VOL. XXII. NO. II. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



83 



.intaining its ground,) .is if attempting to gain 

 J trios' rear. This attempt, lionever, v/as foiled 



tlie couplets opposing lliem, and tiie fight be- 

 ne general. As either party gained the ascen- 

 ncy, there would be a running, or rather tuinb- 

 g flight all over the field of battle, xvhich eni- 

 iced an area of 20 feet square. Occasionally as 

 : tide of battle left one portion of the ground, 

 jusands might be seen writhing in agony from 

 ! loss of a limb or Hiitcnnae. After a hard fight 

 GH minutes, the trios and conplet.s were victori- 

 3, pursuing the vanijuished into their fortress, 

 en rapine seemed to be the order of the day. 

 le nests of their antagonists were torn to pieces, 

 J their eggs and young borne off triumphant to 

 ! conquerors' fortress. 



The battle ground now exhibited a picture, an 

 ict counterpart in miniature, of other fields of 

 iry. But what interested me most was the ope- 

 ions of their surgeons and their assistants — (now 

 n't smile incredulous.) There was in tliat in- 



t army a regular staff of officers, in their own 

 :uliar uniforms, and surgeons and their atten- 

 its. On the leaves of a large thistle, wliich 

 3 spread on the ground, a body of ants, with 



enish fore-bodies and red antennnc, were gath- 

 d together and eridently conversing, for they 

 uld occasionally touch each other on various 

 ts of their bodies with their antenna;, and when 

 touched, the individual would start off to the 

 d of battle, and running among the stragglers 

 1 wounded for a few moments, return ; and in 

 11, toucli some other one, who started off on the 

 le errand. 



\ few inches from this body, on a neighboring 

 f, were a body of grim, black-looking fellows, 

 whom hundreds of the common soldiers were 

 gging the wounded and dying: wherever a 

 b had been severed from the body, or a wound 



icled, the black surgeon would deposit a drop 

 fluid from its moulh, and then the patient was 

 gged into the citadel. Night had now nearly 



in, and, with reluctance, I was obliged to quit 



scene. Yours, &c. 



H. M. PAINE. 



Value of Corn Fodder. — A writer in the last 

 nher of Hunt's Magazine, has the following re- 

 rk in relation to a peculiar product of industry, 

 which, no doubt, the stalks, as well ns the blades 

 Indian corn are included. " The census of the 

 itcd States omits several products of industry, 



aggregate value of which would make no in- 

 nificant addition to the total amount. Among 

 ise are the blades of Indian corn, an excellent 

 der for horses or cattle, and which, estimating 



nty pounds for every bushel of grain, amounts 

 3,775,000 tons, worth thirtysevcn million seven 

 idred and fifty thousand dollars." 



Stimulant! of Great Men. — It is interesting to 

 ice the diflerent articles used by eminent men, 

 stimulants to the mental faculties. It is inter- 

 ng as showing how diametrically opposite means 

 y, in different systems, produce the same effect, 

 I how much the mind eympathizes with the body. 

 Her drank plentifully of water when lie wished 

 great activity of the brain : Fox, for the same 

 pose, used brandy. The stimulants of Newton 

 1 Hobbes were the fumes of tobacco : those of 

 3e and Fontenelle, strong cofTee. Dr. Johnson, 

 jne period of his life, was a great wine-drinker, 



but in the latter part of it, found strong tea a g»od 

 substitute. Don Jnan is said to have been written 

 under the influence of gin and water; and it is re- 

 ported that a certain legal lord, of great learning 

 and talent, plies himself hard with port when he 

 wi.-ihes to shine. Pitt was a great drinker of wine ; 

 Sheridan, also, was fond of his bottle. Dr. Paris 

 tells us, that when Mr Dunning wished to make 

 an extraordinary display of eloquence, he always 

 put a blister on his chest a few hours before he 

 was to speak, in order that it might irritate the 

 brain by sympathy during his speech. — Selected. 



LUCERNE. 



Lucerne is an artificial grass, which affords a 

 larger produce of fodder than any other species of 

 artificial grass. 'J'his valuable grass is best 

 cultivated on a good, dry, warm, barley soil ; it is 

 not adapted for heavy or wet soils, lieing a deep- 

 rooted plant, it requires a soil that is free. It 

 should be sown on hind perfectly clean, with (or 

 best without) a crop of grain. The last of April 

 is a good time to sow it. Extreme cold destroys 

 it. By frequent top-dressings (for which gypsum, 

 ashes, &c. arc excellent,) the profitable duration 

 of this crop may be extended to eight or ten years, 

 giving during that period, on an average, three or 

 four cuttings per annum. It should always be cut 

 before the appearance of the blossom. It may be 

 made into hay, although much belter adapted for 

 soiling — (that is, fed as cut.) By this plan, an 

 acre will, upon an average, produce fodder for two 

 horses, from the time of the first cutting till Octo- 

 ber. It is admirably adapted for milch cows, and 

 is relished by all live-stock. 



In cutting for a cow, it will always be advisa- 

 ble to take the plant when it is tender and juicy, 

 and such it will be when about a foot high. I 

 have thus cut my plot over six times after the first 

 year. But they who leave the plants to grow two 

 feet high, will find the stems rigid, and less juicy, 

 and that what they gain in bulk will be lost in 

 time and quality. 



Lucerne is known to produce much milk, per- 

 haps more than any oilier of the artificial grosses ; 

 but some complain that it communicates a bitter 

 flavor. I doubt the fact, but would always recom- 

 mend that it be not given quite fresh to a cow, 

 particularly at an early period after calving. If 

 the required quantity be cut over night, it will be 

 fit for the stall by ten o'clock of the following morn- 

 ing, and again the afternoon meal should bo expos- 

 ed to the sun for two or three hours before it is 

 used. 



Lucerne maybe estimated as the choicest of all 

 fodder, because it lasts many years, will bear cut- 

 ting down four, five or six times a year, enriches 

 the land on which it grows, will fatteu cattle, and 

 often proves a remedy for the diseased. — Johnson^s 

 Far. Encyctop. 



"Several years since, while residing in the 

 State of Maine, (says the editor of the Zanesville 

 Gazette,) we made several experiments with lu- 

 cerne, which satisfied us that the most favorable 

 soil for it is a deep, sandy loam ; and as the allu- 

 vial soils on this river (the Ohio,) are generally of 

 this character, we la.st spring resolved on giving it 

 a fair trial here. We procured from Boston a 

 small quantity of seed, which was sown the last 

 week in May. As the soil had been badly man- 

 aged for several years prcTioiis, we had feared that 

 the great growth of weeds would check and smoth- 



er the lucerne, and to guard against this, and get 

 a chance to extirpate the weeds, we sowed the 

 seed in drills. 



" In the latter part of the month of July, the lu- 

 cerne had reached the height of i8 inches on an 

 average, and had considerably blossomed. We 

 cut it and fed it green, partly to hogs and partly to 

 milch cows ; — both ate it voraciously. In just 

 four weeks from the time it was cut, it had again 

 grown to nearly the same height as before, and 

 was cut a second time — and on the first of Novem- 

 ber it was cut a third time, the crop bein^ heavier 

 than either of the preceding. A piece of common 

 red clover (very flourishing) immediately adjoining, 

 the soil precisely similar, did not yield nearly hittf 

 as much, in proportion, as the lucerne. 



" We have no doubt that it may be cut five 

 times another year, and will yield at the rate of a 

 ton and a half of Aa^ to the acre at each cutting." 



Camphine Oil. — The Boston Courier says : " We 

 learn from a gentleman who has curiosity enough 

 to take note of such occurrences, that fortyseven 

 deaths have been caused by the accidental explo- 

 sion of the camphine oil." 



According to this statement, people might as 

 well burn gunpowder candles — or what say you to 

 bunches of Chinese crackers, hung over the tea- 

 table .' Nearly all the improvements of the age, 

 from banks down to Croton water pipes, have this 

 objectionable tendency to blow up. Our civiliza- 

 tion is decidedly of the Vulcanian order, and the 

 march of mind is too often at the ^expense of its 

 own tabernacle, the body. The general order 

 ought to be, "stand from under!" whenever a man 

 announces a great invention. — Chnrleston Mercury. 



Fine Wool. — The Ithaca (N. Y.) Chronicle says 

 that Messrs. L. A. & H. K. Morrell, who own a 

 flock of two thousand Saxons, have disposed of the 

 whole clip at fifty cents per lb. The lot was pur- 

 chased for a prominent manufacturing establish- 

 ment in this city. The fleeces averaged 5 1-2 lbs. 

 per head. Last year, the Messrs. Morrell obtain- 

 ed only 45 1-2 cents for their wools. — Bost. Mas. 



How to Ruiti a Son. — Let hiin have his own 

 way — allow him free use of money — suflTer him to 

 rove where he pleases on the Sabbath day — do 

 not inquire into the character of his companions — 

 call him to no account for his evenings — .furnish 

 him with no stated employment. Pursue this 

 course, and you will experience a most marvellous 

 deliverance, if you have not to mourn over a de- 

 based and ruined child. Thousands have realized 

 the sad result, and have gone mourning to their 

 graves. — Presbyterian. 



Toads. — Never destroy tim toad. In the season 

 of bugs and flies, a toad will do more towards the 

 preservation of a garden, than a man, and all that 

 he requires at your hands for this valuable assis- 

 tance, is the freedom of your garden walks and 

 beds, and the paltry shelter of a chip or turf. He 

 meddles with no one's business but his own — con- 

 stantly avoiding company, and intent only on ex. 

 tirpating those voracious insects by whose jaws 

 the beauty of the garden is so frequently laid low. 

 — Maine Cult. 



It is said that Gov. Shelby, of Kentucky, has a 



hundred acre field of corn that will average 100 

 bushels to the acre. 



