AGRICULTURAL. DRAINING. In the first number of the Cultivator, attention is called to draining, and information is asked upon the subject. The agriculturists of Great Britain consider draining, next to rotation of crops, the greatest improvement in agriculture that has been made for the last half century. Without much practical knowledge upon the subject, the writer will endeavor to give a brief view of the theory of draining. There are two kinds of draining, one is the draining of bog land, arising from springs by the side of the bog and of springs under it; the other is the draining of land made wet by not having sufficient descent to carry off the rain water that falls upon them or descends upon them from higher ground. The drainage of bogs was not practised in England to any considerable extent till the latter part of the last century, and has not been introduced here on a very extensive scale. In 1796, the British Parliament voted £1000 to Mr. Elbington, to induce him to disclose his improved mode of draining bogs and boggy land. He stated the manner in which he had made his discovery, and the course of his prac tice to an appointed agent by the Board of Agriculture, who published an octavo volume with plates giving an account of the results of his investigation. Mr. Elbington made his discovery by accident. Having occasion to drain a tract of boggy land, he cut a ditch four or five feet deep to the nearest brook; but found that this only drained a part of the water from the surface without affecting the origin of the difficulty. He took a crowbar to ascertain what the under strata was, and stuck it down into the bog the length of the bar, and upon withdrawing it, the water gushed up in a steady stream, running off into his ditch. This stream continued to run till it left the ground entirely dry. From this circumstance he formed his theory. He found that bogs arise from springs at the side or bottom. The object of draining is to reach the head, of the springs, and to let the water run off in a ditch in the same manner as water runs in the channel of a brook, and to give it such a descent that it will not stand and soak into the ground through which it passes. If the springs lie so high that with a ditch of moderate depth, the head of the springs can be reached, the draining is accomplished by the ditch alone; but in many cases, the head of the spring is ten or fif teen feet below the surface of the bog, and to dig the ditch so deer would not only be expensive, but the bottom would be so low that the water could not run off, being below the level of the surrounding ground. The practice of Mr. Elbington meets this difficulty. After digging the ditch, and ascertaining where the head of the spring is likely to be, he bored through the lower bed of the bog till he struck the main bed of water, which by its pressure is immediately forced up, and will run in a continued stream until the whole bog is drained. There are two modes practised of draining wet lands, one is called under ground draining, and the other is called surface draining. As these expressions often occur in agricultural writings, it may not be unimportant to state in what each consists. Under ground draining is commonly done by digging a ditch of some two or three feet deep in a field with a proper descent, and then filling it up with small stones, the top covered with turf, straw, or bushes, and the sod placed upon this covering deep enough to plough over it without disturbing the drain. Surface draining is so familiar to every one that it needs no particular description. It may not be improper to observe that the main drain should run obliquely across the descent of the field and the short drains all descend into the main drain, which should be carried entirely off with a running stream, so as not to drain one fild upon another. It need hardly be observed that the importance of draining is not appreciated by our farmers; and that few, if any, have practised it systematically. Our best lands are called cold and wet soils, because the water is suffered to soak into the ground and there remain till it destroys the power of producing little else than weeds or a poor crop of poor grass. By proper draining and manuring, all our wet lands may be made more fertile and productive than sandy and porous soils, which are called dry lands because they drain themselves. Where the soil will not absorb the water readily, it should be drained off till the ground is made dry.-Maine Cultivator.. INDIAN AFFAIRS.-All attempts thus far to treat with the Winnebagoes, on fair and liberal terms, for the sale of the territory held by them within the limits of what is usually called the neutral ground have failed. THE SEA EGG. This is one of the most difficult and disagreeable shells to find and to capture, while the inhabitant is living, and yet it is one of the greates favorites with us all when taken and in good preservation. So delicate, and so much like a work of human art, does it appear, that we might almosl venture to assert, that no person whatever, unacquainted with this kind of nature's productions, could be at first easily persuaded to think it the covering of a little sea animal, constructed and adorned wholly by its original owner. The Echinus, or Sea Urchin, as the creature is called, is not one of the Molluscas, nor as useful or harmless as most of them are. It possesses numerous fribrous members, which it protrudes through some of the holes, with which the shell is regularly pierced, and these are said to wound the hands of a person who incautiously seizes or touches it, producing a disagreeable itching or smart, which lasts for sometime. The animal moves about in the water, but seldom spontaneously exposes itself to view, so that our books of Natural History have but little to to tell us of its habits. The shell, however, is the most interesting part; and this, if gently handled, may be long preserved for the gratification of the owner, and the admiration of others. Its familiar name, "Sea Egg," is a very natural one, as it nearly resembles a common egg in size, form and color; but its superior delicacy of appearance, when closely examined, leaves the spectator quite in doubt, what other natural object to compare it with. It has often been compared with pricked paper; and indeed perhaps that is the only thing which can easily be made to resemble it very closely. Few ladies, however, even in their most labored attempts, so adorn paper by regular punctures with needles and pins of different sizes. To those who are pleased with works of taste of this kind, the Sea Egg offers a beautiful set of patterns, the holes being of different sizes, but arranged with a wonderful regard to order and symmetry, in lines and figures which follow the swelling form of the oblate spheroid with a degree of grace and beauty, which, the more we contemplate, the more we admire. Such displays of skill and elegance among the most feeble and insignificant of the Almighty's works, may well lead us to new adoration, love and confidence. The Echinus, or Urchin, belongs to the Animalia Radiata, (Radiated Animals,) which form Cuvier's fourth grand class, or the third class of animals without back-bones. The Radiata, or Zoophites, have their parts ranged round an axis, or placed like rays coming from one or more centres, or on one or more lines. The sea-flowers, of which we have before spoken, belong to the same class. In addition to the slender, membranous feet above mentioned, the urchins have many spines, commonly violet colored, sticking out from their shells, each with a joint at its base. These also move, and, with the feet, give direction to the animal through the water. Besides these, it has small tubes, probably to draw in water and to throw it out, with five long teeth, set in a singular kind of mouth, formed of hard shell and shaped like a lantern, with five sides. It feeds on small shellfish, which it catches with its little feet; and, with its teeth, it breaks and devours thein. The Urchin is often eaten, in countries where it abounds, and is well flavored food in the spring. Perpetual Motion.-We were invited yesterday morning to examine Col. Boon's at. tempt to solve this long sought problem.Our examination was somewhat cursory, but sufficient to satisfy that he has invented a machine which will move until some of its parts are worn out by friction and the chemical elements of the atmosphere. The source from which the motive power is derived is found in the great expansiveness and of course contractibility of refined spermaceti oil, which in these qualities is four and half times greater than mercury. The oil is placed in a metallic globe, from which it rises or sinks in a steel tube; into this tube again is fitted a steel cylinder that ascends or falls with the liquid. With this cylinder are connected the weights and checks that regulate the uniformity of the motion.-Maysville Eagle. MISCELLANEOUS. FREE TRADE FOR TURKEY. The Constantinople correspondent of one of the London journals gives the following account of the efforts of the lately fallen Vizir, RIZA PACHA, to found European manufactures in Turkey: : "I may give you some account of the new manufactories which have been recently established in this country. Perhaps more im. portance has been attached to them than naturally belongs to them. Riza Pacha was the originator of all these establishments, and has property in many of them. His idea in calling them into existence was, no doubt, by encouraging home manufacture, to make this country independent of foreign supply. It was a mistaken patriotism, identified with the narrowest views of commerce, that animated him in all his manufacturing efforts; and the zeal he devoted, and the pecuniaлy sacrifices he even made to promote the success of these factory schemes, show how important he considered them. During his administration, several manufactories never before known in this country were set up; three for the fabrication of cloth, one for rope, one for porcelain, and one for glass, all in the environs of Constantinople. One of these cloth manufactories has had more success than any of the other establishments. Of this particular establishment I will, therefore give a brief account. This is the Fess-Hanig, or manufactory of caps, which form the distinctive head-gear of the Turks, since the turban is no longer worn by the military or by the officials of the Porte. Cloth is also manufactured in the establishment. The machinery by which the factory is worked was sent for from England and Belgium at great expense by the Turkish Government. This machinery has been given by the government to this establishment; the government also gives the wool, cotton, and all the first materials of fabrication. These being strictly donations, no return is expected for them, and a dead loss is thus at starting incurred. When the cloth is made, all the preliminary expenses, except that of labor having been avoided, it might be hoped that it could be sold at a low price, realizing a profit; but this is not the case. The very coarse cloth is sold at the rate of 18 piastres (3s. 6d.) per yard, whereas a superior article may be had from Europe at 10 piastres, less than 2s. a yard; and the finer cloth of about the second quality is sold at 45 piastres per yard. This is about the price that the European article of the same quality would also fetch here; but it is confessed that the Turkish article is at present sold at a loss. As for the sale of this home manufacture, of course it is a forced sale, or there would be none. The cloth fabricated is contracted for the clothing of the officers and soldiers of the army; yet the supply is not near suffi cient for the purpose, and is not likely to be so for a long time to come. There is another cloth manufactory at Ismidt, in the Gulf of Nicomedia. What I have said of the Fess-Hanig applies to it, as also to the rope factory at Ayoub. For the others, they are really not worthy of notice; but generally I would include them in the remarks I am about to make. It is evident that these manufactories can have no success. Whilst the articles they prepare for the public may be bought cheaper from Europe than they can be fabricated here, it is really, to use the lightest word, most mischievous trifling to attempt to substitute them for European merchandize. And as to the prospect of competing in any length of time with foreign manufactures, or finding a sale in foreign mardets, that prospect is so extravagant, and, moreover, were it not so, must be so very distant, that very few are even here madly sanguine enough to entertain it." "With many a winding bout This Of linked sweetness long drawn out;" followed by a soul-stirring march, in which a pealing trumpet and some twenty other wind instruments successively executed solos. Then we heard the growling of a distant storm, which seemed gradually to approach until the walls of the Church were shaken by the repeated peals of startling thunder, whose echoes died away in distant mutterings--the sublime effect heightened by so perfect an imitation of falling rain, that I was inclined to credit the story of the Englishman, who, on hearing it, instinctively raised his umbrella. was the conclusion, and in a few minutes the autocrat came forth, a regular specimen of John Bull, accompanied by a scraggy, faded partner'; three ill-dressed girls followed, and the footman brought up the rear-his cringing servility to his paymasters forming a striking contrast to some previous insolence. The coast being clear we entered the Church, and met with a kind reception from the organist, who appeared to be much fatigued, as it requires almost supernatural exertions to direct the sound of five thousand pipes-the largest of which are sixteen inches in diameter, and thirtytwo feet high. By way of consoling us, he volunteered his choicest piece, the Hal lelujah chorus, in which numerous human voices-bass, tenor, soprano and alto-appeared to perform their parts, with the precision of a well-trained choir. Once, a stranger, who had obtained the organist's reluctant permission to touch the keys, produced such a "concord of sweet sounds," that he was summoned to desist, as being either an angel or a demon. It was Handel. upon Near the church is a statue of "Haarlem's Glory," Laurent Koster, the inventor of the art of printing, representing himself holding forth in his hand the letter A, as a type of his claim to the discovery. Opposite is the house in which he resided, which is inscribed, "Memoriæ sacrum Typographia, ars artum conservatrix, hic primium inventa circa annum 1440." Tradition says that Koster used to walk daily in a wood near the town, and one morning picked up a piece of bark, upon which he carved a letter with such success that he was induced to complete the alphabet. The idea occurred to him that by inking them he could produce im. pressions upon paper. He succeeded-and the art once discovered, went on perfecting his lesson by casting letters of lead and tin. Un ortunately for his fame, Faust, his workman, stole the fount one Christmas eve, and carried it to Mayence, where he endeavored to secure the honor of the discovery, but the merit of the discovery belongs to Koster. In the Town Hall are Koster's original blocks, with a work printed by him in 1440, "Speculum Humanæ Salvationis;" and Haarlem is still celebrated for a foundry of Greek and Hebrew characters from which most of the Jewish presses in Europe are supplied. I found a French gardener at the Pavil lion, a palace sold by Hope, the famous banker, to Napoleon, who gave it to his brother Louis, with the crown of Holland, and after the restoration it came into the possession of the present king. We first visited a Bloomed-Tuinen, or flower gar den, one of the many establishments here for the cultivation of the bulbous plants, for which the boggy soil is peculiarly adapted, while the water rises so near the surface that their roots find ready nourishment. The garden was some six hundred feet long by one hundred in width, enclosed and subdivided into small squares, by a board fence, at least six feet high, to keep off the sea breeze and retain the rays of the sun. Each division was devoted to a peculiar species of flowers, which appeared to be growing in sand, a layer being spread over the surface of the rich soil to retain the moisture. At one end was a large house, in which the bulbs are dried on frame work; each is then enveloped in paper, and they are aftarwards put up by the gross, in paper bags. The proprietor told me, that he sold annually, for exportation, upwards of 250,000 tulips, 100,000 hyacinths, 200,000 crocuses, and as many more of other flowers, at an average price of four cents each, though some were worth a dollar: a great falling off from the prices during the mania in 1637, which even exceeded our multicaulis bubble, the roots being bought and sold upon the exchange, like stocks, without leaving their resting place in the beds. Of the variety named Semper Augustus, there were only two bulbs, for one of which was offered 4,600 florins, a new carriage, a pair of horses and their harness. Returning through the town my guide pointed out small frame boards, hanging by the side of several doors, upon which were displayed oval pieces of lace work, placed over pink paper, to show their fineness; and which I naturally supposed, indicated the residence of lace makers, but was mistaken. According to accounts, when Haarlem surrendered to the Spanish, after a long siege, one of the articles of capitulation was, that every house in which there was a young infant, should not be entered by the soldiery; and, as a token, the centre of an infant's cap was to be hung at the door. This symbol is still displayed-and during a fortnight by law, drums cannot be beat before the house; the furniture is exempt from legal execution, and the father is not liable to perform military or jury duty. The waters of Haarlem were formerly supposed to possess a peculiar property for bleaching linen, which were brought here from all quarters, for that purpose: hence the name of Hollands. There are several large cotton mills in the environs, owned by the King, and managed by Englishmen. Steam is used as a motive power, and the coal consumed is brought from Newcastle. The men receive about forty cents, the women and boys twenty-five cents a day; but provisions are so cheap, that they appear to be comfortable and happy. The children are sent to the public schools, which are under the superintendence of a Mr. Prinsen -and all bring daily a small sum, for the defraying of expenses. The road from Haarlem to Amsterdam, a distance of ten miles, is as straight as an arrow, with a canal on one side, and a causeway, crowned with a row of willow trees, on the other. Beyond the canal is the Ái Lake, and the causeway shuts in the Haarlem Sea, so that the road has been compared to that which ran through the Lake of Tezcuco, and connected the ancient city of Mexico with the mainland. COPPER REGION OF KEWENA. This remarkable peninsula of Lake Supe rior has been the scene of very active mineral investigations and operations, the past sea son. The general results are thus sketched in a letter recently published: The season is growing late, and at this moment the surrounding hills are covered with snow, and the thermometer stands at 37 degrees. The superintendant of the mineral lands, General Stockton, closes the agency to-morrow, and all the officials leave for home. The commissioners appointed by the war department to examine into conflicting claims have made a commencement. The superintendant meets with the approbation of all, and he leaves his post for the purpose of visiting his family and making his report for the approaching Congress. The commissioners visited the Eagle River and Pittsburg works, and were delighted to find so much had been accomplished in so short a space of time. The Lake Superior Company at Eagle River commenced operations in September, 1844, under Col. Charles H. Gratiot; and, with an alacrity unsurpas sed in the annals of mining, either in this country or Europe-within seven months after the commencement of their operations, upward of 600 tons of ore was taken from two shafts by the aid of fifteen miners, the nett value of which in the city of Boston is $115 per ton! The success of this company is without a parallel, not excepting the famous Wheal Maria vein of Cornwall. At the formation of their company the stock was divided into 1200 shares, 800 of which were assessible. The whole amount of assessments per share has been $35, creating a capital at the onset of $28,000, which will be repaid by the sale of 600 tons of ore at $115 per ton, leaving in the hands of the stockholders a clear profit of $41,000. From a colony of fifteen inhabitants, twelve months since, and three patched hovels, they now number more than one hundred and thirty men, inhabiting twenty neat log houses worthy of any western settlement; added to which they have two blacksmiths' shops constantly in operation, a saw-mill capable of cutting three thousand feet of lumber every twenty-four hours, and a large stamping and crushing machine, ninety by twenty-five, erected at a cost of $12,000. A country, once deemed poor and unproductive, now seems destined to prove the richest in the world. The vague accounts of the early French travellers, Charlevoix and Father Hennepin, and a host of voyageurs, of the existence of copper on the south side of Lake Superior, a century since, and of its being converted by the early Catholic missi onaries at the Sault Ste Marie and Mackinaw into candlesticks, crosses and censers, and by the aborigines of the country at a still earlier day into bracelets and other rude ornaments, having now been brought to confir mation by the scientific exertions of Douglass Houghton, a name beloved by the geologists of our country, to whom the interests of natural science in the West have been greatly indebted. The old trap rocks, in the lan guage of the poet, "That seem a fragment of some mighty wall, are as familiar to the geologist of Michigan "as household words." By a perseverance undaunted and an ambition unconquerable, amid hardships in the field and in coasting the iron bound shore of our great Northern sea, he has succeeded in developing the true character of the upper peninsula of Michigan and making its mineral wealth known to the world. Unlike the fruitless toil of years wasted by the noble Alexandrian in searching after the philosopher's stone, he may exclaim "Eureka"-I have found it. The Traitor Arnold.-At the close of the Revolutionary war, Arnold, the traitor, accompanied the royal army to England. "The contempt that followed him through life," says an elegant writer," is illustrated by the speech of Lord Lauderdale, who, perceiving Arnold on the right hand of the King, and near his person, as he addressed his parliament, declared on his return to the House of Commons, that however gracious the language he had heard from the throne, his indignation could not but be highly excited, at beholding, as he had done, his majesty supported by a traitor." On another occasion Lord Surrey, rising to speak in the House of Commons, and perceiving Arnold in the gallery, sat down, exclaiming, "I will not speak while that man, pointing to him, is in the house." He died in London, June 14, 1801.' Our Plan for the diffusion of useful Seeds, &c.-The New York Observer, Recorder, &c., notice with approbation the plan we have adopted for the supplying of useful seeds to persons of taste and public spirit in all parts of the country, with the information necessary to direct their proper planting and culture. |