■^OL. rVU Ni>. 31. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



243 



There is still mother objection which may be 

 Imade to the theory now presented. If, in this 

 mixed state, the eartli acts by the virtue of elec- 

 tro-chemical forces, why are three earths requisite 

 to the construction of a {food soil ? Ought not 

 silica andlime, or lime and alumina to be sufficient 

 to produce, in each element of the mixture, an op- 

 posite electricity ? It is easy to answer this ob- 

 jection also, by a reliance upon facts well known 

 to mineralogists : it is certain that the binary sili- 

 cates are more rare in nature than the ternary sili- 

 cates, and that their mass in particular is less pow- 

 erful : silica has therefore a greater tendency to 

 combine with lime and alumina together than with 

 either of these earths separately. Hence, we may 

 perceive, that the union of the three becomes ne- 

 cessary to constitute a soil endowed with the high- 

 lest degree of vegetative power. 



If the ideas whicli I now submit to the acade- 

 my, appear to deserve any attention, [ propose, on 

 the return of the favorable season, to renew the 

 inquiry, and to devote myself to the labor of posi- 

 tive experiment — experiments, which, whatever 

 may be their results in reference to my theory, will 

 at least have the advantage of eliciting facts which 

 may be friendly to agriculture, that science which 

 is so prominently stamped with the character of 

 utility. 



We have at once, upon perusal, determined to 

 enrich the pages of the N. E. Farmer with the 

 subjoined Dictionary of Terms used in agriculture 

 — fully persuaded that it will prove highly interest- 

 ng and useful. It is made out with great precis- 

 on and pei-spicuity, the very first excellence in 

 ill writings designed to bo useful. It does honor 

 .0 the ably conducted agricultural journal in which 

 t appears, the Genesee Farmer, a paper, we must 

 say, without disparagement to any other, conducted 

 »ith eminent scientific and practical talent, and 

 vhich we do not hesitate to recommend to every 

 armer in the United States as worth to him ten 

 .imes its cost. H. C. 



Abrading. This a term applied by some agri- 

 lultural writers to the crumbling down of earth 

 "rem the eflects of frost. This process is seen 

 nost on fall ploughed lands, and is an efiicient 

 igent in ameliorating and rendering fit for cultiva- 

 ;ion heavy or clay soils. 



Abrasion. The wearing away, by running 

 .vater, of earths, rocks, &c. the banks, or the bot- 

 ;om of streams, and tlie result of which is the de- 

 josit of alluvium. 



Absorplion. The process by which plants and 

 inimals are nourished is called absorption. In 

 nost plants this office is performed by the roots, 

 md it is through the vessels called spongioles, with 

 ivhich the roots are terminated, that absorption 

 akes place. In aquatic plants, the water which 

 iffords the nourishment ia absorbed with facility 

 'rom every part of their surface. By causing the 

 "oots to imbibe colored liquid the general course of 

 ;he sap may be traced with considerable accuracy. 



Acids. Bodies that have usually a sour last/, 

 ind corrosive qualities. Some acids appear only 

 n a fluid state, gaseous as carbonic acid, or liquid 

 IS sulphuric acid; others are crystallized, as the 

 |)oraic, benzoic, &c. Of the acids, the only one 

 Jiat has much influence on vegetation is the car- 

 bonic. 



Acclimating. Plants are endowed with a power 

 )f gradually accommodating themselves to the 



temperature or climate in which they are placed, 

 unless tlie change is at once so great as to suspend 

 their vital functions altogether. This process is 

 called acclimating. Plants will bear removal bet- 

 ter from a warm climate to one of lower tempera- 

 ture, than from a cold to a warm one. As in- 

 stances in plants, we may mention the potato, the 

 bean, the melon, and among fruits the peach and 

 apricot. The cucumber affords an instance of the 

 effect of acclimation. It is grown in the open air 

 at Cairo and at Petersburg ; at Carracas and at 

 Quebec. 



Aeration. An important change effected on tlie 

 sap of plants, by the action of liglit. It consists 

 in the decomposition of carbonic acid gas, which 

 is either brouglit to the leaves of plants by the 

 sap, or absorbed directly from the atmosphere. 

 The substance of all plants is mostly carbon, and 

 as carbon in its common state, however minutely 

 divided, is never taken up by the sap of plants, 

 this most essential ingredient is obtained in the 

 form of the carbonic gas, from which the oxygen 

 is separated by the leaves under the action of light, 

 leaving the carbon ready for assimilation, or con- 

 version into vegetable fibre. That this process is 

 performed by the green substance of the leaves or 

 stem, is evident from the fact that if a leaf is 

 bruised or its vitality destroyed, its substance is no 

 longer capable of decomposing carbonic gas in the 

 light, or absorbing oxygen in the dark. The ne- 

 cessity of this aeration of sap for the purpose of 

 ripening fruit, or maturing vegetation, may be seen 

 in some fruit trees, the plum for instance, in which 

 an excessive quantity of fruit causes a premature 

 fall of the leaves, after which, owing to this loss 

 of the organs of aeration, the fruit never ripens, 

 but remains immature and worthless. The neces- 

 sity of the leaves for aeration, or perfecting the 

 juices of plants, shows the absurdity of plucking 

 or injuring the leaves of any plant before it is 

 ripe ;, topping corn, &c., under the idea of hasten- 

 ing maturity, or increasing the product. Attempts 

 to improve on nature must be failures. i 



After-grass. The grass grown on meadows after 

 they are mown. The usual practice among farm- 

 ers is to feed this ofi^ by cattle or sheep, and in 

 some cases so closely as to nearly destroy the roots 

 of the grass. Unless the turf is close, and tlie 

 meadow rich, it is better to not feed at all, or very 

 lightly. For cropping after-grass, sheep are better 

 than cattle, since, though their bite may be closer, 

 they do not injure the roots with their feet like the 

 former. If mown a second time for rowen, it is 

 called 



After-math. On rich meadows, or where ma- 

 nure can be had in abundance, for top dressing, ^ 

 second mowing may be justifiable, and the grass 

 so cut, if well cured, is much relished and eaten 

 with avidity by ewes, calves, and other animals 

 that are apt to become poor under ordinary man- 

 agement. The practice of the second mowing, 

 however, like after feeding, is not to be recom- 

 mended on the who'e ; experience proving that the 

 injury grass roots always receive from mowing, is 

 increased by the second cutting. Necessity alone 

 can render after feeding or mowing justifiable or 

 proper. 



Agriculture. In the moat extended use of this 

 term, it is made to embrace all the operations made 

 use of to obtain food for man, whether from the 

 field, the orchard, or the garden. In its proper and 

 limited sense, it means the cultivation of tlie soil, 

 which is the great source of wealth. The first 



want of man was food ; the place to obtain it was 

 the earth ; hence the origin of agricullur.e ; and 

 in proportion to his wants, and the ease or the dif- 

 ficulty with wliich they can be supplied, ia his 

 progress in agriculture. Where the wants of man 

 are supplied by the spontaneous productions of the 

 earth, as in parts of Africa, or in the South Sea 

 Islands ; or where the inhabitants expect no food 

 from the eartli, as among the Esquimaux, or Somo- 

 iedes, their agriculture is unknown. It is only 

 where exertion is necessary to procure food from 

 the earth, that wants abound ; that wealth is in- 

 creased ; and that agriculture becomes a science, 

 and assumes its proper place as the basii and pre- 

 cursor of civilization, society and order; All his- 

 tory proves that such is the fact. The creation of 

 wealth belongs to agriculture. Food must be had, ■ 

 and the value of every other article depends di- 

 rectly or remotely on the amount of food it will 

 procure. The skill of the mechanic may improve ; 

 the enterprise of the merchant may exchange ; but 

 the origin belongs to the earth, and the cost and 

 the profit is alike determined by the result of ag- 

 riculture. 



Science haa within a few years done much in 

 aid of agriculture ; not that many positive discov- 

 eries have in the first place been made by the sci- 

 ences, of which the agriculturist has availed* him- 

 self; but the cause of certain results before 

 known to the farmer, have been revealed by chemi- 

 cal or other researches, and thus the means of more 

 certainty an 1 in many more cases of producing the 

 sam^ results has been obtained. On this is based 

 the improved system of agriculture. Where the 

 earths are not in due proportion, it is impossible to 

 make or keep the soil in a productive state. The 

 nature of the earths is now inquired into, and their 

 balance maintained by a rotation of crops, or the 

 application of such matters as shall prevent ex- 

 haustion, or restore fertility to such as have been 

 improperly treated. The capability of the earth 

 in affbrdmg food, when properly tilled, is but im-- 

 perfectly understood. Now and then instances oo- 

 cur in which either by ^kill or accident these powv 

 ers are developed to the surprise of all ; but what 

 is done in one case may be done in others ; and 

 when agriculture is what it should be, when the tiU 

 lage of the soil, and the application of proper ma.- 

 nures shall be better understood, the results that 

 now astonish will become common, and while thfi' 

 labor shall be diminished th« product will be vastl.v- 

 increased. 



(To be continued.) 



ITEMS IN DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



To preserve fresh meat, killed early in winteiv 

 through cold weather, bury it in snow — the best 

 way is to place alternats layers of meat and snow 

 in a tub or barrel, and keep it in a cool place. 

 The meat should be a little frozen first Several 

 days warm weather will not affect it; and if kept 

 in an ice house, it may be not only preserved 

 through winter, but during the following spring. 



Hams cannr.t be kept with ease or certainty un- 

 less the flat bone, near the centre of the inner 

 side which joins on the other bones of the ham by 

 a ball and socket, be first carefully removed. 

 Where this has been neglected, although every 

 other care has been taken, failures and loss has 

 followed. 



Oats are more beneficial to horses if ground ; 

 and hay, if chopped fine. 



