THE CULTIVATOR. 
123 
DICTIONARY OF TERMS 
USED IN 
Agriculture and its Kindred Sciences. 
CHEMISTRY. A science which teaches the relation 
which matter bears to other matter, and the manner in 
which the laws of affinity, vitality and organization, 
perform their several functions. Agricultural chemis¬ 
try is limited to a knowledge of the substances which 
enter into animals and vegetables, to serve them for 
nourishment; and to the study of all the agents which 
aid them in accomplishing these functions. Agricultu¬ 
ral chemistry first assumed a definite form under the 
labors of Davy and Chaptal, and though but a compa¬ 
ratively few years have elapsed since the attention of 
chemists was directed to this object, the benefits that 
have already resulted, are immense. It is this which 
has taught the analysis of soils, the nature and action 
of manures, and the different substances that go to 
make up the several parts of plants, and of course the 
materials that should be furnished them to forward their 
growth and mature their seeds. Farmers knew how to 
make the earth produce straw, but to fill the ears with 
grain, was beyond their power. Chemistry came to their 
aid, and taught them that manures containing phospho¬ 
ric salts, and those that furnish azote and gluten, are 
the ones that can alone tend to sucha result; in othei 
words, that the soil must have returned to it as much 
of these essential ingredients as cropping was taking 
from it, or the production of the grains would be impos¬ 
sible. It has been said that chemistry lias not taken 
the lead in any measures of decisive utility to agricul¬ 
ture: that it has only explained results which experi¬ 
ence'had already discovered. But it should be .remem¬ 
bered that the results which experience had obtained, 
gave, under ordinary circumstances, no data by which 
such results could be repeated. Chemistry gave the re¬ 
sponse, which was in vain elsewhere asked. She taught 
why certain results were in some cases obtained, while 
in others, to the common eye the same, gave returns to¬ 
tally different from those expected; and the career of 
agricultural chemistry, though it lias already perform¬ 
ed much, can hardly be said to be fairly commenced. 
CHERRY. (Prunus.) There are two kinds of the 
cherry tree which are of considerable importance; the 
first, the wild or black cherry of our forests, Prunus vir- 
giniana. is much valued for the excellence of its wood, 
which is used extensively for the manufacture of furni¬ 
ture. It is one of the most beautiful of our forest trees, 
throwing up a tall straight trunk, from six to nine feet 
in circumference, some seventy or eighty feet. While 
the use of liquors was tolerated as fashionable, the cher¬ 
ries of this tree were in great demand, for the making 
of cherry rum, cherry cordials, &c. This kind of 
cherry would be more extensively planted, were it not 
liable to be attacked by multitudes of worms, which in 
open lands not unfrequently divest them of their entire 
foliage. The other kind of cherry is the cultivated va¬ 
riety, ( Prunus cerasm,) and though too little attention 
is paid to this tree, it is one of the most valuable of 
our fruit trees, easily grown, very hardy, and early in 
the season. Cherries are of two kinds, as cultivated 
in our gardens ; the heart shaped and round varieties. 
Of the first,, the Black and White Tartarian, Black 
Heart and Elton, are the favorite kinds; of the latter 
the Early May, May Duke, Late Duke, and Waterloo, 
are highly esteemed. Cherries flourish best in a dry 
and rather light soil; and a heavy wet or clay soil is not 
only injurious to the tree, but the fruit on such trees is 
of an inferior quality. 
CHRYSALIS. The life of insects is usually divided in¬ 
to three stages, that of larva, chrysalis or pupa, and per¬ 
fect insect. Of the first of these stages, the caterpil¬ 
lar, grub, maggot, &c. afford examples. During this 
stage they are voracious eaters, and this appears to be 
the sole object of this period of their existence. In the 
second or chrysalis state, the worm usually casts off its 
exterior covering, and appears in a hard case or shell; 
in which it generally passes the winter in an immov¬ 
able state. The round smooth case of the chrysalis of 
the meffilontha or May bug, and irregular shaped enve- 
lons of the Lejndoptera , are examples of this state fa¬ 
miliar to all. The perfect insects are seen in the flies, 
butterflies, beetles, &c. and in this state few of them 
pay much attention to feeding, some indeed never eat 
atn'l, the great object of all being the perpetuation of 
their species. Some insects spin a covering to the 
chrysalis ; the cocoon of the silk worm being of this 
kind. Insect life in all its stages affords an interesting 
and instructive study, and from their influence on the 
productions of the farm, insects have not as yet receiv¬ 
ed the attention they deserve. 
CIDFR. The expressed and fermented juice of ap- 
pi es . To pro luce good cider, it is necessary that the 
fruit should be ripe, that it should be sound, that it 
- should be all of one kind, and that there should be a 
perfect grinding of the apples. If the apples are not 
ripe, the saccharine matter necessary to make a good 
f rmented liquor is not developed ; rotten apples impart 
an unpleasant flavor to the liquor, and different kinds of 
app'es afford a liquor that will not ferment equally or 
perfectly. When theli pier is pressed from the pomace, 
it should be put in sweet, clean barrels, allowed to fer¬ 
ment, and filled up occasionally that all the feculent 
matter may escape. It may then be fined by isinglass, 
or drawn off for bottling. Where making good cider is 
an object with the farmer, it is usually racked off after 
the fermentation is closed, and time allowed for all sedi¬ 
ment to leave the liquor, into clean new barrels fumi¬ 
gated with sulphur, and will then keep good for a con¬ 
siderable length of time. Cider was formerly used ex¬ 
tensively for distillation into apple brandy, but is now 
but little used for that purpose. According to Brande’s 
analysis of fermented liquors, wines contain from 25 to 
10 per cent of alcohol, and cider from 10 to 5 per cent. 
Cider makes an excellent vinegar, and large quantities 
are consumed for that purpose. The best cider made 
in the United States is produced in New-Jersey, ow¬ 
ing probably to the skill in manufacturing, more than 
to any peculiar excellence of fruit or singularity of the 
CLAY. A kind of earth very abundant in soils, and 
of great use in the arts. The basis of clay is alumine, 
which is seen very pure in some specimens of the alum 
of commerce. A leading feature of alumine is its 
strong affinity for water, it requiring a great degree of 
heat to effect an entire separation; hence soils in which 
this material abounds, or those which are clayey, are 
most usually wet in proportion to the quantity of this 
earth existing in them. Next to silica, clay is the most 
abundant of the earths, and is of extensive service to 
the agriculturist. Indeed, without its presence, vege¬ 
tation would be scarcely possible, and cultivation could 
not exist. To the presence of clay we owe the capacity 
of soils to retain moisture in any degree, since the other 
earths would leave it so porous, that water'would pass 
through as readily as through a sieve. Mixed with 
lime, clay constitutes marl, of which such use is alrea¬ 
dy made in fertilizing the soil, where these ingredients 
appear to be wanting. On soils so sandy as to be po¬ 
rous, the application of manures produces only a partial 
good, it soon sinking beyond the reach of the roots of 
plants. It is on these that clay may be applied directly 
with excellent efifect. In order to incorporate it with 
the soil readily, clay should be dug and exposed to the 
air and frosts, that it may more easily fall to pieces 
when applied to the soil. Plowed under in large 
masses, it not only does no good, but is in the way of 
cultivation, and fineness is indispensable to its utility. 
Burning clay is extensively practiced in some parts of 
England for the purpose of farming. This operation 
destroys its tenacity, and by lessening its affinity for 
water, renders the soil with which it is mixed more dry 
and friable, and consequently much better adapted to 
the production of grain crops. Clay usually contains 
more or less of the oxide of iron, and to this cause its 
red color when burned is owing. The more pure kinds 
are manufactured into ware of various degrees of fine¬ 
ness, pipes, delf, Liverpool, wedgewood and porce¬ 
lain. 
CLIMATE. By this term is to be understood “ the cha¬ 
racter of the weather peculiar to every country, as re¬ 
spects heat and cold, humidity and dryness, fertility, 
and the alternations of the seasons.” Heat cr cold do 
not depend altogether on geographical position ; there 
are a multitude'of- causes that tend to increase or de¬ 
crease these, such as oceans, mountains, plains, place 
on continents, local or general currents of air, and others 
that will at once present themselves, as influencing cli¬ 
mate in these respects. The western side of continents 
is found warmer than the eastern, a fact accounted 
for by the general prevalence of westerly winds, which 
in their passage over oceans are raised in their temper¬ 
ature, while winds that pass over land for the same dis¬ 
tance are usually cooled in the same degree. Thus the 
coast of the United States that borders on the Pacific, 
is altogether warmer than the eastern or Atlantic coast, 
the territory at the mouth of the Columbia, which is in 
the latitude of Mackinaw or Montreal, having the cli¬ 
mate, and producing the same vegetables, as Carolina 
and Georgia. On the different sides of the Atlantic, 
too, it is found the same difference prevails ; places hav¬ 
ing the latitude of Quebec, in Western Europe, produ¬ 
cing the grains and plants of Pennsylvania and Mary¬ 
land. The elevation of any country above the -.e; has 
also a decided effect on the climate. Thus, un’or the 
Equator, in ascending high mountains, the temperature 
and the climate of widely different regions may be pass¬ 
ed in a few miles or hours. The clearing of a country 
has also a great effect on climate; as forests prevent 
speedy evaporation, and retain the water that falls on 
the surface. All other circumstances being equal, a 
cleared country is warmer than a wooded one. The 
Cape Verd Islands, by being deprived of their woods, 
have become more sultry, the springs have mostly dried 
up, and the health of the inhabitants seriously affected. 
Is it not probable that many eastern countries, once fer¬ 
tile and filled with inhabitants, have become wastes, if 
not actual deserts, in consequence of the face of the 
earth having for centuries been wholly denuded of wood ? 
The great lakes of this country, containing as they do 
about one-half the fresh water on the globe, and from 
their great depth only slowly feeling the influence of 
the atmosphere, -whether in cooling or in heating, 
have perhaps more influence over the climate of the 
countries bordering upon them, than any other single 
cause. 
CLOUDS. Every man whose business is in the open 
air, is more or less a meteorologist; and none find an 
acquaintance with the clouds, and the power of judg¬ 
ing of the future by their present appearances, of more 
essential service than the farmer. In assisting to form 
a correct decision with regard to the weather, a barome¬ 
ter is a great help ; but where such an instrument is not 
at hand, the clouds, by their different structure, height, 
and density, will enable the scientific or even the ordi¬ 
nary observer to calculate more accurately the results 
of their presence. Clouds area watery vapor, and dif¬ 
fer from fogs only in their greater height, and in some 
cases, less degree of transparency. The theory of the 
formation of clouds, proposed by De Luc, is, that wa¬ 
ter in the form of vapor, and before it takes the form of 
clouds, exists in a gaseous state, which is the reason 
why the air in the higher regions of the atmosphere is 
always dry. The observations of Saussure and others 
on the mists or fogs occurring at considerable heights, 
seem to prove that clouds are collections of small vesi¬ 
cles, in the formation of which electricity acts a con 
spicuous part. Some of these vesicles or bladders seen 
by Saussure on the Alps, were of the size of small peas, 
and almost every one has observed them of the size of 
millet seed. Were these solid drops of water of that 
size, it is clear they could not float as they do, and the 
little water they afford, is proof they are only bubbles. 
Hube says, the clouds differ from fogs only in the cha¬ 
racter of the electricity they contain ; that of the first 
being negative, while that of the latter is positive. 
Howard was the first who reduced clouds to a system, 
and by distributing them into three principal forma¬ 
tions, has greatly aided the meteorologist. These are : 
1. Cirrus. This cloud is the highest of all clouds, and 
approaches the elevation of the northern lights, if in¬ 
deed the two phenomena are not intimately connected. 
Humboldt on the Andes, and Webb on the Himala, 
found this cloud as much above them, apparently, as 
when on the plains. It shows itself as a few fine and 
delicate white fibers, multiplying themselves transverse¬ 
ly, and when it forms alone, and not in the neighbor¬ 
hood of other clouds, it may be considered as one of the 
best indications of serene weather. 2. The Cumulus. 
Masses of clouds of a conical or aggregated form, the 
region of which is the middle atmosphere, and which 
usuary increase from a horizontal 1 asis upwards, lliis 
cloud generally moves with the current of air nearest 
the earth. Alone, this cloud never produces rain. It 
usualy forms during the warm summer days, and as it 
piles its towering masses in the west or the east, it fur¬ 
nishes much of the most splendid scenery of the hea¬ 
vens, 3. Stratus. Extended layers of clouds, connect¬ 
ed and horizontal. This cloud is of moderate density, 
occupying the lower region of the atmosphere, frequent¬ 
ly resting on hills or mountains, and touching trees, 
spires, &c., in its passage. Rain rarely falls from the 
stratus, but to this cloud we owe most of the dark, clou¬ 
dy, homely days, that are experienced in this latitude. 
The formation of the rain cloud is more clearly seen in 
the summer season, than at any other tin e. The cumu¬ 
lus is usualy the first cloud that forms, and appears in 
irregular, isolated masses, scarcely moving with the 
wind. If, at this time, stratus appears at the base, and 
a rapid horizontal enlargement of the mass ensues, rain 
may be expected; if, in addition to this connection of 
the cumulus and stratus, the top of the cloud continues 
to rise until long streamers of cirri project from the sum¬ 
mit, a thunder shower will he the result. No fact in 
meteorology is better ascertained Ilian that electricity 
is never developed in a cloud to any extent, unless at¬ 
tended by these streaming cirri. Every ebserver of 
such things, must often have witnessed during our sum, 
mer months the progress of the cloud from the first 
mass of cumulus, to the condensation of ihe stratus, the 
spreading of the towering cirri, and the bursting of the 
first thunder peal. Clouds exercise a vast influence on 
vegetation, independent of the water with which they 
furnish the earth. The temperature of the seasons is 
in a great measure depending upon their frequency and 
density, and not unfrequently a knowledge when rain 
is about to fall, is of the most essential servi.e to the 
practical operations of the farm. 
Period cl Gestation in Cows. 
One of the most satisfactory experiments relating to 
the subject, on record, is the one made by Earl Spencer, 
and the particulars of which are given in the second 
number of the English Agricultural Society Journal. 
The table given contains the results in the case of 
seven hundred and sixty-four cows, and the following 
statements abridged from the paper, will exhibit some 
of the most important of the details : 
First. It appears that the period of gestation varied 
from 220 days to 313 days; or no less than 90 days. 
Lord Spencer was, however, unable to rear any calves 
produced under 242 days. All under 260 days, and over 
3C0, he thinks are decidedly premature, cr irregular. 
Second. As 314 cows calved before the 2S4th day, and 
310 after the 285th day, the average period of gestation 
must be considered as between £84 and 285 days; al¬ 
though the time stated in the work on Catfie by the Lon¬ 
don Society states it at 270 days. 
Third. It appears, that omiling those considered as 
premature or irregular, the cows whose period of ges¬ 
tation did not exceed 286 days, produce - 233 cow calves, 
and of bull calves 234; while from these whose period 
exceeded 286 days, the cow calves were only 90, and the 
number of hull calves was 152. This certainly gives 
some support to the opinion so prevalent among farm¬ 
ers, that when a cow exceeds the usual time, the. pro¬ 
duce w T ill he a hull calf. 
Fourth. There were 7 cases of twin cow r calves ; 5 
cases of twin hull calves ; and 11 cases of twin cow and 
bull calves. Earl Spencer has never had a case in 
which the sexes were different, in which the heifer was 
a breeding one: they have uniformly been what are 
termed free martins. The cattle of which the above re. 
cord has been kept, are the pure improved Short Horn 
breed, and one of the finest herds in Great Britain. 
