336 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



a person has enjoyed the society and sweet Ian 

 guage of a single flower, he, like Oliver Twist, al- 

 ways "asks for more." 



The Andover Society holds regular meetings, 

 and furnishes occasional exhibitions of fruits and 

 flowers. Each member saves seeds from his own 

 garden, for exchange with other societies and with 

 the Patent Ofiice at Washington. Thus they se- 

 cure to themselves the most valuable specimens of 

 flowers, fruits, plants, shrubs, and edible roots, 

 which the gardens of the world afford. 



They may malce horticulture a source of income, 

 if they choose ; tliey cannot fail to make it a source 

 of pleasure. The love of flowers is one of the 

 most innocent, pure, and healthy afiections of the 

 4iuman soul. There is no rivalry or loss of love in 

 it. The passion never decays, but actually "grows 

 by what it feeds on." It interferes with no duties, 

 domestic or public, but adds a new charm to both 

 and gilds with "the purple light of love" all the 

 asperities and inequalities of life. 



The biographer of the Empress Josephine men- 

 tions it, to her credit, that she was fond of flow- 

 ers; and adds that this passion in females usually 

 indicates a gentle temper and a loving heart. If 

 this be the fact, in relation to females, the culti- 

 vation of flowers may have very important bear- 

 ings upon their prospects in life. 



The formation of village societies for improve- 

 - ment in experimental gardening is, certainly, wor- 

 thy of consideration. If our citizens are indiffer- 

 ent to the ornamental part of horticulture, they 

 Cannot be so, with I'eference to the useful and pro- 

 ductive department. The berries, fruits, plums, 

 currants and edible roots of a well cultivated gar- 

 den add very essentially to the substantial enjoy- 

 ments of life. They also contribute greatly to the 

 ordinary support of a family. 



The quantity and quality of these comforts of a 

 farmer's life may be materially improved by skill 

 and industry. The skill may be acquired by com- 

 paring notes at a horticultural meeting and by per- 

 sonal experiments. The reward is certain. Let 

 those who feel any interest in the welfare of their 

 respective communities, consider these suggestions 

 and resolve to act. — Granite Farmer. 



THE CLIMATE OF COUNTRIES. 



Although Edinburgh, in great Britain, is situa- 

 ted ten degrees farther north than the city of New 

 York, it has a much warmer climate in winter, and 

 the heat and cold never attain to such extremes. 

 The cHmate of England is, to the majority of our 

 people; a mystery. The island is situated between 

 50 and 55 deg north latitude, and it has a milder 

 climate than we enjoy in the latitudes of 40 and 

 •45 deg. The British Isles are situated in the path 

 of warm ocean currents, which flow across the 

 Atlantic and beat upon and circulate around them. 

 The wild Orkney Islands, which are situated in 

 59 deg. 5 minutes, have warmer winters than we 

 have in New York city, which is situated about 

 17 deg. further south. In the city of Glasgow, 

 the mean temperature in the month of January is 

 38 deg., and it has never been below zero but 

 twice in forty years, and then only 3 deg. for two 

 days. In Unst, in the Shetland Isles, in latitude 

 GO deg., 5 min., the mean temperature in Janua- 

 ry is 40 deg. In many places of the United States, 

 ranging from New York to Maine, in lat. 45 deg.. 



the mean temperature is 6 deg. below zero. Unst 

 is only one degree colder than Constantinople, in 

 January, and no country in Europe, nor the world, 

 perhaps, enjoys the mildness of climate peculiar 

 to Great Britain and Ireland. This must have 

 a wonderful effect upon the health and organiza- 

 tion of the people. The cause is, as we have stat- 

 ed, generally attributed to the currents of the 

 Gulf Stream ; one philosopher, however, attrib- 

 utes the genial warmth to moist breezes from Af- 

 rica, which come over the Atlantic, crossing the 

 equator. In Russia, Moscow is on tl.e same line 

 with Edinburgh, yet its temperature in winter is 

 at least 13 deg. lower. The climate of England is 

 moist and wet. To foreigners, accustomed to clear 

 skies, it is disagreeable. The atmosphere is cloudy 

 in summer, and this is one reason why it is not 

 so warm as in other countries in the same north- 

 ern latitude. "Were it not for the warm ocean 

 currents and the warm breezes, the coasts of Eng- 

 land would be ice-bound, and many of the plants 

 which now flourish there as evergreens, would be 

 unknown. 



On the northern coast of our continent — in 

 northern Oregon — the olimate is much warmer in 

 winter than in places on the same lines of latitude 

 in our Eastern States. It is believed that currents 

 from the orient flow over the Pacific and wash the 

 Oregon shores, as the Gulf Stream nf the Atlantic 

 does the British Isles. During the past winter 

 the thermometer ranged at 17 deg. above zero, 

 and the prairies were green all the time, except 

 when covered by occasional snow storms. The 

 farmer is not compelled, as in the Eastern States, 

 to depend for the winter sustenance of his cattle 

 on hay raised the previous season ; his cattle can 

 graze there throughout the whole year, and wild 

 flowers may often be plucked in the months of Jan- 

 uary and February. — Scientific American. 



THE FIRST SAW MILL. 



The old practice in making boards was to split 

 up the logs with wedges ; and inconvenient as the 

 practice was, it was no easy thing to persuade the 

 world that it could be done in any better way. Saw 

 mills were first used in Europe in the 15th centu- 

 ry ; but, so lately as 1555, an English Ambassa- 

 dor, having seen a saw-mill in France, thought it 

 a novelty which deserved a particular description. 

 It is amusing to see how the aversion to labor 

 saving machinery has always agitated England. 

 The first saw-mill was established l)y a Dutchman, 

 in 16G3 ; but the public outcry against the new- 

 fangled machine was so violent, that the proprie- 

 tor was forced to decamp with more expedition 

 than ever a Dutchman did before. The evil was 

 thus kept out of England for several years, or 

 rather generations; but in 1758, an unlucky tim- 

 ber merchant, hoping that after so long a time the 

 public would be less watchful of its own interest, 

 made a rash attempt to construct another mill. 

 The guardians of the public welfare, however, 

 were on the alert, and a conscientious mob at 

 once collected and pulled the mill to pieces. Such 

 patriotic spirit could not always last, and now, 

 though we have nowhere seen the fact distinctly 

 stated, there is reason to believe that saw-mills 

 are used in England. 



a^ Drinking water neither makes a man sick, 

 nor in debt, nor his wife a widow. 



