144 
EXPERIMENTS AMONG FARMERS. 
able degree, and the air on coming out of the 
bell glass contains just as much ammonia as it 
did on its entry. Moreover, had the ammonia 
of the air been wholly assimilated by the plants, 
this conclusion would not be invalidated, since 
the quantity of ammonia introduced by the air, 
during the four months the experiment has been 
going on, does not exceed 0.75 or 1.15 grains, a 
quantity too small to have had any considerable 
influence. 
So that the consequence to be deduced from 
the mere inspection of the bell glass is, that the 
nitrogen of the air has been directly assimilated 
by the plants, and that the ammonia in the air 
has had no sensible influence. This being as¬ 
certained, 1 next proceeded to determine the 
influence that a given quantity of ammonia, 
added to the air, would in its turn, have on veg¬ 
etation. 
For this purpose, I got more of the seeds on 
which the first experiment was made, and put 
them in pots under a bell glass as before. The 
air inside the glass was renewed, and 5 and 
afterwards 7 per cent, of carbonic acid was 
added as before. In short, the only difference 
was, that in this new experiment, a certain quan¬ 
tity of ammonia was daily introduced under the 
bell glass. 
From the very first day, the influence of the 
addition was manifested. The leaves of the 
plants became tinged with a fresher and bright¬ 
er green; the stems rose higher, the branches 
more numerous,had more leaves; all the plants, 
however, were not affected to the same degree, 
the greatest change being observed in the cere¬ 
als. -* 
In pure air, the cereals were sickly, blanched, 
their stems laid down instead of growing up¬ 
right ; in air containing ammonia, they were 
strong, straight, and from their upright stems 
sprung numerous leaves. So that a second con¬ 
clusion may be drawn from the mere inspection 
of the apparatus, namely, that ammonia is fa¬ 
vorable to the development of plants, and more 
especially to that of cereals .—By M. Ville, in 
Complex Rendus. Trans, for Gard. Chron. 
— : ——»©»-- 
SWAMP DRAINING OF SOUTHERN LANDS. 
We have the following results of swamp 
draining, from one of the most enterprising and 
intelligent of our friends in South Carolina :_ 
“My swamps work pretty well this winter. 
They made a crop last year which equalled my 
highest expectations. In this section, 500 pounds 
of seed cotton per acre is an excellent crop, and 
the average of the state about 400 pounds. 
On my oldest 300 acres of swamp, I averaged 
930 pounds, and on my best acre, which had in 
it 30 trees standing, 14 upturned roots, and 
numberless stumps, I made 2,746 pounds. This 
was not better land than a greater portion of 
the rest, but was dried earlier, being in the fork 
of two ditches. I think eventually, I shall aver¬ 
age 2,000 pounds on all of it.” 
--- 
Me CULLUM’S DOUGH MIXER AND BISCUIT 
MACHINE. 
The improved machinery for manufacturing 
biscuit, recently patented by Messrs. Me Cullum ? 
is becoming into general use, so much so that 
not a bakery in the country should be without 
it. 
Dough Mixer.—Fig. 22. 
The dough mixer is stated to be capable of 
working off 75 barrels of flour in a day; and 
the cutting machine, when employed by steam 
Cutting Machine.—Fig. 23. 
power, will cut the dough into crackers, of 60 
barrels, or by hand power, 40 barrels of flour in 
the same time. 
: lip—- 
EXPERIMENTS AMONG- FARMERS. 
One of our most intelligent and largest South¬ 
ern planters, thus puts forth battle against our 
worthy Reviewer: “ He makes the very absurd 
points, that we must take such improvements as 
we can get, and not expect complete ones, as if 
incomplete ones were of any more value than 
a rotten egg.” Not so fast, Dear Sir. In the 
absence of our very worthy captain, just now, 
we say for him, we accept the comparison of 
the egg, but not the addling, unless the experi 
