NEW ENGL.AK 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. o->, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at thk Acr.cu.tuk.l X^^:^^:;:^;;^^^!^^: FE^S8E^.N,"edTt^r' 



701.. XIII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 15, 1S34. 



NO. 14. 



FOUNTAIN WELLS. 



The faciliiy in many, ami the oertainty in all 

 aSHs, willi wliicli fountain wells tnay lie obtained, 

 roiiii.ses very great advantages. Besides tlie wa- 

 sr of tlie clouds, rivers, and lakes, it is had from 

 wo other sonrces ; viz. land s|)rinf,'S and main 

 [Jrin!,'s. The first are iiahle to fail when most 

 ■anted, the second never. Land sprinf;s are often 

 lund upon, and always at no great distance he- 

 ivv the surface of the ground. They are collec- 

 ons from exhalations ever rising from the interi- 

 : of the earth, and from snow, rain, and other con- 

 ;nsations of water from the atmosphere. On the.sc 

 st resources, land springs depend for their exis- 

 nce and supply. What is not quickly carried 

 ,vay liy rivers, brooks, and drains, sinks into the 

 irth, but being intercepted in its downward 

 )urse, by horizontally placed strata of rock or 

 ay, reposes thereon, and from there gradually 

 )zes nway at the lowest point of the iniperviout, 

 ;d which prevented its sinking perpendiculariv. 

 iiy shaft or opening sunk into this bed readily 

 Imits a flow into it from the saturated soil around, 

 hich is then easily obtainable by the puni|) or 

 icket. Water so procured, always partakes more 

 Jess of the predominating qualities of the soil 

 rough which it percolates. Hence the dif- 

 reiil mineral springs ; and hence the various de- 

 ees of brackisliuess, commonly called hardness, 

 ' domestic wells. 



Mainsprings are sometimes seen gushing out 

 jm th-i sidts, but liiucij more frequently from the 

 ses of high liills. Sometimes they are reached 

 ' the common well-digger ; but in general they 

 e located at a depth far beyond his reach by any 

 dinary means. The water of main springs is 

 lovvn by its high temperature; this being always 

 ore or less, according to the depth from which 

 ey flow; tliose nearest the surface are about 42 

 g. Fahr. increasing to 56 deg. or more. They 

 B also known by their quality, being, in almost 

 cases freer from impregnation of salts, and are 

 nsequently called softer water. 

 Whether the main S()rings are supplied from the 

 me sources as tlie land springs, and that they 

 ; less impregnated with salts or other qualities 

 coiisequKiice of their receiving greater filtration 

 tlieir passage to the depths at which they are 

 jnd, is a question deserving consideration. But 

 It they do possess the qualities of high temper- 

 ire and purity is undeniable, and with these 

 alities water is invaluable. For the kitchen, 

 eboard, dairy, and still-room, liow necessary ; 

 the bath and dressing room how convenient ; 

 tlie brew-house bow suitable ; and in the laun- 

 r how profitable ! To the gardener it is a use- 

 auxiliary, and to the dyer, &c. most important, 

 short, the art of forming fountain wells, by 

 ich may l)e gained a constant supply of soft 

 ;er, witliout labor or expensive machinery, pre- 

 ts extensive benefits, which are not yet even 

 irehemled. At present we are still ignorant 

 V liigh such fountains niay be carried above the 

 face of the earth, and liow copious sucli jets 

 y prove. The ascent of water fiom such con- 

 irable depths, is in itself a mystery. When 

 auger is passed down into a subterranean cur- 

 t or reservoir in a valley, and the water flows 



! up, it is ac(tounted fur by saying that tlie outlet is 

 below the principal source. But when such per- 

 forations are made on the highest ground, and 

 where there appears no inclination or fall of sur- 

 fiice to the spot, it is difficult to account rationally 

 for such a phenomenon. The natural law for 

 water finding its own level, does, not njiparently 

 apply. Is it the pressure of the atmosphere ? the 

 subsidence of the superfiosifed earth.' Is it from 

 the expansive power of subterranean heat, or from 

 ibe temperature of water itself ? or what.' Gar- 

 dener's Mas-azine. 



From the Ohio Farmer. 

 THE CULTIVATION OP THE STKAWBEKRY. 



To the Ladies — The Strawberry is one of the 

 most delicious fruits that the United States can 

 boast of. Though small, it requires but little at- 

 tention, consequently the laborer is amply com- 

 pensated for his toil. This plant is a native of 

 the fields and woods of America, as well as of Eu- 

 rope. There are many kinds, and all greatly im- 

 proved liy cultivation ; they bear abundantly, and 

 seem to defy the cold and drought. Notwith- 

 standing our cold liarren spring, which has prov- 

 ed so fatal to almost every kind of fruit, yet my 

 strawberry vines bore abundantly. I had some 

 that measured half an inch in diameter; — for this 

 cause, I would recommend that every lady call 

 upon some of her male friends to assist her in 

 forming beds; one smile, with the promise of a 

 liunch of ripe strawberries on the first of May 

 next, will be sufficient inducement for them to lay 

 too the helping hand. 



I will tiow tell yon bow I cultivated them : 



They are propagated from the young plants that 

 grow out of old ones. In the summer they send 

 forth runners ; where these touch the ground, at 

 a certain distance from their roots, plants spring 

 up, — this plant is put in the fall, (now is a good 

 time to plant them out, and on to the 20th of Oc- 

 tober,) it takes root before winter, and the next 

 year it will bear a little, and send out runners of 

 Its own. To make a strawberry bed, plant three 

 rows a foot apart and at twelve inches apart in the 

 rows; keep the ground clean, and new plants 

 coming from the runners will fill up the whole of 

 the ground, and will extend the bed on each side ; 

 cut oft' the runners at one distance from the sides, 

 and then you have a bed four feet wide, covering 

 all the ground. This is the liest way, for the fruit 

 does not fall upon the ground, but rests upon tlie 

 leaves and vines, consequently heavy rains will 

 not beat them into the dirt. If yon have more 

 beds than one, there should be a space of one and 

 a half feet between them, and this space should 

 be kept clean^ during summer, and filled with ma- 

 nure in the fall, which settles into the earth and 

 enriches the roots that are in the bed. In No- 

 vember cut off the leaves with a scythe, and scat- 

 ter over the beds some rich well rotted manure. 

 They will last in this way many years, without 

 any trouble. If you have a beautiful garden, with 

 the borders decorated with various kinds of shrub- 

 bery, plant strawberry roots underneath them, and 

 they will bear abundantly, adding profit to orna- 

 ment. A few roots will soon supply you, for I 



and in September I raised the yoimg roots, and 

 found the number to be three hundred ! I have 

 an abundance of them ; and any person.s within 

 reach of my garden, wishing for roots, shall be 

 welcome to as many as they want. 



P. C. Mat. 



From tlie Genesee Farmer. 

 oar THE CULTURE OP CIVIOJVS. 



I HAVE raised onions several years in succession 

 on the same bed, but I liave had none so fine as 

 those of the present season. The kind which I have 

 cultivated is called the top onion ; and my for- 

 mer practice was to keep the sets over winter and 

 jilant them out in the spring. Last fall I adopted 

 a different method. Instead of stowing them away 

 in the house, I set them out at once, and found 

 them to winter best in the garden. I am satisfied 

 however, that they ought to be well rooted before 

 the approach of severe weather; and this year I 

 intend to have them in the ground before this note 

 can appear in the Genesee Farmer. 



I have planted the top onion in clumps, and 

 also at diff'ercnt distances. Those that grew close 

 together, have in no case been so fine as those 

 that stood three or four inches apart. The bulbs 

 in the head ought to be always separated before 

 planting. 



By idaiiling early in autumn, onions will be fit 

 for use the n. xt season, a month or two sooner 

 than if plante-I in the spring, — which is a great 

 convenience. 



Some have insisted that a rotation of crops 

 ought to include onions, while others have been 

 satisfied to sow or plant them year after year on 

 the same ground. In favor of the latter practice 

 it may be remarked that onions require a soil rath- 

 er different from common vegetaliles — that is to 

 say, shallow but rich; and one piece of ground so 

 approfiriated can be most conveniently kept in that 

 state, for as soon as the crop is taken off, it may 

 be manured, well hoed, raked over, marked out 

 and planted again without delay. And that such 

 lands do not deteriorate, is evident from the fact 

 that with a very slight dressing, the crops have 

 been found successively to increase. The crop 

 that gained the premium of the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural Society, in 1S30, was estimated at 

 657 bushels; and it grew on an acre which had 

 been cultivated with onions several years. 



The top onion is only a variety of the common 

 kind, and some bear bulbs, some seeds, and oc- 

 casionally I find one which bears both bulbs and 

 seeds. I destroy the young stems when there are 

 too many shooting up through the patch : but if 

 they are not destroyed, they will produce tolerable 

 onions. When I gather the crop, I take up alto- 

 gether, separating the onions from the stem. 



On the Destruction of Snails. Mr. James Cor- 

 bett, in Trans, of the London Hor. Soc. recom- 

 mends fur destroying snails to sprinkle quicklime 

 lightly ever the places infected about 3 o'clock in 

 the morning. But the Conductor of the Magazine 

 observes that this is n very inferior mode, and 

 much more expensive and troublesome than that 

 of watering in the evening with lime water ; re- 



, , .,.,.,—,---- peating the.operation on the same ground, at about 



liad one root standing in highly cultivated ground, | a quarter of an hour's interval. 



