Vol. No. I 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



8 



on the bustle on a wliarf, in tha harbor of New- 

 York, we saw large, knotty, and unsightly logs, 

 apparently of a weight to sink in the water, load- 

 ing nn board a large ship, bound for London. — 

 We were told those logs were cut near tlic 

 shores of Ontario. 'J'hey were of the class called 

 ■bird's eye maple, and wore intended to make 

 cabinet furniture for the citizens of that lu.xurious 

 metropolis, who wanted a wood less common and 

 i'ulgar than mahoaan;j. Before the canal exis- 

 ted, one of lliem could net have been transported 

 from Ontario to New-York for twenty times its 

 value. It is only since the New-York canal, that 

 the name ' Genesee flour ' was known east of New- 

 York, Tt is now the principal kind used. 

 CANALS m CHINA. 

 To abridge the labor, expense and difficulty of 

 'ransport was a project, naturally connected with 

 observing the vast improvements of labor-saving 

 machinery. That sagacious and tranquil people, 

 tlie Chinese, on both the subjects have been accu- 

 mulating the fruits of an hundred generations. — j 

 Canals with them are almost as ancient as their I 

 history. It is believed, that the length of ay the i 

 navigable canals in that vast empire, cast into one 

 sum, would make a total of some thousands of] 

 miles. More than a million of people constantly 

 reside upon them. Transports and passage are 

 performed with astonishing ease and cheapness. 

 From these and other causes, " every rood main- 

 tains its man. " A very striking representation 

 of Chinese management, in these respects, was 

 presented in a Chinese engraving. It showed a 

 woman, guiding rapidly along a canal, a boat of 

 ten tons burthen. She carried a babe, appended 

 to her back, after the fashion of our Indians. She 

 rowed the boat with her feet, having an oar after 

 the fashion of the country, fastened to each foot. 

 .She managed the sail with a cord attached to it« 

 triangular point with one hand. With the other 

 she held the rudder ; and thus occupied, trans- 

 ported a load, which, to have been carried on the 

 land, would have required ten teams, and as many 

 drivers to do it. 



From the Hampshire Gazette. 



HESSIANS. 



An American gentleman travelling in Eu- 

 rope lately visited the duchy of Hesse Cassel, 

 that country from which thousands of soldiers 

 ■were hired by the British government in 1776, to 

 fight the liberties of America. He found the popu- 

 lation so burdened and oppressed that it seemed 

 " as if the last ounce only was wanting to make 

 them sink. " Hesse is an open country, destitute 

 of enclosures, and negligently cultivated. 



Mr. Russell, in his " Tour in Germany, " says 

 the Hessian peasantry are chiefly hereditary ten- 

 ants, who have one way to do a thing, and never 

 tliink of looking about for another. They wear 

 low crowned hats with an immense brim, and al- 

 low their shaggy locks to grow unshorn, and to 

 seek their tangled way down the back. Their 

 dwellings are dark, smoky, dirty hovels. Crowds 

 of begging children surround the traveller at ev- 

 ery stage. The late elector left behind him 40 

 illegitimate children, and 40 millions of rix dol- 

 lars. The foundation of his wealth was laid by his 

 father, in hiring out his troops to England, for the 

 American war — Hamp. Gazette. 



The Pottsville (Pa.) Journal notices the discov- 

 ery lately of thirtij-four new beds of coal, of from 

 three to six feet in thickness. 



VOLCANO. 



In the month of May last, three gentlemen re- 

 siding in Mexico ascended to th.e summit of the 

 celebrated volcano of I'opocutapctl, near the rity 

 of Mexico. Of the many attempts tliat Iiave been 

 made to reach the top of this stupendous moun- 

 tain, this is the only one that has succeeded. — 

 The party left the city May 1.5tii, and on the li'th 

 reached the height of l'J,541 feet above the level 

 of the sea, where they passed the night. On the 

 20th they mounted their mules, and soon passed 

 the bounds of all vegetation, and entered upon a 

 region so stony and precipitous that they were o- 

 bliged to abandon their mules and proceed on foot. 

 Tiie dilliculties of tlie ascent increased as they 

 advanced — there was no bush or shrub by which 

 they might support themselves, and the stones up- 

 on which they stepped frequently rolled from un- 

 der them, and went thundering down the sides of 

 the mountain, endangering the lives of those who 

 might happen to be below. Their Indian servants 

 became so terrified that nothing could induce 

 them to continue farther ; they returned to the 

 place where they had passed the preceding night. 

 The restoftiie party clanibeied from rock to rock, 

 encountering many difficulties and dangers, until 

 they suddenly discovered the object of their la- 

 bors and sufferings. They had passed the day in 

 profound solitude without seeing a plant, bird or 

 insect in the midst of broken rocks, and horrible 

 precipices ; experiencing severe pains in the head 

 and knees, a difficulty of breathing, and a disposi- 

 tion to vomit. They found the crater to be near- 

 ly circular and about a mile in circumference ; 

 the shape like that of a tunnel, and the depth im- 

 mense. The spectacle was awful and appalling. — 

 The eruptions were almost uninterrupted, casting 

 up showers of stones, which fell hack within the 

 crater, excepting a small number which fell out- 

 side of the opening, and send forth clouds of ash- 

 es snd smoke. The noise of the eruptions was 

 like thunder, and rose and subsided like the roar- 

 ing of the sea. Having completed their observa- 

 tions, they retraced their steps, and about night 

 came to the limits of vegetation. The highest 

 point to which they attained was 17,885 feet, (al- 

 most 3 1-2 miles) above the level of the sea. On 

 account of clouds, they could see nothing from the 

 top but the summits of Orizaba and Sierra. At 

 the height of 16,893 feet they beheld the city of 

 Mexico, which appeared to them only as a speck. 



Singular Battle. — A few days since, a farmer in 

 the town of Jefferson, observed his dung-hill cock 

 engaged in mortal combat with a striped snake of 

 about 18 or 20 inches in length, the cock to all 

 appearance, having the decided advantage over 

 his more wily though less nervous adversary, 

 dealing his blows in quick succession, employing 

 alternately his bill and spurs. But the cunning 

 serpent, well aware that victory must declare a- 

 gainst him by fair combat, brought into requisi- 

 tion a portion of the innate cunning for which that 

 reptile has been celebrated from the beginning of 

 the world to the present time ; and seizing his an- 

 tagonist by the thigh, in the rear, he completely 

 secured himself from any further danger from him. 

 Thus situated the cock very naturally thought his 

 only" safety was in flight " he accordingly cleav- 

 ed the air majestically with his wing, the snake 

 keeping fast his hold, and dangling like a tag-lock, 



underneath, until the cock, overcome with fatigue, 

 alighted on a neighboring apple-tree. The snake 

 immediately coiled his tail round a branch of the 

 tree — the cock again attempted flight, but he 

 could scarcely clear the limb, from which he hung 

 with his head downwards, making every effort to 

 escape, but all in vain, until the farmer came to 

 his assistance — killed the snake, and set him a' 

 liberty. — Schoharie Republican. 



DEATH BY POISON. 



Died, in Sudbury, on Sunday last, Henry Moott. 

 son of Mr. Lewis Moore, aged C years, His deatli 

 was caused by eating the seed of a poisonous 

 weed known by the name of loild hemlock, which 

 he mistook for caraway seed. He ate this seed 

 on his way to school on Thursday and was seized 

 in a few hours with a severe pain in his bowels, 

 and died on the third day afterward. 



Jf'ild Hemlock. — This noxious weed grows in 

 all parts of New England, and is remarkably a- 

 bundant in our vicinity. It is found chiefly in 

 runs and wet grounds, but is sometimes seen by 

 the road side, or by ditches and fences in dry 

 places. The stalk is purple, except when it grows 

 in a shade, then it is green ; the plant is from two 

 to five feet high. The blossoms are straw-color- 

 ed or nearly white, are set in tufts or clusters a' 

 the end of the branches, like the blossoms of cara- 

 way, carrot, and parsnip. The seeds are a viru- 

 lent poison ; they very much resemble caraway 

 seeds, and it requires close inspection to distin- 

 guish one from the other. It is a very common 

 and beautiful weed ; it may be seen in all our 

 meadows and other wet mowing lands growing in 

 luxuriant abundance, over-topping the uncut grass 

 by nearly two fnet, branching forth in quite u 

 tree. Its blossoms begin to appear in June and 

 are found through July and August.-^Concor;/ 

 Gazette. 



It is stated by Col. Murray, in a speech before 

 the convention at Albany, that the iron ore of this 

 state may challenge a competition with the world, 

 that the counties of Clinton and Essex manufac- 

 ture about 2000 tons of bar iron annually, and fur 

 nish about 5 or 6000 tons of pig iron, that the fur 

 naces for making the latter have almost suspend 

 ed their operations. 



Mind and Matter. — The ten thousand houses of 

 ancient Athens contained a population of 180,008 

 inhabitants, of whom 20,000 only were citizens. — 

 The population of the rest of Attica amounted to 

 about 300,000 : the slaves were in proportion of 4 

 to 1. But twenty millions of souls were subject 

 to or depended on this little state : — Tt possessed 

 a colossal external power, begotten by genius, 

 valor, and patriotism. 



At the last York Assize, England, sentence of 

 death was recorded against seventy-one prisoners. 



We copy with pleasure, the following testitnonr 

 to the character of the Ink referred to. 



Post office. New York March, 19, 1827. 

 Messrs. Maynard & Noyes. — In answer to your 

 request respecting the Ink that has been used in 

 this office, I state with pleasure that your writing 

 Ink is much approved of, and I recommend it as a 

 first rate article to any one who is desirous of 

 using good black writing Ink. 

 I am, Gentlemen, 



Your most ob't servant, 



THEODORUS BAILEY. 



