NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



267 



or those in the immediate neighborhood, which have 

 been transported from the adjacent hills by superfi- 

 cial currents of water. It is common, however, to 

 find fragments of rock which bear indubitable evi- 

 dence of having come from a considerable distance, 

 there being no rock like them in the neighborhood, 

 or for many miles around. The fact is, that the 

 superficial gravels constituting the diluvium and 

 alluvium of the geologists, are composed of the 

 wreck of strata of all ages, alluvial formations hav- 

 ing occurred in all ages, the disintegration of rocks 

 and the transportation of their loose material having 

 taken place in every period since the surface of the 

 earth was first divided into land and sea. Hence it 

 is an easy matter to pick up, out of almost any col- 

 lection of gravel, specimens of granite, porphyry, 

 slate, sandstone, in short, of almost every kind of 

 primary, transition, and secondary rock known to 

 the geologist. 



Now, although the layers, or strata, constituting 

 the structure of the mineral masses which form the 

 crust of the globe, have originally been deposited 

 from water in the horizontal posture, as is evident 

 from their identity in structure with modern strata 

 formed bj'' aqueous deposition of sediment at the 

 mouths of rivers, or on the coasts left dry by the 

 retreat of the sea, j'et, nevertheless, owing to earth- 

 quakes which have taken place repeatedly, and at 

 vast intervals of time, the greater part of them have 

 been thrown out of the horizontal posture and dip, 

 and strike into the earth at every angle of in- 

 clination from 0° to 90°. Hence it is that the 

 edge of the beds emerge in succession from the 

 bowels of the earth ; and in travelling over a given 

 district, we pass over the edges of the upturned beds, 

 the soil varying with everj' new bed, and the amount 

 of superficial area covered by any particular soil 

 being in proportion to the thickness of the upturned 

 bed out of which the soil has been formed. 



The disturbance suffered by the strata, however 

 disastrous to animal life at the time of its occurrence, 

 has, nevertheless, been productive of much ultimate 

 good. Had the strata continued in the horizontal 

 posture, the same rock would have spread over a vast 

 extent of country-, and the soils of countries would 

 have been the same. There would also have been a 

 difficulty in obtaining valuable minerals, which can 

 now be had with the greatest facility. Coal, for ex- 

 ample, which lies at a considerable depth, could not 

 have been obtained without boring through the 

 upper series of strata. The surface of the earth 

 would not have been diversified with its present 

 grand and beautiful scenery, produced by mountain, 

 hill, and valley ; and that the admirable intermix- 

 ture of mineral matter, which is so essential to the 

 fertility of the soils, and the variety and progress of 

 organic life on the globe, would never have taken 

 place. 



The whole subject of the formation of vegetable 

 soils, and their distribution in such diversity of char- 

 acter over the face of the earth, is replete with the 

 profoundest interest and instruction. Every earth- 

 quake which in by-gone time fractured and dislocated 

 the solid strata, everj- flood which has swept over 

 the ancient continent, every change of level which 

 has elevated the bed of the ocean, or depressed the 

 land beneath its surface, has contributed to bring 

 about the present admirable intermixture of material 



— sand, clay, and lime, which now forms the earth's 

 upper covering, — the fruit-beai'ing soil, the inex- 

 haustible source of national i)rosperity and strength. 



— Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. 



SOAP SUDS. 



This is a most valuable article, and should be 

 strictly economized by every farmer who is desirous 



of increasing the fertility of his lands. Where no 

 provision has been made to secure the advantages 

 resulting from a systematic economization of this 

 valuable liquid, by its convoj-ance to the compost 

 heap, a large reservoir should be constructed, into 

 which the suds may be conveyed daily, as fast as 

 made, and from which it should be removed, every 

 three or four days, to the fields, for purposes of irriga- 

 tion. Grain and grass crops watered frequently with 

 this valuable liquid exhibit surprising luxuriance, 

 and are usually much more forward than crops of 

 the same kind which are not so assisted. Some 

 farmers have a low carriage, on which they place a 

 hogshead, or old wine pipe, so fixed as to admit of 

 the contents being let ofi' in various directions over 

 the soil as the carriage proceeds, and in a manner 

 somewhat similar to that in which our watering 

 machines disseminate their cooling contents in our 

 streets during the heat of summer. These irrigating 

 machines, though of unquestionable utility to the 

 farmer, are yet of moderate expense : the carriage 

 may be constructed by any laborer who can use an 

 auger and handsaw, and as to the " tank," or reser- 

 voir, it may be either a wine pipe, molasses hogs- 

 head, or box. All that is necessary is to procure a 

 vessel that is tight, and sufficiently strong to with- 

 stand the jolting of the carriage when driven rapidly 

 over rough lands, when full. Of all the articles used 

 for purposes of irrigation, this is unquestionably and 

 without doubt the most valuable. It contains the 

 food of plants in a state of ready and complete solu- 

 tion, and is consequently immediately available to 

 the spongioles, on being applied to the medium or 

 soil in which they grow. By watering garden beds 

 with this liquid, we have found the ravages of bugs 

 and aligerous insects of all kinds, as well as the 

 depredations of slugs and worms, almost immediately 

 arrested. The striped bug, so frequently found on 

 vimineous vegetables, although it will not wholly 

 forsake, will yet cease in a great measure to infest 

 them, if copiously watered with suds. It is also 

 highly beneficial to fruit trees. By washing the 

 trunks of plum, cherry, peach, and apple-trees with 

 fresh suds, many cutaneous diseases are speedily and 

 permanently cured. In many instances, cases of 

 inveterate barrenness, of long standing, have been 

 remedied, and the trees rendered surprisingly healthy 

 and prolific. — Maine Cultivator. 



FLOATING BEE-HOUSES. 



In Lower Egypt, where the flower harA^est is not 

 so early by several weeks as in the upper districts of 

 that country, the practice of transportation is carried 

 on to a considerable extent. About the end of Oc- 

 tober, the hives, after being collected together from 

 the dift'erent villages, and conveyed up the Nile, 

 marked and numbered by the individuals to whom 

 they belong, are heaped pyraraidically upon the 

 boats prepared to receive them, which, floating down 

 the river, and stopping at certain stages of their 

 passage, remain there a longer or shorter time, ac- 

 cording to the produce which is aff'orded by the sur- 

 rounding country. After travelling three months in 

 this manner, the bees having culled the perfumes of 

 the orange flowers of the Said, the essence of roses 

 of the Eacium, the treasures of the Arabian jessa- 

 mine, and a variety of flowers, are brought back, 

 about the beginning of February, to the places from 

 which they have been carried. The productiveness 

 of the flowers at each respective stage is ascertained 

 by the gradual descent of the boats in the water, 

 and which is probably noted by a scale of measure- 

 ment. This industry produces for the Egyptians 

 delicious honey and abundance of beeswax. — Dr. 

 Bevan. 



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