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Critical Notices Of The Literature Of The Last Three Months,
World . Eor their encouragement , however , we may toll them that Mr . Cholmondeley is of opinion that Now Zealand is b y far the best colony for the man of capital or skill , for the farmer , labourer , or mechanic . It is as well adapted for sheep-farming and general grazing as for agriculture in its stricter and more limited sense ; but the farmer will have difficulties to contend against which set all old country experience at fault , but wliich , nevertheless , require a good deal of old country
knowledge , industry , and enterprise to overcome . We will take for an instance the bringing of a little farm-land into a fit state for com or grass cultivation . As an introduction , we may say that where fern grows luxuriantly good soil may be generally predicated . " I have seen it ten or twelve feet high , " says our author , " and of such a tangled and matted growth as to be perfectly impenetrable . On a fine summer night E- the effect of a fire raging over such a country is extremely fine . It completely
destroys the upper growth of the fern , burning it down to the very ground , which it leaves covered with a thick crust of ashes . It does not , however , in the smallest degree further the removal ofthe underground growth or root , for the fern springs stronger than ever after a fire . The strongest plough , the stoutest team of horses or oxen , may be fairly tired out and beaten in the futile attempt to cut through or rather tear up the bed of fern-root beneath the ground . These roots sometimes run to a depth of two feet . It requires repeated ploughings to break up tbe surface . If this is continually done , the under roots at length die away . The upper
roots are collected into heaps and burned , for the purpose of enriching the ground , which is often very much exhausted by the fern , which it has had to support in such immense quantities . Fern land is , in the opinion of good judges , most decidedly inferior to forest or bush land . The crop which it yields to the husbandman is smaller , and it requires a renewal and refreshment sooner . In some places , where it appears impossible to force the plough through the fern-root , grass-seeds are sown , and the growth of grass and fern is again and again burnt off as often as possible . "Under this process it is observed that the fern gradually dies away , and the grass takes its place . "
Mr . Bartlett ' s narrative of travel in Texas , Mexico , and California , * while engaged in settling the boundary between the United States and Mexico , in conjunction with the Mexican authorities , is full of interest . The Avild country through which he had to pass , —the character and habits ofthe various Indian tribes that inhabit it , —and the semi-civilization of the white settlers , are all vividly described . The striking lawlessness of the whole district , and the terrible tragedies that are being daily
perpetrated , show sufficiently the nature of tlie risks which the author ran ; and although protected by an armed escort of determined men , the following extract will give a fair idea of the dangers attending surveying trips in Central America . " About a mile from the camp , we passed a small arroyo , or ravine , pretty well filled with bushes . This arroyo was no sooner passed by the foremost waggon in the trainthan we were startled by the most terrific yells and shouting ; and on
, turning our heads , to our horror , we saw a band of Indians issuing from the arroyo we had passed , and charging upon the train . We immediately turned about , put spurs to our animals , and rode back with all speed toward the train . The savages , who numbered between thirty and forty ( as stated to me by those in the rear ) , were rushing at full , speed with their lances poised , screaming and yelling , endea-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Critical Notices Of The Literature Of The Last Three Months,
World . Eor their encouragement , however , we may toll them that Mr . Cholmondeley is of opinion that Now Zealand is b y far the best colony for the man of capital or skill , for the farmer , labourer , or mechanic . It is as well adapted for sheep-farming and general grazing as for agriculture in its stricter and more limited sense ; but the farmer will have difficulties to contend against which set all old country experience at fault , but wliich , nevertheless , require a good deal of old country
knowledge , industry , and enterprise to overcome . We will take for an instance the bringing of a little farm-land into a fit state for com or grass cultivation . As an introduction , we may say that where fern grows luxuriantly good soil may be generally predicated . " I have seen it ten or twelve feet high , " says our author , " and of such a tangled and matted growth as to be perfectly impenetrable . On a fine summer night E- the effect of a fire raging over such a country is extremely fine . It completely
destroys the upper growth of the fern , burning it down to the very ground , which it leaves covered with a thick crust of ashes . It does not , however , in the smallest degree further the removal ofthe underground growth or root , for the fern springs stronger than ever after a fire . The strongest plough , the stoutest team of horses or oxen , may be fairly tired out and beaten in the futile attempt to cut through or rather tear up the bed of fern-root beneath the ground . These roots sometimes run to a depth of two feet . It requires repeated ploughings to break up tbe surface . If this is continually done , the under roots at length die away . The upper
roots are collected into heaps and burned , for the purpose of enriching the ground , which is often very much exhausted by the fern , which it has had to support in such immense quantities . Fern land is , in the opinion of good judges , most decidedly inferior to forest or bush land . The crop which it yields to the husbandman is smaller , and it requires a renewal and refreshment sooner . In some places , where it appears impossible to force the plough through the fern-root , grass-seeds are sown , and the growth of grass and fern is again and again burnt off as often as possible . "Under this process it is observed that the fern gradually dies away , and the grass takes its place . "
Mr . Bartlett ' s narrative of travel in Texas , Mexico , and California , * while engaged in settling the boundary between the United States and Mexico , in conjunction with the Mexican authorities , is full of interest . The Avild country through which he had to pass , —the character and habits ofthe various Indian tribes that inhabit it , —and the semi-civilization of the white settlers , are all vividly described . The striking lawlessness of the whole district , and the terrible tragedies that are being daily
perpetrated , show sufficiently the nature of tlie risks which the author ran ; and although protected by an armed escort of determined men , the following extract will give a fair idea of the dangers attending surveying trips in Central America . " About a mile from the camp , we passed a small arroyo , or ravine , pretty well filled with bushes . This arroyo was no sooner passed by the foremost waggon in the trainthan we were startled by the most terrific yells and shouting ; and on
, turning our heads , to our horror , we saw a band of Indians issuing from the arroyo we had passed , and charging upon the train . We immediately turned about , put spurs to our animals , and rode back with all speed toward the train . The savages , who numbered between thirty and forty ( as stated to me by those in the rear ) , were rushing at full , speed with their lances poised , screaming and yelling , endea-