10 



FARRIERS' REGISTER 



[No. 1 



ber-treea as excel in greatness, or other good qua- 

 lities, and are fur distant from otliers of meaner 

 sorts, which might degenerate their seeds and 

 cross our expectations when they come to grow 

 up, and this is as necessary to be observed among 

 vegetables, to maintain their good qualities in the 

 young plants tliey are to produce, as it is in the 

 "breeding of game cocks, spaniels, or running 

 horses. 



There is but one kind of plant that I know ofj 

 which seems to be out of this danccer of coupling 

 with other sorts, and consequently of either im- 

 proving or diminishing the qualities of its seeds, 

 and tliat is the misleloe. The parts of its flowers 

 are indeed as fit lor generation as those of other 

 plants; but 1 have never seen anj' variety of this 

 plant, nor do I know any other nearly enough re- 

 lated to it to engender with it; for whether we 

 find it growing upon the oak, willow, or any other 

 tree whatever, the leaves, flowers and fruit, tvith 

 its manner of growth, are all alike. And since I 

 have had occasion to mention it in this place, give 

 me leave to take notice of some particularities be- 

 longing to it, as it is neither to be prolongated in 

 earth or water, but upon trees and plants onlj^ 

 The ancients made it a supeqjlant, peculiar to the 

 oak, and tell us that although it seemintjly pro- 

 duced seed, they did not believe that that seed 

 could possibly be made to vegetate, because I sup- 



Sose they had tried it in the earth without success, 

 lut as it is so frequentij^ found growing on other 

 trees besides the oak, I shall take occasion at 

 once to overturn their opinion in relation to this 

 plant, by showinii; how it may be propagated from 

 seed u|)on any tree whatever. About Christmas, 

 when the berries are ripe, they may easily he made 

 to stick upon the smootii bark of any tree you have 

 a mind to propiigate them upon, whether it he the 

 oak, a^^h, elm, apple, pear, plum,, rose, iroosMierrv, 

 orcurraiii, &c. The viscous juice which surrounds 

 each seed, will bind it fist to the part you place it 

 upon; and with this small troubIe,you may expect 

 young plants the following year, provided the 

 birds do not devour the seeds you have sown; 

 therefire it would do well to secure them. I have 

 seen twenty plants of misletoe, growing upon as 

 many different sorts of trees and shrubs, in one 

 garden, which were propagated in the same man- 

 ner I have mentioned. And I believe it would be 

 very useflrl in correcting the too great viijour of 

 some fruit trees; and to bring them to bear, by 

 taking from them the supera!)undant juices, which 

 are always destructive to [irolifir.ity either in plants 

 or animals. 



And now, from the account I have given of the 

 ^feneration of plants, we may learn why double 

 flowers seldom bear seed, because the dust of the 

 apices is too much crowded with the petals or the 

 flower leaves which, for that reason, cannot casi ■ 

 ly reach the style or pistil of the flower which is 

 always prominent, and above the petals in full 

 flowers. It appears, likewise, that tlie natural 

 properties of fi'uits or seeds may be changed by ac- 

 cidentally coupling with other plants, and that the 

 seeds so altered, may rob us of our expectations 

 in planting, by having their principles debauched 

 by the dust of distempered and degenerated plants. 

 Thus I have endeavoreil to explain what I pro- 

 posed, viz: that plants have a mode of genera- 

 tion somewhat analogous to that of animals. 



GALfiiV. 



EFFECTS OF THE REMARKABLE PREVALENCE 

 OF COLD, IN SOUTH CAROLINA. REMARKS 

 ON E3IXGRATION TO THE WEST. 



To tlie Editor of tlie Fanners' Regioter. 



^hbevilh, S. C. 3Iarch lUh, 1836. 



There appears to be an unaccountable change 

 in the seasons. Gibbon in his history of the de- 

 cline and fall of the Roman empire, remarks, that 

 while Germany was one almost continuous Ibrest, 

 the Danube was often frozen over, so that armies 

 could pass on the ice in safety; but that in modern 

 times, after the forests had fallen before the labors 

 of civilization, and the marshes have been drained 

 the climate has been so much ameliorated, that 

 such a circumstance in relation to this river has 

 not occurred. But the opening of our country by 

 the removal of the trees, and the exposure of the 

 ground to the lair action of the sun does not seem 

 to have produced this eflect here. The early and 

 severe frost of last autumn did material injury to 

 the cotton crops. The preceding spring had been 

 unfavorable to a good stand, which rendered it 

 necessary to replant in many instances. This cir- 

 cumstance made it late before the cotton plant 

 started in its growth. The early frost found it 

 very succulent, and many of the bolls by no 

 means matured. The severe frost which occurred 

 the 5th, 7lh, and 8th of October, completely killed 

 the plant, and destroyed the immature bolls. A 

 licht fi'ost at that time, that would have merely 

 checked the growth, would not have done nmch 

 harm. As winter was thus early in assuming its 

 sceptre, it seems unwilling to surrender its domin- 

 ion to the genial influence of spring. While I 

 now write, the weather is quite cold. There is a 

 crood deal of ice, which does not thaw in the shade 

 at 12 o'clock, M. The forest and fruit trees have 

 not yet budded. It has not been unusual in this 

 country (or planters to have much of their Indian 

 corn p'ianted by this lime. But so wet and cold 

 has been the season, that no one has ventured to 

 commit the seed to the ground. Indeed, they 

 have not altogether finished sowing their oats. 

 Nevertheless, I do not regard the present inauspi- 

 ciousness of the season as foreboding an unpro- 

 pitious cropping one; for, when whiter is finally 

 broken up, and a vernal sun exerts its fructifying 

 infliience upon vegetation, every thing will grow 

 off without a check. It is not safe lo plant cotton 

 befiire the lOih of April, anterior to which time 

 planters ii;enerally have their corn in the ground. 

 Our cold Weather commenced about the 1st of 

 Fei)ruar_v, and has continued, with short intervals, 

 until now. We have had no snow this winter in 

 this portion of the state, but we have had two se- 

 vere slects, and many cold rains. Last winter 

 was a snowy one with us — the last and deepest 

 fell the 5th of March. 



The tide of emigration fi-om this state has been 

 great to the more inviting virgin soil of the south- 

 west. But this flow of population is not confined 

 to South Carolina. Virginia, North Carolina, and 

 (ieoriria have also beheld, with melancholy emo- 

 tions, their useliil citizens abaiuloifiug the coun- 

 try of' their birth, and thctoiTibsof their ancestors, 

 to find a home in that enchanting region. This 

 is a deplorable state of things, and ought to in- 

 voke the wisdom and concentrate the energies of 

 these states lo slop this current which is annually 



