NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



28:{ 



cl into one heap where waUr ran be hail most convc- 

 utly. Ueiit be (here thoioiigbly tlackened ; and 

 neiliately after it is cold, whicli -will be in a day 

 two, fill the carts, and spread tlio lime out of them 

 h shovels over the surface. The more common inc- 

 id of laying it down in small heaps over the whole 

 d, to slack by rain is very crroneons, it is liable to 

 too much rain, which in place of reducing it to a 

 powder, converts it into a running mortar, in which 

 c it will neither spread equally nor mix with the 

 And Mr. Wight remarks, for the same reason both 

 soil and the lime should be quite dry at the time of 

 lading." 



iuf, if quick lime is laid in small or large heaps and 

 d immediately with mould, and sufl'ercd to slack, 

 jecome mild in that situation we believe every ob- 

 i as regards its preparation will be accomplished. If 

 wished to use it immediately, water may be poured 

 the heaps after they are covered with the soil. I.ime 

 uld not be ploughed in unless with a very shallow 

 ow, but kept as near the surface as possible. Its ef- 

 s are not always visible, even when it acts most be 

 cially the first year. It must be perfectly mild be- 

 lt can be of any use as manure or enter into the 

 iposition of wheat or other plants, in which it is found 

 analysis. It is therefore well to sow it on grass land 

 ear or two before breaking it up ; for if ploughed too 

 it falls to the bottom of the ftirrow. It should 

 e time to become not only slacked, but incorporated 

 1 the soil before it is ploughed under, 

 'here is waste in applying quick lime to new dung, 

 any other substance w.hich is combustible, and 

 ch it is not wished should be consumed. But when 

 ; is applied in small quantides to any animal or 

 stable substances, capable of being consumed by its 

 osive burning quality, the loss is very trifling, and 

 lere is any earth, or other absorbent substance in 

 'heap, the gas, vapor or smoke, which is evolved 

 Ic the mass is heating will communicate most of its 

 lities to the absorbent substance, which may be us- 

 -s manure. 



ime may be applied at any time of the year from 

 ch to \overaber, but never while quick, or caustic to 

 ying plants. If U€ed as manure for spring wheat, it 

 be slacked and sowed immediately after the wheat 

 harro« ed in with the seed. This, appears to have 

 > the mode in which it %vas applied by Col. Val- 

 ae, in obtaining his premium croji of wheat ;;ind liie 

 iitity used by him was one hogshead to auacre.* 



Hee A". E. Farmer, vol. ii. prrges 170, 186. 



CANDLE-BERRY MYRTLE. 

 the Editor, 



iR, — It is proper you should call the altenlioii 

 he public, the Society of Arts, and Board of 

 •iculture, to a vegetable production, which 

 mises great social benefits, and towards which 



speculations of merchants, lh« int^enuity of 

 .lufacturers, and the fostering patronage of 



public, ought to be in^ed. 

 The triumph of man over nature, by prolong- 



his enjoyments, and active pursuits, after the 

 ing of the sun, when all other animals retire 

 leep, is a splendid prci ''ol his original pow- 



of combination. To complete this triumph 



ought, by continued exertions, to increase 



means of creating artiticial light, and ex- 

 ist the stores ot chemistry and natural hisfo- 

 tijl he has united all the points of perfection 

 ts production and economy. 

 >Vhat can be more gro;:- and offensive than 



oil which, to this day, we burn in our lamps, 

 ir the tallow which emits its fetid smell from 

 candles ! What can be more clumsy and' 

 rse than those contrivances, as we commonly 

 et with them ! What more primitive — more 

 baric — or more unscientific ! 

 nthis view I was exceedingly gratified by the 

 leriments of Winsor, and I am yet at a loss 



omprehend how his excellent system miscar- 

 i, aftar the beautiful demonstration which he 



afforded the public in Pall Mall. He may have 

 calculated, with the over sanguine feelings of 

 genius, on the commercial advantages of his 

 pl.ins, and may consequently have disappointed 

 some of the speculators that (locked about him ; 

 but in this intellectual age and country, such a 

 design ought to be supported by the spirit of 

 philosophy and patriotism, and not to depend on 

 selfish views for its introdnction. It was a design 

 worthy of the support of a whole people — wor- 

 thy of the countenance ofgovernifient— and wor- 

 thy also of one of those countless millions voted 

 away every year by Parliament, to effe«t some 

 purposes which a future age may better value, 

 but of tiie benefits of which, the present age is 

 completely in the dark ! 



If, when the process and combustion were 

 imperfect, a certain degree of smoke sometimes 

 escaped from the tubes of the gas lights, as it 

 does from tallow candles, this was a subject for 

 the sUidy of our great chemists, who would, in 

 my opinion, at least, have been in this way 

 quite as usefully employed as in chemical con- 

 juring, in producing metals which nobody val- 

 ues ; at the same time, too, that those gentlemen 

 knew full well, that no other metal is wanted in 

 England but gold ! 



My attention has been excited to this subject 

 by a visit lately paid mo by a patriotic native 

 of Nova Scotia, who, having never been in 

 England, described himself as much annoyed by 

 the smell and smoke emitted from our tallow 

 candles. On inquiry, 1 found that in his family 

 and province, he and his neighbors burn only 

 wax. Yes, wax !— startle not reader, — in a beg- 

 garly province of Nova Scotia, the farmers and 

 laborers burn none but wax candles ' He in- 

 formed me that in the uncleared woods there 

 grow abundance of the Myrica Cerifcra, wax- 

 bearing myrjca, or, vulgarly, the candle-berry 

 myrtle. \Vith these wax-berries, he says, they 

 make excellent wax Ciindles, fragrant instead of 

 noisome, in their odour, economical in their 

 consumption, and clean and agreeable in their 

 use. He admitted, however, that the manufac- 

 ture is not perfected, that the wax, which is of 

 a green color, would be improved by being 

 bleached and that some common processes oi 

 purification would greatly improve it. He says, 

 that this myrtle delights in moist situations, that 

 it would thrive well in England, and that every 

 county might grow, on sites now useless, wax 

 enough for all the candles which it consumes ! 



Is not this then an object worthy of the Society 

 of Arts and Board of Agriculture ? Is there any 

 pursuit in which, by possibility, they can be 

 more advantageously engaged ? If is certainly 

 worth as much attention as nn improvement in 

 a pair of snutlers, or as plans for raising rents 

 by consolidating farms ! 



The Monthly Magazine at least will, I hope, 

 bestow some attention upon it : will encourage 

 communications from Nova Scotia, and other 

 parts of America, where this tree flourishes; 

 will record experiments made upon it in Eng- 

 land ; and give these wax candles a fair chance 

 of naturalization in the native country of arts, 

 sciences, and improvements ! Common Sense. 



P. S. The writer is perfectly aware, that 

 Myrica Gale grows in great abundance in North 

 Britain, and has been occasionally applied to 

 the purpose of candle making ; he has heard 

 also of experiments in Devonshire of the same 

 nature ; but these facts serve only to support 



his hypothesis in lavor of the general introduc- 

 tion of this vegetable wax. A gentleman who 

 has made them in Devonshire assure? him iheir 

 fragrance is delightful, Iheir light brilliant, and 

 their economy gcc^l.—Monlhly Magazine. 



HORTlCL'l.TUIiF.. 



We have received and perused with much 

 pleasure the prospectus of the New-York Stale 

 Horticultural Society. The source whr nee this 

 project is understood to proceed entilb's it to 

 great respect, emanating from a scientific and 

 distinguislicd botanist. The primary object of 

 the proposed association is to establii^h a gar- 

 den of ten or twenty acres, in the vicinity of 

 this city, for the express purpose ot horlicullu- 

 ral and botanical improvement. There are to 

 be collected and seen at one view ail the indi- 

 genous plants of our country, and such exotics 

 as are remarkable tor beauty or utility. An- 

 other object of the society is the propagation 

 of fruit trees, all the varieties of which are to 

 be cultivated, and seeds, cuttings, and buds, gra- 

 tuitously distributed to nursery-men, with in- 

 formation as to their character and culture. A 

 third object is an improvement in our markets 

 by an increased attention to the production of 

 esculent vegetables of the best kinds. One dis- 

 tinct department of the garden would be appro- 

 priated to flowers, thus combining pleasure with 

 utility ; and appended to the establishment 

 would be rooms for botanical lectures. Stu- 

 dents attending the Medical College would find 

 such a garden, where they might practically 

 indulge in the pursuits of natural science, a 

 pleasant and profitable resort. It is likewise a 

 part of the plan to establish auxiliary societies-, 

 or branches in other parts of the state, wher- 

 ever a taste for such pursuits exists. 



All these objects appear to us rational, prac- 

 ticable, and in the highest degree commenda- 

 ble. Horticulture has been too long neglected, 

 and it is time for New-York, foremost in wealth, 

 in improvements, and in useful institutions of 

 all descriptions, to take up this subject in good 

 earnest. With some (ew modifications of the 

 plan, we could wish to see it carried into im- 

 mediate execution. It is well known that a 

 Horticultural Society already exists in this citv, 

 consisting chiefly of practical men, who have 

 long been engaged and have much experience 

 in their professional pursuits. At the last ses- 

 sion of the legislature, they obtained an act of 

 incorporation, authorising them to hold proper- 

 ty to the amount of ^80,000. This charter 

 would be amply sufficient for all the purposes 

 contemplated by the new association. If the so- 

 ciety were the.'-efore somewhat enlarged and 

 modified, uniting distinguished botanists and 

 men of science with gentlemen of more prac- 

 tical views, and extensive and valuable institu- 

 tion might be immediately built up. Ground 

 for a botanic garden might be purchased this 

 Spring, without the delay and doubt of obtain- 

 ing a new charter from the Legislature, and 

 v.ithout leading to any of (hose unhappy col- 

 lisions, which would hereafter inevitably arise 

 between rival socielies. As (he members of (he 

 e.tisting institution are only ambitious of pro 

 moling the public good, we have no doubt they 

 would accede to any proposition, which should 

 have a tendency to promote the interests of horti- 

 culture, and thereby confer" lasting benefitsupon 

 the State and the country at large. — N. Y. Stat. 



