1847 , 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
contain a great quantity of nitrogen, and when gath¬ 
ered and placed in a heap in warm weather, they fer¬ 
mented rapidly, and gave off a disgusting and putrid 
smell, in every way resembling that of decomposing 
animal matter. Some of this fungi was collected and 
spread in the form of letters on the grass of a pas¬ 
ture, and the effect was readily seen in the superior 
growth of the grass for a month afterwards. There is 
at least one species of fungus in this country, which, 
after exposure to the air for a few days, begins to de¬ 
cay, and in a short time emits a carrion-like odor, and 
we have seen the maggot of the flesh fly revelling in 
its putrescence. 
Improvement in Preparing Wheat and other 
Grains for Flouring. —Mr. S. Bentz, of Boonsboro, 
Maryland, has invented a machine for preparing wheat 
for flouring, which appears likely to be highly useful.. 
He has: forwarded to the Executive Committee of the 
N. Y. State Ag. Society, samples of grain which have 
passed through this process, and the Secretary, Mr. 
Johnson, has furnished us the following account of the 
machine: 
“ The improvement consists in taking the outer coat¬ 
ing or bran from the wheat kernel previous to grind¬ 
ing. Its advantages are said to be—improving the or¬ 
dinary kinds of red wheat from 5 to 15 cents per 
bushel—making from them as good and fair flour as 
is now made from the best varieties. It also saves in 
each barrel of flour from 40 to 52 pounds of ■wheat. 
A great saving of time in grinding is secured. It pro¬ 
duces also the best hot climate flour known. 
“ Samples of wheat as grown, and with the bran off, 
may be seen at the Agricultural Rooms, and the atten¬ 
tion of farmers and millers is invited to an examina¬ 
tion of the specimens. The Executive Committee 
have awarded to Mr. Bentz a diploma. They hope 
to be furnished hereafter with a full account of the pro¬ 
cess, with samples, and with the results.” 
Fondness of the Indian for the Apple. —The 
fondness of the Indian for fruits and vegetables, has 
often been remarked. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his Re¬ 
port on the Iroquois, says, the apple is the “ Iroquois 
banana.” After the introduction of this fruit into this 
country from France and Holland, the Indians, “ cap¬ 
tivated,” as he observes, “ by its taste, lost no time in 
transferring it by sowing its seeds, to the sites of their 
ancient castles. “ No one,” he adds, “ can read the 
accounts of the destruction of the. extensive orchards 
of the apple which were cut down on Gen. Sullivan’s 
inroad into the Genesee country in 1779> without re¬ 
gretting that the purposes of war should have required 
this barbaric act. The census will show that this taste 
remains as strong in 1845, as it was 66 years ago.” 
Rensselaer Institute.- —In publishing the report 
of the Board of Examiners of the Rensselaer Institute, 
says the Troy Daily Whig, we cannot omit contribu¬ 
ting our mite of praise to their testimony in favor of 
the institution. If the graduates of the Institute, who 
lectured at Morris Place Hall, may be considered spe¬ 
cimens of the students it sends forth to engage in prac¬ 
tical scientific pursuits, then its cadets have nothing 
to fear from a comparison with those of West Point. 
At present, we believe, the number of students is limi¬ 
ted to thirty. It ought to be extended to one hundred, 
and for this end liberal additions to the original en¬ 
dowment should be made. But few of our citizens 
know the value of the institution in their midst, which 
for years has been quietly furnishing some of the best 
practical engineers, chemists, &c., in the country. 
Had the Rensselaer Institute been located in Boston, it 
would long since have felt the effects of that private 
munificence of which every New England College and 
school of art and science, has been the recipient. 
We. hope one day to see this institution expanded in¬ 
to a Polytechnic School, embracing within its circle of 
instruction all that is taught in the Polytechnic School 
of Paris. 
To protect the lungs in thrashing.— H. N. 
Lowry, in the Ohio Cultivator , gives the following 
mode, which is perfectly effectual. A piece of the 
finest sponge, large enough to cover the mouth and 
nostrils, is hollowed out so as to fit closely a tape is 
fastened round and tied over the top of the head. Soak 
it in soft water, and then squeeze it well. When ready 
for work, tie it over nose and mouth, and you can 
breathe and talk through it almost as well as without; 
and in a perfect fog of dust, the air will be as clear as 
in a cornfield. He states that it will, however, prove 
troublesome to those who use the “ filthy weed.” 
Splendid Evergreens.— J. J. Smith, of Philadel* 
phia, states in the Horticulturist , that at Dropmore, 
near Windsor, the seat of lady Grenville, there is a 
great double avenue of immense Cedars of Lebanon— 
and that the Pinetum there, containing all known hardy 
cone-bearing trees, comprises 170 species. 
Rural Sounds.— The enlightened advocate of coun¬ 
try life, will approve of the cultivation of a taste for 
the natural pleasures of a life in the country. An ac¬ 
quaintance with the peculiar habits, and sly tricks, not 
to say amusing speeches, of small animals, such as 
birds and bull frogs, often affords a pleasant recreation 
for a spare moment. 
Charles Waterton, in his interesting and rather mar¬ 
vellous narrative of his travels in South America, re¬ 
marks, that it is quite flattering that so many birds 
there speak English! A large portion of the birds of 
the United States furnish the same compliment to our 
language, or at least a very little imagination enables 
any one to translate their songs to very fair English. 
Every boy, almost, is familiar with the well known 
shout of the quail or partridge, of “ Bob-White!” or 
sometimes, “Wash-face-white !”—and also of the Rice 
bird, or familiar Bob Lincoln—“Bob o’link! Tom 
Denny! come pay me the two and sixpence you’ve owed 
me a year and a half ago, or clear!” ■ A southern wri¬ 
ter, however, says that the song which the Bob o’link 
there most frequently utters so rapidly to his mate, is 
very nearly as follows:—“ Bobby Lincoln—look, Mary 
Lincoln—velvet pantaloons and summer jacket, ho !— 
Bobby Lincoln won’t let Mary Lincoln gad about alone 
over clover top, dock-weed, and apple tree—nor shall 
she marry Michael Mangel Wurtzel!” 
A pleasant old gentleman used to say, that he often 
heard the common American robin, shouting out, “skil¬ 
let ! skillet! three legs to a skillet! two legs to a 
skillet!” And a certain facetious doctor, in Cayuga 
county, affirms, that when riding out on his professional 
visits, the robins usually perch on the fence stakes, or 
road-side trees, and address him thus:—“ Kill ’em ! kill 
’em! cure em! cure ’em! givfe ’em physic, physic, 
physic!”—which it must be admitted is a very correct 
version of the song of most robins. A tailor onoe 
told me, what a bird said to him, and by which I 
immediately recognized it as the song-sparrow—“Prick 
yer fin-ger, suck it, stick it well!” 
Even the frogs sometimes seem to indulge a little in 
humorous or sarcastic ditties, for one sings out, “ Jug 
o’rum! jug o’ rum! jug o’ dhrum !”—while another 
answers—“ Paddy got dhroonk, got dhroonk, ’oonk 
’nk!” 
Corn. —The crop the present season will probably 
be enormous and prices low. An opinion, very gene 
rally expressed in different parts of the country, is, 
that at least double the usual quantity has been planted. 
Dairies in England are always paved with stone or 
brick, and in warm weather kept constantly wet, so as 
to be equal to the spring houses of Ohio and Pennsyl 
vania. , 
