University of South Carolina Libraries
?A lecture delivered before the .Edgefield Philosopical and Agricultu-al Society of Edgefield, on the subject of "Vegeta ble Physiolngy," by.J.as. TranyX, Esq. on the Ist. Juue,1O, and published by request of the Society. The. present is an age of practical philoso phy; at-age in.wbich our race are more engag red in deducing from actual experiments, useful improvements in the arts, than in estab!ishing splendid theories on merely plausible hypothe .ses. In this respect, our own country has ad' vanced more rapidly perhaps than any other, not on account of super-ior powers ofphilosophi cal research, but because our, institutions of government afford to its citizens the most un. limited scope foi practical industry. and.proim ise the most generous rewards to success in .,every department of mechanical, commercial, and agiricultural enterprize. It is a-common error 1 fear, that the-sentence of the Almighty upon our race, "In the sweat 6fthy face thou shalt eat bread" is ca!culated to impress upon the pursuit of agricunture the stamp of inferiority, when compared with oth er employments. But in alludingto this error, we are reminded that the tilling of the earth is ..a pursuit of divine appointment; is the most an rcient ofall pursuits; and as I firmly believe, a pursuit most happily illustrating the wiseomu and .-goodness of that Being from hoin cometh -every blessing. 'The cultivation of the soil is the primary source from which all classesof civilizedtnu 'derive their subsistence; and the products of the earth, whether they be sponttaneous, or the reward of man's industry and-slill, either di. rectly or indirecily, furnish suabsistance 4o the whole animal kingdom: for whethei the aninml be omnivorous, carnivorous, or granini vorous, the earth, the great mother of all vegemahle matter, has yielded the first fruits, and in the language of an inspi e.! tmtan, all flesh is grass. It may therefore be emphatically said of tle vegetable kingdom that, as it is the inexhantsti ble store house from which all animated nature draw their supplies, so is it the wost ilmportant field for. philosophical enquiry in reference to the means -of supplyhizg.the wants, and con tributing to the wealth and lumiry. of man. As.a metnber of a connuniiy.whoire be -ginning to appreciate the value of agricultural knowledge, I feel proud that the people of our State are becoming daily more interested inl the -establishmert of Societies, and the diffusing of correct information throutgh the medinin of papers and periodicals. The day is not far dis tant, when S. Carolina must,:in a great mInCs ure, ab.andon .-the ptodigal etiture of her great staple,.cotton, and turn her atttention to the more frugal but less lucrative business of farm. .ing. As a preliminary step to this change of pursuit, and diversion of capital into comnpar atively now -channels, it is of the last impor. tance that those who live by the cultivation of -the soil, should feel proutd of-the employment 'for its own sake, and that they should attach to the science of agriculture equal consequence, and regard it as a busitiess of eqnal dignity and honor with what are usually styled tle learned professions of law and medicine. This object, the consummation of which isso devoutly to be wished; canl only be accomplished by introdu cing thescience of Agriculture into our schools and colleges by elementary books, illustrated and enforced by lectures frotn scientific ten; and thus elevating itto its proper rank, by plac ing it in company with the sciences of chemis .ty and geology, its twin sisters. - The puryose of the fhiloropical Scciety of Edgefield -in its original formation, was trot, I npprehend confined to the investigation of titose branches-of science embraced in thte defiiion cCfmental philosophy or metaphysics; but it was -intended to comprehend the ctthivation of an ac quaintance,with those arts antd sciencesitt wht ich as individuals antd commutnities, we atre every day contcerned. Wlithi thte view therefore of recognlizing the principle of equtality-, atnd of acknowledgitr thte hight claims wvhich the study of the laws, anud the investigation of the phenomena of the vegetable kingd om, htave up on those engaged in thte actjpusitioni of useful knowledge;our society htas resolved so to change k~s name, as expressly to emubracejin its obects, +hbe scienee of Agriculture, and has assigned for this evening's lectture, the subject of "vegetable physio'ogy." In discu uittg a subaject so vast and cotmpre liensive in .its relatio.us, and so importatit aznd nmul-ifariouts in its resu!-ts, nothting more eatt be attemp~ted in a single lecture, than a brief tno tice of some of the tmost promitnetnt facts. and a concise illustration of some of the most obviotns principlesof the scietnce. - Phtysidlogists have assigned to the vege.tahle kingdom the second rank in the scale of ob-. jects composing the tmateriatl tuniverse. Trhe line of separation between an animal of the lowest, and a plant of the highest order, is so stmall,. as scarcely to ba appreciable. Botht the atminial and yegetab~le have a puncttiple of vitali ty .sustained apid supported by organie ma chinery, so complex, and by chemical changes, anidcomnbinations.so intricate and itncomnprehen sible, as to eide the itntensest researches of the profoundest philosophy; and the most that can be aeconmphsbedbiy the tsatowist amnd physiolo gist is, to separate and analyze the several parts compJositngthte animal and vegetablestrue ture,and'thts to develope the secret springs and whteels of this wonderful machinery, wvithout -being able to comprehend or explain the prin. cliewhticht gives it motion. -Int discussing thme subject before qas this es-e. ning, thme origini of the planit. or to speak more technic-lly, the process of gernunation, is the firstthing to wvhich I beg leave to direct yonr attenition. Whatever difference of opinion may have existed-in the infancy of the science of vegetable physiology, it is now utniversally ad mitted that all plants spring from seeds, though they tmay be ptrop)agated by other means mult as grafting anid budditng. For the purps of ex atmiing the organic structure of seeds, and il lustrating the process by wich they are chaung -ed from the embryo into the livitng platat, we -willitake the connnotn tarden bea. Upon itt. spctng the bean. it will lhe fond to cotnsist of tyvo lobes, which are called cotyledons: near the eye of the bean, is a stnall rotud body, which is the gertm of the littmre root of the plant, and is cHlle thtm ruile, a.nmd ne thi., betwestith. lobes or cotyledons, is anothler siall body which is the germ of the future stem or trunk of the phaut, and is called the plumnula. All seeds havethe radicile and plumula, whether thqy be mono cotyledonous, asindian corn,wheatand other smnall grains and the whole family ofgrassi es; or whether they be di-cotyledonous, as fhe bean and the whole family of legunenous veg etab!es; and the process of gernination is coin mon to the whole vegetable kingdom. A seed is said to germinate, when it . undergoes . that change by which the radiele is converted into a root and grows downward into the earth, and the plumnala is-converted into the stem, and shoots upward, carrying along with it, in the case of the bean, the two cotyledonas, 'which -are employed in giving nom-ihenet to the in' fitit plant, until, fron the extension of its roots, and the-expansion.of its leaves, it is capable of receivi-nglood from the soil and the atmosphere. Itia fet well established, that tle changes we have been describing never take place unless mouisture be present; that they never take place unless the teuperature be above zero, and that some seeds will gcrminate in lower tempera tnres than others; and thattlhcy never take place unless atnospheric air or oxygen gas tie present. Boyle, Boerhaave and Musclenbrock proved by repeated experimens, that seeds will not vege tate in the vactatum of an air pump; and Scheel and Achard ascertained by siuilar experiments that germination will not take place in nitrogen gas, hyda ogen gas, or carbouic acid g as,.unless. they aro ina state of combination with oxygen. Light is also said to ha ve a sensible infltence on the germinaton of seeds, tho' to what precise extent, seems not to be well ascertained: it is certain, however, that it retards the process, ei ther by some inhereaat property which it po sesses, or by indirect agency, in producitng a. certain nodification of lat and .moisture uln favorable to vearet.taion. Thus it allours . that heat, moistu;-e and oxy. gen -gas, are iadispeable to the process (if. gerination; asit -will hereaftir he sen that tlev are important agents in the further pro gress of vegetation: After the process of germination is comple ted. the plant, under favorable circumtstances, con tinues to grow; its roots are increased in nim ber and size; its branache. multiply and expand, .and it is obvious to the senses, thilt-the whole plant.fiom i-s rapid increase ina bulk, is con stantly acqtiring new accessions of matter: and as this new matter cannot be produced bvy the plant itself, it fIllows that plaats like aninials, require food tint only for their iimediate nour ishmaent, bitt also for the purpose of replacing those particles of matter which, having become nnfittcd for nutriment, rre throwna out .by the excretorv vessels. It was for a long time a qunestionamong phys-' iologists, whether waler did not constitute the only food necessary to tlesistenance & growth of plants. Ttis itica, whidl subhsecinent erperi-, nacts have proved to b erroneons, wasdoubi less staggested by the fact, that the elements or component parts of water, iamuely, oxygen and hydrogen, are unifornly found inl the substance of plants; but the experiments of Bergman and 3largraff, have forever exploded a theory, which it wotld seem, nexer could have been seriously advocated, excopt dn the infancy of the sci ence. These philosophors -proved-that water is a necessary ageirt in elaborating the food of plants, and is the-vehicle in which it is con ducted to the roots to 'be absorbed; and those cxperiments which misled Van Henont, Bon. net, Boyle, Duhlamel, Tillet and others. into the supposition that water is the sole and prop. Dr food of plants, were maaade without a due re gid ti the foct dintadnless it has heen purified by distillationa, it ahvays holds ina solutaion sonie uf.the elements whaich entet intoa the suabstanace af vegetables. Withen'at water. the seed :ata ather g.eriinte nor the plantt vegetate, )itt it no aanore f'ollows that it conastituttes ev'en thc parincipal fond ol vtgetable Is. than thatt axygena gaas wich I is essenitial to aninial life, is lie ptriancipual Ifoo: of mairam!s. W~.e ha'; o~rcadlyecen that aiar is necessary L0 the process of vegemtaion; aand it hais been isertaianed lay the experimzents of Chemaiical Piilosophiers, that a large portatn of the car oniacous maatter fotitd to exist ~in lan~ts, is mbibed fromn the attmosaphera. Three .of the :oostittuenat elemeno~ts of atmnosphecric atir, name y, carbonaic acid gas. oxygean, and maoiatture, are aid to furinishi food to the planit. Another sotarce fiotim which vegetaleks de rive their' nouiishmencat, is th a soil in whichl they row, consistitig of salts, earths, amnd animaal ad ~egetabhle substances in a state of decomnposi on. It has been well ascertained by che maical amalysis. that the same eleaments that 'enter itato he substance of the plait:, are also fotand to be lie priaaei pal compionetats of antitaal suabstaitces: base are taxygen, htydrogena, carbotnic acid and atrongen, te latter eleitenit beinag (discovered mily in a few vegetabhes,whailst it is always found o exist ini tlae animaial ecoano:aay hlaving seen thaat plants ,roquairc food, and hatt they dlerive it from the atmaosphere. and roma the sail int whlich they grow; it rematins to atquire how the food is r'eceived; in what forrm is received; and what chiemicah chanages it undergoes, before it is ini a proper statte to hae assimtilatedt to the substance of the planit. - Int thte f'urthaer examinmtion of our suabject. it will, I thinak, be impossible to wvithhuald our as tent to the truith of the propositioo, that thecre is i maost strikinig analogy between tamany of the or ranic functions ofhanimals anad those of vegeta ble.%. Thusa the roots of the plant perf'orma the runtionts of die mnoth, and the leaaves perform te fun ctions of the lunga s, in thte anaimial econio ay; whilst the trtuk or stema, and the liber or ini ur bark, cotmposed ofeceltalar tissutes or fibrduis tubes,constitute the vaiscua r alaparatuis by which thecirculation of the filuids is carried ota, and throuagh whichi..the sap of thme phatnt ascends and decetnds, imipartiang new life and v'igotr. Perhapt tno subhject connected with the science of vegetable physiology has baen mtore thorough ly inavcstigtated, thana te process by which the plant receives and assitilates its f'oad ; anid al tough many cu:-iouts and itnterestinag fiuets have beeta ascertained by expe'rinments, yet much is - eft ini doubt antd obscurity. It is true beyonid questi, however, that die food whbich thae .lattt ittbibies froajs the soil, is conducted hby water, anad is received at the extremaeties of' thue roots by a cellular tissuae i esemblitng the sponge, called die spongiole of the rot. :The substance intended for the future nourishmeta of the plant is held in solution by water, and in that state, enters Ie spongiole by a sort of affinity -which, in che mical philosophy, is called capilla ry attraction; but from the well known fact that the actionof this principle is confined with i very narrow limits, the ascent of die sap from tihe extrenetics of the routs, through the trunk, to the extrencties of the branches, and into the leaves,.cannot be accounted for, but ipon some other principle less hbvions, and more diflicult to becomprelicuded. Aware ofthisdifficulty,physi ologists attempted to account for the-phenone. non. by ascribing it to the pressine of the at. mespihere upon the spongioles; thus furcing tihe sap through the vesrels of the plant, tpon the same principle that a comumn of water-is made to ascend in a tube by the pressure of the at imosphere upon the external surface of tile water. Thiis notion prevailed nntil it was ex pladed by Dr. Hales;who ascerthined by an in. genins experiment. thattle sap of the plant as cends with a velocity suffivienmt toovercome the pressure of a ciolumn of water 43eet'in per pendicular heilit; which is nearly-one'third greater than the force exerted' bytthe atmlios phere. that being sniuicient to overcome the pressure of a column of water of only 32 feelt in perpendienlar height. The opiion now generillv received is, that tihe cricnhntion of the sap is efleeted- by tIhe alternate contraction and dilatation of the sap vessels; hut how this con traction and dilatation take place. so long as veoables are 'denied tihe ftnetions of sensibility and irritability -must' rn'prehe'd, ever remain a pr6fomid mystery. *That the saniloes ascend, however, and with the force ascribed to'it y Dr:lades. hr, been proverli by ocutlardemonstra tion 'funiled on experiment; and it is pretty well ascertaine'd that it asceilds, in the infmcy of the plant, thromugh the pith, an'd in its more advanced-state, throngh the allmrnum or while wood00. or in cnmion limrasealogy, the sap of the tree, in contradistinction to the heart. The sap, inl its ascent, underaoes little or no change, instil it reacies the leaves of the plant. Here, by means of the porosity of tihe leaves, it is ex posed to the action of the atmosphere, and is said to have a new property imparted to it by tl.e oxygen of tihe atmnosphere; and thms, after nnderaroing certain cheniici haMinges an'd comi binationsin the Caves, piccisely a-thevenoms blood of aniumals, by being brought in contact with the air imi tihe hlngs becomes oxygenated and purified, the sap is fitted fbr giving nour i.<hmenmt to, and being assimilated with, the proper-substance ofthe plaht. But the analogy between these animal find vegaairble functions does not stop here; for as the venous blood of the ammnial, thus purified hy .being -brought ill contact with air in -the lungp, is, by -ieans of a di'erent set of vessels, conducted'back to the hcart,-theine to be diimsed through the sys. tem; so the :returning sap-or peculiar juice of the plant, as it is now cal, dcscends not in the satne vessels through which it ascended, but returns throngh the liber or imner bark, deposit. ing in its descent, a portion of its nttritive pro perties wherever it is most needed fot the pre ent growth of the plant, andtalso ILyiung mrp in btore certain portions, to be used during the winter and following spring, -before vegetation commences. But the leaves have yet olier in portait flunctions to perform. They not only L.laborate tihe crude sap absorbed by the roots, and prepare it for bd% assiuilated'and incor porated into the substance of the plamt, uttthiy lecotmpose a portion of the caiboiic acid gas sf ithe atmosphere, and retain the carbon a, limd, whi:st the oxygen is disengaged and thro-vn o1Y, to be emloyed in puraifying the ait rnosphmere wtichm lhas been deriorated by the respiration of amimtals, and the coimbustionm anid .locomosition of vegetable cnd animald sub 'tances. Tlhse process of absorbing carbon antd nmittingi oxygetn is known to take place onily in he day, or whlen light is pm esent-a fatct lium shtichi phlysiologistse(n(ojectured that this lunn ion .ef .the .leaves is suspended during thte ight ; bin imposn investigating thme stubject by -epeated experiuments, Ingehontsz and others uscertained that thie pirocess which goes on dinr mng thme day, is reversed at -night, oxygen beiing ubsus hed, -nd -caubonic acid gas being evolved ny the -plant. It is obvious fri-i thie analogy which it bears o a similar funmction in annuals, that this piro :ess maty be called thec respirationi of vegetables. Jarboniaceouss matter, whether it he derived ~rom the soil through the mediunm of the sap eslor front the atmiosphiere, is Ime appro iriate food of vegtabhes; anid physiologists at enmpt to account for the phenomena ofvege-ta ule respiration, by supposing that carbon is enierailly tnnfit for the l,nlrposes of flntrilion, mitil it has been cotmbined with oxygen ini such r'oportin as to forum cairbonsic acid gas in thie. latt an:: thtat tis imntricato process of elabora ion amid purification is comlete~d by the car ionic acid gas beinig decomposed by the leaves, nrsing the day, throwing o0' thte oxygen. and ~etniting thme carbon precisely -in that state of lisinitegration wvhich fits it for beitng readily as-. itmilated and incorpiorated into the vegeta~ble. The last futnction of vegetables wvhich time vill alh'e mue LBta otce abpireseint, is that of throwing off their excrementitions or stuperfin itus matter, by excretory vessels, and the pro ::ess is called excretioni. We see in this as in all the wvonderfu phenuomena of vegetation, that the vartons and intricate processes in the vege able economy, are but so many links constitmut ing the great chiaintof causes and consequiences, indispensable to time accomplishmenmt of the u!. lunate design of thme Creator of time Universe. It is time opinmion of sonme physiologists that the higher orders of plants possess manmy or all (if of the funmctionis of animuals, except those of per reptioni and voluintatry locomotion. However piaisibile mig ht bet thme theory whmicht from anal agy, shonkd eveni invest tihe plant wvith time pow er of perceptionm, ,ve have nmo means of detect imng Buch a functioni: and so far as experimemts have beeni imaide, they lend to the opposite con-. chmisioni. It ha~s beeni ascertaine d by M. Macaire., that vegeitaides hatve nto power of discriminating btetwveen foodi thaut is numtritionisatnd whlolcsome, amid that which is poisonous or deleterions. Plants, like time lords of thme creiation, also fre pinently receive immore food thman is eithem neces sary to their imediate wants, or is healthful to the ,o::titstimn'. Thiliumetion of excretion is intended to eiedy these evils; and whether the food be in itself unwhblesome, or taken in snch quantitiesas to gorge tile plant, it is car ried back to the rootiand by them disgorged in to the adjacent soil. , In the very cursory and necessarily imperfi-ct view I have taken of some of the processes which nature employsin the vegetation of plants; the receition and elaboration of proper food for theit nourishment; the assimilation of so much of -thautnourishment as may be needful to their growth and fulldevelopeient; and theexcretion of so much of it as may be either noxious or sit perfnous;~f have pnrposely omitted the classifi cation of plants as a branch of science belonging more. particularly to the'depaetment of botany. I have also omitted to notice the va'rious liquid and solid substances composing the plant,whose cheiical combinations and properties can only be discovered in the laberatory, as more appro priately belongi-g to the departments ofChen istry and pharmacology. I ain constrained for want oF time, to pass by withont particularly noticing those nutritive substances found in the prodncts ofvegetables which afloid to mankind so large and so, palatable a poriion-sf theirdAaily subsist-IFece. In conclusion dt'the subijet, I am conscious that I maay fairly be charged with having tres passed upon the time and patience ofthis very respectable~and intelligenltaudience4nnless some of the principles attempted to bo illistrated may be nsefully applied in the prosecution of some of the various purmuits connected with the cul tivationofthec earth. Afew factswill be briefly recapitulated. If.as we have seei, a sed will never-vege. tate without air or oxygen gas, and that it vog elates but imperfectly when exposed tothe light, th~e planter's first lesson is one, the solution of which depends u pon a knowledge of these facts. ThIe seed must be buried to avoid t'e light.and yet must tint be buried so deep as tobe.inrmcces sible to -the att.ophere. gail, iftte sap intended for the future nour isionent of 11% plant, is absorbed. only 4t the ex tremities ofthe roots, and the entting Q' of the extremities of the reots or spongioles destroys their function of absorptioa, how emteftl should the planter be that his ploughs andl harrows do 1ot wound or destroy these essential organs of vegelable vitality; and thus hyn unskilfuland harlurons linsbcndrv, mtar the most cheering pi ospect of aplentifil harvesr. A knowledge ofthe substatces wiich'inrnislh nourishnent to the plant, and an acquaintance withthe-counponent parts of the-soil to be cul tivated. are highly importantto the plaitor,and the gardner, as they form the basis upon which the w hole -system of manuring is fonided - Your soil has too much clay; apply sand and veg eteble-natter: it has too much vegctablc mat ter; apply :clay and animal snbstances. The purely vegetable soil is one-less understod-per haps than anyother; and itspernanent utility depends entirely tipon the application of soate of these cort ectives. The disease .called the rust,.so fatal to otargreat staple, the cotton plant; is always seen to prevail in vegetable soils; a want of carbonaceotts and calcareous matter, is thecause of the disease; the remody is fountd in the-application of clay-and animal subsitances. We have seen ltat vegetabesiha-ve the-fittc tion of throw% ing off. by an excetory -procesN' whatever they may. hne imbibed either nox~ inuts in quality, or supe fluons in g nantity. The i.oxious sttstances disgorged by die plant. at no subsequent period GtTora noutrishamnt to the stue plat:t, nor to any -Plant of the samte faimily; bit will be found to alTord the richest tiutrinment to some veg etables of a differentpe. enies. Th< se~ facts arc fiailiar to every planter who makes acurn crop sutcceed toa cotton crop; and the cotton crop to that of small grain,. &c.; and furnuisht the broad fortidation oef that excel lent theoty, the rotation of crates: a thteory, thte aplication of wichel, coitditcted by -'Itt hs banidry, htas-etnabled Great Britaitn, -an imanty of te stiperanuatedl counitries-of Europe, lpre serve thee freshness atnd vigor of ii of a landttl' eur's conttinuted entlivatip, antd tot feed their iaiionas of populationt fr mhe pro.. dutce oif a number of acres whose g egraphical extent in our ownt prodigal counatry., o ld'he deemed scarcely adequate to the support-of as nanaty thaoutsmi.ds. S-r. AUGoUS-rm:, Jitne 5. A cordon of posts are to be established across the peninsula front Fort King wvest tn the Witlalacoechee,andu enst to Smya~rna. These pJosIt re-to be garrisoned biy regu lars.-K .~tt An order has'hueen issued by His Excel lettcy, Gov. fleid, tt raise 500t maounted oen, tta 50 ootmtetn, for theo defence of lhe frontier. Capt. Micktler lhts beent imus tered in service, as wvell Catpuin P'elli ser, of th-is city, with a mounted force.-Ib. Capt. N~ikler, w irbe25 ment, is ordered to thte head of North River, uind take such piosition as wvill ausn~ er the purposes of de fence. Capt. Pelliser, with 20 men, has been ordered to garrison Six Mile Pos.-Ibid. Indians have heen around the ptsts on the Picolata road during the last week Thid. A scotan, tunder Capt. Bonneville,, 2d' Dragoons, and Capt. Hlolmnes, 'th Ittlian try, recentily lefl F'ort King, for an exam ination tof the Big Sweanp, guided by an ludint woman. The distance marched wvas 21) miles. Capt. Hiolnmes camae upon large fields utnder cublivaiion and over an hundred Indlians p)reparing for their green corta dance. They imm redhitely fled leav ing an inafanat asleep. A large amotut of their plunder was obsuained, consisting, a mong oilher tings ofsoldiers' dresses, and a rtitg recognaired as belonging to the late Lieut. Satnderson. Capt. Bnneville un fortunately did not comec up ina time. h~y tmistaking the trail, and they eiTeted their retreat. This placis only ',even miles, itn direct lin-, frotm Fort King, and has been for thte first time, visited by white tmen aineg the wv ar.-Thid. Thme iron Works.-Wo are gratified to learn that, a mid the extensive dhevastniionis of the hate flood, ottt Iron estab-lishmetnts, ini Union, York, and Spa rtanhurg,- have escaiped without injury-especial ly, t he Neshil Manufacturing C'ompan!., htas not stulferedl to tho amount of one dollar. Soulh Carolinian. Torr.pundcence of the Chahesen iL'ourir. W ASHINGTON, JUXNE2. A n important movement has been made in the Senate, (in the sutiiectofthte bank rupt law. Indications are very strong that the southern administration Senators will generally oppose the 181h section of Mr. Wall's bill, by which the baulis are in cluded. Mr. Calhoun expressed a wish to speak on the subject of this amendment, which he said was vital to the bill, and the hour being late, the Senate adjourned. ie will speak to-day. It is certain that several other southern administration Sen ators have determined upon that course. They are unwilling to give New York, the great financial and commercial advain agoes which will result to her from the prostration of the southern banks. The New Yorkers; without part y distinctions, are in favor of including the banks, believ ing that they catn stand the shock. In the Homise. 31r. Waddy Thompson Moved that the hill reported from the con minee on military all'airs, for 'raising an additional.force of si.tteen hundred men for the pro tection-of Florida be .taken up, and he subittited stunlry.cotniunications from the Secretary of War, showing that the Indians were in greater'orce, and more mischievous than ever. Mr. Atherton urged the necessity of disposing df the stilb treasury bill, 4before any otrer business wasinken up. Air. Coles inflirmed the louse that there would be opposition to to the hill referred to, by Mr..Thompson, and that it would not pass wit hout much debate. Tie mtolion was lost, as it requfr. ed two thirds. As the-rules were, it would retuire a vote ,f'two-thtirds, onl 'Moudays, Fridays and Sturdays, to tike isp the Stb-Treasu ry. The comtimttee ofways and means and the maijority of the loose, favorahle to the passage of the Suh-Treasury bill. were determined to push it through, if posibeii,-hefore any tlier husiiiess was at tended to. The Whigs, on the other'hand were eqttallv resolute in prevnting it. It the evening se.;siont, at 4 o'clock, the states were calel fOr resIluitions, and Mr. Smith of Me., who first got the floor, offler -ed Mr. Athertoi's resolution to change'the the role. It so happens that, this being rcsolion day. the motion-cotdd 'be made without the asseitoftwo-thirds. If it was not adopted it would go over for aTurtnight. Mr. Smith accomtpanieil his motion by a demand br the prevists question. Tre mendous excitemetii.follsowed. The Whigs denounced ihe proccedure as unfair, un pnrliametirry, ilestructive of the rights of tile minority, &c. 3efore the siting was over, so high was the excitement that all orI er al decorum were lost, and the an thority of the Speaker was ttlery disre garded. The lie passed back and forth, between members, on several octsions, and every-thing like deceney of behafv'our was outraged. The House wvas very neat breaking up itt conion, and would have been. if blows had been struck, which, at one time, seeued inevitable. The resolution .passd--yeas fl9,anays 84. Fune 3. Mr. -Cn'ihoun spoke about an hour, yes ierday, on the subject of fle Bankrupt hill. He did not profess-ro go flilly into the stib. jeet, which, he said, embraced a great va riety of topics, anid he intimated that he migtt have anither oppormtiiity'to treat til:c qiuestion moran *tlarge. But lie very di tinctly defined his position in regard to the matter. lIe opposed the hill. as reported from the committee, as unconstitutional, because it was nothing but anl insolvent law. lie pointed out the -difference be tween .ru inmolveit and a lankruit law the former being intended to rilie-ve deb tors, and the latter to regulate trailo. fle wouuld nut vote for a mtere insolvetit lew,. such as thte voluntar-y bill proposed. - itt opposed as lie was to die bill, lie was still nmore hostile to lie substitute of Mr. W~all, that embraced whatt was called the voltunta ry systemi and wvas liable, 00 that atccoitmr, to the samte objectioni which he urged against the liill. It also, embra celd what wvasleonminatedl the compulsory systetm, which itt his opintiotn, wats the on I)y conistitutional featutre in the sceme. Butt this co-npttlsory pruocess, which for med a bankrutpt law, 'in -the meaning of the conastitutio, was too opp~ressire and tyrannicial for adop'tion in m his country. It had once beent tried 4y the law of 1800, whlich was.limsited to live years, but aban doned after an experimenit ofr two years., Under this provisiont, atny trader, owing a debt of 50)0 dglhtrs wvould bie-litle to have his business arrested. his property pit in commission, atd sacrifteed, ife would. bse crushed, at once, whereas, if allowed time, hie would lbe able tos work tbrough, successfully andi honorabty. The flututa tions of the currency to nt hich we are ox posed, from our banukitngsystem, rendered such a latw pectuliatrly utsuitable to this country. By a suddlen conitraction of the currericy, a person wvith ample means is unable to meet his debts. Hie might, af ier a while, paty all, and have a large surplus, but this law ruiins and destroys him at once. There .wvouild be much m~ore propiriety in gramnintg a stay lawv for his relief, than in thus interposing to hasten atnd comptilete Ihis ruin, He did not believe that at single &ieterer wottid voste for Isis compllulsor'y law, stamiling hy itself; but matny, from anxiety to relieve debstors, osr a dispsoshtiot to litinish the baniks, would voste for it, in connection with the volunta ry tad corporattionl provisions. As to the lest feature of the stibstitute apuplyinig the compuilsory processio banks Mr Calhoitt argued that it would be more ruious to the couintry than a devastating tornado, or a decree of Providence sud--' denly smititng the earth with sterility. TIhe bltow wotuld noit fall on~ the corpiora tions alonec, it wvould reach bevond thoem, the whole tmass of the cominmunity. A batnk not meetinig a debii to the amont of $.500t, wot lie pitt in coammission, with all its profits, credits, &c. The amiouti of motney due to all the baniks was 450 millionis." The specie in theO contry a miounted to 80 tutllionts. hlow wns the immtenise debt to thu hatnks to lbe paid! to'ini hsank piesper, for this law discredits andt destrovs ths;,. andI not ini spsecie, for it is trot in the country. E'very bsody would bse runed by it, except the bankrtupt Coom mnissioiners, w ho wonl fat ten on the sys tems-all the indtustry of the counitry, espe cially of the South atnd Wecst, wotuld be wholly paralized by it. Perhnns the banks, in New York and other Eastern States, -ntfid'he *lile to stand ethe shock. The place where the rdvanue was co!lectcd would have great advantages. In this view thellopieatiolis of the law would lie unequal 'in different parts of the country. it would not he a itiifilrm law. lie did not sp'eak of mio tives, but the elket of the law upon the commerce and banking of the South, would be most disasirious. As a means nf concentratitig the mouied power of the COUtry, it would- be more effective than a National Bank. It would also unite the bankinig system -with the Government, and give the latter complete controle over the former. - In fine, Mr. Calonniaid. lie would vote to strike out the clause embracing Iho banks. and afterwards against the whole scheme. The question was taken and the baiks were stricken out by a decisive vote, yea* 28, nays. 16, Mr. Clay of Keneucky moved to follow up this, by striking out the 18th section, as including the conipil Fory systen. That question will next be discussed. Mr. Calhoun has blown up two parts of the bill, the compulsory 'and corporation provissions, But his argu meat againt the voluntary system is bt conclusive. However, Igloubt whether, a mjority of the Senate will go for the volntary 111 alone, lu the House, Mr. Leet, of Pa. spoke in support of the Sub-Treasury Bill, and Mr. Brockwoy, of Connecticut against it. CAMDF.Y, June6. The -Rivers.--When our paper went to press on-Friday of last week, the Ware ree was very high, and still rising, though at that time. we had not heard of aray of t he embanknents -having given way. Du ring the afternoon and _ night of Friday. however, the tvaters.eontinued to rise until till the'low arounds were completely sub inerged, and the emhiaukments of all the plantations on the river, as far as we have ward, either broken or overflowed. The river was at its highest point on Saturday morning and wanted but 10 inches of he ing as high as the fresbet of Auigust 1831, whiebh was Pie highest we have ever heard ion the Wateree. ~The Camdein Bridge whuich was carried away in 1831, and af ier heing built was again swept of', but at what ilme we do not remember, was re :otnstructed about two years since under the superintendance of Capt. Vanderford Af Cheraw, brtutndte vwithstood the sweep ing torrent. The damage which has been sustained, not only hy the destruction of the growing crop, but by washing up of the pantations and the loss of stock is im niense. -Journal. *I1hSuau.-It was feared by many that the recent great Flood, which destroyed a large amount of proper. in Hamburg, would so completely prostrate her, that a recovery was at least questionable, These apprehensions are groundless. We have wen chastened, but it was for our good. uinle-s it be lie fint of Him who ruleth all things, that we shall lie more severely scourged, we shall rise tip shortly "like arong men refreshed with new wine." Some of our merchants will probably' re tire froi business, for the present; but heavier stocks of gnodswill be for sale, and. a larger amount of business 'will be done here the-coming season. than in %ny -previ ius year. We have heard that ,prepara lions are making for the openinguf sever ;l new houses next Fall. 'Our good riends, the planters. may rest assured that hey will still find a good market at Ham burg. and they are invited to --,ione and ee, and judge for themselve."-Hanburg fuPuu. Extract of a leter received in Charleston -hy the Post Master, -datted, I.GRAIIllANILLE, June 8. "The Siage tried this any to get to Sit vannahi but maitde a failure. The driver .ays the Schriven Causewvay i-: all afloat, tnd the bridge gone, consequenttly was :-ompe~lled to returit to Purysburg. The Iriver carried the mail from Purysburg to Savannah in a boat, so there w'ill he no ~aeuTtrion wvhen thteSt age sv ill get along." The Georgetown American, of the 5th nst. says:-WVe have had our full shbtre of sain, hut we apprehend no -ir~j'Jry 'to the trops ini this Dlistrict. Some damage to he rice field hanks by the pressure of wa er from above fins bass surstained, but of to great cotnsequence any where." Fait.-We take p'lendure in udknowl edginug the receipt of a preset o'rlumanii Peathl A pricots, from Mr. R. E. R~ussell. Thicy were very heautiful, and well flavor ed; and wye hope our friends will followhis tood example, both in cultiyvafing Sine rtnit, and furnish'ina us with subjects for ed itorials.- Carolina Planter. Several of ouir planters wvho have had Loton destroyed by the freshet- are now re pkantintr. In many places cotton which' - tvaq covered for 36 or 48-hours is coming out, and b'eginning to look *ell.-Ibid. In our account of the fresjteiinsouirj.ast - paper the rivei is mntioned as having risen '*37 feet" at Coltumbia-27 phould ieve been the inje reading.-fbid. CuAmEtSTof, June .13. Preshe.-Capt. Miller or dhe schr. Em aia Julia, arriv-ed yestetrdaly from Santee, Itaies that the freshet had extended to all he Rice Plantations on Santee, as low iouvn as Mirs. Rutlelge's. The embanke ments were all covered ont the 5th ingt.,and remained in that situation until the 11th, wvhen it had falleti 4 inchtes, the negroes hadl ill he'en remtoved to the tmain; lhe heard of to lossof life. Nt-:w CoT ToN...-We ceopy the followitng rrom the Nattchez Free Trader of the 3d tinst. which shows the earliness of the sea- - lon, anml that wec are likely to have new :ottont in abundance befote the old is ship ped tdf-andtt it shtows that the enerpies of he pilatnters have not been deferred by low prices: ..Mr. ThomlasGilb~ert, a planter in Lou siatna, some 20-miles helow tbis city, has teti us~ several cottoni hulls, about two htirds the orditnary size at maturity, as a tample of his cropt this year, As his Ia mrs appmear to be crowned wvith sucecess ini he etilivat ion oif our staple, we wish hitm ttter prices tha-! thcrc is niow itrspc af obtaining for the article whent brought to 1treth.