FARMERS' REGISTER 



645 



further within the precincts of its cold and dusky I light as complete on the mighty expanse below. — 

 iiiclosure. Even the li<rhte, whicl) at times were j I'hey now thought ol' making their final descent, 

 lowered from the car, instead oldispoHing, seemed Rut the question arose — "where were they"?" 

 only to augment the intensity of the surrounding They saw below them ranges of forest, wide 

 darkness, and as they descended deeper into its plains, and large spaces covered with snow, giv- 

 frozen bosom, absolutely to meet their way down- ing the rather startling impressions that they had 

 wards.-' I'lie cold was at tiie point of congela- ' passed the bounds of civilized Europe, and were 

 lion. The oil, the water, and the coffee were : hovering over the deserts of Poland, or the Steppes 

 completely frozen. Yet tiie suHerings of the of Russia. However, they now resolved upon 

 feronauts were not severe, in consequence of their 1 descendiuL'' ; and after two attempts, bafRed by the 

 beinir eniirely exempt from the action of the wind. ' failure of the wind, and the nature of the ground 

 While they were thus rushing on with almost ! alighted in safety, at half past six in the morning, 

 whirlwind rapidity through the ocean of darkness, I m the Grand Duchy of Nassau, and about two 

 yet almost unconscious of motion, an incident : leagues frotn Wellburg. The voyage occupied 

 occurred calculated to alarm them in an exiraor- i about eighteen hours, and was in extent about 

 dinary degree. By the discharge of ballast the { five hundred British miles, 

 balloon had suddenly risen to an elevation of about 



10,000 feet, (about two miles.) In a few moments \ 



after they heard a violent burst from the top of the 

 balloon, Ibllovved by a loud rustling of the silk, 

 and all the signs of its having been torn suddeidy 

 open. Immediately the car began to toss, as if 

 severed from the ropes, and appeared to be sinking 

 to the earth. A second and a third explosion 

 followed rapidly, evidently giving (he voyagers the 



From the Keiitucliy Farmer. 

 EXPERIMENTAL CROP OF CORN. 



Bourbon County, near Centreville, 

 October 5, 1840. 

 Dear Sir : — You will be pleased no doubt to 

 impression'thaVihey were uponihe point oi' being ! learn the result of an experiment made by me ia 

 dashed lo pieces. the cultivation of corn. The certificate below, 



But the alarm was brief: The great machine I will show the quantity of ground cultivated and 

 suddenly recovered its stillness, and all was calm ! the amount of product, and it remains only to 

 again. The concussions were subsequently ac- i describe the character of the soil, and seed, and 

 counted lor by the stretching of the network on i the mode of cultivation. 



the surfiice of the balloon, which had become j The soil was good, but not new. It had been 

 frozen during the night. When the machine ; in meadow lor many years previous to the last 

 suddenly shot up into" the higher atmosphere, it | seven. The five first of last seven, it was in 

 swelled, and it was the resistenceof the frozen hemp : the last but one it was in rye. and the last 

 network to this swelling, which produced the j in seed hemp. 



successive explosions. The sinking of the car [ The s'^ed was of a variety well known in this 

 was an illusion, occasioned by the surprise and i neighborhood, particularly among distillers, who 

 suddenness of the action. When the network | speak of it as yielding more spirits than any other 

 had been relieved, and the balloon was thus | kind. It is yellow, and has a medium ear in size, 

 suffered to take its proper shape, all was calm and i a firm deep grain, very small red cob, shells easily, 

 regular once more. I and in shellmg yields abundantly. For several 



During the darkness they were sometimes per- | years past I have been improving it, by a careful 

 plexed with sounds from either earth or air, so selection of seed, and the result has been an in- 

 strongly resembling the heaving of waters against [crease in the number and size of the ears. It 

 some vast line of shore, that they were tempted to ' matures about two weeks earlier than other corn 

 think themselves si)eeding alonsr the shores of the commonly does. 



German ocean, ov hovering "above the Baltic.; In its cultivation I was governed by the princi- 

 From this apprehension, however, they were re- : pies, that the roots were not to be broken ; that a 

 iieved by their recollection that their cour e was ' good bed was to be given the roots to occupy ; that 

 unchanged. At length they saw the day, but saw ''/g/ii and heat should get to them equally, and 

 it under the most novel and interesting circum- | that the whole prnt-er of the soil should be brought 

 stances. About six o'clock, afier cro'ssing the [ into action without being burdened. I first, as^ 

 Rhine, the balloon rose to a considerable elevation, 'soon as it could be done after the li-ost was out of 

 and showed them a gladdening glimpse of the sun. I the soil, gave it a deep ploughing with a Gary 

 The view was now magnificent; the balloon i plough. In April, just belbre planting, I spread 

 occupying the centre of a horizon of three thou- ' over the whole suriace a thin coat of fresh stable 

 sand mile's in diameter and comprising in a single I manure in its unfern;pnted state; then cross 

 vast view scarcely less than ei^rhty thousand ploughed with the same plough ; then harrowed; 

 square miles. The country that spread below ] then laid off rows two feet apart with a shovel 

 was a rich, undulating, boundless lamlscnpe, with ; plough; dropped the seed in the bottom of these 

 the Rhine dividmg it,"and losing itself among the \ rows, as near one loot apart as I could; covered 

 vapors that still clung to the hills, or covered the ■ with hoes, and in so doing made the surface level, 

 valleys, 'i'he ascents and descents of the balloon ' every clod being crushed with the eye of the hoe, 

 Btill more varied the prospect. A rapid descent first : and I then pressed the whole down tight with a 

 hid the sun from their view, and they were wrap- j good roller. When the corn was about one loot 

 ped in the night which still shadowed the lower high, I had the weeds cut with a sharp hoe by 

 regions of the air. Again thev rose within sight j scraping, great care was taken not to break the 

 of this splendid display: again lost it. And it was , surface nor lo hill (he corn. It had but one hoe- 

 not until after they had made the sun rise three | ing of this sort, and the laborer was about one 

 titnes, and set twice, that they could rrijaid d.iy- ! day in doing it. 



