Chapter III: Part 3

A judicious rotation, or round of crops, has long been considered, in England, essential to good husbandry: and so it is by skilful farmers in our own country; particularly in the middle States, where clover, so highly important in the rotation, has, for more than thirty years, been rendered wonderfully productive, by the application of plaster of Paris. The most usual course in England has been (excepting on stiff clayey soils) first year turnips, manured and kept clean by hoeing; the second year barley, with clover seed; the third year the clover mown for hay; and its second crop, at wheat seed time, ploughed in, and, where necessary to fill the seams, the ground harrowed, the wheat sown, and then harrowed in. This is called "wheat upon a clover lay."--But by the long and frequent repetition of clover, (that is, once in _four_ years) in their rotations, lands in England became (as they express it) "sick of clover:" and I have been informed that some lands in our middle States, long subjected to the like application of clover, exhibit like symptoms of disease or failure. But Mr. Arbuthnot introduced clover once in _three_ years, without suffering by such more frequent repetition. "He attributed the failure of this plant to shallow and ill-executed ploughing; the result (says Mr. Young) justified his opinion."

Mr. Young mentions a lecture he had read to the Board of Agriculture, "on the means by which a farm can be made, by a right proportion of all the products, to support itself, without foreign assistance, in a state of high fertility, a question depending on the quantity or weight of dung resulting from the consumption in litter of a given weight of straw." This lecture I have not seen. But he considers the question as successfully decided, in Mr. Arbuthnot's practice, in the following manner; 134 sheep and 30 lambs were turnip fed, in a pen on a headland, well littered with straw: in six weeks they required nearly six tons of straw [to give them clean and comfortable beds:] and in that time made 40 tons of dung, equal to that brought from London [stable dung it is to be presumed.] So every ton of litter produced near seven tons of dung.--But this weight must have been obtained chiefly by the earth of the headland absorbing the urine, of which, when fed on turnips, sheep make great quantities, and being finally mixed with their dung and litter. This recital reminds me of the recommendation, in my address to this Society, in May, 1818, to carry earth into the barn yard, once in every two weeks, from spring to autumn; adding to every layer of earth a coat of litter. I should then have advised a plentiful spreading of litter, had I not known that our courses of husbandry in Essex yielded very little straw.

In the same communication to the Society, I presented my ideas on the proper application of manure; to wit, _always to bury it up quickly, when carried to the field_, to prevent great loss by its exposure to the sun and air; remarking, that the essence of manure was lost, not by _sinking_ into the earth below the roots of cultivated plants, but by _rising_ into the atmosphere, and so fleeing away. Here, also, I have the satisfaction of seeing the theory I had formed nineteen years ago (in the manner suggested in that communication) supported by the opinions and practices of such eminent agriculturists as Messrs. Arbuthnot and Ducket. After noticing Arbuthnot's cultivation of madder, an article requiring a rich soil and extremely deep tillage, Mr. Young says, "there was one circumstance in his management, which, being applicable to more important articles, merits a more durable attention; this is, the depth to which he ploughed in the dung: his tillage went to that of eighteen inches; and he conceived there was no danger of losing, by this circumstance, either _vegetable_ or _animal_ manures, as _their_ tendency, contrary to all _fossil_ ones, was not to _sink_, but to _rise_ in the atmosphere." Fossil manures are lime, marl, plaster of Paris, and other substances dug out of the earth, which increase the productive powers of soils.

Mr. Ducket's manner of applying dung, although his was a sand farm, was similar to Mr. Arbuthnot's.--"Immediately connected with the depth of tillage, is that to which dung may be safely deposited. He [Mr. Ducket] had not the least apprehension of losing it by deep ploughing; but freely turned it down to two or three times the depth common among his neighbours." Yet Mr. Young says, that farmers (and good farmers too) persist in a contrary practice. But he adds, "Enlightened individuals, thinly scattered, know better: having convinced themselves that Mr. Ducket's practice is not only safe but beneficial;" and then names one who "ploughs in his dung as deeply as his ploughs can go, turning it in nine inches, and would bury it twelve, did he stir to such a depth."

Confirmatory of the correctness of the practice of these two celebrated English farmers, is the fact stated by Mr. John Sinclair, President of the British Board of Agriculture, in his account of the Improved Scottish Husbandry. He mentions one farmer who ridged his carrot ground, and buried the manure sixteen or seventeen inches deep, the ridges thirty inches wide. This farmer preferred, as a manure, a well prepared compost of peat-moss[13] and dung, ten tons, or double cart-loads, per English acre. "The dung (or compost) being at the bottom, makes the tap root of the carrot push immediately down, and swell to an enormous size; the roots being often sixteen inches in girt, and 18 or twenty inches in length."

[13] In Scotland their peat-lands are called peat-mosses.

To return to Mr. Ducket. His deep ploughing (says Mr. Young) was not practised above once in two or three years, and the successive tillage shallow. "By such deep ploughing, seldom given, Mr. Ducket conceived that a due degree of moisture was preserved in his _light_ land, by means of which his crops were flourishing in seasons of drought which destroyed those of his neighbours: and no one could more severely condemn the ideas which governed the Norfolk farmers, in leaving what they called their _pan_ unbroken at the depth only of 4 or 5 inches.--The operation of ploughing he thought could scarcely be given too seldom, provided when given it was done effectively: and he always carried this paucity of tillage as far as circumstances would permit: thus I have known him put in seven crops with only four ploughings." In another part of his lecture, Mr. Young says, "If I were to name the circumstance which more than any other governed his (Mr. Ducket's) practice, I should say that the whole was founded in trench ploughing; and that the principle which governed this practice (a principle thoroughly impressed upon his mind, as well as on the minds of those who draw intelligent conclusions) was that of giving as little tillage as possible to sandy soils."

"The next circumstance which I shall advert to (says Mr. Young) in the husbandry of Mr. Ducket, is the use of _long, fresh dung_, instead of that which in common management is turned and mixed till it becomes _rotten_: and in justice to his memory, I shall read the short recital of his practice, as I printed it three-and-twenty years ago. "Dependent on the Trench-Plough,[14] is Mr. Ducket's system of dunging. He conceives, and I apprehend very justly, that the more dunghills are stirred and turned over, and rotted, the more of their virtue is lost. It is not a question of straw merely wetted; but good _long_ dung he esteems more than that quantity of _short_ dung, which time will convert the former to. _Two_ loads of _long_ may become _one_ of _short_; but the two are much more valuable than the one. Without the Trenching-plough, however, his opinion would be different. If long dung is ploughed in, in the common manner, with lumps and bundles sticking out at many places along every furrow, which lets the sun and air into the rest that seems covered, he thinks, so used, it is mostly lost, or given to the winds: in such a case, short rotted manure will be better covered, and should be preferred. But with his plough nothing of this happens; and it enables him to use his dung in such a state as gives him a large quantity instead of a small one. The good sense of these observations must be obvious at the first blush." Mr. Young adds--"_The use of_ FRESH _instead of_ ROTTEN _dung, is, in my opinion, one of the greatest agricultural discoveries that has been made in the present age_." He then states a striking experiment made by himself--67 small cart loads of fresh yard dung produced two successive crops of potatoes, yielding together 742 bushels; at the same time, the same quantity of yard dung, after 6 months rotting, yielded 708 bushels, leaving [to the fresh long dung] a superiority of 34 bushels. But had the fresh dung been kept as long as the other, it would have required at least twice, perhaps thrice as much, to have produced the quantity used." [That is, twice or three times 67 loads of fresh long dung, if kept and often turned and mixed to produce fermentation and rotting, would have shrunk, or been reduced, to 67 loads of short rotten dung.] "If the crops therefore had been only equal, still the advantage [of the fresh dung] would have been most decisive."

[14] The Trench-Plough of Mr. Ducket's invention was so admirably
contrived as completely to bury whatever was intended to be turned
in. Mr. Young says he saw him turn down a crop of rye, six feet
high, so that not an atom was left visible; and yet the depth
did not exceed eight inches. Trench ploughing has sometimes been
effected in this country by a second plough following in the same
furrow after the first, and going a few inches deeper.

"I shall not quit (says Mr. Young) the husbandry of two men who carried tillage, on soils so extremely different, to its utmost perfection, without remarking the circumstances in which they agreed. Both were equal friends to deep ploughing; both rejected the common repetition of tillage, and reduced the number of their operations to a degree that merits attention; both rejected fallows; and both ploughed deeply for depositing manure, without any apprehension of losing it. These are very important points in Practical Agriculture."

To this account of the successful practices of these two celebrated English farmers, it may be useful to subjoin a few observations. I have thought it proper so far to present them in detail, in order to develope principles; not expecting a _precise_ adoption of their practices; which indeed, without their or similar superior ploughs and other implements, would be impracticable: but with such instruments as we possess, or may easily obtain, we can materially increase the depth of our ploughing, and I hope contrive effectually to cover our manure. _This should be wholly applied to Tillage Crops_; for which the manuring should be so ample as to ensure a succession of good crops through the whole rotation, without the aid of any additional manure, especially for wheat, rye, barley or oats: for besides increasing the seeds of weeds (with which all our lands are too much infested) such additional manuring, _immediately_ applied to the small grain crops, renders them more liable to injury from mildews. Of this I am fully satisfied, as well from numerous statements of facts which I have seen in books of husbandry, as from the circumstances under which remarkable mildews have otherwise been noticed. One of our countrymen, who wrote a short essay on the subject prior to the American Revolution, has given the only solution of the causes of mildews that has ever appeared satisfactory to me: perhaps at some future time I may find leisure to show the correspondence of facts with his principles.[15]

[15] This essay, subscribed "A New-England-Man," is published in the
2d volume of the Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society of Agriculture.

(To be continued.)

_To Farmers._--In the winter of 1818-19, a gentleman in this city made the following experiment. He placed a turkey in an enclosure about four or five feet long, two feet wide, and three or four feet high. He excluded as much light as he could without preventing a circulation of air, and fed the turkey with soft brick broken into pieces, with charcoal also broken, and with six grains of corn per day. Fresh water was daily supplied. The box or coop in which the turkey was placed, he always locked up with his own hands, and is perfectly confident that nobody interfered with the experiment.

At the end of one month he invited a number of his neighbours among others two physicians. The turkey, now very large and heavy, was killed and opened by the physicians, and was found to be filled up full with fat. The gizzard and entrails were dissected, and nothing was found but a residuum of charcoal and brick. To conclude the examination satisfactorily, the turkey was eaten, and found to be very good.

Last winter he again repeated the experiment with the same success.

The circumstance by which he was induced to make the experiment is a very curious one. One of his neighbours informed him, that being driven from the city by the fever of 1793, his family recollected that some fowls that had lived in a kind of loft over his workshop, had been forgotten in the hurry of their removal, and would certainly be starved. They were absent six or eight weeks, and on the retiring of the pestilence returned. To their great astonishment, the fowls were not only alive, but very fat, although there was _nothing but charcoal and shavings_ that they could have eaten, and some water that had been left in the trough of a grindstone had supplied them with drink.

[_Nat. Recorder._

_Introduction of Glass Making in France._

(From Parke's Chymical Essays.)

The government of France, in the early part of the fourteenth century, took great pains to improve the manufacture of glass, and ordained that none but gentlemen, or the sons of the nobility, should be allowed to exercise the trade, or even to work as artificers in the manufactories of this most highly esteemed commodity.--In consequence of this injunction, a company of persons, all born gentlemen, was incorporated, and obtained many important privileges and immunities from the state; particularly that of being allowed to work at this curious art without derogating from their nobility. It is indeed asserted by the writer,[16] who is the best authority we have on this subject, that there never was an instance of any one being attainted, to whom these privileges had been granted; for they conducted themselves so irreproachably, that these orders were invariably transmitted inviolate to their posterity. In the year 1453, Anthony de Brossord, Lord of St. Martin, and prince of the blood royal, finding the business of glass making to be so considerable; and knowing that it did not derogate from nobility, obtained a grant from the Prince to establish a glass house in his own county, with prohibition of any other; and in consequence of this, the elder sons of that family continued uninterruptedly to exercise the art till the latter end of the sixteenth century, when the proprietor was killed while commanding a troop at the siege of Chartres.--On the death of this individual the younger sons of the same family undertook to carry on the art, and continued in it for more than a century. Whether the trade continues still in the same line, I have not been able to ascertain.

[16] Blancourt.

An ancient family of the name of _Vaillant_, also obtained the grant of a glass house, as a recompense for their valour and public services, together with a poignard d'or, on azure, for their arms.--Mr. Blancourt, who long resided in France, likewise notices, that at the time he wrote, they had many other great families among them, who were descended from gentleman glass-makers that had declined following the art; and that some of these had been honoured with purple, and with the highest dignities and offices in the state.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

_Anecdote of Anthony Benezet_,

Not inserted in Vaux's interesting Memoir of that Philanthropist.

Soon after the arrival of the Chevalier Luzerne, minister from the court of France, Benezet called on him with a French copy of Barclay's Apology, with a view of informing him of the principles of the Society of Friends. The minister being a Knight of Malta, and of course at enmity with the Turks, appeared much surprised that any professed Christians should object to the destruction of the Ottoman Empire--which increased on being informed that his profession would not permit taking the life of any man: on which the minister observed that it was _very good_, but too _straight_ for him to object to killing a Musselman.

The interview prepared the way for frequent visits to the embassador, who always received him with pleasure, the latter often observing that he had but a small body; but added, extending his arms nearly at full length, as if to embrace a large object--"_Oh what a capacious soul he possesses!_"--evincing by his whole conduct, that he valued him as an extraordinary man, possessing true Christian principles.

G.

MISCELLANY.

_The English, a Foreign Tongue._--We extract the following from a French paper:

"An etymologist has lately published the following analysis
of the English language. Its vocabulary, he says, is composed
of 6621 words of Latin origin, 4361 of French, 2068 of Saxon,
1288 of Greek, 660 of Dutch, 229 of Italian, 117 of German, 11
of Gaelic, 83 of Spanish, 81 of Danish, 18 of Arabic, besides
many others of ancient Teutonic, Hebrew, Swedish, Portuguese,
Flemish, Russian, Egyptian, Persian, Cimbrian, and Chinese!! The
same etymologist pretends, that in Shakspeare, Pope, Swift, and
Milton, _there are not many more than a hundred words purely
English_!"

So that it would appear, that when we meet an acquaintance in the street, and accost him with "How do you do this morning?" and he replies "pretty well, I thank you," we are probably speaking half a dozen languages at once. What "learned Thebans" we must be! In this way a man who has a tolerable understanding of _Dilworth's spelling book_ must be no inconsiderable linguist while one, who can read _Johnson at sight_, must be a perfect _Polyglot_. The poor Burgeois gentilhomme was quite amazed to find, that he had been speaking _prose_ all his life without knowing it; and we are no less astonished on discovering that we had been talking _Russian_, _Egyptian_, _Persian_, _Cimbrian_, _Teutonic_, and _Chinese_, for years, without having ever dreamed of it. There have been great controversies among the learned as to what was that formidable dialect, which arose at Babel, out of the confusion of tongues, but after this discovery we can have no doubt that it is that very English which we all speak, and instead of High Dutch, which some have supposed was the language used by Adam in Paradise, we do now verily believe, that it was that _pure English_, of which so few traces have been left!--_Lou. Adv._

"_A Stitch in time, saves nine._"--A celebrated French writer on political economy, M Say, has this story:--'Being in the country, I had an example of one of those small losses which a family is exposed to through negligence. For the want of a latchet of small value, the wicket of a barn yard looking to the fields, was often left open; every one who went through, drew the door to; but having no means to fasten it, it remained flapping: the poultry escaped, and were lost. One day a fine pig got out and ran into the woods. Immediately all the world was after it; the gardener, the cook, the dairy-maid, all run to recover the swine. The gardener got sight of him first,--and jumping over the ditch to stop him, he sprained his ancle, and was confined a fortnight to the house.--The cook, on her return, found all the linen she had left to dry by the fire, burned; and the dairy-maid having run off before she had tied up the cows, one of them broke the leg of a colt in the stable. The gardener's lost time was worth twenty crowns, valuing the pain at nothing; the linen burned, and the colt spoiled, were worth as much more. Here a loss of forty crowns and much pain, trouble, vexation, and inconvenience, for want of a latch, which would not cost three pence, and all through careless neglect.'

_Rats._--The following curious mode of catching rats is extracted from the works of Muller, an apothecary of Weringerode, in Germany:--

Procure a large cask, and place it in the vicinity of places infested with rats. During the first week, this vessel is employed only to allure the rats to visit the solid top of the cask, by means of boards or planks arranged in a sloping direction to the floor, which are to be strewed with oatmeal daily, or any other food grateful to the palate.--Being thus lulled into security, and accustomed to find a regular supply for their meals, a skin of parchment is substituted for the wooden top of the cask, and the former is cut for several inches in the centre in transverse directions, so as to yield on the slightest pressure. At the same time, a few gallons of water, to the depth of six or seven inches, are poured into the empty cask, in the middle of which a brick or stone is placed, so as to project one or two inches above the fluid, and afford to one rat a place of refuge. These measures being taken, the top of the cask should be furnished with the proper baits, in order to induce the marauders to repeat their visits. No sooner does one plunge through the section of the parchment into the vessel, than it retreats to the brick or stone, and commences its lamentations for relief. Others follow, and share the same fate. A dreadful conflict then commences to obtain possession of the dry assylum. Battles follow in rapid succession, attended with such loud and noisy shrieks, that all the rats in the neighbourhood hasten to the fatal spot, where they experience similar disasters. Thus, hundreds may be caught by stratagem, which might be greatly facilitated by exposing a living rat taken in a trap, or purchased from a professional rat catcher.

_Important to Millers._--A very valuable machine has lately been invented (and is now in operation) by Richard French, of Morrisville, (Pa.) for cleansing all kinds of grain and grass seeds. This machine cleanses the grain completely of the white cap, and at the same time rubs off the dust that always adheres to grain, and is the cause of specks in flour. The grain at the same time receives a fine polish. It operates equally on rye and buckwheat, cleansing it from all the dust and fuz which darken and cause grit in the flour, and are so liable to fret the bolting cloth. It is the opinion of a number of millers, that one barrel of flour may be obtained more from every hundred bushels of wheat, cleaned by this machine, than from the same quantity in the usual way. This machine will remain at Morrisville, for public inspection, a few weeks, after which it will be removed to Brandywine. Millers and others, who wish to make more and better flour, as there is no loss of grain, are invited to call and see the machine in operation. I believe they will not regret the time and trouble of so doing.

[_Trenton paper._

_Rhode Island._--The thrifty little state of Rhode Island is, at this time, the most prosperous of any in the Union, notwithstanding the multitude of small banking institutions that abound there, from the force of domestic industry applied to manufactures; which, in despite of every obstacle, is in a condition that must be considered a happy one, compared with that of most other places; a most rigid economy, in some measure, supplying the want of public protection, except in the people themselves--who chiefly consume the products of their respective neighbourhoods.--The balance of trade is generally in favour of the state, and the want of specie is not felt by those who have a right to demand it, for the banks are in a very _comfortable_ state.

_Maine._--The first organization of the government of the state of Maine, took place on Wednesday, May 31st, at Portland. John Chandler was unanimously chosen Speaker of the Senate, and Benjamin Ames chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, also unanimously. General William King elected governor, by 20,000 votes out of something over that number, was qualified next day.

_Oil Stones._--Within a few weeks past a body of very superior oil-stones has been discovered in the neighbourhood of Easton, (Penn.) We believe they were first discovered on the farm of George Ibrie, Esq. on the river Lehigh, in Williams township. The bed, however, is not confined to that farm alone, but extends to a considerable distance on each side of the Lehigh. They have heretofore been found lying on the surface of the earth, and it is matter of astonishment they were not sooner discovered.--The carpenters of that place have almost entirely substituted them for the Turkey stones heretofore used for setting tools; believing them to be superior to those of Turkey, and infinitely better than those gotten near Oley, which they somewhat resemble in colour.--The discovery is certainly valuable to the mechanics, as the Turkey stones have sold there for 75 or 100 cents, and the Oley stones at 25 cents per lb.

_Longevity of the Land Tortoise._--An article dated Sunbury, (Penn.) June 15, says, that as a person was lately rolling logs near Shamokin creek, he discovered a land tortoise, and through curiosity picked it up, when the following engraving was observed upon the under shell:

"Thomas Musgrave, 1712;"

and immediately below, in large capitals,

"ROBERT HUNTER, 1790"--

the former having been engraved 108, and the latter 30 years ago. He engraved his own name below, and set the Recorder of ages at liberty.

_Great crop._--A. Mr. Blakeman, at Silver creek, Indiana, has published that he raised last year 1350 bushels of shelled corn on _ten_ acres of newly turned prairie land.

_Western navigation._--The Louisiana Advertiser, of the 6th of May, gives the names and destination of _twenty-three_ steam-boats then lying in the port of New Orleans!

_Pennsylvania Hospital._--The expenditures of the Pennsylvania Hospital the last year were about 55,000 dollars. The number of patients during the year ending April 22, 1820, was 945. The deaths were 52. Persons relieved 81. Cured 428. Remain 209. Eloped 23.

_Salt water._--The whole western country seems to be _under_-flowed with salt water. Some late borings through the rock, at depths of from 259 to 317 feet, at Cannonsburg, Pa. have been completely successful.

_Fire at Savannah._--An advertisement from the London Phenix Fire Office states, that the loss occurring in Savannah, by the great fire of January last, swept away every thing that had been received for premiums during twelve years, and as much more.

_British Revenue, &c._--The _ad valorem_ duty, on British manufactured goods, exported from Liverpool, amounted, for the first quarter of the year 1819, to upwards of 13,000_l._ For the first quarter of 1820, the amount was only 5,700_l._ A great falling off, indeed.

Average price of grain in England and Wales, from the returns up to the 15th April--Wheat, 69s. 2d.; Rye, 41s. 9d.; Barley, 36s. 5d.--[Grain at these prices would afford a fine market for the surplus product of the United States; but England will not receive our bread stuffs; she prefers to keep up, and to a most unreasonable extent, the market for her own agriculturists.]

_Origin of Almanacks._--The ancient Saxons used to engrave upon certain square sticks, about a foot in length, the courses of the _moons_ for the whole year, whereby they could always certainly tell when the new moons, full moons, and changes, should happen; and such carved sticks they called _Al-mon-aght_ (_all-mon-heed, i. e._) the regard or observation of all the moons. There is in St. John's College, Cambridge, a Saxon almanack exactly answering to the above description.

_Iron Boat._--A London paper of May 4, says, that a passage boat, of malleable iron, now plies on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in Scotland. It is called the Vulcan, and succeeds to admiration. The length is 63 feet; beam, 13 feet; depth, 5 feet; draught of water, when launched, 22 inches abaft, and 19 inches forward--when fitted with cabins, &c. 37 and 25 inches--when laden with two hundred passengers and their baggage, under 48 inches, on an even keel. The weight of iron employed was 12 tons 11-3/4 cwt. which is less than a wooden vessel of the same dimensions. The iron is of the kind called scrap.

_A Great Eclipse of the Sun_ will take place on the 7th of September next. This eclipse will be visible over an extent of more than four millions square leagues, a surface nearly equal to a sixth part of the earth, and resembling a kind of oval of about 7500 leagues in circumference, comprising all Europe, the western part of Asia, all Africa, as far as to Monopotapa, and a part of North America. The eclipse will last three hours.

_Lord Thurlow._--This eminent lawyer's superiority of ability was very early manifested both at school and at college. They extorted submission from his equals, and impressed his seniors with respect. The following anecdote is told of him.--Having been absent from chapel, or committed some other offence which came under the cognizance of the dean of the college, who, though a man of wit, was not remarkable for his learning. The dean set Thurlow, as a task, a paper in the Spectator to translate into Greek. This he performed extremely well, and in very little time; but instead of carrying it up to the dean, as he ought to have done, he took it to the tutor, who was a good scholar, and a very respectable character. At this the dean was exceedingly wroth, and had Mr. Thurlow convened before the Masters and Fellows to answer for his conduct. Thurlow was asked what he had to say for himself. He coolly, perhaps improperly replied, "that what he had done proceeded not from disrespect, but from a feeling of tenderness for the dean; he did not wish to puzzle him!" The dean, greatly irritated, ordered him out of the room; and then insisted that the Masters and Fellows ought immediately to expel or rusticate him. This request was nearly complied with, when two of the Fellows, wiser than the rest, observed, that expelling or rusticating a young man for such an offence would perhaps do much injury to the college, and expose it to ridicule; and that as he would soon quit the college of his own accord to attend the Temple, it would be better to let the matter rest, than irritate him by so severe a proceeding. This advice was at length adopted.

Such was the consciousness which Thurlow felt of his towering abilities, that long before he was called to the bar, he often declared to his friends that he would one day be Chancellor of England; and that the title he would take for his peerage, would be Lord Thurlow, of Thurlow.

_Machine for crossing Rivers._--The mechanist, Xavier Michel, residing at Offenbach, has invented a very simple and compact machine, by the aid of which rivers may be crossed, and even the sea attempted, without any danger of sinking. It is nearly five feet in diameter, when unfolded. An opening of about thirteen inches in the centre is destined to receive the traveller. When dismounted, this apparatus is easily transported from place to place--for its entire weight scarcely exceeds five pounds. This inventor has made a number of experiments on the Rhine, all of which have been crowned with entire success. He can make the machine move forward, or otherwise, at pleasure, and without any great exertion. In order more fully to prove the utility of his invention, M. Michel has determined to embark at Khel, and descend the Rhine to its mouth.

_Cattle Scenting Rain._--Liable to long and parching droughts, the author of "_Letters from Buenos Ayres, Chili_," &c. notices the well-known instinct of cattle in scenting water at a wonderful distance, and describes an occasion wherein it was displayed on the approach of rain, in a similar manner as if a river or spring had been found.

"The negroes were sent in different directions to see how far the scorched grass extended, and were at a considerable distance when the Father Provincial cried out, 'Look at the oxen, they smell water:' we all eagerly turned to the poor panting animals, and saw them stretch out their necks and raise their heads towards the west, and snuff the air in a manner as if they would be certain of obtaining drink could they but raise themselves in the air. At that moment not a cloud nor a single breath of air was to be seen or felt; but in a few minutes the cattle began to move about as if mad, or possessed by some invisible spirit, snuffing the air with most violent eagerness, and gathering closer and closer to each other; and before we could form any rational conjecture as to what could occasion their simultaneous motion, the most tremendous storm came on of thunder, lightning, and rain, I ever witnessed in my life. The rain fell in perpendicular streams as if all the fountains of heaven were suddenly broke loose; so that, in the space of a very few minutes, torrents of water rolled around us, and the cattle easily drank their fill at the spot on which they stood."--_Literary Gazette._

_Irish Bulls._--The secretary of a celebrated Agricultural Society in England, some years ago, in his rage for improvement, and not being overburdened with understanding, sent an order to a bookseller for Mr. and Miss Edgeworth's essay upon _Irish Bulls_, for the use of their society, to assist the members in improving the breed of cattle.

_Modern Inventions._--The improvements made in all arts and sciences within the last 200 years have nearly doubled the present limitation of life, in that we live more in less time.

The Egyptians were so ignorant of medicine, that, when any one was sick, they called in as many persons as possible to see him, that, if any one of them had the like distemper, he might say what was fit for his cure.

Surgery was much the oldest branch of physick which they practised.--

Æsculapius was followed by a dog and a she-goat. The dog was taught to lick all ulcerated wounds, and the goat's milk was given for all diseases of the stomach and lungs.

_Receipt to make Yeast._--Three gallons water, two quarts loose hops, boiled together about three hours in brass or bell metal, strain them off from hops, and at once stir in a quart of flour. When cool stir in a pint of good yeast, and half a pound of brown sugar, to remain open in a piggin or jar 15 or 20 hours, and to be stirred often. Put it then in stone jugs about three fourths full, cork them well and place them in a cool situation. Your jugs ought to be of such a size only to contain yeast for the usual quantity of bread baked at a time. One gill of yeast is sufficient for a common sized loaf of bread, that is made from a plate full of flour.

_Boots without Seams._--A patent has lately been obtained for the manufacture of boots without seams.--For this purpose, the patentee proposes that the thigh of the beast should be flayed without cutting open, and afterwards dressed and curried upon blocks. The boot top upon the same principle is to be made of the shoulder, prepared in like manner.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

The stanzas inserted below are ascribed, it is believed with
correctness, to the pen of the late Governor HOWELL, of New
Jersey. The occasion which gave rise to them, was that of his
leaving home to join the army which was embodied to suppress
the Western Insurrection. They breathe a delicacy of feeling,
and a warmth of attachment, alike honourable to the author as a
husband and a man. They likewise illustrate, very forcibly, the
true character of WAR, whose approach is witnessed with sadness
and sorrow, by all the endearing charities of domestic life.

I.

THE SOLDIER'S ADIEU.

Ah! Clara, cease--those silent tears
Steal down thy cheeks in vain;
Kind hope shall chase away thy fears,
Till I return again:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

Why should we lose the single hour,
Which time accords to love,
Suppress that sigh, I own its power,
Yet joy from hope improve:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

Let no foreboding fears alarm
That regulated mind,
Thy innocence shall shield from harm
Thy soldier far disjoined:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

Let idle tales of fancied wo,
Ne'er wake for me a fear,
Since honour calls, prepared I go,
Yet dread that parting tear:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

Start not my fair!--that morning gun
Proclaims 'tis dawn of day,
And now the Reveille's begun,
To hail the morning grey:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

The general-hark! Oh the adieu!
Permit a last embrace,
The troops they march, and I'll pursue,
Farewell that angel face:
But wheresoe'er our route shall be,
My heart shall still encamp with thee.

FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

EVENING.

The dusky shadows from the east that rise,
Steal midway o'er the heavens; the blazing car
Of Day is sunk; and Sunset's gorgeous dyes
Fade fast away. Eve's solitary star,
Watching their golden pomp with kindling eye,
New trims her virgin lamp: th' unruffled tide
Gives back a liquid light, while shadows lie
Deep, broad and strong, the wood-crown'd shores beside.
How beautiful! all earthly passions fly
This consecrated hour. The distant bird
In some sequestered wild mourns on; the fire-fly
Lights her nuptial torch; the sounds that stirr'd
Die one by one away. An hour like this
Is balm unto the soul, steeps every sense in bliss.

Ω

TO THE EDITORS OF THE RURAL MAGAZINE.

The following is taken from a manuscript book of rare pieces,
which I have been collecting for upwards of forty years. C. E.

_On the Return of the New Year._

God's vast existence ne'er decays,
His age doth never grow,
Past, present, future, in his sight,
Are one eternal NOW.

Man measures out his fleeting state
By motions in the skies,
And like his own frail vesture, wears
With every hour that flies.

Successive moments make one day,
Successive days one year;
The moments past shall ne'er return,
Though seasons like appear.

Still a new spring shall bless the earth,
And a new harvest rise,
But the last year shall ne'er again
Revisit mortal eyes.

Old Time, with his keen-pointed scythe,
Consumes the life of man;
Our period's less'ning from the hour
Our beings first began.

Each year fulfills some new event
Heaven long decreed before,
Removes unnumbered lives away,
And gives unnumber'd more.

Soon shall the appointed angel stand
O'er earth, and air, and sea,
And swear by him that ever lives,
That time no more shall be.

Then shall the league of nature cease,
The sun forsake his way,
And years and ages lose their name,
In one eternal day.

BANK NOTE EXCHANGE,

AT PHILADELPHIA--_June 27th, 1820_.

Per cent Disc't.

U. S. BRANCH BANK Notes, 1/2

RHODE ISLAND--generally, 1

CONNECTICUT--generally, 2

MASSACHUSETTS--Boston, 1
Country generally, 4-6

NEW YORK--City Bank Notes, par.
Country generally, 2-5

NEW JERSEY--generally, par.
Patterson Bank and Sussex Bank, 1

PENNSYLVANIA--Farmer's Bank, of }
Lancaster; Easton; Delaware }
County, at Chester; }
Chester County, at Westchester; } par.
Farmer's Bank, }
Buck's County; Montgomery }
County }

Northampton; Susquehanna }
Bridge Company; York } 2-1/2-3
Bank, Chambersburg, }

Northumberland; Union, 20
Greensburg; Brownsville, 12-1/2

Farmers & Mechanics' Bank }
at Pittsburg, } 40

New Hope Bridge Co. 1

DELAWARE--generally, par.
Commercial Bank of Delaware; }
Branch of ditto at } 5
Milford, }
Laurel Bank, 50

MARYLAND--Baltimore Banks, 1/2
Baltimore City Bank, 5
Annapolis; Hagerstown, 2-3
Snowhill, 50
Havre de Grace, 1-1/2

VIRGINIA--Richmond and Branches, 1-1/2
Country generally, 2-1/2-3
N. W. Bank, at Wheeling, 10-12-1/2

COLUMBIA DISTRICT--Mech. Bank }
of Alexandria, } 5
Country generally, 1

NORTH CAROLINA--State Bank at }
Raleigh, and Branches, } 8

Cape Fear; Newbern, 10

SOUTH CAROLINA--State Banks, generally, 3

GEORGIA--State Banks, generally, 8
Augusta Bridge Company, 50

TENNESSEE--few sales at any price.

KENTUCKY--No sales.

OHIO--Marietta, 15
Steubenville Bank, 15-20
Bank of Chillicothe, 3
Country generally, 20-50

PRICES CURRENT--_June_ 27, 1820.

Per D. C. D. C.

Beef, Philad. Mess, _bbl._ 13.00 _to_ 13.50

Butter, Fresh _lb._ 0.18 " 0.12-1/2

Cotton Yarn, No. 10, " 0.36

Flax, Clean, (scarce) " 0.16 " 0.19

Flaxseed, Clean, _hhd._ 12.50

Firewood, Hickory, _cord_, 5.50 " 6.25
Oak, " 3.00 " 4.00

Flour--Wheat, super. _bbl._ 4.50 " 4.62-1/2
Rye, " 2.62 " 2.75

Grain--Wheat, (sales) _bush._ 0.90 " 0.95
Rye, do. " 0.55 " 0.60
Corn, Pa. do. " 0.50 " 0.55
Barley,
Oats, " 0.37 " 0.40

Hams--Jersey, _lb._ 0.10 " 0.13
Virginia, (none)

Hemp, Kentucky, _ton_, 160.00

Leather--Sole (demand) _lb._ 0.24 " 0.27
Upper, undrs'd. _side_, 2.00 " 2.50

Molasses, _gall._ 0.50 " 0.55

Nails, Cut, all sizes, _lb._ 0.07 " 0.12

Pork, Jersey & Penn.
Mess, (plenty) _bbl._ 15.00

Plaster of Paris, _ton_, 4.50

Shingles--Cedar, 1000 25.00 " 27.00
Cypress, " 5.00

Seed Clover, _bush._ 8.50 " 9.00

Wool--Merino, Clean, _lb._ 0.75
Do. in Grease, " 0.40 " 0.45
Common, " 0.50

RAIN GUAGE AT PHILADELPHIA.

In. Hun.

May 26, Shower, 0.54
29, do. 0.04
13, Rain, 1.35
June 6, Shower, 0.19
11 & 12, Rain, 0.32
13, do. 0.35
16, Shower, 0.04
25, do. 0.30
------------------------------
Total Rain from 17th Jan. to 31st May, 15.45

STATE OF THE THERMOMETER

9 o'cl. 12 o'cl. 3 o'cl.

May 27, -- 64 63
29, 65 72 73
30, 70 76 78
31, 63 59 56
June 1, 59 65 68
2, 63 70 71
3, 68 69 70
5, 74 82 83
6, 65 71 73
7, 67 72 75
8, 69 76 80
9, 75 84 83
10, 77 84 84
12, 60 61 63
13, 68 75 75
14, 75 81 80
15, 76 81 80
16, 76 82 81
17, 71 77 76
19, 70 73 76
20, 73 77 81
21, 75 80 83
22, 78 83 86
23, 79 83 83
24, 79 83 85
26, 72 73 --

PHILADELPHIA,
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY
RICHARDS & CALEB JOHNSON,

_No. 31, Market Street_,
At $3.00 per annum.

GRIGGS & DICKINSON, _Printers--Whitehall_.