AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION.-A PRODUCTIVE FARM.-CATTLE YARD. 
27 
No more new plants the earth to Clusius yields, 
He therefore seeks them in the Elysian fields. 
The garden is subdivided by hedges in the formal 
style, is most excellently arranged, and contains 
many fine and rare trees and plants. A Fraxinus 
ornus, or flowering ash, is shown, which is said 
to have been grafted by Boerhave himself. It is 
grafted about a foot from the ground, upon a com¬ 
mon ash stock, and the stem nearly twelve feet 
high is covered with numerous knobs, which pro¬ 
duce a singular effect. In one of the houses was 
the “Palm of Clusius,” a Chamceropshumilis, 20 
feet high, and about 240 years old, with about fifty 
other varieties. We were also shown a fine gingko 
tree, about 35 feet high. It yields its flowers every 
season, early in the summer. 
I have seen no garden so well arranged as this. 
Great care is taken to bring together as much as 
possible, and classify in subdivisions all those 
plants which belong to the same natural family. 
One house is appropriated to aloes, of which there 
is a large collection; one of the American species 
is 100 years old. The Cape plants are kept in a 
separate house, and number many fine varieties; 
the Chorizyma with its small orange and scarlet 
flower, and the Photea argentea, with its silvery 
foliage. A fine specimen was shown of the Pan- 
danus utilis from Mauritius, and the Pinus lan- 
ceolata, a beautiful new pine from New Holland. 
There was a collection of orchideous plants—100 
species of cactus, 70 kinds of figs, and a salicetum, 
containing 70 species of willows. The plants used 
in medicine are grouped by themselves, qnd all the 
herbaceous plants are arranged according to Lin¬ 
naeus. Farther improvements are making in the 
ground, and the Leyden Botanic Garden will soon 
have, if such is not already the case, few rivals in 
Europe. We certainly saw nothing of the kind on 
the Continent, which pleased us equally well, and 
no garden there, excepting perhaps that of Padua, 
could compare with it for excellence of arrange¬ 
ment. 
In the vicinity of Leyden are many villas; but 
no pleasure grounds worthy the attention of a 
visitor. They are all in the same taste; both 
house and garden are hidden by rows and small 
groves of trees, or by tall evergreen hedges. The 
meadows in Holland exhibit luxuriant vegetation, 
and it is from these old pastures that Dutch butter 
has derived its celebrity for richness of flavor. 
These are seldom pastured by cattle, and the soiling 
system is generally practised. Land of indifferent 
quality is rented in Holland at 15 guilders, or$6 
per acre, and the best at $60 the acre, besides the 
heavy taxes for the support of the dykes, &c. 
Holland was well characterized by Sir William 
Temple, when he said:—“ It is like the sea in a 
calm, and looks as if, after a long contention be¬ 
tween land and water which it should belong to, it 
had at length been divided between them.” The 
greater part is in meadow, and some good wheat is 
occasionally produced. The soil, however, could 
scarcely be deemed rich. In some places it is 
scarcely better than sand, tinged with alluvial de¬ 
posit. In other places, muddy deposits have form¬ 
ed over the sand, making a clayey soil of no very 
excellent character. Here is seen strikingly 
evinced, what industry, perseverance, and high 
cultivation will do; for although her soil cannot 
compete with the German States, in the production 
of grain, yet the meadows of Holland and her 
dairies may well compete with the far-famed Devon¬ 
shire cream, or our own Orange county butter. 
S. B. Parsons. 
Flushing, Long Island, Dec. 16, 1845. 
American Agricultural Association.— This 
Association held its regular meeting on Wednesday, 
the 3d of December last. The President being ab¬ 
sent, the chair was taken by Doct. Alexander H 
Stevens, one of the Vice-Presidents. The night 
being very stormy, there Was but a thin attendance 
The minutes of the last meeting were read and ap¬ 
proved. Dr. Field stated that he received last 
spring a specimen of spring wheat, of a superior 
variety, from Mr. Hays, of Montreal, with the un¬ 
derstanding that it should be sown, and the result 
communicated to the Association. The wheat was 
sown in drills, nine inches apart. It came to ma¬ 
turity in good season, produced a fine berry and 
strong straw. It would be sown again next year, 
when it was hoped that there would be a sufficient 
produce for distribution among the members of the 
society. 
Mr. A. Stevens, in pursuance of an invitation at 
the November meeting, exhibited some casts and 
pictures of cattle, and made some remarks in rela¬ 
tion to them, and stock in general. Some informal 
conversation then followed among the members, 
when the meeting was adjourned. 
A Productive Farm. —The New England 
Farmer, in giving a brief extract from the account 
which has been going the rounds of the papers, of 
Mr. Go wan’s farm, near Philadelphia, says, there 
must be some “ guessing in stating these quantities 
of products as common yields.” Perhaps there 
might have been; but I must be allowed to know 
something about Mr. Gowan’s farming operations, 
having spent several days at his hospitable man¬ 
sion, and had an opportunity of looking over his 
farm book. I have no doubt of the accuracy of his 
accounts. I saw the milk measured from day to 
day, from one of his Durham cows, which was 31 
to 31 £ quarts per day. I wish every farmer in the 
United States could see Mr. G.’s crops when they 
are gathered; they would think if there was any 
“ guessing ” in the matter, it was rather under than 
over their actual value. Samuel Allen. 
New York, Dec. 17, 1845. 
Cattle Yards. —Keep the bottom of these as 
dry and comfortable for the stock as possible, so 
that when it thaws or rains, the animals will not 
be obliged to stand in the mud. Cattle yards should 
always be well littered. Litter adds largely to the 
manure heap, and not less to the comfort of the 
stock. Don’t complain that you have no litter; 
look about you and you will find it. 
When not to take up a Tree. —An experienced 
transplanter of trees says, it is a maxim with him 
never to take up a tree while the sap circulates, as 
it will be more or less detrimental to iff 
