UMASS/AMHERST 312066 0308 0426 5 KS> , '-.^ •, .'^r^ ^^MM ^i*-' ,<^ yJivv'' r ! ^^^ ^,- // » ^" •^ THE FARMERS' REGISTER, A IVEOITTHL? PUBLICATIOKT, IPevoted to the improvement of the Practice, surroKT OF the ijvterests of agriculture. KDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. And he gave it for his opinion, "that whoever could make two ears of com, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his coun- try, than the whole race of politicians put together." Swift, VOL,. IV. PETEHSBURG, VA. PUBLISHED BY THE PROPRIETOR, 1837. Vvkh V. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS OF VOL. IV c£i Acid in wood — its effects on salt and butter 414 Agricultural Convention of Virginia, result of their petition 52 — remarks on and suggestions for the one proposed 434 Agricultural Convention of New York, sketch of its proceedings 700 Agricultural Establishment at Moeglin, in Prussia 167 Agricultural jurisprudence, 301, 345, 444 Agricultural and national interests injured by frequent changes of the outlines and limits of farms 5()4 Agricultural papers (periodical) — misconception of the nature and value of 93 Agricultural reading, its value 492 Agricultural Society of Buckingham, proceedings of 695. Address to by the president 695. Agricultural Society of Fredericksburg, proceedings of 539, address to 540 Agricultural Society of Rockbridge, address to 547 Agricultural Survey of Massachusetts 650 Agriculture requires legislative aid, especiall}"^ to sup- port agricultural professorships — a board of agricul- ture— and tours or surveys 284 Agriculture-— in Brit lin, progress of 174, flourishing state of 15 — in Flanders 69 — in Pennsylvania, noti- ces of 497 — in Rhode Island 305 — of Florida 65 — of Amherst and Nelson, I'emarks on No. 1, 651 — of Nansemond, observations and memoranda of 524 — Flemish, characteristics of 501 — some account of 613 — of N^w England, observations on 752, Chinese 545 — of the U. States, anticipated changes in 251 — of the western states 42 — of Java, (sugar and indigo) 591 — of Virginia, some peculiar advantages of 127 — causes of its long-continued decline, and present depression, No. I, political causes — prevalence of party spirit 702; No. II, causes presented in errors of practice 725 Agriculture, the aid toby the legislature of New York, ■stated, and the effects," No. I., 634, No. II, 689. Re- marks thereon, 634, 692 Agriculture, professorships of in France 639 Agriculture, poetical extract from an old work on 486 Animal matter in shells 640 Animals, treatise on the formation of 257 Animals, extinct, of the ancient world 12 Ants, natural history of 328, 386 Ants, red, a remedy against 560 Apples for fattening hogs 544 Apples, comparative value of, to feed stock and for sale, and their products, cider and brandy 503 — dif- ferent views of the same 623 Appomattox river, upper, on the improvement and value of for navigation 377 Arable land, on converting to permanent pasture or meadow 664 Arrow root of Florida 352 Artichokes, culture of 158 Artichokes, Jerusalem, 493 Ashes as manure 467 Asparagus, culture of 153 Asses, Al'rican, importation of 93 Atmosphere, etfects of on vegetation 91 B Barclay, Robert, of Ury, account of his labors and improvements 359 "Barrens," western, description of 463 Beef, fresh, a convenient mode of distributing in ex- change, among neighbors 706 Bees, war with 476 Bees, stingless 48 Beet (sugar,) soil and climate for 252— culture of in P^urope 687 Big head, disease of horses, to cure 379 Birds' egijs, trade in 353 Blight in pear trees, cure of 395 Bones, as manure 304, 321 Breadstuffs, prices of 417 Breeding, a novelty in 445 Broom corn culture 58, high prices of the product 76i Brooms, manufacture of 3S3 Broths, chemical composition of 145 Buckwheat, or brank, culture of 616 Bulls, advantages of making them work 649 Butter, making and curing 163 — preserving 182 Cabbage, common, culture of, S99 — Savoy 402 Calcareous manures, remarks on 57 — reviews of naw works on 95 Carbonic acid gas reduced to a solid state 560 Caterpillars, new mode of destroying 167 Cats employed to protect gardens from birds 460 Cattle, sale of 70— breeding of in Chili 301— highly improved breeds of, their suitableness to our agri- culture in general denied 571 Charlotte, and adjacent counties, rough notes upoa some of their agricultural improvements 374 Chemistry, action of on agriculture 134 Chickens, raising 302, 398 Chinese mulberry fraud 558, 625, the defence of Mr. Whitmarsh and his agent 625 Cider, its value defended 623 Climate of the eastern side of North America, why colder than the same latitudes in Europe 599 Clover 554 — fertilizing effects of 240 — after corn 188 — considered as green manure for tobacco land 385 — salivating eff^ects of 105 — prevented by being mixed with other grasses 220 Clover and gypsum not sufficient for durable improve- ment 5 — on the results of their long-continued appli- cations, without other manure 317 Clover, crimson, 221 Coal, anthracite, product and consumption of 399 Coal deposites near Farmville 473 Cocoons, demand for 133 — on raising two or more suc- cessive crops in a year, a new practice in France 282 FARMERS' REGISTER. Coke, manufacture of 432 Cold weather 185 Cold, prevalence of in South Carolina 10 College of William and Mary, prosperous state of 510 Combined labors and talents, as necessary and as like- ly to be advantageous in agriculture as in other things 738 Comfrey, prickly, a new food for cattle 216 Commercial Reports, monthly, 53, 126, 192, 254, 319, 446, 575, G39, 711, 765, Contributions in writing to the Farmers' Register, cul- pable failure to furnish 746 Contributors to the pages of the Farmers' Register, appeal to 510 Copper in Virginia 343 Corn, aiiiian, native country of 107, harvesting of 117, 547 — cultivation of 554, in Botetourt 43 — experi- ments on cultivation of 6S5 — made profitably with- out tillage by covering with leaves 763---the greatest land killer 33 — distance lor {)lanting of 622, 709 — successive crops of on the same land 475 — early hous- ing of 108, 201— the advantage of keeping in the shuck or husk 484 Corn, green, to preserve for boiling 59 Corn and cob crusher and grinder 44 Corn trade 383 Correspondence, private, extracts from 190 Cost of irapiovements or new investments in agricul- ture rarely estimated 733 Cotton and the cotton trade 59 Cotton bales, quick work in packing 458 Cotton seed oil, on the value and manufacture of 685 Crow bill, debate on in the Senate of Virginia 336 Cultivation in New England, improvements in 618 Cultivator, use of in tillage of corn 707 Cultivator, echelon, described 237 Currants, culture of 112 Cut worm, remarks on, 431 — origin and habits of 563 D Dahlia, tree 124 Dawson, William, memoir of 337 Dismal Swamp, general account and description of 513 proposal to drain, by Col. Wm. Byrd in 1728, 521 — account of tlie earliest passage through, written by Col. Wm. Byrd 593 Double crops 133 Draining and cultivating swampy land 218, 378 Drinks for laborers in harvest 345 Drilling wheat 161, 171, and remarks on new culture 161 Dyes, vegetable 234 E Early bearing of apple and pear trees, to promote 234 Eastern Shore of Maryland, remarks on Professor Du- catei's geological survey of 300 Eastern Shore lands, remarks on 5 Editorial articles and remarks---on tobacco plant beds 3; condition of emancipated slaves 4; marble found near Gaston 30; the usual recommendations of pat- ent machines 44; the operations and opinions of the "abolitionists" 49; etfects of marl on cotton 53; the result ot the petition of the Agricultural Convention, and the gross neglect by the legislature of the claims and interests of agiicultnre 53^ chemical changes in sugar cane 66; insjjections — poor laws — slavery — queries 68; "marl" of new Jersey (or green sand) and erroneous opinions thereon 86; Eastern Shore railway 94; early housing of corn 109; French weights and measures 119; silk business proposed in Petersburg, and recommended for lower and middle Virginia 126; Professor Uenwick's edition of Puvis on Lime 131; labors of Sir John Sinclair 141; sup- position of Hessian lly and moth weevil existing in France 170; tlie "John Francis" letter and fraud 183; pine "limestone" lands of Florida 188; the patent law 197; the argilaceous soils of France, and M. Puvis' opinions thereon 202, 209, 211; magnesian soils, and M. Puvis' essay and opinions thereon 212, 216; Van Mons' theory 222; anticipated changes in the agriculture of the United Slates — silk — and beet .sugar 251; marly or gypseous earth of Geneseo, N. York 252; season and wheat crop 255; accounts and collections 255, green sand and marl, and prevalent errors thereon 276; use of farming notes 2S6; pise and mud wall, controversy 290; public works in aid of transportation 312; implement for milking cows 316 ; general unfitness of the wheat made in 1836, for seed, 319; season and state of crops 320; silk culture in pauper houses 335; Dawson's views of manuring 335; brining and liming seed wheat 342; controversies between correspondents 343; factories of Richmond and Petersburg 363; fraud and puiis of the "Waterloo Caesarean Cabbage" 330; puds of Vir- ginia land at London auctions 33; raising two or more successive crops of cocoons in a year 381; new and rare varieties of native grasses 384; agricultural convention 436; artesian or bored wells 438; green sand, and mode of detecting its presence 474; eliect of long continuation of exhausting tillage 475; the overflow of Solway iposs 504; prosperous state of William and Mary College 51:); John Carter's grapes and wine 510; appeal to all who have been and all who ought to be contributors to the pages of the Farmers' Register 510; errata 512; on the Whitinarsh mulberry fraud 558, and 625; on the chemical na- ture of aifferent soils, and their degrees of fitness for certain plants 561 ; contributors to the Farmers' Reg- ister and those who are not 57S; on the account of legislative action in New York in aid of agricultural improvement 634, 692 on the animal matter in shells, and Sir John Sinclair's opinions of their value 640; clover on tlie calcareous prairie lands of Alabama 655; proceediniiis of tlie agricultural conventions in New York and Virginia contrasted 701; the exclu- sion of party politics from the Farmers' Register 702; the Chinese mulberry not reproduced from its own seed 711; losses of numbers and of the indexes of the Farmers' Register 7t2; on the mob andiiot in New York, to lower high prices 741; on the true theory of the operation of speculation in, or "mono- polizing" of grain, and the false theory which is gene- rally received thereon 754; the supposed injurious etfects to land of magnesian lime 750 ; on the loss by fire of the Petersburg Rail Road Company 759 ; suspension of list of patents 765 ; the recent enact- ments of North Carolina in aid of the improvement of the state, by railways 766 ; and by draining the swamp lands 767 ; to subscribers on the closing of vol. IV 768 Electric, shock from a sheet of paper 266 Electro-magnetic engine 659 Emigrationlo the west 7, 10, 42, 732 Excerpta Curiosa 445 Experiments with mixtures of ashes, gypsum, lime Sic, applied to corn when planted 425 Fallowing, summer, the process in Britain described 23 Farm productive 93 Farm school of Boston, report of 693 Fanners, importance of their personal attention to their farms 1 Farming on the Rivanna 554, 764 Farming in Virginia, ])ro(its of 577, 746 Farms, large and small, their diii'erent advantages con- sider'd 564 Fattening animals 6;>3 Female industry a]iplied to silk culture 168 Fishery, herring, in North Carolina 59 Fishes, migration of 479 FARMERS' REGISTER Flax bleached, a new discovery 395 Flies, to prevent their annoying horses 421 Floods from rains, in 1771, in Virginia and South Ca- rolina 506 Flori"i,(\vii^- principle: — A young man expected to mn'ce ih^ living in this way, and had neither land nor lalior except that of hiscvv-n body and mind. — Tlie mnv \vho had land and negroes from which he vUi - i to derive profit, entered into a sort of pariiir ;■-;;• with the young man, that he would fL!rnish tii'- land and a certain number of laborers — we wii! suppose seven. It was understood that the vounr man was to work regularly with these nefrro^s, and at the end of the vear was to have the profits of his ov/n labor, which was tlie eighth part, lp;r,r-| ing the profit of the labor of the negroes to thej master. Thus the young man received his full! share for his labour, and p;ud nothing for the land he cultivated; besideswhich, he had his hous-^, rro-| vision and fuel for himself, and his wife and ( hil-; dren, if he had any; wdiile he was earning n repu- tation, (if he was good for any thing,) whic'i, in the end, would be a fortune to him." And let me tell you, sir, that this training gave him a know- ledge of what could be done; it gave him strenrrth of body and mind, and habits of industry, which >vould generally stick by him through life.' W heti Vol. IV— 1 after beginning with a small number of hands three, four, five or more, he became qualified to manage too many to justify his laboring in person, his profits increased to a share and a half, two shares, or even more, fill at length he wasenabled to establish himself; and in process of time, per- haps emfiloyed young men to begin as he had done ; and his experience qualified him to be a judge of others. I reckon, sir, you begin to think j'ou had better have let me ofi; than have your ivegister filled with what I have no doubt will appear to many of your readers useless siuff. But when I tell you I as- cribe the little success I have had in providing the means of raising a large family, to the seven years of hard labor I endured, I trust 1 shall be excused for endeavoring, in this way, to encourage the young men of the present day to conf^'m, in some deirree, at least, to tlie p.lan ol' lii'c here laid down. 1 come now to the chance adverted to in the former part of this letter.— After I liad added to my business, by thepurcliaseof another farn), and had had several valuable agents, !)fii!(i liy it. J told hiui 1 |-!e\-iM- h,ci:;i(l nu nvr itecmise if lie required ihe* from him; bi't I y-;u!!r,i (d must know, that by this ti; '■eei- ill v,-lilii!gto work,, , I did not expect much 'enow his habits. You le, our country v.-as be- conuug more ofa firminfj country than it had been, !!i eor::"---'--- - ^f the inrree^e of aiabie surface by ei' ■ - ■'!! as tlr' e.\ij:ujs!ioi) of some of tlic fi: L'.. . ,, : 1 :: enused the owners of the soil to turn their an Milii.):: more to improvement-, which conflicted witii tiic iiumediate interest of the over- seer, by its t:;T,snecfive character. This brought about tlip h;;!)ir of (jiving standing wages — broke up the co-partncrs!iip, and took away the interest of the overseer, in the fruits of his year's work. You know, sir, witiiout my telling you, thai the way to insure a man's fidelity to his trust, is to make it his int'-'rest to be Ihithful. Do not under- ■*and me as joining in the genera! denunciation of '-■verseers, as the most faithless men in the world. Far from it. I have been fortunate in finding among them, as much, or more fidelity, than in other classes of society. But they are men, and consequently, are liable to the frailties of men; and when we employ one that cantiot overcome selfish motives, 'and attend to ih.e interest ol'liis employer, the mischief is inealenlaliie. pailici lii: I , e,,-- the "ime approaches v/hen he is to leave li- • ii;:i~ii:;gs he is engao-ed in, and receive the same wages as if h'^ had done his duty. The intention of the foregoing remarks, is to sli.nw the great iuiporrancc — indeed, the absolute necessity of snore personal attention from the own- ers of the lend, ai:d labor. And this necessity is rendered more imperious by the great and sudden rise in the price of labor. We have interposed between the soil cultivated; ;u;d the labor employed FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 in its cultivation, an asjent Avho has no interest in either, except tiiiU which arises from his cliaracter and standinc? in his occupation. And a!thouasoning would ap- ply as well to the present owner, as the man who is placed between the immediate and ultimate pro- fit of the land and labor, if their situations were re- versed. The communication above, was written more than twelve months ago. I declined to send it, because there is too much of egotism in it. Hav- ing come across it to-day, in turninir over my pa- pers, and shown it to a friend who is with me, he has prevailed upon me to send it to you. If you think it worlhy of a place in your valuable collec- tion, publish it. I must be allowed, however, to dejiart from that, which, in most cases, seems to be adopted by your correspondents, of signing my own proper name to it. W you decline to insert it in your journal, be assured you will give no of- fence to one who is less of a farmer than A PLANTER. ON PREPARING ANT> MANAGING TOBACCO PLANT BEDS — AND SOIME REMARKS ON THE TOBACCO CROP. To the Editor of the Farnicis' Kogister. It is not my purpose to inquire into the conse- quences which will flow from the extensive culti- vation of tobacco in the state of Virginia. I pre- sinne, however,itmust be manifest to all reflecting men, that it will necessarily have a very injurious effect upon the system of firming, which a iow years ago was carried on witli so much spirit, and gave such ilxir indications of resuscitation to our exhausted country. The quantity of forest la.'Kl, so much reduced already as to drive many to tlie west, will be still farther diminished, by tlie efforts to produce the kind of tobacco for vvhicli the man- ufiicturers give such encouraging prices, as well as by the amount of wood used in burning jilaiit land, and curing tobacco made on the old ground. My present oliject will be to point out the means of saving fuel in burnino- plant land; and as ex- perience is tlie best guide, I may jjerbaps succeed better in elucidating the subject, b}' giving a histo- ry of my practice. In the spring of 1820, before the grass went to seed, I cut down a piece of sap- ling land at the head of a bottom, raked ofl' the leaves, made a fence around it with the poles that were cut fiom it, and penned my cattle on it tilf it was very rich. (It was high up the bottom, and very indillerent plant land before I cow-pen- ned it.) The next winter, when I designed to burn it, it continued so wet that I was compelled to give it up, notwithstanding I had cut a ditch around it. I covered h;df of it (thirty-five yards by seventeen) with brush (aficr laying skids about lour feet apart) about two or three feet deep, and laiAB:TS OF A NUM- BER OF EiMANCIPATED SlwVVES, IN TRIKCE EDWARD COUNTY. To llie Editor of the Farmers' Registor. Richmond, IiLirch'22d, 1S36. You expressed a Avish (page — vol. HI,) to obtain information in relation to ihe history of the emancii)ated people of color in Prince Edward; I presume those emancipated by the late Richard Randolph more especially. More than twenty-five j-ears ago, I think, they were hberaled, at which time they numbered about one hundred, and were settled upon small parcels of land, of perhaps 10 to twenty-five acres, to each famil}'. As long as the, habits of uidus- try, which they had accjnired while slave,?, lasted, they continued to increase in numbers, and lived in some degree of condbrt — but as soon as this was lost, arid most of those who had been many years in slavery either died, or became old and in- firm, and a new race, raised in idleness and vice, sprang up, they began not onl)- to be idle and vi- cious, but to diminish instead of increasing, and have conlinued to diminish in i«»ind.)ers very reg- 4 FARMERS' R E G I S T E H [No. 1 ularly every year — and that too, without eniigra- tion; for they have ahiioi^t without exception, re- mained to;r?.iher in the same siiuaiion as at firsi placed, to ihis day. Idleness, poverty, and di.^si- pation, are the agents which continue to dimin- ish their numbers, arul to render ihem wretched in the extreme, as Vv-eli as a ixreat pest, and heavy tax upon the nei2;hborhood in which they live. There is so little of industry, and so much (lissij.ia- tion amoni];st them, that it is impossible! that the fema.les can rear their families of children — and the consequence is, that they prostitute themselves, and consequenth', have fevvchildren — and the ope- ration of time, profligacy and disease, more than keep pace with any increase among them. Whilst they are a very crreat yicst and heavy tax upon the conminnity, it is most obvious, they themselves are infinitely worsled by the exchange from slavery to liberty — if^ indeed, their condition deserves that name. JAT.IES MADlSOJf. [The facts stated in the foregoing communication are both interesting and important. We are greatly indebted to our esteemed and vvpII informed correspon- dent for Ids compliance with our request, and have only to regret that he did not enter more into the details of so fair and decisive a trial of the effects of negro eman- cipation, made under the most favorable circumstances. In this case, the slaves who were emancipated had been trained to labor — they were abundantly provided with fixed farming capital — and they had, and their descendants still have, in addition, a continual demand fortiieir labor, in the boating on the Appomattox — an employment which they prefer to all others, because it is the nearest to idleness. Yet with every advantage, and through a long course of time, their prosperity and even their numbers have been diminishing, and their condition has gradually become worse. A more full experiment cannot be adduced, nor a more deci- sive result.] For tlic Farmers' Rrsristcr. riACKSERRT IJ rJlOPOSED FOR LIVE I doubt much whether a live fence can be made proof against hogs. At ;my rate, it is not proba- ble that fi^ices of this descri|)tion will be much at- tempted in Virginia [\n- a long time to come. I have long thouglit that the hackberry tree j)ro- naised lo answer the purpose better than any other that 1 have seen. It will grow to a very laru;e tree, under favorable circumstances— but when browsed down by stocA-, it makes the most dense and unyielding shrub I liave over seen. I know several bushes of it through which it would be <1ifHcult for a sparrow to creep. About twenty years ago, I sowed a small lot with the berries; Ihey vegetated very well— but were ploughed up, through mistake, by a servant, in my absence. There are no bearing lree.s in my 'immediate neighbor! lood; and (hough anxious to try ad it long enough to decide what quantity is best to be app'lied. It should be scat- tered regularly, and so that none of the patch is without, 'i'here is no danger of having it too thick, provided it be beaten fine. I have experienced considerable benefit from the use of the coulter, in preparation ibr corn, on the bedding plan. The rows are laid od", two furrows to the row, with a coulter as large as .a common trowel hoe — and thr-n the bed is raised, the coul- ter furrow being in the centre. The advantage of the use of the CDulter, will be very apparent in the droughts ol" summer, when the bliules of the corn would ollK':ivi;;e hi- linble to burn. IMPROVKMEATS OF MONMOUTH, K. J. To tlie Edilor of tlic Farracis' Register. I take this opportunity of sending j'ou an extract taken fi'oni the 1st No. (5th inst.) of the 50th vo- lume of Niles' (Baltimore) W^eekly Register. — Should you think it worthy of a place in your Far- mers' Register, you are at liberty to insert it. As a work of general reference, Niles' Register is su- perior to any I have ever read. The editor has ever been the zealous and devoted fi'iend to do- mestic industry and internal improvements. He has lived to see them both prosper and flourish in his own country. p. VV. HARPER. Greenfield, Xuiloway County. " For fifty years after the revolution, This county existed in a state of supine torpor. Not five lots were sold, in all this time, in the principal town of Freehold. A few years since, was made the great discovery of marl, which has been a mine of wealth to the farmers, [>roducing the richest pas- tures and grazing for cattle and sheep, and for making butter and cheese. The consequence has been, that firms which have wi'hin 10 years sold at .^10 the acre, now bring, readily, ii-om A'oO to SilOO. So nnich for the virtue of marl. Such is the wealth and enterprise thus brought into the country, that it is now proposed to nmke a rail road from the principal town, to join the Camden and Amhoyrail road at Highfslown, distant 10 or 12 miles, with a spur or branch to the marl pits." Fioni Niles' Weeltly Register. IMPORTATIOIV OF GRAIN. It is a singular fact, that two or three cargoes of wheat, rye and oats, have recently been imported from Europe into New York, and have paid a handsome profit to those concerned in the transac- tions. From tlie Washington Mirror. TRAVELI.TXG STOVE.S. Dr. AicWilliams of this city (Washington) has taken out a patent for a stove for heating carriages of all kinds,, which is one of the most valuable in- ventions which has ever been made. It. is re- markably simple in hs structure, and maj" be sold ibr six or eight dollars, and it consumes the most inconsiderable quantity of coal. The advantages of such a stove are almost too obvious to be men- tioned. Taking up very httle roon), they may be fitted to the botfom of gigs, chaises, and of every variety of carriage, and are particularly well adapteil to rail road cars. The expense of fuel is not a!)Ove three cents for a hundred nules, travelling at an ordinary rate. It is only necessary to make this invention known to secure its introduction very generally. For a trifling expense, a stage driver may now be as comfortably situated on his box, as by the warm fire; ;md the pleasure of sleigh-riding may be enhanced a hundred i()ld. This stove is now used in the cars of Caltimore and Washington rail roads, and gives entire satis- fiiction. The passengers are kept vvarm during the whole journey, and are never annoyed by the smoke, the stove being air-tighl. 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER. CULTIVATION OF CORN. 3IANURIAG, AND WESTERN EMIGRATION. To the Editor of tlie b'arnicis' Register. Fairfield, S. C. ) mil March, 1836. 5 Having seen in your Register a great many communications on tlie ditlerent modes of'cultivat- ing Inilian com, I shall endeavor,, by siiowing mj- niethod, and tiie success willi whicii it was at- tend'^d, toirether with some experiments I made, to add something to the very great iund of agricul- tural knowledge, alfeady disseminated through ii vast portion of our country, by your valuable paper. I commenced f)lanting my corn, last year, on the 17th of March. I jjiaated in drills iour feet apart, and tAvo feet between each stalk in the drill. I consequently had as many stalks as if I iiail ])lanted in hills lour ieoteach wa}'. with two stalks to the hill, winch is the common method in this neighborhood. JNly land v/as well broken \\y>, aiid in fine order, when the corn was planted. When it was about lour inches high, I ran the shovel plough as near it as I could, without doing much injury to the roots. The plough covered up the youiig grass around and between the stalks, and left the ground, lor ten or twelve inches on each side of the corn, in a fine loose state. In about ;i week afterwards, I had the corn hoed, and some earth put to it — a little more than was taken fj-om it by the hoeing. When the corn was about a foot high, I had it thinned to one stalk. The mould board of the fuming plough was then run to the corn, but as shallow as possible, to prevent it from cutting the roots. The middles were broken up with the shovel plough, which left the srround le- vel, except a small ridge made by the turning plouirh. I ploughed n again the 1st of June, Avhich I could certaiidy have dispensed v.-ith, had not the ground been s-rassy, and 1 wished to get rid of the grass — and I believe the ploughinof I then gave it, did more injury than rs from other pursuits—) and trudging from place to place, consumes much time. I have ])een long convinced of the benefit of what arc called tram rail roads, between tlicse i.arts of a farm where a constant conununication is kept up. I found one very usefld, during the deep siiovv, from my wood-pile to the house last winter. But lest I sliould be thought to be becoming too chimerical, by that part of the community who have been so extremely sober, as to do notliing, i stop for the [)reseni. N. E. READ. From the Gcnc?ee Fanner. TIIE E?;TI]N'CT Ar:iMALS of the Ar.'CIEriT WORLD. It may be v\'ell known to most of our readers that the remains of many animals, unlike anj^ that now exist, are found in earth, but more es- pecially in rocks, their bones and shells constitu- ting a part of the stonj^ strata of the globe. A similar remark will apply to a great number of extinct plants. It is not our design to attempt an explanation of the causes which have produ- ced such extraordinary results, though it is due to truth and sound philosophy to say in passing, thn.t the late discoveries in geology amply con- firm the Mosaic account of the creation. We well remember our surprise and pleasure when we first found those "medals of nature" in a rock belonging to one of the ranges of the Al- leghany Mouiitains; but we can oiler no observa- tions of our own that would prove as interesting as the following extract fr-om Dr. Hildreth's de- scription of the coal strata of the Kanhawa Sa- lines: "The whole of this slate and shale is filled with the impression of extinct species of plants. Kvery layer of not more than an eighth or tlie t()urlh of an inch in thickness when separated, displays fresh impressions of a variety of species, delineated on the face of the slate with the most ex- quisite beauty and perfection. The minute mar- kings of the ribs and ncrvures are faithfully pre- served. The vegetable matter is replaced by a thin coating of coal, and when this is removed, the perfect impression is left on the slate. The peeling up or separating of the folia of the shale, seemed to me like opening the leaves of a sealed book, here deposited by the Creator from the earliest ages; containing a faithllil and true record of the history of vegeta'tion in its primitive days. Before me was collected a vast library of natural history, containing the stereotype copies of an al- most endless variety of trees and plants, whose families and species, as we have every reason to believe, lived and died before the creation of man." We believe il is no longer doubted that coal is of vegetable origin. In many i)laces among car- boniferous strata, are found the remains of large trees, — some standing in their natural position with their roots embedded in what was once soil, though now covered up at great depths in solid rock,— while others lie prostrate, evincing that they v.-ere torn up by the roots,and then deposi- ted "like driftwood. All these, with hundreds of herbaceous species of the same period, are now extinct. It also appears from the nature of both the plants and animals which inhabited the earth in that "day" that the temperature of the tropics, extended Avilhin the polar circles. Prolc'ssor j^gassiz of Switzerland is engaged 1^35.] F A R .AI E R S ' REGISTER 13 in publisliing a great work on Fossil Fishes, Aviiich is to be embellished with two hundred and fil'iy plates in folio. He lias already examined more than ten thousand specimens; and one year aifo, had ascertained eight hundred extinct spe- cies. No doubt many others will be found; and our own country may yet furnish its quota. We remember taking the impression of a fish about four incivs in length from the slate* rock of this district, a few years ago; but it soon crumbled in- to pieces. Harder beds of the same rock, howev- er, frequently occur. From the chalk near Lewes in England, some specimens of great beauty have been taken, and one with its "mouth open and entire. The air bladder appears unbroken in many of the specimens, and proves that the bo- dies were completely incased in the chalk before the putrefactive process had commenced. In some of these fishes, the fins, gills, and teeth, are preserved, as' well as the air-bladder and tonrrue; the scales are also very distinct. Of those who have been concerned in such re- searches, no one has been more distinguished for skill and success than Gideon Mantell of Sussex in Enirland. The fjssils we have last noticed were collected and preserved in his museum. To him the scientific world is also indebted for the discovery of the Igiianodonj a reptile which Cu- vier considered more extraordinary than all those previously known. "I measured the circumfe- rence of the condyle or joint of a thigh bone in the museum," says Bakewell, "and formd it to be thirty-five inches! and the thiijh bone of a larger [specimen] at a distance from the condyle mea- sured tweny-five inches in circumference." "fma- gine an animal of the lizard tribe," says professor Siliimnn, three or four times as large as the largest crocodile, havinfjjaws with teeth equal in size to the incisors of the rhinoceros, and crested with horns! Such a creature must have been the Igua- nodon. "Marvellous as it may appear," says ISlanteil "v.-e cannot but infer that some individu- als attained a height of nine or ten feet, and were from sixtij to one hundred feet in length! A cir- cumstance even more extraordinary than its ma.?- nitude,' is that of its havino; perfirmed mastication like [an ox]; its teeth, which are of a verv pecu- liar brm, beinfj in general worn down by the ope- ration of irrinding its food." The "daif in which this animal lived has been called the Afje of Reptiles. ^'There was a pe- riod," says Mantell, "when the earth was peo- pled by oviparous qvadnmeds of a most appalling magnitude; and that reptiles were the lords of cre- ation, before the existence of the human race." This agrees exactly with the 21st verse of the Isf chapter of Genesis, if we substitute greai reptiles or "great whales," which the Hebrew text re- quires.* "It is impossible," saj-s Cuvier, "not to acknowledge as a certain truth, the numhe.r, the largeness, and the variety of the reptiles which in- habited the seas or the land, at the epoch in which the strata of Jura were deposited." We shall briefly mention a few of the most re- markable of these creatures, for which we ave in- debted, as well as for most of the precedinix fiicts, to Silliman's Journal, appearing there mostly in * Pyritiferous slate of Eaton. *Silliman's Journal, vol. xxv. p. Go — 6. the form of quotations however, fi'om European works. "The Ichthyosaurus, (fish-like liznrd) of which several species have been discovered, had a large and long head, with jaws armed with teeth like the crocodile; enormous eyes; a short neck; a large and long body furnished with four broad and flat padclles, composed of numerous bones, and was evndentl}- destined to live iu the sea". This description is fi-om Rlantell. One lately di.scovered in England "iimst have been at least thirty-five feet in length, and of considerable breadth. The " Plesiosaurus (animal resembling a liz- ard) is 3'et more remarkable. The head is very small, and armed with numerous pointed teeth; the neck of an enormmis length, and composed of between thirty and forty vertebra;, being doable the number "of that of any other animal, (the swan which has the greatest number of cervical vertibrBp havino; but twenty-three); the body like that of the Ichthvosaurus, has four paddles; the tail is short. This extraordinary creatures ap- pears to have been but little calculated to make rapid progress through the sea," continues Man- tel!, "and was still less fitted for progressive mo- tion on the land. It is therefore probable that it swam on or near the surface of the water, carry- ing his neck like a swan, and darting on its prey^ The Flero.'actylus had the wings of a bat, and the structure of a reptile, with jaws furnished with sharp teeth, aud claws with long hooked nails. We have not seen any notice of its size. "The Mosnsaurus, or fossil animal of Maes- fricht, attained the size of the crocodile, appears to have been aquatic like the latter, and to have moved its vast tail from side to side as an oar." "The MegahsauTus (o-reat lizanl) must have been nenvly fyrty-five feet in length and seven or eight feet in height. It was probable a terrestial animal." These notices are principally intended how- ever, to serve as an introduction to other wonders of the primeval ages. In the last number of Sil- liman's Journal, there is a long article on the foot viarks of birds on rocks by Professor Hitchcock vv'hoisso advantageously known for his Geologi- cal Survey of Massachusetts. Eight different kinds of tracks have been examined, and engra- vings exhibit the shape of the feet. These dis- coveries were principally made last summer. These foot-marks have been found in Jiuc pla- ces near the banks of the Connecticut ^river, along a line of thirtv miles in extent. The rock in which they occur, is called by Prof. H. "new red sandstone,'" and it appears to be eqiiivalent to the Saliferous Rocks which abound in the northern parts of this district. It is worthy of remark that none of these tracks have been found where its surface lias been exposed for many years to the weather. Prof H. thinks it evident that those foot-marks were "made by an animal vv-ith twoibet, and usu- ally three toes. In a few inslances a fourth or hiiid toe, has made an impression, not directly in the rear, but inclining somewhat inward; and in one instance, the four toes all point forward. Sometimes these ternate depressions run into one another, as the toes approach the point of conver- gence; but they also sometimes stop short of that point, as if the animal had not sunk deep enough 14 FARMERS' REGISTER [No. 1 to allow the heel to make an impression. Nay at that point the stone is in some cases irreo-ular- ly raised, as if the weight ot the animal hail cau- sed the sand or mud, to crowd upwards in the rear ol" the step. In a few instances also, behind this sliglu elevation, there is a depression as if a knobbed heel had sunk slightly into the yielding mass." "The successive layers of the rock are bcntdnon- rvards, under these impressions, often two, three, and even four inches in thickness. These tracks have been traced, and no less than ten have suc- ceeded each other in such a direction, and with intervals so nearly equal, that it is impossible to doubt that they originated from the continuous steps of an animal. The alternate tracks deviate a little to the right, and the others to the left, the toes being ordinarily turned outwards. It iy easy to delernune whether they v.'cre made by the right or left foot of the animal." Prof. H. is satisfied that these tracks were made on soft mud, (now rock,) at that time under water; and lliat the birds were of the tribe of wa- ders, like the cnme. He also concludes irom de- c!si»re evidence, that the mud then lay horizontal- Iv, though in one p.lace it now has a dip of 30°. The rock has consequently been sunk or elevated since that period. Some idea may be formed of the size of these primeval birds by comparing their foot-marks with those made by birds of the present day, and this Prof rl. has carefjlly done. The loot of the pea-hen is three inches and a half long, and its step is nine inches; the foot of a large cock turkey is four inches long:, and its step twelve inches; but the Ornithichaites gigantens had a foot sixteen or seventeen inches long, and its step u'as from four to si.K feet! while O.ingens, which is remarkably distinct from the former, left a track not less^than two feet long with a slop of six feet! The step of the African Ostrich was not known, but the length of its foot is only ten inches. Prof li. therefi)re conjectures that the heads of these birds must; have been elevated from twelve to fifteen feet above the ground! In conclusion, we would add that these disco- veries are entirely new, no impressions of the kind, in any other part of the globe, having been known to geologists. It has been remarked tliat there are fewer traces in the rocks of the existence of birds, than of any other class of animals; and this circumstance has been accounted for on the ground that they are less liable to be submerged, and of course less likely to be preserved m aque- ous dcposites. The rocks on which those birils left their tracks, are older than those in which rep- tiles occur in the greatest numbers. Fairfax Cnunty, ? 3Iarch 1, 1833. 5 To the Kditor of Uie Fanners' Rngi.-ter. THE WIKTKR. OYSTER SHELI. LIIVIIIVG. Winter, after five weeks of desperate and un- fiinching severity, was relaxed but for a few days, Avhen, ii-om the north and east, the rear guard was brought up in overwhelming array — and our cows and sheep, like the rats in some of your correspon- dents fields, are running about with tears in their eyes. If cattle keep a record, this will be marked as the expunging winter. * * * * I pray your pardon tor having travelled my hob- by so far from my original purp^ose, which was to say, that I have purchased oyster shells and haul- ed them 7^ miles, and burnt and spread them over 69 acres of land, and this since I loft- ed my corn. If I can obtain shells by public advertisement, I will use fiom 10 to 20 thousand bushels during the year. I am too old to go to the land of milk and honey; and n)ust, therefore, give my i)remises a new constitution, and stick to her until "death doth us part." I confess, sir, that I am not exactly pleased with myemplo3'meiit, but I see not how 1 am to do belter. Had your Agricultural Convention taken place in good weather, I should have attended; but I could only have recommended to the meeting one thing — to do their duty, and then con)municaie their doings thi'ough the Register to the public. In this way we may do iriuch. Prosperity, I trust, awaits your laudable purposes. X. Y. Z. From tho Eiitisli Farmers' Magazine. ON THE DESTRUCTIOIV OF SEED CORN. There is a probable destruction of every kind of corn, after it is sown, for which it is difficult to ac- count. The quantity usually sown broadcast on the imperial acre in this country, is 3 bushels of wheat, 5 of barley, 6 of oats. It has been ascer- tained that 3 bushels of wheat, weighing 61^ lbs. per bushel, containing 2,685,912 grains; five bush- els of barle}', weighing 53.^ lbs. per bushel, 3,135,360 grains; six bushels of potato oats, weighing 43| lbs. per bushel,4, 434,912 grains; and the same quantity of common oats, weighing 42 lbs. per bushel, 4,241,664 grains. The highest rate of produce in this country of these three kinds of corn is, in the Carse of Gowrie, which contains the finest quality of wheat land, about 52 bushels per imperial acre; in Forfarshire, which is, per- haps, the best county in Scotland tor barley of uni'brmly fine qualitj'', 60 bushels of bailey per acre have been reaped; and in Strathmore, a fine district for oats, 72 bushels per acre of potato oats have been reaped. Now, if every grain of seed sown germinated and produced a stem bearing the average number of grains in each ear, the produce would be as many times the seed sown as there was nundier of grains in the ear. On examining a prolific crop of corn, we sliall find ears of wheat contain- ing from 61 to 24 grains each, the average may be stated at 44 grains; the grains in an ear of bar- ley range from 21 to 32, the average may be 28; and oi potato oats the diversity is as great as from 182 to 20 grains in each head, the average being about 64. Computing what ought to be the pro- duce by this supposition, in conjunction with the fiicts above stated, it should be, of wheat, 44 times the seed sown, or 132 bushels per acre; of barley, 28 times, or 140 bushels; and of ])otaio oats, 64 times, or 384 bushels. But we have seen that the greatest actual produce in the richest districts of the country is, of wheat, 17 times, and of barley and oats, only 12 times, the seed sown, which fall very far short of what (he produce sliould be, as 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER 15 indicated by the number of grains in the ear. There is moreover, a jiroperty connected with the crrovvth of corn which alTects ihc (luestion of prodTice very materially. All corns produce more straws than one from one root. They do not so invariably; but the instances of a single straw li-om one root are rare in comparison with a number. Single straws are more rare in wheat and in barley than in oats. As many as five stems of wheat and barley may be seen from one root; two,thrce, and four, more frequen!ly,and three most fi-equently. JMany lavorable circumstances must co-exist to determine the number ot" stra\ys which will be developed from one root. Rich soil, either naturally so, or made so by manure and ju- dicious culture, will produce more straws li'om the same number of rools than poor. A fine season has a similar etfect, in this respect, to a rich soil. Early sowinsr will, in general, also produce a siiu- ilar elfect. For example, in regard to wheat, a rich and suitable soil will cause it to "tiller or gtool,"— the technical terms in use to express a multiplication of straws from the same root; while a poor loose soil will scarcely be able to produce one straw trom every seed that geminates. A fine season, particularly a fine spring, always causes Avheat to tiller boldly; and early-sown wheat in autumn will tiller and cover the ground before the ajipruach of winter. There is a variety of wheat cultivated in the borders of Scotland, which pos- sesses the property of tillering in the autumn in a remarkable deoree. It originally came Irom Dan- ziiT, and is called Danzig creeping-wheat. Taking, therefore, in the case of a prolific crop, three stravi^s of wheat and barley, and two of outs, as an average number from one root, and supposing, as we formerly did, that every seed sown produceslii root, the produce of wheat ought to be 132, instead of 17 times; of barley 84, instead of 12 times; and of oats 128, instead of 12 times the seed sown. Or, to place the same result in ano- ther point of view: According to the number of grains contamed in the quantity of corn sown on an acre, it appears that a square foot of land re- ceives, of wheat 61, barley 72, potato-oats 97, and common oats 101 grains. By tillering, the 61 grains of wheat should produce 183 straws; the 72 of barley, 216 straws; and the 101 of oats, 202 straws, on a square foot of land; whereas the number of straws, with the tillering of the roots, does not really exceed one-third of those numbers on that space of ground. The inevitable conclu- sion is that only one-third of the seed-corn sown on the best land grows, the other two thirds are somehow destroyed. This conclusion is startl ng, and may appear incredible to those who pay little attention to these matters: the facts which prove it are accessible to all. But if this proportion of the seed-corn is destroyed in the best soils, a still greater destruction probalily happens in the ave- rage quality of soil in the countrj^ The average produce of the average quality of •soil is only seven times the (luantity of the seed sown. The quantity of seed sown per acre has hitherto evidently been ascertained by practice alone. The seed has been sown up to the quantity which produced a full crop, and then that quanti- ty had been fixed upon as requisite lor the crop; but now we see that one-third of that q\iantity is sulUcient for the crop. Ought we then to sow only the third? Prudence would decide in the negative, till it is ascertained how the loss of the two-thirds arises. That loss in the mean time is of great magnilude. The number of cultivated acres in Great Britain and Ireland amounts to 47,000,000; 30.000,000 of v>^hich are under the plough. Two-fifihs of the latter, 12,000,000 acres are armually under the cereal crops. The average allowance of seed lor the three kinds of corn may be stated at 4 two-thirds bushels per acre. The quantity of seed annually sown thus amounts to 7,000,000 quarters. If two thirds of this quantity are rendered unproductive by some agency which has hitherto been uncontrolled, then 4,666,666 (juarters of corn are annual'}" wasted! The (luan- tity thus lamentably wasted would support more than 1,000,000 of human beings. From tiic Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle. FLOUKISIIING STATE OF AGRICULTURE. Some writers have pu/zled themselves in the endeavor to account for the cheapness of corn, but it IS simply owing to abundance, and the abun- dance to the recent improvements in agriculture here and in Ireland. No species of production can be the object of long continued attention, with- out ways and means being discovered of increas- ing the supply, and diminisliing the cost of pro- duction, and consequently the exchangeable val- ue. And it would have been strange, if, while improvements were daily taken place in every de- partment of arts and manufactures, agriculture alone had remained stationary, the amount of its produce as low, and its price as high. The truth is, great and gratifying as have been the improvements in manufactures, they do not, perhaps, grratly exceed those which have, during the last ten or fitteen years, been introduced into agricultural operations. It is only about twenty years since the first steam-engine was erected in E:ist Lothian lor thriishmg grain, an example v.'hich for some years was followed by few, but du- ring the last eight or ten years they have rapidly increased, and we know for certain, that there are now upwards of sixty in the country. Judging from present appearances, there wiil not in five years hence be a farm in the county of the extent of 150 acres and upwards, and destitute of water- power, without its steam-engine. In East Lothian — we speak chiefly of East Lo- thian, because better acquainted witii its concerns than those of other counties, but agriculture is every Vv^here rapidly progressing — tile or furrow draining is but an introiluciion of yesterday, and already thousands of acres have undergone this admirable improvement. So lately as the sum- mer of 1832, furrow draining was, we believe for the first time, practised in East Lothian, and in one field only. The field in questions had been previously thoroughly cross-drained, lime and ma- nure had been poured into it with a liberal hand, but all without avail. At length drains were put into every other furrow, and immediately two pic- kles grew where but one would grow before; the first crop repaid the whole expenses incurred. On the sarne farm 100 acres, or all that requires it, have since been fitrrow drained, partly Avith stones and partly with tiles. On another farm, with which we happen to be acquainted 200 acres Jiave been tile drained, partly in every alternate furrow, 16 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 the two intervening ridges being thrown into one, and partly in every lurrow, daring llie summers 1S33, 34, and 35; and on a third, 100 acres have been similarly dealt, with during the two last sum- mers. We have ascertained that there are up- Avards of three n)illit)ns ol drain tiles at present annually manufactured in the country; and yet the tile-works in existence occasionally find it im- possible to supply the demand, and others are about to be erected. Three millions of tiles are sufficient to drain 2,000 acres, putting a drain in every alternate iurrow. It "is now about ten j'ears since rape cake was brought under the notice of agriculturists in this part of the country, and it has been tor some years in extensive use. One agrienlturist, we know, of who manures the whole of his fallows with it, at annualexpenseof £600. Some hold that it is useful Ibrojie crop only, and affirm that it bears the same relation to common stable dung as a manure, that a dram does to a beeistake as articles of human subsistence. The agriculturist in question, how- over, Vv'ho speaks li'om experience, thinks diifer- enlly, and is of opinion that rape-cake has added three or tour shillmgs to the [rent] value of land situated at a distance from towns where it is difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of manure. As an- other proof of the intelliu'ent readiness with which ever3'thing likely to prove an improvement is adopted, we may instance chevalier barley, which, though only introduced three or four years ago, was last year almost the only variety cultivated in East Lothian. These fiicts are sufficient to show tJiat, amidst other improvements, agriculture has not been standing still. And as improvements in manufac- turing machinery have led to a fall in the prices of manufactures, so to improved modes of agriculture are we indebted ibr the blessing of plenty at present enjoyed by the countr3^ And we conceive they may also be received as proofs that agriculture, in the extensive meaning of the term, so far from brv iitg in a backward and depressed condition, is really thriving beyond all lornier precedent. Individual landlords and tenants are no doubt suflcring, but not because agriculture is not in a promising state: but because of arrangements entered into years ago, in the expectation that the hitjh prices caused by tcmi)or;uy circumstances would be |)ermanent. It wor.ld be no more reasonable to say that the cot- ton manufactures are in a drooping state, because the j;rice of cotton goods has iLdlen, than that ag- riculture is in distress, because agricultural pro- duce ietchesless in themarketthanitdid some years ago. When cotton fell in price, those who hap- pened to have large stocks on hand, or to have contracted tor supplies before the fall, no dou!)L suf- tered loss — many were perhaps brought to ruin; but it did not lollowj that the cotton man- uliicturers were, as a body, engulfed in ile- struction. Nor, because individual fanijers, with old leases on their hands, cannot fulfil their con- tracts with the present prices, can it fairly be agreed that agriculture is in distress. Tlie capital which is so ungrudgingly expended in agricultural improvements, and the energy and ability disjjlay- ed by agi'icullurisls, is a symptom the reverse of discouraging, with respect to the condition and prospects of agriculture. When the price of every commodity has fallen so greatly, landlords cannot expect to receive the san)e nominal rents, as when the prices of every article of consump- tion were from one-third to one-half higher. Those who are most diligent in the improve- ment of their estates will, as fbrmerl}', receive the highest reiits. It v.'iil not do lor them to imitate the lazy Lawrences of the south, vv'ho walk about with their hands in their pockets, and then com- plain of want. But it is li-om the snath that the cr}' of agricultural distress has chiefly preceded; that is, from tliose who resolutely adhere to the imperfect and expensive custom of their l[)refiith- ers, and refuse to adopt the most self-evident im- provements— who still continue to employ from three to five horses at one plough, and t!u-ash their o;rain vv'ith a couj;le of sticks cut fi'om the-nearest |)lantation. It is ridiculous to hear such men com- plaining of distress. A spendthrift may as rea- sonably complain of empty pockets, or a drunk- ard of the effects of his dram-drinkiuir. From Brifisk Husbandry. OSr PUTRESCENT MAIVURES. [Continued from p. 734 Vol. Hi.] Night soil is distinguished from the ordure of all animals by the extreme fetidness of its smell, and is also known to be of a stronger or hotter kind, and probably ditfers i[i its own qualities in projioriion to the sort of provision from which it is obtained, as there is every reason to suppose that the ex- crement arising out of animal food is of a more active nature than that which is the produce of a v^egetable diet.* la all those places wheic the * 'liiniKin ordure is full of oil and volatile alkaline salts.' — 'The dung of carnivorous animals is also j)lcnti- fuUy stored with oil.' — Hunter's Outlines of Agriculture, p. 13. Arthur Young gives the result of two experiaients on manures of diiTcrsnt kinds and qualities, applied to potatoes on poor gravelly loam, in the following proportions per acre, as follows: — Firet crop. Second crop. No. 1 No manure ... 120 bushels 140 bushels 1 No manure . 2 Night-soil 10 wagon-loads, each 96 bushels 3 Do. 6 „ 4 Do. 2 5 Bones 10 6 Do. 6 7 Do. 2 8 Hog-dung (iO one-horse cart-loads „ 9 Do. 30 10 Yard-compost 60 „ 11 Do. 120 12 Do. 30 600 „ 640 650 „ 500 500 300 630 „ 640 640 „ 560 5S0 , 240 480 „ 300 -180 160 300 , 240 480 , 300 140 140 Survey of Hertfordshire, p. 177. 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER 17 re;i! value of this feculent nmtler is duly apprecia- ted, and its preparation well understood, the aver- sion whicii Its use excites is surniounied, and it is there preiLMxed to all other manure. It has indeed beenassunied that the cxcrenionls of a man, when useil /or this purpose, can be made to produce a sutiiL-iency of corn and rools fur his support; hut, althouirh that assertion has been exaii'irerated, yet were all tiio nourishment whitdi could be ex- tracted from this species of ordure made availal)l<% there can be but little reason lodoabt thai, it would add lartrely to the production of the lauil; for it has been proved by numerous expcrim;3nts, to rank liir bel")re the dunj^ of any animal. In this country, however, it is very commonly allowed to become decomposed throu^'h want oi" care, and vast quantities are carriad olf by rivers from the laroje towns, and lost in the bosom oi' the ocean — an inattention which has partly arisen from the dis2;ust occasioned by i:s odor, and partly through a jirejudice to which that disgust has given rise. This repuo-nance [;roceeds ii'om an idea that this m iimre communicates an unpdeasant flavor to planis grown in the land upon which it has been usf;d; and it hi'.s been a!so thought to have a bad ctRTt upon ihc soil. Both of these objections are however groundless when due care is applied to its management. Instances are indeed said to have occurrci], in which horses have refused the hay made from grass winch had been manuretl with night-soil; but, if credit is to be attached to the assertion, it must bave been produced by its having been spread in a !i-esh state, and upon grass of very lbr>vard growth. In proof of this, is an instance, mentioned in the Noriblk Report, of a field newly laid down to grass, every part ol which proved very poor, except two acres on which four waijon loads of night-soil were spread directly, without being mixed with any other ma- nure. The field was''fed olf, and the effect of the night-soil is said to have been so great, tiiar, 'while tlie rest of the fi^'ld never seemt'd more than half filled whh useful plants, this part ihick- eued surprisingly, and grew most luxuriantly; so much so, iluu. the cattle, neixlecting the rest of the fit'ld, wevi perpetually feeding there, until by an- tinnn it was pared down, like a fine green lawn by llie side of a dusky, rough, ragged pasture.* In other accounts it is indeed reported as 'the most Two nearly siinilar experiaifnts have be^n also re- corded by tha lliv. James Willis, President of If.e Clu'ist Cliurch Agricultural Society, in which the su- I)r'riority of produce arising from the different sorts of dun^ was in tlie follovvhig ordir: — 1st. That fioui pigs; 2n;!. sh.?ep; .j;\l. horscs; 4th. cows. In another, however, that fVoin s'.ieep was first, and pigs second; and Sir Hmnplircy Davy gives the preference to that of hard-fed horses, then of sheep and deer, and l:.«ily oxen. Treaty on soils and Man.: Anon. p. 123 — 131 * P. 172. Tne same Survey also mentions the great improvemsnt of a piece of steril pasture by the ap- plication of ni^ht-soil mixed up with pond-iand, in the proportion of 7 wagon-loads of the former to 143 one- horse cart-loads of the latter. The soil was first hud upontiis mad, the men then cut a trench through tlie heap, and throwing a small parcel into it. they worked it all to pilot's. The compost was afterv.-ards spread over the fi»ld at the total expense of £12; but at the present price of labor it would probably amount to half as much more. Vol. IV— 3 capital manure, of all other .sorts, fcir pasture, two wagon-loads securing a carpet of herbage;"* and no find etiect is perceptible on vegetables, though kitchen-gardeners use it with proiusion. It has been also asserted that nice judfrcs of vegetables can dislinyuish a very unfavorable difference be- tween the flavor of those grown in the viciinty of large towns or in the open coimlry, and this they attribute partly to the use of nijxht-soil; but it cer- taiidv commiujica'es no unpleasant smell to the piiuiis, nor e en, after a very i'ew days, to the ground on wdiich it h.as been laid, for it is soon de- coniposed, and the effect complained of is doubt- less more owing to the raj-idiiy of the growth when forced by an excess of any slimulatino; nm- imre, which renders them insipid; and were mar- ket-gardeners more sp(arin<)' o!' the use of all dung, or were they to correct it into a compost by a ju- dicious mixture of lime and eardi, or a small por- tion of slaked lime, the evil complained of would, no doubt, be removedj. All unpleasantness of odor may indeed be pre- vented by the mere use of asiies; and were those throwti upon the night-soil, or into privies which have no communication with sewers, the ashea made in every dvv^ellinghouse ^vould so completely absorb the fliud, that a solid heap of manure would be produced, that miglt be afterwards re- moved without difRculty or Oilensiveness. This, besides being common in many parts of the con- tinent, is the regular practice tbroughout Hulhj and were it more generally followed in other towns, there can be no doubt that it would be at- tende(l with very beneficial effects to the agricul- ture of their neighborhood. It is also collected in <;onsiderabie quantities in London; and there was, a few years ago, a large manufactory for its pre- paration, in which it was dried and exposed to the * Survey of Essex, vol. ii. p. 2-11. 0ns wagon-load, containing 90 bushels of night-soil, cost in London 15s., to which is to be added the cliarge of carriage to the farms, to Avhich it is mostly conveyed by the Thames, or by canals. Much of it is used in Essex, mixed with live times t';c quantity of fresli earth and sometimes together with an equal quantity of the mu.ck and chalk, in wl>ich proportions it is commonly used, at the rate of one wagon-load of night-snil; and the whole charge, including that of spreading, is calculated to be from £2 1.3s. to £3 3s. per acre. The common price of stable-dung in London is 23 to 23. Cd. per hay-cart load, containing between 70 and 80 cubical left: t'jatof street-slop, caifed cold manure, is delivered by bavges to th.e distance of about fifteen miles, by the canals, or within reach of one tide by the river, at about 3s. per ton. Middlesex Report, 2d. edit. p. 375. t Russell's Treatise on Practical and Chemical Ag- riculture, p. 205. Derbysh Rep. vol. ii. p. 451. It is also contradicted by Count Gyllenborg, in his very erudite treatise on Chemical Agriculture, in which he mentions an instance of his having regulaily watered a vine witli putrid urine, but neither the grajits nor the wine contracted any bad taste. Pilkington's Trans- lation, p. 79. Slaked-lime is, for this puipose, prefer- able to that which is hot; for the fatter, when com- bined with animal matter, forms a luamu'e which is •lot soluble in water. X See a letter on the subject, detailing the practice, together widi remarks on its extension, in the Farmer's Magazine, vol. x, p 497. Also the General Report of Scodand, vol. ii. p. 525; and Communications to the J3oard of Agriculture, vol. i. p. 317. 18 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 sun by spreadino- it upon flacc-stones gently in- i load of night soil, about four or five times the dined, to allow ''it to drain, after which it was j same quantity o^f earth should be added, aci-ording broken into pieces, and removed under cover, *- "- - .p.i-- --i ^ , i ._ .1 1 , where it was partially mixed with lime and com- pletely reduced to powder. In this state it was packed into barrels, and exported even to our col- onies, where it was used as a toj)-drcssing, but was chiefly employed by market-gardeners, who used to sow it in drills idong with their seeds,and, judging by the price at which they bought it, there can be no doubt thalthey found its use to be singularly advan- tageous; but the process has been abandoned, lor, having been carried on in the heart ol" the to^vn, it occasioned complaints of its ottensiveness. This, from the inconvenience attending its conveyance, unless by canals, has greatly prevented its use: considerable difficulty has also been found in re- conciling (arm-servants to working at the prepa- ration of this manure; hut that objection can be easily overcome by a slight gratuity, and, consid- ing its great value as a dressing, it ought not to be° neglected. It is said that one load, in its dry state, will be, in all cases, quite suiHcient tor three acres of drilled wheiit.* Its operation has been found quicker and more powerful than farm-yard dunii:; but not so lasting. Farmers who have" used both on adjoining land have observed that the crops are always more ex- uberant in the first year where the night-soil has been laid, but that little or no dilierence has been alterwards perceptible. t lis eflccts, when spread alone upon field-crops, and directly ploughed in with a sliallow furrow, are indeed so violent, that grain manured with it has been known to run en- tirely to straw; yet it has been used in that state as a dressing tor turnips, and also fbrspring wheat, upon the falTow, upon thin and chalky soils, upon which the largest crop and the finest grain was grown upon a very extensive iiu'in, upon which it was Jaid to the extent of three wagon loads per acres?, though it prohabiy was partly mixed up with the sweepings of streets.^ It should how- ever be incorporated with oiher substances; and as it is very difficult to procure it in any other than a nearly liquid state, it is proper that every means should be taken to secure it. A mixen should therelbre be made consisting of fresh loam, decay- ed tanners' bark, peat or any oilier like substance, to the depth of about two Jijet, to which the night- Boil must be drawn, and then carefully thrown over it with scoop-s to a moderate thickness: afer which another layer should be added of loam, or a compost of the same substances, and in the same manner, thougli not quite so deep as heliire; then another of night-soil, until the whole has attained the pro])er height, when it is to be covered wilh the same materials, to which if" a small quantity ol' quicklime be joined, or mix(Hi with the layers, it will assist the dccomjjosilion of the heap, and its nauseous eOluvia will be destroyed. To every * Tlio following; lias boen recommended as the best mode of pulverizing ni-;ht-soil: — 'Spread it on a piece of grass; let it be well harrowed on a bright day; then put it under cover, and add a chuldron of lime to 4 loads of muck in tliat state, and it will become dry.' Rigby's Fiamingham, p. 102. t Appendix to the General Report of Scotland, vol. ii.p. 82. X Malcolm's Survey of Surrey and the Neigliborin.T; Counties, vol. ii. p. 28. to the nature of the soil, and to the degree of ex- citement intended to be applied to the land. It should then be regularly turned and throughly mixed, and may be used either for wheat or bar- ley in tlie proportion of one wagon-load of niuht- soil, containing as mucli as lour horses can fiiirly draw, to the acre; but it should be used more in the manner of a top-dressing than buried in the soil. It has been laid on in the large proportion of 40 double cart-loads, and it has alterwards been known to produce 5^ quarters per acre of spring- wheat; besides an uncommonly luxuriant crop of rye-grass and cover in the ensuing summer.t It is sometimes, also, mixed with tlie yard-dung for the purpose of exciting fermentation: this, how- ever, is not advisable, lor it produces its great ef- fect in an unlermented state, and when thus mix- ed, its power is greatly lessened. It is likewse converted into powder for the pur- pose of maiuirein Paris, and is also used through- out many parts of the Continent, butchiefly in the Netherlands, where, however, it is more common- ly employed exclusively in a liquid state; of the preparation of which we extract the following ac- count fi-om the intelligent Report by Mr. Radcliff of the Agiiculture of Eastern and Western Flanders. J Liquid manure. 'This consists of the urine of cattle, in whicli rape-cake hi'.s been dissolved, and in vvhicli the night-soil fi'om the privies of the adjoining tovvUis and villages has also been blended. This IS gradually collected "in subterraneous vaults of brick-work, at the verge of the liu'in next to tlie main road. Those receptacles are generally" 40 feet long by 14 wide, and 7 or 8 fi^et deep, and in some cases are contrived with the crown of the arch so much below the surface of the ground, as to admit the plough to work over it. An aper- ture is left in the side, through which the manure is received from the cart by means of a shoot or trough; and at one end an opening is left to bring it up again by means of a temporary pump, which delivers it into carts or barrels. Another cistern, of double that size, is however for the most part formed under the range of stables, fi-om each stall of which the urine is conducted to a common gra- ting, through which it descends into the vault, fi'om vv-hence it is taken up by the pump; but in the best regulated, there is a partition in the cis- tern, with a valve to admit the contents of the first space into the second, to be preserved there free ftom the later acquisition, age adding consid- erably to its oiFicacv. The smallest of (hem will hold 1000 barrels of 38 gallons each, and in that quantity fi'om two to lour thousand rape-cakes, of 2!bs. each, will have been dissolved. 'This species of manure is indeed relied on be- t Farmers 's Magazine, vol. xiv. 161. It will not escape observation that the amount of this manure would have been better stated if tlie quantity had been accurately, ascertained in bushels; but that is a trou- ble which few farmers take, and information can only be given in the same manner in which it is obtain- ed. X Chap. iv. sect. ii. and cliap. v. sect. iii. 1S36.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 19 yond anv other upon all the liglit. soils throughout Flanders; and even upon sirong lands, originally so rich as to preclude the necessity of manure, it is now coniinir into great esteem, being consider- ed applicali'e to most crops, and to all the varie- ties ol soil.' The crop upon which it is, however, chiefly bestowed, \p flax, in the following manner and pro- portion. 'The field, after two or three ploughings and harrowinifs, is backed up in the centre, and j)loughed round in but one set, so as to leave it without any lurrow. A heavy roller is then drawn across the ploughing by three horses, the manure is spread equally over the entire surliice, and. when well harrowed in by eight or nine strokes oi' the harrow, the s?cd is sown, which is also har- rowed in bv a light harrow, with wooden pins ol less than 3 inches, an;l the surface, to conclude the operation, is again carefully rolled, so that nothing can exceed the smoothness and cultivated appear- ance of fields thus accurately prepared.' The manner in which the manure is apr.lied is in one or the other of the following modes, ac- cording to the distance. 'Where the cart plies, the manure is carried in a great sheet, closed at the corners by riuining strings, and secured to the four uprighis ol" the carl: tv/o men, s*and one on each side, scatter it with hollow shovels upon the ground. Or, where barrels are made use of, each is carried by two men with poles, and set down at equal distances across the field, in the line of the rollina:. There are two sets of vessels, which en- able the men who deposite the loaded on?s to bring hack others empty. One man to each ves- sel, with a .'jcoop. or rather a kind of bowl, vvith a long hrmd'e, spreads the manure so as to cover a certain space; and thus, by preserving the inter- vals correctly, they can precisely gauge the quan- tity ibr giving effect to any extent of surface,' It must, however, be admitted that this mode of ap- plication is somewhat clums\', and that it might be improved. For the flax crop they are profjse, for they usually allow at the rate of 24S0 gallons, beer nieas;:re, to the English acre.* It thus appears that the dissolution of the oil- cake and suillcient time for the thorough putrefac- tion of the contents of the cistern is the only pre- paration of this manure; and it is stated that 21 acres, upon a llirm of 200, are most luxuriantly manured lor crops ol' flax and rape with the urine — exclusive of the dung — of fort^^-four head of cattle. t It must, liowever. be borne in mind that, although the Fletiungs have too just a sense oi the value of money to lay it out u'ith the prospect of a nro.Pirable return, yet the construction of such a buildin-x as that described is calculated at about £120: in this countrv it would p-robablv cost con- siderably more; and, as it cannot be removed, it will not suit the means of every farmer to be at 'he expense, unless he can obtain the assi.slance ot' his landlord. In another account, drawn up in consequence of an investigation upon a very extensive Flemish liu'Mi, by persons appointed to examine the plan, (which had been objected to by several intelligent |)ractical men,) it was declared, 'that, owing to to the judicious concavity ol" the l"arm yard, there was as much moisture as was necessary to fer- ment the straw; and it is now ascertained that li- quiii manure is the most clFicacious of any, and produces a third more eU'ecl than what is spread upon the surliu^e. Hence, after the dung is fer- mented, they dilute it in water, and the liquid ;di)ne is carried to the field, and scattered over it, The earth irat!iediately imbibes the liquid, which soon reaches the roots of the plants, and causes a rapid vegetation; whereas it is a long time before dung, in a solid state, fertilizes the soil. The straw that remains, alter the dung is thus washed, is applied as manure for potatoes.J This mode has been, indeed, extensively carried on in other parts of the Continent, and its eficcis are consid- ered as equally beneficial. There, by some farm- ers, water is regularly thrown over the dunghills, the oozings fi'om v.'liich are allowed to drain'into pits constructed for the purpose, and permitted to ier- meiit before they are laid upon the land; or, by others, the whole of the dung and stall-litter is immersed in water, wdiich, after a certain time, is pumped up from the pits, and app-lied in a liquid form; in which manner it is contended that this manure is not only more po^verild in itsclfj but the quantity is thus doubled, for the solid contents of the dunghill remain the same. Experiments on an extensive scale have incontestably proved the efiicacy of liquid manures upon sandy or other lit^ht soils, to which they impart consistency, and dispose them to retain moisture; nor can there be much doubt that in many cases the product of a single crop may be thus more than doubled, by its immediate contact with the plants. On heavy land, we however coincide with the opinion of that eminent agriculturist the Earon de Thaer, from whom this account is taken, that it can never replace the solid contents of the dung- hill; and, although not contesting the advantages of which it may be susceptible when applied to those soils and crops to which it is peculiarly ap- plicable, we yet doubt the extraordiary degree of power ascribed to it. Befoie this mode of pre- paring manure l)e generally adopted, it should also be well ascertained whether the pains and ex- pense attendant upon it do not overbalance those ol" our own common manawment; lor although it * The average produce of crops iipoa a sandy loam, and the quantity of manure for each per English acre, when applied to the land, is thus stated: — - Either dung or compost, 10^ tons. Wheat. 222 bushals Rye, 28h do. ----- Oats, 51 5-6 do. - Flax, 6^ do. of seed and stem, worth £17 IGs. 9d. Rape-seed, 32 2-5 do. Beans, 23j do. . . . . . Potatops. 8 5-G tons - . . . Farm-yard manure, do. Do. do. - 860 cakes of rape, dissolved in 24S0 gallons of urine. 530 lio. dissolved in .9200 gallons of do. 14 cart-loads of liquid manure and t!ie same quan- tity of siable-dung, equal togetlicr to 21 tons. Do do, do. — Radclitf's Report of the Agriculture of Eastern and Western Flanders, pp. 90, 91. I Sir John Sinclair, liowever, says, in his 'Hints on tlie Agricnltiiral Slate of the Neflieriam's, ot'iier farm it roquir.'d tl'.e nrinc of GS cattle, of various ages and 32 horses, to manure 40 acres. t Ibid. p. 67. that in an- 20 FARMERS' R E C; I S T K R . [No. 1 is possible that, in llie, former way, a more com- plete decomposition of the materials may be se- cureJ, and that thus now conibinaJions ol' nutritive matter may be loinieil, of the precise ellec-ts ol wiiich we "are io-norant, yet, in our usaa! method of preparation, when properly ioaducied, noihing ehoald be lost: the h(iiii.i drained from the dung should be collected (or further use; and it is only upon such a calculation of the char^'es, as wei! as experience of the etibcts of the manure, tliat a fair conclusion can be drawn regarding its real value.* There is, perhaps, no part of the world in which the preparadon and the practical apidicalion of vegetable and animal maniu'e is so well under- stood as ill China; but, owing to i'.s ovcrilowing populaUon, almost the whole of the labor is per- ibrmed by man, by which the nurnl^erof working animals is so much reduced, that night-soil forms the principal dependence of the farmer. It is ex- tensively employed in a dried state, and is sold, as an article of commerce, throughout the empire, in the tbrm of cakes, mixed up with one-third of their weight of marl. It is, however, in its liquid state, as urine, that it is chiefly used, in combina- tion with other substances, the account of which, as furnished by a gentleman who was long resi- dent in the country, is too curious to be omit- ted. Into a cask or jar is put a collection of putrid animal substances, consisting of flesh, fish, blood, &c.,to which is added a certain quantity of urine, but the vessel is not completely fil ed. A man- darin, or officer of government, then attends, who, upon the vessel being closed, affixes his seal, and in which state it must remain tor six months at least. When this, or a longer period, hasela[)sed, the mandarin removes his seal, and grants a certi- ficate as to the quality of the preparation, which is shown by the proprietor, who cries it through the streets as a manure for gardens, and it is sold jn quantities as small as an Elniz;!!sh jniif. Before using, it is always diluted with four or five times its bulk of water, and it is extensively used for garden-crops, but universally in drills. T!ie wri- ter adds that he was intbrmed by several intelli- gent Chinese, that human urine, thus pre[)ared, forms a fourth part of all the manure employed in China, and which is never used until it has reach- ed a hijih state of putridit3\ That an article considered of so mu(di impor- tance in that country should in this, where agri- culture has arrived at such great perfeclion, be so much neglected, is not easy to be accounted for. The quantity of urine voided daily by an individ- ual of moderate size has been shown, b)- a sf^ries of experiments, to amount to about half a gallon, whicii, if due attention was paid to the collection of it, would accordin'/ to the Flemish mode of its application, be a su(li(;ient manure tor half a rood of ground. Urine, when suihciently diluted with water, forms a (bod hiohly conductive to the growth of plants; it is, indeed, thought to contiuii the essential elements of veiri^tables in a state of solution;! but its state of putrefaction requires ."Tcat attenlio;!. Tliu.'', it nuiy observed that, in the hot montlis of sununer, the p;isture Avhere the urine of cattle fails becomes marked by a rich dtuk green when rain liills soon after; but it" the dry weadier continues, the developement of the aui- moiiiacal salts, aris'.ng from the ; utrefliction of the urine, then occasions it to burn up the grass; yet, on tlie cou;rary, an excess of moisture de[irives it entirely of elli^ct. Thus, the whole of the urisie li'om a dwrliing-house litiving been dnily thrown on a piece of p'asture during three months of the winter, it was found in the following summer to difi'er but little from the state of the rest of the field — it having sufi'ered too much dilution from the rain to be ca|,>able of putrefaction. But, in the following June, a week's urine being fiut into a jar, and covered with a slate, where it remained until it had completely undergone that stage, was then mixed with four times its amount of water, and, when sprinkled at proper times on the same quantity of pasture, it soon occasioned a luxuriant vegetation.* It produces similar effects on green vegetalile crops — nourishing them when applied in a diliited state, butscorchiiio: them and destroy- ing their tender herbage so efrectually when un- mixed, as to impede their growth. Tiiere is in- deed but little doubt that nutritious mtxnure of any kind may be carried to an excess which becomes prejudicial to vegetation, particularly in its early stages. Naismith instances the steeping of three peas for twenty-four hours in a teacupfui of strong dung-juice, and three in plain water, each three were (;lanted half an inch deep in separate flower- pots filled with garden-moiild, and the liquid in wdiich they had been steeped poured into the pots over them. Those which had been steeped in plain w'ater appeared above ground thirty hours before the others. Both advanced, but those in the dung-juice had the most weakly appearance. When the plants were about four inches high, the lower leaves of those fed by the dung-juice itjll off; iuid in about four weeks after, the plants died, though they were daily vv'atered, while those to which the water only had been administered con- tinued healthy. t The haulm of a potato, too, the growth cf which was pretty well advanced, fell off soon after it had been well wetted with urine in- an tidvanced stage of putref;ic:ion, and even the root itself was found reduced to a pulp. J It is, in fact, of a scorching quality, and its application to growing crops is not advisable during hot weather, unless mixed with a large proporiion ofsinqde water: of course it V\'ill not operate in the like manner upon fallow land, and it may be applied whenever the ground is in a fit state to absorb it retidilv, but much of its effect may be lost if it be not laid on at the time of sowinir. There is probably no species of manure so gen- erally neglected, and yet so deserving of attention; for although tlie largest portion of what is pro- duced in most farm-yanls is there necessarily ab- sorbed by the litter, and consequently profitably applied, yet large quantities are constantly allowed to run to waste. VVe have no means of ascertain- ing the amount of urine that may be voided by • PrincipesRaisoiinr's d'Acricidtiirp, tomo ii. i5 612; and note of tiie translator, tlie IJiroii do Crude n' 319. • ' ' t Sir Humplirey Davy, Lectures, p. 257. * Farmer's Magazine, vol. xx. p. 132. t Ibid., vol. vii. p. 301. X Essay on Manures: Appeniliv to the Gi^n. Rep. of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 108. IS^fj.] F A R M E 11 S ' REGISTER 21 ditieri'iU ;uiima!« in the course of a tlu,v, fiir the diversify of tlioir ?ize and ol" tiie i manner in which this calculation is supported; for the quantity of urine produced by six cows, or by the same number of horses, would ba materially different. t Mr Alexander. Seethe Survey of Peebles., p. 169. which is thus watered every fortnight; and the plants, but more jjarticularly onions, thus acquire a prodigious size, without being in the least affect- ed by any bad flavor arising from the manure. Neither is its sn)ell, though mo.^t oflensive for a a (hiy or two after it has been laid upon the land, ever known to occason any prejudicial eMijct to the heaJih of the peasruitry.* In a paper addressed to the Board of Agricul- ture by Baron Schulenhurgh, one of its honorary members, he states that in Sweden the urine is collected from the farm-offices, and pumped over dung and other substances while in a state of compost. The contents of the privies are likewise regularl}^ collected by scavengers in all the great towns, and carried, in many instances, to the dis- tance of forty miles from Stockholm. It is then diluted with water, and laid chiefly upon meadow- land; but it is also applied to green crops, and the effects on the soil, though gradually diminishing, are generally considered to last during four j'ears.f In Switzerland, also, the misiwasfier, or manure- water, is sprinkled over the surface of the mea- dows by means of large casks and j)erlbrated wa- ter-troughs, immediately alter each cutting of the scythe, which makes the grass to spritig np again with great vigor in a very short time; and it i? well known that water, rendered fetid by the .solu- tion of vegetable or animal substances, is essen- tially .serviceable to grass-land, as may he com- monly perceived by its effects when thrown upon the fields in the neighborhood of stagnant ponds in which flax has been steeped. It is indeed high- ly [ji-obable that manures which are intended to act immediately upon the sod wdien laid on its sur- face, will have more effect upon grass-land when applied in a fluid state than in a solid form. It cannot, however, he denied that there are many instances on record in which no such consequences of its application have been remarked. Marshall relates an experiment conducted on his own farm with considerable care, in which the common drainage of the farm-yard — of course includinor rain-water — was laid upon two separate fields of young tares and clover, grown upon a sandv loam, at the rate of about 2-500 ijallons per -^cre: the li- quor was of middling strenffih, very high colored and foul, but not puddly, and it was carried on in wet weather. No perceptible advantage was, however, observable on either those or the ensuing crops;f but the weather was not favorable. Some farmers, indeed, think these washings from the flu'm-yards, though of a brown color, are yet, in most instances, so diluted with rain, as not to be worth the expense of carriage;§ though other ac- * Simonde, Tableau de rA^riculturc Toscane, p. 35. Derbysh. Rep., vol. ii. p. 209. t Communications to the Board of A'tIc, vol. i. art. xxxi. X Minutes of Agriculture, Digest, p. 2.3. § It is stated in the Rutland Report by Mr. Parkinson, that the black water thus drained away from manure, has been tried frequently on land, without effect. He himself tried it, by having a dunghill made with a grip cut round it, with a descent to a kind of reservoir at one end of the hill, for this water to drain into, and then had it thrown back on that end, thinking thereby to preserve the loss of strength in the manureT But he 22 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 counts of dung-water pay, that, wlien permitted to trickle slowly upon iho sward of nioauow- ground, it renders the grass soft and luxuriant. f in an expriment recorded in the Ba!h Papers, two spots ot meadow were equally measured, and wa- tered three times a week during a month together ot" nearly dry weather — the one with dark-colored stagnant water ii'om a j;ond, and the other with clear river-water — at the encl of which time, the first was lUr better than the other. The crop upon that part oi' the tield which had the foul water was strong and succulent, of a deep healthy green, and 18 inches high, while the other though thick and high was yellowish, weak, and iaint. On being made into hay, and separately kept, the former yielded nearly double tlie quantity and of suj)erior quality to the latter; and the same effect was visible iti the Ibllowing ye;ir.§ There needs, indeed no argument to [aove that it must possess some fertilizing properli^'s, but, exce[)t it be rich in quality, as well as abundant in quantity it may be doubilul whether it be a prohlable object of team labor. Some extensive experiments upon the applica- tion of liquid manure — when confined to urine — have also been recently made in Scotland upon various crops, ofwhich the Ibllowing is a summary. A cistern was constructed in the dung-court suf- ficiently large to contain the urine of ii'om thirty- five to lorty, and sometimes of seventy cows. The supply generally amounted to 360 gallons a week. Wlien intended for use it was mixed with three or four times the same quantity of pond-v/aler, and was taken out to the fields in a large butt containing 120 gallons, placed on wheels iikc a cart, to tlie hinder part of which there was attached a wooden box perforated with holes, through which the li- quid ran out upon the ground in tiie manner of a common watering-cart. found that when the manure which came from that side of the dunghill was Uild upon the land, it was weaker than the other; and he tiiereibre concludes — 'tliat when once this black water departs from the dun"-, that it is like blood let out of a vein, never to be ap- plied ajain for the like purpose it was designed for in its original state.' Surv. of Rutlandsh., p. 91. This, however, was doubtless occasioned by fresh fermentation being occasioned by the dung thus con- tinually wetted, and dius losing its strength by repeat- ed exhalation: but though it may be property us:d as an argument for not thus a])plying even the drainage from manure, unless it should be in danger of becoming fire- fanged, yet that cannot be a motive lor allowing it to run to waste. X Bedfordshire Report, p. 50.3; Bucking-hamshire do., p. 27.5. § Vol. i. p. 170. In pursuance of this e;;perimpni, the pond was drained and lined with clay, to prevent the water i'rom oozing through it; drains were then laid into it from the stables, and into it were also em])tied the contents of the privy and the olial from the kitcli- en, by which means the water became very jiutiid. A water-cart was then made, with a trough behind full of holes, and the meadow-land was watered witii twenty cartsCul, laid on either in the beginning of May, or after the cutting of the croj) in July; the eiiect of which was superior, on both crop and lowen, to any other kind of manure. Although the lining of the pond with clay was a cood precaution, it might, however, be dispeu'^cd with; tor, on draining the pond, the earth at the bottom woidd be found saturated with the drainage, and bring scraped up, would make excellent manure. No. 1. — When applied, in October, to grass which had been closely cropped by sheep,* the afterarowth Vv'as not much increased, but the sward maisnaincd a fresh green appearance du- ring the winter, and it could be cut a month earlier than that which had not been so treated. Even in March it afiurded a lull biie; but should the grass be wanted Jor pasture, and not lor cutting, (he manure should not be applied later than De- cember, as, when deferred until February, the cattle are rather shy in eating it. No. 2. — The efiect when applied to chver-Ua, to be broken up lor oats, was very perceptible; the increase of crop beina; about one-third. No. 3. — For twAt'cf it answers well en alight soil; but on stiff or clay land it does no good. if laid on when the land is wet, it is also of no per- ceptible benefit to the wheat; but if ap] lied under more favorable circumstances, that crop would j)robably be increased about one-fourth. No. 4. — To barley its application was found in- jurious; lor, althoiigh tlie bulk of tlie crop was .UTcai, yet the straw was so soil and weak that it lodged. No. 5. — Potaties grew to a large size, but they were watery and quite unfit for the table; though the application of a little dung along with the urine improved their quality. No. 6. — On turnips it was not found half so ef- ficient as fermented dung. It thus appears that this species of liquid ma- nure applies best to grass; a doctrine which is cor- roborated by the experience of Mr, Harley, the proprietor of the celebrated dairy near Glasgow, who sa}s — 'that the advantages of irrigating icrassdaiids with cows'* urine almost exceeds be- lief: last season some small fields were cut six times, averaging fitleen incfif's in length at each cutting, and the sward very thick. 'f It was also found to succeed best after a shower, or when the ground was moist; but if laid on^during sultry weather, it was advantageous to mix it with one- third of water; and although that was not thought necessary in spring or autumn, yet, "^judging ironi the quantity used, it may be presumed to have been rather profusely added. We learn, indeed, from Sir liumpdiry Davy, that — 'during the putre- faction of urine, tlie greatest part of the soluble matter contained in it is dissip;ated.' lie therefore recomnionds that 'if should lie consumed as fiTsh as possible, but d not mixed with solid comi;ost, it * The account from which this was extracted says 'that tlie quantity allowed was 20,000 gallons per im- perial acre;' but on calculating the urine at SCO gallons per week, and presuming it to have been mixed with (bur times the same quantity of water — as there stated — the whole amount furnished during the year would oidy be 93,fi00 gallons; yet the extent of ground thus manured amounted — In the year 1S23, to 40 imperial acres jlS.'JO, " 46 1831, " 50 1832, " 80 of which the one-half was wrdcred again after the first crop of clover was cut in 1S31 and 1832: there must th.erefore be an error in th.e quantity of urine. See the Quarterly Journai of Agriculture, JN'o. xix. p. S5 —97. f Sir.lohn Sinclair's Hints on tlie Agricultural Sys- tem of tiie Netherlands, p. (iS. 1336.] =_ should be dikued with water, as, when undiluted, it contains too much aniural matter to form a pro- per tluid nutriment for absorption by the roots of pKiuts.' This theory, it will however be recollect- ed, contradicts both "the Flemish and the Chinese practice, which fiivors a protracted degree of ler- nientaiion; but lie admits thai 'putrid urine abounds in ammoniacal salts; and, though less active than fresli urine, that it is a very powerfull manure.'* It caimot, nideed, be doubted that, m whatever state it may be ibuiid the most efliictual, it is at least well worthy of attention, andvvc re- commend it stron,iay, and in tlie case of siilF soils, lengthwise; and that the third ploughing, which, in the common course of farm labor, we may hope to acconijiish in June, is to be given across, when the |;rincipal labor of harrowing, rolling, and disengaguig weeds, is per- formed, and vv'hen opportunity is takers to begin to drain, clear the ground of stones, and peribrm sim- ilar operations required. As soon after the last ploughing and cleaning as the slate of the v>'eaiher and the labors of the farm will allow, the fourth ploughing is to be gi- ■\'en. This ploughing may be performed in two ways. It may either be given lengiliwise, and the land formed into ridges, or Ihe whole may be ploughed in large divisions, without regarding ridges, as in cross-ploughing. The former method may he adopted when the season is critical, and the land s;iff and naiiu'ally wet. This is in order Ui avoid furtlier hazards from great lidls of rain; (or, by Ibrmmg the land into ridges, it is placed in a state of" comparative security. Uut it allows of a better subsecjuenl til- lage of the land to lay it fiat, 1))^ ploughing it in large divisions without yet Ibrming it into ridges. in this case, the land may be ploughed in a di- rection at right angles to the previous ploughing, that is, in the direction in which (he future ridges 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 25 arc to run; but it will ha better to niougli some- what diatronally, ihat is, nearly in tlie direction from coriTer 10 corner of the field. This is done inorder that two successive ploughings niay not be in one direction; lor the next pioughinir to be given, as we shall immediately see, must ne(;cssa- rily be lengthwise in ihe direction of the ridges. But by devijiting from this direction with the ploughing now to be given, the two successive ploughiuiTs will cross each other, and thus llie til- ling will be belter perlbrmed. No sooner is this diagonal ploughmg completed, than the process of harrowing, rolling and clean- ing the ground of the roots oi' vivacious weeds is tol)e renewed, precisely as afier the preceding ploughing. It is not necessary or expedient that the process o! harrowing shall be carried further than is absolutely required to disengage the weeds; but to this extent it isiniportant that it be carried, so that the land may now be cleaned. These two ploughings, with their corresiiond- ino- harrowings, are of the utmost importance in the management of the summer-fallow. If the Vv'eather has been favorable, the Lmd may now be expected to be eflectually cleaned, and thus far to be in good order. Someiiiiies a lurther plough- ins; may be required for the purpose ol" completing the cleaning process; but whether this be so or not, the land ougiit now to be lormeii into ridges. This is necessary, in order to provide against tiie con- tingency of' heavy rains, which, were they to oc- cui-'at this period, when the land is lying in a flat state, might so soak it as greatly to retard the tii- ture labors. We now, therefore, proceed to s;ri!;e the fur- rows in the manner ibrmerly explained. The land is then ploughed and formed into ridges, and this completes the fifih ploughing which it has re- ceived. The land will gene.'-aliy be now ready to have the dung laid upon it. But in some cases it may require a sixth ploughing before it is suffi- ciently cleaned and prepared ibr the dung. In this case, the land being harrowed, and ttie re- maining weeds collected as ibrmei'yj it is plough- ed again in the line of the ridges. VVe m.ay proceed, liowever, upon the supposi- tion that this further ploughing and cleaning are not required, and that the land, after' the .fifih ploughing, is ready for the application of the dung. This may bring us, in the ordinary course of farm- labor, to the month of August. Now the dung, according to the practice befure described, has been previously led out and laid in large heaps in the field, where it has undergone a certain degree of ti'rmenta'.ion. Should this not have taken place sufficiently, ihe heaps must be turned, so that the dung may be brought to a fil state ibr use. The dung is now conveyed to the land in carts from the heaps, the carts being driven along the ridges, [t is dragged out ii-om behind by the workman with the dung-drag into heaps, as near- ly as possible ol equal size, and at equal distances, . in rov.'s along each ridge. Someiinies, to ensure accuracy, the ridges are divided, by furrows run across them, into rectangular spaces, each space receiving its allotted quantity of dung. But in general the eye and practical knowledge of the workman will enable hiiPi to drag out and deposite the heaps in the quantity, and Vvith the accuracy tliaf may be required. Vol. IV— 4 Several persons, who may be females or young lads, then spread out the dung all across the ridge, by means ol' light three-pronged Ibrks. 'it'liis op- eration should be done witli much attention, so that the dung may be sjjread regularly over the ridge. Close upon the work of the spreaders, the ploughs are to fbllov/ and cover the dung. This is done by gathering the ridge, so that, while the ploughing co\ers the dung, the curvature of the ridge is increased. 'i'he dung being covered in this manner, and the ridge raised, the land is to remain untouched for a lew weeks, so that the dung may be decom- posed and incorporated with the soil. When the dung ha.s been previously termented in a proper manner, this incorporation will be completed in a very short time. The land is now ready to receive what is called the seed-furrow, which is the ploughing given to it previous to the seeds being sown. In this ploughing the ridge is again gathered, but the ploughing being very shallow it has little eflect in raising the ridge higher. Afier this final ploughing, and upon the surface now exposed, the seeds, usually of wheat, are to be sown, in the manner to be alterwards described. Tfiis generally takes place about the middle of September or later, and completes the important operations of' thesummer-lallow and sowing of the wheat-seeds. In this detail the manner of applying the dung has been described; but there is likewise to be considered the manner of applying lime, when th s substance is to be laid upon the land in sum- mer-liillow. There are two periods at which the lime may be applied — either betore the dung is laid on, or afterwards. In the former case, the lime may be laid on just after the land has been Ibrmed into ridges, and when it is ready to receive the dung. The quicidime, as it is brought from the kilns, may be laid down in heaps of about five carts each, at regular distances, upon the head-lands or where convenient. In this case, it is brought to the fiimi as oppo.tunity offers, and slacked slowly and regular'}'. V/hen we are prepared to spread it iip/on the ground, a person with a broad-pointed shovel is appointed to each heap. He fills his cart, drives it along the ridge, and spreads the lime abroad upon the surfice, taking it out with his broad- pointed shovel from the cart behind; sometimes two carts and two men may be appointed for each heap, the one man fiilingthe cart at the heap, and the other spreading the lime upon the ridge. Both men and horses sometimes experience in- jury from the caustic effects of the Hme, especially when the weather is moist. The face of the man may be defended by a thin handkerchief", and the back of the horse should be covered. When the lime is spread, the land must be im- mediately harrowed, to incorporate the lime with the soil. This being done, the dung is to be spread upon the ground, and covered by the plough in the manner before described. But frequently the dung is first spread, and the lime is not laid on until just before giving the seed- furrow. This answers very well, provided the land has lain a sufficient time after the dung has 26 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 been spread, so that it may be decomposed and mixed with the soil. These details have an especial reference to the stiffer soils, which are those on which ihe summer- tallow is ud to tvvo eyes in April, it is almost sure to have many flowers that summer. I pursued tins plan last year with fuurp'ants — one a bud Irom Rosa Grevillea. I transjjlantedthem into pots in October, kept them in tile cellar during the winter, and then plunged them into the open ground the beginning of May, where they flowered in proliision. There is a dif- ference in the stocks on vv-liich to peribrm this op- orasion of budding; the French, who excel in it. gen- erally bud on a tall, strong sucker of a single wild rose, for the purpose o\' making a tree six or seven leet high, with a head of flov/crs; and these are exceedingly ornamental, dotted about in low shrubberies; but I have budded with great success on bushes of the common semi-doable while, and yn the maiden's blush. Last April, I transphuited fi'om the woods tu^o strong suckers of the com- mon sweet-ijrier, six and seven ft-et high, and bud- ded with celesiiul, moss, single yellow and provins,' which have all succeeded, although they have3et made no slioots. I am told that they \vi\\ not last more than two or three years, and that in their na- tive situation they only, endure this period: tliis is in some measure true; yet I have never seen one dead, witiamt seeing a thriving young sucker by the side of i:, vviiich has evidently drawn away all the sap of the root, and left its predecessor to per- ish. Now one universal rule witli these budded trees, is to keep them [tea from suckers, or they will quckly die; this is, therefore as true of the wild rose in Engiand and in France, as with the sweet-brier here. But there is one point I have observed, both with the imported tree roses and with the sweet-brier stocks, that requires much attention — the bark Avheii once wounded, even by roughl}' tearing off a thorn, seldom heals; the wound enlarges, and finally the brown and dead bark increases so as in a few seasons to be- come an irreparable injury. Whether this may be cured or slopped by covering the wound with a composition has yet to be tried. The Eoursault rose, if tied to a trellis, is also an excellent stock on which to bud, and seldom fails. Mr. J. W. Russell, of Mount Auburn, observes that to be successful in fioweringlhe yellow tea rose, it is better to bud it on a young healthy multiflora or Greville rose, and at the time of heading down to re-pot it in a mixture of one half good li'esh loam, the remainder leaf soil with a portion of sand, observing to give the pot a good drainage. The most common method of propagating roses is by layers; that is, cutting a shoot half through and pegging it down, where cut, below the sur- face of tfie soil, bending up the end of the shoot; this operation is generally performed after the blossoms have ceased: but if a sacrifice be made of the blossoms, and they are layered early in Jul)-, and the flov\'er buds be removed, tiiey vv-ill moke plantsfitfbrremoval the folio wing spring; otherwise, they must remain one season in the nursery beds. The moss rose is more difficult to root than most others, and in this climate more tender. I have imported several; those protected lived, the others perished. This method of layering may like- wise be adopted with shoois of roses budded, and thus the variety obtained with its own root, instead of having meicly the budded stock, the tenure of whose existence is ra.lher uncertain. Many sorts throw out suckers; these may be re- moved at once in autumn, or in this climate better in the spring, heading them down to about three or fbnr inches high. The common monthly roses, JR. indica, which include the dark red variety sungirinca, are best propagated by cuttings, which strike readily if taken off at a joint where the wood is beginning to ripen, and planted in sandy mould under a hand glass, or even without, if kept in the shade. The French are generally considered to excel in the cultivation of the rose. The greater pro- portion of the soil used there is a rich, stifbsh loam, with some manure; this composition is very retentive of moisture. Where this cannot be rea- dily obtiuned, mulching the roots with decayed leaves and diuig is restored to. The pruning as practised in Furope. would hardly suit here, but, should be deferred uuii! the spring, just when the lS3o.] R n E K S ' R E C] I S T E R . 29 buds are beginning lo swell; tiien, fur busli roses, cut out all tlie old wood and every shoot lo within six or eight inches ot the surliice of the soil; this uialerialiy streiigllieus the new shoois, and increa- ses the size and beauty of iho llowers; it also ])resents less space ibr the insects to dcposiie their e^f^'s, and if tlie cuitinus are burned, destroys nTany already laid. Climbing roses must only be thinned out from the wiry, siraggling branches, and slKii'tened a little, nailing or tyuig them neatly to the trellis whicli Ibrms their sunj^ort. To prolong the bloom, pick otf every flower,with the li'uit atiachetl, as soon as it has passed its per- lection: this enables the other buds lo come tor- ward, and prevents their turning yellow and per- isliing. The insects which attack the rose are chiefly a li;tle brown grub, which eats into the buds — this can only be removed by picking; and the aphis, or green tiy — a syringe and tobacco water will desirov these, and even plain water, il li:equently applied, v.'ill cause such disturbance among them as lo prevent nuich mischief. The rose can hardly be i)Iaced anywhere with- out being ornamental: but having myself planted them as a hedge crowning a semicircular bank which terminated a lav^^n, and kept them cut low, so that the numerous blossoms reclined on the well- mown grass, I cannot but recommend this style. It may be also put in practice io form edgings round oval or circular beds of flowers or grass plots. A thick hedge of well-mingled sorl-s is al- ways beautiful; and the eilect may be prolonged by the old method of rubbing otf the buds of every other plant as soon as they aj)pear; later shoots will then be formed, which will only Hower when their neighbors have finished. A hedge of of this description on the grass banks surrounding most of the houses in the countiy, would have a very delightful appearance. *y . o^. Ji . From tha IVew York Farmer. MO?.'M0UTH AXD WIDDLliSSX AGUICULTU- RAL, RAIL ROAJ3. SqUANCUM MARL. The legislature of New .Jersey, at the session just terminated, incorporated a company to con- si met a rail road iram the Delaware and Raritan canal, at or near Scudder's mill, (which is near Princeton,) lo the village of Freehold, (the coun- ty town of Monmouth,) from thence to the marl beds on Manasguan river; also a rail road from the village of Freehold to tlie tide waters of Ra- riian Bay, at Middletown Point, with a capital of .9500,000, and a privilege of commencing the v.'ork when ^385,000 shall be subscribed: andpro- viding that the road shall be built within ten years. These will be slriclly agricultural rail roads, and tlie transportation of 'he valuable marls will furnish the largest item of their income, al- though the transportation of mineral coal, lime, lumber, merchandise, passengers, and agricultural produce of various kinds on said roads, will be considerable. Time will not now permit me to go into a detail of the many benefits to be derived from the construction of these roads; and for the present I can only advert to a few facts, and make further particulars the subject of another commu- niucation. A rep,ort o! a Geological Survey of New Jer- sey, authorized by the legislature, and made by Henry 1). Rogers, Prolessor of Geology and Min- eralogy in the University of Pennsylvania, has just been published, from which I shall give you some e.xtracts, to show the astonishing fertilizing properties ol' the maris to be transported on these rail roads: "The high, and deservedl}' high, name which the Squancum marl now boasts, was an in- ducement to me to subject it to chemical exami- natioii with esj;ecial care and rigor." "At the pits, which are very extensive, the marl is sold at the rate of 37^ cents the load. It is transported in wagons lo a distance, in some directions, of 20 n)iles, and retaded, vvhen hauled that far, at the rate of 10, or even 12| cents per bushel — being very profitably sjiread on the soil at the rate of 2-5, or even 20 bushels to the acre. The lact that so small an amount of this marl is found efficacious to the soil, which, after two or three dressings, is permanently improved, and to a high pitch, by it, furnishes me one consideration for supposing too generally the marl is spread with a prodigality surpassing all the necessities of the land. A specimen of the marl fi"om Thrap's lowest layer, yielded me, after reiterated trials, uniformly about the following lor its composition: — Dilica, Protoxide of Iron, Alumina, Lime, Potash, Water, 4-3.40 21.60 6.40 10.40 14.48 4.40 in 100 irrains. "The quantity of potash is so remarkably great, that I have been led to assure myself of the true proportion by several analyses, proving the results by adopting different modes of separating the pot- ash." When these rail roads shall be made, vast quanties of this marl maybe transported to distant places on the Delaware and Raritan Canal and the waters of Raritan Bay, the Hudson and East Rivers, and afforded on any of the landings with- in .50 or 60 miles of New York, for about 10 to L5 cents per bushel, and I consider it decidedly more valuable than leached ashes. CINCIKJVATUS. From Uie Genesee Farmer. GEOLOGICAL SURVKY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Agreeably to a resolution of the assembly of last year, the Secretary of State has made a re- port in a relation to a geological survey of the state. He had been requested to report the most expedient method of obtaining a scientific and per- iect account of its rocks, soils, and minerals, and of their localities; a list of all its mineralogical, botanical, and zoological productions with speci- mens; and an estimate of the expenses, including the cost of publishing three thousand copies of such report, with drawings and a geological map. We consider it a very able state paper. The great importance attached to such investi- gations may be better understood by some of our readers, if we refer to the munificence of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who employed Professor Eaton, with assistants, four years in making a geological 30 j^ARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 and agricultural survey of the district adjoining the Erie Canal, hesiiles being at the expense of va- rious other examinations of great extent. This was perlbrnied twelve or lilieen years ago. Since tiiat time Massachusetts. Tennessee, the two Car- oliniis, and Maryland, have either caused or di- rected geological researches to be made within their resjjectlve Jimils; and Vn-ginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have the subject before them. Willi these exam'.'ies in view, we hope -'the Em- pire State" will not prove recreant in the causa ol' science and practical utility, when her ample means so fully enable her to develope her own re- sources. The discoveries which her geologists may malie, would be only a part of the benfiis to be derived Ironi this enterprise. Hundreds ol' her citizens would be slimulated to make closer obser- vations; and when explorations shall be conduct- ed in the broad light of science, we shall hear but little more of lortunes wasted in searching lor min- erals, or of the fruitless toils of the miner. A thw years ago £80,000 sterling were expend- ed in searching for coal at Eexhill, in Sussex, England, '-when," as Sir J. W. Herschell ob- serves, "every geologist would at once have de- clar^-d it abortive." "Mr. Townsend inibrms us," bays Malte Brun, "'that a pit was sunk lor coal to the depth of six hundred tiithoms at Bruham, near the chalk hills of Bradley Nole, and that the mi- ners reached o:dy to the uppermost beds of tlie great oolite." The history of mining operations in Englanil abounds with such examples. It may be mentioned on the authority of the last writer, that the commissioners of the Bath road, sent ten miles tor flints, while their wagons actually passed, without their knowing it, over a bed of tlints lor the greater part of the way. The stone of which the Bath Cathedral is built, was conveyed from the distance ol' four miles; it was not then known that the same stone might be obtained in the immedi- ate vicinity; quarries have since been opened, ll errors of a like nature are now less frequently com milted — if pits are not so often sunk in vain — it is because practical men have availed them- selves of the discoveries of geologists. To these statements we may add the expensive attempt to procure salt water on the south shore of Lake Erie, in the neighborhood of Portland, wliich any geologist acquainted with the dip of 1h& strata would at once have pronounced hope- less. The Secretary proposes to divide the State into four districts. The first to consist of all the coun- ties lying to the south or east of Delaware, Scho- harie, Schenectady, and Saratoga, which are also to be included — containing 12,2u3 square miles. The second district to comprise the counties ol Warren, Essex, Cliatt)n, Franklin, Hamilton, and St. Lawrance — containing 9,69"2 s(juare miles. The third district to include all other counties ad- joining the Erie Canal and lying north ol it, to the west bounds of Genessee and Orleans — con- taining 12,293 square miles. The fourth district is to consist of the remainitig (14)countics, which are estimaled at 11,594 s(]uare miles. To each of these disiricts, it is proposed to ap- point two geologists and a draughtsman, and one zoologist and one botanist lor the whole state, each to be accompanied by a draughtsman. It is sup- posed that lour years will be required to complete the sr.rvev; and the whole expense, in.duding that of publication, is estimated at ^104,000. A low- er estimate, howev-er, has been made on the sug- gestion of confining the examinations to geology; but we must indulge the hoi«e that our legislators on this occasion, will act with a liberality worthy of themselves and of tlieir country. FINE WHITE MARBT.E DISCOVERED KEAU GASTON. A bed of beautiful white inarble has lately been dis- covered near the Roanoke, and only five miles from Gaston, on the great railway route from Raleiyh to Pe- tersburg. The maibls w"as exposed to view by the digging of a well. Together with the information of this interesting discovery, we received from Charles F. M. Garnett, Esq. a small specimen of the stone, which was polished by Mr. Davidson of Peters- burg, an intelligent workman in marble, and who gives a very favorable report of the specimen, though stating that it was too small to indicate the value of large masses. We hope soon to have the means of giving a decisive report of the quality, and value of the mar- ble. If the bed should not be too expensive to be quar- ried (on account of lying deep,) it will prove of much value to the adjacent country, even if used for no other purpose than to burn into lime for manure. Such a business, properly prosecuted, in such a locality as be- tween Gaston and Raleigh, would furnish to the Railroad the conveyance of an immense amount of a new com- modity, lime, and afterwards the additional quantity of crops which the lime would produce through all future time. We hope that the railroad companies will see that tlieir own interest would direct that the conve}'- ance of manures should be charged as little as possi- ble— and that they will not imitate the short-sighted and stupid policy of the Virginia Legislature in imposing tolls on manures on the James River canal, which act as prohibitions on their transportation. To prevent or discourage the passage of manures on a canal that must receive the tolls on all future products of such manures, is truly a specimen ot policy which, though it may have many equals in the code of Virginia, is such as ought to be expected only in the legislation of such countries as Egypt or Morocco. The foregoing notice was in type several weeks ago, but was "crowded out" of the last IVo. by other mat- ters. We have since received other })articulars of the marble near Gaston, in the following communicrdon. Similar notices from persons who have ascertained the existence of any nswly discovered, or valuable geolo- gical feature in our country ,would render much public service, by making known resources for improvement or prolit, that are now scarcely, if at all, known. SOME OF THE GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE REGION SURROUNDIiVG GASTON, ON THE ROANOKE. Gaston, A" C, Jpril Ulh, 1836. Believing that the geological features of this part of the country would be interesling to you, I 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER 31 have concluded to advert to a few of the Ibrma- tions that occur near the falls of Roanoke river, near Gaston. The most intorostinir is a deposite of pure white statuary marble, ou the lands of Wn). 31. West, discovered in diirg-ing a well in his yard. The well is 36 feet deep, and the bottom of it is a solid stratum of the marble of which I have a specimen, a part of which has been shown to a lapidary who ac^rees with me in o|)inion as to the kind of marhle. The breadth oi' the stratum we have not been able to decide, or its thickness — its direction, we thiid\, ibr several reasons, is from north-east to south-west, coincid- ing with the general direction of all the dillerent strata of rocks in this section of country, that 1 have examined. That these strata are in several places cut across by whinstone dikes, I do not con- sider an exception. This marble occupies the summit ridge between the waters of Roanoke and Tar river. The only other indication we have seen of it, is also ou the summit ridge extending in a south-west coast from Mr. West's. I regret that the discovery of the marble is too recent to enable us to examine it thoroughly. On the same summit ridge, about two miles Irom Gaston, a fetitl limestone and marl, with minute shells em- bedded in both, are found about sixteen leet from the surlace, in a north-east course from INlr. West's. The discovery of this deposite is also re- cent, and no trial has been made of it in agricul- ture. It seems to be about five or six feet thick; and was perforated in digging a well. If the mar- ble exists below it, as is not improbable, it was not reached. Next to these two deposites of limestone, which are in a line from north-east to south-west, and not more than a mile higher up the river, is an inter- esting deposite of clay slate on both sides of the Roanoke, and running parallel to the same direc- tion, from north-east to south-west; butonlyshows in the river valley, and dips under the hills oh both sides, before it gets near the summit ridges that di- vide the watercourses. The same stratum of clay slate is exposed a tew miles north of IMeherrin, in the lower part of Brunswick county, and not more than eight miles above Hicksford, and is there called tile '•^Pencil Hill," from the slate being used fbr pencils, and answers the purpose very well. The deposite on the north side ol'Roanoke is much more valuable howev^er, making the finest whetstones I have ever seen, except the oilstones, and are but little, if any, inttirior to them, for carpenter's tools, hones and whetstones of every kind, where a fine edge is required, and expeditious sharpening. Some of it is, however, too soft for that use, but there is an abundance ol' the hard lor whetstones to supply any demand. Both above and below these deposites, for three or lour miles, in almost every stream, gold is found, but as yet to a limit- ed extent. The best indications are on the south side of the river opposite to Gaston. Gold has al- so been found in some streams on the north side of the river, nearly opposite the deposites on the south side. These deposites on both sides of Roan- oke, range north-east and south-west, with the richest deposite mine in North Carolina known here as Portis's mine near the corners of Nash, Warren and Halitax counties. Immediately above the deposite of clay slate, commence the chalybeate springs, of which there is one about two miles from Gaston on the north side of the river, and another seven miles higher up the river; and two wells have been dug not far from the first mentioned spring, the wateis of which could not be used fbr domestic; purposes on account of the large quantity of iron in them, producing the well- known eHect of turning black, when arVy vegeta- ble acid is put in them. These springs also range north-east and south-west with the chalybecTle springs near,Warrenton, known as Shocco, Par- son's, and Kearney's springs — and in the interven- ing country are several others. All of these s|)iings, as well as those near Gaston, have been frequently used with advantage by persons in fee- ble health, particularly when recovering from au- tumnal attacks of le\er. On the hill out of which the spring nearest to Gaston runs, is a considerable deposite of iron ore; being an oxide of iron, most of the sjiecimens found on the surface consisting of small round pebbles cemented by pure oxide, and sometimes presentingthe appearance of puddingstone or sand- stone, according as- the pebbles are large or very- minute. Some of the specimens at the surface, however, are rich in ore, and no doubt would be richer below the surface, showing plainly the sources of the chalybeate waters. Ascending the Roanoke river, two or three miles from the clay slate strata, we come to very fine quarries of gneiss and granite on both sides of the river — stone on the south side being now workeil fbr the VVeldon bridge, and having Ibrmedy furnished most of tlte stone fbr the locks on the Weldon canal, and beino« to all appearance inexhaustible. This formation constitutes, probably, the bed of the river at Gas- ton as the soundings give rock all the way acros.-, and it is found in the hills on each side. Siill as- cending the river, two or three miles further, we find a stratum of mica slate and large masses of granite. Perhaps it is proper to observe that a narrow whinstone dike crosses the river near Gas- ton, and crosses ail the strata running neariy north and south. While on this subject, I will mention that I understand coal has been found in Granville county about 30 miles higher up the Roanoke than Gaston, but to what extent I am not informed. If these few crude observations are worth 3"our attention, you can use them as you think most use- ful. EDMUND WILKINS. P, S. — 1 have confined my remarks to this dis- trict of country, as I consider it interesting, and it is the only one in our State with which I am suffi- ciently acquainted by observation to speak with accuracy. From tlie Daily Advertiser. MAJfUFACTURE OF BEET ROOT SUGAR. We are indebted to Mr. Isnard fbr the follow- ing interesting communication, accompanied with a number of documents, which we regret that we have not room to notice at the present time, any further than to say that they fully confirm the statements contained in the letter. Boston, 3Iarch2Sth 1836. To the Editor of ihs Daily J/dvertiser: Sir — If you should judge the present commu- nication worthy of attention, it is at your disposal 32 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 In order to satisfy yourself concerning tlie authen- ticity of my statemente, I subjoin documents ibr your, perusal, when at leisure. The manulacture of su2;ar of beet has ceased to be an object of ridicule; the advantages that France draws li-oin it are palpable and great, and the benefits which the matiulacturers derive from it are now such that the French Minister of the Treasury has pro])osed to lay a tax upon it. France owes this new branch of industry to that great man whom she will honor through all times; for had it not been for his sagacity and powerful assistace, it would have shared the fate of many other improvements lying lor ages, or dying m their infancy, once pronounced by ordi- nary men visionary projects. The discovery that beet contains a perfect su- gar, remained for over sixty years without any useful application; many attempt?., however, had been made to derive the benefit of it; but those having made these attemjjts, being rather men of science than men of business, having operated only upon a small scale, with purely scientific views, and havinjx made no calculations, either of expentlitures or results, they had no ground to proceed upon. I undertook to solve that problem, and to that efiect made the first, in France an experiment on a large scale, and by a sufficient re- ward induced a chemist to assist me. The result of this experiment was transmitted to Napoleon on the 19th of March, ISll, and by his order rendered public; and though the birth of his son took place on the 21st of the same month, on the 25th l()llowing appeared the decree, a co- py of which is among the subjoined documents. By this decree, as you will perceive, he created six experimental fiictories for the manufacturing of sugar, he appoints me the director of one of them, which factory he gives to me in property, as a reward Ibr my labor, and for having (perfec- tonne) improved the process for obtaining the su- gar of beet. Such was my zeal, that my factory in the fall of 1813 was prepared, and all the beet raised by me or contracted for, so as to produce 1,500 lbs. a day of brown sugar, and the same refined. The first entry of the allies into France caused the total ruin of my establishment. Up to 1816 political events were unfavorable for su- gar making, but from that year this manufacture was resumed, and has since never ceased to in- crease and improve; it is now computed that over 300 such manufactories exist, producing together yearly about from 18 to 20 millions of pounds of brown sugar. Now, sir, since the making of sugar of beet begins to attract the attention of some agricultu- rists of this country, I deem it of interest for them, and to gratify the curiosity of others, here to etatc what were the calculations made in France in 1832, (the latest dale of my infl)rmation) and add a few obscrvjitions respecting the benefits one may derive by the mere culture of beets in this country. It is generally admitted, viz: That one ton (2,000 lbs.) of beet deliver- ed at the liictory costs ^3. That the expenses to work one ton of beet for obtaining its sugar, ^4. That 2,000 lbs. beets will yield 100 lbs. brown sugar, costing ^7. Thus one pound of brown sugar, good quality, costs 7 cents. By a comparison of the expenses of culture in various parts of France, and on various soils and situation, the average expenses of cultivating there the extent of an American acre of land, are as follows: Rent and taxes .^5.60; ploughing and harrowing .^2.88; manure §1-93; sowing 50 cents; weedings and hoeing §2.40; gathering ^1.60; carting .'i^l.gG; farmer's profit %\. Making a to- tal of .^21.40. The produce varies according to the quality of the soil, the quantity of manure used, and tlie care bestowed on the culture — as we fiave taken the average of the produce, which is of 7 tons. Some yield as much as 15 tons. The four dollars profit the French iiirmer de- rives fiom this culture, on every acre, is far from being the only one; the others are: 1st. The good state in which the field is left af- ter gathering the beets — no further manure be- ing wanted Ibr the succeeding crop, which crop experience has proved to be always more abun- dant and of a belter quality when succeeding the culture of beets; owing to the destruction of the noxious weeds, caused by weeding the beets when young, and prevented from growing, by the thick foliage of the beet when strong. 2d. The facility afforded the cultivator to apply to the culture of beet, lands which he fiirmerly let lie fallow, and consequently, without any ad- ditional expenses of rent and taxes, deriving as good a revenue from this land, as iiom any other producing the most. 3d. The advantages the cultivator derives by the purchase fi-om the manufacturer, of the pom- ace of beet at a price not higher than beets, when experience has proved this pomace is worth for him fifty per cent, more; for in fact it is after all but beet — deprived of two thirds of water, and consequently a more nourishing food for his cattle, perfectly fitted for fattening them, producing won- ders in that respect; which could not be expected from beets in their natural stale. The f(illowing is a statement of the receipt and expenditure of a sugar establishment, as reported to the Society for the encouragement of manufac- tures in France. The whole work was peribrm- ed in 91 days. Purchase of 500 tons of beet de- livered at 3 20, $;1600 00 1638 days' work of men at 20 sous 455 do. of women at 12?. 364 do. of children at 5s. 400 40 Forextra work during the night, 109 20 40 cubic feet wood for fuel dai- lv,(28 cords 3-100 at ^\Q 7100 per cord,) 473 20 Sundry materials for manufac- turing purposes, 818 60 Food for IS oxen used in the mill, 103 CO Interest on $3,000 at 15 per cent, for wear and tear, 450 00 Rent of buildings, 120 00 S?;4130 00 Total, Deduct for molasses sold for ^320 125 tons pomace at .^3 20 400 Value of materials lell, 30 750 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER, S3 Produce of 50,000 lbs. brown sutrarat 6 7-10 cents $3380 00 Sale of 36,000 lbs. 1st quality at $0 15 $8400 Sale of 14,000 2iid quality at 0 10 1400 9800 Profit, $34-20 00 Should this notice be favorably received, I ha\e at your disposal a lew particulars respecting the cultivation of beets. I am respectfully, sir, your most obd't serv't, max' IV ISNARD, French Vice Consul for i3osfon. Fertile Farmers' Register. THE CORN CROP THK GREATEST I.ANDKILLER. Wardsfork, Char let ic Co. The great waste of soil which appears in Vir- ginia and other places, where corn and tobacco have been cultivated, has been universally charged to the latter. I am entirely willing that it should bear its just proportion of blame, fori have no par- tiality for the weed; but then "let the devil have his due.'" The Indian corn crop which has received comparatively but ftiw of the curses of the fi-jends of improvement, in my opinion has produced by far the greatest destruction of soil. For this opi- nion, I beg leave to offer the following reasons. In the first place, the corn crop calls into action a much greater proportion of land. What a vast surface it takes in (he present exhausted state of the country to sustain this crop ! What mvriads of acres are annually in action, and thousands of expensive teams are put in motion, for the same purpose! I will here observe, by the way, that 1 was glad to see a writer in the Register, who signs W., is teaching how to do with less of this land-destroying article. Tobacco is much more modest in its demands, and a smaller space being sufficient for it, of course its ravages on soil have not been as great. Secondly — there is some little intrinsic differ- ence in favor of the tobacco crop, and more in fa- vor of the v?heat crop than either. Land for corn is held longer in requisition than for tobacco, and of course gets more of the washing rains — and to do the corn crop justice, requires more ploughing, which subjects the soil to greater hazard. These repeated ploughings, which is the life of the corn, is the death of the land. Thirdly — in the present wasted condition of our soil, it requires such a quantity of ground for a corn crop, that a number of chaled spots are em- braced every year, which are most rapidly hasten- ing into galleys; for the poorer the spot, the easier it is killed. And the constant practice of bringing these galled places into cultivation, has exposed thousands of acres annually to the ravages of de- structive rains and frost. It is this rubbing and scratching over those raw places, of our fields after worthless nubbings, that has given all that blood- chilling appearance of agricultural cruelty which has so marred the face of this once lovely State. Tobacco has slayed its thousands, but corn its tens of thousands. The practice of^ tendino- corn Vol. IV— 5 year after year, on the same field, without resting, with the most relentless rigor of cultivation, has o-iven to the once pleasant face of the land the ghastly grin of exhaustion and disease; and this iinfilial conduct of their sons, if persisted in, will bring down the gray hairs of the mother State with sorrow to the grave. Some attempts have been made to prevent the great annual loss of soil in cultivation, by hill-side ditches and horizontal ploughing; and it is true, that these have effected something in this way; but there come rains every year, which "make a joke" of these contrivances, and to the great mortification of the friends of im- provement, the soil is seen taking its old course to the ocean, as obstinately as if obeyinffone of the fixed laws of nature, which, in fact, is the case. This levelling the broken surface of hilly fields by horizontal ploughing is in reality so contrary to nature, that I am not surprised to hee her giving marked indications of her displeasure by sending those waterspouts now and then, which leave thou- sands of breaks and furrows in the beds through which the water has dashed, giving the hill-sidea the appearance of havingwept bitterly. I noticed last summer, aftera lashing rain, one of those sad spectacles — a corn field in tears — (if I may be al- lowed the phrase) it being one of those remarkable instances in which Dame Nature is seen weeping over her own deeds of destruction — the hill-side ditches had given way on all sides the corn beds, those ropes of sand, had snapped in ten thousand places — galls and galleys opened on all sides, and as for the poor soil, it was gone to its long home. 1 really felt, the force of the injunction, "weep with those that weep," and mingled my best sympa- thies, both with nature and the good genius of im- provement. My fancy became a little busy, while I looked over this scene of" destruction, which soon presented to my mind's eye such a horrid picture of gulle}'s, galls, and broken trenches, that I be- gan to think seriously of Red River. And truly, but for the efforts that are now making through agricultural papers and societies, I solemnly be- lieve we should realize all that the mostlively'ima- gination can anticipate on this subject. But to re- turn— I think it impossible, by any contrivance, to prevent our hilly lands, this side of the mountains, from washing, at least to that degree which will prevent their improvement much, if any. Make a dam across the bottom which conveys the wa- ter from a corn field well ploughed and trenched, and one will be amazed at the quantity of wash- ing which will be caught in one season. I have set such land traps, not only for my own runaway soil, but also for my neighbor's — though having caught his, I never sent it back. Well I What is to be done? Why, let us tend less corn, and more wheat and clover, and confine the cultivation of corn to the more level portions of our estates, and, according to W. make less serve; to raise grass, orchards, wheat and such things, on .our more broken lands, that require but little ploughing, and expose the soil to but little hazard. This arrangement could be made conveniently on many plantations, more especially if we were to re!}' less upon a corn crop fJ^r the support of horses. [f we go on tending our hilly lands in corn, I verily believe our latest agricultural history will tell the same melancholy tale that it does now — that thia is a land of galleys. I. R. 34 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 For the Fanners' Register. OX THE KNOWLEDGE, AND IGNORANCE, OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. A plausible writer, in a miscellaneous essay in the last Register, remarks, that he should be pleased to see a sort ol" day of judgment arrive when all the arguments and all the theories which have been broached since the year 1789, to 1836, and especially those onthesubjcu ol'the U. States' tariff', should be brought belore the bar of public opinion. He also states, that the late Cha.'=. Fox boasted his ignorance of political economy. 1 was not before aware of this. I have seen some- where, that Mr. Fox admited he had never read Smith's Wealth of Nations — that the reasonings were too abstruse, and the calculations too minute for his comprehension. If Mr. Fox was ignorant of political economy, he was entirely unfit for the station of Prime Minister of England, to the at- tainment of which the energies of his life were directed — one which he held, for a short time in early life, and also in his last days. Perhaps poli- tical economy, in all its ramifications, was never perfectly understood by any man. It fluctuates in a degree with the times — depends much upon the existing state of a country, and its relative po- sition to other nations. But there are some princi- ples established by experience and sanctioned by time — and, that trade, when unfettered is generally most prosperous, is one. The late Mr. Huskisson, who, unlike Mr. Fox, valued himself a little for his knowledge of political economy, attributes to this cause the sujjeriority which England had attained over the nations of the continent of Europe. An- other maxim now received by statesmen is, mono- polies, corporations, premiums and pensions, are generally mischievous to the body politic, and that corporations for profit ought never to be granted, except for some great public benefit, to which pri- vate wealth and individual efforts are inadequate. In Maryland, to our reproach, we find companies incorporated for spinning cotton, making gunpow- der, duck and partridge shot, and digging alum; and when the value of" marl becomes well understood, 1 should not be at all surprised if a company be in- corporated for raising marl. Legislators, who pass such laws, may, with Mr. Fox, boast they have no knowledge of political economy. The name of Charles Fox, in this country, has been generally associated with liberty, and that of his successful rival, William Pitt, with tyranny. Mr. Fox was a man of high talents, a great de- bater, and a patriot out of power. Had he have been Prime Minister of England, when citizens Robespierre, and Danton, and Marat, were giving practical lessons of liberty to the French, and send- ing the genius of universal emancipation into the kingdoms of Europe to disenthral the people and dethrone the monarchs, I have a suspicion, that Mr. Fox, instead of looking with the indifference he did upon their schemes, from the philosophic shades of St. Ann's Hill, would have been imbued with a little of the same spirit which Governor Mc Duffle now entertains for these philanthropic re- formers, Tappan, Garrison, & Co. Sir Robert Walpole was a corrupt Minister, but a wise man; and he tells us, that nothing sharpens more the edge of patriotism than disappoinlment. If this great Court of Review should embrace politicians from the year 1789 to 1830, each in this land ol li- berty, where we were "all federalists, all republi- cans," now all whigs, all Jacksonians — all for the Republic, none for themselves perhaps a few illustrations of Sir Robert's maxim may be found. 1 have always deemed the protective tariff a germ of Bonaparte's continental system. At the conclusion of the late war, having foiled Great Bri- tain, in arms, we had good dispositions to check her commercial influence, and by the joint efforts of some hot spirits of the south, some cool spirits of the north, and some calculating spirits of the west, the protective tarifl" was concocted. It is now in a quiet slumber — sleeping away its life — yearly diminishing in vitality, and will finally ex- pire in 1842. I greatly prefer its "day of judg- ment" be postponed till after death. Bringing it be- fore the liar, belore that period, might break the enchantment, and re-kindle the fierce fires which had nearly scorched some of our southern breth- ren. Eastern Shore, Md., March 20th, 1836. GYPSUM DISCOVERED IN QUANTITY' IN PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Prince Edward, } April 7th, 1836. $ Since the attention of the Legislature and the public generally seems to be directed to the laud- able object of developing the resources of Virginia, I shall be gratified, if you have not more important matter for publication, that you will give insertion to the Ibllowing fiicts. It is probably known to you that parts of the county of Prince Edward have been supposed, from some cause, to contain that precious metal, gold; and to ascertain the truth of this supposi- tion, ])its have been sunk in various parts of it, but particularly in the upper or western end. It is matter of history, that the alchymists, in their wild schemes of discovering the elixir of health, and philosophers' stone, found out many facts of the utmost importance to the science of chemistry: and thus it has happened with the miners; for al- though they have been unsuccessfiil as it regards the object of their search, yet they have supplied a hint, which, improved upon, has terminated in a most fortunate result. My plantation, which lies in the vicinity of Walker's Church, was one of those sites which were thought to give promise of gold; and accord- ingly it was dug upon, though not by myself, for I happen to be one of those who think that more of this precious metal is to be obtained within a foot of the surface, than at any greater depth. How- ever, though no gold-digger by proli^ssion, still I was prompted by curiosity to visit tlie pits frequent- ly, and observe operations. The matter that was excavated, afforded then but little interest to me; and after spending a sufficiency of labor, time and money, and after fairly testing the best specimens of aurili^rous ore, the project of gold-digging was abandoned. Previous to this, I had never used any gypsum, and if I had ever seen any, had not noticed it par- ticularly. About a year after gold-mining had ceased on my fitrm, I began the cultivation of clo- ver, and having learned the efficacy of gypsum as 1S36.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 35 a manure in accelerating the growth of this plant, I determined to make an experiment, and found it succeed far beyond my most sanguine expecta- tions. From the striking resemblance of certain stones thrown out hj- the miners to the rock gypsum, I obtained from market, I was induced to malce trial of the former on my clover fields in such a man- ner as to institute a fair comparison of its eficcts with the true gypsum, which I was the more wil- ling to do as I had not procured enough of the lat- ter to plaster my whole crop. It is highly grati- fyins:, sir, for me to inform you of the results of my experiments. I had anticipated an entire fail- ure— ^judge then of my satisfaction, when I found my success complete. The three field on which I experimented, I di- vided as follows: Field No. 1 waslaid out into two equal portions longitudinally, and plastered one half with the im- ported, and the other half with the material found on my own plantation. The clover plastered with the latter was but slightly inf(3riorto that manured by the former. ' Field No. 2 ( divided into three equal parts, and sowed each of those thirds lying at the sides of the field with the imported plaster, and the third lying centrally I sowed Avith that found on my farm. The difference in the crop was scarcely percepti- ble. Field No. 3 I separated intonineequal sections, runnnig transversely the whole breadth of the field; and in order to arrive at a more dcteruiinate conclusion, I sowed the first of these with m3"ovvn plaster, selected from the best lumps, the second with the imported, and the third was left unsown. 1 went over the whole field in this wa}', beginning with the domestic, succeeded by the imjjorted, and leaving every third section unplastered. There- suit was perlectl}^ satisfactory. The clover ma- nured with the domestic plaster ivas among the finest I have ever seen — that with the imported not as good, and that left unraanured scarcely worth the cutting. I am thus particular, sir, in order to show you the evidence on which I rest my belief of the bene- fit ; and to convince you that this is not a matter of speculation, but one that has been submitted to rigid experiment. Those who are well acquainted with the aspect of the plaster, would probably have been able to pronounce upon its character by a bare inspection, but when united to its appear- ance, we have proofs of its fertilizing efliscts, we can have no just grounds of doubt. After being personally convinced of the utility of this substance found near my residence, 1 de- termined to make diligent search for it, and ascer- tain, if possible, whether it might not be found in quantities sufficient to supply that portion of the county in which I live; and after siiddng pits at various localities, I at length struck upon a points where the mineral appeared to be very abundant; and, after patiently digging to a considerable depth, and making excavations at several adjacent points. I have concluded, if all that is gypsum which I suppose, that the supply is inexhaustible. To make assurance doubly sure, I sent parcels of the substance to the Professor of Chymistry at Hamp- den Sydney College, with a request that he would analyze it and notify me of the result. He re- turned for answer, that he had never examined purer specimens of the sulphate of lime ; that he was happy in the anticipation of the benefits that would arise from this discovery; and finally ex- horted me to make it known through the medium of some public journal. The high price of the gypsum, and the difficulty of transporting it, render it an object of the utmost importance that farmers should be enabled to pro- cure it at some convenient distance, and at such a moderate charge as to made it a profitable manure. Many of those persons whose lands most require the application of this enriching agent, have not the means to purchase and transport it to their farms; and those whose circumstances are better, and who have made use of it, find that the ex- penseof obtaining it, swallows up most of the pro- fits arising from its employment. Here then is a great difficulty to be obviated in the use of the loreign gypsum, and certainly nothing will tend more to this end than the discovery of quarries on our own soil, from which persons may at any time obtain whatever quantities they please, and al- most on their own terms. Indulge me, sir, in conclusion, in making a few observations on the renovating influences of this and other manures now being found in different parts of the State. The time was, when it was believed that the waste lands of Virginia could never be serviceable to the agriculturist; and the patriot had the heart-sickening spectacle every where presented to him of the progressive destruc- tion of the land of his birth without any hope of its ever being reclaimed. But, sir, since the es- tablishment of your publication, Virginians have been encouraged to look around them and see what mio-ht be done: and what has been the con- sequence? We now confidently anticipate the day when old Virginia, like old England, will be as it were a garden; when her fields shall be crowned with golden harvests; when her lawns shall vie m verdure with the rich vales of the west; when her pastures shall be teeming with cattle — her surface intersected with rail roads and canals — and when her population shall be dense busy and prosperous. And what is to cause this magic change? Doubtless gypsum, and the various species of marls, are to be the chief agents. Much of the present fertility of several counties in the Stare is attributable to the former, whilst others in a different region are as much indebted to the lat- ter. The day is fast approaching when ever}' part of Virginia will have some convenient manure adapted to the soil — when the Old Dominion shall take her harp from the willows and in cheerful strains celebrate her release from the captivity of sterility, and resume that proud and dignified sta- tion among the States of the Union, which is due to the mother of the greatest and best. Yours, very rcspectfially, JOHN FRANCIS. KAIT> ROADS IN NORTH CAROLINA. To the Editor of Ihe Farmers' Register. Str : Ilavinoi: for immediate purposes made a partial reply to P.Q., 1 now take up the subject in its graver and more important aspect. It is now ful- ly seventeen years since I imbibed the idea of the possibility of making the Chesapeake the great so FARMERS' REGISTER [No. 1 mart of American commerce, and Norfolk the freat gate through which it must pass. Hence, must be pardoned, if having this object in view, I have overlooked local interests, local prejudices, and local partialities. P. Q. charges me with being "regardless of the feelings of those who have limg and zealously la- bored to promote a favorite scheme" — with hav- ing, by one fatal stroke of my pencil dashed their cherished hopes and raised a rival to crush "this fa- vorite scheme." As to the length of time and zeal of promotion exhibited in these worthy gen- tlemen, I cannot but confess my iijnorance; and apprehend, if the coiunins of the Richmond lin- quirer, and the Petersburg Intelligencer, and Roan- oke Advocate, soliciting attention to this subject, and those of the Raleigh papers pronouncing any thing but a Rail Road to Newbern as illusory in its character, and destructive to the interests of N. Carohna, are consuhed— if, I repeat it, these jour- nals are consulted, I apprehend that it will prove that for "long" we may read "short," and for "zealously" we shall read" "apathetic." As to the "deep damnation" I have dealt to a favorite object, and the fatal stroke of my pencil, which, like the thunderbolt of a Jupiter tonans etfulminans, was to dash all their cherished hopes, I am happy to see not only that nothing like it has occurred, but to Jearn the attempt made to complete the subscrip- tion on the 15th March, 1S36, has, according to a paragraph in the Raleigh Register, nearly, if not quite, succeeded — a circumstance, upon which I do most heartily congratulate them and myself", as I still ardently hope such a direction may yet be given to this capital and these exertions, as shall make a road, which will be both productive of pro- fit to them, as contributors, and ol honor to them as the citizens of a great, wealthy, important, and intelligent community. 1 trust, I repeat, it will yet be instrumental to a Road pervading the State from the banks of the Pee Dee to the Roanoke. If 1 may use the expression, there is a noble conspiracy forming for conveying the trade of the west to New York and Philadelphia. A careful examination of the subject induces me to believe that Louisville and Baltimore will be connected. Lieut. Button, (Doc. 1, session 1835-6, p. 185,) Bays, the Ohio can be rendered navigable at all seasons with certainty, on\y '■'■by a series of locks and dams.'''' The New York, papers boast that they will make the Alleghany, and Pittsburg, as much a New York as a Pennsylvania river and city — a circumstance which is practicable, as if the Ohio can thus be improved to the extreme of the Alleghany, there is no question the navigation of both will be made subservient to the views of the "Empire State." But still the improvement of the Ohio to a given point, say Catletsburg, will, if the "Dominion" does but make due exertions, bring an immense trade to every harbour in the Chesapeake, especially if by the adoption of the light draught steamers, and the lock and dam sys- tem, other rivers can be rendered navigable, dur- ing wet and dry seasons, and seasons not inter- rupted by frost, as are those of the north. As to the steamer, one has just reached Savannah of 27 inches draught, from Liverpool — a circumstance, that, it is to be hoped, will either lead lothe remis- sion or reduction of the duty on them, or to a diicovery that they can be built at Pittsburg or elsewhere in the U. States. A report of the trade of Louisville from the Board of Internal Improvement, in Kentucky, states the total tonnage of the port at 306,400, and that 1256 steamers pass the canal in the year. A Wheeling paper, speaking of the trade between Louisville and Pittsburg, states that there are six- ty steamers, of course oTa liffht draught, annually employed. It forms its estimate for only from 6 to 8 months, and makes out that 433200 tons of merchandise are transported annually in steam- boats, on the Ohio, between Pittsburg and Louis- ville— amounting in value to more than S16,000,- 000 — so that on a river rendered permanently navi- gable by the lock and dam system, and navigated by small steamers, as pronounced to be practicable by Lieut. Dutton, it is probable the amount will be doubled, or made 832,000,000. Such are a ^e\Y of the circumstances around us. I tliink they demonstrate not only the necessity, but the aV)ility of the South to create a market in the Chesapeake for the benefit of that section. How is the end to be effected '? The trade of the west must be brought by rail road and canal to the Atlantic at Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston, S. C, Wilmington, N. C., and Norfolk. Savannah must ship the cotton of the west, yielding part of her trade to Charleston, thatcity in its turn, giving a portion of hers to N. Carolina,- and all combin- ing to make the Chesapeake empha'ically the great emporium of the South. "Thus," to use the words of the report from Yorkville, S. C, "would the South be connected b}' a tie of no ordinary character with Virginia, and thus would the great bond of southern union, so eminently desirable, so Imperiously necessary in the present momentous crisis, be at once more ijenerally and completely secured. Already united with Georgia, by the strong and enduring sympathies of'commercial in- terests— our destinies indissolubly bound up with those of N. Carolina — towards Virginia,the rela- tion of a neighbor, added to that of long-tried friendship — and to crown all, the great west made our fire-side associates and commercial friends — with such an union, with such elements of common fidelity, what combination o^ interest, of envy or of passion, by whatever diabolical spirit its fell pur- poses may be inspired, can prevail against us?" To produce such a state of things, and give to Baltimore, and to every port in the Chesapeake, the whole of the middle west, the Ciiesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road, the James River improvement, and indeed every interest in their vicinity, are concerned. What then should be the course of a North Ca- rolina Road ? Should it be such as to divide, in- stead of concentering the interest of the State? What is the language of the Yorkville report as to the upper route? That admirable paper "sug- gests, that the future participation of Virginia is not to be neglected, and incidentally to her partici- pation in the ultimate accomplishntcnt of a great chain of railways, leading through the northern and middle States. As an evidence that this is no vi- sionary anticipation, it may be mentioned, that a Rail Road is now in process of construction, be- tween Richmond and Petersburg, Va., and Wel- don, N. C; and at the last session of the Legis- latures of these States, a similar incorporation was jrranted, to connect Weldon with Evansham in Virginia, from which road, at some point, not precisely known to your committee, it is now in 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER 37 contemplation to construct a rail road to pass near Greensborougli, N. C, through Lexington to Salisbury, N. C, at '-vhich point, but about 50 miles of railway would connect Salisbury with the great commercial highway, should either of the routes here recommendedbe found practicable." These routes are "east of the Broad, through Richland, Fairfield, Chester, and York, pene- trating N. C, so as to intersect the counties of Lincoln, Rutherford, Burke, and perhaps Bun- combe, and having lor its immediate vicinity near- ly all the wealthy section of the south-west of N. Carolina;" or "to follow the Valley of the Broad and Catawba." In North Carolina, the outlet re- commended appears to be nearly that, for Col. Long's reconnoisance of which, Mr. VVhite of Kentucky,has moved in Conirress — Linville Moun- tain to the sources of the Licking, or Big Sandy. The report continues, "Thus by one continued chain of rail roads, would Charleston and Cin- cinnati (Louisville and Lexington) be connected with Richmond and Petersburg. * * * * In such a slate of things, it is easy to perceive that nearly all the travelling of business, and certainly all that of pleasure, between the north and the south, will be diverted, from the sea board, into the new, more rapid, and more convenient channel we have attempted to describe.'''' And, if the low coun- ties of the Carolinas, and Georgia, do not exert themselves, such will, such must be the case. But, to exhibit the inducements,! must continue my quotation from this enlightenetl report. Many of the.'=e routes are throuirh the finest mineral countries in the world. In York, Union, and Spar- tanburg, are to be Ibund iron, marble, granite, lime, the latter of which could be sold at Colum- bia, of course at Fayetteville, &c., &c., to great advantage. Next are noticed, the iron foundries of Lincoln, and the salt works of Virginia. As to the Yadkin, if the lock and dam system will suc- ceed, all the country it waters, as well as Wilming- ton and Fayetteville, may be much benefited. P. Q. is vehement as to the Wilmington and Halifax Road. "It will not receive enough to keep it in repair." Does he recollect the efTorfs of Philadelphia? Is he aware of the projected road to Pokomoke, on the Eastern Shore, the ob- ject of which is, to dispense with the steamer up the bay, and to lessen its passage from Norfolk? He may rest assured, that a road from Darlington and Harleesville, S. C., to Fayetteville, to Halifax via Waynesborough,Tarborough, &c. &c., would make travellers forget that Raleigh was in exis- tence. He should rettir to Col. Long's report (Doc. 177, session 1834-5.) He willthere find this route distinctly recognized. It is one which I hope will be recognized by Congress, in a dis- cussion that must be in progress before the re- cess. I would here, at the risk of being desultory, ex- press my hope that some member of Congress will take up the question of the iron steam boat. The following paragraph speaks volumes on the subject, especially illustrated as they are, by the arrival of one at Savannah; and by the fact, that a bill lor the remission of duties on a steam boat, passed the Senate of the U. S., the 17th Feb., 1836. This boat must be (he one which has reached Savannah by the Alcyone from Liver- pool. The one alluded to in the annexed para- graph having been built in London at the publica- tion of the notice: "There is at present building an iron steam boat 120 leet long and 26 feet wide, at Mr. Laid's yard, on the other side of the river. The vessel is to be taken to pieces and sent across the Atlantic to Savannah, between which place and Augusta, she is intended to ply with cotton, &c. — She is so constructed as only to draw two feet and a half of water, and yet to carry 600 bales of cotton on her deck, which, when the wood work is added, will be upwards of forty feet wide. Her burden is 375 tons, carpenter'.s measure. We believe that she is the largest sleam boat ever built in this porte: she is certainly one of the most curious and ingeni- ous. "A wrought iron steam boat has been com- pleted in London lor the P]ast India Company, to be employed in the navigation of the Ganges. It is 125 feet in length, entirely of iron, except the deck, carries an engine of 60 horse power, and draws less than two lijet of water." In addition, we are indebted for the following to the National Intelligencer: "The wrought iron steam boat, ordered from England, has arrived (in pieces) at Savannah. Her length is 120 feet, her beam 26 feet, and her depth (of hold) 7^ feet. She is estimated to draw, with all her machinery, and every thing aboard, 2 feet 3 inches, and will have an English low pressure engine of 46 horse power." I cannot avoid making some observations on the heterodox notions of P. Q., as to the power with which he would invest legislatures in the management of rail roads, or indeed any public improvement. I want but to learn the result of the inspection laws in New York and Virginia, and the sagacity of N. Carolina, in refusing twelve years since, iJjlO or 20,000 to Hamilton Fulton for an experimental rail road to Swift Creek, to pro- nounce that in legislatures, the "collected wis- dom" of the nation is not to be found, and there- fore, they ought [not] to be entrusted with the powers "of protecting roads from competition." P. Q. forgets that in an industrious and enter- prising country, roads ought to be a matter of ex- pense. The manul'acturer at Petersburg, whose stock is at 25 per cent premium, might as well grumble at being obliged to furnish new machinery to render the profit producing this premium perma- nent, as the citizens of a country complain of the expense of rail roads; and forgetting that they in- d'lrectly add infinitely more to the wealth of the community than any charge they create in repair, call for the odious monoply advocated by P. Q. If he wants for proof, of what a monoply will do, or rather thank the Supreme Court of the U. S., an imaginary monopoly, I will furnish him with one. The Charleston and Hamburg company are now avoiding a wealthy country, and one well calcu- lated for a Rail Road, and running their road in a section totally opposite in character and result. This can only be done to ensure a still greater ex- tent to their monopoly. Indeed, joint stock companies, as concocted in the U. S., are fast becoming nuisances. Coke, in his Reports, alludes to a book published in 1610, being a "declaration of His Majesty's pleasure," &c., p. 13, "that monopohes are against the laws of the realm; and, therefore, expressly commands that no Buiter presume to move him to grant 38 FARMERS' REGISTER [No. 1 them." His Majesty, King Numbers, has a power superior to this. * # # * # * * * * * * G. L. C. From the Raleigh Register. THE MOUJfTAIIVS OF CAROLINA. The younger Michaux, on his way from the valley of the Mississippi, in the tall of 1802, pass- ed through the counties of Yancy and Burke; and ifi the small volume, containini^ an account ot his travels, that was published soon after his return to Paris, the opinion is expressed, that in these counties, the Alleghany Mountains attain their greatest elevation, lie mentions, in evidence that this belief is well founded, that his father found trees and plants growing upon them, which he did not meet with again before reaching Canada. The geology of these counties has some pe- culiar features. They were visited during the last summer,for the j)urpose of tracing the bounda- ries of their rock Ibrmations, and along with oth- er collateral objects, provisions was made ibr mea- suring the heights of their principal mountains, with their bearings and distances from each other. Some gentlemen in the west, who expressed an interest in the subject, were promised an account of the results; and they are conmiunicated vi^ith some explanatory remarks, to the Register, in the belief that they will not be whhout'interest for persons living in other parts of the state. It is well known that the mercury in the tube of the barometer is continually oscillating, especially in the high latitudes; so that we cannot, Irom a single observation of its height, infer the eleva- tion of any place above the level of the sea. But Daville found from a comparison of the Meteoro- logical Registers kept with great care for a series of years in different parts of Europe, that the changes are simultaneous and similar in places considerably remote from each other. One barometer was therefore stationed at Mor- ganton, and a record kept of its movements by Mr. Pearson of that place. This served as a standard. The observations made at the same time (nearly,) upon the tops of the mountains and at Morganton, furnished the data for calculating their elevations above that village, and the mean of ten observa- tions, on successive days^ gave what is probably a near approximation to the height of Morcjanton above the level of the sea — 968 feet. Deducting from this the descent to the bed of the Catawba, there remains only about 800 feet of fall between the ford leading over Linville and the sea. This will not be regarded as an extravaijant estimate by those who are acquainted with this stream, and by such as have had no experience in investiga- tions of this kind it will be condemned as falling far below the truth. North of the point where the .lames River leaves the mountains, the first high ridge of the Alle^hanies is called the Blue Ridge. In North Carolina, this name is applied to the range that separates the eastern and western waters. This is commonly the first high mountain, but not always. The Table Mountain, which forms so fine and striking a feature in the scenery about Morganton, is not a part of the Blue Ridge, but a spur or out- lier. It seems, when seen (iom Morganton, to be a round tower rising perpendicularly from the sum- mit of the first range of the Alleghanies. It is, in fact, a narrow ridge, aflbrding a very fine pros- pect of the fertile 'valley of the Catawba, and its tributaries on the south-east and east, and of na- ture in her wildest dress, where the Linville pours over the rocks along a deep ravine, wholly unten- anted and uncultivated, and of a vast extent of mountain peaks and ranges on the north east. Ita top is 2,45,3 feet above Morganton, and a little more than 15 miles distant in a right line. The Grandiather, 17 miles fi-om the Table, and 28 from Morganton, has liitherto been generally supposed the highest mountain in North Carolina. But it is found that, being difficult of access and enveloping himself in mystery, it has happened to him, as it does not infi'equently to men, placed in corresponding circumstances, that he has enjoyed a reputation to which he is by no means entitled. The best point of departure for ascending the Grandfather is the Globe Settlement,near the head of John's River, where the traveller will find a pleasant home in a beautiful vallej^, and at James Riddle's 1,600 feet above, on the side of the moun- tain, a faithful and intelligent guide. From the distance and the roughness of the way, it will prove, as my friends and quandum pupils, Messrs. Clingman and Rose Borough can testify, a severe day's labor to a person inexperienced in travelling on loot, to visit the top and return. The summit is 4,588 feet above Morganton. We may nolice here an error in the act of the legislature establishinof Yancy County,and assign- ing its boundaries. It is said, that they shall run with the Tennessee "line to the county of Ashe: thence vv'ith the line of said company to the Grand- mother Mountain," &c. ft is here supposed that the Grandmother is either the same mountain with the Grandfather, or a continuation of it, and in the Ashe line, whereas she is 3 or 4 miles distant fl-om both. She sits humbly and submissively at the feet of her venerable spouse, with the little Grandson between — a pattern to all good dames in the country below. From the fact that her head is crowned with the balsam fir (no very certain sign) she may probably have an elevation of 2,600 feet. If there should seem to be any thing to warrant a suspicion of a Avant of affection in this worthy couple, in the distance to which they have located themselves from each other, their great bulk should not, whilst we are forming our judixment, be neglected. The Roan Mountain is 15 miles from the Grand- father, and 35 N. W. from Morganton, lying di- rectly over or bej-ond, the Hawksbill. It touches the Tennessee line, but the highest peaks are in North Carolina. This is the easiest of access, the most beautiful, and will best repay the labor of ascending it, of all our high mountains. By one of my friends, the preference is given to the Yel- low, which is in fiict a continuation of the Roan, on account of the symmetiy of its fijrm; but it ia considerably lower. With the exception of a body of rocks looking like the ruins of an old cas- tle, near its south western extremity, the top of the Roan may be described as a vast meadow, without a tree to obstruct the prospect; where a person may mount his horse and gallop for a mile or two, with Carolina at his feet on one side, and Tennessee on the other, and a green ocean of Mountains raised into tremendous billows imnie- 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 39 diately about him. It is the Elysium of a south- ern botanist,as a number oC plants are (bund grow- ing in this cold and humid atmosphere, which are not seen a"-ain till we have gone some hundreds of miles larther north. It is the pasture ground lor the young horses of the whole country about it, during the sunmier. We found si rawberrics here in the greatest abundance and of the finest v^uality, in regard to both size and Havor, on the 30lh of July. The elevation ol" this mountain was twice taken, on the 22d and 30th July— with a difi'erence of 28 leet in the results— 5,042 and 5,070 above Morganton. Of these measure- ments, the latter was made with the greatest care and in the most favorable weather. The height assigned to the other mountains was also rudely verified from tliis, by means of a water leved. The Black Mountain, lyin,^ mostly in Yancy, but tbrming through a part of hs course the boun- dary between Yancy and Buncombe, is a long ridge at a medium distance of about 30 miles from Morganton. It has some peaks of a greater el- evation than any point that has hitherto been measured in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, and is believed to be the highest mountain in the United States. It is a matter of considerable ditficulty, in the case of a long ridge like this, that swells here and there into a knob two or three hundred feet higher than its neigh- bors, from our inability to determine how much of the apparent elevation of one, amongst a number, is due to its nearness, and how much to height. The Black JNlountain cost nearly a week's labor in fixing upon the peak to be measured and the measurement. We ascended first the summit nearest the road leading irom Morganton to Burnsville, and found it 92 feet lower than the Roan, with peaks considerably more elevated farther south. Yeates's Knob, between the wa- ters of Caney River and Ivey, was next represent- ed as over-topping every thing in that part of the country. Though higher than the Grandfather, it proved to be considerably lower than the Roan, but from its summit we had a fine view of the Black Mountain Ridge sweeping round in a sort of circle, at the distance of 8 or 10 miles, and were able to distinguish the highest Knobs. Two were very nearly equal, but the one at the head of the ridge between the north and middle forks of Ca- ney River, was finally fixed upon as the highest. On its top the Barometer stood at 23.807 inches; and it has an elevation of 5,508 feet above Mor- ganton, or 6,476 above the level of the sea. The mean elevation of Yancy county above Burke, is about 1,600 feet; so that it is about 2,500 above the level pf the sea. The ford of Toe Ri- ver, near Tliomas Young's is 1,308, and Burns- ville 1,632 above Morganton. The ascent of the Blue Ridge from Turkey Cove Creek to the Gap, is 1,665 feet. For the sake of comparison the following heights are given. The first five are copied from Worcester's Gazetteer: Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, hhherto accounted the highest Moun- tain in the United States — highest peak 6.234 Mansfield Mountain— Vermont, 4.279 Saddle Mountain — Massachusetts, 4.000 Round Top— highest of the Catskills, 3.804 Peaks of Otter— Virginia, 3.955 Table Mountain— Burke, N. Carolina, 3.421 GrandliUher, 5.556 Yeates's Knob, 5.895 Black, at Thomas Young's, 5.946 Roan, 6.038 Hi^rhcst Peak of the Black, 6.476 There are other high mountains at no great dis- tance from those that were measured, as the Bald Mountain in the western part of Yancy and the White Top in Virginia, which are nearly, if not cjuite, as high as the Roan. In the south eastern part of Haywood county, near the South Carolina line, there is a tremendous pile, and between the counties of Haywood and Macon and the state of Tennessee, the Unikee Mountain swells to a great elevation. But these appear to the eye to be low- er than the Black. As the VVestern Mountains, now that their res- pectability in regard to height and interest is as- certained, are likely to attract an occasional visit- er fi'om below the ridge, and perhaps from the neighborhood of the coast, a ihw directions an- swering the purpose of a "Guide to the Moun- tains," are added. The Pilot "has not infrequently been the Ultima T/iiiZe, or rather the Columna Uerculis, by which the excursions of such as have travelled hereto- fore in search of mountain scenery have been lim- ited. It is a remarkable mountain, but after ha- ving been for a time amongst the giants of the west, one cannot help feeling some contempt tor the Pilot as he passes it on liis return. Its height is just about that of the low gaps in the Blue Ridge. By such as would see more of the mountains, the first point to be reached is Morganton. From this place the Table Mountain is frequently visited; is easy of access, and will hardly be neglected by any one who is in search of beautiful and roman- tic views and prospects. The Falls of Linville, are not far distant from the table, and though not at present a place to be visited by the softer, will repay one of the hardier sex, for the fatigue of find- ing his way by a rough road over the ridges, to Linville Cove — of clambering the j'et rougher hills that still intervene between him and the object of his travels, and of wading the river two or three hundred yards for the purpose of reaching the fi- nest point of view. It is perhaps the wildest and most picturesque scene in North Carolina, with a splendid description of which, if we had room, leisure, and the inclination, we might embellish this comnmnication to the Register. But he is a churl that will insist upon plucking all the flow- ers that adorn his path, and not leave a pink or rose for those who are to come after him. Pass- ing by the Old Fields of Toe, and the Forge, where iron little inferior to the best, if it be not ab- solutely the best made in the United States, is manufactured, he may reach the summit of the Roan by this route, over the top of the Yellow. His fare and accommodation will not however be of the best, and although the poet declares that A summer night in green-wood spent, Were but to-morrow's merriment, we think a good house and comfortable bed very much to be preferred. The other route is by the way of the Pleasant Gardens and Turkey Cove, or (if the Burke County Court will have the road above McKin- 40 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 ney's put in repair) over Linville iVlountain to Cane Creels, where we will find himself in the Baker Settlement, amongst a kind and worthy peo- ple. From ihis place, if there be ladies in the company, they may ride without danger of much Jatigue, quite to the top of the Roan — a distance of 4 or 5 miles. It is most desirable to have a clear clay for the excursion, and it is worth waiting for, if our visit happen to be made at a time when the mountains are wrapped in clouds. Such a condition of things is by no means improbable. The rain falling an- nually about the head of Toe River may be esti- mated at double of that descending upon the same area below the ridge and at some distance from it. It was part of our scheme to collect materials for giving greater precision and accuracy to the map of this part of the state, nor was it through a ■want of zeal or faithful labor (it requires very lit- tle of either knowledge or skill) that we failed; but during the whole term of our stay about the mountains, there were but two days that they had not clouds resting upon them, a large part of the time. But even under such circumstances, there is no want of objects of attention. Often, especially in the morning, the mountains lift their head into a serene sky above a sea of mist and cloud that gir- dles their sides. They may be ascended then,inbr on other object, for the sake of ihe prospect which awakened the slumbering fire in the bosom of Beattie, and inspired one of the finest passages in the Minstrel: — "And oft the cra2:gy clifi he loved to climb When all in mist the world below was lost, What dreadful pleasure! there to stand sublime, Like shipwreck'd mariner on desert coast, And view th' enormous waste of vapor, tost In billows lengthening to the horizon round. Now scoop'd in gulfs, with mountains now emboss'd, And hear the voice of mirth and song rebound; Flocks, herds, and water-falls along the hoar profound." Or without going above the clouds, he may find in the streams below, an humbler but not less agreeable amusement, in the capture of the spec- kled trout with which they abound. It is a luxu- ry to feel him bite: he takes hold with such ear- nestness, zeal and hearty good-will, and this lux- ury is exchanged for another not less alluring, when after having been prepared by the cunning hand of a comely 'hieland' maiden the biter is bitten in his turn. [See Doughty's Cabinet of Nat. Hist. vol. I. p. 145—9] Or, instead of the trout, he may catch the amiable quadruped with the many names that are associated with him (called in Yancy the Crocodile or Water Puppy) who is not found except in the tributaries of Ohio, and, we believe, is confined to the clear cool streams that flow down the western declivities of the Ai- leghanies — cook him and show the Yancy people that the dislike generally entertained for him is pre- judice, and that he is in fact excellent eating. The roughness of the sides and top of the Black Mountain is likely to prevent it being often as- cended from motives of curiosity and pleasure. A route, very much better than that pursued by us, is not likely to be discovered, and that can be ac- complished only on foot; and for between one and two miles, it is through thick laurels and alonga bear trail. What these are, must be learned by expe- rience, as description alone will not convey an ac- curate idea of them to the mind of a lowlander. The laurels are so closely set, and their strong branches so interwoven, that a path cannot be forced by pushing them aside; and the hunters have no method of advancing, when they happen to fall in with the worst of them, but that of crawl- ing along their tops. The Bear, in passing up and down the mountain, finds it wisest to keep the ridges, and trampling down the young laurels as they spring up, breaking the limbs from the old ones and pushing them aside he forms at last a sort of burrow above ground, through this bed of vegetation, along vvhich he passes without diffi- culty. This is a bear trail; which though an ex- cellent kind of turnpike probably in the view of the animal that formed it, is much less highly ap- proved by the two-legged animal who tries it after him, and who submits with some degree of shame and indignation to the fashion of the place, in re- gard to the attitude he assumes as he travels up and down the mountains. From such an expe- dition, he is likely to return thoroughly fatigued at night. The top is covered with the balsam fir, from the dark and sombre shade of whose foliage it doubtless received the name of the Black Moun- tain. The growth of the tree is such on these high summits, that it is easy to climb to the top and taking hold of the highest branch look abroad upon the prospect. At the time of our visit, the mountain was enveloped in mist, vvhich prevented ourseeing more than a couple of hundred yards, and we were so uncomfortable fi-om cold, that some of the company urged a return with the least possible delay, and this when it was clear weather, at a small distance below the ridge and the Thermom- eter at 80. The temperature of a few wells and springs is subjoined. The finest iced water is a vapid drink, in comparison with the pure element that gushes from the sides of these Western Mountains. Wells on Chapel-Hill, Oct. 17. Wells in Lincolnton, July 6, Morganton, July 16. Spring Keller's Field, Daniel Moore's Globe Settlements, 59 61 58 50 57 James Riddle's, 54 Near the top of the Grandfather, 53 Ascent of the Roan, 52 North side of the Black Mountain, 50 Another, same mountain, 48 N. MANURING WITH LEAVES AND MUD COM- POST. To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. Craven county, N. C. j^pril 10th, 1836. There is a gentleman residing in an adjoining county who inherited a patrimonial estate consist- ing of a worn-out farm, and some {ew accessories to its cultivation. He married and went to work on it, but it took but few crops to show him that the product would not support his increasing fami- ly. Many a sleepless night did he pass in pon- dering over his circumstances. After much deli- beration, however, he resolved, like many others in the same situation, on emigration, and visited the south to make arrangements for that purpose. 1S36.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 41 earth" — ) I must confess thut t had not observed or referred to your note, (in the Ap|)endix) contain- ing the explanation of your ditPiculty in the selec- tion of a term, which would best suit j'our pur- pose. I had sufficiently o'ratificd myself with tlie more essential matters discussed in the E.ssay. JOSKPH E. MUSE. [The last fault named above, was of course the printer's, as the meaning, and, therefore, the proper word, was obvious: but the substitution of "harshness"' for "frankness" was owing ^to the difficuhy of reading the word, and the context, in tliat case, did not serve (as in general) to determine the intention of an illegible word. But in either case, we repeat the assurance formerly given to our respected correspondent, 'that no apology was necessary for his strictures — nor would have been necessary, even if they'hadgoneto such ex- tent as to deserve the word "harshness;" and it is only because, he deems this explanation to our readers to be necessary, and to comply with^his request on that ac- count, that this extract is here inserted — and not be- cause we think that any thing like apology was re- quired for the remarks of our correspondent, either as went at it atjain with increased diligence. His an- i they ware in fact designed, or as mis read and there- ticipations of futurity, v/hich were before so pain- 1 fop^ mis-printed.] fUl, were now loaded with pleasure. He saw a way of driving that grim monster, poverty, from He travelled to some extent, but returned perfect- ly disappointed with the country. He went "hard at it" again for another year, and saw nothing but bankruptcy staring him in the face. Every year found his" debts accumulating. He had been raised to agricultural pursuits, and to agricultural pursuits alone. After a great deal of perplexity however, in resolving and re-resolvino;, he finally concluded to try and improve his soil in someway or oilier: but how should he do it, Avas to him an important question. It being then a thoroughly new thing in that part of the country, he hardly knew in what way to begin. The practice then w-as (and is too much so now) to get all you can from the soil, and return nothing to it. After much reflection on the subject, he comirienced hauling pine leaves and other litter into his cow and hoi-se lots, and as soon as that vvas tolerably trampled, he gave it a good coat of mud from an adjoining branch, and continued alternate layers of litier and mud, till it got a foot or so thick. He then piled it up in large heaps, to let it undergo a fermeniation. In the spring, he hauled it out and manured his corn, some in the hill, and some broad- cast. His succeeding crop bid him strenuously to proceed. As soon as he had laid by his corn, he his path. The individual who is the subject of this article, has continued to proceed in this way for the last twelve or fifteen years, and he is now in prosper- ous circumstances. His crops amjdy repay his labors. His neighbors who at first laughed at him lor throwing away his time, are now follow- ing in his Ibotsieps, and there is a prospect of the whole neighborhood's being greatly improved, by the previous necessities of this one individual. W. EXPLANATION AND CORRECTION. To the Editor of Uie Fanners' Register. Cambridge, E. S., Md. ) it/arcA 31, 1S3G. ^ In your March No. I discovered that you had done me the honor to insert the two letters I had written you respecting the 2d edition of your "Es- say on Calcareous Manures," which you had po- litely presented to me — and I regretted todiscoverin the last paragraph of the second letter, a typogra- phical error which gives an unfi-iendly aspect to the spirit and intention of the communications, and very different, I assure j^ou, from the motive which dictated them. I designed, in that paragraph, to apologize, for \\\q freedom, or, as I termed it, "ihe frankness" of my remarks, and your printer has rendered It "harshness." Now, though I am not sensible of any harsh sentiment in the letters, yet it would be inferred, from the printing, that 1 had designed and believed there was, which f-; remote, in truth from the fact. In the c^ame paragraph, "except" is put in place of "accept" — which, by the by, is too obvious an error to be regarded. In reference to your comment on my exception to your nomenclature, (as to the term "calcareous Vol. IV— 6 ON FIRING TOBACCO THROUGH FLUES. TUB BEKEFIT OF CUTTING WHEN FULLY RIPE. To tiie Etlitor of tlie Farmers' Register. Goochland, jfpril IG, 183G. Believing a portion of our time cannot be more profitably employed than in the acquisition and dissemination of truth, permit me through the medium of your very valuable and interesting pa- per, to offer to the public, a few suggestions in support of a mode of curing tobacco (viz : by flues,) which I deem superior to any other with which I am acquainted. I do this the more cheer- fuly, as it v/ill have a tendency to divert my mind fi'om subjects of minor importance, and from the conviction that it will not prove unacceptable to those of your readers whose interests it may be to secure their crops (when housed.) from the destroying flames. Perhaps it may occupy an im- proper position in my mind in believing this plan to be something new ; if not, its age will only be- stow on it additional credit; and I hope my im- perfect description of the construction and effects, may have a tendency to elicit from some of your able and ready ^vriters a more correct account of construction and utility, as developed by their suc- ces^;ful experiments. I will now proceed to describe the formation of the flues, and then say a i'ew words on the advan- tages they possess, (over the common way of cu- ring,) as related by Mr. Thomas B. Gay, from whom they originated. The fire-place should be made about twelve feel from the outside of the house: six feet long three deep, and eighteen in- ches wide. The flue fi'om The fire-place through the house should be eighteen inches deep, and twelve wide at the bottom, drawn in at top, so that one brick will cover it. The fire-place and the part of the flue outside the house, should be arched 42 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 witli brick, (mortar would be equally good, per- haps preferable,) and covered over with dirt about a foot thick, to prevent the escapinir of the heated air, and injury from weather, There should be two fire-places to a twenty foot house, which should be walled with stone ; the flues of which, should extend around the house about tour feet distant therefrom — meeting on the oppo-^iie side. After getting three leet in the house, I make holes on each side of the flues, three inches square, eighteen inches apart, through which the heated air will escape, and being done horizontally, will be regularly difiused through the house. These holes should not be opposite each other, as that will prevent in some degree, the heat fiom escap- ing regularly. The bottom log or sill of the house, should be at least two feet above the top of the flues, to in- sure a non-communication of fire : that being se- cure, very little li?ar of fire need be apprehended from any other source. The space from the flue to the log should be filled with mud. A house in- tended for flues (for obvious reasons,) should be set on a hill-side. I would now observe that Mr. Gay commenced the use of these flues in 1824, without a knowledge of their previous existence ; and from actual and repeated experiments, considers them perfectly safe from fire. Sparks are not very common ob- jects of perception in the house : and 1 believe a torch is necessary to set tobacco on fire. That heat and smoke cannot exist together, (when coming in immediate contact,) has been most hap- pily illustrated b}^ the liict that the latter becomes very nearly extinct in passing the flues belbre en- tering the house. I saw some of Mr. G's tobacco a few days since, and from its fine appearance and flavor, concluded that it had not been subjected to the deleterious ef- fects of smoke. That the time and labor required in attendence, is less than in the common mode cannot be doubted — when I say that one hand can, with ease, keep up the heat of three or four hous- es, were they half a mile apart — his only care being, to replenish the fire-places with fuel. I would here remark, that tobacco should never be suffered to pass through a sweat while undergoino- the process of yeUoiuing j and this should occupy a day or two. I believe the primary cause of good tobacco curing of a dark color, arises from the ab- sence of the requisite quantum of air at that crisis. It would therefore be prudent to remedy the evil by removing the cause, which should "be done [by making openings] about five or six feet above the base of the house. Perhaps openings in other parts of the house would be equally eflectual. This subject seems to merit some additional re- marks: but feeling a disposition t5 advert to the practice of another very intelligent and practical farmer, the imitation of which, I think would be attended vvith profit to the fraternity generally', must desist. Inconsequence of a great press "of business in September 183t, (which is common to all industrious planters at that juncture,) his to- bacco enjoyed the privilege of'remaining in the field about two weeks later than was iirtended. Having by this time built a house and completed other requisite operations, the weather admonish- ing him that fi'ost was approaching, he went into his field and uttering the injunctionto " cut boys, and E!j>are not," which was rigidly enforced, very few plants escaped the attack. It was in every re- spect ripe for the knife. He realized the excellent price of S19 per cwt. for his best, and !#10 for his lugs ; while the maximum price of that of his neighbors, produced on equally good land, did not exceed ij>9 or i^lO. It is a notorious laet that ma- ny planters cut their tobacco through fear of a fi'ost, when it is improving more rapidly than at any former period. I think this course unwise, believing he would be a gainer by suffering it to stand till thoroughly ripe ; even were he to lose one crop entire out of six or seven. Judging from past experience, I think no planter should make more than two, or at most three cuttings under or- dinary circumstances. In support of this practice, I would only add a few remarks ; though it would justify many. In the first place, its quality and quantity is greatly enhanced. This is a very di- rect and effectual method to increase the price as shown above. The open space caused from one large cutting supersedes the necessity of carrying the tobacco to the edge of the field, as a cart may pass and receive its load, without the remainder sustaining much injury. It is obvious that time and labor will be economized. It enables the planter to fill a house, or houses, from a single cutting. The advantages derivable from this circumstance are numerous and apparent to every curer of tobacco, and need not a comment from me. I will mention one more advantage attending this plan — and leave others to be supplied by the reader. Tobacco cures of a much better color af- ter the middle of September, than earlier. I beg leave to make assertions without proof, as the me- thods recommended, will, (when tested) be found correct. To obviate the necessity of cutting the plants topped first, sooner than those subsequently topped, I would recommend that they be crowned with a greater number of leaves. "Solid and practical wisdom consist, in pursuing valuable ends by the most appropriate means." ROBERT D. KEY. For the Farmers' Resistcr. THE WEST. Glencoc, Jllahama, } April 4, 1836. \ Agriculture. Agriculture in new countries is carried on in an exhausting and improvident manner. To an in- habitant of an old state, where economy is better known, it is quite shocking to observe the prodi- gal waste of timber consumed in clearing a wes- tern plantation. Entire primitive forests, girdled, wither, and rot away — food for the woodpecker s[)eci(^s which is very numerous in this country — or are at once fijlled with the axe, and burned in heaps. Thus, millions of stuidy oaks and giant hickories through whose tops the winds of many winters have whistled, are trauslormed in a brief hour to thin blue smoke, and mere volatile gas. The land once cleared, is exhausted by an un- interi'upted succession of crops — until, the product yearly growing less and less, the propricitor be- comes dissatisfied, and sells out to some less opu- lent or less avaricious neighbor, and removes to some new elysium in the west. There is nothing new under the sun : — the same 1836.] FARRIERS' REGISTER. 43 process has been going on in all the southern states. The greedy havock of a wasteful, merci- less system of agriculture, has (enJed to impover- ish all (lie states bordering on the Atlantic — none of the soil relains its original lerlihty, except the deep alluvial banks of the rivers, and I suppose even ihey begin to lecl the effects of wear aud tear. The consequence of all this is two-fold : first — necessity has driven a considerable portion of the; people of these state to emigrate westward — and .secondly — a re-action has ensued in the system of agriculture ; and means are taken to renovate the constitution of a deleriorated soil. Marl and other modifications of lime are brought into use — science and the press lend their aid, and at length '•the wilderness blossoms like the ruse." JEmigraiioii. From Jamestown westward, the successive sur- ges of emigration have been each subjected to the same train of influences, and the same effects have repeatedly resulted. The perils of a pioneer life make the early settler brave — exposure makes liim hardy — and labor makes him robust. These dangers, difficulties and fatigues, however, while they taught the necessary virtues of patience and fortitude, to those who had emigrated, would have deterred others from (bllovving in their wake — had not their stern aspect been relieved by the many pleasing features and singular advantages of a new country — the "charm of adventure, the fresh and lovely form of nature, the fertility of a virgin soil, and perhaps the escape from recollections which distance alone could efface. The lile of Boone — the pioneer ofpioneers — is an example of th'^ pains and the pleasures, the lights and the shadows of emigration. The obstacles fhowever which did not stop, tended much to repress the tide of emigration ; had it been otherwise — had the west held out en- ticements alone— the Atlantic states vi^ould have been almost emptied of their population, which would have been precipitated upon the west. The current ofemigration, at first; attenuated — gradually widens, as the obstacles to its course, grow less. In the meanwhile the population ol' the older states increases, until they can afford to part with a portion of their inhabitants. This is however the case, not so much in the states south of Mason and Dixon's line, as in the north. The peopling of the valley of the Mississi[jpi is the grand moral phenomenon of modern times. Like scenes may have been witnessed, wlien the pro- geny of Noah peopled the eastern hemisphere : but wel may doubt whether ever, in any age, a tract of country so vast, so productive, and wa- tered by so many navigable streams, has been filled up in so short a time with a population so civil- ized, as that of the basin of the Mississippi. C. CAMPBELL. CORN CULTURE IN BOTETOURT. To tlie Editor of tlie Farniprs' Register. Peyton Hall, Baietnurt, \ April 17, 1836. 5 * * # # * Instead of closing my letter with this matter of business) I will submit to you and your intelligent subscribers, as far as the limits of this sheet will al- low, the outlines of my mode of culture in several crops. It is not my intention to give the reins to my fancy, that your readers may be amused with its visionary creations ; much less is it my design to insult their good sense, as is too often done, by tediously exjjlaining to them, as recent discoveries and untried experiments, systems and modes of culture, familiar to every intelligent agriculturalist since the days of Columella. My object is to give you, in a plain and unambitious style, the mode of liu'ming pursued by myself, that it may he scrutinized by others, compared with their own, and its faults detected and made known. This manner of oiving individual systems, and the re- sults of individual exp^ipnce, seems to be the on- 1}' true means of advancing the science of agri- culture, and placing it on asolid foundation. With- out dwelling longer in preliininary observations, I will proceed to give you in the first place my mode of managing the corn crops. And as a further guard against every thing merely speculative — I will give you a transcript from my farm-book, of the process pursued by me, in its cultivation last year. I had about 70 acres in corn, not three of which had a dressing of manure, and all old upland, any 20 acres of which taken together, would have been, as to natural soil or improved condition, a fair av- erage of the whole farm. The larger portion was in v/heat the preceding year, 9 acres had been in clover three years, and suflered to fall and rot for the last two; and 10 had been in corn the year be- fore. The whole was fallowed in the fall and win- ter, with the Davis' plough. In the spring it was cross-ploughed with "bull-tongues," a species of plough between the shovel and coulter, uniting most of the advantages, and free from the objec- tions of both. I th;^ii levelled it with large har- rows weighted, and drawn by two oxen. The season for planting having b\'-this time arrived, we listed it with shovel ploughs, having a board nailed in front to widen the furrows ; in which furrows, coulters followed immediately alter the shovels. Upon hill-sides I planted in horizontal drills five feet apart, with the corn dropped at intervals of from 15 to 18 inches in the yov\\ When the land was level or greatly undulating, it was checked four feet each way. The land beingthus prepared, we selected our seed corn with care, and steeped it for 24 hours in a liquor composed of drippings from rich manure, with plaster, salt and soot, ui large quantities. As the droppers required it, we took it li'om the liquor in its wet and swollen condi- tion, and rolled it in plaster. The checked corn was covered by foot, with the exception of a few rugged places, and the drilled with the five tooth- ed cultivators. So soon as the corn became suffi- ciently visible to mark the rows, we commenced working it with the bull-tongues, and continued without cessation : so that no portion of the crop was suffered to remain more than eight days un- worked, until it was laid by. The only change ia the cultivation, was about the lime the change ia the color of the wheat, began to admonish us of the near approach of harvest, when, we ran our cultivators, or scarifiers as they are called by some, over the whole ; and left it perfectly smooth and li'ce from weeds. The pressure of my tobacco prevented my blading or lopping any, except a vo- 44 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 ry inconsiderable portion of the corn. Tiie yield was upwards ot" 800 barrels, making an average of 12 barrels, or 60 bushels, to the acre. My mana- ger measured on acre of the drilled corn upon a rough, but rich hill side, and it shucked out nearly 16 barrels, (78^ bushels) of shelled corn. The sea- son was generally s])eal-;ingt;ivorab!e. From tills unadorned skeleton of my mode of culture, it will be observed, that my first great ob- ject is, to prepare the land thoroughly, l)efere plan- ting. 2J. To have my seed stinnalated in their early growth, by the most powerful and concentra- ted manures. 3d' To keep the ground as I started with it, in perfect tilth, and entirely clean. 4th. To use such implements as cut very deep, with little labor fo the horse ; which being necessarily narrow, will pulverize tha^oil. and make it more permeable to iieat and ^wsture : a circumstance to which the ingenious Tuli perhaps attached too much consequence — but one which 1 am satisfied the opponents of his theory undervalue. Another object in using this narrow, deep cutting plough, is, that from the beginning it cuts off all the surface roots in the balks, antl makes the corn strike deeji- er ; and thus, renders it less liable to be aifected by the vicissitudes in the seasons. I have observed that whenever corn is ploughed, after being neg- lected until the grass and weeds have sprung up, and especially when the working is followed by dry weather, it is invariably injured seriously. Sometimes it is fired so badly, as to cut off the crop by half what it would have been, had it been left to the weeds — and occasionally it produces al- most a total failure. This, of course, arises Irom the corn being irregularly worked — and when worked, the surface merely scratched over. The roots are suffered to spread themselves uninter- ruptedly near the surfiice in the balks; and these being broken necessarily in the after working — the corn is thus deprived of its principal sources of moisture and nourishment, and suffers immediate- ly. When I cease working at harvest, I never put a plough in afterwards ; believing that the time has then arrived v>^hen the crop requires that its roots should be sufi'ered to extend themselves un- interruptedly in every direction, in quest of food to support its increased size. During two short dry spells vvhich we had last season, mj^ corn contin- ued to preserve a deep blackish green color, whilst that of my neighbors was a good deal in- jured. I have thus in obedience to your appeal to your Bubscribers, contributed my mite of facts upon one branch of our agriculture. Should you excuse the negligent and hasty manner in which it is thrown together — and consider it of any value to your pa- per, you can publish it ; and at some more leisure moment, I will extend my remarks so as to em- brace the other crops cultivated by me. Your obedient servant, W. M. PEYTON. "VIRGINIA CORN AND COR CRUSHER AND GRINDER." GENERAL REMARKS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF NEW PATENT MA- CHINES. A correspondent requests of us information respect- ing the above named machine, which is spoken of highly, but only in general terms, in a late number of the Farmer and Gardener. The maker's name is Jas. L. Baldwin, but his place of residence is not stated. Any particular information respecting the machine from a disinterested source, if lilvely to be useful to the pub- lic, wdl be thankfully received for this publication. If this notice should meet the eye of the patentee of the machine, he is requested to write to N. Herbemont, Esq. S. C, and state particularly its performance, price, &,c. We also request, for another correspondent, informa- tion (derived from experience,) of the best and cheapest corn-mill, to be worked by horse power, and on a scale suitable for the wants of a single large farm. We use this occasion to say, tliat similar information, founded on sufficient experience, and sustained by the vohmtary communications and signatures of disinter- ested and respectable individuals, will at all times be received and published in this journal, with pleasure. But we have discouraged such communications, and will continue to refuse to publish them, when they are not sustained by names of known respectability, and unless the object appears to be to serve the public, and not merely to help tne sales of the owner of a patent right. Without such strict regulations, many of our pages would be filled with the certificates, (in form or substance,) of the superior advantages of new patents ; and which we know, nine times in ten, even of those the most abundantly supported by certificates, prove to be of little worth — and often of none. Such " commu- nications" would be, in fact, mere advertisements in dis- guise— difiering from ordinary advertisements in these respects however, that they would not be paid for, and that from their position, and the editor's apparent sanc- tion, they would have far more authority, and ef- fect, than any advertisement in ordinary form — and the publication would thereby serve the more to aid deception, if the invention was indeed worthless. Every one knows that the names of respectable indi- viduals may be obtained in recommendation of a new machine, with as much ease as to a quack medicine — and that they are worth, in the general, as little in the one case as the other. On our advertising sheet, or covers, any such advertisements may be placed, on the responsibility of those, who sign and pay ' for the ad- vertisements. But information respecting those or other machines or inventions, which appear in commu- nications to the Farmers' Register, must stand on very different, and much higher authority. It is a matter for regret, that we have been enabled to publish so few com- munications onthissubject. But it is far better that they should be too few than too many — as by a free ad- mission to such advertisements m disguise, this journal would be made the channel of communicating to its readers ten times as many falsehoods as truths, respect- ing new patent machines and implements. These remarks are, in part, a suitable introduction to the list and descriptions of new patents which follow, and which will be continued regularly hereafter, if the plan should be approved by our readers. The Journal of the Franklin Institute, to which we shall be indebt- ed for these descriptions, contains monthly lists of all 1836.] FxVRMERS' REGISTER, 45 the new patents issued from the Patent Office, and at as early date, as circumstances permit. The editor, Dr. Jones, who prepares these lists, and accompanies them with his comments, possesses great and peculiar facilities for the task — and therefore his opinions, as to the value of new inventions, deserve much re- spect. A large proportion of these patents are for in- ventions or alleged improvements of machines, or im- plements, designed to aid processes in agriculture, or domestic economy — and it is this class alone, that we shall extract for re-publication. By this means, a no- tice of every new invention will reach our readers, be- fore a travelling agent offers it for sale, and the service rendered by the earlier information to farmers, will be of much more value, perhaps, in directing what to re- ject, than what to approve and purchase. Extract from the Journal of tlm Frauklin"[Institute for April 1S35. MONTHLY LIST OF PATENTS FOR IMPROVE- MEiVTS IN MACHINES OR IMPLEMENTS, OR PROCESSES CONNECTED WITH AGRICUL- TURE OR, DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [The whole number of patents issued in Sep- tember 1835, (the last monthly list yet published,) amount to 67, of which the following 21 are of the class embraced by our plan for this and future month- ly republications.] For a Lever Press; Jonathan Payne, Russel- ville, Logan county, Kentucky, Sept. 9. This lever press, it appears, has been the sub- ject of an arbitration under tlie ninth section ol' the patent law of February, 1793, relating to in- terlering applications, which terminated in favor of the above named patentee. The construction of the press is pretty clearly made known in the Bpeciiication, but no claim is there made to any part of it. It is intended lor cotton, hay, tobacco, &c. &c. and is constructed as follows. A stout sill, from 30 to 50 feel in length, has, rising from the middle of it, two upright pieces of timber 10 feet high, which serve to sustain a lever, or beam, between them of the same length with the sill, and measuring 12 by 10 inches. A stout pin, ser- ing as a fulcrum, passes through the upright cheek pieces, and through the beam. Either end of this beam may be drawn down by means of a rack and wheel work, the latter being sustained by the sill, and the former depending from the le- ver. A pinion, probably of 4 or 5 inches in diam- eter, turned by a winch, gears into a wheel of 7 feet diameter, having a pinion on its axle of 6 or 7 inches diameter, which acts upon the rack. No directions are given for using this press, but as only one end of the beam can be employed at a time, the rack and gearing must at one end be used to raise,and at the other to depress the beam, between which and the sill the pressing must, ne- cessarily, be effected. For a Churning and Washing Machine; Tho- mas Ling, VVinihrop, Kennebec county, Maine, September 9. This is a swinging, or pendulum churn, which really has some novelty about, it and even in this fact alone, their is something cheering, as original- ity has long been a rare element in churns and washing machines. The churn is a round tub suspended vertically within a frame, so that it can swing like a pendu- lum. A vertical shaft within the tub carries dash- ers, as it IS the case in many other churns. To cause the dashers to operate, the shaft projects above the tub, and a strinir, or cord, passed once or twice round it, the two ends of the string being attached to opposite sides of the frame; on vibrat- ing the tub, the string operates like a drill bow, as will be readily perceived. The claim is to *'the modification and combination of the swing or pen- dulum churn and the dasher, for churning and washing." For a machine for Washing Cloihes and Full- ing Cloths; Orrin D. Wade, China. Genesee county, New York, an alien who has resided two years in the United States, September 9. The clothes are to be put into a box, or trough, through the lid of which there passes a row of up- right shafts having fiat blocks of wood on their lower ends, which blocks nearly touch each other. A row of horizontal levers, hung upon fulcra, and acted upon by lifters on a revolving cylinder, cause the shafts and their blocks to rise alternately, whilst springs above the levers force them down. This constitutes the whole apparatus, to which no claim is made. For a machine for Shelling Corn; Elijah Morse, Knox county, Tennessee, September 9. A roller of cast iron is to revolve horizontally, and upon it there are to be rows of teeth which pass betwen others on -the frame. The feeding, as we suppose, is to be effected by placing the ears upon a concave, hinged cover; whence they are to roll, or be forced, against the revolving shaft; a winch occupies one end of this shaft, and a fly wheel the other. The description is very imperlect, and the drawing, although well execu- ted, must certainly show the teeth of" the machine, and some other parts, incorrectly. The claim is to "the application of the roller, and the general con- struction of the whole machine." For the Application of Hydraulic Cement, 4*c,; Obadiah Parker, city of New York, Septem- ber 9. This is an application patent, like most of, or nearly all, those obtained for the use of cement. Hy an application patent, we mean one which might be taken for applying a plaster of some ap- proved salve to the head, another being taken for applying it to shoulder, and others for all the va- rious divisions and subdivisions of the superficies of the corporeal system. In the present instance are enumerated, "house and store cellars, vaults, small wood-cellars, vegetable cellars, cellars under side walks in cities, vaults in cemeteries, and vaulta for milk, and garden cellars; the construction of walls, floors, aud roofs of buildings, and walls for enclosure; the construction of locks and guards for canals; the construction of sinks for kitchens, and other purposes;" "which has not been known or used." Indeed! there is novelty in this infor- mation, and this, we are well convinced, is the only place in which we shall find it, although eigh- teen pages are occupied by the specification of these applications, and the claim thereto. 46 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 For Making Jirtificial Stone or Marbh; Oba- diah Parker, city ol" New York, September 9. Pulverized granite, or pulverized marble is to be brought, to a pro|)er consistence Ibr moulding into the required turin, in combination vviih water 'ime. This constitutes the inveniian. For the Formation of yjrtijicial Stone and Mar- ble for j/rchitaciarnl Purposes; Obadiuh Parker, ciiy of New York, S "ptember 9. We have agam about a dozen page? devoted to the mode of forming various ornamental and use- ful articles, pavements, &c. &c. by modes analo- gous to those described in the preceding specifica- tions, and having consequently, the same claim to novelty, or rather to antiquity. Should the paten- tee think himself aggrieved by the ibregoing re- marks, a thing which we do not anticipate, we will ofl'er him a reference to a gentleman in New York, who can tell him much more about the combinations of water lime, and the formation ol artificial stone,than he now knows; and will give him ample proof that our animadversions, or rather in- timations, are founded in jierlect truth. For a TVater JVheel; Jehiel W.'Darl, and Ste- phen Wood, Truxton, Cortland county, New York, Septembar 9. This is a kind of re-action apparatus, in which two wheels difilsrently constructed are to be placed one close above the other on the same vertical shaft; the first of these wheels has tour floats which re- volve ill a circular drum, through the side of which the water enters tangenticall^' to the circle, and strikes the floats: after performing its labor there, it escapes through a centre hole in a horizontal partition, and enters the ordinary reaction wheel, passing through its curved channels, and escap- ing at its periphery. The claim is to "the increase of power which is obtained in the above arrangement of the cen- tral discharges, or whirlpool wheel, and the reac- tion wheel." This is rather an inverted claim, being to the end, instead of to the means; but this in the present case is a thing of little conse- quence. For an improvement in the Coffee and Corn Mill; Elijah Morse, and Caleb Putnam, Knox- ville, Tennessee, September 9. Nominal improvements are so easily made that it requires no talent whatever to be author oi them, and such is that which forms the subject of the present patent. The mill in which the pre- tended improvement is made, is the common cast iron mill with a conical shell and nut, in its unal- tered state, excepting only that the patentees "claim as their own invention, and not previously known in the above machine, that the furrows in their mill run straight through, and not spiral, as in all other mills." It does not require two grains of mechanical knowledge to enable a person To decide that this change deteriorates instead of improves the mill: nor is it necessary to have dipped deeply into the logic of Aristotle, or of Watts, to arrive at the conclusion that it requires one and one to make two, yet in the case before us we are to ad- mit that the inventive genius of two individuals might be_ put into requisition to devise one set of etraight furrows. For Supplying and Regulating the Draught of AW to Fire Places; Robert Mayo, city of Wash- ington, September 9. Pipes, or tubes, of tin, or other material, which may be from one and a half to three inches in di- ameter, are to lead from the lower part of a build- ing, up the outer walls, their upper ends opening under the grate or fire place. Such pipes may be added to buildings already erected; but in the erection of new ones it is proposed to form these ascending air channels within the thickness of the walls, their lower ends opening to the external air, and their inner to the fire place. Valves to regu- late the quantit}^ of air admitted, may be con- structed of any suitable form. The claims made are '■^Flrst. The arrange- ment, combination ol" parts, and adaptation of tlie air pipes, or tubes, to ascend the outer walls or chimneys of buildings, or apartments, and pene- trate the same, contiguous to fire places. Second. I claim the construction of air channels or flues in the masonry of chimne3's, or the walls of build- ings, to ascend from a lower stratum of atmos- phere and terminate near to, or in, the fire places." With the exception of extending the tubes to the lower part of a building, it will not be pretend- ed that there is any novelty in this contrivance, the practice of admitting air from without, to feed fires, being old and common; but even the ascending tubes themselves are not new, they having been frequently recommended and applied to the sup- ply of fires for the purpose of ventilating cellars, and other lower apartments; it may be said, how- ever, in the present case, that this is not their ob- ject, that object beingmerely the supply of the fire; without inquiring into the validity of this allega- tion, it is proper to ask what are the advantages of these descending pipes, and we believe that this is a question which cannot be satisfiicforily answer- ed. The patentee says that we shall "thereby create a constant current through the tube, or pipe, of a strength proportionate to the height of the pipe, or the greater weight of the medium of atmosphere at the lower extremity, or inlet, than that at its upper extremity, or outlet; which takes place upon the same principle of pneumatic or at- mospheric pressure, which forces water in a tube, or well, to rise to the height indicated by the known weight of the atmosphere: and this principle is equally applicable, of course, to the air channeisj or flues, constructed in the masonry." The foregoing may pass with the illiterate for good reasoning, but it is altogether false and un- founded. The pressure at the opening of the tube within the room will not be altered by the ex- tra height of the atmosphere above the lower opening, the column within the tube being a per- fect balance to this; the whole trouble and expense of the tubes may, therefore, be saved, together with the cost of a patent right to do that which is in itself altogether useless. For a Washing Machine; Jami?s Lombard, Readfield, Kennebec county Maine, Septem- ber 9. The trough of this machine is a concave semi- cylinder, closed at the ends, and fluted along the semicircular part. The rubber, which is to act upon the clothes, is also a semi-cylinder, which passes into the trough, and is suspended by an axis at, or near, its centre. This rubber is either fluted, or covered with fluted rollers, passing from 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER, 47. end to end on its curved surface. It is so hung, by means of a strap, or chain, as that it may re- cede li'oni the trough, when too great a quanti- ty of clothes may be between them, and also (o admit of its continued pressure upon them. Tlie rubber is to be made to vibrate by means of a handle. Tlic claims are to "the tbrni and appli- cation of the rul')ber, or interior cylinder — the mode of suspending and operating tfie rubber, and the application of the strap, or chain, whereby the pressure is regulated, and the rubber allowed to yield." For a Machine for Breaking and Cultivating Sward Ground; Guy Gray, Industry, Somerset county, Maine, September 18. A square Irame is made to contain a roller, like that used for rolling ground, and a tongue is at- tached to the frame to draw it by. The roller, as described, is lour teet long, and is set with teeth in twelve rows, containing, alternately, five and six in a row; the teeth, which are pointed, are seven inches long, but curved so as not to project more than six inches from the roller. There are teeth, also, on the back rail of the frame, so set as to allow the roller to pass between them. The patentee says, that when this is "drawn over the closest sward land, it breaks it more thoroughly than any other machine known to him, so that the ground may be afterwards ploughed with less than half the strength of team otherwise required, whilst it is left in'a much better state for cultivation." There is not any claim made; the whole must, therefore, be considered as new, or the patent can- not be sustained. For a Plough for Cultivating Cora and Pota- toes; Peter Stahl, and John Difienbacher, Tur- but (ownship, Northumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, September 18. This instrument is made in the form of what is commonly called a cultivator, and is flirnished with six shares, affixed to standards twenty inches in length, for the purpose of mounting the beams high up above the ground. For the particular form of the shares, the model is, incorrectly, re- ferred to. The following is the claim. "The shares, or mould-boards, which are each cast in one piece, and forming a coulter, share, and mould-board. The high standards, which carry ihe plough beams so far above the corn, or potatoes, as not to break it down so long as it needs cultivating. The [)lacing these in such a manner as to plough, or cultivate, both sides of a single row of corn, or potatoes, at one and the same time of going over the same." For a Machine for Planting Cotton; Robert S. Goodman, Ballsville, Powhatan county, Virginia, September 18. This is one of those classes of machines, the individuals of which can scarcely fail of exhibiting a strong resemblance to each other. They run upon wheels, which are fixed on a revolving shaft, or axle; they carry a hopper, into which the seed is put, and which falls through an aperture regu- lated by the revolving axle. There is a share in front of the machine, to open a furrow, and a scra- per behind, to cover the seed. These are gene- ral elements, which are common to all, and are common property; what; is left, therefore, to inge- nuity, or fancy, is to devise those minor arrange- ments upon whtch the more or less perfect action of the machine is dependent, and which have usu- ally too little of originality, or skill, to render it worth while to follow them out, and such we think the case in the present instance. The claims are to "the manner of using the wheel at the |)erf()ration at the bottom of the hojjper. The re- volving shaft, with the pin, or pins, and conduc- tors,attached to it, to be set in motion in the man- lier described." For a Machine for shelling Corn; James S. Harris, Poultney, Riuland county, Vermont, Sep- tember 18. We apprehend that this will prove to be one of the least valuable of all the corn shelling ma- chines, from its being inconvenient and laborious to operate with, whilst h will not be recommended by its efficiency. It consists of a fixed rubbing board, set with teeth, or otherwise furnished with projecting points, and a movable rubbing board, to be worked up and down by a lever, which is moved by the right, whilst the feeding is to be performed by the left hand. No other provisions are spoken of, nor is any claim made. For a Cradle and blowing Machine; Edward Badlam, Jr., Chester, Windsor county, Vermont, September 18. By means of a face cog wheel on the inside of one of the wheels upon which the machine runs, motion is given to a horizontal shaft, the opposite end of which gears into a bevilled pinion on a vertical shaft, which sustains scythes, revolving horizontally. Small wheels on the underside of the fixtures of these scythes, run upon the ground, and serve to raise them over knolls, whilst springs above them keep them in their places; the grass^ or grains is received upon fingers, which conduct to a rack. The claim is to "the springs, with the fixtures for enabling the scythes to pass over small knolls; the fingers and the rack, for the purpose of catch- ing and laying the grass and grain, after being cut by the scythes." For machinery for Cutting and Collecting the Heads of Grain, and Grasses; Jacob Peck, and Daniel Ashmore, Jefferson county, Tennessee^ September 18. The machine is intended to be driven forward like a wheelbarrow, when grass seeds are to be col- lected; for the heads of grain, horses are to be em- ployed to drive the apparatus, which, in its general form, resembles a cart. The machine must be mounted upon wheels of such iieight as will suit the grain, or grass, the seeds of which are to be collected. The heads, as the machine advances, are to be received between a row of lancet shaped knives, flat on the top, and bevilled to a sharp edge fi'om below. Fingers of wood, or of metal, may also project forward, the better to guide the heads to the knives. Above the knives there is a kind of revolving reel, set in motion by bands and whirls, connected with the running wheels of the carriage; this reel, or open cylinder, carries knives, which come nearly into contact with the row of fixed knives befiire spoken of, which cut off the heads of the grain, or grass. There are various appendages to, and modifications of, this machine, described in the specification, which we cannot wait to notice. 48 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 "What we claim as our invention, are the ian- ceolali? knives, or, in the stead of them, the series of finijers, with other knives, to steady the grain in cntlincr — the revolving wheel, with strikers, knives, and canvass — the collecting hand with its wheels, crank, lever, rest, and adjustment — the pulleys and band to drive the revolving wheel — the propelling power behind — the prin- ciple of the governor of the rudder to give direc- rection to the machine; and the application of the whole to the use and purpose of catling and col- lecting the heads of grain, leaving the straw on the ground, and in like manner saving clover and other grass seed." We believe that it will be proved upon in- vestigation that this claim embraces- too many parliculars, and thus includes things which have been before well known and employed. Rows of lanceolate knives are not new; the propelling from behind, in grass and grain machines is not new; the driving a wheel by a band and whirls is not by any means a fit subject lor a claim; yet there is certainly enough in the machines upon which to have procured a valid patent. For Cleansing Clover and other Grass Seedsj Hiram Holt, Weld, Oxford county, Maine, Sep- tember 27. A cylinder, which may be two feet long, and the same in diameter, is to be covered with sheei iron, pierced so as to constitute a grater. Two concave shells, with like surfaces, are to be placed one on each side of this cylinder, leaving an open- ing at top for feeding, and at bottom for the es- cape of the seed. The cylinder, whose axis is horizontal, is to be made to vibrate backward and forward, to rub out the seed. The concaves are adjustable by screws. The claim is to this particu- lar action of the cylinder, flirnished vv'ith a con- cave on each side. For an improvement in the Grist Mill; Owen Moses, Malone, Franklin county, New York, Sep- tember 26. The stones in this mill are to run vertically, and are both of them to revolve, but in opposite direc- tions. The shaft of one stone is to be a hollow tube, through which that of the other passes, and a ho- rizontal crown wheel is to mash into wheels on each of these shafts. The feeding is to be through the eye of one of the stones. There is no claim, and if it is supposed that the revolving of both stones, or the mode of gearing to effect this, is new, a little inquiry would manifest the erroneous- ness of such an opinion. For a JVasfnng 3fachmej John J. and Ebene- zer C. Milliken, Winthrop, Kennebec county, Maine, September 26. A trough is to be made in which there are to be two sets of vibrating stocks, of the ordinary form; a double crank shaft, the cranks at right angles with each other, is to work the levers by which the stocks are suspended; the cranks pass through slots in these levers, and are furnished with fric- tion rollers, thus dispensing with pit-men, but by a much worse contrivance. Claim. — "The application of a crank directly to the arms of the stock, in such a manner that one stock only shall press at a time. The applica- tion of friction-rollers to the crank, as above de- scribed, &c." For a machine for Shaving Shingles and Staves; William H. Wilkinson, Wayne, Warren county, Ohio, September 26. The articles to be shaved are to be forced over irons, on the face of a bench. Two vertical vi^heels, acted upon in a way described, and shown in the drawing, serve to carry the articles over the irons. There is nothing in the machine worthy of special notice. The claim is to "the arrange- ment of the wheels acting upon the driver." For a Maddne for Dressing Hoops; B. Kim- ball, A. Pevey, and F. Spalding, Petersborough, Hillsborough county, New Hampshire, Septem- ber 18. A wheel furnished with cutters on its face, near to its periphery, is made to revolve by means of a iTiandrel, like that of a lathe. A gauge stands in front of the cutters, having a roller, against which the outside of the split bears; this gauge is capa- ble of being made to recede, by means of a lever, so as to allow the necessary increase of thickness in case of knots, &c. The following is the claim. Alter stating the various modes of arrangement which may be adopted, the |)atentees say; "We do not, therefore, claim the individual parts of this machine, as they have all been used under other combinations, and for various other purposes; but what we do claim as our invention, is the construc- tion of an instrument for dressing hoops, made and operating, substantially, in the maimer herein set forth; having a revolving cutter wheel, a shift- ing gauge, and the auxiliary appendages which ixive to it that character by which it is distinguish- ed fi-om other machines lor the same purpose." This machine has, we are informed, been found of very great value in its application to the purpose for which is was constructed. From the Genesee Farmer. ROLLIKG SEED BEDS. Nothing protects young turnips, cabbages, and other cruciferous plants, so effectually from the depredations of the fly, as the operation of rolling. For when the suriiice of the ground is thus ren- dered smooth, the insects are deprived of a lodging place under the clods of earth, and disperse. 7"'his effect may be observed in turnip fields; — -where the soil is finely pulverized, and the surface con- sequently left smooth, the crop is generally little injured, but where the surface is cloddy, it is often almost destroyed. But as rolling can only be done to advantage on light, or else on tolerably dry ground, where the soil is heavy and moist it can- not be resorted to; and as it is not always, when practiced, completely efliectual in repelling these insects, it is commonly advisable to provide the additional remedy of air slaked lime, which should be at hand, to sprinkle over the plants whenever the fly may ajipear. From tlie Genesee Farmer. STING LESS BEES. We have seen in some late journal, an extract from .Loudon's Gardener's Magazine, in which, speaking of the bee of New Holland, he says — "The native bee is without a sting, and not much 1836.] FARaiERS' REGISTER, 49 larger than a common house fly. It produces abun- dance of honey and wax, but has not yet been subjected to cultivation; and fi'om its small size, and building on high trees, probably never will be so." A late traveller in Mexico has given an inter- esting account of the native Mexican bee, which like the New Holland one is stingless, but has been completely domesticated, and forms an im- portant addition to the means of subsistence and comlbrt of the inhabitants, Indians as well as Spaniards. The Mexican, in appearance much resembles the wild bee termed the upholsterer or leaf-catter bee, the one that commits such rav'ages on the leaves of the rose bush while making pre- paration for depositing its eggs in the sunmicr, ex- cept that it is rather smaller. The natives in the interior manufacture their hives from clay, in the shape of large earthen jars, and nothing is more common than to see a number of these hives placed on a shelf under the projecting eaves, and over the door of the Indian cottages, where tiiey are half buried under climbing and fragrant blos- soming vines, the bees perfectly harmless, and their rich stores ever ready at command. Wlieth- er the Mexican bee could be brought to endure our northern winters ma\' be doubted, but that it would prosper in any of our southern states can- not reasonably be questioned, and we have often regretted that no atlempf has been made to natu- ralize it in that section of the United States. Once introduced, it would rapidly spread; and like other animals and plants, the natives of a warmer climate may gradually become capable of endur- ing ours, ami thus eventually supersede the use- ful, industrious, but sometimes dangerous domes- tic bee of northern latitudes. G. S031E OF THE EFECTS OF WEST INDIAN EJIANCIPATION, AS STATED BY THE FRIENDS OF THAT BIEASURE. The following extracts form a small portion of a long and interesting article in the last London Quar- terly Review, on the the "Foreign Slave Trade." The reasoning and the admissions are the more wor- thy of notice, as proceeding from a WTiter who (in the essential part,) approves of the recent and impor- tant measure of abolishing slavery in the Britisli West Indies — and also, for being presented in a work of such high authority as the Quarterly Review. Tlie results already found, in the short course of this great experiment, and still more the results anticipated by the reviewer, are such as any intelligent opposer of the abolition of slavery miglit have urged. But views from such a source would have been suspicious — and could not have compared, as authority, with these />rc- cious confessions. We wish to call the attention of our readers — norihern as well as southern — to the fol- lowing opinions, which will be found in other words in the extracts below, and some of which (especially on the probable extension of the African slave trade,) are enforced at length in the omitted parts of the re- view. These opinions are — 1st. That the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies has served, and still more ivill serve, Vol. IV— 7 greatly to increase the profits, and of course the prices, of slaves elsewhere — and, in consequence, will tend to extend the African slave trade, wherever that trade is permitted to exist. 2nd. That the payment of wages (though at rates much higher than their former cost of purchase and maintenance) will Jiot induce the emancipated slaves to furnish any thing like the former amount of la- bor. 3rd. That a large proportion of the sugar (or other) land will be thrown out of cultivation, owing to the increased expense of tillage, and the diminution of la- boring force. 4th. That the occuri-cnce of insurrections of slaves, and their consequences, where slavery continues, is counted on as one of the compensations to British in- terests, for the disadvantages sustained from emanci- pation in the British colonies. The last named argument, though (for good rea- sons) touched but slightly and tenderly by the English vv^riter, deserves the full consideration of the people of this country. It is unquestionably true, that, in this respect, the commercial interest of Britain, (putting aside the groundless but not less operative feelings of commercial and political jealousy,) will henceforth concur in action with the movements of the pretended philanthopists and fanatical abolitionists, of both Eng- land and the United States. If the leading and most active abolitionists in our northern states are not actually hired to work for the gain of British employ- ers, they well deserve to be paid the wages for such service: and there will be no lack of such effoi-ts, prompted and sustained from abroad, so long as the most selfish and base interests, are to be best subserved by words and acts which go forth in the guise of pure morality, religion, and disinterested love for the hu- man race. They who rob and murder, professedly in the name of virtue and religion, and for the glory of God,are an hundred fold more dangerous than ordinary villains who pretend to no better motive than the love of gain; and far more are their powers for mischief increased, when, in addition, they believe (as most of our anti-slavery fanatics do,) in the truth of their pretensions, and the holiness of their purposes and acts. From our slaves, of themselves, and from any political effects of the institution of slavery, as it ex- ists in the South, we have nothing to fear — (the throats and the purses of the property-holders of New York are in much more danger from their mobs office men and the spreading of agrarianism :) but the South, and the Union, have every thing to fear (and dano-er far greater than any from servile insurrections, ) from the restless, mad, and sustained action of the northern abolitionists. From the London Quarterly Review. We have already had occasion to observe how largely the slave-market has, of late years, thriv- en, under the expectation of the foreign planters, that the relaxation and discontinuance of slave- labor -n the British colonies must be followed by a diminution of British production, and by a con- sequently increased vent for the produce of the 50 FARMERS' REGISTER, [No. 1 foreign plantations. These expectations (on the strength whereof we understand that the prices of slaves in Puerto Rico and the southern Uni- ted States have already risen between 25 and 30 per cent.) have proceeded upon the very great difference between tlie cost of producing sugar by free and by slave-labor. In some parls of Gui- ana. St. Vincent's, Trinidad, Mauritius, and Ja- maica, the prime cost may probably be low e- nough, by reason of the soil's fertility, the fiicili- ties of carriage, and other local advantages, to promise a continuance of the sugar-cro|)s (not- withstanding the additional cost of Iree-labor), at a price not too high to find some purchasers; but on all the secondary class of estates, the cost of production, under the added disadvantage of free labor, must henceforth (unless relief can be gii;>°n in some essential point, such as that of the restric- tions on West Indian intercourse) be too heavy to be remunerated at any price which, under the present duty, the consumers, could permanently pay. Nay, even granting the fullest relief from restrictions, and admitting that, in general^ the planter may be able to procure fi-ee labor provided he give a liberal price for it, we cannot shut our eyes to the certainty tliat there are very many plantations which are too little productive to af- ford, at best, anything like a fi'ee-labor price, and which, in any conceivable circumstances, must absolutely be abandoned; in fact, we can hardly calculate this abandonment at a proportion so low as one -sixth of the whole; which would exhibit a discontinuance of production, to the extent of 38, 500 tons of the 231,000 now raised, being more than the whole quantity of West Indian sugar consumed in the markets of the European conti- nent. On this aubject we invite particular atten- tion to the simple matter-of-fact statements of Mr. Innes in his Letter to Lord Glenelg— jaas- sim. The first consequence then, of the recent abo- lition of compulsory labor in our West Indies and the Mautritius will be, and indeed already is, that so much of the of the continental sugar-market as those colonies were wont to supply must be fur- nished fi'om the cheaper labor of the foreign slave plantations; and of those supplies to the continent so failing from the Britsh colonies the annual amount is, we repeat, from thirty-five to forty thousand tons. To this full extent, at all events, and under any possible remissions, we must pre- pare to see substhuted, for the comparatively mild servitude of the British colonies, the oppressive slavery of the foreign settlements, fed by the Af- rican traffic; for East Indian sugai' being, as offi- cial evidence has shown, by much too "costly to compete on the continent with the slave-grown produce of the foreign settlements, the case\s flxr as concerns the continental su|)ply, seems wholly incapable of the remedy. Still, while we pretend not to deny that the English measure of emanci- pation is attended with llie disadvantage of ma- king room for a great deal of slave-grown sugar, on the continent, let us not be understooif as thence interring any blarne to our country. At worst, she may have been a little too precipitate in a right course. Her first duty was liik to be her own reformation; and if that reformation has left a wider scope for the covetousness and cruelty of her neighbors, England, however she may lament the misfortune, at least does not share- in the crime. But though she be thus irresponsible as to the supply which she is enabling the foreign slave- colonies to export in her stead to the continent, her responsibility for her own home-consumption is clear and unqualified. If, on anj' pretext whate- ver, political or commercial, whether to help her revenue or to cheapen her purchases. Great Bri- tain admit into her own market a single ton of su- gar raised by a slave-importing colonj^, she is a direct receiver in the felony, with more than the fe- lon's guilt. There will then be renewed, /or her profit, at Puerto Rico or Bahia, the suffering which will have been vainly extinguished in Demerara and Barbadoes; and on her, therefore, will he again that load of injustice from which she has so lately and painfully been shriven. We are fiirli-ora understating the case — the suffering of" our negro slaves had come, long before the Emancipation Act passed, to be a mere name,in comparison with what is likely to be substituted for it as the object of our patronage and protection. Most plainly, unless some honest and firm in- terposition come speedily to the aid of our own West Indian negro, these flagrant results are but too much to be dreaded, fiom the necessary tendency of emancipation to produce one or other of two effects — either a great augmentation in the cost of production — or an abandonment of culti- vation, not merelj' to the limited extent of the con- tinental consumption, before mentioned, but gen- erally throughout all the estates of secondary qual- ity; that is, throughout more than half the British plantations. The average annual expense of each negro, including the cost of his dwelling and pro- vision grounds, may be taken to have been, be- fore the emancipation, about £6 sterling per head; so that an estate possessing 300 negroes, and pro- ducing 3300 cwts. of sugar, would have required, in the item of negro labor, a yearly outlay of about £1800, or lis. in the price of the cwt. Even on the assumption, which we here adopt — but which is still denied by the West Indians — (and very streneously are they supported in their view by the evidence of Mr. Innes) — viz. that wa- ges will eventually induce the generally of the ne- groes to voluntary labor — it is certainly not to be expected that the wages for the daily number of hours requisite to keep up the production, can ave- rage less than a further annual sum of £5 ster- ling per head. This will add £1500 to the whole cost; being at the rate of 9s. and a fraction, in ad- dition to the former lis. for each cwt. of the 3300; so that, both during, and after the expiration of, the apprenticeship, the labor, if attainable at all, will be found, even on this calculation, (Avhich is below ninepence a day for each negro on an average of age, sex, health, and strength,) to cost at least <£ 1 per cwt. of sugar, whereof somewhat more than 9s. is a new charge, occasioned by the emancipation. But sugar, in this country, has become one of the necessaries of life; it has been rendered al- most indispensable, even among the poorest class- es, by their extensive consumption of tea and cof- ftee. The admission of East Indian sugar, at a duty reduced from its ))resent amount of 32s. per cwt. to 24s., which latter is the amount of duty paid on the sugar of the West Indies — even if such an equalization unaccompanied by any coun- tervailing relief to the West Indians from their present commercial disadvantages under the Na- 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 51 vigation Acts, were warrantable in point of justice to the present sugar-growers of tlie West — would .still give no abatement of price; because East In- dian suo-ar (as we shall presently see) may, from ail past experience, be expectetl, if sent hither in any considerable quantity, to require, tliough at an equalized duty, a price rather above, than be- low, the sugar of the west, even with the calcu- lated addition of 9^. per cwt. tor free labor: the ad- vantages enjoyed by the East Indian in cheap- ness of labor and other items of liis outlay, being overbalanced by the heavier rates ot his inland carriage and long voyage to England. Now, as England consumes almost 200,000 tons, or 4.000,000 cwts. of VVest Indian sugar yearly, an advance on that sugar of 9s. per. cwt. (the esti- mated additional cost of fl'ee labor) would be a tax of nearly £2,000,000 sterling, levied principally upon the working classes of our own people; and and 5'et, the duties and commercial restrictions re- maining as now, it would be an advance altogeth- er avoidable. Perhaps it would be too romantic to expect that a mere philanthropic consideration for tiie remote sutienngs of the African would lead the majority of the lower ranks in England to acquiesce in the payment of this heavy charge, still less in the sur- render or abridgment of one of their most im- portant daily comforts. The rise of prices, to so great an amount, and on so necessary an article, could not, in feet, fiiil to excite a loud dnd general demand for cheaper sugar; and since the British possessions would be incapable of satisfying this demand, it could be quieted only by the hasty re- moval of those prohibitory duties which now vir- tually exclude the sugars of the foreign, that is, slave-importing, colonies. With the diminished force and influence which modern events have left to the government, and especially with the pre- sent disposition toward free trade of all kinds, such a cry, however vicious, would not be easily resist- ed, even if the administration were interested in the resistence; but unfortunately, their interests would be with, and not against, such a movement; for it would help them in that great difficulty of all administrations, their finance. The diminu- tion of consumption, compelled by the rise of pri- ces, would have occasioned a grievous deficiency in the revenue produced by the sugar duties: for instance, a diminution of one-fifth would leave a deficiency of near £1,000,000 sterling. But the income so lost to the Exchequer would be but too easily reparable, by the admission of the foreign slave-grown sugars at a low rate of duty; and that would be a sufllcient temptation, with most governments, to admit them. Thus, by the simplest and most natural combi- nation of popular clamor with the interest of the treasury, the whole object of our long struggle on the negroes' behalf is in danger of being frustrated absolutely and for ever. The evil of slavery, ex- pelled from our colonies, will have shified its sphere, indeed, but increased its amount. Not merely that sixth which has hitherto supplied the continental market — but half — perhaps, two-thirds — of all our West Indian possessions will have been thrown out of cultivation. From the com- mencement of that desolating change, until the burst of some such general emancipation as we have anticipated in the foreign colonies, the Bra- ziUian and the Spaniard, not the African, will have been reaping the harvest of all our toil, and trea- sure, and sacrifice; and, in addition to her payment of £20,000,000 for the emancipation of British slaves, England will have sustained the mortifi- cation and mischief of depopulation to more than half her VVest Indian settlements — destruction to more than half her West Indian commerce — and a frightful aggravation of slavery and the slave- trade. The sum of human miserj" will have been augmented by the tremendous difference be- tween the social condition of the British and of the foreign negro; the difierence between cottagers, dwelling in enjoyment of all the necessaries and most of the privileges and comforts of life, alike in health or sickness, infancy or age — and men sta- bled like brutes, and harnessed out to the daily horrors of a toil, whose only redeeming quality is that of shortening the life which it renders intol- erable. Considerations of national defence, too, inter- pose themselves, though we hope they are not needed, to reinforce our humanity. Not only must the displacement of our sugar cultivation, by the foreign slave-trade, be the displacement likewise of all the maritime strength which the commerce and carriage of West Indian produce have raised and maintained for Great Britain, but the force thus lost by her is gained precisely by that power which alone has a navj? capable of giving her mo- ment's uneasiness. It is inevitably transferred to the already formidable harbors of the United Slates of America; for it is from their shores that the Spanish slave-islands derive their main supplies. Cuba alone takes goods from the United States to the 3'early value of eight millions of dollars. Twenty years ago, the direct trade between the United State and the two great Spanish slave- colonies of C iba and Puerto Rico would scarcely find employment for an amount of 50,000 or pro- bably even 40,000 tons of shipping. That trade now occupies American shippingto the amount of 220,000 tons. To America, from her local posi- tion, the intercourse with Puerto Rico and Cuba is in the nature of a coasting trade; and thus, in the commencement of a maritime war, the Ame- ricans could man, without difficulty, from so vast a marine, a navy of twenty, or perhaps thirty sail, before the flag of an English admiral could be visible in their waters. * * # * # Do what we may,however, the plain, disagree- able truth still is. that we can, in no possible mode, avoid a loss in some shape or other, to the extent of the difierence in price between free and slave labor. We may distribute and apportion that loss; but we cannot get rid of it. We have for a vast number of years carried on a trade in sugar, in which we netted, by the labor of slaves, a pro- fit of 9s. or 10s. per cwt. beyond what we could otherwise have attained. We have now, by a great national enactment, given up that profit. But having so given it up, we must patiently bear the privation, and not deceive ourselves into a supposition, that, by any arrangement or contri- vance between one set of interests and another, we can — at least for a long time to come — retrieve a single penny of what we have fairly surrender- ed. Yet perhaps eventually, even with a view to profit, the present maintenance of the West In- dian plantations may prove itself a measure of no 52 FARMERS' REGISTER. [No. 1 unproiluctive character. We liavc already point- ed out the probability that our foreign rivals, from the new circumstances of the times, and most es- ])ccially Irom tlie emancipation of the British slaves, will henceforth be more than ever exposed to those perils of insurrection and devastation by which St. Domingo was lost to France. We have shown how surely a successful revolt in any one quarter must be the signal for similar explosions in others; and by what cogent and not tardy causes the region and reign of slavery are likely to be narrowed. We hold if to be clear, at all events, that whenever any effectual check shall be given to the fresh importation of slaves, the loreign colo- nies, from the insufficient proportion of their female to their male negroes, and fi'om their inexpe- rience in those arts of amelioration by which the British planters have held their slave-population together, must rapidly lose that great conimand of cheap labor which at present enables them to strive so advantageously agamst England in the production of sugar. But if, while these defections are beginning to take place in the productive pow- ers of neighboring colonies, those of Great Britain shall have been enabled, by the jiroposed remis- sions in aid of free labor, to maintain their exten- sive production at five-sixths, or even two-thirds, ol its present amount, by negroes working for wa- ges, our colonial industry must stand upon a basis more firm and lasting than slavery could ever have constructed. After the foregoing article was in type the following paragraphs have appeared in the newspapers, which are here annexed as the latest facts and evidence on the subject. Concise as are the statements, they confirm most of the positions assumed by the reviewer. Ja- maica, and all the other British Islands, are rapidly and certainly moving on to that state to which Hayti has already arrived. " Abolitionism in Jamaica. — The last accounts from Kingston, (to April 2d,) represent the affairs ot that Island to be in a suffering and fast decaying condition. The apprenticeship law seems to have utterly failed. The Jamaica papers speak in bitter and indignant terms of the present state of affairs. The sugar crop has decreased, crime and vice have increased, and the short- sighted philanthropists have added tenfold to the mi- sery which they sought to alleviate. Free negro la- bor, in that climate, amounts to nothing. [New York Times.] " It seems, notwithstanding the efforts of the British to suppress the slave trade, that the western coast of Africa, below the colonies, swarm with slavers. One vessel was recently taken, with a cargo of 600 human beings on board, and a few months ago, twenty-five sail of slave ships were lying at the port of St. Pauls." QUERY AS TO MAUL ON COTTON LAND. SIN- GULAR MODK OF HAY-MAKING. Columbia, S. C, Jlpril 7, 1836. To tlic Editor of the farmers' Register. It is a long time since I have written to you — but my long silence is not without a very good ex- cuse, which would be uninteresting to you, or the readers of your interesting Registl>r. As it is, I write to let you see that my regard for your perio- dical continues as great as ever, than to communi- cate to you matter of any worth. I learn, with great pleasure, from a friend in Charleston, that your Farmers' Register is now beginning to at- tract some attention ; and, therefore, I hope the almost certainty of its usefulness, in the lower part of this State, may soon cause experiments to test the value of calcareous matters in that sec- tion of country that needs it so much, and has an abundance of materials for them. Have any ex- periments ever been made to test the usefulness of calcareous earth in the culture of cotton? The high price which this article bears at this time would render such experiments most valuable, and tend to show its great use in other articles of cul- ture. Judging fi'om analogy, I am satisfied that marl, or fossil shells, would much increase the cot- ton crops; for it is most probable that the great crops of cotton produced in Alabama are due chiefly to that ingredient in the soils of that State. Planters, in the iract of country where calcareous earth abounds, would very greatly promote their private interest, as well as that of their country generall}', by making full experiments on this sub- ject. This letter, being desultorj', very much like the mind of the writer, 1 shall now change the subject, and write on what I read may years since, in an European book, the name of which I cannot re- collect. It is on hay-making, and I was struck at the time, with the plausibility of the author's notion. He began, by asserting thafth ehay of young and tender grass is sweeter, and more nutritiftus than that made of grass that lias been suffered to grow old and less succulent. I cannot ascertain, by my recollection, whether he merely suggested a view not tried before, or whether he had actually prac- ticed the method of making hay which he pro- posed. What I say on the subject, will, of course, be taken only for what it is worth. His plan was to cut his grass as soon as it is high enough to be cut, to take it off the field at once, and spread it thinly on the floor of a large house, prepared for the purpose, by having its sides so open all round as to admit a free circulation of air. Hay cured in this manner, retained its green color, and its sub- stance was not impaired in any degree by expo- sure to rain, dew, or the sun. By the time he had more grass fit to cut, that in the house ^vas dry, and the new grass was deposited on the top by spreading it as before. The same operation was continued or repeated as long as grass could be obtained during the whole summer, without dis- turbing at all that which had been previously de- posited in the house. The erecting a suitable building, need not be expensive, though it should be large ; lor it may be made in the coarsest manner by the farmer's own people. It appears to me that this manner of making hay has a great many ad- vantages over the common mode. First, the hay must be better and more palatable tor the horses and cattle. Sccondlj^, it cannot require more, (if as much,) than half the work. Thirdly, the far- mer can better select his own time for it, and his grass need never be exposed to rain, by which much of the hay made in the usual way is much injured, and sometimes totally spoiled. Much more might be said on this subject ; but this is enough tor the present, and if it be thought pro- 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER, 53 per, it may be discussed njore Hilly at a future time. N. II. [There are abundant proofs derived from experi- ence, in Virginia, that marling is no less beneficial to cotton, than to other market crops : and besides, there is another important and a peculiar benefit to cotton, in this region. By the marling making the earth warmer, and the growth of the cotton plants more for- ward, the crop is matured earlier than one equally heavy, on land otherwise manured, and not calcareous; and thereby much good cotton is made from pods that would otherwise be caught unripe, by frost. This par- ticular effect, however, would be of less importance in the warmer climate of South Carolina.] From the Genesee Farmer . RECOVERING FROSTED PLANTS. It is well known that the injury caused to plants by early spring frosts, is not owing so much to the direct action of the cold, as to the sudden application of warmth afterwards. London nur- serymen iiave availed themselves of the know- ledge of this fact in recovermg plants affected by frost during the night. Their practice is simply to sprinkle them copiously with cold w^ater be'lbre sunrise. This produces the same effect as the application of cold water to a frozen limb — ab- stracting the frost so gradually as to produce no injury to the affected parts. From the Genesee Fanner. ROTATION OF GARDEN CROPS. It is well known that nearly all cultivated crops exhaust the soil; and that most crops if continued in yearly succession on the same piece of ground, grovv more feebly, degenerate, and become more subject to disease, unless the soil is constantly en- riched by enormous quantities of manure, and even this is not always sufficient to prevent those evils. It is also well known that these difficulties are prevented with far less expense of manuring, by an alternation of different crops, by wdiich plants of the same or similar nature are not cultivated in immediate successsion, but recur at as distant intervals in the course as circum- stances will allow. Thus, in grain crops, the leaves bemg small, nearly all the nourishment goes to the formation of. the seed; hence all plants, where seed is the principal product, should never succeed each other. Eut they may succeed, or be succeeded by, those plants whose principal pro- duct is leaves, as green crops of clover; also such plants as cabbage, and others of a similar kind. As plants exhaust that part only of the soil which comes in contact with the roots, a spindle root, such as a beet or a carrot, may draw abundance of nourishment from land, the surface of ivhicli has been exhausted by short or creeping roots. Again, crops consisting of plants whose mode of growth or cultivation tends to the production of weeds, should not immediately succeed each other. Hence hoed crops may follow those sown broadcast, as a means of preserving the land clean. Rotation of crops is especially necessarj^ in gar- den culture, because here the expenses of cultiva- tion are considerable, and as the crops are gene- rally heav^y and valuable lor the amount of land occupied, a greater difference results from good and bad management, than in common field cul- ture. The following course for garden rotation is given in M'Intosh's Practical Gardener: 1. Brocoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and savoys. 2. Common beans, French beans, and peas. 3. Carrots, beets, and parsnips. 4. Turnips, early potatoes, onions, leeks, &c. 5. Celeiy, endive, lettuce, &c. The author of the above named work, further adds. "It is found in practice, that celery consti- tues an excellent preparation for asparagus, onions and cauliflowers. "■Turnips and potatoes are a good preparation for cabbages or greens. "Brocoli or cabbages are a good preparation for beans or peas. "Cauliflowers prepare ^vell for onions, leeks, or turnips. "Old asparagus land affords a good preparation for potatoes or carrots. "Strawberry, currant, gooseberry, and raspber- ry, for the same. "Turnips give a suitable preparation for celery or endive; and peas, well manured, are a good preparation tor spinach, &:c." RESULT OF THE PETITION OF THE AGRICUL- TURAL CONVENTION. The last session of the legislature of Virginia was not closed until when well advanced into its fourth month ; and would not then have been ended, but for the near approach of the next elections of members — which is the only effective limit, and term of the dura- tion of the sessions, which noiv exists. The petition of the Agricultural Convention for some legislative aid to the diffusion of the knowledge, and promotion of the interests of agriculture, was presented on January 14 : was referred to the Committee of Agriculture and Man- ufactures, and ordered to be printed, (as usual with the most important papers,) for the use of the mem- bers— which, whether viewed as a compliment, or oth- erwise, the result has shown was a useless and worth- less measure, and not deserving the very small expense required for the printing. Time passed away without any action, any consideration, or any manifestation of a desire to act upon, or to consider the petition, or its objects — and it soon became evident to its most zealous movers and advocates, that nothing would be done in accordance with its prayer. From our long establish- ed opinion of the character of the legislative proce- dure of Virginia — of the description of persons who have long guided or controlled it — of the means by which such dignities are usually gained — and of the kind of qualifications best suited to keep possession of them — for all these reasons, we had but faint hopes of any efficient and serviceable enactments for the ad- vancement of agricultural knowledge — or indeed for the practical promotion of any of the great and impor- 54 FARMERS' REGISTER. No. 1 tant interests of the commonwealth. We were there- fore in a great measure prepared for a final rejection of the petition of the Convention, after some njjpearance of deliberation thereon. We had even (in imagination) anticipated the kind of reasoning that would be used to oppose the general measure — and were prepared to hear of the ridicule and scoffing of every particular proposition that had been (or could be) made, for the advancement of agricultural improvement — and still more to hear the economical objections of members, who would not have hesitated to spend more public money than all that was required for a year's expense of a Board of Agriculture, in a contested election of a door- keeper of their hall. But we were not lyrejmrcd for the actual course by which the expected result was reach- ed. The petition was not rejected— for in truth it ne- ver was acted upon, considered, or its objects in any way discussed by the legislature — and almost as lit- tle may be said of the action of the Committee of Agri- culture, to whose charge the petition had been referred. As late as five or six weeks after that reference, the committee had not taken the petition into consideration, and had taken no step whatever, with regard to it. Af- terwards, at the request of its chairman, and aided by his interest and support, (andfor which, however, in- effectually exerted, that gentleman deserves the thanks of the friends of the measure) — the Committee of Agri- culture, took up the petition — but only to ask of the house, "to be discharged from its further consideration;" which was done, with the utmost readiness. This final dispositon of the petition attracted so little attention, that probably half the members of the legislature did not know of it being made — and it may be doubted whether they know of it yet. If the most enlightened and patriotic legislature that Virginia has ever been blessed with, had, in good faith, and with the best intentions, undertaken the novel sub- ject of aiding the improvement of agriculture, there would necessarily have been much diversity of opin- ion, and on that account, a probable want of final and proper action, during the first session. Butthe discussion of itself, would have done much good, and would have certainly led to future and beneficial action. With even this evidence of disposition to aid agriculture, and the prospect which it would have offered of future results, the friends of the cause might have been contented. Such certainly would have been our own view of the matter — and however anxious that something should be done to further the general object of the Convention, we would have preferred that there should have been too litllr, rather than too much action of the legislature ; or that any particular measures should have been adopt- ed, unless with due deliberation, and in tlie manner best calculated for permanency. If, at the last ses- sion, the legislature had extended (and limited) their action to simply instituting a Board of Agriculture — a mere consulting and advising body, of eight or ten members — which would not have cost annually more than $'1000 ; and which institution, would not have pledged the legislature to any other special measure or action in future — we would have preferred that course to the adoption of all of the other recommendations of the Convention. This admission may perhaps, be thought to contradict our former expressions, or acts. But there is certainly a great difference between the advocating by a private individual, of general mea- sures, or a system., for the adoption of government, and of hasty enactments designed to bring such general mea- sures into operation. Of the value of the eyid in view, there is no question : but of the means, there may be much to doubt, and to fear — and the adoption of unsuit- able means — though haste and want of due considera- tion, would greatly retard, instead of hastening the re- sults desired. But the mode in which the last legisluture disposed of the petition of the Convention, furnished no ground to suppose that the objects of that paper, would have found favor under any circumstances. The course was pre- cisely such as might have been expected, from a body that closed their long session by passing or rejecting bills almost en 7nasse, and in the most indecent haste, after having spent two weeks, or more, in discussing abstract resolutions on the northern abolition move- ments— (a question on which the members professed to be all of one opinion — ) and which resolutions, when finally passed, could not lead, and were never expected or designed to lead, to any practical, useful, or direct end whatever. They have been laid before Congress. Their existence is scarcely known to one abolitionist in a thousand — and on not one of them, nor on any one else, have the resolutions had the slightest effect. This is a peculiarly forcible, but yet true illustration of the general character of the legislative procedure of Vir- ginia; and the existence and long continuance of that character, is the sorest of all the many evils under which the best interests of the commonwealth are suf- fering and sinking. The " anti-abolition resolutions" are particularized, not so much for the enormity of the case, as because they were in the uncommon position of not presenting a question of creed and conflict of political parties : and opinions on questions of the latter kind, will always be carefully avoided in this journal. Such censures as we now utter, may perhaps apply with peculiar fitness to particular acts and times, or to particular bodies of men. But generally and cor- rectly they apply, (and so we design them to apply,) to all times for twenty years back, or more — and to all parties, whether forming majorities or minorities in our legislature. We fear that it is the incurable vice of Vir- gitiia legislation to talk, and uot to act — and that it will continue to be distinguished for its abundant fruits of long speeches upon abstract questions — and its utter neglect of useful and practical works. Because Madi- son, and Taylor, and Giles, and other intellectual giants of that time, by tlie discussion of resolutions in the Virginia legislature, effected a great political reforma- tion— many, even of the pigmies among their succes- sors, have aped the form of their example, and tried by mere "resolutions" upon almost every federal ques« tion of interest, to produce important results. The pe- culiar circumstances which existed in '98, the cause, and above all the men who acted — produced the re- sults— and not the manner of action (by passing reso- 1838.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 55 lutioiis,) nor because the theatre was the House of Dele- gates. Yet an unhappy consequence of those glorious events has been to establish in the Virginia legislature a fashion of discussing and adopting series of resolu- tions at almost every session, on mere abstract ques- tions, and in that way to waste the time of the assem- bly, and the treasure ol the state— and to overlook and neglect all great practical interests. Yet all these fee- ble and ridiculous attempts to assume the port and dig- nity of the great original examplars, have resulted in notliing — unless to raise to some notoriety and tempo- rary importance, and perhaps to higher political station, some of the busy movers and supporters of such "reso- lutions." The general result has been to degrade the character of our legislation, and to render it as ridicu- lous abroad, as it is inefficient at home. These expressions of censure are directed to the gen- eral legislative course described, and not to any partic- ular acts, or opinions, or to men who have sustained either. Our own individual and private opinions have in most cases, concurred with the various resolutions that have been at various times adopted in the legisla- ture of Virginia — and in some of them, we had an humble participation, and lent to the measure a zealous and hearty support. But w-ithout regard to the purport of such resolutions, we protest against the entire course pursued with regard to them, and call on every true friend of the interests of Virginia, to declare war against all such discussions of unsubstantial abstractions — and to demand that the true practical interests of Virginia shall not continue always to be neglected, merely to indulge political aspirants and office-seekers in ex- hibiting their to supposed talents, and theirclaims to the rewards for which they offer resolutions, and make speeches thereon. The people, those who make le- gislators, must take this matter in hand, and insist that something shall be done for agriculture, instead of there being an almost regular waste of some weeks of every session, in discussing abstract resolutions — by which, what ought to be a dignified legislature, is con- verted into a mere debating society; and hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent, merely that Mr. A. or Mr. B. may show that he would cut a good figure in Congress, if the people of his district could be so im- pressed with his merits as to send him there. Nevertheless — let the friends of agricultural interests not cease to exert every effort to promote the diffusion of agricultural knowledge, and that too by means of le- gislative aid. Let every one who is impressed with the value of the object, exert his influence at home to advance it, and the voice of the next Agricultural Con- vention may be heard, and its prayers not be so totally negrlected as those of the last. From Chai)tal's Chemistry applied to Agriculture. GENERAL VIEWS OF THE ATMOSPHERE, CON- SIDERED IN ITS EFFECTS UPON VEGETA- TION. In order to judo;e of the influence which the at- mosphere exercises over vegetation, it is necessa- ry to be acquainted with the peculiar and charac- teristic properties of each of the elements of which it is composed, and to study their action upon ter- restrial bodies. The gases, azote and oxygen, are the two fluids, of which tiie atmosphere is essentially composed; they are found in unilbrm proportions, even in the highest regions from wliicii they have been brought. M. Gay-Lussac has established this fact, by a comparative analysis of the air taken Ironi the height of twenty-three thousand feet, and of that which is upon the surface of the earth. There are certain other fluids, which are uni- formly Ibund in the atmosphere, but in very varia- ble ]}roportions; the principal of these are carbon- ic acid, water, the electric and magnetic fluids, light, and heat. The two last mentioned, exercise a very marked influence, not only on vegetation, but on all the phenomena which terrestrial bodies present to our notice; and though they do not en- ter essentially into the composition of the atmos- phere, iheir action is so closely united with that of its principal constituents, as to be nearly insepara- ble from them. In order that the action of the at- mosphere may be better understood. I propose to to treat separately of all the fluids it contains, and afterwards to show the phenomena which the ap- plication of them to agriculture exhibits. Of the Ponderable Fluids contained in the Atmos- phere. The ponderable fluids contained in the atmos- phere are azote, oxygen, carbonic acid, and wa- ter. 1. Azote constitutes nearly four fifths of the at- mospheric composition, and yet, by a singular ca- price of nature, it exercises less influence on the substances of the three kingdoms, than any one of the other principles contained in the atmos- phere. This gas is found in small quantities in some of the products of vegetables, and abun- dantly in those of animals. The presence of azote in some of the products of vegetation is to be accounted for by its presence in the water, which plants imbibe Irom the atmosphere, and in those manures by which plants are nourished, and of which it forms one of the principal consti- tuents. In animals, in which azote is more abundant than in plants, the food by which they are nour- ished, and the air which is inhaled by respiration, concur equally to account for its presence. The experiments of Messrs. de Humboldt and Provenc^al upon fish, Spallanzani upon reptiles, and those of Messrs. Davy, Pfafl", Enderson, Ed- wards, Dulong, &c. upon man, leave no doubt as to be absorption of azote during respiration; but this absorption is unequal and irregular, vary- ing according to circumstances; this gas difl'ering from oxygen in this particular, at least in its ef- fects upon animal and vegetable economy. The action of azote is, so far as it is known, of such trivial importance, that we are at a loss to account for the proportion which nature has assigned it in the composition of the atmosphere. It is sup- posed by some, that all the gases, all the vapors, and all the exhalations which arise from the sur- face of the earth, form in the atmosphere an im- mense magazine of azote, which is returned thence as it is needed, either for the support of an- 56 FARMERS' REGISTER- [No. 1 imal and vegetable Jife, or to produce those phe- nomena of composition and decomposition, Avhicli are constantly renewing the surlace of the globe. The specific gravity of pure azote is to that of the atmosphere in the proportion of 0,691 to 10,000. 2. Oxygen gas forms about one-fifth of the at- mosphere. The specific gravity of oxygen is to that of the atmosphere, as 11,036 to 10,000. The effects produced by oxygen are equally numerous and important; it supports animal life by respira- tion; and combining with the carbon of the blood, it produces the greatest proportion of animal heat. Tlic germination of s'eds is ])romoted by this gas, and it is absorbed by the leaves of plants during the night: by its combination with the metals the oxides of them are formed. It is likewise the neces- sary agent of combustion, and concurs powerfully in the decomposition of all animal, vegetable, and mineral substances. In all cases where oxygen exerts its action, it combines with some one of the elements upon which it afits, fbiming acids with carbon, azote, sulphur, phosphorus, and many of the metals; water with hydrogen, &c. The nature of the compositions, of which oxygen is an element, va- ries according to the proportions in which it enters into combination. When we survey the extent and importance of the operations performed by this gas, and espe- cially when we consider that it is constantly form- ing new bodies, with which it afterwards ceases to have any connexion, we are almost led to fear, that the atmosphere must be, sooner or later ex- hausted of this active and regenerating principle; but nature, we find, is continually repairing the loss thus sustained, by the production of equiva- lent quantities. The leaves of plants, under the influence of the solar rays, pour ibrth into the at- mosphere torrents of oxygen, produced by (he de- composition of carbonic acid and of water; of which they appropriate to themselves the carbon and the hydrogen. It is without doubt possible, that in many situ- ations the reproduction of oxygen is not in pro- portion to its consumption. Tfiis must happen especially where great quantities are required for respiration, or to support combustion. But this de- ficiency is only partial and momentary; for the great mobility of the atmospheric fluid enables it, almost immediately, to restore its equilibiium from all points. The agitation of the wind mixes to- gether, in proportions nearly constant, both the el- ements of which the atmosphere is composed, and the principal fluids which are found in it. The creation or dcsiruction of any element is not to be found in the operations of nature. The numerous phenomena of composition and decom- position, which take place upon the surface of the globe, present only changes ef combinations, which arc formed according to fixed, eternal, and unchangeable laws. Thus nature is regenerated, without being impoverished; and matter experi- ences only those changes which are reproduced uniformly and periodically, especially in organic bodies. 3. Carbonic acid is found constanfly, but in va- rious proportions, in the atmosphere. Though much heavier than azote or oxygen, its weight being to that of the latter, as 1,520 to 1,000, it is found disseminated throughout the whole atmos- pheric region. The elder M. de Saussure has, by means of lime-water, drawn it from the air upon the summit of Mont Blanc. From the results of all the experiments that have been made, there can be no doubt, that the proportions of azote and oxygen in the composition of the atmosphere are uniform and nearly invariable; and it appears to be likewise proved, that carbonic acid is also found there, and at all heights, but in various pro- portions. M. Th. de Saussure has compared tlie differ- ent portions of carbonic acid in the atmosphere which he has analyzed, and found the diflierence between them, in summer and in winter, to be as follows. In winter. 31st of January, 1809, 10,000 parts of air contained - - carbonic acid 4,570 2d of February, 1811 - " " 4,660 7th of January, 1812 - " " 5,140 The mean term in winter from 10,000 parts of air was, In volume - 4,790 In weight - 7,280 In summer. 20tli of August 1810 10,000 parts of air contained - - carbonic acid 7,790 27th of July, 1811 - " " 6,470 15th of July, 1815 - " " 7,130 The mean term in summer from 10,000 parts of air was. In volume - 7,130 In weight - 10,830 Without doubt, when the air is tranquil, or when the carbonic acid, which is produced so abundantly by fermentation, respiration, combus- tion, &c., is retained in confined places, the quan- tity of this acid will exceed the ordinary propor- tion; but from the moment that the agitation of the winds can mingle it with the atmosphere, it is spread and diflused towards all points, accord- ing to certain fixed laws. Unless in some extra- ordinary cases, which form exceptions to the gen- eral rule, carbonic acid exists in the atmosphere at most only in the proportion of ^ij^. Carbonic acid is constantly absorbed and de- composed by the leaves of plants. The carbon is appropriated by the i>lants to their own support, and the oxygen is thrown out into the atmosphere. Carbonic acid combines Avith the lime in fresh mortar, and causes it to return to its original state of lime-stone. Under the pressure of the at- mosijhere, water will hold in solution nearly its own volume of carbonic acid, and be slightly acidulaleii by it; but under the force of a greater pressure, it will contain a much greater quantity. Water, thus charged, froths like Champagne wine, which owes its effervescence to the carbon- ic acid produced by the fermentation of the wine in wcll-corkcd bottles. In some recent experi- ments carbonic acid gas has been reduced by com- pression to a liquid state. 4. Water exists in the atmosphere, under the form of an elastic fluid. When it is absorbed by bodies for which it has a strong aflinity, such as the calcined muriate of lime, the portion of air from which it is taken, is diminished in weight 1836.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 57 and vein me. This has been proved by the expe- riments of the elder M. de Saussure and of Davy. The quantity of aqueous fluid contained in the air, varie.s accordmo' to the teni|)erature of the atmos- phere, and increases in proportion as tiiat is eleva- ted. At 50° Fahrenheit, it forms in volume nearly TjL of the atmospheric fluid; and as its densitv is to that of the atmosphere in the proportion of 10 to 15, it constitutes nearly ,V °^' i^^ weight (Davy.) The aqueous fluid forms, when the atmospher- ic temperature is 34° Centiirrade = 93°.20, (Da- vy says at 100°,) yV o^ the volume ol" the air, and ttY of its weight. The elder M. de Sau.=;sure, in his beautiful Treatise vpnn the Ui/grmmter, has determined the weight of the water contained in a cubic foot of air, at (hfierent temperatures, and has prepared the lollowing table of the results. Weiglit of the ivatcv Wei ;lit of the water Degrees of liy- contained in a cul)ic contained in a cu- groineter. foot of air at ^^".■2 l)ic toot ot air at Falirenlieil. 4o \9 Falirenhcit. Grains. Grains. 10 0.4592 0.2545 20 1.0928 0.G349 30 1.7940 1.0833 40 2.56.'^4 1..5317 50 3.4S.52 2.0:)47 60 4.G534 2.7159 70 6.3'J51 3.8731 SO 8.04.59 4.0733 90 9.7250 4.919S 98 11.0.390 5.G549 ''Consequently," adds M. de yaussure, '•! do not think we are far from the truth, in assigning 11 grains of water to saturate a cubic foot ot' air, at the temperature of 15° of Reaumur," (equal to 65°.75 Fahrenheit.) "The solution of these 11 grains of water in a cubic foot of air at the teaipeniture of 15° Reaum. (equal to 65°. 75 F.) increased the density ol" the air so much, that the barometer, which b;>l!jre was at 27 inches, rose to 27 inches 5 lines 79,411, that is to say, about 27 inches 6 lines; consequently, the density of the air, or its volume in tiie receiver, was increased about --■,."' When the temperature of the air is dinnnished, the acjueous fluid is conden.sed, and appears in the atmosjjhere in the lorm of vapor, and is deposited in the state of de.v. The moisture of the night air from this cause, during the heat of summer, restores vegetation from that state of languor pro- duced by the too great war.mth of the day. Oxygen and azote have been classed among the simple bodies; carbonic acid and aqueous flu- id among the compound bodies, of which the principal constituents are known, and which can be formed and decomposed at will. 100 parts of carbonic acid contain — ■ carbon 27.36 oxygen 72.64 10 parts of water contain, hj'drogen 11.08 oxygen 88,94 Oxygen and azote constitute, essentially, the atmosphere; since, when the two other jsrinciples are separated fi:om it, it still retains nearly all its Vol. IV— 8 characters of form, elasticity, &c. It however loses its most important powers of influencing ve- getation; so that all the substances found in the atmosphere are necessary to the production and renewal of the phenomena which the three king- doms present to us. Of the four principles of which 1 have just spo- ken, as constituting the atmosphere, the aqueoua fluid is that which appears tlie least closely uni- ted to the others; since a change of temperature alone is sufficient to produce a change of its pro- portions; whilst azote, oxygen, and carbonic acid |)reserve, always, nearly the same relative propor- tions; nor can they be varied, or disunited, by means of compression or change of temperature. The aqueous fluid does not rise to a great height in the atmosphere; for, according to the reports of those experimentalists who have arrived at their conclusions by the assistance of air-balloons, the higher regions of the atmosphere are very dry, so as to produce, by the avidity with which they ab- sorb the moisture fi'om the boat of the balloon, a warping and cracking of its boards, as if they had been exposed to a strong heat. This effect is produced by the dryness of the atmosphere and the diminution of its specific gravity. The manner in which the atmospheric elements are united is woriiiy of notice. This union is suf- ficiently strong to counterbalance the difference in their specific gravities, and not to allow them to be separated by compression, or the tumultuous agitation of the air; and yet it permits the various principles to be decompojicd and isolated, by pre- senting to them bodies jbr which they have some slight affinity. Thus, if v/e inclose under a bell- giass any volume whatever of atmospheric air, ihe aqueous fluid may be extracted from it, by the calcined muriate of lime. The combustion of phosphorus in it will absorb the oxygen gas; lime-water, or the caustic alkalies, will combine with the carbonic acid; and nothing will remain but azote, which is tlie portion that has the least tendency to form combinations. This weak state of union among the principles contained in the atmosphere is necessary, in order that they may exert their powerlul and constant action upon all the various bodies which cover the surliice of the globe; the composition and decom- position of which cannot be eflected othexwise than by the means of these agents. Independently ol those bodies which es.senfial- ly cons;itute the atmosphere, there are mingled in it the exhalations constantly arising from the earth; these are again disengaged from the air, and preciphated, as soon as the heat, or any other cause which occasioned their ascension, ceases to act upon them. These exhalations modify the properties of the air, and aliect its purity. The oxygen and the water of the atmosphere become impi-egnated with the particles of the exhalations which are deposited with them upon the sur- faces of other bodies, where they remain in con- tact, or enter into combination, with them. The origin and dissemination of many maladies may be traced to this source; the germ of them is carried through the air by the aqueous fluid. And for the same reason it is, that intermittent fevers are endemic in those situations where large quan- tities of animal or vegetable matter are undergo- ing decomposition, as upon the borders of poods and marshes; and that miasm, which arises from FARMERS' REGISTER [No;i numerous animal remains in a state of decompo- 1 what is neitlier more nor less than a sale of stock sition, becomes a fruitful source ol" disease. It is in London, on the state of exchange ; and in con- fer the same reason also danrrerous, under some sequence of its reduction, on the staple articles circumstances, to breathe the evening air; the aqueous fluid contained in it, is loaded with the noxious principles, which the heat of the sun during the day had caused to ascend into the at- mosphere. The disagreeable odor, conveyed to us in mists, is owing to the power of the ac^ueous fluid in transmitting the exhalations arising from the earth. The manner in which the air conveys to us the perfume of plan's, and the odor which it contracts from the exhalations of bodies in a state of de- composition, indicate clearly its influence in pro- ducing maladies, and still more plainly its power of propagating those that are contagious. [To be continued.] From the Boston Courier. BROOM CORN CULTURE. A broom corn mania is getting up in this region, and the coming spring, irom appearances, little else will be seen in meadows. Broom brush is un- exampled in price, .':3!!ing readily at fifteen cents, and ashes to put on broom corn land, sell now at twenty-five cents per bushel in this village. The produce of an acre of broom corn was sold the other day in this town for ?j 130. THE MONEY MARKET. To the Editor of the l''anners' Register. "The expected increase of bank capital in this state will not be obtained this year. The legisla- ture not having had time, during a session of three months, to act on this subject. This may tend to retard the improvements which are now in em- bryo. An advance in the price of the stock of the existing banks has resulted from this neglect, and 118 to 120 per cent, is now spoken of lor Virginia and Farmer's Bank stocks. Petersburg Rail Road shares conmiand 119 — Greensville and Roanoke S8 or ,^9 advance on $S5 paid. The subscription to the Raleigh and Gaston Road, which is re- opened tor a limited amount, is freely taken, and the work is commenced. The cotton manufacturing establishments are in a thriving state. The stocks of those in Peters- burg, which are now in operation, command 25 per cent, premium, or more. Their goods are in request in all the southern, and some of the north- ern markets." — Cimi. Rep., Far. Jieg., p. 768. Sir: Such is the view taken ol" the refusal of the legislature of Virginia to increase its banking capital, and such the result of the actual state ol' things, so inimitably described, and so encourage- ingly stated in the latter part of the first paragraph. Since they were written, Massachusetts and JVlary- land seem to have simultaneously thought and acted with Virginia; and will have all performed their duty to themselves, their contemjioraries, and to posterity. Surely it will be but prudent to try the rcsidt of the -ii20.000,000 about to be thrown on the money market of Europe, bclbrc fidly i^fsSO,- 000,000 more should be issued. Anadmirerj and as ftiras my influence has extended, a supporter of the Bank of the U. S., I will freely cenfcss I dread the efTect of their attempt to raise this money, by of the country. It deprives them oi their lair chances, as the means of paying the general debt of commerce and gives it to the holder of capital, too often fictitious: and should the money jobbers, in Europe, dreading the actual state of things, in the United States, not give a good [jrice, or take but a portion, tlie eflect of such a circumstance would be doubly disastrous on the value of all monied se- curities. Besides, when we read of such an at- tempt as that, seriously made, and which Congress must and assuredly will as steadily resist, to issue #200,000,000 of stock on the credit of the public lands, and for the purpose of raising a revenue on commerce to discbarge the interest, it is enough to appal the stoutest heart. Why not repeal the du- ties, lessen the expenses of the Government, and depend on the land ? The spirit of Law of Lau- riston, must have arisen in the midst of us, and at a moment when convulsions of a dismal charac- ter are opening on our view, are we witnessing the "crowning" work, which is, first to starve the la- borer, and last, deceiv^e and ruin the wealthy pro- prietor; for such will be the inevitable effect of a system, which confines the capital ol the country to cities, and destroj's the yeoman. A fine exam- ple of it is to be seen in South Carolina, where the superior attraction of capital in stock con)panies has concentrated it in Charleston, to the ruin of the jrreat proportion of fine land around it. It will do more than this. The high price of provisions will enhance the value of labor, and in its turn, this will check the progress of manunicture, paralyze an immense capital, and throw the country into a full and perfect state of dependence on i()reio:n na- tions. This very year a heavy cxporiaiion of spe- cie will be required to pay for the necessaries of lifij to be imported, and if the issue of paper is to be as great as is threatened, its general eflect on provisions, the value oflabor, and on manufactures, must and will be indeed dreadfully disastrous. The instant repeal of the whole tariff, would not only be infinitely preferable, but perfectly effica- cious. However, this is but prefiitory. My ob- ject is to take a view of the situation of Virginia, and Maryland, and to propose a remedy, which shall jireclude an enormous issue of paper, and still effect the designed object. This will be done by making a State Loan of, say S 10,000,000, payable in, say 30, 40 or 50 years, instead of in- creasing the bank capital; as, in the one instance, calling for it as you want it, you know exactly tor what purpose and how much you issue; and in the other, are no more masters of its amount and application, than you are of the wind. As to the vulgar notion of going into debt, it is pretty much the same in both cases; and hence, on that score, there need be little difficulty. My plan would be, if it was possible, thtit Maryland, V'ir- ginia, the Caroliuas, and Georgia, should unite in borrowing as much as was wanted; and after pro- per surveys of the projected works had been made, they should cither singly or together, complete them, and when completed, the}- should sell three- filths, or four-filibs of them to the public in shares of $!lOO or ijiSO each, or, perhaps, they juight pay such a revenue as to make them worth retention — the final disjiosition to be determined by events. The credit of the different States on the London 1S36.] FARMERS' REGISTER 69 Stock Exchange, is various. What thai of Vir giiiia is, I am ignorant ; but, if slie boldly resists ihe crazy scheme of increasing- the banking capi- tal an J "precludes tlie consequent enormous issue of 'paper, I am convinced her 5 per cent, bonds woidd sell, as readily, if not more so, than those of New York, or even Pennsylvania— lor I can- not but confess, that I fear the latter may rather exceed her due limits. Let the facts, as stated by X, be communicated to a loan jobber, and he will more readily lend his money to such a community, than to one that was going to bank with it; espe- cially, as he would know its expenditure was ti) be confined to a measure improving the condition ol' the borrower in such a degree as to double his se- curity, for such would inevitably be the case, if it is laid out in canals and rail roads. By adopting a measure of this sort, you Avould prevent the possibility ot your ilirmers mortgaging their estates in the great pawn shops, which are every where opening, in either an avowed or dis- avovved manner; and by the improvements you executed, you would efiect the desirable object of increasing the real value of the land — thus con- ferring tlie double favor on the state, on the one hand, preventing the farmer li'om "being led into temptation and delivered unto evil;" and on the other, adding to the value of his property, and increasing those means of taxation to which you would be compelled to resort— but, increasing them in such a way, as that the then large amount should not be equal to the former lesser sum. C. ■to spoil for want of salt to pack them Avith; and we have been assured that in one or two instances the proprietors of fisheries, being unprovided with a sufllcienl supply of salt, have prelerred lifting their seines and giving the fish a free passage, rath- er than haul them ashore. From Loudon's Gardener's Magazine. REMOVING SHRUBS FROM RENTED GARDENS. At the last York assizes, an action was brought against a part3^ for removing shrubs, &c. from agarden he had recently occupied; and a verdict underlhe judge's direction,was given against him. The judge laid it down as law, in the nineteenth century, that shrubs, when once planted, "became part ofthetreehold; and, theretbre, could not be removed." Would you admit the discussion of this point, not legally, but morally, into your Magazine? It is, in the present state of the country where there exist so many tenancies, during which immense improvements are made in gardens, a very important one. I deny that this is law, because I deny that the trees are part oi'the freehold; for, if they are, then are carrots, thistles, and, much more, docks, also part of the freehold, and oughtnot to be removed. But, if it is law, it is fit that all par- lies knew it, that, if dissatisfied, they may set about netting it altered. From the Genesee Taruier. MOUSE TRAP. The following contrivance for catching mice will perhaps be new to most of our readers. Pro- vide a large earthen pot, with a hole an inch or two in diameter in the bottom, (a large gardener's flower pot will do,) invert it on a board or flat smooth stone, and sink it in the ground , until the bottom of the pot is about level with the surface. Suspend, about two inches below^ the hole, by means of wire, a smooth wooden roller, which should be capable of turning freely on its axis. The surface about it may be sprinkled with chafi' or short straw, and grain or seeds, and the roller be besmeared with lard and other attractiv^e sub- stances. Upon this roller the mouse leaps, and it immediately turns by his weight, and precipi- tates him to the bottom, fl-om whence he cannot escape, as it is impossible for him to climb the sides. Many may be caught in the same trap without the trouble of re-setting. By burying the pot in mellow earth or sand it is easily taken up and re- placed. This method is particularly adapted to catching mice in gardens, cellars, &c. From the Genesee Farmer. TO DESTROY ST. JOHNSWORT. Rfr. Tucker — I noticed in the Genesee Farmer of the 27th February, inquiries how to destroy that troublesome weed, St. Johnswort. Till your land well, seed thick with clover and timothy, and plas- ter. In case your seed partially fails, pasture close the first season — even sheep may eat the weed when young aiid tertder, wiihout any injury to them. L. T. East Bhomfield, Jpr'd 7, 1S35. From theNorfolIv Herald. HERRING FISHERY OF NORTH CAROLINA. We learn that the fisheries on Albemarle Sound, which at the commencement of the season were more unpromising than usual, are now complete- ly overrun by the herrings, which suddenly made a rush down the rivers in such immense numbers. that in some cases large quantities caught were left From the Genesee Farmer. TO PRESERVE CORN FOR BOILING. Extract of a letter from a subscriber in Canada: — "Travelling through the country the early part of this month, I was surprised at eating green corn; but on recollection, I had seen several methods of preserving it for winter use in your Farmer. On askine the lady of the house, her method seemed to be far different fi'om any you have stated. I beg to introduce its simple way to you. Pluck the corn when fit for eating, strip down the husk so as to remove the silk' and then replace it — pack it away in a barrel, and pour on strong pickle, such as used for meat, with a weight to keep it down, and you will have a good sea stock — par- boiled and then boiled to make it perfectly fresh and sweet as when taken from the stalk." From the Journal of Commerce. COTTON AND THE COTTON TRADE. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury on 60 FARMERS' REGISTER [No. this snbjeet made 4!li March last, by order of Con- gress, is a document oj'much value and ini|)or!ance, and contains a variety of tables relating to the growth and inanufiicture of cotton in all parls of the world. The first export of cotton /i-om the Uni- ted Slates, appears to have been in 1785, 5 bags, aud in 1786, G bags. As late as 1794, Mr Jay, when making a treaty with England was not aware that any cotton was exported from the United States. From that time to tlie present, the culture lias increased, until our crops are now over 1,300,000 bales a year. From tills report it also appears that the import of cotton goods from India to England has ceased, and that the export of them ti-om England has mcreased wilh astonishing nipidiiy. When the East India Company's monopoly of all the trade of India ceased in 1815, tlie first pri- vate merchant ship that sailed iiom England lor India, was the ship John Gladstone, belonging to Mr. John Gladstone ol'Liverpool. This event was mnch spoken of in the papers at that time, as opening a new era in commerce. It now ajipears that the export of cotton goods alone, from Eng- land to India, is over ten millions of dollars annual- ly, being more than their export of cotton goods to the United States, which is about eight millions of dollars. But now thatthe East India Company's monopoly was last year put an end to in China, as well as in India, a vastly greater field is open in that quarter for English cotton goods, which will in consequence, increase in an equal ratio the con- sumption of American cotton in England, quite as fast as we are able to increase our supj;lies. From Low's Elements of AgiiciiUure. MILLET. Under the term millet are comprehended certain plants of different genera which are cultivated for their seeds: — 1. Panicum miliaceum — Common Millet. 2. Setaria italica — Italian Setaria. 3. Setaria germ anica— Gorman Setaria. 4. Sorghum vulgar — Indian Millet. Common millet grows several feet high, and is terminated by a large branched panicle haniringto one side. It is very prolific in seeds. These are small and smooth ; in some sorts brown, and in others yellow. The phmt is cultivated extensively in Russia, in Italy, and Germany. Its seeds, being divested of their outer covering, are used in tfie manner of rice, and furnish a nourishing and grate- ful food. They are also made into bread, which, however, is not esteemed. They are used for the feeding of domestic fowls, for which they are well suited. The straw produced is bulky and valued for provender. The cultivation ofconunon millet is not practised in this country. It is not wilh us a part of the food of the people, while with respect to the feeding of domestic fowls, we have so many resources intlie waste of our cereal grains, that there is scarcely need of cultivating any jilant expressly for the pur- pose. But more than this, millet is not well suit- ed to the colder parts of Europe, and supplies of it can be obtained in unlimited abundance from the shores ofthe Mediterranean. The Italian setaria, cultivated in the south of Eu- rope, is only known to us in this country as a plant of the garden. It is too delicate for the northern parls ol" Europe; for even about Bordeaux it is a precarious crop, sutlering frequently lixmi the ef- iects of ii'ost. German setaria is cultivated in Hungary in fer- tile subhumid soils. It is used in its green state, or as dried ladder for horses and oxen. The Indian millet furnishes bread to the Ara- bians and other [leople ofthe East. The flour is known to the Arabs under the name of dourra ; and it is truly the bread-corn of Africa, being grown over all the parts of that vast continent. It. is cuhivated likewise in Italy and the south of Germany; and it was long ago introduced into Spain, it may be supposed by the Moors, if not at an earlier period still by the Carthaginians. It has been introduced also into the islands of the West Indies under the name of Guinea corn and into the Southern United Stales of America. This fine plant gpws with a strong reedy stem with broad leaves like those of the maize, but smaller, and producing a large panicle. Its seeds are smooth and roundish, resembling those of the common millet, but larger. They are ground into flour, but the l)read made of it is dark m colour and coarse. In Europe the grain is chiefly used for feeding domestic fowls and pigeons, for which it is well suited. This plant is the native of a warmer country and demands amoreijenial clinuitelhan we possess. With us it will scarcely even ripen its seeds, and frequently not even expand its flowers. Other species of Sorghum are likewise cultivated, but the same remark applies with more or less force to them all. COMMEKCIAL REPORT. The active business which was done in domes- tic produce previous to the present month, has not continued, and the prices of the most important ar- ticles have declined, though they still continue high enough amply to repay the labor of producing them. The price of tobacco has fallen ^1 to-Sl 50 per cwt., and sales range from 5 to .f 10, not including fancy qualities. Accounts from the European markets are generally unfavorable, and the season for shipment has not arrived. Cotton has also de- clined about a ceni, and may be quoted 15.| to 17^ cents, (in Petersburg,) with httle disposition evinced on the part either of buyers or sellers to let the article change hands. The advices from Europe are favorable, but prices in this country had anticipated more than all (he advance that has yet taken place there; about 70,000 bales more have been brought to market than at the same time, in 1835. Flour is dull, at ^6 75 per barrel for country brands; but the stock in Virginia is unusually small. Large supplies from the west are arriving in the northern cities, since the- opening of the ri- vers aiul canals, and the foreign demand is very limited, being confined to the West Indies and South America. Importations of wheat, rye, oats, and barley to a considerable extent have been made at New York, fi-om England, and the con- tinent of Eurojie — a circumstance unprecedented in our commercial annals. Indian corn commands ^4 per barrel, (or 80 1S36.] FARMERS' REGISTER. 61 cents per bushel,) which is a high price when the iibunilance of the lust crop is considered; and ba- con is also very hiyii, being wortli 13 to 13^ cts. per pound. A severe pressure for money has prevailed in the large commercial cities generally, and two per cent, per month was readily obtained f()r the use of it. Exchange on England fi'JI to 5^ percent., and stocks of almost every description declined in the northern cilies materially. This pressure is ascribed to various causes, and among them may be enumerated the lar