^l)c farmer's ilTontl)!)) IJisitor. 



ci 



the purpose ; in iliy weather give occasional 

 waterings. Many of the seeds will come up the 

 first yeur, unil the hulance will make their ap- 

 peniatice in the secon/l ; tlie third year they can 

 he transplanted to beds or rows to remain till 

 they bloom, whidi will generally be the fourth or 

 fifth year. It is truly nstonishiiig to fete the vari- 

 ety produced — red aiul white, ro^^e and pink, may 

 all he seen springing from seeds of the same 

 plant, and from single to the most double; none 

 l)ut such as are of the finest form, very prolific, 

 and posses.^ing a good habit, shoidd be reserved 

 for cidture. Our climate is so favorable to the 

 m.'ituring of seed that there is no reason why we 

 should not only equal, but surpass, any European 

 country in the cultivation of this "Queen of 

 Flowers." 



The blooming of seedlings can be readily has- 

 tened where time and convenience will admit. — 

 As soon as the young plants have made three or 

 four leaves, lift ihem very carefully from the seed- 

 bed with n transplanting trowel, and put them n 

 pots of rich light earth; then place them in the 

 shade and give a gentle watering and sprinkling 

 over the leaves for a few weeks, when they may 

 be planted into the ground to remain. 1 have in 

 this way grown plants eighteen inches high the 

 first season. They will, by this method, general- 

 ly bloom the third year. The seeds are covered 

 with a thick tough shell, which, if allowed to get 

 perleetly dry, and kept in that state for a consid- 

 erable period, will take two years to gerniinale, 

 and perhaps not grow at all ; regular moisture 

 appears to lie indispensable for keeping the shell 

 soft and exciting the embryo plant into growth. 

 The seeds are on this accoimt providentially fur- 

 nished with a fleshy pericarp{hip) to prevent their 

 becoming too dry for germination, while all other 

 seeds do not germinate well imless dried before 

 Bowing. — Buisl's Rose Manual. 



Hints TO Farmers. — There are some things 

 that farmers ought to know. 



Sheep put into fresh stables are aj)! to be kil- 

 led by eating too much grain. 



A bare pasture enriches not the soil, nor fattens 

 the anin)als, nor increases the wealth of the ow- 

 ner. 



One animal well fed is of more value than two 

 poorly kept. 



The better animals can be fed, and the more 

 comfortable they can be kept, the more profitable 

 they are — and all farmers work for profit 



Ground once well ploughed is better tUan 

 thrice poorly. 



Bountiful crops are more profitable than poor 

 ones. Make the soil rich : pidverize it well, and 

 keep it clean, and it generally will be productive. 



VVeeds that grow unmolested around the ("eti- 

 ces, stumps and stones, scatter the seeds over the 

 farm, and are likely to grow. 



Cows well fed in winter give more milk in 

 summer. An ox that is in good condition in the 

 spring, will perform more labor, and stand the 

 heat of summer much belter than one that is poor. 



When you see the fence down put it up ; if it 

 remain* until to-morrow the cattle may get over. 



What ought to be done to-day, do i' : for to- 

 morrow it may rain. 



A strong horse will work all day without food, 

 but keep him at it, and he will not last long. 



A rich soil will produce good crops without 

 Dianure, but keep at it and it will tire. 



Farmers sons had better learn to hold the plow," 

 and feed pigs, than measure tape and count but- 

 tons. 



Young ladies who have the good fortune to 

 become farmers wives will find it more prolitable 

 to know how to make Johnny-cakes, butter and 

 cheese, than to play on the piano. 



All who wish to be rich, must spend less than 

 they earn. 



Do NOT MIX TOUR POTATOES. — Perhaps it may 

 not he known to every person who raises pota- 

 toes to sell, that, in the New York markets, there 

 is one half difference in the price. This is not 

 always owing to the superiority of one variety 

 over another, but the fancy or preference of the 

 buyer for his favorite kind. Some are parli.il to 

 the pink eyes — some to the kidneys, while others 

 prefer lite Carter, the black, Diceman's seedlings, 

 iiliie noses, lady's fingers, &c. all of which have 

 their excellencies, and when brought to market 

 by themselves, will always be sure to find a ready 



sale ; but when mixed one with the other, ma- 

 ny house keepers will not buy them at all. We 

 had ujany orders last spring lor particular kinds 

 of seed potatoes; and, in many instances had 

 much Iroublo; in one or two cases, we were obli- 

 ged to sort out the kinds wanted, in the hold of 

 a vessel. We cannot too earnestly enjoin upon 

 all growers of this inestimable vegetable to culti- 

 vate each variety on a separate piece of ground, 

 or to sort them at the time o( digging, which will 

 be attended with a veiy little additional expense, 

 but will well compensate them for their trouble. 

 — Alhan\] Cultivator. 



Why the Ocean is salt. 



The saltness of the ocean has usually been re- 

 garded as a special provision of nature to guard 

 against certain inconveniences which might oth- 

 erwise have resulted. The presence of so much 

 saline matter in solution depresses the (iet zing 

 point of the water many degrees, thereby dimin- 

 ishing the dangerous facility with which fields of 

 ice are prodticed in the polar regions. It has 

 been sai<l, also that the salt is useful in checking 

 evaporation, and also that it aids in preventing 

 the corruption of the water by the accumulation 

 of animal and vegetable remains. Without for a 

 moment ([uestioning the incidental benefits resid- 

 tiiig from the circumstances under discussion and 

 which in one case at least are quite obvious, it 

 may be suggested that the saltness of the sea 

 may be considered rather an inevitable result of 

 the present disposition of things, than a special 

 arrangement expressly intended to fulfil certain 

 particular objects. 



The rain that lidls upon the earth is due to the 

 condensation of aqueous vapor previously exist- 

 ing in the atmosphere, and which is supplied in 

 a great part by evaporation from the siirface of 

 the sea — the air of the latter compared with that 

 of the land being very great, necessarily so per- 

 haps, to furnish this requisite extent of evapora- 

 ting surface. This water as is well known, is per- 

 fectly fresh and pure, the saline constiluents of 

 the ocean having no sensible degree of volability 

 at that temperature at which the vapor had been 

 raised. No sooner, however, does it reach the 

 earth than it becomes conlaii.inated with soluble 

 substances which it meets while flowing on the 

 surface of the ground or persolating beneath. — 

 It is thus that the waters of springs and rivers 

 invariably contain a greater or less amomit of al- 

 kaline and earthy salts, which all eventually fiii»l 

 their way into the sea, and there renjain, since 

 there is no channel for their return. The same 

 condition of sea water is but an exaggeration of 

 that of ordinary lakes, rivers, and springs; the 

 materials are the same, and of necessity so; the 

 ocean being in fact, the great repository of all so- 

 luble substance which during innumerable ages, 

 have been separated by a process of washing from 

 the lanil. The case of the sea is but a ni.ignified 

 representation of what occurs in every lake into 

 which rivers flow, but from which there is no 

 outlet except by evaporation. Such a lake is in- 

 variably a salt lake. It is itr)p(>ssible that it can 

 be otherwise; ami it is ciuious to observe that 

 this condition disappears when an arllliciid oiillet 

 is provided lor the waters. It will be remem- 

 bered that the saltness of the oceaji is very liu- 

 exceeded by that of several iidand lakes of the 

 kind described. That of Aral near the Caspian, 

 and the Dead Sea in Judea, are remarkable ex- 

 am |)leB. 



The Keeping ok Eogs. — The papers annual- 

 ly contain a variety of recipes for keeping eggs 

 safely through the summer — some recommen<l- 

 ing lime, some salt, anil some dilferent mixtmes, 

 for this purpose. None of these mixtures should 

 be depended on, unless certain preliminaries are 

 attended to. The nature of the egg itself, tmd 

 of the shell in which it is enclosed, must be un- 

 derstood. An egg is an animal substance, and 

 all such subslances corrupt, on being exposed to 

 the air, in a shorter or longer time, according to 

 its heat, ni(li^lure, and electrical condition. To 

 prevent the putrefaction of the egg, it must be 

 kept fiom the free ingress of.-ilr, and suirounded 

 with some antiseptic substance. The shell is not 

 a tight, but a porous matter, allowing the trans- 

 mission of water and air with some degree of ra- 

 pidity. Hence when the egg is exposerl to the 

 atmosphere, its juices are gradually evaporated 

 through the shell, and their place supplied with 



atmospheric air; and decomposition gradually 

 takes place. If to prevent this it is packed in s dt, 

 so much of the lata'r will be absorbed as to ren- 

 der it uneatable. 



Eggs that are to be packed should be of good 

 quality. There is as much difference in the rich- 

 ness and flavor of eggs as there is in tho.se of 

 beef or mutton. ■ A liit, full egg is more likely to 

 keep well than a poor one. Then they shouhl 

 he packed when fresh. If they are kept till h«df 

 s|.oiled before being packed, it will lie a miracle 

 if they are [)res?rved well, however well put 

 down. Then they should be packed with the 

 small etui down. The \olk is inclined to .«ellle 

 on the shell ; and when this is the case, it is apt 

 to spoil. The better way is to turn the cask oc- 

 casionally from one end to the other. The cask, 

 too, should be a tight one. 



'i'he editor of, the Boston Cullivalor recom- 

 mends frmn trial the fiillnwiiig: Put into the cask 

 a layer of plasteij of Paris — first covering the bot- 

 tom of the cask /with plaster — and then alternate 

 layers of each ii« such a manner, that one shell 

 shall not touch another. He states that he liaM 

 kept them in this maimer a year perfectly good. 



The following ' mode of keeping has been pa- 

 tented in England, and extensively used in this 

 country : i 



<-)ne liushel quick lime, 

 2 Ihs.Ualt, 



h. lb. aream of Tartar, 

 mix the same to/'ether with as much water as 

 will reduce the cjimposition to consistency that 

 an egg when pnljinto it will swim. It is said lliMt 

 eggs have been kept in this way sound for two 

 years. — Prairie rtarmer. 



Mexico. 



ACBICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS OF COAHUILA. 



From the letter af an intelligent correspondeat of 

 the St. Louis Repufilican, dated " Camp San Juan de 

 Buena Vista, near ^altillo, Mexico, Feb. 10th, 1847," 

 we njake the follow|,ing extracts — the first of the agii- 

 cuUural iiioduclionsi ol Coahuila : 



The chief agiicuJtural productions from the Presidio 

 to Monclova, he sawg are corn, sugar and cotton; of 

 the lattfr, not nim;h| is grown, as there are no gins or 

 faciorics, and hut little demand for it. It grows finely, 

 the stalk being aevir killeil by the cold of winter, 'it 

 might be profitablii cultivated if there was a demand 

 for it. r 



Sugar grows finelj-, and only needs a little care and 

 adequate machinery .'to enable the iababitanls to pro- 

 duce large quantities of it. It is not grained as with 

 us, but when in syr,up is run into moulds resembling 

 small loaves of loaf sugar, called pilonces, weighing 

 about a pound. / 



f;orn grows well .\nd yields abundantly. Two crops 

 of it are made in a (year, if the occupant of the ground 

 is not too lazy to I'tend it. The first is planted in 

 March, and gathere.i^ in June and July. The second 

 is planted in July or\ jst August, and gathered in No- 

 vember and Oeceniliijer. When wc arrived at Monclo- 

 va, the 1st of Novei|U|i,er, roasting ears and green fod- 

 der were abundant jj for ourselves and horses from the 

 second crop. This hg |he principal crop of the year, 

 as it is less liable lot injury from the vicissitudes of the 

 weather than the firA.t crop. The yield of the corn is 

 about fifly bushels t't [he acre in a tilled field. With 

 good cuUurc the ii^nanlity would be increased very 

 considerably. The igi-dUs grow to an enormous height. 

 I have seen them of>|,en aronnd Monclova so tall, that 

 when silling on my ,, horse, which is full sixteen hands 

 high, I could not re;.|,ci, |he ears of corn. 



In ihe vicinity of ,,, Monclova wheat is grown. The 

 country begins to be 1 elevated, and beyond it sugar 

 cannot be profilably (raised. 



A well known physiological fact is continually pre- 

 sented to notice : tli.'l,t is, that latitude alone does not 

 govern the produclilfo,,. Wheat cannot be raised, 

 profitably or of good 'Fqualily, in Louisiana. Yet, here, 

 in latitude 25 " and 21 g = ^ several hundred miles further 

 South than Louisiana /i jj i^ grown to perfection, i'o 

 are apples and peachn'es. This is owing to the eleva- 

 tion of the country aB^jove the level of the sea. 



.\l Cienegas, a vill-„a„e fifty miles west of Monclova, 

 large quantities of e\.,,cellenl wheat are raised. Tlirre 

 arc two Houring mills , ^j Monclova, propelled by llie 

 stream which passes ibrougb the town. The best 

 Mexican flour is not i _.qual in appearance to the Ameri- 

 can article. It is gei . ,erally sold without being bolted 

 at all. We used Ian' j,g quantities of this unbolted flour 

 in Ihe army. It ma '"(gg „ verv sweet, palatable, and 

 healthy brown breai i It is, however, hard to laliO 

 down, and ihe soldii '1,5 (renerally disliked to use it, aa 

 they said they did nf' |,t |f|;e to be fed on so much bran 

 to 90 little flour. hif 



The Mexicans keun^p gm:,!! sieves in their houses, to 

 s 1 

 tn 



