The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-10-15

WILL
Mr. Lawrence is in an awkward position.
He Is between two fires; and no matter what d.
rection he may move in, he is certain of being
burnt. Yet, with all these drawbacks, the collec-
torship of New York is quite handsome office,
and we think it highly probable that i would re-
quire more than these troubles to induce Mr..
Lawrence to give II up.
HeRTIcULTURE.-Convent are now the order
of the day. No matter what objects are sought
to be attained in this country whether they be of
a political, religious, a socla character, a
convention is the fundamentally to work out the
wished-for consummatOn
Of the various conventions, however, whose
proceedings have lately occupied the public mind,
there is none where more pure rational enjoyment
could be had than that of the horticuturists,
who assembled, the other day, at Clinton
Hail. This is only one of a series of similar fes-
rivals which are held about this season OF the
year, in every great centre of this great country,
and at which the results of the taste, judgment,
and labor, In this particular de- artment, dis
played in endless variety, and boundless pro-
fusion.
of late years. tins art, and we don't know but
II might be digni6ed with the name of a science,
has advanced with rapid strides. Looking back
but century or two ago, to the specu!atlons of
the great minds of that period, with respect to hor-
tlcuture, one is torciby reminded of the throes of
the mighty lntellects on steam, with Its various
applications, and chemistry, with its beneficial
influences on mankind. The immortal Milton
described, in the most beautiful style, garden
planned precisely u2on the most approved princi-
pies of modern landsca,e gardening, although he
mad never seen any thing of the kind, and had
nothing to depend upon for his picture but the
boundless resources of his own imagination.
In this country 1t was little pracsed, as theoreti.
caly understood, up to late period, but owing to
the writings and the example Of Lowell, Gov.
Gore, Preble, Cushing, and oher gentle
men, and to the competitive spirit of our people, il
bids fair in short time to rival and surpass what
has been done in the most favored and most scien-
tfc countries of Europe.
1t is not, however, for the grand annual displays
of fruits and flowers and the manifold productions
of nature that we prize this art so much-lt Is not
for the opportunities thus afforded Of passing an
hour in the friendly interchange Of thought and
feeling-but it is for the refining and sofenlng in
fuence it has upon human character, by the taste
ii excites, the powers it calls into exercise, and
the moral and social disposition 1t inspires. To
use the language of Mr.. Winthrop, speaker
of the House of Representatives, on late
occasion =" Horticulture, in its most comprehen-
sive sense, is emphaticaly the fine art of common
life It's emlnently republican fine art. 1t dis
tributes its productions with equal hand to the rich
and the poor. Its implements may be welded by
every arm, and its results appreciated by every
eye. 1t decorates the dwelling of the humblest
IL IL L,,t 81 81
masters, and places within his daily view fruit
pieces such as Van Huysum never painted, and
landscapes such as Poussin could only copy
SOUTH AMERICAN CURIosITIEs.-We have re-
ceived, from our correspondents In Demarara, one
of the greatest of natural curosites, also piece of
vine, supposed to possess valuable medicinal
qualities. These give another evidence that the
western hemisphere is replete with the workings
of nature.
The first is the upper jaw of fish, found In the
waters of the penal settlement of Guyana. 1t is,
IN form, very much like the jaw of greyhound,
and is thlckly set with long and pointed teeth; but
unlike every other animal, the teeth decrease In
size In the back part OF the jaw. The front tusks
are, IN some instances, three inches long, though
the one sent to us, which was taken from
young fish, is only about two inches long At the
root of every tooth in the jaw, is duplicate Of
precisely the same shape, though not SO large.
The nostrils are situated between the tusks, and
are very small. The bone is almost perfectly
transparent, and seems to possess little or no
strength, except where the teeth enter. The same
fish Is described by Shumberg, as being found in
that country, though the inhabitants seem to know
nothing of II. II is great curiosity, and would
prove most formidable assalant should il be en-
countered.
The other is a vine, found in that country, which
is supposed to possess medicinal qualities but 1t
is known only to the Indians who lnhabit the in
terror. 1t is covered with very thick spongy
bark, very like that of the white gum tree. The
grain of the wood seems to be filled with mucila-
ginous kind Of matter, which, when dry, causes
the grains of the wood to separate, and the whole
may be taken apart, from the root to the extreme
end of the vine 1t has very pleasant smell, and
is, no doubt, used for medicinal purposes by the
natives.
We have not received the name of either of
these curiosItes, and are therefore, unable to say
what they are The country abounds In natural
productions, and the day is not far distant when
some of our enterpiising countrymen will bring
up, from the Wilderness, something which Will
not only prove Of great pecuniary benefit to him.
self, but of invaluable good to the werd
Marine Affairs.
MOVEMENTS OF THE 0cEAS SrEAMERs-The United
States mail steamer Herm arm, Capt Crabtree leaves
tie Goth inst. for Southampton and Bremen. Her
magnificent cabins and saloons yet objects of much
attraction She is taking In Der coss and freight
and will Start unctually at the hour appointed.
The mail steamer Southern, Capt Berry, left yester
day at her usual hour, for Charleston. An arrange
meDt has been made with the Of the new ship
lfsoea which vessel is Intended to run between Key
west Havana and Charleston 30 that persons leaving
ths CITY In the Northerner and southerner, can