416 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



For the New England Farmer. 



NATIVE ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



Knowing as I do, that the editor of the Farmer 

 entertains an enthusiastic lovo of the beautiful 

 throughout the varied manifestations of nature, 

 as well as an active and sul>stantial regard for the 

 useful, possiblj a woi-d in favor of some of the 

 many beautiful and noble trees of our native land, 

 as ornamental, and yet useful and necessary, may 

 not be altogether in vain. 



Why may not the lofty elm and the towering 

 pine, the stately vralnut and the sturdy oak, the 

 pretty maple and symmetrical hemlock, compare 

 favorably with any from a foreign soil ? Then 

 there is the ash with its dark foliage, and the pop- 

 lar with tremulous leaves, the delicately perfumed 

 locust, and others "too numerous to mention," 



Dear bought, and brought from far, may bet- 

 ter suit the taste of the city gentleman, but the 

 country nol>lcman, who tills his lands with his 

 own hands, and reaps the reward of his willing 

 toil from the yielding surface of his own soil, will 

 recline at fervid noon with self-satisfaction and 

 complacency, under the over-arching boughs of 

 some stately forest tree which he himself may 

 have planted in his youth. 



Go, then, and plant trees that shall yield rich 

 fruits and afford thee grateful shade. i. s. 



^th mo., 1854. 



Remarks. — We duly appreciate your brief and 

 appropriate hints, and hope every reader will. 

 There are no trees more beautiful than some which 

 you have named. The palm tree itself does not 

 exceed the hemlock in beauty, and in gracefulness 

 the elm cannot be outdone. Our forests are full 

 of trees that are exceedingly pleasant to the eye. 



USE AND INFLUENCE OF LIGHT. 



Light comes nest to air and warmth, in its in- 

 ,fluence on the vigor and health of both animal 

 and vegetable life. It is true we could live in the 

 dark, but it is not healthy to keep shady, even in 

 a physical point of view. 



The rays of the sun have a remarkable influence 

 on the growth as well as the health of animals 

 and vegetabl 'S. It is a fact that the men who 

 work in the i-oal mines of Europe, are subject to 

 peculiar forms of diseases. This can only be ac- 

 counted for Ijy their living fiir down in the depths 

 of the earth, away from the vivifying light of day. 

 It has been found that domestic animals will not 

 thrive and grow when kept in a dark place, 

 though ever so well fed and cared for in other 

 respects. 



It is a fact well known to medical men, that in 

 crowded cities, the inhabitants of houses on the 

 north side of a street, where all the principal 

 rooms are well lighted, suffer much less from 

 sickness than families living on the other side, all 

 other causes of health and disease being, as far as 

 can be ascertained, exactly the same. 

 . The custom of excludin"; light from houses by 



men, may preserve theTiirnTUirerf>uf8'8^3f4ii5iPfii- 

 •ways preserve the health of its iamates. This is 

 especially the case with regard to sleeping- 

 rooms, which should not only be well aired, but 



during every fair day should have the benefit of 

 all the sunlight which the windows can admit. 

 Who that has ever been a sufferer from dyspepsia, 

 rheumatism, or any other of the lingering diseases 

 of our climate, has not noticed the difference in 

 his feelings on a dark cloudy day, and in the 

 bright, cheering, smiling sunshine ? 



The effects of sunlight are still more apparent 

 upon the vegetable than upon the animal. What 

 a difference there is in the quality of the "pasture 

 ash," so called, and that which grew in the deep 

 shade of the forest, not only in the form of the 

 tree, but in the strength and texture of the wood. 

 This difference must no doubt be owing mostly to 

 the exposure to the winds, difference of soil, &c., 

 but in a great measure to the influence of light. 



We often see vegetables stretch upward in orde? 

 to get at the light, seeming to have a sort of in- 

 telligence in regard to its necessity in the process 

 of maturing its flowers and fruit. The scape or 

 stalk of the dandelion, for instance, which supports 

 its flowers, if it grows where there is nothing to 

 shade it, is seldom more than three or four inches 

 long, but among tall weeds, or grass, where shaded, 

 it will sometimes grow to the heigth of two feet 

 in its endeavors to avoid the overshadowing influ- 

 ence of its neighbors, and gain free access to the 

 light. Gardeners sometimes take advantage of 

 this fact, and obtain long stalks of rhubarb early, 

 by placing a barrel with each end knocked out 

 over the spreading leaves. The leaves stretch up 

 towards the light at the top, and thus they get 

 long and tender stalks for early use. 



Plants kept in the house always lean towards 

 the nearest window, and we have this summer 

 seen a cornfield adjoining a thick grove of tall 

 trees, where the plants, for some distance from 

 the trees, leaned away from the shade, the plants 

 in the rows nearest to the trees 'standing at an angle 

 of fifteen degrees from perpendicular, and grad- 

 ually becoming erect as the distance increased. 

 One reason why light is so essential to healthy 

 vegetation, is undoubtedly this, viz : the discompo- 

 sition of the carbonic acid in the air, or in other 

 words, the absorption of carbon from the air, one 

 of the most important sources of nourishment to 

 vegetables, can take place only through the agen- 

 cy of light. In the shade, the process goes on 

 very feebly, and in night is wholly suspended. — 

 Maine Farmer. 



Salt your Chimneys. — In building a chimney, 

 put a quantity of salt in the mortar with which 

 the inner courses of bricks are to be laid. The ef- 

 fect will be that there will never be any accumu- 

 lation of soot in that chimney. The philosophy is 

 thus stated : the salt in the portion of mortar 

 which is exposed absorbs moisture from the atmo- 

 sphere every damp day. The soot thus becoming 

 damp, falls down to the fireplace. This appears 

 to be an English discovery. It is used Avith suc- 

 cess in Canada. 



To Ruin a Son. — 1. Allow him to have his own 

 way. 



2. Let him have plenty of money. 



3. Let him roam about on Sunday. 



5. Give him bad companions. 



6. Call him to no account for his evenings. 



7. Give hioi no steady employment. 



