THE CULTIVATOR. 
75 
may add, debasing influence of sedentary life, than it did formerly. In¬ 
deed, such has been the deleterious influence offashionable habits,upon 
the population of our cities, that serious fears have been expressed, that 
our towns would soon degenerate into Italian effeminacy and impoten- 
cy, but for the continued influx which they receive, particularly of 
■“corn-fed” girls, the “romping rosy Nells,” from the country. The 
oak, which nature destined to be one of the hardiest trees of our fo¬ 
rest, if reared in the artificial temperature of the green-house, cannot 
resist, when afterwards exposed, the inclemency of our winters. It 
must buffet the storm, acquire muscular strength from the influence of 
the winds, and become indurated and toughened by the solar and atmos¬ 
pheric influences, and the alternation of the seasons, to become fitted 
for the useful purposes of man. We leave the reader to carry out the 
parallel, between vegetable and animal physiology, after perusing the 
extract in our last page. 
Strawberries are among the plants which are most impatient of a 
fixed location,—they sqon exhaust the soil in which they grow. Na¬ 
ture has therefore provided the means of their obtaining fresh pasture, 
or rather fresh soil, by means of the stollens or vines which the parent 
plant annually sends abroad. The professional gardener, knowing these 
facts, changes frequently the site of his strawberry beds, often every 
two years, and sometimes every year, to insure a good crop. We 
think we have discovered la specific food for this desirable plant, the 
application of which serves to render change of location less necessary. 
Our present strawberry quarter is five years old. In the fall of 1834, 
we covered one bed with a light dressing of tan from a morocco facto¬ 
ry, with a view to protect Ihe plants from the severity of winter; and 
in the spring the tan was suffered to remain on the bed. We were 
agreeably surprised at finding this bed not only showing a stronger and 
healthier foliage, but yielding a far greater quantity of fruit, than any 
other. The whole quarter was in consequence dressed with tan in the 
autumn of 1835, and our crop this year has been treble to what it has 
been heretofore; though much of the increase has undoubtedly been 
owing to the favorable season for this fruit. 
This month and the beginning of September is the best season to put 
out strawberry beds. The ground should be well manured, and dug 
the depth of the spade. The Methven and Keen's seedling we deem 
the best of the large varieties. Plant the rows of these twenty inches 
apart, fourteen inches between the plants. Dip the roots of the plants 
in thin mud or puddle before planting, and water them when planted. 
They do best on a cool and moist, though loose soil; hence old cow 
manure, mixed with leaf mould or swamp earth, make for them a 
good dressing. 
Country Saving Banks. —We omitted, in our last, to draw the atten¬ 
tion of our readers, as we designed, to the communication of an En¬ 
field correspondent, demonstrative of the feasibility and practical utili¬ 
ty of these institutions. Many an individual, by the safe deposite af¬ 
forded by city savings banks for his earnings, has been confirmed in 
habits of industry and usefulness, who might, but for them, have be¬ 
come indolent and dissipated. In these banks of savings has been form¬ 
ed the nucleus of many a comfortable fortune, which might otherwise 
have gone to waste. They have tended to promote industry and econo¬ 
my in the city, and they will exert the same salutary influence in the 
country, where, indeed, they produce a double benefit, by affording 
loans to the small capitalist, who cannot, either from his location or 
the small amount required, obtain ordinary bank facilities. The sub¬ 
ject is worthy the consideration of gentlemen of influence and stand¬ 
ing in the country. 
Agriculture, for the purpose of comparison, may be considered as a 
trade, an art, and a science. 
The trade, is mechanical, requiring muscular strength. It is imita¬ 
tive—it is to do a thing as one has been taught to do it, or has done it 
before. The ox in a measure acquires it. He knows his master and 
his master’s crib; he treads the accustomed furrow, turns at the head 
lands, and understands and obeys the driver’s commands. The mere 
servile laborer moves in the old routine, without concerning himself 
about the why and the wherefore, almost unconscious that he has a 
mind. 
The art implies a co-operation of the mind with physical power. 
The mind contrives ; it is a lever which greatly assists and abridges the 
labor of the hands. The mind, like the soil, makes return in propor¬ 
tion to the culture which is bestowed upon it. Both are unproductive 
without culture. The mind is improved by observation and reading, 
which makes it familiar with the best models of practice, and enables 
it to profit by the improvements of others, in the various departments 
of husbandry. 
The science teaches the laws and properties of inorganic matter— 
as of rocks, earths, manures, &c. &c. of organic matter, as animals 
and vegetables;—of their structure, food and uses—and of the agen¬ 
cy of heat, water, air, light and electricity in their development and 
maturity—the employment and adaptation of Ml these matters for the 
best uses of man. It concentrates the experience of ages, and the la¬ 
bors of nations, upon these interesting subjects, and makes them sub¬ 
servient to our wants and our comforts. The science is a collection of 
facts and leading truths, illustrated in practice, and confirmed by ex¬ 
perience. 
The trade, therefore, may be managed by the hands, the art requires 
the co-operation of the mind; while the science superadds to both, a 
knowledge of the laws and properties of matter, upon which the mind 
and body are required to exert their energies. The first may be liken¬ 
ed to the feeble boy, the second to the muscular young man, and the 
third to him whose mind and body are in the active development of 
their best powers. 
Worth remembering. —We have been informed, by a gentleman who 
has had practical proof of its success, of a new mode of keeping fruits 
fresh_for the table, as grapes, plums, &c. a long time after they have 
been gathered. It is simply to alternate them in layers with cotton 
batting, in clean stone jars, and to place them in a chamber secure 
from frost. The discovery was accidental. A servant maid in the fa¬ 
mily of William Morey, of Union Village, Washington county, about 
to visit her friends, secured a quantity of plums in this way, to pre¬ 
serve them till her return. They were found to have kept in excellent 
condition, long after this fruit had disappeared in the garden. From 
the hint thus afforded, Mr. Morey, Mr. Holmes, and one or two neigh- 
bors, laid down grapes in this manner last fall, and they enjoyed the 
luxury of fresh, fine flavored fruit through the winter, until the early 
\ part of March. 
j Political Economy. —We have seen “ First Lessons in Political Eco • 
\nomy, for the use of Primary and Common Schools,” by Professor 
M’Vickar, of Columbia College. It is the first of a series of text 
books which the author proposes to publish, suited to the varied ages 
and capacities of those for whose instruction they are intended. This 
subject, though it may seem to concern only the statesman, is one 
which comes home to the business concerns of every citizen, especially 
to those who aspire to the distinctions of society. We give an extract, 
under the young men’s department, as a specimen of the matter and 
manner of the work, and commend it to the notice of teachers and 
heads of families. “ The first principles of political economy,” says 
our author, “ are truisms which a child may understand, and which 
children should therefore be taught.” 
The Pear tree.— The disease, termed blight, which six or eight years 
ago, as also in 1802 to 1808, destroyed many of our pear trees, is 
again, we learn, making its appearance. We have been of opinion, 
that the evil arises from a minute insect, which preys upon the inner 
bark. An insect of this kind, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, 
has been known to destroy forests of the larch in Germany. Our opin¬ 
ion has been much strengthened by a conversation with Aaron Thorp, 
Esq. who finding his trees affected, has made trial of various applica¬ 
tions, without success, until he has found, he thinks, an effectual pre¬ 
ventive, or cure, in spirits of turpentine. He applies it on and about 
the diseased part, in its unadulterated state, with a common brush. 
Green’s Straw Cutter. —We have received from the Messrs. Shuler, 
of Lockport, one of these machines, of superior construction, for 
j which we tender those gentlemen our sincere thanks. There is a ma« 
I nifest improvement in the material and strength of the knives; and the 
wood work is substantially made of black walnut, the mahogany of 
the west, and highly finished. Messrs. Shulers have contracted with 
| the patentee for the privilege of manufacturing and vending the ma¬ 
chines in this state; and it is their intention, we understand, to have 
them for sale, in all our principal towns, the coming fall, of their im¬ 
proved construction. 
The Hop Culture Is said to be profitably conducted in England, par¬ 
ticularly in Kent; and this will be matter of surprise, when we com- 
pare the produce with the expenses. The produce varies from one to 
twenty hundred pounds an acre, and the writer of British Husbandry 
assumes, as a fair average product, 700 pounds, while he estimates the 
expense of growing and securing an acre at £35.10. (=to $157.62.) 
Among the items of expense we find the following: 
500 poles, to repair annual losses, at 30s.£7 10 0 
Carriage of do. 1 10 0 
Rent, including parochial rates,. 6 00 0 
Tithes,... 110 0 
Excise duty, 18s. 8 d. per cwt... 6 10 8 
£23 00 8 
The poles, with us, might cost half the above estimate, and the rent 
here would be high at $10 the acre. Deducting the difference in these 
items, the result would be, that thirty-three dollars of the above expense 
