JfenwrB Jlmttl)]^ visitor 



KlUKHIVL^HJUtU] 



CONDUCTED BY ISAAC HILL. 



''I'UOSE WHO LABOR IN HIE EARTH ARE THE CII03EN fEOl'Li: OF GiiD, WHOSE IIREAST3 HE H \S MADE HIS PECULIAR DEP03ITE FOR SUBSTANTIAL AND GENUINE TIRTOK.'* — JtffcTSOn. 



VOL. 8. NO. 9. 



CONCORD, N. H., SEPTEMBER 30, 184&. 



WHOLE NO. 93. 



THE FAU.-JER'S MONTHLY VISITOR, 



PUBLISIltU BY 



ISAAC HILL, & SONS, 



ISSUED ON THE LAST DAT OF EVERT MONTH, 



At Athenian Building. 



SCTCeS':""- AfiENTS H. A. RiLi., Kcfnc, N 11.; John 



tiAiisH, Wasliiiialoii SI. Iluslijti, Majs.; Ch*iu,es VVahben, 

 Urinlcy Row, Wurcesler, Mass. 



TERMS.— To single subscribers, Fifli) Cents. Ti-ii pur 

 cent, will be allowed fu the per.«on who shall send niort- (liati 

 one subscriber. Twelve copies will be sent for thi; advance 

 pavinent of Five Dulliirai twentj'-livu co[)ies for Ten l)oUart>; 

 sixty copies lor Tieenly Dollars. The paynicnl in every case to 

 be made in udvallcc. 



J^^-VoHf (/ and sulscrijitians^ by a reinitiation of the Post Master 

 GeHeralfHwy in alt cases be remitted by the Post Master, free oj 

 postaf^e. 



95-.\ll genllenir'n who have heretofore acted as .\pinLs are 

 requested to continue their .\geucy. Old subscribers who 

 come under Ihe new terms, will please notify us of the names 

 already on our books. 



Public Lands. 



Tli<; lotiil qiijiiitity ol' piililic Iniiflsnovv oftorerl 

 f()i- sail! I>j' tlie (liiectioii of the Piesi(l«iit of the 

 Uiiiled State:- is iihuut ten and a half millions of 

 acres, siliiaicil in the following States and Teiii- 

 lories : 



ActP.«>. 

 Aikansa-s 3,098,4:35 



Missoini, 3,]i>2A7ti 



Florida, l,aG;i585 



Ulissis.-ippi, 2G(i,3:37 



Wisconsin Tenitory, l,iau,988 



Iowa Teiriioiy, 8!J5,'Ji)7 



Tiital, 10,410,818 



It is said that mineral lands tinder the special 

 act of Congress will be proclaimed in the course 

 of ♦ivo or three weeks, on the receipt of the re- 

 ports recently reipiired from the land oilicers. 

 They ai c as follows : 



Iowa Terriror\ — Dubufjiie district 



lead lands, 285, 1 "JG 



Arkansas— liite.'ville lead lands, (j7.()0G 



" Fayetteville " " 44,JI(iii 



Illinois — Dixon, ^ 243,773 



Missotiri — Jackson coj)|>er region, 170,22S) 



Total, _ _ ^ Sli,8!)0 



We. find in the \Vashin;;ton Union, the follow- 

 ing general description of this vast public do- 

 main : 



The sales in Wisconsin Ciinbrace about 1,130,- 

 000 acres of fine wheat land, situated north and 

 west of Green I'ny and Like Winnebago, and 

 between the Wisconsiir and Mississippi rivers. 

 Part of it is on the Mississippi, Wisconsin and 

 Fox rivers; and all of it well watered by those 

 streams and their tributaries, which aflbrd a rea- 

 dy access to a southern or eastern market. All 

 the small grains are produced abundantly by 

 these lands ; and the e.xtensive prairies aftiird es- 

 cellent pasture for cattle, which may be raiser! in 

 ereat nnmbers, with but little expense and trou- 

 ble. 



The sairie may be said of the lands directed to 

 be sold in Iowa, includini; about 89(5,000acres Iv- 

 inft on the Red, Cedar, Iowa, English, Des Moines, 

 and Churiion rivers, and their bi-ancbes. These 

 lands are e.'sceedinL'ly fertile, and well adapted to 

 the cidiiv.-ition of all the small grains; and, like 

 those in Wisconsin, being interspersed with tim- 

 ber and inairie, the labor of clearing is avoided, 

 while abundance of the finest timber for biiiW- 

 ing and all fanning pmpnses is convenient. 

 These facilities are such that, « iili the outlay of 

 fifty or one Inindied dollars, and the labor of a 



single season, a settler can procure a valntible 

 tiirm, jicddiug every necessary for the support of 

 his liimily, and a surplus tor market. 



In Missouri about 3,162,000 acres is ofiijred, 

 part of which near the liniuidary bijtween Mis- 

 souri and Iowa, and in llie I'laltsbmg district is 

 ill wliat has been calleil the " (Jarden of the 

 West," and the balance is in the centre and soiiih- 

 westein section of the St.ite. Several townships 

 lie immeili.ilely on the Missoini and IMalte rivers, 

 and the Ibrks of (Jraud River : and all of it is 

 well w.'itered, commanding ready access to mar- 

 kets. The soil in Mis.sonri, it is well kirevvn, is 

 as fine as any in the world, jielding in great abun- 

 dance tobacco, corn, wheal, oats,and ail the small 

 grains; besides which, rich lead anil iron ores 

 are frei|Uenlly liiuiid in great ipiaulilies. 



Upwards id' three and a half millions of acres 

 in Arkansas are also proclainied, lying in detach- 

 ed bodies in almost every part of the State. Part 

 of this land is on the Mississippi, St. Francis, 

 Wliile, Ouachita ami Saline rivers, and all of it 

 is well watered by those streams and their tribu- 

 taries, and those flowing into the Arkansas and 

 Red rivers. The soil is (;xceeilitigly fertile, the 

 timber of the very best tpiality, and so intersper- 

 sed with prairies, that a valualile farm may be put 

 ill cultivation at a trifling expense. In the noith- 

 ei n section of the Slate, wheat ia cultivated with 

 great advantage, while cotton is found to grow to 

 perfection in the South. Vast crops of Indian 

 corn can be raised in any part of the State, and 

 the whole couiitiy is well calculated for raising 

 cattle. The products of the farm, of whatever 

 chai-acter, can easily be transported to the Missis- 

 sippi by means of its numerous tributaries, where 

 a market can at all times be found. The medi- 

 cal virtues of the hot springs of Arkansas, near 

 which some of these Lands lie, are becoming ex- 

 tensively known, and every year invalids fiom all 

 parts of the country resort thitlier to avail them- 

 selves of their sanative properties. 



In Mississip|/i nearly 300,000 acres ore olTcred, 

 lying near the boundary between that Slate and 

 Alabama, contiguous also to the gulf coast, the 

 Ray of liiloxi, and on Pearl river. These lands 

 arc v\ell adapted to the enlnvation of sugar, cot- 

 ton, corn and liuits of every charactei\ being rich 

 alluvion ; and being near tiie Gulf of Mexico, the 

 lircvalence ol" the sea breezes tempers the heat 

 of summer, ;uid produces a" most genial, delight- 

 ful and liealthy climate. 



Upwards of a million and a quarler ofaeiesin 

 Florida are also embraced by these proclama- 

 tions, part lying betuecn Tampa 15ay and the gulf 

 coast, part on and near the Witldacoochie river 

 and its brani:hes, and by far the greater portion 

 oil the St. John's, Kissime, St. Lucie and Indian 

 rivers. Key IJiseayne Bay, Jupiter and Hillsboro' 

 inlets — embracing in fiict, most of the Atlantic 

 bonier south of IVlnsquiio lagoon. These are 

 among the finest lauds in the world, yielding 

 abundantly all the necessaries and luxuries of 

 life. Cotton and sugar of the finest quality are 

 produced, and are not subject to <lamage from 

 frost. The tobacco raised is about equal to the 

 finest Cuba; oranges of the most delicious flavor 

 and extraordinary size are also grown, far snr- 

 p.issing those of the West Indies; whilst corn 

 and all the tropical litiits and plants flourish in 

 great periection. This is, in fiict, the ancient El 

 Dorado, where it was supposed a river could be 

 found the waters of which would impart contin- 

 ual youth anil beauty, if not the sjiot where the 

 cavaliers of Spain sought for lh(^ fountains of 

 perpetual health ; ami when the fertility of the 

 soil and salnlirity of the climate are considered, 

 this idea will not be considered entirely prepos- 

 terous. 



It may be proper to state, further, that the lands 

 embiaced in these proclamations, includiu^f every 

 variety of soil and climate, from the nortliern part 

 of Wisconsin to the sontbeni extreme of Flori- 



da — abounding, also, in game and wild fowl of 

 every description, which can be had Ibrlhe inero 

 trouble of taking — piesent natural advantages in 

 every point of view which render them a most 

 valuable investment, not only to the hardy settlers, 

 who may secure their homes under the pre-emp- 

 tion privilege seemed to them by a just and be- 

 neficent legislation, but to all who may desire 

 hereafter to make their homes in the lVuilf\il val- 

 leys of the West. 



Remarliable Properties of Charcoal. 



It is well known, that under certain circum- 

 stances, charcoal is almost indestructible. The 

 stakes driven into the Thames by the ancient 

 Britons, for obstrucliug the approach of Julius 

 Ciesar, were taken up about fifty years since, 

 having become charred, and thus pieserved from 

 decay. The wheat and rye found in the entomb- 

 ed Pompeii and Ilerculaneiim, had become char- 

 red in the slow changes of time, and aie so per- 

 fectly preserved, as to be easily distinguished 

 fiom each other. Fragments of charred wood 

 are fiimiliar to the geologist, under the name of 

 lignite, which have existed for periods inconcei- 

 vably longer than those of human history. It 

 would seem that wood, under certain circumstan- 

 ces, has the properties of charring spontaneous- 

 ly, as appears in the e.xlerior of the timbers of 

 the houses of Pompeii and llerculaneum,as well 

 as in the above examples. In all these cases, the 

 charcoal was protected fiom direct atmospheric 

 agency by being buried in water or earth. It is 

 very remarkable, however, that charcoal, under 

 other conditions, decays rapidly. A few years 

 since, the writer dug up a quantity of gravel, 

 containing a large proportion of tine charcoal. 

 The ground had once been the site of a black- 

 smith's shop, and was subsequently covered with 

 a layer of other gravel. It was black with char- 

 coal, and was used with some burn yard manure 

 in making an artificial soil for a garden over clay 

 ground, and on being well expo.sed by the tillage 

 to the atmospheric agencies, in two years the 

 charcoal entirely disappeared, leaving a dark, 

 rich looking soiljwbicb all the while supported a 

 dense growth of vegetation. One pf the most 

 extraordinary, and we may say inyslerioiis prop- 

 erties of charcoal, (for science can only show us 

 the fact, without explaining it satislitctorily) is, 

 that a piece of charcoal will absorb, without 

 chemical change, many times its bulk of air, and 

 other gases and vapors. It v/ill absorb more than 

 eight times its volume of air, and it is a fact of 

 great interest to the agiiculturist, that it will ab- 

 sorb more ofammoniacal gas, than of any other, 

 viz. 90 times its volume, if it has been recently 

 ignited. The iiorosity of charcoal seems to be 

 the cause of this absorption, and the dificrent gas- 

 es has been supposed to be the cause of the dif- 

 fijrent degrees in which they are absorbeil. But 

 that it should absorb more than its bulk of any 

 gas, without chemical agency, seems truly won- 

 derful. 



How valuable are these proiierlies to the far- 

 mer! Charred posts, well set, will give him an 

 enduring fence. Refuse charcoal fVeely used a- 

 bout the stable, will seize on and preserve from 

 evaporation the richest nianun;, ammoniacal gas, 

 and then in the soil will gradually yield it as wan- 

 ted to vegetation, and by its own decay also, and 

 abundantly to the food plants. Thus as the trav- 

 eller tilew hot and cold with the same breath, so 

 by the same process of charring, the farmer pre- 

 pares a substance which will either last for cen- 

 turies, or decay in as many months, as may be 

 required. —Scicnii/ic Aimrkan. 



From the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

 Seeds. 

 Mr. Editor :— This being the season for lay- 

 ing ti|) seed for future use, it will not, I trust, be 

 1 out of place to ofier a lew remarks through the 



