SOIL AND ITS PROBABLE ORIGIN. 
NUMBER II. 
There arc three very strong proofs, of 
the truth of the proposition advanced in 
my last number, that soil is not, in its pres¬ 
ent state and shape, an original creation, 
but the result of the destruction and pul¬ 
verization of known bodies compo.sing the 
present rocky frame and structure of the 
globe. 
First —The smallest particle of soil is 
corjcposed of precisely the same materials in 
density, color, and chemical composition, as 
some one of tlie rocky constituents of the 
The particles arc all rounded, 
frem the atom of sand, throug'ii all thegi-ados 
of gravel, up to the bouldci-s weighing tons. 
Thirdly—Tho surface of all the rocks, 
remaining in their original place of creation, 
are ground, scratched, or polished^ by the 
attj-ition of moving bodies. 
Three ipiarters, or thereabouts, ot the en¬ 
tire soil of the globe, is silex (sand, flint, 
quartz.) which is one of the principal con¬ 
stituents of the primitive granite, and of the 
sodemoiituy sandstones, the disentegration 
and pulverization of which undoubtedly 
THE SILK FATLIIRE. 
CLOVER SEED. 
have furnished a considerable part, as have 
the slates and the immense beds of clay. 
The silicious particles composing sand, 
and the gravels and stones, composed of all 
varieties and formation of rock, up to the 
largest bouldei’s, arc all ropnded and have 
the unmistakeable appearance of having 
b(ien rolled, and ground into their present 
shape; and this appearance holds good, 
wiicrevei: dispersed in the soil, at hundreds 
of feet below the surface. - It is a fair pre¬ 
sumption, that there W{;re no .stones, bould¬ 
ers, or rounded masses, originally created— 
that they promiscous, broken masses, the 
result of earthquakes — the upheaval of 
mountains, and the terrible commotions of 
primeval chaos, and are entirely due to sec¬ 
ondary (“auses. 
All the sui-face rocks under the soil, that 
has not been e.xposed, exhibit marks and 
scratches, and the wearing and polishing 
effects of liaving had millions of tons of 
stone and gravel pa.ss over them, under great 
pressure and velocity—during which opera¬ 
tion immense quantities of tine pulverized 
matter would have been created, and of a 
form and consistency, coinciding with the 
• present soil. The appearances of these marks 
and scratches are in one direction, or nearly 
so, on this -sjjiole (jontinent; being north and 
south, generally bearing east of south, with 
occasional variations, conforming to moun¬ 
tain ranges, or the great valley drainages; 
and from the nature of the composition of 
the stones and boulders, they can in most 
cases, b<i traced to their original positions, 
often far to the north, showing that the cur¬ 
rents that bore them over the surface, came 
from that direction. 
These Aiews, Avith slight variations, are 
the conclusions that tlie most learned and 
close observers have arrived at, by the most 
searching investigations that human reason 
is capable of instituting. 
In my next number i Avili give the pre¬ 
vailing suppositions of the agents, and pow¬ 
ers in action, that performed the great move¬ 
ment that created the present drift or soil. 
R. T. 
Riga, Mouroe Co., loiiO. 
THE BINGHAM SHEEP. 
The great excitement — Its jiovuLarify — Cure for 
nervousness—The liohoii Upas — Fortune with 
wings — Mysterious knockings — Golden squashes 
or cow cabbage. 
Mr. Editor: —What a change has come 
over the dreams of the silk culturists, and 
the speculators in Morus Multicaulis. To 
Avhat mutations, changes, and revolutions 
are things as well as oftinions subject. Only 
ten or tAvelve years ago, and the groAving of 
the mulbeny and manufacture of silk was 
the leading topic of the day. Papere Avere 
established, devoted to that department.— 
Hundreds of reels, doublers and twistei-s, 
cradles and feeders were invented, and pat¬ 
ented. Thousands of acres Avere planted 
with tlie Italian Mulberry, the only kind then 
knoAvn. A single farmer in this county, had 
such a number of seedlihg.s, that he offered 
if any one Avould take them at one cent a 
piece, he should bo Avelcome to the farm.— 
No County or State Agileultural Society’s 
premiums were complete, till.offei’S of large 
aAA'ards Avere made for cocoons, raAV and 
manufactured silk; and ever}’ political and 
agricultural paper, teemed Avith notices — 
its various interests and progressions. Eve- 
ry body that aspired to be any body, dab¬ 
bled in experimenting Avith the horrid ani¬ 
mals, that Avere to pi’oduce them fortunes. 
Even delicate ladies, aa'Iio imagined they had 
nerves, handled the disgusting, ci-eaturos, 
Avith all the non-chalencc of the Chinese 
i 'pong 'pongs, Avho eat them. 
Then came a single plant from the Phil- 
hpine Islands—a Bohon TJ'pas, that blasted 
the Avhole structure and superstructure, and 
leveled it Avith the earth. Farms and fac¬ 
tories, bank stock and brick buildings Avere 
bartered for a slip of the famed Morirs J^Iul- 
ticaulis. The fever raged and Avas contagious 
— the tree greAV and multiplied exceeding¬ 
ly. At the first frost it died, and Avith it 
worms and speculators — and silken hopes. 
During the multicaulis fever, fortunes Avere 
made as suddenly as during the land spec¬ 
ulation of 1839—and like that little indis¬ 
cretion of the mad-cap world, but feAV if any 
Aveathered the storm, Avith any thing more 
than bare poles. 
It is sometimes profitable to look back at 
the follies and over doings of the Avorld, if 
AA'e could learn Avisdom by the survey; but 
the love of gain is paramount to all the j 
rnysterious knoch'ngs of Avarning or exjieri- 
ence. ’J'here is no doubt but that, if some 
Yankee genius, under proper auspices, with 
a bag of pumpkin seeds, duly puffed and 
endorsed as the golden squash of California, 
Avere to spring up, he would set this excit¬ 
able AA'orld agog, Avith gTcater zeal than they 
ever exhibited in running after tree corn or 
Rohan potatoes—multicaulis or coav cab¬ 
bage trees. 
There is .no manner of doubt, but the 
manufacture of silk is entirely feasible and 
compatible Avith our climate, habits, and 
abilities. A great source of revenue to our 
rural population, and to the country, has 
been lost, or put back for at least one gen¬ 
eration, by the eagerness and cupidity of 
our citizens, to suddenly realize fortunes by 
speculation, rather than by a steady coui-se 
of industiy and perscrverance. n. v. 
In purchasing clover seed for spring sow¬ 
ing, it is important to procure seed of the 
past season’s groAvth; not that we maintain 
that old seed when properly kept will not 
L'eai*s 
grow, but when kept over one or more y 
it is apt to heat, and thus destroy its ger¬ 
minating qualities. 
New seed ahvays looks bright; there is a 
polished lustre on the grains, by Avhich it 
can easily be distinguished. The old seed 
has a dull, mealy, dusty surface, that can 
hardly be mistaken if examined closely.— 
Such seed should not be chosen, if a better 
and neAver kind can be procured. 
Some years old seed is destroyed by a 
minute Aveevil, in the same manner as the 
pea—only the insect does not belong to the 
caleopterous tribe; it is the smallest possi¬ 
ble naked winged fly. The holes in the 
seed can be seen Avith good eyes, so that no 
one need be deceived in it. 
PREPARING AND SOWING CLOVER OR 
TIMOTHY SEED. 
Eds. Cultia'ator — Take one bushel of 
clover seed, put it in a pile on your barn 
floor. Make 3 gallons of pickle, not quite 
strong enough to bear an egg, put it on the 
seed, mix it thoroughly, in the evening Avith 
a paddle or shovel, and then spread it on 
the floor, 4 inches thick. The next morn¬ 
ing, AA'et it again as aboA'^e; then mix about 
one peck of plaster, by sprinkling 2 quarts 
upon it at a time, well stirred; spread out 
your heap again, and so on, till you have it 
so AA'^ell dried with plaster that the seed Avill 
not stick together. Sow Avhile the seed is 
damp. One bushel thus prepared AA'ill make 
ov'er one and a half bushels. 
The adA^antagn of soAving in this Avay is, 
you save at least one-third your seed, and 
are almost certain of its groAving. In the 
spring and summer of 1849,1 soAA'edin four 
different pieces, 42 acres in the aboA^e Avay, 
G quarts to the acre, not one acre of which 
“ missed.” I soAved nine acres in the “ old 
Avay,” viz. the clean dry seed; 6 quarts to 
the acre. On the whole field there unay he 
2 acres of clover, not more. I also sowed 9 
bushels of plaster on this field; not any on 
the other. 
A n experienced gentleman told me of this 
Avay, and that he had seldom if ever missed 
having plenty of clover, and thick enough 
too. B. M. Ellis, Muncy, Fa. 
KNOWLEDGE AS APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE. 
[From the Prairie Farmer.] 
The history' of a nation’s agriculture is 
the history of its cmlization. Such is the 
connection betAA'een the modes of thinking 
and the/ia&t>and actions of men, that their 
practice, at a given time, in one department 
Ma Moore :— In ansAA'cr to the inquiry 
of S. H., in the New-Yorker of February 
28, I Avould say that the Bingham Sheep 
may be seen at any time on the farm of 
.John J. McAllister, in Gaines, Orleans 
county—three miles north of Albion. 
Mr. McAllister has also a pure blood¬ 
ed French Merino Buck and Ewe, purchas¬ 
ed of Mr. Bingham at $200. These sheep, 
I apprehend, are not surpassed by any in 
Western NeAv York, for fineness of avooI, 
purity of blood, and Aveight of fleece and j 
carcase. Yours, H. Goodrich. ! 
Albion, March 2, 1850. 
Making Maple Sugar.— It is surprising 
hoAv very general the practice is of boiling 
the sap m large cast-iron kettles. Sheet 
iron is much cheaper, needs far less fuel, 
does not crust nov burn round the top, and 
is decidedly favorable to very clean sugar. 
A .simple mode of making sheet iron pans 
is described in the Ohio Cultivator—the 
pans being 4 or 5 feet by 2^, 9 inches deep, 
the bottom and ends one strip of good sheet 
iron, and the sides 1-| inch plank. The 
edges of the iron are punched with holes an 
inch apart in a zig-zag line, a strip of slip- 
pleiy-elm bark placed betAveen the iron and 
plank Avhen nailed on, and the whole then 
placed on a brick “arch” which entirely 
keeps the fire from the plank sides.— Cv2t. 
TRANSMI^ATION ~ ALMOST. 
A. Fact for tHe Author of “Vestiges 
OF Creation.”— Some quick^sighted cor¬ 
respondent sent us, the other day, an ear of 
Avheat AA'ith an oat flower grown out of it. 
The wheat had groAvn in an oat field — 
ergo, the wheat had changed. Sure enough 
there Avas some apparent evidence of the 
transumtation of corn, about which so much 
has been written and said. The wheat was 
Avheat, the oat genuine oat; there aa'Rs no 
doubt about it. At first Ave suspected the 
oat to have been stuck on by some ingen¬ 
ious person, desirous of mystifying the phi¬ 
losophers ; but a careful examination shoAved 
the suspicion to be unfounded. Glue avils 
then taxed Avith being a party to a trick; 
but not a trace of glue Avas there. At last 
Ave determined to pull the ear in pieces; 
chaff’ after chaff’ of the Avheat came aAvay; 
the origin of the oat Avas laid bai c; but its 
stalk had turned round the central axis of 
the ear; more chaff Avas pulled aAA'ay—an¬ 
other turn Avas discovered. At lash after 
destroying the chaff' both above and beloAv, 
off’ dropped the oat. Its stalk had tAidsted 
itself around the ear of Avheat when both 
Avere very .young; they had groAvn up to¬ 
gether linked in strict embrace; the chaff 
of the Avheat had completely hidden the 
stalk of the oat, Avhich, at last, by some acci¬ 
dent or A-iolence, was snapped from its pa¬ 
rents, and left chnging to its supporter, all 
traces of its origin being hidden. Can such 
accidents as this have led to the positive as¬ 
sertions that one kind of corn will change 
into another? It must be confessed that, 
in the present case, the union Avas, to all 
appearance, so perfect, that it Avould liaA'e 
been almost certain to deceive eA'cry eye 
except that of an unbelieving naturalist.— 
In this point of vieAV, the example in ques¬ 
tion must be considered as “ very instruct¬ 
ive.” — Gardener's Chronicle. 
of labor or one branch of effort, afford a 
clue to their practice in others. When we 
knoAV Avhat men think, avc knoAV Avhat they 
Avill do, and if Ave knoAV Avhat they are do¬ 
ing', Ave can form a fair opinion of their 
thinking. 
Agriculture is at the basis of every civil¬ 
ized society. It feeds and sustains all other 
arts, and professions. If we then know its 
condition, we know hoAV those ai'ts and pro¬ 
fessions are fed. Savage men do not use a 
ploAA', a cart, or a harroAA'. If they use none 
of these and similar implements, it is plain 
that they can cultivate no fields and trans¬ 
port no considerable products. If on the 
other hand, we find numerous and Avell 
AATOUght implements in the hands of the ag¬ 
ricultural population, Ave not only knoAv that 
as a consequence, their fields Avill be Avell 
tilled; but we also knoAv that the mechanic 
arts are flourishing—and the mechanic arts 
ramify and connect Avith every branch of 
society. . 
If, for instance, we Avere to traA'el in Brit¬ 
ish India, and find a carpenter sitting flat 
upon the earth, holding the board Avhich he 
Avas endeaA'oring to plane, betAveen his toes.. 
If going a little further avc should find the 
blacksmith in the same po.sition, pounding 
his iron. If a little further we find the far¬ 
mer driving his bullock, Avith a book for a 
plow fastened to the tail of the animal, avc 
should expect to sec his house a hut, his 
bed a mat on the earth; his table and chairs 
the same. W e should look to see him daub 
his head Avith holy ashes and boAV doAvn to 
a wooden god. We should look to see him 
cruel, revengeful, faithless, lying. W e might 
begin at either end of the picture, but avc 
should expect to sec this laAv of correspon¬ 
dence hold good throughout. 
The people of Mexico, among whom our 
armies Avere engaged a year or tAvo since, 
fought just about as Avell as they ploAved, 
and cultivated. Their houses and their fields, 
and tlieir lurms, were of a sort to correspond 
AV'ith each other. Hence avc deduce this 
law — that a nation or community Avill not 
advance in civilization and refinement, much 
beyond the condition of its agriculture.— 
Shoidd it for a time do this, it Avill be drag¬ 
ged back to the true position of correspon¬ 
dence. 
This conceded, avc arc prepared to ad¬ 
vance a step further, and say that the char¬ 
acter of the man, may be known by the 
manner in which he conducts his trade or 
profession. Wc admit that men may be 
better fitted for one calling than another; 
and that occasionally a man may happen 
upon tlie Avrong profession—and that he 
might have succeeded better in another; but 
these are only the exceptions. Sound mind¬ 
ed men, with brains in their heads, and good 
bones and muscles; and hearts that beat 
right, Avho Avill succeed- in one profession, 
Avill succeed in any profession or calling.— 
A man Avho is a poor, shiftless, unthrifty 
mechanic, AA'ill be poor, shiftless, and unthrifty 
any Avhere else. The man Avhose farm is in 
confusion from one year to another, conduct¬ 
ed Avith no skill or system, shoAvs that ita 
OAA'ner is lacking in those qualities Avhich fit 
a man to conduct any business successfully. 
And so AVC may say of a man in any calling 
or profession. The fault is in the man’s 
and moral condition of those Avho conduct < 
its operations—dolts and clod-hoppers do ( 
not make the best farmers—but the men 
uuho thinh are the men Avho Avill succeed '( 
here, just as they Avill any Avhere else. \ 
If this is true, Ave can see at a glance Avhere / 
improvement in agriculture is to commence. / 
It is to commence Avhere all improvements 
commence, in the mind. The fiirmer is re- ( 
quired to be a thinking man. That is the \ 
best farmer A\'ho brings the best trained in- ; 
tellect to the Avork —the sounde.st logic, the ; 
best judgment, and the purest heart. i 
It is veiy true that a man may acquire 
much skill in any one pursuit by mere rep- ■ 
etition of its processes—by habit. Thus a ^ 
flute player will learn a tunc so that his fin- < 
gers Avill go through it Avhile he is thinking , 
upon something else. A sailor Avill use log- 
arithmic tables Avhich he cannot begin to j 
compute; and a farmer may go through the 
yearly routine of soAving a crop, reaping \ 
and harvesting it, just as his father did, Avith- ] 
out ever thinking of one reason for doing ; 
this in preference to that; and really employ < 
less brains in the business than the Avood- 
chuck Avhich cats his clover. A certain de- ; 
gi'ee of success Avill often attend such farm- ; 
ing. But let any thing ncAV occur to break 
in on the habit or routine of things, and our 
imitator is at his Avits ends at the first cor¬ 
ner. Mere instinct never invents any thing ( 
ncAv; but it may repeat old processes skill- ^ 
fully—even as bees build beautiful hexa- 
gons, and cement them inimitably. 
Do not understand us as saying that the < 
best farmer is the man Avho has been long- < 
est at school. The best education is not al- ( 
Avays obtained there. True education con- ^ 
sists in estabhshing right mental processes. ^ 
This may be done in a school, in a college; i 
and it is sometimes done in the workshop, ^ 
by the fireside, at the light of a pine knot, 
or on the farm, beneath the blue skies, and ; 
among the trees of the Avoods. The man \ 
Avho is called educated, if he undertakes the ) 
conduct of a farm, often applies the Avhole 
force of his thoughts, and all his leisure in I 
partisan politics, or on some other matter en- ( 
tirely disconnected Avith his business. His 1 
education, such as it is, is made of no use to ^ 
him in his business, because he does not ap- < 
ply his mind there. < 
Hence it is not only necessary that a man I 
think, but that he think in connection Avith | 
liis pui-suits. The laAvyer is obliged to think ' 
in connection with the cause he advocates i 
—the minister of the sermon he is to preach ! 
—the editor of the article he is to print; but 
it is equally necessaiy that the fiu-mer think 
in connection Avith the business Avhich he 
conducts. 
WOLF ON THE JAW OF CATTLE. 
He lacks the requisite culture, skill. 
Wheat Bran as a Fertilizer.— This 
has been tried by several persons in Dela¬ 
ware, and with gi-eat success. It is said 
that a handful to the hill Avill double the 
corn crop. Care must be taken to cover 
the bran before di'opping the com; the fer¬ 
mentation Avill kill the seed if in direct con¬ 
tact with the bran. It is said to be equal¬ 
ly valuable upon Avheat. 
A BHiLOSOPHiCAL farmer remarks, that a 
man in a promising field would not make 
rye faces without 'being cro&s-grained: if he 
did, it would cause a-maize-ment. 
Draining.— In England, the Duke of 
Rutland has reclaimed 5,500 acres by 
means of a skillful course of drainage.- 
They originally yielded only a groAvth of 
sedge and AA'orthless aquatic grasses, and 
Avere the origin of a destructive malaria.-— 
Their first crop Avas abundant, and repaid 
all outlays for drainage, cidtivation, and the 
original A'aluc of the soil. 
Extensive districts have also been placed 
under a course of irrigation, by scientific en¬ 
gineers. ’fhe result has been the enormous 
increa.se of 800 per cent, over Avhat they for¬ 
merly afl’orded. 
It is better to accomplish perfectly a 
small amount of Avork, thanrto half do ten 
times as much. 
All Avagons, carts, implements of hus¬ 
bandly, and tools should be kept under cov¬ 
er, alAvays to be in order for service when 
needed. The notable, economical farmer 
never Avaits until he may Avant an article be¬ 
fore he gets it repaired, but personally eve- 
ly day or so, inspects everything of the kind, 
and has the necessary repairs timely done. 
He sees that his axes and hoes are sharp 
and Avell handled, his ploAvs, his Avagons, his 
carts, his barrows, rollers, and cultivators, 
and CA'cry other implement or tool, in good 
order. He knoAvs Avhcrc they ougnt to be 
and are; and the knoAvledge of these facts 
makes his hands careful, and attend to theii 
duty — Avhereas a negligent master most 
generally has seiwantsaiid slaves Avhose great 
delight is to kill time. 
MIND I 
steadiness. His mental qualifications are at 
fault, not being such as qualify him to con¬ 
duct a business skillfully and successfully. 
We fancy some one is ready noAV to ask— 
do you mean to say that you can tell any 
thing of a man’s mind, by looking at his 
farm ? We surely do! A man’s farm is 
conducted in accordance with his ideas—it 
shoAvs Avhat his notions of things are. His 
mental processes arc acted out on his land, 
and among his stock. As a man thinks and 
feels, so Avill he do — in the Avorkshop, in the 
pulpit, in the office, on the farm, or Avherever 
he may be. 
And this brings to us another conclusion, 
viz: That success and excellence in agricul¬ 
ture depends, not mainly on strong hands, 
or on the cash employed in it, nor on any 
other exterior advantages, but on that, on 
which success in all undertakings depend, 
A'iz: on the mind of the man. The hands 
are instruments by which a ploAv is guided, 
or a scythe or fork is Avielded, and strong 
ones are necessary for the AVork; but they 
are only the instruments of the controlling 
intellect, Avhich plans, devises, arranges, and 
controls the Avhole AVork. It is the mind of 
the master that shapes the Avork of the fiinn, 
and conducts it to success, jirecisely as much 
as it is of the General, avIio controls an army 
and guides it to Aictory. This doctrine is 
not strange Avhen Ave apply it to poets, prin- 
tei-s, or literary men. We knoAV Avhen wc 
read Shakspeare, or Byron, or Macauly, Avhat 
sort of men they are; for their mental jiro- 
cesscs and their passions are recorded. iSo 
This is a disease on the jaiv—generally j 
the lower jaw of cattle. Oxen are more li- < 
able to it than other cattle. Many dollars ! 
are aimually lost by farmers in this way, for J 
Avhen the disease appears in oxen, it is gen- ; 
erally necessary to fatten and kill it. Thus ^ 
the yoke is broken up, and either both are ! 
killed, or expense is incurred to get a mate 
for the other. 
The origin and nature of this disease is 
not Avell understood. It has been thought 
to have arisen from an ulcer tooth, and there 
have been instances Avhere extracting teeth 
have cured it, but it generally goes on un¬ 
til one side of the jaiv becomes carious, and 
the animal finds itself unable to cheAv its 
food. It must come under the head of those 
diseases Avhich the doctors call either Osteo- 
sarcotna or a 'necrosis. 
One reason Avhy so little is knoAvn in re¬ 
gard to the nature of the disease is this: — 
They are not generally examined, that is, 
the animal is not generally butchered until 
the disease is veiy much adA'anccd. 
Our neighbor, Mr. Columbus Pairbanks, 
of Winthro]), slaughtered a valuable steer, 
the other day, that had a Avolf on the right 
loAver jaAv. When first discoA'ered, it Avas 
about the size of a common Avalnut. One 
or tAvo teeth adjacent Avere extracted, Avhich 
Avere sound. Still the swelling increased, 
and he Avas fattened and killed. On exam¬ 
ination it Avas found that a space of the out¬ 
side of the bone a little larger than a dollar 
was diseased. It had extended into the plate 
of the bone but a little Avay, and the bone 
at the bottom of the disefised place Avas hard 
and soimd, though roughened and jagged 
by the corrosion of the disease. The prob¬ 
ability is, that if the sAvelling, Avhen first dis¬ 
covered, had been laid open freely, and the 
diseased matter and a portion of bone clean¬ 
ed out, the animal Avould have been cm'ed 
and saA'ed. 
Farmers should examine more carefully 
into these diseases than they do. If the 
disease commences on the external plate of 
the bone, it Avould seem to be easily cured 
in the aboA'e Avay. If it commences in the 
interior part, it Avould of course be more 
difficult to remedy.— Maine Farmer. 
Galls from Harness or Saddle.—“A 
Volunteer” tells the Ncav England Farmer 
that the folloAving remedy Avas foutid to be 
___ invaluable in the fatiguing marches in Mex- 
do Ave know Avhat sort of a man Bonaparte | ico:—“White lead, finely pulverized, is the 
was, Avhen Ave trace out Ins campaigns. In 
short, a man in any pursuit, Avrites out his 
mind in his deeds. 
Good farming depends on the intellectual 
most effective application. Rubbed on dry, 
or made into psiste Avith milk, and applied 
a few times; it Avill also prevent Avhitc haii'S 
gi'OAving on galled places.” 
