VOL. XII. NO. 36. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL 



285 



From the New York Farmer. 

 THE SCIENCE OP AGRICULTURE. 



Mb.Whitakf.u, in his address before the South 

 Carolina Agricultural Society, thus speaks of this 

 subject: 



It is impossible that a Science, whose basis is so 

 firmly fixed in nature, and which covers so wide a 

 surface of social interests, should fail hereafter to 

 awaken the attention, enlist the talents, and urge 

 forward the enterprise of the most gifted intellects 

 in the promotion of its great objects. It is impos- 

 sible that a Science, of all Sciences the; most use- 

 ful and interesting to man in his present state — a 

 Science which dates hack its origin from the first 

 dawn of civilization, of which, in fact, it has been 

 everywhere the precursor — a Science which has 

 converted savages into useful citizens, and caused 

 even " tin' desert to rejoice and blossom as tin- 

 rose" — a Science which has actually engaged the 

 .attention of seven-eights of the membersof the hu- 

 man family, from the earliest period down to the 



present day, either to its elementary principles ot- 

 to their practical application — a Science, over whose 

 interests even the heathens thought it necessary 

 that a distinct and special Deity should preside — a 

 Science, whose praises have been sung by poets 

 and chaunted by orators, and in whose details kings 

 have been willing to engage — a Science which 

 constitutes the basis, the substratum, the main stock 

 of many other sciences, which can be properly 

 viewed only as shoots or branches from it — a Sci- 

 ence which is the great, the inexhaustible source 

 of wealth, happiness and refinement, both to na- 

 tions and individuals, and whose triumphs are daily 

 witnessed, and whose blessings are sensibly fell 

 and appreciated, by every cultivated people in 

 every habitable clime — a Science which feeds us 

 and clothes us and cheers us — 



" Whose streams from ev'ry quarter confluent, form 

 My heller Nile, that nurses human life. 1 ' 



It is impossible, I affirm, that a Science so valua- 

 ble in itself, so diversified in its relations, so con- 

 trolling in its influence, so important in all its re- 

 sults should not, in an enlightened age, and in a 

 free country, excite a far greater degree of atten- 

 tion than it has hitherto awakened, and command a 

 far higher proportion of respect than it has hither- 

 to claimed. From a variety of causes, this Science 

 has now become so intimately associated with the 

 most thrilling and engrossing interest of life — a 

 knowledge of it is so essential to improvements 

 and prosperity in the manufacturing and mechanic 

 arts — it enters so fundamentally into the prospects 

 and success of every commercial enterprise — it 

 contributes so largely to the amount of domestic 

 peace and public happiness and national glory — it 

 is so closely bound up and involved in the consid- 

 eration of all great political questions, that as it 

 already begins, as might be expected, so it will 

 continue hereafter, to press itself upon the notice 

 of intelligent men of all ranks and professions, in 

 a tone so loud and clear that it will be heard, ami 

 in a language so impressive and intelligible that it 

 must be understood. 



AHIAIALS IN WINTER. 



There is no subject more engaging to the stu- 

 dent of nature, than that which relates to the hy- 

 bernation of various animals of our latitude. The 

 raccoon and wooilchuck who lay up food for their 

 winter stock, hybernate in dens among the rocks, 

 and in deep burrows below frost. The former, 



it is true, sometimes in February, taking advantage 

 of a thaw and a short time of warm weather, sal- 

 lies forth from his winter quarters for a night or 

 two, although never in pursuit of food : but the 

 latter is awakened from his repose only by the re- 

 turn of warm weather. I am credibly informed, 

 that the late Col. Jeremiah Wadswortb, of Hart- 

 ford, with a view of experiment, procured a young 

 wooilchuck to be petted in the house. I'pon the 

 approach of winter, the animal, impelled by in- 

 stiuct, took up his abode for hybernation behind 

 a row of casks in the cellar — not by burrowing in 

 the ground, but by making' for himself a small 

 excavation on the surface, in which he planted 

 himself in a circular form, a position the most ac- 

 commodating to his condition. Many times during 

 ihe winter, Col. W., to gratify the curiosity of his 

 friends, directed the woodchuck to be brought up. 

 The torpid animal, after lying fifteen or twenty 

 minutes on the carpet before a cheering tire in the 

 sitting room, would begin to yawn, then stretch 

 out one limb after another, open its eyes, slowly 

 raise itself on its feet, and walk rather awkwardly 

 from the immediate influence of the fire, appearing 

 very weary till returned to bed in the cellar, uni- 

 formly refusing nourishment of any kind during 

 the time of its hybernation. 



American Journal of Science. 



washing trees, and vines, with strong snap suds, 

 or with lime water, not only are innumerable eggs 

 anil insects destroyed, lint the young plants and 

 seeds of many varieties of mosses which infest or 

 injure trees and vines are destroyed also. Trees 

 that are annually washed, have a more healthy 

 appearance than those that are not, when growing 

 side by side. 



BOOKS. 



Let us consider how great a commodity of doe- 

 trine exists in books ; how easily, how secretly, 

 how safely, they expose the nakedness of human 

 ignorance without putting it to shame. These are 

 the master* who instruct us without rods and 

 ferules, without hard words and anger, "without 

 clothes or money. If you approach them, they are 

 not asleep; if investigating, you interrogate them, 

 they conceal nothing; if you mistake them, they 

 never grumble ; if you are ignorant they cannot 

 laugh at you. — Philobiblion, by Richard de Bury. 



From the Genesee Farmer. 

 RAISING OP EARLY TOMATOES. 



To those who are as fond of this delicious vege- 

 table as we are, it cannot be otherwise than ac- 

 ceptable, to know how it may be brought to early 

 perfection. In this climate, sowed in open ground 

 at the usual season of sowing seeds, it ripens not 

 till September, nor even then if the season proves 

 cold. To have the fruit in perfection, at least two 

 months earlier, during the warm part of the season, 

 when it is the most grateful to the taste and most 

 wholesome, is no unimportant desideratum. The 

 past season 1 had ripe tomatoes at the fourth of 

 July, and an abundant supply for my table the rest 

 of the summer. The mode I practise is this: in 

 the month of January or February, I sow a small 

 quantity of the seed in a box, which I place in the 

 window in my kitchen, taking the same "care of 

 the plants when they come up that I would of a 

 green house plant, to guard them against being 

 frozen. They here grow till the month of March 

 or April, when they are transplanted into a hotbed, 

 a part of them to remain to produce the earliest 

 fruit, unci a part to be again transplanted in the open 

 ground, when the season becomes sufficiently warm, 

 to produce a succession. In this way I never tail 

 to have abundance of this wholesome and delicious 

 vegetable, ripe and in tine perfection, at that part 

 of the season when it is most desirable. Those 

 who have green bouses might in this way have 

 the plants growing all winter in pots which early 

 in the spring taken out of the pots with the ball 

 of earth about their roots unbroken, anil planted in 

 a hot bed, would produce ripe fruit by the begin- 

 ning of June. They would well repay this extra 

 care and trouble. 



INSECTS. 



TnosE who are desirous of keeping their fruit 

 trees free from insects, should wash them with 

 soap suds before the insects have left those places 

 where they have passed the winter, and before the 

 eggs which were deposited under the loose bark, 

 and beneath limbs, &c. have hatched. By early 



LAYING PLANTS. 



Mr. Munro, in Loudon's Magazine, recommends 

 splitting the layer for .some distance, instead of 

 the common method of notching or tonguing them. 

 They are not as likely to break, and send out fib- 

 rous roots sooner. A piece of clay or moss is put 

 in the slit to keep it apart. 



ITEMS. 



Soot to stop Blood. — It has been found that soot 

 applied to a fresh wound will not otdy stop the 

 bleeding, but ease the pain. 



Gold and Silver Fish. — These fish are said, in 

 Loudon's Magazine, to breed abundantly in water 

 that is moderately warmed by additions from fac- 

 tories. 



Watering Plants for Market. — Watering plants 

 in markets gives them a fresher appearance, but 

 repeated waterings are pernicious, neutralizing the 

 juices of some, rendering others bitter, and mak- 

 ing all vapid and disagreeable. 



Silk Handkerchiefs, the product of the nativo 

 mulberry, have been manufactured at Day ton, Ohio, 

 and for durability and texture are said to be equal 

 to the best that are imported. 



HINTS TO PEOPLE WITH EYES. 



On first awakening in the morning, do not ex- 

 pose yourself to a sudden glare of light. 



Do not rub your eyes with your fingers, or any 

 thing else: it excites inflammation. If the lids 

 adhere, gently pass your finger over them with 

 saliva. 



When obliged to guard the eye from the glare 

 of light, let the shade he of simple green silk, so 

 suspended as not to press upon the eye. 



Bathe the eyes, morning and evening, in pure 

 cold spring water. Pump water is not good. A 

 fine linen handkerchief should be' used to wipe 

 them dry. Never wash them when you are per- 

 spiring, or very warm. 



Eye cups or glasses are worse than nothing. 



Persons engaged on white articles, or minute 

 work, should choose rooms in which there is 

 a long perspective, on which their eyes may rest 

 for occasional relief. 



All brilliant linings for hats should be avoided, 

 as the rays reflected from them are more danger- 

 ous than the direct rays of the sun. 



