376 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



COST OP ANALYZING SOILS. 



There is evidently a general truth expressed by 

 the homely adage, that "every dog must have his 

 day." A few years since much practical benefit 

 was anticipated by many from cheap analysis of 

 soils. Some men who jnofessed to be learned in 

 these matters, encouraged the idea that, at an ex- 

 pense of only from twenty -five to fifty dollars, an 

 analysis might be made with sufficient accuracy 

 to enable the chemist to detect the cause of the 

 increasing sterility of our farms, and to point out 

 the particular mineral or substance, which, when 

 supplied, would restore their original fertility. It 

 was a plausible theory, and many farmers forward- 

 ed more or less liberal specimens of their soils to 

 be tested by the crucible, and the acids of the 

 chemist. Other farmers sent the ashes of their 

 various crops to the laboratory of the professor, 

 to ascertain what had been taken from the soil on 

 which they grew, and how old mother earth might 

 be most chiefly remunerated for her loss in their 

 production. If these anticii)ations were not fully 

 realized by the Tables of Analysis returned, one 

 fact of no little importance was soon discovered : 

 that is, the cost of the time and materials neces- 

 sary to the operation were greatly underrated. 

 Our own impressions, however, have been that a 

 few hundred dollars would cover the expense of 

 as thorough an analysis as could be made in the 

 present state of chemical knowledge. But this it 

 .now seems is far below the mark. In a late num- 

 of the Philadelphia Farmer and Oardener, Dr. O. 

 E. Pugh, in reply to a correspondent who inquires 

 as to the value and cost of analyzing soils and 

 plants, briefly answers as follows : 



"It will afford the farmer no practical benefit to 

 get either his soil or plant ashes analyzed ; and 

 this, if well done, will cost from $2,000 to $5,000 

 for one analysis." 



HAVE ANIMALS REASONING POWEB ? 



Prof. Agassiz, ii; a lecture in Boston on the ele- 

 phant, said : It is a fav&rite saying that men are 

 governed by reason and animals by instinct ; but 

 1 believe that is all wrong. There is no distinc- 

 tion of kind between the two, but only of degree. 



As we come to the higher animals, we find the 

 brain larger in proportion to the size of the body. 

 But this does not |)rove a difterent kind of activi- 

 ty of these parts, l)ut only difl'erent intensity. 



Now let us see if there is any difl'erence in the 

 mode of action on the brains of men and animals. 

 Every sensation, to be felt, must produce a reac- 

 tion. All animals see, hear, smell and taste as 

 well as we do ; therefore, the reaction must be the 

 same, and the operation, as far as the body is 

 concerned, is the same. Next, our perceptions 

 influence our actions, through the operations of 

 tire mind; and in the animals the same influence 

 upon their action is to be seen; here, again, is 

 perfect similarity. Although the difference of the 

 intensity of these actions may be great in diflt rent 

 animals, yet the principle is the same. 



The animals gratify their appetites, and so do 

 we, and in the same manner. For instance, every- 

 body has seen dogs playing only for the i)leasure 

 of i)laying, just as men do. And what right have 

 we to assume that the motive which influences 

 them is not the same as that influencing us ? 

 Again, animals have memory, just as Ave have, 

 and they can trace the connection between cause 

 and effect ; and this is reason. 



But I will go further ; only mind can communi- 

 cate with mind ; and if animals had no mind, we 

 could have no intercourse with them. Animals 

 can be trained, and this proves the existence of 

 reason ; a connection seen between cause and ef- 

 fect. The means of training animals are the same 

 as those employed for training children : certain 

 sounds are used as signals. This su])poses a per- 

 fect logical process, tracing the sequence of effect 

 from its cause. 



WOMEN'S LONG SEIKTS. 

 Dr. Dio Lewis makes this distinction : "The 

 most earnest efforts looking toward dress reform 

 have had reference to the length of the skirt- 

 May I be permitted a word on this point? I 

 think one of woman's fii'st duties is to make her- 

 self as beautiful as possible. A long skirt, a trail, 

 even, is in fine taste. Amomg the dress features 

 of the stage, none is so beautiful as the long trail. 

 The artist is ever delighted to introduce it in his 

 pictures of women. I confess 1 admire it, and I 

 wish it could be again made common on dress oc- 

 casions. For the drawing-room it is su])erb. If 

 it is said that expense and inconvenience are in- 

 volved, I ask, are they not in paintings, statuary, 

 etc. ? When we meet on dress occasions, I cannot 

 see why we may noi introduce this exquisite fea- 

 ture. For church, and our usual afternoon sit- 

 tings, skirts which wottld nearly touch the floor 

 seem to me in good taste, and every way proper ; 

 but for the street, when wet^ snowy, or mudd}, 

 for the active duties of housekeeping, which in- 

 volves much panning up stairs, for the gymnasium, 

 for mountain trips, etc., I need not argue, with 

 those whose brains are not befogged by fashion 

 that the skirt should fall about to the knee. If 

 Miss Fastidious suggests that the adoption of 

 such a custom w^ould expose the limbs, you have 

 but to^ point to what may be seen in wet weather 

 on the streets. The attem])t to lift long dresses 

 out of the mud displays the lower extremities 

 much more than the shortest skirts. Nothing is 

 more pitiable than this street exhibition, except, 

 perhaps, a woman's attempt to go up stairs with 

 a candle and baby in one hand, and a bowl of cat- 

 nip tea in the other." 



Damage to Sheep.— In the report of the State 

 Board of Agriculture for Ohio it is stated that the 

 number of sheep killed by dogs, in 1SG2, was 

 thirty-six thousand seven hundred and seventy- 

 eight, and during the same period, twenty-four 

 thousand nine hundred and seventy-two were in- 

 jured — the total value of the canine destruction 

 being $lo6,347. 



I^^Tho Utah correspondence of the agricultural 

 department shows that, notwithstanding the drought 

 in the Territory, more corn will be harvested than 

 usual. The discovery of mines in Northern Utah 

 has caused a brisk demand for agricultural pro- 

 ducts. 



