PACANENUT. 



PALMETTO. 



small seed. I also think it may prove bene- 

 ficial as a top-dressing for grass plants, to de- 

 stroy moss, and prevent worms from casting. 



Mr. Livingston, of New York, says (Jlnnals 

 ofjlgr. vol. xx. p. 87), "In April, 1791, 1 strewed 

 7 bushels of ground oyster shells over half an 

 acre of rye, growing on a very poor soil, and 

 3 bushels of gypsum on another half-acre ad- 

 joining; sowed 10 Ibs. of red clover seed over 

 both. The rye was not better than the rest of 

 the field; the clover seed being bad, came up 

 but thinly ; that, however, dressed with oyster 

 shells, much better than that manured with 

 gypsum." 



It is certain, therefore, that oyster shells, 

 when powdered or crushed, are an excellent 

 manure; and, in many parts of England, where 

 they can be obtained in considerable quanti- 

 ties, I have every reason to believe that they 

 will be found very useful to the farmer. (John- 

 ton on Die Fertilizers, p. 368.) 



P. 



PACANENUT. See HICKORY. 



PACE. In horsemanship, the peculiar man- 

 ner of motion, or progression, in the horse or 

 other animal. The natural paces of the horse 

 are, a walk, a trot, and a gallop, to which some 

 add an amble, as some horses have it natu- 

 rally. See CANTER, GALLOP, &c. 



PACK RAG-DAY. A provincial term in 

 England signifying the day after Martinmas 

 day, the time of changing farm servants. 



PADDLE-STAFF. An implement used by 

 ploughmen to free the share from stubble, 

 earth, &c. 



PADDOCK. A small field or enclosure. It 

 also signifies a large toad. 



PAIL. A wooden bucket in which milk, 

 water, or other fluids are commonly carried. 



PAIL-BRUSH. A hard brush, furnished 

 with bristles at the end, to clean out the an- 

 gles of the vessels more fully. 



PALM. An ancient measure of length taken 

 from the extent of the hand. The English 

 palm is understood to be three inches. 



PALMATE. In botany, divided so as to 

 resemble a hand spread open. 



PALMA CHRISTI. See CASTOH OIL PLANT. 

 The cake left after the expression of castor 

 oil is very advantageously applied to land as 

 a manure for wheat and other crops. An in- 

 teresting communication upon this subject may 

 be found in the first volume of the Farmer's 

 Register, from T. G. Peachy, Esq., of Williams- 

 burg, Va., the results of whose experiments 

 show the great value of the article. In one ex- 

 periment he applied from 50 to 60 bushels per 

 acre on 7 acres of land sown with 10 bushels 

 of wheat, and the product was 26 bushels of 

 wheat per acre. In this case the land was so 

 poor that not over 5 bushels could be expected 

 from it without the dressing. He recommends 

 about 40 bushels as an ordinary dressing. Mr. 

 Peachy does not think the common impression 

 correct, that the chief efficacy of the cake re- 

 sides in the portion of oil which it retains. 

 His press, he says, "is a very powerful one, and 



leaves a very small portion of oil in the cake. 

 There is, moreover, other refuse matter in such 

 an establishment as ours, which contains a 

 vast deal more oil than the cake, which I have 

 used as manure, and been uniformly disap- 

 pointed in its effects. Accident has enabled 

 me, I think, to solve the difficulty, and to de- 

 clare my belief that the fertilizing qualities of 

 the oil-cake reside chiefly in the farina it con- 

 tains. Some time last year a vessel laden with 

 flour was stranded near Jamestown, and the 

 flour ruined. Mr. John Mann, who owns a 

 farm in the neighbourhood, took two or three 

 of the barrels and top-dressed a small portion, 

 of his wheat with it. I was not an eye-witness 

 of its effects ; but I was informed it produced 

 as great an increase of that portion of his crop 

 as my oil cake would have done. 



" By experiment, I find that 50 bushels of the 

 cake will weigh 1800 Ibs.; and of this quantity 

 I have discovered that {g is farina or flour 

 equal to 5 barrels of flour. The cotton seed, I 

 fancy, contains more farina, in proportion to 

 the oil, than the castor bean, and, I believe, 

 would produce as great an effect after being 

 deprived of its oil, as it would do in its origi- 

 nal state. I should be much obliged to you to 

 give us your opinion on this subject." See 

 LINSEED CAKE, RAPE CAKE, &c. 



PALMETTO (Chamteofis palmetto'). Cabbag* 

 tree. This American tree belongs to the ge- 

 nus of the palms, and is found farther north 

 than any other species in America. From its 

 lofty height it is reckoned in the United States 

 as a tree. It is first seen about Cape Hatteras, 

 in the 34th degree of latitude, from which it 

 spreads to the extremity of the Florida penin- 

 sula, and thence around the Gulf of Mexico. 

 In the extreme south the palmetto is not en- 

 tirely confined to the immediate vicinity of the 

 sea. Its stem or trunk is erect, and rises 80 

 or 90 feet, embellished at top by a globe of 

 plumed leaves, each somewhat like a large 

 fan, and plicated in the same manner, each 

 frond, with its stipes or stem, 30 feet in length ; 

 the frond, or expanded part of the leaf, 15 feet 

 over. There are six species of the palm in 

 Carolina and Florida, all of which have fla- 

 belli-formed leaves or fronds. 



It is the central part of this vast plant at top 

 which stands erect, like a sharp cone or sugar- 

 loaf, surrounded by the expanding leaves, which 

 is eaten roasted or boiled, like cabbage ; and 

 consists of the young frond, rudiments of 

 fronds, with all the succeeding appendages of 

 the future growth, involved together, white and 

 tender as a curd, as rich, and of the like plea- 

 sant flavour. 



A well grown palm stands perfectly erect, 

 on a shaft or column of 60 or 80 feet high, its 

 base 3 feet diameter, having 3 or 4 rings and 

 circular mouldings, 3 or 4 feet upwards ; from 

 thence upwards to the top it diminishes almost 

 imperceptibly, forming a model of a pillar 

 for the architect, almost inimitable. A tree 

 produces but one cabbage, and as soon as 

 that is cut off, this glorious production of na- 

 ture perishes. But, though the tree dies, yet 

 it ceases not to be useful ; the exterior ligne- 

 ous part, of three-fourths inch thickness, is 

 as hard as bone when dry, and the interior 

 4 D 2 869 



