Vol.VIII.— No47. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



373 



ly quivering. The extremities are singularly fix- 

 ed ; — the hind-legs straddling ; — the fore-legs pro- 

 jecting forward and outward (as some one has 

 aptly descrihed it) like the legs of a stool. The 

 pulse at first not much atfected, but soon becom- 

 ing quick, and small, and irregular ; the breathin 



The cfs of birds, while they retain the principle vveatber, it carefully avoideil the hot sun, and pas- 



of Wfe, indicate a temperatujo considerably above 

 the surrounding medium. Some of the inferior 

 animals, as reptiles and fishes, and many vegeta- 

 bles, seem to liave their vital fiinctions suspended, 

 anil to reniai?) frozen or in a torpid state for a Ion] 



more laborious as the disease proceeds ; and the I time without injury. This tenacity of the vital 

 countenance wild and haggard, and e.vpressive of principle is found also in seeds of many plants, 

 extreme agony. The pain which attends the which may remain buried for centuries, and after- 

 ramp of one iimb will enable us to judge of that wards grow, on being brought within the sphere 

 which must accompany universal spasm. If a 1 of the germinating agents. 



person go near the horse, or touch him in the j These facts in physiology, which I have abrid- 

 slightest way, although he may be unable to move, j ged from No. 59 of the Library of Useful Know- 

 vet the sudden quickening of the pulse will tell ; ledge, will account for many of the phenomena 

 wliat the animal feels anrl fears. So the disease j which meet our observation in the pursuits of bus- 

 goes on for nine or ten days, until the animal isjbandry. But I have introduced them here merely 

 exhausted by the expenditure of nervous energy, as jircfatory of what I am about to state in re- 

 aud the continuance of torture. garJ to the alternations which take place m the 



growth of timber. 



VALUABLE EXPERIMENTS, | The farm which I occupy, with a considerable 



To show the difference bcUoecn Raio Corn and Cora | extent of the surrounding country, was within the 



Mial cooked, as feed for Hogs. memory of man, covered with a growth of pine. 



Extract of a letter to the Editor of tbo American Farmer. | ;^g \\\\^ WaS cleared away, oaks, WalnutS, wild 



Some two years ago, while I was confined to 

 the firesitle by a cold, 1 amused myself with seve- 

 ral experiments to find the increase by weight of 

 corn, rye, shorts, &c, by boiling and cooking, with 

 a view to econoniisiug hog food. I soon became 

 convinced, that wonderfid effects might be easily 

 produced ; and though I then made a regular 



cherry, chestnut, butternut, maple, &c, liave sprun 

 up with the new growth of pine. There is no 

 evidence that any of these species of trees grew 

 within a circle of miles, before the forest was fel- 

 led, and the soil exposed to the influence of the 

 sun. The land is unquestionably an alluvial for- 

 mation of very ancient date. The question 1 



record of what I ilid, strange to tell, I have never Uvould propound is this, were the seeds of this 

 till lately, attempted to put my theory into lirac- new growth deposited and covered by the waters 



tice. I have had, since the first day of December, 

 an actual experiment going on between raw coi-n, 

 and meal made into good thick mush ; two pigs, 

 of about one liundrcd weight each, have been eat- 

 ing, seven pounds each, of raw corn, per twenty- 

 four hours ; and two others of near the same size 

 have liad exactly seven pounds of meal made into 

 good mush, between them. These seven pounds 

 of meal, cooked into the state of good stiff mush, 

 weigh from 28 to 33 pounds. I weighed my pigs 

 accurately, at beginning, nnd weighed again two 

 days since, to mark the progress. The two eat- 



or were they transported thither by animals? If 

 by the former, they must have lain dormant, and 

 retained the principle of life for centuries; and if 

 we adopt the latter conclusion we can hardly re 

 sist the supposition, that their deposit has been of 

 long continuance. In either case, it shows a re- 

 markable tenacity of life in seeds. I have witnes- 

 sed these alternations in forest trees in several in- 

 stances, particularly in the county of Ulster, where 

 in one instance the new growth consisted almost 

 exclusively of walnut, and in another of chestnut. 

 The seeds of these cotdd not have been conveyed 

 by tlie winds ; and it is almost equally incredible 



ing fourteen pounds of corn periliy, had increas 

 ^ ed seventeen pounds in sixtuou ilays ; the two j that they could have been carried by animals 

 eating seven pounds of cooked meal per day, had B. J. 



increased twenty four poum!:; in the same time. 

 Here is a saving of one half the corn. I shall 

 carry them on till early in January, when I shall 

 kill them.' 



From the New York Farmer. 



VITALITY OF SEEDS. 



The principle of life imparts to all organized 

 beings, whether vegetable or animal, the power 

 of resisting, to a limited extent, the ordinary laws 

 of matter. Men have sustained a temperature of 

 40 degrees below zero, and a heated atmos- 

 phere of 260°, without serious injury, while their 

 bodies indicated, in these extremes, abotit the or- 

 dinary animal heat of 98, which never varied 

 more than three or four degrees. It is well known 

 that water freezes at 32, and boils at 212°. Hum- 

 boldt saw fishes alive and in apparent health, in a 



temperature of 210. Plants have been found to j making for some shelter, 



grow in hot springs, and Foster saw flowers grow- jtg mistress, who usually waited on it, came in 

 ling, in high perfection in one, the temperature of i sight, it always hobbled with awkward alacrity to- 

 Iwbicli was 210°. Mr Hunter ascertained that i wards its benefactress, though tostrangers it appear- 

 jtheheatof trees was always several degrees aftowed quite inattentive. It never stirred out after 

 that of the atmosphere when the atmospheric ' j^^k ; often appeared abroad only for a few hours 

 Itemperaturewasbelow 56°, butit wasalwaysseve- in tlie middle of the day ;— and in wet days never 

 jral cleg, below when the weather was warmer. 'came from its retreat. Though it loved warm 



LAND TORTOISE. 



The land tortoise is often domesticated, especial- 

 ly in gardens. We shall select the account of a 

 tame tortoise, given by the Rev. Mr White, of Sel- 

 boriie, as a pleasing specimen of the manners of 

 these animals in a state of captivity. This individ- 

 ual had been in possession of a lady for upwards 

 of thirty years. It regularly retired below ground 

 about the middle of Novetnber, and did not emerge 

 till the middle of April. Its appetite was voracious 

 in the middle of summer, but it ate very little in 

 spring and autumn. It seemed greatly alarmed 

 if surprised by a shower of rain during its peregrin- 

 ations in search of food ; and though its shell was 

 so thick that it could scarcely have been injured 

 by the wheel of a loaded cart, it discovered as much 

 solicitude to avoid rain as a fine lady in her gayest 

 attire shuffling away on the first sprinklings and 

 Whenever the old lady, 



sed the more sidlry hours under the shade of a 

 large cabbage leaf, or annd the friendly shades of 

 an asparagus be. I. Towards autumn, however, 

 he appeared anxious to improve the effect of the 

 faint sunbeams, by getting under the reflection of 

 a wall, and inclining its shell towards the sun. In 

 scraping the groimd to form its winter retreat, it 

 dug with its fore feet and threw up the earth over 

 its back with its hind feet ; but the motion of its 

 legs was so slow, as scarcely to be observed ; and 

 though it worked with great assiduity both night 

 and day, it was more than a fortnight before it 

 completed its inhumation. 



How long an animal of this species may live, 

 we cannot determine ; but it is known at least, 

 that their age may exceed a century. One of 

 them was introduced into the garden of Lambeth 

 palace in the time of the archbishop Laud, was 

 living one hundred antl twenty years afterwards, 

 and died at last, rather from the neglect of the 

 gardener, than from excessive age. 



The land tortoise forms an excellent article of 

 food though it is scarcely employed for that pur- 

 pose except in Greece. The eggs however, are 

 eaten very commonly in Italy. — Edinburgh Enc. 



GROWTH AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK. 

 The report to Congress of the Committee ou 

 Agriculture, at their late session, on the growth 

 and manufacture of silk in the United States, con- 

 tains much valuable information, and deserves a 

 perusal from every patriot. It was accompanied 

 by a letter from Mr Du Ponceau proposing on the 

 part of Mr D'llomergue to establish at Philadel- 

 phia a filature for reeling silk from the cocoons, 

 and to gi'. rf a course of necessary instruction du- 

 ring two seasons, and requires 40,000 dollars to 

 pay expenses and compensate him for his ser- 

 vices. Mr Du Ponceau says the sum is barely 

 sufficient to obtain the necessary machines, build- 

 ings, &c, and allow a reasonable compensation for 

 the services of Mr D'Homergue ; and so confi- 

 dent is he of the benefits which will result to the 

 country by the general culture of silk, that he offers 

 his personal responsibility for the faithful applica- 

 tion of the money. IMr Du Ponceau is a man 

 whose ' reputation and responsibility are above 

 suspicion.' We know not the provisions of the 

 bill prepared by the committee, but presume they 

 authorize the payment to Mr D'Homergue of the 

 required sum, on the stipulated conditions. Green- 

 field Gmette. 



Rock-Maple. — We learn by the Watchman, pub- 

 lished at Woodstock, V't. that the inhabitants of 

 that village have recently, to imjirove the common, 

 transplanted about a hundred rock-maple trees, to 

 be enclosed with a suitable fence. These trees 

 will not only be an ornament and shade, but they 

 will aflbrd a large supi)ly of sugar. We believe 

 in some parts of Vermont, rock-maple trees are set 

 out on the sides of roads, with the double view 

 that travellers may be occasionally screened from 

 the sun, and to obtain from them annually a sac- 

 charine tribute. 



Sting of a Wasp or Bee. — The following has 

 been asserted to be a remedy for ibis painful sen- 

 sation. Over the spot where the sting has enter- 

 ed apply the pipe of a key, jjress it for a minute 

 or two, and the pain or swelling will disappear. 

 The tincture of opium (laudanum,) immediately 

 admitted is said to be a certain cure. — American 

 Farmer. 



