1859. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR:MER. 



387 



so perfectly, do not decay so soon, and will make 

 better cider, generally, than Massachusetts ap- 

 ples. I would not be discouraged with the Bald- 

 win ; we may not see another season like the 

 past for a lorg time to come. 



N. B. — I was in Maine in the fall of 1834 ; 

 bought cider and apples ; saw many of their orch- 

 ards, and noticed their fruit generally, and be- 

 lieve that where the fruit of Maine is as well 

 cared for as in Massachusetts, it will keep as well 

 or better. Daniel Leland, 



GRAY'S BOTANICA.Ii SERIES, 



Professor Asa Gray, the author of the bo- 

 tanical works referred to above, has devoted his 

 life to the exposition of the delightful science of 

 botany, and has achieved a success not only hon- 

 orable to himself as an individual, but honorable 

 to his Alma Mater, and his native State. 



The study of plants, with their beautiful 

 and infinitely varied forms and properties, adapt- 

 ing each to its peculiar location and life, the 

 wonderful provision made for the preservation 

 and propagation of each species, their growth 

 from seeds, buds, roots, tubers and cuttings, 

 — their fruits designed principally to furnish 

 protection and nourishment for their germs, 

 and secondarily to furnish food for all animal 

 life, cannot but awaken in the mind of the stu- 

 dent, wonder, reverence and love for their Crea- 

 tor, as he witnesses the proofs of his inexhausti- 

 ble resources, his infinite skill, and his boundless 

 benevolence. 



To this proper effect of his studies, Mr. Gray 

 has obviously yielded his own mind, while at the 

 same time his enthusiasm in his chosen pursuit 

 nas carried him onward through all the difficul- 

 ties and intricacies of the science, until he has 

 become the most accurate and accomplished bo- 

 tanical teacher in the country. His statements 

 are always clear and reliable, and the student 

 feels that he is guided by the hand of a master. 

 Many of the educational books of the present 

 day are mere compilations, soulless skeletons, 

 and it is in the highest degree refreshing to find 

 an author who speaks right on, telling us what 

 he does know, and instructing us out of the ac- 

 cumulated treasures of his own mind. Such an 

 author is Prof. Gray. He imparts to his leaders 

 a portion of his own enthusiasm, and keeps up 

 in their minds an unflagging interest, while they 

 follow his clear, concise and consecutive state- 

 ments, and almost before they are aware, they 

 find themselves enlightened with some rays of 

 that light which had shone so clearly in the mind 

 of the author. What was before confused and 

 mysterious, and little more than a dark mass, 

 gradually arranges itself into clear and well-de- 

 fined forms, which become instinct with beauty 

 and life, as when the morning sun, rising above 



some distant mountain crest, illuminates, and 

 distinguishes the organic and inorganic forms, 

 that seemed but one confused mass, while the 

 shadow of the mountain rested upon them. 



Prof. Gray follows the order of nature in his 

 classification, and thus has an unerring guide, 

 which all may follow with perfect confidence. 



Botany, like zoology, has to deal with an infi- 

 nite number of individuals, and as the latter has 

 reduced all animals, whether inhabiting the air, 

 the water or the land, into four classes, so the 

 former includes in a few groups, the countless 

 varieties of vegetable forms, which spring from 

 the earth's surface. The laws of development 

 are adopted as the basis of correct classification. 

 Plants are grouped into classes. These are di- 

 vided into orders, and orders into genera, and 

 genera into species, and these into varieties. To 

 describe the principles according to which indi- 

 viduals are arranged into these grovips, to point 

 out the structure and the organs of plants, to 

 show how they are developed from their gern- 1, 

 and to teach the laws by which this development 

 is governed, is the object of botanical science. 

 The great difficulty in the study of botany, has 

 hitherto been the use of technical terms, and un- 

 pronounceable names, as though botanists in- 

 tended, like the hierarchs of Egypt, to confine 

 their knowledge to men of their own class. 



Prof. Gray has succeeded admirably in his two 

 elementary books, in conveying a knowledge of 

 the principal parts in botany, in language that 

 can be readily comprehended by every intelligent 

 child. They are illustrated by a multitude of 

 drawings, which are among the most perfect and 

 best executed cuts that we have ever met with in 

 any educational book. They are printed on good 

 paper, and with a clear type, and are highly credit- 

 able to the press — that of Messrs. Toison & Fhin- 

 7iey, New York — from which they have issued. 



We cannot doubt that the little book, "How 

 Plants Grow," and the "First Lessons," will soon 

 take the place of all other books on the subject, 

 in our schools. The larger books will meet the 

 wants of more advanced students. 



Hen Manure. — The excretia of birds of all 

 kinds is valuable as manure, and if properly used, 

 will invariably pay for the pains-taking. Lime, 

 ashes or other alkalies, should never ))e mixed 

 with hen manure ; such treatment throws out the 

 ammonia, and forms other compounds of lessened 

 value. When dry muck, chai'coal dust, woods- 

 earth, or other cheap divisor, can be procured, 

 compost hen manure with it, and if wetted with 

 dilute sulphuric acid, so much the better ; this 

 will fix the ammonia as a sulphate, which is solu- 

 ble, but not volatile, like the carbonate of am- 

 monia. No farmer can afford to sell his hca ma- 

 nure to morocco dressers, even at four tiaics the 

 usual market price. — Working Farmer. 



