292 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



sive use, Kanawha gas wells could fur- 

 nish these serial vessels with an abun- 

 dance of inflammable air, and a sufficien- 

 cy for all the ballooning which the world 

 may ever require. 



The coldness of, the water in the deep 

 wells at Kanawha, which, are deeper, than 

 the far-famed artesian well of Qrenoble, 

 Paris, contradicts the theory that the earth 

 increases in temperature as progress is 

 made downward, The New York Mu- 

 nicipal. Gazette contains extensive andide- 

 tailed accounts of the Kanawha Salines. 

 These Salines may be reckoned among 

 the greatest wonders of the. great West. 



The inhabitants of Kanawha county, 

 who are numerous, live upon a crust of a 

 vast gasometer of inflammable air, and 

 should that section of our, continent be- 

 come, like some districts'of South Ame- 

 rica, destitute of ivater, then the gas 

 would become explosive, but even in such 

 a, case it is probable that the absence of 

 water would diminish the gas, and that 

 the great gasometer would become an 

 empty cavern. 



The condensation of this gas has fur- 

 nished the petrolum found in the earth, 

 and the crystalization of the petrolum has 

 produced the bituminous. coal found in the 

 mines — and thus nature is constantly la- 

 boring in the great changes which are 

 continually going forward — the etherial 

 changing* to the malerial, and. the materi- 

 al again, becoming etherial, and thus will 

 continue to labor until the great globe it- 

 self "shall melt with fervent heat," ex- 

 pand its atmosphere, change its orbit for. 

 one of greater eccentricity, take a comet's 

 path, perform a. comet's revolutions until 

 it shall again- acquire density, and then 

 return again to its place in the great sysr 

 tern of worlds, " a new earth" a new crea- 

 tion, E> Meriam. 



elect&o-culture;. 



Much was said ; a year or, two since^ 

 and high expectations raised j relative to 

 accelerating the growth of vegetables by 

 electricity. Plats of ground were encir- 

 cled; by wires buried beneath the surface 

 af tfee soil, and connected with upright 



pointed conductors, for stimulating the 

 growing plants, the operator forgetting 

 that the moist soil, being a free conductor 

 of electricity, dissipated in a moment eve- 

 ry particle of the fluid that came down 

 the rods, and not reaching the plants, and 

 also forgetting that if the soil were not a 

 conductor, the electricity thus brought 

 down could never reach them ; two con- 

 flicting absurdities thus lying at the very 

 threshold. Extraordinary expectations 

 were also raised by the occasional observ- 

 ance of the great luxuriance of some 

 plants.at the- foot of lightning rods — re- 

 sulting from growing in the deep bed of 

 mellow soil, made by digging the hole for 

 the lower end of the rod. 



Accurate scientific experiments have 

 been lately made under the supervision of 

 Professor Solly, of the London Horticul- 

 tural Society, which set the matter final- 

 ly at rest. A. large and powerful cylin- 

 der electric machine was used, and the 

 plants, in pots, within doors, were kept 

 heavily charged, four hours each day, for 

 four weeks ; and although the experiment 

 was varied in many different ways, not the 

 slightest influence could in any case be 

 perceived, either favorable or detrimental 

 to vegetable growth. The plants opera- 

 ted upon, several pots of each sort being 

 taken, were young French beans ; young 

 plants. of the common scarlet geranium ; 

 plants of the strawberry ; seeds of wheat, 

 and seeds of mustard and cress. Expe- 

 riments were afterwards made in the open 

 air, on a, number of different plants, and 

 the machine worked four hours each day 

 for nearly six weeks, but not the slightest 

 difference could be observed between those 

 electrified and those not. 



TfJE BEE. 



The sling of the humble bee is not 

 only severe, but he can sting naany times 

 in succession, as he does not lose his sting 

 in the operation. The honey bee, on the 

 contrary, buries- his sting deep-in the flesh 

 of a person or animal, and as he tears 

 himself away, he leaves the extremity of 

 his body, and tears out a part of his en- 



