522 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO WATER ROTTING 

 HEBIP. 



From the Flcmingsburg Keiuuckian. 



After cutting young hemp let it be tied in small 

 bundles with two bands, one at the buls and the 

 other at the tops. Rye straw for bands is prefer- 

 able. 



Allow your hemp to lay two or three days for 

 drying, if the weather is favorable, before putting 

 into the pools, say a sufficient time to beat the 

 leaves ofi". 



Select all the large hemp by itself, it will pro- 

 duce a more regular rot. I recommend the short 

 or that under five feet to be dew rotted for bag- 

 ging purposes. 



Avoid getting your hemp wet with rain. If 

 your pools will not receive your whole crop, haul 

 it near your pools and have it stacked. 



Place your hemp in the pools carefully, but and 

 tops to the height of your poo! ; lay small plank 

 and weight it with rock or timber, then let your 

 water in. 



To ascertain when your hemp has a sufficient 

 rot rub your hand on the surface of the stalk, and 

 if the roughness has left, it may be taken out. 



When rotted, spread it carefully upon the 

 ground, turning it, and when perfectly dry place 

 it in shocks or ricks. It is then ready for break- 

 ing at any time. A temporary shed near the 

 ricks would be found a great convenience, as the 

 hands could brake out all weather; cracking it in 

 wet weather and cleaning it in dry. 



Do not apply your brake too frequently'to the 

 hemp, but shake it. By beating it too much it 

 produces tow. David JMyerle. 



OF atmospherical BIOTSTURE and TEM- 

 PERATURE.* 



From Lindley's Horliculturc 



The constituent parts of the atmosphere that 

 surrounds us are either the same in different re- 

 gions, or the differences, ifany, are not appreciable 

 by chemical processes. It is far otherwise as re- 

 gards temperature and humidity, which are so in- 

 timately connected that they cannot be considered 

 apart from each other. 



From what has been already sta'ed it is ap- 

 parent that of the vital functions of plants none 

 are more important than those of perspiration 

 and evaporation ; and that, while a certain 

 amount of loss of their fluid particles is neces- 

 sary, a great excess or diminution of the loss 

 must be injurious. Although the solar rays ap- 

 pear to be the immediate cause of perspiration, 

 which proceeds in proportion to their intensity, 

 yet this action is necessarily modified by the 

 state of the medium, that is, of the atmosphere, 

 which surrounds them : in proportion to its heat 



* This subject has already been fully treated by 

 Professor Daniell, in his excellent paper, " On Cli- 

 mate with regard to Horticulture," published in the 

 Transactions of the Horticultural Society, vol. vi. p. 1. 

 It is impossible for any one to discuss the same topic 

 without profiting largely by this important treatise, 

 which I have very much followed in the present 

 chapter. 



and dryness will their power be augmented, and 

 in proportion to its cold and moisture diminished. 

 The physiological effect of an excessive augmen- 

 tation of perspiration is to dry up the juices and to 

 destroy the texture of the leaves ; on the other 

 hand, an excessive obstruction of that function 

 prevents the decomposition and assimilation of 

 the fluids, and the formation of new organised 

 matter, as well as of the secretions peculiar to a 

 species. A state of the atmosphere, therefore, 

 which is most favorable to the maintenance of 

 the perspiratory action in the most healthy state, 

 is that which it must be the business of a garden- 

 er to secure by all the means in his power. 



Among the hygrometers intended lor measuring 

 the quantity of elastic vapor in the atmosphere, 

 the most convenient lor use is that invented by 

 Professor Daniell. In this instrument, the amount 

 of moisture in a given atmosphere is indicated 

 by what is called the dew-point j that is to 

 say, by the point of the therraometric scale at 

 which the cold is sufficient to cause a deposition 

 of dew ; the amount being calculated by the dif- 

 ference between the natural temperature and an 

 artificial temperature created for the purpose of 

 determining the point at which the elastic vapor 

 of the air is precipitated by cold. " The natural 

 scale of the hygrometer," says Mr. Daniell, " ia 

 included between the points of perlect dryness 

 and perfect moisture ; the latter, of course, being 

 that stale of the atmosphere at which the dew- 

 point coincides with the temperature of the air. 

 The intermediate degrees may be ascertained by 

 dividing the elasticity of vapor at the tempera- 

 ture of the dew-point, by the elasticity at the tem- 

 perature of the air : the quotient will express the 

 proportion of moisture actually existing to the 

 quantity which would be required lor saturation ; 

 lor, calling the term of saturation 1.000, as the 

 elasticity of vapor at the temperature of the air 

 is to the elasticity of vapor at the temperature of 

 the dew-point, so is the term of saturation to the 

 actual degree of moisture." 



By means of this and similar contrivances,* we 

 are at all times able to ascertain exactly the quan- 

 tity of water that exists in an elastic state in the 

 air. 



In this country, the changes of moisture are 

 said to extend from 1.000, or saturation, to .389, or 

 even so low as .120, under a south wall, for a short 

 space of time ; " n state of dryness which is cer- 

 tainly not surpassed by an African harmatfan." 

 but one which produces less disastrous conse- 

 quences, because it is accompanied by a far lower 

 temperature and a weaker solar radiation. The 

 mean degree of moisture of the air near London 

 has been Ibund by Mr. Thompson to be, .897, on 

 an average of ten years, while the mean tempe- 

 rature is 50.62 :t in other parts of the world it ia 

 very different ; and the amount of those differ- 

 ences, together with the means of imitating them 

 artificially, constitutes one of the most delicate 

 and difficult parts of the gardener's art. All that 

 relates to this subject, however, to be treated use- 



* Other hygrometers have been invented to answer 

 the same end ; but, as Mr. Daniell's is that most 

 eligible in this country, I have thought it more con- 

 venient to confine my observations to it. 



f See the various meteorological journals published 

 by the Horticultural Society, in their Transactions, 

 from the year 1826 inclusive. 



