£!)c -farmer^ ittcmtlito tlisitor. 



115 



Signs of the Vigor, Maturity, and Decay in 

 Tree*. 



Signs announcing the J'igor of a Tree. — The 

 branches, especially towards the top, are vigor- 

 ous ; the annual shoots strong and long; the 

 leaves green, vigorous, and thick, principally ai 



the summit, and falling late in autumn; the bark 

 is clear, fine, united, and nearly of the same col- 

 or from the foot to the large branches. If at the 

 bottom of the veins, or divisions of the thick 

 bark, there appears smaller divisions, which fol- 

 low from below upwards, in the direction of the 

 fibres, anil live bark be observed at the bottom 

 of these divisions, it is an indication that the tree 

 is very vigorous, and rapidly increasing in size. 

 If some of the lower branches, stilled by others, 

 are yellow, languishing, anil even dead, this is 

 an accidental effect, and is no proof of the lan- 

 guor of the tree. Finally, it is a sign of vigor 

 when blanches arc seen at the summit of the 

 tree, rising above the others, and being much 

 longer; lint it is to be observed, that all trees 

 with round heads do not throw out branches 

 With eipial force. 



Signs which indicate that the Tree is mature. — 

 Generally the head of the tree is rounded; the 

 shoots diminish in length each year, and the 

 farthest shouts add to the length of the branches 

 only by the length of the bud ; and the leaves 

 are put portb only in the spring, and become 

 yellow in the autumn before those of vigorous 

 trees, and at this time the lower leaves are green- 

 er than the upper. The branches incline to- 

 wards the horizon, and form angles sometimes 

 of sixty or seventy degrees. These apparent 

 signs, and the thinness of the layer deposited by 

 the sap, indicate that the tree makes but small 

 additions to itself, and now it should be cut 

 down. The nature of the soil should be exam- 

 ined, as well as the kind of tree, to enable a 

 judgment whether the tree should be left to in- 

 crease still further, or whether it will lie more 

 proper to fell it. ttn exact age cannot be as- 

 signed for each species; but it has been observ- 

 ed that an elm, situated in an insulated planta- 

 tion, may he felled with advantage, when be- 

 tween seventy and eighty years of age. 



Signs of Decay in a Tree. — When a tree be- 

 comes crowned, (thai is, when the upper branch- 

 es die,) it infallibly indicates, especially for isola- 

 ted trees, that the central wood is undergoing 

 alteration, and the tree passing to decay. When 

 the hark separates from the wood, or when it is 

 divided by separations which pass across it, the 

 tree is in a considerable state of degradation. 

 When the hark is loaded with moss, lichens, or 

 fungi, or is marked with black or red spots, 

 these signs of alteration in the bark justify the 

 suspicions of alteration in the wood within. 

 When sap is seen to flow from clefts in the bark, 

 it is a sign that the trees will soon die. As to 

 wounds or gutterings, these defects may arise 

 from local causes, and are not necessarily the 

 results of old age. — Loudon's .Magazine. 



Woman's invention. — A man was lately tried in 

 Woonsoeket, II. 1., for an assault anil battery. A 

 woman representing herself as the prisoner's 

 wife, appeared in court with a small child in her 

 arms, and made a tremendous squalling about 

 her poor, dead husband ; hut the mercy of the 

 court did not prove propitious, and the man was 

 committed. Afterwards, it came out that the 

 woman was not the wile of the prisoner, hut 

 was one who had volunteered to act in that ca- 

 pacity "for this lime only." In the meantime, 

 the baby was not hers, hut was one that she had 

 borrowed from another woman, for the occasion. 



A*eie Zealand Flax. — The very strong fibre ot 

 the indigenous New Zealand Plus has attracted 

 the attention of many intelligent lovers of ag- 

 riculture. The New Zealanders use it for fish- 

 ing lines, and it is believed to have no superi- 

 or. The club lias sent for seeds at the Sugges- 

 tion of (Jen. Tallmadge, the President of the In- 

 stitute. We have now an opportunity to take 

 the lead of the world in the culture of this excel- 

 lent fibre. Lindley calls it Phonne'um Tenax, 

 and says it is the strongest of fibres for cordage, 

 &C. It is of the botanical family, the Liliaceae. 



I find in the Memoirs of Agriculture, &c, 

 published by the Royal and Central Society of 

 Agriculture of Iloam, Paris, IS25, the following 

 remarks: — Captain Cook, in his second voyage 

 round the world, (in 1778 and 1779,) discovered 

 on the shores of New Zealand, a plant of the 

 family of" the Liliaceae, whose leaves furnish a 

 fibre more abundant and stronger than either flax 

 or hemp; and Captain Cook recommended the 

 cultivation of it to the civilized world. This 

 plant, which that celebrated and unfortunate nav- 

 igator called New Zealand Flax, has received 

 from botanists the name of Phormioti, (Phormi- 

 um Tenax.) Some years afterwards, France 

 first, and England afterwards, ordered marine 

 expeditions to bring the plant into Europe. At 

 this day we see it in a great many gardens. Ii 

 has flowered and produced its seed in the envi- 

 rons of Monteli nart, of Cherbourg and of Tou- 

 lon. Hut no attempt has been made to grow it 

 on a large scale.— A". Y. Farmer and Mechanic. 



A Homestead for every .11 an. 



BV JOHN A. HENDERSON. 



The gaunt fiend sat in a blighted field, 



And lie cast his eyes about; 

 And he thought of the labor that gave no yield, 



And he gave a piercing shout. 



The sickly scream rang out on the air, 



And it entered the poor man's cot ; 

 And the inmates clasped their children dear, 



And mourned their helpless lot. 



And now he laughed as he heard them groan 



1 n the depth of their despair, 

 "For to-morrow,'' said he' '-your only home 



Will he in die frosty air. 



"For the rich man's minion will come with his book, 



To jot down your scanty store, 

 And with heart of stone and scornful look, 



Direct your steps from the door. 



"For what cares he for the years of toil 

 That have swelled his bloated nurse ; 



He has the yield of the stubborn soil, 

 Your portiun a crust and a curse." 



He grinned as he looked on their faces sad, 



And heard their little ones cry ; 

 For he thought their woes would drive them mad, 



And it fired his glist'ning eye. 



He lingered behind, and dogged their steps, 



As they wandered far and wide ; 

 Watched the last morsel that passed their lips, 



As they sal by the bleak road side. 



Oh ! what a joy lit up his wan face, 



As he looked on the mother's stare, 

 When no lite in her infant could she trace, 



As she gazed in mute despair. 



And when the strong man, who had borne up long, 



Willi not even power to weep, 

 Gave way 'nealh the weight of" unrighteous wrong, 



His silence no longer could taep. 



But another shout rang on the frosty air, 



And a death-knell it seemed to afl ; 

 But it reach'd not the cars of the millionaire, 



As he sat in his lordly hall. 



Dr. Mitchel, professor of Theory and practice 

 in the Medical College of Philadelphia, in a late 

 lecture on the subject, gives the following safe 

 and unsafe food during the prevalence of the 

 cholera : 



Safe. — Beef steak, beef tongue, dried beef, 

 mutton, chickens, ham, mackerel, smoked her- 

 rings, rice, roasted good potatoes, toasted bread, 

 crackers, mustard, horse-radish, salt, pepper, vin- 

 egar, black lea, Java coffee, iced water, iced 

 lemonade', soda water, ice cream. 



Unsafe.— Fresh pork, veal, fresh fish, oysters, 

 greens generally, unripe fruits, fresh warm 

 bread, sour bread, molasses and water, common 

 alcoholic drinks. 



Economy of Farming. 



In every department of industry, except that of 

 the farmer, special effort is made to cheapen the 

 expense of producing articles of manufacture. 

 This has resulted in diminishing also the price 

 at which articles are sold, though the profits to 

 the manufacturer, from the extensive sale of his 

 articles, are larger than formerly. Why, then, 

 may it not with propriety be asked, does the 

 farmer in most instances continue, in the beaten 

 track of olden time, instead of availing himself 

 of the facilities which have been furnished him 

 for cheapening the cultivation of his farm? 

 How many farmers content themselves with a 

 preparation for a single crop, instead of adopt- 

 ing a system of manuring that will, by a proper 

 rotation, be available for a succession of crops. 

 How little attention is given, after all, to systems 

 which have been adopted, by which the products 

 of many farms have been largely increased, and 

 the expenses of cultivation, by the use of im- 

 proved implements and the right use of manures, 

 have been very materially lessened. 



Now it must be evident that any farmer who 

 does not avail himself of the means wilhin bis 

 reach, and thus economize the expenses of bis 

 farm, is pursuing a course that must result in 

 great loss, and in permanent injury. It may be 

 said, and doubtless truly, that this deficiency 

 arises from want of information. But are not 

 agricultural journals published at such rates as 

 to bring not only one, but several within the 

 means of every farmer ? and can it be excusable 

 in a farmer to make bis ignorance his apology, 

 when the necessary means of information are 

 placed wilhin his reach ? Our farmers read far 

 too little of what is going on in the world 

 around them. In the pages of our agricultural 

 journals, in the proceedings of our agricultural 

 societies, information is afforded that would ena- 

 ble one of these farmers greatly to increase bis 

 income, whilst at the same time his farm would 

 be rising in value and increasing in fertility. 

 Let me then urge upon the farmers of* our coun- 

 try to patronize liberally the agricultural press. 

 Give to their columns the results of experience 

 on their every farm— add to the usefulness of 

 these works by contributing the results of their 

 observations— and thus make these papers what 

 the editors desire them to be, the repository of 

 the experience of practical farmers. Were this 

 done, I doubt not economy in the management 

 of the farm would prevail every where, as it now 

 does in comparatively few localities. 



Much might be accomplished toward attaining 

 the object suggested, economy, if the farmer 

 should become as systematic in his accounts 

 with his farm as he is with individuals. Iain 

 pleased to learn that many of our farmers are 

 adopting this system in their operation. Not 

 long since I was permitted to look at a farmer's 

 account for the year ; and I found a statement, 

 with all the necessary facts to substantiate it, of 

 the expense of all his crops — that is, what each 

 had cost him per bushel. Thus, wheat 36 cents, 

 oats 13, barley 29, beans 37, &c. Now who can- 

 not see that this farmer can at once determine 

 whether the course he is pursuing is the one 

 best for his interest, or whether a change is ne- 

 cessary ? — and, if so, he knows where to make 

 it. — Genesee Farmer. 



Wheat in Western Wisconsin. — The Mineral 

 Point Tribune says the wheat harvest is pro- 

 gressing, and the crop is excellent in quality, 

 and exceeds in quantity any previous year. 



