H II stural. II 11 How Nn*ega , . -An old whaler tells, in the Ameri ! . can Grocer, all about nutmegs. This I spice, so much used in every family, is indigenous to the Moluicas, reach ] :ing its greatest -perfebtion in I Amboyna. This island belongs to the Dutch, who do not pert:tit the I cultivation, of the nutmeg in the other islands under their control. The nutmeg tree is twenty-five- or thirty feet high 'when fully &own, 1 with foliage of a rich dark green. 11 and plentiful. It reaches ma= 1 ver y { taritv,'or full- productiveneas, at the 'fifteenth year from planting. From the I bloSsom to the ripening of the frith takes about seven Months,: bat ;as the - tlee -is a perennial bearer, there are alWays blossoms, green fruit and ripe on the tree. The yield is . most plentiful in theJast four months-of the year.' The average yield per annum of a healthy tree is - lbs of 'nutmegs and 11-, lbs.,_ of 5 • mace. A plantation of one thousand treesl requires the labors of seven coolies, fifty oxen and two ploWs,, o r cultivation slat' hari,esting. - -. T . fruit is gathered by, means of a ho attaelled to a long pole. It is sha 1 i ii ed like a pear, about th4"size of a peach; and has a delicate "bloom." -The nut has three coverings; the. oqtsicle one is a thick,' fleshy I husk, having a strong flavor of nutmeg. This husk, preserved' in Syrup when young,isa favorite sweetmeat in the Ease Indies. Under this husk is the' bright red mace, which is carefully A tthined by hand and dried 'on mats in the snn. It loses its rich scarlet and becomes a dull,orange color, and reqnires to be kept', perfectly dry to, preserve ita - fiavor. I After, the mace is removed from the fruit, the nuts, , in theirbrown Shell's, are placed on hurdles" over a slow fire, f which is; kept constantly burning ender them' for two months. The nuts then rattle in-the shells, which are crack-, eil- with a wooden mallet, the .sound nuts selected and. packed in wooden cases 'and sprinkled: over • - with.dry, ,sifted lime, and are then ready for market. .The bast •nntmegs are den'se, emit oil when picked with 4 'pin, and can always be known . by ,their heavy weight. - Poor Ones are light and easily ,known. r"%E[ONV- SOIL IVAS MADE. = Prof. Agas' , iz said that all the materials on which ag„ricultUral_progress depend are decomposed rocks, and not so much thoSe that underlie the, soil, on the surface, and ground to powiler by the glaciers. Ice all over,the coadnent is the agent that has grOund out more soil than all other agencies . pnt together. The penefratien of water into the rocks, fereste, running water and baking, sons hive, done something, but_the elabiers,morc. In 'a lbrmer-=age the United. States was, covered with ice serf_!/1 thousand feet thick; and the ice 3 ,-,:Leving from north to south by the attraction .o.f the tropical warmth or pressing weight of the snow and ice behind, ground the rocks _over+ which was called soil. These masses of ice - rah be tracked by the hunter. He haSinadt . ;:i stmly-of them . in the CoUntry as . far:south Alabama,blit 'has observed the same -phenomenon h 3. Europc , , particularly in Italy, wly-re, among the AlPs . glaciers now in progress. The, stones - and • rock: ;ground , and polished "by 'the -1-1e:,..r r . - ; can easily be distinguished from Those....stra,tched' - by. running The angular boulders fohnd. in in:;adows :Ind . -the terraces Of -rivers nis," reaelled bY'Ni•ater cati-beacconnt •_..-1 (.6r only iu tbis.way. FEW:W(4:43 218 , 31..7T DCcES. —The 1 - 10:nesiic;-ilnek. is one of the most I..)rids of the farmer, but it h t one -great objection, which is, that it is till unmerciful gormandizer, anti is aiffiailt to raise. Where 'there arp.rinds or streams, it is As profi. , able as any fowl; it is fiery and _its eggs are- preferred by nianY to those of the hen: Where they hays , free -access to ponds; they feed on.various reptiles, and several ' specks) of aquatic .grass which they • 'find, bulnelth the .. surface; , anal which is a . very excellehrt_snb .. stitute, for animal' food. When in ! s'c!'s itre abundant, they require no supp...v. .of meat, as they obtain ; a sufficiency of Animal foocthemselveS; . brit When this is not the case, they must he fain - jailed liberally, or they will speedily 'die.! Potatoes boiled, mash