AGRICULTURAL PUBLICATIONS. 
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from what Dr. Gardner has so briefly written upon 
tobacco. While we would recommend to all 
writers upon agriculture to use the plainest and 
most simple language possible to convey their 
meaning, our readers must not complain if we 
occasionally get them “ flabbergasted with a flood 
of technicalities;” hoping, thereby, if no other 
result comes of if, that we may “ pique” them 
to become more intelligent farmers, if not learned 
men. 
(c) The common dictionaries very imperfectly 
explain scientific terms, and for this purpose it 
would be well for every agriculturist to possess 
Johnson’s Farmer’s Encyclopedia, a work of about 
1200 pages, double columns, octavo. But as the 
cost of this ($4) is rather more than many can 
afford, it is Dr. Gardner’s intention to soon pub¬ 
lish a cheap little work, familiarly explaining the 
scientific terms of agriculture. 
“Ammonia,” says Johnson, “was first prepared 
in the east from camel’s dung. It is known in 
commerce under the name of hartshorn , sal vola¬ 
tile, &c., and is prepared by the dry or destructive 
distillation of animal substances. It is composed of : 
Hydrogen, - 0.125 
Azote or Nitrogen, - - 1.75 
“ Fresh urine contains phosphate of ammonia, 
muriate of ammonia, and lactate of ammonia, and 
there is perhaps no fertilizer more powerful in its 
effects than this.” 
Johnson devotes three broad pages of his work 
to an explanation of ammonia, its effects on vege¬ 
tation, &c., &c. How was it possible, then, for 
Dr. Gardner, in writing his essays on tobacco, to 
do more than make use of the word, presupposing 
that his readers understood what he meant ? He 
might with as much propriety be called upon to 
define the word “ tobacco,” itself. We will farther 
add, that ammonia is found strongly perfuming 
the air of a horse-stable and privies, especially if 
closely confined ; rising up from manure heaps and 
decaying animal matter; at gas-works, &c., &c.; 
for all which information, ladies who carry harts¬ 
horn in smelling bottles, will not probably thank 
us for detailing; yet if it will only cause them 
to throw the vile, unhealthy things aside, we shall 
be glad ; for we have no more affection for the 
smelling bottle than we have for the segar or 
tobacco pipe. 
( d) Perhaps C. D. may not be aware of it, but 
we have often heard certain hard-fisted farmers 
complain quite as much about plain, practical arti¬ 
cles, as others do about scientific ones. They say 
on reading them, “ Well, you have told us nothing 
new now; we were aware of all that simple 
business before; you can’t teach us anything from 
books, no how.” 
( e ) It is a superb plant, full grown, and bears a 
handsome flower; but here ends our admiration 
of it, and we wish we could say that we had never 
seen it snuffed, or chewed, or had its noxious smoke 
puffed into the air we are often obliged to inhale. 
It is a thoroughly disgusting weed after being 
dried, used in any way or form; and we wish that 
our lot had been cast forward to live in a more 
refined age, when the loathsome thing, as we 
hope, will be utterly abominated, and the millions 
which are now spent in the filthy habits of smo¬ 
king, chewing, and snuffing, will be appropriated 
to enlighten the minds and reform the hearts of 
our people, and thus better fit them for a pleasu¬ 
rable, moral, and intellectual existence. 
(/) In what C. D. says here we perfectly agree 
with him, and writers who use far-fetched or un¬ 
common words to express their ideas, when more 
simple ones would better answer their purpose, 
remind us of the high-flown language of a certain 
lady, who thus reproved a gentleman for saying, 
“You know, madam, that you can not make a 
purse out of a sow’s ear.” 
“ Oh, sir, please fan me! I have intimations of 
a swoon ! When you use that odious specimen of 
vulgarity again, why don’t you clothe it in a more 
refined phraseology? You should have said, it is 
impossible to fabricate a pecuniary receptacle from 
the auricular organ of the softer sex of the genus 
sus.” 
The London Punch thus humorously hits off 
learned terms in his “Farmer’s First Lesson in 
Chemistry 
“ Chemistry is keepun’ a doctor’s shop. An 
atom is a mossel o’ zummut; a bit o’ dust or zand, 
loike. The weight of an atom is the heft on him. 
Light is accordun as it med be; day-light, moon¬ 
light, or candle-light. Heat is that are as come 
out o’ the vire. The effect of heat is, rooastun’ 
mate, bilin’ ’taters; burning your vingers if you 
gets too cloase to’t. Lightnin’ is a thunderbolt 
failin’ out o’ the clouds; a thunderbolt is a thing 
like a clinker. An acid is any sort o’ zour stuff, 
like vinegar or varjus. An alkali is a foreigneerun’ 
name vor zummut or other, may be for a pig ! 
Potash is ashes from under a'pot ! Soda is stuff 
as washer-women uses. Ammonia is one o’ them 
fine names as your gentlefolks gives their darters. 
If you puts zulphuric acid to lime, and makes 
zulphate o’ lime, why, of coorse, if you adds it to 
wuts (oats) you gets zulphate o’ wuts. A simple 
body means a zimpleton, like Zilly Billy at the 
Poorus. The laws of Chemical Union is like the 
laws of any other Union, pretty strictish, and o’ 
coorse every Chemical Union has got a Beadle. 
Chemical Affinity, Attraction, Cohesion, Composi¬ 
tion, Decomposition, Analysis, Synthesis, is a par¬ 
cel of outlandish gibberish. Justus Liebig is zome 
Vrenchman,” [or as others assert, in great wrath, 
Liebig is a—Big-lie. —Ed.] 
There, we think Mr. Punch, in his witty cari¬ 
cature, has pretty well revenged our correspondent 
upon all agricultural chemistry. 
(g ) As to the enormous rates of postage, we go 
the whole length with C. D. against them, and 
have frequently expressed ourselves in the strong¬ 
est terms on this subject in the former volumes of 
our work. We say, abolish the franking privilege 
entirely —not even allowing the President of the 
United States, or any of his Secretaries, or the 
Postmaster General, to frank a single line. Next, 
reduce the charges of letters to the lowest possible 
rates at which they can be carried, which we now 
think might be 5 cents for 250 miles; 10 cents for 
500 miles ; and so on, 5 cents extra for every 250 
additional miles. Then whatever postage should 
