THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 29, 1858. 
tuted for atmospheric air. All the known gases have been 
tried, hut they all prove fatal to the animal which is made to 
breathe them. Even water absorbs air when exposed to the 
action of the atmosphere, and thence becomes a fit element for 
the various tribes of creatures which inhabit it.” 
Then we are told of the marvellous consumption of this 
article, atmospheric air, which takes place daily :— 
“ When a full-grown man, of average stature and develop¬ 
ment, fills his lungs by a deep inspiration, they contain about 
300 cubic inches of air, and at every expiration lie emits 190 
cubic inches. The breathing capacity of a woman’s chest is 
little more than half that of a man, and decreases in proportion 
to the tightness of the corset she wears. A man draws in his 
breath on an average twenty times every minute, and, con¬ 
sequently, 28,800 times in the course of a day and night. At 
each inspiration about sixteen cubic inches are inhaled, and, 
therefore, a man daily takes into his lungs about 240,800 
cubic inches of air, and, in ordinary breathing, the air thrown 
out from the lungs nearly balances the amount drawn into 
them. The 240,800 cubic inches, inhaled during twenty-four 
hours, contain 48,160 cubic inches of oxygen, of which about 
46,000 are retained for the purpose of combining with the 
blood, as this life-tide circulates through the lungs. Part of 
that oxygen, combining with the superfluous carbon of the 
blood, changes the purple colour of the venous blood to the 
crimson hue it exhibits in the arteries, and is breathed forth 
in the form of carbonic acid gas, which averages about 41 per 
cent, of all the air thrown forth from the lungs. Some of the 
oxygen inhaled also combines with the hydrogen of the blood, 
forming water, and this in the form of vapour, heated to about 
98°, the temperature of the healthy body, is produced at the 
rate of rather more than nine ounces daily.” 
V 
In speaking of “ The Clothing of the World,” there is 
this passage :— 
“ The celebrated Boerhaave used to say, that nobody 
suffered from cold save fools and beggars, the latter not being 
able to procure clothes, and the former not having sense to 
wear them. Be this as it may, we can with the strictest 
truth testify, that in many cases, where the powers of medi¬ 
cine had been tried in vain, the patient has been cured by 
wearing thick shoes, a flannel waistcoat and drawers, a pair 
of under-stockings, or a flannel petticoat, to be worn during 
the cold season at least. Where warmer clothing is wanted, 
we would recommend the fleecy hosiery to be worn next the 
skin. 
“ We have already noticed that clothing is warm, owing to 
its preventing the escape of heat from the body, and clothing 
does so in proportion as the material of which it is composed 
is a bad conductor of heat. 
“ Linen is a better conductor of heat than cotton, cotton 
! than wool, and wool than fur; consequently, linen forms the 
most cooling of apparel, or, in other words, allows the heat 
to pass through it from the body fastest; and cotton, wool, 
and fur do so in the order in which we have mentioned them. 
“ We clothe ourselves with wool because it is a bad con¬ 
ductor of heat, and retards its escape from the body. The 
| inhabitants of Russia clothe themselves in fur because fur is 
j a still worse conductor of heat than wool. Sheep are natives 
i of a temperate climate, but the bear and the ermine of the 
! coldest. The provident care of the Creator is evidently con- 
: spicuous in this appointment, and discovers the same unde- j 
: viating attention to the comfort of all his creatures : hence 
the clothing of animals in the torrid zone is hair, in the tem¬ 
perate zones wool, in the frigid thick fur. 
“ The tighter a dress fits the more cooling it is, because 
there is less air between it and the skin, and cor,fined air is 
one of the very worst conductors of heat. All confined 
bodies of atmospheric air are non-conductors of heat. It is 
i on this principle that double windows preserve the warmth 
| of apartments at an equable temperature. In like manner, 
I double lids for boilers, formed so as to hold a sheet of air, are 
j found to be very effectual for preserving the heat of the 
; liquor with a very small portion of fuel. 
“ On this principle it is that light spongy substances, such 
as furs and down, afford the warmest clothing. Hence it is, 
that the carpet of snow which covers the earth in winter is 
spread out by nature with so light a hand that it might hold 
an abundance of atmospheric air within its interstices, to 
195 
preserve the warmth of those innumerable tribes of vegetables 
which it is destined to protect.” 
These are but two or three specimens of the character of 
the whole book, which is throughout written in the same 
highly entertaining style, forming a handsome volume of 500 
pages, containing information, communicated in a similar style, 
and with many illustrations, on the soil, light, heat, air, 
water, vegetable food, animal food, beverages, clothing, 
poisons, medicines, and metals of the world. We commend 
it very highly, as a book that everybody ought to possess. 
NORTH RODE, 
THE SEAT OF T. DAINTRY, ESQ. 
Cheshire is, as almost all the world knows, famous for its 
excellent cheese; and it is equally renowned for the gentry j 
that reside in it,—the “ Cheshire gentry” being quite a common j 
saying. Perhaps there is no county in England, where there 
is such an uninterrupted succession of the seats of noblemen 
and gentlemen. Commencing near the town of Macclesfield 
(the great emporium of silk manufactures), the tourist.Hiay j 
visit beautiful mansions, parks, and gardens, quite up to the j 
walls of that singular, old-fashioned city, Chester, and even i 
beyond it, to the sea-coast opposite Liverpool. Each seat has 
its peculiar beauties, and yet there is a certain resemblance 
running through the whole. There is generally undulating 
ground in the various parks, which are mostly well clothed ! 
with wood; and each have fine sheets of water, in some ! 
even approaching to the dignity of lakes. 
Lately, I was rambling in this rich county, and, having 
often heard of good gardening at North Rode, I made it in 
my way to call there. The North Staffordshire railway runs 
near it; in fact, there is a station, about five miles from 
Macclesfield, named North Rode. The mansion is about a 
mile from the station. A beautiful winding, broad, well-kept 
lane leads to it. When I visited it the morning was beautiful, j 
and everything pleasant,—such as birds singing, wild flowers 
blooming, and the pastures thickly clothed with rich grass, 
on which the Cheshire cows were quietly feeding,—just such 
a morning as would raise in the heart of a right-thinking 
man, thankfulness that he lived in such a beautiful, happy, ; 
free country. I am not ashamed to confess, that I felt 
grateful to the Giver of all Good, on that occasion especially. ’ 
The quiet scene, the pleasant weather, the pure air, and the j 
beauty and bounty spread before me, was truly delightful and ! 
refreshing. These thoughts passed through my mind as I 
wended my way through this truly English scene. The wild 
flowers I noted were the Self-Heal (Prunella), with dense j 
heads of purple flowers; the Stiehwort (Cerostium ), with 
its pure white, starry blossoms ; the pink Ragged Robin • 
( Lychnis ); the blue wild Hyacinth, or Blue Bell; the white 
Hawthorn; and the insignificant, though thickly-clustered 
Holly-blooms ;— all, and many others, being very interesting, i 
And Ferns were unfolding their lovely fronds in abundance, 
in shady, moist places. These observations beguiled the way, ; 
till, on descending a gentle slope, the lake burst upon my 
sight in all its beauty. Glancing over it, the modest mansion ! 
appeared on the opposite hill, embosomed in trees, in their 
bright spring clothing of pure green. Crossing over the 1 
embankment of the water, the road turns to the right, and I j 
came to the simple and elegant entrance-gate. On the left I 
noticed a pretty village, ornamented with a beautiful church j 
spire, crowning the highest ground. Near it there is a con- i 
siderable plantation of Firs, in a happy position to give ! 
variety, both in colour and contour. When more advanced j 
in growth, they will break the sameness of the sky-line, and j 
give a fulness to the background of the view in that direction.} ; 
The trees in the park are, comparatively speaking, young; 
though, at a distance, I saw some Beeches and Oaks, venerable I 
in their old age. 
I entered the dressed grounds, and made my way at once 
to Mr. Chaplin, the gardener, and he very civilly paid me 
every attention. 1 found him, as I expected from previous 
information, a gardener in truth and in deed, quite devoted 
to his business, and, in consequence, successful in his practice. 
We first entered the vineries. The Vines were luxuriant and 
healthy, and bearing an immense crop, indeed too many, as I 
told him I feared, to colour well. But he said—No ; I know J 
