V._Ko. 4. 



NEW ENGLAND FAUMRJt. 



29 



Jist iu>t bo intiniiJated by liard words — thoy will 

 a Uttlo study discover that apparent pedantry is 

 ;qiuiitly compensated by usct'ul precision. It 

 11 not lake them long to discover that silicious 

 ;ans flinty, aliiininous clayey, oxygen pure, and 

 )te foul air. They would find that without some 

 H'ision of terms, the composition of soils and 

 nures, a most important department of .\gricul- 

 •e, couUl never be intelligibly explained. We 

 ; told by Arthur Young, that in some parts of 

 wland any loose clay is called iiiarl,in others marl 

 called chalk — and in others clay is called loam, 

 is confusion of terms necessarily limits the ben- 

 :s of expericni. p,enibarrasses communication and 

 ards improvement. As to the provincialisms of 

 plications, English and Scotch, they are, it must 

 confessed, disgusting and vexatious. But it 

 uld not be very difficult to translate them into 

 ! universal English idiom, which I truly and 

 ludly assert to be the language of our own 

 mtry. On the important and interesting sub- 1 

 t3 of morals and theology, we distribute gratis, 

 cts and essays,which, undoubtcdly,have had the 

 leficial effect of rousing the thoughtless to re- 

 ;tion, the careless to attention. In a less holy 

 not inconsistent zeal,why should we not in ref- 



Ince to a great temporal interest,like\vise distri- 

 e gratis short tracts, condensed essays, the best 

 jur own publications, or reprints from tlic best 

 _breign countries, upon the all-important subject 

 Agriculture. 



GARDExN OF PLANTS, 

 'rom one of the recent letters of Mr. Carter, the 

 ior editor of the New- York Statesman, we se- 

 the following interesting description of the 

 ^brated Garden of Plants in Paris : JVat. Jour. 



rossing the beautiful bridge of Austerlits which 

 he uppermost over the Seine, opposite Paris, 



the arches of which are of cast iron, we ar- 

 d at the Royal Garden of Plants, on the left 

 k of the river. It is one of the greatest orna- 

 its of the French metropolis, and merits more 

 ntion than I can bestow upon it in this stage 



protracted sketch. It is chiefly indebted for 

 nestimable treasures, as well as for the beauty 

 ;s design, to the eflbrts of the celebrated Buftbn. 

 ier, Hany,' and Humboldt, scarcely less dis- 

 •uished in their respective departments of natu- 

 science, have followed the footsteps of their 

 at predecessor, and made this museum every 

 ig which either science or taste can require. — 

 tudent might pass not only days, but months 



years to advantage, in the gardens, the halls, 



schools comprised within tliis great temple of 

 are. It contains a botanic garden, a menagerie, 

 luseum of natural history and anatom}', togeth- 

 vith numerous apartments, in which public lec- 

 3S are delivered. These several compartments 



all upon a large scale, and rendered as com- 

 te as possible ; whence some idea of the extent 



he whole establishment may be obtained. 



The location of the Garden of Plants is admira- 



, not only in point of soil and other advantages, 



of natural scenery and picturesque beauty. — 

 iroad and magnificent esplanade opens from the 

 ik of the Seine, rising by a gentle acclivity to- 

 rds the south, and ])resenting a full view ofth° 

 Is of the farther extremity. Above these, n 

 irming spiral walk uscends to the top of an emi- 

 ice of consi lerablo altitude, overlooking the gar- 

 i,and commandiug an extensive prospect of Paris 



and its environs. Uelow, the Seine rolls cpiiotly 

 on beneath its numerous bridges, and by its splen- 

 did palaces. The eloping sides of the hill are 

 beautifully siiailcd with forest trees and evergreens, 

 sucli ns love a mountainous country. Among these, 

 tlie most conspicuous is a veteran cedar of Leba- 

 non, planted by the celebrated botanist Jussian, 

 who.-je system of classification has been adopted in 

 the arrangement of the plants. His favourite exo- 

 tic from the Holy Land lost its head during the 

 stormy period of the Revolution, the monarch of 

 the woods sharing a common fate with the sove- 

 reign of the nation. It was subsequently in danger 

 of being' cut down, to boil the camp-kettles of the 

 Cossacks. The allied armies had the barbarity, 

 (almost equalling that of their ancestors,) to threat- 

 en to bivouac!; in this splendid garden ; and nothing 

 but the spirited remonstrances of Baron Humboldt 

 prevented a measure, which would have rendered 

 it a scene of desolation. 



Half way up the eminence, beneath the over- 

 arching branches of a copse of trees, is a bust of 

 Linntcus, the presiding genius of the place, and 

 near it the solitary grav« of one of his disciples. — 

 The former was liurled from its base, amidst the 

 wanton excesses of the Revolution, but has since 

 been restored. On the summit of the hill rises a 

 little Grecian temple, supported by eight pillars, 

 and furnished tith seat« around the circumference, 

 where visitants may rest. It lias a sun-dial on the 

 top, accompanied with a lens, by which a gun is 

 discharged at 13 o'clock. A Latin motto states, 

 that the hours pass unnumbered, token (he skies are 

 not serene. 



Tlie botanic Garden contains upwards of seven 

 thousand plants, which are all classed and label- 

 led. Tliey are arranged in beds bordered with a 

 box and other shrubs, exhibiting not less taste than 

 scientific accuracy. The Seine afibrds every fa- 

 cility for watering the garden, and supplies little 

 lakes for the cultivation of aquatic plants. A range 

 of green-houses six hundred feet in length, and 

 furnishing every variety of artificial climate, runs 

 through the grounds. Besides the ordinary ap- 

 pendages of a Botanic Garden, the visiter here finds 

 some striking peculiarities, such as specimens of 

 difierent soils and manures, alTording compara- 

 tive estimates of their fertility — models of the 

 various kinds of fences and hedges — a kitchen 

 garden containing all sorts of vegetables, used for 

 food in any country — and samples of all descrip- 

 tions of fruit trees, vv'ith the best mode of training 

 them. These valuable appendages render the 

 Garden of Plants not less serviceable to the prac- 

 tical purposes of agriculture and horticulture, than 

 to the abstract science of botany. 



The menagerie far exceeds in every respect the 

 shows of animals in the tower of London. A nu- 

 merous congregation of the animal kingdom is here 

 assembled from the four quarters of the world. — 

 The collection of beasts is rare as well as exten- 

 sive ; and the aviary contains all the variety of 

 birds to be found in Jrance. Most of these ten- 

 ants of the Garden, instead of being imprisoned in 

 gloomy and dirty cells, as in the Royal Menagerie 

 of England, have little territories of their own, 

 ornamented with real chatteaux, and surrounded 

 with those natural localities, which they are fond 

 of frequenting in their wild state, rendering the 

 loss of their freedom less intolerable. We saw- 

 boars climbinff large trees, such as they are wont 

 to ascend in forests, herds of deer gamboling in 

 little la*ns, and partridges secreting themselves 



amidst their favourite evergreens. These uppur- 

 tonunces have a tendency to preserve the natu- 

 ral habits of the animals, and to exhibit theqi to 

 the best possible advantage. 



The museum of Natural History is such an ex- 

 tensive establishment, that a mere description of 

 the several compartments without entering at all 

 into detail, would exceed the limits of this sketch.' 

 Suffice it to say, that every object in the three 

 kingdoms of nature, w hicli can furnish illustrations 

 of science, or data for philosophical researches, is 

 here to be found exactly in its place, arranged ac- 

 cording to the best systems extant. In short, a 

 student may pursue his investigations here with 

 as much certainty of the facts, and with more fa- 

 cility of examining materials, than he could by any 

 actual visit to their localities. The result of the 

 labors of many eminent men during their whole 

 lives, in making collections and arranging them, is 

 here seen at one view ; and speculative theories 

 may at once be brought to the test of truth. Of 

 the numerous departments, we were most pleased 

 with those containing the organic remains of ani- 

 mals and vegetables, whence Couvier drew the 

 materials of his wotk on geology. The cabinets 

 of human and comparative anatomy are also ex- 

 tremely interesting, every point of analogy of dis- 

 crepancy between the structure of man and the in- 

 ferior tribes of creation. 



The establishment has a large library, embrac- 

 ing nearly every work in natural science, that has 

 been published in any language, age or country. 

 Lectures open to the public, and free of all ex- 

 pense, are statedly given in the ampitheatre, on 

 all the subjects connected with the institution. — 

 They are well attended, and have a most saluta- 

 ry influence, by diff"using the institutions of able 

 professors through all classes of the community. 

 The Garden of Plants belongs to the government, 

 and is supported at an annual expense of more 

 than $.50,000 giving employment to about 200 per- 

 sons. 



NEW PRINTING PRESS. 

 We have seen in operation, says the Boston Trav- 

 eller, at the office of the News Letter, Merchants' 

 Hall, a newly invented, cast-iron, lever press, 

 which we tliink deserves the attention of the 

 brethren of the type and men of science generally. 

 Mr D. Phelps of this city is the inventor, and in 

 connexion with Messrs Baker and Greele of the 

 New England Type Foundery, is manufacturing 

 them for the supply of the trade. This press acts 

 on the principle of compound leverage, and in the 

 structure of the several parts is more simple and 

 equally effective with those hitherto held in the 

 highest estimation. For durability, neatness and 

 uniformity of impression and the diminution of la- 

 bour it is not sujpassed by any other yet invented. 

 The proprietors have determined upon giving it 

 the name of the ' JVew England Press.' 



SILK. 

 Mr John Fitch of Man3field,Conn. estimates that 

 one acre of full grown mulberry trees, sot one and 

 a half rods apart, will produce annually 40 pounds 

 of silk, which is now worth So per pound,or -$200 

 per acre. He calculates the labour of attending to 

 the worms, picking off the balls, and reeling the 

 silk at 880, and tlio spinning of the silk at $34 — 

 making the whole expense of an acre ^114 an4 

 leating $80 for the nstt proceeds. The principal 



