THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



grandeur unmatched by the more labored and 

 more pretending works within the wails. The 

 city is still abundantly supplied with wafer by 

 three of these ancient aqueducts, which have un- 

 dergone repairs and restorations by the direction 

 of the Popes. The jlqua Virginia and ^qua 

 Felice are the principal. 



01 the most celebrated aqueducts of modern 

 times are that of Caserta in Naples, and of Main- 

 tenon in France, begun by Louis Xl\^. in 16S4, 

 to carry water from the river Eure to Versailles, 

 but abandoned in 1688. This was designed to 

 have been the most stupendous aqueduct" in the 

 world ; the whole length contemplated was 60,000 

 fathoms ; the bridge 2 070 fathoms, consisting of 

 632 arches 220 feet high. There is also a mod°ern 

 aqueduct at Bemfica, near Lisbon, in Portugal. 



The Croton aqueduct greatly surpasses any of 

 the above structures, both in magnitude and per- 

 fection. There is no useless display of giganiic 

 arches and enormous stones, but the whole is a 

 beautiful monument of the perfection to which the 

 art has arrived at this day— simple, efficient, and 

 durable. It may not present so imposing a front 

 to the vulgar, but to the engineer and the man of 

 science, it has an air of grandeur and sublimity 

 arising from the vastness of its proportions. The 

 main trunk is 40 miles in length, wholly composed 

 of masonry, 6 1-2 leet wide, and 9 feet high. The 

 walls are 3 feet thick, cemented into sol'id rock. 

 The grand reservoir at the head of the aqueduct is 

 caused by a dam of stone work 40 feet high and 70 

 broad, thrown acro-s the Croton river^ forming 

 an expanse of water 500 acres in extent, sufficiem 

 to supply any emergency. The trunk is carried 

 over valleys and streams, through hills and barriers 

 of solid rock, affording opportunities to the en- 

 gineer for the display of skill and taste, which has 

 been improved wiih very happy effect. For in- 

 stance, the bridge which crosses the Sing Sino- 

 creek is a single elliptical arch of 80 feet span" 

 and 100 feet above the stream. The bridi^e across 

 Harlem river is 1300 feet in length, 116 feet above 

 high water, and cost nearly ^800,000. Sleepy 

 Hollow IS also spanned by a series of graceful 

 arches, and the valley ofGlendenning is passed at 

 an elevation of40 feet, affording carriage-ways and 

 footpaths over its arches. At Manhaltanville the 

 work IS carried through the hill by a tunnel, and 

 under the valley by pipes descending 105 feet. 

 1 his mode of crossing the valleys, it is believed, 

 the Romans never attempted, but carried the 

 stream at a piich of from one inch to half a foot to 

 the hundred feet, and where the force of the cur- 

 rent was too great, it was overcome by curves. 

 _ The water, thus conducted 38 miles, is received 

 mto the reservoir at Yorkville, which contains an 

 area of 35 acres, enclosed by granite walis, and 

 capable of receiving 160 millions of gallons. Tiie 

 distrbuting reservoir at Murray's Hill is also a 

 work of great magnitude and expense, and calcu- 

 lated lo^endure as long as the hills and rocks. It is 

 in the Egyptian style of architecture, with a pro- 

 menade 20 kei in width at the top of the walls, 

 nagged, and provided with an iron railing. It 

 employed 400 men four years in its construction. 

 Altogether, it is a triumph of skill and enterprise, 

 which the world presents lew equals. Its com- 

 pletion will require two or three years yet, al- 

 though temporary pipes are laid, by which water 

 was distributed to the city on the 4th of July last. 



475 



I's advantages to the city in the extinguishment 

 of fires alone are incalculable. In the great con- 

 flagration of 1835 the amount of properly destroy- 

 ed was estimated at seventeen millions of dollars, 

 one third more than the cost of this work ; the 

 extent of which was in a great degree attributable 

 to the want of a convenient supply of water. The 

 fire department, appreciating the great importance 

 oi the work on this score, have set apart a glorious 

 day in our country's annals for an appropriate ce- 

 lebration. We hope no storm cloud may be so 

 overcome as to shed its tfears upon the scene. 



ON THE IMPROPER USE OF THE PLOUGH IN 

 THE CULTIVATION OF INDIAN CORN. 



From the Southern Agriculturist. 

 Mr. Editor— By request, I submit to you, for 

 msertion in the Agriculturist, some remarks and 

 experiments I have made to prove that the ploutrh 

 is frequently used too late, and much to the inju'ry 

 ol our corn crops. 



It is well known to rice planters, that when rice 

 IS in joint and forming its ear, every effort must be 

 made to advance its growtji, so that good ears 

 may be formed. The'same effort, to effect the 

 same result, is necessary with corn, and all other 

 grains. When the ear is about to be formed, the 

 atmosphere has less influence on the plant than 

 previously; therefore more is required from the 

 roots. If the soil is fertile, and well broken up 

 with the plough previous to planting corn, innu- 

 merable small fibrous roots will run laterally, in 

 search of nutriment, to the distance of six or eight 

 liiet, and sometimes as far as twenty feet. These 

 laterals are very small, and easily separated from 

 the stalk ; if cut by the plough when the plant is 

 young, no injury will be sustained, and per- 

 haps a benefit : but they must not be cut or dis- 

 turbed in any way when far advanced toward ma- 

 turity. Without their aid at that period, the per- 

 pendicular, or tap-root, will not be sufficient to pro- 

 duce good and well filled ears. It is not unfre- 

 quently the case, that the plough is used when the 

 coin is in silk, and at that time these lateral roots 

 are very nureie.'-ous about the surface of the ground, 

 and must necessarily be cut, much to the injury of 

 the crop. I have made several experiments which 

 prove conclusively that the perpendicular or tap- 

 roots are not sufficient without the aid of the late- 

 ral roots to produce good and well-filled ears; 

 and that, if the plough is used too late, a good 

 crop cannot be expected. For my experiment I 

 selected eight well-grown stalks, just before shoot- 

 ing out their tassels. I had the earth cut round 

 two ol these stalks about six or eight inches from 

 them to the depth and width of the spade, and the 

 earth removed, so that I could see that all the side 

 roots were cut. The earth was permitted to re- 

 main in this situation until the corn was matured. 

 The stalks looked well, and the ears appeared to 

 be well filled; but, on examination, it was found 

 that there were but a few scattered grains in them. 

 In the next experiment a cut was made around 

 two stalks, with a spade to its depth and width, at 

 the same distance as above. This cut was per- 

 mitted to close immediately, no earth having been 

 removed. The result was, small ears, not well 

 filled. ' 



