LEWIS
CHRONICLE
H. C. HICKOS, Editor.
0. N. WORSEN, Printer.
LEWISBURG, UNION COUNTY, PENN., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1851
r
Volume Vm, Wnmber 1.
Whole Nnmber 365.
BURG
At iDr" WAunt jocbbaL,
lSSUcd on Wcdnetday morning at Lewisburg,
Union county, Ptntuiylvanta
YPR vs. si.-10 P"r yfar. for wb actually in advenee;
1 ;i if within three months: Sitio if paid witbin a
vVar: I--''0 if nut P1 ef"rethe year expires; 5 cents fur
sinl' numbers. Sutewriptinns for six months nr lns. to
t (uinl ia advanee. Dioontinuasjces Ofitiooal with the
putJibr. exct-pt when the year is paid up.
,,,. one w. $1 ur weeks. $5 a year: two squares,
.1 fhr rii sanulhs. $7 far a year. MVmantue advertise-
dvemaemenia nanusiun'iv imenm at wnw i
.., n 4 enceeilinr. oar fourth of a column, 10.
j, III WORK and casual advertisements to be paid for
in h.n-l-l in or eMivered.
Cimmunicationa ediritrd on all auhjerU of preneral
inl Ts.. am 11U1B IIT .iwr i.i moi wi " ' " i.uwvi.
11 It-tt'T. mt nmi rowtitatd. amtmitinied tiy the real
,l.lrr of the writer, to receive attention. wSjjrhnae
r,-ialinff exclusively to the l&litnrial lcpartmiiit, to be
j.rtwi to Hr.MtT O. HirftoK. K... blitor and those OD
tu.itu. to t. N. Wormm. iVWAer.
R. on Market street, between Seeond and Third, orer
0,,. feat-Mlnea. O. N. WOKPBN. Proprietor.
For tha Lswisborg Chroniela.
Hnsic that is not exactly Husks.
Mr. Editor : Not long since, one of
tout cotcrnporaries contained an essay on
M usi! semi-serious, semi-comic which
baa induced me to " grasp my pen" with a
view to enter my protest against one of
its recommendations.
The writer of the article in question,
deems it highly commendable and proper,
that volunteer music should be comjieiisa
ted, particularly when emitted by a bevy
of love-lorn Adonis, sighing under the
(supposed) apartments of " ladyes fairc,"
and disburdening over-filled bosoms of
some of their superfluous melody, o'nights.
We object, because
1. Every person and especially every
laJv bas a right to choose his or her
own music, and is not nnder obligation to
1 grateful to every moon-struck or ill
disposed wight who may demaud his or
hi rear.
i. " Night is the time for rest," for
quiet, comfort, and repose, with all respec
table people ; and even music was not
intended to be used for " mating night
liilcous," or scaring cither the genus
Ifinio or canine.
3. Serenaders very often hit upon the
most inopportune time possible to display
tlie powers of their own sweet voices, (for
such beings always imagine themselves
charming singers as well as killingly beau
tiful in person.) Frequently, rude out
bursts of song mar the sacred stillness of
the nignt, to the serious offence and injury
of nervous childhood, and irritable old
age ; and to others suffering from ill health,
the turn of a disease is often thus deprived
of its proper serenity.
4. Very little of the singing imposed
upon the public in this form, would be
tolerated in a well instructed juvenile
singing-school. Most of those who
obtrusively thrust themselves upon
public cars are not pleasant singers,
1
thus I
j
j t
and i
arc frequently nu'b-r the influence of a
reckless spirit irhi.-h renders them fitter
subjects for the guard-house than for mu-eic-teachers.
The writer plain 'y hints that such
characters should Ik- served as they were
faid to have been by a lady somewhere
'drop them down a huge pound-cake,iced,
and full of jfVu ."' The natural con
nection between the ethereal joy of sing
ing, and munching sweet cake in the dark,
betrays at once the juvenility of the writer,
and the mixed character of his associations.
We doubt not the lady had the best of the
bargain, if the loaf were large enough to !
close their mouths completely. We would j
advise (as treacle is very good for catching '
smaller serenading insects) that molasses !
candy be provided, as a most efficient agent
in drawing together the teeth of the ephe
meral, happy beings, who sometimes in
nocently infest certain localities. Or, if j
their poetic fire burn so ardently that
they wont stop to eat cake or candy, the
last resort to preserve their precious brains ;
would be, to cool them off by a shower jig turned over. About 2 o'clock, we we could find gold at the bottom, and the ! wy down tue ,nft Bnd encamped on the
bath from any vessel near at hand suffi-1 reached the foot of the arroyo, known as stone and clay were closely cemented to- j j e jay down in the rain, beneath a
citntly pungent and saline to have a deci- Fremont's diggings,and "dropped anchor" 'gether, making the digging very hard. jarge tne wj,ere the big drops pelted us
ltd character. n sight of the "promised land," after the , When we reached the rock, we found that ! Tbe Xowalume river resembles
Another form of volunteer music, I lapse of BEVEN months since leaving J a " knife" was necessary to dig out tue ; tj,e Marcaides in many particulars; per
f nec common, is from a " Callithumpian home, and an overland journey of Twenty- crevices, and a " horn spoon" to scrape it ! , timber crowing on the flat.
Hand 'a relic of darkness, employed to
disturb a sacred scene of enjoyment by
rude demands of ruder gormandizers, who
can neither tell or think wherein the fun
( the thing exists. Happily, Law
taken il.om 1,. ii.m, ami tl.Pr will ttoonVI
read of, but never seen.
And last of all is the street organ
grinder, who plants himself at your win
dow or door, and, whether you are " at
home" or absent, ill or well, deaf or dumb,
will turn off bo many yards of villainous
music, while his none half shocks your
eyes and grates upon your cars by tinging
some foreign jargon for which you know
little and care less, and who will not move
off and dissolve his congress of children
and gaping fools, until you have made him
special appropriation from your purse,
The vagabonds ! may the day soon come
when these strong,hearty men and women
shall be set at work, and no longer infest
our streets and haunt our houses i
We are hearty lovers of good music, at
proper times and places, and are therefore
anxious to have all caricatures of the kind
we have noticed, abolished. Were we 111.
disposed to the divine art. we should wish
it no greater harm than is done it by these
modes of imposture. We close by repeat
ing, that every person has a right to
choose his or her own modes and times for
musical entertainments; that "serenading"
is no longer (if it ever was) an act of true,
commendable gentility ; and that few
persons, eminent as singers, are eminent
or useful in any other capacity. We beg,
J ..... .
lUUClVlC) IU.V KIVUOUCIS VeUlllUUIIIjJIUUD,
and lazzaroni in general, would spare
themselves the trouble of forcing so much
bad music upon unwilling ears, and are
confident that those customs are becoming
more and u more honored in the breach
than in the observance."
March 24.
SEVERAL.
The following lines will come home
with great force to the hearts of bereaved
parents none others can fully understand
the depth and poignancy of grief here so
touchingly expressed. Ekl. Citron.
t rai uti aas. Julia a. scott, or towasda.
" There is one who ha loved me, debarred from the day."
The Siot of Spring is on yon blue-topped mountain,
Leavine its green prints 'neath each spreading tree:
iter voice ii. heard beside the swelling fountain,
Ciirinc sweet tones to its wild meknly.
From the warm South she brings unnumbered roast
To greet with smiles the eye of grief and rare;
Her Imlmy lireath on the worn brow reposes.
And her rich gifts are scattered every where;
I heed them not, my child t
In the low Tale the snow-white daisy apringeth,
The golden dandelion by its side ;
The eglantine a dewy fragrance flingeth
To the soft breese that wanders far and wide;
The hyacinth and polvanthos render
From their deep hearts, an offering of love.
And fresh May pink, and half blown lilacs, tender
Their grateful homage to the skies above;
I heed them not, my child !
In the clear brook are springing water-cresses.
And pale green rushes, and fair, nameless flowers;
While o'er them dip the willow's verdant twees
Dimpling the surface with their mimic showers;
The honey-suckle stealthily is creeping
'Round the low porch and mossy cottageaves,
Oh. Spring bath fairy treasures in bet keeping.
And lovely are the lamtcap-e that she weaves:
Tie naught to me, my child!
Down the green lane come peals of heart-felt laughter;
The school has sent its eldest inmates forth ;
And now a smaller band comes dancing after.
Filling the air with sboutsof infant mirth.
At the rude gate the anxious dame is bending
TorUwp ber rosy darling to her breast;
Joy. pride, and hope, are in ber bosom blending;
Ah, peace with her is no unusual guest!
Not so with me, mj child.
All the day long I listen to the singing
Of the gay birds and winds among the trees;
But a sad under-strain is ever ringing
A tale of death and it dread mvsfc-ries.
Nature to me the letter is that kiileth
The spirit of her charms has passed away;
A fount of bliss no more my bueom filleth -
Slumbers its idol in unconscious clay
Thou'rt in the yrore, my child 1
For thy glad voice my spirit Inly plneth ;
I languish for thy blue eyes' holy light.
Vainly for me the glorious sunbeam shineth;
Vainly the blessed stars oome forth at night.
I walk in darkness with the tomb before me,
Longing to lay my dust beside thy own;
O, east the mantle of thy presence o'er me;
Beloved, leave me not so deeply lone 1
Come back to me, my child.
fprm that breast of pitying love thou leanest,
Which oft on earth drJ'st pillow such as thou.
Nor turned sway petitioner the meanest
Pray to Him. sinless, lie will hear thee now.
Plead for thy weak and broken hearted mother;
Fray that thy voice may whisper words of peace;
ller ear is du and can discern no otner;
Speak, and her bitter sorrowings shall cease;
Come back to me, my child !
Come but in dreams let me once more behold then,
As in thy hours of buoyancy and glee.
And one brief moment in my arms enfold thee
Beloved, 1 will not ask thy stay with me!
Leave but the impress of tby dove-like beauty.
Which memory strives so vainly to recall,
And I will onward in the path of duty,
itestraining tears that ever fain would fall !
Come but in dreams, my child!
ORIGINAL NARRATIVE.
t i o 71 r. v ..
lSotes of a Seven Months' Journey to
V sf- ...
and Sfpcn Xllonlhs in
CALIFORNIA.
Br WM. H. CHAMBKKLIX, LiwuiDM.
CONTINUED,
Tuesday, Sep. 24. Unwell all night,
Packed up this morning for the last time,
we hope, (until ready to vamose from the
diggings,) and continued our journey over
a mountainous country. Met a number of .
Americans and Spaniards, packing from
the mines, and passed others on their way !
thither, heavily laden with provisions,
merchandize, ic. Passed a number of i
dry diggings, at
present nnworked for !
want of water ; the amount of earth
thrown up appeared almost incredible :,
the bed of almost every ravine and gulch
Six Hundred (2600) miles.
May 24, 1850. My log-book, or "notes
by the way," ended with our journey ; 1
but onr experience since arriving in tne
country, and what we have "seen and
heard," may prove interesting for future
reference in noting which, I am satis-
fied that an occasional leisure hour will
not be entirely misspent I can say for
our mess, that I never heard a man (save
one) regret the adventure, either on the
road or since; but have heard scores by
the way, almost curse the day that they
wnnfiivMf nnnn flip hacnrrlnna and fool-
upon
hardy enterprise,and had they known what
they were obliged to endure, all the gold
in California could not have enticed them
from home.
Our experience at gold digging, was
short and unsuccessful. The day after
we arrived at' the Maraposa mines, we
moved camp to a spot we had selected,
upon the point of a rocky bluff, overlook
ing a large part of the gulch in which
digging was going on. Here we " set Bp
stakes," or rather lay down oar empty,
way-worn packs, beneath the imperfce
shade of several small oak trees. We had
no tent,nor had we slept nnder cover since
leaving Santa Fe. There was no grass in
the vicinity, and the Indians were steal
ing animals every night, and driving them
off into the mountains. We concluded to
send our mules to Scott's ranch on the
Marcaides, where we could have them run
with a " caballada," upon the range, at
S3 per month each, and no security for
their safe keeping. Our first business
was to purchase a supply of provisions.
There were several stores in the place,
! gome in tents, others in the open air. We
: found prices to range pretty much as fol
lows : tea 83; flour 50c per lb.; pork 75 ; su
gar 50; coffee 50; salt 75; salcratus$8 per
lb., 4c. This was said to be very cheap,
and really was, but at the time, we thought
it sank pretty deep into the small remnant
of " coined dust" we had brought with us.
It cost about $2 per day to live, and do
our own cooking. We were surprised to
see how willing merchants were to credit
persons coming into the mines with pro
visions, tools, &c., and also noticed that
the miners were not in the habit of paying
cash, but settled their bills at the end of
the week or month.
Our next step was to tae a walk thro'
the diggings, see how they did it, what
tools were required, and select a spot to
commence operations. The first hole that
attracted our attention, was at a narrow
point in the arroyo, and from the appear
ance of the rock on cither side, a ledge
once obstructed the passage of the stream,
which is now so low that the water ap
pears only at intervals, and sinks. In this
place there were three persons at work.
They sunk the hole some 8 or 10 feet
deep ; one was engaged in bailing out the
water, another was scraping up the gravel
and sand in the bottom, and the third
washed it out in a wooden bowl. We saw
; him washing out several times, and always
had from half an ounce to two ounces.
This we thought " first rate luck," but
they worked hard for it, and were wet
from head to foot. Several persons were
working near them, with tolerable success.
We went a little farther up the gulch, and
stopped to enquire of a man what luck,
lie was taking out about an ounce per
day. Another man was at work opening
a new hole ; he said that he had worked
three weeks in a hole some distance above,
and made but a few dollars : if he didn't
have better luck this time, he would leave
for some other diggings. Further up, we
came into the dry diggings. Here the
Sonorians were at work, burrowing under
ground, and working very slowly and care-
fully collecting none but the earth contain
ing gold, which they packed off to water
.1 i v rri. . a : . ..t
upon tueir ueaus. a ue jiiiiui nana k.i-
,r . . . ... ...
uom wur .u iue u.j u.f-.... " -
number of machines at work, with varied
success. Ihcy cons
cra(11 d Jtofa
'
of a rocker or I
pine log, placed in a !
slanting position, aud put iu motion by
1 means of a kver. The earth and water is j
poured into a box at the upper end, passes
through a copper or sheet iron seive, and
runs off at the lower end ; the gold and
some sand settle to the bottom, and is rc
tained by several crossvpieccs or shoulders,
left on the bottom when dug out.
We soon became satisfied looking at
others, and also satisfied that the larger
portion of those at work were making but
little more than board. We supplied our-
selves with the necessary tools, and went
to work. Paid $16 for a crow bar, $8 far
a shovel, Ac. Opening a hole in these
diggings, was a pretty dimcult job. it
was not worth while to clear off a large
spot, for it would only be by chance that I
;np. 1 tnca wasning, du wnen a uau an
the earth and sand ont of the pan, there
was 0 0id m the bottom. I gave that
part 0f tne piay np in despair, having nev-
er washed out a peck. We sunk several
,lolc -11 :tn in guCcess. While we
;n the mines lhe toUi earnings ofjj" and grasshoppers grow fat The wild
three nf ug was aoout $40, and our expen-
$100.
J These mines arc 80 miles distant from
Stockton, and 180 from San Francisco by
land. Col. Fremont holds a claim of 100
'square miles, which he purchased of the
Spanish Governor of California. This
nnvers the most valuable portion Ot the
Maraposa gold regions. His partner Mr.
Godey, had a store here, and a large num
ber of Indians employed at digging. He
had discovered a vein of quartz rock said
to be rich in ore, and has erected a rude
machine for crushing it xrom wna we
could learn, there were about 200 Ameri-
cans, and as many foreigners and Indians,
at work in these diggings. The Ameri
cana are mostly from Texas and other
Southern States. The entire population
avtrtfaavewi ArtWlt and Well disnOSed. The
jtten went about their work leaving CamPj
-rr - . . .
their provisions and money to take care of
, themselves. It is seldom that punishment
is necessary in the mines, but wben re
quired, I am told, that Lynch law is im
mediately put in force, and offenders may
expect a "rough handling." There was a
good deal of liquor sold, at 50 cts. per
glass, and $5 per bottle. There was a
man buried a short distance from our
' camp, who died from the effect of drink
j at these prices.
On Sunday, there was an election fori
Alcalde, and an auction. I saw panol accross the plain, and about do clock
bought, at $40 per 100 lbs. for horse feed, j reached the lower ferry on the San Joa
The Mexicans prepare it by roasting the J quin river. This ferry is owned by three
wheat before grinding it, and eat it with ' young men, Bonsall, Doak, and Scotland
sugar and water. We saw very few men 1 s wry valuable property. Mr. Bonsall,
digging on the Sabbath ; with the above (who left Clearfield Co., Pa., when a boy,
exceptions, the day was pretty well ob-' and has since worked in the lead mines of
served. In the evening, when nothing j Mo.) told me the other day, that he had
was .to be seen but the many camp-fires, ' been offered $100,000 to drop his interest
and all was still but the low hum of con- in the concern, and " take his bones ont
versation as it came up from the different of the country." Here we intersected the
groups gathered around the lights, all at
once, from the opposite side of the arroyo,
a loud musical voice struck np,
"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand," we.
It sonnded strange, and yet familiar, in
this wild, pent-up corner of the world ; as
the sound rolled along the gulch, and re
verberated from hill and mountain, it re
minded us of "good old Methodist times"
at home, and we concluded that the singer
must be one of 'em. '
Green, Howard, and Fox, who worked
together, were rather more lucky in dig
ging than Musscr, Schaffle, and myself.
Howard picked np a piece, containing
some quartz,which weighed nine ounces. I
saw one piece that weighed five lbs., and 0f ti,e vaUey, and appeared lined with trav
several others weighing 3, 2, and 1 lb. I ej xhe distance across this range of
Mr. Armstrong became dissatisfied with j mountains, is about 8 miles ; the as
the country and diggings, and made up ccnt anJ descent very gradual, except the
his mind to go home. I believe he never i JiviJiug ridge, which is somewhat abrupt
struck a blow nor washed a graiu. He J Xooncd at a spring on the mountains, and
had been unwell for some days. e were
sorry to see him leave ; he had been a
good fellow, and deserved the best wishes
of ns all.
I suffered more from sickness during
the two weeks I remained in the mines,
than I had for many years previous.
Howard. Musser and 1 ox were also un
well. Indeed, we did not know the con
dition to which our systems had been re
duced by the fatigues of traveling, and
scanty allowance of food,until we attempt
ed to work. Fearing that we would not
recover until we got ont of the place, Mus
ser and myself concluded to go " down
country," see San Francisco, Stockton,get
our " news," purchase a tent, and supply
' of provisions, pack them into the mines,
and winter there. Accordingly, we got
up "Old Whitey," for whose board we
had been paying 50 cts. per day with the!
, - - . , .
pnvilege of browsing upon the mountains)
, , , K. w iJll,.-..
, " B, ,
empty jiui-n.3, immts, nun invii"... m one quarter, eq'iaiea aoout duuu Dusn
her back, and started on foot, leaving egf crammed ; each bushel is supposed to
Green, Howard, Schaffle, and Fox in the j contain 1000 letters. The number returned
min.e8 . . , , , in a quarter, is therefore about six millions,
v .... n.ir.iii'i. nyini t-t-.i. null vp
reached gco t8 ranch on the evenillg of
tLe gecond d we 'had travcled vcry
. 0 J of our W(;aknes8. Part 0f ,
WVUBa.a. Ulua) V 1
,,,,
thcir "calballada" having gone astray,
. . , . . i ,,.,.!
we were detained here two days, hunting i
we were ueiaineu j , b
our mules. We mounted two of the best
animals, which had improved considerably,
and set out from the ranch in the after
noon, our course north, over a high barren
plain. We had no road, and when night
set in, the heavens clouded over, and a
slight sprinkle of rain fell. This was on
the 11th of October, and the first rain of
the season. We managed to keep our
course in the darkness, until we reached
Towalume river. We groped
our
We descended the stream several miles,
found a crossing, and continued down the
north side. Passed an Indian " Ranch
arie," where they have constructed a very
ingenious fish trap, upon which they de
pend for subsistence, until the acorns n
Indians of California are the most misera
ble looking, indolent,and degraded portion
W nf neonle. I have seen since
leaving- the frontiers of the States. We
stopped about noon at a tent, a few miles
from the mouth of the river, to graxe our
animals. Here we saw Mr. Armstrong's
mule, saddle, tx. Upon inquiry, we
learned that he had lain sick here for sev
eral days, sold his mules, Ac, and pro
ceeded on foot for Stockton this morning.
We were apprehensive at first, that some
thing of a still more serious nature had
happened hhn. Struck out in a N. W.
course for the Stanislaus river, over an
other high, dry, barren plain. Beached
the lower ferry about dusk, where we for
ded the stream. Could get nothing to eat,
and being out of provisions, we applied to
UiefeiTTnianamoet forbidding leaking
Irishman, who immediately shared his
scanty store with us. We offered to pay
him, but he refused to take anything, say
ing that we should do likewise at the first
opportunity, Ac. We took the advice,and
had another proof that appearances often
deceive. We traveled down the river
some miles after dark, in search of grass.
About 9 o'clock we spied a light, and on
coming up to it, found a number of Span
iards encamped, and turned in with them.
In the morning, we again struck out
' main land route between San Francisco,
San Jose and Stockton, or in other words,
between the northern and southern por
tions of California, divided by the bay of
San Francisco. After taking dinner, we
ferried over, at $1 each for man and mule.
Stopped at M'Caffrey's Tent, or the "Elk
horn Inn of the San Joaquin," as he wa3
pleased to call it, (San Hwa-keen, J
always having the sound of II in the "Lin
gua EspanoL") In the morning, after
breakfasting upon salt pork, sea biscuit,
and coffee, for which we paid $1,50 each,
we again backed our mules, and pursued
our way. The road was very fine, over a
level plain, to the mountains on the west
reached
ning.
Livermore'a Ranch, in the eve-
Tobt continued.
The Spring Flowert,
Al Tu HgU Safe."
The spring flowers have their time to bloom,
The summer dews to fail
The stormy winds to rise and com
At winter's dreary eall;
The nightingale knows wben to sblg
Her evening melody,
The stranger bird to stretch her winf
Far o'er the distant sea.
The silent stars know when to raise
Their shining light on high.
The moon to shed her silver raja
From out the axure sky,
The sun hie chariot wheel to roll
Toward the golden west.
The tides to flow from pole to pom,
The framing waves to rest.
Thus wide creation owns a power
Supreme o'er earth and eras.
That portions out some tilting hour
For all His wise decrees.
And sines of Nature's works the prime,
Man boasts his noble eall.
Shall he, ungrateful, own nj time
To thank the Lord of all I
Dead Letter Office.
The Republic states, that the bulk
of
, ' . r,
openeo .ei.ers, re.urneu t me w,..r...n-,.
or en y-iour millions a year,
"Unclaimed moneys, les. the discount,
.re handed over to the general treasury.
suuieci 10 ine aemanas oi me rigmiui uwh-
J j
er, but we believe.for the halfyear ending
'
JufM, 30h ,850 ,he amount o( ,hcse WM
not more than about 917.000.
"Dead letters are usually unpaid letters.
The custom of pre-paymeot has become
vastly more general since the reduction of
postage to five and ten cents. In the 4th
quarter of 1850, the number of dead letters
received from Cincinnati, not pre-paid,
was 8,700 ; the number of dead letters,
from t'oston post-office numbered 1.61J ;
of letters not pre-paid 9,401. These in
stances are at random.'
A powerful Appeal. An old patriot of
Reading offers himself as a candidate lor
Myor of that city, and in a card to the
dear people," enumerates among his
claims" that he supported the American
flag as a volunteer in lhe military service
Irom 1812 to 1810 that he has been for
several years elected Constable that he
has been lor 12 years a deacon of the
church and that he in fact contributed
60 to build the church.
Mr. Wesley, in a letter to one of his
preachers, says : " Scream no more, at
1 the peril of your soul. God warns you
by me, whom he has set over you. fc peak
as earnest as you can, but do not scream.
Speak with all your heart, but with a mod
erate voice."
Jewelry is becoming quite fashionable
again. One of our temporaries says he
met a young lady on New Year's who bad
a farm on each wrist, a four storey house
around her neck, and at least six member
ships to the Bible Society attached to each
ear. ..
Mr. Berrien, in presenting a memorial to
lhe Senate, stated that no autumnal or yel
low fever had occurred in Savannah for
the last twenty years, owing to the system
of dry-culture ad drainiog which prevail,
ed there.
The Farmer,
Analysis of Soils.
Every farmer knows, or should know,
that the soil of his farm is made up of two
kinds of materials. One kind is called or
ganic material, vrhich is derived from some
plant or animal that has had life, and that
life been sustained while it lived by certain
apparatus, or organs, which mude up its
structure. The other kind is called inor
ganic material, and is made np of mineral
matters. These have never been possessed
! of what may be called life, or had any ap
1 paratus or organ to sustain life.
Every farmer knows, or should know,
! that every crop which grows upon his soil
is made up by taking more or less of these
! matcrials,and combining them into the par-
ticular crop grown, whether it be grass, or
j wheat, or corn, or roots, or pumpkins, or
fruit ; and that, in process of time, any
i particular crop will take and continue to
take the material from the soil necessary to
; make it, until it has taken the whole, and
there is no more left to form a crop of,
: and it fails to crow. The soil is then said
to have become poor or exhausted. Every
! farmer mould know, but very few farmers do
' inote, what particular material each crop
i requires to take from the soil, or whether
the soil has enough, or any, of these mate
1 rials in it to make a crop. How should
they know it ? It is the business of the
chemist to ascertain this, and the farmers,
especially the old ones, have never had any
opportunities of learning this, either theo
retically or practically. Chemistry has
been a sealed book to them, although there
is no class of persons on earth whose daily
business is so dependent on its laws. The
farmer is a practical chemist ou a large
scale, thongh it may nut be in a particular
branch. He is constantly perioral iug che
mical experiments, though he may know it
not, and can not explain why this or that
result follows his operations.
The taking a soil and separating the ma
terials of which it is made, iuto separate
parts by themselves, so that they can be
weighed, and the proportion they consti-
tute actually known, is called aiudysi. It
is a chemical operation which must be done
in the laboratory by the means of a chem
ical apparatus, used with chemical knowl
edge. As we before said, the elder farmers
have never had an opportunity to become
either theoretical or practical chemists,
and it can not therefore be expected that
they should be able to analyse soils.
Are the younger ones are the rising
generation, any better provided with the 1
means of becoming acquainted with chem-'
istry and the particular branches of.
philosophy applicable to theu- calling ? i
In many respects they are ; but we grieve j
to say, not half nor a quarter so well pro
vided with such facilities as they should be.
There ought to be practical schools of che
mistry in every town real bona fide work'
shops, where boys, aud girls too, should go being the name of the vegetable matter
and perform the analyst themselves obtained. Chemists have been not fully
sweating at the furnace, and blackening ' agreed in regard to the action of this ma
their hands with the charcoal and dust in act-; terial as food for plants. We will consider
nal chemical labor, and work out the resu't
by their own skill,instead of sitting quietly
and demurely and seeing their teacher do
it. One experiment of the kind, thus ac
tually done by the hands and thoughts of
the boy himself, will fix the facts stronger
and clearer in his mind and memory than
a thousand merely looked at, as he cits end
watches his instructor.
In the absence of such schools, we know
of no better plan than for a young man to
endeavor to teach himself. It would re
quire some outlay for apparatus, acids, ic,
&c. In order to assist any such, we pro
pose to select from such sources as can be
relied upon, such directions for analysis of
soils as we may find sometimes modified
by such hints as our limited experience
may dictate.
Mr. Dana, several years ago, laid down
sone very simple rules for this kind of an
alysis, which were subsequently adopted
by Prof. Hitchcock while engaged in the
geological survey of Massachusetts.
This mode of analysis may not lead to
quite so accurate results as some others
adopted, but it will be very nearly correct,
and lead to a very correct knowledge of
the ingredients of the soils operated upon.
It does not require so expensive apparatus
as some other modes.
You want a delicate and accurate balance
with grain wcights,a few crucibles if you
can get some platina crucibles they will be
of great service, tho' they are expensive
and you can get along with what are called
Hessian crucibles some bottIes,purescids,
kc. ....
The following are the rules referred to :
1. Sift the soil through a fine sieve.
Take the fine part, bake it just up to the
browning of p&per.
2. Boil 100 grains of the baked sou
with 50 grains of pearl ashes, saleratus, or
carbonate of soda, in 4 ounces of water,
for half an hour; let it settle, decant the
elear, wash tbe grounds with four ounces
of boiling water throw all on a weighed
filter, previously dried at the same tempe
rature as was the soil, (rule I,) wash till
colorless water returns through the filter.
Mix all these liquors. It is a brown col
ored solution of all the soluble eiaev
(sometimes called vegetable extract) All ,
sulphates have been converted into carbon
ates, and, with any phosphates, are on tha
filter. Dry that, with its contents, at tha .
same heat (rule 1,) as before. Weigh it
the loss or difference from 100 grains ia
H&uhU geine.
3. If you wish to examine the geine,
precipitate the alkaline solution with excess
of lime water, (which was passed throagh
the filter.) The gmte. of liiue will rapidly
subside, and if lime enough has been add
ed, the liquor will pass colorless. Collect
the geate of lime on a filter, wash it with
a little acetic acid or very diluted mnriatio
acid, and you have geine quite pure. Dry
and weigh.
4. Keplace on a glas! or porcelain fun
nel the filter (rule 2) and its earthy con
tents ; wash with 2 drams muriatic acid,
diluted with 3 times its bulk of cold water
till it passscs through tasteless. The car
bonate and phosphate of lime will be dis-
solved with a little iron, which has result-
I ed from the decomposition of any salts of
iron, besides a little oxide of iron. The al
umina will be scarcely touched. We may
estimate all as taltt of lime. Evaporate the
j muriatic solution to dryness, weigh and
l dissolve in boiling water. The insoluble
j wjU be ph'jphite of lime. Weigh tha ,
loss is the tuTphate of lime.
5. The earthy residuum b of a greyish
white color, and contains no insoluble geine.
Yon may test it by burning a weighed
small quantity on a hot shovel if the
odor of burning peat is given off, the pres
ence of insoluble geine is indicated. If so,
burn (calcine) the earthy residuum and its
filter. Wehh the loss of weight will be
! in the soluble geine, that part which air
and moisture, time and lime will convert
into soluble vegetable food. Any error
here will be due to the loss of water in a
j hydrate, if one be present, but these exist
iu too small quantities id " granitic sand"
. to effect the result. Tte actual weight of
i the residuary mass is granitic sand.
The clay, mica, quartz, &c., are easily
distinguished. If your soil is calcareous,
(lin'y,) which may be tested with acids,
j then before proceeding to this analysis,boil
1 100 grains ia a pint of water, filter and
dry as before, the loss of weight is doe to
j the su'jJwfe of lime: even the sulphate of
i iron may be so considered, for the ultimate
result in cultivation is to convert this into
sulphate of lime.
Test the soil with mnriatio a.-id, and ha-
T;ng thus removed the lime, proceed as
before, to determine the geine and insolu-
blc vegetable matter.
By following the above directions, a ve
ry good general analysis of the soil will be
obtained. We have spoken of the geine as
1 -
this matter further in our next Main
Farmer.
Charcoal and Water.
The following useful hints we abridge
and copy from the Agricultural Part of
the Patent Office Report
About one half of the dry weight of all
plants, is carbon, or charcoal. Of the oth
er moiety, more than four-fifths are water,
or, more correctly, the elements of water,
called oxygen and hydrogen. Without the
presence of moisture, both in the soil and
the atmosphere above it, no plant can grow;
and the presence of carbon, in a dissolved
or gaseous form, is equally indispensable
to the production of all vegetables.
It matters little whether carbon is ac
cumulated in a solid form by imperfect
combustion, as in the making charcoal from
wood in a common coal-pit, or by the slow
decay of plants (eremacauti of Liebig) in
forming mould . muck, and peat The pow
er of these carbonaceous and exceedingly
porous bodies, to condense the gaseous
food of cultivated plants, should be univ
ersally known.
Gaseous compounds of phosphorous, '
obey the same general law. All well pul
verized earths have a similar property of
condensing oxygen and other gases; and
thorough tillage greatly promotes the con
densation of vapors and gases about the
roots of plants, to nourish them. Charred
peat, muck, and wood, are exceedingly
valuable to mix with all manures to prevent
the escape of fertilising elements which
are volatile and liable to rise into the at
mosphere. -
- Charred muck, peat, and wood, are co
ming into extensive use in deodorising
night-soil, aided by gypsum and common
salt. By these means a fertiliser of great
power, and perfectly inodorous, may be for
med, suitable to be planted or drilled with,
all seeds. Well dried and finely pdveri
ted day is a valuable deodoriser, and it
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