The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-07 00:00:00

SCIENCE AND ART. IT is said that one of the incidental results of the American expedition to Japan is the discovery that the Zodiacal light is a belt extending entirely round the earth, after the manner of Saturn's ring. President Pierce, of Cambridge, (U.S.) considers the fact established by the observations taken. GRAPES IN CONSUMPTION.—The use of grapes, as an article of food, is much recommended in cases of consumption, being called the cure des raisins. They contain a large quantity of grape sugar, the kind which more nearly resembles milk sugar in its character and composition. This is also very useful in consumption, as it has a great attraction for oxygen, and therefore affords material for respiration. A BOTANICAL DOUBT.—Sir John S. Forbes has communi cated his views to the Edinburgh Botanical Society on the disease called " Finger-and-Toe." He considers it not a dis ease, but an attempt made occasionally by turnips and other cultivated roots to revert, in spite of cultivation, to the natural type. He recommends a careful selection of the roots for seed, and culture on soil of good condition —refraining especially from sowing seed in a poor soil which had been raised on rich soil. Those who wish to observe the origin and progress of "finger-and-toe" in turnips should commence to look out in June or July at the furthest. HYDROPHOBIA.—The following remedy for the bite of a mad dog is reported to have been used by a person who was bitten by a rabid animal six times, and never used any other remedy :—Dissolve a pound of common salt in a quart of spring water, and wash and squeeze the bitten part imme diately after the infliction of the wound for an hour, and then bind some salt upon it for twelve hours. This will neither counteract nor supersede any other means that may be deemed necessary. The person bitten should keep as quiet as pos sible before the ablution, that exertion may not promote the absorption of the virus. In Germany when such an occur rence takes place some dust, or any dry article, is directly thrown on the bitten part, which absorbs the froth or saliva, and thereby tends to diminish infection by imbibing the in fectious matter. When so many eminent practitioners have failed in their endeavours to cure this dreadful malady, so simple an expedient is worth the trial; for, if it does not efficiently cure the disorder, it will doubtless mitigate the direful effects. THE PAINTING OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL IN THE VATICAN AT ROME.-1n 1474 (says Mr. Scharf), Sixtus IV. employed the best artists of the Tuscan and Umbrian schools to paint the walls of this chapel with a series of compartments, six on each side, from the history of the Saviour and of Moses, the former being range 4 on the south wall. Thus, in accordance with the established custom, the scenes from the Old Testa ment confronted those from the New. For example, Christ's Sermon on the Mount faced Moses on the Mount, and the Last Supper Wag opposite to the last commands of Moses to Joshua. The painters employed were Luca Signorelli, Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Roselli, Salviati, Pietro Perugino, and Domenico Ghirlandajo. The lecturer quoted Vasari's account of Roselli's conduct in the Sistine Chapel : he was far inferior to the other painters, and was aware of his deficiency ; but, perceiving the weakness of the Pontiff, who delighted in gold and finery, belaboured his work with gilding and ultramarine. This was so much to the delight of the Holy Father, that he commanded the other artists to spoil their works in a similar manner for his gratification. _ - DISCOVERY OF AUTOGRAPH SERMONS OF LUTHER. — Twelve autograph sermons of Luther have recently been dis covered at Raksan, in Hungary. The Hungarian paper, Divatesarnok, says :—" How these sermons have found their way to Hungary is a question still to be settled, though sure to be cleared up by a nearer perquisition of the records in which the autographs were found. It is a well-known fact, that Luther, for a long time, used to be in correspondence with several learned Hungarians, mostly with Baron Peter Revay. The MS. is bound in vellum, and contains twelve sermons, written on thick brownish paper, in faded, though still very legible black letters. The margin of the leaves shows marks of having formerly been gilded. Each separate sermon is signed with Luther's autograph signature ; and all these sig natures are so like to each other, that their being written by one hand is beyond any doubt. This valuable discovery is at present in the hands of M. Paul Raksanyi, whose property they have become by inheritance. 7 —A thenceum. DIFFUSION OF ARCHITECTURAL KNOWLEDGE.—Consider ing the value and importance of architecture, we have often wondered that its great leading principles have not been made a subject of study in our schools, and a means of mental education. Some may not recognise the necessity or desirable ness of such study : some doubt its practicability. It would be easy to show it is an acquirement affording largely that very sort of training and discipline which it is the business of schools to impart. The leading principles or laws of archi tecture may be laid down with all the precision which belongs to science. He who, after learning them, has no occasion to practise them, would still have acquired something which, if it did not avail him as a divine, as a lawyer, or as a physician, whichever he might be, would yet avail him as a man ; and it would by no means 'hinder him from acquiring the specific knowledge of his profession. All practical sciences, as arith metic, grammar, navigation,' and the like, are thus taught. The teacher- might consult to great advantage Professor Donaldson's " Maxims of Architecture, Theoretical and Prac tical ;" Rickman's " Attempt to discriminate the different Styles ;" Durand's " Parallele d'Architecture," and com parative views of celebrated edifices. Such works would form the public taste. Sums of money ought tp be granted by Government for having them at all the free libraries and institutions throughout the country.— The Builder. S UPPL ,EMENT TO THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. AGRICULTURE. How xo CUT HEDGES.—AImost all the thorn one sees are clipped square, i. e., the top is made flat and the sides per pendicular, the object apparently being to make them as like a wall as possible. An observation I heard made lately seems to have a great deal of truth in it, viz., that this system has a great tendency to make the hedge grow thin below, and that it is a much better way to keep it widest at the base and let it gradually taper to a point at the top. I have certainly seen hedges managed in this way present a beautifully close surface, which I attribute to the plan of allowing a much greater number of shoots to reach the outside. Hedges kept square are very apt, when old, to get " blanky," and grow bare near the ground, even though the top may be quite thick and flourishing. In this case there is no remedy but cutting down, always a disagreeable necessity, for then all shelter is gone at once, whereas this would very seldom be necessary if the hedge was kept in a pyramidal shape, for then there would always be plenty of shoots close to the ground equally young and growing as those at the top.—A. Northern, in Gardeners' Chronicle. DAMP HAY AND SALT.—A good deal of hay having been stacked hastily, with risk of overheating, and the weather still not promising a good time for drying, ler me remind your farming readers, that overheating may be prevented by a little salt strewed in, in stacking ; say 11b. to the cwt., more or less accordineto the dampness. Too much salt will prevent its heating at all, to sweeten with age, which makes it sell better, though, perhaps, none the more nourishing for home use. A still better method is, to stack the damp hay in layers, with old dry hay, or straw, and sprinkle the salt between ; but few farmers have, probably, much old hay, or straw, now, to spare for the purpose. Mouldy hay, put together with salt, from 81b. to 251 b. per ton, was better relished by the cattle, and did them more good, than sound hay stacked without salt; of which many instances are recorded. An excellent farmer, at Land rake, in Cornwall, many years ago, stacked damp hay with salt ; which came out almost a paste when the rick was opened, but the cattle devoured it greedily. In Germany, they even cure fresh cut grass by pitting with salt, Ilb. to the cwt. • it comes out quite a paste, and is said to go farther, in food, than the same quantity of grass made into hay. The advantage of dry straw, to absorb the juice drawn out by the salt, is twofold, —first, in preventing the souring of the grass,—and second, in rendering the straw itself nourishing and palatable, by the juice thus absorbed—T. Prideaux. • of $ l9 . face of the soil lightly, and applying or soot, they will throw up strongly and be in Prot e . te dc l( before winter. Attend to celery and all recentlY lon, 0 with water in the event of the weather bean"' Gardeners' Chronicle. i , r alleej THE GARDEN OF THE LUXEMBOURG.---TiL . ot ~ and orange trees of the Luxembourg. are at presL t o transferred into new cases of larger size. The CO orange trees belonging to the Luxembourg is one ot.So remarkable of any of the public gardens in Franq! ird! the number and age of the trees. Or trees, Itf e - 0 0 . a good dress!ag too attain a vast age. In the orangery at VersaillesaiselV under the three names of Grand Connetable, Fr 12 . C1t, Grand Bourbon, which is more than 400 years olateiilsf, from somes pippins of a tree of bitter oranges P l39 oeitt at the commencement of the fifteenth century, by Pe ne 7, Castille, wife of Charles 111., King of Navarre. lecke which sprang from them were preserved in the :,;i to 1499, at Pampeluna ; they afterwards passed lan t$ 4 1 ' hands, as rare and precious objects ; and then beeat4ll perty of the Constable de Bourbon, who placed bpi Chateau de Chantelle, in the Bourbonnais. I rl i , e P oe ' the constable having been confiscated in 1 5 ` 2, deso, trees were sent to decorate the Palace of Fontaine4A. Francois I. had caused to be restored and enloic : res.tt J e s oiv lf t,. r Louis XIV. had terminated Versailles and bail t —A , cent orangery, he gave orders that all the orange tititt.- in the royal residences should be conveyed to it• 0 1684, and the orange trees of Pampeluna, which!, those thus removed, were then two centuries ands The Grand Constable, the most remarkable of t" withstanding its great age, still perfectly vigoroils•ii INTRODUCTION OF PLANTS INTO ENGLAN D $d 0 were first grown by Rose, gardener to Charles 11.thli0 Raleigh introduced the potatoe. Sir Antlioab4o ancestor of Lord Shaftesbury, first planted c 3l , n oon country, and a cabbage appears at his feet oil i11'1,0,4 Figs were planted in Henry the VIII. 's reign 3t treo, Cardinal Pole, and it is said that the identical sperio) remaining.Dartford, i a o n v , er wh th o e e fi re r c s t t ed tw t o he lim fi planted at Dartford, and which are still gidr°4olY Thomas Cromwell enriched the garden of Bl i ho ;eete, * different kinds of plums. It was Evelyn , ,I"„ ro por. i f' , .,' was not exceeded by his learning, who largeiS,,Ye" ire% noble oak in this country; so much so, that t o ilirol,' he planted have supplied the navy of Great .„t pfd 1r , chief proportion of timber. Cherries were :1,0 1 f 01 {0_„ 17 Kent, by the Knight Templars, who lit "" POr brough t t ot ri per, j Ea • East , and the first mulberry trees were a 15° ,,, 11 .; Oa" Kent by the Knights of St. John, of Jerusalfr?Proinw-6 that Sir Richard Weston first brought 10fr° ` .1' e, po , e tl Brabant. The introduction of turnips, tiou,al): e ' is attributed to him, and his memory is 'rect l ` bitant of Surrey acquainted with his deeds' ,• FASHIONS. a rt l ' 0 4 ,y MANY of the new bonnets, dresses, and otbeljoge,,,i/, tume now in progress are destined for ladies , Ic r ottildf e e• leave London for the- country. A large Pr f rior,'o? dresses consist of barege, and of white an d re4,,A Nearly all are either flounced or have double w - tf f intended for young ladies, have the skirt sio l 4loil corsages are made with or without basctile 9 ;,;teli fi N are, in general, trimmed with frills. A liar , — 0;09 country, has just been prepared in Paris for I tio to i/ Sutherland. It consists of very fine Legl o %l6 l ; round form, called the Bolivar hat. It is trin i ,,4 crown by a wreath of flowers, including hones"6l forget-me-not, and camellia. Under the brip o itV quets, one on each side, fixed by bows of ribbon descending to form the strings. r : 04 A dress of white worked muslin of superi n in course of preparation at the establishnl en- e d principal dressmakers of Paris. It is destlii,, tV e ly princess whose, presence is shortly expected in capital. The dress is trimmed with three flon il titai mented with three rows of medallions, 001511 work encircled by lace. These flounces are of lace about two inches wide set on in slir,, l gt. under them are flounces of lilac gauze, disP„, lll ,Y,O Ol ,O l , the beauty of the needlework and lace. 1 - I '' o ver f' are bordered by a light ruche of gauze ribbou,, °11,0,01 the lace attached to the edge of the muslin P° 149 - 1; lace thus slightly supported adds much to ti-levA beauty of the trimming. The corsage, 'v iae ll/ 1 V( square in front, is edged round with medallion; o f clik and trimmings in lace. The sleeves are t o rn - 0 1,0 0 0/ i ornamented, like the flounces with needloc.° r , ef ei , gathered up in fulness by a bow with fiero n r eten4 sarsenet ribbon. The same ribbon is to fort,' "600;0' nating in front of the waist in a bow and lol l ; c i and the front of the corsage will be ornamen t •Pc V I of violets. Intl , The novelties in articles of lace and Intl , S°' be Jr very pretty morning collars and under-sleele. 01 sertions of worked muslin and Valenciennes ' O O eel'', are cloSe at the wrist, and have turned-uP, - ve s -‘ - 'err' fancy buttons. Some of the open, under-deed black and white lace . interniiugled.—Theia LIVERPOOL : byt l , e ? Printed and Published every Tuesday Mforni,.ll,ero ROBERT PEARSON THACKER, of NO.00:01, STANDARD GENERAL PRINTING ~,P, . GIMMIE'S CABSCJINT, Liverpool —TuesdaY, HORTICULTURE. FLOWER GARDEN.—When the plants have fairly covered the beds, the principal thing to attend to will be to preserve that symmetrical appearance over the whole of the beds which is indispensable in every regular flower-garden, to render the effect pleasing. To do this will involve frequent attention and considerable labour for some time to come, as some of the plants will incline to grow much too strongly, and will be continually encroaching upon the edgings and extending beyond their proper limits, and also getting too, high and bulky for other parts of the garden. For this there will be no remedy but pegging down, and thinning out the shoots, and shorten ing back such as extend beyond their proper limits. In shorten ing back shoots, however, that may incline to overstep the edges of the beds, care should be observed to avoid the least appearance of stiffness, by thinning out the, under shoots, and causing the mass to, as it were, die away at the edge. Plants of a weakly habit of growth, such as the melindres varieties of verbena, may require the assistance of an occasional watering with manure water, to get them to grow sufficiently free to make a strong good bed, and, in the case of these and some other free-blooming plants, this may be used freely without any danger of inducing growth at the expense of bloom. If green fly makes it appearance upon any of the beds, syringe the affected part at once with tobacco water and soapsuds ' • for if neglected, the mischief will soon spread, and be both trouble some and expensive to eradicate. Attend to plants trained on walls, keeping the young shoots neatly laid in or cut off before they become unsightly. The climbing roses should also be gone over occasionally, stopping or cutting out strong shoots not wanted for laying in. Keep phloxes and other herbaceous plants neatly tied to stakes, to prevent their being injured by wind, &c.; also see to tying dahlias and hollyhocks, and give the latter a liberal supply of manure water. FRUlT.—Where not already done, strawberry plantin g should be finished at once ;, and if the plants are expected to bear next season, they should have been planted previous to this : but by selecting strong runners, planting carefully, and keeping them well supplied with water, they will make strong plants yet before winter. No expense should be spared in pre paring the ground for this crop ; and as the plants will last for several years if the soil is made deep and rich, and re quire but little attention in the way of manuring or digging among them, the ground should be trenched some 2 feet deep, well incorporating with the soil a very heavy dressing of manure. _ KITCHEN GARDEN.—SeIect a piece of open light soil, and prepare it for spinach by well manuring and digging deep. This crop should also be got in at once, sowing in drills in beds with wide alleys, so as to allow of gathering the crop without treading the ground. Also provide ground for winter onions, &c. Finish planting out broccoli and winter greens as soon as possible, for unless the autumn should prove very favourable, those planted after this time will not attain much size. Get plenty of endive planted on rich soil; also lettuce to maintain the succession. See to providing a good supply of parsley for. winter use ; a good sized bed should be planted in some convenient situation for being protected in bard weather, choosing light dry but rich soil ; and if some well established strong plants can be cut over rather closely, stirring the sur- AUGUST 10'