FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 OCTOBER-1874 
 
 CONTENTS: 
 
 ANCIENT AGRICULTURE. By The Editor 1 
 
 GARDEN SHADE. By Assistant Editor 3 
 
 ORNAMENTAL GRASSES.— Illustrated. By F. R. E 3 
 
 HARDY BULBS, AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. By John N. Dickie 4 
 
 SMILAX— With an Illustration. By James Vick 6 
 
 THE CHERRY. By F. R. Elliott 7 
 
 EFFECT OF CAMPHOR ON FLOWERS AND SEEDS 8 
 
 NOTES AND GLEANINGS 8 
 
 Roots for Stock Feeding ; The Best Breeds ; Selection of Animals for Breeding ; How to make 
 an Extention Table ; Keep the Cellar Clean ; Keeping Lard Sweet; Keeping Cider Sweet ; Keep- 
 ing Grapes ; Grafting ; Celery ; Mushrooms ; An Interesting Hint ; Gilbert's Thrips Wash ; De- 
 signs for Ornamental Flower Beds ; Nature's Protection ; To Keep them Fresh. 
 
 SELECTIONS 10 
 
 Agriculture in Arctic Norway ; The Value of Large Roots ; The Vine Culture ; Gathering and 
 Keeping Fruit; Violets for Next Winter and Spring; The Folk-Lore of Bees; Hybridizing 
 Wheat; Diseases of the Horse's Eye; Fall Plowing; A Goose Story: Grasshoppers in Minnesota 
 in 1818 ; Toads in the Garden ; The Pottery Tree; Cions and Cuttings of Fruit Trees. 
 
 VARIOUS RECIPES 17 
 
 Covered Cranberry Pies ; Sweet Pickled Cranberries ; Keeping Cranberries ; Potato Salad; Mak- 
 ing Vinegar ; A Remedy for Catarrh ; Croup Remedy ; To make Whitewash. 
 
 EDITORIAL DEPARTMEET 18 
 
 Introduction. Associate Editor. Artificial Butter. Change in Wisconsin Flora. The Chinch 
 Bug. The Law regarding Tree Planting in Switzerland. Lock Jaw Cured. A Noble Horse. 
 World's Supply of Marbles. The Cactus. The Iceland Millennial ; by R. B. Anderson. A 
 Large Crab Tree. 
 
 HOME DEPARTMENT 21 
 
 Home, Sweet Home.— (Poem). The Bugle.— (Poem). Tea; By Joseph Hobbins, M. D. 
 Making People Happy. The Use of Flowers.— (Poem). Flowers for the Blind ; by Joseph 
 Hobbins, M. D. The Same, and Not the Same. 
 
 OUR GIRLS AND BOYS 24 
 
 What the Winds Bring. — (Poem). Reindeer — An Esquimaux Hunt. — Illustration. Best Rule 
 in Conversation. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 26 
 
 Culture in Common Schools ; by Martha A. Terry. Self-Control of a Missionary Teacher. 
 
 MISCELLANY 29 
 
 Alms-Giving in England in the Olden Time ; The Rain-Drops— (Poem) ; Night— (Poem) ; A 
 Glass of Wine; An Odd Little Book ; Old Sally; The Mother's Stratagem. 
 
 OUR SCRAP BOOK 43 
 
 A Darwin Philosopher; Spiritualizing Texts of Scripture; Not so Poor; The Genus Bore; A 
 Clever Note; A Disagreeable Habit; Three Husbands and "nebber" Married; A Never-Failing 
 Barometer; Sweet Heart, Good-Bye; Lady with a Band-Box, Etc.; Epitaph and Advertisement 
 Combined ; Story of William Perm and Thomas Story ; Fulfilling the Decrees of Providence ; 
 Practical Joke on a Clergyman ; Opposed to Verbosity ;* The Conductor's Bunion ; Putting to Bed 
 the Wrong Child; The Sweetest Pear; The Power of Wit; Story of Godfrey Kneller and Dr. 
 Eatcliffe; The Potato. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY • 41 
 
 Gardening at Salt Lake; A Large Vine; Treatment of Tap-Roots; Preservation of Timber; A 
 Good Weeping Poplar^ How to make Tomato Figs. 
 FACETLE 45 
 
Vol. I. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., OCTOBER, 1874. 
 
 Xo. 1. 
 
 ANCIENT AGRICULTURE. 
 Agriculture amongst the ancients Mas 
 considered the most honorable and impor- 
 tant of all employments, and even the 
 Kings did not disdain to practice it with 
 their own hands. From Xenophon we 
 learn that the Persian kings derived espe- 
 cial pleasure from their gardens, and Plu- 
 tarch tells us of Lysander, who found the 
 Persian monarch in his garden at Sardis, 
 and upon its being praised by the Spartan 
 general, the King avowed that he had plan- 
 ned, disposed, and arranged the whole him- 
 self and planted a considerable portion of 
 the trees with his own hands. Amongst 
 the Chinese agriculture received the dis- 
 tinguished regard and protection of its 
 princes, and if we give credence to ancient 
 authors the Kings of Sicily esteemed the 
 occupation so honorable that they bestowed 
 upon it personal labor. Sensible of the 
 blessings resulting from agriculture, those 
 in authority gave it their protection and 
 encouragement, and under these favorable 
 conditions the art was carried, by very man v 
 of the nations of antiquity, to a high de- 
 gree of advancement. 
 
 Egypt, which appears to have been 
 formed into a Kingdom soon after the dis- 
 persion of mankind, became the most no- 
 ted country of antiquity as regards its agri- I 
 culture. Fertilized by the inundation of the 
 Nile, the whole country presented a re- 
 markable state of productiveness. Dur- 
 ing the time of low Nile artificial irriga- 
 tion was resorted to, and vines were ex- 
 
 tensively cultivated. The date-palm was 
 common. The gardens resembled the fields, 
 being watered in the same manner by ir- 
 rigation. The lands annually enriched by 
 the overflow of the Nile produced prodig- 
 ous quantities of grain, so that the coun- 
 try in addition to supplying its own dense 
 population yielded a surplus for exporta- 
 tion. We are referred frequently in the 
 Bible to Egypt as a land rich in corn, and 
 as far back as the days of Abraham we 
 find that when the produce failed in Pal- 
 estine, Egypt was the natural resource. 
 The ordinary annual supply of corn fur- 
 nished to Rome has been estimated at 20. 
 000,000, bushels. Diodorus Siculus bears 
 testimony to the skill of the farmers of an- 
 cient Egypt, and informs us that they were 
 acquainted with the benefits of rotation 
 of crops and skillful in adapting these to 
 the soil and to the season. But it is from 
 the paintings and inscriptions with which 
 the ancient Egyptians decorated their 
 tombs that we get the fullest insight into 
 the state of agriculture among this remark- 
 able people. " The acquaintance," says an 
 admirable authority, " these give us with 
 their occupations, attainments and habits, 
 is ti-uly marvelous. An Egyptian Villa 
 comprised all the conveniences of a Euro- 
 pean one of the present day. Besides a 
 mansion with numerous apartments, there 
 were gardens, orchards, fish ponds and 
 preserves for game. Attached to it was a 
 farm-yard, with sheds for cattle and stable 
 for carriage horses. A steward directed 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 the tillage operations, etc. In one paint- 
 ing' in which the sowing of grain is repre- 
 sented, a plow drawn by a pair of oxen 
 o-oes first, next conies the sower, scatter- 
 ing the seed from a basket; he is followed 
 by another plow, whilst a roller, drawn by- 
 two horses, yoked abreast, completes the 
 operation." Such was ancient Egypt and 
 its agriculture. 
 
 Scripture represents the "Beginning of 
 the Kingdom of Babylon" as belonging 
 to the time of Nimrod. In this remote 
 antiquity agriculture was recognized by 
 the Chaldeans or Babylonians as a valua- 
 ble art, who carried it to a considerable 
 degree of advancement, cultivating their 
 lands with great assiduity and receiving 
 from their fields abundant crops, of which 
 wheat, barley and oats comprised the sta- 
 ple. A modern traveler tells us "the 
 wants of a teeming population were sup- 
 plied by a rich soil, not less bountiful than 
 that of the banks of the Egyptian Nile. 
 Like islands rising from a golden sea of 
 waving corn, stood frequent groves of 
 palm-trees and pleasant gardens, affording 
 to the idler or traveler their grateful and 
 highly valued shade. The land was rich 
 in corn and wine." 
 
 Along with the Babylonians, Egyptians 
 and Romans, the Israelites are classed as 
 one of the greatest agricultural nations of 
 antiquity. Their political and social ar- 
 rangements were favorable to an intelli- 
 gent husbandry, and the peculiarly felici- 
 tous climate and productive soil of Judea 
 gave it those natural requirements which 
 caused it to bestow so abundantly of its 
 fruits. The country is represented at the 
 more prosperous periods of the common- 
 wealth as exhibiting an example of high 
 culture, rich and varied production, and 
 wide-spread plenty as the world has never 
 yet elsewhere produced on an equally ex- 
 tensive scale. The slopes of the hills were 
 carefully terraced and irrigated, and on 
 these slopes the vine and olive were culti- 
 vated with great success. In II Kings 
 Judea is described as " a land of corn and 
 wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a 
 land of olive oil and of honey." " Here 
 Israel dwelt, every man under his vine and 
 under his fig tree." 
 
 Probably no nation showed a greater 
 enthusiasm in agriculture than the Ro- 
 mans. They esteemed it such an honora- 
 
 ble employment that in the earliest times 
 of the republic, the highest praise that 
 could be given to a man was to say he cul- 
 tivated well his own spot of ground. The 
 most illustrious senators applied them- 
 selves to this profession, and the greatest 
 generals at their return from the toils of 
 war were impatient till they were again 
 employed in cultivating their lands. The 
 words of Cato give us a fine picture of the 
 ancient Roman enthusiasm in agriculture: 
 " I come now to the pleasures of husband- 
 ry, in which I vastly delight. They are 
 not interrupted by old age and they seem 
 to me to be pursuits in which a wise man's 
 life should be spent. The earth does not 
 rebel against authority; it never gives 
 back but with usury what it receives. The 
 gains of husbandry are not what exclu- 
 sively commend it, I am charmed with the 
 nature and productive virtues of the soil. 
 Can those old men be called unhappy who 
 delight in the cultivation of the soil? In 
 my opinion, there can be no happier life, 
 not only because the tillage of the earth 
 is salutary to all but from the pleasure it 
 yields. The whole establishment of a 
 good and assiduous husbandman is stored 
 with wealth; it abounds in pigs, in kids, 
 in lambs, in poultry, in milk, in cheese, in 
 honey. Nothing can be more profitable, 
 nothing more beautiful than a well culti- 
 vated farm." They were a thoroughly ag- 
 ricultural people, but in the later ages of 
 the empire agriculture was neglected, and 
 over-grown Rome drew its supplies from 
 Egypt, Sicily and other provinces which 
 became the notable granaries of the world. 
 
 The agricultural system of the Chinese 
 was rude, but effective, and every inch of 
 arable land was cultivated. The spade was 
 about the only instrument used, and irri- 
 gation was resorted to as a means of water- 
 ing the growing crops. Their neighbors, 
 the Japanese, were also interested in ag- 
 riculture, and evidently held the art in 
 high esteem. 
 
 The Phoencciaiis, though more particu- 
 larly a commercial nation, were acquainted 
 with agriculture, cultivating with success 
 wheat, rye, barley, together with the ordi- 
 nary fruits, as citrons, apricots, peaches, 
 pomegranates, almonds and grapes. 
 
 The Atheneans, whom we are told were 
 the first people that received any polite- 
 ness, taught the use of corn to the rest of 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 the Greeks, and also taught them the man- 
 ner of cultivating the ground. (The art 
 of sowing corn and the tillage of land are 
 supposed to have been invented in Sicily, 
 the largest and most fertile Island of the 
 Mediterranean). 
 
 The Carthagenians following the tastes 
 of their ancestors applied themselves to 
 the study of agriculture, and carried the 
 art to a higher degree of success than their 
 contemporaries. Mago, their famous gen- 
 eral, wrote a large number of books, as 
 many as twenty-eight volumes on this sub- 
 ject, which were sometime afterwards 
 translated into Latin by an express decree 
 of the Roman senate. 
 
 There is very muchthat can be said con- 
 cerning the agriculture of the ancients, 
 but we have not space to give the subject 
 more than a brief outline in a single arti- 
 cle, and indeed we only intended this, 
 which we have written in the midst of the 
 hurry of getting the first number of this 
 magazine to press, as a sort of introduc- 
 tion to what we intend to give hereafter. 
 
 GARDEN SHADE. 
 A hot summer like this we have just 
 passed jfchrough, and indeed any one of 
 our summers, for they are all hot enough, 
 should teach us to value shade more than 
 we do, and to provide in oar gardens and 
 on our farms, a cool spot for ourselves and 
 families. This was a matter better under- 
 stood of old than at present. As Cowper 
 says : 
 
 " Our fathers knew the value of a screen 
 From sultry sun." 
 
 Men then lived for comfort — for enjoy- 
 ment. They sought, as it seems to me, 
 to get all that was good out of life, while 
 we, in our day, prefer to let life get all 
 that is good out of us. The mass of us 
 scarce know what comfort is — we rather 
 cultivate our cares. 
 
 About old country houses, and especial- 
 ly on farms and in old gardens, in England, 
 may always be found green arbors, cool 
 bowers, wide spreading trees and shady 
 nooks — the delight of all these old places — 
 the family resort in the heat of summer 
 days — than which nothing can add more 
 to the comfort or beauty of a place. The 
 yew tree, the holly hedges high enough to 
 cast constant shade, the groups of shade 
 growing trees, the sweet retiring little 
 
 groves, formed part of every man's garden 
 or estate. In modern gardens and farms, 
 especially in this new country, all beauty 
 and comfort are too much sacrificed to " the 
 open," and trees and beauty are treated 
 as though not God but the devil was the 
 author of them. 
 
 Let us begin to copy a little more after 
 those who were wiser. The labor is little 
 and the cost still less. For the lawn or 
 garden there is no more beautiful tree 
 than the English weeping ash, which may 
 be obtained from Ellwanger & Barry, (not 
 the weeping mountain ash.) It is a very 
 rapid grower, growing eight or ten feet in 
 a year. The branches overlap one another, 
 until the whole form a foot in thickness of 
 foliage, and falling in an almost perfect 
 circle to the ground, admit of a circular 
 bench sufficiently large to accommodate a 
 family. 
 
 For a farm there is, perhaps, no better 
 shade tree than the weeping elm. But 
 the cheapest, readiest-made and com- 
 pletest arber is to be had by planting four 
 well storked weeping willows, about twelve 
 feet apart, forming a square, and as near 
 your house as is convenient. In three or 
 four years a complete bower is formed, by 
 directing and interlacing their branches, 
 which weep as profusely, as gracefully 
 and handsomely as the English weeping 
 willow; on every side presenting a natural 
 curtain of greenery impervious to the sun. 
 This willow does not winter kill like the 
 foreign willow. 
 
 Another plan. If you have four young 
 trees forming a suitable square, or ap- 
 proaching a square, convenient to your 
 house, no matter what the variety, plant 
 at the foot of each of them a couple of 
 good roots of Virginia creeper, and a few 
 years give you all the shade you want. 
 
 J. H. 
 
 ORNAMENTAL GRASSES. 
 When we take up the subject or thought 
 of what we can grow to embellish our home 
 rooms in winter, with floral gems or bou- 
 quets, there is perhaps no class of plants 
 possessing more graceful and attractive 
 forms than those termed Ornamental 
 Grasses. They are easy of cultivation, 
 but intermingled in the flower border, are 
 not perhaps attractive to the general be- 
 holder; but if they are placed or sown in 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 a bed by themselves, their growth and 
 period of maturity for preservation will 
 be more likely to be noted and at the same 
 time, being so placed with knowledge of 
 their heights, &c, they will form an espe- 
 cially attractive bed or bank, of interest 
 to all. 
 
 For use or preservation they should be 
 gathered just before they begin to fade 
 and drop their seeds, and after gathering, 
 they should be laid thinly on a shelf in a 
 darkish room, free from dust. 
 
 The seed catalogues of almost all our 
 leading seed dealers contain extended lists 
 with short condensed items as to planting, 
 etc.; but while it is often advised to start 
 them in pots, &c, in the greenhouse, in 
 March, we have found that some of our 
 best results have come from seed sown 
 from the 1st to 15th of May. We are 
 very careful not to cover too deep and we 
 try to have our soil a pure vegetable loam. 
 
 We give a few cuts for the purpose of 
 illustrating some of the varieties: 
 
 IP 
 
 Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 
 
 Fig. 1 is one of the variety of Briga, 
 or what is called shaking grass. There 
 are some five or six varieties, growing 
 from half a foot to one foot high. 
 
 Fig. 2 is a variety termed Lagarus Ova- 
 tus, a dwarf sort, which should be sown in 
 the fores-round of the bed. 
 
 Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 
 
 Fig. 3 is a JPennisatum, making a growth 
 of say eighteen inches, but very graceful. 
 There are two or more varieties. 
 
 Fig 4 is an Agrostis, frequently called 
 the Feathery Grass. There are two or 
 
 more varieties and they 
 known, highly esteemed. 
 
 L 
 
 are, wherever 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 Fig. 5 is a Coix Lachryma, frequently 
 called Job's tears, from its shining pearly 
 fruit. It is an old well known tropical 
 grass, but to-day a 'pretty novelty when 
 you study it in its association. 
 
 m 
 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 Fig. 6. This is the true Feather Grass,, 
 of which there are two varieties, neither 
 of which flower the first season, but they 
 may be gathered and dried. For other 
 varieties see the books, we have not room 
 for all. E. 
 
 HARDY BULBS, AND HOW TO TREAT THEM. 
 Hardy bulbs are those which, planted in 
 autumn, root before freezing weather,, 
 withstand the severest winter, and give us 
 the early flowers of spring. They are of 
 easy cultivation and sure to blossom if 
 properly cared for — something one cannot 
 say of flowers in general. 
 
 First upon the list, then, will come the 
 
 HYACINTH. 
 
 Now, if we were in the bulb business, 
 we might be a little selfish; but as we are 
 not, we will be candid enough to tell you 
 it is entirely unnecessary to purchase high 
 priced bulbs for out-door planting. They 
 are very high priced — retailing at from 
 thirty-five to seventy-five cents each — and 
 are more especially intended for pot cul- 
 ture in the house durinsr the winter months. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 Hyacinth bulbs degenerate sadly in this 
 country. They are mainly imported from 
 Holland, and the first year will give you a 
 magnificent spike of flowers, and ever after 
 that an assortment of very ordinary ones 
 indeed. What particular property of soil 
 is here wanting, has never yet been satis- 
 factorily decided. The bulbs increase 
 abundantly, year after year, and are per- 
 fectly healthy; but the flower producing 
 faculty is forever lost, to a considerable 
 •extent. 
 
 But, as we said, second class bulbs are 
 best for the garden. They are more hardy, 
 the spikes stand more erect, and the bloom 
 will last much longer, if it is not quite as 
 perfect, and for general purposes make 
 almost as fine an appearance as the fancy 
 sorts. Deal with a responsible seedsman, 
 and buy the mixed varieties of the low- 
 growing sorts. These are offered at about 
 $1,50 per dozen, and will answer your pur- 
 pose fully as well as those double the 
 price. 
 
 If it is your intention to grow flowers 
 on your lawn next summer, you can pre- 
 pare the beds for your bulbs directly, or, 
 in lieu of that, in the garden. Be sure 
 that the soil is well drained. Cold weather 
 cannot hurt a bulb, but standing water 
 around it will cause it to give up the ghost 
 in short order. They can be planted any 
 time from the fifteenth of September to 
 the first of December in this latitude. 
 Further north, allowance must of course 
 be made for the earlier appearance of win- 
 ter. Set the bulbs five inches apart and 
 three inches deep. Cover, when winter 
 sets in, with leaves or coarse manure, being 
 careful to rake the litter off early in spring- 
 before the shoot appears. 
 
 There is one particularly nice thing 
 about hardy bulbs, you can enjoy their 
 blossoms in early spring, and then, ere they 
 die down, can plant annuals among them, 
 thereby keeping up almost a constant suc- 
 cession of bloom. The better plan, how- 
 ever, is to take up the bulbs about two 
 weeks after they have done blooming and 
 put in a dry place covering them with earth 
 where they can remain until perfectly dry. 
 They can then be taken up and packed 
 away in paper bags until needed the en- 
 suing fall. 
 
 We have not space in this article for 
 even a word on the cultivation of the fine 
 
 imported Holland bulbs, in the house dur- 
 ing the winter. They are particularly in- 
 tended for cultivation in pots, and may 
 possibly form the basis for another article 
 at some future time. 
 
 And now let us devote a few minutes to 
 the 
 
 TULIP. 
 
 There is no modesty whatever in this 
 flower. It is all show, monopolizing every 
 color of the rainbow, and avoiding deli- 
 cate tints as too tame for any use. There 
 is no more gaudy flower in existence; and 
 yet it makes a most attractive bed, to be 
 admired, even by those of the most del- 
 icate tastes. 
 
 Tulips are divided into two classes — 
 early and late. The early sorts are known 
 by the names, Due Van Thol, Toumesol 
 and Parrot tulips. The first named flow- 
 ers in April, and is excellent for winter 
 flowering in pots — the best, in fact. The 
 Toumesol has large, double flowers, and 
 continues long in bloom, but is hardly 
 equal to the first named. The Parrot we 
 cannot speak of in very high terms. The 
 petals are very long, very loose and deeply 
 fringed; and it really makes the most bril- 
 liant show of the whole family; but it is 
 hardly suitable for bedding on account of 
 its slovenly habits. It invariably becomes 
 top-heavy, while, as they mature, the flow- 
 ers hold down their heads as if to hide 
 their brilliancy — a species of modesty en- 
 tirely assumed we are happy to state. 
 
 The late tulips are divided into Pizarres 
 Pyblooms and Poses. They bloom just 
 after the Parrots, but not as useful as the 
 earlier sorts, from the fact that they come 
 into bloom rather late in the season. The 
 hot sun wilts the flower almost as soon as 
 developed, and consequently makes their 
 cultivation rather unprofitable. 
 
 Tulips can be planted at any time in the 
 fall, observing directions for protection as 
 in remarks on hyacinths. They are fortu- 
 nately not like their fastidious neighbors. 
 They will not degenerate. An imported 
 bulb is really no better than one grown on 
 our own soil. For all practical purposes, 
 the mixed bulbs are as good as the named 
 varieties, and far cheaper, many seedsmen 
 offering them at fifty cents per dozen. 
 
 There is no bulbous flower in this coun- 
 try so generally cultivated as the tulip. 
 And yet it is rarely cultivated aright. We 
 
6 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 have actually seen beds of this flower one 
 mass of bulbs — so close together that a 
 stick could not be driven down in the bed 
 anywhere without mutilating one or more 
 of them. No wonder such cultivators 
 have no flowers. In planting, set the bulbs 
 six inches apart and three inches deep. 
 Do not let them remain in the ground 
 longer than two years, at the farthest. As 
 soon as the leaves become dried, the bulbs 
 should be removed and packed away in 
 paper bags for use the following season. 
 
 And now let us conclude with a friendly 
 word in reference to the 
 
 CROCUS. 
 
 It is astounding, but we have our own 
 opinion about matters and things, and 
 about flowers in particular. This is decid- 
 edly wrong, but we can't help it; and 
 aware of this, the reader will not blame us 
 when we say, we think a bed of crocuses 
 equal, if not superior to a bed of hya- 
 cinth. This is not the general opinion, 
 but it is ours, and will be, whether anybody 
 else thinks so or not. 
 
 The crocus, is the earliest of our spring 
 flowers. In this latitude it will appear 
 above ground the first of March, and opens 
 its buds to the sun on the first day of 
 April, almost, and blooms the second. 
 This is a weakness on the part of the cro- 
 cus, but nature must have her little jokes 
 once in awhile, as well as the rest of us. 
 The bulbs should be planted in October, 
 if possible, and if not, as soon after as you 
 can. Set three inches apart, covering 
 with three inches of soil. Be very care- 
 ful to cover the bed well with leaves or 
 coarse manure. If this is not done the 
 frost will heave the bulbs out and put an 
 end to them in short order. Many failures 
 in crocus culture are attributable to this 
 cause. The named varieties are fifty cents 
 per dozen, and the un-named, twenty-five. 
 The latter sorts are just as good, unless you 
 believe there is really something in a name. 
 
 And now, kind reader, we have given 
 you a little advice. We would rather do 
 so than not; but don't accept it if you 
 would rather learn from an experience of 
 your own. Do as we did. Lose money, 
 lose time, lose labor; after which you will 
 be enabled to prove the truth of what we 
 have just said on this branch of floricul- 
 ture. John N. Dickie. 
 
 Columbus, O. Aug., 1874. 
 
 SMILAX. 
 This plant, a native of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, has now become one of the essen- 
 tials of the florist and amateur. It is ex- 
 tensively used in decorating parlors and 
 reception rooms — for weaving in the hair, 
 
 and for trimming party dresses, for which 
 purposes it is not only admirably adapted, 
 being an extremely graceful vine, with 
 glossy green leaves, but surpasses anything 
 with which we are acquainted. With a 
 little care it can be grown successfully as 
 a house plant. The seeds should be sown 
 in a box or in pots in the house, and should 
 be kept moist till the young plants appear. 
 The seed being rather slow to germinate, 
 you must not think it bad if it does not 
 make its appearance in two weeks. The 
 young plant should be potted off into three 
 inch pots as soon as they are three or four 
 inches high. Once a year the bulbs should 
 be allowed to dry off and rest, and the best 
 time for this rest is during the summer, 
 when we can obtain plenty of green foliage 
 from other sources. Our plan is to let the 
 plants dry off by withholding water, and 
 this it is well to do gradually, some time 
 in June, and everything above the soil will 
 die down. In September commence wa- 
 tering again and in a few weeks the buds 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 will start and furnish abundance of foli- 
 age, which must be furnished with strings, 
 on which to climb. The slender twining 
 branches attach themselves to things very 
 readily, forming beautiful wreaths without 
 any aid, so that when trimming is desired 
 all we have to do is to cut as many feet as 
 is desired. It is best therefore to have 
 several strings so that the cutting away of 
 one or two will not injure the appearance 
 of the plant. The smilax is very accom- 
 modating, and will grow in partial shade. 
 It is very pretty trained over and around 
 a window. 
 
 I had forgotten to say that in starting 
 the smilax into growth in September it is 
 best to re-pot with fresh earth, and a little 
 weak guano or manure water will give the 
 plants a vigorous start, and one that thev 
 will feel all through the season, especially 
 if repeated once a week for four or five 
 times. When g'rowing rapidly give abun- 
 dance of water, and moisten the foliage 
 once a week, if possible. Those who pre- 
 fer to do so can obtain bulbs in autumn, 
 or plants still later of most of the seeds- 
 men and florists. 
 
 The engraving shows a branch much 
 reduced, also a small side-shoot with leaves 
 of the natural size. James Vick. 
 
 Rochester, X. Y., Aug., 1 874. 
 
 THE CHERRY, 
 
 In the varieties, their values, the compar- 
 ative hardihood and productiveness of all 
 fruits there is daily, yearly and continu- 
 ously a multiplicity of thought and diver- 
 sity of opinion. All of these are measur- 
 ably attributable to the scope of extended 
 knowledge, association, acquaintance of, 
 and observations practically of results 
 touching climate, soil, season, limits, 
 drought, or accumulation of moisture, the 
 association of the soil and its adhesion to 
 moisture, or its contraction by drought 
 upon its rootlets, or if you will, the lungs 
 of the plant touching the vitality of life. 
 The general planter we acknowledge, takes 
 the word of the tradesman, who sells his 
 trees for a living, and so the general 
 planter ninety times out of a hundred 
 finds himself, less than five years from his 
 investment, a victim of confidence. Had 
 he expended one-half the thought he gave 
 the traveling agent words of personal in- 
 terested advice, in reading, consulting and 
 
 noting the records of success and non-suc- 
 cess which is almost weekly recorded in 
 our agricultural and horticultural journals, 
 he would doubtless have received for the 
 money expended for trees, a success and 
 comfort of family enjoyment in place of a 
 disappointment, expense and annoyance, 
 as connected both with his own mind and 
 the remarks of his near neighbors, who 
 however kind they may be and friendly, 
 yet cannot refrain from a comment upon 
 error, even if it be one they themselves 
 have stumbled over and almost broken 
 their necks upon. 
 
 These are all points that become us to 
 think upon ere we invest our money in 
 preparing our land for planting, purchase 
 of trees, etc., and it becomes us therefore 
 to calmly look over all before us and take 
 carefully to reason the experience of oth- 
 ers. 
 
 We make no claims, in this our present 
 writing, to any supreme knowledge, for an 
 experience of over a quarter of a century 
 of practice with a million or more of miles 
 of travel, studying our subject, convinces 
 us that knowledge is as yet, touching all 
 horticulture, in its infancy. Nevertheless 
 it is perhaps becoming in us, loving the 
 subject of fruit growing, its association 
 with refinements of life, its toning toward 
 a true taste of harmony and love of na- 
 ture, and thus of rural rather than artificial 
 culture touching the future of all good 
 christian or moral ideas or belief; so there- 
 fore we now at request of the publishers 
 of the Field, Lawn and Garden, pro- 
 pose to touch quietly but practically the 
 cherry and its culture. 
 
 The varieties are matters of taste; the 
 stocks upon which the trees are grown 
 and to be successful are dependent upon 
 soil, moisture, and average temperature of 
 the year or years. These are all points 
 that you who now propose to plant must 
 of yourself, as we have before said, look 
 up carefully and consider. 
 
 Let us say to you that of all the roots 
 upon which the cherry is grown the Ma- 
 haleb is the hardiest, but it has also one 
 failing error connected with the growth 
 and hardihood of the variety grafted or 
 budded upon it, viz: its first two or three 
 years tend to excess, and frequently the 
 tree sold as a dwarf one year old grown, 
 is from five to seven feet. If you plant 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 out such a tree, you expend money and time 
 uselessly, unless you study the item that 
 reducing- its breathing organs, i. e., cutting- 
 back its branches you are enabling it to 
 renew itself and conform its evaporating 
 vitality of the ensuing year with the cor- 
 responding supply of food from the feed- 
 ers at the root. 
 
 And now while we touch this Mahaleb 
 as the best of all the roots upon which to 
 work the cherry for all the states, we again 
 say it is in itself associated successfully 
 with the knowledge of its grower. The 
 Morello stock on which many of its own 
 class, and the Duke and Sweet cherries 
 are frequently worked, we cannot but say- 
 as a general rule, where thought, brain, 
 and observation of nature's laws are un- 
 connected with vegetation, may and should 
 be relied upon. In all of high dry sandy 
 soils, on elevated ridges, or even knolls 
 upon otherwise level land, on north hill 
 sides, etc., we come back to the Mazzard 
 stock upon which to grow our trees, but 
 we want to say, touching this last as well 
 as all the others, touch not a tree that has 
 not its branches started within one foot to 
 eighteen inches from the bud on junction 
 of which the valued variety of tree con- 
 nects with the stocks, which is to support 
 it in the ground. 
 
 With these remarks we think that per- 
 haps we have said enough for the present. 
 Touching varieties, etc., if the Lawx and 
 Garden wish our views, names thereof, 
 etc., they can have them. 
 
 F. R. Elliott. 
 Cleveland, O. 
 
 CAMPHOR ON FLOWERS AND SEEDS, 
 Before the beginning of this century, Dr. Benja- 
 min Smith Barton, of Philadelphia, published some 
 experiments in which cut flowers or slips in water, 
 which were about to fade or wither, were revived 
 for a time by putting camphor in the water. He 
 compared its action to that of spirituous liquors or 
 opium upon animals. We think the idea and prac- 
 tice have not wholly died out in this country, 
 although very warm water is the commoner pre- 
 scription now-a-days. Dr. Vogel, of Munich, has 
 been trying these experiments over again, and lie 
 finds that camphor does have a remarkable reviv- 
 ing effect upon some plants, although almost none 
 upon others, and that it quickens the germination 
 of seeds. — The Garden. 
 
 NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
 
 Boots for Stock Feeding. — In Brittany the 
 parsnip is becoming the favorite root for stock feed, 
 and its culture is extending. In the Channel Is- 
 lands this root forms a large portion of the fodder 
 of the Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney cows, and 
 much of their value as rich milkers is undoubtedly 
 due to the use of this root for a long series of years. 
 It is well known to physiologists, says the N. 7". 
 Tribune, how great an effect upon the condition of 
 a breed of animals is caused by a long period of 
 careful feeding, and this is a conspicuuus instance 
 of it. This root in many parts of France is sub- 
 stituted for oats as feed for horses, 16 pounds a day 
 being given with the best effect. For pigs it is also 
 largely used, nine pounds of cooked roots being fed 
 four times a day. One great advantage of this 
 root is its hardiness; the supply for spring may be 
 left in the ground all winter, and is in the best 
 condition to harvest at any time when needed. 
 
 The Best Breeds. — Beginners in the line of 
 poultry raising, are apt to puzzle their brains about 
 what breeds to select, in order to make the business 
 most successful. A "Subscriber," in the Rural 
 New Torker, tells amateur poultry raisers the 
 most important part for them to know -about 
 the selection of breeds as follows : " Select that 
 breed or those breeds of fowls, which are most 
 common and most general in the neighborhood 
 in which you intend to follow your business ; 
 at first, become thoroughly acquainted with all 
 their properties and qualities. Then you will know 
 something; then you will have a standard of com- 
 parison ; then you will be on a par, as to breeds, 
 with the general intelligence of the community 
 with whom you propose to settle. Let not this 
 general intelligence be underrated. It is the intel- 
 ligence which books cannot communicate. It is 
 the instinct of wisdom which makes the earth 
 fruitful, which fills the garden with ripe vegetables, 
 the pail with rich milk, the poultry yard with 
 healthy chickens. Then, by slow degrees, we can 
 introduce the fancy breeds." 
 
 Selection of Animals for Breeding. — The 
 Iowa Stock Journal, speaking on the subject of 
 selecting stock for breeding purposes, says : 
 
 In the time of Bakewell, the sheep breeders 
 were accustomed to select their breeding rams, by 
 a curl of the horn or the color of the nose. Sheep 
 breeders laugh now at the idea, and do not realize 
 the innovation that Bakewell made when he dis- 
 carded these arbitrary signs, and declaring mutton 
 to be the chief end of sheep, aimed at that alone. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 9 
 
 Yet to-day the purchasers of Jersey cattle select 
 just as absurdly as did the shepherds about Dishley 
 a hundred years ago, when, instead of selecting 
 cows for their yield of butter, they pay great atten- 
 tion to color. The purchaser, instead of asking to 
 see the results of a week's churning, examines the 
 tongue. If the color is satisfactory, the cow is a 
 treasure. Nothing more absurd than this can be 
 imagined, and the natural consequence will be, 
 that the Jersey breeders will raise one style of 
 cows for themselves, and another for the foreign 
 demand. This is said to be already the case. The 
 intelligence of the 19th century in stock breeding 
 seems to be of a very low order. 
 
 The farmer who chooses a Berkshire is careful 
 to get the color right, whether the form and fatten- 
 ing qualities exist or not, and at Short-Horn sales 
 the fashionable red color is more looked for than 
 good points. The whole farming community needs 
 to think more closely, and keep the object of 
 breeding more steadily in view. 
 
 How to Make an Extension Table. — A 
 plain sort of extension table is easily made, thus : 
 Take a wide smooth plank, cut it so as to be as long 
 as the the dining table is wide; fasten under it two 
 long wooden prongs, just far enough apart to slide 
 into the ends of the opening left by the support of 
 the table leaf when drawn out to raise it. This 
 board forms an extra leaf, accommodating four 
 persons ; and should have a leaf on the outer edge, 
 fastened on by a hinge, to steady it when in use 
 and fold back at other times. 
 
 So the legs of ironing tables should be made, 
 and the table itself should be long and high, and 
 attached by hinges to the wall, to double down and 
 save space when not wanted. 
 
 Keep the Cellar Clean. — Under this head 
 the IV. E. Farmer gives some very good advice, 
 and says, "during these sultry dog days it is partic- 
 ularly healthful to keep the basement rooms of the 
 dwelling house clean, dry, and the air pure." Now 
 it is not only during the "dog days" that this 
 should be done, but at all times during the year. 
 It is a mistake to think that in the cold weather of 
 winter the cellar does not need to be often swept 
 out, and all loose dirt and decayed matter taken 
 away. Pure air is also needful in winter as well 
 as in summer, and he who regards his own health 
 and that of his family, will see to it that his cellar, 
 at all times, is kept clean and airy. 
 
 Keepino Lard Sweet. — A correspondent of 
 the Am. Agriculturist says, that lard may be kept 
 perfectly sweet and free from any strong or rancid 
 odor, for any length of time, by putting into each 
 
 kettle while rendering a handful of red or slippery 
 elm bark. Treated thus, it has a sweet and not 
 unpleasant smell in the hottest weather, even when 
 kept in a cellar. This is a very old plan, the 
 knowledge of which, if we mistake not, was de- 
 rived from the Indians, who kept their deer fat in 
 this way. "VVe have never tried it, but have been 
 assured of its utility by others. Only the inside 
 bark is used. 
 
 Keeping Cider Sweet. — We like the following 
 plan recommended by Prof. Horsford, of Cam- 
 bridge : 
 
 "When the cider in the barrel is undergoing a 
 lively fermentation, add as much white sugar as 
 will be equal to half or three quarters of a pound 
 to each gallon of cider, and let the fermentation 
 proceed until the liquid attains the right taste to 
 suit; then add an eighth to a quarter of an ounce 
 of sulphite (not sulphate) of lime to each gallon of 
 cider in the cask ; first mixing the powder in about 
 a quart of eider, and then pouring it back into the 
 cask, and giving it a thorough shaking or rolling. 
 After standing bunged up for a few days, for the 
 matter added to become incorporated with the cider, 
 it may be bottled or used from the cask." 
 
 Keeping Grapes. — We have it from an Eng- 
 lish source, that grapes keep very well for four, 
 and even five months, if put carefully between dry 
 millet; in which way, also, the Hungarian fruit 
 dealers export their grapes with the best success. 
 The celebrated white Kosmarin apples, exported 
 to England by the Tyroleans, are enveloped twice 
 carefully in silk paper, and packed afterwards be- 
 tween scraps of paper, which is without doubt 
 always the best material for the purpose. 
 
 Grafting. — The new system introduced in Eng- 
 land of low grafting, in weeping trees, has great 
 advantages over the high stock grafting. A graft 
 upon a low stock gives not only a more natural ap- 
 pearance to the tree, but in a climate like ours of 
 this north west, is much safer. We have lost the 
 Kilmarnock Willow, the Weeping Beech and the 
 Weeping Poplar, by their being killed to the 
 graft. The low stock graft is less exposed, and 
 admits of protection against our winter. 
 
 Celery. — Let us have celery that is celery. 
 Not the dwarfed, tough, comjiaratively tasteless 
 plant, that tells of -want of -water. Water is the 
 element that celery delights in. The irrigated beds 
 below London produce the finest and choicest 
 celery in the world. Water your celery to the 
 third and final earthing up the ridge, until the 
 ridge is well closed at the top — then stop. 
 
10 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 Mushrooms. — In Europe, the sale and growing 
 of mushrooms constitutes a regular branch of 
 trade. The meadows of England, the old pastures 
 of Normandy, and the caverns in the vicinity of 
 Paris, are the sources to their owners of consider- 
 able income in the production of this edible. 
 Mushrooms are not only a luxury, they are nour- 
 ishing, refreshing, and afford, as we know, an ex- 
 cellent catsup, capable of giving a highly pleasant 
 flavor to many a meal otherwise tasteless and un- 
 inviting. They are rapidly on the increase in this 
 part of the state. They are found in our fields, in 
 our gardens, along side our fences, and in our very 
 city gutters. Why not gather them ? 
 
 An Interesting Hint. — Contrary as it may 
 appear to popular opinion, it has recently been 
 discovered that the leaves of plants have no power, 
 under ordinary circumstances, of absorbing water 
 or watery vapor. They absorb water only when 
 the ground is so dry that the roots fail to absorb, 
 and thus try to make up for the deficiency of root 
 absorption of moisture. 
 
 Gilbert's Thrips Wash. — This is the name 
 of a new wash just brought out in England, that 
 "has stood the test of twenty years experience, 
 warranted not to harm cither foliage or flowers," 
 and to be a success. Send it along — Wisconsin 
 needs it. 
 
 Designs for Ornamental Flower Beds. — 
 It is a novelty of a pleasing and instructive char- 
 acter in the exhibitions of our horticultural socie- 
 ties, to see such designs, if but of moderate dimen- 
 sions, so filled with choice bedding, foliaged plants, 
 arranged in different forms and varying elevations, 
 so as to represent, and teach the manner of making 
 such beds for our gardens. Besides, such a design 
 at a flower show could not but prove a very attrac- 
 tive feature. 
 
 Nature's Protection. — Somebody who ought 
 to be accpiainted with the facts, tells us that the 
 asphodel, a bulbous plant of the lily family, is 
 held in such aversion by rats that if it be grown 
 about the places which they haunt, or' if the plant 
 be placed in their holds, it will effectually banish 
 them. It does not destroy the rodent, but is an 
 intolerable offense to them. 
 
 To Keep Them Fresh. — Sprinkle your bouquet 
 lightly with clear water and put it into a vase con- 
 taining some soap suds; dash well with fresh water 
 every morning, and then return to the suds ; change 
 the suds themselves every third day, and the 
 flowers can be kept bright and beautiful for several 
 weeks. 
 
 SELECTIONS. 
 
 AGRICULTURE IN ARCTIC NORWAY. 
 
 A few observations upon agriculture in this 
 strange land may interest you, although it is the 
 least of the industries here, and contributes little 
 to the sustenance of the inhabitants. To speak of 
 agriculture within the Arctic circle may seem pre- 
 posterous, and so it would be in any other part of 
 the world, but here the gulf stream sweeps along 
 the coast and around North Cape, losing itself in 
 the great Polar ocean beyond, and so tempers the 
 water and the air as to admit the growth of much 
 vegetation which elsewhere is confined to the Tem- 
 perate zones. Indeed, ice never forms in the sea 
 and in the channels between the many thousands 
 of islands, and in the deep Fjords or long narrow 
 bays which penetrate far inland among the moun- 
 tains. My northern course has terminated at Ham- 
 merfest, which is above seventy degrees north lati- 
 tude — four degrees above the north point of Ice- 
 land — and is the most northern town on our globe, 
 although there are a few fishing huts still further 
 north, near North Cape, which is less than a degree 
 north of Hammerfest. At this place the sun is 
 above the horizon for two and a half months in 
 summer, or say from the loth of May to the 29th 
 of July, and is invisible in winter for a correspond- 
 ing length of time, but he is always so near the 
 horizon, and his rays strike the earth so obliquely 
 that he gives comparatively but little heat, and but 
 for its uninterrupted continuance his influence 
 would be very weak. With the ameliorating in- 
 fluence of the gulf stream, the temperature, in or- 
 dinary seasons, is such as to make it practicable to 
 grow some kinds of grain and grapes, and a variety 
 of garden vegetables. This year is exceptionally 
 cold, and as the first officer of our steamer informed 
 me, is two months later than usual, and 1807 was 
 even worse than this year. All the mountains — 
 and the whole country may be said to be moun- 
 tains — are covered witli snow down to the water's 
 edge, except those portions most exposed to the 
 heat of the sun. The area which it is possible to 
 cultivate is very limited, and is confined to little 
 nooks along the borders of the water at the foot of 
 the mountains, for every island that is large enough 
 is a mountain. Sometimes these intervales are 
 many acres in extent, and at others but a few rods. 
 Wherever one occurs there is sure to be a fisher- 
 man's hut, with usually a little garden, and in the 
 larger places perhaps twenty, or even fifty huts may 
 be counted, scattered along the margin of the wa- 
 ters, each with its little garden enclosed by a stone 
 wall, on the opposite side of which a great snow 
 bank may be glistening in the sun. Occasionally, 
 as the steamer threaded its way among the islands, 
 we could see some little native ponies, and some- 
 times a few sheep or goats, hunting a scanty subsis- 
 tence among the rocks. 
 
 Even in this extreme north, the potatoes are cul- 
 tivated and are of a most excellent quality, although 
 in seasons like this it is liable to be a failure. At 
 Boskekop, which is a little south of Hammerfest, 
 but far inland, at the head of Alten Fjord, which 
 has been called the Eden of Lapland, I examined 
 a garden carefully on the 3d of July, and the only 
 vegetable I found above ground was one potato- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 11 
 
 plant which was just peeping out. The only grains 
 cultivated above the Arctic circle, or indeed in any 
 part of Norway, so far as I have seen or can learn, 
 are rye, oats and barley, and in these northern 
 regions these will mature only in favorable seasons, 
 and this year, probably, not a grain will mature in 
 Arctic Norway. 
 
 There is a compensating law of nature which 
 forces vegetation with marvelous rapidity, where 
 the seasons are so very short. While at Trondhjem, 
 on our way north on the 23d of June, not a blade 
 of grass could be seen on the fields and meadows 
 about the town. Three weeks later I was aston- 
 ished to see an American mower slashing down a 
 heavy crop of grass in those same fields. This was 
 in latitude G3o degrees north. 
 
 Even at Hammerfest I found a good many cows. 
 They were small, with legs so very short as to ap- 
 pear deformed. About one-half were poleards, or 
 without horns. I noticed a calf, as I supposed, on 
 the steamer, which a couple of men picked up and 
 placed in a boat to land at a fishing hamlet, when 
 I observed she had a fine bag, and no doubt gave a 
 good mess of milk — for her size. 
 
 I learned that back among the mountains consid- 
 erable droves are kept, which are driven farther 
 into the mountains in summer, and wintered near 
 the coast. It is a serious matter, of course, to keep 
 this stock through the long, hard winter. A son 
 of one of these dairy farmers, who came over on 
 the same ship witli me from America, where he has 
 been for some years, and whom I employed as an 
 intrepreter while in Lapland, gave me much in- 
 formation on this subject, and interested me much 
 with his experience when a boy. All the hay that 
 can be gathered, is carefully stored. A still great- 
 er resource is the reindeer moss, which grows abun- 
 dantly in all the mountains. This is of a light 
 gray color, short and rather crispy, with very short 
 roots, and is very nutritious. This is raked up by 
 the roots in quantities, and easily cured, when it is 
 carefully stored and fed to the cows. The browse 
 of the white birch, which is very abundant in 
 many places, is another valuable resource. Lastly 
 the herring, which are taken in immense quantities 
 in all these northern waters, are fed to the cattle 
 when other supplies fail, which often occurs. If 
 they do not relish fish at first, hunger compels 
 them to it, and it is found to agree with them very 
 well. I imagine this food does not make the best 
 of milk. 
 
 The wealth of the Laps consists of their reindeer. 
 The wealthy sometimes own many thousands of 
 them, others but a few, and many none. These 
 latter build their huts along the coast, and adopt 
 the lives of fishermen. I saw none of these deer 
 that I think would exceed two hundred pounds in 
 weight. They furnish the owners with both meat 
 and clothing, milk, butter and cheese. They are 
 used as beasts of draft and of burthen. They are 
 quite as tame as our sheep, are easily broken to 
 work, but the does must always be yarded, caught 
 and tied up to be milked. The quantity of milk 
 given is very small, but very rich, and is an impor- 
 tant article of food with the Laps. I saw none of 
 the butter, but I have a cheese made of it by the 
 Laps, which is about eight inches in diameter, and 
 an inch thick, for which I gave a mark and a half, 
 
 say thirty cents of our own money. It is too rich 
 even for Lap digestion, and is used by them prin- 
 cipally as a remedy for frost-bites and chilblains. 
 From long domestication the reindeer have become 
 parti-colored. If a majority of them still retain 
 the brown color of the wild deer, many are almost 
 entirely white, and a very few are darker than the 
 wild. These deer take to the mountains in winter, 
 and in summer come down to the seacoast, where 
 they are followed by their owners, who can direct 
 their course, but do not attempt to resist this migra- 
 tory impulse. 
 
 While most animals are whiter in the Arctic 
 Region than in the Temperate or Torrid Zones, it 
 is not so with the sheep. Fully one-third of the 
 sheep are black, and many of them very black. 
 The wool, too, is coarse and wirey, with a light 
 fleece, while we should expect to find it finer and 
 more abundant, than in warm climates, to protect 
 them from the extreme cold. The truth is we owe 
 our fine wools and large fleeces to culture, which in 
 this, as in many other instances, sets at defiance the 
 laws of nature. 
 
 In Northern Norway the horses are all small, 
 the farther north the smaller; but they are rugged, 
 hardy brutes, and seem to live and work on almost 
 anything. As far south as Trondhjem, they are of 
 the size and form of the mustang, are equally hardy 
 and quite as smart, while they are much more do- 
 cile and tractable. I rode after them four days 
 across the mountains from Trondhjem to Lilleham- 
 mer, and their traveling time, very uniformly, was 
 seven miles an hour, fed on grass alone. At nearly 
 every stop we had to wait till a boy could go into 
 the mountains and drive up the horses, which 
 would come thundering down at a rattling galop, 
 their bells ringing a merry chime. We saw no 
 horses in Norway till we reached Lillehammer, 
 onty mustangs and ponies. 
 
 As they grow no wheat in Norway, rye bread is 
 the staple. The natives of all classes seem to pre- 
 fer it to wheat bread, but at first, at least, we found 
 it rather hard work to worry it down, but finally 
 began to think it rather good. A healthy climate 
 and a sharp appetite will season almost any dish. 
 
 It is a strange sensation to experience perpetual 
 day, but one soon tires of it. A midnight sun 
 shining down upon us like a noonday sun is at first 
 an object of the highest interest, and quite worth a 
 long journey to see, but at length we are satisfied 
 with it, and long for darkness and for night. The 
 purity of the atmosphere in these high latitudes is 
 something marvelous. It seems to give a new 
 light to everything the sun shines upon, and enables 
 us to see objects at an enormous distance. My journey 
 has been of great interest and I shall ever joy with 
 its memory. — Cor. Prairie Farmer. 
 
 ■ 4 a» » 
 
 The Value op Large Roots. — It has long 
 been known to observant feeders of stock that, 
 overgrown roots or other vegetables are not the 
 best for economical use. Mammoth pumpkins, 
 cabbages, or turnips may procure a diploma of 
 questionable value at a local fair, but they are of 
 little value otherwise. It is the moderate sized 
 roots which spend best when they come to be fed- 
 This is especially the case with sugar beets and 
 mangels. 
 
12 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 THE VINE CULTURE. 
 
 According to ancient tradition, confirmed by re- 
 cent researches, the vine is indigenous to Asia; it 
 grows spontaneously in Georgia and Mingrelia, in 
 the chains of the Caucasus, the Taurus, and Ararat. 
 Though it is also wild in the hedges and woods of 
 the center and south of Europe, it has only become 
 so by acclimation. Introduced in early times to 
 Britain, the vine grows in the open air in the south- 
 ern parts of England, but only by training in fa- 
 vorable circumstances, and the grapes are not 
 adapted for a profitable wine production. Grown 
 under glass, in hot-houses, vines are brought to great 
 perfection, in England and southern parts of Scot- 
 land, but, of course, only for the table. Latterly, 
 most extensive hot-houses have been erected in 
 various quarters to raise grapes for market, and, 
 with good management, the erection of such houses 
 has proved a lucrative speculation ; for at some sea- 
 sons, grapes of a fine quality bring from ten to 
 twenty shillings a pound. 
 
 Vine culture is an entirely different thing in 
 France, Portugal, and other continental countries. 
 There, grapes of different varieties are grown in the 
 fields or on hill-sides, just as we grow our peas in 
 gardens, or as hops are raised in Kent, and vast 
 numbers of persons make a livelihood by making 
 the juice of the fruit into wine. Into France, 
 which is one of the largest wine-growing countries, 
 the vine was introduced by the Phoeaians when 
 they founded the city of Marseille, about six hun- 
 dred years before the Christian era. Local histories 
 show that the plant had to struggle with many dif- 
 ficulties, owing to the influence of climate. The 
 custom of public imprecations and maledictions, 
 pronounced by the priests against insects and nox- 
 ious animals, was common throughout Europe; and 
 up to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries pub- 
 lic documents show that the vineyards were especi- 
 ly the scenes of such demonstrations. Science has 
 done more than these to save the plants from the 
 larva and the chrysalis, by watering them with water 
 so hot as to kill the insect, without injuring the vi- 
 tality of the stem. 
 
 During the present century, the varieties of the 
 vine have so increased by raising from seed, that 
 great confusion has arisen in the naming of the 
 vines, making it difficult to choose the kind most 
 •appropriate for a particular soil or climate. The 
 Central Society of Agriculture in France has long 
 been endeavoring to arrange the best varieties of 
 French and foreigi) grapes under a true nomencla- 
 ture. Count Odart made a large collection on his 
 domain near Tours, and his labors were pursued by 
 the Due de Decazes, who established in the fine gar- 
 den of the Luxombourg about two thousand varie- 
 ties. All these have been scientifically named and 
 Arranged, so that the plants may be suitably chosen 
 for the different climates of Paris, Tours, Montpell- 
 ier, and Algeria. 
 
 It is more particularly as regards the quality of 
 BUgary matter (glucose) contained in grapes des- 
 tined for the making of alcoholic spirit that their 
 value consists, the one being proportionate to the 
 other. It is otherwise with the numerous varieties 
 destined for wine and fine brandy; these are grown 
 with the utmost care in certain wine growing re- 
 gions; besides the sugar, there are the aromatic 
 
 principles contained in the pulp, as well as the tis- 
 sues lying under the skin, in the seeds, and some- 
 times in the stalk. These latent flavors, too require 
 a considerable time of gradual fermentation, at first 
 active, then slowly prolonged, for the complete de- 
 velopment of that complex aroma called the bouquet 
 of each separate kind ; and it is only at the end of 
 many years that definite results can be obtained, so 
 as to judge of the value of the vine which furnished 
 them. As for the chemical nature of the fruit, be- 
 sides the glucose there are several kinds of acids; 
 bitartrate of potass ; albumen, which serves as nour- 
 ishment, and also as a fermentation; fatty substan- 
 ces ; and salts of different kinds. The iodides are 
 met with in large proportions when the vine is grown 
 near the sea, especially in the vineyards of He de 
 Be and La Rochelle. 
 
 One of the first conditions of a good vineyard 
 must be the situation. As regards more temperate 
 climates, the side of a sloping hill from eight to 
 thirty-two degrees of inclination, offers the best fa- 
 cilities for ripening. The steeper precipices of the 
 Rhine and the Rhone are obliged to be formed into 
 terraces, but from the grapes growing on these come 
 the excellent wines of Condrieux, Ermitage, and 
 the renowned white wine of Saint Perray. If on 
 the slopes the vine produces less sugar than in a 
 warmer latitude, its more delicate fruit gives a light- 
 er, more agreeable wine, sufficiently alcoholic to be 
 preserved for some time. The chain of hills called 
 the Cote d'Or, between Sautenay and Dijon, fur- 
 nish the Burgundian growths, none of which ex- 
 tend to the plain, but are exposed to the southeast. 
 
 Neither the summits, nor the north or west side, 
 vintage; though there may be abundance of grapes, 
 nor even the plains, ever give the grower a first rate 
 very productive of juice for cheap, wholesome wine, 
 provided the fermentation and clarifying be direct- 
 ed with care. All marshy ground and large trees 
 should be cleared away from the neighborhood. 
 
 The special composition of the different soils 
 exercises a great influence; almost all chalk, gran- 
 ite, schistous, and sandy ones, more or less impreg- 
 nated with iron and magnesia, are suitable. From 
 these arise the difference of aroma, so that the 
 various tastes of the consumer may be pleased. In 
 all cases, the preparatory work of making the ground 
 fit for the vine during its long existence should be 
 carefully done before planting comes on. By hol- 
 lowing out wide paths, the passage of the air and 
 drainage of the soil are assured; as also the facility 
 of transport and of lateral drains, if the subsoil 
 retain the water. In the vineyards of Medoc the 
 drains were dug more than a yard in depth, and the 
 effects produced have been highly favorable. This 
 work would seriously interfere with the roots after 
 planting, for, if unmolested, the vines give their 
 best products at the age of seven or eight years ; 
 when the plants grow too old, they are renewed by 
 lopping off branches, and if of a poor kind, by 
 grafting, which has been effected on stems of more 
 than a century old. 
 
 Manure of a powerful kind, judiciously adminis- 
 tered, is of first importance in rearing grapes for 
 the table ; but in case of vines for producing wine, 
 manure makes the plant bear too abundantly, ren- 
 ders the grape watery, lessens the aroma, and makes 
 the sap more than sufficient. All that should be 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 13 
 
 given to the plants consists of the skins of the fruit, 
 the leaves and primings of the stems, and what 
 remains after the pressing of the vintage and the 
 lees of the wine. The earth that is yearly washed 
 down into the lower ground by the rains, is carried 
 back again, often in little baskets tied to the backs 
 of women, who ascend the steep rocks with immense 
 patience and fatigue. 
 
 In former days proprietors were not permitted to 
 choose the time of ingathering; laws rigorously 
 executed determined in every place the day when 
 the vintages were opened. It is only since 1832 
 that the ban has been taken off from Dijon, and 
 each master can now be allowed to judge for him- 
 self. The ripeness of the grape is known by certain 
 signs, and the moment must be seized, even if some 
 bunches here and there are scarcely ready. The 
 first frosts determine the fall of the leaves, and as 
 from that time the fruit begins to deteriorate, it 
 must be gathered. The same alterations will be 
 observed if the autumnal rains have been much 
 prolonged. — English Journal. 
 
 GATHERING AND KEEPING FRUIT- 
 Respecting the time of gathering ordinary fruit 
 (apples, pears, medlars,, &c), as a general rule, 
 the fruit must be what is called tree-ripe, f. e., the 
 seperation of the fruit-stalk from that part where it 
 is fastened must take place without any difficulty, 
 and the stone fruit as well as the berry-fruit must 
 be flesh ripe, i. e., fit for consumption. Nuts and, 
 Chestnuts, however, must remain on the tree until 
 they begin to fall of themselves. Tbe most of our 
 summer pears and apples, i. e., those which ripen 
 till the end of September, become much better fla- 
 vored and keep longer if gathered from the tree 
 before they are flesh-ripe, and spread on a layer of 
 clean straw, bay, &c, in a shady and dry place. If 
 kept in damp cellars or caves, they will always 
 have a bad taste. The best way is to gather them 
 gradually, because they never at once, even on the 
 same tree ; as, for instance, those on the top or on 
 the sunny side are generally fit for gathering a week 
 sooner than those on the shady side, and it is sur- 
 prising how much the date of gathering influences 
 the quality of some fruit. The date of ripening, 
 however, even of a certain sort of fruit, is always 
 very changeable, according to the weather, the po- 
 sition of the tree, and, if it is worked as a dwarf on 
 Paradise or Quince ; these always ripen their fruit 
 much earlier because their roots are nearer to the 
 surface of the ground. Plums, cherries, and most 
 grapes, however, are the better the longer they 
 hang on the tree, even after their normal ripening, 
 especially those plums that are intended to be dried 
 are much better if they remain on the tree as long 
 as possible; they are afterwards much sweeter, 
 more solid, and already nearly half dried ; while 
 some other stone fruit, as, for instance, most apri- 
 cots, become mealy if they hang too long on the 
 tree. 
 
 Referring to the autumn and winter fruit, med- 
 lars, which are only eatable in a decaying state, are 
 gathered when tree-ripe and spread over a layer of 
 straw, where they remain until they are fit for use. 
 
 Autumn and winter apples and pears ought to be 
 gathered when tree-ripe. There are, however, 
 
 some late winter pears, which, in unfavorable sea- 
 sons or under other circumstances, sometimes will 
 not become tree-ripe in the autumn. They may be 
 left on the tree as long as possible, but in every 
 case they must be gathered before the leaves begin 
 to fall, as winter pears gathered after this time re- 
 main always like a turnip. The cause is that their 
 flesh becomes dry after this time, and the chemical 
 process which causes the formation of sugar and 
 softens the cells, is then at an end. I think that 
 when the leaves begin to fall, the circulation of the 
 sap in the tree ceases also, and the fruit receives 
 not as much Bap as it evaporates; perhaps, also, a 
 part of its sap goes back into the wood after this 
 time. But, however, so long as the circulation of 
 the sap is in activity, winter fruit may remain on 
 the tree with great advantage as long as possible, 
 even under the influence of severe frosts. I saw 
 this very well in the autumn of 1871, when I was 
 residing in South Germany ; that autumn was very 
 wet ; and no sort of fruit trees ripened its wood,, 
 but in the beginning of October all were still in 
 full vegetation. I feared that we should have a 
 very dangerous winter for our fruit trees ; and, in- 
 deed, no German pomologist or fruit grower will 
 ever forget the winter of 1871-72, which killed in 
 Germany millions of old fruit trees, not to mention 
 other millions of young ones in the nurseries. In 
 the little Grand Duchy of Weimar alone, more 
 than 600,000 old fruit trees of all kinds were des- 
 troyed in that winter, especially many old trees of 
 plum's, walnuts, pears and peaches. To go back 
 to our subject, that year (1871) we had very few 
 fruit, because late frosts in the spring destroyed the 
 blossoms, except some late flowering or very hardy 
 sorts, as Boiken, Parker's Pippin, Hawthornden, 
 Sykehouse Pippin, Luiken Reinette. Gros de Cas- 
 set, Loskrieger, &c. As the trees, especially those 
 of the four first named sorts, were still in full veg- 
 etation, we gathered in the middle of October only 
 lialf of them, and the others not before the middle 
 of November, when the leaves began to fall, after 
 several sharp frosts from 10° to 12° had passed over 
 them. As all autumn and winter fruit begin to- 
 grow most when the nights become colder and 
 longer, and under the influence of the autumn fogs r 
 those apples were nearly double as big as the earli- 
 er gathered ones, and had not received any check 
 from the sharp frosts. On the contrary, I found 
 that they kept better and longer, and became bet- 
 ter flavored. This is a certain proof that, at hast 
 apples, as long as they are not yet ripe, may with- 
 stand even very severe frosts, while I found that 
 ripe ones are destroyed by very slight frosts. 
 Another important point in the fruit crop is the 
 manner of gathering the fruit. All winter fruit 
 and those that are intended to keep longer than a 
 fortnight, must be gathered carefully by the band, 
 while those that are to be used within three weeks- 
 after gathering, may be shaken off the tree. There 
 are some tender sorts of Pears which are very sen- 
 sitive to even the slightest pressure, as for instance, 
 the old Figue d'Alencoln becomes bitter if bruised. 
 Respecting the keeping of winter fruit, there is a 
 little difference between the different sorts. Those 
 sorts which are very much inclined to shrink must 
 be placed as soon as possible in a cellar or cool dark 
 room, especially those kinds which have a russet 
 
14 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 skin, as they evaporate and shrink too much in a 
 dry air, while those with a smooth skin generally 
 keep much better, and must be kept as long as pos- 
 sible in drier and cooler rooms. All these fruits 
 must be spread on hurdles or boards upon a thin 
 layer of quite dry and clean moss, which must be 
 previously scalded, and it is very advantageous to 
 cover them afterwards with blotting paper or old 
 newspapers. This paper preserves the fruit very 
 much from the intluence of changeable temperature, 
 in a damp room from too great moisture, and in a 
 dry room from too much evaporation. Care is, 
 however, to be taken that no other things which 
 may spoil the air are kept in the fruit room, as for 
 instance, vegetables, potatoes, or fermenting mat- 
 ters, &c, as they always spoil the flavor of the fruit. 
 The clearer and fresher the air, the better will the 
 fruit keep, and they must be carefully looked over 
 sometimes, and every rotten one removed. If the 
 air in the fruit room is too damp, it is very good 
 to put any kind of salt on a board, which is placed 
 a little obliquely. The salt very soon attracts damp- 
 ness from the air, and runs down in a vessel which 
 is put under the board. If dried afterwards, it may 
 be used again. The cooler and fresher the air in 
 the fruit room, the longer the fruit keeps, as the 
 coolness renders the chemical process of ripening 
 difficult, while on the contrary warmth favors it. 
 — The Garden. 
 
 VIOLETS FOR NEXT WINTER AND SPRING. 
 If you would wish to have the best violets which 
 the garden can grow — and why not? — then begin 
 at once, as follows: — Heavily manure and deeply 
 dig a sheltered piece of ground — a south or west 
 border, unless the garden is specially hot or dry — 
 either near a wall or in the open quarters, according 
 to circumstances. Break the surface fine in the 
 digging, or rake it smooth ; and if the earth is of 
 a loose texture and dry, as most soils have been 
 tins year, then run a roller over it, and tread it al- 
 most as linn as you would an onion bed. Then 
 proceed to mark it out in rows, a foot, 18 inches or 
 '2 feet apart, according as your ground is plentiful or 
 scarce. Then go to your violet plants, trowel and 
 basket in hand, take off' each rooted runner or 
 shoot, or each distinctly showing roots, and proceed 
 to plant them at distances of or 9 inches, or even 
 1 foot apart, if you can afford that space. Insert 
 the roots carefully, and bury roots, runners and all 
 right up to the tuft of leaves, and even, in the case 
 of plants without roots, place the short stems into 
 the earth, and press the soil firmly in all cases 
 round the collars. Unless the weather is showery, 
 water them in their new homes; and, should dry 
 weather again set in, they should not be allowed to 
 flag. In ordinary weather they are seldom much 
 trouble, but strike root freely, and at once, in the 
 new soil. After they have become established, 
 keep the ground free from weeds by frequent hoe- 
 ing; and, should the plants produce runners and 
 flowers — and they sometimes do both — pick them 
 off'. During the autumn they will form dense 
 heads, and may yield a hundred or more violets. 
 About the beginning of October they will begin to 
 flower, and part of them may be potted for house 
 work, part removed to the foot of south and west 
 walls or frames to yield a constant supply of violets 
 
 through the winter and early spring. Those who 
 once adopt this system must not try to flower the 
 same plants two years running. The difference in 
 the produce of young plants and two-year-olds is 
 marvelous, and the older the violet the poorer the 
 bloom. When the young plants have become es- 
 tablished, destroy all the old ones; or, what is bet- 
 ter, plant them out in the woods or pleasure grounds. 
 Another plan answers almost equally well. As 
 soon as the violets have finished flowering, take 
 them up and divide them, retaining as much root 
 to each as possible, and plant as already directed, 
 rejecting any of the stems or roots that are unheal- 
 thy or diseased. Little is gained, however, by this 
 method, unless it be that plants so treated need less 
 water in dry weather when first planted out than 
 under the other plan. Others, again, advise raising 
 plants of the single varieties from seeds, an opera- 
 tion in which I could never find any advantage; 
 but, on the contrary, a great loss of time. — Country. 
 
 * « ■ » 
 
 THE FOLK LORE OF BEES. 
 
 This subject is far from being exhausted by the 
 interesting paper which appeared in the Gardeners' 
 Chronicle for June 20, and it seems worth while to 
 supplement it by a few additional details, which I 
 find entered from various sources in my " folk-lore" 
 note book. It seems to me that " J. F. R." is a 
 little too severe upon superstitions, which, although 
 "foolish and ridiculous" from a strictly common- 
 sense point of view, are at any rate harmless in 
 themselves, and which doubtless have their bearing, 
 even if we do not at present see how, upon the 
 former history of the ethnology and mythology of 
 Great Britain. However, my object is rather to 
 add fresh matter than to "criticise, so" I will not 
 dwell further upon this point. 
 
 A mediaeval tradition regarding bees may worth- 
 ily occupy a foremost rank in our list, as it is still 
 current in Cornwall, and has been elegantly versi- 
 fied by the Bev. B. S. Hawker, vicar of Morwen- 
 stow. This tells us how a woman, finding that her 
 bees did not thrive, abtained a consecrated Host 
 and placed it amongst them, having been told that 
 by this means they would be rendered more fruitful ; 
 and so it proved. The bees thrived apace, and 
 when the woman in due course went to take the 
 honey, she found in the hive " a chapel built by the 
 bees, with an altar in it, the walls adorned by mar- 
 velous skill of architecture, with windows conveni- 
 ently set in their places ; also a door and a steeple 
 with bells. And the Host being laid upon the 
 altar, the bees, making a sweet noyse, flew round 
 about it." This legend, in various forms, and with 
 different details, appears to have been very popu- 
 lar, and is found in various religious works as late 
 as the seventeenth century. 
 
 The notion that bees will not thrive if purchased 
 is prevalent not only in many English counties, 
 but also in France, and I notice that the French 
 bee superstitions generally correspond very closely 
 with those of England. A hive of bees may, how- 
 ever be exchanged for another object; just as in 
 Cornwall they are transferred from owner to anoth- 
 er with the tacit understanding that a bushel of 
 corn f or in other places a small pig (which is a fair 
 equivalent) is to be given in return. Both French 
 and English bees are so possessed with the spirit of 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 15 
 
 honesty that they will not thrive if stolen; indeed, 
 the French bees will find their way back to their 
 lawful owner. 80 discriminating are they, that 
 should they come into the possession of a person of 
 bad reputation, they will desert their hives and 
 seek a more worthy master. 
 
 The very general English custom of announcing 
 a death to the bees, likewise prevails in some parts 
 of France. The announcement of death in many 
 English villages, and even in the classic town of 
 < )xford, is, or was, made by tapping three times on 
 the hives with the house-key, saying at the same 
 time, "Bees, bees, bees, your master is dead, and 
 you must work for — " the future owner. Nor is 
 this all ; for the bees are also invited to the funeral, 
 at least in the Sheffield district ; and it is considered 
 that they will die should this compliment be omit- 
 ted. In Devonshire, too, a correspondent of Notes 
 and Queries says — " I once knew an apprentice boy 
 sent back from the funeral cortege by the nurse, 
 to tell the bees of it, as it had been forgotten. 
 They usually put some wine and honey for them 
 before the hives on that day." Another funeral 
 bee custom, formerly very general in Devonshire, 
 was that of turning round the hives belonging to 
 the decease*! at the moment when the corpse was 
 carried out of the house. It is a sign of death 
 not only when bees settle on "dead wood," but also 
 when they desert their hives or die ; and in Cum- 
 berland if they rise and do not stay during a criti- 
 cal illness, it is a certain indication of death. 
 
 Bees have a great aversion to quarreling, especi- 
 ally between man and wife, but in some parts of 
 France are supposed to attack those who swear, 
 and on this account children are warned not to use 
 "bad words" near a beehive. They also under- 
 stand what is said to them, and are not slow to 
 avenge any insults ottered to them. It was a med- 
 iaeval superstition that bees would not live in Ire- 
 land; and another tradition of the same period 
 tells us that a sorcerer, if he should eat a queen bee, 
 would be impervious to any torture which might 
 be practised upon him. 
 
 A humble bee in the house denotes the approach- 
 ing visit of a stranger. In the east of England, if 
 a red-tailed bee enters the house, the stranger will 
 be a man, if a white-tailed a woman. The entrance 
 of a humble bee into a cottage is sometimes re- 
 yarded as a sign of death. The value of a May 
 swarm is referred to by Tusser, who says : 
 
 " Take heed to thy hees that are ready to swarm, 
 The losse thereof now is a crown's worth of harm." 
 
 In Warwickshire the first swarm of bees is sim- 
 ply called a swarm ; the second from the same hive 
 is known as a cast; while the third is termed a 
 spindle. In Hampshire it is a common saying 
 that the bees are idle or unfortunate at their work 
 whenever there are wars. Borlase says that "the 
 Cornish to this day invoke the spirit Browny when 
 their bees swarm, *and think that their crying 
 Browny, Browny, will prevent their returning into 
 their former hive, and make them pitch and form 
 a new colony." This use of the word " browny," 
 may, however, be no invocation of a spirit, but 
 simply an apostrophe addressed to the bees ; just 
 as in Buckinghamshire the death of the master of 
 the house is announced to the hives in the words: 
 " Little browny, little browny, your master's dead." 
 
 When bees stay about near the hive it is regarded, 
 and rightly, as a sign of rain; this generally dif- 
 fused notion is given by Virgil in the Georgics; 
 and hence there is a proverb, "a bee was never 
 caught in a shower." When many bees enter the 
 hive, and none leave it, it is also a sign of rain. 
 They were formerly used in medicine, as we learn 
 from Purchas' Theatre of Political Flying Insects 
 (1657), where we are told that "bees powdered 
 cure the wind collick. Take twelve or fourteen 
 bees powdered in anything every morning." &c. 
 — B. Jlf., in Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
 HYBRIDIZING WHEAT. 
 The fertilization of wheat is effected by the pollen 
 of the anthers coming in contact with the pistil or 
 central portion of the flower. The pollen or male 
 element is liberally distributed from the bursting 
 anthers, and finds its way, if conditions are favora- 
 ble, on to every pistil, thereby fertilizing and mak- 
 ing them fruitful. If a wheat flower is examined 
 it will be found to be furnished with short styles, 
 and with anthers suspended upon long filaments. 
 In crossing different varieties of plants it is neces- 
 sary to bring the pollen of one parent variety in 
 contact with the style of the other, and the result 
 is a crossed progeny. Precautions must at the same 
 time be taken to prevent a mongrel progeny by 
 protecting the plants under treatment from the im- 
 pregnating influence of other pollen than that 
 which it is desired to use. Mr. Patrick Shirreff 
 gives the following practical directions for accom- 
 plishing the crossing of wheat: First, fix upon two 
 varieties for crossing. Secondly, shorten the ears 
 of the seed parent as soon as it is clear of the sheath, 
 remove every alternate spikelet and leave only two 
 florets in each "notch" or "chest." Third, the 
 valves of the chaff may then be opened widely and 
 kept in that position until the anthers are removed 
 from the floret, and anthers from the pollen parent 
 are introduced. The chaff scales are then closed 
 by gentle pressure of the fingers. These manipu- 
 lations are best performed by two persons operating 
 together, the one attending to the valves of the 
 chaff, and the other to the removal and changing 
 of the anthers from the one floret to the other, 
 which can be best performed by fine pincers. Let 
 the florets of the two parents be near the same 
 stage of development. Be careful not to rupture 
 the anthers of the seed parent, but those of the 
 pollen parent may be less carefully handled, The 
 operation is most likely to be successful when done, 
 without much delay. Finish operations by fixing 
 the hybridized ear to a stake and surrounding it 
 with a globe of gauze wire. With these precautions 
 the crossing of cereals may be carried on either in 
 a garden or field. — London Agricultural Gazette. 
 
 DISEASES OP THE HORSE'S EYES. 
 Cataract. — A very common result of periodic 
 ophthalmia is a disease known as cataract, which 
 consists in opacity of the chrystalline lens, or its 
 capsule, which prevents the passage of the rays of 
 light, and either partially or completely precludes 
 vision. Cataract is the result of periodic opthalmia 
 generally, but it may occur independently of any 
 previous inflammation. We can point to several 
 
16 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 cases of cataract in horses in this city where we are 
 perfectly confident the disease was developed with- 
 out any inflammatory action taking place. A cat- 
 aract may be further defined as capsular or lenticu- 
 lar, or capsule lenticula, according to the situation 
 of the opacity, or involving the lens, its capsule, or 
 both lens and capsule, and these may be called true 
 cataracts, in eontra-distinction to a deposition of 
 lymph in the posterior chamber close to the crys- 
 talline lens, and which has been designated a false 
 or spurious cataract. Symptoms : If the cataract 
 is large, it is easily detected hy its pearl white ap- 
 pearance, and according to its size and situation, 
 there is either a part or complete loss of vision. 
 In some cases the pupillary opening is dilated, 
 presenting an amaurotic condition, whilst in others 
 it is contracted ; the latter condition of the pupil 
 is usually seen when the cataract is small. A small 
 sized cataract in some instances is difficult of de- 
 tection, and in the examination of the eye might 
 be easily overlooked. In all cases, if the eye ap- 
 pears unnaturally small and the pupil contracted, 
 it is a suspicious symptom that something is amiss, 
 and a more thorough examination should be made. 
 This is best done by placing the horse in a darkened 
 stable for a short period, and then bringing a 
 lighted candle near to the eye, when any alteration 
 in the structure of the lens can be noticed, and the 
 action of the iris may be observed. We do not 
 purpose recommending any mode of treatment for 
 this disease, as it cannot be removed without an 
 operation which is altogether inadmissible in the 
 horse for various reasons, although beneficial in the 
 human subject. — Canada Fanner. 
 
 FALL PLOWING. 
 
 In 1842 I cradled a field of oats which was peculiar 
 in the growth of the crop. I asked my boss, "Why 
 are your oats so much better in the center of the 
 field?" "Are they better there?" "Yes, sir; 
 very much better and riper." "How?" "They 
 are taller and stand thicker." "Well, I plowed 
 that strip last fall and cross plowed it in the spring." 
 This roused my curiosity relative to fall plowing; 
 hence I have experimented with clay, clay loam 
 and sandy loam lands, and have found it an advan- 
 tage in every instance that I have tried. Hence I 
 claim that fall plowing is advisable not only for 
 spring crops, but also for summer fallow, especially 
 for fields in heavy sward. However, all my neigh- 
 bors do not agree with me in autumn plowing. 
 Herein is the difficulty ; clay soil requires the 
 best of management in its cultivation. If worked 
 when too wet, it dries out and bakes ; if unculti- 
 vated until too dry, it is lumpy and in bad condi- 
 tion. In Michigan, the farmer who has fall 
 plowed his fields for spring crops, the growing sea- 
 son being somewhat short in said state, he com- 
 mences cultivating said fields in the spring as early 
 as possible, in order to drive his work ; but if the 
 land be cultivated when too wet, said cultivation 
 will destroy the friableness of the soil ; the spring 
 rains, if too abundant, will add to the damage, and 
 the crop will be a failure. Whereas if the soil be 
 worked at the proper time, neither too wet nor too 
 dry, the spring rains will settle the soil, and the 
 crop will have an early start, and keep ahead in 
 
 growth and maturity the entire season. Fall plow- 
 ing is especially advisable for clay soil in heavy 
 swards, and I prefer late plowing in fall and culti- 
 vating with a wheel cultivator in spring, just be- 
 fore planting time, to early fall plowing and culti- 
 vating in the spring. — Cor. N. T. Tribune. 
 
 A GOOSE STORY. 
 
 At Lady Day, 18*28, my father removed his family 
 from Betton Strange, near Shrewsbury, to his new 
 residence between Wallsall and Birmingham. A 
 fortnight before leaving it was discovered that a 
 goose, which had been missed from the flock, had. 
 made her nest in the shrubbery, and was sitting on 
 twelve eggs. There was consequently a debate 
 respecting what was to be done with her. My 
 father's bailiff, a shrewd and thinking man, urged 
 that a trial should be made to convey the goose and 
 her eggs to the new home, a distance of about forty 
 miles. His plan was acceded to, and it was this: 
 A few days jjrior to leaving, he had the nest and 
 eggs removed into an old crate, and the goose took 
 very kindly to the nest in its new position. The 
 evening before leaving, the crate, with the sitting 
 goose, was carefully lifted into the hinder part of 
 a wagon laden with various articles of furniture. 
 This did not deter the old goose from her purpose, 
 and early next morning the wagon started on its 
 journey. Food and water were, of course, placed 
 within easy reach of the bird. 
 
 On passing through Wolverhampton, some of 
 the gamins were bent upon climbing up behind the 
 wagon, when the bailiff, who accompanied it 
 throughout the journey, fearing lest they might 
 frighten the bird and spoil his project, told them, 
 in a waggish spirit, that there was "a rattlesnake 
 inside, and they had better mind." Some of the 
 bolder ones took this, of course, for chaff, and still 
 clung to the wagon. On one of their number, 
 however, peeping under the tarpauling, old goosey 
 gave such a decided hiss as to cause him and his 
 companions to beat a hasty retreat, and no further 
 molestation was offered. The journey was in due 
 course completed, the goose and her eggs carefully 
 removed to a convenient spot, and out of the dozen 
 eggs no less than ten fine goslings were hatched. 
 I am not aware of a parallel case, but perhaps 
 some of your ornithological readers, more versed 
 than I am in the habits of the bird, may consider 
 the incident nothing remarkable. — Cor. Land and 
 Water. 
 
 « » » 
 
 Grasshoppers in Minnesota in 1818. — Ac- 
 cording to "Neill's History," an extract from 
 which The Worthington (Minn.) Advance pub- 
 lishes, there was a plague of grasshoppers in north- 
 western Minnesota in 1818. " The next year the 
 calamity was worse. They were produced in 
 masses, two, three and four inches in depth. The 
 water was infected by them. Along the river they 
 were to be found in heaps like sea- weed, and might 
 be shoveled with a spade. Every vegetable sub- 
 stance was either eaten up or stripped to the bare 
 stalk ; the leaves of the bushes and the bark of 
 trees shared the same fate ; and the grain vanished 
 as fast as it appeared above the ground. Even fires, 
 if kindled out of doors, were extinguished by them." 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 17 
 
 TOADS IN THE GARDEN. 
 Many persons have a loathing of this really inter- 
 esting, but certainly not handsome Bufo, the result 
 of •superstition or want of education. It is time 
 ■we learned that they cannot bite, and if they could, 
 that bite would be harmless. We suppose the fie- 
 
 VARIOUS RECIPES, 
 Covered Cranberry Pies.— These, which 
 where known, are generally considered superior to 
 those with upper crust, may be made as follows: 
 Make an upper as well as an under crust, completely 
 encasing the berries, which should be put in raw, 
 
 JlM'i&eiAWUS A JgweJLin .*L ei lJi£iVJ J*ai9J.y ith -i quantity of water equal to about half their 
 
 )ulk, and sugar in the proportion of three-quarters 
 »f a pound to one pound of fruit, care being taken 
 o sprinkle it well around the edge; also, if desired, 
 ift a little wheat flour over them to thicken the 
 ulp. Bake same as an apple pie, and eat hot. 
 
 and Surgical Journal, having been introduced 
 into the London and Paris markets, is now finding 
 its way into the markets of New York and Boston. 
 It is made from the odorless, tasteless oil of beef 
 suet, churned with sour milk, colored with annatto, 
 and salted. It is said to have not only the appear- 
 ance, but the taste of butter. The time has come 
 when he who breaks into our homes, our domestic 
 
 Sweet Pickled Cranberries.— Prepare the 
 irge berries by punching a few holes in each with 
 
 large needle; this will allow the pickle to enter 
 
 he fruit. To a pound of berries add half a pound 
 
 f sugar dissolved in a quarter of a pint of vinegar, 
 temples, is punished according to law. The timej over the vesse]> and cook from eig ^ t tQ ^ &.^ 
 
 will come when he, who by fraudulent substitution ites (if boiled too long they will not remain firm) 
 or adulteration of food, destrovs the very temple lien remove them from the pickle, and continue 
 of our life, will also be punished according to law. )0lll . n S it 1 u " til i4 tokens; then pour it over the 
 . x x , L x . , r ,, . * . )emes, adding spices to your taste. 
 
 At the present time, however, there is nothing in 
 
 this country so cheap as human life. Keeping Cranberries. — Select sound berries, 
 
 *-•-» ir >d store in crates or shallow bins, or spread on 
 
 As man v of our native wild flowers are disappear- loors , not more than eight or ten inches in depth, 
 ing before the destructive as well as constructive ^f e the direct rays of the sun cannot effect them. 
 . . ..... t . ., .,, . . A . v dry, well ventilated room or cellar is best ; damp 
 
 invasion of civilization, it would be very interesting , eUars and hot rooms shonld be avoided> and th £ 
 
 aud perhaps useful, to record, from time to timeiemperature kept as even as possible. In 'this way 
 the character as well as the extent of such changesj ne ^"i* will be kept a long time. 
 
 , in our Wisconsin flora. It would be well not onh] p OTATO Salad.— Cut a dozen cold boiled 'pota- 
 to preserve the memory of beauty thus passing oioes in thin slices and mix them thoroughly with a 
 
 ' passed away, but to note the apperance of a newe/i^le onion chopped very fine, a teaspoonful of sal- 
 flora, of a newer botanical face in our fields ancT °, il or melted butter, a chopped apple, a bit of 
 A , ■ . , , ., , , . parsley and half a gill of vinegar. This makes a 
 
 woods and prairies, doubtless to change again andj ce jejig^ for tea or lunch 
 
 again. This pleasant task, as it seems to us, shouh , r , . 
 
 , . ... . t , e . . , , , , ,. ,. Vinegar. — A correspondent sends a recipe for 
 
 be initiated by our State and local horticulture making vine g ar> w ] lich may be valuable to those 
 societies. The work might be accomplished Driving in regions where apples are scarce (but by 
 their offering, at each of their regular exhibitions he way, use nothing but cider vinegar when possi- 
 
 suitable prizes for the best collections of suitablf le to § et !t ) : To one gallon of water add one and 
 , .,, a , , , , , , one-quarter pounds of brown sugar and a gill of 
 
 named wild flowers— a record to be kept by th^ east- Keep it in a temperature of 80° for three 
 ... secretary of all such collections. It would be or four days, then draw it off and add one ounce 
 much, howeviivle less interest for the societies to in^h of cut raisins and cream tartar. In a few 
 ployed as a source of silica in tiie niamuaOUue t?2- a h KS i* will be ready for use. 
 
 pottery. In preparing the bark for the potter's 
 use, it is first burned, and the residue is then pul- 
 verized and mixed with clay in varying propor- 
 tions. With an equal quantity of the two ingredi- 
 ents a superior quality of ware is produced. It is 
 very durable, and will bear almost any amount of 
 heat. The natives employ it for all manner of cul- 
 inary purposes. When fresh the bark cuts like 
 soft sandstone, and the presence of the silex may 
 be readily ascertained by grinding a piece of the 
 bark between the teeth. When dry it is generally 
 brittle, though sometimes hard to break. After 
 being burned, if of good quality, it cannot be 
 broken up between the fingers, a pestle and mortar 
 being required to crush it. — lb. 
 
 » i » 
 
 Cions and cuttings of fruit trees have been 
 worked with success nine months after being sev- 
 ered from the parent stock. 
 
 Catarrh. — A remedy, effective in some cases, 
 consists of equal parts of finely pulverized borax 
 and white sugar used as snuff. Another simple 
 remedy is snuffing up warm salt water — a teaspoon- 
 ful of salt to a pint of water. 
 
 Croup Bemedy .— Give half a teaspoonful of 
 pulverized alum in a little molasses. Bepeat if nec- 
 essary, in an hour. 
 
 Whitewash that wile Stick. — To make 
 whitewash that will not wash off by the rain, one 
 peck of lime should be slaked in five gallons of 
 water, in which one pound of rice has been boiled 
 until it is all dissolved. The rice water should be 
 used hot, and the mixture should be covered up 
 closely until the lime is slaked. Then a pound of 
 salt should be added, and the wash heated to boil- 
 ing when used. 
 
18 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN". 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN, 
 
 A MONTHLY 
 
 JOURNAL OF RURAL AFFAIRS, ART AND LITERATURE. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 WALTEE IB. DAVIS, 
 
 ASSISTED BY 
 
 JOSEPH HOBBHSTS, HVt. D., 
 
 Ex-President of the Wisconsin Stale Horticultural Society, F. G, 
 S. and Corresponding Member of the Hoyal Horti- 
 cultural Society, England. 
 
 Terms. — §2.00 per Annum, in advance. SI .00 for Six 
 Months. In Clubs of ten or more, $1.50. Single numbers, 
 Twenty cents. 
 
 Terms of Advertising. — $1.00 for ten lines, Nonpareil 
 space, per month, and ten cents for each additional line. 
 
 The above are net prices for all advertising less than $50 
 in amount. 
 
 Remittances, to prevent loss of money through the mails, 
 should be made by Postal order, Draft or Registered Letter. 
 
 Address all communications to 
 
 W. B. DAVIS & CO., Publishers. 
 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., OCTOBER, 1874. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 Some author has truthfully said that "the thirst 
 for knowledge is as old as the creation." It is one 
 of the inherent wants of the human race, and one 
 that is felt more and more as the world advances, 
 so that it is equally true that " the older the world 
 grows the more it knows and the more it wants to 
 know." At the present day there is relatively a 
 greater desire to become familiar with the scientific 
 and practical principles of agriculture, horticulture 
 and the kindred arts, than at any other period of 
 the world's history. And what is being done to 
 satisfy this desire — to supply this want? It is true 
 there are fifty or sixty weekly and monthly publi- 
 cations zealously Laboring in this important field; . 
 but they do not and cannot reach all. Many qr 
 these are limited in their circulation by the locality 
 to which they are adapted and the particular 
 branch or branches of the great interest they are 
 designed to represent. It is estimated, and we 
 think correctly too, that not one-fifth of those en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits in the United States 
 are constant readers of any journal especially 
 adapted to their interest. The dissemination of 
 information on these important subjects is a bless- 
 ing not only to the agricultural portion of com- 
 munity, but to all classes, for it will tend to make 
 broader and firmer the foundation on which our 
 national prosperity rests. The field is boundless 
 and there is abundance of room for those who are 
 already in the work and for all who may be led by 
 their sympathy with these subjects to engage in it. 
 
 Hence we again step into the ranks of the noble 
 workers in this grand department of human prog- 
 ress, to go hand in hand with them, and lend our 
 aid, be it great or little, for the advancement of 
 t he scienc es which we profess to teach. 
 
 A GOOSE STORY. 
 
 At Lady Day, 1828, my father removed his family 
 from Betton Strange, near Shrewsbury, to his new 
 residence between Wallsall and Birmingham. A 
 fortnight before leaving it was discovered that a 
 goose, which had been missed from the flock, had 
 made her nest in the shrubbery, and was sitting on 
 twelve eggs. There was consequently a debate 
 respecting what was to be done with her. My 
 father's bailiff, a shrewd and thinking man, urged 
 that a trial should be made to convey the goose and 
 her eggs to the new home, a distance of about forty 
 miles. His plan was acceded to, and it was this: 
 A few days prior to leaving, he had the nest and 
 eggs removed into an old crate, and the goose took 
 very kindly to the nest in its new position. The 
 evening before leaving, the crate, with the sitting 
 goose, was carefully lifted into the hinder part of 
 a wagon laden with various articles of furniture. 
 This did not deter the old goose from her purpose, 
 and early next morning the wagon started on its 
 journey. Food and water were, of course, placed 
 within easy reach of the bird. 
 
 On passing through Wolverhampton, some of 
 the gamins were bent upon climbing up behind the 
 Avagon, when the bailiff, who accompanied it 
 throughout the journey, fearing lest they might 
 frighten the bird and spoil his project, told them, 
 in a waggish spirit, that there was "a rattlesnake 
 inside, and they had better mind." Some of the 
 bolder ones took this, of course, for chaff; and still 
 clung to the wagon. On one of their number, 
 however, peeping under the tarpauling, old goosey 
 gave such a decided hiss as to cause him and his 
 companions to beat a hasty retreat, and no further 
 molestation was offered. The journey was in due 
 course completed, the goose and her eggs carefully 
 removed to a convenient spot, and out of the dozen 
 eggs no less than ten fine goslings were hatched 
 I am not aware of a parallel cu*^ L 
 ""TVItli these few preliminary remarks, we submit 
 to the public the first number of the Field, Lawn" 
 and Garden, trusting that it Avill meet with a 
 cordial reception at the hands of the agriculturists 
 and horticulturists of the northwest.. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Hobbins, of this city, well known, 
 throughout the State as a leading, horticulturist 
 and able writer, has consented to assist us in the 
 editing of this journal. This announcement we 
 are sure will give great satisfaction to a large class 
 of readers in Wisconsin and the northwest, partic- 
 ularly to those interested in horticulture, with whom, 
 he has been a colaborer, for long years, for the ad- 
 vancement of this important interest. Dr. Hobbins 
 is also well known as an eminent physician, and the 
 excellent advice to mothers and interesting and 
 
 'Mr 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 19 
 
 instructive reading for the family he will give each 
 month in the Home Department of the magazine, 
 will be of greatest value to large numbers of his 
 
 readers. 
 
 ^ a ■ ■ — 
 
 Artificial Butter, says the Boston Medical 
 and Surgical Journal, having been introduced 
 into the London and Paris markets, is now finding 
 its way into the markets of New York and Boston. 
 It is made from the odorless, tasteless oil of beef 
 suet, churned with sour milk, colored with annatto, 
 and salted. It is said to have not only the appear- 
 ance, but the taste of butter. The time has come 
 when lie who breaks into our homes, our domestic 
 temples, is punished according to law. The time 
 will come when he, who by fraudulent substitution 
 or adulteration of food, destroys the very temple 
 of our life, will also be punished according to law. 
 At the present time, however, there is nothing in 
 this country so cheap as human life. 
 
 •» «» * 
 
 As many of our native wild flowers are disappear- 
 ing before the destructive as well as constructive 
 invasion of civilization, it would be very interesting, 
 aud perhaps useful, to record, from time to time, 
 the character as well as the extent of such changes 
 in our Wisconsin flora. It would be well not only 
 to preserve the memory of beauty thus passing or 
 passed away, but to note the apperance of a newer 
 flora, of a newer botanical face in our fields and 
 woods and prairies, doubtless to change again and 
 again. This pleasant task, as it seems to us, should 
 be initiated by our State and local horticultural 
 societies. The work might be accomplished by 
 their offering, at each of their regular exhibitions, 
 suitable prizes for the best collections of suitably 
 named wild flowers — a record to be kept by the 
 secretary of all such collections. It would be a 
 matter of little less interest for the societies to in- 
 form themselves of the like changes taking place 
 in our grasses, vines, trees, &c, in the State. 
 
 Will the Madison Horticultural Society take the 
 lead in this labor? As the parent society, her ex- 
 ample would no doubt be followed by the other 
 
 societies. 
 
 * » » 
 
 A Kaxsas correspondent of the 2V. T. Tribune, 
 who affirms he has been a close observer of the 
 ''ways and doings" of the chinch bug, from boy- 
 hood, gives the following as the results of his in- 
 vestigations : "Many," he says, "sow wheat in the 
 fall on old corn ground, leaving the stalks still 
 standing. The chinch bug taking shelter in the 
 harbor provided by the stalks, there hibernates, and 
 comes out the ensuing year like the armies of Cad- 
 mus, increased as it were by magic, and prepared 
 
 to devour whatsoever they find before them. The 
 wheat, of course, first suffers. AVheat harvested, 
 they pass over, without ceremony, to the oat fields, 
 where they again feast, and gather fresh accessions. 
 The oats gathered into the garner, they again 
 repair to the corn, where they find a rich repast, 
 and confidently expect to find again a shelter from 
 the storms and tempests of the approaching winter. 
 These observations induced me and a few of my 
 neighbors to gather and burn all the old stalks and 
 rubbish accumulated on the field, before seeding. 
 The consequence is, that while many crops of both 
 wheat and corn have been literally destroyed by 
 the ravages of these bugs, we have been rewarded 
 by an excellent wheat crop." The burning up of 
 old rubbish and keeping the fields clean, is what 
 belongs to good husbandry, and should not be neg- 
 lected, bugs or no bugs. 
 
 -#— «»— *> 
 
 A law in Switzerland compels every married 
 couple to plant six trees immediately after the cer- 
 emony, and two on the birth of every child. This, 
 certainly, is not so bad, and if we had in the west 
 a law like it, tree planting would put on a lively 
 appearance, and our prairies no longer be destitute 
 of shade and timber. 
 
 «^— ^P» ■*)► 
 
 Lock Jaw 7 Cured. — Three cases, just recorded 
 by the London Lancet, of this commonly fatal af- 
 fection, have been cured by the use of Hydrate of 
 Chloral. Fifteen grain doses were given, pushed 
 to one hundred and twenty grains per diem. The 
 last patient recovered, had taken, in about thirty 
 days, six ounces of Chloral. 
 
 A Noble Horse. — Ex-Governor Washburn has 
 a pensioner running free about his grounds, at 
 Madison — a fine old favorite horse, named Jack, 
 twenty-seven years old, which though super-anim- 
 ated, is in good condition, and can, upon an occa- 
 sion, keep the pace better than many a younger 
 horse — a fact as creditable to the owner as to the 
 
 horse. 
 
 ■» » « » 
 
 The worhPs supply of marbles all comes from 
 Germany ; from the same half-dozen little villages 
 among the Thuringian mountains. Since the last 
 war the advance in the cost of labor has put up the 
 price of marbles more than fifty per cent. The 
 youngsters, however, who are the principal consum- 
 ers of the article, do not find their fockcts very 
 seriously affected by this rise. 
 
 Few families of plants are confined to so narrow 
 a space on the surface of the earth as the cactus, 
 
20 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 THE ICELAND MILLENNIAL. 
 
 BY R. B. ANDERSON. 
 
 A thousand years ago, this summer, the lonely 
 and weird island in the North Sea, Iceland, was 
 settled by the Norsemen, who emigrated from Nor- 
 way on account of the despotic sway of Harold 
 Haarfager (the Fair-Haired), and sought an asy- 
 lum of freedom among the joculs, volcanoes and 
 geysers of this northern country. The new settlers 
 established a republican form of government. 
 They framed careful systems of law and adminis- 
 tration very early in the history of the colony. 
 Judges and magistrates were chosen by the people 
 in convention assembled, and all matters of impor- 
 tance were decided by their congress or althing. 
 This althing had many of the best political features 
 which have distinguished parliamentary govern- 
 ment in all branches of the Gothic race since, every 
 freeholder voted in it, and its decisions governed 
 all inferior courts. It tried the lesser magistrates, 
 and elected the presiding officers of the Icelandic 
 community, or perhaps we might say, Icelandic 
 nation. 
 
 Iceland became the center and home of Norse 
 poetry and history. There lived those remarkable 
 scalds and sagamen, who handed down to posterity, 
 in familiar and often alliterative poetry and the 
 most fascinating prose, the grand and colossal 
 Norse mythology, and the names and deeds of 
 brave Norsemen, their victories on every coast of 
 Europe, their discovery of Greenland and Ameri- 
 ca, their passions and wild deaths. In bold and 
 vivid language they recorded in works that poster- 
 ity will never let die, the achievements of the 
 Norse vikings ; the conquest of almost every peo- 
 ple of Europe by these vigorous pirates; their 
 wild adventures, their contempt of pain and death, 
 their absolute joy in danger, combat and difficulty. 
 It is from Iceland we get the wonderful and poetic 
 Eddas (the Elder and Younger), the grand depos- 
 itories of the Norse mythology. It is from Iceland 
 we get those remarkable Sagas, that shed such a 
 flood of light over the barbarous middle ages, 
 when ignorance in Europe reaches its nadir, and 
 to us Americans one of the most important and 
 interesting gifts to the world, is the record in these 
 Sagas of the discovery of North America by the 
 Norseman, Leif Eriksen, in the year 1000. 
 
 A thousand years have come and gone, and the 
 Icelanders have had various fortunes. They main- 
 tained their republic 400 years; then they became 
 subject to the king of Norway, and finally to the 
 Danish scepter, under which their political rights 
 have been but little regarded. 
 
 On the 2d of August last, the millennial of the 
 
 settlement of the island and the birth of the repub- 
 lic, was celebrated at its capital city, Reykjavik, on 
 which occasion the Danish king, for the first time 
 in the history of the island, visited Iceland. 
 
 Commercially, this volcanic plain in the North 
 Sea is of no consequence to the world, yet its mil- 
 lennial celebration commanded the attention of the 
 nations of the earth. In the harbor of Eeykjavik 
 were seen the Danish, Swedish, German, French 
 and English flags, in honor of the anniversary, 
 and the star spangled banner waved above a vessel 
 which bore upon her deck a party of representa- 
 tives from America, including Cyrus W. Field, 
 Bayard Taylor, and a man who has planted the 
 American colors much nearer the pole than Ice- 
 land even — the famous Arctic explorer, Dr. I. I. 
 Hayes. 
 
 The 2d of August, 1874, was a great day in the 
 history of Iceland, and the busy and whirling 
 world, in pausing to look upon the holiday of this 
 plain and unpretending people, have paid a mag- 
 nificent tribute to Iceland, amid whose volcanic 
 flames, eternal snows, lava-strewn plains and rock- 
 bound shores, Liberty sits enthroned. 
 
 Madison, Wis., Sept., 1874. 
 
 * » m 
 
 A LARGE CRAB TREE. 
 When lately visiting (said Sir R. Christison, at a 
 late meeting of the Edinburgh Botanical society) a 
 friend at Kelloe House, in the parish at Endrom, a 
 few miles eastward from Dunse, I was shown a Crab 
 tree, which appears to me to deserve being added to 
 Mr. McNab's memoranda of large trees in Scotland. 
 Crab Apple trees are more frequently met with in 
 hedge-rows in Berwickshire than anywhere else in 
 Scotland where I have been ; possibly, because no- 
 where else in Scotland do hedge-rows abound as 
 fences. The tree in question according to the infor- 
 mation supplied by an old man upon the estate, 
 stood with several others in a hedge-row, but the 
 hedge-row was cut down to improve the highway. 
 This particular tree was, however, so large, even at 
 that time, very many years ago, that it was left stand- 
 ing in a convenient triangular space, in front of 
 Kolloe Gate, where it does not interfere with the 
 roadway. It has now a trunk of 8 feet, is fifty feet 
 in height, branches freely, and was covered with 
 leaves when I saw it. The fruit was clustered, as 
 in Cherry. In the spring the whole tree was one 
 sheet of white flowers; but little fruit formed on it, 
 in consequence of the sharp frosts in May. It is 
 well known in the surrounding country, whose in- 
 habitants visit it from a considerable distance when 
 it is in flower. It continues to be perfectly healthy 
 in every part. — The Garden. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 21 
 
 )omc Sqmrtmtnt. 
 
 HOME, SWEET HOME. 
 Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 
 Be it ever so humble there's no place like home ! 
 A charm from the skies seems to hallow us here, 
 AVhich, seek through the world, is ne'er met with 
 elsewhere. 
 Home ! home, sweet home ! 
 There's no place like home ! 
 
 An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain ! 
 O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again ! 
 The birds singing gayly that came at my call ; 
 O, give me sweet peace of mind, dearer than all ! 
 
 Home ! home, sweet home ! 
 
 There's no place like home ! ( 
 
 — John Howard Payne. 
 
 THE BUGLE. 
 The splendor falls on castle walls 
 
 And snowy summits old in story : 
 The long light shakes across the lakes, 
 And the wild cataract leaps in glory. 
 Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying. 
 Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. 
 
 O hark ! O hear ! how thin and clear, 
 
 And thinner, clearer, farther going ! 
 O sweet and far, from cliff and scar, 
 The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! 
 Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying : 
 Blow, bugle ; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying. 
 
 O love, they die in yon rich sky, 
 
 They faint on hill or field or river . 
 Our echoes roll from soul to soul, 
 And grow forever and forever. 
 Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, 
 And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying. 
 
 — Alfred Tennyson. 
 
 TEA. 
 
 BY JOSEPH HOBDIXS, M. D. 
 
 Tea is an educator, a civilizer, a refiner of society. 
 It is a light, refreshing substitute for the gross and 
 more stupifying drinks of our fathers. It clears, 
 instead of muddying the brain ; it incites to no 
 barbarity, neither clouding the reason nor madden- 
 ing the blood, but leads to a softening, an amelior- 
 ation of social life ; to the exercise of the ameni- 
 ties, the proprieties of what is called good society. 
 Besides, the social, the genial influence of the tea- 
 table has a magic of its own and is full of charms 
 and free from all evil, unless it be the little gossip, 
 without which, harmless, yet licensed, the tea-table 
 would lose its chief attraction. 
 
 But I am not going to sing the " Pleasures of 
 Tea," only so far as to catch the eyes and ears of 
 those of my lady readers whose daily duty it is to 
 fill " the cup which cheers but not inebriates." My 
 object is to talk of tea itself, more particularly, un- 
 
 gallant as it may seem, for the benefit of the men, 
 of our farmers, of our workers, of those who live 
 by the sweat of their brow, and who in consequence 
 need, in a life of toil, a something as a beverage to 
 renew the spent strength, in the place of a some- 
 thing to destroy. 
 
 Of all the drinks known to civilization, there is, 
 perhaps, none so refreshing and restorative as tea. 
 I do not mean the thing that is frequently sold as 
 tea, and may be one of its very numerous substi- 
 tutes or adulterations. I mean tea. Tea without 
 milk (for milk is an error as tea is usually made); 
 tea without sugar, for sugar is not only unnecessary 
 for our purpose, but destroys the flavor of tea. 
 Tea, weak as the Chinese take it; just as the best 
 tea- tasters try it, and test its worth. Tea, cold in 
 warm weather, and especially tea moderately iced. 
 It matters very little whether your tea be black 
 or green, since black and green are grown upon the 
 same plant. Be not unbelievers. In the botanical 
 world such things are not uncommon. Where it 
 is not owing to the mode of preparation, it is the 
 difference in situation that makes the difference in 
 color. Thus on a hill side a flower shall be of one 
 color, and of quite another color in the valley at 
 its foot. The younger the tea the better its flavor, 
 hence, Hyson, being the first picking of the plant, 
 has a finer flavor, and those which come after, 
 being stronger with tannin, are called stronger, but 
 less agreeable teas. 
 
 It is well to know that all genuine teas possess 
 about the same amount of t/ieitie, the active princi- 
 ple of tea, and for dietic purposes, are about equal. 
 And this, no matter whether the tea be dear or 
 cheap, so long as it is genuine tea, and unspoiled in 
 transportation. That for which people pay high 
 prices is flavor — the flavor of the tea. It is also 
 well to know that while it is claimed that tea is not 
 to be regarded as an article of food, containing, as 
 it does, less than one per cent, of nitrogen, the flesh 
 giving element, yet it is admitted that by its action 
 it causes assimilation and the transformation of 
 other food. In other words it quickens and assists 
 the nourishment of the body. 
 
 The feeling of relief and positive comfort arising 
 from drinking tea, is partly owing to the fact of its 
 causing the evolution or giving off of carbon in our 
 breathing and skin, to a far greater extent than its 
 capacity for supplying carbon to our system : thus 
 it has a twofold way of cooling the body. Tea, in 
 fact, has this marked and acknowledged property 
 of diminishing the heat of the body without sup- 
 plying fuel to make it more heat. 
 
 While tea as a comfort is at all times refreshing, 
 it should be borne in mind that it is not necessary 
 
22 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 to promote digestion in healthy persons. Nor is it 
 necessary to take it with a principal meal. It is 
 best, indeed, to take it after such a meal, say of 
 meat, unless the meat, as is too often the case with 
 our farming community, be composed of fat and 
 starch ; such for instance as pork, potatoes and 
 bread, in which case, tea, as farmers know, by daily 
 experience, is a fit accompaniment. 
 
 To speak of the influence of tea upon the brain 
 is scarcely necessary, as everyone knows how rap- 
 idly mental clouds and cobwebs are swept away by 
 a cup of good tea: how soon cheerfulness succeeds 
 dullness, and a fit of the blues is dissipated. And 
 if it does not give us an increase of muscular pow- 
 er, it does give us a greater willingness to use the 
 muscles, a greater readiness for exertion. 
 
 But the chief quality of tea, only barely alluded 
 to, the quality that, perhaps, concerns us the most 
 as a tea drinking and agricultural people, laboring 
 and sweltering during our summers of almost trop- 
 ical heat, a quality the importance of which leads 
 me to write this article, is, its cooli?ig quality. It 
 is, perhaps, safe to say, that cold, weak tea is the 
 most cooling beverage we know of. At the same 
 time that it is safe to drink, it has other and equal 
 advantages. It is economical, easy to make ; and a 
 taste for it once acquired, it is a very pleasant 
 drink without sugar and without milk. Iced weak 
 tea has been my daily drink for more than two 
 years past, and I find it equally agreeable in winter 
 and summer ; and it has this particular recom- 
 mendation, that it cannot hurt you. A dash of 
 lemon occasionally thrown into it, or a little lemon 
 rind, as is the practice of the Russians, changes its 
 flavor, and to some makes it more palatable. 
 
 It is the drink that always leaves behind it a 
 moist mouth and a moist skin, than which, to a 
 man harvesting or laboring in the hot weather, 
 nothing can be more conducive to physical comfort, 
 or make work lighter or pleasanter. Everybody 
 knows that a cup of hot tea in hot weather produces 
 free perspiration and gives great relief. Now this 
 is equally true when cold tea is taken, and the 
 effect is attributable to the tea as well as to the 
 fluid. " The increased action of the skin by causing 
 an increase in the sensible or insensible perspira- 
 tion, renders a large quantity of heat near the sur- 
 face latent, by converting fluid into vapor, and thus 
 powerfully cools the skin." 
 
 There is a growing belief that strong tea is in- 
 jurious, and in certain communities, like the people 
 of the potteries in England, it is said to be as in- 
 jurious as is gin or spirit drinking in other com- 
 munities in that country. Whether this be so or not 
 
 I have no means at present to determine, but suffi- 
 cient evidence has been adduced to induce the 
 English government to institute a commission of 
 enquiry into the matter, thus giving some coloring 
 to the belief. This, however, I can affirm, that any 
 faith in the virtue of strong tea, is a fallacy, a 
 waste, an extravagance and an injury. I know 
 people upon whom it acts as an emetic and purga- 
 tive. But not to digress. The active principle of 
 tea, the principle that does good, is tasteless. 
 Take your tea as strong as you will, still it is not 
 made strong to the taste by theine. In what, then, 
 to the taste, is tea made strong by? Simply by the 
 tannin, which is another constituent of tea, and 
 which, under ordinary circumstances, can do you 
 no particular good. Then avoid strong tea; follow 
 the example of the more experienced Chinese, and 
 of the expert — the tea-taster — the professional tea- 
 drinker, or rather taster; and remember, as the 
 taster tells you, that long boiling brings out the 
 tannin, and destroys the flavor of the tea. 
 
 The using of weak tea as a beverage has a pecu- 
 liar advantage in this magnesian limestone region 
 of central Wisconsin. The boiling of the water 
 insures your health to the extent that the lime is 
 deposited inside the kettle instead of inside your- 
 self. This is a precaution that saves the stomach 
 and other organs from disorders, and I am not sure 
 but what it exercises, indirectly, an excellent influ- 
 ence on persons subject to chronic rheumatism. 
 Try it. Gravel and Rheumatism are more nearly 
 related than people think of. 
 
 To tell you how to make tea would indeed appear 
 to be a very pretty piece of arrogance on my part, 
 and yet there is much to learn about it. The qual- 
 ity, the freshness of the water, the length of time 
 required for boiling and steeping, &c, &c. But 
 this I must let pass, since water varies in different 
 localities, since the tea is young or old, and above 
 all since one seldom meets at a tea-table two per- 
 sons who aa;ree about the tea. 
 
 Making People Happy. — A poetical writer 
 has said that some men move through life as a 
 band of music moves down the street, flinging out 
 pleasure on every side through the air to everyone, 
 far and near, that can listen. Some men fill the 
 air with their strength and sweetness, as the orchards 
 in October days fill the air with the ripe fruit. 
 Some women cling to their own houses like the 
 honeysuckle over the door ; yet, like it, fill all the 
 region with the subtle fragrance of their goodness. 
 How great a bounty and blessing is it so to hold 
 the royal gifts of the soul that they shall be music 
 to some, fragrance to others, and life to ail J 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 23 
 
 THE USE OP FLOWERS. 
 God might have bade the earth bring forth 
 
 Enough for great and small, 
 The oak tree and the cedar tree, 
 
 Without a flower at all. 
 We might have had enough, enough 
 
 For every want of ours, 
 For luxury, medicine, and toil, 
 
 And yet have had no flowers. 
 
 Then wherefore, wherefore were they made, 
 
 All dyed with rainbow light, 
 All fashioned with supremest grace, 
 
 Upspringing day and night ; — 
 Springing in valleys green and low, 
 
 And on the mountain high, 
 And in the silent wilderness 
 
 Where no man passes by ? 
 
 Our outward life requires them not, — 
 
 Then wherefore had they birth ? 
 To minister delight to man, 
 
 To beautify the earth ; 
 To comfort man, — to whisper hope, 
 
 Whene'er his faith is dim ; 
 For who so careth for the flowers 
 
 Will care much more for him ! 
 
 — Mary HowiU. 
 
 FLOWERS FOR THE BLIND. 
 
 BY JOSEPH HOBBINS, M. D. 
 
 A new use has been found for sweet-smelling 
 flowers, and a new and delightful source of plea- 
 sure has been opened as well for the unfortunate 
 as for those whose hearts are benevolently inclined. 
 Medicine for the sick is suggested or given to us by 
 a kind Providence, in so many and such presenta- 
 ble forms, that it is sometimes a matter of difficul- 
 ty how to select or apply. The kind word, the 
 sympathizing though subdued smile, "the ready 
 help," the voice that tells of hope, are not the last, 
 but among the first and most wonder-working 
 medicines to the suffering in mind or body. But, 
 flowers! Flowers for the blind — what a singularly 
 beautiful thought is that ! Yet, is it not, at first 
 thought, almost absurd? But, let us enquire. 
 Under that wonderful and beneficent compensatory 
 law which God has given us to know, and which 
 nature everywhere exhibits, we find that where 
 one sense or faculty is lost to us, the other senses 
 or faculties are always, as a compensation, increased 
 or developed in strength. Where, for instance, as 
 in the case we are considering, sight is lost, then 
 taste and smell and touch and hearing are quick- 
 ened and made more sensitive. Thus, strange as 
 it may seem, it is not only the scent of the flower 
 that pleases the blind, but it is found that they are 
 almost equally pleased through the sense of touch. 
 "What, the blind to take pleasure in feeling a flow- 
 er! Yes, not only pleasure, but the most intelli- 
 gent kind of pleasure — the pleasure derived from 
 
 an appreciative knowledge of the forms of beauty, 
 of the outlines of leaf and bud and flower. Yes, 
 the blind have the very highest pleasure to be de- 
 rived from flowers, which is the poetic pleasure, 
 the pleasure of making pictures for the mind, the 
 pleasure of intellectual sight. 
 
 Speaking of the children of a blind asylum, in 
 an article now before me, I read that " it was sup- 
 plied with sufficient hyacinths and lily of the val- 
 ley to go round the room usually visited, and the 
 workers (blind) in which were highly delighted, 
 each sniffing at a fine hyacinth, and carefully going 
 over every bell with their fingers (they always 
 touch before they smell). The lily of the valley 
 was an immense treat; all knew it by name and 
 idea." Is it nothing to give such ideas, such ex- 
 quisite knowledge of form, of beauty? Is not the 
 beautiful the good ? Is this not medicine, aye, and 
 food and life-mental to the unfortunate? To teach 
 us to know and appreciate and love the "earth 
 angels," as flowers are so poetically and truthfully 
 named, is surely a good work and tenderly humane. 
 
 And then, these poor blind ones are daintily criti- 
 cal and most delicately fastidious with those little 
 mind-spelling fingers of theirs. They distinguish 
 in a moment the withering leaf, and just as care- 
 fully detach it. They delight in the velvet-like 
 touch of the willow catkins, but dislike the sticky 
 feel of the balsam poplar, though pleased with its 
 fragrance. But, to those who have become blind 
 after childhood such things are especially pleasing. 
 Memory is awakened, green fields and beautiful 
 flowers are seen again, and the until now lost pic- 
 tures of the past return — return to gladden, to re- 
 vivify and make happy in remembered sight. 
 They are blind no longer. Then give them plants. 
 They will see, feel, smell and know them, and 
 cherish their growth as well as you or I. Besides, 
 the very care of a plant is to us all an education 
 and a charm. How much more so to those unfor- 
 tunates who have so much greater need of educa- 
 tion and of things to please them. 
 
 Give flowers to the born blind, and plants to 
 those who have them in remembrance. Send flow- 
 ers to the sick and to the sad — to the unfortunate, 
 whether in our pent-up asylums, or wherever you 
 can find them in this our greater asylum, the 
 world about us, and remember what Sophocles 
 once said, "Only a great soul knows how much 
 glory there is in being kind." 
 
 The Same and Not the Same. — In California 
 they have a lily, the L. fiarvum, which is crimson 
 on the hills, but grown near water in the valleys, 
 is said to be yellow. 
 
24 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 «r ^irls jmfc Soils. 
 
 WHAT THE WINDS BEING. 
 Which is the wind that brings the cold ? 
 
 The north wind, Freddy, and all the snow ; 
 And the sheep will scamper into the fold 
 
 When the north begins to blow. 
 
 Which is the wind that brings the heat ? 
 
 The south wind, Katy ; and corn will grow, 
 And peaches redden for you to eat, 
 
 When the south begins to blow. 
 
 Which is the wind that brings the rain ? 
 
 The east wind, Arty ; and farmers know 
 That cows come shivering up the lane 
 
 When the east begins to blow. 
 
 Which is the wind which brings the flowers? 
 
 The west wind, Bessy ; and soft and low 
 The birdies sing in the summer hours 
 
 When the west begins to blow. 
 
 — Edmund Clarence Sledman. 
 
 REINDEER-AN ESQUIMAUX HUNT. 
 
 BY DR. ISAAC I. HAYES. 
 
 I once made a sledge journey when in the Arctic 
 regions, during which we traveled up a fiord to a 
 valley where there was a glacier. The valley was 
 about two miles long by a mile wide. 
 
 In the center of it there was a little lake, and 
 about this lake grass and moss were growing bright 
 and green, for it was during the summer time. 
 Among this verdure there were many tiny flowers, 
 some of which would need only a lady's thimble 
 for a flower pot, so very small were they. Among 
 these were the dandelion, the buttercup and the 
 poppy. 
 
 Besides the flowers there were a great many full- 
 grown trees. All of them belonged to the family 
 of willows. To be sure, they hardly deserved the 
 name of trees, but still trees they were. Some of 
 them were scarcely three inches high, with trunks 
 the size of a knitting-needle, and having full blos- 
 soms on them. The largest variety of these dwarf 
 willows had trunks only about the size of one's 
 finger. 
 
 About this lake we found reindeer feeding on the 
 moss and grass, and the leaves and branches of the 
 willows. They had grown fat upon this verdure, 
 and so continue until winter, when, being compel- 
 led to dig up their food through the snow with 
 their hoofs, to get at the dry, frozen grass, &c, 
 they become very poor. 
 
 But, before speaking of the reindeer, let me, for 
 a moment, call attention to the glacier at the upper 
 end of the valley. It was to us a magnificent 
 eight, but in order to make it clear to my readers, 
 
 I must ask them to imagine themselves standing 
 with me at the entrance to the valley. 
 
 At our feet rushes a small stream of clear water 
 from the lake. A short distance before us is the 
 bright, glittering lake itself. Away beyond that 
 is a great white wall extending all the way across 
 the valley, from very tall cliffs of dark rock, that 
 rise up on either side. 
 
 Looking carefully at the white wall we perceive 
 that it is solid ice ; and we see, too, that behind it 
 rises an inclined plain of the same hue. It is, in 
 fact, a great stream of solid ice, pouring or sliding 
 down the valley, and the wall is the front of it. 
 This is what is called a glacier. 
 
 This stream comes down from the interior of the 
 country, from the sides and tops of the mountains, 
 where it is formed of hardened snow, or rather of 
 snow that has been partly melted in the summer, 
 and frozen again with the first frosts of winter. 
 
 The whole interior of Greenland is in fact cov- 
 ered with ice, and great streams come sliding down 
 the valleys, and out into the sea on all sides. Now 
 this valley, which we called "Chester," will in 
 course of time become completely filled, and the 
 glacier will then push its way out into the sea, and 
 after many years will get so far from the shore 
 that great pieces will break off and float away, and 
 be called icebergs. 
 
 But to come back to the reindeer. They were 
 very tame when we first went into the valley, but 
 they soon became acquainted with the cruel char- 
 acter of our rifles, and ran away up the hill as fast 
 as they could. It was very surprising to see how 
 swiftly they could climb over the rough rocks and 
 stones. We soon found that we could not hunt 
 them with our dogs, for the dogs could not overtake 
 them on the rocky hills. 
 
 The reindeer is somewhat larger than the com- 
 mon deer of this country, though not by any means 
 so handsome. Their legs are much shorter, and 
 their gait is a shuffling trot, that is anything but 
 graceful. The head is as large almost as that of 
 an ox, and the antlers are very heavy. The hair 
 is long and coarse, being gray on the back and 
 white underneath the neck and body. 
 
 In Lapland, and in some parts of Northern 
 Asia, the reindeer, as is well known, are used for 
 domestic purposes. The people, in traveling from 
 place to place, make them draw their sledges. In 
 other countries the people herd them, and live 
 upon their milk and flesh. But in Greenland the 
 animals are never tamed, and are never used for 
 other purposes than for food. The manner of 
 catching them by the Esquimaux is very ingenious. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 25 
 
 I had shot many of them before I met Nesark — 
 our Esquimaux guide — and many more after I had 
 known him ; but I had never seen the natives cap- 
 ture them, and asked Nesark to show me how it 
 was done. 
 
 "It is too much trouble for us generally," said 
 Nesark, "but sometimes we do it, and if you will 
 come with me I will show you how." 
 
 We drove up the fiord to the valley, and found 
 quite a herd of deer close by the lake. We ap- 
 proached them by crawling among some broken 
 rocks, and came out upon a plain. 
 
 "Stand close to me now," said Nesark, and going 
 up behind him I grasped him around the body, as 
 he told me to do, so that we appeared, while we 
 advanced towards the deer, like one man. 
 
 The reindeer were not long in discovering us. 
 They are very curious animals. After running a 
 short distance away they turned around to watch 
 us. This was what Nesark wanted. He at once 
 turned about also, and led me back by the same 
 way we had come. Seeing us moving off, the curi- 
 osity of the deer was at once aroused, and first 
 hesitatingly, and then confidingly they followed us, 
 an old buck, who seemed to be the leader, in 
 advance. 
 
 TRAPPING REINDEER. 
 
 In this manner we led them for perhaps a quar- 
 ter of a mile. As they followed on they grew less 
 timid. Sometimes they would stop and sniff the 
 air, and the old buck would give a loud snort. 
 Presently we came into a narrow rocky pass, when 
 Nesark said to me, " Go on," when he at once drop- 
 ped down and hid behind a rock. 
 
 I went on as directed and soon came out upon an 
 open space and in full view of the deer, who were 
 quite innocent of the fact that half of what they 
 had seen was hidden behind a rock. They all fol- 
 
 lowed me, drawing closer with every step, for I 
 went very slowly, and always had my back to them. 
 
 I had not gone far, however, before I became 
 aware that there was a great scampering of the 
 herd. I turned, and saw some flying to the right r 
 and some to the left, and some running back. 
 
 I heard at the same time a loud cry, and heard 
 Nesark calling to me. The herd had passed near 
 his hiding place, and he had harpooned one of 
 them, and the harpoon line having been carefully 
 wound around a point of rock, had held the animal 
 fast. 
 
 " Come quick !" cried Nesark. So hastening 
 back, I quickly made an end of this unlucky deer 
 with a rifle ball, greatly to the satisfaction of my 
 companion. 
 
 " I could have killed him with my spear," said 
 he, "but the 'boom' is better." 
 
 We soon had the skin off our game, and then 
 carrying the body down to our sledge, felt ourselves- 
 well rewarded for our trouble — myself especially, 
 for I had not only secured a valuable addition to 
 our stock of food, but had had practical experience 
 of a new and most cunning method of enticing 
 game into a trap. 
 
 During our stay in Winter Harbor, we often 
 practiced this new style of hunting, with success, 
 and shot in all more than two hundred deer. We 
 found their flesh to be almost equal to the venison 
 sold in the Northern States, and not only had it 
 every day for food, but fed our dogs upon it, when 
 we did not have seal or walrus meat. 
 
 In the more southern parts of Greenland, the 
 reindeer used to be very numerous, but now they 
 are not so frequently found. I have never seen 
 them in any place more numerous than at Port 
 Foulke, which is the name we gave to our winter 
 harbor. So rapidly have the reindeer decreased, 
 that at the present time venison is a rare treat to 
 the people in most of the settlements. It would 
 probably have been also very rare to us had we 
 remained another year or so at Port Foulke, and 
 kept on killing them at the rate we did, for we 
 were there ten months, and hunted them almost 
 every day, making a very sensible diminution in 
 their numbers during that time. 
 
 We found the skins of the young ones made very 
 warm clothing for us in the winter, and the horns 
 of the old ones were brought home as trophies of 
 the chase and souvenirs of the voyage. — North 
 Pole Sketches, in Youth's Companion. 
 
 ♦ «•-» 
 
 One of the best rules in conversation is never to- 
 say a thing which any of the company can reason- 
 ably wish we had rather left unsaid. — Swift. 
 
26 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 CULTURE IN COMMON SCHOOLS.* 
 
 BY MISS MARTHA A. TERRY. 
 
 In the right application of words, culture is iden- 
 tical with education, since both words imply devel- 
 opment rather than addition, nourishing and 
 strengthening innate life and beauty rather than 
 using extraneous adornment. By an almost uni- 
 versal Metonymy the sign grows into the place of 
 the thing signified, filling it so completely that the 
 real king is forgotten, and the usurper is believed 
 to have been from eternity. The study of books 
 •and facts, appliances to aid in securing the culture 
 which should be the aim of the work, has so re- 
 ceived the name of education, and is too often pur- 
 sued exclusively for its own sake. 
 
 The ability to deal with negative exponents, to 
 apply the law of diminution of force, to locate in 
 time and space, Magna Charta and Marathon. 
 
 Such power is not culture. It may be an indica- 
 tion of culture ; the effort required to gain this or 
 similar power must have been the means of cul- 
 ture; but these signs and means differ from culture 
 as the seed of the farmer, his implements and his 
 labor differ from the waving grain which is the 
 beauty and the glory of his broad acres. Seed and 
 implements he must have had — the field white unto 
 the harvest is their witness, witness which cannot 
 be replaced by a handful of his seed grain and the 
 earth stains on his plow-share. 
 
 If education is a thing worth time and toil, it is 
 because of its power to develop mind. The theo- 
 ries of education in which teachers figure as ency- 
 clopedias, and the work of teaching is held a pro- 
 cess of transferring facts from one memory to 
 another, maintain at present slight hold upon edu- 
 cators. But culture in its broad and deep meanings 
 and its far-reaching forces, is too generally regarded 
 .as a fantastic vision of unoccupied minds. Yet 
 there are some who believe that it is possible to 
 bring this very culture into close relations with 
 everyday life ; to fill up the measure of existence 
 with its pure delights; to pre-empt the brain soil 
 of the child before it has been crowded with useless 
 growth, and plant there germs that shall grow and 
 strengthen with each rolling year, till they shall 
 become cool shades filled with perfume and song. 
 It is in view of such possibilities that it becomes 
 lis, who have chosen the profession of teaching, to 
 consider the responsibilities which this choice lays 
 upon us. It is not, for us, a question of transfer- 
 
 *Read before the State Teachers' 4ssociatjoa, at Madison, 
 July 17th, 1874. 
 
 ring arithmetic and geography in bulk to the men- 
 tal storehouses of the children under our control. 
 We must ask, rather, how much mental growth 
 shall be attained by these little immortals, what 
 new force shall they compass, how much shall they 
 comprehend of the workings of man and of nature, 
 of how much original investigation shall they be 
 capable. 
 
 The facts which we use as stimuli to the mental 
 powers may pass out of mind entirely in the work 
 of life; the influences of the days spent in the 
 study of these facts will outlast earth and time, and 
 give the keynote to the song of eternity. 
 
 In choosing ways and means for our work, it is 
 of the highest importance that we should seek such 
 studies as are aids in directing the thoughts of pu- 
 pils into ways pleasant and profitable. The study 
 of language commends itself at once as especially 
 adapted for this purpose. Since thought is form- 
 less without words, words must be an important 
 consideration in the effort to awaken thought, and 
 actual experience shows that growing thought pow- 
 er keeps even pace with the power of expression. 
 
 The time-honored excuse of the lazy student, " I 
 know, but I can't, tell," has fallen from its high 
 estate, and formless ideas are no longer receivable 
 in place of definite knowledge. It is not enough 
 that the student has caught a passing glimpse of a 
 great fact, nor is the duty of the teacher at an end 
 when the student has learned to investigate for 
 himself the relations of causes and effects in nature. 
 The power of clothing ideas in words is a necessary 
 part of the training of every child, and as a foun- 
 dation for successful effort in other directions, it is 
 indispensable. Using right words in right places 
 is at first a mere effort of memory, but the use of 
 the reasoning powers can be gained in this direction 
 sooner than in any other. A three-year-old boy, 
 who could not distinguish the sounds of /and 5, 
 recognized without difficulty that the verb "want" 
 had different meanings when applied to sugar and 
 to water, and he learned in the same connection 
 that our needs are more potent in moving sympa- 
 thy than are our desires. 
 
 Many words suggest their own meanings, and the 
 intuition of childhood is quickened by the effort to 
 gain from a given word its hidden idea. This 
 power of isolated words is multiplied many times 
 when words are associated in sentences. The ideas 
 are broadened by the perception of the varied 
 meanings which changing relations give to the 
 same word. Tied down no longer to the one bare 
 notion which came with the word originally, the 
 child sees this thought germ grown into many 
 branched life and beauty. His intuition gains still 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 27 
 
 broader scope, and he gathers the character of a 
 word from the company it is keeping, thus learning 
 a lesson in life. The primary conception of philo- 
 sophical relation comes when he sees that the 
 meaning of a sentence is affected by the arrange- 
 ment of its parts, and that " James struck John," 
 and "John struck James," cannot be used inter- 
 changeably. He has begun the ascent of a mount 
 of revelation, from whose summit, now blue with 
 distance, Imperative and Potential, Adverbial 
 Phrase and Indirect Objective, shall be seen some 
 day in clearness, without confusion in outline or 
 interference in perspective. Other relations shall 
 ■grow familiar as a result of such study. Every 
 ■verbal brotherhood has its counterpart outside of 
 language — the ties binding words are not closer 
 than those existing between the objects for which 
 these are named, the relations of language and the 
 relations of nature. 
 
 Active life offers to the young many temptations 
 to stray from the pursuit of a noble ideal. A clear 
 conception of true life, made a power in controlling 
 desires and directing ambition is a mighty safe- 
 guard against evil influences. The study of lan- 
 guage affords the teacher an opportunity, greater 
 than any other branch of study presents, to exert 
 a powerful influence over the standards of right 
 and wrong forming in the young mind. This pow- 
 er over the thoughts of others is attended with 
 responsibilities not to be lightly estimated. If the 
 thought fountain can be kept pure, if the beautiful, 
 the good and the true can be made to appear alto- 
 gether lovely, if the young heart can be inspired 
 with high motives and tilled with enthusiasm by 
 the contemplation of noble deeds and stainless 
 character, then is the teacher's labor thrown on the 
 side of good in the warfare which comes for the 
 possession of each human soul. 
 
 The power to direct the language of the student 
 is incalculably beneficial if rightly uaed. 
 
 If a censorship upon the minds of men were 
 possible, a wonderful change in the world's life 
 would follow. To shut out from audible expression 
 the coarse, the harsh, the cruel, the revengeful, 
 would be to smother the disturbing passions and 
 bury them in oblivion. 
 
 "As a man thinketh, so is he," and as a man 
 sayeth, so he thinketh. Not all at once, nor whol- 
 ly it may be — but in time, the habit of soft words 
 will overcome angry passions ; constant repression 
 of irreverent speech will strengthen the power of 
 worship. The rule proves its universality by 
 working the other way also, with fearful accuracy. 
 With what care, then, knowing the power of evil, 
 
 should pure and reverent language be made famil- 
 iar to the young. 
 
 The judicious study of foreign languages is 
 powerful in filling the mind with subjects of enno- 
 bling and refining thought, and so, indirectly, in- 
 fluencing the life. It is a matter of regret that 
 many who might thus reach a high intellectual 
 plane, are barred from its delights by unfavorable 
 circumstances. But under the influence of a wise- 
 ly directed ambition culture is not impossible, even 
 in the face of poverty and disaster. Study of the 
 vernacular will aid much in this work, but this 
 study must be guided by one who is in sympathy 
 with its needs, and who has himself caught the 
 inspiration of moral beauty from close contact with 
 the spirit of the immortals. No school work can 
 be held unimportant since this element of culture 
 must enter into its whole routine. Definite thought 
 and exact expression are to bo first sought, but 
 beauty of style cannot be neglected. Every exer- 
 cise of the school-day should be clothed upon with 
 a living body by the feeling that every word which 
 the child speaks or hears is making its ineffaceable 
 mark upon his character. Some branches of study 
 in which language is the avowed end in view, offer 
 superior opportunities for such cultivation. Gram- 
 mar, the weary work of past days, may thus be 
 made alive and lively. The child, making his 
 own examples, or seeking them in his daily associ- 
 ations, catches the reason why in half the time that 
 he can gain it from the formal sentences of the 
 book, and makes application of the principle with 
 far greater accuracy. Slates and pencils in the 
 hands of twenty wide-awake children, with a 
 teacher who can at least keep pace with their 
 thoughts, will furnish more knowledge of the 
 structure and use of language than can ever be 
 gained by the study of formal rules. 
 
 Beading classes offer a still more delightful field 
 for such labor, for, in addition to the quickened 
 intuition of the child, and the eager interest of the 
 teacher, direct contact with superior intelligence is 
 available. Here may be taught the lesson of catch- 
 ing the spirit of another, and putting one's self in 
 another's place. The child is dull beyond ordinary 
 experience who cannot thus be led into the upper 
 regions of pure air and clear sunshine, and made 
 sensible of the exaltation of spirit. Fine shades 
 of meaning then become observable to the student, 
 the tender and pathetic moves his sympathies, and 
 his sense of humor grows keen and delicate. The 
 power to express the thought of others in his own 
 words may be trained here ; its next of kin is the 
 power of clothing his own thoughts in words. 
 This work, which is slow in execution, has its prop-! 
 
28 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 er beginning with the beginning of school life. 
 Too many theories of language culture imply ad- 
 vanced age in students, and then force the teacher 
 to do the thinking for the class, to pour into open 
 and empty minds the associations and suggestions 
 which earlier training should have prepared each 
 student to discover for himself. Too often does 
 this exhausting effort equal, to the teacher, the 
 torture of the Danaides, compelled forever to fill 
 sieves with water. 
 
 When training in language begins with its first 
 use, and is faithfully pursued through the early 
 years of school life, adapting itself to the growing 
 powers and needs of its subjects, and high school 
 students, no longer highly polished machines, val- 
 ueless for any purpose except for testing the motive 
 power of their instructors, will be, in their gener- 
 ous culture and broad capacities, living witnesses 
 of the skill and power of their early training. 
 
 Such, then, should be the aim of the common 
 schools. Not to fill mental store houses, not to de- 
 light pleasure seekers, not to afford asylums to the 
 indolent, was our common school system conceived 
 and executed. But to awaken thought, incite in- 
 vestigation, stimulate and direct ambition, in fine, 
 to put the masses in possession of their own powers. 
 This is the gift which the State, relying upon our 
 aid, would give freely to her children. And when 
 the drill of school life is over, when our work, in- 
 complete as it must ever be, has reached its "Finis," 
 its good results will be only beginning. Students 
 who take with them into the world highly devel- 
 oped and carefully trained faculties of memory 
 and attention, keen and delicate perceptive powers, 
 cannot fail to be active participants in the busy 
 life around them. They go out with instruments 
 well tempered, with powers well trained ; they 
 bring skilled labor to a ready market. For such 
 culture, such ability, the world has ample room. 
 
 The learned professions, in spite of the fact that 
 a large proportion of college graduates enter them, 
 still demand more cultivated men. The educational 
 force of the country is lamentably in need of such 
 culture — can we give to others what we have never 
 gained for ourselves? Can we make enthusiasm 
 which we have never felt; move sympathy when 
 our own sensibilities are blunted by misuse; touch 
 the chord of honor in the hearts of others when 
 we are utter strangers to its vibrations in our own 
 hearts? More than all is this culture needed by 
 those who have never felt the want of it; whose 
 lives, bound to an increasing succession of toilsome 
 days, lack the inspiration of the noble purpose 
 which consecrates the most menial labor. Every 
 student who takes this blessing into a humble home, 
 
 makes a new centre of civilization with a fire kin- 
 dled at his own hearthstone. 
 
 They are great and noble indeed, who stand at 
 the head of a nation, leading on to glory and re- 
 nown, but higher, truer benefactors are they who 
 carry blessing, beauty and peace to the homes and 
 hearts of a people. 
 
 " SHE CAN'T MAD." 
 A whiter in the North End Mission Magazine, 
 tells a good story of a Miss Bishop, who gave the 
 best years of her life to the Indians in the far west, 
 as a missionary teacher. They loved her devotedly, 
 and well they might, for she was patient and long- 
 suffering witli them to such an extent that, within 
 the memory of the oldest scholar, she had never 
 been known to lose her temper. 
 
 Such a constant and perfect example of self- 
 control in a pale-face became altogether unbearable, 
 and one day, during recess, the large boys held a 
 council over the matter. 
 
 Was there no possible scheme to be arranged by 
 which the serenity of this lady might be ruffied? 
 All suggestions failed to meet the approval of the 
 majority, and the council was apparently a failure, 
 when Jimmy Corn-planter, whose small black eyes 
 had been gazing intently into space for some mo- 
 ments, suddenly sprang to his feet, exclaiming, — 
 
 "I know! I no tell! You come to-morrow 
 morning and see ! Miss Bishop, she mad, she very 
 mad!" 
 
 Doubt was expressed on every countenance, but 
 they promised to come. 
 
 The morning was bitterly cold, but Miss Bishop 
 started out in good season to open the school house 
 and build the fire for the day. Making her own 
 path through the snow, she was somewhat damp 
 and chilled. It was with benumbed fingers that 
 she unlocked the door, troubled by a few stray 
 thoughts of the comfortable home she had left in 
 the east, where father, mother, brothers and sisters 
 would have shielded her from every drudgery like 
 this. 
 
 Banishing these thoughts, she resolutely entered 
 the house, and taking her little basket of kindlings, 
 she opened the door of the stove, which, to her 
 amazement, was filled to the brim with snow ! 
 
 Suspicious of observation from some unseen 
 quarter, she then calmly walked to the door, and 
 taking the water-pail and fire-shovel, patiently set 
 aboot taking out the snow, not one impatient look 
 upon her face, not one reproachful word. It was 
 too much for the invisible boys, who soon emerged, 
 very sheepishly, it must be confessed, from their 
 hiding places, and taking from her the pail and 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 29 
 
 shovel, soon repaired their mischief and built a 
 rousing fire. 
 
 Again and again, during the recess of that day, 
 Miss Bishop heard the children shouting triumph- 
 antly, "Miss Bishop — she can't mad! 
 
 Such self-control conveys a lesson which is not 
 soon forgotten. It is an evidence of inward strength. 
 
 MISCELLANY. 
 
 ALMS-GIVING IN ENGLAND IN THE OLDEN TIME. 
 The word " alms " would seem to have had a more 
 comprehensive, or at least a more pious significa- 
 tion, to our far-off Saxon ancestors, than to us. To 
 them, alms meant whatsoever was "freely given to 
 the poor for God's sake." 
 
 And a "dole" was simply the portion allowed to 
 an individual ; whereas, in our time, its usage is 
 frequently so perverted that the doling-out of any 
 thing is taken as a way of saying that one gives 
 reluctantly. From the very meaning of the word, 
 the dole, though it might have been small, could 
 not have been grudged; -it was the part, the share, 
 the allotment — "to dole" was to distribute. 
 
 In those days, before systematic charities were 
 organized on a large scale, the poor were dependent 
 upon the bounty of individuals. But beggars they 
 could not with absolute truthfulness be called; 
 since, as above implied, alms were not bestowed so 
 much because the poor asked for them, as in a kind 
 of recognition of their right — in other words, of 
 the obligation of the more favored to the less, and 
 in God's name. 
 
 There was a great multitude of this homeless, 
 landless, moneyless lower order all over the king- 
 dom ; in social grade below the small laborers, who 
 though likewise without ownership in a foot of soil, 
 and only tenants at will of their clay-floored cot- 
 tages, were better off, after the abolishment of the 
 system of villeinage, since they had wages, which 
 according to the historians, placed them on almost 
 as good ground as those of the same class at the 
 present time, all things considered. 
 
 From the days of the prosperous Saxon house- 
 holder — when the alms basket containing the rem- 
 nants of the meals was daily hung at the gate, from 
 which a certain number of the poor received their 
 food as regularly as the servants of the family, and 
 as if it were as much a matter of course, and when 
 the fair Saxon matrons carried a little money pouch 
 at their girdles, from which to dispense coin to the 
 needy whom they saw as they went abroad — a 
 crowd of such persons always hovered about the 
 ■doors of the rich, warmed themselves at the fire in 
 the great hall, and received their living at their 
 hands. Somewhere, among the rooms pertaining 
 to the kitchen arrangements, was a cupboard, where 
 broken victuals were put away and held in special 
 reservation for those who had no stores of their 
 own. As the almonarium, this little pantry of 
 benevolence was known; and it hardly need be 
 added that in such an establishment, where waste- 
 ful servants abounded, and where the master and 
 mistress had large hearts, its shelves were never bare. 
 
 The religious houses had a special room, in 
 
 which were kept supplies for the poor, designated 
 as the ambry, and there they were distributed by 
 the almoner, whose business it was to attend to this 
 matter. One place from which they were never 
 turned away, however abject, was the monastery. 
 The food might be coarse — monk's bread and bit- 
 ter herbs and barley broth — but, such as it was, 
 they were made welcome to it. 
 
 It was the complaint, after Henry VIII broke 
 up these places, that the country was overrun with 
 beggars — their best friends had been deprived of 
 the means to feed them. "By this act," says a 
 writer, "infinite works of charity .... were ut- 
 terly cut off and extinguished Many thou- 
 sands of poor people, who were actually fed, clad 
 and nourished, by the monasteries, now, like young 
 ravens, seek their meat from heaven. Every mon- 
 astery, according to its ability, had an ambery 
 (greater or less) for the daily relief of the poor 
 about them." 
 
 It was a noticeable feature that, on all special 
 occasions, even at funerals, the poor had provision 
 made for them — having their share, if not exactly 
 of the "baked meats," certainly of the bread — for 
 loaves were distributed to them at these mournful 
 times, called arvil bread in country phrase, from 
 a foreign word which they had taken into use and 
 incorporated into the mixed language, which was 
 slowly making up the Anglo-Saxon for Spencer 
 and Shakespeare. 
 
 But the great days for the poor, when they had 
 as much and as good as any man, were when the 
 coronation feastings were at their height. There 
 were instances when, for weeks, cooking was going 
 on under vast temporary sheds in London, and 
 everybody who came shared in the roast beef, the 
 fish and fowl, the ale and wine. Those were the 
 high carnival seasons for those who had nothing of 
 their own ; and, to add a yet higher happiness, 
 money was distributed to them, for the kings and 
 queens were not generally backward in these 
 matters. 
 
 Many of the English kings appear to us on the 
 pages of history as rather acting in the capacity of 
 beggars themselves, or at best as extortioners. In 
 general terms, it may be said that there was no end 
 to their calls for money. The perpetual recurrence 
 of pages upon pages about "supplies," "levies," 
 "subsidies," "loans," "imposts," makes a vast 
 amount of dry reading in the "History of England." 
 
 Nevertheless, though some were spendthrifts, 
 some parsimonious, some in a constant struggle 
 with the Parliament for more money, there was a 
 great deal of systematic liberality and private alms 
 giving on the part of royalty. On certain saints' 
 and other days, large sums were distributed by the 
 order of the king. Particular mention is made of 
 the provision for the poor in the reign of Henry 
 III. On a day in midwinter, when the dinner was 
 greatest, his treasurer was ordered to have fifteen 
 thousand poor fed in St. Paul's church-yard. In 
 the February following, another order was issued 
 for the feeding of as many as could get into the two 
 Westminster Halls; and yet again, in December 
 afterward, six thousand of the aged and feeble 
 were assembled for the same purpose in the same 
 halls, another multitude in the king's chamber, 
 and yet another in the queen's. 
 
30 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 He seems to have taken great delight in setting 
 out bounteous meals for this class of his subjects. 
 And, among the accounts of his wife, Eleanor of 
 Provence, are large sums for "feeding the poor," 
 and of " alms distributed daily by the wayside," 
 mixed in with the items of mantua-making and 
 small toilet wares, showing that it was her constant 
 practice to remember them in a substantial way. 
 
 One day this royal pair had all the poor children 
 in the neighborhood of the castle palace of Wind- 
 sor gathered from the highways and lanes, and all 
 the country round about — the little hedgelings and 
 cotters, and hovel-born, the "gutter children" of 
 that day — and brought into the grand hall and 
 feasted, there where kings and knights had ban- 
 queted. And it must have been one of the finest 
 sights which that storied abode of English royalty 
 has ever witnessed. 
 
 Then he had all his own children weighed in 
 public, and their weight in silver coin of the realm 
 scattered to the poor, that they might pray for the 
 souls of himself, his queen and the royal little ones. 
 The almoner of his household, as of many others 
 of the kings, found abundant employment in the 
 distribution of the benefactions of his master and 
 mistress. There were some curious customs per- 
 taining to his office; one of which was that he 
 should give the first dish from the king's table "to 
 whatever poor person he pleased," or its equivalent 
 in money. 
 
 Among the queens, we find one so much in debt 
 by reason of her charities that she had not the 
 means to replenish her wardrobe, and was conse- 
 quently obliged to have her gowns turned, when 
 they became faded and shabby, made over, new 
 waists put to them, new trimmings, and general 
 repairing done, to make old clothes look like new. 
 The unfortunate Catharine of Arragon, after her 
 separation from Henry, beguiled her weary days 
 by devotional acts, needle work and alms-giving. 
 And her more hapless successor, poor Anne Boleyn, 
 who was in so many respects thoughtless, and in 
 many more blamable, shows a bright side to her 
 character by her constant charities. She was so 
 unfeeling toward Catharine, with no heart of Ruth 
 for her sufferings as an outraged woman, wife, and 
 queen, was yet of so incongruous make that she 
 was all sympathy and tenderness for the needy. 
 She laid plans for bettering the condition of the 
 poor artisans; she gave away immense sums in 
 alms; out of her own pocket money had alms dis- 
 tributed "to every village in England," for the 
 poor. During her brief time as queen consort of 
 England, she accomplished much in this way. 
 Though a spoiled beauty and court favorite, with 
 her better instincts perverted by her early associa- 
 tions, as maid : of-honor, she was domestic and in- 
 dustrious, and, while she lived at Hampton Court, 
 as queen, divided her time between working at el- 
 egant tapestry with her ladies, and superintending 
 the making of garments for the poor. 
 
 It was a frecpient practice with the earlier Eng- 
 lish queens, in token of gratitude for some event — 
 as a thank-offering, or as a sacred duty, or in com- 
 pliance witli some vow — to found a small hospital 
 (or "spital," in the language of the time; which 
 word, commemorating some establishment of the 
 kind, is perpetuated in the names of squares, and 
 
 streets, and localities, such as Spitalfields and 
 others), where a certain number of poor, infirm, or 
 aged men or women, should be cared for; or to 
 make provision for a different class of the needy 
 who should receive a daily allowance for life, so 
 much money, bread, meat and beer — the arrange- 
 ment to be perpetual, a vacancy to be filled as soon 
 as it occurred. Some of the present charitable 
 institutions of England owe their origin to some 
 such kindly motive in the heart of a king or queen, 
 or person of less exalted position. — Afpleton's- 
 
 Journal. 
 
 m ^ ( , 
 
 THE RAIN-DROPS. 
 
 A fanner had a field of corn of rather large extent, 
 
 In tending which, with anxious care, much time and toil he' 
 
 spent; 
 But after working long and hard, he saw, with grief and; 
 
 pain, 
 His corn began to droop and fade because it wanted rain. 
 
 So sad and restless was his mind, at home he could not stop,. 
 But to his fields repaired each day, to view his withering 
 
 crop. 
 One day as he stood looking up, despairing, at the sky, 
 Two little rain-drops in the clouds his sad face chanced to. 
 
 spy. 
 
 " I feel so grieved and vexed," said one, " to see him look so. 
 
 sad, 
 I wish I could do him some good, indeed I should be glad. 
 Just see the trouble he has had, and if it should not. rain, 
 Why all his toil, and time, and care, he will have spent ih> 
 
 vain." 
 
 " What use are you !" cried number two, " to water so rnuclii 
 
 ground ? 
 You are nothing but a rain-drop, and could not wet one: 
 
 mound." 
 " What you have said," his friend replied, ''• I know Is very 
 
 true, 
 But I'm resolved to do my best, and more I cannot do. 
 
 " I'll try to cheer his heart a bit, so now I'm off'; here goes !"' 
 And down the little rain-drop fell, upon the farmer's nose. 
 " Whatever's that !" the farmer cried, "was it a drop of rain.?. 
 I do believe it's come at last ; I have not watched in vain !" 
 
 Now when the second rain-drop saw his willing friencL 
 
 depart, 
 Said he, " I'll go as well and try to cheer the farmer's heart.'" 
 But many rain-drops by this time had been attracted out 
 To see and hear what their two friends were talking about. 
 
 " We'll go as well," a number cried, " as our two friends are: 
 
 gone, 
 We shall not only cheer his heart, but water, too, his corn. 
 We're off! we're off!" they shout with glee, and down they 
 
 fell so fast. 
 " Oh, thank the Lord !" the farmer cried, " the rain has come- 
 
 at last." 
 
 The corn it grew and ripened well, and into food was. 
 
 dressed, 
 Because one little rain-drop said, " I'll try and do my best." 
 This useful lesson, working man, you'll not forget, I'm sure :. 
 Try, do your best, do what you can— angels can do no more.. 
 
 — British Workman.. 
 
 NIGHT.. 
 
 Mysterious night ! when our first parent knew 
 Thee from report Divine, and heard thy name, 
 Bid he not tremble for this lovely frame, 
 
 This glorious canopy of white and blue? 
 
 Yet 'heath a curtain of translucent dew, 
 Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, 
 Hesperus with the host. of heaven came, 
 
 And lo ! Creation widened in man's view. 
 
 Who could have thought-such darkness lay concealed: 
 Within thy beams, O Sun ? or who could find, 
 
 Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect stood revealed, 
 That to such countless orbs thou madest us blind ? 
 
 Why do we then shun death with anxious strife?. 
 
 If Light can thus deceive, wherefore not Life ! 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 A QLASS OF WINE. 
 
 Captain Marryat, who confessed that, while at 
 home in England, he was a " three-bottle man," 
 said a single bottle of wine in this country was too 
 much for him. He was disposed to think that 
 there was something so exhilarating in our atmos- 
 phere that each man who breathed it became 
 charged with such a degree of natural stimulus 
 that he was incapable of sustaining much addition 
 of artificial excitement. 
 
 Whether the air has much to do with it or not, 
 there can be no question that the power of endu- 
 ring the effect of intoxicating drinks is less in this 
 country than in many others. Lord Eldon is re- 
 ported to have drunk daily, after his dinner, a 
 whole bottle of full-bodied port wine, and, after 
 draining his last glass, to have turned to his moun- 
 tain of briefs, and prepared a legal argument or 
 judicial decision whose lucidity and soundness few 
 lawyers or judges have ever equaled. Where on 
 the bench or in the court of this country could be 
 found men, after such deep potations, capable of 
 adjusting and holding with a steady hand the scales 
 of justice? 
 
 It is the American temperament rather than the 
 American air which renders us all in this country 
 so sensible to the effects of artificial stimulants. 
 We are in a constant state of excitability from the 
 animation of our busy and progressive life, and the 
 intense and varying emotions engendered by its 
 constant fluctuations. It is a well known fact that 
 nervous excitement predisposes to intoxication. 
 It is not the deepest drinker, but the noisiest and 
 liveliest of the company, who is first under the 
 table. The Scotch proverb says: "Gin ye' re gaun 
 to drink, Sir, dinna ye talk muckle." Emotional 
 Ireland drinks less, according to the statisticians, 
 than England, but gets a great deal more drunk. 
 
 The mode and time of drinking have also much 
 to do with the effect produced. Even the simplest 
 food, when taken into a stomach which has been 
 long empty, will intoxicate. Captain Bligh records 
 that his men, after their long abstinence, having 
 been kept for twenty-five days on the twenty-fifth 
 of a pound of bread each daily, having eaten a few 
 oysters, showed all the effects of drunkenness. Dr. 
 Beddoes, a reliable medical authority, states that 
 men shut up for several days in a coal pit, without 
 anything to eat, will be as much intoxicated by a 
 basin of broth as ordinary persons by three or four 
 quarts of strong beer. The prevalent practice in 
 this country, therefore, of drinking on an empty 
 stomach, is more likely to produce intoxication and 
 habits of intemperance than that of taking strong 
 drink only at meals. " Eat a bit before you drink" 
 is an old English proverb, and a good one. 
 
 It is easy to establish this absolute rule in regard 
 to intoxicating beverages: No healthy man needs 
 them; but its application is more difficult, for it is 
 rare to find any human being in a perfectly whole- 
 some condition. The doctor, perhaps, is the best 
 judge of their necessity or usefulness. He, too, 
 should be cautious, for much of the habitual drunk- 
 enness of the country can be directly traced to his 
 imprudent prescriptions. His most common error 
 is to order spirits and strong wines where the weak- 
 er and less dangerous beverages would be equally 
 effective. 
 
 If people will insist upon drinking wine, they 
 had better confine themselves to the milder prod- 
 ucts of France, or those of our own country which 
 faithfully imitate them. Unfortunately there is an 
 idea prevalent among the wine merchants of Eu- 
 rope that Americans must have their wines strong, 
 and they are accordingly brandied to suit this sup-- 
 posed taste. This, too, is the fault of most of the - 
 native productions. While alcohol forms about • 
 one-fifth of the Clarets, Burgundies, Champagnes 5 
 and Rhenish wines drank in this country, it is-" 
 found in those of the same name consumed in the 
 countries which produce them only in the propor- 
 tion of one-twentieth or less. This alcohol, more- 
 over, is what naturally belongs to them, and is not 
 added, as is that which exists in most wines ex- 
 ported to the United States. 
 
 The idea used to be prevalent among mothers, 
 in which they were encouraged by their advisers, 
 whether doctors or old women, that a certain quan- 
 tity of alcoholic drink was essential to the proper 
 performance of nursing. "There is no evidence," 
 says a scientific man, "that alcohol can supply any 
 of the constituents of the milk or body." If 
 mothers, then, will drink their bowls of milk punch, 
 bottles of porter and glasses of port wine, they 
 should bear in mind that, however agreeable these 
 potations may be to themselves, they are not con- 
 ducive to the health and vigor of their offspring. 
 The experiment has been faithfully tried on cows, . 
 and it has been found that, however drenched with 
 " pot ale," as it is called, their milk was none the 
 richer for it. It contained more water, but no ad- 
 ditional quantity of curd. 
 
 If we followed the only indication nature has 
 given us of the proper fluid to be taken with our 
 food, we should all remain temperate and sober. 
 This natural drink is the saliva, which contains 
 ninety-nine and one-third per cent, of pure water; 
 and if we always kept to this proportion it would 
 matter little what went to make up the rest of the 
 one hundred. — Harper's Bazar. 
 
 AN ODD LITTLE BOOK. 
 
 Rummaging over the contents of a stall in a War- 
 dour Street alley, Charles Lamb lighted upon a 
 ragged duodecimo which had been the delight of 
 his infancy. The price, demanded was sixpence, 
 which the owner, a little squab duodecimo of a 
 character himself, enforced with the assurance that 
 his own mother should not have for a farthing less, . 
 supplementing the assertion with an oath, and 
 " Now I have put my soul to it !" Pressed by so 
 solemn an asseveration, which seemed to put him 
 upon a level with the stall-keeper's dearest rela- 
 tions, Elia could resist no longer, and depositing a 
 tester, bore away his tattered prize in triumph. 
 
 Lamb was rather disappointed with " the strange 
 delight of his infancy," when he came to examine 
 it with his older eyes; and well he might be, seeing 
 the £>ueen-likc Closet, as his treasure was called, 
 proved to be emphatically a lady's book, a hetero- 
 geneous collection of medical and culinary recipes, 
 hints on domestic matters, and instructions in decor- 
 ative needlework. Not very lively reading, it must 
 be owned, but, nevertheless, much more amusing 
 than a modern work of the same kind could possi- 
 bly be, Mrs. Hannah Woolly, the authoress of 
 
32 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 this quaint compendium, which she fitly terms " a 
 mixture of tilings," seems to have especially prided 
 herself upon her medical knowledge. She gained 
 some of it from her mother and sisters, who were 
 very well skilled in physic and chirurgery; and 
 learned a great deal more during her seven years' 
 .service in the household of a noble lady, who sup- 
 pled her with medical works, and allowed her the 
 command of her purse to buy whatever she needed 
 in the concoction of balsams, salves, ointments, 
 waters, oils and cordials. No wonder Hannah be- 
 came an adept at compounding cordials comforting 
 to the spirits, and distilled waters of various virtues, 
 among the last-named being a plague water, never 
 failing to work a cure, if taken before the heart 
 was utterly mortified with the disease; a water of 
 life, of which whosoever drank liberally, "should 
 live as long as nature continued in him ;" a palsy 
 water, strengthening and comforting all the animal, 
 natural and vital spirits, cheering the external 
 senses, strengthening the memory, and restoring 
 lost speech and appetite; and a very sovereign 
 water, warranted to keep the drinker in good 
 health, and make him appear young very long. 
 "With this water Dr. Chalmers preserved his own 
 life till extreme old age would sutler him neither 
 to go nor stand one whit, and he continued five 
 years after all physicians judged he could not 
 live. 
 
 Our authoress did not set up for a doctress all at 
 once. At first she contented herself with treating 
 such common, everyday accidents as cuts and 
 bruises, whitlows and felons, and simple aches and 
 pains. Then, rendered confident by experience, 
 reading, and intercourse with the best physicians 
 and chirurgeons England could afford, she ventured 
 to try her skill upon more complicated ailments. 
 At the age of twenty-four, she married the master 
 of the Saft'ron-Walden Free School, and doctored 
 his boarders and the poor folks for ten miles 
 around with great success, to say nothing of cur- 
 ing herself of the palsy, and her son of consump- 
 tion. Even hydrophobia did not prove too 
 much for her, for she avers she never failed to 
 cure man or beast by a nine days' inward and 
 outward application of a mixture of rue, garlic, 
 Venice treacle, muscadine and scraped pewter. 
 There was no society for the prevention of cru- 
 elty to animals in Charles II. 's time, or it might 
 have gone hard with Dr. Hannah. One of her 
 recipes begins: Take a red cock, pluck him 
 alive, slit him down the back, take out his en- 
 trails, cut him in quarters, aud bruise him in a 
 mortar. Another: Take a cat, cut off her ears 
 or her tail, and mix the blood thereof with a 
 little new milk. A kibed heel is to be made 
 whole by slaying a mouse alive, and laying the 
 skin upon the sore while still warm; and when 
 a sufferer from the falling sickness is under the 
 age of forty, he or she may be absolutely cured 
 by taking a live mole, cutting its throat over a 
 glass of white-wine, and giving the liquor so 
 fortified to the patient at the new and full of the 
 moon ; that is, the day before the new moon, 
 the day of the new moon, the day after, and so 
 at the full. There is no better thing in the 
 world for cancer or sore eyes than w r ood-lice 
 bruised in white-wine, for any drink made with 
 them will carry all evil and venomous humors 
 
 out of the body. Snails are especially to be re- 
 commended in consumptive cases, either in the 
 form of snail syrup, or roasted over a charcoal 
 fire in their shells, and bruised in white-wine, 
 with a pint of slit earthworms and sundry 
 herbs— uuless, indeed, one could indulge in the 
 expensive remedy, compounded of roses, coral, 
 pearl, amber and leaf-gold. If we would have 
 our hair thick and glossy, we cannot desire a 
 nicer pomatum than that made of yellow snails 
 and the caul of a new-killed lamb. If we would 
 keep our face smooth and clear, can we adopt a 
 pleasanter method than that of washing it every 
 night with brandy and flower of brimstone, and 
 next morning wiping it only with a cloth? It 
 is well to know we may rid a house of rats by 
 merely hanging a sponge, previously fried in 
 butter, up in the place they affect; that passion 
 of the heart may be cured with confection of 
 alkermes; and that mithridate — which we take 
 to be the compound of walnuts, figs, and rue 
 leafs, with which King Mithridates so impreg- 
 nated his system, that when he wished to poison 
 himself, he failed ignominiously — is so power- 
 ful a disinfectant, that, rubbed into the nostrils, 
 it will not suffer any infection to pass that 
 way. We are rather surprised at our lady doc- 
 tor's want of faith in remarking: "They who 
 have been touched by His Majesty, ought to do 
 something besides:" the something besides re- 
 solving itself into taking a medicine taught her 
 by one who cured himself of the king's evil 
 "when the king was absent from us;" but we 
 cannot but admire her manner of concluding 
 her instructions as to the making of oil of 
 charity — "Keep the clearest for Christians, and 
 the grounds for beasts." 
 
 In her capacity of cook, Mrs. Woolly catered 
 for Avell-to-do people. She gives us bills of fare 
 for banquets, and bills of fare " without feasting, 
 only such a number of dishes as are used in 
 great and noble houses for their own family, 
 and familiar friends with them." A couple of 
 examples will suffice to show what sort of din- 
 ners grand folks sat down to in the days of the 
 Merry Monarch. In summer time, the first 
 course might be: A boiled or baked pudding; 
 boiled chickens; stew r edcarp; a Florentine; a 
 calf's head, one half roasted, the other half 
 boiled; haunch of venison; venison pasty; a 
 couple of fat capons, or a pig. The second 
 course : Partridges ; artichoke pie ; quails ; cold 
 pigeon pie; soucedpig; salmon; tarts; a West- 
 phalia ham, and dried tongues about it. In 
 winter, the first course might consist of: Collar 
 of brawn; a capon and white broth; two 
 roasted neats' tongues, and an udder between 
 them; a chine of beef roasted; a shoulder of 
 mutton stuffed with oysters; a salad of divers 
 herbs and pickles ; eel pie ; three young turkeys 
 in a dish ; souced fish. The above to be fol- 
 lowed by a quarter of lamb roasted ; a couple 
 of rabbits; a kickshaw fried; mallard; cold 
 venison pasty; a dish of snipes; warden pie; 
 tarts ; sturgeon ; pickled oysters — cheeses of all 
 sorts, creams, jellies and sweetmeats coming 
 upon the table as soon as the meats were cleared 
 away. The total absence of soup, the lack of 
 vegetables, and the substantial nature of the 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 33 
 
 provender altogether, perhaps justifies the out 
 break: 'Who are so weak as our English people? 
 for they eat so much of meat, that they distemper 
 themselves with it ; whereas, if they did eat herbs, 
 roots, and plants more freely, it would be better for 
 them. Observe the diet of other nations, they 
 make savory meat,' and do not eat half so much 
 meat as we do!" We certainly are an obstinate 
 race in matters of eating and drinking; and we 
 fear all the lecturing in the world will not lessen 
 the consumption of meat in England by a single 
 beefsteak. 
 
 Swan, sturgeon, umble pie, eels and bacon, hog's 
 liver pudding, pies of carp, herrings, lampreys, 
 red-deer, oysters and parsnips, figure with tansies, 
 marchpanes and furmity, among the delicacies in 
 vogue at good tables at tbe end of the seventeenth 
 ■century. Legs of mutton were spiced and eaten 
 with chestnut sauce; currant and parsley sauce was 
 held the correct thing with leg of veal ; gooseberry 
 or grape sauce with chicken and rabbit; claret and 
 anchovey sauce with mutton chops; and mustard 
 and sugar was the favorite condiment. Currants 
 and raisins were necessary ingredients in many 
 fish and meat pies. Cream and eggs were used as 
 lavishly as though every house had its dairy and 
 poultry yard, and to cpiote Lamb, "everything, to 
 the meanest of meats, is sopped in claret, steeped 
 in claret, basted with claret, as if claret were as 
 cheap as ditch-water." Even chocolate could not 
 be made without it, for our instructress tells us to 
 boil half a pint of claret, scrape some chocolate 
 into it with the yolks of two eggs, and stir altogether 
 over a slow fire till it is thick, and then sweeten it 
 with sugar. Our ancestors were fond of sweets. 
 How many sorts of marmalade can we get now at 
 the shops? When housewives did their own pre- 
 serving, their cupboards held marmalades made 
 from oranges, lemons, apricots, wardens, damsons, 
 cherries, quinces, pippins, and "cornetians." For 
 winter desert they had dried pears and pippins, 
 candied oranges and lemons, citrons and eringo 
 roots, raisins, figs, prunes, pistachio nuts, blanched 
 almonds, and blanched walnuts; nor had they lost 
 the art of making metheglin and hippocras. Mr. 
 Pepys was once mightily pleased with a draught of 
 iced metheglin prepared for the king's own drink- 
 ing, and ventured to indulge in hippocras at the 
 Guildhall during one of his abstinent fits, not, how- 
 ever, without a little compunction, for in recording 
 bis belief that, to the best of his judgment, he had 
 only taken a mixed compound drink, and not any 
 wine, the worthy Secretary adds: "If I am mis- 
 taken, God forgive me!" 
 
 Servants would seem to have been ill-tutored 
 creatures wben the ^jieen-lihe Closet was written, 
 or its author would not have thought it necessary 
 to remind cooks they should be quiet in their office, 
 not swearing, cursing and wrangling; or instruct 
 the cook-maid not to dress herself, especially her 
 head, in the kitchen, or sit up junketing or gig- 
 gling with fellows when she should be in bed. 
 The butler is told to be careful to set the salts on 
 tbe table, and to lay a knife, spoon and fork at 
 every plate ; to see that his bread be chipped before 
 he brings it in, and to wash the glasses after anyone 
 has used them. The carver is warned against 
 touching the meat with his fingers, and if he should 
 
 chance to do so, to wipe them upon his napkin, not 
 lick them, which is unhandsome. All other ser- 
 vants, men and maids, are instructed to keep their 
 heads clean "kembed," and not to lean upon a 
 chair when waiting at table, for to lean on a chair 
 is a particular favor allowed only to a superior 
 servant. Neither may they hold the plates before 
 them to be defiled with their breath, nor, after re- 
 moving a dish, set it down for the dogs to eat of it, 
 nor eat of it themselves on their way; and when 
 the master or mistress "show the favor to drink to 
 any inferior, and command them to fill for them to 
 pledge them, it is not modesty for them to deny 
 strangers that favor, as they commonly do." While 
 she is sharp in reproving the faults of servants, Mrs. 
 Woolly gives admirable counsel to mistresses as to 
 the way they should treat their dependants ; there 
 is a true motherly ring in the advice: "If you find 
 a good and faithful nurse, one who has done her 
 duty to you in the care of your child, cherish her, 
 nourish her, and never think anything too much 
 that you can do for her." 
 
 Believing that if a thing is worth doing, it is 
 worth doing properly, Hannah is very severe upon 
 the abominations produced by workers with the 
 needle: "You may find in some pieces, Abraham 
 and Sarah, and many other persons of old time, 
 clothed as they go nowadays, and truly sometimes 
 worse; for they most resemble the pictures in bal- 
 lads. Let all ingenious women have regard, that 
 when they work any image, to represent it aright; 
 first, let it be drawn well, and then observe the 
 directions which are given by knowing men. I 
 do assure you I never durst work any Scripture 
 story without informing myself of the ground of 
 it; nor any other story, or single person, without 
 informing myself both of the visage and habit." 
 That her clients may avoid all such blunders, the 
 enthusiastic dame appends instructions respecting 
 the portrayal of the gods and goddesses of old time. 
 Jupiter must have long, black, curled hair, a purple 
 garment trimmed with gold, and sit upon a golden 
 throne, with bright yellow clouds about him. The 
 Months are to be represented in this wise: January, 
 clad all in white, blowing his nails; in his left arm 
 a billet. February, clothed in dark sky color. 
 March, with a fierce aspect, a helmet upon his head, 
 and leaning on a spade; a basket of garden seeds 
 in his left hand. April, in green, with a garland of 
 myrtle and hawthorn buds; winged; in one hand 
 primroses and violets. May, with a sweet and 
 lovely countenance, in a robe of white and green, 
 upon his head a garland of roses ; in the one hand 
 a nightingale, in the other a lute. June, in a 
 mantle of dark grass green ; garlanded with bents, 
 kingcups, and maidenhair; upon his arms a box of 
 seasonable fruit. July, in a jacket of light yellow, 
 eating cherries, on his head a wreath of centaury 
 and wild thyme ; a scythe at his shoulders, and a 
 bottle at his girdle. August, a young man of 
 choleric aspect, in a flame-colored garment, gar- 
 landed with wheat and rye, and carrying a basket 
 of ripe fruits. September, in a purple robe, with 
 merry countenance, upon his head a wreath of red 
 grapes, in his hand a handful of oats. October, in 
 yellow and carnation, with a garland of acorns and 
 oak leaves, bearing a basket of medlars, services, 
 and chestnuts. November, in changeable green and 
 
34 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 black; his head decked with an olive garland, 
 bunches of parsnips and turnips in his right hand. 
 December, with a horrid and fearful aspect, clad in 
 Irish rags; upon his head three or four night-caps, 
 and over them a Turkish turban; his nose red, his 
 mouth and beard clogged with icicles, at his back 
 a bundle of holly, ivy or mistletoe; on his hands, 
 furred mittens. 
 
 As two editions, at least, were published of the 
 £>tieeti-like Closet — for our copy is dated 1685, and 
 Elia's find 1681 — it is evident that the writer's 
 labors were appreciated by the ladies; at anyrate 
 she fully appreciated them herself, telling her 
 readers, if they failed to profit by her book, it was 
 their own fault. — Chambers' Journal. 
 
 ■* — » 
 
 OLD SALLY.* 
 Those who are familiar with the neighborhood 
 around Derwentwater Lake, are probably familiar, 
 too, with what local guides and drivers are in the 
 habit of recommending to the attention of strangers 
 as the Watendlath round. A very beautiful and 
 varied walk it is, turning off from the main road 
 about two miles from the town of Keswick, up a 
 steep hill commanding fine views of lake and moun- 
 tains, through woods, with young fir trees standing 
 knee-deep in tall heather — on into a secluded val- 
 ley full of peace and unpretending charm; past two 
 or three old farmhouses constituting the hamlet of 
 "Watendlath; up -a hill-side much steeper than the 
 first, and across a breezy common with a fine pros- 
 pect of the Scawfell range, and the deep green, cup 
 like vale of Seathwaite at its feet. Sometimes these 
 highest of our English mountains look "low and 
 positive" enough, but seen through the silver mist 
 of an autumn day, they rise almost to sublimity, 
 and as the narrow path between the heather de- 
 scends, and glimpses of them are caught through a 
 thin yellow vail of larch branches, their beauty may 
 well enchant even the rapid tourist fresh from great- 
 er things, still more the quiet dweller in their midst, 
 who knowing and loving them well, is yet from 
 time to time startled and amazed, to see what glori- 
 ous, what magical aspects they can assume. 
 
 On such a glorifying day in autumn, seven years 
 ago, I was passing through the larch wood on my 
 way to rejoin the main road near the village of 
 Kosthwaite, when a tall, gaunt figure of a woman, 
 hard-featured in the extreme, standing beside a cot- 
 tage door below my path, suddenly called out "Good 
 day to you;" and then by way of introduction, 
 "I'se the Avoman who takes care of th' auld wo- 
 man ;" and again, seeing, I suppose, that my face 
 remained blank, " Maybe ye'd like to go in and see 
 th' auld woman; there's a deal of strangers goes to 
 see her." "Would she like it, do you think?" 
 "Oh, ay, I dare say. Auld Sally's always well 
 pleased to see strangers." I stood for a moment 
 undecided, then went into Sally's abode. It was an 
 old, a very old cottage, whitewashed and bare, yet 
 even externally rude and slanting enough to be 
 called by that uncomfortable word picturesque, and 
 inside rendered really striking by the great black 
 and cadaverous chimney, once common to the dis- 
 trict, open to the top, and well hung with brawny 
 flitches and hams, growing brown and well flavored 
 
 * " Borrowdale in the Old Time, as gathered from the Con- 
 versation of the late Sarah Yewdale." E. Bailey, Keswick. 
 
 in the smoke from the large log slowly consuming 
 on the small projecting grate. The room had but 
 one dim window, and, as the bank rose steeply just 
 before it, it was a dark, not to say dismal, room, 
 with a small bed in its darkest part, three or four 
 chairs, an old oak chest, a small table holding a 
 great Bible; on the hob a saucepan and a short 
 black pipe, and over the fire a little old woman, 
 bent nearly double, apparently expostulating with 
 herself in a loud, cheery, deep bass voice. 
 
 We fell easily into talk. Even then Sally was 
 quite accustomed to visits from strangers, though 
 her full renown as "Queen of Borrowdale" came 
 later on, when she neared more closely the brink of 
 her hundred years. She told me in this first inter- 
 view that she was ninety-three or ninety-four, or 
 thereabouts; she did not know for certain; that she 
 lived quite alone, had no relations living near, if 
 anywhere; that she cooked her own dinner, and 
 "mostly did for herself," "her that's next door"' 
 coming in daily to carry water, make the bed, &c, 
 and that all her friends and neighbors were very 
 kind and helpful. When I rose to go away she 
 tottered after me to the door, calling out that I was 
 to be sure and look in soon again, not that she 
 wanted anything, but "just a crack." And that 
 was my first introduction to the dear old soul, of 
 whom afterwards I saw so much. 
 
 But all this, it may be fairly said, is intolerably 
 common-place, and I must make haste to prove that 
 this old Cumberland woman deserves a record any 
 more than others who reach extreme age in respect- 
 able obscurity. Indeed, I may fail in proving it, 
 but the fault will be my own. I am, however, quite 
 determined not to dress out my subject — not to at- 
 tempt to make Sally Yewdale brighter or better, or 
 in any way more exceptional than she was. 
 
 Sally had not always been dependent on a weekly 
 half-crown from the parish, on the chance offering 
 of tourists, and the more constant and infinitely 
 more precious kindness shown her by the neigh- 
 bors — her own people, among whom she had dwelt 
 all her days. Sally had had a nice little property 
 of her own. A small cottage with two good fields 
 tapering down to the clear river, and bordered on 
 the road side by well-grown oak trees. Here she 
 had lived with her parents in far-away years; and 
 it must have been early in the present century that 
 she sold the small freehold to a lady well known in 
 the neighborhood, and much liked and esteemed, I 
 believe; at all events an intimate friend and con- 
 stant correspondent of Southey's, which is evidence 
 in her favor. This lady built a strange ramshackle 
 kind of a house, with an exquisite view, close to 
 the site of Sally's home, and for some years em- 
 ployed her in her service, and no doubt duly paid 
 her the interest of the purchase money. The capi- 
 tal Sally considered safer and better in her mis- 
 tress' hands than in her own. Probably it was 
 during these years that a hundred pounds were 
 lent to a pencil manufacturer at Keswick, and lost 
 when he became bankrupt. To have managed her 
 affairs by the aid of a lawyer Sally would have 
 considered a foolish expense. Borrowdale people 
 were accustomed to trust each other's word. Here, 
 however, I do not know the progress of affairs with 
 any minuteness. No wrong, Ave may be sure, Avas. 
 meant, yet grievous Avrong got done. The pleasure. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 35 
 
 of building, especially of being one's own architect, 
 is proverbially hazardous. Tlien came the lady's 
 marriage — a late marriage and to a foreigner — not 
 we may presume, a prudent step. I speak of long 
 years past, and there aae none to be pained by what 
 I tell. The outcome of it all was, that the lady in 
 question left the country in much embarrassment, 
 that later the interest ceased to come in, that the 
 property was mortgaged to strangers, that for Sally, 
 then an aged woman, there would have been noth- 
 ing for it but to move away from the home of a 
 lifetime into the imprisonment of a workhouse, had 
 it not been for the kindness of one of her village 
 friends, who cleared out his potatoes from an old 
 cottage of his, and gave it to be her shelter. 
 
 I am not going to moralize about the carelessness 
 that might have proved so direful ly cruel in its 
 effects, but if this incident could but bring home to 
 one kindly heart prone to the laissez alter in mat- 
 ters of business, the hideously unjust, mean, bar- 
 barous course which we may any of tts slip into, if 
 once we relax in strenuous efforts to live within our 
 means (a thing not to be done without effort, be the 
 means what they may), why this sketch will have 
 justified its appearance in the Sunday Magazine. 
 
 A pleasanter subject of thought is the way in 
 which Sally bore the wrong done her. It is this 
 which stamps her a really remarkable character. 
 How many would have been wholly unable to for- 
 give such a wrong at all ! How many more would 
 have acquired the habit of self-complacently deal- 
 ing out a verbal forgiveness without attaining to 
 the higher achievement of forgetting, nay, wit Ik nit 
 wishing to attain to it! Dear old Sally, on the 
 contrary, habitually forgot all about the matter! 
 If she ever reverted to it (and site seldom did so 
 spontaneously), it was but to say that the lady, 
 whose cleverness she delighted to extol, and whose 
 
 memory she never ceased to love — that " Miss B 
 
 was one as never knew how to deal with money, 
 poor thing," with no more censure than if money 
 had been a bolting horse — too hard in the mouth 
 for the control of a lady's hand. "There's all sorts 
 of maks, ye ken," she would conclude, and then 
 quite naturally turn away to another subject. Sure- 
 ly an heroic way of bearing a severe reverse of 
 fortune. For this old ( 'umberland woman not only 
 had all the sturdy independence of her race, but its 
 tendency to lay full stress upon what she called 
 "having enough of the world." And those of us 
 who have noticed and regretted in any of our 
 friends, or, still more, who have detected in our- 
 selves the dangerous fascination of a chronic griev- 
 ance — how thought and speech tend to circle more 
 or less closely round it, till the one who has been 
 wronged takes as morbid a pleasure in exacerbating 
 the sense of wrong as a wild animal in spreading 
 by tooth and claw the sore that unfretted would 
 long ago have healed — all such, I maintain, are 
 bound to honor and admire the healthy tempera- 
 ment that could throw off the temptation to whine 
 and revert — to regret or complain; and this not 
 through moral obtuseness either, for once I heard 
 her say, " I'd sooner it had been done to me than 
 ha' done it mysel';" but that she liked better to 
 look on the pleasant than the gloomy side of life, 
 on the good things left rather than on those taken 
 away. 
 
 Another of Sally's delightful peculiarities was 
 her power of attention and of sympathy. This is 
 not very common in any class, but rarest, of course, 
 in the least cultivated, and especially rare in ex- 
 treme old age, one of whose chief penalties is just 
 a necessity of self-repetition, self-reference, and an 
 incapability of "living in the experience of others." 
 Now from this penalty Sally was singularly free. 
 She threw herself with keen interest into the cir- 
 cumstances of other people — people she had never 
 seen before and would never see again; made 
 shrewd guesses as to their characters, or rather, as 
 she called it, "their mak," could read with those 
 shrunken eyes of hers the trace of past sorrow on 
 a smiling face, and could remember both the facts 
 told her and the inferences she had drawn. She 
 hardly ever confused names even. To be sure, her 
 range of inquiry was not a wide one. She cared 
 not at all what opinions people held— religious or 
 otherwise — nor had she much interest in hearing 
 of the different places they came from; how should 
 she who had hardly ever been out of Borrowdale, 
 and to whom strange places were only hard words? 
 What she cared for chiefly was the nature of one's 
 family ties — 
 
 " Have you a father, have you a mother, 
 Have you a sister, have you a brother ?" 
 
 and, also, have you, or has that friend of yours 
 "enough of the world, poor thing?" I am bound 
 to admit that to Sally Yewdale this last was a mat- 
 ter of special interest. Her imagination dwelt a 
 good deal upon money; not that she eared more for 
 the rich friend than the poor, but that if she liked 
 you she would gladly have had you rich, or even 
 had you supposed rich, that you might rise the 
 higher in Borrowdale estimation. In the abstract 
 she would readily admit that "it did na' mak so 
 much odds sac long as a body lies a' they want;" 
 but to come to particulars, a large income seemed 
 to her a pleasant thing even to hear of, and all in- 
 comes whatever a perfectly legitimate subject of 
 inquiry, and yet a matter too solemn for random 
 talk. Had the dear old soul ascertained how little 
 some of her special friends were rich upon, I am 
 quite sure the knowledge would never have spread 
 beyond her cottage wall. 
 
 Since therefore Sally was sympathizing, clear- 
 headed, and discreet, it stands to reason that she 
 was universally popular. One hardly ever found 
 her alone. The farmers around — slow-witted them- 
 selves — found great enjoyment in smoking their 
 pipe in Sally's dark room, and hearing her sallies 
 of humor and laughter. "Ay, a} r , I mak 'em all 
 keck," she would say, and then add with jnst self- 
 appreciation, "What! there's a power of crack in 
 me yet." And this was the general impression, so 
 that Sally held her receptions daily. Not only was 
 she a chronicle of the olden times, could tell grey- 
 bearded men the annals of the parish when their 
 fathers were young, but she could and did comment 
 racily and judiciously on flie parish proceedings of 
 the present day. And she had a keen though 
 kindly eye for a foible, and if a neighbor did a 
 silly thing it was pretty sure to be carried to Old 
 Sally, and she would "tell her mind on it." But 
 privileged person as she was, and free to "tell them 
 all her mind and not be afeared of any van o' them," 
 it was her mind only that rJie told. Nobody could 
 
36 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 be more free from that deadly sin of quoting the 
 the censure of a third person. No mischief-making 
 could ever be laid at her door. By some special 
 grace of "niak," to use her own word, she was ex- 
 empt from that gangrene of village life (would that 
 it never spread beyond), unscrupulous repetition of 
 unfriendly comments or unflattering opinions. 
 
 Nor was it only the more mature men who took 
 counsel with Sally's wisdom over their pipes and 
 hers, but rosy-cheeked girls and stolid lads were to 
 be found sitting silent and open-mouthed before 
 her, while she lectured them for their good. Little 
 children too were fond of toddling into her dark 
 room, and it was pretty to see them with their clean 
 Sunday faces, carrying in some share of a savory 
 Sunday disli sent her by their mothers. Sally was 
 very fond of "the barns," and pleasantly the smile 
 on her furrowed face answered the half wonder, 
 half awe on theirs. 
 
 For old as Sally was, she had not outlived the 
 keen edge of her affections. Where she loved she 
 loved fervently still ; nor had she outlived tears. 
 We all know Tennyson's pathetic poem of "The 
 Grandmother," and how true it is that aged eyes 
 seldom weep, though long ago they "could have 
 wept witli the best." But a hundred years had not 
 dried up the emotional element in this dear soul's 
 nature. She wept when she spoke of her mother, 
 of her meekness, her worth, of her last thought and 
 only regret at death: "Sarah, I shall not know 
 what's coming of you." She wept on parting with 
 her favorite friends. I have often felt the warm 
 tears gush down the grinkled cheeks on kissing her 
 and saying good-bye. And she would weep a little 
 too in contemplating her own end. "For," as she 
 once told me, "some folk think I mini be tired of 
 living; but a' can tell 'em life's sweet at ninety- 
 seven." It was not, however, so much a reluctance 
 to die as the play of her own imagination that 
 moved her. "Ay, to be sure, when I'm gone, there 
 will be a change here. They all say there'll never 
 be sic a wonder again. What the Lord has done 
 for me, to he sure! But I canna' bide much longer, 
 hinny, I canna'," and then the voice would break 
 with that vague and tender emotion common to us 
 all:— 
 
 " No more by thee my steps shall be 
 Forever and forever." 
 
 "The place that knows us shall know us no more." 
 Sarah Yewdale had never married. I used to 
 wonder why, for she told me she was " varra bonny" 
 in youth, and the general tradition confirms the 
 fact of looks far beyond the average, and what was 
 perhaps even more admired, singular activity and 
 lissomeness (only two days ago her old neighbor 
 and "help," whose reminiscenses of more than 
 seventy years back rise in value now that Sally's 
 far clearer ones can no longer be heard, told me 
 she "minded Sally leaping over a six-barred yett 
 (gate), she was that lish"). I once tried to moot 
 tli is delicate question in the early years of our 
 friendship, got a dignified rebuke, not adminis- 
 tered directly, but in the form of quotation from an 
 answer made by her to some other curious imper- 
 tinent. However, on a later occasion, she spontan- 
 eously poured out "the old, old story." She might 
 have "bettered herself" often, but in her mother's 
 lifetime she would never have left her for that ; 
 
 and then — "there's the many and there's the one 
 ye ken," and "if things had come about as they 
 should, she would have married himP He was 
 quite a "better sort o' man, and sic a scholar." 
 What the hitch was she did not tell me, but her 
 pale sunken eye lit up as she said, "The best on it 
 is he never married either." "And you often think 
 of him, Sally?" "Ay, that I do. By night when 
 I canna' slee — it's all as if it had been yesterday." 
 In that dark corner, on that grimy pallet, thoughts 
 of youth came back to light up the vigils of her 
 great age, and she was again "varra bonny" and 
 beloved! She never complained of the nights 
 being long, though to others it often seemed appal- 
 lingly dreary that she should lie there all alone in 
 the darkness, with a stick beside her to rap, if need 
 be, on the wall of the neighboring cottage, and 
 wake up the inmates — the already aged woman 
 who was paid sixpence a week by the parish for 
 such attendance as she rendered, and a "feckless" 
 brother. But these tilings did not, I trust, make 
 the same impression on her mind. She often said 
 how warm and good her blankets were, and once, 
 in answer to some condolence of mine, I remember 
 an unusual burst of expression, not, I am sure, of 
 mere feeling, "Is not my Lord and Saviour with 
 me ?" 
 
 It pleases me to remember how many sources of 
 happiness this dear old woman had. "Honor," if 
 not obedience, and "troops of friends." The answer 
 of a good conscience too, and a sustaining sense of 
 influence and usefulness. She was a bond of union, 
 a centre of common interest to all the district, and 
 she knew it. Many a purse-proud and boorish 
 nature got at a ray of better light through her out- 
 spokenness. It did all good to care for her and 
 minister to her, and respect her as "the Queen of 
 Borrowdale." Then — "circumstances being plas- 
 tics'—her dismal cottage gave her the pleasant sense 
 of home and hospitality. How carefully she would 
 choose for a visitor the least rickety of her chairs, 
 and set it in the fullest blaze the smouldering log 
 on her fire-place could afford. Nor did she ever 
 suffer from a mortifying consciousness of poverty. 
 Indeed she often declared "she had all she wanted" — 
 is there a better definition of wealth? She never 
 turned away a beggar from her door — very wrong, 
 no doubt, if she had but known it, but at all events 
 very pleasant and cheering for her. A dubious- 
 looking tramp got his halfpenny and away with 
 him; a well-spoken man, or a woman, were had in 
 for a sit by the fire and an exchange of "crack." 
 Sally believed that there was no taking her in, and 
 melted over the narrative of their distress as per- 
 fectly authentic. Indeed she was a discerner of 
 spirits, and of all the friends it was my pleasure to 
 take and introduce to her, she invariably liked the 
 highest natures best. Dare I after this hint that 
 she was fond of me, that she often nudged me with 
 her sharp elbow, and repeated her saying about 
 "the one and the many." But this was because 
 she saw me so often, and so entirely realized my 
 fondness for her. "Mind you come soon again," 
 she invariably said. "I shall want you if I'm 
 taken badly;" and not seldom, "I shall want you 
 by me when I'm liggin there at the last." 
 
 When that last came I was far away. It came 
 less gently than might have been expected, for life 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 37 
 
 was tenacious still in the withered frame. There 
 was a severe fit, and three or four days of struggle 
 and suffering. She sometimes rambled, and then 
 she sang the hymns her mother had taught her. 
 But generally she was perfectly conscious, knew all 
 her friendly neighbors, saw them round her bed 
 with pleasure, and bade them farewell. She re- 
 membered absent friends too. But I could never 
 obtain such circumstantial details of the parting as 
 I wished for. The neighbors were more eloquent 
 on the subject of the funeral. In common with 
 the rest of her class, Sally would have shrunk 
 more from a pauper's funeral than from any amount 
 of privation during life. She had long "laid by" 
 in anticipation of that; often mentioned that that 
 was provided for and all settled with the true friend 
 who had given her his cottage for a home. And I 
 have been told again and again that it was a "grand 
 funeral." She died in the February of 1869, and 
 there were pale spring flowers placed in profusion 
 on and around the substantial coffin, and so she lay 
 in calm state, unchanged till the lid was closed, 
 while all Borrowdale came to look its last at her, 
 and to follow her to the grave. And now she lies 
 in a quiet churchyard, folded in by her native hills; 
 and as 1 stood there the other day, the autumn sun 
 lighting up her head-stone, I found myself wishing 
 the dear soul could have known there would rise 
 that memorial of her there; for mostly the green 
 mounds are unmarked, and in the course of time 
 the sleeping-place of the loved departed grows hard 
 to distinguish. And Sally would dearly have 
 liked her name to be held in remembrance by 
 children's children in the dale that had known her 
 so long. The stone was put up by a friend from 
 across the Atlantic, who fully appreciated the worth 
 and originality of the old Cumberland woman. It 
 testifies to the universal respect in which she was 
 held, and no truer word was ever inscribed over 
 any grave. It also records of Sarah Yewdale that 
 she was 
 
 "aged one hundred." 
 I believe that her exact age was ninety-nine, but 
 the temptation to carve the round number on the 
 stone is quite intelligible. 
 
 And now I must quote a passage from the little 
 book mentioned at the bottom of the first page. 
 It has had great popularity. Two editions have 
 been exhausted, and another is preparing. Those 
 who take an interest in the Cumberland dialect, as 
 well as in the one whose talk it records, cannot do 
 better than procure it; for the spirit of Old Sally's 
 discourse and the vernacular in which she indulged 
 are admirably rendered. I choose a characteristic 
 reminiscence, which will give a good idea of the 
 amount of drollerv that endured with her to the 
 last. 
 
 "Ay what we were alius a merry-hearted fwok 
 when we met togidder, an' gay brecks theear war 
 amang us at times, but nivver nowt 'at was nasty 
 or low-lifed. Yan could jwoke an' tak' a jwoke i' 
 them days, an' mebbe a' wasn't alius clear mesel o' 
 t' mischeefs 'at war deuan. A' can mind on 't as 
 't nobbit yesterday. Theear was gart Wilson o' f 
 Truss Yatts — it was a farm-hoose than — him an' 
 his auhl wife an' three sarvants — twow lads an' a 
 lass. jSoo, ye see, gart Wilson was a terrible body 
 for alius sturrin and prowen at f mwornins before 
 
 udder fwok war up. Many a time be five o'clock 
 of a cold winter mwornin w' t' snow o' t' grund an' 
 t' varra stars frozen like ice-shockles, wad them 
 twow poor lads hae been hammerin' away wi' ther 
 flails reet i' t' mid-mang o' us, an' makken o' t' 
 deurs ring agaen when we war aw' i' bed. Ye may 
 be sure theear war laale rust for you efter that. 
 Sae twow or three ov us young fwok put oor heeads 
 togidder to see how we could tak oor pennorths oot 
 ov' him. His awn lads war riddy eneuf to help 
 us, an' van o' them was a regler teul. It was ya 
 Sunday neet i' t' deep o' winter, an' t' lads went 
 hame a laale bit afwore midnight, peeaklen in as 
 whisht as mice. Noo, what sud they deua but put 
 t' clock tull varra nar five. They'd hardly weel 
 gitten up into t' loft when t' clock streuk, an' up 
 gits t' maister an' gangs tu t' stairs feut, shooten, 
 'Lads! lads! er ye nat ganna get up, ye gart liggy- 
 beds?' T' lads were seun doon, an' laiten t' lantern, 
 teuk off tu t' leeathe, an' began batten away wi' 
 their flails as if they'd a melder to thresh for ther 
 poddish. Than t' lass com doon, rubben her een 
 an' glowerin at t'clock. Hur an' her maister mud 
 gae an' milk, but laale milk wad t' coos give. 
 Than t' auld fellah mucked coo-hoose oot, an' they 
 bed their poddish. Be that 't was nar eight by t' 
 clock, but nae sign o' day an' naebody else astur. 
 Nine o'clock com an' ten o'clock, but still it was as 
 dark as pick, an' t' poor auld man was gitten varra 
 uneasy in his mind. At last he was fairly deun, 
 an' could hod oot nae langer, for t' varra darkness 
 o' t' skies freetened 'im an' he thowt it wad nivver 
 be day again. Sae he creept away t' bed, whor t' 
 auld wife was liggen as snug as a bee an' as warm 
 as a bannock. Waukenin up an' feelin 'im aw' 
 dodderen beside hur, ses she, ' Loave an' day, 
 Jwhony, what's the matter? Thoo's as cauld as 
 clay, an' shakken like an esp leaf. An' what's 
 them twow lads makken seek a noration at this 
 time o' mwornen?' 'Mwornen!' says he, 'it's ten 
 o'clock, an nae dayleet. A' doot, thoo, 'at t' 
 world's at a end. A' wadn't hae minded if 'a 
 hedn't limed Creuak last year, for we'll nivver get 
 any good o't.' " — Sunday Magazine. 
 
 # »> » 
 
 THE MOTHER'S STRATAGEM. 
 (an infant playing near a precipice.) 
 
 While on the cliff with calm delight she kneels, 
 And the blue vales a thousand joys recall, 
 
 See, to the last, last verge her infant steals. 
 O, fly ! — yet stir not, speak not, lest it fall. 
 
 Far better taught, she lays her bosom bare, 
 
 And the fond boy springs back to nestle there. 
 — Leonides of Alexandria, {Greeh). Translation of Samuel 
 
 Rogers. 
 
 4 i» » 
 
 Oldest Timber in the World. — The timber 
 found in the ancient temples of Egypt is known to 
 be at least 4,000 years old. Probably the oldest 
 in the world which has been subjected to the use 
 of man. The only wood used in the construction 
 of the temple is in the form of ties, holding the 
 end of one stone to another in its upper surface. 
 The ties appear to be the tamarisk orshittim wood, 
 of which the ark was constructed, a sacred tree in 
 ancient Egypt, and now very rarely found in the 
 Valley of the Nile. These ties are said to be just 
 as sound now as on the day of their insertion. 
 
38 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 \nt &crgp 
 
 We shall be pleased to receive contributions 
 from any of our readers, for this department, that 
 have the essence of wit in them, and can be printed 
 without offense. A story, now and then, that will 
 shake the sides and drive away dull care, is by no 
 means the most unprofitable reading. The hearty 
 laugh gives life to the soul and health to the 
 body. Says Frederick William Robertson, "That 
 man is a bad man who has not within him 
 the power of a hearty laugh." We shall en- 
 deavor to give all, just provocation to "laugh 
 and grow fat," presenting each month a vari- 
 ety of talcs and anecdotes adapted to the vari- 
 ous tastes of a multitude of readers. Help us, 
 kind friends, with your contributions. We invoke 
 your assistance. 
 
 The following is the latest we have on Darwinism, 
 and will be new to the readers of Oun Scrap Book, 
 as we are confident it has not hitherto been in print 
 in this country: 
 
 A Darwin philosopher was brought before a just- 
 ice on a charge of drunkenness. In defence, he 
 said, "Your worship I am a Darwinian, and have, 
 I think, discovered the origin of my unfortunate 
 tendency. One of my remotest grandfathers was 
 an anthropoid of a curious turn of mind. One 
 morning, about 4,391,633 B. c, he was looking over 
 his store of cocoanuts, and he picked up one for his 
 breakfast in which the milk had fermented. He 
 drank the liquor and got gloriously drunk, and 
 ever after he always kept his cocoanuts until fer- 
 mentation took place. Judge, then, whether a 
 tendency, handed down through innumerable an- 
 cestors, should not be taken in my defence." Cast- 
 ing a sarcastic look at the prisoner, the justice said, 
 "1 am sorry that the peculiar arrangement of the 
 atoms of star dust resulted in giving me a disposi- 
 tion to sentence you to pay a fine of five shillings 
 and costs." 
 
 The following incident was recently related by a 
 layman in one of his discourses, as illustrative of the 
 modern practice of spiritualizing texts of Scripture, 
 and giving them a meaning foreign to that intended 
 by the inspired writers: 
 
 A young preacher, a graduate of one of the theo- 
 logical schools of the country, preached a very nice 
 discourse from the following words: "Then fearing 
 lest they should have fallen upon rocks, they east 
 four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the 
 day," (Acts 27: 29.) 
 
 Said the young preacher, "The ship represents 
 the church. The four anchors are faith, hope, love 
 and prayer. Christians are the crew. The sea 
 represents the great ocean of life. The storm that 
 prevailed is the trials to which we are incident 
 here, and the island of Melita, where 'they all es- 
 caped to land,' means heaven." The preacher 
 dwelt with becoming fervency on the importance 
 of casting out the anchors, — faith, hope, love and 
 prayer, the necessity of abiding in the ship in 
 order to be sav.ed, and the consolation to lie found 
 in the fact that not a hair of their heads should be 
 
 hurt, but that they (the members of the church) 
 should all reach the shore in safety. The preacher 
 concluded by asking one of our aged preachers, 
 whom he had invited into the pulpit out of respect 
 to his grey hairs, to close the meeting with a few 
 remarks. " The old brother arose, and placing his 
 hands as if giving him a phrenological examina- 
 tion, proceeded in his plain, uneducated style sub- 
 stantially as follows: 
 
 "My young brother, you've preached a mighty 
 purty discourse to-day, but I'm afeared you've made 
 some awful big mistakes. You said that the ship 
 meant the church. II' that's so, we haven't got no 
 church now, for the ship was all smashed to pieces 
 ami destroyed. You also said that the four anchors 
 were faith, hope, love and prayer. If that's so, we 
 liaint got any faith, hope, love and prayer in the 
 church, as they have been cast out. And you said 
 that Christians are the crew. If that's so, they are 
 a mighty blood-thirsty set, for they wanted to kill 
 Paul. You also told us that the island of Melita 
 meant heaven. Well, if that's true, heaven must 
 be a mighty snaky place, as one bit Paul as soon as 
 lie Landed." 
 
 It is stated, as a historical fact, that the young 
 preacher was never known to preach that "purty" 
 discourse again, in that known region of country. 
 
 Some years ago when horse-back riding was 
 more common than now, two travelers were jour- 
 neying on horse-back through the state of . 
 
 In passing over a stony, sterile region, with here 
 and there a dwarfish shrub and sickly tuft of grass, 
 they chanced to ride by a little cabin. One of the 
 travelers said to the other, "I pity the man that 
 lives here; he must be very poor." The occupant 
 of the cabin overheard the remark, and came out, 
 saying, "Gentlemen, I want you to know that I am 
 not so poor as you think. I dorit own this land!' 
 
 A capital story is told of a person belonging 
 to the genus bore. While in company with a plain 
 citizen, walking in the woods, they chanced to be 
 overtaken by a heavy shower. Supposing it would 
 lie of brief duration, they took refuge under an 
 oak, where the bore button-holed the citizen, and 
 renewed his attack. The rain, however, did not 
 cease, and the citizen becoming quite wet, expressed 
 a wish to flee to the nearest house. "Oh, no!" re- 
 plied bore, "don't go yet, there are flenty more 
 trees around here, let' 's go under another :" 
 
 ( >liveFv W'exdell Holmes, the poet, humorist, 
 etc., although sixty-five years old, is as happy in 
 the application of caustic as ever. At the funeral 
 of a tame bear, near Boston, a few weeks ago, 
 which was attended by several hundred persons, an 
 invitation to be present, was sent to the "Autocrat 
 of the Breakfast Table," who responded in the fol- 
 lowing clever note: 
 
 Dear Sir: — Many thanks for your polite invitation to 
 attend the obsequies of the lamented plantigrade. I am 
 sorry that it will not be in my power to be present on the 
 melancholy occasion. I have a great respect for bears. 
 since those two female ones taught the little children of 
 Bethel and of Belial that they must not be rude to elderly 
 persons. I think a loose bear or two might be of service in 
 our community, and I regret much the loss of an animal 
 who might have done so much as a moral teacher for the 
 young of this city and its suburbs. I am, dear sir, yours 
 verv truly, . 0. W. HOLME*. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 39 
 
 Some people have the disagreeable habit of find- 
 ing fault with everything they see. A good story 
 is told of a fellow at a cattle show, who was 
 making himself ridiculously conspicuous in this 
 direction. At last he burst forth with " Call these 
 'ere prize cattle; why they ain't nothing to what 
 our folks raised. My father raised the biggest calf 
 of any man round our parts!" I don't doubt it," 
 was the timely remark of a by-stander, "and the 
 noisiest." 
 
 A correspondent depicts, in a lively manner, 
 the state of society in a certain locality in Arkan- 
 sas, as follows: 
 
 There was a "big wedding" in town the other 
 night; the chivalry gathered from far and near, 
 and all the gentlemen, from a bishop down, became 
 slightly intoxicated, which is a part of the cere- 
 mony in this part of the country. ( )ld Aunt Sylvia, 
 our colored cook, hearing of the "big doings" over 
 the way, expressed herself in this wise: "Lor," she 
 says, "what is the use of making such a fuss when 
 a body u'ets married? It's all just foolish nonsense, 
 so it is ! Why, / had three husbands, and nebber 
 ■was married yet ! 
 
 The following is told of an original character, 
 known as Uncle Solon. This individual was in 
 the habit of getting staggering drunk, and going- 
 home in that condition. Sometimes his wife would 
 receive him with open, loving arms, and sometimes 
 feel like resenting such usage, and administer to 
 him severe punishment. But Uncle Solon had a 
 never-failing barometer which he made use of on 
 such occasions, to ascertain if there was a storm 
 brewing. When he arrived at his house he would 
 open the door, and throw in his old hat. As there 
 was only one room to the house, he got a quick 
 response. If the hat stayed in, Uncle Solon knew 
 it was all right, and staggered in after it, with a full 
 assurance of a, warm supper and undisturbed slum- 
 bers through the night. But if the hat came back — 
 and when it came spitefully — L'ncle Solon repaired 
 to his stables, and spent the night with his horses. 
 The barometer has been in operation over forty 
 years, and has never failed to indicate a storm. 
 And Uncle Solon never failed to heed the caution- 
 ary signal. There is nothing like accuracy to es- 
 tablish confidence. 
 
 The Boston Advertiser relates the following: 
 A good old lady, with band-boxes and bundles 
 innumerable, tumbled into a city-bound train at 
 Chelsea, yesterday, and inquired if "those cars 
 stopped at Boston?" On being assured by the 
 amused spectators that those cars did give passen- 
 gers a moment or so to alight at the wayside station 
 she alluded to, the troubled expression gave place 
 to one of placid serenity as .-he rejoined, "Lor, I 
 suppose they do stop most everywhere." 
 
 As combining epitaph and advertisement, the 
 following on a deceased tapster, seems to meet the 
 exigencies of the case: 
 
 Beneath this stone, no hope of Zion, 
 There lies the landlord of the Lion. 
 Resign'd unto the heav'nly will, 
 His son keeps on the husihess still. 
 
 William Penn and Thomas Story, traveling 
 together in Virginia, being caught in a shower of 
 rain, unceremoniously sheltered themselves from it 
 in a tobacco bam, the owner of which happening 
 to be in, thus accosted them : 
 
 "You have a great deal of impudence to trespass 
 on my premises — you enter without leave. Do you 
 know who I am?'' 
 
 To which was answered, "No." 
 
 "Why, then, I would have you know that I am 
 a justice of the peace!" 
 
 Thomas Story replied, "My friend here makes 
 such things as thou art ; he is Governor of Penn- 
 sylvania." 
 
 The would-be great man quickly abated his 
 haughtiness. 
 
 A correspondent of Harpers' Bazar, writes 
 that the oft-quoted line, "Though lost to sight, to 
 mem'ry dear," originated with Ruthven Jenkyns, 
 and was first published in \\wGreemvich Magazine 
 for Marines, in 1701 or 1702. We quote the 
 whole poem: 
 
 Sweetheart, good-bye ! the flutt'ring sail 
 
 Is spread to waft me far from thee, 
 And soon before the fav'ring gale 
 
 My ship shall bound upon the sea. 
 Perchance, all desolate and forlorn, 
 
 These eyes shall miss thee many a year; 
 But anforgotten every charm — 
 
 Though lost to sight, to mem'ry dear. 
 
 Sweetheart, good-bye ! one last embrace ! 
 
 O, cruel fate ! two souls to sever ! 
 Yet in this heart's most sacred place 
 
 Thou, thou alone, shalt dwell forever, 
 And still shall recollection trace 
 
 In Fancy's mirror, ever near, 
 Each smile, each tear, that form, that face — • 
 
 Though lost to sight, to mem'ry dear. 
 
 A Baptist minister, living somewhere on tha 
 frontier of Missouri, was in the habit of saying to 
 his family and to his church: "Friends, you need 
 not take any unusual care of your lives; the mo- 
 ment of your death was writ before the foundation 
 of the world, and you cannot alter it." His wife 
 observed when he left on Saturday to meet one of 
 his frontier missionary engagements, that he dressed 
 the flint of his rifle with unusual care, put in dry 
 powder, fresh tow, and took pains to make sure that 
 the gun would go oil' in case he came upon an In- 
 dian. It struck her one day as she saw him in the 
 saddle, with his rifle on his shoulder, that his con- 
 duct contradicted his teaching. "Yes," he replied, 
 "to be sure, my dear, of course you are right, and 
 that is a very proper view; but see here, my dear — 
 now — really — suppose I should meet an Indian 
 while I am gone, and his time had come, and I 
 hadn't my rifle with me, what could he do? Yes, 
 my dear, we must all contribute our part toward 
 the fulfillment of the decrees of Providence." 
 
 A clergyman, having, on a certain occasion, 
 delivered himself of what is called a fine address, 
 was met by one of his hearers the next day, when, 
 in the course of conversation, allusion w r as made to 
 it. The parishioner remarked that he had a book 
 containing every word of it, and had heard it before. 
 To this the clergyman boldly asserted that the ad« 
 dress was written by himself the week previous to 
 
40 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 its delivery, and therefore the assertion could not 
 be correct. The next day he received a splendid 
 copy of "Webster's Dictionary. 
 
 Judge Brady, of New York, is entitled to the 
 thanks of the people who are opposed to verbosity. 
 Cross-examining a witness in his presence, an attor- 
 ney asked, " Were you on the night on which you 
 say you were robbed, in such a state of vinous ex- 
 citement as to preclude the possibility of your com- 
 prehension of your situation with that accuracy 
 and precision necessary to a delineation of truth?" 
 In the interest of incisive English, and to the relief 
 of the witness, the judge demanded that the ques- 
 tion be translated into the vernacular. Mark the 
 result. Said the contrite attorney, " Were you not 
 on the night you spoke of, blind drunk ?" 
 
 John Browning, a popular conductor on the 
 Indianapolis and St. Louis Road, has the misfor- 
 tune to wear a wooden leg, which, while not actu- 
 ally causing lameness, still necessitates a limping 
 gait. Recently, while John was on his train, a 
 compassionate passenger, noticing his movements, 
 and suspecting that he was suffering from a corn, 
 asked him if such was the case. 
 
 "Yes," said John, "I've got a corn, and a bad 
 one, too, I assure you." 
 
 "Well, sir, I can tell you how you can cure it, 
 and at a trifling cost, not over ten cents," said the 
 passenger. 
 
 "I'd give ten hundred dollars to have mine 
 cured, but it's a hard case, and I doubt whether 
 anybody can cure it," replied John. 
 
 The passenger insisted that no corn was ever so 
 hard as the one which had been planted on his own 
 foot, and that he had cured. 
 
 " Was it as hard as that one?" asked John, raising 
 up his wooden leg and pointing to the place on his 
 foot where the corn was supposed to be. 
 
 The passenger felt, and replied that it was. 
 
 "But feel further up," John said. 
 
 He pressed the boot for a few moments, and then, 
 with a look of mingled disgust and surprise, said, — 
 
 "Pshaw, man! that aint a corn, that's a bunion." 
 
 A fond father, blessed with eleven children, 
 and withal a very domestic man, tells this story: 
 One afternoon, business being very dull, he took 
 the early train out to his happy home, and went up 
 stairs to put the children to bed. Being missed 
 from the smoking-room, his wife went up stairs to 
 see what was going on. Upon opening the door 
 she exclaimed, "Why, dear, what, for mercy's sake, 
 are you doing?" 
 
 "Why," said he, "wifey, I am putting the chil- 
 dren to bed." 
 
 " Yes," says wifey, " but this is not one of ours." 
 
 Sure enough, he had got one of the neighbor's 
 children all undressed, and he had to redress it and 
 send it home. After that he left family matters to 
 his wife. 
 
 Sir George Rose being introduced one day to 
 two charming young ladies, whose names were 
 Mary and Louisa, he instantly added, with a bow, 
 " Ah, yes ! Marie-Louise — the sweetest pear I know; 
 a compliment almost worthy of being coupled with 
 
 that most beautiful one of Sydney Smith, suggested 
 by the sweet pea. A young lady, walking with 
 him in the garden, paused to examine a favorite 
 flower on which she had taken great pains. "I am 
 afraid, Mr. Smith," she said, "that this pea will 
 never come to perfection." "Then allow me," 
 taking her politely by the hand, "to lead perfection 
 to the pea!" 
 
 As illustrating the power of wit, few stories are 
 told better than this: 
 
 When Garriek was manager of an important 
 theatre, Dr. Hill induced him to bring out and play 
 himself the leading character in a farce of his, en- 
 titled the "Rout," which was hissed off the stage 
 on the first night of its performance. The doctor 
 blamed Garrick's acting, and Garriek found fault 
 with Hill's wit, or the lack of it. When, Sir John 
 having written some abusive libels about him, 
 Garriek is said to have replied in the couplet: 
 
 " For physic and farces, his equal there scarce is; 
 His farces are physic, his physic a farce is." 
 
 And so settled his adversary finally. 
 
 Another of the same sort: 
 
 Sir Godfrey Kneller and Dr. Ratcliffe lived next 
 door neighbor to one another. The painter was- 
 very fond of horticultural pursuits, and the physi- 
 cian had a similar taste. Sir Godfrey, who had a 
 fine garden, at Dr. Ratclifle's request, allowed him 
 the privilege of a door in the party wall, so that 
 he might enter it whenever he chose. A squabble 
 having arisen between them, owing to the liberties" 
 taken by Ratcliffe's servants, Sir Godfrey at last 
 was obliged to send word to his neighbor that he 
 should proceed to brick up the doorway. Ratcliffe 
 cynically observed, "Let him do what he will to 
 the door, except painting it." To which the painter 
 retorted, "Did my good friend say so? You go 
 back and tell him from me, I Avill take anything 
 from him but physic." 
 
 Quick, the comedian, who flourished a hundred 
 and forty years ago, one day passing through Moor- 
 fields, was seized upon by a touter of a furniture shop, 
 who without ceremony pulled him in and began 
 puffing up his chairs and tables. Quick, being old 
 and infirm, made but little resistance, but asked the 
 man if he were master of the shop. 
 
 "No, Sir," said the touter; "but I will fetch him 
 immediately." 
 
 The man returned with his master, to whom he 
 put the same question ; are you the master of the 
 shop?" 
 
 "Yes, Sir; what can I do for you?" 
 
 "Only," replied quick, "just to hold your man a 
 minute while I <*o out." 
 
 THE POTATO. 
 
 I'm a careless potato, and care not a pin 
 
 How into existence I came; 
 If they planted me drill-wise, or dibbled me in, 
 
 To me 'tis exactly the same. 
 
 The bean and the pea may more loftily tower, 
 
 But I care not a button for them ; 
 Defiance I nod with a beautiful flower 
 
 When the earth is hoed np to my stem. 
 
 — Thomas Moore. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 41 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY. 
 
 GARDENING AT SALT LAKE. 
 
 Oisr making a late trip to the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, I certainly did think it very curious 
 that at none of the mines or mining camps, 
 nor at any of the houses of the owners or 
 managers, or at the mines or farms that I 
 visited, did I ever see any attempt to form 
 a flower garden — very rarely even an at- 
 tempt at raising a few vegetables. At all 
 the stations or settlements, or houses in 
 mining camps that I saw, the houses were 
 placed on the bare ground, without enclo- 
 sure or attempt at neatness or consider- 
 ation for amenity. Sometimes, indeed, 
 you wonld see a sort of enclosure at the 
 back, but this is for the cattle or wagons, 
 and is devoted to their use, and almost in- 
 variably is put up in the most temporary 
 and make-shift fashion. The only place 
 where I saw gardens in Utah was in Salt 
 Lake City. It was otherwise in California, 
 where the usual evidences of longer civil- 
 isation showed themselves in most towns, 
 even mining towns of any standing. But 
 with the exception of Salt Lake City, all 
 the towns in Utah are of comparatively 
 recent date. In the accounts of that city 
 we usually read of the beauty with which 
 it bursts upon the eye, with fruit trees 
 rising among the houses, and reminding 
 one of an eastern city. I can only account 
 for this style of (according to my view) 
 exaggerated admiration, by supposing the 
 writers to have been sojourning for some 
 time, either on the treeless prairies of the 
 east, or among the alkaline deserts in the 
 west, and so to have had their minds dis- 
 posed to see exceptional beauty in any- 
 thing approaching to trees or foliage. To 
 one not so prepared, it needs a strong im- 
 agination to be able to see in the small 
 orchards of less than five-and-twenty years 
 growth, the richness and beauty claimed 
 for the city; for with the exception of a 
 single cluster of larger cotton-wood trees 
 (populus monilifera), around one of the 
 older houses, and which probably were 
 there before the arrival of the Mormons, 
 all the trees, whether cotton-wood or fruit 
 trees, are young, and have been planted 
 since the foundation of the city in 1848. 
 When in the city itself, young as they are, 
 the trees look tall, but when seen from a 
 little distance, as from the hills at its back, 
 
 they dwindle to their proper value. They 
 do not overtop the buildings, and, in gen- 
 eral, scarcely reach the house-tops. Look- 
 ing down on the city from these hills, we 
 see far to the south the wide valley stretch- 
 ing before us. Its aspect is desolation 
 itself. The few cultivated farms beyond 
 the city are all within three or four miles 
 of it, and then nothing but an unbroken 
 expanse of sage meets the eye. It has 
 nothing of the greenness of grass, but a 
 uniform brownish-olive color, spread out 
 without interruption, until it melts in the 
 haze of some distant low hills. The lofty 
 ranges on each side redeem the landscape 
 from sameness, but cannot save it from 
 dreariness or desolation. On this side no 
 water is seen, for the Jordan, which flows 
 down the middle of the valley, creeps 
 along out of sight between muddy or 
 sandy deposits, through which it has cut 
 its way; and when the eye looks for relief 
 to the nearer city beneath, it turns away 
 disappointed, for the buildings are gener- 
 ally placed wide apart, and being wholly 
 built of wood, both walls and roofs have 
 all a grey uniform tint, giving them, at 
 some distance, the aspect of rectangular 
 grey boulders scattered over the plain. 
 The absence of chimneys strikes the Euro- 
 pean eye; they are not needed, for the 
 heating and cooking is all done by stoves, 
 whose chimney is a slender iron pipe 
 sticking up out of the side or in the rear 
 of the house. I had no previous idea how 
 much the beauty of our landscape at home 
 owes to our square massive chimneys and 
 to our roofs being slate, thatch, tile, or 
 something different in color from the walls 
 below them. On a closer inspection of 
 the trees I found that the young cotton- 
 wood trees which line some of the streets 
 are suffering badly from the attacks of a 
 goat or leopard moth which bores in and 
 eats away the wood, exactly as our goat 
 moth does. While I was there a tree 
 close to the hotel in which I boarded was 
 broken right across the middle, at a place 
 greatly eaten away by these insects. I got 
 some old cocoons, but no specimens of either 
 the larva or the perfect moth, so cannot 
 give it a name. Some of the trunks much 
 bored by them, which they had deserted, 
 I found taken possession of and utilised 
 by swarms of a small black bee. The 
 fruit trees seem perfectly healthy; they 
 were principally pear trees and apple trees,. 
 
42 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 and their lavish flowers beautified the place 
 immensely in spring. I did not happen 
 to notice any of them attacked by insects, 
 their position in private enclosures not 
 being favorable to entomological examin- 
 ation; but I have no doubt they suffer 
 considerably from the attacks af an insect 
 very similar to our lackey moth, for in the 
 hills, a mile or so off, I found a wild pru- 
 nus which occurred in considerable abun- 
 dance in the hollows on the hill sides (and 
 which is probably the chokeberry of the 
 settlers, or prunus virginiana of botanists), 
 terribly infested by the caterpillar of such 
 a moth. I found the necklaces of eggs 
 surrounding the twigs exectly as with our 
 own, only slightly smaller, and almost 
 every bush disfigured by such a caterpil- 
 lars' nest as the larva of the lackey moth 
 spins, consisting of a thick white web, 
 tying together a few twigs, in and around 
 which scores of caterpillars, very similar 
 to those of the lackey moth, were busy at 
 work, creeping out and creeping in. I 
 brought home wtih me to my room, two or 
 three of these nests, first carefully remov- 
 ing all the caterpillars that I could find, 
 and for a week after I had to endure a 
 succession of them, making their appear- 
 ance and crawling over the walls and furn- 
 iture, and not even holding my own per- 
 son or that of my friends sacred, one of 
 whom I had the mortification to see a good 
 deal discomposed by the appearance of 
 first one and then another upon his clothes 
 during a short visit that he paid to me, 
 but I did not feel called on to enlighten 
 him as to the source whence they came. 
 The apples are said to be good — whether 
 better than our own or not I had no oppor- 
 tunity of judging, not even such a one as 
 Hepworth Dixon tells of — "When I was 
 leaving Salt Lake City," says he, " Sister 
 Alice, the daughter of Brigham Young, 
 put up some very fine apples in a box, for 
 me to eat by the way. At a station on the 
 plains, I found that a lady, a fellow-pas- 
 senger in the wagon, had been opening 
 my box and helping herself to the fruit; 
 and when she saw me looking at her, with 
 some surprise perhaps visible on my face, 
 she merely said, ' I am trying whether your 
 apples are better than mine.' " 
 
 The peaches I can vouch for being the 
 worst that I ever met with; small (not 
 much larger than a walnut), yellow, fuzzey, 
 juiceless, flavorless, bits of sponge. Uutil 
 
 I tasted these, I never knew the meaning 
 of the American boast, that on the settlers' 
 farms the peaches were so plentiful that 
 they were given to the pigs. I am sure 
 that in Utah they could not lie put to a 
 fitter use, provided only you can persuade 
 the pigs to eat them. 
 
 Burton, in his " City of the Saints," 
 records — that when he visited Utah in 
 1867, a vineyard was then being planted 
 on the hill-side near Mr. Young's block, 
 and expresses his belief that " home-made 
 wine will soon become an article of pro- 
 duce in Utah." I heard and saw nothing 
 of this, although I know well a sage- 
 clothed brae behind Brigham Young's 
 block that is well adapted for the experi- 
 ment. I imagine it must have failed, 
 because I was asked by Mr. Jennings, one 
 of the most prosperous merchants in Utah, 
 to advise him as to the health of some 
 vines he had growing in a greenhouse in 
 his garden. I found the vines to be slen- 
 der puny canes, with the leaves small and 
 yellowish. Mr. Jennings was inclined to 
 refer their unsatisfactory condition to pot- 
 ash and other alkalies in the soil. But one 
 would think that the alkali had surely 
 been sufficiently washed out of the soil in 
 and around the city by this time to allow 
 everything that suits the climate to grow 
 freely. It is said the worst alkali lands 
 will get rid of their superfluous alkali by 
 five years' lixiviation, and here the ground 
 has been subjected to five-and-twenty 
 years' irrigation. I, therefore, incline to 
 think that we must look elsewhere for the 
 cause of the failure of the vines, and I am 
 more disposed to charge it to the cold of 
 the winter. Mr. Jennino-s' greenhouse 
 was a common small span-roof structure 
 of glass and wood, standing on the bare 
 ground, without foundation or flues, and 
 the roots of the vines, of course, as much 
 out as in the house. A few days previ- 
 ously the ground had been covered with 
 snow, and the cold during winter, without 
 being very intense or uninterrupted, is 
 nevertheless pretty sharp; and it may help 
 the reader to judge of the severity of the 
 winter, if I mention that Mr. Jennings had 
 tried the Irish yew, the bay, the Portugal 
 laurel, the holly, and various other com- 
 mon evergreens, but they had all died 
 during the winter; and, although he in- 
 tended to try elms, planes, and other old 
 country trees, he greatly feared they would 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 43 
 
 not live. Nor had he been more success- 
 ful in introducing- pines from the neigh- 
 boring- mountains, which he had tried to 
 do by transplanting them; but I -would 
 not despair of these, for I found some 
 Douglas firs and picea grandis growing in 
 the bottom of one of the neighboring 
 canons, only 200 or 300 feet above the 
 level of the plain, and, at any rate, it 
 could not be the cold that hurt them — it 
 might be want of care in transplanting. 
 But having no pretensions to practical 
 knowledge of vine-growing, I should be 
 glad if any of the able vine-growers, who 
 from time to time impart their knowledge 
 to us through the pages of your journal, 
 would say (so far as the information given 
 allows) to what they would ascribe Mr. 
 Jennings' want of success. I should add 
 that he had a Scotch gardener, that is to 
 say, a Scotch laborer, who, at some former 
 period of his life, had picked up some 
 knowledge of gardening, and who kept 
 the rest of the garden, especially the veg- 
 etable part, in very fair order. Gooseberry 
 bushes seemed to thrive well enough; 
 which, perhaps, is not surprising, seeing 
 that they grow wild in the Sierra Nevada, 
 where Douglas found them. I found one 
 in the Sierra Nevada in fruit in July; the 
 berry small but very hairy, and the hairs 
 very long and very stiff, almost as long, 
 indeed, as the diameter of the berry. 
 
 I did not notice our black, red and white 
 currants, although I have little doubt they 
 were there; but the yellow-flowering cur- 
 rant seemed a great favorite. Mr. Jen- 
 nings 1 garden was surrounded by an ex- 
 cellent hedge of the Osage orange, which 
 was almost the only fence that could be 
 called a hedge in all the city. The com- 
 mon hawthorn will not grow there, the 
 winter being too severe for it. I found 
 the same thing even in Upper Canada. 
 As to flowers, I saw nothing that is not 
 common in England. In front of one or 
 two of the best houses, you might, in 
 spring, see a few hyacinths or parrot 
 tulips planted out, and the usual common 
 flowers, such as the purple iris, roses, &c. 
 In Mr. Jennings' greenhouse were the 
 usual Tom Thumb geraniums, scarlet- 
 flowered pelargoniums, the variegated col- 
 eus, and such like; but I do not think that 
 anything interested me or affected me 
 more than to see in a little patch, not 12 
 feet square, in front of a small house, a 
 
 few plants of the variegated balm that you 
 commonly see in the cottage gardens in 
 Scotland. I could have wagered that the 
 residents were, or had been, " cotters " 
 from the old country, as I coidd that those 
 in the next plot were not, who had, in the 
 hot days of July, removed their double 
 cooking-stove out of the house into their 
 little plot, where I saw it standing, busily 
 at work in the open air. 
 
 I cannot pretend to nominate all that I 
 saw or missed; it would serve no good 
 purpose, and the cursory notes that I have 
 given should be enough to enlighten any- 
 one that is interested in the subject, as to 
 the true character of the climate, and the 
 great, but as yet undeveloped horticultural 
 capacities of Utah. — Andrew Murray, in 
 the Garden. 
 
 A LARGE VINE. 
 It is now some years since we first noticed 
 and detailed the history of what is now 
 widely and familiarly known as " The 
 Large Vine at the Viceregal Lodge." The 
 life story of this very remarkable Vine was 
 then a short one; for, be it remembered, 
 that though a wonderful Vine, it is very 
 far from being an old one. In fact a de- 
 cade had not then nearly passed from the 
 time Mr. Smith took it — a poor sapling, 
 struggling- for life — in hand. Even then 
 it was a horticultural wonder, filling a cur- 
 vilinear lean-to house, some 70 feet in 
 length and 15 feet wide, and carrying a 
 magnificent crop of grapes, quite a pic- 
 ture to look at. Since that time the house 
 has been made a half-span, and has had its 
 breadth thereby considerably increased. 
 Large increase of space was thus afforded 
 for further extension, and so skilfully was 
 the Vine induced to avail itself of it that 
 soon entirely occupied it; and the long 
 lines of luscious clusters hung as thickly 
 there as in the older portions of the house. 
 It may be as well to mention here, for the 
 information of those who have not seen 
 this Vine, or remember the particulars pre- 
 viously given, that the stem enters at one 
 end of the house, and from this seven main 
 rods are conducted horizontally and equi- 
 distant from one another, in perfectly 
 straight lines, till further progress is ar- 
 rested where they reach the opposite end 
 of the house. The wood of these main 
 rods is about the thickness of a ship's ca- 
 ble, and the spurs on either side disposed 
 
44 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 with the utmost regularity, each rod form- 
 ing a perfectly straight and strongly de- 
 fined line fringed with a double row of 
 beautiful stout green foliage from among 
 which depend on either side, as if strung 
 with almost mathematical accuracy, the 
 long lines of sable pendants which are the 
 clowning glory of the Vine. It is now 
 just about eighteen years since Mr. Smith 
 undertook the management of what was 
 then a weakly plant, and is now a giant in 
 its way; and we are inclined to think it, 
 taking all in all, one of the finest examples 
 of successful Vine culture, and perhaps 
 the very best example of what is called 
 the extension system to be met with any- 
 where. Year after year, without a single 
 blank, it has borne splendid crops of highly 
 finished fruit, and the present year's crop 
 forms no exception, save in one respect, 
 and that is — that as regards size of bunch, 
 berry, and aggregate weight, it will be the 
 finest which this noble Black Hamburg has 
 yet ripened. The bunches number prob- 
 ably 400 or thereabouts; many of them, 
 we calculate, will weigh three pounds or 
 so, and the average is two pounds or over; 
 the aggregate weight of crop, we suspect, 
 little short of 7 cwt. The bunches are 
 just now coloring, and by-and-bye, when 
 they put on their full sable habiliments and 
 rich bloom, the big Vine will be a sight 
 worth looking at — a triumph of cultural 
 skill, upon seeing which he would be cold 
 and phlegmatic, indeed, who could with- 
 hold from Mr. Smith his warm appreciation 
 of his skill, and the remarkable results of 
 it before him. — Irish Farmer's Gazette. 
 
 TREATMENT OF TAP-ROOTS. 
 The treatment of tap-roots of seedlings 
 depends entirely on the peculiarities of 
 the species of tree, the locality and climate 
 in which the seedlings are to grow into 
 trees, and on the description of labor avail- 
 able for the handling of the seedlings dur- 
 ing the different manipulations of planting. 
 Some species will stand the tap-roots and 
 stems being cut in all sorts of ways with- 
 out dying, others will not, and, as far as 
 experience goes at present, Teak seems to 
 belong to the latter class. Experiments 
 were made on this subject years ago in 
 Burmah, if I am not mistaken. At Ba- 
 munpaokri I made lately, in conjunction 
 with the Inspector-General of Forests, a 
 small experiment of cutting the tap-roots 
 
 of a number of Teak seedlings one and 
 two years old. I put the plants with my 
 own hands into the ground, but in spite of 
 every care they have all died except one, 
 of which it is doubtful whether it will live 
 or die. I shall make another experiment 
 on a somewhat larger scale during the 
 coming planting season, and report the re- 
 sult hereafter. 
 
 To recommend the cutting of tap-roots 
 generally, as Captain Walker seems in- 
 clined to do, is a great mistake, not only 
 with regard to the peculiarities of the sev- 
 eral species of trees, but also as regards 
 difference of soil and climate. No doubt 
 the operation is to be recommended in the 
 case of many of the European species 
 when planting them in rich or tolerably 
 rich soil, and in a climate sufficiently moist 
 to maintain seedlings at all times of the 
 year. On the other hand, there are many 
 instances to be seen in Europe where the 
 tap-roots of seedlings are not only cut, but 
 where the seedlings are raised in such a 
 manner as to produce exceptionally long 
 tap-roots. I need only mention here, as 
 an instance, plantation of the Scotch fir, 
 in dry or sandy soil with a moderate or 
 small amount of moisture. Without long 
 tap-roots the seedlings would be quite un- 
 able to live under such circumstances. 
 
 The quality of labor available is also of 
 influence. In Europe, seedlings are cer- 
 tainly treated in a rough manner, as des- 
 cribed by Captain Walker, but, on the oth- 
 er hand, on all well-regulated plantations 
 they are treated systematically, and spe- 
 cially their roots are not exposed more to 
 heat, sun, and winds than they can stand. 
 In India here, on the other hand, one of 
 the greatest difficulties in planling opera- 
 tions is to prevent the seedlings being in- 
 juned while in the hands of the laborer. 
 
 On the whole, I submit that it is impos- 
 sible to set up a general rule on the sub- 
 ject under consideration, and that the 
 method according to which the seedlings 
 are to be treated has to be decided upon 
 in each instance. — TF. tSchlich, in "Agri- 
 cultural Gazette of India." 
 
 4 — ■ P 
 
 PRESERVATION OF TIMBER. 
 Over two hundred years have elapsed 
 since a patent was taken out to preserve 
 wood from decay ; but the means employed 
 by the inventor of that period were cum- 
 brous as well as costly, and inapplicable, 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 45 
 
 except on. dry land. The idea was to 
 plaster constructions of timber with a 
 coating of clay. To speak modestly of 
 the progress which has been made in the 
 same direction in the interval, it has not 
 been great. Successive inventors have 
 struck out plans for arresting rot by per- 
 meating the wood with creosote or chemi- 
 cal solutions of different kinds; but none 
 of the methods adopted answered either 
 the need or the expectation. The process 
 of creosoting timber is decidedly antisep- 
 tic; the vegetable germs are destroyed, 
 but then the moisture is driven into the 
 centre, and the material rendered more 
 inflammable. 
 
 A Good Weeping Poplar. — Poplars of late 
 years are receiving attention, and already our list 
 of weeping varieties numbers four or iive distinct 
 kinds. According to our idea of beauty, however, 
 there is but one really first class tree, and that one 
 is among the finest of all the drooping plants ; we 
 allude to the P. grandidentata pendula. For a 
 small sized specimen, it forms a strong rival to the 
 Kilmarnock willow, and will, we believe, in time 
 supersede it. There is an objection, however, to 
 its culture, which we must mention. All the pop- 
 lar family throw up suckers, more or less; conse- 
 quently this trouble will stand in the way of its 
 advancement. Budded upon the Lombardy pop- 
 lar, the long, slender branches, reminding one of 
 whipcords, are full of grace and beauty ; and even 
 when worked seven or eight feet high, the branches 
 will extend frequently to the ground in a single year. 
 m »' * ■ 
 
 How to Make Tomato Figs. — Pour boiling 
 water over the tomatoes in order to remove the 
 skins; then weigh them and place them in a stone 
 jar, with as much sugar as you have Tomatoes, and 
 let them stand two days, then pour off the syrup, 
 and boil and skim until no scum rises. Then pour 
 over the tomatoes, and let them stand two days, as 
 before, then boil and skim again. After a third time 
 they are fit to dry if the weather is good ; if not, let 
 them stand in the syrup until drying weather. Then 
 place on large earthen plates or dishes, and put them 
 in the sun to dry, which will take about a week, af- 
 ter which pack them down in small wooden boxes, 
 with tine white sugar between each layer. Toma- 
 toes prepared in this manner will keep for years. 
 
 Fop. Burns. — Apply raw linseed oil with a feath- 
 er, or, what is better, mix linseed oil and lime water 
 together and apply. Wash the burn three times a 
 day with warm milk and water and renew the oil 
 ■dressing each time. Lime water may always be 
 had at the druggists or made at home by slacking 
 a lump of quicklime in water and, as soon as clear, 
 mixing it with the oil. This simple and effective 
 remedy should always be kept in the house, as age 
 does not impair its properties. It is said that in 
 case of an extensive burn, covering the raw surfaces 
 with wheat flour, if nothing else is at hand, may 
 serve to give relief till a physician can be called. 
 
 FACETLE. 
 
 It is not strange that everybody is down on 
 slippery sidewalks. 
 
 Young ladies had better be fast asleep than 
 "fast" awake. 
 
 The fellow who called tight boots comfortable, 
 defended his position by saying they made a man 
 forget all his other miseries. 
 
 "It is very difficult to live," said a widow, with 
 seven girls, all in genteel poverty. "You must 
 husband your time," said a sage friend. "I'd rather 
 husband some of my daughters," answered the poor 
 lady. 
 
 A gentleman, passing a country church while 
 under repair, observed to one of the workmen, that 
 he thought it would be an expensive job. 
 
 "Why, yes," replied he, "but, in my opinion, 
 we shall accomplish what our parson has endeavored 
 to do for the last thirty years in vain." 
 
 "What is that?" said the gentleman. 
 
 " Why, bring all the parish to repentance." 
 
 In a little town in Missouri a lady teacher was 
 exercising a class of juveniles in mental arithmetic. 
 She commenced the question : " If you buy a cow 
 for $10—" when up came a little hand. "What is 
 it, Johnny?" "Why, you can't buy no kind of a 
 cow for $10. Father sold one for $60, the other 
 day, and she was a regular old scrub at that." 
 
 A shoemaker out West with a literary turn of 
 mind has the following poetical gem attached to 
 his sign: 
 
 " Here lives a man who never refuses 
 To mend all sorts of boots and shoeses." 
 
 Josh Billings says that "the lion and the lamb 
 may possibly sumtime lay down in tins world to- 
 gether for a fu minnits, but when the lion kums to 
 git up the lamb will be missing." 
 
 On some railroads it is customary to have a lock 
 on the stove to prevent passengers from meddling 
 with the fire. A wag, being asked why they locked 
 the stove, replied, that "it was to prevent the tire 
 from going out /" 
 
 "What do you sell those fowls for" inquired a 
 person of a man attempting to dispose of some 
 chickens of a questionable appearance. "I sell 
 them for profits," was the answer. "Thank you for 
 the information that they are prophets," responded 
 the querist. " I took them to be patriarchs." 
 
 At the court of Louis XIV. there were two fat 
 noblemen — cousins. The king rallied one of them 
 on his corpulency, and added, "I suppose you take 
 little or no exercise?" "Your majesty will pardon 
 me," replied the duke, " for I generally walk two 
 or three times round my cousin every morning." 
 
 A paper recording the leasing of certain prem- 
 ises to a lady during the term of her natural life, 
 provides that she shall pay a certain rent yearly, 
 and shall quit and deliver up "the premises to the 
 lessor, or his attorney, peaceably and quietly at the 
 end of the term." 
 
46 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 J. E- WILLIAMS, 
 
 FLORIST 
 
 Green House on Third Lake, 
 
 Opposite Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 
 
 nvr^Disonxr, - ■Wisconsin. 
 
 Green House well supplied with Plants for all Seasons. 
 
 Fine Stock of Wardian and Fernery Plants. 
 
 *®^Orders for Cut Flowers, Bouquets and Floral Orna- 
 ments will receive prompt attention at all times. 
 
 ORDERS SOLICITED BY IVT-^IE. 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. 
 
 LEE'S SUMMIT NURSERIES, 
 
 BLAIR BROS., Proprietors, 
 
 Lee's Summit, Jackson Co., Missouri. 
 
 Over three hundred acres of the finest grown Nursery 
 Stock, guaranteed in healthy condition. 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. Supplies full, 
 and assortment general. 
 
 AT WHOLESALE EXCLUSIVELY. 
 
 4S§ = -Send for Price List. 
 
 GENEVA NURS1 
 
 Ext all 'is -lied 184b. 
 
 400 Acres of Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 
 
 IT, 
 
 EA.R&E STOCK OF 
 
 PFAR TREES— extra size, Standard and Dwarf. 
 
 PEAR TREES— first class, five to seven feet. 
 
 APPLE TREES— first class, Standard and Dwarf. 
 
 CHERRY TREES, PEACH, PLUM, ORANGE, QUINCE. 
 
 GRAPE VINES — new varieties and old approved sorts. 
 
 Large Stock of Tree Hoses, grown by us especially 
 for the Trade. Fine formed heads. Our Trees and Plants 
 are grown on heavy clay soil, which makes them very 
 hardy. All at lowest prices. Catalogues free. 
 
 W. & T. SMITH, Geneva, N. Y. 
 
 Tree Seedlings and Tree Seeds. 
 
 NORWAY SPRUCE, - 
 AUSTRIAN PINE, - 
 SCOTCH do 
 
 MOUNTAIN do 
 "WHITE do 
 
 NORWAY do 
 European Silver Fir, Chinese and American Arbor Vitie, Co>- 
 tolpa, European Larch, Scotch Weeping Birch, European 
 Horse Chestnut, Silver and Ash Leaved Maple, 
 Ailanthus, White Mulberry, Mountain 
 Ash, Apple and Pear Stocks, &c. 
 
 STOCK LIEGE IN' QUANTITY AND OP EXCELLENT QUALITY. 
 
 Price List of Tree Seeds will be issued in January or 
 February, 1S75. 
 
 H. M. THOMPSON, 
 St. Francis, Milwaukee Co., Wis. 
 
 1, 2 and 3 
 
 year 
 
 Seedlings 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 GREEN HILL NURSERY, 
 
 MII.TON, WIS. 
 
 Special Items for Fall Trade : 
 
 100,000 Apple Stocks— first class— 1 year. 
 
 Plumb's Cider and Walbridge— 5 to 7 feet. 
 
 New varieties of Siberians — Fall and Winter. 
 
 20,000 Doolittle and other Raspberries. 
 
 5,000 Horse Chestnuts — 1 year. 
 
 Birch, Butternut, Elm and Maple— of sizes. 
 
 Dahlias, Peonias, Tulips and other Bulbs. 
 
 A full line of Fruit and Shade Trees and Evergreens, Small 
 
 Fruits and Shrubs. 
 Cions and Root Grafts — true to name. 
 
 SEND FOR PRICE LIST. 
 
 J. C. PLUMB & SON. 
 
 For Cherry, Pear, Plum and t-wo-year old Apple 
 Trees, Osage, Hedge and Apple Stocks, go to 
 
 BARNES & CO. 
 
 GROWERS AND JOBBERS IN 
 
 General Nursery Stock, 
 
 ICirk-woocl, Warren Co., Illinois. 
 
 One Million Splendid Evergreens at Low Rates. 
 
 The Janesville Grape, 
 
 Ripens in August; 
 
 Stands Wisconsin Winters -without protection. 
 
 JKS=Circulars, with testimonials, free, on application. 
 Sample Vines sent by mail, on receipt of 20 cents. 
 Special Price List to Nurserymen and Dealers. 
 Concords and Delawares low. 
 
 Address, 
 
 C. H. GREENMAN, 
 Milton, Rock Co., Wis. 
 
 CHAS. H. WILLIAMS, 
 
 Elmwood, JBaraboo, Wisconsin, 
 
 Breeder of Pure fired Short Horns 
 
 AND 
 
 COTSWOLD SHEEP. 
 
 Baraboo is on the Madison branch of the Chicago and 
 Northwestern R. R. — two trains daily each way. 
 
 W. Clark's Patent Horse Clipper. 
 
 Such is the marked superiority of this Clipper over all 
 others in the world, that horses have been clipped by one 
 single machine in one hour and three-quarters. It prevents 
 anything like grooves, ridges or furrows on the coat of the 
 newly-clipped animal, and has been known to clip from 1*0 
 to 200 horses without sharpening. W. Clark begs to inform 
 his customers that all his Clippers are stamped with his 
 name, either on the plates or wooden handles. All others- 
 of his pattern not so stamped are infringements of his. 
 patent. 232 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, ENGLAND. 
 
 WHOLESALE AGENTS WANTED IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 47 
 
 ARTHUR A. PARDEE & BRI 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Patent Medicines, White Lead, Oils, Varnishes, 
 
 Colors, Brushes, Brewers' 1 Stock, Dye Stuffs, <£c, 
 MADISON, - WISCONSIN. 
 
 FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY 
 
 jVIaclison, Wisconsin. 
 
 It takes only the best and safest kind of risks. 
 
 It insures on the stock plan only. 
 
 The Insured participate in the net earnings of the Com- 
 pany. 
 
 Its funds are not sent out of the State, but kept at home, 
 and loaned to the patrons of the Company, on real estate 
 security, at legal rates of interest. 
 
 MONS ANDERSON, President. 
 BALIE STEENSLAND, Secretary. 
 
 UNTIL VOLUME I, IS EXHAUSTED, 
 
 New Subscribers, sending §6.00 will be sent Volume I. bound, 
 postage paid, and Volume II. from the beginning ; or for 
 So 00, all of the numbers of Volumes I. and II., subscribers 
 paying postage. Volume II. ends with the March number, 
 1875, but 
 
 -(©"Subscriptions may Commence at Any Tirne,^* 
 As articles are rarely continued from one number to another. 
 
 Terms: — S3. 00 per annum; 30 cents a number; four 
 months' trial, SI. 00. 
 
 All communications should be addressed to 
 
 A. 3ST. BELL, IVT. X)., 
 
 Editor of the Sanitarian, 
 234 Broadway, New York. 
 
 VICK'S CATALOGUE 
 
 of Hyacinths, Tulips, Lilies, and all 
 
 fALL PLANTING^ 
 FOR THE HOUSE. J 
 
 Now published for Autumn of 1874, and will be sent free to 
 all who apply. 32 pages — 50 illustrations. 
 
 Address, JAMES VICK, Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 LARGE PUBLIC SALE 
 
 OF 
 
 VALUABLE STOCK. 
 
 After thirty years residence on my Home Farm, I wish 
 to take one year's rest, therefore, will sell, without reserve, 
 at my residence, on 
 
 Wednesday, October 7, 1874, 
 
 The following Thoroughbred Stock, viz.: 
 20 Head of Choice Cows and Heifers ; 
 10 Head of very fine Young Bulls, 
 
 Viz.: two two-year-olds past; four one-year-olds past ; and 
 four sucklings. 
 
 This herd is principally of my own breeding, except the 
 regular crosses of bulls, and will show the best families of 
 Short-Horns in the United States. This herd is very finely 
 colored reds, dark roans, and reds with white marks. The 
 bull at the head of this herd is a splendid stock getter, 
 DATS-DUKE, 7794, A. H. B., Vol. 9, part 1st, page 102, 
 Six years old ; weighs about 2,800 lbs. 
 
 I have a full set of the American Herd Book, and pur- 
 chasers can examine to their satisfaction. 
 
 CATALOGUES ready by the 7th September, 1874. Also, 
 
 20 Head of very good Grade Cows & Heifers, 
 
 Bred to Thoroughbred Bulls ; 
 40 Head of very nice Breeding Pigs, 
 
 CHESTER WHITE and YORKSHIRE J 
 10 Head of C hoice Southdown Sheep ; 
 
 AND 
 
 10 Head of Good Young Horses, 
 
 Some of them three years old, that never were haltered. I 
 may offer my family matched bay carriage horses. 
 
 Pre-emption, Mercer Co., Ills., is eight miles north of 
 Viola, a station on the C. B. & Q. It. R., and ten miles south 
 of Milan, a railroad point from which stock can be shipped 
 in any direction, safely. I will assist persons who ship 
 stock, to get it on the cars. 
 
 TERMS — Six months credit, with satisfactory note, and 
 10 per cent, after maturity, or 5 per cent, discount for cash, 
 
 JOHN WHITSITT, 
 July 30, 1S74. Pre-empticn, Mercer Co., Ills. 
 
 Col. J. W. Judy, Auctioneer. 
 P. S. I am not going to quit the breeding of fine stocks 
 If I had but four animals they would be Snort-Horns, but 
 I expect to visit England and Ireland next May, and bring 
 some tine stock home with me. 
 
 JOHN WHITSITT. 
 
 Magie Hog and Brahma Fowls, 
 
 W. W. ELLSWORTH, 
 
 WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS, 
 
 Breeder of Celebrated Magie Hogs 
 
 ■ftS=Took FIRST and SECOND PRIZES at the GREAT 
 NATIONAL SWINE SHOW AT CHICAGO. 
 Pigs and older stock for sale. Also light Brahma Fowls. 
 
 lOR SALE— OMAHA, an IMPORTED JERSEY BULL, 
 the best animal of his breed in the north-west. 
 
 GEO. E. BRYANT, Madison, Wis. 
 
48 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 WM. J. PARK & CO., 
 
 Mmkmlhm aid Stationm, 
 
 Binders, Eulers, Blank Book Manufacturers, 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Wall Paper, Windoxv Cornice, A rtisfs' Materials, 
 
 Picture Frames, Sheet Music. Violins and other 
 
 Musical Merchandise. 
 
 PIANOS, MELODEONS AND ORGANS 
 
 Always on hand and warranted, being manufactured by 
 the best makers in the country. 
 
 We are special agents for the MATHUSHEK PIANOS, 
 an instrument that only requires to be seen and heard to 
 convince any one, not only of its tone, but of its common 
 sense construction and evidence of durability, requiring less 
 tuning than any other instrument now in the market. 
 
 Pianos and Organs to rent by the month. Also second- 
 hand ones taken in exchange for new. 
 
 v^nvr. j". f-A-R-k: &c go , 
 No. II King Street, Madison, Wis. 
 
 WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. 
 
 Oldest, Largest and Best Paper 
 at the Capital. 
 
 I]S"DXJCE]VIEISrTS FOR, CLUBBING-. 
 
 rpHE AVISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, published Daily, 
 -L Tri-Weekly and Weekly, is the oldest, largest and best 
 weekly published at, the Capital. 
 
 The Daily and Tri-Weekly contain the latest news by 
 Telegraph, full Legislative "Reports, Decisions of the Su- 
 preme Court, a summary of Local News in the several 
 counties of the State, and" full Reports of all Conventions 
 and other public matters at the Capital. 
 
 The Weekly State Journal is the largest and best family 
 newspaper in the State. Each number contains a large 
 amount of literature, political and miscellaneous reading, 
 and the latest Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison Market 
 Reports. 
 
 It is the aim of the publishers to make the State Journal 
 a complete exponent of Wisconsin interests and Wisconsin 
 intelligence, as well as a first class general newspaper. 
 
 TEHMS 3 
 
 DAILY — 85 cents per month, or $10 a year, and at the 
 same rate for three or six months. 
 
 TRI-WEEKLY— 45 cents per month ; $5 a year ; §2.50 for 
 six months; $1.25 for three months. 
 
 WEEKLY— -$2 a year ; $1 for six months ; in clubs of ten 
 or more, $1.50 a year. 
 
 All subscriptions to be paid in advance. 
 
 ATWOOD & CULVER, 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 MADISON PLOW WORKS, 
 
 Established 1846. 
 We offer our superior brand of " CAPITAL CITY CLIP- 
 PERS," as well as our IMPROVED SOD, BREAKING, 
 CORN AND HOP, SUB-SOIL AND JOINTER PLOWS; 
 also all kinds of Coulters, Clevises, Beams, Handles and 
 other Extras, at wholesale and retail, 
 
 At ths Lowest Figures for a First Class Article. 
 
 Repairing done promptly and well. Charges reasonable. 
 Please call on us, or write for Price List and Circular. 
 
 FIRMIN & BILLINGS. 
 
 W. H. BANKS & Co. 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 FARM MACHINERIES IMPLEMENTS 
 
 SPECIALTIES: 
 Broom Corn Machinery, 
 
 Church, Farm and School Bells, 
 Hay, Straw and Stalk Cutters, 
 Drag and Circular Wood Sawing Machines, 
 Tread and Sweep Horse Powers. 
 
 OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE, 
 
 34 and 36 South Canal Street, 
 
 CHICAGO. 
 
 J8ClrSend for Circulars and state where this advertisement 
 appeared. 
 
 Materials for Wax Flowers, 
 
 AND 
 
 INSTRUCTION BOOK:. 
 
 With this box of Wax Materials and Instruction Book, 
 almost any one can learn how to make Wax Flowers with- 
 out a teacher. 
 
 This box contains all the materials for making a pretty 
 spray of Blush Boses described on page 10 in the book. The 
 articles contained in the box are as follows : 
 
 One Instruction Book, (revised and enlarged.) 
 Eighteen Sheets of Wax, (white, light and dark green.) 
 One Bottle Bright Pink. 
 One Bottle White Bloom. 
 One Bottle Chrome Yellow. 
 One Bottle Chinese AVhite. 
 One Rosewood Moulding Pin. 
 One Brush. 
 
 One Steel Cutting Pin. 
 One Metal Rose Leaf Mould. 
 ^S'Sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt of 81. 
 
 PERRY MASON & CO., Boston, Mass. 
 
 WAX FLOWER INSTRUCTION BOOK. 
 
 The art of making Wax Flowers and Crosses without a 
 teacher. Illustrated. Sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt 
 of 25 cents. 
 
 PERRY MASON & CO., 
 Youth's Companion Office, 41 Temple Place, Boston, Mass. 
 
 PHELPS «fc POUND, 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 HOPS. 
 
 All Grades of Sops Bought and Sold. 
 
 JVLJ^-TDTSOTST, WIS. 
 
 MADISON NURSERY. 
 
 M. A, HOLT, Proprietor, 
 
 Madison, ijane Co. ; Wis. 
 
 FOR SALE.— Hyslop and Transcendant Crabs, bearing 
 size, from 5 to S feet high. Also, a large assortment of Apple 
 Trees, 2 and 3 years old, well grown. 
 

 NEW FORCE FEED 
 
 BUCKEYE GRAIN DRILL 
 
 BROADCAST SEEDER. 
 
 NO OH-A.ISTC3-E: OF GEARS. 
 
 The improvement consists of a, positive force feed, so con- 
 structed that you can regulate the quantity any where 
 hetween one-half bushel of wheat and three bushels of oats 
 in an instant, without any extra gears, (r any change of gears. 
 You need not change a peck at once, but can vary as little 
 as you please ; even a pint or less if you desire. The feeder is 
 so plain and simple, that we think no farmer can fail to un- 
 derstand and appreciate its advantages. It is just what 
 farmers have been wanting, and just what manufacturers 
 have been trying to make ; something that can be adjusted 
 instantly without change of gears. 
 
 The subscriber is also general agent for 
 
 The Meadow King Mower, 
 
 The Little Champion Reaper, 
 
 The Whitewater Wagon, 
 
 And all kinds of Farm Machinery. 
 -Rg^Orders respectfully solicited. 
 
 S. L. SHELDON, Agent, 
 
 Madison, AVis., or St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 J. I. CASE & CO. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Threshing Machines, 
 
 PORTABLE STEAM ENGINES, 
 
 Down and Mounted Powers 
 
 TREAD POWERS, 
 
 Circular Saws and Frames, 
 
 TRUCKS, &c. 
 
 General Office and Manufactory, 
 H-A-CI3STE, - - WISCONSIN. 
 
 Chicago and North-Western Railway, 
 
 PASSENGERS FOR 
 
 C H I C A (^ O , 
 
 DETROIT, 
 
 TOLEDO, 
 
 CLEVELAND, 
 
 BUFFALO, 
 
 NIAGARA F'S 
 
 PITTSBURG, 
 
 CINCINNATI, 
 
 ROCHESTER, 
 
 ALBANY, 
 
 TORONTO, 
 
 MONTREAL, 
 QUEBEC, 
 PORTLAND, 
 BOSTON, 
 NEW YORK, 
 
 DAYTON, 
 ENDIANAPOLIS, 
 TERRE HAUTE, 
 CHAMPAIGN, 111.. 
 BLOOMINGTON, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, SPRINGFIELD, 
 BALTIMORE, JACKSONVILLE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, QUINCY, 
 WHEELING, ST. LOUIS, 
 
 COLUMBUS, CAIRO. 
 
 And ALL POINTS SOUTH and EAST, 
 Should buy their tickets via 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. 
 
 Close Connections made with all Railroads running EAST 
 or SOUTH from Chicago. 
 
 THIS IS THE DIRECT ROUTE 
 
 FOR 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 
 
 Sacramento, Ogden, 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY, 
 DENVER, 
 COUNCIL BLUFFS, 
 SIOUX CITY, 
 WATERLOO, 
 LA CROSSE, 
 ST. PAUL, 
 MARQUETTE, 
 
 CHEYENNE, 
 OMAHA, 
 , YANKTON, 
 
 CEDAR RAPIDS, 
 FORT DODGE, 
 WINONA. 
 DULUTH, 
 L'ANSE, 
 
 ISHPEMING, NEGAUNEE, 
 
 ESCANABA, GREEN BAY, 
 
 MENASHA, STEVENS POINT, 
 
 OSHKOSH, FOND DU LAC, 
 
 Are all on the line of this Great Road, or are reached by 
 this Route with less Change of Cars than by any other. 
 Among the Inducements offered by this Route, are 
 .ILL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 
 Pullman Palatial Cars and Coaches ; Parlor and Drawing 
 Room Day Coaches ; Smoking and Lounging Cars ; Westing- 
 house Safety Air Brakes; Miller's Patent Safety Coupling 
 and Platforms ; Close Connections at Junction Points ; Less 
 Transfers than any other Route ; Speed, Safety and Abso- 
 lute Comfort. 
 
 Erotn 2 to lO Fast Express Trains run each way 
 Daily over the various Lines of this Road, thus securing to 
 the Traveler selecting this Route sure and certain connec- 
 tions in any direction he may wish to go. 
 
 ^Eg^See that your tickets read via this Route, and take 
 none other. 
 MAEVIN Htf&HITT, W. E. STENNETT, 
 
 Gen'l Superintendent. Gen'l Passenger Agent. 
 
 frank & mason, 
 Hardware Dealers. 
 
 ALL KINDS OF 
 
 IRON GOODS, 
 
 WAGON STOCK, 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, 
 Stoves, Tinware, Table and Pocket Cutlery. 
 
 ^g^All useful articles for family use kept on hand at 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 OPPOSITE PARK HOTEL, MADISON, WIS. 
 
RAIL ROAD EXCURSIONS AND CHEAP HOTELS. 
 
 Grandest American Exhibition of the Year! 
 
 THE SECOND ANNUAL EXHIBITION OF 
 
 THE INTER-STATE INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION, 
 
 OF OHICAGrO, 
 
 "Will Open September 9th, and Close October 10th, 1874. 
 
 "^•Sp- Attractive Novelties in Every Department. The Largest and Best Display of Works of Art ever opened to the 
 Public in America. Grand Conservatory with Fountains. 
 
 XOOO feet Long, 240 feet "Wide, 800 feet of 3MCacli.iia.ex-y in motion. 
 
 ^ *5r Largely increased Dining Booms, Lunch Rooms and Restaurant, ample for any number of Visitors. The Bill of 
 Fare and Prices fixed by the Managers. 
 
 There will be no other Exhibition in this Country during 1874 where the visitor can find so mucin that is entertaining 
 and instructive, at a cost so trilling. Let all come with the certainty of not being in the least disappointed. 
 
 PAEK HOTEL, M^DISOIST, WIS. 
 
 ^Jf 
 
 THIS NEW AND ELEGANT HOTEL is situated on the highest point of ground in the center of the City of Madi- 
 *??' w reC Tir y PP°&£ e V ie '^ tat e Capitol, and every window commands a magnificent view of the celebrated Lakes, 
 Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Xegonsa, which surround the City. 
 
 The House has all the modern improvements-is furnished in a superior and most substantial manner, with Velvet 
 r?n,>,7 r ^ S i I .-V'^ts, 1. lackwalnut and Marble Top Furniture, Spring Beds and Hair Mattresses, throughout. The 
 rooms and corridors are large and well ventilated. 
 
 h™"*«£? if ° R 1874 -—^°?rd per week, for two weeks and over, S14.00, $17.50 and S20.00, according to accommoda- 
 tion, bpecial arrangements with families for the season. Special reductions from Summer Rates made for the months 
 oi September, October and November. 
 
 £®=B. Jetf'ersori & Co.'s Omnibusses and Baggage Wagons in attendance on arrival of all trains. 
 
 iwery eflort will be made to secure the comfort and pleasure of guests. 
 
 MARK H. IRISH, Proprietor. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN, 
 
 NOVEMBER-1874. 
 
 CONTENTS: 
 
 PREPARATION FOR WINTER. By Dr. Hobbins 41 
 
 HOME EMBELLISHMENT.— 1. By Prof. H. W. Roby 43 
 
 THIRTY MINUTES TALK ON FLOWERS. By John N. Dickie 44 
 
 WINDOW GARDENING. By H 45 
 
 WISCONSIN AND ENGLISH FARMING. By J. H 46 
 
 THE LEAF— ITS STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS. By J. Cochrane, A. M 48 
 
 THE GOLDEN PIPPIN— ITS HISTORY 48 
 
 THE GROUPING OF PLANTS 50 
 
 GRAFTING THE GRAPE 55 
 
 THE AYRSHIRE COW 55 
 
 HORTICULTURAL NOTES 56 
 
 Successional Cabbages from Old Stocks; Something New ; Garden Walks; Frn it in Tin Cans; 
 Miniature Grounds ; Fruit Eating; Garden Architecture ; Tom Thumb Lettuce; Cut Flowers; A 
 New Pelargonium; Strawberry Land; Hanson Lettuce; Peas; Cyprus Laxus; Gordon's Dwarf 
 Fir; Cabbages; Shaping the Garden to the Buildings; Rosy-Flowered Elder; A New Strawberry ; 
 White Flowers for Winter; A Lilium Auratum. 
 
 POULTRY NOTES 57 
 
 Heavy Fowls; Larger Eggs; Pekin Ducks; The Wisconsin Central Poultry Association; 
 Broken Toes. 
 
 EDITORIAL 58 
 
 The Garden in the House; A Plea for Our Native Flowers; American Potatoes in England; 
 Canned Fruits and Vegetables; Horticultural Pests; The Phylloxera; The Rose; Cemetery 
 Flowers; Accidental Naturalization of Plants; Green House and Window Plants; Trees; To 
 Preserve Cut Flowers; Paris Green and the Canaries; America Not Discovered by Columbus; 
 Mound Builders; Poultry Association. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 63 
 
 The Cuckoo. 
 
 HOME DEPARTMENT 64 
 
 The Life Clock— (Poem); Trip Lightly— (Poem); Sanitary Notes by Joseph Hobbins, M. D.; 
 Cellar Fever, by J. H; Digging a Cure for Dyspepsia; The Next to the Best — (Poem); Rising 
 Above Discouragement; Death from the Sting of a Hornet; Poison. 
 
 OUR GIRLS AND BOYS 68 
 
 Fairy Folk — (Poem); Animals of the Galapagos. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 69 
 
 School Diseases, by C. R. Agnew, M. D., New York. 
 
 MISCELLANY 7° 
 
 Ladv Virtue; Sports of the Olden Time— Hawking; African Religion; Unfinished Still— 
 (Poem); Giving— (Poem); Life in China; The Owl, the Stonechat and the Water Ouzel; The 
 Bamboo; Clothes Worn by the Fijians. 
 
 OUR SCRAP BOOK 77 
 
 Scene in a Railroad Car ; A Witty Rebuff; Anecdote of Macready ; How the Fop Lost His 
 Cap; Don't Understand English ; Story of a County Clerk; Curious Invention; Courting Julia 
 Over Again; That Dog; Buying, the Practice of a Country Physician ; Two Anecdotes of Sir 
 
 Never Call Anybody Names ; What Kind of " Sassages." 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY 81 
 
 Sheep Raising in California ; How a Swarm Hangs to the Branch ; Eels ; Ants in the Dwelling 
 
 House; Singular Fossil Tree; Cleaning Ground with Steam. 
 FACETLE • ••••••• 85 
 
Vol. I. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., NOVEMBER, 1874. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR WINTER. 
 The saddest, sweetest, and to us, the most 
 beautiful season of the year, has gone. 
 The Indian Summer Queen has passed 
 over our borders; she has poured into our 
 lap the various fruits of the earth; she has 
 made glad our garners, if not with equal, 
 still with abundance of the golden riches 
 of harvest; she has tinted our gardens and 
 our fields, our prairies and our woodlands 
 with all the glorious hues of the many 
 colored autumn; she has filled the air 
 with the perfume of flowers — sweet teach- 
 ing flowers, whose sweetest breath is their 
 last; she has made the day musical with 
 the voices of birds that go with her, and 
 the night with the dream songs of our 
 groves and deep swelling trees of our 
 grand old forests. She came as a thing of 
 beauty; she has accomplished the object 
 of her coming — she has told us that the 
 season of fruitfulness is over, that its work 
 is done. She has shown us an example 
 worthy of all to follow: to finish oixr work 
 of the season in a like spirit — the spirit 
 that delights in the beautiful, and in all 
 that adorns the earth and ministers to the 
 wants and the happiness of our fellow 
 man. 
 
 How shall we do this? What is the 
 work of the season? To put in order and 
 to protect during the rigorous winter every- 
 thing that autumn has left to our charge, 
 and to prepare, as far as we can at this late 
 hour, for the coming of spring. 
 
 In this endeavor, the first thing that the 
 
 horticultural eye naturally turns to. is the 
 vine, simply because in its helplessness 
 on the trellis, leafless, and pitilessly tossed 
 to and fro in the wind, it seems to appeal 
 for rescue. In this State the best time for 
 pruning vines is unquestionably in the first 
 week of November. After pruning to two 
 eyes, the vines being grown on the two 
 arm plan, should be pegged down with 
 hooked sticks, each arm being fastened 
 down in the same direction from year to 
 year. They should be left exposed for 
 about a week to some frost and a light 
 snow storm or two. This exposure pre- 
 vents bleeding in the spring, and the snow 
 forms a good preparation for the after 
 covering. At the expiratian of the week 
 the vines can be covered with earth, if on 
 the farm, or with straw or litter in the 
 garden. We always cover with light or 
 recent stable litter, being careful to avoid 
 the use of close or wet manure. 
 
 Trees should be pruned in the summer, 
 this adds to their fruitfulness, and their 
 wounds heal better in this season. But if 
 summer pruning has been neglected or not 
 thoroughly done, the trees may be pruned 
 now. Winter pruning adds to the vigor 
 of growth. By careful and regular pruning 
 you may avoid to a great extent the cut- 
 ting away of large limbs, which is ruinous 
 to a tree. A tree, in this respect as in 
 many others, is like to the human body — 
 the nearer you come to the trunk the 
 greater the danger to life. In horticulture, 
 heavy pruning is the result for the most 
 
42 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 part of neglect or ignorance. All wounds 
 inflicted by the saw should be pared, and 
 the stump rounded off with a sharp garden 
 knife, and then painted. In pruning a 
 tree, try to preserve a good shape. The 
 low, bushy shape is the best. Give ample 
 light into the inside or centre of the tree, 
 by carrying the branches out and upwards 
 with something like regularity. Top the 
 central branches freely — in other words, 
 keep your tree in hand, and not in the 
 hook of a ladder. 
 
 The raspberry bed must have its last 
 inspection: any lateral left too long from 
 September pruning, should be shortened; 
 any straggling cane that cannot be spared, 
 tied to a stake; but not more than two or 
 three canes should be kept from one root, 
 as two good canes will yield more fruit 
 than half a dozen poor ones. The stalks 
 should all be examined, made firm in the 
 ground, and new garden string used. But 
 where the rasjiberry is properly pruned to 
 two feet in August, few stakes will be 
 required, as the canes are thick enough to 
 support themselves in an upright manner. 
 All weeds should be plucked up, and fresh 
 mulch applied to a depth of two inches, so 
 as to leave nothing to be done to the bed 
 in spring, 
 
 Strawberry beds should be freed of 
 weeds, the soil of the bed should be forked 
 over to the depth of four inches, and the 
 whole protected with a two inch covering 
 of straw, kept in place by a bundle of long 
 sticks scattered over the bed. Avoid the 
 use of leaves or manure as mulch for the 
 strawberry. 
 
 Ornamental trees and shrubs can be 
 better pruned now than in summer. At 
 least it will be found more convenient and 
 less labor. The trees can be brought into 
 shape and the shrubs thinned out. The 
 trunks of half hardy trees can also be pro- 
 tected by hay-bands, which ought to be 
 carried a little above the fork of the tree. 
 
 Roses and half hardy shrubs may remain 
 uncovered until the middle or latter end 
 of the month. Plants, such as feverfew, 
 snap-dragons, Canterbury bells, carnations, 
 violets, and plants of the same rather ten- 
 der nature, should be put into the cold- 
 frame at once, so that they may get estab- 
 lished before finally covering them for the 
 winter. 
 
 Herbaceous plants remaining, should 
 
 have all their dead stems and leaves re- 
 moved, and be moderately covered with 
 light litter. 
 
 If the hyacinth bulbs, the tulip, crocus 
 and snowdrop are not already put in, they 
 should be planted at once, though the best 
 time for planting them is the middle of 
 October. 
 
 The asparagus bed had almost escaped 
 us. As an early bed it should be attended 
 to now: well weeded, rich black manure 
 freely forked in between the rows, plenti- 
 fully salted, and well covered with litter. 
 The heavier the covering the earlier the 
 asparagus will start, as the frost will not 
 have penetrated to any considerable depth. 
 
 Clean the ground generally; remove all 
 worthless trees and shrubs. If not already 
 attended to, put the finishing touch of 
 preparation for spring to the flower beds 
 by dressing them with new soil. Let the 
 lawn come in for its share of attention. 
 No part of the garden is more grateful for 
 such care, and none is more beautiful. All 
 it requires is to be well raked, clearing 
 away the dead grass and fallen leaves, and 
 well sprinkled with rich black manure, in 
 the form of powder. 
 
 The practice of manuring the garden in 
 the fall is sometimes advocated, but spring 
 manuring is, for a variety of reasons, pref- 
 erable. Winter manuring upon the surface 
 is for the most part wasted by wash or the 
 evolution of its gases. Besides, the appli- 
 cation of manure in the spring time is far 
 more convenient, the joint operation of 
 digging and manuring making little more 
 than one labor. 
 
 Ridging the vegetable garden soil for 
 the purpose of exposing it to the frost and 
 loosening its particles, has its advocates. 
 There can be no objection to this when 
 the soil is light, but when it is heavy, or 
 comes under the head of clay soils, this- 
 process should be avoided for the reason 
 that instead of such soils being loosened 
 and made lighter, they are made heavier 
 and harder, since to press out the water 
 from clay, no matter whether by frost or 
 other means, is only to bring the particles 
 of clay into closer contact. Such soils are 
 best made lighter by loosening material, 
 such as digging in a green crop, raw man- 
 ure, wood ashes, &c. And this holds good 
 with farms as well as gardens, for farms 
 are but gardens on a larger scale. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 43 
 
 When all else is done in the garden, its 
 walks should be looked to, for there is lit- 
 tle comfort to be found in a garden where 
 the walks are imperfect or constructed of 
 the wrong material. Grass is too trouble- 
 some if used, and easily made shabby and 
 is at all times troublesome. Gravel is still 
 more troublesome from being- so infested 
 with weeds. Wooden walks made of one 
 inch boards nailed crosswise on two by 
 four stringers, rot or break, and are always 
 getting- out of order. The best garden 
 walk, best because most. permanent, easily 
 kept in repair, neatest, and sufficiently 
 cheap in cities, is that made by digging- 
 out to the depth of twenty inches and to a 
 width of twenty-six inches. Fill in with 
 gas work cinders to sixteen inches deep, 
 thoroughly packing down with a heavy 
 damper. On each side place eighteen feet 
 fence boards kept in line by pegs of one 
 inch pine wood driven in at intervals of 
 eight feet. Then top with gas lime, and 
 roll well with a heavy iron roller. This 
 makes a walk that costs nothing but the 
 boards and the handling of the material; 
 that the weeds will not invade; that is neat, 
 durable and dry, and can be used with 
 comfort in all seasons of the year. 
 
 HOME EMBELLISHMENT.-].. 
 Thk question often arises in the minds of 
 owners and tenants, how can home and its 
 surroundings be made the most beautiful 
 and charming at the least expense? The 
 practical solution of this question is often 
 a matter of much doubt, hesitation and 
 difficulty. People in the country see some 
 of the elegant places in the city, and wish 
 they could have as beautiful places — so 
 cozy, so neat and beautiful; and many 
 people in the city lament that they cannot 
 have the broad fertile acres of the country, 
 with shady groves, purling streams and 
 waving meadows; with a broad expanse of 
 blue sky above and nature's velvet carpet 
 beneath; where they might revel amid 
 nature's enchantments, and be the happiest 
 mortals on earth. 
 
 Theories and fancies are very well in 
 their places; but they will not alone give 
 ns grand palaces or sylvan retreats. La- 
 bor and expense must accompany these 
 fancies and become co-workers in order to 
 realize the kind of homes we so much long 
 for. By far too many people fail to realize 
 
 any of the pleasures of beautiful surround- 
 ings because they put forth their efforts in 
 the wrong direction, or fail to put forth any 
 effort at all beyond the effort of fancy. 
 
 There is an old proverb, running thus: 
 "If wishes were horses, beggars might ride." 
 So if wishes would procure elegant homes, 
 most of us would have them. But wishes 
 alone will not give them to us. Here is 
 what we must do: Take our homes as we 
 find them, and then set to work, first with 
 brain and then with hand, with a determin- 
 ation to improve them. First, look at 
 some of the places we envy or covet; see 
 what it is that charms there. If it is the 
 fine expanse of velvety lawn, then see how 
 much of a lawn we can make at home. 
 If clumps of evergreens most attract us, 
 we must consider how much we can do in 
 the same direction. If the bright and 
 dazzling display of flower beds most en- 
 thralls us, then we must study that subject. 
 If the harmonious blending of lawn, trees 
 and flowers rivet our attention, then study 
 the harmony. Let us learn by study of 
 the picture or pictures before us, wherein 
 the harmony consists, and what variation's 
 would produce discord and inharmony. 
 When we learn by observation, something 
 of nature's laws— of harmony and unity in 
 diversity, let us give our knowledge prac- 
 tical shape by making the best of our 
 opportunities. If we cannot rival our 
 richest neighbor in the expenditure of 
 money in home embellishment, let us at 
 least endeavor to rival him in taste in doing- 
 what we are able to do. Taste in adorn- 
 ment will do wonders. We are many times 
 amazed at the genuine elegance and native 
 charm of some humble abode, whose owner 
 is a day laborer, and who can ill afford the 
 pittance that a few trees, shrubs, &c, will 
 cost. We need no landscape gardener to 
 tell us why the place, though small and 
 unpretending, looks so inviting and plea- 
 sant. That word unpretending tells the 
 whole secret. Pretentious places always 
 betray stiffness, harshness, rude configura- 
 tions and unnatural blendings. Unpre- 
 tending people copy nature, which is always 
 harmonious, and the cost of doing it is 
 infinitely less. As no two objects in nature 
 are exectly alike, so no two homes can be 
 exactly alike in all their surroundings and 
 appointments. Nature never committed 
 the blunder of planting trees in long, stiff 
 
44 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 rows, or hollow squares. Neither should 
 men. Nature never planted all her cedars 
 on one hill — her pines on another — her 
 oaks on another — nor all her cypress in one 
 valley and her willows in another. Neither 
 should men. Nature never planted one 
 natural division of landscape with one 
 flower alone, and excluded all others. If 
 we violate that rule of nature, we err. 
 Nature has some plant and flower adapted 
 to every variety of soil, climate, sunshine 
 and shade. That which will not thrive in 
 the broad glare of the noontide sun, will 
 luxuriate in the coolness and moisture of 
 a sequestered retreat, in the shadow of 
 rock and tree; and vice versa. 
 
 In a paper read before the State Horti- 
 cultural Society, a year ago last winter, 
 the writer then said, and now repeats with 
 emphasis: "If I were asked to advise as 
 to how to make the most unpleasant and 
 intolerable, place in the neighborhood an 
 inviting and attractive homestead, I should 
 not say, go to work and build the finest 
 house in the neighborhood on the place; 
 but, clean up the rubbish about the place, 
 lay out, plant and cultivate a flower and 
 vegetable garden, train ornamental climb- 
 ers about the house and over the most 
 unsightly places; and instead of its being 
 the most repulsive place in the neighbor- 
 hood, it would become the most attractive 
 and pleasant. Gov. Austin, of Minnesota, 
 truthfully said at our last State Fair: 'A 
 flower garden and a little grove of trees 
 is almost as contagious as the small pox. 
 The girls in the next house will tease the 
 old gentleman, the next year, for a little 
 patch of ground to plant with flowers; the 
 boys will find time between planting and 
 hoeing, and dig up and transplant a few 
 shade trees, and a new order of things will 
 be inaugurated.' 
 
 "When this new order of things is in- 
 augurated, the intelligent man who wants 
 to buy a home in city, village or country, 
 will pay a much larger sum for such a place 
 than for the same place divested of all the 
 charms of tasteful embellishment." 
 
 H. W. Roby. 
 
 THIRTY MINUTES TALK ON FLOWERS. 
 There is an immense number of annuals 
 advertised by our seedsmen, and while the 
 great majority have merit, there are only 
 a precious few worthy of general cultiva- 
 
 tion. This we know from sad experience, 
 having grown almost every variety adver- 
 tised. In this, and future articles, we pro- 
 pose to give the readers of the Field, 
 Lawn and Garden, a list of the best 
 varieties, their growth and cultivation. 
 Let us, then, begin with the 
 
 ASTER. 
 
 There are few flowers that have been so 
 improved by cultivation as the aster. Orig- 
 inally it was single and ordinary, and 
 can still be seen in many sections in all its 
 pristine ugliness, so prone are many good 
 people to hold fast to the relics of the 
 olden time. But, by careful cultivation, 
 the aster has finally been developed into 
 a flower as double as the most perfect 
 dahlia. In the whole floral creation there 
 are but few flowers so perfectly suited for 
 an autumn display, so long as that display 
 lasts; for the truth compels us to state 
 that the aster is short lived. For three 
 weeks, blossoms will be produced in abun- 
 dance, but after that time the plant be- 
 gins to look "ragged, careworn and weary," 
 and in a few days is just about as orna- 
 mental as a decayed thistle. This being 
 the case, it should not be placed in a 
 prominent position. Nothing is more fool- 
 ish than the too common practice of placing 
 short-lived flowering plants on the lawn, 
 or in a conspicuous place in the garden. 
 Of course they are magnificent when in 
 bloom, but their death leaves a blank 
 which need not have been had they been 
 placed on the borders of the "social circle." 
 
 We have here spoken of the sole defect 
 of the aster. In all other respects it is 
 well nigh perfect; and everyone who cul- 
 tivates flowers, no matter on how small a 
 scale, should grow it. As the bloom will 
 be more enduring by coming into bloom 
 late in the season, we would advise sowing 
 the seed in a well prepared bed in the gar- 
 den, about the tenth of May; and by the 
 last of the month the plants will be ready 
 for the permanent bed in the garden, 
 which should have been previously en- 
 riched with well rotted stable manure. 
 The large varieties should be set one foot 
 apart, and the dwarfs six inches or so. 
 Many varieties need tying, as without sup- 
 port they are sure to fall to the ground, 
 when loaded with blossoms, during any 
 ordinary storm. The stakes should be 
 made, and painted green, during the win- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 45 
 
 ter. Do not wait until the hurry of spring 
 to do it, for if so, you will forget the paint, 
 and that is the best part of the stake. 
 Half hidden by the foliage of the plant, a 
 painted stake will hardly be noticed, and 
 if it is, will present rather a better ap- 
 pearance than an oak splinter off the 
 nearest rail fence. 
 
 Our seedsmen offer a long list of varie- 
 ties, and while all are good, some are bet- 
 ter. We have found the New Pose the 
 best for all purposes. The X« Svperbe, 
 Truft'anfs Preorny, flowered Perfection, 
 and the Imbriqne Pompon. The Hedge- 
 Hog, or Needle, is a quilled variety, and 
 one of our favorites. Of the smaller sorts, 
 the Newest Dwarf Ponqnet is likely to 
 prove the most satisfactory, although a 
 person's experience with the same variety 
 may vary more or less in two successive 
 seasons. 
 
 THE BROWALLIA. 
 
 We present this flower to the consider- 
 ation of the reader with all due diffidence. 
 It is possible a portion may dissent from 
 our placing it on the same shelf with the 
 aster; but we do so conscientiously, you 
 may rest assured. Tastes will differ, and 
 of course our opinion cannot be every- 
 body's. Still, it is our own, and as such 
 can be accepted or rejected, as the reader 
 may choose. 
 
 The browallia is a native of South 
 America, and has not been generally cul- 
 tivated, as yet, in this country. We 
 tested it for the first time in 1869, and at 
 once placed it on the list of really valuable 
 annuals. In the first place it is a constant 
 bloomer. Secondly, it produces both blue 
 and white flowers, which, although small, 
 are peculiar in shape, and particularly de- 
 sirable on account of their color. Thirdly — 
 we never go further than "thirdly" under 
 any circumstances, — it is of good habit, 
 grows freely from seed, and is unsurpassed 
 for bouquets. And knowing this, can any 
 sane person blame us for admiring the 
 flower? 
 
 It is our principal duty, however, to re- 
 cord the fact that the browallia comes 
 into bloom rather late in the season, unless 
 started in a hot-bed. Seed sown in a cold 
 frame will produce plants which will flow- 
 er about the twentieth of August. Care 
 should be taken in sowing the seed, as it 
 is extremely fine, and the plants as well 
 
 as they appear above ground. Sow the 
 seed as thin as possible, and avoid drench- 
 ing the young plants, as they are liable to 
 " damp off." Transplant to the open bor- 
 der the last of May. There are three or 
 four varieties advertised, and all are equal- 
 ly good. 
 
 And now a word with reference to the 
 
 CACALIA. 
 
 This floAver is not worth growing, save 
 for bouquets. It seems perfectly designed 
 for this, as the flowers are on long slender 
 stems, and of two showy colors, scarlet 
 and yellow. Never make the grievous 
 mistake of growing this flower in beds for 
 a display. Of course it will make one, 
 but a neat bed of dry fennel would pre- 
 sent a far better appearance. The fact is, 
 the foliage and the top-heavy habit of the 
 plant destroy what real beauty there is in 
 the flower, which only shows to advantage 
 when severed from the parent stem and 
 placed in the vase. Our plan is to sow 
 the seed in mellow soil the first of May, 
 and, after the plants are an inch or so 
 high, transplant to some place where they 
 can waste what little sweetness they pos- 
 sess on the nearest cabbage patch, until 
 visited with the scissors. 
 
 John N. Dickie. 
 
 Columbus, Ohio. 
 
 WINDOW GARDENING. 
 In the Gardeners' Chronicle for July, some 
 very good suggestions on this department 
 of gardening are to be found. It is very 
 common to see very pretty plants in win- 
 dows, bat it is very uncommon to see them 
 surrounded by a beautiful border of green 
 foliage — a living leaf frame as it were. 
 Now and then, but very rarely, in the city, 
 we see the ivy plant trained around the 
 window case, and still more rarely around 
 a window containing flowers or ornamental 
 plants. But it never meets our eye with- 
 out imparting a great deal of pleasure 
 and eliciting admiration, as being not only 
 an attraction inside of a house, but equally 
 attractive outside. 
 
 But everyone does not possess an ivy 
 plant, and every house in this our vigorous 
 winter climate is not calculated to possess 
 one. We are not, however, cut off from 
 simple and equalty beautiful substitutes, 
 having this recommendation: that unlike 
 the ivy, which is costly, they cost scarcely 
 
46 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 a single cent. Half a cent's worth of the 
 convolvulus major and its varieties, ex- 
 tremely pretty and most appropriate in 
 their long- succession of bloom, the canary 
 flower, the scarlet runner and painted lady 
 beans, &c, &c, will prove more than satis- 
 factory, and answer equally well, as will a 
 seed or two of the cucumber planted in a 
 large pot. All that these need is a strong 
 stick and a string to mount, and tepid 
 watering. They may thus be trained into 
 a greenery arch; and if the white cucum- 
 ber be pianted with the green, a pleasing 
 contrast is formed, and a more bower-like 
 arch is the result. 
 
 H. 
 
 WISCONSIN AND ENGLISH FARMING. 
 
 Upon making an application to an English 
 landowner, for a farm upon lease, some- 
 thing like the following passes between 
 the applicant and the owner: 
 
 "Have you a letter from your banker?" 
 "Yes, to the effect that my banking ac- 
 count shows a credit of some four thousand 
 pounds," — over twenty thousand dollars. 
 
 " Very good, as the farm consists of 
 two hundred acres, 110,000 to $15,000 
 capital, or from $50 to $75 per acre is re- 
 quired to work it." 
 
 " Do you know anything about farming?" 
 " No." Then you are given to understand 
 that you will require a little more capital. 
 
 "As you are probably not conversant 
 with my rules of leasing, it will be well 
 that you take this printed copy home with 
 you. I will enter your name and address 
 on my list of applicants, and you shall 
 hear from me soon. Please favor me with 
 references other than your banker." 
 
 From these rules you learn that in case 
 of taking the farm, you bind yourself to 
 use on the farm the above amount of capi- 
 tal. Any neglect to do so forfeits your 
 lease. You are to farm on the crop rota- 
 tion system. You are not to disturb the 
 grass-land, as this remains for generations 
 grass-land. You are to keep a certain 
 amount of stock, proportionate to the size 
 of the farm. You are bound not to sell a 
 straw off the farm, but to convert it by 
 your stock into manure, which must regu- 
 larly go on the land. You are, in fact, 
 bound under penalties to keep up the pro- 
 ducing power of the farm, to farm in a 
 fanner-like manner, to keep the farm 
 
 buildings in good condition, and every in- 
 fraction of this bond renders not only 
 your lease null and void, but renders you 
 liable to damages, which are swiftly and 
 surely exacted. 
 
 This is a system that makes farmers 
 rich; that pays the land-owner well. This 
 is a system that keeps land (worked some- 
 times by the same families, generation 
 after generation, for three hundred years) 
 from running out, and enables it to pro- 
 duce more than four times the quantity of 
 wheat that Ave produce after only ten years 
 of cropping, though our soil is as g-ood 
 and our climate perhaps better than that 
 of England. This is a system that enables 
 the farmer to pay, as he frequently does 
 for farms near towns, $25 rental per acre, 
 as much as a good farm costs at sale Avith 
 us. And this is the land claimed to have 
 been a wheat-bearing land at the time of 
 the Roman invasion. 
 
 Do not mistake our design in writing 1 
 these notes. It is not intended to show 
 that in order to succeed at farming in Wis- 
 consin, we must have English lords and 
 English farmers, or make of Wisconsin 
 an English county, Nothing of the kind. 
 But it is intended to show, that farming, 
 like any other business, to be carried on 
 successfully, must have capital, not a mis- 
 erable ten per cent, mortgage to paralize 
 it. That it must be worked on a right 
 system of alternation of crops, in order 
 to avoid totally extracting from the soil 
 those ingredients of plant nourishment 
 of which it has but a measureable supply. 
 That it must be worked upon a system of 
 compensation: as the soil gives you food, 
 feed it back again. This is just what na- 
 ture everywhere does, and man is not 
 superior to nature's laws. We take all 
 we can from our soil; we give it nothing 
 in return. In ten or twenty years we ex- 
 haust it. This is our system. The Eng- 
 lish system never exhausts; self-interest 
 forbids it, and it yields crop after crop, 
 bountifully and almost unfailingly, as far 
 as the land itself is concerned. 
 
 Are Ave incapable of taking a hint? 
 Looking at the agricultural history of the 
 east, of the middle states, and of the ever 
 shifting Avest, one would think the hint of 
 such a history, a history of exhausted land 
 and progressively decreasing crops, one 
 would think, Ave say, the hint of such a 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 47 
 
 history would be enough for us without 
 going abroad for a reminder or lesson. 
 
 It will not do to shrug our shoulders and 
 attribute our misfortunes to the changes 
 in our climate. The meteorological re- 
 ports of the Smithsonian Institute show 
 that our climate has not changed. This 
 authority is beyond question, supported as 
 it is by the most reliable data. It is true 
 that "there is a greater tendency to 
 drought for a series of years together," 
 but it is just as true that "there is also 
 more often a more equal distribution of 
 rain throughout the years." But this is a 
 mere variation, and not positive change of 
 climate. 
 
 Nor will it serve us or save us to cry 
 chinch bug. It is a well known and ac- 
 cepted truth, that where animal or vege- 
 table life is injured by bad feeding, or 
 otherwise abused, so that its vitality is 
 weakened, predatory and destructive in- 
 sect and animalcular life develops itself. 
 Starve your pig, your sheep, your ox, or 
 your horse, and see in how short a time 
 living pests of one kind or the other will 
 attack them. Just so with the soil. Starve 
 it, and pest-life follows. The fact that 
 these pests attack the new land as well as 
 the old does not for a moment affect the 
 truth of what we are saying, or militate 
 against ovir views, since in ail pestilences 
 the good suffer with the bad, the healthy 
 with the sickly, the strong with the weak; 
 but the source and the stronghold of pest- 
 ilence is in poverty, in exhaustion, in 
 injured vitality. 
 
 What, then, are the remedies? There 
 are many. Be governed in the size of 
 your farm by the length of your purse, by 
 the amount of your capital. If you have 
 no capital, sell part of your land, instead 
 of impoverishing it all and in the end run 
 the danger of its impoverishing you. If 
 you are in debt, sell, farm less land. If 
 you have capital, be wise and invest it in 
 your land, instead of being ambitious to 
 loan it at 10 per cent, to your neighbor. 
 Keep an amount of stock proportionate to 
 the quantity of your land, and feed your 
 stock so that it will bring you, if beef, six 
 dollars the hundred, as Illinois cattle bring, 
 and not a beggarly three dollars, as Wis- 
 consin fed beef brings in the Chicago 
 market. Feed your land, or depend upon 
 it, it will not long feed you. Let your 
 
 stock, by yarding it, convert all straw and 
 vegetable refuse, as well as animal refuse, 
 into good manure. Pile it until it is in 
 digestible shape for the land to benefit by. 
 This feeding land on indigestible, on un- 
 prepared food, is almost useless. Prepare 
 yoitr manure. Your food is prepared. 
 And feed your land regularly . Irregular- 
 ity in this respect, an overfeeding at one 
 time and an underfeeding at another, is 
 as bad for your land as for yourself. 
 Abandon your one crop system. It is 
 about as natural as bleeding yourself to 
 death; and adopt the plan that serves, 
 saves, and has proved itself to be so sensi- 
 ble — the rotation of crops. 
 
 There are still some other considerations 
 for us. Such as deeper plowing, and a 
 breed of farm horses fit for farm work, for 
 deeper plowing. The pride of our farm- 
 ers is rather in the direction of fast trot- 
 ters for the road than workers for the 
 farm. This is all wrong and should be 
 changed. Let us see a little — nay, a good 
 deal more of Normandy and Canada in 
 our horseflesh, and a good deal less of the 
 two-forty style at the plow. But, the 
 depth of the plow must, after all is said, 
 be suited to the depth of the soil. 
 
 Finally, plow early, as early as you can 
 after harvest. Put in your crop as early 
 as you can in the spring. But, above all, 
 beware what you do put in. We have 
 seen seed wheat in which the germ of al- 
 most every fifth seed was destroyed, and 
 where, of course, germination was impos- 
 sible, and yet the berry, to the naked eye, 
 was fine, and the owner of it innocently 
 asking a high price. iVgain, seed wheat 
 has been shown to us, fine berries to look 
 at, but under the microscope showing just 
 such a skin as you would be likely to show- 
 under a system of starvation. A mottled, 
 scurvy looking skin. These diseased 
 states were undoubtedly the result of 
 beggared soil, of the one crop system. 
 It is of paramount importance to get your 
 seed wheat examined by a microscope, 
 and that you buy it, when possible, from 
 another State, or still better, perhaps, 
 from Canada. J. H. 
 
 Onions. — The New Queen onion is said to be 
 the earliest known, and is a good keeper. The New 
 Giant Rocca, New Early White Naples, New Giant 
 White Tripoli, and New Neapolitan Marzajole are 
 highly commended. 
 
48 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 THE LEAF-ITS STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS. 
 The sun retiring to the southern hemis- 
 phere, permits the chilly winds of autumn 
 to remind us that winter is coming. 
 
 The leaves are assuming the tinted hues 
 of autumn from maturity and age, and not 
 from the effect of frost. The silver maple, 
 the ivy, the Virginia creeper, the sumach, 
 the pear and the Kentucky coffee tree, are 
 already ripe, and leaving the spray on 
 which they grew. The oak, the elm and 
 the chestnut, on account of the large 
 amount of tannin contained in them, will 
 for a while longer adhere to the parent 
 stem. 
 
 A brief summary of some of the func- 
 tions and offices of the leaf, will for a few 
 moments engage our attention. All plants, 
 in a general sense, receive their food from 
 their roots. The tree also receives its sup- 
 ply of minerals, such as silex, lime, potash, 
 magnesia, &c, in solution. The sap, thus 
 charged with nourishment, ascends the 
 trunk, traverses the branches, and passes 
 into the leaf. The superfluous sap, which 
 held the nourishment in solution, passes off 
 in the respiration of the leaf; but the 
 plant refuses to part with the nourishment 
 contained in the liquid. This is distributed 
 throughout the plant, a portion being de- 
 posited in the cells of the leaf. The won- 
 derful system of minute vessels which 
 traverses its whole cellular tissue, becomes 
 clogged as the season advances, its circu- 
 lating functions gradually cease to operate, 
 and long before winter they are wholly 
 suspended, and the leaf loses its hold and 
 falls to the ground. 
 
 One of the most remarkable properties 
 of leaves is their power of decomposing 
 carbonic acid, thus enabling them to con- 
 tribute in common with the roots, to the 
 growth of plants. The largest part of all 
 plants consists of carbon and the elements 
 of water. The woody fibre is formed of 
 carbon, hence the growth and increase of 
 all trees and plants are dependant on their 
 power of taking up and digesting this 
 substance. But they neither find it nor 
 take it up in a free and simple state, but 
 in the form of carbon combined with oxy- 
 gen. This carbonic acid pervades the at- 
 mosphere, from which the leaves are con- 
 stantly separating it from the oxygen, and 
 appropriating the carbon as a continuous 
 contribution to the growth of the plant. 
 
 As carbon, and not carbonic acid, is the 
 food of plants, and the power of decom- 
 posing the latter to leave them in posses- 
 sion of the former, and of expelling super- 
 fluous oxygen, is thereby indispensible to 
 its growth. 
 
 In reality the leaves are the lungs, and 
 their functions are strikingly analogous to 
 those performed by the lungs of animals. 
 The green leaves of the growing plant 
 absorb carbonic acid; they expose it to the 
 action of the sun's light. The oxygen is 
 separated from the carbonic acid, and is 
 given out by the leaves. The carbon re- 
 mains, and entering into the system of the 
 plant, increases its bulk. The growth or 
 vigor of a tree, or a plant, depends on the 
 rapidity with which this decomposition or 
 digestion of carbonic acid goes on. 
 
 The leaves must not only be exposed to 
 the light, but must be green. Such plants 
 as have been grown in the dark are invari- 
 ably feeble and destitute of strength and 
 substance, but they are also without color. 
 This is owing to the deficiency of carbon, 
 for while they absorb carbonic acid from 
 the air, the absence of light prevents them 
 from separating it. 
 
 Did space permit, we would note the 
 amount of moisture appropriated by some 
 plants; and the amount exhaled from the 
 leaves; why dense, shady gardens are damp, 
 &c; but postpone it for the present. 
 
 J. Cochrane. 
 
 Havana, 111. 
 
 THE GOLDEN PIPPIN-ITS HISTORY. 
 When and where the Golden Pippin was 
 first discovered are now matters of uncer- 
 tainty; but all writers agree in ascribing 
 to it an English origin, some supposing it 
 to have originated at Parham Park, near 
 Arundel in Sussex. Although it is not re- 
 corded at so early a period as some others, 
 there is no doubt it is a very old variety. 
 It is not, however, the " Golden Pippin " 
 of Parkinson, for he says, "it is the great- 
 est and best of all sorts of Pippins." It 
 was perhaps this circumstance that led Mr. 
 Knight to remark, that from the descrip- 
 tion Parkinson has given of the apples 
 cultivated in his time, it is evident that 
 those now known by the same names are 
 different, and probably new varieties. But 
 this is no evidence of such being the case, 
 for I find there were two sorts of Golden 
 Pippin, the "Great Golding" and the 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 49 
 
 "Small Grolding, or Bayford," both of 
 which are mentioned by Leonard Meager, 
 and there is no doubt the " Golden Pippin" 
 of Parkinson was the "Great Golding." 
 
 Whether it was because it was little 
 known, or its qualities were unappreciated, 
 that the writers of the seventeenth century 
 were so restrictive in their praises of the 
 Golden Pippin, it is difficult to say; but 
 true it is whilst Pearmains, Red Streaks, 
 Codlings and Catsheads are , so highly 
 spoken of, the Golden Pippin is but rarely 
 noticed. Ralph Austin calls it "a very 
 special apple and great bearer." Evelyn 
 certainly states that Lord Clarendon culti- 
 vated it, but it was only as a cider apple ; 
 for he says, "At Lord Clarendon's seat, at 
 Swallowfield, Berks, there is an orchard of 
 one thousand Golden and other cider Pip- 
 pins." In his "Treatise on Cider," he 
 frequently notices it as a cider apple ; but 
 never in any place that I can recollect of 
 as a dessert fruit. In the "Pomonia" he 
 says, "About London and the southern 
 tracts, the Pippin, and especially the Gold- 
 en, is esteemed for making the most deli- 
 cious cider, most wholesome, and most 
 restorative." Worlidge merely notices a 
 "smaller than the Orange apple, else much 
 like it in color, taste, and long keeping." 
 Ray seems the. first who fully appreciated 
 it, for after minutely and correctly describ- 
 ing it, he says, " With all cooks it is a fa- 
 vorite, and it is selected for preserving." 
 De Quintinye remarks it has altogether the 
 character of the Paradise or some other 
 wild apple; it is extremely yellow and 
 round, little juice, which is pretty rich and 
 without bad flavor. But the " Jardiniere 
 Solitaire," more impartial, or with better 
 judgment, says, "It has a very sweet juice; 
 it is higher flavored than the Reinette, and 
 hence it is acknowledged as an apple of 
 great excellence." The opinion of Angran 
 deRueneuve is also worth recording: "The 
 'Apple of Gold 1 comes from England, 
 where it is called the Golden Pippin. I 
 think it ought to be the queen of apples, 
 and that the Reinette should be placed 
 after it, for it is one that stands superior 
 to all other apples." Switzer calls it " the 
 most ancient, as well as the most excellent 
 apple that is." But it is not my intention 
 to record all that has been written in praise 
 of the Golden Pippin, for that of itself 
 would occupy too much space, my object 
 
 in making these extracts being simply to 
 show the gradual progress of its popularity. 
 The late President of the London Hor- 
 ticultural Society, T. A. Knight, Esq., con- 
 sidered that the Golden Pippin and all the 
 old varieties of English apples, were in the 
 last stage of decay, and that a few years 
 would witness their total extinction. This 
 belief he founded upon the degenerate 
 state of these varieties in the Hereford- 
 shire orchards, and also upon his theory 
 that no variety of apple will continue to 
 exist more than two hundred years. It 
 would be needless to enter into any discus- 
 sion upon a subject concerning which so 
 much has already been said and written, 
 as there is sufficient evidence to confute 
 that theory. The Pearmain, which is the 
 oldest English apple on record, shows no 
 symptoms of decay, neither does the cats- 
 head, London Pippin, Winter Quoining, 
 or any other variety; those only having 
 been allowed to disappear from our orch- 
 ards which were not worth perpetuating, 
 and their places supplied by others infin- 
 itely superior. 
 
 It is now considerably upwards of half 
 a century since this doctrine was first pro- 
 mulgated, and though the old, exhausted 
 and diseased trees of the Herefordshire 
 orchards, of which Mr. Knight spoke, to- 
 gether with their diseased progeny, may 
 ere this have passed away, we have the 
 Golden Pippin still, in all the luxuriance 
 of early youth, where it is found in a soil 
 congenial to its growth; and exhibiting as 
 little symptom of decay as any of the var- 
 ieties which Mr. Knight raised to supply 
 the vacancy he expected to create. 
 
 In old nurseries like those at Sawbridge- 
 worth, where the same Golden Pippin has 
 been cultivated for centuries, and continued 
 from year to year by grafts taken from 
 young trees in the nursery quarters, I nev- 
 er saw the least disposition to disease, 
 canker, or decay of any kind, but, on the 
 contrary, a free, vigorous and healthy 
 growth. 
 
 But this alarm of Mr. Knight for the 
 safety of the Golden Pippin, and his fear 
 of his extinction, were based upon no new 
 doctrine, for we find Mortimer a hundred 
 years before, equally lamenting the Kent- 
 ish Pippin. After speaking of manures, 
 &c, for the regeneration of fruit trees, he 
 says, " I shall be glad if this account may 
 
50 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 put any upon the trial of raising - that ex- 
 cellent fruit, the Kentish Pippin, which 
 else, I fear, will be lost. For I find in 
 several orchards, both in Kent, Essex and 
 Hertfordshire, old trees of that sort, but I 
 can find no young ones to prosper. A 
 friend of mine tried a great many experi- 
 ments in Hertfordshire, about raising them 
 and could never get them to thrive, though 
 he had old trees in the same orchard that 
 grew and bore very well. I likewise tried 
 several experiments myself, and have had 
 young trees thrive so well as to make 
 many shoots of a yard long in a year, but 
 these young shoots were always blasted 
 the next year or cankered; which makes 
 me think that the ancients had some par- 
 ticular way of raising them that we have 
 lost the knowledge of." Although this 
 was written 150 years ago, we have the 
 Kentish Pippin still, which though not so 
 much cultivated, or so well known now as 
 then, is, nevertheless, where it does exist, 
 as vigorous and healthy as ever it was. 
 
 One of the oldest and by far the most 
 highly esteemed of our dessert apples. It 
 is also an excellent cider apple. The spe- 
 cific gravity of its juice is 1078. 
 
 It is in season from November to April. 
 The tree is a free and vigorous grower, 
 but docs not attain a great size. It is also 
 an excellent bearer. — If., in Cottage Gar- 
 dener. 
 
 THE GROUPING OF PLANTS. 
 Some botanists are of opinion that the Ar- 
 tie Circle — where Hyperboreans breathed 
 feathers in a credulous age, and where 
 snowflakes fill the air sometimes at the 
 present day — was the cradle of plants, as 
 well as the birthplace of winds, and that 
 the Alpines are the oldest of vegetables 
 and first-born of Flora — that is, of the liv- 
 ing Flora, for there is a dead Flora in the 
 coal measures, of unknown origin, though 
 of well known fate, from whose ashes new 
 plant-life springs. 
 
 "Nothing in this world is single; 
 
 All things by a law divine. 
 In one another's being mingle. " 
 
 The Alpines, growing round Upsal and 
 about the house of the great botanist, 
 were the group of plants that Linnaeus 
 first explored ; and he always wrote lov- 
 ingly of them, as if they had breath as well 
 as beauty, speaking of them as those "num- 
 
 erous tribes in Sweden." He calls the 
 algae and lichens "the last of the vegeta- 
 bles, living on the confines of the earth." 
 And as he climbed North Cape on the very 
 edge of Europe he saw the last of the lich- 
 ens (Parmelia saxatilis) sticking like a 
 patch on a rock which crowns that moun- 
 tain mass in feather district. 
 
 Long since Linnaeus wrote his " Tour in 
 Lapland " Professor Charles Martins of 
 Montpelier visited the humble tribes of Al- 
 pine plants on the shores of the North Sea, 
 and observed the dogwood of Sweden 
 (< 'orn us alba), the snowy gentian, and oth- 
 ers, on the path that leads up North Cape ; 
 and climbing ladders, as Linnaeus had done 
 before him, to see what flowers were round 
 the chimneys on the turf-roofs of Hammer- 
 fest (70° 18' N. lat.) he found the ubiqui- 
 tous shepherd's purse, a chrysanthemum, 
 a lychnis, and many primitive plants which 
 are scattered over the heights of Europe, 
 from the tops of the Grampian hills to the 
 Pyrenees and Alps. It has been said that 
 they were left on their present sites by the 
 congealed but moving waves of the glacial 
 sea that once covered Europe, the plains 
 of the artic reo-ions having been the origin 
 nal centre of distribution of this kind of 
 plants. There is perhaps no reason why 
 one Alpine height should claim to be a 
 birthplace of plants more than another, 
 but a cradle theory is attractive and need 
 not be disputed here. Dr. Daubeny sums 
 up the evidence on this subject with the 
 remark, that, " by a process of logical ex- 
 haustion we are driven to conclude that 
 each species was originally introduced into 
 a particular locality, from whence it dffused 
 itself over a greater or lesser area, accord- 
 ing to the amount of obstacles which 
 checked its propagation and its own inhe- 
 rent power of surmounting them. 
 
 The isolated groups of plants appear to 
 have been gradually moulded into their 
 present types by the pressure of surround- 
 ing circumstances, and thus new species 
 were formed ; and the cedars of Lebanon 
 and of the Atlas may have both sprung 
 from the Deodar of the Himalayan moun- 
 tains, which is supposed to be the typical 
 form, being the most fixed in character 
 and extending over the largest area with 
 the least variation. 
 
 It must remain a matter of conjecture 
 whether the Alpines originated on this 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 51 
 
 point, ox 1 on that ; or whether the peaks and 
 plants now separated are parts of a conti- 
 nent and Flora that were once united. 
 
 Professor Edward Forbe's theory of 
 specific centres seems to us the most proba- 
 ble solution of a dificult problem, as op- 
 posed to Schow's belief in many primary 
 individuals of a species. The fact that 
 a few plants are native both to North 
 America and Europe, and to Europe and 
 Australia, which are not found in interme- 
 diate countries, affords a glimpse of the 
 startling movements of plants and changes 
 of sea and land in former ages. Some 
 plants must have spread far from their 
 former birthplace, wherever it was ; others 
 are less widely diffused. Our own irregu- 
 lar coasts, torn, it is supposed, from adjoin- 
 ing continents, exhibit a curious broken 
 Flora, whose general character is that of 
 Central and Western Europe, tinged, how- 
 ever, with the sap — we can hardly say 
 blood — of adjoining nations of plants. 
 There are, 1st, a West Pyrenean Flora in 
 the mountainous districts of the west and 
 south-west of Ireland ; 2dnly, an Ameri- 
 can type on the south-west of England 
 and south-east of Ireland, related to that 
 of the Channel Islands and of Brittany and 
 Normandy ; 3dly, the Flora of the south- 
 east of England and the opposite coast of 
 France ; Ithly, the Alpine or Scandinavian 
 type of the Scotch, Welsh, and Cumber- 
 land mountains. The most probable ex- 
 planation of these old but severed alliances 
 is that the scattered links of vegetation 
 were once united, till the bridges of world 
 were broken and its communications de- 
 stroyed by upheaval, or by submergence, 
 which buried vegetation and left only the 
 fossils to bear witness of change. 
 
 There is no spot in the world which con- 
 tains so many distinct groups as the cen- 
 tral portion of Eastern Africa, where the 
 botanist finds plants typical of the Cape, 
 Madagascar, the East Indies, Arabia, the 
 north and west coasts of Africa, and, on 
 the high mountains, the Alpines of Europe. 
 
 The Alpines are the rats and mice of the 
 the vegetable world, ranging widely like 
 those " small deer," while other plants re- 
 semble the reindeer and camel in the nar- 
 rowness of their habitat. Byron said of 
 the date palm — 
 
 "It cannot quit its place of birth, 
 It will not live in other earth." 
 
 It flourishes in the burning sands of Af- 
 rica and Syria, and is revered as the source 
 of nutriment and raiment in districts where 
 it forms the single link which binds human 
 life to its desert home. The " palm dy- 
 nasty " to which the date belongs, and the 
 Soldanella, a lichen which vegetables at ze- 
 ro, while the cocoanut tree does not stir un- 
 der 68° Fahr., bound the plant world from 
 the tropics to the Artie circle. There are 
 very few cosmopolitan individuals in the 
 vegetable kingdom, and plants, unlike ani- 
 mals, have very limited powers of acclima- 
 tizing; nor can they travel unless conveyed 
 by ships, iceburgs, birds or currents of wa- 
 ter, except in the case of cryptogamic 
 tribes, whose sporules are born on the wings 
 of the wind so easily that any spot on 
 earth might be peopled with them. 
 
 Grouping may be regarded as natural 
 when the causes cannot be discovered, and 
 nothing more occult than a mountain range, 
 or other tangible obstacle, intervenes be- 
 tween two Floras. The continent of Ameri- 
 ca is split laterly from north to south into 
 two great plant kingdoms, by the barrier 
 of the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 There are lesser groups whose origin is 
 quite unknown, or can only be inferred. 
 The Flora of the East Indian islands is 
 quite distinct from that of China, Japan, 
 or Australia, while the little island of St. 
 Helena has its own Flora distinct from that 
 of the adjacent coast of Africa. There are 
 three species of beech growing respect- 
 ively in Tierra del Fuego, in Chili, and in 
 Van Diemen's Land, each of which bears 
 on its limbs a peculiar fungus. This is in 
 the strictest sense a natural, not an acci- 
 dental grouping, since nature alone could 
 have planted those fungi, and man's hand 
 cannot transplant them. But as the first 
 named country is sterile, the tall Patagon- 
 ians might be exterminated by any side 
 wind which destroy their breeches! since 
 they live almost entirely on bright yellow, 
 globular fungus (Cyttaria Darwinii), which 
 grows in great abundance on the trees, and 
 is the solitary instance of a cryptogamic 
 plant affording the main support of a na- 
 tion. 
 
 Natural groups, like the corps of our 
 fields, are fugitive. They may last as many 
 years as our crops last hours perhaps, but 
 the sickle of Time cuts them down at last 
 and others replace them. A fern once cov- 
 
52 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 ered immense tracts in New Zealand, and 
 its was largely eaten by the aborigines be- 
 fore they learned the art of culture and 
 obtained the potato. It was believed that 
 the fern had succeded naturally to the 
 primeval forests ; its own removal has been 
 effected by cultivation, and in some instan- 
 ces by the encroachments of the fast spread- 
 ing Scotch Thistle. 
 
 Change, not rigidity, is the order of Na- 
 ture, and suitable sights become unsuitable 
 by a variety of accidents — as when the 
 clearing of timber in the province of 
 Caracas exposed the country to drying 
 winds, which banished the plantations of 
 cocoa-trees to the moist forests of the 
 Upper Oricono, and other wooded tracts. 
 
 The coast of North America, for seven- 
 teen hundred miles, from Virginia to the 
 Mississippi, is fringed with pine barrens 
 130 miles wide, and when the trees are cut 
 down for the exportation of their inflama- 
 ble products from the port of Wilmington, 
 pines may spring again on the best of the 
 bad soils; but in general the scrub oak is 
 the succession plant. Towards the outfall 
 of the river, where magnificent mixed for- 
 ests of liquid amber, elm, ash, white and 
 red oak, cherry, magnolia, mulberry, and 
 wild grape have been felled, and the land 
 scourged by corn and cotton, and then aban- 
 doned to Nature, the pine and scrub oak, 
 trees of poor soils, have sprung up. But 
 when the land was left unscouraged the 
 mixed forest again clothed the bare earth. 
 
 It is 200 years since " Sylva " Evelyn 
 planted the Wotton woods near Dorking 
 with beach, the ground having been cleared 
 of oak for that purpose. The Avoods are 
 now magnificent, but in one exposed plan- 
 tation a wreck of great breeches occurred 
 a few years ago, when a gale followed a 
 snow-storm that had laden their branches 
 heavily, and we observed that birch imme- 
 diately sprung up thickly on the levelled 
 site, being the crop Nature had sown there 
 at some former period. In like manner 
 a sand-hill, Avhose surface of mould had 
 been removed to the glorious gardens at 
 Trentham, was soon gracefully clad with 
 self-sown birch, the offspring of primeval 
 forests. The unexpected springing up of 
 plants which no mortal hand can have sown 
 suggests seeedings and rotations longer 
 and less known than that of Norfolk! 
 
 We shall proceed to notice other con- 
 
 trasts of vegetation as they occur to us- 
 groups and rotations, rather than logical 
 secpiences, being our aim. 
 
 De Candolle observes that plants resist 
 extremes in inverse ratio to the quantity of 
 Avater they contain; and in proportion to 
 the vascidity of their fluids. They resist 
 cold in inverse ratio to the rapidity with 
 Avhich their fluids circulate; they are liable 
 to freeze in proportion to the size of the 
 cells in AA'hich their fluids are contained, and 
 the power of absorbing sap, by roots that 
 are little exposed to the atmosphere, les- 
 sens the liability. Air confined in the tis- 
 sues, enables plants to resist extremes. 
 The hardy character of the Scotch fir there- 
 fore may be explained by the fact that its 
 resinous sap does not easily freeze; and 
 dissection may reveal the immediate causes 
 of climatic groupings, but it does not show 
 why the heaths of the Cape are unable to 
 thrive side by side Avith those of Jutland 
 and the heath-tracts of Northern Germany. 
 We do not propose to grapple with the un- 
 known, but we may discourse a little of 
 the doubtful, and ask hoAv it Avas that near- 
 ly all the heaths, except five or six Euro- 
 pean species, were confined to the Cape, 
 the epacrises — so closely allied to them — 
 to Australia, the orange to China, nearly 
 all the passion floAvers to the NeAv World, 
 and nearly all the roses to the Old? Why 
 are " misery balls " found only in the 
 Falkland Islands, in Avet mountainous hol- 
 lows where huge masses of A*egetable mat- 
 ter are formed, partly by their own decay, 
 so near together that the foliage meets 
 aboA T e and excludes the sky, shutting in 
 the traveler who ventures into the horrid 
 bog? There are other miserable spots on 
 earth; why cannot they boast their mounds 
 of balsam-bog (JJo/ax f/lebaria) and hil- 
 locks of tussock grass? 
 
 The isolation of particular plants gaA*e 
 rise to the ancient opinion that the gods 
 created them at odd times, Avhen they saw 
 fit, as Avhen Minerva planted the oliA r e in 
 the Mediterranean basin, or Avhen the god- 
 dess of discovery presented mandrakes to 
 Discorides, the ancient plant collector, 
 who immediately noted them down in his 
 list of new plants. The Hindoo deities 
 had been busy long before those of Greece, 
 and perhaps certain curiously isolated 
 groups at the present day may have sprung 
 from plantings formerly left on their sites 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 53 
 
 by capricious genii; and in many cases iso- 
 lated plants would have remained for ever, 
 like shipwrecked mariners, on their deso- 
 late islands, but for the agency of that 
 singular busybody who is constantly tam- 
 pering with Nature by sea and land, and 
 removing landmarks and plant-boundaries. 
 
 But there are constant changes in the 
 vegetable world, necessary to its order and 
 stability, and due to an innate power of 
 organic adaptability which enables plants 
 to survive the struggle for existence to 
 which they are so often exposed, as in the 
 case of Rhododendron Dalhousiae of Sik- 
 kim, which would have been lost in certain 
 sites if it had not acquired the power of 
 living, however poorly, on the trunks and 
 limbs of trees in those parts of the humid 
 and teeming forest which are too dense for 
 undergrowth. Dr. Hooker observed that.., 
 it grew far more luxuriantly when some 
 new road, or fall of timber, provided it 
 with an open site where its seeds found soil 
 to root in, and it was only in the thick forest 
 that the little shrub became epiphytical, 
 and saved its life by rooting on the rough, 
 wet, and moss-grown branches of the trees. 
 It is probable that under stress of adverse 
 circumstances it might so far change its 
 habits as to lose the power of rooting in its 
 mother earth; and on the other hand, if a 
 specimen were removed to a more open 
 part of the forest it might become the par- 
 ent of species that retained no trace of 
 parasitical character. 
 
 Elasticity of organization insures the 
 power of development and secures the won- 
 derful variety in the forms of vegetation. 
 We classify our knowledge of parts, or- 
 gans, and forms under the term Morpholo- 
 gy, which leads to the convenient arrange- 
 ment of plants into classes, species, and 
 genera; but the laws by which fundamen- 
 tal types and shapes were originated and 
 have sometimes deviated into new forms, 
 have not yet been unfolded. We cannot 
 dissect out the disposition of plants or ani- 
 mals, or trace the causes of variation, cor- 
 relation, and other phenomena of growth; 
 but we can follow the operation of those 
 causes, and avail ourselves of the results 
 of that benificnce which endowed vegeta- 
 bles with a capability of progression and 
 enabled wild plants to establish themselves 
 on their shifting sites, giving the oolite, the 
 lias, the wealden, and all other formations 
 
 their distinguishing Flora, and providing 
 seeds for every site — seeds for shades and 
 for sunny sites, and for damp places and 
 dry- 
 Introduced plants frequently eject their 
 predecessors, and appear to benefit, as 
 people often do, by a change of air, thriv- 
 ing in new and distant homes better than 
 in their original habitats. 
 
 The plants of Europe have in many 
 cases driven off the vegetable tribes of 
 America and Australia, and occupied their 
 sites; and while the footsteps of the white 
 man are sounding the deathknell of the 
 aboriginal people, his plants are destroy- 
 ing those of the poor savage. There is no 
 kingdom on earth so revolutionary as the 
 vegetable kingdom. Plants may be said 
 to live amidst strife and constant struggles, 
 and to slay each other mercilessly, though 
 without bloodshed or cruelty. The larger 
 trees of the tropical forests are entwimed 
 and throttled by trailers, and hugged by 
 lianas, till they die; smaller plants seem 
 to wait for the places filled by their strong- 
 er neighbors. There is less rivalary in 
 European forests, only because a few sov- 
 ereign species of timber trees, like the 
 Scotch and Spruce firs of Scandinavia, hold 
 possession of the soil and do not allow the 
 approach of rivals. The plants that feed 
 the populations of the world have prevailed 
 in the fields of nature and of cultivation 
 by virtue of conquest, effected with or 
 without the aid of man ; and it is remarka- 
 ble that the most useful plants are the most 
 robust and elastic, such as the hardy grasses 
 and those great wanderers the Granvma- 
 cece, wheat, rice, maize, and millet, which 
 have followed man in all his migrations. 
 What a determination of physical character 
 wheat, maize, the banana-tree, cassava, and 
 others must possess, since they have pushed 
 their way among their compeers, till they 
 each dominate over wide surfaces of the 
 globe, and their true or native country can- 
 not now be determined! 
 
 The grouping of plants and the constant 
 testing of those inherent qualities which 
 determine their fortunes, if we may use 
 the expression, have been, and still are, 
 lagely influenced by the operation of the 
 natural forces of earth and air. Ice, snow, 
 and water, the trickling rill and the flood, 
 the snowdrift and the storm, or the rasp- 
 ing and abraidihg glacier, are like level- 
 
54 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 ers and excavators and promoters of those 
 changes in contour, climate, and vegeta- 
 tion, whose records are read by the geolo- 
 gist, while the naturalist detects them in 
 the groupings of plants. It is the "hand 
 of Nature " — a phrase which attractively 
 indicates the source of so many natural 
 phenomena — which has had the greatest 
 share in clothing the earth with its char- 
 acteristic vegetation. The part man has 
 played in this great work has been com- 
 paratively limited in regard both to time 
 and the object to be attained, and it has 
 been confined to the dispersion of useful 
 and the forming of botanical collections in 
 gardens, or in the hortus siccus; the grand- 
 uer and primary design seems to have been 
 that all the earth should become " with 
 verdure clad." 
 
 In conclusion, we add a brief description 
 of the zones of vegetation, and a few exam- 
 ples of those interesting botanical divis- 
 ions which record the labors of the botan- 
 ists who have investigated the plants of 
 particular localities: and first let us men- 
 tion Linnasus's region in Northern Europe 
 and Asia, including the Umbelliferre and 
 Crucifera?, the carrot and turnip tribes, 
 and the fruits, cereals, pasture grasses, 
 fodder plants, and trees which are found 
 in connection with these esculents. De 
 Candolls's region inclndes rice and millets, 
 and the fruits and vegetation of the south, 
 represented by the Labiatai and Caryo- 
 yhyllea?. Kaetoyfer's region includes Chi- 
 na and Japan and the tea-plant, with gourds 
 and melons, indigo, hemp, and cotton. 
 Roxburgh's region is Indian and Tropical, 
 and his pages smell of spices. There are 
 twenty-five botanical regions which have 
 been examided and described more than 
 100,000 species of plants, while Pliny could 
 only enumerate 1,000 species in his " His- 
 toria Naturalis." We pass on to notice 
 the zones of vegetation which Humboldt 
 sketched so charmingly in "Aspects of 
 Nature," and which other travellers have 
 labored at till the details of some portions 
 of the botanical map have been filled in 
 with tolerable completeness, and only such 
 districts as the interior of Africa and the 
 central portions of Asia and South Ameri- 
 ca remain comparatively unexplored. The 
 division just referred to consists of eight 
 botanical zones or kingdoms, extending 
 from the equator to the poles, with corres- 
 
 ponding mountain regions extending from 
 the equator upwards towards the cold air 
 of the mountain-tops. Nature does not 
 conform strictly to the arbitrary lines which 
 have been laid down for the purpose of 
 methodizing knowledge and of obtaining 
 a framework to hold its fabric during the 
 process of investigation. Her vegetable 
 subjects often wander beyond the limits of 
 the eight broad beltings, which should 
 therefore be printed on the memory with 
 overlapping edges — or rather, should be 
 imagined as blending the one with the other 
 like the hues of the rainbow. They are as 
 follows:— 
 
 The Horizontal Zonev of Vegetation 
 and corresponding V critical liegions at the 
 Equator: 
 
 1. The Equatorial Zone, 15° N. 15° S. 
 lat. Region of palms and bananas: reach- 
 ing an altitude of 1,900 feet. Mean annual 
 temperature 81° Fahr. 
 
 2. The Tropical Zone, from 15° to 23° 
 of lat. Region of tree-ferns, figs and 
 pepper-plants: reaching from an altitude 
 of 1,900 feet at the equator to 3,G00 feet 
 or 3,600 feet. Mean annual temperature 
 74°. 
 
 3. The Sub-tropical Zone, from 23° to 
 34° of lat. Region of myrtles, magnolias 
 and laurels: reaching from an altitude of 
 3,800 at the equator to 5,700 feet. Mean 
 annual temperature 68°. 
 
 4. The Warmer Temperate Zone, from 
 34° to 45° of lat. Region of evergreen 
 and leathery-leaved trees. The palms and 
 arborescent grasses that were features of 
 the scene in the three warmer zones, dis- 
 appear; the forest trees begin to appear, 
 and the evergreen oaks, oleander, philly- 
 rece, laurustinun, strawberry tree, and 
 pomegranate of the Mediterranean basin; 
 the evergreen gleditschioe and climbing 
 bignonia of the Ohio; the magnoliacere 
 (tulip trees, &c.) and leguminous trees 
 (acacias, &c), and gigantic reeds of Amer- 
 ica; the arborescent grasses of the Pampas 
 plains of Buenos Ayres; the araucarire 
 and beeches of Chili, with the Chilian 
 palm as an outlier, like the dwarf palm of 
 Southern Europe and the palmetto of 
 North America: reaching from an altitude 
 of 5,700 feet about 7,600 feet. Mean 
 annual temperature 63°. 
 
 • 5. The Cooler Temperate Zone, from 
 45° to 58° of lat. Resrion of deciduous 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 55 
 
 trees, with social conifers, pasture grasses, 
 the honeysuckle, the ivy, and the hop 
 (replacing the lianes of the tropics), and 
 of mosses and lichens which feather the 
 trunks and branches of trees instead of 
 the orchids of the tropics. The shrubs are 
 roses, brambles, viburnas, &c, which lose 
 their leaves in winter — there is no cool 
 zone in Africa: — reaching from an altitude 
 of 7,600 feet to 9,500 feet. Mean annual 
 temperature 58°. 
 
 6. The sub-Arctic (and Sub-Antarctic) 
 Zone, from 58° of lat. to the arctic (and 
 antarctic) circle. Region of abietime (firs), 
 of the birch and alder, of gay spring 
 flowers and pastures: reaching from 9,500 
 feet to 11,500 feet. Mean annual temper- 
 ature 52°. 
 
 7. The Arctic (and Antarctic) Zone, 
 from the arctic (and antarctic) circle to 
 72° of lat. Region of prostrate Alpine 
 shrubs and dwarfs: reaching from 11,500 
 to 13,300 feet. Mean annual temperature 
 43°. 
 
 8. The Polar Zone, above 72° of lat. 
 Region of Alpine plants, saxifrages, ran- 
 unculi, potentilla?, and cryptogamic plants, 
 from the upper line of bushes to that of 
 perpetual snow. Mean annual tempera- 
 ture 38°. — H. Evershed, in Macmillam?% 
 Magazine. 
 
 Grafting the Geape. — In regard to grafting 
 the grape, Mr. A. S. Fuller says he has better 
 success with fall grafting than with spring grafting, 
 although many vineyardists prefer the latter season. 
 For fall grafting, say at any time after the frosts 
 kill the leaves and before the ground freezes, this 
 author tells us the operation should be performed 
 as follows: — 
 
 Select cions of the present season's growth and 
 from canes a quarter to three-eighths of an inch in 
 diameter, and cut into lengths of three inches, with 
 a bud near the upper end. The lower end should 
 be made into a long, slender wedge. Remove the 
 earth about the stock four to six inches, if the main 
 branching roots will permit of this depth. Then 
 cut off the vine a few inches below the surface, and 
 square across, then split it with a chisel or knife, 
 making as smooth a cleft as possible, for the recep- 
 tion of the wedge shaped cion. If the stock is an 
 inch or more in diameter, two cions may be inserted, 
 one on each side of the cleft. 
 
 The outer edge of the wood of the cion should 
 be placed even with the outer edge of the wood of 
 the stock, no attention being paid to the uniting of 
 
 the two, because one will he very thick and the 
 other thin. A nice fit of the two is essential, and 
 in crooked-grained, gnarly stocks a smooth, even 
 cleft can only be made by cutting out the wood with 
 a sharp instrument. But it does not matter how it 
 is done, if it is well done. After fitting the cions 
 to stock, wind a strong cord about the two in order 
 to hold the former firm in place; then pack graft- 
 ing clay or common soil about the stock, entirely 
 covering the wound made and the lower half of the 
 cion, but leaving the bud uncovered. No grafting 
 wax should be employed in grafting grape vines. 
 After the cions have been inserted as directed, 
 invert a flower pot or small box over the cion ; upon 
 this place a quantity of leaves, straw or hay; then 
 cover all with earth, rounding it up iu order to 
 keep the water front settling around the grafted 
 stock, as well as to prevent too severe freezing. 
 
 Early in spring, romove the covering, and if the 
 operation has been properly performed the cion 
 will be firmly united, and will push into growth as 
 the season advances. I have had Delaware, Iona 
 and similar varieties make a growth of from 49 to 
 60 feet of vine from a single bud in one season set 
 in strong stocks in the manner described. Grafting 
 in the spring may be performed in the same man- 
 ner, omitting the covering, but it should he done 
 very early, or after the leaves have started and 
 growth begun. The cions, however, should be cut- 
 early and kept dormant in some cool place until 
 wanted for use. 
 
 • 4 ^ » 
 
 The Ayrshire Coav. — Formerly, farming was 
 so poor in Scotland, that in the spring the people 
 bled their cattle to get blood to mix with a little 
 oat meal. So much of the land was wet and 
 swampy that but little could be cultivated. Wheat 
 was seldom grown except on a nobleman's estate, 
 and a large portion of the country was as much in 
 common as are the western plains. And yet the 
 grass was rich and abundant, and so it came to pass, 
 between 1750 and 1800, the celebrated Ayrshire 
 cow grew out of this distress. That is to say, some 
 families sorely pressed for the means to sustain life, 
 had a cow which they cared for both winter and 
 summer with the greatest attention; she was driven 
 to the richest and thickest grass, she was housed in 
 winter with the children, and fed from the carefully 
 stored hay, and above all, she was milked until the 
 last possible drop was obtained. From kindness, 
 good feed and close milking, a calf sprang equal at 
 least to its mother. Then began neighborhood 
 fame; perhaps the laird or the noble obtained some 
 of the stock, and the same care being bestowed, 
 followed by "a selection of the fittest," a noble 
 race growing out of the direst necessity has been 
 given to the world. I may note here that no valu- 
 able race of cattle has ever been known to originate 
 except in a country of excellent grass. — Dr. Cross. 
 
56 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 
 
 BY DR. JOSEPH HOBBINS, 
 
 SUCCESSIONAL CABBAGES FROM OLD STALKS. — 
 When your cabbages are fully grown, cut them off 
 at the neck, leaving a few old leaves on the stalk, 
 which will give out a growth of succulent young 
 cabbages, grown rapidly, and afford you a continu- 
 ance of this vegetable, without further trouble or 
 risk of planting. A few stirrings of the soil and a 
 little mulching with any loose material, as grass or 
 leaves, will promote their growth and add to their 
 tenderness. Cabbage which have burst from being 
 over ripe, may, by this treatment, be made available 
 for the table, instead of being, as they usually are, 
 a dead loss in the garden. 
 
 Something New. — In the July number of The 
 Garden is a notice of a discovery made by Mr. 
 Darwin, that has set the scientific world agog. It 
 is no less than a statement that there were certain 
 plants and flowers, like Venus' fly-trap, the sun 
 dew, &c., which feed on insects, and can be fed on 
 cabbage seed and meat, — on nitrogenous and albu- 
 minous food. Do not in your haste be too incred- 
 ulous. The difference between animal and vegeta- 
 ble life, between what is animal and what is vege- 
 table, the line that serves to distinguish the one 
 from the other, has yet to be discovered. 
 
 Garden Walks. — The garden that is broken 
 up into fragments by hard lines or walks, in no 
 way resembles nature. A linear garden is the 
 most unnatural of all gardens ; and the same con- 
 demnation may be passed on gardens tilled with 
 eccentric curves and abrupt angles. They are only 
 caricatures. An ornamental garden — even the jar- 
 dinet itself— should be a picture of repose, of har- 
 mony, of unison, of nature. 
 
 Fruit in Tin Cans. — According to the Boston 
 Journal of Chemistry, an excellent and reliable 
 authority, many persons are greatly injured by eat- 
 ing tomatoes, peaches, &c, which have been placed 
 in tin cans. This cannot be otherwise, since "all 
 fruits possess more or less vegetable acids;" others, 
 that are highly corrosive, are often formed by fer- 
 mentation ; and metallic vessels are considerably 
 acted upon. Tin cans are held together by solder, 
 an alloy into which lead (another poison) enters 
 largely. 
 
 Miniature Gourds. — How is it that we so sel- 
 dom see this pretty little vine in our gardens? 
 For arbors, trellises, fences, &c., there are few pret- 
 tier vines than the varieties from scarlet to golden 
 fruited gourds. They are good climbers ; will grow 
 upon poor soil, though nourishing best, like all 
 their congeners, in rich moist soil, and doing the 
 
 better for frequent watering. The Gooseberry 
 gourd is perhaps the most popular, but they are all 
 alike handsome for their fruit, and on the contin- 
 ent form one of the customary ornaments of a 
 garden. 
 
 Fruit Eating. — An old proverb tells that fruit 
 is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and lead at 
 night. Fruit, though classed with foods, properly 
 speaking, is not food. It is a luxury, and like all 
 other luxuries, and indeed like food, should be 
 taken in reason, at proper times, in proper quantity, 
 and in a fit state for eating. It is only when taken 
 at improper times, in an inordinate manner, and 
 when unripe, that it is injurious. 
 
 Garden Architecture. — Where the architect 
 undertakes the art of gardening, and the gardener 
 aspires to practice the art of architecture, as is so 
 frequently the case, the product, as a matter of 
 course, is a horticultural botch. In making a gar- 
 den, art should not appear. 
 
 Tom Thumb Lettuce. — This is a lettuce newly 
 introduced in the European market, and claimed 
 to be superior to any other lettuce. Some of our 
 market gardeners should introduce it here. 
 
 Cut Flowers it is said may be kept fresh for a 
 fortnight by placing in a mixture composed of one 
 ounce of sal ammonia and one quart of water or a 
 little less. 
 
 A new Pelargonium called the Queen Vic- 
 toria, being " the most marvellously beautiful and 
 novel variety ever offered," as the advertisement 
 says, is being sold in London at the rate of six 
 dollars each. 
 
 Strawberry Land. — California is not only the 
 land of gold, but of strawberries also. At San 
 Francisco, for a week or more during the past sea- 
 son, thirty tons of strawberries were supplied to 
 that market daily, and sold at from four to ten 
 cents per pound. 
 
 Hanson Lettuce. — We see by our foreign ex- 
 changes, that this lettuce, recently introduced into 
 Europe from this country, is greatly commended 
 for " its wonderfully fresh green leaves and large 
 head." Who will send us the seed? 
 
 Peas. — There was lately exhibited at a horticul- 
 tural show at Calais, France, a very delicate little 
 pea called the "Capucine Petit," said to be the 
 sweetest pea known. Will some one introduce it? 
 
 Cyprus Laxus. — This is considered to be one of 
 the most elegant and graceful plants for the dinner 
 table or drawing room. They sell from two to 
 three dollars a plant. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 Gordon's Dwarf Fir. — For lawns, or gardens, 
 or cemeteries, is a pyramidal shrub of very hand- 
 some color, never turning brown under the sun as 
 other firs do, and it grows readily from cuttings. 
 
 Lettuce. — Messrs. Carter & Co. recently exhib- 
 ited at the Eoyal Horticultural Show, forty-five 
 varieties of lettuce. The Paris White Cos and 
 Carter's Giant White were thought to be among the 
 best. 
 
 Cabbages. — At the same show were exhibited 
 the Perpignan cabbage, a continental variety of 
 fine habit and said to withstand the drought well ; 
 the Dandelion-leaved, or Augustana, used for cut- 
 ting up when young for salads ; Tom Thumb ; and 
 All the Year Pound, all of which were ranked as 
 being in the first class. 
 
 Shaping the Garden to the Buildings. — 
 Man builds the house ; God makes the trees. Nev- 
 er try to make your garden after the style of the 
 architecture of your house. Terracing your grounds 
 and clipping your trees so as to make them match 
 with the linear character of brick and stone — of 
 your buildings, is barbarism, and neither art or 
 nature. 
 
 Rosy-Flowered Elder. — Can anyone tell us 
 whether this beautful shrub has been imported, 
 where it can be obtained, and whether it would be 
 likely to do well in the northwest? It is said to be 
 very handsome, and unlike the other elders is not 
 suckering. 
 
 A New Strawberry. — The "Traveler," so 
 named on account of its great suitability for pack- 
 ing, is a cross between La Constante and Sir Charles 
 Napier; is of good size, and for flavor, firmness of 
 flesh and handsome appearance, is unquestionably 
 the best strawberry grown. 
 
 White Flowers for Winter being so fre- 
 quently in demand for church decorations, wed- 
 dings, &c, our green-house men would do well to 
 procure the new white phlox, Miss Robertson. It 
 is a sweet scented variety. 
 
 A Lilium Auratum has recently been exhib- 
 ited in London, of a most remarkable character. 
 It was grown in an 11 inch pot, and consisted of 
 two stems, each about 10 feet high, which together 
 bore sixty-five flowors. The plant was grown on a 
 single bulb. 
 
 The Cheshire market gardeners keep their oni- 
 ons for an unusual length of time by nailing them 
 in bundles on the outside of the house, slightly 
 protected from the wet by the eaves. 
 
 POULTKY NOTES, 
 Heavy Fowl. — S. Merry, of New York, has a 
 light Brahma hen and mate, which together weigh 
 twenty-five pounds and two ounces. If any light 
 Brahma-breeding gentleman of our acquaintance 
 can equal this, we should be glad of an invitation 
 to dine with him. Such chickens as these are 
 welcome to "come home to roost." 
 
 Larger Eggs. — It is thought by naturalists that 
 the eggs of our domestic hens, are, on an average, 
 a third larger than those dropped by the hens of 
 the ancients. Analogy would indicate that the 
 hens themselves are also larger than their feathered 
 progenitors. 
 
 Pekin Ducks. — We learn from the Poultry 
 World, that Mr. James E. Palmer, of Connecticut, 
 imported as late as last year, some of these ducks 
 from Pekin direct. They are splendid layers, and 
 our climate suits them. Their chief recommenda- 
 tion is that they are, in comparison with all the 
 breeds of our ducks, as much superior in size, as 
 are the Cochins and Brahmas ahead of ordinary 
 fowls. Mr. Palmer's largest pair at the Connecticut 
 State Poultry Show, weighed fifteen pounds when 
 only five months old. These birds, previous to 
 this importation, were not known in this country 
 or England. We trust that some of our Wisconsin 
 poultry amateurs have ere this procured some of 
 the eggs. 
 
 The Wisconsin Central Poultry Associa- 
 tion. — There were two special reasons for our be- 
 coming a member of this association. In the first 
 place, we believe, as Uncle Toby has it, that 
 every man should have a hobby, and that if he 
 does not find for himself a good, or at least an in- 
 nocent one, that the deviLjwill find one for him, 
 neither very good, nor likely to be particularly 
 innocent. In the second place, just as it is justly 
 claimed that that man is a patriot, a benefactor to 
 his country, who makes two blades of grass to grow 
 Avhere only one grew before, just so we claim that 
 that man is a public benefactor who will introduce 
 to this State, who will give to the tables of the rich 
 and to the poor, a couple of ducks weighing fifteen 
 pounds, instead of the ordinary ducks weighing 
 but five pounds the couple ; and a couple of fowls 
 weighing twenty-five pounds, in the place of those 
 now, weighing four or five. These are our reasons, 
 as we say, for joining this new and promising asso- 
 ciation. If they are sound, follow our example. 
 
 Broken toes can be very readily healed by 
 binding on a thin chip, and placing the bird in a 
 coop, or where it cannot get on a roost. 
 
58 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN, 
 
 A MONTHLY 
 
 JOURNAL OF RURAL AFFAIRS, ART AND LITERATURE. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 WALTER IB. DAVIS, 
 
 ASSISTED BY 
 
 JOSEPH HOBBINS, 3VT.. T>., 
 Ex-President of the Wisconsin Stale Horticultural Society, F. G. 
 S. and Corresponding Member of the Royal Horti- 
 cultural Society, England. 
 
 Teems.— $2.00 per Annum, in advance. $1.00 for Six 
 Months. In Clubs of ten or more, 81.50. Single numbers, 
 Twenty cents. 
 
 Terms of Advertising. — 11.00 for ten lines, Nonpareil 
 space, per month, and ten cents for each additional line. 
 
 The above are net prices for all advertising less than $50 
 in amount. 
 
 Remittances, to prevent loss of money through the mails, 
 should be made by Postal order, Draft or Registered Letter. 
 
 Address all communications to 
 
 W. B. DAVIS &. CO., Publishers. 
 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., NOVEMBER, 1874. 
 
 THE GARDEN IN THE HOUSE. 
 Whilst this Journal is intended more particularly 
 for agricultural and horticultural readers and their 
 families, we mean to make it not only readable but 
 profitable to all classes ; to the merchant, the gen- 
 tleman and lady of leisure, as well as the working 
 farmer and gardener. Consequently, we shall, from 
 time to time, have much to say on the embellish- 
 ment of indoor life, on room and table, and home 
 ornamentation. 
 
 We are all charmed with the wardian cases and 
 ferneries now so frequently found in the parlor, 
 with the ivy so gracefully fringing and festooning 
 the ceiling and walls of #he drawing-room, with the 
 elegant and exquisite little selections of flowering 
 plants in the breakfast room bay window. All 
 these are pleasing signs of growing refinement. 
 But what has the dining room done to make it less 
 worthy of the graces of floriculture? To be sure, 
 one sees often enough, a bouquet or two, or more, 
 on the dining table, nay, some of them are hand- 
 some enough in their way, but can nevertheless, be 
 easily and greatly improved upon. How ? First, 
 by the introduction of plants of suitable size and 
 richness of foliage and flower, through invisible 
 holes in the table. By suitable size is meant of a 
 size to correspond with the table, or if the room be 
 not too large, to correspond with its dimensions. 
 Secondly, by surrounding these plants with cut- 
 flowers, &c; and thirdly, by so arranging the lamps 
 as by throwing the light upon the group or groups 
 
 of rich color, all the beauty of the decoration can 
 be brought out, none left in the shade. Such table, 
 ornamentation is an art, but an art so simple, inex- 
 pensive and beautiful, as to be learnt and practiced 
 by us all. 
 
 It may be well to add that the introduction of 
 plants upon the dinner table, even when of consid- 
 erable size, is no injury to the table itself, or to the 
 cloth. A suitable leaf, of common deal, admits of 
 a hole being made in its centre, and as the dinner 
 cloth is not removed, the deal is not seen, covered 
 as it is with cut-flowers, foliage and decorative 
 plants. But the flowers used should be flowers of 
 little or no perfume ; strong scented flowers should 
 not be admitted. 
 
 A PLEA P0R OUR NATIVE FLOWERS, 
 We have already thrown out a suggestion that an 
 effort should be made by our horticultural societies 
 to preserve a record of our native flora, so fast 
 disappearing around us. In this direction we 
 would wish to go a step further, and urge upon our 
 flower-growing and flower-loving readers, to intro- 
 duce the most beautiful of our prairie and wood- 
 land wild flowers into their gardens; for the wild 
 flower of to-day, it may be taken for a surety, will 
 become the garden or domestic flower sooner or 
 later. And if we do not now take means to pre- 
 serve it, those who come after us will, in all proba- 
 bility, have to purchase it as a rarity from some 
 distant State or far off country, wiser and having 
 more taste than ourselves. History is said to repeat 
 itself. This is not only true of men, but also of 
 flowers. Thus to-day it is found in older countries 
 that some of the most beautiful garden flowers are 
 the historic representatives of wild native floAvers 
 long since perished, and, indeed, forgotten as being 
 indigenous in their origin. Instances of this kind 
 are plenty. Thus the stock, the carnation, the 
 crimson Pceony,the columbine, the poets' Narcissus 
 and others, now the ornaments of the English gar- 
 den, are all alike but the representatives of their 
 ancestors in a wild state in England, now found no 
 longer wild. 
 
 American Potatoes in England. — These are 
 attracting a good deal of attention, and not only 
 attention, but by the price of some of them, the 
 Snowflake, for instance, selling for over $3.00 per 
 pound, are attracting a good many dollars ipto the 
 pockets of some of our more enterprising country- 
 men. The Early Rose, Early Vermont, Early 
 Gem, Late Rose, Vermont Beauty and Compton's 
 Surprise are the leading favorites. Would it not 
 be well for some of our amateur potato growers on 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 59 
 
 this side of the Atlantic to return the compliment 
 of the English growers, and introduce to our tables 
 some of the English favorites'? Such as the Early 
 Purple, Red Emperor, Early Kemp, Early Cold- 
 stream, Early Handsworth, Climax, Rivers' Royal 
 Ashleaf, Early Blush, Prince Arthur, Lapstone, 
 Rector of Woodstock, &c. Some of these have 
 already reached this country. If any of our read- 
 ers have grown them, we shall be glad to learn with 
 what success. 
 
 CANNED FRUIT AND VEG-ETABLES. 
 About 20,000,000 cans of fruit and vegetables 
 were put up in Baltimore, during the season of 
 1873, and the quantity, large as it seems, met with 
 a full demand. Now this is the canned product of 
 only one city; the product of other cities in this 
 line of business we do not know. But this we do 
 know, that it is a shameful waste of money and 
 want of sense for us, who have at our own doors 
 such an ample supply of fruit, and particularly of 
 vegetables, that we should be sending for these 
 things from the east, when we can have them for a 
 mere per centage of what "we are now paying for 
 them. Besides, the labor of canning is very easy 
 and light work, done by women and children, and 
 would afford a much needed employment and trade 
 in our midst, to say nothing of keeping a little 
 more of our money at home. 
 
 This buying canned fruit and vegetables from 
 the east is not unlike some other features of our 
 want of domestic economy. It is almost upon a 
 par with our sending hides east that we may have 
 them sent back tanned, though the material for 
 tanning is grown in our own State. And worse 
 still, the sending our pork and hams to Chicago to 
 be smoked and having them sent back to us at 
 double the original cost — charged for smoke, just as 
 though we could not make smoke in Wisconsin. 
 Our wool, our copper, our iron, our lead, &c. — we 
 have plenty of in our State, all we lack is the wit 
 to convert them to our use, instead of sending them 
 abroad to be converted for us. A little more thrift, 
 and we shall have a great deal less need. 
 
 HORTICULTURAL PESTS. 
 The French government has recently offered a 
 prize of some seventy thousand dollars "for the 
 discovery of an efficacious and economical means 
 of destroying the phylloxera, or of preventing its 
 ravages." The grape crop seems to be of some 
 value in France, and the wheat crop of no value in 
 Wisconsin — that is, in the estimation of govern- 
 ment. 
 
 For the prevention and subdugation of pestilence 
 
 in our cities, sanitary officers are appointed; but 
 for the pests and pestilences of our great bread 
 producing states, we let them go to the place un- 
 mentionable. A State Entomologist, Avho would 
 take cognizance of all horticultural and agricultu- 
 ral pests, with a view to their prevention, would 
 cost considerably less than a seventieth part of the 
 sum the governmen of France offers for the pre- 
 vention of a single pest. There is somewhere or 
 other a proverb to the effect that "that it is always 
 safe to learn, even from our enemies;" and looking 
 at the view some of our legislative Solons may take 
 of this paragraph, we may finish the proverb by 
 
 adding, "and seldom safe to teach our friends." 
 
 m » » 
 
 THE PHYLLOXERA. 
 France is threatened with a greater calamity than 
 the Germans proved themselves to be — with the 
 destruction of her vineyards, one of the greatest 
 sources of her wealth, by the pbylloxera. And as 
 this enemy is said to have passed over to her from 
 this country — to be of American origin, it may the 
 more interest our readers to learn something of its 
 character. During the last ten years the phyllox- 
 era has made steady progress in its invasions of the 
 vine districts, and its ravages know, at present, no 
 rest, no stop, until at length it lias not only become 
 a matter of the most serious interest to the people, 
 but to the government, and every possible endeavor 
 is being made by both to ascertain the best method 
 of prevention and treatment of the scourge. When 
 found in its winged state all efforts to stay its flight 
 seem to be abandoned as useless ; but while in ex- 
 istence under ground, where it attaches itself to the 
 roots of the vine, there are, as it appears, several 
 more or less effective ways of attacking it. Of 
 these, the first, where possible, is submerging the 
 vine with water. This plan has been found in a 
 measure successful. The next resource is to cover 
 the soil with sand, which is claimed to be attended 
 with the like result. And the third mode of attack 
 is by the use of poisonous applications to the soil, 
 which sometimes destroy the vine as well as the 
 insect. Sulphate of carbon, however, when prop- 
 erly used, seems to promise well. 
 
 o » » 
 
 The Rose. — He who would have beautiful roses 
 in his garden, must have beautiful roses in his 
 heart; he must love them well and always. He 
 must have not only the glowing admiration, the 
 enthusiasm and the passion, but the tenderness, the 
 thoughtfulness, the reverence, the watchfulness of 
 love. — Rev. S R. Hole, in his Booh About Roses. 
 
 The new pelargonium, Queen Victoria, is put 
 upon the market. It is considered very handsome. 
 
60 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 CEMETERY FLOWERS. 
 The custom of planting and strewing flowers over 
 the grave is a very ancient one, and adopted by the 
 early Christians from heathen times. It was prac- 
 ticed both by the Greeks and Romans. The rose 
 was ever the favorite flower — the white rose for 
 maidens; and as human nature loves a little mal- 
 ice, even on grave occasions, rue, or a thistle, or 
 nettle, would occasionally be planted by some satir- 
 ically or humorously inclined neighbor, upon the 
 tomb of the unpopular old maid or bachelor ; but, 
 for the young, evergreens and sweet scented flowers 
 were used. 
 
 There is a great fitness and touching beauty in 
 the custom, so long as it is governed by good taste, 
 right feeling and judgment. But its abuse, — bad 
 taste is ever aggressive and abusive, — and conse- 
 quent injury to the appearance of a cemetery, has 
 been so far recognized in eastern countries that 
 neither plant nor tree is allowed to be planted, un- 
 less with the sanction of those having control of 
 the cemetery, or rather of a committee of gentle- 
 men of taste, well informed in the matter, and 
 appointed for the purpose. 
 
 Cemetery planting, or the planting of flowers, 
 shrubs, vines and trees over tombs, is a subject that 
 would bear discussing freely by our horticultural 
 societies, and the information thus derived would 
 undoubtedly be gratefully received by the pnblic. 
 
 ACCIDENTAL NATURALIZATION OF PLANTS. 
 The odd ways in which families get scattered over 
 the earth's surface, and the still odder ways in 
 which they find or fasten themselves in the out of 
 the way places in the world, have sometimes their 
 very singularly interesting parallels in plant history. 
 In the island of New Caledonia, to which so many 
 French communists have been transported, a soldier 
 from Otaheite, his last station, for the purpose of 
 washing the tick-cover, opened a bolster filled with 
 the feathery seeds of asclepias curassavica, an Ota- 
 heitan production. The seeds were scattered by 
 the wind, and the plant is now so increased as seri- 
 ously to interfere with cultivation. In the same 
 island a few years ago, some boxes from Sydney, 
 packed with hay, were opened, the seed from which 
 took hold upon the soil to the supplanting and ex- 
 termination of the native grass. The grass of this 
 seed must be of Anglo-Saxon origin, though the 
 relator, a Frenchman, saves his vanity by calling 
 
 it European. 
 
 m » » 
 
 There is reason to believe, says Ouida, of a 
 young girl, that from living among flowers she 
 came to resemble them. 
 
 GREEN HOUSE AND WINDOW PLANTS. 
 Ai/l tender plants should now be in their winter 
 quarters, and those of more hardy nature should 
 be at once cared for. Give air whenever the tem- 
 perature will allow, using fire heat in the green 
 house only when absolutely necessary. The proper 
 heat for tropical plants should be 45° at night, and 
 60° cloudy days, but 70° is allowable sunny weath- 
 er, though we are not apt to be favored with much 
 sunshine during grey November. Roses, gerani- 
 ums, callas, camelias and violets would bear still 
 less heat — 40° at night and 55° by day, provided 
 they had sun. 
 
 For the first few weeks after removing from the 
 garden to the green house or conservatory, it would 
 be well to smoke the houses with dampened tobacco 
 stems twice a week, after that once a week would 
 be sufficient. Plants in a window can be smoked 
 under a tub or barrel. Great care should be taken 
 in cleansing the plants from insects before bringing 
 them in, as it will save much trouble afterwards. 
 
 Bulbs, though late for early blooming, should be 
 planted at once. Do not cover the crown of the 
 hyacinth; give good strong earth and plenty of 
 sand ; water enough to moisten the earth, but not 
 soak. Then place in a dark cellar, or sink in a 
 cold frame, in tan, or ashes. Five weeks should be 
 sufficient to form good roots. Then bring to the 
 light, placing as near the glass as possible. Do 
 not give too much heat, as the cooler they are kept 
 the finer will be the bloom. Chinese primroses 
 should now have plenty of light and sun, and a 
 daily sprinkling. Camelias keep in the coolest 
 part of the house; sponge the leaves frequently, 
 lest the red spider destroy them. 
 
 Give the azalias and daphnes plenty of water 
 and sunshine. There is yet time to sow such an- 
 nuals as sweet alyssum, candy tuft, migionette and 
 lobelia. They are always useful for bouquets, in 
 the green house or conservatory. Take cuttings of 
 all soft wooded plants, such as maurandias, lospher- 
 eums and tropeolums, if you wish good sized plants 
 by spring. If verbenas are wanted to bloom during 
 the winter, now is the time to take cuttings. Do 
 not attempt to keep the old plants : they are worn 
 out and will not give satisfaction. 
 
 Any geranium that has bloomed well in the gar- 
 den, do not expect anything more from it this win- 
 ter. Cut well back ; place in a light, dry cellar, 
 or under the bench of the green house. Those 
 that have made but indifferent growth, have but 
 few roots to disturb; though they may not look 
 well, have laid in a stock of health, and in a few 
 weeks will start into fine growth and blooin ; but 
 the geranium to be relied upon for blossoms will be 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 61 
 
 the young plants rooted during July and August. 
 
 Calodiums should be gradually dried oft'; the 
 tops cut and kept in dry sand, either in a warm, 
 dry cellar, or behind the green house flue. The 
 same care will apply to the richardia. 
 
 Mrs. I. H. Williams. 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 * » » 
 
 TREES. 
 How beautiful and elegant the idea! — "What a 
 thought that was when God thought of a tree!" 
 And what care and love is expressed in the charge 
 given to the destroying angel: "hurt not the trees." 
 And yet how ruthlessly, how pitilessly, how sense- 
 lessly do our people destroy these friends and orna- 
 ments. Old trees, as says St. Pierre, the author of 
 Studies of Nature, serve to attach us to the places 
 where we have once lived, for the memory fixes 
 upon them as on points of reunion which have 
 certain secret harmonies with the soul. Old trees 
 are part of our home. And Strutt in his Sylva 
 Britannica, has well said, that a well known and 
 favorite tree is an object that no art can imitate, no 
 .substitute replace. It seems to live with us and for 
 us ; and he who can wantonly destroy the source of 
 so much innocent and indeed exalted gratification, 
 appears to commit an injury against a friend, which 
 we feel more difficnlty in forgiving than one against 
 ourselves. Learn to love a tree ; and let it be said 
 of you, when you are gone, "He was as generous 
 as a tree — throwing out his leaves in all directions." 
 
 To Preserve Cut Flowers. — Flowers grown 
 out of doors are more easily preserved than those 
 grown in a hot house. They should be cut with a 
 sharp knife, making a clean cut, which facilitates 
 their taking up moisture; and not bruised with 
 scissors, which prevents, to some extent, their thus 
 supplying themselves. Before being placed in po- 
 sition they should be dipped in tepid water, and 
 gently shaken to remove the superfluous drops. If 
 the flowers, or branches, or stems carrying the 
 flowers are inclined to droop, as is often the case 
 on the supper and dinner table, they can easily be 
 supported and kept in place by invisible wire — 
 delicate wire so used as not to be seen on the table. 
 Flowers thus prepared can be best preserved by 
 putting their stems in water; better still, in weak 
 camphor water, and keeping them in a cool, dark 
 place, until wanted. 
 
 Paris Green and the Canaries. — A friend 
 of ours who has a fancy for canary breeding, in- 
 formed us a few days ago, that within the space of 
 a week he had lost forty canaries, and that the birds 
 
 of two of his acquaintances had died, apparently in 
 the same manner. He believes that these disasters 
 were owing to the use of paris green uj>on the seed 
 plants. Can any of our readers far or near throw 
 light upon the matter? It is well in this paris 
 green day to remind those who use it, that it is a 
 compound of arsenic and copper, both of them 
 powerful poisons; that it does not dissolve in water, 
 but is simply held in suspension in the water, and 
 that it can form no integral part of the plant ; 
 hence as it is now applied to other plants besides 
 the potato, it is possible for its particles to attach 
 themselves to the plant and so get mixed with the 
 seed. Our friend is a very intelligent bird fancier, 
 and will be glad to correspond through this Journal 
 with any party interested in canary breeding. 
 ♦ ■»-» 
 
 AMERICA NOT DISCOVERED BY COLUMBUS. 
 The above is the title of a recent work by Prof. 
 P. B. Anderson, of our State University, published 
 by S. C. Griggs & Co., of Chicago. 
 
 Wisconsin is the State for this book to appear in, 
 proving that a Norwegian discovered America, for 
 that State in 1870 included 40,046 Norwegians — 
 more than a third of the whole number in the 
 United States. Prof. Anderson is the man of all 
 men to produce such a work. Of Norse parents, 
 and having investigated the subject in both con- 
 tinents, what he does not know cannot be worth 
 knowing. 
 
 The pre-Columbian discovery of America he 
 seems to have conclusively proved, and has thus 
 added one to the demolished fictions of history ; or 
 rather, he is first to state, in a popular form, the 
 truth established a generation ago in the folio of 
 Eafn. Oddly enough the first discoverer of our 
 continent sailed home without landing. 
 
 Prof. Anderson also argues that Columbus knew 
 America to have been discovered by Northmen. 
 This point is not clear. According to a great Dan- 
 ish authority, Prof. Kohl, the Northmen themselves 
 supposed they had only reached certain outlying 
 fragments of Europe. If so, Columbus could not 
 learn about America from them. No stream can 
 rise higher than its fountain. Whatever Columbus 
 may have heard, he had no faith in the sagas of the 
 Norse, or he would have wished to sail in their 
 track. If he believed what he sought to lie in 
 Norse latitudes, he himself steered most absurdly, 
 like a man, who exclaiming, " I'll blow your brains 
 out ! " levels his pistol below your waistband. 
 
 Prof. Anderson talks of a chronicle about Norse 
 voyages as published in 1073. In truth nothing 
 could be published till well nigh four centuries 
 later, when printing began to speak with a thousand 
 
62 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 voices. For lack of the press sounding through all 
 space, the Northmen conld not tell where they had 
 been, or could not be heard. "They had no prin- 
 ter, and they died." 
 
 Some inaccuracies should be corrected in the 
 new editions which will doubtless be demanded. 
 This is one, (page 35), "From Iceland to Green- 
 land is a distance of only forty-five geographical 
 miles." No geographical mile known to Webster, 
 or to Appleton's Cyclopedia is more than one-sixth 
 longer than an English mile. Hence Greenland is 
 in plain sight of Iceland, as Corinth is of Athens ; 
 and the discovery of one was that of the other 
 also. No doubt German miles are meant, but they 
 are a measure unknown to untraveled Americans. 
 
 MOUND BUILDERS. 
 There are, scattered over three sections of this 
 continent, the remains of an ancient civilization, 
 which invite consideration : the valleys of the 
 Mississippi and Ohio; Central Ameriea and Mexi- 
 co; and South America on the west coast, between 
 Chili and the second degree of north latitude. 
 
 The remains show a higher order of civilization 
 as we proceed south, but from the relics found in 
 them, there would seem to be such a connection 
 between them as to at least favor the theory that 
 these works were constructed by the same people. 
 We know what effect climate and locality, in time, 
 have upon the same type in modfying the charac- 
 teristics of race. Hence, it is not improbable that 
 these footprints in the sands of time were made by 
 members of the same race. 
 
 In the first section, these remains appear in the 
 form of mounds — graphic, sepulchral, sacrificial 
 and defensive. The graphic mounds are usually in 
 the shape of quadrupeds, birds and reptiles. Now 
 and then they will take a form impossible to asso- 
 ciate with any living thing. These mounds are 
 considered as having been distinctive emblems of 
 tribes and clans. 
 
 The sepulchral and sacrificial mounds are round, 
 and are found, as well as all the others, crowning 
 the highest eminences in the vicinity of water. 
 They were used for the purposes indicated by their 
 names. 
 
 The defensive works display both the most prim- 
 itive as well as quite advanced ideas of the princi- 
 ples of fortifications. 
 
 Great interest is now felt in the exploration of 
 these mounds. The Wisconsin Academy of Sci- 
 ences, Arts and Letters has appointed a committee 
 of exploration, consisting of Profs. Nicodemus, 
 Feuling and Irving, of the State University, Dr. 
 Lapham, State Geologist, who has already done so 
 
 much in this direction, and Gen. Delaplaine, of 
 this city. We shall watch with great interest the 
 labors of this committee. 
 
 W. J. L. Nicodemus. 
 State University, Madison. 
 
 Wisconsin Central Poultry Association. — 
 During the week of holding the Dane County Fair 
 in this city, a call was made for a meeting for the 
 organization of a poultry association, the object 
 being to awaken in this part of the State a greater 
 interest in poultry raising. The meeting was held 
 in the State Agricultural Society's Rooms, on the 
 evening of September 24, 1874, resulting in the 
 organization of the Wisconsin Central Poultry 
 Association. Col. W. H. Hamilton, of Sun Prairie, 
 was elected President ; E. S. McBride, of Madison, 
 Secretary; and S. H. Hall, of Burke, Treasurer. 
 Ten Vice-Presidents were elected, Capt. W. T. 
 Leitch, of Madison, being first. The balance of 
 the list was made up from different parts of the 
 State, of gentlemen well known as fanciers and 
 breeders. A large number have already joined 
 and it is hoped that many more interested in the 
 cause will do so before the annual meeting, which 
 is to be held on the second Thursday of December 
 next. The initiation fee is one dollar, and annual 
 dues one dollar. 
 
 Meteorologists are beginning to turn their 
 attention to the connection between meteorological 
 phenomena and vegetation. Their observations 
 will be mads more particularly for the benefit of 
 horticulture und agriculture, but will extend to 
 insect, bird and animal life. The phenomena of 
 our seasons in this northwestern part of the world 
 are frequent and remarkable enough to make us 
 wish that our meteorologists would co-operate with 
 those abroad who have initiated this movement. 
 We cannot regard the invasions of the potato bug, 
 the chinch bug and the grasshopper, from which 
 we are suffering, simply as accidents, as inexplain- 
 able phenomena, mere meaningless and causeless 
 entomological incidents. Such invasions are but 
 the actions — eccentric it may be of natural laws, the 
 nature of which we have to determine before we 
 can contend with its operations. 
 
 The first number of the Field, Lawn and Gar- 
 den comes to us from Madison, Wis. It is typo- 
 graphically attractive, and shows in its make-up, 
 knowledge, care and taste. — New York Tribune, 
 
 Oct. 14, 1S74. 
 
 * ^ » 
 
 To grow thin, it is recommended to take bromide 
 
 of camphor. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 63 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE OUCKOO. 
 What lover of the country does not anxiously 
 listen for the first notes of this bird in the spring — 
 taking care, of course, to have a few coins in the 
 pocket, which should be turned over to ensure a 
 plentiful supply of cash all the year! This is a 
 very common superstition. The inhabitants in the 
 quiet though pretty vale a little above Derwentwa- 
 ter, found out many years ago that the cuckoo 
 always came with the spring, and it would be very 
 •desirable to have a continuance of the fine genial 
 weather of spring all the year ; to insure this they 
 imagined all that was needful was to keep the cuc- 
 koo in the valley the whole year. A meeting of 
 the inhabitants was held, when it was resolved to 
 build a high wall at each end of the valley, thus to 
 prevent the escape of the welcome bird. It was 
 commenced immediately, but, sad to relate, it was 
 scarcely complete when the season for migrating 
 again arrived, and the cuckoo flew over the bound- 
 ary, thus they lost forever the desirable genial 
 spring weather. 
 
 I wish to bring before my readers a few facts 
 relating to this bird, which may not be generally 
 known. I spent my youth in an old-fashioned 
 farmhouse on the borders of North Wales; behind 
 the house was a very extensive orchard, containing 
 a great variety of large fruit trees, in which the 
 ■cuckoo often sang in the early morning. One tree 
 in particular, a pear tree, had been mutilated by 
 having some of the lower branches cut off to make 
 room for other trees. In one of the forks thus left, 
 -about 6 feet from the ground, a pair of flycatchers 
 regularly each season built their nest and reared 
 their young. It was thought very sinful and wicked 
 by young people in those days to touch the eggs or 
 young of these birds, which were called white 
 robins ; everything belonging to robins — robin red- 
 breast or robin whitebreast — was sacred. This will 
 account for the birds being suffered unmolested to 
 rear in safety their brood. One morning I was 
 carelessly sauntering near the nest, learning my 
 ordinary school lessons, when I heard the cuckoo, 
 looking among the branches I saw a pair of these 
 birds — wondering what their object could be, I 
 seated myself behind the trunk of an aged apple 
 tree, not far distant, and watched them. Presently 
 one of the birds was prying into the flycatcher's 
 nest, and evidently, from her motions, trying to 
 insinuate herself into the cavity which contained 
 it; this, however, was impossible, for is was barely 
 sufficient to hold the nest. The cuckoo then jumped 
 to the ground, as I at first imagined with one of 
 
 the flycatcher's eggs, because I had learned the 
 notion, then very commonly believed, that the 
 cuckoo sucked birds' eggs, to clear its throat, or to 
 enable it to sing more clearly. In this case I was 
 mistaken : it sat amongst the grass at the foot of the 
 tree for perhaps five minutes, then springing up to 
 the nest, with what I believed to be an egg in its 
 foot, immediately, as if with joy, flew away singing. 
 I should probably have been disinclined to believe 
 this had another person told me, but they say 
 "seeing is believing." I was an eye-witness to the 
 above. 
 
 Immediately the cuckoo had disappeared I pro- 
 cured a stool from which I could see into the nest, 
 and there I saw the cuckoo's egg along with the 
 five laid by the flycatcher — the cuckoo's egg was 
 white, marked, however, very similarly to the other 
 eggs in the nest, and slightly larger, perhaps, than 
 the egg of the common thrush. 
 
 The poor deluded flycatcher set patiently her 
 allotted time on the whole of the eggs, and in due 
 course I had the satisfaction to see five hatched; 
 one of her own eggs proved infertile. Now comes 
 the strangest part of my tale. The second or third 
 morning — which, I now cannot say with certainty — ■ 
 I found all the young flycatchers dying amongst 
 the grass, thrown out of the nest. My simple idea 
 at this time was, that the cuckoo was grown too 
 large, and the nest could not contain all the fledg- 
 lings, thus the weaker ones accidently fell out; 
 since I have learned the truth by observing sky 
 and titlarks, whose nests were on the level field, 
 served in the same manner, — thus proving beyond 
 a doubt that the cuckoo is the murderer. Many 
 of the small birds, such as the robin and the hedge- 
 sparrow, which are very slow in hunting their food, 
 could not supply sufficient for four or five of their 
 own young with a cuckoo at the same time. Is it 
 not a wise law of nature that the young cuckoo 
 should destroy its foster-brothers, &c.? as by its 
 being supplied only with a limited quantity of food 
 it must naturally grow up weakly, and perhaps be 
 unable to migrate in a few weeks after birth, and 
 thus, being left behind, must perish in the following 
 winter. 
 
 The flycatcher continued very assiduously to 
 supply the young cuckoo with food for about a 
 week, when it suddenly disappeared — we thought 
 it had fallen a prey to some marauding cat, of 
 which animal there were too many in this neigh- 
 borhood. Note. — I had only observed one fly- 
 catcher about the nest from the time the eggs were 
 hatched — this probably the female. I mentioned 
 the circumstance to our family, but I need not have 
 taken the trouble, for the cry of the cuckoo all day 
 
64 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 for food was so pitiful, and could plainly be heard 
 in the house. Now, I thought, is to be an end of 
 the stranger. Not so; wonderful to relate I saw 
 with joy early the following morning a hedge- 
 sparrow (dunnock we called it) busy feeding the 
 curious little fledgling. Everything now went on 
 satisfactorily ; but a gentleman in the village who 
 studied ornithology, and whose favorite volume 
 was the Natural History of Selborne, hearing of 
 the cuckoo, was determined to try an experiment. 
 He placed over the nest a limed twig in such a 
 position that the foster mother, when she came to 
 attend to her charge, was sure to be caught ; he had 
 not long to wait before securing the poor dunnock, 
 of which he took great care. The reason why he 
 secured it was this — he had an idea that some 
 other insectivorous bird, who had young in the 
 nest at the time, hearing the plaintive cry of the 
 starving cuckoo, would be attracted towards it and 
 be compelled to feed it. Whether this law would 
 hold good in every case I am not prepared to say ; 
 but I do know that before the evening, by crying 
 out out lustily, the cuckoo had as much food as he 
 required taken to him by a thrush. 
 
 It is generally known that the thrush is a very 
 afFectionote bird, and I have seen a male in a cage 
 rearing some half-dozen of its own species at the 
 same time; and one in particular, which is now 
 living, has reared in this manner, during the past 
 two seasons, sixteen birds. 
 
 When our friend witnessed this, he at once liber- 
 ated the hedge-sparrow, who speedily commenced 
 her old work, to the evident annoyance of the 
 thrush. The cuckoo soon afterwards left its nest, 
 being fed for some short time longer by the dun- 
 nock, in a high bough ; when it was full grown it 
 disappeared, about the usual period of migration — 
 when the mowers are heard whetting their scythes 
 in the meadows. 
 
 This is the only instance which has come under 
 my own observation of the cuckoo being fed by 
 three distinct species in the nest; but I have heard 
 it said by bird-catchers (who are generally men 
 who have deeply studied practical ornithology, 
 certainly not from books, for the majority are 
 probably unable to read, yet they are thorough 
 "field naturalists") that the cuckoo has the power 
 to attract other birds to its aid. I cannot say how 
 far this theory may be correct — I am only able to 
 point to the above solitary example in its support. 
 I hope shortly to lay before your readers a few 
 more interesting facts respecting this strange, 
 though welcome, summer visitant. — R, in Garden- 
 ers' Chronicle. 
 
 )omt Scparfmcnt. 
 
 THE LIFE CLOCK. 
 
 There is a little mystic clock 
 
 No human eye hath seen, 
 That beateth on, aud beateth on, 
 
 From morning until e'en. 
 
 And when the soul is wrapp'd in sleep, 
 
 And heareth not a sound, 
 It ticks, and ticks, the livelong night, 
 
 And never runneth down. 
 
 Oh, wondrous is the work of art 
 Which knells the parting hour ; 
 
 But art ne'er formed, nor mind conceived 
 The Life Clock's magic power. 
 
 Nor set with gold, nor decked with gems, 
 
 By pride and wealth possessed ; 
 But rich or poor, or high or low, 
 
 Each bears it in his breast. 
 
 When life's deep stream, 'mid bed of flowers, 
 
 All still and softly glides, 
 Like the wavelet's step, with a gentle tread, 
 
 It warns of passing tides. 
 
 When passion nerves the warrior's arm 
 
 For deeds of hate and wrong, 
 Though heeded not the fearful sound, 
 
 The knell is deep and strong. 
 
 When eyes to eyes are gazing soft, 
 
 And words of love are spoken, 
 Then loud aud fast it rattles on 
 
 As if with love 'twere broken. 
 
 Such is the clock that measures life r 
 
 Of flesh and spirit blended ; 
 And each will bear it in his breast 
 
 Till this strange life is ended. 
 
 TRIP LIGHTLY. 
 Trip lightly over trouble, 
 
 Trip lightly over wrong; 
 We only make grief double 
 
 By dwelling on it long. 
 Why clasp woe's hand so tightly ? 
 
 Why sigh o'er blossoms dead? 
 Why cling to forms unsightly? 
 
 Why not to joy instead? 
 
 Trip lightly over sorrow — 
 
 Though this day may be dark, 
 The sun may shine to-morrow, 
 
 And gladly sing the lark ; 
 Fair hope has not departed, 
 
 Though roses may have fled ; 
 Then never be down hearted, 
 
 But look for joy instead ! 
 
 Trip lightly over sadness, 
 
 Stand not to rail at doom, 
 We've pearls to string of gladness,. 
 
 On this side of the tomb ; 
 While stars are nigntly shining, 
 
 And Heaven is overhead, 
 Encourage not repining, 
 
 But look for joy instead. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 65 
 
 SANITARY NOTES. 
 
 BY JOSEPH HOBBINS, M. D. 
 
 Scarlet Fever. — In this disease, the parent 
 and the school teacher are often concerned to know 
 how long a time must elapse before it is safe to 
 admit the convalescent children to mingle with 
 other children. And the answer is, that for a 
 month, at least, the body of a scarlet fever patient 
 is casting off scales from the skin; and from the 
 nose, throat, bowels and kidneys, discharges which 
 are poisonous and convey the disease. The chief 
 danger, however, arises from the skin, as this is the 
 main outlet for the blood poison to escape, hence 
 every scale it throws off can carry the infection. 
 
 For Wounds. — In the absence of the ordinary 
 applications, such as adhesive plaster, &c, use cot- 
 ton wool, which is more generally at hand. It has 
 many advantages over other dressings: in being 
 light it does not pain, but relieves pain; is a pro- 
 tection to the wound from other injury; and need 
 not be removed as soon or as often as other appli- 
 cations. It should be applied in quantity and with 
 a bandage. 
 
 Consumption. — The United States Census shows 
 that consumption and cancer prevail most near the 
 sea, and diminish as you recede from it. 
 
 Drunkenness. — Drunkenness is not a simple 
 infraction of morality and upon hygiene; it is a 
 veritable case of poisoning, which has its forms, its 
 symptoms, its accidents, its complications, its ter- 
 minations, like every other malady. 
 
 Short Sight. — The probable cause or develop- 
 ment of short-sightedness may be found, it is 
 thought, in the school room, where by means of 
 deficiency or bad arrangement of light and the bad 
 construction of seats and desks, the pupil has to 
 bring his eyes very near to his work. The more 
 one looks into the management of the school room 
 and into its physical results, the more apparent it 
 becomes that the first study for the school board, as 
 well as for the pupil, should be applied physiology. 
 
 Swallowing Foreign Bodies. — Children from 
 accident or mischief, men from foolhardiness or for 
 pa)', idiots and maniacs, frequently swallow things 
 almost with impunity, yet which are calculated to 
 destroy life. Among "the varieties" swallowed by 
 children are buttons, rings, broaches, brea?t-pins, 
 coins, screws, etc.; and by adults, as just shown by 
 a French medical journal, forks, a bundle of thread 
 with a needle stuck in it, a sword eleven inches 
 long and three inches wide, a set of dominoes 
 twenty-eight in number and a lot of pebbles, a 
 rosary thirty inches long, with a cross one inch and 
 
 half long and half an inch wide. All this, though 
 just happening, seems incredible; but how much 
 more incredible that in all these instances the pa- 
 tients have recovered. In a very long experience, 
 we have never, with one exception, seen little 
 children injured by swallowing foreign bodies. In 
 the instance referred to, a little boy was brought 
 to us from Iowa, with a copper coin impacted in 
 his gullet, where it had lodged for five days. Or 
 course no food could be swallowed, and every effort 
 to swallow was followed by a fit of strangulation. 
 It was a very easy matter by means of a simple 
 instrument used for such purposes to push the coin 
 into the stomach and so relieve the child. Upon 
 withdrawing the instrument, it was somewhat inter- 
 esting to see the sponge at its end colored very 
 freely with solution of copper. In ordinary eases,, 
 that is, where the foreign body has passed into the 
 stomach, people generally give physic to the child. 
 This is wrong. Give nature her own time, and the 
 foreign body will pass, sometimes in a few days, 
 and at other times after many weeks, or even 
 months. 
 
 An Anti-Corset Society. — If there ever was 
 a country distinguished for its love of moral and 
 social revolutions, it is this country of ours. Some 
 of these attempted revolutions are absurd enough, 
 but others are not only sound but practical. Among 
 these is the effort, the organization started in Brook- 
 lyn by a number of ladies, "to put down corsets, 
 high-heeled boots, false hair, and such like auxili- 
 aries to feminine attraction." This is an under- 
 taking that at once commends itself to every man 
 and woman of sense in the land. It will be sup- 
 ported heartily by the medical profession, and, as 
 we trust, both by the pulpit and the press. It is 
 time that sensible people should put their foot upon 
 senseless clothing. 
 
 Insanity. — A sound mind and a sound body go 
 together. A perfectly healthy individual cannot 
 become deranged in mind, says a physician in the 
 St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal. If this 
 be so, and that it is so, few physicians doubt, ought 
 we not to be a little more careful, a little more cir- 
 cumspect about what we put into our mouths? A 
 full stomach and an empty head, is a proverb; and 
 a foul stomach and folly are pretty generally twin 
 companions, say we. 
 
 Dipsomania. — While the "higher classes" in 
 this country and in Europe are not given to drunk- 
 enness, while among such classes drunkenness is 
 regarded as low and ungentlcmanly, they are, 
 nevertheless, as a rule, persistent and daily drinkers 
 of wine, spirits, &c, consuming by far too much 
 
66 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 alcoholic stimulus for the health of hody and mind. 
 The "lower classes," as they are termed, are not 
 only addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks, but 
 are given to drink to intoxication, not only to their 
 mental and physical, but to their moral injury, 
 being led by this habit into all kinds of crime. 
 Taking, then, a broad view of intemperance, we 
 find that education, refinement, mental resources 
 are not of themselves sufficient to prevent this 
 abuse ; and that ignorance or the absence of educa- 
 tion is no preventative. Where, then, shall we 
 look for the remedy ? In man himself. Educate 
 him up to a knowledge of himself, especially of his 
 physical being; and then so far as intemperance is 
 concerned, leave him to take care of himself. Ev- 
 erybody does not rush into a flame, though a burn- 
 ing city may invite them ; neither will people in a 
 wholesale way, as now, rush into destruction by 
 intoxication, no matter how bright may be the wine, 
 or how alluring and cheap the burning cup. 
 
 » «■ » ■ 
 
 CELLAR FEVER. 
 Our homes are so constructed and our habits of 
 living so confirmed, that it would seem to be al- 
 most useless to urge upon our people the advan- 
 tages of building under-ground rooms for the pur- 
 pose of storing vegetables and meats, detached from 
 our dwellings; and yet this plan while attended 
 with some inconvenience and some additional ex- 
 pense, would be infinitely better because infinitely 
 .safer to health and to life. 
 
 To sleep upon the ground floor in an uncarpeted 
 room, with the flooring boards from half an inch 
 to an inch apart, immediately over a perfectly un- 
 yentilated cellar, containing, as is too often the 
 case, meat not over sweet, a barrel or boiler of 
 tainted fat kept for soap making, a few heaps of 
 vegetables in some part decayed, is to invite the 
 worst, because the most fatal, kind of disease into 
 one's family. 
 
 By way of giving weight to these remarks, I 
 could give instance after instance where typhoid 
 fever (I have called it cellar fever for the purpose 
 of attracting attention) has occurred under just 
 such circumstances. One or two such cases, how- 
 ever, will be sufficient to convey to my readers my 
 meaning, and to illustrate the truth of what I am 
 saying. A few years ago I was sent for in the mid- 
 dle of the winter, to go to Norwegian grove, in this 
 county, to see a family stricken down with this 
 fearful fever. One woman, a grown daughter, had 
 already died of the disease but a few days before 
 my visit. The mother was dying, and lived only a 
 few hours after my visit, and another daughter and 
 son, grown young people, were in a dying state 
 
 from the same fever. Fatal arrangement — these 
 patients were poisoning each other by being placed 
 for the sake of convenience, in the same room. 
 
 Snow was upon the ground to the depth of eight 
 inches; there was no thaw; there was nothing in 
 the neighborhood to create fever, and none of the 
 neighbors were sick. None of the family had been 
 visiting, and no visitor had brought the fever. 
 Therefore it was perfectly clear that the disease had 
 its origin in the house itself. Now mark, — the 
 bed room of the sick was on the ground floor, there 
 was no carpet down, and the spaces between the 
 flooring boards were from half an inch to an inch 
 and a half open, and the air of the room more 
 offensive than the fever itself would make it. Be- 
 fore prescribing for the patients, I asked to be 
 shown into the cellar, and there in a moment could 
 see enough to poison a whole household. In one 
 corner was a large iron boiler half filled with pu- 
 trid fat and grease, in another corner cabbage, and 
 in other parts, turnips, potatoes, &c, in all of which 
 heaps I found more or less vegetable decay. The 
 cause of this terrible family calamity stood revealed. 
 Nothing could be plainer, since, as we all know, 
 there is no greater source of pestilence than decayed 
 animal and vegetable matter. My directions were 
 instant — and just what yours should be. Move the 
 patients up-stairs, into different rooms, sponge them 
 over, give them fresh linen, and clean bed clothes. 
 Fling open the cellar doors, remove all the meat 
 and fat and vegetables, whitewash the walls, arrange 
 for thorough ventilation, and you will in all proba- 
 bility save the lives of the sick ones, and at the 
 same time prevent others being made sick. 
 
 Just such another instance of cellar fever I was 
 called to visit last winter, at Black Earth, where 
 unfortunately, as in the instance just given, the 
 mother and a grown daughter were already sacri- 
 ficed, and two other members of the family barely 
 escaped death. In this case I insisted upon visiting 
 the cellar even before seeing the patients. My 
 suspicions were fully confirmed as to the origin of 
 the attack. It was within the house that the enemy 
 was found. The earth was frozen and covered with 
 snow; there was no sickness in the vicinity; but 
 the cellar presented — well — the very appearance 
 that I am afraid too many cellars will present this 
 coming winter, to the risk and perhaps destruction 
 of many loved and valuable lives. J. H. 
 * mm » 
 
 Digging a Cure for Dyspepsia. — A gentleman 
 saw an advertisement that a recipe for the cure of 
 dyspepsia might be had by sending two postage 
 stamps to the advertiser, and^the answer was "Dig 
 in your garden and let whisky alone." 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 67 
 
 THE NEXT TO THE BEST, 
 Never rail at the world ; it is just as we make it ; 
 
 We see not the flower if we set not the seed ; 
 And as for ill luck, it's just as we take it; 
 
 The heart that's in earnest no bars can impede. 
 You question the justice that governs man's breast, 
 
 And say that the search for true friendship is vain ; 
 But remember this world tho' it be not the best, 
 
 Is the next to the best we shall ever attain. 
 
 Never rail at the world, nor attempt to exalt 
 
 That feeling which questions society's claim, 
 For often poor friendship is less in the fault, 
 
 Less changeable, oft, than the seltish who blame. 
 Then ne'er by the changes of fate be depressed, 
 
 Nor wear like a fetter time's sorrowful chain ; 
 But believe that this world, tho' it be not the best, 
 
 Is the next to the best we shall ever attain. 
 
 RISING ABOVE DISCOURAGEMENT, 
 We find in an exchange paper a brief essay on the 
 above subject, calculated to be helpful to those who 
 hnd themselves grown weary and discouraged in 
 bearing the inevitable burdens of this mortal state. 
 We transfer the same to our columns, with the 
 earnest hope that it may benefit all who read this 
 Magazine, who need encouragement of this kind : 
 
 There is always a way out of discouragement. 
 Conviction that our course is right, constancy of 
 purpose, an invincible determination never to sub- 
 mit or yield, and a calm reliance on Divine Provi- 
 dence may sustain us in a lofty attitude. If we 
 will wait with patience for the element of time to 
 work in our affairs, the difficulties may disappear 
 of themselves, and we find a clear path where we 
 had anticipated only insurmountable obstacles. 
 While we are waiting we will find it easy to draw 
 profitable lessons from the careers of the great men 
 of the world, from the life of Frederick the Great, 
 embraced in the seven years war, and from the 
 history of William the Silent as given by Motley 
 in his Rise of the Dutch Republic; and we may 
 live over again with Washington the days of Val- 
 ley Forge, or conduct with Xenophon the Ketreat 
 of the Ten Thousand. They all are examples to 
 us that we, through faith and patience, may inherit 
 the kingdom of the brave, the resolute, the hope- 
 ful, the patient. 
 
 Discouragement oftenest overtakes those whose 
 lives pass in the petty details of commonplace ex- 
 istence. The mother whose narrow round of duty 
 confines her to the range of two or three rooms; 
 the primary teacher whose life passes in the mo- 
 notony of the school room; the mechanic whose 
 days are filled with activity that never varies — 
 these typical individuals find it hard to keep buoy- 
 ant, hopeful, fresh and resolute. But this is just 
 what they must do or dwindle into cyphers. 
 
 This current is not so difficult to set in motion as 
 many people think. What must be done in daily 
 life we all find time to do. Now put intellectual 
 moral growth among the musts and the current is 
 started. Instead of suffering the mind while busy 
 with routine work to dwell on trifles, on petty 
 troubles, or to drift whither it will, let some subject 
 of interest occupy it. The intellectual heroes of 
 antiquity had but few books, but they did a vast 
 amount of thinking, and to good purpose. We 
 live in the same world they did, and have in addi- 
 tion all the accumulated wisdom of the ages that 
 have intervened to draw upon. 
 
 Of all things, when the mood of discouragement 
 overtakes one, he should think of anything and 
 everything else than his own troubles, and more 
 than this, should take measures at once to follow 
 new currents of thought and feeling. Sometimes 
 the mood is purely the result of bodily conditions, 
 and requires for its cure sleep or exercise in the 
 open air, or change of diet, or a simple waiting till 
 it passes away of itself. When it springs from 
 causes not cannected with the body, then the cure 
 must be spiritual or intelleciual. An intensely in- 
 teresting book, visitation among the poor, constant 
 intercourse with fresh minds, change of scene, 
 travel, the study of a science new to the patient, 
 anything that will absorb the brain and keep it 
 from consuming itself is good medicine. 
 
 The world is full of sunshine and beauty. "It 
 is right, meet, and our bounden duty" that we 
 should open our hearts to all the soothing, healing 
 invigorating influences of the sky that bends over 
 us in unchanging love, the balmy air, the happy 
 chirp of innumerable insects, the ten thousand 
 voices with which nature speaks to him whose ears 
 are opened to receive her gentle teachings. 
 
 Death from the Sting of a Hornet. — An 
 inquest was lately held in England, in a case where 
 death occurred in a few minutes to a laborer's wife 
 from the sting of a hornet upon her neck. Such 
 deaths occur more frequently than people are aware 
 of; and occasionally in cases where the insect does 
 not sting, but simply alights upon some exposed 
 part of the body — the face or the hand. Death in 
 such instanses is thought to result from a nervous 
 shock, producing syncope or fainting. The remedy 
 for which is an immediate resort to stimulants, 
 brandy, whiskey, etc. 
 
 Poison. — Green wall papers are for the most 
 part, arsenic poisoners. Better never use them, for 
 though the dose is but infinitesimal, it Ls sometimes 
 too much for safety. 
 
68 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 hit faitls anb Sx»gs. 
 
 FAIRY FOLK. 
 The story books have told you 
 
 Of the fairy folk so nice, 
 That make them leathern aprons 
 
 Of the ears of little mice ; 
 And wear the leaves of roses 
 
 Like a cap upon their heads, 
 And sleep at night on thistle-down, 
 
 Instead of feather beds. 
 
 These stories, too, have told you, 
 
 No doubt to your surprise, 
 That the fairies ride in coaches 
 
 That are drawn by butterflies ; 
 And come into your chambers 
 
 When you are locked in dreams, 
 And right across your counterpanes 
 
 Make bold to drive their teams; 
 And that they heap your pillows 
 
 With their gifts of rings and pearls; 
 But do not heed such idle tales, 
 
 My little boys and girls. 
 
 There are no fairy folk that ride 
 
 About the world at night, 
 Who give you rings and other thing, 
 
 To pay for doing right. 
 But if you do to others what 
 
 You'd have them do to you, 
 You'll be as blest as if the best 
 
 Of story books were true. 
 
 ANIMALS OF THE GALAPAGOS. 
 
 A correspondent who was with the Agassiz 
 Expedition a few years ago, furnishes an interesting 
 account of the visit to the Galapagos Archipelago. 
 The following description of the animals and in- 
 sects found on the islands, will be particularly 
 instructive and pleasing. Our boys and girls who 
 are studying geography, will like to find, if they 
 do not already know, where the Galapagos are sit- 
 uated : — 
 
 One of our most curious adventures was landing 
 in a little bay full of seals, so tame, or, rather, so 
 little afraid of man, that we could tramp past 
 groups of sleepers on the beach without awakening 
 half of them and without apparently frightening half 
 of those that we did awake. They seemed to be 
 fond of crawling under bushes just above high- 
 water mark, and sleeping, two or three in a place, 
 huddled close together. Under one bush lay a 
 mother and her two cubs, so fearless that one of 
 our officers held a piece of cracker to the old one, 
 and she smelled it in his fingers as bravely as if 
 she had been a pet dog. The cubs quarreled with 
 each other as to which should cuddle nearest the 
 mother, and they all three snarled and snapped at 
 the flies in the manner of a sleepy dog, and all this 
 while a party of ladies and gentlemen, creatures as 
 
 large as the seals, and which the seals could hardly 
 have seen before, stood looking on within touching 
 distance. These seals had much more length of 
 arm, and used their arms more in the manner of 
 quadrupeds than I had supposed any seal could do. 
 I saw them walk on the beach with the Avhole chest 
 clear of the ground. Their favorite gymnastic 
 exercise, however, was to lie on their backs and 
 roll, in the manner of a horse. The tameness of 
 these seals and many of the land birds was very 
 surprising; the blunt-noses were more shy than we 
 had expected. I repeatedly put my fingers within 
 half an inch of little yellow birds and finches, and 
 within six inches of mocking birds. On James 
 Island the birds were so numerous and so tame, 
 that, while I was trying the experiment whether 
 whistling to a yellow bird would divert his attention 
 so much as to allow me to touch it, six other birds, 
 including two mocknig birds, came up and alighted 
 on twigs within two yards of the yellow bird, to 
 see what was going on between us. As for the flies, 
 their tameness and pertinacity of adhesion, at the 
 Galapagos, goes far beyond all travelers' accounts. 
 I knew a good house-keeper in New England who 
 affirmed that house-flies could not be driven out of 
 a room unless you struck and killed one or two, in 
 order to show the others that you were in earnest. 
 
 You cannot drive the Galapagos flies from you 
 even with that expedient. The birds and seals are 
 not frightened by being stoned or shot; they don't 
 know what stones and guns mean, and the flies are 
 not frightened or discouragod by having any 
 amount of their comrades killed. When a boat 
 was coming off shore, the usual occupation, in order 
 to prevent carrying the nuisances on ship, was for 
 everybody to be picking the flies oft* themselves, 
 (almost as they would burrs), killing them and 
 throwing them into the water, from the time of 
 leaving the beach to the arrival on the deck of the 
 ship ; and the last fly slaughtered before you go in 
 to the cabin is no more afraid of you than the first 
 one you slew at the beach. They are not all biting 
 flies; we have escaped trouble from mosquitoes and 
 biting flies during the whole voyage, but they are 
 crawling, tickling, adhesive, tantalizing creatures. 
 It was pleasant to find here at the Galapagos a 
 species of penguin, smaller and more sober in dress 
 than our old friends of the Straits of Magellan, but 
 with the same winning, cunning manners that 
 made the birds in the Straits such favorites with 
 our party. And while speaking of the birds of 
 these islands, I would not forget the splendid fla- 
 mingoes, six feet high, of which we got many fine 
 specimens. They sailed about in parties of twelve 
 to twenty birds together, making long lines of 
 scarlet flame floating through the air. We tried 
 their flesh on the table, and found it the most deli- 
 cious game, fully equal to the canvass-back. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 G9 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 SCHOOL DISEASES. 
 
 BY C. R. AGNEW, M. D., NEW YORK. 
 
 The observations of Colin in the schools and Uni- 
 versity of Breslau, of Kruger in Frankfort-on-the- 
 Main, of Erismann in St. Petersburgh, of Von 
 Hoffman in Wiesbaden, and others abroad, prove 
 most conclusively that one of the bad effects of 
 school and college life is to produce diseases of the 
 eyes. They have shown that near-sightedness in- 
 creases rapidly in frequency as you go up in the 
 scale of schools from the primaries of the rural 
 districts to the universities. The gravity of this 
 finding may be appreciated when we remember 
 that near sightedness is a disease, and that it very 
 frequently descends from one generation to ano- 
 ther, marked by such organic changes in the eyes 
 as tend to the production of the worst forms of the 
 malady and to blindness. In 1867, Colin, of Bres- 
 lau, published the results of the examination of 
 the eyes of 10,060 scholars. 1486 were children 
 in five village schools, 8,574 were scholars in twenty- 
 eight of the schools of Breslau. Twenty of the 
 schools were elementary, two were girls' high 
 schools, two intermediate schools, two where lan- 
 guages and sciences were taught, two gymnasiums. 
 His examinations covered the entire range of school 
 life. He found that 1,750 of the 10,060 children 
 had defective vision, about 17 per cent. He also 
 examined, without selection, 410 of the 964 students 
 of the Breslau University, and found that not one 
 third had normal eyes. 
 
 His deductions, as condensed in a paper by B. 
 Joy Jeffries, of Boston, are as follows : 
 
 1st. That no school was without near-sighted 
 scholars. 
 
 2d. That the number varied greatly in the dif- 
 ferent schools. 
 
 3d. That the percentage of cases of defective 
 vision in village schools was comparatively low, 
 one-fourth per cent. 
 
 4th. That there were eight times as many cases 
 of defective vision in city schools as in country. 
 
 oth. That in the city elementary schools there 
 were four or five times as many cases of defective 
 vision as in village schools. 
 
 6th. That there were more cases in the girls' 
 high schools than in the elementary. 
 
 7 th. That in the city schools there is a steady 
 increase in the number of near-sighted scholars, 
 viz.: Elementary schools, 6.7 per cent. Middle 
 schools, 10.3. Kealschule, 19.7. Gymnasiums, 26.2. 
 
 8th. In the middle schools one-tenth, in the 
 
 Bealschule one-fifth, and in the gymnasiums one- 
 fourth of the scholars were near-sighted. 
 
 9th. The number of near-sighted scholars varied 
 in the different village schools, but was never more 
 than 2.4 per cent., (ranging from 0.8 upward). 
 
 10th. In the second middle schools the number 
 of near-sighted scholars scarcely varied 3 per cent., 
 in the Bealschule scarcely 2 per cent., in the gym- 
 nasiums not 4 per cent. 
 
 He took measurements of the bodies of the 
 scholars, and made comparative measurements of 
 the school furniture. He examined into the con- 
 ditions of light and ventilation, and gave it as his 
 opinion that this alarming prevalence of eye dis- 
 ease is due to the prolonged use of the eyes of the 
 young in scrutinizing such small objects as print, 
 and that the bad effect of such work is greatly 
 increased by improperly constructed school furni- 
 ture. Anticipating the statement that the German 
 schools are not supplied with what we in America 
 call model school furniture, we must say that Cohn 
 measured the model American seats and desks 
 shown at the Paris Exhibition, and found that they 
 were subject to serious objection. 
 
 Seats in school-houses should be constructed 
 with an inclination backwards, and backs so mod- 
 eled as to give support to the spinal column of the 
 scholar, and thus make any prone position of the 
 head too fatiguing to be voluntarily endured. The 
 desks should be standing desks, with light falling 
 upon them over the left shoulder, or from above. 
 Many exercises that now demand pen or pencil 
 should be done at the blackboard, and every effort 
 should be made to vary the position of the body oi 
 the scholar all up through those years of its life 
 when the skeleton is growing and the contents of 
 the thoracic and abdominal cavaties are taxed to 
 their utmost to maintain the powers of the growing 
 body. The evil influence of prolonged sitting at 
 desks or tables, with the head prone and the thora- 
 cic and abdominal cavities constrained, can scarcely 
 be over-estimated. 
 
 It is a serious question whether we are not get- 
 ting what is called education at too exorbitant a 
 price, when the health and usefulness of eyes are 
 impaired or sacrificed. And the mischief that is 
 done to eyes in schools and colleges may safely be 
 taken as an indication of the damage that is in- 
 flicted upon other parts of the body. Objectors 
 may, perhaps, say that the appalling statistics ob- 
 tained by the foreign observers could not be gath- 
 ered in American schools and colleges. I believe 
 that they might, and I found my belief upon twenty 
 years' work among just the classes of subjects tab- 
 ulated by Cohn and the other Continental observers. 
 
70 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 I believe that our system of education, if, indeed, 
 we may be said to have a system, is one of the most 
 damaging in its effects upon the growing bodies of 
 scholars of any in the world. Let anyone familiar 
 with hygiene take the pains, as I have, to inquire 
 carefully into the physical effects of curricula of 
 our leading schools and colleges, and he will be 
 compelled to confess that there is the greatest cause 
 for reform. . The attention which is paid to gym- 
 nastic exercises and other methods of physical 
 culture does not correct the evils. It often happens 
 that those who really need physical exercise most 
 do not get it, or that the exercise is excessive, and 
 does harm to those who engage in it. What we 
 need in our school and college curricula is a dimin- 
 ution of the hours of labor. The working hours 
 too often extend from eight or nine in the morning 
 to ten or eleven at night. The strain thus put upon 
 growing bodies is too great. Some method should 
 be devised by Avhich much that now involves a 
 persistent use of the eyes in confined and unnatural 
 postures of the body could be accomplished through 
 the use of models or photographs, or the black- 
 board. Much that is now attempted to be taught 
 by badly printed books, might be taught orally or 
 by some form of object lessons. Even if such rad- 
 ical changes could not be accomplished much might 
 be done towards lessening the evil effects of our 
 present method by shortening the hours devoted to 
 study, by r correcting defects in the architecture of 
 class and study rooms, by improving the ventila- 
 tion, heating and lighting of school houses, and by 
 diffusing information among the parents of scholars, 
 so that there may be less in the home life that is 
 prejudicial to health. And just here we touch the 
 very fountain of the evil. Our schools cannot be 
 much, if any, above the intelligence of their pa- 
 trons. I do not blame the teachers for the evils in 
 our systems of education. I blame boards of trus- 
 tees and other school and college boards for not 
 applying the principles that have already been 
 worked out by scientific men. If architects and 
 boards of managers of schools and colleges would 
 apply in the construction and conduct of their 
 institutions of learning even a few of the principles 
 that sanitarians all agree upon, we would at once 
 gee a reduction in those forms of disease which are 
 traceable to their present neglect. — The Sanitarian. 
 
 * » > 
 
 Insanity from alcoholism has been increased in 
 France to such an extent, that instead of its giving 
 12 per cent, of insane as in 1850, it gives 29 per 
 cent, in 1870. As some one has said, a people that 
 will not protect itself against a like agent of des- 
 truction, will soon be nothing but a living ruin. 
 
 MISCELLANY. 
 
 LADY VIETUE. 
 
 English women are almost universally considered 
 eccentric, and perhaps to those travelers who meet 
 them at Chamouni, making a walking tour in queer 
 eustumes, or see them seated in gondolas, at Venice, 
 clothed in impossible bonnets, sketching with the 
 greatest sang-froid, some old palace, utterly ignor- 
 ing the fact that they themselves would make a 
 comic sketch of great merit — to such observers 
 they do appear a little regardless of what the con- 
 ventional world calls "appearance ;" but seen at home 
 the English women are very delightful. An Eng- 
 lish lady, in her old ancestral halls, is a charming 
 object. The whole idea of English institutions is 
 to increase the sanctity of home. For generations 
 the same house has been in one family ; the por- 
 traits of her predecessors hang on the walls; the 
 virtues, talents, and beauty of the various mothers 
 who have helped to build up the family honor, are 
 often spoken of, and woe be unto that woman whose 
 portrait is veiled, or hung in a distant closet, because 
 she Avas not an " honor to the family !" 
 
 It was my good fortune to know one of those 
 ladies who was an "honor to the family," and I 
 may, perhaps, under an assumed name, allude to 
 some of her graces and attractions. 
 
 There is something pleasant to an American in 
 the first visit to one of these superb houses in the 
 British Isles which time and taste have been so 
 long perfecting. The almost feudal grandeur which 
 surround such places as the palaces of the dukes, 
 is, of course, a novelty to us. We seem to be going 
 back to our romance reading, and to have left the 
 realms of reality. So in the houses of the gentry 
 and lesser nobility we find a kind of state which is 
 certainly not republican. 
 
 It was a beautiful midsummer day when we 
 started on our visit to Lady Virtue. Our kind 
 host had given us the requisite directions as to 
 railways, and had taken a special compartment for 
 us. So we had the unexpected pleasure of being 
 recognized by an official at Euston Square, an im- 
 mense wilderness of a depot — a recognition as un- 
 expected as if we had met a friend in the great 
 Desert of Sahara. This worthy came to us on our 
 journey to point out "A rroiv on the 'III," as he 
 called Harrow on the Hill, and also showed us 
 other points of interest in the landscape. When 
 we arrived at the station, our host, Sir Frederick 
 Virtue, met us; he Avas riding on a young, white 
 horse, Avhich he managed with great skill and ease. 
 Seventy years had not impaired his vivacity or 
 strength, and it had added to his beauty. A fine, 
 white-haired, ruddy old man, he looked scarcely 
 fifty, and preserved the cheerfulness of a younger 
 age. His horses and carriages Avere aAvaiting us, 
 and Ave drove to Wallingham House, perhaps a 
 mile distant. 
 
 Wallingham House was an old, rambling, pic- 
 turesque mansion, covered with ivy, to which had 
 been added a superb modern house, fronting on the 
 park, in which Avas some pretty artificial water. 
 It was white stone, and of the Tudor-Gothic order. 
 The long hall was lined Avith servants in the family 
 livery, and Ave were escorted through the lines to a 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 71 
 
 grand salon, of magnificent dimensions, at the far- 
 ther end ot which, in a grand bay window, sat a 
 little lady witli gray hair, plainly dressed, who 
 rose to receive us with a simple cordiality winch 
 was charming. She looked very small in this 
 room, twenty feet high, forty feet long, and I do 
 not know how wide. I only remember that groups 
 of tables, grand piano, and every variety of chair 
 and sofa, seemed to make little islands in the midst 
 of great seas of space. On the walls hung many 
 family portraits, most of them by Vandyek, and a 
 most beautiful white marble mantel-piece, exqui- 
 sitely carved, reached nearly to the ceiling. In 
 this great fireplace, a picture in itself, glowed a not 
 unacceptable fire of logs, for the afternoon was 
 growing chilly, as English afternoons are apt to do. 
 Lady Virtue introduced us to her sons and daugh- 
 ters, and offered us the usual four o'clock tea. 
 After a little preparatory chat, we separated to rest 
 and dress for dinner, which was served in a beauti- 
 ful room, whose long windows revealed to us an 
 old stone chapel, wreathed with ivy, which had 
 belonged to the family five hundred years. It was 
 a beautiful and picturesque thing, but it was con- 
 sidered unsafe, and the great Gilbert Scott, the res- 
 torer of all the old churches, was to come down in 
 a few days, and preside over its demolition and 
 rebuilding. We attended service in it the next 
 day, and saw the monumental brasses and monu- 
 ments of the Virtue family, which had been accu- 
 mulating for these many centuries. 
 
 As the preacher went on with his very interest- 
 ing account of the chapel, so dear and sacred to 
 this family, I noticed one of the daughters taking 
 notes in short-hand. She told me, after service, 
 that this was not an unusual accomplishment, and 
 that she corresponded with two or three friends 
 through that (to me) inexplicable medium. 
 
 After the service, a ramble through the grounds 
 revealed beautiful gardens, superb old oaks, lovely 
 ferneries, and choice bits of scenery. The deer 
 scampered through the ferns as we approached, 
 and I plucked the white-and-purple foxglove, grow- 
 ing wild at my feet; beautiful little bits of ivy, 
 clambering of their own sweet will, over stumps 
 and stems of trees, offered everywhere the most 
 delightful of subjects to the water-colorist. 
 
 Lady Virtue, who was something of an invalid, 
 was wheeled about in a garden-chair. I found she 
 knew every fern, every moss, every flower, was an 
 excellent botanist, and she was kind enough to 
 gratify my American curiosity by answering all my 
 questions as to the antiquity of certain parts of the 
 house, and the chapel, the brasses, pictures and 
 monuments. The gardens were all laid out under 
 her care; she was the main-spring of this beauty 
 and order. Not an unsightly object met the view 
 through all this wide domain ; it was all verdure, 
 antiquity, grace, dignity and sweetness. 
 
 After our ramble, she took us to the library, one 
 of the large modern rooms like the salon, furnished 
 with beautiful carved-wood bookcases, and hung 
 with more valuable portraits. I mentioned the 
 beauty of the bookcases. 
 
 "Yes," said she, "those are modern. I found 
 when I came here much beautiful carved wood 
 lying in an out-house, the remains of one of the 
 extravagant projects of our ancestor, Sir Thomas 
 
 Virtue, who went nigh to ruin us seventy years ago, 
 and who encumbered the property so much that we 
 have no more money than we want now. I got a 
 carpenter, and drew a plan, and we made those 
 bookcases out of Sir Thomas' folly." 
 
 They were very beautiful, and almost excused 
 Sir Thomas for his uncompleted designs. 
 
 Lady Virtue was an author of no inconsiderable 
 ability, and an artist of very great merit. Her 
 pencilings would have drawn praise from Ruskin, 
 and her water-colors were very fine. She gave me 
 as souvenirs when we parted some beautiful sketches- 
 of the grand salon, the fireplace, the exquisite 
 staircase, one of the finest in England, and of the 
 "bosky dells" and gnarled old oaks which she saw 
 from her window. There seemed to be no end to 
 her accomplishments. 
 
 But the greatest, best, and most enduring of 
 them was her conversation. She had known every- 
 body. All the literary and social celebrities, both 
 in England and the Continent, had passed before 
 her observant eyes. She was very much struck by 
 the difference of manner between the Empress 
 Eugenie and the queen. Of course, the preposses- 
 sions of the loyal Englishwoman of rank came in" 
 here. 
 
 "The queen," said she, "never makes a mistake 
 in the degree of warmth with which she meets a 
 person. It is a matter of instinct with her to treat 
 everyone exactly as she should be treated, while 
 the empress effuses to one person, and chills to 
 another, and always in the wrong place. The em- 
 press told Lord Houghton that she preferred his 
 verses to those of Shakespeare ! Now, the queen 
 would never have made that mistake, in any lan- 
 guage or in any nationality." 
 
 She thought very highly of the intellectual 
 training of the queen, and said she was a most cul- 
 tivated person, with excellent tastes, and great 
 accomplishment in music and the fine arts. Cer- 
 tainly, Lady Virtue knew. 
 
 Lady Byron had been one of her intimate friends, 
 and she mentioned, not as one having authority, 
 but as part of the gossip of the time, that the sup- 
 posed dreadful secret which separated Lord and 
 Lady Byron was the discovery by her of a certifi- 
 cate of marriage between Lord Byron and the 
 Spanish beauty whom he apportioned in his will. 
 Lady Byron went to Sir Samuel liomilly and Dr. 
 Lushington with — some secret or other, and they 
 both advised her to remain in Byron's house until 
 after the birth of her child, and then to leave him 
 forever. So much was known, and no more. Both 
 those men died without revealing the secret. It 
 would seem to be the most plausible explanation of 
 this subject that Lady Virtue's supposition was 
 correct; for had the other detestable story been 
 true, they would have had no such reason for their 
 silence after the death of Lord Byron and his sis- 
 ter, as they would have had, had there been the 
 suspicion of a previous marriage, which would 
 have destroyed the legitimacy of Ada, and the 
 title to all the property and estates held by the 
 descendants of Lord Byron. 
 
 Lady Virtue said that Lady Byron loved her 
 erratic husband to her death ; that she had told her 
 how she took up his little dog and embraced it, 
 with her tears falling on the poor little animal as 
 
72 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 she turned away from the door which shut her 
 forever from the man she adored. No one of the 
 friends of Lady Byron was more wounded by Mrs. 
 Stowe's book than Lady Virtue. She had a great 
 respect for Mrs. Leigh, and for Lady Byron almost 
 a reverence, although she was aware of her eccen- 
 tricities, and of the effect which sorrow had had on 
 her mind. 
 
 I asked for a description of that 
 
 "Ada, sole daughter of my house and heart." 
 whom every reader of the fourth canto of " Childe 
 Harolde" has always considered one of the most 
 interesting people in the world. Lady Virtue's 
 account was very valuable. She said that Ada, 
 Lady Lovelace, had, in addition to beauty, charm, 
 poetical talent, and the Byron melancholy, a great 
 mathematical mind. The study of figures was to 
 her so highly entertaining that it led her into gamb- 
 ling in stocks, betting and speculation. She imag- 
 ined that she could ascertain by figures the uncer- 
 tainties of chance. She lost thirty thousand pounds 
 on the Stock Exchange, and a few months after, 
 quietly died, the Earl of Lovelace paying her lia- 
 bilities without a murmur. 
 
 Lady Byron was a peeress in her own right — the 
 Baroness Wentworth. This barony she conferred 
 on her oldest grandson, a strange creature, who 
 came to this country, married, or did not marry, 
 and died. They had great trouble in finding him 
 dead, but finally bestowed the barony on the second 
 son, who, after enjoying it a few years, has recently 
 applied for a divorce from his wife, thus continuing 
 the matrimonial infelicity which seems to have run 
 in that family. 
 
 Lady Virtue's reminiscences of the Misses Berry, 
 Lady Morgan, and Lady Holland, were very inter- 
 esting; but these distinguished women have been 
 so amply discussed, in memoir and biography, that 
 there is little need to speak of them here. 
 
 Miss Thackery she considered, as everyone does, 
 one of the most charming women in England. A 
 singular frankness and spirit of abounding youth 
 seem to fill this gifted daugnter of a gifted man. 
 Miss Thackery lives with her sister, Mrs. Leslie 
 Stephens, in a pretty house in London, filled with 
 the china and pictures which her father loved and 
 collected; and on the tables about her pleasant 
 parlor, lie his manuscripts, illustrated by his own 
 pencil. His very neat, almost copperplate hand- 
 writing, very legible, contradicts the plea which 
 bad writers put in for the possession of genius. 
 
 Every evening, at Wallingham House, the ser- 
 vants were brought in to evening prayers, read by 
 the venerable master of the house. One of the 
 daughters of the family told me that the getting of 
 proper places for the young girls who grew up on 
 the estate was her chief pleasure. She said that 
 the introduction of lace-making had been very bad 
 for the young women of the county. It had ena- 
 bled them to make a great deal of ready money 
 very easily, which they spent for finery; and they 
 failed of forming those industrious and steady 
 habits which alone could lead to their final pros- 
 perity. " They make a little money, and get cocky, 
 and disobey their mothers," said this English young 
 lady. The use of slang expressions from very 
 refined lips struck me often as very pecidiar all 
 through England. 
 
 A life more varied and delightful, more useful 
 and beautiful, than that of Lady Virtue, it would 
 be hard to find. A few months of London every 
 year, where, in spite of her feeble health, she is 
 able to see all the best which the greatest city of 
 the world brings together in the season ; and the 
 rest of the year in her country home, surrounded 
 by beautiful nature and the accumulated treasures 
 of" art and literature — writing now and then a clever 
 paper for a magazine ; sketching from nature ; 
 greeting one of her sons, who is in the navy, as he 
 comes home from the ends of the earth, bringing 
 treasures with him ; greeting another, as he comes 
 from his country parsonage, with its quiet life; 
 strengthening her husband, who is in Parliament, 
 in all wise and great movements for the public 
 good ; having the charities and schemes of benevo- 
 lence (which makes the business of life to one of 
 her most distinguished relatives) always unfolded 
 to her, for her approval and decision — there seems 
 to be nothing wanting, no rose-leaf left to float on 
 the cup of this full existence. — Afpleton's Journal. 
 
 « » » 
 
 SPORTS IN THE OLDEN TIMES-HAWKING. 
 
 They ride coursers like knights, 
 With hawks and with hounds, 
 
 Quoth old Chaucer when writing against the clergy, 
 whom he would appear from his works to have cor- 
 dially hated; but hawking was introduced into 
 England long before the period when this poet 
 flourished, since Alfred the Great is said to have 
 written a treatise on it. 
 
 Hawking, so far as we know anything of it in 
 Europe, must have originated among the northern 
 nations, for although the training of a hawk for the 
 field was considered one of the most essential points 
 in the education of a young Saxon belonging to the 
 " upper ten," it was the early Norman gentlemen 
 and noblemen that brought the sport to perfection, 
 making rides, establishing customs, and inventing 
 a language for falconry. 
 
 Different kinds of hawks were carried by differ- 
 ent classes of people. The gerfalcon was a royal 
 bird pertaining to a king, and to a prince was as- 
 signed the falcon-gentle. A duke bore the falcon 
 of the rock on his noble hand, and the peregrine 
 falcon was carried by an earl. Fair ladies were 
 seen with merlins, and priests were only allowed to 
 use the sparrow-hawk. (The clergy appear to have 
 been very devoted to this sport, and as the higher 
 orders of them were permitted to use birds in ac- 
 cordance with their rank, it led to a love of display 
 which was greatly satirised by writers of that time.) 
 The goshawk was the yeoman's bird; the young 
 man had the hobby, but ordinary serving-men were 
 only allowed to practice with the kestrel. 
 
 There is a very curious old play written by Hey- 
 wood, wherein a first-rate description of a hawking 
 scene occurs. The piece is entitled, A Woman 
 Killed with Kindness ("by kindness" was probably 
 intended). I wonder if women are ever killed now 
 after either fashion ? There has been a good deal 
 of wife murder lately, but the means taken to ac- 
 complish the end had a smack of brutality about 
 them. 
 
 The "killing with kindness" no doubt went out 
 of vogue when hawking did. I wish I had lived 
 in those times. 1 can picture to my mind's eye a 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 73 
 
 bright April morning (such a spring morning as 
 one meets with in England, but never elsewhere ; 
 when the blue sky gleams through the half-devel- 
 oped foliage of the trees in their forest homes and 
 laburnums deck the lawns with chains of gold; 
 when the apple blossoms blush with beauty, as the 
 murmuring bees hum their tribute of admiration), 
 and a gallant party of noble ladies and good old 
 English gentlemen, riding proudly forth together, 
 through the gateway of some ancient baronial 
 home, followed by a motley throng of attendants, 
 bearing the perches of the birds — a goodly hawking 
 party. There were curious costumes in those days 
 for hawks as well as "hawkers." The birds had a 
 close-fitting hood of leather or velvet, ornamented 
 with needlework, and decked with a tuft of colored 
 feathers ; this tuft was used to remove the hood by, 
 when the quarry came in sight. Then there were 
 leather, and silken straps to the legs, to train the 
 hawk in short nights, to bring him back to hand, 
 or hold him there, and free him for a course at the 
 game by means of the jesses and tyrrits. 
 
 Shakespeare makes Othello allude to this, when 
 he says: 
 
 If I do prove her haggard, 
 Though her jesses were my dear heart strings 
 I'd whistle her off, and let her down the wind, 
 To prey at fortune. 
 
 A small strap was fastened with rings of leather, 
 and passed round each leg of the hawk, just above 
 the talons. They were called "bewets," and each 
 of them had a bell attached to it. 
 
 The music produced by these bells in a flight of 
 hawks is mentioned as very "sweet," for all the 
 bells varied in tone, and were arranged with due 
 regard to harmony. 
 
 James I. is described as being particularly par- 
 tial to the glories of hawking. I fancy he liked it 
 better than lion-baiting; but we shall have some- 
 thing to say of this sport, and the amusements of 
 the English court in his reign, at another time. 
 There is a portrait of him in hawking costume, 
 given in a very old book that was written on field 
 sports in the year 1614. Its title is, "A Jewell for 
 Oentrie," and it represents his majesty witli a high 
 copatian hat and feather (I saw some head-gear of 
 precisely the same shape on the heads of two very 
 pretty girls yesterday), in a close-fitting jerkin, 
 •slashed and decorated with bands of lace. The 
 royal breeches are padded extravagantly about the 
 hip, but fit tightly below the knee; and his majesty 
 wears a girdle, to which is hung a large purse, 
 somewhat like in shape to the chatelaine of modern 
 times; this purse is used to hold the implements 
 necessary to the sport, or the hood and jesses when 
 removed for the sport. 
 
 The hawk was always perched on the left hand, 
 so this hand was protected by a very thick, richly 
 embroidered glove. James wears an elaborate one, 
 and carries in his right hand a strong staff, a neces- 
 sary article this, to assist the bearer of it in leaping 
 a stream or ditch, when following the flight of the 
 hawk on foot. 
 
 Bluff King Hal had a narrow escape once at 
 Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. He was following his 
 bird, and attempted to jump a ditch, a deep one, 
 full of soft mud and dirty water, his pole broke, 
 and he came down upon his head in the mass of 
 mire. One of his followers leaped in, and with 
 
 some difficulty rescued him, for he was nearly 
 smothered. Many heads might have escaped the 
 block had this courtier not been so officiously polite. 
 
 There were strong minded women in those days, 
 too, but there were no schoolboards then that I am 
 aware of, and Dame Juliana Berners was a blue, 
 and she wrote a treatise on field sports, which set 
 forth that it was "a proper diversion for young 
 gentlewomen, to man sparrow-hawks and merlins." 
 To man a hawk signified making him tractable; 
 but, by my faith I think it was a misnomer, for I 
 have yet to learn that tractability is a trait in man's 
 character. 
 
 The proper training of a hawk entailed no end 
 of attention. Its natural wildness had to be sub- 
 dued, and it was necessary that it should become 
 familiar witli its master. Great persons in those 
 days cut their hawk's meat — and the office of Grand 
 Falconer of England is still an hereditary service 
 of the Crown. The Duke of St. Albans holds it, 
 and the Royal Mews at Charing-cross, gave, it is 
 said, that name in the English language to all 
 places in any one of our large cities where there is 
 extensive stabling, although the king's hawks were 
 alone kept in this building while they "mewed," 
 or, in other words, moulted. 
 
 The training of hawks was also expensive, and 
 shooting became a far less extravagant and certain 
 kind of sport when fire-arms were improved on, so 
 the practice of hawking suddenly declined about 
 the early part of the seventeenth century. 
 
 We read of "a hawk's lure." The device thus 
 named was made in the shape of bird's wings, and 
 formed chiefly of wing feathers inserted in a velvet 
 or quilted pad, having a swivel-hook on the upper 
 part, to which a long cord was fastened. This lure 
 was thrown up in the air like a boy's kite, and the 
 hawk was trained to fly at it and strike it, just as 
 if it was a real bird; lie was also taught to desist 
 and return to his master at the sound of a whistle, 
 and the birds were prevented from getting away 
 during this practice by a long ciiance (a string 
 affixed to one leg, which easily drew the bird back). 
 
 It is stated that Edward the Confessor spent near- 
 ly all the time unoccupied by him in studying 
 hawking. He delighted in it far more than he did 
 in hunting, and there are various tales told of his 
 exploits in the sport. To part with a hawk was, in 
 those days, deemed quite as degrading as giving up 
 one's sword. A gentleman dared not, even if it 
 were to ransom himself, part from his bird. The 
 ancient French laws expressly forbid it, and the 
 knight who so far forgot his noble bearing, was 
 stained with ignominy. 
 
 Gentlemen rarely appeared in public without 
 their hawk, and in the fifteenth century they car- 
 ried their birds to church with them. 
 
 Without devotion strutting up and down, 
 For to be seen, and show his braided coat, 
 Upon his list sits sparrow-hawk or falcon — 
 
 such the portrait of a fop in those days, and who 
 does not remember reading of the Bishop of Ely 
 attending service in the Great Abbey at Bermond- 
 sey, Southwark, and leaying a very favorite valua- 
 ble bird on its perch in the cloister. The hawk 
 was stolen, and when his reverend master heard of 
 the theft, he solemnly excommunicated the thieves. 
 Had they been caught they would have been se- 
 
74 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 verely punished, for it was felony to steal a hawk. 
 Even the tinder of a stray one was obliged to make 
 his discovery known to the. sheriff of the county, 
 who kept a sort of lost property office for these 
 birds, or suffer two years' imprisonment, and pay 
 the full value of the hawk. Heavy fines were 
 likewise strictly imposed on those who carried 
 birds restricted to the use of persons higher in rank 
 than themselves. 
 
 Those Abbots and Priors do again their rights, 
 
 They ride with hawk, and hound, and counterfeit knights. 
 
 —Pall Mall. 
 
 • «■ » 
 
 AFRICAN RELIGION. 
 
 All the African tribes I have met believe that the 
 ghosts or souls of the departed hover round the 
 graves and their former homes. Sometimes the 
 bodies are buried in the houses, and the spirits join 
 in the family meals; they are supposod to be always 
 present, and often, in the course of conversation, 
 some one will say, " You remember, Mansue, do 
 you not?" 
 
 The natives of the Gold Coast, however, believe 
 that there is an unterwelt, or shadow-land, beneath 
 the ground, to which the soul migrates as soon as 
 life is extinguished. The spirit then resumes the 
 rank which it had upon the earth. When kings 
 die, a number of slaves and wives are killed, to 
 attend them as a retinue ; gold dust and cloth are 
 packed up in the grave. It is also believed that all 
 the garments which a man has worn out will then 
 come to life again — a resurrection of old clothes ; 
 for not only human beings have souls, but also in- 
 animate things. When they place some food upon 
 the grave, they are not so foolish as to think that 
 the spirit eats the body of the food, which they see 
 remains untouched, and is gradually destroyed by 
 insects and the atmosphere, as bodies are eaten by 
 worms, and turn to dust in the grave ; they main- 
 tain that the food has a soul, or essence, and that 
 this it is which the spirit consumes. So, also, it 
 may be observed in the cemeteries of the Krus, 
 where basins, tumblers, etc., are placed outside the 
 grave, that these articles are always broken, that 
 they may not be stolen. They believe that the 
 ghost of the deceased can drink out of the ghost of 
 the tumbler, and that a fracture of the outward 
 glass does not injure the spirit of the glass, any 
 more than a wound upon the body injures the soul 
 of a human being. 
 
 These people believe in the under-world as firmly 
 as they believe in a country adjoining their own. 
 With them faith is not a duty difficult to be ac- 
 quired, but simply a part of their nature. A wo- 
 man who was killed that she might join tne cortege 
 of a king, upon the Gold Coast, was first stripped, 
 according to the custom, and then struck upon the 
 head. She was only stunned by the blow; awaking 
 she found herself surrounded by dead bodies. She 
 ran back to the town, where the elders were sitting 
 in council, informed them that she had been into 
 the land of the dead, and that the king had sent 
 her back because she had no clothes. The elders 
 must dress her finely, and then kill her over again; 
 and this accordingly was done. 
 
 No ideas of reward or retribution are associated 
 with the future state. As for their gods, some of 
 (hem are good, and some of them are evil ; their 
 
 characters are human and mixed. The good ones 
 can be made fierce by neglect; the evil ones can be 
 propitiated by flattery and presents. The fetich- 
 men and priests act as interpreters between gods 
 and men. They sometimes say to an irreligious 
 man, "You had better take care, my friend. I saw 
 Ohyiwoo to-day, and he is in a rage because you 
 have given him nothing this harvest." Or, to 
 another, they will say, "1 met Bosumassi just now 
 in the forest ; he told me to thank you for that bot- 
 tle of palm-wine." "Yes; he said it was very 
 good indeed." These anecdotes will show how 
 faint for these people is the division between the 
 two worlds, and how unearthly things form part of 
 their ordinary life. 
 
 They believe in one God, the creator of the 
 world ; but suppose that he is indifferent or passive, 
 "a god sitting outside the universe," and seldom,, 
 if ever, pray to him. They say that he has de- 
 puted the administration of the earth to viceroy 
 gods or spirits, who govern hnman beings as they 
 please. "Just as the queen," said Palmer, "sends 
 out to this country governors and commandants."' 
 They often discuss the mystery of evil. " Why," 
 they ask, "does God allow these evil spirits to 
 torment us?" 
 
 They do not believe that these gods punish men 
 for any offenses save those against themselves, viz: 
 the withholding of tribute and homage, and the 
 breaking of oaths sworn in their name. It is only 
 the fear of public opinion which deters the natives 
 from committing those offenses which cannot be 
 touched by the law ; but, happily, they are governed 
 by opinion in a remarkable degree; and, in small 
 communities, where men have no resources of 
 their own, and no pleasure except in society, this 
 must always be the case. 
 
 It will therefore be perceived that, on the Gold' 
 Coast, theology, morals and religion are not con- 
 nected with each other. The missionary comes to 
 them and says: "The God who created the world, 
 and in whom you believe, is not, as you suppose, 
 indifferent to what you do. He sees everything; 
 He remembers everything; He commands you to 
 worship Him, and He also commands you to do 
 good to one another. In this life the wicked may 
 sometimes be prosperous; the liars and the thieves 
 and the people who will not go to church, may 
 have plenty of cloth and cattle and slaves, while 
 the good people may be poor; but, after death, the 
 souls of men do not go to dwell in a world beneath 
 the ground. They are taken to the presence of 
 God, and there they are judged — kings and slaves 
 are the same in His sight — those who have served 
 Him faithfully -and have been good will live with 
 Him in happiness forever, and those who have 
 disobeyed His laws and injured their fellow-men, 
 will be sent to the evil spirits, and roasted in a 
 fire." 
 
 Now, it surely requires no argument to prove 
 that, if the natives could be brought to adopt this 
 belief, their morals would be of necessity improved. 
 But, so far as adults are concerned, it is scarcely 
 possible to make them give up the ideas which they 
 received during childhood, and which seem to be- 
 come a part of their minds. They have heard and 
 have seen the spirits and the gods, or at least they 
 have witnessed tokens of their presence. They 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 75 
 
 may, indeed, consent to be baptized; they may go 
 to church, and give money to the Christian priests; 
 but they merely add a god to their Pantheon, and 
 always continue to worship in secret the gods of 
 the land. — Winwood Reade s AJrican Sketch Book. 
 
 UNFINISHED STILL. 
 
 A baby's boot, and a skein of wool, 
 
 Faded and soiled and soft : 
 Odd things you say, and I doubt you're right, 
 Hound a seaman's neck this stormy night, 
 
 Up in the yards aloft. 
 
 Most like it's folly ; but mate look here : 
 
 When first I went to sea, 
 A woman stood on yon far-off" strand, 
 With a wedding-ring on the small soft hand 
 
 Which clung so close to me. 
 
 My wife — God bless her ! The day before, 
 
 She sat beside my foot ; 
 And the sunlight kissed her yellow hair, 
 And the dainty fingers, deft and fair, 
 
 Knitted a baby's boot. 
 
 The voyage was over ; I came ashore: 
 
 What, think you, found I there? 
 A grave the daisies bad sprinkled white, 
 A cottage empty and dark as night, 
 
 And this beside the chair : 
 
 The little boot, 'twas unfinished still ; 
 
 The tangled skein lay near; 
 But the knitter had gone away to rest, 
 With the babe asleep on her quiet breast, 
 
 Down in the churchyard drear. 
 
 — Cassell's Magazine. 
 
 GIVING. 
 
 Give as the morning that flows out of heaven ; 
 Give as the waves, when their channel is riven ; 
 Give as the free air and sunshine are given — 
 Lavishly, utterly, joyously give. 
 
 Not the waste drops of thy cup overflowing ; 
 Not the faint sparks from thy hearth overglowinj 
 Not a pale bud from thy June roses blowing — 
 Give as He gave thee, Who gave thee to live. 
 
 LIFE IN CHINA. 
 
 Pawnbroking is a great institution in the " Flow- 
 ery Land." The Chinese pawnbroker's, however, 
 is quite a different kind of establishment from ours 
 of the city of London. The pawn-shop of China 
 is more a stronghold, a place of quiet and safe 
 repose for valuable jewelry, and the miscellaneous 
 and costly wardrobes of the people. It also, in 
 many instances, performs the equally important 
 but somewhat costly function of lending to the 
 needy, and, as in the collections of similar estab- 
 lishments of our own land, one may see the much- 
 prized jewels and trinkets of happier times, that 
 caused their poor owners many a bitter pang to 
 part with, heartaches that were perhaps brightened 
 with the hope that one clay they would be able to 
 redeem them. The auctioneer of the sketch is 
 busy selling these unredeemed pledges. To listen 
 to this man is one of the choice entertainments of 
 the Peking streets. He is selected by the pawn- 
 broker for his fluency of speech and ready wit, to 
 which he gives full play in his humorous descrip- 
 tions of the quality and history of the furs, and 
 richly-embroidered dresses, which are piled up on 
 the platform of his tent. He at times runs off his 
 speech in ryhme, making clever and sarcastic allu- 
 sions to the requirements of his audience, pressing 
 
 a satin robe on the attention of some naked beggar; 
 talking in this strain: "Here is a fur coat, gentle- 
 men, that preserved a delicate and honorable fam- 
 ily for generations, and it never grows old. In the 
 coldest winter, when men and women were frozen 
 to death in our streets, they had only to put this 
 coat on to bring summer into the blood." Then 
 glancing at a beggar who has donned a coat of mud 
 to keep the cold out, " There are some of you here 
 whose honorable titles are unknown to me, looking 
 out for winter robes, and dying to buy." He then 
 appeals to the crowd to fix a price, and finally to 
 his assistant, gradually reducing the price until it 
 has reached the figure at which he intends to sell, 
 viz., the sum for which it was pledged plus interest. 
 — London Graf hie. 
 
 THE OWL, STONECHAT AND WATER OUZEL. 
 
 These owls are not numerous in the Hebrides, the 
 short-eared owl being the most common, but I have 
 here and there seen the tawny owl hovering on the 
 skirts of the plantations, oftentimes enough put up 
 awkwardly by the dogs when beating cover, and 
 likely to share a sudden fate at the hands of some 
 bungler, unless protected by the sympathetic "It's 
 only an old wife — poor thing!" of some friendly 
 keeper. The last owl I saw was last night, beating 
 the margin of loch Bee for mice, with that curious 
 limp flap of its downy wing, and occasionaly rest- 
 ing as still as a stone on the over-hanging cone of 
 a damp boulder, in just the same attitude in which 
 I had not long before seen one of his kinsmen 
 resting on Browning's shoulder, in the very heart 
 of London. As to the white owl, the true Caille- 
 ach, or old woman, she seems to have taken some 
 deathly offence at our islands, for though there is a 
 ruin on every headland, sorry a one of them all 
 will she inhabit. Her ghastly presence would 
 indeed become the gloaming hour, when the moon 
 is shining on the ruined belfry of Icolmkill ; but 
 not even there, where the spirit of the sea-loving 
 saint still walks o' nights, is her weird cry heard, 
 or her ghostly flight beheld. 
 
 " Not a whit of her tuwhoo ! 
 Her to woo to her tuwhit ! " 
 
 I have sought her in vain in Iona, in Dunstaff- 
 nage, in Rodek, and in many kindred places, chiefly 
 desolate graveyards; finding in her stead, among 
 the tombs, only the ltttle stonechat, in his white 
 neck-tie, cluck-clucking as monotonously as a death 
 watch, and conducting eternally on his own account 
 a kind of lonely spirit rapping, in the most appro- 
 priate place. Among the same desolate homes of 
 the dead, I have also found the sea-gulls coming to 
 rest for the night, stealing through the twilight 
 with a slow flight, which might be mistaken, at the 
 first glance, for that of the Cailleach herself. What 
 the stonechat is to graveyards, the dipper is to 
 lenely burns. He has many names in the Isles — 
 Lon uisge, Gobha dubh nan Alt, &c. — but none so 
 sweet as the name familiar to every Saxon ear, 
 that of water-ouzel. Who has not encountered the 
 little fellow, with his light eye and white breast, 
 dipping backwards and forwards as he sits on a 
 stone amid the tiny pools and freshets, and rising 
 swiftly to follow with swift but exact flight the 
 windings and twistings of the stream? and who 
 that has ever so met hiin, has failed to see in his 
 
7G 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 companv his faithful and inseparable little mate? 
 He likes the waterfall and the brawling linn, as 
 well as the dark pools amid the green and mossy 
 heath; and he is to be found building from head 
 to foot of every mountain that can boast a burn, 
 however tiny and unpretending. The young are 
 born with the cry of water in their ears ; often the 
 nest where they lie and cheep is within a few feet 
 of a torrent, the voice of which is a roaring thunder ; 
 and close at hand, amid the spray, the litttle father 
 ouzels sit on a mossy stone, and sing aloud. 
 
 What pleasures have great princes? &c, 
 they seem to be crying, in the very words of the 
 old songs. To search for water-shells and eat the 
 toothsome larva? of the water-beetle, and to have 
 the whole of a mountain brook for kingdom — what 
 royal lot can compare with this? 
 
 Whiles thro' a linn the burnie plays, 
 Whiles thro' a glen it wimples, 
 
 Whiles bickering thro' the golden haze 
 With flickering dauncing dazzle, 
 
 Whiles cookin' underneath the braes 
 Beneath the flowing hazel ! 
 
 To the eye of the little feathered king and queen 
 the bubbling waters are a world miraculously 
 tinted and sweet with summer sound. The life of 
 the twain is full of calm joy. So at least thinks 
 the angler, as he crouches under the bank from the 
 shower, and sees the cool drops splashing like 
 countless pearls round the ouzel's mossy throne in 
 the midst of the pool. I hear for the first time, on 
 the authority of Doctor Gray, that the ouzel has 
 been proscribed and decimated in many Highland 
 parishes, because, forsooth, he is supposed to inter- 
 fere with the rights of human fishermen! In 
 former times, whoever slew one of these lovely 
 birds received as his reward the privilege of fishing 
 in the close season; and a reward of sixpence a 
 head is this day given for the "water craw" in 
 some parts of Sutherlandshire. To such a pass 
 come mortal ignorance and greed ! — ignorance, here 
 quite unaware that the ouzel never touches the 
 spawn of fish at all ; and greed, unwilling to grant 
 to a bird so gentle and so beautiful even a share of 
 the prodigal gifts of nature. — Robert Buckanan,in 
 St. Pauls. 
 
 THE BAMBOO. 
 A pamphlet has been published at Cairo by the 
 Agricultural Department of Egypt, on the Indian 
 bamboo, which, it is said, is being acclimatised 
 there with great success. The following notes are 
 taken therefrom : 
 
 The gigantic bamboo, which is of colossal dimen- 
 sions, growing to the height of 20 metres, with a 
 circumference af 40 to 50 centimetres at the base 
 (say 65 feet high, and 15 to 18 feet in circumfer- 
 ence), from the joints of which, especially those of 
 the middle and upper parts, grow numerous branches 
 with long leaves, is the most vigorous species of 
 this arborescent plant. It was introduced some 
 years ago in the gardens of the Khedive of Egypt, 
 at Ghezireh, from whence it has been multiplied in 
 two or three other gardens of Egypt. It was so 
 much admired by the Emperor of Brazil, on his 
 visit to the gardens of the Khedive last autumn, 
 that he expressed his determination to import it 
 into Brazil, and to cultivate it upon the Imperial 
 estate as a shade for animals during the heat of 
 
 summer. The gigantic bamboo originates in India 
 and China, and is highly appreciated wherever it 
 is cultivated, being used for posts in pavilions and 
 the houses of the inhabitants. The hollow joints 
 are utilised for carrying liquids, for flower vases, 
 &c; and in China, and especially India, for bottles 
 and tobacco boxes, highly wrought and polished, 
 and sold at great prices. The larger stalks are also 
 used for bridges, water-pipes, and carts and other 
 vehicles. In fine, the wood is employed in the 
 arts, in a multitude of industries, and for imple- 
 ments of agriculture. This species of bamboo veg- 
 etates with such rapidity that it can almost be said 
 that one can see it grow. Its progress may be seen 
 from day to day, and at Ghezireh it has been 
 known to grow 9 inches in a single night. In 
 China, criminals condemned to death are subjected 
 to the atrocious punishment of impalement by 
 means of the bamboo. A humid soil is congenial 
 to the gigantic bamboo, although it suffers under a 
 prolonged inundation. It is proposed in Egypt to 
 cultivate it upon the borders of the canals in the 
 vast domains of the Khedive. There is also another 
 species of bamboo which it is proposed to cultivate 
 in Egypt. It attains the height of 5 or 6 metres, 
 produces enormous clusters of canes about the size 
 of the finger, and makes excellent props for use in 
 horticulture. A plant of two or three years' growth 
 will furnish a hundred stalks, forming a cluster of 
 vast size. This species is the Bambusa edulis, so 
 called from the fact that its young shoots are edible, 
 and in China regarded as very nourishing. There 
 is still another species of bamboo to which the 
 attention of the cultivators in Egypt is called. It 
 is the black bamboo (bambusa nigra). It is dis- 
 tinguished principally by its slender branches, 
 which are of a fine black color, and from which 
 canes are manufactured extensively for exportation. 
 Pens are made from the smaller stems, which are 
 commonly used for writing in Egypt. 
 
 CLOTHES WORN BY THE EIJIAUS. 
 The most simple form of an article of dress, and 
 one much worn in Eiji, is called "liku," consisting 
 of a number of pieces simply attached to a waist- 
 band. It is made of many different plants, that 
 most esteemed being a black creeper (Khizomorpha) 
 which grows in swamps. Those worn by the 
 women are from the fibrous bark of several pari- 
 tiums. Dyed mats, with which the floors of houses 
 and sleeping places are thickly covered, are made 
 of the leaves of pandanus odoratissimus and p. 
 caricosus. Fans, baskets and the finest mats are 
 made of bleached leaves of the latter. Occasionally 
 neat patterns are worked in by introducing portions 
 of the materials dyed black, whilst the borders of 
 highly finished mats are tastefully ornamented with 
 the bright red feathers of the kula (a parroquet). 
 The clubs are very heavy weapons, about 5 feet 
 long. The spears are long, and pointed with the 
 sting of the ray-fish. Girdles of hibiscus fibres, 6 
 inches wide, and dyed black, brown and yellow, 
 are worn by the women. — Society of A rts Journal. 
 
 "What's the matter with you, my pet?" O, 
 aunty, I just went to touch a little chickey, and the 
 old hen growled at me and bit me with her nose!" 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 77 
 
 > CD » 
 
 »00fe. 
 
 The story in a German paper is that two indiv- 
 iduals lately traveled in the same train on one of 
 the principal lines to Berlin. One of these, a tailor, 
 found, on taking his place in a fourth-class carriage 
 that it was too crowded to admit even of his sitting 
 on his bundle. Being tired and sleepy, he con- 
 trived by skilful manoeuvring, to get close to the 
 partition which divided the carriage into two com- 
 partments, and leaned his weary back against that 
 friendly sup}x>rt. Here he slumbered uneasily for 
 some time; at length, to the great astonishment of 
 the other inmates of the compartment, he bounded 
 into their midst, exclaiming, "I am stabbed!" As 
 the party had all been as quiet and orderly as pos- 
 sible, this seemed incredible; but the train having 
 stopped at a station, the poor tailor Avas led out 
 upon the platform by his fellow-passengers, who, 
 to their great consternation, discovered that he was 
 indeed bleeding profusely from a small round 
 wound in the back. Meantime a hole of similar 
 size and shape was found by the railway servants 
 in the partition against which he had leaned, while 
 from the compartment on the other side of it, was 
 dragged, with blanched lips and starting eyes, the 
 author of the murderous attack, still holding the 
 fatal weapon — a gimlet. The quasi assassin proved 
 to be a carpenter, who had no worse intentions 
 than that of beguiling the tedium of his journey 
 by the exercise of his craft. 
 
 The men of science frequently evdeavor to cast 
 discredit on believers in the Bible, but they some- 
 times find their weapons turned on themselves. 
 The following is a case in point, narrated by a cor- 
 respondent of the London Spectator, which he says 
 is true : 
 
 Two persons, a materialistic lecturer and a city 
 missionary, recently met before a first-class audi- 
 ence to discuss the question of Responsibility. The 
 atomic philosopher went in first, and showed that 
 the popular religious notion of judgment to come 
 for deeds done in the body was inconsistent with 
 any notion that can be formed of judicial righte- 
 ousness. The first principle of justice is not to 
 punish one person for the faults of another. But, 
 said the lecturer, science has proved beyond a 
 doubt that at the end of a few years, not a particle 
 in my body or brain remains; every atom has 
 passed away, and the new matter forms a new man, 
 who cannot be held accountable for the conduct of 
 another. 
 
 The audience seemed as enchanted as that which 
 listened to Prof. Tyndall, at Belfast. Then arose 
 the city missionary, whose wits must have been 
 lively, and said : 
 
 "Ladies and gentlemen, it is a matter of regret 
 to me that I have to engage in a discussion with a 
 man of questionable character, witli one, in fact, 
 who is living with a woman to whom he is not 
 married." 
 
 Up rose, in wrath, again, the materialist. 
 
 "Sir, this is shameful, and I repudiate your inso- 
 lent attack on my character. I defy you to sub- 
 stantiate your charge. I was married to my wife 
 
 twenty years ago, and we have lived happily to- 
 gether ever since. This is a mere attempt at evad- 
 ing the force of the argument." 
 
 "On the contrary," replied the city missionary, 
 "I re-affirm my charge, You were never married 
 to the person with whom you are living. Twenty 
 years ago two other people may have gone to 
 church, bearing your names, but there is not one 
 atom in your bodies remaining of those which were 
 then married. It follows inevitably that you are 
 living in concubinage, unless you will admit that 
 you are the same man that was married twenty 
 years since." 
 
 The philosopher was compelled, amidst great 
 cheering, to allow that somehow or other, credit 
 and discredit for past actions must be granted, even 
 bv materialists. 
 
 One of the very few anecdotes relating to the life 
 of Macready, the actor, is the following printed in 
 the London Orchestra : 
 
 Half a century ago, while playing in Birming- 
 ham, England, Macready passed a burning house 
 in a poor neighborhood. While the smoke and 
 flames ascended, a cry arose that there was a child 
 asleep in one of the upper stories, but no one tried 
 to save it. The representative of Coriolanus, Vir- 
 ginius and Rolla, instantly doffed his coat, which 
 he gave in charge to a bystander, and rushing into 
 the burning dAvelling, returned in a few moments 
 with the almost suffocated infant. Nobody knew 
 him, and the event would probably have been for- 
 ever cancealed had not the holder of the coat dis- 
 appeared with it. An act so noble succeeded by a 
 theft so disgraceful found its way into the Birming- 
 ham newspapers; and while the whole town was 
 ringing with the praise of the rescuer, and calling 
 for his name, public execration was directed against 
 the mean thief. While curiosity was at its height, 
 the thief entered a pawnbroker's shop in the town 
 for the purpose of pledging the garment. Happily 
 the person to whom it was tendered, having seen 
 an account of the fire, examined the coat minutely, 
 and discovering something to fix the ownership, 
 detained the possession of the stolen property ; and 
 thus the good Samaritan stood revealed. 
 
 Baenum tells the following about a fop who vis- 
 ited one of his shows down in the State of Maine: 
 
 A young gentleman visiting my show in Port- 
 land, Maine, with his sweetheart, amused her by 
 feeding my largest elephant with peanuts. Of 
 course no amount of provender which a foppish 
 young chap like him could carry about his person 
 would go far toward satisfying the hunger of a 
 huge beast weighing several tons. So when the 
 peanuts gave out, the elephant kept extending his 
 trunk to the dandy for more. The polite young 
 beau, taking off his cap, made a profound bow, and 
 remarked: "Your royal highness, the peanut mar- 
 ket is exhausted, but, perhaps, you wont mind eat- 
 ing my cap." Suiting the action to the word, he 
 held his cap toward the elephant, who at once 
 seized it in his trunk and swallowed it without the 
 slightest compunction of conscience. The young 
 gentleman was amazed, the young lady blushed 
 and tittered, the crowd of visitors laughed; but 
 when the victim called on me to pay for his cap, 
 
78 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 and I replied that if people gave caps to elephants 
 they must expect to he bare-headed, a roar of 
 laughter followed which he will be apt never to 
 forget. 
 
 Mr. Barnttm is not only the greatest showman 
 in the world, but a capital story-teller. Here is 
 another: 
 
 The mechanical wax-figures in my traveling 
 museum, representing a group of young lady bell- 
 ringers, play a variety of tunes with such great 
 precision that many persons, at first sight, think 
 they are alive. A lady visitor, one day, after hear- 
 ing several melodies on the bells, approached the 
 largest of these wax musicians, and extending her 
 hand said: "Your music is beautiful; pray what is 
 your name, Miss?" Receiving no reply to her 
 question, the lady turned to her husband, and 
 remarked: "They are probably foreigners, and 
 don't understand English." 
 
 The following amusing story is told of a county 
 clerk in a rural district, who had a pet calf that he 
 was training up in the ways of the ox : 
 
 The calf walked around very peaceably under 
 one end of the yoke, while Mr. Clerk held up the 
 other end, but in an unfortunate moment the man 
 conceived the idea of putting his own neck in the 
 yoke, to let the calf see how it would seem to work 
 with a partner. This frightened mister calf, and 
 elevating his tail and his voice, he struck a dead 
 run for the village, and Mr. Clerk went along, with 
 his head down and his plug hat in his hand, strain- 
 ing every nerve to keep up, and crying out at the 
 top of his voice. "Here we come, dang onr fool 
 souls, head us, somebody ! " 
 
 A correspondent in Onondaga county, N. Y., 
 sends the Tribune the following account of a wholly 
 novel and extremely valuable invention for the 
 education of working cattle: 
 
 An intelligent young farmer in that county re- 
 cently went out to try a three-yoke team of steers. 
 The nigh steer in the middle yoke lay down right 
 in front of Mr. Jones' house, and nothing which at 
 first could be devised, was of any use at all. All 
 the appliances with which the agricultural interests 
 are already familiar, were exhaustively experi- 
 mented with upon that steer. Mr. Jones himself 
 came to help, and between them they got the steer 
 out of the yoke, so that he should not strangle him- 
 self, but he only lay down the Hatter for all that. 
 He became as flat as a comic newspaper. "Con- 
 found him," said the irate owner, "I'd like to drag 
 a cat across him!" "The very thing," exclaimed 
 the neighborly Jones. "I've got the biggest cat 
 you ever saw." In less than a few minutes Jones 
 was back from his house, bringing with him a large, 
 fine-looking Thomas cat, well known to possess a 
 powerful and cultivated voice, of more than usual 
 compass and unsurpassed timbre. The cat was put 
 on at the shoulders of the steer and drawn steadily 
 and carefully backward and forward. The steer 
 kicked some, but he did not get up, although the 
 cat seemed to know very well what he was put 
 there for. Again the cat was planted well forward 
 and drawn aft, but the steer paid him no manner of 
 attention, and this or something else aroused the 
 
 wrath of the cat, for, just as he was putting in his 
 claws for the third drag, he gave tongue — if that's 
 a fair word for it — in his best and loudest music. 
 The effect was marvelous, and will be of great 
 value, for the steer not only sprang to his feet with 
 unexpected agility, but his tail was as stiff as his 
 horns as he dashed wildly away homeward. No 
 trouble at all with him since that, for at any signs 
 of a balk you have only to begin a vocal imitation 
 of that torn cat, and the strength of the yoke and 
 chain is tested instantly. 
 
 In the course of his speech to the Grangers at 
 our last County Fair, Judge Bryant related the 
 following: 
 
 Jeremiah Mason was a great lawyer of Ports- 
 mouth, New Hampshire; of later years of his life, 
 of Boston. He and America's eminent statesman, 
 Daniel Webster, had many battles of brains. Ma- 
 son was not only a great lawyer, but he was a pious, 
 consistent church member. Some years after he 
 had moved from New Hampshire to Boston, there 
 came to his office an old man whom he had known 
 in youth and early manhood, at whose wedding he 
 had been a guest, who desired Mr. Mason to pro- 
 cure a divorce for him from his old wife. Mr. 
 Mason listened carefully to his statements, learned 
 that together his old friends had grown rich, that 
 cares and family had increased, that the former, 
 bent on getting rich, had grown careless of his 
 wife's comforts, and at last from one thing to another 
 had come to the conclusion that all the love his 
 wife ever had for him was transferred to their 
 children; in short that she didn't care a dime for 
 him, and he proposed to divide up the property, 
 and let her go. Says Mr. Mason : " Friend A., 
 some thirty years ago you married Julia S.; you 
 have raised three sons and two daughters to man 
 and womanhood ; you say that they are well settled 
 in life, and that they all side with Julia? " "Yes." 
 " Friend A., go home, and for six months court 
 Julia as you did before she was yours, and, if at 
 the end of that time you want a divorce, come back 
 to me, and I will file a bill. Brother A., let us 
 pray." And thereupon Mr. Mason knelt down 
 and prayed earnestly to God to show his old friend 
 the right road to happiness. At the end of six 
 months the client came back — not to Mr. Mason's 
 office — not alone — but to his old friend's house, a 
 loving old wife with him, and a green old life was 
 their's ever after. There are probably not many 
 farmers that get worked up to such an unhappy 
 state of mind as did Mr. A., and there are few 
 lawyers like Jeremiah Mason. His advice, how- 
 ever, I will warrant to make every family happier. 
 
 The San Francisco News Letter is responsible 
 for this: 
 
 A minister in one of our churches while on his 
 way to preach a funeral sermon in the country, 
 called to see one of his members, an old widow 
 lady, who lived near the road where he was travel- 
 ing. The old lady had just been making sausages, 
 and she felt very proud of them — they were so 
 plump, round and sweet. Of course she insisted 
 on her minister taking some of the links home to 
 his family. He objected on account of not having 
 his portmanteau along with him. The objection 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 79 
 
 was soon overruled, and the old lady, wrapping the 
 sausages up carefully, placed them in the pocket of 
 the preacher's capacious great coat. Thus equip- 
 ped he started for the funeral. While attending 
 the solemn ceremonies of the grave, some hungry 
 dogs scented the sausages, and were not long in 
 tracking them to the pocket of the good man's 
 overcoat. Of course this was a great annoyance, 
 and he was several times under the necessity of 
 kicking them away. The ohsequies of the grave 
 completed, the minister and congregation repaired 
 to the church, where the funeral discourse was to 
 be preached. After the sermon was finished, the 
 minister halted to make some remark, when a 
 brother, who wished to have a notice given out, 
 ascended the steps, and gave the minister's coat a 
 hitch to get his attention. The divine, thinking it 
 a dog having designs upon his pocket, raised his 
 foot, gave a sudden kick, and sent the good brother 
 sprawling down the steps. " You will excuse me, 
 brethren and sisters," said the minister confusedly, 
 and without looking at the work he had just done, 
 "for I could not avoid it. I have sausages in my 
 pocket, and that dog has been trying to grab them 
 ever since he came upon the premises." 
 
 An amusing story is told in Scribners 1 Maga- 
 zine of a verdant youth who went to buy the prac- 
 tice of a country doctor. The doctor said his pa- 
 tients were so numerous he could not remember 
 them all, but his horse knew them and always stop- 
 ped at their doors. The next day the country 
 doctor drove his customer through the town, and, 
 as he said, the horse stopped at nearly every door. 
 The bargain was concluded and the money paid. 
 The purchaser remained in town, and for several 
 days wondered why no patients came. He ceased 
 to wonder, however, when he found his predecessor 
 had borrowed his milkman's horse in showing him 
 around. 
 
 The most superb animal painter of his time was 
 Sir Edwin Landseer. The London correspondent 
 of the New York Times relates these two anec- 
 dotes of the great artist, which will be new to most 
 readers : 
 
 In one of his early visits to Scotland, he stopped 
 at a village, and took a good deal of notice of the 
 dogs, jotting down rapid sketches of them on a bit 
 of paper. Next day, resuming his journey, he 
 was horrified to find dogs suspended in all direc- 
 tions from the trees, or drowning in the rivers, 
 with stones round their necks. He stopped a weep- 
 ing urchin who was hurrying off with a pet pup in 
 his arms, and learned to his dismay that he was 
 supposed to be an excise officer who was taking 
 notes of all the dogs he saw in order to prosecute 
 the owners for unpaid taxes; so the people were 
 .all anxious to get rid of their dogs. Another time 
 lie went to Portugal, and the king sent for him to 
 express his admiration. "Ah, Sir Edwin," said 
 the king, " I am so glad to see you ; I'm so fond of 
 beasts." 
 
 In Pennsylvania, once upon a time, a clock-peddler 
 was tramping along — hot, dusty and tired, when he 
 came to a meeting-house, wherein sundry Friends 
 were engaged in silent devotion. The peripatetic 
 
 tradesman thought he would walk in and rest him- 
 self. He took a seat upon a bench, dofled his hat 
 and placed his clocks upon the floor. There was a 
 painful silence in the meeting-house, which waa 
 broken by one of the clocks, which commenced 
 striking furiously. The peddler was in an agony, 
 but he hoped every minute that the clock would 
 stop. Instead of that, it struck just four hundred 
 and thirty times by the actual count of every 
 Friend at the meeting, for the best disciplined of 
 them couldn't help numbering the strokes. Then 
 up rose one of the eldest Friends, at the end of the 
 four hundredth and thirtieth stroke, and said: 
 "Friend, as it is so very late, perhaps thee had 
 better proceed on thy journey, or thee will not 
 reach thy destination, unless thee is as energetic as 
 thy vehement time-piece!" 
 
 There are some droll scenes recorded as having 
 occurred at the Freedmen's Bank, in Washington, 
 during the money panic of a year ago. One quite 
 amusing incident is told, in which the Hon. Peter 
 Campbell figured: 
 
 An old colored man whose locks were frosted to 
 a whiteness which betokened four score years and 
 ten, having a whip slung over his shoulder, shuffled 
 in with his number twenty boots, and walked in 
 tip-toe, fearing, perhaps, he might soil the tessel- 
 ated floor. Espying the Hon. Peter, he exclaimed : 
 
 " Praise de Lord, honey, I'se done glad you'se 
 heah; Is'e left cart wid a load of coal up heah on 
 de corn, to see about the ole woman's money, — ■ 
 she's done got the bank-book, — in the name of God 
 what must I do?" 
 
 Mr. Campbell assured the old man that he had 
 money with the bank, and proposed to leave it, 
 inasmuch as he considered that they could weather 
 any storm ; the bank was organized by the frienda 
 of the colored men, and they need not be afraid of 
 any trouble or loss to them. 
 
 Upon receiving this intelligence, the old man 
 threw up his hat and cried out: 'Fore God! some- 
 body pat 'Juba;' I wants to dance! 'Fore God, 
 boss, Fse leave my old woman's money here, sink 
 or swim!" And casting a contemptuous look on 
 those in line, he said: " You'se all Thomases ! Oh, 
 ye of little faith! Look at the po' trash trying to 
 ' barrass dere friends — I'se gwine to my cart, I am !" 
 
 A facetious traveler describes the difference 
 between society in the metropolis and that in a 
 provincial town in the following language: 
 
 "In the country, if you have a boiled leg of 
 mutton for dinner, everybody wishes to know 
 whether you have caper sauce with it ; whereas in 
 New York you may have an elephant for lunch, 
 and no one cares a pin about it." 
 
 A curious story is told of three young candi- 
 dates for a Scottish ministry. The first one put 
 upon his trial, while putting on his robes happened 
 to descry an ancient-looking, well worn roll of 
 paper, which proved to be a sermon upon the text, 
 "Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." See- 
 ing that the old sermon was much better than his 
 new one, the aspirant to pulpit honors took posses- 
 sion of it, delivered it as his own, and then returned 
 it to its old resting-place. The sermon was a good 
 
80 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 one and pleased the hearers, although they would 
 have preferred one delivered without book. Great 
 was their astonishment the following Sunday when 
 preacher No. 2 treated them with the same sermon 
 from the same text ; but it was two much for Scot- 
 tish patience when a third minister, falling into the 
 game trap, commenced his sermon by announcing 
 that "Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents;" 
 and one old woman relieved the feelings of her 
 fellow-sufferers by exclaiming, "De'il dwell him! 
 Is he never gaun to flit?" 
 
 In the life of Sir Ashley Cooper, the following 
 anecdote is related of Dr. Gregory : 
 
 It was the custom of each professor to receive at 
 his own house, the fees from the new pupil. One 
 day, Dr. Gregory, thus engaged, had used all his 
 blank tickets, and was obliged to go into an adjoin- 
 ing apartment to procure one for a student whom 
 he had left sitting in his consulting room. The 
 accumulated money was lying on the table, and 
 from this sum, as he was re-entering the room, he 
 saw the young man sweep a portion and deposit it 
 in his pocket. Dr. Gregory took his seat at the 
 table as if nothing had occurred, filled up the 
 ticket, and gave it to the delinquent. He then 
 accompanied him to the door, and when at the 
 threshhold, with much emotion, said to him, "I 
 saw what you did just now; keep the money; I 
 know not what must be your distress, but for God's 
 Bake, don't do it again — it can never succeed." 
 
 The pupil in vain offered him back the money ; 
 and the doctor had the satisfaction of knowing that 
 this moral lesson produced the desired impression 
 on his mind. 
 
 Under the head of "A Ripple from Africa," 
 the Fiskkill Standard publishes this item: 
 
 Our new supervisor has a darky who the other 
 day was attending to some duty ou the lawn near 
 the road, and six or eight friends of his own color 
 were leaning on the fence, evidently to see that the 
 thing was properly done. That witty contraband, 
 Ike Delily, happened to pass just at this time, and 
 meeting Dr. Mapes enquired: 
 
 "Dr. Mapes, who's dead at Masser Hustis?" 
 
 "No one, I think," replied the doctor. 
 
 "Oh, yes," persisted Ike, "there must be some- 
 body dead there, for sartin sure." 
 
 "Why, I am positive not," said the doctor, "for 
 I should certainly have heard of it if there had 
 been a death in the family." 
 
 "Then," exclaimed Ike, raising his voice and 
 pointing to the long, lazy row of his sable brethren 
 hanging on the pickets, "what's all dis yer mourn- 
 in' fer, strung along de fence ? " 
 
 An itinerant preacher, of more zeal than discre- 
 tion, was in the habit of accosting those he met in 
 his walks, and inquiring into their spiritual wel- 
 fare. Passing along a country road that led through 
 a small settlement, he met a simple country fellow 
 driving a cart loaded with corn. 
 
 "Do you believe in God, sir?" said he to the 
 Countryman. 
 
 " Yes, sir," was the instant reply. 
 
 "Do you read your Bible, pray to your Maker, 
 and attend to divine worship regularly?" 
 
 And this string of questions was also answered 
 in the affirmative. 
 
 "Go on your way rejoicing, my lad," continued 
 he, "you are in the highway to heaven." 
 
 Clodpole flourished his whip, and drove on, much 
 delighted, no doubt, with the blessed intelligence. 
 Another person came up by this time, and he also 
 was interrogated with an unceremonious 
 
 "Do you believe in God, sir?" 
 
 " What have you to do, sir, with what I believe?" 
 replied the person accosted, with a look of surprise. 
 
 "You are in the gall of bitterness and bond of 
 iniquity," cried the offended preacher. "Look at 
 that poor lad whistling along the road, and driving 
 his cart before him ; he is on the straight way to 
 heaven." 
 
 " It may be so, sir," said the person interrogated, 
 " but to my certain knowledge, if he's going there, 
 he's going with a cart load of stolen corn." 
 
 The following anecdote first appeared in print 
 upwards of thirty years ago. It is worthy a place 
 in Our Scrap Book : 
 
 An Inspector General recently surprised a garri- 
 son of U. S. Troops, without giving them time to 
 prepare for a review. One of the soldiers, in his 
 haste to appear on parade, had only time to black 
 the front part of his boots, which, on examination, 
 the eye of the General discovered during his pas- 
 sage in the rear of the rank, and tapping him on 
 the shoulder, said in a rebuking tone of voice, 
 
 "Soldier! you have not blacked your boots 
 behind!" 
 
 "No doubt you are right, General," was the 
 quick reply, "but a good soldier never looks behind." 
 
 He was excused. 
 
 Many years ago, when David Crockett was 
 member of Congress, and had returned to his con- 
 stituents after his first session, a "nation" of them 
 surrounded him one day, and began to interrogate 
 him about Washington. 
 
 "What time do they dine at Washington, Colo- 
 nel?" asked one. 
 
 "Why," said he, "common people, such as you 
 are here, get their dinners at one o'clock, but the 
 gentry and big 'uns dine at three. As for the Rep- 
 resentatives, we dine at four; and the aristocracy 
 and the Senate, they don't get their victuals till 
 five." 
 
 " Well, when does the President fodder?" asked 
 another. 
 
 "Old Hickory!" exclaimed the Colonel, attempt- 
 ing to appoint a time in accordance with the dignity 
 of the station, — "Old Hickory? -iVell,dorit dine till 
 next day!" 
 
 "Wikliam," said one Quaker to another, "thee 
 knows I never call anybody names; but, William, 
 if the Governor of the State should come to me 
 and say, 'Joshua, I want thee to find me the biggest 
 liar in the State of New York,' I woidd come to 
 thee, and say, 'William, the Governor wants to see 
 thee particularly.'" 
 
 "What kind of sassages is them?" queried an 
 old lady of the young man of literature and pea- 
 nuts, as he passed through the train selling bananas. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 81 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY. 
 
 SHEEP RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. 
 The sheep breeder in California generally 
 occupies a large tract of land, containing 
 from 4,000 to 90,000 acres, and bearing 
 the old Spanish name of "Rancho." These 
 ranchos are old Mexican grants, the title 
 to which is recognized by our Government 
 according to the terms of the treaty with 
 Mexico, and confirmed, upon the applica- 
 tion of the owner, by United States patent. 
 The price of these lands varies from 25 
 cents te $10 per acre, and the number of 
 sheep they' will sustain varies from 10 
 acres to each sheep to two or three sheep 
 to the acre. The native grasses of Cali- 
 fornia — the Alfileria and Barr Clover — 
 form the most nutritious of all known na- 
 tural foods for sheep and cattle. The 
 seeds of these grasses become dry and 
 ripe in May, and, from that time until the 
 December rains, they form the only food 
 of all grazing animals. Visitors to this 
 country are astonished to see large bands 
 of fat sheep and cattle roaming over what 
 appear to be barren plains, totally desti- 
 tute of any means of subsistence. A 
 careful examination, however, will reveal 
 countless numbers of the small black burrs 
 of the clover and spiral seeds of the Alfi- 
 leria mixed with the sand. 
 
 There are but few pure-blood flocks of 
 sheep in this State. Nearly all the large 
 flocks have been bred from native sheep 
 crossed with Spanish merino or French 
 merino rams. The Spanish merino crosses 
 are the most numerous, and are by many 
 considered the most profitable, as they 
 produce a heavy fleece of very fine wool. 
 But the carcass is small and the mutton 
 inferior. The French merino is a much 
 larger sheep, and the mutton is superior 
 to that of the Spanish merino, but the 
 fleece, although heavier, is not so fine. 
 The South Down is celebrated for its su- 
 perior mutton, but the fleece is neither so 
 fine nor heavy as that of either of the 
 merinos. It lacks the oil that adds to the 
 weight of the Spanish merino fleece, and 
 the gum that increases that of the French 
 merino. Another advantage the Down 
 has over all other breeds is its early matu- 
 rity, a South Down wether being ready 
 for market at 12 months old. Each breed 
 has its supporters, and every breeder 
 
 thinks that the particular breed he raises 
 is the best. 
 
 Sheep are kept or "herded" in "bands" 
 of from 2,000 to 3,000. Each band is 
 under the charge of a herder, who takes 
 them out at daylight in the morning and 
 returns with them to the corral at sun- 
 down. The corral is composed of mova- 
 ble hurdles, inclosing about one-fourth of 
 an acre. Adjoining the corral is the herd- 
 er's hut, 6x8 feet, provided with a small 
 stove, cooking utensils and berth. The 
 camps are supplied weekly from head- 
 quarters. Each herder has a weekly al- 
 lowance of one quarter of mutton, one 
 pound of coffee, half a pound of tea, two 
 pounds of sugar, and a sufficient supply 
 of flour, potatoes, onions and beans. In 
 warm weather the herder "jerks" his 
 meat, i. e., cuts it in strips and hangs it in 
 the sun to dry. Herders are paid $25 per 
 month and "found." 
 
 The annual increase from a flock of ewes 
 varies according to the care bestowed and 
 the state of the weather. The average 
 percentage of lambs in large flocks should 
 not fall under 90 per cent. Of the three 
 breeds above mentioned the French meri- 
 no ewe is the poorest mother, that is, she 
 has the least natural affection for her 
 lamb, and her lamb is the most delicate. 
 The Spanish merino ewe is a better moth- 
 er than the French merino, and her off- 
 spring is hardier. The South Down ewe 
 is the best mother, and her offspring is 
 the hardiest of the three. The lambing 
 season is from the middle of January until 
 the end of February. Ewes at this season 
 are divided into bands of about 500 in 
 each, and each of these bands is under the 
 care of a careful and experienced "tops- 
 man" and one or two boys. 
 
 Sheep are shorn in April, before the 
 clover-burr and Alfileria seeds are suffici- 
 ently ripe to fall off and stick to the fleece. 
 Lambs are weaned in August and shorn 
 in September. Some breeders shear their 
 old sheep in the fall as well as in the 
 spring; but this is not generally consid- 
 ered good management. The shearers are 
 paid 5 cents per fleece, and will shear 
 about 46 each per day. Well-bred French 
 merino grades will yield an annual fleece 
 of about 9 pounds of unwashed wool; 
 Spanish merino, 8 pounds, and South 
 Downs, 7 pounds. The price of spring 
 
82 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 clip in San Francisco averages about 25 
 cents per pound; fall clip about 17 cents. 
 
 Sheep require water daily from May 
 until October. Salt is never given them 
 on this coast. In very dry seasons when 
 there is but a poor supply of grass in the 
 coast valleys, they are driven to the moun- 
 tains, where there is always an abundant 
 supply of grass and water. At the ap- 
 proach of the rainy season they are brought 
 back very much invigorated by the change 
 of climate they have had. 
 
 The climate of California is so favora- 
 ble to the health of the sheep that disease 
 is almost unknown. The scab or acarus 
 is the only enemy the breeder has to con- 
 tend against. The best remedy for scab 
 is infusion of tobacco in the proportion of 
 one pound of leaf or three pounds of 
 stems to five gallons of water. To this is 
 added, in the dip, one pound of sulphur 
 to five gallons of the infusion. This is 
 applied in a dip containing from 1,000 to 
 2,000 gallons, and in which from 10 to 15 
 sheep can be plunged at once. The tem- 
 perature is kept up to 120° Fah. by means 
 of steam-pipes, and the sheep are kept in 
 the dip one minute. Men are stationed 
 beside the dip supplied with "crutches," 
 with the aid of which they plunge the 
 head of the sheep under, so that no part 
 escapes the remedy. From £ to 1 gallon 
 of infusion is allowed to each sheep, ac- 
 cording to the length of the fleece. With 
 a properly arranged dip and appliances 
 eight men will dip 3,000 sheep in one day. 
 The cost of dipping, including everything, 
 is about 4 cents per head. 
 
 Good graded breeding ewes cost from 
 $3 to $4 each. Pure blood rams cost from 
 $25 to $250 per head. As to profit, care- 
 ful men estimate the wool pays all ex- 
 penses connected with sheep raising, and 
 that the breeder has the increase, i. e., the 
 lambs for his profit; and as the increase 
 should not be less than 90 per cent, it is 
 easy to see how it is that the " sheep men," 
 as they are called, are the wealthiest in 
 the State.— Cor. N. T. Tribune. 
 
 HOW A SWARM HANGS TO THE BRANCH. 
 There is not a person who, when seeing 
 a limb bending under the weight of a 
 swarm, has not wondered how the bees 
 that are fastened to the branch can sup- 
 port the weight of the swarm. The ques- 
 
 tion is asked and an answer sought for, 
 but many remain silent before that prob- 
 lem. 
 
 Here yet is one of those marvels that 
 the works of nature offer in such large 
 numbers to our admiration. 
 
 It seems, indeed, contrary to all the 
 physical laws, that an insect be able at 
 will, to walk or remain still on a polished 
 surface in an upturned position. 
 
 Such is however the case with flies, for 
 they can walk on the outside of an hori- 
 zontal glass-pane. 
 
 This adhering capacity is so powerful in 
 bees, that a swarm weighing several kilo- 
 grammes is supported by a few hundred 
 bees who are fastened on the underside of 
 a branch, without their being visibly tired 
 by the weight. Nature shows us there, an 
 application of the physical laws, the exis- 
 tence of which man has discovered only 
 after many centuries of researches. 
 
 It is hardly 200 years since the discovery 
 of the power of a void space or vacuum, 
 that is, the cessation of equilibrium in the 
 weight of the atmosphere on a determined 
 surface, gave us the explanation of this 
 fact. It was in 1650 that Otto of Guerick 
 from Magdebourg invented the pneumatic 
 machine. 
 
 But for generations, children in play have 
 repeated two simple and conclusive ex- 
 periments on the force of a vacuum. The 
 first consists in taking a hollow key and 
 inhaling the air that it contains, thereby 
 holding it suspended to the tongue or lips. 
 This play is common with school boys, es- 
 pecially during school hours. 
 
 The second is not so easy. They take 
 a round piece of leather a few inches in 
 diameter and fasten a string in the center 
 of it, taking care to leave no room for air. 
 They wet it and then press it against a 
 heavy and flat body, such as a flat stone, 
 then by pulling on the string they can lift 
 the stone. How can it be done, since 
 there is no adhering substance between 
 the leather and the rock? The explana- 
 tion is of little moment to them; that 
 which they know is that by pulling a soft 
 membrane from a smooth body they en- 
 counter a resistance which is capable of 
 lifting a considerable weight. Let us sup- 
 pose this leather adhering to the ceiling, 
 and it will support the same weight that 
 I it has lifted from the ground. It is exact- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 83 
 
 ly the same thing which takes place at the 
 extremity of the bee's legs when it fastens 
 itself to the ceiling, 
 
 Enclose a bee in a box with transparent 
 glass lid; then examine her with a good 
 lens when she remains still with her daws 
 fastened to the glass. You will see a hol- 
 low circular membrane that works exactly 
 like the wet leather with which children 
 play; only in the place of a string the bee 
 has in the centre a horny substance that 
 she can draw at will, and that the weight of 
 her body maintains in the proper position, 
 so that she can sleep in this posture. They 
 are like real cupping glasses, and when 
 once stretched they adhere strongly without 
 any exertion on the part of the bee. The 
 heavier the bee is, the more the membrane 
 is stretched. It explains the fact that a 
 swarm weighing several kilogrammes, and 
 heavy enough to bend the limb to which it 
 is attached, adheres to the branch only by 
 a small number of bees, who support the 
 weight of the rest, although in a reversed 
 position. Modern science has even calcu- 
 lated the weight that can be supported by 
 a vacuum in a determined space. It 
 amounts to 1 kilogramme and 33 grammes 
 on a square centimeter of space. The 
 membeane of a bee's claw enlarged 60 di- 
 ameters would cover a surface of over one 
 centimeter. Each bee having claws, 10 
 I>ees would be sufficient to bear the weight 
 of 1 kilogramme. 
 
 It is easy, after that, to understand how 
 a swarm, however heavy, can remain sus- 
 pended for hours without fatigue. — LPApi- 
 cultetir. 
 
 EELS. 
 Sir: — My attention has been drawn by a 
 friend to a paragraph in your paper, seek- 
 ing information from me relative to eel- 
 fishing, and I have pleasure in responding 
 to your correspondent "Petros." 
 
 The river Parrett, on the banks of which 
 Langport is situate, is a tidal river, and 
 passing through some of the finest alluvial 
 soil in the kingdom, has always been well 
 stocked with fish, and in days gone by 
 produced large quantities for the consump- 
 tion of the town and adjoining ancient 
 Abbey of Muchelney, consisting of pike, 
 carp, roach, dace, gudgeon, and especially 
 eels. The river takes its rise in the hills 
 above Crewkerne, and flows in a north- 
 westerly direction to the Bristol Channel, 
 
 being joined in its course with several 
 other small streams. The eels are old 
 and young, the latter termed eelfares. 
 The old ones, between Midsummer and 
 Michaelmas, proceed to the mouth of the 
 river at Burnham, where there are large 
 mud banks — their progress downwards 
 being at times much accelerated by the 
 autumnal floods, when they are well looked 
 after by the fishermen, and are caught in 
 great numbers, and of a large size — two, 
 three, four, and five to six pounds each. 
 At the mouth of the river they spawn, and 
 in the following spring the ova become 
 hatched, and the young fry make their 
 appearance, and begin to ascend the 
 stream, when they are about three inches 
 long, and after a few miles their troubles 
 commence; for on each side of the river 
 the villagers take them in enormous quan- 
 tities, tons of them being caught and used 
 as food for themselves, their pigs and their 
 ducks. The taking of them is simple — a 
 large sieve-looking net made of cheese- 
 cloth suspended from a withy frame about 
 two feet square, which is placed slanting 
 in the stream with a lit candle in the mid- 
 dle. The little creatures are attracted by 
 the light, and wriggle themselves into the 
 net which soon becomes half filled, and is 
 regularly emptied into a bucket; that is 
 gradually filled, and is considered a fair 
 night's fishing for a woman; but the men 
 will frequently carry home several bucket- 
 fuls, and after reserving a sufficiency for 
 their own use, bail the remainder down 
 for their pigs and ducks, filling barrels at 
 times for general consumption. Growing 
 pigs are said to improve rapidly under this 
 food, but they are not used for fatting 
 pigs, as they give a fishy flavor to the 
 meat. The lantern is essential; the eel- 
 fare always swims in the middle of the 
 stream if the moon is shining, and hence 
 the darker the night the greater the catch, 
 and they cannot be taken by day. The 
 sight is very peculiar. I have seen years 
 ago as many as forty or fifty lanterns at 
 short distances apart along the river side 
 below Langport. By the poor people the 
 season is always hailed with delight, bring- 
 ing pleasure, profit and food to their usual- 
 ly cheerless homes. 
 
 The eel-cakes are made by first pouring 
 some boiling water over the catch to kill 
 them, and then, after washing in the river 
 
84 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 in a wicker basket and taking away all 
 refuse matter, and the " cock eels," as they 
 are termed — some young eels of a similar 
 size, but of a black color, which are said 
 to be born in the river, whereas the true 
 eelfare comes from the sea, and, after boil- 
 ing, is white, — they are then boiled a few 
 minutes (not too long, or they spoil), and 
 wrapped in cheese-cloth, and placed in 
 small tin hoops of the size of a cheese- 
 plate, between two boards with weights 
 on the top, and after all the " whey," as it 
 is termed, is squeezed out, they are fit for 
 sale, and are disposed of in large quanti- 
 ties in the neighboring towns. Formerly 
 the price was -jd. per 'cake, now it is Id., 
 and the cake is much smaller. These 
 cakes are cut in two, and fried with but- 
 ter, bacon, or dripping, and are much rel- 
 ished by the poor people; but this is not 
 the best way of cooking them, which is to 
 take them in their loose state, and lay in 
 a frying-pan, where they are gradually 
 heated until all their "whey" exudes. 
 
 Then fry them, as before, with butter, 
 bacon, fat, or dripping, until they are 
 brown and crisp, and they are then really 
 xery good, to some delicious; in fact, they 
 are the native "whitebait" of this country. 
 The supply last year was larger than usual, 
 owing to the great floods enabling the old 
 eels to escape the many dangers while 
 proceeding down stream to the sea, and 
 the supply, I believe, would still further 
 increase but for the locks which were placed 
 in the stream a few years since, with the 
 object of improving the navigation. There 
 has been a sad impediment to the progress 
 of the eelfare, and it is wonderful to see 
 the way in which these little creatures will 
 endeavor to conquer their difficulty. If 
 there is the slightest trickline; of water on 
 the lock-gates, or their sides, they will 
 struggle up, one over another, until they 
 hang in large bands, as large round as a 
 man's arm, and if the water continues to 
 flow, they will wriggle over. The lock- 
 gate man tells me he could take a bucket- 
 ful of them on these occasions, in a few 
 minutes, and that he has taken at times 
 half a ton in a night, and the same quan- 
 tity of old eels as they come down the 
 stream in the autumn. A ton of the young 
 fry he considers he helped over the lock- 
 gates this last spring. 
 
 It is sad to think of the great waste of 
 
 food that this kind of fishing entails, and 
 it is difficult to say how it can be altered. 
 The fishing-right, for a certain distance on 
 both sides of the town, belongs to the 
 Corporation of Langport, who have occa- 
 sionally let it for a nominal sum, but for a 
 long series of years the poachers have had 
 unlimited use of the river, and this could 
 not be prevented without an expense by 
 no means commensurate with the estimated 
 profit, so the thing goes on. There are 
 also commissioners of the river, but they 
 too, from want of funds, are unable to do 
 anything to remedy this evil. If properly 
 managed, the river Parrett would bacome 
 a fine fish river. We have taken salmon 
 of 181b. weight at our bridge, and with 
 care and culture much might be done to 
 improve the produce. 
 
 We have large quantities of leeches 
 located in the river, many hundred of 
 which used formerly to be annually sent 
 to the neighboring towns, but the demand 
 has now become so small as not to be 
 worth the attention of the fishermen. — 
 John Prankerd, in Land and Water. 
 
 ANTS IN THE DWELLING HOUSE, 
 Several recipes for destroying ants have- 
 lately been given in the Times; Mr. Salter, 
 of St. John's College, New Wandsworth, 
 says: — Our kitchen was swarming in the 
 summer time with ants, both winged and 
 unwinged. Windows, tables and floor 
 were all covered with them. Observation 
 told me that they came almost without 
 exception from holes in the hearth, the 
 heat being doubtless favorable to their 
 generation. Objecting to being thus over- 
 crowded with lodgers I did not want, I 
 carefully poured some strong vitriol (sul- 
 phuric acid) down each of the holes, at the 
 same time killing those who happened 
 not to be at home. The dose must have 
 proved fatal not only to the living, but 
 also to their eggs, for not an ant has since 
 been visible indoors. Another correspon- 
 dent recommends placing a saucer of weak 
 rum and water, well sweetened with 
 coarse brown sugar, in any place fre- 
 quented by the ants; into this, he says, 
 they will flock by hundreds, and thus, to 
 some extent, at least, be destroyed. Any 
 chink or aperture in the wood-work of the 
 house, or of any cupboard or sideboard 
 whence the ants are found to issue, may 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 85 
 
 also be well peppered with advantage. 
 Some years ago, says a third correspon- 
 dent, at my house in the country a colony 
 of ants established themselves under the 
 kitchen flooring. Not knowing the exact 
 locality of the nest, I endeavored to des- 
 troy the insects with treacle, sugar, arsen- 
 ic, &c; but, although I slew numbers thus, 
 the plague still increased. At last, be- 
 thinking myself that ants dislike the smell 
 of tar, I procured some carbolic acid, and 
 diluting it with about a dozen times its 
 weight of water, I squirted a pint of the 
 mixture through the air-bricks under the 
 flooring, and my enemies vanished that 
 day, never to return. It has always been 
 successful. For crickets, &c, also, a little 
 of this sent into their holes acts as an im- 
 mediate notice to quit. Camphor placed 
 wherever table linen is kept, is also said 
 to drive away ants. — The Garden. 
 
 SINGULAR FOSSIL TREE. 
 Ix the bottom of the main shaft of the 
 Virginia City Coal Company, El Dorado, 
 California, has been encountered the trunk 
 of a large tree, 4 feet in diameter — a lone 
 relic of an ancient and distinct forest. 
 "Where cut through by the shaft this old 
 tree is found to be perfectly carbonised, 
 turned into coal. Outside, the old log is 
 completely crusted over with iron pyrites, 
 many of which are so bright that the crys- 
 tals shine like diamonds. These crystals 
 also extend into the body of the log, fill- 
 ing what were once cracks or wind-shakes, 
 and even forming clusters about what 
 once was the heart of the tree. This relic 
 of an old time forest lies far below the 
 two veins of coal the company are about 
 to open. 
 
 * •» * 
 
 Clearing Ground with Steam. — Recently, 
 in Scotland, experiments have been made with a 
 twelve horse power agricultural steam engine, in 
 clearing away old hedges, groves, and even forest 
 trees. A tree of three feet diameter was thus re- 
 moved; a strip of plantation, consisting of oak, 
 plane and beech trees a hundred years old, was 
 cleared. Three hundred trees, varying from six to 
 twelve inches diameter, were uprooted in a few 
 hours. The rope attached to the trees was of wire. 
 Could not this plan of clearing lands be profitably 
 introduced here? Two wide-awake Canadians were 
 present at the above experiments, with the view of 
 introducing the system into Canada. 
 
 FACETLffi. 
 
 " I wonder if it's sea-sickness that makes sailors 
 always a heaving up anchors!" exclaimed Aunt 
 Hepzibah as she looked up thoughtfully from her 
 morning paper. 
 
 " You can get your boots blacked inside there," 
 said a hotel clerk to a guest, pointing to the porter's 
 room. "I don't want my boots blacked inside," 
 responded the stranger in tones of astonishment. 
 
 "My dear," said a husband to his wife, on ob- 
 serving new red-striped stockings on his only heir, 
 "why have you made barber's poles of our child's 
 legs?" "Because he is a little shaver," was the 
 neat reply. 
 
 The difference in natures was well illustrated 
 at the depot the other day. Two sisters met. " O, 
 my dear sister ! " said one, exhaustedly, as they em- 
 braced. "You've been eating onions," said the 
 other, calmly and fearlessly. 
 
 An excellent old deacon who, having won an old 
 turkey at a charity raffle, did not like to tell his 
 severe orthodox wife how he came by it, quietly 
 remarked, as he handed her the fowl, that the 
 Shakers gave it to him. 
 
 Recently a singer, applying for an engagement, 
 wrote to an impresario, as follows: "i am a good 
 musishan, i pla all music at furst site." "Well," 
 remarked the impresario to a friend, "she may 
 play by note, but she certainly spells by ear." 
 
 A man not a thousand miles from here once 
 asked another who he liked the best to hear preach. 
 
 "Why," said be, "I like to hear Mr. preach 
 
 best, because I don't like any preaching, and his 
 comes nearest to nothing of any that I ever heard." 
 
 When Alderman Smith died, his widow directed 
 the undertaker to inform the Board of Aldermen 
 of the event, which he did in writing, as follows: 
 "I am directed to inform the Board of Aldermen 
 that Mr. Smith died last night by order of Mrs. 
 Smith." 
 
 It was mentioned one day to President Lincoln, 
 that two young ladies of his acquaintance had 
 quarreled and loaded each other with abuse. "Have 
 they called each other ugly ? " asked the President. 
 "No, sir." "Very good; then I will undertake to 
 reconcile them." 
 
 Two young princes of Austria entered into a 
 violent quarrel, when one of them said to the other, 
 " You are the greatest ass in Vienna." Just then 
 the Emperor, their father, entered, and said indig- 
 nantly, " Come, come, young gentlemen, you forget 
 that I am present." 
 
 Education. — "Hobson, they tell me you've 
 taken your boy away from the public school. What's 
 that for?" 
 
 "'Cause the master ain't fit to teach un." 
 "Why, I've heard he's a very good teacher." 
 " Well, all I know is he wanted to make Tom 
 spell Haters with a p!" 
 
86 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 A little boy having broken his rocking horse 
 the day it was purchased, his mamma began to 
 scold, when he silenced her by inquiring, "What is 
 the good of a horse till it's broke?" 
 
 "Mamma, where do cows get the milk?" asked 
 Willie, looking up from the foaming pan of milk 
 which lie had been intently regarding. "Where 
 do you get your tears?" was the answer. After a 
 thoughtful silence, he broke out, "Mamma, do the 
 cows have to be spanked?" 
 
 Nellie N- 
 
 -was standing one day by a hot 
 
 stove, when her Thibet dress became badly scorched. 
 Seeing there was something wrong about her, she 
 screamed to her mother, sitting in the next room: 
 "Oh, mamma! what is the matter with me? I'm 
 all puckered tif, and smell bad! 
 
 A fond mother in Missouri, has named her 
 daughter Mazin Grace. A neighbor inquired ht>w 
 she came to select such an odd name. " La," says 
 she, "I got it out of the hymn book." The neigh- 
 bor expressed surprise, and said she had never seen 
 the name in any hymn book she had ever used. 
 "You haven't?" said the mother of Mazin Grace, 
 "Why, don't you recollect that familiar old hymn, 
 commencing 'Mazin Grace,' how sweet the sound?" 
 
 DR. J±. MOESE, 
 
 PHYSICIAN FOR 
 
 THE TREATMENT AND CURE 
 
 OF 
 
 CONSUMPTION, CATAKRH, BRONCHITUS, 
 
 ASTHMA, AND ALL CHRONIC 
 
 DISEASES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 THROAT AND LUNGS, 
 
 BY 
 
 Cold Medicated Inhalations, 
 
 AND OTHER REMEDIES. 
 
 JBEg~Patients at a distance may be treated as successfully 
 by forwarding an accurate history and statement of their 
 case. I send remedies carefully "prepared and adapted to 
 meet the wants of each one. A personal consultation is 
 desirable, yet it is by no means necessary or indispensable 
 to success. 
 
 Office One Block below the Court House, 
 on Main Street, 
 
 3VEA.IDISO^r, - "WISOONSIlSr. 
 
 Wealthy Apple Trees. 
 
 Anative of Minnesota, originated by P. M. Gideon. 
 
 I offer this most valuable variety for sale at the following 
 prices : 
 
 Three year budded stocks, 3 to 4 feet high, 10 for $5 ; 
 grafted on roots, 810. 
 
 It includes all that is desired in an apple tree — hardy, 
 thrifty grower, very productive, young bearer, fruit good 
 size, handsome and of first quality. Season, winter. 
 
 SUEI, FOSTER, 
 Muscatine, Iowa, 
 
 J. E- WILLIAMS, 
 
 FLORIST 
 
 Green House on Third Lake, 
 
 Opposite Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 
 2SdIA.IDIS03Sr, - WISCONSIN-. 
 
 Green House well supplied with Plants for all Seasons, 
 
 Fine Stock of Wardian and Fernery Plants. 
 
 Jfctf-Orders for Cut Flowers, Bouquets and Floral Orna- 
 ments will receive prompt attention at all times. 
 
 ORDERS SOLICITED BY MAIL. 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. 
 
 LEE'S SUMMI^ NURSERIES, 
 
 BLAIR BROS., Proprietors, 
 
 Lee's Summit, Jackson Co., Missouri. 
 
 Over three hundred acres of the finest grown Nursery 
 Stock, guaranteed in healthy condition. 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. Supplies full, 
 
 and assortment general. 
 
 AT WHOLESALE EXCLUSIVELY. 
 
 -Kg-Send for Price List. 
 
 GENEVA NURSERY, 
 
 Established rSjb. 
 
 400 Acres of Fruit and Ornamental Trees. 
 
 LARGE STOCK OF 
 
 PFAR TREES— extra size, Standard and Dwarf. 
 
 PEAE TREES — first class, five to seven feet. 
 
 APPLE TREES— first class, Standard and Dwarf. 
 
 CHERRY TREES, PEACH, PLUM, ORANGE, QUINCE.. 
 
 GRAPE VINES — new varieties and old approved sorts. 
 
 Laryr Stock of Tree Roses, grown by us especially 
 for the Trade. Fine formed heads. Our Trees and Plants 
 are grown on heavy clay soil, which makes them very 
 hardy. All at lowest prices. Catalogues free. 
 
 W. & T. SMITH, Geneva, N. Y. 
 
 Tree Seedlings and Tree Seeds. 
 
 NORWAY SPRUCE, - - - 1, 2 and 3 year Seedlings. 
 AUSTRIAN PINE, - - - 1 and 2 do do 
 
 SCOTCH do ... 1 and 2 do do 
 
 MOUNTAIN do ... 1 and 2 do do 
 
 WHITE do ... 1 do do 
 
 NORWAY do ... 1 do do 
 
 European Silver Fir, Chinese and American Arbor Viltr, Ca- 
 tolpa, European Larch, Scotch Weeping Birch, European. 
 Horse Chestnut, Silver and Ash Leaved Maple, 
 Ailanfhus, White Mulberry, Mountain 
 Ash, Apple and Pear Stocks, &c. 
 
 STOCK LARGE IN QUANTITY AND OF EXCELLENT QUALITY. 
 
 Price List of Tree Seeds will be issued in January or 
 February, 1875. 
 
 H. M. THOMPSON, 
 St. Francis, Milwaukee Co., Wis.. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 87 
 
 GREEN HILL NURSERY, 
 
 MILTON, WIS. 
 
 Special Items for Fall Trade : 
 
 100,000 Apple Stocks— first class— 1 year. 
 
 Plumb's Cider and Walbridge — 5 to 7 feet. 
 
 New varieties of Siberians — Fall and Winter. 
 
 20,000 Doolittle and other Raspberries. 
 
 5,000 Horse Chestnuts — 1 year. 
 
 Birch, Butternut, Elm and Maple — of sizes. 
 
 Dahlias, Peonias, Tulips and other Bulbs. 
 
 A full line of Fruit and Shade Trees and Evergreens, Small 
 
 Fruits and Shrubs. 
 Cions and Root Grafts — true to name. 
 
 SEISTD FOR PRICE T^IST. 
 
 J. C. PLUMB & SON. 
 
 For Cherry, Pair, Plum and two-year old Afple 
 Trees, Osage, Hedge and Affle Stocks, go to 
 
 B^FMSTES & CO. 
 
 GROWERS AND JOBBERS IN 
 
 General Nursery Stock, 
 
 ICirlfwoocl, Warren Co., Illinois. 
 
 One Million Splendid Evergreens at Low Rates. 
 
 The Janesville Grape. 
 
 Ripens in A ugust ; 
 
 Stands Wisconsin Winters -without protection. 
 
 j&^Circulars, with testimonials, free, on application. 
 Sample Vines sent by mail, on receipt of 20 cents. 
 Special Price List to Nurserymen and Dealers. 
 Concords and Delawares low. 
 
 Address, C. H. GREENMAN, 
 
 Milton, Rock Co., Wis. 
 
 VICK'S CATALOGUE 
 
 of Hyacinths, Tulips, Lilies, and all 
 
 ALL PLANTING 
 
 FOR THE HOUSE. ^ 
 
 Now published for Autumn of 1874, and will be sent free to 
 all who apply. 32 pages — 50 illustrations. 
 
 Address, JAMES VICK, Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 WILLETT D. STILLMAN, 
 
 DENTIST, 
 
 0EFICE, BAKER'S BLOCK, PINCKNEY ST., 
 
 MADISON, - WISCONSIN. 
 
 H E K L A. 
 
 FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY 
 
 ^Vladison, Wisconsin. 
 
 It takes only the best and safest kind of risks. 
 
 It insures on the stock plan only. 
 
 The Insured participate in the net earnings of the Com- 
 pany. 
 
 Its funds are not sent out of the State, but kept at home, 
 and loaned to the patrons of the Company, on real estate 
 security, at legal rates of interest. 
 
 MOJVS ANDEItSON, President. 
 HALLE STEENSLAND, Secretary. 
 
 fBfc# Bl 
 
 UNTIL VOLUME I. IS EXHAUSTED, 
 
 Xew Subscribers, sending 56.00 will be sent Volume I. bound, 
 postage paid, and Volume II. from the beginning ; or for 
 S5 00, all of the numbers of Volumes I. and II., subscribers- 
 paying postage. Volume II. ends with the March number, 
 1875, but 
 
 ■*K5~Subscriptions may Commence at Any Time, -= S3& 
 As articles are rarely continued from one number to another. 
 
 Terms: — S3. 00 per annum; 30 cents a number; four 
 months' trial, SI .00. 
 
 All communications should be addressed to 
 
 .A.. N". BELL, ]M. D., 
 
 Kit tor of the Sanitarian, 
 234 Broadway, New York. 
 
 Magie Hog and Brahma Fowls. 
 
 W. W. ELLSWORTH, 
 
 WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS, 
 
 Breeder of Celebrated Magie Hogs 
 
 «3-Took FIRST and SECOND PRIZES at the GREAT 
 NATIONAL SWINE SHOW AT CHICAGO. 
 
 Pigs and older stock for sale. Also light Brahma Fowls. 
 
 CHAS. H. WILLIAMS, 
 
 Elmwood, Baraboo, Wisconsin, 
 
 Breeder of Pure Bred Short Horns 
 
 COTSWOLD SHEEIE*. 
 
 Baraboo is on the Madison branch of the Chicago and 
 Northwestern R. R.— two trains daily each way. 
 
 FOR SALE— OMAHA, an IMPORTED JERSEY BULL,, 
 the best animal of his breed in the north-west. 
 
 GEO. E. BRYANT, Madison, Wis. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 WM. J. PARK & CO., 
 
 Binders, Eulers, Blank Book Manufacturers, 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Wall Paper, Window Cornice. A rtists' Materials, 
 Picture Frames, Sheet Music, Violins and other 
 
 Musical Merchandise. 
 
 PIANOS, MELODEONS AND ORGANS 
 
 Always on hand and warranted, being manufactured by 
 the best makers in the country. 
 
 We are special agents for the MATHUSHEK PIANOS, 
 an instrument that only requires to be seen and heard to 
 convince any one, not only of its tone, but of its common 
 sense construction and evidence of durability, requiring less 
 tuning than any other instrument now in the market. 
 
 Pianos and Organs to rent by the month. Also second- 
 hand ones taken in exchange for new. 
 
 "wim:. j. park <sc co., 
 No. II King Street, Madison, Wis. 
 
 WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 
 
 Oldest, Largest and Best Paper 
 at the Capital. 
 
 INDUCEMENTS FOR, CLUBBING-. 
 
 rpHE WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, published Daily, 
 ■*- Tri-Weekly and Weekly, is the oldest, largest and best 
 •weekly published at the Capital. 
 
 The Daily and Tri-Weekly contain the latest news by 
 Telegraph, full Legislative Reports, Decisions of the Su- 
 preme Court, a summary of Local News in the several 
 counties of the State, and full Reports of all Conventions 
 and other public matters at the Capital. 
 
 The Weekly State Journal is the largest and best family 
 newspaper in the State. Each number contains a large 
 amount of literature, political and miscellaneous reading, 
 and the latest Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison Market 
 Reports. 
 
 It is the aim of the publishers to make the State Journal 
 a complete exponent of Wisconsin interests and Wisconsin 
 intelligence, as well as a first class general newspaper. 
 
 TERMS . 
 
 DAILY— 8.5 cents per month, or $1 
 same rate for three or six months. 
 
 TRI-WEEKLY— 45 cents per month 
 six months; $1.25 for three months. 
 
 WEEKLY — $2 a year ; $1 for six months ; in clubs of ten 
 or more, $1.50 a year. 
 
 All subscriptions to be paid in advance. 
 
 ATWOOD & CULVER, 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 a year, and at the 
 So a year ; $2.50 for 
 
 ARTHUR A. PARDEE & BRO., 
 
 AND dealers in 
 
 Patent Medicines, White Lead, Oils, Varnishes, 
 
 Colors, Brushes, Brewers'' Stock, Dye Stuffs, &c, 
 MADISON, - WISCONSIN. 
 
 W. H. BANKS & Co. 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 SPECIALTIES: 
 
 Broom Corn Machinery, 
 
 Church, Farm and School Bells, 
 Hay, Straw and Stalk Cutters, 
 Drag and Circular Wood Sawing Machines, 
 
 Tread and Sweep Horse Powers. 
 
 OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE, 
 
 34 and 36 South Canal Street, 
 
 CHICAGO. 
 
 ;8SH5end for Circulars and state where this advertisement 
 appeared. 
 
 Materials for Wax Flowers, 
 
 ITSTSTIRTTOTIOIIXr BOOK. 
 
 With this box of Wax Materials and Instruction Book, 
 almost any one can learn how to make Wax Flowers with- 
 out a teacher. 
 
 This box contains all the materials for making a pretty 
 spray of Blush Roses described on page 10 in the book. The 
 articles contained in the box are as follows : 
 
 One Instruction Book, (revised and enlarged.) 
 Eighteen Sheets of Wax, (white, light and dark green.) 
 One Bottle Bright Pink. 
 One Bottle White Bloom. 
 One Bottle Chrome Yellow. 
 One Bottle Chinese White. 
 One Rosewood Moulding Pin. 
 One Brush. 
 
 One Steel Cutting Pin. 
 One Metal Ruse Leaf Mould. 
 /Kg'Sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt of $1. 
 
 PERRY MASON & CO., Boston f Mass. 
 
 WAX FLOWER INSTRUCTION BOOK. 
 
 The art of making Wax Flowers and Crosses without a 
 teacher. Illustrated. Sent by mail, postage paid, on receipt 
 of 25 cents. 
 
 PERRY MASON & CO., 
 Youth's Companion Office, 41 Temple Place, Boston, Mass. 
 
 PHELPS <fc POUND, 
 
 DEALEKS IN 
 
 HOPS. 
 
 All Grades of Hops Botight and Sold, 
 
 IVL-A.3DIS03ST, WIS. 
 
 MADISON NURSERY. 
 
 M. A, HOLT, Proprietor, 
 
 M«cliHoii, Dnno Co., w is. 
 
 FOR SALE. — Hyslop and Transcendant Crabs, bearing 
 size, from 5 to 8 feet high. Also, a large assortment of Apple 
 Trees, 2 and 3 years old, well grown. 
 
NEW FORCE FEED 
 
 BUCKEYE GRAIN DRILL 
 
 BROADCAST SEEDER. 
 
 2STO CHA1STGB OF GEARS. 
 
 The improvement consists of a. positive force feed, so con- 
 structed that you can regulate the quantity any where 
 between one-half bushel of wheat and three bushels of oats 
 in an instant, without any extra gears, cr any change of gears. 
 You need not change a peck at once, but can vary as little 
 as you please ; even a pint or less if you desire. The feeder is 
 so plain and simple, that we think no farmer can fail to un- 
 derstand and appreciate its advantages. It is just what 
 farmers have been wanting, and just what manufacturers 
 have been trying to make ; something that can be adjusted 
 instantly without change of gears. 
 
 The subscriber is also general agent for 
 
 The Meadow King Mower, 
 
 The Little Champion Reaper, 
 
 The Whitewater Wagon, 
 
 And all kinds of Farm Machinery. 
 .ftg-Orders respectfully solicited. 
 
 S L. SHELDON, Agent, 
 
 Madison, Wis., or St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 J. I. CASE & CO. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Threshing Machines, 
 
 PORTABLE STEAM ENGINES, 
 
 Down and Mounted Powers 
 
 TREAD POWERS, 
 
 Circular Saws and Frames, 
 
 TRUCKS, &c. 
 
 General Office and Manufactory, 
 H-A.CI3STE, - - WISCONSIN. 
 
 Chicago and North-Western Railway. 
 
 PASSENGERS FOR 
 
 CHIC AOO, 
 
 DAYTON, 
 INDIANAPOLIS, 
 TERRE HAUTE, 
 CHAMPAIGN, 111., 
 BLOOMINGTON, 
 
 DETROIT, MONTREAL, 
 
 TOLEDO, QUEBEC, 
 
 CLEVELAND, PORTLAND, 
 
 BUFFALO, BOSTON, 
 
 NIAGARA F'S, NEW YORK, 
 
 PITTSBURG, PHILADELPHIA, SPRINGFIELD, ' 
 
 CINCINNATI, BALTIMORE, JACKSONVILLE 
 
 ROCHESTER, AVASIIINGTON, QUINCY, 
 
 ALBANY, WHEELING, ST. LOUIS, 
 
 TORONTO, COLUMBUS, CAIRO. 
 
 And ALL POINTS SOUTH and EAST, 
 Should buy their tickets via 
 
 C H I C JL O O 
 
 CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. 
 
 Close Connections made with all Railroads running EAST 
 or SOUTH from Chicago. 
 
 THIS IS THE DIRECT ROUTE 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 
 
 Sacramento, Ogden, 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY 
 DENVER, 
 COUNCIL BLUFFS, 
 SIOUX CITY, 
 WATERLOO, 
 LA CROSSE, 
 ST. PAUL, 
 MARQUETTE, 
 ISHPEMING, 
 ESCANABA, 
 MEN ASH A, 
 OSHKOSH, 
 
 CHEYENNE, 
 OMAHA, 
 YANKTON, 
 
 CEDAR RAPIDS, 
 FORT DODGE, 
 WINONA, 
 DULUTH, 
 L'ANSE, 
 NEGAUNEE, 
 
 GREEN BAY, 
 
 STEVENS POINT, 
 
 FOND DU LAC, 
 Are all on the line of this Great Road, or are reached by 
 this Route with less Change of Cars than by any other. 
 Among the Inducements ottered by this Route, are 
 ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 
 Pullman Palatial Cars and Coaches ; Parlor and Drawing 
 Room Day Coaches ; Smoking and Lounging Cars ; Westing- 
 house Safety Air Brakes; Miller's Patent Safety Coupling 
 and Platforms ; Close Connections at Junction Points; Less 
 Transfers than any other Route ; Speed, Safety and Abso- 
 lute Comfort. 
 
 From 2 to lO Fast Express Trains run each way 
 Daily over the various Lines of this Road, thus securing to 
 the Traveler selecting this Route sure and certain connec- 
 tions in any direction he may wish to go. 
 
 >eSF*See that your tickets read via this Route, and take 
 none other. 
 
 MAEVIN EUOHITT, 
 Gen'l Superintendent. 
 
 W. H. STENNETT, 
 Gen'l Passenger Agent. 
 
 frank & mason, 
 Hardware Dealers. 
 
 ALL KINDS OF 
 
 IRON GOODS, 
 
 WAGON STOCK, 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, 
 Stoves, Tinware, Table and Pocket Cutlery. 
 
 IKS* All useful articles for family use kept on hand at 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 OPPOSITE PARK HOTEL, MADISON, WIS. 
 
MADISON PLOW WORKS. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1846. 
 
 We offer our superior brand of "CAPITAL CITY CLIPPERS," as well as our IMPROVED SOD, BREAKING, 
 COR. AND HOP, SUB-SOIL AND JOINTER PLOWS; also all kinds of Coulters, Clevises, Beams, Handles and 
 other jcbttras, at wholesale and retail, 
 
 AT THE LOWEST FIGURES FOR A FIRST CLASS ARTICLE. 
 
 tigi^Kepairing done promptly and well. Charges reasonable. Please call on us, or write for Price List and Circular. 
 
 FIRMIN & BILLINGS. 
 
 Park Hotel, Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 THIS NEW AND ELEGANT HOTEL is situated on the highest point of ground in the center of the City of Madi- 
 son, directly opposite the State Capitol, and every window commands a magnificent view of the celebrated Lakes, 
 Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa, which surround the City. 
 
 The House has all the modern improvements— is furnished in a superior and most substantial manner, with Velvet 
 and Brussels Carpets, Blackwalnut and Marble Top Furniture, Spring Beds and Hair Mattresses, throughout. The 
 rooms and corridors are large and well ventilated. 
 
 RJLTES FOM 1874. — Board per week, for two weeks and over, 514.00, 817,50 and $20.00, according to accommoda- 
 tion. Special arrangements with families for the season. Special reductions from Summer Bates made for the months 
 of September, October and November. 
 
 4S~B. Jefferson & Co.'s Oninibusses and Baggage Wagons in attendance on arrival of all trains. 
 Every effort will be made to secure the comfort and pleasure of guests. 
 
 MARK H. IRISH, Proprietor. 
 
W. B. DAVIS & Co., Publishers, 
 
 IMA-DISOIS - , WIS. 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1874, by W. B. Davis, in the Office of the Librarian of 
 
 Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Subscription, $2.00. Single Numbers, 20 cts 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 D El C E M B E! R-l 8 7 4 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 DECEMBEE NOTES. By Dr. Joseph Hobbins 81 
 
 ABT OF HUSBANDRY. By Geo. W. Minier 82 
 
 HOME EMBELLISHMENT.— 2. By Prof. H. W. Roby 83 
 
 A HINT TO FARMERS. By Ossian E. Pardee 84 
 
 TRANSPLANTING 85 
 
 WHAT VARIETIES OF APPLES SHALL WE GROW? 85 
 
 LOW ESPALIER PLAN OF GROWING TREES. By * 85 
 
 TALKS ON FLOWERS.— 2. By John N. Dickie 86 
 
 TRAINING PLANTS AS STANDARDS 87 
 
 BOUQUETS OF TREES. By H , 87 
 
 CURRANTS— THEIR ENEMIES. By W 88 
 
 THE VINTAGE IN NAUVOO. By E. Bexter 89 
 
 ARE NOT ONIONS TOO MUCH THINNED? 89 
 
 ADVICE TO BEGINNERS IN BEE-KEEPING 90 
 
 CRANBERRY CULTURE 92 
 
 FOOD FOR ANIMALS 95 
 
 NOTES AND GLEANINGS 95 
 
 Something New (if true) Under the Sun; Varnish on Carriages; Disintegration of Tin; A 
 New Plant ; To Save Breakage in China and Glass ; Cremation Progress in Germany ; The Lo- 
 gograph; Science After the Murderer; The Papyrograph; A New Source of Leather. 
 
 HORTICULTURAL NOTES 96 
 
 A Handsome Hedge; Gumming in Fruit Trees ; Earth Worms in Pots ; Salt for Asparagus; 
 Rooting of Cuttings in Coke- Dust; The Old Red Fuchsias; Horticultural Education; Stimula- 
 lating Seeds; Floral, Poetic and Polite; Early Potatoes; Ants versus Caterpillars. 
 
 POULTRY NOTES 97 
 
 On Breeding; Scarcity of Eggs in England; Comparative Profits of Ducks and Hens; Cleanse 
 the Coops and Yards; Quality of Poultry. 
 
 VARIOUS RECIPES 97 
 
 Cucnmbers Cooked ; Bleaching Bones and Ivory ; To Fasten Handles in Knives, &c; Invisible 
 Ink. 
 
 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT 98 
 
 Our Cemeteries; Horticultural Novelties; Pickling Cucumbers and Canning Fruit; Chinese 
 Horticulture; Suffering in Kansas and Nebraska; Insects and Birds; Poultry Shows; Wisconsin 
 State Horticultural Society; Science in Horticulture; Man and Leaf; The Wisconsin State 
 Grange — P. of H.; Who Were the Norsemen; Notices of Books; A Chat with My Flower 
 Friends— By Mrs. I. H. Williams; Potting Earth— By Mrs. I. H. Williams; Plants from 
 Cuttings — By J. Cochrane, A. M.; Table Decoration; Illinois State Horticultural Society; 
 Dairymen's Association. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 105 
 
 Canaries — By Prof. R. F. George. 
 
 HOME DEPARTMENT 106 
 
 Sanitary Notes— By Joseph Hobbins, M. D.; Taking Cold— By Joseph Hobbins, M. D.; 
 Oh Sweet is the Song! — (Poem) — By Charles Noble Gregory; Pictures on the Walls. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL ,. HI 
 
 Natural History as a Branch of Elementary Education — By Dr. P. R. Hoy. 
 
 MISCELLANY Ill 
 
 A Roman Funeral; Notions About the Moon; Scripture Botany; American Life; The Tree's 
 Will — (Poem); Grapes in a Wash House. 
 
 OUR SCRAP BOOK 120 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY 122 
 
 The New White Grape, "Lady;" An Irish Stock Fair; Wheat as a Feeding Stuff; The 
 Agricultural Work of the Grange; The Song of Fishes. 
 VARIETIES 126 
 
[From a Photograph, by C. Bodurtha.] 
 
 "LADY." 
 
Vol. I. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., DECEMBER, 1874. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 DECEMBER NOTES, 
 For men in general, the place in which 
 they live is their world — all the world — no 
 matter whether they live in a mud hovel 
 or in a mansion. But for those who in 
 any measure cultivate the sciences, or 
 who feel an interest in watching- their 
 progress, their world is the universe itself, 
 to which they are bound by every prompt- 
 ing of their nature — by every invisible 
 link of their intelligence. Their sympa- 
 thies, as well as their interests, connect 
 them with everything that moves and 
 breathes and lives. Man himself, being- 
 related to all things in the kingdom of 
 nature, is but a part of the great whole. 
 To no class of men does this remark ap- 
 ply more forcibly than to the horticultu- 
 rist. All the earth is his garden. Not 
 a wind that blows, not a wave that rolls, 
 but bears to him a living reminder that 
 the comers of the earth are his; and the 
 little flower, nay the single leaf, the small- 
 est seed, serves, by expanding- his vision, 
 by the awakening of his interest, but to 
 bind him to his fellow man. 
 
 Horticulture, as popularly received, is 
 but an art having relationship only with 
 the spade, the rake and the soil, and per- 
 haps this idea is correct, as far as art is 
 concerned. But horticulture is something 
 more than this, — it is a science, having a 
 far higher relationship, a relationship of 
 the closest kind, with other, her sister sci- 
 ences: with botany, chemistry, entomolo- 
 gy, geology, geography, astronomy, with 
 
 light and heat, etc.; a knowledge more or 
 less of all these going to constitute the 
 true horticulturist. Hence it is, as we 
 have claimed, the horticulturist's world is 
 the world universal — the earth, the sea, 
 the heavens. And his home is every- 
 where where a flower shall bloom, or a 
 fruit shall grow, or a people dwell, to love 
 the one or need the other. 
 
 But turn Ave to consider either the use- 
 ful or the beautiful in this science, how 
 often are we met with prejudice — the pre- 
 judice that no art can change, no science 
 enlighten. There are those who see nei- 
 ther wisdom, nor goodness, nor power, 
 nor divinity in the beautiful, — forgetting, 
 or rather ignoring, what is in beauty so 
 self-evident: that none but the highest 
 wisdom can conceive; none but the great- 
 est goodness would bestow; none but the 
 most supreme power could create; and 
 inasmuch as all finite power, however it 
 may change, modify and color, must for- 
 ever, as from the beginning, fail to create 
 the simplest flower, so even the simplest 
 flower itself, exquisite as it is in all its 
 parts, and above all in its adaptability, 
 must be the work of the Infinite. To say 
 then that the beautiful is not the useful, 
 or that a flower, since it exhibits so many 
 divine attributes, has no use, is simply to 
 say that you are wiser than God — wiser 
 than Him who made you, — you, whose use 
 it were just as well to question. 
 
 It is a question full of concern, that in 
 an intelligent age like this and in a coun- 
 
82 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 try so filled with intelligence as is ours, 
 one has to make a plea for one's love of 
 the beautiful. Fortunate, therefore, it is 
 for horticulture that it has other justifica- 
 tion for itself and its followers, in the di- 
 rectly useful. To an agricultural people, 
 especially, horticulture has been of special 
 service, the gardener having been the pio- 
 neer of the experimental farm. Few 
 things, if any, found in the field, but what 
 have been introduced through the garden, 
 making the farm, as we have said some- 
 where else, but a garden on a large scale. 
 Not a fruit, not a vegetable that we use, 
 but has made its acquaintance with the 
 spade before being yielded to the plow. 
 So much has this been, and still is, the 
 case, that it would give rise to an incon- 
 ceivable state of things — to plague, pesti- 
 lence and famine; to rebellion, anarchy 
 and the destruction of natural life — were 
 we to banish, or attempt to banish from 
 our field cultivation, the things it owes to 
 its bountiful provider, the garden. Hor- 
 ticulture has thus its useful as well as its 
 beautiful side. 
 
 If these views are correct, and the evi- 
 dence of their truth is everywhere around 
 us, it must be evident enough that not only 
 those who are interested in agriculture, 
 but those, also, who are interested in our 
 national prosperity, should feel a greater 
 concern in horticulture, should watch its 
 doings and glean from its pages those first 
 hints and facts which of necessity appear 
 in the agricultural journals of a later 
 period. 
 
 Horticulture and agriculture are bound 
 together by affinities too close to be dis- 
 tinguished. They are the chosen pursuits. 
 And in their origin as in their history, in 
 their operations as in their results, have a 
 peculiar claim to be considered beautiful 
 as well as useful; useful as well as beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 ART OF HUSBANDRY. 
 Could we make an accurate investigation 
 into the actual state of nations, we should 
 probably find that the nation best versed 
 in the science and art of agriculture, was 
 also most advanced in civilization and en- 
 lightenment. The writer is aware that 
 Liebig says, "Could we ascertain which 
 nation uses the most soap, we should find 
 that nation most civilized and enlightened. " 
 
 I quote from memory, and may err in lan- 
 guage, but not in sentiment. Liebig 
 wrote from a chemical stand point, and I 
 from a rural one. 
 
 The most renowned authors and civil- 
 izers of the race, have written upon the 
 science of farming and practised the arts 
 of the agriculturist. If gardening should 
 be numbered among the fine arts, hus- 
 bandry should certainly be considered the 
 most useful. The former may be the soul; 
 the latter the body. "Horticulture," said 
 a distinguished friend to me on one occa- 
 sion, "is the religion of agriculture."' 
 They are, indeed, inseparable. 
 
 The inspired shepherd, who talked with 
 God on Sinai, did not think it beneath him 
 to give to his countrymen specific instruc- 
 tions in this art, nor did he deem it improp- 
 er to encourage his followers by the 
 promise of the rich fields of Canaan, as 
 "A land flowing with milk and honey." 
 
 In the colonizing of new countries, the 
 fertility of the soil and the facility of 
 practising this most important of all the 
 arts, is constantly kept in mind as the in- 
 ducement to emigrants. And we may 
 safely assert, that no community or coun- 
 try ever prospered, if this humanizing and 
 elevating art was neglected, or suffered to 
 decline. Would it, therefore, be too much 
 to say that the benefactors of the human 
 family are largely found among the tillers 
 of the soil; among those who devise ways 
 and means to disseminate knowledge 
 among the people; and among the inven- 
 tors of implements of husbandry':' While 
 the demoralizers of the race are the so- 
 called great ones, who have taught and 
 practiced the arts of slaughter and war. 
 
 Delighted, Mr. Editor, with the compre- 
 hensive title of your paper, its appear- 
 ance, and the step so handsomely taken in 
 the right direction, may I claim an humble- 
 column in your magazine for a few articles 
 on the important art of husbandry? The 
 ancient nations, as you have shown in your 
 first number, thought of the culture of the 
 soil as an art, and seemed to have had lit- 
 tle or no idea of science, or rather sciences 
 connected with it. 
 
 It happened to be my task and pleasure 
 to make the opening lecture, on the intro- 
 duction of the natural sciences in the com- 
 mon schools of Illinois. This was in the 
 city of Jacksonville, and before the Illinois 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 83 
 
 State Horticultural Society, in the winter 
 of 1871. I was invited by the State Hor- 
 ticultural Society of Wisconsin, and made 
 a similar lecture before them in the city of 
 Madison, in February following. Illinois 
 promptly adopted the views of the Horti- 
 cultural Society. I am not aware that 
 Wisconsin has. 
 
 It ought to be a sine qua non in all sys- 
 tems of common schools, to teach the sci- 
 ences which underlie the arts of agricul- 
 ture and horticulture. 
 
 The king of Sparta being asked what he 
 thought most proper for boys to learn, 
 very appropriately answered, " That which 
 they will practice when they become men." 
 Who follows this sage advice? And yet 
 it is but common sense clothed in beautiful 
 words. Were Ave asked, to-day, for the 
 cause of so many failures and ill success 
 in farming, we would have to reply, " The 
 tillers of the soils do not understand their 
 nature and the crops adapted to them." 
 Too often we farmers have copied the evil 
 example of those who have gone before 
 us, and have not searched into the hidden 
 mysteries of our art. Nature is a coy 
 goddess, and must be wooed and won by 
 diligence, industry and perseverance. As 
 in digging for living fountains, the toil is 
 great, but when they are reached, the 
 generous waters rise up to meet us, so 
 in the prosecution of our avocation, every 
 well directed blow prepares for the next — 
 fields whiten to harvest, orchards bend un- 
 der rich burdens, and vines yield their 
 purple clusters. 
 
 The man who does not love his occupa- 
 tion will never make a success, and in all 
 the industries of life, perhaps none re- 
 quires so much of thought, of patient in- 
 vestigation and persistent toil, as agricul- 
 ture. The care and study of grains, grasses 
 and domestic economy, the management 
 of the animals connected with our employ- 
 ment, their breeds, uses and advantages; 
 the preparing and marketing of our crops; 
 the disposal of our surplus herds and 
 flocks; the education of families; and the 
 adorning and beautifying of our homes — 
 all demand our attention and employ our 
 most earnest and serious thoughts. The 
 field seems boundless — nevertheless the 
 outlook is hopeful. 
 
 Geo. W. Mixieb. 
 Minier, 111. 
 
 HOME EMBELLISHMENT.-2, 
 Ix home adornment very much depends 
 upon the care we take of our homes — far 
 more than most people suppose. A home 
 possessed of great natural advantages — of 
 native trees, rich soil, good green sward, 
 fine location and aspect — may easily be- 
 come unsightly and repulsive by neglect, 
 by suffering all manner of rubbish and 
 waste to collect and accumulate wherever 
 it may chance to fall upon the place. The 
 trees may be suffered to grow wild and 
 ragged, crooked, one-sided and awkward. 
 The grass may be suffered to grow too 
 high and unevenly — in patches here and 
 tufts there. Weeds, burdocks and dande- 
 lions may overrun the lawn and perpetuate 
 themselves by seeding. The flower beds 
 (if any) may be uncultivated, and grass, 
 and weeds may overrun the few neglected 
 flowers in them. The walks may lie dirty, 
 ungraveled and unplanked, and flanked 
 by rank weeds and grass. The fences may 
 be shabby and tumbledown structures, the 
 gates off the hinges, and paint entirely 
 wanting'. The shrubbery may be wanting, 
 or half dead from neglect, and thereby 
 freighted with none of the rich, fragrant 
 bloom with which nature always rewards 
 the industry of the cultivator. 
 
 With any, or all of these neglects, no 
 place, however favored by nature, will 
 ever look cheering or inviting. 
 
 By planting and training trees, vines 
 and shrubs; leveling, sodding, or seeding 
 the lawn; cutting the grass and uprooting 
 weeds, dandelions, etc.; clearing up and 
 graveling or planking walks; straightening 
 up fences, hanging gates and painting 
 them (even with cheap paint); cleaning 
 out weeds from the flower beds; and plant- 
 ing and caring for flowers, and clearing* 
 up and casting away all the rubbish about 
 the premises, almost any place may become 
 charming and pleasant to look upon. All 
 this can be done at a very small outlay of 
 money, but it requires thought and industry. 
 
 During a great part of the season nature 
 is active: the sap in the trees and vines is 
 ceaselessly flowing, like the blood in human 
 veins, and developing leaf, wood and fruit. 
 The grass grows night and day — and unless 
 we are likewise active, the marks of neg- 
 glect and decay will be upon our sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 During 1 the growing season there is 
 
84 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 work enough about any home, be it large 
 or small, to occupy all the spare hours of 
 the ingenious, artistic and beauty-loving 
 owner or occupant. 
 
 The man who sits down listlessly, morn- 
 ing, noon and night, with no higher enjoy- 
 ment than a clay pipe and a box of tobacco, 
 and sees everything going to rack and 
 ruin about the place without raising a hand 
 to check it and set the mark of taste and 
 industry upon his surroundings, merits the 
 emphatic condemnation of all his order 
 and beauty-loving neighbors. 
 
 "Set thy house in order!" is the in- 
 junction of holy writ, and applies quite as 
 forcibly to the temporal as the spiritual 
 habitation of all mankind. No man, wo- 
 man or child should be content to live in 
 an untidy, shabby, carelessly-kept or ne- 
 glected house. 
 
 Ordinarily there is no excuse but sheer 
 laziness and slovenliness for living from 
 year to year in a house full of cobwebs, 
 dirt and vile stenches. Neatness and 
 cleanliness are the results of industry and 
 care much more than of cash expenditure. 
 As the wind blows where and when it 
 listeth; as the dust comes as an unbidden 
 guest into all our apartments almost per- 
 petually; as spiders spin and weave wheth- 
 er the weather be fair or foul, whether the 
 day shines or the night broods upon the 
 earth; as moths and rust corrupt in our 
 sleeping as well as in our waking hours, so 
 we should be diligent, watchful and indus- 
 trious. The display of a moderate amount 
 of ingenuity, at the right time, will ac- 
 complish wonders in keeping up and actu- 
 ally improving any man's house. 
 
 There are a hundred little repairs and 
 improvements that any active man can 
 make about the house, to add to the com- 
 fort and convenience of the household. 
 
 The perpetual exercise of good taste 
 and ingenuity are oftener the price of a 
 cozy, pleasant home than heavy drafts on 
 the rich man's bank account. 
 
 The subject of household economy and 
 ingenuity has furnished themes and texts 
 for several book writers who have sought 
 to exhaust the subject, but who are, as 
 yet upon the threshold of the great tem- 
 ple, whose mysteries are still greatly un- 
 explored and unknown. Among the latest 
 book writers who have endeavored to por- 
 tray the perfect and finished home, is Mrs. 
 
 H. B. Stowe. Her book, though contain- 
 ing many valuable suggestions and new 
 thoughts, yet fails to tell all about home 
 embellishment and adornment. When 
 book writers fail to exhaust the subject, I 
 would not be justified in attempting it 
 here. So I shall content myself by say- 
 ing, think, study, work, and your reward 
 will be measured by your fidelity, industry 
 and intelligent effort. 
 
 H. W. Roby. 
 Milwaukee, "Wis. 
 
 < mr * — 
 
 A HINT TO FARMERS. 
 In conversation with one of the contribu- 
 tors to the Field, Lawn and Garden, 
 a few days ago, concerning the failure of 
 crops and consequent dull times, I re- 
 marked to him that there were many 
 sources of income open to farmers other 
 than those which are failing, and which 
 could be cultivated with a certainty of 
 success. At his suggestion, I have for- 
 warded this communication. 
 
 The common sunflower is a plant that 
 will grow on the poorest kind of land — ■ 
 grow year after year without care, and, 
 although people do not seem to know it, 
 will pay well, its seed being more profita- 
 ble in the market than wheat or corn. 
 Besides the sunflower, there are other 
 seeds which can be raised at a very small 
 expense; many of them in the corners of 
 the field and alongside the fence, where the 
 ground can be used for no other purpose. 
 The caraway, coriander, dill, black and 
 white mustard, rape and many others, can 
 be produced at a most trifling expense. 
 The gathering is done by children, and 
 the seed has a market price of about ten 
 cents per pound. Even the much wasted 
 pumpkin and watermelon seed have their 
 price in the drug market. 
 
 It will pay farmers to look into this 
 
 matter; and to show how much may be 
 
 done. I have only to add, that a farmer I 
 
 am acquainted with assured me a little 
 
 time ago, that on rather a poor piece of 
 
 land, not many feet square, he had raised 
 
 enough saffron to pay the year's rent of 
 
 his farm. 
 
 Ossian E. Pardee. 
 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 -&-^& » 
 
 The Grape. — A bunch of the Black Hamburg 
 
 grape was exhibited recently at Belfast, Ireland, 
 
 that weighed 21 lbs. and 12 ozs. — the largest bunch 
 
 of black grapes on record. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 85 
 
 TRANSPLANTING. 
 
 The season, or right time for transplant- 
 ing, is too often made a vexed question, 
 though it a matter about which there ought 
 not to be any serious difference of opinion. 
 In planting evergreens, it is usual to wait 
 until the bud starts, though they may be 
 planted after this, if mulched and occa- 
 sionally sprinkled in the evening with tepid 
 water. It is safe, as a rule, to transplant 
 fruit trees as soon as they have shed their 
 leaves, provided, frost has not set in and 
 the distance of removal is not so far as to 
 risk their exposure to freezing. If it is 
 desired to transplant large trees, ten or 
 twelve years old, in the fall, the trees 
 should be prepared for the change by hav- 
 ing their roots cut back the previous fall. 
 This not only facilitates the removal of 
 the trees, but gives a mass of rootlets, 
 just such as the tree would have had to 
 make on the following year; and thus a 
 year's progress is anticipated and secured, 
 not only without injury to the tree, but 
 with positive benefit so far as its safety in 
 removing and future progress is con- 
 cerned. 
 
 Our experience makes us almost indif- 
 ferent as to whether we plant in the fall or 
 spring; and this will be the experience of 
 others who comply with the requisite con- 
 ditions of transplanting. If there is any 
 preference, it should certainly, in this 
 State, be given to the fall, when the soil 
 is in better condition, and will come into 
 readier and closer contact with root and 
 rootlet; and especially is the fall prefera- 
 ble when the tree has to be moved but a 
 short distance. The small trees planted 
 at this season, should be mulched, first 
 having the earth somewhat raised in mound 
 shape about them, to prevent heaving, and 
 the large ones mulched and staked for at 
 least a couple of years. In regard to the 
 season for planting vines, our success has 
 been as good in fall as in spring planting. 
 Our springs offer many difficulties in 
 transplanting. The season is short; is, 
 with all, a busy and hurried time. Orders 
 must be given early, and trees taken up 
 early, frequently to run the risk of frost 
 in transportation. The soil, especially in 
 our oak openings, is too wet to receive the 
 tree; and late planting is apt to fail, es- 
 pecially if an early summer or dry weather 
 succeeds the spring. In brief, successful 
 
 transplanting depends not so much upon 
 the season as with common sense compli- 
 ance with common sense requisite condi- 
 tions. 
 
 WHAT VARIETIES OF APPLES SHALL WE GROW? 
 This is a question constantly asked by our 
 people, and just as regularly discussed at 
 the annual meetings of the State Horti- 
 cultural Society and by our local horticul- 
 tural societies. Now, were the climate 
 and soil the same in all parts of the State, 
 the answer would be easy ; but as soil and 
 climate differ in a very marked manner 
 within our State borders, it is scarcely 
 practicable at the present for any person 
 or any society to decide upon the question. 
 The safest course, perhaps, is to observe 
 what trees flourish best with that one of 
 our neighbors whose soil, aspect, elevation 
 and general surroundings resemble your 
 own land. You can scarcely err in thus 
 doing, or in thus confining yourself to 
 such varieties. Beware of the vanity of 
 planting "many varieties;" this, though 
 not necessarily a blunder, is too often a 
 disfigurement of the farm. The man of 
 varieties of apple trees is usually the man 
 of varieties of trees only, and seldom of 
 fruit — unless of a more or less worthless 
 character. Of the four hundred or more 
 varieties of apples grown in Wisconsin, 
 there are probably not fourteen adapted 
 to general cultivation, hence it follows 
 that he who undertakes to plant but these 
 fourteen kinds, is almost sure to raise 
 more fruit than he who plants the four 
 hundred kinds. Let it be understood, 
 however, that experimenting on a legiti- 
 mate scale is not meant to be condemned; 
 on the contrary, it is right, and should be 
 followed by all orchardists; but there is a 
 wide difference between growing fruit and 
 experimenting. 
 
 LOW ESPALIER PLAN OF GROWING FRUIT TREES. 
 How is it that this plan is not more gen- 
 erally adopted in Wisconsin? With 
 peaches, both north and west of us, it suc- 
 ceeds admirably. The arms of the peach 
 tree being, as at St. Paul, within a foot 
 of the ground, are more sheltered in sum- 
 mer, and, of course, admit more easily of 
 protection in the winter. In a climate as 
 variable as ours, where frost will occasion- 
 ally occur in every month of the year, 
 where variations in temperature are at all 
 
86 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 times common, and where from extreme 
 heat and the frequency of high winds, it 
 is made a matter of study to train fruit 
 trees near the earth, — one would naturally 
 enough suppose that the Espalier plan of 
 fruit growing was just the one that we 
 should adopt. Besides, in our gardens, 
 where economy of surface is a considera- 
 tion, it has the great advantage — whether 
 you grow one tree, or three, or four — of 
 leaving the vegetable patches free from 
 injurious shade, to say nothing of permit- 
 ting the easy gathering of the fruit, — 
 a matter of no little importance where 
 gardening is carried on for the market, as 
 it implies a saving of time, labor, and loss 
 of fruit by injury in gathering. There is, 
 however, in this part of the country, a 
 prejudice in favor, not of high growth, 
 but of growing after the more natural 
 shape of the tree — most fruit growers sim- 
 ply topping the tree. Experience, how- 
 ever, shows, that neither high growing nor 
 the plan of topping, produce more fruit 
 than the Espalier plan, where the proper 
 varieties are selected, whether these trees 
 are peach, pear, plum or apple. * 
 
 TALKS ON FLO WEES-2. 
 THE ANTIRRHINUM. 
 
 Perhaps some of our readers will recog- 
 nize the well known and deservedly popu- 
 lar snapdragon, under the above high 
 sounding title; but as we are forced to 
 give the proper, as well as the common 
 name of a flower, further apologies will be 
 unnecessary. 
 
 Mr. Vick describes this flower as "gold 
 to the florist." Never was more expressed 
 in fewer words. We consider the antir- 
 rhinum as one of the very best flowers for 
 general cultivation, from the fact that it 
 will do well under almost any circum- 
 stances, and, better still, endure the se- 
 verest winter — flowering better the second 
 season than the first, if treated aright. 
 
 The seed of the antirrhinum, or snap- 
 dragon, can be sown either in a hot-bed, 
 cold-frame or seed-bed. Perhaps the cold 
 frame is the best. The seed being fine, it 
 is advisable to mix it with a small quantity 
 of soil in sowing — an idea worth remem- 
 bering in the sowing of small seeds of any 
 kind — that it may not be scattered too 
 thickly in the drill. There is no more 
 vicious habit than the common one of 
 
 throwing flower-seeds into the ground by 
 the handful, if the expression may be al- 
 lowed. Some few strong growing plants 
 may not be materially injured, if thinned 
 out at once; but the great majority are, 
 and to no small degree either. Cover the 
 seed very lightly, and water the soil thor- 
 oughly every day. As soon as the plants 
 appear, thin out to one inch apart, and by 
 the tenth of May they will be ready for 
 the garden. We speak thus particularly 
 of the growth of this flower because it is 
 sold at high figures by nurserymen, and is 
 in great demand early in the season; 
 whereas, if you follow directions, you will 
 have as fine plants as any florist, and at a 
 tithe of the cost. 
 
 Now, when the plants are set out in the 
 permanent bed, their growth will be very 
 rapid, providing the soil is rich; and flower 
 buds will appear in June, to produce flow- 
 ers which will fade only to be succeeded 
 by others more beautiful, until November. 
 If you wish to winter them over, you 
 should not allow the seed to form — a pre- 
 caution Ave should well heed in the culti- 
 vation of any flowering plant — save the 
 few choice pods required for seed. To 
 make sure, however, it is better to cut the 
 plant down close to the ground, about the 
 twentieth of September (or earlier, rather, 
 as far north as Wisconsin), as by this treat- 
 ment new shoots will at once be developed, 
 the plant become more stocky and robust, 
 and fully able to endure the severest win- 
 ter. But, as it seems hard that plants 
 should thus be cut down in the height of 
 their beauty — our killing frost in this lat- 
 itude generally comes from the first to the 
 tenth of October — we generally set out a 
 plantation by themselves, to treat in this 
 way, while those on display are allowed to 
 bloom along at their own sweet will, to die 
 in the winter, if they so choose. 
 
 As a general rule, it is best to buy the 
 mixed varieties, as the named sorts rarely 
 come true from seed. But, as some of 
 our readers may desire to test the matter 
 for themselves, we will name the Firefly, 
 Galathe, papillionaceum and the purple 
 and white as among the best, and if the 
 seed does not come true to name, you may, 
 as is often the case, chance on something 
 fully as good. 
 
 John N. Dickie. 
 
 Columbus, O. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 87 
 
 TRAINING PLANTS AS STANDARDS. 
 The training of plants suitable to the dec- 
 oration of lawns, walks, &c, particularly 
 for city gardens, has of late years attracted 
 a great deal of attention. And we have 
 often heard sorrow expressed that the 
 standard rose which does so well in Europe 
 would not do as well here. If left out 
 during the winter, the frost invariably 
 splits the stems, and if lifted and potted 
 it seems to injure its flowering qualities, 
 at least such has been my experience in 
 this locality. 
 
 And as we cannot have standard roses, 
 we must look for other plants to take their 
 place. What is wanted in such plants as 
 are susceptible of being trained is stand- 
 ards (for that seems to be the favorite 
 shape) that will flower freely during the 
 summer and are easily lifted in the fall. 
 There are a number of plants possessing 
 these qualities. First in the list comes the 
 lantana, which, for profusion of blossom 
 and variety in color, is one of the most 
 gorgeous plants we have in the garden, 
 and if a little pains are taken to train 
 them at first, they soon amply repay for 
 all the labor spent on them. 
 
 The first lantanas I ever saw trained as 
 standards was at Isaac Buchanan's, in As- 
 toria, L. I., about eight or nine years ago. 
 He had some specimens with 3 or 4 clear 
 stems probably 2 inches in diameter with 
 heads 3 to 4 feet through, planted out 
 each side of his main walk. They were 
 one blaze of flowers, forming one of the 
 most attractive features of his garden. 
 
 As the lantana is not at all fastidious as 
 to soil or situation, it will do at almost any 
 place, if there is plenty of sun, but if 
 large flowers are wished for, the soil can 
 hardly be too rich, blossoming as it does 
 all through the summer. If it has been 
 planted out, its branches should be well 
 shortened back a few days before lifting. 
 
 My plan for forming standards has been 
 to choose only the strongest cuttings when 
 potted off, and train them up to a single 
 stem, carefully pinching back all the side 
 shoots, and when three or four feet in 
 height, allowing them to branch out, and 
 so form symmetrical dwarf trees. 
 
 All the strong growing lantanas readily 
 form good stems, and the weaker varieties 
 such as Sellowii, &c, can be grafted or 
 inarched on some of the stronger kinds. 
 
 Heliotropes can be trained in the same 
 manner, and either plunged or planted out. 
 By cutting them well back in spring and 
 watering them in dry weather, they flower 
 freely all summer, and by lifting and pot- 
 ting them early in fall, and cutting the 
 branches well back, flower freely all the 
 winter. 
 
 Cupheas grown in this manner form 
 splendid specimens, doing very nicely on 
 their own stems, but grafting cuphea pla- 
 tycentra, or any of the small growing 
 kinds on cuphea eminens, forms specimens 
 very quickly. 
 
 Abutilons trained as standards, if the 
 strong branches are kept pinched back all 
 the summer, flower freely all winter. The 
 small growing varieties of mesopotami- 
 cum, or vexillarium, make splendid speci- 
 mens, trained in this manner on their own 
 stems or grafted. 
 
 Vexillarium grafted on Malakoff, and 
 vexillarium variegata grafted on Thomp- 
 sonii. I had a specimen of abutilon vex- 
 illarium thus in an eight-inch pot, with a 
 stem four feet in height, its branches 
 drooping down to the rim of the pot, 
 forming a neat little weeping tree, on 
 which I counted 450 blossoms out at once. 
 It continued to bloom almost without in- 
 termission. Mr. John Sherwood, the well 
 known florist, informed me that he had 
 excluded this plant from his collection, as, 
 on account of its habit, its flowers did not 
 show to advantage, but when he saw my 
 specimen, he thought this plan was the 
 only way to grow it. 
 
 Erythrinas, hibiscus, fuchsia, salvias, 
 aloysia, lemon, orange, oleander, myrtle, 
 ficuses, azaleas, &c, in fact almost any of 
 the hard wooded plants can be trained in 
 this manner, and either grown in pots or 
 planted out in summer, soon form splendid 
 decorative plants, either for the garden or 
 conservatory. — ~W~m. Sutherland, in Gar- 
 deners Monthly. 
 
 BOUQUETS OF TREES, 
 As the French call them, are rarely seen 
 in this country, unless they are of natural 
 origin; but in Europe and parts of Asia, 
 their formation has long since become a 
 recognized art, specimens of which are to 
 be found pretty generally, and some of 
 them on a large and noble scale. Wherever 
 they exist, they form one of the most at- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 tractive features of the landscape. The 
 requirements for success are: a favorable 
 site, the grouping together of such trees 
 as blossom about the same time in the 
 spring — observing the same order for sum- 
 mer flowering, — and lastly, of such trees 
 as bear a handsome colored foliage in the 
 autumn. Much of the effect depends 
 upon so arranging the trees, that the color 
 of the blossoms, or after the blossoms that 
 of the leaves, shall thoroughly harmonize. 
 Much, too, depends upon arranging the 
 trees so that the whole color, in mass, shall 
 strike the eye — not a tree be lost sight of. 
 To secure this, the habit of the tree has 
 to be well known; its rate of growth, as 
 compared with the trees which are to sur- 
 round it must be ascertained; no straggler 
 admitted — no tree that outruns or mars 
 the expression of the group; none that 
 has not a bright leaf — that is not in itself 
 beautiful. The shape of such bouquets is 
 almost immaterial, so long as harmony of 
 outline, of growth and of color, is pre- 
 served. It is also a matter of the first 
 importance that trees which shed their 
 leaves early, should be avoided, as a few 
 leafless trees in the midst of an autumnal 
 bouquet, detract very greatly from its 
 beauty. 
 
 Arboriculturists assert that the native 
 trees of this country, and of this part of 
 the country in particular, for bouquet pur- 
 poses have no rivals in Europe, and are 
 unsurpassed in beauty by the trees of 
 Asia. It would be a great public gain 
 were some men of means and taste to in- 
 troduce these bouquets into our State; or 
 if our agricultural societies owning grounds 
 were to take the initiative, and plant and 
 beautify them. There is not, perhaps, in 
 the whole State, so fine a site for such an 
 ornament as the hill back of the State 
 Fair Grounds, in this city. Twenty acres 
 of its summit would form a living and 
 lasting ornament — a lesson for the whole 
 people to copy from. In the State Fair 
 Grounds, also, many smaller bouquets 
 might be grown at a trifling expense. Its 
 present bare lands are anything but at- 
 tractive. Its location needs beautifying. 
 The Fair Grounds of St. Louis indicate 
 "what such grounds ought to be. It is a 
 place of resort at all times, simply for the 
 reason that at all times it is a beautiful 
 place. Trees, shrubs, flowers, &c, consti- 
 tuting its chief ornaments. H. 
 
 CURRANTS-THEIR ENEMIES. 
 The currant is one of our most healthful 
 and refreshing small fruits. Coming at 
 a season when its pleasant acid seems to re- 
 invigorate a languid system, it is a very 
 acceptable and desirable fruit for family 
 use. 
 
 The plant thrives in all temperate cli- 
 mates, even under a greater variety of 
 circumstances than almost any other fruit. 
 It thrives even under neglect; but none 
 of the fruits more generously reward good 
 careful culture than does the currant, and 
 it ought to receive more attention from all 
 the farming- community. Good clean cul- 
 ture, with a mellow soil around the bushes, 
 kept in good heart by the annual applica- 
 tion of fertilizers, the bushes pruned and 
 thinned, etc., as thoroughly as we cultivate 
 blackberries and raspberries, much greater 
 pleasure and profit would result therefrom 
 than at present. 
 
 That the currant has obstacles to its suc- 
 cessful culture in all sections, I am fully 
 aware ; but what fruit is there grown which 
 has not its obstacles to overcome in its 
 culture? 
 
 The currant has two insect enemies, 
 which are most common and injurious, in 
 the borer and the currant worm, neither of 
 which are native, but imported, or adven- 
 turers from Europe. The borer inhabits 
 the twigs of the bush, boring them length- 
 ways, much after the fashion of the apple- 
 twig borer, so that they either wither away 
 and die, or lop down in an unseemingly 
 manner, or break off with a high wind. 
 As the perfect insect appears- in June, is- 
 suing from the twig it inhabits as a larva, 
 the best way of preventing its running its 
 natural course, and laying a fresh stock of 
 eggs to produce more borers for the suc- 
 ceeding year, is to cut off the twigs 
 infested, in May, or earlier, and burn 
 them. 
 
 Harris, in his "Insects injurious to Veg- 
 etation," describes the moth as of blue- 
 black color; wings transparent, but veined 
 and fringed with black, a broad band 
 across the anterior pair which is more or 
 less tinged with copper-color; the under- 
 side of the feelers, the collar, the edges of 
 the shoulder covers, and three very narrow 
 rings on the abdomen, are golden yellow. 
 The wings expand three-fourths of an 
 inch, or a little more. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 S9 
 
 This moth deposits its eggs singly, soon 
 after assuming its winged, or perfect state, 
 near the buds on the tender shoots, and 
 when they hatch the larva penetrate the 
 stem to the pith, which they devour, en- 
 larging their burrows as they increase in 
 size. If the stem bears fruit, it grows only 
 partially in size, withers and falls, or dries 
 up on the stem. All twigs, with fruit or 
 foliage of a sickly cast, should be cut off 
 and burned as soon as discovered. Proper 
 pruning and attention will prevent any 
 very serious danger from the borer. 
 
 But a more formidable foe appears in 
 the currant worm, which is the larva of an 
 insect somewhat resembling the common 
 house fly, but with a more slim abdomen 
 and body. The eggs of this insect are 
 deposited on the under-side of the leaves, 
 and the worms issue therefrom; and fre- 
 quently, before their presence is suspected, 
 the bush is stripped of foliage. When 
 the worms have attained their growth, they 
 descend into the ground, to undergo their 
 transformation, and the winged insect 
 emerges, to lay a new crop of eggs. An 
 examination of the lower leaves of the 
 bushes where they are laid, and appear 
 first, will reveal the eggs or the young 
 worms. By picking off the worms and a 
 few leaves, and destroying them when but 
 few are found, much injury and future 
 trouble may be prevented; but it has been 
 found, that in order to fight the worm suc- 
 cessfully, in numbers, that the foliage 
 should be dusted, both upper and under- 
 sides, with powdered white hellebore. A 
 few particles of the dust falling on a worm 
 will kill it almost instantly. Care should 
 be used in applying it not to inhale any, 
 as it will have unpleasant effects. Only a 
 light dusting from a dredging-box is 
 needed, and this can best be given when 
 the foliage is a little damp from dew. 
 
 A few moments time, given once a day 
 for a week or two in June and July, will 
 save the crop and the bushes from the 
 ravages of these pests; and, with united 
 general action, without doubt, in a few 
 years the currant worm might be nearly or 
 quite exterminated. 
 
 Is not the currant worth an effort to save 
 it from its insect enemies, when it may be 
 done at so little trouble and expense? 
 
 W. 
 
 Connecticut. 
 
 THE VINTAGE IN NAUVOO. 
 The past two weeks have been busy times 
 with fruit growers. They have been gath- 
 ering a rich crop, one of those that can 
 scarcely be surpassed either in quantity or 
 quality — this last greatly exceeds even the 
 highest expectations. 
 
 A few days more and the vintage will 
 be over. The weather has all along kept 
 remarkably beautiful and warm, affording 
 vintners ample time to secure the bounti- 
 ful harvest. Nauvoo is a sight to be seen 
 at such times, with its golden, vine-clad 
 hills teeming with busy, youthful, mirthful 
 grape-pickers, earnest as bees among flow- 
 ers, and wagon upon wagon, loaded with 
 the rich spoils, moving from the vineyards 
 to the press houses in the city. To a 
 stranger unaccustomed to such sights, the 
 scene must appear full of interest and 
 excitement. 
 
 The must of most grapes weighed 
 heavy and was of beautiful color. We 
 noted Catawba, 90°; Diana, 95°; Iona, 
 110°; Ives, 80°; Concord, 82°; Clinton,97°; 
 Norton Seedling, 105°; Delaware, 108°; 
 Elsinburg, 117°. With the warm weather, 
 fermentation is very active, and the vinos- 
 ity proves as strong as in our best wine 
 years. In quantity, Catawba being yet 
 our preferred wine grape, maintains the 
 lead; Concord comes next, then Clinton, 
 Norton's Virginia and Delaware. Other 
 wines are made, such as Ives Seedling, 
 Diana, Olvey, Iona, etc., but in small quan- 
 tities. 
 
 E. Baxter. 
 
 Golden Hills Vineyard, Nauvoo, 111., \ 
 October 22, 1874. j 
 
 ARE NOT ONIONS TOO MUCH THINNED. 
 By thinning the crop out well you will 
 have large onions, and in fine seasons 
 probably well ripened; but when a plenti- 
 ful crop of good, sound keeping onions is 
 the object, it is a mistake to thin them too 
 much. As a rule, small or moderate-sized 
 onions are the best ripened, and a small 
 onion is just as good in a culinary point 
 of view as a large one, if not better. For 
 instance, small, well-ripened onions are 
 preferred for pickling purposes, and to se- 
 cure these it is the usual practice to sow 
 the silver-skinned variety thickly, and 
 leave them unthinned, and in this way 
 "button onions," as they are called, are 
 produced. By thinning the plants out Ave 
 
00 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 would only get thick necks wholly unsuit- 
 able for the purpose. Long-keeping qual- 
 ities are very much sought after by the 
 onion grower, and it is well known that 
 well ripened samples only will keep, and 
 these are more certainly secured by leaving 
 them pretty thick in the bed. To leave 
 the plants 7 or 8 inches apart, as is gener- 
 ally recommended in gardening books, is 
 a mistake, unless onions for exhibition only 
 are required; but where sound bulbs — say 
 about as broad as the mouth of an ordin- 
 ary tea-cup — will satisfy, leave the plants 
 close enough together to touch each other 
 when they attain that size, that is suppos- 
 ing them to be sown in rows 7 or 8 inches 
 apart, as onions always should be sown, in 
 order to facilitate the cleaning and stirring 
 of the ground. If sown broadcast, then 
 the plants should have a little more room. 
 This is my practice, and a plentiful and 
 sound crop of onions is an important mat- 
 ter with us, where they are used every 
 week by the bushel. When our women 
 thin the crop they have orders to leave 
 them about the length of their forefingers 
 apart, and by autumn the ground has the 
 appearance of being fairly thatched with 
 onions, of a size and quality fit for any 
 culinary purpose. Cottagers who gener- 
 ally have not too much room in their gar- 
 dens often crop thicker than is here recom- 
 mended. Two years ago I saw a bed of 
 yellow Danver onions in a cottage garden 
 that would have astonished thin croppers. 
 The rows were only 5 inches apart, and the 
 plants from 2 to 3 inches, and the bulbs 
 fairlv clustered over one another, and liter- 
 ally covered the ground — very nice sam- 
 ples, and thoroughly ripened; for I kept 
 samples of them till June the following 
 year; and Danver's Yellow, though a first- 
 class onion, is only a second-rate keeper. 
 In order to satisfy oneself on this matter, 
 let anyone leave a thick and a thin row 
 together, and weigh the produce at harvest 
 time. — J. S. W. in the Field. 
 
 For Destroying Insects and Vermin. — The 
 Journal of Chemistry says that hot alum water — 
 two pounds of alum dissolved in three or four 
 quarts of water — will destroy most insects, whether 
 in-door or out-of-door insects. It should be used 
 while nearly boiling hot, to every crevice of the 
 closet, bedsteads, pantry, floor-boards, &c, where 
 vermin are suspected. If used in whitewashing 
 walls or ceiling, it will keep insects away, and 
 cockroaches will not approach paint washed with 
 cool alum water. 
 
 ADVICE TO BEGINNERS IN BEE-KEEPING. 
 
 Cattle, while running wild, and receiving 
 no attention from man, give him but very 
 little towards his support. But after 
 studying their nature, and cultivating it, 
 he has from them, in addition to the hide 
 and tallow, many of our choicest luxuries 
 — milk, butter and cheese. Bees, in their 
 wild state, furnish wax, bee-bread, and a 
 little honey mixed with it. With the 
 same attention to their cultivation that we 
 give our cattle, we can improve their 
 products equally as well. Cattle thrive 
 and grow when running wild; so do bees, 
 in their native state; but such thrift satis- 
 fies only those who are ignorant of what 
 may be done. Such persons maintain 
 that the nearer we follow nature the more 
 certain we are of success; but it must be 
 admitted that this course is not always 
 satisfactory. Fruit will grow without as- 
 sistance from man. We prune, to allow 
 light, heat and circulation of air; our ob- 
 ject is not to prolong the life of the tree, 
 but to promote the production of fruit. 
 So with bees; for the greatest success, 
 attention must be given to a thousand 
 little details that have been too much 
 neglected; and the person who judiciously 
 attends to the greatest number of these 
 will succeed the best. 
 
 Since the introduction of the Italian 
 bees, it has been discovered that they 
 drive off the moth worm much more effec- 
 tively than the black bee. Yet when 
 these are not very strong, considerable 
 inroads are often made upon them, and 
 much time is consumed in mending of 
 mutilated comb, and replacing brood that 
 has been destroyed, making all the differ- 
 ence between a handsome profit and noth- 
 ing at all. In such case, the person who 
 knows nothing of bees, would complain 
 that they did not pay, just as he would if 
 he took no care of his cattle, and expected 
 a first-rate yield of milk, butter and cheese. 
 We should understand that the moth, hav- 
 ing a burthen of eggs to deposit, seeks a 
 place for them and finds it, usually, in 
 some weak hive, and that the young, when 
 they hatch out, will take the sustenance 
 near at hand. Wax-comb is their natural 
 food. The moth is active in a tempera- 
 ture so cool, that bees exposed to it will 
 move but little, but creep close together 
 for mutual warmth, leaving a part of the 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 91 
 
 comb bare. There the eggs of the moth 
 will be deposited. As soon as the weath- 
 er is warm enough for a few days, or the 
 air is warmed by the bees, these eggs 
 hatch. No mature moth lives through the 
 winter. The egg or the worm will live 
 in a moderate temperature, and mature in 
 warm weather. When the female has her 
 eggs ready, they must be deposited some- 
 where. If every hive is strong enough 
 with bees to cover the combs, they will 
 not be allowed inside. In such a case the 
 eggs are left near the entrance of the 
 hive, in some crevice, or where the bees, 
 in passing over them, will attach some of 
 them to the little pellets of pollen on their 
 legs, and, being small, they arc packed 
 with it in the cells. When the hive is 
 warm, there is where they hatch first. 
 Some persons have imagined that the 
 moth, when it can find no other place to 
 deposit eggs, visits flowers covered with 
 farina, and leaves them, trusting to the 
 bees to convey thetn to the hive with the 
 pollen, I have not room to give all the in- 
 dications of this, but I hope closer obser- 
 vation will decide whether it be so or not. 
 In the humid atmosphere of the cluster in 
 the hive the moths' eggs hatch. If there 
 is brood enough to consume most of the 
 pollen as brought in, the worms, as they 
 hatch, are carried out, and little harm is 
 done. The worm, when not removed, 
 commences eating the waxen comb that 
 surrounds it, making a passage large 
 enough for its body, and spinning a silken 
 gallery, inside of which it travels. 
 
 When the colony is moderately strong, 
 and the brood of the bee has changed to 
 chrysalis, and is sealed over, the head of 
 the bee's chrysalis does not touch the 
 sealing by near an eighth of an inch. 
 Over the heads of these bees the worm 
 travels, consuming the sealing and ends of 
 cells, and spinning the gallery, to defend 
 itself from the bees. Now is the time to 
 assist the bees, before the worm has ma- 
 tured. Without the movable comb-hive 
 nothing of the kind can be done. When 
 the worm has its growth, and has des- 
 troyed perhaps a thousand cells, and 
 maimed or killed as many bees, it leaves 
 the combs, and spins a cocoon in which to 
 repose for a fortnight or so, to change 
 from a crawling worm to a winged insect. 
 They may be found in crevices around the 
 bottom or outside, which are often not 
 
 large enough to admit their bodies, though 
 they seem to have no difficulty in biting 
 away any soft wood, till the dimensions 
 suit them. Not one moth ought to be 
 allowed to mature, to lay eggs for a future 
 progeny. Take advantage of their help- 
 lessness now, and destroy them. When 
 allowed to arrive at this state, we have 
 neglected one of the advantages of the 
 movable comb-hive, and of the new meth- 
 od of applying smoke to keep the bees 
 quiet. Examination should have been 
 made long before this. In the middle of 
 some warm day, when most of the bees 
 are at work, quietly take off the top of 
 the hive; have the smoke ready, of course; 
 the day may not be so very fine, and you 
 will find the necessity of using it more; 
 take off boxes, if any are in the way, set 
 them down to prevent crushing the bees; 
 now take out the combs, until you find 
 sealed brood. 
 
 If necessary, put on glasses, to be able 
 to look closely, and if worms are at work, 
 you will see a mark. With the point of a 
 sharp knife pick this off till you come to 
 the worm, which is to be dispatched. 
 Perhaps it is not half its full size yet, and 
 half the mischief it would do is warded 
 off. I expect ladies to do this more effect- 
 ually than those of the other sex, who are 
 in the habit of doing what they think is 
 nobler work. It is a small matter to kill 
 a moth worm; so it is a small matter to 
 save a kernel of wheat. An accumulation 
 of small matters is important. When the 
 hive has but little honey, and the moth's 
 eggs hatch near the bottom of the cell, the 
 worm bites its way through the center of 
 the comb, crowding the young bees out- 
 ward, which does not immediately destroy 
 their life; but the worm, in spinning its 
 gallery, attaches its web to the legs, 
 wings, etc., of the bee, holding it so that 
 it cannot leave the cell when it has ma- 
 tured. They may be seen with their heads 
 protruding, unable to emerge. As such 
 bees are worthless when helped out care- 
 fully, it is well to cut them out, and find 
 and destroy the worm or worms. 
 
 Strong stocks only are safe. I will not 
 repeat now the directions for securing 
 strong stocks, but only add that every 
 worm, small or great, should be thoroughly 
 crushed whenever found, and one point 
 towards strong; stocks is o-ained. — 31. 
 
 7 
 
 Quimby. 
 
92 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 CRANBERRY CULTURE.* 
 The cranberry is found growing 1 wild in 
 many parts of the world. It belongs to 
 the heath family, and the genus vaccinium. 
 The European cranberry (v. oxycoccos), a 
 small mottled berry, grows in souk; parts 
 of England, Scotland, Germany and Swe- 
 den, and on the steppes of Russia; the 
 same species is found in different portions 
 of the United States, but we do not hear 
 that it has been successfully cultivated in 
 either country. The American cranberry 
 (vaccinium macrocarpum), is found in most 
 or all of the States, from Maine to the 
 Carolinas, in Oregon and Washington Ter- 
 ritory at the northwest, in the British 
 Possessions, and even in Alaska. It is 
 much larger than the European, and of 
 greatly superior flavor, — also generally of 
 a darker and brighter color when mature; 
 while growing, it is of a light green, which 
 changes in ripening to a light or dark red, 
 or crimson, and sometimes to a mottled 
 color, the berry being from one-fourth to 
 1 inch or more in diameter. It blossoms 
 in June, and the fruit ripens in September 
 and October. The runners of the plants 
 are from 1 to 8 or more feet in length, and 
 with oblong leaves. It may properly be 
 called an evergreen, though the leaves 
 turn to a brownish hue dining the fall, 
 especially when the vines have been culti- 
 vated, and set in sand. The American 
 cranberry is divided, by growers and wri- 
 ters on this subject, into three leading- 
 varieties: — 1, the Bell cranberry, so called 
 because of its fancied resemblance in 
 shape to a bell; 2, the Bugle cranberry, 
 somewhat resembles a bugle head, is elon- 
 gated, and approaches an oval in shape; 
 3, the Cherry cranberry, is so called from 
 its similarity in size, shape and color, to 
 the cherry. These varieties, too, run to- 
 gether, and produce intermediate ones. 
 
 The plants also differ; some are of a 
 shorter growth than others, and apparent- 
 ly produce more fruit and less growth of 
 plant. These are, of course, to be pre- 
 ferred, but, until recently, little attention 
 has been given to this subject, it being 
 popularly supposed that the wild nature 
 of the cranberry could not be successfully 
 altered to any great extent, for which 
 there has been some foundation in fact, 
 but experiments are now in progress 
 
 -Mist raet from a paper in " The Report of the New Jersey 
 State Agricultural Society." 
 
 which will doubtless add to our knowl- 
 edge on this point, as well as others of 
 interest in regard to cultivating the fruit. 
 No other species of which we know, is so 
 successfully cultivated anywhere, as is this, 
 in the United States, betweeen 38° and 
 45° north latitude — though it said that this 
 limit may be extended several degrees 
 southward in the Alleghanian ranges; and 
 also several northward, on our western 
 coast, on account of the peculiar influence 
 of the ocean currrents upon the climate. 
 A medium between these latitudes is pre- 
 ferable, though there are but compara- 
 tively few localities where all the requi- 
 sites of soil, sand, water and climate are 
 to be found; and less land is well adapted 
 to their growth than to almost any other 
 fruit. These requisites, however, are be- 
 lieved, by careful observers, to exist in 
 greater perfection in southern New Jersey 
 than in any other State or part of the 
 world. The first attempts to cultivate 
 this fruit, of which we have an knowledge, 
 were made by Captain Henry Hall, of 
 Mass., on Cape Cod, in the year 1812, 
 sixty-two years ago. I have recently 
 learned, through his family, that the orig- 
 inal plants last year yielded a fair crop, 
 as they have hardly ever failed to do since 
 they first came into bearing. His towns- 
 men, for a while, ridiculed his efforts, but 
 seeing his success, soon began to experi- 
 ment themselves, and with good results. 
 Many difficulties, however, were encoun- 
 tered, and it was nearly forty years before 
 the cranberry was generally cultivated at 
 the Cape, which locality for a time almost 
 entirely supplied our markets. B. F. 
 Small, Esq., now of Orange, in this State, 
 related to me some time since, that he 
 remembered that when his father, Captain 
 Z. H. Small, of Harwich, Mass., one of 
 the earliest and most successful cultiva- 
 tors, after several years' efforts, succeeded 
 in getting a crop of 100 barrels, it was 
 thought that he had indeed overstocked 
 the market, and it was with some little 
 difficulty that he disposed of the fruit at 
 low prices, much lower than growers have 
 generally since received, notwithstanding 
 that the production has increased a hund- 
 red fold. The best locations for the 
 growth of the cranberry are peat bottoms 
 with adjoining banks of pure sand (for 
 covering the plantation before the plants 
 are set), and so situated that they can be 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 93 
 
 completely flowed by living- streams dur- 
 ing the winter, as well as thoroughly 
 drained at other seasons of the year. 
 Many growers have a decided preference 
 for cedar swamps, and, although other 
 bottoms are sometimes perhaps equally as 
 good, they are considered, when favorably 
 located, as rather the surest, though more 
 expensive to work. Cranberries grow 
 well, also, on good "savanna," which is a 
 mixture of peat and sand — but not so 
 abundantly, nor do they last so long as on 
 peat bottoms. The recommendation of 
 the late Prof. Agassiz, to avoid the drift 
 formation, or that portion of it consisting 
 of rocks not in place, gravel, clay, loam, 
 &c, has been found correct in practice. 
 Many experiments have been made on 
 this kind of land, but nearly all of them 
 have proved failures. Dr. Cook, our State 
 Geologist, states that even muddy water 
 running over the vines is extremely detri- 
 mental, if not fatal to their growth. In 
 preparing a plantation, the surface must 
 first be cleared of the wood, timber or 
 brush; then it must be "turfed," — that is 
 the surface soil and roots must be taken 
 off with a hoe made for that purpose; the 
 next step is to ditch it, by clearing out the 
 main water-course, and digging side drains 
 running into it — generally in deep bottom 
 lands, about one and a half or two rods 
 apart, but the distance should be varied 
 in accordance with the nature of the 
 ground. The floats removed in turfing 
 are used for leveling up low places where 
 needed, so that the surface may be slight- 
 ly rounded between the side drains; they 
 are also used for building the dam, which 
 is constructed with two walls of the floats, 
 filled in with sand, a ditch having been 
 first cut between them to the sand beneath; 
 the solid filling makes it water tight. 
 
 After turfing and ditching, peat bottoms 
 must be sanded to the depth of from 4 to 
 G inches with pure sand, without mixture 
 of clay or loam, and it should be taken at 
 a sufficient depth below the surface to 
 avoid seeds. The silex imparted to the 
 plant from the sand materially promotes 
 its productiveness, and also tends to pre- 
 vent the growth of weeds. Many experi- 
 ments have been made to ascertain the 
 proper depth to which the sand should be 
 applied; where little or none is used, the 
 vines grow long and slender, and do not 
 fruit so well as when sanded. While 
 
 some have thought 2 inches sufficient, 
 others have tried a thickness of 12 or 
 more, and with good results; though with 
 this amount the plants make a slower 
 growth, on account of the length of time 
 required for the rootlets to reach the peat 
 beneath, from which they draw their sup- 
 port. Most cultivators, however, have 
 concluded that the above depth (from 4 to 
 G inches) is about right for bottom lands 
 when prepared, though it should be varied 
 somewhat according to the nature of the 
 soil (deep muck requiring most), and thai 
 re-sanding every few years with a layer of 
 from 1 to 2 inches is preferable to using a 
 much larger quantity at first. The sand 
 is generally obtained in the banks adjoin- 
 ing the edges of the swamps, from which 
 it is brought, if a short distance, in wheel- 
 barrows, and if a long one, by means of a 
 dump car and portable track. In some 
 localities, however, it can be more easily 
 obtained by sinking pits to the layer be- 
 neath the peat — when the latter is not too 
 deep — from which it is thrown up and 
 spread over the surface. The pits are 
 filled up with floats, &c, allowed to settle, 
 and then covered with sand. After sand- 
 ing, the vines are set in rows about 20 
 inches apart, and but a moderate quantity 
 of vine should be used for each hill. This 
 is the usual method, though the distance 
 is often varied either way. Mr. Gowdy 
 has, from recent experiments, concluded 
 that the vines should not be set over a foot 
 apart, and that the additional cost of the 
 vines, &c, will be more than paid by ear- 
 lier and larger crops, as well as by the 
 matting of the vines in much less than the 
 usual time — which keeps down other veg- 
 etation, and saves labor and expense in 
 cleaning. 
 
 Plantations should be well flowed with 
 water from December until May. The 
 water fertilizes the vines, protects them 
 from frost, and is the only reliable remedy 
 known for the vine worm, which is one of 
 our worst enemies. It is thought that the 
 warmth of the water, where held on the 
 vines to the 10th or loth of May, destroys 
 the eggs deposited on the leaves of tin; 
 previous year; hence the advantage not 
 only of late, but thorough flowing, as the 
 portions not flowed often constitute a 
 hatching ground for the worms, from 
 which they spread to the adjoining vines, 
 though it has been noticed that they ap- 
 
91 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 parently prefer not to go much beyond 
 the water line, if they can find sufficient 
 vines that have not been flowed. It is 
 best to keep the ground free from weeds 
 and grass for two or three years after the 
 vines are set; the ditches should also be 
 cleaned of the sand, &c, which frequently 
 runs into them. This costs usually from 
 10 to 20 dollars a year per acre, but if 
 carefully done on well located and proper- 
 ly prepared land, the expense is after- 
 wards, as a general thing-, comparatively 
 slight, as the vines should, by that time, 
 have possession of the ground, and pre- 
 vent, to a great extent, the growth of 
 other vegetation — and with an occasional 
 re-sanding to the depth of from 1 to 2 
 inches, which produces a new growth, the 
 plantation will last a great number of 
 years — in fact, indefinitely — for, as before 
 mentioned, the original vines set on Cape 
 Cod more than sixty years ago, last fall 
 produced a fair crop. Some growers, es- 
 pecially on the "Cape," occasionally mow 
 off the old vines, in order to obtain a new 
 and vigorous growth, and savanna planta- 
 tions have been renewed, by carefully 
 plowing them up, in which case, the vines 
 come up between the furrows, and spread 
 over the whole surface. When either of 
 the last mentioned methods are practised, 
 there is generally a loss of one or two 
 crops, which there need not be by the first 
 one, if the work has not been too long 
 delayed, so that there is a large growth of 
 old wood. It may be said, however, in 
 favor of mowing, that where the vines are 
 good, and there is a demand for them for 
 setting, they will often sell for as much as 
 a crop of fruit, or perhaps more. The 
 berries ripen in September and October. 
 The "picking season" generally commen- 
 ces about the 10th or 15th of September, 
 lasts from four to six weeks, and furnishes 
 employment to thousands of women, girls, 
 boys, and sometimes men. A good plant- 
 ation at this season, with its rich load of 
 fruit, presents a beautiful as well as a 
 lively scene. Good pickers will generally 
 pick about three bushels per day, though 
 some have picked as high as four or five, 
 and even more. Many of the younger 
 ones, however, will pick but one bushel, 
 so that in a force of fifty or one hundred 
 pickers, they generally average, in good 
 work, about two bushels per day. The 
 berries are generally emptied from the 
 
 pickers' baskets or boxes into crates or 
 barrels, in which they are carted to the 
 place where stored. For storing, a dry, 
 well ventilated cellar is generally prefer- 
 red, and crates are better than barrels, 
 because more conveniently filled, and if 
 strips are placed between them, as they 
 always should be, a good opportunity is 
 given for the circulation of air, and it is 
 thought that they will keep better. The 
 berries are then shipped principally to the 
 great cranberry markets of New York and 
 Philadelphia, many of them without re- 
 sorting, though the most careful growers 
 now re-sort and screen their fruit, if kept 
 long after picking, before shipment; it 
 should also be carefully looked over when 
 picked, and the packages well filled just 
 before shipping, both to give satisfactory 
 measure and because they carry better in 
 full packages. The standard packages are 
 barrel, bushel and peck* The barrel 
 adopted is the same as the standard barrel 
 of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' As- 
 sociation, which secures uniformity when 
 their fruit comes into competition with 
 ours. It is made of 28^- inch staves, so 
 jointed as to give a bilg-e of 7 -J- inches; 
 heads lGf inches in diameter, and set in 
 staves so as to leave the inside measure- 
 ment 25f- inches. The finished barrel is 
 about 284- inches in height, and contains 
 three bushels rounded measure. The 
 bushel crate measures 8f- inches by 12 
 inches by 22 inches, inside, exclusive of 
 the middle partition; contains 2,211 cubic 
 inches, and holds one bushel, rounded 
 measure, just one-third as much as the 
 barrel. The peck crate, or box, measures 
 6 inches by 8f inches by 1 1 inches ; con- 
 tains 522f cubic inches, and has one-quar- 
 ter the capacity of the bushel box. The 
 " round " in all consists of 34- quarts per 
 bushel, in addition to "struck" measure. 
 The packages hold just the quantities 
 mentioned when well filled, as packages 
 of cranberries should always be for ship- 
 ping. 
 
 But little fruit can be expected until 
 the plants are three or four years of age, 
 when they should begin to bear paying- 
 crops, which should increase yearly for 
 two or three years, when they are said to 
 be of full bearing age, and with the atten- 
 tions mentioned, on well selected and 
 properly prepared land, should last indef- 
 initely. An average of 100 bushels per 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 95 
 
 acre for a plantation, though not an im- 
 mense yield, is considered a very good 
 one. Many have exceeded it, but many 
 more have fallen below; and, probably, an 
 average crop for all classes of land in a 
 good season would not exceed 50 bushels 
 to 75 bushels per acre. Probably the best 
 crop on record for 1 acre, was that of 1 
 acre of the celebrated oxycoccos planta- 
 tion of Mr. N. H. Bishop, of Manahawkin, 
 in 1872, from which was sold 423 bushels 
 for 1,809 dollars gross, though parts of 
 acres have yielded at higher rates than the 
 above. A few rods of one of our own 
 plantations yielded, during the past season 
 at the rate of over 700 bushels per acre, 
 and larger rates still are reported for 1 or 
 2 rods; but these, of course, are excep- 
 tional cases. Single crops, however, have 
 often paid fifty per cent., and even more, 
 on the original cost. Some, however, 
 think that such profits will not again be 
 realized, and it cannot be denied that many 
 have lost money in the business. Some 
 plantations have proved failures, and oth- 
 ers, doubtless, will do so, though most of 
 them occur on poorly selected land, on 
 which the work has been imperfectly done 
 at first, and afterwards neglected. No 
 ground should be prepared for cranberries 
 unless it can be completely flowed, and 
 those engaging in the business should 
 either have a practical knowledge of it 
 themselves, and give it their personal at- 
 tention, or first secure the services of some 
 one who has — -for the capital invested is 
 frequently lost either through ignorance 
 or carelessness. 
 
 Food for Animals. — The London Agricultu- 
 ral Gazette, in reporting the experiments of the 
 German agricultural chemists upon this subject, 
 calls attention to some very useful facts for the 
 farmer. Among them, that green fodder, being 
 younger than when cut for hay, contains more al- 
 bumenous or flesh-making (muscle forming) mat- 
 ter. The cutting of fodder a few days later or 
 earlier makes a great difference in its nutritive 
 properties. Hence, fodder should be cut as soon as 
 blossoming, in general. Every day's delay adds to 
 the woody fibre of the plant, but not to its digesti- 
 bility or nourishing quality. The digestibility of 
 the plant greatly depends upon its age. Seeds 
 have a higher nourishing power than green fodder, 
 and the better the food the more easily digested. 
 A point in feeding, is, not only to have good, that 
 is, nutritious food, but food easy to digest, as is the 
 case with oil-cake, which meets both of these re- 
 quirements. L.ofG. 
 
 NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
 
 Something New (if true) under the Sun. — 
 M. Paraf claims to have discovered that by the ap- 
 plication to the soil of chloride of calcium, which 
 attracts and condenses moisture, we are able to do 
 without rain, and that, by experiment, he has been 
 able even to irrigate land by this process. When our 
 next drouth comes, may the heavens shed upon our 
 soil chloride of calcium. It is hard to imagine 
 any other source for an irrigating supply, or agent 
 for its application. 
 
 Varnish on Carriages, according to The 
 Hub, a journal devoted to the carriage trade, is 
 spoiled by cracking, or entirely destroyed, by am- 
 nion inl gas arising from stable manure or decayed 
 vegetables. The ammonia thus arising, combines- 
 with the oil of the varnish and forms a soapy film, 
 which, every time the carriage is washed, is dis- 
 solved and removed, leaving a fresh surface of the 
 varnish to be again acted upon in the same man- 
 ner, until the varnish disappears altogether. This 
 hint is for those who keep their carriages in the 
 barn, where vegetables are often kept, or worse 
 still, in the stable, where manure accumulates more 
 or less. 
 
 Disintegration of Tin. — If there was any 
 analogy between man and metal, railway traveling 
 in our climate would be sadly demoralizing to hu- 
 manity — converting us into dust by another .and a 
 newer method than those for which our railroads 
 have hitherto been so notorious. A journey froni 
 Rotterdam to Moscow, last winter, converted solid 
 blocks of tin into powder, by the action of cold and 
 vibration. 
 
 A New Plant for the manufacture of textile 
 fabrics, says the London Lancet , has recently been 
 introduced from North America into Germany, and 
 appears to flourish. It belongs to the witicaria or 
 nettle tribe, and grows on the slope of the Alle- 
 ghany mountains. The preparation of its fibres is- 
 more easy and less costly than that of flax. 
 
 To Save Breakage in China and Glass. — 
 The first care should be to anneal it. This should 
 be done by the manufacturer, but as glass and china 
 are sold to be broken, it is a process neglected or 
 done imperfectly. It is easily effected, however, 
 by placing the ware, whether china or glass, in 
 cold water, which must be heated gradually to a 
 boiling point, and then allowed to cool off very 
 slowly — the cooling process occupying several 
 hours. This is the seasoning process, and effectu- 
 ally prevents the ware cracking and breaking by 
 the alternation of temperature, to which it is con- 
 
96 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 staritly exposed when in use. Glass, above all, 
 needs this preparation before using, and no article 
 so much so as our chimney glasses, for in our ex- 
 perience, these are of all glasses the most suicidal, 
 and yet, perhaps, the most easily saved. A breath 
 destroys them, and a boil preserves. 
 
 Cremation Progresses in Germany. — Eighty- 
 two cities have their cremation societies, and the 
 furnaces are so constructed as to reduce the body to 
 white ashes in the space of an hour and a half, at 
 a cost of about seventy-five cents. A new process, 
 however, threatens to supercede the old one. It 
 consists of placing the body in a trough made of 
 cement, and afterward filled with liquid cement, so 
 as to completely surround the body. As this liquid 
 cement hardens, it dries the body into a preserva- 
 ble mummy, when the blocks can be placed away, 
 the one upon the other, like blocks of stone. 
 
 The Logograph, according to the Popular 
 Science Review, is an invention for writing by the 
 voice. It is said to be a very ingenious contrivance, 
 sufficiently perfected to make it seem possible that 
 the articulations of the human voice can record 
 themselves on paper. 
 
 Science After the Murderer. — Dr. Rich- 
 ardson, of the University of Pennsylvania, in his 
 late investigations of blood-stains, has, it seems, 
 shown conclusively that it is an easy matter not 
 only to distinguish the stain of human blood from 
 that of the lower animals, but also the difference 
 of the blood-stain of one lower animal from another. 
 
 The Papyrograph, as described by the Boston 
 journal of Chemistry, is an ingenious apparatus 
 for copying letters. About three hundred impres- 
 sions can be taken from each original, and these 
 •can be worked at an average rate of five a minute. 
 
 A New Source of Leather. — The same 
 journal states that tripe, intestines, and other ani- 
 mal membranes are now being converted into 
 glove-making purposes, and may also be tanned or 
 curried. 
 
 HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 
 
 A Handsome Hedge. — The Marquis of Lon- 
 donderry has a hedge of fuchsia globoso 200 yards 
 long. 
 
 Gumming in Fruit Trees. — The remedy for 
 this disease is the scarification of the bark — the 
 making of longitudinal incisions in the bark. 
 
 Earth Worms in Pots. — According to Vick's 
 Floral Guide, ten drops of carbolic acid to a pint 
 of water, will kill off the worms and do no injury 
 to the plants. 
 
 Salt for Asparagus. — The best time, says 
 The Garden, to salt the asparagus bed, is in the 
 spring. From three to seven pounds per square 
 yard may be used. 
 
 Rooting of Cuttings in Coke Dust. — Soft 
 wooded cuttings may be struck with greater cer- 
 tainty in charcoal or coke dust than in the usual 
 way, in sand, says The Garden. 
 
 The Old Red Fuchsias, in Ireland, assume 
 the proportion of trees, reaching to the top of the 
 chimneys, and occasionally hiding the dwelling 
 and converting it into a bower. 
 
 Horticultural Education. — In Sweden, gar- 
 dening forms a part of the educational system. 
 Upwards of 2000 schools have gardens for planting 
 attached to them, and the teachers of elementary 
 schools are obliged to learn gardening. 
 
 Stimulating Seeds. — Camphor water is being 
 used by florists to stimulate flower seeds, and un- 
 der its influence seeds will germinate that are five 
 or six years passed their ordinary time for germin- 
 ating, and all seeds are greatly quickened in their 
 germination. 
 
 Floral, Poetic and Polite. — The lady visit- 
 ors of the public gardens in Paris, very like the 
 ladies of other pretty places, or the pretty ladies of 
 other places, are in the habit of "picking and 
 stealing" the flowers. Consequently, a notice, or 
 rather an appeal of the most graceful character, 
 has been posted for their attention, viz.: the flowers 
 who have crinolines are beseeched to take pity 
 upon those which have them not. 
 
 Early Potatoes for the London Market 
 are planted on the highest and lightest ground that 
 the farm commands, as in such soil the crop is not 
 only earlier, but the potato of the best quality. 
 They are planted in rows two and a half feet apart, 
 and about eighteen inches set from set in the rows. 
 
 Ants versus Caterpillars. — The Belgian 
 official journal advocates the encouragement of 
 ants in the garden, while we are equally 7 concerned 
 in devising ways and means to get rid of them. It 
 claims that the caterpillar has no enemy so per- 
 sistent and relentless as the ant. A cabbage gar- 
 den infested witli caterpillars, was freed of them at 
 once by the introduction of the ant. The ants 
 seized them by the head, and left heaps of them 
 dead in a single day. So valuable are its services 
 considered in Germany, that it is protected by law. 
 It is protected as a friend not only to the garden, 
 but to the forest, climbing as it does the highest 
 trees, and destroying any quantity of noxious 
 insects. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 113 
 
 ceased. Yet a third band of hired attendants suc- 
 ceed, actors reciting appropriate sentiments from 
 familiar poets, their chief also exhibiting in dumb 
 show the actions which made the dead man famous. 
 But who are these who follow now? Have the 
 dead arisen to do him honor? There, large as life, 
 walks the long line of noble ancestors whose blood 
 flowed in the dead man's veins. Waxen masks, 
 modeled on the busts which stand in the great hall, 
 cover the faces of those selected to personate the 
 heroes; each wears the robe he would have worn 
 this day if the grave had given him up. It seems 
 in truth as if all the mighty ones of his race, gen- 
 erals and statesmen, heroic names of Rome, have 
 arisen to lead their descendant with welcome to his 
 resting place among them. Old stories of wars in 
 Apulia and Samnium, with Gaul and Carthagenian, 
 crowd on the beholder's mind. There goes he who 
 was proudly styled "African," the conqueror of 
 Hannibal, "Great Scipio's self, that thunderbolt of 
 war." There, he who acquired a corresponding 
 title from his victories in Asia against Antiochus. 
 There, he who blent the elegance of Greek learning 
 with the manly valor of Rome, the stern patriot 
 who approved the slaying of his own usurping 
 kinsmen, to whom a master-pen has lately given 
 fresh immortality as the friend of Lwlius. And 
 many more, famous of old, and living still in the 
 memories of men, mingle in this strange procession 
 where the immortal dead do honor to their latest 
 son. 
 
 Hitherto the procession has been wholly profes- 
 sional, not to say theatrical, in character. But 
 those who come next recall the gazer to everyday 
 life. For these are they who late were slaves, 
 whom the liberality of the deceased has made free. 
 Vulgar minds may ostentatiously manumit by will 
 large numbers of slaves, swelling their funeral 
 pomp at their heir's expense; but where no such 
 sordid motive has directed the enfranchisement, 
 who so fit to be there as they? Who have better 
 right to walk, as they now walk, immediately before 
 the bier? 
 
 In front of the bier they bear tables, inscribed 
 with the deeds of the deceased, the laws he carried, 
 the battles he fought. Captive banners and trophies 
 of war are displayed; there is a map of some un- 
 known land he conquered. All Rome may see to- 
 day, if there be one here who needs the telling, 
 how great a man is now being borne through the 
 city he loved so well. Behind the bier come kins- 
 men and friends, women as well as men. The 
 latter are dressed in black, as are all the profes- 
 sional assistants ; the women wear white, a custom 
 which, being somewhat novel in Rome, elicits a 
 good deal of criticism. Bareheaded walk the 
 women, with disheveled hair and hands that beat 
 their breasts; the male relatives, with an equal 
 inversion of ordinary habits, have their heads 
 closely veiled. Innumerable the crowd that fol- 
 lows. All Rome's best are there. The Senate 
 have turned out to a man. Many who barely kneAv 
 the deceased, follow among his friends. Many 
 join the procession out of mere curiosity, but most 
 from a desire to pay this tribute of respect to one 
 whom they have so long honored from afar. 
 
 And now they have reached the Forum. In the 
 midst of this great space, the Westminster of Rome, 
 the procession halts. The ancestors of the deceased 
 
 seat themselves, in solemn semi-circle, on the ivory 
 chairs of the magistrates. In their midst his 
 nephew, Publius, well known for his oratorical 
 powers, ascends the rostra, and pronounces a long 
 and labored panegyric over him who lies deaf and 
 unheeding before him. He tells how his youth 
 was devoted to study and martial exercise, not 
 wasted on luxury and riotous living; how his man- 
 hood was spent in fighting Rome's battles abroad, 
 and upholding order at home — an easy task now 
 the might of the emperor has crushed all factious 
 sedition. He speaks of his piety toward the gods, 
 his love for his wife and children, his zeal on behalf 
 of clients, his kindness to all with whom he was 
 brought into contact. In everything, he says, he 
 lived worthy of his high lineage, worthy of those 
 ancestors whose effigies are present beside him. 
 And so the speaker is led back to trace the grand 
 line of ancestors, and in kindling words reminds 
 his hearers of all the Scipios had done for Rome. 
 What an Athenian audience felt when their orators 
 recalled the names of those who fought at Mara- 
 thon, that surely must a Roman audience have felt 
 when they were reminded of the glories of the 
 Scipios. 
 
 The bier is taken up, the procession is marshaled 
 again. Through the bustling trees, out through 
 the city gates, the famous Porta Capena, out on to 
 the Appian Way, streams the long line of mourn- 
 ers. At the gate many generally leave the proces- 
 sion, but to-day they have but a short way further 
 to go, for the tomb of the Scipios is not far beyond 
 the gate, on the side of the Appian Way. The 
 crowd, therefore, pours out almost without diminu- 
 tion, till they reach a cleared spot not far from the 
 tomb, whereon a great pile has been erected. Huge 
 logs of wood form the body of the structure, inter- 
 spersed with various inflammable substances; it 
 stands four-square, like some gigantic altar to the 
 unseen powers. A row of cypress trees, trans- 
 planted for the occasion, throws a gloomy shadow 
 across it. The bier is placed on the top, with all 
 its splendid belongings. Ointments of the costliest 
 description, spikenard and frankincense, and all 
 the strongest and sweetest smelling unguents, are 
 plentifully poured on the pile; Palestine and Syria, 
 Arabia, C'ilicia, have been laid under contribution. 
 All is now ready, and as Lucius Scipio steps for- 
 ward, the women raise a piercing wail. You may 
 see the tears in the young man's eyes, for his head 
 is turned to us and away from the pile, as with 
 trembling hand he applies a lighted torch. The 
 flame mounts skywards with immense rapidity ; 
 huge swirls of smoke, pungent, yet fragrant, sweep 
 to leeward. As the fire reaches the body, the wail- 
 ing of the women is redoubled. The men stand 
 by in silence. No funeral games are exhibited to- 
 day during the burning; nor do his relatives follow 
 the somewhat barbarous custom of throwing in 
 armor, clothes and valuables, to be consumed in the 
 flames. The great crowd stands well-nigh motion- 
 less, in genuine grief. 
 
 It does not take very long to reduce the whole to 
 ashes. The pitch and resin, the rich unguents, all 
 make the fire fierce and brief. A heap of mould- 
 ering embers is soon all that is left. The crowd 
 melts away, while the relatives perform the re- 
 maining rites. The embers are quenched with 
 wine, and a solemn invocation addressed to the 
 
114 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 s oul of the departed. Those officiating then wash 
 *heir hands with pure water and proceed to gather 
 the white calcined bones, easily distinguished from 
 the dark wood-ashes which cover them. These 
 precious relics are solemnly sprinkled, first with 
 wine, then with milk, dried with a linen cloth, and 
 deposited in an alabaster urn. Perfumes are min- 
 gled with the ashes. The urn is then carried to the 
 tomb, and deposited in the niche prepared for it. 
 All round the walls you see similar urns, each in 
 its own niche, each inscribed with a simple me- 
 mento, like the inscriptions on our tombstones. 
 All being now over, the family take their departure, 
 with pious ejaculations and prayers for calm re- 
 pose — "sweet be the place of thy rest!" Outside 
 the tomb the priest sprinkles each of them thrice 
 with pure water, to remove the pollution of the 
 dead body, which was recognized by all nations of 
 antiquity; and then dismisses them with the well- 
 known fornmla, Ilicet, ye may depart. 
 
 The family and relatives of the deceased make 
 their way quietly home along the Appian Way, 
 which is lined for a considerable distance with 
 tombs, like a suburban road with villas, and 
 through the crowded streets, which have now re- 
 sumed their usual aspect. On reaching the house 
 they will be purified afresh by water and fire, being 
 sprinkled with the one and made to step over the 
 other. For nine days, they will then remain apart, 
 mourning for the dead. On the expiry of that 
 time a sacrifice will be offered to the gods below, 
 and a great funeral feast will be given, at which all 
 the guests will be dressed in white. Games, it may 
 be, and shows of gladiators, will then be exhibited, 
 food will be distributed to the populace. After 
 that the family will return to their ordinary avoca- 
 tions: the men will not resume their mourning 
 garb; the women will wear theirs for some time 
 longer, the widow, perhaps, retaining hers for a 
 year. But not for long will the dead man be for- 
 gotten ; at intervals they will go to the tomb on the 
 Appian Way, bearing flowers and perfumes to lay 
 beside the ashes of the dear one gone. Lamps will 
 be lighted there, to relieve the sepulchral gloom. 
 And on stated occasions commemorative feasts will 
 be held, where the family and friends will assem- 
 ble, dressed in white, to do honor to the memory of 
 the departed. 
 
 Such was a funeral in the old days of Rome. 
 Of course only those of great men could be cele- 
 brated with all this pomp and splendor. The un- 
 dertakers distinguished several kinds of funerals, 
 and called each by an appropriate name. The ob- 
 sequies of the poor were generally performed at 
 night; and it seems probable that many bodies 
 might be burned together on one common pyre. 
 In the case of young persons, many of the cere- 
 monies were dispensed with, and infants were not 
 burnt at all, but simply interred. Stringent but 
 unavailing laws were made to repress the extrava- 
 gance of funerals. The Twelve Tables allowed 
 only ten musicians and three hired mourners, and 
 forbade throwing perfume in the flames, or using 
 gold in any way, it being even thought necessary 
 to explain by a special statute that this prohibition 
 did not apply to corpses whose teeth were stopped 
 with gold. But so long as cremation was the pop- 
 ular form of burial, these sumptuary laws were in 
 vain. With the introduction of Christianity the 
 
 practice of cremation died out, and by the fourth 
 century seems to have become quite extinct. This 
 may have been partly owing to the Jewish origin 
 of Christianity, but is probably in greater measure 
 due to the widespread belief in an immediate 
 Second Advent. Many, if not all, of the early 
 Christians believed that the bodies which they 
 committed to the earth would be raised and purified 
 from the stains of mortality in the day of the Res- 
 urrection. It need hardly be said that this is in 
 direct opposition to the teaching of First Corin- 
 thians, chap, xv., where we are emphatically told 
 that we do not know with what bodies the dead 
 shall be raised. The experience of ages has taught 
 men the true meaning of that sublime passage. 
 Swift and sure is the decay of our mortal vestment, 
 whether we commit it to the devouring flame or to 
 the corrupting earth. A hundred years hence it 
 will not matter which we chose. The atoms which 
 have compose our body will have dissolved in a 
 thousand directions, will have taken new forms, 
 will have become part, it may be, of other organ- 
 isms, That which we now call our body is made 
 up of what in bygone ages may have been part of 
 the body of our forefather. Nature is economic of 
 her materials, and uses them many times. But the 
 spiritual body which we look to receive is different 
 from the natural body. In the Resurrection they 
 neither marry nor are given in marriage. The 
 distinctions of mortality are lost: we have borne 
 the image of the earthy, but then we shall bear the 
 image of the heavenly. It doth not yet appear 
 what we shall be; but at least we shall not be shut 
 any more in this prison of the senses, hampered 
 and fettered by bodily conditions. Secure in this 
 belief, we contemplate without fear the inevitable 
 dissolution of our decaying flesh ; we watch its 
 atoms lost in the ocean of matter, as our breath is 
 lost in the ocean of air; for the physical laws by 
 which this kaleidoscopic whirl of atoms and organ- 
 isms is governed are but expressions of the will of 
 Him wlni lias promised an immortality of joy, nor 
 hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive 
 what He hath prepared for them that love Him. — 
 Macmillaris Magazine. 
 
 NOTIONS ABOUT THE MOON. 
 
 Men have had strange notions about earth's beau- 
 tiful satellite. They have worshipped it as a god- 
 dess. sung of it as the birthplace of dreams, hon- 
 ored it as the abiding place of beneficent spirits 
 empowered to visit earth, to aid good men and 
 punish evil-doers. Some have held the moon to 
 be the first home of humanity, the Paradise lost 
 by Eve's transgression ; others have believed it to 
 be the place to which the souls of men ascend 
 after death. Byron wrote: 
 
 Sweet Dian's crest 
 Floats through the azure air, an island of the blest; 
 
 and a modern poetess has avowed her faith that 
 the wretched find rest in Luna's serene regions. 
 Many wise men of old believed the moon to be a 
 world full of life, Pythagoras boldly asserting it 
 had its seas and rivers, its mountains, plains and 
 woods, its plants far lovelier than the fiowers of 
 earth, its animals fifteen times the size of those 
 familiar to mundane eyes, ruled over by men of 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 115 
 
 larger growth and higher mental faculties than 
 those of earthly mould. 
 
 Leaving philosophers to speculate as to whether 
 the moon was or was not the home of creatures 
 more or less akin to humankind, unphilosophical 
 folk agreed that the moon had one inhabitant at 
 hast, one of their own race, whose form was pal- 
 pable to all who had eyes to see. How he attained 
 his elevated position was in this wise. While the 
 children of Israel sojourned in the wilderness, a 
 man was detected gathering sticks upon the Sab- 
 bath day, whereupon he was taken without the 
 camp, and stoned until he died. Not satisfied with 
 this exemplary punishment of the offender by his 
 fellow wanderers, the Vox Populi condemned the 
 unhappy Sabbath breaker to a perpetual purgatory 
 in the moon, wherein he may be seen, bearing his 
 bundle of sticks upon his back, ever climbing and 
 climbing without gaining a step; accompanied by 
 a dog, faithful in worse than death, to a master 
 whom an old English song writer pictures shudder- 
 ing in constant fear of a fall, and shivering with 
 cold as the frosty air bites his back through his 
 thorn-rent clothes. Shakespeare's Stephano found 
 Caliban ready enough to believe he was the man 
 in the moon, dropped from the skies to become 
 king of the enchanted island: "I have seen thee 
 in her, and I do adore thee; my mistress showed 
 me thee, and thy dog, and thy bush." In Germany 
 the story runs that, many ages ago, an old man 
 went into the woods to cut sticks upon a Sunday 
 morning. Having collected as many as he could 
 carry, he slung the bundle upon a stick, shouldered 
 it, and trudged homewards. He had not got far 
 upon his way ere he was stopped by a handsome 
 gentleman dressed in his Sunday best, who inquired 
 if he was aware it was Sunday on earth, when 
 everyone was bound to rest from labor. " Sunday 
 on earth or Monday in heaven, it is all the same 
 to me!" was the irreverent reply. "So be it," 
 said his questioner; "bear, then, your fagot for- 
 ever; and since you do not value Sunday on earth, 
 you shall have an everlasting Moon-day in heaven 
 — standing for eternity in the moon as a warning 
 to Sabbath breakers ! " As he pronounced sentence 
 the stranger vanished, and before the wood-gatherer 
 could apologize for his rudeness, he was seized by 
 invisible hands, and borne to the moon, pole, fagot 
 and all. According to another version, he had the 
 option of burning in the sun or freezing in the 
 moon, and chose the latter as the least of two 
 evils. 
 
 Traveling northwards, we find the bundle of 
 sticks transformed into a load of green stuff. A 
 North-Frisian, so devoid of honest ingenuity that 
 he could think of no better way of passing his 
 Christmas Eve than in stripping a neighbor's gar- 
 den of its cabbages, was deservedly caught by some 
 of the villagers as he was sneaking away with his 
 plunder. Indignant at the theft, they wished the 
 thief in the moon, and to the moon he went in- 
 stanter; there he yet stands with the stolen cab- 
 bages on his back, turning himself round once on 
 the anniversary of his crime and its detection. 
 New Zealanders, too, claim the man in the moon 
 as one of themselves, their story being that one 
 Rona, going out at night to fetch water from a well, 
 stumbled, fell and sprained his ankle so badly, that 
 as he lay unable to move, he cried out with the 
 
 pain. Then, to his dismay and terror, he beheld 
 the moon descending towards him, evidently bent 
 upon capturing him. He seized hold of a tree and 
 clung to it tightly, but it gave way, and fell with 
 him upon the moon, which carried both away. In 
 Swabia, not content with a man, they must needs 
 put a man and a woman in the moon : the former 
 for strewing thorns and brambles on the road to 
 church, to hinder more godly folks than himself 
 from attending Sunday mass; the latter for making 
 butter upon the Sabbath day. 
 
 The Cingalese translorm the man into a hare, 
 and make the animal's presence in the orb of night 
 a reward instead of a punishment. Sakyamunni, 
 in one of the earlier stages of his existence, was a 
 hare, living in a sort of partnership with an ape 
 and a fox. One day, Indra paid the three friends 
 a visit, in the guise of an old man in want of a 
 meal. The larder being bare, the fox, the ape and 
 the hare started at once on a foraging expedition; 
 while his cronies managed to secure something 
 eatable, the hare returned as he went, but rather 
 than be reproached with inhospitality, as soon as a 
 cooking fire was kindled, he jumped into it, thus 
 providing the visitor with a dainty dish, very lit- 
 erally at his own expense. Charmed with the 
 action, Indra took the hare out of the fire, carried 
 him back with him to heaven, and set him in the 
 moon. In Scandinavia, oddly enough, tradition 
 took the New Zealanders' view of Luna's charac- 
 ter, and made a kidnapper of her. According to 
 the Norse legend, Mani, the moon seeing two chil- 
 dren, named Hjuki and Bil drawing water from a 
 well into a bucket, which they suspended on a pole 
 for easy carriage seized upon them, and took chil- 
 dren, bucket and pole into the upper regions. 
 
 After testing the question again and again, mod- 
 ern meteorologists have come to the conclusion 
 that the moon has no sort of influence over the 
 weather, agreeing with the Iron Duke, that it is 
 nonsense to place any faith in her as a weather 
 predictor. Time was when she was thought abso- 
 lute mistress of the seasons. Pliny has the follow- 
 ing lunar weather wisdom. Fine weather, wind or 
 rain may be looked for according as the moon 
 rises with a pure white, red or swarthy light. If, 
 at full moon, half the disc is clear, fine weather is 
 betokened ; if red, wind ; if black, rain. If at the 
 rising of the new moon, the upper horn is obscured, 
 there will be a prevalence of wet when she is on 
 the wane; if the lower horn is obscured, there will 
 be rain before she attains her full; if both horns 
 appear obtuse, a frightful tempest is near; if they 
 are sharp and erect, high winds may be expected. 
 Darwin declares it is a sure sign of coming rain 
 when the moon's head is hidden in haloes. A cor- 
 respondent of Notes and Queries says a large cir- 
 cle round the moon, with a north or north-east 
 wind, predicates stormy weather; if the wind 
 comes from any other quarter, there will be rain, 
 but less of it. It, however, the moon rises after 
 sunset, the appearance of a ring round her is not 
 so significant as the Dutch rhyme puts it: 
 
 A ring round the moon 
 May pass away soon ; 
 But a ring round the sun 
 Gives water in the ton. 
 
 An old Spanish proverb says the circle of the 
 moon never filled a pond, but the circle of the sun 
 
116 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 wets a shepherd; while an English rhyme pro- 
 nounces : 
 
 If round the moon a circle's seen 
 Of white, and all the sky's serene, 
 The following day, you may divine, 
 Will surely prove exceeding fine. 
 And, 
 
 AVhene'er, in autumn or in spring, 
 A mist the moon doth with it bring, 
 At noon the sun will bright appear, 
 The evening be serene and clear. 
 
 The turning up of the horns of the new moon is 
 another sign of fair weather: "There's no likeli- 
 hood of a drop now, an' the moon lies like a boat 
 there," says somebody in "Adam Bede." Southey 
 notices this notion in one of his letters: "Poor 
 Littledale has this day explained the cause of the 
 rains which have prevailed for the last live weeks, 
 by a theory which will probably be as new to you 
 as it is to me. 'I have observed,' he says, 'that 
 when the moon is turned upwards, we have fine 
 weather after it, but when it is turned down, then 
 we have a wet season; and the reason I think is, 
 that when it is turned down, it holds no water, like 
 a basin, you know, and down it comes!'" It is a 
 very common belief that the weather depends 
 upon the moon changing before or after midnight; 
 a belief absurd on the face of it, since as has 
 heen well observed, the moon may change before 
 twelve at Westminster, and after twelve at St. 
 Paul's. Dr. Adam Clarke was oblivious of this 
 fact when he put forth " A Weather Prognosticator 
 through all the lunations of each year forever; 
 showing the observer what kind of weather will 
 most probably follow the entrance of the moon 
 into any of her quarters, and that so near the truth 
 as to seldom or never be found to fail." Our read- 
 ers can easily decide as to the worth of the rever- 
 end doctor's weather guide; they have only to note 
 the time of the moon's entrance upon a new quar- 
 ter, and compare the actual result with that antici- 
 pated by the Prognosticator. It would be useless 
 to quote his formulated observations, for, like all 
 other prophecies concerning the lunar phenomena, 
 there is a total neglect of the fact, that weather is 
 local, and not universal. In other words, the 
 change in the moon that is supposed to have given 
 good weather in the south of England, has proba- 
 bly been attended with exceedingly bad weather in 
 Scotland. 
 
 There is a time for all things; the difficulty lies 
 in hitting upon the right time. No such difficulty 
 disturbed the minds of the farmers of by-gone 
 days, who took my lady moon as their guide. 
 They had only to ask themselves was she waxing 
 or waning, and they knew what to do, and what to 
 leave undone. An increasing moon was favorable 
 to increase; a waning moon just the reverse. So, 
 under the first, grain was cut, grafts inserted, eggs 
 put under the hen, sheep sheared, and manure 
 spread upon the land. Seeds were sown under a 
 Availing moon, in order that the young plants might 
 have the advantage of growing with the moon. 
 
 Sow peason and beans in the wane of the moon, 
 Who soweth them sooner, he soweth too soon ; 
 That they with the planet may rest and arise, 
 And flourish with bearing most plentiful-wise. 
 
 When the moon was at the full was the proper 
 time to make ditches, tread out grapes, and cover 
 up the roots of trees: seven days later being the 
 fittest period for grubbing up such as were to be 
 
 removed. Timber, however, was not to be touched 
 until the end of the second quarter, and then only 
 when the moon was upon the change. The state 
 of the moon, says Pliny, is all important when the 
 felling of timber is in question, the very best time 
 for the operation being during the moon's silence, 
 or when she is in conjunction with the sun. Some, 
 however, averred she ought to be below the horizon 
 as well, and that if the conjunction happened to fall 
 upon the day of the winter solstice, timber then 
 felled would be of everlasting duration. Even 
 now, Devonshire apple growers prefer gathering 
 their fruit at the shrinking of the moon, believing 
 then it does not matter though the apples get 
 bruised in the gathering, which is otherwise fatal 
 to their preservation. Peat cutters aver that if 
 peat be cut under a waning moon, it will remain 
 moist, and not burn clearly. The Brazilian mat 
 makers of Petropolis account for some of their 
 mats wearing out too quickly, by reason of the 
 canes having been cut at the wrong time of the 
 moon. It is foolish, according to Suffolk notions, 
 to kill a pig when the moon is waning; for if a 
 pig be converted into pork at that time, the meat 
 will invariably waste excessively when it comes to 
 be cooked. In Burray and South Bonaldsay, they 
 carry the waxing and waning theory still further, 
 holding it unlucky to marry except under a grow- 
 ing moon. A sceptical writer, sneering at one of 
 those who might have boasted like Falstaff: "We 
 be men of good government, being governed as the 
 sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress the moon," 
 says: "When the moon is in Taurus, he never can 
 be persuaded to take physic; lest that animal, 
 which chews the cud, should make him cast up 
 again. If at any time he has a mind to be admit- 
 ted into the presence of a prince, he will wait till 
 the moon is in conjunction with the sun, for 'tis 
 then the society of an inferior Avith a superior is 
 salutary and successful." 
 
 Tiberius hoped to sta\ r e off baldness by never 
 permitting the barber to shear his imperial locks 
 except at full moon. The Roman emperor Avas 
 evidently as earnest a believer in the ruling power 
 of Luna, as the Duke in "Measure for Measure," 
 avIio tells Claudio: 
 
 Thou art not certain, 
 
 For thy complexion shifts to strange effects, 
 
 After the moon ; 
 
 or as the fair Olivia, Avho ansAvers the greeting of 
 her lover's ambassador Avith, "If you be mad, be 
 gone; if you have reason, be brief; 'tis not that 
 time of moon with me, to make one in so skipping 
 a dialogue." Othello, too, makes the moon respon- 
 sible for his rash deed : 
 
 It is the very error of the moon ; 
 
 She comes more near the earth than is her wont, 
 
 And makes men mad. 
 
 Although our mad-doctors haA r e long since 
 scouted the idea of lunatics being influenced in any 
 Avay by the planet from Avhich they take their 
 name, it was held by men of note, like Mead and 
 Hunter. The latter Avas strong in the belief that 
 the moon exercised considerable influence over the 
 human body, particularly Avhen at the full. "It is 
 strange, but true as gospel," Avrote the great soldier 
 Napier, from Scinde, "that at every new and full 
 moon, down Ave all go here, with fever." In trop- 
 ical countries, where meat exposed in the moon- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 117 
 
 light turns putrid, the beams of the moon work 
 harm to those who sleep beneath them. " The sun 
 shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night," 
 says the Psalmist. Captain Burton tells us that 
 many a Brazilian negro, taking a nap incautiously 
 in the moonlight, awakes with one side of his face 
 a different color from the other. A Mr. Perry, 
 supposed to have been lost in the bush, turned up 
 at Brisbane in very miserable plight. He had 
 been blinded by sleeping under the rays of the 
 moon, and wandered about for five days, until his 
 sight became sufficiently restored to enable him to 
 find the homeward track. The sailors of southern 
 Italy maintain that the beams of the moon are 
 fatal to the fish they shine upon, and are careful to 
 shelter those they catch from the moonlight, lest 
 they should become putrid. 
 
 It was once, and still may be, the custom of 
 Highland women to salute the new moon with a 
 solemn courtesy. English country dames were 
 wont to sit astride a stile or gate, waiting the new 
 moon's appearance, to welcome her with, "A fine 
 moon, God bless her!" Bachelors were privileged 
 to claim a kiss and a pair of gloves upon announ- 
 cing the advent of a new moon to the first maiden 
 they met. If, when first seen, the new moon was 
 upon the right hand, or directly before the person 
 making her acquaintance, good fortune awaited the 
 lucky individual on the ensuing month; just the 
 contrary result following its appearance on the left 
 hand, or at his or her back. To see a new moon 
 for the first time through glass, is omnious of ill. 
 To insure good fortune, one ought, at sight of her 
 ladyship, to turn over one's money, and wish. At 
 the inquest upon the victims of the railway acci- 
 dent, at Harrow, in November, 1870, a juryman 
 said his son was in a meadow close by at the time 
 of the collision, and saw the new moon shining 
 brightly ; and having a knack of turning over his 
 money when he saw the new moon, he did so, and 
 counted it easily by her light. To render the charm 
 complete, the money should be spit iqion. "When 
 Mungo Park visited the Mandingoes, he found a 
 very similar superstition prevalent among them. 
 Upon the rising of the neAV moon, they always 
 prayed in a whisper, spat upon their hands, and 
 then rubbed their faces with them. The Mussul- 
 mans of Turkistan shake oft' their sins every 
 month by the simple process of jumping up and 
 down seven times with their faces turned towards 
 the new moon. 
 
 Berkshire lasses used to go out into the fields, 
 and cry to the new moon, 
 
 New moon, new moon, I hail thee ! 
 
 By all the virtue in thy body, 
 
 Grant this night that I may see 
 
 He who my true love is to be. 
 
 In Scotland, it was only the first new moon of the 
 new year that was appealed to in this fashion ; to 
 obtain success, it was necessary to set the back 
 against a tree, and the feet upon a ground-fast 
 stone, and sing or say, 
 
 O new moon, I hail thee ! 
 And gif I'm e'er to marry man, 
 
 Or man to marry me, 
 His face turned this way fast's ye can, 
 Let me my true love see, 
 This blessed night. 
 
 And if the invoker was destined to be married, the 
 apparition of her future guidman would wait upon 
 
 her before morning. Yorkshire girls have another 
 way of hailing the first new moon of the year: 
 they take care to see her in a looking glass, and 
 know they will have to remain single as many 
 years as they behold moons. Matrimonial diviners 
 of course wish to see as few moons as possible, 
 holding the more moons, the worst luck. The 
 sight of more than one moon in the heavens has 
 ever been portentous of coming trouble. Hubert 
 tells King John, 
 
 They say five moons were seen to-night, 
 Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about 
 The other tour in wondrous motion. 
 Old men and beldames in the streets 
 Do prophecy upon it dangerously. 
 
 A red moon was equally ill-boding. When Salis- 
 bury entreats the commander of Richard IPs 
 Welsh soldiers to prevent their dispersion, the 
 Welsh captain replies, 
 
 'Tis thought the king is dead; we will not stay. 
 The bay trees in our country are all withered, 
 And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven ; 
 The pale faced moon looks bloody on the earth, 
 And lean-looked prophets whisper fearful change. 
 These signs forerun the death or fall of kings. 
 
 A lunar eclipse was also an omen dire, as it well 
 might be, if the popular notion in ancient times 
 was correct, and the moon was only eclipsed when 
 suffering from the spells of wicked magicians seek- 
 ing to draw her down to earth, to aid them in their 
 unholy doings; fortunately, their machinations 
 were of no avail if honest people could make 
 enough noise to drown the songs of the enchanters. 
 To sing the moon out of the sky is about as fea- 
 sible a feat as that of fishing her out of a pond. 
 Attempting the latter, a haymaker fixed a nick- 
 name upon his Wiltshire brethren forever. The 
 story goes that two Wiltshire haymakers going home 
 from work espied the reflection of the moon in a 
 pond, and took it for a lump of gold. One took 
 oft' his boots and stockings, waded in, and tried to 
 lay hold of the glittering prize; it was too deep for 
 his reach, so, seizing hold of his rake, he began to 
 rake the water, and persevered, until a party of 
 Somersetshire mowers came along and jeered him 
 as a "moon-raker." Anxious to remove the slur of 
 stupidity from his countrymen, Mr. Akerman in- 
 geniously accounts for the opprobrious nickname 
 in this way : " Piple zay as how they gied th' 
 neame o' moon-rakers to we Wiltshire vauk, be- 
 kase a passel o' stupid bodies one night tried to 
 rake the shadow o' th' moon out o' th' bruk, and 
 tuk't vor a thin cheese. But that's th' wrong end 
 o' th' story. The chaps as wos doing o' this was 
 smugglers, and they was a-vishing up zome kegs o' 
 sperrits, and only pretended to rake out a cheese. 
 So the exciseman as axed 'em the question had his 
 grin at em ; but they had a good laugh at he when 
 'em got whoame the stuff." By the way, has the 
 saying, "The moon is not made of green cheese," 
 any connection with the Wiltshire tradition, or 
 with that respecting the Middletonians of Lanca- 
 shire, who are reproached with taking the moon's 
 shadow for a Cheshire cheese, and trying to rake it 
 out of a pit? We pause for a reply, and shall 
 look for one in Notes and Queries. — Chambers' 
 journal. 
 
 A chandler, having had some candles stolen, a 
 person bid him be of good cheer, " for in a short 
 time," said he, " they will all come to light." 
 
118 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 SCRIPTURE BOTANY-THE WILLOW AND POPLAR. 
 Of each of these two genera of the amentifera?, 
 certain species are unquestionably alluded to in 
 Scripture. It is difficult, however, to determine the 
 kinds, and to be sure, even, whether it be willow or 
 poplar that is intended in particular verses. This 
 comes of their near affinity, of the general similar- 
 ity of their places of growth, and of the proneness 
 on the part of the ancients to economy in the use 
 of names. At the outset, for example, comes the 
 question whether the "willows" on which the cap- 
 tives suspended their harps were willows indeed, the 
 probability pointing to poplars; and, still further 
 to perplex the matter, there appears to be no doubt 
 that various trees and shrubs willow-like, but not 
 really and botanically willows, nor even amentifer- 
 ous, were called by the same name, "orebim" or 
 "araMm," just as to-day that sweet apple-scented 
 crimson flower of the waterside, the epilobium hir- 
 sutum, is, in the vernacular, called the " willow 
 herb." 
 
 The resemblances between willows and poplars 
 consist in their being dkecious, and in the seeds 
 being winged with delicate cottony hairs, such as 
 occur in no other members of the amentiferse. The 
 dioecious character consists in certain individuals 
 being purely and wholly male, and others exclu- 
 sively female — a feature likewise quite their own 
 among the amentiferse. In spring, when the cat- 
 kins are open, it becomes an engaging pastime to 
 note the distinctions, and by degrees, with the help 
 of the foliage in summer evenings, to match the 
 partners. Nothing can be more beautiful in its 
 way than a shoot of the male of the common hedge 
 row salix caprea, its large and swelling catkins 
 powdered with gold and conspicuous from afar ; or 
 a branch of the female of the same species, told, as 
 it is so well, by the grey-green of the silky ovaries, 
 and yet not a leaf upon either : or if we prefer a 
 poplar, than the deep and glowing crimson of the 
 males, that deck the topmost and leafless branches 
 as if for a gala, while the females form charming 
 little necklaces of green beads, the end, as it were, 
 let loose, like the chains in a goldsmith's window. 
 When ripe, the little pods burst open, as do the 
 capsules of the female willows, and discharge their 
 cotton in incalculable abundance, the trees seeming 
 suddenly sprinkled with summer snowflakes. All, 
 however, is soon wafted away by the wind, and, as 
 happens with the contemporaneous shining spheres 
 of the coltsfoot, and with the silvery pyramids of 
 the Petasites, that 
 
 "Like the baseless fabric of a vision 
 Leave not a rack behind," 
 
 to-morrow all is gone, and if too late, we must be 
 patient for another twelvemonth. In addition to 
 these two capital points of agreement, the poplars 
 and willows correspond in the venation of their 
 leaves, which is of the wandering or "deliquescent" 
 kind ; — the difference between them consist in the 
 structure of the catkin-scales, which in the willows 
 are narrow, pointed, and undivided, while in the 
 poplars they are broad and lacerated. Minute 
 though it be, this is the best absolute distinction, 
 for although the poplars usually have leaves broad- 
 er than long, and the willows leaves longer than 
 broad, in matters of mere measurement we are 
 never safe. Poplars, it may be added, are always 
 
 arborescent, whereas willows, which are much 
 more numerous as to species, frequently do not ex- 
 ceed the height of a man. A few are diminutive, 
 and trail upon the ground: one of the smallest, 
 and perhaps the most thoroughly arctic ligneous 
 plants yet discovered, is the salix polaris. The 
 name of "poplar," it must also be understood, is 
 by no means the private property of the familiar 
 spire-shaped tree, which is one only of a dozen 
 different kinds, and which ought always to be 
 specified as the "Lombardy poplar." 
 
 A very curious peculiarity of many of the pop- 
 lars is that, owing to the length of the leaf-stalk, 
 and to its being vertically flattened near the blade, 
 the latter portion is competent to quiver, and is 
 kept in motion by the wind, except during the 
 stillest possible states of the atmosphere: 
 "Gradual sinks the breeze 
 Into a perfect calm ; that not a breath 
 Is heard to quiver through the silent woods, 
 Or rustling turn the many twinkling leaves 
 Of aspen tall." 
 
 Directly the wind stirs the leaves begin to move, 
 and we hear the noise, as it were, of a gently falling 
 shower. Every leaf shakes upon its own account; 
 the branch to which it belongs and the tree itself 
 remain perfectly motionless, or exactly the reverse 
 of what happens when a tree is "swayed" by the 
 wind. Hence this tree has for ages been the sym- 
 bol of tremor and timorousness, as in Homer, Ovid 
 and a thousand others. Beautiful, in another di- 
 rection, is the passage where old Homer uses the 
 busy motion of the leaves, not one of them stand- 
 ing idle, as an image of the ceaseless whirling of 
 the spindles in the workshops of Alcinous. 
 
 Nothing in nature could thus be more fittingly 
 selected for the purpose required in connection with 
 the events narrated in 2 Sam. v.: "And the Philis- 
 tines came up yet again. * * and when David 
 inquired of the Lord, He said, * * and let it 
 be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the 
 tops of the becaim thou shalt bestir thyself." The 
 object in view was of course that of a signal, and 
 to render it effective the air would be stilled: ad- 
 mirably illustrating how the least of the phenome- 
 na of nature are no less immediately under the 
 Divine control than the greatest and the grandest. 
 The authorized version in this passage has, unfort- 
 unately, translated the word becaim by "mulberry 
 trees." But the mulberry, with the Hebrews, had 
 quite a different name; the mulberry, moreover, 
 is not subject to the movement so characteristic of 
 the poplar — the sensitive plant of the trees; and 
 that "poplar" is the legitimate rendering seems to 
 be sustained by the fact that to this very day the 
 Arabs call the tree " bak," literally, the gnat or fly 
 tree. The etymological identity is disputed, but 
 the resemblance of the names is at least very strik- 
 ing, and no one who has watched the flitting of 
 the little white-winged seeds, which for a while fill 
 the air with fleecy atoms, can deny that if the tree 
 be not so called, it ought to be. 
 
 "Willows and poplars, though certain kinds grow 
 in dry places, are trees emphatically and habitually 
 of the water side: 
 
 "There is a willow grows askant the bi - ook, 
 That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream." 
 
 Hence the epithet of " populifer," given by the 
 ancient poets to favorite streams — to the Spercheus 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 119 
 
 for instance, one of the affluents of the Peneus, in 
 the vale of Tempe. Hence, too, in all likelihood, 
 the name of the locality spoken of in Psalm lxxxiv. 
 6, "the valley of Baca." Referable to their love 
 of such localities, and to their being specially 
 identified with the quiet and seclusion of the wind- 
 ing pathway by the river, where the fields, always 
 sweet, are lone and peaceful, and there comes into 
 one's spirit a certain tender pensiveness as we muse 
 on the before and after, — would seem the very 
 ancient association of these two trees with sorrow r 
 and melancholy. Men have not made the objects 
 of nature into emblems and symbols: they simply 
 discover for what purposes they were designed, or 
 which they subserve. What began with the local- 
 ity would be aided by the usual form of the tree, 
 which is very generally inclined to the pendulous, 
 in detail of twig and leaf, or what the arborists call 
 "weeping." And how charming are the fables 
 that, because of these associations, are bound up 
 with the trees forever! Flourishing upon the 
 banks of the Eridanus, the Po of modern geogra- 
 phy, and the scene of the lament of the sisters of 
 Phaeton, it was into these that the weeping maid- 
 ens were transformed by the pitying god; their 
 tears now afresh every year, oozing out as balsamic 
 juice upon every leaf-bud. A more exquisitely 
 fashioned myth it is impossible to find: to import 
 botany into it is scarcely fair, yet it remains true 
 that the scented gumminess of the leaf-buds of the 
 populous nigra, everywhere the commonest of the 
 poplars, constitutes one of its best distinctive char- 
 acters. Not that it is peculiar to the Old World 
 nigra. The American balsam poplar is even more 
 noted: the scent of the latter is one of the prime 
 features of the vernal season; if missed, it is be- 
 cause men do not believe enough in trees. This 
 poplar gum was believed by the ancients to be the 
 origin of amber; wherefore Pygmalion is repre- 
 sented as decorating his famous statue with the 
 tears of the Heliades. Catullus has a remarkably 
 beautiful phrase, "lightning-stricken Phaethon's 
 flexile sister." — Leo Grindon, in the Intellectual 
 Repository. 
 
 AMERICAN LIFE. 
 
 Then the general standard of comfortable living 
 has been greatly raised, and is still rising. What 
 would satisfy the ancient would seem to us like 
 penury. We have a domestic life of which the 
 Greek knew nothing. We live during a large part 
 of the year in the house. Our social life goes on 
 under the roof. Our houses are not mere places 
 for eating and sleeping, like the houses of the an- 
 cients. It therefore costs us a large amount of toil 
 to get what is called shelter for our heads. The 
 sum which a young married man in "good society" 
 has to pay for his house and the furniture contained 
 in it, would have enabled an Athenian to live in 
 princely leisure from youth to old age. The sum 
 which he has to pay out each year to meet the com- 
 plicated expense of living in such a house, would 
 have more than sufficed to bring up an Athenian 
 family. If worthy Strepsiades could have got an 
 Asmodean glimpse of Fifth Avenue, or even of 
 some unpretending street in Cambridge, he might 
 have gone back to his aristocratic wife a sadder but 
 a more contented man. 
 
 Wealth — or at least what would until lately have 
 been called wealth — has become essential to com- 
 fort ; while the opportunities for acquiring it have in 
 recent times been immensely multiplied. To get 
 money is, therefore, the chief end of life in our 
 time and country. "Success in life" has become 
 synonymous with "becoming wealthy." A man 
 who is successful in what he undertakes is a man 
 who makes his employment pay him in money. 
 
 Our normal type of character is that of the 
 shrewd, circumspect business man; as in the mid- 
 dle ages it was that of the hardy warrior. And as 
 in those days when fighting was a constant neces- 
 sity, and when the only honorable way for a gen- 
 tleman of high rank to make money was by free- 
 booting, fighting came to be regarded as an end de- 
 sirable in itself; so in these days the mere effort to 
 accumulate has become a source of enjoyment 
 rather than a means to it. 
 
 The same truth is to be witnessed in aberrant 
 types of character. The infatuated speculator and 
 the close fisted millionaire are our substitutes for 
 the mediaeval berserkir — the man who loved the 
 pell-mell of a contest so well that he would make 
 war on his neighbor, just to keep his hand in. In 
 like manner, while such crimes as murder and vio- 
 lent robbery have diminished in frequency during 
 the past century, on the other hand such crimes as 
 embezzlement, gambling in stocks, adulteration of 
 goods, and using of false weights and measures, 
 have probably increased. — John Fiske, in A tlantic 
 
 Monthly. 
 
 « » » 
 
 THE TREE'S WILL. 
 
 The Tree's early leaf-buds were bursting their brown ; 
 
 "Shall I take them'away ? " said the Frost, sweeping down. 
 "No leave them alone 
 Till the berries have grown," 
 
 Prayed the Tree, while he trembled from rootlet to crown. 
 
 The Tree bore his blossoms, and all the birds sung; 
 
 "Shall I take them away? " said the wind as he swung. 
 "No, leave them alone 
 Till the berries have grown," 
 
 Said the Tree, while its leaflets all quivering hung. 
 
 The Tree bore his fruit in the midsummer glow; 
 
 Said the girl, " May I gather the berries, or no?" 
 "Yes, all thou canst see, 
 Take them all ; all for thee," 
 
 Said the Tree, while he bent down his laden boughs low. 
 
 — Bjornstjerne Bjormorl 
 m »■ » — - 
 
 Grapes in a Wash-House. — An English jour- 
 nal describes the manner in which a fine crop of 
 Black Hamburg grapes were raised in a wash- 
 house. This building is placed with its end against 
 the dwelling, covering the kitchen window, and is 
 12 feet square, with walls 6 feet high, on which is 
 a span roof of glass with a brick compartment for 
 the vines. "Four washerwomen were scrubbing 
 away," says the writer, "and over their heads 373 
 bunches of grapes enveloped in steam, and no decay 
 among them ! The place is partially heated from 
 a small boiler at the back of the kitchen fireplace, 
 with a flow and return of two-inch gas-piping. 
 There is also a miscellaneous collection of plants 
 in the wash-house. All the soap-suds are utilized. 
 The owner is an amateur, and does not follow gar- 
 dening as a business." 
 
120 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 iitr §cvnp %ool\. 
 
 " Sit down here and listen ; I'll tell you a story." 
 
 Ex-Governor Vance, writing under the head 
 of "North Carolina Sketches," in the Norfolk 
 Landmark, tells the subjoined anecdotes: 
 
 For a season of several months immediately suc- 
 ceeding the close of our late war, we were absolutely 
 without law or rulers of any kind whatever; the 
 military stationed in a few principal towns being 
 unable or unwilling to take cognizances of offenses, 
 except in the immediate vicinity. And yet there 
 never was a land in a more thorough condition of 
 peace and good order. So profoundly was this re- 
 gard for law impressed upon our people, that it 
 amounted in some cases to a sublime virtue. A 
 reverend Scotch gentleman of my acquaintance, 
 who, under the influence of mammon, had married, 
 during the war, an invalid and rather hard-look- 
 ing old maid, for the sake of fifty negroes, was told 
 by a joker, after Johnson's surrender, that the 
 Yankees had set the negroes free, and were going 
 to abolish everything done during the rebellion, 
 even to the dissolution of all marriages contracted 
 during that time. "Aweel, aweel, Duncan, my 
 mon," said the over-married Scot, "we maun sub- 
 mit: I'm a law abidiri mon I" 
 
 In further evidence of our law-abiding character, 
 I am reminded that years ago, before the war, a 
 very illiterate, but honest and determined citizen, 
 of one of our mountain counties, was appointed a 
 justice of the peace. Filled with the dignity and 
 consequence of his office, he soon after attended a 
 militia muster in his neighborhood. After the 
 drill, the treating by the candidates began, and 
 after that came the fighting in the usual and regu- 
 lar order. When the first couple began to strip for 
 the wager of battle, the new-born squire, instead of 
 turning his back, according to the good old fashion 
 of our peace guardians, or permitting himself to be 
 carried off with a show of gentle violence, as was 
 sometimes done, marched promptly to the front and 
 sternly commanded the peace in the name of the 
 State. No attention being paid to this reasonable 
 command, and the crowd beginning to hustle him 
 and tell him to stand off and see fair play, he 
 sprang in between the combatants, drew a home 
 made bowie, with a blade eight inches in length, 
 and exclaimed, "Look here, gentlemen! I'm a 
 peace officer, duly appointed by the Ginral Assem- 
 bly, and I ain't agoin' to be fooled with. Now the 
 fust man that strikes a lick in my presence, I'll 
 dissecterate him with this! The peace shall be 
 kept while I'm around." And it was. The ma- 
 jesty of the law was vindicated by the shining steel 
 of her zealous servant, and the fight was postponed 
 as indefinitely as Felix's repentance. 
 
 The Leisure Hour, an English magazine, tells 
 this touching story, as related by Maj. Brown, of 
 the Fortieth Regiment: During the siege of Pon- 
 dicherry, in the East Indies, by the British army, 
 ■when M. Lally was governor there, there were, in 
 the French garrison, several war elephants, all of 
 which, except one, died from the scarcity of pro- 
 
 visions, and the survivor would have shared the 
 fate of his companions, but for his uncommon sag- 
 acity, which rendered him a favorite with everyone, 
 and the object of general admiration. This ani- 
 mal, in the absence of his keeper, was one day 
 amusing himself with his chain in an open part of 
 the town, when a man who had committed a theft 
 and was pursued by a great number of people, des- 
 pairing of all other means of safety, ran, for pro- 
 tection, under the elephant. Apparently delighted 
 with the poor wretch's confidence, the creature in- 
 stantly faced about and met the crowd, erected his 
 trunk and threw his chain in the air, as is the man- 
 ner of these animals when engaged with the enemy, 
 and became so furious in defense of the criminal, 
 that, notwithstanding all the gentle arts made use 
 of by the surrounding multitude, neither they, nor 
 even his mahout or driver, to whom he was fondly 
 attached, and who was sent for to manage him, 
 could prevail with him to give up the malefactor. 
 The contest had continued for about three hours, 
 when at length the governor, hearing the strange 
 account of it, came to the spot, and was so much 
 pleased with the generous perseverance of the hon- 
 est quadruped, that he yielded to the elephant's 
 interposition, and pardoned the criminal. The 
 poor man, in an ecstacy of gratitude, testified his 
 acknowledgements by kissing and embracing the 
 proboscis of his kind benefactor, who was appar- 
 ently so sensible of what had happened, that, lay- 
 ing aside all his former violence, he became per- 
 fectly tame and gentle in an instant, and suffered 
 his keeper to conduct him away without the small- 
 est resistance. 
 
 The anecdote related of John Jacob Astor, as 
 follows, may be known to many of our readers: 
 
 In a public conveyance, on a certain occasion, 
 Mr. Astor overheard a young man expressing the 
 wish that he could possess "that old man name's 
 wealth," whereupon Mr. Astor turned to the speak- 
 er, and said to him, " Young man, I sometimes 
 feel weary, and would gladly throw off my load. 
 For what will you take charge of my business, and 
 take care of my property, watching with ever-vigi- 
 lant eye that there be no leak — no mistake ; and at 
 the end of each quarter rendering up a clear and 
 sure balance sheet?" 
 
 The young man opened wide his eyes. He knew 
 not what to say. Said Mr. Astor, "If you are 
 capable, and will do this, I will pay you your abso- 
 lutely necessary expenses of living." 
 
 As may be supposed, the young man expressed 
 his surprise in his looks, observing which, the old 
 merchant simply added, "That's all I get." 
 
 The following story is told of Alexander Dumas, 
 at a time when he was writing a serial novel for a 
 Paris daily journal: 
 
 One day the Marquis De P called on him. 
 
 "Dumas," said he, "have you composed the end of 
 
 the story now being published in the ?" "Of 
 
 course." " Does the heroine die at the end ?" "Of 
 course — dies of consumption. After such symp- 
 toms as I have described, how could she live?" 
 " You must make her live. You must change the 
 catastrophe." "I cannot." "Yes, you must; for 
 on your heroine's life depends my daughter's.*" 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 121 
 
 "Yes; she has all the various symptoms of con- 
 sumption which you have described, and watches 
 mournfully for every number of your novel, read- 
 ing her own fate in that of your heroine. Now, if 
 you make your heroine live, my daughter, whose 
 imagination has been very deeply impressed, will 
 live, too. Come ! a life to save is a temptation — " 
 "Not to be resisted." Dumas changed his last 
 chapter. His heroine recovered and was happy. 
 About five years afterwards, Dumas met the Mar- 
 quis at a party. "Ah, Dumas ! " he exclaimed, " let 
 me introduce you to my daughter; she owes her 
 life to you. There she is." "That fine, handsome 
 woman, who looks like Joan d'Arc?" "Yes. She 
 is married, and has four children." "And my 
 novel has just four editions," said Dumas, "so we 
 are quits." 
 
 A correspondent of the Portland (Maine) 
 Transcrift, under the head of "A Joke which 
 Proved no Joke," relates the following: 
 
 With the earliest dawning of the day, Mr. Rich- 
 ard Delavan and his crew, consisting of two boys, 
 each about twelve years of age, were astir, prepar- 
 ing breakfast; and before sunrise they embarked 
 in their little boat from the shores of Turtle Island 
 and rowed into Egg Rock channel. They found 
 fish cpiite plentiful during the early morning; but 
 as the sun grew high, the fish struck off*. Then it 
 was that Mr. D. realized, as ever have fishermen 
 before him, that long intervals between successful 
 hauls, make fishing an exceedingly dull business; 
 and dull business always made him drowsy. As 
 there seemed to be no reason why he should not 
 indulge his drowsiness, he lay down in the after 
 part of the boat, and very soon he was fast asleep. 
 
 As the fish would not bite, the boys were idle ; 
 and idleness, as is always the case, excited their 
 propensities for mischief. They began to look for 
 some object on which to turn their ebulient hilarity. 
 The iron pot, in which their chowder of the previ- 
 ous evening had been cooked, attracted their atten- 
 tion. The pot was immediately filled with small 
 ballast stones, the skipper's line, which had been 
 left over the side, hauled in, the pot securely ap- 
 pended to the lead, and then carefully dropped 
 overboard. All that the boys could now do, was to 
 wait with an intermixture of depressing misgivings 
 and mirthful anticipation, the awakening of the 
 skipper. 
 
 They had not long to wait; for his couch was 
 uncomfortable and his nap unrefreshing. With 
 sundry yawns and alternate extension of the arms, 
 he arose to consciousness and action. 
 
 His first care was to ascertain if any fish had 
 attached themselves to his hooks while he had 
 slept. Seizing the line, he began to haul, and with 
 the first pull he grew excited. " By mighty, boys," 
 he ejaculated, "I believe I have got hold of a 
 shark— stand by with gafi's!" By dint of perse- 
 vering efforts the skipper at length succeeded in 
 raising his load to the surface, though the pot and 
 he at one time seemed pretty evenly matched, 
 and it appeared very doubtful whether he would 
 get the pot up, or the pot draw him down. 
 
 When Mr. D. saw how he had been "sold," he- 
 was speechless for a time with chagrin and rage. 
 Hauling the pot on board, he emptied out the 
 
 rocks; and, by that time feeling that he could do 
 justice to the occasion, he did it I And the boys — 
 well, they preferred a standing position for a fort- 
 night afterward. 
 
 The late Dr. MacAdam used to tell of a tipsy 
 Scotchman making his way home upon a bright 
 Sunday morning, when the good people were wend- 
 ing their way to the kirk. A little dog pulled the 
 ribbon from the hand of a lady who was leading it, 
 and as it ran away from her, she appealed to the 
 first passer-by, asking him to whistle for her poo- 
 dle. "Woman," he retorted, with a solemnity of 
 visage which only a drunken Scotchman can as- 
 sume, "woman, this is no day for whistling!" 
 
 An old veteran who had fought for his country 
 on many a bloody field, in one of the Highland 
 regiments, and had almost lost the use of his eye- 
 sight on the burning sands of Egypt, was induced 
 by his friends to apply to a famous eye doctor. 
 Like many of his class, the worthy old soldier 
 dearly loved his glass, and on applying to the man 
 of medicine, was informed that his sight would 
 soon be restored, only that he must not drink any 
 more whiskey, otherwise the cure would not avail. 
 The old pensioner was silent a moment, and then 
 quietly remarked, " Weel, weel, sir, an' that be the 
 price of the cure, I'll just be daein' without it; I 
 am nae gaun to lose the use o' the wa's for the sake 
 o' the windows." 
 
 This of the Princess Pauline De Metternich, 
 who now lives at Vienna, and who, during the war, 
 devoted her whole time and energy to collecting 
 funds for the suffering French. Early one morn- 
 ing she sent one of her footmen with the list of 
 
 contributions to Mr. O , a wealthy banker, 
 
 who, at the time, was yet in bed. The list is pre- 
 sented to the nabob on a silver tray. He looks at 
 it and hands it back, yawning and saying, " Oh ! if 
 the Princes,-, herself had come, I should have sub- 
 scribed five thousand florins." Early the following 
 morning the banker was awakened again, and a 
 closely veiled lady was ushered into his presence. 
 She removed her veil, and the astonished banker 
 saw that his fair visitor was no other than the 
 Princess De Metternich. "You told my servant, 
 yesterday," she said to him, "you would subscribe 
 five thousand florins if I would call on you myself. 
 Here I am, and here is the list." There was no 
 help for it. The banker had to subscribe the sum, 
 and the Princess left rejoicing. 
 
 Alexander Dumas, fils, assisted at a grand 
 dinner given in Paris before the siege, and was par- 
 ticularly witty and satirical. In the course of the 
 conversation, he happened to allude to a rather 
 delicate subject concerning one of his best friends. 
 The latter called on him the following day and 
 mildly remonstrated. "Mon cher, you are very 
 witty, I confess, and your talent in that line is 
 known; but, really, you are not obliging, and I am 
 sure you would sacrifice your best friend for the 
 sake of a good joke." " Most assuredly," answered 
 Dumas, "friends pass away, but good sayings live 
 forever." 
 
122 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY. 
 
 THE NEW "WHITE GRAPE, " LADY." 
 
 "We present our readers, this month, a 
 handsome engraving of this new grape, 
 introduced by G. W. Campbell, of Dela- 
 ware, Ohio. It is a pure Concord Seed- 
 ling, and seems to possess all the vigor, 
 health and productiveness of that popular 
 grape, with even greater hardiness in re- 
 sisting severe cold, and much improved 
 quality. When to these characteristics is 
 added the fact that it ripens fully two 
 weeks before the Concord, its value, not 
 only as an early market grape for all sec- 
 tions, but as a variety suited to high north- 
 ern regions where neither Concord nor 
 Hartford Prolific will ripen, will at once 
 be perceived. Mr. Campbell informs us 
 that it was fully ripe in central Ohio, the 
 present season, August 15th, before Hart- 
 ford Prolific, in the same locality, was 
 hardly colored. The illustration in our 
 frontispiece, is an accurate representation, 
 from a photograph, of a cluster from a 
 young vine in its second season of bearing, 
 and is, doubtless, much below the size 
 which will be produced from older estab- 
 lished vines. It is a very attractive grape 
 in appearance: color a light, greenish yel- 
 low, covered with thin, pure white bloom; 
 skin thin; seeds few and very small; pulp 
 tender, slightly consistent, but of equal 
 consistence and flavor throughout; no hard 
 or acrid center next the seeds; flavor 
 sweet and rich, with a peculiar sprightly 
 vinous acid, just enough to prevent cloying 
 the appetite — suggestive of the Concord 
 parent in flavor, but of a character much 
 more refined and delicate. The bunch 
 would be called full medium; the berries 
 large, medium compact in the cluster, but 
 not crowded, and hang firmly, never fall- 
 ing. 
 
 The "Lady" has been carefully tested 
 in central Ohio, where it originated, for 
 the past six years; and during the extreme 
 cold of the terrible winter of 1S72-3, it 
 endured, unprotected and uninjured, 32° 
 below zero. The vine, in its habit of 
 growth and general appearance, so nearly 
 resembles the Concord, that it would be 
 very difficult to distinguish one from the 
 other, except when in bearing. So far, no 
 mildew of the foliage, or rot of the fruit, 
 has ever appeared; and by reason of early ' 
 
 ripening, it is suited specially to northern 
 regions, where our late varieties do not 
 mature. 
 
 AN IRISH STOCK PAIR. 
 
 We find in our exchanges some interest- 
 ing facts respecting the differences be- 
 tween the agricultural fairs of Great Brit- 
 ain and our own country. The N'ew York 
 Tribune gives the following account of a 
 "stock fair" lately held in Ireland. We 
 have nothing of the kind in this country, 
 the limited sales at cattle shows, and the 
 small "fairs" which have sometimes been 
 held in certain sections, not being worthy 
 of mention when compared to transactions 
 wherein the animals sold are reckoned by 
 thousands, and which extend over several 
 days: 
 
 On the first Tuesday in October begins 
 each year the great Stock Fair of Ballina- 
 sloe, in the west of Ireland, and it contin- 
 ues during the week. The first and second 
 days are devoted to sheep, and the day 
 before the opening thousands of these an- 
 imals from every direction are headed to- 
 ward Garbally Park, where they are 
 placed on exhibition. Here the shepherds 
 pitch their camps, and at night the blazing 
 of hundreds of fires, the tall trees casting 
 deep shadows over hundreds of flocks 
 quietly grazing or uneasily bleating, the 
 barking of hundreds of "colley dogs," 
 which, with their owners, are variously 
 employed in gathering stragglers, making 
 new acquaintances, amusing themselves, 
 or fighting, form in combination a weird 
 and remarkable scene. During daylight 
 the scene is hardly less strange and ani- 
 mated. It is a custom from "time im- 
 memorial," in this country of conservative 
 habit, for each regular attendant at the 
 fair to occupy the same place year after 
 year. But this rule is sometimes broken 
 in upon, and an interloper is found shel- 
 tered beneath the favorite elms. Then 
 comes a wordy war, a fight and an eject- 
 ment. 
 
 By noon of the first day, 60,000 sheep 
 often change hands and make their way 
 out of the park, at the " custom gap," in 
 single file, without loss, but not without 
 the usual passages of arms with the na- 
 tional "black thorns," "shillalahs" and 
 sheep-crooks of the Irish shepherds. The 
 second day all the sheep are disposed of. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 123 
 
 This year 63,730 were offered for sale, and 
 58,280 changed ownership. In 1871 over 
 83,000, and in 1866 85,000 were brought 
 to the park. As the sheep go out the 
 horses are coming in, and Thursday is the 
 grand culmination of the fair. This is 
 " ladies' day," and crowds of the gentle 
 sex from miles around, come on horseback 
 or in carriages, to see the horses perform 
 the "lep" over the famous stone wall, and 
 to enjoy the discomfort of the hapless 
 riders who come to grief in the soft mud 
 upon the other side. This wall is of loose 
 stone, and four feet high. Anyone who 
 pays a shilling (25 cents) may " lep " as 
 much as he pleases, and of course every 
 "boy" wants to exhibit his skill and the 
 mettle of his steed. There are horses 
 everywhere — led and mounted. The 
 streets of the old town are full of them as 
 well as the park, and many valuable hunt- 
 ers are sold in their stalls at the hotels. 
 Nearly 600 changed owners here this year. 
 Money flows like water, and whiskey flows 
 too, as well as the " spirits " of the crowd 
 which lead them into all sorts of scrapes, 
 scrimmages and accidents. This year a 
 valuable horse, the sole property of a poor 
 man, was run into and killed by the "car" 
 of another man as poor as himself, so that 
 the recovery of damages was out of the 
 question. 
 
 Friday comes, and with it another 
 change. Horned cattle now are every- 
 where in place of sheep and horses which 
 have disappeared. Surging masses clear 
 their way through the town towards the 
 park, and as each drove passes the custom 
 gap from without, another comes up from 
 within, in charge of its new owner, out- 
 ward bound. Maddened bulls and excited 
 oxen are not wanting, neither are equally 
 maddened and excited and many times 
 more noisy drivers, who wield huge sticks 
 in the thick of the struggle. At 3 o'clock 
 this parody of Pandemonium ceases, and 
 the business of the day is over; 18,000 
 cattle were sold and bought, and $1,000,- 
 000 changed hands on this day of the fair. 
 Saturday is the " country fair," and all the 
 colors of the rainbow, and many more 
 which improve upon that old standard are 
 seen in the display of hats, bonnets, feath- 
 ers, ribbons, and dresses of the country 
 girls. Work is over, and fun, fast and 
 furious, until the new week dawns, is the 
 sole occupation. Dinner parties and balls 
 
 for the aristocratic, and hops upon the 
 green and in the tents for the "plebs," 
 occupy the afternoon and night, and the 
 width of the road homeward, rather than 
 its length, troubles the soberest of the 
 revelers. 
 
 With regard to the "cattle shows," as 
 we understand the term, or agricultural 
 exhibitions, the following brief statement 
 may serve to suggest to those of our read- 
 ers who have the management of their 
 town or county fairs, or who have any in- 
 fluence in determining their character, 
 some ideas as to improvements which may 
 be profitably made: 
 
 At the North Cardigan Fair, for in- 
 stance — which is far from being a promi- 
 nent one in any respect — there were 500 
 entries of sheep and a ton and a half of 
 butter in small quantities. At Orsett, a 
 pleasant show of cottage garden produce, 
 needlework, honey and roots, together 
 with a match between thirty laboring 
 plowmen, was held in a cherry orchard, 
 beneath gaily decorated tents, 240 dwell- 
 ers or cottagers competing. At the ex- 
 hibition in Gorey, County of Westford, 
 Ireland, eight splendid bulls, the property 
 of the society, were shown. These had 
 been purchased for use among the herds 
 of the members and the neighboring far- 
 mers, the introduction of good blood being 
 more readily attainable in this way. The 
 show of stock on this occasion is reported 
 as "strikingly good," a result that might 
 be expected from the enterprise of this 
 body of sensible men, who have worked 
 upon this principle for half a century. 
 At the Abingdon Fair between 40 and 50 
 two-horse teams were employed in contest- 
 ing a plowing match. At the Cheshire 
 Fair a premium of $60 was given for the 
 best cheese over 50 pounds in weight — a 
 liberality which we venture to say, would 
 be appreciated by our own dairymen. An 
 equal premium was offered for the best 40 
 pound cheese made without Sunday labor; 
 another of -$40 for the best smaller cheese 
 made upon the same religious principle. 
 At the Altringham Fair there were 210 
 entries of dogs, and yet there is no special 
 outcry about sheep-killing. At the Lan- 
 caster exhibition there were 127 dogs and 
 only nine pigs shown, and 160 cattle. At 
 the Sheep Fair of Lewes 27,000 sheep were 
 offered for sale; prices for choice animals 
 were exceptionally high, but for mutton 
 
124 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 sheep the rates obtained were 25 per cent, 
 less than those of a year ago. 
 
 The absence of the "agricultural horse 
 trot" is a notable feature. The offering: 
 of heavjr premiums on dairy products 
 might be. we think, in these days of fac- 
 tory butter and cheese, carefully consid- 
 ered, with a view to improving the average 
 quality of the butter and cheese made in 
 farm dairies, which are and must be for 
 years to come the main sources of our 
 supply. — New England Farmer. 
 
 WHEAT AS A FEEDING STUFF. 
 As at the present time wheat will be found 
 to be the cheapest corn, and, we think, the 
 cheapest feeding stuff in the market, it 
 may be well to offer a few notes on the 
 practice and theory of feeding with this 
 grain. With regard to the price of wheat, 
 compared with that of other corn, we 
 would state that never before this year do 
 we recollect that taking 100 lb. of each, 
 wheat, barley and oats, the former would 
 be the cheapest of the three; but the fact 
 may be gathered from the following mar- 
 ket cpiotations, obtained in the last week 
 of October of the present year: wheat, 62 
 lb. per bushel, 40s. per quarter; barley, 56 
 lb. per bushel, 48s. per quarter; oats, 45 
 lb. per bushel, 40s. per bushel. Old beans, 
 7s. Gd. per bushel; old peas, 7s. per bushel. 
 
 Now these quotations must convince 
 anyone that, supposing our live stock can 
 thrive as well on wheat as on barley or 
 oats, the former must be considerably the 
 cheaper, and therefore it follows that, at 
 present, wheat will prove to be the most 
 economical feeding stuff. 
 
 For ourselves, we confess that we have 
 no personal experience of the merits of 
 wheat in the fattening of beeves, as Ave 
 have as yet never used it for this purpose, 
 but we have always found that in the 
 rearing of calves, a little wheat, even 
 when its price is greater, is always of ser- 
 vice. In the fattening of pigs we are at 
 present using wheat somewhat extensively, 
 and we therefore give the following de- 
 tails of the treatment of this kind of 
 stock: 
 
 Our "hard pigs," after stubbling, were 
 put vip on a diet of house-wash, in which 
 was mixed a quantity of the diseased po- 
 tatoes, boiled and mashed. After a few 
 days, a mixture of ecpxal parts of red 
 wheat and tail barley, ground into meal, 
 
 was added to the potato diet; and all we 
 can say is that never do we remember to 
 have had pigs get on better, and we hope 
 soon to be able to produce a few sides of 
 bacon, as economically, if not more so, 
 than usual. We have thirty porkers doing 
 well on the same food, as they are not 
 only growing, but fattening rapidly. 
 
 Our success with wheat as pig-food, has 
 induced a trial of it in horse feeding. On 
 our farm, we have as yet used wheat 
 boiled, instead of oats, as an adjunct to 
 chaff, grains and hay, and we cannot but 
 think that its use has been salutary and 
 economical. We have, however, better 
 evidence upon this matter from some 
 friends than our own personal experiences 
 will supply. 
 
 A neighbor, who has a very large farm, 
 tells us that all through his this year's 
 plowing for wheat, he has fed his horses 
 on boiled wheat and wheat-straw chaff 
 solely, and that they were never stronger 
 to labor, or looked better. We hope soon 
 to try the same system, as both our oats 
 and hay were but a scanty crop, and our 
 wheat-straw is unusually clean and good. 
 
 So much, then, for the practical part of 
 this subject, upon which we confess that 
 we anxiously await further experience; 
 but, in order to be sure of the ground on 
 which we stand in this matter, we have 
 carefully examined what science has to 
 teach us in regard to the feeding qualities 
 of wheat. To illustrate this we present 
 our readers with the following 
 
 Proximate A nalyses of Wheat and Barley : 
 
 Wheat, Barley, 
 air dry. air dry. 
 
 Water 14.83 13.00 
 
 Gluten 19.64 12.88 
 
 Albumen 0.95 0.30 
 
 Starch 45.99 48.06 
 
 Gum 1.52 3.87 
 
 Suear 1.50 3.75 
 
 Oil 0.87 0.34 
 
 Vegetable fibre 12.34 13.34 
 
 Ash 2.36 3.56 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 Now these analyses are by Fresenius, and 
 were, therefore, not made with the posi- 
 tion we now wish to advocate in view, and 
 in introducing them we find the following 
 remarks from the pen of Prof. Voelcker: 
 
 "Wheat. — "The relative proportions of 
 these constituents vary greatly in the var- 
 ious cultivated kinds of wheat, and accord- 
 ing to the circumstances of their growth. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 125 
 
 We shall, for this reason only, cite one 
 analysis, which represents the average 
 composition as derived from many differ- 
 ent samples of wheat." 
 
 Barley. — "The grain of barley, when 
 ripe and dried in the air, still contains 
 about 14 per cent, of water; this, in some 
 varieties, is increased to 17 per cent., in 
 others it is as low as 10 per cent. Fresen- 
 ius gives the average composition of the 
 grain as deduced from numerous analyses." 
 
 Now these analyses differ in some very 
 important particulars, e. g., gluten abounds 
 in the wheat, while the barley contains 
 more starch. This points to the observed 
 differences in their use: thus, wheat may 
 be expected to restore strength — hence 
 wheat is the best for working cattle, while 
 barley, at ordinary times, is the cheapest 
 fattening grain, but, at the present price 
 of wheat, it is much cheaper in every res- 
 pect. 
 
 Another point of importance is brought 
 out by the ash analysis of wheat and bar- 
 ley, namely, the quantity of potash and 
 phosphoric acid in the former as compared 
 with the latter, as seen from the following 
 Ash Analyses of Wheat and Barley : 
 
 Wheal 
 Ash. 
 
 Potash 29.97 
 
 Soda 3.90 
 
 Magnesia 12.30 
 
 Lime 3.40 
 
 Phosphoric acid 4(3.00 
 
 Sulphuric acid 0.33 
 
 Silica 3.35 
 
 Peroxide of iron 0.79 
 
 Chloride of sodium 0.09 
 
 Barley 
 Ash. 
 
 15.01 
 5.03 
 8.04 
 3.06 
 
 35.68 
 1.22 
 
 28.97 
 1.24 
 0.45 
 
 100.03 99.30 
 So that, in every way, while the relative 
 value of different feeding stuffs remain 
 what they are, wheat will be found to be 
 the most economical. 
 
 Still, there is a great deal of objection 
 urged against its use: our men call it 
 wicked, and predict that animals cannot 
 prosper if fed upon wheat; but, as it 
 should be the object of the farmer to 
 utilize his products to the best advantage, 
 he will trust more to science and practice 
 than to sentimentality. — Gardeners' Chron- 
 icle. 
 
 ■» m» + 
 
 THE AGRICULTURAL WORK OF THE GRANGE. 
 The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry 
 is the natural outgrowth and development 
 of the isolated agricultural societies which 
 
 for years have been sowing broadcast the 
 seeds for the appearance of this precise 
 organization. It was time to unify and 
 concentrate the elements of agricultural 
 life, and give them effective direction and 
 force. The great agricultural community, 
 on whom confessedly rest all the other in- 
 terests of society, had long been the mere 
 hunting ground for the trafficing spirit, 
 and had been compelled to submit to in- 
 justice, and to give up its advantage when- 
 ever greed formed a resolution to prey 
 upon the abundant resources. The estab- 
 lishment of the system of granges termin- 
 ates this state of things forever. The 
 grange is not political, not mercenary, not 
 leveling or revolutionary; it is, on the con- 
 trary, thoroughly conservative in spirit, 
 aggressive only so far as is necessary for 
 self-protection, and jealous of the interests 
 which have hitherto been left almost alone 
 to themselves. It offers a long needed 
 shield against frauds and impositions, so 
 that it will hereafter be impossible for 
 farmers to be deceived in the character of 
 agricultural agents which are offered to 
 their patronage, by furnishing a fixed 
 standard which all such objects will have 
 to respond to. In this one particular it 
 furnishes a breakwater to disarm the waves 
 of outside combination, and leave agricul- 
 ture to the rightful possession and enjoy- 
 ment of its own profits. Only what is 
 worthy, is to receive recognition, and the 
 farming fraternity becomes more elevated 
 by the cultivation of a spirit of honor and 
 a habit of lofty self-respect. — 3fassachu- 
 setts Ploughman. 
 
 The Song of Fishes. — An interesting article 
 has appeared in the Popular Science Review, on 
 the musical sounds emitted by fish. Strange and 
 new as the subject may appear, it was, nevertheless, 
 discussed by Aristotle and afterwards by Pliny, 
 and is now again revived by a French scientist, M. 
 Dufosse. The best account, however, of these 
 musical fish, is that given by Sir. J. Emerson Ten- 
 nent, late Governor of Ceylon. Upon hearing that 
 these sounds were to be heard in a lake on the east 
 side of the island, he visited it by moonlight, and 
 thus describes the sounds he heard : " They came 
 up from the water like the gentle thrills of a musi- 
 cal cord, or the faintest vibrations of a wine glass 
 when its rim is rubbed with a moistened finger. It 
 was not one sustained note, but a multitude of tiny 
 sounds, each cleai and distinct in itself — the sweet- 
 
126 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 est treble mingling with the lowest bass. On ap- 
 plying the ear to the wood-work of the boat, the 
 vibration was greatly increased in volume. These 
 phenomena were carefully observed and noted by a 
 party of five intelligent persons." Similar observ- 
 ations have been made in different parts of the 
 world. Tlie sounds are not confined to one variety 
 of fish, but are emitted by many varieties, both 
 fresh and salt water, and by shell-fish. 
 
 ♦ « g » *• 
 
 VAEIETIES, 
 We have received many very kind and flattering- 
 notices of our magazine, from the press in different 
 parts of the country, as well as scores of compli- 
 mentary letters from the people. For these ex- 
 pressions of good will, we tender our grateful ac- 
 knowledgements. 
 
 Lee's Summit Nurseries. — We call attention 
 to the advertisement in our columns of Messrs. 
 Blair Bros., proprietors of the above nurseries. 
 These gentlemen furnish the best of references, 
 and will be found reliable parties to deal with. 
 Their nurseries comprise over three hundred acres 
 of ground. 
 
 The Spenccrian Business College, Milwaukee, 
 AVis., offers superior facilities for the development 
 of business talents and character, and for preparing 
 young and middle-aged men and women for the 
 counting room and business pursuits. Prof. R. C. 
 Spencer has long been at the head of this institu- 
 tion, and under his management, the school has 
 been highly prosperous. 
 
 The Viroqua Independent acknowledges the re- 
 ceipt of the November number of the Field, 
 Lawn and Garden, and says: "We have taken 
 time to examine it carefully. It is the most inter- 
 esting monthly that comes to our table, embracing 
 a field not occupied by any other magazine. There 
 is merit in this rarely found, and it is a real gem." 
 
 On the public road between Meriden and Hart- 
 ford, in Connecticut, stands a low, dingy hovel, 
 within which, over a rickety bar, concentrated 
 death is dealt out in decoctions of benzine at the 
 moderate price of five cents a glass. Directly op- 
 posite is the town burying-ground, and the thirsty 
 wayfarer smiles grimly as he reads, over the door 
 of the saloon, the cheerful and appropriate inscrip- 
 tion, " Key to the cemetery within." — New York 
 Tribune. 
 
 A Library of Valuable Information. — 
 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary can only be ap- 
 preciated by those who spend a few hours in its 
 critical examination. It is a library of valuable 
 information in itself, containing admirably con- 
 densed articles on thousands of subjects, three 
 thousand of which are illustrated by excellent cuts. 
 It costs $12, while volumes containing the same 
 amount of matter on similar subjects, would cost 
 hundreds of dollars. It is the cheapest volume in 
 the English language, except the Bible. 
 
 n 
 
 This fine White Grape is a pure Concord Seedling, and the 
 very best and 
 
 Most Valuable Early Grape Yet Introduced. 
 
 Ripens in August, fully two weeks earlier than the Con- 
 cord. Tested for six years, has proven perfectly hardy and 
 healthy. Large; quality very best of its season. 
 
 Single vines, SI 50; or 812 per dozen. Two-year-olds, $2 
 a single vine ; or §18 per dozen. By mail, post paid. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 All other Valuable Varieties of Hardy, 
 Native Grape Vines. 
 
 20,000 EUNTE DELAWARE LAYERS, 
 From $50 to S125 per 1000. 
 -(JSrSend for Illustrated Catalogue. 
 
 GEO. W. CAMPBELL, Delaware, Ohio. 
 
 My annual catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seed for 
 1875, will be ready by Jan. 1st, for all who apply. Custom- 
 ers of last season need not write for it. In it will be found 
 several valuable varieties of new vegetables introduced for 
 the first time this season, having made new vegetables a 
 specialty for many years. Growing over a hundred and fifty 
 varieties on my several farms, I would particularly invite 
 the patronage of market gardeners and all others who are 
 especially desirous to have their seed pure and fresh, and of 
 the very best strain. All seed sent out from my establishment 
 are covered by three warrants as given in my catalogue. 
 JAMES J. II. GREGORY, Marblehead, Mass. 
 
 FOR S A.LE 
 
 AT THE 
 
 MAZOMANIE NURSERIES 
 
 A General Assortment of 
 
 Nursery Stock Adapted to the West aud Northwest. 
 
 Evergreens — chiefly small size; just suitable for planting 
 with safety, having been three and four times transplanted. 
 Mountain Ash, from 5 to 10 feet in height. 
 Lombard}- Poplars very cheap, by the thousand. 
 Our stock of Apple Trees has been selected and grown 
 with the greatest care. Three-year-old trees, very fine. 
 
 Standard Siberians, such as Hyslop and Transcendent. 
 Very large ; many of them of a bearing size. 
 
 We also call attention to our extra varieties of Siberians, 
 varying in season from the first of August until the first of 
 May. Many of them are excellent to eat from the hand. 
 Orders Solicited. 
 
 WM. FINLAYSON, 
 
 Mazomanie, Wis. 
 
 WILLETT D. STILLMAN, 
 
 DENTIST, 
 
 0EFICE, BAKER'S BLOCK, PiNCKNEY ST., 
 
 MADISON, - WISCONSIN. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 127 
 
 w«m: 
 
 W,^fr%? 3(WO 
 
 ;^JX 
 
 GET THE BEST. 
 
 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 
 
 10,000 Words and Meanings not in other Dictionaries. 
 3,000 Engravings; 1840 Pages Quarto, Price $12, 
 
 TXTebster now is glorious, — it leaves nothing to be desired. 
 *' [Pres. Raymond, Vassar College. 
 
 "17/very scholar knows the value of the work. 
 -^ [W. It. Prescolt, the Historian. 
 
 Believe it to be the most perfect dictionary of the language. 
 [ Dr. J. G. Holland. 
 Cuperior in most respects to any other known to me. 
 •^ [ George P. Marsh. 
 
 fT^he standard authority for printing in this office. 
 -*- [A. II. Clapp, Gorernmenl Printer. 
 
 T^xcels all others in giving and defining scientific terms. 
 -" i President Hitchcock. 
 
 "Demarkable compendium of human knowledge. 
 -" [ W. S. Clark, PresH Agricultural College. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Webster's National Pictorial Dictionary. 
 
 1040 Pag.es Octavo. 600 Engravings. Price $5. 
 
 20 T'O 1. 
 
 The sales of Webster's Dictionaries throughout the coun- 
 try in 1873 were 20 times as large as the sales of any other 
 Dictionaries. In proof of this we will send to any person 
 on application, the statements of more than 100 Booksellers 
 from every section of the country. 
 
 G. & C. MERRIAM. Springfield. Mass., 
 
 Publishers Webster's Unabridged. 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS 
 
 New G-oods for Fall Trade 
 
 A LARGE LINE OF BED BLANKETS JUST RECEIVED. 
 
 Fine Wool Tj.-ii> B.obes r 
 Now Oarjpots, 
 
 PiTe-w- Iiinen Goods. 
 
 STARK BROTHERS, 
 
 129 and 131 Wisconsin Street, Milwaukee. 
 
 BUSINESS EDUCATION 
 
 Spcnceriaii Business College, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Business talents and character developed. Young and 
 middle-aged men and women prepared for the counting 
 room and business pursuits. 
 
 STUDENTS RECEIVED AT ANY TIME. 
 Circulars free. Address 
 
 R. C. SPENCER, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 The Meadow King Mower. 
 
 It has been in use seven seasons, and we now offer it to 
 farmers as the cheapest, most simple and practicable ma- 
 chine for mowing grass or spring grain. 
 
 It is composed wholly of iron and steel, of the very best 
 quality — except whiirle-trees, tongue and neck-yoke, which 
 are of the best quality of wood. It has no side-draught. 
 
 The Finger-Bar is" without hinges or joints, although 
 flexible in every way. The Knife is always in line with the^ 
 Pitman and Crank-Head, and will run in any position of 
 the Finger Bar. This novel invention, used upon this ma- 
 chine and no other, makes the only really flexible Finger 
 Bar yet invented. 
 
 It "has a new raising and tilting lever, for 1875, much su- 
 perior to those on any other mower. In short, the Meadow 
 King is guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction to the pur- 
 chaser, or no sale. 
 
 S. L. SHELDON, 
 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 MILWAUKEE 
 
 WHITE LEAD WOEKS 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 White Lead, Colors and Putty, 
 
 In store and for sale : 
 
 20,000 boxes Window Glass, 
 
 •Jin i barrels Linseed oil, 
 
 loo barrels Spirits Turpentine, 
 
 50 barrels Varnishes, 
 A full line of Paint-brushes, Painters' Materials, etc. Also 
 Mixed Paints ready for use and sold by the gallon. We 
 have printed rules by which you can estimate the number 
 of gallons required to paint your house. It costs less and 
 will outwear the best, of any other. Whites, drabs, buffs r 
 stone-browns, French grey, and all the fashionable colors, 
 without further purchasing of oil, driers, coloring matter, 
 etc. Sample Cards, with recommendations from owners of 
 the finest residences in the United States, furnished free by 
 dealers generally, and by 
 
 J. E. PATTON & CO., 
 270 and 272 East Water St. 
 
 4S=-Factory, 197, 199 and 201 Broadway. 
 
 WEST & C O., 
 
 GREAT NORTHWESTERN 
 
 Blank Book Manufactory, 
 
 347 and 349 East Water Street, 
 
 MILWAUKEE, WIS. 
 
 No house in the country sells goods cheaper, either whole- 
 sale or retail, than WEST & CO. 
 
128 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 WM. J. PARK & CO., 
 
 oilers aad BtatioMn. 
 
 Binders, Eulers, Blank Book Manufacturers, 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Wall Paper, Window Cornice, A rii'sts' Materials, 
 
 Picture Frames, Sliest Music, Violins and other 
 
 Musical Merchandise. 
 
 PIANOS, MELODEONS AND ORGANS 
 Always on hand and warranted, being manufactured by 
 
 the best makers in the country. 
 We are special agents for the MATHUSHEK PIANOS, 
 an instrument that only requires to be seen and heard 10 
 convince any one, not only of its tone, but of its common 
 sense construction and evidence of durability, requiring less 
 tuning than any other instrument now in the market. 
 
 Pianos and Organs to rent by the month. Also second- 
 band ones taken in exchange for new. 
 
 •wive. J. ipjf^'&.tz. &c co., 
 No. II King Street, Madison, Wis. 
 
 DR. A.. MOUSE, 
 
 PHYSICIAN FOR 
 
 THE TREATMENT AND CURE 
 
 OK 
 
 CONSUMPTION, CATAKKH, BEONCHITUS, 
 
 ASTHMA, AND ALL CHEONIC 
 
 DISEASES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 THROAT AND LUNGS, 
 
 BY 
 
 Cold Medicated Inhalations, 
 
 AND OTHER REMEDIES. 
 
 J8SJ"Patients at a distance may be treated as successfully 
 by forwarding an accurate history and statement of their 
 case. I send remedies carefully prepared and adapted to 
 meet the wants of each one. A personal consultation is 
 desirable, yet it is by no means necessary or indispensable 
 to success. 
 
 Office One Block below the Court House, 
 ou Main Street, 
 
 ZMZAZDISOIsT, - WISCONSIN. 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 and 2 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 1 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Tree Seedlings and Tree Seeds. 
 
 NORWAY SPRUCE, - - - 1, 2 and 3 vear Seedlings. 
 
 AUSTRIAN PINE, - 
 
 SCOTCH do 
 
 MOUNTAIN do 
 
 WHITE do 
 
 NORWAY do 
 
 European Silver Fir, Chinese and American Arbor Vita, Ca- 
 
 tolpa, European Larch, Scotch Weeping Birch, European 
 
 Horse Chestnut, Silver and Ash Leaned Maple, 
 
 Ailanthus, White Mulberry, Mountain 
 
 Ash, Apple and Pear Sloclis, dec. 
 
 STOCK LARGE IS QUANTITY AMI OF EXCELLENT QUALITY. 
 
 Price List of Tree Seeds will be issued in January or 
 February, 1875. 
 
 H. M. THOMPSON, 
 St. Francis, Milwaukee Co., Wis. 
 
 J. E- WILLIAMS, 
 
 FLORIST 
 
 Green House on Third Lake, 
 
 Opposite Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 
 
 nvE^iDisonNr, - "wisconsrsinxr. 
 
 Green House well supplied with Plants for all Seasons. 
 
 Fine Stock of Wardian and Ferneiy Plants. 
 
 JKifOrders for Cut Flowers, Bouquets and Floral Orna- 
 ments will receive prompt attention at all times. 
 
 ORDERS SOLICITED BY MAIL. 
 
 Wealthy Apple Trees. 
 
 A native of Minnesota, oriainated by P. M. Oideon. 
 
 I offer tliis most valuable variety for sale at the following 
 prices : 
 
 Three year budded stocks, 3 to 4 feet high, 10 for $5; 
 grafted on roots, $10. 
 
 It includes all that is desired in an apple tree— hardy, 
 thrifty grower, very productive, young bearer, fruit good 
 size, handsome aud of first quality. Season, winter. 
 
 SUEL FOSTER, 
 Muscatine, Iowa, 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. 
 
 LEE'S SUMMIT NURSERIES, 
 
 BLAIR BROS., Proprietors, 
 
 Lee's Summit, Jackson Co., Missouri. 
 
 Over three hundred acres of the finest grown Nursery 
 Stock, guaranteed in healthy condition. 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. Supplies full, 
 and assortment general. 
 
 AT WHOLESALE EXCLUSIVELY. 
 
 4Sr"Send for Price List. 
 
 MADISON NUESERY. 
 
 M. A, HOLT, Proprietor, 
 
 Madison, I>jt«io Co., "Win. 
 
 FOR SALE. — Hyslop and Transcendant Crabs, bearing 
 size, from 5 to 8 feet high. Also, a large assortment of Apple 
 Trees, 2 and 3 years old, well grown. 
 
 Northwestern Nurseries, 
 
 Hardy Fruit Trees, Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Grapes, 
 Small Fruits, Evergreens, Timber Trees, Ornamental Stock, 
 Roses, Bulbs, &c. 700 Flemish Beauty Pear, grafted on 
 Pear Roots, three years old. Address, 
 
 L. H. DOYLE, 
 Doyle, Columbia Co., Wis. 
 
NEW FORCE FEED 
 
 BUCKEYE GRAIN DRILL 
 
 BROADCAST SEEDER. 
 
 TSTO CHANGE OF GEAIRS. 
 
 The improvement consists of a positive force feed, so con- 
 structed that you can regulate the quantity any where 
 between one-half bushel of wheat and three bushels of oats 
 in an instant, without any extra gears, t r any change of gears. 
 You need not change a peck at once, but can vary as little 
 as you please ; even a pint or less if you-desire. Ihefeederis 
 so plain and simple, that we think no farmer can fail to un- 
 derstand and appreciate its advantages. It is just what 
 farmers have been wanting, and just what manufacturers 
 have been trying to make ; something that can be adjusted 
 instantly without change of gears. 
 
 The subscriber is also general agent for 
 
 The Meadow King Mower, 
 
 The Little Champion Reaper, 
 
 The Whitewater Wagon, 
 
 And all kinds of Farm Machinery. 
 4Kg=Orders respectfully solicited. 
 
 S L. SHELDON. Agent, 
 
 Madison, Wis., or St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 E. J. & WM. LINDSAY, 
 
 JOBBERS OF 
 
 AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY 
 
 AND FARMING TOOLS. 
 
 Keep in store the largest and best selected stock of Corn 
 Shelters and Feed Cutters to be found in the northwest. 
 
 v Sund for our Catalogue, which we will mail, free, I" 
 all applicants. 
 236 East Water Street, Milwaukee, "Wis. 
 
 Chicago and North-Western Railway, 
 
 PASSENGERS FOR 
 
 OH IC AOO, 
 
 DETROIT, 
 
 T( >LEDO, 
 
 CLEVELAND, 
 
 BUFFALO, 
 
 NIAGARA F'S 
 
 PITTSBURG, 
 
 CINCINNATI, 
 
 ROCHESTER, 
 
 ALBANY, 
 
 TORONTO, 
 
 MONTREAL, 
 QUEBEC, 
 PORTLAND, 
 BOSTON, 
 NEW YORK, 
 
 DAYTON, 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS, 
 TERRE HAUTE, 
 CHAMPAIGN, 111., 
 BLOOM1NGTON, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, SPRING FIELD, 
 BALTIMORE, JACKSONVILLE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, QUINCY, 
 WHEELING, ST. LOUIS, 
 
 COLUMBUS, CAIRO. 
 
 And ALL POINTS SOUTH and EAST, 
 Should buy their tickets via 
 
 C H I C .A. Gr O 
 
 AND THE 
 
 CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. 
 
 Close Connections made with all Railroads running EAST 
 or SOUTH from Chicago. 
 
 THIS IS THE DIRECT ROUTE 
 
 FOR 
 
 SAIN" FRANCISCO, 
 
 Sacramento, Ogden, 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY 
 DENVER, 
 COUNCIL BLUFFS, 
 SIOUX CITY, 
 WATERLOO, 
 LA CROSSE, 
 ST. PAUL, 
 MARQUETTE, 
 
 CHEYENNE, 
 OMAHA, 
 YANKTON, 
 CEDAR RAPIDS, 
 FORT DODGE, 
 WINONA, 
 DULUTH, 
 L'ANSE, 
 
 ISHPEMING, NEGAUNEE, 
 
 ESCANABA, GREEN BAY, 
 
 MENASHA, STEVENS POINT, 
 
 OSHKOSH, FOND DU LAC, 
 
 Are all on the line of this Great Road, or are reached by 
 this Route with less Change of Cars than by any other. 
 Among the Inducements offered by this Route, are 
 ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 
 Pullman Palatial Cars and Coaches ; Parlor and Drawing 
 Room Day Coaches ; Smoking and Lounging Cars ; Westing- 
 house Safety Air Brakes; Miller's Patent Safety Coupling 
 and Platforms ; Close Connections at Junction Points ; Less 
 Transfers than any other Route ; Speed, Safety and Abso- 
 lute Comfort. 
 
 From 2 to 10 Fast Express Trains run each way 
 Daily over the various Lines of this Road, thus securing to 
 the Traveler selecting this Route sure and certain connec- 
 tions in any direction he may wish to go. 
 
 >@Sg=See that your tickets read via this Route, and take 
 none other. 
 MARVIN HUGHITT, W. H. STENNETT, 
 
 Gen'l Superintendent. Gen'l Passenger Agent. 
 
 frank & mason, 
 Hardware Dealers. 
 
 ALL KINDS OF 
 
 IRON GOODS, 
 
 WAGON STOCK, 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, 
 Stoves, Tinware, Table and Pocket Cutlery. 
 4®=- All useful articles for family use kept on hand at 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 OPPOSITE PARK HOTEL, MADISON, WIS. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 NEW FORCE FEED 
 
 BUCKEYE GRAIN DRILL 
 
 BROADCAST SEEDER. 
 
 3NTO CHANGE OF GEARS. 
 
 The improvement consists of a, positive force feed, so con- 
 structed that you can regulate the quantity any where 
 between one-half bushel of wheat and three bushels of oats 
 in an instant, without any extra gears, cr any change of gears. 
 You need not change a peck at once, but can vary as little 
 as you please ; even a pint or less if you desire. The feeder is 
 so plain and simple, that we think no farmer can fail to un- 
 derstand and appreciate its advantages. It is just what 
 farmers have been wanting, and just what manufacturers 
 have been trying to make ; something that can be adjusted 
 instantly without change of gears. 
 
 The subscriber is also general agent, for 
 
 The Meadow King Mower, 
 
 The Little Champion Reaper, 
 
 The Whitewater Wagon, 
 
 And all kinds of Farm Machinery. 
 >egrOrders respectfully solicited. 
 
 S L. SHELDON. Agent, 
 
 Madison, Wis., or St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 My annual catalogue of Vegetable and Flower Seed for 
 1875, will be ready by Jan. 1st, for all who apply. Custom- 
 ers of last season need not write for it. In it will be found 
 several valuable varieties of new vegetables introduced for 
 the first time this season, having made new vegetables a 
 specialty for many years. Growing over a hundred and fifty 
 varieties, on my several farms, I would particularly invite 
 the patronage of market gardeners and all others who are 
 especially desirous to have their seed pure and fresh, and of 
 the very best strain. All seed sent out from my establishment 
 are covered by three warrants as given in my catalogue. 
 JAMES J. H. GREGORY, Marblehead, Mass. 
 
 Chicago and North-Mem Railway. 
 
 PASSENGERS FOR 
 
 CHI CA00 9 
 
 DETROIT, 
 
 TOLEDO, 
 
 CLEVELAND, 
 
 BUFFALO, 
 
 NIAGARA F'S, 
 
 PITTSBURO, 
 
 CINCINNATI, 
 
 KOCH ESTER, 
 
 ALBANY, 
 
 TORONTO, 
 
 MONTREAL, 
 QUEBEC, 
 PORTLAND, 
 BOSTON, 
 NEW YORK, 
 
 DAYTON, 
 INDIANAPOLIS, 
 TERRE HAUTE, 
 CHAMPAIGN, 111., 
 BLOOMINGTON, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, SPRINUFIELD, 
 BALTIMORE, JACKSONVILLE, 
 
 WASHINGTON, QUINCY, 
 WHEELING, ST. LOUIS, 
 
 COLUMBUS, CAIRO. 
 
 And ALL POINTS SOUTH and EAST, 
 Should buy their tickets via 
 
 C H I C .A. O O 
 
 AND THE 
 
 CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. 
 
 Close Connections made with all Railroads running EAST 
 or SOUTH from Chicago. 
 
 THIS IS THE DIRECT ROUTE 
 
 FOR 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 
 
 Sacramento, Ogden, 
 
 CHEYENNE, 
 OMAHA, 
 YANKTON, 
 CEDAR RAPIDS, 
 FORT DODGE, 
 WINONA, 
 DULUTH, 
 L'ANSE, 
 NEGAUNEE, 
 
 GREEN BAY, 
 
 STEVENS POINT, 
 
 FOND DU LAC, 
 
 SALT LAKE CITY 
 DENVER, 
 COUNCIL BLUFFS, 
 SIOUX CITY, 
 WATERLOO, 
 LA CROSSE, 
 ST. PAUL, 
 MARQUETTE, 
 ISHPEMING, 
 ESCANABA, 
 MENASHA, 
 OSHKOSH, 
 
 Are all on the line of this Great Road, or are reached by 
 this Route with less Change of Cars than by any other. 
 Among the Inducements offered by this Route, are 
 ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 
 Pullman Palatial Cars and Coaches ; Parlor and Drawing 
 Room Day Coaches ; Smoking and Lounging Cars ; Westing- 
 house Safety Air Brakes ; Miller's Patent Safety Coupling 
 and Platforms ; Close Connections at Junction Points; Less 
 Transfers than any other Route ; Speed, Safety and Abso- 
 lute Comfort. 
 
 Erom 2 to 10 Fast Express Trains run each way 
 Daily over the various Lines of this Road, thus securing to 
 the Traveler selecting this Route sure and certain connec- 
 tions in any direction he may wish to go. 
 
 .ftg^See that your tickets read via this Route, and take 
 none other. 
 MAEVIN HUGHITT, ¥. H. STENNBTT, 
 
 Gen'l Superintendent. Gen'l Passenger Agent. 
 
 frank & mason, 
 Hardware Dealers. 
 
 ALL KINDS OF 
 
 IRON GOODS, 
 
 WAGON STOCK, 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, 
 
 Stoves, Tin-ware, Table and Pocket Cutlery. 
 
 435=- All useful articles for family use kept on hand at 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 OPPOSITE PARK HOTEL, MADISON, WIS. 
 
Vol. I. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., JANUAKY, 1875. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 LESSONS OF THE YEAE. 
 Our books are made up for the year that 
 has passed. Our accounts are open for 
 the year that has begun. Our annual ex- 
 perience is before us. Agriculturally and 
 norticulturally it is of a multitudinous 
 character, full of facts and fraught with 
 inferences suggesting, at every point, the 
 ■question, how shall we use what we have 
 gathered — the knowledge, the experience 
 of the year that has gone? 
 
 The most striking feature of our agri- 
 cultural experience in this State, is the 
 great falling off in the production of 
 wheat, from the causes of drought, de- 
 struction by the chinch bug, and an imper- 
 fect and improper system of farming. 
 
 According to the "Report of the Agri- 
 cultural Department," at Washington, our 
 yield for 1874, is one million of bushels 
 less than for 1873. Whether we regard 
 this failure in production in the light of a 
 food, or of a money loss, it is a very 
 great, but not an equal misfortune, for 
 though it robs us of so much money, our 
 people, unlike those of Nebraska, parts of 
 Kansas and elsewhere, still have bread, 
 and bread, good, cheap and in plenty. 
 Let Wisconsin then be thankful, and let 
 the world know that, though so young as 
 a State, we can bear our own burden and 
 help to bear (without speaking boastfully) 
 the burdens of our more unfortunate 
 neighbors further west. 
 
 But, the question. Frankly speaking, 
 we know no better than you how to influ- 
 
 ence the heavens to give us more rain-fall. 
 The theory that our droughts are occa- 
 sioned by the cutting down of our forests, 
 is met by the assertion that as the country 
 becomes occupied, the fires being no long- 
 er allowed to overrun its surface, the for- 
 est loss is made up by the every-day 
 increasing extent of preserved second 
 growth. This may, or may not, be correct; 
 but whether it is or not, in our present 
 state of knowledge we are not competent 
 to become rain makers. Irrigation, of 
 course, we may have when we can afford 
 it, but this scarcely applies in our present 
 monetary condition. 
 
 Have we, then, no resource, no remedy, 
 in this dilemma? Certainly. Let every 
 farmer begin at once to think how he can 
 make his own soil hold moisture enough 
 to sufficiently supply plant life. This is 
 the problem of the hour. And, above all, 
 it is one that every farmer must solve for 
 himself, simply because the soil and sub- 
 soil, the elevation, the aspect, the topo- 
 graphical surroundings, differ so widely 
 that no one solution will apply to all 
 cases. 
 
 Some few practical suggestions, how- 
 ever, may be useful. Deep soil should be 
 deeply stirred; shallow soil should be 
 made some deeper from year to year, and 
 when stiff, should be made to hold mois- 
 ture by disintegrating it, by plowing in 
 green crops, coarse litter, and, as far as 
 possible, with ashes. The safer plan, 
 however, is the plan suggested. Let each 
 
122 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 intelligent farmer think out the means 
 suitable to his own soil, and then apply 
 them. 
 
 Of the chinch bug, so much has been 
 written, and to so little purpose, that it 
 would appear almost presumptuous to add 
 another word. Can we destroy this pest, 
 or in any way prevent its ravages? Who 
 has tried'? Has any State or National 
 effort been made in this direction? Whose 
 business is it to remedy the evil? Let 
 us see, and learn by the example given 
 to us by another country, under a some- 
 what similar calamity, since we do not 
 seem to have any example, given to us by 
 our own country or State, to follow. No 
 sooner was it found by the wine-making 
 districts of France, and by the French 
 government, that the vine was becoming 
 the prey of the phylloxera, than both citi- 
 zens and government united in organizing 
 a commission of scientific men to examine 
 into the evil, not only as found in France, 
 but wherever it was found to exist, extend- 
 ing their enquiries by personal visitation 
 into this country; make themselves thor- 
 oughly acquainted with all pertaining to 
 the pest, and report to the government. 
 This was the first step. The second was 
 to offer such a reward (175,000 by the 
 government besides many large sums by 
 the vineyardists) as compelled the atten- 
 tion of scientists in general, when an evil 
 that had been growing some ten years and 
 was rapidly becoming general, found, al- 
 most immediately, its remedy; a remedy 
 simple, inexpensive, easy of application, 
 and claimed to be complete. 
 
 As we look abroad upon the operations 
 of vegetable life, and recall for a moment 
 the history of wheat culture, its antiquity 
 and almost universality, we cannot permit 
 ourselves to think that Providence means 
 through this local chinch bug, any more 
 than through passive drought, to destroy 
 the wheat crop from the face of this fair 
 land, or to take away the bread of man. 
 There is nothing in the history of wheat- 
 growing, or in its status to-day, to give us 
 any such impression. On the contrary, 
 the expansion of the growth of cereals 
 increases almost day by day. And in this 
 country of the United States — in this New 
 World of ours — is to be observed one of 
 the grandest, one of the most wonderful 
 features of modern history, arising from 
 this very cereal growth. For, young as 
 
 we are as a people, we not only feed our 
 own forty millions of mouths with the 
 plenty that knows no limit, but, distant as 
 we are, we feed the millions of the people 
 of other lands, giving to one of them 
 alone, in the first nine months of the past 
 year, the enormous supply of 34,323,042 
 bushels of wheat, bringing us $50,000,000. 
 
 Let us take courage. The chinch bug 
 must have both its cause and its remedy. 
 All that is wanting is, that we discover 
 them. And in order to do this, in the ab- 
 sence of any better light, why not adopt 
 the example of our historic friends, the 
 French? Why not have our commission, 
 composed of botanists, entomologists, of 
 scientists best fitted for the duty? Why 
 not offer, through our State and general 
 government, whose duty and whose inter- 
 est it is to use the public money for the 
 people's protection, such rewards as will 
 insure successful efforts? Would not this 
 be a grand work for the Grangers to un- 
 dertake — to enforce? A work at once le- 
 gitimate, necessary and good. We think 
 it would, for to think otherwise would be 
 to impugn the good sense of the organ- 
 ization — would be like saying, " My friends 
 while you are, as an advancing army, fight- 
 ing your railroad foes to secure cheap 
 transportation of wheat to the east, you 
 are blind fo the greater enemy in your 
 rear, who threatens to leave you less and 
 less wheat to transport." We say we be- 
 lieve this to be the Grangers' work. We 
 say further, it is the work of every farmer 
 in Wisconsin, and that his front, like that 
 of the true soldier, should be ever to the 
 enemy, whether the enemy be a devasta- 
 tor, like the chinch bug, or an extortioner, 
 like a railroad corporation. 
 
 To our present bad system of farming, 
 also, we are undoubtedly largely indebted 
 for our recent losses in production. A 
 great amount of matter has been written, 
 and is daily being written, under this head. 
 And yet but a few words are needed, but 
 these should be riveted upon the farmer's 
 mind. Deeper plowing, more regular and 
 more liberal manuring, and the adoption 
 of the rotation system of cropping. There 
 is no confliction here among men of intel- 
 ligence. Science and experience point 
 both the same way — the way that men of 
 sense will follow. 
 
 Horticulturally, as agriculturally, the 
 yield for the past year has, in this State, 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 123 
 
 been very unequal. And yet we have 
 grown fruit enough, and cheap enough, to 
 supply us as a people. The deficiency, 
 where it has occurred, is attributed to 
 the drought. And the lesson it has taught 
 us, to speak in general terms, is deeper 
 digging, the more general application of 
 mulching, and the adapting the shape and 
 growth of fruit trees to the requirements 
 of the climate. The principle that should 
 guide us in the garden is exactly the same 
 as that which should guide us in the field — 
 the preservation of a sufficiency of water 
 in the soil for tree life — rather, for success- 
 ful fruiting". To secure this holding; of 
 moisture, we have spoken in general terms, 
 but to particularize, every tree should be 
 mulched, putting on fresh mulch in the 
 early part of the spring, and should re- 
 ceive a good dressing of wood-ashes on 
 the top of the mulch. 
 
 The vegetable garden should be trenched 
 as deeply as the soil will permit (taking 
 care not to turn up too much of the sub- 
 soil), and regularly manured. 
 
 The soil of the flower garden can 
 scarcely be stirred to deeply, or manured 
 too freely. Much, too, can be done in the 
 arranging of plants, shrubs, vines and 
 trees, which suffer from drought, so as to 
 give them some shelter, with heavier-leafed 
 and stronger-growing and less sensitive 
 neighbors. 
 
 WINTER PROTECTION. 
 It is now too late to protect such young 
 trees and shrubs that were injured by the 
 summer's drought, and it is the more neces- 
 sary since as yet we have had so little snow. 
 This is a matter too often neglected. A 
 half hardy tree that has passed through 
 the summer uninjured by drought, by dis- 
 ease, or by destructive insect, may possi- 
 bly pass through an ordinary winter with- 
 out any other protection than that which 
 nature gives to the earth in winter. But 
 a tree that has been injured so far, by 
 either of these causes, as to have lost part 
 of its vitality, is just in the state to invite 
 destruction by our low temperature, at this 
 season of the year. Mulch your trees to 
 a depth of four inches with compost, or 
 good manure, cover your vines with litter, 
 and wrap your half hardy shrubs and the 
 trunks of your half hardy trees in hay 
 bands, or other covering material. 
 
 With us, there is little to be done in 
 
 the vegetable garden in the winter, but 
 the little there is to do, is too often left 
 undone. One feature, especially, we 
 would call attention to — the asparagus 
 bed. To that we look in the spring for 
 our earliest treat in vegetable luxuries. 
 Therefore to this bed we should pay spec- 
 ial attention now, if not already attended 
 to. It should be well topped dressed to a 
 depth of four inches with rich, black, pow- 
 dered manure, and then covered to the 
 same depth with ordinary stable litter. 
 Such protection, by preventing the frost 
 penetrating too deeply, gives the "grass" 
 an early start. And by removing the litter 
 in spring, and forking into the bed, be- 
 tween the rows, the rotted manure well 
 sprinkled with salt, not only an early, but 
 a far superior asparagus and better crop 
 is produced than most growers are aware 
 of. 
 
 THE ART OF HUSBANDRY-NO. 2. 
 The earth is the prolific source of all 
 products, and agriculture the art which 
 draws out the supplies. Thus nature and 
 the farmer work hand in hand in supplying 
 the wants and necessities of man. The 
 Author of our being has graciously done 
 for man what he cannot do for himself, but 
 what man can do for the supply of his nat- 
 ural or artificial wants, nature sternly re- 
 fuses to do for him. God has given fertil- 
 ity to the soil, and warms it with sunshine,, 
 and moistens it with dews and showers. 
 He has created the seeds, grasses and 
 plants, and filled the earth with various 
 animals, from the animaleulae to the ele- 
 phant; and made man the natural and 
 rightful lord over them all. But man must 
 plow the soil and sow the seed, must plant 
 the trees for fruit and cultivate the grains, 
 must tame the animals and make them 
 subserve his use and pleasure. Nor must 
 his labor or researches stop here — trees 
 and plants are to be studied; the various 
 tribes of insects are to be understood, so 
 that he may know his friends from his en- 
 emies; the birds of the woods and fields 
 are to be so treated and managed, as to 
 aid him in his toils. 
 
 But agriculture, as an art, will not, and 
 cannot, contribute to all the necessities of 
 man, unless directed by intelligence; and, 
 hence, to perfect this noble and enobling 
 art, all other just and honorable callings 
 must co-operate to hold humanity in one 
 
124 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 body or society, for mutual benefit and 
 mutual welfare. 
 
 The writer of these articles, while he 
 freely confesses his preference for those 
 who till and beautify the earth, holds all 
 other legitimate callings or professions in 
 proper esteem. 
 
 The man who tills the soil, and thus in- 
 corporates his labor in the grain, fruit or 
 animals, which is raised or produced, has 
 not only the best right to them, but is 
 justly regarded as the benefactor of his 
 race, the bed rock of human society and 
 the promoter of civilization. 
 
 Could we so have it, that science and 
 art, brain and muscle, could be harmoni- 
 ously blended, then, and not till then, will 
 exercise and amusement combine to make 
 life a pleasure. There is not a beast of 
 burden on our farms overtasked as man 
 himself. It may very safely be said, that 
 eight hours of moderate toil, with eight of 
 rest and eight for amusement, will amply 
 supply the wants, or perhaps I should say, 
 necessities of the human family. Now 
 this is an art we have not yet found out, 
 or must it be reckoned among "the lost 
 arts." 
 
 There is, just now, an upheaval among 
 the working multitudes — " a ground swell," 
 which, when viewed from the stand point 
 of the agriculturist, is full of promise and 
 inspired with hope. These overtasked 
 multitudes are now beginning to inquire 
 into the causes which leave them so small 
 a, margin of their earnings. And who can 
 doubt the finality of their efforts. A mi- 
 nority was never slain on a political battle- 
 field, and never will be. They may be 
 out-flanked a few times, but the final re- 
 sult must be on the side of right. Our 
 country is the field, made possible under 
 our institutions, to bring around this 
 needed reform, and to inaugurate this 
 coming art. 
 
 If it be true that " coming events cast 
 their shadows before," then may all the 
 laborers in our country, and of the earth, 
 put on the garments of gladness, for their 
 disenthrallment draws nigh. 
 
 Agriculturists are just now complaining 
 of injustice and oppressions from persons 
 of other employments. What right have 
 we to complain when we hold seven-tenths 
 of the ballots in our own fingers? If we 
 are the victims of monopolies, we are our- 
 selves to blame. This injustice must not 
 
 be permitted to repeat itself; with steady 
 nerves and prudent hands, let us bide our 
 time, and we may most of us yet live to 
 see labor not only properly rewarded, but 
 justly, fairly and proportionably repre- 
 sented in our councils. We have given 
 generously, not wisely, to corporations. 
 They, in return, would spurn us. They 
 must — all of them — no matter under what 
 name they are known, or under whatever 
 colors they sail, be made to understand 
 that they are the creatures of the people, 
 and amenable to the people. 
 
 But we can afford to be generous, and 
 mean to be; but we must have leisure as 
 well as toil. This most useful of all our 
 arts, agriculture, must call forth the fruits 
 and grains, the herds and flocks, the flow- 
 ers and trees, till the whole land shall be 
 filled with homes worthy the name, of 
 lawns of surpassing beauty, and gardens 
 of smiling loveliness. 
 
 Geo. W. Minier. 
 
 MlNIEU, 111. 
 
 ■ * «> » 
 
 THE UTILIZATION OF CAEKOTS. 
 It is now some years since the late Arthur 
 Young brought the carrot into notice as a 
 farm crop. Since then, though, its spread 
 has not been at all general, yet we hear of 
 isolated examples of a field of carrots in 
 different parts of the country. That the 
 crop is expensive to grow we all know, 
 but at the same time the market price of 
 the produce is such as to make it far from 
 unprofitable, and more especially as it 
 does not take so much out of the land as 
 some other root crops do. 
 
 This point will be shown from the fol- 
 lowing analyses of carrots by Messrs. Way 
 and Ogston, both of roots and leaves, 
 which should be studied together, espe- 
 cially as the leaves are left behind: 
 Ash Analyses of Belgian Carrots: 
 
 Roots. Leaves. 
 
 3Iean of five Mean of three 
 
 Analyses. Analyses. 
 
 Potash 32.44 7.12 
 
 Soda 13.52 10.97 
 
 Lime 8.83 32.64 
 
 Magnesia 3.96 2.92 
 
 Oxide of iron 1.10 2.40 
 
 Phosphoric acid 8.55 1.67 
 
 Sulphuric acid 6.55 6.20 
 
 Carbonic acid 17.30 17.82 
 
 Chloride of sodium 6.50 13.67 
 
 Silica 1.19 4.56 
 
 99.94 99.97 
 
 Professor Way says, "The ash of carrot 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 125 
 
 leaf is peculiar in one respect; of the al- 
 kalies, potash and soda, the latter greatly 
 predominates. This is, in reality, an im- 
 portant, as well as a singular, circumstance. 
 The alkali soda is much more available for 
 agricultural purposes than potash, especi- 
 ally as the results we have obtained would 
 induce a belief that a plant can obtain this 
 alkali from common salt — the commonest 
 of all salts: if any plant be found to con- 
 tent itself with this alkali, such plant will 
 undoubtedly be more easy of artificial 
 culture than others, which require potash 
 and refuse to take soda instead of it; it is 
 not said that this is the case with the car- 
 rot, but attention is drawn to the uniform- 
 ity of the result in the case of the leaves." 
 Chemistry has made great advances since 
 Young's time, and we now appeal to this 
 science as setting us right as regards the 
 carrot. The author just quoted gives the 
 following 
 
 Analyses of Mineral Matter of one ton of Carrot 
 roots, and of leaves, in founds : 
 
 Mean of five Mean of three 
 
 Hoots. Leaves. 
 
 Lb. Lb. 
 
 Potash 6.59 6.64 
 
 Soda 2.71 9.67 
 
 Lime 1.77 30.24 
 
 Magnesia 0.80 2.58 
 
 Oxide of iron 0.22 2.36 
 
 Phosphoric acid 1.73 1.64 
 
 Sulphuric acid 1.31 5.61 
 
 Chloride of sodium 1.42 11.95 
 
 Silica 0.24 4.46 
 
 16.79 75.15 
 
 Hence, then, in the leaves there is left be- 
 hind a large quantity of the alkalies, so 
 that almost any other crop may follow 
 carrots. 
 
 The question then arises, how is it that 
 the carrot has not advanced in reputation 
 nearly so fast as its early advocates ex- 
 pected? — and to answer this we quote 
 from Professor Play fair. He says the 
 dried carrot is equal to 10.66 per cent, of 
 nitrogenous substances, 89.57 of materials 
 free from nitrogen, and 5.77 of ashes, and 
 this he deduces from the following 
 
 Estimation of Alimentary Sttbsta?ices in the 
 Carrot : 
 Flesh-forming ingredients (/. e., nitrogen 
 
 containing) 1.48 
 
 Heat-giving ingredients (/. e., free from 
 
 nitrogen) 11.61 
 
 Ashes 0.81 
 
 Water 86.10 
 
 100.(0 
 
 Here, then, we see that the large quantity 
 of water and the small quantity of flesh- 
 forming matter in carrots, render it impos- 
 sible for them to supersede the use of hay 
 and corn in horse feeding, or of hay for 
 cow stock — carrots, indeed, being no bet- 
 ter as a self-feeding matter than mangels 
 or Swedes, of which so much larger a 
 quantity can be grown at less expense. 
 Still, as an adjunct to horse food, especi- 
 ally in spring, the carrot is particularly, 
 useful, as it has the effects of .fattening, 
 and, by its slightly laxative properties, 
 this root acts as an alterative, and aids 
 materially in keeping horses in condition. 
 Mr. Hugh Raynbird says that "Nothing is 
 found to equal carrots m bringing horses 
 into condition, and they are used largely 
 by horse dealers for that purpose." 
 
 This, indeed, is the vise we make of 
 them, giving them merely as an adjunct to 
 other food. Cattle, though they cannot 
 be fattened exclusively on carrots, yet like 
 them, and they are found to be of great 
 service, especially in spring, as at that 
 time the Swede is getting fibrous, and car- 
 rots will then take their place with advan- 
 tage. 
 
 It follows, then, that when the ground 
 is suitable, the carrot may be grown with 
 profit, and more especially if, for any rea- 
 son, there is a near market for the best, as 
 the smaller roots will be equally servicea- 
 ble at home. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
 SOME REMARKS ON OATMEAL. 
 The palatable and nutritive properties of 
 oatmeal depend almost entirely on the nat- 
 ural weight, per bushel, of the oats. The 
 finest qualities are obtainable in the coun- 
 ties of Lothian, in Scotland; and, as points 
 of manufacture, at Drogheda and Dublin, 
 in Ireland. One firm, viz.: Robert Smith & 
 Son & Calder, near to Edinburgh, Scotland, 
 has been justly celebrated for the uniform 
 superiority of its production, for at least 
 one generation — success being mainly at- 
 tributable to the fact that, in selecting 
 oats for grinding, the firm would purchase 
 none weighing less than 45 lbs. oatmeal 
 weight, coupled with the superior skill 
 in drying and grinding, obtainable only 
 through long experience and close atten- 
 tion. Similar reasons may be given for 
 the uniform and desirable qualities obtained 
 from Ireland. 
 
 In our western country, supplies have 
 
126 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 hitherto been derived from Canada and 
 from local mills; but, owing to limited 
 demand, both price and quality have been 
 unfavorable to the consumer. The native 
 oat of the west, and probably throughout 
 the States, possesses a slightly bitter taste, 
 and is lacking in the gelatinous property 
 so fully developed in the foreign. Within 
 the past year or so, the grinding of oats 
 for food has been made somewhat of a 
 specialty at Rockford, 111., with very 
 marked success, as compared with former 
 efforts; and as the demand has increased 
 rapidly and deservedly during the past 
 few years, both miller and dealer will be 
 enabled to handle the article for a legiti- 
 mate profit, and so foster its use among all 
 classes. At present, the difference in 
 price, as between home and Scotch, at 
 retail, would stand as between 5@6 cents 
 per lb. for the former, and 8^@10 cents 
 for the latter. It must be remembered, 
 however, that, in addition to other superi- 
 orities, a like weight of foreign will yield 
 a much larger quantity of food than that 
 of home product. In cooking, the most 
 desirable and beneficial mode, as well as 
 that most frequently adopted, is the mak- 
 ing of "porridge" (mush). Care should 
 be taken that the water be thoroughly 
 boiling before putting in any of the meal. 
 Constant stirring is necessary until suffi- 
 cient quantity be put in, and occasional 
 stirring during cooking — say half an hour. 
 Pour in a soup plate, and eat with milk. 
 Numerous other modes might be named, 
 including "brose," oatmeal pudding, oat 
 cake and haggis, but such are not suited 
 to the digestions of children or invalids. 
 
 s. c. 
 
 Large Milk Yield. — The Mirror and Far- 
 mer gives an account of a grade Durham cow, six 
 years old, owned by Mr. Edward P. French, of 
 Bedford, N. H., that gave 1,915 quarts of milk in 
 seventy-five days, ending the last day of July, 
 making an average of 26.^ quarts per day. For 
 the first twenty-five days in August she gave 579 
 quarts, an average of over 23 quarts a day. For 
 the whole hundred days, the amount was 2,494, or 
 24.94 quarts a day. The milk is of very fine qual- 
 ity. Mr. French is now keeping her tally for the 
 hundred days from the 25th of August, and in the 
 course of the time will keep a record of the 
 amount of butter per day. She is feed on wheat 
 screenings ground half and half with corn, about 
 two and one-half quarts at a feed, twice a day, with 
 fodder corn and green food generally. She has 
 been kept up all summer. She is a large cow, 
 girthing six feet and nine inches. 
 
 THE MECHANICAL STRUCTURE OP PLANTS.* 
 
 BY J. COCHRANE, A. M., HAVANA, ILL. 
 
 The wonderful mechanism of the human 
 eye, the arrangement and construction of 
 the ear, the number and diversified uses 
 of the muscles, the mechanical organism 
 of plants, the various combinations of the 
 elements, the immensity and harmony, as 
 well as the diversified arrangements of 
 the solar system, would almost lead us to 
 believe that diversity alone, distinct from 
 every other consideration, was the motive 
 in the mind of the Creator, or the agents 
 of His will. The dissecting room, the mi- 
 croscope and the laboratory, partially re- 
 veal to us the arcana of nature, but the 
 science of astronomy, beyond all others, 
 displays to us the splendor and magnifi- 
 cence of His operations. Through this 
 the mind rises to sublimer views of the 
 Deity, though we cannot familiarize our- 
 selves with the minor details in this de- 
 partment of His works, as we may in the 
 one I have chosen as my topic. 
 
 There are a few observations on the 
 vegetable kingdom it will be our aim to 
 notice. 
 
 One great object in nature, in the struc- 
 ture of plants, is the perfecting the seed 
 and its preservation until it is perfected. 
 This intention shows itself, in the first 
 place, by the care which appears to be 
 taken to protect and ripen, by every ad- 
 vantage which can be given them by situ- 
 ation in the plant, those parts which most 
 immediately contribute to fructification, 
 viz.: the anthers, the stamina, the stig- 
 mata. The parts are usually lodged in the 
 center — the recesses or the labyrinths of 
 the flower — during their tender or imma- 
 ture state; are shut up in the stalk or shel- 
 tered in the bud, but as soon as they have 
 acquired firmness of texture sufficient to 
 bear exposure, and are ready to perform 
 the important office which is assigned 
 them, they are disclosed to the light and 
 air, by the bursting of the stem or the ex- 
 pansion of the petals, after which they 
 have, in many cases, by the very form of 
 the flower during its bloom, the light and 
 warmth reflected on them from the con- 
 cave side of the cup, What is called, also, 
 the sleep of plants, is the leaves or petals 
 disposing themselves in such a manner as 
 to shelter the stems, bud or fruit. They 
 
 *An essay before the Illinois State Horticultural Society. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 127 
 
 turn up or fall down, according as this 
 purpose renders either change of position 
 necessary. In the growth of wheat, when- 
 ever the plant begins to shoot, the two 
 upper leaves join together and embrace 
 the ear, and protect it till the pulp has ac- 
 quired a certain degree of consistency. 
 In some water plants, the flowering and 
 the fecundation are carried on within the 
 stem, which afterwards opens to let loose 
 the fecundated seed. The pea tribe en- 
 close the parts of fructification within a 
 beautiful folding of the internal blossom, 
 itself protected under a penthouse, formed 
 by the external petals. This structure is 
 very artificial, and it adds to the value of 
 it, though it may diminish the curiosity, as 
 it is very general. It has also the further 
 advantage — it is strictly mechanical — that 
 all the blossoms turn their backs to the 
 wind whenever it blows strong enough to 
 ■endanger the delicate and fragile internal 
 organs on which the seed depends. It is 
 an aptitude which results from the form of 
 the flower, and, as before remarked, strict- 
 ly mechanical; as much so as the folding 
 of the fans on a windmill, or the cap on 
 the top of a chimney. 
 
 In the poppy and many familiar flowers, 
 the head while it is growing, hangs down 
 — a rigid curvature in the upper part of 
 the stem giving it that position — and in 
 that position it is impenetrable by rain 
 and moisture. When the head has ac- 
 quired its size, and is ready to open, the 
 stalk erects itself for the purpose of pre- 
 senting the flower and its instruments of 
 fertilization to the genial influence of the 
 sun's rays. This is a curious property 
 provided for in the constitution of the 
 plant, for if the stem be only bent by the 
 weight of the head, how comes it to 
 straighten itself when the head is the 
 heaviest. These instances show the atten- 
 tion of nature to this principal object — 
 the safety and maturation of the parts on 
 which the seed depends. 
 
 In trees, especially those which are na- 
 tives of the colder climates, this point is 
 taken up earlier. Many trees produce the 
 embryos of their leaves and flowers one 
 year, and mature them the following year. 
 There is a winter, also, to be got over. 
 Now what we are to remark is, how nature 
 has prepared for the trials and the severi- 
 ties of that season. 
 
 These tender embryos are, in the first 
 
 place, wrapped up with a compactness no 
 art can imitate; in which state they com- 
 pose what we call the bud. The bud itself 
 is enclosed in scales, the remains of past 
 leaves, or the rudiments of future ones. 
 In the coldest climates, a third preserva- 
 tive is added, by the bud having a coat of 
 gum or resin, which, being congealed, re- 
 sists moisture and frosts. On the ap- 
 proach of warm weather, this gum is soft- 
 ened and ceases to be a hindrance to the 
 expansion of leaves and flowers. 
 
 The seeds themselves are packed in 
 capsules, or in vessels composed of coats, 
 which, compared with the rest of the flow- 
 er, is strong and tough. From this seed- 
 vessel projects a tube, through which the 
 fertilizing properties issuing from it, are 
 admitted to the seed. Here occurs a me- 
 chanical variety accommodated to the dif- 
 ferent circumstances under which the same 
 purpose is to be accomplished. In flowers 
 which are erect, the pistil is shorter than 
 the stamina, and the pollen shed from the 
 anthera into the cups of the flower, is 
 caught, in its descent, on the head of the 
 pistil, called stigma. 
 
 In flowers which hang suspended — the 
 crown imperial, &c. — this arrangement is 
 reversed, the pistil being the longest, and 
 its protruding summit receives the pollen 
 as it drops towards the ground. 
 
 The seed vessels assume an incalculable 
 variety of forms in different plants, all 
 evidently conducing to the same end, 
 namely, the security of the seed. 
 
 Of the gourd, melons, &c, the seed 
 vessels assume an immense bulk. In 
 stone fruits and nuts, the seed is incased 
 in a strong shell; the shell itself encased 
 in a pulj} or husk. In numerous kinds of 
 berries, in grapes, oranges, &c, the seed 
 is enclosed in a glutinous syrup contained 
 in a skin or bladder. In apples, pears, 
 &c, it is imbedded in the heart of a firm, 
 fleshly substance, or, as in strawberries, 
 pricked into the surface of a soft pulp. 
 These and many other varieties exist in 
 what we call fruits. In grains, grasses, 
 trees, shrubs, flowers, the varieties of seed 
 vessels are incomputable. We have the 
 seeds, as in the pea tribe, regularly dis- 
 posed in parchment pods, which, though 
 soft and membraneous, are impervious to 
 water. At other times as in the head- 
 lined with a fine down. We have seeds 
 packed in wool, as in the cotton plant; 
 
128 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 lodged between hard and compact scales, 
 as in pine cones: protected by spines, as 
 in the thistle; placed under a pent house, 
 as in the mushroom; in ferns, in slits on 
 the back of the leaves; or, as in grains 
 and grasses (and all our grains are grasses) 
 covered by strong, close tunicles attached 
 to a stem, according to an order appropri- 
 ate to each plant. 
 
 In the above enumeration, we notice a 
 unity of purpose under a variety of expe- 
 dients: nothing can be more single than 
 the design; nothing more diversified than 
 the means. Pellicles, shells, pods, husks, 
 pulps, skins, scales armed with thorns, are 
 all mechanically employed for the same 
 end. Secondly, we may observe, in all 
 these cases, that the purpose is fulfilled 
 within a just and limited degree. We 
 can perceive that if the seeds of plants 
 were more strongly guarded than they are, 
 their greater security would interfere with 
 other uses: many species of animals would 
 perish if they could not obtain access to 
 them. Here, as in many cases, a balance 
 is to be maintained between opposite uses. 
 
 The provision for the preservation of 
 seeds appears to be directed chiefly 
 against the inclemency of the elements, 
 the inconstancy of the seasons, the depre- 
 dations of animals, and the injuries of 
 accidental violence seem to be provided 
 against by the abundance of the increase. 
 
 When nature has perfected her seeds, 
 her next care is to sow and disperse them 
 for growth and reproduction of species. 
 The seed cannot fulfill its end while it 
 remains in the capsule. After the seed 
 ripens, the pericarpium opens to let 
 them out, which is according to rule in 
 each species of plant. Some are opened 
 by the action of frost; some by elastic 
 explosion throwing the seed to a distance. 
 Those of most composite flowers are en- 
 dowed Avith downy appendages, by which 
 they float in the air, and are carried to 
 great distances. We are compelled to 
 omit to notice the nutriment laid up in 
 store, in the seed, for the sustenance of 
 the young plant. A striking analogy ex- 
 ists between seeds and the eggs of ani- 
 mals: the same point is provided for in 
 the same manner. The white, or albumi- 
 nous part, and that only, is used in the for- 
 mation of the chicken. The yolk, with 
 very little alteration or diminution, is 
 wraped up in the abdomen of the young 
 
 bird, to serve for its nourishment until it 
 has learned to pick its own food; and, for 
 this reason, the very young bird does not, 
 as the young quadruped, care for food or 
 seek its dam, no such provision being 
 made for the latter. We give the most 
 common illustrations, because they are the 
 most forcible. 
 
 Our second observation on the mechan- 
 ical structure of plants is upon the general 
 property of climbers. In these plants,, 
 from each joint issue, close to each other,, 
 two shoots, one bearing the flower and 
 fruit, and the other drawn out to a taper- 
 ing, spiral tendril, that attaches to any- 
 thing within its reach. Considering that 
 two purposes are to be provided for — the 
 fruitage of the plant and the sustentation 
 of the stalk — no means could be more me- 
 chanical than this presents to the eye, for 
 utility and simplicity of arrangement* 
 "We do not see so much as one tree, 
 shrub, or herb, that hath a stiff, strong 
 stem that is able to mount up and stand 
 alone, without assistance furnished with 
 these tendrils." We make a single, sim- 
 ple comparison — the pea and the bean — 
 and remark, that, in the pea, they do not 
 make their appearance till the plant has 
 grown to a height to need their support. 
 
 The hollow stems of canes, straws and 
 grasses, give the greatest possible amount 
 of strength and elasticity, for the amount 
 of material used. Joints at stated dis- 
 tances, in these tubes, are another element 
 of strength, without increasing weight,, 
 the material being slightly different. 
 
 With what uniformity and care has na- 
 ture provided for these stalks of grasses,, 
 grains and canes, by providing each a cov- 
 ering of an impenetrable coat of water- 
 proof varnish. Grasses seem to be nature's 
 special care. With these she carpets the 
 green earth and paints the landscape; 
 with these she feeds the human family, the 
 birds of the air and the beasts of the field,, 
 and the grub beneath the surface. Cattle 
 feed upon their leaves and blades; birds 
 upon their smaller seeds, and many insects 
 upon their roots and seeds. And none 
 need be told that wheat, rye, corn, &c.,. 
 &c, are strictly grasses. Corn is a monce- 
 ious, panicious grass, and though the great 
 staple of the west, it seems to be over- 
 looked, in its botanical and mechanical 
 construction, by intelligent growers. Our 
 bread producing plants are grasses. Those 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 129 
 
 families of* plants known as grasses, ex- 
 hibit extraordinary means and powers of 
 increase, hardiness, and an almost uncon- 
 querable disposition to spread. Their 
 faculties of recuperation coincide with the 
 intention of nature concerning them. 
 They thrive under a treatment by which 
 other plants would be destroyed. The 
 more their leaves are consumed, the more 
 their roots increase. Many seemingly dry 
 and dead leaves of grasses revive and re- 
 new their grasses in spring. In lofty 
 mountains and cold latitudes, where the 
 summer heats are not snfficient to ripen 
 their seeds, grasses abound which are able 
 to propagate themselves without seed. 
 The number of mechanical arrangements 
 are so numerous, that we must content 
 ourselves, as before remarked, with refer- 
 ence to the more common and marked 
 instances. Parasitical plants furnish 
 
 marked illustrations. The lenscuta Eu- 
 rope is of this class. The seed opens and 
 puts forth a little spiral body, which does 
 not seek the ground to take root, but 
 climbs spirally from right to left upon 
 other plants, from which it draws its nour- 
 ishment. The little spiral body proceed- 
 ing from the seeds is to be compared to 
 the fibre's seeds sent out in ordinary cases. 
 They are straight; this is spiral. They 
 shoot downwards; this shoots upwards. 
 In the rule and in the exception, we per- 
 ceive equally the design. A better known 
 parasitical plant is the mistletoe. We 
 have to remark in it a singular instance of 
 compensation. No art hath yet made the 
 seeds of this plant root in the earth. Here 
 then might seem to be a mortal defect in 
 their constitution. Let us examine how 
 this defect is made up to them. Their 
 seeds are endowed with an adhesive qual- 
 ity so tenacious that they adhere to the 
 surface or bark of any tree, however 
 smooth. Roots springing from these seeds 
 insinuate their fibres into the woody sub- 
 stance of the tree, from which this para- 
 site draws its life and maintenance. 
 
 Another marked instance of rare me- 
 chanical action is in the autumnal crocus 
 {cholcicum autumnale). How I have sym- 
 pathized with this poor plant. Its blossom 
 rises out of the ground in the most forlorn 
 condition possible, without a sheath, calyx 
 or cap to protect it; and that, too, not in 
 spring, to be visited by the summer sun, 
 but under all the disadvantages of the de- 
 
 clining year. When we come to look 
 more closely at its mechanical organism, 
 we find that, instead of being neglected, 
 nature has gone out of her way to provide 
 for its security and to make up for all its 
 defects. The seed vessel, which, in other 
 plants, is situated within the end of the 
 flower or just beneath it, in this plaut is 
 buried ten or twelve inches under ground, 
 in a bulbous root. The styles always 
 reach the seed vessel, but in this by an 
 elongation unknown in other plants. All 
 these singularities contribute to one end. 
 As this plant blossoms late in the year, 
 and would not have time to ripen its seeds 
 before the access of winter would destroy 
 them, Providence has contrived its struc- 
 ture thus that this important office may be 
 performed at a depth in the earth out of 
 reach of the effects of ordinary frost. In 
 the autumn nothing is done above the 
 ground but the blooming and fertilization. 
 The maturation of the impregnated seed, 
 which in other plants proceeds within the 
 capsule, exposed with the rest of the flow- 
 er in the open air, is here carried on du- 
 ring the winter within the earth, below the 
 reach of ordinary frost. But here a new 
 difficulty must be overcome: the seeds, 
 though perfected, are known not to vege- 
 tate at that depth in the earth. The seeds, 
 therefore, though so safely lodged through 
 the winter, would often all be lost to the 
 purpose for which all seeds are intended. 
 To overcome this deficiency, another 
 admirable provision is made to raise them 
 above the surface and sow them at a prop- 
 er distance. 
 
 In the spring, the germ grows up upon 
 a fruit-stalk, accompanied with canes. 
 The seeds now, in common with those of 
 other plants, have the benefit of summer, 
 and are sown upon the surface. 
 
 How "great and marvelous are His 
 works," and how carefully are all the min- 
 ute details of all His creatures — animate 
 and inanimate — provided for. 
 
 Relation of parts, one to another, are 
 and must be, in mechanics; so in the ani- 
 mal economy, and so in the vegetable 
 world. None of the works of the Deity 
 want these harmonious relations of parts 
 and offices. 
 
 It is stated, on good authority, that twenty years 
 ago, the annual production of milk, per cow, in 
 New England, was 200 gallons, and that now it is 
 more than double that quantity. 
 
130 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 THE MOUNTAINS AND THEIR WORK, 
 It may not, even at this day, be altogether 
 profitless or unnecessary to review briefly 
 the nature of the three great offices which 
 mountain ranges are appointed to fulfill in 
 order to preserve the health and increase 
 the happiness of mankind. Their first use 
 is, of course, to give motion to water; 
 every fountain and river, from the inch- 
 deep streamlet, that crosses the village 
 lane in trembling clearness, to the massy 
 and silent march of the everlasting multi- 
 tude of waters in Amazon or Ganges, 
 owes its play, and purity, and power, to 
 the ordained elevations of the earth. Gen- 
 tle or steep, extended or abrupt, some de- 
 termined slope of the earth's surface is of 
 course necessary before any wave can so 
 much as overtake one sedge in its pilgrim- 
 age; and how seldom do we enough con- 
 sider, as we walk beside the margins of 
 our pleasant brooks, how beautiful and 
 wonderful is that ordinance of which every 
 blade of grass that waves in their clear 
 water is a perpetual sign; that the dew 
 and rain fallen on the face of the earth 
 shall find no resting place — shall find, on 
 the contrary, fixed channels traced for 
 them from the ravines of the central crests 
 down which they roar in sudden ranks of 
 foam to the dark hollows beneath the 
 banks of lowland pasture, round which 
 they must circle slowly among the stems 
 and beneath the leaves of the lilies; paths 
 prepared for them, by which, at some ap- 
 pointed rate of journey, they must ever- 
 more descend, sometimes slowly, some- 
 times swiftly, but never pausing; the 
 daily portion of the earth they have to 
 glide over marked for them at each succes- 
 sive sunrise, the place which has known 
 them knowing them no more, and the 
 gateways of guarding mountains opened 
 for them in cleft and chasm, none hinder- 
 ing them in their pilgrimage; and from 
 far off, the great heart of the sea calling 
 them to itself. The second great use of 
 mountains is to maintain a constant change 
 in the currents and nature of the air. 
 Such change would, of course, have been 
 partly caused by differences in soils and 
 vegetation, even if the earth had been 
 level: but to a far less extent than it now 
 is by the chains of hills, which, exposing 
 on one side their masses of rock to the 
 full heat of the sun (increased by the angle 
 at which the rays strike on the slope), and 
 
 on the other, casting a soft shadow for 
 leagues over the plains at their feet, divide 
 the earth not only into districts, but into 
 climates, and cause perpetual currents of 
 air to traverse their passes, and ascend, or 
 descend their ravines, altering both the 
 temperature and nature of the air as it 
 passes, in a thousand different ways, moist- 
 ening it with the spray of their waterfalls, 
 sucking it down and beating it hither and 
 thither in the pools of their torrents, clos- 
 ing it within clefts and caves, where the~ 
 sunbeams never reach, till it is as cold as 
 November mists; then sending it forth 
 again to breathe softly across the slopes of 
 velvet fields, or to be scorched among the 
 sunburnt shales and grassless crags; then 
 drawing it back in moaning swirls through 
 clefts of ice and up into dewy wreaths 
 above the snow-fields; then piercing it 
 with strange electric darts and flashes of 
 mountain fire, and tossing* it high in fan- 
 tastic storm clouds, as the dried grass is 
 tossed by the mower, only suffering it to 
 depart at last, when chastened and pure, 
 to refresh the faded air of the far off 
 plains. The third great use of mountains 
 is to cause perpetual change in the soils of 
 the earth. Without such provision, the 
 ground under cultivation would, in a series 
 of years, become exhausted, and require 
 to be upturned laboriously by the hand of 
 man; but the elevations of the earth's sur- 
 face provide for it a perpetual renovation. 
 The higher mountains suffer their summits 
 to be broken into fragments and to be 
 cast down in sheets of massy rock, full, as 
 we shall see presently, of every substance 
 necessary for the nourishment of plants; 
 these fallen fragments are again broken by 
 frost and ground by torrents into various 
 conditions of sand and clay — materials 
 which are distributed perpetually by the 
 streams farther and farther from the moun- 
 tain's base. Every shower which swells 
 the rivulets, enables their waters to carry 
 certain portions of earth into new posi- 
 tions, and exposes new banks of ground 
 to be mined in their turn. That turbid 
 foaming of the angry water — that tearing 
 down of bank and rock along the flanks of 
 its fury — are no disturbances of the kind 
 course of nature; they are beneficent oper- 
 ations of laws necessary to the existence 
 of man and to the beauty of the earth. 
 The process is continued more gently, but 
 not less effectively, over all the surface of 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 131 
 
 the lower undulating country; and each 
 filtering- thread of summer rain, which 
 trickles through the short turf of the up- 
 lands, is bearing its own appointed burden 
 of earth to be thrown down on some new 
 natural garden in the dingles below. And 
 it is not, in reality, a degrading, but a true, 
 large and ennobling view of the mountain 
 ranges of the world if we compare them 
 to heaps of fertile and fresh earth, laid up 
 by a prudent gardener beside his garden 
 beds, whence, at intervals, he casts on 
 them some scattering of new and virgin 
 ground. That which we so often lament 
 as convulsion or destruction, is nothing- 
 else than the momentary shaking of the 
 dust from the spade. The winter floods, 
 which inflict a temporary devastation, 
 bear with them the elements of succeed- 
 ing fertility; the fruitful field is covered 
 with sand and shingle in momentary judg- 
 ment, but in enduring mercy; and the 
 great river which chokes its mouth with 
 marsh, and tosses terror along its shore, is 
 but scattering the seeds of the harvests of 
 futurity, and preparing the seats of unborn 
 generations. I have not spoken of the 
 local and peculiar utilities of mountains; 
 I do not count the benefit of the supply of 
 summer streams from the moors of the 
 higher ranges — of the various medicinal 
 plants which are nested among their rocks; 
 of the delicate pasturage which they furn- 
 ish for cattle; of the forests in which they 
 bear timber for shipping; the stones they 
 supply for building, or the ores of metal 
 which they collect into spots open to dis- 
 covery and easy for working. All these 
 benefits are of a secondary or limited na- 
 ture. But the three great functions which 
 I have just described, those of giving 
 motion and change to water, air and earth 
 are indispensable to human existence. 
 They are operations to be regarded with 
 as full a depth of gratitude as the laws 
 which bid the tree bear fruit, or the seed 
 multiply itself in the earth. And thus 
 those desolate and threatening ranges of 
 dark mountains, which, in nearly all ages 
 of the world, men have looked upon with 
 aversion or with terror, and shrunk back 
 from as if they were haunted by perpetual 
 images of death, are, in reality, sources of 
 life and happiness far fuller and more ben- 
 eficent than all the bright fruitfulness of 
 the plain. The valleys only feed; the 
 mountains feed, and guard, and strengthen 
 
 us. We take our ideas of fearfulness 
 and sublimity, alternately, from the moun- 
 tains and the sea, but we associate them 
 unjustly. The sea wave, with all its bene- 
 ficence, is yet devouring and terrible; but 
 the silent wave of the blue mountain is 
 lifted towards heaven in a stillness of per- 
 petual mercy. — J. JRitskin, in The Garden. 
 
 BEES. 
 
 "There are more things in heaven and earth, Hor- 
 atio, 
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." 
 
 Hamlet, Act ist, Scene 4U1. 
 
 We know that dogs and cats become de- 
 moralized; contract, or are "to the manor 
 born," to bad habits; have a low standard 
 of decorum, in proportion to their intelli- 
 gence. These animals, when reared in 
 kindly and thoughtful families, become 
 progressive, they and their progeny ad- 
 vance in ideas, and become eclectic, and 
 fastidious in their behavior, no less than in 
 their affections. When their neighbors 
 and country cousins come to see them, a 
 lurking patronizing spirit is visible; "a 
 company air," such as we see in bipeds. 
 They take their visitors round to see the 
 choice places for mousing, and even some- 
 times allow them to watch at a hole, or 
 take a hurried lap at the milk-jug, a beau- 
 tiful exhibition of hospitality. But I was 
 not going to talk of cats, but bees. 
 
 Our dumb friends have the germ of 
 everything native to ourselves, in a more 
 or less developed stage. All our moral 
 ideas exist in them, and are capable of 
 cultivation. They have a sense of good 
 or ill desert, as anybody can understand 
 who has seen with sorrowful humiliation 
 his favorite dog or cat sneak aside when 
 they had been guilty of some misdemean- 
 or. But I will tell about the bees — va- 
 grant bees, demoralized bees. 
 
 I think some bees are exceptionally bad. 
 What constitutes low morals in bee com- 
 munities, I will not undertake to define; 
 it may be a tendency to gossip, that is, 
 buzz too much, to waste, or a general ten- 
 dency to galavanting. I have seen groups 
 of bees evidently excluded from the hive. 
 Were these drones? You will say un- 
 doubtedly they were drones. I do not 
 think so. I have watched them closely, 
 and seen them collect together, consult, 
 and determine upon a "new departure." 
 Immediately they flew off in all directions; 
 
132 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 at night-fall they met again and consulted, 
 settling for the night. They did not seek 
 to re-enter the hive, that being the Para- 
 dise from which they were excluded, but 
 they grouped themselves in some crevice, 
 some over-hanging thatch, and there re- 
 sumed their labors in a listless, melancholy 
 way, unlike the alert, virtuous community 
 from which they had been excluded. 
 These Pariahs were not nice. Now I have 
 a pity for all creatures that turn aside 
 from the breezy freshness and content of 
 a good life, to the fortuities of experi- 
 mental philosophies, which, ten to one, 
 end in distress. I noticed when I carried 
 sugar to these bees, they gobbled it; they 
 made no honey, but crept about in a sen- 
 sual, ill-bred way. 
 
 At one time my son was looking on as 
 some workmen made an excavation of 
 many feet preparatory to making the great 
 Brooklyn tunnel, for the Long Island 
 Railroad. In doing this the bones of an 
 Indian were more than once thrown to the 
 surface, this having been the site of an 
 aboriginal burying ground. He secured a 
 skull, which he brought home and placed 
 on the top of a book-case in his room. It 
 was not long before my geraniums and 
 roses were covered with bees, and these 
 flew about the room with a not unpleasant 
 buzz. They went out and in at the win- 
 dows, going and coming all the day, and 
 at night nowhere to be seen. They 
 brought with them the aromas of many a 
 wild blossom, and their thighs were yellow 
 with the farina of flowers. At first it was 
 a mystery where this colony from the 
 country disposed of themselves, but a 
 closer observation showed a line of bees 
 going and coming through the sepulchral 
 eyes of our Indian skull! It was a plea- 
 sant visitation, and we were not slow in 
 aiding them in their attempt at coloniza- 
 tion, by supplying them with bouquets, 
 honey and sugar. No one was ever stung 
 by them, though they often sat upon our 
 hands and shoulders. I think this must 
 have been a sort of shipwrecked family, 
 not a demoralized one. 
 
 When I was a child, my grandfather 
 used to take me with him, at night-fall, to 
 a large hollow pine tree, from whence 
 issued the pleasant hum of the honey bee. 
 Sometimes, from an aperture, they would 
 hang in immense clusters, and there would 
 be a grand mass meeting evidently going 
 
 on. Work was suspended, and it was all 
 hum — hum — talk — talk. Gradually the 
 commotion would subside, work would be 
 resumed, the noisy speech-makers would 
 re-enter their domicil, and peace would 
 reign in honey land. 
 
 Now these swarms did not leave the 
 tree, but returned to it, and this commo- 
 tion and final subsidence continued for 
 more than forty years, till after the final 
 departure of my grandfather to his perpet- 
 ual rest. He would not allow the tree to 
 be disturbed in any way. When the 
 neighbors told of the quantities of honey 
 stored there, he would reply: 
 
 " Without doubt there is much there — 
 let them enjoy it. I am paid by listening 
 to their pleasant hum, and by the summer 
 stir of God's creatures." 
 
 At one time, a bear, attracted by the 
 odorous sweets, prowled around the tree 
 and fell a victim to his temerity, by the 
 sure aim of a woodman's gun. We of 
 the old homestead did not like the idea of 
 shooting a creature who had come upon 
 the premises, attracted by what was held 
 sacred by us; it seemed like a betrayal of 
 confidence, for all creatures by my grand- 
 father were cherished with a tender re- 
 gard. 
 
 Bees are supposed to indicate good luck 
 where they thus come to a place sponta- 
 neously. They will not live with a quar- 
 relsome family — there must be cleanliness, 
 order and peace, or they will none of the 
 household. They must not be bought 
 either, nor must they be stolen; to ensure 
 prosperity with your bees, they must be a 
 gift, a free-will offering, or they will not 
 thrive. I always like to have these aro- 
 matic creatures come about and light upon 
 me; it is an endorsement of something 
 not uncannie about me; and I remember 
 a swarm of them alighted once on the lips 
 of Plato. I am sure they were finely ap- 
 preciative, eclectic and prophetic. Indeed 
 there is a thread of lively philosophy 
 breathing through the soul of nature, 
 which is never but upon the sympathetic 
 or religious mind. — Elizabeth Oakes Smith* 
 
 American "Woodlands. — Prof. W. H. Brewer,, 
 before the American Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science, states that the flora of the United 
 States has over 800 woody species, and more than 
 300 trees. Of the species, 250 are tolerably abun- 
 dant; 120 of them growing to a fairly large size; 
 20 of them attain the height of 100 "feet; 12 over 
 200 feet ; and a few a height of over 300 feet. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 133 
 
 THE QUEEN AND HER ATTENDANTS. 
 After the tumult excited by their removal 
 into a little glass hive, was calmed, and I 
 had looked at it for ten minutes, for the 
 first time of my life, I succeeded in seeing 
 a queen bee, which was walking at the 
 bottom of the case. I was recompensed 
 in this instance, for my disappointments 
 in the various attempts that I had previ- 
 ously made, for now I could view her as 
 often as I wished. Indeed, I had it in my 
 power to point her out to a large party 
 who were at my house, not one of whom 
 but evinced the greatest curiosity to see 
 this renowned sovereign. For the first 
 few minutes in which I followed her with 
 my eyes, I was tempted to believe that 
 the stories of the respect paid her by the 
 other bees, the train by which she was at- 
 tended, were imaginary fables rather than 
 real facts. She was alone, and walking 
 perhaps at a slower pace than the rest. 
 The friends who were with me were 
 pleased to discover in her gait something 
 of gravity and majesty. She advanced, 
 unattended, to one of the squares of the 
 hive, up which she mounted, to join a 
 group of her subjects at the top. In a 
 little time she re-appeared at the bottom, 
 but still sadly neglected. She ascended 
 a second time, and I lost sight of her for 
 a few minutes; she then appeared for the 
 third time at the bottom of the hive. 
 Now, however, twelve or fifteen bees were 
 ranged around her, and seemed to form 
 her train. 
 
 In spite of my inclination to believe 
 that the first train which I had perceived 
 was the effect of chance — in spite of my 
 disposition to think that a big bee would 
 be followed precisely because it was big — 
 I was forced to acknowledge that there 
 was some other foundation for the hom- 
 age, the cares and attentions which the 
 rest paid to her who was destined to be 
 the mother of a numerous progeny. The 
 queen, with her little suite, disappeared 
 for a moment among a cluster of bees. In 
 a short time she re-appeared at the bottom 
 of the hive, when a dozen others hastened 
 to join the train. A row flanked her on 
 each side as she walked, others met her 
 before, and made way as she advanced; 
 and in a very short time she was sur- 
 rounded by a circle of upwards of thirty 
 bees. Some of these, approaching nearer 
 than others, licked her with their trunks; 
 
 others extended this organ filled with 
 honey for her to sip; sometimes I saw her 
 stop to partake of the food, at other times 
 she sucked while in motion. 
 
 For several hours, consecutively, I ob- 
 served this insect, and always saw her 
 surrounded by bees who appeared anxious 
 to render her arood offices. — Reaumur. 
 
 PRUNING BROODS, 
 Pruning brood combs is generally quite 
 unnecessary; in fact, is more injurious 
 than otherwise. If they even require ex- 
 cision, it can only be when they are so 
 overcharged with pollen as to render 
 breeding impossible, in which case the 
 operation should be performed in the 
 spring. Pruning them after the bees have 
 swarmed and cast, is very unwise for sev- 
 eral reasons. First, there is a possibility 
 that, during a glut of honey, the bees 
 would build drone combs exclusively, if 
 any; second, that having to replace the 
 excised comb, they would build drone 
 comb, they would be less likely to yield a 
 surplus in their super; and third, there is 
 the undoubted fact that bees winter much 
 better in old combs than in new ones, be- 
 cause, being coated with so much silky 
 fiber, they are the warmer of the two; 
 and again, there is the chance that in an 
 unfavorable season they may be unable to 
 build any comb at all. — British JBee Jour- 
 nal. 
 
 - * » » 
 
 DELAWARE COUNTY, NEW YORK. 
 This county is the banner county of the 
 Union in butter making. It has an area 
 of sixteen hundred square miles; its sur- 
 face, hilly and mountainous, forming the 
 connecting link between the Blue Ridge 
 on the south with the Catskill range on the 
 north. Its streams are formed from my- 
 riad springs of the softest water, which 
 run in narrow channels, bordered by steep 
 hills that rise sometimes to the dignity of 
 mountains, being from a thousand to over 
 three thousand feet in height. 
 
 Necessity compels the dwellers here to 
 be dairymen not only from the "lay of the 
 land," but also from what lays in the land, 
 stone being a sure and generous crop not 
 likely to fail during this generation. The 
 hills differ from those King David speaks 
 concerning as being "covered with corn," 
 for these are covered with a thick coating 
 of the most nutritious grasses, from which 
 
134 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 the "gilt-edged" butter of the city mar- 
 ket, known as "Firsts," from which all 
 others, to a great extent, are graded down, 
 goes forth in every train, to supply the 
 wants of the dwellers in cities and towns 
 on the sea-board. The plow will not be 
 acclimated here; its constitution is not 
 adapted to anything beyond patch-work. 
 
 To one accustomed to richer lands, this 
 county has but few enticements. What 
 would be the verdict of an Illinois farmer, 
 should he look out some morning, and see 
 a whole farm covered with ferns, sorrel, 
 moss, for these do most appear on all the 
 new farms I have seen? And yet, amid 
 the stumps and from soil covered in the 
 spring with the above named nuisances, 
 there will shoot up a crop of grass equal 
 to any found in east or west. 
 
 These lands get to their best after long 
 cropping in pasture, when sorrel, ferns 
 and the mosses all disappear, and a thick 
 carpet of delightful green gladdens the 
 eye of the beholder, and furnishes the 
 choicest food for the " cattle on a thousand 
 hills." 
 
 The county has a wilderness in it yet, 
 not subdued by agriculture, in which bear, 
 deer and the panther may still be found; 
 deer being killed by dozens, and all within 
 a .few hours ride of New York City. 
 Lands uncultivated can be purchased at 
 ten dollars an acre, covered with primeval 
 forests. 
 
 The kings of the county are the tanners, 
 although their reign is fading out, as the 
 hemlock disappears from the mountains. 
 One tannery has piled up for its use seven 
 thousand cords of bark, and can run fifteen 
 3 f ears with what it controls. When the 
 available lands of this soft water region 
 shall be brought to yield its best products, 
 they will furnish a much greater supply 
 than now, arid we all be much nearer the 
 millenium, if the undersigned is a type of 
 the rest of the fraternity. 
 
 But, Mr. Editor, to snuff the mountain 
 breezes, to watch the shadows of the 
 clouds as they fly from hill to mountain, to 
 see the peaceful herds going up and com- 
 ing down,toAear the silence that enchains 
 the distances, to see the billowy mountains 
 near and far away, to feel that our Father 
 formed them for all, are greater riches 
 than all lands can bring in silver and gold 
 from dairy or from fruitful field. — Cor. 
 Western Farmer. 
 
 NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
 
 A Fungus Exhibition, the first of its kind r 
 lias been held in Scotland, recently. The speci- 
 mens numbered over 7000, from Scotland, England 
 and Wales. 
 
 Rain. — Prof. Brocksley says, in his paper "On 
 the Periodicity of the Rainfall in the United 
 States, in Relation to the Periodicity of the Solar 
 Spots," that the rainfall rises above the mean when 
 the solar spots are in excess, and falls below the 
 mean when they are deficient. 
 
 Mrs. Foster, of Champaign Co., 111., tells the 
 readers of the N. T. Tribnne, how to prevent but- 
 ter from adhering, as follows: "Take moist corn 
 meal and rub the print well with it, and rinse in 
 clean cold water; rub the hands also, and any ves- 
 sel you may use, and you will find no trouble in 
 handling the butter." 
 
 The New Zealand Flax is coming into cul- 
 tivation. It is being grown in the Azores, at St, 
 Helena, in Algiers, in the south of France, and in 
 some parts of England and Ireland. The fibre is 
 used for rope and paper making, caulking vessels,, 
 stuffing mattresses, and for coarse, textile fabrics. 
 
 Peat. — This is being cut in Germany by large 
 flat-bottomed steam boats, which make in the 
 marshes, canals 20 (German) feet broad and 6 feet 
 decj), whilst moving 10 or 12 feet per hour. It 
 strikes us that a boat of this kind could be used on 
 our large marshes, not only profitably, as far as 
 peat cutting or fuel is concerned, but more particu- 
 larly for drainage purposes. 
 
 Painting Roofs. — The Industrial Monthly 
 teaches that shingled and metallic roofs are pre- 
 served for an almost indefinite time by being well 
 painted every few years; that the shingles should 
 be painted on both sides, to begin with; and that 
 the paint for the outside should be of a light color, 
 as a dark color absorbing more heat, is more des- 
 tructive to the wood, and produces discomfort in 
 the rooms below. 
 
 The Age or Cattle as Indicated by Their 
 Teeth. — The Agricultural Gazette, of London,, 
 has lately published some illustrated articles in 
 reference to " the age of cattle as indicated by their 
 teeth," which confirm the observations made by the 
 late Dr. Martin, of Kentucky, about 40 years ago. 
 He was then breeding short-horns, and one of his 
 neighbors having been unjustly accused of decep- 
 tion in stating the ages of his improved animals, 
 Dr. Martin began the inspection of his own and 
 several other herds, and after a thorough sifting of 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 135 
 
 the whole matter, he ascertained that as short-horn 
 cattle mature so much earlier than natives, their 
 teeth keep pace with this, and at two and three 
 years old will generally show the same marks as 
 the unimproved cattle of the country at the age of 
 four and five years. The Gazette gives instances 
 of a still greater difference, as it says: "The per- 
 manent dentition is often completed in bulls of the 
 most advanced type, at three years of age, instead 
 of five or six years, according to the old standard." 
 To this we can add that the same observation applies 
 to sheep, and sometimes to pigs, and we do not 
 know that it does not hold equally good in the case 
 of other kinds of animals. — JV. 2~. Tribune. 
 
 Shipping Meat instead of Grain. — Mr. Jo- 
 seph Harris says, in the Agriculturist, "I hope 
 and believe the time is not far distant when not a 
 bushel of wheat or corn will leave our shores. We 
 ought to raise all our own wool, and supply the world 
 with pork, bacon, hams and lard. To ship a car 
 load of thin hogs from Iowa to Buffalo, and send 
 four car loads of corn along with them, to fatten 
 here, paying freight and commission on both, is 
 poor policy. To ship corn to Ireland, to make 
 pork and bacon for the English market, is equally 
 unwise. Better feed out our own corn at home, 
 and learn to furnish the bacon, hams and lard, 
 which the foreign market demands." 
 
 Cribbing Horses. — Dr. Cook, of Elmira, < >., 
 writes to the Scientific American, expressing his 
 views upon the cause and cure of this troublesome 
 habit among horses. Cribbing is caused by some 
 foreign substance getting between the teeth and 
 causing pain, or the teeth grow too close together 
 and crowd each other. The horse instinctively 
 pulls at some hard substance, a post or the plank of 
 the manger, and thus spreads the points of the 
 teeth, giving temporary relief. To remedy the 
 fault, he would file a space between the teeth, thus 
 removing the cause of the trouble. 
 
 Leaf and Flower Impression. — Oil a piece 
 of white paper on one side; hold the side that is 
 oiled over a lamp smoke till quite black ; place the 
 leaf on the black surface, as the veins and fibres of 
 the leaf show plainer on the under part; now press 
 it on all parts of the leaf with the fingers; then 
 take up the leaf, and put the black oiled sides on 
 the page of a book (made for the leaf impressions) 
 with an extra piece of paper on the top, to prevent 
 smutting the opposite page ; press it a few moments; 
 then remove the green leaf, and the impression 
 will be left on the page, as beautiful as an engrav- 
 ing. Flowers of single corolla can be pressed in 
 like manner. Many of the geranium leaves make 
 
 beautiful impressions. The impression book may 
 lie made still more interesting by giving botanical 
 classifications of each leaf and flower. — The Gar- 
 den. 
 
 Church Grounds. — The Japanese have their 
 temple, at Asacksa, surrounded with extensive 
 grounds, containing a nursery for flowers, shrubs 
 and trees, and ponds for aquatic plants. They 
 have, in this collection, began to introduce Euro- 
 pean flowers, and all is cultivated with the finest 
 taste. The Japanese, we were taught to believe, 
 were, but a short time ago, a shut out and benighted 
 people, but it is evident they have horticultural 
 light to spare, even for us. Time was that, in Eng- 
 land, the church yards were made beauty spots in 
 the land, by ornamental planting. Shall we learn ? 
 
 The Fundamental Laws of natural economy 
 laid down by Prof. Thudicum, as given in the 
 Sanitarian : 
 
 1. The basis of human life — the very root of 
 all society — is the capacity to produce food in such 
 quantities, that a surplus of it may be exchanged 
 for commodities resulting from the labors of other 
 people unable to produce food. 
 
 2. The capacity to produce food must be ren- 
 dered permanent by a strict observance of the laws 
 of nature regulating vegetable life, the knowledge 
 of which is the basis of agricultural science. 
 
 3. The first and most important of these laws 
 is, that we must return to the soil the mineral in- 
 gredients we take from it in gathering our crojDS- 
 The atmosphere furnishes the nutritive elements 
 and the soil the minerals, out of which vegetable 
 fiibres, vessels and structures containing food, are 
 built up. Without these mineral ingredients no 
 harvest can possibly flourish. 
 
 4. These mineral ingredients are continually 
 ejected from human beings and animals, in their 
 excrements, by returning which to the soil, we fur- 
 nish it with building materials for new crops. 
 
 HORTICULTURAL NOTES, 
 Cauliflowers. — The earliest kinds grown for 
 the English markets are the Early Erfurt or Early 
 London White, and the Walcheren, which is less- 
 injured by drought. 
 
 Cleft-Grafting in Mid-Winter is being, 
 practised in France with perfect success. In fact, 
 this is nothing new, says I,' Illustration Hortlcole, 
 since it has been in operation for twenty years past. 
 
 Asparagus. — In one locality, in Germany, 25,- 
 000 acres are cultivated in asparagus, mostly for 
 canning purposes, and it is pronounced most excel- 
 lent. Land is cheap, asparagus dear, in Wisconsin.. 
 
136 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 The Virginia Raspberry (rubus occidentalis) 
 is a beautiful shrub, and said to be hardy. Has 
 anyone grown it in this part of the country? 
 
 Richards' Cut-Leaved Begonia is becoming 
 quite a favorite house plant in England, and from 
 •what is said of it, should find its way here. 
 
 Sutton's King of the Cauliflowers is said 
 to be the best kind, as well as the largest and most 
 delicate kind of cauliflower, and to withstand 
 drought remarkably well. 
 
 Strawberry. — There is in France a strawberry 
 called the Quatre-Saisons, which is plentiful in the 
 Paris market up to October, and is esteemed as a 
 delicious fruit. 
 
 Old Apple Trees. — There is an apple tree in 
 New York that was brought from England in a 
 tub, and was still bearing fruit in 1870. There is 
 another in the town of Bristol, over two hundred 
 years old, still fruiting. 
 
 A Beautiful Shrub. — Will some one tell us 
 whether the Stuartia pentagynia is grown in this 
 State? It is a native of the highlands of Virgin- 
 ia, and is attracting attention in Europe. It has 
 two recommendations that make its introduction 
 desirable: it blooms at the end of the fall, and 
 bears beautiful white flowers. 
 
 The Pepperidge Tree (Nyssa Sylvatia.) 
 — Do any of our readers know whether this tree is 
 grown in the northwest ? It is said to be hardy, 
 very handsome, and a little over the medium size — 
 its leaves turning in the autumn to a very brilliant 
 crimson, making it desirable as an ornamental 
 tree. 
 
 The English Larch, in England and Scot- 
 land, is fast dying out, and seems doomed to des- 
 truction from, as it is believed, a change brought 
 about in the climate by excessive drainage. Be 
 this as it may, it is certain that the disease destroy- 
 ing the larch is more fatal where drainage is gene- 
 ral, and just as certain that in rainy Ireland the 
 disease is not known. We have lately read of 
 some extensive plantings of the English larch in 
 this country, and shall await with some curiosity 
 the result. 
 
 Why Do Flowers Sleep? asks Sir John 
 Lubbock. It is certainly a very curious question 
 and, in his opinion, points to an answer still more 
 curious and interesting. Why should some flowers 
 close at night, and others at different times of the 
 day? These differences being governed by law, as 
 is evident in their uniformity, are unquestionably 
 the result of design, and the only design he knows 
 of is their adaptation to the habits of those insects 
 
 which are in motion only at the particular time — 
 the time when these flowers are open or awake, be 
 it by night or by day. This arrangement and its 
 purpose become clear enough, when we reflect that 
 "the flowers which are fertilized by night-flying 
 insects, would derive no advantage from being open 
 by day; and, on the other hand, that those which 
 are fertilized by bees, would gain nothing by being 
 open at night." 
 
 Plant Life. — M. Corenwinder has, says Na- 
 ture, contributed an exhaustive series of observa- 
 tions on the " Respiration and Nutrition in Plants," 
 and supports the view that the process ordinarily 
 known as the respiration of plants — the decompo- 
 sition of the carbonic acid of the atmosphere — is 
 really a process of digestion, and that, simultane- 
 ously with this, plants carry on, by day as well as 
 by night, a true process of respiration, similar in 
 all respects to that performed by animals, consisting 
 in an oxidation of the carbonaceous matter of their 
 tissues. 
 
 The Fruit Garden. — In England, as we learn 
 from The Garden, the tall, large-headed trees of 
 olden times, are giving place to dwarf ones, which 
 not only produce good crops of large fruit, but 
 afford special facilities for gathering the produce, 
 and also permit the ground underneath them to be 
 cropped with better results, than in the case of 
 large, widely spread trees. Thus, when a failure 
 of the fruit crop takes place, its effects are only 
 partially felt, as there is the vegetable crop to fall 
 back upon. Low-wooded, bush-shaped trees are 
 preferable to pyramidal ones, as they are more pro- 
 lific, and not so subject to the influence of the high 
 winds. 
 
 Grapes. — According to the California Horti- 
 culturist, many of the vines pay as much as $500 
 net per acre, and some even as much as $2000. 
 The Flame Tokay vines bear occasionally 12,000 
 lbs. to the acre, making the gross yield equal to 
 $2400, at an expense of less than $200. The aver- 
 age crop of California is 8000 lbs. to the acre, in 
 France 3000, and in Ohio 5000. Thirteen pounds 
 of grapes make a gallon of wine. This gives 
 nearly 600 gallons per acre. The great wine, as 
 well as grape region of California, are the valleys 
 of Sonoma and Napa. 
 
 The Parsnip. — How is it that this vegetable is 
 not more generally and abundantly grown ? It is 
 excellent for the table, being at once savory and 
 nutritious, more agreeable as well as more nourish- 
 ing than the turnip, and containing more starch 
 than the carrot, and almost as much sugar. It goes 
 exceedingly well with corned boiled beef, to which 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 137 
 
 it imparts, in the boiling, its own peculiar sweet- 
 ness. Nor is it, when fried in slices, and peppered 
 and salted, less agreeable to the palate, when served 
 np with salt fish, roast mutton and roast pork. To 
 the farmer, especially, it commends itself by its be- 
 ing as good for beast as for man, and by its being 
 an excellent cropper, where the soil is rich and 
 deep, and the variety is of the right kind — like the 
 hollow-crowned, for instance, growing, as it does, 
 from four to six inches in diameter at the top, and 
 from two to twenty inches in length. 
 
 Apples. — From the proceedings of the Ameri- 
 can Pomological Society, at its last annual meeting 
 in Boston, we gather, what will interest our readers 
 to know, that out of the 260 varieties of apples re- 
 ported upon as being worthy of cultivation, 15 only 
 were approved, these getting twenty or more votes 
 from the fifty States or Territories. The Red As- 
 trachan stands first in the opinion of the society, 
 being voted for, the votes coming from 31 of the 
 northern, southern and western states, showing its 
 adaptability to be almost general. Maiden's Blush 
 and Early Harvest come next, the former having 
 28 and the latter 29 votes. Fall Pippin has 24 ; 
 Gravenstein, Early Strawberry, Sweet Bough and 
 American Summer Pearmain, have each 23 ; Sum- 
 mer Rose, 22; Primate and Carolina Red June, 
 each 21 ; and Tallman Sweet, Fameuse, Porter and 
 Duchess of Oldenburgh, each 20 votes. 
 
 Of pears at the same meeting, the Seckel and 
 Bartlett were placed first, as they were twenty-five 
 years ago; then come the Lawrence, Angouleme, 
 Anjou, &c. 
 
 Of cherries, the Early Richmond takes the lead, 
 then follow May Duke, Black Tartarian, Arch 
 Duke, &c. 
 
 Of currants, Red Dutch has 22 votes ; Cherry, 
 21 ; Versailles, 20 ; White Dutch and White Grape, 
 each 18, &c. 
 
 Of grapes, the Concord is ranked first, then the 
 Delaware and Hartford Prolific, &c. 
 
 While this judgment of the society is doubtless 
 correct in the main, it is admitted that fruits, like 
 flowers, like birds, and beasts and fish, have their 
 favorite localities — their habitats — where they will 
 flourish best, and, therefore, ought to be cultivated, 
 though they may be, and are not adapted to general 
 cultivation. 
 
 Beneficial, Birds. — It is a remarkable fact, 
 says "Kollar on Insects," that the smaller birds 
 feed much more generally, by a wise provision of 
 Providence, upon such insects as happen to be in- 
 jurious to tree life, than upon the harmless varie- 
 ties. 
 
 POULTRY NOTES. 
 Raising Ducks may be made profitable to a 
 large number of our farmers. A small pond of 
 water, or even a large tub set in the ground, and 
 kept full, will be sufficient for their wants. They 
 are great eaters, but grow rapidly, and are easily 
 got ready for market. They have a special liking 
 for bugs and worms, and a small flock of ducks and 
 ducklings, in a garden or field, would destroy a host 
 of these pests, and save great loss to our crops. 
 Some breeds are remarkable layers. A pair of 
 Aylesbury ducks have been known to lay over 
 three hundred eggs in a year. Those who have 
 favorable locations for raising them, would do well 
 to try it, at least to a limited extent. 
 
 Chicken Cholera. — The following is said to 
 be a sure cure for this disease : Mix a tablespoonful 
 of the essence of Jamaica ginger with enough wa- 
 ter to make one quart of corn meal into a stiff 
 dough. Feed the mixture three times daily. 
 
 Gapes. — Place a few drops of carbolic acid (the 
 medicated form is preferable to that used as a dis- 
 infectant) in a spoon, and hold it over the flame of 
 a candle. When the vapor is seen to rise, compel 
 the fowl to inhale the fumes, by holding its head 
 over the spoon a few seconds. If the first treatment 
 does not effect a cure, repeat it. Care must be 
 taken not to carry the process too far, or it may 
 cure by killing the fowl. A simpler, but equally 
 effectual remedy, given by the London Field, is to 
 melt and mix a common tallow candle (or the same 
 amount of tallow) with a quart of oatmeal, into a 
 batter, and feed to the animals affected. 
 
 Red Mites, so troublesome to canaries and other 
 house birds, it is said may be exterminated by put- 
 ting a drop or two of linseed oil on the ends of the 
 perches, occasionally. Another remedy used is to 
 paint the cage with carbolic acid, pure or mixed 
 with water. The birds should be removed until 
 the cage is perfectly dry. 
 
 To Tell the Age op Dressed Fowls. — The 
 end of the breast bone in the young fowl is mere 
 gristle; if over a year old, it becomes hardened 
 into bone. When young, the lower part of the 
 legs, the feet, and the under part of the feet, are 
 soft ; with age they become rough and horny. 
 
 Land and Water is authority for the statement 
 that a hen of the Spanish breed, " seriously worried 
 by a dog," has become pure white, whereas previ- 
 ously she was black as the ace of spades. This 
 transition did not occur in "a single night," but by 
 gradual process extending over the space of several 
 months. 
 
138 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN, 
 
 A MONTHLY 
 
 JOURNAL OF RURAL AFFAIRS, ART AND LITERATURE. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 •W" .A L T E I*. D3- DAVIS, 
 
 ASSISTED BY 
 
 JOSEPH HOBBINS, 3VT. D., 
 Ex-President of the Wisconsin Stale Horticultural Society, F. G. 
 S. and Corresponding Member of the Royal Horti- 
 cultural Society, England. 
 
 Terms.— $2.00 per Annum, in advance. $1.00 for Six 
 Months. In Clubs of ten or more, $1.50. Single numbers, 
 Twenty cents. 
 
 Terms or Advertising. — $1.00 for ten lines, Nonpareil 
 space, per month, and ten cents for each additional line. 
 
 The above are net prices for all advertising less than $50 
 in amount. 
 
 Remittances, to prevent loss of money through the mails, 
 should be made by Postal order, Draft or Registered Letter, 
 
 Address all communications to 
 
 W. B. DAVIS & CO., Publishers. 
 
 3fadison, Wis. 
 
 MADISON, WIS., JANUARY, 1875. 
 
 PLANT LIFE. 
 The more plant life is studied, the more it is found 
 to resemble animal life. A little while ago, and 
 the man who had dared to speak of "plants as our 
 brother organisms," would have been thought mad 
 enough for a mad house ; but yet not half so mad 
 as he who, to-day, not only thus speaks of some 
 varieties of plants, but shows that in their habits 
 of living — of feeding — they are carnivorous, or 
 flesh-eating plants. This, however, has been the 
 subject discussed by the justly celebrated Dr. 
 Hooker, President of the Royal Society, before the 
 British Association, the other day. And appended 
 to Dr. Hooker's address, come the equally interest- 
 ing remarks of the no less celebrated Prof. Huxley, 
 that in some plants " we find actions which exactly 
 correspond with what are called reflex actions in 
 ourselves. The Dionoea shuts its leaf in exactly 
 the same way as an infant's hand closes when you 
 touch it in the middle of the palm. That is what 
 we call reflex action, and whoever would solve the 
 question as to the manner in which the impulse 
 was given in those plants, by which the leaves con- 
 tracted, would make one of the most wonderful 
 
 discoveries." 
 
 * » * 
 
 HANG UP THE SHOVEL AND THE HOE. 
 No more spade ! the spiritualists have taken horti- 
 culture under their wing, and the fork and the rake 
 and the pruning knife, and the garden, may vanish 
 into thin air, for flowers are to come at our call, 
 ready made, in full bloom, sweet scented, and, like 
 
 our old acquaintance, Topsy, "grow'd up," without 
 knowing how or why. What between spiritualists 
 on the one hand, and materialists on the other, the 
 world in which we live is likely to become, to-mor- 
 row or the next day, something like the "house 
 that Jack built," tumbling at our feet, and found 
 to be without foundation. A somebody in London 
 claims to have a table that "rises up; an accordion 
 performs; a bell rings without being touched by 
 human hands ; a red hot coal is placed upon an old 
 gentleman's head, yet fails to injure the skin or 
 singe the hair; flowers, consisting of anemones, 
 tulips, chrysanthemums, Chinese primroses and 
 several ferns, absolutely fresh, as if just gathered 
 from a conservatory, appear where none were pres- 
 ent before. A friend asks for a sunflower, and one 
 six feet high falls upon the table, having a large 
 mass of earth about the roots." So! the sunflower 
 at least is earthy — not all spirit. Now what do 
 they want with earth in Spirit Land? 
 
 WESTERN FARMER-CONSOLIDATION. 
 The editors and proprietors of the Western Far?ner 
 announce in their issue of December 19th, that 
 their paper from that date will be merged in the 
 Western Rural, of Chicago. From our connection 
 with the Farmer in the past, we have naturally 
 felt a deep interest in its welfare. Our connection 
 with it commenced in 1866, when it was called the 
 Wisconsin Farmer, and published as a monthly. 
 The following year we became sole proprietor, and 
 changed its form to a weekly. It was enlarged and 
 its name changed to the Western Farmer, in 1869. 
 In 1870 we disposed of our interest to the Morrow 
 Bros.; but, as remarked before, have always felt a 
 friendly interest in it, and we part with it as with 
 an old friend. We regret, exceedingly, to lose from 
 our midst, and from the State, Mr. Geo. E. Morrow, 
 who goes to Chicago to reside. He is a gentleman 
 highly respected, and has been very active and in- 
 fluential in the particular department of labor to 
 which he has been called. 
 
 The Wisconsin Central Poultry Associ- 
 ation. — At the annual meeting of this association, 
 held the second Thursday of December, 1874, the 
 selection of officers resulted as follows: President, 
 W. H. Hamilton, Sun Prairie; Secretary, R. F. 
 George, Madison ; Treasurer, S. H. Hall, Burke. 
 
 The first exhibition will be held the last week 
 in January. Handsome premiums will be offered ; 
 the list will shortly be published, and all are cor- 
 dially invited to make this first exhibition a success. 
 R. F. George, Secretary. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 139 
 
 HORTICULTURAL DISTORTION. 
 Perhaps the most perfect specimen of this style of 
 gardening, in England, is to be found at Leven's 
 Hall, Westmoreland. The place itself was built 
 before the conquest, but the garden in question was 
 formed about 1701, and what makes it worthy of 
 notice is its being kept up in the style of that per- 
 iod, a style of which very few specimens remain. 
 The model after which gardens are designed to-day, 
 is that of Nature herself. But the garden at 
 Levens is fashioned on no known model, or princi- 
 ple whatever. It is a perfect contrast to the natu- 
 ral ; it is a monstrosity ; a specimen of nature as it 
 were denatured. The box-tree, the holly, the yew 
 — each attractive enough in its natural form — is 
 here converted, by knife and shears, into shapes 
 and fantasies grotesque, ridiculous and monstrous. 
 Each evergreen is made to assume the form of 
 "human beings; of the lower animals, birds and 
 beasts are represented. We have good Queen 
 Bess, wearing her crown and unmistakable ruff, 
 surrounded by her maids in waiting, and with an 
 ample flagon to cheer their spirits; the British 
 Lion, even to the tuft of his tail ; and the judge's 
 wig, under which a number of persons may be 
 seated." Two views of this unique garden are 
 given in the August number of the Gardener's 
 Chronicle, and they are well worthy of preserva- 
 tion by the horticulturist, as taste and time may, 
 sooner or later, sweep even the Levens garden into 
 that vast catalogue of the things that were, but are 
 not. 
 
 Prof. George informs us that he raised a brood 
 of canaries last December. The young birds are 
 well feathered, and in every respect equal to spring 
 birds. The parents are German canaries — the fe- 
 male of the rare golden color. The professor will 
 be happy to have parties call and see his birds, in 
 which he takes great pride. 
 
 APPROACHING- MEETINGS. 
 The friends of horticulture are reminded that the 
 annual meeting of the Wisconsin State Horticul- 
 tural Society will be held at Madison, commencing 
 on Tuesday, February 2d. It is hoped there will 
 be a large attendance of the horticulturists of the 
 State, and the interest manifested at these annual 
 meetings in the past, be kept up. 
 
 The Wisconsin State Agricultural Convention 
 will be held in the State Agricultural Booms, at 
 Madison, under the auspices of the Agricultural 
 Society, January 27, 28 and 29. The programme 
 gives promise of a rare intellectual feast, and it is 
 hoped the farmers of Wisconsin, in whose interest 
 
 these conventions are held, will not stay at home, 
 and lose the benefits to be derived from meeting 
 together in this way. 
 
 * *» * 
 
 Eastern Nurserymen do a great injustice in 
 preventing the progress of horticulture, and deser- 
 vedly reap their reward in a contracted business, 
 by not taking the proper means to inform the great 
 northwest of the new horticultural productions. 
 Again and again we have to inquire whether this 
 or that new fruit or vegetable, plant, shrub or tree, 
 has been imported, or whether some garden orna- 
 ment of the east is suited to the west — but no res- 
 ponse follows. Now Ave do not care two straws 
 through what channels they inform the public, but 
 we hold it to be their interest to give the informa- 
 tion we call for. As journalists it is our duty to be 
 ahead of the trade; and it is equally our duty to 
 see that the trade keeps pace not only with the 
 progress, but with the demands of horticulture. 
 
 4 0m » 
 
 The Sleep of Plants. — With a great number 
 of plants, both leaves and flowers, says The Garden, 
 assume during the night a very different position 
 from that which they affect during the day. To 
 this curious phenomena Linnaeus applies the name 
 of vegetable sleep. Philosophers have hitherto 
 been unable to explain, satisfactorily, the sleep of 
 leaves and flowers, spontaneous and excited move- 
 ments, &c. A crowd of hypotheses, many of them 
 very ingenious, have appeared from time to time, 
 but they destroy each other. The author who has 
 most successfully applied himself to these studies, 
 Mons. Dutrochet, affirms, in order to explain the 
 phenomena, that plants are furnished the same as 
 animals, with nervous systems, and, in truth, the 
 explanation which he gives, following a vast num- 
 ber of experiences and delicate anatomical dissec- 
 tions, appear to favor that conjecture. 
 
 Finocchio, says the Gardener s Chronicle, is a 
 vegetable which should be introduced in this coun- 
 try. It is a great favorite with the Italians — the 
 bulbous fennel of some catalogues ; the foeniculum 
 dulce of botanists. The base of the stem, together 
 with the sheathing portions of the leaves, become 
 in this plant dilated and succulent, and when 
 boiled or stewed, have an appetizing flavor deficient 
 in the majority of our cultivated vegetables. In 
 Italy, in the spring, it is a never-failing element of 
 the dinner. The plant is earthed up to secure suc- 
 culence, whiteness and delicate flavor. The seeds 
 are sown in rows successionally, all the spring, and 
 the plants thinned as they require. Earthing-up is 
 practised three or four times during the season. 
 
140 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 GREEN HOUSE AND WINDOW GARDENING -2. 
 The green houses are now in the height of their 
 beauty. Bouvardias, poinsettas, euphorbias — the 
 two last so gorgeous in their hue — seem to be typi- 
 cal of gayety, and particularly appropriate to deck 
 our homes these happy holiday times. The stately 
 calla, the queenly rose, the misty white steria and 
 crassula perfolata, the graceful begonia, and the 
 violet — sweetest of all, are ready to offer up their 
 wealth of beauty at the many shrines at which they 
 will be laid. Our window plants, if they have a 
 south-east window (in which exposure they thrive 
 best) should be gladdening the eyes with geraniums, 
 primroses, begonias, heliotropes, and other such 
 blossoms, that do not require hot-house heat. 
 
 Argeratum Mexicanum, an annual raised from 
 seed or cutting, is a valuable plant for house cul- 
 ture; is a profuse bloomer, and remains long in 
 bloom. Its delicate shade forms a pleasing con- 
 trast with almost any other color; but, unfortu- 
 nately, like many other things, it has its failings — 
 a fondness for red spider. 
 
 Cyclamen persicum is a treasure for window gar- 
 dening, requiring so little care, and repaying it 
 triple fold, with its quiet style of beauty ; and re- 
 minds one of shady woods and days when a happy 
 troupe of children gathered handsful of shooting 
 stars. They will now require plenty of water, as 
 the buds are forming. 
 
 Any plant that is growing rapidly, should be 
 well watered, while a weak, slow-growing one may 
 not require it more than twice a week. 
 
 Use warm water ; it may make extra trouble in 
 the green house, but it will surely repay you in 
 finer plants and blossoms. Cold water, just taken 
 from the cistern, at this season, is, as we know, 
 cold to our hands, and, I am sure, produces as much 
 of a chill to the roots of the plants as to our finger 
 tips, and certainly retards bloom. 
 
 Avoid repotting, unless absolutely necessary: a 
 rule which will apply to the majority of plants, for 
 there are so many varieties that will not bloom un- 
 less their roots are confined. Remove an inch or 
 two of the top soil, and replace it with fresh. 
 Smilax, the most beautiful and graceful of vines. 
 No plant is better adapted for house culture, as it 
 does well in any temperature from 50° to 70°, and 
 does not want sunlight. A north window is a fa- 
 vorable location for it. The foliage should be 
 showered daily, as it is apt to be attacked by red 
 spider. I do not think it is generally known by 
 amateurs. It is a plant that requires a period of 
 rest. Those that have grown all winter, should, 
 by May, be cut entirely down. Set the pots where 
 
 they will not receive any water for a month or six 
 weeks; then repot in fresh earth; sink the pots in 
 the ground in a shady place, and water moderately 
 until growth begins. To have it the year through, 
 one should have two sets of plants — one growing 
 while the other rests. In New York and Boston 
 there are over 20 green houses, having an area of 
 20,000 feet, used exclusively for growing the smi- 
 lax, and so great is the demand for it, for wreathing 
 in floral decorations and trimming ladies' dresses 
 and hair, that the modest sum of $1.00 a yard is 
 asked for it. 
 
 It is a good plan in the green house, nights, 
 when there is a searching wind, to throw water on 
 the brick flue (if such is used) at some little dis- 
 tance from the furnace. The steam arising will 
 form a thick coat of frost on the glass — filling each 
 tiny crack unseen by natural eyes — thus preventing 
 all heat from escaping. Should anyone be so un- 
 fortunate, on visiting their green house or window 
 early in the morning, to find an insidious foe had 
 been there before them, and left its trace in stiffened 
 leaves, at once remove from heat and light, and 
 dip them into cold water: then place in a cellar or 
 dark, cool room for a few days. If the frost was 
 not too severe, they will recover, with the loss of 
 some leaves; but if the tissue is broken, all efforts 
 will be useless. Of course this could not be done 
 in the green house; there the glass should be 
 shaded, the fires kept low, and the plants syringed. 
 This will bring the frost out in the form of ice, on 
 the leaves. This is the old theory, but Peter Hen- 
 derson, of high repute in floricultural knowledge, 
 says it is not necessary to remove the plants from 
 light or heat; have the heat a little less, and use 
 cold water freely. Indeed I can speak feelingly on 
 the subject, having passed through the trying or- 
 deal — followed the latter plan, without the loss of 
 a plant, or a dozen leaves, though the prospect, 
 when each leaf was laden with an icy coat, was 
 quite disheartening. 
 
 But by bitter experience oftentimes we learn, and 
 perfection is not obtained without many disappoint- 
 ments. Mrs. I. H. Williams. 
 
 Green House, Madison. 
 
 A Native Garden. — The Russians have un- 
 dertaken to form a garden, at St. Petersburg, of 
 the native flowers, plants, shrubs and trees. The 
 same is suggested in England. Such a garden 
 would not only be very beautiful, but very useful, 
 here. It would seem to be a duty to make our- 
 selves acquainted with the natural productions 
 which surround us — surround us in every way, for 
 our interest. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 141 
 
 ART COLLECTIONS -1. 
 Almost every day we hear our low standing in 
 art read out by those in high places, but are so 
 "very 'umble," that we never rise in our seats to 
 demur. 
 
 However, as a nation, we may fall far below the 
 standard in the old world, or below our own in 
 other directions, we still modestly claim that art 
 has a foot-hold in our midst, which every decade 
 advances into broader paths. 
 
 The northwest, especially, lays no claim to art 
 culture, despite the fact that our own State pro- 
 duced the artist whose genius, or arts, procured her 
 the commission to chisel her " rude outward image " 
 of President Lincoln. The statue stands in the 
 National Capitol, bearing its own testimony to the 
 world. 
 
 But in the face of that, we derive no small com- 
 fort from the late Industrial Exposition held at 
 Chicago, which, amid countless evidences of pa- 
 tience, industry and skill, contained nothing so good, 
 taken as a whole, as its art collection. Some taste 
 for the beautiful in art — some desire to educate the 
 people — must have influenced the committee to in- 
 defatigable toil and energy in collecting and ar- 
 ranging the seven hundred pictures and statues 
 there exhibited. And among the thousands of 
 people that daily crowded the galleries, not a few, 
 we trust, were attracted thither by something better 
 than idle curiosity. 
 
 Some critical being declares that not over fifteen 
 paintings in the collection were worth seeing. We 
 are glad that even two per cent, were good, and 
 wish the few we mention as having contributed to 
 our pleasure, may be among the favored "fifteen." 
 
 First, the mammoth picture of "The Prodigal 
 Son," was alone worth a visit to Chicago. The 
 fine coloring and exact rendering of each variety 
 of fabric in the dresses, is wonderful; and even 
 more so the skill in grouping the great company — 
 the grace of the dancing girls, the intensity of ex- 
 pression in the faces and bodies of the three gam- 
 blers. Contrasting powerfully with the brilliant 
 throng in the main picture, are the two panels in 
 neutral colors. The left one shows the son sitting 
 alone on the rocks watching his charge. The head 
 sunk on the breast, the drooping limbs, the whole 
 body only expressive of that great remorse and de- 
 jection which culminated in the resolve, "I will 
 arise and go to my father." 
 
 A small painting catalogued "Autumn" — figure 
 by E. Dubufe, Paris; sheep by Rosa Bonheur" — 
 remains freshest in memory, after a lapse of three 
 months : and because of the simple life and expres- 
 
 ion, put by genius into that animal's head; the 
 more striking from contrast with the wooden-faced 
 peasant girl beside it. 
 
 Another acquisition from the French was one of 
 Gerome's, "The Turkish Merchant," notable for 
 beauty of color, exact detail and fine finish. 
 
 Some little gems of cabinet landscapes, constant- 
 ly aroused desire of possession, by their exquisite 
 color and quiet. 
 
 Haseltine's "Capri" instantly suggested Read's 
 beautiful lines, which well describe it: 
 •' And yonder, bluest of the isles, 
 Calm Capri waits ; 
 Her sapphire gates 
 Beguiling to her fair estates." 
 
 Of a different beauty, but no less fascinating, was 
 "The Egyptian Mail Carrier," a graceful maiden 
 wearing the bright, picturesque costume of her 
 country, which harmonized favorably with the rich 
 dark complexion and girlish figure, making one of 
 the most attractive pictures in the collection. 
 
 But for a lack of ability and space, even more 
 worthy of notice and eulogy were a score of others. 
 Such were the inimitable "Sheep," by Van Sever- 
 donck, of Brussels; Sain's "Recreations in Capri," 
 with its strange atmosphere and elfish figures ; and 
 above all, the noble picture of "The Parthenon," 
 by F. E. Church, New York. But we conclude 
 this imperfect notice of the collection, by remark- 
 ing, that many of the pictures mentioned above, 
 are by American artists, and all the property of our 
 countrymen. This fact gives us reasonable hope 
 that the time will come in the near future, when 
 no one may charge us with being a "nation without 
 art." A. R. S. 
 
 Horticultural even in Death. — The last 
 and prettiest little bit of horticultural satire that 
 has come to our knowledge, has just come in the 
 shape of a legacy of one thousand dollars to the 
 Reformed Church, at Peapack, New Jersey, condi- 
 tionally that the church grounds are kept free from 
 Canada thistles and wild carrots. In case of neg- 
 lect the legacy passes from the church. The name 
 of the gentleman who has made this horticultural 
 will, is Tiger — appropriate enough. A Tiger 
 among weeds should, in the future, be our phrase 
 for a weed destroyer. 
 
 « i * 
 
 Good Potatoes. — Under this head, says The 
 Garde/i (England) come Higg's Early Coldstream, 
 Rivers' Royal Ashleaf, Daintree's Seedling, Peter- 
 son's Scotch Blue, Wheeler's Milky White, Water- 
 loo Kidney, Haigh's Cobbler's Lapstone, Pebble 
 White, Edgecote Second Early, Rector of Wood- 
 stock, York Regent and Yorkshire Hero. 
 
142 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 CANARIES.-2, 
 "Birds! birds! ye are beautiful things, 
 With your earth-treading feet and your cloud-cleaving 
 
 wings ; 
 Where shall man wander, and where shall he dwell, 
 Beautiful birds, that ye come not as well? " 
 
 This month it has been thought better to make a 
 few suggestions to those who already have a canary, 
 as to the best means of keeping it in health and 
 song; but, first, unless you really are naturally fond 
 of pets, give your bird away: one must be "born 
 as it were, to love pigs and poultry" — it is a taste 
 which cannot be acquired, but, being innate, will 
 cause the necessary trouble it involves to be a 
 pleasure, and the care " a work and labor.of love." 
 
 To such, then, I say, " cleanliness is next to god- 
 liness; " so keep your cage clean ; do not put paper 
 at the bottom, but clean, dry sand, a quarter of an 
 inch deep, and renew it once a week ; scrape the 
 perches weekly, and wipe them with a rag moistened 
 with kerosene. If your cage is a wooden one, will- 
 ing it every now and then with the same rag, is the 
 best method of keeping it free from lice, those pests 
 of the canary. 
 
 Keep your bird away from a draught, and as 
 nearly as possible in an equal temperature ; feed on 
 good, sound, clean canary seed, mixed with about 
 one-fifth hemp, and summer rape seed ; give him, 
 daily, fresh water; put a piece of cuttle-fish bone 
 between the bars, and also a piece of beef suet. 
 
 In summer time, two or three times a week, feed 
 a little fresh lettuce; and in winter a slice of apple 
 or tender cabbage. Do not feed cake, bread, or 
 pie. A little boiled potato will do no harm; but a 
 plain diet, with plenty of sand and fresh water for 
 bathing, will keep your bird healthy and in good 
 song. 
 
 Do not expect your bird to sing whilst moulting, 
 during which time, if possible, let him be in the 
 morning sun ; feed a little more hemp seed than 
 usual and give daily a portion of hard boiled egg. 
 If after moulting the bird does not sing, give a lit- 
 tle maw or blue poppy seed, and a few drops of 
 sherry or Madeira wine, on a piece of stale sponge 
 cake. 
 
 If you hang your bird out of doors, be careful 
 not to expose him to the full rays of the sun ; but, 
 if you own a good singer, keep him in doors, other- 
 wise he will soon acquire the notes of the wild 
 birds, and his song will become discordant and 
 harsh. 
 
 In conclusion, cherish your bird, and he will am- 
 ply repay all your care, for we may truly say of 
 
 the canary what a poet says of the linnet : 
 
 " Some humble heart is sore and sick with grief, 
 And straight thou comest with thy gentle song, 
 To wile the sufferer from its hate or wrong, 
 By bringing nature's love to his relief." 
 
 Next month, if our readers tire not of our plain 
 speech, mating and breeding of canaries will be 
 our subject. K. F. George. 
 
 MENTAL POWERS OF BIRDS, 
 In the scientific column of the Christian Union y 
 August 6, reference is made to the article of Mr. 
 A. L. Adams, in the Popular Science Review, on 
 the subject of the "Mental Powers of Birds." It 
 recalls to my mind an incident which came to my 
 own personal knowledge, and which prompted the 
 question which I ask. 
 
 A friend had. given me six pairs of beautiful Cal- 
 cutta doves, all pure white. I was anxious to in- 
 crease my flock, and placing them in a commodious 
 dovecote, with a row of pigeon-holes about four feet 
 from the floor, awaited the result. Soon two of the 
 pairs deposited eggs, and hatched each two squabs 
 in nests about five holes apart. One afternoon I 
 found that a little one had fallen out, and was 
 killed. The next morning, in looking from my 
 chamber window, I observed doves carrying up' 
 in their beaks, materials for a new nest; but seeing 
 the unusual size of the twigs selected, I went out 
 to see how things progressed. To my astonishment 
 I found that the doves which had their tvjo squabs 
 both safe in their nest, had erected, during the 
 morning hours, a barrier of twigs, about an inch 
 and a half high, along the front of their pigeon 
 hole, thus guarding against the catastrophe which 
 had happened to their neighbors. Was not this 
 the result of a process of reasoning? Would all 
 reasoning human beings be as wise? — John C. Park 
 in the Christian Union. 
 
 Land and Water relates some curious instances 
 of the sensibility of ducks to the influence of bright 
 colors and musical sounds. A border of china 
 asters of brilliant colors was frequented by these 
 ducks, which gathered around them, and lay gazing 
 upon them for hours at a time. A bed of violets 
 was also, as it were, a magnetic attraction to them. 
 Two of the ducks upon a summer evening walked 
 unobserved into a sitting room which opened upon 
 a lawn, and in which a musical party were perform- 
 ing upon a piano. The ducks were silent and en- 
 tranced during the music, but upon its cessation got 
 up from beneath a chair and walked about, quack- 
 ing louding. They were again silent and crouched 
 down during the performance of the music. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 143 
 
 jome department. 
 
 THE CARE OF INFANCY-No. 1, 
 
 BY JOSEPH HOBBINS, M. D., 
 
 Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, Eng. 
 " The first right of every child is to be well born ; 
 and by this I mean that it has a right to the best 
 conditions, physical, mental and moral, that it is 
 in the power of parents to secure. Without this, 
 the child is defrauded of his rights at the outset, 
 and his life can hardly fail of being a pitiful pro- 
 test against broken laws. Centuries of preparation 
 fitted the earth for man's occupancy, hinting thus 
 the grandeur of his destiny, and suggesting that, in 
 an event of such magnitude as the incarnating of a 
 soul, prevision should be exercised, and all the 
 best conditions secured in aid of a harmonious and 
 happy result. 
 
 Good health, good habits, sound mentality and 
 reverend love should form the basis of every new 
 life that is invoked. The mother who gives herself 
 up to morbid fancies, who considers her health an 
 excuse for petulance and non-exercise of self-con- 
 trol, proves herself unworthy of the holy office of 
 mother, and ought not to be surprised, if she reap, 
 at a later day, the bitter harvest of her unwise 
 sowing. 
 
 To be born into a peaceful, loving atmosphere, 
 is another right that inheres in every child. To 
 have its tender organism protected from discordant 
 noises, from abrupt movements, from the din of 
 eager or angry discussion, to linger undisturbed in 
 the twilight vestibule of existence, till the eye is 
 prepared for light, the ear for sounds, and the 
 brain for impressions. Tread softly in the presence 
 of this great mystery — old as humanity, yet ever 
 new. Be not too loud in your exultation, for the 
 life-bringer walks arm in arm with his twin broth- 
 er death, and for the winning of this new joy a 
 soul has descended into the valley of shadow, and 
 stood alone with God. 
 
 To be made physically comfortable; to breathe 
 pure air, untainted by the fumes of the paternal 
 cigar, or the bad breath of a liquor-loving nurse ; 
 to enjoy quiet sleep, free from the night-mare of 
 tightly pinned bands, or the shocks occasioned by 
 the inconsiderate banging of doors ; to be shielded 
 from the flippant curiosity of visitors, and the har- 
 assing endearments of friends and relatives ; to be 
 exempt from rocking, and trotting, and drugs; to 
 have opportunity for natural, unforced develop- 
 ment, and care that is not fussy, love that is not 
 fidgetty, and a great deal of judicious letting alone; 
 
 all these are among the earliest, and some of them 
 among the most enduring rights of the child." 
 
 A child is born into the world, little, weak, help- 
 less; in every way dependent, and but half finished ; 
 to be perfected, or to perish, just as it shall be cared 
 for or neglected. What, then, shall be done with 
 it? Finding that it cries, or breathes sufficiently 
 well, wrap it rather loosely, so as not to interfere 
 with its breathing, in soft, warmed flannel, kept in 
 readiness for the purpose, and place over this a 
 woolen shawl, if the temperature of the room re- 
 quires it. 
 
 The right temperature of the chamber for the 
 child just born, is from 80° to 85°, which should 
 be gradually lessened in a day or two, to 73°, and 
 so on, down to 67° ; between which two figures, it 
 should be allowed to range. 
 
 If it does not cry, or breathe freely, sprinkle a 
 little cold water sharply over its face and chest, two 
 or three, or more times, in quick succession, until 
 it does cry, or gasp and breathe naturally. See 
 that its mouth be free from mucus. 
 
 In cases of premature birth — sufficiently common, 
 generally speaking a seven months child is apt to 
 live, and its chance is increased in proportion as 
 its birth is delayed up to the time of its natural 
 term. Not, however, that this is always the case, 
 for it happens at times that a seven months' child 
 is more fitted to live than an eight, or even a nine 
 months' child. And for this reason, it sometimes 
 has more vitality, and is even larger and heavier, 
 and possessed of more strength. Its vitality, how- 
 ever, must be judged not so much by its size or 
 weight, as by the action of its internal functions, 
 particularly by that of its breathing, and by its 
 ability to take food. If the breathing be too weak 
 to support circulation, and its appetite be wanting, 
 or the child refuse food, it has little chance to live. 
 
 So soon as convenient — the sooner the better — 
 spread a flannel on your lap, and with a supply of 
 from four to six quarts of warm, soft water, castile 
 soap, a soft new sponge, or piece of soft flannel, 
 carefully wash the child from head to foot. 
 
 Such is the ordinary method, but I much prefer 
 washing the child in a bath; a little tub for the 
 purpose being placed upon a stool of convenient 
 height, in front of the nurse. The water should 
 not be of a lower temperature than 90°. It ought 
 not to be forgotten that its ante natal existence was 
 in an element of 98° of temperature. Any ill- 
 adapted temperature of the bath will make the 
 child cry, and you will know by this very crying 
 that the bath is too hot or too cold. It is well to 
 remember this, because the child does not so much 
 
144 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 cry from a few degrees more or less of heat, as 
 from its own greater or less sensibility, which is 
 not the same in all children. 
 
 I give the preference to the tub, for the reasons 
 that a child is more quickly washed in a tub than 
 on the lap, which is a matter of importance, con- 
 sidering what a change of temperature the child is 
 being exposed to ; and again, because the washing 
 must, in the tub, be more thorough, which is of 
 scarcely less importance ; and because, if the child 
 is thus early accustomed to the bath, it will never 
 object to, or be frightened by it, as some children 
 are, when by reason of fever, croup, colic, or other 
 disease, a warm bath is indispensable. The Queen 
 of England's children were all washed in the bath, 
 from the day of their birth, and through their in- 
 fancy. This is quoted, not because a queen must 
 necessarily be wiser, or more fitted to guide her sex 
 in such matters than any other intelligent woman, 
 but because it is fair to presume that she was governed 
 in so doing by the best medical advice that position 
 and wealth could command. 
 
 This daily bath (lowering the temperature grad- 
 ually as in the chamber) when properly given, is, 
 and should be, a source of pleasure both to the 
 child and mother. Should be given with spirit, 
 earnestness and cheerfulness, otherwise it becomes 
 an ordeal — a task — a labor as painful to the one as 
 it is tiresome to the other. The little child should 
 be taught to anticipate the undressing with glad- 
 ness — to enjoy the liberty of perfect freedom from 
 clothing. Should be early made to laugh and crow, 
 and dance upon the mother's knee. In this way 
 the bath becomes a feast of enjoyment to both. 
 The child soon learns to regard his bathing with 
 intelligent delight. In this connection there is one 
 point in particular that should never be lost sight 
 of. The child's bath, if it be made the source of 
 pleasure, becomes not only a means of happiness to 
 the little one, but a means of health ; whereas, if it 
 be made a source of pain, of disgust, and of crying, 
 it is really a source of injury to health, of mind 
 and of body. A brisk hand, a bright room, and a 
 loving, cheerful voice, are the proper accompani- 
 ments of a child's morning bath. 
 
 I have not unfrequently seen little children al- 
 most frightened into convulsions, upon attempting 
 to put them into a bath, and this when from serious 
 sickness a bath was imperatively demanded. Be- 
 sides, the idea of bringing up little children with- 
 out the use of the bath, is somewhat revolting to 
 say the least of it. The practice is well calculated 
 to convert the child's skin into a hot bed for the 
 growth of all sorts of skin diseases. 
 
 Any difficulty arising in washing the skin of a 
 new born babe is easily overcome by gently rubbing 
 it with a little sweet oil, or pure lard, using the 
 soap and water freely afterwards. 
 
 The chief points to be attended to in washing an 
 infant for the first time, are, to wash around its 
 eyes with particular care, and carefully to dry the 
 ears and the skin creases ; well powdering the lat- 
 ter, when dry, with starch powder. 
 
 The washing of the child's head with spirit, to 
 prevent its taking cold, is just the thing most likely 
 to give it a cold. The evaporation of spirit pro- 
 duces at all times a sense of cold. A spirit lotion 
 is used by physicians to cool down inflammation. 
 As applied to the heads of infants, the practice is 
 common, but bad; unphilosophical and unneces- 
 sary. During the washing of the child, and for 
 some time afterwards, it is well to protect its eyes, 
 in part, from the glaring light of the sun or lamp. 
 It is easy to excite serious inflammation in the eyes 
 of a new born babe (inflammation that sometimes 
 destroys the sight) by inefficient washing, the use 
 of strong soap, sudden or too long exposure to 
 light, washing the child's head with spirit, or neg- 
 lect in drying the head thoroughly after being in 
 the bath. 
 
 [The series of articles of which this forms the 
 first, were published in 1871. After such revision 
 as I have had time to give them, and the addition 
 of much new matter, they are now offered to the 
 readers of the Field, Lawn and Gakden.] 
 
 EECLAIMIUQ A HUSBAND. 
 While the interference of parents in affairs of the 
 loves of young people is both ill advised and often 
 times unnecessary, yet there are often so many 
 cases where girls are so love-blind and willfully ig- 
 norant, that parental restraint is perfectly proper. 
 Perhaps no folly holds so strong a place in a wo- 
 man's mind as that she can reclaim the one she loves ; 
 if he is a little fast, after marriage he will settle 
 down into a just and sensible husband. History 
 too often repeats the failure of such beliefs, it is 
 delusive, a snare, and the young woman, after the 
 marriage vows have been recorded, awakes to find 
 the will of her husband stronger than her own, too 
 selfish for any control, and her life begins its long 
 agony of misery. We say to young maidens, be 
 warned in time ; can you reclaim those who have 
 not the power to reclaim themselves? Can you 
 throw away your pure life and womanly sympathies 
 upon wretches, whose moral principles cannot stand 
 the slightest examination, and whose proffered love 
 is but a temporary symptom of their changing 
 heartlessness. Bexvarel beware! the deepest ras- 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 145 
 
 cal has the finest clothes and the smoothest tongue. 
 Parents, too, need due caution in educating their 
 children up to the responsibilities of life. Young 
 people need to be better informed about the respon- 
 sibilities of married life, and made aware of the 
 numerous villainies and treacheries of the heart. 
 We have too often witnessed tbe union of pure and 
 loving maidens to wretched scamps, who, with sin- 
 gular blindness, married with the hope of reform, 
 but never succeeded. Had they been better in- 
 formed or educated, by their parents or friends, 
 their eyes might have seen their danger. 
 
 The above remarks, together with the following 
 excellent sentiments copied from the Christian, we 
 transfer to our columns from the Ladles' Cabinet, 
 and commend the same to young and old. Be 
 ■warned in time. 
 
 To expect to dam a river with a feather, or stop 
 an earthquake with a plaster, or drown a hurricane 
 with a tin whistle, is about as reasonable as to ex- 
 pect by argument or advice to change the inclina- 
 tions of young people when they are under the in- 
 fluence of the passion they call love, and are deter- 
 mined to marry the object of their desire. 
 
 " Say what you will, and do what you will, and 
 I will have him ! " said one girl, and she did have 
 him, with intemperance, poverty, beggary, insanity 
 and death to close the scene. 
 
 "Would you marry him if you thought these 
 stories were true?" said a Christian minister to a 
 young relative who was committing her heart to 
 the keeping of one against whom evil charges were 
 brought by mutual friends who had opportunity to 
 know the truth. 
 
 " No, I would not," said she ; but no one could 
 convince her of the truth of the statements. Twen- 
 ty or thirty years of pain and sorrow, and broken 
 heart and broken spirits have done the work for 
 her at last. 
 
 "Would you marry him if you knew he drank 
 liquor ? " said a woman to a fair young girl. 
 
 "Certainly I would — marry him and reclaim 
 him," was the answer; and she did marry him, and 
 ere she had passed a month with her husband she 
 was advised by her friends to leave him, and after 
 a year and a half of abuse and sorrow she returned 
 to her father's house, a poor wretched shadow of 
 her former self — fleeing from her brutal, drunken 
 and adulterous husband to save what little life she 
 had left. 
 
 Ten thousand girls stand on the verge of the 
 same abyss to-day, and nothing you can say, or I 
 can say, will effect them in the least, except to hurry 
 them on to their terrible doom. 
 
 Why is this? Partly because they have never 
 yielded their wills to parental control, and have 
 always had their own way, and partly because 
 their parents have never warned them of their 
 danger, till it came upon them like an overrunning 
 flood. Parents do not win or encourage the confi- 
 dence of their children. Old people forget that 
 they were ever young, and young people do not 
 remember that they may yet be old. Mutual con- 
 fidence is needful to mutual comfort or improve- 
 ment. 
 
 If the mother would say to her daughter in early 
 life — long before the dangerous period comes — "My 
 child there will come a time when new feelings, 
 impulses, instincts and emotions will sway you, 
 and when the opposite sex will awaken in you pas- 
 sions which often prove stronger than judgment, 
 reason and conscience; and, coming under the in- 
 fluence of some young man, you will be liable to 
 lose your self-control, and be swayed by their will, 
 and think his thoughts, and feel his feelings, and 
 say 'Yes' to his requests, because it is his will and 
 mind that makes you speak the words he desires to 
 hear; all this will come, and you will be liable to 
 be swept to ruin by the force of an influence which 
 you do not understand, and can neither control nor 
 resist, and which may be strong in proportion as 
 its source is vile and worthless, and your only se- 
 curity from it is to place your future in the hands 
 of God, and watch your paths, and thoughts, and 
 avoid even the outer circles of this dangerous 
 whirlpool, by investigating and judging first, and 
 loving afterwards ; and only yielding your affections 
 when and where unbiassed judgment will declare 
 that it is safe and right to yield them." 
 
 If such warnings and instructions as these were 
 given from day to day in early life, how many a 
 young girl would ponder the path of her feet, and 
 walk carefully that she might escape the ruin that 
 attends so many in their wayward course. 
 
 Mothers and fathers, begin in season with your 
 children. Prepare them to rightly estimate the 
 new instincts and emotions of maturing life, not by 
 joking and hectoring them, but by a wise and lov- 
 ing course. Win their confidence and keep it. 
 Preserve their privacies ; shield the secrets of their 
 hearts from the rude gaze and mocking laugh, and 
 let them feel that it is the safest thing they can do 
 to show their first love letter to their father, or 
 whisper their first tender secret into their mother's 
 ear, assured that they will find for such communi- 
 cations a patient, courteous, reasonable and tender 
 reception, and have the best of counsel, with no 
 danger that their confidence will ever be betrayed. 
 
146 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN 
 
 Parents train your children in time. They have 
 this sea to sail over — see to it that they study the 
 chart and know the rock beforehand. Tell them 
 the things they need to know. Guard against the 
 wreck and ruin that destroys so many of the young. 
 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and 
 when he is old he will not depart from it." 
 
 A FRAGMENT, 
 The curtains of night have been parted asunder 
 
 And looped away gently by fingers unseen ; 
 The light of the Sabbath, all lambent and golden, 
 
 Is flooding the earth with its glitter and sheen. 
 
 I sit by my window and look on the landscape, 
 All robed in its brightest and richest array, 
 
 And think of the Goodness that gave us the Sabbath, 
 That priest-craft or state-craft shall ne'er take away. 
 
 While thus I am sitting, I give to my thinking 
 Loose rein, like a horseman who trusts to his steed; 
 
 And off speed my thoughts like a platoon of troopers, 
 Outstripping the swift-winged lightnings in speed. 
 
 They reach in an instant the home of a lady, 
 As pure and as bright as the angels above; 
 
 Then, like unto pilgrims whose journeys are ended, 
 They pleasantly linger in 'lurements of love. 
 
 If I could but follow my thoughts in their journey, 
 And rest where they rest, and behold what they see,. 
 
 I'll be by the side of the one only lady 
 Whose presence gives infinite pleasure to me. 
 
 I'd walk by her side as she walks in the garden, 
 And tell her a story six thousand years old, 
 
 Yet new as the dawn of this beautiful Sabbath, 
 Each time that this exquisite tale has been told. 
 
 I never may hope for the realization 
 Of all my wild fancy has pictured to me; 
 
 I'm destined to grope, as in shadows that linger 
 Long after the sun has gone down to the sea. 
 
 I'm in a dark valley, environed by mountains, 
 Whose summits with glaciers are heavenward piled, 
 
 Where th' howling of tempests and screaming of eagles 
 Conspire to make them terrific and wild. 
 
 I long to discover a pass in the mountains, 
 And thence to escape from the valley of gloom, 
 
 And walk with her always in life's upward pathway, 
 Surrounded by beauty and fragrance and bloom. 
 
 And when our short pilgrimage here shall be ended, 
 To walk with her still, up the bright, shining way, 
 
 Up to the City of God and His angels, 
 That swings like a planet in unending day. 
 Milwaukee, Wis. H. W. Roby. 
 
 FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Through the sweet air these glorious mountains rise, 
 Their sunbright summits in the silent skies. 
 O, Vale of Peace ! in their strong arms caressed. 
 With our farewells are memories doubly blessed. 
 As onward in Time's devious path we go, 
 In pictured thought these royal scenes shall glow. 
 O, may our lives thus rise more bright and grand, 
 Till we upon the heavenly mountains stand. 
 
 — Dr. Powers. 
 
 GIVE THE LITTLE BOYS A CHANCE, 
 Here we are ! don't leave us out 
 
 Just because we are little boys ! 
 Though we're not so bold and stout, 
 
 In the world we make a noise. 
 You're a year or two ahead, 
 
 But we step by step advance ; 
 All the world's before you spread — 
 
 Give the little boys a chance ! 
 
 Never slight us in our play — 
 
 You were once as small as we ; 
 We'll be big, like you, some day, 
 
 Then, perhaps, our power you'll see. 
 We will meet you, when we've grown, 
 
 With a brave and fearless glance ; 
 Don't think all this world's your own.— 
 
 Give the little boys a chance ! 
 
 Little hands will soon be strong 
 
 For the work that they must do ; 
 Little lips will sing their song 
 
 When those early days are through. 
 So, you big boys, if we're small, 
 
 On our toes you needn't dance ; 
 There is room enough for all — 
 
 Give the little boys a chance ! 
 
 — Christian Union. 
 
 AMUSEMENTS OF ANCIENT CHILDREN. 
 
 BY DR. J. B. FEULING. 
 
 There is no delight more genuine among the 
 children than that produced by the introduction of 
 a new game, or the gift of a new toy ; and inven- 
 tion daily grants something wonderful, new and 
 fair, to the store, that shall make merry the hearts 
 of our young folks. 
 
 But the children of to-day may be surprised to 
 know how many of our favorite games and toys 
 delighted the hearts of the little ancient children — 
 the joy of that generation gone long ago. " Child- 
 ren cannot be idle," says Aristotle. They must 
 have something to do, otherwise they will do mis- 
 chief. It is, therefore, a good idea to give the rat- 
 tle of Archytas into their hands, lest they destroy 
 everything that is in the house." 
 
 We do not know the construction of this noisy 
 instrument, named from the celebrated mathemati- 
 cian, but now a days such inventions are inexhaust- 
 ible. The nature of mankind has not changed, 
 and the juvenile sports of antiquity were almost 
 the same as those of modern children. We find 
 not only the instrument of Archytas frequently 
 mentioned, but children's rattles in general, of 
 which, one has been found at Pompeii, with bells 
 attached, to make a jingling sound. We read, too, 
 that the children of the ancient world, especially 
 the little girls, played with their dolls. These 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 147 
 
 were made of burnt clay; sometimes of wax, and 
 could be cheaply bought on the market, or at deal- 
 ers in dolls. They undoubtedly had not the glaz- 
 ing of modern dolls, but were painted just as pret- 
 ty, and in form and feature were often expressive 
 of grace and humor; and precious in the sight of 
 those little mothers, who arrayed them in garments 
 dyed with the berries of Hellenic evergreens, and 
 told them in whispering lullabys of the Arcadian 
 Zeus dwelling in sacred light over the oak tops of 
 the Lycaean mountains. 
 
 It was an ancient custom, when children died, to 
 collect all their little toys and trinkets, the solace 
 of life's sunniest moments, and leave them near 
 their unconscious hands. In European museums 
 of antiquities may be seen a great many dolls of 
 various kinds, found in tombs and other places. 
 There were mirrors and puppets, or marionettes, 
 having the different limbs attached by wires, so 
 that they could be put in motion, imperceptibly, by 
 a thread. These dancing dolls, which were very 
 common among the Greeks, appear to have been 
 brought to great perfection ; for Apuleyus speaks 
 of some which moved their limbs, hands, head and 
 eyes, in a very natural manner. In Attica, large 
 quantities of dolls' heads have been discovered, 
 perhaps remnants of manufactories or shops. There 
 are figures of various animals, as birds, rabbits, 
 turtles, frogs, monkeys, &c. There are figures of 
 gods and heroes; and the large number of female 
 figures, in beautiful drapery, deserve especial men- 
 tion. 
 
 Children were fond of baubles (spargana), which 
 consisted of a variety of miniature objects, such as 
 little swords, hatchets and other toys, similar to 
 those given to children at the present day. The 
 ancients included, under the same name, little 
 tokens of the same description which they used to 
 tie round their children's necks, for ornaments or 
 amulets, and also to serve as a means of recogni- 
 tion for those who were exposed, or put out to 
 nurse. Several of these are enumerated by Plau- 
 tus, and seen round the neck of a child in a statue 
 of the Pio-Clementine museum, of the same char- 
 acter as he mentions, viz.: a half-moon on the top 
 of the right shoulder; then a double ax; next a 
 bucket; a sort of flower, not mentioned; a little 
 hand ; then another half-moon ; a dolphin, instead 
 of the little sow mentioned by Plautus ; with a re- 
 occurence of the same objects. 
 
 They were urged to exercise their skill in the 
 making of knick-knacks. Pausanius tells us of a 
 small bed in the temple of Juno, at Olympia, orna- 
 mented with ivory, and said to have been a play- 
 thing of Hippodamia. 
 
 Among the popular variety of toys are classed 
 small pots and vases, marbles, miniature fountains, 
 little tiers of seats, small fish-tanks and statuettes, 
 and images of all sorts. The picture on a Greek 
 vase portrays the joy of children over such articles. 
 They rode hobby-horses devised from long canes. 
 Plutarch tells us of Agesilaos riding about among 
 his children, astride a cane. The younger children 
 rejoiced with "go-carts." 
 
 In the Clouds of Aristophanes, Strepsiades tells 
 us that when his son was six years old, he gave him 
 a little wagon at the feast of Zeus ; and in another 
 passage he relates how skillful he was, as a boy, in 
 cutting houses and boats, and in making little wag- 
 ons ouf'of leather. The reliefs on ancient vases 
 and gems represent children playing with hoops. 
 The hoop was made of iron or bronze, and trundled 
 by a crooked-necked key. It frequently had a 
 number of small rings set round its rim, to make a 
 jingling noise as it rolled on; and sometimes small 
 bells are seen, instead of rings. Martialis says the 
 bells were added to warn the people in the street to' 
 get out of the way. Homer has told us of the top, 
 and Virgil and Tibull give fine descriptions of this 
 play. Callimachus explains a phrase by saying 
 that several boys played with their tops on a cross 
 way, each in a particular spot, but he who skipped 
 his place, was reproved and enjoined to remain in 
 in his own place. Playing with balls was practised 
 by both boys and girls, and even by men of old 
 age. The see-saw is known from ancient pictures, 
 and the swing is not only seen on monuments, but 
 is also mentioned by ancient authors as a favored 
 play for children. They also became absorbed in 
 the suspense and discovery of the mysterious " hide 
 and seek. Plautus speaks of the use of stilts. 
 Pollux, in his Onomastian, mentions numerous 
 names of such plays. They played the king's 
 game, in which one boy commanded, and the oth- 
 ers obeyed. They played at blind man's buff. 
 This very popular game, also called "Boston," has 
 evidently a mythical origin and meaning. Every 
 evening, in the sky, the sun amuses itself by play- 
 ing blind man's buff: it blinds itself, and runs 
 blind into the night, where it must find again its 
 predestined bride or lost wife, the aurora. They 
 played at catch ball; they danced on one leg on 
 the second day of the rural Dionysia. Dice was 
 pi-ohibited the children, but the boys were allowed 
 astragals, or knuckle bones in its place. There are 
 many antiques representing children at this game. 
 
 A game resembling chess was also popular. The 
 chief object of the player, it is said, consisted in 
 shutting off his opponent's pieces, so that he was 
 unable to move. Pollux says when a piece got 
 
148 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 between two hostile ones, it was beaten or taken 
 away. The game was a difficult one, and good 
 players were unfrequent. "Cattabos" is referred 
 to as a well known game, which served as a kind of 
 love oracle, among a host of others depending on 
 skill, calculation and strength. 
 
 The children of ancient times also entertained 
 themselves with a variety of animals, among which 
 the dog takes an important part, ancient vase pic- 
 tures giving frequent illustrations. The cat was 
 introduced as a pet among the Greeks and Romans, 
 only later, and the weasel, which had been kept to 
 catch rats and mice, was too wild for becoming a 
 play-mate. Hares and rabbits were tamed and 
 petted, and were often given as presents to win the 
 good graces of children. Their pleasure is well 
 portrayed in ancient pictures. Birds sang their 
 way into the affections of the young folks, and 
 their plumage delighted their eyes. A boy playing 
 with a goose as big as himself, and finding it diffi- 
 cult to hold by the wings, was a common subject 
 for ancient artists, and is frequently met with in 
 statues of marble. Children were often portrayed 
 playing with swans, falcons, doves and other small- 
 er birds. One of the most beautiful statues is a lit- 
 tle girl on the capitol, who protects a dove from the 
 danger which seems to threaten it. 
 
 Quails were considered amusing on account of 
 their quarrelsome disposition. It was a popular 
 diversion to vex and incite them to fight with each 
 other. We are sorry to have to record that there 
 were cruel boys among the ancients, who indulged 
 their bad taste by playing cock shafer, and witnes- 
 sing without pity the unhappy condition of the 
 distressed flying beetle, held in thraldom by a 
 thread. Cock fighting, too, stood in high estima- 
 tion, and was eagerly witnessed by both boys and 
 men, who often bestowed immense pains in rearing 
 birds. Once a year public cock fights took place 
 in the theatre, and more often in the gymnasium. 
 At Athens it was a political institution, and took 
 place annually. 
 
 The young men were not allowed to be absent 
 from these amusements, which were regarded with 
 great favor, not only as a harmless way of diverting 
 the unruly passions of youth and as an instructive 
 example of bravery, but on account of the prizes 
 at the Olympian and other games, which opened a 
 source of honor and revenue to the State. 
 
 But, from the noisy games of a vulgar taste, it i8 
 a relief to read of the quiet home diversions. The 
 nurses and attendants had a store of tales to gratify 
 the credulous ears of childhood. Many a time 
 their bright eyes opened wide in wonder, at mar- 
 
 velous accounts of gods and demi-gods, who ruled 
 in the wide domain of the marvelous. Foolish 
 persons frightened the poor children into good be- 
 havior by tales of bugbears and bogies. Very 
 early they were exercised in guessing riddles. The 
 rewards for solving the riddles, were chaplets, 
 cakes, sweet-meats and kisses. They were taught 
 poetry from Homer, and were told the fables of 
 ^Esop, just as modern children are, and no doubt 
 were as quick to forget the moral. 
 
 But these children lived in the morning of his- 
 tory, and the merry little race have long passed 
 away. We gather these broken links reverently, 
 all that we can learn of their lives, for they speak 
 through the long change of time and distance of 
 happiness that has been. 
 
 The sun still dawns on the song and laughter of 
 our own children, but to them is given a higher 
 destiny, for they may glean wisdom from a past 
 grown old. To them is granted all the joy of en- 
 lightened amusements and the advancement of 
 earnest Christian culture. 
 State University, Madison, Wis. 
 
 ■» ^ » — 
 
 LITTLE BOPEEP. 
 Just then a flock of beautiful sheep, 
 
 Slowly followed by Little Bopeep, 
 Came in by a door that stood ajar. 
 
 "Where, where are our tails?" they cried, "Ba-a!" 
 
 With vine and brier and water cress 
 Dear Little Bopeep has fringed her dress; 
 
 Far she had raced over hills and dales 
 To find her poor sheep's beautiful tails. 
 
 She had spied them hanging o'er a brook, 
 Had pulled them down with her little crook; 
 
 Ten lovely tails of the whitest wool, 
 They crowded her crimson apron full. 
 
 "I cannot make them stay on," she sighed; 
 
 "I think they must have been too much dried." 
 Then bleated the sheep, and poor Bopeep 
 
 Dropped all their tails and began to weep. 
 
 Now it happened that each little tail 
 
 Fell with her tears in a golden pail ; 
 And Bopeep's tears, like the hill-side dew, 
 
 Curled them all up again good as new. 
 
 When out of the pail she saw them leap, 
 
 Each to its own particular sheep, 
 And fasten themselves, quite snug and true, 
 
 Exactly where they formerly grew. 
 
 Oh, merrily laughed our shepherdess, 
 
 And wiped her sweet eyes, and smoothed her dress, 
 While those sly sheep, concealing surprise, 
 
 Furtively tried their tails and looked wise. 
 
 — Z. B. Buddington, in Harper's Magazine. 
 
 If you wish heart's-ease, don't look to marigold 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 149' 
 
 MISCELLANY. 
 
 ON THE SHOEE. 
 
 AN IMITATION OF HEINE. 
 
 I stood by the sea as the sun went down, 
 While the west was glowing and bright; 
 
 And the bells rang out from the distant town 
 As I stood in the soft twilight. 
 
 And her shimmering bow the huntress hung 
 
 On the edge of the jeweled sky; 
 And the air was sweet and the night was young, 
 
 And the nightingale sang near by. 
 
 But the moon went down and the stars grew pale, 
 
 And the bells $ang out no more; 
 And the song was hushed of the nightingale — 
 'Twas silent and dark on the shore. 
 
 Charles Noble Gregory. 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 A FLOWER MISSION. 
 
 Five or six years ago a young girl, at that time a 
 teacher, noticed in her daily rambles, the great 
 waste of fruit, and especially of flowers, in the gar- 
 dens of the wealthy. Myriads of blossoms that 
 might gladden sad hearts and tired eyes, are allowed 
 to fade through the long summer days, sometimes 
 because their owners are absent abroad; oftener 
 still because of the super-abundance resulting from 
 liberal culture. Each week our thoughtful girl 
 came into the great city, always bringing with her 
 a basket or a bouquet of fresh flowers, sure, even 
 on her way from the station to her home, to be 
 asked for flowers by a score or more of little child- 
 ren, ragged, yet with the love of the beautiful in 
 their hearts. The summer passed away, but not 
 the happy thought born of the summer. In the 
 city are vast numbers of poor suffering souls, not 
 alone in hospitals and on sick beds, in narrow, 
 straitened homes, but hundreds of sewing girls 
 spending their lives in hot, stifling work rooms in 
 the heavy woolen manufactures, for fall and winter 
 trade. Where is their summer? What do they 
 know of nature's gracious bounty in field and wood, 
 on hill and glade? On the one hand the need, on 
 the other the demand, and its possible fulfilment. 
 Not only in the fields and woods, ready for the 
 harvest, but also in the conservatories and green- 
 houses, and gaily blooming flower beds of the sub- 
 urban gardens environing the great metropolis, 
 are countless superfluous blossoms that were not 
 born to blush unseen, and should not waste their 
 sweetness on the desert air. The first Sunday in 
 May, 1869, in several of the city churches, a brief 
 notice was read, inviting all having either fruit or 
 flowers to spare, or time to gather wild ones from 
 the woods, to send their gifts to the chapel of Hollis 
 Street Church, which would be open on Monday and 
 Thursday mornings, from eight till twelve, for the 
 reception and distribution of flowers and fruit to 
 the sick and poor in the city. Any and all who 
 might have leisure and inclination to assist in tying 
 up bouquets, or in carrying them to their destina- 
 tion, were invited to meet at the chapel on that 
 Monday morning; a curious example of an organ- 
 ization almost self-created; entirely composed of 
 
 volunteers; no membership or qualification for 
 membership other than the desire to lend a helping 
 hand; no president, no official red tape: each did 
 that which seemed right and fitting, and in keeping 
 with the beauty and fragrance which, week after 
 week through the long summer, made the old 
 chapel blossom like the rose. We quote a few 
 words from an account of the first day's experi- 
 ment: "The first to come were two girls, who, 
 glowing with the air of their country homes, and 
 excitement from the thought of the pleasure they 
 had the means of giving, appeared with baskets 
 filled with houstonias, cowslips, violets and ane- 
 mones, nicely tied up in pretty bunches; then two 
 more, with baskets full of violets; and again an- 
 other, with field flowers. So far all were personal 
 friends; the next contribution, however, was from 
 a stranger — hot-house flowers, and ripe red straw- 
 berries. Again, a silver wedding gift, of twelve 
 beautiful bouquets, seeming to the donors the plea- 
 santest memorial they could convey of their own. 
 happiness. Again, a Lady Bountiful sent her car- 
 riage laden with cut flowers, pot plants, and 
 branches of flowering shrubs, placing her carriage 
 also at the service of the members — a welcome gift 
 indeed, for it is no light task to carry the large, flat,, 
 flower-laden baskets to their destination." This 
 was a good beginning for such a quiet, unostenta- 
 tious charity : contributions from thirteen sources ; 
 distributions to 150 persons. The work begun un- 
 der such favorable auspices never flagged through- 
 out the summer. The givers were liberal; the 
 workers also. School children in the surrounding 
 towns made excursions to woods and fields, and 
 sent in generous collections of wild flowers, mosses. 
 and graceful ferns. Regular contributions were 
 also sent from private conservatories, sometimes 
 carefully and tastefully arranged in little bouquets,, 
 ready for distribution, sometimes in huge bunches 
 of individual flowers, easily separated; sometimes 
 a large basket held many varieties of flowers in 
 layers, with moist cotton between; the flowers hav- 
 ing been sorted in the gathering, the pinks, the 
 roses, the heliotropes, &c, which rendered the work 
 at the chapel much simpler, and lessened greatly 
 the risk of breaking the stems, always to be feared 
 in separating indiscriminate masses. The essentials 
 for work in the chapel, were a long table, broad 
 enough to turn the flowers out in heaps, with room 
 for assorting; shallow tanks of water in which to 
 place the_ bouquets as fast as prepared, until the 
 hour of distribution; plenty of string, and scissors, 
 and chairs. It is unwise to attempt to work stand- 
 ing ; the fatigue is great, and should be lessened as 
 much as possible. Large flat baskets, like market 
 baskets, are the most convenient for carrying the 
 flowers without injury. It seemed as though every- 
 one has been waiting for just this chance; for not 
 alone were the flowers provided, and busy, willing 
 hands to arrange and distribute them, but corpora- 
 tions (supposed to be soulless) became liberal and 
 generous to an unwonted degree. Railroads trans- 
 ported, free of expense, the baskets and parcels for 
 the Flower Mission ; not only over the roads, but 
 always finding among the employees at the stations 
 some one to carry them to the chapel. If the bas- 
 kets were marked with the owner's name and resi- 
 dence, they were returned also by the next train, 
 
150 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 free of charge. Many a basket, twice a week, made 
 its journey to and fro, in this way, from Dedham, 
 Newton, Wellesley, Bingham, Lexington, and even 
 as far as Plymouth. From Quincy, twice a week, 
 came two or three huge wash-tubs full of garden 
 flowers and wild flowers. In the gathering every- 
 one united, Catholic and Protestant, orthodox and 
 Unitarian, all for the love of God and His children. 
 We copy a few statistics from the report of the la- 
 dies connected with the Flower Mission, at the 
 close of the first season, in October, 1869 : 
 
 Contributions in flowers 3o6 
 
 do plants 30 
 
 do fruit 20 
 
 Number of contributors 106 
 
 do towns sending contributions 26 
 
 do bouquets distributed 6,718 
 
 Of these 1,132 were sent to people confined to the 
 city during the warm weather. The plants were 
 scattered among various homes. The remainder 
 of the flowers were taken to the hospitals and asy- 
 lums, and sometimes to the jail and State prison. 
 In the spring of 1870, the ladies of Cambridge 
 proposed to co-operate with the Hollis Street Chap- 
 el, by establishing a branch mission for the distri- 
 bution of surplus fruits and flowers in their vicinity. 
 In 1871, Chelsea followed suit. Thus the country 
 was brought to the city — close to thousands who 
 are never permitted to "go a-Maying," or to look 
 upon the full glory of summer time. During the 
 second year of the mission, the contributions, and, 
 consequently, the distributions, were more than 
 doubled. Over 11,000 bouquets were distributed, 
 besides 1,800 pond lilies, chiefly from one friend. 
 These last wrought a "special work of grace" 
 among the denizens of the North End, to quote the 
 words of the resident missionary in that apparently 
 godless region. There were men, and women too, 
 whose hearts seemed like nether millstones, imper- 
 vious to all good influences, baffling every attempt 
 at sympathy or enlightenment, to whom the sight 
 and smell of the water lilies brought tender mem- 
 ories of childhood, perhaps, when, young and inno- 
 cent, they too had gathered the pure white blos- 
 soms. The lily brought to them its message of 
 beauty, grace and sweetness, rising above the wa- 
 ters, reaching heavenward even from the black, 
 oozy depths below. Who shall say that some hu- 
 man heart to-day is not purer for the silent lesson 
 of these water lilies? Beauty, the gift of the All- 
 Beautiful as well as the All-Bountiful, is an evan- 
 gel forever to human hearts. Surely they need it 
 most whose lives are rendered the most unlovely by 
 sin and misery. It would be pleasant to give the 
 name and the portrait of the pansy man ; but the 
 modesty and reticence which so long kept him un- 
 known, save by the sobriquet earned by his lavish 
 gifts, forbid. Literally by thousands were they 
 brought, royal in purple and gold, and every rich, 
 strange tint born of hybrid culture. About twenty 
 hospitals and infirmaries were supplied week by 
 week; and many touching incidents might be re- 
 lated in connection with them. It was odd to see 
 the various preferences shown in the hospitals. 
 The men would oftenest choose bunches of fragrant 
 border pinks; the women almost always wanted 
 roses; if country bred, wild flowers were the most 
 eagerly sought. In the work-rooms, garden roses, 
 sprigs of trailing arbutus, sweet honeysuckle, or 
 
 boughs of sweet-tinted apple blossoms. As the 
 weeks wore away, and a kind of intimacy grew up 
 between givers and receivers, special cases were 
 remembered in the making of the little bouquets : 
 to the blind girl always as many fragrant flowers 
 as possible ; the consumptive, in the clean white 
 hospital bed, welcomed the scarlet geraniums, which 
 lent a bit of warm, bright color to the prevailing 
 white of the wards; one young sewing girl always 
 begged for lilies of the valley — it seemed easier, 
 she said, to sow the long white seam with the deli- 
 cate white flowers keeping her company. The 
 report of the physicians connected with the hospi- 
 tals is most encouraging. They say it is a great 
 aid to convalescence when the patients have some- 
 thing to divert their thoughts from their own suf- 
 fering, and nothing answers that purpose so well as 
 the fresh beauty and fragrance of flowers. In 
 Chelsea, many of the physicians send in lists of 
 special cases in their practice, where such gifts 
 would be particularly beneficial: oftentimes, they 
 say, the fruit sent is the best of agents in hastening 
 recovery. Among the pleasant records of the mis- 
 sion are the visits to the Bennett Street Dispensary, 
 where many poor sick people go for advice and 
 medicines — often 200 patients in the course of the 
 day, each waiting their turn, and weary waiting it 
 is. The surprise and delight manifested when the 
 flowers are distributed among them, must be seen 
 to be appreciated. Many touching letters have 
 been received from hospital patients and from the 
 work-rooms. A brief extract from one of the lat- 
 ter, is given : — " I think our Heavenly Father must 
 have put it into some sympathizing Christian heart 
 to thus remember the toiling ones. We, who are 
 shut up from morning till night, and see but little 
 of nature's beauties. I, for one, very deeply appre- 
 ciate the gift of flowers. As I looked at them, I 
 thought, 'What is the message they have brought 
 me?' Something within me seemed to say, 'To 
 comfort you, to whisper hope whenever your faith 
 grows dim ! ' Christ must have loved flowers, for 
 He gave a lesson to his disciples, 'Consider the 
 Lilies.' I have been considering them all the af- 
 ternoon. These flowers shall fade, but the Great 
 Master speaketh to me, and saith, 'Go, say kind 
 words and do kind deeds to your fellow men, and 
 cause beautiful flowers and love and trust in God's 
 goodness to grow up and blossom in their dreary 
 pathway, and remember that whatsoever ye do unto 
 the least of these My brethren, ye do it unto me 
 * * * I thank the mission for the flowers. 
 They did me a world of good, turning my thoughts 
 from the daily drudgery of life to something nobler 
 and better. With the gratitude of a weary, toiling 
 sister." One thing of special note in connection 
 with this Flower Mission is that none having put 
 their hand to the plow seem to look back or loose 
 their hold. Sooner or later we trust every town 
 and city, every country village, will have its Flow- 
 er Mission. — Harpers 1 Monthly, 
 
 * » * 
 
 A HOUSE ONE THOUSAND YEARS OLD. 
 
 The loftiest house, and the most perfect in the 
 matter of architecture I have ever seen, was that 
 which a wood-chopper occupied with his family 
 one winter, in the forests of Santa Cruz county. It 
 was the cavity of a redwood tree, 240 feet in height 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 151 
 
 Fire had eaten away the trunk at the base, until a 
 circular room had been formed, 16 feet in diameter. 
 At 20 feet or more from the ground was a knot- 
 hole, which afforded egress for the smoke. With 
 hammocks hung from pegs, and a few cooking 
 utensils hung upon other pegs, that house lacked 
 no essential thing. This woodman was in posses- 
 sion of a house which had been a thousand years 
 in process of building. Perhaps on the very day 
 it was finished he came along and entered in. How 
 did all jack-knife and hand-saw architecture sink 
 into insignificance in contrast with this house in the 
 solitudes of the great forest! Moreover, the tenant 
 fared like a prince. Within 30 yards of his coni- 
 ferous house a mountain stream rushes past to the 
 sea. In the swirls and eddies under the shelving 
 rocks, if one could not land half a dozen trouts 
 within an hour, he deserved to go hungry as a pen- 
 alty for his awkwardness. Now and then a deer 
 came into the openings, and, at no great distance, 
 quails, rabbits and pigeons could be found. What 
 did this man want more than nature furnished him? 
 He had a house with a "cupola" 240 feet high, 
 and game at the cost of taking it. This Arcadian 
 simplicity would have made a lasting impression 
 but for a volunteer remark, that nothing could be 
 added to give life a more perfect zest. "Well, 
 yes," said he, "I reckon if you are going back to 
 town, you might tell Jim to send me up a gallon of 
 whiskey, and some plug tobacco." It will not do 
 to invest a hollow tree with too much of sentiment 
 and poetry. If that message had not been suggested, 
 we should have been under the delusion to this day 
 that the lives of those people, dwelling in a house 
 fashioned a thousand years ago, were rounded to a 
 perfect fulness, without one artificial want. — Over- 
 land Monthly. 
 
 * » » 
 
 A SUNSET WALK. 
 Purple, gold, and ruby tints 
 
 Are fading in the sunless sky, 
 And pearly, dim, uncertain glints 
 
 Mark one lone star on high. 
 The cricket's tiny bell is rung, 
 The last song of the bird is sung. 
 
 Far away the din and the fret — 
 The daytime hurry and the strife — 
 
 The weary toil and sad regret, 
 Which haunt our daily life — 
 
 Oh, far away these leave me now, 
 
 With sunset's kisses on my brow. 
 
 Leaves, which all day idly tost, 
 Now pause to listen for the night, 
 
 Fast riding with his radiant host, 
 O'er hills of dying light. 
 
 Around me falls the hush of prayer, 
 
 And dimmer grows the pulseless air. 
 
 Peace and love on all descend ! 
 
 Oh, surely in an hour like this, 
 Kind Heaven seems nearer earth to bend, 
 
 Ti i give one good night kiss ! 
 Fair home-lights, now, the wanderer sees, 
 Like fire-flies, twinkle through the trees. 
 
 Loving ones return to him, 
 
 And rosy cheeks with love-light glow: 
 
 Fond hopes arise, at twilight dim, 
 In dreams of long ago. 
 
 And all the joy sweet memory gives 
 
 Touched by the hand of sunset, lives. 
 
 Oh, tranquil sunset of the soul, 
 When all the jar of earth is past ! 
 
 When storms no longer round us roll, 
 And heaven is near, at last ! 
 
 We know, though faint and fail we may, 
 
 Calm sunset ends the longest day. 
 
 THE LACUSTRINE EPOCH, 
 
 In the lacustrine dwellings of Switzerland there 
 lived a race of people all record of whose existence 
 had faded before the Romans made their incursions 
 into Gaul and Germany. Ctesar's armies in their 
 invasion of Gaul, passed ovei regions of country 
 once occupied by these lake dwellers. Roman 
 roads still exist along the shores of the Lake of 
 Neuchatel, built upon their remains, and yet the 
 great Roman general and historian knew nothing 
 of them. Their ruins lie under the water, the 
 dwellings having been built out upon piles into the 
 lake, no doubt for greater security. The windows 
 of my father's parsonage at Concise looked down 
 on such a buried settlement, though we did not 
 then know of its existence. As a boy I played in 
 its immediate vicinity ; in later years, on my last 
 visit to Switzerland, when the cutting of a railroad 
 along the lake shore had revealed the story so long 
 hidden, I gathered implements, worn bones, &c, 
 on the spot myself. In these ancient dwellings re- 
 mains are found of our domesticated animals and 
 of our cultivated plants. Bones of pigs, dogs, cat- 
 tle, deer, &c, and wheat, oats, cherries, nuts and 
 the like have been found within the precincts of 
 these lacustrine dwellings. These relics do not dif- 
 fer in any way from the products of the same kind 
 in our own time. The facts here given sustain me 
 in the belief that inheritance is a device of nature 
 to maintain type, and to preserve essential and 
 characteristic features, generation after generation. 
 — Prof. Agassiz. 
 
 Carrier Pigeons. — From Litters Living Age 
 we learn that the use of these birds for press pur- 
 poses is on the increase, and the breed is rapidly 
 improving. By careful "selection" and allowing 
 only the " survival of the fittest," powers have been 
 developed which a few years ago would have been 
 thought impossible. They can be specially trained 
 to fly over 500 miles, and it is no uncommon thing 
 for dispatches to be brought to London from Paris, 
 Lisbon or Brussels. Land and Water records a 
 case of interest. An ocean homing bird, of great 
 docility, intelligence and spirit, has been found in 
 Iceland, which flies at the meteor-like speed of 150 
 miles an hour. A pair of these birds, whose pres- 
 ent home is in Kent, within ten miles of London, 
 recently carried dispatches from Paris to their 
 home in one hour and a quarter. Press Pigeons 
 carried on the dispatches to London, and the whole 
 journey of the dispatches from Paris to London 
 occupied only one hour and a half. The press 
 pigeons now commonly used, are not the ordinary 
 carrier pigeons, but are bred by Messrs. Hartley, 
 of Woolwich, from prize birds selected from the 
 best lofts of Antwerp, Brussels and Liege. 
 * i » 
 
 Chinese Fish-Hatching.— A curious mode of 
 fish-hatching is said to be followed in China. Hav- 
 ing collected the necessary spawn from the water's 
 edge, the fishermen place a certain quantity in an 
 empty hen's egg, which is sealed up with wax and 
 put under the sitting hen. After some days they 
 break the egg, and empty the fry into water well 
 warmed by the sun, and there nurse them until 
 they are sufficiently strong to be turned into a lake 
 or river. 
 
152 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 jttr §£tttp mooh. 
 
 " Sit down here and listen ; I'll tell you a story." 
 
 Dr. Isaac Watts was remarkable for his viva- 
 city in conversation, although he was never forward 
 in displaying it. Being one day in a coffee-room 
 with some friends, he overheard a gentleman say, 
 " What is that the great Dr. Watts?" The doctor, 
 who was of low stature, turned suddenly round, 
 and, with great good humor, repeated a verse from 
 one of his lyric poems, which produced a silent 
 admiration of his modesty and talents : 
 " Were I so tall to reach the pole, 
 Or mete the ocean with a span, 
 I must be measured by my soul ; 
 The mind's the standard of the man." 
 
 An amusing story is told of Senator Jones, of 
 Nevada, which may or may not be a fact, but is 
 pretty good as a story. In the days when white 
 shirts were a Sunday luxury, the owners of them 
 had their names printed on the band beneath the 
 plaits, where as vests were not essential to a com- 
 plete outfit, it was visible to all beholders. Mr. 
 Jones, dressing hastily one Sunday, happened by 
 mistake to put on a garment belonging to J. Owens, 
 his room-mate. "Hello!" said a friend, "you've 
 borrowed a biled shirt for your Sunday holiday," 
 "Oh, no," said Jones, "this shirt is my own." 
 " Well, there's another man's name on it," said his 
 friend, pointing to the name of "J. Owens." Quick 
 as a flash, however, as soon as he saw his mistake, 
 he turned it to his advantage: "Oh, that is the way 
 our Welsh folks spell the family name, J-o-w-e-n-s, 
 Jo-wens, or Jones, as you call it. D'ye see?" 
 
 A story is told concerning a storm on lake Erie, 
 when one of the passengers was bemoaning the 
 critical state in which the vessel and its passengers 
 were then placed, and asked a friend if the captain 
 did not think the vessel was in great peril. The 
 reply was that he thought they would get through 
 all right if they could keep out in deep water. 
 "Why," said the terrified one, "can't Ave drown in 
 deep water just as well as we can in shallow?" 
 " Yes," was the reply, " but then you know if we 
 keep in deep water, when the vessel rolls over the 
 masts won't stick fast in the mud on the bottom and 
 hold us down." 
 
 The Duchess of Devonshire, while waiting in 
 her carriage one day in the streets of London, ob- 
 served a dustman, with a short pipe in his hand, 
 looking at her. Having gazed a few seconds with 
 intenseness, he broke into a smile and said, " Lord 
 love your ladyship, I wish you would let me light 
 my pipe at your eyes ! " Her Grace took it in good 
 part, and was so well pleased with the whimsical 
 frankness of the compliment, that when anything 
 civil is said to her, she often remarks, " Very well, 
 but nothing like the dustman." 
 
 A curious story of a dentist's revenge comes 
 from Paris. M. Sandre, while returning from a 
 visit to a patient, heard sounds of distress, and 
 hastened to succor a person who was lying on the 
 
 side of the road. This individual sprang up sud- 
 denly and rushed on M. Sandre, who knocked him 
 down with his forceps and tied his hands. The 
 malefactor soon recovered, and asked to be released. 
 The dentist told him that he could only escape on 
 condition that he should sacrifice a tooth. After 
 some discussion it was agreed that the tooth should 
 be delivered to the forceps, and the dentist, having 
 seated his victim on a stone, extracted an enormous 
 molar by the light of the moon. 
 
 Mr. G. Girard, now of Philadelphia, but form- 
 erly American consul at Cape Town, Cape of Good 
 Hope, communicates to the Press of the former 
 city, the following amusing reminiscence of his 
 African Consular experience: 
 
 There is a very singular custom among the farm- 
 ers — how to get a wife. If you desire to get mar- 
 ried, you should first make inquiry whether the 
 lady you love has a horse ; if so, you must ask her 
 whether she has a horse for sale. If she says "No," 
 then you had better quit the house at once. She 
 ddes not like you. But if, on the contrary, she 
 says, "Yes," it is a good sign, but she will ask you 
 a very high price. If the amount named is paid 
 on the spot, the engagement is concluded, as fully 
 as if the marriage was consummated by the parson. 
 
 On my arrival at the Cape, I did not know of 
 this custom. I wanted to parchase a horse, and was 
 
 informed by an old Dutch resident that Widow 
 
 had one to sell. I followed the address given, and 
 soon arrived at the door of the widow (who, by the 
 way, was not bad-looking). I asked her whether 
 she had a horse to sell. She looked at me very 
 sharp; then asked me whether I had some letters 
 of introduction. I said that I was the American 
 Consul, and would pay cash for her horse. "In 
 that case," said she, "letters are not necessary." I 
 paid down the sum demanded; then, after taking a 
 cup of coffee, she sent her horse by her groom, and 
 both accompanied me home. On the road the 
 groom asked me a thousand questions. "Master," 
 said he, " will my mistress go live with you in town, 
 or will you come live with us? You will love my 
 mistress, for she was very kind to my old master 
 (laughing). Where will the wedding be?" (look- 
 ing at me and laughing). "Truly," I thought, 
 " the poor fellow has drank too much, or he is an 
 imbecile." I felt sorry for him. When I arrived 
 home I found many people at my door congratulat- 
 ing me — not for the horse, but for the acquaintance 
 of the widow. "Truly," said one, "you have been 
 very successful." "She is very rich," said another. 
 I really did not know what it all meant, and began 
 to be very uneasy, when, to my very great surprise, 
 a lady alighted on my steps, and I at once recog- 
 nized the widow ! She very coolly asked me when 
 I desired to have the ceremony of the wedding 
 performed. Then, indeed, I fully perceived the 
 scrape in which I was, and told her frankly that it 
 was a horse I wanted, and not a wife. " What ! " 
 said she, "do you mean to act thus to a lady like 
 me? If so, I shall send back for my horse, and 
 will repay you the money." In a few hours her 
 groom was at my door with the money. I gladly 
 gave back the horse, thankful to have thus escaped. 
 A few weeks after, however, the widow was mar- 
 ried ; a more ambitious man had bought her horse. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 153 
 
 The subjoined discourse, delivered by a South- 
 ern divine, who had removed to a new field of 
 labor, was repeated to us several years ago, by 
 an esteemed friend who enjoyed telling a good 
 story. Some years later it was reprinted in Har- 
 per's Monthly, with illustrations. Said divine, on 
 the first day of his ministration, gave reminiscenses 
 of his former charge, as follows : 
 
 " My beloved brethering, before I take my text, 
 I must tell you about my parting with my old con- 
 gregation. On the morning of last Sabbath I went 
 into the meeting-house to preach my farewell dis- 
 course. Just in front of me sot the old fathers and 
 mothers in Israel; the tears coursed down their 
 furrowed cheeks; their tottering forms and quiver- 
 ing lips breathed out a sad fare thee well, Brother 
 Watkins — ah ! Behind them sot the middle-aged 
 men and matrons; health and vigor beamed from 
 every countenance; and as they looked up I could 
 see in their dreamy eyes — fare ye well, Brother 
 Watkins — ah ! Beside them sot the boys and girls 
 that I had baptized and gathered into the Sabbath 
 school. Many times had they been rude and boist- 
 erous, but now their merry laugh was hushed, and 
 in the silence I could hear— -fare ye -well, Brother 
 Watkins — ah ! Around, on the back seats, and in 
 the aisles, stood and sot the colored brethering, 
 with their black faces and honest hearts, and as I 
 looked upon them I could see a — fare ye well, 
 Brother Watkins — ah ! When I had finished my 
 discourse and shaken hands with the brethering — 
 ah ! I passed out to take a last look at the old 
 church — ah ! The broken steps, the flopping blinds 
 and moss-covered roof, suggested only — fare ye 
 well, Brother Watkins — ah! I mounted my old 
 gray mare, with my earthly possessions in my sad- 
 dle-bags, and as I passed down the street the servant 
 girls stood in the doors, and with their brooms 
 waved me a — fare ye well, Brother Watkins — ah! 
 As I passed out of the village the low wind blew 
 softly through the waving branches of the trees, 
 and moaned — fare ye well, Brother Watkins! — ah 
 I came down to the creek, and as the old mare 
 stopped to drink I cculd hear the water rippling 
 over the pebbles a — fure ye well, Brother Watkins 
 —ah! And even the little fishes, as their bright 
 fins glistened in the sunlight, I thought, gathered 
 around to say, as best they could— fare ye well, 
 Brother Watkins — ah ! I was slowly passing up 
 the hill, meditating upon the sad vicissitudes and 
 mutations of life, when suddenly out bounded a big 
 hog from a fence corner, with aboo ! aboo ! and I 
 came to the ground with my saddle-bags by my 
 side. As I lay in the dust of the road my old gray 
 mare run up the hill, and as she turned the top she 
 waved her tail back at fne, seemingly to say — fare 
 ye well, Brother Watkins — ah ! I tell you, my 
 brethering, it is affecting times to part with a con- 
 gregation you have been with for thirty years — ah !" 
 
 A very characteristic anecdote is related of 
 Charles XV., late King of Sweden. As is known, 
 he treated all rules of etiquette with the utmost 
 levity, and was never happier than when he could 
 pass himself off as some other person. His favor- 
 ite place of residence was his castle called Ulrks- 
 date, situated in the environs of Stockholm. Here 
 he passed his summers, and not unfrequently part 
 
 of the winter. One day, alone and dressed in a 
 simple summer costume, he took a walk in his 
 park, which was always open to visitors. Here he 
 encountered a family of strangers, who, not recog- 
 nizing the King, walked up to him, and asked if 
 they were permitted to visit the castle. "Certainly," 
 replied the King, "be so good as to follow me." 
 And he conducted them from hall to hall, explain- 
 ing everything in a manner to do credit to the 
 most voluble cicerone. The strangers were intelli- 
 gent and pleased the King, who pleased them in 
 his turn. At the moment of separation they begged 
 him to tell them in what manner they could show 
 their gratitude. " I like photographs very much," 
 said the King, " let us exchange portraits." They 
 agreed to do this, and in the evening, when the 
 strangers returned to their hotel, they found a large 
 photographic portrait awaiting them, at the foot of 
 which was written the words : " From Charles XV., 
 King of Sweden." 
 
 Two ministers were walking together one Sunday 
 morning to a country church several miles off, 
 where one of them was to preach and the other 
 was to listen. The conversation turned on the 
 length of sermons; The listening brother asked 
 the preaching one how long he meant to preach. 
 
 " I shall speak an hour and a quarter, at least," 
 said Brother Preach. 
 
 "An hour and a quarter ! " responded Brother 
 Listen, " why, I never preach more than half an 
 hour." 
 
 " Don't preach more than half an hour ! " said 
 Brother Preach, " why, it takes me half an hour to 
 begin." 
 
 " Well, then," said Brother Listen, " we'll have 
 abouf that time till we get to church. You had 
 better begin now, and save the time of the congre- 
 gation." 
 
 Edward Fox went with his brother, Charles 
 James Fox, to witness the first balloon ascent made 
 in England. There was a great crowd, and Fox 
 detected a pickpocket attempting to relieve him of 
 his watch; " My friend, " said he, " you have 
 chosen an occupation which will be your ruin at 
 last." The thief burst into tears, and exclaimed, 
 " Oh, Mr. Fox, forgive me and let me go ! I have 
 been driven to this by necessity alone ; my wife and 
 childeen are starving." Fox compassionately gave 
 him a guinea, and he went away with blessings on 
 his lips. Soon after, Fox, wishing to know what 
 time it was, found his watch missing. "Great 
 God ! " he exclaimed, " my watch is gone ! " "Yes," 
 answered his brother, " I know it is ; I saw your 
 friend take it." " Saw him take it, and made no 
 attempt to stop him ! " " Really," said the brother, 
 " you and he appeared to be on such good terms 
 with each other that I did not like to interfere." 
 
 JUDGF E- 
 
 - relates the following incident as 
 
 occuring in the course of hi- practice: 
 
 He was trying a petty case, in which one of the 
 parties was not able to pay counsel fees, and under- 
 took to plead his own cause ; but he found in the 
 course of the trial that the keen and adroit attor- 
 ney, who managed the case for the other party, was 
 too much for him in legal strategy, evidently mak- 
 
154 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 ing the worse appear the better cause. The poor 
 
 man, Mr. A , was in a state of mind bordering 
 
 upon desperation, when the opposing counsel closed 
 his plea, and the case was about to be submitted to 
 the justice for decision. "May it please your hon- 
 or," said the man, "may I pray ?" The Judge was 
 taken somewhat by surprise, and could only say 
 that he saw no objection. Whereupon Mr. A— — 
 went down upon his knees and made a fervent 
 prayer, in which he laid the merits of the case be- 
 fore the Lord in a very clear and methodical state- 
 ment of all the particulars, pleading that right and 
 justice might prevail. " O Lord ! Thou knowest 
 that the lawyer has misrepresented the facts, and 
 Thou knowest that it is so and so — " to the end of 
 the chapter. Arguments which he could not pre- 
 sent in logical array to the understanding of men, 
 he had no difficulty in addressing to the Lord, be- 
 ing evidently better versed in praying than petti- 
 fogging. When he rose from his knees, Esquire 
 W , the opposing counsel, very much exasper- 
 ated by the turn the case had taken, said: Mr. 
 Justice, does not the closing argument belong to 
 me?" To which the Judge replied: "You can 
 
 close with prayer, if you please." Esquire W 
 
 was in the habit of praying at home, but not seeing 
 the propriety of connecting his prayer with his 
 
 practice, wisely forbore, leaving poor A to win 
 
 his case as he did, by this novel mode of present- 
 ing it. 
 
 A yotjng- parson of the Universalist faith, many 
 years since, started westward to attend a convention 
 of his brethren. He took the precaution to carry 
 a vial of Cayenne pepper in his pocket, to sprinkle 
 on his food as a preventative of fever and ague. 
 The convention met, and at dinner a tall Hoosier 
 observed the parson as he seasoned his meat, and 
 addressed him thus: 
 
 " Stranger, I'll thank you for a leetle of that 'ere 
 red salt, for I'm kind o' curious to try it." 
 
 "Certainly," returned the parson, "but you will 
 find it very powerful ; be careful how you use it." 
 
 The Hoosier took the proffered vial, and, feeling 
 himself proof against any quantity of raw whisky, 
 thought he could stand the "red salt" with impun- 
 ity, and accordingly sprinkled a chunk of beef 
 rather bountifully with it, and forthwith introduced 
 it into his capacious mouth. It soon began to take 
 hold. He shut his eyes, and his features began to 
 writhe, denoting a very distressed condition physi- 
 cally. Finally he could stand it no longer. He 
 opened his mouth and screamed "fire!" 
 
 "Take a drink of cold water from the jug," said 
 the parson. 
 
 "Will that put it out?" asked the martyr, suiting 
 the action to the word. In a short time the unfort- 
 unate man began to recover, and turning to the 
 parson, his eyes yet swimming in water, he ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 "Stranger, you call yourself a Varsalist, I be- 
 lieve?" 
 
 " I do," mildly responded the parson. 
 
 " Wal, I want to know if you think it consistent 
 with your belief to go about with h — 1 fire in your 
 weskit pocket!" 
 
 A good story is told of Judge P., of Vermont, 
 
 well-known as a pronounced teatotaler, to illustrate 
 the value of some men's professions. Invited to 
 attend some agricultural festival, the Judge was 
 asked upon his arrival if he would have a glass of 
 milk, and upon responding " Yes," was proffered a 
 glass of what looked like milk, but was in fact most 
 potent milk punch. Taking a sip at first, the 
 Judge soon returned to the glass and drained it to 
 the bottom, when he returned it to his entertainer 
 with the exclamation, "Lord, -what a cow ! " 
 
 A gentleman, in riding through one of the 
 pine wastes so common in Middle Georgia, over- 
 took a young man whose sack of corn under him, 
 on the farm horse he bestrode, gave evidence that 
 he was bound for the nearest grist mill. 
 
 Some conversation developed the fact that the 
 new acquaintance was a son of Mr. Grier, of Tal- 
 iaferro county, a relative of Justice Grier, of the 
 United States Supreme Court, but better known as 
 the author of the famed " Griefs Almanac," and 
 an uncle of Alexander H. Stephens. The gentle- 
 man asked: "And do you ever make calculations 
 upon the weather like those for which your father 
 is so celebrated?" Oh yes," was the ready reply. 
 The gentleman continued: "And how do your cal- 
 culations agree with those of your father?" "Very 
 well indeed," answered young Grier; "we are nev- 
 er more than one day apart." " Why, that is won- 
 derful indeed!" said the gentleman; "only one 
 day difference?" "Yes," said Grier; "he can 
 always tell the day before when it is going to rain, 
 and I can always tell the day after-ward!" 
 
 Thf Commercial Bulletin tells this : 
 
 The prosperous undertaker of a neighboring 
 town, is a shoemaker by trade, and an acquaintance 
 calling on him a few days since, was surprised to 
 find him seated at the bench, and pegging merrily 
 away at his former business. 
 
 "Hallo, G ," said the visitor, "I thought you 
 
 had left the care of soles for that of bodies." 
 
 "So I had, so I had," said the carer for sole and 
 body, with an emphatic rap of his hammer, and a 
 
 shudder of his left eyelid, "but Dr. S went to 
 
 Europe last month, an' the berr'in' business aint 
 wuth follerin' now. 
 
 Dr. C tells this story as illustrating the idea 
 
 some men have concerning religion : 
 
 A pious old Kentucky deacon, named Shelby, 
 was famous as a shrewd horse trader. One day 
 farmer Jones went over to Bourbon county, taking 
 his black boy with him, to trade horses with brother 
 Shelby. After a deal of bickering, they finally 
 made a trade, and Jim rode the new horse home. 
 "Wasn't your master afraid the deacon would get 
 the best of him in trade?" asked some one of the 
 deacon's neighbors, as Jim rode past. "Oh, no," 
 replied Jim, as his eyes glistened with a new intel- 
 ligence, "Massa knowed how Deacon Shelby has 
 got kinder pious lately, and he was on his guard ! " 
 
 One of Disraeli's admirers, in speaking about 
 him to John Bright, said : " You ought to give him 
 credit for what he has accomplished, as he is a 
 self-made man." "I know he is," retorted Mr. 
 Bright, "and he adores his maker." 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 155 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY. 
 
 "THE COMING DAIRYMAN." 
 At the annual meeting of the New York 
 Dairymen's Association, held at Bingham- 
 ton, in December, Flint Blanchard, with 
 the above text, as reported by the Tribune, 
 said, there are several circumstances which 
 tend to make the dairy interest a perman- 
 ent one and to mold the character of the 
 coming man: 1. Ready money can always 
 be had for his goods as soon as they are 
 ready for the market; his products are his 
 bank. 2. It avoids a depreciation of fer- 
 tility in the soil; if the farm does not ac- 
 tually grow rich, it need suffer no loss. 3. 
 It affords uniform returns and divides its 
 work over the whole year. 4. It contri- 
 butes to steady habits, and hence to good 
 morals; no dairyman can "loaf at the cor- 
 ners;" he must be at home to attend to 
 business. 5. For agricultural work, his 
 labor is light and therefore not costly. 
 Mr. B. traced briefly the course of the 
 agriculture of the State from its early set- 
 tlement down, and draws the conclusion 
 that dairying must be the chief occupation 
 of the New York farmer because of the 
 hard competition of the West in grain- 
 growing. Young America aspires and 
 goes West, and soon sends back to the 
 doors of his old home the products of the 
 vast prairies at a less cost than his father 
 can raise them. The parent is compelled 
 to turn the sweet grass and the soft water 
 of his hilly farm into butter and cheese. 
 But the sons whom Eastern parents have 
 sent West, are already driving a hard com- 
 petition with their sires in the products of 
 the dairy. A New York dairyman must 
 henceforth be a man of progress and excel 
 in his art, or his Western colaborers will 
 outdo him, and his steady improvements 
 will make him an important character. He 
 must not only make the best butter and 
 cheese, but he must have the best cows 
 that can be bred. The care and food of 
 the cow mold the product. He must be 
 skilled in feeding as well as in breeding. 
 The heaviest obstacle he will have to con- 
 tend with will be the cost of milk produc- 
 tion. He must study to lessen the cost of 
 his raw material, and this he will do by 
 soiling. His necessities will compell him 
 to settle the inevitable questions of fodder, 
 corn and high feeding. Mr. B. related 
 facts which show that the questions are so 
 
 far advanced as to demonstrate that one 
 more cow can be kept for each acre of 
 fodder corn raised, and that a herd may be 
 increased one-sixth by feeding $12 worth 
 of grain per head, the feed at the same 
 time yielding a handsome profit on its cost. 
 The coming dairyman must be a closely 
 discriminating and tidy farmer, handling 
 his products with all the taste and neatness 
 of a cook in preparing for a feast. He 
 must be one who will study the future 
 welfare of his vocation; who will not low- 
 er, but raise, the standard of his products. 
 He will hardly be an advocate of skim- 
 ming. 
 
 THE CATTLE TRADE OF KANSAS CITY. 
 In 1868 Abeline was selected as the best 
 place for receiving Texas cattle. This 
 town is on the Kansas Pacific, something 
 over 150 miles west of the Missouri, and 
 it soon became a most important center. 
 Afterward, several shrewd Eastern capital- 
 ists conceived the idea that another point 
 would be required as headquarters, not 
 only of Texas stock, but also of corn-fed 
 grade cattle, as well as of sheep and hogs, 
 and after long deliberation they fixed upon 
 Kansas City. Having purchased suitable 
 grounds, they began building capacious 
 yards, which were completed in 1871, at a 
 cost of $120,000. 
 
 These yards cover 35 acres, 13 of which 
 are inclosed and divided into blocks or 
 pens for cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, 
 and the establishment has a present capa- 
 city of handling and shipping 8,000 head 
 of cattle and the same number of hogs 
 per day. Water is brought in pipes and 
 supplied by steam power, and troughs and 
 racks are in every pen. The blocks are 
 numbered, and divided by streets. There 
 are scales so large that 25 head of cattle 
 can be weighed together, and of the seven 
 or eight railroads coming to the city, each 
 has tracks to these yards, and most of them 
 have conveniences for unloading from 400 
 to 600 cars a day. Every road going East 
 takes long cattle trains daily. In 1871 the 
 amount of stock received was: Cattle, 
 120,827; hogs, 410,036; in 1872, cattle, 
 235,236; hogs, 104,336; horses, 2,635; in 
 1873, cattle, 227,669; hogs,220,956; horses 
 4,202. The shipments for nine months of 
 the present year show an increase, and 
 among them were nearly 6,000 sheep. The 
 whole business is done by the company 
 
156 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 owning the yard, and a charge of 25 cents 
 a head is made, not including food. 
 
 Some of the largest packing houses in 
 the world are located in Kansas City, and 
 last year they killed and put up over 200,- 
 000 bogs and"85,000 head of cattle. Fewer 
 hogs will be killed this year, but about 
 2,500 head of cattle are being slaughtered 
 daily. Money transactions by a single 
 firm to the amount of $50,000 a day are 
 not uncommon. Here are seen persons 
 from all parts of the country, and the bus- 
 iness men of the East come in contact with 
 the Texas drover and the Mexican laborer. 
 The successful cattle dealer must know 
 many things, and must see quickly and 
 judge wisely. He must see at a glance 
 what a herd of cattle will bring in the var- 
 ious markets of the country; what they 
 will weigh, the cost of shipping and feed- 
 ing, the amount of shrinkage on the road, 
 the number of cattle that have reached 
 market, and that are on the way, as well 
 as their character, and whether the tend- 
 ency of prices is up or down. — NevoYork 
 
 Tribune. 
 
 ■ «* » 
 
 BEST FEED F0K HORSES. 
 
 There is a great diversity of opinion as 
 to what kind of food, and the amount to 
 be given, is best adapted to the wants of 
 working animals. J. Stanton Gould, in 
 investigating this subject, visited the horse 
 railroad stables of New York and Brook- 
 lyn, and found that they had all settled 
 down, each company for itself, as the result 
 of careful and repeated experiments, upon 
 one uniform rule for horse-railroad horses, 
 and that was, twelve pounds of hay and 
 ten pounds of Indian meal per day. In 
 that way a railroad horse was kept up to 
 his highest condition, and they were ena- 
 bled to do their work more satisfactorily 
 than under any other system that had been 
 tried. Oats had been repeatedly used as 
 an article of feed, and their cost was care- 
 fully compared with that of Indian meal. 
 It was found at the time that during the 
 hot weather the feeding of this amount of 
 meal would be found injurious; but the 
 result of their experience was, that Indian 
 meal, on the whole, for a railroad or omni- 
 bus horse, was the true thing. But they 
 have one very curious practice, which 
 ought to be stated in connection with this, 
 as possibly bearing upon the subject. 
 They invariably water their horses at one 
 
 o'clock at night. They have an idea that 
 watering their horses at night adds greatly 
 to their power of digesting food, and pre- 
 vents injurious consequences. 
 
 THE WORK OF INSECTS. 
 The following calculations show the im- 
 mense value of tiny insects and insignifi- 
 cant looking worms: Great Britain pays 
 annually 11,000,000 for dried bodies of the 
 insect knewn as the cochineal; while 
 another, peculiar to India — gum shellac, 
 or rather its production — is scarcely less 
 valuable. More than 1,500,000 human be- 
 ings derive their sole support from the 
 culture and manufacture of the fibres spun 
 by the silk worm, of which the annual cir- 
 culating medium is about $200,000,000. 
 In England alone, to say nothing of the 
 other parts of Europe, $500,000 are spent 
 in the purchase of foreign honey, while 
 the value of that which is native is not 
 mentioned; and this does not include the 
 10,000 pounds of wax imported annually. 
 Besides, there are the nut galls, used in 
 making ink; the cantharides or Spanish 
 fly, used in medicine. In fact, nearly every 
 insect known contributes in some way to 
 swell commercial profits. Even the dread- 
 ed Coloaado potatoe bug may become use- 
 ful, as will be seen from the following 
 note, which we clip from an exchange: 
 "An order just received from a firm of 
 Indianapolis may be classed as one of the 
 curiosities of commerce. It has been dis- 
 covered that these insects possess qualities 
 which make a good substitute for the 
 Spanish fly, and there is a prospect that 
 from being regarded as an unmitigated 
 pest, they may become a source of actual 
 profit." 
 
 • » * 
 
 CAUSES OF RAIN. 
 The amount of watery vapor that the air 
 can hold depends upon its temperature. 
 When saturated with moisture, it must 
 give up a portion of it if the temperature 
 falls. Whatever cools the air may, there- 
 fore, be considered as a cause of rain. It 
 is chiefly due to the ascent of air into the 
 higher regions of the atmosphere. Moist 
 air-currents are forced up into the higher 
 parts of the atmosphere by colder, dried 
 and, therefore, heavier wind currents, 
 which get beneath them. Ranges of 
 mountains also oppose their masses to the 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 157 
 
 winds, so that the air forced up their 
 slopes is cooled, and its vapors condensed 
 into showers of rain or snow. The air as 
 it rises is chilled by its expansion as well 
 as by the lower temperature of the region 
 into which it ascends. The deposition of 
 vapor on the sides of a glass receiver, 
 which is being exhausted by an air-pump, 
 is a familiar illustration of this fact. The 
 air is cooled as it becomes rarefied, and 
 has to yield up a part of its vapor. 
 
 The temperature of the air is also low- 
 ered, and the rainfall increased, by winds 
 that convey the air to higher and colder 
 latitudes. This occurs in temperate re- 
 gions, or in those traversed by the return 
 trade winds, which north of the equator 
 blow from the south-west, and south of it 
 from the north-west. The meeting and 
 mixing of winds of different temperatures 
 is also a cause of rain, since the several 
 portions when combined cannot hold as 
 much vapor as before. The rainfall is also 
 increased if the prevailing winds are di- 
 rectly from the sea, and therefore moist; 
 but it is diminished if they have passed 
 over large tracts of land, particularly 
 mountain ranges, and are therefore dry. 
 The quantity of rain likewise influenced 
 by sandy deserts, which allow radiation; 
 by day or night, to take immediate effect 
 in raising or depressing the temperature, 
 and also by forests, which retard or coun- 
 teract radiation. 
 
 Of the agencies that affect the distribu- 
 tion of the rainfall, the most important are 
 mountains. These, as we have remarked, 
 act as condensers of the atmospheric va- 
 por, and air-currents that reach them heavy 
 with moisture, are plundered of their wa- 
 rery treasures as they climb the rocky 
 slopes, and have little or nothing left for 
 refreshing the thirsty plains on the further 
 side. — Journal of Chemistry. 
 
 WALKING HORSES. 
 Walking is the most important gait for 
 useful horses, yet little attention is paid to 
 developing this most valuable quality. 
 The fast walking gait is of immensely 
 more importance than the fast trotting 
 gait. An increase of one mile per hour 
 in the walking gait of all the farm horses 
 of the country would represent hundreds 
 of millions in the economy of labor for a 
 single year. Yet this might much more 
 
 easily be accomplished that what has al- 
 ready been done in increasing the trotting 
 speed. The ordinary walking gait of a 
 horse on the road is three miles, and on 
 the plow two and a quarter to two and a 
 half miles. Suppose this could be in- 
 creased one mile per hour in each case; it 
 would represent thirty-three per cent, ex- 
 tra travel, or ten miles per day on the road, 
 and about the same on the farm. The 
 money value of this for the 2,500,000 
 working teams would be enormous, but it 
 is perfectly capable of accomplishment. 
 If the attention could be turned to this 
 practical improvement as it has been to the 
 pleasureable and fanciful one of trotting, 
 it would, in ten years, add more than a 
 hundred millions to the annual productive 
 industry of the country. 
 
 In England the draft horse is not per- 
 mitted to be driven faster than a walk on 
 the public road. Heavy draft and steady 
 movement go together, and any attempt 
 to mix up trotting action with work, must 
 result in failure. But the useful horse 
 should be trained with the same care and 
 zeal for the special purpose to which he is 
 to be devoted, as the trotting or running 
 horse; and could the same enthusiasm be 
 infused into the breeders of these faithful 
 servants, as the sporting fraternity give to 
 the rearing and training of their pets, it 
 would soon produce almost a revolution in 
 the motive power of the farm and local 
 commerce. The walking gait is the work- 
 ing gait, and. the work of the world is 
 more important than the pleasure. There- 
 fore let not breeders ignore the useful 
 horse, that is connected with the highest 
 progress of mankind. — Live Stock Journal. 
 
 GERMINATION OF SEED. 
 The Flore says that two chemists of the 
 Academy of Brussels, Messrs. Deheian 
 and Ed. Landrin have made some interest- 
 ing discoveries relative to the germination 
 of seed. It is well known that the action 
 of the air and the presence of water are 
 necessary conditions; but hitherto the 
 mode of action of these two agents has 
 not been understood. MM. Deheian and 
 Landrin have been enabled to throw some 
 light on these mysterious phenomena. It 
 is now ascertained that the effect of water 
 is to soften the covering of the seed so as 
 to render it permeable by gas. When 
 
158 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 they have imbibed sufficient moisture, the 
 tissues of the seed acquire the property of 
 condensing gases. This condensation can- 
 not take place without producing heat; 
 the oxygen, therefore, which has penetra- 
 ted the tissues is sufficiently heated to 
 cause oxydation and the consequent awak- 
 ening of vegetable life. According to the 
 experiments of MM. Deheian and Lan- 
 drin, the condensation of the gases in the 
 seed is the first commencement of germin- 
 ation. If the condition is not produced, 
 whether from want of water or because 
 the air cannot reach the seed, there can be 
 no formation of the immediate principles 
 necessary for the evolution of the germ. 
 These experiments, though highly scien- 
 tific, are very interesting from a practical 
 point of view, as they enable the cultiva- 
 tor to determine the influence which the 
 solidity of the soil, the dryness or the ex- 
 cess of moisture, the depth of earth in 
 which the seed is placed, may have on the 
 success of the sowing. Experience has 
 already taught us much on these matters, 
 but scientific methods, corroborating, as 
 they do, the observations of practical men, 
 can alone point out the sure means to be 
 employed to bring about the desired re- 
 sults. — W. JV., in The Garden. 
 
 CAMELS IN NEVADA. 
 On a ranch on the Carson river, eight 
 miles below the mouth of Six-Mile Canon, 
 is to be seen a herd of twenty-six camels, 
 all but two of which were born and raised 
 in Nevada. But two of the old herd of 
 nine or ten brought here some years ago 
 are now living. It would seem that the 
 original lot fell into the hands of the Mex- 
 icans, who treated them very badly, over- 
 loading and abusing them. The men who 
 now have them are Frenchmen, who had 
 formerly some experience with camels in 
 Europe. They find no difficulty in rearing 
 them, and can now show twenty-four fine 
 healthy camels, all of Washoe growth. 
 The camel may not be said to be thor- 
 oughly acclimated in the State. The own- 
 ers of the herd find it no more difficult to 
 breed and rear them than would be exper- 
 ienced with the same number of goats or 
 donkeys. The ranch upon which they are 
 kept is sandy and sterile in the extreme; 
 they will thrive and grow fat on such 
 refuse food, thistles and weeds such as no 
 
 animals would touch. When left to them- 
 selves, their great delight, after filling 
 themselves with the coarse herbage of the 
 desert, is to lie and roll in the hot sand. 
 They are used in packing salt to the mills 
 on the river, from the marshes lying in the 
 deserts some sixty miles to the eastward. 
 They have animals that easily pack 1,100 
 pounds. — Exchange. 
 
 QUEER KIND OF HOGS. 
 According to the Florida Agriculturist, 
 the hogs in that State partake of the na- 
 ture of alligator and deer, having the snout 
 of one and the legs of the other. Food 
 is completely thrown away upon them, as 
 it requires years to bring them sufficient 
 fat to grease a gun barrel. This the editor 
 thinks ought not to be, and he says: "We 
 remember when the same kind of animals 
 were the only ones in the island of Jamai- 
 ca. Some enterprising men introduced 
 the China breed, and crossed them with 
 the native, and from these as fine a class 
 of hogs can be seen there as in any other 
 country. The China do not eat much, and 
 always keep fat, but they are too fat for 
 the climate in summer, and suffer from the 
 heat. The crossed are the best pigs for 
 this country. We have seen some splen- 
 did pigs in the West Indies — a cross of 
 the China and Berkshire. They were fed 
 entirely on fruit, sugar-cane and the skim- 
 ming's.' 1 
 
 CURING COWS OF SFLF-MILKING. 
 Dairymen having self-milking cows may 
 like to try this plan of treatment recom- 
 mended by a correspondent of the Indiana 
 Farmer: "I took some grafting wax, 
 which I melted, putting in a little lard to 
 make it softer, and stirred in liberally, in 
 about equal portions, pulverized aloes and 
 Cayenne pepper. In the morning, after 
 milking, I applied it freely. She again 
 made the attempt, but stopped at once. 
 I made but few applications of this com- 
 pound to the teat, as it had every time to 
 be cleansed off before milking, so I would 
 occusionally, instead, put a little upon her 
 bag just above the teat, where her nose 
 would come in contact with it, which 
 proved effectual. This I followed for two 
 or three weeks. I have the same cow now, 
 and have had no trouble since, now over 
 two years, so I think I can say she is cured. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 159 
 
 Anything beside grafting wax that will 
 stick, will answer. I had that, and so used 
 it." 
 
 m » m 
 
 An instance of extraordinary intelligence in a 
 dog, is given by a correspondent of Land and Water, 
 The gentleman who witnessed the event, was, a 
 short time since, on a visit to Scotland, and during 
 one of his walks he came across some men who 
 were washing sheep. Close to the water whei e the 
 operations were being carried on was a small pen, 
 in which a detachment of ten sheep were placed 
 near the water for washing. While watching the 
 performance his attention was called to a sheep dog 
 lying down close by. This animal, on the pen be- 
 coming nearly empty, without a word from anyone, 
 started off to the main body of the flock and 
 brought back ten of their number, and drove them 
 into the empty washing pens. The fact of the dog 
 bringing the same number of sheep as had vacated 
 it, he looked upon at first as a strange coincidence, 
 a mere chance ; but continued looking on, and 
 much to his surprise, as soon as the men had re- 
 duced the number to three sheep, the dog started 
 off* again and brought ten more ; and so on he con- 
 tinued throughout, never bringing one more nor 
 one less, and always going for a fresh lot when only 
 three were left in the pen, evidently being aware 
 that during the time the last three were washing 
 he would be able to bring up a fresh detachment. 
 
 m ^ m 
 
 The dome of the capitol, at Washington, is the 
 most ambitious structure in America. It is a 
 hundred and eight feet higher than the Washington 
 Monument at Baltimore, sixty-eight feet higher 
 than that of Bunker Hill, and twenty-three feet 
 higher than the Trinity Church spire of New York. 
 It is the only considerable dome of iron in the 
 world. It is a vast hollow sphere of iron weighing 
 8,200,000 pounds. More than four thousand tons. 
 Directly over head is a figure in bronze, "America," 
 weighing 14,985 pounds. The pressure of the iron 
 dome upon its piers and pillars is 13,477 pounds to 
 the square foot. St. Peter's presses nearly 20,000 
 pounds mare to the square foot, and St. Genevieve, 
 at Paris, 66,000 pounds more. It would require to 
 crush the supports of our dome a pressure of 775,- 
 280 pounds to the square foot. The cost was about 
 $1,100,000. 
 
 4 «m * 
 
 Mulching. — For a general mulch, Tke Garden 
 thinks there is nothing that beats the soil itself. 
 A good mulch for shrubs and young trees of all 
 kinds, is one of green grass, applied immediately 
 after the last stirring of the soil, and sprinkled 
 well with leached ashes. The ashes will draw 
 moisture from the air, and help to protect the soil 
 below. This also will add fertility. The severest 
 drought has but little effect. 
 
 Floating Gardens. — Artificial islands are, it 
 seems, common in China, as well as in Mexico. 
 "The Chinese fishermen" (says Barrow's "China") 
 "having no house on shore, nor stationary abode, 
 but moving about in their vessels on the extensive 
 lakes and rivers, have no inducement to cultivate 
 patches of ground which the pursuit of their pro- 
 
 fession might require them to leave for the benefit 
 of another; they, therefore, plant their onions on 
 rafts of bamboo, well interwoven with reeds and 
 long grass, and covered with earth, and these float- 
 ing gardens are towed after their boats." 
 
 Lice on Cattle. — To ten pounds salt add one 
 pound sulphur, once a week, and occasionally 
 sprinkle those whose hair looks harsh and rough, 
 with sulphur through a duster. This has proved 
 all that was necessary with me. Cattle do well. — 
 J. A. Johnson, Poolsville, Ind. 
 
 Northwestern 
 
 Nurseries. 
 
 Doylestown, Columbia Co., Wis. 
 
 L. H. DOYLE, PROPRIETOR. 
 
 Hardy Fruit Trees a Specialty. 
 
 APPLE, 
 PLUM, 
 GRAPES, 
 EVERGREENS, 
 
 PEAR, 
 CHERRY, 
 SMALL FRUITS, 
 TIMBER TREES, 
 
 ORNAMENTAL STOCK, ROSES, 
 BULBS, &c, &c. 
 
 250,000 Apple and 30,000 Pear Root Grafts 
 
 Put up in the best possible manner. 
 
 4®=-Prices on application. FALL CUT CIONS of all the 
 Old and New Sorts for sale. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. 
 
 Our Stock for Spring Trade embraces 
 
 Apple, Pear and Cherry Crafts, 
 
 GRAPE VINES, 
 
 SMALL FRUITS, EVERGREENS-A SPLENDID SUPPLY. 
 
 ALSO, 
 MAPLE TREES, (foe., (fee. 
 
 JLii VERY CHEAP. 
 
 #$-Fot sale by H. W. RANDOLPH, 
 
 Walworth, Walworth Co., Wis. 
 
160 
 
 FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 This fine White Grape is a pure Concord Seedling, and the 
 very best and 
 
 Most Valuable Early Grape Yet Introduced. 
 
 Ripens in August, fully two weeks earlier than the Con- 
 cord. Tested for six years, has proven perfectly hardy and 
 healthy. Large ; quality very best of its season. 
 
 Single vines, $1.50; or $12 per dozen. Two-year-olds, $2 
 a single vine ; or $18 per dozen. By mail, post paid. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 All other Valuable Varieties of Hardy, 
 Native Grape Vines. 
 
 20,000 FINE DELAWARE LAYERS, 
 From $50 to $125 per 1000. 
 J6®=Send for Illustrated Catalogue. 
 
 GEO. W. CAMPBELL, Delaware, Ohio. 
 
 FOR S^lLE 
 
 AT THE 
 
 MAZOMANIE NURSERIES 
 
 A General Assortment of 
 
 Nursery Stock Adapted to the West and Northwest. 
 
 Evergreens — chiefly small size; just suitable for planting 
 with safety, having been three and four times transplanted. 
 Mountain Ash, from 5 to 10 feet in height. 
 Lombardy Poplars very cheap, by the thousand. 
 Our stock of Apple Trees has been selected and grown 
 with the greatest care. Three-year-old trees, very fine. 
 
 Standard Siberians, such as Hyslop and Transcendent. 
 Very large ; many of them of a bearing size. 
 
 We also call attention to our extra varieties of Siberians, 
 varying in season from the first of August until the first of 
 May. Many of them are excellent to eat from the hand. 
 Oi-clc»i-« Solicited. 
 
 WM. FINLAYSON, 
 
 Mazomanie, Wis. 
 
 WM. J. PARK & CO., 
 
 [sellers and Stationers, 
 
 Binders, Rulers, Blank Book Manufacturers, 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Wall Paper, Window Cornice, A r/ists' Materials, 
 
 Picture Frames, Sheet Music, Violins and other 
 
 Musical Merchandise. 
 
 PIANOS, MELODEONS AND ORGANS 
 
 Always on hand and warranted, being manufactured by 
 the best makers in the country. 
 
 We are special agents for the MATHUSHEK PIANOS, 
 an instrument that only requires to be seen and heard to 
 convince any one, not only of its tone, but of its common 
 sense construction and evidence of durability,requiring less 
 tuning than any other instrument now in the market. 
 
 Pianos and Organs to rent by the month. Also second- 
 hand ones taken in exchange for new. 
 
 "WIVI. J". 1PA.-&1Z. Sic CO., 
 
 No. II King Street, Madison, Wis. 
 
 WILLETT E>. STILLMAN, 
 
 DENTIST, 
 
 0EFICE, BAKER'S BLOCK, PINCKNEY ST., 
 
 MADISON, - WISCONSIN. 
 
 J. E- WILLIAMS, 
 
 FLORIST 
 
 Green House on Third Lake, 
 
 Opposite Soldiers' Orphans' Home, 
 
 3vr-A-iDiso3sr, - -wisooisrsiiixr. 
 
 Green House well supplied with Plants for all Seasons. 
 
 Fine Stock of Wardian and Fernery Plants. 
 
 45f»Orders for Cut Flowers, Bouquets and Floral Orna- 
 ments will receive prompt attention at all times. 
 
 ORDERS SOLICITED BY Ttf.A.IL. 
 
 Wealthy Apple Trees. 
 
 A native of Minnesota, originated by P. M. Gideon. 
 
 I offer this most valuable variety for s#le at the following 
 prices : 
 
 Three year budded stocks, 3 to 4 feet high, 10 for $5; 
 grafted on roots, 810. 
 
 It includes all that is desired in an apple tree — hardy, 
 thrifty grower, very productive, young bearer, fruit good 
 size, handsome and of first quality. Season, winter. 
 
 SUEL FOSTER, 
 Muscatine, Iowa, 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. 
 
 LEE'S SUMMIT NURSERIES, 
 
 BLAIR BROS., Proprietors, 
 
 Lee's Summit, Jackson Co., Missouri. 
 
 Over three hundred acres of the finest grown Nursery 
 Stock, guaranteed in healthy condition. 
 
 Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, &c. Supplies full, 
 and assortment general. 
 
 AT WHOLESALE EXCLUSIVELY. 
 
 j83*Send for Price List. 
 
 MADISON NURSERY. 
 
 M. A, HOLT, Proprietor, 
 
 FOR SALE.— Hyslop and Transcendant Crabs, bearing 
 size, from 5 to 8 feet high. Also, a large assortment of Apple 
 Trees, 2 and 3 years old, well grown. 
 
 Northwestern Nurseries, 
 
 Hardy Fruit Trees, Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Grapes, 
 Small Fruits, Evergreens, Timber Trees, Ornamental Stock, 
 Roses, Bulbs, &c. 700 Flemish Beauty Pear, grafted on 
 Pear Roots, three years old. Address, 
 
 L. H. DOYLE, 
 Doyle, Columbia Co., Wis. 
 
FIELD, LAWN AND GARDEN. 
 
 The Meadow King Mower. 
 
 It has been in use seven seasons, and we now offer it to 
 farmers as the cheapest, most simple anil practicable ma- 
 chine for mowing grass or spring grain. 
 
 It is composed wholly of iron and steel, of the very best 
 quality— except whittle-trees, toogue and neck-yoke, which 
 are of the best quality of wood. It has no side-draught. 
 
 The Finger-Bar is without hinges or joints, although 
 flexible in every way. The Knife is always in line with the 
 Pitman and Crank-Head, and will run in any position of 
 the Finger Bar. This novel invention, used upon this ma- 
 chine and no other, makes the only really flexible Finger 
 Bar yet invented. 
 
 It has a new raising and tilting lever, for 1875, much su- 
 perior to those on any other mower. In short, the Meadow 
 King is guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction to the pur- 
 chaser, or no sale. 
 
 S. L. SHELDON, 
 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 MILWAUKEE 
 
 WHITE LEAD WORKS 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OP 
 
 White Lead Colors and Putty. 
 
 In store and for sale : 
 
 20,000 boxes Window Glass, 
 
 200 barrels Linseed Oil, 
 
 100 barrels Spirits Turpentine, 
 
 50 barrels Varnishes, 
 A full line of Paint-brushes, Painters' Materials, etc. Also 
 Mixed Paints ready for use and sold by the gallon. We 
 have printed rules by which you can estimate the number 
 of gallons required to paint your house. It costs less and 
 will outwear the best of any other. Whites, drabs, butt's, 
 stone-browns, French grey, and all the fashionable colors, 
 without further purchasing of oil, driers, coloring matter, 
 etc. Sample Cards, with recommendations from owners of 
 the finest residences in the United States, furnished free by 
 dealers generally, and by 
 
 J. E. PATTON & CO., 
 
 270 and 272 East Water St. 
 
 >8®=Factory, 197, 199 and 201 Broadway. 
 
 WEST & CO., 
 
 GREAT NORTHWESTERN 
 
 BOOK AND STATIONERY HOUSE 
 
 .AND 
 
 Blank Book Manufactory, 
 
 347 and 349 East Water Street, 
 
 MILWAUKEE, AVIS. 
 
 No house in the country sells goods cheaper, either whole- 
 sale or retail, than WEST & CO. 
 
 CET THE BEST. 
 
 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. 
 
 10,000 Words and Meanings not in other Dictionaries. 
 3,000 Engravings ; 1840 Pages Quarto. Price $12. 
 
 TXTebster now is glorious, — it leaves nothing to be desired. 
 *' [ Pres. Jiuymond, Vassar College. 
 
 Xfvery scholar knows the value of the work. 
 ■* J [W. H. Prescott, the Historian. 
 
 Believe it to be the most perfect dictionary of the language. 
 [Dr. J. G. Holland*. 
 Superior in most respects to any other known to me. 
 ^ [ George P. Marsh. 
 
 rphe standard authority for printing in this office. 
 -*- [A. If. Clapj>, Government Printer. 
 
 Tpxcels all others in giving and defining scientific terms. 
 J-* [ President Hitchcock. 
 
 "Deniarkable compendium of human knowledge. 
 ■" [ W. S. Clark, Pres't Agricultural College. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Webster's National Pictorial Dictionary. 
 
 1040 Pages Octavo. 600 Engravings. Price $5. 
 
 20 TO X. 
 
 The sales of Webster's Dictionaries throughout the coun- 
 try in 1S73 were 20 times as large as the sales of any other 
 Dictionaries. In proof of this we will send to any person 
 on application, the statements of more than 100 Booksellers 
 from every section of the country. 
 
 6. & C. MERRIAM, Springfield. Mass., 
 
 Publishers Webster's Unabridged. 
 
 HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS 
 
 New Goods for Fall Trade 
 
 A LARGE LINE OF BED BLANKETS JUST RECEIVED. 
 
 Fine Wool Xja.f> Xlobes, 
 
 INTcw Carpets, 
 
 TSTg-w Linen G-oocIn. 
 
 STARK BROTHERS, 
 
 129 and 131 Wisconsin Street, Milwaukee. 
 
 BUSINESS EDUCATION 
 
 Spcncerian Business College, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Business talents and character developed. Young and 
 middle-aged men and women prepared for the counting 
 room and business pursuits. 
 
 STUDENT RECEIVED AT ANY TIME. 
 Circulars free. Address 
 
 It. C. SPENCER, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
A. H. ANDREWS & CO., 
 
 Largest Manufacturers in America of 
 
 School, Church and Office Furniture 
 
 Andrews' Patent "Triumph" School I>esk, best made. Everything for Schools. 
 Settees and Pews, Church (hairs, &c. Office and Library Desks and Chairs. 
 Holbrook Globes and Apparatus, Blackboards, Maps, Charts, Ac. 
 *f*r Send for Catalogue in either Department. 
 
 211 and 213 Wabash Avenue, 
 
 o 
 
 IO.A.OO 
 
 Park Hotel, Madison, Wisconsin. 
 
 THIS NEW AND ELEGANT HOTEL is situated on the highest point of ground in the center of the City of Madi- 
 son, directly opposite the State ( apitol, and every window commands a magnificent view of the celebrated Lakes 
 Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa, which surround the City. ' 
 
 The House has all the modern improvements-is furnished in a superior and most substantial manner with Velvet 
 and Brussels Carpets, Black-walnut and Marble Top Furniture, Spring Beds and Hair Mattresses, throughout The 
 rooms and corridors are large and well ventilated. wg««iv. xn^ 
 
 *S=B. Jefferson & Co.'s Omnibusses and Baggage Wagons in attendance on arrival of all trains. 
 
 Every effort will be made to secure the comfort and pleasure of guests. 
 
 MARK H. IRISH, Proprietor.