350 



Influence of climate on plants. — Floriculture. Vol. VII. 



losophy to this curious subject, and enable 

 us to give proper attention to it, in all the 

 practical operations of agricultural pursuit. 

 Much time and expense might be saved, 

 and profits realized, if this were more gene- 

 rally understood. 



" We have already observed, that the heat 

 of the sun in southern climes, forces plants 

 to a false maturity, runs them on too rapidly 

 to fructification, and renders dry and woody 

 the culms, stalks, and leaves of the plants, 

 where these parts are used. Hence the 

 chaffiness of the leaf, the dryness of the 

 culm, the lightness of the grain, and the 

 unsavoury, spongy quality of the pulp of the 

 plants in those latitudes. Hence the diffi- 

 culty of fermenting their juices, distilling 

 their essences, and preserving for use the 

 fruit, juice, or blades of such plants. The 

 prevalence of insects is another bar to the 

 productiveness of southern plants: swarms 

 of them invade and strip the leaves, bore 

 tiie fruit, and lead to blight and decomposi- 

 tion ; and just in proportion as the labours 

 of man have rendered plants succulent, and 

 their fruits and seeds sweet and pleasant, do 

 these insects multiply on them, devour their 

 crops, and defeat the objects of husbandry. 



"The labour of man too is more conserva- 

 tive in northern climates, because his arm is 

 better nerved for exercise, his health and 

 spirits more buoyant; and instead of saying, 

 'Go and work,' he says, 'Come and work;' 

 treads with a cheerful heart upon his own 

 soil, and assists in the cultivation, collection, 

 and preservation of his own productions. It 

 is in temperate climates that man can be 

 most familiar with nature ; it is there he has 

 the best opportunities of observing the guar- 

 antees which nature has for the preservation 

 of her animals and plants against the devas- 

 tation of the elements; he sees an occa 

 sional apparent neglect of individuals, but a 

 constant parental care of races. In every 

 thins - he sees the wisdom and benevolence 

 of God." 



Lord Wodehouse, President of the East 

 Norfolk Agricultural Association, said re 

 cently, at one of its meetings, that every 

 one knew, "what is produced from farm- 

 yards, was the best possible manure. The 

 greatest chemist in existence, with all his 

 skill and ingenuity, could produce nothing 

 like farm-yard manure. That was quite 

 clear, but still they wanted chemical assist- 

 ance. He had heard a story of a farmer, 

 who, beinjj told of the great improvements 

 made at Ilolkham, said, I don't care about 

 Squire Coke, give me muck to my land." 



An obedient wife rules her husband. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Floriculture. 



An intelligent friend, long accustomed to 

 the pursuits of floriculture, and remarkably 

 fortunate in raising plants from seed and 

 cuttings, attributes his success, in a great 

 measure, to the plan he has invariably 

 adopted, which is, to keep his plants as 

 near the level of the ground as possible ; 

 the windows of his kitchen affording him 

 the best situation for striking cuttings, &c. ; 

 after which come his parlour windows, and 

 then those of his first floor; but above this, 

 his plants never flourish. And the cause 

 for this, he considers perfectly plain and na- 

 tural; for at, and near the surface of the 

 earth, there is always a degree of moisture 

 floating in the atmosphere ; but above, it is 

 wanting; while the altitude of a third story, 

 or an attic, is dry and unfriendly to vegeta- 

 tion. 



When the season arrives for the removal 

 of his plants from the house to the open air, 

 he is careful not to set the pots on bricks or 

 a pavement, for these are continually ex- 

 tracting moisture from the earth in the pots, 

 and in hot weather the roots of the plants 

 are thereby scorched and dried up. He 

 places them on the earth, and in watering, 

 pours some between them, and thus the pots 

 are kept moist and cool during the hottest 

 day. It is a ffict, that no where have I seen 

 finer plants than his; nor do I know any 

 one who can raise them with such certainty, 

 and with so little trouble or difficulty: and 

 believing that the hint may be valuable to 

 many of your readers, particularly to those 

 whose labours in floriculture are chiefly con- 

 fined to the house, it is communicated, in 

 the hope that they will reciprocate, if in 

 their power so to do. S. Dale. 



Fossil foot marks. — Very many of our 

 readers are geologists, and would therefore 

 be glad to obtain slabs of stones having the 

 foot-steps of extinct animals upon them. A 

 famous locality for these stones, is on the 

 Connecticut river, near Greenfield, in the 

 new red sand stone. Perfect tracks of birds 

 and the impressions of fossil fishes are ob- 

 tained ; but not in such plenty as to furnish 

 all applicants. Plaster models are now sub- 

 stituted, giving exact copies of the foot-steps 

 of Ornithichnites and Sauroidichnites, co- 

 loured to nature, all packed in boxes, for 

 which $10 is asked. — Boston Medical and 

 Surgical Journal. 



Make for the hogs a warm nest — comfort 

 is cheap food for all domestic animals. 



