86 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DEATH OF VAN MO NS. 
By the late arrivals from Europe, we learn that this 
distinguished chemist, able physician, profound experi¬ 
mental and scientific horticulturist, and celebrated lin¬ 
guist is no more. From various sketches of his life and 
writings, we condense the following brief statement, be¬ 
lieving that it would be acceptable to our readers. 
Dr. Van Mons was an entirely self-educated man; the 
vast acquisitions he had made in most branches of know¬ 
ledge, were the result of patient perseverance, under se¬ 
rious disadvantages. His extensive knowledge of che¬ 
mistry and languages, was the most of it gained while 
acting as a humble apothecary; and his taste for fruits 
and farming was the result of his botanical researches, 
and his observations of the state of agriculture around 
him. In 1817 he was appointed to the chair of chemis¬ 
try and agriculture in the University of Louvain. Several 
years before he had commenced his great nurseries in the 
vicinity of Brussels, and at this time had in them some 
80,000 trees, a large portion of them seedling pears. His 
appointment did not interfere with his care of his nurse¬ 
ry, or interrupt his experiments in the production of new 
varieties of fruits; but in 1819, the city of Brussels con¬ 
ceived the idea that the ground occupied by Van Mons 
nurseries was wanted for new streets and squares, and he 
was notified that he must remove them in two months, or 
the whole would be cut up and burned. With the most 
persevering activity, he could save only about one-twen¬ 
tieth part of the whole. The remainder was either sold, 
given away, or destroyed. Unfortunately his new nur¬ 
sery was established on lands belonging to the town, and 
the authorities were the first to abandon them to pillage. 
They were mostly destroyed by the army during the 
seige of Anvers in 1831; and when, spite of these mis- 
fortunes, he had hired two pieces of ground and re-plant¬ 
ed them, the engineers of Louvain decided that the grounds 
of Van Mons were of all others the most suitable spot for 
a gas manufactory, and they were so used in 1834. 
Among the learned, Van Mons is known by his valua¬ 
ble papers and publications on scientific subjects, princi¬ 
pally on agriculture and horticulture and kindred topics, 
while to the world generally, his name is identified with 
some of the finest fruits, particularly pears, yet known, 
produced by him in the course of his horticultural experi¬ 
ments. The finest collection of pears in the U. States, that 
of Mr. Manning of Salem, was mostly derived from trees 
sent out by Van Mons, or ordered from him. The theory 
of the propagation of fruits, known as the theory of Van 
Mons, ingenious and satisfactory as it is, in most respects, 
we cannot here touch upon. We can only add, that the 
history of Van Mons offers another proof of what the man 
©an accomplish, who forms the determination, and perse¬ 
veres in his efforts to be useful. 
DEATH OF J. C. LOUDON. 
Few men of the present age have become more exten¬ 
sively known by their agricultural, horticultural and flori- 
©ultural works, than Mr. Loudon; they may indeed be 
said to mark an era in the history of agriculture. The 
death of such a man is a public loss, and the numerous 
tributes of respect to his memory, prove that his death 
was so considered abroad. In the publication of his flo- 
ricultural works, he has been for a number of years as¬ 
sisted by his wife, a beautiful writer, and of fine taste, and 
much information on such subjects. 
In landscape gardening, Mr. Loudon was without a ri¬ 
val in Great Britain; and many of the gardens and grounds 
of the nobility, are arranged according to his plans, or 
under his directions. The works that he published on 
this subject, with the accompanying engravings, furnish 
a better guide to the state of that art in Europe, than any 
thing else to be found. He was a most industrious and 
hard working man; independant in his feelings, modest 
and unobtrusive in his manners. In the language of the 
London Sun, “his country owes him much—perhaps 
more than it does to any other individual who has pursu¬ 
ed the same walk through life. His name will be honor¬ 
ed and respected, as long as the happiest and most inte¬ 
resting of human pursuits are properly valued.” 
Looking-glasses for Pigeons.— -In the Queens avia¬ 
ry, at Windsor, the dove-cote i^lined with looking-glasses, 
and the pigeons, it is said, “stand for hours at the glass 
panels bowing and cooing to the reciprocating comple¬ 
ments of their own linages, and seem to be vastly 
pleased with the extreme polish of their admirers.” 
CULTURE OF LUCERNE. 
We apprehend that this valuable grass has not received 
that attention from our farmers that it deserves* The 
luxuriance and rapidity of its growth, the avidity with 
which it is eaten by all domestic animals, and the ease 
with which it is in general cultivated, would seem to 
point it out as one of the best of grasses, especially where 
soiling is desirable or practicable. In our last Cultiva¬ 
tor, we gave an account furnished by David Thomas, of 
his success in the culture of this plant; and the following 
which appeared in the American Traveller, is strong ad¬ 
ditional testimony in its favor. Mr. Phinney is not the 
man to waste his money or his land in the culture of val¬ 
ueless plants. 
“ On a visit to Mr. Phinney's farm in Lexington, 
Mass., about the middle of June, we saw a piece of lu¬ 
cerne or French clover, as it is often called, which had 
been cut three times for the purpose of soiling. Soiling 
is a term applied to the practice of cutting herbage crops 
green, for feeding live stock; and for this purpose, lu¬ 
cerne is considered admirably adapted. One acre is suffi¬ 
cient for five or six cows, during the soiling season. It 
is fit for the scythe in congenial soils, about the 10th of 
May—may he cut every twenty or twenty-five days, and 
is said to yield from five to eight tons per acre. Mr. 
Phinney's lucerne was sown in drills, and looked well. 
A very deep, rich, friable, sandy loam, is the soil in 
which it grows best. It should be sown early in May, 
and be subject to frequent and careful culture. Mr. Phin 
ney appeared to be well satisfied with it.” 
COLD WEATHER. 
The extreme cold weather of the month of January, 
has elicited much remark in different parts of the coun¬ 
try; and as the temperature of the several parts of the 
year have no little influence on the crops, a record of 
meteorological facts may be of service in forming our 
estimate of the future. In most places, Sunday, the 28th 
of January, was the coldest day, but there were several, 
in which difference was so small, as to be scarcely ob¬ 
served. W r e quote from the papers a few of the notices 
as a matter of record i 
North Hadley, Mass.... 
....26 
degrees below zero. 
Northhampton, “ ... 
....31 
cc 
a 
a 
Berthier, L. C. 
...38 
.£ 
(£ 
u 
Saco, Me. .. 
....30 
a 
( C 
a 
Saratoga, N. Y........ 
....34 
a 
a 
a 
Franconia, N. H. ..... 
....39 
(£ 
a 
te 
Montpelier, Yt. ....... 
U 
u 
(£ 
We have seen some notices in which, 
as at Montpelier, 
mercury congealed; and there are many places in which 
it might have been easily rendered solid. Mr. Simpson 
and his party, on their exploring expedition to the North 
Sea, made bullets of mercury when the therm, was at 49 
degrees, and on the 11th of March, the spirit therm, in¬ 
dicated 66 degrees below 0. Below we give the ave¬ 
rage temperature of the month of January, for several 
years, by which it will be seen that it was much the 
coldest that has occurred in that time, with the exception 
of 1840. 
January, 1838,.29 degrees. 
“ 1839,.22 “ 
“ 1840,..17 “ 
“ 1841,. .26 “ 
“ 1842,. 27 “ 
« 1843,... 30 “ 
“ 1844,. ..........18 “ 
The therm, was lowest at this place on Monday, Jan. 
26, when at 6 o : clock, A. M., it stood at 10 deg.; at Alba¬ 
ny, the lowest observation was 16 deg. The cold seems 
to have been extensively felt over the whole U. S., as at 
Jacksonville, in Florida, on the night of the 26th, the 
therm, indicated 44 deg., ice formed, and there was a 
light fall of snow. 
Limerock Farm , Howlet Hill , Onondaga Co., N. Y 
