Qll)t laxnuts Jllontl)li) bisitor. 



101 



One caution should be adileil for tliose wlio 

 plant laige seeds eneased in a iliy shell, as for in- 

 stance, tlie lioise-chesiiiit. In llie wild stale tliey 

 di'o|i as soon as ripe into moist nmnld where they 

 leniain till germination conmieuces. IC packed 

 up and kept dry a ("ew weeks, (hey will scarcely 

 ever grow. No difficulty of this kind will, liow- 

 ever, occur if they are packed in moderately 

 moist muck from the woods as soon as mature, 



T. 



The Uee.— The sting of the hunjble hee is not 

 otdy severe, hut he can sting many times in suc- 

 cession, ns he does not lose his sting in the ope- 

 ration. The honey hee, on the contrary, buries 

 his sling deep in the flesh of n person or animal, 

 and ns he tears himself away, he leaves the ex- 

 tremity of his body, and tears ont a part of Ids 

 entrails; and thouuh lie may retm-n to the hive, 

 he is soon killed hy his tellows, as useless, or he 

 soon dies. If a [lerson uses leather gloves, or 

 mittens, in managing bees, when there is danger 

 of their stinging, they lose their lives if they sting 

 in the leather. We once connled fifty stings in 

 a pair of leather gloves after going amoug^bees 

 that were enraged. So many lives were lost, 

 which induced us afterwards to use very thick' 

 fringed woolen mittens, and when the bees sttui" 

 these, they conid withdraw their stings wilhou't 

 injury, as there was not enough firinness in the 

 material to hold the sting, which has beard or 

 barhs, like those of a tish hook, that prevent their 

 easy extraction.— iJos/on Cult. 



Hints to Farmers.— The fiirmer's life is shun- 

 ned by many because it seems to be one of mind- 

 less drudgery. It ought not so to be. If our 

 (armers woidd study and reflect more, they might 

 do less hard labor, and yet accomplish more in 

 the course of a year. Ten horns' work in sum- 

 ■jiier, and eight in winter, ought, with good man- 

 agement, to give any njan a good living. He who 

 works so hard that he cannot read or reflect af- 

 ter the labors of the day are over, because of la- 

 ligue, does not plan wisely. Let no man shun 

 work when work is to be done ; delve, delve, for- 

 ever, is not the end of man's life. The farmer's 

 evenings should be devoted to mental acquire- 

 ment and rational eiijoynjenl. To sup anri tum- 

 ble into bed is a hog's lashion, and highly injuri- 

 ous to health. But let a farmer have about him 

 the choicest works of his own auxiliary avoca- 

 tions ; let these form the subject of 8lu<ly and 

 conversations at least two evenings in a week, 

 while the newspaper, the newest and oldest vol- 

 ume, each have their allotled sea.sons. Two or 

 three dollars, conuihuled hy each family in a 

 neighborhood or district, would go a great way in 

 the purchase of standard hooks at modern prices. 

 These are hut hints which each reader will mod- 

 ify as his judgment shall suggest. I plead only 

 for the essential thing of making home pleasant, 

 and IIS hom-s of relaxatioir will lie hours of in- 

 struction also. — H. Greeley. 



From the Genesee t'armer. 

 Analysis of Soils. 



Every month's experience brings to our notice 

 some new facts, illustrative of the great practical 

 value of chemical researches into the properties, 

 and capabilities of dift'eient soils. A few weeks 

 since, Air. P. Risdoi|,h, of West Bloomlield, left 

 at our office samples of the surface and subsoil 

 of a firm belonging to him in Oswci 

 alioni30 miles north of Rome. The; 

 ire so unlike all soils in this 



minerals. In the latter there were 1.24 grains 

 of alumina and iron witli traces of sulphuric and 

 phosphoric acids. Of lime there was 85 grains ; 

 soluble silica O.IGgraiiis, beside traces of magne- 

 sia and (lolasb. All these alkaline and other min- 

 erals doubtless came from the 180 grains of veg- 

 etable mould which the 3000 grains of surface 

 soil contained. 



We had only promised to examine the surface 

 soil of Mr. R., charging him but $2 for a week's 

 (irofessional labor. But our curiosity was deeply 

 excited to find out the source of the lime and 

 potash in the liipitd with which we had washed 

 the surface soil. Instead of fusing the 97 per 

 cent, of silica to search for lime, potash and soda, 

 locked up in the shape of insoluble silicates, 

 (where doubtless they could be found) we thought 

 that lime must exist somewhere in the subsoil in 

 a more available form. Accordingly we searched 

 there for it. 100 grains of subsoil gave 



Water of absorption, 2.37 



Organic matter, 2.55 



Silica, 89.00 



AluininJand Oxide of Iron, 5.44 



Lime, .50 



Magnesia and Potash, (traces.) 

 Loss, .]4 



100.00 



1000 grains of this earth gave us 5 grains of 

 lime, I grain of magnesia, also half u grain of pot- 

 ash and soda. 



The reader has now a right to ask, " What im- 

 portant practical truths do the above facts dis- 

 close .•"' 



We answer: First, that the surface soil is sour, 

 contains an excess of saiid (silicic acid,) and lacks 

 lime, alumina, potash and soda. 



Secondly, That the application of leached ash- 

 es and stiff clay will improve the texture of the 

 soil mechanically, as well as chemically — render- 

 ing it less liable to leach, and lose any inaniire or 

 other fertilizers that may be applied to it. 



Thirdly, That rfec^ p/oug-Aing, by bringing up 

 the lime and alumina from the subsoil, will, with 



?o county, 

 pse specimens 

 ., , , , pa" of the State, 



that ihey may he studied hy our readers with prof- 

 It, who would he well informed on the siilijcct 

 ot improving poor lands. 



The surface earth had 3 per cent, of moi.stme, 



. anil of organic, comlmstihle matter in it. These 

 removed, 100 grains of the mineral elenienls <'ave 

 97 of hue silicious sand, which was iiisohihle in 

 boihng hydrochloric acid. T!iu other three grains 

 were alumina and iron, uitli bare traces of Lime 

 and magnesia. 3000 grains of this snrfiice soil 

 as It came from the field, were steeped in pure 

 ram water as it comes from the clouds, warmed 



. to about blood heat, for a week. The liquid was 

 higlily colored and sour, or had an acid re-action. 

 It was carefully filtced (a slow process,) and 

 evaporated to .Iryness. Its residuum weighed 

 5.60 grains. Of this dry matter 3.20 grains were 

 humus, hnmic acid, or some other combustible 

 substance; and 2.40 grains were incombustible 



the use of a heavy roller, improve the land 



Fourthly, That unleached ashes will be of pe- 

 culiar value to correct the acidity of the soil, and 

 increase the solubility of the siind. For the fact 

 must not be overlooked that 3000 grains of this 

 sandy soil gave to rain water, as it fiills from the 

 heavens, but one-sixth of a grain of soluble sili- 

 ca. How to dissolve silica, or a flint tumbler, so 

 as to supply this important element in corn stalks, 

 and the stems of timothy, oats, and wheat, is what 

 the reader should learn in this lesson, if he does 

 not already imderstand liovv nature operates in 

 this mailer. The presence of the alkalies, pot- 

 ash, or soda, is indispensable in the soil, to aid in 

 dissolving fine particles of silicious sand. 



Fifthly, The analyses we have made show, that 

 crops which have long roots, reaching to the sub- 

 soil, like clover, corn, beans, parsneps and car- 

 rots, and extracting therefrom lime and other al- 

 kaline minerals, are better adapted to this open 

 soil than short-rooted plants, which draw their 

 nourishment from the surface soil exclusively. 

 These crops should be fed to sheep, cows, and 

 other domestic animals on the fields, that their 

 treading Upon the land may make it more com- 

 pact, whilst their droppings will add lerlilizing 

 elements drawn alike from the subsoil and the 

 atmosphere. 



The application of 10 bushels of unleached 

 ashes, C of lime, 3 of salt, 1 of gypsum, and 1 

 of burnt bones, well pulverized, to an acre of this 

 land, will greatly increase its productiveness. It 

 will be much better for sheep to eat clover, or 

 any other crop, on the land, and leave the manure 

 thereon, than to plough in green plains of almost 

 any kind to ferment and .?our without the correc- 

 tion of alkalies. 



Clover, peas, beans, carrots, tiirneps, potatoes, 

 oats and corn, are the crops on which we should 

 mainly rely 011 this farm, provided tiie speci«iens 

 sent us are fair samples of the soil ou its gsaeial 

 surface. 



CoMEOSTi.NG. — The practice of composting, 

 thouijh one of the highest practical importance 

 to the farming Interests of this country, is never- 

 theless one that has unfortunately attained but a 

 limited adoption among farmers, and especially 

 among those whose scenes of operation are more 



er as yet been pei-mitted to shed the luinen of its 

 amending light. , 



Every thing of a vegetable origin, is capable 

 of becoming food for plants, and conserpiently is 

 valuable in the business of composting. The in- 

 condite farmer, as he looks down upon the dry 

 anil adust moss which so scantily clothes with 

 bristle-like fiiliage the surface of the sterile fen, 

 or the defied rock, is ready to inquire how such 

 productions can be rendered of value; or how 

 the bnnlm, from which every particle of succu- 

 lence lias been extracted, or the dry leaves of the 

 forest, whirled abroad as if rejected by nature, 

 by the autumn winds, can be rendered servicea- 

 ble in the great labor of enriching the soil, of im- 

 parting vigor or sustenance to his crops. 



All vegetable fibrous matters consist of carbon, 

 hydrogen and oxygen; three principles which 

 may be regarded with propriety as strictly indis- 

 (lensable to vegetable life. In one hundred parts 

 of this substance we accordingly find by analy- 

 sis, of 



Carbon, 

 Oxygen, 

 Hydrogen, 

 Plants are, however, made np of other matters 

 besides^ire ; niirogen is one of their essential 

 constituents. This is sometimes called vegeta- 

 ble albumen ; and the ilecomposition of this im- 

 portant ingredient of the vegetable economy, 

 gives rise to another substance, viz. ammonia, 

 which is itself a compound of nitrogen and hy- 

 drogen. This is a gaseous and highly soluble' 

 substance, and an invariable constituent of Ajimus, 

 the presence of which in every soil is perhaps 

 the true source of high and sustained fertility, 

 and which it is the object, of all eoin|>osting ope- 

 rations to produce. — Maine Farmer. 



52.5 



42.3 



5.2 



From the Gardener's Cfironicje. 

 The Principles of Praning. 



The general principles of pruning, as distin- 

 guished from handword, are few in number, and 

 among the easiest of all things to understand ; 

 but their application is manifold, often difficult, 

 and always special. Forexample, it is an axiom 

 that hard pruning produces barrenness, and that 

 slight pruning lead* to productiveness; a second 

 well known law is that the removal of one bud 

 or branch strengthens another; a third law teach- 

 es us, that to stop a branch by cutting away its 

 extremity, compels what is left to produce side 

 branches, which might not have o.herwise ap- 

 peared. Then again, the necessity for using the 

 pruning-knife is often obviated by the employ- 

 ment of the finger and thumb; that is to say, a 

 young branch may be prevented from appearing 

 hy pinching off its bud as soon as it begins to 

 push, as well as liy first allowing it to grow, and 

 then removing it—and belter. All these, and all 

 such, facts are plain to the meanest capacity ; the 

 difficulty is how to apply_ them, and when, and 

 where. The answer to such questions is only to 

 be found in experience, and in a very careful ex- 

 amitiation of the peculiar mode of growth of each 

 species of tree to be operated on. For no two 

 species of tree can be found of which it is the 

 nature to grow, and flower, and fruit, exactly in 

 the same way, and every variation in the manner 

 of growing, flowering, and fruiting, demands a 

 corresponding variation in the mode of applying 

 the principles of pruning. 



We know,, indeed, of but one general fact 

 which may be, we would rather say should be, 

 •nvariably alleuded to, and that is the universal 

 necessity of keeping branches thin. Light in 

 abundance, and the fi eest circulation of air among 

 leaves, are of vital importance to all plants ; but 

 these cannot he secured unless the branches are 

 left thin. A crowd of branches implies a crowd 

 of leaves, and in a crowd leaves can neither 

 breathe nor perspire, nor feed ; in fact they are 

 smothered. But when they stand well apart, they 

 breathe freely, perspire profusely, and feed inces- 

 santly ; the result of which consists in fine, 

 strong, stiff shoots, and dark green fat leaves, in- 

 stead of s|>indling twigs and yellow weasened fo- 

 liage. 



It is true that this statement appears at first 

 sight to he op|)osed to a common physiological 

 axiom that the health of a plant is in proportion 

 to the number of its leaves; because it is proba- 

 ble that n well thinned liuit tree will have much 

 fewer leaves than a plant left to grow wild. But 



interior, and unon whose paths the press Iv . 'v- • the axiom alluded to is nut in inexact words 



