VOL. XiV. NO. 50. 



AND GARDEN Kli'S JOURNAL 



895 



Plasteri.nb Corn. — The following ex|ioiiiiicnt, 

 f)erforiiied many years ago by John Taylor, ot 

 Virginia, suggests a practice wliicli may be adopt- 

 (1 at the present season witli great iiropriety by 

 ilniost every farmer : 



Sowed twenty-three biisliels of piaster on 

 wcnt'f-three acres of corn, in a large field, 

 'longhed in part immediately, harrowed in part, 

 md lert i>art on the surface ten days before it was 

 vorked in. The corn was four inches high. 'i"be 

 veather moist. There was no diffeienco between 

 lie three <livisions. The seed of the whole field 

 lad been rolled in plaster. These twenty-three 

 ores exceeded the adjoining corn 25 per cent; its 

 lades and tops also dried sooner." — Gen. Farm. 



Bkes. — The Vermont Farmer recommends the 

 bllowing method for securing bees when swarm- 

 Procure one or two hemlock bushes, four or 

 ve feet high, and fasten them in the ground as 

 ou do bean j)oles, so as to stand firm, with all 

 leir boughs on, within a rod or two of the hee- 

 ouse, and nearly in front of it. When they 

 warm, your bees will almost invariably alight on 

 lese, where they can be managed without the 

 ;ast trouble, and the whole business finished in a 

 ery kw minutes. Very often by rubbing U])on 

 a little low balm, you can make the swarm at- 

 leh itself to just what limb you please. We have 

 urselves tried this year after year with perfect 

 jccess. 



choose their favorite varieties, and bo certain of 

 their kind and ipiality. 'I'lie saving of seeds re- 

 quires hut little time or labor, and fre(|uently pre- 

 vents serious troidjie and loss. — 6'e?i. Farm. 



Domestic. — A boat passed up the canal yester- 

 day freighted with Durham cattle of both sexes, 

 direct from England. The male was in fine order, 

 and well calculated from the perfection of his form 

 and the mildness of his age, to challenge the ad- 

 miration of the farmer. We understand they are 

 destined for Cincinnati, which is another evidence 

 of the enlightened views of the Ohio farmers. — 

 Rahway [JV. J.) Republican. 



Germination of Seeds. — There is a complaint 

 equently made by those who purchase their gar- 

 en and other seeds, that they do not grow ; and 

 ence it is inferred that unripe and inferior seeds 

 •e put up to increase the sales, and consequently 

 e profits of the gardener and the seedsman, 

 'his inference may in some cases possibly be cor- 

 but that it is so in all cases whero seeds do 

 ot grow, is evidiiUtly wrong ; for no fact is more 

 early ascertained, than that good seeds do not 

 ways germinate. Two things are indispensable 

 the germination of seeds — heat and moisture; 

 either of these is absent, the process must be 

 spended, it follows as a necessary consequence, 

 at seeds planted so deep that the rays of the sun 

 nnot influence them must remain in a state un- 

 vorable to their growth ; and if planted in a soil 

 here there is warmth but no moisture, the same 

 suit will ensue. Some seeds have a coating so 

 ird that they rarely grow under ordinary circum- 

 ances. The man who should condemn his 

 cust seed because they did not grow, when 

 anted without preparation, w'onld only manifest 

 s ignorance: by pouring boiling water upon 

 em, and allowing them to stand 4S hours, he 

 ould find that most of them would germinate, 

 he germination of beet seed is much accelerated 

 d rendered more certain by the application of 

 ater nearly at the scalding heat, and allowing 

 em to remain in it for twelve hours. 

 The application of the above jirinciple may as-. 

 ;t J. D. ill determining the cause of his failure in 

 rminating the mangel wurtzel. Our experience 

 the cultivation ot this root has not been very 

 tensive, but perfectly satisfactory, and we have 

 und no more difficulty than in growing the com- 

 on beet. In sowing it we have rarely had a 

 ed fail, and we have hitherto purchased of the 

 edsmen. In all possible cases, however, farm- 

 s should raise their own seeds; they can then 



The great Chestnut Tree near mount Etna, 

 is perhaps one of the most extraordinary trees in 

 the world. It is called "The Chesnut Tree of a 

 Hundred Horses," from the following traditionary 

 tale. Joan of Arragon, when she visited Mount 

 Etna, was attended by her princijial nobility, when 

 a heavy shower obliged them to take refuge under 

 the tree, the immense branches o( which sheltered 

 the whole party. According to the account given 

 of it by Mr Howel, this chesnut tree is 150 feet in 

 circumference, and although quite hollow within, 

 the verdure of the branches is not affer ted ; for 

 this species of tree, like the willow and some oth- 

 ers, depend upon its bark for subsisten'^e. The 

 cavity of this enormous tree is so extensive, that 

 a house has been built in it, and the inhabitants 

 have an oven therein, where they dry nuts, ches- 

 nuts, almonds, &c., of which they make conserves; 

 but, as these thoughtless people often get fuel from 

 the tree that shelters them, it is feared that this 

 natural curiosity will be destroyed by those whom 

 it protects. — French paper. 



will be more successful, and redeem the ehnractei' 

 of the crop. It is true we have had liut little suc- 

 cess with this crop, but 1 am of the opinion that if 

 rightly managed, it may Ix^ as gucc(!ssfully culti- 

 vated as the potato. As with other crojjs, (i b."i'd' 

 season may destroy it, but a good soil and right 

 preparation of t!ic seed are indispensable to suc- 

 cess In 1834 a friend sent me a few seeds, the- 

 first I had cverseen. These seeds were tliorough- 

 ly soaked at the time lie sent them, and I .so situ- 

 ated that I was obliged to defer planting vhcm a 

 day or two longer, so that they must h.-tre been in 

 soak four or five; days before ))lantiiic. '1 hey 

 vegetated rpiickly, and were up in three day s. If 

 the fall I gathered them and fed them to cows. 

 They devoured them so greedily that I wi vs if^- 

 diiced to try them again the following seaso n. I 

 accordingly prejiared some ground, and to\ yards 

 the last of May I planted the seed dry. Th e re- 

 sult was, on one eighth of an acre whieh 1 ]ih 

 1 never could find half a dozen plants. I 

 try the experiment again the present season, 

 seed thoroughly soaked, and covered half an 

 in depth with finely pulverized earth. 

 Yours, &c., 

 East Bloomfield, May 12, 1836. 



nt"d 

 shall 

 with 

 inch 



BiiiTisH Manufactories. — A good deal was 

 published some three or four years ago, touching 

 the wretched condition of the laborers in these 

 great establishments of industry. A committee 

 was instituted by Parliament to inquire into their 

 condition on the sjjot. The investigation appears 

 to have been conducted with care and fidelity. 

 The result'of the inquiry was that the condition of 

 the operators of al! ages was far frrim being mis- 

 erable. Their labor is higher than that of the 

 cultivators of the soil. Adults earn per day from 

 3s 6d to 6s 6d sterling, and some more. Their 

 ein|)loymeiit is not tinfavorable to health or lon- 

 gevity. 



Another fact of great importance is announced 

 — " that improvements in machinery invariably 

 increase at one and the same time the profits of 

 the mill owner and the wages of the workmen." 

 With this improved machinery, the manufacturer 

 can afford to pay his workmen a higher price. 



(FromUieGenessee Farmer.) 

 SlANGEL. WlTRTZEIi. 



Mr Tdcker — This root has attracted much at- 

 tention here for the last two years, and its value 

 as an article of food for stock, as well as the great 

 quantity which may be produced from an acre of 

 ground, has induced many farmers to experiment 

 uijon its culture. These experiments, however, 

 have been upon a small scale, and the result in 

 most cases a total failure. Many now regard it as 

 an uncertain crop, and the chances of success so 

 small, that I fear they will abandon it i^ltogether. 

 But I hope the experiments of the present year 



The Crops. — Grass, in our immediate vicini ty, 

 is in very good condition. The late rains ha ve 

 given it a rapid growth. One individual, at leai ^t, 

 has already commenced haying. Rye, too we ai e 

 informed, h.oks favorably. Jn Ware, we lean n 

 that the grass is yet light; not so much rain h.ii ' 

 fallen there as here. If they do not have imme- 

 diate wet weather, it is feared that the crop will 

 be small. — Hamp. Got.., June 15. 



..Thf. Canal. — Two boats arrived here from 

 New Haven on Friday evening last, one freighted 

 with thirty tons, and the other with twenty. They 

 left, on return, Monday. We understand that the 

 repairs in th<^ canal are now completed, and that, 

 extraordinaries excepted, there will be no more 

 interruption to navigation. \ meeting of the new 

 canal company is notified to be held at New Ha- 

 ven next week, for the purpose of organization 

 and the transaction of other business. We hope 

 to see a good business done on this "ditch " yet, 

 notvvithstanding all the sneers that have been cast 

 upon it, if the muskrats natural, and those in hu- 

 man shape, will let it alone. — lb. 



A chemist of the city of Durham has lately dis- 

 covered, by accident, that the stiiig (venom) of a 

 wasp or bee is an acid which will yield to an ap- 

 plication of powerful alkali. 



The fly has destroyed the wheat crop in this 

 section of the country. Fields which looked verv 

 well a few weeks ago, will not be worth the cuti 

 ting. 



The rye bids fair for an average ciyip. The 

 corn looks very badly. Owing to the drouth 

 about the time of plaguing, it d til not tonieup;. 

 and the continued rain lor eighteen d/iys, which 

 succeeded, caused the replanting i;i many instances 

 to rot in the ground. — Muncy {Pa.) Telegraph 

 June 11. 



Col. Rees, of Florida, owner of a plantatioBi 

 which was devastated by the Indians, is said to, 

 have lost $1^,000 — being the greatest loss sus.-, 

 tainerl 'jjf^ny individual in the Territory, 



