The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1848-05-18

cal facts, and therefore becomes branch Of NtrU-
RAJ KNOWLEDGE, instead OF mass oil fules lcle az
ble to no known general truths. The tenure l.iu-
nces To he regarded in agriculture are fast becoming
entirely appreciate, and we shai doupl!ess so 90
know, with close approximation 10 certIill'Sl lne
relation between soils and anu IIu tho
II, en,nirical question remaining VIII DC he ecoho-
;ooI ;nouiry flor the due solution OF which, other
and 1uctuating clements are to De conSldereu,) now
fit ia expedent to select crops adapted to partc-
ior localities or by artificial means so TO change
,ho NATURAL characters of Soils as to fit them for the
Iro,vth Of gyen crops. SO far then as telurc in
finances are concerned it may be assumed that the
results of agricultural la6ors are IN the mann sueGt
~ calculation and depend entirely upon the intel
lrencc and industry OF the husbandman'
Rrt tbe equally important neteorc influences as
,at elude our grasp. All the greater known causes
operating on climate are constant, and therefore
reasoning priori, we should be authorized to con-
cIude that the cycles of seasons would be regu-
ar and inyariablc. The heavenly bodies whose
novements occasion the alienation Of spring and
summer, and autumn and winter revolve IN almost
unchanging orbits the constituents OF the atmos-
nhore have been precisely determined and are
every where and at all times substantially the same;
here then are apparently sufficient elements of
certainty, but the electrical, thermomctrical and
lvgrometricaI condition of the atmosphere, or in
other words the distribution Of electricity and light,
heat and cold moisture and drought is controlled by
cans which have hitherto baffed the researches Of
the acutest inquircrs and is, in fact SO irregular,
that the fcklenCs5 Of wind and weather has passed
speculntions of Espy which, however visionary,
nTnssnss high interest and by no means deserve the
ridcule that socialists and fools have heaped upon
them we have certainly as yet little cause to nope
that climatic influences can ever be subJect IN any
nnortant degree, to voluntary human modification
or control But though man cannot at his pleasure
command the rain and the sunshine, the wind and
frost and snow vet it is certain that climate Itself
has in many instances been gradually changed and
ameliorated or deterioratcd by human action The
draining Of swimps and the clearing OF forests per
,ceptibly affect the evaporation from the earth, and
of course the mean quantity of moisture suspended
in the air. The same causes modify the electrical
condition of the atmosphere and the power of the
surface to reflect absorb and radiate the rays OF the
sun, and consequently influence the distribution OF
light and heat and the force and direction OF the
winds Within narrow limits too, domestic fires and
artificial structures create and dliluse increased
warmth to an extent that may affect vegetaton.-
The mean temperature OF London Is degree or
two higher than that of the surrounding country,
and Pailas believed, that the climate of even 50
thinlv peoped country as Russia was sonsibly
modified by similar causes. But though, in gene
iraI climatic influences are beyond our reach, yet
their pcrnicious tendencies may sometimes be neu-
tralized or overcome. Every one must have OBJ |
served that the tender plants in gardens surrounded
BY hgh walls or buildings are more secure from |
frost than those III the open fields silght dller-
.ence in elevation, Judcious selection OF exposure
=, protection against cold winds by groves or fences
the accumulation of heat by rocks and stones or
artificial walls or its absorption in consequence OF
the dark color of the SOIL irrigation, and lastly shell
ter and the application of artificial heat may eha-
ble the skillful cutvator to grow plants, which
properly belong to climate many degrees nearer
the equator than his own. Thus the orange and
the lemon ripen in the open air in certain favored
localities in the South of England. British con-
sorvatories will supply You the native fruits OF the
West Indies fresh from the parent stalk and Rlls
sian luxury has taught the flowers of the tropics to
bloom in perpetual summer on the very verge Of the
frozen zone. Even the grape, so cmphatically the
child of the sun, is said to grow III England IN
greater perfection than in Madeira or the Lcvant,
and the pine apples Of European lighthouses surpass
in weight and flavor the indigenous growth Of the
American Islands
An interesting enquiry connected with this branch
of our subject is that of the possibility OF accllmat-
ing plants or Of so changing their habits by slow
and gradual removal to Il climate OF lower tGmpcra-
ture that they will grow to perfection IN colder t
zone than nature seems to have designed them tor
We do not perhaps know enough of the laws Of We
eetabe life to be authorized Pqoit to determine t
Ibis question, though eminent botanical physiolO- t
gists reasoning from acknowledged principles, have
denied that any such change whatever can be eff
fected. 1t is not very obvious why change in
this particular, which it would seem might be G
BROUGHT about without any appreciate translorma I
ton of organization, should be more impNCticablc r
than the apparently greater notifications, which we
see cultivation every day produce in the habits and .
even structure of plants, and there are certainly u
some instances which, so far as those particular Il
cases are concerned, seem to be completely sue b
cess(ul experiments So far are informed, no p
hotonist has ever doubted or denied that all the :
numerous varieties of common Indian corn are Y
one and the same plants yet the seed '
which is grown within the tropics will not ripen in p
latitude forty-fve. If you transport it even two b
lcrrees to the morrill, it is doubtful whether it will !,
arrive at maturity; if you carry it four FIVE it is
certain that it will not. Yet by q very gradual G
process of successive slow removals from the Il
South to the North there is doubt that the maize
IF Carolina may be made TO grow in Canada. The y,
Indian iS NJ 1niUlp examine Of q r-
,lmatOn though we are aware OF no other instance III
equally striking and successful. The removal Of Il p
1lant from higher to q lower latitude is uauav l.
with an increase in size, and the an y,
uals of tile North sometimes become biennial or ~
ven perennial when transferred to a mildCr sky: :;
nut this latter change may be effected reversed ID
least in the bread stuff grains, (sprng and winter cA
;heat for example, being convertible into EACH cY
raj true, that cultivated plants which grow through l.
wide range of latitude, undergo no modification III
ON change of climate. The seed of wheat which OF
Is been cultivated IN Egypt ever since the regns III
the Pharaohs, or from the time of the conquest mi
the table lands of Mexico where 1t has but twelve m
ours of light and heat will thrive as well IN Cana
!, where the shines for sixteen hours, th'
if it had been brought over from Normandy bv COZ
C fishermen OF st MaIo There are indeed varie- wit
IS of the ccrealia, or breadstus grains well as bo
almost all other vegetables that enter into the nv
cd Of man, varying in their periods of growth and ot
ne of ripening, but these often co-oxist in the ed
me latitude, and seem to be independent of eli lu
ate. In general, the grains Of Vermont and VIr oot
lia, of the shores Of the Mediterranean and those g.
the Baltic thrive Interchangeable, and the occa- '.e
NAL increased rapdity of growth, which some An
mes occurs upon transfer from lower to higher ant
tude, is due rather to change ofconditons than Gle,
habits, to increase of stimulus from long CON
ued light and heat, rather than to modified l'o,
ganization unt
Connected with this inquiry is another, of even app
eater interest, which is, how far can vegetables OF
thout change of climate, be accelerated in mel
'wth improved in quality, or increased in pro clos
ctiveness of fruit, by artificial means? 1t has flo
IN supposed that all domesticatcd plants were 'io
gnally wild, and that they have been changed aou
/ improved by cultivation, through successive mea
IS, and under different conditions, but this seems mel
be hasty assumption. That certain vegetables nort
have bccn consdernbi om"Iiorata ,,i'o "lpau the
Ii rnnsnnnhle cnrtnnt,1 lThn rntnto -. ~ whit