General Notices. 2^9 



July, 1830. We have described a barrow of this sort in our Encyclopaedia 

 of Agriculture, 2d edit. p. 380.; but as the engraving there given is very 

 small, we have deemed it advisable to introduce another here, of so very 

 useful a machine. — Cond. 



To poison Rats and Mice. — Mix a pound of plaster of Paris powder 

 thoroughly with ma equal quantity of oatmeaL Place this in a dry place, 

 within reach of the rats ; they will eat of it eagerly, and by the humidity 

 contained in their stomachs, the plaster of Paris will " set," and form an 

 indigestible hard mass, which will occasion death. (Co/. Macerone in 

 Mech. Mag., vol. xvi. p. 14.) 



Furze Tops as a Manure. — " Farmers are cutting large quantities of 

 small Irish furze for manure. It is found that furze, well trodden under 

 the feet of cattle, and mixed with straw, or other materials of the kind, is 

 excellent manure, especially for potatoes, as it keeps the ground open. 

 (Irish Agr. Report in Scotsman of Feb. 20. 1830.) 



Tar used as a Manure. — Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, who wrote A Trea- 

 tise on the Virtue of Tar-water, carried his predilection for tar so far as to 

 use it as a manure ; for Bennett, one of his successors/describing the epis- 

 copal residence at Cloyne, in a letter to Dr. Parr, says, " There is a pretty 

 winding walk of nearly a quarter of a mile long, adorned for great part of 

 its length by a hedge of myrtles 6 ft. high, planted by Berkeley's own hand, 

 which had each of them a large ball of tar put to its roots : the evidence 

 of this fact is beyond contradiction." — G. M. Lynn, Sept. 5. 1828. 



The Profession of a Gardener, and the natural Love of Gardening. — " On 

 observing the pale-faced mechanic hurrying away to his morning labours^ 

 we almost regret, with Rousseau, that great cities should be so numerous ; 

 that mankind should be congregated in such mighty masses ; and think, not 

 without pain, of the many long hours the artisan must pass in the tainted 

 atmosphere of a crowded manufactory. But how different are our feelings 

 on seeing the gardener resuming the badge of his trade, or the ploughboy 

 harnessing his well-trained team ! The toils of both may be hard, but they 

 are, at the same time, surrounded with every thing that is rural and in- 

 viting. The grass springs and the daisy blossoms under their feet ; the sun 

 tells them by his shadows how the day waxes or wanes ; the blackbird sere- 

 nades them from every hedge or tree ; and they enjoy, moreover, the 

 inexpressible pleasure of seeing Nature, in her fairest forms, rewarding most 

 munificently their skill and industry. How does the citizen sigh for such 

 scenes ; and how soon, when his fortune is made, does he hurry away from 

 the confines of a second Babel, to sink the merchant in the gentleman 

 farmer ! Few who are so fortunate strive to rival the handicraftsman by 

 making their own shoes, or any other needful article of dress ; but all, yes 

 all, who are able, strive to trim then- own gardens, and superintend the 

 cultivation of their own property." (Dumfries and Galloway Courier^ 

 Nov. 18. 1822.) 



An American Lady Gardener. — When Lafayette called at Fredericks- 

 burg previously to his departure for Europe, in the autumn of 1784, to pay 

 his parting respects to the mother of Washington, he found her working in 

 the garden, clad in domestic-made clothes, and her gray head covered by 

 a plain straw hat. The venerable matron saluted him kindly, observing, in 

 reply to the encomiums which Lafayette had lavished upon his hero, and 

 paternal chief: " I am not surprised at what George has done, for he 

 was always a very good boy." {North American Review.) 



Botany and Planting. — A correspondent of the Bristol Mirror (G. C), 

 in speaking of Mr. Miller's liberal plan for a botanical garden, says, in proof 

 of the advantages of a taste for planting, accompanied with and assisted by 

 botanical researches, " Mr. Robertson, formerly Surveyor of the Woods 

 and Forests, has often declared to me that he knew of no surer way of 



