Southern planter - The W&M Digital Archive

400 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER [July
deaYor to explain it to you. It is not origi- It seems to be a question which a majorinal
with nie, and may be familiar to many ty of persons consider a mystery which can-
of your readers.
not be fathomed; while those who do spec-
The spirit level is attached to the cross ulate upon the subject generally arrive at
the common rafter level by means of conclusions that are as unreasonable as to
bar oi %
a screw, so that when the top or upper sur-
face of the spirit level is even with the top
of the cross bar, and the bubble settles in
the centre, a perfect level is obtained. Thus
adjusted, the level is ready for laying off
horizontal guide rows. To obtain the grade
you wish your ditches to have, obtain first
the true level and place an inch block under
it, press one end of the spirit level below
the top surface of the cross bar, until the
bubble settles in the centre, and make a
puncture or mark on the side bar, exactly
even with the top surface of the depressed
end of the spirit level. If your grade is
two inches, place a two inch block under
one foot and press down the spirit level until
the bubble again stands in the centre, and
make a puncture or mark on the cross bar.
And in the same way make your marks on
the cross bar to correspond with a grade of
three, four or five inches. Your level is now
ready for laying off your ditches. If you
wish to give them a grade of three inches,
which I believe is usual in a twelve feet
stride of a rafter level, you have nothing to
do, but to press down one end of the spirit
level as low as mark number 3, screw it
tight, and when the bubble stands in the
centre you have the desired grade, or as
near an approximation to it as is necessary
for your purpose. This plan dispenses with
Mr. Hardwick's grade blocks which are
fastened by screws to one of the side pieces
of his rafter level. You can, without any
inconvenience or delay, change your grade
so as to adapt it to different ditches or the
same ditch, if the diversity of the soil or
any other cause should render a change of
grade necessary. I do not present this mode
of adjusting the level as a new or an original
design, but because I consider it more
simple and convenient than any which I
have seen suggested. A Planter.
From the Ohio Farmer.
The Law of Sex.
Mr. Editor.—Occasionally there has appeared
in the columns of your paper, articles
and paragraphs relating to the law which
determines the sex of animals, though I be-
lieve nothing very definite or satisfactory
has been written.
attribute it to the result of chance alone.
There is no reason, however, why this function
of the animal economy is not governed
by laws as well as any other function of the
body, nor any reason why the law should not
be discovered.'
I have lately been looking over a work by
a German author, which contains some views
on this subject not generally known. He
claims to have demonstrated the truth of his
propositions by numerous experiments.
With your permission, I will give a synopsis
of the law as laid down by him.
His theory is that each testicle or gland
yields a peculiar fluid, the right one the
male, and the left one the female. Also
that the ovaries contain their peculiar ovum;
the right ovary forming the ovum for the
male, and the left one for the female. And,
further, that the ovum from the right ovary
can only be impregnated by the seminal
fluid from the right gland and vice versa.—
His experiments seem to verify the theory.
A sow, bred to a boar with the right gland
removed, bore only female pigs, though the
experiment was several times repeated.
Several dogs had their right glands removed,
and they invariably begat females. The
same was true of rabbits when the left one
was removed, the results were opposite, without
exception.
On the other hand, he several times removed
the right or left ovary from the female,
and though bred to perfect animals,
the results were the same. No female became
pregnant, if bred to a male, the loss of
whose gland did not correspond to that of the
missing ovary.
If these things are true they can easily
be demonstrated by farmers who have any
curiosity to gratify, or any interest in the
matter, by a few carefully conducted experiments.
Let the experiments be made and the re-
sults given. The theory certainly looks
much more plausible than anything which
has hitherto been given to the public upon
the subject. M. L. H.
Judge thyself with a judgment of sin-
cerity, and thou wilt judge others with a
judgment of charity.