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AMBRICAN  FAHMBaS*  MAGAZINE. 


Vol.  XI. 


JANUARY,  1858. 


No.  1. 


|i  g  r  i  ni  1 1  u  r  a  L 


THE   NEW  YEAR. 

While  tendering  to  our  readers  the 
congratulations  of  the  season,  and  wish- 
ing as  wo  heartily  do,  that  their  coming 
year  may  be  a  happy  and  prosperous  one, 
we  do  not  forget  that,  in  the  relation  we 
sustain  to  them,  something  depends  upon 
us. 

If  we  discharge  our  duties  with  a 
sound  judgment,  and  a  heart  in  sympa- 
thy with  their  avocation,  knowing  as  we 
do  its  difficulties,  and  having  experienced 
its  pleasures,  they  can  hardly  fail  to  de- 
rive from  our  labors  some  increase  of 
material  wealth,  but  more  we  would  fain 
hope  of  intellectual  riches,  and  still  more 
of  those  pleasures  which  are  derived 
from  seeing  their  children  advancing  in 
knowledge  and  goodness. 

On  the  contrary,  we  are  equally  aware, 
that  if  our  writings  should  be  ill-judged 
and  untimely,  supercilious  and  arrogant, 
pretending  rather  than  reliable,  in  no 
soulful  sympathy  with  the  working 
farmer,  dropped  along  the  track  of  the 
coming  year  in  a  care-for-nobody  spirit, 
or  with  a  manifested  preference  for  men 
of  any  and  all  other  callings  over  the 
producer  from  the  soil,  they  would  be 

VOU   XI.    1 


loosers  rather  than  gainers,  in  whatever 
goes  to  make  up  the  sum  of  their  happi- 
ness. It  would  not  be  for  their  interest 
to  read  us  through  the  year,  and  pro- 
bably they  would  not. 

There  is  a  middle  ground.  If  our 
articles  should  be  pretty  good,  but  no 
better  than  are  found  every  where ;  if 
our  selections  should  be  well  enough,  but 
such  that  you  would  say  they  might  be 
a  great  deal  better  ;  if  our  whole  journal 
should  be  made  up  of  negative  excellen- 
cies, faultless  and  nothing  more,  it  would 
contribute  no  great  to  the  material,  in- 
tellectual, or  social  welfare  of  our  readers, 
and  might  possibly  damage  them  by  dis- 
placing one  of  a  more  positive  character. 

It  is  not  b}'  an  Agricultural  Journal  of 
medium  qualities,  faultless  without  ex- 
cellence ;  and  certainly  it  is  not  by  one 
of  positively  bad  characteristics,  untrue 
in  its  teachings,  and  unsympathizing  to- 
wards the  farmer,  that  the  great  cause 
of  soil  culture,  with  profit,  and  honor, 
and  happiness  to  the  cultivator,  can  be 
advanced.  And  yet  to  advance  this 
cause  is  to  advance  the  cause  of  imiver- 
sal  humanity  ;  for  it  is  impossible  that 
our  country  should  make  progress  in 
this  line  and  the  whole  world  not  par- 


AGRICULTURAL 


ticipate,  at  no  ver}'^  distant  day,  in  the 
benefits. 

If  a  higher  civilization  is  to  dawn  on 
mankind,  and  if  Christianity  is  yet  to 
have  a  more  perfect  work,  in  both  of 
which  we  believe,  agriculture,  to  which 
the  Creator  has  destined  at  least  half  the 
human  family,  must  be  honored  in  the 
hearts  of  all  men,  and  not  merely  by 
the  words  of  the  wily  politician  when 
he  wants  the  farmer's  vote.  Improved 
methods  must  be  spread  abroad.  New 
methods  must  be  introduced.  We  are 
not  at  the  end  of  all  improvement  yet. 
Brain  work  and  labor-saving  improve- 
ments must  relieve  the  severity  of  toil. 
Farm  work  must  not  be  a  working  of  the 
body  at  the  expense  of  the  mind,  but  a 
business  concern  that  makes  both  mind 
and  body  strong  and  active. 

One  half  of  our  community  should  be 
farmers,  and  every  one  of  them  proud 
that  he  is.  A  very  large  portion  of  the 
other  half  should  be  mechanics,  and  not 
a  whit  ashamed  of  it.  Neither  should 
be  in  danger  of  hearing  it  said,  or  seeing 
it  acted,  he's  nothing  but  a  farmer ;  he's 
nothing  but  a  mechanic — mere  workies, 
and  nothing  more.  As  these  two  classes 
create  all  the  wealth,  they  should  possess 
a  pretty  good  share  of  it.  They  need 
merchants  and  bankers  enough  to  help 
in  their  exchanges,  but  not  enough  to 
rule  and  ruin  them.  Merchants,  clergy- 
men, lawyers,  doctors,  teachers,  are  all 
wanted;  but  in  a  well-regulated  com- 
munity they  would  not  all  together  con- 
stitute more  than  one  in  a  hundred.  If 
one  merchant  could  not  make  the  ex- 
changes for  a  thousand  people,  and  one 
minister  do  their  preaching,  and  one  law- 
yer their  quarreling,  and  one  doctoi- 
their  healing,  and  half-a-dozen  teachers 
dispel  their  ignorance,  it  must  be  because 
there  is  something  wrong. 

The  great  mass  should  be  employed 
either  in  drawing  raw  materials  from  the 
earth,  or  in  molding  them  into  forms  of 
additional  utiUty  by  their  handiwork. 
Above  all  things  it  should  be  no  detri- 


ment to  any  one  to  be  so  employed,  and 
yet  it  will  be  till  more  live  by  their  in- 
dustries and  less  live  out  of  them. 
There  is,  however,  no  use  in  scolding. 
If  there  is  "  a  good  time  coming,"  it 
will  be  brought  about  by  improvements 
in  the  condition  of  those  who  do  the 
real,  necessary  business  of  the  world. 
First  on  the  list  are  the  farmers.  In  the 
inauguration  and  carrying  on  of  improve- 
ments nearly  every  thing  depends  upon 
themselves.  If  they  are  to  have  a  good 
year  of  this  1858,  they,  with  the  blessing 
of  God,  must  make  it  so. 

So  far  as  the  peculiar  duties  of  the 
agricultural  Editor  are  concerned,  we  are 
fully  convinced  that  no  wrong  side  Jour- 
nal will  answer  their  purpose.  No  half- 
way teachings  will  do  them  much  good. 
They  want  the  best,  and  it  is  no  easy 
task  to  furnish  it.  We  enter  upon  the 
new  year  with  earnest  purpose,  but  not 
without  misgivings.  Our  purpose  is  to 
give  our  readers  a  better  Journal  than  at 
any  former  time ;  to  furnish  well-con- 
sidered, reliable  articles  on  all  the  lead- 
ing questions  of  farming,  gardening, 
fruit  culture,  stock-growing,  and  dairy- 
ing ;  to  adorn  our  pages  more  than  here- 
tofore with  such  engravings  as  may 
illustrate  the  subjects  and  thus  be  of 
practical  utility ;  to  give  our  full  share 
of  mechanical  matter,  and  to  select  with 
reference  to  its  usefulness  to  the  farmer 
as  well  as  to  the  mechanic  ;  and  to  en- 
liven our  miscellaneous  pages  with  a 
variety  that  shall  be  at  once  amusing  and 
instructive.  We  hope  to  enlist  the  in- 
terest of  young  men  in  our  scientific 
articles,  and  shaU  hope  to  give  the  chil- 
dren occasional  amusement,  and  perhaps 
some  words  of  kindly  advice,  that  may 
aid  their  mothers  in  training  them  to 
virtue  and  usefulness. 

Such  are  our  purposes,  such  our  hopes; 
and  although  we  have  our  fears,  we  con- 
tinue our  labors  with  a  full  conviction 
of  their  importance,  and  a  determination 
to  do  what  in  us  lies  to  advance  the  pros- 
perity and  happiness  of  our  readers  for 
the  year  to  come. — Ed. 


AGRICULTURAL. 


HINTS  FOR  THE  SEASON. 

There  is  little  farm  work  on  hand  fur 
this  month.  If  the  fanner  takes  a  kindly 
care  for  all  around  him,  keeping  every- 
thing in  an  orderly,  thriving  condition, 
laying  his  plans  for  the  future,  and  mak- 
ing such  provision  for  their  prosecution 
as  can  be  made  now  to  better  advantage 
than  at  any  future  time,  it  is  about  as 
much  as  should  be  expected,  and  if  any 
man  living  has  a  right  to  pause  in  the 
bustle  of  life  and  take  comfort,  he  has. 

Self  culture  is  the  first  duty  of  all. 
Now  is  the  time  when  the  farmer,  if  he 
seizes  the  golden  opportunity,  may  out- 
strip men  in  almost  any  other  calling. 
The  stormy  days  and  long  evenings  of 
winter  are  his  by  a  peculiar  right.  They 
are  a  boon  which  he  should  value.  The 
lawyer,  the  merchant,  and  even  the  me- 
chanic may  become  moi'e  flippant,  but 
the  farmer  should  Iciioic  more  than  either, 
and  if  true  to  himself  he  will. 

Attend  the  evening  lectures  if  you 
have  any  ;  and  if  you  have  none,  be  not 
backward  in  helping  to  get  them  up. 
Read  j^our  agricultural  and  other  papers ; 
and,  more  than  tbis,  read  works  on  his- 
tory, art,  science,  literature,  political 
economy,  etc.;  and  learn  not  only  the 
duties  of  your  own  calling,  but  whatever 
will  make  you  an  intelligent,  influential, 
and  useful  citizen.  You  are  the  cultiva- 
tor of  the  earth ;  you  make  it  more 
beautiful  and  more  productive ;  we  sup- 
pose you  are  improving  everything  about 
you  ;  and  if  so,  all  praise  is  due ;  but  do 
not  neglect  yourself. 

Next  is  your  fomily.  Is  everything 
done  for  their  comfort,  for  their  advance- 
ment in  knowledge,  for  their  present  and 
permanent  well-being?  It  would  be 
well  for  you  to  look  into  the  school,  and 
see  that  your  children  arc  making  pro- 
gress. Of  course  you  will  tak"  them  to 
the  lectures  with  you.  AVHiy  should  you 
not  take  them  to  the  formers'  club? 
Young  people  are  social  in  their  feelings, 
and  it  is  well  that  they  are,  and  you 
should  encourage  them  in   all  rational 


and  innocent  pleasures.  If  j^ou  will  pre- 
pare yourself  to  speak  at  your  evening 
gatherings,  it  will  do  you  good  as  well 
as  others,  and  why  not  encourage  your 
sons  to  take  a  part?  A  little  study  and 
a  little  practice  may  prepare  them  to 
take  a  high  and  useful  position  as  citi- 
zens of  this  free  country.  By  all  means, 
encourage  j'our  sons  and  daughters  to 
read,  and  if  possible,  amid  the  trashy 
literature  of  the  times,  persuade  them  to 
read  .such  books  as  will  make  them  ac- 
quainted, not  with  mere  fancy  worlds, 
but  with  the  veritable  world  we  inhabit, 
and  make  them  better  men  and  women, 
to  enact  a  part  in  this  same  world. 

See  that  the  stalls,  the  folds,  and  the 
pens  are  all  warm ;  that  no  feed  is  wasted, 
either  by  being  trodden  under  foot,  or 
by  being  devoured  by  animals  so  uncom- 
fortably cold  that  the  whole  goes  to  keep 
them  from  freezing,  and  none  to  produce 
growth.  Above  all  let  the  animals  that 
give  milk  be  warm,  and  give  them  plenty 
of  succulent  food.  How  can  the  pail  be 
filled,  or  how  can  the  .suckling  young 
thrive,  if  the  mother  be  not  kindly  dealt 
by  ?  Every  farmer  knows,  or  should, 
that  there  is  more  profit,  twice  told,  in 
keeping  a  milk  cow,  or  a  suckling  ani- 
mal of  any  kind,  well,  than  by  inferior 
care. 

The  old  wood  pile,  we  hope,  will  not 
be  gone  till  May  ;  but  early,  before  the 
snow  drifts,  is  the  best  time  to  get  up 
the  next  year's  stock.  What  a  bother, 
when  the  plow  should  be  going,  to  have 
a  child  come  and  tell  you  that  oven  wood 
is  wanted!  To  have  the  dinner  half 
cooked  for  the  want  of  well-dried  wood 
is  almost  as  bad.  There  is  no  surer  sign 
of  a  good  farmer,  to  say  nothing  of  a 
good  husband  and  father,  than  never  to 
be  out  of  dry  wood. 

Fencing  stufi^,  in  many  cases,  can  be 
removed  advantaguouslj'^  in  January ; 
and  if  there  is  lumber  to  be  got  to  the 
sawmill,  the  first  snows  arc  the  best. 
Other  things  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the   enterprising    fanner.      Nothing    is 


AGRICULTURAL, 


better  settled,  than  that  such  a  farmer 
never  finds  a  time  when  there  is  "  noth- 
ing to  do."  It  is  only  the  shabby  farm- 
er that  can  find  no  work. 

But  our  object  was  rather  to  call  at- 
tention to  the  great  importance  of  self- 
culture  and  the  comfort  and  improve- 
ment of  the  family.  Winter  is  the  har- 
vest time  for  those  things.  The  farmers 
of  our  country  should  strive  to  be  equal 
— superior  if  they  can — to  any  other 
class. 

Let  not  this  winter  go  by  without  a 
step  towards  a  consummation  so  devout- 
ly, so  patriotically  to  be  wished.  Push 
yourself  on  the  race,  start  your  children 
on  the  race  early. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTION     OF    MERINO 

SHEEP  INTO  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 

BY   CASTIGATOR. 

S.  G.  Goodrich,  alias  Peter  Parley, 
feeling  that  he  must  needs  write  a  book, 
appeared  to  think  that  he  could  make 
said  book  by  writing  down  all  that  he 
could  recollect  of  a  life  time,  but  failing 
in  obtaining  the  requisite  amount  of  ma- 
terial, he  was  driven  to  the  pitiable  alter- 
native, as  we  find  on  page  404,  Vol.  I,  of 
his  Recollections  of  a  Life  Time,  of  quot- 
ing from  the  Cyclopaedia  of  American 
Literature,  a  work  of  no  authority,  a 
statement  with  regard  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  merino  sheep  into  this  country, 
which  he  should  have  known  was  not  in 
accordance  with  facts,  viz. :  "  The  first 
merino  sheep  brought  into  the  United 
States  were  imported  by  Chancellor  Ro- 
bert R.  Livingston — a  pair  of  each  sex — 
in  1802.  M.  Delessert  sent  a  few  others 
soon  after.  Little  attention,  however, 
was  paid  to  the  subject,  and  it  seems 
that  about  1805  half-breeds  were  sold  at 
a  price  below  that  of  common  sheep. 
Afterwards  a  larger  importation  was 
made  by  Col.  Humphreys,  who  had  been 
our  minister  to  Spain  and  our  Consul 
Jarvis  ;  these  were  three  hundred  in 
number  and  arrived  in  1810." 


Why  did  not  Goodrich,  when  his  re- 
collections failed,  refer  us  to  some  relia- 
ble statement  from  Livingston,  showing 
the  month  and  day  when  his  "  pair  of 
each  sex'"'  were  introduced  ?  Why  did 
he  not  refer  to  Humpi'eys'  works,  pub- 
lished in  New-York  in  1804,  and  which 
are  in  all  our  libraries,  and  give  us  the 
true  state  of  the  case  ?  There  he  would 
see  in  a  dissertation  on  the  merino  sheep, , 
dated  Boston,  August  25th,  1802,  the 
following,  which  I  extract  from  page 
349  :  "  Convinced  that  this  race  of  sheep, 
of  which  /  believe  not  one  (surply  he  had 
an  opportunity  of  knowing)  had  been 
brought  to  the  United  States  until  the 
importation  by  myself,  might  be  intro- 
duced with  great  benefit  to  our  country, 
I  contracted  with  a  person  of  the  most 
respectable  character,  to  deliver  to  me  at 
Lisbon,  one  hundred,  composed  of 
twenty-five  rams  and  seventy-five  ewes, 
ft'om  one  to  two  years  old.  They  were 
conducted  with  proper  passports  across 
the  country  of  Portugal  by  three  Span- 
ish shepherds,  and  escorted  by  a  small 
guard  of  Portuguese  soldiers.  On  the 
10th  of  April  last  they  were  embarked 
in  the  Tagus,  on  board  the  ship  Perse- 
verance, of  250  tons,  Caleb  Coggeshall, 
master.  In  about  fifty  days  twenty-one 
rams  and  seventy  ewes  were  landed  at 
Derby,  in  Connecticut,  they  having  been 
shipped  at  New- York  on  board  of  a 
sloop  destined  to  that  river." 

On  page  356  is  an  engraved  copy  of  a 
gold  medal  inscribed,  "  Presented  by  the 
Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Ag- 
riculture, to  the  Hon.  David  Humphreys, 
Esq.,  late  minister  to  the  Court  of  Mad- 
rid, as  a  testimony  of  respect  for  his  pa- 
triotic exertions  in  importing  into  New- 
England  100  of  the  merino  breed  of 
sheep  from  Spain,  to  improve  the  breed 
of  that  useful  animal  in  his  own  coun- 
try.    1802." 

It  is  a  sad  reflection  that  our  American 
Literature  is  so  unreliable,  and  that  we 
have  so  much  gossip  garnered  up  and 
recollections  unauthenticated,  published 


AGRICULTURAL 


in  our  Cyclopaedias  and  filed  away  in 
our  Historical  Collections,  to  perplex 
and  mislead  our  future  historians. 


ORIGIN  OF  HUNGARIAN  GRASS  IN 
THIS  COUNTRY. 

Ed.  Pkairie  Farmer: — Numerous  in- 
quiries come  to  me  about  the  Hungarian 
j^rass — so  called — which  has  lately  been 
introduced  among  our  farmers,  with  such 
unparalleled  success  as  a  hay  crop. 

I  thought,  perhaps,  it  might  be  of  in- 
terest to  some  of  your  numerous  readers, 
to  have  a  little  sketch  of  the  history, 
character,  and  qualities  of  this  grass. 
The  seed  was  brought  into  this  country 
about  three  years  ago  by  some  Hungari- 
an refugees,  who  were  passing  through 
to  their  settlement  west  of  this  place,  and 
was  highly  recommended  by  them,  and 
after  two  years'  trial,  became  popular, 
and  spread  all  over  the  country. 

It  is  a  species  of  millet^  though  differ- 
ent fiom  any  the  farmers  of  this  country 
are,  or  have  been,  acquainted  with.  The 
yield  on  our  rich  prairies  is  very  heavy. 
The  premium  acre  at  our  last  country 
fair  weighed  eight  tons  and  two  hundred 
pounds  of  well  cured  hay.  This  grew  j 
on  fi'esh  hazel  brush  land ;  %'lb  was  the  ' 
premium;  other  competitors  came  within 
a  few  hundred  pounds  of  this  weight. 
The  average  on  our  prairie  lands  is  about 
five  tons  i)er  acre.  This  grass  is  an  an- 
nual, cultivated  pretty  much  as  oats, 
though  somewhat  later.  Any  time  in 
May  it  does  well  here.  One-third  of  a 
bushel  per  acre  is  about  the  proper  quan- 
tity, covered  very  shallow,  and  harvested 
when  the  blades  and  head  begin  to  turn 
yellow.  Cutting  time  for  this  grass  does 
not  come  on  till  the  other  harvest  comes 
on. 

As  hay,  it  is  of  very  nutritous  quality, 
and  stock  eat  it  with  avidity,  particular- 
ly, when  the  seed  is  on.  It  has  a  very 
heavy  head  of  seed,  and  yields  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  Farm- 
ers tell  me  that  horses  will  keep  fot  on 
it  without  any  other  grain,  and  do  mod- 
erate work. — L.  Phillips,  i)i  Prairie 
Farmer. 

EXTRACTS   FROM   A   REPORT   ON 
ASIATIC    GOATS. 

ACCEPTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF 
THE  SOCIETY,  AT  THEIR  ANNUAL  MEET- 
ING,   OCTOBER,    1857. 

1.  By  a  resolution  of  the  Southern 


Central  Agricultural  Association,  of 
Georgia,  we  were  appointed  on  a  Com- 
mittee to  report  on  the  Goats  now  in  the 
possession  of  Richard  Peters,  Esq.,  and, 
in  compliance,  present  the  following  re- 
port as  the  result  of  our  investigations  : 

2.  Among  all  the  domesticated  animals 
introduced  into  our  country,  the  Goat 
has  hitherto  been  regarded  as  the  least 
valuable.  The  several  large  breeds,  such 
as  the  Scind,  the  ATaltese,  and  the  Swiss 
Goats,  which  were,  from  time  to  time, 
introduced  as  milking  animals,  were,  after 
some  time,  neglected  and  considered  as 
of  no  great  value,  in  comparison  with 
the  Cow,  and  we  are  not  aware  that  their 
milk  is  converted  into  cheese  in  any  por- 
tion of  our  country.  The  hair  was  too 
coarse  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and 
the  flesh  was  considered  inferior  to  that 
of  veal  or  mutton ;  hence  the  Goat  was 
scarcely  regarded  as  deserving  of  notice 
among  the  herds  of  the  farmer. 

The  wisdom  of  Providence  has,  how- 
ever, wisely  so  ordered  it,  that  in  all  the 
species  of  animals  intended  for  the  use 
of  man,  distinct  and  permanent  varieties 
are  produced  in  difiFerent  localities,  which 
varieties,  by  proper  attention,  may  be 
preserved  for  ages  without  change  or 
deterioration.  Breeds  of  Horses  have 
been  produced,  adapted  to  the  various 
necessities  of  man.  The  breeds  that 
have  originated  from  our  domesticated 
horned  cattle  are  equally  varied  and  so 
organized  as  to  minister  to  the  wants  of 
man  in  the  different  climates  of  the 
world. 

3.  The  Sheep,  which  in  many  of  its 
varieties  is  a  coarse  wooled  animal,  has 
assumed  various  forms  and  infinite  va- 
rieties in  the  flavor  of  its  mutton — in  its 
fleece  and  in  its  adaptation  either  to  cold, 
temperate  or  tropical  climates.  In  Africa 
and  the  West  Indies,  breeds  have  sprung 
up,  called  by  some  Nubian  Sheep,  whose 
wool  has  become  converted  into  a  short, 
coarse  glossy  hair.  In  the  mountains 
of  Spain  and  in  Sa.xony,  varieties  of  the 
same  species  produce  the  finest  wool. 
These  Merino  and  Saxon  Sheep,  having 
become  permanent  breeds,  have  retained 
their  fine  fleece  in  our  country,  during 
successive  generations. 

4.  The  varieties  of  the  Goat  are  equal- 
ly numerous  and  equally  varied  in 
different  countries.  They  are  all  of 
one  species,  the  varieties  mixing  and 
multiplying  with  each  other  ad  in- 
finitum. They  all  claim  as  their  ori- 
gin, the  comm  u  Goat,  (Capra  hircus,) 


AGRICULTURAL. 


which  it  is  admitted  by  nearly  all  relia- 
ble naturalists,  derives  its  paientage 
from  the  wild  Goat,  (Capra  asgagrus,) 
that  still  exists  on  the  European  Alps. 
Two  individuals  of  this  wild  species 
lived  for  several  years  in  the  menagerie 
of  Paris  and  exhibited  all  the  manners 
of  the  common  Goat.  We  have,  on 
several  occasions,  seen  herds  of  our  com- 
mon Goats,  that  had  strayed  away  and 
become  wild;  one  of  these  might  for 
several  years  have  been  seen  on  that 
wonderful  production  of  nature,  the  Stone 
Mountain  of  Georgia.  They  evidenced 
all  the  peculiarities  ascribed  to  the  wild 
Goats  of  the  Alps.  A  herd  of  these 
Goats  exists  on  the  precipitous  side  of 
Ben  Nevis,  in  Scotland,  and  are  describ- 
ed as  still  numerous  on  the  rocky  island 
of  Juan  Fernandez,  which  the  fertile 
imagination  of  Defoe,  by  the  aid  of  the 
narrative  of  Selkirk,  has  invested  with 
such  a  fascinating  romance. 

5.  An  animal  so  easdy  reared  and 
domesticated,  must  have  been  given  to 
man  by  a  beneficient  Providence  for  a 
more  valuable  purpose  than  that  of  its 
very  sparing  portion  of  milk,  and  its 
rather  inferior  flesh.  The  Creator,  who 
gave  to  our  first  parents  the  soil,  with 
the  command  to  "till"  it,  has  also  given 
to  the  animals  that  accompany  him  in 
his  migrations  over  the  earth,  an  organi- 
zation adapted  to  the  production  of  im- 
proved and  permanent  varieties.  These, 
when  produced,  it  becomes  the  duty  of 
man  to  increase  and  multiply.  The  in- 
dividual who  does  this,  by  the  applica- 
tion of  his  time,  his  scientific  knowledge, 
his  labors  or  his  wealth,  carries  out  the 
designs  of  a  superintending  Providence, 
and  becomes  a  public  benefactor.    .     .    . 

6.  As  we  are  obliged  to  regard  the 
different  breeds  of  animals  by  the  names 
under  which  they  are  usually  desigr-ated, 
we  are  not  allowed  to  consider  the  Goats 
of  Mr.  Peters  as  the  true  cashmere.  The 
two  kinds  of  hair,  with  an  under  vest  of 
delicate  grayish  wool  which  amounts 
only  to  two  or  three  ounces  on  a  well- 
grown  animal — together  with  horns,  not 
spiral,  draw  a  broad  line  of  separation 
between  these  probable  crosses,  and  the 
far  superior  Goats  of  Mr.  Peters. 

7.  This  animal  differs  also  from  the 
Angora  Goat,  to  which  it  has  a -nearer 
approach  and  from  which  this  improved 
variety  has  probably  descended.  In  the 
few  specimens  of  the  Angora  Goat, 
which  we  saw  many  years  ago  in  Europe, 
and  in  the  figures  now   extant  of  this 


variety — the  ears  compared  with  those 
of  the  Goats  of  Mr.  Peters  were  smaller 
and  less  pendulous,  the  tail  was  much 
longer,  the  neck  was  covered  with  a  mane 
of  almost  straight  hair,  reaching  the 
shoulders  and  uniting  with  the  beard 
under  the  chin — the  body  was  larger 
and  more  Goat-like,  and  had  less  the 
appearance  of  the  Sheep  than  the  present 
variety.  The  fleece  was  equally  white 
and  glossy,  but  more  than  double  as 
coarse.  By  what  local  name  this  breed 
of  Goats,  owned  by  Mr.  Peters,  is  called 
in  the  East  remains  for  some  future  natu- 
ralist, or  traveler  to  determine.  . 
At  present,  we  can  only  designate  them 
by  the  general  term,  Asiatic  Goats,  or  to 
be  more  definite,  as  the  Davis  Cashmere 
Goats,  from  the  individual  who  intro- 
duced them. 

8.  It  yet  remains  for  us  to  consider 
the  most  important  subject  connected 
with  this  report.  What  benefit  mav 
our  country  be  expected  to  derive  from 
this  breed  of  Goats?  They  were  intro- 
duced into  South  Carolina  in  1849,  hav- 
ing been  brought  from  Turkey,  in  Asia, 
by  J.  B.  Davis,  M.  D.  We  examined 
these  animals  on  their  first  arrival  and 
pronounced  them  as  destined  to  become 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  country. 
We  have  since  taken  advantage  of  many 
opportunities,  from  time  to  time,  of  ascer- 
taining their  adaptedness  to  our  climate, 
and  saw  them  recently  at  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Peters,  at  Calhoun.  We  are  much  gi-ati- 
fied  in  stating  that  the  I'esult  has  far  ex- 
ceeded our  most  sanguine  expectations. 
We  will  give  the  result  of  our  inquiries 
and  experience  under  several  heads. 

9.  Their  Constitutional  Characteria- 
tics  and  adaptedness  to  our  Climate. — 
They  appear  to  be  remarkably  well 
adapted  to  our  climate,  show  no  evidence 
of  suffering,  and  do  not  pant  like  the 
Sheep  during  the  warm  weather  of  sum- 
mer, when  the  thermometer  often  risfs 
to  92°.  In  winter,  when  the  thermome- 
ter sometimes  sinks  to  zero,  their  woolly 
covering  protects  them  from  the  cold, 
which  they  endure  fully  as  well  as  do 
the  Sheep.  In  the  lower  country  of 
Carolina,  during  recent  severe  winters, 
we  ascertained  that  many  of  the  com- 
mon Goats  (as  far  as  we  could  learn,  one- 
half  of  the  whole  stock)  perished  from 
cold ;  the  Asiatic  Goats,  however,  did 
not  appear  to  suffer  the  least  inconven- 
ience. Kids  were  dropped  in  a  snow 
bank,  at  Mr.  Peters'  farm  in  February, 
and  sustained  no  injury. 


AGRICULTURAL 


10.  Three  of  these  Goats  were  kept 
during  winter  and  summer  near  Utica, 
in  central  New- York,  and  three  others, 
with  their  descendants,  have  remained 
near  ILirper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  since  the 
autumn  of  1854;  all  of  them  are  doing 
well  and  have  suffered  no  inconvenience 
either  in  winter  or  summer.  This  hardy 
disposition  is  imparted  to  the  dilTerent 
grades,  the  half  and  three-quarter  bloods, 
produced  by  an  intermixture  with  the 
common  Goat.  They  are  all  healthy. 
No  disease  has  appeared  among  them, 
and  there  has  not  been  a  single  sick 
goat  or  anj'  death  by  disease  among 
those  originally  imported,  or  in  any  of 
their  descendants  during  the  eight  years 
since  their  introduction, 

11.  The  oldest  imported  female  is  now 
at  least  ten,  probably  eleven  years  old — 
she  produces  a  kid  every  year,  and  now 
has  at  her  side  a  very  tine  female  kid, 
dropped  on  the  tenth  of  March  last — she 
is  in  tine  order  and  looks  as  though  she 
would  breed  for  several  years.  The 
females  are  abundantly  furnished  with 
milk,  and  are  excellent  mothers,  never 
losing  their  kids,  they  being  strong  when 
dropped,  and  able  to  suck  in  a  few 
moments,  the  mother  remaining  over 
and  about  them  for  forty-eight  hours, 
and  afterwards  always  keeping  a  careful 
watch.  The  half  breed  ewes  inherit 
from  the  Davis  Goats  this  peculiar  trait 
of  character,  being  the  very  reverse  of 
the  common  Goats  in  this  particular,  the 
latter,  especially  when  bred  in  large 
herds,  care  little  for  their  3'oung,  who 
are  often  left  to  die  for  want  of  nourish- 
ment, when  a  few  hours  old. 

12.  The  Increase. — This  has  been  less 
than  was  at  first  anticipated.  The  fact 
of  the  common  goat  having  two,  and 
sometimes  three  young  at  a  birth,  and 
often  two  broods  in  a  year,  led  manj^ 
persons  to  the  conclusion  that  this  new 
variety  of  goat  would  be  equally  prolific. 
In  this,  experience  has  now  undeceived 
us.  The  animal  produces  young  but 
once  in  a  year,  and  only  one  kid  at  a 
birth.  Mr.  Peters  received  from  Dr. 
Davis  in  December,  1856,  eight  females 
and  two  males — three  of  the  females 
having  been  imported.  There  were  in 
this  number  three  small  kids  that  failed 
to  breed  until  two  years  old.  From 
these  females,  Mr.  Peters  has  raised 
twenty-one,  twelve  of  which  proved  to 
be  males  and  nine  females.  Thus  it 
appears  that  the  constitution  of  this 
variety,    is  organized  like   that  of   the 


wild  goats  (CaiEgagrus)  which  produces 
but  one  young  annually.  As,  however, 
it  produces  young  when  fifteen  months 
old,  and  continues  to  breed  until  over 
ten  years  of  age,  taking  into  considera- 
tion the  strength  and  hardihood  of  the 
kids,  we  may  safely  consider  it  as  equal 
to  the  French  Merino  sheep  in  the  rapid- 
ity with  whicli  a  flock  may  be  bred  and 
increased.  There  is,  however,  another 
mode,  both  natural  and  certain,  by  which 
this  variety  can  be  increased  very  rapid- 
ly. To  this  we  will  direct  attention 
hereafter. 

13.  The  preiwnderance  of  young  males 
over  females. — It  has  frequently  been 
remarked,  that  animals  and  poultry  of 
various  kinds  brought  from  China  and 
Western  Asia,  produce  a  much  greater 
number  of  males  than  females.  The 
only  experiment  we  made  was  on  the 
Shaughae  fowl,  which  as  long  as  we  had 
an  old  male,  produced,  on  an  average, 
three  or  four  male  chickens  to  one  fe- 
male. Since  we  have  kept  young  males 
only,  the  sexes  in  their  descendants  are 
about  equal.  It  was  at  one  time  feared 
that  the  experiments  in  the  introduction 
of  these  goats  would  be  greatly  retarded 
from  the  fact  that  they  produced  ncai  ly 
all  males.  The  following  memorandum 
may  be  of  some  service  in  the  future 
propagators  of  this  goat : 

14.  In  1854,  Dr.  Davis  used  a  two- 
year  old  buck  to  five  ewes.  The  result 
was,  two  females  and  three  males.  In 
1855,  Mr.  Peters  used  the  old  imported 
buck  to  eight  ewes  ;  the  result  was,  two 
females  and  six  males.  In  1856,  he  used 
a  buck  kid  of  nine  months  old  to  six 
ewes;  the  result  was  four  females  to  two 
males.  In  the  same  year  he  used  the 
imported  buck  to  two  ewes  ;  the  product 
was  one  mnle  and  one  female.  It  will  be 
a  matter  of  interest  to  the  physiologist 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  result  of 
a  further  continuance  of  these  experi- 
ments. 

15.  Their  Food. — Like  all  species  and 
varieties  of  Goats,  they  prefer  weeds, 
briars  and  leaves,  to  glass.  Mr.  Peteis 
informed  us  that  during  the  sunmier 
months  they  are  a  decided  benefit  to  his 
grass  lands,  by  feeding  on,  and  finally 
destrojing,  briars,  weeds  and  bushes. 
They  are  especially  fond  of  the  leaves  of 
young  pines  and  cedars,  both  in  sum- 
mer and  winter;  the  balsomic  character 
of  which  is  gonducive  to  their  health 
and  thrift.  During  winter  they  should 
be   fed  like  sheep,  but   do   not  require 


AGRICULTURA  L 


much  attention,  except  in  snowy  weather, 
as  they  are  better  able  to  shift  for  them- 
selves than  the  sheep.  Mr.  Peters  ad- 
vises that  during  winter  they  should  be 
divided  into  flocks  of  about  one  hundred, 
or  less,  as  they  butt  each  other  at  feed- 
ing time. 

16.  Their  Flesh  as  an  article  of  Food. 
— We  have  never  indulged  in  the  ex- 
travagant luxury  of  feasting  on  a  frill- 
blooded  animal  of  this  variety,  but  we 
have  on  several  occasions  made  a  hearty 
meal  on  the  quarter,  half  or  three-quar- 
ter bloods,  and  all  who  dined  in  com- 
pany pronounced  the  meat  of  the  half- 
breed  wethers  superior  to  lamb,  and  at 
eighteen  months  old  superior  to  mutton  ; 
the  flavor  approaches  nearer  to  venison 
than  to  mutton.  They  remain  fat  nearly 
throughout  the  year,  and  in  November 
are  almost  too  fat  for  the  table.  We 
observed  a  great  improvement  in  the 
progeny  of  the  full  bloods  over  their 
imported  parents,  both  in  size  and  fat- 
ness. The  weight  of  the  buck  is  given 
as  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  pounds, 
that  of  the  doe  one  hundred  and  two. 

17.  Their  liaMlity  to  he  destroyed  T)y 
Dogs. — If  this  animal  was  as  liable  to  be 
killed  by  dogs  as  the  common  sheep,  we 
would  ti'emble  for  the  perpetuity  of  the 
race  in  our  country.  We  have  often 
lamented  that  no  laws  were  enacted  and 
enforced  to  prevent  worthless  curs  from 
depopulating  the  valuable  sheep  of  our 
country.  Many  a  once  sanguine  raiser 
of  choice  breeds  of  imported  sheep,  has 
been  caused  to  sigh  over  his  massacred 
flock,  and  then  abandoned  the  raising  of 
sheep  in  despair.  A  flock  of  sheep 
when  pursued  by  dogs  scatter  in  every 
direction,  and  fall  an  easy  prey  to  their 
relentless,  blood-thirsty  foe ;  but  when 
he  approaches  a  herd  of  goats  he  finds 
them  formed  into  a  ring — the  kids  in  the 
center  and  the  old  bucks  in  advance, 
exhibiting  their  formidable  horns.  No 
dog  is  bold  enough  to  close  in,  but 
usually  runs,  barking,  around  the  flock, 
thus  attracting  attention,  and  receiving 
the  reward  of  his  carnivorous  designs. 
Mr.  Peters  informs  us  that  he  gave  up 
the  raising  of  sheep  after  having  a  dozen 
fine  South-Downs  killed  by  a  pack  of 
dogs,  when  they  also  destroyed  four 
common  ewe  goats,  but  since  there  were 
no  sheep  on  the  farm  to  tempt  the  dogs, 
they  have  not  come  near  the  goats.  Mr. 
Peters  informs  us  that  he  has  lost  none 
of  his  goats,  either  of  the  pure  breeds 
or  the  grades,   by  dogs.      He  further 


remarked  that  with  a  large  herd  he  had 
no  trouble.  They  have  a  range  of  two 
or  thi-ee  miles  over  fields  and  through 
woods ;  they  return  every  evening  before 
sunset  to  their  house,  and  in  case  of  a 
shower  of  rain  run  to  their  shelter,  even 
at  the  distance  of  several  miles.  He 
believes  that  a  thousand  or  more  would 
continue  in  fine  condition  during  sum- 
mer and  fall,  in  one  flock,  on  a  large 
range,  as  they  are  free  irom  disease,  do 
not  crowd  together  like  sheep,  or  suffer 
from  heat ;  they  are  very  easily  driven 
and  managed,  and  do  not  run  off  and 
get  lost. 

18. — The  Fleece. — The  quantity  shear- 
ed in  April  was  from  the  bucks  (aged) 
from  five  to  seven  pounds,  and  from  the 
ewes  from  four  to  five  pounds.  Mr. 
Peters  shears  but  once  a  year,  but  in- 
tends hereafter  to  shear  the  kids  in 
September  and  again  in  April. 

19.  In  regard  to  the  fineness  of  the 
fleece,  we  find  a  microscopic  examina- 
tion of  the  hair  of  Asiatic  goats,  from 
the  stock  now  owned  by  Mr.  Peters, 
William  P.  Davenport,  of  Virginia,  and 
Dr.  Ambler,  then  of  New-York,  printed 
in  the  Patent  Office  Report  for  1855,  pp. 
57-59.  The  examinations  were  made 
by  George  0.  Schafier,  M.  D.  He  says, 
"the  degree  of  fineness  is  abovit  that  of 
the  finest  Saxony  wool."  He  gave  also 
an  outline  from  a  "  piece  of  shawl  stuff 
imported  from  Calcutta,  and  said  to  be 
the  finest  ever  brought  into  this  country." 
He  adds,  "it  is  gratifying,  then,  to  be 
assured  that  the  fleece  may  be  raised  in 
this  country  with  a  fineness  closely 
approximating  to  that  which  it  has  ever 
attained  in  Asia  under  the  most  favora- 
ble circumstances." 

20.  We  have  lying  before  us  specimens 
from  the  fleeces  of  several  young  Asiatic 
goats,  which  we  have  compared  with 
the  finest  wool  of  the  merino  sheep,  and 
find  the  former  not  only  equal  in  fine- 
ness, but  of  far  greater  length.  It  must, 
however,  be  observed,  that  young  ani- 
mals, at  their  first  shearing  only,  present 
this  remarkably  fine  fleece.  In  the  old 
female  it  is  a  little  coarser,  and  in  the 
old  males  still  more  so.  It  is  proposed 
by  Mr.  Peters  to  divide  the  fleeces  of 
these  goats  at  shearing  time  into  classes, 
thus : 

Kids  under  a  year  old No.  1. 

Yearling  ewes  and  yearling  wethers.  No.  2. 

Yearling  bucks,  old  ewes No.  3. 

Aged  bucks No.  4. 

21.  The  fleeces  of  old  ewes  and  year- 


AGRICULTURAL 


9 


linp;  bucks  would  answer  for  cloth  of  a 
valuable  texture.  The  fleece  of  the 
yearlini^  is  much  finer  than  that  of  the 
old  ewes  ;  and  th.at  of  the  kid  is  fine 
enough  for  the  very  finest  shawls,  and 
ought  to  be  very  valuable.  There  is  a 
large  class  of  fabrics  for  which  these 
fleeces  are  peculiarly  adapted,  viz  :  Cam- 
let and  worsted  goods  and  ladies'  fabrics, 
as  shallics,  mouslin  delaines,  gentlemen's 
clothing  for  summer  wear,  hosiery,  &c., 
promising  a  beauty,  strength,  durability, 
luster  and  permanency  of  color,  far  supe- 
rior to  the  W(»ol  of  the  sheep  or  the 
alpaca.  The  goat's  hair  is  known  to 
receive  and  retain  the  most  brilliant 
coloring,  which  the  hair  of  the  sheep 
and  the  alpaca  has  not  the  property  of 
retaining. 

22.  From  the  characteristics  exhibited 
by  castrated  animals,  it  is  probable  that 
the  wool  from  a  pure  bred  wether,  alter- 
ed when  quite  young,  would  not  become 
coarser  after  the  first  year,  and  the  quan- 
titj'  would  certainly  amount  to  eight  or 
nine  pounds.  A  member  of  our  family 
has  had  in  use  for  several  years  a  pair 
of  stockings  from  the  wool  of  this  goat, 
and  they  seem  to  be  almost  indestructi- 
ble. Mr.  Peters  has  also  had  an  excellent 
cloth  spun  and  woven  from  it. 

28.  The  results  of  Breeding  with  the 
common  Goat. — Familiar  as  we  have 
been  througa  a  long  life  with  the  changes 
produced  by  crosses  jjmong  varieties  of 
domestic  animals  and  poultry,  there  is 
one  trait  in  these  goats  which  is  more 
strongly  developed  then  in  any  other 
variety  that  we  have  ever  known.  We 
allude  to  the  wonderful  facility  with 
which  the  young  of  the  cross  between 
the  male  of  the  Asiatic  goat  and  the 
female  of  the  common  goat  so  readilj' 
assumes  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
former.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
change  a  breed  that  has  become  perma- 
nent in  any  of  our  domestic  varieties, 
whether  it  be  that  of  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  or  hogs,  into  another  variety  by 
the  aid  of  the  male  of  the  latter.  There 
is  a  tendency  to  run  back  into  their 
oiiginal  varieties,  hence  the  objection  to 
mixed  breeds.  But  in  the  progeny  of 
these  Asiatic  and  common  goats,  nine- 
tenths  of  them  exhibit  the  strongest 
tendency  to  adopt  the  characteristics  of 
the  male  and  to  elevate  themselves  into 
the  higher  and  nobler  grade,  as  if 
ashamed  of  their  coarse,  dingy  hair  and 
musky  aromatics,  and  desirous  of  wash- 
ing out  the  odorous  perfume,  and  putting 


on  the  white  livery  of  a  more  respectable 
race. 

24.  Mr.  Peters  has  not  bred  any  quar- 
ter-breeds. He  made  wethers  of  all  his 
half-breed  males  of  185(5,  and  sold  his 
three-cpiarter  blood  rams.  He  now  owns 
one  hundred  and  fifty  half-blood  females, 
seventy-five  three-qu-irter  blood  females, 
and  six  seven-eighths  blood  females.  He 
has  also  four  females  three-quarters 
Asiatic  and  one-quarter  Thibet  shawl. 
There  appears  to  be  no  improvement  in 
this  mixture  with  the  shawl  goat,  over 
that  produced  by  a  union  with  the  com- 
mon goat;  indeed,  the  produrt  which 
we  saw  in  Charleston  from  what  was 
called  the  Cashmere  and  the  Asiatic  goat, 
was  decidedly  inferior. 

The  half-bloods,  as  we  have  stated, 
have  an  under  coat  of  fine,  downy  wool, 
closely  resembling  and  equal  in  quality 
and  quantity  to  the  fleece  of  the  Thibet 
shawl  goats  imported  into  this  country. 
The  three-quarter  breeds  in  midwinter 
show  an  under  coat  of  greater  quantity 
and  length.  In  both  grades,  this  under 
fur  drops  out  in  summer.  The  fifteen- 
sixteenths  or  one-sixteenth  common 
goat  resemble  the  Asiatic  goat  in  quanti- 
ty and  quality  of  fleece,  and  size  of  car- 
cass so  closely  that  m'c  found  it  impossi- 
ble to  distinguish  them  from  the  fuU 
bloods.  Another  advantage  is  likely  to 
result  fi-om  this  admixture  with  the  com- 
mon goat :  the  half-blood  females  produce 
two  kids  at  abirth,  and  the  three-quarter 
blood  females  generally,  although  not 
alwaj'S,  two.  Thus  the  breed  maj''  be 
rendered  more  prolific.  AVe  here  per- 
ceive in  how  short  a  period  of  time  our 
whole  race  of  now  almost  worthless  goats 
may  be  converted  into  a  breed  valuable 
both  for  its  flesh  and  its  wool. 

25.  The  regions  of  our  country  to 
which  they  are  best  adapted. — There 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  part  of  the 
United  States  to  which  the  constitution 
of  this  goat  is  not  adapted.  Damp 
climates,  like  England,  where  there  arc 
almost  daily  drizzling  rains,  are  injurious. 
This  animal  scarcely  needs  water.  Wc 
were  informed  by  Mr.  Peters,  that  three 
of  them  remained  in  a  lot,  feeding  on 
weeds  and  grass,  without  any  water  dur- 
ing three  months  and  keeping  in  fine 
order.  Our  whole  country  is  warm  in 
sunnner,  and  portions  of  it  very  cold  in 
winter.  If  this  goat  is  constitutionally 
adapted  to  brave  the  cold  of  the  stcpi)es 
of  the  eastern  Caucassian,  Himmaleh 
and   Altaian    Mountains,    it   would   not 


10 


AGRICULTURAL. 


suffer  (if  fed  in  winter)  in  our  coldest 
regions,  and  would  thrive  along  all  the 
sides  of  the  Alleghany  and  Rocky 
Mountains.  It  has  improved  in  the 
comparatively  warm  climate  of  Carolina. 
It  would  do  well  in  the  hilly  country  of 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  many  portions 
of  which  are  now  scarcely  cultivated. 
The  whole  western  country  from  Ne- 
braska down  to  Western  Texas  and  New- 
Mexico,  may  be  rendered  a  feeding  ground 
for  this  wool-bearing  goat.  The  moun- 
tain regions  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  will  be  found 
admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  large 
flocks  of  these  goats  and  their  crosses. 
The  wild  growth  of  the  mountain  sides, 
with  the  native  grasses  of  the  rich  val- 
lej^s,  will  afford  pasturage  summer  and 
winter  at  a  trifling  cost.  The  worn-out 
plantations  and  poor  pine  lands  of  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia  might  be  brought 
into  requisition  to  supply  meat  for  our 
markets,  which,  by  many  persons,  would 
be  preferred  to  venison.  A  single  shep- 
herd could  guard  a  flock  of  several 
thousands,  more  especially  if  he  cdled 
to  his  assistance  the  large  shepherd's 
dog,  from  the  Swiss  Mountains.  They 
would  not  only  astonish  the  marauding 
wolf,  but  his  prowling  relative,  the  cur. 

26.  It  is  not  imposf-ible,  that  among 
the  many  varieties  of  goats  existing  in 
the  far  distant,  and  almost  inaccessible 
regions  of  the  Eastern  world,  some  breeds 
may  yet  exist  more  valuable  to  our 
country  than  this,  but  at  present  we 
know  of  none  that  can  be  compared 
with  it. 

27.  What  improvement  can  he  made 
in  this  'breed  of  Ooats  ? — Since  it  pos- 
sesses the  characteristics  of  all  the  other 
domesticated  animals,  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that,  by  judicious  breeding,  and 
devoting  to  this  subject  the  same  atten- 
tion that  breeders  in  England  bestow  on 
their  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine,  an 
equal  number  of  improved  varieties  will 
be  produced.  We  are  at  present  unac- 
quainted with  any  superior  variety  of 
Goat  with  which  this  might  be  crossed 
to  improve  the  fineness  of  the  wool.  Im- 
proved individuals,  however,  spring  up 
in  these  varieties  themselves,  without 
any  foreign  admixture,  and  by  selecting 
these,  and  separating  them  from  the 
common  stock,  we  have  at  once  a  new- 
breed,  which  soon  becomes  a  permanent 
race.  Let  us  in  .these  matters  follow 
the  teachings  of  nature  in  all  her  depart- 
ments.    How  w^ere  the  varieties  of  Sea 


Island  cotton,  of  large  rice,  of  prolific 
corn,  wheat,  &c.,  produced?  A  few 
stalks  of  these  superior  qualities  were 
detected  in  the  fields. 

28.  Thus  far,  it  was  the  free  gift  of  a 
beneficent  Creator.  Man,  his  agent,  now 
selected  and  cultivated  them  separate 
from  all  others.  Thus  a  valuable  variety 
was  obtained,  that  may,  by  proper  care, 
be  perpetuated.  In  the  Courrier  des 
Etats  Unis  we  have  a  long  and  interest- 
ing account  of  a  merino  sheep  in  France, 
which,  instead  of  wool,  produced  fine 
silken  hair.  The  breed  was  perpetuated, 
and  goes  under  the  name  of  Cashmere 
sheep.  At  the  "universal  exhibition," 
in  Paris,  it  w^as  affirmed  by  the  examina- 
tors  of  one  of  the  shawls,  made  from 
this  hair,  that  "  they  found  this  (as  they 
named  it)  native  Cashmere  as  soft  and 
as  brilliant  as  the  imported,  and  that  it 
was  superior  to  the  latter  on  account  of 
its  regularity  of  detail."  We  notice  in 
a  paper  called  the  Homestead,  published 
in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  October  25, 
1855,  a  translation  of  the  article,  and  a 
note  by  the  translator  in  which  he  states 
that  in  Barnwell,  South  Carolina,  where 
merinoes  had  been  acclimated,  the  pro- 
portion of  these  kinds  of  cashmere  lambs 
were  four  out  of  five ;  supposing  the 
flock  to  be  degenerating  yearly,  and  their 
fleece  of  no  value,  they  were  handed 
over  to  the  butcher.  In  this  way  many 
a  good  gift  of  Providence  is  cast  away 
on  account  of  man's  want  of  knowledge 
and  attention. 

29.  Some  instructive  lessons  in  Phys- 
iology and  Natural  History,  are  taught 
us  in  our  experience  in  reference  to  the 
History  of  this  Goat. — Several  learned 
writers,  regarded  as  authority,  have  as- 
serted that  these  eastern  goats,  which  so 
much  resemble  sheep,  were  the  products 
of  the  sheep  and  the  goat ;  hence  they 
asserted,  that  the  views  of  naturalists  in 
regard  to  species  must  be  greatly  modi- 
fied. For  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years 
persons,  in  several  parts  of  the  United 
States,  have  been  engaged  in  efforts  to 
produce  an  offspring  from  an  association 
of  the  sheep  and  the  goat,  which  we  do 
not  consider  improbable,  but  which,  if 
the  experiment  had  been  attended  with 
success,  would,  we  are  confident,  have 
proved  a  hybrid  incapable  of  propaga- 
tion inter  se.  We  have  not  yet  heard 
of  a  single  instance  of  offspring  having 
been  produced  in  the  United  States  by 
these  eflForts.  Mr.  Peters,  who,  at  our 
request,  instituted  some  experiments  by 


AGRICULTURAL. 


11 


carefully  rearing  up  a  young  male  sheep, 
with  several  young  female  goats,  informs 
us  that  they  copulated  readily,  but  not 
a  single  young  was  produced.  We  here 
learn  that  God  only  is  the  creator  of 
species,  and  has  drawn  a  barrier  of  sepa- 
ration which  can  not  be  overcome. 
Varieties  may  be  crossed  and  improved 
by  breeding  with  other  varieties  of  the 
same  species,  but  can  not  be  improved 
by  crossing  with  other  species,  since 
these,  if  produced,  would  be  hybrids 
and  incapable  of  perpetuating  a  race. 

30.  Another  writer  was  engaged  in 
deciding  on  species  by  a  microscopical 
examination  of  hair,  and  made  the 
cashmere  goat  a  new  s])ecies  from  this 
test.  If  his  supposed  new  species  should 
not  prove  a  cross,  it  may  at  least  be  seen 
now  readily,  the  goats  themselves  are 
converting  one  species  into  another,  and 
demolishing  his  whole  visionary  theory. 
Another  theory,  almost  universally  re- 
ceived by  breeders,  of  stock  since  the 
days  of  "Walker's  book  on  intermar- 
riage"— on  "  in-and-in  breeding,"  &c.,  is 
likely  to  receive  a  considerable  shock,  as 
these  experiments  with  the  goats,  and 
especially  with  the  Brahmin  breed  of 
cattle,  are  in  progress.  Our  doctrine  is 
that  relationship  and  blood,  and  "  in-and- 
in  breeding,"  as  it  is  termed,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  deterit)ration  of  animals, 
but  that  this  deterioration  is  the  result 
of  the  constitutions  having  been  formed 
in  the  same  localities,  and  that  the  de- 
scendants of  a  single  pair,  if  separated, 
and  removed  to  other  localities  where, 
from  food  and  climate,  the  constitution 
has  undergone  a  change,  and  are  then 
brought  together,  they  would  continue 
healthy  and  prolific  till  the  end  of  time. 
It  is  the  settled  opinion  of  physiologists 
that  from  the  changes  which  the  bodies 
of  men  and  animals  are  daily  undergoing, 
not  a  particle  of  the  original  body  or  the 
blood  remains  after  seven  years.  Thus, 
the  Irishman  who  proclaimed  himself  a 
native  .Vmerican  on  the  strength  of  his 
having  been  seven  years  in  America,  was, 
in  a  physiological  sense,  not  far  out  of 
the  way. 

3L  Dr.  Davis  brought  a  small  number 
of  goats  to  this  country,  some  of  which 
were  born  after  he  left  Turkey,  they 
must  therefore  be  very  closely  related. 
This  will  apply  still  more  nearly  to  the 
Brainnin  cattle  which  he  imported  at  the 
same  time.  We  saw  the  original  pair  at 
the  F]arl  of  Derby's  at  Knowesly,  near 
Liverpool.      There   has  been   in-and-in 


breeding  ever  since.  There  is  not  one 
animal  of  this  variety  in  America  that 
has  not  descended  from  this  single  pair, 
which,  as  far  as  we  can  recollect,  were 
brother  and  sister.  They  are  scattered 
throughout  the  West,  breeding  as  fast 
as  cattle  can  breed,  and  we  are  assured 
that  they  have  improved  rather  tlian 
deteriorated.  The  water  Buffaloes,  im- 
ported at  the  same  time  by  Dr.  Davis, 
and  now  multiplying  among  themselves, 
but  not  mixing  with  our  common  cattle, 
are  progressing  in  their  own  natural  way 
to  overturn  an  erroneous  theory.  Single 
pairs  of  turkeys,  ducks,  or  common 
fowls  will  stock  a  farm-yard  and  in  time 
spread  over  a  whole  district  or  State.  A 
single  pair  of  tame  pigeons  from  the 
same  nest,  brother  and  sister,  will  soon 
fill  the  pigeon-house  and  give  no  evidence 
of  degeneracy  or  sterility,  and  a  single 
pair  of  fish  will  stock  a  iish-pond.  Give 
them  healthy  constitutions,  by  an  occa- 
sional change  of  food  and  localities,  and 
tliere  will  be  no  danger  of  degeneracy 
by  "  in-and-in  breeding."  We  give  the 
results  of  our  own  experiments  pursued 
through  a  period  of  fifty  years.  Let 
these  goats,  cattle,  &c.,  be  bred  in  differ- 
ent localities,  and  let  there  be  an  occa- 
sional interchange,  and  we  feel  assured 
that  there  will  be  no  deterioration  in 
consequence  of  their  close  relationship. 

32.  In  conclusion,  we  may  be  asked, 
whether  we  are  induced  to  believe  tl,)at 
from  the  many  good  properties  of  this 
goat  it  will  eventually  supersede  the 
sheep  in  husbandry  ?  We  answer,  cer- 
tainly not.  A  gift  of  Providence  so 
valuable  as  the  sheep,  is  not  to  be  cast 
aside  by  any  intruder  on  its  rightful 
domains.  The  sheep  and  the  goat  have 
each  their  appropriate  sphere  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  and  there  are  good 
properties  in  eacli  that  can  not  be  sup- 
planted by  the  other.  The  Creator,  in 
liis  munilicent  benevolence,  has  given  a 
limited  number  of  valuable  domestic 
animals  and  poultry,  grain.s,  fruits,  and 
vegetables  to  man — all  capable  of  pro- 
ducing varieties  and  of  accompanying 
him  in  his  migrations  over  the  world. 
Each  has  its  hmits  of  usefulness,  and  one 
species  can  not  intrude  on  the  rights  of 
the  other.  The  maple  tree  of  the  North, 
and  the  sugar  beet  and  Chinese  sugar 
cane  of  more  temperate  climates,  are  ad- 
mii-able  substitutes  and  of  inmiense 
value.  They  are  also  well  adapted  to 
check  the  cupidity  of  speculators  in 
syrups  and  sugars;" but  they  can  not  iu 


12 


AGRICULTURAL. 


the  end  demolish  the  great  sweetner  of 
the  human  palate  of  the  world,  the  old 
tropical  sugar  cane.  Cotton  is  at  this 
time  king,  and  is  struggling,  like  Aaron's 
rod,  to  swallow  all  the  lesser  products 
of  silk,  flax  and  wool,  but  they  are  des- 
tined still  to  hold  their  place  in  the  ar- 
ticles tha^  minister  to  man's  comfort. 
The  sheep  will  not  be  depressed  in  the 
scale  of  man's  valuable  commodities — the 
goat  will  only  be  elevated  to  the  stan- 
dard to  which  it  was  designed  to  rise. 
Thus  each  product  revolves  in  its  own 
sphere  like  the  lesser  lights  in  the  firma- 
nent,  reflecting  glory  on  their  great 
Author  and  conferring  benefits  and  bless- 
ings on  hifn  "who  was  created  in  his 
image  and  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor."  Respectfully  submitted, 
John  Bachman, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee. 
We  have  published  the  foregoing, 
though  of  greater  length  than  we  like  to 
present  in  a  single  article,  for  the  sake 
of  the  valuable  information  it  contains 
on  an  important  subject,  only  regretting 
that  our  space  does  not  allow  us  to  give 
the  full  report,  particularly  the  elaborate 
discussion  of  the  committee,  as  to  the 
breed  of  Mr.  Peters'  Goats.  It  would 
interest  many  of  our  readers  had  we 
made  a  place  for  it.  But  what  we  have 
puolished  is  perhaps  of  greater  practical 
value.  If  more  such  reports  as  the  one 
from  which  the  above  is  taken  were  pub- 
ished — giving  the  results  of  patient, 
thorough  examinations,  it  would  be  well 
for  Agriculture. — Ed. 


PUBLIC  LANDS  FOR  AGRICULTU- 
RAL EDUCATION. 

Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  says  a  let- 
ter wr  ter  from  Washington,  in  the  N. 
Y.  Everting  Post,  there  is  actually  a 
prospect  that  the  old  States  are  going  to 
share  in  the  distribution  of  public  lands. 
Mr.  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  introduced  a 
bill  to-day  providing  for  a  distinbution  of 
public  lands  to  the  several  States  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  agricultural  col- 
leges, giving  twenty  thousand  acres  for 
each  presidential  elector  to  every  State. 
Those  States  which  have  no  public  lands 
within  their  boundaries  will  receive  land 
scrip,  which  can  not  be  located  in  any 
.other  State,  but  may  be  so  located  by 


any  individual  purchasing  the  scrip.  The 
interest  of  the  fund  must  be  devoted  to 
the  maintenance  of  agricultural  colleges, 
and  to  nothing  else.  A  limited  amount 
can  be  appropriated  to  the  purchase  of 
model  farms,  but  not  to  the  erection  of 
buildings.  Every  State  which  accepts 
the  trust  must  bind  itself  to  protect  it 
against  contingencies. 

There  are  some  four  hundred  colleges 
of  this  character  in  Europe,  sustained 
and  conducted  wholly  or  in  part  by  gov- 
ernment, and  a  desire  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample seems  to  have  awakened  simulta- 
neously in  different  States.  The  agricul- 
tural college  of  Michigan  was  the  first 
one  established  on  this  continent,  and  is 
now  in  very  successful  and  useful  opera- 
tion, with  more  than  one  hundred  stu- 
dents. There  have  been  some  organized 
in  New- York,  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land, and  will  be  opened  in  New-York 
and  Pennsylvania  next  year.  Virginia 
has  also  taken  some  steps  towards  es- 
tablishing one  in  the  Old  Dominion. 

A  memoi'ial  was  presented  to  the  last 
Congress  by  Washburn,  of  Illinois,  ask- 
ing for  an  act  like  this  of  Mr.  Morrill's. 
Michigan  has  asked  for  an  appropriation 
of  lands  for  her  cohege. 

Prodigal  grants  of  lands  have  been 
made  to  railroads  in  the  new  States,  and 
to  those  States  themselves,  but  with  the 
exception  of  the  grant  of  lands  to  sup- 
port the  indigent  insane,  vetoed  by 
Pierce,  I  believe  that  this  bill  is  the  only 
one  for  an  equitable  and  comprehensive 
distribution  to  all  the  States  in  propor- 
tion to  their  population. 


SUBSOIL    PLOUGING. 

BY  AN  OLD  SUBSCRIBER. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  upon 
subsoil  ploughing,  yet  not  half  enough. 
For  few  are  so  difficult  to  eradicate  as 
prejudices  which  are  wholly  devoid  of 
truth  for  their  foundation.  And  until 
the  erroneous  opinion  entertained  about 
disturbing  subsoil  be  extinguished,  no 
one  deserving  the  name,  in  these  days, 
of  an  agriculturist,  can  believe  that 
he  has  done  all  the  good  he  can  to  advance 
the  interests  of  his  favorite  pursuit,  un- 
less he  has  left  no  stone  unturned  to  set 
people  right  upon  the  subject. 
Deep  tillage  is  the  essence  of  high  farm- 


AGRICULTURAL, 


IS 


ing ;  high  forming  is  the  perfection  of 
farming.  And  the  reason  is,  that  by 
high  farming  a  greater  return  is  obtain- 
ed for  the  amount  of  capital  and  labor 
emploj'cd,  than  by  any  other  means. 

It  matters  not  how  much  land  is  culti- 
vated. That  is  not  the  question.  Taken 
alone,  the  question  which  a  farmer 
should  ask  is  not,  "  how  much  land  can 
I  get?"  but  "how  much  land  will  the  la- 
bor and  capital  I  can  command  enaUe 
me  to  farm,  so  as  to  get  the  largest  re- 
turn for  that  capital  and  labor  V" 

The  answer  to  the  question  should  be 
divided  into  two  parts.  1st.  How  to 
raise  the  greatest  amount  of  crops.  2d. 
What  those  crops  should  be  with  refer- 
ence to  the  quality  of  that  land  and  the 
market  that  is  iu  the  locality  availaile. 

It  is  the  first  part  of  this  answer  only 
that  we  have  to  consider  in  this  article. 
A  man,  a  horse,  or  an  ox  can  only  per- 
form a  given  amount  of  labor  in  a  day. 
What  that  amount  is,  depends  upon  the 
physical  powers  of  each.  Any  waste  of 
expenditure  of  those  powers  is  a  loss  of 
so  much  productive  labor.  This  every 
farmer  knows,  and  practises  when  he 
sends  half  a  mile  instead  of  ten  miles  for 
a  load  of  manure.  But  the  same  thing, 
(that  is  a  waste  of  labor,)  occurs  wher- 
ever more  ground  is  gone  over,  or  work- 
ed, whether  with  the  plough  or  the  har- 
row to  raise  a  given  crop,  than  is  in 
truth  needful  to  raise  that  crop.  And 
every  day's  experience  shows  that  this  is 
a  waste  of  labor  that  does  not  always 
occur  in  that  light  to  the  farmer.  If  a 
crop  is  got  from  two  acres,  that  in  quan- 
tity and  quality  could  be  got  from  one, 
not  quite  double,  but  nearly  that  amount 
of  labor  has  been  wasted  in  man  and 
team  in  the  production  of  it.  Nor  is  that 
all ;  because,  of  course,  one  acre  of  the 
two  would,  if  not  so  occupied,  be  availa- 
ble for  another  crop. 

There  is  no  doubt  whatever,  that  for 
many  crops  (although  not  for  all)  the 
proportion  of  two  to  one  is  by  no  means 
exaggerated  ;  or,  that  deep  tillage  alone. 


will,  in  many  instances,  make  that,  and 
more  than  that,  difference. 

Many  modifications  of  subsoil  plough- 
ing present  themselves  into  which  our 
limits  will  not  permit  us  to  enter ;  in 
some  cases  it  may  be  expedient  to  bring 
up  j)artially  tlie  subsoil  to  the  surface ; 
in  other  instances  this  would  be  inexpe- 
dient. The  nature  of  the  land  must  de- 
termine that  question.  But  there  is  no 
land  that  will  not  be  materially  benefited 
by  subsoil  ploughing  in  one  way  or  other, 
unless  the  bottom  be  a  pure  gravel  of  a 
very  open  texture.  And  even  in  such 
land  injury  would  not  be  done,  unless, 
indeed,  the  gravel  were  brought  to  the 
surface,  which  of  course  no  farmer  would 
dream  of. 

On  a  future  occasion  we  may  enter 
upon  the  positive  advantages  resulting 
from  subsoiling,  at  present  we  have  only 
space  to  advert  to  one  or  two  of  the  ob- 
jections sometimes  urged  against  it. 

It  is  erroneously  supposed  by  some 
persons  that  in  lands  with  a  sandy  bot- 
tom the  practice  of  subsoiling  renders 
them  less  capable  of  sustaining  vegetable 
life  during  the  drouths  of  summer. 

A  greater  follacy  can  not  exist.  The 
more  compact  soil  is,  the  more  easily  will 
it  conduct  heat  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
less  water  or  moisture  will  it  hold,  on 
the  other.  A  brick  will  heat  through 
much  more  rapidly  than  a  volume  of  dry 
earth  or  sand  of  equal  size,  and  water 
will  never  conduct  heat  downwards. 

When,  therefore,  a  sandy  subsoil  is 
ploughed,  the  effect  being  simply  to 
make  it  thereby  more  porous  and  open, 
the  consequence  is  that  it  is  in  a  condi- 
tion mechanically  to  admit  the  roots  of 
plants  more  readily ;  and  also  to  place 
it  in  a  condition  more  freely  to  admit 
moisture  from  the  surface,  or  by  capillary 
attraction  from  below,  whilst  its  greater 
permeability  to  the  passage  of  atmosphe- 
ric air  enables  the  vegetable  particles  di.s- 
tributed  through  it  to  take  up  in  that 
passage  a  larger  amount  of  anmionia 
from  which  one  of  the  most  essential  ali- 
ments vegetable  life  is  derived. 


14 


AGRICULTURAL. 


Again  we  have  heard  raised  an  opin- 
io i  that  the  disturbance  of  subsoils  con- 
sisting of  hard  pan  is  injurious,  on  the 
ground  of  its  becoming  intermixed  with 
the  surface  soil.  This  objection  is  as  un- 
tenable as  the  previous  one.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  such  intermixture  need  yot 
occur,  (though  in  certain  conditions  and 
quantities  tJiat  might  do  good,)  whilst  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  would  be  of  a  sim- 
ilar kind,  but  in  yet  greater  amount, 
than  in  the  case  of  the  sandy  land. 

We  purpose  again  to  revert  to  a  sub- 
ject of  such  great  importance  to  the 
farmer. 


THE   FARMER. 

We  have  seldom  found  any  thing 
more  beautiful  and  true  than  the  follow- 
ing, which  we  cut  from  the  New-  Yoi^Jc 
Ledger.  If  there  is  any  thing  in  it  from 
which  we  dissent,  it  is,  that  the  faimer 
can  live  without  the  mechanic,  but  not 
the  mechanic  without  the  farmer.  This 
is  true,  if  we  reduce  the  word  live  to  its 
lowest  meaning.  But  in  the  sense  of 
living  well  —  prospering  —  the  farmer 
needs  the  mechanic,  not  only  to  make 
his  plow  and  reaper,  and  to  build  his 
house,  but  to  create  a  maiket  for  his 
produce.  The  truth  is,  the  farmer  and 
the  mechanic  are  very  necessary  to  each 
other ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  say  which 
needs  the  other  most. 

What  a  sovereign  man  is  the  intelli- 
gent, industrious  farmer.  Within  his 
own  realm  of  earth,  he  wields  a  sceptre 
to  which  all  must  bend.  The  balance  of 
the  world's  life  and  comfort  he  holds  in 
liis  stalwart  hand.  Neither  courts,  nor 
camps,  nor  armies,  nor  fleets,  can  exist 
without  his  aid.  He  is  the  feeder — aye, 
and  the  garmenter,  virtuall3^~of  the  race. 
Cities  spring  from  the  traffic  in  the  pro- 
ducts of  his  industry.  Commerce  is 
bom  at  his  bequest.  Of  the  State  he  is 
"  first  Estate."  Lord  of  the  land,  no 
man  has  firmer  hold  of  the  essential  title 
of  nobility.  And  he  need  be  no  plodder 
because  he  is  a  farmer.  The  day  is  past 
when  the  soil  tiller  was  confounded  with 
the  clod  turned  by  his  plow.  The  soil 
is  his  servitor ;  he  smites  it,  and  lo  !  the 


harvest  comes  forth.  The  hoe  and  the 
sickle  make  him  music  braver  than  dul- 
cimers, and  sound  the  march  of  a  tri- 
umph, grand  as  it  is  peaceful  and  bless- 
ed. But  he  is  not  forever  in  the  furrow. 
For  him  are  broadest  fields  of  study — 
fairest  fields  of  delight.  For  him  are 
honors  linked  to  beauties  and  wisdoms  ; 
for  him,  periods  of  communion  and  rap- 
ture, of  which  the  birds,  the  flowers,  the 
streams,  the  stars,  and  all  wondrous 
things  of  the  universe,  may  bear  witness. 
A  brave  man  art  thou,  wielder  of  the 
mallet  and  plane ;  and  thou,  skillful 
worker  of  webs  ;  and  thou,  deviser  of  all 
machines  whereby  the  labor  of  man's 
hand  is  speeded  or  abridged.  But  ye 
are  all  second  to  the  farmer.  He  is  mas- 
ter of  the  needfulest  of  toils,  and  the 
most  serviceable  products.  He  can  live 
without  you,  but  you  can  not  exist  for  a 
day  without  him.  Honor  to  the  farmer ; 
may  his  sphere  widen  and  his  stature  be 
exalted.  And  honor  to  all  honest  toil,  for 
of  such  are  the  fruits  that  form  the 
crownina;  glories  of  the  world. 


A  WORD  TO  FARMERS. 

An  exchange  says,  afd  we  approve 
and  adopt,  the  following  : 

Now,  farmers,  is  the  time  to  com- 
mence writing  for  your  paper.  Now  the 
long  winter  evenings  aie  drawing  on, 
you  have  time  to  write,  and  your  brother 
farmers  have  time  to  read  your  letters  ; 
do  so  then  at  once.  Give  us  the  fruits 
of  your  experience,  in  facts  and  facts 
only. 

Short  letters  are  best,  so  give  us  your 
ideas  in  as  compact  a  form  as  possible. 
We  should  like  to  hear  from  some  one 
upon  sheep,  swine,  poultry — upon  ma- 
nures, the  various  methods  of  cultivation 
as  at  present  in  actual  use  in  the  Gran- 
ite State. 


SYRUP  FROM  THE  SUGAR  CANE. 

Mr.  Charles  Keeny,  of  Chester,  in 
this  county,  presented  us  last  week  with 
a  bottle  of  syrup  manufactured  from  the 
Chinese  Sugar  Cane,  which  for  clear- 
ness, deliciousness  of  taste,  and  excellent 
quality,  far  exceeds,  iu  our  judgment, 
the  best  Southern  Sugar-House  syrup. 
It  has  none  of  the  raw,  sti  oug,  cane 
taste  peculiar  to  the  latter  article,  but  is 
rich  in  taste  and  color.  Mr.  Keeny  in- 
forms us  that  he  procured  in  the  spring 
only  Jlfti/  cents'  worth  of  the  seed,  in- 


AGRICULTURAL, 


15 


tending  simply  to  try  its  saccharine 
qualities  as  an  experiment.  The  result 
far  exceeds  his  anticipations.  From  that 
fifty  cents'  worth  of  seed  he  obtained  half 
a  barrel  of  delicious  syrup,  worth  at 
leiist  seventj'-five  cents  per  gallon.  His 
method  of  manufacturing  it  is  similar  to 
that  adopted  in  making  syrup  and  sugar 
from  the  maple,  by  boiling,  cleansing, 
skimming,  etc.  We  regard  Mr.  Keeny's 
experiment  as  entirely  successful,  and  if 
any  one  wishes  to  satisfy  himself  of  the 
truth  of  the  above  statement,  let  him  call 
at  our  office  and  tante  for  himself — 
Jeffersonian  Democrat. 

ON  STEAM  PLOUGHING. 

BY    ?.    MANNY. 

Wadam's  Gkove,  Nov.  SO,  1857. 

Messrs.  Editors — Dear  Sirs  : — I  no- 
tice an  article  in  your  November  number, 
headed  Steam  Plough,  stating  that  Mr. 
Bronson  Murray,  of  Illinois,  has  offered 
$50,000  for  the  best  practical  steam 
plough.  This,  I  think,  is  a  mistake ; 
and,  as  I  have  reason  to  believe,  the  pro- 
position he  did  make  some  time  ago  to 
try  to  raise  that  amount  of  money  as  a 
bonus  for  the  best  invention,  is  likely  to 
prove  an  injurious  stimulent  to  our  in- 
ventive genius,  in  as  much  as  it  will  no 
doubt  induce  a  number  of  our  hard- 
working, industrious  mechanics  to  spend 
too  much  of  their  time  on  that  which  I 
believe  never  will  benefit  anybody.  I 
am  an  inventor  myself,  and  my  success 
may  clearly  be  traced  back  to  the  start- 
ing point,  which  is  this:  In  the  first 
place  ascertain  as  clearly  as  possible 
whether  such  an  invention  will  prove 
profitable  and  beneficial  to  the  public. 
As  I  have  investigated  many  years  ago 
the  practicability  of  steam  ploughing,  I 
will  state  the  result  of  my  investigation. 
In  the  first  [)lacc  its  cost  will  be  $4,000 
or  $5,000  at  least,  the  interest  on  which 
in  our  State  will  be  $500  a  year.  The 
wages  of  two  men  to  run  it  three  months, 
which  is  about  the  average  time  of  plow- 
ing in  a  year,  at  $1  50  per  day  each, 
added  to  the  interest,  makes  $734.  Al- 
lowing it  to  plough  li)  acres  per  day, 


this  would  be  780  acres,  leavmg  out  the 
cost  of  fuel  and  repairs,  and  the  expense 
is  nearly  $1  per  acre.  Except  the  prai- 
rie sod,  we  can  hire  our  land  ploughed 
for  75  cents  per  acre;  but  there  is  a 
more  profitable  way  than  this,  which  we 
shall  some  day  universally  adopt ; — 
stock  our  farms  as  they  should  be  with 
cattle,  and  while  they  are  growing  up 
into  bullocks,  they  will  not  only  do  all 
our  ploughing,  but  will  give  us  about  25 
per  cent,  in  their  growth.  Now  the  dif- 
ference between  ploughing  with  our 
steers  and  gaining  25  per  cent,  in  their 
growth,  or  ploughing  with  a  steam  en- 
gine and  losing  10  per  cent,  on  its  cost, 
is  so  great  that  I  could  never  make  my- 
self believe  that  any  sane  man  would 
adopt  steam  ploughing  on  our  prairie 
forms,  where  we  have  such  abundant 
means,  for  raising  stock.  If  steam 
ploughing  proves  to  be  profitable  any 
where,  it  must  be  among  our  eastern 
farmers  where  their  farms  are  too  small 
to  keep  stock  sufficient  for  ploughing. 

The  writer  of  the  above  is  a  veteran 
in  a  good  cause.  He  has  done  well  in 
the  reaper  and  mower  line,  and  we  be- 
lieve he  is  now  doing  better  and  better 
every  year-«-making  realh^  valuable  im- 
provements. But  he  has  fliilcd  to  prove 
to  our  apprehension  that  some  one  else, 
or  even  he  himself,  niaj'  not  yet  do  a 
greater  thing  for  agriculture  in  the  way 
of  steam  ploughing.  We  have  an  idea 
that  his  objections  to  it  are  answerable, 
but  we  leave  them  to  some  of  our  cor- 
respondents, only  stating  our  belief  that 
the  time  is  not  fiu'  distant  when  steam 
ploughs  will  be  manufactured  for  less 
money,  and  will  plough  more  land  per 
day  than  he  estimates. — Ed. 


AUTUMNAL  CULTIVATION— AS  A 
MEANS  FOR  GOOD  FARMING. 

AVe  could  not  subscribe  to  every  word 
of  the  following,  from  the  (London)  Farm- 
ers' Magazine,  but  we  believe  that  it  is, 
in  the  main,  true  and  important,  and  that 


16 


AGRICULTURAL. 


very  much  is  gained  by  the  fall  cultiva- 
tion of  soils,  especially  those  of  a  heavy 
nature,  and  we  very  much  doubt  wheth- 
er the  cultivation  of  even  light  sandy 
soils,  in  autumn,  is  as  injurious  as  has 
been  sometimes  represented.  Will  some 
of  our  readers  give  us  the  results  of  their 
experience  in  fall  cultivation,  noting  par- 
ticularly the  character  of  the  soil  ? 

It  is  highly  necessary  we  should  pos- 
sess clear  and  distinct  views  upon  every 
subject  connected  with  the  practice  of 
agriculture  ;  and  we  again  revfcrt  to  the 
system  of  autumnal  cultivation,  because 
we  feel  it  to  be  a  subject  of  vast  import- 
ance to  the  farming  interest  of  the  king- 
dom at  large,  while  it  is  our  observation 
and  conviction  that  the  practice  is  nei- 
ther generally  understood  nor  sufficient- 
ly appreciated.  It  is  certainly  but  par- 
tially and  imperfectly  carried  out,  both 
as  to  efficiency  and  in  extent. 

"We  do  not  presume  to  the  position  of 
tutors  in  agriculture ;  but  we  do  desire 
to  see  more  of  the  autumnal  fallow,  and 
less  of  the  curse  of  creation  in  the  shape 
of  the  thorn  and  the  thistle,  and  the  com- 
mingled mass  of  grass  and  rubbish  which 
feast  upon  and  impoverish  the  soil.  We 
want  good  forming  to  be  general ;  we 
want  bad  farming  to  be  the  exception. 
We  desire  to  see  comparative  garden  cul- 
ture abounding ;  and  well  may  you  who 
have  already  attained  to  it  plume  your- 
selves at  your  will  and  at  your  pleasure 
upon  your  superior  skill  and  surpassing 
judgment;  but  where  weeds  exist  and 
abound,  there  is  other  and  more  import- 
ant work  to  be  done.  Weeds  and  self- 
laudation  and  self-satisfaction  will  not 
do  ;  they  are  our  admitted  enemies  ;  they 
are  as  a  stealthy  foe,  and  as  insidious 
robbers.  Therefore  Extirpation!  must 
be  our  watched  and  our  cry,  whilst  the 
autumn  system  of  fallow  must  be  our 
practice.  It  is  unquestionably  the  cheap- 
est and  best  means  by  which  to  secure 
and  maintain  a  clean  occupation,  and  it 
has  but  to  be  tried  in  practice  to  be  ap- 
preciated ;  and,  when  appreciated,  it  will 
be  considered  worthy  of  strenuous  eflforts 
to  be  carried  out  generally  as  a  common 
system  of  culture.  The  time  is  coming 
when  it  must  be  viewed  not  as  secondary, 
but  of  primary,  importance  ;  for  the  fu- 
ture will  be  far  too  competitive  an  age  for 
the  farmer  manacled  and  tied  with  the 
fetters  of  his  couch  to  stand  a  chance,  or 
find  either  existence  or  breathing-space 


in  the  straining  exertions  of  the  hard- 
fought  race  for  profit.  He  must  be  dis- 
tanced. Extra  weight  will  tell.  If  clean 
farming  won't  pay,  foul-farming  can't; 
and  the  landed  proprietors  are  gradually 
learning  the  worth  of  a  good  tenant, 
whilst  they  reject  and  eject  the  bad. 

Autumn  cultivation  has  for  its  main 
object  the  eradication  and  destruction  of 
all  the  perennial  weeds  which  infest  the 
soil ;  and  it  is  to  this  end  every  operation 
should,  in  the  first  instance,  be  fully  di- 
rected. The  annuals  are  but  secondary ; 
therefore  for  couch  and  so  forth  it  is 
highly  necessary  to  cultivate  deeply,  and, 
whether  with  Biddell's,  Bentall's  or  Cole- 
man's scarifiers,  or  the  common  plow,  it 
is  essential  to  thoroughly  break  up  the 
soil  to  its  accustomed  depth.  Above  all 
things,  it  is  requisite  {o  be  careful  that 
no  couch  remains  in  the  solid  soil  be- 
neath the  passage  for  the  share.  We  re- 
peat, the  soil  must  be  broken  to  the 
depth  at  which  it  is  usually  plowed,  or 
perfect  cleanness  will  not  be  efiected. 
We  know  that  this  is  often  no  light  task, 
and  a  master's  eye  must  watch  the  pro- 
gress of  the  work,  or  it  will  be  but  par- 
tially and  inefBciently  performed.  The 
truth  is,  every  horseman  has  his  favorite 
"Sharper"  or  "Pepper"  or  "Boxer," 
and  these  animals,  in  his  estimation,  are 
of  far  more  consequence  than  good  tillage, 
therefore  spare  them  he  will  if  possible. 
Besides,  the  weather  is  hot,  the  flies 
sharp,  the  land  hard,  and  Tom  or  Jem 
will  ease  the  depth  a  little  too  much,  or 
swear  point-blank  it  can't  be  done  at  all. 
Now  comes  the  master's  firmness  and 
sound  judgment  to  dictate  what  can  and 
what  shall  be  done,  and  how.  We  have 
seen  many  a  complaisant  man  foiled  and 
overruled  by  the  plausibility  or  perver- 
sity of  his  men,  but  almost  any  land  can 
be  properly  broken  up  by  the  use  of  the 
proper  means ;  and,  if  the  value  of  au- 
tumn cultivation  were  really  understood, 
the  country  at  large  would  jjresenta  very 
different  appearance  at  the  present  time. 
Truly  the  system  is  on  the  increase  ;  but 
how  many  a  set  of  horses  have  we  of  late, 
and  especially  at  the  commencement  of 
harvest,  idly  swinging  their  tails  in  some 
rough  pasture,  under  the  shade  of  some 
old  oak  or  ash,  instead  of  being  first  fed 
with  a  good  feed  of  corn,  (which  they 
require,)  and  then  attached  to  an  effect- 
ive implement  for  the  cultivation  of  some 
neighboring  stubble — which  by-the-bye, 
contained  "  such  good  sheep-fed,"  "  such 
laying  for  birds,"  and,  in  short,  such  an 


AGRICULTURAL 


11 


amount  of  deviltry  as  would  beggar  des- 
cription, and  even  defy  spring-cleansing, 
with  all  its  operations  of  many  plowings 
and  endless  harrowings.  To  1)0  brief, 
two  or  three  scarifyings  or  stirrings  un- 
der a  scorching  sun,  in  August,  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  destroy  the  thou- 
sand-and-one  enemies  which  have  floui- 
ished  through  a  course  of  years,  and  still 
Nourish  on  without  molestation  ;  and  the 
horses  would  have  been  far  better  occu- 
pied than  in  doing  nothing.  Although 
ever}^  county  is  the  best-farmed  in  the 
kingdom,  according  to  local  tradition  and 
agricultural  banter,  yet  every  county 
needs  to  be  much  better  farmed  than  it 
\>>.  We  are  sickened  at  the  sight  of  foul 
stubbles ;  and  so  infinite  are  the  advan- 
tages arising  from  fallowing  in  the  au- 
tumn, that  it  is  both  the  system  and  the 
season  we  can  not  afford  to  neglect.  We 
allow  there  are  diflBculties  to  overcome 
in  the  cultivation  of  a  wide  breadth  at  so 
busy  a  time  of  the  year ;  but  to  how 
many  minds  do  any  innovations  present 
insurmovmtable  obstacles  !  We  do  not 
say  this  in  the  spirit  of  condemnation 
or  complaint;  for  many  even  sensible 
men  do  not  comprehend,  or  appreciate, 
at  first  sight,  the  benefit  likely  to  ai  ise 
from  any  new  but  sound  practices. 
Further,  we  need  to  be  cautious,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  autumn  cultiva- 
tion should  be  swallowed  wholesale.  Tf 
the  utility  to  arise  is  unappreciated,  the 
trouble  of  its  accomplishment  will  appear 
incompatible  with  the  advantages  accru- 
ing— consequently,  by  such  the  task  will 
not  be  undertaken,  and  thus  men  may 
or  may  not  live  on  with  a  mental  hedge 
of  thorns  to  all  progress,  content  to  swim 
with  the  tide,  because  slow  to  appreciate, 
and  far  too  local  in  education  and  in 
knowledge.  Realize  the  value,  and  ar- 
range the  work  of  the  farm,  that  some  cul- 
tivation at  least  can  be  done.  We  pre- 
pare for,  and  plant  our  wheat  crop  ;  why 
not  eradicate  and  destroy  our  weed  crop  ? 
The  one  is  as  important  as  the  other,  and 
the  latter  should  be  considered  as  pri- 
mary to  the  former. 

We  have  advocated  deep  autumnal 
cultivation  for  the  destruction  of  the  pe- 
rennials, and,  as  time  is  an  importjint 
consideration,  the  rubbish  must  be  kept 
at  the  surface  for  exposure  to  the  sun's 
rays.  It  may  not  be  buried  snug  in  the 
soil,  to  be  shaded  from  the  influence  of 
the  sun,  but  have  the  couch  out  for  pub- 
lic exposure  and  the  bright  noon  of  day. 
Presuming  a  shower  of  rain  to  fall,  how 


beautifully,  by  harrowing,  the  clods 
come  to  powder  and  the  couch  to  the 
surface,  to  be  baked  by  the  sun,  or 
burned  in  a  series  of  bonfires ! 

With  fineness  of  tilth  and  moisture  of 
soil,  now  comes  the  turn  for  the  vegeta- 
tion of  the  annuals,  and  an  abundant 
crop  of  young  weeds  present  themselves. 
Tims  perennials  and  annuals  are  alike 
destroyed,  and  the  land  freed  for  the 
growth  of  any  desirable  produce.  Man- 
ure, too,  can  now  be  applied  with  un- 
abated success ;  the  expense  of  hoeing, 
in  future,  is  reduced ;  and  a  crop  can  be 
grown  which  is  worthy  of  the  soil  and 
the  skill  of  the  cultivator. 

We  know  of  men  this  year,  who,  just 
previous  to  harvest,  broke  up  and  per- 
fectly fallowed  tlieir  clover-stubbles. 
This  was  after  once  mowing  the  crop 
and  feeding  the  after-growth,  and  only 
upon  such  lands  where  the  succeeding 
wheat-plant  is  usually  subject  to  wire- 
worm,  and  to  be  root-fallen.  They  have, 
further,  since  cultivated  their  hundred 
acres  of  corn-stubbles  deeply,  and  with 
full  success.  And  nothing  but  the  wet- 
ness of  September  has  prevented  much 
greater  progress. 

As  a  finale,  cultivate  deeply,  keep  the 
weeds  at  the  surface,  avail  yourselves  of 
your  existing  horse-power,  and  you  will 
find  autumnal  cultivation  much  to  your 
individual  profit,  and  to  the  good  of  the 
country  at  large. 


FROM    EDWARD    EVERETT'S    AD- 
DRESS   AT    BUFFALO. 

In  the  first  place,  the  earth  which  is 
to  be  cultivated  instead  of  being  either 
a  uniform  or  a  homogeneous  mass,  is 
made  up  of  a  variety  of  materials,  dilfer- 
ing  in  different  places,  and  possessing 
different  chemical  and  agricultural  prop- 
erties and  qualities.  A  few  of  these  ele- 
ments, and  especially  clay,  lime  and 
sand,  predominate,  usually  intermixed 
to  some  extent  by  nature,  and  capable 
of  being,  so  mingled  and  treated  by  art, 
as  to  produce  a  vastly  increased  fertility. 
The  late  Lord  Leicester  in  England, 
better  known  as  Mr.  Coke,  first  carried 
out  this  idea  on  a  large  scale,  and  more 
than  doubled  the  productive  value  of  his 
great  estates  in  Norfolk  by  claying  his 
light  soils.  To  conduct  operations  of 
this  kind,  some  knowledge  of  geology, 
minerology  and  chemistiy,  is  required. 
The  enrichment  of  the  earth  by  decay- 
ing animal  and  vegetable  substances,   is 


18 


AGRICULTURAL 


the  most  familiar  operation  perhaps  in 
husbandry  ;  but  it  is  only  since  its  scien- 
tific principles  have  been  explored  by 
Davy  and  Liebig,  that  the  great  practical 
improvements  in  this  branch  of  agricul- 
ture have  taken  place.  It  is  true  that 
the  almost  boundless  natural  fertility  of 
the  soil  supersedes  for  the  present,  in 
some  parts  of  our  country,  the  impor- 
tance of  artificial  enrichment.  I  in- 
quired last  spring  of  a  friend  living  in  a 
region  of  this  kind,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  how  they  contrived  to  get  rid  of 
the  accumulation  of  the  farm-yard,  (a 
strange  question  it  will  seem  to  farmers 
in  this  part  of  the  world,)  and  he  answer- 
ed, "  By  carting  it  down  to  the  river's 
side,  and  emptying  it  into  the  stream." 
In  another  portion  of  the  western  coun- 
try, where  I  had  seen  hemp  growing 
vigorously  about  thirty  years  ago,  I  found 
that  wheat  was  now  the  prevailing  crop. 
I  was  informed  that  the  land  was  origin- 
ally so  rich  as  to  be  adapted  only  for 
hemp,  but  had  now  become  poor  enough 
for  wheat. 

These,  however,  are  not  instances  of 
a  permanent  and  normal  condition  of 
things.  In  the  greater  part  of  the  Union, 
especially  in  those  portions  which  have 
been  for  some  time  under  cultivation, 
the  annual  exhaustion  must  be  restored 
by  the  annual  renovation  of  the  soil.  To 
accomplish  this  object,  of  late  years 
every  branch  of  science,  every  resource 
of  the  laboratory,  every  kingdom  of 
nature,  has  been  placed  under  contribu- 
tion. Battle-fields  have  been  dug  over 
for  the  bones  of  their  victims  ;  geology 
has  furnished  lime,  gypsum  and  marl ; 
commerce  has  explored  the  remotest 
seas  for  guano,  and  has  called  loudly  on 
diplomacy  to  assist  her  efforts  ;  chemis- 
trj''  has  been  tasked  for  the  production 
of  compounds,  which,  in  the  progress  ot 
science,  may  supercede  those  of  animal 
or  vegetable  origin  which  are  prepared 
by  nature.  The  nutritive  principles  de- 
veloped by  decaying  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble organization  are  universally  diffused 
throughout  the  material  world,  and  the 
problem  to  be  solved  is  to  produce  them 
artificially  on  a  large  scale,  cheap  enough 
for  general  use.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
most  simple  and  familiar  processes  of 
enrichment,  with  the  aid  of  mechanical 
power  and  a  moderate  application  of  cap- 
ital, are  producing  the  most  astonishing 
results.  The  success  which  has  attend- 
ed Mr.  Mechi's  operations  in  England  is 
familiar  to  us  all.    By  the  application  of 


natural  fertilizing  liquids,  sprinkled  by 
a  steam  engine  over  his  fields,  they  have 
been  made  to  produce,  it  is  said,  seven 
annual  crops  of  heavy  grass. 

Simple  water  is  one  of  the  most  ef- 
fectual fertilizers,  and  in  some  countries 
irrigation,  carried  on  with  no  moderate 
degree  of  hydraulic  skill,  is  the  basis  of 
their  husbandry.  While  walking,  on 
one  occasion,  with  the  late  Lord  Ash- 
burton,  in  his  delightful  grounds  in 
Hampshire,  just  before  he  departed  on 
his  special  mission  to  this  country,  in 
one  of  the  intervals  of  our  earnest  con- 
ference on  the  North-eastern  Boundary, 
he  told  me  that  he  had  expended  ten 
thousand  pounds  sterling  in  conducting 
round  his  fields  the  waters  of  the  little 
river — the  Itchen,  I  think,  that  flows 
through  the  property,  and  that  it  was 
money  well  laid  out.  Pardon  me  the 
digression  of  a  moment  to  say  that  I 
could  not  but  honor  the  disinterested 
patriotism  which  led  this  kind-hearted, 
upright  and  intelligent  man,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age,  (with  nothing  on  earth  to 
gain  or  desire,  and  with  everything  of 
reputation  to  risk,)  to  leave  the  earthly 
paradise  in  which  I  saw  him,  and  to 
cross  the  Atlantic  in  the  winter,  in  a 
sailing  vessel,  (bis  voyage  was  of  fifty- 
one  days,)  to  do  his  part  in  adjusting  a 
controversy  which  had  seriously  men- 
aced the  peace  of  the  two  countries. 
The  famous  water-meadows  of  the  Duke 
of  Portland,  at  Olipstone,  have  been  often 
described,  where  the  same  operations  has 
been  performed  on  a  still  more  extensive 
scale.  Mr.  Colman's  interesting  volumes 
on  European  agriculture  contain  accounts 
of  other  works  of  this  kind,  but  I  confine 
myself  to  those  which  have  fallen  under 
my  own  observation. 

Nor  are  these  the  only  operations  in 
which  agriculture  calls  for  the  aid  of 
well-instructed  skill.  That  moisture, 
which  in  moderation  is  the  great  vehicle 
of  vegetable  nourishment,  may  exist  in 
excess.  Vast  tracts  of  land  are  lost  to 
husbandry  in  this  country,  which  might 
be  reclaimed  by  dykes  and  embank- 
ments, or  become  fertile  by  drainage. 
Land  is  yet  too  abundant  and  cheap  in 
America  to  admit  of  great  expenditures 
in  this  way,  except  in  very  limited  lo- 
calities ;  but  the  time  will  no  doubt 
come  when  in  the  populous  portions  of 
the  country,  especially  in  the  nighbor- 
hood  of  large  cities,  the  sunken  marshes 
which  now  stretch  along  our  coast  will 
be  reclaimed  from  the  ocean,  as  in  Hoi- 


AGRICULTURAL 


19 


land  ;  and  thousands  of  acres  in  the  in- 
terior, now  given  up  to  alder  swamps 
and  cranberry  meadows,  be  clothed  with 
grass  and  com.  There  are  few  forms 
of  any  size  in  the  country,  which  do  not 
contain  waste  spots  of  this  kind — the 
harbor  of  turtles,  frogs  and  serpents — 
which  might  be  brought  at  moderate 
expense  and  some  hydraulic  skill,  into 
cultivation.  Other  extensive  tracts  are 
awaiting  the  time  when  the  increase  of 
population  and  the  enhanced  value  of 
land  will  bear  the  expense  of  costly  ope- 
rations in  engineering.  The  marshes  on 
the  sea-coast  of  New-England,  New- York 
and  New-Jersey,  probably  exceed  in  the 
aggregate  the  superhces  of  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Netherlands,  the  greater  part  of 
which  has  been  redeemed  by  artificial 
means  from  the  ocean — a  considerable 
tract,  covered  by  the  Lake  of  Harlem, 
within  a  few  years.  Now,  if  we  could 
only  add  a  new  territory  to  the  Union, 
as  large  as  the  Kingdom  of  the  Nether- 
lands, by  the  peaceful  operations  of  hus- 
bandry, it  would  be  a  species  of  annexa- 
tion to  which  I  for  one  should  make  no 
objection.  All  the  resources  of  science 
have  been  called  into  operation  in  that 
country,  under  the  direction  of  a  sepa- 
rate Department  of  the  Government,  to 
sustain  the  hydraulic  works  which  pro- 
tect it  from  the  ocean.  The  state  of 
things  is  similar  in  the  fens  of  Lincoln- 
shire and  Bedfordshire.  All  the  spare 
revenues  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany 
have  been  appropriated  for  years  to  the 
improvement  of  the  low  grounds  on  the 
coast  of  that  country,  once  the  abode  of 
the  powerful  Etruscan  Confederacy, 
which  ruled  Italy  before  the  ascendancy 
of  the  Romans,  now,  and  for  ages  past,  a 
malarious,  uninhabitable  waste. 

But  when  science  and  art  have  done 
their  best  for  the  preparation  of  the  soil, 
they  have  but  commenced  their  opera- 
tions in  the  lowest  department  of  agri- 
culture. They  have  dealt,  thus  far,  only 
with  what  we  call  lifeless  nature,  though 
I  apply  that  word  with  reluctance  to  the 
genial  bosom  of  our  mother  earth,  from 
which  everything  that  germinates  draws 
its  life  and  appropriate  nourishment. 
Still,  however,  we  take  a  great  step  up- 
ward, when,  in  pursuing  the  operations 
of  husbandry,  we  ascend  from  mineral 
and  inorganic  substances  to  vegetable 
organization.  We  now  enter  a  new 
world  of  agricultural  research  •,  the  mys- 
teries of  assimilation,  growth  and  decay  ; 
of  seed  time  and  harvest ;  the  life,  the 


death,  and  the  reproduction  of  the  vege- 
table world.  Here  we  still  need  the 
light  of  science,  but  rather  to  explore 
and  reveal  than  to  imitate  the  operations 
of  nature.  The  skilful  agricultural 
chemist  can  mingle  soils  and  compound 
fertilizing  phosphates  ;  but  with  all  his 
apparatus  and  all  his  reagents,  it  is  be- 
yond his  power  to  fabricate  the  humblest 
leaf  He  can  give  you,  to  the  thousandth 
part  of  a  grain,  the  component  elements 
of  wheat — he  can  mingle  those  elements 
in  due  proportion  in  his  laboratory — but 
to  manufacture  a  single  kernel,  endowed 
with  living  reproductive  power,  is  as 
much  beyond  his  skill  as  to  create  a 
world. 

Every  topic  to  which  I  have  thus 
hastily  alluded,  in  connection  with  the 
vegetable  kingdoms  of  nature,  suggests 
inquiry  for  the  naturalist,  in  some  de- 
partment of  his  studies,  and  forms  the 
subject  of  regular  courses  of  instruction 
in  some  of  the  European  universities,  es- 
pecially those  in  Germany. 

The  insects  and  vermin  injurious  to 
vegetation  present  another  curious  and 
difficult  path  of  inquiry.  A  very  con- 
siderable part  of  every  crop  of  grain  and 
fruit  is  planted,  not  for  the  mouths  of 
our  children,  but  for  the  fly,  the  curculio, 
and  the  canker-worm,  or  some  other  oi 
these  pests  of  husbandry.  Science  has 
done  something,  and  will  no  doubt  do 
more,  to  alleviate  the  plague.  It  has  al- 
ready taught  us  not  to  wage  equal  war 
on  the  wheat  fly  and  the  parasite  which 
preys  upon  it ;  and  it  will,  perhaps, 
eventually  persuade  those  who  need  the 
lesson,  that  a  few  peas  and  cherries  are 
well  bestowed  by  way  of  dessert  on  the 
cheerful  little  warblers  who  turn  our 
gardens  into  concert-rooms,  and  do  so 
much  to  aid  us  in  the  wai'farc  against 
the  grubs  and  caterpillars  which  form 
their  principal  meal. 

Agriculture  is  looking  anxiously  to 
science  for  informatian  on  the  nature 
and  remedies  of  the  formidable  disease 
which  has  of  late  years  destroj^ed  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  potato  crop.  Th« 
naturalist  who  shall  solve  that  problem 
will  stand  high  among  the  benefactors  of 
his  race. 

Closely  connected  with  this  depart- 
ment of  agriculture  is  another,  in  which 
the  modern  arts  have  made  great  pro- 
gress, and  in  which  inventive  sagacity  is 
still  dilligently  and  successfully  employ- 
ed. I  refer  to  agricultural  machinery — 
improved     implements    of    husbandry. 


20 


AGRICULTURAL. 


This  is  a  field  in  which  the  creative 
powers  of  the  mind  seem  to  be  at  work 
with  an  activity  never  before  equalled, 
and  which  is  likely  to  produce  more 
important  results  in  this  than  in  any 
other  country.  The  supply  of  labor  in 
the  United  States  has  not  kept  pace 
with  the  demand,  as  it  can  rarely  do  in 
a  new  country,  where  strong  temptations 
exist  for  enterprising  attempt  in  every 
branch  of  industry.  This  state  of  things 
has  furnished  very  powerful  induce- 
ments for  the  introduction  of  labor-sav- 
ing machinery  and  implements,  and  the 
proverbial  ingenuity  of  our  countrymen 
has  been  turned  with  great  success  in 
that  direction.  Your  exhibition  grounds 
fully  j  ustify  this  remark.  Even  the  good 
old  plow  has  become  almost  a  new  ma- 
chine in  its  various  novel  forms ;  and 
other  implements  of  the  most  ingenious 
contrivance  and  efBcient  action  have 
been  invented.  The  cultivator,  the 
horse-rake,  the  mowing-machine,  the 
reaper,  and  the  threshing-machine,  are 
daily  coming  into  use  in  Europe  and 
America,  and  producing  the  most  im- 
portant economy  of  labor.  Successful 
attempts  are  making  to  work  them  by 
steam.  It  was  said  long  ago  of  the 
cotton-gin,  by  Mr.  Justice  Johnson,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
that  it  had  doubled  the  value  of  the  lands 
in  the  cotton-growing  region  ;  and  the 
mowing-machine,  the  reaper,  and  the 
treshing-machine  are  destined,  almost  to 
the  same  extent,  to  alleviate  the  severest 
labors  of  the  farmer's  year.  The  fame 
of  the  reaper  is  not  confined  to  this 
hemisphere.  At  the  great  exhibition  of 
the  Industry  of  all  Nations,  in  London, 
in  1851,  it  mainly  contributed  to  enable 
American  art  to  hold  up  her  head  in  the 
face  of  the  civilized  world. 

But  there  is  still  another  department 
of  agriculture  which  opens  the  door  to 
research  of  a  higher  order,  and  deals 
with  finer  elements — I  mean  that  which 
regards  the  domestic  animals  attached 
to  the  service  of  man,  and  which  are  of 
such  inestimable  importance  as  the  di- 
rect partners  of  his  labors,  as  furnishing 
one  of  the  great  articles  of  his  food,  and 
as  a  principal  resource  for  restoring  the 
exhausted  fertility  of  the  soil.  In  the 
remotest  ages  of  antiquity,  into  which 
the  torch  of  history  throws  not  the  faint- 
est gleam  of  light,  a  small  number,  se- 
lected from  the  all  but  numberless  races 
of  the  lower  animals,  were  adopted  by 
domestication  into  the  family  of  man. 


So  skillful  and  exhaustive  was  this  se- 
election  that  3,000  years  of  experience, 
during  which  Europe  and  America  have 
been  settled  by  civilized  races  of  men, 
have  not  added  to  the  number.  It  is 
somewhat  humbling  to  the  pride  of  our 
rational  nature  to  consider  how  much  of 
our  civilization  rests  on  this  partnership 
— how  helpless  we  should  be,  deprived 
of  the  horse,  the  ox,  the  cow,  the  sheep, 
the  swine,  the  goat,  the  ass,  the  reindeer, 
the  dog,  the  cat,  and  the  various  kinds 
of  poultry.  In  the  warmer  regions  this 
list  is  enlarged  by  the  lama,  the  elephant, 
and  the  camel — the  latter  of  which,  it  is 
not  unlikely,  wiU  be  extensively  intro- 
duced in  our  own  southern  region. 

It  may  be  said  of  this  subject,  as  of 
that  to  which  I  have  already  alluded, 
that  it  is  a  science  of  itself  No  branch 
of  husbandry  has,  within  the  last  cen- 
tury, engaged  more  of  the  attention  of 
farmers,  theoretical  and  practical,  than 
the  improvement  of  the  breed  of  domes- 
tic animals,  and  in  none  perhaps  has  the 
attention  thus  bestowed  been  better  re- 
paid. By  judicious  selection  and  mix- 
tures of  the  parent  stock,  and  by  intelli- 
gence and  care  in  the  training  and  nour- 
ishing of  the  young  animals,  the  improv- 
ed breeds  of  the  present  day  dilFer  pro- 
bably almost  as  much  from  their  prede- 
cessors a  hundred  years  ago,  as  we  may 
suppose  the  entire  races  of  domesticated 
animals  do  from  the  wild  stocks  from 
which  they  are  descended. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
utmost  limit  of  improvement  has  been 
reached  in  this  direction.  Deriving  our 
improved  animals  as  we  generally  do 
from  Europe — that  is,  from  a  climate 
differing  materially  from  our  own — it  is 
not  unlikely  that,  in  the  lapse  of  time, 
experience  will  lead  to  the  production  of 
a  class  of  animals,  better  adapted  to  the 
peculiarities  of  our  seasons  than  any  of 
the  transatlantic  varieties  as  they  now 
exist.  The  bare  repetition  of  the  words 
draft,  speed,  endurance,  meat,  milk,  but- 
ter, cheese,  and  wool,  will  suggest  the 
vast  importance  of  continued  experi- 
ments, on  this  subject,  guided  by  all  the 
lights  of  physiological  science. 

Among  the  most  prominent  desidera- 
ta, in  what  may  be  called  animal  hus- 
bandry, may  be  mentioned  an  improved 
state  of  veterinary  science  in  this  coun- 
try. While  the  anatomy  of  the  lower 
animals  is  substantially  the  same  as 
man's,  their  treatment  when  diseased  or 
overtaken  by  accidents  is  left    almost 


AG   RICULTURAL. 


21 


wholly  to  uneducated  empiricism.  It 
rarely,  I  may  say,  never  happens  that  the 
substantial  farmer  has  not  considerable 
property  invested  in  live  stock,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  personal  attachment  he 
often  feels  for  some  of  his  favorites — 
horse,  or  cow,  or  dog.  But  when  their 
frames,  as  delicately  organized  and  as 
sensitive  as  our  own,  are  attacked  by 
disease,  or  they  meet  with  a  serious  ac- 
cident, they  are  of  necessity  in  most 
parts  of  the  country  committed  to  the 
care  of  persons  wholly  ignorant  of  ana- 
tomy and  physiology,  or  imperfectly  ac- 
quainted with  them,  and  whose  skill  is 
comprehended  in  a  few  rude  traditionary 
operations  and  nostrums.  There  are  few 
of  us,  I  suppose,  who  have  not  had  some 
painful  experience  on  this  subject,  both 
in  our  pockets  and  our  feehngs.  The 
want  of  veterinary  institutions,  and  of  a 
class  of  well-educated  practitioners,  is 
yet  to  be  supplied. 


CATTLE  SHOW  IN  THE  METRO- 
POLIS. 

An  exhibition  of  stall  and  grass  fed 
fat  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  and  poultry  was 
opened  at  the  Crystal  Palace  yesterday 
morning,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Amer- 
ican Institute.  The  variety  and  size  of 
the  exhibition  was  by  no  means  as  ex- 
tensive as  might  have  been  expected,  al- 
though it  is  very  creditable,  and  compri- 
ses many  very  fine  and  valuable  speci- 
mens of  cattle,  sheep  and  swine,  among 
the  most  prominent  of  which  are  tho  fol- 
lowing : 

One  pair  of  four  year  old  Durham 
steers,  owned  by  Charles  G.  Teed,  atSo- 
mers,  Westchester  county,  and  weighing 
together  4,580  pounds.  These  were  of 
the  Durham  breed,  very  fine  and  fat,  and 
drew  the  first  premium  on  grass  fed  cat- 
tle. ■ 

A  remarkably  fine  pair  of  Durham 
steers,  4  years  old,  owned  by  Thomas 
Wheeler,  South  Dover,  Dutchess  county, 
weighed  4,480  lbs,  and  drew  the  second 
premium  on  grass  fed  cattle.  Also  a 
very  fine  pair  of  Durham  steers,  of 
four  years,  owned  by  T.  Van  Alstyne, 
Ghent,  Columbia  Co.,  N,  Y.    These  drew 


a  third,  or  special  premium  on  grass  fed 
cattle. 

A  very  handsome  Devon  bull,  dark 
brown,  weighing  about  1,200  or  1,4U0 
pounds,  very  fat,  broad  and  sleek.  This 
animal  presented  a  somewhat  novel  ap- 
pearance, being  chained  to  a  post  by 
means  of  a  large  ring  through  his  nose  ; 
notwithstanding  which  he  appeared  very 
restless  and  desirous  of  paying  his  affec- 
tionate regards  to  some  of  the  bystand- 
ers who  were,  ever  and  an«n,  attempting 
to  stroke  and  caress  him.  This  animal 
is  owned  in  White  Plains,  Westchester 
county. 

A  pair  of  grade  Devon  oxen,  stall  fed 
and  very  fat,  owned  by  Levi  Van  Vliet, 
Clinton,  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.,  but  sold 
during  the  exhibition  to  Col.  Devoe,  of 
this  city.  The  price  we  do  not  remem- 
ber precisely.  It  was  between  $300  and 
$400 ;  we  think  $337.  These  were  not 
remarkably  large,  but  were  very  fat. 
Weight,  4,000  lbs.  We  should  think 
them  to  be  half  Devon  and  half  our  native 
red  cattle,  which  by  the  way,  are  good 
cattle,  as  good,  in  oiur  humble  opinion, 
for  dairy  and  working  purposes  as  any 
other,  and  pretty  good  for  beef.  If  bred 
and  cared  for  in  the  best  manner,  they 
would  become  a  splendid  race  of  cattle 
in  a  few  generations.  After  so  much 
haphazard  breeding,  so  much  neglect 
in  rearing,  and  after  killing  so  many  of 
the  fine  calves  for  veal,  and  raising  the 
inferior,  the  only  wonder  is  that  they  are 
as  good  as  we  find  them,  more  or  less,  all 
over  the  country.  Mr.  Van  Vliet's,  sub- 
sequently Col.  Devoe's  cattle,  di-ew  the 
first  premium  on  stall  fed  oxen. 

Two  Durham  heifers,  from  West 
Farms,  very  fine. 

One  pair  of  very  fat  oxen  weighing  in 
the  neighborhood  of  4,000  pounds,  be- 
longing in  Newcastle,  Westchester  coun- 
ty.    Very  fine. 

Seventy-two  Nankin  sheep,  the  origi- 
nal stock  consisting  of  three  ewes,  were 
imported  from  China  by  Capt.  Smith, 
twenty  months  ago,  and  have  since  that 


22 


AGRICULTURA  L 


period  increased  to  the  present  number, 
seventy-two.  Among  this  lot  are  three 
very  young  lambs,  apparently  not  over  a 
week  old.  The  flesh  of  these  sheep,  it  is 
said,  is  far  superior  in  sweetness  to  any 
other  kind  of  mutton,  and  brings  a  much 
higher  price  in  market ;  while  the  wool 
is  said  to  be  much  coarser.  They  are 
easily  designated  from  the  common  sheep 
of  this  country  by  the  formation  of  their 
head  and  ears.  This  lot  is,  as  a  general 
thing,  in  good  condition,  and  made  a 
very  fine  appearance.  They  are  owned 
in  Pelham,  Ulster  county. 

Ten  very  fine  and  large  fat  lambs,  from 
Oarmel,  Putnam  county. 

Five  Suffolk  pigs  and  one  Hampshire 
hog,  from  Sixty-fifth  street,  this  city. 
Very  fat  and  fine. 

A  beautiful  collection  of  imported  pi- 
geons from  various  portions  of  the  globe, 
by  Messrs.  Howland  &  Aspinwall. 

One  four  year  old  Maltese  jack,  in  fine 
trim.     Owned  in  this  city. 

The  above  list  comprises  but  a  small 
portion  of  each  kind  of  animal  named,  on 
exhibition ;  but  was  selected  from  the 
number  merely  to  serve  as  specimens. 

The  number  of  visitors  yesterday  was 
very  limited,  and  if  the  exhibition  is  not 
better  patronized  during  the  remaining 
days  which  it  is  to  be  continued,  the 
American  Institute  will  not  reap  a  very 
handsome  harvest  from  the  enterprise. 
In  addition  to  the  cattle  show,  exhibitors 
who  have  machinery  in  the  Palace,  keep 
the  same  in  motion  throughout  the  day. 


EXTRACT  FROM  AN  ADDRESS, 

BY  GEN.  H.  K.  OLIVEB, 

At  the  State  Fair,  Concord,  N.  H. 

I  MAKE  a  high  estimate  of  agriculture 
from  a  long  and  deeply  seated  conviction 
that  reason  as  we  may  about  other  arts, 
either  in  reference  to  their  antiquity, 
their  universality,  their  value,  or  their 
necessity,  we  are  clearly  compelled  to 
revert  to  agriculture,  not  only  as  the 
fount  of  their  existence,  but  as  the  sus- 
tenance of  their  continued  vitality,  the 
liberal  feed  root  of  all  the  branches,  and 
all  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  human  life. 


We  are  compelled  to  concede  that  it  is 
the  great  and  only  enduring  and  reliable 
fount  of  national  greatness  and  prosper- 
ity ;  that  the  whole  pulse  of  commercial 
and  monetary  operations  is  affected  by 
the  healthful  and  unhealthful  beatings 
of  the  agricultural  heart;  that  stocks 
and  prices  in  the  market  and  on 
"  change,"  rise  and  fall  as  the  agricul- 
tural tide  ebbs  and  flows ;  that,  as  come 
the  crops,  either  plenteous  or  meagre,  so 
darts  or  limps  the  gigantic  business  of 
the  busy  world ;  that  it  prevents  human 
poverty,  human  misery,  and  human 
wickedness  ;  that  it  has  a  positive  favor- 
able influence  upon  private  and  public 
morals  ;  that  it  is  pre-eminently  propi- 
tious in  securing  habits  of  virtue  and  tem- 
perance in  all  things,  in  individuals,  and 
through  them,  thus  purified,  operates 
with  equally  good  results  in  purifying 
the  public  mind,  and  in  establishing  the 
pillars  of  the  State  upon  the  steadfast 
foundation  of  persistent,  unbending  vir- 
tue ;  that  it  is  a  faithful  and  powerful 
auxiliary  of  Christianity  itself,  in  gen- 
erating civilization,  and  nourishing  it 
into  vigorous  life ;  civilization  itself  be- 
ing, in  its  matured  growth,  enabled  to 
refund  its  great  debt  by  inventing  new 
implements  of  labor,  and,  by  their  aid, 
putting  into  operation  new  modes  of  til- 
lage. 

There  are  certain  facts  in  relation  to 
agriculture  so  plainly  manifest,  that  the 
most  blear-eyed  observer  can  not  fail  to 
perceive  them.  In  China,  a  close  and 
perfect  cultivation  keeps  alive  all  of  civi- 
lization that  its  teeming  millions  enjoy. 
There  agriculture  has  been  honored  and 
encouraged  beyond  every  other  pursuit, 
and  the  culture  of  the  land  and  the  na- 
ture of  its  produce,  are  such  as  to  afford 
the  largest  returns  to  the  labor  employ- 
ed, while  the  ruined  husbandry  of  Cen- 
tral Asia  has  opened  the  flood-gates  and 
let  in  upon  its  people  a  deluge  of  barbar- 
ism. The  ancient  high  culture  of  Sicily 
made  it  the  exhaustless  granary  of 
Rome,  and  carried  its  people  by  rapid 
advances  to  civilization,  riches,  and  re- 
finement. The  husbandry  of  ancient 
Britain,  once  not  adequate  even  to  the 
wants  of  its  own  sparse  population,  made 
it,  under  the  teachings  of  its  Roman 
masters,  the  surcharged  storehouse, 
whence  issued  the  food  of  uncultivated 
Germany,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it 
softened  the  manners  and  refined  the 
hearts  of  its  own  rude  people.  And 
when,  under  the  Saxon  sway,  agricul- 


AGRICULTURAL 


23 


turc  declined  to  its  lowest  degradation, 
and  the  mass  of  the  people  became  de- 
graded with  it,  they  only  began  to  im- 
prove with  the  restoration  of  the  art,  a 
restoration  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
monks  in  introducing  into  England  the 
better  agriculture  of  Normandy.  The 
northern  sea  pirates  of  the  9  th  century, 
those  savage  and  remorseless  marine 
vagabonds,  who,  in  the  year  876,  invaded 
and  subdued  Normandy,  became,  when 
driven  to  the  culture  of  the  soil  by  their 
leader  RoUo,  a  comparatively  civilized 
gentle  race,  and  so  successful  in  the  art 
of  tillage,  that  their  systems  were  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  best  of  Europe, 
and  were  introduced  into  England,  upon 
the  lands  of  the  English  monasteries, 
making  them  to  be  the  most  fertile  in 
the  Island,  and  laying  the  foundation  of 
the  attachment  of  the  English  to  country 
life,  and  consequent  future  success  of 
English  agriculture ;  a  success  which  is 
now  to  be  seen  in  the  general  neatness, 
exactness,  and  thoroughness  which  is  to 
be  met  with  all  over  the  kingdom,  and 
in  the  abundant  yield  of  her  well  tilled 
acres.  And  can  any  one  presume  to  say 
that  the  high  civilization  of  England  has 
no  connection  with  the  high  culture  of 
her  soil,  and  that  the  two  have  not 
made  their  successful  march  with  equal 
step? 

It  is  among  the  most  propitious  cir- 
cumstances for  agriculture  in  every  na- 
tion, that  it  has  addicted  itself  to  it  with 
the  devotion  that  agriculture  may  legiti- 
mately demand,  that  it  has  enlisted  in 
its  behalf,  not  only  the  best  mechanical 
skill  of  its  earnest  devotees  and  artizans, 
but  that  it  has  attracted  in  an  eminent 
degree,  the  friendship  and  the  service  of 
many  of  the  noblest  intellects  with 
which  God  has  endowed  man.  Head 
has  come  in,  in  the  plentitude  of  its 
strength,  to  advise  and  to  operate  with 
hand.  Had  the  art  always  been  under 
the  pasturage  of  unlettered  men,  so  un- 
lettered that  we  may  justly  look  upon 
them  as  mere  agricultural  drudges,  there 
would  be  danger  that  beaten  paths  only 
would  be  pursued,  and  that  the  farmer, 
like  the  toiler  in  a  treadmill,  would  be 
always  returning  upon  his  own  footsteps 
and  never  be  achieving  any  progress. 
They  who  do  so,  I  am  sorry  to  believe, 
yet  exist,  though  in  diminished  and  di- 
minishing numbers.  May  this  remnant 
not  be  saved  nor  abide  long  in  the  land. 
Cultivated  minds  originate  new  ideas ; 
they   try  experiments,  and  all   experi- 


ments can  not  be  fruitless  of  good  issue. 
Weary  years  may  pass  away  in  the  pro- 
cess of  research  and  investigation.  God, 
who  made  the  soil  with  all  its  cunning 
complicities  and  wonders,  moves  in  a 
mysterious  way,  and  his  ways  are  often 
past  finding  out.  Men  may  grope,  and 
falter,  and  stumble  in  the  dark  scrutiny 
of  experiment,  and  the  uncertainty  of 
practice,  occasionally  hitting  the  mark, 
and  perhaps  more  frequently  missing  the 
truth.  But  mind,  always  superior  to 
mere  matter,  always  able  to  cope  with 
and  subdue  it,  comes  in  to  illumine  the 
darkness,  and  to  supply  the  thread  that 
shall  guide  through  the  tortuous  lab- 
rinth — mind,  thinking,  reasoning,  inqui- 
sitive, prying,  searching,  obstinate,  un- 
yielding, indefatigable,  investigating 
mind,  comes  in  and  questions,  and  cross- 
questions,  and  examines  and  re-exam- 
ines, and  "puts  that  and  that  together," 
and  compares,  and  hammers  away,  and 
thrusts  itself  forward  after  the  truth  and 
facts,  till  at  last  the  weary  dark  gives 
way,  far  up  in  the  east,  slowly  open  the 
gates  of  morn,  the  dim  dawn  appears, 
the  ruddier  glow  of  the  orient  flashes  up, 
and  now,  behold,  up  comes  the  gorgeous 
sun,  great  lustrous  giant  of  the  skies, 
and  all  is  light  and  day,  and  the  truth 
is  grasped.  Everybody  w'ho  has  taken 
the  smallest  pains  to  find  out  the  facts, 
knows  and  testifies,  willingly  or  unwill- 
ingly, that  agriculture  has  advanced 
just  in  proportion  as  mind,  mind  as  de- 
veloped in  men  of  intellect,  intelligence, 
education  and  reflection,  has  given  at- 
tention to  it.  The  condition  of  English 
agriculture,  as  an  obvious  and  sugges- 
tive example,  bears  ample  testimony  to 
the  influence  of  mind  upon  it.  Let  us 
see  if  this  is  not  so.  In  the  middle  of 
the  14th  century,  the  produce  of  a  farm, 
in  the  parish  of  Hampstead,  in  Suffolk, 
was  at  the  rate  of 

8^  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre. 
10         "  barley       " 

5         "  oats  " 

8         "  peas  " 

The  farm  contained  600  acres  of  land, 
of  which  321  were  under  tillage.  Land 
rented  from  $2  75  to  $4  50  per  acre  per 
annum,  and  in  one  case,  18  acres  were 
let  on  a  lease  of  80  years,  at  $1  80  per 
acre  per  annum.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  16th  century,  under  the  teachings 
of  the  monks,  the  sole  educated  men  of 


24 


AGRICULTURAL 


the  times,  the  monastery  lands  yielding 
at  the  rate  of 

20  bushels  of  wheat, 
32       "  barlev, 

40       "  oats,' 

40       "  peas, 

a  very  respectable  yield.  Let  us  pur- 
sue this  point  a  little  further.  The  Eng- 
lish agricultural  community  is  divided 
into  three  classes,  the  laborers,  the  farm- 
ers, and  the  great  land  owners.  Of  the 
undesirable  condition  of  the  first  named 
class,  I  do  not  now  stop  to  speak.  The 
middle  class,  the  farmers,  are  not  gener- 
ally owners  of  the  land  they  till.  They 
hire,  on  long  lease,  of  the  last  named 
class,  who  own  land  by  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  acres.  Nor  are 
they  generally  actual  workers  on  the 
knd  they  hire.  If  one  of  them  have  no 
more  than  a  hundred  acres,  he  seldom 
or  never  handles  a  tool.  He  supervises 
— he  controls — he  directs — he  bosses 
the  farm  laborers  whom  he  employs. 
His  head  directs  their  hands.  His  head 
devises  modes  of  operating  which  the 
same  head,  through  its  peep  holes,  the 
eyes,  sees  that  their  hands  put  into  prac- 
tice. His  head,  and  that  means  his  brain, 
is  in  communication  with  the  brains  of 
other  farmers,  who  are  overseers  of  their 
laborers,  and  the  mutual  conflict  of  brain 
with  brain,  of  thought  with  thought, 
educates  each  into  a  better  understand- 
ing of  his  craft.  I  am  a  great  advocate 
of  professional  and  practical  specialities, 
for  I  believe  that  a  devotion  to  one  pur- 
suit, the  doing  of  one  thing  well,  tends 
to  a  better  understanding  of  a  given  sub- 
ject, and  elevates  its  practitioner  to 
improved  degrees  of  skill  therein,  and 
every  degree  of  knowledge  attained  by 
the  directing  head,  acts  immediately 
upon  the  operating  hand,  and  the  op- 
erating hand,  in  this  instance,  acts  upon 
the  clods  of  soil,  and  makes  it  yield  two 
grasses,  two  blades  of  wheat,  two  tur- 
nips, two  pumpkins,  and  two  units  of  all 
products  else,  where  but  one  was  yielded 
before.  But  to  return.  The  great  land- 
holders are  comparatively  few  in  number. 
I  have  seen  them  variously  computed  at 
from  30,000  to  40,000,  who  hold  land 
property  yielding  an  annual  rent  of  not 
less  than  $500.00  per  annum — the  num- 
ber rapidly  diminishing  as  the  annual 
rent  increases.  The  incomes  of  the 
wealthiest  range  from  $100,000  to  $1,- 
500,000  per  annum.  One  hundred 
years  ago,  the  land-holders  of  England 


proper  were  numbered  at  230,000,  which 
number  has  been  ever  since  rapidly 
diminishing  by  the  purchasing  of  the 
laflds  of  the  thriftless  and  wasteful,  by 
the  more  prudent  and  wealthy.  The 
Marquis  of  Bredalbane  rides  out  of  his 
house  a  hundred  miles  in  a  straight  line 
to  the  sea,  on  his  own  property.  The 
Duke  of  Sutherland  owns  the  county  of 
Sutherland,  sti-etching  across  Scotland 
from  sea  to  sea.  The  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire, besides  his  other  estates,  owns 
96,000  acres  in  the  county  of  Derby. 
The  Duke  of  Richmond  has  40,000  acres 
at  Goodwood  and  300,000  at  Gordon 
Castle.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk's  park,  in 
Sussex,  is  15  miles  in  circuit.  An  agri- 
culturist bought  lately  the  island  of 
Lewis,  in  the  Hebrides ;  it  contains 
500,000  acres.  Their  large  domains  are 
growing  larger.  The  great  estates  are 
absorbing  the  small  freeholds. 

Among  these  great  soil  owners  are 
many  men  of  the  highest  intellectual 
powers  and  attainments,  of  the  highest 
social  position,  and  of  the  most  refined 
culture ;  noblemen,  not  only  by  tlie 
right  of  geniture  and  rank,  but  noble 
men  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  word, 
who  are  carrying  forward  upon  their 
enormous  estates,  the  most  magnificent 
operations  in  the  highest  culture  of  the 
soil,  winning  from  their  well  fed  and 
well  tilled  acres,  the  richest  reward  of 
the  wisest  husbandry.  One  contem- 
plates with  amazement  the  magnificence 
of  their  arrangements  for  irrigating 
hundreds  of  acres,  as  may  be  seen  on 
the  estate  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  at 
Welbeck,  in  Nottinghamshire  ;  the  vast 
extent  of  their  systems  of  drainage  anfl 
subsoiling,  the  enormous  capital  invested  ' 
in  carrying  on  their  agricultural  process- 
es and  improvements,  sind  the  enormous 
revenues  by  which  they  are  enabled  to 
push  forward  their  splendid  designs.  I 
thank  God  that  he  has  put  in  the  hearts 
of  such  men  to  devote  their  splendid 
talents  and  their  great  resources  to  an 
enterprise  so  unspeakably  important, 
and  to  exert  their  powerful  influence  in 
the  promotion  of  so  great  a  cause — a 
cause  which  holds  concentrate  within 
itself  every  inducement  which  should 
allure  the  loftiest  minds  and  the  fullest 
means  to  its  support,  because  on  its  suc- 
cess humanity  itself,  the  noblest  creation 
of  the  divine  mind,  depends  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  its  very  existence.  I  venture 
to  assert  that  but  for  the  high  culture 
which  the  soil  of  England  has  received 


AGRICULTURAL 


25 


under  sucli  influences,  and  the  conse- 
quent development  of  its  exuberant 
riches,  her  population  could  not  have 
made  the  great  strides  that  have  carried 
it  from  4^  millions  in  IGOO,  to  nearly  25 
millions  in  1850 ;  nor  could  the  nation 
itself  have  attained  that  immense  power 
and  wealth,  that  make  her  now  to  stand 
foremost  among  the  nations  of  the  world, 
aud  her  nobles  the  richest  and  the 
noblest  of  all  earth's  nobles.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  culture,  created  by  the 
action  of  such  minds  upon  labor,  we  find 
a  yield  of  50  to  80  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  in  England,  and  from  40  to  70  in 
France,  and  the  productive  power  of  an 
acre  of  land  in  the  well  cultivated  part 
of  Europe  to  be  double  what  it  was  75 
years  ago.  In  proof  of  the  influence  of 
improved  tillage  in  England  in  enabling 
her  to  sustain  her  own  people  with 
diminished  reliance  upon  importations 
from  foreign  countries,  I  may  here  state 
the  interesting  fact  that  while  in  the  first 
ten  years  of  the  present  century,  she 
imported  foreign  wheat,  at  the  rate  of 
eight  quarts  per  annum  for  each  person 
in  the  realm  ;  in  the  next  ten  years  she 
imported  but  six  ;  in  the  next  five  years, 
but  four,  and  in  the  last  three  years  of 
these  five,  at  the  low  rate  of  a  single 
pint — the  soil  of  the  kingdom  supplying 
all  the  rest  consumed.  More  land  had 
indeed  been  brought  under  tillage,  but 
every  acre,  old  and  new,  had  been  better 
tilled,  and  had  made  a  better  yield. 

And  now,  here  in  dear  New-England, 
how  hath  stood,  and  how  stands  the 
great  art,  when  viewed  by  the  light  of 
English  husbandry  ?  Conceding  that, 
as  a  whole,  ours  is  now  inferior,  though 
probably  at  the  outset  ours  was  better 
than  theirs,  at  their  outset,  (all  outsets 
savor  of  crudeness,)  we  may  justly  insist, 
in  relation  to  the  two  when  brought 
together  for  comparison,  that  Dogberry's 
saying  is  specially  appHcable,  that  "com- 
parisons arc  odious." 

The  climate  of  England  is,  if  the  ex- 
pression may  be  allowed,  more  strictly 
an  agricultural  climate,  and  generally 
highly  favorable  to  her  farming.  Her 
frequent  rains,  coming  at  brief  intervals, 
and  her  nourishing  fogs,  give  a  vigorous 
life  and  a  Vjeautiful  freshness  and  green- 
ness of  look  to  the  grasses.  These,  indeed, 
they  sometimes  do  have  in  excess,  and 
damp,  and  wet,  and  want  of  sunshine 
thus  become  severe  obstacles.  But  these 
are  the  exceptions  and  not  the  rule. 
With  us,  heat  and  cold,  wet  and  dry,  in 


sudden  succession,  like  unlooked  for  and 
unbidden  guests,  just  when  least  desired, 
or  drouths  of  intense  endurance,  burning 
up  and  killing  of  every  green  herb  upon 
the  face  of  the  land,  and  then  deluges  of 
rain,  as  though  "  the  windows  of  heaven 
were  opened,"  flooding  field  and  farm, 
and  which  would  sweep  and  wash  ofl" 
houses  and  barns,  and  the  very  land  and 
all  before  them,  in  one  resistless,  watery 
devastation,  had  not  the  merciful  Al- 
mighty provided  outlets  in  our  huge 
riverbeds,  through  which  the  accumu- 
lated torrents  may  find  their  way  back 
to  their  ocean  home  ;  these  are  to  us 
the  rule  and  not  the  exception.  Nor  is 
the  English  farmer,  banished  from  his 
fields,  as  is  his  American  brother,  near- 
ly one  half  the  year,  by  winters  of  the 
h'orrible  severity  of  those  which  bind 
our  soils  in  their  icy  shackles.  Ditch- 
ing and  draining,  which  may  be  per- 
formed in  England  after  all  other  labor 
is  ended  for  the  season,  during  their 
comparative  mild  winter,  is  impractica- 
ble against  our  adamantine  frosts  of  four 
feet  deep.  Their  soil,  too,  better  than 
the  general  average  of  ours,  never  har- 
dened by  beating  rains,  nor  baked  by 
fervid  suns,  yields  more  easily  and  kind- 
ly to  implements  of  tillage.  But  then, 
to  contend  with  all  hindrances,  we  have 
the  great  advantage  of  Vjringing  into  im- 
mediate conflict  with  the  soil  a  much 
better  agricultural  population. 

There  are  with  us  no  owners  of  huge 
estates,  no  middlemen  leasers,  and  no 
degraded  laborers.  Our  farmer  is  the 
owner  of  his  land,  his  house,  his  barns, 
his  tools,  and  his  stock,  and  he  is  the 
laborer  on  his  own  acres,  and  whatever 
help  he  employs,  are  his  sons  or  his 
hired  men,  and  he  and  they  all  work  to- 
gether. Being,  moreover,  men  of  V)etter 
education  (God  ])rosper  the  common 
schools  ! )  than  their  compeers  of  the  old 
country,  they  bring  to  assist  them  in 
their  work  the  help  of  mind  far  more 
matured.  Ours  are  descended  from  a 
race  of  men,  C!od-feaiing  and  God- serv- 
ing, who,  "  accustomed  in  their  own  na- 
tive land  to  no  more  than  a  plain  coun- 
try life  and  the  innocent  trade  of  hus- 
bandry," followed,  in  their  voluntary 
exile  here,  both  from  choice  and  nece.s- 
sity,  the  same  harmless  occupation. 
Their  difficulties  and  their  danger.s  were 
equally  terrible,  -and  would  have  dis- 
couraged any  men  other  than  those  of 
the  iron  will  and  unflinching  nerve,  and 
the  steady  perseverance  which  marked 


26 


AGRICULTURAL. 


the  primitive  fathers  of  New-England. 
No  imaginings  of  ours  can  picture  the 
intense  agony  of  their  suiferings.  Rude 
cabins,  affording  a  ruder  shelter,  rude 
storehouses  and  rude  fortifications  were 
the  earliest  doings  of  these  early  days  of 
our  country.  For  years,  sweeping 
through  their  ranks,  death  stalked  with 
merciless  sickle,  and  the  living  could 
scarcely  bury  the  dead,  or  the  whole 
care  for  the  sick.  All  evils  pressed  upon 
them  but  despair,  and  all  comfort  for- 
sook them  but  the  comforting  assurance 
that  God  cared  for  them.  Their  first 
acts,  after  the  weary  and  dreary  winter 
which  dated  their  landing  had  worn  it- 
self away,  and  nearly  worn  them  to 
death,  were  acts  of  tillage  to  secure  the 
naked  necessities  of  life,  and  so  fruitless, 
did  their  early  harvests  prove,  that  even 
in  the  third  year  of  their  settlement  their 
supplies  were  so  scanty,  that  they  often 
*'  knew  not  at  night,  where  to  have  a  bit 
for  the  morning."  A  lobster,  a  fish,  a 
few  clams,  or  quahogs,  a  cup  of  cold  wa- 
ter were  frequently  all  the  meagre  hos- 
pitalities they  could  extend  to  any  new 
comers. 

Ah,  my  friends,  in  the  midst  of  our 
fullness,  how  can  we  realize  their  desti- 
tution! In  the  midst  of  our  success, 
how  can  we  realize  their  weakness  !  As 
little  as  in  the  midst  of  our  ii'religion 
and  our  ingratitude,  for  like  Jeshuran, 
we  have  "  waxed  fat  and  we  kick,"  we 
can  realize  the  intensity  of  their  confi- 
dent hope,  and  the  fervency  of  their 
piety.  Out  of  these  small  beginnings, 
these  simplest  elements  of  all  colonizings, 
a  result  has  been  matured,  out-roman- 
cing the  wildest  imaginings,  and  a  peo- 
ple whose  influence  must  be  felt  in  all 
coming  ages  ©f  the  world. 


CHINESE  SUGAR  CANE. 
Last  spring,  through  the  kindness  of 
Col.  B.  P.  Johnson,  I  received  a  paper 
of  Chinese  Sugar  Cane  Seed,  which  I 
planted  at  the  time  of  planting  my  corn, 
on  the  2Gth  of  May,  It  was  planted  the 
the  same  as  the  corn  in  hills,  about  three 
feet  each  way,  with  from  four  to  six 
grains  in  a  hill.  The  ground  was  quite 
gravelly  and  stony,  being  on  a  diluvial 
formation.  The  grouod  was  also  quite 
rich,  being  a  sod  where  cattle  had  run 
more  or  less  for  years.  In  ten  or  twelve 
days  the  young  plant  begun  to  show, 


but  appeared  very  feeble.  At  the  time 
of  first  hoeing  one  would  suppose  it 
would  amount  to  nothing.  The  whole 
field  of  corn  and  cane  was  much  injured 
by  worms — a  number  of  hills  wholly 
gone.  The  cane  did  not  fairly  start  to 
grow  till  after  the  middle  of  July,  when 
it  grew  very  rapidly  till  the  middle  of 
September — a  majority  of  stalks  send- 
ing out  two  large  suckers.  The  stalks 
were  about  ten  feet  high  and  much  thick 
er  than  any  I  had  seen.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  30th  of  September  our  first 
killing  frost  came,  that  stopped  all  vege- 
tation. The  cane  at  that  time  looked  as 
much  as  two  weeks  of  being  ripe — hard- 
ly a  seed  had  begun  to  turn  black.  On 
the  5th  of  October  we  cut  the  cane  at 
the  ground,  stripped  the  leaves,  and  cut 
near  two  feet  of  the  tops  off",  and  drew 
the  stalks  and  run  them  through  a 
scrach  cider  mill,  and  pressed  in  the 
cider  press.  The  yield  of  juice  was  as 
much  as  fifteen  gallons,  from  about  400 
stalks,  the  whole  boiled  away  in  a  large 
kettle  out  doors.  After  being  cleansed 
with  lime  and  skimmed  a  number  of 
times,  the  boiling  was  continued  till 
there  was  about  one  and  a  half  gallons, 
nearly  equal  in  goodness  to  West  India 
molasses.  If  the  plant  had  been  ripe  and  a 
different  process  gone  through  with,  the 
result  would  have  been  much  better.  It 
is  well  worth  raising  for  cattle  alone. 
R.  Howell. 
Nichols,  Dec.  14th,  1857. 


WHEAT  PER  ACRE. 
The  London  Ecotiomist  says :  "  The  Eng- 
lish wheat  crop  is  remarkably  good,  of 
unusually  fine  quality,  and  the  weight  fully 
up  to  sixty-four  pounds  per  bushel.  In 
Kent  and  Essex,  the  produce  is  from  forty- 
six  to  fifty-six  bushels  per  acre.  In  the 
Midland  districts  the  yield  is  forty-four 
bushels  to  the  acre.  In  the  north,  north- 
eastern and  western  districts  the  growth 
may  be  considered  the  best  on  record. 
Hence  it  would  be  no  exaggeration  to  state 
that  England  has  produced  this  year  near- 
ly, if  not  quite,  eight  million  bushels  more 
wheat  than  in  1856.  The  Economist  does 
not  anticipate  any  great  reduction  of  price 
in  consequence  of  this  great  produce,  but 
says  there  will  probably  be  a  proportional 
increase  in  consumption. 


AGRICULTURAL. 


27 


BREEDS     OF     CATTLE. 


We  purpose  to  give  in  a  few  short  ar- 
ticles, in  this  and  succeeding  numbers, 
some  of  the  distinctive  characteristics  of 
the  leading  breeds  of  cattle.  Our  design 
is  not  to  draw  upon  what  others  have 


said,  but  to  give  in  brief  our  own  im- 
pressions. Not  professing  to  be  a  cattle 
man,  and  not  having  had  of  late  much 
experience  in  stock  growing,  we  have 
nevertheless  had    our  e3'es    and    ears 


28 


AGRICULTURA  L 


open  to  the  importance  of  the  subject, 
and  have  enjoyed  pretty  extensive  op- 
portunities for  observation.  With  these 
remarks,  we  shall  give  our  opinion  free- 
ly about  the  leading  breeds,  not  expect- 
ing to  agree  with  everybody,  and  quite 
willing  that  what  we  say  should  go  for 
its  worth  only.  In  the  meantime  our 
columns  shall  be  open  on  this  subject  to 
all  candid  discussion,  as  well  from  those 
disagreeing  as  from  those  agreeing  with 
us.  Will  the  advocates  and  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  several  breeds  give  us  short 
articles,  presenting  the  results  of  their 
experience  and  observation  ? 

Our  cuts  will  be  of  advantage  in  help- 
ing to  fix  in  the  mind  of  those  not  fami- 
liar with  the  appearance  of  the  different 
breeds,  the  more  striking  peculiarities  of 
each.     We  shall  not  aim  at  an  exhibi- 
tion of  the  finest  specimens — those  ne- 
ver seen  but  in  the  stalls  of  mere  fan- 
ciers, kept  only  because  they  are  beau- 
tiful to  look  upon,  and  give  the  owner  a 
pleasing  notoriety.     To  see  these  you 
must  not  look  at  an  engraving,  but  upon 
the  living  animal,  for  no  engraving  can 
do  full  justice.     We  shall  endeavor  ra- 
ther to  represent,  in  our  cuts,  a  fair  re- 
presentative sample  of  the  breed — well 
conditioned,  but  not  much  superior  to 
what  should  be  seen  on  all  farms,  such 
as  we  believe  will  be  seen  every  where, 
iis  soon   as  the  advantage  of  keeping 
good  cattle  and  keeping  them  well  is  un- 
derstood.    We  begin  with  the  race  of 
which  we  think   the  least.     The   cuts 
over   this  article  represent   an   Alder- 
ney  Bull  and   an  Alderney   Cow.      A 
variety  of  this  breed  is  called  the  Im- 
proved Jersey ;  and  this  we  believe  is 
an  improvement  upon  the  old  Normandy 
cattle,  or  the  Alderneys,  as  they   are 
called,  from  the  island  whence  many  of 
them  have  come  ;  but  the  same  tenden- 
cies and  general  characteristics  belong 
to  both,  and  when  we  speak  of  Alderneys 
we  mean  the  Normandy  cattle,  under 
whatever  changes  they  have  undergone. 
The  color  is  light  red,  dun,  yellow. 


fawn  color,  and  generally  varies  much 
on  the  different  parts,  sometimes  spot- 
ted, black  and  white,  black  and  yellow, 
and  but  seldom  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
in  our  eyes  a  pleasing  effect.     In  size 
they  are   small — considerably   smaller 
than  the  original  Normandy  cattle  from 
which  they  sprung.     Their  shape  is  any- 
thing but  good — long,  slim  necked,  big 
bellied,  rump   short  and  small,  hollow 
back,  thin  in  the  brisket,  and  exceeding- 
ingly  feeble,  frail  looking.     In  appear- 
ance they  have  one  redeeming  quality — 
a  bright,  beautiful,  gazelle,  or  fawn  eye  ; 
and  for  practical  use  they  have  some  re- 
deeming  qualities.     One  is    that  they 
give  milk  of  a  very  superior  quality, 
little  in  proportion  to  their  feed,  for  they 
eat  like  Pharoah's  lean   kine,  and  are 
usually  about  as  lean,  but  remarkably 
fine,  adapted  to  family  use,  and  if  pro- 
perly cared  for,  they  give  milk  nearly 
the  whole  year.     This  commends  them 
for  such  families  as  keep  a  single  cow, 
and  can  afford  to  supply  themselves  at  all 
times  with  a  choicer  article  of  milk  than 
can  otherwise  be  obtained.    Their  milk  is 
excellent  for  butter ;  and  no  doubt  some 
specimens  of  these  cows  are  profitable 
for  the  dairy.     The  veteran  editor  of  the 
Massachusetts^  Ploughman  still  aflirras 
that  his  favorite  Alderney   cow    gives 
milk,  four  quarts  of  which  will  make  a 
pound  of  butter.     But  the  quantity  in 
most  cases  is  small,  and  we  do  not  be- 
lieve that,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  Al- 
derneys can  ever  become  desirable  for 
the  dairy.     The  cows  are  gentle,  but  for 
the  bulls,  if  highly  kept,  it  is  necessary 
to  look  out. 

Another  half-way  redeeming  quality 
is,  that  they  fatten  easily  and  quickly 
when  dried,  though  one  would  suppose, 
from  seeing  them  in  milking  order,  that 
they  never  could  be  fattened.  Their 
principal  excellence,  we  believe,  is  for 
the  one  purpose,  before  spoken  of,  that 
of  affording  the  finest,  richest  milk  to 
families  keeping  but  one  cow,  and  desir- 
ing a  home  supply  with  the  least  possi- 


AGRICULTURAL 


29 


ble  intermission.  We  would  recommend 
them  for  this  object  and  for  no  other  ; 
and  we  sincerely  hope  their  blood  will 
never  be  commingled  with  the  general 
stock  of  this  country. 

Any  admirer  of  this  breed  may  over- 
throw evei'y  word  we  have  said,  in  our 
future  numbers,  if  he  can  ;  and  if  we  feel 
obliged  to  oppose  his  views,  we  will  be 
a  fair  opponent. 

The  cuts  above  do  this  breed  a  little 
more  than  justice,  as  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  samples  we  have  met  with  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  especially  that  of 
the  male.  We  can  not  admire  them. 
—Ed. 


AYERS'  WATER  ELEVATOR. 

Toe  Wisconsin  Farmer  thus  describes 
a  contrivance  by  which  cattle  are  ex- 
pected to  draw  their  own  water,  while  ! 
the  owner  warms  his  toes  by  a  good  fire 
and  reads  his  agricultural  paper,  or  is  at 
liberty  to  attend  to  other  business.     It 
says  : — "  A  platform  eighteen  feet  long, 
and  three  or  four  feet  wide,  is  keyed  at 
the  gi'ound  at  one  end,  and  suspended 
on  puliies  at  the  other  ;  these  pullies  are 
upon  a  wrought  iron  shaft,  with  a  wheel 
in  the  center,  four  feet  in  diameter,  over 
which  runs  a  rope,  suspending  a  bucket. 
While  this  platform  is  raised,  the  bucket 
is  under  water  in  the  well ;  the  weight 
of  the  animal  causes  the  platform   to 
sink,  turning,  in  its  descent,  the  wheel, 
whicli  brings  up  the  bucket.     The  water 
is  discharged  from  a  pipe  at  the  bottom, 
into  a  trough  before  the  animal.     Under 
the  platform  is  fixed  a  leaking  air  cush- 
ion, which  causes  it  to  sink  to  its  bear- 
ings very  gradually,  and   without  jar. 
The  descent  of  the  platform  is  propor- 
tioned to  the  depth  of  the  well.     One 
foot  of  descent  causes  twelve  feet  rise  of 
the  bucket.     A  simple  system  of  valves 
in  the  bucket,  causes  the  water  to  dis- 
charge from  it  while  in  the  well,  until 
t!ie  weight  of  a  light  animal  is  suflBcient 
to  counterbalance  the  weight  of  water, 
when  the  valve  closes,  and  all  the  water 


that  the  weight  of  the  animal  will  move,  is 
brought  up.  .In  ordinary  wells  the  water 
elevated  is  about  one  pound  for  every 
twelve  of  the  animal  on  the  platform, 
which  is  more  than  is  required,  being  al- 
ways an  excess,  which  can,  by  a  water 
pipe,  be  carried  into  another  trough,  or 
back  into  the  well." 


TRUTH  OR  FICTION— WHICH. 

A  WRITER  in  the  Rural  New-Yorker, 
over  the  very  respectable  name  cf  Plow- 
handle,  one,  it  would  seem,  who  eschews 
roguery,  yet  for  once  consented  to  have 
a  hand  in  it,  just  like  a  great  many 
would-be-honest  people,  says: 

CoL.  Moore: — Some  years  ago  I  got 
acquainted  with  one  of  your  contributors 
who  edited  the  Wool  Groicer,  and  he 
used  to  put  me  in  print,  I  must  say  my 
vanity  was  flattered  by  seeing  my  name 
printed  in  the  paper,  with  some  things  I 
said  and  some  I  didn't  say,  and  we've 
kept  the  papers  ever  since.  After  all, 
everybody  likes  a  little  fame,  but  some 
are  satisfied  with  a  smaller  amount  than 
others.  Well,  I  have  not  the  editor  any 
more  to  set  me  out,  'so  I  have  been 
thinking  I  would  just  try  and  see  if  you 
would  not  put  me  into  the  Rural  on  my 
omi  hook — especially  as  I  want  to  tell 
you  all  about  my  going  to  the  State  Fair 
at  Buffalo  the  other  day. 

Concludes  to  go. 
As  it  was  not  so  far  but  what  we  could 
go  with  our  own  team,  mother  and  I 
concluded  we  would  hitch  up  and  have 
a  week  to  see  the  sights  and  some  cou- 
sins we  had  not  seen  for  a  long  time. 
Mother  (that's  wife,  you  know)  thought 
we  ought  to  take  something  to  the  Fair. 
I  told  her  to  take  a  tub  of  her  butter,  but 
she  said  she  didn't  think  it  was  good 
enough,  but  thought  I  might  take  some 
of  the  .stock.  But  I  thought  it  would  be 
a  great  bother.  However,  Sam  was 
pretty  strong  in  the  faith  that  we  could 
beat  everybody  on  horses,  and  wanted  to 
take  old  Nance.  She's  a  right  smart 
beast,  is  that  old  mare,  you  may  depend. 

Takes  the  mare. 
Well,  we  packed  off  Sam,  for  I  was 
willing  to  give  the  boy  a  holiday.  It 
does  the  boys  great  good  to  attend  these 
kind  of  Fairs,  I  do  believe,  after  seeing 
all  I  saw  there. 


80 


AGRICULTURAL. 


Goes  in. 

We  got  safely  to  town  Monday  night, 
and  Tuesday  I  went  up  early  to  the  Fair 
grounds  to  see  what  was  going  on.  I 
got  in  and  hunted  up  Sam,  and  found 
he'd  got  the  mare  entered,  and  had  got 
his  eard  on  her  head,  and  a  good  stall, 
and  all  things  comfortable.  The  animal 
arrangements  were  first-rate  generally, 
and  during  all  the  time  of  the  Fair  the 
supply  of  fodder  was  good.  I  think  that 
Maj.  Patrick,  who  was  everybody  in 
managing  things,  a  trump  sort  of  a  man. 

Hears  something. 

As  I  was  standing  up  near  the  busi- 
ness office  in  the  crowd,  I  heard  a  cou- 
ple of  men  talking  about  premiums. 
One  said  to  the  other : 

"  Are  you  an  exhibitor  ?" 

"  Yes." 

"  So  am  T,  and  we  had  better  look  to 
the  committees," 

"  Why  so  ?" 

"  You  see  the  committees  are  never  all 
full,  and  if  you  are  on  hand  at  the  big 
tent  when  they  are  called,  it's  easy  to 
slip  in  a  friend,  which  is  a  mighty  nice 
thing  sometimes." 

"Well,  I  am  showing  a  patent  for 
making  cowcumbers,  and  if  I  can  get  the 
premium  it  will  make  my  fortune." 

"  And  I  am  showing  a  new  kind  of 
bob-tailed  hens,  and  a  premium  won't 
set  me  back." 

"  Well,  you  get  me  on  to  your  com- 
mittee, and  I  will  name  you  for  mine." 

"All  right;  go  in  to  win  when  you 
can." 

Thinks  I,  perhaps  if  that's  the  way 
the  thing  leans  I  may  as  well  take  care 
of  myself  as  anybody  else.  Everybody 
for  himself  seems  to  be  the  rule  on  these 
occasions.  So  off  I  streaked  it  to  the 
cattle  pons  to  find  Smith,  who  is  my 
neighbor,  you  know.  Smith  is  in  the 
patent  bull  line.  [Mr.  P.  emdently 
means  '■'■  improveciyi^  Says  I,  "Smith, 
you're  showing  bulls,  and  I  am  showing 
old  Nance,  and  I  guess  if  merit  counts 
we  can  win."  And  that's  the  talk  here 
on  paper.  Then  I  told  him  what  I'd 
heard  about  the  committee. 

"  Is  that  so  ?" 

"  Exactly." 

"  Well,  I  think  old  Nance  is  the  best 
mare  in  the  yard." 

"And  you've  got  the  best  bull  on  the 
ground." 

Then  I  told  him  that  we  must  be  up 
at  the  tant  in  time. 


Well,  sure  enough,  when  the  commit- 
tees were  made  up  I  was  on  Smith's  bull 
committees,  and  he  was  on  the  mare  com- 
mittee. 

The  Committee  goes  out. 

The  head  man  took  the  book  as  had 
the  things  in  it,  and  we  were  all  intro- 
duced to  each  other,  and  went  down  to 
look  at  the  bulls.  We  were  on  the  red 
bulls.  So  we  went  along  and  looked  at 
them,  and  I  didn't  say  much  till  we  came 
to  Smith's  bull,  and  I  looked  at  him 
pretty  carefully,  pulled  his  tail,  punched 
my  fingers  into  his  ribs,  and  went 
through  the  motions  as  I  had  seen  the 
others.  Says  I,  "  that's  a  bull  that  looks 
like  it."  Smith  had  combed  him  all  over 
with  a  fine-toothed  comb,  and  brushed 
him  with  a  hair  brush,  and  he  did  look 
slick,  for  he  was  just  as  fat  as  a  hog. 
And  fi-om  all  I  saw,  I  think  fat  at  fairs, 
like  M'^hat  the  lawyer  said  about  charity, 
covers  a  multitude  of  sins. 

Gets  the  horns  poked  at  him. 

Just  as  I  said  that,  the  fellow  who  had 
a  bull  in  the  next  stall  comes  up  to  me 
pretty  fierce,  and  says  he  : 

"  What  do  you  know  about  bulls  ?" 

"Well,"  says  I,  "I  think  I  know 
what  they  are  used  for  in  my  section." 

"May  be,"  says  he,  "you  are  on  the 
committee  ?" 

"  I  have  that  honor,"  says  I. 

"Oh!  well,  that  makes  a  difference, 
but  you  ain't  the  man  I  expected  to  see," 
says  he. 

"  Very  likely,"  says  I. 

"  But,"  says  he,  "that  bull  hain't  got 
any  pedigree." 

"Well,"  says  I,  "  he  had  a  father  and 
mother,  didn't  he?" 

"Oh!  yes,  but  then  nobody  knows 
who  they  were." 

"Well,  then  nobody  knows  but  they 
were  just  as  likely  as  your  bull's  pa- 
rents." 

"  But,  sir,  look  at  my  bull's  pedigree. 
There  it  is,  sir.  Got  by  irapoited  Shirt- 
tail,  out  of  Skimmilk  by  Thunder,  etc.," 
and  he  showed  a  string  of  names  as  long 
as  your  arm. 

"  Well,"  says  I  to  the  committee, 
"  are  we  to  judge  the  pedigree  or  the  an- 
imal ?" 

And  they  said,  "The  animal,  of 
course." 

"  Then,"  said  I  to  the  fellow,  "  will 
your  bull  get  better  stock  than  this  ?" 

"  Of  course  he  will,"  says  he,  "for  he's 
got  a  pedigree,  and  that  bull  hain't." 


AGRICULTURAL 


31 


"Well,"  says  I,  "your  bull  has  got 
somebody  to  brag  for  him,  and  the  other 
hasn't,  that's  certain."  And  that  sort  o' 
knocked  him.  "  But,"  says  I,  "  I've 
known  people  who  felt  grand  over  their 
pedigree,  and  I've  seen  a  heap  of  people 
who  couldn't  go  farther  back  than  their 
father  and  mother  that  banged  them  all 
to  pieces  for  smartness,  llandsome  is 
that  handsome  docs,"  says  I,  "and,  as 
the  hymn-book  sa3's,  *  a  man's  a  man  for 
a'  that.'  Pedigree  go  to  grass,  I  go  in 
for  the  animal." 

Smith's  hill  wiiin. 

When  we  got  through  and  looked  at 
our  marks  the  other  two  had  Smith's 
bull  second.  I  had  him  first.  So  we 
talked  it  over,  and  finally,  as  they  didn't 
care  much  about  it,  they  altered  the  fig- 
ures and  gave  Smith  the  first  premium, 
which  I  think  was  right. 

And  the  old  mare. 

Smith  had  a  great  time  over  old  Nance. 
It  turned  out  that  each  of  the  other  two 
committeemen  had  friends  whose  mares 
were  to  be  judged,  and  they  pretty  soon 
picked  out  their  favorites.  So  he  kept 
still  and  let  them  talk,  and  they  soon  got 
into  a  quarrel,  and  then  they  appealed 
to  Smith,  and  he  kinder  sided  with  one, 
but  thought  old  Nance  was  the  best 
mare,  and  finally,  to  keep  the  other  from 
getting  first,  they  sided  with  him,  and 
he  went  in  for  both  of  theirs.  Smith 
says  he  saw  somfe  queer  things  on  that 
committee. 

You  see  we  got  our  premiums,  but 
you  don't  see,  perhaps,  Col.,  as  well  as 
I  do,  that  it  wants  something  more  than 
merit  to  be  sure  of  winning. 

Gets  irreverent. 
The  State  of  New- York  is  a  great 
State,  the  biggest  in  the  Union,  and  the 
New- York  State  Agricultural  Society  is 
a  great  institution,  but  if  there  ain't  some 
ol  the  allliredest  big  humbugs  crawhng 
around  its  Annual  Fair,  then  I'm  a  teapot. 

Concludes. 
I  want  to  tell  you  a  heap  more,  but  I 
have  used  up  so  nmch  paper  I  fear  you 
won't  have  patience  to  print  my  letter. 
Yours  to  command, 

John  Plowhandle. 


Labor  and  capital  judiciously  applied 
to  the  improvement  of  agriculture,  are  a 
no  less  sure  investment  than  in  any 
other  business. 


SUGGESTIONS    ABOUT    AGRICUL- 
TURAL JOURNALS. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  suggests,  what  we 
are  willing  to  consider,  and  that  our  bre- 
thren of  the  press  should  take  into  con- 
sideration also,  if  they  think  proper,  as 
follows : 

I  have  noticed  what  I  consider  three 
defects  in  all  agricultural  journals  I  am 
acquainted  with.  The  first  is,  there  is 
too  little  space  devoted  to  horses,  their 
breeds,  qualities,  and  diseases.  An  an- 
imal so  indispensably  useful  surely  de- 
serves more  notice  than  he  generally  re- 
ceives. Secondly,  farm  buildings  re- 
ceive too  little  attention  of  a  kind  suita- 
ble for  the  mass  of  farmers.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  course  we  get  a  few  plans  of  la- 
borer's cottages  and  suburban  residences, 
but  comparatively  few  good  models  of 
farm  houses,  suited  to  the  majority  of 
country  farmers.  A  special  department 
occasionally  set  apart  to  the  lay  ing  out  of 
grounds  and  placing  the  buildings,  stat- 
ing the  proper  distances  from  the  public 
highway,  the  distance  between  house 
and  barn,  hog-house,  hen-house,  shop, 
etc.,  and  the  most  advantageous  way  of 
placing  each,  would  be  of  value  to  the 
community,  as  well  as  the  internal  ar- 
rangement and  construction  of  barns  and 
all  other  necessary  outbuildings.  Third- 
ly, agricultural  tools,  implements,  and 
machinery  are  too  much  neglected;  that 
is,  the  ever-day  necessities,  such  as 
plows,  harrows,  cultivators,  horse-rakes, 
straw-cutters,  corn-shellers,  etc.,  are  not 
suflBciently  known  to  the  mass  of  larm- 
ers.  For  instance,  the  latest  improved 
Eagle  plows,  Ramsey's  and  other  newly 
invented  harrows,  Boughton's  and  other 
wheel  cultivators,  Gilbert's  straw-cutter, 
etc.,  etc.,  are  not  to  be  found  in  any  ag- 
ricultural periodical  within  my  know- 
ledge. It  appears  to  me  that  good  and 
properly  placed  buildings,  improved  and 
labor-saving  implements,  beautifid,  pow- 
erful, and  enduring  teams  of  horses  suit- 
ed to  the  road  and  farm,  arc  three  things 
that  outweigh,  ynih  the  exception  of  a 


32 


AGRICULTURAL. 


good  soil,  nearly  all  other  requisites  of 
successful  farming,  and  are  first  and 
foremost. 


LICE  ON  YOUNG  CATTLE. 

Look  closely  into  the  coats  of  young 
cattle  now,  and  let  no  vermin  live  on 
their  necks  and  backs.  It  is  an  easy 
matter  to  kill  those  lice,  and  as  all  lousy 
come  out  poor  in  the  spring,  it  is  bar- 
barous to  let  such  small  mites  as  lice 
have  their  own  way  through  the  winter. 

Farmers  find  out  in  the  spring  that 
their  calves  are  poor  and  lousy,  and  they 
make  a  stir  for  a  remedy. 

Any  greasy  matter,  well  rubbed  in, 
will  kill  these  lice.  Ashes  sifted  on  their 
backs  will  do  it.  Yellow  snuif  costs  but 
little,  and  is  better  than  the  juice  of  to- 
bacco. Fine  sand  sifted  on  them  will 
drive  off  lice ;  the  only  objection  to  sand 
i-;  that  it  causes  an  itching  on  old  cattle 
in  the  spring. — Ploughman. 


APPLICATION  OF  MANURES. 

It  is  now  pretty  generally  agreed 
among  practical  farmers  that  manures 
of  all  kinds  may  be  buried  too  deep  in 
the  furrow — so  deep  with  a  deep  plow 
as  to.  entirely  destroy  their  efficacy  for 
a  number  of  seasons,  if  not  forever.  The 
reason  why  this  is  so  is  not  very  satis- 
factorily explained — for  it  is  proved  that 
manures  never  work  down  to  any  great 
depth,  else  the  subsoil  would  be  valuable 
after  many  years  of  deep  manuring. 

One  great  point  with  farmers  should 
be  to  prevent  loss  of  their  barn  manures 
by  checking  great  fermentation.  Strong 
manures  heaped  up,  soon  ferment  and 
rairn  unless  much  extra  matter  is  mixed 
in  the  pile.  Some  heaps  heat  so  much 
as  to  turn  white.  They  are  "fire-fanged," 
as  the  old  gardeners  used  to  express  it, 
and  they  are  almost  worthless  when  this 
excessive  heating  has  been  permitted. 
We  incline  to  think  that  more  of  the  es- 
sence of  our  manures  is  wasted  by  this 
fermentation  —  this  heating  process  — 
than  in  all  other  modes  of  waste. 

It  is  certain  that  excellent  crops  of 
corn  are  grown  where  the  manure  from 
the  barnyard  was  buried  no  deeper  than 
;.  common  harrow  would  bury  it  when 
spread  on  the  surface.  This  we  often 
see  on  dry  ground  and  in  dry  summers, 
and  with  only  a  moderate  dressing  of 
manure. 

So  we  find  that  all  kinds  of  manure 


spread  in  October  and  November  on 
grass  land  or  meadow  land,  work  well 
and  increase  the  crop  abundantly  though 
exposed  through  the  winter  to  all  kinds 
of  weather. 

The  truth  seems  to  be  that  not  much 
of  the  essence  of  barn  manures  is  lost 
by  evaporation  when  they  are  spread 
out  where  no  fermentation  takes  place. 

Still  if  we  would  secure  all  the  essence 
of  barn  manures,  we  must  mix  them 
with  fresh  earth  immediately,  or  in  the 
yard,  or  in  the  field  with  a  light  furrow 
or  a  harrow.  When  this  is  done  no  ef- 
fluvium, or  ammonia,  is  perceived  to 
pass  away. — Mass.  Ploitgliman. 


AN  EXTENSIVE  FARMER. 

It  is  said  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
Silver  Creek'  (Texas)  Mirror  that  Col. 
Jacob  CarroU,  of  Texas,  is  the  largest 
farmer  in  the  United  States.  He  owns 
250,000  acres  of  land  (nearly  400  square 
miles)  in  that  and  adjoining  counties. 
His  home  plantation  contains  8,000  acres, 
nearly  all  valuable  bottom  lands,  along 
the  Gaudalupe  River.  On  this  farm  he 
has  over  600  acres  in  cultivation,  on 
which  he  raises  annually  about  300  bales 
of  cotton,  worth  at  the  plantation  from 
$75  to  $100  per  bale,  and  20,000  bushels 
of  corn,  worth  about  50  cents  per  bushel. 
He  has  a  force  of  about  fifty  field  hands, 
and  he  works  about  sixty  mules  and 
horses,  and  fifteen  yoke  of  oxen.  Col. 
Carroll  has,  on  his  immense  ranges  of 
pasture  lands,  about  one  thousand  horses 
and  mules,  worth  $50,000  ;  one  thousand 
head  of  cattle,  worth  $70,000 ;  six  hun- 
dred hogs,  worth  $2,000  ;  fifteen  jacks, 
worth  9,000 ;  three  hundred  Spanish 
mares,  worth  $15,000 ;  fifty  jennies, 
worth  $2,000  ;  and  five  stallions,  worth 
$2,500.  Col.  Carrell's  property,  in  stock 
and  negroes,  is  worth  at  least,  $150,000 ; 
and  the  value  of  his  landed  estate  will 
swell  the  amount  to  over  half  a  million 
of  dollars.  His  annual  income  from  the 
sale  of  stock  amounts  fi-om  $5,000  to 
$10,000  ;  and  fi-om  the  sale  of  cotton,  to 
from  $15,000  to  $20,000. 


ARRIVAL  OF  LLAMAS  IN  NEW- 
YORK. 

The  brig  E.  Drummond,  which  ar- 
rived at  this  port  yesterday  from  Aspin- 
wall,  brought  a  flock  of  forty-two  llamas, 
consigned  to  James  Fisher  &  Co.  They 
were  purchased  by  a  French  gentleman 


AGRICULTURAL. 


33 


for  a  company  in  this  city,  for  the  pur- 
pose, we  believe,  'of  introducing  the 
breed  on  the  mountainous  lands  of  New- 
England.  The  wool  of  the  llama  is  ex- 
ceedingly valuable,  and  as  the  animal  is 
very  hurdy  and  flourishes  in  high  moun- 
tain regions,  delighting  in  pure,  rarified 
air,  and  feeding,  like  the  camel,  on  al- 
most anything  in  the  shape  of  grass,  no 
matter  how  coarse,  it  is  possible  that  the 
breed  may  be  planted  successfully  in  the 
sterile  regions  of  New-England. 

The  llama  is  probably  familiar  to  most 
people  who  have  been  visitors  to  the 
traveling  managerie,  as  a  specimen  is 
usually  to  be  fovuid  there.  It  belongs  to 
the  group  ruminantia,  of  the  family  of 
camel.  Indeed,  they  are  known  to  nat- 
uralists as  the  camelus  lama,  and  are 
frequently  called  the  camel  of  the  new 
world.  They  are  found  exclusively  in 
South  America,  and  in  the  greatest  abun- 
dance on  the  Andes.  They  are  chiefly 
used  by  the  natives  as  beasts  of  burthen, 
though  they  can  not  carry  more  than 
about  a  hundred  pounds  weight,  and  do 
not  travel  far  without  rest.  In  the  tran- 
sit of  treasure  from  the  mines  of  Potosi 
they  have  been  found  most  valuable  from 
the  eai'liest  period.  The  llama  is  much 
smaller  than  the  camel  of  the  East  of 
Europe.  It  has  no  hump,  but  in  shape 
it  much  resembles  the  camel.  The  neck 
is  long  and  arched,  and  the  face,  in  mild- 
ness of  expression  and  the  peculiar itj^  of 
the  split  lip,  is  precisely  like  that  of  the 
camel.  It  rarely  measures  more  than 
three  feet  in  height.  It  is  covered  with 
a  thick  fine  wool,  which  makes  the  ani- 
mal impervious  to  cold,  and  renders 
housing  quite  unnecessary.  Like  the 
camel  and  the  ox,  its  feet  are  cloven  ;  but 
unlike  the  former  animal,  it  has  no  com- 
mon horny  sole,  uniting  the  toes  at  the 
bottom.  Appended  to  the  foot  behind 
is  a  kind  of  spear,  which  assists  it  in 
moving  over  precipices  and  rugged  paths. 
It  is  accordingly  as  sure-footed  as  the 
goat,  and,  l)eiiig  very  agile,  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  capture  it  when  it 
takes  to  the  mountain  crags,  as  it  inva- 
riably docs  when  jiursued.  It  is  found 
much  oftener  on  the  northern  than  the 
southern  side  of  the  Andes,  and  is  said 
to  become  vigorous  in  proportion  to  the 
coldness  of  its  situation.  Thus,  though 
essentially  a  tropical  animal,  the  cold- 
ness of  our  northern  climate  is  not  likely 
to  prove  detrimental  to  its  increase. 

The  animals  on  the  brig  E.  Drummond 
were  taken  from  the  Cordilleras,  and 
3 


were  sent  from  Guayaquil  to  xVspinwall 
by  railroad,  where  Capt.  Chapman,  of 
the  Drummond,  took  them  in  charge. 
Tliere  were  seventy-one  of  them  shipped, 
but  owing  to  severe  weather  twenty-nine 
died  and  were  thrown  overboard,  leaving 
only  forty-two  alive.  These,  however, 
are  in  good  condition.  This  is  a  novel 
importation ;  but  if  the  experiment 
should  prove  successful,  it  may  become 
one  of  some  importance  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  growth  of  wool  on  this  con- 
tinent.— 2^.  V.  Herald. 


THE    FALL. 

Recent  financial  troubles  have  pro- 
duced their  effects  upon  the  agriculture 
of  this  country.  From  the  Southern  to 
the  Northern  extremities  of  our  Union, 
agriculture  has  declined,  not  in  merit 
but  by  way  of  pecuniary  disasters. 
Witness  the  fall  in  breadstuffs,  in  the 
staple  products  of  the  soil  generally,  and 
then  you  are  convinced  that  we  have 
either  heretofore  paid  too  mueh  for  food, 
or  that  we  are  now  getting  too  little  for 
it.  For  the  good  of  humanity,  for  the 
good  of  the  poor,  provisions  are  to-day 
high  enough  to  satisfy  all  reasonable 
minds.  There  are  some  kinds  of  food 
that  are  too  low  ;  wheat,  for  instance,  but 
you  may  rely  upon  it  that  beef  and  pork 
are  up  as  high  as  any  rational  mind  could 
ask  for. 

The  great  "West  is  full  of  cheap  corn, 
in  many  localities  it  being  worth  only 
twenty  cents  per  bushel,  and,  therefore, 
can  not  pork  be  afforded  in  New-York 
market  at  $6.00  or  $6.25  per  hundred 
pounds  dressed  weight?  The  fall  would 
seem  to  be  equal  upon  most  everything. 
Look,  if  you  please,  at  the  manufactur- 
ing interests.  Now  cotton  and  woolen 
goods  have  gone  down  in  price  almost 
equally  with  barley  and  wheat.  Indeed, 
cast  an  eye  towards  the  mechanical  de- 
partments, and  you  are  equally  surjiriscd 
to  Ond  those  trades  amazingly  depressed, 
with  no  activity  to  brace  them  up. 

Happily  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
country,  some  of  our  machine  shops, 
woolen  and  cotton  factories  have  again 
commenced   the   noise  of  active  labor. 


u 


AGRICULTURAL. 


But  the  great  fall  to  which  attention 
has  akeady  been  called,  will  not  last  al- 
ways. Matters  are  bound  to  regulate 
themselves,  and  I  believe  that  money 
will  again  be  plenty  within  a  short  time. 
Farm  products  will  again  sell  with  the 
same  activity  that  formerly  chai'acterized 
their  sale,  though  they  may  not  bring  as 
high  prices.  For  the  past  few  months, 
it  has  been  almost  impossible  to  dispose 
of  anything,  so  tight  has  been  the  money 
market.  Everybody  "most"  has  got 
something  to  sell,  but  no  buyers  appear. 
Instead  of  the  purchasers  running  to 
you  for  your  products,  you  are  compelled 
to  run  to  them,  and  then  are  put  off 
with  the  answer  that  "we  don't  buy 
now,  sir ;  our  doors  are  closed,"  &c. 

Mark  our  prediction,  that  unless  some 
remarkable  change  takes  place  between 
now  and  June  next,  farmers  will  not  sow 
nor  reap  more  than  one-half  as  much  as 
they  did  in  the  year  of  1857.  Sluggish- 
ness always  marks  the  energy  of  the 
country  after  the  fall  of  provisions. 

But  I  believe  the  community  at  large 
will  be  better  off  by  reason  of  the  low 
price  of  produce,  provided  the  working 
classes  will  consent  to  work  in  propor- 
tion to  the  value  of  provisions.  Now 
look  at  the  matter, — wheat  has  been 
sold  in  Oswego  this  winter  for  seventy- 
eight  cents  per  bushel — "  the  Milwaukee 
Club."  What  must  that  wheat  have  been 
bought  for  per  bushel  in  Wisconsin? 
Probably  fifty  or  sixty  cents. 

Bi*t  these  prices  are  in  accordance 
with  the  times,  and  hence  we  shall  have 
to  succumb  to  them,  and  go  on,  paying 
but  little  attention  to  them,  if  we  would 
be  prosperous  as  a  people. 

Whether  lands  in  the  Eastern  States 
will  go  down  in  price  in  consequence  of 
low  prices,  I  am  illy  able  to  say.  I  am 
confident  lands  in  the  West  must  be 
lower  than  they  have  been.  Railroad 
companies  have  raised  their  prices  for 
carrying  ft-eight,  and  every  cent  so  add- 
ed must,  I  believe,  finally  be  paid  by 
the  Western  farmer.    And  it  does  seem 


as  though  speculators,  in  the  West,  will 
cease  to  be  operators  any  longer,  parti- 
cularly in  lands.  These  sharTcs  must 
have  lost  large  sums  in  lands  which,  of 
course,  nobody  cares  for  except  those 
who  are  directly  interested.  The  whole 
people  have  been  taught  a  good  and  glo- 
rious lesson.  Agricultural  interests  are 
now  dormant,  and  will  be  for  some  time  to 
come.  The  people  can  live  cheaply  ;  the 
poor  can  procure  the  necessaries  of  life 
reasonably.  Men  are  not  so  amazingly 
gi'eedy  after  wealth  as  they  were  one 
year  since.  The  farming  world,  and  the 
rest  of  the  people,  are,  I  think,  taking 
more  rest  and  comfort  than  they  were 
under  old  prices.  And  on  the  whole, 
though  we  may  not  get  rich  so  fast,  will 
not  the  great  fall  be  a  blessing  to  our 
country  ? 
Baldwinsville,  N.  Y.,  Jan.,  1858. 


WASTE   OF    FERTILIZERS. 

"  The  amount  of  manure  wasted  in 
the  United  States,  is  a  subject  of  amaze- 
ment and  alarm.  A  judicious  observer 
has  put  it  at  one  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  worth  annually,  passing  off  into 
the  air  in  lost  gasses,  or  washing  away 
from  barn-yards  out  into  the  road,  or 
moulding  away  unnoticed  in  secluded 
corners  all  over  the  farms.  And  the 
worsts  yet  truest  view  of  all  this,  is,  that 
this  great  amount  of  fertilizing  material, 
came  originally  from  the  soil,  and  ought 
to  be  restored  to  it,  for  if  it  be  not,  it  is 
a  theft  of  the  worst  sort,  impoverishing 
both  the  land  and  the  owner  thereof 
All  decaying  vegetable  substances  when 
they  shall  have  reached  that  point 
of  decay  best  suited  to  the  farmer's  con- 
venient handling,  must  be  restored  to 
the  soil,  there  to  complete  their  decay 
to  such  perfect  degree,  that  Nature  can 
again  spread  them  upon  her  ample  board, 
at  her  great  annual  feeding  and  feasting 
of  her  multifarious  vegetable  childi'en." 

So  said  Gen.  H.  K.  Oliver,  at  the  late 
Fair  of  the  New-Hampshire  State  Agri- 
cultural Society ;  and  we  do  not  believe 
that  he  at  all  over  estimates  ;  for  though 
a  hundred  million  is  a  large  sum,  still  it 
is  but  a  few  dollars  for  each  farmstead 
in  the  United  States;   and  we   should 


AGRICULTURAL 


36 


think  that  the  aggregate  of  individual 
losses  from  bad  management  with  ma- 
nures would  be  greater  rather  than  less. 
This  is  not  however  so  much  lost  out 
of  the  world  ;  nor  is  it  lost  for  all  time. 
The  gasses  that  pass  into  the  air,  are  re- 
turned in  the  rains.  It  is  true  that  a 
portion  of  them  fall  into  the  ocean,  and 
therefore  do  not  immediately  promote 
vegetable  growth.  Other  portions  fall 
so  as  to  promote  a  less  valuable  gi-owth 
than  if  the  application  were  made  by  a 
wise  cultivator.  They  are  undoubtedly 
very  widely  diffused,  and  but  a  small 
poj  tion  of  them,  can  it  be  supposed,  will 
find  their  way  back  to  the  same  farm 
from  which  they  ascended,  or  to  other 
farms  with  much  immediate,  practical 
benefit.  Still  not  all  is  lost.  The  am- 
monia which  ascends  from  a  fermenting 
mass  of  manure,  being  arrested  and 
brought  down  in  rains,  benefits,  not  ap- 
preciably, because  of  its  wide  diflfusion, 
V)ut  really,  a  thousand  farms,  and  some 
of  them  at  great  distances  from  where  it 
had  its  origin.  But  its  benefits  are  pro- 
bably not  half  as  great  in  the  the  aggre- 
gate as  if  it  had  been  kpet  on  the  farm 
from  which  it  escaped.  Practically, 
then,  it  is  not  materially  incorrect,  to 
speak  of  the  escaping  gases,  as  lost  or 
wasted. 

It  is  so  with  the  soluble  salts,  which 
are  washed  away  into  the  streets.  Those 
are  not  absolutely  lost.  They  are  not 
without  effect.  Vegetation  of  some 
kind,  more  generally  useless,  is  promot- 
ed by  them.  If  any  of  them  find  their 
way  into  the  brook,  its  banks  extract 
them  from  the  water,  and  are  made  to 
produce  more  grass  either  for  the  scythe 
or  for  grazing  beasts,  and  even  the  fish, 
all  the  way  to  the  ocean  and  in  the  ocean 
itself,  receive  from  them  a  greater  growth 
and  a  higlier  flavor.  But  these  will  be 
regarded  rather  as  fanciful  than  real  re- 
turn.s,  and  we  will  give  it  up,  that  the 
soluble  salts  which  tiow  from  the  farm- 
yard into  the  street  or  the  brook  are 
about  as  good  as  lost.     To  say  the  least, 


they  are  likely  to  be   kept  out  of  the 
market  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

It  is  much  so  with  those  substances, 
of  which  Col.  Oliver  speaks  as  "moulder- 
ing away  unnoticed  in  secluded  corners 
all  over  the  farm."  If  let  alone,  they 
will  eventually  be  turned  into  food  for 
man  or  beast.  Such  is  the  law  of  God, 
and  no  human  negligence  can  always 
prevent.  We  or  our  descendants  shall 
sooner  or  later  consume  that  beef's  skull, 
that  lies  in  the  corner  of  the  fence.  If 
ground  fine,  mixed  with  half  its  weight 
of  sulphuric  acid,  and  put  into  the  soil 
now,  we  should  have  it  back  next  fall  in 
the  form  of  wheat,  corn,  or  some  other 
product.  If  let  alone  it  will  sooner  or 
later  come  to  the  same  thing.  But  it 
may  be  a  very  long  time  first;  and  there- 
fore we  think  Col.  Oliver  quite  right 
in  speaking  of  such  things  as  lost  or 
wasted  ;  and  we  do  nor  believe  it  extra- 
vagant to  estimate  the  losses  fi'om  the 
neglect  or  wrong  management  of  the  fer- 
tilizers within  the  reach  of  the  farmers 
of  this  country,  as  high  as  one  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  a  year.  It  may  seem 
wild  to  some,  but  less  so,  we  have  not 
the  least  doubt,  to  those  who  have  re- 
flected on  the  subject,  than  to  the  un- 
thinking.— Ed. 


WALL  ROSES. 

The  secret  of  growing  roses  against 
a  wall  might  be  packed  in  a  lady's  thim- 
ble. A  two  feet  deep  border  of  strong 
loam,  four  or  five  feet  wide,  to  be  as  rich 
as  rotten  dung  can  make  it ;  the  border 
to  be  thorouglily  soaked  with  soft  pond- 
water  twice  a  week  in  dry  weather,  and 
when  the  roses  are  in  bloom,  to  keep 
them  thin  in  the  branches,  as  if  they 
ihey  were  peach  trees,  and  to  play  tlie 
water-engine  against  them  as  for  a  house 
0  n  fire,  from  the  first  appearance  of  in- 
sects till  no  more  come.  There  is  a  rea- 
son for  everything  under  the  sun,  and 
the  reason  for  insects  attacking  roses  in 
general,  and  those  on  walls  more  partic- 
ularly, is  from  too  nuich  dryness  at  the 
roots  causing  the  juices  to  be  more  pal- 
atable through  the  action  of  the  kavte. 


36 


HORTICULTURA  L 


(ortinUtural 


CALENDAR  FOR  JANUARY. 

FLOWERS. 

Bulbous  Hoots. — Those  who  have  not 
purchased  bulbous  roots  may  yet  be  in 
time  to  get  some  at  the  seed  stores,  such 
as  Crocus,  Hyacinth,  Narcissus,  Tulips 
and  others.  These  will  do  well  if  now 
put  into  pots  in  a  compost  of  thoroughly 
decayed  stable  manure,  white  or  river 
sand  and  garden  mould  in  equal  parts. 
When  potted  they  should  be  placed 
in  a  cellar  or  shed,  or  under  the  stage  of 
of  a  greenhouse,  and  covered  over  their 
tops  with  six  inches  of  ashes,  sawdust  or 
sand.  In  a  month's  time  they  may  be 
taken  out,  a  few  at  a  time,  and  brought 
into  the  parlor  or  greenhouse  to  bloom. 
Ttiey  wiU  require  water  every  two  or 
three  days,  and  should  be  near  the  light. 
Hyacinths  may  be  grown  also  in  glasses. 
The  water  should  have  a  pinch  of  salt  in 
it,  and  should  be  changed  every  week, 
using  tepid  water  the  temperature  of 
the  room.  The  glass  should  not  be  filled 
so  full  as  to  let  the  bottom  of  the  bulb 
quite  touch  the  water. 

The  G^reenhouse. — Give  water  only 
■when  really  required;  do  not  spill  it 
about  the  house.  Give  air  whenever  the 
temperature  outside  is  above  freezing, 
for  a  few  hours  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
bat  shut  up  early  (by  3  o'clock).  Avoid 
letting  in  drafts  of  wind.  Air  is  best  ad- 
mitted at  the  top. 

K  frost  happens  to  get  in,  syringe  the 
plants  all  over  with  quite  cold  water,  and 
sliade  from  the  sun  until  the  frost  is  out 
of  the  house.  Do  not  raise  the  tempera- 
ture suddenly  by  heat,  or  the  frozen 
plants  will  die.  The  art  is  to  get  the 
frost  out  of  them  as  gradually  as  possible, 
which  is  best  done  by  ice-cold  water. 

If.  B. — These  remar'ks  apply  to  green- 
houses that  are  hept  at  low  temperature, 
that  is  from  which  frost  only  is  intend- 
ed, to  he  Tcept  out. 


Vegetable  Garden. — The  vegetable 
garden  should  have  been  ridged  up  in 
the  fall  to  expose  the  soil  to  the  benefi- 
cial influences  of  the  winter's  frost.  If 
not  done,  do  it  now  if  the  weather  permits. 
Coldframes  covered  with  glazed  sashes 
should  also  have  been  filled  in  October 
and  November,  with  young  cauliflowers, 
cabbages  and  lettuces  for  early  spring.  If 
that  has  been  done  they  will  require 
covering  at  night  with  mats  or  litter 
which  should  be  removed  in  the  day 
and  air  admitted,  except  in  very  hard 
weather.  Look  also  to  fruit  trees,  and 
when  the  snow  comes  tread  it  hard 
round  their  base,  which  helps  to  keep 
vermin  from  attacking  their  bark  when 
the  rigor  of  winter  makes  them  short  of 
food. 


From  the  Pear  Culturist. 

PRODUCTION  OF  NEW  VARIETIES 
OF  PEARS. 
In  their  natural  wild  state,  each  of  the 
different  kinds  of  fruits,  such  as  the 
Cherry,  the  Peach,  the  Pear,  etc.,  con- 
sisted of  one  or  more  species,  inferior  in 
their  original  quality,  or  which  became 
afterwards  degenerated  by  unfavorable 
changes  of  climate,  exhausted  soils,  or 
other  causes.  These  several  species, 
while  in  this  wild  and  uncultivated  state, 
always  reproduced  the  same,  with  occa- 
sional slight  modifications  occasioned  by 
local  or  incidental  causes.  To  change, 
therefore,  this  naturally  fixed  habit  of 
the  tree,  and  obtain  new  and  improved 
varieties  of  its  fruit,  has  long  been  the 
subject  of  diligent  and  persevering  effort 
on  the  part  of  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished Pomologists.  But  it  is  a  pro- 
cess attended  with  a  great  degree  of  un- 
certainty, and  requiring  much  time  and 
patience.  To  the  interested  and  enthu- 
siastic culturist,  however,  it  has  peculiar 
attractions.  By  slow  degrees  he  com- 
pels unwilling  nature  to  bend  to  his  con- 
tinued efforts.  "  The  sour  and  bitter 
Crab  expands  into  the  Golden  Pippin ; 
the  wild  Pear  loses  its  thorns,  and  be- 
comes a  Bergamot  or  a  Beurre  ;  the  Al- 
mond is  deprived  of  its  bitterness,  and 


HORTICULTURAL. 


37 


the  dry  and  flavorless  Peach  is  at  length 
a  tempting  and  delicious  fruit."  Such 
are  the  results  that  attend  the  persever- 
ing efforts  of  the  skilful  culturist. 

To  produce  new  and  improved  varie- 
ties of  the  Pear,  Dr.  Van  Mons,  of  Bel- 
gium, so  distinguished  in  Pomological 
science,  has  labored  with  indefatigable 
energ}'  and  perseverance  nearly  his 
whole  lifetime  for  this  object,  the  results 
of  which  are  a  great  number  of  new  va- 
rieties of  rare  excellence.  II  is  theory, 
however,  could  not  be  expected  to  be 
perfect^  although  much  valuable  instruc- 
tion has  been  drawn  from  his  experience. 
His  theory  was  briefly  this. — The  aim  of 
nature  is  simply  a  healthy,  vigorous 
state  of  the  tree,  producing  nearly  per- 
fect seedn  for  its  own  contiiuied  propaga- 
tion. The  object  of  culture  should  be, 
to  reduce  excess  of  vegetation  in  the 
tree,  diminish  the  size  of  the  secd.s,  and 
increase  the  size  and  improve  the  quality 
of  the  pulp  or  fruit  which  encloses  them. 
He  also  maintains  that  the  older  the  tree 
of  any  cultivated  variety  of  the  Pear,  the 
nearer  will  the  seedlings  produced  from 
it,  approach  its  original  wild  state ;  while 
seedlings  from  the  fruit  of  young  culti- 
vated trees  of  good  sorts,  more  frequent- 
ly produce  improved  varieties. 

Dr.  Van  Mons,  acting  on  this  princi- 
ple, selects  his  seeds  from  young  seed- 
ling trees,  sows  them  in  his  seed  bed, 
where  they  remain  until  they  are  of  a 
size  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  judge  of 
their  character.  He  then  selects  the 
most  vigorous  and  promising,  plants 
them  out  and  patient!}^  awaits  their 
fruiting.  The  first  seeds  from  the  best 
of  these  he  again  sows,  and  repeats  the 
operation.  Each  generation  comes  more 
(juickly  into  bearing  than  the  one  pre- 
ceding it ;  iha  fifth  sowing  often  coming 
into  bearing  in  three  years,  and  produc- 
ing fruit,  in  many  instances,  of  rare  ex- 
cellence. Whatever  we  maj^  think  of 
his  theory,  the  results,  as  before  remark- 
ed, have  been  several  new  varieties,  pro 
ductive  in  habit,  and  of  delicious  flavor. 
Following  this  plan,  in  order  to  produce 
improved  varieties  of  the  Pear,  we  must 
first  be  careful  to  plant  the  seeds  of  seed- 
ling Pears  of  healthy  and  vigorous 
growth,  and  continue  the  process  until 
we  have  attained  our  object,  viz.,  new 
varieties  of  a  high  degree  of  excellence. 

This  is  the  Belgian  method,  from 
which  some  of  the  fruit  culturists  in  Eng- 
land and  our  own  country  dissent,  and 
maintain  that  new  varieties  may  be  ob- 


tained from  the  seeds  of  the  most  valua- 
ble sorts  of  our  grafted,  Pears,  equally 
as  good  as  by  the  Van  Mons  mode,  and 
without  his  long  and  repeated  process  of 
successive  plantings ;  and  claim  that  some 
of  our  native  favorite  fruits  were  obtain- 
ed at  once  from  the  seeds  of  the  old 
grafted  varieties.  In  some  instances, 
this  is  doubtless  true,  but  whether  the 
result  is  from  chance  or  otherwise,  we 
can  not  with  certainty  determine. 
Should  the  Amateur  desire  to  engage  in 
the  pleasant  but  somewhat  tardy  pro- 
cess of  propagating  new  varieties,  it 
would  be  advisable  to  employ  both  me- 
thods, carefully  keeping  each  distinct 
and  separate  from  the  other,  and  com- 
pare the  results. 

New  Varieties  by  Fertilization. — 
This  is  a  process  for  obtaining  new  va- 
rieties by  cross  impregnation,  or  fertiliz- 
ing the  pistil  of  one  variety  with  the  pol- 
len of  another.  It  was  advocated  and 
practised  by  T.  A.  Knight,  Esq.,  for- 
merly President  of  the  Horticultin-al  So- 
ciety, of  London,  and  is  now  generally 
practised  in  England,  as  well  as  by  many 
of  our  own  fruit  growers,  with  success. 

The  Pear  blossom  has  five  central  or- 
gans elevated  above  the  others,  calkd 
the  pistils,  the  upper  or  enlarged  ex- 
tremities of  each  of  which  is  called  the 
stigma.  These  are  surrounded  bj^  other 
delicate  thread-like  organs  called  the  sta- 
mens, supporting  on  their  upper  extrem- 
ity the  anthers.  These  last  arc  little  re- 
ceptacles containing  the  pollen  or  fertil- 
izing dust.  In  their  natural  operation, 
when  the  flowers  open,  the  anthers  be- 
come distended,  and  when  perfectly  ripe, 
burst  and  discharge  their  pollen  on  the 
stigma,  whose  gummy  exterior  receives 
and  retains  the  fertilizing  shower,  ren- 
dering fruitful  the  young  seed  lying  at 
its  base.  This  same  process  artificially 
performed,  by  impregnating  or  fertiliz- 
ing the  pistil  of  one  variety  of  fruit  with 
the  pollen  of  another,  will  produce  a 
fruit  partaking  in  some  degree  of  the 
properties  of  both.  This  is  performed 
by  simply  clipping  off,  with  a  pair  of 
fine  scissors,  all  the  stamens,  (before  the 
blossom  is  fully  expanded,)  of  the  variety 
which  is  intended  to  be  impregnated, 
carefully  leaving  the  pistils  untouched, 
and  when  the  flower  is  fully  expanded, 
and  the  stigma  properly  matured,  (which 
will  be  indicated  by  its  glutinous  sur- 
face,) transferring  to  it  with  a  camel's 
hair  pencil,  the  pollen  of  the  sort  with 
which  it  is  to  be  crossed.    This  process 


88 


MECHANICAL. 


does  not  particularly  aSeci  the  J'ruit,  but 
the  seeds  partake  of  the  nature  of  both 
the  original  sorts,  and  produce  trees 
which  yield  intermediate  varieties  of 
new,  and  frequently  of  rare  and  valuable 
qualities.  By  this  means  some  of  the 
present  excellent  sorts  have  been  ob- 
tained, both  in  Europe  and  our  own 
country. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  process 
should  be  performed  before  the  stigma 
of  the  blossom  is  impregnated  with  its 
own  pollen,  or  that  of  the  surrounding 
flowers,  as  it  is  impossible  after  that  to 
innoculate  it  again.  To  prevent  this,  a 
thin  gauze  covering  should  be  placed 
over  it  for  a  few  days  before  and  after 
the  operation,  to  protect  it  from  the  pol- 
len floating  in  the  air,  or  from  the  in- 
trusion of  insects,  by  which,  sometimes, 
the  flower  becomes  accidentally  impreg- 
nated. 

HAVE   YOU    A   CHOICE    GRAPE 

CUTTING  THAT  YOU  WANT 

TO  GROW. 

Then  go  to  the  woods,  dig  some  roots 

of  a  wild  grape  vine,  cut  them  into  pieces  | 

of  about  six  inches  long,  cut  your  choice  I 

grape  vine  or  cutting  into  pieces  of  only  | 

one,  or  at  most,  two  buds ;  insert  the  j 

lower  end  by  the  common  cleft  grafting  i 


method,  into  the  piece  of  wild  vine  root ; 
plant  it  in  the  earth,  leaving  the  bud  of 
the  cutting  just  level  with  the  top  of  the 
ground.  Every  one  so  made  will  grow, 
and  in  two  years  become  bearing  plants. 


SHOULD  WE  PLANT  FRUIT  TREES 
IN  THE  HIGHWAY? 

I  ANSWER  yes,  for  several  reasons ; 
the  first  is,  there  is  a  lack  of  fruit  in 
this  country,  the  demand  being  much 
greater  than  the  supply  ;  and  every  fruit 
tree  that  is  planted  and  properly  taken 
care  of  will  bear  fruit  sometime,  and  of 
course  hel^)  to  supply  the  demand. 
Another  reason  is,  trees  properly  planted 
and  arranged  on  the  side  of  the  highway 
help  to  beautify  it,  and  make  it  pleasant 
for  those  who  travel  on  it,  besides  being 
an  addition  to  the  farm  upon  which  they 
are  planted,  and  a  source  of  constant 
pleasure  to  the  owner. 

Now,  while  I  write  this,  I  have  have  a 
particular  Icind  of  fruit  tree  in  view, 
and  that  is  the  Cherry  ; — not  that  there 
are  no  others  as  good,  but  because  there 
is  the  greatest  lack  of  fruit  at  the  season 
of  the  year  when  cherries  are  ripe,  and 
because  they  supply  food  for  those  ti'ue 
friends  of  the  farmer,  the  birds. — Qen. 
Far. 


llti^rhanintL 


METHOD  OF  CLEANING  CASKS. 

The  London  Engineer  describes  the 
following  process,  which  may  be  worth 
the  notice  of  our  agricultural  friends 
who,  in  the  manufacture  of  cider,  etc., 
have  occasion  for  such  contrivances.  A 
square  frame  of  sufficient  size  is  hung 
upon 'standards  of  suitable  strength,  in- 
to which  a  barrel  is  fastened,  at  the 
chimes,  by  V-shaped  prongs,  or  any 
other  convenient  process,  and  the  whole 
is  made  to  revolve  by  a  crank,  water,  or 
other  cleansing  mixtures  being  previ- 
ously poured  in  in  suitable  quantities. 
This  process  may  be  repeated  as  many 
times  as  is  desirable.  This  may  be  con- 
structed by  any  one  of  tolerable  mechan- 


ical genius,  and  will  save  much  time  and 
unpleasant  labor. 


GELATINE,  MANURE,   ETC.,  FROM 
BONES. 

A  PROCESS  has  been  patented  in  Eng- 
land by  Mr.  A.  E.  Schonersahl  for  an 
improvement  in  the  process  of  making 
gelatine,  glue,  etc.,  from  bones.  He 
first  separates  them  from  aU  putrescent 
matter  soluble  in  water,  then  treats  the 
bones  with  acid,  which  dissolves  the 
phosphates  and  leaves  the  gelatine  in  a 
solid  state,  and  is  easily  separated.  The 
water  used  in  separating  the  soluble  mat- 
ters is  reserved  for  other  processes  which 
prepare  it  for  application  as  a  manure. 


MECHANICAL 


S9 


IMPROVED  GAS  STOVE. 
A  GAS  stove  is  formed  of  an  outer  case 
made  double  to  contain  water,  or  a  slow- 
ly conducting  material.  Within  this 
casing  a  series  of  vertical  tubes  are 
ranged  round  its  circumference,  which 
extend  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the 
casing  and  are  for  the  passage  of  air, 
which  entering  below  becomes  heated, 
ascends  and  escapes  at  the  top.  A  pa- 
tent has  been  applied  for. 

IMPROVED  HORSESHOE. 
A  PATENT  has  been  applied  for  in  Eng- 
land for  the  manufacture  of  horseshoes 
as  follows :  The  corks  are  made  tapering 
and  with  a  small  screw  at  the  end.  The 
shoe  is  pierced  at  the  requisite  places, 
and  the  cork  is  screwed  into  them.  This 
may  be  an  econorhical  process,  if  the 
screw  holds  well,  since  tiie  corks  may  be 
renewed  without  disturbing  the  shoe. 


MANUFACTURE  OF  IRON. 
Iron  is  one  of  the  greatest  sources  of 
future  wealth  in  this  country,  and  the 
processes  by  which  the  ores  may  be 
profitably  treated  for  the  production  of 
iron  of  various  qualities,  naturally  re- 
ceive the  careful  attention  of  all  engaged 
in  such  pursuits.  New  facts  are  con- 
stantly developed  which  vary  these  pro- 
cesses, more  or  less,  and  some  of  which 
create  an  important  revolution  in  this 
department  of  art.  Mr.  Harding,  of 
Leeds,  Eng.,  has  recently  found  an  econ- 
omical method  of  separating  the  shales 
from  the  metallic  ore.  This  has  hitherto 
been  done  by  spreading  the  ore  upon  the 
ground  and  exposing  it  to  the  action  of 
the  atmosphere.  Mr.  Harding  now  ex- 
poses the  ore  to  the  action  of  steam,  and 
thus  secures  results  in  a  few  hours 
which  have  hitherto  occupied  months. 

HARVESTING  MACHINES. 
Messrs.  Cox  &  Newton,  of  Greenville, 
N.  C,  have  secured  a  patent  for  a  ma- 
chine which  cuts  off  the  ears  of  corn, 
leaving  the  stalks  standing  iu  the  field. 


WASHING  MACHINES. 
We  have  long  believed  that  any  con- 
venient process  securing  a  constant 
stream  of  water  through  clothes  that 
need  cleansing,  would  be  exceedingly 
useful,  by  avoiding  very  much  of  the 
wear  and  tear  occasioned  by  severe  rub- 
bing. This  destroys  under-clothes  per- 
haps quite  as  much  as  does  the  wearing 
of  them.  It  is  this  feature  which  re- 
commends, to  our  judgment,  the  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  Thomas  King.  A  method 
for  securing  this  important  point  has 
been  invented  by  Mr.  A.  Dickson,  of 
Hillsborough,  N.  C,  whose  specification 
claims  "the  combination  of  the  oscilla- 
ting rubber,  stationary  bed,  and  the 
pumps,  arranged  to  act  conjointly."  The 
water  is  discharged  as  rapidly  as  it  en- 
ters. 

Another  recent  patent,  secured  by  Mr. 
Abraham  Huffer,  of  Hagerstown,  Md., 
includes  certain  contrivances  for  lifting 
the  clothes  out  of  the  water  and  exposing 
them  to  the  air,  and  again  immersing 
them.  This,  it  is  claimed,  both  bleaches 
and  cleanses  them  at  the  same  time. 
We  can  not  judge  of  the  details  of  this 
invention,  not  having  seen  any  drawings 
of  it,  but  the  idea  seems  to  be  a  very 
good  one. 

Mr.  John  D.  Jenkins,  Jacksonville,  111., 
has  also  invented  an  anti-friction  ma- 
chine, but  the  means  he  employs  are  not 
published  in  detail. 

PRINTING  PRESSES. 
Mr.  Richard  M.  Hoe,  the  great  king 
among  inventors  in  this  department  of 
ai-t,  and  whose  reputation  is  now  world- 
I  wide,  has  secured  a  new  patent,  which 
'  adds  to  the  simplicity  and  economy  of 
I  his  great  press.     The  fly-frames  which 
have  hitherto  required  some  complica- 
tion of  machinery,  are  now  worked  by  a 
cam  shaft  at  each  end  of  the  machine, 
which  is  in  immediate  connection  with  it. 


STRIPEING  TOOL. 
An  implement  which  will  be  found 


40 


MECHANICAL, 


very  useful  to  painters  has  been  patent- 
ed by  Mr.  J.  J,  McCormick,  of  this  city, 
and  Mr.  George  Crossingham,  of  Croton 
Falls.  It  will  stripe  a  line  of  any  defined 
fineness,  from  a  mere  thread  to  two 
inches,  in  straight  lines  or  in  curves. 
The  paint  is  fed  by  means  of  a  piston. 


SEGAR  MACHINE. 

A  PARAGRAPH  has  been  going  the 
round  of  the  Provincial  papers,  stating 
that  M.  Practorius,  of  BerHn,  has  "  con- 
structed" a  machine  for  making  segars, 
and  that  it  rolls  out  5,000  segars  a  day, 
and  economizes  both  tobacco  and  manu- 
al labor.  Upon  the  admitted  principle 
that  "  honor  should  be  given  to  whom 
honor  is  due,"  it  is  only  right  to  state 
that  the  paragraph  in  question  is  not 
quite  correct.  It  is  true  that  M.  Practo- 
rius, of  Berlin,  possesses  such  a  machine, 
and  that  it  combines  all  the  useful  quali- 
ties attributed  to  it;  but  it  Avas  from 
Liverpool  that  it  was  obtained.  America 
claims,  and  is  entitled  to,  the  honor  of 
the  invention ;  but,  many  years  ago,  a 
Liverpool  firm,  James  Steel  &  Co.,  78 
Duke  street,  purchased  the  patent,  and 
subsequently  made  considerable  im- 
provements in  its  construction  and  work- 
ing. The  patent  has  many  years  yet  to 
run,  and  it  is  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
house  just  mentioned,  who  have  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  using  it  or  permitting  its 
use  in  the  United  Kingdom.  M.  Practo- 
rius, of  Berlin,  purchased  his  machine 
from  a  firm  in  Hamburg,  to  whom 
Messrs.  Steel  &  Co.  had  sold  it,  and  it 
has  since  been  patented  for  the  kingdom 
of  Prussia.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of 
the  ingenuity  and  value  of  the  machine  ; 
but  while  a  foreign  manufacturer  only 
buys  it,  he  must  not  be  allowed  to  steal 
the  honor  of  construction  from  England, 
or  invention  from  America. — London 
Mechanics^  Magazine. 


WHAT  WILL  A  GLASS  OF  WATER 
HOLD? 

It  is  generally  thought  that  when  a 
vessel  is  full  of  water  any  solid  substance 
immersed  in  it  will  cause  it  to  overflow, 
and  such  will  be  the  case  if  the  substance 
is  not  soluble  in  water  ;  but  the  philo- 
sophic truth,  that  in  dissolving  a  body 
you  do  not  increase  the  volume  of  the 
solvent,  may  be  proved  by  a  simple  and 
interesting  experiment. 


Saturate  a  certain  quantity  of  water, 
at  a  moderate  heat,  with  three  ounces  of 
sugar ;  and  when  it  will  no  longer  re- 
ceive that,  there  is  room  in  it  for  two 
ounces  of  salt  of  tartar,  and  after  that  for 
an  ounce  and  a  dram  of  green  vitriol, 
nearly  six  drams  of  niter,  the  same  quan- 
tity of  sal  ammoniac  or  smelling  salts, 
two  drams  and  a  scruple  of  alum  and  a 
dram  and  a  half  of  borax.  When  all 
these  are  dissolved  in  it,  it  will  not  have 
increased  in  volume. — Scientific  Ameri- 
can. 


SWIMMING  LIFE  PRESERVER. 

The  saving  of  human  life,  whether 
from  fire  or  water,  and  the  prevention 
of  accident  generally,  is  a  noble  and 
philanthropic  aim,  and  every  one  who 
directs  his  attention  and  inventive  pow- 
ers to  such  a  purpose  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  benefactor  to  the  human  race  at 
large,  by  those  who  have  any  humanity 
in  their  hearts.  We  are  happy  then  to 
chronicle  the  invention  and  patenting  of 
an  apparatus  for  saving  life  from  ship- 
wreck and  similar  catastrophies,  by  A. 
J.  Gibson,  of  Worcester,  Mass.  This  in- 
vention consists  in  making  a  deep,  broad 
belt  of  India  rubber  or  other  elastic  and 
waterproof  material,  constructed  with 
air  chambers,  and  having  combined  with 
it  hollow  floats  which  extend  along  each 
arm  and  expand  at  the  hand  to  furnish 
broad  paddles  or  means  of  pi'opulsion  in 
the  water,  which  aid  the  person  wearing 
it,  in  swimming,  and  by  this  means  gain- 
ing any  desired  place  of  rest  or  refuge. 
Scientific  Ame?'ican. 


HOW  MOISTURE  AFFECTS  THE 
VALUE  OF  WOOD. 

When  wood  is  newly  cut  it  contains 
a  large  quantity  of  water,  (sap,)  varying 
in  diiferent  varieties  from  20  to  50  per 
cent.  Trees  contain  more  water  in  those 
seasons  when  the  flow  of  sap  is  active, 
than  when  the  growth  is  suspended ; 
and  soft  wood  contains  more  than  hard. 
Exposed  to  air  a  year,  wood  becomes  air 
dried,  and  parts  with  about  half  its  wa- 
ter ;  15  per  cent,  more  may  be  expelled 
by  artificial  heat ;  but  before  it  loses  the 
half  of  its  moisture  it  begins  to  decom- 
pose, or  char.  The  presence  of  water  in 
wood  diminishes  its  value  as  fuel  in  two 
ways — it  hinders  and  delays  the  com- 
bustive  process,  and  wastes  heat  by 
evaporation.  Suppose  that  100  pounds 
of  wood  contain  30  of  water,  they  have 


MECHANICAL. 


41 


then  but  70  of  true  combustible  mate- 
rial. When  burned,  1  pound  of  the 
wood  will  be  expended  in  raising  the 
temperature  of  the  water  to  the  boiling 
point,  and  six  more  in  converting  it  into 
vapor,  making  a  loss  of  7  pounds  of  real 
wood,  or  1-10  of  the  combustive  force. 
Besides  this  dead  loss  of  10  per  cent,  of 
fuel,  the  water  present  is  an  annoyance, 
by  hindering  free  and  rapid  combustion. 


HOW   TO    MEND   CHINA. 

Fkom  an  English  almanac  we,  a  long 
time  since,  cut  a  recipe  for  mending 
china,  and  the  opportunitj' having  occur- 
red for  trying,  we  found  it  admirable,  the 
fracture  being  scarcely  visible  after  the 
article  was  repaired.  It  is  thus  made  : 
Take  a  very  thick  solution  of  gum  arabic 
in  water,  and  stir  it  into  plaster  of  Paris 
until  the  mixture  becomes  a  viscous 
paste.  Apply  it  with  a  brush  to  the 
fractured  edges  and  stick  them  together. 
In  three  days  the  article  can  not  again  be 
broken  in  the  same  place.  The  white- 
ness of  the  cement  renders  it  doubly 
valuable. — Exchange. 


CEMENT  FOR  JOINTING  STONE. 

A  CEMENT  which  gradually  indurates 
to  a  stony  consistence,  may  be  made  by 
mixing  20  parts  of  clean  river  sand,  2  of 
litharge,  and  one  of  quick-lime,  into  a 
thin  putty  with  linseed  oil.  The  quick- 
lime may  be  replaced  with  litharge. 
When  the  cement  is  applied  to  mend 
broken  pieces  of  stone,  as  steps  of  stairs, 
it  acquires  after  some  time  a  stony  hard- 
ness. A  similar  composition  has  been 
used  to  coat  over  brick  walls  under  the 
name  of  mastic. 


AMERICAN   MECHANICAL   SKILL. 

TnE  viceroy  of  Egypt  gives  a  decided 
preference  to  the  works  of  our  American 
artizans,  in  which  he  shows  excellent 
sense.  A  banjue  is  loading  at  Boston 
for  Alexandria,  with  a  complete  ponton 
train  manufactured  by  Boston  mechan- 
ics, to  the  order  of  the  viceroy.  The 
train  consists  of  twenty-six  wagons,  and 
will  carry  tlie  materials  for  constructing 
a  bridge  three  hundred  feet  in  length. 
The  cost  of  this  is  upwards  of  $30,000. 
There  are  also  boxes  of  tools,  of  every 
description,  for  the  use  of  a  moving 
army.     One  box  of  joiner's  tools,  from 


the  manufactory  of  F.  G.  Gouch,  of 
Worcester,  are  much  admired  for  their 
superior  make  and  exquisite  finish.  Os- 
good Bradley,  car  manufacturer,  has  an 
order  from  the  viceroy  for  a  train  of 
eight-wheeled  passenger  cars,  the  cost 
of  which  will  exceed  %\00,0m.— Kenne- 
bec Journal. 


MAKING  WOOD  FIRE-PROOF. 
Propessor  Rochelder,  of  Prague,  has 
just  discovered  a  new  antii)hlogist  mate- 
rial, which  promises  to' become  of  im- 
portance. It  is  a  liquid  chemical  com- 
position, the  secret  of  which  is  not  yet 
divulged,  which  renders  wood  and  other 
articles  indestructible  by  fire.  Several 
successful  experiments  have  been  made, 
and  others  are  promised  on  a  larger 
scale. 


LAMPS  FOR  THE  BURNING  OP 
KERASINE  OIL. 
These  lamps  are  manufactured  by 
Messrs.  Dietz  &  Co.,  182  William  street, 
New-York.  For  producing  a  brilliant 
light  at  a  small  expense  we  think  they 
would  be  hard  to  be  outdone.  No  un- 
pleasant odor,  as  far  as  we  can  perceive, 
arises  from  the  kerasine,  as  burnt  in  this 
way.  Having  tested  these  lamps,  we 
can  cheerfully  recommend  them  to  our 
friends. 


ANOTHER    GREAT    SHIP. 

A  GENTLEMAN  of  Livcrpool,  England, 
has  proposed  to  build  a  ship  which  will 
dwarf  even  the  Leviathan,  to  be  called 
Palmerston^s  Foresight.  The  proposal 
was  first  received  as  something  worthy 
of  attention,  but  it  has  been  found  from 
his  model  that  it  would  be  unfit  for  any 
practicable  purpose,  being  almost  flat 
bottomed,  with  vertical  sides,  and  no 
visible  keel ;  in  fact,'  it  is  but  a  gigantic 
box  that  might  swim,  but  would  be  of 
no  value  as  a  ship.  We  chronicle  this 
fact  to  illustrate  the  mistakes  tliat  per- 
sons make  when  undertaking  to  invent 
or  improve  upon  anything  without  first 
fully  understanding  what  they  are  about. 


42 


SCIENTIFIC. 


riiJnti|ir. 


CHEMICAL. 

8  OXYGEN  1  HYDROGEN  9  WATER. 

Water  with  other  substances  forms  hydrates,  as  hydrates  of  hme,  of  iron,  etc. 
16  OXYGEN  6  CARBON  22  CARBONIC  ACID. 

Carbonic  acid  forms  carbonates,  as  carbonate  of  Hme,  (chalk,  marble,  lime-stone,) 

carbonate  of  soda,  (washing  soda,)  bi-carbonate  of  soda,  (cooking  soda,)  etc. 
14  NITROGEN  3  HYDROGEN  17  AMMONIA. 

The  three  compounds  above,  water  carbonic  acid,  and  ammonia  constitute  a  very- 
large  part  of  the  food  of  all  growing  plants.     Nothing  could  grow  if  deprived 
of  either  of  them.     Decaying  plants  and  animals  are  always  giving  them 
off;  and  living,  growing  plants  are  always  receiving  them. 

Carbonic  Acid. 


Of  oxygen  as  compounded  with  hy- 
drogen in  the  form  of  water,  and  of  its 
uses  in  vegetation,  we  have  spoken  at 
length.  By  the  second  formula  above 
it  will  be  seen  that  16  lbs.  of  oxygen 
combined  with  six  of  carbon  form 
twenty-two  lbs.  of  carbonic  acid.  The 
young  reader  should  keep  in  mind,  that 
oxygen  in  its  pure  state  is  a  limpid  gas, 
constituting  the  vitality  of  the  air  we 
breathe,  and  that  carbon,  in  a  state  of 
purity  and  crystalized,  constitutes  the 
diamond,  but  is  better  known  as  char- 
coal. In  the  latter  form  it  is  not  quite 
pure,  having  a  little  ash  mixed  with  it. 

About  one  part  in  twenty-five  hundred 
of  the  atmosphere  is  carbonic  acid.  This 
gas  is  once  and  a  half  as  heavy  as  at- 
mospheric air.  When  thrown  into  the 
air,  its  first  tendency  is  to  settle  down 
into  low  places,  as  near  the  floor  of  a 
room,  or  into  an  open  well,  and  conse- 
quently lives  are  sometimes  destroyed 
by  it,  by  descending  into  dry  wells  or 
into  cisterns  or  vats  in  which  liquors 
have  been  fermented.  But  a  secondary 
tendency  is  to  an  equal  diffusion  of  itself 
through  the  whole  extent  of  the  atmos- 
phere. The  air  slowly  takes  it  up  and 
diffuses  it  through  its  whole  mass.  If 
you  put  a  drop  of  alcohol  into  a  barrel 
of  water,  it  will  mix  equally  with  the 


whole.  So  with  this  gas  in  the  air.  If 
you  put  a  few  drops  of  strong  vinegar 
on  a  piece  of  chalk,  this  gas  will  escape. 
First  it  falls  to  the  floor,  but  soon  will 
be  taken  up  and  equally  diffused  through 
the  whole  room. 

Its  proportion  in  the  air  varies  a  little 
at  different  times  and  places;  but  is  gen- 
erally, as  we  have  said,  about  one  part 
in  twenty-five  hundred.  Growing  veg- 
etables are  always  drawing  carbonic  acid 
from  the  air.  Other  causes  are  constant- 
ly throwing  it  into  the  air,  so  that  the 
above  proportions  are  very  nearly  pre- 
served. Now  if  the  air  contained  much 
less,  plants  could  not  grow,  for  no  plant 
can  flourish  without  this  gas  ;  and  if  the 
air  contained  much  more,  animals,  in- 
cluding man,  could  not  live,  for  it  is 
poisonous  when  breathed  in  much  larger 
proportions  than  is  usual.  In  future 
numbers  we  shall  show  how  the  air  is 
kept  constantly  and  certainly  supplied 
with  this  gas  to  meet  the  wants  of  vege- 
tation, and  yet  not  over-supphed  to  the 
destruction  of  animal  life. 

Few  subjects  are  more  gratifying  to  a 
laudable  curiosity,  or  attended  with 
more  valuable  practical  results,  than  that 
of  the  exhaustion  of  this  gas  from  the  at- 
mosphere, its  constant  re-supply,  and  its 
influences  on  vegetable  and  animal  life. 


SCIENTIFIC 


43 


FOR    THE    AMERICAN    FARMERS'     MllGAZIAU. 

THE     WEATHER. 

Appearance  of  Birds,  Flowers,  etc.,  in  Nichols,  Tioga  Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  November,  1857. 

By  B.  Howell. 

Place  of  Observation,  42  degrees  North,  on  a  Diluvial  Formation,  about  AO  feet  above  the 

Susquehanna  River,  and  800  feet  above  tide,  according  to  the  survey 

of  the  Netv-York  and  Erie  Railroad. 


Oct. 

6A.M. 

1 

30 

2 

33 

8 

33 

4 

31 

5 

30 

6 

52 

T 

36 

8 

56 

9 

66 

10 

40  ! 

11 

24 

12 

26 

13 

41 

14 

30 

16 

14 

16 

19 

17 

34 

18 

36 

19 

39 

20 

16 

21 

18 

22 

29 

23 

24 

24 

22 

25 

8 

26 

17 

27 

12 

28 

14 

29 

13 

80 

86 

IP.M 

50 
53 
44 
47 
56 
62 
66 
72 
72 


43 
44 
60 
47 
29 
86 
36 
38 
40 
39 
22 
29 
35 
42 
25 
18 
25 
36 
42 
40 
48 


9  P.M. 

40 

N.&S. 

41 

s.  w. 

40 

North 

86 

South 

64 

" 

55 

" 

54 

" 

66 

" 

68 

27 

West 

28 

45 

South 

36 

S.  W. 

24 

North 

22 

" 

85 

South 

34 

North 

30 

South 

29 

" 

14 

S.  W. 

25 

S.  E. 

21 

s.  w. 

28 

South 

18 

s.  w. 

15 

N.  W. 

14 

North 

21 

« 

22 

South 

81 
46 

u 

Cloudy. 


Light  rain  at  9  P.  M. 


Rain  commenced  at  2  P.  M. 

Liglit  rain  in  the  evening  at  8  o'clock. 

Light  rain  in  tlic  morning. 

Very  hard  rain  from  3  to  6  in  morning.  Small 
streams  over  the  banks.  Rain  from  9^  P.  M.  to 
2  or  3  in  the  morning. 


Light  rain  in  the  afternoon. 
Snow  squall. 

Snow  squall  in  the  morning.     Rain  the  afternoon. 

White  hail  in  the  forenoon. 

Rain  commenced  at  10  o'clock  and  turned  to  snow. 


Snow  squall  in  forenoon.  [till  4  P.  M. 

Hard  rain  commenced  at  11  A.  M.  and  continued 
Snow  squall  in  the  afternoon. 
Susquehanna  river  froze  over  4  miles  above  Owego. 


Clear. 
Cloudy, 

Clear. 
Cloudy. 


The  storm  of  the  9th  was  the  most  se- 
vere ever  experienced  for  the  length  of 
time  of  its  continuance.  Small  streams 
over  the  banks.  The  force  of  the  vrater 
was  so  great  that  logs  and  stones  were 
moved  that  had  lain  more  than  twenty 
years.  This  storm  could  not  be  far 
above  here  in  a  south-east  course,  for 
the  large  creek  running  in  that  direction 
was  not  half-banks.  In  the  evening  of 
the  9th  was  a  rain  nearly  equal  to  the 
one  in  the  morning.  These  two  storms 
took  place  at  the  same  time  as  the  great 
storm  that  inundated  the  central  and 
west  part  of  the  State,  and,  as  far  as  I 
can  learn,  lasted  from  35  to  45  hours. 


METEOROLOGICAL. 
chapman's    pkecalcclations. 

{Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congrena,  in  the 
year  1S.56,  6y  L.  L.  CHAPMAN,  in  the  Clerk's 
Office  of  the  District  Court,  for  the  Eastern  Dis- 
trict of  Pennmjl/oania.) 

FIRST  DEPARTMENT. 

explanatory. 

VISION,  (instead  of  being  a  faculty 
posses.scd  and  e-xerted  at  will  on  distant 
objects,)is  simply  a  sense  of  feeling  ex- 
cited on  the  nerves  of  the  eye  by  cur- 
rents of  electricity  radiated  or  reflected 
from  the  object  seen.  Hence,  light  is 
identical  with  electricity,  wliich,  hence, 
instead  of  being  confined  to  our  earth,  is 
the  common  property  of  the  solar  system. 


44 


SCIENTIFIC 


The  angles  of  incidence  and  reflection 
are  Positive  and  Negative  angles,  induc- 
ing (with  other  causes)  a  successive  se- 
ries of  positive  and  negative  conditions 
of  the  atmosphere  and  elements. 

THE  TERM  POSITIVE  is  here  given 
to  conditions  abounding  more  with  vital 
electricity,  inspiring  more  health,  vigor, 
cheerfulness,  and  better  feelings  for  bu- 
siness, intercourse,  etc.,  and  consequent- 
ly greater  success,  enjoyment,  etc. 

THE  TERM  NEGATIVE  is  given  to 
those  conditions  which  abound  less  with 
electricity,  and  consequently  are  more 
unfavorable  to  health,  feelings,  business, 
social  intercourse,  ets. 

IF  Indicates  Sundays. 

FIRST  MONTH,  (January,)  1858. 

Tendency.  Time  o'clock 

1st,  Negative,  from  5  morn  to  12  noon. 
Positive,  from  1  to  3  eve. 
Negative,  from  4  to  10  eve. 
2d,    Positive,  from  1  to  8  morn. 
Negative,  from  5  to  10  morn. 
Positive,  from  11  morn  to  12  eve. 
3d,    IF  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Negative,  from  5  to  12  eve. 
4th,  Mixed,  from  1  to  6  morn. 

Negative,  from  7  morn  to  7  eve. 
5th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Mixed,  from  4  to  12  eve. 
6  th,  Negative,  from  4  morn  to  2  eve. 

Mixed,  from  3  to  12  eve. 
7th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  11  eve. 
8th,  Mixed,  from-  1  to  11  morn. 

Positive,  from  12  noon  to  12  eve. 
9  th,  Positive,  from  1  to  9  morn. 
Mixed,  from  10  morn  to  2  eve. 
Positive,  from  3  to  12  eve. 
10th,  IF  Positive,  from  4  morn  to  3  eve. 

Negative,  from  4  to  11  eve. 
11th,  Negative,  from  1  to  8  morn. 

Positive,  from  9  morn  to  12  noon. 
Negative,  from  1  to  12  eve. 
12th,  Positive,  from  7  morn  to  12  eve. 
13th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
14th,  Mixed,  from  6  morn  to  12  eve. 
15th,  Mixed,  from  1  to  6  morn. 

Positive,  from  7  morn  to  10  eve. 
Negative,  from  3  to  12  eve. 
16th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
17th,  IF  Positive,  from  1  to  10  morn. 

Mixed,  from  10  morn  to  12  eve. 
18th,  Positive,  from  3  to  8  morn. 

Mixed,  from  9  morn  to  12  eve. 
19th,  Positive,  from  1  to  8  morn. 
Mixed,  from  8  to  10  morn. 
Positive,  from  11  morn  to  12  eve. 
20th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  3  eve. 
Negative,  from  3  to  12  eve. 


21st,    Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
22d,    Negative,  from  1  morn  to  5  eve. 

Positive,  from  6  to  7  eve. 

Negative,  from  7  to  12  eve. 
23d,    Positive,  from  4  morn  to  11  eve. 
24th,  IF  Positive,  from  3  morn  to  7  eve. 
25th,  Positive,  from  3  to  1 1  morn. 

Negative,  from  10  noon  to  9  eve. 
26th,  Negative,  from  2  morn  to  12  eve. 
27th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  1  eve. 

Positive,  from  2  to  10  eve. 
28th,  Negative,  from  6  morn  to  1  eve. 

^  Mixed,  from  2  to  12  eve. 
29th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
30th,  Negative,  from  1  to  7  morn. 

Positive,  from  8  morn  to  12  eve. 
31st,  IF  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 

SECOND  DEPARTMENT. 

The  changes  are  four  minutes  earlier 
for  each  degree  of  longitude  (60  miles) 
west.  Difference  of  latitude  in  the  same 
meridian  is  immaterial.  The  dry  condi- 
tions are  fair,  and  the  damp  conditions 
cloudy  or  wet,  at  least  three  or  four  times 
out  of  five  in  the  average.  When  fair, 
the  damp  conditions  diffuse  a  cool,  damp 
sensation  through  the  atmosphere. 

Blanks  indicate  very  weak,  or  mixed, 
or  uncertain  conditions. 

IF  Indicate  Sundays. 

FIRST  MONTH,  (January,)  1858. 
Time  o'clock.      Ray-angle.       Tendency. 
1st,  At  2  morn  B"  wind  stirring. 

At  5  morn  G,  warm. 

At  12  noon  R"  warm,  dry. 

At  3  eve  V,  cool. 

At  10  eve  G'  warm. 
2d,    At  3  morn  0,  damp. 

At  8  morn  Y,  warm,  dry. 

At  10  eve  V"  cool,  damp. 

At  11  eve  Bv,  cool,  damp,  windy. 

At  12  eve  0,,  damp. 
3d,    IF  At  4  morn  G,,  warm. 

At  4  eve  R,,  warm. 
4th,  At  5  morn  G'  warm. 

At  6  morn  Y,,  warm,  dry. 

At  11  morn  B'  wind  stirring. 

At  7  eve  R'  warm. 
5th,  At  3  morn  V„  cool. 

At  4  morn  I,,  cool,  damp. 

At  12  noon  R,  warm. 

At  2  eve  GV,  cool,  windy. 

At  4  eve  B,,  wind  stirring. 

At  5  eve  G"  warm. 
6th,  At  3  morn  I'  cool. 

At  8  morn  V  cool,  damp. 

At  8  eve  Y"  warm,  dry. 

At  11  eveB' 

At  12  eve  YO,  damp,  windy. 


SCIENTIFIC. 


46 


7th, 
8th, 

9th, 
10th, 

11th, 

12th, 
13th, 

14th, 
15th, 


16th, 
17th, 


18th, 


19th, 


At  2  morn  Y,  cool,  damp. 

At  7  morn  VI,,  cool,  damp,  windy. 

At  10  morn  G,  warm. 

At  11  eve  0-  damp. 

At  two  morn  B"  wind  stirring. 

At  7  morn  • 

At  10  morn  G,,  warm. 

At  11  morn  R"  warm,  dry. 

At  12  noon  Y,  warm. 

At  3  eve  GR,,  warm,  dry. 

At  1  morn  B, 

At  9  morn  G,  warm,  dry. 

At  1  eve  Y,,  warm. 

At  2  eve  BO"  damp,  windy. 

At  4  eve  .  

At  2  morn  I,,  cool. 

At  3  morn  V"  cool,  damp. 

At  1 2  noon  . 

At  1  eve  B„ 

At  3  eve  ..  warm. 

At  11  eve  Y'  warm. 

At  8  morn  I'  cool,  damp. 

At  12  noon  R.  warm,  dry. 

At  10  eve  0' 

At  6  morn  R'  warm,  dry. 

At  8  morn  I.  cool. 

At  4  morn  0,,  damp. 

At  12  noon  V,  cool, 

At  2  eve  R,,*  warm,  dry. 

At  2  morn  G-  warm. 

At  5  morn  0,  damp. 

At  6  morn  V  cool. 

At  3  eve  BV„  cool,  windy. 

At  12  eve  Y-       ^ 

At  12  eve  I"        I 

At  1  morn  YB-       o      /-.  i 

Ai  1  ^ T}  See  General 

At  1  morn  ii-  }•     ti  i 

A  i  o  -irTM  !     Remarks. 

At  2  morn  YI  v    «iixo. 

At  2  morn  BI"    ] 

At  3  morn  V„     J 

At  2  eve  YV„  cool,  windy. 

At  6  eve  0"  — 

At  10  eve  R"  warm. 

At  11  eve  .. 

IT  At  9  morn  R,  warm. 

At  10  morn  GO,  wind  stirring. 

At  1 1  morn  V"  cool,  damp. 

At  8  eve  I,  cool. 

At  2  morn  G'  warm. 

At  3  morn  ..  windy. 

At  5  morn  O,, 

At  8  morn  R„  warm,  dry. 

At  1  eve  r  cool,  damp. 

At  8  eve  V,  cool. 

At  10  eve  Y'  warm.' 

At  3  mom  GB-  windy. 

At  8  morn  G,,  warm,  dry. 

At  9  morn  . 

At  10  morn  0' 

At  5  eve  I„  cool,  damp. 


20th,  At  2  morn,  end  of  the  zodiacal  pe- 
riod, or  natural  month. 

At  4  morn  Y„  warm. 

At  7  morn  G,  warm,  dry. 

At  8  morn  ..  warm. 

At  3  eve  BO'  windy. 
21st,   At  2  morn  RO"  windy. 

At  10  morn  B"  wind  stirring. 

At  7  eve  G"  warm,  dry. 

At  10  eve  I"  cool. 
22d,    At  12  noon  Y"  warm,  dry. 

At  5  eve . 

At  7  eve  R-  warm,  dry. 

At  9  eve  0"  damp. 
23d,    At  2  morn  GI"  cool,  windy. 

At  12  noon  B,,  wind  stirring. 

At  11  eve  GV,.  cool,  damp,  windy. 
24th,  IT  At  2  eve  B'  wind  stirring. 

At  6  eve  G,  warm. 

At  7  eve  Y,,  warm,  dry. 
25th,  At  2  morn  I'  cool. 

At  11  morn  O, 

At  9  eve  Y'  warm,  diy. 

At  12  eve  .  warm. 
26th,  At  1  eve  Y,  warm,  dry. 

At  12  eve  R'  warm,  dry. 
27th,  At  4  morn  YR"  warm. 

At  1  eve  B"  wind  stirring. 

At  7  eve  R,  warm. 
28th,  At  3  morn  I-  cool,  damp. 

At  5  morn  V,,  cool. 

At  1  eve  G"  warm,  dry. 

At  12  eve  V,  cool. 
29th,  At  4  morn  Y"  warm,  dr3^ 

At  7  morn  0" 

30th,  At  7  morn  V"  cool. 

At  2  eve  0, J 

31st,  IT  At  5  morn  R,,  warm,  dry. 

At  12  noon  0,,  damp. 

At  11  eve  B„  wind  stirring. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. 

Cool  Periods,  longer  and  more  promi- 
nent, are  more  liable  near  the  7th,  15th. 

Greater  tendency  to  windy,  cloudy  or 
stormy  periods,  or  gusts,  near  the  7tli, 
9th,  14th,  to  ICth,  23d,  24th. 

Periods  more  prominently  negative 
near  the  9th,  14th,  to  IGth,  21st,  23d, 
27th. 

Periods  of  greater  electrical  deficiency 
25th  to  31st. 

The  number  of  combined  and  single 
currents  intercepted  on  the  15th,  is  un- 
usual. I  judge  that  earthquakes,  auro- 
ras, popular  excitements,  etc.,  will  be 
more  liable  near  the  14th  or  15th. 

Natural  tendency  of  the  zodiacal  pe- 
riod from  the  1st  to  2Uth,  dry. — From 
the  21st  to  31st,  damp. 


46 


CHILDREN'S      CORNER 


(S  hi  c  a  t  i  0 11  a 


None  have  a  higher  stake  in  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  country  than 
the  farmers  and  mechanics.  They  are 
not  laborers  in  that  offensive  sense  in 
which  the  term  is  known  in  other 
countries,  and  yet  they  are  the  real  work- 
ing men  of  ours.  Of  their  position  they 
are  not  ashamed.  They  have  no  reason 
to  be.  Most  of  them  very  wisely  desire 
that  their  sons  may  follow  their  own  or 
an  equally  useful  profession.  But  they 
would  be  sorry  that  they  should  do  this 
from  necessity  and  not  from  choice.  Far 
be  the  day  when  professions  and  employ- 
ments shall  become  hereditary  with  us, 
as  with  many  of  the  older  nations,  and 
when  the  sou,  unless  possessed  of  extra- 
ordinary ability,  shall  have  no  choice  but 
to  follow  the  occupation  of  his  father. 

But  what  instrumentality  shaU  prevent 
power  and  wealth,  and  place  and  station, 
and  employment,  and  poverty  even,  and 
ignorance  and  degradation  from  becom- 
ing hereditary .?  We  answer  our  public 
schools.  Men  in  eminent  positions  will 
rarely  fail  to  procure  for  their  children 
high  educational  privileges.  Their  sons, 
if  not  destitute,  as  too  often  happens,  of 
common  sense  and  common  prudence, 
will  start  in  life  with  real,  substantial 
advantages  over  the  children  of  the  poor 
and  of  the  working  classes  generally,  un- 
less our  public  schools  are  made  compe- 
tent to  give  about  as  good  an  education 
as  wealth  can  procure.  When  the  son  of 
a  wood  sawyer  in  one  of  our  commercial 
cities  carried  off  a  hardly  contested  prize 
from  the  son  of  a  merchant  prince,  it  was 
a  glorious  promise  that,  however  unequal 
one  generation  may  become,  the  next 
shall  start  in  life  vmder  circumstances  of 
hope  for  all  if  such  schools  are  main- 
tained. 

We  would  not  be  understood  to  say 
that  the  children  of  farmers  and  mechan- 
ics, and  much  less  that  those  of  the  poor, 


should  be  expensively  educated ;  but  we 
do  say  that  through  the  home  influences 
and  those  of  the  public  school,  they  must 
be  well  educated,  their  minds  developed, 
a  taste  for  reading  formed,  and  ability  to 
thiriTc  given,  or  each  generation  will  com- 
mence life  more  and  more  unequally. 
The  son  will  follow  the  avocation  of  his 
father  whether  fitted  for  it  and  relishing 
it  or  not,  and  our  republican  institutions 
will  yield  to  others  that  provide  special- 
ly for  the  few,  and  care  little  for  the 
many,  except  to  make  a  convenience  of 
them. 

On  the  great  producing  classes  of  this 
country,  and  especially  on  the  farmers, 
rests  the  question,  whether  education, 
through  our  public  schools,  free  to  all 
shall  be  general  and  of  that  high  and 
thorough  character  which  alone  can 
make  our  descendants,  as  our  fathers 
were,  capable  of  self-government,  or 
whether,  while  our  fathers  wrested  the 
sceptre  from  tyrants,  our  sons  shall  suf- 
fer a  yoke  to  be  put  upon  their  necks. 


CHILDREN'S    CORNER. 


Flowers  are  rather  out  of  season  just 
now,  but  we  always  think  of  them  when 
we  think  of  children,  and  here  they  are 


CHILDREN'S     CORNER 


47 


— cnil)lt'ms  of  Spring.  "Well,  those  for 
whom  wc  write  are  in  the  spring-time 
of  life,  and  so  flowers  are  in  good  time, 
though  it  be  the  dead  of  winter. 

The  weather  for  some  time  past  has 


been  spring  like,  and  some  of  our  boy 
readers,  not  so  far  off  but  that  wc  seem 
to  see  them,  have  been  playing  at  mar- 
bles. 


One  of  them  is  a  strong,  vigorous  boy, 
about  ten  years  of  age.  His  name  is 
William.  We  might  here  tell  what  a 
noble  hearted  boy  he  is,  how  obedient  to 
his  father,  how  kind  to  his  mother,  how 
loving  and  gentle  to  his  younger  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  how  everybody  likes 
him — but  let  his  actions  speak  for  him. 
The  world  judges  boys,  as  it  does  men, 
very  much  by  their  actions ;  and  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  to  judge  of  looks  very 
much  by  the  same  rule,  for  although 
William  has  not  what  would  be  called  a 
handsome  face,  having  a  nose  of  rather 
huge  dimensions,  thick  lips,  a  little  too 
much  rolled,  and  not  a  very  smooth  fore- 
head, yet  everybody  says,  what  a  fine 
looking  fellow  he  is.  This  is  because 
his  conduct  wins  for  him  a  favorable 
judgment.     But  let  all  this  go. 

William  is  playing  marbles  with  some 
other  boys.  One  of  them  is  named 
Samuel.  He  is  a  beautiful  boy,  as  any 
one  would  say,  on  seeing  him  for  the  first 
time;  tall,  straight,  with  symmetrical 
features,  and  a  fiiultless  complexion. 
Yet  those  who  know  him  best,  have  hard- 
ly obsei-ved  this.  He  is  selfish  ;  often  he 
is  abusive.  If  another  boy  says  or  does 
what  can  be  interpreted  into  an  insult  to 
him,  it  is  too  much  to  be  borne.  If  he 
insults  another  boy  and  gets  a  flogging 
for  it,  he  thinks  himself  very  badly  used ; 


and  when  people  see  him,  they  do  not 
think  so  much  of  his  fine  looks  as  of  his 
selfish  acts,  and  so  they  hardly  find  out 
that  he  is  really  handsome. 

While  the  play  is  going  on,  and  Wil- 
liam is  stooping  down  to  throw  his  mar- 
ble, Samuel  by  a  sudden  movement  push- 
es him  over.  Had  William  done  the 
same  to  him,  it  would  not  have  been 
easily  forgiven.  But  as  William  knew 
his  temper  pretty  well,  he  concluded, 
after  brushing  off  the  du-st  to  let  it  pass. 

Samuel  attempts  the  same  thing  again, 
but  William  saves  himself  by  a  sudden 
spring,  and  Samuel  pitches  into  the  dirt. 
He  jumps  up,  and  without  stopping  to 
brush  himself,  thinks  only  of  revenge. 
With  an  "I'll  pay  you  for  that,"  he 
rushes  at  William,  and  if  he  had  been 
strong  enough  no  one  knows  what  would 
have  followed.  But  William  keeps  cool, 
and  only  defends  himself,  till  Samuel  has 
worried  himself  out  in  fruitless  attempts 
at  him,  and  then  goes  off  home  to  tell  his 
mother.  Whether  his  mother  has  the 
good  sense  to  ferret  out  of  him  the  whole 
truth  and  then  to  administer  a  reproof 
that  should  make  him  ashamed  of  him- 
self, is  more  than  we  know.  But  the 
boys  all  said  that  Samuel  was  a  mean 
fellow;  that  William  had  used  him  bet 
ter  than  any  other  boy  would  have  done ; 
and   everybody,  who  has  seen  as  much 


48 


DOMESTIC. 


of  boys  as  we  have,  knows  that  their 
opinions  in  such  matters  are  very  apt  to 
be  about  right. 


LESSON  IN  SPELLING. 

Write,  we  know,  is  written  right 
When  we  see  it  written  icrite  ; 
But  when  we  see  it  written  right, 
We  know  it  is  not  written  icright; 
For  write,  to  have  it  written  right,     * 
Must  not  be  written  7'ig7it  or  wright. 
Nor  yet  should  it  be  written  rite. 
But  write  ;  for  so  'tis  written  right. 
Old  lia/per. 


ENIGMA. 

I  AM  composed  of  23  letters. 

My  7,  12,  3,  14,  21,  6  and  19  is  the 
name  of  a  country. 

My  5,  8  and  22  is  a  hotel. 

My  3,  8,  18,  5,  22  and  13  is  a  very 
useful  machine. 

My  9,  17,  4,  16,  23  and  11  is  a  culti- 
vator. 

My  11,  10,  20  and  3  is  to  erase. 

My  1  and  15  is  ancient  coin. 

My  2  and  13  is  myself. 

My  whole  is  not  far  off. 


0mi^j)tir. 


THE  SMITHSONIAN  AQUARIUM 
AT  WASHINGTON. 

A  FINE  marine  aquavivarium,  or  aqua- 
rium, has  been  prepared  at  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  where  the  public  can 
now  inspect  its  curious  contents.  It  is 
said  that  an  eminent  French  zoologist, 
in  order  to  prosecute  his  studies  on  ma- 
rine animals  of  the  Mediterranean,  pro- 
vided himself  with  a  water  dress,  glass 
helmet  and  breathing  tubes,  that  he 
might  walk  about  under  water  and  mark 
the  habits  of  the  various  creatures  pur- 
suing their  avocations.  Any  one  who 
will  visit  the  Smithsonian  aquarium  may 
enjoy  the  same  opportunities,  and  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  strange  ani- 
mals and  plants  of  the  sea  without  div- 
ing to  gaze  on  them. 

The  aquarium  is  simply  a  glass  tank, 
erected  on  a  table,  and  filled  with  sea- 
water,  in  which  flourish  marine  plants 
and  animals  without  any  aid,  or  even 
changing  the  water. 

The  bottom  of  the  Smithsonian  aqua- 
rium is  an  imitation  of  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  composed  of  silver  sand,  coai'se  sand 
and  pebbles.  In  the  center  is  a  mass  of 
rock,  giving  shelter  and  concealment  to 
such  animals  as  like  concealment,  while 
jotted  about  are  growing  specimens  of 
fuci  and  algae.  In  this  miniature  ocean 
cave  are  about  three  hundred  specimens 
of  animal  vitality,  belonging  to  some 
thirty-eight  species  of  fishes,  molluscae, 
crustacse  and  polypes.  Some  of  these 
burrow  in  the  sand,  or  modestly  hide 
among  the  pebbles  ;  others,  like  the  her- 
mit crabs,  having  taken  possession  of 


vacant  suits  of  submarine  armor,  flourish 
about  belligerently,  ready  for  a  fight. 
Some  are  perfectly  transparent,  like  ani- 
mated particles  of  jelly  ;  others  are  en- 
shrined in  their  shells.  The  curious 
"horse-fish"  paddles  about  with  his 
filmy  dorsal  fin ;  and  a  lethargic  clam  pro- 
trudes its  siphons,  enveloped  in  a  shaggy 
fringe  ;  a  solitary  flounder  was  evidently 
annoyed  when  rooted  out,  and  imme- 
diately burrowed  himself  again  in  the 
sand ;  while  two  pugnacious  crabs  fought 
gallantly  over  an  amphitrite  auricoma, 
which  had  been  obligingly  sacrificed  that 
we  might  see  its  golded  combs. —  Wash- 
ington Union. 


THE  DIGNITY  OF  PRAYER. 

BY    ARCHBISHOP    LEIGHTON. 

Consider  the  dignity  of  this,  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  so  near  converse  with  the 
highest  majesty.  Were  there  nothing 
to  follow,  no  answer  at  all,  prayer  pays 
itself  in  the  excellence  of  its  nature,  and 
sweetness  that  the  soul  finds  in  it  Poor 
fallen  man,  to  be  admitted  into  heaven 
while  he  is  on  earth,  and  there  to  come 
and  speak  his  mind  freely  to  the  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth  as  his  friend,  as  his 
father ! — to  empty  all  his  complaints  in- 
to his  bosom,  to  refresh  his  soul  in  his 
God,  wearied  with  the  follies  and  mise- 
ries of  the  world.  Where  there  is  any- 
thing of  His  love,  this  is  a  privilege  of 
the  highest  sweetness,  for  they  that  love, 
find  much  delight  to  discourse  together, 
and  count  all  hours  short,  and  think  the 
day  runs  too  fast,  that  is  so  spent.  And 
they  that  are  much  in  this  exercise,  the 


DOMESTIC. 


49 


Lord  does  impart  his  secrets  much  to 
them. 


GRAPE  WINE. 

Express  the  juice,  as  with  the  cran- 
berries, washing  the  pulp  in  the  same 
manner ;  the  liquor  will  be  about  one- 
tenth  part  water.  Add  sugar,  three 
pounds  to  a  gallon  of  juice,  and  ferment 
as  before. 

We  have  before  us  a  sample  of  wine 
made  from  each  of  these  recipes.  The 
cranberry  and  barberry  wines  make  a 
very  pleasant  drink  when  mixed  with 
about  four  or  five  times  the  amount  of 
water.  The  other  two  kinds  are  excel- 
lent in  their  present  state. — AT.  E.  Far. 


.SALERATUS. 

Use  as  little  of  this  pernicious  article 
as  pos.sible  about  your  household;  every 
particle  taken  into  the  stomach  is  inju- 
rious to  the  natural  functions.  This  has 
been  proved  beyond  doubt  by  careful 
tests  among  chemists. 


TO  MAKE  CRACKERS. 

Two  cups  of  flour,  one  cup  of  butter, 
(or  half  lard  and  half  butter,)  two  cups 
of  water,  two  teaspoonfuls  of  cream  of 
tartar,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda,  and  a  lit- 
tle salt.  They  require  only  a  common 
kneading  and  are  very  nice. 


THE  BEST. 

Never  grow  a  bad  variety  of  anything, 
if  you  can  help  it.  It  takes  the  same 
room,  and  wants  the  same  attention  as  a 
good  one.  Never  buy  cheap  seed.  Never 
waste  animal  or  vejjefable  refuse.  The 
very  soap-suds  from  the  laundry  are  rich 
manure. 


CORN  nUSKS  FOR  UNDER  BEDS. 

Corn  husks  for  this  purpose  are  too 
generally  undervalued.  Those  who  have 
used  such  beds  for  a  number  of  years 
speak  of  them  as  light,  cleanly,  durable 
and  generally  superior  to  under  beds 
made  of  any  other  material.  The  esti- 
mate of  the  value  of  one  such  bed  made 
by  a  lady  in  a  village,  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  a  farm  house  in  which 
several  such  were  in  use,  and  who  offer- 
ed a  farmer  acquaintJince  five  dollars  for 
one  well  filled,  was  probably  not  an  ex- 


travagant one.  And  if  of  this  value, 
might  not  the  labor  of  children,  as  also 
of  men  and  women  not  more  advantage- 
ously employed,  be  profitably  used  in 
taking  care  of  the  husks  for  this  pur- 
pose ?  Those  who  may  be  induced  to 
make  a  trial  of  this  mode  of  converting 
husks  into  most  desirable  articles  of 
household  comfort  and  convenience, 
should  be  particular  about  excluding  all 
the  outer  and  stiffer  husks,  allowing 
none  to  be  put  into  the  bed  save  the 
softer  and  smaller  ones.  Some  strip 
them  with  a  fork,  while  others,  with 
whom  we  should  agree,  use  them  whole. 


A  MOTHER'S  LOVE. 

In  some  spring  freshet,  a  river  widely 
washed  its  shores  and  rent  away  a  bough, 
whereon  a  bird  had  built  a  cottage  for 
her  summer  hopes.  Down  the  white 
and  whirling  stream,  drifted  the  green 
branch,  with  its  wicker  cup  of  unfledged 
song;  and  fluttering  beside  it,  as  it 
went,  the  mother  bird.  Unheeding  the 
roaring  river,  on  she  kept,  her  cries  of 
agony  and  fear  piercing  the  pauses  of 
the  storm.  How  like  the  love  of  the  old- 
fashioned  mother  who  followed  the  child 
she  had  plucked  from  her  heart,  all  over 
the  world.  Swept  away  by  passion,  thut 
might  be,  it  mattered  not;  bearing  away 
with  him,  the  fragments  of  the  shattered 
roof  tree,  though  he  did,  yet  that  mother 
was  with  him,  a  Ruth  through  all  his 
life,  and  a  Rachel  at  his  death. — Lamar- 
tine. 


PUMPKIN  BATTER. 

Wash  the  pumpkins  clean,  take  out 
the  seeds,  and  scrape  the  inside  out  with 
a  strong  iron  spoon.  Boil  till  sofr,  and 
rub  it  through  a  coarse  sieve.  Whm 
strained,  put  it  into  a  kettle  and  bod 
slowly  all  day,  stirring  it  often.  Put  in 
a  large  handful  of  salt.  When  nearly 
done,  add  a  pint  of  molasses,  or  a  pound 
of  sugar,  to  each  gallon  of  pumpkin.  Be- 
fore it  is  ([uite  done,  add  allspice,  cinna- 
mon, ginger  and  nutmeg,  one  or  all,  as 
3-ou  may  fancy.  Put  it  into  jars  when 
done — large  ones  are  best.  Tie  it  uj) 
tight,  and  it  will  keep  luitil  April  or 
May,  in  a  cold  place,  if  you  scald  it  when 
spring  comes  on.  It  is  a  good  sauce  for 
table  use,  and  is  always  ready  for  pies, 
with  the  usual  addition  of  salt  and  milk. 
It  is  nuich  less  trouble,  and  fur  better 
than  dried  pumpkin. — Gran.  State  Far. 


50 


EDITOR'S        TABL  E 


(Bdtor'^    iBi\b\t 


Progress — the  steady  and  earnest  ef- 
fort onward — may  well  be  selected  as  the 
distinguishing  feature  in  American  char- 
acter. 

To  assist  that  effoi't,  to  ease  the  diffi- 
culties that  beset  the  traveler,  and  to 
point  out  the  straight  road  where  cross- 
ways  meet,  should  be  the  watchful  duty 
of  the  journalist,  whatever  be  the  objects 
to  which  his  lucubrations  are  devoted. 

We  are  not  without  hope,  judging 
from  the  testimony  of  our  numerous 
friends,  that  our  past  efforts  in  the  pages 
of  this  journal  have  given  a  firm  helping 
hand  to  many  a  farmer,  and  answered 
the  expectations  of  other  readers  who 
turned  over  our  pages  for  information. 
Yet  if  we  have  satisfied  our  readers,  we 
have  not  always  been  successful  in  pleas- 
ing ourselves.  For  as  month  by  month 
has  rolled  on,  and  we  have  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  wants  of  our  friends 
from  their  numerous  letters  of  inquiry, 
we  have  ever  and  anon  felt  regret  that 
we  could  not  anticipate  all  their  require- 
ments. Nevertheless  we  have  thence  at 
least  gained  experience  ;  and  therein  we 
trust  we  have  the  ground- work  for  more 
amply  supplying  for  the  future  the  wants 
of  every  class  of  our  readers. 

With  this  object  in  view  we  have,  up- 
on entering  on  our  editorial  duties  for 
the  new  year,  determined  in  some  mea- 
sure to  remodel  the  arrangement  of  our 
joiirnal,  in  such  a  way  that  whilst  on 
the  one  hand  no  important  feature  of  it 
has  been  omitted,  on  the  other  the  vari- 
ous topics  discussed  have  been  so  classed 
together  and  separated  the  one  from  the 
other,  that  every  class  of  our  readers 
will  be  enabled  at  all  times  to  turn  read- 
ily to  the  subjects  that  for  the  moment 
become  the  special  matter  of  interest  to 
them. 

The  pages  of  this  number  will  show 
the  method  that  has  been  adopted,  and 


the  same  order  will  be  observed  in  the 
subsequent  numbers. 

Our  improvements  are  not  confined, 
however,  to  merely  typographical  ar- 
rangement. We  have  made  engage- 
ments which  will  enable  us  to  present 
our  readers  with  a  series  of  articles  of  a 
popular,  but  at  the  same  time,  scientific 
character,  connected  with  agriculture 
and  horticulture  which,  whilst  they  will 
be  written  with  special  reference  to  prac- 
tical utility,  will  also  afford  our  readers 
the  opportunity  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  scientific  principles  upon  which 
the  practice  depends.  The  importance 
of  such  knowledge  can  only  be  fully  ap- 
preciated by  those  who  possess  it ;  but 
when  presented  in  the  familiar  aspect  in 
which  we  hope  to  place  it  before  our 
readers,  we  feel  much  confidence  that  it 
will  prove  as  acceptable  to  them  as  it 
will  afford  pleasure  to  us  to  impart  it. 
The  man  who  does  a  thing  right  without 
knowing  tohi/,  may  be  a  lucky  man ;  but 
the  man  who  does  right  and  knows  loTiy, 
is  a  wise  man,  and  moreover  can  then 
repeat  his  past  practice. 

Many  a  luclcy  farmer  would  be  more 
lucky  still  if  he  were  a  wise  one.  Though 
far  from  wise  in  all  things  ourselves,  we 
should  be  unfit  to  fill  our  editorial  chair 
if  we  could  not  teach  something  at  least 
to  some  amongst  our  readers. 


We  are  able  to  promise  our  readers 
an  article  which  we  believe  will  be  of 
very  great  value,  in  our  February  num- 
ber, from  Capt.  Ralston,  Veterinary  Sur- 
geon in  the  British  Army,  on  the  struc- 
ture of  the  horse's  foot,  and  its  require- 
ments, with  regard  to  shoeing. 

The  subject  of  veterinary  surgery  is 
one  of  great  importance,  and  one  which 
has  till  of  late  been  sadly  neglected  in 
this  country.  We  are  glad  to  learn  that 
Capt.  R.  has  recently  lectured  on  the 


MISCELLANEOUS 


51 


subject  in  this  city,  that  his  lectures  are 
highly  appreciated  by  good  judges  of 
such  matters,  and  that  he  proposes  to  lec- 
ture in  other  places,  if  desired.  His  lec- 
tures arc  accompanied  with  admirable  il- 
lustrations of  the  organism  of  the  horse, 
and  are  eminently  scientific  and  instruc- 
tive, as  we  are  informed  by  persons  on 
whom  we  rely. 


J.  W.  Field,  an  eminently  successful 
cultivator  of  the  pear  in  Brooklyn,  we 
learn,  is  about  to  come  out  with  a  book 
on  the  cultivation  of  this  fruit,  which 
we  have  no  doubt  will  be  a  very  valuable 
work.  It  is  in  process  of  publication  by 
A.  0.  Moore,  140  Fulton  street,  N.  Y. 


TO  OUR  OLD  SUBSCRIBERS. 

We  have  more  to  say  in  another  place. 
We  will  only  say  here,  that  as  we  have 
lowered  our  price  from  $3  to  $2  for  sin- 
gle copies,  and  to  $1  50  for  clubs,  and 
as  we  now  offer  to  send  it  to  such  as  can 
not  conveniently  club  with  others  in  or- 
der to  economize  in  these  hard  times, 
seven  months  for  ^1,  fifteen  months  for 
$2,  and  two  )^ears  for  $3,  we  hope  they 
will  not  complain  of  our  urgency  to  adopt 
the  cash-in-advance  principle.  Low 
prices  and  pre-pay,  is  the  order  of  the 
day.  Well,  we  have  lowered  our  price, 
and  now  you  will  come  in  to  the  cash 
sj'^stem.  Let  us  hear  fi-om  you  this 
month. 


I—  I  ■  I  1^ 


isuIlaiuauK. 


THE  PAST  YEAR  AND  THE  PRESENT. 

BY    SENEX. 

Some  fifty  years  ago  there  lived  in  a 
famed  but  distant  city  an  old  man,  by  who 
dint  of  tact,  with  the  aid  of  keen  percep- 
tive faculties,  had  acquired  much  celebrity 
with  a  large  class  of  his  neighbors  as  some- 
thing between  a  prophet  and  a  fortune- 
teller. He  did  not,  however,  assume  the 
character  either  of  a  religious  fanatic  or 
of  a  crafty  disciple  of  Dr.  Faustus.  But 
he  was  well  read  iu  the  Scriptures,  he  had 
a  good  share  of  common  sense,  and  a  volu- 
ble tongue,  and  by  degrees  he  acquired  a 
fame  for  wise  sayings  and  for  capability  to 
advise,  which  he  owed  more  to  his  natural 
talents  and  a  loquacious  disposition  than 
to  any  less  worthy  means.  Being  advanced 
in  years,  and  his  lot  humble,  he  turned  the 
good  opinion  formed  of  him  to  the  account 
of  his  livelihood,  by  discussing  questions 
put  to  him  by  liis  visitors  in  a  frank  and 
nanly  spirit,  and  without  ever  demanding 
;'econipense,  he  was  ready  to  receive  any 
gratuity  that  was  offered  by  them  on  their 
departure.  Moreover,  his  advice  was 
always  if  not  valuable  at  least  good  in 
kind  ;  and  few  if  any  quitted  his  humble 
dwelling  without  leaving  their  good  wishes 
in  a  substantial  shape  ;  or  without  having 


also  formed  a  favorable  opinion  of  their 
mentor. 

So  considerable  became  this  good  man's 
fame,  at  length,  that  many  from  curiosity 
alone  were  induced  to  visit  him,  and  hear 
his  "  wise  sayings." 

His  counsel  was  usually  couched  in  short 
and  terse  sentences ;  frequently  in  proverbs, 
and  often  too  in  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
to  which  he  would  sometimes  refer  his  in- 
quirers for  passages  that  would  be  found 
ap2)licable,  he  stated,  to  their  case.  As 
these  passages  were  usually  selected  from 
the  Proverbs  and  other  portions  of  some- 
what similar  description,  which  contained 
some  rule  of  morals,  or  which  advocated 
Christian  duty,  he  seldom  failed  to  be 
right. 

Amongst  others  who  were  led  by  curios- 
ity to  this  wise  man  was  a  young  farmer, 
then  not  long  entered  upon  the  threshold 
of  life,  whom  after  some  of  the  Scripture 
references  above  adverted  to,  he  dismissed 
with  the  parting  advice,  "  To  keep  a  smil- 
ing countenance  and  a  good  exertion." 

The  young  farmer  lived  to  become  an 
old  man,  and  is  now  gathered  to  his 
fathers!  But  for  many  years  the  writer 
of  this  article  heard  him  from  time  to  time 
revert  with  pleasure  to  his  visit,  and  say 


52 


5ITSCELLANE0US. 


that  this  simple  aphorism  had  frequently 
cheered  him  in  the  hour  of  difficulty,  and 
that  the  thoughts  of  the  old  man's  con- 
tented countenance  and  encouraging  voice 
when  he  uttered  it,  had  gone  far  to  make 
him  place  confidence  in  his  counsel. 

The  past  year  has  been  one  to  many  of 
much  pain  and  distress,  to  most  of  great 
anxiety  and  labor.  The  signs  of  the  times 
have  called  for  unusual  exertion  both  of 
body  and  mind.  And  now  that  the  waves 
of  adversity  which  have  thus  ruthlessly 
swept  over  our  countiy,  have,  we  may 
reasonably  hope,  spent  their  violence  and 
given  way  to  less  turbulent  billows  that 
require  yet  time  to  settle  down  into  the 
calm  of  every  day  life,  let  us  look  around, 
survey  the  ravages  of  the  past  hurricane, 
and  see  whence  we  can  best  place  our  foot 
as  the  starting  point  for  our  onward  course 
of  duty. 

Firmness  of  principle,  and  courageous 
determination  must  be  the  banner  under 
which  we  renew  the  fight ;  can  we  do  bet- 
ter then  than  take  our  old  man's  counsel  ? 
"  To  keep  a  smiling  countenance  and  a 
good  exertion." 

Let  those  amongst  us  who  have  lost,  in 
the  late  struggle,  much,  may  be  all,  of  their 
hoarded  treasures,  reflect  on  the  blessings 
still  spared  to  them. 

Who  that  has  a  healthy,  cheerful  wife 
to  share  his  sorrows  as  she  does  his  pleas- 
ures would  wish  to  regain  his  worldly  loss 
at  the  price  of  her  languishing  frame 
stretched  out  upon  the  bed  of  sickness  ? 

Who  that  rejoices  in  a  son  springing 
forth  into  manhood,  a  blessing  to  his 
father,  the  joy  of  his  mother,  would  regain 
his  worldly  loss  at  the  cost  of  that  boy's 
debasement  in  vice  and  debauchery  ? 

Who  that  has  a  sister  or  a  daughter, 
happy  in  the  innocence  of  blooming  youth, 
the  pride  of  his  eyes,  the  sharer  of  his 
hours  of  recreation,  and  his  Sabbaths, 
would  regain  his  worldly  loss  at  the  price 
of  her  fall  from  honor  to  despair  ? 

Too  prone  are  we  all  to  brood  over  the 
clouds  of  our  atmosphere,  and  too  little  do 
we  keep  the  eye  of  hope  fixed  on  the  first 
sun-beam  that  pierces  through  to  disperse 
them.  Some  slight  glances  at  a  blacker 
picture  still,  go  far  to  deck  in  brighter 
hues  the  one  that  is  now  our  own. 


With  "  a  smiling  countenance  and  a  good 
exei:tion,"  let  every  one  of  us,  be  his  lot 
cast  as  it  may  chance  to  be  with  either  the 
Plough,  the  Loom  or  the  Anvil, — put  forth 
manfully  his  powers,  and  thankful  for  the 
blessing  yet  spared,  be  it  our  effort  in  our 
worldly  duties  to  follow  the  example  set 
us  in  higher  things,  "  forgetting  those 
things  that  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth 
unto  those  things  which  are  before,  let  us 
press  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize ;"  and 
if  we  thus  demean  ourselves  we  shall  not 
fail,  in  earthly  any  more  than  in  spiritual 
things,  to  obtain  our  reward. 

Let  one  and  all  then  commence  tliis  good 
new  year  resolving  throughout  its  course 
"To  keep  a  smiling  countenance  and  a 
good  exertion." 


WHO    LIVETH? 

'Tis  he  who  heals  the  wounded  breast 

And  wipes  away  the  mourner's  tear — 
Whose  words  of  tenderness  flow  forth 

As  fountains  in  a  desert  drear — 
Upon  whose  lip  Eternal  Truth 

Sits  'mid  a  world  of  sin  and  shame — 
Presiding  in  perjietual  youth. 

She  breathes  a  dying  Savior's  name. 

'Tis  he  who  stamps  upon  his  brain 

The  lore  of  glorious  aged  flee — 
Holding  high  converse  with  the  Past, 

And  dwelling  with  the  mighty  dead ! 
Stealing  true  inspiration's  fire 

From  Suns  that  never  can  go  down ; 
Chained  to  his  task  with  iron  zeal. 

And  wearing  Labor's  thorny  crown. 

'Tis  he  who  strikes  Apollo's  lyre. 

Whose  burning  songs  can  never  die — 
That  echo  through  the  vast  of  years, 

As  angel's  anthems  through  the  sky, 
Who  girt  by  woe  and  want  and  pain, 

In  a  dark  wilderness  of  years — 
Wins  an  imperishable  name — 

A  broken  hearted  Man  of  Tears. 


CONUNDRUM. 

Why  are  the  females  of  the  present  day 
like  the  lilly  in  the  scriptures  ? 

Because  "  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin ;  yet  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these." 

Very  true  of  a  part  of  the  sex,  and  it  is 
a  shame  that  it  should  be  so,  but  not  true 
of  the  sex  in  the  aggregate,  nor  true  com- 
paratively with  the  other  half  of  the  race. 
From  the  felling  of  the  first  tree  and  the 
building  of  the  first  cabin  on  this  continent 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


53 


to  the  present  time,  when  we  liave  become  a 
Efreat  country,  woman  lias  nobly  born  her 
part,  has  endured  and  toiled,  has  wrought 
lier  full  share  of  our  present  greatness. 
This  being  so,  the  more's  the  pity  that 
there  should  be  such  miserable  exceptions, 
as  give  point  and  force  to  the  above  con- 
undrum. 


EMPLOYEES. 
As  the  following  relates  to  a  matter  of 
general  interest  we  gladly  give  it  a  place 
ill  accordance  with  the  request  of  Mr. 
Mrace,  Secretary  of  the  Children's  Aid  So- 
ciety : 

TO    BOUSS   KEEPEBS    AND   FARMERS    AT 
TUB    WEST. 

It  has  long  been  the  greatest  complaint 
with  housekeepers  at  the  West,  that  suffi- 
cient female  help  could  not  be  obt«iined. 
There  are  now  in  our  city  thousands  of 
industrious,  sober  girls,  of  good  chai-acter, 
who  are  thrown  entirely  out  of  employ- 
nicnt.  Many  of  these  are  desii'ous  of  going 
to  the  West,  and  becoming  house  ser- 
vants or  domestics. 

The  difficulty  has  hitherto  been,  to  find 
some  responsible  medium  to  connect  those 
without  work  and  those  wanting  work 
done.  The  .Children's  Aid  Society  has  de- 
termined— though  the  effort  is  somewhat 
out  of  its  usual  field — to  attempt  during 
this  season  to  connect  this  supply  and  de- 
mand. To  do  this,  and  to  aid  these  thou- 
sands of  poor  girls,  the  West  must  also 
lend  a  hand.  They  must  not  expect  well- 
trained  servants  in  these  girls,  as  they  are 
not  accustomed  to  house  labor ;  still  they 
are  willing  and  able  to  learn,  and  only 
need  patience  and  kindness.  Every  allow- 
ance should  be  made  for  mistakes  and 
dflays  in  the  beginning  of  such  an  enter- 
prise. Those  applying  must  send  the  fares, 
as  far  as  they  are  able ;  in  all  eases  the  So- 
ciety will  return  the  money  if  no  girl  is 
found  to  answer  in  general  the  description 
forwarded.  Let  not  that,  which  is  said  to 
have  broken  down  all  j)revious  enterprises 
of  this  kind,  ruin  this — the  utter  neglect 
of  the  West  itself  to  give  a  helping  hand. 
It  is  an  effort  to  benefit  both  sides ;  the  un- 
employed here,  and  the  families  there. 

All  letters  must  be  addressed  to  Branch 
Office,  Children's  Aid  Society,  Clinton 
Hall,  Astor  Place,  New -York, 

The  applications  enclosing  fares  will  al- 
ways be  attended  to  first.  There  will  be 
an  understanding,  and,  if  possible,  a  writ- 
ten agreement  with  each  girl,  that  her  fare 
is  to  be  deducted  from  her  wages. 

Parties  applying  will  state  exactly  their 
wants,    the    wages    offered,    their    town. 


county  and  State,  and  the  cheapest  and 
l)est  way  of  reaching  the  place.  References 
from  the  clergyman,  magistrate,  or  other 
responsible  persons  of  the  town  will  in  all 
cases  be  demanded.  It  will  be  the  en- 
deavor of  the  Society  to  send  out  none  but 
girls  with  good  references,  and  who  are 
represented  to  be  of  good  character. 

C.  L.  Brace,  Sec, 


LECTURES. 

The  long  winter  evenings  are  fast  ap- 
proaching, and  still  the  question  of  a 
course  of  lectures,  whether  we  shall  have 
them  or  not,  is  unsettled.  We  are  in- 
formed by  the  committee,  tliat  about  one 
hundred  dollars  more  is  necessary'  than  is 
now  subscribed,  in  order  to  warrant  them 
in  going  forward  and  making  the  neces- 
sary arrangements  for  a  complete  course  of 
lectures.  We  know  the  times  are  hard ; 
but  because  they  are  so,  shall  we  deprive 
ourselves  of  either  food  for  the  body  or 
food  for  the  mind?  There  is  scarcely  a 
person  of  any  grade  of  intellectual  capaci- 
ty, but  would  be  instructed  and  amused 
double  the  value  of  the  cost  of  a  ticket. 
Every  man  who  has  a  family  should  pur- 
chase tickets  for  them,  and  as  we  stated 
last  j'ear,  no  young  single  man  can  better 
show  his  liberalit}'  and  gallantry  than  by 
purchasing  tickets  for  two,  and  inviting  a 
lady  friend  to  share  the  mental  feast. 

We  copy  the  above  from  the  Brockport 
Republic,  not  because  we  suppose  that  vil- 
lage behind  all  others  in  the  matter  of  in- 
struction by  lectures,  but  because  we  fear 
that  many  villages  are  behind  that ;  and 
we  say  to  parents,  provide  this  instructive 
amusement,  or  amusing  instruction,  which- 
ever you  please  to  call  it,  for  your  chil- 
dren. Get  some  of  the  favorite  lecturers. 
It  is  a  great  treat  to  hear  an  Everett,  a 
Phillips,  or  a  Symmes.  But  get  more  lec- 
turers, who  are  sen.sible  and  sufficiently 
amusing,  and  will  lecture  these  hard  times 
at  cheaper  rates.  Why  should  not  all 
courses  of  miscellaneous  lectures  embrace 
at  least  two  on  agriculture  and  one  or  two 
on  the  mechanic  arts  ?  Surely  these  sub- 
jects are  not  without  interest. — Ed. 

CLEANING  SADDLES,  ETC. 
The  follo\\ing  is  a  good  recipe  which 
will  give  saddles  and  bridles  a  good  polish, 
and  be  entirely  free  from  all  stickiness: — 
The  whites  of  three  eggs  evaporated  till 
the  substance  left  resembles  tlic  common 
gum,  dissolved  in  a  pint  of  gin,  and  jiut 
into  a  common  wine  bottle,  and  filled  up 
with  water. 


54 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


LEAVES  AS  MANURE. 

No  manure  is  so  well  worth  saving  in 
October  and  November  as  the  now  falling 
leaves  of  the  season.  According  to  Payne 
they  contain  nearly  three  times  as  much 
nitrogen  as  ordinary  barn-yard  manure; 
and  every  gardener  who  has  strewn  and 
covered  them  in  his  trenches  late  in  the 
fall  or  in  December,  must  have  noticed  the 
next  season  how  black  and  moist  the  soil 
is  that  adheres  to  the  thrifty  young  beets 
he  pulls.  No  vegetable  substance  yields 
its  woody  fibre  and  becomes  soluble  quick- 
er than  leaves,  and  from  this  very  cause 
they  are  soon  dried  up,  scattered  to  the 
winds  and  wasted,  if  not  now  gathered  and 
trenched  in,  or  composted  before  the  ad- 
vent of  severe  winter. — Ex. 

The  value  of  leaves  is  rather  overstated 
in  the  above.  Nevertheless  they  possess 
a  great  value.  Those  about  the  premises 
should  be  thrown  into  the  pig-pen  or  the 
barn-yard,  or  what  is  better,  preserved  for 
litter  in  the  stalls.  In  an  open  forest,  with 
no  under-brush,  they  may  be  drawn  into 
large  heaps,  with  great  facility,  if  taken 
when  wet  after  a  rain,  by  a  yoke  of  cattle 
and  a  scraper  made  from  a  plank  10  or  12 
feet  long  and  one  or  two  wide,  and  cleats 
nailed  across  for  handles.  An  ingenious 
man  will  make  such  an  implement  while 
the  boy  is  yoking  the  oxen.  An  immense 
quantity  can  be  gathered  in  a  day ;  and 
if  a  little  lime  be  mixed  with  them,  they 
will  be  ready  to  compost  in  the  spring; 
but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  forest 
trees  will  suffer  by  taking  off  their  natural 
aliment. — Ed. 


GOOD  ADVICE  TO  FARMERS. 

The  following  beautiful  passage  is  from 
George  Bierce's  late  address  at  Twinsburg. 
His  closing  is  peculiarly  beautiful : 

Let  the  farmer's  motto  be,  then,  "  good 
farms,  good  stock,  good  seed  and  good  cul- 
tivation." Make  farming  a  science  in 
which  your  heads  as  well  as  your  hands 
are  employed ;  let  there  be  system  and 
reason  in  all  your  operations;  study  to 
make  your  farms  beautiful  and  your  lands 
lovely ;  entice,  by  kindness,  the  birds  to 
visit  and  cheer  your  dwellings  with  their 
music ;  I  would  not  associate  with  the  man 
or  boy  that  would  wantonly  kill  the  birds 
that  cheerfully  sing  around  our  dwellings 
and  our  farms ;  he  is  fitted  for  treason  and 
murder.  Who  does  not,  with  the  fresh- 
ness of  early  morning,  call  up  the  memoi'y 
of  the  garden  of  his  infancy  and  child- 


hood? the  robin's  nest  in  the  old  cherry 
tree,  and  the  nest  of  young  chirping  birds 
in  the  currant  bushes  ?  the  flowers  planted 
by  his  mother,  and  nurtured  by  his  sis- 
ters ?  In  all  our  wanderings  the  memory 
of  childhood's  birds  and  flowers  are  asso- 
ciated with  our  mother  and  sister  and  our 
early  home.  As  you  would  have  your 
children  intelligent  and  happy,  and  their 
memory  in  after  life,  of  early  home,  plea- 
sant or  repulsive,  so  make  your  farms  and 
your  children's  home. 


BE  GENTLEMEN  A.T  HOME. 

There  are  few  families,  we  imagine,  any- 
where, in  which  love  is  not  abused  as 
furnishing  the  license  for  impolitenest^. 
A  husband,  father,  or  brother  will  speak 
harsh  words  to  those  he  loves  best,  and 
those  who  love  him  best,  simply  because 
the  security  of  love  and  family  pride 
keeps  him  from  getting  his  head  broken. 
It  is  a  shame  that  a  man  will  speak  more 
impolitely,  at  times,  to  his  wife  or  sister, 
than  he  would  to  any  other  female  except 
a  low  and  vicious  one.  It  is  thus  that  the 
honest  affections  of  a  man's  nature  prove 
to  be  a  weaker  protection  to  a  woman  in 
the  family  circle  than  the  restraints  of  so- 
ciety, and  that  a  woman  usually  is  indebted 
for  the  kindest  politeness  of  life  to  those 
not  belonging  to  her  own  household. 
Things  ought  not  so  to  be.  Tie  man  who, 
because  it  will  not  be  resented,  inflicts  his 
spleen  and  bad  temper  upon  those  of  his 
hearth-stone,  is  a  small  coward  and  a  very 
mean  man.  Kind  words  are  circulating 
mediums  between  true  gentlemen  and  la- 
dies at  home,  and  no  polish  exhibited  in 
society  can  atone  for  the  harsh  language 
and  disrespectful  treatment  too  often  in- 
dulged in  between  those  bound  together 
by  God's  own  ties  of  blood,  and  the  still 
more  sacred  bonds  of  conjugal  love. 


RICE  MILK. 

Wash  a  pint  of  rice  in  two  waters.  Add 
half  a  pound  of  good  raisins  carefully 
picked  and  cleansed,  and  boil  well;  pour 
off  the  water,  and  mix  one  quart  of  rich 
milk  with  the  rice  by  stirring.  Put  again 
on  the  fire,  and  allow  it  to  boil  again  for 
five  minutes,  and  mix  with  it  four  table 
spoonfuls  of  brown  sugar,  and  two  eggs 
beaten  light  stirring  well,  and  after  tlie 
ingredients  are  thoroughly  mixed,  boil  for 
five  minutes  longer,  and  the  dish  is  ready 
to  serve. 


Sunflower  seeds  are  said  to  be  the 
best  known  remedy  for  founder  in  horses. 
As  soon  as  ascertained  he  is  foundered,  mix 
one  pint  of  the  seed  whole  with  the  feed, 
and  an  entire  cure  may  be  expected. 


MONTHLY       REVIEW 


66 


GREAT  ENTERPRISE. 
A  GIGANTIC  enterprise  is  now  going  on  in 
Holland,  being  nothing  less  than  blocking 
up  two  arms  of  the  sea,  and  replacing  them 
by  a  navigable  canal  for  merchant  vessels 
of  the  largest  burthen.  By  this  operation 
an  extent  of  land  of  14,000  hetares  (35,000 
acres,)  of  the  finest  quality  will  be  gained 
from  the  Scheldt.  This  canal,  which  will 
be  completed  in  the  course  of  two  years, 
crosses  the  island  of  Sud-Bevoland,  be- 
tween the  villages  of  llanswert,  on  the 
western  branch  of  the  Scheldt,  and  Wem- 
erdins  on  the  eastern. 


SOUP,  BEEF  TEA,  MUTTON 
BROTH,  ETC. 
In  the  preparation  of  these,  our  object  is 
the  reverse  of  that  which  has  been  pre- 
viously considered.  "VVe  desire  to  take  the 
nutritive  and  savory  principles  out  of  the 
meat,  to  a  liquid  extract  of  meat,  in  the 
form  of  soup,  broth  or  tea ;  the  flesh  is 
finely  chopped  and  placed  in  cold  water, 
which  is  then  slowlj'  heated  and  kept  boil- 
ing for  a  few  minutes,  when  it  is  strained 
and  pressed.  In  this  manner  we  obtain 
the  very  strongest  and  best  flavored  soup 
which  can  be  made  from  flesh.  Liebig 
eays :  *'  When  one  pound  of  lean  beef,  free 
of  fat,  and  separated  from  the  bones,  in 
the  finely  divided  state  in  which  it  is  used 
for  beef-^usages  or  mince  meat,  is  uni- 
formly mLxed  with  its  own  weight  of  cold 
water,  slowly  heated  to  boiling,  and  the 
liquid,  after  boiling  briskly  for  a  minute  or 
two,  is  strained  through  a  towel  from  the 
coagulated  albumen  and  fibrin,  now  be- 
come hard  and  horny,  we  obtain  an  equal 
weight  of  the  most  aromatic  soup  of  such 
strength  as  can  not  be  obtained,  even  by 
boiling  for  hours  from  a  piece  of  flesh." 
To  make  the  best  article  it  is  desirable  not 
to  boil  it  long,  as  the  effect  is  to  coagulate 
and  render  insoluble  that  which  was  ex- 
tracted by  cold  water,  and  which  should 
have  been  dissolved  in  the  soup.  It  is 
obvious  from  what  has  been  said,  that  a 
piece  of   meat  introduced  undivided  into 


boiling  water,  merely  thickens  and  appar- 
ently enriches  the  soup.  This  is  effected 
by  the  gelatin,  which  is  gradually  extract- 
ed from  the  tissues,  bones  and  other  parts, 
but  in  a  nutritive  point  of  view,  this  in 
gredient  is  a  fiction,  as  will  be  shown. 
Soup  making  is  a  kind  of  analysis  of  ali- 
mentary substances  used  in  its  preparation 
— a  part  is  taken  and  a  residue  usually  re- 
jected. Yet  it  is  clear  that  we  shall  have 
the  corapletest  nourishment  by  taking  both 
parts,  as  the  fibre  of  meat  and  the  soft- 
ened peas  and  beans  of  their  respective 
soups. 

FORNWALDER. 

The  true  name  of  the  apple  which  a  cor- 
respondent in  Uppor-Merion  asks  for,  and 
which  he  says  is  sometimes  called  Fall 
of  Water,  Fallawater,  Polly  Wolly,  Fally 
Wolly,  etc.,  is  Fornwalder.  It  was  origin- 
ated by  a  man  so  named,  near  Reading,  Pa. 


|J^°  Sandy  land  is  productive  in  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  fossils  in  the  rocks 
of  which  the  sand  is  made ;  but  it  is,  in  all 
cases,  leachy,  and  requires  lime,  clay  and 
ashes  to  puddle  it ;  otherwise  manure  will 
soak  through,  and  do  but  little  good. 


OUTSIDER  IN. 

In  a  country  playhouse,  after  the  play 
was  over,  and  most  wretchedly  performed, 
an  actor  came  upon  the  stage  to  give  out 
the  next  play.  "  Pray,  what  is  the  name 
of  the  piece  you  have  played  tonight?" 
said  a  gentleman.  "  The  Stage  Coach,  sir." 
"  Then  let  me  know  when  you  perform 
it  again,  that  I  may  be  an  outside  pas- 
senger." 

The  Berks  County  (Pa.)  Snow  was  a 
great  success.  It  lasted  four  days,  and 
more  than  four  thousand  dollars  was  re- 
ceived at  the  gates!  It  is  spoken  of  as 
the  best  county  fair  ever  held  in  the  State. 
Bravo ! 


ont^la   f\^H^to. 


The  weather  to  this  time,  Dec.  27th,  has 
been  remarkably  mild,  with  none  or  few 
storms.  Here  in  New-York  we  should 
hardly  know  it  is  winter  but  for  the  al- 
manac. As  there  are  more  of  the  improvi- 
dent and  the  poor  here  than  almost  any- 


where else  this  is  a  great  mercy,  and 
should  be  so  regarded  at  this  time  of  general 
depression,  when  employers  are  living,  if 
at  all,  on  past  earnings,  when  many  who 
have  heretofore  contributed  to  the  general 
beneficence  are  utterly  unable  to  give,  and 


56 


MONTHLY      REVIEW 


when  some,  whose  charities  have  been 
wont  to  flow  in  a  broad  stream,  are  now 
themselves  almost  the  objects  of  charity. 

But  the  times  are  brightening.  Money- 
is  beginning  to  show  itself.  Business, 
though  dull  at  present,  will  soon  revive. 
The  factories  are  letting  on  the  water  or 
steam,  and  setting  the  machinery  in  motion. 
Men  out  of  employment  will  soon  be  earn- 
ing  their  living,  and  contributing  to  the 
general  wealth.  If  the  signs  of  returning 
activity  and  confidence  do  not  prove  falla- 
cious, as  some  predict,  but  as  we  hope  will 
not  be  the  case,  it  will  be  a  remarkable 
proof  of  the  energy  of  the  American  people ; 
for  if  we  can  easily  outride  the  tempest 
created  by  our  exhorbitant  issue  of  paper 
money  and  our  consequent  extravagance, 
and  over-trading,  and  too  fast  living,  it 
would  seem  as  if  we  were  equal  to  any 
emergency. 

Crime,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  rife  among 
us.  No  less  than  four  men  are  now  under 
sentence  of  death  in  this  city,  and  we  be- 
lieve that  if  all  who  as  richly  deserve 
hanging  were  to  experience  it,  the  number 
would  be  forty  instead  of  four.  But  when 
we  consider  what  an  asylum  our  country 
is  for  vagabonds  from  other  lands,  and  that 
a  large  share  of  the  atrocities  over  which 
we  mourn  are  perpetrated  by  men  trained 
under  other  forms  of  government  and  other 
religious  arrangements  than  our  own,  the 
abundance  of  crime  and  rascality  need  not 
Bhake  our  confidence  either  in  republican 
institutions  or  in  religious  freedom.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  crime,  as  confined  to  na- 
tive Americans,  those  who  have  grown  up 
under  the  influence  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  is  on  the  increase.  We  hope  it  is 
not,  and  that  future  developments  will 
fully  vindicate  our  institutions  against  the 
charge  of  a  demoralizing  tendency,  which 
certain  parties  abroad  would  fix  upon 
them. 

There  is  always  a  tendency  to  compare 
the  present  unfavorably  with  the  past. 
Homer's  heroes  at  the  siege  of  Troy  could 
tell  of  greater  heroes  in  a  previous  age.  It 
has  always  been  so;  men  were  larger, 
stronger,  better  in  the  olden  time.  So  tra- 
dition has  always  said,  but  has  not  always 
said  it  truly.     We  do  not  believe  we  are 


degenerating,  growing  old,  decaying  so 
fast  as  the  London  Times  and  some  other 
foreign  journals  would  have  the  world  be- 
lieve. There  is  some  reason  to  suspect  that 
they  wish  to  have  it  so,  and  that  the  wish 
is  father  of  the  thought.  Nevertheless  we 
shall  do  well  to  heed  the  warnings.  Every 
American  citizen  shoiild  feel  that  he  has 
something  to  do  in  deciding  our  future, 
whether  we  are  to  be  a  virtuous,  intelli- 
gent, moral  and  religious  people,  capable  of 
self-government,  or  to  be  ignorant,  immoral 
and  debased,  fit  only  to  be  the  subjects  of 
a  despot.  If  one  thing  is  more  evident 
than  another,  it  is,  that  without  the  just 
restraints  of  religion,  without  morality, 
without  a  high  toned  respect  for  integrity 
of  life,  no  people  can  long  avoid  the  pres- 
sure of  a  tyrant's  foot. 

England,  as  the  intelligence  of  the  last 
month  has  come  in,  stands  fully  vindicated 
on  the  score  of  bravery.  But  alas,  that 
her  men  in  power  should  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  be  more  revoltingly  cruel  than 
the  sepoys  themselves.  That  the  latter 
deserved  to  be  blown  into  shreds  before  the 
cannon's  mouth,  there  is  little  doubt.  But 
why  should  Christian  England  exercise 
such  implacable  revenge?  Would  she 
drink  water,  like  her  Druid  ancestors,  from 
the  skulls  of  her  enemies?  Ler  her  remem- 
ber that  the  East  Indians  have  some  reasons 
for  hating  her.  We  remember  hearing  it 
shown  by  one  of  her  lords,  in  the  House 
of  Peers,  that  the  excise  on  salt  had  been 
so  high  for  more  than  twenty  years  that 
the  people  there  were  compelled  to  forego 
its  iise — were  actually  driven  from  the 
privilege  of  evaporating  their  own  sea- 
water,  and  eating  salt  on  their  meat. 
There  is  something  to  be  said  for  the  rebels. 
Let  England  remember  this.  If  her  peo- 
ple do  not  raise  one  long,  loud,  distinct 
voice  of  dissent  from  the  revengeful  cruel- 
ties of  her  army,  we  shall  be  more  glad 
than  ever  that  we  are  far  from  the  swoop 
of  her  power.  Englishmen  have  often 
told  us  that  the  present,  living  England  is 
not  the  same  England  that  inflicted  direful 
cruelties  on  our  fathers,  and  that  would 
have  hung  our  best  men  as  traitors  if  she 
could  have  got  hold  of  them ;  and  we  have 
been  inclined  to  believe  it ;  but  if  her  peo- 


MARKETS 


51 


pie  consent  to  the  late  doings  of  her  brave 
army,  we  shall  fear  that  England  is  not 
much  better  now  than  in  the  days  of  Lord 
North  and  George  III.,  and  we  shall  thank 
God  more  fervently  than  ever  that  we  are 
not  in  her  power.  We  confess  to  a  disap- 
pointment in  hearing  no  more  signs  of  dis- 
sent from  the  people  to  the  tragedies  in 
the  East  after  victory,  but,  perhaps,  it  is 
only  because  we  have  had  little  time  to 
read  the  news.  The  English  government 
is  not  the  god  of  all  India.  Why  do  not 
the  English  people  tell  it  so,  loud  enough 
for  all  the  world  to  hear  1 

Agriculture  has  received  a  check  for  the 
present  in  the  low  prices  of  agricultural 
products.  Our  sympathies  are  with  the 
farmers.  The  calculations  which  they 
made  when  putting  in  the  seed  will  not  be 


verified.  But  after  all  are  they  better  off 
than  others?  Let  them  remember  that 
not  a  few  profit  by  lower  prices  than  we 
liave  had  for  the  past  few  years ;  and  let 
them  build  their  future  hopes  rather  on 
cheap  production  than  on  high  prices,  and 
the  present  discouragement  may  in  the 
long  run  redound  to  their  benefit. 

The  people  of  this  great  city  seem  to  be 
enjoying  the  holidays  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  Some  will,  undoubtedly,  re- 
ceive less  costly  presents  than  usual. 
Many,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  make 
princely  gifts,  will  now  be  compelled  to 
ask  that  the  will  be  taken  for  the  deed; 
and  if  there  is  good  will — love  and  friend- 
ship sincere — it  will  be  about  as  well,  and 
all  will  be  happy.  May  our  friends  be  so 
all  over  the  country'. 


a  r  lu  t  s 


NEW-YORK  STOCK  MARKET. 

The  average  number  of  beeves  brought 
to  the  market  of  New-York  weekly  is 
3548.  Number  for  week  ending  December 
15,  2972;  for  the  week  ending  December 
22,  2497.  Prices,  former  week,  from  6^ 
cents  for  the  poorest  to  lOf,  for  the  best, 
averaging  from  8J  to  8^ ;  for  the  latter 
week,  from  7  for  the  poorest  to  11^  for  the 
best,  averaging  a  trifle  higher  than  pre- 
vious week.  Beef  cattle  were  sold  in  this 
market  by  the  weight  of  the  four  quarters, 
rejecting  the  fifth  quarter,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  the  hide  and  tallow. 

It  is  common  here  to  estimate  the  weight 
of  the  four  quarters,  when  cattle  are  sold 
by  estimate,  as  56  lbs.  to  100  lbs.  of  live 
weight,  in  medium  cattle,  but  more  in 
those  above  medium  and  less  in  those 
below. 

Thus,  if  an  ox  weighing  800  lbs.  of  beef, 
hide,  100  lbs.,  and  tallow  100,  if  sold  here 
for  $100,  would  be  quoted  at  12^  cents,  the 
price  he  brings  per  pound,  reckoning  only 
the  four  quarters;  whereas  if  the  same  ox 
were  sold  in  Boston  or  some  other  city, 
where  a  different  practice  prevails,  for  the 
same  price,  the  hide  and  tallow  would  be 


reckoned  in,  and  the  quotation  would  be 
10  cents  per  pound. 

A  person  not  acquainted  with  these  facts 
would  be  led  to  suppose  that  beef  in 
Boston  was  always  from  2  to  3  cents  per 
pound  lower  than  in  New-York,  whereas 
it  is  probably  higher  in  Boston,  the  aver- 
age of  beeves  taken  to  that  market,  bring, 
we  believe,  a  little  better  than  of  those 
brought  to  this. 

Milch  cows,  with  calves  at  their  side 
sold  last  week  for  $25  to  $30  for  common  ; 
$40  to  $50  for  good ;  $50  to  $60  for  extras ; 
and  a  trifle  higher  this  week. 

Veal  calves  sold  last  week  at  4^  to  7 
cents  per  pound,  live  weight,  according  to 
quality ;  this  week  at  the  same,  or  a  trifle 
more. 

Last  week  sheep  and  lambs  sold  from 
6  to  10  cents  per  pound,  net  weight.  A 
considerable  advance  upon  the  previous 
week.  This  week  mutton  is  coming  in 
plentifully,  and  prices  remain  just  about 
the  spmc  as  last  week.  Sheep  will  dress, 
if  fat,  55  lbs.,  and  sometimes  as  higli  as 
60  lbs,  100  lbs.  live  weight.  Usually  about 
half 

Tlie  price  of  swine  last  week  was  about 
5^  cents,  gross,  and  from  6  to  6f,  net,  for 
corn  fed.  Market  not  as  well  supplied  thia 
week,  and  prices  advancing. 


68 


PATENTS. 


''§,tttnt  f  atents. 


Churns. — Benjamin  Beers,  of  New-Fair- 
field,  Conn. :  I  claim  a  rotating  dasher 
with  spring  floats,  constructed  and  ar- 
ranged substantially  as  described,  so  as  to 
churn  the  cream  and  work  the  butter,  sub- 
stantially in  the  manner  set  forth. 

Corn  Planters. — J.  H.  Bonham,  of  Eliz- 
abethtown,  0. :  I  claim  a  conical  seed  re- 
servoir, G,  in  combination  with  the  caps 
or  disks,  A,  figs.  4  and  8,  operated  by  the 
handle,  x,  and  constructed  and  arranged  in 
the  manner  and  for  the  purpose  set  forth. 

I  also  claim  the  conducting  spout,  F,  in 
combination  with  tilting  pins,  I,  and  block 
or  bottom,  E,  constructed  and  arranged  as 
set  forth. 

Cutting  Apparatus  of  Mowing  Machines. 
— Chester  Bullock,  of  Jamestown,  N".  Y. : 
I  claim  first.  The  mode  described  of  at- 
tacking the  cutters  to  guard  teeth,  and  to 
the  cutter  bar,  in  combination  with  the 
shortening  lip,  b,  by  which  I  am  enabled 
to  readily  detach  said  cutters  for  grinding 
or  for  other  purposes  as  set  forth. 

Second,  A  hollowed  cutter,  so  arranged 
in  connection  with  other  parts  as  to  pre- 
sent the  same  or  nearly  the  same  cutting 
angle  in  every  part  of  the  stroke,  when  the 
teeth  are  hinged  to  their  axes,  a,  forward 
of  the  cutting  parts  as  set  forth. 

Treating  Hemp,  Flax  and  other  Fibrous 
Material. — J.  W.  Burton,  of  Eye,  England, 
and  George  Pye,  of  Ipswich,  England. 
Patented  in  England  March  20,  1856:  We 
do  not  claim  merely  heating  or  boiling  fi- 
ber in  water. 

But  we  claim  the  described  mode  of 
treating  flax  or  fibrous  matters  requiring 
like  treatment,  the  same  consisting  in  sub- 
jecting such  as  described  to  the  action  of 
a  press,  and  to  water  impregnated  with 
Fuller's  earth  and  heated  or  boiled. 

Seed  Planters. — James  Carroll,  of  La- 
porte,  0. :  I  claim  the  employment  of  the 
handle,  B,  furnished  with  a  discharge  pas- 
sage, in  combination  with  a  slide,  f,  which 
,has  a  hand  trigger,  n,  and  with  the  pecu- 
liar conducting  tube.  A,  which  is  furnished 
with  shares,  a  a,  substantially  as  set  forth. 

Plows. — Jarvis  Case,  of  Springfield  111. : 
I  claim  hinging  the  tongue  to  the  beam  of 
a  plow,  and  extending  a  lever  or  lever 
seat,  from  one  to  the  other,  so  that  the 
driver  mounted  on  the  plow  may,  by  said 
lever,  throw  the  plow  or  plows  out  of  the 
ground,  as  set  forth. 

I  also  claim  supporting  the  front  of  the 


beam  on  the  center  of  an  axle,  c,  supported 
in  wheels,  c  c,  so  that  said  beam  may  be 
raised  or  lowered  on  said  axle,  but  not  af- 
fected by  the  passing  of  said  wheels  over 
the  rough  ground,  as  set  forth  and  ex- 
plained. 

Agricultural  Forks.  —  Charles  Clow, 
Abram  Clow,  and  Charles  N.  Clow,  of  Port 
Byron,  N.  Y. :  "We  are  aware  that  manure 
forks  have  been  constructed  with  cast  mal- 
leable iron  heads,  with  sockets  for  the 
tines;  but  in  all  such  forks  the  sockets 
have  been  parallel  with  the  sockets  in 
in  which  the  handle  was  inserted,  which 
can  not  be  done  with  barley  forks,  for  rea- 
sons heretofore  given. 

"We  therefore  wish  it  expressly  under- 
stood that  we  do  not  claim  a  fork  con- 
structed with  a  cast  malleable  iron  head  of 
itself  considered,  nor  any  such  head  in 
which  the  sockets  for  the  tines  are  parallel 
to  the  socket  in  which  the  handle  is  in- 
serted. 

But  we  clain  jointing  the  bow,  E,  on  to 
the  head,  for  the  purpose  and  in  the  man- 
ner substantially  as  described. 

Planing  Machine.  —  John  D.  Dale,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa. :  I  disclaim  all  parts  sep- 
arately of  the  before  described  machine 
that  are  not  hereinafter  specifically  claim- 
ed by  me. 

But  I  claim,  first,  The  arrangement  as 
described  by  which  the  support  rollers. 
No.  17,  and  the  feed  roller,  C,  are  raised, 
and  the  carriage,  E,  simultaneously  secur- 
ed, whereby  I  make  a  permanent  bed  and 
continuous  feed,  and  by  lowering  the 
same,  I  make  a  reciprocating  moving  bed 
plate  or  carriage,  and  am  enabled  to 
change  from  one  to  the  other,  at  the  will 
of  the  operator. 

Second,  I  claim  the  arrangement,  where- 
by an  adjustable  cutting  head.  No.  37,  is 
formed  on  the  end  of  the  movable  carriage, 
E,  for  the  uses  and  purposes  as  described. 

Third,  I  also  claim  the  combination  and 
arrangement  of  the  method  set  forth  for 
attaching  side  cutters,  by  which  they  are 
both  rendered  adjustable  in  the  manner 
specified  and  described  by  letters,  G  G,  re- 
presenting cranes  supporting  the  side  cut- 
ters hanging  on  arms,  K  K,  supported  and 
adjusted  by  guide  braces,  L  L,  and  screw 
nuts,  J  J,  all  for  the  purpose  and  in  the 
manner  set  forth  and  described. 

Fourth,  I  also  claim  the  particular  ar- 
rangements in  combination,  by  which  the 
pressure  bar,  N,  and  the  transverse  bar,  Q, 
are  made  to  raise,  and  by  which  they  are 


PATENTS 


59 


made  to  correspond  with  the  circumference 
of  the  rotary  cutter  by  raising  the  superior 
feed  roller,  D,  for  the  purpose  as  set  forth. 

Machine  for  Boring  Hubs. — Zini  Doo- 
little.  Perry,  Ga. :  I  do  not  claim  the  use 
of  a  shaft  or  a  knife  set  in  the  shaft ;  nei- 
ther do  I  claim  the  yokes,  F  F,  or  feed 
spring,  H. 

But  I  claim  the  employment  of  a  hollow 
sliaft,  the  rod,  C,  and  the  projection,  a, 
with  the  nut,  E,  for  the  purpose  of  expand- 
ing the  cutter,  B,  when  the  whole  is  ar- 
ranged as  shown,  substantially  for  the 
»        purpose  specified. 

Life  Preservers. — A.  J,  Gibson,  of  Wor- 
cester, Mass. :  I  do  not  claim  the  belt,  nor 
do  I  claim  the  construction  of  an  inflated 
life-preserver  with  separate  air  chambers  ; 
neither  do  I  claim|(if  itself  the  use  of  buoy- 
ant paddles  fitted  and  attached  to  the 
hands  as  an  aid  in  swimming. 

But  I  claim  a  life-preserver,  composed  of 
a  belt.  A,  arm  floats,  B  B,  and  buoyant 
paddles,  C  C,  arranged  and  connected  and 
furnished  with  straps  or  their  equivalents 
to  attach  it  to  the  person,  substantially  as 
described. 

Machine  for  Cutting  Metallic  Bars. — 
Samuel  Hall,  of  New-York  City  :  I  claim 
the  employment  of  one  or  more  revolving 
shear  blades,  fastened  to  the  end  or  face  of 
a  revolving  hollow  cylinder  as  described, 
in  combination  with  a  stationai-y  shear 
blade  or  blades  for  the  purpose  described. 

Printing  Press. — Charles  W.  Hawkes,  of 
Boston,  Mass. :  I  claim,  first.  The  cam  lever, 
C,  operated  by  a  vibrating  platen,  sub- 
Btantially  in  the  manner  and  for  the  pur- 
pose set  forth. 

Second,  I  claim  securing  carriage  ways 
to  the  adjustable  bed,  so  that  when  the 
bed  is  moved  by  altering  the  impression 
the  roller  carriage  will  move  with  it,  and 
keep  the  rollers  always  in  a  proper  posi- 
tion to  roll  the  form  evenlj",  in  combina- 
tion with  the  roller  carriage,  substantially 
as  described  and  set  forth. 

Third,  I  claim  the  nipper  lever  operat- 
ing in  the  manner  and  for  the  purpose  set 
forth. 

Fourth,  I  claim  the  trip,  in  combination 
with  the  ni|)])er  lever,  Bubstantially  in  the 
manner  and  for  the  purpose  specified. 

Fifth,  I  cluim  the  combination  and  ar- 
rangement of  mechanism  specified,  for  re- 
ceiving the  cards  to  be  printed,  and  deliv- 
ering them  after  they  are  printed,  substan- 
tially as  described. 

IIarvester-h.  —  Seymour  and  Leicester 
Johnson,  Jr.,  of  Avon,  N.  Y. :  We  claim 
the  arrangement  of  the  outer  wheel,  C, 
drive  wheel.  A,  and  inner  wheel,  B,  in 
combination  with  the  adjustable  draught 


pole,  R,  and  movable  blocks,  v  v,  the 
whole  being  arranged  for  joint  operation, 
substantially  as  set  forth. 

Propellers. — Aimer  Johnson,  of  Buffalo, 
N.  Y. :  I  claim  constructing  propellers, 
which  embody  the  distinctive  features  of 
my  invention,  substantially  as  set  forth. 

Arrangement  of  Life  and  Treasure 
Buoy  for  Vessels. — F.  D.  Lee,  of  Charles- 
ton, S.  C. :  I  claim  the  arrangement  of  the 
buoy  provided  with  the  means  and  appli- 
ances set  forth,  in  relation  to  the  chest  or 
safe  and  indicating  buoy,  and  the  decks  of 
the  vessel  as  and  for  the  purposes  described. 

Plows. — Joel  Lee,  of  Galesburg,  111. :  I 
claim  the  combination  and  arrangement  of 
of  the  two  wheels,  E  and  E',  attached  to 
the  different  sections  of  the  beam  swivel- 
ing  quarter  around  in  opposite  directions, 
and  bracing  the  plow  as  described  when 
used  in  the  manner  and  for  the  purpose  set 
forth. 

Seed  Planters. — Joel  Lee,  of  Galesburg, 
111. :  I  claim  the  bevel  wheels,  D  D,  con- 
structed, arranged  and  operated  in  the 
manner  set  forth,  when  combined  with  the 
swivel  tube,  C,  for  the  purpose  described. 

Steam  Boilers. — David  Mathew,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, Pa. :  I  claim  the  arrangement  of 
the  draft  plates,  e  and  f,  in  relation  to  the 
inclined  tubes  or  flues,  D,  as  and  for  the 
purpose  set  forth. 

Securing  Hatches  of  Vessels. — Edward 
S.  Keyser,  of  New-York  City  :  I  claim  the 
securing  of  ship  hatches,  and  making  the 
joints  water  tight,  by  means  of  the  hollow 
flanged  ribs,  B,  and  the  rubber  and  plates 
contained  within  it,  which  are  pressed 
down  over  the  seams  or  joints  by  the 
screws,  d,  substantially  as  set  forth. 

Bed  Hives. — Samuel  Kelly,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. :  I  claim  the  sliding  frames,  F, 
removable  pins,  I,  and  dividing  zinc  plates, 
B',  in  combination  with  the  movable  pas- 
sage ways,  and  the  sliding  valve,  O,  ar- 
ranged in  the  manner  and  for  the  purposes 
set  forth. 

Potato  Planters. — Stephen  H.  Strong, 
of  Brunswick,  O. :  I  claim  the  seeding 
wheel,  B,  armed  with  adjusting  buckets, 
I),  and  checks,  E,  in  combination  with  the 
hopper,  C,  and  sliding  bottom,  R,  in  the 
manner  and  for  the  purpose  set  forth. 

Ice-Breaking  Boats. — James  D.  Foster, 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  H.  C.  Foster  and 
John  Q.  Miller,  of  Springfield,  Ohio:  We 
claim  making  the  breaking  bars  detacha- 
ble in  the  manner  and  for  the  purposes  set 
forth. 

Shingle. — Stephen  R.  Tenney  and  Asa 
Bennett,  of  Uubbardstown,  Mass. :  We  do 


60 


PATENTS 


not  broadly  claim  the  preservation  of  wood 
by  carbonization. 

But  we  claim  a  carbonized  shingle,  made 
substantialljr  as  set  forth. 

Reaping  and  Mowing  Machines. — Henry 
(t.  Vanderwerken,  of  Greenbush,  N.  Y. :  I 
claim  the  combination  of  the  stationary 
and  bracing  gear,  F,  with  the  auxiliary 
frame,  A',  main  frame,  A,  driving  wheel, 
G,  and  pinion,  H  G,  arranged  as  and  for 
the  purposes  set  forth. 

Construction  of  Salt  Pans. — William  S, 
Worthington,  of  Newton,  N.  Y. :  I  claim 
the  employment  within  a  bi-ine-evaporat- 
ing  pan,  of  a  grating  or  perforated  fiilse 
bottom,  C  C,  substantially  as  and  for  the 
purpose  specified. 

Machine  for  Sticking  Pins  on  Paper. — 
Thaddeus  Fowler,  (assignor  to  the  Ameri- 
can Pin  Company,)  of  Waterbury,  Conn. : 
I  claim  the  combination  of  the  plate  or 
form,  A,  with  the  slotted  form,  C,  when 
constructed,  and  made  to  deposit  the  pins, 
substantially  as  described. 

I  also  claim  the  combination  of  the  slid- 
ing frame,  E,  with  the  slotted  form,  G, 
when  constructed  and  used  as  described. 

Reaping  and  Mowing  Machines. — J.  W. 
Brokaw  and  Thomas  Harding,  (assignor  to 
Benjamin  H.  Warden,  John  W.  Brokaw 
and  Jonathan  G.  Child,)  of  Springfield, 
Ohio :  We  claim  the  peculiar  method  of 
regulating  the  bight  of  the  cut,  and  reliev- 
ing the  draft  on  the  joints  of  the  tongue, 
by  means  of  the  bar,  K,  in  combination 
with  a  tongue,  I,  hinged  to  the  finger  bar, 
G,  or  front  of  the  main  frame  of  the  ma- 
chine, both  being  constructed,  operated 
and  arranged  in  relation  to  each  other,  in 
the  manner  as  described. 

Steering  Apparatus  for  Vessels. — Chas. 
Weed,  (assignor  to  himself  and  Stephen  B. 
Cram,)  of  Boston,  Mass. :  I  claim  placing 
the  parallel  screws,  E  and  F,  one  immedi- 
ately above  the  other,  and  connecting 
them  by  the  gears,  H  and  G,  the  steering 
wheel  being  attached  to  one  of  the  screws, 
in  the  manner  substantially  as  described. 

Second,  I  claim  the  stationary  guide  bar, 
L,  as  arranged  with  the  grooved  nuts,  M 
and  N,  and  bearing  blocks,  D,  as  set  forth. 

Revolving  Fire-Arm. — Ethan  Allen,  of 
Worcester,  Mass. 

Cut-off  Valve  Gear  of  Steam  Engines. 
— Horatio  Allen,  of  New-York  City. 

Adjustable  Gage  for  Dovetails. — Juan 
S.  L.  Babbs,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Amos 
H.  Ray,  of  Providence,  R.  I. 

Cultivators. — David  P.  Daggett,  of  Pal- 
myra, N.  Y. :  I  claim  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  parts  whereby  the  frame  of 


the  cultivator  may  be  elevated  or  depress- 
ed in  relation  to  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
either  parallel  to  the  plane  of  the  surface 
or  inclined  thereto  forward  or  backward 
at  any  desired  angle  by  means  of  the  lever 
beam,  D,  swivel  wheel,  I,  swivel  clevis,  H, 
and  adjustable  wheels,  C,  combined,  ar- 
ranged and  operating  in  the  manner  and 
for  the  purpose  specified. 

Machinery  .  for  Lifting  Water. — Isaac 
C.  Foster,  of  Union  City,  Tenn. 

Corn  and  Cob  Mill. — Harvey  Hall,  of 
Mansfield,  Ohio:  I  claim  the  coneandmeal 
trough,  east  in  one  piece,  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening  the  cone,  and  giving  a 
firm  base  for  its  attachment,  as  set  forth. 

Corn  Planters. — J.  J.  S.  Hassler,  of  Rip- 
ley, Va. 

Tubes  for  Seed  Planters. — Joseph  G. 
Haines,  of  Dublin,  Ind. :  I  claim  as  new,  in 
the  described  combination  with  the  tooth 
of  a  grain  or  seed-drill,  the  tube  or  grain 
duct,  I,  composed  of  a  close  coil  of  wire 
constructed  and  applied  as  set  forth. 

Dress  of  Millstones. — Nelson  Hay  ward, 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Egg  Beaters. — John  B.  Heich,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. 

Horse  Rakes.  —  Valentine  Hyatt,  of 
Westfield,  Ohio  :  I  claim  the  combination 
of  the  lever,  L,  cross  bar,  C,  levers,  C  C, 
and  arms,  G  G,  for  raising  the  rake  from 
the  ground  when  not  in  use,  as  described. 

Cooking  Stoves. — ^Samuel  Pierce,  of 
Troy,  N.  Y. 

Seeding  Machines. — Charles  G.  James,  of 
Dayton,  Ohio. 

Seeding  Machines. — Hiram  Kellogg,  of 
McHenry,  111. 

Cotton  and  Hay  Presses. — James  Mas- 
sey,  of  Thomasville,  Ga. 

Hubs  of  Carriage  Wheels. — Cornelius 
Merry,  of  New-York  City. 

Seeding  Machines. — Samuel  Mills,  of 
New-Castle,  Ohio. 

Portable  Field  Fence. — ^Tliomas  B.  Page, 
of  Laurel,  Ohio. 

Portable  Sawotll. — T.  T.  Prosser,  of 
Oconomowock,  Wis. 

Cheese  Presses. — C.  H.  Robertson,  of 
Middleport,  N.  Y. 

Lubricating  Oil  Gups. — Enoch  N.  Ro- 
land, of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Steam  Cotton  Press. — John  Roy,  of  New- 
Orleans,  La. 

Bracing  Springs  of  Vehicles. — C.  W. 
Saladee,  of  Columbus,  Oliio. 


A  D  V  E  R  T  I  S  E  ?\I  E  N  T  S  . 


61 


Bayonet  Fastemnu. — J.  N.  Ward,  of 
New-York  City.  ! 

Draaving  Knike.  —  R.  N.  Watrous,  of  i 
Charlestown,  O. 

Machines  for  Pegging  Boots  and  Seiols.  | 
— Wm.  Wells,  (assignor  to  Edgar  M.  Ste-  j 
vens,)  of  Boston,  Mass. 

Sewing  Machines. — Henry  Belin,  (as-  ; 
signer  to  himself  and  Thomas  Sewell,)  of  j 
New- York  City. 

Seeding  Machines. — John  Critcherson, 
(assignor  to  John  Warren,)  of  Boston,  Mass. 

Snow  Plows. — Newcomb  Demary,  Jr., 
of  Attica,  N.  Y.,  assignor  to  James  Yates, 
of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Grate  Dampers. — John  O'Brien,  (assign- 
or to  Owen  Collins  and  John  Dunley,)  of 
New-York  City. 

Straw  Cuiters.  —  Moses  Clements  (de- 
ceased,) late  of  Worcester,  Mass. 


Winnowing  Machines. — John  Shipley,  of 
Princeton,  Wis. 

Feet  Warmers. — Heber  G.  Seekins,  Sen., 
and  Heber  G.  Seekins,  Jr.,  of  Elyria,  Ohio. 

Life-Preservers. — James  E.  Serrell  ami 
William  Davis,  of  New- York  City. 

Pumps. — Harmon  A.  Sheldon,  of  Middle- 
bury,  Vt. 

Mode  of  Supporting  Reels  for  Harvest- 
ers.— ^Thomas  I.  Stealy,  of  Middletown,  Va. 

Boring  Machine. — La  Fayette  Stevens, 
of  Elmira,  N.  Y. 

Infantine  Exercising  Chair. — John  Sa- 
win,  D.  J.  Goodspeed,  and  John  H.  Minott, 
of  Gardner,  Mass. 

Bagasse  Furnaces. — Moses  Thompson,  of 
New- York  City. 

Steam  Boiler.— F.  R.  Walker,  of  Tully. 
Mo. 


^  Jr  b  e  r  t  i  s  e  111  ni  t  s . 


NEW  AND  IMPROVED  SELF-EAKING  REAPER. 

The    best    yet    offered.     Address    PELLS    ilANNY,    Freeport,    III. 


DEPOT  OF  THE 
Breckenridge   Coal   Oil   Co., 

98  Greenwich  Street,  New- York. 


J.  THOMPSOJV,  AGKNT. 

Office  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and 
Western  Uuilroad  Company, 

ScBANTON,  Pa  ,  June  16, 1857 


![ 


Capt.  Joseph  M.  Brown, 
President  Breckenridge  Coal  Oil  Company: 

Dear  Sir  : — We  have  been  using  the  Breckenridge 
Lubricating  Oil  in  the  shops  and  on  railroad  en- 
gines.    It  gives  entire  satisfaction — is  free  from 


gum  and  works  free — Is  superior  to  Sperm  oil,  re- 
quiring  one-third  less  than  Sperm  oil  to   do  tlie 
same  work,  and  one-half  the  labor  to  keep  machi- 
nery and  locomotives  clean. 
Very  respectfully, 

WATTS  COOK,  Master  Mechanic. 

JAMES  ARCUIBALD,  General  Agent. 

Crystal  Palace,  New-York— Exhibition  of  the  > 
American  Institute  for  the  year  1857.  J 

I  have  made  several  Photometrical  tests  of  the 
power  of  the  light  given  by  Ihe  Breckenridge  Coul 
Oil,  burned  in  "  Dietz  A  Co.'s  Breckenridge  Lamp 
for  tlie  Million,"  and  find  it  to  give  a  light  equal  to 
SEVBN  Pporm  candles. 

WM.  W.  BATCIIELDER, 

4G3  Broadway,  New-York. 


62 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


f lillS'  iPiVO  Sm  M4EI1IE. 

PATENTED   MARCH  6,  1855. 


Farmers,  Mechanics,  Road-Builders,   Speculators, 

and  all  progressive  men,  your  attention  is 

called  to  this  valuable  Patent. 


My  Stump  Machine  must  go  before  the  Mower  and 
Reaper.  It  hag  no  equal.  It  ia  simple  in  its  construction, 
easily  worked,  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of  repair.  lis 
common  weight  is  about  1500  lbs  It  is  easily  borne  from 
place  to  place,  and  it  can  be  loaded  in  three  minutes,  and 
unloaded,  set  up,  and  a  lusty  stump  drawn,  all  within 
fifteen  minutes.  Once  fastened,  it  will  pull  an  acre  and  a 
half  of  stumps  without  changing  anchorage.  A  single 
yoke  uf  cattle,  or  one  strong  horse,  is  siitficient  to  work 
iU  With  such  a  team,  if  necessary,  a  power  of  from 
three  to  five  hundred  tons  can  be  made  to  bear  upon  a 
8in!{le  stump ! 

One  man  can  work  it,  though  two  work  it  at  better 
advantage.  Tlie  time  requited  to  extract  stumps  from 
8i.\  inches  to  four  feet  in  diameter  will  vary  from  two  to 
ten  minutes.  With  this  Machine,  standing  trees  may  be 
taken  out.  and  large  rocks  removed  from  their  beds ;  and 
It  is  tlie  best  Machine  ever  invented,  not  only  for  pulling 
Slumps,  but  for  moving  buildings,  and  other  heavy  bodies. 
All  the  iron  used  is  wrought,  of  peculiar  quality,  imported, 
fanstaming  57  tons  to  the  inch  ! 

Th  ■  price  of  these  Machines  varies  according  to  weight 
and  size — the  weight  of  the  largest  being  about  1500  lbs. 
For  the  purpose  of  transportation,  it  can  be  b'jxed  up,  with 
the  exception  of  the  lever  and  wheels,  in  a  box  ten  feet 
long  and  about  fifteen  inches  square.  I  reside  at  Orange, 
Massachusetts,  where  I  manufanure  this  article  on  a 
larfje  scale,  and  hold  myself  ready  to  furnish  it,  or  sell 
rif.'hts  to  use  it,  in  any  State  or  town  in  the  Union,  now 
unsold,  on  terms  most  reasonable. 

Ttiis  patent  begins  to  be  appreciated.  All  who  wish  to 
brill.;  so  good  a  thing  into  use,  and  thereby  make  a  "  pile 
of  moaey,'"  should  come  to  Orange,  see  the  inventor,  see 
the  workings  of  the  Machine  with  their  own  eyes,  and  if 
not  perfectly  satisfied  respecting  its  merits,  all  their  ex- 
penses shiiU  be  cheerfully  paid. 

Tr.ese  Machines,  properly  boxed  for  transportation,  are 
8,ild  by  NouRSB,  Mason  &  Co.,  Parker,  White  &  Co., 
and  ScuDDER  &  Co.,  of  Boston  ;  and  by  E.  L.  Allen,  189 
Water  Street,  New- York. 

WILLIAM  W.  WILLIS. 

REFERENCES.  —  Hon.  Simon  Brown,  Editor  New- 
England  Farmer;  3.  A.  Nash,  Editor  Plouoh,  Loom, 
and  Anvil;  and  Mr  Moore,  Editor  Rural  New-Yorker. 

Ladies'  Companion  Sewing-Machines. 

Price  from  $12  to  $30. 


Fob  simplicity,  durability,  and  good  work, 
they  are  unsurpassed  by  any  others,  are  made 
entirely  under  Pratt's  Patents,  and  are  war- 
ranted to  give  satisfaction.  Samples  of  work 
sent  by  mail. 

SALESROOMS 

113  Washington  St.,  Boston;  577  Broadway, 
N.  Y. ;  corner  Ninth  and  Chestnut  sts.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. ;  55  High  st.,  Providence,  R.  I. ; 
68  State  st.,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

wanted.    Apply  to  Boston  office,,       2t. 


PATENT   AGENCY 


CHEMICAL  LABORATORY, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

DR.  DANIEL  BREED,  late  Assistant  and  acting  Chicj 
Examiner  in  the  United  States  Patent  Office,  has  estab- 
lished at  Washington,  D.  0.,  a  PATENT  AGENCY  in 
connection  with  a  CHEMICAL  LABORATORY.  He 
will  prepare  papers  and  drawings,  and  make  applications 
for  Letters  Patent  in  the  United  States  and  in  Foreigu 
Countries,  and  will  give  especial  attention  to  chemical 
cases,  and  also  to  infringements,  interferences,  appeals, 
re-issues,  and  rejected  applications. 

Having  long  been  familiar  with  the  Library  and  Model 
Rooms  of  the  Patent  Office,  to  all  of  which  he  still  has 
access,  he  possesses  extraordinary  facilities  for  making 
thorough  examinations  in  regard  to  the  patentability  of 
inventions,  being  enabled  also  to  search  the  standard 
works  in  German  and  French,  and  thus  to  give  to  invent- 
ors, and  others,  reliable  information  concerning  inven- 
tions and  the  arts  in  Europe  and  America. 

The  Laboratory  is  intended  chiefly  for  experiment  and 
analysis,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  and  improving  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture  and  apparatus  employed  in  the 
Chemical  Arts,  as  also  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  and 
defending  Patent  Rights.  After  many  years  devoted  to 
Chemistry — having  studied  in  the  German  Laboratories 
under  Liebig  and  Lowig,  Dr.  Breed  feels  confident  in 
offering  his  services  to  Inventors  and  others  interestei!  in 
the  chemical  arts  and  manufactures,  and  to  all  who  may 
require  the  services  of  a  practical  chemist. 

Fees  are  most  conveniently  sent  by  mail,  in  drafts  on 
New-York,  Baltimore,  Boston,  or  Pbiladelphia. 

Models  may  be  forwarded  by  Express,  and  all  other 
business  may  be  transacted  by  letter.  Persons  may 
also  forward  models  and  fees,  and  transact  other  business 
with  Dr.  Breed,  through  Messrs.  Parish  &  Nash,  editors  of 
The  Plo^igh,  Loom,  and  Anvil. 

lajg—  Patents  procured  through  this  Office,   will  r>e 
noticed  in  the  Ploxigh,  Loom,  and  Anvil,  and  full  de- 
scriptions given  therein,  when  desired,  without  charge. 
June,  tf. 


BLAKf  S  PATENT  EIRE  AND  WEATHER-PROOF 

The  only  Genuine  Article  in  the  Market. 

TO  BE   HAD   DRir  AND   IN    OIL,   AT 

205   PEARL   STREET,   New-York, 

Of  the  Proprietor, 
CHAS.    B.    GRANNISS,'\ 

Oct,  lyr.  ^^SHCcessor  to  the  Patentee,  WM.  BLAKE. 


aMHRtcAK  umzm'  mamm. 


Vol.  XI. 


FEBRUARY,  1858. 


No. 


1^  g  r  i  ni  1 1  It  r  a  I , 


HINTS  FOR  YOUNG  FARMERS. 

We  are  older  in  the  business  of  prac- 
tical farming  than  most  of  our  readers  ; 
and  although  not  a  few  of  them  may  be 
wiser  than  we,  there  are  others  who 
think  they  have  much  to  learn. 

We  have  correspondents  and  many 
readers  who  are  young  in  years,  or 
young  in  their  business,  and  have  the 
good  sense  to  think  that  the  sober  expe- 
rience of  a  sober  man,  who  has  traveled 
the  same  path  before  them,  is  worth 
something.  Some  are  young  men  who 
have  just  commenced  farming.  Others 
are  retired  citizens  just  turned  farmers. 
Others  again  are  mercantile  men  who 
have  amateur  farms  at  their  country 
place — to  help  get  rid  of  some  of  their 
city  profits ;  and  these  classes  are  ex- 
actly the  people  for  whom  these  articles 
are  intended. 

Our  wiser  readers  will  be  willing  that 
we  should  give  a  limited  space  to  their 
brethren  of  less  experience.  We  mean 
to  tell  them  how  to  do  every-day,  com- 
mon work,  at  the  best  time,  and  in  the 
best  way.  There  are  as  many  ways  of 
farming  as  there  are  of  killing  cats  ;  and 
there  is  a  wide  diflcrence  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  depending  upon  the  time  and 


way  in  which  work  is  done.  So  all  you 
wise  men  who  know  everything,  turn 
over  a  leaf,  while  others,  who  want  to 
learn  how  to  make  the  pot  boil  and  to 
keep  it  boiling,  read  on.  We  begin 
with 

THE   WINTER   CAKE   OF   STOCK. 

Horses  should  be  kept  in  warm  but 
well-ventilated  stalls,  and  apart  from 
other  animals,  so  as  not  to  be  offended 
with  their  breath.  Pure  air  is  almost 
as  important  for  the  lungs  of  a  horse  as 
for  those  of  a  human  being.  Early  cut 
hay  is  not  as  important,  perhaps,  for  the 
horse  as  for  some  other  animals  ;  but  it 
should  be  well  cured,  free  from  must, 
having  no  smoke  when  handled.  Oats 
are  the  best  grain,  and  probably  herds- 
grass,  cut  when  nearly  out  of  the  bloom, 
and  thoroughly  dried,  so  as  not  to  have 
been  heated  in  the  mow,  is  the  best  hay 
for  this  animal.  If  a  horse  is  fed  on  hay 
in  the  least  smoky,  it  is  better  tcv  sprin- 
kle a  little  water  on  it,  that  the  smoke 
may  not  rise  and  be  inhaled.  But  wc 
sliould  be  sorry  to  feed  a  horse  on  hay 
so  foul  as  to  require  this  precaution. 
Cut  feed,  with  corn  or  oats,  or  a  mixture 
of  both  ground  and  mingled  together, 
with  water  to  soften  the  hav  or  straw,  i^ 


66 


AGRICULTURAL. 


better  for  horses  that  work  constantly, 
because  they  will  eat  it  sooner,  and 
thereby  get  more  time  to  lie  down  and 
rest.  Corn  is  a  better  food  for  horses 
hard  at  work  than  for  those  that  are 
standing  much  of  the  time  idle.  If  a 
horse  is  fed  partly  on  carrots,  it  tends 
strongly  to  keep  his  digestive  organs  in 
good  condition,  and  to  secure  a  perfect 
digestion  and  assimilation  of  all  his  food. 
Hence  we  believe  that  a  peck  of  oats  and 
a  peck  of  carrots  will  go  as  far  in  sus- 
taining a  horse  as  two  pecks  of  oats ;  not 
that  the  carrots,  watery  as  they  are,  con- 
tain as  much  nutriment  as  oats,  but  be- 
cause they  secure  a  better  assimilation. 
The  floor  of  the  horse-stall  should  be 
tight.  Many  a  horse  has  caught  the 
consumption  from  lying  on  a  single  floor 
with  wide  cracks,  and  with  insuflBcient 
bedding.  Unless  the  barn  is  well 
sheathed,  there  should  be  an  inside  lin- 
ing around  the  stall,  that  no  current  of 
air  may  strike  the  horse  when  put,  wea- 
ried and  sweating,  to  his  night's  rest. 
Never  allow  a  horse  to  drink  cold  water 
when  hot,  unless  you  intend  to  drive 
him  again  immediately,  and  then  not  too 
much.  To  leave  a  sweaty  horse  stand- 
ing in  the  cold  air  is  barbarous.  We 
honor  the  piety  of  our  fathers  who  built 
churches,  but  we  think  it  was  not  the 
worst  part  of  their  piety  that  led  them 
to  build  good  warm  horse  sheds  at  the 
same  time;  and  if  there  is  anything  that 
we  fear  these  good  men  will  never  be 
forgiven,  it  is  that  some  of  them,  we 
hope  not  many,  built  their  churches  on 
tall  hills,  heard  long  sermons  on  bleak 
wintry  days,  and  left  their  horses  tied  to 
a  rail  fence  the  while. 

In  any  climate  but  the  mildest,  horned 
cattle  should  be  stabled  by  night,  and 
have  warm  sheds  to  retire  to  by  day.  If 
the  sun  shines  they  will  find  it  out,  and 
will  prefer  the  open  air.  Let  them  have 
water  in  the  yard  by  all  means.  If  they 
can  have  it  in  the  manger,  as  is  now 
practiced  by  some  farmers,  so  as  never 
to  be  deprived  of  it  an  hour  when  thirs- 


ty, it  would  be  better.  But  this  is  per- 
haps more  than  can  be  expected  in  gen- 
eral practice.  The  stabling  of  cattle 
really  adds  but  little  to  the  labor  of  car- 
rying them  through  the  winter.  Their 
manure,  if  plenty  of  absorbents  are  used, 
has  a  greatly  increased  value ;  much 
food  is  saved ;  and  they  come  out  in  far 
better  condition  in  spring.  The  stabling 
is  of  more  importance  to  working  oxen 
and  milch  cows,  but  is  worth  the  extra 
labor  for  all.  The  ox  is  a  patient  crea- 
ture ;  will  endure  imcomplaining  what- 
ever you  put  upon  him,  even  if  you 
leave  him  to  sleep  on  snow  in  the  cold 
wind  after  he  has  done  you  a  good  day's 
work.  But  is  this  a  good  reason  why 
he  should  be  left  to  suffer  ?  Humanity 
forbids  ;  interest  forbids  ;  the  generous 
and  the  selfish  in  our  nature  alike  for- 
bid ;  and  we  believe  the  Creator  of  man 
and  of  the  inferior  animals  will  hold  the 
former  to  a  strict  account  for  the  treat- 
ment of  the  latter.  The  horse  and  the 
ox  are  grateful  to  man  for  his  care  of 
them.  Shall  man  be  ungrateful  for  their 
invaluable  services  ?  Cattle  should  be 
fed  as  regularly  as  possible  from  day  to 
day.  They  know  the  time  about  as  well 
as  the  old  clock  in  the  corner  can  tell 
you.  If  hungry,  they  will  fret  but  little 
till  the  time  comes,  but  are  very  uneasy 
if  there  is  much  delay  after  the  usual 
time.  The  secret  of  thrift  in  cattle,  with 
but  a  fair  allowance  of  food,  is  quiet, 
contentment.  Who  does  not  know  that 
a  cow  taken  from  her  wonted  home,  will 
diminish  her  milk  for  a  few  days,  even 
on  better  food  than  she  had  been  used 
to  ?  Almost  any  animal  will  loose  flesh 
if  removed  to  a  new  place.  If  the  keeper 
is  changed  and  less  kind  usage  is  expe- 
rienced, the  same  place  and  the  same 
food  will  not  produce  as  much  thrift. 
Neither  cattle  nor  horses  should  be  made 
to  swallow  their  own  breath.  If  hay  is 
saturated  with  their  breath,  they  loathe 
it.  It  is  better,  therefore,  to  feed  twice 
in  the  morning  and  twice  at  night,  and 
to  give  them  a  lunch  at  noon.     A  little 


AGRICULTURAL 


C7 


at  a  time,  to  be  devoured  before  being 
much  dampened  by  their  breathing  on 
it,  is  attended  with  less  waste. 

Early-cut,  clean,  well-cured  hay  can 
not  be  much  improved  by  cutting,  be- 
cause it  is  perfectly  digested  without 
cutting  ;  whatever  nutriment  it  contains 
is  assimilated ;  and  nothing  more  than 
it  contains  could  be  extracted  if  cut  ever 
so  finely.  With  straw,  corn  stalks, 
coarse,  late-cut  hay,  it  is  otherwise.  If 
cut,  these  will  be  more  perfectly  digest- 
ed, and  the  result  will  be  more  favora- 
ble. It  has  been  asserted  that  forty  per 
cent,  is  gained  by  cutting  forage  for  cat- 
tle. This  may  be  true,  as  an  average 
gain.  We  rather  think  it  is.  But  it 
can  not  be  true  of  each  kind  of  forage. 
We  must  throw  our  common  sense  over- 
board before  we  could  believe  that 
bright,  June-cured  hay  can  be  much  im- 
proved by  cutting.  The  cattle  love  it 
without ;  it  is  tender,  luscious  to  their 
taste,  and  they  masticate  it  perfectly. 
Cutting  can  not  enh-.nce  its  value  10  per 
cent,  nor  5.  The  buts  of  corn-stalks, 
on  the  other  hand,  may  be  90  per  cent 
better,  if  cut  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long 
and  steamed,  with  the  least  possible 
sprinkling  of  salt,  because  in  this  state 
they  are  pretty  good  food  for  cattle, 
whereas,  if  left  whole,  the  animals  would 
about  as  soon  perish  with  hunger  as  eat 
them.  That  the  value  of  forage  as  a 
whole  is  increased  by  running  it  through 
the  straw-cutter,  there  can  be  not  doubt ; 
but  the  idea  that  all  kinds  are  equally 
improved  is  absurd. 

Let  the  stables  be  kept  clean,  also  the 
barn-floor  and  the  open  spaces  about  the 
barn,  as  well  as  the  entrances.  It  re- 
quires but  little  more  labor — some  think 
less — to  be  neat,  than  to  be  slovenly. 
Tidy  housekeepers,  if  they  do  not  live 
as  easily,  certiiinly  do  as  comfortably  as 
untidy.  It  is  so  with  the  keepers  of 
stock.  Neatness  outside  of  the  parlor 
and  kitchen  are  of  some  consequence. 
It  is  attended  with  comfort  and  adds  not 
a  little  to  prosperity. 


Sheep  should  have  a  warm  retreat, 
but  should  also  be  allowed  at  pleasure 
to  run  out  and  take  the  sun  and  pure 
air.  Early-cut  hay,  or  well-cured  second 
crop,  with  a  little  corn,  is  their  best  food. 

The  pig-pen  should  be  constructed 
with  two  apartments,  one  warm  and  dry, 
with  dry  nesting ;  the  other  such  as  to 
indulge  the  filthy  occupant  in  his  root- 
ing, manure  manufacturing  propensities ; 
and  these  propensities  may  be  turned  to 
a  good  account  by  throwing  in  plent}'  of 
materials  for  the  pigs  to  work  over  and 
compost.  In  good  farming,  where  the 
home  manures  are  principally  relied  up- 
on, ten  loads  to  every  swine  will  be  car- 
ried out  in  the  course  of  a  year,  not  as 
active  as  Peruvian  guano,  but  worth 
more  in  proportion  to  its  cost.  Corn, 
ground  ordinarily  fine  and  scalded,  and 
then  reduced  in  temperature  to  about 
blood  heat,  by  the  addition  of  skim  milk, 
whey,  slops,  etc.,  is  the  most  economical 
food  for  swine.  In  England  pork  is 
made  mainly  from  barley,  but  would  not 
be  if  that  climate  was  adapted  to  the 
corn  crop  as  ours  is. 

Hens  should  be  laying  smartly  by  this 
time,  and  if  they  are  not,  it  is  the  fault 
of  the  owner.  The  true  economy  on  the 
farm  is,  to  keep  a  pretty  good  flock  of 
hens  and  chickens,  to  have  facilities  for 
shutting  them  up  certain  parts  of  the 
year,  when  they  would  do  injury  out, 
but  to  let  them  run  at  large,  to  de- 
stroy insects  and  get  for  most  of  their 
living  what  nothing  else  would  consume, 
when  it  can  be  done  with  safety  to  the 
garden  and  other  crops,  and  when  no 
broils  will  be  created  by  their  depreda- 
tions in  the  neighborhood.  When  con- 
fined for  security  to  crops  or  for  the 
sake  of  peace  among  neighbors,  let  them 
have  access  to  gravel  and  to  carbonate  of 
lime,  in  some  such  form  as  broken 
shells,  ground  bones,  or  slacked  lime, 
sprinkled  about  their  premises.  The  shell 
of  the  egg  consists  mostly  of  carbonate 
of  lime ;  and  the  ordinary  food  does  not 
contain  enough  of  this  to  answer  the  de* 


68 


AGRICULTURAL 


mands  of  the  hen  in  laying  time.  Hens 
require  a  meat  diet  in  part.  Throw  them 
bones  to  pick,  and  occasionally  bits  of 
meat  useless  for  other  purposes.  In 
summer  they  will  supply  themselves 
with  animal  food  in  the  form  of  grass- 
hoppers and  other  insects,  but  should 
be  supplied  with  it  in  winter  in  other 
forms,  if  you  would  have  plenty  of  eggs. 
February  has  the  reputation  of  being 
the  coldest  month  in  the  year,  and  sure- 
ly the  coming  February  will  not  have 
much  to  boast  of  in  that  line,  unless  it 
shall  be  colder  than  its  predecessor,  Jan- 
uary, has  yet  been.  Yesterday  and  this 
day,  January  lith  and  15th,  have  been 
like  May  or  October  days,  strayed  away 
from  their  proper  place  in  the  calendar. 


ON  THE   SUBJECTS  FOR  A  FARM- 
ERS' MAGAZINE. 

BY     A     farmer' S     SON. 

Mr.  Editor  : — You  asked  the  other 
day  my  opinion  as  to  the  most  desirable 
method  of  conducting  a  farmers'  period- 
ical. Your  motive  doubtless  arose  from 
your  anxiety  to  supply  your  readers 
with  the  information  most  required  by 
them;  and  although  your  own  experi- 
ence and  good  judgment  can  hardly  be 
likely  to  hear  from  me  anything  new 
upon  the  subject,  I  shall  be  glad  if  any 
remarks  of  mine  should  suggest  one 
hint  to  you  that  may  further  your  views, 
and  aid  you  in  the  arduous  task  that  de- 
volves on  you,  in  common  with  others 
who  seek  to  please  or  to  instruct  a  large 
class  of  readers,  distributed  over  thou- 
sands of  miles  of  greatly  varying  cli- 
mate. 

The  wants  of  many,  I  know  I  can  lay 
before  you,;  and  the  wants  of  many 
more,  you  doubtless  already  amply  sup- 
ply. But  I  need  not  tell  you  that  read- 
ers of  aU  classes  and  on  all  subjects,  are 
often  unreasonable  and  thoughtless. — 
They  forget  much  you  have  told  them 
already  ;  and  every  reader  too  often  takes 
up  a  magazine  as  if  it  had  been  written, 
or  should  as  he  thinks  have  been  writ- 


ten, for  himself  alone.  His  own  wants 
he  knows  ;  the  wants  of  others  he  neith- 
er thinks  of  nor  cares  for.  If  he  does 
not  find  exactly  what  he  wants,  or  what 
he  thinks  it  should  contain,  he  throws 
down  the  number  disgusted  and  annoy- 
ed, and  vents  his  impatient  displeasure 
on  the  "incompetency  of  writers,"  if  not 
their  ignorance  ;  and  "  vows  to  take  in 
such  a  milk-and-water  thing  as  that  no 
longer."  Fortunately  however  for  the 
publisher,  before  the  gentleman's  sub- 
scription runs  out,  some  article  in  a  sub- 
sequent number  is  lucky  enough  to 
please  him,  and  then  he  forgets  his  ill 
humor,  and  on  he  goes  with  his  maga- 
zine. Now  this  line  of  proceeding  is  fool- 
ish. It  is  unjust  to  editors.  It  is  the 
way  to  remain  in  ignorance;  and  con- 
sequently the  man  who  so  acts  is  unjust 
to  himself. 

Magazines  and  periodicals  of  all  des- 
criptions are  written  each  for  some  par- 
ticular class  ;  and  to  subjects  connected 
with  that  class  should  be,  and  usually 
are,  their  contents  directed.  But  when 
the  individual  of  that  class  takes  up 
such  a  paper,  he  should  do  so  in  the 
spirit,  not  of  search  for  the  special  sub- 
ject that  happens  to  interest  him  at  the 
moment,  (for  it  is  obvious  that  as  each 
reader  may  do  the  same,  the  editor 
could  not  please  all,)  but,  in  the  spirit 
of  general  research  to  see  what  he  can 
glean  from  the  pages  that  will  add  to  his 
stock  of  knowledge.  Taken  up  in  that 
spirit,  if  he  finds  the  subjects  treated  of 
bear  a  fitting  relation  to  the  character  of 
the  periodical,  and  that  they  are  written 
in  a  fair,  common  sense  style,  he  has  no 
cause  to  complain  if  there  are  other  mat- 
ters that  he  would  have  preferred  to  see 
in  the  pages.  The  pearl  fisher  does  not 
find  a  pearl  in  every  oyster,  but  is  con- 
tent to  open  many  fruitlessly  for  the 
sake  of  the  one  that  has  the  pearl. — 
Readers  of  periodical  literature  may 
with  advantage  to  themselves  follow  the 
fisherman's  example. 

But  to  be  entitled  to  expect  that  course 


AGRICULTURAL 


69 


of  conduct  in  their  readers,  editors  must 
also  do  their  part ;  and  if  they  can  not 
fill  their  literary  oyster  with  pearls,  they 
must  at  least  take  care  that  their  oyster 
is  "  full  of  meat."  In  short,  the  editor 
must  provide  always  good  substantial 
literary  food  for  a  hungry  reader ;  but 
the  choice  of  that  food,  provided  it  be 
digestable  by  the  class  for  whom  he 
writes,  must  be  left  to  himself. 

Now  in  the  spirit,  as  regards  editor 
and  readers,  that  I  have  penned  the 
above  remarks,  let  us  consider  the  sub- 
jects for  a  farmers'  magazine. 

The  great  failing  in  the  farming  com- 
munity is  a  proneness  to  routine.  As 
their  fathers  did,  so  do  they.  Distrust- 
ful of  the  discoveries  of  science,  and  I 
fear  I  must  add,  too  little  inclined  to 
take  the  trouble  of  investigation,  there  is 
a  disposition  to  go  on  in  the  same  beaten 
track,  heedless  of  the  future,  thoughtful 
only  of  present  wants,  and  if  not  content, 
at  least  willing  to  drag  on  a  listless  ex- 
istence if  those  wants  are  satisfied. 

I  know  there  are  numerous  exceptions 
to  this  picture  ;  which  many  may  sup- 
pose to  originate  in  a  feeling  of  superior- 
ity if  not  of  conceit  in  the  writer.  That 
is  not  so.  Let  any  man  coolly  reflect  and 
compare  the  energy  displayed  in  the  life 
of  a  merchant  or  a  trader  in  any  large 
city,  with  the  coiu"se  of  life  pursued  by 
the  agriculturists,  as  a  body,  and  then  say 
if  there  is  not  far  too  much  ground  for 
the  correctness  of  the  character  I  have 
sketched  above. 

The  old  adage,  that  "  We  may  take  a 
horse  to  the  pond,  but  we  can't  make 
him  drink,"  is  true.  But  we  must  take 
the  horse  to  the  pond,  or  he  can  not 
drink  if  he  wishes.  So  the  agricultural 
editor's  first  care  should  be  to  lay  before 
his  readers  the  improvements  of  the 
age.  His  first  duty  I  think  is  to  take 
care  that  all  new  discoveries,  whether  in 
implements  to  facilitate  tillage,  of  new 
crops  for  culture,  or  of  improved  meth- 
ods of  cultivation,  are  explained  in  de- 
tail, so  that  the  advantages  of  the  seve- 


ral subjects  are  fully  made  known  ;  and 
this  as  completely  and  sufficiently  as 
may  enable  the  farmer,  without  refer- 
ence beyond  the  pages  of  the  paper,  to 
avail  himself  of  the  information.  For 
it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  time  of  the  farmer  is  valuable,  and 
that  much  traveling  is  not  properly 
within  his  province,  and  consequently 
unless  the  information  is  afforded  him 
in  a  shape  that  he  can  either  from  the 
perusal  of  it  or  by  letter,  make  it  avail- 
able, the  benefit  to  him  is  only  pros- 
pective. 

The  first  requirement  I  set  down, 
therefore,  for  the  /armers^  magazine  is, 
papers  explanatory  of  new  discoveries  in 
agriculture. 

The  subject  next  in  importance  appears 
to  him  to  be,  to  keep  the  farmers  well  vp 
to  their  work  for  the  season.  With  this 
view  there  is  much  utility,  especially  in 
a  monthly  periodical,  in  having  a  good 
paper  by  the  editor  surveying  the  gene- 
ral work  of  a  farm  for  the  month,  point- 
ing out  the  kind  of  work  requiring  at- 
tention, and  containing  suggestions  as  to 
the  most  ehgible  mode  of  executing  it, 
with  reference  both  to  cost  and  labor. 

In  furtherance  of  the  same  object,  ori- 
ginal papers  on  particular  subjects,  ap- 
plicable to  the  season  at  which  they  ap- 
pear, are  also  very  useful,  and  in  this 
the  readers  may  contribute  frequently  to 
aid  the  editor  and  benefit  their  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  agricultural  world.  It 
requires  no  literary  skill  to  write  an  ac- 
ceptable article.  Plain,  practical  facts, 
the  result  of  experience,  is  what  farm- 
ers want ;  and  these  any  farmer  can  ex- 
press in  familiar  language. 

In  my  opening  remarks  I  alluded  to 
the  individual  wants  of  particular  read- 
ers ;  and  although  as  I  then  said,  it  is 
impossible  for  an  editor  to  anticipate 
these,  there  yet  remains  a  mode  in  which 
they  can  be  satisfied.  Because  when- 
ever information  is  wanted  by  one  read- 
er, the  chances  are  that  man}'  more 
stand  in  need  of  the  same.     Therefore 


70 


AGRICULTURAL. 


such  being  the  case,  a  periodical  paper 
is  the  precise  channel  through  which  to 
obtain  it. 

Let  every  farmer  who  is  in  doubt,  or 
in  want  of  information,  write  to  the  edi- 
tor and  ask  for  it.  And  this  brings  me 
to  the  next  head  of  subjects  for  the  Mag- 
azine, namely : 

Correspondence,  and  discussion  ty 
means  of  it,  relative  to  farming  matters 
of  all  descriptions. 

If  the  readers  of  any  periodical  will 
only  take  up  their  pens  and  discuss  their 
opinions  freely,  but  in  the  language  and 
spirit  of  good  humor,  and  a  desire  for 
knowledge,  (as  opposed  to  a  desire  for 
victory  in  a  contest  of  words,)  there  is 
no  department  of  a  magazine  that  will 
become  more  useful  and  interesting. — 
Life  and  activity  should  pervade  every 
page  of  a  periodical,  and  correspondence 
of  such  a  nature  is  precisely  the  element 
to  impart  that  vivacity  which  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  a  single  individual,  tied  dowia  to 
the  monotony  of  the  editorial  chair,  al- 
ways to  give  to  his  effusions,  however 
valuable  they  may  be  in  substance. 

Moreover,  ignorance  on  subjects  that 
our  calling  assumes  we  are  acquainted 
with,  is  regarded  by  too  many  as  prefer- 
able to  the  exposure  of  it  to  others. 
Hence  we  too  often  remain  in  ignorance 
which  inquiry  would  speedily  dispel.  The 
pages  of  a  magazine  present  the  ready 
means  for  us  to  learn,  without  our  identity 
being  known,  and  consequently  there  is 
no  better  mode  by  which  we  can  avoid 
remaining  in  a  state  of  ignorance,  which, 
when  there  is  open  a  way  to  avoid  it,  is 
decidedly  unjust  to  ourselves  no  less 
than  to  those  dependent  on  oui*  exer- 
tions. 

My  paper  has,  I  fear,  aheady  exceeded 
useful  limits;  and  having  pointed  out 
what  appears  to  me  to  be  the  more  im- 
portant topics  for  agricultural  periodi- 
cals I  will  close  with  the  hope,  not  that 
you  can  derive  information  from  it,  but 
at  least  that  your  readers  will  aid  j^ou,  by 
attending  to  my  last  suggestion,  freely 


to  communicate  their  own  experience, 
and  by  their  inquiries,  point  out  to  you 
their  wants.  I  know  well  enough  that 
your  best  exertions  will  then  not  be 
wanting  to  fulfill  them. 


ON  THE  TREATMENT  OF  MA- 
NURE. 

BY  A  PRACTICAL  FARMER  AND  GAEDEKER. 

To  talk  intelligibly  about  manure,  it 
is  quit*}  important  to  know  what  manure 
is.  Manure,  if  intended  to  convey  the 
idea  of  food  for  plants,  is  often  a  terrible 
misnomer.  Fresh  dung,  or  fresh  urine, 
is  never  food  for  plants.  There  is  no 
element  in  the  fi'esh  excretia  of  animals 
in  the  undecomposed  vegetable  waste  of 
farms,  such  as  straw,  stalks,  weeds,  etc., 
or  in  the  muck  and  peat  of  swamps  that 
can  afford  sustenance  to  vegetation. 
Plants  can  never  appropriate  an  element 
until  it  is  prepared  for  them.  They 
have  no  digestive  organs,  and  the  change 
in  their  food  must  be  perfected  in  the 
soil,  which  is  at  the  same  time  the  gra- 
nary and  the  stomach  of  plants.  The 
waste  of  manures  can  take  place  only  by 
two  methods. 

First.  By  solution  'in  water,  which 
may  run  off  upon  the  surface  or  sink 
into  the  ground. 

Second.  By  their  preparation  for  food 
of  plants  prematurely,  or  in  such  posi- 
tions that  plants  are  not  present  to  ap- 
propriate them,  which  preparation  al- 
ways reduces  manures  to  gases.  Now 
let  any  one  thoroughly  comprehend 
these  positions,  and  he  will  never  be  at 
a  loss  to  discover  whether  his  manure  is 
exposed  to  waste. 

Until  manure  has  undergone  such  fer- 
mentation as  to  produce  sensible  heat, 
there  can  be  no  loss  of  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  vegetation  by  gaseous  escape. 
If  manure  lies  upon  an  impervious  bot- 
tom, there  can  be  no  waste  by  the  solu- 
ble elements  passing  downwards  into  the 
soil,  and  if  its  position  is  such  that  no 
water  can  flow  from  it,  no  M'aste  can 
take  place  by  any  amount  of  saturation. 


AGRICULTURAL. 


"Zl 


While  saturated  with  water  the  putre- 
factive fermentation  can  not  proceed; 
and  the  offensive  smell  that  issues  from 
it  is  of  no  sort  of  consequence.  The  es- 
caping gases  from  fresh  or  saturated  ma- 
nure form  no  part  of  the  gaseous  ele- 
ments which  are  the  food  of  plants. 

The  great  objection  to  the  too  abun- 
dant saturation  is  not  only  the  excessive 
weight  to  be  removed,  but  that  the  pre- 
paratory fermentation,  which  is  not  ex- 
haustive, can  not  proceed,  "\\rhen  ma- 
nures are  removed  to  the  soil  they  are 
intended  to  fertilize  before  fermentation 
has  taken  place,  and  partially  spread 
so  that  the  heaps  are  too  shallow  for  it 
to  commence.  There  is  no  essential  waste 
during  winter,  except  it  may  be  by  so- 
lutions from  it  flowing  off  upon  the  fro- 
zen surface  before  they  can  sink  into  the 
soil.  The  rains  do  not  materially  affect 
them  while  the  earth  is  thawed,  as  what 
they  dissolve  sinks  into  it. 

Professor  Voelcker,  of  the  Agricultural 
College  of  Circenster,  England,  and  John 
Johnston,  an  extensive  farmer  of  Western 
New-York,  have  alfnost  from  the  anti- 
podes simultaneously  announced  —  one 
the  theory  and  the  other  the  practice  of 
— this  principle,  and  its  seeming  antag- 
onism to  the  favorite  sentiment  has  eli- 
cited great  needless  discussion.  They 
have  both  asserted  that  there  was  no  es- 
sential difference  in  the  effect  of  manures 
carried  in  fall  or  winter  to  the  fields  to 
be  fertilized,  and  those  made  under  shel- 
ter or  in  heaps  in  the  yard  ;  and  in  this 
they  are  right,  when  they  refer  to  ma- 
nure uncombined  with  foreign  sub- 
stances, and  exposed  to  fire-fanging  or 
saturation.  But  when  they  assert  the 
same  regarding  those  manures  combined 
with  foreign  substances  which  they  re- 
duce to  a  condition  for  pabulum,  they 
are  wrong.  Manures  removed  to  the 
soil  from  a  yard  saturated  with  water 
are  not,  nor  ever  can  be,  distributed 
equally  over  the  soil.  Clumps  and 
pastcy  masses  are  flung  around  with 
dry  and  saturated  stalks  and  unrotten 


straw,  which  not  only  afford  unequal 
nourishment  to  the  soil  when  prepared 
by  putrefaction,  but  actually  destroy 
most  of  the  germinating  seeds  in  their 
vicinity  by  the  virulence  and  abundance 
of  their  first  crude  solutions.  Now,  Mr. 
Johnston's  success  and  Professor  Voelck- 
er's  truth  consists  in  a  condition  being 
met  which  they  had  entirely  overlooked. 
This  condition  I  had  observed  twenty 
years  before  Professor  Voelcker  and  Mr. 
Johnston  announced  the  principle  with 
which  it  is  connected.  During  the  win- 
ter the  frosts  and  winds  have  disinteg- 
rated and  dried  these  masses,  until  they 
admit  by  their  pulverulent  condition  of 
being  more  thoroughly  distributed  over 
the  soil.  We  then  approach  the  annun- 
ciation of  this  maxim. 

Manures,  to  produce  their  best  effect, 
must  be  thoroughly  distributed  over  and 
through  the  soil.  Reduced  to  its  finest 
and  most  pulverulent  condition,  each 
small  particle  of  manure  should  be  divi- 
ded from  its  fellows  by  many  particles 
of  soil.  How  to  do  this  without  waste 
is  the  great  secret,  and  the  methods  are 
various.  1st.  By  frequent  turning.  2d. 
By  composting  with  swamp  muck,  peat, 
straw,  soil,  and  other  crude  materials. 
8d.  By  returning  the  water  that  flows 
from  a  heap  to  its  surface  by  pumping 
and  otherwise.  4th.  By  combining  the 
dung  of  different  animals,  as  the  easily 
heating  dung  of  the  horse,  with  the  cold 
and  unfermenting  dung  of  cows  and 
swine.  5th.  And  worst  and  most  com- 
mon of  all,  by  allowing  the  dung  and 
litter  of  the  stable  to  decay  undisturbed 
in  heaps,  heating  and  fire-fanging  to 
ashes  in  the  center,  and  wasting  many 
times  the  value  of  that  which  remains. 
I  do  not  propose  here  to  analyze  and 
compare  these  various  methods,  but 
simply  to  endeavor  to  clear  away  the 
mist  which  surrounds  some  simple  prin- 
ciples. 

Amid  all  the  discussion  of  the  value  of 
manures  and  their  treatment,  their  crea- 
tive power  of  inducing  the  sustaining 


n 


AGRICULTURAL. 


principle  of  other  substances,  has  never 
been  treated  of.  No  wonder  is  excited 
by  the  fiict  that  a  small  piece  of  ferment- 
ed bread  placed  in  the  center  of  a  batch 
of  dough  will  excite  the  vinous  fermen- 
tation, and  entirely  change  the  chemical 
condition  of  the  whole  mass.  In  the 
same  manner  may  a  comparatively  small 
portion  of  actively  decomposing  matter 
reduce  a  large  bulk  of  inert  and  even 
poisonous  substances  to  an  active  and 
valuable  agency  in  fertilizing  the  soil. 
Many  a  man  has  laboriously  hauled  the 
muck  of  his  swamp  upon  his  field,  and 
with  disgust  and  chagrin  beheld  the 
death  of  every  vegetable  in  its  vicinity. 
The  heat  and  active  fermentation  of  dung 
mixed  with  muck  would  have  excit- 
ed a  kindred  fermentation  that  would 
have  rendered  it  fit  food  for  plants.  All 
other  inert  or  slow  decaying  or  acid 
matter  would  have  been  treated  in  the 
same  manner.  The  changes  they  would 
undergo  are  not  a  little  remarkable  and 
instructive.  Let  us  trace  them  for  a 
moment.  The  dung  having  in  the  intes- 
tines of  the  animal  undergone  partial 
decomposition,  is  more  nearly  ready  for 
complete  putrefactive  fermentation,  and 
commences  to  heat  as  soon  as  its  super- 
abundant water  has  been  pressed  out. 
The  cause  of  the  heating  is  twofold.  1st. 
The  combustion  of  decay  or  absorbing 
oxygen.  2d.  The  compression  or  les- 
sening of  bulk  as  the  heap  settles  down. 
As  soon  as  the  heating  commences,  the 
carbon,  the  hydrogen,  and  the  nitrogen 
lose  their  hold  upon  each  other,  and  are 
free  for  new  associations.  The  carbon 
unites  with  oxygen,  and  carbonic  acid 
appears.  The  hydrogen  and  nitrogen 
unite,  and  ammonia  appears,  for  it  is 
only  until  rotting  or  decomposition  takes 
place  that  ammonia  (that  much  talked 
of  but  httle  understood  substance)  is  to 
be  found.  And  now  the  game  is  opened, 
the  mass  of  muck  or  other  inert  matter 
heated  many  degrees  above  blood-heat, 
is  prepared  by  the  expansion  of  its  par- 
ticles to  receive  a  new  influence.     The 


tannic  acid  that  has  preserved  its  liquid 
and  carbonaceous  character  so  long, 
is  met  by  the  ammoniacal  gas  escaping 
from  the  rotting  dung,  and  neutralized 
by  this  potent  alkali  to  a  harmless  agent. 
The  muck  now  greedily  absorbs  manj'- 
times  its  bulk  of  ammoniacal  vapor,  and 
becomes  not  only  a  vessel  for  its  preser- 
vation, but  is  itself  rendered  a  soluble 
carbonaceous  substance  fitted  for  giving 
up  its  elements  to  living  plants.  Not  a 
bubble  of  the  precious  nitrogenous  va- 
pors, not  a  drop  of  the  liquid  gold  of  the 
compost  can  now  escape.  But  the  muck 
accomplishes  more  than  its  hunger  and 
thirst  dictates.  It  operates  as  a  divider 
to  separate  the  particles  of  manure,  and 
render  them  better  fitted  for  complete 
division  and  distribution  in  the  soil. 
Now,  whether  one  very  imperfect  me- 
thod of  using  manure  is  better  than  an- 
other very  imperfect  method,  ought  not 
to  occupy  the  attention  of  any  man. 
Whether  John  Johnston  could  obtain 
equal  or  even  better  results  from  fresh 
manure  carted  to  his  fields  in  winter 
than  he  could  from  it  hauled  from  his 
barnyard  half  decayed  in  spring,  or  from 
the  same  source  piled  with  care  and  fre- 
quently turned,  but  still  so  as  to  lose  by 
that  very  turning  a  great  part  of  its 
value,  ought  not  to  be  the  question ;  but 
whether  he  might  not  have  employed 
his  fresh  manure  to  multiply  itself  many 
times,  to  render  soluble  and  fit  food  for 
plants,  inert  and  vicious  substances.  Of 
the  second  condition  of  loss  of  value  in 
manures,  not  much  need  be  said.  As  I 
have  before  stated,  the  four  great  gaseous 
elements  of  plants — oxygen,  hydrogen, 
nitrogen,  and  carbon — are  combined  in 
such  proportions  and  relations  in  disor- 
ganized plants,  in  ripe  or  dry  vegetables, 
and  in  fresh  dung,  and  half  rotted  plants, 
as  to  be  totally  unfitted  for  food  for 
green  and  living  ones. 

Now  the  moment  that  fermentation, 
heating,  or  decay  commences,  these 
gases  separate  from  each  other,  and  are 
set  free  for  new  combinations.     As  they 


AGRICULTURAL 


•73 


occupy  vastly  greater  bulk  than  before, 
they  burst  forth  and  escape,  unless  de- 
tained by  some  absorbing  substance  that 
would  hold  them  until  combined  again. 
The  carbon  unites  with  the  ox3-gen  and 
combustion  takes  place,  precisely  like 
the  burning  of  charcoal  in  a  flame,  and 
the  result  is  the  same — ashes.  The 
ashes  of  fire  from  the  hearth  and  the 
ashes  of  fire-fanged  dung  are  precisely 
similar.  By  this  fire  fanging,  the  hy- 
drogen and  nitrogen  which  would  have 
formed  ammonia,  have  nothing  to  de- 
tain them,  the  carbonaceous  matter 
which  forms  their  natural  storehouse 
has  been  biu-ned  up.  There  are  but 
three  methods  of  preserving  manure 
from  this  species  of  loss :  1st.  Saturation 
with  water.  2d.  Drying  in  the  sun.  3d. 
Composting  with  considerable  bulks  of 
inert  matter.  All  these  are  objectiona- 
ble, but  the  last  presents  the  vast  ad- 
vantage. That  while  the  bulk  is  greatly 
increased  the  value  is  not  diluted — that 
every  pound  of  the  compost  is  equal  to 
a  pound  of  the  original. 

I  am  convinced,  therefore,  that  the 
whole  subject  of  manure  might  be  con- 
densed into  the  following  propositions : 

1.  Manure  does  not  waste  so  long  as 
it  is  unfermented  and  undissolved,  and 
these  conditions  are  effected  by  drying 
or  by  saturation,  by  spreading  too  thinly 
for  heating,  or  by  heating  in  contact 
with  absorbing  substances,  (opposite 
conditions  and  yet  not  different.) 

2.  Fresh  or  unfermented  excrement  is 
unfit  for  food  of  plants,  and  requires  a 
new  combination  of  elements  for  which 
time  and  heat  and  moisture  are  requisite, 
and  to  which  saturation  and  dryness  are 
equally  opposed. 

3.  Fermenting  manure  in  contact  with 
inert  matter,  has  the  power  of  neutraliz- 
ing vicious  properties,  (as  the  tannic 
acid  of  peat  and  the  pcroxyde  of  iron,) 
and  of  dissolving  and  rendering  soluble 
properties  that  were  otherwise  locked  up. 

4.  The  waste  of  manure  is  effected  in 
only  two  ways — ^by  the  escape  of  its 


gaseous  elements  into  the  atmosphere 
when  heating,  and  by  the  dissolving  of 
its  soluble  salts  in  water  that  flows  away. 
Any  method  that  prevents  these  is  valu- 
able. 

5.  The  creative  or  effervescing  effect 
of  unhurt  manures  is  more  valuable  than 
the  original  matter,  and  is  capable  of 
multiplying  its  value  many  times. 

6.  The  value  of  any  manure  is  in  the 
ratio  of  its  division  through  the  soil. 
And  the  golden  rule  of  farming  is, 
small  quantities  of  manure  well  divided 
and  intermingled  with  the  soil,  will  pro- 
duce better  crops  than  large  quantities 
not  well  divided. 


For  the  American  Farmers'  Magazine. 

EXTEACTS  FROM  THE  JOURNAL 
OF  A  TENNESSEE  FARMER. 

Oct.  21,  1857.— This  was  the  first 
morning  this  fall  that  Jack  Frost  showed 
his  white  teeth.  Much  of  the  Indian 
corn  is  yet  unripe,  and  I  venture  to  pre- 
dict that  if  Jack's  nip  of  the  green  corn 
proves  as  hurtful  as  I  have  known  it  in 
North  Missouri,  much  complaint  lies  in 
store  against  him  for  this  first  visit  to  us 
on  this  mission.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
a  sufficiency  has  been  impervious  and 
secure  from  his  grip,  for  this  crop  almost 
failed  in  Eastern  Tennessee  last  year  on 
account  of  the  continued  drought.  This 
year  our  farmers  gave  to  its  planting 
and  culture  unusual  attention.  The  his- 
tory of  this  corn  is  too  well  known  to 
command  but  a  passing  notice  now, 
having  been  found  here  in  cultivation  by 
the  Indians  on  the  discovery  of  the  con- 
tinent. No  State  wheresoever  turns  to 
moral  account  the  production  of  this 
valuable  cereal  more  than  our  beloved 
Tennessee  ;  very  little  "  TangU  foot''  is 
manufactured  from  it,  but  fat  hogs, 
mules,  horses,  and  cattle  revel  and  luxu- 
riate in  the  bounty,  whilst  our  farmers 
are  content  with  the  profit  thus  obtained. 
At  one  time  our  State  stood  first  in  the 
quantity  grown,  and  it  would,  I  think, 
be  no  exaggeration  to   say  she    grows 


74 


AGRICULTURAL 


the  lest  in  the  Union.  We  have  nearly 
all  known  varieties  except  the  new  Pea- 
body  kind,  now  so  much  talked  of  in  the 
prints.  It  is  in  our  border  for  sale,  and 
will  soon  be  compared  with  the  white 
flint  in  yield,  etc.  The  name  Maiz,  I 
believe  more  properly  belongs  to  this 
grain  to  contradistinguish  it  from  other 
corn.  Will  some  one  say  what  kind  of 
corn  it  was  that  Joseph,  governor  of 
Egypt,  sold  to  the  people,  and  in  seven 
years  got  aU  money,  lands,  and  cattle, 
except  that  owned  by  the  priests,  by  its 
sale  ?  (It  was  the  same  cereal  which 
our  English  brethren  denominate  corn, 
viz.,  wheat  of  some  variety. — Ed.) 

November. — About  the  middle  of  this 
last  fall  month  the  cold  weather  mili- 
tates against  the  almanac  makers,  and 
one  would  think  on  being  here  that  by 
some  freak  of  nature  we  are  sojourning 
in  the  Arctic  region.  The  ether  in  the 
thermometer  is  8  degrees  below  0,  Faren- 
heit.  Our  oldest  people  say  this  is  an 
innovation  upon  their  whole  experience 
here. 

Decemler  came  in  like  a  lamb,  and  up 
to  this  writing  has  passed  with  warm 
rains  and  sunshine,  comparing  favorably 
with  April.  Most  of  our  farmers  have 
gathered  the  greater  part  of  their  corn 
crop,  and  are  sure  enough  complaining 
that  Jack  has  damaged  them.  Some  say 
one-half  their  corn  is  unfit  for  keeping 
uses,  but  must  be  fed  away  to  stock 
forthwith.  I  went  through  my  fields 
the  14th.  I  found  on  many  stalks  ears 
of  corn  that  had  dry,  white  mould  on  the 
stalk.  That  in  the  crib  looks  as  yet 
good.  I  am  confident  my  corn  was  as 
ripe  as  most  of  my  neighbors  when  the 
frost  came,  and  I  am  satisfied  it  is  much 
injured  by  this.  I  premise  a  general 
loss  of  this  grain  in  our  district  by  early 
frost.  My  experience  in  growing  this 
grain  in  Tennessee  is,  that  if  the  grounds 
be  well  plowed  in  winter,  cross  plowed 
in  the  spring,  planted  about  the  first 
week  in  April,  with  good  seed,  thinned 
early  and  well  cultivated  after,  no  fears 


need  be  had  of  early  frosts ;  but  except 
the  main  features  here  named  appear 
with  our  farmers,  we  well  may  always 
dread  early  frosts  and  freezes. 

Dec.  18. — I  had  neglected  in  the  proper 
place  to  name  anything  of  my  success  in 
raising  sorgum,  or  in  making  syrup  from 
the  Chinese  sugar  cane.  The  seed  was 
sent  me  from  the  patent  office  last  year 
by  a  friend.  It  was  planted  in  good, 
rich  soil.  My  health  was  too  poor  to 
superintend  it,  though  it  was  cultivated 
as  broom  corn,  the  cultivation  of  which 
I  think  is  fully  understood  here.  When 
the  seed  had  become  of  a  dark  brown 
the  stalks  were  cut.  We  had  no  machine 
to  express  the  juice.  It  was  beat  with 
pestles  and  put  in  an  apple  cider  press, 
a  very  common  one.  The  juice  was 
boiled  in  a  copper  kettle  to  a  good  gold- 
en yellow  syrup,  equal,  I  think,  in  taste, 
to  any  we  get  in  this  country  except  the 
maple,  which,  I  think,  stands  ahead  of 
all  syrups  I  know  of.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  if  our  farmers  will  pay  a  little  atten- 
tion to  its  cultivation,  and  manufacture 
into  molasses,  it  will  prove  to  be  a  short- 
ening of  expense  in  this  article.  Wheth- 
er it  can  be  made  in  such  quantities  as 
to  compete  in  sale  with  other  southern 
countries  remains,  I  think,  for  the  fu- 
ture. A  great  mania  prevails  for  the 
seed.  It  is  being  very  generally  distri- 
buted in  small  parcels,  and  another  year 
may  give  more  reliable  facts  than  this 
one  has  aiforded  in  relation  to  the  new . 
article.  So  far  as  we  tried  it  I  do  not 
think  any  sugar  can  be  made  of  the 
syrup.  A.  L.  B. 

Mill  Bend,  Tenn.,  Dec.  1857. 


For  the  Farmers'  Magazine. 

PROCESS  OF  SAVING  CORN,  &c. 

The  old  year  is  at  its  close.  With  us 
the  Christmas  week  has  been  one  of  joy 
and  mirth  with  the  lads  and  lasses  of  our 
community.  Everywhere  in  our  favor- 
ed Valley  plenty  abounds,  and  notwith- 
standing the  monetary  crisis  which  has 
passed  over  the  land,  there  is,  compara- 


AGRICULTURAL 


75 


tively  speaking,  little  or  no  real  want  in 
our  community.  The  crops  of  the  past 
season,  if  not  abundant,  have  been  am- 
ple, and  there  is  some  surplus  for  mar- 
ket. The  corn  crop  was  very  fine,  but 
owing  to  the  early  and  severe  frosts  of 
November,  and  the  warm,  rainy,  and 
damp  weather  that  followed,  much  of  the 
crop  has  been  seriously  injured,  amount- 
ing to  one-third,  and  in  some  places  one- 
half  the  crop.  Many  of  my  neighbors 
have  been  under  the  necessity  of  remov- 
ing the  corn  from  cribbing  too  early,  and 
have  suffered  loss.  Where  corn  was  cut 
up  and  well  shocked,  it  has  not  been 
much  injured,  particularly  where  cut  be- 
fore the  heavy  frosts. 

The  process  of  saving  corn  has  been 
so  often  commented  on,  that  it  would 
appear  almost  unnecessary  for  me  to  say 
anything  on  the  subject.  Yet,  as  I  have 
saved  my  corn  sound  this  year,  I  will 
give  you  my  method,  and  if  it  is  worth 
anything,  make  use  of  it. 

I  usually  begin  cutting  as  soon  as  the 
corn  is  glazed.  This,  with  us,  is  usually 
about  the  20th  of  September,  this  year 
the  first  week  in  Oct.  When  the  crop 
is  good,  say  50  or  60  bushels  per  acre, 
I  put  13  rows,  to  the  row  of  shocks,  cut- 
ting as  near  the  ground  as  I  can,  so  as 
to  give  the  whole  nutriment  of  the  stock 
to  the  maturity  of  the  grain. 

We  commence  on  one  side  of  the  field, 
a  stout  hand  taking  the  lead,  and  form- 
ing the  shocks  by  bending  four  or  more 
stout  stalks  together,  making  half  shocks 
or  six  rows,  well  set  up,  and  secured  by 
a  good  band  of  fodder,  grass  or  straw. 
After  going  over  the  field  in  this  way, 
let  it  cure  two  or  three  days,  or  more  if 
necessary,  and  then  complete  the  shocks 
by  bringing  the  six  additional  rows,  with 
a  good  band  about  the  ears,  and  another 
at  the  top.  If  the  shocks  are  well  put 
up  and  banded  they  will  stand  all  win- 
ter without  injury.  I  have  half  my 
crop  yet  in  the  field,  in  excellent  preser- 
vation, and  shall  only  get  it  in  as  my 
cattle  need  provender. 


The  two  past  winters  should  admonish 
farmers  to  have  better  accommodations 
for  their  stock.  There  is  much  gain 
every  way  from  having  good  shelter  for 
cattle  and  stock  of  every  kind.  Less 
feed  suffices,  and  what  you  give  thein 
they  get  the  benefit  of.  The  merciful 
man  is  ever  merciful  to  his  beast.  The 
man  who  can  hear  his  cattle  and  sheep 
bleating,  his  pigs  squaling,  and  see  his 
horses  shivering  in  the  fence  corners, 
while  he  makes  no  efforts  for  their  com- 
fort, must  be  calous  to  the  finer  feelings 
of  our  nature.     (It  is  so. — Ed.) 

We  often  hear  persons  complaining 
about  bad  luck,  but  if  you  trace  the  mat- 
ter, it  is  bad  management.  The  careful 
manager,  who  has  a  place  for  everything, 
and  keeps  everything  in  its  place,  who 
divides  his  stock  in  such  a  way  as  to 
prevent  the  feeble  from  being  run  over 
by  the  strong,  or  driven  from  their  feed, 
does  not  often  suffer  loss  in  this  way. 
Good  feed  and  careful  attention,  will 
generally  keep  man  and  beast  in  good 
health  and  condition.     (Yes. — Ed.) 

One  cow  well  fed,  is  worth  two  or 
three  poorly  cared  for.  Keep  good 
stock,  feed  well,  and  my  word  for  it,  you 
will  find  a  proper  return.  (How  slow 
the  world  is  to  find  this  out. — Ed.) 

On  Christmas  day  we  had  quite  a  snow 
storm,  with  wind  from  the  east ;  since 
then  the  weather  has  been  mild,  with 
rain  every  alternate  day.  The  snow  is 
gone,  and  this  day  is  wet,  with  deep 
mud  everywhere.  Where  the  land  is 
good,  wheat  looks  well,  but  to  some  ex- 
tent it  is  an  uncertain  crop. 

The  crop  of  oats  last  season  was  fine, 
but  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  corn,  much 
of  it  has  been  fed.  The  hay  harvest  was 
very  good.  Of  potatoes  about  the  usual 
crop.  Apples  scarce.  Pork  rather 
scarce  and  high,  $7  being  about  the 
average  price.  Beef  is  not  abundant, 
and  is  worth  from  $6  50  to  $7,  and  will 
be  very  scarce  before  Spring,  as  the 
usual  stock  is  not  on  hand.  South 
Western  Virginia  produces    very   fine 


76 


AGRICULTURAL. 


cattle,  but  the  supply  from  that  quarter 
is  less  than  usual.  The  graziers  suffered 
much  in  their  cattle  last  winter,  from 
cold  and  short  supply  of  provender. 

I  have  written  this  letter  rather  hasti- 
ly, correct  errors  if  you  give  it  a  place 
in  your  valuable  journal. 

Wishing  you  the  compliments  of  the 
season,  I  subscribe  myself. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Henry  B.  Jones. 

Near  Brownsburg,  Dec.  30,  1857. 

The  above  remarks  about  shelter  for 
cattle,  implying  humanity  to  brutes,  (?) 
as  well  as  profit  to  the  owner,  are  quite 
to  our  mind,  and  we  thinTc  and  feel  that 
they  can  hardly  be  too  often  repeated. 
Would  not  shelter  for  the  food  of  cattle 
be  well  also?  We  ask  this  question 
without  answering.  It  has  been  our  lot 
to  know  little  of  so  delicious  a  climate  as 
the  above  writer  may  enjoy.  In  these 
boreal  regions  it  is  good  policy  to  shelter 
our  fodder  as  well  as  our  cattle,  and  we 
can  not  but  doubt  whether  the  same 
would  not  be  good  policy  for  the  greater 
corn  growers  and  stock  breeders  of  the 
West,  the  South-West,  and  even  the 
South.  But  the  farmers  in  these  regions 
know  perhaps  of  reasons  for  a  contrary 
course,  which  we  may  not  fully  appre- 
ciate— Ed. 


SNOW  AND  VEGETABLE  LIFE. 

BY   A    FRIEND. 

In  mundane  affairs  no  one  finds  an  ex- 
cuse or  an  apology  for  ingratitude.  A 
man  may  commit  crime  after  crime 
against  both  life  and  property,  but  rare 
indeed  is  the  instance,  however  henious 
the  offence,  in  which  the  criminal  does 
not  find  some  people  ready  to  palliate  it 
or  to  extenuate  its  guilt.  But  nobody 
forgives  ingratitude,  even  when  not  the 
object  of  it. 

Why  is  it  that  we  do  not  apply  this 
to  holier  things  ?  Why  do  so  many  peo- 
ple who  profess  to  live,  and  who  we  be- 
lieve mean  to  live  a  Christian  life,  par- 
ticipate, day  by  day  and  year  by  year,  in 


so  many  blessings,  heedless  at  all  events, 
if  not  ungrateful  for  them  ?  Why  ?  For 
two  principal  reasons.  Because  being 
blessings  enjoyed  in  common  with  all 
their  fellow-men,  they  are  regarded  as 
"  things  of  course."  And  because  they 
do  not  tMnk. 

It  may  be  thought  a  cold  subject  with 
which  to  stir  up  the  heart.  Yet,  not- 
withstanding that,  the  winter's  fall  of 
snow  should  be,  with  every  farmer  es- 
pecially, a  cause  of  thankfulness  and  gra- 
titude to  our  gracious  Father  in  heaven. 
Yet  so  common  is  snow,  and  moreover, 
sometimes  so  unpleasant  to  our  personal 
feelings  and  convenience,  that  it  is  to  be 
feared  it  too  often  engenders  grumblings 
rather  than  thankfulness. 

Let  us  see  why  it  is  that  we  have  cause 
for  this  gratitude ;  and,  perhaps,  the  con- 
sideration may  engender  the  feeling. 

In  the  first  place  the  snow  protects  the 
ground  from  the  intense  severity  of  frost, 
and  thereby  preserves  vitality  in  the 
roots  of  may  trees,  and  in  the  seeds  that 
the  ripening  of  the  autumnal  crops'  have 
sown  in  the  ground ;  and  many  of  which 
but  for  such  protection  would  be  de- 
stroyed. 

That  this  is  so  has  been  proved  by  nu- 
merous experiments.  It  has  been  found 
that  the  temperature  of  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  beneath  six  inches  of  snow, 
was  nineteen  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer  less  severe  than  the  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere  at  the  time  of 
the  experiment.  And  as  snow  is  a  bad 
conductor  of  heat,  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  surface  would  not  have  cooled 
more,  even  if  the  temperature  of  the  at- 
mosphere had  fallen  several  degrees  still 
lower. 

The  preservation  of  seeds  by  the  com- 
bined action  of  snow  and  frost  is  very 
remarkable.  Although  the  temperature 
of  the  winters  in  New- York  State  is  much 
more  severe  than  in  England,  there  are 
many  seeds  of  flowering  and  other  plants 
that  are  of  a  tender  nature,  which  are 
here   preserved    perfectly   through   the 


AGRICULTURAL. 


11 


winter,  being  self  sown  in  the  summer 
and  fall,  and  which  in  the  following 
spring  make  their  appearance  in  the 
garden.  In  England  the  same  seeds  in- 
variably perish.  The  balsam  is  one  flow- 
er of  that  description.  The  reason  is 
this.  In  England  there  is  usually  in 
mid-winter  a  temporary  breaking  up  of 
frost  for  a  few  daj-s,  which  is  followed  by 
a  short  season  of  severe  frost  again. 
During  the  thaw  the  genial  warmth 
causes  the  tender  seeds  alluded  to  to  ger- 
minate ;  but  the  return  of  frost  arrests  the 
process,  which  in  a  seed  can  never  be  re- 
newed, and  it  dies. 

Again,  although  many  evergreen  trees 
can  endure  a  great  amount  of  cold  with- 
out destruction,  their  leaves  require  Ugh  t 
at  all  times*;  otherwise  the  vital  princi- 
ple in  the  leaf  could  not  be  sustained. 
Now  snow  being  white  and  opaque,  the 
quantity  that  falls  on  a  tree  does  not  pre- 
clude the  light  from  penetrating  through 
it,  and,  consequently  the  functions  of  the 
leaf  can  progress,  notwithstanding  its 
winter  covering,  which  at  the  same  time 
protects  it  also  from  the  intensity  of  the 
frost. 

Independently  of  the  foregoing  bene- 
fits derived  fi-ora  the  presence  of  snow, 
there  is  another  of  equal  value,  which  is 
not  probably  so  apparent  to  the  casual 
observer.  The  effect  of  frost  upon  the 
organization  of  vegetables  is  principally 
injurious  bj"-  rupturing  and  tearing  apart 
the  vessels  forming  their  structure.  This 
arises  chiefly  from  the  contraction  of  the 
water  or  sap  whilst  freezing  within  them. 
The  tissue  fomicd  by  these  vessels  is  it- 
self elastic ;  but  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree in  different  families  of  plants.  Now 
when  frost  is  not  severe,  the  clastic  force 
enables  the  internal  structure  of  the  plant 
to  conform  to  the  altered  position  of  the 
vessels  forming  the  tissues — to  some  ex- 
tent at  least — and  it  is  only  when  the 
severity  of  the  frost  is  sufficient  to  ex- 
iiaust  this  clastic  power,  that  the  organi- 
zation of  plants  is  destroyed,  by  these 
results  of  the  freezing  process. 


But  if  the  preceding  paragraph  is  un- 
derstood, the  reader  M-ill  perceive  that  it 
follows  as  of  course,  that  the  plant  is  li- 
able to  injury  by  the  process  of  thawing 
as  well  as  that  of  freezing.  And  such  is 
the  fact ;  for  those  who  have  investigated 
the  subject  have  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  more  plants  arc  killed  by  the 
thaw  than  by  the  preceding  frost.  Be- 
cause usually  the  thaw  is  much  more 
rapid  than  the  freezing  process.  Hence 
there  is  more  time  for  the  elastic  force  to 
be  gradually  brought  into  play  through 
the  whole  fabric  of  the  plant  in  the  latter 
case. 

We  all  know  the  effect  of  a  hot  win- 
ter's sun  for  a  couple  of  hours  at  mid- 
day upon  a  frozen  tree.  And  now  the 
friendly  snow  comes  into  play.  The  white 
mantle  guards  the  covered  limbs  from 
the  direct  action  of  the  sun's  rays,  which 
first  have  to  melt  into  water  the  snow  on 
the  branches,  thus  they  become  bathed 
with  water  of  a  temperature  just  below 
freezing  point.  It  follows  that  the  frost 
is  thereby  removed  gradually  from  the 
tree,  and  frequently  that  saves  from 
death  many  a  plant  that  would  have  suc- 
cumbed to  the  disruption  of  its  tissues 
that  the  action  of  a  hot  sun  on  its  frozen 
limbs,  had  they  beeu  uncovered,  would 
have  occasioned. 

Many  years  ago  the  writer  of  these 
remarks,  had  accidcntly  exposed  a  dozen 
or  more  succulent  geranium  plants  to  a 
severe  frost,  which  so  completely  pene- 
trated through  them  as  to  give  their  stems 
as  well  as  leaves  the  transparent  appear- 
ance of  sugar  candy.  Knowing  the  above 
mentioned  facts,  he  determined  to  see  if 
it  was  possible  to  thaw  one  of  them  with- 
out the  destruction  of  vegetable  life.  lie 
therefore  placed  the  plant  with  its  whole 
head  inverted  in  a  vessel  of  ice-cold  wa- 
ter, by  supporting  the  flower-pot  con- 
taining the  frozen  plant  on  sticks  placed 
accross  the  top  of  the  vessel,  which  was 
then  put  in  a  dark  cellar,  the  tempera- 
ture of  which  at  the  time  was  only  three 
or  four  degrees  above  freezing  point.  In 


78 


AGRICULTURAL 


this  position  the  plant  was  left  for  two 
or  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
(but  not  before)  the  leaves  and  stalk  by 
their  change  to  their  natural  color,  show- 
ed that  the  frost  was  all  out  of  them. 
This  plant  lived.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  other  geraniums  were  all  killed 
before  night  of  the  day  on  which  the  ex- 
periment commenced,  for  the  first  rays 
of  the  sun  disposed  of  them  in  an  hour ! 

From  the  foregoing  remarks  it  will  be 
seen  that  vegetation  is  preserved  by  snow 
in  a  two-fold  manner.  The  one,  by  pre- 
serving the  vital  principle  from  the  effects 
of  extreme  cold ;  the  other  by  preventing 
the  destruction  of  the  organization,  by 
reason  of  its  disruption  by  intense  frost. 

Are  not  these  blessings  ?  Truly  of  so 
great  extent,  that  the  sustenance  of  ani- 
mal life,  on  large  districts  of  the  earth, 
may  he — for  ought  we  know — dependent 
on  their  presence.  How  grateful  should 
we  be  then  for  them! 

How  many  people  live?  How  few 
amongst  them  think  ? 


A  CORRECTION. 

Gentlemen  : — In  the  Farmers'  Maga- 
zine for  January,  just  come  to  hand,  it 
is  stated,  page  28,  "  The  veteran  editor  of 
the  Massachusetts'  Plowman  still  affirms 
that  his  favorite  Alderney  cow,  gives 
milk,  four  quarts  of  which  will  make  a 
pound  of  butter."  This  is  a  mistake. 
He  affirms  in  relation  to  his  Devon  stock, 
and  not  Alderney.  We  do  not  know 
that  he  ever  had  any  of  the  Alderney  or 
Jersey  stock.  We  have  seen  his  Devons 
— and  they  are  very  fine — though  we 
were  never  satisfied  that  their  butter- 
producing  qualities  were  equal  to  his  re- 
presentations. We  do  not  believe  that 
any  cow  can  be  found,  or  ever  has  been 
found,  that  will  yield  a  pound  of  butter 
to  each  and  every  four  quarts  of  her 
milk.  It  is  a  good  cow  that  will  yield  a 
pound  of  butter  to  double  tids  quantity, 
through  the  season.  On  this  point  we 
speak  with  confidence,  because  we  have 
examined  it.  We  have  said  the  same 
thing  to  the  veteran  editor  named,  who 


is  but  a  few  years  older  than  ourselves, 
and  who  has  boasted  much  of  his  stock, 
still  we  doubt  whether  he  has  seen  more 
or  better  butter  producing  cows  than  we 
have.  *^* 

January  9  th,  1858. 

We  stand  corrected.  A  Devon  not  an 
Alderney  cow,  is  the  mother  of  a  pound 
of  butter  to  four  quarts  of  milk,  and  we 
knew  it,  and  can  not  account  for  the 
blunder,  but  are  glad  to  be  put  right. 

Some  cows,  we  all  know,  are  remark- 
able for  the  quantity,  and  others  for  the 
quality  of  their  milk.  We  believe  it 
possible  that  a  cow,  giving  naturally  a 
very  little  and  very  rich  milk,  may  be  so 
fed  and  watered  as  to  give  still  less  and 
still  richer ;  and  if  the  editor  of  the 
Ploicman  says  that  four  quarts  of  a  par- 
ticular cow's  milk  have  made  a  pound  of 
butter,  we  will  not  dispute  him,  for  we 
believe  him  to  be  a  truthful  man  ;  but  if 
it  was  so,  then  that  cow's  milk,  owing  to 
some  extraordinary  characteristic  in  the 
animal,  or  to  some  peculiarity  in  the 
manner  of  feeding,  or  to  a  selection  of 
the  strippings  instead  of  taking  the  whole, 
was  about  three  times  as  oily  as  the 
avarage  of  cow's  milk.  It  must  have  con- 
tained at  least  10  per  cent,  of  oil,  instead 
of  about  four,  as  is  usual. 

The  gentleman,  who  has  kindly  cor- 
rected our  mistake,  is,  we  believe,  an  ad- 
mirer of  the  old  red  cattle  of  New-Eng- 
land. He  knows,  as  we  do,  that  the 
breeding  has  been  bad ;  that  the  best 
calves  have  gone  to  the  butcher ;  that 
males  have  been  kept  more  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rendering  the  cows  fit  for  the 
dairy,  than  any  other  consideration.  Is 
there  any  other  race  of  cattle  that  would 
have  been  as  good  this  day,  as  these 
same  old  reds,  if  through  a  long  line  of 
ancestry  they  had  been  as  badly  bred  ? 
We  should  like  it  much  if  that  gentle- 
men would  give  for  the  Farmer's  Mag- 
azine some  account  of  these  cattle,  their 
history,  their  abuses  and  their  excellent 
qualities  after  all.    If  we  are  not  mistak- 


AGRICULTURAL. 


Id 


en,  he  ranks  them  high  ;  thinks  it  would 
be  wise  to  breed  from  them,  instead  of 
relying  on  importations  ;  and  that  by  a 
rational  procedure  they  can  be  made 
the  foundation  for  a  better  stock  than 
the  world  yet  affords,  at  least  for  our 
Northern  States.  We  suspect  he  may  be 
right,  and  should  Uke  to  have  his  reasons, 
though  we  have  supposed  that  the  coun- 
try owes  much  to  the  importers  of  fine 
cattle,  and  that  both  importation  and 
careful  breeding  from  the  best  samples  of 
our  acclimated  stock  should  go  on  par- 
allel, in  order  to  reach  the  best  results  in 
the  shortest  time,  for  the  whole  country, 
and  for  every  part  of  it. — Ed. 


A  THEORY  SPOLIED ;  OR  ARE 

SOUTH-DOWNS  PURE  BLOOD- 

■  ED  SHEEP. 

BY  C.  M.  CLAY,  ESQ.,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Mr.  Editor  : — After  all  the  accumulat- 
ed science  of  ages  applied  to  the  pre- 
servation of  health  and  the  cure  of  dis- 
eases, one  of  the  first  phj^sicians  and 
teachers  of  Paris  lately  said  to  his  stu- 
dents, very  naively,  "  What  do  I — what 
does  anybody  know  about  medicine  ?" 
It  was  said  of  a  learned  traveler  that  he 
went  from  home  a  goslln  and  came  back 
Vi  gander !  "Common  sense"  is  not 
universal ;  learning  can  neither  give  it, 
nor  take  it  away.  Science  has  its  fan- 
atics as  well  as  religion  and  politics ; 
and  in  either  case  whenever  one  mounts 
his  hobby,  like  a  beggar  on  horseback, 
he  "rides  to  the  devil!"  No  wonder 
then  that  "  book  learning"  is  so  much 
distrusted  by  practical  men.  In  practi- 
cal life  false  theory  dees  not  run  long 
before  it  butts  itself  against  some  im- 
possible law  of  nature,  and  is  abandoned. 
But  let  a  book  man,  or  a  man  of  science 
if  you  please,  get  hold  of  the  tail  of  a 
thing,  and  he  is  dragged  to  starvation  or 
death  before  he  will  loose  his  hold ! 
Henry  Coleman,  Esq.,  the  author  of  Eu- 
ropean Agriculture,  tells  us  that  pulver- 
ized granite  and  other  insoluble  sub- 
stances produced  with  simple  water  un- 


expected vegetable  life  ;  but  when  they 
were  all  mixed  together,  just  as  we 
might  suppose  in  nature  and  capable  of 
the  greatest  results,  it  turned  out  that 
the  product  was  less  in  combination 
than  in  individual  separation.  So  much 
for  chemical  agriculture  !  Still  we  ai'e 
no  enemies  of  science,  although  we  do 
not  credit  the  report  that  silk  has  been 
produced  by  chemical  processes  without 
the  aid  of  the  worm  from  m\ilberry 
leaves.  There  is  more  truth  than  poe- 
try in  that  verse : 

"  A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing, 
Drink   deep,   or   taste  not    the    Pierian 

spring  1" 
I  have  been  led  to  these  reflections  by 
reading  an  article  in  the  patent  office  re- 
ports of  1851-2,  ("agricultural,")  by  D. 
J.  Browne,  LL.D.     In  that  article,  page 
88,  he  says  the  South-Down  sheep  "  is 
itself  a  hybrid,  being  a  mixture  of  the 
hairy  and  wooly  species."     Now  to  this 
dictum  I  give  in  refutation  theory  and 
facts.     Let  us  premise,  however,  that  the 
learned  doctor  is  led  to  this  assertion  no 
doubt  incidentally  by  a  theory,  alias  a 
hobby,  which  is  that  there  are  but  two 
species  of  sheep,  one  having  wool  and 
the   other  Tiair  exclusively,  and  that, 
therefore,  all  with  mixed  wool  and  hair 
are  hybrids !     Now,  upon  what  data  is 
this  broad  assertion  made?     Upon  the 
inference,   according    to    the   Baconian 
Philosophy,  of  facts — a  classification  de- 
rived from  individual  ties  ?    Not  at  all. 
For  of  the  sixteen  kinds  of  sheep  (I  will 
not  say  species)  there  laid  down  by  him, 
whose  wool  had  been  subjected  to  micro- 
scopic analysis,  none  but  the  Saxon  and 
Merino  varieties,  one  species,  had  fine 
wool.    Then  if  the  doctor's  logic  be  right, 
all  the  principal  breeds  of  sheep  in  Eu- 
rope andAmerica  are  hybrids.  Nay,more, 
as  every  sheep  enumerated  had  some  of 
the  characteristics  of  "  wool"  in  his  pile, 
there  is  but  one  pure  breed — the  Merino 
— that  is,  one  pure  breed  has  been  the 
progenitor  of  all  the  hybrids  !    A  reduc- 
tio  ad  al)surdum  ! 

From  analogical  reasoning  the  doctor 


80 


AGRICULTURAL, 


is  just  as  wide  of  the  mark.  When  told 
that  change  of  climate  reduces  the  hair 
and  increases  the  wool,  or  the  reverse, 
the  doctor  claims  this  as  a  proof  rather 
than  a  disproof  of  his  theory.  What  is 
there  in  the  first  place  in  the  nature  of 
things  why  a  sheep  should  not  have  hair 
and  wool?  Nature  is  wiser  even  than 
so-called  science;  and  common  sense 
stands  by  nature.  Wool  is,  in  conse- 
quence of  its  eliptical  form,  curly  ;  if  it 
extended  to  the  hoofs  it  would  be  con- 
tinually catching  against  the  many  ob- 
stacles which  the  legs  of  every  animal 
meet  in  locomotion.  Thus,  while  nature 
for  our  benefit  allows  wool  on  the  sheep's 
back,  she  very  generally,  and  sensibly  I 
think,  with  due  deference  to  the  doctor, 
supplies  hair,  which  is  straight,  on  the 
legs.  It  is  the  mass  of  facts  which  make 
a  rule,  so  also  is  it  the  mass  of  facts 
which  in  their  invariaMlity  and  univer- 
sality constitutes  "  species."  Now  if 
the  mass  of  known  breeds  of  sheep  have 
wool  and  hair  mixed,  or  separate,  on  the 
same  body,  then  by  what  logic  does  the 
doctor  infer  that  a  mixed  coat  of  wool 
and  hair  constitutes  of  necessity  without 
other  data  of  proof  hybridity — an  anom- 
ily — a  departure  from  nature's  unaltera- 
ble laws  ?  But  to  return  to  analogy. 
There  are  some  animals  which  lose  their 
fur  in  summer  and  regain  it  in  winter ; 
are  they  according  to  the  doctor's  rea- 
soning hybrids  returning  to  one  or  the 
other  original  types  of  their  progenitors  ? 
Again,  why  may  not  a  pure  blooded 
sheep  have  hair  and  wool  as  well  as  a 
pure  blooded  fox  or  rabbit  have  both 
hair  and  fur  ?  They  are  both,  in  each 
case,  similar  elements  in  dissimilar 
structure.  Again  the  learned  doctor 
makes  a  long  argument  to  prove  the 
trite  and  well  admitted  fact,  that  hybrids 
soon  return  to  one  or  the  other  original 
types,  or  run  out.  Here  then  is  the 
South-Down,  traced  in  its  characteristics 
to  the  times  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
the  oldest  authentic  breed  known,  not 
excepting  the  Merino — the  most  thrifty 


and  the  most  prolific — then  by  all  the 
highest  proofs  as  adduced  by  the  doctor 
himself,  7iot  a  hybrid,  but  a  pure  race. 

Again  the  doctor  quotes  authority 
which  he  approves,  that  species  do  pro- 
duce or  may  produce  varieties,  by  which 
he  attempts  to  account  for  the  difference 
between  the  Saxony  and  the  Merino, 
French  and  Spanish,  which  he  claims 
are  pure  bloods  of  the  same  species. 
Now  no  man  living  who  did  not  have  it 
told  him  that  the  Saxon,  and  the  Span- 
ish, and  French  Merino  were  the  same, 
would  ever  suppose  that  they  were  of 
the  same  species.  If  then  the  Pure 
Blooded  Sheep,  the  Merino,  has  changed 
its  type  in  weight,  in  size,  in  quality 
and  quantity  of  wool  and  of  grease,  in 
hardiness,  and  in  pr-olificness  ;  then  fol- 
lowing the  law  of  hybi'ids  thus  far,  it  is 
not  a  hybrid — a  fortiori — how  much  the 
more  is  the  South-Down  which  eminent- 
ly preserves  its  characteristics  in  all 
countries  and  ages,  not  a  hybrid,  but  a 
pure  blooded  species  and  race. 

Another  of  the  doctor's  broad  asser- 
tions is,  that  ioool  is  the  thing  to  be 
raised  from  sheep,  and  that  wool  only, 
and  not  mutton,  must  be  always  looked 
to,  that  mutton  will  follow  as  a  conse- 
quence. The  doctor  does  not  conde- 
scend, however,  to  tell  us  lovers  of  mut- 
ton how!  This  is  "pulling  the  wool 
over  our  eyes"  with  a  vengeance. 

Now  it  is  too  well  known  to  require 
authority  to  support  my  assertion,  that 
England,  the  greatest  sheep-raising 
country  in  the  world,  having  certainly 
the  most  intelligent  agriculturists  as  a 
mass  now  existing,  just  reverses  Dr. 
Browne's  dictum.  They  have  ceased  to 
raise  sheep  for  the  icool,  and  look  alto- 
gether of  primarily  to  the  mutton.  The 
Merino  and  the  Saxon  have  become 
almost  extinct  in  England.  The  con- 
test seems  to  be  solely  between  the  large, 
coarse  wools,  the  Leicesters,  the  Bake- 
weUs,  and  the  new  Oxfordshires,  and  the 
smaller  but  superior  flavored  South- 
Downs.     In  what  sense  then  docs  Dr. 


AGRICULTURAL 


81 


Browne  mean  to  impose  this  new  idea 
upon  us  ?  Does  he  mean  to  say  that 
"the  finer  the  wool  the  finer  the  mut- 
ton," is  a  true  maxim,  and  that  no  ex- 
ceptional circumstances  and  characteris- 
tics are  to  be  taken  into  account  ?  Then 
is  all  Europe  at  fault  in  their  taste ;  for 
all  agree  that  the  small,  coarse  wooled 
sheep  of  Wales  and  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland  are  the  finest  flavored  mutton 
in  the  world.  Whoever  heard  of  the 
Merino  being  superior  mutton  in  quality 
or  quantity  ?  We  of  Kentucky,  (north- 
west of  the  doctor's  ideal  line  of  separa- 
tion between  the  "  hairy"  and  "  wooly" 
sheep,  (about  which  I  shall  say  a  word 
presently,)  have  tried  the  Merino,  giving 
thousands  of  dollars  for  a  single  sheep, 
breaking  men  of  large  fortunes,  and 
found  him  poor  in  flesli,  and  making  us 
poorer  in  pocket.  The  Merino  is  a  mean, 
ragged,  diminutive,  unthrifty  carcase, 
but  when  got  fat,  tolerable  mutton,  with 
the  fat  and  lean  too  much  separated. 
The  Saxony  is  no  better.  The  French 
Merino  has  not  been  tried  here,  I  believe, 
but  he  is  "  some  more  of  the  same  sort." 
In  the  Lexington  and  Louisville  mar- 
kets a  South-down  wether  will  bring 
from  ten  to  twelve  dollars  dressed.  A 
Merino  would  not  bring  much  over  "nine 
shillings"  wool  and  all,  and  yet  this 
learned  doctor  talks  to  us  of  wool,  and 
about  sheep-o-thermal  lines. 

The  doctor's  sheep  line  is,  beginning 
at  the  south-eastern  boundary  of  New- 
Hampshire,  and  running  "  diagonally," 
pursuing  pretty  much  the  line  of  tide 
water,  and  ending  in  Texas ;  that  north- 
west of  that  the  "  wooly^^  sheep  must  be 
bred;  and  south-east  the  ^* hairy ''^ 
.sheep ;  if  kept  pure,  they  will  do  well ; 
if  not,  they  will  prosper  on  neither  side. 
Let  us  see,  it  must  be  the  sea  air  wliich 
is  to  cause  this  seemingly  artificial  line. 
Now  the  doctor's  Saxony  and  Merino 
are  from  and  natives  of  Spain,  a  penin- 
sular— the  most  peninsular  of  all  Europe. 
At  the  world's  fair  in  London  thirty-two 
governments  were  represented  as   con- 


testants for  the  prize  for  the  finest  wool ; 
and  yet  that  honor  was  borne  off  by 
Marke  R.  Cockereli,  of  Tennessee,  U,  S., 
south-east  of  Dr.  Browne's  sheep-o-ther- 
mal line.     Let  us  leave    science  then 
and  come  down  to  practical    ^^  common 
sense,'''     Dicta  1.  Where  wool  is  more 
valuable  and  more  accessible  to  market 
than  mutton,  raise  wool.     2.  Where  fine 
wool  is  more  in  demand  and  at  a  higher 
price  than  coarse,  {'jT  "  hair,")  raise  fine 
wool ;    and  the  reverse.      3.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  modern  facilities  of  trans- 
portation, the  wools  of  all  countries  must 
of  necessity  be  competitors  in  the  same 
market ;  therefore,   the  rich  lands  and 
the  poor  lands  are  equalized  to  a  certain 
extent ;  and  therefore  rich  valuable  lands 
must  cease  to  raise  wool,  either  coarse 
or  Jine,  as  a  primary  source  of  revenue. 
4.  As  mutton  is  perishable,  and  there- 
fore not  capable  of  distant  transporta- 
tion, it  may  have  a  local  monopoly  of 
market,  and  consequently  may  command 
extraordinarily    high     prices.       5.    As 
mutton  is  not  only  a  necessity,  but  a 
luxurj^,  good  mutton,  like  South-down, 
wiU  "pay  better"  than  any  sheep  raised 
for  wool.     Witness  the  sales  in  Lexing- 
ton and  Louisville,  and  the  recent  im- 
portations of  saddles   of   South-downs 
from  England  into  the  New-York  market 
for  the  dinner  parties  of  the  wealthy. 
6.  As  the  demand  for  wool  is  substituted 
in  a  great  measure  by  the  culture  of  flax, 
silk,  and  cotton,  its  consumption  by  the 
human  race  must  be  retarded,  whilst 
mutton,  becoming  more  and  more  a  ne- 
cessity   and    a    luxury,    as    the    most 
healthy  and  the  most  palatable  of  butch- 
er's meats,  must  become  more  and  more 
in  demand,  and  of  consequence  "pay" 
more  and  more. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  am  a  breeder  of 
"  South-down  sheep,"  especially  tenaci- 
ous of  the  idea  of  "purity  of  blood"  in 
all  animals,  biped  and  quadruped.  Mr. 
Browne,  in  riding  his  hobby  of  "  pure" 
breeds,  rode  on  to  my  hobby  of  "  South- 
downs."     I  give  him  congratulation  for 


82 


AGRICULTURAL 


his  demolition  of  that  miserable  Tium- 
hug,  ^^  improved  crossed  breeds''''  on  one 
side,  and  that  equally  false  theory  of 
"  in-and-in-'breeding"  on  the  other  side. 
But  he  has  by  too  much  learning  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  "  mystified,"  and 
become  one  of  that  ancient  but  still  ex- 
istent sect,  "the  blind  leading  the  blind." 
I  beg  you  will  be  careful  how  you  let 
my  name  transpire,  lest  I  should  be  ex- 
posed as  intruding  still  more  and  more 
upon  the  doctor's  domain,  and  have  some 
learned  corporation  bestowing  the  title  of 
LL.D.  upon  me. 


For  the  Farmers'  Magazine, 

CORN  IN  NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 

BY  D.  L.  HARVEY,  EPPING,  N.  H. 

Mr.  Editor  : — With  your  permission, 
I  will  here  make  a  statement  of  some  im- 
provement I  have  made  on  a  piece  of  land 
the  past  year,  and  also  the  amount  of  a 
crop  of  corn  grown  on  the  same,  thinking 
it  perhaps  would  be  interesting  to  some 
of  your  readers.  I  will  endeavor  to  be 
as  brief  as  possible. 

Land  one  himdred  and  fifty  rods.  In 
1849  the  farm  came  into  my  possession. 
This  piece  formerly  had  been  in  a  field, 
but  had  become  exhausted  and  turned  to 
pastiu"e  for  some  years  ;  how  many  I  do 
not  know.  In  1850  it  was  plowed  in 
the  spring  and  planted  with  potatoes 
without  manure.  The  yield  was  small, 
not  more  than  paying  for  the  labor.  The 
next  year  it  was  sown  with  barley  vrith 
no  better  success.  At  the  same  time  clover 
seed  was  sown,  which  set  very  well.  The 
next  year  it  was  turned  to  pasture 
again. 

In  the  fall  of  1856  I  thought  of  mak- 
ing another  attempt  to  improve  it  by  a 
fall  plowing,  and  see  what  effect  it 
would  have  on  the  soil  or  the  crop.  In 
November  I  applied  twenty  loads  of  com- 
post, (a  cart  of  forty  bushels,)  and  im- 
mediately plowed  it  in  with  a  side  hill 
plow  five  inches  deep.  The  middle  of 
May  last  it  was  well  harrowed,  and  the 
23d  planted  with  corn,  five  kernels  in  a 


hill,  rows  3  ft.  6  in.,  hills  2  ft.  6  in.  as- 
sunder.  As  soon  as  it  was  up  I  applied 
two  bushels  plaster  to  the  corn.  The 
cultivator  was  run  through  three  times, 
and  it  was  hoed  twice.  The  middle  of 
September  the  stalks  were  topped  and 
well  cured.  It  was  harvested  the  20th 
of  October.  The  corn  at  harvest  was  as 
dry  as  corn  usually  is,  dryer  than  most 
corn  in  our  vicinity  this  year. 

I  have  endeavored  here  to  ascertain 
the  difference  between  the  harvest  mea- 
sure of  corn  and  the  actual  dry  or  mark- 
et measure. 

I  had  ninety  baskets  of  good  corn, 
weighing  57  lbs.  each,  making  5,130  lbs., 
allowing  70  lbs.  to  the  bushel,  making  73 
bush,  and  2  lbs,  I  placed  one  basket  on 
the  20th  of  October,  spread  thin,  in  a 
warm  chamber  to  dry.  The  12th  of 
December  I  weighed  again  to  see  what 
the  shrinkage  was ;  whole  weight  Dec. 
12th.  4,005  lbs.  A  basket  was  shelled, 
and  made  by  measure  56  bushels  and  1 
peck  of  shelled  corn.  The  corn  was 
weighed  and  made  58  bush,  and  37  lbs., 
allowing  56  lbs.  to  the  bushel  according 
to  the  statute  of  N.  H.  Weight  of  cob 
81bs.  to  the  basket,  making  720  lbs.  of 
cob  and  3,285  lbs.  of  corn, 

I  make  up  the  account  by  weight 
thus: 

Fifty-eight  bushels  of  corn,  .  $58  00 
Top  stalks  and  buts  equal  to 

two  tons  of  Hay,  ...  18  00 
Half-bushel  beans  and  1   load 

pumpkins, 2  00 

Eight  baskets  small  corn,     .     .  2  00 


$80  00 
Whole  expense  of  cultivation, 

interest,  &c.,        ....       31  39 

Balance, $48  61 

I  have  charged  nothing  for  the  manure 
in  the  yard,  but  the  labor  of  drawing 
and  spreading,  and  claim  no  better  rent 
on  the  land,  which  now  appears  equal  to 
fifty  per  cent.  It  will  be  sown  to  wheat 
and  clover  in  the  spring  without  man- 
ure. I  have  charged  one  doUar  per  day 
for  labor,  board  included. 


AGRICULTURAL. 


8S 


But  some  of  your  readers  may  wish  to 
know  the  situation  of  the  land.  It  lay.s 
on  a  northerly  slope  of  a  red  oak  hill, 
exposed  to  the  north  and  west.  When 
plowed  in  1850  it  was  quite  light  col- 
ored, a  mellow  loam.  In  1856  it  had 
become  a  good  deal  darker,  and  quite 
mellow.  It  contains  a  few  round  stones, 
or  boulders,  and  is  underlayed  with  a 
kind  of  rotton  stone  or  ledge,  that,  when 
detached  with  the  plow,  readily  decom- 
poses by  the  frost,  rain  and  air. 

The  last  winter  it  was  blown  clear 
from  snow  and  exposed  to  the  severe 
frosts  of  winter.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
the  frost  penetrated  to  the  depth  of  three 
feet,  breaking  the  soil,  which,  in  part,  I 
think  accounts  for  the  change  in  the  soil 
and  crop. 

We  like  just  such  particular,  yet  brief 
statements  as  the  above.  Our  Western 
and  Southern  friends  will  pity,perchance, 
our  small  way  of  farming  in  these  North- 
ern regions,  when  we  talk  about  a  single 
acre,  but  never  mind,  we  have  some 
good  things  which  they  have  not,  and 
we  are  bound  to  go  a-head,  and  improve 
upon  such  advantages  as  we  have. 

Our  correspondent,  we  think,  should 
have  charged  his  compost  to  that  field, 
at  its  fair  value.  It  must  have  cost  him 
labor,  if  nothing  more,  previously  to  its 
removal ;  and  we  do  not  like  any  calcu- 
lation which  seems  to  imply  that  form 
labor — all  of  it — is  not  to  be  paid  for. 

"  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way," 
is  as  true  of  the  farmer  as  of  the  mer- 
chant or  the  mechanic.  Charge  to  the 
farm  what  you  do  on  it,  and  if  you  read, 
think  and  improve,  you  will  make  it 
pay. 

We  can  not  endure  the  thought  that 
farming  should  be  regarded  as  an  unpaid 
drudgery.  It  must  pay,  and  pay  a  pro- 
fit too,  if  you  icork  it  right,  and  that, 
although  your  produce  .should  not  always 
be  so  high  that  none  but  the  rich  can 
afibrd  to  use  it  freely. — Ed. 


NEW  OXFORDSHIRE  SHEEP. 

By  John  M.  Larmoutd,  in  the  Wool  Growers'  Ilf- 
porter. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — Among  the  great 
advantages  of  the  agricultural  press  to 
the  farmer,  is  the  rapidity  with  which  it 
informs  him  of  improvements  or  discov- 
eries in  his  profession.  The  introduc- 
tion of  an  improvement,  formerly  the 
work  of  a  life,  is  now  made  known  in  a 
week,  all  over  the  land,  by  the  omni- 
presence of  printing.  Then,  the  thought- 
ful farmer  groped  his  way  slowly  by  the 
light  of  his  experience ;  now,  the  agri- 
cultural press  brings  to  his  aid  the  ex- 
perience of  millions  of  other  minds ; 
knowledge  runs,  and  improvements,  vi- 
tal to  the  farmer's  success,  formerly  re- 
stricted and  hindered  in  their  progress, 
now  become  the  common  property  of  the 
mass.  The  best  modes  of  culture,  the 
most  recently  improved  implements,  and 
the  most  profitable  farm  stock,  are  thus 
brought  at  once  within  the  reach  of  the 
farmer  ;  his  best  apology  for  thriftless- 
ness  is  taken  away,  and  his  ignorance  of 
his  art  shown  to  be  no  longer  a  misfor- 
tune, but  fault.  It  is  true  that  the  good 
seed  of  agricultural  ti'uth,  sown  broad- 
cast by  the  press,  falls,  like  the  blessing 
of  heaven,  upon  the  evil  as  well  as  on 
the  good.  Some  falls  on  the  frivolous  and 
unthinking  mind,  too  shallow  for  its  sus- 
tenance, and  it  is  withered.  Some  falls 
on  the  very  hard  and  stony  ground  of 
fogyism,  from  which  it  bounds  off  and 
is  lost ;  and  yet  some,  very  much,  falls 
on  the  more  congenial  soil  of  honest,  ac- 
tive minds,  where,  carefully  pondered 
and  judiciously  applied  to  the  business 
of  life,  it  brings  forth  the  appropriate 
fruits  of  agricultural  prosperity.  Many 
farmers  owe  their  success,  and  some 
their  fortunes,  to  some  useful  informa- 
tion, some  valuable  suggestions  or  happy 
thoughts  from  their  agricultural  paper. 
The  grateful  acknowledgment  of  such 
obligations  on  the  part  of  the  farmer, 
would  be  but  simple  justice  to  those  who. 
in  editorial  labor,  devote  their  lives  to 
the  advancement  of  his  interests.  I  am 
myself  under  frequent  obligation  to  your 
Gultkator,  which  I  think,  for  fullness  of 
information,  reliability,  and  cheapness, 
unsurpassed.  I  often  make  it  my  guide, 
and  it  has  never  misled  me.  Rut  my 
principal  object  in  writing  at  present  is 
to  report  to  you  the  result  of  an  experi- 
ment into  which  I  was  led  by  the  Culti- 
vator. 

The  raising  of  fine  wool  has  long  been. 


84 


AGRICULTUEAL 


here,  unprofitable,  and  while  considering 
what  stock  I  would  substitute,  I  noticed 
occasional  articles  in  the  Cultivator  from 
those  who  had  recently  purchased  the 
sheep  called  the  New  Oxfordshire,  des- 
cribing them  as  just  the  variety  I  wanted, 
I  had  never  seen  them,  but  relying  on 
the  representations  of  them,  at  last  de- 
termined to  venture  on  a  small  purchase, 
and  ordered  from  John  T,  Andrew,  Esq., 
of  West  Cornwall,  Ct.,  a  pair  of  New 
Oxfordshire  lambs.  In  due  time  they 
reached  me  in  good  order,  and  gave  me 
an  agreeable  surprise.  My  highest  ex- 
pectations were  more  than  realized.  I 
had  seen  beautiful  animals  at  our  fairs, 
and  noticed  the  sheep  particularly,  but 
had  never  seen  anything  approaching  the 
appearance  of  these  beautiful  animals. 
They  were  only  seven  months  old,  and 
weighed  two  hundred  and  fifty-five 
pounds.  They  had  great  square  forms, 
short  limbs  set  wide  apart,  long,  white, 
silky  wool,  small  bones,  fine  little  heads, 
large  prominent  eyes,  and  most  intelli- 
gent countenances.  They  were  perfect- 
ly gentle,  would  not  roam,  and  loved  to 
be  petted.  With  ordinary  care  they  grew 
rapidly  through  the  winter,  and  on  the 
11th  of  April  the  ewe  lamb,  not  then  a 
year  old,  surprised  me  with  a  fine  male 
lamb. 

About  the  first  of  June  my  two  lambs 
were  shorn,  and  yielded  twenty-one 
pounds  of  clean  and  beautiful  wool,  about 
a  foot  long,  a  specimen  of  which  I  send 
enclosed.  At  the  shearing,  my  buck,  a 
year  old,  weighed  168  pounds.  The  in- 
fant lamb,  eight  weeks  old,  weighed  48 
pounds. 

On  the  21st  of  August  they  were 
weighed  again.  The  yearling  buck 
weighed  190  pounds,  the  nursing  year- 
ling ewe  weighed  130  pounds,  and  their 
baby,  four  months  and  nine  days  old, 
weighed  100  pounds. 

In  the  month  of  September  I  was 
obliged  to  shut  them  up  at  night  on  ac- 
count of  dogs,  and  they  lost  weight, — 
the  buck  20  lbs.,  and  the  lamb  10  lbs., — 
While  attending  the  fairs  they  gained 
nothing.  They  now  have  their  liberty, 
and  are  gaining  finally.  On  the  last  of 
October  last,  they  weighed,  notwithstand- 
ing their  confinement,  the  yearling  buck 
190  lbs.,  the  ewe  160  lbs.,  and  the  little 
one  125  lbs. 

I  exhibited  my  lambs  at  our  County 
fair,  and  also  at  the  fair  of  Jefferson 
county.  They  took  prizes  at  both. — 
They  have  a  great  many  visitors,  who 


pronounce  them  the  finest  they  ever  saw. 
I  am  fully  satisfied  with  them,  and  intend 
to  procure  an  addition  to  my  Hock.  They 
are  so  large,  hardy,  prolific,  and  as  ob- 
jects of  taste,  so  ornamental,  that  they 
must  prove  profitable. 


From  the  New-England  Farmer. 

HAY   CAPS. 

We  have  used  hay  caps  for  several 
years,  and  have  no  more  doubt  about  the 
economy  of  such  use  than  we  have  about 
the  economy  of  cutting  the  grass  after  it 
is  grown,  or  of  cocking  it  after  it  is  cut. 
The  abuse  which  has  been  heaped  upon 
the  use  of  hay  caps  is  like  that  bestow- . 
ed  upon  keeping  manure  under  cover,  or 
of  gradual  deep  plowing,  and  springs 
from  those  miserable  prejudices  which 
some  cling  to  as  to  life  itself  Some  of 
these  persons  stoutly  aver  that  a  piece  of 
cotton  cloth  is  no  sort  of  protection  to 
hay,  that  it  will  become  wet  through  in 
a  few  moments,  and  yet  they  may  be 
seen  plodding  about  with  an  old  cotton 
umbrella  over  them  for  hours  together, 
with  their  heads  as  innocent  of  rain  as 
they  are  of  fairness  and  observation. 
There  are  few  men  but  have  had  an  oppor- 
tunity o{  seeing  the  effects  of  hay  caps  with 
their  oion  eyes,  if  they  would  but  open 
them  and  look.  A  set  of  thirty  hay  caps 
will  more  than  pay  for  themselves  in  a 
single  summer  such  as  the  last  was,  on 
a  farm  where  twenty  tons  of  hay  is  cut. 

An  excellent  hay  cap  may  be  made  of 
four  yards  of  twilled  cotton  cloth,  a  yard 
wide,  by  sewing  two  breadths  together, 
which  will  give  a  cap  six  feet  square, 
and  that  is  sufficiently  large  to  be  han- 
dled comfortably.  They  should  be  well 
hemmed,  and  each  corner  turned  over 
about  one  inch  and  sewed  down;  into 
these  twine  should  be  tied  to  form  loops 
for  the  pegs.  The  pegs  may  be  made  of 
white  pine,  and  should  be  at  least  fifteen 
inches  long,  and  whittled  out  smooth  and 
sharp  at  one  end. 

Such  caps  need  no  paint,  and  when 
placed  on  a  cock  of  hay  that  is  made  up 
tall  and  peaked  at  the  top,  and  the  side 
well  raked  down,  will  almost  entirely 
protect  it  from  a  rairpstorm  of  three 
or  four  days ;  and  we  have  known  hay 
and  grain  kept  quite  dry  with  such  a 
cap,  when  the  storm  had  continued  for 
seven  days ! 

We  have  little  sympathy  with  those 
who  rail  against  the  introduction  of 
everything  brought  upon  the  farm  that 


AGRICULTURAL. 


85 


was  not  there  fifty  years  ago ;  but  wc 
have  considerable  for  the  animals  under 
their  care  who  arc  to  subsist  upon  their 
fodder.  "  I  object!"  seems  to  be  as  na- 
tural to  some  persons  as  the  breath  of 
their  nostrils ;  they  do  not  stop  to  in- 
vestigate, but  as  they/eeZ  like  objecting, 
out  it  comes,  "  I  object!" 

Well,  every  weed,  however  useless  it 


may  seem  to  us,  undoubtedly  has  its  use, 
and  serves  some  good  purpose,  though 
it  may  be  hidden  from  our  view — and 
these  objectors  may  stand  in  the  same 
category — so  we  will  try  to  believe  that 
some  valuable  lesson  may  be  drawn  from 
their  ohjectiovK,  and  exert  ourselves  to 
find  out  what  it  is. 


BREEDS      OF      CATTLE.— DEVONS 


A  L  D  E  R  N 

Here  is  another  Alderncy,  sister,  we 
suspect,  to  the  one  we  profiled  last 
month.  Bating  our  mistake,  now  cor- 
rected, in  ascribing  the  richness  of  a  cer- 
tain cow's  milk  to  the  Alderncy  blood, 
*when  it  belongs,  for  what  it  is  worth,  to 
.-mother  breed,  we  remain  in  statu  quo 
as  to  the  peculiar  merit  and  the  strong 
demerits  of  the  Alderneys ;  and  we  re- 
produce the  above  simulacrum  of  the 
race,  with  the  hope  that  our  readers  will 
gaze  on  it  till  fully  satisfied  to  have  no- 
thing to  do  ^pth  them,  except  for  the 
one-cow  purpose  of  supplying  the  family 
with  extraordinarily  good  milk  at  all 
times.  For  such  as  are  willing  to  sacri- 
fice all  other  good  qualities  to  that  one, 
the  Alderney  is  the  very  thing.  Who- 
ever would  commend  them  for  any  other 


E  Y    cow. 

quality,  or  would  commingle  their  blood 
with  our  general  stock,  wc  think,  should 
be  voted  an  enemy  to  his  country. 

Below  is  represented  a  working-ox 
and  a  milch  cow  of  the  Devon  breed. 
No  matter  whose  they  are ;  for  we  arc 
grinding  nobody's  ax.  Our  object  is  to 
represent  medium  samples.  These 
plates  represent  cattle  thin  in  tlesh,  and 
in  general  appearance  f;ir  inferior  to 
North  Devons,  exhibited  by  Col.  Capron. 
of  Illinois,  Mr.  Osborn,  of  Otsego  Co., 
N.  Y.,  and  many  other  breeders  whom 
we  could  name.  Our  impression  of 
them,  made  by  what  wc  have  seen  and 
heard,  both  in  England  and  this  country, 
is  that  for  any  region  where  the  forage 
and  climate  are  but  ordinarily  favorable, 
these  are  the  best  cattle  that  have  yet 


86 


AGRICULTURAL. 


been  imported.  A  general  impression 
is  that  they  are  small.  Col.  Capron's 
cattle,  exhibited  at  some  of  the  western 
shows  in  1856,  demonstrated  that  with 
perfectly  pure  blood,  and  that  perfection 
of  form  for  which  most  of  this  breed  are 
I'emarkable,  size  can  be  obtained ;  good 
size,  large,  we  will  say,  though  not  as 


large,  it  is  true,  as  with  some  other 
races.  But  we  have  yet  to  learn  that 
the  largest  cattle  are  the  best.  We  do 
not  believe  they  are,  except  for  peculiar- 
ly favored  regions  ;  nor  are  we  yet  quite 
certain  that  this  exception  need  be  made 
in  favor  of  the  Durhams. 

It  should  be  understood  that  our  cuts 


DEVON      WORKING      OX. 


represent  the  general  characteristics 
of  the  Devons  at  large.  The  North 
Devons,  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  are 


much  the  most  common  in  this  country, 
are  an  improvement  upon  this,  of  finer 
m.ould,  plump,  clean,  having  all  the  im- 


f- 


DEVON      COW, 


portant    points    admirably    developed, 
beautiful  as  one  could  desire  even  were 


that  the  only  object,  and  yet  as  hardy 
as  the  hardiest,  and  their  blood  so  strong 


AGRICULTURAL, 


87 


i\s  generally  to  predominate  in  any 
cross. 

In  milking  properties  we  believe  them 
fair,  at  least,  but,  like  most  other  breeds, 
varying  greatly.  The  Devon  cow  of  Mr. 
liuckminster,  which  we  unwittingly 
characterized  in  our  last  as  an  Alderney, 
is  undoubtedly  a  remarkable  milker. 
We  have  known  others  inferior.  Our 
impression  is  that  they  are  more  remark- 
able for  the  quality  than  for  the  quantity 
of  their  milk,  and  are,  on  the  whole, 
medium,  or  a  little  more,  as  milkers. 

For  the  yoke  nothing  can  exceed  the 
Devons,  unless  it  be  the  old  red  cattle  of 
New-England.  With  these  we  have 
worked  down  many  a  summer's  sun  in 
the  field;  we  remember  them  like  old 
friends  ;  and  we  hardly  feel  like  admit- 
ting that  anything  can  beat  them. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  Devons 
are  like  them,  spry  as  horses,  strong  as 
giants,  docile,  always  ready  to  do  one's 
bidding.  If  there  is  anything  for  which 
man  should  be  peculiarly  grateful  to  the 
giver  of  all  things,  it  is  for  the  services 
of  th§  horse,  and,  hardly  less,  for  those 
of  the  ox. 


CURE   FOR  SHYING. 

If  a  lady's  horse  be  addicted  to  shy- 
ing, I  will  give  her  a  sure  and  simple 
cure  for  the  same ;  one  which  I  have 
never  known  to  fail.  Let  us,  for  in- 
stance, suppose  the  existence  of  a  large 
heap  of  stones  on  the  near  side  of  the 
road.  The  horse  sees  an  indistinct  gray 
object,  and  prepares  to  shy  at  it.  The 
moment  he  shows  such  symptoms,  let 
his  fair  rider  turn  both  her  eyes  on  ex- 
actly the  opposite  side  of  the  road,  (i.  e. 
the  off  side)  and  look  steadily  away  from 
the  offending  heap,  and  I'll  engage  that 
the  horse  will  walk  quietly  by. 

For  many  years  I  have  ridden  horses 
i)f  all  tcmpc^and  dispositions,  some  of 
them  much  ^vcn  to  shying,  and  have 
never  yet  found  this  simple  remedy  to 
fail  in  its  effect.  Let  those  who  scoff  at 
me  try  it.  The  reason  is  this.  The  hu- 
man eye,  has,  doubtless,  a  great  influence 
on  all  animals,  and  there  is  a  strong  and 
secret  sympathy  between  the  horse  and 
his  rider ;  the  horse  sees  an  indistinct 


object  and  looks  doubtfully  at  it;  his 
rider  becomes  alarmed,  imagining  that 
the  animal  is  going  to  commit  some  ec- 
centricity ;  the  fear  is  communicated  to 
the  animal,  and  he  starts  in  terror  from 
the  object  which  has  frightened  him; 
whereas,  if  he  finds  that  his  rider  sits 
unmoved  and  unconcernedly  he  regains 
his  confidence,  and  goes  on,  "in  the 
even  tenor  of  his  way."  I  believe  that 
one-half  of  our  horses  are  ruined  for  life 
by  being  "hit  over  the  head"  by  grooms 
to  cure  them  of  shying. 


HARD    TIMES— YANKEE    CONTRI- 
VANCES—CHINESE SORGHUM 
—SYSTEMATIC   FARMING. 

BT  JOHN  A.   MONTQOMERT,  WILLIAMSPORT,  PA. 

Your  January  number  is  received,  and 
although  you  have  nearly  deserted  my 
business,  yet  I  wish  to  see  you  once  a 
month.  Having  often  desired  to  write 
to  you  on  various  matters,  I  shall  not 
promise  to  be  short  or  long,  knowing 
that  when  you  get  tired  of  reading  you 
can  stop.  I  had  intended  to  give  you 
an  account  of  the  lumber  business  of  this 
section,  but  have  not  had  time  to  collect 
reliable  statistics,  having  been  busy  get- 
ting people  in  our  debt,  trying  to  collect, 
and  fighting  hard  to  supply  our  hands 
with  clothing  and  food.  The  fact  is  the 
shops  here  shut  up ;  but  as  I  had  found 
from  experience  that  an  idle  man  re- 
quired food  as  well  as  one  employed,  I 
said  to  our  hands  that  we  would  work 
on  as  long  as  we  got  food  and  clothing, 
and  when  one  starved  we  aU  would,  and 
I  believe  none  have  gone  hungry  as  yet. 
But,  sir,  I  can  almost  say,  that  so  far  as 
our  usual  business  is  concerned,  "our 
occupation's  gone,"  yet  you  know  "  nc- 
cessfty  is  the  mother  of  invention,"  and 
"  we  three"  being  Yanl'ees,  and  two  of 
us  of  that  miserable  class  called  invent- 
ors, %nd  seeing  men's  fingers  doing  what 
machinery  should,  we  got  up  some  little 
machinesi  (to  surprise  the  Dutch,)  and 
they  sell. 

Last  spring,  having  no  garden,  I  gave 
one  of  our  hands  seeds  of  the  Chinese 
sugar  cane,  which  he  planted  eight  feet 


AGRICULTURAL. 


by  sixteen,  and  by  using  a  pair  of  rolls 
we  happened  to  have  in  the  shop,  he  ex- 
tracted the  juice  and  boiled  it  down  to  a 
good,  very  thick  sjTup,  which  measured 
three  gallons,  or  at  the  rate  of  one  thou- 
sand and  twenty  gallons  per  acre.  This 
speaks  large,  but  it  is  true,  I  having  seen 
the  syrup  myself  He  made  a  little  into 
tolerable  sugar. 

If  I  live  I  shall  the  coming  season 
have  a  garden,  and  intend  to  raise  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  of  cane  to  test  the  mat- 
ter fairly  and  make  some  sweetening. 
And  I  shall  make  this  offer  to  others 
here :  "  If  they  will  raise  cane,  I  will 
make  a  three-roller  mill  and  allow  them 
to  use  it  without  charge."  If  "cotton 
is  king,"  sugar  shall  not  be,  if  I  can  help 
it.  Let  me  suggest  one  thing ;  having 
seen  several  experiments,  I  am  led  to 
conclude  that  the  cane  should  not  be 
planted  on  very  rich  soil,  for  the  reason 
that  when  so  planted  it  does  not  suflB- 
ciently  mature  before  frost. 

Now,  sir,  I  am  going  to  be  very  pre- 
sumptuous— to  differ  from  Mr.  Manny 
on  the  subject  of  steam  plowing.  In  the 
first  place  I  feel  satisfied  a  good  steam 
plow  can  be  built  at  a  fraction  of  the 
cost  stated  by  Mr.  Manny.  In  the  next 
place  I  believe  it  would  pay  on  many  of 
our  Western  farms,  but  not  on  the 
patchwork  farms  on  which  that  curse  of 
the  farmer  (inside  fences)  are  made  to 
cover  the  best  land.  Now  I  am  just  so 
confident  in  the  matter,  that  if  I  live  I 
will  probably  try  it,  and  can  say,  if  I 
don't  succeed,  it  will  be  the  first  time  I 
have  failed  in  inventing,  except  once 
when  a  boy.  I  used  to  be  told  I  could 
lift  myself  over  the  fence  by  my  breeches. 
Perhaps  I  can  ;  I  never  tried. 

I  have  often  thought  I  would  like  to 
give  you  a  letter  on  "Systematic  Farm- 
ing," and  if  possible  induce  farmers  to 
try  a  plan  I  adopted  in  old  l!>utchess. 
In  the  first  place  make  a  map  of  the 
farm,  numbering  each  lot.  Next  in  a 
small  book  open  an  account  with  each 
lot,  and  then  every  night  charge  each 


lot  with  the  labor,  seed,  manure,  etc., 
which  has  gone  on  the  lot,  and  credit  the 
lot  with  what  comes  off  of  it.  Then  in 
the  winter  figure  up  and  see  what  pays 
and  what  does  not. 

Again  I  would  like  to  make  a  calcula- 
tion as  to  the  cost  in  all  points  of  inside 
fences,  and  let  the  farmers  look  at  it. 

But  I  must  stop  or  we  will  both  be 
tired  out.  Put  my  thoughts  where  you 
please,  not  excepting  the  stove. 

That  is  right ;  figure  up  the  cost  of 
inside  fences,  and  show  that  most  farm- 
ers have  twice  too  many  of  them,  and 
we  will  put  it  into  the  stove,  or  other 
where  if  it  shall  be  adapted  to  enlighten 
our  readers. — Ed. 


SORGHUM  AND  IMPHEE. 

As  there  has  been  considerable  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  relative  value  of  the  ri- 
val sugar  plants,  the  Sorgho  and  the  Im- 
phee,  we  give  an  extract  of  a  letter  from 
Governor  Hammond,  of  South  Carolina, 
now  a  Senator  at  Washington  from  that 
State,  to  a  person  in  this  city.  Refer- 
ring to  the  Imphee,  he  says : 

.  .  .  .  "  I  think  these  seeds  well 
worth  distributing.  They  produce  a  su- 
gar cane  at  least  equal  to  the  Sorgho  in 
all  respects,  and  some  of  them  are  twice 
the  size.  I  am  inclined  to  think  we 
shall  ultimately  find  several  of  them  (ri- 
pening at  different  periods)  superceding 
the  Sorgho  altogether. 

"  I  plant  this  year  sixty  acres  of  the 
cane ;  of  these  four  will  be  planted  in  " 
Sorgho  and  the  remainder  iu  Imphee. 
"Yours  respectfully, 

"J.  H.  Hammond. 

"Washington,  Jan.  13,  1858." 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  smaller 
varieties  of  the  Imphee  may  be  better 
for  the  north,  and  the  larger  for  the 
south.  We  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
for  northern  latitudes  the  Sorghum  will 
surpass  the  Imphee.  But  we  would  ad- 
vise farmers  to  try  these  varieties  of  the 


H  O'RT  ICULTURAL 


89 


Imphee,  of  which  there  are  some  ten  dif- 
ferent ones,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to 
cause  themselves  no  serious  loss  if  un- 
successful.— Ed. 


DEPRECIATION. 

A  FARMER  in   Wilmington,  says  the 
Vermont  Phoenix^  has  recently  sold  a 


pair  of  oxen,  weighing  about  3,740 
pounds,  at  four  and  a  half  cents  a  pound, 
ior  which  he  was  oifcrcd  six  i'^  Septem- 
ber. Another  sold  a  pair  for  $15U, 
being  fifty  dollars  less  than  the  same 
cattle  were  estimated  to  be  worth  three 
months  since.  Butter  has  been  sold  in 
the  same  town  for  fifteen  and  a  half  to 
twenty  cents. 


lorticultiiral 


CALENDAR  FOR  FEBRUARY. 

FLOWERS. 

Bulhs  placed  in  pots  and  covered  over 
as  recommended  last  month,  may  be 
brought,  some  of  them,  every  few  days 
into  the  parlor  or  green-house  to  bloom. 
They  should  be  kept  as  near  the  window 
as  possible,  if  in  the  parlor;  and  the 
soil  in  the  pots  must  be  kept  moist.  As 
they  advance  in  growth  the  quantity  of 
water  may  be  increased. 

The  Greenhouse.  —  For  greenhouses 
kept  only  just  so  warm  as  to  exclude 
frost,  the  directions  in  last  month's  Cal- 
endar apply  equally  to  this  month  also. 

Where  it  is  wished  to  bring  plants 
forward  for  early  bloom,  the  tempera- 
ture must  not  be  allowed  to  fall  below 
45°  or  50°  Far.,  at  night;  and  in  the 
day  the  sun  will  raise  it  higher.  In  such 
a  house  flowering  .shrubs  may  be  brought 
forward  for  bloom :  as  LUars,  Hoses, 
Spirwas,  Weigelias,  Jasmine,  Forsythias, 
and  many  others ;  Deutzia  Gracilis 
among  them,  being  one  of  the  most  desir- 
able. Syringing  in  the  morning  in  sunny 
days,  will  tend  to  keep  down  insects  in 
a  warm  house  of  this  kind,  and  benefit 
the  plants.  Camellias  and  Azalias  will 
expand  their  blooms  also  in  such  tempe- 
rature. Give  a  little  air  at  the  top  of 
the  house  in  mild  days  for  a  few  hours 
only. 

Geraniums  should  be  shifted  into  large 
pots  to  bloom.  A  compost  of  light  loam 
and  decayed  stable  manure  with  a  little 
white  sand  will  suit  them.  The  old  ball 
of  earth  should  not  be  broken  in  re-pot- 


ting them;  and  they  will  not  require 
much  water  for  three  weeks  until  the 
roots  get  through  the  new  compost. 
Only  keep  the  soil  moist.  As  they  ad- 
vance in  growth  tie.  out  the  shoots  to 
sticks,  so  as  to  spread  the  head  of  the 
plant,  and  let  light  and  air  into  the 
middle.  Syringe  them  freely,  daily,  to 
encourage  growth  and  keep  down  green 
fly.  They  are  best  kept  at  a  maximum 
temperature  of  50*  for  six  weeks  to  come. 
After  that  rather  warmer. 

Fuchsias,  towards  the  end  of  the 
month,  may  be  treated  in  the  same  way. 
One  third  vegetable  or  leaf  mould  added 
to  the  Geranium  compost  will  suit  them. 
Treat  them  like  the  Geraniums. 

Annuals,  such  as  Alyssum,  Mignon- 
ette, Stocks,  Candytuft,  Sweet  Peas, 
Nemophila,  and  many  others  may  be 
sown  in  pots,  to  bloom  in  them,  or  to 
turn  out  at  the  breaking  up  of  winter 
in  order  to  forward  the  bloom  in  the 
parterre. 

KITCnEN   GARDEN. 

Lettuces,  Radishes,  Mustard,  and  other 
small  salad,  as  well  as  Caulifloicers,  and 
early  Calihages  may  be  sown  in  hot-beds, 
or  in  cold  frames,  according  as  it  is  want- 
ed to  have  them  carlj',  or  for  succession. 

Rhubarl)  or  Pie-plant  may  be  forced 
by  turning  a  large  flower  pot  or  a  half 
barrel  over  the  crown  of  the  root,  and 
then  heaping  upon  the  bed  a  quantity  of 
manure,  fresh  from  the  stable  yard.  Put 
it  a  foot  thick  or  more  around  and  over 
the  barrel ;  and  watch  after  ten  days 
for  the  crop,  by  raising  the  barrel  every 


^0 


HORTICULTURAL. 


few  days.  It  will  depend  on  the  weather 
and  the   quantity  of  manure  laid  on. 

Give  air  daily  for  a  few  hours  to  all 
plants  in  cool  frames  when  the  external 
temperature  is  above  freezing ;  and  re- 
move any  decayed  leaves  from  Lettuce 
or  Cabbage  plants,  stirring  between  them 
with  a  pointed  stick  to  keep  the  surface 
soil  open  and  to  let  it  dry  freely. 

Grape  Vines  should  be  pruned  the  end 
of  tliis  month,  if  they  were  not  done  in 
the  fill.  Do  not  prune  them  during 
severe  frost ;  but  it  is  better  to  prune  the 
Grape  too  early  than  too  late  in  spring. 

Currants  and  Gooseberries  should  be 
pruned.  Keep  the  center  of  them  open. 
Have  a  certain  number  of  clean  branches 
according  to  the  strength  of  the  plant ; 
and  cut  in  all  side  growths  on  these  to 
within  an  inch,  or  rather  more,  of  the 
branch.  These  will  bear  fruit  spurs  next 
year. 

Apples  and  Pears  may  be  pruned  as 
soon  as  the  severest  of  the  winter's  frost 
breaks  up. 


INSECTS,  FLOWERS,  LANDSCAPE 
GARDENING. 

In  copying  the  following  extracts  from 
a  very  able  report  of  a  Committee  of  the 
Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  we 
are  aware  that  we  do  injustice  to  the 
committee  by  severing  these  portions 
from  others,  but  we  do  it  with  a  view  to 
present  our  readers  with  what  we  con- 
sider the  most  instructive  parts.  There 
is  no  more  effective  way  of  teaching  how 
to  do  a  thing,  than  to  show  how  others 
have  done  it. 

Landscape  gardening  is  a  beautiful 
art.  Flowers  everybody  should  cultivate. 
They  are  a  living  presence,  connecting 
man  with  whatever  is  pure  and  elevat- 
ing. Fruits !  who  would  not  have  them  ? 
Health  giving,  they  exhilarate  but  not 
intoxicate.  Would  that  our  country 
could  be  so  full  of  innocent  pleasures 
and  harmless  luxuries,  as  to  diminish 
many  fold  the  temptation  to  hurtful  in- 
dulgencies. 

What  a  paradise  of  delights  is  such  a 


home  as  are  some  of  those  described  be- 
low !  The  city  is  a  mass  of  deformity 
compared  with  it.  Those  who  have 
money  to  spend  can  make  such  homes, 
and  lay  the  world  under  obligation  to 
them  for  doing  it.  But  what  is  a  more 
comforting  thought  t6  us  is,  that  the 
well-managed  farm,  with  its  orchard,  its 
plot  for  vegetables  and  its  little  flower 
garden,  its  buildings,  and  enclosures  all 
neat,  though  cultivated  for  profit  more 
than  for  ornament,  is  nevertheless  beau- 
tiful. Its  flowers  and  fruits  and  tasteful 
arrangements  do  not  render  its  staples 
less  abundant  or  less  valuable.  They 
only  add  pleasure  to  profit.  God  and  man 
have  conspired  to  make  the  well  arrang- 
ed, highly  cultivated  form  beautiful, 
and  it  is  beautiful.  But  hear  what  the 
committee  say. 

On  Tuesday,  January  6th,  the  com- 
mittee visited  the  grapery  of  Mr.  M.  H. 
Simpson,  in  Saxonville.  The  weather 
was  clear  and  cold,  the  thermometer 
standing  at  zero  out  of  doors,  and  the 
change  from  the  freezing  atmosphere 
without  to  the  genial  warmth  of  the 
greenhouse  could  not  fail  to  be  agreeable, 
while  the  beauty  and  novelty  of  seeing 
at  such  an  inclement  season  the  clusters 
of  ripe  grapes  hanging  overhead,  could 
scarcely  fail  to  produce  the  most  pleas- 
ing impressions. 

The  grapery  of  Mr.  Simpson  was  built 
in  1848  ;  the  house  is  span-roofed,  66  feet 
in  length,  with  a  border  inside  and  out ; 
it  is  divided  by  a  glass  partition  into  two 
equal  parts,  each  house  containing  twen- 
tj'-two  vines,  thus  enabling  Mr.  Simpson 
to  bring  the  vines  into  bearing  at  dif- 
ferent seasons.  The  vines  grown  were 
Syrian,  Hamburghs,  Muscats,  Black 
Prince,  Zinfindal,  Frontignans  and  Mac- 
ready's  Early,  and  in  vigor  and  luxuriant 
growth  could  not  well  be  surpassed. 
The  theory  of  Mr.  Simpson  is  too  well- 
known  to  need  comment,  and  in  the  opin- 
ion of  the  committee  the  experiment  he 
has  so  fully  tried  has  been  crowned  with 
the  most  satisfactory  results  and  com- 
plete success. 

The  time  required  to  fully  ripen  grapes 
averages  from  four  and  a  half  to  five 
months ;  and  thus,  leaving  a  month  for 
the  full  ripening  of  the  wood,  a  crop 
might  be  matured  once  in  every  six 


HORTICULTURAL 


91 


months,  ilr.  Simpson's  practice,  how- 
ever, is  to  allow  the  vine  to  grow  natu- 
rally without  forcing  every  other  year, 
thus  preventing  any  exhaustion  which 
might  ensue  from  continued  forcing. 

The  committee  can  not  but  express 
their  gratification  at  this  visit,  and  trust 
that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
giapes  will  be  as  plenty  in  our  markets, 
(luring  the  inclement  winter  months,  as 
in  the  more  sunny  summer  seasons. 

Our  next  visit  was  on  Wednesday, 
June  28th,  to  the  estate  of  II.  H.  Hun- 
ntiwell  in  West  Needham.  The  situation 
IS  unsuri)as.sed,  being  on  the  banks  of 
Lake  Wabaan,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
which,  unlike  most  of  our  New-England 
lakes,  has  high,  bold  shores,  its  banks 
being  thus  peculiarly  fitted  for  residen- 
ces. The  estate  consists  o£  about  two 
hundred  acres,  most  beautifully  laid  out 
in  garden,  lawn,  woodland  and  orchard. 
The  house  is  approached  by  two  avenues 
on  eitlier  side  of  the  lawn,  each  seven- 
teen feet  in  width ;  the  one  bordered 
with  white  pines,  silver  maples  and 
larches,  the  other  with  native  deciduous 
tree,  magnolias  and  Pinus  excelsa. 

Here  a  pleasant  surprise  awaited  us  ; 
l)askets  of  magnificent  grapes,  mammoth 
strawberries,  the  famous  Stanwick  nec- 
tarines, peaches  and  figs  were  set  before 
us,  and  resolving  ourselves  into  a  fruit 
committee  we  did  ample  justice  to  the 
merits  of  the  fruit  and  to  Mr.  Hunne- 
well's  kind  and  liberal  hospitality.  Next, 
passing  some  thriving  specimens  of  the 
magnolia  in  front  of  the  house,  and  beds 
of  roses,  verbenas,  andjusticia,  we  visit- 
ed the  fruit  garden  and  greenhouses, 
marked  by  the  same  characteristic  neat- 
ness. Here  we  found  tlie  choicest  straw- 
berries, each  variety  in  its  separate  bed ; 
l)lackbeiTie.«!,  currants,  raspberries,  and 
pear,  ajiple  and  plum  trees,  growing 
most  vigorously  and  fruiting  abundantly. 
Taking  a  hasty  view  of  the  greenhouses, 
from  which  most  of  the  fruit  had  been 
cut,  we  passed  on  to  a  peach  house  just 
erected,  where  we  found  the  trees  looking 
finely.  In  one  of  the  graperies  a  pecu- 
liar manner  of  wiring  is  well  worthy  of 
note  and  imitation  ;  the  wire  being  fast- 
ened to  one  end  of  the  house  is  drawn 
across  to  the  opposite  end  and  fastened 
to  a  large  screw  which  is  passed  through 
the  end  wall ;  a  small  nut  upon  this 
screw  permits  the  wire  to  be  loosened  or 
tightened  according  to  the  expansion  or 
contraction  caused  by  heat  and  cold ;  the 
neatness  and  simplicity  of  this  ari-ange- 


ment  are  commendable.  Stopping  for  a 
moment  to  notice  some  fine  trees, of  the 
famous  Stanwick  nectarine,  we  turned 
towards  a  small  building  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill  overlooking  the  lake,  where  we 
were  shown  a  small  steam  engine  of  six 
horse  power,  by  means  of  which  the  corn 
is  ground,  wood  sawed,  and  water  pump- 
ed from  the  lake  into  large  reservoirs  in 
the  barn,  whence  it  is  distributed  by 
pipes  all  over  the  garden,  so  that  in  a  diy 
season  the  labor  of  watering  is  compara- 
tively small.  AVe  were  informed  that  in 
order  to  keep  the  place  supplied  with 
wood  and  water  it  was  only  found  neces- 
sary to  work  the  engine  for  a  few  hours 
each  week;  altogether  this  seemed  the 
most  perfect  arrangement  for  saving  labor 
and  trouble  which  it  had  been  our  for- 
tune to  see.  Thence  we  turned  to  view 
a  noticeable  feature  of  the  place,  lar 
more  interesting  in  a  botanical  or  horti- 
cultural light ;  the  choice  evergreens  and 
deciduous  trees  and  shrubs  imported  by 
Mr.  Hunnewell,  and  which,  though  as  yet 
young,  gave  promise  of  a  vigorous  fu- 
ture. 

In  conclusion,  the  committee  would 
not  have  it  supposed  that  in  a  condensed 
report  they  can  do  justice  to  a  place  like 
Mr.  Hunnewell's.  What  has  been  written 
can  only  show  what  can  be  accomplished 
in  a  short  time,  by  care,  industiy,  and 
judicious  expenditure  of  money.  Six 
years  ago  Mr.  Hunnewell's  estate  was  a 
pitch  pine  forest,  the  soil  barren,  and  the 
place  only  possessing  the  advantage  of 
situation.  By  the  judicious  application 
of  manures,  and  the  admixture  of  peat 
fiom  a  meadow  near  by  with  the  native 
sandy  soil,  it  has  been  brought  into  its 
present  fertile  condition ;  and  Uie  com- 
mittee can  not  refrain  from  expressing 
their  entire  satisfaction,  not  only  with 
the  means  employed,  but  also  at  the  re- 
sults, both  apparent  and  perspective. 

On  Wednesday,  July  8th,  the  commit- 
tee, by  invitation  of  Henry  W.  Fuller, 
Esq.,  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, visited  VVoodlawn  Cemetery  in  Mai- 
den. The  ground  already  laid  out  con- 
sists of  about  one  hundred  acres,  pleas- 
ingly diversified  by  hill  and  dale,  and 
ottering  variety  in  wood  and  meadow. 

Approaching  the  Cemetery  from  Chel- 
sea we  were  at  once  struck  with  the 
neatness  which  marks  the  roads  and 
avenues.  The  entrance  is  through  a 
tasteful  gateway,  with  porter's  lodge  on 
either  side,  and  it  is  shaded  by  trees,  the 
original  growth  of  the  place.     Turning 


92 


HORTICULTURAL 


to  the  right  we  were  pleased  to  observe 
the  attention  paid  to  fiowering  shrubs  ; 
among  which  we  noticed  deutzias,  maho- 
nias,  azalef\s,wegeHa,  andrhodondendrons 
in  great  variety  ;  the  latter  seem  to  grow 
in  the  greatest  luxuriance,  and  intermin- 
gled with  Kalmia  latifolia,  will  soon  in 
many  places  form  large  masses,  the  effect 
of  which  can  not  fail  to  be  most  striking 
and  beautiful ;  and  the  committee  can 
not  but  express  their  surprise  that  these 
two  of  our  most  lovely  and  hardy  flow- 
ering shrubs,  alike  beautiful  in  foliage 
and  flower,  should  be  so  rarely  cultivat- 
ed and  so  little  known. 

The  trees  of  Woodlawn  form  one  of 
its  distinguishing  features  ;  they  are  of 
every  species  which  our  woods  afford, 
and  those  of  foreign  birth  which  our 
severe  winters  permit  to  be  naturalized. 
Oaks  of  many  kinds,  walnuts,  maples, 
beeches  and  kindred  trees  mingle  with 
the  choicer  foreign  deciduous  trees  and 
evergreens.  The  tupelo,  one  of  our  most 
beautiful  forest  trees,  also  abounds,  and 
forms  clumps  of  great  beauty  in  many 
places. 

Paths  and  avenues  of  the  most  solid 
constru'  tion  have  been  laid  out  in  pleas- 
ing curves,  each  turn  affording  some  new 
prospect ;  and  what  is  most  worthy  of 
comment,  the  construction  of  all  the 
walks  is  such,  and  so  perfect  is  the  sys- 
tem of  drainage,  that  even  in  the  most 
violent  rains  they  wash  but  little,  thus 
materially  reducing  the  expense  and  la- 
bor of  keeping  them  in  repair.  From 
many  points  most  lovely  vistas  stretch 
through  the  wood,  and  small  ponds  with 
fountains,  here  and  there  interspersed, 
give  new  beauty  to  spots  already  lovely 
and  attractive  by  nature.  Kustic  arches 
covered  with  native  vines,  growing  with 
wild  luxuriance,  span  the  avenues  ;  and 
arbors  embowered  in  trailing  climbers 
penp  out  at  convenient  points.  The  view 
from  the  higher  ground  is  extensive  and 
pleasing;  we  see  the  neighboring  vil- 
lages, each  nestling  in  a  canopy  of  wood, 
and  catch  not  unfrequent  glimpses  of  the 
distant  ocean. 

The  committee  can  not  but  feel  their 
indebtedness  to  Mr.  Fuller  for  the  kind- 
ness and  courtesy  with  which  he  treated 
them,  and  most  fully  commend  the  good 
taste  which  characterizes  every  part  of 
the  grounds.  In  his  labors  Mr.  Fuller 
has  an  able  and  zealous  assistant  in  Mr. 
Cruikshank,  the  superintendent,  whose 
judicious  labors  have  done  much  to  beau- 
tify Woodlawn. 


A  visit  to  Woodlawn  can  not  fail  to  be 
satisfa<'.tory  to  all  who  love  the  beauty 
of  nature",  only  so  far  fettered  by  art  as 
to  enable  it  to  shine  with  truer  loveli- 
ness ;  and  the  growing  disposition  in  the 
community  at  large  to  render  pleasing 
and  attractive  the  resting-place  of  the 
departed,  while  it  takes  little  from  the 
sadness  of  bereavement,  can  not  fail  to 
exercise  a  salutary  influence  on  the  pub- 
lic mind.  Well  pleased  with  their  visit 
the  committee  left  Woodlawn  feeling  how 
much  taste  may  accomplish  towards 
making  even  the  sad  things  of  nature 
shine  in  lovely  and  attractive  guise. 

A  pleasant  ride  of  about  an  hour,  on 
the  morning  of  July  30th,  brought  us  to 
the  station  at  Randolph,  where  we  found 
carriages  in  waiting  to  convey  us  to  the 
place  of  C.  S.  Holbrook,  Esq.,  which  is 
situated  in  East  Randolph,  about  two 
miles  from  the  railroad. 

In  the  fruit  garden  the  dwarf  apple 
trees  appeared  far  better  than  any  the 
committee  had  seen  elsewhere ;  many 
of  the  trees  being  well  filled  with  fruit. 
The  gieenhouses  are  three  in  number ; 
one  used  as  a  peach  house,  connected 
with  which  is  a  pit  for  vegetables  ;  the 
two  others  being  appropriated  exclu- 
sively to  grapes. 

The  season  of  peaches  being  almost 
past,  we  only  found  two  trees  from 
which  the  fruit  had  not  been  gathered ; 
the  growth  of  all  the  trees  was  vigorous 
and  the  trees  healthy.  The  vegetable 
house  or  pit  has,  during  the  present  sea- 
son, been  used  entirely  for  forcing  cu- 
cumbers ;  and  though  the  vines  were,  as 
we  were  assured  by  the  gardener,  long 
past  their  prime,  yet  the  abundant  fruit 
still  clinging  to  them  gave  evidence  of  a 
flow  of  sap  which  would  h;ive  done 
credit  to  younger  vines.  The  two  other 
graperies  are  each  sixty  feet  long  by 
twenty  wide  ;  one  of  these  is  divided  by 
a  glass  partition  into  two  equal  portions, 
in  order  to  force  the  vines  at  different 
periods.  The  principal  grapes  grown 
are  the  Muscat  in  variety,  Hamburghs, 
Frantignans,  White  Chesselas,  and  Black 
Prince  ;  the  size  of  the  berries  was  good, 
and  their  flavor  excellent ;  the  vines 
were  in  fine  condition,  being  free  from 
disease,  with  a  clear  rich  foliage.  Much 
credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Walsh,  gar  dener  to 
Mr.  Holbrook,  for  the  skill  and  attention 
everywhere  exhibited,  and  for  the  neat- 
ness and  artistic  merit  of  the  flower  gar- 
den, and  the  committee  can  not  but 
think  that  were  the  same  care  bestowed 


UORTICULTURAL. 


98 


on  flowers  in  general,  gardening  could 
not  fail  to  acquire  a  new  charm. 

Oil  Tui'sday  and  Wednesday,  August 
25tli  and  20th,  the  Secretary,  in  com- 
pany with  another  gentleman  of  the 
committee,  made  visits  to  the  following 
places  visited  by  the  Committee  in  July. 

A  pleasant  ride  brought  us  to  the  gar- 
den of  tialvin  &  Hogan  in  Somerville, 
where  the  growth  of  the  trees  and  their 
healthy  appearance  gave  good  evidence 
of  a  rich  and  well  cultivated  soil.  The 
flower  garden  was  not  in  as  fine  condi- 
tion as  we  had  been  led  to  expect,  though 
the  heavy  rains  of  the  preceding  fort- 
night were  mainly  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
order. The  pears  were  in  good  bearing, 
especially  the  Easter  Beurre,  Louise 
bonne  de  Jersey,  Bartlctt  and  Duchess 
d'Angouleme ;  wliile  a  heavy  crop  of  to- 
matoes gave  evidence  that,  in  vegetables 
Somerville  is  not  at  all  behind  the  neigh- 
boring town.s.  As  a  matter  of  course 
there  was  but  little  of  interest  in  the 
ilower  houses  at  this  season,  all  the 
plants  being  arranged  out  of  doors ;  but 
an  examintation  of  the  camellias,  ericas, 
epaciis  and  azaleas,  was  fully  satisfac- 
tory, and  attbrded  proof  of  the  care  which 
produced  such  abundance  of  promising 
buds  and  rich  luxuriance  of  foliage. 

By  a  walk  of  half  an  hour  we  reached 
the  well  known  establishment  of  the 
Messrs.  llovey,  so  often  described  in  the 
reports  of  the  Garden  Committee  The 
pears  were  in  full  beauty  and  afforded 
no  evidence  of  lack  of  attention  of  care- 
ful, well-directed  pruning.  In  the  green- 
house a  fine  collection  of  achimenes  and 
Bome  beautiful  specimens  of  Cissus  dis- 
polor  were  worthy  of  notice  ;  we  also 
found  Psidium  calleyanum  in  fruit,  and 
were  informed  that  from  the  fruit  of  half 
a  dozen  small  trees  a  couple  of  boxes  of 
guava  jelley  were  manufactured  last 
year.  In  the  open  border  the  Japan 
lilies  were  just  bursting  into  bloom,  and 
some  fine  new  phloxs  showed  in  full 
glory. 

The  well  known  country-seat  of  Jona- 
than French,  Esq.,  was  next  on  our  list; 
and  we  need  only  say  that  in  every  res- 
pect it  maintains  its  previous  reputation  ; 
the  greenhouse  i)lants  and  flower  garden 
were  in  line  order,  and  a  collection  of 
new  seedling  verbenas  worthy  of  espe- 
cial praise.  We  here  saw  some  choice 
new  petunias,  fuchias,  lantanas  and  sal- 
vias; but  to  u.s,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Countess  of  Ellesmere  petunia,  they 
did  not  appear  so  striking  as  to  recom- 


mend them  above  others  longer  and  bet- 
ter known.  Two  noble  Seckcl  pear 
trees,  loaded  with  fiuit,  were  noticeable 
objects,  as  the  largest  and  finest  speci- 
mens of  the  kind  it  had  been  the  fortune 
of  the  committee  to  see. 

The   following  prizes  and  gratuities, 
among  others,  were  awarded: 

For  the  best  cultivated  and  most 
neatly  kept  grounds  through 
the  season,  to  11.  11.  Hunne- 
well,  a  prize  of $20  00 

For  the  same,  to  Wm.  Whiting, 

a  gratuity  of. 10  00 

For  the  most  economical!}'  man- 
aged, best  cultivated,  and  most 
neatly  kept  fruit  garden, 
through  the  season,  to  John 
Gordon,  a  prize  of 20  00 

For   the   same,  to  Ariel  Low,  a 

gratuity  of 10  00 

For  the  most  economically  man- 
aged, best  cultivated,  and  most 
neatly  kept  flower  garden, 
through  the  season,  to  C.  S. 
Holbrook,  a  prize  of 20  00 

For  the  same,  to  William  Wales, 

a  gratuity  of 10  00 

For  a  well  managed  cemetery,  in 
its  keeping  in  accordance  with 
the  true  principles  of  beau- 
ty and  art,  to  Woodlawn  Cem- 
etery, a  price  of 20  00 

To  M.  H.  Simpson,  for  a  novel 
and  well  conducted  experiment 
in  the  culture  of  the  giape,  a 
gratuity  of 20  00 

To  F.  L.  Harris,  gardener  to  II. 
H.  Hunnewel),  for  floral  gar- 
dening, the  society's  silver 
medal. 

To  E.  P.  Ilollis,  for  a  well  con- 
ducted vegetable  garden,  the 
society's  silver  medal. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  STRAWBERRY 
BEDS. 

Two  points  must  be  understood,  to 
grow  the  best  strawberries:  1st,  that 
the  soil  must  be  deep,  and  2d,  that  it 
must  be  rich.  If  you  look  at  the  leaves 
of  a  strawberry,  and  because  they  aro 
not  very  large,  presume  that  the  roots 
will  extend  but  little  depth,  vou  are 
greatly  mistaken.  I  have  seen  the  roots 
of  strawl)erries  extend  five  feet  down  in 
a  rich,  deep  soil ;  and  those  plants  bore 
a  crop  of  fruit  five  times  as  large,  and 
twice  as  handsome  and   good,  as  tho 


94 


HORTICULTURAL. 


common  product  of  a  soil  only  one  foot 
deep. 

And  this  reminds  me  of  a  capital  in- 
stance of  strawberry  dehmon,  which 
most  of  our  readers  doubtless  know 
something  about,  but  which  many  even 
yet,  perhaps,  do  not  fully  understand  I 
mean  the  history  of  the  "Washington 
Alpine  Strawberry,"  which  Mr.  Stod- 
dard, of  Western  New-York,  advertised, 
and  sold  a  great  many  dollars'  worth  of, 
some  four  or  five  years  ago.  Mr.  Stod- 
dard, I  believe,  was  quite  honest  in  the 
transaction;  and  yet  the  whole  public 
were  completely  deluded  by  the  "  Wash- 
ington Alpine,"  which  was  nothing  but 
the  old  Alpine  or  Monthly  Strawberry. 
The  long  and  short  of  the  matter  was, 
that  Mr.  Stoddard  had  a  corner  of  his 
garden  which  was  made  ground — a  rich, 
deep,  moist  soil,  (I  think  it  had  been  an 
old  bog,  or  bit  of  alluvial,  afterwards 
filled  up)  not  less  than  eight  or  ten  feet 
deep.  Mr.  Stoddard  had  raised  some 
seedling  Alpine  (which,  so  far  as  I  know, 
always  comes  from  the  seed;)  he  had, 
by  lucky  chance,  planted  thera  in  this 
corner  of  his  garden,  where  the  soil  was 
t  so  unusually  rich  and  deep.  There  they 
grew  so  finely,  and  bore  such  enormous 
crops,  that  his  neighbors  could  scarcely 
credit  their  senses.  The  story  of  the 
miraculous  crop  got  into  the  papers. 
People  came  to  see  with  their  own  eyes. 
In  short,  they  bought,  and  carried  away 
the  "  Washington  Alpines,"  at  extrava- 
gant prices,  with  the  full  conviction  that 
"seeing  is  beheving,"  and  that  such 
strawberries  were  never  before  grown, 
gazed  on,  or  tasted.  Well,  great  was 
their  surprise  to  find,  on  planting  and 
cultivating  the  "  Washington  Alpines," 
that  there  was  nothing  new  or  wonder- 
ful about  them ;  and  that,  in  fact,  they 
all  dwindled  down  to  the  old-fashioned 
Alpine  Strawberry.  Mr.  S.,  naturally 
enough,  now  has  as  many  hard  names 
bestowed  upon  him  for  the  fancied  de- 
ception as  he  had  before  had  hard  dollars 
for  really  great  crops.  And  yet,  Mr. 
Stoddard  sold  his  plants  in  good  faith, 
and  was  probably  as  much  deluded  as 
the  buyers.  The  whole  secret  of  his  un- 
heard of  crops,  and  the  large  size  of  his 
fruit,  lay  in  the  depth  and  richness  of 
his  soil ;  and  as  none  of  his  customers 
had,  like  him,  a  rich  ten  feet  mold  to 
grow  giants  in,  they  had  no  "  Washmg- 
ton  Alpines." 

The  "  moral"  your  readers  are  to  draw 
out  of  this  digression  is,  that  they  can 


not  well  make  their  soil  too  deep  for  the 
strawberry.  Perhaps  they  can  not  afibrd 
to  make  it  three  feet  deep,  which  is  the 
right  depth  for  an  extra  fine  crop  ;  but, 
at  all  events,  they  can  make  it  two  deep. 
And  now,  a  word  as  t©  manuring  it. 

It  is  all  very  well  to  talk  about  com- 
posts and  "well  rotted  manure."  The 
real  truth  is,  that  in  our  careless  country, 
not  one  gardener  in  a  hundred  has  such 
things  ready  for  use  at  the  moment  he 
wants  to  prepare  his  strawberry  patch. 
What  people  have  at  hand,  fi  om  one  end 
of  the  country  to  the  other,  is  fresh 
stable  or  barn-yard  manure;  and  the 
question  is,  how  to  use  that  to  the  best 
advantage. 

The  true  way  to  do  this,  is  to  throw  out 
the  soil  where  your  beds  are  to  be  made, 
two  feet  deep.  Fill  up  the  bottom  eight 
inches,  or  a  foot  deep,  with  fresh  stable 
manure,  mixed  with  the  litter,  treading 
it  down  firmly.  Then  cover  this  with 
two-thirds  of  the  soil  thrown  out,  reject- 
ing the  worst  part  of  it.  This  will  raise 
tlie  bed  four  inches  above  the  surface ; 
and  as  it  will  settle  about  four  inches,  it 
will  be  about  level  after  it  is  settled. 

This  is  all  the  preparation  which  I 
give  my  soil,  and  it  is  all  that  any  soil 
of  fair  quality  needs ;  only  that  I  would 
much  prefer  to  have  it  three  feet  deep, 
than  two  feet,  and  to  have  sixteen  inches 
of  stable  manure  and  litter  at  the  bottom 
than  eight,  though  the  latter  brings 
heavy  crops  in  a  good  soil. 

You  may  put  out  your  plants  in  Au- 
gust (September  in  Ohio,)  or  April. 
The  only  dificrence  is,  that  if  planted  in 
August,  you  may  lose  half  of  them  by 
the  heat  and  drouth,  unless  it  is  a  rainy 
season ;  while  in  April,  you  are  certain 
not  to  lose  a  single  plant,  unless  it  is  un- 
sound when  you  transplant  it. 

To  my  mind  there  is  no  way  of  grow- 
ing strawberries  half  so  complete  as  in 
beds  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  with 
three  rows  in  each — the  plants  in  the 
rows  kept  clipped  of  their  runners,  and 
the  ground  between  the  rows  nicely 
covered  with  straw  all  the  year  round. 
The  largest  and  finest  fruit  is  obtained 
in  this  way,  and  the  beds  themselves  will 
last  many  years ;  while  if  they  are  al- 
lowed to  cover  the  bed,  you  can,  at  the 
most,  expect  only  two  crops,  and,  gene- 
rally, the  fruit  is  of  little,  or  no  value, 
after  the  first  crop.— TAe  late  A.  J. 
Doicning,  in  the  Horticulturist. 

It  may  seem  like  intolerable  arrogance 


HORTICULTURAL 


95 


for  us  to  take  the  attitude  dissent  from 
so  universally  and  justly  honored  au- 
thority. But  though  one  arise  from  the 
dead,  we  could  not  believe  in  burying 
fresh  stable  manure  two  feet  under 
ground,  much  less  three  feet  or  three 
and  a  half  It  might  do  on  "some  soils, 
but  not  on  all.  That  it  operated  well  in 
Mr.  Downing's  grounds,  we  have  not  the 
least  doubt ;  but  his  success  was  owing 
partly,  it  is  probable,  to  a  natural  adap- 
tation of  his  soil  to  such  treatment,  but 
more  to  a  perfection  in  his  cultivation 
which  few  will  reach.  We  presume  his 
soil  was  often  stirred,  and  that  to  a  great 
depth  the  air  was  let  in  ;  and  under  its 
influence  that  manure  was  first  dccom- 
■posed,  and  then  recomposcd  into  com- 
pounds tit  to  feed  the  strawberry. 

With  but  ordinary  skill  in  cultivation, 
and  especially  on  compact  soils,  the  ele- 
ments of  fresh  manure,  buried  two  or 
three  feet  deep,  either  lie  dormant,  or  if 
decomposed,  are  again  recomposed  into 
compounds,  hurtful  instead  of  beneficial 
to  plants.  The  influence  of  sun  and  air 
is  wanted  to  secure  the  best  operation  of 
fresh  manure. 

B.  V.  French,  Esq.,  of  Braintree, 
Mass.,  tells  a  story  in  point.  He  once 
plowed  in  an  enormous  quantity  of  ma- 
nure fi-om  one  to  two  feet  deep  on  a  sub- 
stantial, but  not  very  heavy  soil.  The 
crop  was  not  improved.  He  looked  for 
that  manure  the  second  year.  It  did 
not  come.  He  looked  in  vain  for  a  good 
effect  the  third  year,  the  fourth,  and  on  ; 
and  he  wonders  whether  there  is  science 
enough  in  the  world  to  tell  where  his 
manure  has  gone,  as  he  has  never  heard 
from  it.  The  fact  is,  he  had  shut  it  out 
from  the  influence  of  sun  and  air,  and  it 
formed  other  compounds  than  those 
which  nature  designed  as  the  food  of 
plants. 

No  man  shall  outdo  us  in  a  high  ap- 
preciation of  the  instructions  of  the  late 
A.  J.  Downing  ;  and  we  believe  those  of 
his  son  are  destined  to  a  like  salutary, 
elevating,  enriching  and  refining  influ- 


ence on  the  country.  But  we  never  can 
subscribe  to  a  two  or  three  feet  burial  of 
fresh  manure,  except  in  the  lightest  soils, 
and  even  for  such  we  think  a  less  depth 
better. 

A  better  way  of  manuring  for  straw- 
berries, if  you  have  none  but  fresh  ma- 
nure, is  to  mix  with  it  large  quantities 
of  leaf  mold,  well  cured  swamp  muck,  or 
other  substances  of  a  like  nature,  ten 
loads  at  least  to  one  of  the  manure,  and 
to  incorporate  well  with  the  soil,  from 
the  very  surface  downward  as  deeply  as 
you  please.  In  the  September  number 
of  the  Plough,  Loom,  and  Anvil,  for 
1850,  at  page  14G,  is  an  article  on  the 
cultivation  of  the  strawberry,  embracing 
all  or  nearly  all  that  need  be  known  for 
the  cultivation  of  this  delicious  and 
health-giving  fruit,  in  any  and  all  quan- 
tities. 

Before  the  proper  time  to  commence 
a  strawberry  plot,  we  will  revise  and  en- 
large that  article,  and  give  it  in  an  im- 
proved form  to  our  readers. — Ed. 


From  the  Magasine  of  Horticulture. 

WINTERS  OF  '55-6  AND  '56-7. 

The  winter  of  1855  and  1856  was  one 
of  unusual  severity  at  the  West,  doing 
immense  damage  to  firuit  trees  of  all 
kinds,  killing,  in  many  instances,  plan- 
tations of  many  years'  standing,  and  its 
disastrous  effects  will  long  be  remem- 
bered. That  of  1856  and  1857,  though 
not,  perhaps,  equally  severe,  will,  how- 
ever, long  be  remembered  by  the  oulti 
vators  of  New-England,  having  been 
more  injurious  to  trees  than  any  winter 
since  the  memorable  one  of  1835.  In 
Maine  the  damage  to  trees  was  very 
great,  killing  many  outright  of  several 
years'  growth ;  the  Bartlett  and  other 
of  the  more  tender  pears  suffering  the 
most.  What  appears  to  be  one  pecu- 
liarity, so  far  as  our  experience  goes, 
was  the  death  of  pcai  s  on  the  pear  stock, 
the  quince  suffering  little  or  none,  show- 
ing conclusively  that  it  is  quite  as  hardy 
as  the  pear,  and  much  better  capable  of 
sustaining  frost  in  damp  localities,  where 
the  pear  invariably  suHered.  Another 
peculiarity  was  the  almost  entire  exemp- 
tion from  injury  of  the  peach  buds,  not- 


96 


HORTICULTURAL, 


withstanding  the  thermometer  stood  at 
20°  below  zero.  Heretofore  it  has  been 
believed,  and  we  have  latterly  given  cur- 
rency to  the  idea,  that  12*  below  zero 
was  the  point  at  which  the  germ  of  the 
peach  buds  was  likely  to  be  destroyed. 
The  experience  of  the  past  winter  quite 
upsets  this  theory,  evidently  showing  it 
is  not  the  intemUy  of  tbe  frost  that  does 
the  injury,  but  the  condition  of  the 
weather  before  or  afterwards,  or  the  pe- 
riod of  the  winter  when  it  occurs.  The 
same  trees  which  in  1855  and  1856  lost 
about  all  their  buds  when  the  mercury 
fell  to  12°  below,  now  produced  a  full 
crop. 

As  regards  fruit  generally,  the  season 
has  not  been  very  favorable.  Apples  in 
some  localities  bore  tolerably  well,  but 
in  New-England  the  crop  has  been  very 
light.  Pears  were  not  near  up  to  the 
average.  Cherries  suffered  from  the 
wintei',  and  from  the  cool  and  damp 
summer.  Grapes  were  a  failure,  the 
vines  mildewing  badly,  and  the  crop  not 
coming  to  maturity  before  fiost.  Of  all 
the  fruits  the  pear  gave  the  best  results 
this  year,  as  it  did  the  last. 


From  the  Magazine  of  Horticulture. 

HORTICULTURAL    LITERATURE. 

There  have  been  very  few  publica- 
tions during  the  year.  The  only  work 
of  note  has  been  The  Fruits  and  Fruit 
Trees  of  America,  revised  by  Mr.  C. 
Downing,  and  noticed  in  our  last  num- 
ber. The  first  number  of  the  third  vol- 
ume of  The  Fruits  of  America  has  ap- 
peared, and  other  numbers  will  soon  be 
published.  The  Patent  OflBce  Report  for 
1856  is  a  considerable  improvement  upon 
the  preceding  ones,  both  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  reports  and  general  informa- 
tion, and  in  the  typographical  execution 
of  the  volume.  The  Transactions  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture for  1856,  by  Mr.  C.  L.  Flint,  the 
secretary,  has  been  prepared  with  unu- 
sual labor  and  care,  and  contains  very 
minute  descriptions  of  all  the  principal 
grasses,  with  engravings  ;  and  will  prove 
a  most  acceptable  work  to  all  interested 
in  agriculture.  New  editions  of  McMa- 
hon's  Gardening,  Allen's  treatise  on  the 
Grape,  and  some  other  works  have  been 
published.  The  illustrated  annuals, 
from  the  officers  of  the  Albany  Cultivator 
and  the  Genesee  Farmer,  are  both  small 
works  of  much  interest  to  all  who  can 
not  readily  obtain  more  complete  treatises 


on  the  same  subjects.  The  agricultural 
papers  have  been  improved  considerably, 
and  the  Ohio  Farmer,  one  of  the  best,  is 
to  appear  in  a  more  convenient  form  for 
preservation. 


In  addition  to  the  record  we  have  al- 
ready given  we  have  to  add  tbe  name  of 
James  D.  Fulton,  nurseryman,  of  Phila- 
delphia. He  died  very  suddenly,  in  New- 
Jersey,  in  his  43d  year.  Mr.  Fulton  was 
one  of  the  most  intelligent  nujserymen. 
He  served  his  time  with  Messrs.  D.  &.  C. 
Landreth,  was  subsequently  foreman  of 
the  establishment,  and  after  the  relin- 
quishment of  business  by  Mr.  T.  Land- 
reth, became  a  partner  with  his  brother. 
Mr.  D.  Landreth.  At  the  closing  up  of 
the  business  of  this  firm  a  iQw  years 
later,  Mr.  Fulton  established  a  nursery 
on  his  own  account,  and  at  the  tmie  of 
his  death  had  considerably  extended  his 
grounds,  and  enjoyed  a  lucrative  trade. 
Ilis  loss  will  be  deeply  regretted  by  all 
who  had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaint- 
ance. 


For  the  American  Farmers'  Magazine. 

Mr.  Ed.  : — I  would  be  pleased  if  you 
would  answer  the  following  question 
under  your  head  of  Interrogatories : 

My  residence  stands  upon  a  slight  ele- 
vation, about  sixteen  feet  above  the 
level  water  of  a  clear  stream.  Now,  I 
should  like  to  know  whether  I  could,  by 
means  of  a  "  Hydi-aulic  Ram"  and  leaden 
pipes,  force  the  water  into  my  yard,  a 
distance  of  about  forty  yards  from  the 
body  of  aforesaid  water  ?  The  current 
is  very  slow,  being  only  about  one  mile 
per  hour.  An  elucidation  on  this  sub- 
ject would  much  oblige  a  constant  reader. 
Will  you  recommend  a  work  from  which 
I  can  gain  knowledge  on  this  subject? 
R.  J.  F. 

Answering  the  last  question  first,  we 
know  of  no  book  to  recommend  but 
"  Ewbanks'  HydrauUcs."  This  contains 
all  you  want,  with  much  more  which 
you  might  not  care  to  pay  for.  It  would 
be  $2  50,  if  sent  post-paid  from  this  of- 
fice. Very  possibly  the  common  School 
Philosophies,    found    in    almost    every 


HORTICULTURAL 


97 


family,  would  explain  all  you  want  to 
know  on  that  subject. 

But  we  have  procured  a  rough  engrav- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the 
principles  of  the  hydraulic  ram,  bfecause 
we  believe  that  many  of  our  readers  will 
feel  an  interest  in  this  subject  akin  to 
yours. 


In  this  cut  you  will  readily  distinguish 
the  drive-pipe  by  its  sloping  position, 
and  the  lift-pipe  by  the  water  issuing 
from  its  top.  The  water  passes  down 
the  drive-pipe,  and  by  its  force  lifts  the 
valve  opening  upward  into  the  air-cham- 
ber, but  will  rise  in  the  air-chamber  no 
higher  than  the  fountain  from  which  the 
drive-pipe  is  supplied.  This  is  on  the 
simple  principle,  that  water  seeks  its  le- 
vel— will  rise  in  the  spout  of  the  tea-ket- 
tle as  high  as  in  the  kettle  itself,  but  no 
higher. 

To  the  right  of  the  air-chamber  is  the 
escape  pipe,  through  which  the  water  is 
discharged,  and  wastes  till  its  velocity 
becomes  sufficient  to  raise  the  valve  of 
the  waste-pipe.  The  effect  of  the  shut- 
ting of  this  valve  is  to  suddenly  stop  the 
whole  body  of  water  in  the  drive-pipe. 
The  downward  flow  of  this  water  is 
overcome;  but  we  know  that  the  ten- 
dency of  a  heavy  body,  once  moving,  is 
to  keep  moying.  If  you  strike  a  nail 
with  a  hammer,  the  hammer  stops,  but 
does  not  stop  the  instant  it  hits  the  nail, 
nor  till  after  it  has  settled  the  nail  a  lit- 
tle into  the  wood.  So  this  body  of  water 
in  the  drive-pipe  stops,  but  not  till  after 
7 


it  has  forced  a  little  water  into  the  air- 
chamber  and  thence  into  the  lift-pipe, 
raising  the  water  in  the  lift-pipe  some- 
what higher  than  the  fountain.  The 
valve  in  the  lift-pipe  shuts  by  the  weight 
of  the  water  above  it,  and  prevents  a  re- 
flux. This  done,  the  valve  in  the  waste- 
pipe  falls  open  of  its  own  weight,  and 
remains  open  till  the  water  down  the 
drive-pipe  acquires  a  new  motion  suflB- 
cient  to  raise  the  valve  again  in  the  es- 
cape-pipe. As  soon  as  this  rises,  or 
shuts  upwards,  the  whole  body  of  water 
in  the  di-ive-pipe  is  again  stopped,  but 
does  not  stop  till  it  has  forced  another 
portion  through  into  the  air-chamber, 
and  thence  onward  into  the  lift-pipe. 

Thus  alternately  the  rushing  of  the 
water  through  the  escape-pipe  shuts  the 
valve  leading  into  it,  and  the  sudden 
stopping  of  the  downward  flow  in  the 
drive-pipe  opens  the  air-chamber  valve 
and  forces  at  each  time  a  portion  of  wa- 
ter tlirough,  till  the  lifting-pipe 'is  filled 
to  the  top  and  overflows.  The  object  of 
the  air-chamber  is  to  equalize  the  up- 
ward motion,  as  without  it  the  water, 
instead  of  flowing  regularly,  would  flow 
irregularly — a  little  at  each  closing  of 
the  valve,  then  to  cease  till  another  clos- 
ing of  the  same  valve. 

A  fall  of  at  least  two  feet  is  necessary 
to  a  reliable  action  of  the  hydraulic  ram, 
where  the  elevation  is  as  great  as  the 
one  above  described ;  and  it  is  evident 
that  a  large  amount  of  waste  water 
would  be  required  in  such  a  case.  A 
greater  fall  would  be  desirable  if  it  could 
be  obtained.  The  distance  fr  m  the 
water  to  the  yard  i^  not  objectionable. 
Your  only  question  is,  can  you,  by  dam- 
ming the  stream,  or  cutting  a  race-way, 
or  both,  get  a  fall  of  two  feet  or  more,  and 
at  the  same  time  keep  clear  of  back 
water?  If  you  can,  then  the  hydraulic 
ram  affords  the  best  means  of  carrying 
that  water  into  your  yard.  Otlierwise, 
a  pump  connected  by  a  lead  pipe  with 
the  brook  would  be  preferable,  _ 

A.  W.  Gay  &  Co.,  118  Maiden  Lane, 


98 


HORTICULTURAL 


are  selling  a  pump  which  would  proba- 
bly answer  the  purpose  well,  as  also  a 
self-adjusting  wind-mill,  adapted  to  the 
drawing  of  water  for  cattle.  See  their 
advertisement  on  our  advertising  pages. 

The  query  of  another  correspondent 
relates  to  a  similar  subject.  He  has  to 
draw  water  for  a  large  stock  of  horses, 
cattle  and  sheep  from  a  very  deep  well, 
and  asks,  "  Would  it  be  good  economy 
to  sink  a  tank,  and  turn  into  it  the  rain 
water  from  the  barn  and  sheds?"  We 
think  it  would.  No  water  is  better  for 
stock  than  rain  water,  properly  pre- 
served in  a  clean  tank.  If  filtered,  it  is 
the  best  water  in  the  world  for  all  pur- 
poses. But  we  have  not  at  hand  the 
means  of  estimating  the  expense  of  a 
tank  of  suflBcient  capacity  for  a  large 
stock.  One  thing  we  can  say  positively, 
and  that  is,  it  is  more  economical  to  con- 
struct a  tank,  at  whatever  the  expense 
may  be,  or  even  to  draw  water  from  a 
deep  well,  than  let  your  cattle  stray 
abroad  for  water.  In  many  cases  a  tank 
might  be  sunk  on  ground  a  little  higher 
than  the  yard,  and  the  water  be  drawn 
from  it  without  the  labor  of  pumping. 

Another  correspondent  asks  our  opin- 
ion about  the  different  breeds  of  cattle : 
"  Which  are  the  best,  all  in  all,  for  the 
various  objects  the  farmer  seeks  to  ob- 
tain, as  working,  milking  and  fattening?" 
Hold  still  a  little,  friend  ;  we  are  trying, 
from  month  to  month,  to  tell  you  some- 
thing about  that,  not  that  we  are  over 
confident  in  our  opinions ;  but  you  see 
we  have  invited  all  the  world  to  come 
and  refute  us  on  our  own  ground,  if  we 
get  on  a  wrong  track.  It  will  not  be 
long  before  we  shall  run  foul  of  some- 
body's opinions,  or  tread  on  somebody's 
corns,  or  dash  against  somebody's  inte- 
rests, and  then  there  will  be  "light  on 
the  subject"  struck  up  in  these  pages, 
beyond  a  peradventure. 

A  lady  reader  puts  us  some  tough 
questions  of  a  culinary  nature.  Alas ! 
our  better  half  has  gone  into  the  country, 
and  we  d&n  not  answer  such  questions 


just  iiow.  When  she  returns  there  is 
no  knowing  how  wise  we  shall  be  in 
these  matters. — Ed. 


Ed.  Farmers'  Magazine  : — Some  three 
years  since  I  saw  in  a  lady's  flower-pot 
a  plant  of  remarkable  luxuriance,  and 
thinking  it  might  be  a  valuable  accession 
to  our  field  grasses,  proposed  to  her  to 
let  it  ripen  and  I  would  pay  her  any 
price  for  the  seed.  I  have  not  been  dis- 
appointed. Its  growth  in  the  garden 
was  ten  feet  high,  foliage  very  thick  and 
fine,  large  pendant  heads  a  foot  in  length, 
full  of  heavy  seed  resembling  millet. 
The  last  spring  I  had  several  bushels  of 
it,  and  sold  Breck  and  Nourse,  seedmen 
of  Boston,  each  a  bushel,  which  they 
circulated  in  small  parcels,  hoping  to 
have  it  spread  through  the  country. 
They  asked  me  what  name  they  should 
give  it.  Not  knowing  its  origin,  I  said 
perhaps  Chinese  Millet  for  the  present. 
It  being  an  object  to  get  all  the  seed 
possible,  I  have  cut  none  early  {or  fodder. 
After  gathering  the  ripened  seed,  I  have 
fed  the  dry  stalks  to  the  cattle.  They 
eat  it  as  well  as  those  of  the  Chinese  su- 
gar cane.  Having  read  an  article  in 
your  Farmers^  Magazine  for  January,  on 
Hungarian  Grass,  it  struck  me  that 
mine  might  be  a  superior  variety  of  that, 
while  yielding  more  fodder  and  more 
than  twice  the  quantity  of  seed. 

Yours  truly,       Benjamin  Willabd. 
Lancaster,  Mass.,  Jan.  7,  1858. 


GRAPES. 

A  wbiteb  in  the  Louisville  Journal 
says: 

I  keep  my  vines  about  6  feet  in  height 
for  convenience  in  gathering  the  clusters. 
All  kinds  of  animal  substances  are  good 
for  our  vines.  Street  manure  is  excel- 
lent for  them.  They  ought  not,  how- 
ever, to  be  stimulated  too  highly,  for 
then  they  become  profuse  in  foliage,  and 
the  fruit  mildews  and  rots.  'An  even  re- 
gular growth  ought  to  be  kept  up.  Rot- 
ten sods  mixed  with  barn-yard  manure 
is  good  for  vines.  Blood  is  good.  Long 
Island  might,  by  means  of  the  fish  call- 
ed Manhaden,   be  made  one  beautiful 


MECHANICAL. 


99 


vine-yard.  Take  the  fish  in  June,  make 
a  hole  near  the  foot  with  a  crowbar, 
push  down  a  fish — there  will  be  no  smell 
from  it,  and  it  is  an  admirable  manure 
for  grapes. 

Composts  of  sea-weed,  black  earth, 
and  cow  and  horse  dung  are  good. 

Ashes  are  excellent  on  sandy  lands, 
where  their  prosphates  are  leached  off 
by  rains. 

Prune  in  March  ;  they  bleed,  and  my 
bleeding  vines  present  a  magnificent 
spectacle  in  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Slight 
bleeding  does  not  hurt  them  a  bit.  The 
bud  starts  the  better  for  it.  The  Ger- 
mans say  "  if  the  juice  runs  out  of  the 
vines,  we  know  we  shall  have  a  good 
crop."     In  France  and  Italy,  however, 


they  do  not  prune  so  as  to  bleed  their 
vines.  • 

SCATTERING  SALT  ON  APPLE 
TREES. 
Dr.  E.  Sanborn,  of  Andover,  sends  to 
the  editor  of  the  Advertiser  of  that  town, 
a  specimen  of  Porter  apples  gathered 
from  the  tree  on  the  19  th  of  November, 
which  he  thinks  were  kept  on  the 
branches  by  throwing  salt  on  them. 
The  editor,  after  having  tasted  the  apples, 
remarks,  that,  "  whether  from  the  salting 
or  the  late  gathering  it  imbibed  such  a 
delicious  flavor,  we  do  not  know ;  but 
this  we  do  know,  that  it  was  one  of  the 
best  Porter  apples  that  we  have  ever 
tasted.  We  think  the  experiment  M'orth 
a  further  trial." 


Jttt^rhanirnL 


From  Newton's  London  Journal. 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  AGRICULTU- 
RAL IMPLEMENTS,  ETC. 
An  improved  method  of  purifying  water, 
by  Henry   Medlock,  of  Great  Marlbo- 
rough, London, 

This  invention  consists  of  a  method  of 
purifying  and  rendering  more  wholesome 
and  useful  water  which  either  contains 
in  solution  only  organic  matter  or  the 
products  of  its  decomposition,  or  which 
may  also  contain  in  solution  inorganic 
matter,  by  separating  and  removing 
from  the  water  a  portion  of  such  organ- 
ic matter,  and  rendering  the  remainder 
of  such  organic  matter  innocuous ;  and 
in  case  the  water  also  contains  in  solu- 
tion inorganic  matter,  by  separating  and 
removing  from  the  water  a  certain  por- 
tion of  such  inorganic  matter,  and  by 
rendering  innocuous  any  phosphides  or 
sulphides  which  the  water  may  contain 
in  solution,  by  converting  such  phos- 
phides into  phosphites  or  phosphates, 
and  such  sulphides  into  sulphites  or  sul- 
phates respectively. 

The  water,  previously  to  its  filtration, 
is  placed  in  a  vessel  or  reservoir  of  con- 
venient size,  and  there  allowed  to  re- 
main, in  contact  with  certain  solid  bo- 
dies of  metal  or  other  substance  present- 
ing a  sufficient  extent  of  surface  to  the 
water,  for  twenty-four  hours  or  longer, 
according  to  the  quantity  of  water  as 
compared  with  the  exposed  surface,  or 
until  the  precipitation  of  organic  matter. 


occasioned  by  such  contact,  <^ases,  after 
which,  any  of  the  precipitate  occasioned 
by  the  aforesaid  process,  which  may  re- 
main suspended  in  the  water,  should  be 
removed  by  filtration  in  the  ordinary 
manner. 

The  solid  body  preferred  to  be  used  is 
iron,  (on  account  of  the  little  injury  the 
water  sustains  by  contact  therewith,) 
and  in  the  form  of  scrap-iron,  iron  turn- 
ings, iron  wire,  or  sheet-iron. 

The  following  is  the  mode  of  applying 
the  invention  : — Suspend  in  a  tank  or  re- 
servoir containing  the  water  to  be  puri- 
fied, by  means  of  iron  rods  passing  across 
it,  iron  wire  of  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  loosely  packed  in  bun- 
dles or  coils,  and  in  the  proportion  of 
about  one  pound  weight  of  such  wire  to 
every  one  hundred  gallons  of  water.  Al- 
low the  water  to  remain  in  contact  with 
the  iron  wire  from  twenty-four  to  forty- 
eight  hours,  according  to  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  precipitation  of  organic 
matter,  occasioned  by  such  contact,  takes 
place  ;  and  then  pass  the  water  through 
any  kind  of  filtei  'ng  medium  now  in  use, 
which  is  capable  of  retaining  the  precip- 
itate formed.  For  the  filtration  of  water 
in  large  bulk,  the  ordinary  sand  filter 
may  be  used. 

The  effect  of  the  contact  of  the  water 
with  the  solid  bodies  above  described, 
when  the  water  contains  nitrogen  in  any 
form,  is  to  decompose  or  oxydize  the  or- 
ganic matter,  and  the  ammonia  contain- 
ed in  the  water  whereby  a  certain  part  of 


100 


MECHANICAL, 


the  organic  matter  and  ammonia  is  con- 
verted into  nitrious  or  nitric  acids, or  both 
of  them,  by  which  the  rest  of  the  organic 
matter  is  rendered  insoluble.  The  ni- 
trous and  nitric  acids  finally  combine 
with  the  iron  or  other  solid  bodies  above 
described,  or  with  some  of  the  inorganic 
bases,  if  any,  contained  in  the  water ; 
and  the  organic  matter  rendered  insolu- 
ble is  precipitated,  together  with  some 
part  of  the  inorganic  matter,  if  any,  con- 
tained in  the  water  ;  and  any  phosphides 
or  sulpMdes  which  may  be  contained  in 
the  water  are  converted  by  oxidation 
into  phosphites  or  phosphates,  or  sul- 
phites or  sulphates,  respectively,  which 
are  comparatively  harmless. 

Improved  machinery  for  cultivating  land, 
by  Alfred  Vincent  Newton. 

This  invention  relates  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  land  by  spades,  operated  by  lo- 
comotive power  as  the  machine  progress- 
es in  the  field ;  the  machine  will  also 
more  thor(lughly  break  up,  disintregate, 
and  turn  over  the  sward  than  can  be  done 
by  ploughs.  The  entire  machine  is  pro- 
pelled in  the  field,  in  any  direction  re- 
quired, and  turned  at  the  will  of  the  at- 
tendant; and  the  same  power  which 
does  this,  operates  a  series  of  spades, 
which  enter  the  land,  each  in  succession, 
and  cut  into  it  in  the  arc  of  a  circle,  and, 
after  cutttng  down  to  the  required  depth, 
suddenly  throw  up  the  cut  slice  against 
a  shield  plate,  so  as  to  reverse  it,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  break  it  up,  so  that, 
when  it  falls  down,  it  will  be  thoroughly 
disintegi'ated ;  the  forward  movement  of 
the  machine  determining  the  thickness 
of  the  slices  to  be  cut  by  the  spades. 

Improvements  in  giving  motion  to  ploughs 
and  other  agricultural  implements,  by 
John  Fowler,  Jun.,  of  Havering,  near 
Romford,  Essex,  Eng. 

Heretofore  when  ploughs  and  other 
agricultural  implements  have  received 
motion  by  means  of  ropes  wound  round 
capstans  or  drums,  driven  by  steam  or 
otherwise,  two  of  such  capstans  or  drums 
have  usually  been  mounted  on  the  same 
horizontal  axis,  or '  on  axes  parallel  to 
each  other,  which  arrangements  are  in 
practice  found  to  be  inconvenient.  Now 
this  invention  consists  in  mounting  such 
capstans  or  drums  on  separate  axes, 
placed  at  an  angle  to  each  other. 

The  invention  also  consists  in  moving 
the  pulley  anchors  along  the  headlands 
by  the  power  of  the  engine  acting 
through  the  same  rope  as  that  which 


draws  the  plough.  The  rope  from  the 
winding  apparatus  passes  first  over  a 
stationary  puUey  and  then  over  the  move- 
able pulley  on  the  headland,  from  which 
it  passes  at  right  angles  to  the  plough. 
To  overcome  the  tendency  which  exists, 
when  the  strain  is  on  the  tackle,  to  draw 
the  anchor  of  the  moveable  pulley  to- 
wards the  fixed  pulley,  the  anchor  of  the 
moveable  pulley  is  secured  to  an  addi- 
tional or  supplemental  anchor,  which 
prevents  it  from  moving  while  the  plough 
is  traveling ;  but  when  it  is  wished  that 
this  anchor  should  be  drawn  along  the 
headland,  it  is  only  necessary  to  slacken 
the  tackle  which  secures  it  to  its  supple- 
mental anchor,  and  then  the  strain  on 
the  rope  which  draws  the  plough  will 
cause  it  to  move  forward. 

The  invention  also  consists  in  a  method 
of  supporting  and  carrying  the  rope  by 
which  the  plough  is  drawn,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  rapid  wear  of  the  tackle  which 
takes  place  when  the  rope  lies  on  the 
land. 

An  improvement  in  ploughs,  by  William 

Dray,  of  Swan-lane,  London. 

This  invention  relates  to  such  ploughs 
as  are  provided  with  a  share  in  the  form 
of  a  pointed  bar,  and  consists  in  the 
means  of  securing  the  bar  in  its  position 
after  having  been  pushed  forward,  as  re- 
quired from  the  wearing  away  of  the 
point  thereof. 

The  patentee  claims  the  "  construction 
of  ploughs,  which  are  provided  with 
moveable  share  bars,  in  such  manner 
that  the  share  bars  can  be  tightened  or 
slackened  by  means  of  an  excentric  roll- 
er or  collar,  or  by  more  than  one  roller 
or  collar,  as  described." 

Improvements  in  machhiery  for  delivering 
manure  for  agricultural  purposes,  by 
Robert  Reeves  and  John  Reeves,  of  But- 
ton, Westburg,  Wiltshire,  Eng. 

This  invention  has  for  its  object  im- 
provements in  machinery  for  delivering 
manure  for  agricultural  purposes.  For 
this  purpose  the  manure  is  placed  in  a 
suitable  box  or  trough,  mounted  on  a 
proper  carriage.  The  box  or  trough  is 
formed  with  a  curved  bottom,  and  may 
be  made  with  any  number  of  openings 
for  the  passage  of  the  manure ;  and 
over  each  opening  is  a  slide  or  cover. 
At  the  lower  part  of  the  box  or  trough 
a  rotating  axis  works,  and  on  this  axis 
there  are  fixed  inclined  blades  or  por- 
tions of  screws  being  each  of  such  a 
width  as  to  move  the  quantity  of  manure 


MECHANICAL. 


101 


desired ;  and  the  peculiarity  of  the  in- 
vention is,  that  the  inchned  blades  or 
portions  of  the  screws  which  are  to 
bring  up  or  move  the  quantity  of  ma- 
nure to  an  opening,  are  inclined  to  the 
axis  in  opposite  directions.  The  manure, 
after  it  has  been  caused  to  pass  through 
the  openings  of  the  trough  or  box,  may 
be  deposited  or  distributed  on  or  in  the 
earth,  as  heretofore,  or  in  any  other  con- 
venient manner, 

ImprovemeiUs  in  hor'se  hoes,  by  JonN  Nay- 
LOR,  of  Winterton,  near  Brigg,  Lincoln- 
shire, JEng. 

The  object  of  these  improvements  in 
horse  hoes  is  to  render  each  of  the  hoes 
capable  of  being  moved  to  and  from  its 
neighbor,  in  order  to  admit  of  vary- 
ing their  distance  apart,  and  yet  allow 
the  whole  series  of  hoes  in  the  ma- 
chine being  moved  laterally,  according 
to  the  requirement  for  the  time  being. 


ARTIl^ICIAL  FIRE  CLAY. 
Common  clay  is  very  fusible ;  this  is 
owing  to  the  presence  of  lime,  iron  and 
magnesia  in  it.  By  removing  these  sub- 
stances, it  can  be  employed  for  making 
very  refractory  vessels,  such  as  crucibles, 
to  withstand  a  very  high  degree  of  heat. 
The  way  to  do  this,  is  to  steep  the  clay 
for  some  hours — (from  six  to  twenty- 
four,  in  dilute  muriatic  acid,  according 
to  the  quantity  of  these  substances  in  it) 
— then  washing  it  with  water,  and  dry- 
ing it  afterwards.  The  muriatic  acid 
takes  up  and  dissolves  the  substances 
named,  which  are  removed  with  the 
washing. 

TELEGRAPHIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 

Edward  Highton,  C.  E.,  of  England, 
has  just  obtained  a  patent  for,  firstly, 
sending  telegraphic  messages  hoth  ways 
through  one  and  the  same  wire,  at  the 
same  instant,  without  interfering  in  any 
way  with  each  other  ;  secondly,  for  pre- 
venting the  destruction  of  a  wire  in  the 
sea  or  underground ;  and,  thirdly,  for 
mending  a  telegraphic  wire  in  the  ocean 
without  raising  it  out  of  the  mud. 


PATENTS. 

Seed  Planters — II.  F.  Baker,  of  Cen- 
terville,  Ind. 

Sewing  Machines. — D.  W.  Clark,  of 
Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Flouring  Mills. —  Edwin  Clark,  of 
Lancaster,  Pa. 


Husking  and  Shelling  Glove. — Emil 
Cohen,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rakes  for  Harvesters. — SamuelCom- 
fort,  Jr.,  of  Morrisville,  Pa. 

Seeding  MACnmES. — I.  H.  Conklin,  of 
Rockford,  111.      - 

Railroad  Car  Coupling. — J.  M.  Con- 
nel,  of  Newark,  Ohio. 

Hydr.a.nt. —  Richard  De  Charms,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Lime  Kilns. —  H.  R.  Fell,  of  Texas, 
Md. 

Flour  Bolting. — David  Geib,  of  Mif- 
flintown,  Pa. 

Attachment  of  Adjustable  Foot 
Boards  to  Splints. — John  Gruol,  of 
New-York  city. 

Seed  Planters. — Marshall  Hunt  and 
J.  H.  Haines,  of  Rising  Sun,  Md. 

Operating  Telegram  Keys. —  John 
J.  Hayden,  of  Rising  Sun,  Ind. 

Bit  Holder.— B.  B.  Hill  and  S.  W. 
Adams,  of  Chicopee,  Mass. 

Hydrant. — John  Hyde,  of  New- York 
city. 

Measuring  the  Superficies  of  Boards. 
-^S.  C.  Kennerd,  of  South  Newmarket, 
N.  H. 

Shingle  Machine. — Robert  Law,  of 
Portage  City,  Wis. 

Churn. — S.  F.  Lefler,  of  Racine,  Wis. 

Dovetailing  Rotary  Cutters  in  their 
Heads. — G.  H.  Mallary,  of  New- York 
city. 

Process  for  Dyeing  Silk. — Nicholas 
Mary  Aine,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Washing  Machine. — Samuel  P.  Me- 
cay,  of  Killburne,  Ohio. 

Bending  Tin. — George  W.  Merk,  of 
Leavenworth,  K.  T. 

Construction  of  Brooms.  — Abner 
Mitchell,  of  Eaton,  Pa. 

Metal  Tips  for  Toes  of  Boots  and 
Shoes. — George  A.  Mitchell,  of  Turner, 
Maine. 

Cotton  Gins. — James  F.  Orr,  of  Orr- 
ville,  Ala. 

Electko-Magnetic  Speed  Governor. 
— George  M.  Phelps,  of  Troy,  N.  Y. 

Construction  of  Ships. — John  Reeves, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Attachment  for  Ltghtino  Lanterns. 
— Albert  C.  Richard,  of  Newtown,  Conn. 

Manufacturing  Paper.  —  Stephen 
Rossmanj  of  Stuyvesant,  N.  Y. 


102 


SCIENTIFIC. 


Shears  for  CuTxraG  Bank  Notes,  &c. 
— Stephen  P,  Ruggles,  of  Boston,  Mass. 
LiGHTKNiNG  Sea-going  Steam  Ves- 
sels.— John  C.  F.  Salomon  and  George 
W.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 

Harness  Saddles. — Henry  Sanders,  of 
Utica,  N.  Y. 

Turning  Lathes. — William  D.  Sloan, 
of  New-York  city. 

Rails  for  Railroads. — Levi  B.  Tyng, 
of  Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Potato  Planters. — H.  "Wainwright 
and  S.  T.  Williams,  of  Farmingdale,  N. 
J. 

Harvesters.  —  Jesse  Whitehead,  of 
Manchester,  Va. 


Mathematical  Dividers.  —  John  E. 
Earle,  of  Leicester,  Mass.,  (assignor  to 
himself  and  Samuel  Shepherd,  of  Nashau, 
N.  H.) 

Lathe  for  Turning  Wood. — Amander 

N.  Wilcox,  of  Watervliet,  N.  Y. 

Oscillating  Steam  Engines — Adam 
Wood,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

Sewing  Machines.  —  George  Fetter, 
(assignor  to  himself  and  Edward  Jones,) 
of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Hominy  Mills. — Ezra  Farhrney,  of 
Deep  River,  Iowa,  (assignor  to  John 
Donaldson,  of  Mount  Morris,  111.) 


ri^nti^r. 


CHEMICAL. 


SUPPLY     AND    EXHAUSTION    OF     CARBONIC 
ACID.      ITS  USE  IN  AGRICULTURE. 

Animals,  including  man,  inhale  such 
atmosphere  as  happens  to  be  where  they 
are. 

The  atmosphere,  in  a  normal  state,  is 
made  up  of  about  79  parts  of  nitrogen  to 
21  of  oxygen,  with  about  one  part  in 
2500  of  carbonic  acid,  and  something 
like  one  in  10,000  of  ammonia. 

These  gases  are  inhaled  in  about  the 
foregoing  proportions ;  but  are  exhaled 
in  very  different  proportions.  The  oxy- 
gen of  the  air  comes  in  contact  with  the 
carbon  of  the  blood,  and  forms  with  it 
carbonic  acid,  by  a  process  in  the  lungs 
very  similar  to  combustion. 

Burn  a  wisp  of  hay ;  it  creates  heat, 
its  carbon  combines  with  oxygen  and 
forms  carbonic  acid,  it  entirely  disap- 
pears with  the  exception  of  a  little  ash. 

Give  that  same  hay  to  an  ox  ;  it  creates 
heat,  its  carbon  combines  with  oxygen, 
and  it  disappears,  with  the  exception  of 
such  portions  as  are  entirely  indigesti- 
ble. Thus  all  animals  are  constantly 
supplying  carbonic  acid  to  the  atmos- 
phere. 

We  have  already  explained  that  com- 
bustion effects  the  same  result.  All  our 
fires  then,    our  lights,   every   burning 


body  is  constantly  throwing  carbonic 
acid  into  the  air.  This  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  open  fire-places  are  health- 
ier than  close  stoves ; — they  carry  the 
carbonic  acid,  generated  by  the  fire  and 
the  lights  up  the  chimney.  It  shows 
also  why  strong  gas  lights  are  unhealthy 
— they  fill  the  air  with  this  acid. 

A  third  source  of  supply  is  decaying 
matter.  When  you  put  a  stick  of  wood 
on  the  fire,  the  largest  part  of  it  passes 
into  the  air  in  watery  vapor,  carbonic 
acid  and  a  little  ammonia ;  and  a  small 
portion  remains  as  ash.  But  decay  is 
much  the  same  thing  as  combustion  in  a 
slow  way. 

Throw  another  stick  of  wood  into  the 
field.  In  a  few  years  it  will  have  disap- 
peared. What  has  become  of  it  ?  Much 
the  same  as  if  you  had  burnt  it.  Most 
of  it  has  gone  into  the  air  as  watery 
vapor,  carbonic  acid  and  a  little  ammo- 
nia ;  and  what  would  have  remained  as 
ash,  if  it  had  been  thrown  upon  the  fire, 
has  been  dissolved,  and  washed  into  the 
ground. 

All  decaying  matters,  then,  whether 
vegetable  or  animal,  are  incessantly  sup- 
plying carbonic  acid  to  the  air. 

In  many  parts  of  the  globe,  where 
there  are  extinct  volcanoes,  carbonic  acid 
oozes  from  the  ground,  or  issues  fix)m 


SCIENTIFI C 


103 


caves  and  crevices  in  the  rocks,  gene- 
rated, as  is  supposed,  by  subterranean 
fires ;  and  this  same  gas  is,  in  part,  a 
product  of  all  active  volcanoes ;  so  that 
the  volcanic  action  of  the  globe,  past  and 
present,  afifords  a  further  source  of  sup- 
ply- 

All  marble,  limestone,  shells  of  fish, 
coral,  and  many  of  the  shields  of  insects, 
consist  largely  of  carbonic  acid.  A  pint 
of  pulverized  marble,  or  chalk,  will  give 
off,  if  heated,  several  gallons  of  carbonic 
acid.  Now,  if  we  consider  what  quanti- 
ties of  limestone,  coral,  shells,  chalk,  &c., 
are  burnt  into  quick  lime  for  agricultural 
and  mechanical  purposes,  we  shall  find 
that  this  affords  a  very  abundant  source 
of  supply.  A  large  lime  kiln,  burning, 
would  destroy  every  thing  living  near, 
if  it  were  not  for  that  great  principle,  or 
law  in  nature,  by  which  gases  are  taken 
up  by  each  other,  and  equally  diffused. 

With  this  law  in  operation,  there  is 
no  more  carbonic  acid  in  a  given  region, 
after  the  burning  of  a  lime  kiln,  than  its 
due  proportion,  as  compared  with  other 
regions ;  because,  under  the  law  for  the 
diffusion  of  gases,  it  has  become  about 
equally  distributed  throughout  the 
whole  atmosphere  of  the  globe. 

These  are  the  chief  sources  of  supply : 
1.  Respiration.  2.  Combustion.  3.  De- 
cay. 4.  Volcanic  action.  5.  The  de- 
composition of  carbonates,  as  when  we 
burn  limestone,  chalk,  shells,  or  corals 
into  quick  lime.  The  fermentation  of 
all  vinous  liquors,  beer,  cider,  wine,  &c., 
as  well  as  the  fermentation  of  com'posts, 
and  the  heating  of  hay  and  grain,  pro- 
duce this  gas ;  and  the  bubbles  escaping 
from  mineral  waters  are,  for  the  most 
part,  notliing  else. 

With  these  sources  of  supply  ever 
active,  the  question  arises,  why  the  air 
does  not  become  overcharged  with  it. 
This  leads  us  to  consider  the  means  of 
exhaustion. 

In  the  first  place,  this  gas  is  very  ab- 
sorbable by  water.  Every  rivulet,  brook 
and  river  takes  a  portion  of  it  from  the 


air  and  bears  it  along  to  the  ocean.  It 
is  probable  that  the  ocean  itself  absorbs 
it,  as  analysts  affirm  that  over  and  near 
the  ocean,  the  air  contains  slightly  Jess 
than  in  far  inland  regions. 

When  mingled  with  the  ocean,  a  por- 
tion of  it  goes  to  form  the  substance  of 
fish ;  some  to  form  the  shells  of  shell- 
fish ;  and  more  to  form  the  coral  reefs 
and  coral  islands  that  are  always  in  pro- 
cess of  formation. 

There  is  pretty  good  evidence  that  in 
remote  periods  past  the  air  was  more 
heavily  charged  with  this  gas.  It  is  in- 
ferred by  some,  that,  as  it  has  dimin- 
ished in  past  ages,  it  will  continue  to 
diminish,  and  that  the  time  will  come, 
when  there  will  be  too  little  to  sustain  a 
vegetation  adequate  to  supply  food,  and 
that  so,  by  a  process,  which  is  continu- 
ally going  on,  the  earth  will  become  un- 
inhabitable. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  waters 
of  the  globe  are  gradually  absorbing  it. 
And  it  is  true  also  that  much  of  it  is 
being  locked  up  in  the  form  of  submarine 
carbonates,  such  as  coral  rocks  of  vast 
extent,  shells,  &c.,  which  can  not  be  ex- 
pected very  soon  to  come  to  light.  But 
it  is  true,  on  the  other  hand,  that  vast 
quantities  of  this  gas,  which  for  ages 
past  have  lain  dormant  in  the  mountain 
lime-stone,  and  in  the  coral  strand,  and 
greater  quantities  still,  which  have  been 
locked  up  in  immense  coal  formations, 
but  which  the  spirit  of  commerce  and 
manufactures  in  this  age  of  steam  is  now 
unlocking. 

It  is  true  also  that  in  every  cargo  of 
fish  which  is  landed  from  the  ocean,  is 
the  carbon  for  millions  of  gallons  of  this 
gas,  and  that  it  is  thus  being  brought 
back  to  the  land  and  made  to  rcsup- 
ply  the  air  ;  and  it  would  seem  probable 
that  the  activity  and  enterprise  of  an  in- 
creasing population  may  nearly  or  quite 
balance  the  absorption  by  the  ocean  ; 
and  the  globe,  including  its  atmosphere, 
continue  as  rich  in  plant  food  as  at  pre- 
sent.    We  have  an  impression,  strong, 


104 


SCIENTIFIC 


though  we  might  not  be  able  to  support 
it  by  reasoning,  that  this  globe  is  to  be- 
come better,  not  worse,  for  the  suste- 
nance of  man  and  those  animals  designed 
for  his  benefit.  At  any  rate,  we  shall 
not  yet  give  in  to  the  fear  that  the  re- 
sources for  man's  sustenance  and  com- 
fort are  likely  very  soon  to  be  exhaust- 
ed. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  plants,  by 
their  growth,  are  the  chief  means  for  ex- 
hausting the  air  of  carbonic  acid ;  as,  by 
their  destruction,  they  are  a  prominent 
means  for  supplying  it.  They  are  the 
great  regulator.  If  by  any  means  the 
atmosphere  were  overcharged  with  car- 
bonic acid,  they  would  grow  more  luxu- 
riantly, and  thus  bring  it  back  to  its 
normal  state.  If  it  had  less  than  its  nor- 
mal proportion,  they  would  grow  less 
luxuriantly,  and  so  leave  the  carbonic 
acid  to  accumulate  from  its  various 
soiu-ces  of  supply. 

A  tree  grows ;  the  mineral  elements 
— a  very  small  part  of  the  whole — only 
what  constitutes  its  ash,  when  burned — 
comes  from  the  ground.  All  the  rest 
comes  from  the  air.  Suppose  it  to  be  a 
sturdy  oak.  It  may  have  been  a  hun- 
dred years  in  growing.  The  solid  mat- 
ter of  its  roots,  trunk  and  top  might 
weigh,  when  perfectly  dried,  6,000  lbs. 
At  least  half  of  this,  or  3,000  lbs.,  is  car- 
bon. But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
6  lbs.  of  carbon  are  equal  to  22  lbs.  of 
carbonic  acid,  in  as  much  as  the  compo- 
sition of  carbonic  acid  is  6  lbs.  of  carbon 
to  16  lbs.  oxygen.  The  accumulation 
of  3,000  lbs.  of  carbon,  then,  during  the 
growth  of  that  tree,  must  have  taken 
from  the  air  11,000  lbs.  of  carbonic  acid, 
an  immense  volume,  since  the  weight  of 
this  gas  is  but  once  and  a  half  that  of 
common  air. 

But  sooner  or  later  this  tree  is  des- 
tined to  restore  that  carbonic  acid  to  the 
air.  If  consumed  as  fuel,  it  would  re- 
store it  in  a  short  time ;  if  left  to  decay 
on  the  ground,  in  a  few  decades  of  years ; 
or  if  wrought  into  the  carved  works  of 


the  most  magnificent  building,  in  a  few 
centuries ;  and  then  that  same  carbonic 
acid  that  fed  the  oak  will  go  into  other 
plants,  will  thus  become  food  for  ani- 
mals, only  to  be  soon  released  again,  and 
so  to  go  on  in  successive  rounds. 

To  get  some  idea  of  the  amount  of 
carbon  drawn  by  growing  plants  from 
the  air,  let  us  consider  the  immense 
amoimt  of  vegetable  growth  for  a  single 
year.  At  dry  weight,  about  half  of  all 
this  is  carbon.  Now  if  we  multiply  half 
the  dry  weight  of  aU  the  vegetation  of  a 
year  on  this  continent  by  3f ,  it  would 
give  the  weight  of  carbonic  acid  drawn 
from  the  air  over  this  continent  in  a  sin- 
gle year. 

The  rounds  which  this  gas  takes  are 
in  some  cases  very  slow,  as,  for  instance, 
when  a  panel  from  an  old  English  oak 
got  into  the  ceiling  of  White  HaU  in 
London  seven  hundred  years  ago,  and  is 
there  yet  undecayed.  But  in  other  cases 
it  is  very  rapid ;  as  if  an  ox  in  a  clover 
field  should  clip  forage  in  the  morning, 
exhale  its  carbon  at  noon,  to  be  taken 
in  by  another  plant,  and  that  plant  to  be 
devoured  by  another  ox  before  night ; 
in  which  case  the  same  carbon  would 
have  been  food  for  two  plants  and  for 
two  oxen  in  one  day. 

We  do  not  think  this  is  an  extr:ivagant 
supposition.  The  transformations  of  na- 
ture are  very  rapid ;  and  probably  there 
is  at  this  day  no  food  for  man  or  beast, 
the  identical  particles  of  which,  some  of 
them  at  least,  have  not  been  consumed 
as  food  a  thousand  times  before.  An 
enterprising  farmer,  near  a  large  city, 
once  said  to  a  living  man  in  it,  "  Give 
me  your  dead  horses  this  week,  and  I'll 
bring  them  back  to  you  next  week  in 
the  form  of  as  fine  butter  as  you  ever 
ate."  He  contemplated  dissolving  them 
by  a  chemical  process,  to  be  applied  to 
dairy  pastures  in  a  diluted  state ;  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  that 
way  his  promise  would  have  been  veri- 
fied to  the  letter. 

Soils,  however  rich  in  the  mineral  in- 


SCIENTIFIC 


10$ 


gredients  of  plants,  require,  in  order  to 
their  highest  productiveness,  carbona- 
ceous manures. 

By  carbonaceous  manures  are  to  be 
understood  those  which  consist  largely 
of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  such  as 
txirf^  the  roots  of  former  crops  left  in  the 
ground,  green  crops  plowed  in,  swamp 
peat,  decaying  leaves,  leaf  mould,  and 
harn-yard  manure. 

The  action  of  these  manures  is  two- 
fold: 

1.  Mechanical,  to  vary  the  condition 
of  the  soil  by  mingling  a  lighter  sub- 
stance with  it,  to  separate  the  heavier 
particles  from  each  other,  and  prevent 
their  so  compacting  as  to  exclude  a  free 
circulation  of  the  air. 

2.  Chemical.  Air  and  moisture,  hav- 
ing access  to  the  carbonaceous  matter 
in  the  soil,  cause  it  to  decay  rapidly. 
The  oxygen  of  the  air  combines  with  the 
carbon  to  form  carbonic  acid ;  and  the 
carbonic  acid,  when  formed,  produces  at 
least  three  distinct  effects : 

1.  It  produces  a  further  mechanical  ac- 
tion. As  when  yeast  is  put  into  dough,  the 
carbonic  acid  generated  from  it,  by  its 
expansive  force,  pushes  the  particles  of 
dough  apart  from  each  other,  and  makes 
the  bread  light  and  tender;  so  that, 
generated  in  the  soil  from  carbonaceous 
manures,  exerts  an  expansive  force  upon 
the  soil,  making  it  lighter,  more  pervious 
to  the  roots,  and  more  accessible  to  air. 

2.  It  is  dissolved  in  water,  and  the 
water,  by  absorbing  it,  is  rendered  ca- 
pable of  dissolving  several  mineral  sub- 
stances in  the  soil,  and  rendering  them 
fit  for  plant  food,  which  are  insoluble  in 
water  not  impregnated  with  this  acid. 
Lime,  for  instance,  is  nearly  insoluble  in 
pure  water,  but  dissolves  to  a  considera- 
ble extent  in  water  impregnated  with 
carbonic  acid. 

8.  It  becomes  food  for  the  growing 
plant,  a  portion  of  it  being  taken  in  by 
the  roots,  dissolved  in  water,  but  more 
being  seized  by  the  leaves  as  it  oozes 
from  the  ground  and  seeks  to  mingle 
with  the  air. 


Plants,  so  far  as  their  carbon  is  con- 
sidered, are,  in  the  first  place,  fed  from 
that  carbonic  acid  which  is  always  in 
the  air  in  its  normal  state,  this  being 
taken  in  through  the  leaves ;  and  then, 
in  the  second  place,  in  a  well  manured 
field,  they  receive  extra  food  from  that 
which  is  generated  about  their  roots,  by 
the  decay  of  carbonaceous  manures.  The 
latter,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt,  is  ta- 
ken in  both  by  the  roots  and  leaves. — Ed. 


METEOROLOGICAL. 
chapman's    precalculations. 

[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  th« 
year  1856,  hy  L.  L.  CHAPMAN,  in  the  Clerk's 
Office  of  the  District  Court,  for  the  Eastern  Dis- 
trict of  Pennsylvama.'] 

FIRST  DEPARTMENT. 

EXPLANATORY. 

THE  TERM  POSITIVE  is  here  given 
to  conditions  abounding  7nore  with  vital 
electricity,  inspiring  more  health,  vigor, 
cheerfulness,  and  letter  feelings  for  bu- 
siness, intercourse,  etc.,  and  consequent- 
ly greater  success,  enjoyment,  etc. 

THE  TERM  NEGATIVE  is  given  to 
those  conditions  which  ahound  less  with 
electricity,  and  consequently  are  more 
unfavorable  to  health,  feelings,  business, 
social  intercourse,  etc. 
IT  Indicates  Sundays. 
SECOND  MONTH,  (February,)  1858. 
Tendency.  Time  o'clock 

1st,  Negative,  from  1  to  8  morn. 
Positive,  from  8  morn  to  1  eve. 
Mixed,  from  2  to  12  eve. 
2d,    Positive,  from  1  to  11  morn. 

Negative,  from  12  noon  to  12  eve. 
3d,    Negative,  from  1  morn  to  6  eve. 

Mixed,  from  6  to  12  eve. 
4th,  Negative,  from  2  morn  to  12  eve. 
5th,'  Mixed,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Positive,  from  5  to  12  eve. 
6th,  Mixed,  from  1  to  9  morn. 

Positive,  from  10  morn  to  12  eve. 
Yth,  IT  Mixed,  from  1  morn  to  1  eve. 

Positive,  from  8  to  12  eve. 
8th,  Positive,  from  1  to  10  morn. 

Negative,  from  11  morn  to  12  eve. 

9  th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  G  eve. 

Positive,  from  7  to  12  eve. 

10th,  Positive,  from  5  morn  to  12  eve. 

11th,  Positive,  from  5  morn  to  4  eve. 

Negative,  from  5  to  t2  eve. 
12th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 


106 


SCIENTIFIC. 


13th,  Positive,  from  5  to  10  morn. 

Mixed,  from  11  morn  to  12  eve. 
14th,  IT  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Positive,  from  5  to  12  eve. 
15th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  7  eve. 

Mixed,  from  8  to  12  eve. 
16th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  3  eve. 

Negative,  from  4  to  12  eve. 
I7th,  Mixed,  from  1  morn  to  1  eve. 

Negative,  from  2  to  12  eve. 
18th,  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
19th,  Positive,  from  2  to  11  morn. 

Negative,  from  12  noon  to  12  eve. 
20th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
21st,    IT  Positive,  from  1  to  9  morn. 

Negative,  from  10  morn  to  12  eve. 
22d,    Negative,  from  1  morn  to  1  eve. 

Positive,  from  2  to  12  eve. 
23d,    Mixed,  from  1  morn  to  12  noon. 

Positive,  from  12  noon  to  12  eve. 
24th,  Mixed,  from  1  to  8  morn. 

Positive,  from  8  morn  to  12  eve. 
25th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Mixed,  from  5  to  15  eve. 
26th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  12  eve. 
27th,  Negative,  from  1  morn  to  5  eve. 

Positive,  from  6  to  12  eve. 
28th,  IT  Positive,  from  1  morn  to  4  eve. 

Mixed,  from  4  to  5  eve. 

Positive,  from  6  to  12  eve. 

SECOND  DEPARTMENT. 

In  this  department  the  first  letter  of 
each  colored  ray  is  given,  instead  of  the 
word  in  full,  after  the  words  morn,  eve. 
They  show  the  angles  of  the  solar  spec- 
trum in  which  the  current  of  reflected 
light  that  produces  the  condition  is  in- 
tercepted.—  Thus^  R  for  the  red  ray,  0 
for  the  orange,  etc.  Currents  intercept- 
ed in  the  angles  of  the  Y,  or  R,  or  G- 
rays  tend  to  a  warm  and  usually  fair 
temperature.  R,  sometimes  showery  ; 
V  or  I  to  cool  and  damp  ;  three  or  four 
times  out  of  five,  cloudy  or  wet.  B,  and 
often  V,  to  electrical,  and  more  or  less 
wind  stirring.  0  to  variable — in  most 
cases  cloudy  or  wet ;  but  when  dry  to 
sultry  or  exciting.  Single  letters  show 
single  currents.  Double  letters  show 
combined  currents,  which  usually  ope- 
rate longer  and  with  greater  force  ;  often 
so  superceding  the  effects  of  passing  sin- 
gle currents  that  the  latter  become  only 
modulations  in  a  long  dry  or  wet,  warm 
or  cool  period,  induced  by  the  former. 
They  can  not  be  calculated  so  accurately 
as  the  single  currents,  but  seldom  vary 
many  hours.  , 

Combined  currents  ending  with  V  or 
I  tend  to  longer,  more  prominent  cool 


periods.  With  R  or  G,  to  warm  peri- 
ods. _  When  ending  with  B,  V,  I,  or  0, 
to  windy,  or  cloudy,  or  stormy  periods. 
Periods  of  greater  electrical  deficiency 
tend  more  to  vegetable  defection,  or 
blight,  to  the  cholera,  etc. 

All  the  combined  currents  tend  more 
to  electrical  disturbances,  earthquakes, 
auroras,  etc. 

Periods,  (.)  in  the  place  of  letters,  show 
currents  under  investigation.  Bouile 
periods,  (..)  combined  currents.  £[y- 
phens  (-)  after  letters  show  confluent 
currents.  Commas  (,)  after  the  letters 
show  positive — apostrophes  ()  negative 
condition.  See  second  department. — 
They  also  show  the  force  of  the  inter- 
cepted current.  One  comma  or  apostro- 
phe shows  weaker,  two  commas  or  apos- 
trophes (,,  ")  stronger  currents. 

Many  of  the  weaker  changes  are  per- 
ceptible only  by  instruments.  Those  in- 
struments are  the  Prism,  Thermometer, 
Barometer,  Hygrometer,  and  Electrome- 
ter. 

The  changes  are  four  minutes  earlier 
for  each  degree  of  longitude  (60  miles) 
west.  Difference  of  latitude  in  the  same 
meridian  is  immaterial.  The  dry  condi- 
tions are  fair,  and  the  damp  conditions 
cloudy  or  wet,  at  least  three  or  four  times 
out  of  five  in  the  average.  When  fair, 
the  damp  conditions  diffuse  a  cool,  damp 
sensation  through  the  atmosphere. 

Blanks  indicate  very  weak,  or  mixed, 
or  uncertain  conditions. 

IT  Indicate  Sundays. 

SECOND  MONTH,  (February,)  1858. 
Time  o^cloch.      Pay-angle.       Tendency. 
1st,    At  1  morn  YO"  damp,  windy. 

At  6  morn  G'  warm. 

At  8  morn  R'  warm. 

At  9  morn  I,,  cool. 

At  1  eve  V„  cool,  damp. 

At  6  eve  Y'  warm. 

At  12  eve  R,  warm,  dry. 
2d,    At  8  morn  I,  cool,  damp. 

At  11  morn  G„  warm. 

At  5  eve  V  cool,  damp. 

At  12  eve  GR"  warm,  dry. 
3d,    At  9  morn  V  cool. 

At  6  eve  I"  cool,  damp. 
4th,  At  1  morn  .  — - — 

At  5  morn  G'  warm. 

At  11  eve  R'  warm,  dry. 
5th,  At  4  morn  G"  warm,  dry. 

At  11  morn  0 

At  4  eve  Y"  warm,  dry. 
6th,  At  2  morn  B„  wind  stfrring. 


SCIENTIFIC 


107 


7th, 

8th, 
9th, 

10th, 
11th, 


12th, 
13th, 


14th, 
15th, 

16th, 

17th, 

18th, 
19th, 

20th, 

21st, 
22d, 


At  5  morn  I„  cool. 

At  9  morn  V"  cool,  damp. 

At  10  eve  G,  warm,  dry. 

IT  At  8  morn  Y,  warm,  dry. 

At  11  morn  I'  cool,  damp. 

At  1  eve  BI"  cool,  damp,  windy. 

At  11  eve  G,,  warm,  dry. 

At  10  morn  Y,,  warm,  dry. 

t  7  eve  R,  warm, 

t  5  morn  GO"  damp,  windy. 

t  8  morn  G'  warm. 

t  9  morn  0 

t  6  eve  Y'  warm,  dry. 

1 12  eve  BV„  cool,  damp,  windy. 

t  4  morn  V  cool. 

t  11  morn  ..  warm. 

t  4  eve  0„ 

t 12  eve  . 

t  4  morn  I"  cool,  damp. 

t  9  morn  V„  cool. 

1 1  eve  B-  wind  stirring. 

t  4  eve  0, 

til  morn  R"  warm,  dry. 

t  4  morn  0"  damp. 

t  10  morn  G-  warm,  dry. 

t  5  eve  Y-  warm,  dry. 

t  6  eve  V"  cool,  damp. 

t  7  eve  ..  warm. 

t  10  eve  R,  warm. 
IT  At  2  morn  YV"cool,damp,windy. 

t  4  eve  I'  cool,  damp. 

t  8  eve  R,,  warm. 

t  3  morn  V,  cool. 

1 12  noon  O 

t  7  eve  I  cool,  damp. 

t  11  eve  R'  warm. 

1 12  eve  V,,  cool,  damp. 

t  3  eve  B„  wind  stirring. 

t  9  eve  GV"  cool,  windy. 

t  8  morn  0,, 

t  9  morn  Y'  warm,  dry. 

1 1  eve  B,  wind  stirring. 

t  12  eve  I"  cool,  damp. 

t  8  morn  G,,  warm,  dry. 

t  1  eve  Y,,  warm. 

t  5  eve,  end  of  the  zodiacal  pe- 
riod, or  natural  month, 

t  10  eve  GR,  warm,  dry. 

t  1  morn  ••  windy. 

t  5  morn  R-  warm,  dry. 

t  5  morn  G,  warm, 

t  8  morn  I,  cool,  damp. 

til  morn  Y,  warm,  dry. 

t  12  eve  O"  damp. 

t  9  morn  V-  cool,  damp. 

t  4  eve  (J"  warm,  dry. 

t  10  eve  Y"  warm. 
•Vt  9  morn  B,,  wind  stirring. 

t  5  eve  BR"  windy. 

1 1  eve  B'  wind  .stirring. 

t  3  eve  0,  


At  12  eve  G„  warm,  diy. 
23d,    At  11  morn  .. 

At  12  morn  V  cool. 

At  1  eve  R,,  warm,  dry. 
24th,  At  1  morn  01,,  cool,  damp,  windy. 

At  4  morn  G'  warm. 

At  3  morn  I-  cool,  damp. 

At  9  morn  0"  damp. 

At  2  eve  V„  cool. 

At  9  eve  G,  warm,  dry. 
25th,  At  4  eve  R"  warjn,  dry. 
26th,  At  2  morn  B"  wind  stirring.    • 

At  2  eve  YU  cool,  windy. 

At  5  eve  V"  cool,  damp. 

At  12  eve  GI'  cool,  damp,  windy. 
27th,  At  4  eve  G"  warm,  dry. 

At  5  eve  Y"  warm. 

At  9  eve  R,,  warm,  dry. 
28th,  IT  At  4  morn  ..  cool,  damp. 

At  7  morn  YG-  warm. 

At  4  eve  I„  cool. 

At  8  eve  0,,  damp. 

At  11  eve  R'  warm. 

At  12  eve  V„  cool. 

GENERAL  REMARKS. 

Cool  Periods,  longer  and  more  promi- 
nent, are  more  liable  near  the  14th,  26th. 

Greater  tendency  to  windy,  cloudy  or 
stormy  periods,  or  gusts,  near  the  1st, 
7th,  9th,  or  10th,  14th,  17th,  21st,  24th, 
26th. 

Periods  more  prominently  negative 
near  the  1st,  3d,  7th,  9th,  14th,  17th. 

Periods  of  greater  electrical  deficiency, 
1st  to  9th,  11th  to  21st. 

Natural  tendency  of  the  zodiacal  pe- 
riod from  the  1st  to  18th,  damp.  From 
the  19th  to  28th,  the  same  tendency. 

The  electricity  supplied  by  the  re- 
flected light  of  the  moon  in  her  increase, 
is  more  positive.  During  her  decrease, 
more  negative.  Hence,  fruit  trees  should 
be  pruned  and  vegetation  maturing  above 
the  ground  should  be  sown,  etc.,  be- 
tween the  first  quarter  and  the  full 
moon.  Esculent  roots,  potatoes,  etc., 
should  be  planted  in  the  decrease  of  the 
moon. 


U^^"  V.VLUABLE  Discovery, — About 
three  miles  from  Clear  Lake,  Napa  Co., 
California,  and  near  the  Borux  lakes,  is 
a  sulphur  bank  from  twenty  to  thirty 
acres  in  extent,  and  supposed  to  be  thir- 
ty feet  thick,  sufficiently  pure  for  the  use 
of  the  mint  at  San  Francisco.  The  sul- 
phur seems  to  be  constantly  forming 
from  a  dam,  steam  rising  over  the  whole 
surface  continually. 


108 


LITERARY. 


FOE    THE    AMERICAN  FAKMBRS'     MAGAZINE. 

THE     WE  ATHEE. 

Appearance  of  Birds,  Flowers,  etc.,  in  Nichols,  Tioga  Co.,  K  Y.,  in  December,  1857. 

By  B.  Howell. 

Place  of  Observation,  42  degrees  North,  on  a  Diluvial  Formation,  about  AS)  feet  above  the 

Susquehanna  River,  and  800  feet  above  tide,  according  to  the  survey 

of  the  New-  York  and  Erie  Railroad. 


ec. 

BA.M. 

1P.M. 

9  P.M. 

1 

42 

40 

36 

N.  W. 

Cloudy. 

^ 

22 

41 

32 

South 

" 

36 

38 

32 

West 

" 

4 

27 

32 

23 

" 

" 

5 

28 

39 

26 

S.&K 

" 

6 

29 

36 

38 

S.  E. 

" 

7 

28 

48 

32 

West 

Clear. 

8 

42 

56 

39 

s.  w. 

Cloudy. 

9 

41 

45 

48 

S.  E. 

" 

10 

35 

38 

27 

West 

" 

11 

24 

30 

14 

N.  W. 

<( 

12 

13 

27 

14 

North 

« 

13 

14 

41 

26 

South 

Clear. 

14 

25 

50 

29 

(( 

Cloudy. 

15 

24 

45 

36 

north 

16 

32 

44 

36 

South 

17 

37 

44 

40 

" 

18 

47 

48 

40 

S.  W. 

19 

32 

36 

27 

West 

20 

26 

30 

18 

North 

21 

12 

38 

31 

South 

22 

27 

35 

32 

North 

23 

24 

38 

34 

South 

24 

35 

35 

24 

West 

25 

19 

24 

18 

" 

26 

16 

23 

12 

North 

27 

18 

33 

21 

South 

28 

29 

39 

34 

" 

29 

31 

41 

33 

North 

30 

32 

38 

34 

South 

" 

31 

33 

36 

32 

S.&N. 

" 

Reuabkb. 
Hard  rain  before  day. 


Light  snow  in  the  morning.    Rain  in  P.  M. 

Clear  till  4  P.  M. 

Light  rain  A.  M. 

Rain  at  intervals  all  day. 

Light  snow  in  the  evening. 


Quite  hard  rain  in  morning  before  light. 

Small  Aurora  seen  at  9  P.  M. 

Rain  all  night.     Light  rain. 
About  one-half  inch  of  snow  felL 

Light  snow. 


[P.  M.,  3  inches. 
Snow  commenced  at  7  A.  M.,  and  continued  till  4 
Drizzling   snow  between  6  and  ten  A.  M.     Light 

rain  at  3  P.  M.,  continued  all  night. 
Quite  hard  rain  A.  M. 


it^rarg. 


TO  OUR  READERS. 

In  our  last  number  we  promised  to 
enliven  our  pages  with  a  variety  of  new 
matter,  that  should  be  at  once  amusing 
and  instructive  ;  and  we  are  now  about 
to  introduce,  with  that  object,  a  new  fea- 
ture into  our  journal. 

Information  for  the  farmer  has  ever 
been  the  leading  feature  in  our  pages, 
and  will  continue  for  the  future  to  be 
the  primary  object  of  it. 

But  if  improvement  in  agriculture 
should  be  the  chief  aim  of  an  agricultural 


journal,  there  is  another  subject  equally 
dear  to  the  farmer's  heart,  as  it  is  also 
of  equal  importance  to  the  happiness  of 
himself  and  his  family.  We  allude  to 
the  literature  which  is  sought  for  and 
read  by  the  younger  members  of  his 
family. 

The  influence,  for  good  or  for  ill,  of 
that  which  constitutes  the  lighter  litera- 
ture of  the  day,  is  too  well  known  to 
need  comment.  We  fear  we  must  with 
regret  add,  that  too  much  of  that  which 
finds  the   easiest  access    into    families 


'LITERARY, 


109 


throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
our  land,  is  of  a  character  little  calcu- 
lated to  improve  the  morals,  or  to  tend 
towards  the  cultivation  of  a  high  stand- 
ard of  self-government,  in  the  young  of 
either  sex. 

This  consideration  is  not,  however, 
new  to  our  age  ;  and  the  weight  of  it  has 
from  time  to  time  induced  men,  whose 
literary  attainments  have  rendered  them 
luminaries  in  the  world  of  letters,  occa- 
Bionally  to  endeavor  to  introduce  a  better 
class  of  works,  which,  whilst  they  amuse 
the  mind,  at  the  same  time  tend  to  lead/ 
the  morals  in  the  direction  of  rectitude 
and  virtue.  To  such  praiseworthy  ef- 
forts do  we  owe  some  of  that  literature 
which  has  now  become  part  of  the  clas- 
sics of  our  language. 

Having  by  good  fortune  had  a  propo- 
sal of  similar  character  made  to  us,  and 
feeling  that  the  ladies  of  our  farm-houses 
have  some  claim  upon  oiu*  pages,  as  well 
as  on  our  gallantry,  we  propose  to  devote 
a  portion  of  our  journal  each  month  to 
this  object.  ^  And  we  doubt  not  that  the 
arrangements  we  have  made  to  secure 
the  aid  of  talent  of  a  high  order  for  this 
department,  will  insure  for  it  a  welcome^ 
from  the  farmer's  wife  and  daughter  that 
will  amply  reward  our  exertions. 


THE  HERMITESS  OF  SOUTH 
SALEM. 

[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congresa,  in  the  year 
1862,  by  J.  A.  Nash,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  theSouih- 
ern  District  of  New-Yorli.]    ' 

AN  OKIGINAL  TALE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION, 

FOUNDED  ON  FACT. 

On  a  bright  summer's  evening  of  the 
year  seventy-six,  a  group  filled  the  porch 
of  an  old  farm-house  not  many  miles 
east  of  New- York  Bay,  on  the  shores  of 
Long  Island.  The  elder  member  of  the 
party  was  a  farmer,  whose  help-mate  had 
not  long  before  been  removed  from  the 
turmoils  of  time,  to  enter  upon  the  peace 
of  eternity.  Beside  him  sat  his  two 
daughters,  in  whom  were  centered  all 
his   hopes  and  fears.     For  those  were 


times  when  hopes  and  fears  bore,  in 
these  parts,  close  relation  to  each  other. 
A  stalwart  yeoman  of  thirty  years  danced 
on  his  knee  the  first  pledge  of  the  love, 
which  a  glance  at  the  joyous  counte- 
nance of  the  elder  daughter  told  she 
bore  her  husband  ;  and  the  anxious  look 
of  the  only  remaining  person  in  the  cir- 
cle, a  young  stout  countryman  just  en- 
tering upon  man's  estate,  bespoke  the 
interest  which  the.  other  daughter  ex- 
cited in  his  bosom,  although  she  seemed 
advanced  beyond  his  age  by  some  few 
years. 

The  farmer  seemed  musing  o'er  the 
past,  and  maybe  o'er  the  stining  events 
of  the  present ;  and  ever  and  anon  a  tear 
was  seen  to  fill  his  downcast  eye,  and 
trickle  down  the  furrows  by  which  his 
care-worn  cheek  was  channeled. 

After  a  prolonged  silence  which  none 
of  the  party  appeared  inclined  to  break, 
as  if  some  weighty  matters  were  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion,  the  son-in-law  at 
length  exclaimed : 

"  'Tis  better,  father,  I  am  sure,  that 
you  and  Sally  should  return  home  with 
us.  Hannah  has  now  our  boy  to  see  to, 
and  Sally  will,  I  know,  like  to  help  her. 
Our  house  is  big  enough  for  all,  and  now 
these  parts  are  sure  to  become  battle- 
fields :  for  our  sakes  you  should  come 
amongst  us." 

"No,  George,  no,"  replied  the  old 
man  ; ."  I  can  not  leave  the  old  home- 
stead where  I  was  born  and  bred,  and 
where  so  many  years  of  blessings  have 
been  showered  down  upon  my  head. 
My  girl's  mother,  my  sainted  wife,  loved 
the  place,  and  I  will  breathe  my  last 
where  she  died.  For  battles  I  have  no 
fear;  if  my  arm  was  younger,  my  coun- 
try should  have  my  strength.  As  'tis, 
my  weakness  is  not  worth  the  keeping. 
You,  George,  will  take  care  of  the  girls ; 
that  is  if  John  here  does  not  relieve  you 
of  part  of  the  trouble.  But  Sally  will 
not  leave  me  whilst  I  live.  You,  my  boy, 
must  to  your  farm ;  and  by-and-bye 
when  these  storms  of  war  are  past,  we 


no 


LITERARY. 


may  yet  spend  some  hours  together  in 
this  old  house." 

The  next  day  separated  the  friends. 
George  Vortin,  with  his  blooming  wife 
and  child,  returned  to  his  Connecticut 
homestead,  leaving  Butler  and  his  daugh- 
ter in  their  island  home. 

John  Frazer,  the  accepted  lover  of 
Sarah,  being  the  son  of  a  neighboring 
farmer,  was  perfectly  satisfied  with  the 
old  man's  decision  ^  for  belonging,  like 
most  of  his  age,  to  the  militia,  his  duties 
were  of  too  imperious  a  character  to  af- 
ford him  much  opportunity  for  "  spark- 
ing," and  he  consequently  would  by  no 
means  have  approved  of  the  removal  of 
his  ladylove  to  a  distant  abode ;  and  he 
knew  full  well  that  her  beloved  father's 
word,  to  her  affectionate  heart,  was  law. 
Frazer's  duties  for  the  time,  however, 
formed  no  insurmountable  barrier  to  the 
indulgence  of  his  inclinations,  for  Gen. 
Washington,  expecting  New- York  to  be 
attacked,  was  then  making  his  disposi- 
tions to  meet  the  anticipated  event.  Al- 
though aware  of  the  proximity  of  danger 
to  those  so  dear  to  him,  Frazer  knew 
that  he  should  have  early  intelligence  of 
the  movements  of  the  enemy ;  and  con- 
sequently he  felt  no  distrust  of  his  power 
to  give  them  timely  notice  to  remove 
from  the  scene  in  the  event  of  serious 
operations  supervening. 

Some  weeks  passed  on  after  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  friends,  and  the  excitement 
of  anticipated  troubles  had  nearly  sub- 
sided into  the  confidence  of  security, 
when  in  the  haze  of  early  morning  the 
heavy  tread  of  distant  footsteps  alarmed 
the  dogs  that  guarded  the  homestead, 
and  awoke  Sarah  Butler  from  her  morn- 
ing's dream.  Throwing  open  her  window 
she  looked  out  to  speak  to  them.  Her 
well  known  voice  the  dogs  obeyed ;  but 
their  silence  revealed  to  her  ear  the  cause 
of  their  vigilance.  Friends  or  foes,  she 
knew  not  which,  but  strangers  were  at 
hand. 

Scarcely  had  Butler,  aroused  by  his  I 
daughter,  glanced  at  the  men  who  now  | 


had  approached  within  a  short  distance  of 
house,  when  the  full  measure  of  the  mise- 
ry that  awaited  him  was  disclosed.  They 
were  a  party  of  the  enemy's  troops.  A 
hurried  parley  confirmed  the  worst  fears  , 
of  the  inmates  ;  the  door  was  burst  open, 
and  the  half-mad  soldiers  brutalized  the 
once  happy  home ! 

The  wail  of  female  anguish,  the  aged 
cry  for  mercy,  were  answered  by  the 
ribald  jest  and  withering  jeer.  A  bay- 
onet was  raised  to  pierce  old  Butler 
through,  when  a  musket  shot  from  with- 
out suddenly  laid  low  the  arm  that  held 
it.  The  soldiers  rushed  out  as  quickly 
as  they  had  entered,  and  for  a  few  mo- 
ments Butler  and  his  daughter  were  left 
alone  with  the  dead  body  of  the  fallen 
man. 

"  Daughter,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  feel 
my  hour  is  come.  I  see  Frazer  without ; 
doubtless  he  has  brought  us  this  relief; 
they  will  not  kill  you,  and  Frazer  will 
protect  you.  I  must  shortly  fall,  if  only 
to  avenge  the  dead  at  our  feet.  Grieve 
not  for  me — I  shall  be  happy ;  but  trust 
in  God  my  girl  through  life';  and " 

A  shot  from  outside  performed  its 
deadly  ofiice,  and  Butler  fell  and  breath- 
'  ed  his  last. 

At  the  same  moment  Sarah  Butler 
found  herself  in  the  grasp  of  one  whose 
regimentals  showed  him  to  be  of  that . 
rank  that  should  indicate  the  character 
of  gentlemen,  a  protector  of  innocence,  a 
lover  of  mercy.  Was  he  this  ?  No — that 
he  was — 'tis  not  in  language  to  tell.  Sa- 
vage he  was  not,  for  he  was  civilized. 
Slave  he  was  not,  for  he  was  free.  Brute 
he  was  not,  for  he  was  man.  Devil  he 
was  not,  for  he  was  human.  What  was 
HE  ?  Let  heaven  declare,  for  words  can 
not  at  that  day  when 

"  We  shall  know  even  as  we  are  known." 
******* 

******* 
The  sun  rose  in  its  full  majesty  upon 
a  cloudless  sky  on  the  morning  follow- 
ing the  dread  day  that  closed  the  life  of 
honest  Butler.      The  sound  of   man's 


LITERARY 


111 


cursed  artillery  was  unheard,  and  the 
young  birds  of  the  last  spring  rejoicing 
in  their  youth,  carolled  forth  the  song  of 
pleasure  and  of  love. 
•  Awaking  from  a  swoon,  o'erwhelmed 
with  shame,  half  conscious  of  existence, 
poor  Sarah  Butler  found  herself  stretch- 
ed upon  the  straw  of  her  homestead 
bam.  Weighed  down  by  misery  and 
grief,  the  anguish  of  her  soul  almost  un- 
nerved her  from  the  power  of  motion. 
Mistrusting  her  distracted  and  confused 
recollection  of  the  occurrences  of  the  pre- 
ceeding  day,  and  doubting  each  phase, 
save  oiie  of  the  scenes  in  which  she  had 
borne  a  part,  she  dragged  her  weary 
limbs  to  the  window  that  looked  on  her 
cherished  home !  Could  she  believe  it  ? 
A  smoking  pile  of  blackened  walls  and 
half  charred  timbers  only  remained  of 
the  house  in  which  she  first  saw  the  light 
of  day.  An  involuntary  shriek  burst 
from  her  lips,  and  she  again  sunk  into 
unconsciousness. 

A  few  days  after  the  preceding  events, 
"Washington  saw  fit  to  alter  his  tactics, 
and  to  withdraw  his  troops  from  Long 
Island;  and  rumor,  with  its  many 
tongues,  quickly  conveyed  to  George 
Vortin  and  his  wife  the  unwelcome  in- 
telligence that  the  enemy  had  carried  fire 
and  sword  into  the  homesteads  on  the 
coast  of  Long  Island.  George  forthwith 
sought  the  camp,  where  he  learned  from 
the  lips  of  his  friend  Frazer,  whom  he 
found  in  hospital  disabled  by  a  mus- 
ket wound  in  the  head,  the  dreadful 
story  of  his  father-in-law's  death. 

"  And  where  is  Sally  ?"  cried  George. 
"Alas!  I  know  not,"  replied  his 
friend.  "  I  fell  insensible  from  this 
cursed  shot-wound,  whilst  springing  for- 
ward to  rescue  her  from  the  grasp  of  a 
hellish  officer  who  had  seized  upon  her, 
and  I  know  no  more.  As  soon  as  I  re- 
covered my  reason,  I  begged  my  com- 
rades to  go  seek  her,  or  ascertain  her 
fate ;  but  our  troops  having  been  with- 
drawn from  the  Island,  their  attempts 
were  futile.  My  cup  of  misery  is  full. 
May  God  protect  her  !" 


Resolved  to  learn  something  of  his 
sister-in-law,  George  spent  many  days  in 
fruitless  inquiries  and  abortive  attempts 
to  communicate  with  friends  on  Long 
Island.  In  despair,  he  at  length  was 
about  reluctantly  to  give  up  the  search, 
when  he  chanced  to  meet  an  old  ac- 
quaintance who  was  a  fisherman  on  the 
Sound.  He  informed  him  that  some 
days  after  the  affray  at  Butlers,  Sarah 
had  been  to  his  house  on  the  coast  when 
he  was  from  home ;  and  that  his  part- 
ner had  at  her  request  taken  her  at  night 
across  the  Sound  to  the  mland  shore. 
Rejoiced  at  this  intelligence,  George  not 
doubting  that  her  object  was  to  get  to 
his  farm,  made  his  way  home  with  all 
dispatch ;  having  on  his  way  afforded 
some  consolation  to  poor  Frazer,  by 
communicating  the  information  he  had 
received. 

Contrary  to  his  expectations,  Vortin 
and  his  wife  heard  nothing  of  Sarah. 
Each  week  that  passed  held  forth  to 
them  hopes,  only  to  be  disappointed.  By 
slow  degrees  Frazer,  whose  anguish  of 
mind  tended  materially  to  delay  recovery 
from  his  wound,  at  length  was  sufficient- 
ly convalescent  to  permit  his  removal 
firom  the  camp,  and  Vortin  took  him  to 
his  home;  for  already  did  his  wife  regard 
him  as  her  brother. 

How  mercifully  is  the  future  before  us 
in  this  life,  hidden  from  our  gaze !  How 
beautiful  the  dispensation  which  causes 
the  slow  course  of  time  to  assuage  griefs 
that  'tis  not  in  our  power  to  avoid,  or 
otherwise,  to  relieve.  One  by  one  come 
our  joys ;  one  by  one  our  sorrows !  Did 
either  come  in  mass,  poor  humanity 
must  equally  break  down  beneath  the 
burden.  But  when  tempered  by  the 
calm  self-possession  of  confiding  hope  in 
Him  whose  promise  can  not  fail,  how 
joyous  pass  the  happy  hours  of  prosper- 
ity— how  serenely  do  we  bow  the  head 
and  yield  submission  to  the  blasts  of  ad- 
versity I 

So  it  was  at  George  Vortin's  farm- 
house.    Ilalf-expecting  hope  for  many 


112 


LITERARY. 


months  sustained  the  drooping  and 
agonized  feelings  of  Hannah  Vortin, 
and  the  no-less  wounded  spirit  of  the 
wounded  soldier :  until  at  length  they 
almost  persuaded  themselves  that  poor 
Sarah  was  released  from  her  earthly- 
trials,  and  though  snatched  from  them, 
was  then — at  rest. 

Time  rolled  on.  George  Vortin  pros- 
pered. Frazer,  whose  wound,  although 
healed,  had  produced  a  marked  influence 
upon  his  constitution,  was  long  in  recov- 
ering his  strength.  The  ties  of  friend- 
ship between  him  and  his  kind  hosts  had 
been  sealed  by  events  too  appalling  to 
be  evanescent;  and  thence  had  sprung 
up  bonds  of  affection  which  precluded 
the  thought  of  separation.  The  children 
of  the  Vortins,  which  were  now  many, 
had  of  their  own  accord  appropriated  to 
Frazer  the  cognomen  of  "  Uncle  John" — 
an  appellation  which  all  appeared  to  ap- 
prove. Still  amidst  sufficient  prosperity 
to  supply  more  than  the  wants  of  all,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  many  of  those  cheer- 
ful hours  which  it  is  the  peculiar  privi- 
lege of  children  to  impart  to  those 
around  them,  there  was  a  pensive  sad- 
ness that  overshadowed  the  household, 
and  told  the  observer  that  something  yet 
was  wanting  to  make  that  household 
happy.  The  truth  was,  the  uncertainty 
attending  the  fate  of  Sarah  Butler  still 
weighed  upon  all. 

*     -   *         *         *        *        * 

Thirty  years  and  more  had  passed 
away,  and  some  members  of  the  family 
of  the  Vortins  had  grown  up  to  man's 
estate.  The  eldest  daughter,  Hannah, 
was  wooed  and  won  by  Jim  Smithson,  a 
young  farmer  at  Ridgefield,  twenty  miles 
from  her  parent's  farm.  Settled  down 
some  months  in  her  novel  station,  she 
urged  "  Uncle  John"  to  visit  her  new 
home — an  invitation  which  he  was  not 
slow  to  accept.  For  having  given  up  all 
idea  of  married  life  himself,  the  children 
of  his  friend  had  long  been  regarded  by 
him  as  his  own,  and  he  divided  with 
their  parents  the  cares  and  pleasures 
that  attended  them. 


On  a  fair  morning  in  the  fall  of  18—, 
Frazer  set  out  on  his  old  grey  pony  to 
pay  his  promised  visit  at  Ridgefield.  A 
small  valise  strapped  behind  his  saddle 
carried  his  wardrobe ;  and  at  the  pora- 
mel  were  sundry  small  parcels  of  crea- 
ture comforts,  intended  as  presents  from 
"  home"  to  the  new  married  couple. 

Since  the  Revolution,  Frazer  had  been 
but  little  of  a  traveler.  The  ardor  and 
elasticity  of  youth  had  been  softened 
down  at  an  early  age  by  his  physical 
and  mental  sufferings ;  and  his  time  had 
been  devoted  to  the  service  of  his  friend 
Vortin  on  his  farm,  and  to  the  indul- 
gence of  the  wishes  and  wants,  whether 
real  or  fancied,  of  the  wife  and  children. 
For  in  such  occupations  it  was  that  he 
found  the  greatest  comfort,  and  a  relief 
from  thoughts  and  regrets  that  too  fre- 
quently would  intrude  upon  his  leisure 
hours. 

Having  thus  remained  almost  constant- 
ly on  the  farm,  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
turmoils  of  the  world,  and  of  the  excite- 
ment consequent  on  a  more  active  life, 
he  knew  little  of  the  scenes  around  him, 
save  those  disclosed  by  the  weekly  news- 
paper. Beyond  the  homestead  circle, 
however,  he  had  no  wants ;  and  the  ab- 
sence or  presence  of  more  extensive  ac- 
quaintance with  men  and  things  was 
to  him  a  matter  of  equal  indifference. 

Arrived  at  Ridgefield,  Frazer  was  over- 
whelmed by  the  multitudinous  series  of 
welcomes  that  awaited  him;  for  his  young 
hostess  was  a  warm-hearted  creature, 
full  of  buoyant  spirits,  bright  hopes,  and 
affectionate  feelings,  which  rendered  it 
out  of  the  question  with  her  to  receive 
her  old  friend  without  a  reiterated  redu- 
plication of  every  endearing  epithet  that 
her  vocabulary  could  suggest. 

In  those  days,  before  railroads  had 
solved  the  problem  of  annihilating  space, 
and  made  modern  philosophy  doubt  the 
truth  of  the  axiom  that  nature  abhors  a 
vacuum,  (since  some  are  dreaming  of  a  se- 
ries of  subterranean  vacuum  tubes  as  the 
best  medium  for  locomotion) — in  those 


LITERARY 


113 


days,  the  entrance  upon  the  duties  of  life 
of  anew  married  couple  in  Ridgefield  was 
no  ordinary,  every-day  occurrence,  but 
an  event  of  importance  ;  one  which, 
as  soon  as  its  possibility  was  bruited 
abroad,  caused  an  excitement  and  com- 
motion among  the  middle  aged  aud  more 
aged  members  of  the  female  community 
there  resident,  which  showed  that  at 
least  they  were  deeply  interested  parties. 

The  recent  wedding  had  produced  a 
more  than  ordinary  amount  of  this  inte- 
rest ;  for,  the  coterie  of  the  district, 
that,  by  some  invisible,  but  doubt- 
less well  organized  authoi'ity,  exercised 
a  considerable  control  over  the  due  coup- 
ling together  of  the  juvenile  branches  of 
their  generation,  had  been,  for  once,  ut- 
lerly  at  fault  in  disposing  of  the  bride- 
groom to  their  satisfaction.  If  the  truth 
must  be  told,  he  chose  to  select  a  wife 
for  himself,  instead  of  having  one  select- 
ed for  him  ;  a  circumstance  which,  con- 
trary to  the  innocently  ignorant  con- 
clusions of  some  people,  was,  by  the 
Ridgefield  Sociable-marriage-and-suita- 
ble-settlement  Committee  that  consti- 
tuted the  coterie  aforesaid,  deemed  to  be 
subversive  of  that  course  which  these 
ladies  had,  as  the  result  of  their  united 
wisdom,  chalked  out  for  the  onward 
progress  of  civilization. 

True  it  was,  that  in  many  cases  the 
committee  declined  to  interfere  to  select, 
or  recommend  a  partner  for  life  to  some 
poor  wight  But  then  in  all  such  cases 
the  unhappy  individual,  somehow,  al- 
ways happened  to  be  a  poor  wight !  In 
no  case  within  the  legal  memory  of  man, 
(which  in  B^nglish  law  means  the  time  of 
good  King  Richard  II.,  and  in  American 
law,  that  of  some  other  period  either 
before  or  after,)  was  the  contingency 
known,  of  a  young  man,  well  to  do, 
either  present  or  in  prospect,  remaining  a 
bachelor  for  want  of  being  provided, 
through  the  care  of  the  committee,  with 
a  "  suitable  partner." 

The  exertions  made  to  secure  this  end 
were  extraordinary  ;  and  it  can  only  be 
8 


attributable  to  the  continued  persever- 
ance with  which  they  were  prosecuted, 
that  the  result  was  attained.  The  system, 
however,  was  so  well  arranged,  and  the 
energy  of  the  committee  so  unremitted, 
that  miscarriage  was  usually  impossible. 
Yet, like  most  unknown  discoveries,  the 
means  employed  were  simple,  and  con- 
sequently less  likely  to  become  deranged 
in  operation.  A  principal  method  was, 
the  selection  of  matrons,  as  members  of 
the  Committee,  who  had  themselves  a 
great  number  of  eligible  daughters.  For, 
so  disinterested  was  the  Committee  in 
the  performance  of  its  self-imposed  du- 
ties, that  there  was  never  an  instance  of 
any  member  refusing  to  consent  to  her 
daughter's  union  with  the  young  yeoman 
assigned  to  her.  Whether  there  is  or 
not  ground  for  supposing  that  in 
the  development  of  their  anti-malthusian 
practices,  certain  members  allowed  their 
feelings  of  self-sacrifice  to  urge  the  se- 
lection of  their  own  daughters,  in  prefer- 
ence to  those  of  others,  for  a  youth 
whose  numerous  acres  or  recently 
acquired  fortune  pointed  him  out  as 
requiring  immediate  provision,  is  doubt- 
ful. The  best  and  most  praiseworthy 
acts  of  us  all  are  liable  to  misconstruc- 
tion ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  malignant 
acrimony  occasioned  sometimes  by  dis- 
appointed hopes  in  others  ;  and  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  the  benevolent  exer- 
tions of  the  Ridgefield  Sociable-mar- 
riage-aud-sui  table-settlement  Committee 
should  altogether  escape  calunmies  and 
aspersions,  to  which  all  philanthropic 
eSbrts  are  exposed ! 

With  such  elements  of  concord  and 
discord  at  work,  it  may  readily  be  be- 
lieved that  the  new  married  couple 
would  not  settle  down  into  that  peaceful 
quietude  supposed  to  be  the  fitting  phase 
of  old  married  life,  without  their  acts 
and  deeds,  their  existing  condition,  and 
future  prospects  being  fully  and  duly 
revised,  considered,  and  adjudicated  upon 
by  the  benevolent  body  to  which  the 
preceding  paragraph  refers. 


114 


LITERARY. 


The  result  of  the  Committee's  deliber- 
ation on  the  subject  can  only  be  presumed 
from  its  effects,  inasmuch  as  secrecy  was 
a  point  that  was  deemed  by  this  benev- 
olent institution  requisite  to  the  success 
of    its    decisions.      Nevertheless  every 
now  and  then,  through  the  confidential 
disclosures  of  Committee  mamas  to  anx- 
ious and  expectant  daughters,  inklings 
would  eke  out  of  the  prospects  of  those 
who  for  the  time,  were  the  objects  of  the 
Committee's  proceedings.    Judging  from 
rumors  originating  in  such  sources,  the 
prevalent  opinion  was,  that  as  the  gen- 
tleman had  slipt  through  their  fingers, 
the  Committee  thought  the  better  thing 
would  be  to  make  a  virtue  of  a  necessi- 
ty, and  admit  the  new  married  folks  to 
take  their  place  in  the  village  circle,  with 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  inestimable 
privileges  to  be  derived  from  the  counte- 
nance and  sanction   of   the   RidgefieLd 
Sociable  -  marriage  -  and  -  suitable-settle- 
ment Committee.    A  resolution,  the  una- 
nimous vote  in  favor  of  which,  was  said 
to  have  been  specially  influenced  by  the 
opinion  expressed  by  one  of  the  mem- 
bers, (whose  gi-eat  grandfather's  brother 
had  been  a  physician,)  "that  she  should 
not  think  it  likely  that  a  poor,  young 
creature  like  Jim  Smithson's  wife  could 
live  long,  for  she  looked  as  white  and 
liverish  as  a  mushroom  that  was  sick 
with  chills  and  fever,  and  who  could  tell 
but  Jim  might  afore  long  want  another 
wife."     Whether  this  dictum  was  the 
concentrated  effusion  of  medical  skill  or 
not  it  is  needless  at  present  to  inquire. 
Like  all  other  legal  decisions  we  have 
only  to  deal  with  it  as  we  find  it,  without 
going  into  the  reasons,  if  any  there  were, 
by  which  the  tribunal  in  question  was 
guided  in  arriving  at  it. 

Jim   Smithson    himself    was    by   no 

means  unconscious  of  the  solicitude  that 

the  Ridgfield  Sociable-marriage-and-suit- 

able-settlement  Committee  had  manifest- 

■  -    his  behalf;    seeing  that  having 

own  counsel,  and  courted  his 

rt  at  some  distance  from  Ridge- 


field,  unknown  to  the  Committee,  that 
body  had,  for  some  months  previously  to 
his  marriage,  commenced  their  prelimi- 
nary attack  upon  his  bachelorship.    But 
these  preliminary  advances  were,  in  this, 
as  in  all  tbe  proceedings  of  the  Commit- 
tee, made  with  the  caution  which  from 
so  accomplished   a   body   of   tactitians 
might    naturally    be     expected.       The 
modus  operandi  of  attack  was   varied, 
both  as  regards  means  and  persons ;  but 
the  object  was  in  all  of  them  intended  to 
converge  to  one  point,  namely,  the  work- 
ing a  conviction  upon  Jim's  mind,  that 
he  wanted  a  wife.    Had  they  been  aware 
that  Jim  had  himself  arrived  at  that  con- 
viction, doubtless  the  ladies  would  have 
reserved  their  ammunition  for  use  in  the 
next  step  of  their  siege  operations,  and 
would    have    advanced    boldly    to   the 
breach  in  his  heart,  with  the  view  to  fill 
it  up  with  a  wife  that  their  mature  judg- 
ment found  suitable  for  him.     Jim,  how- 
ever,   saved    them    that    trouble,   and, 
moreover,  was  on  one  occasion  heard  to 
declare,  when   returning  home   late  at 
night  from    a   social  party  given  by  a 
near    neighbor,  to  which  he  had  gone 
upon  a  most  pressing  invitation,  that  the 
"canting  old  toads  were  an  infernal  set 
of  scandal-mongers,    and  that   if   they 
thought  to  hook  him   they  were  con- 
foundedly   mistaken." 

Whether  this  hasty  but  impetuously 
expressed  opinion  related  to  the  ladies  of 
the  Ridgefield  Sociable-marriage-and-sui- 
table-settlement  Committee  or  not,  can 
not  be  'positively  asserted  ;  or  if  it  did, 
whetli  er  it  took  its  rise  rather  in  the  effects 
of  over-excitement,  or  an  impudent  ad- 
'Vance  upon  him  made  by  that  bodv,  than 
from  a  well  considered  review  of  the  cha- 
racters of  the  members  forming  it,  is 
equally  uncertain.  However  this  may  be, 
Jim  Smithson  went  to  no  more  parties 
from  that  day  to  his  wedding  day  ;  and 
consequently  it  is  to  be  assumed  that  he 
saw  no  reason  to  change,  upon  reflection, 
the  opinion  that  his  evening's  potations 
had  induced  him  to  give  utterance  to 
upon  the  subject, 

[to  be  coktinued.] 


LITERARY 


115 


ENGLAND  AND  INDIA. 

BY    AN    ENGLISHMAN. 

Mr.  Editor  : — "  Audi  alteram  par- 
tem" is  a  maxim  which  must  be  so  fami- 
liar to  you  as  a  citizen  of  a  country  that 
claims  to  set  an  example  of  freedom  to 
the  world,  that  I  conceive  the  bare  refer- 
ence to  it  is  enough  to  secure  for  me  the 
insertion  of  the  following  reply,  altliough 
it  be  to  obversations  of  your  own  ;  which 
I  am  free  to  believe  had  their  origin  in 
(allow  me  to  say)  kindly  feelings  rather 
than  sound  judgment.  I  should  how- 
ever not  trouble  you  with  this  letter,  did 
I  not  think  and  believe  that  anything 
that  tends  to  lessen  England  and  her 
citizens  in  the  eyes  of  American  citi- 
zens is,  if  untrue^  a  positive  injury  to 
both  countries. 

In  the  Monthly  Review  of  the  Amer- 
ican Farmers'  Magazine  for  January, 
you  say  in  allusion  to  England,  "  Her 
men  in  power  have  thought  it  necessary 
to  be  more  revoltingly  cruel  than  the 
sepoys  themselves."  And  you  proceed 
to  characterize  the  fact  of  sepoys  being 
blown  from  the  cannon's  mouth,  as  an 
exercise  of  "  implacable  revenge"  by 
"  Christian  England." 

Now  "  implacable  revenge,"  exercised 
hj'  a  "  ChrhWavi''  individual ,  is  undoubt- 
edly a  very  wicked  and  heinous  offence, 
which  even  the  impulsive  outbreak  of 
passion  can  not  justify.  How  much 
greater,  therefore,  must  it  become,  if  it 
has  been,  as  you  assert,  exercised  delib- 
erately, and  by  the  authorities  of  a  great 
nation  ? 

Your  accusation,  then,  is  a  heavy  one 
indeed,  against  my  country,  and  the 
land  of  your  forefathers.  You  will  not 
think  me  wrong,  therefore,  in  seeking  to 
satisfy  you  and  your  readers,  that  it  is 
made  in  error.  But  first — one  remark — 
you  say  "  more  revolting."  Do  you  call 
to  mind  that  the  sepoys,  who  all  admit 
have  been  well  treated,  and  fed  and 
paid  better  than  either  English  or  Amer- 
ican soldiers  are,  commenced  their  pro- 


ceedings by  butchering  their  officers  in 
cold  blood?  No  one  yet  has  contested 
the  fact  that  the  conduct  of  the  Europe- 
an officers  has  uniformly  been  kind  to 
the  men.  Let  that  pass,  however,  and 
assume  the  contrary  if  jou  please.  Do 
you  call  to  mind  that  they  more  than 
butchered  their  officers'  wives,  daughters, 
and  children,  and  committed  such  atroc- 
ities upon  the  females,  that  language 
adequate  to  portray  these  facts  could  not 
be  printed  for  the  public  eye?  Would 
you  think  "blowing  from  the  cannon's 
mouth"  more  revolting  than  such  atroci- 
ties committed  on  your  own  wife  or 
daughter.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the 
proper  object  of  punishment  for  crime 
consists  not  in  vengeance,  but  in  inflict- 
ing such  punishment  on  the  criminal  as, 
whilst  it  is  not  unjust  to  him,  is  the  best 
calculated  to  deter  others  from  the  conv- 
mission  of  similar  offences.  And  this 
latter  object,  on  reflection,  you  will  per- 
ceive to  be,  in  all  communities,  of  para- 
mount importance.  That  the  punish- 
ment was  not  unjust  to  such  demons  in 
human  shape,  (which  is  not  too  strong 
an  epithet  for  any  man  capable  of  such 
conduct  to  woman,)  I  take  for  granted, 
and  you,  in  your  remaiks,  admit  it.  Let 
us  see,  then,  how  it  was  calculated  to 
effect  the  more  important  object  of  de- 
terring others.  And  that  leads  me  to 
the  pith  6f  my  letter,  and  at  the  same 
time  explains  why  that  particular  mode 
of  punishment  was  inflicted. 

The  superstition  of  the  sepoy  induces 
him  to  believe  that  the  burial  of  his  body 
apart  from  the  remains  of  others  not  of  his 
own  religion,  is  essential  to  his  happiness 
in  a  future  state.  This  mode  of  death 
rendered  the  probability  of  such  a  burial 
highly  improbable,  if  not  impossible ; 
and  for  that  reason  it  was  selected.  If 
in  itself  the  mode  of  death  inflicted  was 
of  a  lingering  kind,  calculated  to  torture 
the  criminal,  I  would  condemn  it  as 
"  revolting"  and  as  cruel.  But  the  one 
under  consideration  is  not  so.  On  the 
contrary  it  is   more  instantaneous  and 


116 


EDITOR'S       TABLE 


less  painful  than  even  hanging  or  the 
guillotine.  For  although  the  latter  of 
those  two  is  instantaneous  enough,  that 
from  the  cannon's  mouth  must  be  un- 
known evon  by  an  instant's  conscious- 
ness. And  that  in  anticipation  it  may 
be  feared  or  dreaded,  appears  to  me,  as 
a  preventive  to  crime  in  others,  to  be  a 
recommendation  for  its  adoption.  Whilst 
we  know  how  fallacious  are  the  sepoy's 
fears  as  to  its  effect  on  his  future  state, 
so  far  as  the  mode  of  death  is  concerned, 
we  avail  ourselves  of  those  fears  to 
operate  upon  the  conduct  of  his  fellows  ; 
and  if  in  so  doing  we  succeed  in  sup- 
pressing crime,  a  benefit  of  no  insignifl- 
<  cant  amount  is  the  result. 

Mercy  is  a  bright  jewel  in  the  crown 
of  justice ;  but  no  injustice  is  so  great  as 
that  which  confounds  the  duty  of  the 
judge  with  the  province  of  well-directed 
clemency.  Stern  justice  towards  un- 
doubted guilt,  is  the  surest  pledge  that  can 
be  given  to  insure  the  greatest  happiness 
to  the  greatest  number — an  axiom  which 
I  should  like  to  see  acted  upon  by  Amer- 


icans towards  miscreants  from  Europe, 
who  too  often  require  it  in  this  country, 
as  I  would  have  it  acted  upon  in  India 
and  elsewhere,  be  the  offender  of  what 
country  he  may. 

This  son  of  England  has  defended  his 
mother  right  gallantly,  and  we  praise 
him  for  it.  If  any  pen  could  maintain 
the  honor  of  England  his  could.  He  has 
given  us  a  pretty  hard  blow,  but  we  are 
not  knocked  down  nor  stunned,  nor  are 
we  fully  convinced  that  he  really  meant  to 
hurt  us  very  badly.  We  even  doubt  whe- 
ther he  himself  would  not  rather  that 
England  should  learn  the  art  of  ruling  and 
Christianizing  the  Indians  without  kill- 
ing them  first.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
whole  force  of  his  argument  turns  upon 
the  point  of  inflicting  unheard-of  severi- 
ties for  the  sake  of  their  moral  influence. 
This  looks  a  little  too  much  like  doing 
evil  that  good  may  come ;  and  we  have 
something  to  say  about  it.  But  as  our 
thoughts  may  not  be  worth  much,  we 
defer  them  to  a  less  prominent  place  in 
this  number. — Ed. 


M\\m^   M>Mt 


OUR  THOUGHTS  ON  VMIIOUS 
SUBJECTS. 

Invention. — "Wonderful,"  we  often 
hear  it  said,  "  are  the  inventions  of  the 
age."  With  us  the  wonder  is  right  the 
other  way.  Natiu-e  has  a  mighty  store 
of  resources  and  powers  yet  undevelop- 
ed, all  capable  of  benefitting  the  human 
race,  but  as  yet  lying  dormant  for  the 
want  of  an  inventor,  like  Watt,  Fitch, 
or  Fulton  to  harness  them  and  set  them 
to  work.  But  for  fogy  adherence  to  old 
ways,  a  witless  reluctance  to  new,  and  a 
grin  for  all  who  strive  after  improve- 
ments, we  should  have  made  more  pro- 
gress than  we  have.  Twelve  years  ago 
wise  senators  were  afraid  to  give  up  the 
twenty-five  cent  postage  and  take  the 


three  cent ;  and  some  are  so  intolerably 
stupid  that  they  would  fear  to  give  up 
the  three  cents  and  take  two  now.  It 
took  six  thousand  years  for  mankind  to 
learn  how  to  plow ;  and  yet  the  pro- 
blem is  not  more  than  half  solved.  They 
would  have  learned  it  sooner  if  they  had 
been  wiUing  to  try  different  ways,  to 
see  which  was  the  best,  or  even  to  with- 
hold their  senseless  laugh  at  any  who 
were  disposed  to  try  something  new. 

"/  would  not  live  alway,  I  ash  not 
to  stay^  A  beautiful  old  hymn  is  this. 
As  pointing  to  an  onward,  higher  des- 
tiny, we  love  it.  But  we  do  not  believe 
there  is  much  use  in  finding  fault  with 
our  present  state.  This  is  a  pretty  good 
world  after  aU,     In  fact  it  is  an  excellent 


EDITOR'S      TABLE. 


117 


w«rld,  so  long  as  there  is  enough  to  do. 
Man's  happiness  lies  in  action.  Don't 
be  grumbling,  but  go  to  work.  If  your 
own  fortune  is  not  yet  made,  go  to  work 
and  make  it.  ff  it  is,  help  somebody 
else.  There  are  enough  that  need. 
Strike  in  somewhere,  and  do  some  good. 
The  man  that  docs  good,  gets  the  best 
part  of  the  reward.  To  do  good  and  to 
get  good  are  about  the  same  thing.  La- 
ziness is  the  greatest  enemy,  after  self- 
ishness, to  human  welfare.  Fudge  of 
the  dignity  of  living  without  active  em- 
ployment of  some  kind — of  the  hand,  or 
the  head,  or  better  of  both  ;  for  yourself, 
or  your  friends,  or  somebody.  To  be 
useful  is  the  only  true  dignity.  It  is 
the  only  way  to  be  really  happy. 
"Count  that  day  lost,"  etc. 

Moral  Influence  of  Capital  Punish- 
ment Illustrated. — "  England,"  says  the 
sepoy,  who  has  learned  a  little  English 
from  his  betters,  "has  compelled  the 
East  Indians  to  grow  opium  these  fifty 
years,  at  a  price  too  low  to  keep  soul 
and  body  together.  By  the  all-pervading 
network  of  her  laws  has  she  effected 
this,  and  is  likely  to  effect  it  permanent- 
ly. She  has  compelled  the  Chinese,  at 
the  cannon's  mouth,  to  take  this  opium 
at  an  enormous  profit,  pocketing  by  the 
operation  from  thirty  to  fifty  millions  a 
year.  Moreover  ^she  has  taxed  our  pri- 
vilege of  making  salt  from  oui'  own  wa- 
ters, till  we  have  long  ago  learned  to  eat 
our  meat  without  salt.  The  poor  In- 
dians may  not  produce  food  fit  for  their 
own  stomachs,  but  must  produce  what 
will  fill  Englands  coffers.  It  is  getting 
no  better,  but  rather  worse.  Let  us  kill 
off  a  few  hundred  of  the  English,  men, 
women  and  children,  inflicting  on  them 
every  possible  cruelty  and  disgrace. 
This,  it  is  true,  is  rather  savage  for  a 
race  so  far  civilized  as  we  are,  after  a 
century  of  England's  schooling;  but 
then  we  do  it  for  sake  of  the  moral  ef- 
fect ;  it  is  that  England  n\ay  be  driven 
home  to  attend  to  her  own  business  and 
leave  us  to  ours.  Surely  the  end  sanc- 
tifies the  means." 


England  says,  "These  sepoys  have 
outraged  all  decency ;  we  must  riddle 
them;  stretch  their  necks;  blow  them 
up ;  avail  ourselves  of  their  superstitions 
to  make  vengeance  doubly  terrific ;  kill 
the  king's  sons  to  rid  ourselves  of  a  pre- 
sent enemy ;  let  the  king  live,  as  he  is 
too  old  to  do  us  much  harm,  but  butcher 
his  grandsons,  lest  they  should  grow  in- 
to powerful  enemies.  It  is  all  for  sake 
of  the  moral  effect;  it  is  that  the  150,- 
000,000  Indians  may  never  again  dare 
complain.  The  end  sanctifies  the  means. 
Swing  the  match,  let  go  the  drop,  bore 
the  wretches  with  cold  lead,  and  all  In- 
dia will  be  Christianized." 

Which  has  the  best  of  the  argument  ? 
We  say,  the  sepoy,  by  so  much  as  he  is 
the  less  educated  and  Christianized. 
We  do  not  believe  that  God  requires 
England  to  Christianize  India,  unless 
she  can  compass  it  by  more  Christian 
means. 

We  have  spent  much  time  among  the 
English  people,  have  enjoyed  their  hos- 
pitalities, seen  their  wonderful  improve- 
ments in  agriculture,  heard  their  expres- 
sions of  friendship  for  our  own  country, 
and  we  thought  we  loved  them ;  but  if 
they  do  not  put  forth  a  long,  loud,  un- 
blanching  condemnation  of  the  late  do- 
ings of  their  government,  why  then  we 
don't  love  them  so  well  as  we  thought  we 
did.  And  if  England  can  notgovern  India 
better  than  she  has  of  late,  or  ever  did, 
we  do  not  want  her  foot  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic ;  and  we  would  be  a  fillibustcr, 
badly  as  we  dislike  to  fight,  not  having 
an  over  stock  of  courage,  to  drive  her  oflT. 

Lest  our  opinion  of  the  manner  in 
which  England  has  governed  India 
should  seem  harsh,  we  will  refer  the 
reader  to  that  of  a  distinguished  clergy- 
man, Rev.  Mr.  Bellow,  of  St.  Phillip's 
Church,  Regent  street,  London,  and  late 
chaplain  io  Calcutta,  one  of  the  most 
popular  divines  in  England.  His  ser- 
mon on  the  day  of  National  Humiliation, 
Oct.  7th,  has  been  printed,  and  is  excit- 
ing attention  on  the  short  comings  of 
England  towards  India. 


118 


E  D  I  T  O  R'S      TABLE 


"  I  speak  now  of  us,"  savs  he,  "as  a 
nation  ;  and  I  think  it  is  impossible  to 
say  how  far  this  terrible  sound  of  battle 
and  of  great  destruction  might  have  been 
averted  if  we  had  earnestly  fulfilled  our 
moral  and  religious  obligations  towards 
our  Indian  empire.  Possessing  so  great 
a  realm,  we  have  nationally  been  indif- 
ferent to  it.  We  have  left  it  for  a  cen- 
tury, regarding  it  as  a  mere  mercantile 
interest,  and  forgetting  that  we  had  in 
charge  the  bodies  and  souls  of  millions 
of  our  fellow-creatures.  To  those  inter- 
ested in  India,  the  one  subject  of  inter- 
est has  been  Indian  stock,  and  the  one 
subject  of  indifference  has  been  the  In- 
dian people.  Verily,  and  indeed,  we 
have  sown  the  wind,  and  we  are  now 
reaping  the  whirlwind.  England!  what 
hast  thou  done  for  those  children  of  the 
East  ?  How  has  thou  fulfilled  thy  mis- 
sion there  ?  By  self-aggrandizement,  by 
selfish  appropriation  and  annexation. 
Year  by  year  have  we  withdrawn  mil- 
lions of  money  from  that  land,  levied  by 
taxation  upon  the  people,  for  which  we 
have  given  them  back — nothing  !" 

The  above,  we  suppose,  is  not  all  to 
be  taken  as  rhetorical  flourish.  It  should 
be  considered,  however,  that  Dr.  Bellow 
was  addressing  a  London  audience. 
Some  of  the  government  functionaries 
may  have  been  on  hand  ;  and  it  is  al- 
ways better  to  say  plain  things  in  men's 
faces  than  behind  their  backs.  Besides, 
Dr.  Bellow's  object  was  not  so  much  to 
enunciate  exact  truth  about  the  past,  as 
to  arouse  the  government  and  the  people 
to  a  just  sense  of  their  duty  for  the  fu- 
ture. But  if  we  take  as  strictly  true  one- 
half  of  what  he  says,  and  we  are  willing 
to  make  that  allowance  in  behalf  of  Eng- 
land, still  there  is  enough  left  to  confirm 
our  bad  opinion  of  British  rule  abroad, 
and  to  induce  the  wish  that  it  may  be 
Tery  scarce  on  this  continent. — Ed. 


Book  Notices,  etc. — Philips,  Samp- 
son &  Co.,  Boston,  have  just  published 
Autobiographical  Sketches  and  Recol- 
lections During  Thirty-five  Years  Re- 
sidence IN  New-Orleans,  hy  Theodore 
Clapp,  a  book  replete  with  personal  in- 
cident and  rich  in  historic  reminiscences, 
adapted  to  interest  and  instruct.     Buy 


it  and  read  it,  but  do  not  adopt  its  re- 
ligious views,  unless  you  find  them  to 
accord  with  scripture  and  reason.  Shut- 
ting our  eyes  and  ears  to  all  but  what 
our  own  sect  say  is  no  liberal  search  af- 
ter truth,  and  we  Americans,  liberal  in 
other  respects,  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
it.     419  pages,  12mo. 

Philips,  Sampson  &  Co.  have  also  just 
published  Why  and  What  am  I ;  the 
Confessions  of  an  Inquirer  ;  Part  1st. 
Heart  Experience,  or  the  Education  of 
THE  Emotions  ;  By  James  Jackson  Jarves. 
This  also  appears  to  be  a  book  well  filled 
with  anecdote,  personal  incident,  and  re- 
flection. From  a  brief  view  of  here  and 
there  a  page,  we  should  think  it  might 
be  rather  bewitching,  but  how  instruc- 
tive we  can  not  say.     320  pages,  12mo. 

TicTcnor  &  Field,  Boston,  have  issued 
Twin  Roses  ;  A  Narrative,  hy  Anna 
Cora  Ritchie,  Author  of  ^'■Autobiogra- 
phy of  an  Actress,^''  '•'■  Mimic  Life,"  ^'■Ar- 
mand,"  etc.  ;  a  sprightly  and  agreea- 
ble narrative,  we  should  judge,  from  a 
hurried  perusal.     273  pages,  12mo. 

TicTcnor  &  Field  have  also  issued 
Stories  and  Legends  of  Travel  and 
History,  by  Grace  Greenwood.  The 
name  of  the  book  encourages,  and  the 
soubriquet  of  the  authoress  quite  assures 
us,  that  this  is  a  good  book,  well  worth 
the  price  and  the  time.    290  pages,  12mo. 

The  same  firm  has  also  issused  The 
Plant  Hunters  ;  or.  Adventures  among 
THE  Himalaya  Mountains,  by  Captain 
Mayne  Reid,  Author  of  the  ^'■Desert 
Ilome^''  "  The  Yagers^''  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 
The  student  of  geography  can  find  much 
topographical  information,  and  the  stu- 
dent of  human  nature  a  pretty  good 
share  of  fun  in  this  book.  353  pages, 
12mo. 

The  New- York  Musical  Review  is 
published  every  other  Saturday,  by  Ma- 
son Brothers,  New-York,  and  presents  a 
rich  amount  and  variety  of  musical  mat- 
ter. Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  Wm.  B.  Brad- 
bury, George  F.  Root,  and  other  of  the 


EDITOR 'S      TABLE 


119 


most  eminent  musicians  of  the  country, 
are  among  its  regular  contributors,  each 
number  containing  more  or  less  from  the 
pen  of  one  or  all  of  them.  A  very  use- 
ful and  instructive  feature  of  The  Re- 
view is  its  "Answers  to  Correspondents." 
All  questions  on  musical  subjects,  as  to 
its  theory  or  practice,  are  carefully  an- 
swered, often  at  length.  The  Review 
also  collects  musical  news  from  all 
sources,  and  keeps  its  readers  well  post- 
ed as  to  what  is  doing  in  the  musical 
world.  Each  number  also  includes  sev- 
eral pages  of  new  and  popular  music. 
In  this  department,  it  is  announced  in 
the  present  number,  will  be  presented 
hereafter  the  gems  from  the  modern 
operas  performed  in  New-York.  Terms 
of  The  Review  :  One  copy  per  annum, 
$1  ;  tive  copies,  %i ;  eight  copies,  $6 ; 
ten  copies,  $7  ;  twenty  copies,  $12. 

Prof.  Mapes'  Working  Farmer,  24 
pages  quarto,  3  columns  on  a  page,  and 
always  filled  with  matter  of  a  very  high 
order,  both  the  original  and  the  selected, 
comes  to  us  bright,  readable,  and  in- 
structive as  ever,  and  we  think  a  little 
more  so. 

Prof  Mapes  and  his  once  pupils,  but 
now  full  grown  co-laborers.  Vail,  Olcott, 
Lowe,  Waring,  and  others,  are  doing  a 
capital  work  for  soil  culture,  and  we  have 
not  a  pnrticle  of  that  envy  which  can 
deter  us  from  saying  so, 

A  prominent  trait  in  the  WorMng 
Farmer  is,  that  while  it  is  largely  and 
richly  original,  it  republishes  the  best 
and  most  reliable  articles  from  the  agri- 
cultural literature  of  this  and  other  coun- 
tries, which  is  just  as  much  as  to  say 
that  its  conductor  has  the  good  J>ense, 
when  he  has  given  his  readers  the  best 
of  his  own  and  of  his  co-laborers' 
thoughts,  not  to  keep  his  and  their  pens 
running,  till  they  must  needs  run  slops, 
but  to  give  instead  such  of  the  masterly 
productions  of  other  pens,  as  his  readers 
would  not  be  likely  otlicrwise  to  see. 

The  price  of  the  Working  Farmer  is 
one  dollar  a  year,  a  trifle  less  perhaps  in 


proportion  to  the  amount  of  matter  than 
ours,  because  we  publish  in  a  more  ex- 
pensive form.  But  we  are  bound  to  ex- 
pend on  ours  its  whole  income  ;  to  en- 
large it  as  soon  as  the  pay  will  possibly 
admit ;  and  to  make  it  not  only  as  good 
as  any  other,  but  at  least  as  large  in 
proportion  to  the  price. 

American  Farmers  want  good  journals 
of  their  business ;  they  want  them  at  a 
reasonable  price,  and  we  will  do  our  part, 
as  Prof  Mapes  has,  to  meet  their  wants. 

By  arrangements  made  with  the  edi- 
tor of  the  WorMng  Farmer^  we  will  fur- 
nish the  current  volumes  of  that  journal 
and  ours  for  $2.50  advanced  to  this  oflBce. 

The  College  Journal  of  Medical  Sci- 
ence for  January  is  on  our  table,  well 
filled  as  usual  with  instructions  for  the 
prevention  and  cure  of  disease.  It  is  a 
valuable  monthly  in  its  way.  Cincin- 
nati, 0. 

The  Scientific  American  greets  U6 
promptly  each  week,  a  work  of  great 
value  to  the  mechanics  of  the  cities  and 
laige  villages,  to  whom  we  would  hear- 
tily commend  it,  while  we  as  heartily 
and  as  honestly  commend  our  magazine 
to  the  mechanics  of  rural  districts,  who 
in  addition  to  their  trade,  are  cultivating 
a  piece  of  land,  however  small.  The 
sixteenth  of  an  acre  cultivated  by  a 
man  who  reads  an  agricultural  journal 
well  pays  its  price  in  extra  produce. 
We  mean  not  to  omit  mechanical  mat- 
ter in  our  future  numbers.  ,It  is  too  im- 
portant not  to  find  a  place  in  an  agricul- 
tural journal ;  important  even  for  the 
farmer.  But  were  we  a  mechanic  of  a 
progressive  spirit,  with  no  land  to  till, 
we  would  have  a  work  on  our  own  busi- 
ness. It  is  with  this  spirit  that  we  cheer- 
fully commend  our  neighbor,  the  Scien- 
tific American. 


DON'T  BLAME  US; 

For  we  are  receiving  so  many  just 
such  letters  as  the  following,  that  we 
feel  greatly  encouraged,  and  want  our 


120 


E  D  I  T  O  R'S      T  A  B  L  E 


friends  to.  .eiyoy  with  us  the  reading  of 
one  as  a  sample.     , 

;.         Pquohkeepsie,  Jan.  6th,  1858. 

Me.  Na^H'-t3ie  :-!^Among  the  valuable 
agricultujal  works  which  W^  read,  we 
think  yours  one  of  the  moSit  valuable 
and  reliable;,  and  we  think  it  iqjproves 
in  value  every  year.  Such  articles  as 
your  "  Division  of  Labor"  in  the  Novem- 
ber number  ought  to  be  read  by  every 
man,  not  merely  everry,  farruej;,  in  ,the 
Union.  Ijt  will  be  read  by  the.  readers 
of  our  political  papers  of  this  place. 

But  we  have  read  all  itg  articles  for 
the  last  six  months  without  ihaving  paid 
for  the  pleasure  and,  pyofift  derived  frojn 
so  doing,  and  thinking  (as  doubtless  you 
do)  that  it  is 'time  to  I'At  tjp[  we  inclose 
two  dollar^.     Respectfully  yourtef  ^'-    • 

'''''     '    ''    ■'■&.  &'J.  CASpkNTEK." 


■''■'''  ANOTHER.  -■  -:i;:;;  ' 
Mb.  Editor: — T  got  yesterday  your 
January  numbers  Wheu  it  .was  first  put 
in  my  hand,  the  alteration  in  the  title  and 
general  appearance  from  my  old  friend 
' '  the  Plough;  Loom  and  AnviU'  induced 
me  to  think  that  a  wrongjournal  had  been 
sent  tome  in  mistake.  But  the  man 
plowing  on  the  cover  soon  told  me  it  was 
all  right,  and  that  it  was  my  old  friend 
with  a  new  face. 

Upon  looking  it  over  I  found  the  alter- 
ations were  not  confined  to  the  outside, 
but  that  the  inside  was  not  only  altered 
but  much  improved,  which  is  not,  by  the 
by,  the  case  with  all  alterations, 

Why,  Mr.  Editor,  we  country:  fogies 
do  not  pretend  to  be  great  critics,  but 
we  know  what  we  like,  and  my, friend 
and  neighbor  Smith  and  I  used  some- 
times toi!  say  that  we  thought  there 
was  some  old  fogyism  .elsewhere  besides 
with  us.  But  now  I  find  ;  you  have 
waked  up  with  the  new  year,  and  some 
of  your  New  Year's  good  cheer  seems  to 
be  coming  out  through  your  pages  ;  for 
somehow  it  seems  to  me  and  my  friend 
Smith  that  there  is  more  than  one  .spice 
of  Young  America  in  some  of  your  arti- 
cles this  month.     . .        y  .^i^^nxii  .■ 


Well,  go  on  friend  as  you  have  begun. 
I  am  going  round  to  my  neighbors,  and 
if  I  don't  get  you  some  new  subscribers 
in  our  village  before  this  month  is  out, 
my  name  is  not  Jacob  Patchum. 


PUBLIC  LANDS  FOR  AGRICUL- 
TURAL EDUCATION. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  voice  of  Michi- 
gan. She  has  laid  broad  and  deep  the 
foundations  for  an  agricultural  college. 
She  has  contributed  nobly  towards  its 
permanent  existence  and  wide-spread 
usefulness.  It  is  already  in  operation  ; 
wise  and  earnest  men  have  it  in  charge  ; 
and  its  fruits  are  even  now  demonstrated 
to  be  good.  But  with  greater  means, 
she  could  render  the  fruits  more  wide- 
."^preading  and  more  abundant.  At  this 
stage  she  petitions  Congress  for  aid. 
Could  a  more  fitting  use  be  made  of  the 
public  lands?  We  think  not;  and 
though  we  do  not  claim  to  be  over  and 
above  constitutionally  wise,  we  are  sure 
that  nothing  in  the  tenure  by  which 
these  lands' are  held  by  Congress  can 
forbid  their  distribution  for  such  a  pur- 
pose ;  and  we  can  not  but  hope  that 
Congress  wiU  grant  the  prayer  of  Michi- 
gan, and  that  all  the  States  and  all  the 
people  will  approve.  Agriculture  is  our 
weightiest  national  interest ;  and  nothing 
will  so  hasten  its  development  as  the 
thorough  education  of  the  future  farm- 
ers of  the  country,  scientifically  and 
practically— just  what  the  directors  of 
the  State  College  and  farm  at  Lansing 
intend. — Ed.     •  '  '   ■ 


Children's  Corner.— Where  is  it? 
If  the  children  can  not  find  it  in  this 
number,  they  will  in  the  next. 

Wonder  if  all  the  children,, can  spell 
wright,  right,  write,  and  rite  right ;  that 
is,  wright,  a  mechanic;,  right,  not 
wrong  ;  write,  to  form  letters  ;  and.,  rite, 
a  ceremony.     .  .  ,. 

One  boy  and  two  girls  have  written 
us  solutions'  of  the  conundrum  in  our 
last,  all  agreeing  that  it  is  American 
Farmers^' Magazine,  in  which  they  are 


MONTHLY      REVIEW 


121 


AN  EXPLANATION. 
Capt.  Ralston,  owing  to  unanticipated 
occurrences,  has  not  been  able  to  furnisli 
us  the  promised  article  on  the  horse's 
foot  and  the  requisites  for  shoeing  this 
animal,  in  time  for  this  number.  It  may 
be  expected  in  our  next. — Ed. 


For  the  Farmers'  Magazine. 

If  one  end  of  a  piece  of  wood  or  metal 
ten  feet  long,  and  of  equal  size  from  end 
to  end,  be  made  fast  in  a  block  and 
power  applied  to  the  other  end  so  as  to 
bend  the  piece,  it  will  not  bend  all  the 
way  alike,  but  will  bend  most  nearest 
the  block. 

Will  some  of  the  readers  of  the  Farm- 
ers^ Magazine  give  me  a  rule  by  which 
to  find  what  taper  or  shape  pieces  of  me- 


tal or  timber  must  have,  so  that  when 
one  end  is  made  fast  and  bending  power 
applied  to  the  other  end,  as  above  men- 
tioned, the  piece  will  bend  all  the  way 
alike,  and  make  a  part  of  a  circle  ?  If 
such  a  rule  was  followed  by  mechanics, 
it  would  be  the  means  of  saving  thou- 
sands of  dollars  yearly. 

In  most  machinery  I  have  seen,  th« 
builder  put  more  material  than  was  ne* 
cessary,  or  put  some  in  the  wrong  place, 
and  a  break  may  be  the  consequence. 
By  such  a  rule  much  trouble,  time,  and 
material  could  be  saved.  Will  some  one 
send  a  rule  to  the  Farmer'' s  Magazine 
for  publication,  and  thus  confer  a  favor  ? 

Merchant  Kelly. 

Bentonville,  Ind. 


O  '-0  — ^ 


Our  own  affairs  are  reasonably  prosper- 
ous. We  have  shouldered  pretty  heavy 
responsibilities,  and  launched  forth  on  the 
enterprise  of  giving  our  readers  a  better 
monthly  than  can  be  afiforded  at  the  price 
we  ask  without  a  larger  number  of  sub- 
scribers than  we  yet  have.  We  have  done 
it  with  a  full  determination  that,  as  soon 
as  the  number  will  permit,  we  shall  eitlier 
put  our  price  down  to  one  dollar,  continu- 
ing the  amount  of  matter  about  the  same 
as  now,  or  enlarge  our  work  to  the  size  of 
the  three  dollar  magazines,  and  keep  the 
price  the  same  as  at  present — at  any  rate 
not  to  be  beat  in  the  value  of  our  work, 
nor  in  the  reasonableness  of  the  price.  So 
far  our  experiment  is  successful.  New 
subscribers  are  coming  in  daily  ;  old  ones 
are  expressing  their  high  approbation; 
and  we  are  satisfied. 

Our  readers,  during  the  past  month, 
have  enjoyed  mild,  and  mostly  pleasant 
weather  for  the  care  of  the  homestead  and 
and  the  prosecution  of  such  farm  work  of 
the  old  year  as  may  have  fallen  behind,  or 
such  as  they  are  pushing  on  for  the  new, 
in  order  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  ensuing 
spring.     January,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  has 


done  but  little  to  brighten  the  prospects  of 
better  prices  for  general  farm  produce. 
Cotton  is,  however,  looking  up ;  and  we 
believe  that  farm  produce  generally  will 
be  in  better  demand  soon.  But  the  mar- 
kets for  the  past  few  weeks  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  farmers  of  our  country 
are  to  depend  rather  on  good  management, 
economy  of  production,  and  prudence  in 
genei'al  expenditures,  than  on  the  expec- 
tation of  either  low  prices  for  labor — a 
thing  not  on  the  whole  to  be  desired — or 
extravagantly  high  prices  for  produce. 

Of  the  wide  world  outside  of  ourselves 
and  our  readers,  we  know  less  than  we 
should,  but  for  the  fact  that  we  have  been 
intensely  busy  in  our  own  matters.  Our 
own  city  seems  to  be  the  more  busy  the 
less  it  has  to  do ;  at  least  there  is  more 
running  up  and  down,  and  men  seem  in 
greater  haste  than  when  business  is  good. 
It  seems  that  business  has  to  be  done  at  a 
small  profit,  and  so  they  are  practising  to 
do  the  more  of  it,  to  make  the  ends  meet. 
In  our  national  character  is  a  great  deal  of 
tiie  Yankee,  which  will  do  one  thing,  if  it 
can  not  do  another — do  something — make 
a  stir  at  least.     And  it  is  well  that  it  is  so. 


122 


MONTHLY      REVIEW. 


■well  that  we  have  the  hope  and  the  ener- 
gy, when  such  a  tempest,  as  that  of  the 
last  four  months,  has  blown  over  us,  not  to 
lie  down  in  the  furrow,  but  to  try  again. 

Great  Britain  has  fought  and  continues 
to  fight  bravely  in  India ;  but,  as  we  have 
pretty  plainly  indicated  otherwhere,  she 
is  tempering  victory  with  less  of  mercy 
than  suits  our  peace-loving  notions.  We 
would  rather  have  the  honor  of  taking  a 
100  bushels  of  corn,  40  of  wheat,  or  400  of 
potatoes  from  a  single  acre,  than  of  saturat- 
ing ten  acres  with  even  sepoys'  blood,  es- 
pecially if  shed  after  the  fury  of  battle  was 
over.  The  British  Lion  is  also  thundering 
about  the  walls  of  Canton.  We  hope  for 
more  humanity  towards  the  celestials. 

The  monetary  panic  seems  to  be  over  in 
England.  Money  is  there  easy,  and  confi- 
dence is  restored.  In  France,  a  relapse  is 
threatened,  but  may  not  come.  In  Ham- 
burg, where  the  crisis  has  been  severe, 
things  are  now  easy. 

Present  appearances  are,  that  the  Mor- 
mons are  not  yet  ready  to  submit  to 
wholesome  laws,  nor  to  quit  the  country, 
but  that  in  conjunction  with  the  Caman- 
ches,  Cheyennes,  and  other  Indians,  they 
mean  to  fight,  or  at  least  to  assume  the  at- 
titude of  resistance,  and  to  make  as  much 
trouble  as  they  can. 


Markets. — Cotton,  at  the  last  moment 
of  our  going  to  press,  Jan.  2()th,  is  quoted 
at  10^  for  Uplands;   10|  to  lOf  for  Gulf 

Flour,  from  common  to  good  superfine, 

$4  25  to  $4  35  ;  extra  State  $4  50  to  $4  15  ; 
Southern  fancy  and  extra,  $5  to  6  70; 
choice  extra  family,  $6  50  to  $8 ;  rye,  $3 
to  $4 ;    corn  meal,   $3  50 ;  the  grades  ,of 


wheat  flour  range  from  $4  25  for  the  low- 
est to  $8  for  the  dearest ;  and  wheat,  per 
bushel,  from  $1  15  to  $1  68 ;  rye,  from 
70c.  to  '72c.;  buckwheat,  from  $2  12  to 
$2  25  per  100  lbs. 

Hay,  from  ordinary  to  choice.  50c.  to 
75c.  per  100  lbs.  Hops  in  moderate  re- 
quest at  5c.  to  10c.  per  lb.  for  common  to 
best. 

New- York  Live  Stock  Market,  Jan. 
20th,  1858. — Average  receipts  of  beeves 
weekly  for  1857,  3,143.  Receipts  last 
week,  3,774.  This  week,  2,940;  less  by 
834  than  last  week,  and  less  by  203  than 
the  general  average. 

Variations  in  price  according  to  quality, 
from  6c.  to  lie. ;  average  of  all  sales,  from 
8jc.  to  8|c.  ;  average  advance  this  week 
over  last,  from  J  to  ^  cent  per  lb. 

The  trade  in  milch  cows  with  calves  is 
now  (Jan.  20)  dull.  A  fine  cow  can  be 
bought  for  $40 ;  pretty  good,  from  $30  to 
|40,  ordinary,  from  $25  to  $30,  and  re- 
markably good  for  $50  or  less. 

There  is  not  an  overstock  in  the  country 
at  large,  and  we  are  quite  confident  this 
state  of  things  can  not  last  very  long. 

There  has  been  a  medium  supply  of 
sheep  and  lambs  the  past  week,  and  prices 
have  been  slightly  advanced.  Sales  from 
7  c.  to  9c.  per  lb.  live  weight. 

Arrivals  of  swine  not  as  numerous  as 
last  week ;  stock  nearly  all  sold,  at  from 
5c.  to  5^c.  gross,  and  6jc.  to  6f c.  net,  an 
advance  of  J  to  ^  cent  per  lb.  for  dressed 
swine. 

Reports  from  the  Philadelphia  markets 
are  not  as  favorable  this  week  to  the  farm- 
ing interest  as  those  of  this  city. 

It  would  seem  by  the  following  from  the 
New-York  Times  as  if  we  were  enormous 
meat  eaters  here  in  Gotham,  and  yet  it  is 
probable  that  some  of  our  population 
would  eat  more  if  they  could  get  it. 


MONTHLY   TOTALS. 


Bullocks 
at  market. 

January 8,139 

February 6,590 

March 8,513 

April 11,373 

May 9,186 

June 8,564 

July 13,257 

August 9,342 

September 13,923 

October 10,180 

November 8,883 

December 8,596 


Bullocks 

M.  Cow3 

Veala 

Sh'p  &  La's 

Swine 

sold. 

rec'd. 

rec'd. 

rec'd. 

rec'd. 

12,607 

725 

1,200 

28,448 

27,622 

12,182 

985 

1,681 

33,598 

11,800 

12,597 

1,341 

2,448 

21,210 

17,029 

15,105 

1,703 

4,905 

17,401 

26,806 

11,914 

1,475 

4,135 

16,329 

24,894 

10,765 

1,138 

3,808 

30,285 

16,356 

16,503 

1,185 

3,806 

65,492 

15,406 

12,246 

940 

3,263 

46,873 

9,047 

19,279 

1,112 

3,467 

65,284 

18,231 

12,955 

613 

1,794 

44,291 

23,671 

13,221 

688 

1,598 

44,995 

33,501 

12,970 

945 

3,013 

39,830 

64,821 

Total 116,546      162,243 


12,840       34,218       444,036       288,984 


M 


of