402 



ten inclies, aivl has smne Cniit wliid. looks well. 

 There were hut few blossoms. The oilier was o 

 MMuU tree which was tra.is,.lanteJ four years suice, 

 ami lor the two last years the growth has not 

 been |)ercei>til>lc. This year it has made from six 

 to tea inches of new wood, and the f..l!a;,'e is en- 

 tirely changed, liaving assumed a r ■ di darker 

 green, while otiiers in the same soil Imve remained 

 as they were the last season, lookinj,' very un- 

 healthy. The above theory I have also had con- 

 firmed by a gentleman of Attleborou^di, who, hav- 

 ■ a tree which he supposed woul.l inevitably die. 



N E W ENGLAND FAUM EU, 



UE.MARKri ON VEGF/IABLES. 



PARS.MI'S. 



Cows will feed freely on parsnip roots, which 

 will cause them to (,'ive abundance of milk of a 

 rich ([ualiiy. In Germany ihey are sown for this 

 express puriiosc. Sheep when lambing, if fed 

 with this root, produce much milk 



POTATOES. 



Sir Waller Raleigh is said to have given sonic 

 potatoes to his gardener in lreland,'as a fine friiit 

 fioni America, and ordered tlicm to be planted in 



iiio- a tree w lie I le supposed wouui iiK >"""'j "••-. in^... <....- , - i . n ... „ 1 



to^t^ake nuck w^rk loLk brine to finish the job, |.is kitchen-garden. In August the pla-.s flow r- 



Ind to his urpriso the tree assumed a healthy ap- ed, and in September produced the frmt ; but the 



?;e„rlmenncon>ncnce.lgrowin.' rapidly. Wliclh- berries were so diflerent to what the gar.lener ex- 

 r -r ir.^::':2:aUubitLice, j;..,'or^.o.h com-1 peeted, that in an iU humor he -^J; 'e PO.ato 



bined, or whether they are of no value, has not apples to li,s master. Is this (.aid Ik tl . hnt 



been fuUv tested yet. Should vou tl.ink the above Onit from America you praised so highly .' Sir 



'::;;h2i:ingy^u may givo-itaphce in your Walter either .va. or _pre.nded_U,K -.n-.- 



Journal, so tlilt the scientific, if they choose, may 

 make experiments. ^- °- 



July 1, 1830. 



Remarks Ixj the Editor.— On submitting the 

 above to some of our best practical und scientific 

 horticulturists, they express doubts ffthe utility 

 an<l aipivheiisioiis of the injurious ejects of this 

 applications. But we hope experiments will be 

 oarefully made, and their results made public. 



BLIGHT ON BARLEY. 



Mb Fesse.nde.v — In the communication which 

 1 had the pleasure of addressing to you on the 

 olh April, page 299, of tlic present volume of the 

 New Englautl Earmer, and which was ueconipa- 

 nieil wilh a number of pieces of blighted Barley 

 straw, I offered it as an oi)inion, that the small 

 worms lodged therein, would in due time be trans- 

 formed into flies. This has happenctl to be the 

 fuel ; the straws transmitted to you, and some 

 which I had kept at home, were collected at tlirasli- 

 in" lime, and not being exposed to the chnnges of 

 the atmosphere, they remained hard and sound, 

 and it gave me a suspicion that their litlle prison- 

 ers might be thereby prevented from going through 

 their transfoi-niations, ami efieeling their escape. 

 I therefore visited the blighted stubble left in the 

 fields, a"d collected a number of pieces with the 

 little insect developed, and ready to take to the 

 wiag ; of those 1 had the pleasure to deliver to you 

 a number inclosed in a jihial, and deposited the 

 same in your office ; they are about the make and 

 size of a small black ant with wings. I searciied 

 also a field laiil down to grass last fall, after [ilough- 

 ing in the barley stubble, but this being partly 

 pulleil out again in harrowing the seeds in, I found 

 that although laying about on the ground all win- 

 ter, and exposcil in turn to the vicissitudes of that 

 situation, yet the insects had survived, and were 

 ready to come out, as in the field where the stub- 

 ble had remained standing. No hope therefore, 

 it seems, could be enteriained of desiroying them 

 by ploughing in ihe stubble in fall ; but it might be 

 advisable at the time of harvesting to leave a 

 lonoer stubble than usual slandiiig on ihe fielil, 



the matter; and desired the gardener, since tha 

 was the case, to dig up the weed and throw n 

 away. The gardener, however, soon returned 

 with a god.l parcel of potatoes. 



The cultivation of the potato in England is non- 

 become almost of equal importance to that of 

 corn ; and they have not only potato shops, but 

 potato inercliants, who tra.le to a great extent in 

 the mctroi)olis. Arthur Young observes, in liis 

 account of Essex, so far back as 1807, that Mr 

 Pitman, of Barking, in that county, was one of 

 the greatest growers of potatoes in that kingdom, 

 having in general three hundred acres annually 

 plantcvi with this useful ront, and sending to mar- 

 ket three thousand tons of jiotatoes, all washed 

 ready for sale ! 



The farina, or flour, of which starch is made, 

 s easily procured from potatoes, by sim|>ly grating 

 them into clear spring water, when it separates 

 from the other iiarticlcs, and sinks to the bottom. 

 When potatoes are frozen, it will be observed, that 

 it is only the water which the frost aflx-cts, and 

 not the siarch, which may be extracted as white 

 and good, as if not frozen. 



Potatoes boiled down to a pulp and passed 

 throngii a sieve, form a strong nutritions gruel, 

 that may be given to calves as well as pigs, with 

 great advantage and saving of milk. 



We recollect reading an advertisement for a 

 cook, to which this, necessary caution was subjoin- 

 ed, 'None need apply who cannot cook a potato 

 well.' 



1 BAI>ISIIE3. 



Pliny observes, that radishes grow best, in salt 

 grounds, and therefore they are watered with 

 brackish water, which, says he, is the cause that 

 the radishes in Egypt are better and sweeter than 

 any other in the world, for there they are bedewed 

 anil sprinkled with nitre. 



Railishes arc opening, attenuating, and anti- 

 scorbutic, but afllird little nourishment. They are 

 diuretic, and good for the stone and gravel. 



at 

 to' 



July 9, 1830 - 



some tans tent to table. It is now forced for i- 

 Loudon markets, where it meets wilh a ready aii.i 

 profitable sale. The roots of this species of rhu 

 barb aflbrd a gentle purge, but are of inferior 

 medicinal virtues to the other varieties. 



BICE. 



Of all the plants transplanted freni the ancient 

 continent into the New World, lice has succeeded 

 the best. The soil in many parts of America was 

 found by the first settlers covered with the leaves 

 of trees and decayed vegetables, in a putrid state 

 from four to six feet in depth. This soil would 

 have been loo moist and rich for other gram, un- 

 til it hail been in some degree exhuusled by the 

 impoverishing plant of the tobacco, or the thirsty 

 stalks of the rice ; for it is remarkably curious that 

 so i!ry a grain sliouhl recpiire so much moisture, 

 and that marshy earth should jiroduce a seed aP 

 fording an aliment of so exquisite a ta.ste, and 

 which is as wholesome as it is dry. Id tlie isl- 

 and of Ceylon, and in most parts of Asia where! 

 rice is cuhivated, they make reservoirs of water to 

 refresh this plant every day, although they select 

 the moistest soil: the cultivators are often half 

 wnv up their legs in water ; but, as the liancsi 

 approaches, they suflcr the ground to dry, for it 

 requires as much heat to mature the seed as mois- 

 ture to nourish it. 



ROSEMABV. 



Rosemary grows abundantly, and without cul- 

 tivation, in Spain, Italy, Provence, and Langnedoc. 

 In Ihe latter place it grew so abundantly about 

 the 16ili cenlurv, that the inhabitants buint scarce- 

 ly any other fue"l, and the perfume of this i)lant is 

 said to have been smelt nearly twenty miles at 



sea. ... , 



Every reader of taste will recollect Henry K)r 

 White's beautiful lines on this plant, which can 

 well introduced here : 



• Sweet scented flower ! who art wont to bloom 

 On January's front severe. 

 And o'er the wintry desert drear 

 To waft thy waste perfume ; 

 Come, thou shall form my nosegay now. 

 And I will bind Ihcc round my brow ; 



And, as I twine thy mouinful wrca'A, 

 I'll weave a melancholy son^. 

 And sweet Ihe strain shall be, and long, 

 The melody of death. 



TABT BIIUBAKB. 



This vegetable still holds its rank in the kitchen 



(jiioer Ktubblo lliaii usual siamiiiig on iiie iieio, , ...= .^„.-> --■ . 



and af..»r housing tlio barley, to devise some garden, where it is now cultivated principally fo 

 method to set fire to said .stubble, llici. plough spring tails ; the young slalks of the lea^..-.lum 

 mid lay down to grass. peeled and cut, make an agreeable pudding o. 



This is a flying pestilence, and unless some way tart, which many persons prefer to either green 

 is devLsed to s^op its progres.s, the ditV.culty of gooseberries or apples: it i.s often used as a mix- 

 raising a good and sufficient crop of barley may ture with these fn,its,-willi lie former befor. 

 diHcoura4 farmers, in the course of a few years, has altained its flavor, and with the other allei .1 

 even from making the attempt. Ims lost it by keeping'. It is also served up in 



With much esi, cm, vouii., &c. J. M. G. creams. &c, &e. Medical men have recom- 



fVeston, July 5th, 1830. mended it 03 one of the moat cooling and whole- 



Come, funeral flower ! who lovcst to dwell 

 With the pale corse in lonely tomb, 

 And throw across the desert gloom 



A sweet decaying smell : 

 Come, press my lips, and lie with me 

 BcBcoth the lowly alder tree ; 



And wo will sleep a pleasant sleep. 

 And not a care shall dare intrude. 

 To break the marble solitude. 



So peaceful and so deep. 



And hark ! Iho wind-god as he flics. 

 Moans hollow in the forest trees. 

 And sailing on the gusty breeze 



Mysterious music dies. 

 Sweet ilower ! that requiem wild is mine : 

 It warns me to the lonely shrine. 



The cold turf alUr of the dead : 

 My grave shall be io yon lone spot. 



Where as 1 lie by all forgot ^ , 



A dying fragrance thou wdt o'er my ashes shed.' 



Without entering into tlie extmvagant opiri. ii» 

 of the aneienis respecting odours, we caimoi avi.lJ | 

 thinking that the elUet which rlilVen-nt smells aiiJ j 

 perfumes have on the mintl. as widl as the licallh, 

 is not al pn'scnt sufficirnlly allended Io. 



Most people acknowledge Io have fell the u- 

 frcshing odour of lea and coffee befiirc laMiiif 

 tlieni ; and in heated rooms the fragrance of a cu« 



