The Plough, the loom and the anvil

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MEmCAN BRWEHS* MAGAZmE.

Vol. XII.

MARCH. 1858.

No. 3.

|. K r i ni ( t ii r a L

HINTS FOR YOUNG FARMERS.

March is an active month in the
south ; and at the north even, nature be-
gins to wake up and call the farmer
forth from his winter quarters. During
the previous month, little could be earn-
ed, but much could be saved by a care-
ful husbanding of the last j^ear's ci'ops.
We suppose you have been using the
hay-cutter, by hand, or horse, or steam
power, as you found most economical
for the extent of your farm operations ;
that each bushel of feed, or each ton of
fodder, from the best of June-cut hay
down to the poorest of straw has, by a
proper mixture of food, and by giving
the right kinds to each animal, been
made to tell for its whole worth, be that
large or small ; and that your stock are
coming out at a little cheaper rate and
in a little better condition than results
from careless feeding.

If it is so, then keep on in the same
way, and not lose in March what you
gained in February. There is more than
fifty per cent difference in the profits of
wintering stock in the worst way and
the best. Some would allow us to say
one hundred per cent, and would justify
the opinion by saying that, taking one

VOL. XII. — 9.

year with another, there is a fair profit
in wintering in the right way, but none
in wintering in the wrong way, because
the feed in this way is worth more in the
fall than the increased weight of the an-
imal in the spring. At any rate it is
safe to say .that a farmer may almost as
well not have crops, as not to expend
them with care and good judgment.

Let the stock be gaining this month,
and then again in April, and for what-
ever stock you have for summer beef,
the butcher will be paying you the cash
in June or July. That farmer gencrall)''
gets the advantage who has his summer
beef ready for the market earliest. It
gives him the quickest return ; it ena-
bles him to have plenty of feed in au-
tumn, and it gives him an opening for
other animals when they can be bought
to advantiige.

Do not fail to air the cellar, and to
keep it sweet and clean. Not a particle
of decaying vegetable matter should re-
main ; and the windows should be open
as much as consists with safety from
frosts. Let the housewife see to this.
She should remember that close cellars,
unventilated, except so far as they steam
through the door into the kitchen or

130

AGRICULTURAL,

other occupied rooms, cause more deaths
by fever in this country every year than
the Mexican war caused by cold lead and
gleaming bayonets ; and what is more,
these fevers that come from df^caying ve-
getables in an impure cellar, kill so slow-
ly, so long time after the poison is inhaled,
that neither the victims nor their friends
have the satisfaction of knowing the
cause. They think it a visitation from
God ; and so it is, but it is through the
cellar. Look out for tins part of the
premises, in March and April and May,
and then keep looking out for it as you
value life and health. If there are not
windows on the opposite sides of your
cellar for the wind to drive through, so
as to purge the air of efBuvia from de-
caying vegetables that may have escaped
the notice of even the neatest house-
keeper, make them before this month
goes out. Whether the sash slides or
swings, have it so that it may easily be
fastened wide open, partially open, or
closed ; and our word for it (and every
sensible doctor in the land will tell you
so) you will have removed a most proli-
fic cause of lingering disease and prema-
ture death.

"The maids along the Ohio sing,
Of all the seasons in the year,
The sweetest season is the Spring."

So sang an Ohio bard thirty years
ago — one, we suppose, who wanted the
Yankees to come out there and buy his
land, and so would have them under-
stand that the maples there were abun-
dant, and the lasses and molasses pecu-
liar sweet, in both of which we suspect
he was right, inasmuch as, in a new
country as that was then, the girls are
not as apt to be spoiled of health and
merry mood by conventional usages
against nature, and certainly no sweet,
except that of maiden simplicity and
worth, is equal to the flow from the su-
gar maple.

March is the time, and we must say a
few words about making maple sugar.
In tapping the trees, use a three-quarter

bit, or one about that size. Let it be
sharp, well adjusted to a good stock, and
then turn it very rapidly, that it may
cut the wood smoothly. From two to
three inches is the best depth. Let the
slope upwards be about 10", less rather
than more. Let the spout at its inner
end taper as much as is consistent -nnth
firmness,, that the pinch may be at the
outer surface of the wood. Put two
spouts, four, six or eight inches apart,
on both sides of the tree if large, on one
side only if small. The projecting ends
should converge a little, that both may
drop so near the center of the tub as not
to allow the wind to blow the sap away
as it falls. It is well to have the part
from which the sap falls blunt, not
pointed. The sap will then separate
fi'om it in large drops, and not be as lia-
ble to be blown outside of the tubs. It
is a common practice, and a good one,
to hang the tub on a nail driven into
the tree, in such a way as to prevent the
possibility of loss by wind. We never
saw it done, but should think it would
be well to fasten the tub by a cord
di'awn around the tree, as this would
hold the tub as well, and would prevent
the necessity of puncturing the tree, by
which a small waste of sap is caused,
and the tree slightly injured. Some
hang the tub by means of a Avire bail on
the two spouts. This is a good way.
The spouts should be notched where the
bail is to pass across them.

The sap should be boiled soon after
being collected, as otherwise, especially
in warm weather, an incipient fermenta-
tion takes place, and the sugar crystal-
izes less perfectly. We have often made
batches of maple sugar in April which
would hardly crystalize at all, owing to
this incipient fermentation in the sap.
The molasses, in such a case, is of an in-
ferior quality, not having that luscious
maple taste which everybody loves.
There are many varieties of sugar, of
which cane-sugar and grape-sugar are
the leading. The maple gives essenti-

AGRICULTURAL.

131

ally the cane sugar, with that exquisite
maple flavor. We believe that when
the .sap stands too long before boiling, the
constitution of the sugar is changed from
that of the cane to that of the grape ;
and, in the change, the maple flavor, as
well as the tendency to crystalize, is par-
tially lost.

We could write all day, and detail
only our own experience in this mat-
ter, for fortunately we were irour/ht
up in the backwoods, the best thing that
ever happened to us, and these woods
were remarkably sweet in more senses
than one. But we will only say, use
your own good sense in your arrange-
ments for boiling economically of fuel.
We have seen some people boil down ma-
ple sap when we would have valued the
fuel more than the sugar. Done econo-
mically, it is a fairly paying business for
a season when other work does not press.

The sap should be kept clean. Let
the kettles or the pan be so set that no
sparks will blow into them. When the
syrup is partially cooled, strain slowly
through a thick cloth ; and in suguriiig
off^ as it is called, let the heat be equa-
ble, that no burning on the sides of the
kettles may blacken the mass. Nearly
every impurity in maple sugar is occa-
sioned by uncleanliness in collecting and
boiling the sap, or by burning on the
sides of the kettle. If the sap could be
kept of that limpid pureness with which
it comes from the tree, no sti'aining nor
clarifying would be needful, and you
wouM have the purest sweet that nature
atford-\ I5ut as this is not possible, it is
well to strain the sap through cloth be-
fore boiling, then to strain the S}Tup be-
fore sugaring off, and in both cases wool-
len cloth, of a pretty close texture, is
best ; and as even this will not separate
every particle, it is well to put in a litth
milk — say one pint to 20 lbs. of sugar —
and skim. The milk curdles ; the par-
ticles remaining become entangled in it
and are skimmed off.

We might say much about clarifying

with bullock's blood, with the blood and
bristles where hogs have been slaughter-
ed, with a thousand other things, mak-
ing the remedy worse than the disease ;
but it is all humbug. If you will boil
clean, and add a little milk to the syrup,
you will have as good an article as can
be made. There will be a little color,
more than in double refined sugar, but
what of that. Those Ohio girls, thirty
j-ears ago, probably had a little color in
the face and lips, but were none the
worse for it.

Before this month expires, many of
our readers will be speeding the plow.
Shall we say, plow deep ? Yes ; but
what is deep ? One says six inches, an-
other two feet. IIow extravagant these
agricultural papers are, and how they
differ, say some. We say no certain
rule can be laid down for all cases. How
land is to be manured, how it is to be
tilled, its annual value, whether it is un-
derdrained, and what is the composition
and structure of the soil, are preliminary
questions.

1. How is the land to be manured?
If you have but ten loads of manure for
the acre, and can get no more at paying
rates, it would be folly to plow much
deeper than before. But says some one,
if you have no more than that, till but
one-third as much, and make it hold out
thirtj^ loads to the acre. Hold fiicnd ;
your advice is good enough for the farm-
ers to think of, but let them think a good
while before they follow it in all cases.
As a general thing, less land under the
plow, higher manuring and maximum
crops, is good advice. But there is a
great deal of land, that in the present
state of the coimt'-y, can not be so ma-
nured and tilled as to give 100 bushels
of corn to the acre, or 30 bushels of
wheat, or 3 tons of hay, which may bet-
ter be cultivated for half these figures
than turned over to no use. Undoubt-
edly, with a population of but ten to the
square mile, giving G t acres to each per-
son, it is wise to cultivate some acres for

182

AGRICULTURAL,

half the crop that would be sought by
a population twenty-five times as dense.
The way to do it is to plow but slightly
deeper than the land has been plowed
before, to manure as well as you can,
to stir often, practice clean cultivation,
and be contented with moderate crops
and small profit.

2. How the land is to be tilled. Here,
if the objector says, it is to be tilled well
or not at all, we have not much to say.
Still in a country where labor is plenty
and cheap, but land scarce and dear,
more careful weeding, and a more fre-
quent stirring of the soil is advisable
than in one where the reverse is true ;
and in our own country there are some
who will have a neat, clean, oft-stirred
soil ; and where a farmer is bent on this
course, he may plow the same land, with
the same amount of manure, deeper than
another who means to only half tiU it
through the summer, because the first,
by keeping his field clear of weeds and
often stirred to let in the sun and air to
warm and enliven his soil, will get paid
for the extra expense of deep plowing,
while most assuredly the second will
not. The fact is shallow jilowing is a
part and parcel of bad Arming through-
out ; and if all the rest is bad, that may
about as well be bad also. As we would
patch an old garment with old cloth, or
wear an old vest if our coat and pants
were very old, so we would recommend
shallow plowing, as a part of a husban-
dry^, of which all the rest is to be bad.

3. The annual value of land. If you
pay $100 an acre for the use of land, as is
done by some of our market gardeners,
the cultivation must be good throughout
or you can not get your money back. It
would be only penny -wise to shrink from
an extra expense of 3, or 5, or 10 dollars
an acre to deepen the soil. But if you
hire land at ^2 an acre, it might be wise
to cultivate in a cheaper way. In the
one case you would want to plow deep
enough to make two acres of one ; in
the other you might be contented with

letting two acres go as one, that is, with
half the crop which such land really
ought, if it were in other locations, to
produce.

4. Has the soil been underdrained ?
If so, it will better pay for deep plow-
ing. One effect of underdraiuing is, by
taking out the water to let in the air.
This warms the soil. You need not fear
to plow deep. Your crops are not in
danger of being chilled by the turning
up of soil that has long been hid from
the sun. Unquestionably underdrained
lands will bear deep plowing with less
manure than lands that are not under-
drained. Of course, we mean such l.ands
as require uuderdi'aining.

5. The nature of the soil. There are
lands which will not bear deep plowing.
They are rare, but they do exist. Two
things are necessary to a decision that
deep plowing must not be adopted ; one
that the land consists of a thin soil, ly-
ing on coarse gravel, the other that it be
located where there is nothing to give a
special value to its products. We have
seen such land. To plow through the
subsoil, would be like knocking the bot-
tom out and letting the whole fall
through. The best thing that can be
done with this land is to run over it and
get two or three small crops once in five
years. The cost is but trifling. A
cheap dressing of ashes and a little plas-
ter will give fifteen or twenty bushels of
corn, and a small crop of clover the se-
cond year, with a little pasturage the
third. But say some, these are the very
lands to plow deep. They would let in
the plow to the beam, would subsoil,
mix in the fine top soil Avith the coarse
gravel below, put on plenty of manure,
and thus make a pretty soHd compact
soil of it. Aye, that can be done.
Money enough and labor enough will
make good land of any thing. That
would be good advice if such land lay in
the suburbs of New-York, or any where
else where it would be worth a thousand
dollars an acre when made good, and

AGRICULTURAL

183

rent for a hundred dollars a year. There
is land on Long Island, of just this cha-
racter,, and which should be treated in
just this way — made good at a great ex-
pense. There arc more than a hundred
thousand acres on Long Island so situ-
ated and of such a character, that $100
an acre expended on them would make
them worth $200 an acre more than they
can now be bought for. Of course the
man of small capital can not touch them.
The man of large capital will not, though
it would be one of the prettiest opera-
tions in the world, and so they are a
wilderness, within three hours of this
metropolis.

Bat we were speaking of such land, so
situated that it would not repay a large
outlay, and we are very sure there is
such, and that the best use for it, as we
have already said, is to grow small crops
at a small expense.

Undrained lands, with an impervious
subsoil, will not bear deep plowing.
The soil is too cold to be turned up.
Some land of this kind will even give
better crops with shallow than with
deep plowing. The way is, first to un-
derdrain, and then to plow deep. But
do all lands require underdraining ? We
might just as well be told that all coats
need scouring, the unsoiled as well as
the soiled.

If the water passes down freely, so as
never to accumulate and become stag-
nant, that is enough, and such is the
case with more than half the land we
have yet seen. Lands that are cold and
sour by reason of stagnant water, or by
its too slow passage through them, are
doubled, quadrupled, and sextupled in
value by underdraining; but the majority
of acres in this country, so far as we
have seen, would not produce enough
more to pay the cost.

None too much is said in our agricul-
tural journals in favor of deep plowing,
but in our opinion it is said too indis-
criminately. A consequence is, that
some farmers arc rushing into the depths

without knowing the why and where-
fore ; while others know, or think they
do, too well to be instructed, that all
this talk about deep plowing is only a
piece of modern tom-foolery.

To the young farmer we would say, if
you can not manure highly, if j'ou do
not mean to cultivate well, if your land
lies so far from a good market that its
annual value is small, if it needs drain-
ing but is not drained, if it has a thin
soil lying on a treacherous subsoil, be
cautious in any of these cases how you
plow much deeper than you have seen
the substantial old farmers plow.

But if none of these causes prevent, if
you mean to manure highly and till well,
especially if your land is so situated
with reference to markets as to possess
a high annual value, if you mean to
make something by farming, and are as
willing to be paid in the increased value
of your land as in money returns, then
put in the plow eight, ten, or twelve
inches deep, if you are growing the sta-
ple products far back in the country,
and twice those depths if your are grow-
ing fruits and vegetables near a large
city.

The soil of an acre, one foot in depth,
weighs, in a moist state, all of 2,000
tons. It costs something to stir, hustle
about and mix so much soil, but it will
pay. If you do it in all the cases where
we have recommended, and abstain in
all others, we think you will have no-
thing to regret.

We have tried to be discriminate and
to recommend nothing which a young
farmer, or any other, might not follow
with safety.

THE CATTLE OP NEW-ENGLAND.

The red cattle of New-England came
over with the emigrants from England
and Wales, and other countries in Eu-
rope.

The first emigrants or settlers in New-
England came in colonies from tlie dif-
ferent regions or counties in England —

134

AGRICULTURAL

each emigration generally brought over
with them their first stock of neat cattle.
If a Pilgrim or emigrant had a favorite
cow for milk, butter or cheese, he
brought along the favorite animal as a
household god ; and when the governor
of the clan started with the embarkation,
he had the best bull of the shire selected
to perpetuate the stock in the new world.
Thus a superior stock of cattle, embrac-
ing the best from all parts of the mother
country, and containing all the known
different races, were landed in the New-
England settlements when they first lo-
cated. From all these fountains has
arisen a new and peculiar stock of cattle
in New-England, unlike any other ever
known in the old world. The herds of
New-England show strains from the very
best stocks from England, Scotland, Ire-
land and Wales, as well as from Holland
and the northern and western depart-
ments of France, and some other coun-
tries on the continent of Europe.
Varieties of Cattle in England.
In England from the earliest times it
is said that three distinct races of cattle
were found, and now several other races
have been brought into the country.

1. The Long-horns. These were ori-
ginally from Cumberland, Lancashire,
Northumberland, and other high regions
in the north of England. The old Craven
bull was a type of this stock, and looked
upon as the best. The race has also
been spread over Ireland, in Tipperary,
Limerick, Munster, and other counties.
The breed has been greatly crossed and
modified from the original. The first
races were remarkable for the enormous
length and bulk of the horns, and were
large, strong and hardy. The gen-
eral form rather coarse, limbs large and
bony. But the cows yielded milk re-
markable for its richness.

2. TheDevonshires, Herefords, "Welsh,
and the Scotch Highland cattle. The
horns of these cattle are of moderate
size, fine, well turned, sharp pointed,
limbs clean, animated countenance.

figure compact, fatten readily. The
cows yield rich milk, and are known as
middle-horned cattle.

3. The Galloway and Angus ox, which
were hornless, and are called polled cat-
tle. The original country of this race is
situated in the extreme south and western
part of Scotland, next to the Irish Chan-
nel. The majority of this race of cattle
are black, but I have seen some of a
deep blood bay color. Vast numbers of
these cattle are driven to Norfolk and
Suffolk counties in England, and are fed
for the London market, where they are
highly esteemed for beef. It is this race
which has been crossed on the native
cattle of Norfolk and Suffolk, and have
produced one of the best stocks in Eng-
land. A cross breed is of a dun color.
Another cross seems to have been made
with the white Chillingham Park cat-
tle, which are also found in Northumlier-
land, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Che-
shire counties. The legs of this cross are
mottled more or less with black, the roof
of the mouth and tongue are spotted
with black.

4. The Alderney cattle are known to
be of a French origin, and are not one of
the original races in England. The is-
lands on the south of the English Chan-
nel, next to the coast of France, are
called Jersey, Geurnsey, and Alderney.
The Normandy and Alderney cattle
were at an early day bred in Sussex,
Hampshire, and other counties in Eng-
land along the coast opposite to France.
Inland the stock was much crossed on the
English races, with theDevons and Here-
fords most successfully. The Alderneys
and Norman dys -produce an excellent
quality of milk, and being crossed with
the English stock make good milkers
and oxen, which put on fat readily.

5. The white Chillingham Park cattle
are supposed to be an original race in
England, but this type is found in India
and in various parts of Europe, and was
the favorite ox of the ancient Romans,
even before the days of the C^sars.

AGRICULTURAL

135

These cattle in England were earliest
known to have existed in Lancastershire ;
and the waste lands in Craven in York-
shire were formerly ranges for these
white cattle, so also the highlands in Eng-
land, next to the mountains in ^Yales^

6. The Durhams and the old Short-
horns and Yorkshire cattle are said to
have been imported into England from
the continent at an early day. These
cattle have been the stock upon which
the improved Durhams or Short-horns
have been raised by a cross on the Red
Galloways. The Teesvvater cattle in
Durham and Yorkshire are descendants
of this stock. They are all known at
this day as Short-horns.

Scotch Cattle.
The Scotch cattle are of a mixed race.
Many are black and hornless. Some are
white, which appear to be the same stock
as those of Chillingham Park in England.
The mountains of Scotland were origin-
ally a nursery of a race of black cattle,
of mild aspect, beautiful symmetry, vig-
orous, hardy, patient of hunger and cold,
fattening rapidly, and were closely allied
to the ancient Welsh cattle. These cat-
tle are mostly middle-horns, and are
called Kyoles. They are also found in
the Hebrides and Western Islands. In
the Orkney Islands, at the extreme north
of Scotland, the same race is found, but
stunted by cold and want of food. In
Argyle these cattle are, many of them,
models of beauty, and seem to have ])een
descendants of the old Caledonia stock,
which were in early times a mild race.
In Ayrcshire in Scotland is found the
Ayrcshire Cow, an admirable breed of
milkers, as well a good stock for the
butcher. This is an improved breed,
and a cross on the Durham or Holderness,
or perhaps the Alderneys.

Irish Cattle.

In the north and middle parts of Ire-
land the English and Scotch cattle have
been extensively introduced. But there
is a native stock found all throuirh the

southern and western highlands of this
country. It is a middle-horned stock,
and better known as the Kerry Cow.
The animal is generally of small size,
active and vigorous, of a variety of co-
lors, some black, red, white, brindle, and
mottled colors. The cow yields a fair
proportion of excellent milk, according
to its size, and fattens quickly. The
cows when fed prove excellent milkers.
This breed now partakes of many of the
traits of the early English cattle, which
were small, hardy, healthy, good and
spirited for work. It is now looked
upon as an inferior breed, as all the or-
iginal races in England were in the days
of the Edwards and Henrys. Many of
these cattle have come into Maine.

The Holderness cattle are an ancient
race which existed from very earl}' times
on the western coast of Europe, extend-
ing fi-om the Baltic Sea to the confines
of France. They were celebrated for
the great quantities of milk which they
yielded, and some of them had an extra-
ordinary aptitude to fatten. They were
introduced into the northern and east-
ern parts of England at a very early pe-
riod.

DuKUAM Oxen and Cows.

This race of cattle have been called the
Teeswater cattle, from the river Tees in
the north of England. The breed were
brought into the north and eastern parts
of England before we have any histori-
cal accounts put on record. The coun-
ties of York and Durham in England
were the original location of this breed.
The old Durhams were said to be slow
feeders, but since 1801 the race has been
crossed on the Red Galloway or Scotch
or polled cattle, and is now called the
best stock of England. One of these
oxen weighed 3,780 lbs. live weight,
and when slaughtered the carcase was
supposed to weigh 3,180 lbs. ; tliese are
among the largest cattle now in England.
The original Durhams were said to have
been first crossed on the wild white
breedof cattle of Chillingham Park in the

13f)

AGRICULTURAL

county of Northumberland and in Lan-
cashire ; also they were formerly much
crossed with the bulls and cows from
Holland. At this day the new Durhams
are a recent and artificial race of cattle,
with very few of the original types re-
maining. Holderness is in Yorkshire,
England, but this section of England
was foi-merly more mixed with Dutch
cattle than any other. Great bulls were
formerly brought over from Holland and
esteemed the criterion of perfection for
cattle. These Dutch cattle were used to
improve the breed of Short-horns com-
ing down to 1Y90; this was before the
improved Durham cattle made their ap-
pearance. The white cattle were known
in Jutland, Denmark, Hanover, Olen-
burgh, and Holland, from the earliest pe-
riods. They are of a Danish stoclc ; the
Danes ravaged the continent of Europe
from the Baltic Sea to France for more
than a hundred years, from A. D. 850 to
A. D. 950. In A. D. 875 they conquer-
ed Northumbria in England, which com-
prised amongst others the countries of
Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumber-
land, and held it for nearly 200 years.
Prior to the year 1235 the Short-horn
cattle are known to have existed in the
north of England. The White cattle and
the Short-horns are believed to have
come from the continent to England at
the same time, and this accounts for the
fact that very many of the Durham cattle
are almost a, pure loliite ; and the fancy
race of this day is mottled, red, and white
in equal portions.

The Yorkshire Cow.

The Yorkshire Cow is a native of
Yorkshire, England, and came from the
early race of Short-horns. These ani-
mals are the best milkers known, and
have given (in rare instances) 36 quarts
of milk a day ; it is by no means uncom-
mon for them to give 30 quarts a day.
This cow is a great favorite ; she yields
more milk in proportion to the quantity
of food consumed by her than can be
found in any other race. This cow oc.

cupics almost exclusively the best dai-
ries in England.

Leicestershike Ox.

This race are long horned, and are one
of the earliest races in England — healthy,
strong, and hardy.

The Cheshire, Derbyshire, Stafford-
shire, Oxfoi'dshire, and Wiltshire cattle
all wear long horns. They are properly
called the " Long-horned race.'''' West-
moreland, Cumberland and Lancashire
in the north-west of England was the na-
tive land of the long-horns. Bakewell,
in his time, selected this race to breed
from, and he succeeded in an eminent
degree. Bakewell was born at Dishly,
in Leicestershire, in 1725.

The Derbyshire and Cheshire cattle, as
well as the Shropshire cattle, were orig-
inally long-horned, and by being crossed
with the original Short-horns, they have
made a very fine race of cattle — docile
and giving great quantities of milk. The
stronghold of the long-horns was in
Craven in the West Riding of Yorkshire
and Lancashire and Northumberland, but
at this day they are not so often seen as
formerly. From the Highland counties in
the north of England the race was car-
ried south towards Wales, and into the
southern counties in England.

Sussex Cattle.

The old Sussex ox is one of the best
in England. It has always found a rea-
dy sale in the London market for beef.
This is a large animal, well formed, with
a fine head, neck and horns. When
crossed with the Herefords, produce a
large, strong ox, vigorous, good and
obedient workers. The Sussex cow is
principally kept for breeding. The milk
is in small quantity, though excellent in
quality. She is therefore not a favorite
amongst the dairymen. The males of
this race are amongst the best for work-
ing oxen in England and America, and
the females for breeding. The stock
are much found also in Kent and Surrey
counties. Sussex is a county in the ex-

AGRICULTURAL

137

treme south-east part of England on the
English Channel, bounded west by
Hampshire county and north by Surrey.
The prevaiUng color is a blood bay.
The barrel well formed, capacious, back
straight, hips wide and well covered,
and the hide mellow. I have noticed
many oxen of this tj^pe in New-England ;
in Connecticut and on Connecticut River
in Massachusetts. Many of this stock
were brought into this country by the
New-IIavcn colony. The original race of
Sussex appear to have been much allied
to some types of the Devons, but they
had not so fine horns, nor were they
possessed of the agility of the Devons.
Many of the feeding grounds in Sussex
are rich marsh lands, but the Devon-
shire stock are from, mountain districts.

Cheshire Cattle.
These cattle are from the extreme
west of England, near Liverpool. These
were originally the Long-horned cattle
from Nor thumb ei'land, crossed on the
Scotch, Lancashires and other races.
The stock has been long known as good
milkers — cows had large udders. The
belly deep, with prominent milk veins.
Some of the cows have been known to
yield 2-4 quarts of milk a day, and 10
quarts a day during the whole season.
Cheshire has long been known and re-
nowned as a dairy county in England.
There are complaints that the cheese
in Cheshire is not what it formerly was.
Indeed, American cheese is now sought
for and used in the Cheshire hotels.
The artificial grasses, cabbage and
Swedish turnips deteriorate the milk,
and we are sure that this kind of
food will not compare with the Indian
meal for fattening beef Tiie English
beef is spongy, dull flavor, and is for be-
hind the beef niade from Indian meal,
both in flavor and substance. It is said
that the Cheshires cross well on the
Short-liorns ; but it is doubtful whether
a total alteration of the old breed is ben-
eficial. , Inured as it is to the climate
and pasturage of the native hills, modi-

fied as it has been by a combination of
circumstances in such a manner as to
meet the views of the farmer and dairy-
man.

The Welsh Cattle.

These are said to be from the original
native breed of cattle which existed in
the country before the Roman Invasion.
They are represented at this day by
what is called the " Pembroke Cattle.''''
Great Britain does not produce a more
useful animal than the Pembroke cow or
ox. It is black. It is one of the ancient
stock.

Glamorgan Cattle.

These cattle are from the ancient
Welsh cattle. They have a great apti-
tude to fotten. They are stout and ac-
tive, strong for husbandry, and seem to
be closely allied in their habits to the
Devons.

Devon Cattle.

The Devons prevail in the south and
south - western counties of England.
They arc a deep red color, beautiful in
the highest degree, in activity for work
and aptitude to fatten altogether une-
qualed. Great numbers of these cattle
were shipped by the Pilgrims from Ply-
mouth, Bristolj and other ports in the
south of England, to Plymouth, Massa-
chusetts, Boston Harbor, Martha's Vine-
yard, to Rhode Island, the mouth of
Connecticut River, and to Mil ford, Con-
necticut, and the mouth of the Ilousa-
tonic. With the Devons came also the
Herefords, which are usually of a darker
red than the Devons. There came also
to New-England formerly Sussex cattle,
as well as the N'orfolh and Suffolk races.
They were originallj'' a middle-horned ox.
Many of the first settlers in New-Eng-
land brought their cattle from Surrey
and Kent counties, situated soutli and
east of London, and from Southampton ;
along with these came many of the Al-
derney cattle. At a later day cattle came
into New-England from Colcraine and
Belfast in Ireland. Tiio west highland
oxen came in along with these, the Gal-

138

AGRICULTURAL.

loways and the Ayrshires. At the pre-
sent time the New-England cattle are a
mixture of mixtures. In 230 years they
have become an entire new race, in an-
other country, in another climate, in an-
other field of vegetation — strong, hardy
and healthy in a remarkable degree. I
never knew one of them to die of catarrh,
consumption or gout. The per centage
of mort Jity is less among the New-
England cattle than among any other
race.

The Leicesters7iii-e cattle were brought
into Massachusetts in 1629 by Francis
Higginson, Esq., who brought one hun-
dred and fifteen head of neat cattle. In
1626 a bull and twelve cows were sent
from England. These were supposed to
come from Wiltshire to Cape Ann. In
1625 the Dutch West India Company
imported from Holland into New- York
one hundred a'ld three animals, with
horses and swine for breeding.

The east end of Long Island, includ-
ing the county of Suffolk to Hempstead,
was first settled by people from Boston
in Massachusetts ; they brought in the
New-England cattle with them. The
town of East Hampton was first settled
in 1649 by about 30 fiimilies from Lynn,
Massachusetts. The town of Hunting-
ton was settled by a colony from New-
Haven in 1646. Smithtown was first
settled in 1641 ; the people first came to
Boston, and were originally from Glou-
cestershire in the south of England.
Southampton was settled in 1640 by
about 40 families from Lynn, Massachu-
setts ; these people originally came from
Southampton in England. Fishers'' Island
and Plum Island were settled with people
originally from Hingham, Norfolk coun-
ty, England. They came in by the way of
New- Haven. This colony came from
near 100 miles north-east of London, not
far from Lynn on the sea coast. The
first neat cattle brought into Massachu-
setts was by Edward Winslow, who
came in the ship " Charity" from Ply-
mouth. He brought a bull and three

heifers; this was in 1624. Probably
these were of the Devon stock.

The people who first settled Salem,
which was in the year 1625, came from
Dorchester in the county of Dorsetshire,
England, which is in the south-west of
England. Another colony in 1629 came
from Leicestershire in England, bring-
ing with them 115 head of neat cattle,
said to be mostly Leicestershire stock.
Hence we find in the early settlement of
Salem and the adjacent towns races of
Devons and Leicestershire cattle. The
inhabitants of the town of Rowley are
descendants of YorTcshire colonists.
They came in first from England in 1638,
bringing with them the old YovTcsMre
and the old Short-horns, and some of the
white Chillingham Park cattle, while the
inhabitants o"f Newbury, Massachusetts,
in the same county of Essex, came from
the county of Berkshire in England.
This is one of the middle counties in
England. This settlement was made in
1634. The race of cattle here are the
middle-horns. The people in Bristol
county, Massachusetts, as well as those
in Rhode Island and the Eastern part of
Connecticut, many of them came from
Bristol, England, and from Wales.
Swansea was at one time a great port of
embarkation, as well as the whole of the
country round the Bristol Channel. The
Black Welsh cattle and the Pembrokes,
Glanm organs and the Anglesey ox, and
the Devons, seem to have come into
Rhode Island, the eastern part of Con-
necticut, and the southern part of Mas-
sachusetts. The Devons, however, were
the ftivorite stock. They soon reached
Worcester county and the central part
of Massachusetts.

The town of Hingham in Norfolk
county, Massachusetts, was first settled
hj a colony from old Hingham in Nor-
folk county, England, in 1632. These
people brought their cattle with them,
which were the middle-horn cattle.
Some of the towns in Norfolk county
were first settled from Devonshire dnd

AGRICULTURAL.

139

Plymouth. Many families came by the
yrny of the Bristol Channel. Braintrec
was settled from Devonshire. The great-
grandfather of John Adams, President
of the United States, came, as he said,
from " TnE Dragon Persecution m De-
VONSHIKE," to New-England.

The counties of Suffolk, Norfolk and
others on the eastern coast of England,
in that day was possessed of a race of
cattle known as the " SuffolTc Dini,^^ a
middle-horned cattle. The cow was very
much sought for on account of the ex-
traordinary quantity of milk which she
yielded. This cow was celebrated for
her milk in almost every part of Eng-
land. Many of this race of cattle were
brought into the counties of Middlesex,
Norfolk, and Essex in New-England, and
were preserved as gi'eat milkers by the
dairymen.

This stock has spread its progeny very
much over the southern part of Massa-
chusetts and New-Hampshire and Maine,
but it has been crossed by the long-
hon^-1 and the Yorkshire types.

Tliese cattle in the counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk in England have been a good
deal crossed out by the Galloways, and
are looked upon as furnishing a new
stock. The new race are now polled
cattle. The colors are red, red and
white, brindled and a yellowish cream
color. The Suffolk cow is not inferior
to any other breed in the quantity of
milk that she yields.

The cream colored cattle are also
found in Maine. They generally ex-
cel both for milk and beef The yellow
cattle arc good workers, quick for the
plow and cart.

The first white inhabitants of Lynn,
Massachusetts, came from Lincolnshire
and bi'ought cattle with them. Here we
find representatives of the old Lincoln-
shire ox, with a cross of the earlj' Short-
horns. The first colony came in 1G29 ;
they were farmers ; but one of the most
prominent men amongst them was Ed-
ward Ingalls, who was a tanner. He

erected a tannery, and from that day to
this Lynn has been noted for its .shoe
and leather trade. In 1G37 another col-
ony came from the town of Lynn in Nor-
folk county, England. They were also
principally farmers, possessed a large
stock of horned cattle, which they kept
in one herd, and had a man to keep
them. These people cut their grass in
the meadows and marshes, which proved
very serviceable to feed their cattle on.
There were more farmers in Lynn, Mas-
sachusetts, at that time than in an}'' other
of the early settlements. Their grain
was Indian corn. One of the historians
of that period says, " Let no man make
a jest of pumpkins, for with this food
the Lord was pleased to feed his ])cople
to their good content, tilt corn and cattle
were increased."

At this day the middle-horned cattle
mostly prevail in New-England, but
there still remain strains of the long-
horns, as well as the short-horns. The
Anglesey ox is also frequently repre-
sented.

In the year 1638 the New-Haven
colony was planted. They first came from
London after having sojourned at Ly-
den in Holland. The inhabitants of
Milford and Guilford, and other towns in
New-Haven county, came out the 3'ear
following from K(int and Surrey, bring-
ing cattle with them ; but very many of
the inhabitants of Connecticut came by
the way of the Bristol Channel, bringing
with them the Devon cattle in great
numbers, also the Sussex and Herefords ;
but there are more pure Devons in Con-
necticut than in any other part of New-
England. An early writer says, " that
the first planters in New-England were
plain men, bred to tillage and keeping
cattle ; that a great deal of the same
spirit has ever remained among these ""
people." There is, says this wiiter, "A
certain niceness and delicacy which still
continues amongst their posterity where-
in the perfection of husbandry consists."
These remarks will apply to the present

140

AGRICULTURAL

inhabitants of New-England with many
addititional favorable items. In 1635
the first colony from Plymouth, Massa-
chusetts, camo across the country to
Windsor, on Connecticut River. They
brought a drove of cattle and other do-
mestic animals with them. Before they
got over the Connecticut River the win-
ter set in ; the cattle lived in the woods
and on the meadows without shelter.
These fed as well as those which were
housed, but many cattle perished during
that winter. The Dorchester people
who made up a part of the colony lost
£200 worth of stock. The next spring
came many settlers to Windsor, Hart-
ford, Wethersfield, Farmington, and the
towns along the river, from the Ply-
mouth colony,' bringing great numbers
of cattle with them. The first inhabi-
tants of Dorchester, Massachusetts, came
chiefly from Devon, Dorset and Somerset-
shire in the extreme southern and west-
ern part of England, bringing with them
their cattle. These were the Devons
and Alderneys; but the Devons were
the prevailing stock.

In 1636, Messrs. Hooker and Stone
started from Cambridge, Massachusetts,
with a colony for Connecticut River ;
the company consisted of 160 persons,
men, women and children ; they brought
with them 160 head of neat cattle — the
cattle fed upon the buds, leaves, and
grass found on the way, the people sub-
sisted on the milk of their cows. This
colony came to Hartford — they passed
over mountains, through swamps, thick-
ets and rivers, they slept on the ground,
with nothing to cover them by night but
the heavens, and passed through track-
less forests, overhung with high and
thick branches and green leaves, with
grape vines which canopied the whole,
extending from tree to tree, fragrant
xdth fiotcers. Mrs. Hooker was sick, and
was borne through the wilderness upon a
sedan chair, made by fastening two poles
on the outside of two horses, one horse
being placed ahead of the other with a

chair between the two ; the horses were
each guided by two men, and a boy on
the back of each animal. They all came
safe; but the planters in Connecticut had
but few working oxen or instruments
adapted to husbandry when they first
landed in the wilderness. The deep red
color was a favorite in early times for
cattle, and they were very much brought
to New-England. The Hcrefords formed
a very fine breed for fattening. Many
of them were a deep red, with not a
white spot on them — the cows were said
to have been excellent milkers, some of
them yielding 17 lbs. of butter a week.
The Devons were better adapted to this
country than most of the other races —
they were full of activity, healthy, full
of spirit and courage, broad foreheads,
clean limbs, with a pleasing vivacity of
countenance, full of agility, sui'e footed,
capable of traveling at a high speed,
with a disposition to fatten unequaled
by most other races. Coining from a
mountain country in England and Wales,
the breed suited the soil and climate of
New-England ; they readily acclimated.
These cattle are quick and honest at work,
docile, and not inferior milkers. The
race of pure red cattle, however, seemed
to prevail more in Connecticut than in
any other of the New-England States.
The middle part of Connecticut is now
distinguished for a fine breed of improv-
ed Devons. Such a great variety of races
being introduced into the country at its
early settlement, many of the original
stocks have been crossed out, forming
an entire new race, superior to the ani-
mals of any other country. I have seen
the Leicester and the Irish lopped horns
— the Galloway ox with its progeny,
mixed with cattle from Suffolk and Nor-
folk counties, England — the Shropshire,
the Derbyshires and manj' others of
the long-horned race. These occasion-
ally show strains with an enormous
growth of horns. The Yorkshire cattle
in New-England have undoubtedly been
the stock from which the best milkers

AGRICULTURAL.

141

are obtained. I have seen a small herd
of cattle, mostly red with a small band
of white around the middle. My brotlier,
now living in Hampshire county, Massa-
chusetts, is working almost the best pair
of cattle I ever saw ; they are a white,
with every mark of having descended
from a cross on the Chillingham Park
Cattle ; black noses and black inside of
the ears. Many of these crosses of color
arc found in Maine, and north New-Eng-
land, and put on an orange or cream
color.

After the Battle of Bunkcrhill, in
1775, seventy-five patriots at Farming-
ton, Connecticut, started for Boston, 110
miles distant. They took an ox team and
cart loaded with salt provisions, peas,
bread, camp utensils, with a puncheon
of rum to cheer on the soldiers and to
wash their sore feet. They came to
Roxbury in nine to ten days — the oxen
stood travel better than the men.

In 1778, the inhabitants of Durham, in
Connecticut, sent to General Washing-
ton, at Valley Forge, two oxen, driven
almost 500 miles through the countr}'-,
greatly exhausted of its forage. These
cattle furni.shed a dinner for the oflBcers
and soldiers of the American army. One
of them, a steer, five years old, weighed
when slaughtered 2,270 lbs.

The Welsh cattle seem to have been
very much crossed out in New-Eugland.
The Reverend Mr. Buckley, of the town
of Colchester, Connecticut, presided over
the church of that town from 1703 to
1731. A church in a neighboring town
was much afflicted by dissensions ; they
applied to Parson Buckley for advice ;
he wrote them an affectionate letter, told
them to heal all their dissensions, and |
live in peace ; but while the parson was
writing the letter to the church he found
he had to write one also to his tenant,
who occupied one of his farms in another
part of the town, lie sealed his letters,
and in superscribing them, the one for
the church was directed to the tenant,
and the one for the tenant to the church.

The afflicted church convened to hear
the letter from Parson Buckley read,
which was to heal all their difficulties.
In due form the Moderator broke open
the letter in the presence of his assem-
bled brethren, and read as follows :

"You will see to the repair of the
fences, that they be built high and strong,
and you will take special care of the old
hlach hulV

This letter was deemed mystical. One
of the elder brethren got up and said,
this is just the advice we need. The old
Hack lull is the Devil, and we must
watch him thoroughly. The fences must
be built high and strong to keep out all
strange cattle off our fold. Go home said
the elder, obey your Divine Master. The
meeting was forthwith adjourned, the
people departed, the animosities .subsi-
ded, harmony was restored to the afflict-
ed church.

We are of the opinion that the old
lilach Inll, was one of the black native
stock of "Wales. Indeed a person travel-
ing through New-England will see indi-
vidual cattle which strongly represents
every type found in England or along
the western coast of Europe.

Some of the people called the Puri-
tans originated in the north of England
and the south-cast part of Scotland. In
the year 1607, some of them were driven
from the north of England — they first
settled in Amsterdam ; two years after-
wards they went to Lyden, where the
colony increased with numbers from
London and the South of England, and
remained until IG-IO. In 1621, the first
colony came to Plymouth, ^lassachusetts ;
these were a portion of the Lydcn con-
gregation, alid other portions of the con-
gregation afterwards came to Massachu-
setts; finally the last portion of them
came to New-Haven in 1637 to 1640. On
the 3d of November, 1620, King James
signed a patent incorporating tlie Duke
of Lenno.x, Sir Ferdinand Gorges, and
thirty-eight others, styling them the
" Council established at Plymouth, in

142

AGRICULTURAL

the County of Devon, in England, for
planting, ruling^ ordering and govern-
ing of ITeio-England, in Amerieay
This company granted New-Hampshire
to Captain John Mason, and the Province
of Maine to Gorges. The first perma-
nent settlements in Maine were begun in
the year IBOY, in the extreme south-
western part of the State, next to New-
Hampshire. The colony of Maine, was
originally a grant from the Plymouth
Council in Devonshire, England. The
colony remained under the Plymouth
Company till 1677, M'hen it was sold to
the Massachusetts colony, and remained
under Massachusetts government till
1820.

In 1622, Mason went to New-Hamp-
shire, and a son of Gorges to Maine,
as governor. Mason established himself
at Portsmouth, and Gorges made settle-
ments at various places along the coast,
to Machias. Governor Mason imported
a large breed of cattle from Denmark,
and when he died some of his stock were
carried to Penobseot, and some to Nova
Scotia. In 1658 Fi-ancis Norton drove
100 oxen, a part of Mason's herd, from
New-Hampshire to Boston, and sold
them for 125 dollars per head. This was
the current price for the best cattle
in New-England at that time. New-
Hampshire remained, with but few inter-
vals, under the jurisdiction of Massachu-
setts till 1749, more than 100 years,
when the two colonies were separated.
Gorges had been an officer in the British
navy, under Queen Elizabeth, and
James, in 1604, appointed him Governor
of the island of Plymouth, in England.
Mason had been a merchant in London,
but became a sea officer. The first
people to settle in New-Hampshire came
from London, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth,
Shrewsbury and Gloucester, and was
called the Company of Laconia in Eng-
land.

In 1623 Daniel Thompson, a Scotch-
man, and Edmond and William Horton,
fishmongers in London, came over with

a colony furnished with all the necessa-
ries to carry on their design in forming
settlements in the country. Some of
the earliest settlers were of good estates ;
some of great account in religion.

In 1638 a company came from Norfolk,
England, and settled Hampton, New-
Hampshire. The Norfolk and Suffolk
dun cattle were brought into New-Hamp-
shire and Maine at an early date of their
history.

Mount Desert Island, in the county
of Hancock, State of Maine, as well as
many other islands about the mouth of
the Penobscot river and on the coast,
were formerly much settled with French
colonists, who came from St. Malais and
other parts on the north of France, bring-
ing with them the French cattle. Many
fishing vessels came from Marseilles in
the Mediterranean Sea. The race of Hu-
guenots afterwards came into Maine in
great numbers. It is said that Talleyrand,
the great French minister under Bona-
parte, was born of a Quaker mother on
the Penobscot liver. The cattle of
northern and western France were ori-
ginally well represented in many parts
of Maine, as well as the western Highland
cattle of Scotland. The fishermen of the
west coasts of Ireland and Scotland were
for a long time engaged in the fish trade
of Maine. The New-Hampshire und
Maine colonies started with the liest of
stocks of cattle from Norfolk, Leicester-
shire and Devonshire, England, and after-
wards obtained herds from the Massa-
chusetts colony, which first stai-ted at
Salem, with cattle from Norfolk, Leices-
tershire, and Yorkshire, and other parts
of England. The Puritans were well
acquainted with the value of the short-
horns ; and the Yorkshire and ti'e old
Norfolk dun cattle, were all great milk-
ers.

Large numbers of these cattle have
been at various times brought into New-
Eno-land. The Yorkshire and the Nor-
folk and Devon types are found scattered
over the best dairy districts in north

AGRICULTURAL.

148

New-England, and our best milkers re-
tain many of the Norfolk and Yorkshire
forms of the original animals. These
have been crossed with the Devonshire
stock. A large portion of the cattle in
Maine are descendants of the Yorkshire,
Leicestershire, Norfolk, and Devonshire
races.

The working oxen in iLiine arc mostly
red, with a strong cross of the Devons,
and Yorkshires, and Leicestershire, and
Scotch cattle. The lumlering huniness
has trained up a race of oxen, possess-
ing all and more than the original agility
and flcetness and intelligence of the De-
vons ; while the carcase has been improv-
ed to a groat size and strength, both for
work and for beef. The whole race of
mountain cattle in New-England, is vastly
superior to the original stocks of the old
world. There are no dairy regions so
good as those on the highlands of New-
England and the State of New- York,
where the pastures are full of red and
white clover.

Tlie (ialloway cattle arc now a horn-
less race, but formerly were a middle-
horned animal. They have lost their
horns by debility or deterioration. New
pastures — the buds and flowers of the
grasses, shrubs and trees — yield the
phosiihate of lime and ammonia abun-
dantly, which are necessary' to form
the bones and horns of cattle, and to
give them a large, healthy and strong
carcase. Old pastures and feeding
grounds soon become cxlkaustcd of am-
monia and phosphate of lime; hence the
horns of cattle pastured on such soils
become small and feeble; the horns fall
off or do not show themselves; the ani-
mal loses its health and hardiness, and
docs not make a large, strong and
healthy racp. This is the case with the
Galloways and polled cattle in England.
Those cattle can never equal the long-
horned races for beef, milk, or work, and
are not much grown or cultivated in
New-England.

The long-horns of Cumberland, "VVilt-

shire,Lancashire, were originally brought
into New-England, and from these
strains the long-horn cattle show them-
selves. These cattle })eing crossed on the
north of England cattle, generally pro-
duce the '■'■ middle-Tiornii^" which pre-
vail in north New-England.

In passing through New-England, a
person can not but observe fine speci-
mens of every tj'pe of cattle known in
the west of Europe, and occasionally he
will see oxen with horns of enormous
length.

The domestic ox, as well as the origi-
nal wil 1 ox, ai'e naturally a mountain
animal — they seek highlands ; tlie}'^ like
the clear, cool air and pure spring water.
When turned into a pasture to graze
they go to the top of the hills, and at
night select a little valley sheltered from
the winds to herd themselves. The best
butter, milk and cheese, and the sweet-
est beef come from the mountain ranges.
There are no cattle that a man can own
to so good advantage as the New-Eng-
land mountain cattle. A feeder can make
more beef out of them according to his
outlay, than from the best foreign
stocks. When we import cattle we
throw away our money, except when we
import bulls into the country to cross on
our native cow. The cattle from the old
world have not constitutions adapted to
our climate. Our native cattle have
been acclimated for two hundred and
twenty years. The cattle of Europe lose
caste by importation ; they can not stand
the extreme climate of winter and sum-
mer.

In the winter of 1799 the cold in New-
England was excessive. During the
preceding summer, from the 28th July
to the Lst September the heat was in-
tense, the mercury was from 8G° to 93°;
vegetation failed, drought was excessive,
many trees shed their leaves in August,
and many cattle perished in the cold win-
ter following for want of food.

The town of Goshen, in Iiitchfield
county, Connecticut, is on the most ele-

144

AGRICULTURAL.

vated land in the State. This and the
adjacent towns is one of the best tracts
for the dairying business. Cheese and
butter are made here in lai'ge quantities,
the fame of which is widely and justly
celebrated. We are all familiar with
the butter and cheese brought from Jef-
ferson, St. Lawrence, Herkimer, Dela-
ware, Sullivan, Orange, and other
mountainous counties in the State of
New- York. This butter and cheese is
equal to any in the world, but no better
tlian that made in New-England.

The cattle in New-England are well
housed, especially in the winter. They
are more docile than the original herds
from Europe, healthy, hardy, and many
of them are of a very large size, full of
agility, and put on fat very fast when at
the summer pastures or fed in the stalls.
Many of the cows are excellent milkers ;
some of the best progeny of the York-
shires yielding in many instances from
from twenty to thirty-four quarts a day.
The New-England oxen are great travel-
ers on the road. Wherever the New-
England people have emigrated to,
they take their cattle with them. The
cattle which make up the trains for Cal-
ifornia are mostly descendants of the
New-England stock. Their ability to
travel and endure privations render them
almost invaluable. The largest cattle in
En"-land weigh no more than 3,180 lbs.
per carcase ; while some of the largest
carcases of the New-England cattle have
weighed from 8,500 to 3,600 lbs. after
being slaughtered. Indeed, there are
no better cattle for milking, fattening
and work. The grazier, the feeder,
and the butcher and dairy-man can
find no better stock. The health of the
New-England cattle is exceedingly good ;
their horns and bones are strong, the
horns set strong and well on the
head. The true blooded Devons, Sussex-
es and Hercfords are better preserved in
the State of Connecticut than any other
part of New-England, indicating that
these were the original favorites.

If our people bestowed half of the
pains in breeding our native cattle, that
the English do, we would have a far su-
perior race to any in the old world. The
following are some of the qualities of the
New-England cattle.

First. — They are very hardy, free
from disease and epidemics of every
kind in a remarkable degree ; with less
nxortality than occurs to stock in the
old world.

Second. — The cows are more prolific
in healthy progeny than any other class
of cattle known.

Third. — The geldings and bulls when
put under the yoke will perform more
labor by the day, and continue labor for
a greater length of time, and keep in bet-
ter condition, than any other stock of
cattle.

Fourtli. — These cattle have more agil-
ity, more strength, more size, and will
work better with the plow, harrow, or
cart, than any other race of cattle of
their cost and expense of keeping.

Fifth. — The bulls and geldings travel
well with large loads. The geldings are
strong, patient, steady, and honest to a
remarkable degree. It seldom requires
more than the plowman to drive and
govern his team.

Sixth. — When fed they put on fat
speedily. Their beef is of the sweetest
and healthiest kind, juicy and marbled,
and flavored better than any found
abroad.

Seventh. — ^The cows are the best of
milkers, acclimated for 220 years, and
the breed have been thoroughly crossed.
The breed now is found suitable both to
the soil and the climate — qualities de-
manded by all stock growers.

Eighth. — A breeder can make more
money by the native stock to breed up-
on, according to the expense or capital,
than from any other known race. They
are profitable alike to the graziers, the
breeders, and the butchers.

Ninth. — The flesh and beef, when kill-
ed, is of the best flavor, easily cured for

AGRICULTURAL.

145

barreling, and can be preserved with
little care and skill, without much ex-
pense. These cattle arc good and heal-
thy feeders, and there is a greater yield
of milk and butter from them than from
any we have seen of the foreign cattle.

Tenth. — The quantity of milk which
cows give when running on pastures
during the spring and summer, must
vary to a considerable degree, according
to the feed and milking qualities of each
animal. Fair cows, fed on a new pas-
ture, and a small supply of Indian meal,
will produce from 10 to 24 quarts of
milk per day. Many of the New-Eng-
land cows put on the lineal Yorkshire
type, with large udders, fine teats, clean
head, shortish necks, deep chests, large
carcases, straight backs, full thighs,
strong legs, yielding from 20 to 30
quarts of milk per day. The best milker
in England is said to have given 36
quarts per day, yielding 372 lbs. of but-
ter in 32 weeks, averaging 20 quarts per
day for 20 weeks. Some of the cows
from the mountains in New- York and
New-England, have done equal to this.
But then a cow must be in thorough
health, full grown, of a large size, fed on
a new pasture, and with Indian meal, to
enable her to come up to this point.

Until within the last 300 years, the
cattle in England were small, generally
not well fed or housed in winter, fur-
nishing but little good and fat beef When
the stock was transferred to New-Eng.
land it improved wonderfully in size and
quality.

The fresh, clover pastures, fine hay,
grown on the newly cleared lands, the
Indian meal, all made a feeding to which
the cattle in the old world were stran-
gers. The hills and mountains in New-
England yield the richest pastures of any
in the world, while the thousands of val-
leys along the rivers and streams yield
hay and Indian corn uncqualed in quan-
tity and excellence of kind. It is on
this keeping the New-England cattle are
fed and fattened, and it is this keeping
10

and feeding which has given them their
superior characters for beef and milk,
uncqualed by anything of the kind
found in the old world.

The cold, damp climate of England
and Scotland is not so favorable to stock
as the pure, dryer air, clear skies, and
summer vegetation of the New "World.
The snow in New-England commences
to fall the first • of December, and con-
tinues to the 20th March, generally. It
is dry and mealy, the climate is cool, dry
and bracing, seldom damp and chilly.
The mountains and hills furnish pas-
tures for cattle, such as are unknown to
the Old World.

Cattle bred here grow to the largest
size, their lungs and chest become ex-
panded, their bones and muscles strong,
the barrel of the carcase large, full and
round. The geldings have borne the
yoke in their youth, and have experienc-
ed the good effects of it. Hence the
working oxen are stronger, larger and
better than any other, and make the best
of beef when fattened.

The States of Maine, New-Hampshire,
and Vermont have as fine animals as any
other. Their stock originally came in
fi-om Plymouth, Bristol, Norfolk, Cum-
berland, Yorkshire, Denmark and Scot-
land, and from New-England.

Many of the French cattle, the Scotch
cattle, the English cattle, and the Irish
cattle have been introduced into Maine.

The Massachusetts colony began at
Salem in 1621, and continued till 1692.
They brought along with them the
"Yorkshire," the early "Short-horns,"
the "Lincolnshires," the " Norfolks,"
the "Suffolk Duns," the "Leicester-
shires," the " Devons," and the " Welsh
Cattmj."

Many settlements were made in New-
Hampsliire and Maine, from the Massa-
chusetts colony and the towns on the
Merrimack river.

The first grant of a patent of Maine
extended from latitude 40" to 48" clear
to the bay of Chalcur in Canada, and

146

AGRICULTURAL.

from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
The grantees subsequently united mer-
chants with them from London, Bristol,
Exeter, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, and
Dorchester, England.

A great many ships came out to Maine
in the spring, year after year, bringing
from various ports in France, England,
Scotland and Ireland, more or less emi-
grants and cattle, and taking back a cargo
of" fish in the fall and winter. These
ships would introduce cattle from almost
every seaport in the realm. Thus we find
the cattle of New-Hampshire and Maine
a more thoroughly mixed race than
those of any other part of New-England.
They are the best of oxen for heavy
work, and when fed well, for beef

BREEDING CATTLE.

Ln order to do this with success, the
parents should be full-grown, selected
of a good size, from 4 to 10 years of age,
living in a healthy country. A hilly
country is much the best ; neither the
bull nor the cow should be stabled, nor
be ringed. Both bull and cow should
run at large, the bulls be accustomed to
the yoke while they are calves, and kept
fairly and moderately to work under the
yoke in the open air, fed on fresh grass,
hay, Indian meal, with boiled turnips,
potatoes or carrots — stabled only during
the winter. These bulls make the best
working teams ; strong, full of enterprise
and courage — will plow deep furrows,
draw heavy logs, cart good loads, make
heavy stone wall. Indeed a breeding
bull ought to be a working bull, and then
they never' have the catarrh, consump-
tion or gout to afflict them, or to render
their progeny feeble or sickly. The
calves should come in the month of Feb-
ruary and on to May. They should take
the whole milk of the mother the first 6
to 12 months, constantly handled to keep
them docile. They will gradually wean
themselves when their teeth and sto-
mach become adapted to other food. Af-
t«r the first 3 months a calf ought to run
in the pasture. When they begin to

wean they should be fed with fine hay,
fresh grass, and a small quantity of In-
dian meal. In the winter the cow is fre-
quently injured by drinking cold water.
It produces constipation of the bowels,
and cholic. Two pailsful of warm water,
with a half peck of rye or wheat bran
during the day will keep the bowels free
and open. I have known cows dried up
by drinking cold water immediately after
calving, with violent symptoms of in-
flammatory fever. In the winter season
the cow had better drink warm water
from the temperature of 55° to 64°,
kept in clean, warm, and well-ventilated
stables. The calf needs a warm stable,
with straw or chaif to lie on. The food
must be upland hay. Cattle never do
well on wet, swampy land, nor will they
feed to advantage on hay grown in
mai'shes, nor put on flesh when they lie
down in damp, cold places. Nor can cat-
tle be fattened in the winter in the north-
ern climates, without warm and dry
stables, and a full supply of food of the
best kind.

The cow should never be milked or
suckled during gestation. All the milk
di'awn from the cow at this period of
time is furnished at the expense of the
growing foetus. Hence the calves of
the great milkers are generally feeble,
poor and bad milkers. The first-born
calves are the best. Primogeniture in
raising stock is a law that works well.

The farmers of New-England have
much neglected the breeding of stock.
They do not seem to realize that they
have the best stock in the world to im-
prove on. It took all the best people
out of the four kingdoms of the mother
country to produce the institutions of
NewEngland. The cattle came along with
the first settlers, and the cattle were the
best that the old world afibrded. The
number of milch cows in Maine by the
last census were 133,556 ; working oxen,
83,893 ; other cattle, 125,890. While
the butter made yearly is 9,243,811
lbs. ; cheese, 2,434,454 lbs. The town of

AGRICULTURAL.

HI

Bangor on the Penobscot river sawed
and exported in 1850, 200,000,000 feet
of lumber. Vermont had by the same
census, cows, 146,128 ; oxen, 58,577 ;
other cattle, 154,143 ; Massachusetts,
milch cows, 130,099 ; oxen, 46,611 ; oth-
er cattle, 83,284 ; Connecticut, cows,
97,277;- oxen, 59,027; other cattle,
114,606.

Foreign cattle are not suited to the
New-England climate, and when intro-
duced lose caste. When brought into
the country they are much like foreign
trees and grape vines.

Alanson Nash,
36 Beekman St.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

SOME OF THE EVILS OF A SU-
PERABUNDANCE OF LAND.

Mr. Editor : — Among the many use-
ful topics introduced into your magazine
to interest and employ the thoughts of
your readers, will it not be seasonable
and to the purpose that some should
have their attention called, for a moment,
to an inquiry into the economy of duly
proportioning the extent of forms to the
ability of their occupants to put them
to the best possible use? Are there
none within the reach of your journal
who are infected, to some extent, with
that insane appetite which has inflicted
ruin on many, and has been the bane of
multitudes, of multiplying the number of
their acres beyond the capacity or means
they have for rendering them valuable ?

Has not the proper time at length ar-
rived for reminding such, they being ac-
tual incumbents of the soil, that the land
justly belongs to those only who can ap-
preciate the obligation they are under,
to use what has fallen to thena and come
under their supervision, so as to carry
forward and ultimately accomplish the
design of the Creator in the bestowment
of such an inheritance ? It is not suffi-
cient that there is enough for all, unless
each one, in the general partition, can be
allowed to take and enjoy his rightful

share. It was never intended by the
great Father of the human family, in
making provision for them out of his
ample domain, to coimtenance invidious
distinctions by allowing some to engross
that they may waste what others need,
so that the supply should not be equable
and impartial. Though the abundance
be ever so unlimited and overflowing,
yet this is no valid plea in extenuation
of prodigality in any quarter. When a
miracle had fed thousands from a few
small loaves and a residue had been left
after they had eaten to their fill, yet the
fragments were not to be thrown away.
So the ground we inclose for ourselves,
to have it under our own eye and sub-
ject to our own particular and exclusive
management, should be made to produce
all for which it is available, or which our
best industry and skill can elaborate from
it. When it is otherwise, do not manifest
evils and egregious wrongs show them-
selves as the effect of miscalculation or
misarrangement in the conduct of af-
fairs ?

Let us look into this matter a little,
and inquire if something can not be done
to put things in a better condition, that
we may realize more from the exertions
and expenditures we employ, and that
others, the community to which we be-
long, may reap benefit from the better
course we are induced to take.

Modern experiments in agriculture
have abundantly demonstrated the good
effects of labor judiciou.sly bestowed on
small parcels of ground in the produc-
tion of returns vastly beyond what has
been usual, in times past, under other
systems of cultivation, requiring large
tracts for the attainment of small crops.
Now, what does this prove, but that
more land has heretofore, and is still,
put under tillage than is necessary for a
given amount of produce, and that a lit-
tle land made fertile by the skilful hand
of tillage, is of more value than a much
larger quantity put to use with inferior
results V Are there not then evils to be

148

AGRICULTURAL.

deplored which must inevitably attend
the practice of making farms consist of
more land than can be worked, so as to
insure proceeds in some approximation
at least, to the susceptibilities which na-
ture has given them ?

One obvious evil is, that a great
amount of time and labor, together with
other domestic comforts and enjoyments,
is wasted, thrown to the winds, and ac-
counted as nothing. And who is dis-
posed so to undervalue life, vigor, ease,
leisure, abstinence from perplexing care,
and the satisfaction of finding that his
energies are wisely applied, as to double
his expenses in all these things by as-
signing himself a large area for his ope-
rations when a much smaller would bet-
ter answer his end ?

Another evil, not unworthy of consid-
eration, attendant on the division of a
neigliborhood into few farms to make
them large, is that the population is ne-
cessarily sparse beyond what is desira-
ble for convenience and comfort. Pub-
lic expenses by this circumstance become
burdensome. Where the people are
few, taxes for the support of necessary
public institutions, if such appendages
to a prosperous and happy community
are enjoyed, must be high, though the
payers of them may be straitened in
their means proportionably to their nom-
inal wealth, predicated on the number of
rods covered by their claims. If, by
cutting down farms to a moderate size,
a people, few in number, separated from
each other by inconvenient distances,
could be doubled or trebled in number,
and be brought into compactness as near
neighbors, who could fail of seeing that
such an arrangement must greatly con-
tribute to the prosperity and comfort of
those who should become partakers of
its fruits ?

Another evil which should not be
quite overlooked and disregarded, results
■from the fact, that one man's having too
much land occasions another's having too
little. Is it not an obvious defect in so-

ciety as it exists at the present time in
our country, and more so perhaps in
others, that in assigning places to all that
none should be deprived of opportu-
nity to exercise the talent they have for
active usefulness, too few are retained
on the soil to act the part of husband-
men, while the larger portion ^y to un-
productive employments, or to such call-
ings as leave them dependent on others
for their daily bread ? It is not pretend-
ed, however, that though the earth was
given to be the grand storehouse from
which supplies of material good are to
be drawn for the subsistence of all, that
therefore all should be limited to follow-
ing the plow, or to obtaining a livelihood
by some other laborious means of ex-
tracting from the earth its nutritive vir-
tues. Man is not to live by bread alone.
But as this is at least one of the indis-
pensables in what goes to nourish and
sustain human life, enough of human
thought and energy should be always at
hand and in actual service to produce a
sufficiency for all. But to what result
is the known tendency of the popular
taste, in these days, as respects the mat-
ter of obtaining food to eat and raiment
to put on ? Do men, as they grow up
to see the need of doing something to ob-
tain what is needful to the body, covet a
spot of earth on which they may pitch
their tent and ply the implements of ag-
riculture, until they have learned by
their own experience what is meant by
eating one's bread in the sweat of his
face ? Is it not more common to see
other expedients looked to and seized
upon as promising pleasanter if not more
remunerative methods of laying up trea-
sure on earth and basking in the sun-
shine of worldly good? And what is
the eifect of this antipathy to plowing,
sowing, and reaping, and the various
rural labors which fill up the hours and
exhaust the powers of the man who
lives on the fruits of his own toils ? To
what causes, in like manner, may it be
attributed ?

AGRICULTURAL.

149

Among the many influences which go
to produce and nourish anti-farming pro-
pensities, and to swell the ranks of mer-
chants, and mechanics, and the indolent
tribes, not the least, in my opinion, is
the scarcity of land, made so in particu-
lar localities by the greediness of pro-
prietors in holding possession of all they
can grasp, though of scarcely any worth
to themselves in real profits. Could it
be parceled out in such minor por-
tions as would require an increase of
labor, and would insure a still greater
increase of profit, many landless traders
and artisans would find themselves ac-
commodated, if not with large freeholds,
yet with snug auxiliaries and helps to a
living. The evils to them of not having
been thus favored many have unques-
tionably suffered in the embarrassment
and privations which for months past
have lain with oppressive weight, on
those especially who have not been pro-
tected by their relation to the earth as
its cultivators. Oh ! how blest the
farmer in those days of destitution and
suffering, who can open the door of his
storehouse and there be met with the
sweet smiles of plent}-.

It is not in the heart of the writer of
the above to dictate to any one, nor even
to sketch a plan or give advice for the
disposal of lands to enhance their value.
His only object has been to offer hints
and suggestions, and leave it to the dis-
creet and prudent to consider and act as
their own judgment shall prescribe.

CiiARLEMONT, Jan., 1858. J. F.

AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE,
ETC., ETC.

BT A PENN3YLVANIAN.

I DAVE received the first number of
the American Farmers^ Magazine, and
am much pleased with its form, appear-
ance and contents, I think it is worthy
of the patronage of every farmer and me-
chanic ; and the minister, doctor and
lawyer would not be harmed by a care-

ful perusal of it monthly. I would most
heartily recommend it to all.

But little grain was sowed in this part
of Pennsylvania last fall ; and owing to
the dull prospects of the market and the
scarcity of money, but little, compara-
tively, is doing in the lumler line this
winter. The price of property has fallen
very much. It is almost impossible to
raise money on any terms. There is
great retrenching in family expenses.
The people, one and all, rich and poor,
have been living too lavishly, in eating
and drinking, and wearing, to live long,
and be healthy, happy and prosperous.

Mankind seem to have lost sight of,
or never to have had, a very foir or cor-
rect view of the end and object of human
existence. It is true that a man, that
anybody, that everybody should eat to
live, and live to enjoy life, to be healthy,
cheerful and happy, and to ripen for im-
mortality hereafter.

Man should study the laws of his
whole being. He should seek to grow
healthy, wealthy, and wise as he grows
older. Man, begotten in the image of his
Divine Parent, should be ashamed,should
consider it a sin to be sicTc. He has no
business to be sicTc; and if he gets sick,
he should anxiously seek for and remove
the cause. The child should die, if at
all, an hundred years old. Every one is
the father of his own sickness. The
man, or woman, or child that lives so-
berly, temperately, wisely, and righte-
ously, will seldom be skh, if ever. Every
one should strive to be wealthy, not only
in money, but in that wealth which con-
sists of a healthy, noble and divine hu-
manity. There is no sin in money
wealth, if it is obtained in a wise, honest
and honorable way, and for a wise and
honorable use, and not b}' fraud, deceit,
and robbery one of another, but by hon-
est labor, by cultivating the earth, and
developing its resources, so that while
the individual is adding to his own ma-
terial wealth, he is at the same time add-
ing to the wealth of all mankind.

160

AGRICULTURAL.

Every one should strive to grow wiser
as he gi'ows older, by sipping the honey
of truth from all the flowers of true
knowledge in the domains of nature and
revelation. I would like to see more,
far more attention paid to the improve-
ment, elevation, refinement, and perfec-
tion of humanity. The whole nature of
man needs to be developed. It must
grow up and bring forth fruit in abun-
dance.

God speed the course of agriculture,
and every kind of culture calculated to
develop and improve the world and all
its inhabitants.

I made a trial of the new Chinese su-
gar cane the past season. The season
was a very poor one for the purpose.
The spring was too late, and the autumn
frosts too early for it to mature. I made
about twelve gallons of very good mo-
lasses. It took about ten gallons of
juice to make one of molasses. I had no
seed get ripe.

We crushed the juice out with a pair
of wooden rollers of my own construc-
tion, worked by a horse. I intend to
try it again next season if all goes well.
It will do well in a dry, hot summer ;
will mature its seed and make sugar.

We think our correspondent speaks
rather too strongly of the sin of being
sick ; but we suppose he means, that if
we would all live according to the dic-
tates of reason and an enlightened un-
derstanding, and not be governed so
much by passion and appetite, there
would be less sickness and longer life,
which is certainly true. — Ed.

SORGHO SUCRE, OR CHINESE SU-
GAR CANE.

BY A MASSACHUSETTS FARMER.

Expectation has been so highly awak-
-ened by the proclamations made of the
benefits to accrue from the culture of
this plant, that I determined to ascer-
tain, if possible, whether or not it was
worth cultivating. Accordingly, I look-

ed at it, wherever I found it growing,
and have inquired of those who planted
it, and the result of their culture, where
it matured at all, was plants growing
from 10 to 15 feet in height, and from 1
to li inches in diameter.

As a forage plant, it is generally said
to be less acceptable to animals than the
stocks of good sweet corn, though cattle
will eat it. I doubt exceedingly whether
it is worth growing for this purpose,
where Indian corn can be grown. Per-
haps it will grow on a soil of poorer
quality than -corn, though I never have
heard that it was prejudiced in its
growth, by the application of good fer-
tilizers.

Many of my neighbors grew small
patches of it, say from one to ten square
rods, and when it matured they cut it
up, and have it now, waiting to learn
whether any use can be made of it.

Some have undertaken to press the
juice from the stocks after the leaves
were peeled off, and in this way they
have obtained from one to two gallons
of tolerable syrup from a rod of land ;
but nobody thus far has realized any
convenient benefits from its culture. To
be sure it was a new thing ; they had to
learn how to grow it, and how to use it
after it was grown. Some have pro-
duced seed that they think will come up
another year ; but no one that I have
met has produced any sugar, and very
few are yet satisfied that the plant is
worth growing at all. It is said the sea-
son was so wet that it was not favorable
for its growth, and that one trial is not
a sufficient test of its value. I have not
heard of any sugar obtained from it this
side of Philadelphia ; and from the ex-
periments there as detailed in the Tri-
lune, I doubt whether the sorghum is
worth cultivating. I have seen beauti-
ful specimens of loaf and other sugars
made by the gentleman from Philadel-
phia ; but it should be remembered that
he is a sugar refiner by occupation and
long experience, with all the conve-

AGRICULTURAL.

151

niences at hand for the operation of mak-
ing of sugar. I do not think, therefore,
that what he has done begins to prove
the expediency of the farmers at the
north, embarking to any considerable
extent, in the culture of the so7'ghu?n, or
even of the imphee — a rival plant intro-
duced by another gentleman, who pro-
fesses to have discovered it in the inte-
rior of Africa. I am quite willing the
African plants and African subjects
should remain at home. We of America
have enough on our own soil to engage
our attention ; and if we mind our own
business we shall be better off than to
be constantly hunting after " some new
thing."

AVith many thanks for your polite at-
tention, and an earnest solicitude for the
prosperity of the cause you so ably ad-
vocate, I am, now as ever, faithfully
yours.

We fear our friend from Massachusetts,
in his well known opposition to all sorts
of fanaticism, is getting over cautious
about new things. New things are not
necessarily good things. We agree with
him that Indian corn is an excellent for-
age plant, and that we have long doubted
whether anything better would ever be
found for our climate. When Hiawatha
obtained the corn plant from the Great
Spirit, rather when God gave it to man-
kind, it was a magnificent gift. Still
there are other valuable plants, and we
see not why the sorghum should not be
thoroughly tried. If those who are
adepts in sugar making have succeeded
in making large quantities of sugar, and
that of a very superior quality from the
sorghum, as we have occasion to know
that they have, that should be set down
in its favor ; and the fact that others have
failed through ignorance of the process,
or from the want of proper fixtures —
causes that certainly are removable —
that should not be put down against it,
but charged to the true cause, one that
will not necessarily be lasting. We would

not advise any one to give up the staple
crops of the country for the sorghum,
but rathe* to hope for a better season
and try again, but on such a scale as
would not be ruinous in case of failure.

ON THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW

VEGETABLE CROPS INTO

THE UNITED STATES.

BY A FRIEND.

The importance of the introduction of
new crops into a country possessing
within its limits so varied a climate as
the United States, is too self-evident to
require arguments in its support. Much
credit is due to the efforts that have
been made by the Patent Office in tliis
direction during the last three or four
years ; and we have reason to believe
that it is to the personal exertions and
intelligence of Mr. D. S. Browne since
his connection with the department, that
we are, in great measure indebted for
the attention that has been paid to this
subject.

The difficulties that surround its
successful prosecution are much greater
than would strike the casual observer ;
and it is of course that many well di-
rected experiments have to give place to
renewed efforts before success can be
attained by the introduction of even one
really valuable new family or variety of
plant.

It is too early yet to speak positively,
but the sorghum certainly bids fair to be
one of the most valuable acquisitions
that have been made for some years, not-
withstanding the diversity of opinions
relative to it that were prevalent not long
ago.

We do not, however, propose, in the
present article, to review the character
of recent introductions, but to throw out
some suggestions upon the most proba-
ble mode by which the search for new
plants may be advanced.

The subject is one that all those who
have relations or friends traveling or re-
sident in other continents should direct

152

AGRICULTURAL.

their attention to ; for by the simple
collection and transmission of seeds,
much may be done. It is desirable, how-
ever, that the subject should be prose-
cuted in a more systematic method, and
governed by scientific principles, as to
the direction in which the search for
novelties is made.

The constitution of plants is, beyond
certain limits, fixed and unalterable.
Different families of plants, as we know,
vary greatly in their powers of endur-
ance of drouth and moisture, heat and
cold, light and darkness. Most families
will submit to considerable variation in
each of these respects, when transferred
from their native habitat to other cli-
mates. But what the amount of that
variation will be can, in each case, be
only known by experiment.

Much has been said and written upon
what has been called " acclimating
plants." It is too lengthened a discus-
sion to enter upon at present ; but the
remark may be made, en passant, that
there is no doubt that many an assured
fact of "acclimating" has had no foun-
dation beyond the discovery, from exper-
iment year after year, of the amount of
cold or heat that the particular plant
could bear without destruction to its vi-
tal power, in the locality to which it has
been introduced.

But, the constitution of plants being
fixed, it follows that we may reasonably
expect those plants to succeed in this
country that are found, indigenous, in
climates the most similar to it.

In considering again the question of
climate, it may be remarked that too
much regard is frequently paid to the
question of latitude taken alone ; and too
little to two other considerations that
should always be taken into account in
connection with latitude, as indicative
of climate, namely : the elevation of the
locality above the level of the sea ; and
its vicinity to, or distance from, the
ocean or any large inland lakes. To any
one who is familiar with the climates of

the several Middle and Northern States,
this, on reflection, will be evident ; and
a reference of a map of this continent
that is marked with isothermal lines,
will demonstrate it at a glance.

It is from the circumstances referred
to in the preceding paragraph, that the
Himalaya Mountains have been so pro-
lific of horticultural riches to Europe.

There is another circumstance con-
nected with climate as affecting vegeta-
ble life that also deserves the attention
of the plant collector. It is found that
the eastern sides of different continents
are much better adapted to the develop-
ment of the flora of either than are the
western ; and vice versa. For this rea-
son it is highly probable that China will
one day be found to possess many plants
that will thrive luxuriantly in these
States that will not succeed in Europe.
Nor does this apply to the Southern
States alone. For there is in the north-
ern and southern districts of China a
greatly varying climate; and, although
not to the same extent as in the northern
parts of this continent, yet the difference
of summer temperature in the north of
China, as compared with its winter,
bears a much nearer relation to the
same changes in this country at the
same season, than to those in Europe.
Consequently it is not at all unlikely
that many of the plants of Northern
China that may not submit to the vicis-
situdes of winter in many of the more
western parts of Europe, may yet find
themselves quite at home here in the
Northern States.

China, therefore, presents a promising
field to the enthusiastic botanist and
vegetable physiologist. And we hope
that our neighbors who have friends in
the celestial dominions, will call their at-
tention to this interesting subject.

It can not be expected of course, that
those who have not paid attention to
matters connected with agriculture or
horticulture, should have that degree of
accurate information which would be

AGRICULTURAL

168

requisite to enable them in a foreign
country to make those discriminations
necessary for the researches of the bo-
tanist. It may, therefore, be at first
sight supposed that it is a difficult, if not
impossible matter, for the traveler for
business or pleasure successfully to take
up. But this is not so. For whoever
he may be, he carries with him at least
the recoUectioa of the vegetable produc-
tions of his own country, by which he
has himself at home been surrounded.
He knows the fruits he ate, and the
kind of cereal from which his bread was
made. "When, therefore, he finds in
China, or elsewhere, fruits and vegeta-
bles for food, or used in commerce or the
arts, with which he is unacquainted, it
is highly probable that they are not yet
introduced to his own country. He can,
therefore, at all events, make inquiries
about them, and if practicable, (which
often if not always it will be,) he can
procure seeds or plants for transporta-
tion to his friends at home.

With regard to the transportation of
seeds from distant parts of the world, it
is now well ascertained that they pre-
serve their vitality much better packed
simply in paper or in linen bags and ex-
posed to the air, than when shut up in
boxes, or in tin cases. But it is essen-
tial that the packages or bags be kept
dry.

Roots (and frequently cuttings for
moderate periods of time,) will retain
their vitality if packed in dry earth or
sand, but they should always be packed
and forwarded at the time of year when
they have their natural season of rest.

DAIRY MANAGEMENT.

BY A FARMER.

In consequence of the very destructive
ravages of the weevil or wheat midge
for some years past, it is highly proba-
ble that not a few in wheat-growing dis-
tricts will be induced to abandon wheat-
raising, for a time at least, and to de-
vote their time, attention, and lands to

dairying, stock raising, or some other
branch of agricultural industry. In the
case of some of those who may make this
change in their mode of farming, it is like-
ly to be accompanied with a few diflQcul-
ties and perplexities, which may be all
the more annoying from being unexpect-
ed and unprepared for. There may be
some, for example, to whom the business
may be so unfamiliar that they have no
idea of what number of cows or other
stock can be summered and wintered on
any certain number of acres in pasture
and in meadow. An error in either di-
rection, that is, either by over-stocking
their farms, or by imdcr-stocking them,
would be a source of annoyance and loss.
In the one case the stock would suffer in
condition, or the dairy produce be di-
minished, in consequence of the want of
sufficient 'supplies of food; and in the
other case, (of the frequent occurrence
of which, however, there is no great
danger in this country,) the source of
the loss is too obvious to require to be
mentioned.

If any one desirous of avoiding errors
in regard to this point, were in pursuit
of information so as to enable him to de-
termine the amount of stock his farm —
that is, so many acres of pasture, so
many of meadow, and so many of corn
and other grain, with roots, etc. — would
carry, and resolved to determine this
matter, not by mere guess-work, but ac-
curately and by the light of the experi-
ence of farmers in dairy and stock-rais-
ing districts of country, he would find
considerable difficulty, so far as our me-
mory at present serves us, in finding
such information on record in any of the
agricultural journals which have for
some years come under our eye. The
most accurate source of information to
which such an inquirer would be direct-
ed, we think, would be the Patent Office
Report, (Ag.) for 1856. There he would
find, for example, that in Gloucester-
shire, Eng., where nine-tenths, often, of
all the land on dairy farms is in pasture

154

AGRICULTURAL,

and meadow, twenty-five cows, at least,
are ordinarily kept to each 100 acres,
besides the usual number of heifer calves
to maintain a full supply of milch cows.
One and a half acres of pasture is the
usual allowance to each cow, exclusive
of all other stock, from May 1st to Dec.
1st. During the winter and spring
months, hay is almost the only food giv-
en ; and as each cow will consume two
and a half tons of hay, it requires about
the same extent of land — one and a half
acre — for the winter as for the summer
keep. In Cheshire, another famous
dairy district in England, only twenty
cows are kept to the 100 acres, or in that
proportion, instead of twenty-five as in
Gloucestershire. This, too, is exclusive
of young heifers to keep up the stock of
cows.

Further details may be found in the
Report named. In making calculations
based on these facts, allowance must be
made for the fact that the climate of
England is more favorable to the growth
of grass than that of this country.

MORE ABOUT NATIVE STOCK.

BY J. W. PROCTOR, ESSEX CO., MASS.

Editor of Farmers' Magazine : — I
thank you, sir, for the kind expression
of confidence, in my judgment, as to the
value of the " old red cattle of New-Eng-
land." From my earliest years, when a
boy in my father's barnyard (say 55
years ago) to the present time, my at-
tention has been particularly directed to
this class of animals. It was a favorite
idea of my old master, Timothy PicTcer-
ing, that our best chance to obtain good
stock on our farms, was to select the best
animals we could obtain, and breed
therefi'om. It was in this way he said
that the best improvements had been
made in the herds of England. This was
before animals of the improved breeds
had been imported. I do not remember
to have seen many of these until after
the late war with England, that com-
menced in 1812. About 1820 they be-

came quite common with those gentle-
men who had most enterprise in these
matters ; still Col. P. held the opinion
while he lived, that our best hopes were
in rearing the best calves from the best
cows in our stalls, provided bulls of like
character were used as their associates.
My intimacy with this gentleman led me
to adopt these notions ; and my obser-
vations and inquiries since, chiefly in
my own county of Essex, have confirmed
these impressions.

Essex is not a stock-raising county.
Most of our heifers are brought in from
Maine, New-Hampshire, and Vermont^
Not moulded with a pedigree attached,
but still moulded in form to meet the
wants of an experienced eye, which is
better than any pedigree. In this way
is their selections made when the droves
come along in the autumn ; and if the
heifers do not prove as expected after
one yeai-'s trial, they are shoved off or
turned over to the butcher. I have
known many such selections. I partic-
ularly recollect the heifer selected by my
neighbor, Benj. Goodridge, then an in-
holder, which afterwards proved to be
the far-famed OaJces Cow, second to none
that has been owned in Massachusetts
for butter-making ability, more recenir
ly the Huntington Cow, now owned by
my friend, R. S. Fay, President of our
Society, scarcely inferior to the Oakes
Cow. And this last season her cal^
owned by P. L. Osborne, which, for one
year next following her first calf, gave
an average of between ten and eleven
quarts of first-rate milk per day, on com-
mon feed only. I mention these in-
stances because I know the facts stated
to be so.

Far be it from me to speak disparag-
ingly of any other classes of stock ; but I
do know those of best experience in this
vicinity have best hope of good milkers
and good butter products from the old
red stock of Neic-England — what I am
disposed to call Ratives, until some more
appropriate name can be found.

AGRICULTURAL.

155

Pardon these hasty, off-hand sugges-
tions. If they should chance to find fa-
vor in your sight, I will endeavor, at a
convenient opportunity, to give you
some views more elaborately digested.

RAIL FENCES.

BY AV. TAPPAN, BALDWINSVILLE, ILL.

On the prairies of Illinois the people
have commenced raising thorn fences,
but I still express my admiration for
rail fences. Long experience has proven
them to be the best fences we can put
on our fdrms. tiCt a good rail fence be
built seven or eight rails high, with siza-
ble stones put imder the corners, rails
eleven feet long — not too large nor too
smaU — laid up with the desired zigzag
crook. That is the kind of fence for the
farm and for the people.

It is durable ; it is tidy, and presents
a fine appearance ; it is a portable fence,
and will long stand the storms and winds
of our northern and southern climes. A
rail fence sometimes blows down, so do
board fences. Stake a rail fence down,
with two stakes at each corner, with
wire or wood binders, and it will stand
even the howling tempests of the sea-like
prairies of the west. Chestnut rails are
not everywhere to be found, nor are ash
rails everywhere abundant, but almost
every country furnishes some kind of
timber out of which rails can be made,
and therefore I do approve of laying
them up into good, straight and well-
built rail fences. Not that board fences
are not good do I thus speak, but that
rail fences seem to last, are movable, and
are usually considered proof against cat-
tle, horses and sheep.

We all, perhaps, have our peculiar
tastes and notions about fences, but I
never did really fancy a stone-fence, and
yet there are many good ones, particu-
ticularly those which have been laid up
with selected, flat lime-stone. I have
seen some very fine fences of this kind
in Steuben and even in our own county.
On the farm of the Hon. Geo. Geddes

you will find some nice and creditably
built lime-stone fences. But there is
one serious fault that can be urged
against stone fences, which is that they
make a great and long nest for elders,
briars, and noxious weeds. By pru-
dence and labor these pests might be
prevented from springing up, but really
it seems to be their most natural harbor
— around a stone fence.

Rail fences are the cheapest fences in
the long run that can be built. They
will last a life time, though the kind of
timber must be taken into consideration
if we are to judge of their durability.
Usually good chestnut rails, perhaps, are
preferable, though there are other kinds
of timber that have proven very valuable
for rail timber.

One thousand rails will build nearly,
if not quite, sixty rods of fence. Count
your rails, delivered on the spot, worth
$40 per thousand, and then your fence
will cost you about G7 cents per rod. A
board fence will cost in New- York State
more money than this, and yet will not
last half as long as the former kind.

Sandy land soon rots a post, whether
that post be cedar or chestnut, "or what
not." Along the road board fences usu-
ally look very pleasant, and therefore, as
as a matter of taste, very many people
use them.

I have recently seen a new contrivance
for fences. It is a kind of board fence
with panels, and can be put up or taken
down in a great hurry. It presents a-
zigzag appearance when up, and hooks
or ties are used for staying it. Of course
it is a patent. Like all fences that are
made of boards, it is quite expensive,
though its agents insist that it is de-
cidedly the cheapest fence ^yet brought
into notice.

But fences considered in any light are
very expensive. They cost an immense
sum, and the annual repairing done upon
them is an item which would build up
many fine palaces and ornament scores
of parlors and bed-rooms.

166

AGRICULTURAL,

Many parts of the world are forced to
do without them, and then trouble many
times follows as a consequence. They
are, above most everything else in agri-
culture, of the most importance, and yet
thousands upon thousands of our farm-
ers pay but a very little attention to their
fences, and then comes on the tug of
war — crops are destroyed, quarrels en-
sue, law-suits take place, profane lan-
guage is heard — all in consequence of
board fences put up in a bad way.

For the Farmers' Magvazine.

FARM ECONOMY.
A FEW months since I saw the ques-
tion in your paper. Why should the ani-
mal products of a farm equal its vegeta-
ble products ? As no one has furnished
an answer, I send you a few thoughts
upon the subject. The most profitable
farming in the end, is that which keeps
the soil in the most productive state.
This needs nourishment to sustain it, as
well as the animal system. When in its
native state the amount of vegetable
matter that decays upon it, annually
compensates for the fertilizing properties
abstracted in its growth, and thus an
even balance is preserved in nature. But
by removing the products of the soil
from year to year, without some compen-
sation in return, we remove so much of
its vitality, if I may so speak. This bal-
ance is destroyed. We subtract from
its ability to produce, and the conse-
quence is, it soon becomes exhausted of
fertility. I speak of ordinary soils.
There are places in our country where
the soil will produce from year to year
without any apparent exhaustion. But
this is not true of a large portion of it.
The soil, by being compelled to employ
her strength for the production of annual
crops, without any renovation of it, like
the ill-fed and over-worked beast, soon
fails. Compensation must in some way
be made for what is thus taken from the
farm. The soil must be fed, to keep it
in a healthful condition, as well as the
tillers of it.

The question then arises. How shall
this be the most efficiently, and the most
easily eflFected ? In what way can a suf-
ficient quantity of manure be obtained,
to keep the land in a proper state of
productiveness ? It is believed that this
can be accomplished in no way so surely
as by having the animal and vegetable
products of the farm suitably propor-
tioned to each other. With proper care,
a farmer may, in this way, make a great
amount of manure, and an article too,
that is much more reliable, than that ob-
tained from any other •feource. If he
procures it from the stables iu a city or
village, he usually gets an article that is
firefanged, and much poorer than he can
manufacture on his own premises. If he
purchase concentrated manures, he is li-
able to be duped, and humbugged, and
cheated out of his money, and thus left
to future disappointment. But the in-
telligent, thinking farmer, knows what
dependence can be placed ordinarily on
that which he produces himself, and can
make calculations accordingly.

In a wheat growing country, the straw
and chafi" may be left on the ground.
But this, in its native state is compara-
tively valueless. It adds but little to the
fertility of the soil. But by being cut,
and mixed with meal, and then passed
through the bowels of an animal, its
value is greatly increased. I consider
the animal stomach a better laboratory
for the manufacture of manure, than
those from which issue the so-called su-
perphosphates of lime. By keeping ani-
mals on a farm, a vast amount of refuse
matter, which in its native state is of lit-
tle value, may be made of great utility.
Straw, if not wanted for feed, may bo
used to litter stables and yards, and thus
not only be made conducive to the com-
fort of the stock, but become an absor-
bent of liquid manure, which is by far
the most valuable part of that produced
by animals. Muck, forest leaves, pota-
to tops, refuse cornstalks, and the like,
may also in this way be turned to good

AGRICULTURAL.

IS*?

account, in keeping the soil in a health-
ful and productive state.

The pig-sty is also a laboratory for the
manufacture of manure, of the value of
which many of our farmers seejn but
little aware. The small number of hogs
necessary to be kept for family use, may,
if rightly managed, be made to pay in
part for their keeping, by their labor.
Swine are excellent coiupostcrs, if you
will furnish the materials for this. Give
them plenty of refuse straw, chip ma-
Hure, decayed vegetable matter, turf from
the road-side or corners of the fences,
the reeds and decayed vegetable tops
from the garden, and other refuse matter
which may easily be collected in mo-
ments of leisure, and at the end of the
season you need not send to the city for
the patent humbugs called fertilizers.
You will have a mine of wealth on your
own premises, that will render your soil
productive.

Farmers who live at a distance from
market, may consume an amount of ve-
getable products, in fattening animals, or
in feeding the cows in the dairy, or the
young stock on the farm, which would
otherwise be lost. In this way, with the
aid of a little labor, much may be turned
into cash, that otherwise would be em-
ployed in some barter trade, or wasted.
A mixed husbandry may thus be made
productive of more gain than one single
branch. The several departments act as
aids to each other. They seem depend-
ent— each being necessary to keep up
the fertility of the soil, and to yield the
greatest income. Without the aid of the
manure produced by animals, the farm-
er may plow and hoe to but httle pur-
pose. The soil by being constantly rob-
bed of its strength, refuses to yield its
increase, and the cultivation of it must
soon be abandoned. Mixed husbandrj'
also affords variety of employment, and
employment for all seasons of the year.
In the winter months when the frost and
snow claim possession of the soil, the
farmer may be busy in caring for his

stock, in collecting materials for manure,
and preparing it for future use. Thus
he will be constantly kept in a healthful
activity. He will find employment for
both mind and bod}', which will act re-
ciprocally on each other, to preserve an
even balance between them. Monotony
soon tires, but variety gives zest to the
spirits, and thus contributes to health
and prosperity. Hubert.

There are but two thoughts in the
above from which we would dissent in the
least, and hardly from these, as the wri-
ter has very guardedly expressed them.

One is, where he speaks of straw to be
used as an absorbent, but immediately
recommends other substances, equally
good for that purpose, but, unlike straw,
valueless for feeding. Our idea is — and
we presume he does not differ from us a
single shade — that straw is worth some-
thing for the stomachs of cattle, and
therefore should not be used for their
bedding, but should be cut, moistened
and mixed with Indian meal ; or given
in alternation with a little good hay, and
a plenty of roots, and thus be made a
valuable help in getting the stock cattle
through the winter.

The other point is that of " mixed
farming." We quite agree with the wri-
ter, that it is desirable, and we fully ap-
preciate his arguments. Still we believe,
as we have no doubt he does, that where
the nature of the form, its location, or the
genius of the owner, point to a particular
branch of husbandry, the general rule
may give way, and the former may bet-
ter turn his attention to that branch or
those few branches, which circumstances
seem to indicate.

We seldom meet with an article more
to our liking than this of Hubert. May
we not hope to hear from him again and
often.

DIMINUTION IN WOOL!

The Wool G-roirers' Reporter states
the decrease of the wool crop in Ohio in
1857, as compared with 1850, to be two

168

AGRICULTURAL,

hundred and twenty-seven thousand
three hundred and seventj^-three sheep,
or six hundred and eighty-two thousand
one hundred and forty-two pounds.
The dip of 1856 w^as ten milhon five
hundred and eleven thousand and twen-
ty-eight pounds, and that of 1857 nine
miUion eight hundred and twenty-nine
thousand eight hundred and nine pounds.

TESTIMONIALS, QUERIES, RE-
PLIES, &c., &c. .
From and to Correspondents.

A FARMER, whom WG have not had the
pleasure of seeing, says, among other
sensible things, the following :

Mr. Ed. : — I have just received the
February No. of the American Farmers'
Magazine^ or more familiarly Plough,
Loom and Anvil. I am much pleased
with the improved appearance of the
work, though lyefore the change, it was
second to no journal, in matter and ap-
pearance.

I have got all the volumes — 10 of
them — of the Plough, Loom and Anvil,
that have ever been published, and there
are no books in my library that I value
more highly. In your prospectus for
1858, you propose to furnish the Kniclc-
er'bocker and Atlantic Monthly , together
with your own monthly, at reduced
rates. I shall take both of them, when
I renew my subscription.

My subscription to your magazine has
been paid to May 1858, I think, but I
am not certain as to that matter. Will
you inform me, and I'U be on hand with
a renewal ? I think you are right with
your terms. " Cash in Advance" seems
to be the only true principle of publish-
ing a newspaper or periodical

A DIFFERENT LETTER.

The writer of the following treats us
to a whole volley of questions ; and that
is all right, provided he will look into
our past and future numbers for replies,
and be contented with short answers for
the present. He seems to be a sort of
city farmer as yet, but when he gets into

the thick of it, we hope he will make
out better than the celebrated Mr. Spar-
rowgrass did; and there is some reason
to think he will ; for it can not be de-
nied, that while some of these citizens
are rather green when they get into the
country, others do first-rate, even outdo
the old farmers themselves.

Mr. Editor: — ^Your "hints to young
farmers" in the February number of the
Farmers^ Magazine ^nst received, are tho
very thing I wanted, and I am sure
many more as well. This encourages
me to write to you for information, that
I can not get from books. You tell us
to read agricultural books, and I lately
have done so, because I have been get-
ting a little place in the country for my
children to run about in, and I mean to
farm a bit to help keep down expenses.
But although I find a great deal in books
about manures, and many other things
that I don't understand now, whatever I
may do by-and-by, I can not find out
things that I do want to know ; and as
you are willing to teach us " know-no-
things," I am encouraged to write.

As I have all my life kept a store in
the city, it seems not very wonderful
that I should have to ask, although you
farmers may laugh at my questions.
However, here they are :

I mean to keep a horse and a cow,
maybe two. Now, of course, I want to
grow my own keep for them ; and as I
see you farmers all now recommend cows
to be fed in the yard all the year round,
I mean to adopt that plan.

Now I want you to tell me how much
hay I shall want for the horse, and how
much for each cow. Then how much
corn. And how much straw, or sedge,
or something for bedding, etc. And
how much land it will take for the corn,
as near as you can say. They tell mo
my land gives about two tons of hay to
the acre ; so when I know fi'om you the
quantity for each animal, I can tell what
land it will take to grow it. Then again
do you advise me to feed any root crops.

AGRICULTURAL.

159

and what to the cows ? And how much
land for them ?

You see, Mr. Editor, all these things
may be like A B C to an old farmer like
you, but unless you tell me something
about it, I am as likely as not to gi'ow
only half what I want, or if I grow
enough, to sell too much off the land,
thinking I shall not want it.

Excuse the trouble ; I may be wrong,
but I think it is this kind of every-day
knowledge that publications like yours
are wanted for. I mean just what we
can not get out of books.

A CiTT Trader.

Let us see ; " keep a horse ;" that is
well if you can afford it ; "a cow, maybe
two ;" you may better say two, and
then take care to get such good ones and
keep them so well, that the profit will
encourage you to keep a couple more ;
" want to grow my own keep ;" certain-
ly, or you will find it a poor business.
As to keeping them in the yard, that de-
pends upon circumstances — maybe well
for small farmers near the city ; but that
the great mass of cattle in this country will
perform the labor of gathering their own
forage in summer, and charge their o\vn-
ers less than two dollars a day, or one for
the work, till labor among us is cheaper
than at present, is quite certain. Let
us say to you here, if you keep two or
three cows, keep as many or more swine.
It would be well to have a few sheep,
and don't fail to have a poultry-j-ard.

"Ho'.vmuch hay to keep a horse?"
Why, about as much as you please. If
you give a horse the first best hay, and
you should give him no other, and if at
the same time you feed him nothing else,
he will consume a hundred dollars' worth
of such hay in a year," as prices range
about here. But if you will give your
horse four quarts of oats a day, and a
peck of carrots, to be increased a little
when he works steadily, he will eat less
hay and be in better order, and will do
more work. We should think, that with

cut straw for a part of the feed, moisten-
ed and sprinkled over with Indian meal,
and the oats and caiTots above, j'ou
might get ahorse through the year with
two tons of hay, and that the whole ex-
pense of the keeping would be a little
more than a dollar a week near the city,
and considerably less, far back in the
country.

If your land has been wont to give two
tons of hay to the acre, that is pretty
well. Two tons of good hay to the acre
is a large income. But if the land is
strong, and withal rather moist, we pro-
pose that you undertake to cut two tons
early in July, one or one and a quarter
at the end of August, and have a pretty
good growth to feed off in autumn.
You can do this, and when you have
done it, we would like to hear fi-om you
again.

" How much to keep a cow ?" A cow
of good size, and giving milk freely, re-
quires three tons of the best hay in a
year, and more if you give nothing else ;
but could be got through the year with
a trifle less, if you feed a plenty of
roots, and a little Indian meal, as we
would by all means advise you to do.
Some have taught that oat or rye meal
is better for the production of milk than
com meal; and if you estimate milk
solely by the quantity, we think it is ;
but if you look at the real value of the
mUk — to make butter, or cheese, or to
feed children with, or use for cooking
purposes — June-cut hay, bright and
cloan, and 2 or 3 quarts of corn meal a
day, are what you want ; and we would
recommend carrots rather to keep down
the expenses of hay, than for any other
purpose. They have no tendency to de-
teriorate the milk, and in the absence of
corn meal perhaps improve it.

If your stalls are warm and conven-
iently constructed, you will use very
little straw, sedge or anything of that
kind for bedding, and that mostly for
your horse. But remember to use large
quantities of dry leaves, leaf mold,

ISO

AGRICULTURAL

swamp muck, or partially decayed turf,
for absorbents in your yard, pig-pen and
stable, if you would raise the corn you
will need on the smallest possible piece
of ground. If you will look over our
Magazine, you will find where we have
told you how to raise fifty bushels of
corn on an acre, and from that all the
way to a hundred, according to the land, .
at a cost which leaves a handsome profit.
This latter has often been done, and you
can do it, without making your cultiva-
tion so expensive as to leave no margin
for profit, if you will follow our advice,
and depend mainly upon the home ferti-
lizers for enriching your ground. Buy-
ing manure from the Chincha Islands,
and neglecting to make it from your own
resources, is bad policy.

" Grow more than I want !" There is
no danger, A man's wants are like a
piece of India rubber in a lazy school-
boy's fingers. They will stretch to any
measure, and besides you can consume,
or find animals to consume, all you will
grow. "Or only half what I want."
No danger there either, if you husband
the manure heap well, and practise deep
and thorough tillage. Why man, if you
have 25 acres of land, or even 20, or 15,
if it is of a fair quality, and if you can
begin with 1 horse, 3 cows, 5 swine, 10
sheep, and 20 hens, and will husband
the manures, not only saving all the
excreta, but adding about three times as
much of something else everyday in the
year, in the way of a divisor and ab-
sorbent, your land will be growing better
all the while; you may gradually in-
crease your stock ; and you will always

have enough.

We advise you to have an eye to the
old farmers, not to do as they do in all
respects, but to do as well at any rate,
and better if you can.

Another correspondent, on a subject
so important in agriculture that we do
not like to reply hastily, about which
we here solicit the experience of practi-
cal farmers, inquires : —

"I hope you will excuse the liberty I
take in writing to you, and if it is not
too much trouble, I would like you to
answer me a few questions on the sub-
ject of clover,

" Which is the best way to cultivate
it ? How much seed does it take to sow
an acre ? What does the seed cost ? Is
it a good manure for cotton land ? When
must it be sowed ? And what kind of
manure must be used in cultivating it ?
By answering the foregoing questions
you will greatly oblige a reader."

A single word, on the last question,
and then we leave the subject unbroken
for our agricultural correspondents.

Clover is peculiarly a lime plant. It
will not grow well unless there is carbo-
nate of lime in the soil or manure.
Hence, ashes are favorable to clover, be-
cause they contain a great deal of this
compound. There is carbonate of lime,
as well as all other substances required
by plants, in the barn manures, and
hence we should want no other for clo-
ver nor for anything else if we only had
enough of these.

Shell or stone lime applied to previous
crops is good for clover. We do not
think that lime applied to the clover at
the time of sowing, would help the first
year's growth much. It requires time
and exposure to become assimilable by
the plant. Many farmers tell us that
lime does no good on their soil. In
some cases undoubtedly this is true. It
does no good because there was already
lime enough in the soil, or enough had
been applied in the manures. But in far
more cases this bad opinion of lime
arises from expecting the effect too soon.
The best effect of lime is not to be look-
ed for till the third year ; and the whole
effect, in not less than ten years. But
we have kftown men to apply it in May,
and because the corn looked no better in
June, to say lime does their land no
good.

To show the slow but sure action of
lime on clover, we will state a fact. ' A

AGRICULTURAL

161

friend of ours was plowinj^ a field in Au-
jrust, where a careless farmer, twelve
years before, had applied a few bushels
of lime to the acre, spread when wet, in
lumps. The field had not been depas-
tured that year, and yet nothing had
grown upon it except in spots. Here
and there, amid the general barrenness,
were monstrous tufts of clover, so tempt-
ing to his cattle, that they could hardly
be whipt by them, and the roots so rank
and strong that the plow could hardly
be drawn through them. Our friend
ilug for the cause, and found a lump of
lime under every tuft of clover.

In plowing that whole field, and it was
a large one, he found without a single

exception, that wherever lime showed
itself in the furrow there was clover, and
where there was no clover no lime ap-
peared. He drew the conclusion that
lime is fiivorable to clover. He might
have drawn another conclusion ; —

That field had all the pabulum requir-
ed for clover, except lime, but was des-
titute of lime, except where these lumps
had lain unappropriated for twelve years.
We draw another conclusion still ; —

It is, that there is a great deal of land
in the same condition. But we leave
the field to practical farmers. Sound,
practical farmers are better worth hear-
ing on this subject than others.

BREEDS OF CATTLE.

DEVON BULL.

It was our purpose to have said some-
thing this month of the Improved Dur-
hams. But our friend and namesake
has furnished us so long an article on
the Cattle of New-England, that we have
not space even for a subject of so much
importance.

The cuts in our last, as we then stated,
wure not designed to represent the Im-
11

proved Devon-s, but rather to give the
general features of the old Devons,
which were the basis of the Improved,
or North Devons, as they arc called, and
which we believe have dilTuscd their
blood more radically into the cattle of
New-England, and of this country gene-
rally, than any other race.

The bull represented above we do not

162

AGRICULTURAL.

consider a Tair type of the North De-
vons, as they are seen in many Ameri-
can and EngHsh herds, but rather of a
grado of the Devons in the way of a
higher improvement. The swell for-
ward of the shoulders, and the falling in
of the hind legs below the round, are no
part of the improved North Devon. If
any of our herdsmen who have cuts of
their finest, pure blood, improved North
Devons, will send them to us, we will
publish them in our next. We have no
fear that the artist will have surpassed
nature in the fineness of his picture, for
there are scores of these animals in our
own country, as well as in England,
finer in their forms and proportions ;
and if more cuts are sent than we have
room for without intrenching too much
upon our reading matter, we will enlarge
our next number for the purpose of giv-
ing them room. We should like to see
a whole herd of pure North Devons, in
the pages of our April number ; and if
the insertion serves as an advertisement
of these cattle, we have no sort of ob-
jection. Why should we object to giv-
ing publicity to a good article? and such
certainly are the North Devons.

Of course we do not agree with our
friend of the long article, on New-Eng-
land cattle, from whom by the way we
hope to hear again, in every particular.
We are not as fearful as he, that Ameri-
cans will be humbugged by the English.
It appears to us, that we J.mericans are
about as smart as Englishmen are clever^
though we believe they have asked and
Americans have paid a little too much,
in some cases, for even their finest cat-
tle. But we have only to refuse such
prices, and they will come to their
senses when they see we have. The
competition among American breeders
has been one of the main causes for
keeping English cattle at fabulous prices.

Our friend has done a good thing in
notiiyiT^g; us of what is unquestionably
true, that England is not the only source
of fine cattle. While some breeders are

availing themselves and the country of
cattle from abroad, that have had the
benefit of correct breeding for genera-
tions, we have not the least doubt that
others will bring equal, if not supe-
rior results from our own long-neglected
cattle.

Whether cattle have ever been slaugh-
tered in New-England, weighing as
much, when dressed, as his article re-
presents, is more than we know,
and we believe nothing without proof.
We icere irovght 7tp to think 250
Jbs. of beef to the quarter doing
pretty well ; and we shall leave it to the
writer of the article to prove that an ox
has ever graced the Brighton (Mass.)
market or any other with about four
times as much. But we regard his arti-
cle as exceedingly valuable ; and we be-
lieve that there is truth enough in it to
lead to most valuable results, if candidly
received and practised upon by the farm-
ers of this country. — Ed.

ANIMALS IN WINTER.

Farmeks do not sufficiently sub-di-
vide their yards in winter. Large and
small animals are turned in promiscuous-
ly together, and, as every farmer knows,
the large ones are very ferocious and
domineering towards those much inferi-
or, but careful not to provoke the wrath
of such as are nearly equal. Turn those
together which are of similar size, and
they will be more quiet all round.
Calves generally are too much neglected,
and come out small and puny in Spring.
A good manager has constructed a spa-
cious stable for calves in one of his sheds,
moderately lighted, and v/ell sheltei-ed
from all currents of wind. This apart-
ment is kept clean, the calves fed on
good hay, and supplied with good water.
They present a very different appearance
from other calves in spring. — Tacher^s
Annual Register.

^W The autumn is the best time for
painting all wood that needs this protec-
tion. Paint, therefore, soon, all fences,
posts, gates, sheds and buildings that
need painting, whether new or old.

IIORTICULTURA L

16»-

Hortiniltitral

CALENDAR FOR MARCH.

FLOWEKS.

As soon as the winter breaks up the
flower borders should bo dug up and
manure added. Perennial herbaceous
roots may at the same time be divided
and arranged ; and this is the time to
obtain any new ones that are wanted
from the nurseries.

Cuttings should be rooted under hand
or bell glasses of many things that will
add much in summer to the beauty of
the flower garden, as Heliotropes, Fack-
iids, Petunias, Minmlas, Chrysanthe-
mum, Pansey, Phlox, Antirrhinum.,
Verhenas and others. These will root
in a room window under a tumbler glass
in any light garden soil to which a fourth
of coarse sand is added. The glass
should daily be taken off and the inside
of it wiped dry, and then immediately
replaced. Whilst the inside of the glass
is found to be moist, no water will be
required.

Tender or Hardy Annuals may be
sown in a cold frame now, to remove af-
terwards into the borders, which will
enable them to bloom earlier than those
.sown next month for general bloom.

Greenhouse. — The plants will be grow-
ing more rapidly, and therefore their
young shoots will be more susceptable
of frost, en which account fires must
only be discontinued when that can be
done with safety. But the more gradu-
illy the growth is made, the finer will
be the bloom, on which account it is de-
sirable to use as little artificial heat as
possible. For the same reason, in mild,
sunny weather, more air should be ad-
mitted in the day. At all times avoid
winds and sharp currents of air.

More water will be required as the
plants advance, and the syringe phou'd
be used freely every day, except iu se-
vere weather.

Keep the new growth of all plants
well tied out, which, by admitting light
and air to their centers, eucourages a
strong growth and a bushy habit.

Fruit Garden. — Prune all fruit trees
not j'ct done. If any are to be planted,
let the ground for them be prepared, so
that they be got in as soon as the spring
weather is sufficicnaly advanced to ren-
der it fit to remove them.

Strawberries may be planted the end
of this, or beginning of next month, ac-
cording to the situation and the weather.
Old beds that were covered over in the
fall, should be uncovered as soon as the
severe weather is past, and the earth be-
tween the plants should be stirred three
inches deep with a garden fork.

Easpherries laid down in the fall
should be uncovered, and the canes tied
up for bearing.

KITCIIEX GARDEN.

As soon as the fi ost permits, accord-
ing to the locality, the ground should be
dug over and manured, preparatory to
getting in the crops. But it is better, if
the ground is very wet, to wait a few
days, for it works to better advantage
when not saturated with water.

Unless seed has been sown in frames
for early crops, that should now be done
immediately ; especially Lettuce, Early
York, and Early Ox-heart Cabbage.

Radishes may be sown in a warm bor-
der as soon as it can be got ready.

In a hot-bed, Tomatoes, Egg-Plants,
Pepper.;, and other things that may be
wanted early, may be sown.

Cabbage and Cauliflower plants that
have been kept in frames through winter,
should be thinned out to give them room,
and the earth between those left stirred an
inch or two deep. The plants taken out
may bo put into another frame to stand
a few weeks, till they can be planted out,
or they may be put in rows six inches

164

HORTICULTURAL

apart, and be protected at night with
boards or some litter scattered over
them.

Potatoes for the early crop may, in
many places, be planted towards the end
of the month.

Spinach, Turnips, Radishes, Peas,
Mustard, Lettuce, Cabbages of various
sorts, and Parsley, may be sowed in
small quantities for first crops, or to fol-
low plants now in frames of same sort.

Asparagus beds may have a good
dressing of salt, (a pint to every square
yard,)and the litter or manure laid on in
the fall should now be forked in under
the surface ; but with care, so as not to
injure the crowns of the plants.

Rhubarb beds not forcing, may be
treated in the same way, (except the
salt.)

Herb beds may be sown. Sage, Sum-
mer and Winter Savory, Thyme, Sweet
Marjoram, Mint and Pennyroyal, as the
most useful.

All Kitchen Garden seeds whether to
stand where sown, or for transplanting,
should be sown in rows, and not broad-
cast. The plants will be much stronger,
better in quality, and earlier at maturity
by adhering to that plan.

If it is wished to have Celery very
early it may now be sown in a hot-bed.

THE GARDEN, ORCHARD, FLOWER
YARD, ETC.

We copy the following from the Cot-
ton Planter and Soil of the South, one
of the very best journals of the kind
that comes to our table. In that cli-
mate the suggestions are adapted to
January, but if our northern readers
will attend to them in March, or even
early in April, they will do well :

Garden Work for January. — At the
expense of telling an " oft told tale," we
begin our year's gardening again. Truth
loses some of its force by repetition and
new discoveries in horticultural science
are too rare to fill up a monthly Journal
like this. The fact is, the true prin-
ciples of culture, are as yet, so little un-

derstood and practised by the multitude,
that there will be novelty for a long time
to come, even in making a garden. The
vegetable garden should now be highly
manured and the manures well tui-ned
under, coarser manures may be used
now than at planting time. At the ex-
treme South, hot-beds may now be got
ready for starting early lettuces, rad-
ishes and early cabbage. Let the ground
work be fresh stable manure, cover this
with good garden mold, and place the
sash and frame over. A common win-
dow sash will answer. The box or
frame should slope towards the sun.
Some straw or matting should-be conven-
ient to cover the glass in very cold nights.
Plants as hardy as cabbage, lettuce, cress,
etc., may be advanced so as to come into
the transplanting bed nearly as soon as
the seeds sowed in the open ground have
sprouted. Those who have garden plots
that aie all c'ay, should now cart on
sand, and those whose plots are all sand,
should cart on clay. The clay will bind
the sand, and the sand will loosen the
clay. Both are as essential to the pro-
ductiveness of a garden as manures.
The constant cropping of a garden is
very apt to exhaust some quality of the
soil that manures do not supply again.
In this case, where it is convenient cover
the whole surface with virgin earth from
the woods or swamps.

New Asparagus beds may now be
made ; select a locality with a clay sub-
soil, excavate the bed as large as it is to
be, two feet deep, fill this in with old,
well rotted manure, until nearly full,
then cover with good mold and set out
the roots ; seeding roots of one year,
are preferable ; plant them about eight
inches apart each way ; let the roots
spread as they originally grew, and
cover the crown bed about two inches.
The second year, the bed will yield a
fine cutting for the table, and continue
to improve, with good management, for
twenty years to come. We look upon
asparagus as the most delicious vegeta-
ble grown in the garden. It is simple
and easy of culture. The bed properly
made, most of the work is done. Onion
sets, buttons and bulbs, should now be
planted. Plant all the shallott tribes,
both by the button and dividing the
roots. Hen manure is especially adapted
to the onion family; pulverize it well,
spread it evenly over the surfoce of the
ground and spade it under ; plant the
button or set in drills wide enough for

HORTICULTURAL

lOS

the hoe to go between, six inches apart
in the drill.

Irish potatoes may now be planted
under straw. Plow the ground well,
open furrows two feet wide ; in the bot-
tom of this furrow scatter wheat bran,
on tliis drop the potatoes a foot apart,
level the ridge down and cover the
whole surfiice two feet deep, with wheat,
oat, pine or straw or oak leaves. The
rains will beat down the loose straw to
a few inches, hut there will be a mois-
ture between the straw and leaves, and
good mealy potatoes will be grown.

The Flower Yard. — This will be a
cold month for flowers, but preparation
must be made for Spring and Summer
flowers. Lose no time in planting out
all hardy shrubbery ; imported flower-
ing bulbs may yet be planted. All bulbs
bloom best in a sandy soil. Early bloom-
ing bulbs, like the hyacinth, tulip, crocus
jonquille, polyanthus, narcissus and the
lily, may be planted on bor crs in the
shade of shrubbery and trees, without de-
triment to their bloom, as they bloom so
early. Their blomn has come and gone
before the trees need all the moisture, or
have put out foilage enough to sh'dc
them. Late flowering bulbs, such as the
Amaryllis and Gladiolus, want all the
sunlight and air they can have. Chinese
Pe<jnias may now be taken up, separated
and replan ed. In souarating, take care
to leave a bud with each root to be
planted ; these are very desirable and
showy flowers, and blnom best in a sandy
soil ; some of the varie'ies are perfumed
like the rose. Dahlias that have not
been taken up, should now be taken up
and placed iu a dry iilacc, secure from
frost, until planting time in March and
April. Cuttings of all kinds of sh'ub-
bery may now be planted. Virgin earth
should he worked in around roses and
hardy vinns. The earth may be made
too rich for flowers producing a large
growth of wood and foilagc, with but
few flo vcr buds. Be'is for annuals
should now be manured and well spaded
under ; well rotted cow manure is the
Vjcst animal manure for flowers. Hardy
annual seeds may now be pbmted. Ap-
plications of lifjuid guino around the
roots of flowers :iftcr they have l)udded,
wdl increase the .size and brilliancy of
the bloom.

TnE Fruit Okciiakd. — Wo do not
mean when we he:id this article, to only
converse with those wlio have acres in

fruits trees — but to all who have a single
apple, pear or peach tree. It is a good
time this month to look over the triniks
and limbs of the apple, pear and peach
tre*. If the bark of the tree is rough
and mossy, there is something at fault in
the food. The earth should be carefully
removed from the roots, and its place
filled with rich virgin earth, with some
strong wood ashos. If this can not be
got, fill in with old, well rotted manure.
Take an old knife and scrape the trunk
clean of moss, atid all parasites, and give
it a rubbing with soft country soap.
Examine the limbs of the Pear; if they
are found wilted or shriveled, cut them
back to sound wood. Remove the eai th
around the base of the Peach tree, and
if a black gum is found oozing from the
roots, scrape it carefully awaj'^ and probe
the wounds with a sharp knife, a long
white flat worm will be found, which
has caused the gum ; pour boiling water
into the holes where the knife can not
reach, and on the gum removed, to kill
any of the worms that may be concealed ;
fill in around the tiee with fresh earth.
There are many fruit trees standing in
3'ards and gardens, that yield but a poor
return of fruit, from the feet that their
falling leaves are carefully swept away,
and they have none of nature's food to
feed the next crop of fruit. All the
leaves that have fallen in the orchard,
should now be worker) in the soil ; they
may be worked in with alight p'ow, but
near the tree should be turned under
with a pronged fork to prevent cutting
the roots. If the soil is p'>or around
fruit trees, there is no crop that will pay
better for manure. The question will
be, how to work the manure under, with-
out mutilating the roots, for it is the
surface roots of trees that feed for th«
fruit, hence the importance of planting
fruit trees in a soil naturally rich. But
art will overcome almost every obstacle;
fO' k up the soil around the tree as far as
the roots extend, (and they run horizon-
tally, as far as the limbs extend from
the ground,) and aF>ply liquid manure;
th's may be applied at any season with
safety. No time should now be lost in
planting out fmit tices. Jlore than half
of the tri'cs planted, are ruined by being
planted too deep. Deal only with such
nursery men as take them up with care,
preserving all their roots, and plant them
just as they stood in tlie jm-und, Mith
all their latterals spread, and not one inch
deeper than they stood in the nursery.

166

HORTICULTURAL.

If an orchard is to be planted, it should
be well sub-soiled, and the holes for the
roots dug twice as large as the root-! ex-
tend ; good surface mold should be filled
around the roots. All bruised roots
should be cut clean before being inserted
in the ground, and if the tree has lost
much of its roots, the top should be cut
back to correspond. Do not be anxious
to plant large trees. A tree as large as
the little finger, is more certain to live,
and if a grafted tree, will produce fruit
quicker than one as* large as the arm.
Plant the tree firmly at once, and not
rely on ramming it afterwards. If the
soil is well sifted around the roots, it, can-
not be rammed too firmly at once — the
little rootlets which are to be its feeders,
will find something to hold upon, and
will go to work immediately.

The Strawberry Bed. — There is no
better time in the year, to plant out
strawberry vines than this month. The
pistillate varieties should be planted in
the vicinity of the staminates. Hovey's
Seedling is a pistillate, and will not pro-
duce fruit without being impregnated
with a staminate. Every tenth row of
staminates will impregnate the Hoveys
well. Our new Hautbois is a staminate,
and is a good impregnator for pistillate
varieties. This pla.nt being a vigorous
grower, requires more room than most
strawberry plants. The ground designed
for the strawberry bed, should be covered
with vegetable matter, with a coat of
ashes, either bleached or unbleached, the
whole well turned under ; the Hautbois
should be planted two feet by three ;
other varieties may be planted nearer.
As the plants begin to run, the snil
should be kept mellow that the runners
may take root freely. When cultivated
entirely for fruit, the runners should be
kept down ; as fast as the runners appear
pinch them out; this is easily done when
they are young and tender, with the
thumb and forefinger ; when the plant
begins to bloom, unless it rains often,
water freely just at night; frequent
watering will cause the fruit to set, swell
rapidly and ripen quick. When the
ptrawbei'ry is cultivated on a large scale,
new fresh land should be selected if
possible. All animal manures should be
discarded in strawberry culture when
the plant has once got possession of the
ground; ;ill the space between the plants
should be mulched with decomposing
leaves. Chip manure from an oak or

hickory wood pile is one of the best of
fertilizers for the strawberry.

Shade and Ornamental Trees. — There
are many trees indigenous to the South,
suitable for shade and ornamental pur-
poses. It is not alone the flowei ing tree
that is ornamental, there are deciduous
and evergreen trees, highly ornamental ;
the live and water oak, are both shade
and ornamental ; the tulip tree and
sweet gum, are gems in the leafy coro-
net. Among the evergreens, the magnolia,
cedar, holly and wild olive are perpet-
ual emeralds, and even the common pine
of the country is not to be despised. All
these evergreens grow readily from seed ;
they may be planted on dry upland, and
will grow and flourish where they will
not bear transplanting. There are some
beautiful evergreens being introduced
from abroad, but not one that we have
ever seen, that will compare for beauty
with the wild olive. It is beautiful as an
evergreen, with its dense glossy foilage
and graceful form. It is beautiful in
flower, showing its myriads of white
blos-oms among the glitte>ing foilage.
It is beautiful when in fruit, producing
thousands of bright black beri-ies, which
clustering among the green foliage gives
winter the air of summer. It is easily
propagated from the seed. The seeds of
all evergreens should be planted in the
fall. When trees are removed from
damp localities to dry uplands, the earth
in which they grow should be carried
with them, so that the roots may be em-
bodied in it, until they have taken hold
of the ground. The fancy pruning of
an ornamental tree, is bad taste. It is
folly f )r man to attempt to improve upon
one of the mnst perfect and beautiful
creations of God. Lose no time in plant-
ing out trees ; plant them on the road
side for shade ; plant them on the avenue
for shade and ornament too.

FRUITS WHICH SUCCEED WELL
IN NEW-JERSEY.

BY D. PETIT.

The following, which we take from
the NeiD- Jersey Farmer, will be valuable,
as embracing the conclusions of the Am-
erican Pomogical Society, especially to
such of our readers as live in the latitude
of New Jersey ; and the remarks of the
writer respecting the influence of climate

HORTICITLTURAL

167

and location on fruits will give it a high
value for all :

At the American Pomological Society,
second session, held at Philadelphia, in
1852, " The Committee for the State of
New-Jersey report the following list of
fruits that have been tested by us, or
under our immediate notice, and have
produced well ; arc good varieties of
their several classes, and arc worthy of
general cultivation in our State :"

Applet. — Bough, large yellow, Early
Harvest, Fall Pippin, Ilagloe, Red June
Eating, Monmouth Pippin, Maiden's
Blush, Newtown Pippin, Rhode Island
Greening, Sheepnose, Striped Harvest,
Tewksbury, Winter Blush, White Sc-ek-
nofurther, Woolman's Summer Rose.

Apricots. — Burlington, Peach, Moor-
park.

Currants. — ^Black Naples, Large Red,
Knight's, Large Red, Wilmot's, Sweet
Red, Knight's, White Dutch.

Grapes, Natke. — Catawba, Isabella,
Elsenborough.

Peachen. — Alberge, Early Tillotson,
Early Red, Troth's, Early York, (Seratte,)
Largo Early York, Late free, Ward's,
Late Heath Cling, Late Malecaton, Mor-
ris White, Neiv-YorkRare Ripe, Oldmix-
on cling, Oldmixon free, Red Check
Malecaton, Marker's Seedung, Tippeca-
noe, Cling, White Malecaton, Coles.

Pears. — Andrews, (American,) Bart-
lett, Beurrc Bose, Beurre d' Anjou,
Beurre d' Aremburg, Beurre Easter,
Beurre Golden, of Bilboa, Bloodgood,
(American,) Doyenne d' Ete, Duchcsse
d' Angouleme, Elizabeth, Mannings,
Flemish licauty, Fondante d' Autorane,
Glout Morceau, Lawrence, (American,^
Louise Bon d' Jersey, Winti^r Nelis,
Dearborn's Seedling, (Am.,) Seckel (Am-
erican,) Tyson, (American,) Urbaniste,
Washington, (American.)

Plums. — Drap d' or, Golden Drop,
Coe's, Green Gage, Imperial Blue, Large
Yellow Gage, Orleans, Smith's, Washing-
ton.

Quinces. — Apple Shaped, Pear Shaped,
Portugal.

Raspherries. — Antwerp Yellow, Ant-
werp Red, Fastolf, Franconia,

SirawherricH. — Late Pine, Turner's
Methven, Scarlet, Ilovey's Seedling.

At the third session, held at Boston,
in 185 1, Wni. Reid and JabczW. Hayes,
for the northern part of the State, have
added the following to their list :

Fall Apples. — Orange Pippin, Graven-
stein, Fameuse.

Winter. — Hubbardson's Nonesuch,
Wine Sap, Bahlwin, Ro.xbury Russet,
Northern Spy, Bellflower.

Thomas Hancock, for the locality of
Burlington, added :

Lady, Autumn Pearmane, Smith's Ci-
der, Monstrous Pippin, Cooper's Redling,
Roman Stem, Summer Pearmane.

Reid and Hayes adds :

Peaches. — Early Newington, or Honest
Johns, C'awford's late.

Thos. Hancock added :

Yellow Rare Ripe, Columbia, Early Mal-
ecaton, Crawford's Early, Imperial, Hon-
est John, or Geo. IV., Nonpyrcil, Scott,
Red Rare Ripe, Stump of the World.

Reid and Hayes add :

Slimmer Pears. — Madeline, Early Ca-
tharine, Dearborn's Seedling, Beurre Gif-
ford.

Fall Pears. — Belle Lucrative, St. Ghis-
lain, Marie Loui.se.

Winter Pears. — ^Vicar of Wakefield,
Benrre Diel.

Hancock adds :

Early Catharine, Lemon, Henrietta,
(Edwards,) Rostiezcr, Stevens' Gcnessee,
St. Ghi.slain, Oswego, Muscadine, Os-
band's Summer Trimble, Echsissery,

The fourtli session, held in Rochester,
in 1856, adds but few to the list.

Having no published list of fruits suit-
ed or adapted to the southern counties
of New-Jersey, I am induced to send the
following list, comprising such as have
succeeded well with us ; though there are
many other kinds of pears and apples
which promise well, but have not been
sufficiently tested to place on the list,
but may be added at some future time :

Summer Apples. — Woolman's Summer
Rose, Lippincott Early, Early Harvest,
Prince's Early, Bough, large sweet. Sum-
mer Queen, Bevan.

Fall Apples. — Codling, Spice, Van-
dyne, Blush, Fall Pippin, Cabhigehead.
Winter Apples. — Roman Stem, Turn
of Lane, Winter Queen, Lady, Lambert,
Smith's Cider, Sweet Can, Wine Sop,
Ridge Pippin, Tewksbury, Winter Blush,
Jersey Russet, Gray House, Rhode Is-
land (Greening, Cooper's Redling, Lippin-
cott Sweet.

Summer and Fall Apples. — SuTnmer
Pearmane, Jeisey Sweeting, Hagloe,
Holland Pippin.

Fall and Winter Apples. — Hay's or
Wine, Redstreak, Morgan, Cumberland
Spice, Fall Brown, White Seeknofurther.

168

HORTICULTURAL

Summer Pears. — Madeline, Catharine,
Bartlett.

Fall Pears. — Duchesse d' Angouleme,
Seckel, Finne d' Naples, Urbaniste, Bon
Louise d' Jersey, Graslin, Epine Damas,
Flemish Beauty, Napoleon, Doyenne
Boussock, Beurre Bose.

Winter Pears. — Gratolege Jersey,
Knight's Monarch, Duchesse d' Mars,
Beurre Easter, Glout Morcca,u, Passe
Colmar, Chaumontel.

Peaches. — Froth's Early, Early York,
Geo. IV., Red Rare Ripe, Oldniixon,
Cling and Free, Malecaton, Mignone,
Ward's Late Free, Cook, Petit's Imperial,
Crawford's Late Free, Mammoth White,
Smnck, Lateheath.

Gheriies. — May Duke, Early Rich-
mond, Kentish or Pie Cherry, Black
Tartarian, White Heart, Bleedi.ig Heart
or June Duke, White Bey;arreau, Napo-
leon Regarreau, Carnation Elton, Belle
d' Choicy, Bullock Heart, English Black
Heart.

The Newton and Green Pippins, Spit-
zenburgs, Bellflowers, and some other
apples, which do w^ell at the North, fall
from the ti'ees too early in this latitude
to make good winter fruit, except in eld
seasons, when they have done well The
Gilpin or Carthouse has iiot borne well
for .several years, and the fruit has been
defective. It was foinierly one of the
best bearers. The fall Seeknofurther, fi ir-
merly one of the best, appears to have
run out — trees very defective in jirowth.
The Ml Pearmatie does not keep well.
The American Pippin doe^ not bear well.
TheBevan, which originated near Salem,
is thought to be the best of all summer
apples, for baking — will keep longer, and
will command as high a price in the Phil-
adelphia market as any other early apple.
The Holland Pippin — the largest of all
summer apples — has borne well lately.
The Codling bears well — fruit is some-
times defective or knotty. The Spice is
a flat apple — very fair and good for dry-
ing— trees bear abundantly. The V.-tn-
dyne is one of the best npples known. It
is yellow with a blush — a good size and
very tender — in season about a month ;
trees grow well, with yellow shoots. The
Blush and Fall Pippin are too well known
to be noticed here, except the Fall Pip-
pin sometimes passes under the name of
Golden Pippin. The Cabbagehea<1 is a
flat apple, from yellow to very vellow,
when fully ripe, very cri'^p, rich and
juicy — a good market apple. The Wine,
Hay's or Redstreak, is a popular apple.

The Morgan is a good one. The Cum- /
berland Spice is good, but rather a shy
bearer. The Fall Brown is always fair
and good. The White Secknnfurther,
when in perfection, has not a superior.
The Roman Stem is A., No. 1, in all re-
spects except size. Turn of Lane and
Winter Queen are both small and good —
good bear ers. The Lady is a good fancy
apple. The Lambert is a new fruit, and
promises to be second to none, when con-
sidered in all respects. It is a large red
good keeping apple. The Cider is a
great bearer — fiuit large. The Sweet
tJan is good for apple-sauce and cider —
an excellent bearer. The Ridge Pippin
is a large, ribby apple, and pt omises well.
Jersey Russet is one of the best, though
small. The Gray House i.-^ a great bear-
er, even when others fail- — this fruit is
better than none.

Peaks. — The White Doyenne, Brown
Beurre, and some other varieties, crack
so badly that they are hardly worth cul-
tivating. The Rousclit Hatif of Down-
ing, or Early Cfitharine, is a well known
pear in this section, better than the Bart-
lett with me — which is some what astrin-
gent, though the tree grows and bears
well, particularly on the pear stock. The
Duchesse d' Angouleme is very large,
and a first rate pear in all respects ; so
is the Bon Louise d' Jersey. The Gras-
lin has reached ten feet in height, in three
years, on the quince, and has borne ex-
cellent fruit. The Beurre Bosc is large,
and a first rate fruit on the pear, almost
equal to the Seckel, but wi!lnot giowon
the quince without double w^orking.
The Duchesse d' Mars, of Downing, is a
small pear or nearly medium ; flesh very
melting and juicy, somewhat l)uttery,
with a rich and perfumed flavor — Octo-
ber to November. I have a tree from
France, under that name, which bore fruit
last j'ear l;irger than the Bartlett, and
very handsome. They are later than the
Beurre Easter, as I have not succeeded
in ripening them yet in a stove room,
and it is now Christmas ; tlie tree is a
strong grower. So is the Chaumontel
and bears large and good fruit. The
Bloodgood is recommended elsewhere,
but what I purchased under that name
proved a fall variety.

Peaches. — The Cook peach is one of
the best. It is a large white and red
free stone, ripens about the time of
Ward's late free. It received its name
from Joseph Cook, of Philadelphia, who
furnished the buds from a seedling tree

MECHANICAL.

169

in that city. " Petit's Imperial," is of the
first size — is considered here the best
Colored and richest peach known. It
has sold higher in the Philadelphia mar-
ket than any other peach ever placed the

!-ide of it. The tree is a strong upright
grower; it originated here, and first
came into bearing in ] 843.

Salem, N. J., ]2mo, 25, 1857.

m

nlwuxic'ii

ADJUSTIFIABLE SELF-RAKING
REAPER AND MOWER.

Wk call attention to Manny & Co.'s
advertisement of this machine, the mo-
del of which we have examined with
great i;arc, and we see not why it may
not prove all that the patentee and man-
ufacturers claim for it.

Oui- opinion has heretofore been that
the self raking apparatus must necessa-
rily make a mower and reaper more
complicated than is admissable for a ma-
chine to be subjected to such " rough and
tumble" usage.

But our examination of this machine
leads us to doubt the correctness of our
former judgment ; and if the self-rakmg
operation can be made to save the labor
of a man in harvest time, it is an object.
— Ed.

PLANING MACHINE.

We have examined a new planing ma-
chine, patented by II. II. Baker, of New-
market, New-Jersey.

This machine seems to us to combine
great simplicity with efficiency of action.
The smallest size, for dressing sashes,
blinds, small casings, etc., can be worked
with the foot, and from sami^les dressed
by it, we judge that it does its work well.

Machines for working larger stuff are
moved by a one-horse power. The
prices vary with the size, from $25 to
$7 50. This machine is eminently porta-
ble, weighing but about 400 lbs., and
very compact when put up for removal.
It strikes us as the very thing for house
carpenters, and others doing an itinerant
business, as the cost is but trifling, and

the machine dresses wood, goring, be-
velled, or almost any shape, as well as
the regular oblong form. — Ed.

WEST'S IMPROVED PUMP.

There are but few places cither in
town or country where the aid of a pump
is not required. iJence the huge supply
of them and the multiplicity of patterns.
Simplicity and durability are essential
requisites in a good working pump, if
one is to have continued satisfaction in
the use of it:

We have had in use for months past
one of West's pumps, which has given
us more S'ltisfaction as a force or lifting
purnp, than any we have ever used. It
is one of great power and well adapted
for ship decks, mines, factories, green-
houses, graperies, &c. &c. The Mtni/,g
Ghrohicle and ludhr ay Journal says:

" It is commended for its extreme sim-
plicity of construction, great strength
and consequent durability, and cheap-
ness of rcp^iir. Although it has but two
valves necessary to its action, (an addi-
tional foot-valve being T)ut in for greater
security,) it is perfectly douhlc-acti. g,
throwing a continuous stream, with great
force. There is no stuffing-box in this
pump — the pressure being held by a cup
packing, like that upon the working pis-
ton, working in a cylinder titteri for the
purpose within the upper air chamber —
which we think must be a great iinjirove-
ment, <as stiilfing is so liable to be de-
ranged and to leak under a strong pres-
sure, and to say nothing of the great loss
by friction incident thereto. It also has
two air-chambers — the one as before
mentioned suirounding the upper cylin-
der and connnunicating with the pump
above the valves, the other surrounding
the lower or working cylin<ler, and com-
municating below the valves ; thus the
action of the valve is cushioned upon
both sides by air — preventing water-
hammer and vacuum thump, and ena-

170

MECHANICAL.

bling a much smaller and less expensive
pipe to supply the pump. The valves
are very accessible, and simply and
cheaply repaired. They work much
easier than any other pump we have
ever seen, the 4 inch cylinder size being
worked by children in wells 100 feet deep,
and as they are extremely cheap, as well
as simple and strong, we freely recom-
mend them. They are manufactured
and sold only by A. W. Gay & Co., 118
Maiden Lane, at the Warner Pump De-
pot.— iV". Y. Observer.

PATENTS.

Implement for Holding open Shoes,
&c. — John AUender, of New-London,
Conn.

Sewing Machines. — ^Benjamin J. An-
gell, Attleborough, Mass.

Pumps. — William Boyers, of Mount
Carroll, 111.

HyoRO-CARBON Vapor Lamps.— Robert
R. Crosby, of Boston, Mass.

Cards for Currying Cattle. — 0. S.
Dickerman, of Lansingburg, N. Y.

Grinding Mills. — H. V. Duryea, Ful-
ton, N. Y.

Railroad Car Axle Boxes. — George
W. Geisendorff, of Indianapolis, Ind., and
Jacob C. Geisendorff, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lubricating Apparatus for Journal
Boxes of Railroad Cars. — Jacob C.
Geisendorff, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Machine for Cutting Tenons on
Spokes. — Mahlon Gregg, of Philadel-
phia, Pa.

Shingle Machlne. — William Gregor,
of New-York City.

Potato Planters. — Edward E. Haw-
ley, of New- Haven, Conn.

Stave Machine. — Elias Moore, Wil-
liam Clark, and James Lyndsey, of Shel-
byville, Ind.

Mode of Burning Brick. — A. J. Mul-
len, and R. Hall, of Greensboro', Ala.

Musical Instruments. — Ureli C. Hill,
of Jersey City, N. J., and Charles F.
Hill, of New- York City.

Hominy Mills. — Philip Homrighaus,
of Royalton, Ohio.

Washing Machine, — Edsvard Julier,
of McConnellsville, Ohio.

Straining Reciprocating Saws. — G.
P. Ketchan, Jr., of Bloomington, Ind.

Removable Window Sash. — Robert
H. Ku-ck, of Utica, N. Y.

-Tho-

Scrapers for Grinding Mills.-
mas E. Little, of Janesville, Wis.

Flour Bolts. — Samuel G. McMurtry,
of Memphis, Tenn.

Operating Railroad Station Pumps.
—William McVeigh, of Boone, 111.

Attaching India Rubber Soles to
Boots and Shoes. — Abram T. Merwin,
of New-Haven, Conn.

Manufacture of Wrought Iron Rail-
road Chairs. — James Milliken, of Phil-
adelphia, Pa.

Clamp for Holding Rectangulab
Pieces of Wood while being Bored, &c.
— Henry Miller, of Grafton, Va.

Churn. — Enos Page, of Streetsbor-
ough, Ohio.

Machines for Cutting Brush from
Cotton Fields. — Elisfs Peck, of Canton,
111.

Pedals for Organs, &c. — Thomas
Robjohn, of New- York City.

Lead Pipe Machine. — Charles E. Rock-
well, of New-York C\ty.

Joints for Sheet Metal Roof. — Ste-
phen Scotton, of Richmond, Ind.

Washing Machine. — W. H. Tambling,
of Berlin, Wis.

Painting and Varnishing Machine. —
H. Thayer and L. L. Martin, of Warsaw,
N. Y.

Collapsible Boats. — N. Thompson,
of Brooklyn, N. Y.

Lap-Joints for Belting. Henry Un-
derwood, of New-York City.

Grain and Grass Harvesters. — Aa-
ron VanDuzen, of Goshen, N. Y.

Corn Huskers. — F. M. Walker, of
Greensboro', N. C.

Plows. — George Watt, of Richmond,
Va.

Machines for Planting Potatoes. —
T. B. Whyte, of Greenwich, N. Y.

Bottle Stopper. — J. B. Williams, of
New-York City.

Cotton Gins. — L. J. Chichester, (as-
signor to H. G. Evans, Saml. Barstow,
and D. L. Winteringham,) of Ne«--York
City.

Corn Huskers. — A. R. Davis, (assign-
or to himself and B. D. Moody,) of East
Cambridge, Mass.

Corn Huskers. — Daniel Lombard (as-
signor to himself and G. F. Richardson,)
of Boston, Mass.

Fire-Arms. — F. D. Newbury (assignor

SCIENTIFIC

171

to Richard V. Dewitt, Jr..) of Albany,
N. Y.

Cane Gun. — John F. Thomas, (assign-
or to liimself and Saml. Remington.) of
Dion, N. Y.

Hand Corn Planters. — Joshua Fair-

bank and E. C Durfee, of Leon, N. Y.,
administrators of the estate of J. B.
Fairbauk, deceased, late of New- York
City.

Hydrants. — Kingston Goddard, of
Philadelphia, Pa.

^rii)nti|ir,

SCIENTIFIC.

We are obliged this month to omit
our Chemical article for want of space.
It shall appear in our next.

For the American- Farmers' Magazine.

THE ANALOGY BETWEEN PLANTS
AND ANL\L\LS.

The analogy existing between plants
and animals, in many respects, is very
striking. In some instances the resem-
blance is so near that it is difficult to
discriminate between them. The link
which binds the two kingdoms together
is so vcrj'- small, that the most skillful
physiologist can scarcely tell where ani-
mal life begins, or vegetable life ends.
The spongi and other sea animals are in-
.stanccs. This connecting link seems to
extend throughout the animal kingdom.
Man and brute seem to be linked to-
gether in the monkey family ; quadru-
peds and fowls in the bat, etc.

Both animals and plants are possessed
of a principle called Z//b, Vhich is essen-
tial to their existence, and distinguishes
them from mere inert matter. All we
know of this principle is that it exists —
the cause lies hid, and must be referred
to the immediate agency of an all-crea-
tive power. This life, or living princi-
ple, both in animals and vegetables, is
sustained through the medium of organ-
ized matter. This matter or body must
be fed and nourished by food adapted to
its nature ; and as long as the bod}' con-
tinues in a state capable of being nour-
ished, the life remains unimpaired ; but
whenever the matter composing the body

becomes disorganized, and consequently
incapable of assimilating its food, the
life is endangered, "and unless the func-
tions can be restored or brought into
proper action, the life becomes extinct.
How important then is it to understand
the whole organization of the system,
and the modus operandi of food and me-
dicine on all the organs, in order to keep
the body in a healthy condition and pre-
vent life from going out.

In the animal body there are certain
organs whoso oflBce is to supply and re-
ceive nourishment and assimilate it to
the various wants of the system. The
stomach is the receptacle of food in the
animal body. There, by means of the
gastric juice, this food becomes changed
into chyme, and then, by means of other
secretions, it is formed into chjie, and
finally, by coming in contact with the
oxygen, inhaled into the lungs, a portion
is turned into blood, which circulates
through the arteries and veins into every
part of the system. The food for the
animal stomach, particularly in man, is
prepared by artificial means.

In like manner the life of plants is
sustained by food, differe ;t indeed from
that necessary for animals, but such as
is adapted to their nature ; and they will
grow and flourish, or they will languish
and die, according as this food is given
or withheld. But what is the food of
plants ? and how is it digested and as-
similated, and made to circulate through
the s\'stem, so as to become a part and
parcel of the plant? We answer, that
nature has provided for all these things

m

SCIENTIFIC

by a most beautiful arrangement. Their
food consists of the soluble parts of the
earth, and the numerous and small spon-
gioles at the ends of the fibres or roots
may be called the stomach. The food is
digested — not in the stomach as is the
case with animals, but without the sto-
mach— by the rain and action of the at-
mosphere. In this way the particles of
the soil that are too gross to enter the
spongioles of the plant are decomposed,
so that water can hold them in solution.
The food is now in a state of digestion
and can easily enter the spongioles of
the I oots, and thence by capillary attrac-
tion is made to circulate through the
pores of the plant, as blood circulates
through the veins of the animal. Now,
as blood is said to be the life of animals,
so this food or sap, as it is called, is the
life of plants. By some mysterious or
chemical action this sap is assimilated,
and forms the bark, wood, leaves, and
flowers of the plant.

Plants also, like animals, seem to have
the power of 'breathing. The leaves
supply the place of lungs, or rather they
are the lungs of plants. As is the case
with animals, when the atmosphere en-
ters the lungs, it is decomposed ; but
with this difference, in animals the oxy-
gen is retained, and the carbon is thrown
off; in plants the caAon is retained and
enters the circulation, while the oxygen
is thrown off. In this w^ay plants seem
as a great pui'ifier of the atmosphere.
Plants and animals mutually assist each
other, and contribute to each other's
health and vigor — the one receiving as
nourishment what the other rejects.

Another resemblance between plants
and animals is, the distinction of sex.
It is well known that the distinction ex-
ists in the vegetable world. All plants
producing flowers and seed, have male
and female organs, that is stamens and
pistils. In most plants, these different
organs are produced on the same blos-
som ; but in many species, they are
formed on different plants. These belong

to what botanists call dimcious. Wit-
ness hemp, parsimmon, mulberry, &c.
The pollen contained on the anthers of
the stamens, is wafted by the wind, or
carried by insects, from one plant to an-
other, and fertilizes or impregnates the
pistilate flowers. In this way, too, cross-
es are made and hybrids produced.

This is a curious and wonderful pro*
vision of nature, and answers muny val-
uable purposes. It not only gives brauty
and variety to plants, but, no doubt, hasi
a tendency to perpetuate and strengthen
the different species. We believe it to
be a law of nature, however it may be
accounted for, that extends both to the
animal and vegetable kingdoms, tha1> a
cross is necessary to give strength and
vigor to the system ; and to propagate
from the same species, for successive gen-
erations, without change, the offspring
will degenerate, and die out, having lost
their invigorating power.

Plants also, like animals, seem to be
possessed of the faculty of feeling or
perception. They feel the influence of
heat and cold, of light and darkness.
Some plants are so sensitive as to shrink
from the slightest touch. Some will turn
their tops to the sun, and follow his
course through the day. Some will un-
fold their beauties to the light, and shut
themselves up at night, as if to go to
sleep and take their rest ; and then in
the morning, as if refreshed with sleep,
they will expand their flowers to the
genial influence of the sun's rays.

There are others, however, which re-
verse this order of nature, and like some
animals sleep during the day, and are
wide awake during the night.

There is something very curious, and
to us short-sighted creatures very unac-
countable, in plants. The food which
they receive from the earth, becomes as-
similated, and is carried up in the form
of sap, and circulates through all the
pores ; and organizes every part of the
plant. But how is it that the same nour-
ishment produces some plants that are

SCIENTIFIC.

178

pleasant to the taste, while others are ex-
ceedingly nauseous ; some are harmless,
otht-rs medicinal ; some are wholesome
as food, others are absolutely poison ;
some have hard fibre, some have soft ;
some have beauty of symmetry, while
others are destitute of form ; some are
capable of enduring the rigors of winter,
while others die at the approach of frost.
And all these different results arc pro-
duced, as far as we know, by one and
the same cause, the sap or nourishment
which they receive from the earth. This
sap, as soon as it enters the circulation,
undergoes some change, and accommo-
dates itself to the peculiar nature of the
plant. That the cause of this change ex-
ists in the plant, is evident from the fact
that if a sweet apple be grafted on the
stock of a sour crab, that sap which
would have produced a sour apple, be-
comes so changed, as soon as it enters
the grafts, that it produces a sweet apple.
Again, how is it that the same sap, in its
passage through different plants pro-
duces flowers of different colors ? And
not only so, but we often find that plants
of the same kidd and variety will have
flowers of different colors ; and even
flowers of the same plant, and which we
might suppose would be of the same
texture in every respect, will have
variegated flowers — spotted witli every
hue ; and often these colors are placed
upon the petals, in rings or circles, with
as much regularity as if it had been done
by the nicest pencil and the most skillful
painter.

We know that everything is depend-
ent on light for its color. The leaf is
green, because it reflects the green rays
of light ; the rose is red, because it re-
elects the red rays, &c. Now, we might
suppose that it was owing to some differ-
ence in the structure or texture of the
leaf and rose that caused them to reflect
rays of different colors; but what differ-
ence can there be in the same petal, to
cause one part of it to reflect one color,
and another part another ? This is some-

thing that lies far beyond our ken. We
simply know the fact, but the reason of
it we do not know.

But from these inscrutable things, we
may learn some very important lessons.
1st. How limited is human knowledge !
2d. How great, how good, and how wise
must He be who has formed such a won-
derful, beautiful, and harmonious sys-
tem !

In all the works of nature, we see so
many proofs of almighty power and in-
finite wisdom, that we may well exclaim
with the Psalmist, " 0 Lord, how mani-
fold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou
made them all : the earth is full of thy
riches." J. R. B.

Rosemont, Jan., 1858.

"CHEMISTRY FOR THE MILLION."
Read our articles, formerly under this
head, but now under the shorter head-
ing, " Chemical." We say this espe-
cially to young men. They will not fail
to acquire a valuable insight into that
most important science, even by what
we can communicate on paper, with all
the disadvantages of having no labora-
tory, no apparatus, no opportunity to
look you in the face, to see your difficul-
ties and remove them. A most sensible
correspondent, one who has given many
a valuable article for this journal, says :
" The articles on chemistry, that have
appeared in the Flovffh, Loom and An-
vil, and in the Farmers' Magaziiie for a
number of months past, should be read
by all. Those that have neglected to
read them should do so now. They
contain the very information that every
person wants. I consider it very essen-
tial that a person understand the compo-
sition of the different gases and the rela-
tion they hold to one another, also to the
soil and different farm products. The
articles are plain and comprehensive,
and adapted to the understanding of all
classes."

174

SCIENTIFIC.

FOB THE AMERICAN FARMERS' MAGAZIHB.

THE WEATHER.

Appeakance of Birds, Flowers, etc., in Nichols, Tioga Co., N. Y., in January, 1858.

By E. HoweU.

Place of Obftervation, 42 degrees North, 07i a Diluvial Formation, about AO feet above the

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

of the New- York and Erie Railroad.

Jan.

TA.M.

2 P.M.

9 P.M.

1

32

42

32

S.&N.

Cloudy.

'2

20

39

30

South

"

3

19

39

33

"

Fair.

4

26

48

29

"

Clear.

5

26

45

31

"

Cloudy.

6

31

36

33

"

"

1

29

26

20

West

"

8

16

25

-0

N.<kS.

Fair.

9

24

35

29

South

Cloudy.

10

14

36

33

S. E.

Fair.

11

36

53

43

South

Cloudy.

12

37

39

24

K<feS.

Fair.

13

30

42

26

South

Cloudy.

14

24

37

20

Fair.

15

19

36

36

Cloudy

16

39

43

36

N.&S.

"

lY

26

28

25

N. W.

"

18

24

34

26

N.&S.

"

19

27

32

23

S.&N.

"

20

19

36

19

"

Fair.

21

16

40

20

K&S.

Clear.

22

27

31

15

"

"

23

12

33

23

S. E.

"

24

30

42

33

"

Fair.

25

37

54

39

South

Cloudy

26

48

46

32

S.&N.

"

27

33

40

32

North

"

28

26

30

26

"

"

29

26

25

20

"

"

30

22

22

20

N. W.

"

31

14

22

9

"

Fair.

Remarks.
Light rain in the afternoon.

[10 P.M. 6 inches felL
Snow commenced about 12 A.M. and stopped at

Bright aurora in the evening. At zero.

[P. M. Snow about gone.
Rain commenced at 4 A. M. and stopped at 3^
A few farmers plowing.

Light snow commenced at 4 P.M.
Rain at intervals all day.

Snow squall. •

Light snow in the night. Snow squall through
[the day.

Rain in the morning before light, and in the A.M.
Hard shower in the afternoon from the N. W.
A few farmers plowing.

Light snow before daylight.
Snow squall.

You will perceive that I have changed
the time of observation, to agree with
the observations that I keep for the
Smithsonian Institution or Patent Re-
port.

In order to give the reader a better
idea of our climate, where there is a day
only one-fourth or one-half cloudy, like
a number of hay days, I have substituted
the word Fair instead of Cloudy, and
cloudy when the day was all day cloudy,
or more cloudy than clear.

In the last fourteen months there have
been more dark, cloudy days than in the
same length of time before, I presume,
in twenty years. R. H.

FOR BLACK INK.

Two quarts of rain water, one half
pound of nutgalls, three ounces gum Ara
bic, three ounces sulphate of iron ; soa)
the nutgalls in three pints of the water
the gum arabic in half the remainin;
water warmed and kept so ; the sulphat
in the other half; let them stand in tLe
several vessels forty-eight hours, then
mix them and the ink wiU be ready for
use in a short time.

It is cheaper and better for almost
every family to make than to buy their
ink ; and if they will follow the above,
they will be sure of having a good arti-
cle.— Ed.

'LITERARY

175

l^iterarjr.

THE HERMITESS OF SOUTH
SALEM.

AN ORIGINAL TALK OF TOE REVOLUTION,
FOUNDED ON FACT.
[Entered according to Act of Congres'', in the year
1S52, by .1. A. Nash, in the Clerk's office of tlie
District Court of iho United States, for theSouih-
ern District of New-York.]

[Concluded from the February No!]

From the view of social politics in
Ridgcfiekl, which the few preceding
pages disclose, it may well be assumed
that Jim Smithson was disposed, after
bringing home his young wife, to wait
the coarse of events ; and it was not un-
til he found that the hand of sociality,
if not of friendship, was freely extended
to him and his wife, that he troubled him-
self about his neighbors. The cheerful,
merry face of his bride, however, soon won
for her from the young of both sexes a
cordial welcome, which the decisions of
the worthy committee, be they what they
might, could not have cither given nor
long withheld; and a series of house-
warmings and merry-makings in honor
of the young couple, rapidly succeeded
each other throughout the village. Uncle
John arrived at Ridgefield when these
festivities were at their height ; and ho
soon found that through the affectionate
premonitions of his adopted niece, his
visit was likely to assume a character of
unwonted gaycty for one of his staid
habits. All sorts of jaunts, parties, pic-
nics, and junketings were planned, aban-
doned, replanned and executed, with an
ardor in the executants worthy of special
laudation.

At one of these parties it was propos-
ed that an excursion should be under-
taken at an early day to the neighboring
mountain, " to see the Herraitcss." This
proposition led to an animated discus-
sion among the young people — some of
whom rejected it on the ground that the
Hermitess was "a crabbed old witch, that
was no better tlian she should be,"
whilst many others, with pertinacity

maintained that they knew her to be
" the kindest creature in the world," and
in support of their assertion related in-
stances in which she had been known to
take care of little urchins, who had been
overtaken by storms in their blackberry
hunts on the mountain, and other kind
offices that she had performed on various
occasions.

Frazer had often heard of hermits, but
not of ladies of that ilk ; and his curios-
ity was raised to know more of the in-
dividual alluded to. He could get, how-
ever, but little satisfaction from the juve-
nile members of the party ; who could
only express their surprise, in manner if
not in words, that one so old as he
was, should be ignorant of the fact, that
they had been familiar with all their
lives, that an odd old woman lived in a
cave on the mountain side ; and there-
fore to their young minds there seemed
nothing more extraordinary in that cir-
cumstance, than in a thousand other
things of daily occurrence.

On the morning following the party,
the subject of the Hermitess on the
mountain was again introduced by Fra-
zer ; but his host could give Iiim no more
satisfaction than he had obtained on the
preceding evening. Smithson, however, ■
seeing Frazer's curiosity was strongly
aroused, proposed to call on an elderly
lady who had been an old friend of his
mother, and who was an exception to the
character that has been delineated of too
many of the elder members of the fair
sex of Ridgefield. Accordingly Smith-
son accompanied by Frazer, after break-
fast, visited his old friend, from whom
they obtained the following particulars.

Many years ago, possibly twenty or
more, the Hermitess was for the first
time discovered, living on the mountain
side, in a small cavern, that Avas parti-
ally concealed by a projecting rock. At-
tempts were made to induce her to aban-
don her abode, and to learn something

176

LITERARY.

of her previous history ; but all such
eflforts were fruitless, as she shrunk as
much as possible from communication
with all persons with the exception of
children. With children she would con-
verse familiarly at times ; and after a
while many of the village girls visited
her, to whom she was invariably kind ;
but even with them, as they grew up to
womanhood, her manner became re-
strained and reserved, apparently with
the motive to wean them, as it were,
from repeating their visits; an effect
which it usually produced. Her young
visitors were frequently the conveyers of
presents to her from their parents.

She occasionally brought to the stores
in the neighboring vilLiges, wild honey,
blackberries and herbs, for sale; but
at those times, her visits were never
prolonged beyond the time necessary
to fulfil the object of them, and all ef-
forts to draw her into .conversation
were futile. She was never known to
speak to any man living in the locality ;
but on a few occasions, she was observed
to stop some passing stranger, and con-
verse with him for a few minutes. On
one of such occasions, when the subject
of conversation happened to be over-
heard, it seemed to relate to political
events of the day, intermixed with in-
quiries by her as to some two or three
families whose names, not being those of
people in that part of the country, made
no impression on the person who repeat-
ed the conversation.

The only times at which she had been
known to come amongst the surrounding
community was on the Sabbath ; when
sometimes she would attend at Ridge -
field church ; leaving always immediately
on the conclusion of the service, with a
hasty step, to avoid contact with the
congregation.

Seeing that she was inoffensive and
harmless, pity gradually usurped the
place of curiosity, in the minds of the
good people of Ridgefield, and they very
properly confined their interference with

the poor-women, to good offices ; sending
her by the intervention of their children
presents of food, and clothing. Atten-
tions which she was found invariably to
return in some way, by small contribu-
tions from her little garden, or her bee-
hive. In shot t, the opinion of the neigh-
borhood was, that care or trouble of
some kind had made inroads on her
mind.

Such was all the story Frazer could
learn of the Hennitess of the mountain.
This, however, was more than enough to
whet his curosity to the highest pitch.
Nor was curiosity the only feeling indu-
ced by the recital. He had a warm
heart, and his circumstances were easy,
(for he had many years before succeeded
to a patrimony beyond his wants,) and
he could not repress the desire to make
another attempt to relieve one so aged
and so destitute, from the coming suffer-
ing, which he knew, in her situation, ad-
vancing years, with their weakness and
incapacity, could not fail to bring upon
her.

Some few days afterwards on a bright
morning Frazer therefore, with Smithson
and his young wife, started off on their
walk to the mountain. The autumnal
tints were just peeping through the
summer's green foliage, tinging tlie trees
with the forthcoming golden purple,
orange, or brown shades that clothe the
distant hill-side in autumn with the ra-
diance of a garden. Passing up the
mountain and crossing an elevated ridge,
upon walking some way down the south-
ern steep, a perpendicular f;ice of rock
presented itself, in the front of which
was the cave. Some few rods of fertile
ground, offering a slight declivity to the
rising sun, ran alo"g the rock, and
formed a natural garden plot terminated
in a sudden precipice. At the foot of
this, at a distance of some eight or nine
hundred yards, lay a sheet of water call-
ed Long pond. The north side of the rock
disclosed the entrance to the cave, im-
mediately before which, and so placed

LITERARY

177

as to form at the same time a natural
door way and a side wall of the abode,
lay an enormous toass of rock, which ap-
parently had been, by some convulsion
of nature, separated from the main
body ; and had therelry left the cavity
which constituted the interior. Some
peaches and vegetables of diflferent
kinds were growing in the piece of
garden ground; and a very large and
luxuriant grape vine had spread widely
in all directions its branches, whose num-
berless purple clusters, reclining amongst
its leaves on the surface of the rock, gave
to it the character of rich velvet drapery
studded with jewels.

From a fissure on the opposite side of
the rock issued a crystal jet of water,
whose sparkling column, reflected from
its thousand falling di'ops the rainbow's
varied hues, and gave a sprightliness to
the surrounding scene which clothed it
with life, and offered a marked contrast
to the still solitude of the valley below.

As the party approached within sight of
the cavern they saw fi female, advanced
in years, whose appearance was charac-
teristic of her abode. Her covering could
hardly be designated clothes. An as-
semblage of rags of all sizes, and colors,
some sewed together, others apparently
heaped on in one confused mass without
shape or arrangement, covered her per-
son from head to foot, being drawn tight-
ly round the waist by a wide bandage.
Her head was without any covering save
that of her lank gray hair, which hung
down in wild profusion, and half hid her
countenance. She appeared to be en-
gaged in tending a plot of groimd a few
yards square that adjoined her rocky
domicile, in which some corn and other
vegetables were growing.

Perceiving the visitors, she instantly

(piitted her occupation, and retired to her

cavern. It had been arranged that Jim's

wife should first approach the hermitage •

and walking up to the door of the cave,

Hannah Smithson saw the old lady

crouched down in a Goi'ncr, with her pierc-
12

ing eyes fixed on the door. Her face was
wrinkled and furrowed, but the geaeral
expression, indicated a vivacity and
quickness, which seemed to say that care
and grief, had worked more than age, up-
on her frame. Notwithstanding this, the
coarseness of character that her harsh
mode of life and exposure to the ele-
ments had produced in her counte-
nance, gave to it the appearance of ex-
treme old age.

" Good morning, mother," said Han-
nah, addressing the old dame, " what a
beautiful morning it is to range over the
mountain ; my husband and my uncle
thought they would take a walk with
me this morning, and hearing of your
pretty place we have come to pay our
respects to you. You must know I am
a stranger to these parts, and I have
only just come to live amongst you."

" Ah, young woman," replied she, " the
world is bright to you, because you are
ayoung, silly thing, that fancy the storms
of life can never burst upon your head.
I thought so once. But go; — God bless
you, I wish you well; I have done
with the world years ago, and only 'bide
my time here. That is not in my hands,
or I should long since have been beneath
the sod j-ou tread on. Please God it
can not be long now."

The voice of the Hermitess was much
less harsh than her exterior. She spoke
in a melancholy tone, but with much
emphasis, and an evident attempt was
appai ent to soften a hoarseness that op-
pressed her, as if she wished not to be
thought uncivil or unkind, in thus sum-
marily dismissing her visitor.

As she ceased to speak, Frazer and
Smithson had gradually advanced to the
door, and the former addressed to tlu
Hermitess the customaiy salutation by
which Hannah had introduced herself.

The old lady had, on concluding her
address to Hannah, turned away, and con-
sequently she had not seen the near ap-
proach of the speaker. The instant that
Frazer' s voice fell upon her eai', she

178

LITERARY.

turned round with a sudden start, and
looked him steadily in the face for a mo-
ment without uttering a word. Then
turning back again she muttered to her-
self in a scarcely audible voice, " No,
no, not him ;" and heaving a deep sigh,
added, "Long since gone ; long, long,"

"Mother," continued Hannah, "pray
do not refuse to receive us. We come,
not to intrude upon your privacy, but to
comfort you, and if j'^ou wiU allow us, to
offer you any little comforts that oiu"
farm can supply."

" Thank you," said she, " thank you,
my good child. But I want nothing,
I have too much now, here. The end of
time is what I want ; tliat you can not
give me. But I must 'bide my time.
There, God bless you — go !"

" Nay, good dame," rejoined Frazer,
" you will not thus send friends away,
for "

" Friends !" burst forth the Hermitess
in tones of withering reproach, " Dare
you, a man, address that word to
woman ? Friends ! Fiends you mean !
Whep was man the friend of woman ?
Man may be friend to man. Together
like blood-hounds, may they hunt down
the women kind for prey. Remorseless,
merciless, selfish, Godless man may
cherish in his breast the lust he calls
love, and offer this, his treacherous lie, to
woman. Talk not to me of man's friend-
vship. Lord of the creation as he calls
himself, he treats all creatures as his
slaves, and woman as the greatest. His
honor is his shame, for it scorns not to
sacrifice the happiness of woman to the
grossest sensuality with which he is en-
dowed. No, no, woman can for woman
feel ; but never, never, vian .'"

Ceasing to speak, she sank down in a
corner of her abode again, and buried her
face in her hands.

Fraz€?r was moved by the earnestness
and acrimony of the old woman's ad-
dress, and perceiving that it was vain to
persist in his object, he resolved to re-
frain, for the present

" My good lady," said he " since our
presence is unpleasant to you we will
take our leave. But you must permit me
to assure you, that however unfavorable
an opinion your experience may have in-
duced you to ^rm of mj' sex, you do
mankind great injustice by your unre-
served condemnation. It has been the
privilege and joy of many generations of
men to devote their lives and fortunes to
the promotion of woman's happiness.
Such would have been my joy, had
heaven not in early life removed from
this troublesome scene, the choice of my
heart. Your troubles must indeed have
been severe to induce you to have formed
the opinions you have just expressed.
But, remember, that an Almighty Will
formed man and woman for each other.
Were they not meet helpmates, He would
not have formed them thus. Therefore
be sure that, although many, alas, of both
sexes err widely from the path of duty,
upon the whole in this, as in aU earthly
things, 'whatever is, is right' Farewell."

The party now commenced to retrace
their steps, but as Hannah turned away
she perceived the Hermitess beckon to
her and advance towards the door. She
waited, and the woman in a half whisper
said,

"How that man talks! — What's his
name?"

" Frazer."

She turned from Hannah and again
sank down upon her seat, and Hannah
hastened to join her companions. The
friends returned home, and notwithstand-
ing the discouraging nature of their vis-
it, they resolved to repeat it at no dist-
ant day, and make another essay to im-
prove their acquaintance with the Her-
mitess of the mountain.

It was not long before these intentions
were acted upon, although from an im-
mediate cause that they little anticipat-
ed.

One morning a little girl came to theF
farm, and said that she had been request-
ed by the Hermitess to call and tell Mrs-'

LITERARY

179

Smithson that she was very sick, and
wished to sec her and her uncle. Han-
nah soon was ready, and in a few minutes
after receiving the unexpected message,
they were on the road to the mountain,
where they found the poor woman,
stretched on her only couch, our mother
earth, upon a heap of straw and rags.
By her side was a low stool, on which
she motioned to Frazer to sit down, then
placing her withered hand upon his knee,
she fixed her eyes, suffused in tears, upon
him.

"John Frazer," she exclaimed, "'tis
no wonder that in these poor remnants
of mortality, you can not recognize the
once loved form of Sarah Butler, your
aflBanced bride. Even my voice possess-
es no longer a tone by which it could be
known. Not so with you, for your loved
voice struck upon my ear like the wel-
come sound of some lost village chime.
Long have I mourned you dead, and
waited but to meet again my only love
in heaven, where I am now fast going ;
for my strength is exhausted, and that
release from earthly woes, for which I
long have prayed, is granted now. My
time is short, and I must quickly tell my
tale ; for I would not go hence, till you,
my still-loved Frazer, have known your
Sarah has proved faithful to her vows.

"Leaving the burning ruins of my
home at that dread time that withered
all our bliss, I hastened to the water side,
and by the aid of a friendly fisherman I
crossed the sound at night, and just at
dawn of day set foot upon the opposite
shore. My object was to seek my sister's
farm ; but worn out and exhausted by
anguish and fatigue, against which a
sense of present danger had until that
time borne mc up, as soon as I felt safe
from further insult, my scattered senses
left mc, and I roamed about uncon-
scious and unknown. IIow long I wan-
dered thus, or where, I know not. A
blank in my meniory exists from the
hour I left the boat, until I found my-
self lying, — where I Uc now- My wan-

derings must have occupied both days
and weeks, for my tattered clothes, and
swelled and wounded feet, told plainlj-
that my travels had been far. Doubt-
less I had lain down exhausted, and
kind Time, — that truest of physicians,
and the quiet stillness around me, had
by degrees composed my burning bi-ain,
and thus restored my reason to its seat."
" \Yhen reflection had enabled me in
some measure to recall the past, the ex-
tremity of my position, and the extent of
its wretchedness became overwhelming.
For several days I meditated upon it
without any remission of my anguish. I
remembered to have seen you shot down
in the affray, to all appearance dead. I
*abhorred the world ; I abhorred myself;
and the only thought that dwelt upon
my mind was, the most speedy means of
terminating my existence. This feeling
was, thank God, of short duration, for
my duty to Him, reminded me that it was
not for me to take away a life that He
had given ! "

" In some measiu"c calmed by my re-
flections, I thought of my beloved sis-
ter's happy home; but my feelings were
too intense, and my sense of degrada-
tion too deep, to allow me to subject my-
self, although an innocent victim, to the
scoifs and gibes of a sensorious and piti-
less world. Beyond my sister I had no
ties that bound me to this life, whilst
my bitter but short experience of its
sorrow.?, was not likely to make me desir-
ous to prolong it. From week to week
I lived on here, satisfying at fir.st the
calls of nature for sustenance, with the
berries and roots of the mountain ; in
rambling over which, I sought to drive
away the dismal foreboding consequent
on my forlorn state. In these rambles
my enfeebled frame gained strength ;
and without a settled purpose, except
the one of avoiding contact with a world
I despised, I dragged on, month by month
of my wearied existence. At length my
haunts were discovered, and I resolved to
adhere to a mode of life more congenial

180

LITERARY

to my desires than a return to civiliza-
tion : and the better to sustain my charac-
ter of a recluse, I stained my skin with
berries, and assumed as much as I could
the manners and appearance of age ;
efforts which the rigors and hardships
inseparable from the life I led, soon ren-
dered needless, as these told rapidly up-
on my tender frame. These hardships
however I regarded not. Habit soon
made most of them familiar to me, and
consequently, they were unheeded ; and
when the bitter cup of suffering some-
times seemed too great for human nature
to endure, I solaced myself by the
thought that kind death would the soon-
er release me from these trials, and re-
unite me in heaven to you.''''

"Many have been the offers made to me
to change my mode of life ; but, John,
my pains have been my only pleasures.
The more intense my sufferings, the
more vivid I thought my insight into
eternity, where you, as in life, were the
idol of my thoughts."

" The dear children of the surrounding
country found me out, and have often
seemed like ministering angels to my
necessities. And in their innocent prat-
tle, and affectionate sympathy, have I
found my heart give proofs sometimes,
that I was woman stiU. The honey from
my mountain bees, and the produce of
my little garden, have enabled my in-
dustry to yield me the means of buying
bread, and of returning at least some ac-
knowledgment for the kind presents that
my young friends brought me. Thus
have I lived rich, in all my wants ; and —
poor enough, to be left alone!"

" Since my early days of sorrow have
passed away, and my mind by slow de-
grees recovered its serenity, my health
has generally been good ; — too good, as I
thought, — and I have led a tranquil life."

" My Bible has been my constant
friend ; here it is, take it, and read it daily
for my sake. 'Twill lead you, John, where
I am going before you ; but where I read
it, in hopes to follow you, for I beUeved

you there. Without that book, my lot
would have been intolerable ; with it, I
have long had peace. From Job I learnt
patience to submit to my lot, seeing that
my sorry state was free fi'om many dread-
ful ills he bore, and my burden thence
seemed lighter. And when I pondered
o'er the life of Him who was ' the man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief,' and
thought upon His sufferings for me, I felt
remorse and shame at my selfish repin-
ings. Read it, John, you will find in it
directions for your guidance, examples
for your imitation, promises for your
encouragement, and eternal happiness
for your reward! And if, at times, when
cares, vexations, or bodily sufferings di-
vert your mind from its first balance, and
passion making plaything of your reason,
causes you to give way to bitrsts of an-
ger, (as, alas, I have too often done,) that
book will remind you not ' to let the sun
go down upon your wrath,' but to forgive
freely, as you hope to be forgiven."

" Oh ! who could have thought that I
should on this bleak mountain side, live
to see this happy day ! To press the hand
of him I have loved so well, and die at
last in peace."

A tear ran down her cheek ; — she sigh-
ed,— and her gentle spirit cast off its
earthly coil !

Many is the tear that has since been
dropped upon the tomb it was Frazer's
care to consecrate to the memory of the
Hermitess of South Salem.

Note. — The aim of the writer of these series of
tales, of which the " Hermitess of South Salem," is
the first, is not to amuse alone ; but if it may be so,
to lead the young to reflect. That " truth is often
more strange than fiction," is an adage that every
year verifies; and there are lessons to be learned by
old as well as young, from many a strange matter of
fact that passes unheeded, and by most unknown.

The name of the Hermitess is changed, (for the
wi'iter would not intentionally, should any members
of her famUy now survive, recall events distressing
to their feelings, to the attention of the present
generation,) but the mode of life of the Hermitess
and the cause which led to its adoption, the descrip-
tion and place of her abode, and her religious feel-
ings, are facts. She died about ISIO.

There is a dignity of personal character manifest-
ed in the resolution of this poor woman, and in the

EDITOR'S TABLE

181

persererance with which she adhered to it, that
must command the admiration, as her sorrows must
the sympathy, of all who read her history. And
when it is borne in mind, that her conduct did not
take its rise from misanthropic delusion ; and, more-
over, that her trust in Providence appears never to
have been shaken by her woes, we may respect that

intensity of sensibility which could face the rigors
of near forty winters, in the cavern of a mountain
side, rather than live in social intercourse with a
world, whose verdict on the conduct of its denizens
she knew is too often warped by conventionalities,
rather than weighed in the scales of even-handed
justice.

Mikx^i ^iMt

Booh Notices, etc. — " A New Orchard
and Garden ; or the best way for plant-
ing, grafting, and to make any ground
good, for a rich Orchard ; Particularly
in the North, and generally for the whole
kingdomc of England as in nature, rea-
son, situation, and all probabilitie, may
and doth appeare. With the Country
Housewifes Garden for herbs of common
vse, their vertues, seasons, profits, orna-
ments, varietie of knots, models for trees,
and plots for the best ordering of
Grounds and Walkes. As also the Hus-
bandry of Bees, with their seuerall vses
and annoyances, all being the experience
of 48 yeeres labour, and now the third
time corrected and much enlarged, by
William Lawson. Whereunto is newly
added the Art of propagating Plants, with
the true ordering of all manner of Fruits,
in their gathering, carrying home, and
preseruation. Skill and paines being
fruitfuU gaines. l^emo fibi natm.
Printed at London by J. H. for Francis
Williams. 1626. Reprinted by Robert
Pearsall Smith, Philadelphia. 1858."

A curious old book this. It is in the
old black letter of a bye-gone age, and is
a real curiosity. Mr. Smith has done
well to give us a sample of what things
our ancestors thought about horticul-
ture, how they said them, and how they
printed them.

On the BEST, SVREST, and Readiest
way to make an Orchard and Garden,
the 1st chapter treats of the Gardener
and his Wages, the 2d of the Soyle, 3d
of the Site, 4th of the Quantitie, 5th of
the Forme, and so on.

Of the Gardener and his Wages, the
author says :

" Whosoeuer desircth and cndeuour-
eth to haue a pleasant, and profitable
Orchard, must (if he be able) prouide
himsclfe of a Fruicterer, religious, honest,
skilfull in that faculty, and therewithal!
painfull : By religious, I meane (because
many thinke religion but a fashion or
custome to goc to Church) maintaining,
and cherishing things religious : as
Schooles of learning, Churches, Tythes,
Church-goods, and rights ; and aboue
all things, Gods word, and the Preachers
thereof, so much as he is able, practising
prayers, comfortable conference, mutuall
instruction to edific, almes, and other
workes of Charity, and all out of a good
conscience."

This was beginning right. Tlie gar-
dener must be religious, or his work
would not prosper. Whether the mas-
ter was to be religious, we have not read
far enough to ascertain ; but we suspect
not over and above, by the wages he
was to pay, though money was probably
worth more, when there was no Bank of
England in London to play the mischief
with the currency.

This work is superbly " got up," as
they say, and it contains a great deal of
sage advice, more needed perhaps in
those days than in ours, and yet very
much of it such as we might profit by.
To see the men in the picture on the ti-
tle page sinking the spade to the very
top of the handlc,one would think that
deep tillage is no modern invention.

The book contains 40 pages, and the
price is $1. All who have a dollar to
spare, and a curiosity for good old things,
should buy it.

182

EDITOR'S TABLE

American Journal of Science and,
Arts, by Profs. B. Silliman and B. SiUi-
man, Jr., and others, New-Haven ; $5 a
year and cheap at that. This is the lead-
ing, and for aught we know, the only
work in this country, whose vocation is
to extend the area of science by the
yearly annexation of new territories.
Men of progress and means ought to en-
courage, and we suppose do encourage
it, as a great national work ; one of which
the country has reason to be proud.

Patent Office, Agricultural Depart-
ment.— A much valued reader, in Phila-
delphia, calls our attention to this sub-
ject, one about which we find opinions
widely differing, and on which we are
not at present prepared to speak at large.
We will only say here, whatever may
have been the errors committed, we be-
lieve Dr. Browne, at the head of the de-
partment, to be sincerely and earnestly
devoted to the great agricultural interest
of the country. This we say the more
cheerfully, because some remarks ob-
tained a place in our last which did
that gentleman injustice. Of the agri-
cultural department we may have some-
thing to say hereafter, and we shall give
something pro and con by others, bet-
ter qualified than ourselves, perhaps, to
speak on that subject.

The Berhshire {Mass.) Culturist. —
This Journal, we see, has assumed the
folio form, and become monthly instead
of weekly ; a good idea certainly. Agri-
cultural Journals should be in a form to
be preserved, and should not be too fre-
quent in their issues. We have too
much agricultural literature that is
hashed up in a hurry, and too little that
is deliberately and well considered be-
fore it is thrown upon the country. Dr.
Reed, of the Citlturist, has heretofore
made a good weekly, and he will now
make a better monthly, we have not one
doubt.

American Veterinary Journal, by
George H. Dadd and others, Boston.

This is a reliable work, and should be in
the hands of all who would know how to
treat their horses and other animals well,
in sickness and health.

We are reminded by this of our pro-
mise of an article on the horse's foot. It
has not come. The promiser was an
Englishman, and we suppose was offend-
ed by our severe, but, we think, just
strictures on English misrule in India,
with the accompanying wish that her rule
abroad be materially mended, or very
scarce on this continent. If there is sin
in that wish we are ready to answer for
it.

Message of the Governor of Ohio. —
Somebody has sent us this document.
We are sorry to see, by its statistics,
that the sheep culture of that State is
falling off. Undoubtedly the farmers of
that great State know their own interests,
and it would be folly for us to advise
them to grow sheep, if they find it un^
profitable. But ^ohy should it he so ? ? ?

All can not be right with us, when
the only State that has ever got half way
into the sheep culture is getting out of
it.

Western World and BeTcalh Review ;
a spirited weekly hailing from Dekalb,
111., and a contribution to that wide-
awake character of journalism, in which
the West means to beat the slower East.
We are often agreeably surprised, in
tracing the progress of American news-
paper manufacturing, as manifested in
our exchanges, from the West, the South-
West, California, and even beyond, from
Honolulu. The California Farmer, for
example, is in our judgment one of the
very best agricultural papers in the Eng-
lish language.

Transactions of the Essex County
(Mass.) Agricultural Society. — This
comes to us with the well known direc-
tion of John W. Proctor, who we fear is
a little off the track in writing so dis-
couragingly of the sorgho, but whose
well known love of agriculture will hoist

EDITOR'S TABLE.

188

him on again very quick, if he finds him-
self off. The book — too large to be call-
ed a pamphlet — contains 208 pages,
which is its least recommendation, the
value of the matter being the principal.
For half a century that society has done
better than many sisters that have done
well.

American Farmer. — This oldest agri-
cultural journal in our countiy, is on our
table ; and we find it not so very old af-
ter all, but well filled with matter, fi-esh,
earnest and useful.

Reports of Committees of the Massa-
chusetts Horticultural Society. — This is
a valuable document, of 104 pages, for
wliich the society and its secretary have
our thanks. Josiah Stickney is Presi-
dent ; E. S. Rand and Eben Wright, Vice-
Presidents ; Wm. R. Austin, Treasurer ;
Eben Wright, Corresponding vSecretary ;
F. L. Winship, Recording Secretary ;
John L. Russell, Prof of Botany and Ve-
getable Physiology ; J. AV. P. Jenks,
Prof of Entomology ; and E. N. Horsford,
Prof, of Horticultural Chemistry.

Germantown Telegraph, New-England
Farmer, Country Gentleman, Maine
Farmer. — These are the leading agricul-
tural journals in their respective States.
We never take up one of them without
wishing that all the farmers in its State
had it. If they want another, it is true,
and we will not deny it, that we have no
sort of objection to their having ours.

Under the same category would wc
put the Michigan Farmer, the Wisconsin
Farmer, the Ohio Cultivator and Ohio
Farmer, the Southern Cultivator, and a
host of others on our exchange list, lead-
ing agricultural journals in their several
States. We have a sort of a notion in
our head, that the farmers of the coun-
try would do well to take at least two
agricultural journals, one for their own
State and one for all the States, nation-
al in character. It may be because
wc are selfish, wishing to come in for
the second chance. Every one must
j udge of that.

Southern Progressionist ; Published
at Newnan, Ga., and Pulaski, Tenn. ; J.
M. H. Smith, editor ; H. A. Livingston,
publisher ; at $1 a year in advance,
$1 50 in six months, and $2 at the end
of the year. That is right ; make them
pay in advance ; one dollar in hand is
better than two always coming, both for
the payer and the payee, for the former
because a man respects himself — feels
better — ^whcn he has paid a just claim
than if he shirks it, besides that he has
less to pay ; and for the latter, because
it is a real comfort to pay the hard work-
ing printer and the paper maker prompt-
ly, and so pass it along. We will promise
to pass along a good many bits of comfort,
if those old subscribers, who used to
have this work on tick, will square up
by mail. Bless them, if they knew how
much go:d it would do us, they would
not wait to be asked ; we think better of
them. But to the Progressionist. It is
an earnest, progressive work as its name
imports ; but it is universalist in its cha-
racter, its theology diflers, we presume,
from that of most of our readers, and
certainly fi-om oui's, and we could not
therefore recommend it, otherwise than
as we heartily approve of an unbiassed
investigation of all important subjects,
nor to others than those capable by age
and reflecting habits of such investiga-
tion. Seriousl}^ our fears are that its
progress will not be in the right way.

Fish, Guano. — This article, as manu-
factured at Southhold, L. I., (see adver-
tisement) is, we believe, new in this
country, Mr. Brundred, the manufac-
turer, has explained to us at length the
process by which it is made ; and we
can not see why the fertilizing matter
contained in four or five tons of fish
should not be retained in the one ton of
guano made from them. It would seem .
that a very powerful manm-e must bo
the result. But we know nothing of it
practically. The sea is certainly a pro-
Ufic source of fertility, if we can work its
productions into a concentrated, porta-

184

E D I T 0 R'S TABLE.

ble manure. We would recommend that
trial be made of this fertilizer, as the
only sure test ; and if the farmer wishes
to be on the safe side, as he ought cer-
tainly, let him try it on such a scale as
can not in any event result in an inconve-
nient loss. Because there has been a
great deal of adroit dealing on the part
of manure dealers, by which farmers
have been swindled, it does not follow
that they should condemn untried every
article that is oflfered.

PullerHs Catalogue of Fruit and, Or-
namental Trees^ Vines, Sc, Hijhtstotoii,
IT. J. — We have seen Mr. PuUon at his
home, and we believe him to be an ac-
complished gardener and a true man.
He offers a rich variety in his line.

After so much said a'bout our cotem-
poraries, it will not be deemed amiss if
we say a word for ourselves. One rea-
son why so many valuable articles are
crowded out this month is, that during
the first half of February, we were re-
solved to enlarge the Farmer'' Magazine
from 64 to 96 pages. We had actually
procured and sent to the printer the ex-
tra paper for the purpose. But although
subscribers are coming in well and we
have nothing to complain of, yet in the
present aspect of the times, we feared to
venture the increased expense just yet,
but hope to be able to do it at no distant
day. In the meantime, will not our sub-
scribers aid our design by promoting the
circulation of this work in their respec-
tive neighborhoods ? To encourage an
effort of this kind, we will say, that any
one now a subscriber may add another
to our list by sending us the club price,
$1 50 ; and, as our January and Febru-
ary numbers are nearly exhausted, we
will agree to send the work for the bal-
ance of the year, commencing with
April, for $1, forwarded to this oflBce.
Clergymen of all denominations, who
from an interest in agriculture desire a
work of the kind, may order this for $1
a year. Give us a lift, friend, in your
various localities, and we pledge you

that we will either give it to all next
year for $1, or, what is more probable,
will enlarge it before this year is out to
once and a half its present size.

U. S. Ag. Soc. — We omitted, owing to
a press of matter, to say much at the
proper time of the late exceedingly in-
teresting and important meeting of this
society at Washington, at which Col.
Wilder, its able, earnest and devoted
president resigned, and another. Gen.
Tilghman, equally energetic and effi-
cient, we have good reason for believing,
was chosen in his place. The Sorgho
and Imphee question was ably discussed,
and we now regard it as settled that
both plants will be of great value to our
agriculture ; but which will prove best
for each latitude of our widely extended
country, we do not think has yet tran-
spired.

In our last we spoke with reserve of
Gay & West's " Warner's Patent Pump,"
and "West's Double Acting Water
Earn," as we always mean to speak of
things about which we have the least
doubt. We have since learned that the
pump is an excellent one, beyond all
question. See advertisement.

A pretty little Blunder. — The printer
has made us, page 162, March number,
advise our readers to paint their houses,
barns, fences, etc., now in autumn. The
seci'et of it is, that we did so advise four
months age, and this item has lain over
with the printer till this time. But edi-
tors and printers both have their vexa-
tions ; we must forgive them and they
have to forgive us ; and our readers
must remember the advice till sol, with
his fiery horses, has gone nearly round
the circle again. They can afford to re-
member it, for it is worth knowing that
paint put on in the fall, does them near-
ly twice as much good as in spring.

Peabody's Premium Prolific- Corn. —
We have before us a circular of this new
production ; and although we are unpre-
pared to speak positively with regard to

E D I T O R'S TABLE

186

it, we are favorably impressed ; and were
we in the active line of farming, we
would certainly address Charles A. Pea-
body, Columbus, Ga., for further infor-
mation. Whatever may be its merits,
we are satisfied that Mr. Peabody has
yet used all proper precautions to keep
it perfectly pure, and that last year he
grew 23G0 bushels on 25 acres, so isolat-
ed as to avoid all danger of hybridiza-
tion. His certificates, by reliable men,
fully establish these facts. But whether
Georgians can not and ought not to grow
at that rate, of any corn, on their land
and in their sunny climate, is more than
we know.

A Correction. — In our February num-
ber wc published an article without ex-
amining it as carefully as is our wont,
partly owing to a press of engagements
at the time, but more to our great re-
spect for its author, reflecting, with
something more, perhaps, than might be
set down to good natured pleasantry, on
somebody, somewhere, by the name of
Browne. The agreeable acquaintance
we have had with the writer of the fol-
lowing, and our high esteem for his cha-
racter and services, render ns doubly
cheerful in complying with his request to
correct an error :

"Sir: — In the February number of
the American Farmers' Magazine^ I no-
tice an article entitled, "A Theory
Spoiled ; or are South Downs Pure
Blooded Sheep ? By C. M. Clay, of Ken-
tucky," in which there are thrown re-
flections upon a person bearing the name
of Brown, to which are prefixed my ini-
tials. As the individual referred to was
Mr. A. P. Brown, of Philadelphia, you
would oblige me if you would make a
proper correction at your convenience.
" Yours, respectfully,

" D. J. Bkowne.

" J. A. Nash, Esq.,
Editor Amer. Farmem'' Magazine.'"

a body consisting largely of practical
farmers, we cheerfully copy the follow-
ing from the proceedings made by order
of the American Institute. The article
was read before the Farmers' Club of
that society ; —

American Institute Farmers' Club.

Regular meeting, Feb. 16, 1858, K Meigs,
Secretary.

Mb. Alanson Nash, one of the earliest
members of the Farmers' Club, and who
has on all suitable occasions manifested
his appreciation of it by sustaining it,
has, by particular request, undertaken
with much industrious research among
the scattered fragments of knowledge to
give us a history of and relative to the
now well marked and acclimated and
well taught red cattle of New-England,
and has produced in his essay on that
subject all that may be useful or desira-
ble in relation to this first and nobly
created American stock of cattle. He
has done for this very useful purpose
what our Washington Irving did long
ago in his analectic magazine for litera-
ture, according to his own motto,
"Sparsas CoUigere Flores." Tuscany
has for centuries been celebrated for her
spotless white cattle, looking like snow
on her green meadows ; but our Amer-
Red is worth more than that race for
work and beef ten to one.

To show how the article on the red
cattle of New-England is appreciated by

CHANGE OF NAME.

TrrE writer of one of the most sensible
articles in this number says :

" I am not a whit behind TJie Inde-
pendent (Jan. 14) in gladness at the
changes you have made in title, &c. ; nei-
ther do I any less fervently hope and
trust that you will find increased favor
and a larger field of usefulness. I should
be happy to contribute to this end, and
will whenever I have an opportunity."
Will not others of our friends go and do
likewise ?

186

CHILDREN'S CORNER.

OEIjilbrnfs €mm\

In ^sop's
time, when
the beasts
talked, a
wolf and a
fox, seeing
a dog, fat,
sleek and
well provid-
ed for, while
they were
lean a n
h u n g r J ,
asked per-
mission
of the dog
to accompa-
ny him to
his home.
But seeing

A Stag,
drinking
from a foun-
t a i n, saw
himself in
the water.
His horns
a p p e a r ed
long, bran-
c hy and
b eautiful.
He was
proud of
them. His

A dog
with a piece
of meat, saw
his shadow
in the wa-
t 6 r, and
trying to get
the other
dog's meat,
he lost that
which he
had.

Moral. —

"M u c h

his neck
worn, and
learning
from h i m
that it was
in c 0 n s e-
=- quen c e of
ii being Chain-
ed, they con-
cluded to go
back and
live in the
woods.

The chil-
dren m a y
exercise
themselv e s
in guessing
at the moral
of this fable.

legs seemed
slender and
ugly. He
was asham-
ed of them.
But when
the dogs
bayed, his
legs would
have saved
him, but his
horns, en-
tangled in
the trees
caused his
ruin.

wanted
more and
lost all."

AVhen we
want more
than b e-
longs to us,
we s o m e-
times get
less than we
should have
if less crav-
ing.

DOMESTIC,

181

1^" " You charge a dollar for killing
a calf," said a planter to an old negro.
" No, no, massa ; charge fifty cents for
killum calf, and fifty cents for the know
how /"

The negro was right ; and now if the
children will learn well at their schools.

and read good books and periodicals at
home, they will " know how" to do a
great many things that are well paid for,
and will feel the benefit of what they
learn now all their life, in being of more
value to themselves, to their friends and
their country.

g omti^ixc.

CORN BREAD.

Not many years ago, half the bread
eaten in New-England was made of corn
and rye meal ; now the majority of fam-
ilies see nothing but wheat bread, ex-
cept on very rare occasions, from one
year to another. The farmers of the
West, the planters of the South, live on
corn bread, and sell their wheat to us,
because corn bread costs onlj^ half, or less
than half as much as wheat bread. Yet
there are thousands of poor families in
New-England, who do not know one
week where the next week's supplies are
to come from, who would feel a sort of
degradation in living on corn bread ;
and if they resort to it occasionally, eat
slyly and by stealth, that it may not be
kno^vn that they are so poor as to live
on Indian meal.

There is a mistake in this. There is
notliing more palatable than corn meal
properly cooked. There are a variety of
articles for the table that may be pre-
pared from it, that are highly toothsome,
and will be preferred to anything else
by many people, almost universally by
the children. Here is an opportunity
for considerable economy and one at the
.same time productive of health. Let
Indian meal be partially substituted for
flour, and the expenses of the table can
be very considerably reduced by this
one change. — Sj)ringjield liepublican.

Yes ; and there will be more health
and strength, better looks, a more man-
ly or womanly personal development,
greater energy and longer life. Our
Southern brethren, we believe, have not
yet repudiated hominy and hoe-cakes ;
and in this they are wiser than the Yan-
kees, taking the word to mean all north
of them. — Ed.

TO CATCH OWLS.
If troublesome to your poultry, set a
steel trap on the top of a pole, near the
hen roost, and they will certainly be
caught.

TO MAKE STICKING SALVE.
TnREE pounds resin, half a pound of
mutton tallow, half a pound of beeswax,
and a tablespoonful of sulphur ; melt-
ed, poured into cold water, and worked
and pulled an hour.

KEEPING CIDER SWEET.
A PINT of mustard seed, put in a bar-
rel of cider, will preserve it sweet for a
number of months. I have drunk fall
cider in the month of May, which was
kept sweet by this means.

KEEPING POULTRY.

The late Judge Buell kept poultry in
the winter more than two months, in a
perfect state of preservation, by filling
them after they were dressed with pow-
dered charcoal, and then hanging them
in an airy loft.

TO DESTROY MITES IN CHEESE,
A PIECE of woolen cloth should be
dipped in sweet oil, and be well rubbed
on the cheese. If one application be
not sufficient to destroy the mites, this
remedy may be used as often as they ap-
pear. The cheese shelves should be well
washed with soap and water.

TO KNIT HEELS.
To knit the heels of socks double, so
that they may last twice as long as other-
wise, skip every alternate stitch on the
wrong side, and knit all on the right.
This will make it double, like that of the
double ply ingrain carpet.

188

MISCELLANEOUS

IBttllKntQU^.

RIGHT NAMES.

If a man should set out calling every
thing by its right name, he would be
knocked down before he got to the corner
of the street.

FAT AND LEAN.

A MAN praising porter said it was so ex-
cellent a beverage, that it always made
him fat.

"I have seen the time," said another,
when it made you lean."

"When?" asked the eulogist.

" Last night against the wall."

LARGE CROP OF OATS.
"We learn that on the farm of Jacob Lee,
just west of this town, there was threshed
out, as the product of one acre, the im-
mense quantity of one hundred and thirteen
bushels and one half of oats. We never
heard of a crop to exceed this, and we
should be inclined to doubt the fact, were
it not substantiated by the best of testi
mouy. — Marion Rep.

^^ Some one has beautifully said of
those who die young, that " they are like
the lambs which the Alpine sheijherdsbear
in their arms to higher and greener pas-
tures, that the flocks may follow."

|^°° Health comes of itself; but we
are at great pains to get our diseases.
Health comes from a simple life of na-
ture ; diseases from an artificial life.

^W A French paper states that the
American engineers who undertook, by
means of a special apparatus, to raise the
Russian ships of war sunk in the harbor of
Sebastopol, have given it up and returned
to Constantinople, declaring that their
contract can not be performed, except at
an enormously disproportionate cost.

It^" Tliere was a volcanic eruption on
one of the Sanquiir islands, near Borneo,
in March last, which destroyed a whole
village of 3000 persons, besides an im-
mense amount of growing rice. The
emission of lava, stones and ashes was so
great as to obscure the sun and produce
total darkness. A violent hurricane and
lightning accompanied the eruptions.

A $500 lump of gold has been
taken from a mine in Cabarras County,
N. C.

There are 50,051 rice plantations
in the South, the annual product of which
is worth about $4,000,000.

It costs twenty-six dollars an hour to
light the new hall of the House of Repre-
sentatives at Washington, with gas.

pW' The cost of printing for the 34th
Congress to the United States Government,
is said to have been two millions of dol-
lars, and to have netted a profit of half a
million to the fortunate individual possess-
ing the contract.

E^° The amount expended by American
travelers in Europe is estimated at over
$10,000,000 annually.

'Good morning, Jones; how does
the world use you ?"

" It uses me up, thank you."

There is no part of husbandry
which is more neglected than that of
planting trees.

U;^" Truly great men have ever been
the workers of the world. An English
writer in a paper upon Andrew Fuller,
says: "Walk around the cathedral aisles
where the memories of the great dead are
found, and you will see the tombs at which
the crowd stop and hold their breath in
reverence, are not the tombs of dreamers
but of workers — all of workers. Mark
them as they pass frem statue to statue !
They come to Shakspeare, and the memory
of pleasant hours of quiet enjoyment finds
its way to the face. But moving on to
Howard, see how they pause before the
tall figure with a brother's love beaming
from the cold marble, and the chained
prisoner at his side, while the lifeless
memorial of a love yet warm and living,
bids the big tear steal unchallenged to its
shrine.

^[W There is a medium between an ex-
cessive diffidence, and too universal a con-
fidence. If we have no foresight, we are
surprised ; if we are too nice we are miser-
able.

Jacob Steawn, the celebrated cattle
dealer and landholder of Morgan county,
Illinois, has recently sold off a corner of his
farm in that county, being 3300 acres, at
$30 per acre, amounting to the insignifi-
cant sum of $99,000. He has made sever-
al other sales of land lately, and yet has
ground left sufficient to raise enough to feed
the whole i:)opulation of Illinois.

MARKETS

189

OCCUPATION.

What ca glorious thing it is for the hu-
man mind! Those who work hard sel-
dom yield themselves entirely up to fan-
cied or real sorrow. When grief sits
down, folds its hands, and mournfully
feeds upon its own tears, weaving the
dim shadows that a little exertion
might sweep away, into a funeral pall,
the strong spirit is shorn of its might,
and sorrows become our master. When
troubles flow upon you dark and heavy,
toil not with the waves, wrestle not with
the torrent ; rather seek, by occupation,
to divert the dark waters that threaten
to overwhelm you in a thousand chan-
nels which the duties of life always pre-
sent. Before you dream of it those wa-
ters will fertilize the present and give
birth to fresh flowers that maj' brighten
the future — flowers that will become
pure and holy in the sunshine which
penetrates to the path of duty, in spite
of every obstacle. Grief, after all, is but
a selfish feeling, and most selfish in the
man who yields himself to the indulgence

of any passion which brings no joy to his
fellow-man.

LIFE.

The mere lapse of years is not life.
To eat, drink, and sleep ; to be exposed
to darkness and light, to pace around in
the mill of habits and turn the mill of
wealth, to make reason our book-keeper,
and thought an implement of trade — this
is not life. In all this but a poor fraction
of the unconsciousness of humanity is
awakened, and the sanctities still slum-
ber which make it woi th while to be.
Knowledge, truth, beauty, love, good-
ness, faith, alone can give vitality to the
mechanicism of existence ; the laugh of
mirth which vibrates through the heart,
the tear which freshens the dry wastes
within, the music that brings childhood
back, the prayer that calls the future
near, the death which startles us with
mystery, the hardship which forces us
to struggle, the anxiety that ends in be-
ing.— Chalmers.

ark^ts^

Mabeets. — ^Want of space obliges us to omit our
monthly review, and to stop with very few words
on the markets.

Friday, February 19th, there is considerable ac-
tivity in the general produce market. Business ra-
ther active for the season.

The following table will show the difference be-
tween the currency for the leading kinds of Bread-
stuffs yesterday and a week previous :

PRICES OP BREADSTUFFS IN NKW-TORK.

Feb. 10. Feb. 17.

Superfine St. Flour..$4 15 @4 25 $4 15 @4 25

Extra State 4 25 ®4 50 4 80 (^4 50

Super. Iiid. & Mich. 4 15 ®4 80 4 15 @4 30

Super. Ohio 4 80 @4 40 4 20 @4 80

Fancy Ohio 4 85 @4 45 4 40 @4 50

Extra Ind & Mich... 4 40 (a6 00 4 30 ®C 00

Extra Ohio 4 60 ®6 50 4 60 ©6 50

Fancy Genesee 4 30 @4 40 4 80 @4 40

Extra Genesee 4 75 ®6 50 6 00 ©7 00

Extra Missouri 5 00 ®8 00 5 00 ®8 00

Super, to Ex. Cana'n 4 15 ®6 00 4 20 ®5 50

MixedtoEx.South'n 4 60 ©7 50 4 50 ©8 25

Rye Flour 3 00 ©8 87^3 00 ©3 Vl}i

Corn Meal 8 00 ©8 50 8 00 ©3 50

White Wheal ^ bush. 1 10 ©1 40 1 10 ©1 42Ji

Red wheat ^ bush.. 99 ©120 97 ©120

New Corn 65 © 67 65 © 68

Northern Xiyc 68 © 70 70 © 72

Barley 70 © 78 70 © 73

Western Oats 44 © 45 44 © 45

State Oats 41 © 44 41 © 44

Jersey & I'enn. Oats. 83 ® 39 88 © 89

Southern Oats 27 © 85 27 © So

White beans ^ bueh 1 87X{f<il 40 1 87^^©! 40

Canada peas ^ bu.. 1 20 (<t!.l 25 1 10 ©1 16

Black-ejed peas^bu 3 \'i\(sj> — 8 12^@8 25

Cotton opened actively yesterday at advancing
prices, but closed heaviiy, with a downward tenden-

cy. The week's sales amount to about 12,700 bales.
Our available supply is 10,927 bales, against 83,285
bales same period last year. The receipts at jill the
shipping ports, to latest dates this season, have
been 1,607,290 bales against 2,105,210 bales to the
corresponding period of last season. The total ex-
ports from the United States so far this season have
been 880,030 bales, against 992,2(iC bales to the same
date last season. The total f.tock on hand and ship-
board in all the shipping ports, at the latest dates,
was 673,899 bales, against 770,757 bales at the same
time last year. The stock in the interior towns at
the latest dates was 133,782 bales, against 109,i00
bales at the corresponding date a year ago.

In reference to the probable yield of the cotton
crop, Neill, Brothers & Co. state that " 2,800,000 is
now perhaps the favorite estimate."

Provisions have been less freely offered, while
they have been in good demand at rising prices.
The Pork packing trade at Cincinnati is diminish-
ing, the season Ijoing very nearly closed, and the
receipts of Hogs having fallen off to about 12,000
head.

The market has been very quiet for all kinds of
Wool during the past week. The demand has been
less active, and buyers have manifested very little
disposition to purchase, unless at reduced prices.

Tobacco is in pretty fair request at about previ-
ous figures.

In the Live Stock Market the average price of
beeves was X to ^c. lower this week than last.
Prices this week from 12^c. for premium cattle to
8c for poor. Price of Milch Cows with calves un-
changed, from $30 to $00, less than $80 for very
mean, and more than $60 for uncommonly fine.
Veals from 6>^ to 7><fc. for good, and 6 to 6c. for
ordinary.

Receipt of Sheep and Lambs moderate, and prices
unchanged. Sales ranging from $3 to $5 50, and a
few as high as $6 50. iUceipts of Swine moderate,
with an upward tendency in price, varying from
6Ji to OJ^c. gross, and from 6 to 7>^c. .

190

ADVERTISEMENT S

^iirertisments.

p. MANNY'S PATENT ADJUSTABLE SELF-RAKING REAPER AND
MOWER COMBINED.

Manufactured by Manny & Co., Fkeepoet, III.
Being tliree macMnes in one, simply adjusted and perfectly adapted to either pur-
pose. These are important features not to be found in any other machine, and need
only to be seen to be appreciated.

THE VERY BEST

Agricultural Paper in New-England.

THE NEW-ENfiLAND FARMER is now gener-
ally acknowledged to be superior to any other pub-
lication of its class in the New-England States, and
equal in merit to any in the country. Its circula-
tion is unequalled by that of any other agricultural
paper in New-England.

It is published weekly, on fine paper, and has just
been put upon new type throughout. It is ably ed-
ited by Simon Brown, a thorough and practical
farmer, and has the best corps of intelligent corre-
spondents that can be found in New-England.
Among these are Hon. Hbnrt F. French, of New-
Hampshire, Hon. F. Holbrook, of Vermont, Wilson
Flagg, author of " Studies in the Field and Forest,"
&c., &c.

Besides the agi'icultural matter, the Farmer con-
tains a complete digest of the news of the day, a
condensed report of the markets, a large variety of
Interesting and instructive miscellaneous reading,
and everything that can make it a welcome weekly
visitant at the fireside of every farmer in the land.
Also published at the same ofilce,

NEW-ENGLAND FARMER, MONTHLY.

This is a pamphlet containing 4S pages in each
number, printed on fine book paper, beautifully il-
lustrated, and devoted entirely to subjects connect-
ed with the farm.

Terms. — New-England Farmer, Weekly, $2 a year.
New-England Farmer, Monthly, $1 a year.

No Club Prices, and no discount iu any case, as
our rule is to serve aU alike. Bend for a specimen
copy, and judge of the merits of our publications
for yourself.

JOEL NOURSE,

Publisher New-England Farmer,

Mar. 3t* No. 13 Commercial St., Boston.

Fisli Guano.— $35 Per Ton.

The attention of Farmers and others is called to
the FISH GUANO manufactured by the Long Is-
land Fish Guano and Oil Works, at Southold. Long
Island. It is composed of the Bones and Flesh of
Fish, after extracting the oil and water, and has
been thorotighly tested in England and France, and
from testimonials received, is found to be equal to
Peruvian Guano and other manures ; is free from
smell and not injurious to health. Price in bags,
$35 per ton. Pamphlets containing full particutara
and testimonials may be had on application to
BRUNDRED & ROGERS,

Mar. ly. CO Pine street, N. Y.

Illustrated Book of Pears.

Just published and for sale by A. O. MOORE, No.'
140 Pulton St., N. Y., and STARR & CO., 4 Main St.,
New-London, Conn., the above valuable work, con-
taining plain, practical directions for Planting, Bud-
ding, Grafting, Pruning, Training, and Dwarfing the
Pear-Tree ; also instruotions relating to the Propa-
gation of new varieties, Gathering, Preserving, and
Ripening the fruit; together with valuable hints in
regard to the Locality, Soil, and Manures required
for, and best arrangement of the Trees in an Or-
chard, both on the Pear and Quince stocks, and a
List of the most valuable varieties for Dwarf or
Standard Culture, accurately described and truth-
fully delineated by numerous beautifully colored
engravings.

The above work, beautifully illu"trated, should
have a place in every family where a taste for good
fruit prevails in all its choice varieties.

Orders promptly executed. Dec. tf.

AMEmcAN umiu' MaoAzmE.

Vol. XII.

APRIL. 1858.

No. 4.

|. D r i r ii 1 1 u r a [ .

HINTS TO YOUNG FARMERS.

Of wintering stock we have said so
much in former numbers, that we need
only touch upon the subject, important
as it is, in this place.

In estimating the work for April, see
that you do not lose the benefit of your
former care and labor and cost of keep-
ing on stock, by neglecting them in the
last stages of winter. It is bad policy
to let them lose flesh in December,
when a long winter is before them ; but
it is hardly better policy, not to carry
them through well when you have
brought them in good condition into
April.

Let the working oxen be so fed and
cared for as will make them strong to
labor. ' ' Much increase is by the strength
of the ox," not in the number of the ox-
en. Some farmers keep too many work-
ing animals, but do not keep them so as
to develop the greatest strength. It is
cheaper to manufacture a given amount
of strength from a smaller number of
cattle, fed and cared for in just the way
to make them strong, than from a larger
number enfeebled by bad treatment.
How often have we seen a farmer in the
last days of April plowing after cattle
VOL. XII. 13.

with tongues out, lolling, almost ready
to drop down and die in the furrow,
making precious little headway in the
business of the season; and then we
have seen his next door neighbor, in an
equally sunny exposure, on equally hard
soil, turning a deeper and a better fur-
row, whistling a merry tune as the heavy
soil rolled from his share, and his oxen
in such pluck that they would almost
have whistled in concert, if they had
possessed organs fur the purpose.

Give the cattle that are to do your
spring and summer work plenty of good
hay and a little Indian meal, or a few
roots. Their food should be of such a
kind that they can consume it quickly,
and lie down to digest it and rest them-
selves. Observe the effects of the food
you give on the alimentary canal, and so
apportion it as to keep them in proper
condition, neither bound nor scoured ;
and their strength to labor and to endure
the sudden change of our climate from
winter to summer, will be greatly im-
proved. Your milking cows will require
special care at this season. Corn meal
should not be given immediately after
calving. It is too inflaming. Rye meal
or oat meal is safer for the first day or

194

AGRICULTURAL.

two. Do not allow the cow to drink as
much cold water as she would the first
day. It might do her no harm, as thou-
sands would testify that it has not in
their experience, but is is safer to give
water slightly warmed. Good hay and
tepid water for the fij'st day or two are
safer and better. After that you may
give high feed with safety. As soon as
the calf has learned well to suck, he
should be removed from the cow, except
at regular intervals, say morning and
evening, that the udder may have time
to be fully distended and the teats to be
healed. By judicious management now
the calf will be worth more at six weeks
old, and the cow will produce more milk
through the whole season. Ewes should
be so fed and cared for that their lambs
will be fat early ; and if you have cattle
designed for beef, the earlier you can
have them ready for the butcher the bet-
ter, because they then, taking one year
with another, bring a larger price ; and
if sent off early they leave more feed for
the rest of your stock.

Now is the time to transplant trees.
If your premises are not ornamented by
a reasonable number — not an over-dose
to cut off the prospect and dampen the
buildings — of shade trees, do not let this
spring go by without providing for the
beauty and comfort they afford. It will
be but little hindrance to your more im-
portant business, to set a dozen shade
trees. Take them up with a good many,
but not very long, roots. If any of the
roots are badly mutilated, cut them off
with a sharp knife. New rootlets will
very soon start, if you set them well, fill-
ing in carefully with a fine top soil. No
strong manure should be added. If the
soil is decidedly meagre, a few shovels
of garden soil would be a valuable addi-
tion. Let the tree stand at least as high
as it stood before ; and in order to keep
it firm in its position, tie it to a stake.
Apply very little water at the time of
setting— none unless the ground is quite
dry. Four trees are injured by over-

watering to where one is by the want of
water at transplanting. What the tree
wants the first summer is a moderately
rich soil and an equable degree of mois-
ture. It should be neither baked nor
drowned ; and to secure it against either,
it should be set quite as high as it stood
before ; the ground should be loosened
a foot or more below its roots, that the
water of heavy rains may freely perco-
late through, and the surface should by
all means be mulched, to prevent evapo-
ration. The cost of setting a dozen good
trees, in the best manner, might be
about twenty dollars, to a retired mer-
chant with money enough, and a plenty
of lazy fellows around lying in wait for
his coin ; but to a resolute farmer it
would be but a trifle. With a hired
man and a boy, and a horse and wagon
to bring the trees from the .wood, he
would almost do it before breakfast in
the morning, or after an early supper in
the afternoon. The trees would benefit
his place as much as they would the
fancy man's, but would not cost him
one-tenth as much. An important ad-
vantage that the farmer has over others
for ornamenting the grounds about his
house is, that he has all the means for
doing it efliciently and economically.

Have you all the fruits, large and
small, which are suited to your location ?
If not, now is the time to be providing
for the future in this important respect
Beginning with the smallest ; — currants,
gooseberi'ies, strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries, quinces, peaches, cherries,
plums, and pears, are really worth more
than it costs to have them in abundance
a"d apples are worth quite as much as
all the rest. The farmer never need fear
the want of a market for apples, for he
has a home market ; and if he will cul-
tivate a few summer, more fall, and still
more winter apples, there can be no loss,
even if the home market is over supplied
and he has to throw them to his cattle.
As with shade, so with fi-uit trees, the
farmer can produce them more advan-

AGRICULTURAL.

196

tageously than any one else, and he can
always make the fruit worth its cost or
something more to be consumed at home,
giving the surplus above the family
wants and the poorer qualities to his
stock, and not forgetting to make friends
by sending portions to such of his neigh-
bors as have more children than fruit.
Children are apt to grow up fast friends
to tliose who give them fruit. We re-
member a case in point. There was a
man in the school district where we
grew up, of tremendously coarse features,
and hard, stern aspect ; but he had more
fruit than all the rest of the neighbor-
hood. Wherever he found us he gave
us fruit. Sometimes it came out of a
basket, sometimes out of a deep, wide
pocket, but oftener in the form of a per-
mit to go into his orchard and get as
much as we could eat and carry off. His
stern features were very amiable in our
young eyes, and but for hearing the re-
marks of strangers about his rough vi-
sage, we should probably never have
suspected but that he was a downright
pleasant faced, handsome, good looking
man. He looked well enough to us, and
we never shall forget how he looked ;
and we say, therefore, from experience^
that there is no better way of making
fast friends of the children, and thus se-
curing a pleasant remembrance for our-
selves, than to have a plenty of fruit and
to be pretty liberal with it Some may
think this will not pay, but then we
have no sympathy with that sort of rea-
soning.

Much attention should be given at this
season to the manures, not so much to
prevent their waste by evaporation, for
there is little danger of this till the wea-
ther is warm and the yard dry, but to
apply them so as to produce the best re-
sults. If you will throw the yard and
stall manure into heaps, and mix with it
swamp muck for a divisor, it will fer-
ment. First the excess of water will be
given off, rendering the mass from 25 to
50 per cent lighter to remove, and thus

the labot" saved in carting will be nearly
enough to balance the extra labor of
throwing up and composting.

But it is not well to let the fermenta-
tion go too far, as then the nitrogen will
escape in the form of ammonia. When
you throw the manure into heaps, there
is no ready formed ammonia' in it. But
the nitrogen and hydrogen are there,
and by a fermentation carried too far,
ammonia is formed from them. As soon
as formed it combines with carbonic
acid, which is also a product of the fer-
mentation, and passes as volatile car-
bonate of ammonia into the air. The
loss to a manure heap, if suffered to fer-
ment long with no admixture of clayey
or peaty matter to retain the ammonia,
is very great, amounting in extreme
cases to half its value.

But for manure to be used for the
spring crops, the main object of compost-
ing and partially drying, is to lighten
the labor of its removal, and more espe-
cially to bring it into a pulverulent state,
that it may be spread more evenly and
better incorporated with the soil. Few
realize how much of the effect of ma-
nure for the first season is lost for tho
want of a proper admixture with tho
soil. A lump of manure here and a cu-
bic foot of earth there is not the same
thing for a crop as if the two were finely
and evenly mixed. There is no possi-
bility of working the two together too
much for the good of the crop. The
question is how to mix and incorporate
them with a moderate consumption of
time and labor, and if the manure is ren-
dered somewhat pulverulent by compost-
ing and partial fermentation, the labor
of a tolerably equal diffusion of it in the
soil is lessened.

As regards the appropriation of tho
different manures to particular soils and
crops, not much, we fear, has yet been
said, or can be, that is sufficiently prac-
tical to be of much value. In the pre-
sent state of knowledge on this point,
the farmer can not do much better than

196

AGRICULTURAL

to mix the different kinds of fertilizers
about his premises as much as can be
done without too great an increase of la-
bor, that the weak points on some may
be made up by the corresponding strong
points in others. But for the extra la-
bor, we would wish every species of ma-
nure on the farm to be mixed and
wrought into a perfectly uniform mass.
This would embrace the excrements of
all kinds of stock, the night soil, the
soap suds, sink washings, and wastes of
every kind, from cellar to garret, and
from the street to the farther end of the
barn-yard. But as this is not practical,
at least not so as our farm buildings are
now mostly constructed, we would use
a discretion in the appropriation, to a
limited extent, for instance, to use fine
manure for top dressing, such as would
settle down among the grass roots, in-
stead of lying up loosely to be dried up
by the sun and wind. A fine manure,
that falls down among the roots and
comes in contact with the ground, gives
its ammonia to the soil ; one that is
coarse and Hes above the grass gives it
to the air. The ammonia generated from
manure used in top dressing, if not seiz-
ed upon by the soil, it is true, is not lost
out of the world, but it is mainly lost to
the farmer on whose land it is generated
— goes into the general stock of aerial
plant food and is very widely diffused.
We would, therefore, advise that top
dressing, which in some cases, in many
even, is a wise course, notwithstanding
all' that has been said to the contrary,
should be done with finely pulverized ma-
nure, spread evenly, and brought as much
as possible into actual contact with the
soil, and if the application can be made
just before a long rain, to wash the
strength of the manure into the soil itself,
so much the better.

There may also be something gained
by selecting the warm, quickly acting
manures, as that of the horse stall, for
crops which you specially desire to bring
forward early, and applying the colder

manures, as from the cow stall and the
pig pen, and the yard generally, to crops
on which a more permanent influence is
sought. Not only the suds, &c., col-
lected about the sink-run, but all the
soil impregnated with it is valuable for
top dressing, often producing better re-
sults in the grass crop than so much
green manure from the barn. The scrap-
ings of the chip-yard and wood-house
are also valuable. The coarser parts, as
large chips and blocks of wood, should
be saved for fuel. The smaller portions
may be advantageously burnt by throw-
ing them into a large pile, and giving
them time to smoulder away into ashes,
charred wood, soot, and the like. In
this state, together with the scrapings of
the wood-house and yard, they make a
fine and valuable top dressing.

Wood ashes contain nearly all the in-
gredients of our cultivated crops, pot-
ash being the most valuable, and lime
the most abundant ingredient. Conse-
quently they are valuable for all soils not
abounding in both potash and lime, and
these are almost too limited to form an
exception. We advise the old farmer to
note carefully his expei ience with ashes,
and not to sell them till quite sure that
the soap boiler is giving more than they
are worth for his land — a thing which we
believe will rarely happen ; and to the
young farmer we would say, do not sell
your ashes at any price, till you have
fairly tested their value for your land.
In ninety-nine cases in a hundred the
farmer who sells his ashes is a loser by
it. By reason of the potash they con-
tain, they are admirably adapted to the
potato crop, as also to the grape vine,
and to nearly every kind of fruit ; and
by reason of the large per cent of lime,
they are specially favorable to the apple
tree, and to clover and peas. Suppose
a field is to be cultivated this year with
potatoes, next with peas, and then to be
followed by clover, no manure could be
so appropriate as ashes — the potash, ea-
sily soluble and quick in action, for the

AGRICULTURAL

197

potatoes; the lime, insoluble and'slower
of operation, for the peas and then for
the clover, as these last are peculiarly
lime crops, and as the action of lime is
lasting.

Leached ashes, as a part of the potash
has been taken out and considerable
lime added, would seem more suitable
for such crops as require a good deal of
lime, as apples, peas, clover ; while im-
Icached ashes might be expected to pro-
duce more favorable results on the pot-
ash crops, ns potatoes, tobacco and
grapes. There is policy in manuring
with reference mainly, but not solely, to
the first crop. A plan for each field
should be adopted, and the requirements
of the after crops should come in for a
part of the farmer's consideration, inas-
much as a quick return is desired on the
one hand, while the permanent produc-
tiveness of his field is not to be disre-
garded, nor its preparation for future
crops by present management to be
wholly overlooked.

Plaster is condemned in many regions
under an impression, correct it may be
in some cases, but generally incorrect,
that " it doe.s no good there." Unless
you know absolutely, that plaster is in-
effective on your land, use a little of it
with your farm manures ; sow it on
your young clover, and apply from 80
to 100 lbs, an acre to your pastures.
More than half of it is sulphuric acid
and the rest is lime. These are the very
elements that clover is made of Plaster
it is true is but slightly soluble. It re-
quires about 500 lbs. of water to dissolve
one of plaster. But the rains of our
climate are sufficient to dissolve 80 or
100 lbs. of it on an acre in a year, and
it would take very strong testimony to
make us believe that so much as our
rains will dissolve is not beneficial to
any crop, and particularly to clover,
corn, potatoes, and other crops in which
lime and sulphuric acid abounds. We
believe that many an old pasture, now
producing only wire grass, will grow

white and red clover, if fifty cents' worth
of plaster be applied each year to the acre,
or, what some might prefer, as less labori-
ous, one dollar's worth once in two years.

As planting time is just at hand, we
will say to the young farmer, plant your
potatoes as soon as the ground is in good
condition. You should have them in the
ground before our next number will
reach you. It may be that this year the
early planted will rot and the late planted
escape. No certain prediction can be
given ; but all experience goes to show
that the early planted are the safest.
And here let us say, do not apply strong,
nitrogenous manure (such as contains
much urine) to this ci'op. Carbonaceou.s
composts (such as contain much vegeta-
ble matter — straw, leaves, etc., but half
decomposed) are a safer application for
potatoes, since subject to the rot ; and
do not fail to give them ashes, to supply
the requisite amount of potash. A com-
post of four bushels of ashes, two of lime,
one of plaster, and a half bushel of salt,
is a good prescription f )r potatoes, to be
put at the rate of a small handful in the
hill, not compactly at one point, but con-
siderably scattered. If you omit the
salt, it will be no great matter, nor do
we suppose the plaster to be very im-
portant, nor would we stickle about the
lime, as the ashes contain that largely,
but stick to the ashes as the main thing ;
and if you use all, in about the propor-
tions we have named, be sure and throw
the compost over a considerable space in
the furrow, and then cover the seed to a
good depth, not less than four inches, as
otherwise you may be in our hair next
fall, complaining that the heating effects
of our prescription killed your seed and
you had no crop. We have known this
to happen, where the compost was placed
in a small compass, the seed put in it
and but slightly covered. If the weather
is ch-y and hot after planting, the danger
is the greater ; but with proper care in
the two respects mentioned, there will be
no danger, whatever the weather after

198

AGRICULTURAL,

planting may be. We have never known
potatoes to become diseased where the
foregoing mixture was apphed, and that
while in neighboring fields nearly the
entire crop was destroyed. We do not
offer it as a specific, but we believe that
it greatly improves the crop in quantity
and quality, and diminishes, if it does
not wholly remove, the danger from dis-
ease. It is, however, mainly to the
ashes, and not to any empyrical com-
pounding of other substances that we
ascribe the good effect. The potato is a
potash plant, and it can not develop it-
self vigorously without a plenty of that
ingredient.

The potato should be covered deeply ;
as soon as up, it should be weeded nice-
ly, but not hilled ; early after the weed-
ing, say not more than fifteen days, at
any rate before the tops begin to fall, it
should be slightly hilled, and then let
alone till harvested. It is worse than
labor lost to make large hills around po-
tatoes, and to hill them more than once
is folly. It only causes new setts, and
increases the number in a hill, without
increasing the Aveight, and that with a
decided injury to the quality.

Of Indian corn, unquestionably the
most important crop for this country as
a whole, we want to say a great deal,
but our next number will be in time for
that. Only remember, before disposing
of your manure for other purposes, that
corn is a gross feeder — will devour a
good thick turf and almost any manure
you choose to put with it ; and in our
next we will give you some hints on the
corn crop, which, if you think and act
for yourself, as every farmer should,
following nobody's advice till he sees its
correctness, you may turn to a good ac-
count.— Ed.

THE AIMS, SPIRIT AND VALUE
OP THE AMERICAN FARM-
ERS' MAGAZINE.

One who is entirely unknown by us
personally, and who has been a reader

of this magazine only since our connec-
tion with it, reports to us that he has
been so well pleased with it that he
mry readily complied with our request
accompanying the January number of
this year, to the effect that all old sub-
scribers, and all who received that num-
ber, should, if they approved the work,
pass the word round among their neigh-
bors, and help us to double our list. He
writes us that he sent the January num-
ber to an inteUigent and enterprising
farmer in a distant State, " one whose
patriotism takes mainly the direction of
a very thorough devotion of his energies
to the promotion of the interests of agri-
culture and agriculturists in this coun-
try," and that he forwarded by the same
mail a letter to this friend, giving him
the reasons which had led to the sending
that number, and asking his attention
to its spirit and tenor, its aims and con-
tents. He has sent us the substance of
that letter, remarking as follows. — Ed.

" I have sent you the substance of the
letter which I wrote to my friend when
I sent him the January number of your
magazine, thinking it quite likely that
others might be led to do something
similar, and call the attention of their
friends to the merits of the magazine,
either by sending a single number as a
specimen, or by ordering it sent to them
for a year in the way of a present at the
commencement of each month. Your
modesty may revolt at publishing any
commendations of your work, but as the
passages of my letter herewith sent con-
tain nothing but "words of truth and
soberness" from one friend to another,
and were intended originally merely to
point out to that friend a publication
which I thought he would find interest-
ing and instructive, without any refer-
ence to the interests of its editor or
publisher, I hope that any reluctance
you may feel will yield to these and sim-
ilar considerations, and that many may
be induced to follow the example and
submit your work to the examination of

AGRICULTURAL

199

their friends in one or other of the ways
which I have named."

The considerations suggested by our
unknown correspondent having prevailed
over our rcUictance to occupy any of our
space with what might be construed as
self-praise, we submit for candid exami-
nation the following passages of the let-
ter which accompanied the sending of
our January number to a friend, as sta-
ted in the foregoing paragraph. — Ed.

" I have used the liberty of sending
you the first number of an agricultural
journal, (which in one sense is a new one,
though more strictly a continuation of
the Plough^ Loorn^ and Anvil,) because
I think you will find it such a publica-
tion as you can heartily approve, and
such as you would like to countenance
and support. Its editor is not wholly a
stranger to you, as I have seen his work
entitled " The Progressive Farmer''' in
your library, and as we have had some-
thing to say in our correspondence in re-
gard to some of his letters from abroad,
published in The Country Gentleman.
The perusal of that book and of these
letters has doubtless left on your mind
an impression of a soundness of judg-
ment and a comprehensiveness of views,
not possessed by every writer or even
every editor.

•' In addition, however, to this some-
what rare qualification, you will find in-
dications, I think, in the course of this
single number of his magazine, of his
profession of several other qualifications
for the production of a first-rate journal
for the use of farmers and their families.
Even on the very first page you will
catch a glimpse of the spirit and aims
which characterize the American Farm-
ers^ Magazine. You will perceive that
while it aims at promoting an increase
of the material wealth of the readers, it
neglects no opportunity of making addi-
tions to their intellectual pleasures and
treasures, or of advancing their children
in knowledge, goodness, and prepared-

ness for a life of usefulness and respect-
ability.

"You will perceive, also, here and
there throughout the editorial notes and
articles in this number, that the editor is
actuated by an appreciation of the im-
portance of agriculture, which rises to
the fervor of an enthusiastic devotion to
the honor and interests of all who are
engaged in it. He avows his belief that
agriculture must be honored in the
hearts of all men, ' if a higher civiliza-
tion is to dawn on mankind, or if Chris-
tianity is yet to have a more perfect
work.' You will see here and there
proofs of his sincerity and earnestness
in desiring and endeavoring to redeem
farm-work from the stigma of being
merely a business for the muscles at the
expense of the mind, and to elevate it to
the dignity of a concern that will make
both mind and body strong and active.

"Firmly convinced that in farming
we are not at the end of all improvement
as yet, he manifestly endeavors, by stim-
ulating the energies of men of science,
practical farmers, and mechanics of in-
genuity, to aid in the introduction of
those improvements which will surely
relieve the severity of toil, and elevate
the farmer to a higher position in socie-
ty. In conclusion, you will see that the
aim of this work is to contribute, not
only to the material prosperity of farm-
ers, but also to the happiness of their
homes, and to their intelligence, influ-
ence, elevation, and respectability as cit-
izens and members of society at large."

* ♦

Of our ability to carry out successfully
the high aims which this writer ascribes
to us, we may not speak, and we shall
perhaps be blamed for allowing another
— one many hundreds of miles from us,
whom we have never seen and wh»
knows us only through our writings — to
speak in these pages ; but, as he speaks
only of our aims, and as we are deeply
conscious that these are such as he de-
scribes, wo admit the article, with some

200

AGRICULTURAL

hesitation, and take the liberty to say,
that if others of our readers, who ap-
prove our course, will copy the example
of this writer, in making this woi'k
known to their friends, now at the be-
ginning of the year, they will do us a
substantial favor, and we will not be un-
grateful.— Ed.

THE RED CATTLE OF NEW-
ENGLAND.

We continue the article on the Red
Cattle of New-England, a portion of
which was excluded from our March
number for leant of room. — Ed.

Avglesey Ox. — Anglesey is an island
on the extreme north and west of Wales,
south of Liverpool, connected with the
main land by a chain bridge. Ten thou-
sand cattle a year have been bred on this
island, and on coming to maturity driv-
en to the eastern part of England to fat-
ten for the London market. The Welsh
cattle are generally black or dark color-
ed, astonishingly hardy, vigorous, full of
health, round barrels, elevated and well-
spread shoulders, chest deep, forehead
flat, horns rising boldly up, broad
chimes, roomy hips, and are a race that
put on fat early.

Wales has always been a remarkable
country. The land of Cambria was re-
nowned even before the days of the Ro-
mans. It is a mountainous country,
looking right over into the Western
Ocean, and is about one hundred and
fifty miles long, and fifty broad. It con-
tains twelve counties, and sends twenty-
four members to Parliament from the
counties, besides the borough members.
It is the country to which the ancient
Britons fled when England was invaded
by the Romans, the Saxons, and the
Danes and Normans, and in 1283 was
the first time it submitted to a foreign
dominion. The general face of the coun-
try is bold, romantic, with ranges of
lofty mountains and extensive valleys.
The cattle in this country have always
been numerous, strong and healthy ; in

color inclining to the black. The stock
is an original race far back in the annals
of time, before any historical memorials
a,ppear. Pembroke, Glamorgan, Rad-
norshire, Flintshire, Monmouthshire,
Montgomeryshire, and other counties,
contain different herds, sometimes called
distinct races. In many places the cat-
tle are of all colors ; by crossing it is
changed to brindle, brown, red, bay and
black, with white faces and bellies, or
red with white faces and bellies.

We have spoken of the Glamorgan
stock in our previous number, and we
will only add the following relative to
these, the Montgomerys, and the Here-
fords. No less than four counties of
Wales border on the Bristol Channel ;
besides Hereford, Shropshire, Cheshire
and Gloucester, are in its immediate
neighborhood.

The American people in early times
came very much from Wales, especially
into Rhode Island, the southern part of
Massachusetts, and the eastern part of
Connecticut, bringing their cattle with
them. The Welsh people have ever
been renowed for their love of liberty
and independence, and it is said that no
less than thirteen members who signed
the American Declaration of Indepen-
dence in 1776, were descended from dif-
ferent families in Wales ; in other words
they were the descendants of Welsh-
men.

Glamorgan Cattle. — The Glamorgan
cattle were originally esteemed one of
the best breeds in England. They were
of the ancient Welsh stock, but more or
less crossed on the Devons. The old
feeders in Leicestershire, Warwickshire,
and Wiltshire were in the habit of pur-
chasing these cattle for their stalls for
fattening. The Warwickshire people
have themselves long possessed breeds
of cattle of a superior kind, which seem
to have been a race of long-horns with a
cross of the Herefords and Alderneys.
George III. had a well selected stock of
these Glamorgan cattle on his farm at

AGRICULTURAL

SOI

Windsor. Indeed the fattening qualities
of tlicse cattle and other Welsh cattle
were proverbial. The best cross on this
breed is said to be on the Ayrshire, of
Scotland, producing a hardy animal, apt
to fatten, a good milker, and when fed
affording excellent beef. The color of
these cattle was red and brown, with a
small head, lively countenance, neck well
arched, carcase round and well turned,
good workers and docile.

Mon^gomerysMre Cattle. — This coun-
ty is situated in the highlands of Wales ;
it po.cscssed two distinct races of cattle,
one from the hills, red, brindled and
black ; the animal was healthy, hardy,
apt to fatten, and made a strong, light
ox, quick at work, full of spirit, but the
cows were said to be inferior milkers.
The other race was found in the vale of
the Severn River. The ox fattened read-
ily ; the color was brown with white
under the belly, the horns slender, but
well turned. The cows, when properly
fed, were good milkers and made excel-
lent cheese. This race is evidently a
cross on the Devons and the old Welsh
cattle.

The Severn River heads in the moun-
tains of Wales ; after running east into
England, it then turns south and finds
its way into the valle}'' of the Bristol
Channel, which was formerly the great
place of embarkation of the Pilgrims to
America.

The Hereford Cattle.— The Herefords
originally were a brown, or red brown,
with not a white spot about them. They
originally had almost exclusive posses-
sion of the county of Hereford. This
county lies along the extreme west of
England, adjacent to Wales. These ox-
en were considerably larger than the
Devons ; they arc higher and broader,
heavier in the chime, rounder and wider
across the hips, better covered with fat,
eyes full and lively, forehead broad, good
horns, long neck, head small, chest deep,
broad and full, loins broad, hips wide,
rump level with the back, barrel round

and roomy, carcase deep and well spread,
ribs broad and flat, flesh mellow and
soft. These cattle fatten to a greater
weight than the Devons — they are docile,
of great strength, adapted for heavy work,
rather active, generally not considered the
best for the dairy ; when crossed on the
Devons they materially improve each
other. The Herefords are said to be an
aboriginal breed, and descended from the
same stock as the Devons. When fatten-
ed the beef is said to be fine grained and
beautifully marbled. The ox f:itt ens kind-
ly, and they are much esteemed in the
London market. When a cow is inclin-
ed to give a large quantity of milk, the
breeding qualities of the animal arc lessen-
ed,and the form of the animal is deteriorat-
ed. They were considered one of the best
breeds for graziers and butchers in Eng-
land.

The Gloucestershire Cattle. — Glouces-
tershire is in the southern part of Eng-
land, situated on the River Severn, up
from the Bristol Channel, north of Wilt-
shire, and south-east of Herefordshire.
This was formerly one of the best dairy
counties in England. A great quantity
of cheese Avas formerly made in this
count)'^; it is of two sorts — the single
and double. The first was made of skim
milk, or from a mixture of skimmed and
pure milk. Ttie double from pure un-
skimmed milk. The best cows have
been known to produce 24 quarts of
milk a dny for seven months after calv-
ing. It is said that the original race of
cattle in this county was small, of an in-
different figure, but were well adapted
to active work in a hilly country. The
color a reddish brown.

A cross on the old long-horns of Wilt-
shire produced a larger race, with a ten-
dency to fatten. Crosses were made at
an early day upon the Duihanis and
Yorkshire, and the old short-horns which
produced animals of good milking quali-
ties, remarkable for milk large in quan-
tity and rich in quality ; it is said that
the Herefords and Devons were much

202

AGRICULTURAL.

sought after for crossing. A great many
of this race of cattle were brought into
New-England, especially into the old
Massachusetts colony in the county of
Middlesex, and into the Plymouth colony.

Somersetshire Cattle. — Somersetshire
lies east of the Bristol Channel, and
north-east of Devonshire, joining the
two. This was also a noted dairy coun-
ty in England. The cheese of Somerset-
shire is celebrated for its good and rich
qualities. The dairy farmers sell off
their cows at the age of 12 years. The
milk now begins to deteriorate and les-
sen in quantity. The original race of
cattle in this county were the South De-
vons, but they were early crossed on the
old short -horns and the Durham stock,
producing one of the best breeds of milk-
ers. It is said that the improved race
are of a superior quality, and nearly
equal to the short- horns in the quantity
of their milk. This county, lying upon
the Bristol Channel, supplied many cat-
tle for the first New-England settlements.

Dorsetshire Cattle. — Dorsetshire, Eng-
land, is bounded on the south by the
EngUsh Channel, west by Devonshire,
north by Wiltshire and east by Hamp-
shire. The towns of Dorchester and
Weymouth, in this county, lie right op-
posite to the islands of Alderney and
Jersey, on the French coast, looking
right over to Normandy and Brittany.
The original race of cattle in this county
were said to have been a race of South
Devons, but crossed upon the Alderneys
and French Cattle. The Durhams and
Herefords were early brought into this
country.

Dorsetshire has ever sent great quan-
tities of butter to the London market, as
well as cheese made from skimmed milk.
It is one of the noted dairy counties in
England.

It is said that the long-horns of Wilt-
shire were formerly crossed on the Dor-
setshire cattle. This breed was early
known and noted for two qualities — good
for the milk and for the stalls. Many of

the early Puritans came in from Dorset-
shire to New-England ; (the Dorchester
people were almost entirely from this
county.) The soil of this county was
generally rich and fertile. The climate
was rather mild and congenial. Old
Dorchester was the capital of the county
while Portland was a seaport town of
notoriety, as well as the towns of Wey-
mouth, Bridgeport and Wareham. The
people from Dorsetshire liberally sup-
plied themselves with cattle when they
came into New-England.

A modern writer declares that there
is no breed of cows in England superior
to the French cows from Flanders, Nor-
mandy and Brittany, for the quantity
and quality of their milk, nor for the
proportion of milk given for the quanti-
ty of food consumed ; that the best ow in
the British empire are the Alderneys ;
that a large number of heifers are sold
annually into England, where they are
in great request among the wealthy
classes for the dairies.

Many of the early cattle brought into
New- England were from towns along the
English Channel, Bristol Channel, and
the German Ocean. Falmouth was at
one time a port of embarkation. Ber-
wick, York, Plymouth, Weymouth,
Southampton, Brighton, Portsmouth,
Newport, Dover, Chelmsford, Colchester,
Ipswich, Yarmouth, Norwich, Lynn, Bos-
ton, Hull, Beverly and Scarborough, were
all maritime towns on the southern and
eastern sides of England, and places of
embarkation for the Pilgrims.

DerlysMre, Wiltshire, Shropshire,
Oxfordshire, and Warwicl'shire Cattle.
— These were a race of long-horns,
strong, healthy animals, and when fed
well in the pastures the cows were good
milkers. The animal was rather raw-
boned and stood high feeding well.

The Wiltshire cattle were esteemed
some of the best in England. Many of
these were brought into New-England
by the first Pilgrims.

The Warwickshire cattle were nearly

AGRICULTURAL

20S

allied to the Leiccstershires ; indeed the
Leiccstcrshircs, Derbyshircs, Oxford-
shires, Staffordshires, Wiltshires, and
Shropshires were all originally descend-
ants of the long-horns of Craven and
Cumberland. The long-horns were one
of the strongest, healthiest, and hardiest
race of cattle in England. This animal
by a cross on the Iloldernesshas made a
strong, large, and vigorous race. The
cow gives a great quantity of milk, and
has become an excellent dairy animal.

The cattle from the Midland counties
in England have ever shown themselves
a strong, healthy and valuable race, and
when transplanted to America easily be-
come acclimated, and now furnish many
of our best cattle for beef and milk.
They were races of cattle that perpetuate
themselves on the New-England moun-
tains to very great advantage, making
strong, large, healthy, and rather bony
animals ; but when come to maturity
and fed well, produce some of the best
beeves for market in New-England.
They are all excellent cattle for heavy
work. The short-horn stock are gen-
erally animals which give a large quan-
tity of milk ; but the milk is not very
valuable for cheese or butter, and the
cattle are generally not strong for work.
They are feeble compared with the long-
horns or the middle-horns. They gen-
erally put on flesh very quickly, but the
cattle of this description do not furnish
so fine or healthy beef as the long-horns.
The middle-horns and the animals gener-
ally speaking belonging to the short- horn
race, are not so healthy ; they breed out
easily and do not retain the good quali-
ties of the parent stock for any great
length of time. The people of the east-
ern part of England are aware of this ;
hence they are continually procuring
droves and herds of cattle from AN'ales
and Scotland, and from the mountain
districts in J^ngland. Parlies who read
the proceedings of English Agricultural
Societies will discover that the prize ani-
mals mostly come from or are bred in the

hilly regions of England, or among the
mountains in Wales or Scotliind.

Many of the people in Amcsbury and
Salisbury in Essex Co., Massachusetts,
about the Merrimac river, came from
Wiltshire in the southern and western
part of England. The first settlements
were made here prior to 1640. They
brought in with them at that time the
Wiltshire cattle, which were the long-
horns, crossed on the Aldcneys, the
Devons and the Ilercfords with occasion
ally a strain of the Welsh cattle.

Salisbury in Essex county, was
named from the old town of Salisbury
situated in the south of England. The
county of Wiltshire lies east of Dorset-
shire and Somersetshire, and south of
Gloucestershire. It is 53 miles long,
and embraces quite a large territory.

While the inhabitants who first settled
Andover, in the county of Essex, came
from old Audover, in the county of
Hampshire, bordering on the English
Channel, oppo.^ite France, many of the
settlers of this town came in direct from
England, bringing with them their cat-
tle, and among the rest a race called at
that day, the Hampshire Ox. This ani-
mal was closely allied to the Sussex, was
crossed upon the Alderneys as well as
the South Devons and the Wiltshire
long-horns, producing a large, strong
animal, good for beef, work and milk ;
the color was generally red.

This part of England was formerly the
resort of many of the early Saxons, who
originated in the mountain coUntrj', in a
region about the head waters of the river
Elbe in the middle of Europe, in Saxo-
ny and Bohemia. Indeed we may go to
the highlands on the continent of Europe,
north of Italy, through Austria, Bohe-
mia and Bavaria, for the race of cattle
which prevailed in England in early pe-
riods of its history.

The best cattle are mountain animals,
and they do not improve in health by
being sent to the lowlands, marshes and
plains for breeding and pasturage. The

204

AGEICULTURAL,

town of Bilericay in Middlesex county,
Massachusetts, was named from the olfi
town of Bilericay. in the county of Essex
in England. This is a beautiful, fertile
and maritime county, bounded east by
the ocean, south by the river Thames,
which separates it from the county of
Kent. In early times it was noted for
its butter ; latterly it is called the Ep-
ping butter, which it supplies in greater
proportions than any other county in the
kingdom, for the London market.

The old Suffolh Dun Cow was former-
ly much found here, as well as a race of
short-horn cattle, imported from Holland
and Belgium. They were good milkers,
and when taken to the stalls produced
great quantities of beef. The settlement
began in this town as early as 1637 ; in-
deed many of the people in the counties
of Essex and Middlesex, in Massachu-
setts, came in originally from the eastern
and southern part of England, with
their cattle. These cattle were general-
ly good for the dairy ; most of them were
the middle-horns ; a few of them were
of the long-horns, some were Leicester-
shires, some were Yorkshires, and some
Durhams, but not so many of the Devons
and Welsh cattle were introduced into
the Old Massachusetts Colony by the
first settlers, as were into the New Ply-
mouth colony, and into Connecticut and
Rhode Island.

In looking at the statistics of Massa-
chusetts at the present day, we find that
Middlesex is one of the best dairy coun-
ties in the State. Worcester is the
best, having produced 1,637,978 lbs. of
butter, and 1,791,030 lbs. of cheese in
one year. The stock of cattle in this
county are the descendants of the races
first introduced into Essex, Middlesex,
and Norfolk counties by the first Pil-
grims.

Berkshire county produced 1,262,845
lbs. of butter and 2,658,192 lbs. of
cheese. The old county of Hampshire,
Massachusetts, produced 2,445,289 lbs.
of butter within the same period. This

county includes Franklin, Hampden and
Hampshire.

The cattle of Berkshire county, Mass.,
came in originally mostly from the Hou-
satonic Valley, and from the western part
of Connecticut, and also from the Hudson
river, including a large share of the origi-
nal Dutch or Holland stock. The cattle
of Old Hampshire county came from the
New-Haven and Connecticut colonies,
and from Dorchester, which was at one
time the head- quarters of a large emigra-
tion. The same remarks will apply to
many of the cattle first introduced into
Worcester county.

The old Aldcrneys crossed on the
Devons, the Sussex ox, and the Wilt-
shire long-horns form a large and strong
animal, among the best for beef and
milk. Along with these came some of
the long-horns fit»m Cumberland, Nor-
thumberland and Leicestershire, Eng-
land. Indeed Miles Standish, one of the
original Puritans, and the captain of the
band that first landed at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, was born in Lancashire,
England, and was an officer in the Brit-
ish army before he joined the congrega-
tion at Lyden.

The county of Worcester, Massachu-
setts, received a very large supply of its
original inhabitants from the Plymouth
colony, and subsequently from Middle-
sex and Essex.

The Massachusetts colony had import-
ed by the year 1640 large numbers of
cattle. There had come into the colony
up to this period 21,200 passengers in
about 298 ships.

The Puritans were at great pains in
settling their colonies and grants. It
had cost them by the year 1640, more
than $1,000,000 for emigration to New-
England. The people were mostly of
high intelligence ; they knew what
good farming was, apd what kind of cat-
tle were necessary for their stock. Com-
parison and observation had given the
eye of the Pilgrims the expo ience to
discover and pick out the very best ani-

AGRICULTURAL,

206

mals. Such were brought over by the
early fothcrs.

The town of Mcdford, in the county
of Middlesex, Massachusetts, was first
settled b}^ emigrants from Lincoln and
Northampton counties, in the north and
east part of England. Here were found
the long-horns and the old Leicester-
shire cattle, as also many of the short-
horn cattle.

Northamptonshire contained less waste
land and more seats of the nobility and
gentry than any of the other counties in
England. The town of Northampton,
England, has long been noted for its ca-
pacious markets, while the trade for
boots and shoes manufactured in this
county was very great.

The county of Norfolk, England, at
an early day, produced great quantities
of butter ; while in the county of Lin-
coln the breed of cattle was larger than
that of any other county in England ex-
cept Somersetshire. Lincoln has ever
stood noted as an agricultural county in
England. The old Lincolnshire ox was
a middle-horn. The county is a mari-
time county on the German Ocean.

The soil of Durham, East Yorkshire,
Lincoln, Suffolk and Norfolk counties,
England, is of the most recent formation,
full of the remnants of exeuvia, from the
ocean. Many cattle from these counties
were transferred to the counties of Essex
and Middlesex, Massachusetts, and were
the originals out of which a portion of
the dairy cattle introduced by the first
emigrants into the old Massnchusetts
colony, and subsequently into Worcester
county and the south part of New-Hamp-
shire were produced.

The town of Springfield, Massachu-
setts, was first settled in 1635 by a col-
ony under the old Plymouth grant in
England. William Pynchon, Esq., was
the leader of this settlement ; he got his
commission in England. The colony
first came to Roxbury, Massachusetts.
The cattle brought in by this colony
were the old North Devons, the Here-

fords, and Welsh cattle crossed on the
Alderneys ; they formed an exceedingly
fine race of cattle for the new w<rld.
The grant to this colony M-as a tract 25
miles square, lying on both sides cf Con-
necticut river, and included the towns of
Suffield, Southwiclc, Westfield, West
Springfield, Old Springfield, Sommers,
Ludlow, Long Meadow, and Enfield in
Connecticut, embracing a very fine tract
of country exceedingly fertile and well
adapted to the growth of neat cattle.

Northampton, 20 miles above Spring-
field, was settled in 1G53 by a colony
from Springfield and Hartford, Connect-
icut. The land was purchased of the
Indians. This tract was located along
the west side of Connecticut river, em-
bracing the towns of Northampton, East-
hampton, Southampton, Norwich, and
Chesterfield. The descendants of the
old Devons and Alderneys, Herefords,
Wiltshires and Welsh cattle were the
first stock introduced into this region.

Hadley, on the opposite side of Con-
necticut river from Northampton, was
settled in 1G56 by a colony that came
from Hartford, Connecticut, and also
from New-Haven. This tract of coun-
try was also very large ; it embraced
Williamsburgh, Whateley, old Had-
ley, South Hadley, Amherst, Sun-
derland, Leverett, and Pelhani. The
New-IIaven colony and Hartford colony
supplied cattle which were the descend-
ants of the North Devons, Herefords,
Alderneys, the old Sussex ox, and many
strains from the Welsh cattle. Occa-
sionally cattle would come in to the val-
ley of the Connecticut river from the
long-horns of Wiltshire, Worcester, and
Berkshire in England, as well as strains
of the Leicestershires, the Cumberland
and Lancashire long-horns. These set-
tlements in the valley of the Connecticut
soon extended to old Deerfield, Green-
field, Northfield, and ultimately up the
river through New-Hampshire and Ver-
mont to Canada. In passing up the val-
ley of the Connecticut river from Long

206

AGRICULTURAL

Island Sound to Canada, a person will of-
ten see a race of long-horns apparently a
progeny of the old Cumberland types.
These cattle have large Hmbs, bones and
carcases, the horns very large, stout
and long. The animal when young ap-
pears rather coarse, but when grown at-
tain an immense size, exhibiting an ox
which produces the largest quantity of
beef of any similar animal known. These
cattle come to maturity rather slow, but
they will stand higher and longer feed-
ing in the stalls than any other race.

There is no country in the world that
furnishes better well-fed oxen than the
towns along the Connecticut > iver. The
hills and pastures on each side of this
noble stream are the most fertile of any
in this or any other country, in grasses
and feed for cattle while at pasture ; and
the broad valley of the Connecticut river
yields hay, Indian corn, and other grain
superior to any other in America, and in
quantities almost beyond comprehension,
while the climate is clear, cool, generally
rather dry, and the most healthy for the
animal races. New-England may be
proud of her cattle as well as of her men.

In almost every part of Europe and
England skulls of cattle have been dug
up and found far exceeding in bulk any
now known. There is a fine specimen
in the British Museum. Such skulls
have been found in the vicinity of the
mines in Cornwall, England, showing
types of the Devons, Ea>t Sussex, and
Welsh cattle, as well as of the Scotch
Highland cattle. Calves, when permit-
ted to run with the cow, will suckle two
years and longer. Mr. Pell, of the Am-
erican Institute, killed a calf which had
run and suckled two years ; it then
weighed, when slaughtered, 2000 lbs.

The largest cattle can only be raised
by letting the calves suckle until they
wean themselves ; at about two years of
age the teeth have now become a new
set, the milking teeth fell out, and the
animal is now able with its Inrge, firm
teeth to crop the grass and obtain a liv-

ing for itself without the aid of its mo-
ther.

"We violate the laws of nature when
we wean the calves and feed them on
skimmed milk, or undertake to control
their feed ; the stock now becomes stunt-
ed and dwarfish. There is no tampering
with the laws of nature with impunity
without producing injury, and breeders
only want to follow those laws to secure
the largest, the best, and the most pro-
fitable stock.

Whilst the lumbering business lasted
in New-Hampshire, the breeding of large
cattle was much attended to. Calves
were allowed to run with the cows and
suck at pleasure. Men were ambitious
to be distinguished by the size and
strength of their oxen. Bets were fre-
quently made upon the exertion of their
.strength. The prize was contended for
as earnestly as the laurels at the Olym-
pic games. As husbandry has gained
ground, less attention is paid to the
strength and more to the fetness of cat-
tle for the market. From the upper
part of New-Hampshire great herds of
fat cattle are driven to the Boston mar-
ket. It is said that there are twenty
cattle in New-Hampshire to one horse.
(See Sd Vol. of Belknap's New-Hamp-
shire, page 105.)

Alanson Nash,

36 Beekman street.

DUTIES OF FARMERS.

The following from the Ohio Valley
Farmer, by Geo. Trowbridge, Camden,
N. J., is the introduction to a longer ar-
ticle on the same subject, and it so
abounds in truth and good sense, that
we can not forbear to copy it :

Among the many duties which devolve
upon farmers, there is none of higher
importance, or to which is attached a
greater share of responsibility, than that
of affording to the rising generation the
means of instruction, and the facilities
for cultivating the vind. In is in vain
that we talk of improving the soil and
elevating the standard of agriculture in

AGRICULTURA L

207

this country, while the youth, the sons
and dauj^htcrs of farmers, are denied the
privileges of education and moral cul-
ture— which every sound and thinking
mind will admit are necessary to enable
them to pursue their avocations with
pleasure and profit, and to discharge in
a proper manner their duty in the vari-
ous relations of life.

The subject of education in schools is
of vast importance to farmers, and may
with propriety be discussed in an agri-
cultural journal ; but I intend in this ar-
ticle only to point out some of the er-
rors and omissions of dvty, with which
many farmers are chargeable, in the edu-
cation and training of those who are soon
to enter upon the stage of action, and to
whom the agricultural interest must look
for its friends and advocates. Educa-
tion does not consist solely in the know-
ledge gained at schools. The history
of some of our most eminent men shows
that individual exertion, when aided and
encouraged by parental advice and aid,
may be the means of acquiring a degree
of knowledge and of reaching a position
which the mere advantages of school
would never afford. I here repeat, what
wc have often in effect said, that self-cul-
tiu'e is more neglected among the farmers
than any other class of persons. It is
time that there was a reform in this res-
pect, and we are happy in being able to
say that there is evidence of a desire for
agricultural reading, which pervades to
some extent the youth of this country.
It is the duty of those having the care
of yoiith, so to encourage the first ap-
pearances of these desires, as to form
permanent habits, and a disposition for
investigation, which alwaji's leads to val-
uable results. The youthful mind is
never inactive, and if it is thwarted from
its laudable inclination, will be very
likely to engage in the pursuit of objects
which it would be wiser to avoid.

There is no subject in which the mind
of young men can with more propriety
be emplo)'ed, than in the improvement
of agriculture \ and we think the judg-
ment of our readers will coincide with
ours, when we say that the surest means
of leading the niind to an investigation
of agricultural science, and the best
means of accomplishing objects of im-
provement, is to place before them pub-
lications which have for their aim the
good of the agricultural interest.

Often have we heard the boy of 12 or
15 years urge his father to subscribe for

an agricultural paper, which would cost
only a dollar a year, and promising to
read it attentively, and in some insiances
to earn the subscription money by ex-
tra exertions, whi'e the father would
utterly refuse to allow him the privilege
of storing his mind with information,
which might be the means of adding
greatly to his usefulness, and preventing
him from acquiring habits of dissipation
and idleness. And why is this refused?
Simply because it will cost a small sum
of money, while ten times as much
would perhaps would be freely expended
on objects which can V)e of no possible
advantage to the \outhful mind. There
are hundreds of such cases, and we wish
in a respectful manner to call the atten-
tion of such individuals to the subject,
and to show them the rcsj^misihility
which they have thus voluntarily as-
sumed. Where is the man who is will-
ing to stand in the way of improvement,
by keeping, as far as his influence goes,
the sons and daughters of farmers igno-
rant of the means of improvement which
shall be extended to them in their youth ?
Every opportunity should be embraced
to impress upon young persons the ad-
vantages, as well as the respectaMlity of
agricultural pursuits.

The above and much more, which we
would copy if our limits permitted, is
all sober truth. The greatest men that
have blessed the world have been j'our
practical, self-made men. They are men
who have seized the home opportunities
and made much of them.

Reader, just cast your thoughts around
you, and sec how many young men
there are in your neighborhood who
ought to have the reading of this maga-
zine but do not have it. Some such jou
will certainly find. Go to them ; tell
them of its advantages ; tell their fa-
thers the benefits of such a journal for
themselves and their families. We told
you in our last, that as our January and
February numbers are nearly exhausted,
we would send the work to new subscri-
beis the balance of the year, commenc-
ing with April, for $1. We will now go
one step further; we will send it one
year, from the first of April, for $1 each
to clubs of twenty and upwards. Every

208

AGRICULTURAL

one of our readers can raise such a club
if he wills it, at such a price. And now,
reader, give us a push. Our motto is
Onward. We want our farmers to have
this work. We want their sons to read
it, and to achieve a higher destiny in life
for reading it, and they will if their fa-
thers do the right thing — let them have
it. Give it to them in their own name
if they prefer. Young people sometimes
value a thing more if it is their own, and
this is all right and well. Let fathers
order it for a son who is little inclined
to inform himself, and, our word for it,
that son will take a new turn — will be
more inquisitive, less satisfied with low
pleasures, and a safer hope and reliance
for the old age of the parent. Will our
readers carry out these thoughts, and
see what they can do to give them a
practical effect in their town or county ?
Every man is now our agent who will
send us names, with the money, at rates
stated in our Prospectus, and on receipt
of the money we will acknowledge the
same to him and to each of his subscrib-
ers, and will faithfully fulfill the contract
to send the numbers. To say nothing
of the benefit of such a work to an old
farmer, at least 50,000 young men, not
yet supplied with the most useful read-
ing, ought to have it ; and if our readers
will just do up the business of a volun-
tary agency about home, such will be
the result, and another result will be,
that next year they and all others, in
consequence of the large number re-
quired, can have the work for one dollar
as it is, or for a little over one dollar,
greatly enlarged.

UNDERDRAINING, IRRIGATION,

ETC.

BY E. li. WATERBtJRY, M. D.

In 1851 I purchased a meadow of
about six acres, consisting of two
very different kinds of land. The up-
per part of it was composed of what
geologists term drift or loose stone, with
their corners worn off" by attrition against

each other, and deposited in a direction
and inclination nearly uniform during
some uncertain ancient period. The
lower part, which was not quite so hu-ge,
was composed of swampy ground under-
laid by clay, and was very much the
most productive. A mountain brook
that crossed a corner of the upper part,
suggested to me the idea of converting
the dry hill side into a wet land like the
lower part, and thus rendering it equally
fertile. Accordingly, by means of sluices
from the stream taken along the side of
the hill, at a downward inclination of
about the half of one degree, I managed
to obtain a sufficient supply of w;jter,
but when applied instead of wetting the
soil generally I found it to percolate al-
most directly down until it met the im-
pervious lower strata, running along
which it made its appearance as numer-
ous springs at the upper edge of the na-
turally wet part of the meadow. During
the same and the subsequent season I
had occasion to subject some fifty acres
or more of meadow land of clayey soil to
irrigation with in every case a beneficial
result ; in some cases the annual growth
of grass being more than quadrupled.
From these experiments I drew the con-
clusion that irrigation to be of practical
value must be practised on soils not too
open, but which have enough plasticity
of composition to prevent too rapid fil-
tration through them, and that when
practised on such soils as nature dresses
with water, it is one of the cheapest and
most effective means of improving them
in fertility.

The water that was supplied to this
hill side during the two years in whic"h
the experiment was conducted, was like
all surface water, roilly, that is more or
less charged with organic matter, and
yet after the filtration, when it made its
appearance in the springs, it was not
only quite free from any such taste, but
it had dissolved out and brought to the
surface from within the hill such salts as
rendered it hard. The extent of this ex-

AGRICULTURAL.

200

periment and the time during which it
continued, leave no doubt that the water
under certain very common circum-
stances carries no organic matter which
may be dissolved in it below a foot or so
in the soil, while it dissolves and brings
to the surface continually soluble sub-
stances from within the earth.

The water of irrigation is merely a
substitute for rain, and consequently ir-
rigation is most necessary, and of course
furnishes the most stinking results on
such soils and such crops as feel drouth
soonest. As the substances that com-
pose plants must at first enter into their
composition in a soluble condition, and
as the solution from which they are re-
vived by the action of the sun on plant
tissue is exceedingly dilute, it follows
that the growth of the plant is princi-
pally governed by the supply of mois-
ture. It is the principal province of the
laborious processes of tillage to retain
the natural supply of water and furnish
it to the plant as it is needed during the
action of the sun. In the same manner
that a cloth wrung is freed from mois-
ture and refuses to absorb, so docs a
hard soil. The bed of a turnpike road
is sooner dry than the neighboiing plow-
ed field. The surface of the earth stir-
red by the plow to the depth of six
inches, will absorb and retain one or two
inches of rain which will give growing
plants a fair supply of water for ten days
or two weeks of exposure to a bright
sun. By increasing the depth of tillage
to twelve inches, the risk of a longer
drouth is avoided and a greater aggre-
gate growth is secured, as there are less
extremes of variation. It is in this way
that deep tillage of land seems to ef-
fect so much benefit, and indeed it is
extremely difficult to account for the
well known benefits of frequently stir-
ring the soil on any purely chemical hy-
pothesis.

The supply of rain to the difierent
countries of the earth, when not inter-
fered with by local causes, such as ranges
14-

of mountains, will be found to corre-
spond to the intensity of sunshine, and
the same is generally true of any given
place for the difieront seasons of the
year. Thu.s, while we have some thirty-
five inches of rain annually, the average
fall in tropical countries is over a hun-
dred, and two-thirds of our thirty-five
inches fall during the hottest third of
our year.

In countries that are thoroughly cul-
tivated the greatest part of the rain that
falls never passes into the earth more
than a foot, being absorbed and retained
to be exhaled again by the growing
plants. Of that other part which passes
down by filtration to appear again in
springs, most of it is also evaporated
from the land those springs irrigate, but
a very small percentage finding its way
to the ocean.

It has been frequently remarked in
clearing away the forests of this country
and superseding them by a growth of
the grasses, that the springs become
smaller and in some cases di-y quite
away at times, where previously they
had been permanent, and also that the
annual freshets in the streams do not
rise so high as when the country they
drain was wooded. To account ior this
we may refer to some late experiments
in Europe that show that when soil is
trenched to the depth of three feet there
is no filtration, and that at less depths
the plants growing in it can use more
water during the -season in addition to
the rain than what drains away. In-
deed common observation shows us that
most plants growing on the banks of
streams where they obtain an unlimited
supply of water by upward filtration,
are greatly increased in growth. Hence
we may conclude that if in addition to
culture so deep as to retain all the rain
that falls we were to supply some addi-
tional water, it would increase the
growth.

We are not to conclude from these
facts that an unlimited supplj' of water

210

AGRICULTURAL.

to a soil is all that is necessary to render
it fertile ; although a soil in this condi-
tion does give a much better growth than
one in the opposite state of aridity. Wa-
ter and air are both necessary for the
decay of organic matter, and consequent-
ly for the supply of carbonic acid in the
soil on which vegetative growth depends.
It is probably by furnishing air as much
as by removing water that underdrain-
ing produces its effects. It is a well
known practical fact, that in those under-
drains that are working effectually, a cur-
rent of air is continually generated, and
this draft is probably connected with the
oxidation of organic matter in the soil.

If the processes of agriculture, then,
laborious as they are, derive their prin-
cipal value from the fact that they fur-
nish a steadily continuous supply of wa-
ter to plants ; and if the fertility of a
country may be judged of by its rain
gauge ; and if we have sunshine enough
to use up all of our rain, and even more
if it fell, then we ought to make such ar-
rangements as would save the greatest
possible amount of the water that annu-
ally falls, and leave as little of it as pos-
sible to run away iuto the sea. In the
case of meadows, when we can not plow
them annually, and when consequently
the soil becomes very hard, so that they
are the first to suffer from drought,
every little rill should be scrupulously
saved and distributed over the greatest
possible amount of surface. The same
is equally true of pasture, and even
plowed soils may be vastly benefited by
an additional supply of water.

SHOULD MANURE BE PLOWED
UNDER DEEPLY?

B. N. Feench, Esq., of Braintree, Mass.,
referring to a statement of ours last
month, in which we represented him as
opposed to the deep plowing in of ma-
nure, and alluded to an experiment of
bis, writes us as fuliows ; —

The case was as near as I can recollect
as follows. I had planted a lot of sod

land and found I had manure to spare.
I decided to take up an additional strip
of land on the side, of about 10 rods by
50 feet. At this time, 11th May, grass
quite forward, I had some excellent ma-
nure offered me for sale, which induced
me to try an experiment, which I had
heard recommended, of putting the ma-
nure on the grass, and plowing it under ;
which I did by putting this manure on
one end of the strip. I think this ma-
nured end was the best land. I plowed
under a sod of about ten inches. Then
all was manured alike and planted, but
the crop, where manured under as well
as on the top, proved no better th^n
where it was manured only on the top,
nor have I ever derived any benefit from
it since. I am opposed to putting ma-
nure in deep, but have not ascertained
the best depth. But as now advised, the
deeper the soil is disintegrated the bet-
ter, if it be well drained ; and with my
present opinion, I should prefer manure
to be covered one and a half inch rather
than three inches with soil. Light and
air I consider essential to all vegetating
roots. Trees are often set too deep. A
covering of three inches on the roots of
trees is abundant. But what depth
seeds should be planted and manure cov-
ered (I mean with exactness) I am only
able to give my opinion ; but of this I
am persuaded, there is no subject of
more importance to the farmer, and, I
might add, to the country, than the ao-
quisition of all fertilizing matter to the
soil, the safe keeping of it, and the most
judicious application of the same.

Eemarlcs. — We suppose that no exact
rule can be given as to how deeply ma-
nure should be covered ; that much de-
pends on the nature of the soil ; that if
clayey it should be nearer the surface,
only harrowed in ; but that in a light,
sandy, or gravelly soil, it may be covered
deeper ; and that in all cases it should
be so worked with the soil that, if possi-
ble, it may permeate and mingle with
the whole, from the surface downward,

AGRICULTURAL

211

as far as in that particular soil it is ad-
visable that it should be sunk.

With regard to seeds it is manifest
that those which are small, and which
produce feeble plants, should be deposit-
ed nearer the surface ; those of larger
size, and producing powerful shoots,
may bg planted deeper ; and then there
is something in the nature of the seed
itself to be observed, as well as in the
condition of the soil. A chestnut will
sprout best on a hard, gravelly soil, with
nothing over it but leaves enough to
mulch the ground and keep it moist.
Corn will sprout more vigorously if
buried in a mellow soil one, two, or three
inches deep, according as the soil is hea-
vy or light ; and we suppose the best
reason for covering potatoes four or five
inches deep, is that the new potatoes may
set at sufficient distance below the sur-
face, and may grow there undisturbed,
without the useless practice of making
high hills.— Ed.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

TOWNSHIP AGRICULTURAL AS-
SOCIATIONS—THEIR BENEFITS.

BY A WESTERN FARMER.

Mr. Editor : — About two years since
some of the leading farmers of this place
met and formed themselves into an Agri-
cultural Association for their mutual
benefit. The idea became popular, their
meetings drew a crowded house, and
most of the liberal minded, intelligent
fjirmers soon became members of it. The
results have been highly beneficial to
the cause of agriculture in our commu-
nity, even greater than were anticipated
at first. The officers are a President,
who presides at all our meetings, a Vice-
president, a Secretary, a Corresponding
Secretary, and a Reporter, who keeps
the association posted in respect to the
state of our principal markets from
month to month. The meetings are
held once a month. The exercises are
an oration from some member appointed
b)' the President at a previous meeting.

and the discussion of some question or
subject pertaining to agriculture, agreed
upon by the members at a previous
meeting. Every member is at liberty to
offer his opinion upon the subject under
discussion. Each speaker by the con-
stitution is restricted to ten minutes, and
when all who wish have spoken, each
one is at liberty to speak again. At the
close the President gives a synopsis of
the arguments that have been advanced,
and also gives his own opinion upon the
question. The Secretary also makes a
record of the arguments for future refer-
ence if desired. If the time of the meet-
ing is not all occupied by the exercises
mentioned, opportunity is given for the
communication of any intelligence per-
taining to the science of farming, or any
experiments any individual may have
made. A township fair is held in the
fall for the exhibition of stock and vege-
tables ; and in the winter for the exhibi-
tion of winter fruit, wheat, corn, oats,
etc., at each of which meetings an ad-
dress is delivered by some one previous-
ly appointed. Our fair the last fall was
acknowledged by good judges to be su-
perior to many county fairs, and the
fruit exhibition in January was highly
creditable to the place.

This brief notice has been communi-
cated with the hope that other townships
may be influenced to follow the example.
Agriculture is one of the most noble em-
ployments— one that calls for the exer-
cise of intellect as well as of manual la-
bor. The old stereotyped method of
farming which our ancestors practised,
is, much of it, a relic of the past, to be
forgotten amid the improvements of the
present day. The age demands progress
in this science as well as others. And
for this thought, and study, and obser-
vation, and experiment are necessary.
Farmers should be men of liberal and
well disciplined minds, ready to break
loose from the shackles of antiquit}"-, and
to think and reason for themselves —
ready to investigate with candor the

212

AGRICULTURAL

opinions of others, though they may dif-
fer from their own. They should seek
knowledge from every reliable source.

It is believed that from associated ef-
fort like that mentioned above, much
good may result ; at least such has been
the effect here. An impulse has been
given to farming in this place, that is
seen and acknowledged by the commu-
nity around. In this way much useful
knowledge may be obtained. An indi-
vidual who expects to take part in the
discussion, will be led to study, to reflect
upon, and to investigate the subject.
And thus while preparing to impart in-
formation to others, a reflex influence
will be exerted upon his own mind. It
will be expanded, his stock of knowledge
will be increased, and his views enlarged
and rendered more liberal. Much infor-
mation may also be derived from the dis-
cussion. New views will be advanced
that will lead to reflection and research.
Where mind is thus brought in contact
with mind, new trains of thought will
be awakened that otherwise would have
lain dormant in the mind. Something
may be learned from aN, even the weak-
est member. There may be points to
which he has turned his individual at-
tention more closely than others, and
concerning which he can impart infor-
mation that may be useful. No one
should excuse himself on the ground of
inability. The result of experiments
conducted by different individuals and
under a variety of circumstances, may
here be examined and compared, and
from the comparison the intelligent,
thinking farmer may deduce conclusions
that will lead to the best practical re-
sults. And all may learn in conducting
experiments, to observe minutely all the
circumstances attending thenj, lest they
be led into error. A spirit of emulation
may also be awakened in the member
that will lead to beneficial results. A
man of any force of mind, while learning
the success of his neighbor, will feel a
desire to keep pace with if not to rival

him. And the result will be, better
stock will be raised, the soil will be bet-
ter cultivated and yield more remunera-
tive cropSj his farm will assume an air
of neatness, his home be rendered more
inviting, and his income increased.
When the community yield to the influ-
ence that goes out from such an associa-
tion, it will become more intelligent.
Agricultural literature will be diffused
among them, and the varied publications
of the agricultural press will be likely
to supplant the light trash that has
flooded the country. And as the mind
is thus enlightened and expanded, old
prejudices, that have ever been a bar
to improvement, will give way. Men
will no longer follow in a beaten track,
and plow three inches deep because their
grandfathers did, and use the oldfashion-
ed tools that were in vogue in their
childhood, but a spirit of improvement
will be cherished that will give new fea-
tures to the landscape.

Such associations tend to cherish a
mutual interest in each other's prosperi-
ty. Here those engaged in the same
pursuit are brought together from month
to month, for an interchange of opinions,
and to learn the views, and pursuits, and
success of each other. An acquaintance
is thus cultivated that binds them in
closer connection. A sympathy of feel-
ing and interest is produced among the
members that tend to soften the rugged
asperities of life, and to which the iso-
lated miser is a stranger. Those who
were before comparatively strangers
form an acquaintance and become inter-
ested in each other's welfare. The bar-
riers of selfish exclusiveness are broken
down, and a liberal, friendly disposition
prevails. Much more might be said up-
on this subject, but I leave it for abler
pens.

Edineukgh, Ohio, March 6, 1858.

Sheep appear to be animals peculiarly
adapted to the treatment by preventives,
and if due caution be obsei'ved we need
seldom be troubled with curatives.

AGRICULTURAL

213

POTATOES.

Mr. Editor : — I notice in the last Tcl-
egrajih, a request that some of your cor-
respondents would give their experience
ill raising potatoes. If mine can be of
any use, here it is. I usually put in
about two acres.

Seed. — I use about ten bushels of seed
to the acre ; I think it best to change
seed every three years ; in selecting seed
I take tliem as they grow, large and
small, the large ones I cut in ten or a
dozen pieces, being careful to have one
or two eyes on each piece ; the small
ones I cut in half.

The' Ground. — I commonly put pota-
toes where corn grew the season before ;
1 cut the cudgels oft" in the winter close
to the ground.

The 3fami7-e. — If I take out of the
barnyard, I have thrown in a heap as it
comes from the stables, in order to let it
heat before hauling out, which I do early,
and have it spread evenly over the
ground. I put on a good coat of manure
for potatoes.

The Sifjns. — I am aware there is a
number of farmers ruled by the " signs"
for planting this crop. My sign is, when
I am ready, and the ground is in good
order.

Planting. — When I commence, I plow
round the outside, dropping the seed in
every other furrow, about a foot apart,
until I have it wide enough for the head-
lands. I then start a couple of lands,
having four rows going on at the same
time ; by this way I economize time, as
the droppers need never wait. The
same way in gathering the crop.

Cultivating. — After planting I harrow
the ground well ; when they are up an
inch or two, I give them another good
harrowing; and as soon as they are
large enough to go between the rows
with a horse; I cultivate them twice be-
fore plowing, which I do with a light
plow, just before the vines fall or the
blossom shows itself. After this they
require nothing more than to pull up the
weeds as they appear.

Last season 1 planted three different
varieties — the black, white, and blue
Mercer ; but the season was such that it
was difficult to say which turned out the
best, as the rot affected them all. I shall
give them each another trial. The lat-
ter variety, however, will command the
liighcst price and the most ready sale in
Philadelphia. Simon.

We have copied the above from one of
the best agricultural papers that come
to our office, for the sake of agreeing and
disagreeing with it, and of thus enforc-
ing some remarks already in this num-
ber on the same subject.

The writer's " sign" is a good one,
*' when he is ready and his ground is in
good order," only let him be ready as
soon as the ground is in order, for the
experience of the few past years has
taught us that April, unless on very
backward ground, is the month to plant
potatoes. •

Ilis selection and treatment of manure,
if he would add to the heap before fer-
mentation large quantities of well cured
swamp muck, leaf mold, or headland
soil, would be just the thmgfor the corn
crop, but not for potatoes. This plant-
ing them in green, fermenting manure
is one of the causes which, we believe,
produced, and, if persevered in, will per-
petuate the potato disease. This wri-
ter's potatoes rotted, and we think his
experience valuable, as others may, and,
if they are wise, wiU avoid his error with
regard to manure.

With respect to seed, we would not
plant very large potatoes, and if we could
avoid it, would plant none very small,
though we have obtained excellent crops,
and have known others to, from the
very smallest. As to quantity, ten
bushels is enough, if they are large ;
eight bushels is quite enough if of me-
dium size ; and six is too much if they
are small. There is no greater blunder
than to make up in number what the
seed want in size. A very large potato
is equal to half a pint in measure or
more. Suppose now you should plant
half a pint of very small ones in its stead.
In one case you might have ten shoots,
in the other five hundred. Could so
many obtain nutriment from one spot of
ground ? If we were to plant potatoes
no larger than a chestnut, we would put
but one in a hill, provided that one were
sound, ripe, and sure to germinate.

214

AGRICULTURAL

Perhaps it is good policy to put pota-
toes after corn. Every farmer knows
his own business, in some respects, bet-
ter than any one else can ; and he may
have very good reasons, in a particular
case, for planting potatoes after the corn
crop. But we doubt whether it would
do for a general rule. At times, and
under peculiar circumstances, all rules
yield to common sense. We have plant-
ed potatoes after potatoes ten years in
succession, and got good sound crops all
the time, and we would do it again in
precisely the same circumstances. In
that case our crops entirely escaped the
rot the whole ten years, while for a large
part of that time those of our neighbors
rotted badly. This of course was not
because we planted every year in the
same patch. It was because the ground
was warm, sweet, deep soil, well suited
to the potato, and moreover because we
manured it with ashes, lime, plaster, and
salt, and left the vines to rot on the
ground, a course which supplied the very
pabulum the potato requires, and which
left that ground after ten years better
prepared for another potato crop than it
had been before, as the experience of
our successor showed, for without any
manure whatever he grew a splendid
crop the eleventh year, and we know not
how many since.

We would not be too confident in any
thing that relates to the cultivation of
crops. The earth is 6000 years old, and
man has been upon it all that time. Still
there is yet more to be learned about ag-
riculture than all that has yet been
learned. We may not, therefore, be too
confident, but still we believe we know
something about this good, old fashioned
crop, and we say : plant medium sized
potatoes or rather smaller ; those of the
size of a butternut, if sound, hard, per-
fectly ripe, are as good as any; plant
them on dryish, not very dry, warm,
sweet soil. The land should be in good
condition, but not as rich as for a corn
crop. All nitrogenous, fermenting ma-

nures, as from the stables and the barn-
yard, should be avoided. Use the New-
Jersey green sand marl, if you can get
it, and no other manure, for that contains
all that the potato wants, in addition to
what is furnished by such a soil as we
have described. A turf is on the whole
to be preferred, but this is not essential.
If you can not obtain the green sand
marl, do not fail to apply the mixture
we have before mentioned of ashes, etc.,
giving the preference for this crop to the
unleached, because the potash is the
most important ingredient in the potato
plant, and this has been largely abstract-
ed from the leached. The ground should
be thoroughly mellowed six inches or
more. Scatter the mixture, if you use
it, somewhat, that it may not scorch the
seed, and cover four or five inches. Our
neighbor. Prof. Mapes, says six, and we
are not sure but he is right. It is a
good plan to harrow. the ground over,
with a many and short -toothed harrow,
just before the sprouts appear. Let the
cultivator be run through soon after they
are up, and as often as you can aiford
afterwards, keeping the ground perfectly
clear of weeds, and then, before the tops
begin to fall, hoe them once for all, hill-
ing but very little. It is nonsense to
make hills of the size of a two bxishel
basket around the potato plant, and, un-
less the ground is wet, in which case it
is not fit for potatoes, the high hilling
does more harm than good.

We have said above that wet land is
not fit for potatoes. There is one excep-
tion. Swamps, in process of reclama-
tion, may well be planted with potatoes
a year or two preparatory to being laid
down to grass. If first drained, and if
then the acidity of the soil is corrected
by the application of ashes in the hill,
they will often give large crops and of good
quality. We have known swamps, be-
fore worthless, worked into the choicest
mowlands, and the potatoes grown dur-
ing the process to richly pay for all the
labor. But as far as our observation has

AGRICULTURAL,

215

extended, the soil, though before sour
and cold, has been corrected of its natu-
ral acidity by draining and the applica-
tion of an alkali, generally in the form of
wood ashes, before a large crop of good
quality has been obtained. We feel jus-
tified, therefore, notwithstanding this ap-
parent exception, in saying that, wet,
sour land is not fit for potatoes. It cer-
tainly is not, unless you correct its acid-
ity by alkaline applications. On lands
naturally sweet and but moderately
moist and in fair condition, twelve bush-
els of the mixture we have recommended
to the acre, will increase the quantity
and improve the quaUty of the crop far
beyond the cost of the ingredients. On
land that is quite moist the amount may
be profitably increased from 18 to 20
bushels to the acre ; and in proportion
to the moisture, we suppose the plaster
and salt become less important ; and on
a partially reclaimed swamp, wood ashes
alone are probably the best.

Four years ago a farmer came to our
ofiicc for advice. He said he had six
acres of land which had been broken the
fall before. It was cold land, rather wet,
and very rough, and consequently had
been plowed very unequally, some to a
great depth, other portions hardly plow-
ed at all. He wished to plant one-half
to potatoes, and a neighbor of his was to
plant potatoes on the other half, to find
his own manure, and to have the crop
for cultivating the land. We told him
we feared his chance would be poor, and
that his neighbor would have a hard
bargain ; but suggested that if he would
harrow thoroughly, furrow out, and put
in the hill twelve bushels to the acre of
a mixture of four bushels of ashes, two
of shell lime, one of plaster, and a half
bushel of salt, it would give him the best
chance for a crop at i very moderate ex-
pense that we knew of. We remonstra-
ted against the use of liarn manure, and
told him his potatoes would almost cer-
tainly rot if he used it on that land. He
at first laughed at tlic small quantity.

Twelve bushels to the acre seemed to
him quite homeopathic. We explained
that we did not mean it as a dressing to
enrich the land, as by his account it was
strong land naturally, but cold and yet
uncultivated, that there was probably
food enough in that soil for a dozen crops
of potatoes, that it was in a dormant
condition, would not act alone, but that
the application we proposed was of the
nature of yeast to set it at work, and at
the same time afford pabulum for the
crop to start upon, and that he certainly
would not lose much by the experi-
ment. In the fall he returned to our
oflQce well pleased, to report progress.
He had on his arm a basket of potatoes,
as fine as were ever seen, and said that
he had cultivated precisely as we advised
in every particular, and the result was
300 bushels of just such potatoes as those
in his basket, not a large crop, certainly,
but obtained at a very moderate expense.
He had urged his neighbor to take a
similar course with the other three acres ;
but he, after blowing off a tirade against
book farming, and declaring that he
knew more about farming than all the
agricultural editors in the country,
whicli by the way might be true, and
yet their labors not be beneath his no-
tice, carried on to his three acres green
manure, to more than four times the
value of the compost used on the other
three. The result was that few potatoes
grew, and what did grow were little,
watery things, and nearly all rotted,
while scarcely one rotted on the other
side of the field, the land being, as was
reported to us, (we did not sec it,) equal.
He gave most of his crop to some poor
people for digging, and it was thought
that they had a hard bargain in digging
them, as he had in growing them.

For the Am. Farmer's Magazine.

AGRICULTURE.

BY A REFOKMKI!.

From the earliest ages of man, we can
not discover a single era, in which agri-

216

AGRICULTURAL.

culture, as a science and employment,
has received anything like its due appre-
ciation.

Although historic facts plainly indi-
cate that whole nations and empires, in
a great measure, rest upon the stability
and sterling worth which agricultural
communities render to its people ; and
that wherever it has been neglected 'and
discouraged inevitable ruin follov>'ed ;
yet many intelligent, and in many re-
spects, useful members of society, are
remarkably tardy to comprehend this
obvious truth.

"We may truly apprehend the vast
amount of conservation which must ne-
cessarily be overcome to elevate the
science of farming to the standard which
it is destined to assume before the polity
and government of our national great-
ness can be transmitted to future ages
as worthy of imitation.

When the tilling of our mother Earth
is viewed as the very basis and super-
structure of a country's prosperity, the
most salutary element for its advance-
ment and perpetuation, the first signs of
its ultimate triumph will first appear ;
although the knowledge essential to its
success is not yet universally dissemi-
nated. The day is fast approaching when
its few persevering votaries will realize
the value of their labor, in exalting the
noblest, most honoi"able, and most intel-
lectual pursuit of man ; and we, as a na-
tion, should hail with joy the dawn of
that day in which will be proclaimed the
superiority of the vocation, and enforce
for ever the power of its truth upon the
minds of the people of all coming ages.

Labor is the pristine pursuit of man,
without which we, as a people, would
dwindle into supineness and decay;
without which we could not support or
propagate those natural laws, for the ex-
ercise of which we are constitutionally,
providentially, and divinely intended;
but heinously connive at the most fla-
grant violations of justice and humanity,
of which we now, refined in aU that is

noble and useful, are so free to express
our abhorrence.

The constitutional immobility of ad-
hering to ancient customs is a character-
istic of our American farmers, deeply
rooted in the prejudices, with which they
consider all modern investigations and
discoveries ; and the most zealous advo-
cates of revolutionizing our agriculture,
do not seek to disguise the Dead Sea of
ignorance, which must be drained from
their minds before they can hope to have
their work crowned with success. This
is difficult to accomplish ; yet by gra-
dual extermination of those hurtful no-
tions of " old fogyism," which to a
large majority pervade the mind of our
farming people, and by enforcing on
their consideration some of the princi-
ples and results of new discoveries and
inventions much may be effected.

RemarTcs. — ^We do not suppose that
this writer means to ascribe to farmers,
generally and indiscriminately, the im-
motility, and Dead Sea, and old fogy
terms above. "We have been a_ farmer
ourself, and we can see why the farmer
can not jump at any change which out-
side parties, and perhaps interested ones,
might propose ; but we think we see»
and we rejoice in it, a good degree of
willingness on the part of farmei'S, to
look at new measures, and to adopt them
as soon as the old can safely be given up.
There certainly is progress, and there
will be greater. — Ed.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Ed. Farmer's Magazine : — Will you
favor me with some information on the
value of oyster-sheU lime as a fertilizer,
compared with air slacked lime ?

We can not speak very confidently on
this subject, because the testimony of
practical men does not agree. We have
often used oyster-shell lime as an ingre-
dient in a compost for potatoes, men-
tioned otherwhere in this number ; and
it seemed to us to do vi^ell. The whole
compost did well beyond a question, but

AGRICULTURAL

217

how much of the good cfifect was to be
ascribed to the lime, is more than we
know.

Some farmers, who have tried oyster-
shell lime, think well of it ; others say
it does no good, and that too in circum-
stances where the diOcrence of opinion
can hardly be ascribed to peculiarities
of soil. We incline to the conclusion that
those who report unfavorably to oyster-
shell lime, have not given it a full and
fair trial. Lime in any form acts slow-
ly. Conclusions concerning it can not
be found as promptly as concerning
most fertilizers.

Our own opinion — we do not hold it
very obstinately, and our correspondent
need not value it at more than he
pleases — is, that oyster-shell lime is
worth more, ton per ton, than air-slack-
ed lime, more even than the water-slack-
ed (hydrate of lime.)

But when you buy oyster-shell lime,
you should know what you get. If two-
tliirds of it were the ashes and fragments
of anthracite coal, it might not be worth
much.

We will seek, and if we can find, will
communicate more information on this
subject ere long.

Growing Wood and Timber. — A cor-
respondent from " down east," inquires
incidentally, while writing on another
matter : "If the rough lands of New-
England will not grow timber and wood
more profitably than anything else."
Taking him to mean those lands which
are too rocky and impracticable to think
of plowing, and which will not give good
pasturage without, of which there are
great extents, wo say yes ; get them
into wood as soon as possible. In twenty
years they will produce a good crop of
fuel, and in twenty-five they will give
chairs, milk pails, churn.s;, hoe handles,
clocks, baby jumpers, carriages, mous?
traps, and every other useful contrivance.
With Yankee energy and ingenuity,
wood growing and wood working will
turn out as good an investment there, as

wheat growing and wool growing in
more favored region.s. The New-Eng-
land people must cultivate their arable
lands better than any other people, be-
cause they have less of them, and they
will ; and yet their rocky hill tops and
mountain gorges will afford the basis for
as much industry ar.d the means for ac-
cumulating as much wealth. Their
mountain streams were made to work,
and they will work ; and timber in all
quantities will be wanted. Don't let a
year go by till the plantations, on other-
wise useless acres, are growing. They
will mend your climate a little and your
purses a good deal.

The view we have just taken of high
culture for the arable lands of New-Eng-
land and wood growing for the rough
lands, is strengthened by the statement
of an experienced farmer in the Massa-
chusetts Ploughman. He says : *' My
governing principle is, never to clear or
plow land faster or more tkan I can ma-
nure and seed. I prefer the groicth of
wood, large or small, to ordinary tillage."

How with Gardens? — A correspon-
dent, who commends the discrimination
of our article in the February number
on deep plowing, suggests the foregoing
inquiry. The answer is plain. Your
garden must have a deep soil. We said
with regard to fields that can not be
highly manured, and which, neverthe-
less, you are resolved to cultivate, do
not plow as deeply as you would if you
had four times as much manure to ap-
ply. But if you would have a good gar-
den, and nearly every farmer we have
ever seen at home ought to have a bet-
ter one than he has, j'ou must give it
manure, and you must have a deep mel-
low soil, must undcrdrain if necessary,
and stir tiie soil to a great depth. Of a
quarter of an acre you must make an acre
by deepening the soil, else you can not
expect to get paid for the extra labor of
garden over field culture. The soil
should be twenty inches or two feet
deep, and all alive with manure. How

218

AGRICULTURAL.

often have we seen men picking away on
a shallow garden soil, not more than six
inches deep, and all below that as hard
and cold as the bottom of a gold digging,
soil so thin as to be more than saturated
after a rain, and then dried to a crisp by
a single week's sun. It is folly to ex-
pend extra labor on such a soil. Under-
drain if need be, cart on clay if it is too
sandy, and sand if it is to clayey, and
work in the manure till you have a soil
deep enough and just right to work
easily.

CHARACTER AND FORMATION
OF SOILS.

Soils are those portions of the earth's
surface which contain a mixture of min-
eral, animal, and vegetable substances
in such proportions as to adapt them to
the support of vegetation. We quote
from a valuable article in Mortoii's En-
cyeli>pedla^ " On examining the various
soils in this or any other country, they
will be found to consist generally,

1. Of larger or smaller stones, sand,
or gravel. 2. Of a more friable, lighter
mass, crumbling to powder when squeez-
ed betvv^een the fingers, and rendering-
water muddy. 3. Of vegetable and an-
imal remains (organic matter.)

On further examination of the several
portions obtained by means of washings,
we find,

1. That the sand, gravel, and frag-
ments of stones vary according to the
nature of the rocks from which they are
derived. Quartz-sand, in one case, will
be observed as the predominating con-
stituent ; in another, this portion of the
soil consists principally of a calcareous
sand ; and, in a third, a simple inspec-
tion will enable us to recognize frag-
ments of granite, feldspar, mica, and
other minerals.

2. In the impalpable powder, the che-
mist will readily distinguish principally
fine clay, free silica, free alumina, more
or less oxyd of iron, lime, magnesia, pot-
ash, soda, traces of oxyd of maganese,
and phosphoric, sulphuric, and carbonic
acids, with more or less organic matter.

3. The watery solution of the soil,
evaporated to dryness, leaves behind an
inconsiderable residue, generally colored
brown by organic matters which may be
driven off by heat. In the combustible

or organic portion of this residue, the
presence of ammonia, of humic, ulmic,
crenic, and apocrenic acids, (substances
known under the more familiar name of
soluble humus,) and frequently traces of
nitric acid, will be readily detected. In
the incombustible portion, potash, soda,
lime, magnesia, phosphoric, sulphuric,
and silicic acid, chlorine, and occasion-
ally oxyd of iron and manganese, are
present.

All cultivated soils present a great
similarity in composition, all containing
the above chemical constituents, and
yet, notwithstanding this similarity of
composition, we observe a great diversi-
ty in their character. This is caused by
the different proportions in which the
constituents are mixed together, the
state of combination in which they oc-
cur, and the manner in which the differ-
ent soils are formed. — Rur. New- YorTcer.

VARIETIES IN SPECIES.
Dk. Wateebury of this city has re-
cently published in a neat pamphlet the
results of his investigations into the ori-
gin of varieties in plants and animals.
The following are his conclusions, some
of which seem to us practical and of
great value economically.

I. The construction of the different
species of animals and plants is such that
no one individual can be taken as the
type of the race, there being to the ori-
ginal type a margin to allow of variation,
and that margin being so wide as to be
covered by no one individual form.

II. This variation is produced to meet
necessities by the law of development,
the exercise of any organ increasing its
growth.

III. When the variation occurs it is
attended with a change in the chemical
composition of the animal or plant, based
on a change in the chemical composition
of its food.

IV. If the food be defective, or can not
be assimilated, the modification does not
occur but the animal dies.

V. These changes are always made in
a direction to adapt the subject of them
more perfectly to such new conditions
as require them.

VL There is a tendency to reproduce
these variations in the progeny.

VII. The variations go further as they
are reproduced in the x'ace.

AGRICULTURAL.

219

VIII. They stop at the line of species,
and nevci" pass that lino.

IX. While the pressure of circumstan-
ces urges them against that line the}''
are permanent.

X. By cro.ssing they may be carried
over the line, but the resulting hybrid is
unstable, and alwaj^s returns, after a few-
generations to one or other of the parent
species.

XI. The limits of modification are wid-
est in those species that can assimilate
the most various kinds of food.

XII. Perfection of breed is a relative
term, implying different organizations
for different purposes.

XIII. As fine breeds are introduced
into this country more pains must be ta-
ken to protect and feed our cattle well
and fittingly, or they will " degenerate"
to the same stock.

XIV. Fine varieties, when protected,
do give a greater product from the same
amount of food than the coarse.

SOMETHING ABOUT BUTTER-
MAKING.

A COMMITTEE of the Rhode Island So-
ciety for the Encouragement of Domes-
tic Industry^ after a series of careful ex-
periments in the making of butter, come
to the following conclusions. They say :

From these experiments it is shown
that to obtain the best of sweet butter
that will keep for a greater length of
time than any other without being ran-
cid, we must churn sweet cream — that
if the buttermilk is valuable in market,
and the butter can be disposed of soon
after it is made, there will be the great-
est gain by chm-ning the sour milk and
cream together — that by scalding the
milk and then taking off the cream, the
milk is best for market — although the
yield of butter is greatest, and the flavor
good, it must be put into market direct
from the churn and consumed without
delay or it becomes rincid and worth-
less ; — that in proportion to the quantity
of butter produced from the cream of a
given measure of milk, reference being
had to the length of time the cream is
suffered to remain upon it, will be its
liability to become soonest rancid ; that
the excess of weight as exhibited above
is to be attributed in a great measure to
the absorption and combination of caso-
ine (curd,) with the oleaginous (oily)
portions of the cream ; — that the pres-

ence of caseine, although it is not objec-
tionable by its imparting any unpleasant
flavor wliile new, renders the butter of
less value, as it soon grows rancid; and
for the further reason that it is used, ne-
cessarily, more profusely tlian pure but-
ter, which has less curd in it. It has
been fully proved that milk contains on
an average only one per cent more curd
flian butter.

In a former communication on the
subject of butter making, we disapprove
of the practice of adding water to the
cream, and of washing the butter, to rid
it of its buttermilk. It is in all cases
safest not to wash it, even if the water
be pure, it will in a measure destroy its
fine flagrance and flavor. The use of pure
salt can not be too often recommended
to those who have dairies in charge.
Let the farmers club together, and send
to a seaport and get the best of rock salt,
sift out the fine, wash and drj- the lumps,
and have it ground at any gristmill in
the neighborhood, as our fathers did be-
fore the introduction of the very improved
fine Liverpool bag or blown salt.
For the Committee,

Stephen Smith.

THE BEST CROSSES FOR MUTTON.

A FRIEND of ours who has had expe-
rience in raising mutton sheep in Eng-
land, and who is now engaged in that
business, called on us the present week
and gave us his experience. He had
twelve pure China ewes and twenty
China bucks, of the broad tail species.
The great desideratum in crossirg is to
aim at size, quality and quantity. The
China sheep are very prolific, and good
mutton sheep. The Mexican sheep are
large size, and by the cross of the China
with the Mexican a large and excellent
mutton sheep is obtained.

Another fiict, too, the prolific nature
of the China is retained, as we were
shown that by means of the China
Bucks to a large flock of the Mexican
sheep, an average of twin lambs was the
result, and many cases of three and
sometimes four.

There is no gain, to cross the China
upon the American sheep, but the other
cross improves the sheep, both the mut-
ton and the wool.

We desire particularly to state, that
from long experience, we learn that the
Cliina cross of the Mexican, gives supe-
rior restaurant mutton, i. e., the kind

AaRICULTURAL,

that choiis up well, as young mutton,
without forcing — weigh abput sixty-
pounds.

The Biggest Bull that "was ever
FED WITH Hay." — The show-men who
have talked about oxen weighing 4000
pounds each, may as well give up — a
larger specimen of the genus Bos has
been found " down east," than was ever
heard of elsewhere. According to the
Maine Farmer, J. G. Huston, of Damar-
iscotta, has a bull " four years old next
May," which weighs 5800 pounds !
Whether there is any typographical er-
ror in the statement or not, it may as
well stand as a check to exaggeration
among those who are unvvilling to be
beaten. — Boston Culti'oator.

WISE SAYINGS ABOUT FARMING.
Meadow Muck. — I speak advisedly in
saying the decomposed leaves and other
matters washed from the forest and hills,
and found in Meadow MacTc, (and still
more if clay be added) when thus ap-
plied, will worh wonders! — Ploughman.

Isolated mammoth hogs or vegeta-
bles ought not to be the highest ambi-
tion of the farmer's husbandry,. but the
largest general product, retaining all that
may be valuable for the succeeding crop,
for men make nothing in spending their
strength in single spasmodic efforts, dis-
abling themselves for all the future. —
Ex.

Mr. J. W. Proctor, of Danvers, spoke
of the cultivation of the Derby farm
in Salem. Twenty acres manured
with a compost of night soil, barn
manure, etc., yield a profit of $200 to the
acre, in garden vegetables. People in
Salem and Marblehead found sea-weed
a valuable auxiliary. Home materials
were abundant, and there was no neces-
sity to go away from home for manures.
—K E. Far.

The Turkey. — This noble American
bird has now become common to every
civilized country, says the Vermont
StocTc Journal, and the more widely
known the more highly is he appreciated.
It would be disgraceful to us as Ameri-
can agriculturists and breeders, to suffer
this splendid bird to deteriorate. — Cal.
Far.

Planting Chestnuts. — The "secret"
of success in planting the chestnut con-

sists simply in never allowing the outer
shell to become dry. As soon as the
well-ripened nuts drop from the tree and
are loosened from the bur, pack them
the same hour in moist sand, peat, or
leaf mold, and keep them thus moist
(not wet) till planted — ^which may be
late in autumn or the next spring. The
chestnut is diflBcult to transplant, and
hence it is better to plant the seed on
the spot where the trees are intended to
stand. They may be planted like corn
in "hills," and all but the thriftiest
pulled up afterwards. As they need not
be so thick as corn, they might alternate
with it, if the ground could be prepared
very early, so as to plant both at the
right time. Early cultivation, like corn,
causes them to grow rapidly ; and being
in rows, the wagon could pass easily
through, in thinnuig out and drawing off
the timber. — Country Gent.

The plans the farmer intends to
pursue during the summer, if not al-
ready perfected, should be studied and
matured. Each field should be con-
sidered, and a determination formed as
to its summer management. — Gran. St.
Farmer.

If the farmer were to devote one
hour to the garden before breakfast,
much labor could be very pleasantly
performed in a very short time, and cost
but little. — Ignotus.

It is a good thing to rear a crop
which shall net you $500 or a $1,000 a
year ; but it is a better thing to rear a
crop of ideas which shall net you moral
and mental elevation ; which shall fit
you for the place we all hold, as part
and parcel of this great Republican ex-
pei'iment. Live down with all your
heart, and all your mind, and all your
soul, that old brutal notion that a farmer
must needs be uncouth, and unkempt,
and unsocial, and ignorant. There may
have been an excuse for it in the old
days. — Homestead.

Rich barn-yard or other putrescent
manures applied plentifully to the potato
crop, is almost certain to bring the rot ;
and the quality of the potato is not so
good, as when grown on a sod without
manure. — L. S., in American Agricul-
turist.

Sprins is not far distant, when work
comes crowding on, and time is scarce
to do it in. Farmers, get your hot-beds

HORTICULTURAL.

221

ready ; recollect, a good garden is half a
farmer's living. Get all your iinplc-
ments ready for work, and in your
social visits to j'our neighbors, learn
vrhat he has new in the way of improve-
ment or intentions for the coming year.
— Prairie Far.

Fields occupied by winter grain, if
partially winter-killed, should be har-

rowed, the bare spots sowed with spring
grain or clover, and suitable top-dress-
ings, and then the whole rolled. Any
roots disturbed by the harrow will be
partially restored by the roller to the
soil, and the abrasion will cause such
roots to tiller (throw out new shoots
from the first joint,) and thus give full
crops — Worhing Farmer.

Sortiniltunil

CALENDAR FOR APRIL.

FLOWERS.

As soon as the frost is out of the
ground, flower borders should be dug
over and the perennial flower roots di-
vided and replanted. In doing this care
should be taken to place them so that
the taller kinds are in the back ground,
and also that they be so arranged as to
blend the colors of the flowers well, and
also to distribute the sorts that bloom in
the latter part of the summer through-
out the border in order to keep up a
continuous bloom, which when this is at-
tended to in the perennials, at this sea-
son, can be readily effected by introduc-
ing late sown annuals amongst them.

Amongst the late blooming Perennials
of the flower border, the different varie-
ties of Phlox and Chri/santfiemum, are
amongst the most desirable.

Floicering Shrubs should be planted
also at the spring dressing of the orna-
mented grounds, such as Spirceas, Phila-
delphus, SnowherrieK, Golden Pose, Li-
lacs, and numerous others which can be
obtained at any nursery.

Poses should be pruned as soon as se-
vere frosts are no longer to be expected,
the Hybrid Perpetual Roses, which are
the best division of this family for out-
door culture, should be pruned to about
one-third of their last growth. But the
Cabb.age, Moss, and old Garden Roses
should be cut back to within two or
three inches of the preceding year's
wood. The China Roses and Noisettes
should not ha much cut back but some

of the old M'ood should be taken out al-
together, and young wood brought for-
ward in its stead. A good di-es^ing of
old stable manure after digging round
roses will well repay in the succeeding
bloom.

Greenhouse. — Plants coming into
bloom must be kept well supplied with
water, and water should be throvra on
the floor of the house in the afternoon
to produce a moist atmosphere at night,
as soon as severe frost is not apprehend-
ed ; this will encourage the growth of the
buds. Syringing over head must be
discontinued as the buds open.

Any plants that are going out of bloom
should be pruned, if they require it, and
should then be encouraged to start their
young growth before they arc subjected
to the annual repotting that most Green-
house plants require. For that purpose
they should be placed in a warm part of
the house and be syringed daily. As
soon as the new growth has started and
become from a third of an inch to an
inch long they may be repotted. After
repotting continue the syringing, and
keep the earth in the pot just moist
throughout ; but be careful not to give
more water than is necessary for that
purpose, until the roots get through the
new soil to the sides of the pot, or the
plant will be seriously injured.

Give more air as the season advances,
to the greenhouse, but avoid admitting
cold winds. Air at the roof is the safest
and best to induce a strong growth, be-
cause it keeps the temperature more uni-

222

HORTICULTURAL,

form throughout the house than when
the sides only are opened to give air,

KITCHEN GAEDEN.

When the weather opens plant fi'om
the frames for crops Cabl)ages, Lettuce
and Caulijlowers, and sow more seed of
each for successive crop?.

Sow all hinds of VegetaMe seeds for
the principal crops, selecting such sorts
as are preferred. Do not sow any broad-
cast but all in drills in rows, which
saves time in tillage afterwards and also
yields the finest and largest crops.

Potatoes for main crop may be plant-
ed from middle to end of the month.

Peas. — For early crops the Albert^
Warwiclc and CJtarlton are good sorts.
For succession the Champion., Hairy
Dwarf, Mammoth., British Queen and
KnighVs Tall Marroio, will give a suflfl-
cient variety. Brussells Sprouts should
be sown towards the end of the month,
to be treated like Cabbages, and trans-
planted two feet apart, by three feet in
rows, where iu the autumn they will
yield an excellent crop.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

CONTRACTION BY FREEZING ! ! ! !
Mr. Editor : — In the February num-
ber of the Magazine, in the communica-
tion commencing on page 76, Snoio and
Vegetable Life, alluding to " the effect
of frost upon the organization of vegeta-
bles," the writer says : " This arises
chiefly from the contraction of the water
or sap whilst freezing in them ;" and re-
ferring to the snow on the branches of
trees, he says, "The white mantle
guards the covered limbs from the direct
action of the sun's rays." This certain'y
is very pretty if not poetical, but what
are the facts ? Simply these : In a large
majority of cases no snow lodges on the
branches, and when it does, the first
passing breeze dislodges every particle
of it, and the tree is left as destitute of
protection as though such a thing as
snow never existed. Speaking of the
snow melting on the branches, he says.

" Thus they become bathed with water
of a temperature just Iclow freezing
point."

Water contracting while freezing.
Water formed by snow melting in the
rays of the sun, of a temperature below
the freezing point. Such ideas emanating
from an obscure individual in- some re-
mote corner of this wild prairie country,
might have been denominated absurd
and ridiculous.

" How many people live ? How few
amongst them think."

Now, w<3 thinh it is because water ex-
p>ands while freezing that it bursts what-
ever vessel it is confined in, whether it
be of metal, wood, earth or stone ; and
from the same cause, namely, its expan-
sion, that it ruptures the minute and
delicate organization of vegetables. We
thinTc that only a casual observation will
satisfy any person that sudden changes
from a warm moist state of the atmos-
phere to severe cold, (the very time
when trees and all other vegetables suf-
fer most from the effects of freezing,) are
almost invariably attended with high
winds, in which case no snow remains
on the trees to be melted by the sun's
rays. AVe also thinh that when water
gets to be " of a temperature /wsi^ below''''
the freezing point, it is rather hard stuff
to bathe with — in short that it will no
longer be water, but ice.

'Tis true, all this may be owing to the
obtuseness of our intellect, to the want
of a scientific education, or to a kind of
old fogyism, as we are a hard working
farmer, having had no advantages for an
education but such as the common
schools of Ohio afforded from twenty -five
to thirty-five years ago.

Perchance you may be satisfied by

this time (if indeed you entertained a

doubt on that point) that not all who

take tiie trouble to thinh, think correctly.

Respectfully yours, H.

We do not see that our correspondent
in the February number was essentially

11 O II T I C U L T l^ R A L

223

incorrect, except in the use of the word
'* contraction" for expansion ; and the
error in that was so palpable as to show
that, if not a lapsus linguae, it must
have been a lapsus pcnna), and not an
error under which the mind of the wri-
ter labored. We will say for the friend
who wrote the article, that he is not ig-
norant of the fact that water expands in-
stead of contracting below the freezing
point. We can not, however, say that,
although he might be called a good pen-
man, he writes sufficiently plain to suit
the type-man ; and we very much sus-
pect that the blunder was with the com-
positor, and that tho proof-reader over-
looked it, although, if fit to be a proof-
reader, he must have perceived that the
writer was made to speak nonsense in-
stead of sense. But, on the whole, we
are inclined to take the blame upon our-
selves, for we ought not to have let such
a statement go to our readers, whoever
else might have been faulty in the case.

Henceforth, let us all remember, that
it is the nature of water to contract by
the withdrawal of heat, till it comes
down to 32° Farenheit, the point of
freezing, when it suddenly expands so
as sometimes to burst the vessel con-
taining it, to split rocks when confined
in pores or crevices, and to injure the
delicate organization of plants. Is it
not, however, rather a sudden freezing
after mild weather, than intense cold
that does the mischief? We rather
think it is ; and we should like an arti-
cle from some careful observer on this
point, showing under what circum.stances
the cold injures or kills trees, and then
again under what circumstances they will
endure equally intense or even severer
cold,and come out uninjured ; and wheth-
er sudden thawing after severe cold has
anything to do with the mischief "We
all know that the manner of thawing —
whether it be sudden or gradual — de-
cides mainly the condition of vegetables
that have been frozen, as to whether
they shall be fit for use or not. — Ed.

CRANBERRY CULTURE.

The kind most known and best a
ed to all kinds of soil, is the Bell variety
or Egg shaped, and most cultivated in
New-England. A round variety raised
about Cape Cod is a larger fruit, hand-
some, and only grows on very wet,
marshy land, and not as well adapted to
general culture ; there are also several
other varieties which mature late, larger
fruit than the Bell variety, but not as
productive. They can be propngatcd
from the seed, or from cuttings of by
transplanting. The last method is most
frequently adopted. The first crop ob-
tained by planting the seed will be one
or two years later than that produced
by transplanting. When cultivated, the
berries are large and abundant ; after
being gathered, they turn from light
scarlet to deep red, and sometimes al-
most black. They will keep a very long
time if not gathered too early — they
should remain on the vines until it is
necessary to gather them from the frost
— thev should be properly dried by
spreading them thin for three or four
weeks ; they can then be packed and
sent to any part of the world. If gath-
ered too eaily, while some of the berries
are green, they will not keep.

The soil most suitable for their growth
is low, moist meadow land that is not
too cold and spongy. In that case, a
drain should be cut to let off surplus
water, which should always be within
twelve inches of the surface, and sand
covered over the top three or four inches
will be of service, although not indis-
pensable where it is not easily procured.
When the ground is uneven, ."^and can
be carted on to level it. They also do
well on muck or any poor swampy land,
where nothing else will grow ; they grow
naturally on watery bogs and marshes —
on the border of streams and ditches,
and by draining wet land and then
taking off the top of the ground to re-
move the wild grass or vegetable matter
and carry to the manure heap ; then
cart on beach or other sand to tiie depth
of two or three inches to level the
ground and to prevent grass and weeds
from choking the vines, and to Keep the
ground loose around the plant. They
bear abundantly on marshes covered
with coarse .sand, and entirely di-stitute
of organic matter of any kind, but ac-
cessible to moisture — on pure peat cov-
ered with .sand, and on every variety

224

HORTICULTURAL

of soil, except clay liable to bake or be-
come hard in dry weather, on soil that
can be worked with a plow and harrow ;
it can be prepared as you would do it
for plantinp; out garden and other plants ;
sometimes it can be burnt over so as to
get it in a condition to set out the plants.
They can also be raised on moist loam
where corn and potatoes will grow, but
not so abundantly on dry or sandy soil
unless covered two or three inches with
muck or spent tan. No animal or vege-
table manure should be used, as the fruit
draws most of its moisture from the at-
mosphere. The poorer the soil, the less
cultivation is needed.

If you have a peat swamp and design
converting it into a cranberry yard, your
first step to be taken is to "find a level
that is not too wet, and then clear off
the turf or grass sods, and bring the
rest of the swamp to the same height.
When it is thus cleared and levelled off,
it is not then ready for the reception of
the vine. Should the vine be planted,
it will do well through the winter and
spring, but in the hottest weather the
peat will bake and become hard ; it will
therefore be impossible to take in the
moisture of the atmosphere, which is
absolutely required by the vine. The
absence of this moisture will cause the
plant to die, and thus both labor and
money are lost. This will be prevented
by leaving the prepared swamp exposed
to the action of the frost for one winter,
when it will, after it is thawed, crumble
and present a light gravelly appearance,
the largest lump of which will not ex-
ceed an ordinary pebble. When the
swamp has thus been treated, it will not
afterwards bake and become hard ; its
surface will be light and porous.

When vines are planted, it is often the
case that in the summer following they
will appear as though they were dead ;
and the cultivator, having this impres-
sion on his mind, will take them up, be-
lieving that it is impracticable on his soil
to raise any fruit.
• The plant is very tenacious of life, and
if there is but half a chance it will take
hold and live, though it may not yield
much fruit. These vines should not
have been taken up, for it is evident that
their natural stunted appearance was
mistaken for death. They ought to
have remained in the soil at least ano-
ther year, when it could have been fully
determined whether they were living or
dead.

The Bell Cranberry is that which is
mostly desired by cultivators, but even
experienced men are often at a loss to
distinguish the vine on which it grows
from the Bungle or the Cherry. If
found in the middle of a swamp in its
wild state it will invariably throw off the
runner towards the driest part of the
bog. Hence it is found on the edges
most frequently. When it is transplant-
ed and brought under cultivation, it is
true to the same law, and will send its
suckers up the banks of the yard, and
these will yield well. The inference
drawn from this is, that it can be culti-
vated on upland soils adapted to its
wants, even should it not be overflowed,
and is therefore best adapted for general
cultivation. Lay out the grounds as
you would for setting out cabbage,
strawberry or other plants — have a
pointed stick or dibble, and make a hole
for the plant — have the plants immersed
in muddy water so thick as to adhere to
the root — place it in the hole from three
to four inches under ground, and press
the dirt very closely around it. To have
the rows uniform, draw a line and put
the plants, 18 by 20 inches, in rows —
where small patches are desired which
can be kept clean with a hoe ; the nearer
they are together, the quicker they
cover the ground — but where acres are
planted it will save much labor by put-
ting them 2 to 2 1-2 feet apart, then a
plow or harrow can be used to keep out
the grass and weeds.

After one or two years' cultivation to
keep out the grass, they will take care
of themselves. At 18 inches apart, it
will take 19,000 plants; 2 feet 10,000 ;
2 1-2 feet, 7,000 plants to the acre.
They can be planted out in the fall at
the North from September until the
ground freezes, or in the spring until the
middle or last of May. At the South and
West, if possible, they should be planted
out in autumn and December ; if receiv-
ed too late for planting out, the roots
can be covered with dirt in a box or in
a cellar (but not in the ground out of
door) until early in spring. As it is of-
ten late before we can start the plants,
and the great press of freight often de-
lays them beyond a desirable time, if not
ordered in the fall, they will alwa,ys be
forwarded as early as possible in the
spring. The transportation of 10,000
plants to Chicago, Cincinnati or Har-
risburg will be about $2—1,000 to
5,000 plants, from $1 to |1.50. Where

HORTICULTURAL

225

land for Cranberry culture can be over-
flowed ('which is by no means necessary),
fall is the best time to plant them out,
but where there is no overflow, I am
satisfied that they can be planted out in
early spring as well as fall. Every fam-
ily can have their garden patch in that
case, and in dryish soil, gra^s, meadow
muck or tan around the plant will be
beneficial to retain the moisture. They
are highly ornamental in pots — the fruit
hanging on the plants until the blossom
appears for the next crop. The first
year they often bear fifty bushels to the
acre, and increase every year, until
sometimes they bear from 200 to 300
bushels per acre, perhaps the net aver-
age is fr'om 100 to 150 bushels per acre.
They usually bring from $2 to $4 per
bushel — never less than $2 — this year
they are worth from $4 to $0 per bushel.
Cultivated fruit is less likel}^ to be affect-
ed with drought than wild fruit. One
man with a rake made for the purpose
will gather from thirty to forty bushels
a day, with a boy to pick up the scatter-
ing ones. — Horticulturist.

A GARDEN ON A STIFF CLAY
SOIL.

LESSON FROM EXPERIENCE.

The Ohio Cultivator describes the
manner in which a gardener near Co-
lumbus, known as " Old Joe," made a
good garden on a most forbidding soil.

" Joe's garden was originally a com-
pact clay soil, such as predominates
throughout a large portion of Ohio, and
is the greatest obstacle to successful gar-
dening, especially among farmers and
those who can not afford to do things
thoroughly. But not so with our friend
Joe. His first effort, after erecting a
shelter for himself and his flowers, was
to trench a portion of his ground two
feet in depth, mixing with it coarse ma-
nure and otlier inaterials to enrich it,
and especially to admit air into it. This
was a slow and laborious operation, but
it was the only true way ; and by doing
a little at a time, the whole was accom-
plished without much expense, and the
result has been such a healthy growth
of his plants and shrubs, and such power
to withstand drought, as to compensate
tenfold for the lalior.

" Since this first operation on his land,
Joe's favorite application has been saw-
dust, half rotted, if to be found, and in
15

its absence, mold of rotted logs from
the woods. A good dressing of these
materials is spaded into the ground as
often as once in ten years, at a cost fully
double the expense of ordinary manur-
ing.

" On my expostulating with Joe one
day, about his free use of sawdust, and
asking for his theory about its effects,
he told me it was ' to give the roots a
chance to breathe.^ This explanation
was so sensible as well as philosophical-
ly correct, that I wish it could be indeli-
bly impressed on the minds of all own-
ers of clay grounds, whether fields or
gardens.

" The great want of our strong clay
lands, is not so much the materials for
enriching, but to admit the air into them,
or as Joe says, ' to give the roots a
chance to breathe.' Let this be done, in
connection with draining where too wet,
and deep plowing or trenching, and the
average products of our gardens and
fields would be more than doubled, and
the effects of our hot summers and se-
vere droughts would hardly be noticed."

We have copied the above from the
Homestead, but not wholly to approve.
If Joe's trenching was done with the
spade, as we suppose, what is the mean-
ing of saying that it did not cost much ?
To trench such land two feet deep costs
an amount of human strength, which
ought to be worth a good deal, and
would be if wisely exerted. It would
be much better to plow one foot deep
and subsoil another foot ; and we believe
his fertilizers could as well be plowed in
as dug in. If he had plowed a furrow
one foot deep, then run the subsoil plow
another foot, and then filled the furrow
with his coai'se manure, and turned the
next furrow upon it, would it not have
been about as good an operation, at a
much less expense ?

We should have no objection to the
use of "sawdust, half-rotted," in such a
case, but we think the " half rotted" is
the best part of the story ; and as for
working in rotten wood, the same prin-
ciple would hold. If reduced to a fine
mold and mixed with a rich top soil, on
which leaves had decayed for long years,

226

HORTICULTUEAL.

it would be a good dressing for that or
any other soil.

Where a tenacious clay is to be amend-
ed into a feasible garden soil, if there is
a sandy field near, the best way is to
amend both at once by carting back and
forth, clay to the sandy soil, and sand to
the clayey. If Joe's garden was but a
patch, too small for a strong team to
turn round upon, the trenching was well
enough. If it was of considerable size,
he could have found a better way.

The time has not yet come, may it
never come, in this country, when hu-
man muscles are the cheapest power that
can be employed.

The weight of such a soil, two feet
deep, is not less than 4000 tons to the
acre.

STRAWBERRY PLANTING.

The present is a good time to plant
Strawberry vines, and if now planted
correctly upon good soil they will pro-
duce a liberal crop the present year.

Remember to select a good substantial
loam ; to plow deep and work the soil
well, applying no manure that contains
grass or weed seeds. Leaf mold is good.
Swamp muck, if long up and well
cured, may be used to advantage. Twen-
ty inches for the rows, and ten inches
for the hills are good distances. Set
none but the best varieties, and let about
every eighth row be staminates. By
early setting and eareful cultivation, you
may have a small crop the first year,
and a very large one the second year. —
Ed.

DON'T BE GULLED.

Farmers, amateur gardeners, &c.,
should be careful in future not to be
gulled by the wonderful stories of cor-
respondents in the agricultural and news-
paper i^ress, respecting new corn, pota-
toes, pears, raspberries, grapes, currants,
and other grains, vegetables and fruits ;
as in nine cases out of ten these elabor-
ate correspondents adopt this trick to
pulT their own bantlings into notice, in

this most desirable way, fi^ee of cost to
themselves, and most likely to find favor
in the eyes of those they are intended
to deceive. Now, the common caution
should be observed by those we address
not to be led by the bombast of the tribe
into buying these expensive articles un-
til their value is established by reliable
practical experimenters. It is much bet-
ter to wait one or two years, when the
article, if proved to be as represented,
can be obtained at one-half or one-fourth
the price originally demanded, than at
once to rush into a purchase and get bit.
— Gei'mantown Telegraxjh.

We shall, for our part, take all care
that the readers of the Farmer's Maga-
zine shall be kept duly posted up in mat-
ters of this kind ; and then if they choose
to become a prey to these vampires, they
will do so with their eyes open. — Ed.

IMPORTANCE OF UNDERDRAIN-
ING.

To the perfect completion of a good
fruit garden, it must be thoroughly un-
derdrained. If possible, let it be done
before setting out the trees, though it
could be done at some future day with
some slight root pruning, which might
not prove injurious if carefully managed,
only let it be remembered that it must
ie done. — Mass. Sort. Society.

POISONED HAY.

A FAEMER in Ashtabula, Ohip, complains
that he has lost seven head of cattle by
their eating poisoned hay. It appears
that the poison is in the form of ergot, a
smutty excrescence which grows on the
June grass. It grows as it does on rye, in
the shape of a diseased and enlarged seed,
of dark color, varying from the size of a
wheat grain to three-fourths of an inch
long.

A Frog in Ice. — We were shown lately,
by a Savannah gentleman, a lump of Nor-
wegian ice, in which a medium sized frog
was comfortably and coolly ensconsed.
His frogship showed symptoms of life after
his cool incrustation had dissolved, and
having been placed in water was tiiawed
into life and activity. It certainly was a
curiosity to see a live frog thus done in
ice ; but whether last winter it contem-
plated a tour to Southern latitudes and
considering the above was the coolest
mode of traveling, we leave a question of
debate with ichthyologists, et ia genus
omne. — Savannah Gcorgiaii.

SCIENTIFIC

227

riiJutijic.

CHEMICAL,

AMMONIA.

What is this substance that all the
world is talking about, that we are bring-
ing from the Ohincha Islands, at a cost
of at least 17 cts. a pound, and at the
same time are wasting it at home ?

It was first prepared for ladies smell-
ing bottles and other fancy purposes,
from camel's dung, in a region of Africa
caUed Ammonia. Hence its name. But
what is it ? What are its constituents ?
In what proportions, and under what
circumstances do they combine to form
this much talked of substance ?

Ammonia is composed of one atom of
nitrogen to three atoms of hj'drogen.
The atom in weight, of the former, is
fourteen times that of the latter. There-
fore, of 17 lbs. of ammonia 14 lbs. are
nitrogen, and 3 lbs. hydrogen. These
coustituents arc very abundant in na-
ture.

Nitrogen constitutes 79 hundredths of
all the air, and hydrogen 1 ninth of all
the water on the globe. The ammonia
making materials arc therefore so abun-
dant that one might suppose that this
compound might be very plenty and
cheap. But the nitrogen and hydrogen
so abundant in nature, do not combine
to form ammonia, except under peculiar
circumstances. To a limited extent the
process of its formation is always going
on, and the atmosphere is always kept
supplied with a small per cent of am-
monia. Those who have made the most
careful investigations estimate it at about
one part in 10,000. So much nature
supplies, and is always throwing into
the air that great reservoir of plant-
food. Science has yet discovered no way
in which ammonia can be artificially
prepared in such quantities as to render
it plenty and cheap, notwithstanding
that the ingredients are as plenty and as
cheap as chips in the farmer's wood-yard
in April.

Nitrogen and hydrogen, in their ordi-
nary state, have no affinity for each oth-
er. You may put 14 parts by weight ol
nitrogen and 3 of hydrogen, into a jar,
but if you keep them there ever so long
they will not unite and form ammonia.
It is only in their nascent state that they
will combine. The j^oung reader, if no
others, will need to be inibrmed what
their nascent state is. We will explain,
for we are not writing for old chemists,
but for persons who are convinced, as
all ought to be, of the immense benefit
to be derived by practical farmers fi'om
even a little knowledge of this great and
all pervading science — a science that has
to do with every body's business, and
especially with the farmer's.

Well then, nascent means T)eing torn.
That is the Latin meaning of it. By
way of accommodation chemists have
used it to mean newly formed. The
forming of compounds from simples, and
the separation of simples fi-om their com-
pounds, is always going on in nature.
Now although nitrogen and hydrogen in
their ordinary state, will not unite, yet
if they come together in their nascent
state, that is, when first separated from
other compounds, they will, at that in-
stant, though not one moment after-
wards, combine and form ammonia.

We wish here to give some practical
illustrations of the formation of ammo-
nia, reserving its uses in agriculture, the
best modes of preventing its waste, and
its importance to the farmer, for future
numbers. Let the reader understand
that the ammonia so universally talked
about is not the pure ammonia (ammonia-
cal gas) described above as formed from
nitrogen and hydrogen. It is this com-
bined with some acid, as carbonic or
sulphuric, forming a carbonate or sul-
phate of ammonia.

Thus, in the good old times, when cos-
metics and perfumes were not as essen-
tial to beauty as now, a lady would buy

228

SCIENTIFIC

an ounce of carbonate of ammonia at the
shops, and put it with as much quick-
lime into a phial and cork it up. On
removing the cork and applying to the
nose, a tingling sensation would be felt,
supposed to prevent fainting at church,
and in other assemblies. "We should think
it would cause rather than prevent
fainting, and what is more, we know it
would.

The explanation is this ; — the lime
had a strong aifinity for the carbonic
acid in the carbonate of ammonia. The
cjirbonic acid left the ammonia and join-
ed itself to the lime, forming a carbonate
of lime ; this left the ammonia to pass
oif as pure ammoniacal gas, transparent,
invisible, colorless. In passing from
the mouth of the phial it mixed with the
air, and so did not injure the person
smifSng it as badly as it otherwise
would.

Now let us go from the old-fashioned
smelling bottle, which, like many other
things, had for a long time a better re-
putation than it deserved, to the com-
post heap. What takes place here?
There is no ammonia in unfermented
manure, but there are the materials to
make it of. There is nitrogen, and there
is water, and there are substances to be
oxydized. As fermentation commences,
the oxygen of the water combines with
various substances — oxydizes them.
This leaves the hydrogen of the water
alone. At this instant, being just sepa-
rated from its oxygen, that is, in its nas-
cent state, it will combine with nitro-
gen, if it can find any that is also in the
same nascent state. This it can find,
because there is nitrogen in the manure,
and it is being separated from its various
compounds by the fermentation. Both
the hydrogen and the nitrogen being in
the nascent state, unite and form ammo-
niacal gas. But as we showed in our
February number, carbonic acid gas is
being formed in the compost at the same
time. This combines with the ammonia,
and forms carbonate of ammonia, which

passes off in the form of an invisible but
pungent gas, and being very light rises
and rapidly diffuses itself far and wide,
to be sooner or later absorbed by atmos-
pheric moisture and brought down in
rain, ten miles, or a hundred, or it may
be a thousand, from where it ascended.

When a compost is thus wasting its
ammonia, you can not see it escape. It
is invisible. By holding over the heap
a feather wet with strong vinegar, or
better, with muriatic acid, you will see a
white cloud formed around the feather.
The muriatic acid expels the carbonic
acid, and with the ammonia forms mu-
riate of ammonia, which immediately
becomes visible to the eye, and falls as a
mist or fog. This is a good test by
which to judge whether manure is los-
ing its ammonia. The sense of smell is
a more practical test. Set it down, that
no s^wt on the farmer's premises should
have the least tinge of the odor of the
old smelling "bottle. If the air in the
stalls have the least of that pungent odor,
you may know that something is wrong.
If, on the other hand, none of this odor
is perceptible, all may not be right, for
it is no uncommon thing for so many
foul gases to be generated at the same
time, that the peculiar odor of the am-
monia is disguised and becomes imper-
ceptible to the olfactory nerves.

Clay and peat have a strong attraction
for ammonia. Hence if peat, or loam,
which contains clay, or coal dust, or any
carbonaceous matter, as leaf mold, head-
land scrapings, or the scrapings from the
chip-yard, be composted with manure
and the mass be kept in a moist condi-
tion, there is little probability of the es-
cape of ammonia, for these seize upon it,
become enriched by it and hold it till
put into the soil and required by plants.
Even water is a pretty good retainer of
ammonia. So long as its surface is kept
moist, little ammonia will escape. But
the tendency of fermentation is to expel
the moisture, and therefore if manure is
to be fermented in the open air, some of

SCIENTIFIC

229

the other substances named above should
be mixed with it to operate as a retainer.

Plaster has a good effect, so long as
the manure is moist ; and some effect,
we have no doubt, when dry ; and we
think, therefore, that it is well to sprin-
kle a little plaster about the stall, the
manure heaps, and the yard. But the
farmer's surest resource is, in such sub-
stances as we have mentioned above,
something that his own farm affords.
There is scarcely a farm that does not
afford just what will come in play for
composting and preserving the manui'es.
In the main, each farm must enrich it-
self.

From what we have said, it will be
seen that there is r'O danger of the loss
of ammonia after manure is put into the
ground if the soil be a good one. A
clay soil, or a peat soil, or a loam, any
soil that does not consist almost entirely
of loose sand, has in it enough to hold
the manure till the crops take it. A
very sandy soil has not, and therefore
we would recommend that on such a soil,
any manure that is capable of fermenta-
tion should be composted largely with
some substance adapted to hold the am-
monia. For a similar reason we believe
that when top-dressing is practised, the
manure should be composted largely
with some substance of a nature to hold
the ammonia, and then worked down
into contact with the soil, or as nearly
as may be.

More of ammonia in our next. The
subject, we know, is not easy to compre-
hend ; but it is very important to agri-
culture, and we will try to make it avail-
able to our readers, by dint of perseve-
rance, and by such pi:actical illustrations
as can be spread on the printed page.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE
UPON VEGETATION.

BY A FRIEND.

In some remarks made in the March
number of the Farmer^'' MiKjnzinc upon
the introduction of new agricultural

crops, we adverted to the importance of
the study of the influence of climate.

We recur to this subject again, more
particularly for the purpose of introduc-
ing to our readers- a very interesting and
instructive extract from the Himalayan
Journal of Dr. Joseph D. Hooker, one of
the most talented and diligent natural-
ists of the day.

From the perusal of the following ex-
tracts from the first volume of his work,
it will be seen that in the Sikkim region
of the Himalaya mountains, at an eleva-
tion of several thousand feet the temper-
ature, if judged of alone as indicative of
the influence of the climate there upon
vegetation, would lead to wholly erro-
neous conclusions. And the Doctor has
pointed out very lucidly the causes
which operate to effect the difference.

The Sikkim region is that in which he
discovered the extraordinary new species
of Rhododendron, (to which in a future
article we may particularly refer ;) and
it is during certain parts of the year en-
veloped by a dense, moist atmosphere
that is very favorable to the development
of vegetation in certain stages of its an-
nual growth, (namely, whilst it is form-
ing neyv shoots in their earliest state,)
but which is unfavorable to the process
by which the young wood is hardened
and assumes the ligneous texture. And
the reason of this latter fact is, that the
aqueous vapors held in suspension in the
atmosphere prevent, in great measure,
the direct rays of the sun fi-om generat-
ing the amount of heat necessary for the
maturing or ripening process. But this
does not apply equally to all families of
plants. From their difference of inter-
nal organization, and from their variation
in the length of their growing seasons,
the amount of heat and of light required
by different plants varies greatly. Hence
the circumstances of the variations that
Dr. Hooker points out between the ef-
fects of a climate, although temperate,
upon vegetation exotic, as compared
with that which is indigenous to it.

230

SCIENTIFIC

In all the more perfect forms of vege-
table life, whether of an oak tree or of a
cornstalk, there are similar processes to
be gone through. First, the enlarge-
ment of the frame, then the solidifying
or hardening process, (to a greater or
less extent,) then the fruit-bearing pro-
cess, in which, be it observed, the same
processes are again repeated. In the
corn, the whole takes place in a year, in
the oak the same system is repeated year
after year by the same plant. But it is
repetition, and the modus operandi is an-
alogous the one to the other,

This should be borne in mind in all
our agricultural and horticultural opera-
tions ; in the prosecution of which we
should always in our tillage reflect upon
which part of the annual process our la-
bor, for the time being, is intended to
urge forward or to assist. By so doing
we shall find that the question of climate
(not temperature alone, but that com-
bined with other meteorological facts
connected with the locality in which we
work) becomes of primary importance to
success.

We have heard the remark made, that
for jrractical purposes, in agriculture the
study of climate matters little, since we
can not alter that to suit our convenience.
This is a very thoughtless conclusion.
True it is, we can not alter the climate ;
but if we know what effect a given cli-
mate has upon a particular crop, we can
oftentimes modify our system of farm-
ing so as to adapt it to the climate, and
thereby render the climate conducive to,
instead of adverse to, our wants. And
when we can not do that, we at least can
save ourselves an outlay of time, money
and labor in the attempt to grow a crop,
that without the knowledge of the effects
of climate, we might year after year
vainly plant.

With these observations we strongly
commend the study of climatology to our
readers, for it is that which promises
more reward than many others to which
agriculturists seem inclined to devote

their leisure hours. And we think that
the following remarks from Dr. Hooker's
interesting publication will, when well
weighed, justify to our readers the value
which we attach to the subject that they
so efficiently illustrate :

" The potato thrives extremely well
" as a summer crop at 7000 feet in Sik-
" kim, though I think the root (from the
"Dorjiling stock) cultivated as a winter
" crop in the plains is superior both in
" size and flavor. Peaches never ripen in
" this part of Sikkim, apparently from
" the want of sun ; the tree grows well
" at from 8000 to 7000 feet elevation,
" and flowers abundantly, the fruit mak-
" ing the nearest approach to maturity
" (according to the elevation) from July
" to October. At Dorjiling it follows the
" English seasons, flowering in March
" and fruiting in September, when the
" scarce reddened and still hard fruit
" falls from the tree. In the plains of
" India, both this and the plum ripen in
" May, but the fruits are very acid.

" It is curious that throughout this
"temperate region there is hardly an
" eatable fruit except the native walnut
" and some brambles, of which the ' yel-
" low' and ' ground raspberry' are the
" best, some insipid figs, and a very aus-
" tere crab-apple. The European apple
" will scarcely ripen, (this fruit and sev-
" eral others ripen atKatmandoo, in Ne-
"pal, (altitude 4000 feet) which place
" enjoys more sunshine than Sikkim. I
" have, however, received very different
" accounts of the produce, which, on the
" whole, appears to be inferior,) and the
" pear not at all. Currants and goose-
" berries show no disposition to thrive,
" and strawberries are the only fruits
" that ripen at all, which they do in the
" greatest abundance.

"Vines, figs, pomegranates, plums,
" apricots, &c., will not succeed even as
" trees. European vegetables again
" grow, and thrive remarkably well
" throughout the summer of Dorjiling,
" and the produce is very fair, sweet and

SCIENTIFIC.

231

" good, but inferior in flavor to the Eng-
" lish.

" Of tropical fruits cultivated below
** 4000 feet, oranges and indifferent ba-
*' nanas alone are frequent, with lemons
" of various kinds. The season for
" these is, however, very short, though
" that of the plantain might with care
" be prolonged. Oranges abound in
" winter, and are excellent, but neither
" so large nor free of white pulp as those
"of the Kasia hills, the West Indias, or
" the west coast of Africa. Mangos are
" brought from the plains, for though
" wild in Sikkim the cultivated kinds do
" not thrive. I have seen the pine-apple
" plant, but I never met with good fruit
" on it.

" A singular and almost total absence
*' of the light and of the direct rays of
" the sun in the ripening season, is the
" caxise of the dearth of friiit. Both the
*' former and orchard gardener in Eng-
" land know full well the value of a
" bright sky, as well as of a warm au-
" tumnal atmosphere. Without this
" corn does not ripen, and fruit-trees axe
" blighted. The winter of the plains of
" India being more analogous in its dis-
*' tribution of moisture and heat to aEu-
" ropean summer, such fruits as the
" peach, vine, and even plum, fig, and
" strawberry, &c., may be brought to
" bear well in March, April, and Ma}-, if
" they are only carefully tended through
*' the previous hot and damp season,
" which is, in respect to the functions of
" flowering and fruiting, their winter.

" Hence it appears, though some Eng-
" lish fruits will turn the winter solstice
" of Bengal (November to May) into
"summer, and then flower and fruit,
*' neither these nor others will thrive in
" the summer of 7000 feet on the Sikkim
" Himalaya (though its temperature so
" nearly approaches tliat of England) on
" account of its rains and fogs. Further
" they arc often exposed to a winter's
" cold equal to the average of that of
" London, the snow lying for a week on

" the ground, and the thermometer de-
" scending to 25°. It is true that in no
" case is the extreme of cold so great
" here as in England, but it is sufficient
" to check vegetation and to prevent
" fruit-trees from flowering till they are
" fruiting in the plains. There is in this
" respect a great difference between the
" climate of the central and eastern and
" western Himalaya, at equal elevations.
" In the western (Kumaon, &c.) the win-
"ters are colder than in Sikkim; the
" summers warmer and less humid. The
" rainy season is shorter, and the sun
" shines so much more frequently be-
" tween the heavy showers, that the ap-
" pies and other fruits are brought to a
" much better state. It is true that the
"rain-gauge may show as great a fall
" there, but this is no measure of the
" humidity of the atmosphere, and still
" less so of the amount of the sun's di-
" rect light and heat intercepted by aque-
" ous vapor, for it takes no account of
" the quantity of moisture suspended in
" the air, nor of the depositions from
"fogs, which are fiir more fatal to the
" perfecting of fruits than the heaviest
" brief showers. The Indian climate,
" which is marked by one season of ex-
" cessive humidity and the other of es-
" cessive drought, can never be favora-
" ble to the production either of good
"European or tropical fruits. Hence
" there is not one of the latter peculiar
" to the country, and perhaps but one
" which arrives at full perfection — name-
" ly, the mango. The plantains, oranges,
" and pine-apples are less abundant, of
" inferior kinds, and remain a shorter
" season in perfection than they do in
"South America, the West Indies, or
" Western Africa."

CAPACITY OF MATTER.

There is undoubtedly much loss sus-
tained through the want of a more ex-
act and practical knowledge of the full
powers and capacities of matter. Next
to the want of a natural tact or aptitude

SCIENTIFIC

in a craftsman for his craft, is that of
knowing how to bring out and appro-
priate every element, however concealed
in the material which he manipulates.
The two, however, usually go hand in
hand, and constitute the celebrity and
success of every operator. Of the same
quality of flour one baker so kneads and
tempers his dough, that the praise of his
bread is in every mouth, while another
makes of it such stuff as were " Jeremi-
ah's figs — too bad to give the pigs." So
the same quality of steel may be manu-
factured into Damascus blades or Rogers'
cutlery by one, smith, and into "Peter
Pindar Razors" by another. An honest
old farmer friend of my early days was
never known to swear a syllable, except,
*' By the powers of mud !" and this was
on his tongue's end about as often as his
plow hit a stump, or stone, or any other
especially exciting incident crossed his
path. The superabundant ingathering
from his wheat, corn, and potato fields,
orchards, and gardens, however, fully
proved that no man better than he un-
derstood the powers of mud, or could
better compost and coin tons and tons of
it every year into golden treasures. If
the well authenticated reports of " the
lost arts" are true, there are many long-
concealed powers of matter yet to be fer-
retted out and brought into the light and
service of the world. They may be dis-
covered by chance as the scavenger
sometimes sweeps up a lost diamond, or
by men who are willing to look for them
as the boy was told to hunt for the lost
wedge, when he said he had looked
everywhere that it could be. " Well
then," said his father, " look every where
that it can not be and you will find it."
Infinitely more important discoveries are
or may be made by laboring men pur-
suing their daily avocations than by men
of mere empty scientific pretensions, if
they could only turn them to good ac-
count. What unlimited advantages
every farmer has for increasing the de-
sired knowledge of insects for instance.

as well as mechanics and manufacturers
for unfolding the capabilities of the ma-
terial in which they operate. Every one
should find means of making public
whatever may tend to public good. If I
may be permitted to illustrate by exam-
ple, I will do so by saying a few words
about propeities which I have discovered
in two simple articles, namely, calcined
plaster and lead, which I think are not
very generally understood or appreciated.
And if my remarks favor one profession
more than another, it shall be a profes-
sion not of trifling importance to the pre-
sent tooth-afflicted generation, nor one
slow to appreciate and exert its best fa-
culties to allay the fearfully prevailing
dental defection. In taking a cast of the
gum for fitting suction plate for teeth, if
plaster is mixed very thin, say two
spoonfuls to two of water, more or less
as the case requires, and beaten up like
eggs, it at length assumes a new aspect
of cohesiveness and plasticity, and will
spread like well tempered butter till on
the very verge of " setting." Let it now
be quickly transferred to the mouth-cup,
and pressed to its desired depth on the
gum, it conforms instantly to every pe-
culiarity of shape and contour, harden-
ing so quick that it may in less than one
minute be taken from the mouth a per-
fect smooth impression, while if it had
been merely mixed as usual it would
have required three or four times as long
to harden, annoyed if not sickened the
patient, and come out less perfect in
every respect. How this matrix is to be
immediately oiled and filled for a male,
or counter cast, say two inches high with
similarly prepared plaster paste kept in
place by a paper wall around it, is well
known to practical dentists, for whose
sole benefit I am not, by the by, just
now writing. My next subject is lead, so
much more celebrated for its coldness
and gravity than for any lively or accom-
modating properties. But let us see ; —
when the plaster model of the jaw or
die, No, 2, is perfected with its provi-

SCIENTIFIC.

233

sions for air-chamber and all, take a
sheet-iron pan five inches square and
one and a half deep, containing about
eight pounds of lead. Heat it consider-
ably above the melting point and set it
where it will cool, not too rapidly. Stir
in the lead from the corners and outer
edges towards the center and up from
the bottom, carefully moving every
granulating particle into the middle of
the pan. Very soon the whole mass ap-
pears so equally and harmoniously tem-
pered that you may pile it up like hasty
pudding, and still see uncooled liquid
lead flowing around its base. It is in
this condition that I claim for it powers
and properties not, I believe, very gen-
erally known. Almost eveiy particle is
mutually ready ■n-ith every other parti-
cle, on the application of a very little
chill to '■'presto, change'^ from an almost
semi-fluid, soft and impressible state, to
one of unyielding hardness, and still
seemingly willing to linger a moment
longer to take to itself any impression
by which the true artist may be facili-
tated in his labors. This, however, is a
critical period of not more probably than
fifteen seconds' duration, and allows of
but little delay. Smooth now the mol-
ten mass to a level in the pan, and while
the quicksilvery glow yet remains on its
surface, press steadily down with a firm
hand the faultless plaster model to its
desirable depth. Every particle of yet
jhwing metal hardens as it receives the
impression of the descending form, and
is almost instantly, in concert with the
rest, in a solid state. The model, if
rightly shaped, may now be lifted unin-
jured from the lead before cooling binds
it in. This second or leaden matrix
when cool may be painted with a thin
solution of whiting and water, and sur-
rounded by a strip of sheet lead two
inches high, and filled with tin or type-
metal, melted and tempered like the lead
so that it will just flow into the matrix
and cool instantly on receiving its form.
It is advisable before marring the matrix

by striking up the plate to take dupli-
cate dies, say one of tin and one of type-
metal, which is much the harder of the
two. It can but be obvious to every
philosophical and practical dentist, that
by having the plaster elaborated to the
point of " setting" in both cases, taking
the gum impression and its model, there
must be the least possible amount of con-
traction. This is, if possible, still more
obvious of the low temperature to which
the metals are reduced before being used.
Experience alone, however, can make
any method pleasant and profitable. I
will only add, in conclusion, that the
whole operation of taking the four dies,
namely, the female and male plaster dies,
and the corresponding metallic ones, ca-
pable of striking up a plate of the most
perfect adhesive powers, seldom takes
me more than one hour. I cool the lead
in water, if in haste, as soon as the ma-
trix is formed, and so the tin and type-
metal as soon as poured in and hardened.
And better than all, never since adopting
this process have I had a patient return
with the doleful story of having been
shocked and horrified by their teeth
dropping out, and "right before the min-
ister."

As my subject, Messrs. Editors, seems
to contemplate the gathering up of the
fragments that nothing be lost, will you
allow me to add a word or two from per-
sonal experience in relation to the value
oi natural teeth and unbroken nerves to
those who are " talking seriously" of
having their mouths cleared of native
occupants, to be filled with the gold and
porcelain of the artist. Four years ago
I had thirteen teeth extracted at one sit-
ting of five minutes, and without anas-
thetic agency. It was done most kindly
and skilfully, but was still a most cruel
outrage on the " harp of so many strings."
It stands not to reason that such a sim-
ultaneous crash and disrupture of nerves
extending to every possible part of the
system can be otherwise than disastrous.
Sickness, death, and what is worse, the

234

SCIENTIFIC.

loss of reason have occurred from such
operations, especially in the hands of un-
scrupulous, heartless empirics. Not a
little suffering in this way is silently en-
dured and concealed through fear of rail-
ery. If natural teeth must be sacrificed,
three, four, or five, according to the con-
stitution of the patient, are as many as
should be removed at once, and that only
at intervals of several weeks. But where
even three or four sound masticating
teeth remain in each jaw, their removal
is sacrilege. The most perfect artificial
teeth ever made can not atone for their
loss. I wear as good and useful ones as
can be procured, but I know of a cer-
tainty that, however well they please the
eye, they do not admit of the dehcacy
and completeness of mastication, the free
and nutritious flow and mingling of sal-
iva, and the refined taste, relish, and ap-
preciation of food which every function
of the system hankers after and pleads
for as indispensable to their healthy ac-
tion. I have not, however, the least
cause or disposition to speak disparag-
ingly of well-made and skilfully adjusted
plate-teeth in a mouth which has not
sacrificed too much natural advantage
for their attainment. "They are capable
of proving an inestimable blessing to the
otherwise toothless, whose knife and
fork, by the by, should work well for
their benefit, that is, should be of a de-
cidedly ^^ mincing" propensity, as food
can hardly be made too fine or swallow-
ed too moderately for the good of the
wearer. Keep them in water during the
night, with a good brushing as they are
replaced in the morning.

Yours truly, Eastman Sanborn.
Andovek, Mass., Feb., 1858.

For the American Farmer's Magazine.

ON THE DUEABILITY OF WOOD.
Mr. Editor: — In the number of your
journal for December last, under the
head of Interrogatories, your corres-
pondent J. R. B., proposed several
"questions, which he desired to have

answered satisfactorily, either by your-
seM", or by some of your scientific corres-
pondents." The most of them were
ably, and no doubt, satisfactorily answer-
ed, at the time, by yourself. I have been
waiting ever since, hoping that some of
your many correspondents would reply ;
but as none of them has done so, I send
you the following answer to the other,
and only remaining question, to wit,
" On, what principle depends the dura-
Mlity of wood."

There are several circumstances and
conditions upon which the durability of
wood may depend, namely, whether it
be subjected only to the influence of dry
air, or entirely excluded from the atmos-
phere by being kept under water ; or
whether it be exposed to both elements,
or in any way, so as to absorb oxygen,
whereby slow combustion or oxidation
would take place, or some other chemi-
cal transformation. Its durability mate-
rially depends also, upon the nature and
properties of the constituents of the
juices in the wood. It is to this last,
that the most particular attention will
be herein given.

Woody fibre or lignin which consti-
tutes the organic structure and tissues
of wood, is the same in all kinds of it,
and when pure, is very durable. But,
wood, in its ordinary and natural state,
is prone to rot and decay, whenever its
vital action ceases. This is in conse-
quence of its containing in its juices,
certain nitrogenized albumenous sub-
stances which run spontaneonsly into
fermentation, putrefaction and decay,
when exposed to moisture and an ele-
vated temperature of the atmospheric
air. To render wood durable, therefore,
it is requisite either to neutralize and
destroy the septic properties of those
substances by artificial means, or to re-
move them, and thereby counteract or
prevent their contaminating and destruc-
tive effects.

In order, therefore, to understand the
nature of those substances more clearly,

SCIENTIFIC.

235

and the reason why some kinds of wood
in the natural state are more lasting
than others, and how to retard or pre-
vent their spontaneous decomposition
and decay, it is important and necessary
to know also what are the component
elements of the juices of each kind, and
their chemical characteristics and pro-
perties.

It is a well ascertained fact, that the
sap and cambium which constitute the
juices in a tree, are compound sub-
stances, composed of many different prox-
imate principles, varying in number,
quantity and proportions in each kind
of wood, to wit, resin, oil, gum, sugar,
starch, &c., none of which contains ni-
trogen. These arc called non-azotised,
or non-nitrogenized substances. Ac-
cordingly, they are not of themselves,
capable of running spontaneously into
the putrefactive fermentation, nor of in-
juring the wood by any of the chemical
transformations which they are suscep-
tible of undergoing. But, the sap and
cambium contain also three other prox-
imate principles, namely, albumen, glu-
ten or vegetable fibrlne, and casein, all
of which contain nitrogen as one of their
ultimate elements, and consequently,
they are the only causes of the sponta-
neous putrefactive fermentation, and ul-
timately of the decay thereby, of all
kinds of wood, as well as of all kinds of
animal matter.

These three substances are known by
various names, namely, nitrogenized sub-
stances, azofisetZ substances, albumenous
compounds, and also, by the more com-
prehensive i&rm 2>r9tein. They are all
three identical in properties and compos-
ition, whether they belong to the vege-
table or animal kingdom, differing only
in their external character, as the vege-
table albumen in nuts, almonds, and the
sap of trees, the gluten or vegetable
fibrine in wheat floor, and the vegeta-
ble casein in peas and beans, are the
same as the white of eggs, the fibrine of
blood, and the curd of milk. They con-

tain also, the same organic elements, in
exactly the same proportions, and are
the basis of all the vegetable and animal
tissues. They are also alike susceptible
of running spontaneously into the pntre-
faetive fermentation, when exposed to
the conditions necessary for affecting
chemical transformations.

These three protein substances possess
certain other characteristic properties
that distinguish them from resin, sugar,
starch, and all the other non-nitrogeniz-
ed constituents of the juices of the wood,
prominent among which, is that of their
being susceptible of coagulation by va-
rious chemical agents, which produce
antiseptic and preservative effects, by
converting them into an insoluble and
inert coagulum, incapable of fermenta-
tion, putrefaction and decay.

Some one or more of these protein
substances are contained in greater or
less proportions in all kinds of wood, and
when it has lost its vitality, and conse-
quently its power of resisting putrefac-
tion, the fermentative process readily
takes place, contaminating the sugar,
starch, and all the other constituents of
the sap, and ultimately involving the
whole woody structure in decomposition
and decay when exposed to moistiu-e,
and a high temperature of the atmos-
pheric air.

There are many instances showing
that certain kinds of wood, such as pine,
cedar, chestnut, etc., possess naturally
greater durability than others, and that
" it does not depend upon the hardness '
of the fiber, or the closeness of the tex-
ture," as J. R. B. says, nor indeed upon
anything else pertaining to their organ-
ism ; but it is generally owing to the cir-
cumstance that the juices in some kinds
of wood contain relatively but a small
quantity of tho protein compounds here-
tofore described, as compared with the
larger proportion of resin, oil, sugar,
starch, and other non-nitrogenized con-
stituents, some one or more of which
they always contain, and which, by vir-

236

SCIENTIFIC

tue of their excess, and by their predom-
inating and preservative influences over
the former, counteract and prevent their
putrefaction and destructive tendencies,
and thereby preserve the vpood from de-
composition and decay. Many familiar
examples might be cited corroborative of
this opinion.

The following are the diflferent methods
commonly employed by which the putre-
faction, decomposition, and decay of
wood are checked and prevented, and
thereby rendered durable :

1. By painting the surface to prevent
the absorption of water and of oxygen,
as with a mixture of the oxyde of lead
or zinc and oil, or by besmearing it with
varnish, pitch, or some resinous com-
pound.

2. Bykiln-drying, or by seasoning in
dry air, to evaporate the aqueous portion
of the sap, and thereby to render the
protein compounds dry, hard, and inso-
luble, and therefore incapable of under-
going the spontaneous putrefactive fer-
mentation and decay.

3. By soaking in water to dilute, de-
compose, and extract the sap, as is fre-
quently done by lumbermen. In ponds
where the logs are soaking for that pur-
pose, it is a common occurrence for the
surface of the water to be covered with
a scum of the extracted sap. Steaming
the wood is a process also employed for
preparing timber for ship building and
other uses.

4. By Tcyanizing, -(the invention of
Kyan.) This method consists in saturat-
ing the wood in a solution of corrosive
sublimate, (perchloride of mercury.) It
is done by soaking the wood, cut into
blocks, planks, or boards, for seven or
eight hours in a tank of the solution,
made in the proportion of one pound of
corrosive sublimate to five gallons of
water. As the protein substances, both
vegetable and animal, possess the char-
acteristic property of being coagulated
by this solution, the result of the pro-
cess is, that when it is absorbed by the

wood, and combines with the sap, the
protein constituents of it are instantly
converted into an insoluble coagulum,
that is inert and not susceptible of pu-
trefaction, or any other chemical trans-
formation. The wood is rendered by
this process very durable for any pur-
pose.

There are other solutions which are
also capable of coagulating the protein
substances in the juices of the wood, and
are used in the same manner for its pre-
servation, as solutions of the sulphate of
zinc, (white vitriol,) sulphate of iron,
(copperas,) arsenious acid, etc.

It is upon the analogous principle of
coagulating the protein constituents of
the blood, that the ingredients used in
the modern process of embalming the
dead bodies of persons, act anticeptically
and retard decomposition. It is effected
by injecting into an artery, commonly
of the arm, with a force pump, a solution
of arsenious acid which permeates
through the whole body, and on com-
bining with the blood, instantly converts
the albumenous and fibrinous portions
of it into an insoluble and inert coagu-
lum, and thereby checks fermentation
and retards putrefaction and decay.

The bodies of birds and small animals
are preserved in a similar manner for
exhibition. Solutions of cori'osive sub-
limate and sulphate of zinc produce the
same effects.

John B. McMunn, M. D.
Port Jervis, N. Y., March 15, 1858.

TO REVIVE BLACK LACE.

Steep the lace in porter which has
stood long enough to become slightly
stale, rub it about in a basin until per-
fectly soaked, then press out the liquid
by squeezing, carefully avoiding wring-
ing, which would tear or fray the lace.
After stretching it to its proper width,
pin it out to dry. This will be found
preferable to the use of gum water for
imparting to the lace the requisite de-
gree of stiffening or dressing, and will
make it appear as beautiful as when
new.

LITERARY

23'7

%\ttXMl.

THE HEROINES OF ONEIDA.

AN OKIfilNAL TALK OF NEW-YORK STATE,
FOUNDED ON FACT.

[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year
1852, by J. A. Nash, in the Clerk's office of the
District Court of the United States, for the South-
ern District of New-Yorli.]

Some few years before the Revolution-
ary War, a New-England family, whose
zeal for the advancement of the Cross
amongst the Indian race predominated
over their love of the comforts of life,
took up their residence near the conflu-
ence of the Sequoit Creek and the Mo-
hawk on the borders of Lake Oneida.
The son, a boy of six or seven years of
age, and their daughter who was much
younger, accompanied them. The form-
er the good people had determined to
devote to a missionary life ; and the red
man's introduction to the knowledge of
Christianity, was to become the aim and
end of his future labors.

In those times nature, in her sublime
grandeur, spread far and wide over the
surrounding country her towering for-
ests, tracked only by the foot of the In-
dians ; and the mark of civilization was
there yet unknown.

Cautiously at first did the native tribes
approach the new settlers ; but by de-
grees their intercourse had become luore
intimate, and frequent visits of short
duration were made to the " white man"
by his tawny neighbors.

One summer's evening when Mr. and
Mrs. Dean were sitting in front of their
log house watching the gambols of their
little girl and boy, and resting from the
rugged toils which were inseparable from
the mode of life they had now entered
upon, they observed a party of Indians
approaching, who, on arriving at the
house, proved to be an old chief with
whom they were acquainted, and his
wife and family, consisting of two or
three grown up sons, and a mulatto wo-

man, that had on former occasions acted
as interpreter for them.

The chief was-named Han Yerry, and
he was known to the Deans as one of the
most influential men of the tribe of the
Oneidas, to which he belonged.

The courtesies that usually passed up-
on similar occasions having taken place
between them, the old chief addressing
Mr. Dean said in an earnest manner :
" Are you my friend ?"
•' Yes," replied he.

" Do you believe I am your friend ?"
said the chief.

" Yes, Han Yerry, I believe you are."
"Then," said Han Yerry, "if you are
my fi'iend, and you believe I am your
friend, I will tell you what I want ; and
then I shall know whether you speak
true words."

" What is it that you want ?" said Mr.
Dean.

The chief reflected for a few minutes,
looking around him as though searching
for something, and then pointing to Mr.
Dean's little gii'l, replied,

" My squaw wants to take that pap-
poose home to stay with us one night,
and bring her back to-morrow. If you
are my friend you will now show me."

The horror of the parents at this un-
expected proposition, can be better con-
ceived than described. The mother in
her agony was about to catch up her lit-
tle darling immediately, and run with
her into the house ; but Mr. Dean check-
ed her. The tumult of conflicting feel-
ings in his own breast was intense. He
knew well that distrust was the ever
prevailing feature in the character of the
red man ; and that unfortunately the
treatment he had frequently experienced
from the whites gave him too much
cause for the existence of it. On the
other hand, he knew that from time to
time the Indians had shown much grati-
tude for kindness ; and where their word

238

LITERARY,

had been taken, they had usually been
remarkable for a strict observance of
their plighted faith. His judgment led
him to the conclusion, that the proposal
had been made to him honestly by the
chief as a test of his own sincerity ; and
he therefore felt a confidence that if he
complied with it, the child would be
safe. Again he felt that, with the re-
vengeful passions of the savage life, if he
refused to place reliance upon the chiefs
word and aroused his anger, the life not
only of his little daughter, but of his
wife and the whole family, could, and
probably would, pay the forfeit of his
adv«rse decision. For with the red rr'&ii
every one who is not his friend must be
his foe.

The agonized mother, whose thoughts
on the subject were confined for the time
to the simple alternative of keeping or
parting with her little prattler, could
scarcely believe the evidence of her
senses, when she heard Mr. Dean, after
a short pause, reply to the chief:

" Han Yerry, you are a father your-
self, and therefore you can take my
child ; for I know that as you are my
friend, you will take the same care of
her that I would take of yours. But
you promise me that to-morrow you will
bring her home ?"

" I will ; and till then I will cherish
her in my bosom, and protect her with
my life," replied he.

The squaw who had advanced towards
the little girl, and engaged her attention
by kind endearments, now took her up
in her arms, and in a few moments the
party were lost in the somber hues of
the surrounding forest.

It was long before Mrs. Dean could be
convinced by her husband that he had
acted wisely or justly towards their poor
babe. However, when nature's first re-
lief from intense suffering — a flood of
tears — had somewhat restored the se-
renity of her mind ; although still in
doubt, she perceived the fearful alterna-
tive, the ful; extent of which had pre-

sented itself to her husband, and influ-
enced his decision.

In misery was the coming night past
in the log house. The morning dawned,
and the first gray tints that herald its
approach, met the eyes of the disconso-
late mother as she sat at the window
looking towards the point, in the wild
landscape before her, at which the last
glimpse of her dear child had disappear-
ed from her view on the preceding night.

The day advanced, and its bright orb,
dispelling the mists that hung around
the foliage, had lighted up the forest with
its meridian splendor. Still sat the mo-
ther at the window, her weary eyes
dimmed by tears that she strove in vain
to conceal. For well she knew that
every pang that wrung her breast had
its fellow in that of her beloved husband ;
and she would not willingly increase the
severity of his sufferings by adding to
them that testimony of her own.

The shades of night were fast drawing
near, and still no sign appeared of the
lost child. The father almost repented
his own course, and half wished he had
resolved on any other alternative — he
knew not what — rather than that he had
adopted. To attempt to follow or trace
the Indians, he was aware would be fu-
tile ; for independently of the impossi-
bility for his inexperience to find their
trail, he well knew that if they had
played him false, and intended to steal
the child, their swift motions and know-
ledge of their hunting grounds would
enable them to elude his vigilance, even
if he came within sight of them. The
only thing, therefore, that the wretched
parents could do was to watch on still !

The moon had risen and silvered over
the limpid stream that murmured on-
ward through its devious course at the
foot of the rising ground on which their
house was placed, and the hopes of the
anxious parents were ebbing fast to the
verge of extinction, when figures were
dimly discerned in the extreme dis-
tance, and in a few minutes the tall form

LITERARY.

239

of the chief and mulatto woman were
disclosed to the gladdened eyes of Mr.
and Mrs. Dean. On the shoulders of the
former sat their little daughter, but so
changed in appearance that her identity
was at first equivocal. The white man's
pappoose had been converted into the
red man's pappoose ; for its new friends
had dressed it entirely in their Indian
costume.

" There is your child," said Han Yer-
ry. " Now I know you are my friend;
you have shown me now that you trust
Han Yerry ; from this day we will be
one. Never can you want a friend to
fight your battles or avenge your wrongs
whilst Ilan Yerry draws breath."

From this time the intercourse be-
tween the new settlers and their Indian
friends increased ; and the latter afiforded
much valuable assistance to them.

A few years only had elapsed since
the stirring events that we have men-
tioned, when the future of their son re-
quired that he should become familiar
with the language and habits of the race
to whom his labors were to be devoted ;
and as he had now no misgivings upon
the subject, Mr. Dean resolved to send
his son, now fifteen years of age, to pass
some years with the Oneidas, for the
purpose alluded to.

This course having been determined
on, Mr. Dean sent for his friend, Han
Yerry, and thus addressed him :

"Han Yerry, you put me to the test
when our friendship first commenced,
and we have now known each other long
enough to render any further proofs on
either side to be unnecessary. But I am
now about to (ifford you good evidence
that my confidence in you does not con-
fine itself merely to a trust in your fidel-
ity, but extends to a reliance on your
judgment. You worship the Great Spir-
it, and you do well ; but you know not
much of his attributes and goodness that
the white man has been made acquainted
with. To tell your people that, would
make them good and happy; but to do

it, the white man must know how to talk
in your own tongue. I am too old, and
my life is too far run out to do your peo-
ple good in that way ; but my young
son here will devote his future life to the
purpose. Take him with you for a time,
and teach him your way of life. "When
he has learnt to live as you live, to learn
your ways and to talk your language, he
will know how, when he grows a man,
to counsel you, and to make yovu- people
understand the things they do not know.
But you must remember that all around
him will at present be strange to him ;
and that as he will have no one but you
for his friend, upon you alone will he de-
pend for succor and for comfort. Twice
a year bring him home to me, that we
may thank you for your care of him, and
have together some days of happiness
and love. And at some future time will
your sons, if not yourself, bless the
white man who first taught you to look
up aright to that Great Spirit that made
both him and you."

Whilst Mr. Dean was speaking the
eyes of Han Yerry, fixed upon him, filled
with tears, and his whole frame gave in-
disputable evidence of deep emotion.
(For during the past few years of their
intercourse he had learnt the white man's
tongue.) As soon as he ceased, Han
Yerry seized Mr. Dean's hand and raised
it to his lips.

" My friend, my friend," said he, " if
all white mans were like you, all red
mans would love him too. Your Si,n, no
more your son alone, but mine too.
My squaw shall love him and take him
for her son, and he shall be taken by our
chiefs into the Oneida tribe. And woe
to white man or red that touches my
new son's head."

The arrangements for young Dean's
departure were soon made, and the well
grounded confidence of his parents re-
lieved their minds from any feeling of
anxiety beyond that consequent upon
their son's separation from them, to com-
mence the walk in life that they had

240

LITERARY

marked out for him ; and which the
scenes of forest life with which he had
now been for some few years familiar,
well fitted him to encounter. Of a stur-
dy frame of body and of a buoyant and
ardent temperament, the lad himsejf
stood quite ready to seek and take part
in those adventures which the anecdotes
that he had heard, had taught him to be
inseparable from Indian life ; and he en-
tered upon his travels, therefore, with
all the enthusiastic anticipations that a
young English nobleman, of the same era
in the world's history, started with from
London under the surveillance of his tu-
tor to make the " Grand Tour."

Young Dean soon became accustomed
to his new mode of life, and was adopted
into the tribe as the son of Onata, the
wife of Han Yerry, to whom as well as
to her husband he soon became attached,
from the care and anxiety which they
uniformly manifested towards him.
Open hearted and sprightly he quickly
made friends of the younger members of
the tribe, and partook alike of their
amusements and toils. The latter con-
sisting principally of hunting and pre-
paring the skins of the animals that re-
warded their rude sportsmanship.

Amongst the young men of the tribe
the son of the head chief, whose name
was Omi, had especially attracted James
Dean's attention by his proficiency in
field sports, and the success and tact
that marked his career as a hunter. He
was some half dozen years beyond young
Dean in age, with an athletic, well de-
veloped frame. Omi had no idea, how-
ever, that a batchelor's life was essential
to his notions of forest freedom ; on the
contrary he had long cast a wistful eye
upon a young maid of the tribe. The
beautiful Howala was a maiden of his
own age, and formed in a mould that
Venus might have lent to celebrate her
birth.

It was now some four years since
young Dean had joined the Oneidas, and
he had become so much one of them,

that they would willingly have kept him
amongst them altogether. But the time
was approaching when he had arranged
with his father upon the last occa-
sion of his temporary visit to him, that
he should take leave of Indian life, and
return home to prepare himself by a
course of study at Dartmouth College
for the future duties of a missionary.

The tribe was then on their journey
from a distant hunting excursion to the
neighborhood of his father's settlement,
and he was anticipating the pleasure in
another month to enjoy that flood of hap-
piness which, be it regal or bumble, is
the blessed attribute of " home."

Strolling one afternoon over an open
glade in the forest, fi-om the interior of
which the view was excluded by a dense
thicket of underwood, he heard the
piercing shrieks of a female voice quick-
ly reiterated in strains of poignant grief.

Dashing through the thicket into the
forest in the direction from which the
sounds issued, he at once perceived their
cause. At a distance of a few yards
from which he stood was his friend Omi
struggling in the embrace of a huge bear,
and a little way off stood the lady-love
Howala wringing her hands in helpless
misery, and screaming at the top of her
voice.

Young Dean was unarmed, and had
no weapon save his knife. Hastening to
the scene of contention, he plunged the
knife into the beast aiming at his heart,
but it struck against a bone. The
wound produced pain enough, however,
to induce the animal to let go his grasp
on Omi, and turn upon his new assail-
ant. The injuries that the bear inflicted
upon Omi wholly incapacitated him
from continuing the contest, and the
whole rage of the infuriated animal was
now, therefore, concentrated upon Dean.
The fight was sharp and close ; Dean
was active, and contrived to avoid the
embrace which his adversary vainly tried
to fix upon him, and plying his knife
nimbly, he inflicted numberless wounds.

LITERARY.

241

without being able to strike in a vital
part. It must not be assumed, never-
theless, that the laurels were all on his
side. Bruin used his claws as efficiently
as Dean did his knife. Dean felt that
his exertions, added to weakness from
loss of blood, rendered it impossible for
him much longer to continue the unequal
contest ; and he knew that unless he
could strike the heart, there was no
means in his power to put an end to it.
Summoning, therefore, for the effort, all
his remaining strength, he rushed into
the extended arms of the bear, driving
his knife before him into the animal.
Fortunately he was this time successiul ;
but his victory was gained at the bare
preservation of his life, for at the same
ini|,ant that he delivered the flxtal blow,
the bear, in its attempt to hug him, had
also fixed her huge jaws into Dean's left
shoulder, and inflicted a wound of fear-
ful character. They both fell toge-
ther; and although released by the
death of the animal from a grasp which
had only been half clinched. Dean re-
mained faint and senseless on the ground,

Omi laid helpless beside him ; but as
soon as Howala was relieved by the
death of Bruin from fear about her lover,
she ran off with the swiftness of an ar-
row for help ; and a few minutes sufficed
to bring her relations to the spot.

The wounded men were immediately
removed with all the care their primi-
tive means afforded, and became objects of
the unremitted anxiety and solicitude of
the whole tribe. Han Yerry and his
squaw watched over young Dean day
and night; and the mother of Omi, in-
formed by her intended daughter in-law
that nothing could have saved the life of
Omi had not Dean released him from the
bear, dividcil her care between her son
and young Dean.

The laceiated nature of the wound on
the shoulder rendered it doubtful for
some time whether permanent injury to
the arm would not result. Too far bu-
ried in the forest to obtain medical aid
16

beyond that of his adopted tribe, young
Dean lay many ■vweeks a cripple ; but
with youth and a hardy constitution in
his favor, nature prevailed at last, and
rewarded the assiduous attentions of his
nurses with success. The wounds which
they had bound up gradually healed ;
and except from the presence of seams
here and there on his limbs, which re-
mained as permanent memorials of his
prowess, he at length was enabled to re-
sume his journey homeward, which these
events had thus unexpectedly delayed.

The powers of endurance and the re-
solution that the bear fight had so prom-
inently called into action, were not
thrown away upon a race, in whose esti-
mation courage and physical energy. are
among the first steps to pre-eminence.
The elder chiefs now were loud in Dean's
praise, and profuse in their professions
of friendship ; and it was determined to
reward . the white man that had thus
saved one of their number at the expense
of so much danger and suffering, with a
memorial of their regard and tsleein.
For this purpose they held a solemn
council, in which it was resolved to
make him a present of a tract of land, in
such locality as he should select, when
he was of an age to determine upon his
future fortunes.

The longed-for hour at length arrived
that restored James Dean to his father's
home, but which vras to separate him
from forest life and forest friends. Han
Yerry and his wife were deeply moved
when the time for separation came, and
Ilowala and Omi's mother were little
less willing to part with him. His young
friend Omi, however, consoled them all
with the assurance that neither space
nor force .should long separate him from
the preserver of his life — an a.ssuranco
which young Dean knew his character
well enough to place iui[ilicit reliance
upon.

The next few years of his life were
spent by young Dean at Dartmouth Col-
lege, shortly after which he had the mis-

242

LITERARY.

fortune to lose his parents, who quickly-
followed each other to the tomb ; solaced,
nevertheless, by the reflection that they
had lived to see their son grown up to
manhood, and well provided with friends
amongst those to whose benefit they had
designed his future labors should be de-
voted.

Circumstances, imperious in their cha-
racter and uncontrollable in their na-
ture, soon occurred which completely
changed the current of James Dean's af-
ter life.

(to ee continued.]

THE MECHANIC.

A YOUNG man commenced visiting a
young woman, and appeared to be well
received. One evening he called at the
house when it was quite late, which led
the girl to inquire where he had been.
" I had to work late to-night," he re-
plied. " Do you work for a living ?" in-
quired the astonished girl. " Certainly,"
replied the young man, "I am a mecha-
nic." "My brother doesn't work," she
remarked, "and I dislike the name of a
mechanic," and she turned up her pret-
ty nose.

This was the last time the mechanic
visited the young woman. He is now a
wealthy man, and has one of the best of
women for his wife. The young woman
who disHked the name of a mechanic is
now the wife of a miserable tuol — a re-
gular vagrant about grog-shops — and
she, poor and miserable girl, is obliged
to take in washing in order to support her-
self and children.

Ye who dislike the name of a mecha-
nic— whose brothers do nothing but loaf
and dress — beware how you treat young
men who work for a living Far better
discard the well-fed pauper, with all his
rings, jewelry, brazen-facedncss and
pomposity, and take to your affections
the callous-handed, intelligent and in-
dustrious mechanic. Thousands have
bitterly regretted their folly, who have
turned their backs on industry. A few
years of bitter experience taught them
a severe lesson. In this country, no
man or woman in health should be re-
spected, in our way of thinking, who
will not work bodily or mentally, and
who curl their lips with scorn when in-
troduced to hard working men. — Ex.

THE FARMER.

Here is another. It came within our
own knowledge — is true to the letter.

Jemima Drake was a beautiful girl.
Her father was a farmer. His wife was
a farmer's wife and a good one too —
loved her husband, was faithful to her
family, had but one fault, and strange
was it that she had that one, but it was
so ; — she alwaj^s felt that it would have
been a little better to have had a husband,
as good everyway as hers, who had some
other employment ; and she cherished a
hope, seldom uttered, that lier daughters
would marry well, but would not marry
farmers.

Jemima was twenty, with all the glo-
ries of young, blushing, just developed
womanhood upon her. There v^&m corar
shuckings, quiltings, apple parings, and
all such pleasant things in the neighbor-
hood. The young folks saw each other
at church, and sometimes met between
Sundays. James Darlington loved Je-
mima. John Davenport and Joseph
Clark loved her. Jemima loved James,
and could have loved John and Joseph
just as well as not. She was a girl to
love and to be loved. Any young man
would have been a heartless fellow not
to have loved her, and any girl, not to
love James Darlington, would have
shown a lack of appreciation for the
good and the true hearted.

Between these last two there would
have been a solid, bona fide engagement
but for the advent in that quiet neigh-
borhood of Mr. Silk Ribbon, from New-
York. He talked large, told of brisk
business, and rejoiced in princely pros-
pects. Jemima, partly with the hope of
a big house up-town, and more to please
her mother, delayed to make engage-
ments with James, and in less than a
3^ear married the New- York merchant —
that was to be.

We must hasten to the end, for we
hate a long story. Mr. Silk Ribbon has
made money, and lost it ; has been up
and down in the world, and is just now

MISCELLANEOUS

248

down low enough. Twenty years of
city lifo have added nothing to Jctnima's
charms. Her life has been one of com-
parative ease, but of incessant agitation
by elating hopes and depressing fears ;
and DOW at the age of forty she has no
verj'' flattering prospects.

James Darlington mourned, as who
would not, that she should prefer an-
other. But there was Kate Grimes at
the next house. She was plain, modesf,
good, a true-hearted girl, of eighteen.
Her mother was forty, and was hand-
some. Who could tell but Kate would
be like her when she should have borne
the cares of womanhood a few years.
James Darlington was quite willing to
take the risk.

He soothed his sorrows for the loss of
his first love, and took the second. He
is not rich. You do not hear him talk
of millions. But he has provided ad-
mirably for the comfort and the educa-
tion of a family as large as a small flock.
He has been prosperous in what the Silk
Ribbons would call a small way ; but it
has been large enough to insure solid
happiness ; and to-day Kate Darlington,
among the host of promising boys and
girls that are grown and growing up in
the farm-house, looks ten years jounger
and a great deal happier than Jemima
Ribbon ; and she has not a single fear,
when her husband goes out, that ho will
encounter a dissatisfied creditor.

i s t £ 1 1 a lu a It J} .

THE WEATHER
Appearance of Birds, Flo-wers, etc., in Nichols, Tioga Co., N. Y., in Febrcary, 1858.

By B. Howell.

Feb.

TAM.2P.M.

9 P.M.

Remarks.

1

4

34

28

East.

Cloudy.

Snow commeDccd at 5 P. M., and turned to

rain.

2

34

41

35

S.<feN.

"

Light rain at intervals all day.

8

34

36

28

West

Fair.

4

24

30

20

N. W.

"

6

13

26

19

"

"

6

20

29

27

N.cfeS.

"

7

37

37

30

s&w.

Cloudy.

8

26

27

14

North

"

Snow squalls.

9

23

38

37

S. E.

"

Snow squalls.

10

29 •

26

12

West.

"

Snow squalls.

11

3

12

-2

"

Fair.

Light snow squalls.

12

10

25

6

S&W.

"

Crossing on the ice on the Susquehanna River at

Fonda.

13

1

22

17

S.&N.

Cloudy.

Snow commenced in the evening about
clock.

1 0'-

14

15

26

24

"

"

Snow at intervals all day.

15

16

20

2

N. W.

■ "

Snow squalls all the forenoon.

16

20

20

7

<i

<(

Snow squalls in the forenoon.

17

4

12

-3

"

"

18

7

18

1

"

"

Lunar halo at 7 o'clock, P. M.

19

4

12

17

Snow commenced about llj A. M., and conl
all P. M. from N. W.

iDBed

20

15

30

21

"

"

Snow continued from yesterday.

21

12

38

27

S. E.

"

A few flakes of snow in the evening.

22

15

22

14

N. W.

'*

Suscjuchanna River frozen bo as to cross
teams a number of places.

with

23

10

22

-3

North

Fair.

24

-13

31

22

S. E.

"

25

20

37

28

S. W.

Cloudy.

A few flakes of snow in P. M.

26

22

36

14

"

Fair.

27

18

49

88

S. E.

"

28

38

50

34

S.E&S

Cloudy.

Light rain commenced at 5 P. M.

244

MISCELLANEOUS.

METEOROLOGICAL.

chapman's precalculations.

[-Entered according to Act of Congress, in the
year L'^56, i(/ L. L. CHAPMAN, in the, Clerk's
Office ofthe District Court, for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Dennsj/lvania.']

FIRST DEPARTMENT.

explanatory.

THE TERM POSITIVE is here given
to conditions abounding 7nore with nital
electricity, inspiring more iiealth, 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
uv/acorable to health, feelings, business,
social intercourse, etc.

IF Indicates Sundays.

FOURTH MONTH, (April,) 1858.
Tendency. Time d'cloc'k

1st, Negative, from 1 morn to 12 noon.

Positive, from 1 to 12 eve.
2d, Mixed, from 1 morn to 2 eve.

Negative, from 2 to 12 eve.
3d, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
4th, IT Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
5 th, Negative, from 3 morn to 12 eve.
Gth, Negative, from 1 to 9 morn.

Positive, from 10 morn to 1 eve.
Negative, from 2 to 12 eve.
7th, Negative, from G morn to 2 eve.

Positive, from 3 to 12 eve.
8 th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
9th, Positive, from 1 to G morn.

Negative, from 7 morn to 3 eve.
Positive, from 4 to 9 eve.
lOih, Mixed, from 1 to 11 morn.

Positive, from 12 noon to 12 eve.
1 1th, IT Mixed, from 1 morn to 6 eve.

Positive, from 7 to 12 eve.
12tb, Negative, from 6 morn to 12 eve.
13th, Negative, from 1 morn to 6 eve.

Positive, from 7 to 12 eve.
]4th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
15th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
16 th, Negative, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
17th, Negative, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
18th, IF Negative, from 4 morn to 5 eve.

Positive, from G to 12 eve.
19th, Mixed, from 3 to 7 morn.

Positive, from 8 morn to 12 eve.
20th, Negative, from 1 to 9 morn.

Positive, from 10 morn to 12 eve.
21st, Negative, from 3 morn to 12 eve.
22d, Positive, from 1 to 7 morn.

Negative, from 8 morn to 5 eve.
Positive, from 6 to 12 morn.
23d, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.

24th, Mixed, from 1 to 10 morn.

Positive, from 11 morn to 12 eve.
25th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 noon.

Mixed, from 1 to 12 eve.
26th, Positive, from 1 morn to 4 eve.

Mixed, from 4 to 12 eve.
27th, Negative, from 7 morn tolO eve.
28th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
29th, Negative, from 4 morn to 3 eve.

Positive from 4 to 12 eve.
30th, Positive, from 1 to 6 morn.

Mixed, from 7 morn to 12 eve.
SECOND DEPARTMENT.
The changes ax'e four minutes earlier
for each degree of longitude (GO 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 Indicates Sundays.

FOURTH MONTH, (April,) 1858.
Time d'clocli. Ray-angle. Tendency.
1st, At 10 morn R" warm, diy.

At 11 morn YV cool, damp.

At 12 noon Y' warm.

At 6 eve I„ cool, damp.

At 10 eve .

2d, At 5 morn V" cool, damp.

At 6 morn GB- windy.

At 7 morn Y' warm.

At 2 eve 0

At 3 eve BI" cool, damp, windy.

At 12 eve GI" cool, damp.
3d, *At 1 eve .. wind stirring.

At 3 eve Y, , warm, dry.

At 6 eve I, cool.
4th, IF At 8 morn .. warm.

At 10 morn •

At 11 morn G,, warm, dry.

5 th, At 3 morn V, cool.

At 7 morn R' warm.
At 12 eve V cool, damp.

6 th, At 9 morn Y" warm, dry.

At 1 eve R,, warm.

At 7 eve I" cool, damp.
7th, At one morn YO' damp, windy.

At 5 morn G" warm, dry.

At G morn V,, cool, damp.

At 2 eve B" wind stirring.

At 4 eve 0..

At 11 eve Y, warm, dry.
8th, At 3 eve 0,

At 8 eve G, warm, dry.

At 12 eve Y,, warm, drj'-.
9th, At G morn B, wind stirring.

d

MISCELLANEOUS

24/

At 3 eve V,, cool, damp.
At 9 eve G,, wai-m, dry.
10th, At 6 morn Y' warm.

At 8 morn B,, wind stirring.
At 10 morn R, warm, dry.
At 11 morn I' cool, damp.
At 12 eve V, cool.
11th, If At 8 morn R,, warm, dry.
At 12 noon I„ cool, damp.
At 6 eve Yl" cool, damp, ^vind3^
At 9 eve V,, cool.
12th, At G morn 0,, damp.
At 11 morn R' warm.
13th, At 8 eve I" cool, damp.
At 6 eve Y- warm.
At 10 eve 0, damp.
14th, At 2 eve G- warm, dry.

At 9 eve I, cool.
15th, At 3 morn B- wind stin'ing.
At 2 eve R- warm, dry.
At 4 eve I,, cool, damp.
16th, At 1 morn Y- cool.

At 9 morn 0"

At 8 eve •• warm.
17th, At 10 eve G' warm.
18th, If At 3 morn Y,, warm, dry.

At 5 eve R' warm.
19th, At 2 morn G,, warm, dry.

At 7 morn 0'

At 6 eve R,, warm, dry.
At 8 eve I- cool, damp.
At 12 eve G, warm, dry.
At 7 morn, end of the zodiacal pe-
riod, or natural month,
20th, At 9 morn Y" warm, dry.

At 12 noon 0„

At 5 eve R, warm.
21st, At 2 morn V, cool.

At 10 morn G" warm, dry.
At 12 eve R ' warm.
22d, At 7 morn RI„ cool.

At 10 morn V" cool, damp.

At 5 eve 0"

At 7 eve Y,, warm, dry.
23d, At 1 morn BT,, cool, damp, windy.
At 11 morn BR- warm, windy.
At 10 eve G„ warm, dry.
24th, At 7 morn I,, cool, damp.
At 8 morn R,, warm, dry.

At 10 morn •

At (5 eve V,, cool, damp.
At 7 eve Y, warm, dry.

At 11 eveO,,

25th, 1 At 12 nnon .. wind stirring.
At 10 eve V cool.
At 1 1 eve G, warm.
26th, At 6 morn R, warm.
At 4 eve V, cool.
At 5 eve I" cool, damp.

27th, At 7 morn .

At 10 eve Y" warm, dry.

28th, At 2 morn GI,, cool, damp.
29th, At 3 morn GR- warm.

At 4 morn I,, cool.

At 6 morn R" warm.

At 7 morn B" windy.

At 11 morn •• warm.

At 3 eve V" cool, damp.

At 7 eve 0

30th, At 5 morn RV,, cool, windy.

At 6 morn GB- windy.

At 10 morn I' cool, damp.

GENERAL RE.MARKS.

Cool Periods, longer and more promi-
nent, are more liable near the 1st, 11th.

Greater tendency to windy, cloudy or
stormv periods, or gusts, near the 1st
or 2d,>th, 11th, 23d.

Periods more prominently negative
near the 1st, 2d, 7th to 11th.

Periods of greater electrical deficiency,
1st to 20th.

The natural zodiacal tendency to dry
during the month is liable to be much
superceded by the nature of the com-
bined currents, intercepted, so much so,
perhaps, as to give a more than usual
tendency to damp.

GENERAL BEAEINGS.

The prevailing electrical tendency
from the 1st to the 20th is negative,
bearing less favorably upon health, bu-
siness and social feelings. I fear not on-
l}'' unusual prevalence of sickness and of
spreading disease in epidemic forms, but
from the unusual deficiency in electrical
supplies fi-om the 3d to the 20th, I judge
that the cholera will be developed to a
greater or less extent in some places dur-
ing some part of that interval, if the pe-
culiar tendencies of the spring season do
not counteract. The bearing of the last
week of April is more positive.

I judge that the progress of vegetation
will be slow during that interval, and
fear that that which is more early will
receive a check fi'om the cool change in-
dicated near the 11th insr.

COINCIDENCES.

From Feb. Ixt to 28?7<.— Since the 1st
of January, I replied to many inquiries
that the natural causes which usually
produce the coldest weather in winter
would operate 7iear tlm lith o/Fehrvary,
which was the date given in the above
interval. The coincidence with this
date, and with the indications given on
the 9th eve, 14th morn, and 10th eve
fully corroborate the precalculation. The
cool change on the 2Gth, eve, was slight.

246

E D I T O R'S TABLE

itor'ji SfaBIi^.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE FARMERS'
CLUB.

At a meeting held at the Society's
rooms in Broadway, March 16th, Presi-
dent Pell in the chair, several important
and interesting papers were read by
Secretary Meigs.

One was on Steam Cultivators, from
which it appears that the Royal Agiicul-
tural Society of England have, after a
trial by four competitors, recently award-
ed their premium of 500 sovereigns
($2,500) to Mr. Fowler's machine, though
not as perfect as they could have desired.
(Yankee ingenuity will yd do what
British genius has not accomplished —
make steam plowing cheaper than plow-
ing by animal power. — Ed.) Judge
Meigs expressed the belief that steam
plowing will succeed on large, unbroken
extents of arable land. (Most assuredly
it v.'ill, but nowhere else. — Ed.) He
said, " we can not be successful farmers
if we discard the working ox. We can
never dispense with oxen and cows."

A discussion took place in the pro-
gress of the meeting on the Long Island
lands, particularly the central regions,
embracing from one to two hundred
thousand acres, known in common par-
lance, though wrongfully, as the harrerm.
These lands are wholly uncultivated.
Various opinions were expressed con-
cerning them. We find ourself repre-
sented in some of the daily papers as
having said that " these lands would not
pay for cultivation except on the old
skinning process of surface tillage."
We warn our readers that we said no
such thing, and we hope the reporter,
who represented us as saying it, will hit
nearer the truth next time. What we
did say was, that to subdue these lands,
to bring them to a high state of product-
iveness, to erect buildings and make
fences, where there is no timber but
stunted pines and scrub oaks, to procure

water, where none exists but far below
the surface, and to create an inviting
homestead, would require capital ; that
it would be a good employment of capi-
tal, and would pay well in the end ; but
that the poor man could not undertake
it, because he could not get a sufficiently
speedy return fur his labor. This we
said, and nothing more, and this we are
willing to stand by.

Solon Robinson, Esq., of the New-
York Tribune, read an exquisitely
amusing and a ready instructive paper
on the grindstone, as an index to agri-
cultural progress and of advancing civil-
ization. Our readers will have seen it
in the Tribune before this reaches them,
or we would* publish it entire, that they
might have before them a short w;iy of
ascertaining whether a man is progress-
ing or retrograding in the world, viz., to
look at his gi indstone, for if that is right,
everything else is, and the man is
going ahead. (Wonder if anybody has
lately made a large importation of the
article.)

Dr. Wellington read a long and ex-
ceedingly valuable paper on Agricultu-
ral Education, the substance of which
will be found in many of the daily, and
we presume of the weekly papers.

Hkdges and Evergreens ; A complete
manual for the cultivation, pruning, and
management of all plants suitable to Am-
erican Iledjiing, especially the Madura
or Osage Orange ; Fully illustrated with
engravings of plants, implements, and
processes ; To whi<-h is added a treatise
on Evergreens, their different varieties,
their propagation, transplanting, and
culture in the United States. By John
A. Warder, Editor of the Western Hor-
ticultural EevieiD, President of the Cin-
cinnati Horticultural Society, etc. New-
York : A. 0. Moore, Agricultural Book
Publisher, 140 Fulton street. , 1858.

In his Preface, the writer of this book
says: "The subject is one of immense
importance to the future of this country,

EDITOR'S TABLE

247

inasmuch as it is an efficient aim of the
great agricultural interest. The people
of these United States have settled the
quo-tion of distinct inclosures, whether
wisely or unwisely, in the ailinnative.
Fences of some kind being one of the re-
cognized institutions of the countr}', and
the miijoiity of our best farms being
destitute of rock for walls, and being ra-
pidly divested of timber for wooden
fences, foreign materials, whether of
boards or iron, present themselves as
candidates for public favor ; and I here
beg to oiler that agreeable alternative —
the useful, the economical, the practical,
and at the same time, ornamental, Live
Fence or Hedge."

We fully agree with Mr. Warder in
the importance of his subject, and as we
believe he has treated it with ability and
fairness, we commend his work to all
wishing to be informed, with regard to
tlie increasingly interesting and impor-
tant subject of live fences, as a substi-
tute for others, for which materials are
already becoming scarce. If the same
or a little more ground than is required
for other fences to stand upon, or as too
often happens, to lie down upon, can be
made to grow a live fence perpetually, it
is worth considering.

Fifth Eeport of the Children's Aid
Society; New-York, 1858. John L.
Mason, Esq., is President of this society ;
J. E. Williams, Esq., Treasurer ; and C.
L. Brace, Secretary. It would appear
from this interesting and able report, as
well as from facts that have come to our
knowledge from other sources, that the
Children's Aid Society is doing, and do-
ing efhcioatly and economically, a great
and good work, in alleviating distress,
in preventing crime, and in promoting
industry. We believe that Secretary
Brace and his co.idjutors are eminently
worthy of the public confidence. May
God anj man speed their work.

Belding^s North Western Eeview, Vol.
1, No. 9, is on our table. This is a good
number, and we sec it contains a valua-

ble agricultural department. It is pub-
lished at Keokuk, Lee Co., Iowa. Suc-
cess to it. Its editor shows the right
spirit in the matter of agricultural im-
provements, and we wish he may go
ahead and prosper. Farmers of Lee
county, sustain your own paper first,
and then wc will send you ours, if you
want another ; but we never yet asked
a farmer to neglect his own State paper
and take ours, and we never will.

The Farmer and Fluntcr, Vol. 9, No.
3, is an excellent number, as all the
numbers of that work arc. To the S. C.
planters, we cheerfully admit that their
own editor can tell them many things
about southern agriculture better than
we, and we say to them the same as to
Iowa farmers above — support your own
journal first, and then ours if you can
aflbrd it.

Monthly Bulletin oi ih<iTJD.\iG(\. States
Agricultural Society, Washington, Vol.
1, No. 1. This is a neat work of 8
pages, 8vo., and the present number
contains an interesting, and we have no
doubt, a far more correct report of the
late proceedings of the U. S. Ag. Soc.,-
than usually gets into the daily papers.
Such a journal, whether to be issued oc-
casionally or statedly, will not fail to be
useful.

The Bepository ; Devoted to the cause
of Truth, Virtue, and General Intelli-
gence. Vol. 1., No. 1. ; New-London,
Conn. ; by W. H. Starr & Co. This is
a small sheet, but bright and readable,
and filled with valuable matter ; to be is-
sued weekly at $1 a year.

A VALUED correspondent, who com-
mends our work more highly than we
should dare, criticises us on one point
in thiswise: "What have such narra-
tions as the ' Ilermitess of South Salem '
to do with agriculture ?" Ah ! fi iend,
not much, we confess. But then, after
giving forty pages of agiiculture and
horticulture, we must have a little
change for variety's sake ; and a well
written Uile, founded on facts, and illus-

248

EDITOR'S TABLE

trating the early history of the country,
and bringing us into communion with
our forefathers, will please the boys and
girls — will do them good — will benefit
us all. Just look at it in that light and
be liberal. That you will, friend, we
have not one doubt, for we see that you
are inclined to be generous.

S. II., on the corn crop, and the va-
rieties for different localities, shall ap-
pear in our next.

W. H. G., on The Culture of the
Mind, (a good subject, and well treated
in a short space,) shall also appear in
our next.

To T. T. r.— You ask us to "give the
best, most simple, and sure way for
farmers to make their own superphos-
phate of lime." We can not in this
number. Will endeavor to do so soon.

To D. L. — Is the money expended in
the importation of seeds, by the Patent
Office Agricultural Department, misap-
plied ? We fear it is, much of it ; and
yet we feel that the gentleman who pre-
sides over that department, has a diffi-
cult task to perform. The trial of new
plants for our climate is undoubtedly
important ; and we rejoice that some-
thing is being done by Congress to aid
in the necessary experiments ; but
could wish that the business could be so
managed tlirougii the Patent Office as
to encourage and not to discourage home
industry. More we are not prepared to
say at present.

To THE Peess. — We are about to cor-
rect our exchange hst, and to reduce it
somewhat. In doing so, it is more than
possible tliat we shall cut off some who
are fully entitled to our magazine.
Should any find themselves dropped, to
whom we owe the work, by any former
contract, either expressed or implied,
we beg they will inform us at once,
as we will shrink from no real obli-
gation, while at the same time we
wish to diminish that class of exchanges
which is merely a matter of courtesy,

with little benefit to us and perhaps
none to the other party, owing to the
diversity of objects pursued by the jour-
nals exchanged.

What's there ? On having occasion
to cross Park Square, hard by our office,
since writing our last item, we were sur-
prised to observe about thirty big sheep
standing and lying at ease, chewing the
cud, and seeming wholly untroubled as
to the object which may have brought
them to town. On inquiry we learned
that they are the property of Samuel and
John Ferran & Co., and were here for
exhibition to the passers-by, perhaps to
sharpen public appetite for mutton chops
and the like. They were grown by Mr.
Hugh, of or near Clinton, N. J. Their
live weight, we were told, averages 250
lbs. Four are a cross of the Bakewell
on the Merino. These were as large as
any others. The rest were Bakewells.
The wool of the four cross breeds is of a
fair quality, that of the others long and
coarse. The average of the fleeces can
not be much less than 10 lbs. Our re-
flection is, that sheep of from 200 to 300
lbs. weight, with wool fine enough, in
some cases, to make our bed blankets of,
and from that to the quality fit for our
coats, ought to be more common among
us than they are. No meat is healthier.
Some, at least, ai'e fond of it, Many
hke it for a change. The growing of it
is not very expensive, and, with a mod-
erate return for the wool, could hardly
fail to pay, and yet a good-sized, well-
fattened sheep is rather a marvel in this
good city of New-York.

An Old Subscrieer, who sends us two
new names, with the money, one of them
the name of his pastor, to whom he gives
the work as a token of good will, says:

" I wish I could do more to circulate
your magazine. I am well acquainted
with several of our best agricultural pub-
lications, and I I'noio that yours is se-
cond to no other. It only needs to be
known to procure for itself a wide cir-
culation. It has greatly improved since

E D I T O R'S TABLE.

249

it came into your hands. I like the dis-
crimination you exercise when giving
advice to farmers. The article on deep
plowing illustrates my meaning. That
article respecting the cleanliness and ven-
tilation of cellars would save much sick-
ne^^s if heeded as it ought to be. The
Cattle of New-England is a very valuable
essay. Is not the weight given on page
144 too large for any cattle raised in
New-England or elsewhere ?"

Answer. — Few men who wiilc with
spirit and force enough to be read, fail
of making some rather extravagant state-
ments ; and the New-England Cattle
man certainly deserves much credit for
his research. Few, if any, could have
furnished the valuable historical matter
that he has, and the view he has taken
of the origin and crossing of the cattle
of this country by early importation is
one of great interest. The men that
came to this country were not the worst
in Old England ; and our friend thinks
the cattle were the best, and are still.
Our pages are open for temperate arti-
cles on the other side, and for more on
this. Our own article on breeds of cat-
tle must be again deferred, as we do not
like to have too much of one thing in
the same number.

Of course our readers can do as they
like about believing the story in this
number, from some down-east paper, of
the 5,800 lb. bull in Maine. To us it
sounds amazingly large, and we should
think it might be set down for a whop-
per.

We invite attention to the advertise-
ment of J. A. Wagner. We have not
seen his harvester in operation, but it
appears like a very perfect maclunc, and
we should think that it would work
well. A sample is to be seen at the
Globe Iron Works in this cit3^ Many
who have seen it have, to our know-
ledge, expressed the highest confidence
in its success ; and we understand that
it has a diploma and two medals at difler-
ent exhibitions of the Amerifan Institute,
also a diploma and a medal from the
committee of the World's Fair in New-

York, and higher testimonials than were
given to any competing machme.

The Granada (Miss.) Hepvblican, we
see, has enlarged its Agricultural depart-
ment, under "the head of "Rural Gen-
tleman." Its motto is " Too much
study can not be bestowed upon agri-
culture"— a good one, and the spirit is
well be carried out.

In speaking of BaTcer's Rotary Plan-
ing Machine, in a former number, we
said that the price was from $25 to
$7.50, according to size. This is be-
yond question a valuable machine, and
it seems to us very cheap, but we did
not mean to soy that it could be had for
$7.50. A comma did the mischief in
part, and a 0 in part. It should have
been $25 to $75.— Ed.

new-york live stock market,
etc;.

WEEK ENDING ILtVRCII 16, 1858.

Average number of beef cattle received
weekly, 3,143. Number received last
week, 2,572. Number this week, 2,100, or
1,043 less than the general average.

Prices from lOic. for premium cattle, to
61} for poorest quality. General selling
prices from 8c. to 9^c. Average of all
sales from 8i to S^c, nearly half a cent
less than last week.

Of Mitch Cows ivith Calves, not a large
number was received. Sales of poor from
$25 to $30 : of good, from $30 to §40, of
extra, of which there were but few, from
$40 to $50.

Calces weighing 100 lbs. net sold as low
as $3. Some that were uncommonly line,
sold as high as 7c. per lb. Shirket bad.

The demand for live sheep was very
limited. Carcases and hind saddles arriv-
ed in large quantities from Albany and
Philadelphia, tlie former selling at 7e. the
lb. Sheep brought to this market usually
dress just about half the live weight.
Those that are fat and small boned give as
high as 55 lbs. to the 100, and in rare
cases CO lbs.

Sicine. — Arrivals large, markets abun-
dantly supplied. Prices from 5^c. net, for
the poorest, to 7^c. for the best.

Potatoes, according to quality, from
§2.50 to $5 per bbl. ; Onions, $1.75 to $2.50 ;
Beets, $1.75 to $2 ; Carrots, $2 to $2.25 ;
Parsnips, $1.50 to $1.75 ; Cranberries, $1 1
to $14; Apples, $3 to 5 ; Turnips, 62c. to
75c.

Tobacco, demand rather improving.
Kentucky and Maysville, per lb., 8i to 14e. ;
llorida, 15c. to 25c.

Cotton on the rise.

250

CHILDREN'S CORNER

,ii0M

;l

CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Well, children, these little cuts have a meaning. The first,
or fruit cut, means that now is the time to tease your papas
to look out before hand, and see that they and your mamas
and you have just such fruits in the fall, and you may tell them
that if they cultivate a little more than is wanted at home, no
matter ; they can sell it, in all probabilily, and if not they can
give it away ; and there are always enough who like to
be treated to choice fruit.^ ; nd then, haven't every one of you
a friend to whom you would like to make a present of fruit, if
3'our fathers should make a mistake, and raise too much ?

The second, or bird-nesting cut, signifies that children may
observe the habits of birds and insects as closely as they
please, the closer the better, for there is a great deal to be
] arned from animate nature, but that
they should not wrong the birds by
breaking up their nests. If your parents
approve you may take a single egg of
each kind of bird, and blow it, and then
varnish the shell and keep it in y our«abi-
net, though we should rather you would
not take even one. But of all things do
not destroy the nest. It is too bad.
We have seen pretty good boys do it
sometimes, but it wasooly because they
had not been properly instructed. A
boy who would break up a bird's nest,
after his mind had been led to think of
it as he should by the teachings of a kind-
hearted father or mother, or teacher,
we should be afraid, would do worse
things when he grows up. We hope
our boy and girl readers will never be
cruel to any living thing. There is a
meatjing also in these two cuts coming
together. They signify that if you de^
stroy the birds, the insects will destroy the fruit. There is not the least doubt

BUSINESS DIRECTOBY, TER]\IS, ETC.

251

but that God designed that the birds
should hve on insci^t'J, and by devouring
them in great numbers, they prevent
their increasing to such an extent as to
destroy the fruits.

The third cut represents E;.;yptian
wheat, spoken of as corn in the Bible.
If you will turn to the place where the
fat and lean kine are spoken of, you will
find something said about seven ears
growing on one stalk. It was not
Indian corn, but just such wheat as you
see above. Wheat in England is called
corn, and the great E.xchangc in L'mdon,
in Mark Lane, where immense quantities
of wheat are bought and sold, is called
the Corn Exchange. If it rains in that
country when tha wheat is ripe for har-
vesting, you will hear the farmers say,
" This will be bad for the corn." To an

American there it sounds oddly enough,
as he knows that the climate in that
country is too cool and damp to raise
the least of what we call corn.

If any one of the children will send
us a description of the tread fruit, what
climate it grows in, its use as food, whe-
ther to be cooked, if so how, &c., we will
illustrate the bread fruit in our next by
an engraving, showing it as it appears
when growing on the tree.

By the way, we should like it, if the
children would, once in a while, review
the less )ns we gave them in back num-
bers, say in October, November and De-
cember last.

Those compositions that we spoke of
once, send them on ; we will read them
with real pleasure, and if any one is first
rate we will publish it in the children's
corner.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY, TEEMS, ETC.

THE AMERICAN FARilEIlS" MAGA-
ZINE is the result of an earriest dojire, on
the part of its Editor, to furnish a journal

of AGRICULTURE, AND OTHER BRAXCllKS OF RU-
RAL ECONOMY, of an elevated character, na-
tionalin its sph-it, entcrtaiuing, j«s<rMC<M'e,
and reliable, at a price somewhat lower
than the wealthy and liberal farmer would
demand, and such as to bring it fairly
within the means of all intelligent family
circles.

Its success hitherto confirms our belief
that it is what the farmers of this country
want, and encourages us to renewed efforts
■ to extend its circulation. The price is $2
a year to single subscribers; $1.50 to clubs
of from four to nine; $1 25 to clubs of

from ten to twenty; AND $1 TO
CLUBS OF TWENTY AHD UP-
WARDS.

Clergymen, of all denominations, who
cultivate a piece of land, and post-masters,
who are also farmers, and desire the work
for themselves, are invited to order this
work at the lowest club price, $1, pay-
ment as in all other cases to be in advance.

Individitala so situated that tliey can not
well club with others, yet desiring to econ-
omize, shall receive the work seven months

for r$l ; fifteen months for 2 ; and two
years for $3.

Any person is hereby authorized to be-
come an agent for the work on the follow-
ing conditions ; — he may receive subscrip-
tions at the foregoing rates ; send us $1,
current money, for each subscriber, with
the name and post-office address plainly
written, reserving the balance as compen-
sation ; and on receipt of the same, we will
send tlie work one year, addressed to each
subscriber.

It will be seen by the above that we
have put it in the power of nearly all who
desire it, to get this work for $1 ; and yet
those who are at all aware of the expense
of publication, must perceive that it can
not be afforded at that, but with a very
large circulation, and hardly then.

Able farmers, therefore, who appreciate
our object, which they can not but regard
as a generous one, will do us the favor to
advance according to our programme of
prices, and to fiivor the circulation of the
work in their neighborhood.

Money may be sent at our risk if enclos-
ed with suitable precautions.
Address J. A. MASH,

7 Beokman St., N. Y.

252

ADVERTISEMEXTS

^iberttsemeiits

p. MAKKY'S PATEMT ADJUSTABLE SELF-IlAKmG EEAPEE AND
MOWEH COMBINED.

Manufactured by Manny & Co., Freeport, III.
Being three maeliines in one, simply adjusted and perfectly adapted to either pur"
pose. These are important features not to be found in any other machine, and need
only to be seen to be appreciated.

THE VERY BEST

Agricultural Paper in New-England •

THE NEW-ENSLAND FARMER is now gener-
ally acknowledged to be si>perior to any othei' pub-
lication of its class in the New-England States, and
equal in mer't to any in the country. Its circula-
tion is unequalled by that of any other agricultural
paper in New-England.

It is published weekly, on fine paper, and ha? just
been put upon new type throughout. Ic is ably ed-
ited by Simon Brown, a thorough and practical
farmer, and has 'he best corps of intelligent corre-
spondents that can be found in New-England.
Among these are Hon. Henry F. French, of New-
Hampshire, Hon. F. Holbrook, of Vermont, Wilson
Flagg, author of " Studies in the Field and Forest,"
&c., &c.

Besides the agricultural matter, the Farmer con-
tains a complete digest of the news of the day, a
condensed report of the markets, a birge varie'y of
interesting and instructive miscellaneous readin?,
and everything that can make it a welcome weekly
visitant at the fireside of every farmer in the land.
Also published at the came oflice,

NEW-ENGLAND FARMER, MONTHLY.

This is a pamphlet containing 48 pages in each
number, printed on fine book paper, beautifully il-
lustrated, and devoted entirely to subjects connect-
ed with the farm.

Terms. — New-England Farmer, Weekly, ,$2 a year.
New-England Farmer, Monthly, $1 a year.

No Club Prices, and no discount in any case, as
our rule is to serve all alike. Send for a s-pecimen
copy, and judge of the merits of our publications
for yourself.

JOEL NOURSE,

Publisher New-England Farmer,

Mar. 3t* No. 13 Commercial St., Boston.

Fish Guano.— $35 Per Ton.

The attention of Farmers and others is called to
the PISH GUANO manufactured by the Lnng Is-
land Fish Guano and Oil Works, at South old Long
Island. I', is compced of the Bones and FUs7i of
Fish, after extracting the oil and water, and has
been thoroughly tested in England «nd France, and
from testimonials received, is foun^ to be equnl to
Peruvian Guano and other manures; is free from
smell and not injurious to health. Price in bags,
$3 ■> per ton. Pamphlets contain'ng full particutara
and testimonials ma.y be had on applica'ion to
BRUNDRED cfe ROGERS,

Mar. ly. tiO Pine street, N. Y.

Illustrated Eook of Pears.

JnsT published an-l for sale by A. O. MOORE, No.
1-10 Fulton St., N. Y., and STARR <£• CO., 4 Main St.,
New-London, Conn., the above valuable work, con-
taining plain, oractical directions for Planting. Bud-
ding, Grafting, Pruning. Training, and DwarBng the
Pear-Tree ; also in'tructions relating to the Propa-
gation of new varieties. Gathering, Preserving, and
Ripening the fruit; together with valuable hints in
regard to the Locality, Soil, and Manures required
for, and best arrangement of the Trees in an Or-
chard, both on the Pear and Quince stocks, and a
List of the most valuable varieties for Dw-irf or
Standard Culture, accurately described and truth-
fully delineated by numerous beautifully colored
engravings.

The above work, beautifully iiluHrated, should
have a place in every family where a taste for good
fruit prevails in all its choice varieties.

Orders pio;«vvily executed. Dec. tf.

AMEmCM FABMERS^ MaCAZmE.

Vol. XII.

MAY. 1858.

No. 5.

|i I] li f II 1 1 u r a i .

HINTS FOR YOUNG FARMERS
AND OTHERS.

May, glorious May, the best month,
we suppose, in all the year at the South,
and certainly the best in the North, ex-
cept its successor, more glorious Jime,
has at last come. We have waited
for it through a winter as long as usual,
though not as cold, and are glad to see
it here with its flowers and its promises
of fruits, its mild breezes and its charm-
ing sunshine.

We need not exhort the farmer to turn
out and breathe its exhilai'ating influ-
ences without a wall, or a pane of glass
even, between him and the wonderful,
elevating, gratitude-begetting works of
his Creator. He is out before us, out of
necessity, out by a blessed privilege of
his calling. Let him not forget that he
ought to be the happiest and best of all ;
and that if he ever envies others of dif-
ferent calling.*:, it is only because he has
not the experience of their trials.

If the wives and daughters of the farm
homes will accept a homely hint at our
hands, we will say to them, what we
need not say to their husbands and sons ;
— be out, breathe the May airs, strength-
en your physical nature, and elevate
VOL. xu. 17

your spiritual by a free communion with
nature. Know what the "men folks"
are doing, and take an interest in it.
Nature is beautiful, lovely, exquisite.
But left to herself she is wild, erratic, ex-
travagant, little inclined to the useful.
It is the business of your other halves —
whether better halves or worse, we can
not now inquire — to train and direct her
powers to the practically useful — to
make her grow sweet roses, sustaining
food and luscious fruits, where if left to
herself she would produce only tangled
underbrush and fruitless trees. What
an avocation is his ! Can women be
indifierent to it ? Slanderous thought !
We put it behind us.

But American women have not yet
sufiiciently informed and instructed
themselves in the affairs of the fiirm
Earnestly but kindly we say to you, let
it not be so always. Give yourselves
the great benefit of a little more out-
door exercise, and your husbands the
benefit of feeling that you sympathize
with them in their labors, and rejoice
with them in their successes. You
know that farm work should be done
well and handsomely. There is a right
way for doing any thing, and there are

AGRICULTURAL.

a great many wrong ways. Good sense
and sound judgment are the traits in
which farmers are apt to excel. An eye
to the beautiful in laying off lands and
finishing up jobs, can add to the pleasure
of their labors without subtracting at all
from the profit. If your husbands found
you admiring some of their doings, but
dubious about others — about twice as
ready^to see and admire what is pi-etty
and nice in your eyes as to find fault
with what is otherwise — it would really
do a them deal of good.

Woman's taste should have something
to do with the landscape her husband is
creating. It is common property for
both to look upon. Man's strong ten-
dencies towards the useful, cooperating
with woman's keen perception of the
beautiful, could hardly fail to arrive at
good and pleasant results. In the loca-
tion of buildings, in the general appear-
ance of the homestead, in the manage-
ment of the garden, on the question whe-
ther the highway through the farm, with
the exception of the drive, shall be a neat
and tidy lawn, or an "omnium gather-
um" of all that is foul and ugly, and on
various other points of common interest
to the whole household, woman's taste
should be consulted, and should not
shirk the responsibility of expressing its
choices. Aye, many an unseemly spot
would assume new beauty and fertility
if the " women folks" oftener manifested
a modest wish about the out-door mat-
ters.

But we turn to the lords of the soil.
Is your garden made ? We hope so ;
and we hope you have it neatly laid out,
and tastefully fenced, with walks here
and there as convenience requires, and
the small fruits, such as gooseberries
and currants, and such early vegetables
as radishes, lettuce and the like up and
growing.

And then the manure, unless you
have reserved some for composting
for the corn hills, should all have been
out before this time, mingling with the

soil, and working its effects for the com-
ing season. Everything that can add
fertility, should be removed from the
possibility of vitiating the air to be
breathed through a long summer by the
household. The farmer can not afford
that his family should breathe bad air,
because he wants for his fields all that
produces it, whether in cellar or garret,
in chip-yard or barn-yard, in vault, sty
or stall. For field's sake and health's
sake, let the premises be immaculate
now ; let the very sod be ckan ; and let
the grass be growing, with nothing to
impede. If we could have a green sod
about us here in the city, what volumes
of ammonia and other poisonous gases
would the growing grass absorb, to make
it green instead of making us pale by in-
haling it ! Don't forget to remove every
particle of decaying vegetable matter
from the cellar. In February we told
you that more than half of the fevers
that sometimes afflict families in regions
generally healthy, come from the cellar.
Eminent physicians have since told us —
some have even taken the trouble to write
us — that we were true to the letter ; and
that if we could only persuade all to
ventilate their cellars by windows open-
ing on opposite sides, and to keep them
well cleaned, we should save thousands
of lives.

But to the fields. We spoke largely
of the potato crop in our last, and in
terms which we believe commended
themselves to thoroughly observant
farmers. A curious narrative has since
been given us, about a remarkably fine
crop from remarkably bad seed. The
man relating it had a suitable piece of
ground well prepared for planting. But
lo ! a faithless servant had stolen and
sold his seed potatoes. He applied to a
grocer near by for ten bushels, but was
inf )rmed that he had none except refuse
potatoes — very small, such as had been
thrown out as he had served his cus-
tomers. Enraged at the loss of the seed
he had selected the fail before with much

AGRICULTURAL

259

care, and in haste to finish his planting,
he put in the grocer's small refuse pota-
toes, cultivated well, and had an uncom-
monly fine crop. "We have not one
doubt of the truth of the statement, be-
cause we have seen just such cases be-
fore, and because we know the man and
can rely upon his word. It is a fact be-
yond all doubt, that remarkably fine
crops have been obtained from very un-
promising seed. Still, if there is no im-
perative reason for using such seed, if
medium sized potatoes, sound and
healthy, can be obtained at no very ex-
horbitant price, and planted whole, one
to the hill, that is the safest way. Po-
tatoes are not an exception to the general
rule that good seed is more likely to
produce a good crop than bad.

Indian corn is a more important crop
than potatoes. To American agricul-
ture it is of more value than any other.
The crops of this grain have varied in
past years from less than one to more
than a hundred bushels, shelled corn, to
the acre ; and modes of culture have
been practiced which might be expected
beforehand to thus vary the results.
The smallest crops, of course, have not
paid for the cultivation ; and probably
the largest have not in every case given
the greatest net profit. A question
arises here ; — what is the amount we
should seek to obtain per acre ? Some
would say, the largest amount possible.
We like to see a monster crop of corn ;
and if any farmer could show 150 bush-
els of shelled corn from a single acre in
one year, we would go far to see it, and
we should be willing that he should re-
ceive a big premium from the agricul-
tural society, although it may have cost
him more than it is worth, because we
believe there is a benefit in testing the
utmost power of manure and soils to
produce. But we certainly could not
wish that the bone ai»d sinew of the
country should be exhausted in growing
crops, worth less, however large, than
their cost.

The true answer to the foregoing ques-
tion, we suppose to be, that we should
never aim at a small crop, and not al-
ways at the largest possible, but to such
as can be cultivated with the greatest
profit on the quality of land we have to
cultivate. If the land be of the highest
capability, and near a city, whence ma-
nure can be brought cheaply, if cultivatr
ed with corn (other crops in that case
would be more profitable) nothing less
than a hundred bushels, shelled corn, to
the acre should be thought of If, on
the other hand, the soil be light, of small
capabilities, far firom market, where no
manure can be bought, and none except
the portable can be transported, twenty-
five bushels to the acre might be doing
well. If this could be obtained by the
use of 300 lbs. of guano, or a like weight
of superphosphate, and but Uttle labor,
you may take out interest on the value of
the land, the price of the guano and la-
bor, taxes and something for fencing,
and have a profit left.

Taking into consideration the qualitj-
of the land, its value, its location, the
ease or difiiculty of procuring manure,
and the market facilities, we believe that
no man ought to plant an acre of corn
with the view to getting less than twen-
ty-five bushels; and thut, Jbr the sake
of ]}roJit, no one should aim at more
than a hundred. In farming fur a pre-
mium, or for fame and notoriety, we
may aim only at the maximum crop.
But farmers who expect to live by their
business, will look for the maximum
profit, and that very wisely as we think.
Each will inquire what is the most pro-
fitable amount to grow on his land ; and
the answer will vary — 25, 33, 50, 75.
100 l)ushels to the acre. The first is
200 fold on the seed necessary ; the se-
cond, 2G4 fold ; the third, 400 fold; the
fourth, 600 fold ; and the last, 800 fold-
so many bushels gathered for one plant-
ed. We have dwelt on the matter nf
maximuni profit, because we believe it
is one whicli every farmer should study
with reference to his own land.

260

AGRICULTURAL,

The way to do it. On thin, light, plain
land, (not so near a large city that it
ought, at any required expense, to be
made into good land, by deep plowing
and thorough manuring,) we would say,
plow six inches deep; apply — plowing
it under — 300 to 500 lbs. of Peruvian
guano ; harrow lightly ; furrow four feet
each way ; drop a single handful of ashes
at the crossings ; and plant 4 kernels of
corn in the hiU. We are satisfied
that nothing is gained by planting any
but the smallest varieties at a less dis-
tance than four feet. Dress the crop
three times, doing the work mostly with
the cultivator or horse hoe. The first
dressing should be as soon as the plants
are up five or six inches ; the second
twelve or fifteen days later ; and the last
not after the first of July. Nearly level
cultivation is the best for such a soil.
As to the time for planting, no rule can
be given for all latitudes. It may vary
within our national domain all the way
from the first of March to the last of May.
One principle wiU hold good every-
where ; — corn depends more than almost
any other crop upon a good start, and a
good start is a sudden start. It is not
wise, therefore, to plant before the
ground becomes warm, and is likely to
contiuue so. Hence the value of ashes
in the hill. Their action is to warm the
adjacent soil, and to throw the plants
into a healthy, growing condition ; and
hence also the reason for waiting till the
15th, and, in some cold seasons, till the
20th of May, rather than not have a
warm soil and a quick start. Some
plants will linger weeks and months
with cold soil and cold air, and then be-
come very thrifty after warmth comes ;
but if corn is kept thus lingering it ne-
ver becomes as thrifty as it otherwise
would. We believe it should be planted
the first moment the ground is warm
and there is a reasonable expectation
that it will remain so, and that this is
about as definite a rule as can be given.
But suppose your soil to be of a bet-

ter quality, and such that you would not
be contented with twenty-five bushels an
acre, and to lie conveniently for the ap-
plication of a heavy compost. We would
say, plow once and a half as deeply as
before recommended, and apply barn
manure composted for the purpose, as
hereafter to be stated. If the soil be ra-
ther light, it is as well to plow in the
manure, provided you will plow again
and haiTow smartly, so as to mix it
pretty evenly through the whole soil.

We do not believe in leaving manure
in one stratum, at the bottom of a fur-
row eight or ten inches deep. What-
ever the soil is, it should be mixed
throughout as evenly as may be. And
if the soil be a pretty fair loam, what
would be Called fair corn land, we be-
lieve that harrowing in the manure is
quite as good as plowing it in. That
part of the manure which consists of in-
soluble salts works downward. The so-
luble salts tend downward rather than
upwards ; and such land as we are now
speaking of has sufficient strength to
hold the ammonia fi'om escaping into the
air.

Depth, in depositing manure, is not so
much to be regarded as distribution,
mixture^ thorough incorporation with
the soil.

The compost we ?ire about to recom-
mend, will not be new to those who
were our readers several years ago. To
them it may be well to have their atten-
tion again called to the subject ; and to
others we trust it will be valuable.

Wherever black swamp mud abounds,
as it does almost every where, the farm-
er should always have large quantities
out, sunned, aired, washed with the rains
of six months or more, and ready at all
times to be put into the stalls, pens, or
yard, as an absorbent, or to be compost-
ed with barn manure on the cornfield.
It is of little value to ajjply in a fresh,
uncured state, but of great value if cured
as above stated. If a bushel or two of
shell lime, or one of stone Ume, were

AGRICULTURAL,

261

mixed with it soon after being dug, it
will be more perfectly cured of its sour-
ness, and its fertilizing value greatly in-
creased. We believe that its immediate
effects are greater on the corn crop than
on any other, because corn is a gross
feeder, that is to say, it will convert into
food and absorb as nutriment coarse,
half-decomposed manures more rapidly
than most plants.

AVe know of no way in which corn
can be grown at a profit better than the
following, wherever the materials are at
command, and we contend that they
should be at command wherever corn is
to be gi'own on land not abounding in
organic matter, provided the swamp mud
can be obtained at no great distance
from where it is to be used. We say on
land not abounding in organic matter.
Of course we would not recommend this
compost for rich prairies. They already
contain essentially the same thing, con-
tain it in too large quantities even for
some crops, so that several crops of corn
arc often grown on the same field, in or-
der to use up this organic matter before
wheat can be grown to advantage. Nor
would we recommend this compost for
peaty soils. It would be too much like
carrying coals to New Castle. But for
gravelly, loamy, or clayey soils, not
over-stocked with organic inattcr, we do
not believe there is any dressing as good
for corn, relatively with its cost.

It is this ; — take, about the last of
April or the first of May, a load of well-
cured swamp muck to a load of green
barn'manure and compost them together.
The muck should have had a bushel of
lime composted with it last fall, and laid
in a large heap over winter. IJut if that
was not attended to in time, add the
lime now ; and add at the same time a
bushel or two of ashes for each load of
muck ; also common salt enough to give
five or six bushels for each acre after ap-
plying as much of the compost as you
intend ; and add also plaster sufficient
to give from one to two bushels to the
acre.

If you can not conveniently obtain all
these ingredients in the hurry of plant-
ing time, use such as you conveniently
can, only do not fail to put in the lime,
as it is this especially that tends to
change the muck from an inert to an ac-
tive state, so that it will influence the
present crop instead of lying a year or
two inert in the soil, as it often has, and
thereby given many farmers the impres-
sion that it is of httle or no worth. Un-
derstand that we are not making an im-
pyrical prescription, so many grains of
calomel to so many of jalap. That is
the doctor's business, not ours. We
are trying to show you, without being
troublesomely particular, how you may
prepare a cheap di-essing for the corn
crop — one that vdll be about certain to
give you a rich return next autumn, and
quite sure to leave your land in good
condition for after crops. The difference
between this and some light portable
manure, as guano or superphosphate, is,
that although the latter might give as
good immediate returns, the former lays
more effectively the foundation for fu-
tvu-e success. We would rather see our
farmers paying their money for labor
done on the farm, than for fertilizers
brought from other countries ; because
we believe that between the home ex-
penditure of crops and the gathering up
and saving of the home fertilizers, the
farm (as a general rule, not without
many exceptions) must be made to en-
rich itself, or in other words must be
made and Tcept rich without sending
much money abroad for fertilizers.

But to return to our compost. We
would have the load of muck, the load
of manure, and the other ingredients, or
so many as you choose to employ, well
mixed together in the yard or on the
field, as you find most convenient, Thc-
manurc should be sufficiently urinaccou.^
to insure a pretty speedy fermentation,
say within ten or twelve days. To tliis
end it should be laid as lightly as may
be, and if there is strawy matter in the

262

AGRICULTURAL

manure, not too long and coarse, it will
aid the process as the air will more read-
ily circulate among it. If the fermenta-
tion becomes too violent, so that fiie-
fanging is likely to take place before
your ground is ready for planting, it may
l)e necessary to check it by forking the
pile over, though this is an extra labor
that can generally be avoided, either by
liastening the time of planting, or by
crushing down the fermenting pile so as
to exclude as much as possible the cir-
culation of air, and thus checking the
process till the time for planting.

The object should be so to time the op-
eration that the compost may be applied
in a heated state, and immediately cover-
ed in soil. Like yeast it will then com-
municate its fermentation to such organ-
ic matter in the soil as is capable of fei--
mentation, warming the soil and induc-
ing a quick germination of the seed, and
a healthy, early growth — a point more
important to the corn crop than to any
other.

How this compost should be applied,
and how much to the acre, are two ques-
tions on which we have not much to say,
because in some respects every farmer
knows his own business much better
than any one can tell him. For our-
selves we would plow it in six or seven
inches, and then harrow smartly with a
long-toothed harrow, if the soil were a
rather light loam ; but if a heavy loam,
we would sooner spread on the furrow
and only harrow in ; and if we had a few
ashes to put in the hills, we would ap-
ply the whole thus ; but if not, we would
reserve six or eight loads to each acre
for the hills, dropping the seed in it
while yet warm, and covering it imme-
diately. Nothing is better adapted to
giving the plant that vigorous outset so
favorable to this crop. As to the quan-
tity, it is safe to say the more loads to
the acre the more corn. Most farmers,
we believe, are now convinced that it is
better to have a large crop on a few
acres than a small one on many, that is,

if their land is of a fair quality, and so
situated that they can afford to lug
heavy, bulky manures to it. But cir-
cumstances, known only to the farmer
himself, have a controling influence.

We can imagine circumstances in
which we would apply as little as ten
loads of this compost to the acre. There
is many an acre of lightish loam which,
with no manure, would give less than
twenty bushels of corn, but would give
more than forty, with ten loads of this.
In other circumstances we might apply
as many as a hundred loads to the acre ;
and would do it with a feeling of all but
certainty, that we should get at least a
hundred bushels of corn, and what is
more, get back the whole cost of the ma-
nure in the next three crops. But either
of these quantities would seem to most
farmers extravagant, the first too small,
the last too large, and probably they are
so with regard to general practice.
Thirty loads to the acre will be likely,
on medium corn land not badly reduced
by previous cropping, to give at least
sixty bushels of shelled corn. We would
expect fifty loads on the same land to
give from eighty to ninety bushels, and
to leave the soil in a highly valuable
condition for future crops. Let it not
be understood that we are recommend-
ing this process for growing corn to all,
without regard to climate, location, soil,
etc. We are well aware that the farm-
ers on our broad, western prairies would
laugh at the idea. In future years they
may come to it. But undoubtedly they
think the time is not yet, and we pre-
sume they are right. So at the South,
if the farmers can grow broad fields of
corn at a profit with only a few hundred
pounds of guano or superphosphate, (and
they are certainly the best judges,) they
will of course be slow to adopt a more
laborious process. But in many of the
older portions of the country, where
pretty heavy manuring has become a ne-
cessity, and where the farmers are not
yet convinced of the benefit of neglect-

AGRICULTURAL,

263

ing home fertilizers to purchase foreign,
we think our suggestions will be tried,
and that they will be valued in propor-
tion as they are fairl}"^ tested. It is no
new thing which we propose. If we had
not seen the practice in a great many
cases, and seen its good results, we would
not recommend it. Our suggestion of
putting quick lime with barn manure,
will frighten some. But let them consi-
der that we present an antidote. The
swamp muck will not fail to retain the
ammonia, which the lime might other-
wise drive off from the barn manure.

We feel that our subject is a plain,
homely affair. The season might sug-
gest more flowery subjects, and a more
flowery way of treating them. But if
we are understood, and if cur sugges-
tions shall leiid to the production of in-
creased crops at a diminished cost, or with
an increased value of the soil for after
cultivation, we shall be satisfied. — Ed.

A NEWLY COINED NAME.

The editor of the Michigan Farmer
shows himself amusing and classical, as
follows :

During March we were among the
nifiiomaclis. Don't start, dear reader,
we did not go to a foreign country to
find them, there is any quantity of them
in Michigan, native and indigenous to
our soil. The Hippomachs mean the
horse-disputers. We have coined the
word from the Greek hippos, a horse,
and mache, an altercation, a contest, a
dispute. Nothing short of the dead lan-
guages should give a name to a set of
men .^o nervously alive as the advocates
•of the various equine tribes. To call
them " horsemen," or to speak of them
as " all horse," or to designate them as
" horsetalkers," is too inexpressive and
unjust. In the first place to call them
*' horsemen," is a perversion of the word
as defined by Noah Webster, for whose
judgment we have much respect, as
hardly one of the hippomachs ever rides
or puts foot in stirrup. Second, the hip-
pomachs are not " all horse," as many of
them take as much interest in cattle and
sheep as they do in horses, and are to be
heard with respect when they discuss

those subjects. Third, "horsetalkers"
would be derogatory and unjust, and
would make them appear to be narrow
minded and one-sided, as they would thus
be always placed among the "neighs."
Hence we believe that hipjwmach, as a
term logical, dignified, classic in origin,
and extremely expressive, as referring
to a class of men who discuss matters
connected with horses and breeding, is
a word that should be adopted at once
into the great American language, which
is one day to be spread by the legitimate
expansive force of our institutions, from
Bhering's straits and Baffin's bay to Cape
Horn.

If the aforesaid editor intends to ap-
ply this Greek compound to that class
of men who are earnestly endeavoring
to improve our horse flesh, who seek to
establish improved races, and only difier
honestly as good and true men always
will about matters of so much impor-
tance^ while all are aiming at the same
end, that of producing races of great
excellence for the various purposes of
life, we must needs doubt the correct-
ness of the application.

We want horses for the road, for the
field, for heavy teaming, and for the
saddle. It is well to have all these
specialities in view. But most of all
we want horses for all work, because,
although the European nobleman may
be able to keep a dozen horses for
each of the various purposes that noble
animal is put to, the American noble-
man, on his farm of two or three hun-
dred acres, finds it more compatible with
his notions of thrift to keep one or a
span, and to train that one horse or one
span to all kinds of work.

The one horse, if but one is kept,
should be able to carry a bag of grain to
the mill on his back, with a stout boy on
top of it, or to draw it in a lumber wa-
gon ; to take the whole family to church
"of a Sunday;" to plow among the
corn ; to carry his master or mistress in
the family carriage, to an afternoon or
evening's visit ; to carry the girls on a
side-saddle, and learn to be proud of his
charge, for we hold that the future mo-

264

AGRICULTURAL,

thers should have rode a great deal on
horseback ; in short to do anything that
horse ever did, and to be about anything
that horse ever could — good in the har-
ness and good under the saddle, good
every where, and withal good looking
enough to make his owner proud of him,
for we believe it to be a sin not to be a
ittle proud of a well bred and well kept
horse, and that, too, although his breast
and sides may show marks of faithful
service.

But if we are to have horses good for
special works, and good for all work ;
not intolerably fast, nor unendurably
slow, but just about right ; horses to be
proud of, to love, and to show kindness
to ; and to be grateful to the Almighty
for as often as we enjoy their immense
utilities, it is no wonder that there
should arise differences of opinion as to
breeds and breeding, rearing, training,
&c. That one honest, earnest seeker for
a high development of this noble ani-
mal should pursue one line, and another
pursue a different line, and that pretty
warm contention should spring up, is no
marvel. It would be marvelous if it
were not so. Good will come out of it ;
and the result will be, we hope so at
least, to give us ere long every possible
variety, and the highest possible utility
of the equine race.

We rather object to the designation,
given by our brother editor out "West,
to men, who, though on different tracks,
may all come out well; and since ac-
cording to the best recollection of the
little Greek that was whipped into us in
boyhood, the term is a little reproachful,
though we know our western brother did
not mean it so, we would reserve it for
another class of personages. If we mis-
take not, there are men among us, who
would monopolize our fairs, national,
state, county and town, for the horse —
no, not for the horse, but for themselves.
They care not a fip for the oxen, the
cows, the sheep. "What is meat for the
poor to them ? Let who can get milk,

butter and cheese. Clothes for all are
of little account. And how posterity
shall fare in consequence of our doings is
quite too remote a thing for them to
think of. They want to be cock of the
ring to-day, and let to-morrow take care
of itself.

Meantime, a good, honest, hard-work-
ing farmer — a plain man to be sure, with
nothing to recommend him, except that
he is one of the best and most useflil
men in all the country, a trifling recom-
mendation no doubt in the eyes of the
horse gentry — has brought up a splendid
herd, from a distance of perhaps a hun-
dred, or it may be of five hundred miles.
Another has brought far over hill and
dale the cows of a magnificent dairy,
with beautiful samples of their products ;
another has brought a flock of sheep,
that ought to make us all, M.C.s, and
downwards, and upwards too, ashamed
of ourselves, that we have hitherto so
slighted that important source of national
wealth and comfort.

Anybody, whose soul is not narrower
than the tip end of nothing, can see that
these cattle and sheep men are doing a
good thing, actually laying the country
under obligation to them, a blessing to
their contemporaries and to posterity.

But no matter. Let the herds lie in
their stalls, and long for a beholder. Let
the flocks display their fine fleeces and
goodly proportions for the sun to look
down upon. Let the Stirling farmer,
who has brought them from his far-off
home, sigh for a little notice. No mat-
ter, the farmers are a very tame set of
men — so the fasts think. If they bite
their lips a little with chagrin, they
will get over it before another year.
Will they ? We are not so certain of
that. If the farmers who are going
ahead in the way of fertile farms well
stocked, should always be willing to
stand in the back-ground at their own
fairs ; if they should contentedly see all
the large prizes carried off by the owner
of a horse, that has no earthly merit, ex-

AGRICULTURAL.

26'7

cept that of being as impudent as his
master, and scrambling by the crowds
on a smooth surface, and with a very light
load, faster than any decent horse could ;
if, in short, the horse, without much re-
gard to real, solid worth, judged only by
a cajjricious, gambling spirit, is to be
everything, to fill all eyes, and take all
prizes, while his confreres of the home-
stead, the ox, the cow, the sheep, and
swine, may as well ruminate and root at
home, we have some misgivings, whe-
ther the farmers will always teear it pa-
tiently.

The ox is patient. His driver is apt
to be patient, and it is a great virtue.
But we remind the earnest, working, im-
proving farmers of the country — those
who desire fair plaj'^, and an improve-
ment in all branches — that there is a
point beyond which virtue turns to vice;
and we advise them to be patient under
the horse mania, just as long as is best,
but no longer. We think they will be
pretty good judges where that point is.

We propose that the 2. 30 men — those
who insist upon all eyes, all ears, and all
money, at our shows, for their favorite
animals, who care not a picayune for the
great agricultural interest of the coun-
try, who despise honest labor, and if
they work at all, would sooner worh
down a bumper, than work up a foot of
soil — be called TiyppomacJis ; and that
our Western friend, who, we presume,
remembers more Greek than we do,
should coin another term for the men
who are striving to improve the horses
of our country, and only differ, as good
men always will, in matters of impor-
tance, about the best means to accom-
plish the object. — Ed.

For the American Farmer's Magazine.

NOW.

BY N. 0. W.

IToio ! Let us improve the present
moment while we are sure of it. " Put
not off till to-morrow what can be done
to-day." When the thought to do a

piece of work enters the mind, proceed
at once to put it into execution. You
may forget to do it until too late. For
instance, a man comes home in the
night, and in the cold, forgets to draw
the sleigh into the barn. He discovers
his forgetfulncss in the morning, and
says to himself, " When I return from
my work I will draw the cutter in." In
returning he passes by the spot, but is
in a hurry to do something else. Next
time he passes he has plenty of time, but
thinks some other time will do as well,
and so the sleigh remains until a fall of
snow tills it and covers up the buffalo
robes. In the morning the farmer
wishes to go to town and finds his robes
all wet, and the snow to be shoveled out
of the sleigh before he is ready to start.
He is forced to ride on a wet seat, and
takes a violent cold. No great damage
done, to be sure ; but even this trouble
could have been avoided by obeying the
impulse of the mind, and doing now
what was thought to be as well done
some other time. If you are at loss
when to do a piece of work, if possible
do it noio. Putting things off, and do-
ing things " for the present," are some
formers greatest faults. N. 0. W.

Antrim, Mich., 1858.

SUMMER FALLOWING, ETC.
A Cal^obnian, in the California
Farmer for March 19th, thus goes in for
summer fallowing, deep plowing and
subsoiling. If the old globe we inhabit
were not considerably large, there would
be danger of his plow point meeting
those of the Chinese in the other hemis-
phere.

FACTS ABOUT FARMING.

Messrs. Editors : — I now beg leave to
say, through your most valuable paper,
a few things in reference to wheat and
grain-growing in this part of the State.
When I first came to this country, in
1852, I advocated that it was all-impor-
tant to plow our lands in the spring sea-
.son for the next year's crop, and was
met by this objection: that in this,
California, the seasons were dry and

268

AGRICULTURAL.

hot, and the lands would be injured by
the great drought and heat that prevail-
ed in the summer season ; therefore it
would not do to plow and leave the
ground so exposed, destitute of a cov-
ering by some kind of crop. Notwith-
standing the argument made, I was de-
sirous to know if such was the fact. I
was inclined to dissent and differ in
opinion from such notions. So in the
spring of 1853 I tried the experiment,
this being the first spring I had enjoyed
in this State. The result was most as-
tonishingly satisfactory. The ground
so plowed was sown in December, fall
of '53, and the yield was one-third to
one-half more than the same land sown
the same day, that was only then jpst
plowed ; and those of my neighbors who
had opposed this mode of farming, ac-
knowledged their error and began to
spring-plow to some extent.

Yet too little attention is paid to this
branch of farming, so far as regards
spring plowing, as I have stated to you
and your readers in former years. And
here let me say to your many readers
that there is another serious evil in re-
gard to plowing : Often the rains do not
come until late in the season, and then
not in sufficient quantity to wet the
earth properly for plovving; yet the
work is commenced, and hurried along
with, in a very indifferent manner, and
often, too, when the ground is entirely
too wet on the surface and not to a suffi-
cient depth. Often the land is cold and
unfit to receive the seed sown, and is
generally not plowed more than two and
a half to three inches deep, and at this
season of the year the crows and birds
are very troublesome and get a great
amount of seed. The result is a light
crop, and not sufficient to reward the
laborer for seed, time and money ex-
pended.

Now let us take another view of this
subject. Suppose we all try one acre,
if no more ; plow in the spring, say this
month; get one of Thos. Ogg Shaw's
plows, made in San Francisco, large size,
say the largest size ; put it to three or
four yokes of oxen, and plow from
twelve to fourteen inches deep ; two to
three pairs of horses will do as well ;
and then sow seventy-five pounds of
good clean seed in the month of Sep-
tember next ; use a cultivator to cover
with, or harrow well, then use a heavy
roller to smooth down with, which wiU

put the ground in a good condition to
harvest and prevent the birds from get-
ting much of the seed, also it will endure
more drought ; as also it does not take
as much seed to sow early as when sown
late, for the first rains are generally
warm, the grain readily comes up and
is not liable to suffer for want of rain
during winter.

Now, friend farmers, if you will make
the trial this once, and find me in error,
you may publish my name to the wide
world as a quack, and writing what I do
not know to be a fact. And if any of
you thinR I have not made reasonable
statements, please call on me at my
ranch, and I think the vail may be re-
moved from your eyes. Last season I
began to plow for fallow on the 10th day
of January, and continued until the dry
season forbade plowing. In the month
of September I commenced sowing my
fallow grounds. The first piece was
sown in barley ; on the first day of this
month the heads began to put forth, and
notwithstanding for the last six weeks
we have had only one light shower, the
promise is good for a crop, and a good
crop. On the first days of October I
began to plant wheat, this also bids fair
for a good crop ; and all the lands that I
plowed in the fall, and some of them
sown on the same day that some of the
fallow was, do not bid as fair for a crop,
not being more than half the growth.

Here let me state that this fallow land
was plowed from six to eight inches in
depth. This season I obtained at the
State Fair, from T. Ogg Shaw, one of his
largest sized steel plows, fourteen-inch
cut. It is also a deep tiller ; I use with
it a team of four horses, and when the
ground is sufficiently wet, plow thirteen
to fourteen inches deep. If any doubt
this, please call, and I will satisfy you
on this point. In addition to this I have
used a subsoil to some extent, and put
that down thirteen inches below the bot-
tom of the plow. And I am satisfied,
from actual experience, we can not till
too deep. The deeper we till the more
rain the land will endure and withstand
the greater drought. Yet I wish to be
distinctly understood, that although we
may plow early, sow soon, plant good
seed, and on good ground, yet if we have
no fence or that which is not good, or
good for nothing but to make breachy
stock, our labors will be in vain.

AGRICULTURAL

269

ORDER AND ECONOMY ON THE
FARM.

"Without order on the farm, peace of
mind, success and proiit are inii)ossible.
\\"atchfiilness and cai-e are implied in
this forciljle word, order. Who is the
farmer that does not know of serious ac-
cidents happening to animals and crops
for want of proper care ? Some Jarmers
are negligent of their animals when at
grass, as if no accident could happen.
We once knew a most excellent horse to
get on his back in the furrow of a pasture
field that was " seeded down" with a
gi'ain crop grown on " lands" or ridges.
Sheep of good quality (and what farmer
should grow any other) are liable to
meet with similar accidents — so, too, to
be injured bj- dogs, etc., and for which
care seems, after all the experiments
that have been made, to be the best
remedy.

The farmer should not allow his cattle
that are used in his farm work, to
be scattered indiscriminately over his
fields. In the most busy season it often
happens that a great deal of time is lost
in catching working animals that are let
out on pastures while the men eat din-
der. In the heat of a hot day, as at
noon, horses and oxen would do much
better in the stiibles if supplied with
green food. For such purpose no farm-
er should be without the necessary
quantity of clover to be used as soiling.
^Ve do not refer to that grown on mea-
dow land with grasses, but to clover
produced on meadow land heavily ma-
nured. Such clover will be succulent,
and while it furnishes a highly nutritive
feed for woiking animals, it prevents
them from having a desire to consume
large quantities of water. Clover grown
in the manner referred to, would pro-
duce the second season three crops.
After each cutting it should be heavily
top-dressed. If the pastures are bare
from being over-stocked, or parched by
the heatof sunnuer, the cattle should be
fed clover or other soiling. The value
of it for increasing the (piantity and
quality of milk and butter, will soon be
understood by any person who pursues
such a course. This system of practice
has its infiueuce in suihikj time. If the
fences are bad, or that cattle roam in the
wood-, by the feeding of special green
food in a particular place, thus causing
cattle to come in search of it, much time
may be saved. We know of a shiftless,

disorderly farmer — and perhaps there
are others as well as he — who drives his
cattle three or four miles to be milked,
often when above their knees in mud.
He has several horses to spare, and milk
cans growing rusty for want of use. He
does not estimate the loss arising fi-om
such a practice. His cattle travel in
coming home twice a day to be milked,
and returning to the pasture, make four
journeys equal to twelve miles — when
the roads are muddy the labor is much
increased — the feet of the cattle become
subject to disease — while traveling they
are not feeding, and consequently not
supplying the raw material Irom which
to make fiesh, milk, or butter — they
dung on the road and its manurial effects
are lost to the pasture — and in addition
to these losses, arising from carelessness
or a want of " order upon the form,"
the time of a man or boy is also lost in
making thejourneys referred to. — Work-
ing Farmer.

DEEP PLOWING.

We are all too apt to follow blindly in
in the beaten track. The first plow
was a tough, forked stick, whereof one
prong served as a beam, while the other
dug the earth as a coulter. Of course,
the plowing was only scratching — neces-
sarily so. It would have been prepos-
terous to expect the plowman of Hesiod's
or of Virgil's time to turn up and mellow
the soil to a depth of fifteen or sixteen
inches. Down to the present age, plow-
ing was inevitiibly a shallow affair. But
iron plows, steel plows, subsoil plows,
have changed all this. It is as easy to-
day to mellow the earth to the depth of
two feet, as it was a centur}^ ago to turn
over a sward to the depth of six inches.
And our fierce, trying climate, so differ-
ent from the moist, milder one of Great
Britain, Ireland, or even of Holland and
the Atlantic coast of Germany, whence
our ancestors migrated, absolutelj'' re-
quires of us deep plowing. Drouth is
our perpetual danger. Most crops are
twenty to sixty per cent, short of what
they would have been with adequate
and seasonable moisture. That moisture
exists not only in the skies above, but
in the earth beneath our»plants. Though
the skies may capriciously withhold it,
the earth never will, if we provide a rich,
mellow subsoil, through which the roots
can descend to the moisture. The hot-
ter and dryer the weather, the better

270

AGRICULTURAL,

our plants will grow, if they have rich,
warm earth beneath them, reaching
down to and including moisture. We
can not and we need not plow so very-
deep each year to assure this, if the sub-
soil is so under-drained that the super-
abundant moisture of the wet season
does not pack it. Under-draining as
the foundation, and deep plowing as the
superstructure, with ample fertilizing
and generous tillage, will secure us
average crops, such as this section has
rarely ever seen. Our corn should
average from fifty to seventy bushels per
acre ; our oats still higher. Every field
should be ready to grow wheat if re-
quired. Every grass-lot should be good
for two or three tons of hay per acre.
Abundant fruits, including the grape and
the pear, should gladden our hill-sides,
and anrich our farmers' tables. So
should our children seek no more, in
flight to the crowded cities, or to the
wide West, an escape from the ill-paid
drudgery and intellectual barrenness of
their fathers' lives, but find abundance
and happiness in and around their child-
hood's happy homes. — Horace Q-reeley.

LIVE AND DRESSED WEIGHT OF
ANIMALS.

The following rules for computation,
which we believe to be accurate, and
which may be of use to many of our
readers, we cut from the Ohio Gulti-
vator :

1st. For finding the net weight of
stock, etc., where one-fourth is taken
out, or allowed for tare.

Rule. — Multiply the gross weight by
the decimal 8 tenths, and the product
will be the net weight.

Example. — Suppose a farmer has a
hog that weighs 345 gross, how much
will he weigh net? 34:5X.8=276.0. Ans.

2d. To find the gross weight, having
the net weight.

Rule. — Divide the net weight by the
decimal 8 tenths, and the quotient will
be the original gross weight.

Example. — What is the gross weight
of a hog that weighs 345 pounds net ?
345-:-.8=431i. Ans.

3d. To find the price per hundred net,
where the price per hundred gross is
given.

Rule. — Divide the price per hundred
gross by the decimal 7 tenths, and the
quotient will be the price per hmidred
net, and vice versa.

Example. — How much per hundred
net will a farmer get for his hogs, who
sells them for three dollars and forty
cents per hundred gross ? $3.40-:-.8=
$4.25. Ans.

Thus it will be seen that $3.40 gross,
is the same as $4.25 net. The reasons
for these are obvious ; comment is there-
fore unnecessary.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

ON THE CORN CROP, AND THE
RIGHT SPECIES OF CORN FOR

THE RIGHT LOCALITIES.
My method of raising corn is : I take
an old meadow or pasture that wants
plowing up, and if there are any places
that appear rather barren, I put on a
few loads of barn-yard manure, (but the
most of my manure I generally put on
my meadow.) In April I generally
plow or break up the corn ground. If
not convenient in April, I generally try
to have it done by the middle of May.
I generally intend to plow seven inches
deep ; a few days before planting, drag
thoroughly, and immediately before
planting drag again, so that the ground
is as mellow as an ash-heap, and mark
so as to plant three feet each way, and
sometimes three and a half each way. I
generally try to plant by the 2oth of
May, and if the weather will admit, as
early as the 18th or 20th, and as soon
as the corn is up plaster or ash, and a
few days after go through with the plow
or cultivator, and go through with hoe
and take out the grass and weeds, and
place a little fresh dirt around each hiU,
and a few weeks after plow and go
through again, only not hill up much
the last time. Plowing here conies gen-
erally the first week in July. I cut mj-
corn down by the roots five rows at a
time, by taking four or five hills for the
middle of the shock, and after the mid-
dle generally put fifteen hills to it, so as
to have twenty in all, and put one band
around the top and another around the
middle of each shock, and let them
stand from four to six weeks before

AGRICULTURAL

211

husking. In husking we generally se-
lect our seed corn by taking all the
soundest and largest ears, and leave a
few husks on each ear intended for seed,
and braid a number of cars together and
hang them in some dry, airy place.

The corn I plant, or have planted for a
number of years past, is the red glazed,
or sometimes called small yellow, and
the small Hutton ; each kind get ripe at
the same time, generally from the 10th
to the 20th of September. Those tvro
varieties will generally ripen on the tops
of our highest hills ; the height of our
hills I suppose to be 500 or 600 feet
above the Susquehanna River flats, and
the flats here are 800 feet above tide, and
latitude of this vicinity 42 North. A
large amount of money is lost here every
year by planting large late varieties of
corn that will not ripen on the hills in
this vicinity, the hills being generally
from ten to fifteen days later than the
Susquehanna River Hats. It is getting to
be well understood here that the large
varieties of corn generally raised on the
i-iver flats seldom ripen on the hills, or
ten or fifteen miles up the creek. Those
varieties are the large Dutton and large
eight-row yellow and white corn, and if
they will not ripen on the hills, etc., it is
not very probable they would ripen far
north of here in the center of the State.
In the summer of ^o6, Col. B. P. Johnson
told me that a large farmer, I think it
was near the center of the State, lost
>L-veral hundred dollars in one year by
[ilanting the large Dutton corn that did
not got ripe. The Delaware White, a
large valuable kind raised on the Sus-
quehanna flats, is said to be an early va-
riety, but of that I can saj^nothing with
certainty. Last season a number of
fields of corn on the Susquehanna flats
did not ripen good, and not one half the
tiL'lds back from the river, it being a
backward season. I would recommend
farmers far north of here and on high
lands here, to plant no kinds but the
small Dutton, red glazed, small yellow

Canada and white flint Canada, and
King Philip, and King Philip improved.
Last year I raised a few hills of the King
Philip improved, but for all its being a
Northern variety, it did not ripen earlier
than my small Dutton, I think it to be
a valuable kind, and shall plant all the
seed I have, enough for one acre or more.
R. Howell.

Nichols, March 15th, 1858.

It may be good policy to plant these
small varieties as near as 3 feet or 3| ;
but we are convinced that nothing but
extra labor is the result of planting large
varieties less than four. — Ed.

APPROPRIATE PREMIUM.
A Mr. Palmer, of Toronto, C. W., re-
cently presented the Markham Agricul-
tural Society a plow, all of iron, and of
unconunonly good workmanship, esti-
mated to be worth $40, to be given as a
premium to the best ploughman, at the
spring plowing match, at the village of
Markham, C. W. A pretty good idea.
The winner will gain a good thing, and
the giver will loose nothing. — Ed.

AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS OF
PATENT OFFICE FOR MARCH.

We regret to learn, unofficially, that
the publication of the Agricultuial Re-
port of the Patent Office will this year
be delayed, by a resolution recently
passed in Congress, which requires that
all reports and documents shall be hand-
ed in compkite. Heretofore a proyraiume
of the Agricultural Report has been ac-
cepted early in each session, and the
publication commenced at once, the
comjiiler furnishing " copy" as the print-
ing progressed.

Among other illustrations in the fol-
lowing report, will be a portrait of
"Duke," a Suffolk draft horse, the pro-
perty of the late Mr. Catling, of Wood-
bridge, Suffolk, which gained the first
prize of thirty pounds at the show of
the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng-
land, at AVindsor, July, 1851, painted
by Wm. H. Davis, of Chelsea, England,
who has been engaged for upwards of
forty years in painting prize animals in
Great Britain.

212

AGRICULTURAL,

Mr. Henry C. Williams, who was last
fall dispatched by the Patent Office to
make explorations in Western Arkansas,
part of the Indian territory, and North-
ern Texas, for the purpose of obtaining
information respecting the grape vines
of that region, and making collections of
the same, returned about the middle of
March. He explored the region extend-
ing from a little east of Fort Smith on
the Arkansas, to the Lower Cross Tim-
bers in Texas, and includes a considera-
ble portion of the Choctaw Nation.
Eight hundred miles of this he traversed
on foot, examining and collecting. He
brought back a large number of cuttings
and roots of the native vines, which the
Commissioner of Patents has had so
planted as will insure their propagation.

Mr. Williams left soon afterwards for
the " Cherokee country," Upper Georgia,
to obtain scions of the celebrated apples
for which that region is justly famous.
These apples originated from seed sent by
order of President Jefferson for gratuitous
distribution among the Cherokees. Sev-
eral varieties ripen in May and June —
others are later, and will keep the entire
year.

Mr. Robert Fortune, whose appoint-
ment as agent to China for the purpose
of collecting seeds of the tea-shrub, was
mentioned in the last Bulletin, wrote a
letter under date of " London, March
1st, 1858," from which we are permitted
to make the following extracts :

"I have now to inform you that in
compliance with instructions, I have
taken my passage for China, and shall
sail from Southampton on the 4th inst.

" It shall be my careful study to ac-
complish the important objects which
you have entrusted to me, and you may
rely on my not submitting to exorbitant
charges, and on my acting in good faith
to the Government of the United States.

" I have had so much experience in
packing and shipping seeds and plants
from China to India and England, that I
venture to suggest to you that my opera-
tions should be conducted in the follow,
ing manner : It will be imprudent to
trust my collections in one or two ves-
sels, as living plants are easily damaged
during a long sea voyage. The more
prudent course would be to ship by as
many vessels as possible, say six or
eight. But, as this will occupy some
time, I think I had better come home
by the overland route, and bring the
seeds (not tea-seeds) with me, and en-

deavor to reach America as early as
possible, in order to receive the plants
on their arrival. If, on the contrary, I
accompany the last shipment, via the
Cape, the first would necessarily be
home several weeks before I could be
upon the spot to examine it and do what
is needed. My object in offering this
suggestion is to secure, if possible, the
success of my mission, and I have no
doubt you will agree with me in the
propriety of such a course of procedure."
— Bulletin U. 8. Ag. Soc.

A NEW COTTON IN TEXAS.

Mr. D. C. Sharpe, of Cherokee Co.,
Texas, has sent to New-Orleans speci-
mens of cotton grown by him from seeds
brought from Nicaragua, near Leon, in
the mountains. It is the third year's
production, on land lying near the 32d
parallel of latitude, in a prairie country,
the soil of which is sandy and saline,
crystals of salt, saltpeter and alum being
naturally formed on its surface. The
stalk and bolls of this cotton, Dr. Sharpe
states, are about as large as those of the
Petty Gulf cotton ; the seeds are much
smaller, black and smooth, as a conse-
quence of which, 1000 pounds of un-
ginned yields 500 pounds of ginned cot-
ton. But it is the lint of the cotton that
is most noteworthy and remarkable.
For fineness and silkiness, as well as
tenacity of fiber and tenuity of thread,
it has never been surpassed, if at all
equalled. These qualities have led some
to believe it the Sea Island cotton ; but
Dr. Sharpe is convinced that it is not,
since it differs from that cotton in many
material respects, whatever may be the
correspondence between their respective
staples. For instance, he says that 250
pounds of this cotton can be picked by
one hand in a day, whereas of the Sea
Island not more than 30 pounds can be
picked. He beheves that it can be suc-
cessfully grown in nearly eveiy part of
Texas. If so, it may go as a great ele-
ment of a new agricultural era in that
magnificent State. — Ihid.

THE WHEAT CROPS.

The accounts of the growing wheat
crop, from all the grain-growing States,
are favorable. In the western States
the quantity of land sown with wh^at in
the fall was larger than the previous
year, the weather during September
being especially favorable for it. At the

AGRICULTURAL

273

commencement of winter, the growth
was more forward than for many years ;
the winter has been quite favorable in
all the States, and the prospect of an
abnndant crop was never more favorable
at the close of the month of March.
Many express the fear, however, that
the jilants are too thick on the ground,
and that, with favoraVile growing weather
during April and May, the growth will
be too rapid, producing a weak plant,
and inducing rust or " lodging." It
seems to be generally conceded that the
crop is past the dangers of winter, and
tiiat it will do well until about the first
of June, when the next crisis of the
crop comes. — I hid.

EXTRACT

FROM AN ADDRESS OF HON. N. P. BANKS.

In Holland, in 1841, the product of
agricultural industry was $181,000,000;
that of manufacturing industry, $144,-
000,000 ; and the estimated products of
commerce, $65,000,000 ; thus of $390,-
000,000, commercial industry gave but
little more than a sixth part, wliile
manufactures and mechanics afforded
37 per cent, of the entire wealth of the
state. In France, in the same year, the
product of agriculture was $800,000,000 ;
manufactures, $400,000,000 ; commerce
and navigation, $268,000,000. Of an
industrial product of $1,466,000,000,
that of commerce is but 18 per cent.,
while the mechanic arts furnish a third
of the amount The industrial product
of England in 1840, was $630,000,000,
and of all other pursuits, $855,000,000.
Allowing to commerce a fifth of the ag-
gregate, as in the case of Holland or
France, or even a quarter part, it is still
fcr below that of manufactures and the
mechanic arts.

NEW-YORK AGRICULTURAL COL-
LEGE.

The first annual report of the Trustees
of the State Agricultural College has
been submitted to the Legislature of
New-York by Governor King. The re-
port contains a brief history of the early
efforts of the friends of the College to en-
list the support of the farmers of the
State and the favor of the Legislature ;
of the success which attended these ef-
forts, in the liberal suljscription of $45,-
000, principally by the farmers of the
county of Seneca, and in the loan of

$40,000 by the State for twenty years,
without interest. It further states that
a farm of 700 acres, of great variety of
soil, weU wooded and watered has been
purchased in the town of Ovid, Seneca
county, on the eastern slope of Seneca
lake, on which the College buildings are
to be erected ; that the site of the Col-
lege has been agreed upon, and contracts
have been entered into for a portion of
the materials to be used in the edifice ;
and that there is every reason to hope
that, dvu-ing the present year, the center
building and south wing will be com-
pleted and in readiness next spring to
receive those who may desire to acquire
a sound, practical agricultural education
and training.

Appended to the report is a statement
of the amounts received from individuals
and from the State, the manner in which
they have been applied to the purchase
of the farm, and in the outlay for man-
aging and providing adequately the ne-
cessary stock and implements, leaving
an unexpended balance of $30,000 yet
to be received from the State treasury.
This sum, it is confidently believed, will
enable the trustees to complete the cen-
ter building and south wing of the Col-
lege, with the principal room for instruc-
tion and scientific purposes, and the ne-
cessary accommodation for one hundred
and eighty students. The trustees de-
clare their intention to make this, in fact
as well as in name, an Agricultural Col-
lege.

AGRICULTURAL PAPERS.

"(?« the propriety of farmers support-
ing none hut jnirely agricultural pa-
pers, as svch; and is their pnhlication
monthly often enough?"

It is an admitted principle in political
economy, that the more labor is divided
the better and cheaper it is performed ;
consequently the manner in which labor
is divided in any country is a pretty
good index to the prosperity, intelli-
gence, and refinement of its people.
Fifty years ago we had no agricultural
papers, and few if any religious. Our
journals then partook more or less of
the commercial, political, religious, and
agricultural characters. As we have ad-
vanced in civilization and refinement the
wants of tln' reading people couhl not be
met without a division of labor in this
departmeit, and we now have separate

274

AGRICULTURAL,

newspapers devoted to all the trades,
professions, and occupations, and who
will say that this division has not con-
tributed to our progress ? Take one of
the newspapers of even thirty years ago
and compare its articles on agriculture
with, for instance, the editorials of the
Genesee Farmer of the past year, and
you will find abundant evidences of pro-
gress. We have, to be sure, many valu-
able articles on agriculture in journals
devoted mainly to other professions, but
they are invariably credited to agricul-
tural papers. If there is any one sub-
ject which more than any other requires
the undivided energies, mind and atten-
tion of a conductor of its journal, that
subject is agriculture. The world is just
awakening to the fact that more science
and intelligence is necessary in this de-
partment than in any othei', and one of
the great reasons is that it is incapable
of that division of labor which tends so
much to advancement in the mechanic
arts. We have journals of law, of health,
of medicine, and of mechanics. We
have miners' journals, farmers' journals,
railroad journals, vetrinary journals, and
gardeners' journals — journals hydropa-
thic, homeopathic, phrenologic, scienti-
fic, and spiritual — and if a man wishes
to turn his attention to any particular
branch of industry he can make his se-
lection and pay only for what he wants.
Surely these journals can be, must be,
and are better conducted than are the
same departments in those which have
with agriculture a little of politics, love-
tales, casualties, shocking accidents and
dreadful tragedies, with a sprinkling of
conundrums, rebuses, and enigmas. By
this division of labor newspapers have
become very much reduced in price,
while at the same time the ability of the
reading community to pay for them has
been doubled if not quadrupled, and on
the farmer's reading table instead of the
weekly miscellany, which perhaps went
the round of the neighborhood, we see
the quarterly review, the monthly mag-
azine, the weeldy, semi-weekly, and per-
haps the daily journal. These dailies,
semi-weeklies and weeklies, although
they perhaps answer well the purpose
for which they were intended, must still
be got up in somewhat of a hurry, and
are liable to many blunders and mishaps,
and when recaived by the subscriber are
often laid aside for the moment and ne-
ver resumed till wanted to wrap up a
bundle. In fact they are of little value

for future reference. The monthly jour-
nals are got up with more care, in less
hurry, are less liable to errors and over-
sights, are in a more convenient form,
the subject matter more condensed, con-
tain more grain and less chaff, are more
thoroughly read and better vinderstood,
contain more useful matter for future re-
ference, seldom condemned to the rub-
bish heap, but are laid up in the library
and read perhaps by the next genera-
tion. They take the place among news-
papers, of standard works among books.
— Gen. Far.

CULTIVATION OP TOMATOES.

A WRITER in the Genesee Farmer thus
describes his method of transplanting
and growing tomatoes. We should have
said three feet each way ; but perhaps
he is nearer right. Fruit-bearing plants
should not be too much in each others'
sunlight.

My method is as follows : Cut with a
long-bladed knife the dirt between the
rows of plants each way, to the depth of
six or eight inches. Then, with a troioel
or sharp spade, carefully talce tq) each
2)lant with as large a "ball of earth as
possible. Do not trust their removal to
careless hands. With a hoe, dig holes
three inches deep ; set in the plants with
earth attached, and finish by hilling up,
making large hills. If the work has
been well done, the plants will scarcely
wilt under a hot sun. By this method,
the roots are brought near the surface,
to receive the influence of the sun. The
fruit is also well exposed to the sun, and
my little mounds of tomatoes are not
"forever and the day after" in ripening.
No watering is necessary, except a little
in the holes before transplanting, and
then only in a dry time.

Tomato plants may be grown very
well in crocks or boxes in the kitchen
window ; and inverted sods, nicely cut
in squares, and then placed in a shallow
box, make an excellent substitute for
erodes, especially in these hard times.
The plants thus grown should be set out
of doors a few days to harden, previous
to transplanting, taking care to cover
cold nights.

Trimming off a portion of the side
branches close to main stem, will pro-
duce larger and finer fruit.

Tomatoes give the greatest yield on a

AGRICULTURAL.

273

rich soil, but do not ripen fruit so soon
as when grown on a poorer one.

W. C. P.

DEEP PLOWING.

We are by no means sure that the fol-
lowin{5 is correct in every point ; but we
are quite sure that no farmer can read
it carefully without finding himself bet-
ter qualified to form his own judgment
in this important matter; and to that
point we suppose all agricultural wri-
tings should tend. Agricultural jour-
nals, we take it, are not to do the farm-
er's thinking for him, but to aid him in
being a good thinker and a sound judge
in his own affairs.

Question. — At what period of the year
of rotation would deep plowing be *advi-
sable ? AVhat kinds of soil does it bene-
fit, and when should it be avoided ?

Answer. — Deep plowing is most efiect-
ive in the autumn, thus exposing the
laud to the influence of fi-ost, rain, and
wind during the winter, which act upon
the mineral ingredients of the soil, ren-
dering them available for the succeeding
crops, and pulverizing the soil, and thus
facilitating the passage of the roots into
the subsoil. As regards the period of
the rotation it is generally considered
that deep cultivation is most beneficial
after the wheat crop, as a preparation
for the root crop and the whole succeed-
ing rotation. At the end of every rota-
tion it is deemed advisable that the land
receive a deeper stirring than would be
considered safe or expedient in prepara-
tion for a corn crop, in order to disturb
the hard impenetrable stratum formed
by the continuous treading of horses and
the passage of the plow, and also to
bring to the surface a fresh portion of
unexhausted soil to be incorporated with
that from which the previous rotation
has derived its nourishment. Moreover,
the first crop which follows requires a
deep, well pulverized soil ; a soil, in fact,
which will offer as little resistance as
possible to the expansion of the bulbs.
Therefore, taking all these points into
consideration, we conclude that the most
suitable time for deup plowing is in au-
tumn, previous to the root crop, or for
the bare fallow after a corn crop in cases
whei-e the soil is unsuited for the root
crop.

The soils most benefited by deep cul-
18

tivation are stiff clay lands, those soils
resting immediately upon rock can not
be subsoiled even if it were desirable,
which is very doubtful. As a rule, we
may say, plow deep, when the subsoil is
of the same character as the surface, if
both are tenacious, or when the subsoil
is composed of good clay, only requiring
atmospheric influence to sweeten it.
Deep cultivation should be avoided in
nearly all very light soils. It should be
avoided when preparing for corn, either
for barley after roots fed off, in which
case we should by deep plowing bury
the manure beyond the reach of the crop,
and in plowing the clover lea for wheat
it would be especially injurious. In un-
drained claj's deep plowing would be
objectionable. Deep plowing benefits
most clay soils, in f;ict to plow such
heavy land as No. 4 in the autumn is
equal to half dressing of manure. Pro-
fessor Wey estimates a clay soil to absorb
as much ammonia during the fallow as
would be contained in 2 cwt. of guano ;
those clays containing a large quantity
of insoluble silicates of potash are gene-
rally benefited. Clay, from which the
air is excluded, exhibits a dark bluish
color. The frost during the winter pene-
trates the soil, and acts mechanically by
destroying the adhesion of the particles.
After draining clay it is not advisable to
bring to the surface more than two inch-
es of new soil at a time, otherwise more
is brought up than the winter frost, &c.,
can pulverize and sweeten, and the first
crop that follows, finding an uncongenial
seed bed, will not flourish. — London
Magnet.

THE POTATO DISEASE.
Another theory has been recently
suggested on this subject. It proceeds
from a man of much experience and of
high reputation as a thorough practical
gardener ; one who has been in charge
of extensive establishments for many
years in England. He suggests that the
disease is caused by the potatoes that
are used for seed having been permitted
to become over-ripe when grown ; and
his remedy is to take up the potatoes
that are wanted for the following year's
planting at an earlier period than the
general crop ; that is, as soon as they
have grown to their size, and whilst the

214:

AGRICULTURAL

leaves remain green. To get a pure
sort, free from disease, he advises (as
others have done) raising from seed, and
thenceforth to propagate as above pointed
out. He also recommends potatoes to
be invariably planted vphole, and never
cut into sets.

This last recommendation we believe
to be good, beyond all doubt. Whether
the other is, we will not undertake to
decide. It may be worth trying. — Ed.

LIFE IN THE COUNTRY.

A MERCHANT, tumed farmer, in a let-
ter to one of his old city friends, says :

" You seem to think that the society
of farmers and rural residents must be
exceedingly dull and stupid. I can as-
sure you it is not so. My neighbors in
the country may not be so quick and
ready in conversation as my old friends
in the city, and their attention may not
have been directed to so great a diversity
of subjects, but their knowledge is less
superficial, and their judgment far more
sound and reliable. But even if intel-
lectually inferior, which I do not admit,
they ai'e certainly morally superior.
Take a hundred individuals, without any
picking, from my new neighbors, and a
like number from the old, and there will
be found more among the former than
the latter who deserve and might com-
mand your moral respect and approba-
tion— men who are honest, sincere, I'eli-
able, and of good moral habits and worth
of character. For my own part, I take
more pleasure in the society of the good
than in that of the roguish and unprin-
cipled, be the latter ever so smart.
Then, again, I can be more with my
family than when keeping store, and can
more easily keep my children from the
contamination of evil companions. But
the crowning recommendation of my
farming pursuits is this : I feel that I am
working together with God in providing
for the primary wants of his human
family."

DOGS, HOGS, AND SHEEP.

" What a dog lives upon will keep a
hog." If any farmer doubts the truth
of the saying, let him kill his useless
dog and put a pig in the pen and give it
the dog's allowance. He will find in a

few months that he has a fine fat porker
fit to be eaten, a use the dog could not
be possible applied to by any Christian
man. There are too many dogs in the
country, by far too many — if they had
all been killed a year ago, there might
be two hundred pounds of good fat pork
to balance against every dog so set aside,
which would be no inconsiderable item
in the supply of food for the country.

If dogs were merely useless, they
would not deserve so scivere a reproba-
tion as is now their just due. While
dogs are so numerous sheep stand a poor
chance to get through the world and
yield their annual fleece with untorn
throats. The increase of the dog popu-
lation accounts in part for the scarcity
of sheep. An exchange paper says that
" fourteen farmers of Stockbridge, within
the jpast five years, have suffered the *
loss, by dogs, of 295 sheep, valued at
$1025. One farmer alone computes his
killed and injured animals at 177, and
their value at $450. Some of the sheep
were of choice varieties, and valued at
from $5 to $20 per head." We doubt
not that of many another town in Mas-
sachusetts, a worse story may be told.

The great damages that have been
done by dogs to sheep led to the enact-
ment of a stringent dog-law by the last
Legislature. Persons owning dogs,
whose lives are precious in their sight,
will do well to give heed to its provi-
sions. By this law the owner of every
dog is obliged to have him numbered
and registered on or before the first of
May, and any unregistered dog can be
killed. It is made the duty of every
sheriff, deputy sheriff, or constable, to
kill said unregistered dogs upon the call
of any legal voter. Any person who
allows a dog to remain on his premises
is to be presumed to be the owner of the
dog, and he is commanded to obtain a
collar with his name and the registered
number of the dog upon it, and any per-
son killing such a dog without justifiable
cause is liable to an action for damages.
Male dogs are to be assessed one dollar,
and female dogs five dollars, and in case
the tax is not paid by the owner on or
before July 1st of each year, the dog is
liable to be destroyed. All moneys col-
lected under this law in the towns of the
State, are to be kept separate as a " dog
fund," to remunerate any person who
may have had sheep killed, and any dogs
found to have been engaged in killing
said sheep are to be destroyed provided

AGRICULTURAL.

2^6

the owner is unable to save his life by
conjpounding with the owner of the sheep
for a money compensation.

We confidently e.xpcct that after the
1st of May the number of the canine
race will greatly diminish, and that sau-
sa.i^es will be dog-cheap in the cities. —
Hamp&liire and Franklin Express.

LONGEVITY OF MULES.

The Medical World says that there is a
mule in pofsession of a farmer, near Bal-
lingloss, Ireland, whieh has been employed
in the transit of amnuuiition, <fcc., to Vine-
gar Hill, since 1798. There is a saying
that a white mule lives longer than any
other mule. Some years ago, one of that
color on Col. Middleton's estate, in South
Carolina, was over eighty years old, and
was still at work.

EARLY BARLEY.

We were favored with a sight of a
stalk of fine Barley, grown on the ranch
of J. Beam, Esq., near Sacramento. It
was a sample of Barley, of which there
are forty acres of the same kind, and it
was three to three and a half feet high.
It was rai^ed upon land which had been
summer falhfwed the year previous, and
this was the second or " volunteer crop,"
and it now gives promise of yielding an
enormous crop. When will farmers look
carefully to the system of subsoiling and
summer fallowing for the grain crops of
our State ? They must come to it sooner
or later. — Cal. Far.

WHERE THE FIRST MAPLE SU-
GAR WAS MADE.

In Dodsley^s Register for October,
1705, it is stated that "a method of
making sugar and molasses from the sap
of a certain tree called the maple, com-
mon in the New-England colonies, has
just been discovered and put in practice
at several portions of New-England, but
especially at Bernardston, about 20 miles
fi-om Alhol.'' — Ohio Farmer.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

J. D. inquires, Whether fallowing i
can be practised to advantage in this
country. Had this question been pro-
posed to us a few years ago, we should
have said no, and we should have won-
dered that there could be a doubt on the

subject. We should have said that
there could hardly be a more senseless
practice than to expose the surface soil
to the suns and winds through our long
and hot summers. And we are still
clear that with a shallow plowing, such
as has generally been practised among
us, and with the object solely of killing
the weeds and resting the land, as used
to be said, there could be no great differ-
ence of opinion. But whether, in con-
nection with deep plowing, with the ad-
ditional object of warming and ventila-
ting the soil newly turned up from a
great depth, it may not be wise in some
cases, we are not now so certain, and
we invite attention to the extract in this
number by Mr. Morley, taken from the
California Farmer. He seems to have
borrowed his ideas from Scotland, where
the climate is about as unlike ours as is
possible ; and yet we are not sure but he
may be correct, as regards farming in
California, and perhaps in other portions
of this country. We would like an ar-
ticle or two on this subject from any who
are prepared to state the results of care-
ful experiments.

0. N'. rallies us on our notions about
deep plowing, thinks we are not up to
the times, and says we should write 10
inches, where we say 7, 13 inches where
we say 9, and go on towards the point
where the Australian's plow and ours
should approach each other. We have
only to say in reply, that when we say
any number of inches we mean that
number, and not 40 or 50 per cent. less.
The depth of plowing is almost always
overestimated. We have heard men
bragging that they plowed a foot deep,
when we would not have paid them for
much more than 6 inches. It will not
do to say that land is plowed a foot
deep, because here and there a spot is
mellowed to that depth. If the whole is
pulverized to the depth of six inches,
most will give the owner credit for plow-
ing at least eight inches. For many
soils, unless manured very highly indeed,

2Y6

HORTICULTURAL

that is deep enough. We are yet will-
ing to stand by what we said in a recent
number, where we undertook to discrim-
inate, in what circumstances it would be
advisable to put the plow down to the
beam, and in what it would not.

'■'■Can yoxi give me any information
about the Hungarian Eye Grass V Not
much. We have seen it growing in only
one field. That was a fine crop. Its
appearance is that of rather coarse food
for cattle ; but all who have tried say

they love it exceedingly, and that it is
peculiarly adapted to stand a drouth,
that in any land it grows fresh and green
when other grasses fail ; but we do not
know the truth of this except from gen-
eral report. It grows about the height
of oats, and the side leaves are numer-
ous and extend almost to the top. The
heads are something like those of herds
grass but three or four times as large.
It produces an immense crop of seed,
and one bushel of the seed is enough to
sow three acres.

iortirulliiral

CALENDAR FOR MAY.

FLOWERS.

Annuals of all descriptions may now
be sown in the flower garden. And
some should be sown also a fortnight la-
ter in a shady border, in small patches
to be afterwards transplanted into the
flower border, to supply the place of
plants gone out of bloom. This may
readily be done by taking them up with
a trowel with a good ball of earth.
When night frosts are gone many gera-
niums and other plants from the green-
house may be planted in the flower
beds, such as Fuchsias, Heliotropes,
Salvias, Petunias, Verbenias, and nu-
merous others.

CUmhing plants and vines may be
sown and planted against trellises and
arbors, or placed at the root of any old
dead tree, they will run over it and be-
come beautiful objects during the au-
tumn months. For this purpose Mau-
randias, Nastiirtiums, Cypress Vines,
and the Hop are excellent plants.

Dahlias may now be propagated by
division of the roots, or by placing them
in a greenhouse or frame, and in a few
days taking off" the shoots that will
spring forth, which will root readily
round the edge of a pot. It is best not
to plant out Dahlias until the middle of

June, until which time keep them under
glass with plenty of air. They will be
more healthy and bloom more freely
than if planted out earlier.

Greenhouse. — As soon as the weather
permits, fires at night should be alto-
gether discontinued, or the new growth
making at this season by the generality
of plants will be too much drawn up.
Give all the air possible, and when night
frosts have ceased, place some of the
most hardy plants at once out of doors
in a north aspect to keep them from the
direct rays of the sun, which, striking
on the sides of the pots, injures the roots
and dries up the soil too rapidly. It is
a good plan to plunge the pots in ashes,
saw-dust, tar, or some such material,
and to let them stand upon it also, to
prevent worms from entering the pots.
In this situation they will require daily
attention in watering.

Before the plants are put out of doors
they should be shifted into other pots ;
giving each plant a compost suited to it.

With the three kinds of compost fol-
lowing almost all kinds of Greenhouse
plants will thrive well. One or other of
them being suitable for each so as to
grow it in good perfection, although
florists and nurserymen use a great va-
riety of other compositions.

HORTICULTURAL

27*7

1st. Half old hot-bed manure; half
loam or the top soil of a good pasture ;
one-sixth in bulk of white sand. This
is adapted for Geraniums and other half
succulent plants that make a rapid
growth in a few months, but much of
which growth is cut down in culture af-
ter the blooming, and is consequently
renewed every year.

2d. One-half of the compost No. 1 ;
one-half of peat earth or leaf mold. This
is adapted for Greenhouse evergreen
plants, as Camillias, and also for Fuch-
sias and plants of a slightly ligneous
growth, that are rapid growers and have
fine roots ; also for bulbous rooted
plants.

3d. Two-thirds peat ; one-third leaf
mold ; one-sixth white sand. This is
adapted for Heaths, Epacris, and New-
Holland evergreen plants of a tough lig-
neous kind, usually called hard-wooded
plants.

Special attention should be given to
the drainage. An inch at least of bro-
ken pot-shards should be filled in the
bottom of each pot before putting in the
composts.

All the above composts should be
thoroughly mixed by turning over re-
peatedly before they are used, but
should be used in the rough state and
not sifted.

KITCHEN GARDEN.

Celery may now be planted out in
trenches from the seed bed.

Snap and Running Beans may be
sown. Of the Snaps the Early Valen-
tine and the Early Yelloio will be the
first crop, and Early Dun, Early Ra-
chel, and Large White Kidney are good
kinds for succession. Of Running Beans
the SpecJied Cranberry, Dutch Case
Knife, and W7iite Lima will give satis-
faction.

Tomatoes, Melons, Egg Plants, Cu-
eumhers, and Marrow Squash may be
planted or sown as soon as the weather
is settled ; but no time is gained by
planting them out too early. To have

them and also beans very early, the best
way is to sow in frames under glass, and
transplant afterwards in the open
ground.

Brocoli, Cauliflower and Callages
should be transplanted from frames to
the open ground. It is a good plan to
plant out part early this month, and re-
serve part to put out a fortnight later, to
guard against a return of cold nights,
which may check those first set out.

It is useless to plant vegetables unless
attention be given, especially during
the early growth, to their tillage. Weeds
must be kept under, or there will not be
half a crop.

ON ROSES IN POTS.

BY ROSA.

How often do we see our lady friends
at this season of the year purchasing
roses in pots, which as soon as they cease
to bloom in their drawing-room are
either set aside as useless or else drag on
a miserable existence without ever after
producing a bloom worth seeing. This
would be avoided if in May or June they
were turned out into the open borders
and then treated as the following re-
marks suggest :

Roses in pots may be bloomed by a
little forcing as earlj' as Christmas. But
without that, they may with the aid of
a garden frame to protect them in win-
ter, be very successfully had in bloom in
April and May, and in a greenhouse still
earlier. It is best when roses are stand-
ing out in the borders in the autumn,
not to take them up for potting until the
first sharp fi-ost has checked their
growth. But then no time must be lost,
but the whole stock required for pots
must be at once taken up, and they may
be brought into a shed or under the
greenhouse stage, and have their roots
there covered over with earth, when
they will take no harm for a week or
two until attention can be given to get-
ting them into pots. In taking up the
roses, however, from the ground, great

2*78

HORTICULTURAL.

care should be taken to lift their roots
well out of the soil with the spade, and
not merely loosen and then pull them
out to the destruction of half the roots.
Roses do not require very large pots.
Those from six to eight inches across
will be sufBcient, unless the plants are
very large. The best mode of potting
roses is to have two good heaps, the one
of good loam, the other of very well de-
cayed stable manure. Fill the pot one-
third full of the manure, then place a
little of the loam on that, and then the
rose, filling up the pot with loam only.
We know that some persons prefer mix-
ing the above ingredients and adding to
them some peat or leaf mold, and in such
a compost roses will grow very well.
But from many years' experience we con-
sider that both in size of bloom, color,
and fragrance, roses will be found far
superior if potted as we have above di-
rected. Some additional caution, how-
ever, is required in giving water to roses
thus treated, because the loam is more
retentive of water than the compost
would be ; and therefore, until they have
made their bloom buds and these are
rapidly swelling for expansion, water
must only be given when the loam is
becoming dry. A little practice will re-
gulate this.

After potting, the plants will require
to be moderately cut back. The prun-
ing will depend upon the kind of rose.
The China, Tea, and Bourbon Roses
should not be too severely cut. The Hy-
brid Perpetual will require closer prun-
ing, say to six or eight buds on a shoot,
and the Common Moss, Cabbage, Gallica
and Provence roses should have each
shoot cut back to the third or fourth bud
at their base. After pruning the plants
require to be neatly tied to sticks ; and
then they may be placed in a gar-
den frame or on the stage of a green-
house. If they are in a frame, it is a
good plan to plunge the pots in tan, saw-
dust, or cinder ashes ; in such a situa-
tion they will require no water scarcely

until March ; and the glass light on the
frame with a little straw or a mat over
will be sufficient protection. During se-
vere frost, care must be taken not to re-
move the mat or straw entirely^ so as to
expose the stems of the plants to the ac-
tion of the sun ; but still some light and
air should be given whenever the wea-
ther permits. AVhcn frost has touched
the stems they should 7iecer, until thaw-
ed, have the sun upon them. Let them
thaw in shade.

As the season advances and the roses
progress towards blooming, care must
be taken to guard against the ravages of
insects, especially the green fly (or aphis)
and the red spider. The syringe is use-
ful for this purpose ; and tobacco smoke
will also remove the fly. They should
be especially attended to in this respect
just before the season of the principal
bloom, because when the flowers are ex-
panded they sustain injury ffom these
remedies. But at all times the inroads
of these insects must be prevented, for
if the plants once become badly infested
with them their beauty will be destroyed
for the year.

We have the pleasure of knowing
Rosa very well ; and we assure our
readers that all her articles, like herself,
are characterized by good sense ; and
under whatever name they appear, are
always well worth reading. Sound
judgment and an entire ft-eedom from all
affectation are the marks by which you
may recognize them. — Ed.

For the Am. Farmers' Magazine.

TREES AND FRUIT BUDS vs. COLD
WATER.

Mr. Editor : — I may not be regarded
as a " careful observer," but I will ne-
vertheless attempt to give my views on
the causes that kill fruit trees and fruit
buds. Now, I may err in what I shall
advance on this subject, for it is a theme
upon which many singular opinions can
be put forth, and yet all of tlieni may
look more or less plausible.

HORTICULTURAL.

279

In the county in which I live, (and it
is more or less so in all the Northern
States,) we often, in the winter months,
have very cold weather, particularly, you
know, in January and February. The
bud of the peach tree and other fruit
trees sometimes expands in the fall, so
that it is made more or less forward.
Well, now, the cold weather of January
comes on ; mercury drops in the tube of
the thermometer down to 14*^ or 15°
below zero ; the germ of the bud — a
little peach in every sense of the word,
just fairly organized — can not withstand
this condition of the weather (15° below
zero) and consequently dies ; and when
the weather " slackens up," or grows
more moderate, the small miniature
peach turns Mack, and never again recov-
ers from the stroke it has received. The
tree, which has grown rapidly, the shoots
of which are vigorous and juicy, also
receives a death stroke many times
through intensely cold weather, when
the thermometer indicates a condition of
the atmosphere 15° or 20° below zero.
There is a point in almost every thing
beyond which it will not do to go. The
peach tree in our more northern climates
is particularly subject to be killed by
frost, and there are counties in New-
York State where the peach can not be
raised, the country being too frosty. On
high elevations it seems to do the best.
We hear it reported that in Northern
Illinois the people have not raised many,
if any peaches, within the last two or
three years. Why is this ? Plainly be-
cause the weather was too cold for
the trees to recover from its effects in
the spring. The apple and other trees
also have died in that State, as well as
in Wisconsin. Now, we have a large
peach orchard, and in the winter of 1856,
the weather being very cold, thousands
of branches died, and I removed them in
the spring. Our apple trees also suffer-
ed amazingly hereabouts. Indeed, we
really thought that a new system of the
laws of nature had dawned upon us, so

poorly did many of our quince, apple,
peach and other trees look. Sometimes,
very many times, fruit buds are killed
in consequence of the cause which you
mention, namely, "« sudden freezing
after mild weather,'''' but I believe this is
not the case so frequently as through in-
tensely cold weather. A peach blossom,
or any other blossom, will stand quite a
little frost, and yet the fruit will not be
materially injured. Now, for instance,
I have been making an examination of
some of our peach buds. I notice that
about two-thirds of them are dead this
season, while what remain look very
well. Where the west wind struck the
most severely during the 24th of Febru-
ary, or about that time, mercury being
about 8° or 10° below zero, at that
point the buds are more frequently dead
than on the east side of the limbs or
trees. Immediately after the cold
" snap," I went into the orchard and
made the examination, and the buds
turned out to be dead as above men-
tioned. We all have our peculiar notions
about these matters, but I know that a
shoot on a tree which has had a rapid
growth during the summer, is most like-
ly to suffer from the cold of a subsequent
winter on account of its tender organiza-
tion. Now, a tree that is thoroughly
acclimated, a native of the country, will
stand the winter much better than some
of " those celebrated imported varieties"
from France, &c. We can not raise the
" raisin grape" with any kind of success
in New-York, and it does not grow very
well, I believe, in the southern part of
Ohio. From these observations, if they
be mainly true, it will be seen at once
that the weather has its percei)tible
effects upon trees and their organization.s,
and that fruit buds must die on peach
trees when the thermometer indicates
from 12° to 15° below zero. Apple trt- e
buds are more hardy, and will come out
safe many times when the weather is in-
tensely severe, but when you gather the
fruit, then you sec what perceptible in-

280

HORTICULTURA L

roads the cold weather of the previous
winter has made upon your apples, &c.

About the contraction and expansion
of water — that matter I shall willingly
leave to yourself and your correspond-
ent. The subject is a very good one,
but how to preserve our trees from the
effects of cold weather is still more im-
portant in my opinion. Last winter the
weather was generally mild, though we
had our " cold snaps" in February. The
season, however, promises very well for
fruit of most kinds. The country will
not, I think, be over supplied with
peaches, but aside from this wholesome
fruit, we may look forward to a bounti-
ful fruit harvest.

In conclusion, allow an old reader of
your journal to express his approval of
the variety of matter which the " Farm-
ers' Magazine''' contains. Give us a va-
riety, with a rich spice of miscellany if
you please. It is taken for granted,
though, that you know how to manage
your own journal. W. Tappan.

Baldwinsville, Onondaga Co., )
N. Y., April 10, 1858. ]

POWERS OF VEGETATION TO RE-
SIST EXTREMES OF TEM-
PERATURE.

BY A FRIEND.

It is most essential to the success of
the operations, both of the agriculturist
and the horticulturist, that as compre-
hensive a view as possible should be ob-
tained of the organization of the vegeta-
ble kingdom, and of the powers of resis-
tance that it possesses of the extremes of
temperature. For although practically
he may pass through life without ever
even seeing the moss which in Lapland
not only lives, but groios beneath the
snow, and furnishes the frugal meal of
the docile reindeer, and without boiling
eggs for his breakf3,st reposed upon the
herbage which we shall presently advert
to as growing in the hot springs of the
Himalaya mountains, yet the know-
ledge of such powers of endurance in dif-

ferent families of plants, when combined
with other knowledge of various descrip-
tions, connected with the organs of
plants, tends immensely (if it does no-
thing else) to make the inquiring agri-
culturist cautious and careftil in his ex-
periments, and in the deductions which
he draws from them.

Hastily-formed conclusions are seldom
very accurate in whatever branch of sci-
entific inquiry they are arrived at, and
applied to. But in no department of
practical knowledge is it more needful to
guard against them, than in the prosecu-
tion of agricultural pursuits. Slight dif-
ferences of temperature, of moisture, or
of atmospheric change, have frequently
been suflScient to confound and to ob-
scure the most carefully conducted ex-
periments. And in the much canvassed,
but yet unsolved, problem of the potato
disease, we have at this moment unfor-
tunately patent evident that our present
acquirements in agriculture, have by no
means attained a degree of eflBciency,
with which we can rest satisfied.

Nothing is more surprising in the
study of vegetable physiology than the
variation of the poicers of endurance of
the extremes of heat and cold in differ-
ent families. And this is the more re-
markable, because those powers appear
to have little or nothing in connection
with the texture of their organization.
In reference to the powers of endurance
of moisture and drought, it is otherwise,
at least to a considerable extent. For
we find the Cacti family, and many
others that are indigenous to climjites
that have long seasons of drought, are
provided with organs that are calculated
to retain, as it were, reservoirs of mois-
ture, whilst the organization of their cu-
ticle is such as to lessen evaporation and
exhalation from their surface. But
in regard to the powers of resist-
ing extremes of heat and cold, many
families of plants with organizations of
the most fragile texture, are found to
have these powers equally ; some as to
heat, others as to cold.

PIORTICULTURAL.

281

This is a subject that deserves consid-
eration in connection with the study of
climate, to which we have directed at-
tention in recent numbers of this maga-
zine, and the following description of the
hot-springs of the Himalaya from Dr.
Hooker's Journal, to which interesting
work we referred in a preceding article,
are well deserving attention :

" The hot-springs (called Soorujkoond)
near Belcuppee (altitude 1219 feet) in
the Beliar Mountains, north-west of Cal-
cutta, (lat. 24 N., long. 86 E.,) are four
in number, and rise in as many ruined
brick tanks about two yards across.
Another tank fed by a cold spring about
twice that size flows between two of the
hot, only two or three paces distant from
one of the latter on either hand. All
burst through the Gueiss rocks, meet in
one stream after a few yards, and are
conducted by brick canals to a pool of
cold water about 80 yards off.

" The temperatures of the hot springs
were respectively 169°, 170°, 173°, and
190° of the cold, 84° at 4 P.M., and 75°
at 7 A.M. the following morning. The
hottest is the middle of the five. The
water of the cold spring is sweet but not
good, and emits gaseous bubbles ; it was
covered with a green floating conferva.
Of the four hot springs the most copious
is about three feet deep, bubbles con-
stantly, boils eggs, and though brilliantly
clear, has an exceedingly nauseous taste.
These and the other warm ones cover
the bricks and surrounding rocks with a
thick incrustation of salts.

" Conferva abounds in the warm stream
from the springs, and two species, one
ochreous brown and the other green, oc-
cur on the margins of the tanks them-
selves, and in the hottest water ; the
brown is the best salamander, and forms
a belt in deeper water than the green ;
both appear in broad luxuriant strata,
whenever the temperature is cooled
down to 168°, and as low as 90°. Of
flowering plants, three showed in an em-
inent degree a constitution capable of

resisting the heat, if not a predilection
for it ; these were all cyperacea, a cy-
2)erus, and an elescharis, having their
roots in water of 100°, and where they
are probably exposed to greater heat ;
and a timbristylia at 98° ; all were very
luxuriant. From the edges of the four
hot springs I gathered sixteen species of
flowering plants, and from the cold tank
five, which did not grow in the hot. A
water-beetle, colymbetes, and notonecta,
abounded in water at 112°, with quanti-
ties of dead shells ; frogs were very live-
ly, with live shells at 90°, and with va-
rious other water-beetles. Having no
means of detecting the salts of this wa-
ter, I bottled some for future analysis."
From the foregoing quotation it will
be perceived that the temperature of the
hottest spring was 190° Farenheit, which
is but little below that of boiling water.
And although not so luxuriant as in the
cooler springs, yet vegetable life was
found to exist and grow in that high
temperature. Had a cabbage or a po-
tato been placed by the side of the cov^
ferva in that spring, it would have been
soon cooked ready for the dinner table ;
and the powers of endurance of the ac-
tion of heat possessed by a living plant,
therefore, can be easily conceived.

With such well attested facts before
us, we may well hesitate before we form
a decided opinion upon the adaptability
of any plant of a new character, that it
may appear desirable to introduce as an
agricultural crop. It is not possible to
judge of many, from the result of two or
three trials only. Because although often-
times we may be quite right in the view
we take of our first experiments, yet it
will frequently occur that until by re-
peated trials we become by experience
well acquainted with the constitution of
a new plant, we may attribute our suc-
cess or our failure to causes which in
fact had nothing to do with either. And
therefore we may so be led into error
which further experiment would dispel.
That this is so, will be evident to any

282

HORTICULTURAL,

one who is familiar with the vast changes
that have taken place within the last tew
years in the cultivation of fruits and ve-
getables. Many crops that some years
back were considered to require years
(especially in fruits) of previous care of
the plants to produce them, are now pro-
duced in less than one. And this with
things that have been familiar to the
gardener for above an hundred years.

In fact the agriculturist no less than
the horticulturist, who would prosecute
his calling with due reference to the
guidance of scientific principles, will ne-
ver assume that he has arrived at a
knowledge of the l)est mode of cultivat-
ing any crop. Whilst he will be cau-
tious not to experimentalize without due
regard to prudence and to principles,
he will nevertheless be ever earnest in
the " forward" effort, and will take care
that his labors are as steadily directed
by his judgment, as his plow is by his
hand.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

GROWING CUCUMBERS.

BY A N.H. MAN.

Something for Boys to do.

Nothing is more profitable than cu-
cumbers as a crop. A few hills will
yield enough fruit to make pickles to
amount to a much larger sum than any-
thing that can be planted. The general
culture of this plant is fully understood ;
but I find by placing a frame of lattice-
work for the vines to run upon, the
yield is much larger, the fruit moi'e
easily gathered, and is also kept up from
the ground. The frame is placed near
the plant, and allowed to slant at an
angle of forty-five degrees, the vines
trained upon it, and the cucumbers al-
lowed to hang through the spaces be-
tween the slats forming the frame.

If the fruit is raised to sell, the smaller
it is the better — from three to four
inches in length is the proper size. Pick
QY&tj morning, and lay carefully in bar-
rels, and cover with whisky (? ! Ed.) and

water — one part of the latter to three of
the former. Lay a cloth over the
pickles, and when more is added take it
off and rinse it. When the barrel is fall
head it, and it is ready for market.

I have known a dozen hills to yield
two barrels of pickles, which sold read-
ily for nine dollars per barrel. The bar-
rels were such as are used to pack pork
in. Let the boys try raising cucumbers,
they will at least make enough to spend
of a "Fourth of July."

Antrim, Mich., 1858.

Yes, boys, that is a good thought.
We will give a beautifully bound volume
of the Plough, Loom and Anvil to the
boy who will verify to us the best story
about growing cucumbers this summer,
on a plot of not less than one or more
than two rods. He must give us his
age ; must do the work with his own
hands ; give us a handsomely written
statement of the process and results ;
and send us the certificate of his father
and a good neighbor that his statement
is correct. That will be a sufficient
guaranty for us, for we do not believe
any father would wish his son to win by
a false statement. — Ed.

THE GARDEN OF THE FARM.

*

With ft,ll the improvements, and they
have been many, three-fourths of the
farm gardens in the State are still a dis-
grace to our husbandry. The most
easily raised vegetables are not to be
found in them as a rule ; and the small
fruits, with the exception of currants, are
the rare exceptions. Not half the farm-
ers in the State have ever tasted an Early
York Cabbage.

If they get cabbages or potatoes at all
by August 1st, they think they do pretty
well. They do not understand the sim-
ple mysteries of a hot-bed, and force no-
thing. Now, with this article, which
need not cost five dollars, and which a
boy of ten years can manage, you can
have cabbage and potatoes, the last week
in June, and beans, tomatoes, cucum-
bers, and squashes, and a host of other
delicious vegetables a little later.

By selecting your seed, you can have
lettuce, green peas, onions and beets, by

LITERARY.

283

the last of June, or before, witliout any
forcing. A good asparagus bed, cover-
ing two square rods of land, is a luxury
that no farmer should be without. It
will give hira a palatable dish, green and
succulent from the bosom of the earth
every day, from May 1st to July.

A good variety of vegetables is within
the reach of every farmer the year round.
They are not only an important means
of supporting the family, paying at least
one half of the table expenses, but they
are conducive to health. They relieve
the terrible monotony of salt junk, and
in the warm season prevent the fevers
and bowel complaints so often induced
by too much animal food.

Make your preparations this month
for a good garden — better by a hundred
per cent than you have ever had before.
Got the seeds now, before they are sold.
Look over the advertising lists, as if they
were meant for you. If you do not go
to the market yourself, this is an age of
expresses, and even post-office carries
seeds cheap enough for you to use it.
Cabbage, lettuce, onion, carrots, pars-
nips, and other seeds can all come by
mail, at small cost. — The Homestead.

PRUNING AND MANAGEMENT OF
BLACK CURRANT.
Black currants require quite a differ-
ent system of pruning from the other
varieties ; the great point to aim at is to
get as much young wood as possible
every year from the lower part of the
tree. This is increased by thinning out
the old wood from the bottom, and the
finest fruit is obtained from the young
wood. In striking the black currant you
should select young shoots about 10 or
12 inches long, insert them in the
ground, with the buds on, about six
inches. The buds of the other sorts are
rubbed off except about four, which are
left on the portion out of gro\md. I
have had black kinds struck on the same
system, but they never lasted long ; they
die off limb by limb about the time they
ought to make good trees. They like a
moisture holding soil ; if planted on dry
ground they suffer much in hot summers.
Red and white sorts like a much lighter
soil ; they produce their fruit from spurs
on the old wood. In pruning cut a por-
tion of the young wood back evcay j'ear
and thin according to the growth of the
tree. — London Gardeners' Chronicle.

THE HEROINES OF ONEIDA.

AN ORIGINAL TALE OF NEW-YORK STATE,
FOUNDED ON FACT.

[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year
1852, by J. A. Nash, in the Cleric's oflHce of the
District Court of the United States, for the South-
ern District of New-York.]

[CONCLCDBD FROM THE APRIL NUMBER.]

Scarcely had young Dean performed
the last sad duties to his honored pa-
rents, when the Revolutionary War
broke out, in which, on one side or on
the other, red man and white, were
speedily involved. At such a time mis-
sionary duties were out of the question ;
and instead of entering upon them,
James Dean found himself in 1775 ap-
pointed Indian agent, (for which office
his [)revious experience had well fitted
him,) with the rank of a major in the
army. The duties connected with his
new calling he continued to discharge
throughout the war, being principally

employed in Oneida and its neighbor-
hood, where his influence with the In-
dians was of infinite value to the service.

About the time the war was growing
to a close he married ; and when it ceas-
ed, and his official duties with it, he re-
minded his Oneida friends of their pro-
mised gift, a call to which they readily
responded, and made him a grant of two
square miles of land near Rome, which
they subsequently, at his request, ex-
changed for a tract in Westmoreland, to
which he removed about 17S6 with his
newly mai'ried wife.

The next two or three years of James
Dean's eventful life were passed in the
tranquil pursuits of the farmer — clear-
ing and improving the lands and laying
the foundation for that scene of future
development of the resources of that fine
country which, at the present time, has
taken the place of his primitive labors.

284

LITERARY

His wife had presented him with two
pledges of her love.

It is an opinion strongly maintained
by some learned men of the present age,
that amongst the red race of North Am-
erica is to be found remnants of the lost
ten tribes of Israel, who, as they con-
tend, found their way to the north-west-
ern shores of this continent from the
north-eastern part of Asia. How far
the evidence adduced is adequate to war-
rant this dictum, we can not stop to in-
quire. Be this as it may, many plausi-
ble coincidences of customs and habits
have been brought forward in aid of it,
and amongst them the fact that in the
traditions and customs of the Indians at
the present day, may be traced a simi-
larity to some of the provisions of the
Mosaic laws too specific to be rationally
accounted for, except on the supposition
that they both owed their existence to a
common origin. The custom that we
are about to mention is one of these co-
incidences.

Amongst the Oneidas and some of the
neighboring tribes, a custom has from
time immemorial prevailed, that if one
of their number is murdered, the nearest
relative of the victim shall follow the
murderer and avenge his death if it be
committed by a member of the same
tribe. But if by a member of another
tribe, then it becomes the duty of the
whole tribe to take the matter under
their cognizance, and to inflict retribu-
tion by seizing and immolating a man of
the tribe to which the murderer belongs.

This custom or law of their polity is
not regarded simply as an act of retribu-
tive justice or of personal revenge; but
as being essential to the happiness of
the departed spirit of the victim. And
it is looked upon, therefore, as a religi-
ous duty agreeable to the will of the
Great Spirit. It is in this assumed ori-
gin of the custom itself, as emanating
from the supernatural source, that the
presumed connection exists, which some
persons see between the Mosaic and this

Indian law. Because were that wanting,
the vengeful passions of human nature,
especially in the unciviMzed state, (and,
alas, it is scarcely needful to refer to
that,) are amply sufficient otherwise to
account for the practice of the righteous
law of blood for blood.

During the years that had elapsed
since Dean's youthful domicile amongst
them, his friends amongst the elder
chiefs had many of them died, and most
of the leading men were now those, who
at that period were mere boys. The na-
tural consequence of which was, that as
Dean had long ceased to have any con-
nection with the tribe, except in his of-
ficial character of Indian agent, and as
that had now also ceased for some years,
his ties with the tribe were limited to
the few remaining old friends of his early
life. Of these Han Yerry and his wife,
who adopted him as her son on his ad-
mission to the tribe, and his friend Omi
with Howala, who had become his wife,
and her mother Hama, still survived.
Faithful to their grateful remembrance
of him, these kind-hearted redskins paid
him periodical visits, and evinced to-
wards him a warmth of gratitude and
strength of aflfection, that in the civilized
world too frequently is lost in that self-
ish indifierence and forgetfulness of our
benefactors, which affords but poor tes-
timony in favor of the improvement, that
the culture of the mind, is said to pro-
duce upon the feelings of the heart.

An event, however, now occurred that
brought Dean again, for a short time, in-
timately in contact with his Indian tribe.

About three years after James Dean
had settled upon his Indian grant, it
happened that one of the Oneida Indians
was murdered by a white man. That
he was a white was known to them, but
all attempts to trace the murderer proved
futile.

In this state of things the chiefs of the
tribe held a council to determine upon
the course to be adopted. That some
white man must be sacrificed to satisfy

LITERARY

285

the requirements of their ideas of duty,
was unquestionable ; but the mode to be
adopted to eflfect that, and the selection
of the victim, became the subject of long
debate. Some of the younger chiefs
proposed that Dean should be selected
for the purpose. He was well known to
them from the office he had held, and
was therefore assumed to be a man of
great influence and character amongst
the whites. They therefore urged that
his immolation would be calculated to
strike terror into the whites, and be a
probable means of rendering it less like-
ly that they would again be guilty of a
repetition of the crime, on account of
which the Oneidas purposed to take his
life.

Against this it was urged by older
members of the tribe, that Dean having
been in early life adopted as a son into
the tribe, could not without breach of
honor and an outrage on their own in-
ternal polity, be now treated as a stran-
ger. And further, that his death would
not, on account of the relationship into
which they had taken him, satisfy the
requirements of their law, or rather, that
it would be inefficient to give peace to
the spirit of their murdered brother;
seeing that as the murderer did not be-
long to the Oneidas, the atonement for
the offense must be made by the death
of one of that tribe to which the mur-
derer himself belonged, and this, it was
contented Dean could not be considered
to be, since his adoption into the Oneida
tribe. This view of the question it may
well be supposed was strenuously sup-
ported by Han Yerry. , The council
broke up, however, without any decision
being agreed upon, and the subject was
left open for further discussion.

Knowing the revengeful character of
his associates, and seeing that the chiefs
favorably disposed towards Dean were
in a fearful minority, Han Yerry's mind
foreboded an unfavorable result, and his
heart yearned towards his tohite son
with the affection almost of a parent

He was nevertheless, as an Indian, a
stei'n disciplinarian, and regarded sub-
mission to the customs of his tribe and
conformity to their solemn decisions, as
duties to which private feelings must
give place. Still he had sworn to be the
friend for life of Dean, and the struggle
in his savage breast, to satisfy his sense
of duty to his tribe, and at the same
time to his friend, gave rise to emotions
that he could not conceal from his Squaw.
Though children of the forest, their de-
votion to each other had given rise to,
and kept alive feelings as keen, and ob-
servant eyes as sensitive, to detect the
sorrows of each other, as if these esti-
mable, but too often absent, amenities of
married life, had resulted from the refine-
ment of highly cultivated minds.

The deliberations of chiefs in council
were secret ; no women were allowed to
take part in them, or to be present when
they were held. Nor were the chiefs
permitted to divulge the result of their
decisions, until they were formally an-
nounced to the tribe by the head chief

The state of mind which the conflict
in his breast produced, rendered it im-
possible for Han Yerry to conceal from
his wife that some unusual excitement,
of no ordinary character, was harrowing
his most sensitive feelings.

Seeing that it was impossible for him
to avoid some violence on one side or the
other to what he deemed to be his strict
line of duty — for he must either divulge
the proceedings of his council, or run
imminent risk of sacrificing the life of
his friend — Han Yerry resolved to tell
his wife the true cause of his distress.
He knew well his Squaw's energetic cha-
racter, and her tender regard for Dean ;
and it is by no means impossible that he
thought it likely that her fertile imagi-
nation and ingenuity would devise a way
to save their friend, without his own
honor being directly compromised in the
transaction.

The ipstant that Han Yerry had made
this unlooked-for communication to his

286

LITERARY,

wife, she understood the delicacy and
difficulty of her husband's position, no
less than the danger of her adopted son.
The fire of woman's anger flashed for
the moment in her eye, with the vivid-
ness of lightning. But as transient as
lightning Avas its presence. Thoughtful
for a few minutes she sat motionless ;
then springing from her seat she ex-
claimed :

" By the Great Spirit, Han Yerry, our
white son shall not die ! But leave all
to me. Do your duty, and I will do
mine. You see this cup of water. When
the council have decided, if our son is
safe drink it ; if not, pour it out on the
ground."

Having said this Onata, without wait-
ing for a reply, ran at once to her friends
Howala and Hama, whose affection for
Dean she knew to be little less than her
own, and in conclave together the three
heroines (for such the sequel will dis-
close they proved themselves) meditated
over the matter. Numerous were the
plans that they discussed, first adopt-
ing and then rejecting them, for securing
the safety of their friend. At length
they resolved upon their course.

No sooner had this been resolved up-
on than Onata started off to apprise
Dean of his danger, and to prepare him
for its consequences. He was, as may
be supposed, astounded at the announce-
ment, and had he not known that he
could place the most implicit reliance on
his informant, he would have distrusted
the correctness of the intelligence. Hav-
ing told him all she knew, her aged
cheeks the while overspread with tears,
she desired him to remain quiet. To
take no step himself for security, nor to
attempt escape, assuring him that should
her tribe, unfaithful to him as their son,
and ungrateful for the many services
he had rendered them, determine upon
his destruction, that she had secured a
mode of escape ; but she steadfastly re-
fused to disclose to him the means by
which it was to be effected. To his

earnest desire to know how she could
be sure of success, her only reply was :
" My son, you are safe ; the Great Spirit
has given your life to me. You will be
safe."

Notwithstanding his confidence in the
sincerity of his Indian mother, and his
knowledge of her ability in that peculiar
species of cunning which forms so prom-
inent a feature in the life of uncivilized
man, he was by no means so confident
that he was as remote from the threat-
ened danger as she had assured him.

His first thought was to fly instantly ;
but the impracticability of removing his
wife and children, one an infant, with-
out exciting suspicion in the Oneidas,
by whom the vicinity of his abode was
thickly surrounded, precluded the pos-
sibility of making the attempt. He re-
solved, therefore, to wait the course of
events until some mode appeared possi-
ble to avert the catastrophe. And
knowing that to tell his wife of the
threatened danger, would only be to
create a pang of misery which he would
have no mode of soothing, he determined
to confine to his own breast a woe that
providence alone could avert.

The councils were renewed from time
to time, and were as often postponed
through the strenuous eflforts made by
the chiefs friendly to Dean to save him,
for several weeks, until at length the fa-
tal die was cast, and the formal decision
came to that Dean must expiate with his
blood the crime of the unknown mur-
derer.

Han Yerry and his wife had by a kind
of tacit consent observed to each other a
perfect silence on the subject of the
coimcils ; but no sooner had the dread-
ful issue of the deliberations been pro-
nounced, than Han Yerry hurried home,
took up the cup of water, and dashed it
to the ground.

His wife turned pale on the instant ;
the next, recalled the lightning to her
eagle eye, and she ran with the speed of
the antelope (for woman's vengeance

LITERARY,

287

nerved her aged limbs) to join her con-
federates on mercy's errand.

A bitter winter's night had closed in
with unusual severity around James
Dean's woodland home ; the wind rush-
ing in gushes through the leafless forest,
lulled for the moment only to gather
strength, as it seemed, to reiterate with
redoubled might its previous efforts to
drive all obstacles before it, that crossed
its boisterous tract. The rain, made
plaything by the air, was hurried down-
ward and onward by its impetuous force,
and threatened to beat in the well-barred
door.

Dean awoke by the uproar of the con-
tending elements, lay pondering over
the phases of his dangerous position ;
and calculating in every way his imagi-
nation could devise, the chances of his
o'erhanging fate.

The gale lulled for a few minutes, and
he was again trying to sleep, (a solace
and relief that for some weeks now, his
anxieties for those to him more dear
than .self, had almost denied his wearied
frame,) when to his horror the war
whoop of the Oneidas burst suddenly
upon his maddened ear, and he doubted
not that he was the object of their rage.

Waking his loved wife, he quickly
now told her his fears, desiring her to
keep quiet with her little ones, whilst he
went to receive the Indians in the ad-
joining room, and endeavored to turn
them from their purpose. Commending
his wife and children to Him who careth
for the widow, but with aching heart,
(for he presumed his Indian mother had
failed in. her intended purpo.se for his
relief) he left his wretched family, and
went to meet his fate.

Eighteen chiefs entered, whose solemn
countenances and war-dresses at once
announced their purpose. Amongst
them was Han Yerry, whose downcast
aspect and heaving breast, bespoke the
wretchedness that dwelt within !

The head chief immediately entered
upon the object of their visit.

" We come," said he, " to take your
life ! To you we bear no ill ; but the
justice of our ways demand it. One of
our brothers has been killed by a white
man ; and in the world of spirits he can
not have peace till we have given to the
Great Spirit a white man's life. Our
council has resolved that yours must be
that life, and duty, therefore, brings us
here. You must die. If you have a
word to speak, we will hear."

" My friends," said Dean, " you do
me much wrong ; and yourselves no
less. Although a white man, I am one
of you. You took me for a son into
your tribe. You taught me your ways
of living, and your laws ; and by your
laws, you know that you must seek ven-
geance of the murderer's tribe ; not of
your own. I therefore am free, and
your council must think again. Be-
sides, was I not of your ti'ibe, would
the Oneidas take the life of an old friend
that has for years brought benefits upon
them ? Would you make my poor wife
a widow, and my dear children father-
less ? No, no, Oneidas, I know you
well. You have warm hearts, and love
your own dear pappooses too well to
wish to see mine wretched and forlorn."

" We know you well," replied the
chief, "and sorry are we for your fate.
'Tis not for vengeance that we seek your
life, but for the happiness of our poor
muudered brother. True, you are our
son, but you are white man still, and
that will satisfy the Great Spirit. For
your wife, your children, we will well
provide. Your land shall be theirs, and
more will we give them if they want, as
we gave this to you. But you must die.
Our chiefs in council have the death-lot
cast, and so must your lot be."

Poor Dean felt that his chance of life
was ebbing fast, without vestige of hope,
when suddenly the door opened, and
Onata entered the apartment. She stood
by the entrance without speaking. An-
other minute and Ilowala entered also,
and stood beside her companion ; a

288

LITERARY.

pause, occasioned by so unwonted an
inti-usion, was broken by the door
opening a third time, and Hama appear-
ed, and placed herself by the other two
women. The three stood motionless,
with their blankets drawn closely around
them.

The chiefs appeared to be astounded
at the hardihood that had induced the
women to intrude into their presence,
when they were met in council ; and for
a little time they waited in silence, ap-
parently expecting the women to tell
the purport of their visit. The latter,
however, neither moved nor spoke.

At length one of the chiefs desired the
women to retire. As before, they re-
mained motionless and silent.

The head chief then addressed them,
commanding them instantly to quit the
place, and leave them to finish their
business.

Onata immediately replied,

" Oneidas, I know your business here.
You come to take this good white man's
life. He is my son — your son, for you
gave him to me for the tribe, and he is
one of us. But he is more ; he is our
friend with the white man. He has for
a hundred moons been ftiithful to us, and
has made the white mans of this coun-
try love us. He has saved our brother
Omi's life, and for it, all but gave his
own. Curst be that chief that scalps
this white man's head. He is my^son,
he is son to Omi's mother and his wife
now here, and the first blow that falls
upon his head shall plunge these scalp-
ing knives into our breasts. Never shall
Oneida's daughters live to see that white
man murdered by his friends."

As she gave utterance, with the ve-
hemence of intense passion, to the con-
cluding words of her harangue, the three
heroines opened their blankets and dis-
played each, in their upraised hands, a
gleaming blade, the bright luster of
which afforded evidence that their re-
solves were not empty threats.

Had a tlnmderbolt descended from the

stormy heavens above them, the effect
upon the chiefs could not have been
more electric. They seemed petrified
and lost in astonishment at the scene
before them, and they gazed for a short
time vacantly around.

Han Yerry, availing himself of the
consternation and uncertainty which he
saw visible in their countenances, ex-
claimed,

" Oniedas, we are wrong ! The Great
Spirit has caused this. These women
could not do this but for Him. Let us
reverse the decree. 'Tis not his will
that the white man should die !"

Lost in amazement, the chiefs unani-
mously adopted Han Yerry's proposal,
the decree was reversed on the spot, and
James Dean owed his life to

The Heroines op Oneida.

Note. — The leading incidents in the
above tale in the life of the Dean family
are founded on fact, with the exception
of that with which it opens relative to
the little girl's visit for twenty-four
hours to the Indians. This, however, is
a true account of a similar circumstance
that occurred to another family about
the same period of time. It has been
introduced to increase the interest of the
narrative, as well as to point out the inv-
portance of circumspection in the exer-
cise of a sound discretion in our conduct
to others.

The influence that slight circumstances
frequently exercise upon our future wel-
fare, is oftentimes far beyond their ap-
parent sphere. A courteous word or
even gesture has often won an opinion,
that subsequent intercourse has ripened
into esteem and friendship. And few
people, we fear, have arrived at what
are usually called "years of discretion,"
without being able to charge themselves
with many instances oi indiscretion that
have weighed, in their unforeseen re-
sults, heavily upon their after hfe.

We must not close this note without
adding that meed of praise which the
female character undoubtedly deserves,
when viewed in the general, for perse-
verance and true moral courage. In the
hour of difficulty and danger, whatever
may be its kind, both history and daily
experience prove that (after the first

LITERARY.

289

outburst of alarm) the weaker sex al-
most universally at such times sets an
example of energy, combined with pa-
tience, endurance and resignation which
her stronger helpmate finds a useful
stimulus to his failing powers !

For the Am. Parmer's Magasine.

CULTURE OF THE MIND.

BY WM. H. GAIGE.

" Mind makes the man —
Want of it the fellow."

This motto, somewhat altered from
Pope, has a peculiar bearing upon the
agriculturist. The farmer possesses all
the advantages of other classes of the
community ; and if he will improve his
mind, his influence will be as potent, and
his example as salutary, as the influence
and example of any other profession.
The richest soil will produce neither
bread nor meat without culture. Good
culture not only improves the mind and
fits it for high mental qualification and
enjoyment, but it lightens the toils and
greatly increases the profits of labor.
Franklin owed his usefulness, his fortune
and his fame to his early habits of study,
of industry, and of virtue. Without
these early habits he probably would
have risen to neither fortune nor fame.

Some minds, like some soils, are richer
than others, j'et even apparently sterile
minds like unfertile soils may by good
culture be made to yield great retm-ns.
However menial and servile agricultural
labor jnay have been considered among
the privileged classes of Europe, and
however degrading it may yet be held
by the would-be aristocracy of America,
it has commanded the highest respects
of good men in every age, and constitu-
ted in our country the favorite study of
a Washington, a Jefferson, a Jackson, a
Madison, a Monroe, and a Humphrey, of
an Livingston, a Shelby, an Armstrong.
a Lowell, a Lincoln, and a great many
others whose names will stand out in
bold relief among the future annals of
our country. Let then no young aspi-
rant for fame and usefulness shun rural
19

employment because it does not feed his
hopes of distinction, and let no one en-
gaged in this employment forego the op-
portunity which his condition presents
of cultivating his mind as the surest
means of sinking the fellow and rising
to the dignity of the man.

CuAUMONT, N. Y., March 3, 1858.

From Dr. Waterhury's Lectures on Physiology and
Natural History.

NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE
YOUNG— THE CAT'S PAW.

Fair and softly Miss Pussy ! Come
and sit with us a minute. We'll smooth
your back until you purr-.— become mag-
netized, as our friends the mesmerists
would say, and then you must let us
look at your foot, that dainty little foot
of yours, that you take such nice care
to keep from the wet.

First let us notice the soft pad at the
bottom, on which she treads. How
noiselessly she steals along through the *
dark ! When she approaches, the long
ears of the mouse, though they can de-
tect the slightest rustle, hear no sound.
When the ox or the horse moves as
swiftly, the very earth trembles beneath
his tread ; but the whole cat tribe steal
on their prey and doom them in death-
like stillness.

Both these tribes of animals are alike
in this — they walk on the ends of their
toes ; that is, what corresponds to the
toes in man. Hence they are called dig-
itigrades ; to distinguish them from such
fiat-footed animals as we, and the bears —
the plantigrades.

The feet of digitigrades are all made
after one plan. In the horse and cow
the toe nails are very thick and stout ;
in fact are hoofs, and enclose the pad,
which is then almost as hard as horn,
and is called the frog: In the horse
there is but one toe, and consequently
but one toe nail on each foot ; but that
one is made very large and hard, in order
to bear fast travel on firm ground. In
this respect the foot of the horse corre-
sponds in structure to the iron rails on a
railroad ; while the cloven foot of the ox
and other ruminating animals more
nearly corresponds to the mechanism of
a plank road. Hence the horse prefers
dry, hard ground, and shuns wet,
swampy places, for when his foot is once
sunk in the mire, it is very difficult to
draw out.

290

LITERARY.

When the ox, however, treads on soft
ground, his split hoof spreads a little as
it sinks into the earth, so that when he
begins to extract it, it becomes smnller,
and comes out more readily. Hence
oxen are better adapted than horses to
boggy ground or deep snow, and this
structure of the foot allows of a habit
cows have of frequenting marshy pools
in hot weather.

In the reindeer, an animal made to
inhabit the polar regions, the two rudi-
■Vnentary toes above the heel, which in
oxen and swine are called dew claim^ are
so large as to be used in deep snow, like
the other toes ; thus making the ani-
mal's foot spread over a great surface,
like a snow-shoe ; yet when the foot has
sunk into the snow, it is di'awn out as
readily as that of the ox. The feet of
birds that wade in marshes are made
after the same plan, and for the same
reason.

When we place the finger on the pad
under the cat's foot, and press gently on
the upper side of the toes with the
thumb, four sharp claws protrude.
Their points are like needles. The dog,
the squirrel, and the woodchuck also
have claws, but they are so exposed to
the weather and the dirt, that they are
dull. How are the cat's claws kept
sharp ?

By a very simple and beautiful ar-
rangement. The last joint of the toe,
that which supports the claw, doubles
hachcard and to one side, into the
space between two toes ; so that when
she walks she does not, like other ani-
mals, put that joint foremost, but rather
the second joint. When the nails, to-
gether with the last joint, are doubled
back in this way into the space between
two toes, the cords which run to them
are placed at such disadvantage that they
can only move the toes for the purpose
of walking. When the cat seizes her
prey, however, a little muscle throws
the last joint of the toe, that which sup-
ports the claw, over into the same posi-
tion as in other animals, and then the
claw is driven by the same muscle and
with the same power with which the
animal moves the foot. The tiger wields
these terrible weapons with as much
force as a horse kicks ; so that a single
blow from the front side of one of his
claws, as the beast was leaping over,
has been known to fracture the skull of
a man.

In animals like the squirrel, made to

inhabit trees, the claws are intended for
holding fast to the bark, and so are not
retractile like those of the cat tribe.
One of the toes also is turned backwards,
so as to act like a thumb in clinging to
limbs and in holding nuts. By means
of these thumb-like toes, squirrels run
down a tree almost as readily as up.

In the sloth, a South American animal
that lives almost exclusively in trees,
hanging by its fore paws, the claws of
the fore feet are enormously large and
long — quite too large to be retracted
like those of the cat. When on the
ground, they must be doubled directly
under the foot, so that the animal walks
very awkwardly, as it were on its knuc-
kles.

Mr. Jefferson, having discovered some
of the claws and bones of the foot of an
extinct animal of this sort, supposed
they must have belonged to a kind of
lion, as large as an elephant. He sent
the bones to M. Cuvier, the great French
naturalist, who, on examining them,
could find no marks of the backward
and sidewise joint, that exists in the cat
tribe, and so concluded the animal to
have been rather a hugh sloth, than a
lion.

SCEAPS OF TENNESSEE.

BY A. L. B., A TENNESSEAN.

It has been but about two centuries
since the first one of the Japhetic race
set foot upon the soil of this new well
peopled State. The sons of Shem, found
here, had no scepter of empire or of ef-
fectual government. Possessing some
art, they had cultivated the soil but lit-
tle, they were idolatrous in religion, in
fact but little less savage than the wild
beasts upon which they lived. No refu-
gee from Ham's progeny had escaped
hither. The Red man had absolute
sway. The Christian had not long ti'a-
versed the country until he named the
country in tragical parlance the " Bloody
ground." Penetrating still deeper into
her unbroken cane brakes he added
' 'The darJc and bloody ground." Digest-
ing what of history relative to Tennessee,
it was in 1665 or thereabouts that the
first white man inhaled the vital fluid,
or ti-od the ground of Tennessee. The

LITERARY

291

company was from Yirj^inia. The buf-
falo, bear, panther, wolf, deer, and other
wild beasts fed in thousands on the liigh
rustling cane, or skulked in the dark
ravine to grind the bones of the lesser
animals. The Indian's arrow had no
music or fire to alarm them. If their
then taraeness could be now experienced
or told, the sight or recital would doubt-
less astonish the most valiant. Mo.>t of
the animals named have followed or re-
ceded in advance of their landlords,
westward, for westward the star of
Empire took its way. Well might the
sturdy pioneer in the year stated ex-
claim, " I am richer than he who had
his flocks of a thousand hills," because
he knew no king but God. These
twenty decades have passed away. How ?
The Tennessee pioneer suffered, lived,
and died. "What were his feats of daring
will never be half told — no historian has
performed half the task. Yet upon the
true heart of every Tennessean is in-
scribed as upon a lasting cenotaph some
of the honor's due, " requiescat in pace "
for Olim meminisse jnvabit. There is
a melancholy consolation in retrospect of
the past, though the life's blood of many
watered the ground under the stroke of
the tomahawk of the swifter savage.
The future recollection will be pleasing,
when we compare what Tennessee is to
be, and what she now is. I will leap
over the jpace intimated as perhaps un-
interesting, and proceed to quote from
recent data.

In 18-50 Tennessee had attained a high
rank in comparison with her sisters.
The euphony of the Indian Tanasee was
nobly contended for in the United States
Congress as the appropriate name for
this territory by her valiant son, Jack-
son. The independent integral Frank-
lin or Frankland, as a sovereign state,
had died away. The name, in Indian
dialect meaning "a .spoon," was given
instead. She wears the euphony brighter
and more beautiful, whilst the emblem,
the spoon, obtains. .Some idea, I think,

in that name. She has an area of
45,fi00 square miles, five-sixths arable—
in size is about medium in the sister
family. She had over one million of in-
habitants, being the fifth in population
in the Union. In improved acres the
eighth. In live stock the seventh. She
produced 52,137,863 bushels of Indian
corn, while ten years before she exceed-
ed all her sisters in the growth of this
valuable cereal. But she stands at the
head of the galaxy in home made manu-
factures, and averaged about $3 to head
of population in value of articles sold
that year. She strikes hands with eight
of her sisters in geographical location,
an emblem I claim of the social charac-
ter of her children. Two Presidents
have hailed from her border. I don't
mean to discuss whether the old Domin-
ion is justly entitled to the appellation
of the mother of statesmen, but I claim
Tennessee, as have others, to be the
mother of States. She has peopled
more States than any other. For the
truth of this proposition I refer to the
emigrants in all the States south and
west of her. The warlike and lethal
weapon of the Tennessee soldier ha.^
been beaten into plowshares and pruning-
hooks, and from her fertile knobs and
loamy valleys, and still more productivi
bottoms, she has now in store from the
crop of 1857 a surplus of the necessaries
of fife sufficient to feed for the present
year twice her population. All you
have to do is send in your orders, and
we would like to have you all speak at
once. More anon.

Mill Bend, Tenn., March 5, 1858.

For the Araorican Farmers' Magazine.

INSTITUTIONS OF MICHIGAN—
HER PROSPECTS.

B Y A N E W-Y OK K E R .

An Eastern man being asked his opin-
ion of the West, replied, " It is a most
beautiful countiy, and for farming can
not be surpa.'Jsed, but, for ni}' part, I
had rather live at my old home \u th

292

LITERARY.

East, where I can see hundreds of young
people pass my window daily to and
from the halls of learning, than be pro-
prietor of the most extensive farm in the
West." He loved learning, and loved
to see those who were acquiring it. But
the "West will not always remain behind
in this important particular. Already
has a decided stand been taken in favor
of education. Michigan can claim warm-
est praise for the part she is taking in
the cause of education. The same in-
terest that prevails at the East in regard
to educational privileges, is noticeable
here. The fact that the only Agricultu-
ral College in the United States is located
in this State, is a favorable indication
that, ere long, she may rank among the
first in education, if not in agriculture.

Michigan has won the title of a tem-
perance State by the decided interest
she has manifested in favor of this
cause. Temperance organizations were
formed, and the beneficial results were
apparent from the influence they pos-
sessed. Such seeming the earnest wish
of the people, a prohibitory law was
passed. For a time the good efforts of
such a law was seen ; but the ofiBcers
whose duty it was to enforce it, for fear
of losing their offices, ceased to prose-
cute its violators, and, until quite re-
cently, no efiect has been made to stop
the sale of liquor. Now, however, we
are glad to observe that the people are
taking the matter in hand, and in the
towns where prosecutions have taken
place, no liquor is sold publicly, except
for medicinal purposes. If the thing is
pushed forward, Michigan may deserve
the name of a " Temperance State."

If there is anything in which this
State is deficient, it is her Press. The
number of her presses is large enough,
but they seem to be in the hands of par-
ty demagogues, who look only to their
own interests. The press does not ex-
ert that influence it is capable of produc-
ing. A turbid river bears a ship upon
its bosom quite as well as though its

waters were clear ; but when drank, the
water does not quench thirst, but pro-
duces sickness. The press of Michigan
bears ne%Ds to its patrons ; but the moral
tone which should pervade the columns
of all newspapers, is seldom found in
those published in this State. 'Tis true
there are a few excellent papers pub-
lished here, but their numbers should
be multiplied.

A large number of the farmers in this
section commenced their labors without
sufficient capital, and a kind of " slip-
shod" method of farming has, in many
instances, been commenced. A patch
of "girdlings" in the edge of the forest,
and a log house among them are indica-
tions of this kind of farming. But thrift
is visible in many places. Elegant farm-
houses are being reared around us, and
the march of imrpovement is apparent.
Here, too, can be witnessed the almost
wonderful eflTects of draining. Our
farmers know the value of this inven-
tion, and their marshes are transformed
into the most beautiful meadows by a
thorough practice of this system.

The winter of 1857 destroyed nearly
all the peach trees here, and fruit grow-
ers seem to think it useless to try again
to establish this fruit. Other fi-uit flour-
ishes well, and in a few years fruit will
become one of the principal productions
of the State.

The abundant yield of grain, and the
high prices of 1856, induced the farmers
to contract debts, which they intended
to liquidate this fall ; this could have
been done readilj^ enough had the prices
for grain remained high, but the ex-
tremely low prices has made the farmers
unable to meet the demands of the store-
keeper. In many cases the prices paid
for grain will scarcely pay for carrying
it to market. The merchant becomes
enraged at the long delay of the farmer
in making payments, and dispatches an
officer to enforce payment. Thus it hap-
pens that many are sued for debt who
never were before sued in their lives.

LITERARY

293

The farmer's credit is impaired — for the
merchant spares no one — and in many
cases discouragement comes upon the
new-comer, who is not long in denounc-
ing the tradesmen of the West. The
press is unjust in its censure of the
farmers for not selHng their grain when
the prices will not pay for harvesting.

Michigan needs union of sentiment.
There are so many who entertain differ-
ent thoughts on subjects of interest. I
have seen a man disregard his own in-
terest, for the sake of opposing the
wishes of his neighbor. This feature
can be observed to a greater extent in
Michigan than in the State of New- York.
Give this State union of sentiment, and
a free, unsullied, uncontaminated press^
and she will rank among the first States
in the Union in every particular.

0. A. GOOLD.

Antrim, Mich., Feb., 1858.
SPRING.

AN ACROSTIC. — BY J. MC. C.

S-pring with its balmy air invites the muse witli

tender strain,
P-ortraying with a gentle hand its sunshine and its

rain,
E-eflecting in its ope'ning flowers the life and bUss

and love —
I-n store for every child of God in yonder courts

above ;
N-ew pleasures there will fill the soul, — no winter

with the spring —
6-ive then your heart unto your God, — an humble

offering.
New-Yoek, 1858.

(From the British Tribune, Canada West.)

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Celtic was the language originally
spoken by our ancestors, which, by suc-
cessive invasions, gradually changed its
form into the Anglo-Saxon, which be-
came developed into our modern Eng-
lish. Chaucer and Wickliife were the
first to make use of the spoken language
in writing ; and hence our language is
not yet five hundred years old. It as-
sumed in the Elizabcthian age its most
perfect form. The received Vernacular
Bible has helped to render our language
more stable. Our language has never
yet been equalled, take it in all its
branches. It is more widely spoken

than any language under the sun ; and
it is highly probable that it will, in fu-
ture, become the universal tongue. That
is to ray mind its glorious destiny.

READING FOR FARMERS AND
MECHANICS. '

Mr Editor : — Believing the old adage
to be no less true at the present time
than in its infancy that " reading is the
avenue which leads to intellectual great-
ness" and feeling it the duty of man,
whatever may be his profession to secure
for himself the benefit of the experiences
and investigations of others, I have
thought proper to solicit a space in your
columns in which to offer a few sugges-
tions on the propriety of the farmers of
this county securing for themselves more
agricultural reading matter, and not only
the farmer but the mechanic should be
supplied with a journal containing well-
considered, reliable articles on all the
leading questions which directly and
materially affect the interests of both. I
believe that every man should be intelli-
gent in his business, that the great in-
dustry of the country should be wisely
conducted, that it is simple nonsense for
him who "feeds the race" and who
" smites the soil and the harvest comes
forth" to remain forever in the furrow, or
the wielder of the plane and mallet to for
ever lie hidden beneath the litter from
his bench. I would that every laboring
man would feel the importance of taking
that position among his fellows which
belongs to those who hold the balance of
the world's life in their stalwart hands. —
Oourtland County liepublican.

U^" Great men never swell. It is
only your " three-cent individuals," who
are salaried at the rate of two hundred
dollars a year, and dine on potatoes and
dried herring, who put on airs and
(lashy waistcoats, swell, blow, and en-
deavor to give themselves a consequen-
tial appearance. No discriminating per-
son need ever mistake the spurious for
the genuine article. The difference be-
tween the two is as great as that between
a barrel of vinegar and a bottle of the
" pure juice of the grape."

•294

SCIENTIFIC

CHEMICAL.

Ammonia.
The fact stated in our last, that cer-
tain substances, usually found on the
farm, or, if not found there, easily ob-
tained, as clay, charcoal, and swamp
mud, or peat, have a strong attraction
for ammonia, affords ground for a prac-
tical application to farm practice.

Clay and charcoal are the two sub-
stances to be relied upon for retaining the
ammonia of manures. It is tiue there
are other substances which will answer
the purpose. Sulphuric acid, for in-
stance, if diluted with water and sprin-
kled about the stalls and the fermenting
manure heaps, will change the carbonate
of ammonia into a sulphate, which is not
volatile, and will therefore prevent the
dissipation of the non-volatile carbonate.
Muriatic acid produces a like effect —
changes the volatile carbonate of ammo-
nia into a non-volatile muriate, and thus
prevents its escape. Plaster, to a limit-
ed extent, and especially in a moist state,
produces a similar effect.

But the farmer wculd sooner use such
substances as his own farm affords than be
dealing with the apothecary. Sulphuric
acid is sold by the quantity for 2^ cents
a pound. Country apothecaries seldom
charge less than 12^ for small quanti-
ties. Besides, these acids are not things
that the farmer is much conversant
with. They are unsafe, unless managed
with discretion and care. Practically,
then, clay and charcoal are the sub-
stances to be relied on for retaining am-
monia.

Clay, constituting as it does a portion,
though in some cases a very small por-
tion, of all soils, is the principal thing
which gives them the power of retaining
ammonia ; and it is this mainly for which
loam is valuable for composting with
manures as a retainer of ammonia.

^rJcnii^r.

Charcoal, on the other hand, is what
gives to peat, leaf-mold, earth gathered
from old hedges, etc., their value as re-
tainers. Is there charcoal in these?
Strictly there is not. Charcoal is the
result of a slow combustion, with par-
tial exclusion of air, by which the oxy-
gen and the hydrogen of wood are
driven off", while only the carbon is left.
But decay is but a sort of slow combus-
tion— a combustion so slow as to pro-
duce but little heat ; and there is a point
in the process of decay where the same
effect has been produced — the oxygen
and hydrogen gone from the decaying
bodj^, and nothing but the carbon left.
If a wisp of straw were ignited, and then
suddenly extinguished by covering it
over with something that would exclude
the air, it would be reduced to charcoal.
But if the same straw were left to decay
in the soil, or wherever the air is par-
tially excluded, there would be a point
in the process where it would be almost
as black, owing to its carbonaceous
character, as if charred by fire. Swamp
muck, leaf mold, indeed any vegetable
matter that has turned black in the pro-
cess of decay, may therefore be regarded
as a sort of charcoal.

It is often recommended to use an
abundance of charcoal — coal dust — with
manures ; and this is well, where it can
be readily obtained, since nothing is bet-
ter as a retainer of ammonia and other
gases. Where it can be readily obtain-
ed, it should be used freely for this pur-
pose— thrown into the sink run, the
privy, the pig pen, or wherever foul gases
are likely to escape to the injury of the
health, or to diminish the value of a fer-
tilizer.

But as coal dust, in most places, can
not be had in sufficient quantities, swamp
muck, or any black mold, made up as it
is mostly of vegetable matter, reduced

SCIENTIFIC.

295

to a state strongly resembling charcoal,
affords a good substitute — is very effect-
ive in seizing hold of and retaining float-
ing gases, and especially ammonia.

In view of what we have said, let us
ask and answer three practical ques-
tions :

1. What is the use of applying clay
to a sandy soil V In addition to the
physical effect of amending the soil, so
as to render it more solid and more re-
tentive of water, it serves to aid the
feeble powers of such a soil for retaining
the gases generated from the manures
put into it, especially the ammonia, for
the nutriment of plants. Ou many a
light soil, we suppose one load of clay
(pulverized b}' a winter's frost) and one
load of barn manure will benefit the soil
and produce an increase of crops equal
to two loads of manure without the
clay.

2. Why apply swamp muck, leaf-
mold, hedge cleanings, etc. ? These
also tend to a physical amendment of
soils. If a s^il be very sandy and light,
they render it more compact, more re-
tentive of water, better suited to the
conditions of vegetable growth ; if clayey
and compact, they open its pores and
make it more pervious to the air ; and
in their further decay in the soil, they
afford carbonic acid largely, and, in a
small degree, ammonia, as food for
growing plants. Their own matter, like
that of ordinary manures, is manufac-
tured into new and living forms. But
their main object after all, especially
when used in the yard, stall or pen, or
for the purpose of composting, before
being applied to the soil, as they ought
in most cases to be, is to retain the am-
monia of other manures. And here
again we say that on many soils— on
nearly all that arc of a lightisli texture
and not very well supplied with organic
matter — one load of swamp muck com-
])osted with one of barn manure, will
give just about as good residts as two
loads of manure. The farmer, there-

fore, who has a muck bed on his prem-
ises, has the power of doubling the
quantity, without much if any deteriora-
ting the qualitj' of his manures.

3. vShould the farmer make a liberal
use of these substances, notwithstanding
the expense of the labor required ? We
think he should, because we think that
the labor so expended will save a greater
amount of ammonia and other fertilizing
matters than an equal money value will
bring from the Chincha Islands. — Ed.

METEOROLOGICAL.
chapman's precalculations.

[Entered according to Act of Congress, in iht
year ls56, !>;/ L. L. VIIAPMAN'^in the ClerWa
Office of the hhtrict t\iitrt,/or the Eastern Dis-
trict of Fennsylvania.l

FIRST DEPARTMENT.

EXPLANATORY.

THE TERM POSITIVE is here given

to conditions abounding more with vital
electricity, inspiring more health, vigor,
cheerfulness, and hetter feelings for bu-
siness intercourse, etc., and consequent-
ly greater success, enjoyment, etc.

THE TERM NEGATIVE is given to
deficient, or less genially modified elec-
trical conditions, which conse([uently
are m,ore unfavorable to health, feelings,
business, social intercourse, etc.

These conditions do not depent on the
weather. A negative condition is often
fair, and a positive condition cloudy, and
vice xersc. — w shows weak conditions.

IT Indicates Sundays.

FIFTH MONTH, (May,) 1858.
Tendency. Time o''clocTc

1st, Positive, from 1 to 5 morn.

Negative, from 6 morn to 11 eve.
2d, ITPositive, from 1 morn to 4 eve, w.

Mixed, from 5 to 12 eve.
3d, Negative, from 1 to 8 morn.
Mixed, from 8 to 10 morn.
Negative, from 10 morn to 12 eve.
4th, Positive, from 6 morn to 9 eve.
5th, Positive, from 0 morn to 12 eve, w.
6th, Negative, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
7th, Negative, from 1 morn to 1 eve.

Positive, from 2 to 12 eve.
8th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
9th, IFMixed, from 1 morn to 9 eve.
10th, Negative, from 1 to 9 mom.

Positive, from Ju morn to 12 eve, to.
11th, Negative, fi'om 1 morn to 12 eve.

296

SCIENTIFIC.

12th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
13th, Positive, from 1 morn to 1 eve.

Negative, from 1 to 12 eve.
14th, Positive, from 6 morn to 12 eve.
15th, Positive, from 1 morn to 6 eve, w.

Negative, from 7 to 12 eve.
16th, ITNegative, from 1 morn to 3 eve.

Positive, from 4 to 12 eve.
17th, Positive, from 1 morn to 4 eve.

Negative, from 5 to 10 eve.
IQth, Positive, from 1 to 11 morn.

Negative, from 12 noon to 10 eve.
19th, Mixed, from 1 to 8 morn.

Positive, from 9 morn to 8 eve.

Negative, from 4 to 8 eve.
20th, Mixed, from 1 morn to 1 eve.

Positive, from 2 to 12 eve, w.
21st, Negative, from 3 to 11 morn.

Positive, from 12 noon to 12 eve.
22d, Positive, from 6 morn to 9 eve, w.
23d, IFMixed, from 7 to 10 morn.
24th, Negative, from 7 morn to 12 eve.
25th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
26th, Positive, from 1 morn to 3 eve.

Negative, from 4 to 12 eve.
27th, Negative, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
28th, Positive, from 1 morn to 12 eve.
29th, Positive, from 1 to 11 morn.

Negative, from 12 noon to 12 eve.
80th, ITNegative, from 5 morn to 10 eve.
31st, Negative, from 6 morn to 5 eve.

Positive, from 6 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.

IT Indicates Sundays.

FIFTH MONTH, (May,) 1858.
Time o'cloch. Ray-angle. Tendency.
1st, At 5 morn Y, warm, dry.

At 12 eve Y' warm.
2d, ITAt 9 morn R, warm, dry.

At 3 eve V, cool, damp.

At 4 eve G, warm.

At 7 eve GV- cool, damp.
3d, At 8 morn GO" damp, windy.

At 9 morn Y,, warm, dry.

At 10 morn V' cool.

At 12 noon G' warm.
4th, At 5 morn I" cool.

At 10 morn R„ warm, dry.

At 3 eve BR- warm, windy.
At 4 eve V„ cool.

At 5 eve 0,,

At 9 eve G,, warm, dry.
5th, At 3 morn OV" damp, windy.

At 4 eve 0,

At 12 eve .. wind stirring.
6th, At 1 morn Y" warm, dry.

At 7 eve B" wind stirring.

At 9 eve R" warm, dry.
7th, At 1 eve G" warm.

At 9 eve I' cool, damp.
8th, At 4 morn BI„ cool, damp, windy..

At 11 morn R,, warm.

At 12 noon V, cool, damp.

At 3 eve Y„ warm.

At 12 eve I„ cool, damp.
9th, ITAt 6 morn R,, warm, dry.

At 7 morn 0„

At 8 morn .. warm.

At 12 noon OR" windy, exciting.

At 9 eve Y' warm.

At 12 eve G,, warm, dry.
10th, At 9 morn 0'

At 11 eve 0, damp.
11th, At 4 morn I" cool, damp.

At 5 morn G' warm, diy.
12th, At 10 morn I, cool.

At 3 eve YB- wind stirring.

At 12 eve B- windy.
13th, At 5 morn I,, cool, damp.

At 12 noon R- warm, dry.

At 1 eve V- cool.
14th, At 11 morn G- warm, dry.

At 5 eve YI„ cool, damp, windy.
15th, At 11 morn .. warm.

At 6 eve 0,

At 9 eve B' wind stirring.
16th, lAt 7 morn Y' warm, dry.

At 3 eve YO" windy.

At 9 eve B„ wind stirring.

At 12 eve .. damp.
17th, At 6 morn I- cool, damp.

At 8 morn 0,,

At 10 morn Y„ warm, dry.

At 1 eve R,, warm.

At 3 eve V„ cool.

At 4 eve B, wind stirring.

At 10 eve G, warm, dry.
18th, At 9 morn YV, cool, windy.

At 11 morn V, cool.

At 10 eve B" wind stirring.

At 11 eve G,, warm, dry.
19th, At 8 morn 0"

At 3 eve YR- warm, dry.

At 6 eve Y" warm.

At 7 eve V" cool, damp.

At 10 eve G, warm, dry.
20th, At 11 morn YV- cool, windy.

At 1 eve I' cool.

SCIENTIFIC

297

At 8 eve 0,

21st, At 2 morn B, wind stirring;.

At 5 morn, end of the zodiacal pe-
riod, or natural month.

At 11 morn G" warm, dry.

At 2 eve 0„

At 5 eve I,' cool.
22d, At 1 morn R,, warm.

At 4 eve I, cool, damp.

At 9 eve B, wind stirring.
23d, TAt Y morn R' warm.

At 9 morn RV- cool.

At 10 morn Y' warm.
24th, At 2 morn G„ warm.

At 3 morn I" cool.

At 4 morn .. cool.

At 7 morn "• warm.

At 8 morn GI, cool, damp.
25th, At 10 morn Y' warm, dry.

At 10 eve B" wind stirring.
26th, At 2 morn GO, damp, windy.

At 7 morn G, warm.

At 8 morn 0

At 3 eve I„ cool, damp.

At 11 eve R" warm, dry.

At 12 eve V" cool.
27th, At 1 eve Y" warm, dry.

At 9 eve I' cool, damp.
28th, At 5 morn . . warm.

At 1 eve GV, cool, windy.

At 3 eve I, cool.

At 9 eve B, wind stirring.
29th, At 11 morn GR, warm, dry.

At 4 eve G" warm, dry.

At 10 eve 0'

30th, ITAt 4 morn R, warm, dry.

At 7 eve V cool, damp.

At 10 eve R' warm, dry.
31st, At 1 morn B,, wind stirring.

At 3 morn 0„

At 5 eve I" cool.

GENERAL REMARKS.

Cool Periods, longer and more promi-
nent, are more liable near the 5th, 16th,
20th.

Greater tendency to windy, cloudy or
stormy periods, or gusts, near the 2d
or 3d, oth, 8th, 9th, 14tl^ IGth, 18th,
20th, 23d, 25th or 26th, 28th.

Periods of greater electrical deficiency,
29th to 31st.

Natural tendency of the zodiacal pe-
riod from the 1st to 21st dry. From the
22d to 31st damp.

OENEKAL BEARINGS.

From the 1st to 6th a mixed condition
prevails, in which the negative predomi-
nates. From the 7th to the 29th the
general tendency is more positive with

the exception of short intervals near the
9th, 16th, 19th. From the 29th to 31st
negative.

Near the above negative dates, espe-
cially the 3d,5th, 9th, ieth,the atmospheric
conditions tend more to nourish combus-
tion, rendering fires and explosions more
liable. They also tend to more excita-
ble contentious feelings and to spreading
disease in epidemic form of an inflamma-
tory or typhoid nature as small pox,
scarlet fever, sore throat, etc.

COINCIDENCES.

Fro7n March 1st to 31s?.— The bril-
liant aurora on the morning of the 12th
inst., rousing the fire departments, etc.,
occurring at a date given to the public
some three weeks previous, as more pre-
disposing to auroras, is another of those
coincidences which give the impress of
unevadable truth to the reality of the
discovery I claim.

The cold interval from the 3d to the
7th was strongly indicated in the table
by the four combined currents ending
with V or I on the 3d, (BI, GV, BV"
BV, — see explanation,) more than occur-
red on one day so ending, for months
previous or since. This interval was
more marked than the subsequent cooler
alterations.

Of the periods given for greater windy,
cloudy, or stormy tendency, 10 of the 14
were fully corroborated.

I^*^ Early mailing to distant patrons
precludes the convenience of giving the
coincidences of the immediate preceding
month.

GENERAL EXPLANATORY RE-
MARKS.

The First Department, giving the pos-
itive and negative electrical conditions
of the atmosphere, constitutes the chief
importance of this document.

These alternating conditions not only
affect all the minutia of life, health, and
enjoyment among mankind, but also
bear universally upon the various ani-
mal and insect tribes, and even upon the
vegetable world. For electricity is the
universal principle of pTiysiral vitality.

By glancing at the first department
synopsis the physician can usually judge
whether he will find his patients better
or worse. The out-of-door business man
may also judge when in a strongly posi-
tive day, he may succeed more in all bu-
siness depending on the will of others,
especially of the sensitive, than in often

298

SCIENTIFIC

several negative days — not from lucTc,
cliaioce, or fortune! — but because man-
kind usually act as they feel.

The synopsis is of universal bearing
and application, and of great usefulness
to all professions and classes of mankind.
The general tendencies are given, but
their effects vary according to mental
discipline and constitutional sensitive-
ness. A robust person may only feel a
shade pass over his mind from a condi-
tion that would prostrate another by
sickness.

The Second Department, or synopsis
of changes in the atmospheric tempera-
ture is less important, because not infal-
lible. Yet it is suflBciently correct to be
deemed useful by many. The changes
usually corresponding to within the hour
before or after, three or four times out
of five in the average.

In this synopsis the first letter of each
colored ray is given, instead of the word
in full, after the words morn, eve. They
show the angle of the solar spectrum in
which the current of reflected light that
produces the condition is intercepted.
Thu.% R for the red ray, O for the
orange, etc. Cm-rents intercepted 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.
O, 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 operate longer and with
greater force ; often so superceding the
effects of passing single currents that
the latter becomes only modulations in
.a long dry or wet, warm or cool period,
induced by the former. They can r^ot
be calculated so accurately as the single
currents, but seldom vary many hours.
_ Longer or more prominent cool pe-
riods usually occur near combined cur-
rents ending with V, or I.

Warm periods usually occur near com-
bined currents ending with R, or G.

Windy, or cloudy, or stormy periods,
or gusts, usually occur near combined
currents which end with B, V, I, or 0.

Periods of greater electrical deficiency
are such as predispose more to vegetable
defection or Might, to cholera, etc.

All the combined currents predispose
more to electrical disburbances, earth-
quakes, auroras, etc.

Periods (.) in the place of letters, show
currents under investigation — hmlle
periods (..) combined currents — HypJiens
(-) after letters show confluent currents
— Commas (,) after the letters show pos-
itive— Apostrophes (') negative condition.
See second department. They also show
the force of the intercepted current.
One comma or apostrophe shows weaker,
two commas, etc., (,,") strongev curreuts.

Many of the weaker changes are per-
ceptible only by instruments. Those in-
struments are the Prism, Thermometer,
Barometer, Hygrometer, Electrometer.

To Agkiculturists. — The electricity
supplied by the reflected light of the
moon during her increase is more posi-
tive. During her decrease m^re nega-
tive. Hence fruit trees should be prun-
ed, and vegetables growing above the
ground should be sown, etc., between
the first quarter and the full moon, to
thrive best. Esculent roots, potatoes,
etc., thrive best planted in the decrease
of the moon.

THE ATMOSPHERE.

Our atmosphere may be viewed as an
ocean 50 miles in depth, and being ex-
tremely elastic, the lowest portions, or
those nearest the earth, are under a pres-
sure of 15 pounds to the inch. As by
atmospheric tides this portion rises up
the mountain side it expands, and its ca-
pacity by such expansion, for heat is in-
creased. It therefore robs the heat from
the dews of the mountain top, and causes
the eternal snows, while the same por-
tion re-descending by currents to the
valley, gives up its latent as present
heat, and renders them verdant. It may
be viewed as Nature's porter, carrying
and disseminating all the lighter poi tions
of decomposition, and giving them up
where most required under the organic
law.

At all times a large amount of water
occupying our globe is to be found in
the atmosphere in the form of vapor, and
during its motion it deposits this general
lubricator of nature on all surfeces colder
than itself Every plant is kept moist
by condensations from the atmosphere.
Every particle in nature is lubricated by
moisture thus supplied, and prevented
from abrading itself The under-drain-
ing, plowing, and general manipulation
of the soil, are mere adjuncts to the ad-
mission of atmosphere for the deposit of
moisture and of gases, foreign to itself,

SCIENTIFIC.

299

but held mechanically in suspension.
All chemical laws owe their activity to
its presence, and even the effects of lif?ht,
heat, and sound, would be unintelligible
without it. Its refractive force prevents
the Sim's heat from a.u:!j;reg;ating to such
an extent on the surface of our globe as
to melt it, while its mechanical action
spread over so immense an area causes
all those manipulations which tend to
assist mankind in accelerating the oper-
ation of Nature's laws. It is Nature's
motor, and equilibrated to her will. It
carries the decay of continents across
the surface of oceans, and fertilizes is-
lands ; it is the vehicle by which the
furina fecundi of plants meets the de-
sires of organic lif<s and gives birth to
varieties. It maintains precise propor-
tions of its two constituents in their com-
bination as atmosphere, despite extra
quantities of either that may be thrown
ui)on it, and thus, while one of its con-
stituents, oxygen, will cause immediate
apoplexy, if breathed alone by animals
or plants, and the other, nitrogen, would
cause asijliyxia^ from its inability to sus-
tain life; still the two in the proportion
in which they are combined, exhibits
that function to which we are all indebt-
ed for continuous existence. It, in com-
mon with water, is Nature's regulator.
-\.I1 the known changes in inorganic mat-
ters would be arrested by the absence of
either. It completes the chain of the
wonderful machinery which, within it-
self, has all the elements of creative
})ower developed through these engines
from the primary principles emanating
from a great first cause. — Worh. Far.

TRANSFUSION OF BLOOD IN THE
HORSE.

Mr, Farrall, an Irish veterinary sur-
geon, has publi-shed in the Dublin Quar-
terly Journal of Medical Science, a re-
port of his successful experience in the
transfusion of blood in the horse, in dis-
eases attended with low vital action,
Mr. F. says : j

" [laving selected a healthy young
h(ir.se from which to obtain the blood to i
be transfused, I opened the jugular vein
in the patient and in the healthy subject,
and having in.sei'ted the tube into the '
vein of tlie healthy horse, I placed the j
india rubber tube in the tin trough con- |
taining the hot water, to maintain its '

temperature, and the other curved tube
into the descending portion of the vein
in the patient. As soon as the current
from the healthy hoise had completely
expelled all atmospheric air, the blood
Howed freely from the vein of one horse
into that of the other in an unbroken
current. The average quantity of blood
transferred in each of these cases was
about three quarts. I observed no par-
ticular symptoms to follow from the
transfusion until two quarts or more had
passed from one to the other ; but as
soon as about that quantity had flowed
into the diseased subject, there appeared
to be produced an amount of stimulation
indicated by an increased degree of ac-
tion of the heart, at the same time the pu-
pils began to dilate, and the countenance
evinced an anxious expression. My
former experiments led me to watch
with great care the progressive dilation
of the pupil, and I deemed it expedient
in each case when this symptom was
well developed, to compress the tube so
as to diminish the current, and allow the
transfusion to proceed more gradually.
Occasionally I almost completely inter-
rupted the current until the subsidence
of this symptom, and I found that when
about three quarts had been transfused,
any additional quantity was followed by
unpleasant symptoms, which indicated
the necessity of stopping the operation.
On removing the tube and closing the
vein, all .symptoms of irritation gradually
subsided, and the pulse, from being ra-
pid and irritable, became slower, strong-
er and fuller, gradually approaching the
healthy standard. In every instance I
found action in the healthy animal suf-
ficiently strong to pro[)el the blood into
the vein of the patient ; but if it be
found requisite, the circulation may be
strengthened by giving the horse from
which the blood is to be abstracted, a
little brisk 'exercise immediately before
the performance of the operation.

" In each of my four cases the reac-
tion was stead}' and progressive. The
natural warmth of the extremities was
gradually restored, and in the course of
ten or twelve hours the patients pre-
sented other equally unmistakable symp-
toms of amendment, such as returning
appetite, more quiet and steady respira-
tion, cheerfulness of countenance, will-
ingness to move about, and in a short
time they were pronounced cured."

800

MECHANICAL,

FOB THE AMBRICAN FARMERS' MAGAZISE.

THE WEATHER.
Appearance of Bikds, Flowers, etc., in Nicuols, Tioga Co., N. Y., in March, 1858.

By K, Howell.

Place of Observation, 42 decrees North, on a Diluvial Formation, about ^0 feet above the

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

of the New- York and Erie Railroad.

Mar.
1
2
3
4
5
6

n

10

11

12

13
14
15
16
11

18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
80
31

TA.M.
80
13

0

2

3

9

9
14
16
23
38
24
26
36
40
42
42

50
35

26
46
34
27
25
31
31
28
35
29
27
30

2 P.M.

40
19
23
15
8
22
24
83
22
38
46
43
40
46
52
65
75

53
46
56
61
43
41
45
50
42
48
43
48
52
69

9 P.M.

22
11
13
6
4
11
16
18
20
25
31
35
82
40
45
47
57

39
27
47
39
80
26
25
38
28
34
31
80
81
31

N. W, Fair.

Cloudy.
S. E.
K W.

West.
N. W.

South.

S. E.
S.&N.
S. E.
South

s&w,

N&W,

N. W

Fair.

Cloudy.

Fair.
Cloudy.

Fair.

Cloudy,

Fair.

Remarks.

Light" snow before daylight, half an inch.
Light snow before daylight, one-fourth inch.
Snow squalls in P. M. and evening.
Snow squalls.
Snow squalls at intervals all day

Light snow squalls at intervals all day.
Light snow squall in the morning.

Light snow squall at 9 P. M., and aurora at 9 P. M.

Small or light aurora at 9 P. M.

Light rain from 6^ to 9 A. M.

Light rain at intervals all day ; first blue bird seen.

Ice in some places moved down the river.

First blackbird and butterfly, and red and black

caterpillar seen.
First robin seen ; ice all went down stream.
The bee bird first seen, and frogs first heard.
First flock of pigeons, and ground squirrel seen.
Light dash of rain before light and through the day.

Cloudy

Fair.

Cloudy.

Fair.

Clear.
Fair.

Plowing commenced.

Light dash of rain in P. M. and evening.

A few very large flakes of snow at 5 P. M.
Snow in the morning ; lunar halo at 9 P. M

Meadow larks first seen.

it^rltantraL

PATENT CLAIMS

ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT
OFFICE.

CuLTivATRRS. — Joseph Banks, of
Dadeville, Ala. : I claim the construc-
tion, arrangement and combination of
the body of the implement and its mo-
vable teeth, as described, whereby it is
readily adapted to properly receive in
turn the several scrapers employed for
performing the various modes of cultiva-
tion specified.

Machines for Hulling and Cleaning
Clover Seed. — J. V. Blackwell, of Ovid,
N. Y. : I claim the application of the

gravitating curtain, H, at the point of
the eduction of the blast, for the purpose
of modifying and diffusing the same, and
preventing the waste of seed, substan-
tially in the manner shown and de-
scribed.

I also claim the combination and ar-
rangement of the overshot grating cylin-
der, C, and feed roller, D, with the blast
generator, G, and blast-regulating cur-
tain, H, the whole operating conjointly
in the manner and for the purpose de-
scribed.

Harvesters. — George E. Chenoweth,
of Baltimore, Md. : I claim compensat-
ing for the wear of the worm or groove

MECHANICAL.

301

in the driving cylinder, by making the
parts of that cylinder adjustable, as de-
scribed, thus giving increased certainty
to the action of the cutters.

Horse Hay Rakks. — Asahel Cowley,
of Harpersfield, N. Y. : I claim the de-
scribed combination of a separator with
a wheel rake, the whole being construct-
ed, arranged and operated in the man-
ner and for the pm'pose as set forth.

Compositions fok Tanning Leather.
— Clinton Daniels, of Elk Horn, Wis. : 1
claim the combination and use of cream
of tartar and bicarbonate of soda with
catechu in making a liquor, and using
the same for tanning hides and skins,
no claim whatever being made to the
discovery and use of the catechu alone,
for tanning purposes, by me.

Self-Loosening Horse and Cattle
Tie. — John J. Eshleman, of Lancaster,
Pa. : I claim the bolt, B, in two sections,
connected by the sliding scarf joint, H,
for the purpose of instantly loosening the
horse, as set forth.

I also claim the devices of the bolt, B,
spiral spring, F, and casing, A, all in
combination, operating together, sub-
stantially in the manner and for the pur-
poses set forth.

Method of Lighting Gas by Electri-
city.— Samuel Gardiner, Jr., of New-
York City : I claim placing a coil of pla-
tinum wire, or its equivalent, in the re-
lative position to the jet of gas, as de-
scribed, for the purpose of lighting the
jet by electricity, and for the re-igniting
it whe.i blown out under the circum-
stances and for the purposes set forth.

HuRSE-powEB Machines. — ^Jas. Grant,
of Rochester, N. Y. : I claim making
iron horse-powers with an open center
to the caps, A, and an adjustable or a
fixed bridge-piece, a, and making a dou-
ble length or reversible pinion, B, as and
for the purpose .specified.

Straw Cutters. — W. W. HoUman, of
Eddyville, Ky. : I claim the combination
of the movable bottom, when construct-
ed as set forth, with the cam shaft, C,
cams, A and B, and connecting rod, 1),
for giving a projection of straw under
the knife by raising the lever, AY, said
projection being gaged and furni.shed by
the upward and downward motion of the
lever, in the manner and for the purpose
set forth.

Churn. — J. A. Jordan, of Shelbyville,

Tenn. : I claim the employment of the
revolving wheel, J), and stationary wheel,
C, constructed and operating in the
churn as set forth, the bottom of the
same being fitted to a stove casing in the
manner and for the purposes specified.

Washing Machine. — James McVicker,
of Green Co., Pa. : I claim forming a re-
ceptacle within the wash-box for con-
taining the clotlies to be steamed pre-
paratory to their being washed by metins
of the ribs or slats, m, attached to the
wash-box, and the ribs or slats, r, at-
tached to the lid, P, so that upon open-
ing the lid of the wash-box, the recep-
tacle also is opened for the introduction
or removal of the clothes, substantially
as described.

HYDRAULIC CEMENTS AND MOR-
TARS.

The wonderful powers of durance
which some mortars possess is to be ex-
plained with ease ; but before doing so,
let us recollect that the mortar and ce-
ment found in Herculaneum and Pom-
peii, now nearly two thousand years old,
is as hard and compact as the volcanic
rock on which it is found ; and there are
many specimens of cements in the muse-
ums of Europe, that, after having been
under water for centuries, are as good,
if not better, than wlien put down. Re-
collecting also the vast importance of
good hydraulic cements in the construc-
tion of lighthouses, breakwaters and
piers, and all submarine works, perhaps
more attention may be given to the sub-
ject than otherwise would by non-inter-
ested readers. These hydraulic cements
are such as set under water, and are not
decomposed by its action like ordinary
mortars. They are made either from
natural or artificial mixtures of carbon-
ate of lime with silica, or silicate of alu-
mina or magnesia. The mineral dolo-
mite, when calcined at a moderate heat,
exhibits the projierty of hydraulic lime ;
and half-burnt lime (containing still a
quantity of carbonic acid,) will 6'ff under
water. From a French engineer — M.
Vicat — we learn that the hardening
depends much on the amount of carbonic
acid left in the lime ; thus he informs us
that a stone that had thirty per cent of
carbonic acid left in it alter burning,
hardened in fifteen minutes, while anoth-
er, in which there was twenty -six per
cent, hardened in seven minutes, and one

302

MECHANICA L

containing twenty-three per cent, took
nine days to become hard. Two varie-
ties in Europe are known as Trass and
Puzzolana ; and there is an hydraulic
mortar used in England known as "Ro-
man cement," made by burning some
nodules found in the tertiary formation.
Neither clay, (silicate of alumina,) nor
lime alone, will set under water, but if
an intimate mixture of clay and chalk be
calcined at a moderate heat, and after-
wards mixed with water, a hj^drated sil-
icate of alumina and lime is formed as a
hard mass, and this is hydraulic cement.
If the clay or limestone should contain a
little alkali, it seems to aid the solidifica-
tion. There is an excellent cement made
near Paris from one part of clay and
four of chalk, which are intimately mix-
ed with water, afterwards allowedto set-
tle, and the deposit thus obtained is
molded into bricks, which are then dried
and calcined at a gentle heat. This hy-
draulic lime, like the best from natural
sources, is entirely dissolved by acids.
All mortars, but especially hydraulic
ones, are solidified quicker and better
under the influences of pressure and
high temperature.

When an hydraulic cement is required,
it is advisable to collect specimens of the
minerals of the district in which work
is to be carried on, and send them to
some chemist for analysis. This will, in
many instances, save much time and
money, for we have known cases where
Roman cemerjts, and other hydraulic ce-
ments, have been brought from a great
distance to carry on a work, quite
close to which there was plenty only
wanting the trouble of burning. — Scien-
tifio American.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES.
The following, which we take from
several of the western papers, will give
an idea of what is in contemplation and
in progress, in that growing quarter of
the Union, for the promotion of agricul-
tural instruction. Could a better use be
made of a portion of the public lands than
by encouraging such enterprises ?

Michigan. — It seems that the example
of Michigan in founding the first Agri-
cultural College on our side of the At-
lantic, is deemed worthy of emulation.
We give below sundry extracts showing
that several other States are earnestly

engaged in establishing institutions of
the kind. They seem to be regarded as
a necessity of the age, destined tf) supply
a great desideratum in the otherwise ad-
mirable educational systems of many of
the States.

Our own Institution has succeeded
educationally beyond the expectation of
its most sanguine friends, in spite of the
severest tests, and those inevitable obsta-
cles incident to all new and important
enterprises.

The next term commences on the first
Wednesday of April, and we understand
that applications are on file already-, for
four times as many vacancies as will
exist, many of them from other States.
The public confidence seems firmly es-
tablished in its triumphant success.

In addition to the States mentioned
below, we notice that Maryland has
during the past winter actually organized
an Agricultuial College and established
it upon the estate of Mr. Calvert, near
Washington. It is the joint work of the
State and individuals.

Iowa Agricultural College. — We
last week gave a brief synopsis of the
establishment of an Agricultural College
in Maryland. In another column will
be found a notice of the Bill establishing
a similar institution, on a comprehensive
plan in Wisconsin. We have now re-
ceived a Bill reported to the House of
Representatives of Iowa, designing to es-
tablish a similar institution in that young
and vigorous State.

The Bill in question establishes a State
Board of Agriculture and a State College,
and affiHates them closely. At the same
time it contemplates a paternal charge
over the genei-al agricultural interests of
the State. It authorizes the purchase
of a tract of Land, the erection of build-
ings, the election of Professors, under
I^roper restrictions and limitations. The
Bill, in its general features, resembles
the Act of Organization of our own Col-
lege. In this case, as in the case of
Wisconsin, the founders and promoters
■ of the College, look with great satihfac-
tion and solicitude to our own pioneer
institution in Michigan, and its educa-
tional success thus fax-. No legislation
nor act of Michigan, has ever elevated
the State so highly in the opinion of her
sister States, as the bold sagacity mani-
fested in the establishment of her Agri-
cultural College. The probability, in-
deed the certainty, seems to be establish-

MECHANICAL

ed, that our own will be the harbinger
of otiier institutions of the kind in nearly
every State in the Union. — Laming Re-
puiliean.

Wisconsin Aoricii.tl'ral Collkp.e. —
A Committee of the Senate in Wisconsin
have reported a Bill for the estal)lish-
ment of an Agricultural College in that
State. It adopts the main features of
the Act creating the Michigan Agricul-
tural College, a rare compliment to our
State.

It is proposed, however, to do what
Michigan did not do, endow the Institu-
tion ])ermanently at once, with a fund
to he created from 20 per cent, of the
proceeds of the Swamp Lands. The
interest of the fund so created is to be
forever appropriated to making Tuition
Jree in the College.

Labor and study are to be indissolu-
bly united in the Institution, and the
student is to be educated physically as
well as mentally. •

As soon as $40,000 is subscribed and
received by individuals, the same sym
is to be supplied ft'om the Treasury for
the immediate purchase of a farm, erec-
tion of buildings, &c. We learn that
the citizens of two or three localities ten-
der in advance the subscriptions of $4-0,-
OUO, provided. the institution can be lo-
cated among them. — Detroit Tribune.

Kentucka' for Agricultural Colle-
(;bs. — The Board of Directoi s of the State
Agricultural Society of Kentucky re-
cently adopted the following Preamble
and Resolutions :

Whereas, A bill has been introduced
into the Congress of the United States,
appropriating a portion of the National
domain for the endowment of a school
in each State of the Union, for the edu-
cation of farmers and mechanics — there-
fore, as the sense of this Board,

RiHitlred, That the Kentucky Agricul-
tural vSociety, and the Farmers and Me-
chanics of Kentucky, do mo.st cordially
approve of .said measure so far as it is
known to them without distinction of
l»arty jis to national politics ; and that
our Senators and Representatives in
Congress are requested to use all rea-
sonable and honorable elforts to promote
its passage.

Onio Aouicui.TURAL CoLLEP.E. — The
iJill which Mr. Raymond has introduced,
pursuant to the views of (iov. Chase as
contained in his Annual Message, pro-

vides for the purchase of a thousand
acres of land in one body, at no more
than $2.5 an aci'e, and appropriates $50,-
000 for tliat purpose, and for the erec-
tion of buildings, purchase of furniture,
apparatus and library. The College to
be under the supervision of the State
School Connnissioner and State lioard
of Agriculture. The cour.se of instruc-
tion to include a thorough English
course, Mathematics, Natuial Philoso-
ph}'. Chemistry, Botany, Animal and
^'egetable Anatomy and Pliysiology,
Geology, Mineralogy, Meteorology, En-
tomology, Veterinary Art, Horticulture,
Political Economy, Civil Engineering,
Book-Keeping, and the Mechanic Arts
directly connected with Agriculture.
The sum paid to Professors the tirst year
shall not be more than $.5,000, the rent
$6,000, and any year thereafter such
sum as the Board of Supervision shall
deem necessary. Tuition in the College
shall be forever free to pupils residing
in Ohio, and in case more pupils a[)ply
than can be accommodated, they shall
be apportioned to each county, accord-
ing to the ratio of its population. — Tole-
do (0.) Blade.

ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL IM-
PROVEMENTS.

TnE New-York Tribune alludes to
several improved machines and processes
recently produced in England. One, b}-
Alfred Newton, relates to the cultivation
of land by spades, operated by locomo-
tive power as the machine progresses in
the Held. It breaks up, disintegrates
and turns over the sward more thor-
oughly than can be done by the plow.
A series of spades is made to enter the
land in succession, and cut it into the
arc of a circle, when the cut slices are
suddenly thrown up again.st a shield
plate, at once reversing them and break-
ing them almost into powder. 'I'his ma-
chine is only a new form of .steam plow,
at which English mechanics are still try-
ing with unabated activity. Mr. John
Fowler has al.'jo invented an improve-
ment in the mode of operatit g the ordi-
nary ste;im plow, which greatly simpli-
fies its niovement.s, and enables it to
travel through the furrow with more
certainty and freedom. Mr. AVilliam
Dray, of London, has patented an im-
provement in plows, which applies to
such plows as are provided with a share
in the ' form of a pointed bar, and con-

304

MEGHAN" ICAL.

sists in the means of securing the bar in
its position, after being pushed forward,
as may be from time to time required by
the wearing away of the point thereof.
The patentee claims the construction of
plows which are provided with movable
share bars, in such a manner that the
bars can be tightened or slackened by
means of an eccentric roller or collar.
Mr. Robert Reeves, of Wiltshire, has pa-
tented a cart body for the purpose of de-
livering manure over a field, without re-
quiring it to be thrown out by hand.
The bottom of the cart is supplied with
longitudinal openings, in which re-
volves drags or blades attached to an ax-
is under the body. As the cart moves,
these drags pull down the manure in a
condition of complete pulverization.

ACTIVITY AMONG INVENTORS.

During the week ending April 10th,
says the Scientific American^ there were
filed in the Patent Office thiety-two ap-
plications for patents from this office
alone, exclusive of a number filed by the
branch office of Munn & Co., located in
Washington. For the same week there
were issued at the Patent Office twenty-
four patents to parties whose cases were
prepared at this office and conducted
through the Scientific American Patent
Agency.

The above statistics for a single week
shows that the inventors throughout cm-
land are not slumbering.

ARCHITECTURAL DECORATIONS.

The ordinary house decorations that
usually have any connection with their
architectural proportions are, if not of
the same material as the front of the
house itself, generally made of plaster or
stucco. When the house is new, these
answer very well, and after a short time
look in keeping with the whole ; but it
does not take long for the weather to
cause them to crack, then little bits
break off, and finally the whole crumbles
away. A new material has been intro-
duced to supply the place of these friable
plasters and stuccoes, which is easily
molded and can be cast into any pattern ;
it is basalt. There are works in Bir-
mingham, Eng., where architectural de-
corations are cast from it in hot molds.
The products are very firm and beauti-
ful, and are represented as possessing
characteristics of great durability.

When cast in cold molds, a glassy lava
termed obsidian is produced. The ma-
terial generally employed is the rag,
stone of the neighborhood, but furnaces
are in operation for the reduction of
quartz by direct fusion according to a
peculiar process, in which the pulverized
quartz is mixed with flour spar, lime,
and oxyd of iron, which agents combine
with the silica and render the whole per-
fectly fluid.

ANOTHER AMERICAN TELE-
GRAPH.

There is a project on foot at St,
Petersburg for establishing a strictly
overland telegraphic company with North
America. The plan has been presented
to the government by a Belgian engineer,
and consists in carrying a telegraphic
line by Siberia, and to establish a sub-
marine communication between Capes
East and Prince of Wales, then to join
the line to those of the United States
through the territories of Russia and
England. — Scientific American.

^W° An alchemist, who knew that
Leo the Tenth was a great encourager
of the arts and sciences, addressed him.
on a discovery he had made of turning
other metals into gold. The Pope read
his address with great attention. Whilst
the philosopher was gaping after his re-
muneration from his holiness, he re-
ceived from the Pope a very large empty
purse, with these words, "You can fill
it."

1^^ Eggs by Weight. — Many of our
people are in favor of the sale of eggs by
weight. We saw an experiment made
this forenoon by one of our grocers, who
had just received a fresh lot, that con-
verted us. He first selected a dozen of
the large sized and placed them in one
scale ; and then put twenty-one of the
smaller sized in the opposite ; to balance
them. The customer chose the dozen
paying the price that was asked for the
twenty-one. — Lowell News.

£^" Six barks are now preparing at
Chicago to make voyages to Liverpool.
Last year one — and the first — made this
voyage, and seemingly with success, or
others would not be induced to follow
the example this year.

MISCELLANEOUS.

305

i J5 1 e U a n u 0 w s .

COAL ASHES FOR POTATOES.

1^^ A SUCCESSFUL gardener in Nor-
wich, Ct, last year planted half an acre
of potatoes, partly with bad seed, very
much decayed, on land where potatoes
had rotted for several years before. He
put a large handful of anthracite coal
ashes into each hill. The crop was
large and perfectly sound. All around
him potatoes rotted badly. These are
the facts.

Our comment is, that the ashes saved
the potatoes. But coal ashes are not
unique in their composition, neither are
the causes of the disease always pre-
cisely the same ; and hence^although
the above statements are undoubtedly
accurate, yet we would not infer that
coal ashes will always prevent the dis-
ease.

The experiment, however, is well
worth repeating by all who have coal
ashes on hand. — Ed.

CURE FOR DRUNKENNESS.

" The best cure for drunkenness that
we can recommend is total abstinence
from all intoxicating drinks. Where
the unfoitunate victim docs not possess
the necessary firmt>ess to resist the
temptation of the intoxicating draught,
we would recommend those interested
in his fate to first employ those delicate
means which are di^taed by the spirit
of Christianity, to bring him to a proper
sense of liis condition, before resoning
to the forcible ones too often attempted.
Instead of trampling upon him, strive
to nurse into life the still glimmering
embers of a nearly exhausted virtue.
Think of him as a being whose frame is
still capable of being agitated by feelings
the most rtfmed, delicate and inteilect-
uai, and endeavor to inspire in him a
desire for those virtuous joys which he
experienced before he became a victim
to this terrible habit. "

So says a much-valued contemporary,
and we believe every word of ,it. A
kind and Christian spirit that, most
20

truly. But virtue that will not with-
stand temptation, is no virtue ; and the
drunkard should be made to feel, not
when he is drunk, but in his sober mo-
ments, that it is a terrible sin, and not
merely a sad misfortune, to be a drunk-
ard, agaiftst God, again.st himself, against
his family, and against the whole world.
—Ed.

THE ENGLISHMAN'S SNUFF-BOX.

The French papers have not, under
the influence of the alliance, ceased to
have their jokes upon Englishmen, and
une of the drollest is told as follows, by
the ,Ui4on Bretonne, from which we
translate it:

Lord C, well known for his eccentri-
cities, went lately to the establishment
of one of our most celebrated workers in
fancy articles.

" I want you to make me," said he,
" a snuff-box with a view of my chateau
on the lid."

" It is very easily done," was the re-
ply, *' if my lord will furnish me with
the design."

" I will ; but I want also, at the en-
trance of my chateau, a niche in which
there shall be a dog."

" That, too, shall be provided," an-
swered the woikman.

"But I want, also, that some means
should be contrived by which, as soon
as any one looks at the dog, he shall go
back into the niche, and only reappear
when he is no longer looked at."

The workman looked inquiringly, as
if to ascertain whether his customer was
not the victim of some mystitication.
Reassured by his examination, and like
a clever man, undei standing how to take
advantage of the affair, he said to the
Englishman :

" What you ask of me is very hard to
comj)ly with ; such a snuff-box will be
very expensive ; it will cost you a thou-
sand crowns."

'* Very well ; I will pay you a thou-
sand crowns."

"Then, my lord, it shall be made ac-
cording to your wishes, and in a month
I shall have the honor of delivei ing it to
you."

806

MISCELLANEOUS.

A month later the workman present-
ed himself to lord C.

" My lord," said he, " here is your
snufF-box."

Lord C. took it, examined it, and said,
" That is my chateau with its turrets,
and there is the niche by the door-way.
But I see no dog."

" Did not your lordship," said the
workman, " say that you wished the
do2; to disappear when he was looked
at?"

" I did," replied his lordship.

"And that he should re appear when
he was no longer looked at?"

" That is true, also," was the reply.

" Well," said the workman, " you are
looking at it, and the dog has gone into
the nirhe. Pcit the box in your pocket,
and the dog wdl re-appear immediati-ly."

Lord C. reflected a nioment, and then
exclaimed, " All right, all right." He
put the box in his pocket, and took out
of his pocket-book three bank bills of a
thousand francs each, and handed them
to the skillful workman.

Those who lose have to pay over money
first earned by some one honestly and
industriously, money that those who
squander had no right thus to appropriate.
How many a family, brought up in afflu-
ence and with large expectations, has been
reduced to beggary by these reasons, let
each English race-course declare. Indeed,
the best families everywhere, having a
mind to maintain their position and wealth,
are learning increasingly to avoid the dan-
gers of the race-course and its belting. —
Philadelphia Ledger.

MICE

HORSE RACING.

We are convinced that the whole system
of racing for lieavy bets is quite unne-
cessary to keep up high breeding in horses
among an enterprising and industrious peo-
ple like our own, while it is even rather
prejudicial to the keeping up of hardihood
and bottom, and ten times more injurious,
mor.ally, to all immediately engaged in it.

We say nothing of cruelty to the horses
engaged, and danger to the men, as the
race-course, last year and this, botii exhib-
ited. This, however, causes horse racing
to differ much from boat racing. But we
speak particularly of the gross and whole-
eale systems of betting vast sums, common
on such occasions, leading to frauds and
defalcations to an inmiense amount.

It may indeed be said, that for the pro-
pi'ietor of a horse to have a large interest
at stake on his success, makes it worth his
while to produce the higlusfc possible
epeod. But what can be said in regard to
the mere spectators betting amongst each
other? Eich one, if he wiiF, obtains
money without having performed any cor-
responding benefit to society. Such
money, because it comes easily, goes easily ;
and habits of waste and ]>rofligacy are in-
troduced ; and men are educated to seek for
money, and find it most readily, not by in-
dustry and economy, which are the true
fouudations of national prosperity, but by
low cunning, idling and chance. Their
money is usually lost much in the same way
in which it is made.

A GOOD trap? That soon ceases to be
of much effect. Cats ? There are a nui-
sance in themselves, unless where train-
ed as pets. Poison ? That is danger-
ous.

Listen a minute, and I will tell you a
plan of a very simple T>atnre, which ex-
perience teaches me is efficient. On en-
tering th* house the writer now occu-
pies— a rather old one, as it was built in
the rei^n of James II — the floors and
shelves exhibited the usual proofs to eye
and nose that they were a haunt of large
numbers of mice. It seemed hopeless to
trust to the ordinary remedies. Think-
ing over what else mi-iht be done, I be-
thought me that, if it could be made not
worth their while to remain, the mice
would be sensible enough to desert the
house for better quarters. It was re-
solved, therefore, to act upon the princi-
pal, tliMt prevention is better than cure.
The reader must excuse a somewhat mi-
nute detail on a domestic subject of no
small importance.

We chanced to have a thoroughly
clean and r;iiher reasonable cook at the
time, who though fond enough of her
own way in most other things, did me
the favor to let me have mine in this af-
fair, and to carry out my plan with the
greatest strictness and fidelity. On that
very evening, after the last meal at night,
every crumb of bread was carefully swept
from the tab'e, dresser, and kitchen
floor, and the sink was carefully sluiced
and clensed from all culinary debris.
The sweepings were thrown, not into the
dirt heap, but int'> the kitchen fire, so as
to secure their pei feet destruction. This
was done regularly every night ; and of
course the mice soon found out that there
was nothing for them to eat, excepting
a trifling morsel of cheese in a common
trap, by which a few were caught. In
about a fortnight, one weakly mouse was

MISCELLANEOUS

807

caught by the hand ; but from that time
to the present — about a year and a
half — not a trace of a mouse has been
visible, tliouj^h they have been heard
runnin^behiiul the wainscotting in some
parts of the house. No trouble has been
t;iken t> stop up the mouseholes, which
remain as at first; not a single cat has
been known to enter the house, and no
dog has been ke()t. It is evident that
what is carelessly left on the floor, &e., of
mealrooms, constitutes the chief support
of mice ; and if the trouble were taken
to deprive them of this, they wrould soon
be so far reduced in numbers as to be
rarely seen or heard. Every occupant
of a house, miizhr, at all events, in this
way compel the mice to migiate to Ins
less cleanly an<l less pains-taking neigh-
bors ; and if the custom of removing
ever}' particle of food every evening,
were established in all houses, as it might
very easdv be, the propagation of these
troublesome little animids t\ould nearly
cease in large towns ; at all events those
which did exist would confine them-
selves to tlieir proper hablta's, the drains
and sewers. An unlooked for additional
benefit, moreover, of a similar kind, was
the tes(dt of tliis practice, which may
possibly be men'ioned on another occa-
sion.— Chi/libers' Journal.

THE WAY TO COMMENCE.

The folliiw ng is the testimony of a
distinguished and very wealthy mer-
chant of this city, of how to commence
making a fortime and how to push along:

" I entereil a store and asked if a clerk
was net wanted. ' No,' in a rough tone
whs the reply — all being too busy to
bother with me — when I reflected if they
did not want a clerk they might a la-
borer, but as I wo-s dr.ssed too fine for
that, I went to my lodgings, put on a
rough garb, and the next day went into
the same store, and demanded if they
did not want a po'ter, and again ' no,'
was the respons.- ; when I exclaimed in
despair almost, ' not a laborer V Sir, I
will work at any wages — wag<>s is not
mv object — I must have employment,
and I want to be useful in husiness.'
These last 'emaiks attrac;ted their atten-
tion, an<l, in the end, I was employed as
a laborer, in the basement and sub-
celijir, at a very low pny, scarcely enough
to keep body and sou! together. In the
b:tseinent and sub-cellar [ soon attracted
the atteniioi! of the counting room ; and

of the high clerk. I saved enough for
my em|)loyers in little things wasted, to
pay my wages ten times nvcr, and they
soon found it out. I did not let any-
body connnit pettj' larcenies without re-
monstrances and threats of exposure,
and rcjil exposure if remonstrances
would not do. I did not ask for any ten
hour law. If I was wanted at 'S A. M.,
I was there, and cheerfully there ; or if
I was kept till 3 A. M., I never growled,
but told everybodj', 'go homesind I will
see everything right' I loaded off at
daybreak, packages for the morning
boats, or carried them myself In short
I soon became indispensable to my em-
ployers, and I rose and rose — and rose
till I became head of the hou,-e, with
money enough, as you see, to give me
any luxuty, or any position a mt-rcjintile
man may desire for himself or children
in this great city."

TOMATOES FOR WINTER USE.

Dear Farmer : — We are now enjoying
the luxury of table tomatoes, as fresh as
when first prepared, and at verj^ little
expense. We prepared one bushel of
ripe fruit by removing the skins and
cooking, seasoning only with salt and a
very little sugar. They were cooked
till thoioughly done — rather thicker
than for immedi.ite use, having been
stirred with care to prevent scorching,
and poured, boiling, into common stone
jugs, and sealed whde hot. We u.sed
grafting wax. One jug was not quite
full, and we feared it might not keep
well, but on opening it a few days since,
we found it covered with a white coat-
ing, resembling mother in vinegar, but
entirely sweet, as were also the toma-
toes.

The first gallon was opened the day
before Christmas, and remained, only
corked, in a cool dry cellar, kec])ing good
till the first of Febi uary.

When wanted for the table, add but-
ter, pepper, etc. ; and scald. We were
careful to use only sound fruit, scalding
it just enough to separate the skin,
(which is best done by keeping the water
boiling and dropping in four or five at
once and skimming out immediately)
which may influence their keeping.

1 send you this imw that all lovers of
this fruit may prepare for the coming
winter by planting abundantl}'. I as-
sure you that we shall not make one
gallon last us more than a month another

SOS

MISCELLANEOUS,

winter, if we can get the tomatoes to
make up.

Spiced Tomatoes are also nice. Pre-
pare as above, and throw into boiling
vinegar and sugar (at the rate of four
pounds of sugar to one gallon of vine-
gar) without cutting, cooking till re-
duced to the desired consistency, and
kept in jars, or better in large mouthed
jugs (as they will not cook to pieces)
and sealed. Season to the taste by en-
closing ground spices in a cloth and boil-
ing with the fruit.

VV^e have them as good as if used at
first, saved fir pickles, green or nearly
so, (not having tried ripe ones,) by put-
ting them up late, in water with only
salt enough to season them, sny three
pints to the barrel ; if much salt is used
the seeds harden and they are not good.
When required for use you have only to
prepare them as in the fall when they
i-ome from the salt water. Do not fail
to put out plants.

Mrs. E. p. F. Bkadner,
in Mich. Far.

Redford, March, 1858.

A MICROSCOPIC WONDER.
The mold on decayed fruit, stale bread,
moist wood, etc., is shown by the mirros-
cope to be plants, bearing leaves, flowers,
and seeds, and increasing with incredible
rapidity, for in a few hours the seeds
spring up, arrive at maturity, and bring
forth seeds themselves, so that many
generations are perfected in a day, —
Scieutijic American.

J^^ We know a man so mean that
he won't draw his breath for fear that he
will loose the interest.

31^" Mrs. Twaddle says one of her
children don't know nothing and the
other one does. The question now is,
which boy is ahead. Answers may be
forvrarded till the mail closes.

K^" One of the Western editors,
speaking of a large and fat cotemporary,
remarked thnt if all tlesh was grass, he
must be a load of hay. " I suspect I
am," said the fat man, "from the way
the asses are nibbling at me !"

|cp=° If a man empty his purse into
his' head nobody can take it from him.
An investment in knowledge always
pays the best interest.

SMALL THINGS.

A TRAVELER through a dusty road,

Strewed acorns on the lea,
And one took root and sprouted up,

And grew into a tree,
love sought its shade at evening time,

To breathe its early vows ;
And age was pleaded, in heats of noon.

To bask beneath its boughs.
The dormouse loved its dangling twig,

The birds sweet music bore ;
It stood a glory in its place,

A blessing evermore.

A little spring had lost its way

Amid the grass and fern,
A passing stranger scooped a well.

Where weary men might turn ;
He walled it in, and hung with care

A ladle at the brink —
He thought not of the deed he did,

But judged that toil might drink.
He passed again — and lo ! the well,

By summers never dried,
Had cooled ten thousand parching tongues,

And saved a life beside !

A dreamer dropped a random thought,

Twas old, and yet 'twas new —
A simple fancy of the brain,

But strong, in being true ;
It shone upon a genial mind.

And, lo ! its light became
A lamp of life, a beacon ray,

A monitory flame.
The thought was small— its issues great,

A watch-fire on a hill ;
It f beds its radiance far adown.

And cheers the valley Btill.

A nameless man, amid a crowd

That thronged the daily mart,
Let fall a word of hope and love.

Unstudied from the heart ;
A whisper on the tumult thrown —

A transitory breath —
It raised a brother from the dust.

It saved a soul from death.
0 germ ! 0 fount I 0 word of love ;

0 thought at random cast I
Ye were bat little at the first,

But mighty at the last.

2^=° The housewife who has fruit in
her cellar and neglects to place it on her
table, neglects the health of her family,
and undervalues one of the richest orna-
ments for table garniture in her posses-
sion.

1^" A FARMER said to a barber that
he ought to reduce his prices now that
corn is cheap. " No, siree," replied the
shaver, "for when corn is low, farmers
make such long faces that I have twice
the ground to go over."

MISCELLANEOUS,

3fi9

A BIG STORY, BUT TQUE.

Jason Clapp, a carriage maker, a farm-
er and a gentleman in the ej'es of all who
know him, in Pittsfiekl, Berkshire Co.,
Mass., weighed four tons of well made
hay, of the very best quality, every ton
worth a ton and a quarter of medium
hay, from one acre of reclaimed swamp,
heavily dressed with horse manure ; and
he has grown crops approaching this in
value, every year for nearly a quarter of
a century, on that acre.

We do not think much of big stories
but know this to be true ; and it is only
one of many that go to show that our
filthy swamp holes may be reclaimed,
with much advantage to the health of the
people living near them, and with pay-
ing results.

A YOUNG lady in one of the leading
circles at Washington was compliment-
ed by a gentleman on the simplicity and
good taste of her dress at an evening
party. She replied, " I am glad you
like my dress ; it cost just seven dollars,
and I made every stitch myself." When
young ladies pride themselves upon the
cheapness of their attire, instead of ex-
pensiveness, we shall have fewer " brok-
en" fathers and husbands, — Colorado
Citizen.

That is the right sort of a young lady.
Where are the young men ? There is a
chance. — Ed.

Charles Lamb is reported to
have said : " The water cure is neither
old or wonderful ; for its only as old as
the deluge, which, in my opinion, killed
more than it cured."

Rather severe. The water treatment
kills more than it cures only when not
administered with care and great good
judgment.

^^ Senator Hammond, of South
Carolina, has, it is said, one of the largest
landed estates in the South, his farm
comprising over 11,000 acres.

(^f° A MERCHANT lately advertised
for a clerk " who could bear confine-
ment," He received an answer from one
who had been seven ycai s in jail.

Leakning and Unlearning. — At five
years of age the father begins to rub the
mother out of his child ; at ten the
schoolmaster rubs out the father ; at
twenty a trade or profession rubs out
the schoolmaster; at twenty-five the
world rubs out all its predecessors and
gives a new education till we are old
enough and wise enough to take reason
and religion for our pastors, when we
employ the rest of our lives unlearning
what we have previously learned.

An old lady combated the idea of the
moon being inhabited by remaiking,
with emphasis, that the idea was incre-
dible, " For," said she, " what becomes
of the people in the moon when there is
nothing left of it but a little streak V"

Arab Proverbs. — If your friend is
made of honey do not eat him all up. If
you ti-avel through the country of the
blind, be blind yourself When you are
the anvil have patience ; when you are
the hammer, strike straight and well.
He who can not take a hint, can not com-
prehend a long explanation. Take
counsel of one greater and one less than
yourself, and afterward form your own
opinion.

1^° A STiRCTLY orthodox old gentle-
man in Massachusetts, returned home
on Sunday afternoon from church, and
and began to extol to his son the merits
of the sermon.

" I have heard, Frank," said he, *' one
of the most delightful sermons ever de-
livered before a Christian society. It
carried me to the gates of heaven."

"Well, I think:" said Frank, ")'ou
had better dodged in, for you will never
get another such a chance."

^^ A PRETTY woman pleases the eye ;
a good woman pleases the heart. The
one is a jewel, the other a treasure.

1^* Ctke for Polygamy. — Punch
says that President Buchanan need not
throw away powder and shot ujion the
Mormons. Let him send them fashion
books. The necessity of crinoline will
destroy polygamy. It will render Brig-
ham Young himself unable to support
more wives than onj.

810

CHILDREN'S CORNER

'InlhTii's (Corner.

i^M^&m

W)

Above is represented a position into
which we would advise children to put
themselves as often as they have oppor-
tunity— out of doors, with some one who
has learned more than they yet have,
though not as much perhaps as they
will, but who is now in advance of them
and can teach them something they did
not know before.

May is a fine month to be out in the
open air, to absorb the genial influences
of the sun without being scorched by
his too fiery beams, and to observe the
operations of nature. Nature is an ever
present teacher ; but children will com-
prehend her lessons more readily if they
have some one to direct their observa-
tions. The girls even should be out this
month, and their mothers should some-
times go abroad with them. But look
below. What a fine employment for
boys. If the girls work a little in the
garden it would do them good. If their
mamas fear it would make their hands
too large and coarse, we think that an
idle fear. But never disobey your mo-
ther, even if she should forbid you to
handle a light hoe and spade, or a trowel,
to dig about the flowers. But here are
some boys and they are well employed.

It would be well if every boy in the
country knew the use of farm and gar-

den tools. If they should go to college
by-and-by and learn to be great men,
would it do them any harm to know first
a good <leal about farming and garden-
ing ? Not a bit. If they were to be
Clays, Calhouns and Websters, it would
do them no harm, but, on the contrary,
much good to be so trained, as to know
how work should be done and to be able
to do it.

Nothing so contributes to the great
end of education — a sound body and a
sound mind, as farm and garden work in
early life, to be continued at intervals,
till the mind is severed from the body

CHILDREN'S CORNER

311

and soars above all weights and hin-
drances.

Next after work in the open air, those
thousand and one plays which boys love
to engage in are best adapted to expand
the chest and develop the muscles.
Boys love to be useful, to aid their pa-
rents, to do something which benefits
some one besides themselves, and for
which they feel that they deserve appro-
bation. That is right. There is not a
purer, noliler pleasure tlian that of doing
good, of feeling that we are of some con-
sequence, are benefitting somebody.

But then there are times when boys,
and men too, must have their relaxa-
tions. Especially should boys have
them ; and all kind parents love to sec
their children enjoying themselves in
some innocent sport. Well they maj^ ;
for in one-half hour's play, such as is
going on above, the lungs are filled a
thousand times; the blood is purified
by the inhaled oxygen and the exhaled
carbon better than by all the quack me-

dicines recommended for that purpose ;
every muscle is brought into exercise.
In short, those boys are nature's jjupila
just now. They are practising the les-
sons she distates. They will be men
sooner, and probably better men for
what they are now doing.

The children, listening to instruction
above, are doing well, and the man there
looks as if he wanted to give them a
good thought. Tlie boys with spade and
rake in hand are doing well. We advise
all boys t9 use such implements. But
the other boys in the last cut are doing
quite as well as any, provided they have
done their more important duties first,
and are now playing innocentlj' and hon-
estly (fair in their counts) with each
other.

An Arkansas Father's Advice to
HIS Son. — "Bob, you are about leaving
home for strange parts. You are going
to throw me out of the game and go it
alone. The odds are against you ; but
remember always th:it industry jukI per-
severance are the winning cards. Bonk
larnin' and all that sort of thing will do
well to fill up with, like small trumps,
but you must have the bowers to back
'em, or they ain't worth shucks. If
luck runs agin you pretty strong, don't
cave in, and look like a sick chicken on
a rainy day, but hold your head up and
make believe that you are flush of
trumps. They won't play so hard agin
you. I've lived and traveled around
some, Bob, and I've found that as soon
as folks thought you held a weak hand,
they'd all buck agin you strong. So
when you are sorter weak, keep on a
bold front, but play cautious. * * * And
above all. Bob, be honest ; never take a
man's trick wot don't belong to you,
nor clip cards, nor nig, for then you
can't look your man in the face, and
when that's the case there's no fun in
the game ; it's regular ' cut throat.'

" So now, Bob, farewell : remeniber
wot I tell you, and you'll be sure to w in,
and if 3-ou don't, sarves you riglit to get
'skunked.'"

A YouNo thief charged with
picking pockets, protested tiiat he didn't
])ick 'em at all, but took them just a.s
they came.

812

EDITOR'S TABLE

fiiditors ^'Mt

Life of George Stephenson, Railway
Engineer, by Samuel Smiles, from the
Fourth London Edition. Boston : Tick-
nor & Fields. 1858. 486 pp., 12mo.

This is a beautifully executed book,
with a beautiful portrait of its subject.
Its chief excellence consists in two
things. First, it affords an admirable
history of railroad building and manage-
ment in England, made interesting from
beginning to end by the living, acting
presence of the hero of the narrative.
In the second place it presents a rematk-
able instance of what a young man,
without early instruction, with no pow-
erful friends to lift him, in a country
where it is more diflBcult to emerge from
a low to a high position than in ours,
can do for himself by the unaided ener-
gies of his own mind and will. We
wish every young man in our country
would read it, review it, ponder upon it,
and consider what sort of a man it is
possible he may become, if true to him-
self. Why, young man, it would do you
more good to read this one book, than to
read colunms of love stories, got up by
the penny-a-liners, long enough to reach
round the globe.

Ran Away to Sea, an Autobiography
for Boys, by Captain Mayne Reid, au-
thor of " The Desert Home," " Boy Hun-
ters," etc., etc. Ticknor & Fields, Bos-
ton, pp. 359.

This runaway boy had a prodigious
hard time, and would have given every-
thing to get back again, and so we ad-
vise boys, who have a good home, not
to run away ; but after almost intolera-
ble sufferings, he became a pretty de-
cent man ; and so we advise parents,
who have a boy that is fool enough to
run away to sea, not to be entirely dis-
consolate, as he may see his folly, and
behave better. The book is interesting.
So says our clerk, who has read it. We

can not afford time to read such, but
from casting an eye over its table of con-
tents, we suppose it to be one of those true
stories, concocted to suit the times, with
a good moral of course ; but we would
much rather our own sons would read
the book noticed before it.

Andromeda, and other Poems ; by
Charles Kingsley, author of "Amyas
Leigh," " Two Years Ago," etc., etc.

This is the old story of the beautiful
Andromeda, chained to the rock, and
about to be swallowed by a huge sea
monster, but delivered by the hero Per-
seus, done up in a sort of long lined poe-
try, and pretty well interlarded with
Homeric epithets, such as long-haired,*
fair-eyed. Aegis - wielding, far - fjimed,
ivory limbed, and the like. We judge
the author a pretty good poet ; but he
does not wield his epithets with quite as
much ease and grace as blind old Homer
did. Our language is not as well adapt-
ed to poetry as the Greek. The world,
we think, has never seen a poet equal to
Homer, and we reckon it never will.
Mr. Kingsley's book contains 111 pages,
and would be a tolerable desert after a
light dmner, or better, after a cup of
Oolong at sun-set, for one who wished
to revive a nearly forgotten acquaintance
with Grecian Mythology.

Transactions of the New- York Statk
Agricultural Society for 1856.

We are indebted for this valuable doc-
ument to B. P. Johnson, Esq., Secretary
of the Society, and an indefatigable
worker in its cause. It is smaller than
some of its predecessors, more select,
and is a truly valuable work.

Agriculture of Massachusetts, by
C. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Massa-
chusetts Board of Agriculture.

This work also is smaller than its pre-

EDITOR'S TABLE

81S

deccssors, more select, and therefore bet-
ter. It is all that could be expected of
the gentleman above named, and that is
as much as to say it is good. We be-
lieve no State has yet beat the old Bay
State in the value of agricultural docu-
ments for the people.

Report of the United States Coast
SuRVKY. Prof. A. D. Bache, Superinten-
dent.

Ill a national point of view, one can
not doubt that these accurate, scientific,
recorded surveys are of very great im-
port;ince and value. For the present
volume, a large quarto, with abundant
engravings, our thanks are due to Super-
intendentBache. It is published in bet-
ter style than is usual at our national
capital ; and we can not but hope that, at
Washington where so much is paid for
printmg, the art of printing will ere long
be learned.

Transactions of the Michigan State
Agkicdltural Society.

We are indebted to J. C. Holmes, Se-
cretary, for this volume.

It contains a large amount of valuable
matter, and is executed in a style highly
creditable to that young Stjxte.

A single remark with regard to these
annuals. Are they not still too large ?
The State treasury, we believe, usually
pays for the printing, and that is well.
Nobody should complain of a tax that
serves to develop agricultural resources,
because it puts into the treasury ten
times more than it takes out. But it is
never good economy to publish what is
not worth publishing. There is no good
in making an ass of the State or national
treasury, to carry needlessly heavy loads.
We have thought that an annual volume
of three or four hundred pages, prepared
by men who have the talent for conden-
sation, might benefit the people as much
as one of six or eight hundred pagrs,
le.ss pruned and condensed, and we
throw out these remarks for those espe-
cially concerned in compiling them. If
much is gained by letting in some wri-

ters, as much may be saved, in paper
and ink, by shutting out otlicrs.

If it should be said that our sugges-
tions would shut out the formers, the
very men who have the richest experi-
ence to tell, we deny it. Farmers a^re
more apt to be strong handed, than long
winded. They are generally reluctant
to write, but when they can be persuaded
to undertake it, come to the point quick-
ly. According to our notion^ they would
be more likely to find a place than any
other.

It is with no ordinary emotions that
we give place to the following too brief
tribute to the worth of an old acquaint-
ance, a good man and an intelligent
fi-iend of agriculture and of humanity ; —
Essex Co., Mass., March 20, 1858.

Friend Nash: — We have lately lost
by death one of our most reliable farm-
ers in Massachusetts. Col. Moses Newell
died at his residence in AVest Newbury
at the age of 03 years. He and his sis-
ters inherited from their father about
300 acres of the best land in the county
of Essex, situated on the southerly bank
of the river Merrimack. For nearly 40
years he was a member of the Board of
Trustees of the Essex Society, and for
four years President of the Society. Al-
ways ready with heart and hand to do
all in his power to aid the farmer, his
loss will be severely felt by them — his
physical health giving assurance of ten
y cars more of life and usefulness. When
a man so worth}' is suddenly called
awaj'-, it is proper that his virtues should
be noticed, that others may imitate his
example. Truly yours,

J. W. Pkoctor.

Convention of Agricultural Editors.
— Such a convention we see is proposed,
and we go in for it. The place is not
yet agreed upon, but wc notice a very
gener.il expression of willingness to ac-
connnodate in this matter, and we con-
clude, therefore, it will find a location.
July or August, of the coming summer,

814

EDITOR'S TABLE.

is the time proposed. Great good can
not fail to result from a comparison of
views and a free discussion of the more
important subjects pertaining to this
greatest of all mateiial interests.

'Tall Herds Groin^. — We have before
us a clump of herds grass, grown on the
farm of A. N. Smith, Lenox, Berkshire
Co., Mass., almost too tall to describe,
lest we should get the name of telling
tall stories. We knew long ago that
these Berkshire mountaineers grew the
tallest men, but were not aware till noiv
that they grew the tallest herds grass.
But it is so. The stalks are as tall as a
man six feet high, and the heads are 111,
11, 10, 9, 8 and 7 inches in length.
Who will send us taller herds grass with
longer heads?

Laiotoii Bladiberrxj . — In referring to
the advertisement of Mr. Lawton, it is
proper to meJiiion that plants put out on
or before the 16th of May will give a fine
crop of fruit next year, whereas if plant-
ing is delayed till autumn, a season is
lost. Mu'-h has been said of the supe-
rior qualities of this fruit, and we most
heaitily endorse it all. It is an enor-
mous bearer, and the fruit is large and
sweet. Any soil which will produce
corn is suitable for this plant. A rich
loam, rather heavy, suits it best.

REMARKS ON THE TIMES.
Congress has now been in session five
months. The opponents of the domi-
nent party say it has yet done nothing.
Its friends undoubtedly think it has done
well. It seems to us that neither are
right. An indiscriminate censure of an

HULLED CORN.

The way to make this excellent arti-
cle of food is this : Boil a quart of sound
ripe corn in very strong lye, until the
outer kernel of the grain is removed,
which will be in about eight minutes.
Now wash it in two waters, and cook
until tender, and you have four quarts of
most excellent and nutricious food.

admini>tration by its opponents, and a
predetermined approbation of all its do-
ings by its friends, are alike unfavorable
to the best interests of the country.

A patriotism that lises above party, a
candor to give opponents deserted cieriit,
a fidelity to scan the action of friends,
and do even balanced justice to all, is
what the country wants, what it lacks
now more, we fear, than in the days of
our fathers. We will not speak of mea-
sures or men, for the reason that this
journal is not for such a purpose, and it
shall not be perverted to other than its
legitimate object, so long as we control
its pages.

It is well known to our readers, that
we believe it quite possible for our gov-
ernment, within the legitimate scope of
its powers, with no frightfully high tar-
iff, without much increasing the price of
a single article of consumption, with no
legislation purposely partial, and none
that would ixi its effect opetate injuri-
ously to any, to secure a state of things
in which American wants would be sup-
plied by American hands, and that such
a state of things wculd be favorable to
all the great interests of the countrj^, and
not less so to the farmer than to the me-
chanic.

But between selfish, log - rolling
schemes to gain undue protection on the
one hand, and too much fear, as we must
think, of interfering with the laws of
trade on the other, the great industrial
interests of the country have never yet
obtained a judicious, persistent, reliable
protection and support at the hands of
the government. A consequence has
been overtrading, too much buying and
too little producing, dependence on for-
eign nations and terrible revulsions, such
as the one we are not yet out of

In the great religious revival we cer-
tainly rejoice. Will it be followed by
an increase of honor, truth, fair dealing,
sobriety, moderation of desires for self-
aggrandisement, patriotism, virtue, cher-
ished in the heart and acted out in the

MARKETS

816

life. We hope it will ; and we believe
it will ; and that religion will hereafter
be estimated more by what a man does,
and less by the particular dogmas in
wliich he believes. IJelieve as I do, and
it is not much matter what you do, has
been too much the rule. We hope it
may be less s"» hereafter. It would
seem as if what has transpired the last
few months could not fail to result in
great improvements, religious, moral and
social.

But we shall see. The next few years,
perhaps the next few months, will de-
cide on the value or worthlessness of
great religious excitements, as that ques-
tion was never decided before. A man
must live well in order to be a good
Cliristian, as well as pray well — must be
straight manwards as well as Godwards.
If there .«hall be as much necessity in
this great city to watch men of high pro-
fessions, le^t they cheat you in trade ;
if there shall be as much mad haste to
be rich, heaven willing or unwilling ; if
as resolute efforts to live by wit and not
by work shall continue the order of the
day ; if there shall be as much trading
wildlv, on the principle that if the bold
operator wins the gain is his, if he lo.ses
another bears the loss ; if there shall not
appear more decided integrity, and if
rasca'ity, successful nr unsuccessful, does
not meet a darker frown in the public
mind, and if not put down, at least be
put out of the church, then the revival
will have done little good here, and we
suppose it will be much the same in
other cities and throughout the country.

Never was a greater fallacy than to
6up})ose tliat religion will better a man's
condition hereafter otherwise than in
proportion as it makes him a better man
here.

GENERAL AGRICULTURAL IN-
TELLIGENCE.
New- York, April 22, 1858.

MOSTLY FROM THE N. V. TIMES.

The Wholesale Produce Markets have
fluctuated consideiably during the week.

especially for Breadstuff's, which varied
in price, as the available supplies fell
short of or exceeded the requirements of
buyers. On Tuesday, the European
market news received by the Amgo, fa-
vorably affected Flour and Corn, which
were freely sought after at improved
prices. Yesterday the advanced rates
cbiimed checked the inquiry for export,
and though a fair demand p»evailed for
home use, the tendency of prices was in
favor of bu\ ers. Rye and Barley ruled
heavy, Oats opened briskly and buoy-
antly, but they closed tamely and lan-
guidly.

Cotton has been in good demand and
prici'S close with more firmness. The
week's sales add up n,2fi0 bales. Our
available supply is 02,710 bales, against
81,532 bales, same period last year.
The receipts at all the shipping ports,
to latest dates this season, have been 2,-
597,251 bales, against 2,70G,414 bales to
the corresponding period of last season.
The total export from the United States
so far this .season have been l,7l4r,013
bales, against 1,764,912 bales to the same
(late last season. The total stock on
hand and shipboard in all the shi])ping
ports, at the latest dates, was 605,744
bales, against 473,975 bales at the same
time last year. The stock -.n the inte-
rior towns at the latest dates was 98,139
bales, against 50,180 bales at the corres-
ponding date a year ago.

Bale Hay has arrived freely, and been
in good request at buoyant rates. Loose
Hay has attracted less attention, and has
favored buyers. Salt Hay was scarce
and quiet. We quote : Bale Hay, ordi-
nary to prime, at 50c. to 75c. ; Loose
Hay, poor to very choice, at 60c. to $1,
and Salt Hay at 40c. to 65c. per 100 lbs.
Straw has been more sought after, and
prices have been maintained.

Rice has been moderately dealt in at
unchanged prici-s. In Charleston, last
week, the movements in Rice were as
follows : Receipts 3,081 tcs. clean, and
2i 1,01)0 busliels rough ; the sales include
all the receipts of clean, at from $'■] to
$3 50 per KiO lbs., and 12,000 bushels
rough, at 82c. to 93c. per bushel ; ex-
ports 3,989 tcs., including 2,998 tcs. to
New-Yo>k, and 88 tcs. t<» Boston. Rc-
mainitig on shipboard, not cleaved, April
16, 3,904 tcs. P>cights — to New-York,
75c. to 87ic. per tierce.

The transactions in Tobacco have been
restricted by the small supplies available.

816

MARKETS

Prices have been well sustained. In
Baltiaiore, during the week, Maryland
was quiet. 350 hhds. Ohio changed
hands, at $6 to $10. Kentucky was in-
active. 1,051 hhds. of all kinds were in-
spected. In Louisville, Ky., during the
week ending April 14, 936 hhds. were
sold at somewhat firmer prices. In Cin-
cinnati, a lively inquiry prevailed for
Leaf and Manufactured during the week
ending April 14, at steady rates. In
New-Orleans, during the week ending
April 10, sales were made of 2,400 hhds.,
new crop, closing with Pbmter's lugs at
7|c. to 7^0. ; inferior to common leaf,
7ic. to 8c. ; fair, SJc. to He ; fine, 10c.
to lO^c. ; choice selections, lie. to 12c.
Week's receipts, 3,554 hhds. ; exports,
661 hhds.

Wool has been in rather better request
at essentially unchanged prices. Sales
have been reported of 125,000 lbs. do-
mestic at 28c. to 40c. for common to full
blood fleece, and 24c. to 32c. for super-
fine and extra pulled; with 13,000 lbs.
unwashed California at private bargains ;
1,600 lbs. California at 18c. to 23c. ; and
830 bales foreign, including some Cor-
dova at 17c. per lb., the latter on six
months' credit. In Providence, last
week, sales were made of 19,000 lbs.
fleece at 30c. to 45c., and 11,500 lbs.
pulled at 25c. to 36c. per lb.

Provisions have been quite freely pur-
chased, (including Pork, for future de-
livery,) at improved prices for the lead-
ing articles.

No very important movement can be
noticed in other desciptions of Produce.

NEW-YORK LIVE STOCK MARKET.

Beeves are sold by the estimated dead
weight of the four quarters ; the so-called
" fifth quarter" (hide and tallow) is not
reckoned in here as it is in Boston and
some other cities. When cattle are
weighed or estimated alive, the dead
weight is reckoned at a certain number
of pounds to the 100 lbs. of live weight,
as agreed upon. The general rule in
this market for medium cattle is 56 lbs.
to the 100 ; 44 lbs. being allowed tor the
" fifth quarter" and offal.

The average prices to-day, as compar-
ed with last week, are about Jc. lower.

We quote :

PRICES OF BEEP AT FORTT-FOURTH STREET.

To-day. Last week.

Premium Cattle 103€c.(5),llc. none.

First quality 10c. @,Wyic. 10)^c.((?),llc.

Medium quality 9Xc-@ S^c. 9>ic.@10c.

Poor quality 8Kc.@. S}4c. 8>^c.@ 9c.

Pnorest quality 8c. @ 8>^p. 8c. ® 8J^c.

Gen'l selling prices.. 8%c.@t0c. 9c. ©lO^c.

Average of all sales. — @. 9c. 9c. @, 9Xc.

At Browning's, Chamberlin's and
O'Brien's prices do not materially differ
from those at Forty-fourth street.
Browning reports beeves at 8c. to 10c.
Chamberlin reports beeves at 9c. to lO^c.
O'Brien reports beeves at 7ic. to 9ic.

MILCH cows WITH CALVES.

The prices vary somewhat with the
supply and demand, and vary greatly, of
course, upon the milking value. The
particular fancy of the buyer has also
considerable to do with the price. Not
unfrequently a Cow is sold at $90 to
$100, or even $120. The general price
throughout the year for ordinary Cows
is $30 to $40, or $50. Quite a number
sell above $50, and more, perhaps, below
$30.

VEAL CALVES.

Veal Calves are sold by live weight,
each animal being weighed alive at the
time of sale. "Bobs" — that is. Calves
a few days old — are usually sold by the
head at such prices as can be agreed up-
on, sometimes for but little more than
the skin is worth. The principal places
of sale are Allerton's, Browning's, Cham-
berlin's and O'Brien's.

The markets have been more largely
supplied than last week even, and sales
are slow to-day, at 5c. to 5^c. for very
fair Calves, while "bobs" sell for just
what the purchaser offers for them, or
all the way from 75c. to $2 each. Some
of the stock of to-day has been on hand
nearly a week, and the prospect is that
all will not be sold at the present market.

SHEEP.

The receipts continue light, but prices
remain about as last week, or a trifle
lower.

The receipts continue very fair, and
the trade, shows an improvement over
last week at a trifling advance in prices.
We notice sales of the best lots at 5ic.

WHOLESALE PRODUCE MARKET.

Wednesday Evening, )

April 21, 1858. f

The prices given in our report from

week to week are the average « holesale

prices obtained by producers, and not

those at which produce is sold from the

BUSINESS DIRECTOBY, TERMS, ETC.

317

market. The variations in prices refer
chiefly to the qualities of the articles.

Early vegetables are now coming; in
quite freely from the South, Bermuda,
and New-Jersey. These diminish the
inquiry after the old. Potatoes and to-
matoes are arriving from Bernuida.
Green peas, rhubarb, radishes, lettuce,
and strawberries, from Charleston,
with plenty of "greens," asparagus,
leeks, shallots, &c., from the surrounding
country.

Potatoes are essentially unchanged in
price, except Nova Scoiias, which have
fallen under free arrivals. They are
now put out at 60c. to 80c per barrel.
The West is sending in large quantities,
even from Ohio and Indiana. Tbc heavy
freights make them costly here, although
purchased at low prices. The market
may be put down as overstocked with
potatoes, and sales dull. We notice the
first arrival of Bermudas, consisting of
190 bbls., which were put out at $6 50,

and are retailing at $7 per bbl. Another
cargo of 1,500 bbls. are daily expected.

AVith these polatoes came 200 boxes
of tomatoes, wliich were sold at $1 50
per box— retailing at $1 75 to $2.

Apples arc a little lirmer, though ar-
rivals are fair.

Green peas promise a good supply
from the South. Sum.-. CO barrels came
on by the steamer which arrived on Mon-
day last.

Butter is unchanged in price, with
only a moderate home trade in new,
white packagi-s.

Eggs ai e as abundant and cheap as
ever. Philadelphia sent on 300 bbls.
yesterday, ar d 1,200 bbls. were received
by the Erie Railroad, making 1,500 bbls.,
which is about an average number at
the present time. As there are some 80
dozen in a barrel, the receipts amount to
some 120,000 dozen eggs daily.

Poultry is quiet, with a limited
amount in market.

BUSINESS DIRECTORY, TERMS, ETC.

THE AMERICAN FARMERS' MAGA-
ZINE is the result of an earnest desire, on
the part of its Editor, to furnish a journal

of AGRICULTURE, AND OTHER BRANCHES OK RU-
RAL ECONOMY, of an elevated character, na-
tional in its spirit, entertaining, instructive,
and reliable, at a price somewhat lower
than the wealthy and liberal farmer would
demand, and such as to bring it fairly
■witliiu the means of all intelligent family
circles.

Its success hitherto confirms our belief
that it is what the farmers of this country
want, and encourages us to renewed cfJ'orts
to e.vtond its circulation. The price is $2
a yt'ar to single subscribers; S1.5()to clubs
of tVoiii four to nine; $1.25 to clubs of

from ten to twenty; AND $1 TO
CLUBS OF TWENTY AND UP-
WARDS.

Clergymen, of all denominations, who
cultivate a piece of land, and post-masters,
who are also farmers, and desire the work
for themselves, are invited to order this
work at the lowest club price, fl, pay-
ment as in all other cases to be in advance.

Individuals so situated that tliey can not
well chib with otliers, yet desiring to ccon-
oiiiizo, shall receive the work seven months

for $1 ; fifteen months for 2 ; and two
years for $3.

Any person is hereby authorized to be-
come an agent for the work on the follow-
ing conditions ; — he may receive subscrip-
tions at the foregoing rates ; send us $1,
current money, for each subscriber, with
the name and post-oilice address plainly
written, reserving the balance as compen-
sation ; and on receipt of 1 he same, we will
send the work one j'car, addressed to each
subscriber.

It will be seen bj' the above that we
have put it in the power of nearly all who
desire it, to get this work for $1 ; and yet
those who are at all aware of the expense
of publication, must perceive that it can
not be afforded at that, but with a very
large circulation, and hardly then.

Able farmers, therefore, who appreciate
our object, which they can not but regard
as a generous one, will do us the favor to
advance according to our programme of
prices, and to favor the oireulation of tlie
work in their neighborhood.

Money may be sent at our risk if enclos-
ed witli suitable precautions.
Address J. A. W A S II,

7 Beekman St.. N. Y.

818

ADVERTISEMENTS

'Ailreiltsements.

■ •''=»J\j3»--

P. MANNY'S PATENT ADJUSTABLE SELF-RAKING REAPER AND
MOWER COMBINED.

Manufactured by Manny & Co., Freeport, III.*
Being three machines in one, simply adjusted and perfectly adapted to either pur-
pose. These are important features not to be found in any other machine, and need
only to be seen to be appreciated.

THE VERY BEST

Agricultural Paper in New-England-

THE NEW-ENGLAND FARMER is now gener-
ally acUniiwletlged lo be swpeiior to any ott'er pub-
lication of it> class In the New-England States, and
equal in iner t to any in the country. Its circula-
tion is unequiilied by that of any other agricultural
paper in New-England.

It is published weel<]y, on fine psper, and ha? just
been put up'ui new type tl rough'mt. !■ is ably ed-
ited by Simon Brown, a thorough and practical
farmer, and has 'he best corps of intelligent corre-
spondents that can be found in New-England.
Among these are Hon. Hfnrt F. French, of New-
Hampshire, Hon. F. HoLBRiioK, of Vermont, Wilson
Flagg, author of " Studies in the Field and Forest,"
&c., &c.

Besides the agricultural mstlter, the Farmer con-
tains a complete digest of the news of the day, a
conden>ed leport of the markets, a large varie'y of
Interesting and 'nslruetivc miscellaneous read ns,
and everything that can malie it a welcome weekly
visitant ;it the fireside of every farmer in the land.
Also pulilished at the -ame office,

NEW-ENGLAND FAKMER, MONTHLY.

This is a jiaiiiphlet containing 48 pages in each
number, printed on fine book paper, beautifully il-
lustraiefi, and devoted entirely to subjects connect-
ed with the fMrm.

Terms. — New-England Farmer, Weekly, $2 a year.
New-England Farmer, Monthly, $1 a year.

No Club Prices, and no discount in any case, as
our rule is to <erve all alike. Send for a ^peclraen
copy, and judge of tlie merits of our publications
for yourself.

JOEL NOURSE,

Publisher New England Farmer,

Mar. 3t* No. 13 Commercial St., Boston.

Fish Guano.— $35 Per Ton.

The attention of Farmers and others is called to
the FISH GUANO nianufacturen by the Long Is-
land Fish Guano and '^il AVorks, at Southnid Long
Island I' is compo ed of the Bom's and Flfxh of
Fish, afier extracting the oil and w:iti r, and has
been thoro.ghly tested m England and France, and
from testimonials received, is found to be equ>d to
Peruvian Guano and other manure*; is free from
smell and not injurious to health. Price in bags,
$3 ' per ton. Pamphlets contain'ng full particutara
and testimonials niav be f'ad on applleaMon to
BRUNDRED & ROGERS,

Mar. ly. tJO Pine street, N. Y.

Illustrated Book of Pears.

JnsT publ'shed an-^ for sale bv A. O. MOORE, No,
14(1 Fulton St.,N. Y., and STARR <fc CO., 4 Main St.-
New London, Conn., 'he above valuable woik, con-
tainlngplain, oractical directionsfor P anting. Bud,
ding, Grafting, Pruning. Training, and Dwarfing the
Peai-Tree ; als" in tructions relatirg to the Pi opa-
gation of new varieties, Gahering, Preservlnjr, and
Ripening the f>uit; together with valuable hints in
regard to the Localitv, Soil, and Mat.ures required
for, and best, arrangement of the Trees in an Or-
charil, bot' on the Pear and Quince storks, and a
List of the mo^t valuable varieties forDw-rf or
Standard Cidture, accurately de.-cribed aid truth-
fully delineated by numerous beautifully colored
engravings.

'I'tie above work, beautifully 1ilu--trated, should
have a place in every family where a taste for good
fruit prcails in all its choice varieties.

Orders proi'v^ily executed. Dec. tf.

AMEmcAN umtm' mamm.

Vol. XII.

JUNE. 1858.

No. 6.

1^ D r I ni ( t It r a 1 .

HINTS FOR THE SEASON.

June is a delightful, but for the farm-
er, a working month. Who would not
like to be out in the thickest of its works,
whether of the Divine or of human
workmanship, whether by the skill of
the husbandman, elaborating all beauties
and all utilities, or of the bird that
builds its nest and rears its young, or
the bee that " gathers honey all the day"
and lays by plentiful comfort for winter.

Nature now — and in no climate more
than ours — hastes to her annual consum-
mation ; and the farmer can hardly keep
himself posted in her progress. Per-
haps you say, June is a fine month to
talk about, and we should like it better
if it would be a little longer, and give
us time to enjoy it ; but we are obliged
to v,'ork the whole time. Yes, it is so.
The fanner's work will never be done in
June. It will not all be done any time
in the year. "With one hundred acres
and suitable buildings, there will always
be enough to do ; and it is only by judi-
cious management that the farmer can
ever find time to visit his friends and
perform the social duties of a good and
useful citizen.

You would say, you like to work, it is
your happiness ; in nothing else do you

VOL. XII.

21

find so much pleasure. TTell that is
as every good man will natui-ally feel
about his employment. But j'ou may
think that after all, though it is your
life and comfort, yet you would like not
to be obliged to work quite so closely as
this hurrying season demands.

Obliged to work ! Why man, you
are ohliged to love your wife, if you
would bo a good husband, ohliged to love
your children, if you would be a good
father, and ohliged to love your neigh-
bor if you would be a tolerable Chris-
tian ; but do you love them with any
the less pleasure because you are oblig-
ed ? Not a bit, but the more. And so
the work of the farm. It is the best
work in the world. What if you had
no way to get a living, but to be shaving
notes, or peddling quack medicines, or
praising goods that you want to sell but
nobody wants to buy ! You would not
respect yourself half as much as now,
that you are doing God's appointed work
for more than half the human famil}"^ ;
you would not love your business half as
well. You could not be more than half
as good a man. So be contented and
work on. You are nature's nobleman,
if you did but know it.

322

AGRICULTURAL,

0 fortunatos agricolas,
Si norint —

No matter that we have forgot the
rest. It means that the farmers are the
happiest and best men we have, if they
could only be convinced of it. So said
the Mantuan bard in our school-boy
days ; and although we did not believe
it then, we know it now. The working
farmer is the best and happiest man;
and his labors benefit himself and all
the world beside.

The Farmer's self.

But what are they at this lime ? First
of all take care of j^ourself. Read some-
thing every morning to feed your
thoughts and quicken your observations
through the day. Work expeditiously
while you are at it, and leave off before
you are too wearied, to read more, and
to enjoy your friends in the evening.
We hardly need say to you, retire early
and rise betimes, for you will do this
almost of course. Nothing, like your
calling is suited to the development of
practical wisdom ; and sooner or later
every profession is destined to be es-
teemed or despised according to the prac-
tical judgment and good common sense
of those who follow it. We have our-
selves sinned by working on in June,
when the suns are long, after we had
done a good day's work. Do a day's
work, if you please, every day, but nev-
er do two in one. We know men, who
will not stop, when they have done as
much as their conscience would allow
them to exact of a man in their employ.
If this fault " leans to virtue's side," it
is a fault still, and should be carefully
avoided. Take care of yourself. Strive
at all times to be a clear thinker, a read-
er to some extent, well informed, awake
to all that concerns your own interest
and the public good. So shall you hon-
or your calling, and it shall honor you.
His Family.
What we have said to the farmer, and
would not have him loose sight of, about
self-culture, applies equally to his wife

and to his grown-up sons and daughters.
Let them strive to be as intelligent as
the families of any other class at least.
Let no day go by without storing in the
mind something ; and they too will hon-
or this calling, second to none, heaven-
appointed and heaven-honored. Have
the mothers and daughters been out
among the beauties of nature any more
since that philipic we let off at American
women for breathing out-door air no
more, last month ? If not, let them begin
now. We do not mean to let another
month go by without firing into the in-
side of the farm-house, with the hopes of
scattering the inmates into the garden,
over the lawns, to the fields and beyond.
Where is the boy to get the horse and
put on the side saddle ? Run my good
fellow, that your mother and sisters
may have a good time, and come back
laughing as heartily as would be safe,
even with the present liberal modes of
female dress.

The School.
In the next place, farmers, see to your
schools. The minister, doctor, lawyer
and teacher, will look after them ; and
that is well; but see that they do it
rightly. Make your influence felt in the
district. You will thereby gain a con-
sciousness of your standing and useful-
ness in society, and it will do you good
as well as others. Farm work presses
this month as it did last, and will next,
but those young children of yours are of
more consequence than farm work even.
See that justice is being done them at
the school, and encourage them to be
just to themselves. Take along your
wife and visit the school occasionally.
Nothing so encourages teachers and pu-
pils as to see parents take an interest in
the matter. You may have plenty of
schools, but they will not go well alone.
We suppose you have a good farm and
in high cultivation, but how would it
look five years hence, if you should
leave it to go alone, or commit it to a
hireling, and never go near it yourself?

AGRICULTURAL.

323

So great interests as those of your chil-
dren's education require j'our personal
supervision.

The Corn Crop.
But turn we to what you will regard
as more practical, the work of June.
From Maine to Georgia and from the At-
lantic to the Pacific, the corn crop is the
most important. By the census report
it was put down at 592,330,612 bushels
in 1850. At GOcts. a bushel, this would
amount to $355,402,907. It has often
been estimated at the round sum of
8350,000,000, and though we have no
very implicit faith in these census re-
turns, we could as readily believe that
this sum falls below as that it rises above
the real value. In our last we threw
out various hints for the preparation of
the ground, manuring and planting, not
as law in the matter, with no excathedra
spirit, but for the consideration of our
readers. Our present remarks shall be

on

Its Cultivation.

If your land is feasible the work may
be done mostly by horse power. If it
is not feasible by nature, we suppose
you have made it so ; lor it can not be
wise to plant ground j'car after year so
covered with stones that you can not
pass the cultivator within two inches of
a hill, without danger of overwhelming
it with an avalanche of bowlders. And
now if your rows run both ways, as is
well, in case your field is wide as well
as long, but not otherwise, you can cul-
tivate and cross-cultivate, so as to leave
but -i inches each way, or 16 square
inches for the hoe. Even this 16 inches
need not to be touched, unless the
ground is peculiarly hard. Haul an
inch depth of soil over it, and the weeds
will be sufficiently held in bay, till you
hoe again, especially if you hoe again as
soon as we advise. AVo believe in giv-
ing corn land three dressings, in all or-
dinary cases. Two may be enough in
some cases ; in others four may be advi-
sable. But three times over the ground,
renewing every inch of surface is the

rule for corn, where no special reason
exists for a different course.

But let the three dressing-; be near
each other. We contend that qjl that is
done in the cornfield, between planting
and harvesting, should be done in this
month, and we think we have good and
practical reasons for this ; 1st the labor
is diminished, and 2nd the crop is in-
creased. From the first to the tenth of
June let the ground be stirred as deeply
as you can well cultivate, and every
weed pulled up or covered ; covering is
just as effectual if the second dressing is
to follow soon.

From the tenth to the twentieth, go
over the ground again. Hill but slight-
ly. Perfectly level culture takes more
time and high hilling requires more el-
bow grease and back-bone ; and there is
no corresponding advantage in either,
unless you mean to seed down to grass at
the last hoeing, in which case the leveler
the cultivation the better. Common
sense — we mean that unswerved by
tradition — decides that you should hoe a
hill of corn just in that way in which
the labor is lightest and soonest done —
to haul a little soil about the hill, not
more at the outside, than an inch at each
dressing, not as much unless thei'e are
weeds to cover.

From the 20th to the 30th, hill the
corn, as we used to say, but don't hill
it, for that is a worse than useless labor.
The Indians about Plymouth dug deep
holes with clam shells, filled them with
manure and fresh soil, and then piled
the earth around the growing corn all
summer. Some of the huge corn-hills
made there by Indian squaws are visible
to this day. We have imitated those
Indian women, at a greater expense of
labor than would foot the bills of a hun-
dred Mormon wars, allowing they should
not cost more than ten millions each,
and we hardly think Brigham will fool
Uncle Sam out of more than that at one
heiit ; and now let us follow an Indian
trail no longer, but exercise our own

324

AGRICULTURAL

good sense, and raise more corn with
less labor.

If we hurry the corn dressings through
in June, will not the weeds choke the
corn in August ? No, not if you have
done your duty from May to July. If
the soil was turned up to the sun in
April or early in May ; if it was harrow-
ed before planting in case of a long time
intervening between plowing and plant-
ing, if you have killed the weeds, not
twice but 'thrice in June, nothing more
is to be feared. The seeds in the soil
will have sprouted, you will have des-
troj'ed the progeny, and then you may
go on and do your haying and harvest-
ing and not have more than two things
to do at the same time. A few weeds,
the seeds for which were two deep in the
soil to be sprouted in June may spring
up, but the corn will by this time be so
strong, and drawing so powei'fuUy from
the soil as to starve them. The fibrous
roots of the corn will by this time per-
meate every inch of soil, and if the weeds
are not entirely rampant, it is best to
let both the weeds and the corn roots
alone. So we think, but we say let
every farmer obseiwe, judge and act for

himself.

Potatoes.
The potato crop, in our opinion, ex-
cept in extr.aordinary cases, should be
dressed but twice, once as soon as fairly
up, with as nearly a level culture as can
be attained, and again in ten or twelve
days, with slight hilling. The once hill-
ing of potatoes gives fewer tubers in
number, but larger in size, and more
uniform. If you want 10 or 12 good
sized tubers in a hill, hill them once, and
that early. If you would have one large
tuber, fifty small ones, and one hundred
apologies for tubers, keep hilling them
from May to September. Here too it
may be asked, will not the soil become
intolerably weedy, if let alone after the
first of June, or the 20th, or at latest,
the first of July V Not if you have tak-
en turf ground, nor unless you had been
negligent in former cultivation.

Pastures.

How many of these have you?
There is no benefit in having many and
small pastures, which is half equal to
the extra expense of fencing. Some say
none at all, except in so far as it is co;.i-
venient to have a small lot or two near
the homestead, where a horse, or a yoke
of cattle, can be lunched — bated we be-
lieve is the word — near by. This hav-
ing too many inside fences, either makes
great expense or unruly cattle, both of
which subtract from the profits ©f farm-
ing. Cattle generally scour badly when
removed to fresh feed. When well over
this, they may do better for a short time ;
but our observation has been, that for
the whole season they thrive better to
give them a pretty extensive run, and
always the same ; and so say a majority
of farmers with whom we have con-
versed, though we have found others
strenuous for small pastures and fre-
quent changes.

Let there always be salt in each pas-
ture and in the barn-yard. Near the sea,
and especially where the prevailing
winds are from sea to land, cattle will
hardly thank you for salt. In the inte-
rior they need it. They are the best
judges in all cases, whether they need it,
and will thrive better in proportion to
the forage consumed, if you will give
them the choice. Their instinct, in
other words their craving or their indif-
ference towards it, is a sure guide to the
quantiim svffieit. As we have often said
there is no profit in wintering more
stock than you can winter well, so there
is none in overstocking pastures. Bet-
ter get ten cattle ready for the butcher
by the middle of July, than starve twen-
ty till the snow falls. "We scarcely ever
knew a farmer whose place attracted the
drover in mid-summer, who was not do-
ing well ; and we have seen those, who
every year supplied the early beef mar-
ket, thriving on farms which most of our
readers would laugh to scorn as compar-
ed with their own.

AGRICULTURAL.

r,25

Try plaster this summer, it you have
not before. On most old pastures, it
will pay and leave a profit ; and you
never can tell what it will do on yours
till 3'ou try it ; 80 lbs. to the acre will do
for a trial. We would recommend wood
ashes on old pastures, if you could get
them. But you can not. "VVe recol-
lect seeing it recommended by Hon. A.
B. Dickinson, of Chemung county, N. Y.,
to denude pastures of all shade trees, on
the ground that cattle will do better
without them, and we remember that
his reasoning was ingenious and his ar-
guments seemed cogent ; and if the facts
he stated were really facts, we knew not
how to get around or answer them ; but
wc can not yield the point, nor feel willing
to give up the old round topped and wide
spread trees, looking so beautiful and
comfortable ; and we would save them if
we had them, and set them growing if
we had none.

The Orcliard— Caterpillars.
You should look after your Apple
trees at this time. Do not let the cater-
pillars go to seed, and produce a double
crop next year. Prevention is better
and easier than cure. The same species
of caterpillers that infest apple trees, are
also found on the black cherry. If the
harm they do cherry trees is not worth
considering, and that done by them to
the apple tree is not very severe, never-
theless they give an unsightly appear-
ance, and when seen in large, brown
clusters, on limbs, denuded of their
leaves, the indication is not what a thrif-
ty ftirmer would wish — is hardly more
promising of industry and thrift, than
when you see rags and old hats in the
window sash instead of glass. Twenty
minutes a day, once or twice a week,
through May and June, will sufDce to
keep a large orchard clear of them. And
then if there are a few choke cherry
trees about, which you do not choose to
root up, it is easier to clean them also,
than to destroy the extra swarms that
will infest your apple trees next year

from their neglect. There are various
ways recommended for destroying them,
such as blowing off with a light charge
of powder, (silly enough as it seems to
us,) burning their nests with torches,
(about as likely to injure the tree as
the caterpillars would be if let alone), cut-
ting off the limb and trampling it, nest
and all, under your feet (a mode suitable
for small branches only), and stripping
the nest off and crushing the worms
with a leather mitten, an (unpleasant way
surelj', but as expeditious and as effec-
tual at least as any other.) But choose
your own way, only carry the war into
(qyple treedom, and expel the enemy, or
if thej^ are not made scarce, let it be
your neighbor's fault rather than yours.
Summer Trimming.

While killing the caterpillars, be sure
to have a sharp knife with you, to nip
in the bud any useless suckers, that are
exhausting the sap, only to create a ne-
cessit}^ of being cut away, with increased
labor and greater injury to the tree at
the some future time. And here let us
say, with regard to a thousand things to
be done on a farm, there is much gain-
ed by doing them promptly, such as cut-
ting a sucker from the root of a fruit
tree before it has grown half as large as
the tree itself; destroying a caterpillar's
nest, while the occupants are so young
and tender, that they will disappear if
you create the least disturbance with
their premises ; laying up a fallen rail,
befoi'e the cattle break into the corn,
putting a harrow, or a wagon under
cover before the sun has checked the
wood, and created inlets for water, &c.,
&c., &c.

Very much is gained by looking over
the premises, seeing what there is to be
done here and what there, and doing it
at once. None so often as the farmer has
occasion to verify the old proverb about
a stitch in time.

Prepare for Harvest.

Although June is a hunting month,
July is more so. AVhile diiving there-

326

AGRICULTURAL.

fore the work necessary to this month,
do not fail to be ready for the next. Is the
barn in readiness to receive and preserve
the harvest ? If not, now is the time to
put it in order. By the way, did you
bring into your yard, after removing the
manure, a quantity of peat, mold, loam,
or something of the sort, to mingle with
and preserve the manure to be dropped
during the summer months ? If so, tin-n
it over now and then with a plow ; and
if you do this in a cloudy day, or just
before a rain, so much the bettei*. In-
stead of ten loads of manure, in a yard
where a dozen cows are kept over night
through the summer months, there should
be from forty to a hundred loads of an
excellent compost, the best possible for
top-dressing meadow land, as also for
corn or almost any other crop.

ty* Implements.

And how is it with the implements for
harvesting ? Are they ready ? Unless
your land is intolerably rough do not
fail of havicig a horse rake. Four men
at haying with a horse rake, are as good
as five without. A good horse rake can
be had for $5 ; a very good one for $10.
It will last half a life-time if well used
and taken care of. The whole cost and
interest is less than a dollar a year.
But a man's wages are as much or more
per day. On a farm cutting seventy -five
tons of hay we believe such a machine
as R. L. Allen's mower, or Manny's com-
bined reaper and mower, will paj^ for it-
self in two years, and will last much
longer. But whatever implements you
employ, look out for those that are well
made. A scythe snath or shovel handle
that you would select for yourself, made
of white ash grown in open land, with
pretty coarse grain, is worth at least
two made of spalt, fine grained ash. It
is so with a rake, head and tail. We
never look at a bunch of rakes without
seeing at a glance that there is at least
fifty per cent variation in their value,
owing solely to the character of the
wood. Mowers and reapers, unless

made, as some are, wholly of iron, should
be oiled and varnished, but not painted,
that the buyer may see what he is buy-
ing. If there is a fine grained spalt
piece in them, let the manufacturer keep
them. It will cost him less to keep them
in repair than it will you, especially if
he keeps them in his loft, where every
mower, or reaper with a foot of defective
timber in it, ought to be kept. — Ed.

AMERICAN INSTITUTE FARMERS'
CLUB.

At a meeting of this club, Monday,
May 10, Robert" L. Pell, President of the
Institute, in the chair ; Hon. Henry
Meigs, Secretary, present.

Mr. John G. Bergen, an intelligent
farmer of Long Island, suggested that
the Club should extend their inquiries
upon the cultivation of wheat. I recol-
lect, said he, that an experiment in France
showed that mixing several kinds of
wheat together increased the production ;
and I am inclined to believe that mixing
Indian corn seed will increase the yield.
I recollect a crop incidentally tried in Or-
ange County, of a mixed character, that
went far to prove this theory. It is an
experiment that is certainly worth trying.
I have tried a similar experiment, and
and think the yield was increased. In
mixing wheat, I think the increase was
ten bushels to the acre.

Wm. Ldwton. — It is an important
question what time to plant corn. I
think that we generally plant too early
in Westchester County and vicinity,
where the land is rather stiff. About a
dozen years ago it i-ained nearly all May,
and I planted in the first week in June ;
the result was an excellent crop of un-
usually sound corn — 70 bushels per acre.
No eftbrt was made to grow a large crop,
and the later than usual time of planting
made me fear that I should not make a
good crop. The land was subsoiled.

John G. Bergen. — I have said I favor-
ed early planting, but that needs qualifi-
cation. The time must be adapted to
circumstances. Writers often differ up-
on all subjects. I saw a field of early
corn this morning on Long Island, up
and growing, and good crops will be ob-
tained, for the ground is early and warm,
and well manured. For market crops of
green corn we must plant early. On
Long Island, we regard the season rather

AGRICULTURAL

32'7

than dates. I have seen early planted
corn that looked yellow and bad at first,
but afterward recovered and made good
crops ; and I think, as a general rule,
our early planting is best ; we then avoid
the fall drouth, which is sometimes so se-
vei*e as to prevent the ears filling.

The Preddent. — I plant my corn, 80
miles up the Hudson, the first of June.
My neighbors plant May 1 0, My crop
is usually the best.

A. Bergen. — My observation about
soaking corn is that early planted corn
if soaked, is apt to rot. The strife of
neighbors trying to beat each other in
planting corn has been injurious to the
production. As a general rule, the ear-
liest planted is not the best, and I am
not quite satisfied about soaking corn
before planting.

3Ii'. Fuller^ horticulturist, Brooklyn.
— I find that all well prepared soil is
much earlier than soil that lies compact
and hard. Manuring warms it, and
brings forth the crop.

A. Bergen, a Long Island farmer. —
Prepare your land well, and you can de-
pend upon a corn crop in all seasons.
Farmers fail because the}^ do not plow,
dress and prepare the soil well.

John G. Bergen. — I can grow sixty
bushels per acre, but I can grow other
crops to greater profit, because I grow
market garden vegetables.

T. W. Field. — I believe that upon an
average the Indian corn crop is the most
profitable of any — even more so than car-
rots. Every one can not grow carrots,
but every one can grow corn. After all,
it is adaption of crops to location. I be-
lieve that everywhere Indian corn-grow-
ing may be made profitable. Here the
stalks are very valuable, while at the
West nearly worthless.

A. Bergen. — I find corn-stalks valuable
for feeding horses ; they cured mine of
heaves.

Mr. Ambler of Harlem. — I came here
to learn how to plant corn, as I have a
little farm in Connecticut, where we
think the fodder of an acre of corn worth
as much as an acre of grass. By deep
plowing I reclaimed a very badly culti-
vated piece of land that had been for
many j'cars planted in buckwheat or rye,
without manure, and with but little rest
and but little product. I planted a por-
tion to corn, after i)lowing seven inches
deep, which was considered very deep
plowing in that locality. I applied no
manure, and at first the corn looked mis-

er.able, until about the 1st of July, when
it began to grow, and it proved to be the
best crop in the town of Bethel. Next
year I sowed oats and got a good crop,
and sowed clover and had an excellent
crop of clover — the wliole attributable to
deep plowing — that is, deeper than it had
ever been plowed before. I am satisfied
that we can make corn growing in Con-
necticut more profitable than in Illinois,
simply by increasing the depth of the
soil with the plow.

Mr. White of Staten Island. — I plowed
an acre of land never before cultivated to
corn, and used very little manure, but
j)lowed deeper than it had been before,
and got the best crop in the neighbor-
hood.

T. W. Field.— Some of the Long Is-
land farmers say that they have grown
128 to 130 bushels of corn per acre,
planted 4 feet 8 inches apart.

Mr. Fuller. — I have traveled Illinois
pretty well and I have never seen 100
bushels per acre. I have been told that
a corn crop near St. Louis was wor.ii
only fifteen cents a bushel, and fiftj^
bushels per acre is a full 3'ield.

T. W. Field. — The largest corn crops
have generally been grown in districts of
poor soil. In Central New-York 70 bush-
els is a full crop. In Connecticut, on
the Thames River, I saw a crop of 14
acres that measured over 1,400 bushels.
It had formerly been manured with
bones very largely, some twenty years
previous.

John G. Bergen. — In regard to large
corn crops, I have heard much of them
at the West, but I never saw better crops
in Ohio than upon Long Island. I grew
one acre that gave a little over 100 bush-
els per acre. I try to plow as deep as I
can, but deep plowing is not best for all
lands mider all circumstances. In one
place in Pennsylvania I noticed that the
land for corn was plowed shallow, and
that deep plowing did not produce the '
best crops.

The President. — Lands differ, and
sometimes deep plowing may reach grav-
el and injure the soil. Although I iiave
injured some soil by too deep plowing,
say twenty-two inches deep, yet I have
improved a hundred acres where I ever
injured one acre. Roots penetrate just
as deep as the soil is aerated. All cere-
als require phosphate of lime, potash and
soda. If these be removed b}' long crop-
ping, the soil will not produce good crops.
By deep plowing a new supply is obtain-

328

AGEICULTURAL

ed, just as it was upon ground described
by Mr. Ambler that only grew five-finger
vines. Do not consider a soil worn out
until you have proved it so, not only that
the surflice is exhausted, but all below
that is within reach of the plow.

Hoio to Kill Worms. — A gentleman
showed abput half a wine glass full of
worms, of a reddish brown color, as large
as the coarsest knitting-needle, and
about three quarters of an inch long, and
very hard, with many legs and a voraci-
ous disposition to eat vegetables. They
are so prevalent in some gai'dens in
Brooklyn that a dozen or twenty are often
found under one hill of corn. He said,
" What shall I do ?"

Solon BoMnson. — Salt them with a
mixture of salt and lime.

Upon this hint the Secretary sprinkled
a little upon those exhibited, and in two
minutes every one was dead.

As we had not the pleasure of attend-
ing the above meeting, we have copied
so much of its proceedings, as we sup-
pose of special interest to our readers,
from other papers.

Whether mixing different varieties of
Indian corn will increase the crop we
very much doubt. 0 ur preference would
be to plant one variety, and to space
accoi'ding to the size, four feet each
way for large varieties, 3| for smaller,
and as low as 3 for the smallest, with four
or five kernels in the hill. If others
have found advantage from mixing the
seeds of this crop we would like to hear
from them, for we are always open to in-
vestigation and facts.

The reported cases of good crops by
plowing worn land deep are important.
They show that the surface soil may be
exhausted, and yet the land not be ex-
hausted, but capable of producing a large
crop. But they do not prove that all
worn lands may be made to produce
well merely by ploughing deep. These
examples are not a safe rule to follow.
More generally the deeper you plow
beyond the old level, the more manure
may be applied to advantage.

If, as Mr. Field states, the "largest corn
crops have generally been grown in dis-
tricts of poor soil," and if by poor soil

he means a deep, strong soil, but very
hard to cultivate, not that which a farm-
er would choose for his corn crop but
which he is obliged to use, or none, as hap-
pens over large territories, then it is just
as it should be. The largest crops ought
to be grown, as we believe they are, on
the granite soils of Massachusetts and
New-Hampshire, on what would be call-
ed poor corn land, because so difficult
to work.

The farmer of many a New-England
town can not afford to grow much less
than a hundi'ed bushels on an acre. The
farmer in Illinois might make money by
growing fifty.

We invite attention to the fact that
Mr. Pell, the President, has injured some
acres by deep plowing, but has improved
a hundred fold more by the same pro-
cess.

We advocate deep plowing, but not
indiscriminately. Never was a more sen-
sible remark than Mr. Bergen's, " Deep
plowing is not best for all lands in all
circumstances." — Ed.

"OLD RED STOCK OF NEW-
ENGLAND."

Mb. Editor : — We are glad to see by
your last paper that there is one man
among us who stands up for the " old
red stock of New-England." This is no
new theory with Mr. P. ; we remember
to have heard a like opinion from him
several years ago, when he addressed
the farmers of Hillsborough county, and
you yourself were present. We have
lately seen an elaborate article on this
subject, in the American F-irmers' Mag-
azine, a valuable paper published by Mr.
Nash, at Nev\^-York. The truth is, tarm-
ers are diffident in the expression of
their real opinions of the value of natives
because they are not quite so fashion-
able. But if it is found that they can
be fed at two-thirds the cost, and at the
same time will yield quite as good pro-
ducts, is it not clear beyond a doubt,
that it is best economy to keep them.

March 14, 1858. Gkanite Hills,

in iV". £J. Fanner.

Now we are not quite certain who
this Mr. P. is, but if it should turn out

AGRICULTURAL,

829

to be John W. Proctor, Esq., of Danvers,
Mass., we should not think it strange,
for it sounds very much like him, to be
giving the old red cuttle of the country
their due, and to t;ike it for granted
that America can produce cattle that are
" some potatoes" as well as England.

"We are glad to see that the Granite
Hills' man appreciates the articles we pub-
lished in March and April, on the origin
and value of our native cattle, by which
we mean, those whose ancestors have
been long in this country. That the
common sense rules of breeding have
been sadly neglected, that much of our
stock has greatly depreciated since the
first settlers in the country brought
with them the very best cows and bulls
that England then produced, and that
the cattle of England have been wonder-
fully improved since our early fathers
left that country, we have no disposition
to deny.

There is no question that while we
have been turning our best calves to the
butcher, and otherwise neglecting whole-
some laws of procedure, for the purpose
of securing a constantly improving stock,
English farmers — some of them at least,
enough to gain magnificent results for
their country — have been wiser. It is an
often repeated assertion, and we suppose
a truth, that the average weight of cat-
tle slaughtered at the Smithfield market,
London, has more than doulded, since
England sent so many fat cattle to Bos-
ton, with the hope of curing the scurvy
among her soldiers, and contenting her
officers, after the very costly victory
they had achieved at Bunker Ilill.

We certainly have no inclination to
depreciate what England has done. Her
improved Devons, Ayrshires, Hcrefords,
Durhams, are a triumph of which any
nation might be proud, and what is
worthy of remark is that the improve-
ments are not confined to the herds of
the fanciers. Whoever visits Smithfield
market will find that the improvements
are widespread, pervading the stock of

the whole country ; and so if he visits
the farms of the various counties, he will
be more surprised at the general excel-
lence of the cattle, than he will at the
superior condition of the few brought
together at the national shows.

Our friend, of the red cattle article?,
says England brags of her cattle till we,
more modest, learn to despise our own.
Now that Englishmen know how to brag,
is certain. Some think Americans do
also, and we half believe it. But a west-
ern man once told us that it was not
faulty in the prairie folks to brag, for
they had something to brag of If his
rule was a good one, then England may
brag of her cattle, for she has something
to brag of. We think her farmers have
made more in the improvement of their
stock, than her armies did in fighting us
eight years, or would in eight hun-
dred.

Still there is a drawback in English ,
cattle, as breeders for this country.
They have yet to be acclimated; and
some of them, by excessive feeding from
generation to generation, have become
diseased. A distinguished medical gen-
tleman of that countiy has recently prov-
ed by careful dissections, that in thope
cattle which have been so much admired
at the shows, the mucles have turned to
fat, not that fat has insinuated itself
among the muscles (marbled,) as it
should, but that the muscles themselves
have become fat, and that the very fibres
of the heart have in some cases dissolved
and disappeared, solid fat having taken
their place,rendering that organ incapa-
ble of dilating and contracting, and send-
ing the blood purified and healthful
through the system.

That the mortality among the high-bred
cattle in England is much greater than
in this country is certain. A dairy farm-
er in Berkshire, whose dairy consists of
60 of the largest Durham cows, told us •
in 1853, that while he took from that
number ten each jear to ftitten, it was
necessary to put in twelve two year old

330

AGRICULTURAL.

heifers a year to keep the number good.
This implied an annual mortality of two
in sixty, or 3^ per cent. He added the
opinion that this was but an average
mortality of high'fcred cattle throughout
the kingdom.

There can be no reason for this — a
mortality, three times as great, we be-
lieve, as occurs on well conducted farms
in this country — except such as throws a
shade over the future of these high-bred
cattle. It is certainly worth considering
whether we are always to depend upon
the importation of cattle, to breed from,
whose vital and reproductive powers are
on the wane, from long-continued and
excessive pampering, or are to select for
breeders the best of our own acclimated
stock. We have long been of the opin-
ion, that efforts in both directions should
be made. We have said, and we say
now, let those who have money enough
and fancy enough, import to their heart's
content. Let them give ^5,000 for a
bull and a $1,000 for a cow, if they
please. All the money they will send
from the country is but a drop in the
bucket compared with the millions we
barter for gew-gaws, which we ought
either to do without or manufacture
ourselves. Bought wit is sometimes the
best, if not purchased too dear.

We believe that as good a bull for all
practical purposes can be had of the En-
glish farmer to-day for $500 as of the
English fancier for $5000 ; and as good
a cow for $200 as was ever brought to
this country at the most fabulous price.
We would advise those who are import-
ing English stock as a means of improv-
ing ours, to go among the yeomanry of
England, and not to the paid agents,
whether in that country or this, who
are lying in wait for enormous commis-
sions. It would be cheaper to give the
English farmer $300 for his cow, than
them to give him $500, and then pay $500
more for the special benefit of a wily
operator between the parties. Points
and pedigrees, it is true, sometimes go

together; but a good judge of cattle,
knows very well that there are good
points without pedigrees, and vo mis-
take. As long as our money is paid
more for pedigrees than for what every
sound farmer knows to be good quali-
ties, every step in our progress to a
highly improved stock will cost more
than it need.

Nevertheless, let the importations go
on as long as the importers shall list.
This trade will regulate itself much soon-
er than some other bi'anches, which are
far more injurious to us, such as buying
our iron, instead of using our own ore,
smelting it with our own coal, paying
American laborers for the work, and
feeding the workmen with our own pro-
duce. But while the importation of En-
glish cattle is going on, and splendid
herds of foreign blood are being estab-
lished all over our country, we can not
but wonder that so few American farm-
ers are inaugurating the practice of
breeding on correct principles from our
own stock. We are by no means sure
that better cattle than England has yet
produced, or ever can, will not spring
from the descendants of the very cattle
brought over by the first settlers of this
country. — Ed.

SORGHO SUGAR.
General Directions for Planting, Cultivat-
ing, Cutting and Grinding Chinese or
African Sugar Cane, and Making Syrup
or Sugar therefrom.

From a little work, on the Sorgho
vSugar, recently published at Cincinnati,
we extract the following directions,
which seem to us to be reasonable, and
to communicate much practical informa-
tion. We shall examine the work more
fully and notice it in another place.

From all the information we have been
able to gather, we deduce and would re-
commend the following :

I. If any doubts exist in regard to
the ripeness of your seed, place a little
dampened raw cotton over a tumbler of
tepid water, in which place the seed.
If good it will soon sprout. We have

AGRICULTURAL

331

both Sorsjho and Imphee growing in our
office, and offer no seed for sale which
has not been thus tested.

n. Select dr}^ warm soil, which has a
southern exposure ; and as soon as the
ground is warm to a sufficient depth,
plant, in drills running north and south,
about four feet apart, one seed to every
eight inches, with shallow covering.
Roll the land after planting.

in. Cultivate the same as common
corn, until the cane is about waist high ;
then do not stir the soil deep, but mere-
ly scrape out the weeds.

IV. Allow all suckers to grow on the
main crop; but for experiment, sucker
a part, and take an account of the labor
bestowed on each, as well as of the
amount and quality of the forage, seed
and juice.

V. When the canes are considered
ripe, strip them, and cut off two or three
feet of the tops, so as to leave none but
rich and juicy joints standing. This
should be done several days before the
canes arc cut up for the mill. They
may then be cut and shocked, or housed
in a convenient place, and kept until
j-ou are ready to start your mill. Care
should be taken in cutting and handling
the canes, to keep their ends out of the
dirt. This precaution, with cleanliness
in all jKirts of the work, will do much
toward securing good results.

VI. Before commencing to grind, have
all 3^our tubs, kettles, cisterns or vats,
W'ell painted inside, and all ready ; also,
a good supply of dry wood prepared for
the whole run. Set j-our mill so that
the juice from it will run through a fine
sieve and a flannel strainer, into a tub
or cistern near the clarifier.

VII. Let the feed side of the mill be
open about 1-8 of an inch, and the next
or last two rollers closer. If tlic latter
do not remove all the juice, set them
closer, until they do so ; but never at-
tempt to tighten while there is cane in
the mill.

VIII. In feeding our Vertical Mills,
put in as much cane, all the time, as
will pass through the feed regulator. In
feeding horizontal mills, keep the rollers
as evenly supplied as possible — about
two canes deep.

IX. If you adopt our plan for a boil-
ing range, you may use one of the three
kettles for a claririer, in small operations ;
or add two clariliers, as shown on page
67. In either case you can control tlie
heat, which is absolutel}' indispensable,

for the juice must not boil until thor-
oughly clarified. Fill one of the clarifi-
ers with juice, — say 100 gallons ; put
about one quart of cream of lime (good
whitewash,) into a bucket full of juice —
stir it togethcj", and pour the whole into
the clarifier, and mix thoroughly; make
a brisk fire ; Match the charge closely,
and as it approaches a scalding heat,
check the fire with a little bagasse. A
thick, heavy scum will rise — keep the
fire up until the scum finally breaks, and
shows white froth between the flakes ;
then remove the scum and the fire, and
let the juice rest until you have gone
through the same operation with the
other clarificrful, then draw off the first,
through flannel l)ags, into the largest
kettle of the boiling range, (the other
kettles being partly filled with water,
and a good fire started, but not turned
under the first kettle.) Then whip up
six eggs, or a pint of beef's blood, in a
large bucketful of clear, cold juice, and
turn the fire under it. Regulate the
heat so that it docs not boil, until it has
" thrown up," and has been skimmed
as before. Then boil as rapidly as pos-
sible until the thermometer indicates
238'' in the syrup. In the same manner
bring forward the second clarificrful ;
treat it with blood, or egg-water, and
pass it on ; finishing each chai ge in the
kettle directly over the fire, and dis-
charge it thence to your cooling-vats or
boxes. Rapid boiling, after thorough
clarification, produces the best results.
The coolers should be large enough to
hold a whole day's boiling each. Mix
all together, as each batch is turned into
the cooler, imless, by accident, a batch
or charge gets speilcd, in which case it
should be put by itself.

Every bucket, tub, kettle, ladle or
skimmer, as also the mill and troughs,
should be rinsed clean as soon as out of
use, and before they get dry. It may
be advantageous to do this with strong
lime-water.

Svrup should be boiled to 38" or 40°
B., "to keep well. Molasses barrels
should be well made, with at least six-
teen hoops, and a middle piece of pine
in the heads. The price, at Cincinnati,
is $1.40 each.

Ckllaks arc fruitful sources of dis-
ease if garbage and filth are allowed to
accumulate for years. AVe trust, they
were thoroughly cleaned and white-
washed last month.

332

AGRICULTURAL.

PLEA FOR THE ROBIN.

BY WILSON FLAGG.

Certain cultivators, annoyed by the
depredations committed by the common
robin upon their cherry trees, have lately
discovered, as they suppose, that this
bird is of no service to agriculture. They
accuse him of living upon fruit and
earth-worms alone, alleging that he de-
stroys but very few of the insects which
are injurious to vegetation. Herein they
are led astray by a very egregious error,
and one that might produce incalculable
mischief were they to succeed in con-
vincing the public that the robin is an
enemy to the garden and the farm.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
It is in fact one of the most valuable of
our birds, exceeded only by the small
woodpecker and the chickadee in the
service he performs by checking the
multiplication of noxious insects. Let
us make a few inquiries respecting his
habits.

The robin is not a searcher for small
insects that live upon the bark and
leaves of trees. He seeks his food like
the other thrushes, mostly upon the
ground ; and is often seen, after a rain,
pulling out earth-worms from their holes.
This circumstance has led many to sup-
pose that he confines himself to these.
It is true that he devours great quanti-
ties of earth-worms, but they are only a
small part of his diet. He also consumes
large numbers of those grubs which oc-
casionally appear on the surface of the
soil. These are taken only by certain
species of birds. Neither the wood-
pecker, nor the chickadee, nor the wax-
wing, nor any species of swallow, nor
the king-bird, nor any of the fly-catch-
ers, nor that excellent friend of the gar-
den, the golden oriole, take their food
from the ground. What provision then
has nature made to rid the surface of the
soil of its noxious insects ? Among the
small birds the thrushes seem to be de-
signed for this special purpose ; and of
all the species of this tribe none is more
beneficial than the common robin.

"What constitutes the food of this bird
during eight months of the year when
there are no fruits in the garden or pas-
ture ? It can not be said that he lives
upon seeds, for he refuses seeds of all
kinds unless they are crushed and made
into a dough ; and if a young robin is
fed chiefly on farinaceous food in a state
of confinement, he will sicken and die.

The plain inference is, that when he can
not obtain fruit he lives upon worms and
insects. If angle-worms are the princi-
pal part of his diet, how does he continue
to obtain them when the superficial soil
is dry, and they are lodged in the sub-
soil ? He can not get them at any time
except when they are either wholly or
partially above ground. He can not dig
or scratch for them, and must consume
other insects or he would starve. And
when we consider the vast multitudes of
robins in our land, and their voracious
appetites, when we consider likewise
that they live exclusively upon insects
and worms, when fruit isiiiot to be ob-
tained, we must admit that the quantity
of crawling vermin consumed by these
birds must be immense and altogether
beyond calculation. There are no other
birds that could supply their place, since
the other thrushes are too shy to fre-
quent our tilled grounds. The larks, the
snipes and blackbirds are likewise all
too shy to perform an equal amount of
the same service.

If the robins were to be exterminated
the mischievous consequences that would
ensue could never be repaired except by
restoring them, certainly not within a
period of twenty years. Let us enu-
merate some of the insects that are kept
in check by the labors of the robin.
He destroys nearly all kinds of worms,
grubs and caterpillars that live upbn the
green sward and the cultivated soil ; and
large quantities of crickets and grass-
hoppers before they have become per-
fect insects. The grubs of locusts, of
harvest-flies and of beetles, which are
turned up by the plow or the hoe, and
the pupse of the same when emerging
from the soil ; apple worms when they
leave the fruit and crawl about in quest
of a new shelter, and those subterranean
caterpillars or cutworms, that come out
of the earth to take their food ; all these
and many others are eagerly devoured
by the robin. The cutworms emerge
from the soil during the night to seek
their food, and the robin, which is one
of the earliest birds to go abroad in the
morning, is very dilligent at the dawn of
day in hunting for these vermin before
they have gone back into their retrent.
The number of these destructive grubs
is immense.

" Whole cornfields," says Dr. Harris,
" are sometimes laid waste by them.
Cabbage-plants, till they are grown to a

AGRICULTURAL,

333

considerable size, are very apt to be cut
off and destroyed by them. Potato
vines, beans, beets and various other
culinary plants suiTur in the same way.
The products of our flower-gardens are
not spared ; a.sters, balsams, pinks and
many other kinds of flowers are often
shorn of their leaves and of their central
buds, by these concealed spiders." — Se-
port, j>age 34:3. The services of the
robin in destroying these alone would
more than pay for all the fruit they de-
vour. Indeed, during the breeding sea-
son, a robin is seldom seen without one
of these caterpillars or some similar
grub in his mouth, which he designs for
his young ; and as the robin often raises
three broods of young during the season,
his species must destroy more of this
class of noxious insects than almost all
other birds together.

It must be idle to dispute the fact that
in certain places the robins are very mis-
chievous in their depredations upon the
cherry trees. There is one good remedy
fur this evil, which was suggested some
weeks since by a correspondent of the
Farmer. This remedy is to plant a
greater quantity of cherry trees ; for it
will be found that wherever there is a
great abundance of this fruit the robins
do comparatively but little damage.
One very important cause of their depre-
dations is the destruction of the blue-
berry pastures, which would supply
them with large quantities of berries
about cherry time. It is precisely in
those sections of the country, as in Cam-
bridge and the suburbs of Boston, where
the blueberry bushes have been extir-
pated from the wild lands, we hear the
most complaint against the robin. Our
farmers, when thc}^ clear a whortleberry
pasture, should transplant all the blue-
berry bushes to the sides of the walls
and fences, to supply the frugiverous
birds with berries, and thereby divert
them from the gardens. There are
thousands of miles of stone wall, within
two hours walk from Boston, which
ought to be bordered with blueberrj^
bushes and amclanchiers, (June berries,)
where, without occupying any valuable
space, they would feed the birds and
produce tons of berries, to employ the
diligent hands of women and children of
poor families, who would gather them
for the market. Let those horticultu-
rists who have conceived a prejudice
against the robin, instead of petitioning
the Legislature to remove the legal pro-

tection that now exists in favor of this
bird, petition the authorities of the city
of Boston to appropriate a few thousand
dollars for the planting of blueberry
bushes and amelanchiers by the sides of
fences in all pasture lands within five
miles of the city; and after the work is
accomplished we shall hear no more
complaints of the robin and the cedar-
bird, — IT. E. Farmer.

AMERICAN CATTLE.

TUE DEVONS.

What the turf horse, and its ancient
progenitor, the Arabian, is among
horses, the Devon is among cattle.
They are claimed in England as an abo-
riginal race, and to have existed in the
island previous to its conquest by the
Romans. Yet, from all accounts, the
Devon has, from the earliest times, been
confined chiefly to the county which
bears its name, and the immediate con-
fines of those adjoining, in the south-
west of England. Nor does exti'aordi-
nary attention appear to have been given
to the improvement of the breed until
the latter part of tlic last century, when
the high prices, and great consumption
of native beef in Great Britain, to feed
her armies, having fearfully drained her
cattle districts, awakened the attention
of the few breeders of Devonshire, who
still held their cattle in their original
purity of blood, to their extraordinary
value. The northern part of that county
appears to have been their favored home.
Tlie soil and climate eminently suited
them, and with the care and attention
bestowed upon them by their breeders,
for the past sixty or seventy years, they
have improved in quality, appearance,
and blood-like style, until they can be
mistaken for no others with which they
have any relation. The wild deer of
our forests have no stronger marks of
original descent than the well-bred
Devons of the present day ; and in uni-
formity of appearance, and identity of
blood, they are scarcely more homoge-
neous.

An idea has prevailed to a consider-
able extent, that the red cattle of New-
England are essentially Devons, from
the fact that the first settlers of Ply-
mouth came from Devonshire. There
is no sort of proof in that, for no cattle
were imported into New-England until
four years after the arrival of the May-
flower, and ucat cattle were imported

334

AGRICULTURAL,

from all parts of the coast of England
to the new colonies when an active com-
munication had become established be-
tween the two countries. At all events,
the New-England red cattle are exceed-
ingly unlike the well-bred Devons of the
present time, and only resemble them so
far as their approach to the same color,
sprightliness of action, and an upturned
horn are an indication. An occasional
well-bred Devon may have been import-
ed into New-England during the last
century, and left an infusion of its blood
in certain neighborhoods ; but nothing
like an established herd of the kind has
been known there until within the last
thirty years. The first animals — six
heifers and a bull — of pure North Devon
stock, in the United States, of which
particular note has been taken, were im-
ported by Mr. Robert Patterson, into
Baltimore, Maryland, in the year 1817.
A few more were impoi'ted into Ne^-
York, by the late distinguished states-
man, Rufus King, of Jamaica, Loiig Is-
land, about the year 1819 — both from
the line herd of the late Earl of Leices-
ter, then Mr. Coke, of Holkam, in the
county of Norfolk, England. A few
years afterwards, some of Mr. Patter-
son's stock were taken into Connecticut,
and successfully bred. In 1835, the re-
mainder of the Patterson stock went
into the hands of Mr. George Patterson,
of SykesviUe, Maryland, who has skill-
fully bred them, with occasional impor-
tations of a fresh bull, up to the present
time. Mr. King bred his stock, occa-
sionally parting with an odd animal,nin-
til his death many years ago, when his
herd was broken up and dispersed.
These were ail well-bred cattle, origi-
nally procured in Devonshire by Mr.
Coke, who considered them admirably
adapted to the light soil of his extensive
estates in Norfolk. From the herd of
Mr. Patterson, many animals were dis-
tributed into various parts of the coun-
try. About ten years ago, and since, at
various times, several enterprising cattle
breeders made selections from the best
herds in Devonshire, and brought them
into Massachusetts, New- York, Georgia,
and the Canadas. They have been emi-
nently successful here, and now several
herds exist, of purity in blood, and high
quality — not excelled even in England.
The Devons have thus become an estab-
lished breed of cattle in the United
States and in Canada.

DESCRIPTION.

The pure North Devon is medium in
size, and less than the short-horn, or
Hereford. They are red in color — ori-
ginally, a deep blood red, but laterly,
they have in England bred them of a
lighter shade, but still red — a fancy
shade, merely, the other characteristics
remaining the same. The head is short,
broad, and remarkably fine, with a
quick, lively, prominent eye — encircled
with an orange-colored ring ; and a slen-
der, branching, upturned horn. The
neck is fine, with little tendency to dew-
lap ; the chest full, with a slanting
shoulder, more open of late than for-
merly ; a straight back, with full round
ribs, well thrown towards the hips, and
a projecting brisket. The loin and hips
are broad and level ; the rumps in good
proportion, and the tail well set, round,
and tapering like a drumstick into a tuft
of mixed white hairs at the end. The
flanks are deep and level ; the thighs
somewhat rounding above, and running
into a graceful taper at the hock, with a
leg below of surpassing fineness and
strength. The fore-arm is large above
the knee, but below, the leg is exceed-
ingly fine and muscular. A patch of
white is occasionally found at the udder,
and in rare instances extending forward
to the navel, but in a majority of cases,
perhaps, the white does not occur.
Taken altogether, no animal of the cattle
race exists, which in conformity of color,
style, symmetry, and blood-like appear-
ance, exceeds the Devon.

AS A BEEF PRODUCING ANIMAL,

no creature of the race this side of the
Atlantic equals it in fineness of grain,
delicacy of flavor, and economy in con-
sumption. Its fineness of bone and
freedom from offiil make it a favorite
with the butchers, and a choice to the
consumer. In England it is preferred to
any other beef excepting only the Gallo-
way and Highland Scot, and bears, ex-
cepting those, the highest price in her
markets. He matures early — hardly so
early, perhaps, as a short-horn — but at
four years old is fully ripe for the sham-
bles, and at three, good. He is a kind
and quick feeder, with finely marbled,
and juicy flesh, and no bullock makes
better proof at the shambles.

AS A WORKING OX,

he excels, according to weight and size,
any other known. Even in size, the ox

AGRICULTURAL

335

is full medium, his solidity of carcase
and muscular strength amply compen-
sating for his (ipparent deficiency in
bulk. For activity, intelligence and do-
cility, he has no e(|ual, and long expe-
rience has proved that where working
oxen are in demand, an infusion of
Devon blood adds largely to their value,
both in price and performance of labor.
They match readily, both in color and
shape, the deeply concentrated blood of
the l)ull imparting his color uniformly
to his progeny. Their movements arc
quick and agile. They walk almost
with the rapidity of the horse, possess-
ing both wind and bottom. In short,
the Devon is the heau ideal of a working
ox, and as such, will always hold a pre-
eminence.

AS A DAIRY cow,

she is full medium, when milk is made
an object with her. For breeding pur-
poses solely, as with the short-horn, her
milking capacity has been too often
sacrificed for the benefit of her appear-
ance. Naturally the Devon is a good
milker. "We have often seen Devon
cows yielding twenty-four quarts of rich
milk a day for weeks together on grass
only, and making a corresponding weight
of butter. They are kind and gentle in
temper, and with the milking quality
properly cultivated, they are, according
to their weight and consumption of food,
equal to any othei's. They have so
proved in England — we know it to be so
in America ; and coupled with the mani-
fold excellencies of her stock, no cow
can be more profitably kept as an econo-
mical animal, either in the farm dairy or
the village paddock.

•WUERE SHALL THE DEVON BE KEPT ?

There has been much controversy
among cattle breeders on this point.
Our AVestern breeders and gi-aziers, al-
though they admire their beauty and
symmetry, contend that the Devon is too
small for their rich lands and huge corn
cribs — the short-horn is better. We
will not dispute that conclusion, well
knowing the partiality of good stock
feeders for large size, and corresponding
consumption of food. But for the me-
dium, and lighter soils of the country —
and the richest also — in all its variety of
climate, no beast is better calculated to
win its way to success and favor. From
Maine to Georgia ; from the Atlantic
shore to far beyond the Mississippi, the

Devon thrives, and is a favorite with its
keepers. On hills, or in valley, with
scanty herbage, or a luxuriant growtli,
with anything like Christian treatment
it will thrive, and do its duty. — Ameri-
can Agriculturint.

WORMS AMONG CORN.

SwAKD land, plowed in the spring for
corn, is often found filled with worms,
which are sure to make great havoc with
the seed unless they are exterminated.
The following is an excellent remedy :
After turning under the sod, sow broad-
cast a bushel and a half of fine salt to
the acre, and harrow it in, following
with the roller. Soak the seed in tepid
water about eighteen hours. Dissolve
two ounces of sal ammoniac and add to
the water. This amount will answer
for a bushel of seed. Plant corn soon
after sowing the salt. The seed will
germinate quickly and the plants will
come forward at once. Between the salt
and the ammoniac, the corn will suffer
little from the worms. — Ex.

It seems hardly possible that so small
an allowance of salt should much disturb
the worms. That it would benefit the
ci'op, on all lands away from the sea-
shore, to an extent greater than its cost,
we should have no doubt, and it might
retard the operations of the worms,
while the sal ammoniac would tend to
hasten the early growth of the young
plaiits, thereby getting sooner out of the
way of the worms. This is one of those
prescriptions, which it would be no loss
to try.

Perhaps one reason that worms work
among corn planted on turf land worse
than on stubble, is, that the ground
being cold, the corn remauis small and
subject to their bite longer. If so, this
aflbrds another motive, in addition to
the many we have suggested, for plant-
ing corn only when the ground has be-
come warm, and for applying some
stimulating manure, to secure a vigor-
ous outset. — FiD.

MANAGEMENT OF HEDGES.

We copy some valuable hints on this
subject from a letter of William Laer,

336

AGRICULTURAL

of Garden Grove, Iowa, the results of
his own successful experience : " I have
raised, so far, beautiful two years (Osage)
hedges, which have already overcome
the doubts of many a skeptic neighbor.
I sprout all my plants before setting —
thin them out in the roAv, throwing away
all that show no swelling buds, or which
make only a feeble eifort, and I never
have a missing plant. My greatest ene-
my is the cut worm ; I defeat him by
fall plowing — by setting the plants three
inches deeper than they stood in the
nursery, so that the new sprouts will
come up from the buds below the sur-
tace. This deep setting will also insure
a new growth in case the tops should
winter-kill. But the root alone will not
sprout. The first fall I bank up three
to five inches high, three to four fur-
rows on each side of the hedge. I set
seven inches apart, but believe that
twelve would be better. — Country Gen-
tleman.

AN AMERICAN HERD.

The following which we cut from an
exchange gives rise to some curious re-
flections. That Mr. Thorne has a magni-
ficent herd, the best probably in the
country and perhaps in the world, we
have no doubt.

But if the sovereigns of Europe, and
the SOVEREIGNS of America had not bid
against each other and England made
fools of them both, bulls would not have
sold for $6,000 nor cows for $3,500.

But despite the recklessness, as we
must think it, of paying such prices to
English sharpers, (English farmers get
no such prices), we thank Mr. Thorne
and others who are doing like him, for
their zealous and successful efforts for
the improvement of the stock of this
country.

Many English breeders told us in 1853,
that they anticipated a time not very far
distant, when they would be reimporting
fi'om this country. If Mr. Thorne and
others can hasten the fulfilment of that
prediction, we should certainly be glad
to see the change. — Ed.

Samuel Thorne, of Thornedale, "Wash-
ington Hollow, Dutchess co., N. Y., has a

herd of only some 70 cattle, but their cash
valuation is over $80,000. For one bull
$6,000 was paid in England ; for another
$5,000 ; and another is almost equally
valued. One of his cows " Duchess
66th," cost $3,500 at an auction sale in
England, and her calf brought at the
same sale $2,000. Despite the strin-
gency in commercial affairs, Mr. Thorne
has found no difficulty in disposing, at
high prices, of all his surplus stock. Ju-
dicious selection, and an ample fortune,
have conspired to make the American
herd at Thornedale superior in its indi-
viduals to any other in the world. If
we may judge from our past success, we
are warranted in the belief that America
will shortly be able to supply the mother
country with short-horn cattle and
Southdown sheep, as it already has with
reapers and pleasure yachts.

POTATOES.
A New-Hampshire farmer, who has
been greatly successful with this crop,
ascribes his success to the following
causes ; —

1. Change of seed. Seed all procured
from a distance.

2. Planting on light instead of heavy,
wet soil.

3. Light manuring and seeding.

4. Early planting and late digging.

5. Manner of keeping.

THE ROBINS VINDICATED.

TuE question of the relation of the rob-
in to horticulture was discussed at the
January meeting of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society. It was the opin-
ion of many fruit growers that the robin
is a perfect nuisance to the horticultu-
rist, and that the law preventing their
destruction should be repealed. There
were some, however, who gallantly took
the part of the sweet birds, and at their
suggestion a committee was appointed to
ascertain their habits, and especially the
kinds of food eaten by them during each
month of the year. The chairman of the
committee, J. W. P. Jenks, ofMiddleboro',
has made his report for the first three
months of the year, and it is entirely fa-
vorable to the robins. It is proved that
the robins subsist chiefly upon the worst
enemies of the fruit trees, the curculios.
Mr. Jenks found beetles, grasshoppers,
spiders and curculios in the crops of the

AGRICULTURAL

337

robins he dissected, but ninc-teiitlis of the
contents of the crops were curculios.
He has frequently t-aken a hunch-ed from
a single crop, and in one instance 162.
He has not found the first particle of veg-
etable matter in the crop of a single bird.
This settles the question in favor of the
robins, and he who kills one of these
birds gives permission to live and des-
troy our fruit to some thousands of cur-
culios and other enemies of the horticul-
turist.

DIPROVING LAND BY GREEN MA-
NURES.

It is believed by some, that the best
kind of vegetable growth for turning in,
in the form of green manures, is Indian
corn sown broadcast. If it be intended
to apply lime to the land, it would be
well to do so the fall before. Then as
early in the spring as circumstances will
permit sow corn broadcast, say three or
four bushels to the acre, and as soon as
it has grown as high as it can be conven-
iently turned under with a deep working
plow, turn it under, and immediately
sow another crop in the same way, turn-
ing it under as before, but with a me-
dium plow run crosswise of the pre-
ious furrow. In the Middle and South-
ern States, three crops can thus be turn-
ed under in one season. It is believed
that no system of manuring or renova-
tion, except the heaviest application of
stable manure, can compare with this
plan in its results. If the land be very
poor the first crop will be very light,
but light as it may be it will yet add a
considerable portion of the elements of
vegetable nutrition to the soil ; and thus
the second crop will be greatly improved,
and the third will be all that can be de-
sired. It is believed that in this way
four times as much improvement will be
effected in one season, as can be by
means of clover in three or four years.
For this purpose farmers in the north
should use the tall kinds of southern corn,
as being of more rapid growth and fur-
nishing vastly more matter for the soil.

VALUE OF OPIUM.
Robert Pell, Esq., Pros, of the Amer-
ican Institute Farmers' Club, stated at a
late meeting, that in the British East In-
dies, 100,000 acres of land are put to the
production of opium ; that the ta.x on this
22

production amounts to $5,000,000 ; com-
mercial value, $32,000,000 ; paid by
China the last fifty years, $400,000,000.
These amounts are large, but when the
extent of the evil is considered, the Brit-
ish Government, one would think, must
reflect, in its sober moments, if it has
such, that it does not pay. We should
not think an enlightened people could
afford to do such a business.

GROWING POTATOES UNDER
STRAW.

" Having seen in the agricultural
journals more than twenty years ago,
reports of extraordinary success in
raising potatoes by covering them with
straw, I was induced to try a small ex-
periment, which I will relate for the
benefit of some of j^our readers.

" A plot in my garden, about fifty feet
square, of well-manured, clayey loam,
was nicely spaded up and made fine and
smooth. It was then marked out in
shallow drills, two feet and a half apart,
and potatoes (of the pinkeye variety)
planted whole, two feet apart in the
drills, and barely covered with earth.
The whole patch was then covered with
light, dry wheat straw — which had been
very much broken by its passage through
a threshing machine — and the same
spread lightly and evenly with a pitch-
fork to the depth of about two feet.
Several showers occurred soon after the
potatoes were planted, which settled the
straw very considerably, and in due time
the vines came up through the straw,
and soon covered the entire surface with
the rankest vegetation.

" Nothing now was done to the patch
till the vines were killed by frost in au-
tumn. Not a weed appeared among
them. At the usual time of digging po-
tatoes, the dead vines were all pulled
and removed ; then, with a potato fork,
the layer of straw — which was pretty
well rotted and not more than four or
five inches then in thickness — was care-
fully removed. To my great surprise,
there lay the potatoes on the suriacc,
literall}' covering the ground, and almost
as clean as if they had been washed.
They were jiicked up and measured, but
the quant it}' I do not remember.

" This much, however, I well recol-
lect, that I never raised so good a crop
by any other mode of culture. They

338

AGRICULTURAL.

were of very uriiforiu size, and of good
quality."

Undoubtedly the above method of
growing potatoes, which we cut from an
old number of the Ohio Farmer, is wor-
thy of further trial. We have raised
patches of potatoes in just this waj^,
laying one seed potato to the square
foot, on turf land, covering them with
straw four inches deep, and leaving them
alone till harvest time. The straw com-
pletely kills the grass. Its roots decay
and afford pabulum to the potato ; and
the straw acting as a mulch, is sure to
keep the ground moist and of even tem-
perature, so as to completely avert the
danger of rot. We have had yields, we
should think, of equal to five bushels to
the rod, of uncommonly dry, mealy po-
tatoes. But it would require an im-
mense amount of straw to cover a large
field ; and we are not prepared to recom-
mend the course otherwise than for ex-
periment.

There are Nova Scotia farmers, who
have tried it many years, who would
tell you it is the best way in the world
to raise potatoes. — ^Ed.

From the Patent Office Report, 1S56.

THE USE OP BURNED LIME AS AN
APPLICATION TO THE SOIL.

The application of burned lime to the
soil is of high antiquity, and its utility
is such as has been recognized in almost
every country in which agriculture has
obtained much eminence ; and certainly
it has been more largely and extensively
used as a fertilizer from a very remote
period than any other mineral substance
that has ever been made available in
practical husbandry. Cato describes
with much minuteness the best means
of preparing it ; and Pliny attests the
use of slaked lime by the Roman culti-
vators as a dressing for the soil in which
fruit-trees were grown. It was also ap-
plied by the Arabs with equal success
in Spain. Hence it may be inferred
that what has been good in ages pt^st is
good at the present time.

When lime is applied to the soil, it is
believed by some that it acts in two
ways — one,s.s &sti)niila)it that promotes

vegetation by causing the soil with
which it is mixed to exert itself, and the
other, in promoting the growth of trees
and plants by enriching the land as a
manure, and adding to the quantity of
vegetable food. By others, it is looked
upon in a chemical and medicinal point
of view, acting as an alterative, a cor-
rector, a dissolver, or a decomposer — a
disengager of certain parts of the ani-
mal, vegetable and mineral substances
contained in the soil, and as a retainer
and combiner with others, but not as a
substance, like dung or decayed organic
matter, fit for the immediate use and
nourishment of plants, except in small
proportions. It also produces a me-
chanical altei'ation in the soil, which is
simply and easily understood, and is the
cause of a series of chemical changes
that are really obscure, and are as yet
susceptible of only partial explanation.
In the finely-divided state of quicklime,
or slaked lime, or of soft and crumbling-
chalk, it stiffens very loose soils and
opens the stiffer clays ; while in the
form of limestone gravel or of shell-
sand, it may be employed either for
opening a clayey soil or giving body and
firmness to boggy land. Thus, it proves
very useful in tenacious, heavy, clayey
soils, while it may be dispensed with in
light ones, as scarcely, if at all, affecting
them.

The purposes served by lime as a
chemical constituent of the soil are at
least of four distinct kinds, namely :
First, it supplies a kind of inorganic
food which appears to be necessary to
the healthy growth of all cultivated
plants. Secondly, it neutraHzes acid
substances, which are naturally formed
in the soil, and decomposes or renders
harmless other noxious compounds, that
are not unfrequently within reach of the
roots of plants. Thirdly, it changes
the inert vegetable matter in tlie soil so
as gradually to render it useful to vege-
tation. Fourthly, it causes, facihtates,
or enables other useful compounds, both
organic and inorganic, to be produced
in the soil, or so promoteS'the decompo-
sition of existing compounds as to pre-
pare them more speedily for entering
into the circulation of plants.

Burned or quicklime is of an all-aline
or lasic nature, like potash and soda.
Bodies of this kind form the chemical
opposites to those of an acid nature ;
that is, they deprive them of their sour

AGRICULTURAL

839

taste, and their acid properties and ac-
tions in general, wlion they combine
with them, while on tlieir own side they
give up their basic properties. For in-
stance, from the most corrosive hydro-
chloric acid, and the most caustic soap-
boiler's lye arises a compound which no
lon;j;er tastes sharp or caustic, but only
mildly saline, namely, common table
salt. Their mutual resignation and de-
livering up of their characteristic pro-
perties, which occurs in all cases where
an alkaline base meets with an acid, is
called neutralization, and a new pro-
duct arising from the two is termed a
salt.

A good soil, in a state of readiness for
culture, must not possess any acid pro-
perties. All the cultivated plants grow
less I'reely and less vigorously in soils
containing acids, than in such as are
weakly basic, or even neutral, and their
growth becomes inferior in proportion
as the quantity of acid in the soil in-
creases. The production of acids takes
place in every soil ; for the humus,
which originates both from the remains
of plants and refuse remaining in the
ground, and from stable manure, is of
an acid nature ; the soil, however, usu-
ally contains in its mineral constituents
so many bases, (lime, magnesia, potash,
and soda,) while the nitrogen of the
stable-dung produces another, (ammo-
nia,) that these suffice to neutralize the
acids formed, and to convert the acid
into tempered or neutralized humus.
Combined with bases, the humus under-
goes a far more rapid and extensive de-
composition into food for vegetation ;
that is, into solu1>le substances applica-
ble to the growth of plants, while the
acid hunms, whether produced by want
of moisture, or by a superabundance of
peaty substances, undergoes further de-
cay, but slowly and with difficulty.

Lime is not merely a hase, but a very
strong base, and can therefore even ex-
tract from the weaker bases occurring in
the soil the acids with which they are
already combined. Hence it acts with
advantage in those cases where weaker
bases are such as become soluble by
combination with acids, and are in this
condition capable of interfering with the
growth of plants. Of this kind espe-
cially are the bases which originate from
the ferruginous particles present in all
soils covered with water, such as are
situated in low-lands excluded from the
access of atmospheric air by a tenacious

covering. Humic and carbonic acids
produced in such places render the par-
ticles of prot-oxyd of iron soluble, and
these again cause the soil to become
sterile or less fertile, just like the water
which we see in ferruginous springs
flowing from deposits of lignite or peat.
On this account, fresh, black mud from
ponds or lakes always acts injuiiously
upon fields and meadows the first year ;
hence the dead subsoil, when mixed at
once with the surface soil, so often
causes a diminution of fertility for one
or more years. In like manner, in a
soil which contains much pyrites, the
oxygenation or weathering of the ground
may readily produce so much soluble
salt of iron (green vitriol, or sulphate of
iron,) as to disturb the growth of plants.
In all these cases, lime is an excellent
means of rendering the iron insoluble,
and, at the same time, of giving it a ten-
dency to absorb 0X3'gen from the air
more rapidly and abundantlj^ whereby
the black prot-ox3'd of iron is changed
into brown per-oxyd, (iron-rust,) which
no longer acts injuriously upon vegeta-
tion.

Caustic or quicklime, as its name in-
dicates, attacks the skin of the hand and
dissolves it in washing, in the same way
as potash or soda lye, and has a similar
action upon other animal and vegetable
substances, as many farmers, perhaps,
have noticed on the sacks in which they
have kept lime, which soon became rot-
ten and soft. When lime is mixed with
the soil, it acts in this decomposing and
dissolving manner upon the roots, leaves,
straw, and other parts of vegetables, as
also upon organic constituents of the
soil, wliich are already partially convert-
ed into humus. It hastens the decom-
position of those substances which are
often very slow and disinclined to fer-
mentation in heavy soils, not freely ad-
mitting atmospheric air to a greater ac-
tivity ; that is, to a more rapid fermen-
tation, putrefaction, and decay, whereby
they are decomposed into carbonic acid
and ammonia, which arc then absorbed
by the roots of the living plants as the
most important of all their food. The
action which lime exerts in this way
clearly agrees in appearance with that
])roduced by direct fertilizers, such as
stable manui-e, guano, etc. But there is
tliis great dillerence between the two.
The lime does not work with its own
material, but at the expense of otlier
matter, namel}', at that of the land or of

340

AGRICULTURAL,

its strength, while the direct manures
act with their own power. It is, there-
fore, self-evident that the latter enrich
the soil, while lime renders it poorer.
The universal effects of this independent^
unmixed liming or marling of land,
which has been established by practice
in Europe, as well as in many parts of
this country, is obvious not only by the
well-known German saying, " Rich fa-
ther, poor children," but also by the still
more precisely expressed maxim,

" Much lime and no manure,
Make both farm and farmer poor."

Besides, on heavy, inactive soils, lime
may be expected to produce good effects
by its decomposing and dissolving power
in all cases where the soil is rich in or-
ganic remains, especially when the air
lias not had free access to it ; conse-
quently, on new ground, reclaimed from
forest, broken-up meadows, and pasture-
land, reclaimed peat-bogs, salt-marshes,
and low-lying lands after they have been
well drained. But even burned lime fre-
quently does not develop its effects until
the second or third year.

Quicklime can also act as a decomposer
and solvent of mineral substances. It
causes, for instance, an unlocking of the
mineral constituents of the soil, the pro-
ducts of which (silica, potash, etc.,) can
then be consumed as food by the plants
"•rowing upon it. The experience that
liming pre-eminently favors the forma-
tion of haulm, and gives the straw of the
cereals great stiffness, is explained by
this in the most simple manner : It is
not the lime which produces this, but
the mineral substances rendered soluble
and therefore assimilable by the lime
above all the silica. The results of these
experiments at the same time confirm
ihe correctness of the opinion that the
farmer need not pay any attention to
silica, in manuring, since it exists almost
everywhere in sufficient quantity in the
soil, but that he need only take care that
there shall not be a deficiency of its sol-
rents, and of the conditions which favor
its solution. Thus, lime is a powerful
means of assisting the oxygenation, or
weathering, of stony and earthy consti-
tuents of the soil ; it, therefore, forms
an aid to those bodies, and forces such
as air, water, carbonic acid, (humus,)
heat, etc., which carry on this process of
decomposition everywhere in acting in-
dependently of human interference. In
a heavy soil, this natural weathering

can, of course, only proceed slowly, be-
cause the tenacity obstructs the access
of air and the production of carbonic
acid from humus. When, therefore, ex-
perience says that lime proves far more
favorable in heavy than in light soils, it
might certainly be deduced from the pre-
ceding statement, that its chemical ac-
tion, now under consideration, may claim
an essential share in the beneficial effects
in the first case.

Lime forms a necessary constituent of
all plants ; if not present in sufficient
quantity in the soil, the growth of vege-
tation is poor ; therefore, lime may act
favorably in certain cases by supplying
this deficiency. By far the majority of
soils contain lime abundantly sufficient
for the requirements of the nutrition and
development of plants ; and, if manuring
is performed regularly and properly,
there can still be a want of such kind,
since stable manure, alone, conveys into
the soil more lime than is removed from
it, even in very abundant crops ; culti-
vated soils rather grow continually rich-
er in lime, and plants, which consume
very much lime in their development,
especially if grown in frequent succes-
sion in the same field, will naturally lead
much sooner to an exhaustion of the
lime of the soil, than those plants which
take up lime moderately.

Carbonate of lime is far less coherent
in textm-e, and is of looser nature than
clay or loam, so that it has the power of
improving tenacious soils mechanically
by rendering them less tough and solid ;
and hence, more porous and open.
Quicklime changes into carbonate of lime
by degrees in the soil, and will then con-
sequently act in the same way. When
mixed with sand, on the contrary, it
renders this more coherent and close.

Lime also imparts to mixtures of
earths, as is shown by saltpetre beds,
the power of converting nitrogen, of pu-
trefying and decaying vegetable and an-
imal substances into nitric acid which
enters into combination with the lime to
form nitrate of lime. According to some
experiments made in England, lime is
supposed to increase the power of earths
to absorb ammonia from the atmosphere,
and to contribute indirectly, by the de-
composition of ammoniacal salts in the
soil, to a fixation of ammonia by the
clay and silica. Quicklime absorbs car-
bonic acid gas from the atmosphere and
from the soil, passing in the operation

AGRICULTURAL

341

into the mild condition of carbonate of
lime. Possibly, this also may afford as-
sistance to the growth of plants.

Tjastly, it has been observed that the
devolopuicnt of plants proceeds some-
what more rapidly in soils mannred with
lime, so that they run more qnickly
through the period from germination to
maturity on unlimcd land. Such an ac-
tion upon the duration of vegetation
would be a recommendation of lime for
agriculture in northern, elevated and ex-
posed districts. •

ENCOURAGEMENT TO AGRICUL-
TURAL EDUCATION.

The bill reported by Mr. Merril, which
sometime since passed the House of Rep-
resentatives, grants six millions, three
hundred and forty thousand acres of
land,* to be apportioned to all the States
— equal to 20,000 acres, for each Sena-
tor and Representative in Congress to
which the States are now respectively
entitled. The proceeds of the sale of
the lands to be invested in stocks of the
United States, or of the States, or some
other safe stocks, the money so invested
to constitute a perpetual fund, the inter-
est of which shall be inviolablj' appro-
propriated by each State to the endow-
ment, support and maintenance of at
least one college, where the leading ob-
ject shall be, without excluding other
scientific or classical studies, to teach
such brunches of learning as are related
to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in
such manner as the Legislatures of the
States may prescribe, in order to pro-
mote the liberal and practical education
of the industrial classes in the several
pursuits and professions of life.

We sincerely hope that this bill will
receive the attention of the Senate, and
be enacted into a law this very session.
It is certain that no better or more ap-
propriate use can be made of the public
lands than to endow institutions to teach
such sciences as throw light on the
business of soil-culture.

HUNGARIAN GRASS— MILLET.

Much has been said of late in the agri-
cultural journals of a grass termed the
"//«/i{/a/'/rtH," and application has been
made to us to procure some of the seed.
The matter has not escaped our attention

but we had some misgivings whether it
was not one of our old established grass-
es under a new name. The editor of
the Farmer and Planter, at Pendleton,
S. C, says it is nothing more nor less
than the Millet — to the great value of
which we have for years past been ur-
gently directing the attention of the
readers of the American Farmer who
have not meadows whereon to grow hay.
In this month (May) up to the beginning
of June, though earlier the better, the
seed should be sown in our own lati-
tude ; if the ground is well plowed,
say 8 inches deep, and well harrowed,
and 2 pecks per acre of seed sown, with
say 300 lbs. Peruvian, or perhaps 150
lbs. of that guano, and an c(iual quantity
of Nevassa guano, 8 tons of excellent
hay can be made, which will be relished
by all kinds of stock, horses particular-
ly. Upwards of 4 tons have been raised
from an acre. It stands the drouth pro-
bable equal to any of the grass family —
and is easily cured. After cutting,
which should be when the heads begin
to turn yellow, let it lay in the swaths
a day, — turn it over the next day after
the dew is off, and when the lower side
is dry throw it into cocks, increasing
their size, and when sufficiently cured
have it stowed away in your barracks
or barn. — American Farmer.

TO ASCERTAIN THE WEIGHT OF
LIVE CATTLE.

It is easy to see that the following can
not be very exact, and yet it may be of
some use ; —

" Experienced drovers and butchers are
in the habit of buying cattle, estimating
their weight on foot. From long obser-
vation and practice they are enabled to
come very nearly to the actual weight of
an animal ; but many of them would bo
most apt to err, if at all, on the right
side ; while the less experienced farmer
always stands the greatest chance to get
the worst of the bargain. To such we
would reconnnend the following rule to
ascertain the weight of cattle, which is
said to approach very nearly the truth,
in most cases. The proof oV this to the
satisfaction of any farmer, is easily de-
termined at most of the annual fairs,
where scales are erected, and at numer-
ous other points in the country.

"Rule.— Take a string, put it around
the breast, stand square just behind the

342

AGRICULTURAL.

shoulder blade, measure on a rule the feet
and inches theanimalisinch'cumference;
this is called the girth ; then, with the
string, measure from the bone of the tail
which plumbs the line with the hinder
part of the buttock ; direct the line along
the back to the fore part of the shoulder
blade ; take the dimension on the foot
rule as before, which is the length ; and
work the figures in the following manner :
Girth of the animal, say 6 feet 4 inches,
length 5 feet 3 inches, which multiplied
together makes 31 square superficial feet,
and that multiplied by 23 (the number
of pounds allowed to each superficial foot
of cattle measuring less than seven and
more than five feet in girth,) makes 713
pounds. When the animal measures
less than nine and more than seven feet
in girth, 31 is the number of pounds to
each superficial foot. Again, suppose a
pig or any small beast should measure
2 feet in girth, and 2 along the back,
which feet in girth and 2 along the back
multiplied together, makes 4 square feet,
that multiplied by eleven, the number
of pounds allowed to each square foot, of
cattle measuring less than three feet in
girth, makes 44 pounds. Again, sup-
pose a calf, a sheep, &c., should measure
4 feet 6 inches in girth, and 3 feet 9 inch-
es in length, which multiplied together
make 15 1-4 square feet ; that multiplied
by 1 6, the number of pounds allowed to
cattle measuring less than 5 feet and
more than three in girth, makes 265 lbs.
The dimensions of girth and length of
horned cattle, sheep, calves and hogs,
may be exactly taken in this way, as it
is all that is necessary for any computa-
tion, or any valuation of stock, and will
answer exactly to the four quarters, sink-
ing ofFal. The rule is so simple that any
man wdth a bit of chalk can work it out.
Much is often lost to farmers by mere
guess-work in the weight of their stock,
and this plain rule is well worth their at-
tention.— Valley Farmer.

STICK TO THE FARM— BETTER
CULTIVATION.

Eds. Northwestern Farmer : — While
the great political question of freedom
and freesoil is agitating our Nation to its
center, and other powers of the earth
are watching with intense interest the
developments in favor of the rights of
man, there is another question, although
not of like moral import, yet all are
more or less interested therein, which

is being discussed and felt by multitudes
— especially here is the West, were it
has become a theme of much magnitude
to the minds and purposes of those en-
gaged in Agriculture. It is the question
or fact of hard times and the low price
of produce. How often is it remarked,
" that it won't pay to raise wheat at the
present prices." Well, what will the
farmers do ? It surely will not pay to
leave the farm for any other business,
for all are hard up, and the farmer is
better off than they, unless by foolish
extravagance he has brought the sheriff
to his door. Therefore he ponders,
waiting for some new development to
aid him out of his difficulty. But let us
see if it won't pay to stick to the farm
and raise wheat, even for fifty cents a
bushel. It is a fact which can be easily
demonstrated that land, unless some that
is new, can be made to yield double with
one quarter more labor, than it does
now, and constantly be growing better,
instead, as at present decreasing at the
rate of ten cents per acre on an average,
as they now are. The average of wheat
per acre in England, is nearer forty,
than thirty bushels ; while in the United
States, it does not average over ten bush-
els per acre. Why is this difierence ?
It is not in the native richness of the
soil, nor in the climate ; for in both,
ours exceeds theirs. It is in the difier-
ent modes of culture. First, the nature
and capability of their soils are known
and crops are sown accordingly^ Se-
cond, they cultivate more thoroughly —
plowing deep, pulverizing the soil
finely, draining, and by a judicious
rotation of crops, and the application
of manures, both mineral and animal,
supply the land with the elements of
fertility which are being constantly re-
moved ; while here, in too many in-
stances, the direct reverse is the rule, and
that the exception. How often do we
see one man and a team trying to culti-
vate eighty or one hundred acres, plow-
ing in the mud three or four inches deep
where the land requires draining, want-
ing manure, half seeding and badly put
in, thinking that the number of acres
sown and not the amount per acre raised
will be the ratio of profits. Harvest
comes and with it the expense of going
over four acres to get the legitimate pro-
duce of one, and when the bills are all
paid it is found that it does not paj^ to
raise wheat at such prices. If they had
understood, or followed the laws of

AGRICULTURAL

343

gi'owth and suppl\', the results would
have been far different.

The first reason for these thins^s is
found in the avaricious desire for all the
land which joins, or in other words, farm-
ers trjr to cultivate too much land, and
consequently neglect the whole. Se-
cond, they do not keep stock enough to
make manure to supply the farm, and
too often wasting what little they do
have. Third, ignorant of the principles
which govern the growth of vegetation
or of the adaptation of different soils, or
of the nccessit}^ of manure. If farmers
would inform themselves upon these
things and act upon that information,
farming could be made to pay even at
fifty cents per bushel for wheat. A
knowledge of these things is absolutely
necessary to save our land from actual
starvation in the years which are to
come. Farmers should hail with delight,
every avenue which opens a way that it
may be obtained, both for themselves
and their children, and should labor to
bring to completion and to encourage
every enterprise which has this object
in view. They should aid and push on
the effort to establish Agricultural Col-
leges, that by their influence light may
be thrown upon their path which will
help them to occupy their true position
among the callings of life.

H. C. Coon,
ill iV^. W. Farmer.

The writer of the above does not quite
go to the bottom of things. We lack a
due proportion of mechanics, as com-
pared with the agriculturists. Let us
supply our own iron, instead of buying
it ; let us clothe ourselves, instead of
getting Europe to clothe us ; in short let
us produce, as fast as the condition of a
new country with too much land, will
permit, whatever we want to eat, drink
and wear ; to stay at home with and
to go abroad with ; to sleep on and to
sleep under ; to live and die and be
buried with; and then there will be no
need to exhort the farmer to stick to his
business. He will stick to it with its
good prices, because he can find no
other so remunerating business. That
abominable doctrine that it is cheaper
to buy than to produce, is what puts
prices below a living, thriving business

for the l^irmer. If we will manufacture
half our irons and woolens, wheat will
never be down to fifty cents a bushel
again. Throw you politics overboard,
and look at this subject as reasonable
men.

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

THE SUGAR CANE.

THE CHIN'ESK SUGAR CANE.

I SHALL endeavor to treat of the .sugar
cane in various aspects as far as the
means within my reach will permit.

I will first examine its history, and
incidentally its nativity or the countries
in which it was indigenous.

2d. I will examine its botanical struc-
ture and classification.

3d. I will treat of its habits, its con-
stitution and acclimatization.

4th. I will examine its uses, pro-
ducts, and the processes of their manu-
facture.

The history of the sugar cane dates
back to an early period. Some writers
suppose it was known to the Jews at an
early period of their history, and that
the Hebrew word sometimes rendered
calamus, and sometimes sweet cane, did
in fact mean the sugar cane. It was
first made known to the Greeks, accord-
ing to Strabo, by the military expedi-
tions of Alexander the Great, 325 years
before Christ. His fleet of 2000 ships
sailed down the eastern branch of the
Indus, and thence along the coast to the
Persian Gulf, and up the Euphrates to
Babylon. It was during this voyage
that Nearchus, the commander of the
fleet, found the sugar cane, cultivated
by the inhabitants of the country, pro-
bably about the mouths of the Indus.
Alexander himself did not make the
voyage, but returned with a part of his
army from the forks of the Indus to
Babylon by land, so that we are indebt-
ed to the report of his voyage, made by
Nearchus to the king, for the record of
the discovery. It would seem that
Alexander himself, who sailed down the

344

AGRICULTURAL

Indus to its western mouth in N, L. 24°,
did not meet with it there, or anywhere
personally during his expeditions. This
would seem to indicate that it was not
indigenous in any of the countries
traversed by him in person, although it
is not conclusive. It may be that the
cultivation only had not extended. It
is spoken of by Varro, Dioscorides and
Lucan as a large reed produced in Ara-
bia and India, which yielded a kind of
honey called saccharon. They describe
it as a kind of salt, or having the ap-
pearance of salt, and as brittle when
chewed, and dissolving in water. The
art of crystalizing it must then have
been known. These writers refer to
the century immediately preceding the
Christian era. Lucan says also that
certain Asiatic nations in alliance with
Pompey used the juice of the cane as a
common drink.

Arrian, who wrote in the second cen-
tury of our era, speaks of sugar by the
name of sachar, as an article of com-
merce from India to the Red Sea in his
time. TertuUian, in the same century,
speaks of a species of honey procured
from canes. It would appear from these
that its use in both the forms of sugar
and molasses, and perhaps some others,
was then known to the Romans.

Some writers have supposed that the
crusades brought the western nations of
Europe acquainted with the sugar cane
and its products, but I can find no allu-
sion to it in the meagre chronicles of
any of their writers. It is a remarkable
proof of the decline and loss of know-
ledge, and of the cessation of intercourse
between the inhabitants of different
countries once connected by commercial
relations, that the next notice we have
of the sugar cane and its products is in
the travels of Marco Polo between the
years 1270 and 1295. He speaks of
sugar as an abundant product of the
southern parts of China, or Mansi, as
he terms it, and of Bangala, or Ben-
gal in modern nomenclature, from which

the Tartar government of Kublai Khan
derived a large revenue. Next, Varco
de Garna, in 1497, found a considerable
commerce in sugar carried on in the
Kingdom of Calicret, then a small king-
dom lying on the east coast of the Ara-
bian vSea, between the modern Bombay
and Cape Comorin, in about 12" N. L.
It was found in Nubia by John Lioni in
1500, and a considerable commerce in
sugar was then carried on in that coun-
try. It was abundant at Thebes, on the
Nile, and in the northern parts of Africa
at the same period.

Bruce found it in upper Egypt in 1768.
In the countries discovered by Colum-
bus, the sugar cane is shown to have
been known in Hispaniolia during
Columbus' second voyage. It was un-
doubtedly indigenous in the West India
Islands and on the north coast of South
America, and in Southern Africa, where
several varieties are now said to exist
in a wild state. It was not proba-
bly indigenous in any country beyond
25° on each side of the equator, and only
in low and warm situations within most
of those limits.

2d. In its botanical classification it is
a genus of the Digynia order, belonging
to the Triandria class of plants ; and in
the natural method ranking under the
fourth order Gramina. It has no calyx,
but a long down, and the corolla is
bivalved. The root is fibrous, and di-
vided into many radicles. The stem or
stalk is a jointed reed rising fi'om six to
fifteen feet. The joints vary in number,
according to the variety, from ten to
sixty. In some varieties the joints are
naked, without leaves or blades, only
showing a small germ or bud at each
joint, in others a sheath arising from
each encases the stalk half way to the
next joint, when a leaf or blade, lanceo-
late and deeply serrated on the edges,
resembling the blade of the common
corn, springs out. The varieties whose
joints are naked have a tuft of lanceo-
late, serrated leaves rising from the top

AGRICULTURAL

346

of the main stalk, from the center of
which a small arrow rises from three to
five feet, bearing the reeds in the form
of a panicle at its summit. The form
of the seed vessel is, so far as I can
learn, the same in all the varieties.
When ripe, the stalk or stem is a fine
straw color, approaching to yellow.
Several stalks often, but not unformly,
rise from one root.

3d. Its habits vary with soil and cli-
mate, and exhibit unequivocal proof of
its tropical nativity. In regions where
frost is unknown, the root is perennial
in its native state, with an annual stalk.
Where cultivated in the same districts,
annual cutting in three years so for ex-
hausts the root that replanting becomes
necessary. This is sometimes, but rare-
ly, done with the seed. The usual
method is to lay down the stalk. For
this purpose a trench is dug with the
plow or the hoe, five or six inches deep,
and fifteen inches wide at bottom by
two and a half feet at top. Five or six
joints from the tops of the stalks are
then cut off and laid lengthwise in the
bottom, and covered two inches deep
with the earth taken out of the trench.
AVhcn the plants have risen a few inches,
the weeds are removed, and they are
hilled up a little with a part of the earth
taken from the trench, which is called a
bank. This process is repeated until
the bank is exhausted. They must be
kept clean of weeds, and all lateral
shoots should be removed which spring
up after the cane begins to joint. The
rows are 8 J or 4 feet apart. In some
rich spots on the island of St. Christo-
pher, an acre has produced 8000 lbs. of
Muscovado sugar in a year. Two hog.s-
heads of 1,600 lbs. each, per acre, is
about an average yield on that and other
West India islands. As we recede from
the tropics, the plant becomes less luxu-
riant, and its habits and constiution seem
to undergo a change. In Louisiana, be-
tween 2t)° and 33" N. L., it becomes an
annual plant, and the variety usually

cultivated is lial)le to be so injured by
frost, that the st:ilks can not be used for
propagation. It is evident that it accli-
mates slowly. Some varieties are either
naturally more hardy than others, or
they have been earlier pushed beyond
their native limits.

A variety distinguished as the Chinese
sugar cane, to which the botanical name
of sorghum saccharum has been given,
has been introduced into the United
States through the Patent OfBcc within
the last three years. A botanical writer
in England, in 1816, gave to the sugar
cane the botanical name of sacharum
officinarium, and stated that there was
but one species. He described the cane
of the West India Islands. Earlier
botanists named it arundo saccharifera.
Instead of a variety, it seems to me to
be entitled to be classed as a distinct
species. It is possible, however, that
all the distinctive features may have
been caused by the process of acclimati-
zation.

Mr. Wray, an intelligent traveler, in
1851 found no less than sixteen varieties
of sugar-bearing cane in Caffraria, and
easily made sugar from them. Mr.
Wray names the plant the Imphee.
Such confusions of names arc very
common amongst botanists, as might
reasonably be expected, where more
than 200,000 varieties of the vegetable
kingdom, all having more or less in
common, are to be classified and ar-
ranged. Some of the varieties, no doubt
diflferent ones, are now cultivated more
or less in England, France, Spain, Portu-
gal, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Turkey,
Mauritius, Australia, Ceylon, Africa,
Eastern Asia, the West Indies, Mexico,
Brazil, Canada and the United States.

The variety recently introduced into
the United States under the various
names of sorghum saccharum, sorgho
Sucre, and Chinese sugar cane, was in-
troduced by the seed directly from
France through the Patent Office, and
indircctl}'^ from the north part of China,

346

AGRICULTURAL

whence its name. It is supposed to be
a different variety from any of the six-
teen varieties found by Mr. "Wray in the
south of Africa.

If it has been, as stated, brought to
France from the north of China, its cul-
vation has been extended since the time
of Marco Polo, the close of the thirteenth
century, from the southern to the north-
ern parts of China, or through probably
about twelve degrees of latitude. This
will account for some of the reports re-
specting its properties and habitudes
which have accompanied its introduction
into this country. The temperature of
N. E. China, in latitude 40°, is about
equivalent to N. S. 45°, in the interior
of the North American continent. As
it is well known, therefore, that a proper
ripeness of the cane is indisiiensable to
the crystalization of the juices, it is no
matter of surprise that the cultivators in
that district of country should be unable
to make sugar from it, although in the
south of China and Bengal immense
quantities of sugar were manufactured
from it six hundred years since. "We
know also, in countries situated in the
same great division of the earth, sugar
was known and in use more than two
thousand years since, and we have no
account of any more than one variety
of the cane in Asia. It has been plant-
ed in various parts of the United States
in 1855, '56 and '57, in only a few lo-
calities in 1855 and '56. It 1857 it has
been planted to a greater or less extent
in every State in the Union, and a very
general interest has been excited re-
specting it. The season has been an un-
propitious one ; corn, grapes, and some
other articles of common cultivation
not having matured by any means as
usual.

Nevertheless, much has been gained.
The habits and capabilities of the plant
have been ascertained, and its success
as an article of cultivation and manufac-
ture rendered certain. The average
temperature of the great Mississippi val-

ley, from the foot of the Laurel Hill
west at least to the border of Kansas
and Nebraska, is as high, if not higher,
in 40° N. L., as that of China in 35°.
May we not then reasonably presume,
from the experience of the past, that in
ordinary seasons, with proper cultiva-
tion, it may be thoroughly ripened in
the wide extent of country between the
Alleghany Mountains and the elevated
country approaching the Rocky Moun-
tains, as far North as 41° N. L. ? Many
experiments have been made the present
year to determine the amount and
quality of its products, the uses to
which the different parts of the plant
may be applied, as well as the best mode
of treating it during its growth, and the
best mode of extracting and manufac-
turing the juice. It can not be expect-
ed that the experience of one year, that
an unfavorable one, will have matiu'ed
any definite system upon any of these
important and interesting questions.

For example, some have pruned out
all offshoots, and restricted the canes to
five or six in a hill, planting the hills
four feet each way. Others permit all
offshoots to grow, increasing the canes
to ten or twelve in a hill, in a strong
soil. Some pull out the panicles as soon
as they ris^ above the upper leaf; some
cut them off when in bloom, and some
suffer them to ripen ; and no opportu-
nity has yet been afforded of comparing
results and ascertaining which has been
most successful. Various and widely
different estimates, ranging from 100 to
400 gallons per acre, have been made as
to the quantity of syrup it would pro-
duce. A few small samples of sugar
have been produced. The machinery
for expressing the juice has been hastily
constructed and imperfect. Most of it
has not extracted more than three-fifths,
and some not more than one half the
juice, and this, with the differences in
the growth of the crop and the various
stages of ripeness and modes of treat-
ment, will readily account for the differ-

AGRICULTURAL.

847

ent estimates of quantity as well as any
discrepancies in quality. Some exper-
iments seem to indicate that most of the
extraneous elements to be separated
from the juice are obtained from the
hard shell of the canes and the sheaths
of the leaves, the juice of the ripe pith
being found to be nearly colorless, and
to be pure water and sugar. The juice
of the ripe cane has a specific gravity of
1.085. Extracted in the progress of the
plant towards maturity, it increases in
density from 1.025 to 1.050, 1.075 to
1.085 when fully ripe. The proportion
of sugar increases in the same ratio, and
rcadilj^ accounts for the fact that where
one has made one gallon of syrup from
ten gallons of juice, another has made a
gallon of equal density from five gallons
of juice. I need only remind your in-
telligent readers that the difference be-
tween the specific gravity of water and
the juice of the sugar cane is caused by
the presence in solution in the latter of
sugar. The specific gravity of pure
white sugar is 1.6065 according to some,
and only 1.4045 according to other chem-
ists.

The percentage of sugar, therefore, in-
creases in the rates in which the cane
approaches maturity. The proportion
of sugar contained in the juice ranges
from ten to sixteen per cent. In the
process of manufacturing, various modes
have been tiied. Some add a very small
quantity of quicklime to the juice when
put over the fire. Some prefer and use
chloride of lime. Some use nothing at
that stage. All agree in heating the
juice slowly to about 180°, and keeping
it so for some time, from one to two
hours, taking care that it does not boil.
The object is to bring as much as possi-
ble of the extraneous and ferulciit mat-
ter to the surface, whence it is removed
by skimming. Lime is used to neutral-
ize the excess of oxygen in the juice,
whicli prevents the formation of sugar.
Those who reject the use of lime, in phice
of it, when the juice is about two-thirds
evaporated, add a small portion of sweet

milk or well beaten whites of eggs, which
produce effects similar to the lime.
Many experiments yet remain to be
made before the proper mode of treat-
ment shall be discovered and become
generally established. "Wherever the
saccharine principles exist in sufficient
quantities, there is no doubt that by
proper processes thej'' can be concen-
trated and crystalized. The processes
adapted to the particular combinations
are to be sought out and applied. That
the skill, science and energy of this
country will prove unable to accomplish
it, is an imputation not for a moment to
be tolerated. Sugar, sjrup, or molasses
and alcohol, will soon be produced from
it in Ohio in abundance. No part of the
plant is useless. The young stalks and
blades are a rich and palatable food for
stock of all kinds, and by cutting it
above the lower joint in July two crops
a year can be cut for fodder. The seed,
of which it produces from twenty to
fifty bushels per acre, is heavier and a
more nutritious food for horses, cattle,
sheep, poultry, and hogs than oats. The
fable of their being poisonous to horses
is simply absurd. Some imprudent man
has no doubt foundered a horse to his
death on it, as manj^ a one before has
done on wheat, rye, corn, and oats, with-
out ever sagely inferring that those
grains were poisonous.

From the stalks, after the juice was
expressed, a fine, close, strong quality
of paper has already been manufactured
in this city in sufficient quantity to af-
ford a certain test, and there is no lon-
ger a doubt that it will become one of
the most valuable raw materials for the
manufacture of some of the most abun-
dant and useful qualities of paper.

RoswELL Marsh.

LUCK.

TiiEKE are believers, even among gar-
deners, in luck. "Oh!" says one, "he
had a good chance ;" another declares
his successful friend was " a lucky fel-
low." The "luck'' which has made the

348

AGRICULTURAL.

fortune of the best gardeners is no luck
at all. It is knowledge acquired by-
hard study and hard labor ; by reading,
and avoiding the dram bottle ; by keep-
ing a steady eye on the results of exper-
iments aided by the knowledge of writ-
ten materials. What " luck" can a gar-
dener have who prefers idleness to bot-
any ; what hope can he ever entertain of
rising to independence, if he can not dis-
tinguish one .species of plants from
another ? He must always be at fault,
unless he knows something more than
routine cultivation, and can adapt his
tactics to new circumstances, or give
himself a reason for his acts. " Luck is
a term to be expunged from every voca-
bulary except that of the gaming-table
or the turf. In the Language of Dr.
Lindley : " Our personal expei'ience in
this matter now extends over the best
part of a half a century, during which
time circumstances have brought within
our knowledge the private history of
most of the successes and failures which
in that period have deserved notice
among gardeners, and we feel entirely
justified in saying that those who have
risen have had to thank their own su-
perior knowledge, the fruit of superior
industry ; while those who have feUen
can only blame themselves for that want
of knowledge and determination to suc-
ceed, which, in this world, are indispen-
sable in all classes where mental power
is necessary, and from which political
influence is withheld."

Were any proof of the justice of this
opinion needed, it would be found in the
skill of those eminent men in the horti-
cultural world who, by diligent study,
have privately, and in spite of difficul-
ties, acquired what, in the absence of
such energy, would have been denied to
them. — Horticulturist.

This is equally true of the farmer.
Industry and enei'gy are essential, and
yet these are not enough. They are lia-
ble to be misapplied. It is necessary that
they be directed b}^ intelligence — an in-
telligence higher than ordinarily comes
unsought— that which is the result of
inquiry, reading, investigation, thought,
application of the laws of nature to soil
culture, stock growing, trade, domestic
economy, and whatever adorns and ele-
vates and renders independent. Such
intelligence, not without mother wit,

but with it, is and ever will be the mea-
sure of success. The boy and the young
man now looking forward to the farm
for a living, indifferent to knowledge,
thinking they know quite enough to be
farmers, will certainly fail in the race,
as compared with their fellows, who at
the same age, and then onward in life, as
opportunity offers, are delving after a
knowledge of nature and her laws, with
a view to apply these laws to their busi-
ness.— Ed.

FEEDING FARM HORSES.

C. W. Knight who received apremiuni
from the Virginia State Agricultural So-
ciety, for an essay on this subject, says
that he has found his horses kept in good
condition under hard work, with eight
quarts of meal, composed of one-third In-
dian corn and two-thirds good oats, by
measure, mixed with cut straw or corn
husks, and fed in three meals per day.
The straw and husks were wet with
water, in which salt had been dissolved.
He continued this course for a year — the
horses being kept exclusively on the
straw and husks and meal — and esti-
mates the saving over the usual mode of
feeding with hay and whole grain, at 1\\
cents per day, or $42.36 cents per year.
He says it is best to have the meal rather
coarsely ground, as fine meal sticks to the
roof of the horse's mouth and annoys
him.. — Ex.

CURIOSITIES IN THE WAY OF
CATTLE.

A LARGE crowd surrounded a lot of cat-
tle, in the Fifth street market, all Friday
afternoon. They consisted of a cow of
Chinese species, five years old, which
measured only 36 inches in hight, a calf
by her side, four months old, 25 inches
in hight, and a bull of the same species,
measuring 48 inches. There were also
three calves of the same breed, all of the
same liiliputian dimensions. The cow
generally gives from ten to fifteen quarts
of milk per day. Full grown cattle of
this species weigh about 400 pounds.
The group in market were curiosities in
a small way. — Cin. Gazette.

The best way to strengthen a good res-
olution is to act as you resolve. If you
resolve to repair an old fence, it strength-
ens the resolution and fence too to com-
mence at once. ,

AGRICULTURA L

349

WHAT FARMERS SHOULD LIVE
FOR.

A OEM this, from the Souther?! yEgis.
How we wish all farmers would heed it,
their education is the best in the world,
their life is the highest life. Why can't
they find it out ?

" There is something worth living for
besides money. This is very good but
it is not all. "With the rest let us raisj
a crop of good ideas. While you are
farmers, remember also that you are
men, with duties and responsibilities.
Live down the old brutal notion that a
former must be uncouth, uneducated
and unthinking — a mere ploddrapps.

" Move towards a better life. Do not
keep your boys cornshelling all the long
winter evenings. Make your farm a
place your sons and daughters can not
help loving. Cultivate the trees — they
are God's messengers.

" Care much for books and pictures.
Don't keep a solemn parlor into which
you go but once a month with the par-
son, or the gossips of the sewing society.
Hang around your walls pictures which
shall tell stories of mercy, hope, courage,
foith and charity. Make your living
room the largest and most cheerful in
the house. Let the place be such that
when your boy has gone to distant
lands, or even when, perhaps, he clings
to a single plank in lonely waters of the
wide ocean, the thought of the old home-
stead shall come across the waters of dis-
solution, bringing alwaj's light, hope and
love.

" Have no dungeons about your house
— no rooms you never open — no blinds
that are always shut. Don't teach your
daughters French before they can weed
a flower bed, or cling to a side saddle :
and daughters, do not be ashamed of the
trowel or the pruning knife ; bring to
to your doors the richest flowers from
the woods ; cultivate the friendship of
birds — study botany, learn to love
nature, and a higher cultivation than the
fashionable world can give you."

STETSON'S NEW PATENT MOWER.

Mr. Cuas. Stetson, of Amherst, has
just completed his new patent mower.
After three years patient labor and great
expense, he believes he has now produced
a machine equal if not superior to any
in use. — Amherst {Mass.) Express.

THE VALUE OF MILLET.

A GENTLEMAN in SundcTsaud, Mass.,
furnishes the following testimony as to
the value of Egyptian millet :

" Two years since I fed what grew on
ten rods to five cows for a period of six
weeks. It increased their milk sensibl3^
AVe estimated the increase of butter
in consequence at §10, or one dollar a rod.
I can recommend it to all such as keep
up any stock during svunmer, or have
any short pastures, as it comes just in
the time the dry weather usually begins,
and feed is short. The past season I
fed the millet to a yearling bull, which
was kept up all sunmier, and in about
four months gained 320 pounds, or two
and one-thiid pounds daily. It grows
from eight to ten feet high, and when
from two and a half to three feet high,
should be cut and fed. It immediately
springs up from the old roots. Three
crops can be obtained in a season. Can
commence to cut the last of July or the
first of August. Horses, pigs, and all
kinds of stock eat it with the greatest
relish. I obtained the seed while travel-
ing at the South, and was informed by
those who were acquainted with it, that
ten rods sown with millet would keep a
cow."

For the Am. Farmers' Magazine.

REASONS FOR NOT LIKING AG-
RICULTURAL JOURNALS.

BY L. S. SPENCER.

Permit me through the columns of the
American Farmers^ Magazine to give
some of the excuses that are offered for
not subsAnbing for agricultural periodi-
cals. Neighbor A. says : " I am no hc-
liever in book farming. Those fellows
in the cities of Boston, New-York, and
Philadelphia want to obtain a living
without work. What do they know
about farming? Perhaps they never
did a day's work upon the farm in their
lives. The good old way is good enough
for me. My father was a farmer, and
got well off in the world, and so can I ;
for this reason I do not feel disposed to
pay money for such works."

Neighbor B. says : " The work is a
very good one for that portion of coun-
try where it is published ; but it is good

350

AGRICULTURAL.

for nothing in this portion of the West,
for it knows nothing how the prairie
land should be worked, for I do not be-
lieve the writer ever saw a prairie.
"What does he know about Western
farming ? He is in New- York city.
His theory may be good among the hills
of Massachusetts, or Connecticut, or the
sands and clays of New-Jersey ; but I
think that I know as much about West-
ern farming as any of the Eastern folks."

Friend C. says : " Spencer, I should
be very glad to subscribe, for I consider
it as good a work for the farmer as I
have seen for some time. The writer is
a heen, shrewd fellow, and knows what
he is after. But you know that I am
not able these hard times ; it is as much
as I can do to support my family with-
out taking the journal. I should rather
take a weekly than a monthly paper. I
intend to take a paper before long."

D.'s excuse is, "that it has too much
to say about machinery and mechanics,
and of flower-garders, etc."

These are only four excuses out of the
hundreds that are made. Some think a
work offered is too high in price. They
can not afford to pay so much for so un-
necessary a thing as an agricultural pa-
per, for it is of no account except for the
women to read.

These excuses are often made by per-
sons who think that " they are somebody
in the world."

Neighbor A. thinks that he knows all,
and scorns the idea of learning anything
new — in this age of progression. He
prefers to follow the footprints of his
great-grandfather, and use the old "bull
plow" that was in use long before you
and I were born, or to use the old fash-
ion hoe that was heavy enough for four
of the hoes that are in use at the pre-
sent day. He is " Old Fogy" enough to
still hang to that breed of the hog that
bears about the same relation to the hog,
as the orang-outang does to civilized
man — whose nose is so long that " it can
root up the third row of potatoes through

the fence." His father got along well
enough ; So can he in his own opinion.
But if he would take some agricultural
work he might get along much better,
be much happier, and much better in-
formed.

B.'s excuse — of what account is it?
Really, I do not believe that you or
any other editor east of the Merrimac
River will refuse to publish an article
written upon prairie farming, or any
other farming, if the Western farmers
will only pen an article for you to pub-
lish ; nor do I believe that you will re-
fuse to correct mistakes — as this is the
general excuse for their not writing.
Then who is to blame for their not get-
ting such information as they desire on
prairie farming ? They themselves ; be-
cause they do not write, and the reason
they do not write is, because they do
not and will not inform themselves ; be-
cause their fathers got along and so can
they. A New-York agricultural paper
is^just as good for prairie forming as
any other, if the prairie former will con-
tribute to it and help make it so. It
would be good for nothing to " New-
England" farmers but for their contribu-
tions to it. " Book farming" is nothing
more nor less than the experience of
men that have tried and accomplished
what they have written about.

C.'s excuse is "hard times" and a
"big family" growing up around him,
without a sign of a paper in the house.
He "likes" the paper, and thinks the
editor "a keen, shrewd fellow ;" but he
likes the dollar or the two dollars better.
He takes no paper, but " is going to take
one before long." That " before long"
may be too late for his improvement.
He knows nothing of the markets — no-
thing of the news of the day until weeks
after they transpire. His family knows
nothing of what is going on in the world,
and they can not prosper in the world
like those that " take the papers."

How many men that might be styled
" Old Fogies" are there who feel that the

AGRICULTURAL

861

dollar is of more value to them and their
families than a good "newspaper."
Talk with them on any subject, and
they have nothing to say, because they
know of nothin"; about it.

CREAM OF THE AGRICULTURAL
PRESS.

Caterpillars. — Pluck down these
nests everywhere while tho worms are
small and the nests tender and easily
broken. On high trees a pole with Pick-
ering's brush attached to it — a conical
brush, costing 25 cents is a good imple-
ment— the young worms in their new-
made nests are easily routed, and though
they may not all be destroyed on going
the first round, the}' may be on a second
visit, which will not be neglected by any
good fiirmer.

By clearing all your trees this year,
including the wild cherries and oaks on
the roadside, you will not need to spend
a fourth part as much time next season
to clear your orchards from these pests.
(All who have a patch of land, remem-
ber tliat— Ed.)

We liope that many of our farmers
will hold to the practice of making hills
for potatoes, since among other advan-
tages the labor of tilling is not so great
when a little earth is drawn up to the
stems to kill the weeds as when an at-
tempt is made to pull the weeds out of
the hill. (We agree with this writer ex-
actly, if that is all he means by hilling —
just make the work as expeditious as
consists with thoroughly killing the
weeds. — Ed.) — Mass. PloujJiinan.

To Destroy the Potato Ecu. — Last
summer, as I walked through my potato
patch, I discovered that something had
been eating off the tops of the vines ; but
I saw nothing that could have done it,
until, after tracing up the rows that
were injured, (about three or four in
number,) I overtook the depredators — a
swarm of potato bugs. I found them
confined to only four or five hills ; yet
they had cleaned the rows, over which
they evidently had passed, for about the
distance of three rods. The ground was
quite dry at the time. I at once dis-
covered that the deprecators were alarm-
ed at my approach, and in a hurried
manner hid themselves beneath the
leaves and among the clods about the
roots or bottom of the stems.

I immediately cast in my mind how
to get possession of the whole swarm.
I called to my three little boys, who
were at work at a short distance. AVe
took our hoes, and, without molesting
the insects, commenced forming a trench
and embankment at a distance of about
a foot. The dry earth being pulverized
in the ditch and sides of the little em-
bankment, made the whole so loose and
dusty that the littks creatures could not
ascend or escape ; and thus we were
enabled to trample them under foot and
destroy them in toto. I found that, if
they were deeply buried, they could not
extricate themselves ; so we destroj-ed
all ; and not another potato bug was
seen on the form during the season.
(We set this down as cieam, because it
comes from a practical farmer, and is an
ingenious mode of warfare. But whe-
ther it is a kind of cream that would
make butter, or, in other words, could
be imitated with advantage, is more than
we know. — Ed.)

Heavy or Light Seeding of Pota-
toes.— I have planted six to eighteen
bushels per aci*e ; can discover no ad-
vantage in heavy seeding, and think six
to ten bushels enough, depending on
whether the potatoes are large or small.
— Ohio Far.

Best Course for Preventing the Po-
tato Disease. — Select hardy varieties
which are calculated to withstand the
effects of the blight — which is the fore-
runner of the rot — plant them early, tak-
ing care not to allow them to sprout be-
fore the}' are planted, except in cases of
forcing, such as will be described in an-
other place. In order that the plants
may not be retarded in their growth by
any means, the soil should be well and
deeply tilled, and when manure is neces-
sary to increase its fertility, well-rotted
dung will be found much superior to
long, badly prepared manure, as the
former will at once yield nutriment to
the young plants, and give them a vigor-
ous start. The ground should be kei)t
perfectly free from weeds, and the plants
moulded in proper time, in order to
strengthen them and promote their
growth, for the best mode of preventing
rot, is to hare the crop ripe or nearly so,
before the blight makes its appearance. —
Dundee Courier.

Moss ox Tubes. — Moss is a vegetable
which springs from seeds which Hoat in

352

HOETICULTURAL

the air and attach themselves to the bark
of trees. The bark is the soil for moss
to grow in. Two things are necessary
for the growth of this species, viz. : a
shady situation and a soft condition of
the bark. Frequent washing of the trees
with carbonate of soda, (sal soda of the
shops,) which ought to be bought for
two or three cents per pound, will check
the growth of moss by its alkaline pro-
perties, and the cleansing of the bark.
One pound of the soda to two gallons of
water will be enough. — Exchange.

No Man can Borrow Himself out of
Debt. — If you wish for relief you must
work for it — economize for it ; you must
make more and spend less than you did
when you were running in debt ; you
must wear homespun instead of broad-
cloth ; drink water instead of champagne,
and rise at four instead of seven. In-

dustry, frugality, economy — these are
the handmaids of wealth, and the sure
sources of relief A dollar earned is
worth ten borrowed, and a dollar saved
is better than forty times its amount in
useless gew^-gaws. Try our scheme, and
see if it is not worth a thousand banks
and valuation laws. — Rural New- Yorker.

Spirit of Improvement. — One word in
conclusion. Let us resolve to enter up-
on the labors of our farms this spring,
with a better understanding of our ob-
jects, and a determination to be more
thorough in our methods than ever be-
fore. Should each one thus, with a
deeper sense of the nobleness of his call-
ing, engage in the great work of im-
provement, what an aggregate of power
would be exerted ? How memorable the
epoch which should inaugurate such a
spirit among us. — Country Gent.

■^>-« > • -<Ba»-

lortiniltimil

CALENDAR FOR JUNE

Many plants from the greenhouse
and frames may now be planted out in
the borders, unless done last month, and
a further saving of annuals for succes-
sion may be made.

The principal stock of Verlenas may
now be planted out. Dahlias also to-
wards the middle of the month.

Box-edgings should be trimmed and
cut very evenly on the top.

Weeds must be kept down by the
hoe, and neatness kept in view at all
times in the flower-gardens.

German Asters should be sown, to
transplant some weeks hence into the
beds, to succeed some of the early an-
nuals.

Pansey seed may be sown in an east-
ern border to give plants for autumn
bloom.

Lawns must be mown, swept and roll-
ed every ten or fourteen days, if it is
wished to have them look well.

Chrysanthemums should be stopped by
pinching out their points to make them

bushey, and should be watered abun-
dantly in dry weather.

Gladiolus and all autumn bulbs should
be immediately planted.

The Greenhouse. — Water must be
liberally supplied, and attention given to
keeping down insects by fumigating
with tobacco smoke, and if red spider
shows itself on camellias or other ever-
greens by dusting their leaves with sul-
phur.

Whenever warm weather is fully es-
tablished, the Greenhouse plants may
be put out of doors in a northern or
eastern aspect,

KITCHEN GARDEN.

Full crops of Beans of all kinds should
be got in this month.

All crops for succession that are want-
ed should be also sown, depending as to
kinds and quantity upon individual taste,
and having regard to those already in
the ground.

Special attention must be given this
month to keeping weeds down, -which is
an easy thing if the hoe is applied early

HORTICULTURAL

353

enough, but not if the weeds are allowed
to get ahead in growth.

Tomatoes, egg plants, cucumbers,
okra, squash, melons, and all tender
crops, that were put in last month,
should be looked to, and in case any
have failed, they should be replaced
without delay.

Fruit Trees making young growth,
especially pears, should be gone over
this month, and all shoots not wanted to
form branches, should be pinched in
when from three to four inches long.

Mulching of straw, grass or litter may,
with great advantage, be placed over the
roots of trees and shrubs that were
planted this spring, to protect them from
the eft'ects of drouth.

Budding fruit trees may be com-
menced towards the end of the month.

The ground around all fruit trees
should be kept loose with the hoe, in
hot weather especially. It tends most
naturally to keep the roots moist, and
lessens the chances of injury from
drouth very considerably.

WHAT WE WANT, AND HOW TO
GET IT FIRST.

BY ANDREW S. FCLLEB, nOKTICl'LTCRIST,
BROOKLYN, L. I.

We want strawberries that ripen ear-
lier and later than those we now have.
The only way I know of getting them is
to sow the seeds of our earliest and
latest varieties. If we should not suc-
ceed the first time, try again, and we
shall surely triumph. As some may
think it very difficult to grow strawber-
ries from seed, we will give our modus
operandi.

Wc never fail of getting good plants
and plenty of them. Select the largest
and best flavored berries ; those that are
fully ripe; put them in fine drj- sand,
then with tlic hands crush and rub them
thoroughly until the seeds are evenly
distributed through the mass. Prepare
a bed in some half shady place, (under
a tree will do if vou have no better
23

place) ; the soil should be a light sandy
loam thoroughly pulverized to prevent
its becoming hard and cracking after
heavy rains. Sow on your sand con-
taining the seeds evenly as possible, and
then with a fine sieve, sift on soil;
enough to cover the seeds an eighth of an
inch deep.

In about two weeks the plants will
begin to come up, and will continue to
do so until winter, then the bed should
be covered with some straw or leaves,
to the depth of two or three inches ; rake
off in the spring, and transplant into
beds eighteen inches apart.

We want a large gooseberry perfectly
free from mildew, in any locality, of
good flavor, which will produce abun-
dant and regular crops. To get it we
must sow seeds. Select your largest
berries and wash out the seeds clean ;
then put them in a cool place, for goose-
berry and currant seeds germinate at a
very low temperature, and if allowed to
start in the fall they will not grow to
sufficient size to stand the winter. Keep
the seeds as directed until very late in
the fall ; sow in beds prepared the same
as for strawberries, cover the seeds three
eights of an inch deep, and transplant
when one year old.

We want a currant of twice the size
of the noted cherry currant, and one
that is sweet enough to eat without
sugar, and we must have it. To get a
larger one sow seeds of the cherry cur-
rant, and to get a sweet one, sow seeds
of Knight's sweet or some other mild
variety. Save and sow the same as goos-
berries.

We want a better raspberry. One that
is perfectly hardy, in this climate ; one
of good size and flavor, that will bear
through the entire autumn months.
We have nearly accomplished this, for
we have several varieties that ripen their
fruit in October, but they arc not per-
fectly hardy, and are too small and not
of as good flavor as they should bo.
We want better earlier and later va-

354

HORTICULTURAL

rieties of blackberries, and better fruit
of all kinds, and the way to get them is
to persevere in sowing seeds and raising
new varieties, and discarding the old as
soon as they are superseded. We have
accomplished much in the last twenty
years, but we can accomplish more in
the next twenty, for we have more ex-
perience, more science, more varieties ;
in fact we are many steps up the ladder,
the top of which we are trying to gain.
Let every one try to make an advance
step, not wait for his neighbor or send
his money to Europe and pay for their
experiments.

We have paid millions to foreign
countries for fruit trees M^hich we might
have produced ourselves. It is not for
fruit trees only that we are sending away
our money, but for ornamental trees and
plants. Many, very many, are natives of
our own country. I have seen in the
last few weeks hundreds of plants, im-
ported from France at a great cost, that
can be found growing wild within one
mile of the importer's residence. They
either think they are better if imported,
or in their ignorance they do not know
that they are indigenous.

ON THE DEODAR CEDAR.

BY A FEIEND.

Much interest has recently attached
to the introduction of the Deodar into
this country, as well as in Europe.

In England it has proved a hardy
tree, and it was hoped that it would
prove hardy likewise in the Middle States
here, if not in the Northern. The expe-
rience of the last three winters has ma-
terially modified this expectation, for al-
though it has succeeded in some locali-
ties, and been either entirely killed or
nearly cut to the ground in others, the
relative vicinity of which would have
precluded the likelihood of such results,
the balance of the experiments that have
been made around, and north of the
city of New- York, lead to the inference
that it will prove unequal to the average

of the winters here ; except in situations
that are well sheltered and protected
from the extremes of winter tempera-
ture.

In connection with this subject the
question arises whether by any means a
more hardy character can be given to
the plant in question. The Deodar was
at first regarded as a distinct species of
the family to which it belongs, but the
opinion is now prevalent amongst bo-
tanists that it is only a variety of the
species that embraces the Cedar of Le-
banon. If this opinion be correct itmay
be quite possible from seed, to obtain a
variety which may differ but little from
the Deodar in habit and appearance, and
yet may possess the more hardy consti-
tution of the Lebanon Cedar.

We have extracted below some ob-
servations from Dr. I. D. Hooker's Him-
alayan Journals, (to which we have be-
fore referred in recent numbers) upon
the distribution of the ConifercB in Sik-
kim, that contain remarks vipon this sub-
ject which deserve attention, and will be
found interesting to those who take
pleasure in the improvements of their
ornamental grounds. We should be
glad to know that the experiment we
above allude to was made on an exten-
sive scale ; and there is little doubt that,
if successful, it would prove renumera-
tive in no small degree.

" The distribution of the Himalayan
pines is very remarkable. The Deodar
has not been seen east of Nepal, nor the
Pinus gerardiana^ cujn-essus toralosa,
or Juniperns communis. On the other
hand, Podocarpiis is confined to the east
of Katmandos. Abies Brunoneana does
not occur west of the Gogra, nor the
Larch west of the Cosi, nor cupressus
funebris (iin introduced plant, however,)
west of the Teesva in Sikkim. Of the
twelve following, (namely, three Juni-
pers^ Yew, Abies Webbiana, Brunon-
iana, and Smitheana, Larch, Pinus ex-
celsa, and LongifoUa, and Podocarpus

II 0 R T I C U L T F II A L

355

neriifoUa,) Sikkim and Bhotan conifera,
including Yew, Junipers, and Podocar-
pus, eight are common to the North-
west Himalaya west of Nepal, and four,
namely, Larch, Gapre^sus funerelis, Po-
(looarpiis nerii/olld, and Abies Brunon-
iana are not. Of the thirteen natives
of the north-west provinces, again, only
five, aJanii^er, (the European co»i;«m««)
Deodtr, (possibly only a variety of the
cedar of Lebanon and of Mount Atlas,)
JPinus Gerardiana, P. excelsa, and
cupressus torulosa, are not found in Sik-
kim ; and I have given their names be-
low, because they show how European
the absent ones are, cither specifically
or in affinit}'. I have stated that the
Deodar is possibly a variety of the Cedar
of Lebanon. This is now a prevalent
opinion, which is strengthened by the
fact that so many more Himalayan
plants are now ascertained to be Euro-
pean, that had been supposed before
they were compared with European
specimens ; such are the Yeio, Juniperus
communis, Berieris vulgar i% Quercus
ballota, Populus alba, and E'lphratica,
&c. The cones of the Deodar arc iden-
tical with those of the Cedar of Lebanon ;
the Deodar has, generally longer and
more pale bluish leaves and weeping
branches. Since writing the above, I
have seen in the magnificent pinetum at
Dropmore, noble cedars, with the length
and hue of leaf, and the pensile branches
of the Deodar, and far more beautiful
than that i.s, and as unlike the common
Cedar of Lebanon as possible. "\\"hcn
it is considered from how very few wild
trees, (and these said to be exactly alike,)
the many dissimilar varieties, of the C.
Libani, have been derived, the probabil-
ity of this, the cedar of Algiers, and of
the Himalayas (Deodar) being all forms
of one species, is greatly increased.
We can not presume to judge from the
few cedars which still remain, what the
habit and appearance of the tree might
have been, when it covered the slopes
of Libanus, and seeing how very varia-

ble conifera) are in habit, we may assume
that its surviving specimens give us no
information on this head. Should all
three prove one, it will material!}^ en-
large our ideas of the distribution and
variation of species. The botanist will
insist that the typical form of cedar is
that which retains its characters best
over the greatest area, namely, the Deo-
dar; in which case the prejudice of the
ignorant, and the preconceived ideas of
the naturalist, must yield to the fact that
the old familiar Cedar of Lebanon is an
unusual variety of the Himalayan Deo
dar. But these characters seem to be
unusually developed in our gardens ; for
several gt;ntlemen, well acquainted with
the Deodar at Simla, when^ asked to
point it out at Kew (Jardens, have indi-
cated the Cedar of Lebanon, and when
shown the Deodar, declare that they
never saw that plant in the Himalaya."

A WORD UPON SEEDLINGS.

BV MAKSII.\LL P. WILDER.

A FALSE doctrine prevails among some,
although founded on the theory of Van
Mons, " that scions taken from seed-
lings, and grafted into stocks, hov.-ever
strong and healthy, will not yield fruit
earlier than it may be obtained from the
mother plant." Adopting this theory
as true, many cultivators have been
discouraged on account of the length
of the process. Whatever may have
been the experience which called forth
this theory from its learned author, in
the localities where it originated, or
where it has been advocated, my read-
ing and personal observation constrain
me to question its truthfulness; certainly
its api)lication to our own country. For
instance, the foct is familiar to j'ou all,
that ^cions of the pear come into bear-
ing, when grafted on the (juince, earlier
than on the pear stock. This is believ-
ed to result from the early maturity of
the quince, which, while it does not
change the variety of the pear, imp arts
its own precocity thereto. AVe realize a

856

HORTICULTURAL.

corresponding hastening to maturity
when the scion is grafted into h pear
tree which has also arrived at maturity ;
especially is this to be expected when
the stock is in itself one of a precocious
character. If any facts seem to oppose
this doctrine, they may be regarded
either as exceptions to the general law,
or as the result of locality and cultiva-
tion.

The physiological principle of the
vegetable kmgdom under which this
doctrine obtains is, that the bud contains
the embryo tree, and that the strong or
precocious stock constrains it to elaborate
more material into wood and foliage, and
thus promotes both growth and fruitful-
ness.

Common sense as well as common
observation, confirms this statement.
Witness the pear, which we have known
to fruit the fourth year from seed, when
grafted on the quince. "We know a
seedling from the Seckel pear grafted on
the Bartlett, which bore the present sea-
son, and is only four years from the seed.
The Catherine Gardette, raised by Dr.
Erinkle, was brought into bearing by
grafting on the quince in five years,
while the original seedlings, in all those
instances, are only three to five feet in
height, and will require several addition-
al years to bring them into bearing. Is
it reasonable to suppose that a seedling
pear, which, in two years, in a given lo-
cation, attains the height of one or two
feet, with but few branches, will fruit
as early as a scion from the same seed-
ling when grafted on a strong tree, which
elaborates and assimilates through its
abundant branches and luxuriant foli-
age, ten times the amount of all the ele-
ments constituting growth and matur-
ity?

In reliance upon natural fertilization,
I would still encourage the continual
planting of the seeds of choice varieties
of all kinds of fruit, in the belief that
new and valuable varieties may thus be
be obtained Ey these various process-

es, we shall have continual accessions to
our collections of such fruits as the
Beurre Clairgeau, Beurre d»Anjou, and
Doyenne Boussock pears. Let nothing
discourage you in this most hopeful de-
partment of pomology. Go on. Perse-
vere.

These are triumphs worthy of the
highest ambition. Conquests which
lea.ve no wound on the heart of memory,
no stain on the wing of time. He who
only adds one really valuable variety
to our list of fruits is a valuable benefac-
tor. I had rather be the man who plant-
ed that umbrageous tree, from whose
bending branches futiu-e generations
shall pluck the luscious fruit, when I am
sleeping beneath the clods of the valley,
than he who has conquered armies. I
would prefer the honor of introducing
the Baldwin Apple, the Seckel Pear,
Hovey's Seedling Strawberry, aye, or
the Black Tartarian Cherry, from the
Crimea, to the proudest victory which has
been won upon that blood-stained soil. —
Mceha7ige.

PEAR CULTURE.
The question so earnestly discussed of
late, whether pears can be grown with
paying results to the cultivator, is thus
treated by the Horticulturist ; —

" The question of profit in the cultiva-
tion of any article whether it be grain or
fruit, is the one to which interest mostly
attaches. In the present number, our
friend, Lewis F. Allen, in his peculiarly
forcible way, and with an array of strong
arguments, attempts the solution of the
pear problem in a mode which will be
received by some as truth, by others
with grains of allowance. If pear culture
on a large scale, as a dependable crop
for the support of 'a family, is not to be
recommended, this fruit is too popular
and too excellent to be allowedio be ne-
glected ; it is a very good and sometimes
a very profitable addition to market farm-
ing. A few trees, in situations where
they are in the way of nothing else, will
often give clever returns in money.
They ought to be of good looTcing kinds,
and the fruit should be exhibited in its
best state to the purchaser at the mc-

nORTICULTURAL.

357

ment almost it is fit for consumption.
In gardens even of small extent room can
be found for a few pear trees, which may
be sa planted as to cast little shade on
vegetable bed?, or in corners where they
can receive proper attention. No garden
is complete without them ; no family in
the country or a village should be con-
tented unless they can have a share of
this fine fruit, just as everybodj- has a
grape vine. In situations where the
raiser can retail his product, we can be-
lieve in any amount of profit which has
been received by successful cultivators
around Boston, in which latitude Mr.
Allen admits with perfect candor that
large profits, the result of great success,
have been realized.

" We think that one or two elements
in this controverted matter have been
too little taken into the account, and
may be referred to as points that are j-et
to be more fully understood. In the
Eepori of the Massachusetts Horticultu-
ral Society, which we abridged in Feb-
ruary, page 89, it is stated that a grow-
er has ready sale for those pears having
a russety skin, while those of green skin
could not be disposed of; to tliis end he
has to prepare them for the customer's
eye by a sweating process there describ-
ed ; " while Mr. Gordon's Bartletts were
yielding him ten dollars a bvishel, other
wagons, by the side of his, had pears of
the same variety, equally as large, but,
in consequence of retaining a green skin,
were offered at three t/oZ^ars a bushel."
Here is testimony that is sufficient to
account for all the differences of opinion
as to profit. If one man can get ten
dollars a bushel, and his neighbor only
three, while the difference of the cost is
so small as in this sweating process, the
whole question of profit turns upon one
circumstance. Testimony delivered be-
fore a jury, as it would be given by one
vender, would create a verdict of jirojl-
table, while the whole would be overset
by the sworn to words of the next neigh-
bor which the very same fruit, and the
jury might say unprofitable. Our read-
ers must take these things into consider-
ation ; pear culture is advancing ; better
kinds, better understood trimming, keep-
ing, and noiD by sweating, will give to
many new cause for perseverance, not-
withstanding the discouragments of oth-
ers, whose opinions, recorded in our
columns, it is equally the duty of an im-
partial journal to promulgate with the
results obtained by others more favora-

bly situated. Colonel Wilder a.«surcs
us that in his neighborhood nine hun-
dred,dollars have been received from the
produce of an acre and a quarter of
pears. This extraordinary result it
should be the duty, the pleasure, and the
amusement of others to emulate. The
secret, if there were any, is as well
known, thanks to our pomologists, as
the best mode of cultivating any other
fruit ; trees in millions have been set out
in eveiy direction, but we hear of no
similar profits except near Boston.
Have the Bostonians been educated to
love pears better than any other citizens,
so that they will give higher prices than
are to be had in other places ? Is it
the sweating? It would appear that
this is the matter, for the difference iji
Boston between a bushel of sweated
pears and a bushel of green skinned fel-
lows, is so great as to be quite amazing.
We can see, in imagination, the torture
of the owner of the green-skinned Bart-
letts as he counted his three dollars
against his neighbor's ten, the name of
the latter Mr. John Gordon, of Brighton ;
that of the owner of the unsweated arti-
cle not given.

" Time enough has elapsed, trees
enough have been planted, exhibitions
enough have been made, and oiir 'parish
is yet as a whole unpeared. The ama-
teur and small gardener can generally
enjoj' this fruit in moderation, but for
profitable culture, in our own neighbor-
hood at least, we have yet to see it. In
Dr. Warder's book he asserts that the
Osage Orange does not sucker ; here it
does ; in Ohio it docs not exhaust the
neighboring land ; here it does ; perhaps
in Ohio the soil is so deep that the roots
go downwards, while here they seek
pasture near the surface, Sucli differ-
ences may and do exist ; let us therefore
cultivate in each climate what that cli-
mate is adapted to, and above all, let
Boston send this way some of her fine
pears. Philadelphians, as a people, have
yet to know how a good pear tastes.
They will be contented with the three
dollar Bartletts, as ten dollars is high,
and the freight is to be added."

A GERMAN PRACTICE.

There is a practice among the Swiss
and Germans of boring into the ground
among the roots of fruit trees, (with an
instrument made for the purpose,) and
pouring in liquid manure to force the

858

HORTICULTURAL

tree forward, and also enable it to resist
the drouth in dry weather. I have prac-
ticed this for four years with some fine
Seckel pears, in dry land, with good suc-
cess. Avoid this after September first,
as it will induce a second growth late in
the fall, which will be quite irregular and
very liable to be winter-killed. The in-
strument I use is the common iron bar,
which can be driven in among the roots
without injur}^ Take for a wash, (as I
buy no " special" manures,) to three-
fourths of a barrel of water, four quarts
of ashes, two quarts of lime, two shovel-
fuls of night soil — stir up well, and pour
into holes made as above, what the tree
requires. Soap suds are capital for this
purpose. — Bural New- YorTcer.

The above is unquestionably a good
practice, where unfortunately a proper
preparation of the soil has been neglect-
ed, and it might do well for old trees in
grass land, as by top dressing the manure
goes rather to feed the grass than the
tree. — ^Ed.

A PERFECT PLAN TO WATER
TREES.

Every artificial yjlan to irrigate lands,
trees, or plants, should, as far as possi-
ble, be in imitation of nature. It is a
well-known fact that the very best means
of watering, in dry countries, are those
that feed the root from below, rather
than from the surface of the ground ;
the system of subsoiling, trench-spading,
deep plowing, and like operations, giving
life, health and vigor, and by the capil-
lary attraction the water is drawn up
from the earth below by reason of the
heat above.

The recent plan of boring tubes of
two inches in diameter, and inserting
lead pipes, and then attaching them to
the rotary pump — thus giving a pump
at small cost, as practiced in Stockton
with great success, has called attention
to facts which can be made of great
service in all parts of our State, where-
ever there is this hard adobe land. In
QYQYj county that has this black soil, or
even red soil, such as is used for making
brick, and on our broad, da-j prairies, it
is well known that water can be found
at depths varying from twelve to thirty
feet ; and in all such places we now ask
particular attention to the following valu-
able facts, which can easily be verified
by any person at a trifling cost.

One plan is simply this: procure a
two-inch auger, and have it prepared (as
used for boring wells) with joints of
square iron rod, and with a handle that
can be slid up and down (made fast with
but screws) as the work progresses.
Then bore into this mold of earth until
you reach water ; then fill up this tube
with coarse sand. At all times after-
wards, by capillary action, the water
will be drawn to the surface of the earth
in sufficient quantities for all that grows
above it.

Let any one try the following experi-
ment : dig a hole two feet deep, and
three in diameter ; in the center of this
hole bore as described, for water ; fill
up the tube with sancl ; then plant a
tree in that hole, and forever after you
have, by capillary power, a fountain
ever flowing to the roots of that tree.
This will be natural to the tree, and it
will only flow as the tree needs it, and it
will also be perceived that the roots of
the tree (the tree will form special tap
roots) will go down this tube, and feed
upon the living water below. This
same plan may be adopted through an
entire orchard. It can be used in
trenches, and beneath hedges, but re-
member, in holes or trenches, they must
be filled up again after the tube is bored,
and filled with sand, else they will not
operate well.

We commend this to all who wish to
learn a natural way of irrigation. The
cost of boring, in usual places, 12, 15,
and 20 feet, will be only twenty -five to
fifty cents per tube. — Cal. Far.

THE APPLE TREE BORER.

At this season, or as soon as the wea-
ther becomes a little warmer, the borer
hatches out into a small striped beetle,
which, during the month of June espe-
cially, though often earlier, and always
more or less for some months subse-
quentl}'-, may be seen busy upon the
trunks of trees. It deposits its eggs up-
on the bark, and may be kept off entire-
ly if the trees are kept washed with a
strong alkaline soap.

Add a pound of potash to the gallon
of soft soap, and with this, thoroughly
mixed, wash the trees, leaving it, adher-
ing considerably, in the axils of the
lower limbs, or wherever the rain will
not wash it all away at once.

The jack-knife should be kept at work
about the stems of infested trees, and

LITERARY.

359

the borers found in their hiding places
and destroyed. — Homestead.

The above advice for watching the
trees is good. Success in gardening and
fruit-growing is the reward of vigilance.
But the wash recommended, according

to our experience, is too strong for the
safety of the trees. Tt would be almost
I certain to injure them, unless there
j should be copious rains immediately af-
\ ter its application. We would reduce it
I by the addition of at least two gallons of
soft water. — Ed.

'ITitcranK

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A GOLD
RING.

AX OKIGIMAL TALE FOUNDED OX FACT.

[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year
1S52, by .T. A. Nash, in the Cleric's office of the
District Court of the United States, for the South-
ern District of Now-York.]

[advertisement.]

[I\ a certain family in New-England, a
gold ring, said to have been the founda-
tion of its meritorious prosperity, has been
handed down from age to age as an heir-
loom. It is preserved with special care
in an old box, which being also now an
object of interest, is kept wrapped up in
paper the better to preserve it from the
ravages of time. As it is every now and
then brought forth from its repositorj', the
paper wrappers are occasionally changed
and replaced by others. It chanced some
time ago tliat a quantity of old dingy
paper fell into the hands of the author,
(who, be it known, is, or fancies himself
to be, learned in antiquarian lore,) and in
turning it over he thought he perceived
scratdies and lines emerging to light from
the surface of the paper as he held it in
his hand. Supposing tliis to result from
some cliemical action, he watched the pro-
cess, and, to his great astonishment, the
following manuscript graduallj^ developed
itself, something in tlic same way as our
practical natural philosophers present to
us the successive pictures in that beautiful
optical experiment known under the title
of Dissolving Views. Fortunately for the
reader, this manuscript was not so transito-
rj' as those elegant pictures, yet it appeared
^ partake somewliat of the same character;
for after commencing the perusal of the
magic page, we found it growing fainter
and fainter, and we at once therefore set
about to transcribe it. It was lucky we
did so ; for scarcely was our task finished,
when, in the well known words of our fa-
vorite poet, it "vanished like the baseless
fabric of a vision," and left not a linebehinS.
Finding on perusal that the manuscript
appears to have been composed with the
praiseworthy object of benefitting the
world, we have not doubted that tlie wor-

thy family alludeil to, if still in being,
would commend our diligence in preserv-
ing it and giving it to the public]

It may appear strange to this degene-
rate age that a piece of gold should have
the power to take cognizance of things
external to itself; and more so still, that
it should have the means of communi-
cating its history to the world.

My experience since I have had my
present form enables me to throw some
light on this, and other subjects ; and in
fulfilment of a power incident to my
present condition, I shall record my his-
tory. This may or may not become
known to the world by my means, inas-
much as I have no power to make mj-
manuscript, when written, visible to man,
except it should chance to fall into the
hands of some antiquarian philosopher,
who has prosecuted his studies far
enough to enable his mind to emit those
properties of gaseous matter upon my
writings, which will disclose to his eyes.
That depends solely on his industry and
diligence ; I have only the power to lay
wisdom in his way ; it is for him to seek
out and find it. Should he do so, the
following history of my existence to the
present hour will gi'atify, and if he uses
it right, will instruct him. Beyond the
present hour my future, like his own in
this world, is hid from me.

At my first consciousness of existence,
I found myself lying on the working-
bench of a goldsmith in the good city
of London, in Europe, some two hundred
years ago. I learned that I had been
purchased from a merchant by my mas-
ter in the form of gold-dust, and that in

360

LITERARY

that condition my constituent particles
had been collected together on the west
coast of Africa. My power of consci-
ousness I found had been imparted to
me by virtue of certain alloys that had
been added to the purer part of my
body, although accidentally, for this was
done in the vain attempt of my master
to convert those baser metals into my
pure substance, an attempt at which
alchymists have been working from un-
known time, with an enthusiastic per-
severance equal to that with which cer-
tain other wiseacres have wrought at the
problem of perpetual motion. As both
are equal simple impossibilities, the
study of them has been, and will con-
tinue to be persevered in by half-witted
people for some ages yet to come, with
precisely the same degree of success.

I soon ascertained that so long as I
remained in a perfectly pure state and
without alloy, the power of conscious-
ness was denied me, as it is also to all
my race when converted by coinage into
money. For in those states my quali-
ties are too dangerous on the one hand,
and too valuable on the other, to permit
of my agency for good or for evil par-
taking of anything beyond a passive
character. Did gold in such conditions
possess the power I now have, man's
free agency must cease, for it would
never then submit to be made the in-
strument of wrong, of crime, and of op-
pression. It would cry out against the
greediness of usury, the villainy of the
bribe, the sordid avarice of the miser.
It would urge the conscience of the
covetous to become liberal, the con-
science of the prosperous to stretch
forth the hand of plenty to the unfortu-
nate, the thoughtlessness of luxurious in-
dolence to seek out and relieve the misery
of meek but suffering virtue !

Therefore is it that I blush with shame
when I see my unconscious relatives
made to take part in scenes from which
the purity of their nature, if conscious,
would recoil, and the character of which

but for the criminality of man, it might
alter from scenes of vice and wretched-
ness to those of virtue and happiness.

It is not that all alloys can give my
purity the propex'ty of consciousness.
When the next amalgamation is chanced
to be hit upon, no knowledge of the fact
is given to man ; and my master, when
he had thus communicated to myself this
wondrous quality, supposed me still a
mere bauble without thought. But
though now thus endowed, tlie fact re-
mains unknown, yet my reflections en-
gender kindred passions ; and was I
coin, and those who owned me sought
to serve their baser natures by my means,
my kindled passion would impart red
heat to my substance and I should burn
his flesh and thus protest against free
agency in man. Superior Wisdom, then,
has drawn that line, which time must
cease before it can be known.

The passive state, then, of my kin,
whilst pure, or coined for barter, leaves
man to wreak upon his fellow-man the
baneful wickedness which greedy ava-
rice prompts, unchecked by aught save
his own wayward will.

It is true, that sometimes in my con-
scious state my natural charms might be
made use of to bribe astray the waver-
ing rectitud^ of female innocence ; for
jewels ever bear sad temptation to the
youthful maid. It has not fallen to my
happy lot thus unwillingly to give cause
for grief Had it been otherwise, I
would have restrained my inward rage,
and rested lightly on my victim's hand,
for her poor spirit would have needed
every aid, to solace anguish such as she
alone could feel; and if my brilliant
luster gave pleasure to her eye, gladly
would I have lent my useless charms,
to cheer the achings of a broken heart,
and cast a ray of pleasure through a
soul that memory soon again must sink
in shame !

My time, however, has been better
spent, and though my lot has not been
one of choice to me, yet it is the one

LITERARY.

S61

my consciousness, if able, would have
chosen.

I tarried but a short time on my mas-
ter's bench, He was a worthy man and
true, and loved his wife with fervor and
esteem. Her natal day was near when
I was formed, and soon I graced her
gentle hand.

Through many a day of weal and woe
I rested there. I with her joyed, and
with her mom-ned, for they had many
little ones, and cares and troubles of all
married life, gave her the average share.
Sickness would come unasked to make
a brief abode, and bring anxiety atten-
dant in her train. The midnight lamp
would glimmer in my face, as my kind
mistress watched her darling babe. But
whether joy or sorrow sped her steps,
serenity and peace adorned her walk.
Thankful for blessings she deemed unde-
served, she bent submissive to affliction's
rod. And whilst she strove to check
the trickling tear, her swelling heart
sent up a prayer above. So went she
on along her patient way, which led her
safely to eternal peace.

I mourned my lost place on mj dear
mistress' hand, but knowing she was
gone to endless bliss, I quickly stayed
the current of my grief. From her I
passed to her young son, who wore me
for his mother's sake through several
years. There did I see the trials, the
deeds of youth. Oft have I joined the
merry dance, and smiled my happiness
with all around. At times I saw the
fall of him I loved (for I did love him as
his mother's son,) into the trammels of
designing knaves. Then would my pas-
sion warm my substance up, until his
finger tingled with the pain. Repeating
this, I found the means to check his er-
rors ; for this made him think, and su-
perstition stepping to my aid, made me
his talisman and constant guide.

At length misfortune seized my kindly
friend, and he resolved to seek in other
lands the chance of fortune that his own
withheld.

Soon were we plowing before the
rising gale, the billows' sweUing but
quickly yielding crest. Across the At-
lantic speedily were we borne, and reach-
ed unharmed our wished-for haven's
rest. But as my master stepped to gain
the shore, caught by a rope passed
swiftly through his hand, I left his finger
and fell down on deck.

A Scotchman who chanced to spy me,
finding no owner for me in the ship,
took me himself Though poor himself,
he was an honest man, who came to
seek his fortune like my lost friend.
He placed me carefully in his small
trunk that held, in modest space, his
wordly goods, and thus I found myself
installed in a new home.

We landed at Boston, and my new
master looked around him to see how he
best should commence his new career.
His stock of cash was small, and was
consumed before he could make up his
mind upon the course he would adopt.
In the bottom of his empty purse he
found the solution of his difficulty ; for
thei'e he saw as plainly as though writ-
ten in words of fire, the word Want.
Necessity was then, as now, the mother
of invention ; and he resolved that I
should be the founder of his fortune.
Always ready to advance the good of
my human friends, I willingly yielded
to his suggestions; and by the aid of
oiie of those philanthropists who are
ever ready to assist others, assuming
that whilst so doing they can likewise
assist themselves, I was transferred for
a time to the safe keeping of a gruff-
looking iron safe, whose features albeit
were no bad photograph of its master's ;
and whose constituent parts in dure-
ability were an exact counterpart of the
sympathies of his breast for the neccssi-
sitios of suffering poverty.

I by no means admired my new domi-
cile, for being always anxious to be ac-
tive and doing, and esteeming it un-
generous and disgraceful to pass one's
existence in indolence, like a drone in

362

LITERARY

the busy hive of industry, my spirit re-
belled against being thus shut up like a
hermit in his cell, useless to himself and
all around. The chafingg of my wound-
ed feelings warmed my metal so much,
that had I not checked them, on reflect-
ing that, though my present custodian
was a hard man, I had no charge to
make against his honesty in his transac-
tions with my master, had I not thus
checked my feelings, I say, they would
most assuredly have heated my tem-
perament to such a pitch that, by sim-
ple contact, I should have set fire to and
burnt up a- quantity of bonds, bills, and
documents of value, that I perceived were
my fellow-prisoners in this iron dun-
geon. I stifled my rage, therefore, con-
soling myself with the two-fold reflection
that, on the one hand, my imprisonment
might be working good to my active
master, and on the other, that in case I
found he should be ill-used by the
money-lender, I was, for the reasons al-
luded to in the preceding sentence, just
in the right place to work a fearful ven-
geance upon him for so doing.

With these feelings, I resigned myself
with as much patience as I could to my
fate, and waited with great anticipations
of pleasure the hour for my release.

I can not say how long I was thus
confined, for I fancy after the fkst ebul-
litions of my feelings had past away, I
drowsedoff into a state of semi-conscious-
ness, and was not well aware how time
passed.

One day the old money-lender, how-
ever, took me out, and carrying me
down to his sanctum, where all his
monetary affairs were transacted, I found
my master there, and I soon perceived
that he was come to redeem me from
my bondage. I was glad to see that he
looked in excellent health, and was
dressed in a good and neat suit of
clothes, that contrasted favorably with
those he wore when first I made his ac-
quaintance. His countenance smiled
when he saw me, and I heard him re-

mark to the miser that I had been a
good friend to him, for that he had in-
vested the money he had borrowed in
divers small " notions" that he had ped-
dled round, and that he had now saved
up a hundred dollars with which to be-
gin the world on a larger scale.

Taking me and placing me on his
finger, he eyed me a moment with evi-
dent pleasure, and exclaimed in his
Scotch tone, " Cam along my little mon ;
ye're a gude chiel, an' I trow it'll be a
hard day that parts ye agin frae me."

Mortals can not tell the thrill of de-
light that these words, and my master's
beaming eye, whilst he uttered them,
darted through my fabric, for judging
from my poor observation of human
affjiirs, it seems to me that if men could
once appreciate and know that ineffiible
pleasure that a sensitive being derives
from the feeling that he has made others
happy, there would cease to be misery
on earth. It is not like that sterile ani-
mal satisfaction that attends the sensa-
tions of self-indulgence or gratification ;
but an ever-growing and expanding prin-
ciple, which, emanating from loftier feel-
ings, sheds a radiance of peaceful joy
throughout the circle that it binds to-
gether, and softening discordant life-
threads into harmony, unites in one
common band the heavenward aspira-
tions of the uplifted soul ! This glo-
rious stream of heaven-born love, once
started from its celestial source, sweeps
smoothly over the crooks in life's rough
course, and finds its issue in a sea of
bliss, whose peaceful waters spread their
wide expanse through boundless space,
and — all eternity !

Within a short time after my emanci-
pation from durance vile, I ascertained
that my master had made up his mind
to get some land, and settle down to a
more quiet mode of life, than the roving
one that he had engaged in during my
absence. Ilis arrangements were speed-
ily made, and we started together for
our woodland retreat. We traveled on-

LITERARY

363

Avaid through forest -^vilds, that knew
not before the tread of white man's foot.
The red men gazed upon our savage
garb, for such to them our aspect ap-
peared. At length we pitched upon a
woodbind range in Connecticut, where
nature seemed to spread around uncount-
ed beauties.

In the immediate vicinity of this
charming spot ni}' master had resolved
to take up his abode, and he set to work
forthwith to make the conunencemcnt of
his plantation.

Here he remained and prospered. His
example was followed by others, and the
goodly town of Killingly arose to mark
man's kindredship in the forest wilds. As
fortune smiled upon mj'- master's labors,
domestic ties sprung up around his
board. Happy and content he led his
peaceful life, and clo.sed at last his fully
numbered days, revered by some —
sincerely mourned by all.

Before his gentle spirit passed away,
he took from his hand my much valued
form, and placed me on the finger of his
eldest boy, just rising then to man-
hood.

" My boy," said he, " I give you now
my ring. "When landing here, down-
hearted and forlorn, I found it lying, un-
sought, at my feet. Despair and grief
at my unfriended state, had then nigh
bowed my heart below reaction's
strength. This ring seemed to my fancy
a token of relief. I pledged it for the
means to make my first poor worldly
traffic, and from that hour prosperity
has smiled upon my toils. Preserve this
ring my son, and hand it down to yours,
that as the varying tide of time rolls on,
its sight may stimulate when lowering
clouds prevail. A talisman for good
the sign will always be ; and serve to
rouse the energy that lags and so gives
courage to unchristian fears. Thus will
you learn to combat worldly trials, and
gain reliance on your stern resolve.
When man puts forth his hand in duty's
cause, his God forgets not that he needs
his aid."

The old man's life-thread was run out ;
but I was cherished, and as each succeed-
ing generation of his stem, has taken
for its time the peddlers place on earth,
I have been guarded with religious care
a faithful talisman of future good to all
who act like him.

For the Am. Farmers' Magazine.

LIFE OF ROGER WILLIAMS AND
OTHER PILGRIMS.

BY A SON OP A PILGRIM.

This Pilgrim father was a clergyman,
born in Wales, about the year A.D.
1599. He first took orders in the
Church of England, but being a non-
conformist, or Puritan, he was induced
to seek religious liberty in the new
world, and came to Salem, Massachu-
setts, at an early period of its settle-
ment. He was one of the regularly or-
dained clergymen of that town. His
motto was, " In God we h.ope^'' which is
now inscribed upon the Arms of Rhode
Island, together with the anchor (listen-
ed upon the rocks.

He insisted upon liberty of conscience,
and manifested a free toleration of reli-
gious opinions amongst all denomina-
tions of Christians. Free and religious
toleration has ever existed in the State
of Rhode Island. Mr. Williams was
expelled from the Massachusetts Colony
for avowing himself a friend of religious
freedom, and he left Massachusetts in
the middle of January, A. D. 1036, soli-
tary and alone ; and for fourteen weeks
was exposed in the forests and among
the Indians, not knowing what " tread
or 'bed did mean." For his means of
subsistence he depended upon the In-
dians. The earth was covered with
snow. He first stopped at a spot in
Scckonk ; he afterwards in a short time
removed to Providence, to which he
gave a name in remembrance of " God^s
merciful Frotidencc" to him in distress.
He first landed at Providence in com-
pany with five men who had joined him
at Scekonk, whose names were William

364

LITERARY.

Harris, John Smith, Thomas Angel,
Francis Wykes and Joshua Verrin.
His wife and children he left in Salem,
but in the following summer Mrs. Wil-
liams and her two children came from
Salem through the woods to Providence,
in company with several persons who
wished to join their exiled pastor. The
family of Mr. Williams were now de-
pendant on his daily labor for their sup-
port ; no supplies could be derived fi'om
Massachusetts, and the native Indians
could not afford much aid. He says that
he planted with his own hands at his
first coming two Indian fields, which he
purchased of the natives, and by day
and by night, at home and abroad, and
on land and water, and at the hoe, and
at the oar, he labored with his own
hands for bread. He erected a small
house at Providence for his family.
Here the wanderer found a home for
more than forty years ; here he died in
1683, and here his ashes are deposited
near the site of his dwelling.

Mr. WiUiams made his Colony a re-
fuge for all persons who might choose
to reside there, without regard to their
religious opinions. His Constitution of
Government was a simple instrument,
and combined the principles of a pure
democracy with unrestricted religious
liberty, and it was the germ of those
free institutions which have governed
and flourished in Rhode Island to the
present^^day. His Constitution of Gov-
ernment was one covenant, and in the
following words :

" We, whose names are here under-
written, being desirous to inhabit in the
town of Providence, do promise to sub-
mit ourselves in active or passive obe-
dience, to all such orders or agreements
as shall be made for public good of the
body, in an orderly way, by the major
consent of the present inhabitants, mas-
ters of families incorporated together
into a township, and such others whom
they shall admit into the same, only in
civil things."

Mr. Williams in all things was care-
ful to maintain public order and peace.
In 1043, the colony of Rhode Island
being destitute of a charter or any legal
authority, Mr. Williams went to England
as the agent of his people, and obtained
from the government of the mother
country a free and absolute charter of
civil incorporation by the name of
" Providence Plantations in Narragan-
sett Bayy This charter lasted until
A. D. 1GG3, when Mr. Williams and the
people of Rhode Island received a char-
ter from the King of England, by which
the colony was styled " The English
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence
Plantations in New-England"

This charter remained the foundation
of their government until within the
last twenty years. The people of Rhode
Island were, many of them, from AVales.
We find the names of Robert Williams,
William Reynolds, John Warner, Thomas
Harris, Joshua Wynsor, Thomas Hop-
kins, AYilliam Wyckenden, William
Field, Benedict Arnold, Mr. Wescott,
Mr. Alney, Mr. Throckmorton, Mr. Cod-
ington, and many other descendants of
Welshmen, located in Rhode Island.
Most of the Pilgrim Fathers were prac-
tical agricultui ists. Mr. Wyllis, Gov-
ernor of Connecticut in 1642, left a fine
estate in the county of Warwick, Eng-
land, and encountered the hardships of
the wilderness in America.

Mr. Bradford, the second Governor
of Plymouth Colony, was born in Ans-
terfield, in the north of England, in the
year 1588 ; he was educated as an agri-
culturist. Governor Bradford wrote a
history of Plymouth Colony and its
people, beginning with the first forma-
tion of its church in 1602, and ending in
1646.

Governor Carver, the first Governor
of Plymouth Colony, came over in 1620.
He had a good estate in England, which
he spent in emigration to Holland and
America ; he was one of the emigrants
to Lyden while the Pilgrim fathers re-

SIISCELLANEOUS

365

sided there. He died April 5th, 1621,
at Plymouth ; and v,-hile engaged in la-
boring with his own bands in the field,
clearing up his plantation, he was taken
sick and died in a few daj's afterwards.
John Winthrop was Governor of
Say brook, in Connecticut, in 1657,
and continued Governor until 5th of
April, 1076, when he died. He was
possessed of a fine genius, improved by
a liberal education in the Universities
of Dublin, and also of Cambridge in
England, and by travel on the continent
of Europe. He possessed a great va-
riety of knowledge, was skilled as a
philosopher, also in chemistry and phy-
sic. In IGOl he went to England, pro-
cured a charter incorporating the Con-
necticut and New-IIaven into one gov-
ernment, which thence became the
Colony of Connecticut ; while ]Mr. Hig-
ginson, who was a clergyman at Salem,

Massachusetts, in 1629 brought over
from England 115 head of neat cattle,
being the longhorns of Leicester, to-
gether with horses, sheep, goats, and six
cannon, with stores suitable for a forti-
fication. Mr. Iligginson stated that in
his colony there were 300 planters ; 200
of them settled at Salem, and 100 at
Charlesto\\Ti, and that those at Salem
were making haste to build houses, so
that in a short time we shall have a fair
town. He stated also that we have
great ordnance, (meaning cannon,) where-
bj'- they should be able to fortify them-
selves and to keep out any potent adver-
sary, "but that which is our greatest
comfort and means of defence above all
others is that we have here in Salem the
true religion and the holy laws and or-
dinances of God taught amongst us."
Such were the men that first settled
New-England.

iBtellaiuaH

" OLD SANDS OF LIFE."

Dk. Hall, of the Journal of Ilenlth,,
who has investigated the matter and an-
alyzed the drugs finds that the mixture
for which "Old Sands of Life" charges
two dollars, when made from the very
purest and most expensive materials
used, costs exactly sixteen cents, bottle
and all ! And he furthei'more charges,
as do many others, that it is a deleter-
ious article at best. The following from
the Gleaner, is a very severe rap :

"Messrs. Editors. — Permit me, thro'
your columns, to bear testimony to a
valuable medicine. My great aunt has
been striving to reach heaven for the
last twenty years. Having a cough, she
finally fell into the hands of the ' retired
clergyman' whose 'sands of life have
nearly run out.' She purchased a bot-
tle of his Cannahas Indica, from which
she gained strength, judging from the
violence of her cough. On taking the
second bottle her strength so increased
that she was able to cough all day and
night without interruption. The third
bottle landed her in heaven. Thu^^, in
a brief space of time, the fond hopes and

anticipations of a quarter of century
are realized for the sum of seven dollars
twelve and a half cents. To those per-
sons who are desirous of changing
worlds, or changing husbands and wives,
and all who are anxious to visit t'other
side of Jordan, this medicine is confident-
ly recommended," — Kv.

There is something in the above run-
ning too near the profane, and we do not
like it. But what language can too
strongly depict the indignation, the ut-
ter contempt, the heart-loathing which
all should feel for Old Sands of Life and
his imitators. They arc generally young
men, sometimes middle-aged, and rarely
old, are capable of achieving an honest
livelihood, of living and letting live ; but
they deliberately choose to lurk about our
cities and their suburbs; not in idleness,
for they are the most industrious men
living ; not in the neglect of those intel-
lectual powers which would ally man
with the Deity, but in their abuse of
them to the vilest of all purposes; not to

366

MISCELLANEOUS

do any one the least good, but to prey
upon the unfoi'tunate, to take the last
dollar from the sick and dying. They
will not steal from the well-to-do, who
could better afford to loose. They pass
by the robust and the strong, who might
possibly support themselves and one city
scoundrel besides. The dollars seem to
be sweet to them about in proportion
to the distress, misery and hopelessness
from which they are wrung. Appealing
to that principle of our nature, "All
that a man hath will he give for his life,"
they batten on the last pulse and the
last cent of their dying victims. Why
will invalids send to the city for cures ?
There is more medical skill in the coun-
try, twice-told, than in the city ; better
air, wholesomer food ; and the advice of
the first elderly woman that you meet —
she will prescribe for you gratis — is ten
times safer, more effectual, more likely
to cure, than the nostrums of city quacks.
These fellows advertise to the amount
of millions every year. The invalids,
generally among the poor, pay the bills,
pay the cost of the medicine, pay an
enormous profit on the whole. Why, in
heaven's name, if they want to be killed
don't they seek a cheaper way. The
rascals, who impose upon them, with
few exceptions, have no name, no place
of business — would not dare have. If
you come here, you can not find them.
The " returned missionary," for instance
is nobody — a mere fiction — nothing but
an impersonation of benevolence, ama-
zingly anxious to do everybody that has
a dollar good, but non-existent. Go to
his place of sale, and what do you find?
An irresponsible person, perhaps a smart
boy of ten years, selling his medicine.
Ask him where is Mr. Returned Mission-
ary ? He will tell you, gone to Boston.
Have you seen him ? No. Who brings
you the medicine ? His agent. Where
is he ? Don't know. Does he bring the
medicine himself? Yes, and takes the
money. How often? About once a
week. Where does the agent live?
Don't know. Does he pay you for sell-

ing his medicine ? Yes, he pays me
well. That is it. It is all for pay. It
pays well — pays for puffing, pays for ad-
vertising, pays for selling, pays for rob-
bing, pays for killing ; but it does not
pay the undertaker, and it does not raise
the victim to life, nor feed or clothe his
bereaved family. How long shall such
heartless fraud be tolerated ? Tell your
neighbors and friends not to encourage
it ; and if there is an editor in your vi-
cinity, ask him, whether it is, or is not a
gross immorality, to advertise the wares
of such soulless villains as Old Sands
of Life. These editors know a great
deal. They can answer you that ques-
tion, if they will. — Ed.

WHAT IS SCIENCE, AND AYHAT
CAN IT DO?

At the late anniversary of the New-
YorTc Ladiea^ Home Missionary Society^
a society which has penetrated the
abodes of wretchedness more beneficent-
ly, and done more real, substantial, unsec-
tarian good, than perhaps any other
with an equal amount of means, in the
Hall of the Cooper Institute, Peter
Cooper, Esq., was called to preside. It
should be recollected that this gentleman
has alone erected that building, large,
elegant, substantial — built, as would
seem, for all future time — at an expense,
we believe, of more than half a million,
and is about to dedicate it to the cause
of science and human improvement.
On taking the chair, Mr. Cooper made
the following remarks. Whether they
ascribe more than is just to merely in-
tellectual attainment, is not ours to in-
quire, but vre are quite sure that the
noble, soulful yearnings they express in
behalf of science and of humanity, ren-
der them worthy of a record more dura-
ble than brass — in the hearts of this and
coming generations.

"For this honor, gentlemen and la-
dies, please accept my thanks. This
first meeting in this hall — a hall that
is to be known hereafter as the Hall of
' Union' — is an event that I, with many

MISCELLANEOUS

367

others in this community, have antici-
pated with more than ordinary interest.
It is an event by which the second
apartment in this building is now broufiht
into i)ractical operation. It is intended
that this building, witli all its rents and
revenues of every name and nature, will,
in the course of the coming fall, be dedi-
cated to the advancement of science in
its application to the various useful pur-
posi^s of life. It is, my friends, to the
application of science to the laws of life
that we must look for all future improve-
ment in the condition of mankind.
Science, my friends, is a development of
the laws and methods of Deity — laws so
wise and good as never to require to be
altered, amended or revoked. They,
like their Author, will remain the same,
without variableness or shadow of turn-
ing. It is the power to know and un-
derstand these laws that elevates man
above the level of the brute.

" It is, my friends, upon a right and
wise a})plication of these laws that we
nuist rely for a present salvation from
all the possible evils to which infinite
wisdom has seen it best to subject us, in
order to perfect a nature capable of an
endless expansion in knowledge and
power over the material universe. To
accomplish this, infinite goodness has
seen it best to let us feel a sensation of
hunger and thirst in order that we may
enjoy the pleasures of eating and drink-
in, thus making every enjoyment of life
grow out of want, \\'here ample means
are provided for the gratification of
those wants. Science, my friends, is
the key to unlock the mysteries and
treasures of nature, to unvail its Ijcauties
and its bles.sings, and thus to vindicate
the waj's of (jod and to reconcile man
to his Maker by showing a great and
glorious purpose shining through all the
wonders of almighty power. It is tlie
proper business of science to deal with
and demonstrate facts, and especially
the great fact that the righteous or right-
doers are recompensed in the earth, and
much more the wicked and the sinner.
Tliis, my friends, is the greatest and
most important application of science
that ever has been or ever can be made
for the elevation of man. It is the most
important because it tjikes hold of our
moral and physical nature, oftering to
l)oth encouragement and warning.—
Science, my friends, science will teach
our children that tlie path of the just
grows brighter and brighter to the per-

fect day ; that wisdom's ways are ways
of pleasantness, and that all her paths
are peace.

" This siccncc, when properly cultivat-
ed and taught to our children, can not fail
to let them know that th(;y are placed
by their Maker in the great garden of
the world to keep it, to sidjdue it, and
to work out a great and glorious destiny.
This science will teach our children that
our Heavenly Father has given to each
a talent, or portion of an inheritance,
that each may bury in the earth, or
squander his portion with rioting and
di-unkemicss, and like the prodigal of
old bring himself to want tor the very
husks that the swine feed upon.

" This very wretchedness, growing
out of violated laws and wasted bles-s-
ings, was designed to awaken the slum-
bering and degraded facilities of man to
a realizing sense of his true nature and
condition ; to show him that he is not
afliicted willingly, but of necessity for
his profit, to fill him with his own waj's,
to make him sick of his sins, and willing
to return to his Father, where there is
bread enough, and to spare, where giving
will not impoverish nor withholding en-
rich. Every child within the sound of
my voice will agree with me, that there
is in reality more true pleasure to be
found by being kind, loving and affec-
tionate to his parents and playmates,
than can be found in quarreling, fighting
and tormenting each other. The poet
spoke to the best feelings of our nature
when he said :

" Know, then, (his truth — enough for man to know —
Virtue alone is happiness below ;
The only point wliere human bliss stands stil,
And taste the good without a fall to ill ;
\\ here only virtue sure rew»r<l receives.
Alike in what it takes and what it gives."

Science, my friend.s, will show our chil-
dren that the way to obtain pleasure and
prosperity tlu'ough life, is the way of in-
dustry, the way of lionesty, the way of
economy, and especially of temperance
in all things. AVhen science shall have
rent the vail of our ignorance, so as to
let us know the truth and be made free
by it — free to look into the perfect law,
where all the elements and essences of a
universe are working in harmony and
accordance with an Almighty will, to
organize, individualize and immortalize
i minds formed to receive a knowledge of
a univei'se into eacli, without diminish-
ing the store for every other individual.

"Thu.s, when the science of correct
morals, which is the rule or science of

S68

JiIISCELLANEOUS.

Christianity, shcall have brought life and
immortality to liglit in the intellectual
heart of mankind, then we shall begin
to know and understand something of
the true dignity and responsibility of
being a man. Then we shall know of a
truth that 'man is but little lower than
an angel.' If, my friends, this building
shall in any way contribute to spread
the knowledge of the truth, and lighten
the load of human sorrows, then will I
be amply compensated for all the toil
and labor that I have expended to bring
it to its present condition."

For the American Farmers' Magazine.

OUR PEDESTRIAN CORRESPON-
DENT.

KG. I.

After traveling some thousands of
miles through our country by the fastest
mode of steam conveyance we concluded
to halt awhile on the gate city of Iowa,
more frequently called the great city of
Keokuk. Now you may think those
two words " great city" rather superflu-
ous when applied to a place west of the
Mississippi and north of St Louis, but
were you to spend a few days in viewing
the handsome residences of her retired
merchants and bankers, or the large and
well arranged wholesale houses where
the country merchants for hundreds of
miles around buy their semi-annual sup-
plies of goods, an,d last but not least her
magnificent hotels, and then remember
that five years ago the ground on which
they stand was covered with primitive
oak, untouched by the rude hand of civ-
ilization, we think you wiU be willing
to award to her enterprising citizens the
honor of living in a great city. Keokuk
was not all a forest five years ago, but
the oak, that original squatter sovereign,
did at that time occupy the place where
now many of her handsome edifices
stand. But the cause of dating back
five years as the commencement of her
prosperity is that about that time her
disputed titles of land upon which she
located were settled, which had previous-
ly been the great cause of her lingering
in the ranks of small cities. Her posi-

tion, at the foot of the rapids and the
great Desmoines valley, etc., etc., emin-
nently qualify her for future eminence,
but as we have no corner lots for sale
here we will leave her praise to those
who have, and are consequently better
qualified to do justice to her many mer-
its. So let us go back to an old arm-
chair in one corner of the gentleman's
parlor of our hotel, where we sat rumin-
ating on what we had seen in passing
over the thousands of miles of railroad
track between this place and Yankee-
dom, from which we started. Our ideas
of matters and things were jumbled up
and running together, like an extension
table after dinner, excepting where we
had stopped and taken views afoot, in all
of which cases we were prepared with
the statistics as well as poetry of their
advantages and disadvantages. Conse-
quently we arrived at the conclusion
that to see and understand the real and
practical merits of our country we must
adopt the original mode of traveling, by
which we gain the double advantage of
escaping explosions, boiler burstings,
races, and I had like to have said getting
off the track, for that is a source of great
annoyance in some sections of this coun-
try; as the old farmers (who act as switch
tenders) seem very much to enjoy the
joke of having put you on the wrong
track, but they don't make much off of
this Yankee, for they can't send him
back on the road he has traveled, and so
long as he is going through, what to him
is a new country, he is all right. We
started up the valley of the Desmoines
river, which, by the way, is just now
very high, and navigable for pretty large
steamboats, they are making good use of
the opportunity, for it does not last long.
The farmers and country merchants, are
sending down their produce and ex-
changing it for goods, which they hope
to sell during the coming year; but
money is just a little bit scarcer in this
country than ever I saw it anywhere else,
consequently the majority of sales must

MISCELLANEOUS

869

be effected through some other medium
than gold or even greasy bank notes.
Large quantities of pork go down this
river, as well as thousands of bushels of
Hungarian grass seed , which, by-the-by,
is making as much stir here this spring
as the Shanghae fever did in the east a
few years since.

This is a kind of grass recently intro-
duced into this country, and one which
we have no recollection of seeing in the
east. It is said to be very productive of
both hay and seed. The latter is only
used for sowing, and brings at this time
from seventy-live cents to five dollars
per bushel, according to the demand and
convenience of market. The seed is
said to make good flour. One farmer
*aid he took eighty bushels of seed and
eleven tons of hay from two acres of
ground ; and they all say that horses will
eat the hay in preference to timothy or
clover, even after the seed has been tak-
en out. We think it woiild be well for
some of our eastern farmers to give it a
trial at least, if they have not already
done so.

The Desmoines river runs through a
beautiful valley of fine fertile land and
its banks are lined with a sufficient
amount of timber for building, fencing,
and all tlie necessary purposes of living,
which is a desideratum on the beautiful
level prairies of Illinois. "We concluded
to leave the river and strike across into
Missouri, among the border ruffians
and old farmers, for the purpose of talk-
ing with them about matters and" things,
as also with the wives and daughters, to
see what they thought of the country ;
and let me tell you we had some rare
times ; and found some splendid forms.
But my sheet is full and I must stop,
with the prospect of giving j'ou some
more, which you may rely upon as facts,
if signed, Boots at the Bottom.

putting his hay in the barn, by some
means he covered a hen up with the hay,
where she remained until tlie ITth of
March, WHEN HE TOOK HER OUT
ALIVE ! ! ! The hen had lived, it would
seem, upon the hay seed, but without a
possibility of getting a drop of water.
She had beaten a path along by the side
of the barn, so that she had about twelve
feet travel, receiving no light except
what was admitted through the open-
ings between the boards. The hen was
very feeble when taken out. Did we
not know our friend to be a man of
truth, we should most assuredly con-
sider this a tremendous stretch of imagi-
nation. But as it comes from an au-
thentic source, we must believe and
wonder that a thing of flesh could possi-^
bly have lived thus pent up for about
eight months without the common nour-
ishments necessary to sustain life, and
yet come out alive. — Dryden News.

Is it not possible that said hen walked
under the girt at a later date than that
of the putting in of the hay, and then
was preventing egress by the falling of
the hay over the entrance ? — Ed.

STRANGE TENACITY OF LIFE.

Mr. Tkum.vn Rhodes, of Etna, informs
•s that about the middle of July last, in
24

SPRING FRUITS.

The recent hard frost seems to have
been severe only in low localities. In
such places, almost every description of
fruit is killed, while on lands of higher
range, the injury is comparativel}' little
or nothing. There is yet an abundance-
of fruit, etc., in the country, while we
are pleased to learn that the wheat crc^.
is uninjured.

Strawberries have made their appear-
ance in our market. Some of the promi-
nent horticulturists in this vicinity have
had them ripe for more than a week.
Among them is our friend Truett, a no-
tice of whose nursery and fruit gardens
we shall soon publish.

The finest bimch of asparagus we re-
collect to have seen in this city, wa.';
shown us recently. It was grown by
AVm. Petway, of this county. — Southern
Homestead for May Vith.

StrawbeiTies and asparagus are now
ollercd in the New-York markets. May
22d, but are not yet plenty. — Ed.

ff^^g" To err sometimes is nature ; to
rectify error is always glory.

:no

MISCELLANEOUS,

FOR THE AMEBICAN FARMERS* MAGAZIKE.

THE WEATHER.

Appearance of Birds, Flowers, etc., in Nichols, Tioga Co., N". Y., in April, 1858.

By R. HoweU.

Place of Observation, 42 degrees North, on a Diluvial Formation, about iO feet above tlie

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

of the Neiv- York and Erie Railroad.

Mar.

TA.M.

2 P.M.

9 P.M.

1

33

60

46

S. E.

Fair.

2

40

62

41

"

"

3

37

68

42

S.&N.

Clear.

4

40

71

53

S. E.

Cloudy.

5

45

62

50

South.

"

6

34

40

32

N. W.

"

7

27

43

25

"

Clear.

8

30

42

41

S. E.

Cloudy.

9

46

67

52

"

"

10

48

63

40

N. W.

Fair.

11

37

42

36

"

Cloudy.

12

39

39

39

S. E.

"

.13

40

48

44

"

"

14

44

60

45

N. W.

''

15

43

51

35

c.

"

16

42

60

37

"

Fair.

17

36

58

38

"

"

18

33

62

41

"

Cloudy.

19

39

47

41

S. E.

"

•20

42

44

41

"

"

-21

49

52

36

N. W.

"

22

42

68

57

S. E.

Fair.

23

62

52

40

N. W.

Clqudy.

24

36

40

30

"

"

25

31

42

27

"

"

26

26

40

26

"

"

27

26

46

28

"

"

28

38

52

34

"

Fair.

.29

34

67

52

N.&S.

Fair.

30

60

64

61

N. W.

Cloudy.

Remarks.

Red-winged blackbird, also brown, first seen.

Light rain between 1 and 2 in A.M and P.M.
First hyholder and mouse hawk seen.

A large, beautiful aurora at 9 P.M.

Light hail and rain before daylight, and A. M.

and evening.
Light rain in A.M., hard rain in P.M. [day.

Very hard rain before light, and at intervals all
Light shower between 5 and 6 A.M. ; lesser frogs

first heard.
Light sprinkle.
First wren heard.

First whippowil heard.

First kingfisher seen.

Drizzling rain, beautiful aurora at 9 P.M.

Halo around the sun at 12 noon.

Light rain in A.M.

Light snow squalls.

Light snow before daylight.

A few flakes of snow.

Myrtle began to bloom.

Light rain in the evening.
Light showers during the da\'.

BRIBERY DISCOVERED.

"Wm. Chappell, a member of the Wis-
consin State Senate, was expelled on the
5th Inst, for having sold his vote and in-
fluence to the Lacrosse and Milwaukie
Railroad, wliile a member of the Assem-
bly of 1650, and for having attempted
•to bribe a witness before the recent Land
Grant Investigating Committee."

Why! the man is behind the times.
Didn't our exchange know that the Gov-
ernor of that same State took a sweet-
ener of $50,000, and a majority of both
Houses a comforter each of from $5,000
to $25,000 when that famous bill was

log-rolled through V He must have been
asleep about those times. Even the un-
derstrappers, down towards the boys
that wait on tlie members, made a good
job of it. But if nobody had been
bled except the New- York bankers, we
should'nt cry about it. — Ed.

Education. — Seek for your children,
in order — first, moral excellence ; sec-
ond, intellectual improvement; third,
physical well being ; last of all, worldly
thrift and prosperity ; and you may at-
tain the blessing promised to Christian
I nui'ture. — Everts,

MISCELLANEOUS

STl

SEWING MACHINES.
The want of accurate information up-
on the subject of sewing machines, now
exciting so mucli interest, is supplied by
a new edition of " Appleton's Diction-
.•iry of Mechanics," in which this subject
is discussed and iUustrated. Several
machines are mentioned therein, and
prominence is given them according to
their respective merits. The single
thread "hand stitch," "running stitch,"
and the single and double threaded
•' tambour" or "chain" stitches, are sev-
erally treated. Machines making the
"running" and tho''hand" stitches are not
l)efore the public. The single and the
double threaded " tambour" stitches do
not make seams of desirable firmness
and beaut J'. The latter involves a great
expenditure of thread ; and the former,
made by the lower priced machines, is
especially defective for the general pur-
poses of sewing on account of the facili-
ty with which it may be raveled.

The " lock stitch" is the one best suit-
ed for sewing. It is formed with two
threads, one above and the other below
tlie fabric sewed, interlocked with each
other in the center of it, as in the follow-
in"; illustration.

Each surface of the scam presents the
same appearance : a single line of thread
extending from stitch to stitch. It can
not be ripped nor raveled, and forms a
seam sufficiently substantial for all ordi-
nary purposes. About two and one-half
yards of thread arc required for one yard
of seam made with this stitch. The sin-
gle thread " tambour" stitch requires
about four and oric-half yards, and the
" double threaded tambour s^titch" six
and one-half yards for a yard of seam.

The inventor of the " lock stitch" used
a reciprocating shuttle in making it.
This required heavy machinery, involved
a waste of power, and was inadaptablc to
fine work. No attempt was made to in-
troduce it into families. "In 1851 Mr.

A. B. "Wilson patented his celebrated
"lock stitch" machine, which, with the co-
operation of Mr. N. Wheeler, was soon
successfully introduced. The merit of
Mr. AVilson's invention consists in his
' rough-surface feed,' by which the cloth
is moved forward and the length of stitch
regulated, and the 'rotating hook' by
which the two threads are interlocked,
and the point of interlocking drawn into
the fabric." The superiority of this ma-
chine over the shuttle machine, arises
from substituting the rotary movement
of the hook for the reciprocating motion
of the shuttle. Power is economized,
noisy and cumbersome gearing avoided,
and the machine is adapted to the finest
work.

" Its mechanism is the fruit of the
highest inventive genius, combined with
practical talent of the first order. Its
principles have been elaborated with
great care, and it involves all the essen-
tials required in a family sewing ma-
chine. It is simple and thorough in con-
struction, elegant in model and finish,
facile in management, easy, rapid and
quiet in operation, and reflects additional
credit upon American mechanical sldll.
Thousands are used by housekeepers,
seamstresses, dressmakers, tailors, man-
ufacturers of shirts, cloaks, mantillas,
clothing, hats, caps, corsets, ladies' gai-
ters, umbrellas, parasols, silk and linen
goods with conif)lete success."

"Various appliances are furnished for
regulating the width of hems, etc. The
' hemmer ' is another appendage, by
which the edge of the cloth is turned
down in passing through, as in ordinary
hemming, and beautifully stitched. The
bearings and friction surfaces are so
slight tliat the propelling power is mere-
ly nominal. The various parts of tlic
machine at all subject to wear arc made
of finely tempered steel, and the other
parts are tastefully ornamented or heav-
ily silver plated."

" Tliere is no limit to the number of
stitches that nniy be made in any given
time. One thousand per minute are
readily made. The ainount of sewing
that an operator may perform, depends
much upon the kind of sewing and her
experience. Fifty dozens of shirt col-
lars, or six dozens of shirt bosoms, are
a day's work. Upon straight seams, an
operator with one machine will perfonn
the work of twenty by hand ; on an
average one probably performs the work
of ten seamstresses."-

372

MISCELLANEOUS.

RAISING INDIAN CORN.

You have probably read the article in
the N. Y. Tribune^ of May 8th, on the
raising of Indian corn, in which the
writer gives a recipe, deduced from ob-
servations on premium crops, for greatly
increasing the average yield of the most
important product of the United States.
It runs as follows: "Take a rich, strong
loam, with a heavy turf, the older the
better. Plow not less than eight inches
deep, and deeper if it does not bring up
more than one inch of the subsoil. Put
on at least forty loads of manure to the
acre, and more if you have it, reserving
a part for the hill, unless you use some
concentrated fertilizer."

If you were not reminded of the fol-
lowing story by this wise advice, I am
sure that it was only for the reason that,
unlike editors generally, you are not
omniscient, and never chanced to peruse
it.

A caravan was once bewildered in the
desolate waste of an immense desert, and
after long wandering, was reduced to a
famishing condition. While in their
worst extremity, a vulture came flying
one day in their neighborhood, and
poising in the air over their heads, as-
tonished them greatly by his miraculous
power of human speech.

"Why do you famish?" asked the
vulture. " If you will take fine flour,
and mix it with goat's milk, and flavor
it with the delicate spices of the East,
you may produce cakes worthy to set
before the Caliph. If you take the round
haunch of a fat gazelle, and roast it be-
fore the fire, and eat therefrom, it will
make your eyes stand out with fixtness.
If you take water from a cool spring, and
squeeze into it the ripe juice of an orange,
you may cool your parched tongue with
refreshing sherbet. Why will you fam-
ish, and thirst, and sorrow, oh, poor
wretches ! Why will you not eat and
drink, and be merry?" And the " poor
wretches" looked up to the vulture and
asked him vainly where they might get
the flour and the spices, the fat gazelle
and the cool spring water, and the ruddy
oranges.

So, the Tribune croaks to the farmers
in the land and says, " Poor farmers, if
you wish to grow great crops of corn,
and pay your debts, and live comfort-
able, you have nothing to do but plow
under an old turf and put forty loads of
manure on the acre and till it well, and

your granaries will run over, and your
pockets will stand out with money."
But if you please, Friend Tribune, do
tell the farmers how, consistent with
good and systematic rotations, they can
always obtain the old turf to plow under,
and then, perhaps, they will trust your
wisdom to inform them how and where
they can profitably obtain the forty loads
of manure per acre.

It is quite easy to tell farmers how to
raise large crops. They hardly require
the teachings of the Tribune, or any
other journal, to inform them that an
old turf plowed under, and forty loads
of manure applied to each acre, and the
land afterwards subjected to thorough
tillage, will (if the wire-worm and the
grub let it alone) produce a large crop.
But if the forty loads of manure and the
old turf cost more than the crop is worth,
they will be losers. They would honor
him as a wise man and national benefac-
tor, who informs them how to raise these
" great crops" profitably.

Single premium crops give us but few
practical hints that are valuable. They
are always raised on land in an unusually
favorable condition, which can not be
attained on the majority of farms, for
the whole of every crop, without incur-
j-ing unreasonable expense. But if suf-
ficiently inducing premiums were offered
for the most successful and profitable
method of raising Indian corn, in con-
nection with other crops, duiing a period
of ten years, the results might place us
in jjossession of valuable information.

COKNPLANTER,

in Bural New- Yorlcer.

THE DOOM OP THE WORLD.

WuAT this change is to be we dare
not even conjecture, but we see in the
heavens themselves some traces of de-
structive elements, and some indications
of their power. The fragments of bro-
ken planets, the descent of meteoric
stones upon our globe, the wheeling com-
ets, welding their loose materials at the
solar furnace, the volcanic eruptions in
our own satellite, the appearance of new
stars, and the disappearance of others,
are all foreshadows of that impending
convulsion to which the system' of the
world is doomed. Thus placed on a
planet which is to be burned up, and un-
der heavens that are to pass away — thus
treading, as it were, on the cemetries,
and dwelling upon the mausoleums of for-

MISCELLANEOUS.

373

luer worlds, let us learn the lesson of hu-
mility and wisdom if we have not already
been taught in the school of revelation.
— North British Review.

ALMOST TO GOOD TO HOPE FOR.

On ! if men would onlj'- quit their jar-
goning about the undeniable abstrac-
tions of theological speculation; and their
contentions about the impositions of sec-
tarian authorities ; and their justlings in
the pursuit of personal and partisan in-
terests ; and could be persuaded to attend
only to the supreme and indisjjutable
facts of nature and Revelation — seeking
the enjoyment and promotion of a free,
full, present, and everlasting salvation,
the attainment for the proper character
and destiny of every man, and of all men
— what a glorious change would be wit-
nessed in every department of society !

TRACTION ENGINES.

Messrs. Tuxfokd & Sons of England,
are exporting quite a number of their
traction engines to Cuba. Thoj'" are in-
tended to draw the sugar from the mill
to the railway, to plow, and to be made
generally useful, Senor Placide Gener
is the enterprising importer.

ARTIFICLA.L PROPAGATION OF
FISH.
The Ijondion Athenenm says the exper-
i men t made by the Emperor of the French
to stock the waters of St. Cloud with
trout hatched artificially, has met with
complete success. Trout twelve months
old are eight inches long, and weigh from
two and a-half to three and a-half ounces.
Their value in the Paris market would
be from twenty to twenty-five cents.
The trout thirty-three months old are
from nineteen to twenty inches long,
and weigh from twenty-four to forty-one
ounces, and would sell at from sixty
cents to a dollar and twenty cents. It
is further stated that the waters at St.
Cloud were never before inhabited by
any species of salinynnim. The trout
are extremely numerous, and promise to
yield highly productive leturns, in a com-
mercial point of view. The principal ob-
ject of the Emperor is to ascertain wheth-
er the production of fish by artificial
means is more profitable than the culti-
vation of the land, talking the same su-
perficial area in both cases.

MACHINE FOR BENDING WOOD.

Thomas Blanchakd of Boston, Mass.,
has invented certain improvements relat-
ing to a device by which wood is bent in
the desired form without having its fil>re
distended longitudinall}', so that the
strength of the wood will not be impair-
ed in consequence of being bent.

INSECTS.
The number of distinct species of in-
sects already known aTul dcscril)ed can-
not be estimated at less than two hun-
dred thousand — there being nearly twen-
ty thousand different beetles alone,
known at the present time — and every
day is adding to the catalogue.

BRILLIANT STUCCO WHITEWASH.

Many have heard of the brilliant stuc-
co whitev/ash on the east end of the Pres-
ident's house at Washington. The fol-
lowing is a recipe for it as gleaned from
the National Intelligencer^ with some
additional improvements learned by ex-
periments :

" Take half a bushel of nice unslackcd
lime, slack it with boiling water, cover
it during the process to keep in the steam.
Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or
strainer, and add to it a peck of salt, pre-
'viously well dissolved in water; three
pounds of ground rice, boiled to a thin
paste, and stirred in boiling hot ; half a
pound of powdered Spanish whiting, and
a pound of clean glue, which has been
previously dissolved by soaking it well ;
and then hanging it over a slow fire, in
a small kettle with a large one filled with
water. Add five gallons of hot water to
the mixture, stir it well, and let it stand
a few days covered from the dirt.

It should be put on right hot ; for this
purpose it can be kept in a kettle on a
portable furnace. It is said that about
a pint of this mixture will cover a square
yard upon the outside of a house if prop-
erly applied. Brushes more or less small
may l)e used according to the neatness of
the job re([uired. It answers as well as
oil paint for wood, brick or stone, and is
cheaper. It retains its brilliancy for
many years. There is nothing of the
kind that will compare with it, cither for
inside or outside walls.

Coloring matter may be put in and
made of any shade you like. Spanish
brown stirred in will make red pink,
more or less deep according to the quan-
tity. A delicate tinge of this is very

Hi

MISCELLANEOUS.

pretty for inside walls. Finely pulveriz-
ed common clay, well mixed Spanish
brown makes reddish stone color. Yel-
low-ochre stirred in malves yellow wash,
but chrome goes further and makes a
color generally esteemed prettier. In
all these cases the darkness of the shades
of course is determined by the quantity
of coloring used. It is difficult to make
rules because tastes are different ; it
would be best to try experiments on a
shingle and let it drj^ We have been
told that green must not be mixed with
lime. The lime destroys the color, and
the color has an effect on the whitewash,
which makes it crack and peel.

When walls have been badly smoked
and you wish to have them a clean white,
it is well to squeeze indigo plentifully
through a bag into the water j ou use,
before it is stirred in the whole mixture.
If a larger quantity than five gallons be
wanted, the same proportions should be
observed. — BerhnMre Galturist.

CO-OPERiTION OF THE WIFE.

There is much good sense and truth
in the remark of a modern author, that
no man ever prospered in the world
without the co-operation of his wife. If
she unites in mutual endeavors, or re-
wards his labors with an endearing smile^
with what confidence will he resort to
his merchandise or his fiirm, fly over
lands, sail over seas, meet difficulty and
encounter danger — if he only knows that
he is not spending his strength in vain,
but that his labor will be rewarded by
the sweets of home? Solitude and dis-
appointment enter the history of every
man's life, and he has not half provided
for his voyage, who finds but an asso-
ciate for happy hours, while for months
of darkness and distress no sympathizing
partner is prepared. — Berlcsliire Cultu-
rist.

ACCOUNTS ABOUT CROPS. .

SELECTED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.

Wheat. — We have traveled through
most of the counties of this large Judi-
cial Circuit, and of those in contiguous
circuits, and may safely saj^ that never
before have we witnessed such an abun-
dant harvest. It is true the rust or
some other disaster may blast this bright
prospect yet ; but if nothing of this sort
shall occur, there will be wheat enough
"for all the world and the rest of man-
kind."— AtJiens Watchman.

Pleasant Ridge, Hamilton Co., 0.,
May 10.— Our wheat, barley and grass
never looked better. Our fruit badly
hurt with frost. II. B.

Cherry Valley, Ashtabula Co., 0.,
May 8. — Wheat looks very fine. Grass
promises an extraordinary crop. Ap-
ples are making a good show of blos-
soms.

Lagore, Indiana, May 10. — The old
settlers saj^ they never saw so much
water on the ground as there is this
spring. No corn yet planted, and but
little oats sown. A. D. C.

Sullivan, Ashland Cd., 0., ^Lay 11. —
Fail and spring wheat looks first-rate.
Early sown oats looks well. No corn
planted yet. Gi'ass looks middling.
Apple and cherry trees in blossom ; also
peach trees that are alive. The forest
trees begins to show their leaves consid-
erably. Cold enough this morning for
snow. Very wet of late.

Reports from various parts of thi:
country, brought by our exchanges, are
favorable, particularly concerning the
wheat crop. — Ed.

KEEPING THE TEETH CLEAN.

MICKOSCOPI0.4.L examinations have
been made of the matter deposited on
the teeth and gums of more than forty
individuals, selected from all classes of
society, in every variety of bodily con-
dition, and in nearly every case animal
and vegetable parasites in great numbers
have been discovered. Of the animal
parasites there were three or four spe-
cies, and of the vegetable one or two.
In fact the only persons whose mouths
were found to be completely free from
them, cleansed their . teeth four times
daily, using soap once. One or two of
these individuals also passed a threa<l
between the teeth to cleanse them more
effectually. In all cases the number of
the parasites was smaller in j^foportion
to the cleanliness. The effect of the
application of various agents was also
noticed. Tobacco juice and .smoke did
not injure their vitality in the least.
The same was true of the chlorine tooth
wash, of pulverized bark, of soda, am-
monia, and various other popular deter-
gents. The application of soap, how-
ever, appeared to destroy them instantly.
We may hence infer that this is the best
and most proper specific for cleansing

MISCELLANEOUS

375

the teeth. In all cases where it has
heen tried it receives unqualified com-
mendation. It may also be proper to
add that none but the purest white
soa]), free from discoloration, should be
used.

IMAGIXATION.

Thomas Fuller relates a curious inci-
dent, which is truly characteristic, and
shows how fancy will put life into young
limbs. " A gentleman," he says, " hav-
ing led a company of children beyond
their usual journey, they began to be
weary, and jointly cried to be carried ;
which, l)ecause of their multitude, he
could not do, but he told them he would
provide them horses to ride on. Then
cutting little wands out of the hedges as
nags for them, and a large one for him-
self, they mounted, and those who could
scaice stand before, now full of miith,
bounded cheerfully home."

^^ The N. Y. Times says that the
dwellers in the rural districts ought to
feel themselves under great obligations
to Mayor Tiemann for his vigorous on-
slaught upon all the organized schemes
which have been so prolific in New-York
for the express purpose of swindling
simple-minded country people out of
their money. lie has exposed and
broken up several of these organizations,
but there are a good manj' still in exist-
ence which his power can not touch.
There is but one safe rule for all, and
that is, to refuse to have any business
transactions with people whom they
don't know, or who have not an estab-
lished reputation. ]}ut, above all others,
they should turn a deaf car to everybody
who otters to give them something for
nothing, or who proposes to make them
a present of fifty dollars wortli of jew-
elry as an inducement for them to pur-
chase fifty cents wortli of books. It
miglit be supposed this kind of bait
there were no gudgeons greedy enough
to bite at, but recent developments have
proved that in the rural districts there
arc plenty of such.

OUTRAGEOUS.
TuF, people of Cambridge are becom-
ing indignant, and justly so, on account
of tlic frequent dispen.sation of intoxicat-
ing drinks by the li(|uor sellers, to the
children of the primary schools. Little
boys of some live or six years old, have

repeatedly gone into school in a state of
intoxication. They are furnished at tito
cents a drink. Tlie people of that city
intend to make short work with those
wretches under the nuisance law.

HOOSIER CONVERSATION.
" Hullo, stranger, you appear to be

traveling."

" Yes, I always travel when on a jour-
ney."

"I think I've seen you somewhere."

" Very likely ; I have often been
there."

"And pray, what might be your
name, sir?"

" It might be Sam Patch ; but it isn't,
by a long slide."

" Have you been lone: in these parts ?"

" Never any longer than at present —
five feet nine." •

" Do you get anything new ?"

" Yes, I bought a new whetstone this
morning."

"I thought so; you're the sharpest
blade I've seen on this road."

THE RABBIT TRADE IN BELGIUM.
It is almost incredible to what a de-
gree of importance this branch of trade
has attained in Flanders within the last
six or seven years. There are fifty thou-
sand skinned carcases of these animals ex-
ported weekly to England — more than
two and a half millions annually — where
they find a ready market as articles of
food, while it is difticult to sell them in
Flandeis at twenty-five cents apiece^
The preparation and coloring of the skins
gives employment, in Ghent alone, to
more than two thousand workmen. —
Boston C'vlt.

SKETCH OF WASHINGTON.

Gex. Washincton is now in the forty-
seventh year of his ago ; he is a tall, well-
made man, rather large-boned, and has
a tolerable genteel address ; his features
are manly and l)old ; his eyes of a blue-
ish cast, and very lively ; has hair a deep
brown ; his face rather long, ami mark-
ed with the .small-i)ox; his complexion
sunburnt and without nnich color, and
countenance sensible, coinposed and
thoughtful. Tiiere is a remarkable air
of dignity about him, with a striking de-
gree of gracefulness ; he has an excel-
lent understanding, without much quick-
ness ; is strikingly just, vigilant and gen-
erous ; an affectionate husband, a fUith-

376

MISCELLANEOUS.

ful friend, a father to the deserving sol-
dier ; gentle in his manners, in temper
rather reserved ; a total stranger to re-
ligious prejudices, which have so often
excited Christians of one denomination
to cut the throats of those of another ;
in his morals he is irreproachable, and
was never known to exceed the bounds
of the most rigid temperance ; in a word
all his friends and acquaintances univer-
sally allow that no man ever united in
his own person a perfect alliance of the
virtues of a philosopher, with the talents
of a general ; candor, sincerity, affabil-
ity and simplicity, seem to be the strik-
ing features of his character, till an oc-
casion offers of displaying the most de-
termined bravery and independence of
spirit. — [London Chronicle, July 22,
1780.

BLACKBERRY JAM.

Gather the fruit in dry weather ;
allow half a pound of good brown sugar
to every pound of fruit ; boil the whole
together gently for an hour or till the
blackberries are soft, stirring and smash-
ing them well. Preserve it like any
other jam, and it will be found very use-
ful in families, particularly for children ;
regulating their bowels, and enabling
you to dispense with cathartics. It may
be spread on bread, or on puddings, in-
stead of butter ; and even when the
blackberries are bought it is cheaper
than butter.

|W° Wm. B. Astor has in the process
of erection an addition to the Astor Li-
brary, equal in size to that of the origi-
nal one. It is built on the north side of
the old building, and is a fac - sim-
ile of that in all respects. In his own
lifetime he intends to see the work com-
pleted. The new edifice will cost $100,-
000, exclusive of the land, and, when it
is done, Mr. Astor will furnish it com-
plete and dedicate the whole — ^land, edi-
fice and books — to the city of New- York.

1^^ Salt Lake is about three hun-
ilred miles in circumference, and has two
large mountains in its center. It is Salt-
er than even "the salt, salt sea," for two
i|uarts of its water will yield a pint of
salt. One may go into the excavations
in the immense hills there and cut out,
as if it were ice, large lumps of fine white
salt!

il^^ The white of an egg has been
proved the most eflBcacious remedy for
burns. Seven or eight successive appli-
cations of this substance soothes the
pain, and effectually excludes the burnt
parts from the air. This simple remedy
seems to us far preferable to collodion or
cotton.

1^^ Wide - mouthed bottles, partly
filled with molasses and water, and hung
up in a garden, make excellent traps for
the moths, which are the parents of many
destructive vermin.

j ^W° If you wish to be truly polite,
exhibit real kindness in the kindest man-
ner— do this and you will pass at par in
any society without studying the rules
of etiquette.

^W° Birds are among the best friends
of the gardener, and should by no means
be destroyed, although some of them
may eat a few raspberries or cherries.

[J^^ A BRIGHT fire of resinous pine,
tar, shavings, or any other combustible,
kindled in the garden at ntght, on a
platform erected for the purpose, will at-
tract and destroy millions of insects.

An old soldier recently died at Kings-
ton, Canada, who had carried a bullet
embedded in his lungs for more that for-
ty years ! When taken out after death
the bullet had lost nearly one-third of
its weight by corrosion.

^^° Much rain has fallen during last
and this week, greatly to the hinderance
of corn planting by farmers. There is
some planted, but much remains yet to
plant. Vegetation is putting forth rap-
idly— the Wheat crop is reviving beyond
expectation a fortnight ago. A prospect
for a favorable crop can now be reason-
ably anticipated. The husbandman for
this season, has just cause to rejoice in
his prospect. — Shirleysburgli (Pa) Her-
ald, May 20th.

^^T" The Maryland State Agricultu-
ral College has been located in Prince
George county, three miles northwest of
Bladensburg, and about nine miles from
Washington City, on the " Rossburg
Farm," embracing 428 acres.

1^^ Shut up your neighbor's pigs if
they trespass, and feed them well, but
do not storm and threaten. Deal kindly,
be manly and neighborly with him, and
the coals will burn his head, sm-e.

EDITOR'S TABLE

377

ANOTHER GREAT TELEGRAPH
ENTERPRISE.

The London Ohscrver states that a
new oonipnny has been formed in that
city for the purpose of layina; a subma-
rine cable through the Atlantic, between
Europe and America, with an interme-
diate mid-way stjition at the Azore is-
lands. This is a very plausil^lc project,
but we trust this new company, before
contracting for its submarine cable, will
wait until the old company makes its
second grand effort next month. — Scien-
tific American.

il|@=° The aggregate wealth of the Uni-

ted States amounts to $12,000,000,000,
and the population is 24,000,000.

If these figures were accurate there
would be just $500 to each person, $2,-
500 to a fomily of five, ani'SS.OdO to
one often persons. But the population
is more than 24,000,000. Consequently,
if the valuation is correct, the property
per head is somewhat less than $500.

" Life is real, life is earnest.

And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returncst.
Was not si'Oken, of the SOUL.'"
[^Lovfjfelloic.

(Kditor« fable.

BOOK NOTICES, ETC., ETC.

Recollections of the Last Days op
Shelly and Bvkon, by"E. J. Trelawney.
Ticknor and Fields. 1858.

This is an exceedingly interesting
book, got up in Ticknor &, Field's best
style, and containing 304 pages of the
most readable matter. It gives us an
off-hand, unstudied view of these great
poets as seen in their ordinary inter-
course with men. All who like to com-
mune witli genius undisguised, undis-
sembling, acting out its nature freely,
will be delighted with Trelawney's re-
collections. For sale bj^ Sheldon, Blake-
man & Co., 115 Nassau street, N. Y.

SpEcnrENs OF Douglas Jebrold's "Wit ;
together with Selections, chiefly from his
Contributions to Journals, intended to
illustrate his opinions. Arranged by his
son, Blanchard Jerrold. Ticknor &
Fields, Boston, 1S58.

Doubtless Douglas Jerrold's wit was
better appreciated by Englishmen, than
it possibly could bo by Americans, so
interwoven was it with the peculiar in-
stitutions, manners, customs, habits of
thought, and political institutions of that
country. Punch grew out of English
soil, was indigenous to it, at home in
Old England, but would have made a
shabby appearance in New. Whatever

attempts have been made at imitation, in
this country, have proved miserable fail-
ures, and probably will for years per-
haps to come. Wc can not have
a Punch in this country. If Doug-
las Jerrold were to live his life over
again, he could not make one that would
go down the necks of Americans with as
broad a laugh as his did down those of
Englishmen.

Nevertheless, his wit was refined,
without being squeamish, keen without
excessive vulgarity, capable of transpor-
tation without entirely spoiling. His
son has selected some of the best speci-
mens, and we advise all who have some
wit and would cultivate more, and all
who believe it would do them good to
laugh right hcartil)', to buy and read
this book. It contains 243 pages, and is
for sale by Sheldon, Blakeman Ik, Co.,
115 Nassau street, N. Y.

Sonnno Sugar; or Experiments with
Chinese Cane; Including full Directions
for making sugar. By Hedges, Free &
Co., Manufacturers of Sugar Mills, Sugar
Kettles, Corn-Crushers, etc.. No. 78
^\'est Third street, Cincinnati.

This is a little book of directions for
growing sorgho, manufacturing sugar,
etc. ; and is valuaVjle for such as wish to
engage in this business.

378

EDITOR'S TABLE

We have received the Transactions for
I80Y of the Franliiin {Mass.) Ag. Soc,
a valuable document of 117 pages, mark-
ing a manifest jarogress in the agricul-
ture of that region, and of great value to
the farmers of that and adjoining coun-
ties.

D. D. — P. M. has sent us the Trans-
actions of the Munroe County Agricul-
tural Society for 1857. This we have
long known to be a spirited and ener-
getic society. Their transactions indi-
cate no falling off".

The Southern Homestead, published
at Nashville, Tenn., is one of the bright-
est, most readable, and, for its region,
one of the most useful papers which we
find among our exchanges. Let the
farmers of Tennessee take care to sup-
port it.

The Horticulturist. — This good old
monthly we see has come into the hands
of our old friend, C. M. Saxton, hereafter
to be its publisher. May he make a
good thing of it, both for himself and his
readers.

We invite attention to W. W. Dingee
& Co.'s advertisement of Threshing
Machines, Sugar Mills and Grain Fans.
Whoever will apply to them for a circu-
lar, will find that the guaranty they give
for the sti-ength and good working quali-
ties of their machines, is such as none
but honest men, who mean to deal
fairly by their customers, would be
likely to bind themselves by.

For some months past we have given
the Meteorological Precalculations of
Dr. L. L. Chapman, based upon the dis-
covery of hitherto overlooked natural
laws, of practical as well as scientific
importance, but finding the subject too
new to receive the attention it deserves,

and as Dr. Chapman is publishing his
precalculations in an independent serial
document, " The Monthly Rainbow,"
we shall discontinue them for the pres-
ent. Any of our patrons who wish, can
obtain the " Monthly Rainbow" direct
from the author, by addressing him Box
651, P. 0., Philadelphia, Pa. His terms
are fifty cents per annum in advance. —
Ed.

CITY COMMERCIAL REPORT.

Monday, May 24—0 P.M.

Ashes. — The sale embraced about 5i)
bbls., pots and pearls, at 6c.

Breadstuffs. — Flour — The market
was steady at Saturday's quotations, and
sales were chiefly confined to the local
and Eastern trade, with some purchases
for export. The sales embraced about
7,000 to 8,000 bbls., chiefly within the
range of the following quotations : —

Superfine state $4 85@$3 95

Extra State 4 00®, 4 15

Western and Ohio superfine 3 85@, 3 C5

Extra Ohio and Western 8 40®, 4 85

Canadian superfine and extra 4 50® 5 25

Baltimore, Alexandria & Georgetown 4 40® 4 75

Southern fancy and extra 4 80® 6 00

Choice ex. family &■ bakers' brands.. 6 00® 7 00

Rye flour „ 3 00® 3 40

Corn meal 3 50® 3 87>^

Canadian brands were heavy, with
sales of 300 to 400 bbls. at quotations.
Southern flour Avas without change of
moment in prices, while sales embraced
700 to 800 bbls. Rye flour was without
change, and the demand light. Corn
meal was in better demand, with sales
reported of 700 bbls., including Jersey
and .350 Baltimore, at $3 68, and Bran-
dywine at $3 87;i, afloat. Wheat was
heavy, while the sales of the day footed
up about 45,000 to 50,000 bushels. In-
cluded in the sales were 30,000 bushels
Iflinois spring, at 78c. to 82c., and 6,800
do. Milwaukie club at 85c. ; and a cargo
of white Indiana and Michigan, at $1 00
to $1 05 to $1 07. Corn was firmer
and in good demand, with sales of about
40,000 bushels, including white South-
ern, at 721c. to 73i^c., and good to prime
5^ellow at "77c. to 77+c. to 78c., and old
Western mixed from store at 75c. Rye
was steady, with sales of about 1,700
bushels at"68c. to 70c. Barley was quiet
at 261c. to 61c. Oats were in good de-
mand, with sales of State and Western
at 40c. to 41c.

Coffee. — The market was steady and

ai A R K E T S .

879

sales confined to 300 bags Rio at 10c. to
lO.Vc. About 3,000 Rio, ex brig Watson,
were sold for export on piivatc terms,
and 70 bags Java at IGc.

CoTTOx. — Tiie sales footed up about
3,100 bales, chiedy in transitu, closing
ratlier heavy without quotable cliange in
prices.

Fkiuouts. — Rates were firm, while en-
gasienients were light. To Liverpool
about 30,000 bushels of grain were en-
gaged at 'Jd. to (t.Ul., wliile flour was at
2s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. asked, and cotton at
3-lCd. to 7-32d., and 5Ui' boxes cheese
at 30s. To Glasgow 8,000 bushels grain
were taken at about Did., in bags, and
ab^nit 6ui» bbls. flour at 2s. Cd. There
was notliing new to London or to the
Continent.

Hay.— Sales of 800 to 900 bales were
made of good to prime shipping (qualities
at -io to 50c.

Ikox. — The market was quiet for
Scotch Pig, while small sales were
making at 25 to 2t)c., G mo?.

liiMK was in moderate request at about
7oc. for common, and at 90c. for lump
Rockland.

MoLAssKS. — The sales embraced about
23 hhds., 32 tcs. and l-l bbls. sour clayed
Cuba at 20c.

NAVAFi Stokes. — The sales embraced
about 300 bbls. spirits turpentine at 45c.,
and 1,000 bbls. common rosin at $1 -13
afloat, and crude was quiet at $3 G2.V
asked, with a light stock. Tar was quiet
at $2 to $2 12 for Wilmington, while
North county was at $1 75.

Oii.s. — Small Sides of linseed were re-
ported at C)ic. to (')5c. Crude whale was
more firmly held, with sales at the east-
ward at 55c. Sperm was at $1 35, and
other kinds were unchanged.

PitovisioNs. — Pork — The market was
steady, with sales of about 800 to 1,000
bbls., including 547 Mess at p. t, and
400 to 500 do. at $17 75 to $17 85, and
in .small lots sales were afterwards re-
ported at $18. Prime sold at $14 25 to
$14 40. Reef was steady, with sales of
about 200 bbls., including country prime
at $8 to .$8 50, and country mess at
$10 50 to $11 50; repacked Western
Mess at $J 1 75 to $13 50, and extra do.
at $14 to $14 25. Prime Me.ss was at
$18 to $21, and beef hams stead}' at
$17 50 to $18. Hacon was firm at 9c.
to It'c. ; cut meats were also firm and in
good demand, with sales of about 2nu
hhds., including .shoulders at 6Jc. to
GJc, and hams at S^c. to 9^0. Lard

was firmer, with sales of about 300 to
350 bbls. and tierces at llr^c. to ll^c. .
Butter and cheese were in good supply,
and the market dull at Saturday's quo-
tations.

Rice was dull and .sales limited.

SucAKS. — The market was less active,
while prices were unchanged. 'J'he sales
eml>raced about 400 to 500 hhds., in-
cluding Cuba and Porto Rico, within the
range of 5J,c. to 7.1c., and 300 hhds.
New-Orleans cisteni wei'e sold for re-
fining at 3c.

Markets by Telegraph.
BiFFALO, May 25—0 P. M.

Floik steady; interior demand un-
changed. Sales 1,400 bbls. at $3 70 to
$3 87 for good Superfine and extra
Upper Lake ; $3 75 to $4 do. Indiana
and Michigan. Wheat closes with an
active demand. Sales 50,000 bush, at
OS^c, 69c. to 70c., for Chicago Spring as
in quality ; at 80c. for red Ohio and Indi-
ana ; at 85,Vc. to 94c. for White Canada.
Corn quiet ; prime scarce and very firm ;
no sales of sound. Oats unchanged.
Sales 14,000 bushels at 32c. to 32Jc.
AVhisky is held at 20c. Freights-
Boats scarce. Wheat 13c. to New- York.
Lalce Imports for the 24 hours endinij
noonto-cliy—'d,OQO\Mii. Flour; 31,000
bushels Wheat; G,000 bushels Oats;
10,000 bushels Barley. Canal Exports
—3,000 bbls. Flour; 65,000 bushels
Wheat; 22,000 bushels Corn; 5,000
bushels Oats. Wind northeast, rain-
ing.

Albany, May 25—6 P. M.

Flour quiet and declining; inquiry
limited ; buyers waiting for lower prices.
Sales of the day about 2,00U bbls. Wheat
very quiet. Sales of G,ii(ii) bushels White
Indiana on private terms ; no other sales
were transferred. Coin steady and mar-
ket less active. Sales 3,000 bushels
mo.stly Western mixed at G8c. Sales of
Barley at GOc. for four-rowed State.
Oats active and in good supply ; the sales
foot up 100,000 bushels mostly at 39c.,
weight, for,good State, Canada and West-
ern. The shipments of wheat for three
days past to New-York are 375,000
bushels.

OswKco, May 25—6 P. M.
Flour dull. Wheat inactive. Corn
quiet. Sales 33,000 bushels Illinois
River, at G2c. Lnl-e imports — llnira-
portant, Canal Exports — 1,300 bbls.
Flour; 43,000 bushels Wheat; 7,300

X

380

MARKET S

bushels Corn ; 4,000 bushels Barley ;
2,000 bushels Rye ; 1,200 bushel Oats.
Baltimore, May 25.

Flour dull and unchanged. Wheat
dull and nominal ; Red, $1 to $1 06 ;
VYhite, $1 15 to |1 30. Corn a shade
lower ; Yellow, 66c. to 68c. ; White, un-
changed. Provisions dull and unchang-
ed.

Charleston, May 24.

The sales of Cotton to-day were 1,300
bales, at prices ranging from 10|c. to
12|^c. The City of Washington's news
had no effect.

Savannah, May 24.

There is a better feeling in our Cotton
market.

Philadelphia, May 25.

Flour very depressed. Wheat dull,
with a declining tendency. Corn buo}^-
ant. Sales 10,000 bush. Yellow at 'r2c.
Whisky firm at 21c. to 22c.

From the New-Yort Times of Wednesday, May 28,
1S58.

The general markets, yesterday, w«re
heavy for Cotton, which declined a
shade. Flour and Wheat were in better
request at firm prices for desirable lots.
Corn was in fair demand at about pre-
vious figures. Groceries were moder-
ately inquired for and ruled steady.
Pork was depressed and loAver. Other
kinds of Provisions were dull and lan-
guid. Naval Stores were in demand,
and Spirits Turpentine closed somewhat
higher, with less offering. Tobacco was
less active, yet firm. The Freight en-
gagements were to moderate extent at
unaltered rates.

NEW-YORK LIVE STOCK MARKET.

Wednesday Evening, May 26, 1858.

The total receipts of the week (2,892)
fall 267 below last week, and 251 below
the average of last year. The impres-
sion prevailed yesterday that the falling
off wovild be still greater, and considera-
ble sales were then made at an advance
of about ic. above last v/eek's rates.
The operations opened this morning at
this advance, but did not long continue
thus. Not only the weather affected the
market, but butchers complained of an
unusually dull demand for the week
past, and they were not eager buyers to-
day, and their purchases were below the
usual amount. Prices gradually fell off,
so that before 3 P. M. last week's cur-
rent rates were with difficulty obtained,
and the closing figures were still lower,

though the transactions of the entire day
may be set down as averaging nearly ^c.
higher than last Wednesday. The tone
of the market, however, may be best es-
timated by a comparison of the closing
operations of the two market days, and
these were, to say the least, no better
to-day than last Wednesday. The yards
were barely cleared out at sundown.
Except the bad look of the cattle, the
estimated weights scarcely favored either
party. The quality of the stock was
somewhat imiform, there being few of
superior grade, and not many scalawags
— always excepting the still-fed, or
" stump tails," as they are called,, and
this not figuratively, since the effects of
" still-slops" upon the caudal extremi-
ties is scarcely less marked upon milch
cows than upon fotted bullocks. There
were several lots of this class offered
and purchased to-day. They were too
plainly marhed not to be known by the
merest tyro, though some would have
the greener ones believe that they had
purposely cut off the tails " stub-short"
merely as a matter of convenience.
1l\\qj may "tell that story to the ma-
rines." A pretty large business was
done at Albany this week. Troy buyers
took about 150 head, and about 1,350
went East to Brighton, Providence, Wor-
cester and Springfield.

PUICES OF BEEF AT FORTY-FOURTH STREET.

To-day. Last Week.

Premium Cattle none none

Firstquality lOe. @— ^Mc.@,Wc.

Medium quality 9>4C.@. 9J^c. 9o. @ 'ij^c.

Poor quality 8J^o.@, !)c. 8}4c.@- 9c.

Poorest quality Sc. ® S^^c. So. @ 834'c.

Geu'al selling prices 81^0. @lUc. 8c. @ Inc.

Average of all sales. 9c. @, — 8Kc@ —

The average prices to-day, as com-
pared with last week, are near Jc.
higher.

MILCH cows WITH CALVES.

The number of fresh cows now sent
in is comparatively small, the receipts
for the past week being about 200 head
less than for the corresponding week
last year, while sales are now made with
for more difiiculty, at much less prices.
Even the present receipts are more than
can be disposed of while the anti-swill
panic rages as at present.

VEAL CALVES.

The markets have been fully supplied
during the past week, and prices do not
vary materially from our last quotations.
Sales are made with more difBculty,
however, and prices may now be quoted

'■J

f\JNI\"-..'iS»TY
?E»if^&YLVA^{5^