Vol. (i. — No 



NEW ENGLAND I AHMER. 



35 



A Bcienlitic I'riPinl ot ours, who haa recently re- 

 turiieil fVoni a journey from Boston to the interior 

 parts (iT New-llanipsliire, informs us tlial tlic 

 < 'iisU, fi sea water fish, li.-is been introduceil into 

 Wiiinipissiogco L:il;e ; and is now quite fre<;ncutly | 

 • •aught by ancfling. — EniroR N. E. Farmkk. j 



RIPENING^ GRAPES. | 



U is stated in the Transactions of the London j 

 Uorticuitiiral Society, that Mr. Thomas Fleet- I 

 wood, of Dnnnin<;ton near Alcntor, hastens the 

 maturity of srnpcs on open walls by the following i 

 ■method. l!efure the vines are out of flower, he , 

 brings each brancli into a perpendicular position i 

 by a thread attached to its e.xtremity, and fasteucd [ 

 to a nail in the wall, carefully confining the young j 

 >)rancli with the buncli thereon as close to the 

 wall as possible. Fi.\ed in this way, they ripen a : 

 month earlier than when left to hang in the usual ; 

 way. I 



THE COW TREE. 



This tree, which has been named Galactodon- 

 dron, and appears to belong to the family of Sa- j 

 iiotete, grows on rocliy declivities on the northern 

 Andes. Its loaves arc large, oblong, thin, dry, 

 and coriaceous. •' Its thick ligneous roots scarce- J 

 ly enter the rock ; for several months in the year ) 

 rain scarcely waters its fan-shaped leaves. The j 

 branches appear dry and dead. But when an in- 

 cision ia made in the trunk, a sweet and nutritious : 

 milk runs from it. It is at sun-rise that the vege- 

 table liquid runs most abundantly. Then the na- ■ 

 tivcs and negroes are seen to come from all parts 

 provided with vessels to receive the milk, which 

 becomes yellow, and thickens at the surface. 

 This vegetable milk possesses all the physical pro- 

 perties of the milk of animals, only it is a little '■ 

 thicker, and mi.xes easily with water. When 

 boiled it does not coagulate, but a thick yellow 

 pellicle is formed on the surface. Acids do not ] 

 form with this milk any coaarulum as with that of 

 the cow." — Humboldt, Voyage aux Regions Equi- 

 iioxiales dn JVouveau Coniinent, lib. v. chap. 16. 

 D. 2(i3 and 264. 



sential lood without whicii they could not exist 

 in any considerable number for any length of 

 time, much less be brought to furnish us with tlie 

 most important articles of clothing, and some of 

 the most important parts of food ; meat, milk, but- 

 ter, and cheese. Wool and leather, with all the 

 concomitant advantages, such as labour, manure 

 &c. which result to the cultivator of the soil from 

 the use of cattle would be lost without the culti- 

 vation of thi! perennial grasses. 



The nutritive powers of the diiTerent species of 

 grasses are found to be in direct proportion to 

 the quantity of saccharine, mucilaginous, alumi- 

 nous, bitter, extractive and saline matters which 

 each affords. 



There are but few species which attain their 

 height of produce at the same period of the season, 

 consequently scarcely a month occurs whicli is 

 not the season of some particular species attain- 

 ing its perfection of growth ; and here it may be 

 observed, that a grass-garden, where a number of 

 grasses are arranged side by side, illustrate this 

 important part in the economy of grasses in a 

 clear and interesting manner. It is from this 

 property of the natural grasses, connected with a 

 combination of a considerable number of different 

 species, which are always found in the most ricli 

 and fattening pastures, that the great superiority 

 of these over artificial pastures of such as are 

 formed of one or two species only, chiefly arises ; 

 and hence it is that the former, whether formed 

 by nature in the course of many years, or by art 

 in one (by sowing the seed of all the essential 

 species, or by stocking the soil at once with a 

 sufficiency ofthese plants, precluding thereby the 

 introduction of species of grasses or weeds) are 

 productive of a perpetual verdure and supply of 

 fresh herbage unknown in artificial pastures, con 

 consisting of one or two species of plants only. 



THE GRASSES. By Mr George Sviclair. ' 

 It has been justly observed by James Edward 

 Smith, in his English Flora, that the grasses af- 

 ford more sustenance to man and to the larger 

 animals than all the rest of the vegetable kingdom 

 put togclher,their herbage BO perpetually springing, 

 and so tenacious of life, accommodated in one in- 

 stance or other to almost every climate, soil and 

 situation, affords to nature her most welcome 

 clothing, and to the cultivator of the soil his 

 chief riches. Nothing poisonous or injurious is 

 found among them. They constitute one of the 

 most perfect natural orders of plants.and although 

 humble, and until lately, overlooked by the gen- 

 eral observer, consist of upwards of a thousand 

 perfectly distinct species, distinguished from each 

 other by their specific botanical characters, by 

 the difference which exists in the proportions of 

 the constituents of the nutritive matter afi'orded 

 by each, by the different periods at which their 

 produce attain to perfection, and by the peculiar 

 soils and situations to which the different species 

 are adapted. 



Tiie farinaceous seeds of the annual grasses 

 supply man with the gtaff of life, and the herbage 

 of the perennial species afford to the more valua- 

 ble domestic animals that constant supply of es- 



REMARKS ON NEAT CATTLE. 



BV MR MARSHALI.. 



1. The head small and clean, to lessen the 

 quantity of offal. 2. The neck thin and clean, to 

 lighten the fore-end, as well as to lessen the col- 

 lar; and make it fit close and easy to the animal 

 in work. 0. The carcass large, the chest deep, 

 and the bosom broad, with the ribs standing out 

 full from the spine ; to give strength of frame 

 and constitution, and to allow sufficient room for 

 the intestines within the ribs. 4. The shoulders 

 should be light of bone, and round o8"at the lower 

 point, that the collar may be easy, but broad, to 

 give strength ; and well covered with flesh, for 

 the greater ease of draught, as well as to furnish 

 a desired point in fattening cattle. 5. The back 

 ought to be wide and level throughout ; the quar- 

 ters long ; the thighs thin, and standing narrow 

 at the round bone ; the udder large when full, 

 but thin and loose when empty, to hold the great- 

 er quantity of milk ; with large dug-veins to fill 

 it, and long elastic teats for drawing it off with 

 greater ease. (5. The legs (below the knee and 

 hock) straight, and of a middle length; their bones, 

 in general, light and clean from fleshiness, but 

 with joints and sinews of a moderate size, for the 

 purposes of strength and activity. 7. The flesh 

 ought to be mellow in the state of fleshiness, and 

 firm in the state of fatness. 8. The hide mellow, 

 and of a middle thickness, though, in our author's 

 opinion, this is a point not yet well determined 

 Cattle, as well as horses, have been observed to 



thrive better in salt-marshes than in fresh-vvatei 

 meadows, or upland pastures ; and it has been 

 conjectured, that the liorbs produced by the lands 

 near the sea, are more healthy for herbaceous 

 animals, than such as grow on higher lands. But 

 it is said, that the saline particles with which the 

 earth, as well as its produce near the sea, is 

 strongly impregnated, occasions this beneficial 

 change in the condition of cattle : as these salts 

 purge away the foul humours which the beasts 

 have contracted, either by idleness, or by being 

 over-heated in labour. As cattle are naturally 

 fond of salt, and if left at their liberty, will take 

 no more of it than what is conducive to their 

 liealth,-it is recommended to lay common sea-salt 

 in the fields, for them to lick as often as Ihev 

 please. 



BIGNONIA CATALPA. 



This is a native deciduous tree of the United 

 States, covered with a smooth brown bark ; the 

 flowers are produced in large branching pinna- 

 cles, towards the ends of the branches ; they are 

 of dark white, with a few purple spots, and faint 

 stripes of yellow on their inside. The flowers 

 are succeeded by long taper pods, containing seeds 

 The branches dye wool a kind of cinnamon color. 

 Thunberg mentions that the Japanese lay the 

 leaves on parts of the body affected with pains : 

 and that a decoction of the pods is esteemed ser- 

 viceable in the asthma. Poultry are very fond of 

 the seeds, and thrive on them. The timber of 

 the catalpa tree, makes very durable fence posts. 



SALES OF MANUFACTURES. 

 The third semi-annual Sales of Manufactures ol 

 the United States, under the patronage of the 

 New-England Society, commenced Tuesday last, 

 in the spacious Halls over the City Market. The 

 E.xhibitions were very numerous and splendid, and 

 purchasers apparently filled up all the places not 

 occupied by lots of Goods. Of the company were 

 many Gentlemen from New-York and other pla- 

 ces. The sales of yesterday were principally of 

 Cabinet Furniture, looking glasses, elegant time 

 pieces, hats and other articles. The sales of cot- 

 ton, woollen and other dry goods took place on 

 Wednesday last. The samples, although not so 

 heavy as on former occasions, are, we are told, ol' 

 finer fabrick, and greater variety. — Centinel. 



RAIL ROAD. 



The Commissioners of the proposed Western 

 Rail Road have progressed as far as Westboro', 

 [30 miles] with the survey, and find only a rise of 

 27 feet to a mile, which is little impediment to the 

 facility of travel on a Rail way — besides which 

 the descent is regular from W. to Boston, and the 

 downward transportation may be two to one of the 

 upward. The citizens on the route assist the Com- 

 missioners all in their power, and have the most 

 liberal views, and the Commissioners devote eve- 

 ry moment to the discharge of their duties. 



One of the Committees on the proposed Hoo- 

 sack Canal has reported that four towns on the 

 river transport .3098 tons annually. — Palladium. 



History of Louisiana. — The New Orleans Mer- 

 cantile Advertiser contains a favourable notice of 

 Martin's History of Louisiana, the first volume of 

 which is lately published. This volume brings 

 the history of that territory down to the period 

 when it was taken possession of by Spain, in 176^^ 



