THE CULTIVATOR. 
121 
When the hinges of gates are more or less than 40 inches asunder, the new 
position of the hooks may be found by the following TABLE : 
Distance of Ihe two hinges or pi¬ 
vots of a gate’s suspension. 
Or «MW fO Ot ►— 
05 CO CO 
lO to 
Horizontal distance of two perpen¬ 
dicular lines, one falling from the 
cenlre of each of the hooks. 
COCCCCCOCOCOCOCOCOCO 
*»Iw5Ot.*-C0(O — O 
* 
Distance of the two hinges or pi¬ 
vots of a gate’s suspension. 
ot h-* h-» *•"* 
CO CTJ 
to to 
Horizontal distance of two perpen¬ 
dicular lines, one filling from the 
cenlre of each of the hooks. 
C5C5C5C5C50t OtOtO» OtOtOtOtOt Otv£».Ju. 
►£* O* tO ~ O CO *‘"'1 C5 0> •£» CO tO ^ C C CC 
* * 
Distance of the two hinges or pi¬ 
vots of a gate's suspension. 
to >— 
Ot to ^ 
rs & “ * 
Horiz mtal distance of two perpen¬ 
dicular lines, one falling from die 
centre of each of the hooks. 
* The iron strap is about an inch by a quarter of an inch in substance, fo r 
one half of iis length, when it is tapered towards the head of the gate. At 
ihe end nearest to the thimble, it is made stronger for a few inches; and close 
to the .shoulder of the dumber, it .should be about an half inch squire: the 
edges are chamfered off, and the whole appears to be gradually tapered from the 
heel to the head of the gate, wi lening a little round the whole which is left 
for the upright pirt of t-ie latch adjoining to the handle. 
FLJUiCUL 
’IT 8J Si EE. 
In accordance with the wishes of some of our correspondents, we intend 
to devote an occasional column to Floriculture, for the special bene¬ 
fit of our female readers, and to diffuse a taste lor tural embellishment, 
sufficient to instruct beginners in the selection and management of the 
best ornamental garden shrubs and flowers. 
“ What are all these things good for:” was the cynical interrogatory of 
one who valued eveiv thing according lo what it would sell for in market, 
on being shown into a pretty flower gaiden. “They are some of the han¬ 
dy works of our Creator, who gives us nothing in vain,' 5 was the reply : 
“these are kindly bestowed upon man for the innocent, but high gratifica¬ 
tion, of his intellectual faculties—faculties which distinguish him from the 
brute” “ Grains,” said the great Newton, “ are God’s bounties—flow¬ 
er- his smiles.” '1 hose who can be grateful for the bounties, cannot be in- 
diff rent to the smites. 
The advanced state of the season leaves little to be done in the flower 
garden, except planting bulbous and perennial roots and shrubs, and se¬ 
curing those that are tender. 
Of bu/bous roots, the tulip, hyacinth, daffodil, crocus, and crown impe¬ 
rial are deemed hardy, and highly ornamental. 
The varieties of the tulip and hyacinth are innumerable, and varv in 
price according to quality Good ones are sold at $1 per doz. They 
flower in May, and increase by offsets. The soil should be dry, and well 
prepared, for them. They may be planted 3 or 4 inches deep, and 6 in¬ 
ches apart either in beds or upon borders. 'I he tulip does best when the 
bulb is suirounded by a sprinkling of coarse sand, li should he taken up 
at least once in two years, to separate the offsets. Although deemed har¬ 
dy, a covering ot litter, or tan, is servicable to these bulbs during the 
winter. 
'I he crocus is among the earliest vernal flowers. Plant 2 inches deep, 
and from 2 to 4 apart. The blossoms are of various colours, and frail, but 
coining in April, and sometimes in March, are vety desirable. 
The crown imperial may be planted 6 inches deep, in a rich soil, and 
8 to 10 inches apart. They are perfectly hardy. Several varieties. 
Most ol the varieties of the narcissus and jonquil require some protec¬ 
tion during winter. They may be planted like the tulip. They flower 
in Apiil and May. 
Ol other perennial hardy flowering plants, there are many that are very 
ornamental. These require no other care than to he kept f ree from weeds, 
and to have the ground dug around them in the spring. 
Ol peonies , the Chinese are preferred for beauty and fragrance, the 
double w hite and rose scented in particular, though the common crimson 
is quite ornamental. They cost from 50 cents to one dollar. 
'file most ornamental ot the lilies are the white, tyger, Chinese white 
day, and ihe common pendant lily of our meadows, which latter improves 
under cultivation. 
It is yet in season fo plant shrubs and creepers. The mazereon is the 
earliest to flower, and is very pretty. The lilacs and seringoes, of which 
there are several varieties, and the snowball, or Guelder rose, soon fol¬ 
low in bloom. There are several climbing honeysuckles, w hich are orna¬ 
mental upon aibors and about dwellings. The Iragiant monthly, yello % 
monthly and scarlet trumpet are a good selection ; and the upright Sibe¬ 
rian and Tartarian are no less ornamental when in bloom. The Pyrus 
Japonica, scarlet and white, are dwarf, hardy shrubs, the former is cover- 
Vol. II. 16 
ed with brilliant scarlet, and the latter with white flowers, early in the 
spring. 
The rose in its varieties, displays all the desirable colours, and many 
hundreds of them are hardy, and several of them climbing. 
We have only referred to a few of the hardy ornamental shrub.s and 
plants which are for sale at the nurseries. Indeed our woods and fields 
abound with flowering plants which are highly ornamental, and which 
improve under culture. 
The roots of lender perennials, as the tyger-flower, tuberose, jerr aria 
and Dahlia, if not already done, should be taken up, well dried, and se¬ 
cured for the winter. The first three may be tied in bunches, and hung 
up w here they w ill be secure from frost. The Dahlia must be preserved 
from too much moisture as well as from frost. They may be put in a box 
with dry sand, and [ laced in the kitchen or dry cellar. Seeds of annuals 
and perennials are best preserved in their capsules or seed vessels. They 
should be kept dry. 
COilKESPO N DENCE. 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY, No. 1. 
Sir —Having noticed in some of the late periodicals, some commu¬ 
nications on sheep and sheep husbandry, which appear to me to contain 
some misapprehension ; and having noticed your solicitation in the Culti¬ 
vator, for contributions, of information on sheep and their management, I 
submit the following rernar'-s : 
Independent of the consideration that the productions of the soil furnish 
sustenance for man and beast, agriculture is advanced from this basis to an 
exalted summit. During a long period of human history, ethics and phy¬ 
sics were shiouded in mystery, and wrapped in unintelligible and boastful 
phraseology. But the book of nature has always presented an open page to 
the discerning arid unprejudiced eye. 
Agriculture and husbandry justly sustain a pre-eminence over other 
pursuits, in that, he who cultivates an acre of ground to most profit, or 
who rears the best domestic animal, does not hesitate to disclose all the 
means by which that object was attained. 
That an animal which furnishes us with warm and elegant clothing, with 
delicious and wholesome Ibod, and light to prosecute our noctural pursuits, 
is worthy of the fosteiing care of our government, and the assiduous atten¬ 
tion of intelligent individuals, w ill I think be readily admitted. 
I have been interested, and to a limited extern, personally engaged in 
the cultivation of fine vvooled sheep, Iroin a less to a greater number, for 
22 years past. 
An acquaintance with the character of the sheep is a science ; the pro¬ 
per and profitable management of sheep, is a great art—I think next, if 
not equal to manufacturing prime cheese,—rcquiiing great skill and unre¬ 
mitting vigilance. 
In what way the fine woolled sheep of Spain originated, whether pro¬ 
duced in that country, or procured from some other, lias not yet been de¬ 
cided by naturalists. 
Whether they are a distinct race of sheep, or whether the fineness of their 
fleece is dependent on climate and cultivation, any more than the peculia- 
lities subsisting between the European and the African, is yet left for sci¬ 
entific investigation. 
But it is a tact generally known, that Spain has until within a few years 
furnished about all the fine wool manufactured in Europe, and that she 
was so tenacious of preserving this monopoly, as to enact severe penal 
laws againsi the exportation of Spanish sheep from that country. 
It was only by royal munificence and favoritism in two instances that 
any sheep were carried out of that country. The first a present to the 
Elector of Saxony, at the beginning of the eighteenth century The se¬ 
cond :o the King of France, now constituting the celebrated Rambouilet 
flock. 
That a present of this description to the Elector of Saxony, in the face 
of all Europe, should be so appreciated as to elicit sovereign care is obvi¬ 
ous. They were styled the Electoral flock, the most intelligent shepherds 
procured, and they were cultivated with unremitting attention. This 
flock, by great care and selection of bucks, has established and maintained 
iis pre-eminence. The numerous private flocks of the nobles and gentry 
of Saxony, under various denominations, are derived from the increase 
and culling of the electoral. 
The Arabians have advanced the noble horse to a degree of excellence 
beyond rivalry. The Saxons, proceeding on the same principles, have ad¬ 
vanced the domestic animal next in importance to an exaltation that ought 
to make the inexperienced and uninformed pause, before they reject the 
results of the interesting and intelligent operations of a century. I lay it 
down as an axiom, that so much of human operation as is based on scien¬ 
tific principles must necessarily stand. 
The improvement of the Spanish sheep to that of Saxony was effected, 
and has bec-n preserved entirely, by a scrupulous attention to purity of 
blood and the most discriminating selection of bucks. A superior Saxony 
buck is now worth in that country four times what he would bring in this. 
The traffic of the world has become too well disciplined to warrant the 
