Chapter IX: Preface: To the First Edition (9)

We know of another case. While Gesenius, the world-wide famous Hebrew scholar, was as school, he had a bench-fellow named Eitlegeorge. I know nothing of his former life. But ten years ago I knew him in Cincinnati as a baker, and a first-rate one too; and while Gesenius issued books and got fame, Eitlegeorge issued bread and got money. At length he disappeared from the city. Travelling from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, a year or two since, I came upon a farm of such fine land that it attracted my attention, and induced me to ask for the owner. It belonged to our friend of the oven! There was a whole township belonging to him, and a good use he appeared to make of it. Courage then, ye bakers! In a short time you may raise wheat instead of molding dough.

* * * * *

A HOLE IN THE POCKET.—If it were not for these holes in the pocket, we should all be rich. A pocket is like a cistern, a small leak at the bottom is worse than a large pump at the top. God sends _rain_ enough every year, but it is not every man that will take pains to catch it; and it is not every man that catches it who knows how to keep it.

ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS.

A description of a few of the desirable flowering and ornamental shrubs for yards and lawns may enable our readers to select with judgment.

PRIVET.—This is quite beautiful as a single plant; but is universally employed for hedges, verdant screens, etc. There is an evergreen variety, originally from Italy, by far the best. The roots of this plant are fibrous, don’t spread much; the limbs endure the shears very patiently; it grows very rapidly, two full seasons being sufficient to form a hedge; and it will flourish under the shade and drip of trees.

ROSE ACACIA (_Robinia hispida_).—This is a species of the locust, of a dwarf habit, seldom growing six feet in height, and covered with fine spines which give its branches a mossy appearance. Its blossoms resemble the locust, but are of a pink color. It is often grafted upon the locust to give it a higher head and better growth. It should be in every shrubbery.

VENETIAN SUMACH, or smoke tree (_Rhus cotinus_).—The peculiarity of this shrub is in the large bunches of russet-colored seed-vessels, looking, at a little distance, like a puff of smoke. The French and Germans call it _periwig-tree_, from the resemblance of these russet masses to a powdered wig. It grows freely, and is highly ornamental.

There are two other species of sumach worthy of cultivation; the _Rhus typhina_, or Stag’s Horn sumach, of a fine flower, and whose leaves turn in autumn to a beautiful purplish red; and the _R. glabra_, or Scarlet sumach, having red flowers and fruit of a velvety scarlet appearance, changing as it ripens to crimson.

SYRINGA, or Mock Orange (_Philadelphus coronarius_), is a beautiful shrub, having, in the spring, flowers of a pure white, and of an odor only less exquisite than that of the orange; whence one of its popular names. The leaves have the smell of the cucumber, and are sometimes used in spring to flavor salads. It grows freely, even under the shade of trees, which, in all low shrubs, is a valuable quality. There is also a large flowered inodorous variety. The popular name, Syringa, is the botanical name of the lilac; but these plants are not in the remotest degree related to each other.

LILAC.—This well-known and favorite little tree requires only to be mentioned. There is a white variety, and delicately-leaved variety called the Persian.

SNOWBALL (_Viburnum opulus_), everywhere known, and everywhere a favorite; and scarcely less so is the

WAXBERRY, or Snowberry, (_Symphora racemosa_), introduced by Lewis and Clark to the public attention, and first raised from seed by McMahan, a gardener of some note. When its fruit is grown, it has a beautiful appearance.

TAMARISK (_Tamarix gallica_), a sub-evergreen of very beautiful feathery foliage, of rapid growth, and highly ornamental in a shrubbery. It will grow in very poor soil.

SHEPARDIA, or Buffalo Berry, from the Rocky Mountains, a low tree, with small silvery leaves, a currant-like fruit, which is edible. This is worthy of cultivation. It is diœcious, and the male and female trees must therefore be planted in proximity.

DWARF ALMOND (_Amygdalus nana_), but now called by botanists Cerasus or Prunus japonica. This favorite shrub is found in all gardens and yards. The profusion of its blossoms and the delicacy of their color make it, during the short time of its inflorescence, deservedly a favorite. As it flowers before its leaves put forth, it requires a green background to produce its full effect. It should therefore be planted against evergreens.

WOOD HONEYSUCKLE (_Azalea_).—This is a native of North America, and is perfectly hardy. It flourishes best in a half shade, and flowers freely. There have been a vast number of varieties originated from crossing the species; and the nurseries will supply almost every shade of color from white to brilliant flame color.

The _A. pontica_ is also hardy; but the Chinese species require a greenhouse. This is one of the most magnificent shrubs that can be cultivated, and deserves the special attention of those who wish to form even a moderately good shrubbery.

The BERBERRY (_Berberis vulgaris_) is quite beautiful when in fruit. It is easily propagated, grows in any soil, requires little pruning, and is very good fur hedges.

GLOBE FLOWER (_Corchorus japonica_).—A very pretty shrub with double yellow flowers, which are in abundance early in the summer, and also, but sparingly, shown throughout the season.

“By some mistake _Kerria japonica_ was at first supposed to
belong to Corchorus, a genus of Tiliaceæ, and of course
nearly allied to the lime-tree; to which it bears no
resemblance, though it is still called _Corchorus japonica_
in the nurseries. It is also singular, that though the
double-flowered variety was introduced into England in 1700,
the species was not introduced till 1835. It is a delicate
little shrub, too slender to support itself in the open air;
but when trained against a wall, flowering in great
profusion. It should be grown in a light, rich soil, and it
is propagated by cuttings.”—_Companion to the Flower Garden._

LABURNUM (_Cytisus laburnum_).—This beautiful plant forms a small tree, which, in May, is covered with pendant yellow blossoms. Blooming at the same time with the lilac, the two planted together have an extremely beautiful effect. It is hardy, grows in any soil, and is propagated easily by seed.

The Scotch Laburnum (_C. alpinus_), is much more beautiful than the common kind, “the flowers and leaves being larger and the flower more frequently fragrant. They are also produced much later in the season, not coming into flower till the others are quite over.”

ALTHEA, or Rose of Sharon (_Hibiscus Syriacus_).—One of the most desirable shrubs for yards and gardens. The form of the shrub is compact and sightly; flowers double, and may be had of every color; it is hardy, growing well in all soils, and blooms continually from the last of July till frost. It is beautiful in avenues, and, being patient of the shears, it will form a fine _floral_ hedge, a good specimen of which may be seen on Mr. Hoffner’s beautiful grounds near Cincinnati. The single altheas are not so desirable. We regard this shrub as worthy of much more extensive cultivation than it has received. Its flowers are coarse on a close inspection, but at a little distance, and among other plants its effect is excellent. It is very easily propagated by cuttings, or from the seed.

SWEET-SCENTED SHRUB (_Calycanthus Floridus_).—Chiefly desirable from the pine-apple fragrance of its brownish-purple flowers. They are used to scent drawers, to carry in the pocket, etc. It grows freely in any dry, rich soil, and is propagated by layers and suckers.

RED-BUD (_Cercis Canadensis_).—This small tree is familiar to every one, being the first spring flowering tree of our woods. It flourishes in gardens and makes a finer appearance there than in its native localities.

* * * * *

GOOSEBERRIES.—Let those who are accustomed to lose their fruit by mildew, drench their bushes with an alkaline wash. Lime-water, or diluted lye are the most convenient. With a watering-pot, copiously water the whole bush, on the upper and under side of the branches; which can be easily done, if one will lift the branches while another bestows the shower-bath. After they have done bearing, prune out the head, and the lower branches, so as to give a _free circulation of air_ under and through the bush. Spade in about them a liberal dressing of leached ashes, and fine charcoal if procurable.

GARDEN WORK FOR AUGUST.

_Dahlias_ will require special attention to secure them from splitting down, and breaking; let every part be well supported by ties. The cool nights and warm days of approaching fall will give them their most vigorous growth.

SAVING SEED.—Beet, spinage, peas, celery, salsify, lettuce seeds will now be ripe and should be gathered. Even if not quite ripe, they may be plucked, as experiments seem to show that seeds are more injured by over-ripeness than under-ripening. Seal up your peas in bottles and put wax about the cork, according to Dr. Plummer’s directions, and the larvæ of the pea-bug will die for want of air. Seeds are ripened best in their own pods or receptacles; and where they ripen nearly at the same time, and do not easily shake out, we hang the whole plant in an airy shed, barn, etc., until winter; and then, for convenience, thresh out and pack up.

As fast as your perennial plants have shed their flowers, let the seed plants be destroyed, unless you wish to save seed, as the ripening of seed exhausts the root.

Young peach-trees should have the side shoots cleared away and one strong centre stem secured for budding in the fall.

Onions may now be gathered. Let them lie a day or two on the bed or in the alley, and then be transferred to a cool and airy place. The sets for top onions may be tied in bundles and hung up till spring.

Where peas and bush beans have been cleared away, turnips may be sowed for a fall and winter crop.

Spinage seed should be got ready to be sown in September, if you wish a good supply of this choicest of all spring greens.

Celery plants will begin to grow strongly in the trenches; water with liquid manure; if troubled with insects, dust with quick lime and water with salt water. Above all things be careful in drawing in the earth to keep it out from the heart of the plant, and let it be done in dry weather.

PULLING OFF POTATO BLOSSOMS.

The _Boston Cultivator_, speaking of this process, says: “As the qualities of the potato-ball or apple differ considerably from the root or tuber, it may be that the juices destined to nourish the balls will not, on removing the blossoms, go to increase the roots. This view is not unreasonable.”

We do not suppose the theory to be, that the sap tending to the bloom and ball _returns_ to the root. But, simply, that there will be so much less food to be prepared, and therefore so much less exhaustion to the vegetable economy. It is well known that the filling out and ripening of seeds is eminently exhausting to the plant. It has long been the custom of florists who wish show-flowers, to refuse their bulbous plants leave to bloom for one season, plucking off the bud, that they might be so much the stronger for the next year’s blooming.

But we suppose the truth to be this. The sap is prepared in the leaf and enters the distributing vessels of the plant. It is conveyed to every organ; each part, receiving its portion, _modifies it by a farther chemical action peculiar to itself_. Thus in the case of an apple-tree. The elaborated sap which goes to the leaf, the alburnum, the liber, the blossom, the fruit is the same in all; but the fruit gives it a still further elaboration, by which it imparts the peculiar properties belonging to it, in distinction from the tissues; so of the bark, the blossom, etc. If, then, the seed-vessels are removed, so much less elaborated sap is consumed as they would have required; and this, or at least, portions of it, are given to the other parts of the vegetable economy.

BLADING AND TOPPING CORN.

No one performs these operations for the benefit of the ear, but to obtain fodder, and it is then justified on the ground that the corn is not harmed by it. The sap drawn from the root does not flow straight up into the ear and kernel, but into the _leaves_ or blades. The carbonic acid of the crude sap is decomposed, oxygen is given off and carbon remains in the form of starch, sugar, gum, etc., etc., according to the nature of the plant. When sap has by exposure to light undergone this change it is said to be _elaborated_.

It is only now that the sap, passing from the upper side of the leaf to a set of vessels in the under side, is reconveyed to the stem, begins to descend, and is distributed to various parts of the plant, affording nourishment to all. But when the fruit of every plant is maturing, it draws to itself a large part of the prepared sap, which, when it has entered the kernel, is still farther elaborated, and made to produce the peculiar qualities of the fruit, whether corn or wheat, apple or pear. It is plain from this explanation that a plant stripped of its leaves is like a chemist robbed of his laboratory, or like a man without lungs.

If corn is needed for fodder, let it be cut close to the ground when the corn has glazed. The grain will go on ripening and be as heavy and as good as if left to stand, and the stalk will afford excellent food for cattle. Sheep are fond of corn thus cured, and will winter very well upon it. In husking out the corn, the husk should be left on the stalk for fodder.

MAPLE-SUGAR.

As most persons who have not informed themselves on the subject, imagine that we are indebted to cane-sugar for our main supply, and that maple-sugar is a petty neighborhood matter, not worth the figures employed to represent it, we propose to spend some space in stating the truth on this matter. We will exhibit, 1, the amount produced; 2, the proper way of manufacturing it; 3, the proper treatment of sugar-tree groves.

We shall confine our statistics to the most important Northern and Western States.

1. New York produces annually 10,048,109 lbs.
2. Ohio 6,363,386 “
3. Vermont 4,647,934 “
4. Indiana 3,727,795 “
5. Pennsylvania 2,265,755 “
6. New Hampshire 1,162,368 “
7. Virginia 1,541,833 “
8. Kentucky 1,377,835 “
9. Michigan 1,329,784 “
---------------
Total Of nine States 22,464,799 “

Residue thus—add for Maine, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Maryland, Tennessee, Illinois,
Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin 2,030,853 “
---------------
24,495,652 “

Something should be subtracted for beet-root and cornstalk-sugar. But on the other hand, the statistics are so much below the truth on maple-sugar, that the deficiency may be set off against beet-root and cornstalk-sugar. That the figures do not more than represent the amount of _maple-sugar_ produced in these States may be presumed from one case. Indiana is set down at 3,727,795; but in the four counties of Washington, Warrick, Posey and Harrison, no account seems to have been taken of this article. In Marion county, four of the first sugar-making townships, Warren, Lawrence, Centre and Franklin, are not reckoned. If we suppose these four townships to average as much as the others in Marion county, they produced 77,648 lbs., and instead of putting Marion county down at 97,064 it should be 174,712 lbs. It is apparent from this case, that in Indiana the estimate is far below the truth; and if it is half as much so in the other eight States enumerated,[7] then 22,464,799 is not more than a fair expression of the _maple-sugar_ alone.

Lousiana is the first sugar-growing State in the Union. Her produce, by the statistics of 1840, was 119,947,720, or nearly one hundred and twenty million pounds. The States of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, together, add only 645,281 pounds more.

Cane-sugar in the United States 120,593,001 lbs.
Maple “ “ “ 24,495,652 “

Thus about one-sixth of the sugar made annually in the United States is made from the maple-tree.[8] It is to be remembered too that in Louisiana it is _the_ staple, while at the North maple-sugar has never been manufactured with any considerable skill, or regarded as a regular crop, but only a temporary device of economy. Now it only needs to be understood that maple-sugar may be made so as to have the flavor of the best cane-sugar, and that it may, at a trifling expense, be refined to white sugar, and the manufacture of it will become more general, more skillful, and may, in a little time, entirely supersede the necessity of importing cane-sugar. Indiana stands fourth in the rank of maple-sugar making States. Her annual product is at least _four million pounds_, which, at six cents the pound amounts to $160,000 per annum. A little exertion would quickly run up the annual value of her home-made sugar to half a million dollars.

Maple-sugar now only brings about two-thirds the price of New Orleans. The fault is in the manufacturing of it. The saccharine principle of the _cane and tree are exactly the same_. If the same care were employed in their manufacture they would be indistinguishable; and maple-sugar would be as salable as New Orleans, and if afforded at a less price, might supplant it in the market. The average quantity of sugar consumed in England by each individual is about thirty pounds per annum.

MAPLE-SUGAR MAKING.—Greater care must be taken in collecting the sap. Old, and half-decayed wooden-troughs, with a liberal infusion of leaves, dirt, etc., impart great impurity to the water. Rain-water, decayed vegetable matter, etc., add _chemical_ ingredients to the sap, troublesome to extract, and injuring the quality if not removed. The expense of clean vessels may be a little more, but with care, it could be more than made up in the quality of the sugar. Many are now using earthen-crocks. These are cheap, easily cleaned, and every way desirable, with the single exception of breakage. But if wood-troughs are used, let them be kept scrupulously clean.

The kettles should be scoured thoroughly before use, and kept constantly clean. If rusty, or foul, or coated with burnt sugar, neither the color nor flavor can be perfect. Vinegar and sand have been used by experienced sugar-makers to scour the kettles with. It is best to have, at least, three to a range.

All vegetable juices contain _acids_, and acids resist the process of crystallization.

Dr. J. C. Jackson[9] directs the one-_measured ounce_ (one-fourth of a gill) of pure lime-water to be added to every gallon of sap. This neutralizes the acid, and not only facilitates the granulation, but gives sugar in a free state, now too generally acid and deliquescent, besides being charged with salts of the oxide of iron, insomuch that it ordinarily strikes a black color with tea.

The process of making a pure white sugar is simple and unexpensive. The lime added to the sap, combining with the peculiar acid of the maple, forms a neutral salt; this salt is found to be easily soluble in alcohol. Dr. Jackson recommends the following process. Procure sheet-iron _cones_, with an aperture at the small end or apex—let them be coated with white-lead and boiled linseed-oil, and thoroughly dried, so that no part can come off. [We do not know why earthen cones, unglazed and painted, would not answer equally well, besides being much cheaper.] Let the sugar be put into these cones, stopping the hole in the lower end until it is entirely cool. Then remove the stopper, and pour upon the base a quantity of strong whisky or fourth-proof rum[10]—allow this to filtrate through until the sugar is white. When the loaf is dried it will be pure white sugar, with the exception of the alcohol. To get rid of this, dissolve the sugar in pure boiling hot-water, and let it evaporate until it is dense enough to crystallize. Then put it again into the cone-moulds and let it harden. The dribblets which come away from the cone while the whisky is draining, may be used for making vinegar. It is sometimes the case that whisky would, if freely used in a sugar camp, go off in a wrong direction, benefiting neither the sugar nor the sugar-maker. If, on this account, any prefer another mode, let them make a _saturated_ solution of loaf-sugar, and pour it in place of the whisky upon the base of the cones. Although the sugar will not be quite as white, the drainings will form an excellent molasses, whereas the _drainings_ by the former method are good only for vinegar.

CARE OF SUGAR ORCHARDS.—It is grievous to witness the waste committed upon valuable groves of sugar-trees. If the special object was to destroy them, it could hardly be better reached than by the methods now employed. The holes are carelessly made, and often the abominable practice is seen of cutting channels in the tree with an axe. The man who will murder his trees in this tomahawk and scalping-knife manner, is just the man that Æsop meant when he made the fable of a fellow who killed his goose to get at once all the golden eggs. With good care, and allowing them occasionally a year of rest, a sugar-grove may last for centuries.

As soon as possible get your sugar-tree grove laid down to grass, clear out underbrush, thin out timber and useless trees. Trees in open land make about _six pounds_ of sugar, and forest trees only about _four_ pounds to the season. As the maple is peculiarly rich in potash (four-fifths of potash exported is made from sugar-maple), it is evident that it requires that substance in the soil. Upon this account we should advise a liberal use of wood-ashes upon the soil of sugar-groves.

TAPPING TREES.—Two taps are usually enough—never more than three. For though as many as twenty-four have been inserted at once without killing the tree, regard ought to be had to the use of the tree through a long series of years. At first bore about two inches; after ten or twelve days remove the tap and go one or two inches deeper. By this method more sap will be obtained than by going down to the colored wood at first. We state upon the authority of William Tripure, a Shaker of Canterbury, N. H., that about seven pounds of sugar may be made from a barrel of twenty gallons, or four pounds the tree for forest trees; and two men and one boy will tend a thousand trees, making 4,000 pounds of sugar.

We would recommend the setting of pasture-lands, and road-sides of the farm with sugar-maple trees. Their growth is rapid, and no tree combines more valuable properties. It is a beautiful shade-tree, it is excellent for fuel, it is much used for manufacturing purposes, its ashes are valuable for potash, and its sap is rich in sugar. There are twenty-seven species of the maple known, twelve of them are indigenous to this continent. All of these have a sacharine sap, but only two, to a degree sufficient for practical purposes, viz., _Acer saccharinum_ or the common sugar-maple, and _Acer nigrum_ or the _black_ sugar-maple. The sap of these contains about half as much sugar as the juice of the sugar-cane. One gallon of pasture maple sap contains, on an average, 3,451 grains of sugar; and one gallon of cane juice (in Jamaica), averages 7,000 grains of sugar.

But the cane is subject to the necessity of annual and careful cultivation, and its manufacture is comparatively expensive and difficult. Whereas the maple is a permanent tree, requires no cultivation, may be raised on the borders of farms without taking up ground, and its sap is easily convertible into sugar, and if carefully made, into sugar as good as cane-sugar can be. Add to the above considerations that the sugar-making period is a time of comparative leisure with the farmer, and the motives for attention to this subject of domestic sugar-making seem to be complete.

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LETTUCE.—Those who wish fine _head_ lettuce should prepare a rich, mellow bed of light soil; tough and compact soil will not give them any growth. In transplanting, let there be at least one foot between each plant. Stir the ground often. If it is very dry weather, water at evening _copiously_, if you water at all; but the _hoe_ is the only watering-pot for a garden, if thereby the soil is kept loose and fine. We have raised heads nearly as large as a drum-head cabbage by this method, very brittle, sweet and tender withal.

[7] Dr. J. C. Jackson puts Vermont at 6,000,000 lbs. per
annum, while the census only gives about 4,000,000.

[8] The data of these calculations, it must be confessed,
are _very_ uncertain, and conclusions drawn from them as to
the relative amounts of sugar produced in different States,
are to be regarded, at the very best, as problematical. We
extract the following remarks from an article in the
_Western Literary Journal_, from the pen of Charles Cist, an
able statistical writer:

“It is not my purpose to go into an extended notice of the
errors in the statistics connected with the census of 1840.
A few examples will serve to show their character and
extent. In the article of hemp, Ohio is stated to produce
9,080 tons, and Indiana 8,605—either equal nearly to the
product of Kentucky, which is reported at 9,992 tons, and
almost equal, when united, to Missouri, to which 18,010 tons
are given as the aggregate. Virginia is stated to raise
25,594 tons, almost equal to both Kentucky and Missouri,
which are given as above at 28,002 tons. Now the
indisputable fact is, that Kentucky and Missouri produce
more hemp than all the rest of the United States, and ten
times as much as either Ohio, Indiana, or Virginia, which
three States are made to raise 50 per centum more than those
two great hemp-producing States.

“The sugar of Louisiana is given at 119,947,720 lbs., equal
to 120,000 hhds., 160 per cent. more than has been published
in New Orleans, as the highest product of the five
consecutive years, including and preceding 1840.

“But what is this to the wholesale figure-dealing which
returns 3,160,949 tons of hay, as the product of New York
for that article! a quantity sufficient to winter all the
horses and mules in the United States.

“Other errors of great magnitude might be pointed out; such
as making the tobacco product of Virginia 11,000 hhds., when
her inspection records show 55,000 hhds., thrown into market
as the crop of that year. Who believes that 12,233 lbs.
pitch, rosin and turpentine, or the tenth part of that
quantity, were manufactured in Louisiana in 1840, or that
New York produced 10,093,991 lbs. maple-sugar in a single
year, or twenty such statements equally absurd, which I
might take from the returns?”

Mr. Cist will find in the appendix to Dr. Jackson’s Final
Report on the Geology of New Hampshire, a statement, that
Vermont makes 6,000,000 pounds of sugar annually. If this be
so, we may, without extravagance, suppose that New York
reaches 10,000,000 lbs. So far as we have collateral means
of judging, the amount of maple-sugar is _under_-stated in
the census of 1840.

[9] Appendix to final Report on the Geology and Mineralogy
of New Hampshire, page 361. This admirable Report is an able
exposition of the benefit of public State surveys.

[10] If those who drink whisky would pour it on to the sugar
in the refining cones, instead of upon sugar in tumblers, it
would refine _them_ as much as it does the sugar; performing
two valuable processes at once.

GEOLOGICAL DEFINITIONS.

Many terms, in general use among scientific men, and usually employed in agricultural works, are obscure to young readers. For their sakes we will explain some of them; and shall not be angry if _old_ men profit by the explanation.

SOIL.—The surface-earth, of whatever ingredients it may be composed. It may be a clay-soil, a sand-soil, a calcareous soil, as the surface is composed of clay, or sand, or clay strongly mixed with lime, etc.

SUBSOIL.—The earth lying below the ordinary depth to which the plow or spade penetrate. Sometimes it has hardened by the running of the plow over it for a series of years; then it is called _pan_, as hard-pan, clay-pan, etc. It is sometimes of the same nature as the top-soil, as in clay-lands; in others it is a different earth; as when a coarse gravel underlies vegetable mold, or when clay lies beneath sandy soil.

SUBSOIL PLOWING.—In ordinary plowing, the share runs from five to seven inches deep. A plow has been constructed (called subsoil plow), to follow in the furrow, and break up from six to eight inches deeper—so that the whole plowing penetrates from ten to sixteen inches.

SUBSOIL PLOW.—A plow having a narrow “_double share_, or a small share on each side of the coulter, and no mold-board.” It is designed to break up and soften the subsoil, but not to bring it up to the top.

MOLD.—A soil in which decayed vegetable matter largely predominates over _earths_. Thus, leaf-mold is soil _principally_ composed of rotten leaves; dung-mold, of dung reduced to a fine powdery matter; heath-mold, a black vegetable soil found in heath-lands; peat-mold, forest-mold, garden-mold, etc.

LOAM.—Clay, or any of the primitive earths, reduced to a mellow, friable state by intermixture of _sand_, or vegetable matter, is called loam. Clay lands well manured with sand, dung, or muck, are turned, gradually, to a loam.

ARGILLACEOUS.—From the Latin (_argillaceus_,) soil principally composed of clay.

ALUMINA OR ALUMINE.—Generally employed to signify _pure_ clay. It is, chemically speaking, a metallic oxide; _aluminium_ is the metallic _base_, and is an elementary substance.

It is generally known that the _diamond_ is pure carbon (charcoal is carbon in an impure state), but it is not as generally known that the _ruby_ and the _sapphire_, “two of the most beautiful gems with which we are acquainted, are composed almost solely of alumina,” or pure clay in a crystallized state.

SILICIOUS.—An earth composed largely of silex. _Silex_ or _silica_ is considered to be a primitive earth constituting flint, and containing most kinds of sands, and sandstones, etc. China or porcelain, ware is formed from silica and alumina united, _i. e._ from silicious sand and clay.

CALCAREOUS.—A soil into the composition of which lime enters largely. Limestone lands are calcareous. Pure clay manured freely with marl becomes calcareous, for marl is, mostly, clay and carbonate of lime.

ALLUVIAL.—Strictly speaking, alluvium or our alluvial soil, is a soil formed by causes yet in existence. Thus a bottom-land is formed by the wash of a river. It is usually a mixture of decayed vegetable matter and sand.

DILUVIAL.—A diluvial soil or deposit is one formed by causes no longer in existence. Thus a deposit by a deluge is termed _diluvial_. The word is derived from the Latin (_diluvium_), signifying a deluge.

The terms argillaceous, calcareous, silicious, alluvial and diluvial are constantly employed in all works which treat of husbandry.

FRIABLE.—A friable soil is one which crumbles easily. Clay is _adhesive_, or in common language _clammy_: leaf-mold is friable, or crumbling. Clay becomes friable when, by exposure to air or frost, or by addition of sand, vegetable matter, etc., it is thoroughly mellowed.

DRAINING WET LANDS.

Before many years there will be thousands of acres pierced with drains. But the inducements to it which make it wise in England and New England do not yet, generally, exist in the West. The expense of draining one acre would buy two. Many farmers have already more arable land than they can till to advantage. Land redeemed from slough would not pay for itself in many years.

But although a general introduction of draining would not be wise, there are many cases in which, to a limited extent, it should be practised. Lands lying near to cities are sufficiently valuable, and the market for farming products sure enough, to justify the reclaiming of wet pieces of land. On small farms of forty and eighty acres, surrounded by high-priced lands, not easily procured for enlarging his farm if the owner should wish it, draining might be employed with advantage. A man with a _small_ farm can _afford_ expenses for high cultivation which would break a _large_ farmer.

Some times a large meadow or arable field is marred by a wet slash through the middle of it; a farmer would not begrudge the labor of draining for the sake of having his favorite field without a blemish. Sometimes farms are intersected by wet lands, which make the passage from one part of the farm to another difficult at all times, and almost impassable at some seasons of the year. Draining might be resorted to in such a case, not so much for the sake of the land reclaimed, as for the convenience of the whole farm.

We know pieces of wet, peaty meadow land lying close by the farm-house, the only drawback to the beauty of the place. A good farmer would wish to recover such a spot for the same reason that he would prefer a handsome house to a homely one—a fine horse over a coarse-looking animal—a sightly fence, rather than a clumsy one. There is much strong land—but high, flat, and cold—which is wet through all the spring, resisting seed till long after other portions of the farm are at work, and which would, but for this backwardness, be regarded as the best land. If without great expense, such land could be cured, few farmers would mind the trouble or labor.

There are three kinds of draining which may be employed according to circumstances—subsoil-plowing, furrow-draining and ditch-draining. When a soil is underbound by a compact, impervious _subsoil_, all the rain or melting snow is retained in the soil until it can _exhale_ and evaporate. For the subsoil acts like a water-tight floor, or the bottom of a tub. Subsoil-plowing, by thoroughly working through this under crust, gives a downward passage to the moisture; water sinks as it does in sandy loams. Nor will such treatment be less useful to prevent the injury of summer drought; for the depth of soil affords a harbor for roots from whence they can draw moisture when the top-soil is dry as ashes.

But there is a limit put to this treatment by the amount of clay contained in the subsoil. It has been experimentally ascertained in England, that when the soil contains as high as forty-three per cent of alumina (clay) sub-soil-plowing is useless, because the clay soon _coalesces_ and is as impervious as ever. In such cases, if the land has a slight inclination in any direction, furrow-draining may, in some measure, relieve it. The ground is marked out in lands as for sowing grain and plowed with back-furrows, throwing the earth toward the centre. The rain and snow will run to either side, and flow off by the channels left between each strip. This treatment does not relieve the land, to any great extent, of water contained in it, but acts as a preventive, by carrying off the rain and snow before they are absorbed.

O DEAR! SHALL WE EVER BE DONE LYING?

An honest old gentleman, in telling us his troubles, gave great prominence to the necessity he was frequently under of disappointing his customers, whose work could not be finished as soon as he had promised. After explaining the difficulty, he looked up with great earnestness, and exclaimed, “_O dear! shall we ever be done with this lying?_”

We have often wondered ourselves whether such a consummation would ever take place. “Your boots shall be done on Saturday night without fail.” Nevertheless, you have to go to church with gaping shoes for want of them. “Your coat shall be sent home by nine o’clock on Saturday night;” and you get it, in fact, the Wednesday after. “Will you lend me your wheel-barrow? I will return it to-night.” You wait for it till next week, and then _send_ for it. My carpenter solemnly agreed to finish my house by November; but it was July before I could get the key. My wood was to be split on Saturday afternoon—enough for the Sabbath; so it was—but I had to do it. My money was to be paid me the next week; and then, _next_ week; and then, NEXT week—and _then_, as soon as he could get it; he did get it and spent it; and then it should be paid when he got it again—he got it again, and paid another debt because the man treated him more savagely than I would. The strength laid out in running for this money, if it had been economically applied to labor, would, nearly, have _earned_ the whole debt. The fellow never paid me at last; but Death came along, and he paid him promptly. “O dear! shall we ever get done with this lying?” It is one of the few domestic manufactures which need no protection, and flourishes without benefit either to the producer or consumer.

CARE OF STOCK IN WINTER.

Perhaps no better sign of careful husbandry can be found than in the attention paid to brute animals. We always expect a thriftless fellow to neglect and abuse his stock. When we see them well cared for, we always judge the owner to be a good farmer. Cattle ranging out often have had good picking, and if partly fed at the rack, will come out in the spring well-conditioned. Where hay and grain are a drug, we suppose that all cautions about wasting them will be laughed at. _Care_ and _economy_ are not the peculiar features of western farming; profusion and easiness are the more characteristic. But there are some points of attention to which every farmer should give heed.

CLEANING THE STABLE.—When cattle lie out, this trouble is saved in their case. But it is almost universally the practice to let the manure accumulate in stables for horses from autumn to spring, and sometimes from year to year, until its quantity compels its removal. This is all well enough for the sake of the manure—it is sheltered, and its strength preserved. But it is at the expense of the horse. The concentrated effluvia is bad; and lying down upon manure, night after night, causes the skin to break out in blotches; and sometimes the whole ham is affected so much that the hair comes off, and the skin is inflamed and covered with running sores. The ammonia of urine (which abounds in horse manure), is caustic, and acts upon the skin like a blister upon the human flesh. If Providence had ordained that a sore should break out on the owner, for every one on his stock occasioned by his negligence, animals would have a much better time than they now do.

COWS WITH CALF.—Especial attention should be paid to these. As they grow heavy, toward spring, they should not be chased by horses or dogs, or beaten by unmannerly boys and men. Their food should be abundant and nutritious. A cow brought to calving in spring in a very thin and lean condition will not recover through the whole summer, no matter how carefully tended. The cow, the calf, and your own profit in both, require that you should bring your cows to the spring in first-rate condition. If you have _roots_, feed them; but if not, give a slop of shorts, meal, and flax-seed cake. This last ingredient is eminently serviceable in laying on flesh.

MILKING COWS.—Let them be milked regularly without regard to weather. A careless girl will, if not watched, milk irregularly, and what is worse, leave the cow _unstript_. The morning work presses, or the cold pinches, or she is in haste, at night, to go a visiting, or some one of a hundred other reasons tempt her to milk out the full flow, and leave the strippings. A cow so abused will be injured, in a short time, so much, that all the care in the world will not bring her back again.

See that stock are treated with gentleness and patience. It is a shame to abuse a kind and docile animal, and it is useless to thrash those that are not so. In either case, kindness is the best policy. A man who is brutal to cattle is more of a beast than they are. We have seen many a man who, if he had two more legs, would not fetch the price of a stock-hog.

DEEP PLANTING.

We saw recently a potato which grew at the depth of _twenty-five feet_ below the surface of the earth. This is an extraordinary depth. Few things planted at that depth would vegetate. The fact in this case is unquestionable. The top was terminated by a cluster of _blossoms_, and the potatoes were of the size of small hickory-nuts.

P. S. Another fact, which like to have been omitted in this account, is, that it grew at the bottom of an _open well_.

CORN AND MILLET FOR FODDER.

The practice of sowing grains for fodder has been practised with great success. MILLET is sown in May, June, or July, at the rate of three pecks of seed to the acre. It is, usually, ready for the scythe in about ninety days. Thick sowing is best. Cut when the grain is fairly out of the milk, and cure it like hay. Four tons is a fair yield—two tons is a small crop.

INDIAN CORN should be sown broadcast at the rate of four to five bushels to the acre. Corn belongs to the tribe of _grasses_. Cultivating it for the grain, in rows, with every stimulant of air, light, and manure, develops the stalk almost to a tree form. When sown for fodder, the object should be to produce it, as nearly as possible, like a _grass_. Thick sowing will tend to do it, and each stalk being small and tender, the crop will be easily masticated by cattle. By good management six or eight tons may be cut to the acre—cutting twice in the season. The first mowing should be about the period of _silking_. The next, whenever the shoots have grown again to a proper size. If but one mowing is intended, it should be permitted to stand a week or two later than when two crops are to be taken. For, all plants prepare the most of nutritious juices at the period of their _fruiting_. Indian corn is the richest in saccharine matter at about the time its grain is turning from a milky to a mealy state. Cattle will eat either of the above grains, treated like a grass crop, with great avidity; and every one knows that it is desirable to give them a _change_ of food through the winter.

SEED SAVING.

The seeds of cucumber, melon, etc., are better, at any rate, when four of five years old than when fresh; and we have well authenticated instances of seeds retaining their vitality much longer than this. There is _no_ fixed period during which seeds will keep. There is no reason to suppose that they would lose their vitality in any assignable number of years _if the proper conditions were observed_. De Candolle says that M. Gerardin raised kidney beans, obtained from Tournefort’s herbarium, which were at least a hundred years old; but beans left to the chances of the atmosphere are not good the second year, and hardly worth planting in the third. Professor Lindley raised raspberry plants from seed not less than sixteen or seventeen hundred years old. Multitudes of other instances might be given. In reply to the first question, it may, then, be said, that the length of time through which seeds will keep depends upon the method of preserving them.

We do not suppose it to be essential to inclose apple, pear, and quince seeds in earth for the purpose of preserving their vitality during a single winter. But if exposed to the air, the rind becomes so hard and rigid as to make germination very difficult from mere mechanical reasons. The moisture of the soil keeps the covering in a tender state, and it is easily ruptured by the expansion of the seed.

The shell of peach, plum, and other stone-fruit seeds would form, if left to dry and harden, a yet more hopeless prison. If kept for two years, the most stone-fruit pips, it is to be presumed, would not germinate. Some, however, would have vigor enough to grow even then. We have forgotten who it was, but believe it to have been a reliable person, recently mentioned the fact, that a peach or apricot stone was for several years kept as a child’s play-thing; but upon being planted, grew, and is now a healthy tree. Such cases are, however, rare.

The intercourse between Great Britain and her distant colonies, and the various expeditions fitted out from her shores for purposes of botanical research and for the acquisition of new plants from distant regions, have made the subject of seed-saving at sea a matter of much experiment.

In general, the conditions of preservation are three; a low temperature, dryness, and exclusion of air. But it often happens, that all these cannot be had, and then a choice must be made between them. Heat and moisture will either germinate the seeds or corrupt them. In long voyages, and in warm regions, _moisture contained in the seed_, if in a close bottle, is sufficient to destroy the seed. Glass bottles have therefore been rejected. Seeds for long voyages, or for long preservation, are thoroughly ripened and thoroughly dried; but dried without raising the _temperature_ of the air, as this would impair their vitality. They are then wrapped in coarse paper, and put, loosely, in a coarse canvas bag, and hung up in a cool and airy place. In this way seeds will be as nearly secure from heat and moisture—their two worst enemies—as may be. It is probable that some seeds have but a short period of vitality under any circumstances of preservation. Seeds containing much oil, are peculiarly liable to spoil. Lindley suggests that the oil becomes rancid.

The preservation of seeds from one season to another, for home use, is not difficult, and may be described in three sentences: ripen them well, dry them thoroughly, and keep them aired and cool.

RHUBARB.

Rhubarb or _pie-plant_ is becoming as indispensable to the garden as corn, or potatoes, or tomatoes. No family should be without it. It comes in after winter apples are gone and before green apples come in again for tarts. By a little attention it may be had from the last of March through the whole summer. Indeed, it may be had through the whole year. The root contains within itself all the nourishment required to develop the leaves and stalks at first, without any other aid than warmth and moisture. If then it be lifted late in the fall or during open weather in winter, and put in large pots, nail kegs, boxes, etc., put in a warm room, or cellar, it will soon send up a supply of leaves. It is not even necessary that there should be much light, for the want of it only makes the stem whiter and of a milder acid. The roots thus used may either be thrown away, or set out again and not used until they have recovered, which will be in about one summer.

For early spring use, select a warm spot in the garden, and late in the fall dig in around your roots a good supply of rotten manure. Cover them with coarse manure, straw, or litter. As soon as the frost comes out of the ground, knock out the ends of a barrel and put one over each plant from which you propose to gain an early supply. Put a quantity of coarse manure around the outside of the barrel to maintain the warmth, and, in cold nights and during cold rains, lay a board over the open top. Thus treated, you may have tarts in March. But the main supply of this wholesome plant is to arise from open cultivation. The roots may be gained from seed or from division of old roots. Eastern writers recommend sowing the seed in autumn; but in the West spring sowings have vegetated much better than an autumnal planting. In April sow the seed in deep mellow and rich beds. Keep the plants free from weeds and in a growing state during the summer. They may require a little shading during the hottest days of summer. The next spring we transplant them to a trial-bed; for, it is to be remembered, that the seed does not necessarily give a plant like its parent. Let them be set two feet apart every way, and during the season it can be seen which are the largest and best; these are to be raised in the fall, divided and transplanted, and the rest thrown away. Out of a hundred plants, not more than two or three may be worth keeping. In the spring of 1842 we planted seed obtained in New York, for the Victoria Rhubarb (a new kind), which had been imported but a few months. Of fifty plants only three proved worth keeping—one of these for its earliness and the others for size.

When you have secured roots from which you wish to form a bed for your main supply, divide them either in the fall or spring into as many pieces as there are buds on the crown, each piece having, of course, a bud. The smallest slice of root will live, although a large portion is preferable. Do not be too timid in dividing; the plant is exceedingly tenacious of life—it can hardly be killed. We have had roots lying in the open air for weeks, and when replanted growing with undiminished vigor. Every one who has, for a single season, tended a garden, knows what _dock_ is, and how tenacious of life, so much so, as to make it quite a trouble. The rhubarb is a full-blooded vegetable brother, belonging to the same family of plants.

This plant thrives most luxuriantly in a rich, sandy loam; the earth should be spaded and mellowed to at least twenty inches depth. We prepare ground for it as follows: Mark out the row with a line, throw out the top earth on one side; throw out a full spade depth of subsoil upon the other side. Throw back the top dirt, mixing it freely with well rotted manure. Now put in the soil which was taken from the bottom of the trench; as this is comparatively poor—mix it largely with manure. We make rows four feet apart, and set the plants three feet apart in the row. Very little care is needed in after cultivation. The large leaves will shade the ground and check weeds. A good supply of fresh manure, well dug in once a year, will keep the plants in heart and health for a long time.

PEAS.

Peas should be planted among the earliest of seeds. They are a hardy vegetable, and will bear severe frosts in the spring without injury. A light, sandy soil is the best. If manured, let only the most thoroughly rotted be used. Two sorts of peas are sufficient for all ordinary purposes—one early kind, and one for the later and main supply. The number of kinds advertised by seedsmen is very great, and every year adds to the new varieties. Many of them are of little value, and many, hitherto esteemed, are supplanted by better ones. The Early Warwick and Cedo Nulli are fine early peas, unsurpassed till the Prince Albert appeared. This is now esteemed the earliest of peas, ripening at Boston in fifty-three days from the time of sowing, and in England in forty-two days. We hope to be able, soon, to have this variety for distribution. Early peas are seldom of high flavor; none that we ever raised are comparable to the larger and later peas, and it is, therefore, except for market purposes, not desirable to plant very largely of early sorts.

Of late peas we have, after trying many sorts, fallen back upon the old-fashioned _Marrowfat_, and now raise it exclusively. It will be fit for the table in from seventy to eighty days after planting. _Knight’s tall marrowfat_ is recommended in Hovey’s Magazine (a standard authority), as of “delicious quality and producing throughout the whole season.” We have never had an opportunity of proving it.