Vol. VIU.— No. -22. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



171 



HUB; '' 



M[r VVeekes is a simple, harmless man, not vefy 



ly, we fear, to make the most of his invention. 



i trust, however, that the numerous tradesmen 



lijil Yhom lie shows anil explains it, will act as hon- 



vtj bly to him as they would wish to be done by, 



«i|| n his circimistanees. It is not uncommon with 



1 manufacturers in Birmingham and Sheffield, 



en they find a patent taken out by a poor one, 



what they consider a good thing, to infringe 



nder various pretences, and risk the consequen- 



, well knowing the expenses of the law, even 



T(i en the lawsuit is gained ; but when a man like 



Weekes has hit upon a thing that is really en- 



d to a fKUent, that patent, however much it 



ht be liable to be technically infringed, ought 



le held sacred. This should be a point of ho- 



■ among connnercial men, and we know it is in 



responiling cases, among the respectable part of 



Loudon booksellers and other tradesmen. On 



other hand, patentees ought to be liberal, and 



we have counselled Mr Weekes to he. 



FOB THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



'ENGLAND FARMEK. 



PUMPKINS. 



Mr Editor — I observed in your New England 

 rmer of 4lh iiist. an article headed, "Yankees 



'Pliit this if you can ! " from the New York Even- 



'" [ Post, giving a statement made by Mr W. W. 

 ylor, of Taylorsville, Va. of his having raised 



;' his garden the past summer, among some beets, 

 ■ee pumpkin vines, which produced 13 i)ump- 

 is that came to maturity, weighing 1899i lbs. 

 i largest of which weighed (i7J lbs.; be"sides 

 3se a number that did not ripen. 

 Being a native of New England, and in posses- 

 n of facts that still give to her the palm, 1 have 



» en induced on reading the above, to give you 

 s following statement for publication, notwith- 



i) nding its substance was noticed in several of 

 r newspapers some years since. 

 In April, 1815, I planted in my garden among 

 ne cucumbers, one pumpkin seed. On the 29th 

 ptember following, I called on several of my 

 ;hbors to assist in gathering and witnessing 

 productions — the result was as follows: 44 

 mpkins, weighing 1040 lbs., the length of the 

 le, including its branches, 10.5 rods, or 1732.^ 

 !t — circumference of the vine's stem 9 J inches. 

 n of the largest pumpkins weighed 923 J lbs., 

 ., 135, 12G^, 97, 94, 91, 90, 90, 76, 64, 60 lbs., 

 3 remaining thirty-four weighed together 116^ 

 The noted tornado of 23d September so 

 iicli injured the vine, that I considered it uieless 

 leave the pumpkins any longer on it, notwith- 

 uiding it was in its most flourishing state at the 

 mmencement of the gale. The vine was spread 

 a grass plat, back of my house as it was mea- 

 red, where it remained for |)ublic inspection from 

 ree to four weeks. On the 14th morning after 

 was so spread, I discovered twenty fresh blossoms 

 1 it. The month of October was remarkably 

 ild, and judging by the appearance of the vine, 

 uld it have remained in the ground nndisturbed 

 rough the .season, its product would have been 

 creased at least fifty per cent. 

 I raised also in the same garden the past season, 

 French turnip, which weighed 20 lbs. 10 oz., 

 ler being closely trimmed. It was taken out of 

 « ground in the month of September. 

 Respectfully your obedient servant, 



J. JOHNSON. 

 Jtwdt City, JVci* London Co. Con. Dec. 8, 1829. 



LIVE FENCES. 



On the common Thorn and Three Thorned Acacia. 



Mr Editor — In answer to the re(piest of your 

 correspondent J. B. of Albany, which I noticed 

 in your paper of last week, I will state a single 

 experiment by which the seeds of the common 

 Thorn of our woods (sometimes called the thorn 

 apple) were made to vegetate the first year. 



The berries were gathered in October about 

 the time the first frosts set in, and closeted till 

 December, when they were found thoroughly rii)e. 

 The seeds were then separated from the pulp by 

 grinding them in a mortar, and washing them in 

 several waters : they were then mixed with soil 

 in an open box, and this being sunk to a level 

 with the surface of earth and thus subjected to 

 the action of the fiost during winter, all sprouted 

 the following spring.* 



I agree with your correspondent in all he states 

 relative lo the Three Thorned Acacia, or honey 

 locust, (gleditschia triacanthos.) There is perhaps 

 no tree, or plant, native or foreign, so eininently 

 adapted for a live fence as this. It is hardy, and 

 of a very rapid growth, thorns numerous, and 

 branching, frequently a foot or more in length. — 

 Such a hedge properly set and trained, would, I am 

 inclined to believe, form in a comparatively short 

 time, a fence absolutely impassabie to any of our 

 domestic animals. The wood of this tree is very 

 strong and uncommonly hard, more so [ think 

 than almost any other of our native trees : for 

 these reasons I am inclined to believe it would 

 make a fine timber tree ; possibly equal to our 

 common locust (Pseudo Acada) so noted for its 

 strength and durability. No worm to my know- 

 ledge, ever attacks this tree ; nor does it throw 

 up suckers from its roots : such at least, are the 

 conclusions I have drawn from the observations 

 which I have made on about a thousaud trees of 

 this kind, of difterent ages, which I have growing. 

 I have never been able to discover anything of 

 the kind. But a tree that is subject to be de- 

 voured by a destructive worm, api)ears not quite 

 so suitable for a strong hedge : and a tree wliich 

 emits innumerable suckers from its roots seetns 

 alike unsuitable ; inasmuch as it would invade 

 the soil it was designed to protect, and would 

 require u [jerpetual conflict to confine it within its 

 bounds. W. K. 



JVewton,Dec. 13. 



add one ounce of gum elastic — place this where it 

 will be moderately wartn for a week, at the expi- 

 ration of which time you will find a solution suffi- 

 cient for all purposes that you may wish. 



T. R E. 



SOLUTION OF INDIA RUBBER. 



Mr Editor — I am induced to give you a re- 

 cipe for making a solution of Gum Elastic, which 

 is far superior to, and ma»b Cheaper than that in 

 a former paper of youPsVwhich was made of Se- 

 neca oil. 



Take one pound of balsam copaiva, to which 



*Mr Kirk, of Brandywine, has been successful in 

 making the seeds of the American thorn vegetate, by 

 washing them clean, putting them in hot wate'r to swell 

 them, and e.xposing the water in which they were im- 

 mersed to be frozen and thawed several times. Dr 

 Mease, of Philadelphia, says, " The haws of the Wash- 

 ington thorn, Cratmgus cordata, require to be buried one 

 winter before they sprout, and they should be put into 

 the ground the same Autumn they are taken off the tree ; 

 the pulp whicli surrounds tliem having been previously 

 rubbed off and tlie stones washed. The usual way is 

 to put them in a bo.x of sand, and to stand it under the 

 eves of a house to receive the dropping of water from 

 It, and by the Spring they will be open and ready for 

 plantmg." See Fessenden's JVew American Gardener 

 Art. Hawthorn, p. 153- Ed. J\r. E. F. 



Brighton Market. — Monday, Dec. 14. 

 (Reported for the Chronicle aud Patriot.) 



In our last report, we mentioned the unsettled 

 stale of the market, and gave some assurance that 

 we should probably be able to be more explicit 

 horeaftor — but circumstances of a difterent cha- 

 racter from what we then expected, has rendered 

 it siill more difficult. The ujarket, today, for the 

 sale of Cattle, Sheep, &:e. was divided— a part at 

 the " Old Stand," and a pan at the Brighton Ho- 

 tel, located about 1 mile north of the former we 



shall, in order to distinguish the two places, call 

 them the upper and lower market, and give the 

 mnriber ofCattle, Sheep, &c. at each place, which 

 is about all we can do this w-eek. 



Upper Market— 266 Cattle, 8G4 Sheep, and 150 

 Swine. 



Lower Market— 5BZ Cattle, 935 Sheep — 34 Cat- 

 tle were taken by the Barrcllers, before getting in 

 — making a total of 883 Cattle, and 1799 Sheep 

 at market — all the market cattle were sold and 

 nearly all the Slieep — a few Store cattle remained 

 unsold at the close of the market — not much do- 

 ing in Swine. 



In the 14th century, the manufactories in Lou 

 vain contained 150,000 workmen ; and when they 

 left work, they were com])elled to ring a large bell, 

 that the women might keep the children in doors, 

 jest they should he thrown down and trampled 

 under foot. 



The first volume of " La Place's Mecanique Ce- 

 leste, translated, with a Commentary, by Natha- 

 niel Bowditch, LL. D." of Boston, is just publish- 

 ed. It is a 4to. of about 750 pages, beautifully 

 printed. 



At a late sale in England, of the celebrated 

 Durham breeding stock, a three year old cow 

 brought 150 guineas, a yearling heifer 11.5, a three 

 year old bull 270, a twelvemonth bull 210, a four 

 months old 120 guineas. 



Humboldt calculates that one acre of ground 

 planted with the banana, is quite sufficient to sup- 

 port fifty men, while an acre of wheat, " commu- 

 nibus aunis," would barely supply the wants of 

 three. 



A gentleman occupied a farm in Essex, where 

 he had not long resided before numerous rooks 

 biiilt their nests on the trees suiTounding his 

 premises ; the rookery was much prized ; the 

 farmer, however, being induced to hire a larger 

 farm about three quarters of a mile distant, he 

 left the farm and the rookery ; but, to his sur- 

 prise and pleasure, the whole rookery deserted 

 their former habitation, and came to the new one 

 of their old master, where they continue to flou- 

 rish. It ought to be added, that this gentleman 

 was strongly attached to all animals whatsoever, 



and of course used them kindly Zoological 



Journal. 



A gentleman in New Haven has succeeded in 

 domesticating a large number of wild idgeons.— 

 They deposit but one egg, and the male and fe- 

 male sit by turns, the latter always in the night. 



