MENTAL IMPROVEMENT FOR FARMERS.

Some men proﬁt by observation more than others, but few know the means by which this power of observation may be in- creased. How few farmers know that cows and sheep have no upper teeth; how few are aware that cold water will dissolve more salt or lime than hot water. Does one in one hundred know that a gallon of water will dissolve more plaster of paris than it will of slacked lime, that has been long enough exposed to the atmosphere to become carbonate of lime? How many know that water is at its mean of size when at 40° of heat, that if cooled below that temperature it swells, until it becomes ice at 32°, and if heated above 40° it also swells, until it eventually becomes steam, thus occupying more than 1,700 times its original space’! Still, all these are facts, and to minds generally observant, they are well known to be true.

The science of farming embraces all Na- ture'a laws, and the habit of observation will soon render the farmer ready to recog- nize these laws in all their tiseful applicati- ons. Let him know enough of chemistry, which he may do by one week's reading to comprehend the various changes that the integrants of the soil undergo to enable them to enter the plant, and he will soon observe the fact, that these chemical clian- ges niust include the ability of being dis- solved in water, before the plant can receive them. He will also soon find that water, in its pure state, will not dissolvethe neces- sary quantity of all these materials, unless it contains carbonic acid. \Vhcn lie 0l)- serves that water from n spr'.'ig, applied to plants in the time of drought \\ .l not produce the same amount of improvement as is re- ceived from a similar amount of ivatcr fall- ing llirougli the atmosphere in the form of rain, he will soon understand that the rain- water comes charged with some iiigredietit from the .'lllllt).s‘[)l|Gl'8 which the spriiig-ivatcr does not contain——tliis is ammonia, and is received from the decay of foriiier crops, animal (!Xlltl.lllnllS, Ste. The exercise of the mind in the observance and applicntioii ofthe oonimoncst truths of Nature's laws, will capacitatc it for other steps in progres- sion; for the brain, like the arm of the blacksmith or the leg of the dancing-mns- ter, must increase in energy at least, if not in size, by healthful use.

The inhabitants of the country have this power of observation to a greater extent than those whose tastes lead them to become inhabitants of large cities, and to engage in mercantile pursuits. A boy, who, when asked, which was the direction of up stream, answered the question by throwing a stone at ii frog, then remarking, a frog always jumps up the stream when disturbed.

Let any farmer devote the evenings ofa single winter to the reading of Geology, Entomology, Chemistry, Natural Philoso- phy, and Natural History, and apply his acquired knowledge as an amusement, while pursuing his vocation during the fol- lowing summer, and he will ﬁnd himself able to observe and comprehend thousands of incidents connected with natural law, which would before have passed by, unob- served. He will then see and understand that the soil is lint a debris of the rocks, that in its original formation this occurred from the combined influence of sun and air, and changes ot' temperature by freezing and thawing, in rendering these rocks a soil. He will see how the convulsions of nature liavo mixed the soils of different lo- calities; he will see, also, that the earliest Vegetable growths were necessarily grosser sorts than those now produced; and that they, by receiving carbon from the atmos- phere, for the carbon originally must have existed there in immense quantities, in the form of carbonic acid, by their decay de- posited it in the soil, thus improving its quality and rt-.ndt_-ring it fit for the develope- tnentofa more advanced class of vegetation.

He will next be able to observe, why dceplydisiiitegi-ated soils can never suffer from ,lroug|it, tn.-cauaolie will know that wlioatho water is absent from the soil, it is present in the atmosphere, and will be de- posited on the‘ surface of colder particles,

at greater dopt‘li‘ii than can be reached by the atmospliero when attempting to psroo-, lots shallow plowed land. He can trace the action of this moisture and its oﬂics in

HASZARD’S GAZETTE, FEBRUARY 5.:

the soil; he can know what amendments are

required to replace those which he may lind ‘

to be deﬁcient; and, indeed, he can render hinself doubly happy and a better servant ofhis Creator, and his vocation ameliorat- ing to his fellow-men. All this does not call for the tedious exertions of thought as practised by the mathematician and the merchant, but merely for the culture of the power of observation to ace truths as they exist, and apply them rightly; and this, and

nothing else, he will lind to constitute the‘

science of agricultiire.-—Woi-king Farmer.

THE MAHOMI-l'l‘AN RELIGION.

The rcligon which was first taught by Mahomet, many hundred years ago, has been gradually extending its sway from that period to the present time, and is now pro- fessed by one hundred and fifty millions of the human race—or more than one-seventli part of the whole population of the globe. Even at this moment it is believed by intel- ligent writers to be quietly, although none the less eﬂ'ectually, pushing forward the boundaries of its dominion upon every side except upon that where it is combated by the prayers and Bibles of the Christian world. The progress of Christianity has been so much more rapid, and upon so much grander a scale than that of Mahometan- ism, and the advancement of the latter has been so closely conﬁned to nations and peo- ple with whom we have little communicati- on, that the growth of the religion of the prophet has been hardly prcecptible even to the careful observer. But affairs are as- suming a diffei-ent aspect now. Already the priests of Malioinet and the ministers of Christ are arrayed against each other in that remote region, ivhero the east and west meet, and a great conflict of faith is at hand.

The Malioiiietan religion far from grow- ing feeble with age, is still, among those people who have pl'tilt'.~‘St'(l it for centuries, a vigorous, local and national faith. \Vitli it are connected sentiments of patriotism for the present, and of vciicrnlion for the past: and its peculiar cliaractcr, adtiiii-ed, and Cl|Cl'lSll(!(l, insoiiiueli as it tends to per- pctuatc aiiiong its followers a position of constant antagonisni with those other tinti- oiis which they inost abhor. '1'licl{cv. l)i'. Newman, an English lecturer and writer of merit, says:

‘ No well authenticated tokens come to us of the decay of the Malioinct faith. It is true that in one or two cities, in Constanti- nople, perhaps, or in the inarts of com- merce, laxity of opinion and general scep- ticism may to a certain extent prevail: as also in the highest class of all, and in those who have most to do with Europeans; but I confess nothing has been brought home to me to show, that this superstition is not still a living energetic principle in the Turkish population, suﬂicient to bind them together in one, and to lead them to bold and perse- vering action.

M. De Liiture, a French writer, and the author of “ Le Desert et le Soudan," olfers the following testimony to the strength of Mahometanism in the nineteenth century:

“ Not only is the number of unbelieving and indilferent no greater now than it was in the early ages of lslamism; it is in truth much smaller. And if that religious spirit which once achieved so many prodigies re- veals itself no longer in our day by any- thing great or glorious, it is not the fault of the people of Islam; it is not they who are demoralized, who tremble at the idea of war; it is not they whose weak hands let fall the sword of Mahomed the conqueror, of Selim the inﬂexible, of Soliman the law giver. he people is what it ever has been; it only wants a chief; but this chief has long been wanted. In Africa, in Asia, in Europe, Islsmisin has lost notliiiig. ltaith is everywhere vivid, and if piety is more rare than faith, this has always been equal- ly the case. " '

The dominions ofthe religion of the pro- phet ombrace, besides Turkey in Europe, which is but as a drop in the great sea, large portions of the continents of Asia and Africa. Within the last few centuries. ll hiis conquered paganism, and found its way amon v the inbiiliitiints of Malacca-and some of the Spice Islands; it has, at well as the Christian religion, found a foothold upon the shores ofNew Guinea, and it is said, that Mahometnn missions are even now esta- blished in the eastern part of China, and

their missions laboring for converts among the followers of Confucius.

In Africa, the religion of the Koran em- braces nearly all the tribes north of the tenth parallel of north latitude, and many to the southward of it-taking in more than one liall'of the continent. It has been ex- tended there, and is still being extended, both by conquest and conversion.

Notwithstanding the great extent and power of the -.\lahomctun faith, experience has shown that wlierc\'cr it is brought in direct contact with the Christian religion, and upon equal grounds, it is unable to maintain its position; and this being the case, can it be doubted that at some future day the crscent of Mahomet will fade away and be extinguished in the hriglit sunlight ofa liolier faith?

WHA'r Ni«:x'r.?—The Nerd, the Rus- sian organ published at Brussels, gives a translation in extenso of Mr. Cobden's re- cent pamphlet. To the heading, “ Pam- phlet of M. Richard Cobden, Member of the Parliament of England,” the Nord adds :—“ We publish thi remarkable work which Mr. Cobden has just written on the question of peace and war. The grave talent and the honest intentions of the writer gave uch an importance to this pamphlet that we have thought ﬁt to lay the whole of it before our readers.”

RUSSIAN OFFICIAL DEl.lNQUl:NClES.—- The St. Petersburg Marine Journal a few days back published the degradation an officer of the commissariat of the ﬂeet of the Black sea, for “ aiding and abett- ing in the getting of false documents.” St. Potersburg letters mt-ntion also that the Minister of war has laid before the 'llll}i(.'l’Ol' “ a judgment pronounced by a council of war, which, when it is publisli- ed, will excite as much sensation as the peculations of l‘olitowslti did, who had cniliezzlcd l,t)00,000. roubles from the funds of the lnvalids.” The parties af- fccted are seven members and the presid- ent of a Tribiiiial of commerce in the south. 'l‘liey are understood to have tnade very free with the State Treasury as well as the funds of the tribunal itself.

0 --a

It is said that Jenny Lind receives ﬁve hundred pounds sterling, for each con- cert in which she sings in the series now in progress in London.

Ixousrav or DAMsscus.—Let us pass through the diminutive old gateway, and we enter a vast covered area, whose shat- tered roof, dimly seen through clouds of smoke, is supported here by massive pier, and there by stately column. The din of hammer and anvil is almost deafening, and swarthy ﬁgures are seen through the gloom sitting on dirty hobs and round miniature furnaces. Heaps of the precious metals, and ornaments of various forms and chaste designs, are by their aide, while diamonds, emeralds, and rubies glitter in their hands. Passing through this busy scene, we enter another bazaar, no less noisy. Here are scores of carpenters engaged in the manu- facture of the ornamental clogs worn uni- versally by the Damascus lndies. Observe how they work, all squatting. One is plan- ing ii board, holding it with his toe! Others are carving pieces of wood, or inlaying them with silver and mother-of-pearl; an while the hands ply the mallet and chisel, the toes do duty as a vice.—Port.-r’a Five Years in Damascus.

Hisroitv is the light oftrulh, the memory of life, the witness bearer oftime, the mes- senger of antiquity, and the mistress and di- rectress of our earthly existence.

We often speak of being settled in life; we might as well speak of being anchored in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

A paper has just been started in Rich- mond, Indiana, entitled "The Bi-oadaxe of Freedom and the Grabbing Hoe of 'I‘rutb.",

t 'l‘ns Qui;s.~i’s l’ni«:ssN'r To Miss NIGHT-

INGALB. The desigii—suggested by the

Prince Consort—ot' that jewel presented

by her Majesty to Miss Nightingale, con- ‘sists of a st. (,.‘oorge’s Cross in ruby-red ,*3painel, on a white ﬁeld, representing 'I‘4"8l~'1l1d- This is encircled by ti black iban_d, typifyitig the office of Charity, on ‘which is inscribed a golden legend, “‘Blessed are the merciful.” The Royal donor is expressed by the letters “ V. _R,” surmounted by a crown in diamonds fimpressed upon the centre of the St. iGeorge’s Cross, from which also rays of gold emanattngupon the ﬁeld of white enamel are supposed to represent the glory of England. Wide-spreading branches of palm, in bright green enamel, tipped with gold from a framework for the shield,theii' stems at the bottom bein banded with a. ribbon of blue ename (the colour of the ribbon for the Crimean medal), on which, in golden letters, is inscribed “Crimea.” At the top of the shield, between the palm branches, and connecting the whole, three brilliant stars of diamonds illustrate the idea of the light of Heaven shed upon the labours of Mercy, Peace, and Charity, in connexion with the glory ofa nation. On the back of this Royal jewel is an inscription on a golden tablet, written by her Majesty, recording itto be a gift and testimonial in memory of services rendered to be! brave army by Miss Nightingale. The jewel is abontthree inches in depth by two-and-a-lialfiii width. It is to be worti, not as a brooch or ornament, but rather as the badge of an order. oooo—-—

Giuix ix ALGERIA.-The breadth of land in Algeria, sewed with cereals, is so great, that iftiie next harvest should prove favourable, it is computed, that the colony can supply one-fourtli of the food required by France.

Fiiisr Aus'rn.u.isN MAN-oir-wAn.—Tho ﬁrst Australian man-of-war, being the pie- neeroftlie Australian navy, was seen steam- ing rapidly on Southampton water on the l‘..’.th ult. She was a inan-of-ivar screw sloop of a most beautiful model. She had on board three 68-pounders, weighing 56 cwt. each, and was pierced for eight guns. She is quite new, having been built by Young, Son, 8t Magnay, of London. She is maho- gany bnilt, on the diagonal principle. Her tonnage is 580, and her engines (which were manufactured by Ronnie) are of 150- horse power.

FASHIONABLB ExriuvAoAivcI.—Fasbi- enable fans in Paris, cost as high as $2000. A twenty or thirty dollar fan is considered the meanest triﬂe.

Wioows AND VVioow:its.—-We find that, in 1851, 5000 widowers were married to spinsters; 2100 bachelors to widows, and ‘2700 widowers to widows. More than 7000 widowers stand here, by the side of rather more than 5000 widows. In one case a widower of ninety was married to n spinster of eighty. The youngest widower was twenty, the youngest widow sixteen.—En- glisli Paper.

Wiir CLIMATIB CHANGE.--A pamphlet, by John Murray, civil engineer, has recent- ly been published in London, in which he endeavors to account for the changes in climate in diﬂ‘erent countries, which have taken place in the last century, by the changeable position of the magnetic poles. The magnetic variation or declination of the needle is well known. At the present time it amounts, in London, to about twenty- three degrees west of north, while in I659, zlthe line of variation passed through Eng. land, and then moved gradually west until 1810. In that year, a great reinoviil of ico took place on the coast ofGrcenland; hence it is inferred that the cold meridian, which now passes through Canada and Siberia, may at one time have passed through Italy: ‘and that if the magnetic meridian returns,

An ignorant man inquires whether mock 8' ll ii 00'' doing. 10 ll’ 0” “"93 in Europe.

turtle soup is made out of tortoise-shell ?

CIII

Rome may once more see her Tiber frozen : over.