VOL. XVI. NO. 10. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



t5 



One of the most favorable indications respect- 

 ing agrieiiltnre in tlio United States, is the great 

 extension of the <'nhni-e of roots ; and if the jontn- 

 als devoted to the interests of tiie fanner had done 

 nothing Rioro than to etioct tlie introduction of the 

 fiehl cnhure of roots among us, their cost wouhl 

 be renuineratcd a thousand fohi. Tlie liigli |iriees 

 r,f beef in our markets show that there is a fault 

 in the raising of cattle, and while the whole coun- 

 try almost was sid)jected to the plough, pasture 

 or hay could scarcely be expected. The remedy 

 for this state of things, here, as in England, will 

 be found in growing roots for feeding, sijice one 

 tcre in roots will give us much food as three or 

 four in grass, ami the feeding of cattle for beef, or 

 making butter, may be carried on at all seasons. 



In the July No. of the Cultivator, Judge Huel 

 states that " one seedsman has imported 26 cwt. 

 if Ruta Baga seed, and thij probably has not been 

 iiore than a quarter or a third of what has been 

 iown. The siijiply has become exhausted from 

 Baltimore to Boston, and yet the demand has not 

 been supplied. Our neighbor Tborburn, has 

 sold this year 1,500 lbs of ruta baga seed ; 150 of 

 carrot do ; 100 lbs of parsnip do ; and 150 lbs of 

 iiangold wurtze! ; and, as imlicating the exlend- 

 ;d culture of roots, and the advance of agricultu- 

 •al improvement, we arid that- he has also retailed 

 leventy cultivators, eighty drill barrows ; and se- 

 .■entytive of Green's straw cutters." 



In stating the amount of ruta baga seed sown 

 he present year at ten thousand pounds, we are 

 jonfident we should be below rather than above 

 he actual quantity ; and when we remember that 

 five or six years ago the culture was baixlly known, 

 and one or two hundred pounds was an am|de 

 supply for the country, there is evident reason for 

 congratulating our farmers in this respect. There 

 s the more reason for gratification at this exten- 

 sive commencement in the culture of roots — for 

 ivitli multitudes the present year is the commence- 

 iient — as experience shows that few or none who 

 snce attempt it, will abandon it ; on the contrary, 

 he half acre with which the doubting and fear- 

 "ul began a year or two since, has expanded to 

 i'rom one to five or six acres the present .season, 

 rhe culture of the carrot and tlie mangold wurt- 

 5el is al-io extending rapidly, and hoih these, and 

 he turnip promise an ample remunerating crop. 

 We are glad of it ; for in proportion as our roots 

 ncrease, will be the quantity of good beef .ind 

 Tiutton offered in our markets, — the prevention 

 )f disease among our detnestic animals, — and the 

 safe wintering and better appearance of our flocks 

 ind herds during our long and severe winters. — 

 Genesee Farmer. 



Peculiar vitalitt -of inskcts — It is now 

 iVell known that Mr .Andrew Cross of England, 

 md Erenberg of Germany, have succeeded in 

 ireating perfectly organized and living insects by 

 neans of galvanism, out of substances which could 

 iot possibly have contained any germ of their ex- 

 stence, namely out of burnt flint and muriatic 

 icid, which last is instantly destructive to the life 

 )oth of insect and every other creature, formed 

 )y nature. It is also demonstrated that the gal- 

 mnic fluid is the universal agent of all motion and 

 herefore of all creation, and that it is the vital 

 spir I of all life. .And viewing the successful ex- 

 periments of Cross and Erenberg in connexion 

 ivith tho extraordinary powers of vitality in in- 



sects, we may be b'd to infer that tlie g.dvanic 

 s|iirit exists in this and several other classes of in- 

 furior crealurcs, in unusual plenitude. If the 

 bead of a mrnmiferoiis quadruped, itf of a bird, 

 is cut off, the consequences, of coiiise, ant fatal. 

 But the most dreadful woimds that imagination 

 can figure, or cruelty inflict, have scarcely any de- 

 structive influence on the vital functions of many 

 of these creatures. — Leeuwtnhocck had a mitit 

 which lived eleven weeks, tr.msfixed on a point 

 for microscopical inve.stigation. Vaillant caught 

 a locust at the Cape of Good Hope, and after ex- 

 cavating the intestines, he filled the abdomen with 

 cotton, and stuck a stout pin through the thorax, 

 yet the feet and antenute were in full play after 

 the lapse of five months. Spallanzant cut the 

 heart out of three newts, which iuMuediatcly leapt, 

 swam, and executed their usual functions for 48 

 hours. A decapitated beetle will advance over a 

 table, and recognize a precipice on appioaching 

 the edge. Redi rut olT the head of a tortoise, 

 which survived eighteen day?. Col. Pringle de- 

 capitated several libellulte, or dragon flies, on(! of 

 which afterwards lived fm- four months, and anoth- 

 er six; and, which seems rather odd, he could 

 uerer keep alive those with their heails on, above 

 a few days. And another evidence that insects 

 possess an unusual portion of galvanic energy, is 

 found in their extraordinary muscular power. It 

 is now generally admitted that what is commonly 

 termed tho nervous fluid, and also that invisible 

 power which is thrown into mutcles, by an act of 

 the will, is the g.alvanic flniil or spirit, proceeding 

 from the brain as the battery. Hence the nerv- 

 ous character both of studious and intein|)erate 

 men, whose brain is continually subjected to un- 

 due excitement ; and hence also the heavy blow 

 inflicted by anangiy man. pleas and other in- 

 .sects, therefore, which can leap a thousand times 

 their own length, must possess this flui<l in a vast- 

 ly greater degree than a race horse or greyhound, 

 and their superior vitality probably depends upon 

 the same cause. — jV. Y. Era. 



TILIiAGE: HUSBANDRY, 



Rye ranks next to wheat, as a bread corn ; is 

 used for that purpose in the entire northern part 

 of the continent of Europe, and very extensively 

 in the northern states of America, particularly in 

 New England, where it is generally combined 

 with corn meal in the fabrication of bread. In 

 Holland, and in sotne of the German States, rye 

 bread is fed alike to horses and their drivers. It 

 is considered wholesome, and the husk possesses 

 an aromatic and slightly acidulous flavor, which 

 renders it agreeable to the palate. 'J he bran 

 should not, therefore, be entirely separated from 

 the flour. 



5oi7. — The soils designated by Von Tbaer as 

 suitable for rye, and because, perhaps, that they 

 are illy adapted to other crops, contain from 18 to 

 23 per cent, of clay, from 75 to 80 of saml, little 

 or no carbonate of lime, and but 1 and 1-2 per 

 cent of humus, or vegetable mould. 1 hey arc 

 considered the lowest rate of sandy lands, and in 

 the comparative estimate of value, as worth only 

 one fifth of the first class of strong wheat lands. 

 A large body of the lands in the northern and 

 middle states are therefore proper lands for this 

 grain. In truth, it is generally sewn upon soils 

 that |)romise little ret nii in better crojis, and is 

 too often left to shift for it-^elf. Yet it neverthe- 

 less will repay good treatment, as well as more 



favored cro;:K. It islbe only grain that will grow 

 upon soils containing more than 85 [icr cent, of 

 sanil. 



Ciiltiviilton. — Farms that will uo« |iroducegood 

 v/heat, may be made to produce gocid rye; yet to 

 render it | rofitablit, it should no', be made to fid- 

 low in consecutive years, as it often is, in ijie 

 .•same field — sown with wheat in tin; projiOilion of 

 one to thirty of seed, rye is affirmed lo be ben- 

 eficial to the product of the wheat, affording 

 shade and shelter, and protecting the latti;r from 

 miMew, nutch improving the sample of the grain, 

 and, upon light soils, often giving an increase of 

 two bushels per acre in the product. This fiict, 

 which we take from No. 6. vol. ii., of British hus- 

 bandry, may afford nsefid suggestions to those 

 who raise wheat ouly for their household con- 

 sumption. Rye will not thrive upon a wet soil. 

 Its general treatment nearly resembles that of 

 wheat. 



The seed is generally sown early in September, 

 sometimes in August, and sometimes, in an emer- 

 gency, in November. It requires more covering 

 than wheat. 



When sown early, rye is often depastured in 

 autumn, by calves, sheep, and even cows, with- 

 out prejudicing the crop, and even to its advan- 

 tage. It is often sown as a soiling crop, to be 

 cut in the spring and fed to stock. The quality 

 of the flour is improved by the grain being cut 

 before it has become perfectly hard. — Cultivator. 



Yeast t.v PurRiD Diseases. — The following 

 aceonut of the Rev. Dr. Cartwright's first discov- 

 ery and subsequent experience of the good ef- 

 feets of yeast in putrid sore throats, fever, &c. 

 cannot be too generally known. — Several years 

 ago the reverend gentleman went to reside at 

 Brampton, near Chesterfiehl. A few months 

 after his arrival a putrid fever broki? out, and 

 many of the parishioners being too poor to obtain 

 medical assistance, Mr. Cartvvright prescribed for 

 them from such sources of knowledge as he then 

 possessed. 



He bad fruitlessly tried all the remedies in the 

 case of a |)oor boy who was attacked, and was 

 on the point of declaring his death to be inev- 

 itable, when observing a tub of wort in a corner 

 of the room, and calling to mind the fact that a 

 piece of putrid meat would become sweet by ex- 

 posure to its chemical action, the idea instantly 

 suggested itself that the yeast might correct the 

 putrid nature of the disea.se. The experiment 

 was iminediately trieil, and the patient, by the 

 continued use of it rapidly recovered. Mr. C. 

 subsequently administered the yeast with most 

 decided success in immerous other caies. 



Mansfield Coal. — 'I'he president of the Mas- 

 sachusetts Company has informed the editor of the 

 Norfolk Argus that a shaft has been sunk (icrpen- 

 dicularly to the depth of sixtyfour feet — a vein 

 struck five feet four inches thick, and that the 

 quantity of coal raised from this mine since the 

 first of July last, is about 750 tons. At present 

 from ten to twelve tons per day are raised with a 

 common windlass. From this data it is conclud- 

 ed, that from two to three thousand tons may be 

 mined this season. Many competent judges have 

 represented its qu ility equal to the best Pennsyl- 

 vania Anthracite in all is essential properties. 



