1861. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



409 



Burance that they were perfectly free from all in- 

 ivjntion or tendency to deceive and defraud the 

 unwary. But to comply with this requirement, 

 BO far at least as to demand, from all who might 

 offer advertisements for insertion, a good and 

 sutficient guarantee of their perfect freedom from 

 any intention to deceive or defraud, and even 

 from any tendency in that direction, would im- 

 pose upon publishers a very delicate, disagreea- 

 ble, and difficult task — one, indeed, which would 

 he often quite impracticable. Accordingly it has 

 come to be generally understood and mutually 

 assented to between readers and publishers, that 

 while all advertisements of an indecent chai-acter, 

 and all which are obviously intended merely to 

 enable knaves to fleece and rob the unwary, are 

 to be strictly excluded, there may nevertheless be 

 admitted a large class, in regard to the good faith 

 or honorable intentions of those offering which, 

 no guarantee can be obtained. There are a great 

 many advertisements which, though of a quite 

 dubious character, there might be no impropriety 

 in inserting, provided the publishers have no op- 

 portunities for judging of them and determining 

 their true character and purpose superior to those 

 which their readers have, or may readily put 

 themselves in possession of, and provided also 

 that the publishers have distinctly announced to 

 their readers, or are sure that their readers un- 

 derstand, that the insertion of any advertisement 

 in their columns does not imply that they have 

 implicit confidence in its freedom from fraudulent 

 intent, or that they are giving any sanction to its 

 pretensions by the mere insertion of it. 



But time and space forbid farther details. This 

 we regret, as some of our remarks may be misun- 

 derstood without further explanation, as they 

 would be, certainly, if it were supposed that we 

 intend to cast any reflections upon our publish- 

 ers. On the contrary, we would rather praise 

 them, for none of them have published such a no- 

 table advertisement, or any so evidently intended 

 to rob the farmers, as that of the Japan Wheat 

 schemers. Our main aim has been to impress 

 upon the farmers the need of great caution in 

 dealing with certain advertisers of seeds, trees, 

 implements, manures, cattle-food, &c., and the 

 importance of exercising their own judgment and 

 a wide-awake watchfulness, instead of depending 

 upon others. As helps to such self-protection, 

 the readers of the Fanner ought to be duly sen- 

 sible of their obligations to Mr. Bassett for his 

 excellent suggestions. More Anon. 



MOBTALITY FROM DHINKINQ- BEER. 



A Washington correspondent of the Baltmore 

 Clipper thus accounts for the sickness prevailing 

 in some of the New York regiments : 



The proportion of deaths in one or two of the 

 New York regiments is far beyond what is reason- 

 able, or in the nature of things necessary. The 

 Albany regiment suffers heavily. Intemperance 

 is the chief, if not the only cause of this. I learn 

 that whilst whisky is disallowed the men, they 

 are permitted to indulge in malt liquors, and es- 

 pecially lager beer, to their utmost will, under the 

 very mistaken impression that such drinks are not 

 injurious. In very warm weather, malt liquors 

 are far more dangerous than alcoholic ones, by 

 reason of their rapid generation of acidity in the 



stomach, and thereby causing choleric symptoms 

 of varied character. 



A striking instance of the ill effects of malt li- 

 quors in very warm weather, was furnished in the 

 town of Newark, Ohio, in the latter part of the 

 very hot and dry weather of 18.34. Within the 

 short space of thirty-six hours, from thirty to for- 

 ty persons died of what was called cholera. At 

 first the faculty and the public were stunned at 

 this mortality, but a little investigation showed 

 that in every instance, the disease was caused by 

 beer drinking. In several instances, the victims 

 resorted to beer to quench the thirst of fever. It 

 is believed that every one who did so, perished. 

 The only drinks for some time allowed by the au- 

 thorities of the town were alcoholic, and as a 

 good price was charged for them, the chance was 

 that they were better than usual. 



For tlie NctP England Farmer. 



DOES DRAINAGE INJURE LAND BY 

 LEACHING P 



BY JUDGE FRENCH. 



It is a frequent objection to thorough draining, 

 that it must carry off the salts of the manure ap- 

 plied to the soil, and the natural elements of fer- 

 tility which it contains. 



This objection is heard only from those who 

 have not had faith or enterprise enough to at- 

 tempt any experiments, because, although it rests 

 on some basis of truth, it is insignificant, when 

 compared with the advantages of drainage. 



Without entering upon the discussion of the 

 vexed question, whether manures are lost more 

 by evaporation or by sinking, it is doubtless true, 

 that those parts of manure usually termed salts 

 have a downward tendency, and pass to some ex- 

 tent through the soil. 



Common salt applied to land in sufficient quan- 

 tities to destroy all ordinary vegetation sinks out 

 of the way in about three years so as to produce 

 no visible effect. We know that salt is not evap- 

 orated, because it is readily made by the evapora- 

 tion of salt water, the water passing off into the 

 air, and leaving the salt into the pans. 



Some of the non-volatile portions of manure 

 are taken up by our crops in their growth, some 

 are seized upon by new chemical affinities in the 

 soil, and some no doubt sink below the reach of 

 roots, and pass off in the natural or artificial 

 drainage of the field. 



All productive lands are drained either by na- 

 ture or art. The water which falls on them must 

 escape by some means, and evaporation cannot 

 carry away half of it. If it do not escape, it is 

 stagnant in the soil, and destroys all valuable 

 vegetation. We see, then, that this objection is 

 too broad, and applies as well to our high, dry 

 lands, where the water line in summer is ten or 

 twenty feet below the surface, as to land drained 

 by art to the depth of four feet. 



