1825.] 



NEW ENGLAN^D FARMER. 



21 



and ntitrilious moc)e of livin?, than to boluses 

 •iml powders.— To \ic. well, o;;t w ell, :iinl r.liuu.-il 

 any lliiiig whicli relihlius tlie licsl— liut still ie- 

 Hieaiber ttinjicraiicc. 



GARDINER LYCEUM. | At (he late meeting of the Visiters, Cup.les 



Tlie ;innii,il t'X.iiiiinali.m of Ihc SluiJonts ol'j ■''• i^-'-V';i=, E^q. of Poilhind, :i!i(] H. W. I'ulllr, 

 lis liisiiliui.n), tool; iil,.^;o on Motifiiiy ami Tues- 1 ^"'1- "'• Augiistn, wore chosen (o supply vacah- 



'hy of lasl weeli— of the first and s-ecoiid clashes, 

 un the ibinuT day, id |irijseiiCL' of the TruiileHS, 

 and of the (lijrd or eldest clafs, on the latter day. 



able audience of citizens and ladie.'i IVom llus ai 

 the neigiiUouriiig towns. The |irnfiripncy man- 

 ilested by l!ie scliolars in their seviTal pursuit^, 

 aiiords continned eucoiiiagt tneni to the friend* 

 id" tlie Lyceum, of it-; nt.lily and success. One 

 Cifss h.ive iiiMvjioiie tuitii, bearing the evidence 

 of '• lime well spent," and prepare'! by th'drat- 

 lainnuiits, mental ciiltivation and indu-lrion< 

 b:i 'its, 10 enuaj;e in the business of life, with fair 

 prospects of usefulness. In addition lo the at- 

 lainniriu ol knowledge ot practical use, one ob- 

 ject o; the Lvceuni is to give to the mind a (irni 



From the Quarltrl^ Revirw. 



AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT. 



Tho most im|iortant, and one of the most ex- 

 tensive of ail branches of national imlustry is 

 agriculture. Whilst it alVurils the chief means 

 of su'sisience to all, .t finds employment for a 

 greater niiiubei' of person^ than any oiher oc 

 cupalion. It IS, however, from its naliire, less 

 sn-cej)tible of rapid improvement than any other 

 piirsiiii. The ureal principle, l>y the applica 

 turn of which the wealth and comfort ol man- 

 kind have been advanced, is (he division of la- 

 bor. Dnt as the labors of agriculture are not 

 simultaneous, this principle is capable of appli- 

 cation to ihiMn only in a very limited degree. — 

 The same hand which at one season uses ||ie 

 reaping-hook or tlie scythe, must at another 

 wield the Qail, or exercise the sp.uic or the hoe; 

 henre, none acquire thai very superior degree 

 ol expel D 'ss which migbi he obtained by con- 

 staui adln-reace to the same description of oji- 

 eratione. 



I'he uses of various kinds of machinery to 

 abridge labor, have lieen but little applied, and 

 seeni little applicable to the Imsiiicss of larmiiiij; 

 the most ictipnrtant of those, ,\liirh have been 



tried, the threshing mills, will scarcely repay '"'*! ""* 'inportant object has not been neglect 

 the expense of their conslrncti.n, unless ihey *^'' '" 'he cour.se of instruction which they have 

 can be worked by water-power; drill ploughs ''^'^'■'*''''- 



and sowing machines have hillierto been used -^"er the examination of the Third Class had 

 to a very limited extent, and in many districts P"*'''^' each of the young gentlemen read a dis. 

 of the kingdom are wholly unknown in practice, p*^""'''"'!^"" "1'°" subjects connected with the de. 

 The winnowing machine, indeed, forai^ an ex- 1*'§" ""''^ 1'"*'''"''°"' which, although well writ, 

 ception to the general rule, for by performing!'*^"' exhibited fewer of the attuinmenls of rhet- 

 ils work in all states of the weather in our varia^-j'";'!^' "'"" °' '"^*\"'"'^. sentiments and maturity 

 ble climate, it has forced it.self into almost uni- ■' J"''?™*""'- 1"he following was the order of 



their delivery : 



cies existing in that IJoard. 



The coiitiuiieil iiiuiiiiicence which has been 

 extended toward this Institution by the gentle- 



before the Trustees and Visiters, .ind a respect- "'''" ^'ho so largely conlribuled to its esiablish- 



!ishn»ent,--the public patronage, — the altcntion 

 .ind favor shown to it, by intelligent and proin- 

 Mient individuals in various parts of the Slate, — 

 the good order prevailing among the students, 

 and the evidence vvhich Ihey afford of advance- 

 ment in knowledife, conspiie lo render its pros- 

 pects ol' usefulness highly flattering, and to en- 

 courage the youth of this Slate to avail the(n- 

 selves of its advantages. — £«j(cin Chrvnicle^ 



WILD RICE. 

 Mr. Darby, the geographer, says the most 



versal ado[ition. 



The great body of agriculturists are less open 

 to the intluence of improvement than any other 

 class of the community. They are indeed sin- 

 gularly averse lo innovations, and view every 

 change that is suggested with alarm or with con- 

 tempt. This was manifested in England on Ihe 

 introduction of the turnip husbandry, about til'ty 

 or sixty years ago; at a much later period, on 

 the first cultivation of the ruta-baga, or Swe- 

 dish turnip; ai.i! is still experienced wherever 

 the mangel-wurzel is first attempted lo be raised. 

 The same spirit prevails amongst our agricul- 

 tural laborers, and makes it very difficult to as- 

 sist their operations by any alteration of their 

 old habits, or imjirovement in their implements 

 of work. Thus the Hainault short scythe and 

 crook cn:ib!e Ihe workmen habituated to its use 

 to reap nearly three times as much wheat in a 

 day as can be done with oar English reaping- 

 hoak, and Sir George Rose at his own expense 

 brought over some Flemish reapers lo instruct 

 our workmen in the use of them. The effort 

 ^vas of no avail, and we believe Ihe practice, 

 so far from spreading, is not now folloived even 

 on the spot where the attempt was made. 



Although, however, from its nature, the pace 

 or agriculture ig necessarily slow, yet in Eng- 

 land we have advan-ed at a rale ivhlrb :n.i\ \Z' 

 denominated rapid when it is compared "with 

 that of our neighbors. 



ness and power of comprehension, without which I valuable vegetable production of Michigan and 

 all its operations are uncertain aud conjiclural. j N. VV. Territories is Ihc wild rice. {zi::ania 

 There is probably no (lart of education so lit- 1 aryiin/ica.) It grows abundantly in Ihe marshes, 

 lie altended lo in general, as the control anddis- [ |>onds, lakes, and rivers of these territories, and 

 cipline of Ihe intellectual (lowers, while at the I exists upon other streams and lakes in a greater 

 same time there IS none of more importance, or , or less quantily from Louisiana to the Arctic 

 upon w bich the character and success of the slu- 1 circle. It vegetates Sfiontaneously; the appear- 

 dtnt So closely depend. The arrangement of aiice is more beautilul than that of wheat ; and 

 studies at the Lyceum is well adapted to give tbe grain is stveet and nutritious. A westers 

 enlargement lo the mind and to require that ex- writer describes it as "growing 6 or T feet above 

 ercise of thought which qualities it for higher I the water, where the water is from 1 to 7 feet 

 subjects, and more enlarged conceptions. It was . deep, the stalk resembling Ihe reed-cane of Ken- 

 obvious from the examination of all the sludeals, j lucky, and the branches those of oats."' Some 



Indian tribes live almost entirely upon this vege- 

 table. — In the narrative ol Major Long's Expedi- 

 tion to Ihe source of St. Peter's river, it is sta- 

 led that Ihe Chi|ipewas chiefly subsist upon the 

 wild rice, and the manner in which they obtain 

 it is thus described: "They go in canoes, two 

 men in each canoe armed with long poles, into 

 the rivers or lakes where it grows ; one of the 

 men with his pole turns down into the canoe 

 the plat from one side and the other thrashed it 

 until all the grain is separated from the stem. — 

 The same operation is performed on the other 

 side ; after which they remove the canoe to an- 

 other place and continue until Ihey have obtain- 

 ed a supply. They often collect with ease from 

 20 to 30 bushels per day." The grain is sobse- 

 quently dried, trampled under feel to separate 

 Ihe hull, and winnowed by stirring in it woodea 

 platters exposed to a gentle wind. 



It is possible that this wild rice will grow in 

 the marshes, ponds and rivers of New England. 

 We hope the experiment will be made. — Judd\ 



Dissertatiou on Internal Improvements. 



By Geo. L. Rodinson. 



On the food of Plants. By Ri;rus M. Gav. 



On the character of Berthollet. By A. G. Davis. 



On lite resources of Maine. By Wm. Bridge. 



0)1 Rail-Wuys. By John A. Bkadstreet. 



At the close of these performances, Mr Hale, 

 the Principal of the Lyceum, dismissed the Class 

 from his farther care and instruction, in a well 

 written and interesting Address — replete with 

 affectionate advice, and with powerful motives 

 to industry, and good morals. 



Among the Visiters, present, were the Gov- 

 ernor of Ihe State, and the Speaker of the House 

 of Representatives — Ihe former of whom has 

 given repeated instances of his attention to the 

 interests of the Lyceum and the cause of learn- 

 ing in the Slate. Under his administration, this 

 Inslitulion has been founded, has received Ihe 

 public patronage, and has now given its " first 

 fruits." to the community, with a well founded 

 promise of adiling much lo the sum of science 

 and learning in our country. 



Two Professorships have recently been estab- 

 lished al the Lyceum One of Mathematics and 

 Natural Philosophy. Ihe other of Agriculture and 

 Natural History, und have been placed under 

 the care of geDtlemen wellqualiijed lo discharge 

 (heir duties. 



Diseases and insects which attack Pastel. 



Pastel is subject lo but few diseases. It is one 

 of the most hardy plants, and well calculated to 

 withstand the intemperature of the seasons. — 

 The only disease, within our knowledge, which 

 is injurious to it, is that which covers the leaves 

 with spots or yellow pustules. There are no 

 means of checking Ihe progress of this disease, 

 hut by gathering Ihe leaves, which should be 

 done without delav ; otherwise a great pari of 

 them will be unfit for dyeing. This is done, not- 

 withstanding they may not have come to ma- 

 turity. 



Grasshoppers, catterpiilars, a species of spi- 

 der, snails, and May bugs, attack and destroy 

 more or less of Ihe leaves of pastel. A'>many 

 of these insects should be destroyed as possible; 

 their ravages are sumetimes so great, as 10 ren- 

 der it necessary to re-plant the lields. 



