1856. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



285 



The conclusion, therefore, to which most geolo- 

 gists have arrived is that the earth, originally an 

 incadescent or highly heated mass, gradually cooled 

 down, until, in the carboniferous period, it fostered 

 a growth of terrestrial vegetation all over its sur- 

 face, to which the existing jungles of the tropics 

 are mere barrenness in comparison. The high and 

 uniform temperature, combined with greater pro- 

 portion of carbonic acid gas in the manufacture, 

 could not only sustain a gigantic and prolific vege- 

 tation, but would also create dense vapors, showers 

 and rain ; and these again, gigantic rivers, periodi- 

 cal inundations, and deltas. Thus, all the condi- 

 tions for extensive deposits of wood in estuaries 

 ■would arise from this high temperature ; and every 

 circumstance connected with the coal measures 

 points to such conditions. 



For the New England Farmer. 



ONION AND TOMATO vs. PEAR TREE. 



It has been observed by some that Peruvian 

 guano, in proper quantites, was an excellent manure 

 for pear trees. Some have found that the gather- 

 ings at a blacksmith's shop, where the solid ex- 

 crements of horses and oxen were gathered with 

 the parings of hoofs, charcoal dust, iron filings, &c., 

 made a compost most highly valuable for pear 

 trees. 



On the other hand, a variety of facts have come 

 to my knowledge, which show the danger of plant- 

 ing onions, tomatoes, and such plants as require a 

 very large amount of nitric acid, or, perhaps, I 

 should say, of ammonia, in their formation, near 

 pear trees. 



Very valuable trees have been killed, where it 

 was evident that it was to be attributed to growing 

 tomatoes about the trees. Onions have sometimes 

 done mischief in a similar way to pears. 



I do not pretend to know why it is ; but I 

 suppose that it is because the pear must have nitric 

 acid for its growth ; and that tomatoes and onions 

 draw it from the soil in the form of ammonia so 

 severely, that they deprive the pear tree of its in- 

 dispensable food. Has nobody wondered what 

 ailed the pear trees, when they were "trying titles'' 

 ■with a crop of tomatoes or onions ? 



Assonet, May, 1856. A. G. Comings. 



For the New England Farmer. 



NATIVES LOOKING UP. 



"We learn that Mr. H., of South Danvers, has re 

 cently sold his cow, of which mention has been 

 made in your paper, for the sum of $150, to a gen- 

 tleman, who intends to raise her offspring. This is 

 as it should be, and as it was when the venerable 

 farmer of Quincy purchased the famous Oakes cow 

 for a like purpose. If we would be true to our- 

 selves, no reasonable opportunity of improving our 

 own stock should be permitted to jjass without 

 use. We ai-e not unmindful that sales of foreign 

 stock are often made at sums greatly in advance of 

 this; but we cannot well understand, why nine 

 teen quarts per day, (beer measure,) is not worth 

 as much from a first rate native cow, as from any 

 other. We have entire confidence this quantity 

 was given the last season, by this animal, on grass 

 feed alone, and that her butter products have been 

 of the very best quality. *. 



May, 1856. 



POPULAR FALLACIES. 



It is not true that sugar candies are of them- 

 selves injurious to the teeth or the health of those 

 who use them ; so far from it, they are less injuri- 

 ous than any of the ordinary forms of food, ■when 

 employed in moderation. 



Any scientific dentist will tell you, that the parts 

 of teeth most liable to decay are those which afford 

 lodgment to particles of food ; such particles being 

 decomposed by moisture and heat, give out an 

 acid, which will corrode steel as well as teeth ; but 

 pure sugar, and pure candies are wholly dissolved, 

 there is no remnant to be decomposed to yield this 

 destructive acid ; we remember now no item of 

 food which is so perfectly dissolved in the mouth, 

 as sugar and candy. When ■visiting the sugnr 

 plantations of Cuba, the attention was constantlv 

 arrested by the apparently white and solid teeth of 

 the negroes who superintended the operation of 

 cane grinding ; they drank the cane-juices like wa- 

 ter, there was no restraint as to its use, and the lit- 

 tle urchins playing about, would chew the sugar- 

 yielding cane by the hour. It is much the same in 

 Louisiana, where the shining faces and broad grins 

 of the blacks are equally indicative of exuberant 

 health and "splendid teeth." 



How does it happen, then, that there should be 

 "the prevalent belief" that sugar and sugar-candy de- 

 stroy the teeth and undermine the health ? Per- 

 haps the most correct reply is tradition, the father 

 of a progeny of errors in theory and practice ; of 

 errors in doctrine and example, "too tedious to 

 mention." 



One of the common faults of the times is an in- 

 disposition to investigate on the part of the masses. 

 We take too much for granted. A very common 

 answer to a demand for a reason for a time-honor- 

 ed custom is, " fVhy, I have heard it all my life. 

 Don't ever}) body say so ?" 



It would be a strange contradiction in the nature 

 of things, if sugar and candy in moderation should 

 be hurtful to the human body in any way, for su- 

 gar is a constituent of every article of food we can 

 name ; there is not a vegetable out of which it can- 

 not be made, not a ripe fruit in our orchards which 

 does not yield it in large proportions, and it is the 

 main constituent of that "milk" which is provided 

 for the young of animals and men all over the 

 world. Perhaps the child has never lived, which 

 did not love sweet things beyond all others ; it is 

 an instinct, a passion, not less universal than the 

 love of water. A very Httle child can be hired to 

 do for a bit of sugar, what nothing else would. 

 The reason of this is, that without sugar, no child 

 could possibly live, it would freeze to death ; it is 

 the sugar in its food which keeps it warm, and 

 warmth is the first necessity for a child. 



But to use this information intelligently and 

 profitably, it must be remembered that sugar is an 

 artificial product, is a concentration, and that, it' 

 used in much larger proportions than would be 

 found in our ordinary food, as provided by the be- 

 neficent Father of us all, we will suffer injury. 

 We should never forget that the immoderate use 

 of anything is destructive to human health and life, 

 if persevered in. The best general rules to be ob- 

 served are two : 



1. Use concentrated sweets at meal times only. 



1. Use them occasionally, and in moderation. 

 Hall's Journal of Health. 



