142 



(^l)e iTavmcr's iHciiUl)lij bisitor. 



numher ol years. In this case, no such cliaiige 

 ran have taken |)!ace. It is, at any rate, very 

 doiihtf'ul if it i=i ever converteil into earth, or, o( 

 itseli; furnishes any food for jdaiits. i4ut it does 

 ahsorh <;asee, and hy tlie powerlnl condensing 

 force wliich all porous hodies possess, they are 

 made solid in the pores of ehareoal. One cnhic 

 inch of charcoal will conilensc; ninety enhie iiu|^- 

 es of aiiiinnnia, or thijiy-five of earliunic aClH. 

 And, holdin;; it with all this lorce, how are they 

 to give it oft" to plants? One class of the theo- 

 rists will say, tliatlhe vital power of ihe plant can 

 separate it. ' But it is locked up in the pores ot 

 the charroal, where not even the most niinnle 

 fihre of the roots can penetrate Others say, it 

 is hy the power of tixing gases tliat it does good, 

 hot ihev do not accoinit for the giving theui out. 

 What tlien is it? Let us look a moment at an- 

 other tact. 



Water ahsorhs, at the common temperature 

 and pressure, from seven hinidred to eight hun- 

 dred times its volume of animoniacal gas, aiid 

 when hoiled will not part with the wlnde of it. 

 Now notice the difference: charcoal ahsorhs nine- 

 ty, and water eight hundred times their volume. 

 The superior force of the water is seen at a 

 glance. And what nnist be the result? Why, 

 simply this: If charcoal is put u|)on land as a 

 manure, however rmicli gas it may have, the first 

 shower of rain will separate it, and carry it with 

 it to the earth, ready for the use ol' the plants. 

 In the mean time, the water takes the place of 

 the gas in llie pores. As soon as they hecome 

 dry, and perhaps hefore, iho process of absorp- 

 tion commences again, and again it is washed out. 

 This view of the case vvoidd indicate the use 

 of charcoal as a top dressing to crops. And this 

 we believe to he ilie correct plan. Buried in the 

 soil, it aihls to its looseness, hut is not exposed 

 to alternate dry and wet, as when on or near the 

 stirface. 



But its action in compost heajjs, or as an ab- 

 sorbent of the mine of man and animals, depends 

 upon anuiher principle. The general opiifion 

 seems to be, that its use to absorb the ga.ses, am- 

 moiii , &c., which are given oft' during decom- 

 positii .1 of animal and vegetable sulistances. — 

 That this is not ilie case will readily appi'ar, if one 

 will r' n 't a moinent upon its well known action 

 on aifimal matter. If meat which has begun to 

 putrify be packed down in charcoal, it is not only 

 deprive.! of l.il snjell, but the process of piitri- 

 faction is immediately stopped. No more gases 

 are formed, and of course none can be absorbed. 

 Its effect in this ca,=e is to stop the progress of de- 

 cay. In the same maimer, any animal or vege- 

 table substance, if exposed to the action of char- 

 coal, may he preserved for any length of time 

 imchauged. What the power is hy which this is 

 done, we do not prctc^nd to say. 



It is not, iheJi, by absorbing gases that it is so 

 useful in these cases, but simply through this pow- 

 '♦er of preventing decay and preserving lii(!se mat- 

 ters in their unchanged state. Thus, when used 

 in the couipost heap, or when satur;ited with 

 urine, M the sulislances it comes in contact with 

 are brought under its infliu'ucc, and when ap- 

 l)lied to the soil are grailnally separated from it 

 by the rains which fill upon them, and there un- 

 dergo the decay which fits them to become (ood 

 for plants. 



Charcoal lias the properly of preserving vege- 

 table as well as animal sidistances from decay. 

 And it is prob.ihly on this ai^count that it has been 

 found useliil in pinpagaling plants from theii' 

 cuttings. Many remarkable experiments have 

 l)een made witli it, and with great success. Even 

 leaves have taken root in finely powdered char- 

 coal, kept constauily wet. — American (Quarterly 

 Journal of AgricuUure and Science. 



i''rrnn tJK) l''8Hi-x Triiiiiirript. 

 Indian Hill Fiirm. 

 " Reader o' mine," have you ever seen Indian 

 Hill ? ICver shared ihc unlionrMliid hospitality of 

 the pro|irietHry, (Jul. Po(nc ? If you have, you 

 are prepared to lislen to a brief detail of the ex- 

 hibition .Mild trial of plonj!li.s which took place 

 there on Friday last, under the t'olonel's auspices. 

 If not — if yoiihavi; never passed that way, your 

 " laincniahle i!.'iioranc<!" imi>oses upon ns a task 

 ;is hard as it is hopeless. Fur « ho can sketch 

 the varied lopoffruphy of Indian llill? Or '-act 

 out" on paper the npnblican niamiers of onr pa- 

 trician host ? Wholly unavailing would be the 



attempt. The place as well as the name give 

 rise to sad and strange; reminiscences, as we 

 "gather aiound ihe table of memory, to banf|uel 

 on the good deeds of others, and to grow good 

 ourselves by that on which we feed." Here, not 

 many generations ago, the rank thistle nodded in 

 the wind, and the wild fox dug his hole uiiscared. 

 Elere lived and loved another race of beings. Be- 

 neath the same sun and over these same hills, 

 the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer: 

 gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, the 

 Inilian hunter wooed his dnsky mate. Here the 

 wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and the 

 helpless, the council fire glared on the wise and 

 the daring. Here they warred ; the echoing 

 whoop, the bloody grapple, the defying death 

 song, all were here; and when the tiger strili; 

 was over here purled the smoke of peace. But 

 two hundred years have changed the character 

 of a great continent, and blotted forever from its 

 face a whole peculiar people. Art has usurped 

 the bowers of nature, and the anointed child.en 

 of education have been too powerful for the 

 tribes of the ignorant. Here and there a stricken 

 few remain, but liow unlike their bold, untamed 

 and untaineable progenitors! The Indian, of fid- 

 con glance and lion bearing, the theme of the 

 touching ballad, the hero of the pathetic tale, is 

 gone ! 



The settlement of "Indian Hill" took place, if 

 we mistake not, about the year 1G65. It still re- 

 tains the odor of antiquity. The visitor there, or 

 even the "passerby" may catch glimpses of 

 " bye gone centuries" without a very lavish ex- 

 penditure of the frankincense of poetry. By 

 what might seem to be a stiange fieak in archi- 

 teclnre. Col. Poore has blended in one suit of 

 buildings all the iive orders, the Tuscan, Doric, 

 Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. At fii'st view 

 from dislant hill tops their grotesqneuess reminds 

 you of Indian Wigwams, Baronial Castles, Dru- 

 idic temples an<l St. Peter's. And these first im- 

 pressions are more than sustained hy a closer in- 

 spection of the turreiied mansion, with tlialched 

 roof, slated and liimod roof hi close (iroximity — 

 spacious hall, ottoman jiarlors — Library and Cab- 

 inem rooms — long sounding aisles and snhier- 

 rauean passages — Tiiames' tunnel and Roman 

 aqueduct — and a iiardeu and forest that seem the 

 Daguerreotype of Milton's Paradise. Added to 

 all these new and str.inge associations, the [)re- 

 sidinggeiuusof the whole.the ubiquitous Colonel 

 with his panaina hat .•mil flowing umic, and all 

 atteii[pls to integrate and describe are baffled and 

 forever put to flight. Yon must go and see, or 

 you can never know what is meant by '^Indian 

 Hill." 



Re.idci- — our pen has carried us on thus far un- 

 bidden — but, asking your pardon therefor — we 

 would knuckle to the execution of the design 

 which we proposed at the commencement of this 

 article. 



The object of the gathering at Indian llill last 

 Friday was to test by actual experiment the dif- 

 fiirent kinds of ploughs. The competition na- 

 turally exl.stlng betueen the manufiictmcs led 

 them to send on to this trial some of their very 

 best. Accordingly we noticed some twenty or 

 thirty shining articles of that kind, from the dif- 

 fin-ent warehouses in Boston and vicinity, of the 

 nicest worUnianship, and looking as though they 

 had just come from tlie hands of the silver- 

 smith and cabinet maker. The Siile-hill, Centre 

 Draught — sub-soil ami Eagle were all there in 

 their greatest perfeclimi. .\ connnittee of five 

 or six gentlemen was appointed liy Col. Poore to 

 examine the <q)eration of the various ploughs and 

 give the result of the experiments through the 

 newspapers. We would not finestall puhlii; <iplu- 

 ion on the committee's report— but it would give 

 us much more cimfidence in it If they had held 

 the ploughs themselves. It is utterly im|iossihle 

 to judge accuralely without. Some run to land, 

 and others the contrary — some incline to go ih'cp 

 —and others shallow— yet gooil W(n-k can be done 

 liy all these, but not so easily as with one which 

 ^imH jn.ll rii^ltt. 



We felt desirous to wnness Ihe operation of 

 some side-hill ploughs exhibited there — but for 

 want of lime, we suppose, the counnilteo were 

 unable lo test lln;m. 'i'lic! side-hill, manufactured 

 by Rug;;les, Noursi! and iMason, marked A No. 

 3, struck (Mir eye as being precisely the right ar- 

 ticle. Those who wish to purchase wuuld do 

 well to j.KHtniiiB it. 



The sub-soils workerl to the adnfiratiou of all 

 preseni. This kind of plough has been lately 

 introduced among the conjinon farmers in this 

 country, and many are anticipating valuable re- 

 sults from its use. 



Of the hassock cutler invented by Col. Poore 

 — and the Pheodo circumferenter, a new and 

 greatly improved surveying instrument made and 

 exhibited by Mr. Varney of Newbury — we must 

 forhi'ar to speak, at this time. 



We noticed that several dislinguished persons 

 from abroad, honored the occasion with their 

 presence. Among these were C<d. .t'kinner, ed- 

 itor of the first agricultural paper in the United 

 States, and now editor of the Farmers' Library — 

 i\lr. Huckminlster, editor of the Ploughman, Hon. 

 Isaac llill, lion. Caleb Cushing, and Docl. Ladd, 

 from Vliginia. The occasion throughout was a 

 very pleasant one— affoidii^a free and agreeable 

 interchange of opinion ammlg ihe friends of ag- 

 riculture, who will ever retain grateful recollec- 

 tions of the good cheer and kind attentions be- 

 stowed upon them during a day's sojourn at 

 Imoian Hill. 



Culture or Musiiroo.ms. — "You ask nie 

 about the cuhivation of mushrooms. I have two 

 houses in which 1 have raised them, one built 

 expressly for the purpose, 50 feet long, 14 feet 

 wide, 9 feet high, plasiereii inside, with a flue 

 from a stove running on the ground through the 

 centre. On the top of the flue are hollow tiles 

 for the purpose of holding water and keeping the 

 room moist. I have two tiers of beds on each 

 side of the house, one over the other, 3 feet apart 

 and 5 feet wide. We first fill each bed with 

 pure horse dung, with as little straw as possible, 

 say one foot deep ; we then put on 3 inches of 

 rich black mould ; in this earth we plant the 

 s|iavvn of the mnslnoom broadcast. That from 

 England comes in blocks like brick. This is 

 broken up into pieces the size of a walnut, and 

 pl.inted aI>ont three or four inches apart. The 

 best time to make the beds is iii October anil 

 November. Keep the house warm ; about 65 

 degrees, and damp and dark, and cover the beds 

 with hay 3 inches deep. The inushrooms will 

 he ready to pick in about a month, and will con- 

 liuue mull .August or longer; but in very warm 

 weaihrr li ey get covered with Lugs. The other 

 house Is smaller, and I heat it with a large pile 

 of horse manure, which being kept wet my gar- 

 dener thinks raises the best inushrooms." 



Ru.swELL L. Colt. 



Paterson, 7th May, 1645. 

 — .4m../g. 



Advice to a Yoiiug Lawyer. 



ET HO:i. JOSEPH STOBT. 



Whi'nt- 'er you ?peak, rerat-mber every cause 

 Stands nut nu eloquence, but stands on laws — 

 Preiinant in matter, in expre.ssion brief, 

 Let every S'-ntence .«tnnd ivilh bold relief; 

 On tritliTig points nor time nor talents waste, 

 A t^:ui olfenctr to learning and to taste; 

 Nortl.-al with pompous phrase; nor e^cr suppose, 

 Poetic flights belong to reasoning prose. 

 Loose dec-lainaticui nta\ deceive the crowd, 

 .Ami seem more strikin's; as it grows more loud; 

 IJut .utber sense rejects ItAvilh disdain, 

 .As nought but empty noisr, and weak, as vain. 

 The froth of words, the schoolboy's vain parade 

 Of books ami cases all iiis stock in trade — 

 The pelt c merits, the eunninj; tricks and nlay 

 Of low Altorn*)'s, struni! in long array, 

 The tntscemly jesi, Ihe pitnlant reply, 

 'I'hat chatters on, and cares not how or why. 

 Stiulious, avoid — unworthy themes to scan. 

 They sink Ihe Speaker anil disgntce Iho Man. 

 Like the false lights, by Hying shadows cast, 

 Scnvce seen, when prcs'-nt, and forgot when past. 



llegin with dignity; expotuid with grace. 

 Each ground of reasoning in ils proper place; 

 lit t order reign throughout— each topic touch, 

 Nor urge its power too little, or too much. 

 One each strong thought its most atlraclivc view. 

 In iliction clear, and yet severely true. 

 And, as Ihe argumenls in splendor grow, 

 lilt larli rerteet ils light on till below. 

 When to Ihe close arrived, niiike no delays 

 liy petly nourishes, or verbal plays. 

 Hut sum llu' whole in one deep, solemn straui, 

 Like a strcuig current hastening lo the .Main. 

 Cambridge, It^^JO. 



From the Ohio Cultivator. 

 Crops require to bo Fed as well ns Auimals. 



Ill Ihe lirsi seilletiienlof this country, the do- 

 mestic animals foiinil food growing sponlanpons- 

 ly in the piairiejj and foresls, and lliey lived al- 

 most entirely wilhont the aid of their owners.— 

 As the country became more populous, and the 

 tmimals had greatly increased, this spontaneous 

 food became exhausted, and they hud to be fed 

 by the hand of man. 



