290 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



March 30, 1S31. 



perienoe, how is it that young animals do not fx- 

 ercise that sagacity, which is observed in older 

 ones? * 



Dr Thacher, asks the question, ' are these little 

 insect bodies inspired with a soul, or can matter 

 think ?' No one will answer the latter part of the 

 question in the affirmative. As to the former part, 

 permit me to answer, they have a soul. Matter 

 however organized, cainnot of itself act or think. 

 A system of organs is necessai-y for the action of 

 the soul. The soul being nothing more, nor less 

 than a principle, having neither length nor breadth, 

 is incapable of itself of any action or tliought. 

 In order to produce actions or thought, the soul 

 must be connected with proper organs, and the 

 more perfect the organs, the more perfect will be 

 the products of this union. The smallnessof the 

 insect can be no objection to ti.e position here ad- 

 vanced. Admitting the position to be true, it does 

 not follow, that the insect is endowed with the 

 same faculties which eminently distinguish the 

 human race : much less does it follow that because 

 they have a soul, there must be a resurrection 

 after death. However, if after death they should 

 be brought to life, like Doctor Franklin's flies 

 which were drowned in wine, bottleil in Virginia, 

 and resuscitated some months afterwards in Eu- 

 rope, they would be actuated by the same soul — 

 being the selfsame insect. On the whole, we be- 

 lieve the hypothesis to be true, that the Bee has 

 a soul, and that it has proper organs for the union 

 and action of this jirinciple, and that the organs 

 are more perfect than those of many other insects, 

 and less perfect than those of man. "R. G. 



• Occasionally bees steal either from their near neigh- 

 bors, or from tliose a mile or more distant, and sometimes 

 in thi6 way destroy a whole nation less stroncjthan them- 

 selves. This they do when tliey are in no immediate 

 want of provision. !f this be an innate principle, then 

 all bees would do the like, contrary to fact. 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



At an adjourned meeting held on Saturday, March 

 26, at the Hall of the Institution, the fohowing let- 

 ters were read, and the scions which accompanied 

 them, together with the seeds presented to the So- 

 ciety by J. S. Skinner, Esq. of Baltimore, were dis- 

 tributed among the members of the Society. 



Me J. B. nussELL— 



Dear Sir — Accompanying this, you will receive 

 a package of grafts for the use of Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society, which I mentioned to you 

 in a letter in the winter, desiring you to jjurchase 

 me some grafts, &:c, which I have heai'd was for- 

 warded from Philadelphia by Mr Amory, a mer- 

 chant of Boston. They are marked as follows 

 viz. No 1, the Ashmore apple, (see N. E. Far- 

 mer, vol. ix. page 109.) No 2 Sweet Paradise * 

 apple. (See the N. E. Farmer, vol. vii. page 286.) 

 No 3, the Shenck pear, a seedling, large and very 

 superior, a plentiful bearer, ripens in August. It 

 was rsised from the seed of a small harvest pear, 

 planted about 40 years ago by the late Mr John 

 Shenck of Manor Township, Lancaster County, 

 Pennsylvania. I obtained the grafts from Mr 

 Philip Barger, Mr Shenck's son in law. Those 

 marked xx are off the original tree. Those 

 marked xxi and xxii off young trees grafted by Mr 

 Shenck, from the original and which his daughter, 

 Mrs Barger, says, bear rather larger fruit than the 

 old tree. I have engaged some of the fruit to 

 send to the Philadelphia Horticultural Society 



* It is My intention to send your society a sample of 

 the Paradise apple. 



when ripe. Should I succeed, you will no doubt 

 see their opinion of them. I should like one of 

 your cultivators to hasten their fruiting, and when 

 obtained of fair size (say from 8 to 16 ozs.) corn- 

 pare them with some of your very best pears, of 

 this season of ripening, either of foreign or do- 

 mestic origin, and give the result of the compari- 

 son in the N. E. Farmer. The grafts of the Shenck 

 pear and Paradise apple were cut by myself. 

 The Ashmore ap|)le (20 miles off) cut by a person 

 in whom I have confideiice, they may therefore all 

 be relied on as gemdne. M. 



WrigUsville, Pa. March 18, 1831. 



Brighton, Marcli 36, J83I. 

 Mr J. B. Russell- 

 Dear Srn — I send a few scions of Hubbardston 

 Nousueli, Nonpariel, Golden Pippin, and Ribston 

 Pippin, with a few Apples of each kind : they have 

 been in my warm room some time, and have wilt- 

 ed, but an estimate of the scions can be made by 

 the fruit. Will you present them to the President 

 with myibest respects, and request him to distri- 

 bute them if wanted by any of the members. I 

 intended meeting with the Society this day but am 

 unexpectedly prevented. 



Your obedient servant, 



GoRHAM Parsoks. 



John Wilson of Roxbury, and 



Stephen C. Phillips, of Salem, were admitted 

 members. 



Saml'el F. Coolidge, of Boston, 



David Hyslop, of Brookline, 



John Clap, of Dorchester, and 



Thomas Leonard, of Salem, were admitted mem- 

 bers at the stated meeting of the Society, held on 

 the 5th inst. 



Several beautiful specimens of Gilly flowers, viz : 

 the Queen White, Scarlet Cape, Wliite Brompton, 

 and Scarlet Brompton, from the garden of E. H. Der- 

 by, Esq. of Salem, were exhibited. 



On Saturday another Box of Seeds will be distri- 

 buted among the members of the Society. 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 



The Standing Committee on Ornamental Trees, 

 Shrubs, &c, award a premium of two dollars to Mr 

 Thomas Leonard, for the fine specimens of Gilly 

 flowers, from the garden of E. H. Dei by, Esq. Salem, 

 exhibited at the meeting of the Society on Saturday, 

 March 2G. R. L. Emmons, 



March 30. Secretary. 



JVotice. 

 An adjourned meetinf; ol the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society will be held on Saturday next, at 11 o'clock. 

 March .30. R. L. EMMONS, Secretary. 



I observe that the 4th of April is mentioned for 

 the sale of the cfl^ects of Mr Thomas Harrison late 

 groom of Sir Isaac Coffin. — I feel it to be due to 

 Mr Harrison's memory to say, that from repeated 

 opportunities of witnessing his exertions, I have 

 reason to believe that there were few grooms, if 

 any, equal to him. He came to America in 1822 

 with the horse first sent to the country by Admiral 

 Coffin, and given by him to the Agricultural So- 

 ciety. Mr Harrison was lost overboard from one of 

 the steam boats in the North River last sutniner. 

 His loss is sincerely felt by all who knew hiin. 

 The late Mr Harrison's mother resides in England, 

 and 1 have reason to believe in ])Overty, and will 

 in all probability reap the benefit of her son's hard 

 earnings. I trust that this may be remembered, 

 and that hig-h prices will be given for the vahia- 

 ble animals wliich are to beoft'erod to the public. 



A. 



REMARKS ON LIVE STOCK. 



The following from a Treatise on Live Stock, b 

 George Culley an etnineiit English Herdsman ma 

 suggest useful ideas to American Farmers. 



In the first place, it would seem that the larges 

 domestic animals are not the best, or most advan 

 tagcous to the breeder or feeder ; because wi 

 generally find, that the large big-boned cattle am 

 sheep require more and better food in proportion ti 

 stipport and feed them, than those of a middlin 

 size and stnall bones ; and the larger, bigger boi- 

 ed, and clumsier tliey are formed the more tin 

 profitable they are, while, on the contrary, tin 

 trtier they are formed, and the finer the buiio, tin 

 more profitable, as they not only take less food ii 

 proportion, but feed more readily. 



I aver that no large boned animal will feed ki 

 quick, or cover so readily and thick with fit fle;-' 

 as one with a small bone, if well formed. T 

 is the criterion — this is the main princij)le that 

 ibiind our judgment upon, respecting all animi 

 which are to be fatted for the support of inankini 

 and we can justly say that this judgment is COD' 

 firmed by near forty years' experience. Notwith 

 standing this assertion is made with some d';;!-. 

 of positiveness, yet wc are not unconscious of it 

 being a new doctrine to the generality of breedA 

 in this island; and, consequently, will appear n 

 prising and strange to many old In-eeders m 

 graziers. But I have not a remaining doubt, i 

 the advocates for large bones will make fair am 

 candid trials, the small bones will win or gain th' 

 prize, nine times out of ten, or rather every tiinf 

 nay I am inclined to think, that the small bonei 

 trtie pro|iortioned animal will pay 4rf. while tb 

 big boned one will only pay 3d. for what^ 

 eats. — When I assert this I would wish to be 

 derstood, that I mean from the time of calving! 

 lambing, to the time of killing for the market ; 

 cause I look upon the grazier, who buys in m 

 feeds, and he that breeds and feeds, as two ver 

 different people. It is the latter of those that th- 

 public are obliged to for that useful ohsorvatitHi 

 of small boned animals excelling large boned ODf 

 in feeding; because he sees, watches, and exainin 

 the various pushes and improvements from lli* 

 beginning to the end ; while the grazier, who buyi 

 in his stock is easy, in a great measure, how thej 

 are bred, so long as they l)ay him for feeding, 

 plain, coarse, ugly animal may pay him more 

 a fine well made one ; becatise he buys the coi 

 one at a mtich less price in proporfion, and itisc 

 little consequence to him as an individual : but, i 

 his country, to community at large, it is a ina| 

 of prodigious importance, mtich more than 

 in general been thought of; because the 

 meat and the less bone, you can produce frSi^ 

 a given quantity of ])asturagc, turnips, cabbages, 

 &c, the better surely, and more mouths you CJO 

 feed. ' 



The beef or mutton is finer grained, and sdl» 

 higher by the poimd ; it is worth more to the 

 consumer than the other, because it aflbrds mow 

 and better flesh and loss bone ; and supposing the 

 poor are under a necessity of buying the coal* 

 parts in a dear time, it is worth more to tliem in 

 proportion than the coarse of the large boned one;' 

 because, though still coarse it is finer than tit 

 others, and has lees bone; in fact it is tiie cheap 

 est ami best eating to the rich, to the manufacturt ' 

 and to the poor. 



Even in regard to horses intended for the 

 draught or saddle, those I presume are best in g«*l 



