212 
CHINESE SUMMER HOUSE. 
A CHINESE SUMMER HOUSE 
Although we have but little to say a favor of 
the wisdom of the Chinese, there is mich to ad¬ 
mire, as well as to condemn, in that race of men, 
who, separated as they are from the rest of the 
world, without any model to assist them, have been 
able of themselves to mature sciences and invent 
arts. What is really Chinese, has, at least, the 
merit of being original. 
Moreover, we regard China with some degree of 
affection, as the great emporium of curious porce¬ 
lain and as the parent soil of Bohean bowers, 
yielding that precious beverage, “which cheers, 
but not inebriates,” and which enables us to “ drink 
deep” without the sequent evils—for its gardens 
with their meandering rivulets, green groves, dwarf¬ 
like trees, scattered grass plots, mounds, cavities, 
laughing flowers, singing birds, sparkling waters, 
familiar fishes, artificial rock work, and dead trees, 
stuck into the reluctant soil for the sake of variety. 
There are some points in its architecture, too, which 
are both singular and pretty in design, neat in work¬ 
manship, and occasionally graced with features of 
much elegance and picturesqueness, which are 
worthy of imitation by more polished hands. 
Such, for instance, is the little octagonal summer 
house, situate on a pending rock, (fig. 80,) with its 
trellised sides and canopied roof, overshadowed by 
trees, and jutting into the sea. There is a refine¬ 
ment about it, a lightsome prettiness, and fitness, 
which recommend it to the notice of gentlemen of 
taste, particularly those residing on the Hudson, 
the Ohio, or any bluff or promontory overhang¬ 
ing the ocean, a river, a valley, or a plain. 
Pulse of Various Animals. —The pulse of seve¬ 
ral of our domestic animals, as given by Vatel in 
his “Veterinary Pathology,” is nearly as follows : 
—Horse, from 32 to 38 pulsations per minute * ox 
or cow, 35 to 42 ; ass, 48 to 54 ; sheep, 70 to 79 ; 
goat, 72 to 76; dog, 90 to 100; cat 110 to 120; 
rabbit 120; Guinea pig, 140; duck, 136; hen, 140. 
THE COTTON CROP—COTTON BLOOMS—EARLY 
FROSTS. 
We extract the following table from the “ Charles¬ 
ton Mercury,” of the dates of the appearance of 
the cotton blooms and of the first frosts, by which 
it would seem that a late spring is almost invariably 
followed by an early frost:— 
Y ears. 
When in Bloom. 
First Frost. 
1836 
4th June 
14th Oct. 
1837 
27th May 
27th Oct. 
1838 
14th June 
7th Oct. 
3839 
24th May 
7th Nov. 
1840 
6th June 
17th Oct. 
1841 
10th June 
15th Oct. 
1842 
17th May 
1st Nov. 
1843 
12th June 
15th Oct. 
1844 
31st May 
30th Oct. 
1845 
30th May 
3d Nov. 
1846 
10th June 
1st Nov. 
1847 
29th May 
27th Nov. 
1848 
1st June 
30th Nov. 
1849 
15th June 
-—... 
In 1837, it will be seen that the first blooming 
of cotton was on the 27th of May, and the crop 
was 1,801,497 bales. In 1839, cotton bloomed on 
the 24th of May, and the crop was 2,177,835 bales. 
In 1842, it bloomed on the 37th of May, and the 
crop was 2,379,460 bales. In 1844, it bloomed on 
the 31st of May, and the crop was 2,030,409 bales. 
In 1845, it bloomed on the 30th of May, and the 
crop was 2,415,488 bales. In 1848’, it bloomed on 
the 1st of June, and the crop, aided by a very late 
fall, was about 2,700,000 bales. In 1849, it bloom¬ 
ed on the 15th of June, and this, with many other 
reasons, indicate that the present will be a short 
crop. In the first place, the cotton was generally 
up on the 15th of April, when we had snow and 
sleet, and on three or four following days heavy 
frosts, which occasioned an almost general destruc¬ 
tion of the plant throughout the cotton-growing 
region. This made it necessary to replant, and 
thus the crop had a very late start. In the next 
place, after replanting, there was a drought, which 
; lasted till late in May, and by the time the plant 
had made its appearance above ground, it had 
bloomed in the years 3839, 7 42,’44,’45, and’48. 
The present crop, therefore, is about three weeks 
behind. 
Interesting Fact in Grafting. —Du Hamel, 
the celebrated French pomologist and horticulturist, 
ingrafted a young lemon, of the size of a pea, upon 
the branch of an orange tree. It grew there, 
ripened, and had all the qualities of the lemon, 
without partaking of any of the properties of the 
orange. It is evident, in this instance, that the 
stalk of the lemon changed the color, taste, and 
smell of the juices of the orange tree. And from 
this experiment, we have reason to conclude, that 
all the different figures, colors, tastes, and smells, 
which we find in different plants, are formed in the 
plants themselves. 
A Happy Farmer. —I am a true laborer. I earn 
that I eat—get what I wear—owe no man hate— 
envy no man’s happiness—glad of other men's 
good—content with my farm; and the greatest of 
my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs 
suck.— Shakspeare. 
