Vol. IX.— N'<. 32. 



AND IIOIITICULTLIIAL JOURNAL. 



253 



losses tliroiijrli iiinoniiUM-, ami iis ofti'ii iiltrilmtfs In 

 wroii;; i-im-i-s llie iHilmc ol" liis iti)|.s. The jinr- 

 dencr, iiiil)jliiiiij (mtoiu'diis iiiiliciiis, uitliliis iinifes- 

 sioii,iiriciilinies in his zrnl to impiovo, iiiis|inrmgly 

 deslmvs llie very g-Hnn/irtdi- of his luirdeis ami 

 partciri'S. A knowleilsjn of |iliiiits, niid of tiie iii- 

 5tiii<-!s of animals, birds nnd iiisfcts, howi-versMglil, 

 is by MO means useless. Owiiij; to the miserable 

 lociil nomenclature of i>lants, and espeeially of 

 the jjiasses, no wonder that so many mistakes exist 

 md lliesp, too, may he of a very .-^erions oliarac- 

 jer. Wor.hlcss weeds bear the ho^iorable names 

 Df vahialile grasses : and valuable grasses are liable 

 10 be iltshonored aud debased by their wretched 

 local a|ipellaiions. As an ilbistralion of this posi- 

 ioii, the commmdcalion of your Philadelphia ' In- 

 [uirer' in yonr last No. may he cited. In answer 

 his inqniry concernini; ' red top,' the botanical 

 lamc is ' .l-rrostis vuli^nris'' and thai fif white 

 op is '.Igroslis alba'. — Muhknburg Gram. De- 

 cript. 



Mr Gilbert White in his ' Natm-al History of Sel- 



orne,' has the following excellent remarks, which 



re niMih to the present purpose. — The standing 



bjection to Botany has always been, that it is a 



rsuit that amuses the fancy and exercises the 



lemory, without improving the mind or advancing 



al knowledge, aud where the science is carried 



farther than a mere systematic classification, Tlie 



large is but too true. But the botanist that is 



isirous of wiping off this assersion should be by 



means content with a list of names ; he should 



udy |)Iants philosophically, investigate the laws of 



getation : should examine the powers and virtues 



efBcacious plants ; should promote their cultiva- 



m, and graft the gardener, the planter, aud the 



isbandman on the phytologist. Not that system 



by any menns to be thrown aside ; without system 



e field of nature would be a pathless wildcM-- 



iss — but system should be subservient to, not the 



ain object of pm-snit. 



Vegetation is highly worthy of our attention, 

 din itself is of the utmost consequence to tnan- 

 nd, and proilnctive of many of the greatest com- 

 ■ts and elegances of life. To jdants, we owe 

 riber, bread, beer, honey, wine, oil, linen, cotton, 

 3, what not only strengthens our hearts, and ex- 

 irates our spirits, but what secures us from the 

 demcncies of weather, and adorns our perrons, 

 in in his true state of nature, seems to be sub- 

 ted by spontaneous vegetation : in middle climes 

 ere grasses prevail, he iidxes some animal food 

 t!i the produce of the fieM and garden : and it is 

 vards the polar system only that like his kindred 

 ars and wolves, he gorges himself with flesh 

 )ne, and is driven to what hunger has never 

 own to compel the very beast — to prey upon 

 own species. The productions of vegetation 

 ve had a vast influence on the commerce of na- 

 ns, and have been the great promoters of uavi- 

 ion, as may be seen in the articles of sugar, tea, 

 )acco, opium, ginseng, betel, pepper, &c. As 

 SIT climate has its peculiar produce, our natiu-al 

 uts bring on a mutual intercourse, so that by the 

 ans of trade, each distant part is supplied with the 

 iwth of every latitude. But without the know- 

 !ge of plants aud their culture, we must have 

 511 content with our Idps and haws, without en- 

 ing the delicate fruits of India, and the saluti- 

 ous drugs of Peru. Of all sorts of vegetation 

 ; grasses seem to be most neglected ; neither the 

 mer nor the grazer seem to distinguish the annual 

 m the perennial, the hardy from the tender, 



nor the succulent and nutritive from the dry and 

 jiiiccde.ss. 



The stiuly of grasses would be of great conse- 

 quence to a northerly and grazing kingdom. 

 The Botanist that cotdd improve the sward at the 

 district where he lived, would be an useful m(;m- 

 her of society : to raise a thick turf on a naked 

 soil, would be vvorili volumes of systematic 

 knowledge: and he would be the best common- 

 wealth's man ihat-cotdd occasion the growth of 

 'two blades of grass where one alone was seen 

 before.' K— I. 



Cambridge, Feb. 14, 1831. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FiRBIER. 



TUMORS IN HORSES. 



IMr Fessenden — Indolent tumors of much tlic 

 same kind as those referreil to by your correspon- 

 dent ' B.' page 234 of your valuable paper have 

 been of so frequent occurrence in this county, 

 the past season, as to lead to the reasonable suppo- 

 sition tiiat the disorder might lie an epidemic. 



The swelling usually commences on the glands 

 of the neck, just back of the jaw bone, extending 

 in many cases from the wind pipe to the mane, 

 and frotn six to twelve inches down the neck to- 

 warils the body. 



Perhaps over an hundred cases have occurred 

 under my own observation, since the first of May 

 last. All of them, when recent, liave readily 

 yielded to copious bleeding either in the nose or 

 neck, and thorough hand rubbing of the part 

 affected, — and here I may be i)ermitted to suggest 

 that in this operation the hand should be slowly 

 moved, with considerable pressure, ii) the direc- 

 tion that the hair lies, and for a distance above 

 aud below the diseased point. Alight and ra])id 

 motion of the hand is of no benefit, and a rapid 

 motion with pressure is lialde to burst the delicate 

 blood vessels already to greatly distended. 



By the course above suggested the humors 

 are gradually passed from the extended vessels, 

 without injury, and forced into the general circu- 

 lation of the system and are thus entirely removed 

 from the diseased part. In a few instances I have 

 directed a saturated solution of opium in alcohol 

 to be used as an external application, and in one 

 obstinate case of long standing an alcoholic tinc- 

 ture of cantharides 



It is a diflicult matter to prescribe frotn a des- 

 cription of the disease, but I have no doubt that 

 the swelling referred to by ' B' — upon the side of 

 his horse, might have been at once reduced if taken 

 in season, by bleeding from the nearest vein or 

 even by copious bleeditig from the neck. 



Your correspondent says he has kept his horse 

 warm, ifarmed his drink, physicked him, &c. 

 Woulil not it have been better for the horse had 

 he kept him as before, given him his usual feed and 

 required of him his ordinary ivork. A more regu- 

 lar and vigorous circidation throughout his system 

 would in that case have been kept u|), and the 

 chance that the tumor should pass off" w^ould have 

 been greater, (especially if the part bad been ju- 

 diciously rubbed) precisely in the same way tliat 

 horses subject to grease are in many cases entirely 

 cured by regular service. 



The cause of the disorder it is diflicult precisely 

 to point out. I once had an elegant horse ruined 

 by being placed, when warm, by an hostler in a 

 stable where was a window through which there 

 was a strong draught of air — as he said, to cool. 

 ' B.'s' horse might have been exposed when warm 



to a euirent of air on the neck, which would have 

 a tendency to cause a swelling of the glands. 

 Tlie girths might have been too tight atiil thus im- 

 peded the circtdation and cause the swelling on the 

 side, — or the horse might have been in a high 

 condition; his system would bo called into great 

 action by his labor, atid during his week's rest, from 

 some extraneous cause, in its return to its uniform 

 stale, different |)arls would be differently affected, 

 — at any rate every person who has ever taken a 

 horse little accustomed to service and-put him to 

 severe work, has found him extremely subject to 

 be aimoyed by swellings and light timiors on 

 various parts, especially when touched by the har- 

 ness. In such cases the application of either cold 

 or warm water, with hand rubbing, i/" the horse is 

 kept at u'ork, will readily effect a cure. R. 



Soxdhingto7i, Con. Feb. 14, 1931. 



P. S. In the bleeding of horses, no ligature 

 should be applied to the neck, at least until after 

 the incision is made ; as much injury is frequently 

 done by llie great pressure of the blood in the veins 

 of tfie head, an<I the neck is liable to swell. The 

 incision should be large, and the flow of blood 

 accelerated by giving the horse ears of Indian 

 corn to eat as soon as the blood begins to run. 



PRESERVED RHUBARB. 



Mr Fessenden — Knowing that you are an ad- 

 mirer of the 'Tart Rhubarb' or Pie Plant I take 

 the liberty to send you a small quantity of it which 

 I preserved, by way of experiment, in sugar. It may 

 be a new thing, and it may have been done by 

 many others before; but however that may be, 

 I will endeavor to communicate to you my mode 

 of proceeding. 



A quantity of leaf stalks were gathered and 

 dressed in the usual manner, which (by way of 

 hint to those who are unacquainted, with the man- 

 agement of this valuable plant,) is to take hold of 

 the stalk just below the leaf, and with a sudden 

 jerk of the hand separate it from the crown of 

 the root — this is apparently a very i-ash mode of 

 proceeding ; but it is much better then to use a 

 knife. Cut off" the leaf, strip off ihe bark, and 

 cut the stalks transversely into pieceS of about 

 three fourths of an inch long — this having been 

 done, I spread it in the sun to dry — when it was 

 diminished about one half in bulk, I took half its 

 tueighl in sugar, of which I ma<le a syruj), into 

 which I put the Rhubarb, half dried, as it was, 

 and let it remain some time over a slow fire — after 

 which I put it into a china pot which was filled 

 almost to the top. When cold I poured a littl« 

 brandy over it, to prevent it from moulding; stop- 

 ped it tight and set it in a cool cellar, where it kept 

 jierfectly well. 



You will perceive that it is a little bitter, which 

 is owing to its having been done a liltle too late 

 in the season ; and here I would offer another 

 hint. — The ' Pie plant' is always best when in the 

 most vigorous growth, and the person who gathers 

 it slionid take particular care to pick the leaves 

 last grown — for a few days' standing, after they 

 have completed their growth, renders them toughf' 

 and bitter. — The want of this precaution is prob- 

 ably one of the greatest reasons why netv be- 

 ginners are not so likely to relish it. 



I have been induced to be thus particular, from 

 the circumstance of my own experience on the 

 subject — for I have cultivated and used the Rheum 

 Undulatum at least seven years, and during that 

 period I have been gaining by degrees the very 



