100 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
.foreign ^tgricullnral ]$ms. 
Br the arrival of the steamer Canada, we are in re¬ 
ceipt of our foreignjournalstothe 18 th of January. The 
only matter of interest in the markets, is, that cotton 
has fallen \d. per lb. 
March of Intellect, — In -the 15th century, a cock 
was burnt alive by order of the magistrates of Basle, in 
Switzerland, for having laid an egg, the said chanticleer 
having been convicted of sorcery. Read in the London 
papers the recent letter of Miss Martineau, on Mes¬ 
merism, and the cure of her sick cow, thereby, and 
you will admit that we must not laugh at the medieval 
superstitions. 
Roots in Drain Pipes. —I once found in a drain, 4-£- 
feet deep, a mass of roots which had completely choked 
the inch-and-a-half pipe, though laid but 18 months. 
These roots were from a mangold-wurtzel crop just re¬ 
moved off the land.— Agricultural Gazette. 
Quantity of Carbonic Acid Borne by Plants. —Plants 
will bear five per cent, of this air, in addition to what 
is natural to them ; but they then require exposure to 
very strong light. Probably one or two per cent, is as 
much as it would be safe to use. 
How to Make Cows Calve in the Day Time ..—Every 
one has felt the inconvenience of having his cows calve 
during the night. In all seasons, but especially in 
winter, this is exceedingly annoying, and not only de¬ 
mands continual useless watching, on the part of the 
cow keeper, but also often, indirectly, causes the death 
of the calf and its mother. How it has been ascertained 
by a person living in the neighborhood of Utrecht, that 
a cow with calf, milked for the last time at night in¬ 
stead of in the morning, calves in the day and not at 
night. Out of 30 co\vs on which the experiment was 
tried, only 8 or 4 are mentioned by M. Numon, Pro¬ 
fessor of Agriculture at Utrecht, as being exceptions. 
As confirming the above statement, we may mention 
the fact, that a large farmer in the Campine has also 
tried the same plan with success.— Flore des Serres. 
Animals by Nature Wild. —Speaking of the leveret, 
it is worthy of remark that this animal being ferae na¬ 
turae, is one of the most difficult to tame, permanently, 
of all creatures. The late Sir John Sebright called on 
me some years ago, to see my collection of robins, of 
which he had heard so much; and during a lengthened 
conversation of great interest to both of us, he put me 
in possession of many singular facts with respect to 
animals “ by nature wild.” To mention only two: Sir 
John told me he had procured some eggs of the wild 
duck, and placed them under a domestic hen. They 
were hatched in due course, fed, and brought up with 
the other chickens, ducks, &c., in the poultry yard. 
Still, they gave early signs of the wildness of their na¬ 
ture. They were pinioned, and thus made appa¬ 
rently tame; but when the wing feathers reappeared, 
the birds one day, on a slight alarm, took flight, and 
disappeared altogether. 
The second instance of natural wildness being in¬ 
domitable, presented itself in the case of some half 
dozen wild rabbits, taken from the nest soon after they 
were kindled. Sir John lavished on them much of his 
attention ; tried every means to tame them; all in vain 
The animals gave early evidence of the instinct of their 
nature, and were ultimately let loose to run riot in a 
warren.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Preservation of Timber. —The Hospitium, at York, 
consists principally of oak timber, which has never 
been painted. It is many centuries old, and is sound 
to this day. 
The oak timber employed in old churches for pews, 
and found in old ruined castles, where it was used for 
beams, as for example at Stone House, in Hereford¬ 
shire, and in our most ancient buildings for roofs, has 
never been painted; all these are many centuries old, 
and yet they are sound in most cases. 
The wooden fence, of rent oak, fixed about 27 years 
since round the garden of the Horticultural Society, 
was never painted. The pales are as sound as ever. 
The only decay is in the posts, where they go into the 
earth; and there the sap wood is rotten, as usual. 
About 28 years since, a slight fence was put up near 
where we are writing; it was cut out of Lombardy 
poplar, just felled, and was immediately fixed. After 
being erected, it was coated well with boiling coal tar, 
which sunk deeply into the soft wood. That fence was 
sound for full 20 years, and exists now, though in a 
decayed condition. 
Question 1. Would it have stood at all without tar ? 
Question 2. Would it have stood longer had it been 
seasoned before being tarred ?— Agricultural Gazette. 
How to Saturate Peat Charcoal with Ammonia. —A 
friend of mine has a quantity of it. How shall he treat 
it so as to get it saturated with ammonia ? At present 
he has some flour barrels, with a few gimlet holes in 
the bottom, three parts filled with charcoal, into which 
are poured the urine of the feeding cattle.- The liquid 
after standing for some time in the cask, is drained off, 
and a fresh quantity poured on. After how long a 
time, or how many saturations of urine will be suffi¬ 
cient to prepare the charcoal ? Is this the best or 
proper method? Can the charcoal be used for top¬ 
dressing for grass or wheat, or is it the best for turnips ? 
I suppose it must be kept from wet. The charcoal 
has been prepared, and most satisfactorily and cheaply, 
in a kiln, or furnace rather, used for making small coal 
into coke; it was burnt for 48 hours, and the peat lost 
two thirds of its weight, but not very much of its bulk. 
Should this same charcoal turn out half so valuable as 
Mr. Jasper Rogers would have people suppose, the 
farmers in some parts of this district will be able to 
supply themselves with any quantity, at less than Is. 
6cZ. per cwt. [The charcoal may be used so long as 
the liquid coming through it seems purified by the 
filtration; and that can be ascertained by sight and 
smell; or by adding acid, which will make old liquor 
effervesce if it be not well filtered. Charcoal thus 
treated will be a capital top-dressing for grain 
crops.]— Ibid. 
