Vol. 6.— No. 33. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



259 



of a reddisli grey in the woody fibre, and green 



in the herbaceous portion— their number very 

 various, and the length indeterminate, only, that 

 those growing upward, are shorter than the later 

 al shoots which run horizontally; and these again 

 are shorter than the lowermost, which trail on the 

 ground. The thickness is generally proportion-^ 

 ate to that of the stock or trunk. In the shoots of 

 the season, or yearling branches, the pith fills the 

 whole ring of the woody part : the next year the 

 wood is thicker and the pith le.^s ; the third year, 

 lliere is only a trace of pillj. and in the fourth 

 year, the wood is solid. The short twigs spring- 

 ing from the principal branches, are termed stc- 

 ontlaries, or second shoots; if the sap be poor and 

 scanty, there will be, on the shoots, many buds or 

 beads, which, perhaps, do not unfold at all ; but if 

 the juices of the plants are plentiful and virorous, 

 the sap swells and drives nil these'buds into sfc- 

 ond shouts of considerable length, which bear fruit 

 as well as the shoots proper. Young vines, and 

 those that have been topped by any accident, are 

 liable to bear a great many of these second-shoots. 

 On the shoot we find ihe leaves, the fruit, in bun 

 ches opposite tlie leaves, and the tendnl.i by which 

 it clings to other onjfcts to support itself. Some- 

 times the shoot terminates in a small bunch, the 

 berries of which art- small, crowded, and jjeneral- 

 ly round. The leaves are mostly largest nearest 

 the stock, and diminish in size towards tlie e.\- i 

 tremity of the shoot. The more the leaves are j 

 sharply lobed, the less ihey preserve the orbicular 

 figure. The ribs are very large and distinct, and j 

 sometimes have the same tawny or reddish tinge 

 as the leaf-stalk. The tendrils, or cirrhi, me a: 

 filamentous growth, an elongation of vessels of j 

 the shoot. They are rarely stationed at random, 

 but generally opposite to the leaf; are branded | 

 or forked, according to the strength of the spe- [ 

 cies, the nature of the stock, or the vegetative ! 

 powers of the shoot. They may be converted into 

 fruit stalks by the following simple appearance : ; 

 When branched or forked, the smallest or weakest 

 prong must be nippeil off closely and neatly; three 

 or four days after, on the pnmg that is left, small 

 buds will make their appearance, which increase 

 and produce well formed bunches, and mature 

 into e.xcellent grapes. This experiment was made 

 for the first time, in 1617, by M. Ristelhuber, of 

 Strasburg ; and has been repeated by a great 

 number of gardeners and vinedressers, and always 

 with perfect success. The beny is round or oval, 

 varies in size and hue, beinj lighter or dnrker, of 

 a blackish purple, foxy or creen, white or gnlden 

 yellow. The color is principally confined to the 

 skin, which is thin, leathery, or coriaceous ; the 

 pulp and the juice are very colourless, even in 

 black grapes. The delicate bloom which coats 

 the berry when ripe, i- a symptom of maturity 

 worthy of notice, according to Garidel and Este- 

 van Boutelon. Each berry is attached to a fruit 

 stem or foot-stalk, which springs from the main 

 peduncle or stem of the bunch ; the assembUge 

 of main or minor stems and berries, constitutes 

 the bunch. The aroma of the vine when in flnwer 

 is highly prized in the East, and thought to pos- 

 sess incredible virtues. Tt has a very volatile and 

 penetrating fr;i -mn •(., 



Sheep in Great hnlain — (Ahridged from Lon- 

 don's Encyclopedia.) The lon^ wooled British 

 sheep are the Teeswater, old and new Leicester, 

 Devonshire Nots, E.vmoor, and Heath breeds. 



The short wooled are the Dorsetshire, Hereford or 

 Ryeland, South Down, Norfolk, Cheviot, Shetland 

 and Mcrinoes. 



The old Leicester or Lincolnshire breed have 

 no horns. The carcase is long and thin, and the 

 wethers weigh from 20 to 30 pounds per quarter. 

 The wool is from 10 to |h inches long, and weighs j 

 from 8 lo 14 pounds per lieece. The Teeswater I 

 are similar to the Lincolnshire, but the wool is i 

 shorter. Some of them have been fed so as to 

 weigh 55 pounds per qu-irter. The Dishley or new ' 

 Leicester breed have round, barrel shaped bodies, 

 and no horns. They are peculiar for being fat. | 

 Thi'y yield from 6 to b pounds of wool, and weigh 

 from 18 lo 2G pounds per quarter. The Devon- 

 shire Nots have narrow backs and coarse wool. — 

 The Exmoor sheep are small and flat sided. The 

 Heath sheep .ire a race which ranges over the 

 mountainous districts of Britain. They have large 

 horns, black faces and legs, and coarse shagged 

 wool. 



The Dorsetshire sheep are mostly horned, stand 

 high upon small legs, and are Ions and thin in the i 

 carcase. The fleece weighs 3 or 1 lbs. Some have | 

 no wool upon their bellies. M:iny of the native | 

 sheep of New Fii:;liind reseinble the Dorsetshire 

 breed. The Herefonlshire sheep are without 

 hums and bear fine stiort wool, weighing about 2 

 pounds a fleece The mutton is excellent, and 

 weighs from 10 o IS pounds per quarter. The 

 South Downs have dark faces and egs and no 

 horns. The fli •< e is fine and weighs from 'i 1-'<J 

 to .3 pounds. The mutton is good, and weighs 

 about 18 poum's per quarter. The Norfolk sheep 

 have large horns and black faces and legs. The 

 wool is fine ibout 2 pounds per fleece. The 

 Cheviots have long bodies, ami no horns. The 

 Hebridean sheep is the smallest animal of its 

 kind, weighing when fat only five pounds per 

 quHfter. The Shetland sheep have hair and wool 

 mixed together. 



The Spanish or Merino breed bear the finest 

 \\ool of the sheep species. They are not very nu- 

 merous in EuTiand. The fli'ece is from 3 to 5 

 pounds. M Loudon says the harder the fleece 

 is. and the i ore it resists the external pressure of 

 the hand, the more close and fine will be the wool. 

 Here and there a fine pile may be found in an 

 open fleece but this seldon. occurs Hamp. Gaz. 



to a branch. The hooting and sire.'auing of many 

 varieties of owls are heard all over the Mississippi 

 Valley. Ti.ey imitnte the cry of human distress 

 and laughter and souiptimes the shrieks of a babe. 

 Mr. Flint says he has heard forty at a time on the 

 lower courses of the Mississippi. Tlie swan is 

 vvell known for its statelinesg and brillinnt white. 

 Sank-bill cruiies are "eon in countless numbers ; 

 sometimes acres are covered with them; they 

 seem at a distance lilie immonfe droves of sheep. 

 Pelicans sometimes pass over the villages in flocks 

 reaching a mile at lent'th. Below their bill they 

 have a pouch which will contain, it is said, two 

 quarts. They are very noisy ;ind prevent the 

 boatmen from sleeping. The wihl turkey breeds 

 with the domestic one, and the former entices the 

 latter into the woorls. Tiie New Engh nd quail is 

 called a partridge in the west, and the partridge 

 is called pheiisant. Prairie hens are seen in 

 great flocks in the prniries of Missouri and Illinois. 

 They are' larger than the domestic hen; they 

 sometimes prey upon the farmer's corn-fields. — 

 These birds are easily tamed. — Ibid. 



Birds of the Mississippi Valley — Mr. Flint, in 

 the last number of his Western Review, has an 

 article upon the birds of the West. He observes 

 that he has noticed no birds in the Atlantic coun- 

 try, which he has not seen in the western states. 

 Some kinds that are always chattering in New 

 England, are seldom heard to sinj; in the Missis 

 sippi Valley. The robin re<l -breasts of the west 

 never sing the sweet notes of their song in New 

 England. Thousands of robins winter in Louis- 

 iana, and perch by night in the thick cane brakes, 

 where they are killed by hundreds with a stick. 

 The blue bird is seen every pleasant day in the 

 winter on the Onio and Mississippi. The mock- 

 ing bird, which imitates the note of all other birds 

 is hear. I at all seasons of the year. It delisrhts to 

 sit on the top of chimnies, darting high in the air 

 above, and then descendinir. all the while singing 

 in the gayest manner Parroquets are seen as far 

 north as 40 i^cg- N. Lat. They fly in large flocks 

 and prey on .the apples and other fruits of the 

 farmer. Their colour is a brilliant green. They 

 are said to perch by hanging by their hooked bill 



WATER ROTTING FL,AX. 



It will be our object to show that flax water- 

 rotted is superior lo that which is dew-rotted — 

 1st. It is more durable. To ascertain this Mr 

 Goodsell placed on the ground a quantity of Flax 

 that had been sufiiciently water-rotted for dress- 

 ing, by the side of an equal quantity of unrolled 

 flax, and turned them once in three days, until the 

 new fla.x was sufficiently rolled for dressing also ; 

 and, upon examination, he found that that which 

 had been previously water-rotted had lost none of 

 its strength : both parcels were suffered to re- 

 main on the ground, until the dew-rotted became 

 worthless, while the water-rolled was found to be 

 still strong and good. The same gentleman states 

 that he repeated the experiment with dressed flax, 

 and with tne plant, and found the result the same. 

 2d. It will yield a greater quantity of fibre from a 

 given quantity of the plant. The same gentleman 

 states that dew rotted flax averaged from 12 to 

 16 pounds of fibre only, while the water rotted 

 gave from 16 to 25 pounds. 



In Ireland, Holland, and France, flax is invaria- 

 bly water-rotted ; and it is staled by the manu- 

 facturers of canvass that 100 pounds of Dutch 

 flax will yield 72 pounds of clean flax, Irish 65 

 pounds, while the like quantity of American dew- 

 rotted will yield only 40'pound3. No reason can 

 be discerned why the American flax should yield 

 so much less than the Dutch, unless it be in the 

 process of rotting, dressing, and preparing it for 

 market. It is worth more : while the American 

 dew rotted flax brings in market but 9 cents per 

 pound, and in that proportion. 



To water rot flax, let it be totally immersed in 

 water, and the surface covered with boards, straw, 

 or any thing else, to exclude the rays of the sun. 

 In summer, when the weather and water were 

 both warm, it has been known to rot in seven 

 days ; in colder weather a long time will be re- 

 quired. When taken from tne water, it must be 

 spread to dry- — Hamp. Sen1ir)el. 



Governor Lincoln has appointed Thursday, the 

 third day of April next, to be observed as a day of 

 fasting and prayer in Massachusetts. 



Governor Lincoln has been elected a Trustee 

 of .'Amherst College, to supply the vacancy oc- 

 casioned by tl e death of Judge Howe. 



