inch beneath the surface vviih the finger. 

 With a hoe smooth and press the lop down. If 

 you have a box fitted to receive two or lour panes 

 of glass, put this on the hill — or rather if you have 

 euch a thing, place it on the hill belbre you plant 

 the seeds, and drop them all within the frame. 

 Ultimately leave not more than two plants in the 

 hill to stand. You will find that these will, in due 

 time, run out and cover the land all over, and pro- 

 duce you more, larger and better fruit, than il you 

 had the hills nearer together, or allowed a greater 

 nuniber of plants in the hill. It is well, however, to 

 plant enough in the first instance, as a contribution 

 to worms and bugs. If you save two healthy 

 plants out of the dozen that came up, you will do 

 well, and these will be enough. The roots of 

 pquashes, under ground, will extend as far and 



occupy as much space, where the soil is free and 

 loose, as the vines will cover above ground. 



DIFFERENT SOILS. 



From tlie New Genesee Farmer. 



Last month we spoke of the importance of a_^«g 

 soil, ot' shade, and of a regular supply of moist iirc 

 for delicate seeds ; but another view of ihe subject 

 may be taken. Among the myriads of plants that 

 embellish our globe, varying in form, in substance, 

 and in color, great constituiional difierences exist. 

 Some, like the sea-weed, only vegetate in brine ; 

 others, like the wild rice of the west, flourish most 

 in Iresh water.— The truffle always remains under 

 ground, while the mistletoe only germinates aloft 

 on trees, and seems to fi^ed on air. 



But between the thousands that spread their 

 roots through the earth, and their leaves to the 

 liifht. depending on timely showers for their nour- 

 ishment, great dirterences exist in regard to soil. 

 The yellow bloom of the hypoxis, is only seen on 

 dose clays ; the perenniaN»^m confines itself to 

 beds of sand; and the locality of the taliniim'm 

 Pennsylvania is on naked magnesian rocks. Lime 

 is essential to the chief objects of the farmer's 

 culture ; and a species of veronica from iis attach- 

 ment to this mineral, is called in Virginia, llie 

 " marl indicator." 



Besides the mmeraZ constituents, however, there 

 are vegetable principles derived from the decay of 

 particular plants, which become a part of the soil, 

 and give it a peculiar character. We may separate 

 the sand from the clay, and both from the liine and 

 magnesia or iron — weigh the vegetable matter, 

 and then attempt to make a similar soil of new 

 material in the proper proportion ; but unless we 

 have Ihe recrements ofsimilar plants, it cannot suc- 

 cessfully be done,— We have seen no artificial soil 

 that would suit the rose-flowering locust ; and the 

 heaths only grow in peaty earth, or something 

 analogous. 'I'he decaying leaves of the sour pine^ 

 so pernicious to the cereal grasses, is a rich manure 

 for the red sorrel. 



Among the great numbers ofornamentai plants 

 which are collected fiom so many points of the 

 earth's surface, it is not reasonable to expect that 

 land of Ihe same quality can accommodate them 

 in the best manner. Some will flourish in their 

 new abode ; others will vegetate for a time, while 

 a third class will speedily dwindle and perish. 

 Various soils, therefore, differing in both their 

 mineral and vegetable composition, are necessary 

 in extensive gardens. Small spots of two or three 

 leet diameter, in many cases will be sufficient. Some 

 annual flowers will doubtless re()uire them as well 

 as shrubs and herbaceous perennials; and the 

 greater the variety of soils, the greater will be the 

 chance of success. On a small bed of sand, car- 

 ried more than twenty miles, we hdivepinus rigi- 

 da and magnolia glauca, growing in luxuriance ; 

 though every attempt to cultivate them in our 

 common soil had failed. Many beautiful plants 

 require peat fiom the marshes ; and a small cask 

 of the right soil would impart health and vigor to 

 the kalmias and rhododendrons. 



