VOL. XI. NO. ati. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



203 



liabits, customs, anmsemeiits, &c. of the inluibit- 

 auts of tliis ileliglitful region of die "far West." 



In speaking of the nuinefolis tribes settled I'oiiiid 

 the fort of tlie American Fur Cioni(inny, at tliis 

 place, he says, " The buftalo lierds whifli tilWays 

 graze upon the beautiful prairies in countless num- 

 bers, afford them abundance of meat ; and so much 

 is it preferred to all others, that the deer, the elk, 

 and the antelope, sport upon the prairie in herds 

 in the greatest security, as the Indians never kill 

 them unless they want their skin for a dress. 



He thus treats of Mr. M'Kenzie's (the com- 

 mander) manner of killing his beef: 



" He starts with three or four men, on liorse- 

 hack, whh two or three carts following at a dis- 

 tance, and oftentimes within view of the fort, if 

 not within a mile or two, they will ride amongst ti 

 band of them, and in a few minutes kill ten or 

 twelve of them, selecting the fattest of the benl. 

 These scenes are exceedingly S|)irited and beauti- 

 ful, furnishing decidedly the finest subjects for the 

 pencil of any sporting scenes in the world. The 

 liorses in this country are all trained to it, and 

 know exactly how to approach the animal, without 

 being guided by the bit. A short light gun is used 

 for the purpose. The rider guides his horse at 

 full speed, until he has selected the object of his 

 prey; he directs his horse to it, then drops his 

 bridle, and the horse at full speed approaches the 

 animal on the right side within eight or teii feet, 

 when the shot is generally given with such preci- 

 sion through the vital parts of the body, that he sel- 

 dom runs more than a hundred yards before he falls. 



I rode in the midst of several of these scenes 

 rather to study than to slay. In one of them, how- 

 ever, finding my horse had brought me so fairly 

 alongside of a bull of the largest size, I caught, as 

 my horse had, the enthusiasm of the chase, and 

 with my double-barrelled gun so disabled liim,that 

 he was immediately left by the band. I halted, and 

 saw my comrades sweeping over the prairies, 

 mingling in the midst of the herd, and leaving at 

 every few rods the dying victims on the plains. I 

 was willing to stop the pursuit, for I found that I 

 had luckily so disabled my bull that he could make 

 none or but little advance upon me, although he 

 was continually rising upon me. Here was a scene 

 for the painter or the statuary, and worthy of the 

 sublime ideas of Michael Angelo. Not the tiger, 

 nor the black-maned lion of Africa, could have 

 looked half so furious or so frightful. I defy the 

 world to produce an aniinal in his looks so furious 

 and frightful as the buffalo bull, when he is roused 

 into a rage, with his long shaggy mane covering 

 his shoulders, and falling to the ground. In this 

 condition I drew my sketch-book from my pocket, 

 and by riding towards and around him, and ex- 

 citing his fury, I was enabled to catch the very 

 attitudes and expressions that I wanted. The 

 ])arty returning, at length, with some anxiety for 

 my safety, and finding me dismounted and busily 

 engaged, with this infuriated gentleman before me 

 standing for his likeness, were not a little sur- 

 prised and amused. When my series of attitudes 

 and expressions were finished, a shot through his 

 head finished the scene. 



From the Albany Ar^ts. 

 VEGET.\B1.E PHYSIOI.OGV. 



Professor Lindley, in his lectures which form- 

 ed the subject of my late communication, lays it 

 down as an axiom, that flowers and fruits " are on- 

 ly stunted branches, produced by accumulations of 



sap, or in fact) by partial disease or imperfection 

 in the circulation;" Whatever tends to retard the 

 (huscending ol' clabotated sap, in the fruit tree, in- 

 duces blossoms, and cblisequently friiiti This 

 may be eithef Hng--barking-, ligatlli'es, wounds, or 

 bent or Crooked bi'tinchcsi Thd beet means with- 

 in the reach of the gardenei-j are foinid In judicious 

 pruning. Those who select straight Ujirlglit grow- 

 ing ti'eee, or train them so by cutting oft" the hori- 

 zontal branches, with a view of gratifying the sight, 

 are often disappointed in their exjiectations of real- 

 izing early and abundant crops of fruit. The ali- 

 ment which the roots take from the soil and elabo- 

 rate by the leaves, goes merely to increase the vol- 

 ume of wood. A crooked tree, although less thrif- 

 ty, generally produces earlier, and is a more abun- 

 dant bearer, than a straight one. Fruit trees grow- 

 ing wild, or which are neglected to be pruned, are 

 imich less productive than those which are culti- 

 vated, or judiciously pruned. This is particularly 

 remarked of the grape, the currant and the goose- 

 berry. The object of the cultivator should be, to 

 give the branches of his fruit trees a horizontal or 

 oblique direction, which causes somewhat of a 

 stricture at their intersection with the bole, and 

 thus retards the free descent of the sap. This is 

 one object of training trees to walls, that their 

 branches may be preserved in a horizontal or ob- 

 lique direction. And it is this law in the vegeta- 

 ble economy which has suggested a new mode of 

 training, denominated en quenoille (distaff form), 

 which is done by bending and tying the branches 

 down in a drooping or inverted position. The 

 Professor relates a case of a stone being success- 

 fully placed in the crotch of a tree, which, by 

 pressing against the vessels of the descending sap 

 induced fruitfulness. It is a good way to divest 

 fruit trees, at a proper height, of their leading 

 shoots, and to train them low and flat. Forest 

 trees, on the contrary, where the object is orna- 

 hient or timber, require to be trimmed with a 

 straight clean bole, preserving, however, at least 

 onc'third of the height in top, lest \'ou too much 

 diminisli the foliage — for leaves make roots, and 

 roots make leaves. 



This trait in the vegetable, has a familiar analo- 

 gy in the animal economy. The food that is con- 

 sumed by the cow, is secreted either in flesh or 

 milk. If she is a good milker, she seldom takes 

 on much, without extraordinary keep ; and if she 

 grows remtirkably in flesh, she is but a bad milker. 

 We cannot have an abundance of milk and meat 

 from the cow, nor of wood and fruit from the tree. 

 By the way, speaking of cows, recals to my mind 

 a conclusion which is the result of some observa- 

 tion and reflection, viz. that taking into account 

 the expense of keeping and the product, the little 

 Dutch cows of New- York are superior to tlie im- 

 proved breeds on the score of jirofit for dairy pur- 

 poses. — They are probably of the true Holstein 

 stock, introduced with the first Dutch settlers from 

 the Faderland. B. 



TVie Kangaroo. When tamed, this animal is a 

 mischievous wag, creeping and snuffing cautiously 

 towards a stranger, with such an innocent expres- 

 sion of countenance, that roguery would never be 

 suspected to exist under it; having obtained, as he 

 thinks, a sufficient introduction, he claps his fore- 

 paws on your shouhlers as if to caress you and 

 raising himself suddenly upon his tail, administers 

 such a well-applied push with his hind legs, that 

 it is two to one but he drives you heels over head ! 



This is all done in what he considers facetious 

 play, with a view of giving you u hint to examine 

 your pockets, and see what hon bans you have for 

 him, as he munches comfits and cakes with epicu- 

 rean gout; and if the door is ajar, lie will o-ravely 

 take his station behind your chair at mealtime like 

 a lackey, giving you an admonitory kick now and 

 then, if you fail to help him as well as yourself. 



Cure for the Consumption. An English chemist 

 of high fame, Mr. John Murray, of Hull, F. S. A. 

 &c., has discovered what ho firmly believer to be 

 a cure for the tubercular phthisic, or far-gone con- 

 sumption. His work on this subject, which is 

 dedicated to the Duke of Wellington, contains the 

 result of twelve years' inquiry, during which pe- 

 riod his thoughts have been exclusively bent to this 

 noble and philanthropic object. In the progress of 

 his investigations, he came to the very rational 

 conclusion, and one which has impressed many 

 other minds, that if any remedy should ever be 

 found out for structural diseases of the lungs, it 

 must be some one which may be brought into im- 

 mediate contact with the diseased surface, and 

 when there, have the power of subduing the mor- 

 bid action without diminishing the general tone of 

 the system. At length, Mr. Murray believesthat he 

 has discovered such a remedy in the vapor of ni- 

 tric .acid ; and this fact is the more worthy of atten- 

 tion, since it came from a source where empyrij 

 cism cannot be suspected.— ^jBo«. Med. S,- Snr. Jour. 



POISONS. 



The following useful directions in cases of poison 

 are given by Dr. J. Stone, of Birmingham, England. 



1st. When the preparations of arsenic, mercury, 

 or any metal, or when any unknown substance or 

 matter has been swallowed, and there have speedily 

 ensued heat of the mouth and throat, violent pain 

 of tlie stomach, itching and vomiting — immediate- 

 ly drink a plenty of warm water, with common 

 soap scraped or dissolved in it. Two or three 

 quartsof warm water, with from three or fbiirounccs 

 of soap to half a pound will not be any too much. 



2. When any of the prejiarations of opium, hen- 

 bane, nightshade, hemlock, tobacco, foxglove, or 

 stramonium, or any poisonous fungus mistaken for 

 mushrooms or spiritous liquors in excess, or any 

 other unknown matters have been swallowed, ex- 

 citing sickness without pain of the stomach, or 

 producing giddiness, drowsiness or sleep — give in- 

 stantly one tabie-spoouful of flour of mnslaid in 

 water, and repeat it in copious draughts of warm 

 water, constantly until vomiting takes place. If 

 the person becomes so insensible as not to be easily 

 roused gue the mustard in vinegar instead of water, 

 and rub and shake the body actively and incessantly. 



3d. When spirits of salt, or aquafortis, have 

 been swallowed or spilt on the skin, immediately 

 drink or wash the part with large quantities of 

 water, and as soon as they can be procured, add 

 soa]), or potash, or chalk, to the water. 



Auotlier practitioner observes that when mineral 

 poisons, technically called oxides, whctlier of cop- 

 per or arsenic, are taken internally, one table- 

 sjioonful of powdered charcoal is a complete anti- 

 dote, mixed with either honey, butter or treacle, 

 taken immediately : — AVithin two hours administer 

 either an emetic or cathartic : in this way the effect 

 of the poison is prevented. 



For the poison of insects take vinegar and sweet 

 oil of each one ])art, strong spirit three parts, mix- 

 ed ; apply it very frequently. 



