4G2 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



them dry in my barn, ready to be sent off — of the 

 red ^wiJ, which ripen earlier than the white. They 

 are of good size." In answer to the inquiry, how 

 many he got upon an acre. "About GOO bushels" 

 said he — so you see there will be onions enough 

 for a "a hasty plate of soup," even though the 

 potato may give out. 



I hope you will look into tlic matter and give a 

 more precise answer to the inquiry from Marble- 

 head, "What is to be done?" The public ask of 

 Editors, or of members of the Board of Agriculture, 

 or of the Secretary of the Board, instructions in 

 these matters. Of what use is it to have doctors, 

 if death is to seize the patient before the prescrip- 

 tion Gomes'? * 



August 20th, 1853. 



Remarks. — We know of no person so well qual- 

 ified as our correspondent, both from fixcts in his 

 possession, and from bis constant and extended ob- 

 servation, to speak of the potato disease, and to 

 offer opinions upon it. That he will discover the 

 cause, or a remedy, at present, we have little con- 

 fidence. On this subject we know nothing, only 

 that our potatoes rot as well as our neighbors', and 

 that we mean to bear the calamity as patient- 

 ly as possible, and plant no Chenangoes another 

 year ! 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HOW TO LAY OFF AN ACRE. 



*' In the " Editorial " of the last number of the 

 New England Farmer, (weekly) date Aug. 20, 1st 

 page, 1st column, is the following : 



" How to lay off a Square Acre. — Measure 209 

 feet on each side, and you will have the quantity 

 within an inch." 



Now my " cyphering " don't make it come out 

 so, " any way I can fix it." 



209 by 209 produces 43G81, which is 121 more 

 than 43560, the number of square feet in an acre. 

 That is, in measuring land by this rule, we should 

 gain 121 square feet in every acre, or nearly 3 

 acres in every 1000. 



This may do perhaps where land is a drug, but not 

 in this old Bay State, where almost every foot of 

 soil is worth the dollars it would take to cover it. 



When " River Cottage " farm is to l)e sold by 

 this rule, " may I be there to see." 



Again, how these 121 square feet or 17424 

 square inches can be added to a square acre so 

 that " you will have the quantity within an inch," 

 is more than mi/ figures tell. 



Please explain, Messrs. Editors, and oblige 



Yours truly, b. l. 



So. Weymouth, Mass., Aug. 25, 1853. 



Remarks. — We found the "scrap" alluded to 

 above in ona of our exchanges, and thinking it 

 migiit be convenient, gave it place without testing 

 its correctness. 



liage of a deep green and more luxuriant ; the 

 seed pods much longer ; the form of the tree more 

 upright and compact, the flower larger and a purer 

 white. They are very pilenty in Dayton, where 

 they were first introduced some years since by Dr. 

 J. Haines, from two trees which he found on a 

 farm two miles south of tliatcity. Where the orig- 

 inal trees were obtained is not known.— Ohio Far- 



A New Catalpa. — Dr. AVarden,in the August 

 number of tise Western Horticiilturis/, gives an ac- 

 count of a new variet}' of the catalpa, which he 

 found growing iu Dayton, 0. It blooms two or 

 three weeks earlier than the other variety. The 

 bark of the young trees is lighter in color, the fo- 



THB ATMOSPHERE AND ITS EFFECTS 

 UPON ANIMAii LIFE. 



A very interesting lecture was delivered on the 

 11th inst. by Dr. Griscom, at the New York Me- 

 chanics' Institute, on the "Influence of Air in con- 

 nection with Animal Life." The lecturer com- 

 menced by saying that he supposed some of them 

 would be surprised to hear that they lived at the 

 bottom of an immense ocean of air fifty miles deep; 

 yet it was so, and the color of this ocean which 

 is called the atmosphere, is a deep cerulean blue. 

 To perceive this color it was necessary to be able 

 to see at once the whole volume, and also on a 

 calai and clear day, for no color could be perceived 

 if seen in small quantities, or when there was 

 either wind or haziness. In like manner the color 

 of water could not be seen in small quantities, 

 and was only perceptible where there was a vast 

 expanse of ocean. The air was also a substance 

 capable of condensation and expansion. Its expan- 

 sion was seen in the winds, by which ships were 

 made to traverse the ocean, and also in windmills. 

 The tornado was another phase of its expansion, 

 by which trees were uprooted and houses over- 

 turned, and was almost equal to the power of 

 steam. The greatest weight of the atmosphere 

 was fifteen pounds to the square inch, and this 

 weight presses on every way, both upward and 

 downward. To explain the pressure upwards, the 

 lecturer exhausted the air out of a large vase, 

 which then remained fast to the plate on which it 

 stood, but on the air being let in it was easily re- 

 moved. I remember, said he, being asked the 

 question, if there is a pressure of fifteen pounds to 

 the square inch, the reason why we were not at 

 once crushed by the weight ; but this is, as I be- 

 fore explained, because the air presses in all direc- 

 tions with the same equal force, and hence there 

 is an equilibrium. This is a most important ele- 

 ment, and one that requires to be known, and al- 

 so that the air never presses more than fifteen 

 pounds to the square inch. 



The next quality of the air is elasticity. Press 

 it to make it occupy a smaller space than it other- 

 wise would, and then take away the weight, and 

 it comes back and occupies its original space. The 

 lecturer then explained that in the air there were 

 two gases ; one oxygen, which is that part of the 

 atmosphere by which chiefly we live, and which is 

 the one-fifth part; and the other nitrogen, which 

 is four-fifths of the atmosphere. Oxygen sujiports 

 life and combustion, and nitrogen restrains its ef- 

 fects and dulls its operations. The quantity of air 

 which a person consumes depends in a mea:'..re on 

 one's self, and by training can be made m ve or 

 less. The tailor and shoemaker take little ia com- 

 parison with the laborer, and the public ; ^ iaker 

 or singer, or those who cry commodities fui- sale 

 through the sti'eets. A man in good health inakes 

 eighteen respirations iu a minute, and" in iv/onty- 

 four hours consumes fifty-one hogsheads of the air. 



