Vol. XI.— No. 4. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



29 



nCTUllED ROCKS OF LAKE SUPE- 

 RIOR. 



Upon the soutliern coast of Lake Superior, 

 about fifty miles froiii the fulls of St Mary, are 

 the immense precipitous cliffs, called by the voy- 

 agers, Le Portrail and the Pictured RocUs. This 

 name has been given to them in consequence of 

 the diflereut appearances which they ])resent to 

 the traveller, as he passes their base in his canoe. 

 It requires little aid from the imagination to dis- 

 cern in them the castellated tower, and lofty dome, 

 spires and |)innaeles, and every sublime, grotesque 

 or fantastic shape, which the genius of architec- 

 ture ever invented. These cliffs are an unbroken 

 mass of rocks, rising to an elevation of 300 feet 

 above the level of the lake, and stretching along 

 the coast for 15 n)iles. The voyagers never pass 

 this coast excc])t in the most profound calm ; and 

 the Indians, before they make the attempt, ofler 

 their accustomed oblations, to propitiate the favor 

 of their Manitoos. The eye instinctively search- 

 es along this eternal rampart for a single place of 

 security ; but the search is in vain. With an 

 impassable barrier of rocks on one side, and an 

 interminable expanse of water on the other, a 

 sudden storm upon the lake would as inevitably 

 insure destruction to the passenger in his frail 

 canoe, as if he were on the brink of the cataract 

 of Niagara. The rock itself is a sandstone, which 

 is disintegrated by the continual action of the wa- 

 ter with comparative facility. There are no brok- 

 en masses upon which the eye can rest and find 

 relief. The lake is so deep that these masses, as 

 they are torn from the precipice, are concealed 

 beneath its waters until they are reduced to sand. 

 The action of the waves has undermined ever 

 projecting point — and there the immense preci- 

 pice rests upon arches, and the foundation is in- 

 tersected with caverns in every direction. When 

 we passed this mighty fabric of nature, the wind 

 was still and the lake w^^as calm. But even the 

 slightest motions of the waves, which in the most 

 profound calm agitates these internal seas, swept 

 through the deep caverns with the noise of dis- 

 tant thunder, and died away npon the ear, as if 

 rolled forv.ard in the dark recesses inaccessihie to 

 human observation. No sound more nielanclioly 

 or more awful ever vibrated upon Inmian nerves. 

 It has left an impression which neither time nor 

 distance can ever efface. Resting in a frail bark 

 canoe npon the limpid waters of the lake, we 

 seemed almost suspended in air, so pellucid is the 

 element npon which we floated. In gazing upon 

 the towering battlements which itnpended over 

 us, and from which the smallest fragment would 

 have destroyed us, we felt, and felt intensely, our 

 own insignificance. No situation can be imag- 

 ined more appalling to the courage, or more luini- 

 bling to the |)ride of man. We appeared like a 

 speck upon the face of creation. Our whole party, 

 Indians and voyagers, and soldiers, and officers, 

 and servants, contemplated in mute astonishment 

 the awfiil display of creative ])ower, at whose base 

 we hung; and no sound broke upon the ear to in- 

 terrupt the ceaseless roaring of the waters. No 

 splendid cathedral, no temple built with human 

 hands, no pomp of worship, could ever impress 

 the spectator with such deep humility, and so 

 strong a conviction of the immense distance be- 

 tween him and the Ahnighty Architect. 



The writer of this article has viewed the Falls of 

 Niagara, and the passage of the Potomac through 



tijc Blue Ridge, two of the most stupendous ob- 

 jects in the natural features of our country. The 

 impression they produce is feeble and transient, 

 compared with that of the " Pictured Rocks" on 

 Lake Superior. — Gov. Cass. 



WATERING PLACES IN THE FIF- 

 TEENTH CENTURY. 



Baden, the well known and much frequented 

 watering place, has been long celebrated. The 

 following account of it in the fifteenth century is 

 interesting. Those warriors who would while 

 away the interval between one canqiaign and an- 

 other agreeably betook themselves to Baden in 

 Aargau. Here in a narrow valley, where the Lim- 

 mat flows through its rocky bed, are hot springs of 

 highly medicinal properties. Hither, to the nu- 

 merous houses of public entertainment, resorted 

 prelates, abbots, monks, nuns, soldiers, statesmen, 

 and all sorts of artificers. As in our own fash- 

 ionable watering places, most of the visiters mere- 

 ly sought to dissipate ennui, enjoy life, and pur- 

 sue pleasure. The baths were most crowded at 

 an early hour in the morning, and those who did 

 not bathe resorted thither to see acquaintances, 

 with whom they could hold conversation from the 

 galleries round the bath rooms, while the bathers 

 played at 'various games, or ate from floating ta- 

 bles. Lovely females did not disdain to sue for 

 alms from the gallery-loungers, who threw down 

 coins of small amount, to enjoy the ensuing scram- 

 ble. Flowers were strewn on the surface of the 

 water, and the vaulted roof rang with music vo- 

 cal and instrumental. Towards noon the com- 

 pany sallied forth to the meadows in the neigh- 

 borhood ; acrpiaintances were easily made, and 

 strangers became familiar. The pleasures of the 

 table were followed by jovial pledges in swift 

 succession, till fife and drum summoned to the 

 dance. Now fell the last barriers of reserve and 

 decorum, and it is time to drop a veil over the 

 scone. But what horror seized the dissolute crowd 

 when the intelligence suddenly reached them, that 

 the plague was spreading its ravages over the 

 land ! Instant flight to the farthest mountain 

 recesses hardly bafiled contagion ; youth !and 

 strength afforded no security ; even love and friend- 

 ship yielded to the uiiivcrsa4 panic, and the sick 

 were left to die without con|olation or attendance. 

 The wrath of God was traced in this visitation ; 

 the churches filled with penitent and penance-per- 

 forming sinners, and pilgrimages were made with 

 all contrition and humility. Yet scarcely^had the 

 scourge ceased to be felt, when tlie old mode was 

 resumed as eagerly as ever. — Lardncr\ Cyclop., 



tends taking Hedgford. It appears this gentle- 

 man is determined to excel as much in racing as 

 he has done in trotting, if we may Judge from his 

 having selected Hedgford, and the price he has 

 given for hjm. It is much to be regretted that 

 such a horse should be sent out of the kingdom ; 

 as independent of his being one of the best bred, 

 he is decidedly one of the finest horses in Eng- 

 land. He is by the Filho da Puta, or Magistrate, 

 out of Miss Craigie (the dam of "Birmingham,") 

 six years old, Kil hands high, with muscular pow- 

 er not surpassed by any horse in the kingdom. 

 His color a rich dark brown, with black legs. He 

 has been a great ^vinner of stakes and cups. 



THE HORSE. 



It is our pride to witness the efforts making to 

 improve the breed of this noble animal, and we 

 take great pleasure in givTng place to the follow- 

 ing from the Birmingham Herald, by whioji it will 

 be perceived that Mr Jackson has purchased the 

 celebrated horse Hedgford. It is said that an un- 

 usually large price has been paid for him, and that 

 he is probably one of the best horses ever import- 

 ed into the country when but -Sfx years old. — JV. 

 Y. Enquirer. 



From the Birmingham Herald of Juno 5th. 

 Mr Beardsworth has sold the horse Hedgford, 

 for a very large sum, to Mr Jackson, the gentle- 

 man who biought those celebrated horses, Tom 

 Thumb and Rattler, from America, where he in- 



PRESERVATIVE AGAINST THE SMALL 

 POX AND MEASLES. 

 Mr Remy, a physician at Chatillon, has made 

 some successful experiments on chloride of lime, 

 as a preservative against small pox. In a village 

 where the small pox raged, he caused the only 

 twelve individuals in the place, who yet remained 

 subject to the infection, to be washed thrice a 

 week with a solution of chloride of lime, and gave 

 them at the same time two drops of the solution 

 in a glass of ea« sticree. Two of them had a slight 

 eruption, sinfilar to a vaccine which had not tak- 

 en well ; the other ten, who were not separated 

 from those sufferiiig fiom the small pox, had no 

 symptoms of illness. In another village afflicted 

 with the small pox, of fifteen individuals still sub- 

 ject to it, ten were treated in the same manner, 

 and escaped ; while two of the remaining five 

 caught the malady. M. Chevalier stated to the 

 Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, that he was 

 the first to suggest chloride of lime as a preserva- 

 tive against the small pox ; and observed that it 

 might be used as a protection against the measles, 

 by keeping in the chamber of the child whom it 

 was desired to prevent from infection, a saucer of 

 dry chloride of lime, renewed from time to time, 

 and dipping its shirts in a solution of one ounce 

 of concentrated liquid chloride in twelve quarts 

 of ■watev.—Mstract from Journal Royal Institute. 



CHERRY STONES. 



To preserve the vegetative principle in cherry 

 stones, they should be buried in earth as soon as 

 convenient after the flesh has been taken from 

 them ; they should not be allowed to dry, neither 

 be left iu a situation to become sour. Many who 

 aye wishing to propagate cherries from seeds, are 

 disappointed in not attending to these things, and 

 it is often said that they must be raised from 

 sprouts; such trees, however, are not so vvell root- 

 ed as those raised from seeds. In selecting vari- 

 eties for [danting for common nursery purposes, 

 the M.nzzard or Honey cherry are to be preferred ; 

 but those who intend to produce new seedling va- 

 rieties, slioiUd select only such seeds as are known 

 to be from valuable varieties. Seeds from the 

 Kentish and MorcUo varieties are not good for 

 planting, as they are slow of growth, and do not 

 make good stocks to graft or bud ujton. — Genesee 

 Farmer. 



Craid'crries. — As this fruit is largely employed 

 in most families, some persons may be gind to be 

 informed, that these berries may be preserved 

 several years, merely by drying them a little in 

 the sun, and then stopping them closely in dry 

 bottles.— Parie*. 



