VOL. XIII. NO. aa 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



171 



LETTER FRO.tl CiEN. U. A. S. DEARBORN. 



To Ztbedee Cook, Jr. Esq. 



Mr Dear Sir, — As I shall soon remove to the 

 far West, it becomes necessary, that I shouki re- 

 sign the office of President of the Massachusetts 

 Horlicultural Society, which I now do, and will 

 thank you to announce it, at the next meeting of 

 the memliers, with assurances of my grateful sense 

 of the oliligations I am under, for the distinguish. 

 ed honor they have so repeatedly conferred upon 

 me. 



Wherever I may dwell, or whatever may be my 

 condition in life, I shall cherish, as one of the 

 dearest reminiscences, my very interesting, in- 

 structive, and happy connection with an institu- 

 tion, which is destined to become one of the most 

 useful and important in our country. Already 

 have many of the advantages which it was antici- 

 pated would be derived from it, been so far devel- 

 oped, as to leave no doubt of complete success. A 

 foundation has been lai<l so broad, deep, and suc- 

 cessfully, as to insure the realization of all our 

 hopes, in every department of Horticulture. 



As an Experimental Garden is of indispensable 

 consequence to your prosperity, nothing should be 

 neglected, which is calculated to render that of 

 Mount Auburn equal to any on the Globe ; and to 

 make it speedily beneficial to the society and the 

 country, and at the same time appropriately orna- 

 nienlal, as connected with the Cemetery Compart- 

 ment of the establishment, allow me to recommend, 

 as a primary measure, that Seminaries be formed 

 this autumn and the next spring, of all the varie- 

 ties of fruit, forest and ornamental trees and shrubs, 

 which will flourish in otir climate. Tbh ^eing 

 accomplished. Nurseries can be established, for 

 propagating every kind of foreign and native fruits, 

 with such care and sureness of identity, as to pre- 

 clude the possibility of those vexatious errors, in 

 name and character, to which we have hitherto 

 been subjected, as to the several varieties of each 

 species. 



With my best wishes for the triumphant ad- 

 vancement of the Society, and the happiness of all 

 its members, I offer, my dear sir, assurances of 

 my sincere esteem and friendship. 



H. A. S. Dearborn. 



UNDISPUTED MAXIMS. 



The power and well-being of a country (says 

 the Edinburgh Review) are much more certainly 

 promoted by the adopting of improved processes 

 and methods of cultivating the soil, than they 

 would be by making proportional additions to its 

 extent; and though we do not go so far as to con- 

 tend that a single uncultivated acre is a real physi- 

 cal evil in any slate, yet there can be no question 

 that the better a country is cultivated the greater 

 its means of supporting a large amount of popula- 

 tion ; anil the greater the excess of produce raised 

 by the agriculturists above what is necessary for 

 their own supply, the greater of course, are the 

 means of purchasing the various articles of neces- 

 sity, convenience, and enjoyment, furnished by 

 others. Hence, also, it appears, that every im- 

 provement in agriculture, every means by which 

 the earth may be made to furnish a larger (piantity 

 of produce for the same, or for a less proportional 

 outlay, not only redounds to the advantage of its 

 owners and occupiers, but to that of every other 

 class. It reacts powerfully on all departments of 

 industry, stimulating univers.illy the inventive pow 

 ers, and rewarding their successful application. 



THE GREAT ECLIPSE OF NOV. 30, 



— Took place agreeably lo prediction. In this 

 town (Salem), the precise inslant of the contact of 

 the limbs of the Sun and Moon was not noticed, 

 as the heavens were obscured by a tliick boily ol 

 clouds. The first sight of the two bodies was ob- 

 tained at Ih. 29m. 28 sec, being 6m. 59 sec. after 

 the computed time of the commencement of the 

 eclipse, when the dark body of the moon was dis- 

 tinctly seen through a thin spot of the clouds, in 

 contact with the sun. During nearly the whole 

 period of the obscuration the sky was cloudy, and 

 occasional glimpses, only, of the phenomenon were 

 obtained. The thermometer began to sink soon 

 after the eclipse commenced. The subjuiiieil table 

 will exhibit the change of two thermometers; one 

 being placed in the shade, and the oth-r turned 

 towards the sun- The latter received ihe full ef- 

 fect of the sun only for about 10m. toward the 

 close of the ecli|)se, when it rose from 48 deg. to 

 56 deg. 

 At 1. 30 in shade 45°. Towards the sun 49° 

 » 1. 45 " 44 " 48.5 



" 2. 15 " 43 " 47.3 



" 2. 30 '• 42. 5 " 46.2 



" 2. 45 " 42.5 " 45 



" 3. " 4,2 " 43 



" 3. 15 '^ 44 » 56 



" 3. 30 " 42. 3 " 49 



" 3. 54 " 40 " 42 



At the time of the greatest obscuration, there 

 was not sufficient heat in the solar rays to produce 

 combustion when directed by a lens of 6 inch focal 

 distance upon the fur of a black hat, though a lu- 

 cifer match ignited after a few minutes, when 

 placed in the focus. At the same time, also, the 

 mercury of the thermometer rose two degrees in 

 sixty seconds, on placing its bulb in the same focus. 

 The sky was perfectly clear at the close of the 

 eclipse, and there was nothing to iuterru|it a care- 

 ful observation of the end. It took place at 3h. 

 54m. 19s. Salem mean time. It is a little remark- 

 able that this is the precise time, as laid down in 

 the American Almanac, by Mr. Paine, for the close 

 of the eclipse at Boston. Salem, it will be recol- 

 lected, is about 10m. 19s. further east than Bos- 

 ton. — Salem Gazette. 



A GREAT YIELD. 



Mr. Aaron Curtis, of Ithaca, raised the past 

 season, on a quarter of an acre of land, in the vil- 

 lage, the following articles : 



100 bushels of Onions, worth 75 cents 

 per bushel, .... .$75,00 



50 bushels of Beets, worth 75 cents per 

 bushel, 25,00 



700 heads of fine Cabbages, worth $4 

 per hundred, .... 28,00 



Lettuce, worth - - - 10,00 



Top Onion Seed, worth - - 5,00 



,fl43,00 

 Onions deficient by bad sowing, 20 bush. 15,00 

 Beets do. by bad seed, 10 bushels, 5,00 



$20,00 



Nett proceeds, - - - - $123,00 

 The whole time employed to raise the above 

 crop was 24 days. — Genesee Farmer. 



It is said that salt ami water sprinkled over corn 

 will prevent injury from the weevil. — JV. Y. Far. 



COKCII DIVERS OP THE BAHAMAS. 



In December 1821, one of his Majesty's .''hip8, 

 in going into the harbor of New Providence, struck 

 on a bank, and rubbed I'fF a sheet or two of her 

 copper. The following morning, one of the divers 

 being sent for, and supplied with hammer, nails, 

 and sheet of copper, sunk himself to the keel, and 

 after two or three breathings at the surface of the 

 water, made good the defects 1 He was afterward 

 required by the conunanding officer to bend a 

 hawser into the chain cable near the anchor, as it 

 lay at the bottom in nearly four fathoms water. 

 This he accomplished with nmch ease, and a sea- 

 man-like bend it proved on the anchor being hove 

 up. These divers, who are black men, and gen- 

 erally natives of the outer island, are neaily six 

 feet in height, with broail shoulders, and so .iccus- 

 tomed to diving for conchs from their infaiu y, in 

 from two to ten fathoms water, that they have 

 habituated themselves to continue under waier for 

 as long a time, perhaps, as the pearl divers of In- 

 dia. They often take with them a hammer, aiitl 

 on finding a conch will break its shell, take out 

 the fish and prepare it for dressing before they rise; 

 they will also take a bottle of any drinkable liquid, 

 with the cork wired, and sink to the botiom in 

 three or four fathoms, and, with the corkscrew, 

 draw the cork, drink its contents, and ri.st^ willi 

 the empty bottle ! Porter is always the beverage 

 they solicit on these occasions. — J^autical .Mag, 



From the Neir Yor/c Partner. 

 GRUB OR CUT AVOKM DESTROVED BT SAEiT, 

 These are very troublesome on Long Island, 

 ami ^<os;roy aniinallj inuidi of. the corn plapu'd an 

 the Island, and also on old lands. I helievi com- 

 mon salt is an antidote ; and, if profierly a| plied, 

 will destroy them effectually. Some year.-* ^^go, I 

 visited a friend at Naples, Ontario county ; hi men- 

 tioned that the cut worm or brown grub aluuiided 

 in his garden, insomuch that he could rai-e no 

 peas, cabbages, &c. In the evening I vveiu with 

 liim to a row of peas, 14 feet long, and galliifed a 

 half pint cup heaping full of grubs ; six or eii;ht of 

 these were laid on a sheet of white paper, and « 

 particle of moist Onondaga salt applied to each. 

 The worms curled, liur.^t, and died in two iinMUteS. 

 It was agreed that ho slioulil dig his garden m the 

 fall, and sow on it at the rate of 4 bushels cf On- 

 ondaga salt to the acre ; dig it again in the > 'ring, 

 and sow 2 bushels per .icre of salt. He id so, 

 anil 1 heard no more complaint of the grub .rent 

 worm. I am persuaded that if lands infest' with 

 them be ploughed in the fall, and fine salt s vvn, i 

 bushels to the acre, and repe.ited 2 bushel- n the 

 spring, it will efi'eciually eradicate them. It is 

 worth a trial, at least. R. M. W. 



By the Use of Hot Hater at IVallington, tl • seat 



of Sir John Trevelyan, in Northumberhi' I, 9% 



loads of coals, out of 220, were saved tl first 



year. The value of these coals, including ci. iage, 



is about Gs. a ton. Instead of nine fires i fotir 



houses, there are now only two fires. Tl level 



system of circulating the water is adopted, ■ il the 



work was executed by Mr. Cookson, iron-|. nder^ 

 of Newcastle. — Gardener^s Magazine. 



Jl Garden School, iu which boys will he lught 



gardening, agricniiure, and rural economy .-ner- 



ally ; and girls, sewing, cookery, and d. .estic 



ecoimmy in all its dei^iils, is about to be esl.i ished 

 at Fordhook by Lady Noel Byron. — lb. 



