^I)c llirmcr's iHontl)li) bisitov. 



83 



For^the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 



While vegetation is rapid in groAVing the air is 



more salubrious. 



Mi.xeil with the Htmospliere that we nie con- 

 stantly iiilialing is a portion of «h« deleterious 

 gas known as carbonic acid gas. This gas is ab- 

 sorbed by growing vegetation : the tarboii uniting 

 with the jnice of the plant forras the woody 

 poi'tioii and tliereby pin'ifies the uiinosplicre for 

 the respiration of animals, and contributes to 

 tlieir liealth and happiness. The olecay of vege- 

 table matter by putrefaction in the fall of the 

 year, when plants have ceased to grow not only 

 is supposed to give out a miasma iitifavorable to 

 health, but leaves the carbonic acid gas united 

 with the atmosphere to woiU its deadly influence 

 along with it. May we not ascril)e the healthi- 

 ness which is produced by di'ainii>g and cultiva- 

 tion in no small degree to the growth of vegeta- 

 tion, used for man and anrnial.s, and not left to 

 decay, and that the better lands are tilled, the 

 more fertile they are made, the healthiera neigh- 

 borhood becomes, if this be so, and that it is 

 experience every wlieie would seem to prove, 

 does it not afford another and additional induce- 

 ment to farmers for their efforts to enrich their 

 farms, and themselves at the same time .- Among 

 the benefits i)roduced by the application of lime 

 too, in addition to the fertility it imparts to the 

 soil, it is an absorbent of carbonic acid gas. 



The act of burning lime stone drives otT or 

 separates this gas from the lijiiestone and renders 

 it quick lime ; but when afterwards e.vposed to 

 the atmosphere it gradually imbibes again car- 

 bonic aciil gas in quantity equal to that lost ; and 

 this has doubtless a healthy influence upon the 

 air of the atmos|)liere. 



Almost every person likes the smell of recent- 

 ly white-washed rootns: they are usually said to 

 smell of the lime, which may be no other than 

 the improved air produced by the new lime; for 

 instead of imparting any of its bulk or substance 

 to the air actually increases in volume from the 

 atmosphere. 



Air which is offensive from putrid efHuvia 

 mixed with it is known to l)e rendered agreeable 

 by the presence ot chloride of lime, which in 

 like maiiner absorbs the gas generated f)y the de- 

 composition of animal matter. 



There is said to be a great difFeience in the 

 absorbent powers or appetites of growing vege- 

 tables for carbonic acid gas, and it has lieen con- 

 sidered that the sunflower in glowing absorbs au 

 imusual quantity. Some jjersons have so much 

 faith in the effects of the growth of this plant, 

 that they cultivate tliem in large numbers near 

 their houses, and fimcy that they contribute to 

 health and that the air is more exhilerating in 

 consequence. That the effect as far as it goes 

 is beneficial there can he little doubt; and a be- 

 lief, that goes beyond the advantages, must also 

 do good, lor the mind has a large sliare in the 

 health. 



It then m.iy be considered as a fortunate cii- 

 cunistance that well a|qilied efforts in agricul- 

 tme not only result in better health from tiic ex- 

 ertion of our hands, hut that fertile lands dift'use 

 from the vigorous growth of vegetation a heal- 

 thier atmosphere ; and tar frojn being unaccep- 

 table, fertilizes the pocket also. 



With adilitioiial inducements every day multi- 

 plying Ufion us, the papers on agriculture shed- 

 ding their light and knowledge on all sides, let 

 us go forward. We have only to do our part, 

 under the assurance "that the seed time and 

 harvest" will be continued. B. 



From the Allgemeine Zeitung. 

 Recollections ot Pekin. 



In the first few days of our residence at Pekin 

 we experienced so much inconvenience from oiu- 

 Euiopean clothing that we made all possible 

 haste to exchange it for the costunie of the Chi- 

 nese. Fortunately for us, no one here need 

 trouble himself with that care of what he shall 

 put on, and wherewithal lie shall be clothed, a 

 thing that disturbs so many a head in the more 

 intellectual capitals of Europe, for the tiuly pa- 

 ternal or maternal Government of China releases 

 its sid)jects even from this anxiety. The won- 

 derfully complex Chinese wardrobe, with all its 

 divisions and subdivisions, is subjected to cer- 

 tain rigid and ini'aiiahle laws, and not to the 

 ever-changeful caprices of fashion. The vicissi- 

 tudes of the season determine the regular peri- 



odical changes of dress, and they are observed 

 with the same punclual obedience as the dictates 

 of the fickle deity by the fiiir "liormes" of Paris 

 or London. Theie i.s no room either for the 

 feeling of irreverent mirth, with which we are 

 sometimes disposed to regard the cut of our 

 gL-andfiitbei-'s coat — for grandfather, father and 

 son are all habited in garments of tlie same fash- 

 ion — and an Imperial proclamalioii announces to 

 the lieges of the Celestial En>pjrc when the iime 

 has arrived for exchanging the costmne of spring 

 f()r that of summer, and that again for what be- 

 fits the aututnn. One point, however, has been 

 left imguarded. IJke Achilles, they are vulnei-- 

 able in the heel, and the fasliion of shoes is C04i- 

 tinually varying. 



We no sooner found ourselves equipped in full 

 Chinese costume, as by law established, than we 

 sallied forth in a small bii-ed chaise to gratify 

 our curiosity with a sight of Pekin. We drove 

 fiast the palace of the Emperoj-, who, however, 

 only passes the winter here, but the spring, simi- 

 mer, and autumn at a country residence, twelve 

 miles oft' the capital. The town palace occupies 

 an immense space, and consists of a vast as- 

 semblage of houses of one story high, covered 

 with tiles. Each of these is separate, and has 

 its particular destination. In one, the Emperor 

 lives; in another, transacts business; a third 

 is the residence of^ the Empress; a fourth of the 

 widow of the deceased Emperor; a fifth con- 

 tains the concubines of the reigning sovereign ; 

 a sixth those of the departed one ; others are in- 

 habited by their children, eunuchs, and atten- 

 dants in countless swarms. Each house is sur- 

 rounded with a Idgh wall, within which none 

 may enter without permission. These are again 

 enclosed in one general wall, the gates of w hich 

 oidy ojien to the courtiers, and the outer enclo- 

 sure alone is free to be entered by the public. 

 The shining yellow tiles covering the roof of 

 the |)alaco wei-e all we were destined to behold 

 of it; and, turning away after this scanty gratifi- 

 cation, we diove through a street which, like all 

 the principal ones, was distinguished for breadth 

 and regularity, but none are paved. In the mid- 

 dle of every "main street the earth is thrown up 

 to the height of about three feet, for foot passen- 

 gers .'Uid light carriages; those heavily laden, 

 anil drawn by from five to seven mules, must 

 pass along the narrow paths at the sides next the 

 houses ; but when, at'ter heavy rain, these be- 

 come filled with impassable mud, even heavy 

 vehicles are allowed the advantage of the raised 

 road, which, being broad, would be convenient 

 enough, were it not hemmed in by tents and 

 booths, encroaching so much on the pathway as 

 scarcely to leave room for two carriages to drive 

 abreast. When the Celestial Majesty goes out 

 to take a drive, which happens several times 

 duriii" the year, these booths are all cleared 

 uwav, and the road smoothed and covered with 

 yellow .sand, that the inconveniences of the 

 streets of the capital may not be exiierienced by 

 its ruler. 



The immense population of Pekin occasions 

 the streets to he filled the whole day with an lui- 

 interrupted succession of vehicles, proceeding in 

 two lines in o|q)nsite directions, and it sometimes 

 happens that the whole procession is brought to 

 a stand stdl by nothing moi-e tlian a question of 

 politeness. If a Chinese, when driving, meets 

 an acquaintance on foot, he must necessarily dis- 

 mount from his carriage, let the weather or the 

 dirt be what it may, inqiure after his friend's 

 health, and invite him to enter the equipage. 

 The pedestrian is, of course, equally hound to 

 reciprocate the inquiries, and to entreat the first 

 to pursue his way. The owner of the carriage, 

 however, will not get into it till the walker has 

 passed on, and he, on his part, cannot tliink of 

 passing on till the other has got in. This cere- 

 mony will sometimes occupy half an hour; and 

 if the rencontre sliould hap|ien to be of dignified 

 official personages, the Chiuese await its conclu- 

 sion with marvellous patience. Now and then, 

 however, the case is diffeient. On this our first 

 drive it happened that a ragged, dirty fellow, in 

 a kind of greasy smock frock, who was driving 

 a sorry looking machine, drawn by a lean mule, 

 detained us all a ipiarter of an hour with his 

 grimaces on meeting an acquaintance; but this 

 was too much for his long-suffering countrymen, 

 and they bawled to him to cut short his polite- 

 ness and drive on. 



Although the principal streets are, as I have 

 said, sufficiently wide, the bye streets are so nar- 

 row that two carriages cannot pass in them, and 

 a driver is obliged or. entering them to call out, 

 that no one may enter at the same lime at the 

 opposite end. Formerly, at every point of inter- 

 section between these streets there stood a gate, 

 closed at night; but though many of these gates 

 are still standing, the custom has been discon- 

 tinued. 



The houses of the Chinese have a monotonous 

 appearance, being mostly surrounded with high 

 walls of gray half baked brick, above which 

 nothing but their peaked roofs are to be seen. 

 The only exception to this uniform gray color is 

 offered by the imperial palace, which is covered 

 with smooth green tiles. Besides this, seven or 

 eight princely abodes offer some variety of color, 

 but the unvarying dusty hue of the rest would 

 become insupportably wearisome, were it not for 

 the relief afforded by the projecting shops. Be- 

 tbi'e the entrance of each of these hangs a var- 

 nished black board, covered with gold letters, 

 but there is little decoration in any other than 

 the sweet-meat shops. The whole fronts of 

 these are almost covered with gilding, enriched 

 with sprawling dragons and other figures, and 

 their spleisdor is rendered still more striking from 

 the contrast presented not unfrequently by the 

 ruinous hovel and broken down wall adjoining. 



Gardens or walks for public resort do not ex- 

 ist in Pekin, and among the buildings the only 

 ones worthy of notice are the temples, which are 

 profusely painted with verinillion. 



Among the sins of the Chinese, certainly can- 

 not be counted that of an excess of ceremonial 

 devotion; for these temples are almost always 

 empty. A newly appointed official sometimes 

 seems to consider it a duty, when the place ob- 

 tained is a lucrative one, to visit all the temples 

 in the city, and then he goes to work in the fol- 

 lowing manner: — He carries into the temple a 

 bundle of tapers, made of the bark of trees and 

 sweet-scented oil, and kindles them before the 

 idols, whilst the priest strikes with a slick on a 

 metal plate. The worshipper then makes a few 

 prostrations, throws down some money, and the 

 business is settled. The common people never 

 enter the temples hut on particular occasions, 

 such, fop instance, as in time of great drought, 

 when they go thither in troops to pray for rain. 

 Of any other prayer than a supi)lication for im- 

 mediate temporal benefit, they do not seem to 

 have any idea. 



During certain days in every year, indeed, the 

 temples are much frcqucTited, but lor the purpose 

 of trade, not of devotion. The <'ourts are then 

 filled with traders, who display their goods, prin- 

 cipally of the ornamental kind, and the visiters 

 stroll about or make purchases as at a fair. Enor- 

 mous prices are demanded on these occasions. 

 For a stone of grass green color, much valued 

 by the Chinese for rings, bracelets, &c., a mer- 

 chant asked me 250 Ian, (upwards of £100,) and 

 took 26. The scene is finther enlivened by the 

 exhibition of conjurers throwing knives, tumblers 

 walking on their hands, and other similar diver- 

 sions; but by the evening the temple is again 

 left silent and desolate. The priest alone has the 

 ceremony to perform of burning thiee times in 

 the day a small taper before the idols, prostrating 

 himself at the same time. Should this duty be- 

 come too onerous, he sends one of his scholars 

 to do it for him, and, if the scholar should not 

 hap|)en to be in the way, perhaps a coinmon 

 laborer. As long as the tapers are lighted at the 

 proper time, and the due portion of prostration 

 performed, all is right. It must be a very unrea- 

 sonable idol that would require more. 



If the houses of religious worship aTinually 

 stand empty, the houses of public cutiitainment, 

 on the other hand, are almost full. 'I'he prices 

 charged at these places are enormously high, 

 and, among the young men of the wealthy classes, 

 it is by no means uncommon for a a supper par- 

 ty of three or four to spend 50 lans, (£23 10s.)_ 

 The dainties consumed on these occasions are of 

 a very recherche description, and |)rinci|)ally re- 

 commended by the difficulty of procuring them. 

 A favorite dish, fi)r instance, is roasted ice, which 

 is enormously dear, and very few cooks possess 

 the skill and dexterity required for its prepara- 

 tion. A lump of ice is taken upon a seive, and, 

 after being quickly enveloped in a sort of paste 

 made of sugar, eggs, and spices, is plunged into 



