October 3.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
1 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
M YV 
T> D 
OCTOBER 3—9, 1850. 
Weather near London 
Barometer. 1 Thermo.! Wind. 
N 1849* 
Rain in In. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bcf. Sun. 
Day of 
Year, j 
3 Th 
Jack Snipe comes. 
29.520—29.206 
61—45 
3.W. 
1.01 
5 a. 6 
33 a. 5 
2 52 
27 
10 
54 
276 ! 
! 4 F 
Sloes ripe. 
29.179-29.027 
53—33 
W. 
0.07 
7 
31 
4 13 
28 
11 
12 
277 j 
1 5 S 
Walnuts ripe. 
29.749-29.6s2 
56—37 
W. 
0.02 
9 
28 
sets. 
<3> 
11 
30 
278 
li Sun 
T9 Sun. aft. Trinity. Faith. 
29.770—29.654 
55—44 
s.w. 
0.46 
10 
26 
6a.18 
1 
11 
48 
279 ; 
, 7 M 
29.296—29.128 
64-49 
N.E. 
0.02 
12 
24 
6 44 
2 
12 
5 
280 ' 
8 Tu 
Cherry leaves fall. 
29.916-29.546 
54—29 
N.W. 
— 1 
14 
22 
7 13 
3 
12 
22 
281 
9 W 
St. Denys. Hazel leaves yellow. 
30.018—29.951 
56—28 
W. 
— 
15 
20 
7 45 
4 
12 
38 
282 
There are very few characters adorning the history of the present cen¬ 
tury, from the contemplation of which we derive so much satisfaction, as 
that of Dr. James Anderson. From boyhood to old age he was always 
in advance of his contemporaries, and as invariably did he rise to meet 
and to triumph over the adverse circumstances that encumbered his 
progress. He was born at Hermiston, near Edinburgh, in J739, and 
bereft by death of his parents at the age of fifteen, the management of a 
thirteen-hundred acre farm devolved upon him. His parents had been so 
injudicious as to have neglected bis education, on the insufficient plea that 
he was not destined for a learned profession, and thus an ill-instructed 
lad, just at that period when a parent’s guidance is most needed, had to 
enter life as a manager and master. The odds against success were vast, 
but young Anderson entered into the contest like no common athlete. 
He was well practised in the routine of farming operations, for his 
ancestors had been in the furrow for many generations, and his father 
had employed him upon the farm ; but young Anderson fully appreciated 
the need of other information to enable him to cultivate the soil with the 
best success. On his 1300 acres there were soils widely differing in fer¬ 
tility, and he sought for a teacher to tell him whence sprang the difference. 
He at once saw that that teacher is Chemistry, and he as promptly re¬ 
solved to attend the lectures delivered on this science at Edinburgh, by 
Dr. Cullen. He here found a friend as well as tutor, for the Doctor duly 
appreciated what must be the character of one who, though so very young, 
had ventured to come out from the herd of the ignorant at that time cul¬ 
tivating the soil. Nor did he rest satisfied with acquiring a knowledge 
of chemistry, but he also studied botany and mechanics—siences, both in¬ 
timately connected with the practice of farming; and we are thus told the 
consequence by one of his contemporaries—“ he entered upon his farm 
at the age of fifteen, with knowledge superior to most of his neighbours, 
and an enterprising spirit which induced him to attempt improvements 
wherever they could be introduced with apparent advantage.” His judg¬ 
ment was fully as conspicuous as his superior knowledge and enterprize, 
so that this youth stands now pre-eminent as one of the principal foun¬ 
ders of that best system of farming established in Mid-Lothian. We 
have no space to devote to the numerous improvements he effected, 
but one which still remains prominent, the small two-horse Scotch 
plough, is a striking example. The use of this, in the place of the old 
heavy cumbrous many-horsed plough, has been, perhaps, the most 
effectual single element in elevating the agriculture of Scotland. In 1771 
appeared his first literary effort, Essays on Planting; and it was the 
commencement of a series too long for us to enumerate, embracing many 
sciences, and in each leaving traces of his footsteps yet uneffaced. His 
Practical Treatise on Chimneys shows that correct knowledge of the 
principles on which a draught depends, that if those principles were kept 
in view by the architect we should not so often suffer from smoking fire¬ 
places. His Remarks on the Fisheries of Western Scotland were so 
sound as to attract the attention of Government; and he was officially 
employed to survey and report upon the fishing capabilities of the dis¬ 
trict, yet he was never remunerated for the service. This was the more 
unjust, because, as he states in his correspondence with General Wash¬ 
ington, Mr. Pitt promised him a suitable recompense, and had no better 
reason for withholding it than that he “ dared to do so.” In his writings 
upon The Corn Laws he clearly anticipated that discovery of the true 
origin of rent which has been attributed to Malthus, West, and Iticardo, 
namely, that it is “ the difference between the cost of raising produce on 
the more fruitful and of raising it on the less fruitful soils.” In 1790 
Dr. Anderson—for he had ten years before been raised to this degree by 
the College of Aberdeen—established in Edinburgh a weekly periodical 
called The Bee. Here again appears a demonstration how much he was 
in advance of his times, for in that period of quartos and other dear 
forms of literature, rendering knowledge scaled against the many, he had 
upon his title-page—“a work calculated to disseminate useful knowledge 
among all ranks of people, at a small price.” Dr. Anderson was a noble 
example to those who preside over our periodical literature. Avoiding all 
the petty squabbling*, because he was above the petty jealousies, which 
show that editors think more of their own piques than the instruction of 
their readers, his pages are free from all personalities ; and yet, when the 
occasion arose, he stood forth boldly to guard the rights of all connected 
with the public press. He was the only one of Dr. Cullen’s pupils who 
took notes of his lectures ; and when these notes were unfairly obtained 
from him, he at once crushed the attempt to publish them, fearing, as he 
said, “that his imperfect transcripts might injure the fame of his 
master.” Again, when a series of Essays on the Political Progress of 
j Great Britain so far excited the displeasure of government that the 
i Sheriff of Edinburgh was directed to discover their author. Dr. Anderson 
i refused to betray from whose pen they proceeded,—to use his own words, 
j “ I am personally responsible for what I have published.” The inquiry 
was abandoned ; but subsequently, when the author of those Essays —a 
| creature named Callender—had the malicious audacity to attribute them 
j to Lord Gardenston, a judge of the Court of Session, Dr. Anderson at 
; once held up Callender to public scorn by avowing the truth. Callender 
fled to America, and died accidentally in one of its rivers. 
About the year 1797 Dr* Anderson removed to the neighbourhood of 
London, and soon after commenced publishing a monthly periodical 
: entitled, Recreations in Agriculture , Natural History , Arts, and Miscel- 
, luncous Literature , which extended to six volumes, and the essays in 
; which may yet be consulted with advantage, and the typography of which 
is pre-eminently beautiful. Infirmities now came upon him, and he re¬ 
signed himself to the relaxation of a quiet life, solaced by intercourse 
with a large circle of literary friends, and the cultivation of his garden, 
which became “ the miniature of all his past labours,” and in connection 
with which he published, in 1803, A Description of A Patent Hothouse, 
which operates chiefly by the heat of the sun. The concluding scene 
now approached ; and we will tell of it in the words of one of his 
biographers. “ He was a man of strong constitution and of temperate 
habits, but as he advanced in life the intenseness of his literary labours 
hastened his death, which took place on the loth of October, 1808. His 
character is described by those who knew him as kind and generous, and 
his conversation as animated and full of apt illustration. He had a wide 
circle of personal friends among the eminent literary men of his age, and 
carried on an active correspondence with them, though he said of himself, 
‘ You know that I would rather walk a dozen of miles than write a letter 
at any time ; I always put it off till the last hour.’ ” He was twice mar¬ 
ried, and had thirteen children, only one of whom survived him. It is 
due to his memory, as well as to the justice of government, to record 
that that survivor received a pension, “ in consideration of her father’s 
services.” 
Meteorology of the Week. — From observations made during 
twenty-three years, at Chiswick, the average highest and lowest tempera¬ 
tures there during these seven days are 62.3° and 43.8°, respectively. 
The greatest heat observed, 80°, was on the 5th in 1834 ; and the lowest, 
29°, w r as observed on several days. The number of fine days during the 
period were 81, and on 80 days rain fell. 
Insects. —About twelve 
months since we heard of a 
patch in a pasture eaten 
bare by the caterpillars of 
the Antler Moth, which made 
| us quite ready to assent to 
I Mr. Kirby’s observation— 
that it is “ the greatest enemy 
of our pastures.” Fortu¬ 
nately, it is of rare occur¬ 
rence in this country. It is 
I the Ceraptery.v (Charwas 
: and Bombyx) graminis of 
entomologists. This moth, 
represented of its largest 
size in our drawing, is generally altogether of a grey brown colour, with 
a slender w'hitisli line running from the base of the fore-wing along its 
centre vein, and branching along its branches. Another whitish line runs 
alonf* near each edge of the fore-wing; near the point of the w ing is a row 
of triangular dark spots. There are also two dark kidney-shaped spots 
neat the front edge. The hind-wings are yellowdsh brown, with a dark 
circular spot in the centre of each, and various dusky bars. The cater¬ 
pillar is green, with brown spots, and smooth. In the few instances it 
lias been found in this country it appeared in June. Mr. Kirby says, 
“ It is said not to touch the foxtail grass. In the years 1740-41-42-48-49 
they multiplied so prodigiously, and committed such ravages, in many 
provinces of Sweden, that the meadows became white and dry, as if a fire 
had passed over them. In 1759, and again in 1802, the high sheep-farms 
in Tweedale were dreadfully infested with a caterpillar, which was pro¬ 
bably the larva of this moth. Spots a mile sauare were totally covered 
with them, and the grass devoured to the root.” 
Carbonate of Ammonia, so generally known aa “ smell¬ 
ing salts,” comes next in our alphabetical list of ma¬ 
nures; and to reanimate the fainting human being and 
to invigorate the growing plant are not such dissimilar 
powors, as may appear at first sight, to be found in one 
chemical preparation. The very grass the gardener 
tramples on, the meanest weed upon his borders, is so 
highly organised, so exhibits intimations of having 
functions similar to those more highly developed in 
superior animals, that it is not possible to point out 
No. CV., Von. V. 
