Ql\)c Jarmcv'5 iUoutl)lij ^tgttoi\ 



165 



enjoyed at Nevv-Vork with the worthy dfscpnd- 

 antsef Hon. Robert Morris. V. 



iidd succeed any 



Lime« 



Tliere is no slibstance, containing no animal 

 or vegetable rnatter,which exercises a more pow- 

 6. tulor beneficial eti'ect tlian lime, in some one 

 nr all of il.s lbr(ns of carbonate, |ilios|>liatu and 

 .«-nlphate. In the cominun form in which It is 

 founil, that of a carbonate, it acts in two ways, 

 riieclianlcnily mid cliefiiicaily. Being less porons 

 than sand, and more so than clay, its mixtnre 

 improves soils in which either of these prevail; 

 while as an alkaline earth, it acts cheirdcally on 

 snch animal or vegetable matters as may exist in 

 the soil. Lime develops its chemical action most 

 fnlly when in its c.uislic state, or when, by bnni- 

 "iiig, the carbonic acid has been expelled, and the 

 lime rendered h hal is termed quicklime. In this 

 state, it dissolves such organic matter as may ex- 

 ist in soils, and prepares it for the food of plants. 

 Hnmus frequently exists in the soil in a solid and 

 insoluble state; lime applied to this, renders it 

 soluble in water, in which form it may be taken 

 up by the roots of plants. A vast deal of need- 

 less controversy has been carried on respecting 

 the value of litne as a manure, or the quantity 

 which should be used per acre. By some, it has 

 been extolled as the very highest on the list of 

 effective manures; while others have decried it as 

 of no use wh.itever ; and both have appealed to 

 experimenis as establishing their positions. A 

 •knowledge of the natiu-e of the action of lime, 

 would have prevented such seenfing contradic- 

 tions. "Liuie in excess, forms, from the bmnns 

 of the soil, an insoluble salt ; and may thus, when 

 applied to a soil abounding in salts of lime, or in 

 which it alreaily exists, be pioductive of injury, 

 whatever may be the vegetable or organic matter 

 of the soil. In this state of e.vcess, lime con- 

 'erli!, but at the same time locks up, the huunis 

 of the soil, when if applied in the right quanti- 

 ty, it would have been nsefni. Lime is of no 

 value whatever as a converter, or produces no 

 cheniical effect in promoting growth, unless there 

 is organic matter in the soil on which it can act. 

 Lime is most efficient when used on soils fidl of 

 insoluble humus, such as peaty matter or woody 

 fibre, but which, from the abinulance of the tan- 

 nin principle cojitaiued, resist the ordinary pro- 

 cesses of decomposition." There would seem to 

 be no difficulty,therefbre, in determining whether 

 ~ lime can be used on any given soil to profit. In- 

 deed there are, it is believed, none where it would 

 not be useful, except such as are already supplied 

 with this carbonate, or those which are wholly 

 destitute of vegetable or organic matter. As a 

 general rule, the greater the quantity of humus 

 in a soil, the greater the amount of lime which 

 may be applied with benefit. As long as there 

 is a store of organic matter in the soil, lime, If 

 not in excess, is a valuable manure; but when 

 this is exhausted, the a[>plication of litne only 

 increases the sterility by destroyin": such efl^orts 

 at vegetation as might in time, aided by light and 

 moisture, partially remove the unproductiveness 

 existing. This fact may serve to explain some of 

 the conflicting statements that have appeared in 

 the asricultural journals of our country, on the 

 -..se of lime. Vi'here humns is abundant, the 

 quantity that ujay be safely used, is very great; 

 - on soils already poor, a small portion speedily 

 exhausted the remaining powers of the soil. 

 Litne, from its alkaline qualities, acts in neutrali- 

 zing whatever free acids exist in soils, whether 

 < oxalic, phosphoric, malic, or others. It acts also 

 in decomposing some of the earthy or cotupound 

 salts formed in the soil, and thus renders the 

 •J;eine held by them, available to the plant; but 

 its great and most important use is in converting 

 the insoluble organic matters existing, into solu- 

 ble ones, and thus directly furnishing an abund- 

 ant source of nutriment. Carbonate of lime is 

 sometimes used pounded or broken fine; and in 

 this state, its mechanical value is great in stiff" or 

 clay soils. Snch soils too, usually abound in 

 acids ; and these gradually acting on the lime 

 gravel, its chenfical efll^ct is slowly but benefi- 

 cially apparent. — Gaylord's Prize Essay. 



We are of the opmion it 

 w lie I'o 



"He covers the floor of his Cellar, with hur- 

 dles, two in thickness, and on these he puts a 

 little straw, upon which the apples are placed 

 without further Care or attention, except remo- 

 ving all that appear to be faulty as he places them 

 in the cellar; and he thinks it is unnecessary to 

 use any particular care in this respect. He has 

 at present, 110 bushels of apples thus heaped up 

 in his small cellar; two or three times a week, 

 he given a good wetting witli fresh water, as 

 much as he tirnd<s will well wei the u-hole of them. 

 This water drains oft' through the straw and 

 hurdles, into a well. In this way, bis apples 

 keep well until the time he usually disposesof 

 them, the best to make him a sood return after 



Christmas. At present the api 



lies look as well 



and as firm as if just gathered, and I understand 

 that dining the hist 10 years, they have always 

 kept just as well and as fresh, as now. How 

 much less troublesome and easy of ap|)lication 

 for keeping large quantities of fruit, thaii storing 

 them away in dried sand, on shelves, or in boxes 

 or in many other ways highly recommended." 



Preservation of Apples. 



In the London Gardener's Chronicle we find 

 the following account of the mode of preserving 

 apples adopted by a gentleman in Herfordshire. 



From the Baltimore American. 

 The Copper Rock. 

 The annexed paragraph from the Detroit Ad- 

 vertiser of the 14th, has referenco to the celebra- 

 ted mass of virgin copper which was aimounc- 

 ed some days since by the Secretary of War to 

 the National Institute, to be on its way to Wash- 

 ington. This rare ciniosity should by all iTieans 

 be in the keeping of the Institute, and we pre- 

 sume that Mr. Eldred, on being reimbursed the 

 expenses iinrm-red in Its removal to Detroit, will 

 not hesitate to surrender it to the agent of the 

 Government : 



Great Curiosity. — Our readers have all heard 

 of the famous Copper Rock of Lake Siqierior. 

 It is now in this city, in the possession of Julius 

 Eldred, Es(|., who, after much expense and sev- 

 eral months of hard labor, has succeeded in re- 

 moving it. It is certainly one of the greatest 

 mineral curiosities in the world, and every one 

 will be anxious to see it. It is supposed to weigh 

 about four tons, and is nearly pure copper — 

 about 05 |)er cent. Its location was in the bed 

 of the Ontonagon river in the Upper Peninsida, 

 about 300 miles above the Sank de Ste Marie. 



The following interesting description of the 

 Copper Rock is <tontained In a letter from Pro- 

 fessor Colcraft, published In the New York 

 Commercial ,\dvertiser, under date of 



Detroit, Oct. 13lli, 1843. 



The, so called, cop(ier rock of Lake Superior 

 was brought to this place, a day or two since, in 

 a vessel from SaultSte Marie, liaving been trans- 

 ported from its original locality, on the Onton- 

 agon river, at no small labor and expense. It is 

 upward of twenty three j'ears since 1 first vis- 

 ited this remarkable specimen of native copper, 

 in the forests of Lake Superior. It has been 

 somewhat duninished in size and weight in the 

 meantime, by visitors and travellers in that re- 

 mote quarter; but retains, very well, its origi- 

 nal character and general features. 



I have just returned from a re-examinatlon 

 of It in a store, in one of the main streets of 

 this city, where it has been deposited by the 

 present proprietor, who designs to exhibit it to 

 the curious. Its greatest length is four feet six 

 indues, its greatest witlth about four feet, its max- 

 imum thickness eighteen Inches. These are 

 rough measurements with the rule. It Is almost 

 entirely composed of malleable copper, and 

 bears striking marks of the visits formerly palil 

 to It, in the evidences of portions which have 

 from time to time been cut off. There are no 

 scales In the city large enough, or other means 

 of ascertaining its precise weight, and of thus 

 terminating the uncertainty arising from the sev- 

 eral e.-5thnates heretofore made. It has been 

 generally esliiriated here, since Its arrival, to 

 weigh between six and seven thousand pounds, 

 or three and a half tons, and is, by far, the larg- 

 est known and described specimen of native 

 copper on the globe. Rumors of a larger piece 

 in South America are apocryphal. 



The acquisition, to the curious and scientific 

 world, of this extraordinary mass of native met- 

 al is at least one of the practical results of the 

 coppermining mania which carried so many ad- 

 venturers northward, into the region of lake 



Superior, the past Summer (184.3.) The persoi 

 who has secured the treasure (Mr. J. Eldred) has 

 been absent, on the business, since early In June. 

 He succeeded in removing It from Its diluvial 

 bed on the banks of the river, by a car and sec- 

 tional railroad of two links, formed of timber.— 

 The motive power was tackle attached to trees, 

 which was worke<l by men, from 14 to 90 of 

 whom wereeini)loyefl upon it.— These rails were 

 alternately moved forward, as the c;ir passed 

 from the hindmost. 



I have no books at band to refer to the precise^ 

 time, so far as known, when this noted mass of 

 copper first became known to Europeans. Prob- 

 ably a hundred and eighty years have elapsed. 

 Marquette, and bis devoted con}paiilon, passed 

 up the shores of Lake Superior about 1(5(38, 

 which was several years beibre the discovery 

 of the Mississippi, by that eminent missionary,^ 

 by the way of Wisconsin. From the letters of 

 D'Ablon at Saull St. Marie, it appears to have 

 been known prior to the arrival of La Salle. — 

 These allusions will be sufticient to show that 

 the rock has a historical notoriety. Apart from 

 this. It is a specimen which is, both mineralogl- 

 cally and geological, well worthy of national 

 preservation. 



In this manner the rock was dragged four 

 miles and a half, across a rough country, to a 

 curve of the river below Its falls, and below the 

 junction of the forks, where it was received by 

 a boat, and conveyed to the mouth of the rlvei, 

 on the lake shore. At this point it was put on 

 boaid a schooner, and taken to the falls, or Sault 

 SteMarie, and thence, having been transported 

 across the portage, embarked for Detroit. The 

 entire distance to this place is a little within one 

 thousand miles; three bumlred ami twenty of 

 which lie beyond St. Mary's. 



What is to be its future history and disposition 

 remains to be seen. It will probably find its 

 way to the museum of the National Institute In 

 the new patent office at Washington. This 

 would be appropriate, and it is stated that the 

 authorities have asserted their ultimate claim to. 

 it, probably under the 3rd article of the treaty 

 of Fond du Lac of the 5th Aug. 182G. 



It is clearly a boulder, and bears marks of at- 

 trition from the action of water, on some parts 

 of its rocky surface .-IS well as the metallc por- 

 tions. A minute mineralogical examination and 

 description of it are required. The adhering 

 rock, of which there is less now then In 1820, 

 Is apparently serpentine, in some parts steatitie, 

 whereas the copper ores of Keweena Point on 

 that lake, are found exclusively in the amygda- 

 loids and greenstones of the traji formation. — 

 A circular depression ot opaque crystallliie 

 quartz, in the form of a semi-geods, exists in 

 one face of It; other parts of the mass disclose 

 the same mineral. Probably 300 lbs. of the 

 metal have been hacked ofl^, or detached by steel 

 chlssels, since it has been known to the whites, 

 most of this within late years. Yours, truly, 

 HENRY R. COLCRAFT. 



A Mother's Agony.— The ravages of the yel- 

 low fever have been great iii Mobile for the pop- 

 ulation, and several instances luive occurred 

 where whole family circles have been broken up 

 by the ruthless band of the fell disease. Truly 

 the following, which we copy from the Herald, 

 is a picture sad to look upon : 



"^'■Jlndthen Itoo u'ill lay me down and die !'— 

 Almost hourly In the day we hear of some in- 

 stani-e of real distress, which is sufficient to 

 wring tears from a heart of stone ; where some 

 poor unfortunate being has lost by death all that 

 bound him to earth, and the last tie which held 

 their affections is severed. 



A day or two since, the most heart-rending In- 

 stance of aftliciion and calm despair was told us, 

 which we ever remember to have heard. It is 

 this : 



Some two or three weeks since, a lady of this 

 city gave birth to a child, and still wbih; on her 

 bed with debility, she was taken with the yellow 

 fever. Her child died, and her husband and 

 mother were seized with the same disease. In 

 a day or two after, a younger brother was taken 

 down— and as all of the family, with the excep- 

 tion of one brother was taken sick, the last one 

 was carried to a house of a friend. In n few 

 days, the mother, who was first taken down, 

 died ; her husband followed her shortly after.— 



