270 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jitnb: 



For the Ifew England Farmer. 



LTJSUS NATURE. 



Friend Brown : — Knowing that you take a 

 deep interest in all the proiluctions of nature, 

 ■whether natural or unnatural — normal or abnor- 

 mal, I will give you an account of what I have 

 met with, which seems to partake of the Lusus 

 Naturce Imprimis. Near the Crystal Palace, in 

 New York, a pair of oxen were exhibited, said to 

 weigh 9000 pounds. They came from the fertile 

 West, where animals and vegetables, having abun- 

 dance of room and no lack of nutriment, seem dis 

 posed to expand themselves. The keeper said they 

 had been accustomed to hard work till within one 

 year. He thought they had some Durham blood, 

 but mostly native. What a contrast between 

 these noble looking animals, and the little rats, 

 we often meet with in some portions of our coun- 

 try, whicli become venerable with age, before 

 they acquire sufficient size and strength to sustain 

 a yoke ! 



What man has done, man may do. Every far- 

 mer may raise good cattle ; he may not make 

 them all weigh i'orty-five hundred pounds each, 

 but 'twould 1)6 well if he were to aim at it. 



There was also a Shetland cow, eight years old, 

 and but thirty inches high. By her side Avas a 

 calf nineteen months old, not yet weaned, nor hav- 

 ing had a calf, though giving milk. This calf was 

 half Ayrshire, and somewhat larger than it» moth- 

 er. Here is a case for dairymen and physiolo- 

 gists. 



There were also Bake well sheep with wool full 

 tliree feet long. Query. — Why does not wool , like 

 the covering of other animals, fall otf when it 

 ceases to be needed and becomes a burthen ? 



Last of all Avas a Jewish a))omination — a pig, 

 one-fourth Berkshire, three-fourths native, weigh- 

 m^ fourteen hundred and scvni pounds. Among 

 the Irish tenantry, tlie pig, being set apart for the 

 payment of taxes, is called the "Rent-payer," or 

 the "Rent ;" — sucli a "pig" at the pi'csent prices 

 of pork would pay the rent of a larger estate than 

 an Irish potato patch. 



But obesity and monstrosity are not confined to 

 the brute creation. 



Col. Wood, of Cincinnati, has now on exhibi- 

 tion in this city some rare specimens of humanity, 

 — which prove conclusively that there are ex- 

 tremes in human nature. 



It is a common remark that Miss, or Mrs. So- 

 and-so", is a great lady. Now the greatest lady 

 living, Col. Wood says, is Mrs. Scholey, a native of 

 New Jersey, now a resident of Ohio. She weighs 

 seven hundred and sixty-four pounds; one hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds more than the celebrated 

 Daniel Lambert. Her naked arm measures three 

 feet and two inches, and her waist nine feet and 

 a half. Truly her husband has his arms full, if 

 not his basket full of blessings. Mrs. S. has a 

 good countenance, is highly intelligent, and con- 

 verses with freedom and great propriety. She is 

 of German descent; says her grandfather weighed 

 more than four hundred pounds ; has two sisters 

 who weigh more tlian two hundred pounds each ; ' 

 and a })rother who weighs two hundred and fifty I 

 pounds. She has always enjoyed good health, cats 

 no more food than other people, and much loss 

 than a dwarf who accompanies her, and is but thir- 

 ty inches in height. She has tried, by dieting and] 



by medical ti'eatment, to reduce her weight — but 

 without success. Next in this group, is Mis» 

 Richardson, of Alstead, N. H. She is nineteen 

 years old, and weighs six hundred and seventy- 

 four pounds ; which is sixty-four pounds more 

 than the great English giant weighed. The moth- 

 er of Mias R. accompanies her, and is a small and 

 lean woman. The father is said also not to bo 

 above the ordinary size ; she rises and walks with 

 apparent ease. Mrs. S. cannot rise without assis- 

 tance. 



So you see, Mr. Editor, New Hampshire prO' 

 duces not only great men, but great women ; and 

 New Jersey, too, may boast of women as great a» 

 any other sister State. 



Tliere is also, in this group, Mrs. Ellen Briggs, 

 of Ohio, 32 years of age, the mother of three chil- 

 dren, and but 80 inches in height. She is well 

 proportioned — vei'j graceful in form — has a good 

 countenance, speaks P]nglish, French, and' Ger- 

 man, dances perfectly, and all that. 



Now have not 1 proved that Nature, in the' 

 world of matter, yjlaj-ssome fantastic tricks'? An5 

 docs not every day's observation show, that m 

 mind there are no less wonderful vagaries ? 



At the President's levee, on Friday evening last, 

 I witnessed some rare specimens of animated na- 

 ture Avithout paying an admission fee. 



T!ie President seemed in good health and fine- 

 spirit?. He certainly does the honors of the Ex- 

 ecutive mansion Avith ease and dignity. 



The assemblage furniBhcd a fine illustration of 

 the levelling tendency of Repubiicani.sm. Jammed 

 into the fivmous "EastRoom," side by side, shoul- 

 der to sliouldcr, were representatives of every 

 grade in society. Whigs, Democrats, Free Soilers 

 and Unionists, — Hards and Softs, — Hunkers and 

 Progressive?, — Liberals and Rami'ods, military 

 chieftains at.d soaplock dandies, — gentlemen and 

 boors, — philosophers and dolts, stately matrons 

 and coy nuiidens, beauty and deformity, pride 

 and humility, Avisdom and folly. Catholic and 

 Protestant, American and European, all hud- 

 dled together, cheek by joAvl, in truly democratic 

 style. 



It is well that the "dear people" have access to 

 their rulers, and well would it be, if their pru- 

 dence should keep them mindful of the source 

 Avhence they derive their power, and thus prevent 

 them from enacting unrigliteous laws. 



Baltimore, Feb. 27, 1854. r. b. n. 



SPECIFIC FERTILIZERS. 



We would suggest to our friends who are about 

 to use guano, poudretto, super-phosphate of lime, 

 plaster, salt, salt-petre, or any other highly con- 

 centrated manure, to omit, in all cases, the appli- 

 cation of them on a portion of the same field, so 

 that it may be plainly seen whether the crop is 

 any better where they are applied than where they 

 are not. It is only through the aid afforded by 

 such experiments that Ave shall be able to come 

 to satisfactory conclusions as to their value. It is 

 very important for us to know, not only that these 

 manures are valuable, but also to know hoiv valu- 

 able they are, in comparison with the common 

 manures of the farm. In order to obtain this 



