^[)t banner's iHoutl)li) Visitor. 



27 



three tliousaiiddeckcd vessels are einployed in the hcr- 

 riiii; fisheries idone on the se.is and oi:c.]n, iioilli of 

 Si-olliind. Thousands and lliousiinds of liaiius lhi;s liiid 

 employment in catching and curing tlveni. Klvby, a 

 very interesting writer, s.iys the herring may be said to 

 inh ihit the Arctic seas oC Dnropc, Asia and America, 

 from whence ihey annually migrate at difierent seasons 

 of the year in sean-h of food and to deposilc their 

 sp-iwn. Their shoals eonsi.^t of millions of myriads, 

 and arc many leagues in width, many fathoms in thick- 

 ness, and so dense that the lishes touch each other; 

 they ore preceded at the interval of some days liy in- 

 sulated males. Tlie largest and strongest are said to 

 lead ihc slioals, vvhit'h seem to move in a certain order 

 and to divide into bands as they proceed, visiting the 

 FJiores of various isl.mils and countries and enriching 

 their inhabitants. Their presence and progress are 

 usually indicated by various sea-birds, shinUs and oth- 

 er enendes. One of the cartilaginous lishes, (called 

 the sea ape) is said to ac-onipmy them constantly, 

 and is hence called the king of thj herrings. They 

 throw oft', also, a kind of oily or slimy substance, which 

 extends over iheir columns, anil is easily seen in calm 

 weather. This substance, in gloomy, still nights, ex- 

 hibits a phosphoric light, as if a cloth, a little luminous, 

 were spread over the sea. 



Some conjecture may be. made of the infinite num- 

 ber of these invaluable (islies, that are taken by Euro- 

 pean nations, from what Lacaptdo relates — that in 

 Norway t're/ily inillioin iiavc been taken at a single 

 fishing; thai there are few years that tliey do not cap- 

 ture /'oii>' hundred 7n;7/io«s, and that at Gottenburg 

 and its vicinity, seven hundred millions are annually 

 taken. Cut what are these millions, he asks, to (he 

 incredible numbers that go to the share of the English, 

 Dutch and other European nations ? 



It must be observe<l that these are a somewhat diirer- 

 ent fish from what we call rilctoivcs, hut are generally- 

 known in our markets by the name of " F.nglish Her- 

 rings." migration of these {English Herring,) Kirby 

 observes, takes placo on that coast at three dillerent 

 tinjes of the year. TIte first, when the ice begins to 

 melt, which continues to the end of June; then suc- 

 ceeds that of summer, followed by tiie autumnal one, 

 which lasts till the middle of September. They seek 

 |>l.ices for spawning, ulicro stones and marine plants 

 abound, against which tbey rub themselves, alternate- 

 ly, on each side, all the while moving their fins with 

 gre.it rapidity. — 3A'. Farmer. 



Limestone. — Lime, on .eoiiie lands, i.s iiiilis- 

 jipti.sai)|8 to siiccessf«lcn!tivaiion. Tlim-e are 

 some soils — partir.ulaily tlio light arennceons 

 sorts, wliicli lotiiiiie it as an alterant, and uhicli, 

 williont it, would scarcely lerijiiiieiate one lor 

 tlif cost of ctiltivaling tliein. Yet iiidis|)eiisalde 

 as is this mineral, it is nevcrtlieiess one that 

 slionld be a|i|)licd with rxntme caution. Ae- 

 . cordiiiif to Air. Hcadrick, in tjie Fanners Maga- 

 zine, limestones differ nincli in quality, and this 

 dilt'erence — of vital coi>se(|nence to the practical 

 agrictdiniist, often amouiiLs to ficin sirJij to eigh- 

 ty-five per cent. 



•■ l-'arifieis," oliserves a wntec in one of the 

 tno.-t popular aiid and scientific English agriiud- 

 tutal journals " gonerally-estniiate the value of 

 limestone, hy the (piantily ol«slacked lime pro- 

 <!uced lioni a given fniantity of burnt lims-.'itone 

 or shell.-:, as it is usually called ; the pulverized 

 of the shells (best) being thr^; limes the measure 

 of tl^e sii<>i!s." 



The character of the lime, liowever, may he 

 ■easily ascertained by a (vimple chemical process 

 ■■—all calcareous matter is »iUible in nnnialiir 

 ;icid, and that lime is best xvliicli deposites the 

 ieast se<!imeiit. — Mc, Farmer. 



PkOM1SI.\G I^DfC.lTIO.NS IN CaTTLE. WliCll a 



iieifor lias arriveil ;it the ase of one year and a 

 iialf or two years, a good j;i<lge will he nidi; to 

 <ielcrndne (iretty acesnaltly whether she will be 

 worth lieepii'.g, parlicularly if she is with caKl — 

 The tirst and most ijnpoitaut indication is a hu L'e 

 tnlder; for if this is tiot capacious the cow caii 

 never lie great for milk. 



The next point is, good teats, well set fiom 

 «;arli other. These and the u<lder should he of a 

 yellow cast, for a yellow, or a mahogany color, is 

 a good indication that the milk will be ricli. It 

 is a good sign in a lieiier to have the skin about 

 tiie ndder loose and flabby; for if it is light and 

 sleek t'lcio will be a w;>ni of material lo ibnii the 

 udder; it can never bctupacious eiiougli to hold 

 a large mess. 



As to the general form of the animal it is less 

 important, for we often find tlic most ill-looking 

 ■aninjals giving the largest mess of milk. Yet it 

 is inijiortant tliat sije Jiave a good broati chest, for 



here arc the Inngs; and capacious lungs arc indi- 

 cative of heallli and hardiness. 



A siiudi head, small horns, a straight back, short 

 legs, a bright eye, a small and yellow no.^e, a yel- 

 low circle about the eye, are idl indicatimis id' a 

 good cow. No man can determine with absolute 

 certainly what kiinl of cou a young beili^r will 

 make. 15nt those who have for a long time [laid 

 jittenlion to the subject, and h.avc repc'atedly call- 

 ed into (Xi-rcise llii;ir (iicnilics of judging, will be 

 able to determine pretty well whether a heifer is 

 worth trying. 



If stock is 10 be purchased from the country it 

 is better lo buy h'^ilers than cow.s. ]!uy such as 

 have never been Irii-il ami yon stand ;< chance to 

 possess lli(" best ; but if you buy cows that have 

 been milked one snnnncr you must gi\e a high 

 price for them if Ihey are superior cattle. 



After I'roving heifers for one season they may 

 be turned ofl' liu' beef in case they fail to .answer 

 your expeclatimis. There is less lo.-s in this than 

 in buying cows that have been proved. 



Another advantage arises from the practice of 

 purchasing heil(;rs instead of cow.s. Yon will 

 see that they arc; properly treated and milked, and 

 you will not sniler them lo acquire any had hab- 

 its v.lien ihcy are young. 



Yours respecilidlv, 



VV. B. 

 — Maine Cultivator. 



Lime. — LiniC, commoidy called calcareous 

 earth, is never fomid naturally in a pure state, but 

 in coudiinaliou with the acitis — chielly with the 

 carbonic, for which it has so strimg an afiiuily 

 that it alUacts it from the almosphere. The biu'ii- 

 iiig of limeslone is tmderlaken for no other pur- 

 pose ihan to expel by lical this g:is, and reiluce 

 the base lo a causlic powder, in which state it has 

 a strong tendency lo absorb first nioisluro, and 

 then the carbonic acid of which it luul been de- 

 prived. Lime bleniis the qualities of cl.iy and 

 sand, occupying a middle place between the two. 

 In its can.-tic slate it is a powerful |.roir.oter of 

 putrefaction, or decomposer of .anlmai and vege- 

 table matlci', to which circumstance is owim;, in 

 a ccrlain exient, ils eliicacy as a manure. Lime 

 also helps to fix the carbonic acid which is gen- 

 erated by the fermentaticm of putrescent manures 

 in the soil, or which floats in the air on the sur- 

 face (if the earth, and it freely inqiarls Ihis gas, 

 in union wiib water, lor the nourishmentof plains. 

 Lime is therel'oi'e an exceedingly valuable ing"e- 

 dient to the farmer; and, accordingly, wherever 

 agricidtnre is carried on with spirit.it is e.-igerly 

 sought , after, lhouj;h it sometimes bears a very 

 high price. — Chamlers' Iitfonnationfor ihc People. 



The Human Ski.%. — Very few of us indeed arc 

 aware of ihe nature of the covering of our own 

 bodies. We see a "soft, sumolh, pfMUt mem- 

 brane, which invests Ihe xvhole of the e.xlerunl 

 siu'face of the body, fcdlowing all its prominen- 

 ces;" but we know not, till the researches of sci- 

 ence, which have reaclieil only a few, inform ns, 

 that the whole of the ^terior of the body, all iis 

 cavities and hmn|rs, are invested wilh a similar, 

 or rather the same covering. The skin passes, 

 as at the lips or eyelids, into iimcons mcudirane, 

 and one becomes the other, as it is wholly exclu- 

 ded Irmn or exposed to the free action of the at- 

 mosphere. I'y its surliiee in the interior ;md on 

 the exterior are all the funclions of nuiiiiion and 

 decay, of health iuni disea^ic, of ajipetite and sen- 

 sation, carried on. Its chaiiL'ing action, accord- 

 ing to circumstances, in every climate and tem- 

 perature, keeps the body at one nearly imiform 

 licat. It is subject to many diseases. Life has 

 been sustained by food iaihibcd at its cxlerior 

 poies, the disea.se which kills and the medicine 

 which cures may both enter the same openings. 

 It conducts electricity, that niystcnon.s, invisible 

 and intangible agency, by which we are surround- 

 ed, and on the ilidiision of which In ailb is de- 

 pendent, into or out of every part of tiie frame. 

 It is at once the great eia eloping and secretary 

 organ of the whole body, and the immediala 

 means, except as lo color, by wdiicb we coinmn- 

 nicale with the external world. It ca.'i beconie, 

 accordingly, the substitute for otir least glorious, 

 but not the least useful organs, sticli ;is the kitl- 

 neys, and is the moans of conveying lo us nearly 

 all that we have ever learned of the glorious uni- 

 verse. 



Ils struclure is not less wonderful liiaji ils uses. 



It is composed of two layers; one horny and in- 

 sensible, the other highly sensilive ; the "hitler be- 

 ing the acinal and universal organ of feeling, and 

 the other varying in thickness as it covers an ex- 

 posed or hidden part, ils ever ailendant gii.ird 

 and proleciion. Kach of these layers is ol a dif- 

 ferent, ihou^h analo;;ous sirnclure, and pel lin-nis 

 ditrereiil oflices. IJoth are conliiinally rencHed, 

 yet each preserves Ibrever ils oun di.stinct prop- 

 erties. The sensilive skin is so full of nerves and 

 blood-vessels, of which the .scarf skin is digesled, 

 that It is sciircely postible to insert a needle in 

 any pari of the whole body, vviihout causing pain 

 and a flow of blood. Its surface is uneven, to in- 

 crease ils cxlfMit and ninlliply ils power. Ils pa- 

 pilla-, microscopic In size, by which the eiihuge- 

 menl of the surhicc is proviih'd for, and each 

 conipo.'^cd i)fa h;iir-like vessel and a minute nerve, 

 several limes bent upon lliemselves. In every 

 part of it there are perspiratory lubes, with iitlen- 

 da-it glands, lernriii.-iliiig on ihe surface in a pore. 

 To give one siriking example of iis exiraordinary 

 slrucinre, we may menliou ihat Mr. Wilson has 

 counted ;i,5'28 of iliese pores in a square inch on 

 the palm of ihe hand: and each tube, of which 

 the pore is an opening, being a qnarler of an inch 

 long, it follows, thai in a square inch of skin on 

 Ihe p:dm of Iht^ hand, there exists a length <if tube 

 equ.d lo 8S2 inches. — 73 feet. In other pans of 

 the body the pores are not so nnnierous. "Tak- 

 ing 2i"00 as a fair averaL'e for each square inch 

 siu'liice in a man of ordinary licif;hl, the number 

 of pores will he 7,000.000, and Ihe length of per- 

 spiralory tube 1,750,000 inches, or nearly 28 

 miles." Well m.iy Mr. Wilson say, that of this 

 wonderful covering-, which ignorance and brutal- 

 ity even yet fetter, scourge and brand, we are 

 wofiilly igni;rant, and science cnnnot be better 

 employed than in ascerlainiug ils pioperties and 

 in leaching us how it may be best preserved. — 

 The lijrmer has been fiir several years the great 

 oljcci of fdr. Wilson's assidiions researches; the 

 latter is ihe immediale object of his present work 

 entilled "A Healthy Skin," — a work which can- 

 not be too highly priz<-d. lie has here metho- 

 dized his own discoveries and ihe discoveries of 

 oilier physiologists and anatomisi.s, and given u.s 

 a practical treatise on the means of procuring and 

 preserviiig a heallhy skin. AVbcii we remeniber 

 that 10 this end we erect and preserve dwellings 

 and nianulai-inre cloihing — a large proportion of 

 ihe labors of the commnnity having that for ils 

 object, it being in importance second only lo sup- 

 plying ns wilh food (if, in the wond.'rful econo- 

 my ol' nature, any one p,-ul can be said !o In; only 

 secondary)— we conclude that we can scarcely 

 overrate the value of such researches as those 

 of Mr. Wilson, and Ihe pr.aclical lessons he ha.'? 

 successfully deduced liom them. — JcrrohCs Mag- 

 azine. 



CuLTivA-rioM OF THE Cranberiiy. — VVc linvc 

 been furnished by the Rev. 11. 15. llolmeiJ, of Aii- 

 burn,Worcester Co., Mass., wilh Ihe following ex- 

 iracls Iroin a letter received by bim ii-om a friend, 

 in regaril to ihe culture of the cranberry. 



" Isl. You must not think of sowing the seed 

 — bul set out ihe roots. 



"2d. You wish lo kuo\v how to prepare the 

 ground. It is imporlant ihat you contrive some 

 way to prevent and destroy Ihe growth of ihe 

 gra.-s and bushes, if there are any. This can be 

 done either by ploughing, burning, paring or cov- 

 ering wilh gravel. 



"3d. How to set out ihc roots. Al'ier the land 

 is prepared, procure your roois in bunches about 

 as large .-is it is convenient to lake up wilh a com- 

 mon shovel. It is imporlant to be careful in ta- 

 king up Ihe roots. Have a sharp shovel or spade, 

 so as 1(1 disturb ihem as liule as possible, and 

 lurn aside ihe vines, so as not to cut them ofl! — 

 Dig a place in your prepared ground about ihe 

 size of your bunches of roots and set them in. 

 You can have tjieni about as near ns hills of In- 

 dian cor.'i .usually ore, or neiuer if' you please. 

 Tiie nearer ihey are the sooner ihey will cover 

 ihe ground. They are nol diflicnit to make live, 

 hut ilic brller you prepare the gromul, and the 

 more carefully yon set them oui, the better they 

 will flourish. 



" 4lh. As to the time of setting ibem out. This 

 may be done in the autiiiuii or spring ; but I 

 should lueliu- ihe spring; because when set out 

 in the auiiimn, the I'rost is apt to throw ihein out 

 of their place. This however can be prevented 



