242 



Mint of the United States. 



Vol. VIII. 



Mint of the Uoited States. 



We take from the United States Gazette the follow- 

 ing interesting letter from the Director of the Mint, 

 in relation to the operations both of the parent estab- 

 lishment in this city, and of the branches.— Ed. 



Philadelphia, Jan. 18th, 1844. 



Sir, — I have the honour to lay before you 

 the following report of the operations of the 

 Mint and its branches, during the past year. 



The coinage at the principal mint, in 1843, 

 amounted to §6,530,043 20; comprising $4, 

 062,010 in gold ; 82,443,750 in silver, and 

 $24,283 20 in copper coins; and composed 

 of 10,405,233 pieces. Tiie deposites of gold 

 within the year, amounted to !ji4,107,807, 

 and those of silver, to ^2,357,830. 



At the New Orleans Branch Mint, the 

 coinage amounted to $4,568,000; comprising 

 $3,177,000 in gold, and 81,391,000 in silve> 

 coins, and composed of 4,030,239 pieces. 

 The deposites for coinage, amounted to $3. 

 138,990 in gold, and 81,384,320 in silver. 



The Branch Mint at Dahlonega, received 

 during the year, deposites of gold to the 

 value of 8570,080; and its coinage amounted 

 to 8582,782 50, composed of 98,452 half- 

 eagles and 36,269 quarter-eagles. 



The Branch Mint at Charlotte, received 

 deposites of gold to the value of 8272,064; 

 and its coinage amounted to 8287,005, com- 

 posed of 44,353 half-eagles, and 26,096 quar 

 ter-eagles. ' 



The whole coinage in the United States, 

 during the past year, amounts to within a 

 small fraction of twelve millions of dollars, 

 and exceeds by more than one half, that of 

 any former year. 



Of this coinage more than eight millions 

 is in gold ; showing a greater proportion to 

 silver than has heretofore been presented. 



The Branch Mints at Charlotte and Dah- 

 lonega, have each coined nearly double the 

 amount which they have reached in any 

 former year, and the New Orleans Mint 

 nearly quadruple. 



The production of the gold mines of the 

 United States, as indicated by the amounts 

 sent to the mints, exceeds that of any former 

 year. 



I have the honour to be Sir, 



With great respect, your faithful servant, 

 (Signed) R. M. Patterson. 



Director of the Mint. 



To the President of the U. States. 



Flowers and Shrubs. 



Why does not every lady who can afford 

 it, have a geranium or some other flower in 

 her window] It is very cheap — its cheap- 

 ness is next to nothing, if you raise it from 

 seed, or from a slip; and it is a beauty and 

 a companion. It was the remark of Leigh 

 Hunt, that it sweetens the air, rejoices the 

 eye, links you with nature, and is something' 

 to love. And if it cannot love you in re- 

 turn, it cannot hate you; it cannot utter a 

 hateful thing, even if you neglect it ; for, 

 though it is all beauty, it has no vanity; and 

 such being the case, and living as it does, 

 purely to do you good and afford you plea- 

 sure, how will you be able to neglect it? 

 We receive in imagination the scent of 

 these good natured leaves, which allow you 

 to carry off their perfume on your fingers ; 

 for good natured they are, in tliat respect, 

 above all other plants, and fitted for the 

 hospitality of your room. The very feel of 

 the leaf, has a household warmth in it — 

 something analogous to clothing and com- 

 fort. — Exchange paper. 



The permanence of a fine carpeting of 

 rich moat-grass, upon a portion of his farm, 

 is ascribed by Mr. Purdie, to the spewings 

 of the worms, apparently immensely nume- 

 rous, which incessantly act as a rich top 

 dressing. — Johnston's Lectures. 



Cow Yards. — The place for manure 

 should be contrived so that it should not be 

 exposed to any accumulation of rain water, 

 but should receive the contributions from 

 the sewers of the house, stables, cow-house, 

 &c. The bottom should be paved, so that 

 the drainage uf the manure should run into 

 a small cask, or well, adjoining it. Fresh 

 earth should be regularly brought and 

 sprea(^ over the manure, and the liquid in 

 the well should be spread over it; by which 

 means the whole compost would be equally 

 rich, and the quantity increased to any ex- 

 tent ihat could be required; and the gas 

 which arises from the stable manure in the 

 shape of steam or smoke, and which is the 

 very richest part of it, would be kept under 

 and imbibed by the earth so laid on ; and 

 the quantity of earth should be proportioned 

 to the strength of the manure with which 

 it is mixed. — Gardener and Practical Flo- 

 rist. 



The spontaneous abounding of sheep-sor- 

 rel — Rumex acetosella — is an indication of 

 a dry and poor soil; it delights in sandy 

 fields, and is apt to be found about old 

 stumps of trees. When the farmer finds 

 his fields overrun with it, he may conclude 

 that they lack calcareous matter: there is 

 too much acidity in the soil to admit of a 

 healthy vegetation. A dressing of lime is 

 perhaps, the best mode of remedying the 

 evil. 



