138 



NEW ENGLAiND FARMER. 



\. 



the religious and k!jorious society called Sha- 1 

 hrrs has attained an honorable distinction, fork 

 may be here mentioned, whose operations are 

 conducted with remarkable excellence, and to a 

 ;;Teat extent. Works in leather have been of- 

 i'ered to you. It is not my intention to enter in- 

 to a disiiuisition upon the methods pursued (or 

 toiving;, tanninir, or otherwise preparing the raw 

 hide of an animal. Sullicc it to observe, that 

 the government does not require any duty on 

 imported skins ; that they arc converted into 

 materials for the best oi fabrics, by our tanners 

 and curriers ; and that the cordwainors and 

 stitchers transform them into shoes, lioots, harn- 

 uess, caps, gloves, military accoutronients, and 

 a great variety of other im[)ortant thin;;^. The 

 oil, bark, lime, and every thing, are derived 

 from the exertions of our fellow citizens. 



I group together the metallic arts. The 

 founderies for casting in iron, are excellent in a 

 Iiigh degree. These, and tiie establishments 

 for constructing the apparatus for steain-boat<, 

 afford topics for a discourse of greater length 

 than the present. Gold-beating, work.ng in sil- 

 ver, the making of gilded and plated wares, op- 

 erations in compounding and manufacturing /.inc 

 .^nd copper into brass, The art of the tin-plate 

 worker, the pewtercr, the type-founder, the 

 looking glass manufacturer, the wiic-drinver, 

 the pin-maker, and a multitude more of arlizans, 

 in addition to the black-smith and the white- 

 smith, add to the importance of this enumera- 

 tion. Among these, or allied to them, I men- 

 tion with satistaction the preparations of quick- 

 silver, antimony, sulphur, lead, potash, soda, and 

 other articles prepared for medicinal purposes. 

 And I add with equal pleasure, the proficiency 

 made in the cutler's art, whereby surgeoifs in- 

 struments, r.izors, pen-knives, and other tools of 

 oxq\iisitc edge and finish, are daly shaped and 

 finished. ' 



Among the improvements whose benefits this 

 counlry has already began (o experience, are 

 the canals, or the artificial rivers, a magnificent 

 undertaking, that is intended to connect the At- 

 lantic Ocean by the Hudson river, with the in- 

 land waters of North America, and their depen- 

 dencies through Lake Champlain and Lake Erie, 

 the latter a length of three hundred and sixty 

 miles. The native water-proof cement has 

 re.achcd us from the interior strata, and is in 

 successful use, equal to the Roman Cement, as 

 imported from abroad. Salt, not inferior for 

 whitenes,, purity, and flavour to the best here- 

 tofore imported from foreign places, reaches us 

 in baskcti and boxes, from t! * inexhaustible 

 sources south of Ontario. Flour, as excellent in 

 all respects, as that wc heretofore received 

 f.-om Richmond, is brought from Uiica, and oth- 

 er productions of prime importance, will soon 

 follow them. The political economist gazes 

 with astonishment upon a work which associates 

 ■the eastern and western sections of our union in 

 closer ties, which pours abundance into this city, 

 and reciprocates the advantage by distributing 

 plenty through all the contiguous and almost 

 immeasurable lands. 



But I find myself obliged to turn to other ob- 

 -^ects. Our relations to the Central Board of 

 Agriculture, and the Society for the Promotion 

 «f the Useful .-Vrts, at the scat of our state gov- 

 ernment, continue to be intcresting.and impor- 

 tant. Nor are we unknown to certain societies 

 formed 'or similar purposes in governments be- 

 yond the sea?- 



The Gorgofilists of Florence, in Italy, persist] 

 in their respectful and friendly desire, to corres- 

 |)ond and commune with us, on husbandry, bota- 

 ny and rural aftairs. 



The National Academy of France, superin- 

 tending the agronomical operations of that 

 mighty kingdom, and the means for rendering 

 the land more easily productive, has evinced to 

 us the desire felt by the royal establishment, to 

 learn what is dping here in the same depart- 

 ment of occupation and research, and to par- 

 take of all the consequences of a liberal inter- 

 course. 



In like manner, 'the Imperial Society of Agri- 

 culture, for Austria, in sending us their statutes, 

 catalogue cd" members, and volumes of transac- 

 tions, have made an overture toward an acquaint- 

 ance, which I am proud lo announce and desirous 

 of imitating. 



The exhibition of domestic animals, the kine, 

 sheep, swine, and horses, are highly honourable 

 to the care and judgment of the breeders. 



Permit me while 1 am addressing you, gentle- 

 men to make a few suggestions for your consid- 

 eration. 



The axe and the firebrand have been employ 

 cd with such destructive fury again^-t the forest 

 which the lirst settlers began to encounter, that 

 fuel has grown dear and timber is become scarce. 

 The culture of the Locust, the Chesnut, the Hick- 

 ory, the Blackwalnut, the bass wood, and the oak, 

 would well reward the planter, and secure wood 

 tor its various purposes to his estate and his suc- 

 cessors. 



There is such heavy damage and loss, by the 

 voracity of vermin, that measures for destroying 

 these noxious animals, or for preventing their 

 ravages, ought to be speedily adopted. Insects 

 are the chief of these mischievous agents. 

 Almost every vegetable, whether wild or culti- 

 vated, has its attendant insects or troop of insects 

 to prey upon it. Their history deserves to be 

 better known. Their metamorphoses, through 

 their fourfold state of being call for an exact 

 series of observations. All the species, in their 

 several forms of existence, ought to be col- 

 lected into museums for instruction. We should 

 then know them, as it becomes us to know our 

 enemies, and be prepared to resist their attacks. 

 To preserve their exact form and hues, good 

 drawings .should be made and correct histories 

 annexed. Thus the grubs and caterpillars of 

 every insect, would be understood, as well as 

 their state of crysalis and perfect or winged evo- 

 lution. The farmer might derive help from the 

 wrens, sparrows, and other birds that live upon 

 insects, if he would receive these visitors with 

 kindness, and take them under his protection. 



Another subject is the felicity of cultivators 

 in the neighbourhood of the ocean. Experi- 

 ments of a recent date have proved, that sea salt, 

 applied to laml, in due proportion, is a good man- 

 ure. Some reports which I have read, seem to 

 establish the fact, Experiments repeatedly 

 made by myself, upon the rain water of this very 

 region in which we reside, have convinced me 

 that the fluid of showers contains a portion of 

 this fertilizing material. This appears univers- 

 ally the case, in a greater or less degree, at least 

 under all circumstances in which 1 have chemi- 

 cally inquired into it. I am satisfied the saline 

 ingredient rises by spontaneous evaporation ; 

 and we all possess proof, that it is elevated 

 with the spray of the .'ca, the wind rolls them 

 to the shore. 



A maritime air is therefore charged, more or 

 is, with this ingredient, descending in dews 

 and rains, upon the vegetable growth below. — 

 While we thus interpret this grand provision of 

 nature, distributing gratuitously «a//, in due qiian- 

 tiltj, tii't/i ravi, to invigorate our crop«, and at 

 the same time to satiate the appetites of ani- 

 mals, let us understand that the operations of 

 gypsum in the interior districts, is but an equiva- 

 lent favor. There they have the sulphate of lime, 

 and here we have the muriate of soda — with 

 this difference, that the former requires an arti- 

 ficial apiilication, while the latter is bestowed 

 upon us without exertion or price. 



With such posse.ssions and prospects as are 

 ours, there is no cause of envy or jealousy to- 

 wards our brethren of any section of North 

 America, or of the terraqueous globe. Our lot 

 is cast here ; and under the exercise of our fac- 

 ulties, our abode, during the term of our con- 

 tinuance, will furnish every thing that rational 

 persons have a right to expect. And when our 

 race shall be run, and our toil terminated in this 

 sublunary dwelling, will commence the actual 

 enjoyment of the treasure we have laid up in 

 Heaven, '• where neither moth nor rust <ioth 

 corrupt, and where thieves do not break thro' 

 nor steal." 





From the Loudon Medical and Physical Journal. 



The greater facility with which zootic path- 

 ology can be reduced to experimental certainty, 

 makes us anxious to express our gratitude tQ 

 those who pursue the subject on a rational sys- 

 tem: on this account we cannot withl.old a tribute 

 of thanks to M. Teissier, who has lately been 

 engnged in researches On the period of gesta- 

 tion of the females of several domestic animal?. 

 The following is a summary of the results: — 



" Out of 575 cows, 21 calved between the 

 24Uth and 270th day : mean term 259 1-2 — 544 

 between the 270th "and 299th : mean term 282 

 — 10 between the 299th and 321st : mean term 

 303. Thus, between the shortest and the long- 

 est gestation, there is a difference of 81 days, 

 that is, more than one-fourth of the mean dura- 

 tion. 



"Out of 277 mares, 23 foaled between the 

 322d and 3.X)th day : mean term 326 — 227 be- 

 tween the S.'^lOth and 35Pth : mean term 314 1-2 

 —28 between the 361st and 419th : mean term 

 390. Between the shortest and the longest ges- 

 tation there was an interval of 97 d.ays ; as be- 

 fore, more than one-fourth of the mean duration. 

 " Observations were made on two she-asses 

 only : one foaled on the 3G0lh, and the other on 

 the 391st day, 



" Out of 912 ewes, 140 lambed between the 

 14Gth and 150th day : mean term 14:^ — C7G be- 

 tween the 150th and 154th: mean term 152 — 

 9GbetweeQthe 15!th and 161st: mean term 

 157 1-2. Here the extreme interval is only 15 

 days, to a mean duration of 152 ; that is, only 

 one-tenth. 



" The mean term of seven female buffaloes 

 was 308 days, and the extreme difference 27 

 days. 



"" The extreme gestations of 25 sows were 

 109 and 143 days. 



" The extreme terms of gestation of 172 rab- 

 bits were 27 and 35 days ; difference 8. 



" In the duration of the incubation of domes- 

 tic fowls, diiTcrcnces of from 5 to 16 days were 

 observed. These cannot be ascribed to acci- 



