1852, 
THE CULTIVATOR 
397 
Female Education and Influence. 
The language of this extract, from Thos. B. Arden’s 
Address before the Putnam Co. Ag, Society, is not more 
beautiful than its sentiment is true. The character of 
those who are to be the farmers of the next generation, 
the principles which are to guide them, the homes which 
they are to have, will, in no inconsiderable degree, de¬ 
pend upon the mothers, who give the first impress to 
the susceptible nature of the child. We are glad to no¬ 
tice this happy allusion, and wish that this truth were 
more frequently presented on similar occasions. The 
mother is the very life of home, and as are the homes 
of a people so are their lives. If purity reign here—if 
high thoughts and right motives be taught here, the 
great question of life is settled, before the child leaves the 
paternal roof: 
Home associations and home influence are to be im¬ 
planted and brought to maturity, by her who reigns in 
every domestic circle, and who alone possesses the key 
to our moral nature. The mother, who, from earliest 
infancy, has watched the slow development of latent 
energies, alone can ward off the worldly influence of 
school training, and fit her son to go forth into the world, 
prepared to meet, combat, and conquer the evils and 
temptations that skirt the paths of undeviating truth and 
moral principle. Man has not the same opportunity, 
nor has he the peculiar capacity for studying the char¬ 
acter of children. When men are prepared for any 
particular profession, their education, beyond a certain 
point, is carried forward with a view to the particular 
requirements of that profession. Should not the mother 
whose field of action is, beyond a doubt, a separate and 
peculiar sphere, be invested with similar advantages?— 
And how is this end to be brought about—how is this high 
moral character and harmonizing influence to be implant¬ 
ed? I answer, educate your daughters; throw within the 
domestic circle those excellencies of character which 
3 ’ou take particular pains to admire when abroad. Let 
benevolence, simplicity of character, truthfulness and 
charity towards your neighbor, be a constant theme of ad¬ 
miration and remark, and not only in the family circle, 
but in those gatherings of relatives and friends so con¬ 
stantly recurring in every community. Cultivate a love 
for music, and that grandeur and loveliness of nature 
which your own hills and valleys constantly present in 
the never ending panorama of the seasons. Point to the 
industry of the ant, the prudence of the bee, the con¬ 
tentment of the poor who trust in God. Early nurse a 
taste for flowers, for through every season they stalk in 
beauty through your woods and meadows, inviting you 
to a communion that brings with it no bitter thoughts. 
Every child will remember the little spot of ground set 
apart within the cottage door-yard, to beguile its hours 
of play, and years cannot erase from his memory the halo 
thus cast around his home. When I invite you to the 
field of flowers, understand me not to mean the favorites 
of other climes, (though I would not exclude them,) but 
the gems of nature which are to be found in your own for¬ 
ests and lowlands—something that is within the reach of 
all, and equalling, if not surpassing, in beauty, the natives 
of warmer climes. The rhododendron, the kalmia or 
laurel, the azalia, the orchis, the alder leaved clethera, 
the lobelia cardinalis or cardinal flcnver, together wflth 
its varieties, and the gentiana crinata or fringed gentian, 
are among those most conspicuous; the modest hepatica 
or liverwort, anemone or wand flower, and dog-tooth 
violet, are the first to greet us in the spring, like a mes¬ 
senger of peace, bearing assurance pf Winter’s relenting 
grasp. For such I would invite you to labor ; for the 
trouble of removing the soil wall teach the useful lesson, 
that the food must be adapted to the plant; at the same 
time, it inspires that contentment of feeling which our 
happiness places beyond price. She who, by such an 
education, is made a truly valuable wife, best fitted to 
discharge the duties of a mother’s high office, is also pre¬ 
pared to meet those strokes of adversity which are the 
common lot, and still with cheerfulness walk on, guided 
by that principle “which maketh all things right.” 
White Spine 
fruit. 
96.605 
3.395 
.382 
11.252 
Analysis of the Cucumber— Cucumis sativus. 
Two varieties only w r ere examined, the Early Long 
Prickly and the White Spine. They were in a fit con¬ 
dition for table use. Length of the fruit of the Early 
Long Prickly 6^ inches, diameter If inches. Length of 
the fruit of the White Spine 5 inches, diameter inches 
Percentage of Water, Dry Matter and Ash 
Long Prickly 
fruit. 
Percentage of water,. 96 364 
u dry matter,. 3.636 
“ ash,.362 
“ ash in dry matter, 9.955 
In the fruit of this plant w 7 e see a remarkable instance 
of the extent to which water may exist in a plant. But 
about 3|lbs. of dry matter is contained in 100 lbs. of the 
fresh fruit. One ton would contain hut about 70 lbs. of 
dry matter. Hence one ton of fresh cucumber fruit 
contains less dry matter than 1| bushels of wheat. One 
ton of fruit, of the Long Prickly, contains, of inorganic 
matter, 7.24 lbs. One ton of the White Spine, 7.44.— 
27,624 lbs. of the fresh fruit of the Long Prickly variety, 
and 26,178 lbs. of the fruit of the White Spine variety, 
give each 100 lbs. of inorganic matter. These 100 lbs. of 
inorganic matter are severally constituted as follow's: 
100 lbs. ash of 100 lbs. ash <v 
Long Prickley. White Spine. 
Carbonic acid. 
13.26 
silicic acid,. 
0.70 
0.80 
Phosphoric acid. 
... 18 90 
17.26 
Phosphate of iron,.. . 
2.74 
Lime,... 
4.30 
4.40 
Magnesia,. 
0.34 
Potash,. 
,.. 23.20 
23.30 
Soda,.. 
33.86 
Chlorine,.!.... 
1.10 
1.46 
Sulphuric acid,. 
1.40 
Organic matter,. 
. . trace. 
trace. 
99.40 
98.42 
The inorganic matter, as is seen, is composed mostly 
of phosphoric acid, 
potash and soda. This w’ould indi- 
cate that ashes, hones, and 
common salt, would be an 
excellent inorganic manure for them. 
Proximate Organic Analysis. 
100 lbs. Long Prickly. 100 lbs. White Spine. 
Fresh fruit. 
Dry fruit. Fresh fruit. 
Dry fruit. 
Albumen,. 
.. .356 
7.778 .347 
7.699 
Casein,.. 
0.872 .062 
1.357 
Dextrine,. 
.. .354 
7.736 .264 
5.894 
Sugar and extract, ... 
.. 2.826 
67.756 3.036 
0.065 
Starch. 
, . .002 
0.044 .003 
66.624 
Chlorophvl. 
, . .006 
0.132 .005 
0.108 
Fat, wax and resin, .. 
.. .031 
0.682 .029 
0.629 
Fiber,.. 
.. .961 
21.000 .826 
17.924 
Dry matter,. 
.. 4.576 
100.000 4.572 
100.000 
Water.. 
,.95.354 
99.921 
In the proximate organic analyses I obtained less w 7 ater 
than I did when the percentage of w r ater, dry matter and 
ash w T ere determined. This resulted from the fact that 
portions used for the proximate analyses lost some of 
their water by evaporation before the analyses w 7 ere com¬ 
menced. 
Besides the above bodies, the cucumber contain^ a 
small quantity of malic acid, and a still smaller quantity 
of citric. One ton of the fresh fruit of the Long Prickly 
variety contains of sugar 56.52 lbs., of albumen and ca¬ 
sein 7.81bs., of dextrine and starch 7.12 lbs. One ton of 
the fresh fruit of the White Spine contains of albumen 
and casein 8,18 lbs., of dextrine and starch 5.34 lbs., of 
