NO. 5. 



THE farmers' cabinet. 



79 



jng in such a manner as to cover a very large 

 surface. The Mimosa grandijlora, or large 



Fig. 10.— Sensitive Plant. 



flowering sensitive plant, is represented in 

 the above cut. [t has an exceedingly ele- 

 gant appearance, when the long and slender 

 filaments which compose the flower have 

 attained iheir full growth ; and the effect is 

 heightened by the splendor of a tropical sun, 

 and the occasional accompaniment of those 

 brilliant little humming birds which abound 

 in the same latitudes. 



The word Mimosa signifies " Mimic," and 

 is given to the plant on account of the sensi- 

 bility of the leaves, which, by their motion, 

 mimic or imitate that of animals. In one 

 species this property is very remarkable, 

 though it belongs in a greater or less degree 

 to all. By running a stick over a bed of the 

 Mimosa viva, the leaves will contract them- 

 selves in such a way as to exhibit any figure 

 which may be described by it, such as the 

 name of the person who performs the experi- 

 ment, or any other device he may please to 

 execute : and this effect will continue for se- 

 veral minutes after the cause of it is removed. 

 It is from the Mimosa Nilotica, or true Egyp- 

 tian Acacia, that the gum Arabic is procured ; 

 and the common Acacia of our garden exhi- 

 bits something of the retractile habits of these 

 plants. If a bough be gathered, the leaves 

 will immediately collapse or fall together, 

 bending downwards towards the back of the 

 stalk, along both sides of which they are so 

 gracefully arranged. 



BRITISH CATTI^E. 



Cattle, their Breeds, Management, anu 

 Diseases, with an Appendix — Philadel. 

 phia, Grigg and Elliott, IbliG. 



Tiii.s work is one of the volumes of the 

 Farmers' Series of the Library of Useful 

 Knowledge, published in London under the 

 superintendence of the Society for the Diffu- 

 sion of Useful Knowledge, and re-publishcd 

 in this city by Messrs. Gkigg and Elliott, 

 No. 9 North Fourth street. It is a neat 

 octavo volume of six hundred pages, illus- 

 trated by a variety of well executed wood 

 cuts. In giving this work, the publishers 

 have not only consulted their own interests, 

 but also, and especially, the interests of the 

 farming community. When we say that it 

 ought to be in the possession of every farmer 

 and grazier, we only bespeak for it a patron- 

 age commensurate with its real merits. 



The reader will bear in mind, however, 

 that this work treats almost exclusively of 

 British Cattle, and the diseases to which 

 they are liable — the best methods of treat- 

 ment, &c. It would, theretbre, have added 

 not a little to its value, if the publisher had 

 submitted it to the revision of a judicious and 

 competent grazier, in order to have it more 

 particularly adapted to this country. In that 

 event, a brief history of the cattle of the 

 United States could have been furnished ; 

 the best methods adapted to their manage- 

 ment, the treatment of diseases, &c. This, 

 we hope, will be attended to in a second 

 edition, which, we trust, will be speedily 

 demanded. 



It was our intention to have given an ex- 

 tract from the work, with one or two of the 

 illustrations ; we made application for the 

 necessary cuts, with an offer of payment for 

 the use of the same, but could not obtain 

 them. We shall, therefore, omit the extracts 

 and a full review of this admirable work, 

 until we come to treat upon the subject of 

 Cattle Husbandry, which will be accom- 

 panied by the necessary illustrations. 



Mules. — It is surprising that the farmers 

 of this neighborhood do not turn more of 

 their attention to the raising of mules, for the 

 use of their farms. They are very scarce 

 hereabouts, and we cannot account for it in 

 any other way, than that their value is not 

 properly appreciated. They are more pro- 

 fitable stock to raise than horses; they will 

 live on straw, and stubble, and browse, and 

 always command a handsome price; they 

 are not liable to the train of diseases which 

 visit horseflesh. They also live as long. — 

 Salein, N. C. paper. 



