626 



FARMEKS' REGISTER. 



[NorflO 



the species which of all others ihe student will 

 probably first have occasion to examine, has Usu- 

 ally five, often ihree. and very rareiy,as. many as 

 ten. This difliculty is not one of very uncommon 

 occurrence, as will be evident ii-om the fact thati 

 out of 274 genera, the whole numier of Common 

 North American genera embraced in the first 

 10 classes of thearnficial system, 78 genera con^ 

 lain species which are unilbrmly on commonly 

 at variance with the class or order to which they 

 are referred. 



Neither of these objections cdn be urged against 

 the natural method; it is the very object of that 

 method to arrange plants according to their mutu- 

 al allinities, and if in any instance plants which do 

 not resemble eaclV other have been placed lo- 

 irether, in that particular there has been a depar- 

 ture from a strict natural method, and a departure 

 loo, which the future labors of the botanist will 

 correct. The greatest olyectiot^ to the natural 

 system is its necessary complexity; and this is an 

 objection which can by no possible means be re- 

 moved. Yet the difliculty arising from this source 

 is not as great as it is generally supposed to be. 

 It must be conlessed that where the object of the 

 eludent is simply to learn the name of a [)lant, and 

 where he has not much time to devote to botan- 

 ical studies, the Linniean system is to be preferred; 

 but where it is his object to make the nature and 

 structure of plants his study, to acquire an insight 

 into the curious mechanism of vegetal ioy, and he 

 has time (o devote to the study, Che natural me- 

 thod isiucomparably the best. 



(To be continued) 



ON MAXUllKS. 



, Pi'om tlie Hdijitjargh r^riiicis' Magazine. 



Sir, — TlieTpll'owing reniai'Us are on fin iippctr- 

 tant subject, and, il'-liiey can, with ]iro|)riety, be 

 inserted in your useful miscellany, I um con- 

 vinced they wdl do some general good, both to 

 agriculture and to the community at large. 



'No article in husbandry and gardening is of 

 more consequence than manure. The labors of 

 the cultivator and the researches of the naturalist, 

 are more less advantageous to a district, according, 

 as abundant supplies of manure can or carmot 

 be obtained. The sources whence this substance 

 can be drawn are limited by nature, and by vari- 

 ous circumstances. The chief supply is iioni cat- 

 tle ; but as it is impossible to maintain a quantity of 

 these commensurate with the improvements by 

 which husbandry could otherwise be advanced, 

 manure is evidently a most important desideratum 

 in every district. 



The process of nature in preserving the balance 

 betwixt animal and vegetable existences is wonder- 

 ful. The lormer inhale the eiiluvia with grateful 

 and salutary sensations which the latter throw off; 

 and they derive health as well as nourishment 

 trom their productions. ,The latter receive their 

 support and their salutary influence from the ex- 

 uvia; of tJie lormer, and are more or less vigorous 

 according as al)UMdance of these are supplied. To 

 both classes of existences it is an utlvantage to be 

 relieved of their fruits; and to both, culture and 

 cleanliness are peculiarly salutary. 

 But this invaluable species of manure is, to our 



fastidious sensations,so loathsume,lhal we as speed- 

 ily as^jossible banish il from our sicht. When men 

 were scattered over extensive fields, this was nat- 

 ural and useful ; bm, when closely penned toge- 

 ther in cities,thesame art that preserves them there, 

 and regulates the motion of all iheir natural pro- 

 pensities, must be exercised in relieving them from 

 this disagreeable feeling. As things are managed 

 ill this and in moat other large cities, human ex- 

 uviae are indeed put out of sight, but that is all; 

 for nearly their whole substance ie decomposed in 

 the atmosphere which we breathe; and the remain- 

 der, after attaining its last degree of loathsomeness, 

 is deliberately carried under our noses to that situa- 

 tion where alone it can be got quit of altoiiether. 



From the process we observe going tbrward in 

 the country, in church-^ardsand elsewhere, where 

 putrid and fijrmenting substances are neutralized 

 and absorbed without noisomeness and without 

 difficulty, it is astonishing that a similar process 

 should not have been instituted at home! Two 

 things only are necessary, — to have no unnecessary 

 mixtureof fluidity, and to supersaturate iheexuvitc 

 with ashes, soil, or any carbonaceous matter.* The 

 fluid part of exuviee is known to be invaluable in 

 many manufactures, and cannot be collected in suf- 

 ficieiitquantities fbrtheirpurposcs. Thesweepings 

 ofa house, and the ashes produced in thegrate,might 

 without any other assistance, supersaturate the rest. 

 But for the attainment of health and cleanliness, 

 no one surely will grudge (when it is necessary) 

 the trouble of getting sand, or some such sub- 

 stance, to complete this supersaturation. Our ar- 

 tists now liend their genius to eveiy improvement 

 in every object. ■ Can an article of furniture for 

 accomplishing these objects, therefore, be consi- 

 dered as an extraordinary improvement? 



To me it apjjeais quite practicable to collect the 

 whole exuvifc of this metrofiolis, amounting an- 

 hually to" some thousand tons, by such means as I 

 shall suggest. The hand of the magistrate might 

 here, as in roost municipal im|)rovetnents, be use- 

 ful in the beginning, and in the superintendence 

 of this matter; but individual interest would after- 

 wards, i am persuaded, do the rest ver}- fully. 



I would propose 10 iiave from nvclve to twenty 

 public temples of Cloacina erected in convenient 

 situations, and each under the superintendence of 

 its owner or his lessee. I think these temples 

 ought to be kept clean, bj^ supersaturating and re- 

 moving every thing of an opposite kind; that they 

 ought to be neat and commodious, of a convenient 

 form, and in such a position, that they should either 

 be on a step, or be a half siory up; that the reser- 

 voirs should be built round with ashlar, and floored, 

 and have such an inclination of the sides as to 

 make the bottom narrow, which bottom ought to 

 incline towards the back, in which the door, or fix- 

 ture by which the contents are to be removed, 

 should be placed; and, the bottom being suliiciently 

 raised above the ground below, the cart could be 

 carried under it. A few motions with the shovel 

 would by this means discharge the contents of 

 of the reservoir into the cart, which would proceed 

 through lanes and by-paths into the couotry. 



.In order to collect the whole exuvia? of a neigh- 

 borhood, I would make this distribution 'a matter 

 of !a£>or and attention. Every rnoruing at an 

 early hour, let the proprietor of the ward reservoir, 



Kich marl preferable by far.— Ed F. E. 



