Vol. X.— N". 5. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL, 



37 



injury, lie observed tli.nt a covering' of earth or 

 litter, wliile it prevented the escape of heat, iit tiie 

 same time prevented its entrance ; and he gave, 

 as an instance in favor of the practice, the well 

 known early flowering of bulbs planted on the 

 surface, as done with crocuses about Paris, in 

 comparison with those which are inserted some 

 inches deep in the soil. He is of opinion that 

 cold serves to force forward plants as well as heat ; 

 having remarked that, after a very severe winter, 

 provided it were short, bulbs flowered earlier, and 

 asparagus was ready to cut sooner. Of course, 

 this doctrine can only ap|dy to very hardy plants, 

 but, relatively to them, it appears to be one well 

 deserving the consideration of British gardeners. 



In the grounds which M. Cadet de Mars has 

 retained fur his own amusement, there is a wall 

 covered with peach and apricot trees, very well 

 trained in the fan manner. Along its top there is 

 a projecting trellis, supported, at an angle of about 

 60^, by struts abiittiijg against the wall, about 

 2 ft. lower thai; the top ; and this trellis is covered 

 with vines. The upper parts of the peach and 

 apricot trees were evidently injured a little by the 

 shade of the vines ; but we were told that the latter 

 were of some use to the former in spring, by pro- 

 tecting their blossoms from perpendicidar cold. 

 The trellis was loaded with grapes, which, fioni 

 the path in front, had a very rich appearance. 

 There were a great many dwarf apple trees in 

 this garden, tndned sn goJeZff ; the sort preferred 

 was the reinette de Canada. Behind M. Cadet j 

 de Mars' house is a small walled garden, formerly, 

 if we are not mistaken, the burying-gromul of a 

 religious establishmeni, the church of which is 

 now one of .M. Cadet de Mars' barns, and is filled 

 with apples and onions. There are some very 

 large standard apricot trees in this garden, and a 

 very old vine, which bear abundantly ; and we 

 saw a stack of onions as large as a haystack. 

 The onions are stacked by alternating them with 

 thin layers of rye straw ; the straw at the outside 

 of the stack being doubled in over the onions, so 

 that none of them appeared to view. We have 

 seen carrots stacked in the same manner with 

 wheat stiaw in England. 



book-boards, &c, is sain, on (lie authority of Lin- I Solid Stem Wheat. We had an o 



nspus, to get sometimes into the stomach, and to ty a lew .lays since, says the Annaiiolis, Marvland 

 produce considerable disorder; but this insect is l{p,„,|,ii,--,ii of [,,h, Q „r » • i. c . ' 



very common in houses, and, from the rarity of such "'^l""'"" "• "' '^'X \^; "'^ " '"' "^ '"^'^^^ 

 accidents, we are led to doubt the evidence usually "1.'°" '''« '""'i "f Dr Wilson Waters, of Rhode 



INSECTS. 



We copy the followinff singular account from the 

 ,ast No. of the valuable Library of Entertaining 

 Knowledge : 



We do not wish to create, so much as to allay, the 

 fears entertained by those who are unacquainted with 

 the habits of insects ; and nothing v/e are persuaded 

 will do tills more effectually than a statement of facts 

 well ascertained. 'Several people,' says the Abbe 

 de la Pluche, 'never eat fruit because they believe 

 that spiders and other insects scatter their eggs up- 

 on it at random ;' but even if this were so, as it is 

 not, it would be impossible for the young, should 

 they be hatched in the stomach, to live there for an 

 instant. The possible cases in which this may oc- 

 cur we shall now briefly notice ; they are fortunate- 

 ly very rare. 



The meal worm, and some of the grubs which 

 feed on grain and other provisions, are recorded to 

 have been swallowed, and to have given rise to 

 disorders in the stomach and bowels ; but in all such 

 cases it is plain, that if the insects did survive the 

 increased temperature of the stomach, they could 

 only live on the food swallowed from time to time, 

 for, not being carnivorous, they would not attack the 

 stomach itself. The same remark will apply no less 

 forcibly to the herbivorous larva?, which might 

 chance to be swallowed in salad, &c. The cater- 

 pillar of the tabby moth [Jlglossa pinguinalis, 

 LiTRKiLLE,) which feeds on butter, the leather on 



brought forward. ; -l^iver, Irom which, we presume, something up- 



That insects are, in some rare cases, introduced wards of n bushel will he reaped — that if we mis- 



into the human stomach, has been more tlian once '''ke not, will be a valuuhle acquisition : it is the 



proved; though the greater number of the accounts third product of a {cvi grains of seed brou'dit, 



of such facts in medical books are too inaccurate to l,„nie bv our fellow citizen Lt Mayo of the Uidt- 



be trusted. But one extraordinary case has beeii ^j State.s Navy, and obtained ' by him upon the 

 completely authenticated, both by medical men and p, ■ ,^ r rn ■ ^■ «,. •' ,., ,' ^ 

 '.,..._:_-...__,: _.!,: ,-!:,_,■,, t^, I ' /«"!« 0/ TV'ot/, HI Asia Miuor, wliich he spent 



some time in visiting a kw years a^'o, when the 



competent naturalists ; and is published in the Dub 

 lin Transactions, by Dr Pickells of Cork. Mary Ri- 

 ordan, aged 28, had been much affected by the 

 death of her mother, and at one of her many visits to 

 the grave seems to have partially lost her senses, 

 having been found lying there on the morning of a 

 winter's day, and having been exposed to heavy rain 

 during the night. When she was about fifteen, two 

 popular Catholic priests had died, and she was told 

 by some old women that if she would drink daily, for 

 a certain time, a quantity of water, mixed with clay 

 taken from their graves, she would be forever se- 

 cure from disease and sin. Following this absurd 

 and disgusting prescription, she took from time to 

 time large quantities of the draught ; some time af- 

 terwards, being afl'ected with a burning pain in the 

 stomach (Cnrdiiilgin,) she began to eat large pieces 

 of chalk, which she sometimes also mixed with wa- 

 ter and drank. 



Now, whether in any or in all of these draughts 

 she swallowed the eggs of insects, cannot be affirm- 

 ed ; but for several years she continued to throw up 

 incredible numbers of grubs and maggots, chiefly of 

 the churchyard beetle (Blaps mortisaga, Fabr.) — 

 'Of the larva; of the beetle,' says Dr Pickells, 'lam 

 sure I considerably underrate, when I say that not 

 less than 700 have been thrown up from the stomach 

 at different times since the commencement of my 

 attendance. A great proportion were destroyed by 

 herself to avoid publicity ; many, too, escaped im- 

 mediately by running info holes in tlie floor. Up- 

 wards of ninety were submitted to Dr Thomson's 

 examination ; nearly all of which, including two of 

 the specimens of the meal worm [Tencbiiu moHtor,) 

 I saw myself, thrown up at diflx^rent times. The av- 

 erage size was about an inch and a half in length, 

 and four lines and a half in girth. The larvEe of the 

 dipterous insect, though voided only about seven or 

 eight times, according to her account, came up al- 

 most literally in myriads. They were alive and mov- 

 ing.' Altogether, Dr Pickells saw nearly 2000 grubs 

 of the beetle, and there were many which he did 

 not see. Mr Clear, an intelligent entomologist of 

 Cork, kept some of them alive for more than twelve 

 mouths. Mr S. Cooper cannot understand whence 

 the continued supply of the grubs was provided, see- 

 ing that larvae do not propagate, and that only one 

 pupa and one perfect insect were voided; but the 

 simple fact that most beetles live several years in 

 the state of larvs sufficiently accounts for this. — 

 Their existing and thriving in the stomach, too, will 

 appear less wonderful from the fact that it is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to kill this insect; for Mr Henry Ba- 

 ker repeatedly plunged one into spirit of wine, so fii- 

 tal to most insects, but it revived, even after being 

 immersed a whole night, and afterwards lived JJyears. 



That there was no deception on the part of the 

 woman, is proved by the fact that she was always 

 anxious to conceal the circumstance ; and that it was 

 only by accident that the medical gentlemen, Drs 

 Pickells, Herriclj and Thomson, discovered it. — 

 Moreover, it does not aopear that, though poor, she 

 ever took advantage of it to extort money. It is in- 

 teresting to learn that by moans of turpentine, in 

 large doses, she v;as at length cured. 



ship on board which he then served, was in the 

 Archipelago. The grains of this wheat are some- 

 what larger than those of wheat common to this 

 country, though perhaps not quite as large as the 

 wheat from the niountaiiis of Chili. The stalk is 

 peculiar for being nearly solid, inste.-id of hollow, 

 more tapering than oiher wheat, the first joints be- 

 ing larger, and forming a more substantial base. 

 The head has a thick stiff beard, not less than six 

 inches in length. It averages about forty grains 

 to each head, which we ascertained to weigh one 

 third more than the same number of grains of the 

 blue stem wheat growing along side of it, and 

 which also averaged forty grains to the head. 

 Forty grains of the former weighed thirtyone 

 grains — the same number of the latter weighed 

 but nineteen grains. This being the tiiird year 

 that this wheat has vegetated in our climate and up- 

 on our soil, aliliough but in specimen, we may fair- 

 ly assure that it has been tested and found to answer 

 well. Itissaid to be valuable more especially from 

 the |irotcction which the solidity of its stalk afibrds 

 from the depredations of the fly, so destructive to 

 other descriptions of wheat. It will also he much 

 less liable to fall, we presume, from the same 

 reason. 



Bi/e— According to some, rye is a native of 

 Crete; but it is very doubtful if it be found wild 

 in any counlry. It has been cultivated from time 

 immemorial, and is considered as coming nearer in 

 its properties to wheat than any other grain. It 

 is more common than wheat on most parts of 

 the continent; being a more certain crop, and 

 one which requires less culture and manure. It 

 is the bread corn of Germany and Russia. 



In Britain it is now very little grown; being no 

 longer a biead corn, and therefore of less value to 

 the farmer than barley, oats, or j)eas. — Ency. of 

 ./Igri. 



The big Beet heat.— The Tu.scaloosa Intelli" 

 gencer says. Air F. M. Hickenhurg has left at our of- 

 fice a Beet which grew in his garden, measuring 

 twentynne and a Aa?/ inches in circumference, and 

 twentytwo inches lung, and he says he has a bushel 

 that will measure 18 inches in circumference. 



Vi'hile-ionshing. — One of the cheapest and best 

 modes of preparing the white-wash, is to use skim 

 milk with new slacked lime. This renders it 

 adhesive, and it does not fall off as quick as when 

 the lime is wet with water. 



Recipe for Summer Beer. — Take 4 quarts of mo- 

 asses, half a pint of yeast, and a spoonful of pow- 

 dered race ginger ; put these into your vessel 

 and pour on them two gallons of scalding hot 

 water to fill up the cask. Let the liquor ferment 

 about twelve hours, when it will be fit for use. It 

 may be kept in bottles to a great age. 



Jill excellent cure for a sprain. — Take two pieces 

 of rul flannel, soak or saturate one of them com- 

 pletely with beef or pork pickle, (beef is best) and 

 j>lace it on the wrist or ancle sprained, and wrap 

 the other |)iece over it, and the pain will subside 

 in a very short time. 



