Southern planter - The W&M Digital Archive

1859.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 443
any and every dog, little thinking the bad
effect such treatment has upon future litters.
In explanation of this phenomenon that
eminent physiologist, Professor Carpenter,
in his celebrated work upon " Human
Physiology," writes :
" Some of these cases
appear referrable to the strong mental impressions
left by 4 the first male parent upon
the female ; but there are others which
seem to render it more likely that the
blood of the female has imbibed from that
of the foetus, Ihrough the placental circulation,
some of the attributes which the
latter has derived from its male parent;
and that the female may communicate these,
with those proper to herself, to the subsequent
offspring of a different male parent-
age." The same author also writes
" There seems good reason to believe that
the attributes of the germ are in great degree
dependent not merely upon the habitual
condition of the parents, which have
furnished its original components, but even
upon the condition in which those parents
may be at time of sexual congress. Of
this we have a remarkable proof in the
phenomenon well known to breeders of
horses, that a strong mental impression,
made upon the female by a particular male,
will give the offspring a resemblance to
him, even though she had no sexual in-
tercourse with him. In conclusion, allow
me to say that agricultural societies are to
be blamed very much for the little attention
they pay to horses as compared with
other stock, especially poultry. They ought
to give liberal prizes to the brood mares
and stallions of all breeds, and pay as much
attention to them—they deserve more—as
to cattle, &c. The best stallion should
have to travel within the district of the
society during next season, and not to re-
ceive the prize until the end of that time.
I must add that our great landlords gen-
erally overlook the interest of their ten-
ants, and consequently their own also, in
not keeping good thorough-bred stallions,
of different breeds, for the use of their
tenants at a nominal charge. Farmers
themselves also overlook their own interest
too often by being " penny wise and
pound foolish," in looking more at the
fee of the horse, when they engage him,
than at his shape.
Examine your pickles, sweet-meats, and
everything put away.
Treatment of Peach Trees.
R. Seamans, of Cccilton, Maryland, thus
gives his plan of treatment of peach trees,
which he cultivates on a large scale :
" They should be carefully examined
every year, and all the worms and ova destroyed.
A shovelful of wood ashes thrown
around the roots every spring is beneficial.
When six years old, the soil should be cautiously
removed for about two feet round
the trunk, so as to examine the root. A
strong wash of lime and some salt should
then be applied to the top of the root at
the trunk and for about eighteen inches
above it, prior to which application the
rough bark should be scraped off. The removed
soil is left open for one week, then
placed in its former position. A yearly examination
for worms, a rich soil, and care-
ful cultivation, are all necessary for the
prosperity of the peach tree.
Extirpating Thistles from Grass Land. -
To me there have appeared few things
more extraordinary in the history of farming
knowledge than the perverse tenacity
with which prejudice has so long preferred
thef scythe to the roller in keeping down
thistles. In the North Riding of Yorkshire,
as far back as forty years ago, the
roller was an approved instrument for destroying
thistles in pasture grounds: and
most effective it proved to be—the bruise
and crush of the top of the plant extending
in mortification to the root. No doubt
of it, the scythe makes a clean sweep—so
does a surgeon when he cuts a leg oft'; but
let a crushed leg remain attached to the
body, and the undertaker will assuredly
have employment.
Pitch Phenomenon at Sea.
While the bark Holla, of New York,
was in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 4th, it
passed through a scum of smoking pitch,
which extended for several miles, and emitted
a most nauseating odour. It was supposed
by her captain (Mr. Rogers) to be
thrown up by' a submarine eruption from
some part of the bottom of the ocean.
This, we think, is the true explanation of
the phenomenon. There are extensive formations
of mineral pitch in Cuba, Trinidad,
and other West India islands, and no doubt
there are beds of this material under the
waters of the gulf. Scientific American.