186 



all)£ laxmcxs iUtnitl)hj IJisitor. 



VJilelies and wizards, of"<;liosts and chimeras 

 dire"iiiilil llie mind became of sufficient slienpth 

 to asceitiiiii the ilhision. The first event Ihatue 

 recollect, chii ruing to he treated and considered 

 a niiiacle, were the astonishing powers of calcu- 

 lation of a child then eiiiht years of age. VVc 

 think it was in the year 1809, that this yonthhil 

 prodigy came to Concord and cxhihili-d his pow- 

 ers hefore the Legislature of New llarripshire. 

 Although he could not even read, quick as thought 

 he would give the results of niinjhers to any 

 amount, added, subtracted, or multiplied into each 

 other. The long and difficult process of extract- 

 ing the cidie ol'an extendcfl given ninnber of fig- 

 m-es, was by this child (lei formed even in a short- 

 er time than the mind could seem to grasp the 

 numbers from the repetition of the figures them- 

 selves. Zerah Colhurn, the son of an inipretend- 

 iiig Vermont farmer, possessed at that early age, 

 this astonishing power of calcidalion : he was 

 shown through the country thirty-eight years ago 

 — went to Einrope — returned — was educated to 

 the higher branches of the Mathematics at one 

 of our colleges, and afterwards (he could not tell 

 why) lost the miraculous powers of his early 

 childhood. 



As nearly the counterpart of Zcrsdi Colhurn 

 the editor of the Visitor lately met in the Libra- 

 ry of Congress, and was introduced by Mr. Mee- 

 han to Mr. I'eier M. Deshong, a native of Pemi- 

 sylvania,aged 23years. The countenance of this 

 young man exhibits no extraordinary intellect: 

 yet his powers and calcidation, exceiiting in the 

 case of Zerah Colhurn, we have nev<'r yet seen 

 equalled. The quick operations (>f his mind are 

 altogether unaccountable. Accompanying this 

 notice, we send to the press two slips of paiier, 

 with the figures written down by Mr. Meehau or 

 our own hands, in which he either added, sub- 

 tracted, midtiplied or divided them, out from or 

 into each other, in the most extended snin,in not 

 over five seconds, less time than it was possible 

 to scan the whole lines with the eye. The state- 

 ment and addition of the vidgar fractions were 

 all Mr. Deshong's: 



NO. I. 



1456 

 3075 

 81:5/ 

 64-25 

 987G 

 <i78i» 

 42i:i 

 9782 

 n(;.5!1 

 927G 

 4:i82 

 i:j47 

 2438 

 ](i70 

 02.M 

 4716 

 3754 

 4(i32 

 7(i:i7 

 9.')47 

 7395 

 fti/d 

 3742 

 7(i35 

 5297 

 3702 

 4932 

 3705 

 9237 

 4879 

 9623 

 3559 



22947G 



wo. 2. 



7 



C 

 5 

 4 

 3 

 4 

 6 

 7 

 5 

 3 

 8 

 9 

 5 

 3 

 1 

 2 

 4 

 6 

 5 

 7 

 8 

 9 

 C 

 4 

 8 

 1 

 2 

 C 

 7 

 9 

 5 

 4 

 3 

 8 

 7 

 G 

 5 

 3 

 8 

 7 



4 

 3 

 J 

 2 

 8 

 9 

 4 

 3 

 6 

 4 

 3 

 2 



260 



9546 

 3257 

 1534 

 6985 

 3052 

 4216 

 3987 

 5431 

 2367 

 5421 

 0G32 



46428 



NO. 4. 



4 

 3 

 5 

 2 

 1 

 6 

 7 

 5 

 9 

 

 8 

 1 

 2 

 6 

 5 

 3 

 9 

 5 

 4 

 7 

 6 

 3 

 9 

 4 

 , 

 7 

 5 



6 

 132 



NO. 5. 



2132 

 1219 



2598908 



NO. 6. 



625)7464G8326879( 



1194349321 254 



NO. 7. 



9 



10 

 3 



11 

 2 



21 

 3 



19 

 6 



41 

 9 



78 

 6 



17 

 3 



II 

 2 



5 

 6 



NO. 8. 



6789678 

 7896786 



.53679027321908 



Wo have heretofore published several commu- 

 nications in the Visitor from Simon Brown, Esq., 

 Librarian to the House of Rupreseniatives of 

 Congress. Blr. Brown acquired while a resident 

 of New Hampshire a taste for Agricidtural and 

 Horlicullural improvement, which he carried with 

 him to Washington. Although a resident there, 

 he informs us that be has purchased, in connec- 

 tion with his brother-in-law, Henry F. French, 

 Esq, of Exeler, N. H., land with the view to in- 

 ciease its value by impiovemcnts. Upon a por- 

 tion of this land, hay at the rate of two and a 

 half tons to the acre is produced, where little or 

 nothing grew before. Upon these premises these 

 gentlemen the last fall transplanted an acre of a|i- 

 ple-trees, making an excavation for each tree of 

 four feet upon thi' surface by eighteen inches in 

 depth, filling in with manure. 



Attached to the house in Waslrington upon 

 Capitol hill, which iMr. Brown purchased in a 

 slate of dilapidation and has repaired, iie has a 

 yard not exceeding six square; rods. The id)un- 

 (huice of excellent fruit produced upon this stnall 

 spot all pri'pared within the last fom- years, shows 

 what every ingeidou.s pesevering man may do to 

 gratily both the eye and the taste. The Isabella 

 grapes were produced in such abundance (hut lie 



was able to supply himself and neighbors in their 

 season. For |)lanting these, a deep excavation 

 of three feel was made in the ground: this exca- 

 vation was filled half way with oyster-shells of 

 which there is great abundance about Washing- 

 ton. Over these were laid loam and n portion 

 of comtiion manure. In the bed, the root of the 

 grape vine was laid to spring up and grow upon 

 trellises. The vines thus planted have thrown 

 out clusters of grapes of enlarged size, lengthen- 

 ed out and greatly increased in nunil)ers beyond 

 the ordinary growth. From trees set out in the 

 same plat since he owned it, Mr. B. obtained 

 peaches of the finest flavor weighing from one- 

 third to half a poimd. 



Mr. B. in his leisure moments has constriicled 

 the plan of an ample New England farm house, 

 which he believes an improvement n()on all the 

 plans hitherto published in the Albany Cultivator. 

 Of this plan he has given encouiagemenl that he 

 will furnish a drawing to be engraveil for publi- 

 cation in a future number of the Monthly Visitor. 



For the Fanner's Monthly Visitor. 

 The Galapagos Terrapin. 



To THE Editor of the Visitor: — I find in 

 the last nimd)er of your paper a very interesting 

 account of several Hibernating Animals, soii.e 

 of which was new to me. But in reading it over, 

 it brought fresh to my mind the time when 1 was 

 a sailor and visited the islands in the Pacific. 1 

 i'ound on the Galapagos islands a species of tur- 

 tle, called by those that visit these islands, terra- 

 pin. On my first voyage to these islands, liefore 

 we reaehf'd them, in a conversation with mycaji- 

 tain relative to this strange animal, (liir I had pre- 

 viously known nothing of it,) I asked him if they 

 lived entirely on the land ? His answer was in 

 the affirmative, saying they were as much a land 

 animal as a sheep (which I found to be a fact.) 

 1 then askeil whether their blood was warm or 

 cold? which be was unprepared to answer. He 

 called the mate to see ii' he could inform him, 

 but the latter could not tell. I then made a min- 

 ute of it in the log-book, to remind me when ii 

 terrapin was taken on board to ascertain the fact, 

 whether the blood was hot or cold; and to my 

 surprise found it the same tem|)eratine of the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere — yet breathing the same 

 air of all warm-blooded animals, while theirs is 

 cold. In approaching a high latitude, their blood 

 vibrates more tardily, and when to the freezing 

 point it ceases to circulate, and they die. 



Little is known of this strange animal except 

 by those who visit the islands. At some seasons 

 (the dry season) ihey aie very fat and fine; but 

 in the rail y season, they are full ol' water and 

 poor, having taken on board n sufficient stock of 

 water to last six months, all of which has been 

 drawn up through tfieir nostrils, that being their 

 mode of drinking. At the close of the dry sea- 

 son, tile hags that have contained water heconio 

 lilt, not unlike the leaf of a well liittcil hog. It is 

 as sweet and as fine, for some purposes, as any 

 lard can he ; but for shortening pastry it has not 

 the qualities of butter or lard, for instead of ma- 

 king pastry better, it so hardens ami toughens it 

 that it is impossible to eat it. 1 have said above 

 that they draw all their water thronsih their nos- 

 trils; they do not masticate their food, but bite 

 it off and swalliiw it. They do not lieiu-; for 

 when 1 have had them on board my ship, and 

 thi'y have laid with their heads slrelcbed out, I 

 have taken my trumpet and hailed them as near 

 by as possible, but they wouhl not move until 

 touched. 



1 have one thing more to mention relative to 

 this strange animal. I have had them remain on 

 hoard my ship twelve months without e.-ilmg any 

 riling, walking abou' the ship daily ; hut after re- 

 maining so long without food, tiiey are much 

 lighter than when first taken on board. I have 

 had them when they would cat and driid< reiiular- 

 Iv. Three years since, 1 had one brought home 

 to me. I put him in my yanl wIkmc be cat gras.s 

 for a time. When our pears began to lidl, I gave 

 him a dozen or more daily. He ale them freely 

 for two months, when 1 killed him and found him 

 very fine — equal to any meat I ever tasteil. 



1 huve here given a short description of this 



