UMASS/AMHERST 315abt3 D2T3 7D4fl :|l!liil)!li!l!!lllirilliimi!i!lilll!li!l!!!l!! I i "i. iHlli illlill M I !i iliiililiibr 3lilllli!illlliiiiii!p mm m\\\\ ,„„„ F"i Ik ! ; LfG I LIBRARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE NO.__L4kJ DATE_.1-IS&5"_ souRCE..Coile^e.„.rand-^---. $ v/.l C PER S 1 J75 ft ARCHIVES TloaS A '"] THE FARMERS' LIBRARY AND MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. VOLUME I. '- '-> -celey *_ M'-Klrath. THE MONTHLY JOURNAL or AGRICULTURE, CONTAINING THE BEST CURRENT PRODUCTIONS IN PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT, INCLUDING THE CHOICEST PRIZE ESSAYS ISSUED IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EMINENT FARMERS AND STATESMEN. JOHN S. SKINNER, EDITOR. VOLUME 1. (JULY, 1845, TO JUNE, 1846, INCLUSIVK.) NEW-YORK : GREELEY & McELRATH, TRIBUNE BUILDINGS. 1846. V, INDEX TO THE MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE FOR 1845.-6. Acid, Sulphuric, and Bones, 250. Trials of it for Turnips, 158. As a Compost, 158. Account Boots, A^i-icultural, 319. Agriculture, Claims of upon the Business Community, 27. Agriculture in the State of New- York, 553. Agriculture, Southern, 39. Agriculture in France, 355. Agricultural and Miscellaneous Notes, 541, 581. Agincultural Chemical A.?sociation, conducted by Prof. Johnston, 611. Agricultural Editors, Scene in a Tent of, 25. Agricultural Improvement, Capital needed for, 406. Agricultural Improvement, Judge Kost on, 194. Agricultural Inconsistencies, 90. Agi-icultural Machines patented, 5i Agricultural Progress, Reflections on, 302. Agricultural Reports, 63. Agricultural Re2i.*ters, 247. Agiicultural •'cience,Value and Pro gress of, 22. Agricultural Societies, Hints for, 355. American Institute, Eighteenth An- nual Fair of, 18, 113, 251. Animal and Mental Force : Difler- ence between them, 273. Animal, Profitable, 481. Animals, Feeding of, 60. Apple Tree blossoming three times in a year, 306. Artichoke, Essay on the, 537. Artichoke, Jerusalem, 344. Associations and Science, Agricul tural — What they are doing for Agriculture, 97. B Bathing, the good Effects of fre- quent, 93. Bees, management of 250. Statis- tics of their Swarming, 372. Re- moving of, 260. Effect of expos- ing the Hives to Hot Sunshine, 468. To take Honey without de- stroying the Bees. 554. Birds, Pairing of, 155. Blithewood, 160. Bone Manure, 536. Bread-Fruit and Tree, 478. Butter, Philadelphia — Its high Fla- vor, and the source whence this is derived, 488. Claritied, 540. Cabbages, Preservation of, 392. Capital needed for Agricultural Im- provements, 406. Capons, Making and Use of, 593. Carts, One-horse, 3.53. Cask-Making by Machinery, 545. Cattle, Fattening of and the Forma- tion of Farmers' Clubs, 393. Cattle, Short-Horn, Extensive Sales of, 281. Cellars vs. Spring Houses for Dai- ries, 345. Cheese, Cheshire, 137. How made, 138—149. Churn, Air, 397. Clergy — Their Opportunities and Power to improve the public taste for Agriculture and Horii culture, 156. Coal, Maryland, 162. Cockroach, or Black Beetle, 136. Compost, Preparation aud Applica- tion of, 595. Conventions, Agricultural, 161. Com, Indian, Effects of Drouth on, 485. Use of in England, 516. Corn, Indian, or Maize, 590. Corn Seed, Preparation of, 432. Cora, Weight of per Acre, 258. Correspondence with Hon. A. Ste- venson, 35. Cotton, Scheme for reducing the quantity ot; 316, 433. Cotton Plant, its History and Uses, 173— ISl ; 221—223 ; 287—299 D Deer, Red, 242. •* Delaware, Condition and RcBources of, 321. Delaware, Economy and Success of Drill Husbandry in, 585. Discourse, Agi-icultural, J. S. Skin- ner's, delivered at Hempstead, L I., 232. Discovery, Remarkable and Import- ant, 405. Dog, Drover's, 574. Dog, Shepherd's, with Sketches and Anecdotes, 465. Draining Land, Importance of, Draining Tila^ 99. Draining, Under, one of the grand Improvements in Progress to sup- ply Bread to the increasing popu- lation of England, 78. Drouth, Effects of on IndianCorn,485 Ducks, Raising, 608. Dwelling-Houses and Bams, Coun- try, Proper position of, 429. Farmers'Libnu-y and Monthly Jour- nal of Agriculture— Close of the First Vol. and Commencement of the Second, 587. kept, 247. Farm Buildings, their Locality and Construction, 329. Wilkinson's Plan, 332. Principles to be ob- served in the construction of them, 187. Flax and Hemp Husbandly, 317. Flax, Hemp and — Important Inven- tion, 322. Flower Garden, 417. Flowers, Use of, by Mary Howitt, 157. Fodder, Comparative value of differ- ent kinds. 363. Food, Nutritious, 46. Forman. Gen. T. M., Obituary No- tice of, with a curious History, derived from him, of the Im- portation of Lind.sey 's Arabian, 75. Fowls, French Method of Fatten- ing, .594. Fruit-Tree Borders, 442. Fruit-Trees, Position of— Soil and Aspect, 230. E Education, Agiieultural, 428. Education as connected with Agii culture in the South, 93. Education.Conimon :^chool System of in New- York, 43. Education in Virginia, Remarks on — Intended for General Applica- tion, 303. Egg Trade of Cincinnati, 578. Electricity applied to Agriculture and Horticulture, 109. Electricity and Physiology, Vegeta- ble, 163. Electricity, Effects of on Vegeta. tion, 53. Electro-Culture, 112, 149, 254. Entomology, 87, 136, 249. Essays, Prize, on Farm Manage- ment, 11. F Fair, Eighteenth Annual of Ameri- can Institute, 18, 113, 251. Fair, New- York State Agiicultural Society's, 114, 125. Farm Management, 11, 190. Farm Registers, Use of and how Farmers' Club, Maryland, 328. iFarmers' Clubs, Formation of, 393. Garden, Flower, 417. Gas-water as a Manure, 286. Gennan Green, Gigantic. S8. Good Sisns for the South, 115. Grafting^ .59, 196. Grape, a New Variety, 46. Grass, Penniman, 302. Grass, Tussac, of the Falkland Isl- ands, 47. Grass, Lolium Italjcum (Italian Rye- Grass), 185. Grasses, New, 47, 186. Gravel Walks, Weeds on, 282. Gravity, Centre of, 200—203. Greenhouse Plants, treatment of, 484 Guano, Experiments with, in Vir- ginia. 413. Guano, 29. The Effects of, 428.— Compared with other Manures, 134. Its Effect on Wheat and Oats, 31, 240. On Plants in Pots. 183. Its price in England, 258. Nature and Use of, with Analyses of its Constituents, 469. The Am- monia and Water in. 483. Gypsum, Amount of in several of our ordinaiy Crops, 51. In South Caiolina, 59. H Hammond's, Gov., Letter to an Ag. Society of Georgia. 559. 599. Hammond, Mr., of Worcester, Mass. Hifi F"arm Management, 190. HaiTOw. the, 591. Hanows. Iron, 552. Health. Preservation of 92. Hemp and Flax Husbandi-y, 347. Hemp nnd Flax — Important Inven- tion, von for them, of honorable and virtuous renown. How responsible then is the Mother's office ! How full of tnie glory, when well perfonned ! — Is tliat glory awarded by the world as often and as distinctly, as \\hen earned by the other sex ? — let that other sex and the world aaswer ! In 1810, a commission was instituted to ex- plore a route for a Western Canal, which laid the foundation of the great sy.stem of internal iifcprfivements in this State. Goverkeur Mor- ris, Mr. "Van Re.vsselaer, and Governor Clinton — enough to render the enterprise il- lustiious, were of the commission. Acconi- .paEied by the Sur^-eyor, they per.sonally ex- plored the route of the present Canal, from the Hadsoa to Lake Erie; traveling chiefly on horseback, and " not always without serious dif- ficulty and nmch deprivation, from the unculti- vated state of the country." " Sometimes they made' trie heavens their canopy and shelter for tlie riig'hL"— ^1'hcir report, written by Govemeur Morris, was made in 1811, and the subject of this isemoir, being then in the Legislature, by his ex- ertions and in.fluence materially contributed to ,-k6 B'Access. '''rhis magnificent project, intcrrupt- ■eQ "by the war, was resumed in 1816, when a memorial of great a.bility from the pen of Clin- ton, ■was presented, fcllowed by a Report from the Commissioners, the Patroon being at their head; and in April of that year, the Legislature auliiorised the commeiiccment of the great en- terprise, to wliich, from its first conception to its completion, he gave all the benefit of hi.s per- sonal attention, and all tlie weight of his charac- ter. From that period to his death, he was a laember of tlie Board, and its President for near- ly fifteen years — from April, 1824, "when the name of his friend, the great Clinton, waa struck fi-om the roll of Commissioners." In estimating fhe value of ■works of internal improvement, and awarding the honors due to the genius that conceives and the perseverance that can-ies them through, we are too apt to con- fine our consideration to their instnimentality in the creation of national ■wealth. — True, it must be admitted, their value in that light dcsei'ves to be highly rated in proportion as they convey the raw materials ibr manufactures to appropriate localities, and create ■wealth b}- opening a mar- ket to the productions of otherwise dormant but rich mines of lime, of coal, of iron, and to the productions of agricultural regions theretofore inaccessible ; but such works deserve encourage- ment j'et more as the promoters of kno^wledge, and civilization. Whei-e men live in the gorges of mountains, or in the solitude of frontier set- tlements, ^\•ilhout facility of communication \vith their fellow men, their minds become contracted, and sloth and ignorance and prejudice take the place of intelligence, sociality and civilization. An enlightened French Minister, in speaking of the cost of manufacturing iron in France, as af- fectuig rail roads, said , " The question of the ' price of u-on ! — it is the question of roads, the ' question of communications, of intercourse be- ' t%\'een man and man — of the oBliteration of ' prejudices — of the production of mutual amity, 'of morality and civilization." But we must not here indulge in reflections which might so easily be amplified and illus- ti'ated, and ■which have been only thus far ex- pressed in the way of demand for more enduring honor and gi'atitude to these, ■who, in projecting the great ^vork that has connected the Hudson with the Western empire, have not merely added to the agricultural and commercial wealth and population of the counti'y. They have achieved the highest aim of the Legislator — the crowning glory of the Philanthropist ; for they have quick- ened the intercourse, improved the minds, refined the morals, and promoted the harmony/ and union of the Am cricaii people. In March, 1819, Mr. "V^an Rensselaer was elected by the Legislature a Regent of the Uni- versity, and was Chancellor of it when he died — having been elected to that station on the death of the venerable Simeon De Witt in 1835. In the same year, 1819, an act was passed, by his influence and tliat of other patriots united, " FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND IMPROVKMENT OF Agriculture." County Societies were to be formed ; and the Presidents of these, or Dele- gates, should the Societies choo.sc to elect them, wore to fonn a central Board of Agricul- ture. This law, with the Board it created, ex- pired by its own limitation; but, sajs the "dis- course" from which our facts are gatliered, "It lasted long enough to demonstrate the inappre- THE LATE STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER. ciable ■C'alue of legislative aid and encourage- ment to the agricultural interest ; and raised to I itself an cr.during and noble monument, by the publication of three vei-y valuable volumes and memoii's." In these volumes will be found papers which pret^ent complete views of the geological and agricultural features of Albany and Rensselaer Counties, made by scientific gentlemen, exclu- sively at the expense of the Patroon, the Presi- dent of the Board. It is believed they were the first attempts made in this countrj% says the me- moir, "to collect and arrange geological facts with a direct view to the improvement of Agri- culture." Having caused these sur\-eys to be published at his o-woi cost, and gratuitously dis- tributed, he next turned his attention to a more extended survey, which was accordingly car- ried the entire length of the State, on the line of the Erie Canal. All these munificent enterprises, so much in advance of the times, appear to have been but preliminary to yet more extensive contributions to the science of Geology. Thus it was that, in 18'i3, Professor Eaton, in a manner that enrols his name high in the ranks of men of science, completed his grand survey, extending from Lake Erie to Boston, about 550 miles, em- bracing a belt of fifty miles wide. In 1824, a publication was made containing llie results of these surveys, with illustrative maps. "Atten- tion was strongly attracted, both in this country and in Europe, to the very creditable and faith- ful labors of Profes.sor Eaton, prosecuted under the direction of kis munificent patron ; and this example it was, unque.stionably, which has led at la.st to the adoption, in several of the States, (and this among the number,) of plans for ex- ploring their temtories at the public expense, in search of scientific facts, and of the mineral riches, and other substances of economical value, to be found upon or beneath the surface of their respective portions of the earth." If, in the sketch so far presented of General Van Rensselaer's contributions to the general stock of agricultural knowledge, it should be thought that undue importance has been at- tached to his forecast, and his liberal expendi- tures for geological surveys, and analyses of the various soils and substances they developed, it must be because the importance of Geology itself to practical Agriculture is underrated. — Those, as we apprehend there are too many, who do not see at once their intimate and essen- tial connection, may be advised to remember that though, of the elements existing iu animaLs and plant.s, the four which are supplied by the atmosphere and water constitute by far the largest proportion ; yet all the remaining ele- ments, in much greater number, are equally in- dispensable to a healthy existence of plant.s, and must be derived from the soil on ichick they are cultivated. The general interest of the subject, as well aa the obligation to illu.strate the merit vs'e claim for the deceased, on account of the several and extensive geological surveys made at his in- stance and expense, will justify us in taking space for, and calling the attention of the practi- cal reader to, the following extract from a wri- ter already referred to, from which our own im- pressions, better expressed by himself, have been in part derived : — " The objects of the philosophical agricultur- ist, as well as the most eflectual means of ad- vancing husbandry, consist in — " 1st. Studying the composition of the smls ; " 2nd. Studying the action of plants upon it "The soil is formed by the decomposition of the minerals of ^vhich the crust of the globe con- sists. The water which flows over the surface is absorbed into the pores and fissures of the rocks; and in winter, on freezing, it expands with such irresistible force as to crumble dov\Tj even the materials of the densest and hardest stone. The pulveralent or gravelly material so aftbrded, is can-ied do\\-n by rains or floods to the lower grounds, and, spreading over the more level country, forms the cultivatable seil. Independent of the mechanical action of water, the constitution of numerous rocks is such as to cause their gradual decomposition by its chem- ical action, as in the case of felspai- and other minerals ; and, by the direct action of the atmo- sphere, all rocks which contain protoxide of iron very rapidly decompose and crumble down. " Such being the origin of the soil, its consti- tution ^vill be easily understood to depend on that of the rock from which it has been formed ; and as on this constitution its fertilitj', or its power of supplying plants with the materials they require for their growth, mainly depends, it will be seen that the agricultural capabilities of a country are immediately connected witb and dependent on its geological character. A district, of which the rock is simple iu its con- stitution, cannot furnish a fertile soil. A pure quartz rock, or a pure limestone, could oiJy funiish, fi-om its soil, to plants, lime or silica ; and they should hence languish for want of other equally important elements. The edges of a geological district, where various rocks are in contact, will, therefore, always be more fer- tile as to soil than its interior ; and the more nu- merous are the rocks in its neighborhood, and the greater the diversity of their mineral charac- ter, the more complex will be the soil furnished by their decomposition, and by its power of furnishing the elements of growth to different kinds of plants, the greater will be the rsinge and energy of its fertility." With increasing years, seems to have in- creased his constant v.'ish to be sowing the seeds of knowledge and humanity. Thus it was, that, having now^ attained his three- score of years, the Patroon employed Pro- fessor Eaton again to traverse the State, pre- pared now, witli apparatus and specimens, to deliver, in all the principal towns and villages, familiar lectures on Chemi.stry, Natural Philoso- phy, and various branches of Natural History. 6 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. The encoura^ug results of this experiment stimulated him finally to establish a school, of which, as he declared, his principal object •was to ■• qualify teachers for instructing the sons and daughters of Mechanics, iu the application of Experimental Chemistry, Philosophy and Na- txiral History, to Agi-iculture, Domestic Econo- my, and the Arts and Manufactures." This school, established at Troy, was incor- porated in 15-26, under the name of the " Rens- selaer Institute." "It may be described," says Mr. Barnard, " as a school for thorough and complete instruction, in the circle of the natural sciences, applicable, in any way, to the econo- my or business of life iu all its civil depart- ments— not however including those usually de- nominated professional. The peculiaritj- in the mode of instruction, originally introduced, has been adhered to : and the distinguishing and eminent advantage gained by this peculiarity of method has been, not onh' that the students them-selves have been thoroughly taught, and are ready, at all times, professionally or other- wise, to make a practical and highly useful ap- plication of their knowledge, for their own benefit or the benefit of others, but that, whether such is their occupation and bu.siness, or not, they go out to the world as an army of Teach- ers, so familiar with the various subjects of their knowledge, and so fitted and accustomed, from long habit, to impart it, that thej- become invol- untarily the school-masters and instructors of every circle into which they enter. They are lights and luminaries to the prevalent darkness tliat may surround them, gentle and mild, but radiant and steady, in whatever orbit tliey may chance to move. " It is impossible to compute, or perhaps to give any rational conjecture, about the amount of good which has already been effected through this munificent and skilfnlly-devi.scd charity — much more impossible is it to compass, in thought, the benefits \vhich coming generations must reap from that system and plan of Educa- tion, of which the example was first set, and tlie eminent utility satisfactorily tested, in the Rensselaer Institute. Schools have been set up on the Rensselaer method, in various and distant parts of our country ; and it has been .stated to me as a fact, from calculations actually made, that the Institute has itself furnished to the com- munity, more experimental Teachers and Pro- fessors, State Geologists, Principal and Assis- tant Engineers on Public AVork.'*, and practical Chemists and Naturalists, than have been fur- nished, in the same time, by all the Colleges iu the Union. If the half of this statement be true, the result, in thi.'s single particular, is a proud one for the memory of the Patron through, whose almost unknown munificence it has been effected." ^he friendship with which we w^ere honored by the venerated subject of these details, ena- bles us to state, with distinctness of recollection founded on personal agency in the tran.saction, an instance of liberality and public spirit, that ought not to be omitted in a memoir which seeks not to dvv'cll on his numerous public, and yet more numerous private charities, but to refer only to his munificence in the cauae of Ameri- can hufhondry, and of education which con- tributes to the prosperity of every interest and the growth of every virtue. As far back as 1822 — vigilant iu all things transpiring for the rural promotion of economy — he had noted the meliorations which had been effected in the points and properties of cattle, in England, by the efforts o the Collingses and others in establishing the breed of " Improved Shorthorns," distinguished, as it was said, for mello^^•ness of handling, propensity to feed at an early age, and great aptitude to take on fat. He called on the writer of these remarks (then conducting the old "American Farmer,") as was his v^'ont in passing through Baltimore, to and fro, betw'een Albany and Washington, to converse on his favorite topic ; and, giving him a carte blanche, requested him, by whom Champion, Shepherdess and White Rose had been then recently imported for his friend, and kindred spirit in munificence, Robert OHver, of Baltimore, to order for him a Bull and two Heif- ers, from the same highly respectable breeder, the late Charles Champion, of Blythe. In making this importation, it -was not from any personal conviction of the superiority of this race over our native breeds, for which he had enjoyed no adequate opportunities, much less was it with any view to personal gain, being willing, he said, to risk whatever they might cost for the public good that might result from disseminating, such excellent qualities as they laight be found to possess. A Bull and tw-o Heifers, Wa.shington, Conquest and Pan.sy were accordingly imported, at a cost, in England, of SlOoO. Of the first, Mr. Champion obsei-ved in his letter to Mr. Skinner, '• I do not hesitate to say that "V\"ashington possesses more valuable points, substance, and desirable qualities of flesh, with as light bone and off'al, as any bull I ever saw, and I feel great plea.sure that I have such an animal to send to a gentleman you estimate so highly, as General Van Rensselaer." Again we pray the reader not to blame us for the length of this Memoir. Let that rather be ascribed to the long catalogue of good deeds which illustrated and adorned the life of him whom we have attempted to hold up as the un- tiring patron of the concern which it is the great purpose of the "Farjiers' Library" to pro- mote. An unvarnished chronicle of all his acts of public and private munificence, as far as, with- out any wish of his, they came to tlie knowledge of the world, would fill a volume. True it may be said, in view of the Patroon's immense pos.session.s, "of those to -whom much is given, much will be expected," — but no ca- viling can rob him of the merit of having met this fair requirement. Let us only hope that his example may be followed by those whom chance or industry may have blessed with su- perfluous fortime ; for as none can take that with them to the grave, how else can all that is superfluous be better bestowed than in augment- ing the means of social comfort and the stock of useful knowledge ? Though, under the circumstances alluded to in the commencement of these remarks, our first regards seemed to be due to him, we shall not fail in respect to other eminent de- parted worthies, whose memory deserves to be cherished by every friend of Agriculture. All of whom we can get suitable memoirs, shall have their places of honor in the Farmers' Li- brary ; for who, however it may be contrarj' to the mistaken public sj-mpathies and perverted legislation of tlie day, — who, let us ask, reallj' so much deserve public approval, and the ho- mage of posterity, as those who in their own ■walks set examples of industrj-, and by their munificent exertions and expenditures have taught us to make honest industry most efficient and available ? As compeers in the advance- ment of the cause which it •will hereafter be our duty, as it has ever been our pleasure to advo- cate— for be it once more observed that it is only m that career of common service for a common good that we presume to hold them up, as the feeblest hand, in the want of a stronger, may hold a lamp to the footsteps of the inquiring wayfarer. With their sentiments as pohticiaus and Statesmen, however variant these may have been, we have no concern. Detested be the prejudice that would lead us to value them tlie less as men, or as husbandmen, for any honest dif- ference of opinion between them as Statesmen ; and here, once for all, be it proclaimed, that if, on any occasion, either from obscuritj' of ex- pression on our part, or obliquity of the reader's vision, we may appear to indicate any part\-- political bias, or to use the pages of this Journal to propagate poUtical or religious dogmas, or to foment sectioual antipatliies, we repudiate be- fore hand an imputation as odious as it would be mijnst Finally, in place of having unwar- rantably prolonged this memoir on the services rendered by the Patroon to the two great asso- ciated interests of Agricultdre and of Edu- CATioN, -we are but too conscious of having fallen short of what was due alike to his sagacity and his munificence — yet must here close it, \\-ith the fervent ejaculation of a pious friend \vho knew him well — " Yep, he was greatly good, and nobly wise — The Christian, Patriot, Gentleman and Sage. Go learn of him, wherein true wisdom lies. Study his life — and may the haUowed page Thy zeal inspire, and all thy powers awake Like him to live — like him at last to die ; And then, when death life's golden cord shall break, Like him, to find a better life on high." DEEP PLOWING. ONE EXPERIMENT TO ASCERTAIN ITS EFFECTS. With some Remai-ks on the Writings of Thomas Moore, of Montgomery County, Maryland, and John Tavlob, of Caroline, Virginia. One of the earliest incidents, %vithin our re- collection, ^vhich sen"ed to impress upon our minds the scope which practical Agricultiwe oft'ered for the exerci.se of the mind, was the reasoning contained in a pamphlet written by Thomas Moore — and if we could get a likeness of him, we would have him engraved for the Farmers' Library, and with it publi.sh a me- moir of what he did for the improvement of Southern or Middle States Agriculture, even though it might serve to preserve, besides his likeness, nothing more than the pamphlet before mentioned. All we remember of him is that he belonged to the Society of Friends, who, pro- verbially, make good Farmers ; that he was of Montgomery County, Maryland, ^vhere some of tlie best Farmers, of that same fi-iendly per.sua- sion, nov^' reside, to illui?trate the beauties of good management and unostentatious hospitali- tj' ; that he had a turn for Engineering ; and that we under-stood Mr. Jefi'erson was always glad of an opportunity to converse with liim on Agriculture. It was the habit of the Editor's father to de- vour ever*- thing he could get hold of on Agri- culture— of which, however, scarcely any thing ever offered, except an occasional pamphlet, or newspaper essay. Of the former, few ever prompted more reflection, or more efBcicntly promoted great improvement, than this httle pamphlet on deep plowing — entitled, as \vell as v^e can remember, (for ^ve were very small when made to read it " out," as it was called,) "The Great Error of American Agricul- ture ExrosED." It was about that time, too, that the celebrated essays of " Arator," from the pen of the cele- brated "John Taylor of Caroline," ap- peared in, first, we think, a Georgetown, (D. C) paper. These served to give an impulse to Southern Agriculture, resembling in some mea- sure the influence of a great storm when it comes to agitate the bosom of the peacefnl Ocean. On concludmg, for the reasons given in the Memoir of Gen. Van Rensselaer, that it would be even more imperatively just than politic to record in the Fanner's Library what we could yet recover of tlie benefactions of departed friends to American Agi-iculture, our first thought and endeavor was to get a portrait and appropriate notice of the Author of Arator. Although so far disappointed, we do not yet despair of some success. We are aware, as to deep plowing, that some regard is to be had in tlie first instance to the depth of the top soil. Early opportunity will be taken to present the subject in all its as- pects, as it has been exolained and illustrated by Johnson and others in Europe and in Amer- ica. Our pui-pose for the moment is only to give the following, the perusal of which sug- gested the foregoing hasty remarks : — Account of an Experiment in Deep Plowing. BY EEV. JOHN JAFFKAT, DUNBAK, EAST LOTHIAN. [Premium, Five Sovereigns.] The experiment was made upon a small field, •which is sixty-five feet above the level of the sea. The soil is sandy, resting upon a subsoil of sand and gravel of great depth, and so thor- oughly drained by the declivity of the surround- ing lands, that want of moisture is its natural defect. There is but little dilference between the soil and the stratum on which it rests beyond what culture and manure have made ; but, from sinking of gravel, treading of horses, and pres- sm-e of the plow, year after year, and age after age, the subsoil had become crusted, hard, and beaten as a road. In short, from shallow plow- ing, there was but little depth of cultivated earth; and, as on all such soils in dry seasons, the crop was scorched and scanty. With a view to render this field fruitful in any season, it v^as subsoiled ■with the Dean.ston plow, eighteen inches deep, and sown with wheat for crop 1837. The great vigor and lux- uriance of the crop attracted general notice ; and it must have yielded an extraordinary in- crease, if it had not been lodged by wind and rain shortly after the ear appeared. Therefore it gave only tkirty-eight bushels of grain per acre, but three tons of stra\v, which proved its great strength. To this crop, one of potatoes and two of vv'heat succeeded ; but it is the cul- ture of this field for crop 1841, and the result, which chiefly constitute this report. It was all equally dressed with seaware ; and four acres of the same quality and description were measured and staked off: Two of these acres were plo^ved twelve inches deep -with two horses, and two of them eighteen inches deep, with four horses. These two portions in all other respects were cultivated and managed exactly alike. They ■were planted with pota- toes of the Don species in the last week of April, eight inches deep, twelve inches asunder, and in drills thirty inches wide, running at right an- gli's to the furrows of the experimental plow- in?. The potatoes were planted deeper than usual, therefore the shoots were longer in com- ing through the ground ; but, when tliey did (•■56) appear, it was witli great strength and regular- ity. They expanded their broad deep-green leaves, and grew vigorously, in the dry sandy soil, in a very severe and long-contmued drouth. It was soon evident that the deepest plowed portion had the advantage ; the stems and branches of its plants were stronger, and they first covered the ground. The potatoes were lifted in the last w^eek of October, when it was found that the land plowed twelve inches deep produced fifty-seven bolls per acre, and the land plowed eighteen inches deep produced sixty-nine bolls per acre, being a difference of twelve bolls per imperial acre, of four cwt. to the boll. It is a condition annexed to the premium of- fered by the Highland and Agricultural Society for experiments in deep plowing, that one-half of the land used " shall be cultivated in the or- dinary way." By evidence before the Agricul- tural Committee m 183(3, the depth of plowing in this country is from six to nine inches. If that depth had been taken for the lowest extreme in this experiment, the difference in the production of the two portions, it is believed, would have been greater ; but as this field had been plowed twelve inches deep for years, its ordinary depth was adhered to, and the difference is certainly sufficient to estabUsh the advantage of deep plowing. As to the quality, it is excellent for the season from both portions of the land, and in that re- spect there is no difference. The potatoes from the deep tillage were larger, more of one size, had fewer small ones, and not so many of a green color as those from the other division. The quantity on the deep tillage is eighty- seven bolls per Scots acre, which is a good crop for any year ; and it will readily be granted that it is far above the average of the district this year, many fields not producing half a crop. — A superiority so striking must, therefore, be ascribed to deep culture, being on bolii portions deeper than ordinary, which furnished moisture in a verj' dry and scorching season to a sandy soil, and raised its produce above that of richer lands. But though this is a great crop for the season, it must have been still greater if the field had been less exposed, as it has no shelter ; and three days of very \'iolent wind in the first ■week of August broke down the plants, which, from their great luxuriance, were then very tender, and checked their growth. The practical conclusions to be dra^wni from this experiment are — First, That deep plowing increases the pro- duce. Next, Thpt, as both portions of the land used in the experiment %vere opened up eighteen inches deep by the subsoil plow for crop 1837, the full benefit of that operation is not obtained till the earth so loosened is again plowed up. And the reason is evident ; for it is then only that the soil is deepened, by an addition from the subsoil with ■which it is intermixed, and ren- dered more fruitful. LasfJi/, If deep plowing increases the pro- duce, it increases also the supply of vegetable manure ; and a greater portion of manure, added to improved culture, must produce a progres- sive increase of fertility and of produce. This experiment ■was begun on the glebe of Dunbar for the amusement of the reporter, and before he knew that any premium ujion the subject was offered by the Highland and Agri- cultural Society. BRITISH AGRICULTURAL DISSERTATIONS APPLICABLE TO AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. An impression exists, which, considering its nature and effects, may, perhaps, in the worst sense of the word be denominated a prejudice ; to wit : that owing to diversity of circumstances, such as difference of climates, forms of govern- ment, the price and the rental of land, and the relations between the employer and the em- ployed, in the two countries ; little or nothing can be found in English books, or discovered in English agricultural practice or implements, which is applicable to American Husbandry', and therefore that little or nothing from that quarter is worthy of being read and patronised by American Farmers. Acting under a very different impression, vre shall draw very largely from English and Eu- ropean works, for what we hope will prove both entertaining and useful to the patrons of the Farmers' Library ; but of this, of course, they must be the judges. We should not, however, deem it expedient to do so, without exercising very great caution, if ours were an imitative people, like the Chinese ; but we shall feel that more freedom may be used, and less apprehension felt, of injury, from any oversight of ours, in consideration of the fact that Americans, thanks to the freedom of their government, are of all people the least given to mere imitation. No people exercise more freely all the powers of mental investiga- tion into the reasons for what is proposed out of the common track, and the qualities of new things offered for their adoption. It is in that convic- tion that we shall present frequently, to the con- sideration of our readers, essays and drawings and descriptions of machinery, which have com- manded high premiums, in England and Scot- land particularly — first subjecting them to criti- cal examination, as to their adaptation to our soil, circumstances and cour.se of cropping ; but after all, not much fearing but that the generality of American readers will examine for themselves, with capacity to detect, as we before said, any mistake of ours. Sometimes it will happen that we must give something that is obviously inap- propriate, for the sake of valuable suggestions, with which such inapplicable matter may be mixed up or connected. But here — and em- phatically, we would have it distinctly under- stood, that ■we shall pass by nothing which may come in our way that American science or ex- (57).... sir,. 1" perience can suggest or have tested, which ap- pears to be new and worthy of record and dis- semination. On the contrary, such suggestions and such experience will always have pre- ference over other matter. But we confess to place no very high estimate upon mere state- ments of facts and results, unaccompanied with reasons and an accurate statement of all atten- dant circumstances. We prefer in all cases what is inductive to what is merely empirical. Mistaken or not, in thus drawing fi-eely and often fi-om the fountains and stores of European science and experience, we shall at least have the satisfaction to know that in this we shall be standing somewhat aside from the path of fel- low laborers whose judgment we have been accustomed to respect, and whose way we liave no right, much less any inclination or power, to obstroct. Imperfect as may be our view of the real wants of American agriculturists, it seems to us that much, amounting to repetition if not re- pletion, has been said of the practical details and the measured results of experiments in the cultivation of particular crops, the weight to which beasts may be pampered, and cf the trial of various implements, with, or without a view to premiums. We have been told, and usefully told, it is readily admitted, that A, from a specified quan- tity and kind of corn or wheat, planted or sowed in a particular manner, has gathered a certain large quantity of grain per acre — and that B has fatted and slaughtered a bullock, sheep, or hog, of his favorite breed, that at a cer- tain age attained such and such an extraordi- nary weight. Now^ all this is very useful in its way, and commendable, as it shows how much can be ac- complished, in the way of heavy crops ; while as to animals, it demonstrates the difference of breed ; proving that some are endowed with aptitude to take on fat at an early age ; wliile others are of slower growth. That the fonner may be the better for rich pastures and the butcher, while the latter may be preferable for the dairy-, for scanty herbage, and finally for the table. All these facts maj- be again, as they have been repeatedly demonstrated ; but to our com- prehension of the true wants of agriculture, in the existinij condition and circumstances of that 10 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. great pursuit in this country ; there needs now to be more said otits philosophy — of the^mtei- ples which control and explain its results. " Hang up Pliilosophy, Unless Philosophy ciin make a Juliet." Well, if Agricultural Philosophy can't make a Juliet, it can make a much more useful per- sonage— for it can instruct the thrifty house-wife how to manage her Dairy, in such manner as to obtain the greatest quantity of butter, and so to prepare it that it will keep the longest time. All this we hope to show her, if she will keep, on her own bunch, the key of her hu.sband's " Farmers' Library." That same Philosophy, which is but another word for knowledge, will teach her too — with the aid of Mr. Wilder and Mr. Teschemaker, of Boston — how best to manage her choicest fruiis and flowers. And after all, no man, no huslandman, can prosper against the will of the house-w^ife — for as old father Tasser quaintly saj'S : *• Take weapon away, of what force is a man ! Take husnil'e fi-om husband, and what is he than ? As lovers tiesireth together to dwell, So husbandry lovcth good huswil'ery well ; Though hu.'^bandry eeemeth to bring in the gains, Yet hu.swUtry labors seem equal in pains. Some respite to husbands the weather may send, But huswives' afl'airs have never an, end I " Heaven bless them, who would not turn aside to do them a good turn ? But It is this rationale of the Fanner's pursuit, the uhy it is thus and so, that will reveal to him how he may best circumvent the certainly ex- hausting effects of contiimed demands upon his land, operating in fearful comcidence with dear labor and low prices, and it is in a great meas- ure from foreign publications that we hope to supply bun with these necessary' lights. Why. even in England, one of the very last writers on the utilitj- of a more extended application of chemical analysis to Agriculture, says that this art has there of late years assumed an entirely new character ! Most chemists, he adds, " have turned their attention to it, and now farmers are content to listen to the suggestions of scientific men, in explaining that which before was thought a mystery." It is not, by any means, that we have not among us the men of learning prepared to in- struct the young fanner in all the natural science connected with his occupation, but who has a right to expect such men to come before they are called? In England, says the writer already referred to, the Royal Agricultural Society, pa- tronised by the Government, have been the chief instruments in effecting the wonderful reforma- tion which agriculture is undergoing. That So- ciety have " authorized the delivery of lectures hymen of great talent (Doctor Daubeny, Profes- sor Playfair, &c.,) which lectures have been at- tended by great bodies of formers ; rewards have been given, and are still held out by this Society, for original papers on manures and other subjects, requiring a knowledge of Chem- istry on the part of the writer," — and these are the papers, among others, that will be transferred from foreign journals to the pages of this, the American "Farmers' Library." Who doubts that with e(}ual, or with any moderate encour- agement we might have lectures and papers equally valuable, from our " Agricultural Association " in New- York ; the " Virginia State Agricultural Society," and others existing and that would come into existence un- der genial influences, as naturally as " The snow drop marks the Spring's approach." Let but the demand for agricultural science be created and the supply will follow^ to meet it as surely in this as in mechanical and other pursuits. But the other day, in execution of an act of Congress, some Post-Office letter .scales were demanded, and in a few weeks more than 80 competitors presented themselves, each with his own cunning contrivance, to show how un- paralleled in the world, is the uutrammeled in- genuity of our countrymen when stimulated by the hope of adequate recompense. But when will our government imitate the example of what is good even in despotisms, and offer high rewards for agricultural improvement ? Is it for the agricultural refonncr that our Republi- can government provides the glittering badge of power and distinction — the high pay, and the life salary ? Is it for the plodding discover- er in the peaceful arts, men who beggar their families and destroy their health in civil service, that it provides magnificent quarters for the ro- bust, and ho.spitals for the sick ? In the absence Uien of all government encouragement let coun- tenance be given to individual exertions, and societies be formed to spread light on the field of Husbandry. It demands delights and flour- ishes in the light of science as much as in the light of the sun ; and we are not altogether de- ficient in men capable of reflecting it. It is the taste — the conviction of the necessity, that is needed. Only advertise the plaj-, fiU the house, and lift the curtain, and our lives upon it we shall not be long before we have the actors com- ing on the stage. Here we have our Mercan- tile and Mechanical, our Medical and Law Insti- tutes, with their immense Librarie.s, stored with appropriate instniction on every imaginable branch or problem connected with mechanical philosophy, with commercial pursuits and the sciences of medicine and la^v, and why should the Farmer alone be without his Library and his Literature? The Fanner, whose occupa- tion, when understood and follovs'ed as any man should wish his son to understand and fol- low^ it, demands some acquaintance with Bota- nj' — the culture of trees, with mineralogy — with chemi.stry, with entomology or the knowledge of insects and all the branches of Natural His- tory— unless indeed they are content to remain, and have their sons remain mere ignoble imita- tive clod-hoppers. Once more we repeat that it is the taste that is wanting. Be it then our pleasing duty, ^^■ith a feeble hand but willing heart, to assist many and more able fellow-labo- rers in begetting such a taste ; and bow^ can that be better done than by laying hold of the best means within our reach, among which we re- gard these philosophical disquisitions, sucli as we find, already to our hand, in these foreign weekly, monthly, and quarterly Agricultural Journals. Disquisitions illustrated and support- ed for the most part, by all the details of actual experiments, and all the analogical circum- stances necessary to intelligible and fair com- parison and deduction? Is there any reason vi-hy -we, who cater for the agricultural, should be less alert, than he who panders to the gastro- nomical appetite? Which is most useful, to pamper the cravings of him ■whose hunger is for knowledge ; or to go abroad for dainties and fishioDS to humor the caprices of the glutton or the fop ? Such at least are our vie\vs of some of the wants of American agriculture, at this time ; and of our duty and our means to supply them. Whether, -wdiat -we shall offer, of articles thus imported, deserves to be encouraged, until an improving taste .shall hold out encouragement sufiRcient to insure their domestic production, is a question for our readers to decide. Our lib- eral publishers tell us to go ahead and make a fair experiment. If it fail it shall not be for want of industry, and of heartfelt anxiety for the prosperity of the interest to which we hope to devote the residue of a life spent, -we assured- ly may say, in no feeling of indiiference to the honor and welfare of American Agriculture. Having thus explained how we hope to benefit the cause of American Hu.sbandry, by the pub- lication of the best essays from abroad, for many of w^hich, written by men of the bighe.st repu- tation, large premiums are paid, ^vo proceed now, with pleasure, to show our preference for domestic production when of superior quality, by giving place to one which obtained the pre- mium from the New-York State Agricultural Society which ought, of itself, to be sufficient to give it the stamp of excellence — but which over the signatui'e it beans, would sufficiently com- mend itself to our attention and its author to our thanks. ON FARM MANAGEMENT. Prize Es.say — By J. J. Thomas. The great importance of performing in the best manner, the different operations of agricul- ture, is obvious to every intelligent mind, for on this depends the success of farming. But a good performance of single operations merel}-, does not constitute the best farmer. The perfection of the art, consi-sts not only in doing everything well, individually, but in" a proper adjustmen"t and systematic an-angement of all the jiarts, so that they shall be done, not only in the best man- ner and at the right time, but with the most ef- fective and economical expenditure of labor and m.oney. Every thing must move on with clock- work regularity, without interference, even at the most busy sea.sons of the year. As this subject includes the whole routine of fanning, in a collected view, as well as in its separate details, a treatise upon it might be made to fill volumes; but this being necessarily con- fined to a few pages, a general outline, with some remarks on its more essential parts, can only be given. Capital. — The first requisite in all undertak- ings of magnitude, is to " count the cost." The man who commences a building, which to fini.sh would cost ten thousand dollars, with a capital of only five thousand, is as certainly rained, as many fanners are, who, without coun*^ing the cost, commence on a scale to which their limited means are wholly inadequate. One of the greatest mistakes which young farmers make in this country, in their anxious wish for large pos- sessions, is, not only in purchasing more land than they can pay for, but in the actual expen- diture of all their means, without leaving any even to beghi the great work of farming. Hence, the farm continues for a long series of years poorly projfided with stock, with implements, with manure, and with the necessary labor. — From this heavy drawback on the profits of his land, the fanner is kept long in debt ; the bur- then of which not only di.sheartens him, but pre- vents that enterprise and energy which are es- sential to success. This is one fruitful rea.son why American agriculture is in many places in so low a state. A close observer, in traveling through the country, is thus enabled often to de- cide fi'om the appearances of the buildings and premises of each occupant, whether he is in or out of debt. In England — M-here the enormous taxes of different kinds, imperiously compel the cultiva- tor to fimn well, or not fann at all — the indispen- sable neces.sity of a heavy capital to begin with, is fully understood. The man who merely rents a farm there must possess as much to stock it and commence operations, as the man who l>vys and pays for a farm of equal size in the best parts of western New- York. The result is, that he is enabled to do every thing in the best man- ner ; he is not compelled to bring his goods pre- maturely to market, to supply his pressing wants ; and by having ready money always at command, he can [jerform every operation at the very best season for product and economy, and make purchases, when necessary, at the most advantageous rate. The English farmer is thus able to pay an amount of ta.x, often more than the whole product of fanns of equal extent in this country. The importance of possessing the means of doing every thing at exactly the right season, cannot be too highly appreciated. One or two illustrations may set this in a clearer light. Two farmers had each a crop of nita-bagas, of an acre each. The first, by hoeing his crop early, while the \veeds\vere only an inch high, accom- plished the task with two days work, and the young plants then pre%v vigorously and yielded a heavy return. The second, being prevented by a deficiency of help, had to defer his hoeing 12 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. one week, and then three days more, by rainy weather, making ten days in all. During tliis time, tlie weeds had sprung up six to ten inches high, BO as to require, instead of two days, no less than six days to hoe thom ; and so much was the growth of the crop checked at this early stage, that the owner had 150 bushels less on his acre, than the fiuTner who took time by the fore- lock. Another instance occurred with an intel- ligent farmer of this State, who raised two fields of oats on land of similar quality. One field was sown very early and well put in, and yield- ed a good ]irofit. The other was delayed twelve days, and then hun-ied ; and although the crop was within two-thirds of the amount of the former, yet that difference was just the clear profit of the first crop ; so that with the latter, the amount yielded only paid the expenses. Admitting that tlie farm is already purchased and paid for, it becomes an object to know what else is needed, and at what cost, before cultiva- teon is commenced. If the buildings and fences are what they should be, which is not often the case, little immediate outlay will be needed for them. But if not, then an estimate must be made of the intended improvements and the necessary sum allotted for them. These being all in order, the following items, requiring an expenditure of capital, will be required on a good farm of 100 acres of improved land, that being not far fi-om the size of a large majority in this State. The estimate will of course vary considerably with circumstances, prices, &c. 1. Live Stock. The amount will vary with the fertility and products of the land, its quality, and situation with regard to market. The following will ap- proximate the average on good farms, taken at the spring of the year, or commencement of work: 3horses, at $80 $240 1 yoke oxen 75 8 milch cows, at $15 120 10 steers, heifers and calves 70 20 pisrs, at $3 60 150 sheep, at S2 300 Poultry, say 5 Total. 2. Implements. 2 plows, fitted for work $ 1 small plow, do 1 cultivator, best kind 1 drill barrow 1 roller 1 harrovi' 1 fanning mill 1 straw cutter 1 root slicer , 1 farm wagon, with hay rack, &c., 1 oxcart 1 hor.se-cart 1 double fann-hamess 1 hor.sc-cart harness 1 root-steamer, or boiler 1 shovel and one spade 3 stcel-plale hoes 2 dung forks 3 hay forks 2 hand rakes 1 revolving horse-rake 2 grain cradles 2 Kcythes 20 00 6 00 7 00 5 00 5 00 10 00 20 00 15 00 8 00 70 00 50 00 45 00 30 00 18 00 20 00 2 50 2 25 2 25 3 00 0 25 8 00 8 00 4 00 1 w^heelbarrow 4 00 1 pointed shovel 1 25 1 grain shovel, or scoop-shovel 1 25 1 pick 1 50 1 mall and wedges 2 50 2 axes 4 00 1 hammer 0 50 1 wood-saw 1 50 1 tuniip-hook 0 75 1 hay-knife 3 00 2 apple-ladders, (for gathering,) 1 50 2 large baskets 1 25 2 hand baskets 0 50 1 tape-line, (for laying off land,) 2 00 2 sheep-shears 2 00 1 grindstone 3 00 1 steelyard, large, and one small 2 00 1 stable-lantern 0 50 1 cuiTycomb, one brush 0 75 1 half-bushel measure 1 00 20 grain-bags 8 00 1 ox-chain 3 00 1 crowbar 2 00 1 sled and fixtures 30 00 Total $437 00 Other articles might be included, as subsoil plow, sowing machine, &c. A thrashing ma- chine is not named, as it is better to employ itinerant thrashers, and save capital. To the pre- ceding amount ought to be added one-tenth the expense of fencing the farm, as fences need re- newing at least once in ten years. E very farmer should also be supplied with a small set of car- penter's tools, which would cost about twelve dollars, for repairing implements in rainy ^veather, and other useful purposes. This set should include saw, hammer, augers, planes, adz, mallet, chisels, square, breast-bits, - the size and shape of the fields, the distance of the lane from the cen- (6e) tro, its straightness, &c., aceording to the cir- cumstances of the case. Fences. — The kind of fence used, and the material for its construction, must depend on circumstances and localities. A good fence is always to be preferred to an imperfect one ; though it cost more, it will more than save that co.st, and three times the amount in vexation be- sides, by keeping cattle, colts, and pigs out of fields of grain. A thriving farmer, ^vhose whole land, except a small part with stone -wall, is en- closed by common rail fence, with upright cedar stakes and connecting caps at the top. finds tliat it needs renewing once in six years. He ac- cordinsrly divides his whole amount of fences into six parts, one of vv'hich is built new every year. All is thus kept systematically in good repair. Stone walls, if .set a foot below the surface to prevent tumbling by frost, are the most durable fence. Hedges have not been suf- ficiently tried. The English hawthorn is not ■well adapted to our hotter and drier climate ; and thouch sometimes doing well for a time, is not to be depended on. The bucktho™ in New- England, and the Nev.'castle and Washington thorns in Pennsylvania and Dcla%\"are, have suc- ceeded finely. G.4TES. — Every field on the fiirm should be entered by a good self shutting and self fastening ON FARM MANAGEMENT 15 gate. A proper iiiclinatiou in hanging- will se- cure the fonuer requisite, and a good latch, properly cou-structod, the latter. Each field should be numbered, and the number painted on tJie gate-post. Let the fanner who has bars iusteadof gates, make a trial of their compara- tive convenience, by taking them out and replacing them without stopping, as often as he does in one year on his farm, say about six hun- dred times, and he cannot fail to be satisfied which is the cheapest for use. Buildings. — These should be as near the centre of the farm as other cou.siderations will admit. All the hay, grain, and straw, being conveyed from the fields to the barn, and most of it back aeain in manure, the distance of draw- ing should be as short as possible. This will, also, save much traveling of men and of cattle, to and from the diflerent parts of the fanu. The buildings should not, however, be too remote from the pubhc road ; and a good, drj', healthy epot should be chosen. The dwelling should be comfortable but not large — or it should, rather, be adapted to the extent of the lands. A large, costly house, ^vith small farm and other build- ings," is a bad indication of manaaroment. Tlie censure of the old Roman should be avoided, who, having a small piece of land, built his house so large that he had less occasion to plow than to sweep. The barn and out-buildings should be of ample extent. The bam should have space for hay, gi-ain, and straw. It is a matter of great con- venience to have the stra^v for littering stables, housed, and close at hand, and not out of doors, under a foot of sno^v. There should be plenty of stables and sheds for all domestic animals. This provision %vill not only save one-third of the fodder, but stock will thrive much better. Cows will give much more milk — sheep will yield more and better wool — and all will pass through the ^vinter more safely. The wood- hou.se near, or attached to the dwelling, should never be forgotten, so long as comfort in build- ing fires, and economy in the use of ftiel, are of any importance. A .small, cheap, moveable hor.se-power should belong to evei-\' establishment, to be u.sed in <'hunnng, sawing wood, dri\-ing washing ma- chine, turning grindstone, cutting straw^, and sUcing roots. There should be a large root cellar under the bam, into which the cart may be dumped from the outside. One great objection to the culture of ruta-bagas and beets, in this country, — the difficulty of winter keeping, — would then vanish. Both bam and hou.se cellars should be well coated on the bottom and side.s, with \vater-'lime- mortar ; which is a very cheap and eSectual ^vay to exclude both \vater and rats. Choice of Implements. — Of these which are much used, the vciy best only should be procured. This ^^•ill be attended -svith a gain every way. The \\-ork will be easier done and it will be better done. A laborer who, by the use of a good hoe for one month, can do one quarter more each daj% saves, in the whole time, an entire week's labor. Choice of Anim.vls. — The best of all kinds should be selected, even if costing something more than others. Not " fanci/ " animals, but those good for u,se and profit. Cows should be productive of milk, and of a form adapted for beef; oxen, hardy, and fa.st-working ; sheep, kept fine by never selling the best ; swine, not the iarscc.it merely, but those fattening best on (63) least food. A Berkshire, at 200 pounds, fat- tened on 10 bu.shels com, is bettor than a " laud pike" of 300 fattened on 50 bushels. Having now taken some notice of the neces- sary items for commencing famimg, it remains to glance a little at SOILS AND their MA.N.4.GEMEST. Soils are of various kinds, as heavy and light, wet and dry, fertile and sterile. They all" re- quire different management, in a greater or less degree. HeaN-y soils arc often stronger and more pro- ductive than light; but they require more labor for pulverization and tillage. They caimot be plowed -when very wet, nor so -well when very dry. Although containing greater or less por- tions of clay, they may be distingushed, as a class, from lighter soils, by the cloddy suriace the fields present after plowing in dry weather ; by their cracking in drouth; and by their adhesiveness after rains. Sandy and gravelly loams, also conta'n clay, but in smaller quantity ; so that they do not pre- sent the cloddiness and adhesiveness of heavy soils. Though possessing generally less strength than clay soils, they are liir more easily tilled, and may be worked without difficulty in wet weather ; they do not crack or bake iii drouths. Indian com, ruta-baga.s, and .some other crops, succeed be.'it upon them. Sandy soils arc very easily tilled, but are generally not strong enough. When ma^f rich, they are fine for some succu- lent crop* Peaty soils are generally light and free, con- taining large quantities of decayed vegetable matter. They are made by draining low and swampy grounds. They are fine for Indian com, broom com, barley, potatoes, and turnips. They are great ab.sorbei-s, and great radiators of heat ; hence they become wami in sunshine, and cold on clear nights. For this reason they are peculiarly liable to frosts. Crops planted upon them must, con.sequently, be put in late — after spring frosts arc over. Corn should be of early varieties, that it may not only be planted late, but ripen early. Each of these kinds of soil may be variously improved. Most of hea\y soils are much im- proved by draining ; open drains to carrj- off' the surface water, and covered drains', that -^shich settles beneath. An acquaintance covered a low, \vet, clayey field witli a net work of un- derdrains, and from a production of almost nothing but gi-asa, it yielded the first year forty bushels of wheat per acre — enough to pay the expense ; and admitted of much easier tillage aftenvards. Heavy soils are also made Ughter and freer by m;muring ; by plowing under coat- ings of straw, rotten chips, and swamp muck ; and in some rare case.s, by carting on sand — .though this is usually too expensive for practice. Sub.soil plowing is very beneficial, both in wet soa.sons and in drouth ; the deep, loose bed of earth it makes, receiving the -water in heavy rains, and throwing it otf to the .soil above, when needed. But a frequent repetition of the opera- tion is needed, as the subsoil gradually settle6 again. Sandy soils are improved by manuring, by the application of lime, and by frequently turning in green crops. Leached a.shes have been found highly beneficial in many places. Where the subsoil is clayey, which is often the case, and especially if marly clay — great advantage is de- rived from shoveling it up and spreading it on the surface. A neighbor had twenty bushels of wheat per acre on laud thus treated, wliile the rest of the field yielded only five. Manures. — These are first among the first of requisites in successful fanu manaa^emcnt. They are the strong' moving power in agricultural operations. They are as the great steam engine which drives the vessel onward. Good and clean cultivation is, indeed, all-important ; but it w^ill avail little without a fertile soil ; and this fertility must be created, or kept up, by a co- pious application of manures. For these contri- bute directly, or assist indirectly, to the supply of nearly all the nourishment which plants re- ceive ; it is these, which, produced chiefly fi-om the decay of dead vegetable and animal matter, combine most powerfully to give new life and vigor ; and thus the apparently putrid mass, is the very material which is converted into the most beautiful ibrms of natui-e ; and plants and brilliant flowers spring up from the decay of old forms, and thus a continued succession of de- etraction ami renovation is earned on through an iTnlimited scries of ages. Manures possess diifcrent degrees of power, partly from their inherent richness, and partly from the rapidity with which they thro\v off their fertilizing mgredients, in assisting the growth of plants. These are given oiF by solu- tion in water, and in the form of gas ; the one as liquid manure, which, running down, is ab- sorbed bj' the fine roots ; and the other as air, escaping mostly into the atmosphere, and lost. The great art, then, of saving and manufactur- ing manure, consists in I'etaining and applying to the best advantage, these .soluble and gaseous portions. Probably more than oneluilf of all the materials \vhich exist in the country, are lost, totally lost, by not attending to the drainage of stables and fanu yards. This could be re- tained bj' a copious application of straw ; by littering with saw-dust, \vhere saw-mills are near ; and more especially by the frequent coat- ing of yards and stables with dried peat and swamp muck, of which many parts of our State furnish inexhaustible supplies. I say dried peat or muck, because if it is already saturated with water, of ^vhich it will often take in five-sixths of its own '.veight, it cannot absorb the liquid portions of the manure. But if it will absorb five-sixths in water, it will, when dried, absorb five-sixths in liquid manure, and both together form a very enriching material. The practice of many fanners, shov^-s how little they are aware of the hundreds they are every year losing by suffering this most valuable of their farm pro- ducts to escape. Indeed, there are not a few who carefully, and very ingeniously, as they suppose, place their bams and cattle yards in such a manner on the sides of hills, that all the drainage from them may pass off out of the way into the neighboring streams ; and some one mentions a farmer, who, with preeminent shrewdness, built his hog pen directly across a stream, that he might at once get the cleanings •washed away, and prevent their accumulation. He of course .succeeded in big wish ; but he might, with almost equal propriety, have built his granary across the stream, so as to shovel the wheat into the water when it increased on his hands. The loss of manure by the escnpc of gas is often very groat. The proof of this was finely exhibiteil by Humphrey Davy, in an expen- meiit. performed by filling a large retort from a heap of fermenting manure, placing the beak (G4) among the roots of some grass. Nothing but vapor left the vessel, yet in a few days the gra.ss exhibited greater luxuriance round "the beak of the retort than any of the sun-ounding portions. Hence the superiority of unfermented manure — the rich portions arc not yet lost. And hence, too, the importance of preventing this loss by an immediate application and plowing into the soil, and also by mixing it in composts with muck, peat, swamp mud, and even common earth in a dry state, — and of preventing its escape from stables and yards, by a daily strewing with dried peat, lime or plaster. The superiority of unfennented manure has just been mentioned, which is by many doubted. But the very facts on which these doubts rest, only prove its efficacy. For, they say, " I have always found fresh manure to be attended with little eifect the first year, while it yet remains fi-esh; but aftenvards, when fermentation and decay had taken place, the benefit was great and striking." But here is the proof at baud, that not until the rich, soluble and gaseous parts had well penetrated and been absorbed by the soil, ^va8 their powerful and invigorating influ- ence exerted upon the growing plants. Fresh manure is generally in a state not readily mixed ■with soils ; it is thrown into large lumps over the surface, some of which are plowed in and others not, but none of them prove of immediate use to the crops. But on the other hand, fer- mented manure, from its ready pulverization, admits of an easy admixture. Let fresh manure be thoroughly ground down and worked into the soil by repeated harrovvings, and two or three plowings, and its influence will be like magic. Swamp muck has often been spoken of as manure. But those who expect great and strik- ing results from its application, will be disap- pointed, as the writer has been. Even with ashes, it is much less po\verful than stable ma- nure, not only because it possesses less inherent richness, but because it has less soluble parts, and consequently imparts its .strength more slowly to growing plants. But this quality only makes it the more enduring. By decoction in water, vegetable mold loses a small portion of its weight by solution ; but if the remaining in- soluble portion is exposed to air and moisture a few months, another part may be again dissolv- ed. Thus, peat, muck and all decayed vegeta- ble fibre, becomes a slow but lasting source of nourishment to plants. But it i.s, when shoveled out and dried, to be mixed with fanu-yard manure, as a recipient for its evanescent parts, that peat or muck becomes preeminently valuable. Some parts of the State abound ^vith inexhaustible supplies in almost every neighborhood ; many land o\vuers have from twenty to a hundred thousand cubic yai'ds on their farms, lying untouched, while half- starved crops are growing in the adjacent fields. There are whole counties so well supplied with it, that if judiciously applied, it would doubtless double their aggregate products. All neat farming, all profitable farming, and all satisfactory farming, must be attended with a careful saving of manures. The people of Flanders have long been distinguished for the neatness and excellence of their fanns, which they have studied to make like gardens. The care with which they collect all refuse materials which may be converted into manure and in- crease their composts, is one of the chief rea- sons of the cleanliness of their towns and rcsi- ON FARM MANAGEMENT. 17 dences. And were this subject fully appreciated and attended with a corresponding practice generally, it would doubtless soon increase by millions the agricultural products of the State. But there is another subject of scarcely less magnitude. This is a systematic Rotation of Crops. — If manuring is the steam engine which propels the vessel, rotation is the rudder which iT-inde.i it iu its progress. — Unlike manuring, rotation does not increase the labor of culture ; it only directs the labor in the most effective manner, by the exercise of judg- ment and thought. The limits of this paper do not admit of many remarks on the principles of rotation. The fol- lowing courses, however, have been found among some of the best adapted to our State : I. .1st year — Com and roots -well manured; 2d 1/ear — Wheat, sown with clover seed, 15 lbs. per acre ; 3d year — Clover, one or more years, ac- cording to fertility and amount of manure at hand. n..lst year — Corn and roots, with all the ma- nure ; 2d year — Barley and peas ; 3d year — Wheat, sown with clover; 4th year — Clover, one or more years. III.. 1st year — Com and roots, with all the ma- nure ; 2d year — B arley ; 3d year — Wheat, sown with clover; 4th year — Pasture ; 5th year — Meadow ; 6th year — Fallow; 7th year — Wheat ; 8th yeai- — Oats, sown with clover; 9th j-ea?--— Pasture, or meadow. The number of fields must correspond ■\vitVi the number of the changes in each course ; the tirst needing three fields to carry it out, the second four, the third nine. As each field contains a crop each, in the several successive stages of the course, the whole number of fields collectively comprise the entire series of crops every year. Thus in tlie la.^t above given, there are two fields of wheat growing at once, three of meadow and pasture, one of corn and roots, one of bar- ley, one of oats, and one in summer fallovs'. Operations in the order of Time. — The vital consequence of doing everj' thing at the right season, is known to every good farmer. — To prevent confusion and embarrassment, and keep all things clearly and plainly before the fanner at the right tune, he should have a small book to carry in his pocket, having every item of work for each week, or each half month, laid down before his eyes. This can be done to the be.'^t advantage to suit every particular locality and diifercnce of climate, by marking each suc- cessive week in the season at the top of its res- pective page. Then as each operation several- ly f ilxnr.s, let him place it under its proper head- ing ; or. if out of season, let him place it back at the right time. Any proposed improvements can be noted down on the right page. Inter- esting experiments are often suggested in the course of reading or observation, but forgotten when the time comes to try them. By record- ing them in such a book under the right -week, they are brought at once before the mind. Such an arrangement as this will prevent a great deal of tlie confusion and vexation too often attendant on multifarious cares, and assist very essentially (65) in conducting all the farm work with clock-work regularity and sati.sfaction. In reviewing the various items which arc most immediately essential to good farm man- agement, some of the most obvious will be — capital enough to buy the farm and to stock it well ; to select a size compatible wilh these re- quisites ; to lay it out in the best manner ; to pro- vide it well with fences, gates, and buildings ; to select the best animals and the best imple- ments to be had reasonably ; to bring the soil into good condition, by draining, manuring, and good culture ; to have every part under a good rotation of crops ; and every operation an-anged, so as all to bo conducted systematically, without cla.shing and confusion. An attention to all these points would place agriculture on a very different footing from its present condition in many places and with most farmers. The business then, instead of being repulsive, as it so frequently is. to our young men, would be at- tended \vith real enjoynieut and pleasure But in all improvements, in all enterprise!?, tlio gi-eat truth must not be forgotten, that success is not to be expected without diligence and in- dustry. We must sow in spring, and cultivate well in summer, if we would reap an abundant harve.st m autumn. When we see joung farm- ers commence in life without a strict attention to business, which they neglect for mere pleasure, well may we in imagination see future crops lost by careless tillage — broken fences, unhinged gates, and fields filled with weeds — tools de- stroyed by hsfcdlessness. property wasted by recklessness, and disorder and confusion triumph- ant ; and unpaid debts, duns, and executions, already hanging over the premises. But, on the other hand, to see cheerfiil-faced, ready-handed industry, directed by reason and intelligence, and order, energy, and economy, guiding the operations of the fann — with smooth, clean fields, and neat trim fences — rich, verdant pas- tures, and fine cattle enjoying them, and broad waving meadows and golden harvests, and w^aste and extravagance driven into exile, we need not fear the success of such a farmer — debts cannot stare him in the face, nor duns en- ter his threshold. It is such enterprise as this, that must place our country on a substantial basis. Agriculture in a highly improved state, must be the means, which next to the righteousness which truly ex- alts a nation, will contribute to its enduring pros- perity. All trades and commerce depend on this great art as their Ibundation. The cultiva- tion of the soil and of plants was the earliest oc- cupation of man ; it has in all ages been his chief means of subsistence ; it still continues to furnish employment to the great majority of the human race. It is truly the great art of peace, as during wars and commotions it has languished and declined, but risen again in strength and vigor when men have lived at peace with each other — it has th.en flourished and spread, con- verted the wilderness into life and beautj% and refreshed and adorned nature with embelli.shed culture. For its calm and tranquil pleasures — for its peaceful and healthful laboris — away fi-om the fi-etful and feverish life of crowded cities, — " in the free air and beneath the bright sun of heaven," — many, who have spent the mpining and noon of their lives in the anxious cares of commercial life, have long sighed for a scene of peace and quietude for the evening of their days. 18 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. THE EIGHTEE^'TH ANNUAL FAIR OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. We learn with great pleasure that the Insti- tute is already eng^aged in making preparations for the Fair in October next Its exertions have been unremitting in the endeavor to give to these Annual assemblages of the improved productions of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, every attraction that their high national importance demands. The remarkable ingenu- ity and ceaseless action of our People gains from year to year with wonderful rapidity. May we not then fairly anticipate a higher treat from the next Fair than we have ever had before ? The Institute, unaided and unsustained except by its ov^Ti energy, had a number of visitors at its last Fair, said to be one-half as great as that of the great Fair of Paris, which is held but once in Jive years — and to vs-hich the French Government lends its powerfiil aid, by causing the whole kingdom to be examined by com- missioners, for the selection of the most interest- ing articles for the exhibition, and paying the expenses of their transportation to Paris. The number of citizens who visited the last Fair of the Institute, was about ttco hundred and fffy thousand, while Pari.s contains about three times the population of New-York. Niblo's Garden is engaged for the central ex- hibition. Fields for the plov^ing and spading matches will be selected, as convenient as pos- sible, for all classes of citizen visitors. The Cattie Show will be held on the Fifth- avenue at Twenty-third and. Twenty-fourth streets ; a spot affording space and convenience for the exhibition and for the visitors. Arrange- ments are in progress for premiums upon a much larger scale, for high-bred cattle — for fat bullocks — for working oxen — milch cows — for sheep of the best blood — for fat mutton, i:c. — and for horses for draft, race, &;c., which it is to be hoped wiU insure an exhibition worthy of the American Institute. This opportunity for buyers and sellers of fine stock of every sort, should not be overlooked by them. Those who -wish to find out v^-itliout trouble, all collected together, specimens of the best home-made articles of every kind — wiU have the advantage of seeing them on one spot at the Fair. Inventors will be anxious to ex- amine the results of genius applied to various productions since the last Fair, and to show to thousands their own improved works. (66) The Institute will give larger premiums than heretofore to a given number of the most new and useful inventions and improvements. Dur- ing the last year, the Institute has distributed large numbers of new and valuable seeds — and on the condition of receiving a part of their pro- duce for the purpose of fiirther distribution — and some of their products for the Agricultural and Horticxiltural Exhibition. This will be a guarantee for a grand display. It is desired to afford every encouragement to the ftill exertion of that capacity for invention and improvement which has already enabled our Countiy to compete with all the world in .such matters. One American has, by his genius, increased twenty-fold the Cotton crop of the planting States. Another is remembered bj- the won- derful success of Steam Kavigation, destined to revolutionize the Commerce of the Avorld. — These efforts of the Institute to increase the in- dustry and cherish the genius of our country- men, oaght to stimulate the good feeling, the national pride of every great man ^^"ho loves his country, to lend his aid in carrying into the ful- lest execution the noble object in view ; and an example is already before us in the exertions of the Sovereigns and Nobles of Europe, which surely cannot be lost upon this Republic. The ambition to stirpass them in aU the arts wiiich give happiness to mankind should be found strong and enduring. In the noble competition now existing throughout the civihzed world, to foster arts, which it behoves RepubUcs. above all govern- ments, to cherish and protect, .\jnerica must not allow herself to be outdone. The diird National Convention of Farmers and Gardeners and Silk Culturists is contem- plated to meet during the Fair. The Home Department for Agriculture so eamestiy pressed by General Wa-shington, at the last session of Congress tmder his Adminis- tration, will again be a subject of the most se- rious consideration by tlie Convention — and every effort wiU be made to awaken die atten- tion of the Nation to that subject, and also special attention vitU be paid to the culture of SUk, to enable us xs soon as practicable to realize the benefit of another great National Agricul- tural staple FALL PLOWING. 19 FALL PLOWING: UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES TO BE RECOMMENDED. OS THE ILL EFFECTS OF PLOWIXG LA.VD WHEN WET. There are few- points of Husbandry, about which Farmers differ more in practice, than about Fall Plowing-; and this diflFerence, like most others, occurs from want of reflection on the principles that should govern the particular case — or rather, ^ve might say, from want of knowledge of the principles, or reasons involved in every agricultural problem. You shall some- times see a farmer turning liis " glebe " at everj- odd time he can catch of open weather, in Fall aud Winter ; while another, his next neighbor, does not strike a fuiTow ; and yet both may be right, for both may have been taught by expe- rience that his sj-stem is the better one of the t^^■o. But were they to exchange estates, they would, too probably, each carry his practice along with him, because his action had been the result of habit rather than of investigation ; and so they would proceed until, after some years of costly experiment, each would Snd that, in chajigiug his land he .should have changed hab- its also. The truth is, that v^hether land should be plowed up in autumn and exposed for the me- lioration to the winter's frost, or whether leftim- disturbed under whatever coating it may be wearing, depends on various circumstances, and especially on the natural texture and com- position of the soil. These circumstances are so weU explained in the following Essay, that we have concluded to preserve it in the Journal of Agriculture. The reader vrill find in it, also, observations that caimot be too well remem- bered, iu reprobation of one of tlie grossest blun- ders tliat a Farmer can commit — that of ploir- in°^ kis land irheii icet. We have long been so well satisfied, from personal observation as well as by the common-sense view of the case, of the verj- pernicious eftect of stirring land when \^-ct. not only on the sxiccecding crop, but on tlie land itself — effects from which it sometimes does not entirely recover for years — that we take the first occasion, in a sense of duty, to impress it upon the reader, by tlie follo^\■ing forcible remarks on it in connexion ^vith winter plowing. The ra- tionale, in both cases, is here made apparent : HOW TO AFFORD THE NECESS.ARY SITPLY OF AIR TO THE ROOTS OF PLANTS. BY MR. J. MAINE, BROMPTON. The breaking up, or turning tlie surface of cultivated laud, either by tlie plosv, spade, or (67) I hoe, for the reception of seeds or plants, is a I process so universally practiced and indispensa- I ble for the well-being of the crops intended to be raised thereon, that it may be deemed m- credible that such a common and simjile affair should not be universally understood. And yet it cannot be denied that many and frequent mis- takes are committed in this matter, and diesc must proceed either from indolence or/ ignor- ance. As the surface of the earth is the natural .sta- tion for the generality of plants, and where thev obtain the necessary elemental food requisite for their development and maturation, certain con- ditions of the said surface are absolutely neces- sary-. Humiditj'. heat, and air, in due" propor- tions, are indispensable, both to the fibrous roots which are extended in the eartli and to the head which is expanded in the air. There is more danger, however, from an excess of moisfore than from die extremes of eitlier heat or air ; because, when the soil is saturated v\ itli water, the access of the genial air and its gaseous pro- perties is excluded, and tlie delicate fibres, im- prisoned and choked, it may be said for w-ant of breath, must, in such a case, ueces-sarily lan- CTiish. That a porous .'oil is requisite for the free growtli of everj^ plant is an axiom m culti- vation, and on this axiom aU our operations of plowing, trenching, diggins, &;c., are founded ; and, that no excess of water should at any time remain to chill, sodden, and consolidate the sta- ple, draining in all its branches and modifica- tions is had recourse to. Soils are vai-iou.-? in quality-, and particularly in texture and consistency. The success of crops appears to depend as much on the texture of the laud as upon any other propeity. For, where air aud rain can peiTneate freely, a con- stant supply of both aqueous and gaseous nour- ishment is afforded, independently altogetlier of the richness of the soil, whether natural or arti- ficial. While, on the other hand, if the soil be I compact, baked hard by drouth, iu consequence of its having been previously labored or stirred when too wet no plant can possibly flourish. The conclusion, therefore, is. that the soil for any kind of crop should never be imper\-ious to air from being .saturated with water, nor impervi- ous to both air and water from its dn,- adhesive- ness. Sandy soils, upon a gravelly or chalky sub- soil, are never hable to be drenclied withwater but only for a very short time after lieavy rain, or sudden tiiaw when snow is on the ground. All the water absorbed by such a soil sinks deep into Uie subsoil, aud tar below the roots of corn or any agricultural plant on the surface. Such a soil needs neitlier drainmg nor subsoil plowing. Neither does it ever require to be exposed to the frosts of winter, or any kind of treatment by implementfl to produce ameliora- 20 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. tion. It is almost always in such an open fria- ble state that it may be plowed and sovm at any season, without risk of being plowed and har- rowed into the condition of mud. or of being- poached into the state of mortar by tlie horses' feet In some countries there are large tracts of such land, and on these farmers are generally fortunate men. The culture is easy, and exe- cuted at a moderate expense. The crops of turnips are heavy ; and if besides tlie ordinary- supplies of dung and tail-dress, the farmers can manage to give their fields a liberal coat of marl or reducible clay everj- eighth or tenth year, the heart and fertility of the staple is maintained «nimpaired for ages. In such descriptionsof land, however, it often at some former time ; tliither I opened a Btone- filled drain below the plo\\'share, from the low^- est dip of the hollow ; and. ^vhen the water had accumulated, it ran towards the old chalk-pit ; but totally disappeared long before arriving at the place, and thus was a valuable field laid dry. Another arable field contained a pond, which very often overflowed its boundaries. Lo\ver grotmd was at the distance of half-a-mile ; and the expense of forming so Ions a drain pre- vented all attempts to get rid of the nnnoyauce. I advised die tenant to dig a deep drain from the pond up into a high bank ot gravel, into which tlie water oozed away immediately ; and ever after carried oiF all excess. By this sim- ple expedient a large piece of excellent land was reclaimed and brought into a regular course happens that beds of clay lie alternately with ' of culture at a very trifling expense those of sand at ditFerent depths beneath the i It is by such means that land, naturally fria- surface. These beds of clay, if the general sur- | ble and loose in texture, may be relieved of su- face of the farm or field lies' sloping, crop out at , perabundant water, and give admittance to the diflPerent distances below each other and above . necessary supplies of air at all times. I have each the stirface staple wiU be either occasion- : already obsen-ed that sandy soils require no ex ally or constantly wet If a pasture, rushes will appear accompanied b}" the worst grasses. posure for the purpose of reducing adhesive- ness either by tlie action of frost or machinerj- ; and herbage produced that will certainly rot and yet we often see such land carefaUy fal- sheep, especially if introduced from drier pa.« turage. If tlie land be arable, the crops raised thereon vrUl be unequal ; on the wet places, the com -will be either too rank and inferior, or fail altogether. In such cases, efficient underground drainage is the remedy to get rid of the super- fluous moisture, either by gendy-faUing diago- nal or direct channels. The proper direction of the drains depends on the depth, extent and inclinarion of the beds of clay, and it is well to have a professional man to stake them out un- less the tenant has a sufficient knowledge of geology himself. It is surprising to those who know but little of the nature of the various strata of the earth's surface, how easy it is in some cases to get rid of surface water. For in- stance, if there be wet and drj' places on the same field, the owner may be assured that a bed of clay, or other kind of earth impervious to •water, lies beneath the wet; and a porous sub- soil beneath the dry places. A drain of suffi- cient depth opened (and filled nearly to the sur- face with stones or loose gravel) from the wet to the dr\' places, will certainly render the whole dr\ . In my own practice, and acring on this principle, I have been in many ca-ses verj- enccessful in laving arable fields dry. Two ca&es 1 laay mention as examples : — A field of feie-i\aa acres, of a fine loam, suitable for vv-heat, lowed up in the autumn, and even laid in ridges, to receive the advantages supposed to be im- parted to it by the contact of frostj" air. That such an idea, namely, that arable land is bene- fited by exposure to frosty air, has been long entertained, is evident from what has been WTitten on the subject by old authors. Even our amiable poet, Thomson, in one of the flights of his pregnant imagination, says — "The frost-roncocted glebe Draws in abundant vegetable souL And gathers vigor for the coming year." — Xfinter. Showing that the notion was held by philoso- phers as well as ctdtivaiors ; and, at the present time, there are many among the latter who mis- take the disrupting, ameliorating efiects of frost on tenacious soils for its enriching property, which they imagine is communicated to aU soils. But this is a mistake ; the less light sandy soils are exposed to the sun and air, the less are they exhausted of their humid riches. Their best qualities are as liable to be washed away by winter rains as dissipated by the summer sun ; and. therefore, they cannot be too close and level during winter if it is intended that they should be cropped in the .spring. I have often noticed the mismanagement of a field of liiiht .soil by the foUowdng culture : — It was fallowed, cleaned, dunged, plowed, and '^eans, or indeed any other crop, had a hollow j sown with tankard turnips about the middle ot near one of the ends, which was everj- winfejr | June. The crop was abundant and a flock of filled widi water, and ruinous to wheat or grass, | full-mouthed vvethers was put on in the end of very frequendy to the extent of bet^veen two j September. ^Vithin a month, the turnips were and three acres. This I resolved to drain. A neighboring farmer predicted that the attempt would be a failure ; because his father, when tenant sunk a shaft to the depth of above seven- ty feet, in the lowest dip of the hollow, and filled it with stones, expecting that diis would form a .s ir allow for all the rain and melted snow retained by the hollow. But this expectation was not realized ; the water first filled the pit and dien flowed over the land as before. The cause was ea.sily comprehended : the pit d;d not reach to die chalk-rock, nor did it pierce through any porous stratum; its loamy sides and bottomwerc perfectly water-tight, so that little or none could escape. My plan was different I saw marks in an adjacent field of where chalk had been drawn eaten off, and the field was plowed into single 'bout ridges to lie for the winter. In April, the ridges were p.owed and harrowed down, and barley and seeds were .sov.n. Both rose well ; but throughout the summer growth, die ridges vs-ere as visible in the crop as they were after the plow, the centres of the ridsres bearing the finest and strongest plants of the crop. And the reason was obvious : the centres of the ridges came up fre.sh. moist and mellow, while the inter\-als were filled with the bleached dry crests of the ridges, which, though more pul- verized, were much less fertile and stimulating than the fresher portions of the surface. Hence it was quite evident that if the whole field had been permitted to lie undisturbed till the spring, the crop would have risen more equally and FALL PLOWING. 21 much more vigoroxisly. I have seen fields of similar soil sowti widi oats after wheal — a bad custom certainly, and as badly executed — -the wheat-stubble being plowed in October, and the oats sowTi and harrowed in February', ^vhereas, had the wheat-stubble been onlj- scutHed otf and harrowed to bring: np a crop of seed weeds, and so rested rlU Februarj- or March, and then plowed and so^\"n, the crop of oats \s'ould have been much more abundant both in straw and corn than by the former method. Here it is necessary- to observe that, as I set out -with showina: how absolutely necessarj' an open porous soil is to all vegetation, and no measures being recommended in the above statements for that purpose, but rather the con- trary, it is to be remembered that I have been treating of sandy land, %vhich is at all times, ex- cept when too wet, sufficiently porous for the ' reception of air. But in other descriptions of soil, such as that -w^hose particles are minute and have a tendency to adhere closelj' together, either by gravitating subsidence or by a flo^v of rain water — in such a case, every practicable means must be taken to alter and break this solidifying nature of the staple, in order to admit a free range of air and the gases it contains. There are many intermediate descriptions of soil between sand and clay, and all of these, according as they approach to the one extreme or the other, require a peculiar management. But the grand object is to ^vork the soil in such a manner tliat it shall always be pervious to air, rain, and all atmospheric influences. And this result is obtained by the timely application of the implements rather than by the efficiency of the implements themselves. The soil is some- times in a fit state to be worked, and very often is not Under such circumstances the judgment of the cultivator must be exercised. The con- dition of tlie land depends very much on the season and character of the weather : and on this account seed-time cannot always be com- menced at the times which would be most con- venient to the farmer. In such a case, he must ^vait until the land is in risht order to be stirred ; and tliat state is. ■t\-hen it is neither too wet nor too dry. I am alluding to land which has either been thoroughly drained or which needs no draining, and is only affected by the season. \\hetlier very wet or very dn.-." But as the exact time cannot always be hit upon, it is bet- ter that the arable sm-face be rather too drj- than too wet when moved. Because, if too dry. it may be reduced to the necessary fineness bv < labor, and wUI then be in the best" possible state ' fi.r the reception of seeds ; the interstices be- | tweeu tlie particles of the soil beias filled with I air. amid ^vhicll the imbedded seeds germinate in the greatest vigor. But if the soil be too wet when moved, and especially by the pressing or pushing action of tlie plovi-, it acquires, from die excess of water, a state of fluidity like mortar, and settles do%vn again so compactly, that no seed laid tlierein can be developed in a healthy condition, in consequence of the want of air. That the contact of air to the roots of plant"? was always considered necessary, is e\-ideut from old \\Titinss : but the fact has never been so generally noticed and acted upon as it is now. The first and most strikin? instance confinnatorv of die opinion was the fact of large full-irro^\•n ornamental forest trees having been killed by their roots being too deeply covered up with earth when levelling lawns: and planters and gardeners have been Ions aware of the injurious efiects of planting as well as sowing too deep. The same individuals for- merly fancied that their prepared compo.sts, for exotic or favorite flowering plants, could not be too finely sifted for their recepuon, whether in pots, or in the open ground. But slovenly or careless management in these particulars show- ed that too much nicety of execution was not at all necessarj-. Sifting the composts %vas given np, and composts made up chiefly of nodules of turf, broken stone, brick rubbish, &c. are sub- stituted with evident success ; and the cause is obvious — \shen the compost is sifted, it becomes a solid mass, especially after it is \vatered, and repulsive of all atmospheric influences, whereas among the loose materials, a considerable body of air reposes, and in this the more active fibres extend themselves much more luxuriandy than they do in compact soil. The gardeners improved practice is only an- other proof ho^v much a porous soil and pres- ence of air are necessarj- to d:e roots of plants ; and yet we often see the most luxuriant vegeta tion produced by .soils which are apparenily very close in texture ; viz. alluvial soils and fertile clays. Both these descriptions of soil being composed of the finest atoms, become exceedinglj- close and compact if nndisrurbed ; but ^'lien plowed, or other\^*ise moved period- ically, the stirred portion attracts as much of the qualities of ihe air as sufiices for the following crop. It is rainer remarkable that, while oak thrives best on a clayey subsoil, it does not seem to afiect rich alm\-iai land ; and diis I imagine to be entirely owing to its closeness of texture pre- ventiug all access of air to the place of the roots. Aquatic plants which five entirely submerged, although defended from external air. receive as much as tliey need from the surrounding water, which always contains a notable measure, be- sides nutritive bodies in solution, which form the pabulum of plants, whether aquatic or lerrestriaL Another tribe of plants are attached to earth, but so shghdy, that their s^-stem of roots is nothing compared %%-ith the bulky heads sus- tained : and as these plants are mosUy found on rocks, or on the driest tracts of countrj-, it is evident that the greatest portion of their nutri- ment is drawn from the atmosphere. Anothe: tribe of curious and beautiful flowering plants is called Epiphjtes; [or paiasitical plants, the Misletoe :] because they attach themselves to the stems and branches of trees, not to sustain themselves by extracting flieir juices, but to be supported in die deep shade and most air of thick tropical woods. Some of these are called air plants, and gro\v as ^vell in a basket with- out eardi. suspended in a \vami. damp, shady place, as if they -were in their native habitat. Thus we see that air is particularly neces.sary to plants, and as much so to the roots as to the head and foliage ; and it is this fact as already observed, that justifies all the means of cultiva- tion Nvhich ^ve have recourse to with a view of rendering the staple more loose, and conse- quently more permeable to all atmospheric influences. There is one circumstance, however, which deser\-es to be noticed along %vitli diese general remarks : it is this — that all seeds require to be closely embedded in the soil, that is. they should be in close contact with the mould ah round : and, that diis should be completely secured, some seeds require to be laid in heary. as wheat for instance. Now \ve have only to consider that as the sou has been previously prepared. aiid more or less reduced to the finest practica- ble slate, a considerable volume of air is incor- porated therewith, and that this air, according to its temperature and the moisture of the soil, facilitates the germination of the seed, and con- tinues to assist the development of the plant. To obtain this close embedding of the seed, it is the practice to tread it in — a practice which is found of service to wheat, peas, beans, and almost all small seeds ; but wliich would be of no avail without the previous disruption and aeration of the soil. All these matters premised, it only remains to conclude with a general declaration that, in all our practices and means employed for the ame- lioration of the land, every thing that can be added or taken away, every operation perfonn- ed, and evciy implement used in the culture, should all have for their ultimate object either directly or indirectly, the breaking up of the compact and impervious surface, so that copious and constant supplies of air may be freely ad- mitted to the i-oots of the plants. ON THE VALUE AND PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. The dignity of Agriculture was rightly vindi- cated by the younger Wadsworth, when de claring that •' there is no pursuit in which so ' many of the laws of nature must be consulted and 'understood, as in the cultivation of the earth." The New-York State Agricultural Society, hon- ored itself when honoring him with its Presi- dency; and we knownot hovs^we can better pro- mote its noble objects more eflFectually than by disseminating the sentiments which have influ- enced that gentleman in devoting his energies and the influence of his example to the agrono- mic interests of his countrymen. The import- ance of associated effort, as well as the value of intellectual investigation and scientific research, were properly enforced in his Addresses on the subject of Agricultural Improvement ; and we fi'eely occupy the requisite space with extracts fixjm one of tliose productions, with the fervent wish that the interest which has been mani- fested by Mr. Wadsworth of Genesee, Mr. Lenox of this city, and Mr. Colt of Paterson, and other men of fortune, who might be named, may he more extensively emulated — men whose wealth and influence enable them to exemplify and sustain the claims of Agriculture upon the at- tention of the rich even more than the poor, upon the millionaire and the scholar even more tlian upon the Farmer of more limited means. The paramount want of the landed interest in this country, is capital. Thousands have too much land, who are restricted in every means necessary for its improvement. Of what value will be all the .science and all the improved la- bor-sa^'ing implements and improved domestic animals, if the means cannot be found for their introduction and practical application. What Farmer of moderate circumstances, for example, can send to Peru for the Apachian Sheep, which every consideration founded on a knowledge of its qualities leads us to believe ought (n be imported and tested in our country ? Is it not then obviously, in direct proportion to their fortune, that opulent men, inspired with a noble ambition, can entitle themsi^lves to the CO) benedictions of their country. If there be any trath in signs, even the political horoscope is full of them to show that the day is at hand when men are to find present popularity, as well as true glory, in promoting the arts of peace — in equalizing the comforts and augment- ing the happiness of their fellow men. For us and our House, we shall ever stand ready to exalt the names of men \vho with the means, unite the taste and the noble feeling to put their hands to and say, God speed the plow. But our own feelings would cany us away — let us back to our theme. For all classes of society there is certainly in- struction and consolation in the following pas- sages on the application of Science to Agricul- ture : " The application of science," said Mr. Wadsworth, "the most profound which has ' yet been attained by the far reachmg eflbrts of ' the human mmd, to all the products of our in- ' dustry — to the soil, the crop, the annual — has ' been reserved for the age in which we live. It ' is not claiming too much to say, that more pro- ' gress has been made in this direction within the ' last twenty years than in any previous century. ' Our own countrymen, it is gratifying to per- ' ceive, are securing their share of this abundant ' har\-est. Our chemists and geologists will not, ' we may be sure, rest contented as industrious ' gleaners after the Davys, Liebigs and Jolms- ' tons of other countries, but will push forward ' into the ample domains, which even those ' acute discoverer.s have not peneti'ated. " From the origin of our race almost to the present time, the path of the hu.sbaudman has been clouded in darkness and doubt. From the sowing of the seed to the gathering of the har- vest, mystery attended every step. The first link in the great chain of cause and eft'ect was hidden in uncertainty. The precepts of tradi- tion, the result of a multitude of experiments, were founded mostly in wisdom ; but they were as inexplicable as they were sound. Not so now. The scientific analysis of soils, of ma- nures, and of vegetable products, explains not only the ^\orkings of nature and the practices of art, but opens an inexhaustible field of new combinations and novel results. *■ » - - " If other nations, in the vigor of maturity, with more k-isurc and more means than we posso,-;s, have outstripped us in tlie race of plii- losopliical discovery, let it be our boast, that we have spread these discoveries loider, and made them at once available by making them part of the current knowledge of the nation. Let it be our tirst aim to diffuse knowledge — where the constitution has rightly given power — to the whole people. " It is not the sole object of onr Society to re- ward those who bring to our Fairs the finest animals, or to remunerate those who, with skill and industry, raise the best crops. These are but the means, and part of the means, by which it is hoped to achieve higher and wider ends. "We w^ish. hy association, by comparison of ideas, and by a generous emulation, to diffuse among ourselves, and the mass of the agricultu- ral community, the results of experience, the lights of science, and the productions of art. " Of the incalculable power, for good and evil, of association and combi^ied effort, the present age abounds in illustrations. That this great element of man's power has often been wielded to trample upon the equal rights, the peace and happiness of society, cannot be denied. Of the many instances in which, with w^idelj' different and higher aims, it has effected the noisiest achievements, I shall only refer to one. With what language can we describe, with what powers of calculation estimate, the wide-spread good accomplished, the deep mis- ery warded off, by temperance associations ? — What individual, wielding even a despot's scep- tre— what government, monarchical or demo- cratic— what law — what armed force, could have achieved the great results brought about in our day, within our own observation, by those efloits ? With this signal illustration be- fore US, we cannot lack confidence in any efforts wisely directed to a good end. With motives which cannot be impeached, with ob- jects which can no where be condemned, ask- ing no special privileges, requiring no exclu- sive immunities, seeking only to elevate and render more effective that labor from which man is destined never to be exempt, we may surely here, if any where, call to our aid the great power of association and combination.— With this element of .strength we wish to awa- ken the public mind to a sense of the import- ance of our avocation, and to dispel whatever may be left of that ancient prejudice, that the tiller of the soil is the drudge of the human race. " It is strange that it should have been over- looked, even in the darkest days of despotism and ignorance and superstition, that he who sows the seed and reaps the harvest, works not only with the plow and with the hoe and with the scythe, but that he wields, far beyond the labori^r in any other branch of industry or art, the elements of powers and nature. There is certainly 710 pursuit in which so many of the laws of nature must be consulted and under- stood, as in the cultivation of the earth. Every change of the season, every change even of the winds, evoiy fall of rain, must affect sumo of the manifold operations of the fanner. In tlie improvement of our various domestic animals, some of the mo.st abstruse principles of physi- ology must he consulted. "Is it to be supposed that men thus called upon to study, or to observe the laws of nature, and labor in conjunction with its power.s, require less of the light of the highest science, than the ■71) merchant or manvfacturer ? Or is it to be be- lieved, that men who go weekly, almo.-st daily, to ditl'crent occupation.s, changing with the al- most unceasing changes of the sea.sons, and who.se business is to bring to maturity such a multiphcity of products, exercise less the high- est intellectual faculties of man, than the laborer who, day after day, and year after, follows the unchimging manipulations of art ? " Happily for the interests of the farmer, the histoiy of our country abounds in evidence that this gi'eat misconception of the nature and ten- dency of agricultural labor no longer exists." " It is not alone in the brilliant results of sci- entific investigation, nor in the fertility of the soil, nor in the general salubrity of the climate, that the American fanner finds the ground of his briglitest anticipations for the future. There are other and higher elements in the conipo.sition of his fate. The government which watches over him is the government of his choice — a govern- ment m whicli the permanent interests of the great mass of the people are secured by placing the power in their own hands. Under such in- stitutions the pendulum of public ju.stice may sometimes vibrate between dangerous extremes, but it must eventually repose where justice and the interests of the many, require that it should rest. Such are the hopes of the fanners of our countiy. It is not to be denied that their inter- ests have been sometimes neglected, and their rights sacrificed to the sinister aspirations of classes more f^orably situated for political com- binations ; but if there is any foundation for our faith, that a free government is the fountain of equal justice, these aberrations must be correct- ed in the slow but certain progress of truth and right. " I trust that American agriculture will illus- trate and confirm the striking remark of the au- thor of the ' Esprit des Lois,' a writer, the most philosophical and liberal of his time, ' that it is not those countries which possess the greatest fertility, which are the best cultivated, but those which have secured the most liberty.' I find this suggestion, so flattering to our hopes, elo- quently commented upon by a late distinguished agriculturist of our country, in an address \\'hich he delivered before the Agricultural Society of Pennsylvania ; and I gladly avail myself of this opportunity to pay to his memory a tribute of respect, which is due, in a more eminent de- gree, to but one other name in the history of American farmers and patriots. With many other improvements in agriculture, Judge Peters was emphatically the author of the plaster and clover culture. The time which your patience will allow me to occupy on this occasion, will not permit me to recount the many expin-iments, at once ingenious and philosophical, with which he demon.strated the wonderful efBc^icy of plas- ter, nor the efforts, e(iually jiersevering and phi- lanthropic, with which he labored to introduce into general practice, this great fertilizer. He succeeded. None but those well acquainted with the course of husbandry in our wheat- growing districts, can estimate how much of the eighty-four millions amiually produced in our country, is owing to the introduction of plaster and clover. The benefits of this improvement are to be counted by annual millions ; and I call it up to your attention, not only to pay the debt of gratitude due to its distinguished author, but as an incentive to those who, with the better in- sl^ruments of a more advanced science, liave the MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. pame field of practical improvement before them. It is happily the nature of human knowledge that the more it achieves, the larger is the Jield of' ackimemcnt. As the outer circle of inven- tion and discovery is pushed farther and farther from the centre, the more numerous and of a higher order are tlie objects which present them- selves to the investigation of those whose lofty ambition it is to add something to the mass of human attainment. " The Society has endeavored to contribute something to this onward movement by offering prizes for essays upon the application of science to agriculture. I trast that the result will vindi- cate the wisdom of this policy, and lead to its continuance. " In this country, -with ju.st laws, justly admin- istered, where the popular voice can promptly coiTCct every oppressive enactment ; where, with common schools and an uutrammeled press, knowledge circulates as fi-eely almost, as the air w-e breathe, it would be surprising, and not less discreditable than surprising, if agricultural im- provement did not keep pace with the progress of the country in every ofher respect. For one, I have no fears on this point. I believe that our progress, with or ^vithout Agricultural Societies — though gi'eatly accelerated by tliem — is to be decided and rapid. I am not, however, unaware, nOr should we ever lose sight of the fact, that agriculture, like learning, has had its dark ages. It has risen to great peri'ection. receded, and rested for centuries without any apparent im- provement. The history of the world abounds with evidence that the cultivation of the earth was at an early daj- can-ied to a high pomt. " In China, it is well known that tor uncounted centuries a degree of .skill has been exhibited in the preparation and application of chemical and vegetable manures, that is not, even now, equaled in any part of Christendom. A recent popular writer counts it as not the least valuable result which may How from the Opium War, as it is properly designated, and which it is to be hoped for the honor of humimity, is now terminated, that by opening a more general communication Avith that extraordinary people, we may learn something of their agricultural skill. The Clii- nese are not the only people beyond the pale of Christianity and modern civilization, who have attained a remarkable degree of skill in certain branches of husbandrj-. The aborigines of South America and Mexico practised irrigation upon a scale, and with a periectiou of detail, not surpassed in any modem improvements. — The Spaniards, superior to them in the art of ^var. oveixame them in battle, but have not equaled them in skilful and industrious tillage. " Throughout all those immense regions of Briti.sh India, where the indomitable persever- ance and courage of the Anglo-Saxons have subjected millions to the control of thousands, the conqueror has learned more tlian he has been able to impart ef practical wi-sdom directed to the cultivation of the soil. A high cultivation, accompanied by the use of irrigation and min- eral and vegetable applications, has there can-led the productive powers of the earth to a point never yet attained in those parts of the globe claiming to be more enlightened. " In ancient Egypt the results were, if possi- ble, more extraordinary. There, not only agri- cultural productions, but the imperishable monu- ments of art, surpass even the comprehension of modern science. " Coming down to the early days of Chris- tian era, we find the Roman writers abounding in sound precepts and suggestions, which even now might be adopted with advantage. Nearly the whole of Van-o might be read with profit by our modem farmers. Tme, it is often tinged with a superstition now hat^pily discarded, and relates to a state of society and govei-nment, widely differing from our free institutions. " But in all that relates to tillage, to the pre- paration and application of manures, his sug- gestions accord witli the views of our best mod- ern practical fanners. In the classification of mineral and vegetable manures, such as lime, marl, and many varieties of compost, he gives to each the relative value which has been affixed by the most profound chemical analysis. " If it is somewhat discouraging to look back and find oui-selves but little in advance of the remotest times, in many depaitments of our pro- fession, we may at least, congratulate ourselves that we live in an age when agriculture is in the ascendant. It is no longer given up to serfs and slaves, as the fitting occupation of the most ignorant portions of the community. It now takes its rank among the honorable and ele- vating pursuits of industry. To follow the plow and tend the flock, is no longer, here at least, the mark of ignorance and servitude, as under a false and despotic system it w^as, and in some parts of the globe still is. In this we stand upon ground which the ancients never attained. It is the great achievement of modem times. The rights of man and the dignity of la- bor are vindicated — the one follo\vs from the other. Agricultural improvement, then, rests upon a foundation on which it never stood be- fore. It is sustained by free institutions ; it is the result of laws, wise, becau,se liberal. The eufi-anchi.sement of the many, the elevation of the masses, must go hand in hand with tlie in- telligent, industrious, and prosperous cultivation of the earth. " If agriculture owes much to the benign in- fluence of free institutions, liberty owes not less to agriculture. Where do we look for the calm discretion, the disinterested patriotism, \vhich must su.staiu a representative government, but to the great community of cultivators of the earth ? Even those most skeptical as to the fit- ness of man lor self-government, admit that if the experiment ever succeeds, it will be in a nation of fanners. The experiment, thank Heaven, has succeeded ; it has succeeded in a nation of fanners ; and while we must not be guilty of the illiberality of doubting that the gi'eat manufacturing nations of other continents may be fitted to administer the high duties of freemen, it becomes us to cherish a profession which, more than any other, prepares man to receive the highest blessuig ot his race in this world — a free government. We must cherish it by industry, by virtue, by intellectual cultiva- tion ; by connectmg it\vith science and the arts, and with evei"y thing which can elevate and adom it. If we do our duty by ourselves and our children, agriculture will never again, it is to be hoped, know the dai'k ages in which for so many centuries it slept with liberty and learn- ing. Let us do our duty in the responsible sta- tion and happy era in which Providence has cast our destiny, and I trust the day is far, far distant, \vhen we shall cea.se to be a natioJi of farmers and a nation of freemen." A SCENE. 25 A SCENE — In a Tent of Agricultural Editors. A GREAT Exhibition of the pvoducts of American A^icultural, ManutUcturins; and Mechanical indus- ti-y, being held, as is supposed, at Washington, D. C, under the auspices of the National Institute, on which Congi'ess, after long protracted and shameful delay, had bestowed the Smithsonian Fund — the Editors of the Agi-icultural papers have assembled in the tent appropriated for their use, exchangins friendly greetings, when he of the " Farmers' Librahv," and founder of the old American Fanner, enters, and. being to many of them unknown, thus makes his respectful saluta- tions: Friends and Brothers : When a man enters a room unbidden, and, it may be unknown to most of the company, claiming fellowship, and a seat among tliem, commoa courtesy should prompt him to say, with a certain character in tlie farce, " Hope I don't intrude 7" He who now addresses you, however, has the advantage of knowing at least as many of the present com- pany as may suffice to iutroduce him to the rest. When he retired from the corps Editorial, some years since, he could have identified near- ly all who belonged to it. The kindest sort of personal intercourse, or a no less kind inter- change of good will by friendly coiTespondence, had passed — the remembrance of which, he flat- tors himself, may make the renewal of that in- tercourse now, mutually and without exception, agreeable. But, on looking around the room, he cannot but ask himself how it is that, while he left the plow only for a short spell, and even during that time running a furroAV, occasionally, for some old fellow-laborer, that, coming back now to regular work, he finds so many new faces in the same field ? most of them, he thinks, looking smarter and more alert — doing their work in a leetle better style than when he first broke new gi'ound in the old American. Farmer. Dare he flatter himself that these weekly streams and monthly floods, that are pouring their salu- brious waters far and wide to imgate and fruc- tify the land, are but so many issues from the old fountain, opened by him on the 2d of April, 1819 ? Are your journals but the produce of that old parent stem, \vhich have sprung up, as the seeds of plants of the class syngenesia, fur- nished with a plume, are, by that admirable mechanism, disseminated far from their parent stem ? or, are they, rather, vigorous shoots, of spontaneous growth — such as genial skies and showers always bring up in the wake of culti- vation, to succeed the coarser herbage of Na- ture ? At all events, their appearance is a proof that the ^vants of Agriculture demanded them. Friends ! 1 rejoice to find mvscll once more in (7.31 such honest company. To each and all I would fain extend the hand of fellowship ; and why not a hearty greeting for the whole corps Edi- torial— " To you, Tom Brown ! and to you, John Brown ! "' as the social song runs ? Have not all an equal interest iu the prosperity and good narje of our common country ? Are we not all seeking to awaken and to gratify a love of knowledge, and with it charity and union T Here are advo- cates from all quarters to guard every Agricul- tural interest and staple, as it is right there should be. " Nor yet vrill every soil, vnth equal stores Repay the tiller's labor ; or attend His wiU, obsequious, whether to produce The olive or the laurel." There stands friend Breck, from "down East," the noble old Bay State, to tell us, in the New-Englandt Farmer, all about the disease in potatoes ; and there, again, are brotliers Nortli and Phillips, of the " South-Westem Farmer," leaning on their cotton plant, and talking learn- edly of gossipium ; while Botts, fuD of zeal and intelligence, stands midway, ready with his to- bacco-stalk to demolish all the hurnhugs that may come flying along in quick succession, like so many ignes fatni, to delude the honest " Southern planter." Ah ! and there, too, is the vigorous driver of my old team — the Editor of the American Farmer ! Well, I am too glad to see him still upon his legs, and, though he is dressed off in a new suit, he won't give the "cold shoulder" to an old fellow-laborer. He can vouch that in tlie many years that we \vrought iu the vineyard which we planted, and that he has since brought into more perfect bearing, not a line, nor a word, ever escaped us, in expres.sion of party feeling or the provo- cation of ill-blood. Let us all, then, I say — old soldiers and young recruits — unite to keep off tlie rust with which Time, like the worm that gnaws at the root, night and day, would weaken the chain of friendship. The vv'orld is wide enough for all, even though we were not .stretch- ing our anas to grab at once the Cape of Labra- dor and the Halls of the Montezumas. And, moreover, let us remember what we are taught on the highest authority — "Brethren! the time is short." Let mc, then, close this address to brther Editors, of whatever interest or party, by ask- ing one favor. If you would welcome him to put his feeble sickle in the common field, will you please copy this, or otherwi.se proclaim tliat 26 MONTHI.Y JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Skinner — we won't say in his old age — (let that ■w^ord become "obsolete"] — has rejoined the Editorial phalanx, and set down now, with no other employment, to make liis bread by assist- ing to teach others, in " The Farmers' Li- brary." how to make theirs. The Farmers' Librarj' and Monthly Journal of American Agriculture will have no sort of con- nection, near or remote — direct or continsrent, with any political object or paper. In Agricul- ture there is no party politics. Tlie publication will consist of at least 100 pages a month, to be made up of standard works on practical Agri- culture, and all sorts of treatises which it may be becoming and useful for a cultivated Fanner and his family to read, either for solid instruc- tion or elegant amusement in any way connect- ed w^ith his condition and pursuits in life. Tlie engravings, lithographs, paper, type, &c. all to be of first quality — making two volumes per annum, of at least 1,200 passes, all for $.5 a year. Address J. S. SKINNER, Editor of the Farmers' Library, Tribune Buildincrs, New-York. THE POETRY OF RURAL LIFE. It is to be hoped that few or none of the read- ers of the 'Farmers' Library" entertain tlie no- tion that an Agricultural publication should be utterly banned against the Muses — exclusively confined to the mere dry statistics of Farming industry. Horses, com and oxen — pigs, poultry and potatoes — are all valuable in their way ; and we \\'ill go as far as any one to encourage un- provement, so as to realize the greatest propor- tionate value from tlie investment of labor and capital. But we are far from thinking that po- etical associations are incompatible with rural pursuits ; and, indeed, ^ve fancy that much ser- vice may be rendered by irradiating country life with the charms of Song. The spirit that led to the introduction of Music in our Common Schools animates us in the belief that similar benefits may result fi-om the better culture of the imagination, (as well as the soil) among the Farming community. Indeed, we fancy- that we cannot better promote a preference for rural pursuits, and thus aid in benefit- ting the Agricultural interest, than by appeal- ing to the taste, as vsell as the intellect, through occasional quotations from the -wTitings of poets who "looked through Nature up to Nature's God." Who that is familiar with the poetry of Bry- ant can ever enjoy the .solemn grandeur of our forests without realizing some of the ennobling sentiments whicli breathe through such poems as that commencing with these lines ; " The Groves were God's first temples. Ere Man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, And spread the roof above them — ere he flamed The lofty vault to gather and roll back The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down, And otVercd to the Mightiest solemn thanks And supplication." Our purpose is not to sermonize at the pres- ent time, but rather to invoke the attention of 174) our city friends towards tlie attractions present- ed for recreation in the country during this "merrie month of June."' And how can we enforce our object more agreeably than by quo- ting, from the Dublin University Magazine, some stanzas written by the late Mrs. Gray ? " Go forth into the country. From a world of care and gnile ; Go foith to the untainted air, And the sunshine's open smile. It shall clear thy clouded brow — It shall loose tiie v\-ordly coil That binds thy heart too closely up, Thou man of care and toil ! " Go forth into the country. Where gladsome sights and sounds Make the heart's pulses thrill and leap With tresher, quicker bounds. They shall wake fresh life within Tlie mind's enchanted bower ; Go, student of the midnight lamp, And try their magic power ! " Go forth into the countrj-. With its songs of hajipy birds, Its fertile vales, its erassy hills, Alive with flocks and herds. Against the powers of .sadness Is its magic all arrayed — Go forth, and dream no idle dreams, Oh, visionarj- maid ! " Go forth into the countrj-. ^Vliere the nut's rich clu.sters grow, Wliere the strawberrj- nestles 'mid tlie furze, And the hollyberries glow. Each season hath its treasures. Like thee, all free and wild — Who would keep thee from the countiy, Thou happy, artless cliild ? " Go forth into the countiy ! It hath many a solemn grove. And many an altar on its liills, Sacred to peace and love. And whilst with grateful fervor Thine eyes its glories scan, Wor.sliip the God who made it al), Oh ! holy Christian man ! " CLAIMS OF AGRICULTURE UPON THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. To Merchants, Mannfacturers and others on the Calamities of Trade : The vicissitudes attendant on trade have es- sentially aided in enforcing the claims and ad- vantages of Agi'iculture upon the attention of the business community generally — upon the Manufactiirer, Mechanic, Merchant and "pro- fessional man," as weU as upon the " natural boni" Farmer himself Singular as it maj- seem to the unreflcctmg, the statistics of our cities and towns will prove that the operations of the trading world are sub- jected to more than lottery-like uncertainty, for whereas, in lotteries there may be not " two blanks to a prize," tlicre is a still larger propor- tion of disaster resulting to persons whose for- tunes are embarked in trade. The histoi';^- of the trading community, in al- most any given district, conclusively proves the startling fact that full three-quai'ters (aye, even a larger portion) of merchants and manufactur- ers are driven from their stores with shattered fortunes and mind depressed ; aggravated by the reflection that : " prosperity they had neglect- ed to make suitable provision of agricultural property and knowledge, which would have proved a comfortable homestead, at least, for theiv declining years — thus guarding their fami- lies from being thrown upon the cold charity of the world, or from having recourse for a wretch- ed and precarious livelihood to some revolting employment. Though Farming holds out no decoying hopes of large fortunes to be speedily realised, it fur- nishes, if pursued with economy and industrj', in the first place a certain shelter, with un- failing means of comfort and independence to those who apply their intellect as well as dili- gence in cultivating the soil ; and in what branch of industry can intellect be more advantageously employed for promoting individual happiness and national welfare ? Far be it from our thoughts, in any wise to undervalue the importance of mercantile and manufacturing pursuits ; too highly do we es- teem them, as promoters of civilization and in- dispensable purchasers and consumers of the sur- plus fruits of Agricultural industry itself The Merchant and the Manufacturer, when just and liberal, as well as intelligent and enterprising, may be classed among the noblest of our race ; for doubly honored should they be, who, daily beset with the multitudinous allurements of the I I' 5) ' world, and exposed to its most unexpected and trying vncissitudes, yet, in spite of all these, pur- sue the course of honor triumphantly through life. But surely a reasonable degree of atten- tion to Agriculture and Horticulture — attention in storing the mind with valuable information on the theoi-y and practice of arts which lie at the bottom of all earthly pursuits. Surely, surely such attention cannot injuriously interfere v.-itli assiduous devotion to commercial and other in- dustrial pursuits, but, on the contrary, afford, by diversity, that occasional recreation which gives power to prosecute them more vigorously. The history of the whole trading community speaks volumes of admonition on the importance of making for your families, in days of prosper- ous advent^fre, some certain, substantial tcrra- Jirina provision, however small, for your fami- lies. Even amid the turmoil with which we are surrounded in these large cities, the follow- ing startling assertions, made recently in public discourse by a distinguished citizen of New- England, will scarcely fail to force their way to the anxious attention of every prudent business man. We respectfully wi,sh it to be borne in mind, that it will be one of the leading objects of the Farmers' Library, to aid in attracting the attention of such men toward the pleasures and advantages of raral pursuits, and to inculcate on all such the propriety of securing (while for- tmie enables them honestly to secure,) a com- fortable little fann, however small, for " die family," where the trader, unfortunate in busi- ness, as a large portion of them sooner or later become, may spend the evening of his life, with the comforting reflection that, while he could justly do it, he had the prudence and intelli- gence to provide a homestead, beyond the reach of fraud or accident at home, or the disa.sters of the sea. For such men, as well as for those who.se only business now is Agriculture, we design the "Farmers' Library," and flatter ourselves that we may look to the trading community, to the prosperous Manufacturer and the fortunate Mechanic, for such a share of patronage as will indicate that the comforts and amusements of Agriculture and Horticulture are duly appre- ciated in the intervals of business ; and that they agree with us in the opinion, that nothing can be more expedient than to provide a snvg farm as a retreat for wives and children, when driven 28 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. from die city by enfeebled health, declining bu- Biness, or, otherwise, total bankruptcy — until circumstances lead him to occupy it himself, it may aflbrd an honorable field of industry and intellectual employment for a son, who might otherwise be wasting his Ufe and energies in town ; or may be rented at a saving interest to a good tenant. To either of xhese, the Farm- ers' Library, and Monthly Journal of Agriatl- ture, might be tnmed over, to excite in the one a fondness for agricultural science and literature, and so practically instruct the tenant as to se- cure certain improvement of his property and easy payment of his rent Let those who have not carefully reflected on these matters, now maturely consider the state- ments, made by Gen. Dearborn, in a Lecture delivered before the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. While contrasting Agricultural and Mercantile pur.suits he remarked that men should instil into their sons a love of Agriculture. He declared that he would prefer a cottage in the countn,-, witli five acres of gi-ound, to the most splendid palace that could be erected in the city, if he mast depend upon the success of mer- chandize to support it. He then went on to-say, " that ha\'ing been some fifteen years in the Cus- tom-house, in Boston, he was surprised to find, at the close of his term, an entire new set of men doing business there. This induced him to look into the subject, and he ascertamed, after much time and research, that ninety -seven out of every hundred who obtained their livehhoodbybujnng and selling, /<2(7ei or died insolvent He then submitted his calculation to an old merchant of great experience, who confirmed it in every particular. " The statement made by General Dearborn, appeared to me so startling, so appalling," says an intelligent obser/er, '• that I was induced to examine it with much care, and I regret to say I found it true. I then called upon a friend of mine, a great antiquarian, a gentleman alwavs refen-ed to in all matters relating to the citj- of Boston, and he told me that in the year 1800, he took a memorandum of every person on Long Wharf, and that in 1840 (which is as long as a merchant continues bu.sine.ss) only five in one hundred remained. They had all in that time eitlier failed or died destitute of pro- pem-. I then went to a verj- intelligent di- rector of the Union Bank (a very strons: bank); he told me tliat the bank commenced business in 1798, diat there was then but one other bank in Boston, die Mas.sachusetts Bank, and that the bank was so overrun with business, that the clerks and officers were obliged to work nndl twelve o'clock at night, and all Sundays ; that they had occasion to look back a year or two ago, and they found that of the one thou- sand accounts which were open with them in starting, only six remained ; they had in die forty years either all failed or died destitute of property. Houses who.se paper passed vi-ith- out a question had all gone down in that time. Bankruptcy, said he, is like death, and almost certain ;' they fall sinsrle and alone, and are (:c) thus forgotten, hut there is no escape from it, and he is a fortunate man who fails young. Another friend told me that he had occasion to look dirough the Probate Office a few years since, and he was sui-prised to find that over ninety per cent, of all the estates settled there, were insolvent. And widiiu a few days, I have gone back to the incorporation of our banks in Boston. I have a list of the directors since they started. This is, however, a very unfair way of testing the rule, for bank direct- ors are the most .substantial men in the commu- nit}'. In the old bank, over one-third had failed in forty years, and in die new bank a much larger proportion. I am sorry to present to you so gloomy a picture, and I ti-ust you will instil into your sons, as Gen. Dearborn recom- mends, a love of agriculture, for, in mercantile pursuits, they wUl fail to a dead certaiut}"." Are the business men of New-York, Phila- delphia, Baltimore, ^Vashington, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, New-Orleans, Louisville Cincinnati, St. Louis, moi-e prudent, sagacious, or successfU than those of Boston ? And whedier they are or not, the foregoing exti-aor- diuary facts indicate the propriety with which we invoke the business community, to bestow more attention upon Agriculture, for recreation in the season of a prosperitj-, and for sure refuge in adversity. The Farmers' Library and Monthly Journal of Agiiculture — (consisting each number of not less than 100 pages) — of which the first number is here-svith presented to the public, was estab- lished partly with a view to supplying Mer- chants and Manufacturers, as well as Farmers, with every species of infomiation connected with the culture and management of Faniis and Gardens — and under a proper sense of the liber- ality with which well-meant enterprises of this sort are sustained by all enlightened communi- ties, -we confidently anticipate a reasonable share of that patronage, which will enable us to ex- tend our usefulness in the broad field upon ^vhich we have entered. Gigantic German Green. — There was srrow- ing, in 18-12, in the garden of Mr. John Murray, Ea.ster Newport, Fife, a plant of Gennan greens of extraordinary dimensions. It was planted about four years ago, in die ordinary ^vay, in a corner of a plot, and, at the time above specified, had attained to the following size : — it covered an oblong piece of ground twenty-seven feet in circumference. It sent forth seven main branches, which supported other si.x;ty-one branches, five of which bore seed in 1 ■?42. and in September of that year the entire plant was in a healthy growing condition. Feet. Inches. The 1st branch bore 11 stems, each 9 9 in length. 2d ■' 8 " " 7 3 3d " " 13 " " 7 6 4th " " 15 " " 10 0 5th " " 3 " " 7 2 6th " " 10 " " 6 0 7th " 1 " 3 0 GUANO. There seems to be a sort of crisis, if we may so call it, in the fate of this substance — whether it shall or shall not continue to be an article of commerce, and of practical use in American Husbandly. We shall submit, impartially, the testimony for and against it, leaving the reader to say on which side it preponderates. To us it seems, at present, to be decidedly pro-guano. — But we feel it to be our dutj- to premise, that neither from indolence, which leads us to snap at whatever saves us trouble, nor from want of due caution, should any farmer allow himself to be drawn into a neglect of tlie materials to he found on his own premises for manufacturing manure — and yet we must declare that such neglect is committed to a degree that is full of reproach and discredit, more especially to Southern Agricultm-ists. On this point, how- ever, as on many other points of Husbandrj', great reformation has taken place, and is going on, over that region of country — for even the dullest comprehension begins to perceive, that renewed applications of manure to cultivated fields is as indispensable (and on precisely the same principle) as daily food is necessary to a cow that is daily milked ! and that in both cases the product will correspond with the quantity, and yet more with the quality of the food. On this subject of the qualitj- of food, as con- nected with the strength and value of tlie ma- nure— believing that it cannot be too often or too forcibly impressed on the mind of the Far- mer— we stop, in going along, to copy a striking passage, applicable to the general subject and connected with the one in hand : — " The quality of animal dung materially de- pends upon the nature of the food habitually used. The richer and more nutritious it is, the greater will be the fertilizing properties of the emanations. Hence the dung of the race-horse is more valuable than that of the drudge released from the cart and kept upon low fare. For the very same rea.«on the excrementitious deposits of birds, feeding upon fish or flesh, aflbrd a stronger manure than parrots, for example, be- cause the latter live only on grain and ben-ies. Maize, during a great part of the year, is almost exclusively their food, and the ravages commit- ted by them on the fields planted with it are extensive. Their dung, consequently, approxi- mates more to that of the racehorse. If we could find out the excrementitious leavings of any other bird or quadruped, containing more ammoniacal compounds than Guano, and of which the supply is equal, then only should we possess an equivalent. This appears to be im- practicable although it is a fact, analytically as- certained, that die dung of the boa'-con.strictor contains more ammonia than that of any other animal hitherto experimented upon." The history of the introduction of Guano iutc the United States is worthy of being noted, to show the slowness with which new things are admitted into general use among Farmers ; at the same time that its present popularity evinces the activity of agricultural inquiry, and the ne- cessaiy and powerful force of the press in push- ing, against everj' obstacle, a know'-ledge ot the value of things, of which the existence would not otherwise be known. The extent and tlie manner in which that force was exercised dur- ing the last year, to spread a knowledge of the then recent importations and the value of Guano, is to no one better kno^\•n than to us. The gen- tleman who contributed more than all others unitea to its distribution and trial, is, we may as well say, Mr. George Law, of Baltimore, of whom it is but proper to add, that his exertions were purely and altogether disinterested. Mr. Law- has done for Guano what Judge Pe- ters did for Plaster of Paris. The same hesi- tation was e^-inced about the use of bone ma- nure. \Vhen Mr. Hornby erected his establish- ment for grinding bones in this city about nine years since, he was under tlie necessity of ma- king a gratuitous distribution of tliat material. — Farmers consented, with suspicious hesitation, to apply them — but the next year he sold 8,000 bushels, and thence the demand rapidly in- creased, recommended by its portability and its power, and bones that sold at first at five cents a bushel, went up to thirty ! Yet there are thousands of Fanners in the United States who never even yet have seen or read of bone dnst as a manure. And these are the very anti-in- quirj-, anti-reading gentlemen who would per- suade us that there is nothing to he learned from books, as there was " no good could come out of Nazareth." To return. — This extraor- dinary substance, which has, within the last eighteen months, attracted so much notice in this countrj- — eliciting publications on its uses and qualities, until some of the most intelligent inqnirres after, and difiusers of Agricultural knowledge are heard, at the very word Guano, to exclaim — " Enough — tlie verj- smell of it is enough ! 'Give me an ounce of civet good apothecary, to sweeten my imagination.' " This substance, we repeat, which is general- 30 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. ly supposed to have been only last year import- ed into the United States, was received — two barrels of it — and distributed from the office of the old American Fai-mer as far back as the Spring o/" 1825 — just tweut}- yeai's ago ! It was on that occasion tliat the Editor of this, the " Fanners' Library," by whom these two bar- rels were distributed, published an account of its use and value in Peru, together with a full analysis of it by two eminent French chemists, Fourcroy and Vaugelin, who were supplied with specimens for that purpose by Bonplase and Humboldt ; Humboldt, by the bye, sug- gested the question, whether Guano might not be considered as the product of the revolutions of the earth, and to be classed with the forma- tions of coal and fossil earth. Hence Guide Ricci proposed to give it a place in our miner- alogical systems, under tlie name of Ammouique Uratee, (Urate of Ammonia,) or at at least to consider it as a natural product ; and we know that, however well it may be considered settled that these immense deposits consist of the dung of sea-birds, tliere are captains of ships who have visited them, who yet feel strongly per- suaded that Guano is a natural substance, thrown up by some extraordiuaiy convulsion or quake of tlie earth. Be tliat as it may, we refer, for the present, to the sixth volume of the American Farmer for the substance of all that has been since published as to the mere vse of it in Pent — tliough we shall give a higlily interesting '•Memoir ox Guano — Its History and Uses IX Peru : By \Villiam ^VALTOx," as soon as we can find room for it ; and venture to say, that though he may now think the threat of it a rank offence, it will be read by none with more gusto than by a certain esteemed friend and colla borafeur, just referred to as being already sur- feited. " Xoiis verrons." That memoir on Guano, too, is one of those foreign essays, with which we shall test and, as we believe, gratify the taste of our readers for the literature, as well as the details of Agri- culture. But to return to tlie use of Guano in the United States. As far back as, and we be- lieve coeval with, the importation already spoken of. Commodore Stewart sent a quantity of it to Col. Monroe, then President of the United States, of v,-hich we have no report At that time, and to the end of his patriotic life, we had tlie honor to enjoy the confidence and friendship of Col. Monroe, and we are by no means certain tliat the two barrels which came into our hands were not handed over by him for distribution. At all events, it was given to tlie late Robert Smith, President of the Marj-land State Agi-icultural Society-, and to Govenior Lloyd, then the most extensive and among the most enterprising and intelligent Fanners in the Union. He reported that the effects of it as applied to Indian com was remarkably favorable ; but no measures were taken to procure any fartlcr supply, and almost witli the smell was exhaled the remem- brance of Guano, until some four or five years since it was tried in Great Britain, on the small scale of a few bags. The demand has gone on increasing, with more diffused obscn-ations of its properties, until, as the reader may perceive, were it only on reading the following from the Ne^v-York Express of this morning, the Agricultural community is all alive about it. — By the bye, without confining the observation to Guano, how much quicker the English Farmer is to " snuff oppression in every tainted breeze," than his brother Jonathan ! How long would English Farmers submit to a tax such as is levied here, on bird's dimg, as a non-enu- merated aiticle in the Tariff? — a tax ^vhich, as will be seen by Mr. Bartlett's letter, threatens to put an entire stop to the importation of the article. The impon duty in England is nothing, or next to nothmg ; and if our next Congress should not be engrossed by that spirit which has been aptly called the madness of the many for the benefit of the few, the duty will be re- pealed in this coimtry. "The Guaxo Trade excites great attention in Liverpool. At a meeting of merchants on the 19tli of May, a letter dated the day previously and ^vritten by Lord Stanley, stated ' that the charge in question for taking Guano fi'om Malaga Islands was originally enforced by the authori- ties at the Cape, on the ground tliat the Guano di.scovered in the bay was die property of the Cro^^^l, and to remove all doubts ou the subject he said an ordinance had been enacted by the Legislature of tlie Colony, under v.hich the li- cense fee had been demanded ; but in deciding upon tlie coufii-matiou of tliat ordinance. Her ^lajesty's Government would not fail to bestow then' best attention upon die objections made to the imposition of the charge.' It was men- tioned incidentally at this meeting tliat upwards of i.50,000 was involved in Liverpool alone, upon the solution of this question, and that there are several houses interested to the amount of X'.2,U0O and £5,000. Eventually a deputation was appointed to proceed to London to wait upon Lord Stanley, with the view of impress- ing his Lordship with the absolute necessity of aboli.sliing the license fees, if the ti-ade is to go on. "A representation %vas made to the Colonial Secretary to the effect that the Guano at Ichaboe being exhausted, vessels in the trade now pro- ceed to Saldanha Bay, but diej" were not al- lowed to take a\s'ay the manure without a license from the audiorities at the Cape of Good Hope, for which they were required to pay at the rate of i;Os. per registered ton of the vessel. This imposition, it was alleged, amoimted to upwards of 20 per cent, upon the .selling price of the ar- ticle in this country, and, in consequence of its being of an inferior quality, the importers were not able to realize the costs; therefore, as a means of relief, they desired the abolition of the license monej'." The aggregate of all that we have seen goes to show (and we had as well mention it here as elsewhere) that die cUmate of England is better GUANO. 31 adapted to develop the agency of Guano than is the climate of the United States. In Peru, the aboriginal savages, as white men, in the asceuJ- ant, are prone to call all people whom they con- quer and plunder, had built up gi-cat canals and works for irrigation, and had cai-ried Agricul- ture and Horticulture to a high degree of im- provement. Hence it was that there, though the cUmate is much more arid than ours. Guano was considered indispensable to the subsistence of the Peruvian population ; for there they had tlie means to irrigate the crops whenever the Guano was applied. In England, on the other hand, the humidity of the atmosphere and their exemption, geuersUy, from drouths, supply the place of inigation ; while in this countrj' we enjoj' not the means of irrigation, and are at the same time exposed to temble drouths. And this, it is obvious, is one of the causes which this year has operated most inauspiciously for the use of Guano, begetting danger that what has been the result of the most extraordinai-j^ drouth almost ever known at that season of the year, when it should have been acting, maj- be as- cribed to inertness or inherent -svorthlessness in the article itself, causing it to be totally con- demned and rejected ; for we cannot claim more than other nations that sedatcuess of chai-acter which should restrain nations as well as indi- viduals fi-om limning suddenly from one ex- treme to the other. With these preliminary observations, ■we pro- ceed to submit the most recent notices and com- munications which have fallen under our notice — not having time or space, were it otherwise expedient, to turn to the foreign magazines, which are full of experiments to ascertain the value of Guano in itself and as compared in every form of use, and result, with other ma- nures. And fir.st, from the June number of the Southern Planter, published at Richmond, Virginia : " Guano. — I wish to state the following facts for the benefit of the Agricultural community : '■ This Spring I purchased of Messi-s. Williams and Haxall a lot of Guano, v^-hich I applied as follows : I mixed Pla.ster with Guano at the rate of two measures to one, and applied of the mbtturc ten bu.shels to the acre on wheat. This was during the drouth. I afterwards repeated the application twice during a rain ujion the game laud, and up to this day I have not per- ceived the least beneficial effect from it. I al.'JO soaked some of my seed oats in brine and roUed them in Guano, without being able to perceive that it produced any effect at all. I aX^o mixed it and applied it to com in the hill, after the manner recommended by Mr. Petticola.s, in the Planter, with a like result. In .short, I feel con- strained to say, that in my ca.se the money and labor expended on Guano, have been entirely thrown away. John Mackenzie." We stop here to transcribe fi-om the Ameri can Fanner, vol. 6, pa?e 316, 1S24, what might (79) perhaps better have come in previously. The extract is a translation from " A Voyage to South America, hy Don Antonio dc Ullva," vol. 2, page 99. He says : " This manure, used in the fields, sowed with Maize, and with proper watering, is found greatly to fertilise tlie soil, a little of it being put close to the stem and then watered. It is also in use in fields of other grain, except Wheat and Barley, and consequently prodigious quan- tities of it ai-e used yearly." In corroboration of the above statement, Mr. Bennet, near Brooklyn, a very industrious and mtelligent farmer, told us yesterday that with potatoes and some other crops this year it had destroyed the seed, but he believed it was be- cause he had used an over dose. We next call up finend Tatum, of the Farmers' Cabmet, as truthful a man as lives, and very dis- creet withal : " In walking one day last week, over the farm of Samuel S. Richie, which lies some eight miles from this city, and a mile east of the Gennantown road, we were highly gratified with its general ajipearance, and with tlie proofs over eveiy part of it of the close attention and^ good management of the owner. His lot of wheat — five acres — ^was really splendid, and the best we have seen this spring, unless it may be rivalled by William R. Tatums field of fifteen acres, at Woodbury. N. J. The lot had wheat in it last season, and produced a miserable crop. All parts of it were manured last fall, either with Poudrctte, Guano. Charcoal from the sugar refiners, refuse from the glue factoiy, or with Salt. These applications are now on their re- spective portions, doing credit to themselves, to the evident satisfaction of the farmer. He men- tioned a little anecdote, which shows at any rate that there is virtue in Guano. W hile he was applying some this Spring on another part of his farm, one of his neighbors came along and rid- iculed the idea of looking for a compensating return for such an expenditure. After he left him. he took a very small quantity — saj- half a pint — into the middle of his neighbor's oat field, which was near by, and strewed it round, i^ as to make on the gi-ound, m large size, the initials S S R, of his own name. The editor accompa- nied him to the spot, and there were the let- ters in bold relief shown by the rank growth and dark color of the oats, as plainly and dis- tinctly as they appear on this page." EFFECT OF GUANO, AS NOW EXmRITF.D IN MARYL.^ND, ON WHEAT AND OATS. Sandy Spking, Montgomerv Co.. Md., J 5tl! Month let, 1845. ) Eateemed Friend: — I have to report that my Guano experiments increase in interest as they advance to fruition. The first experiment on "an acre of wheat, is likely to surpass even my most .sanguine expectations. It is the most luxuriant growth I ever saw, to be so unifonn and even in height, and regularity mi the ground. The average height is from five "to six feet, with heads quite in proportion. About two and one- half bu.shels was sown to the acre, but I am now satisfied another bushel might have been added, and the yield been in proportion greater. Not less than fifty persons have examined it ; of these a large proportion were from Mary- laud, and some fi-om the District, and Western 32 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Virginia, and all pronounced it the finest and largest thoy have seen. " One swallow docs not make a summer," neither should a single experiment in Agricul- ture, whether adverse or otherwise, decide the matter definitely ; but in no instance yet, has the Guano failed with me, to produce the most marked and decided advantage. A strip through my oat field, of about forty feet wide, was sown with Guano at the rate of two hundred pounds per acre, and the adjoin- ing land, (side by .side,) with sixteen bushels of ground bones. All sowed alike, as near as could be, and at the same time ; the part with Guano is now about twice as luxuriant as the other, and the color a much darker green. I have used the Guano extensively on my com, but the crop, (as is nearly all in this vicin- ity ; some, I understand, have determined to mark off and replant the crop,) has been so in- jured, I may almo.st say destroyed, by the bud worm, that little eftect is seen from the Guano. The appearance of the corn crop is not now near so good, as it was three Meeks since. In addition to the bud wonu, most of the com planted in low situations was killed by a hard frost, which occurred the night before last ; not " bit by the frost," merely, but killed outright. Please ascertain of friend S. K. George, and infonn me whether he, or friend Bartlett, can promise with certainty another supply of the pure Peruvian Guano, from the Chincha Islands, in time for our wheat crop ; say by 1st Septem- ber. I am sure the present crop ■will twice overpay me for its use, and I moan " to try it again," without the fonnality of " picking the flint." In haste, I reinain respectfully thy fi-iend, (Signed) EDWARD STABLER. (From Hon. James A. Pearce, Senator, U. S.) CirESTERTOwN, June 12, 1845. Geobge Law, Esq. — Dear Sir: — The Guano which I purchased through you, in March last, has been applied to grass, wheat, oats and com, in proportions va- ry big from 120 to 300 lbs. per acre. I have sup- posed that you might be desirous to know with what effect, and therefore send you a brief statement. My first experiment with wheat was made in March, just after the heavj^ rains, and was followed by a long and severe drouth. 120 lbs. Guano, mixed with 80 lbs. plaster and 2 bushels coal a.shes, w^as sown broadcast on one acre of wheat, the soil being the poorest and most silicious on my farm. The wheat has been somewhat improved, but the result is not striking. The second trial was with oats. The ground having been previously plowed, 360 lbs. Guano, mixed as before, was sown on 1| acres, and immediately ban-owed. Four days after the oats were sown, and harrowed in. The soil •was generally an exhau.sted loam, one corner of the piece being a clayey hill side, with some gravel, and no otherwi.se improved than by a liming of 60 to 70 bu.shels to the acre last year. The oats are now better on the adjacent land, which ■v\'as heavily manured last year for com. On the 20th of April I sowed 120 lbs. Guano, mixed as before, on 2-.jths of an acre of growing wheat — the .'^il naturally a good loam, but ex- hausted by long tillage. The wheat here is greatly improved — its color soon became much darker — the straw longer — it branched more, and the heads are nearly twice as large as those of the same kind of wheat on adjoining land, which was heavily ashed two years ago. The young clover, too, is much finer on the guanoed piece than elsewhere. My corn vtas guanoed on the 26th May, and as yet no efiect is perceived, nor is any expect- ed until we shall have a rain, for which we are suffering greatly. So far, I am much pleased with the Guano, and am disposed to make larger use of it this Fall. Can you tell me whether any further im- portations into Baltimore may be expected this summer. Verj' respectfully, your ob't. serv't, (Signed) J. A. PEARCE. I have said nothing of my orchard grass, or clover, tovi'hich the Guano was apphed, because all the land was guanoed, and no comparison could therefore be made ; but I am satisfied that the Guano was of great service, as the crop was decidedly better than last year's. Petersburg, June 13, 184.5. Mr. George Law — Ml/ dear Sir: Our friend Mr. Pleasants has shown me your letter making enquiries as to the re.«ults of 07ir application of Guano. This has been the most remarkable j'ear and the most unfavorable for the success of that manure which.could have occurred. During a part of the months of March and April, we had a di'outh of six weeks, in which time the earth was never wet, and accompanied with cold north winds and frequent frosts. At this time we are suffering with a drouth of five weeks, a part of the time very cold, but now oppressively warm. On the 2.5th ultimo we had a frost which cut down all my field peas, (which had been resowed several times,) potato tops, and a good deal of com. Under these circumstances you can see that GuAno in the general way could not do much. The effect on tobacco plants, which were kept watered, has been astoni.sh- ing, and a\fo on cabbage plants and other gar- den vegetables which were not permitted to get too dry. I applied it on a piece of meadow last August at the rate of 200 lbs. to the acre and the effect during the whole Fall was very striking, and is still a fine growth, but the use of it this Spring on grass has not been so satis- factorj', owing, no doubt, to the season. I used it in the same quantity early in May to the red- top or herds grass combined, with two bushels of plaster ; in the course of two or three days it rained and for several w^eeks the guanoed por- tion far outstripped that on the adjoining lands. As tlie present drouth continued, however, it has fallen back and I can novs' see no difference between them. With regard to the use of Guano on wheat I will state that the 23d October last I applied it just as the wheat was faii'ly out of the ground to three respective portions of sand, all joining, so that I could compare them — one with Guano alone, at the rate of 200 lbs. per acre — one con- taining 2J bu.shels of plaster with the same quantity of Guano, and one with a like quantity of Guano and 2| bushels of dripped ashes. — The whole of these lots gave a decided im- provement over the contiguous wheat without there being any decided difference between the respective portions themselves ; as the Sjiring drouth came on, however, the benefit of appli- cation gradually subsided as far as the eye could detect it. I made another application in April which produced a green and vigorous growth to be seen at a considerable distance ; this too appeared to lose its effect in a mcasui'e as the dry weather set in and as the wheat ripened. I think, however, there is some difference in its favor — I have cut it to-day and shall try and as- certain its comparative gain and will then write you the result. I am veiy soiry to find that nearly all my young clover has died out under llie hot dry Bun of the last l^vo ^veoks, but I think it is much worse where the Guano was applied. As far as my experiments have gone I consider Guano a mo.st powerful stimulant and fertilizer, under certain circumstances. If there should be show- ers of rain or the land ke])t moist in any way it is valuable, otherwise it may even do injuiy. I have not yet used any to my com, hat shall do so and let yovi know the result. Mr. Stabler' s experiment has been a very favorable one. Was the drouth as severe with him as it was generally through the country 1 Yours, tmly. (Signed.) W. I. DUPUY. Petersbueg, Va. 13th June, 1845. Esteemed Friend: Since I had the pleasure of receiving thy favor of tlie 7th, which reached me two days ago, I have visited some of my neighbors to ascertain as far as possible what had been the effect of Guano on their crops. The character of the sea.son has been more un- usual than any we have had, perhaps since 1816. What with the frost hi the first instance, and then the drouth, (which yet continues,) vegetation is exeedingly feeble ; and neither Guano nor any other manure could have its full effect. Such seasons, however, are perhaps less disas- trous on wheat than any other ci'op. I can re- collect that 1816 was a great wheat year ; and I have heard the old people often say that in 1806, when there was no rain from early in April till the middle of September, and when the ears of wheat hardly emerged trom the boot, there v\-as a bountiful crop. The harvest in this neigh- borhood is now about being completed, and the crop appears to be a fair one. As far as we can judge at present, the Guano has pi-oduced a marked effect in every case, where it has been applied, but one. This being one of Dr. Du- puy's experiments, he will communicate it to thee, as he is also writing by the .same mail with this. His other experiment, considermg the lateness of the season when the Guano was laid on, may be regarded as very favorable. The experiments of Robert Strachan, which I have mentioned in former letters, are altogether satis- factory to him. Some time .since he expressed the opinion that the increa.sed crop would pay for the Guano three times; and ho informed me yesterday he had yet no reason to change his views in regard to it. His crop liad been just harvested, and put up in hand-stacks on the land ; and as far as could be judged from ap- pearances he will not be disappointed in the estimate he formed. On oats, there is a very beautiful experiment on the fann adjoining me. Indeed, I have seen no kind of crop on which the Guano acts more energetically than on that of oats. I confess, liowever, I have seen noth- ing that can be at all compared with the won- deiful cflect upon Ed. Stablcr's wheat, as described in his letter to thee ; for the copy of which I feel much obliged. 1 had heard of it indirectly some time since ; and a few weeks ago there was a letter from E. S. to J. S. Skin- (81).. ..3 ner, publi.shed in the Agricultural department of the Albion. I cannot account for the extra- ordinary growth, but by supposing that there had been plenty of moisture. It will be highly interesting to ascertain the product, though I cannot agree that it would have been propor- tionably increased, if he had used 3| instead of 2^ bu.shels of seed. If it had been thicker the ears must have been smaller. My experiments have been very diversified, and on almost every kind of vegetable usually cultivated in market gardens, and'though in some few cas(;s of rather recent application, the effect has been incon- siderable, owing to the peculiarity of the season, yet altogether I have reason to be highly grati- fied. On Irish potatoes nothing couhi act bet- ter. Applied side by side witli the best manure, at the rate of 300lb.s. of Guano and more than 100 cai-tloads of manure to the acre, the gu- anoed potatoes came up soonei' and much better, and grew oft' more rapidly. The difference was very great for a long time, though it is less obvious now, the manure retaining moisture during the drouth. I shall ascertain shortly what will be the comparative product : as yet we have oidy dug the guanoed, which are veiy fine, and tiie yield very abundant. In addition to the Irish ])otatoes, I have tried the Gu^no extensively on the sweet potatoes. It is too early yet for it to manifest itself decidedly, but the vines are of good color, though small. For raising all kinds of plants for transplanting, such as cabbage, celery, tomatoes, tobacco. &c. it is superior to any otljfer manure. The beds require less pick- ing, which is a tedious operation. I prefer to apply it frequently in the form of a weak solution ; but with seed of strong growing plants, such as cabbages, radishes, and the like. I pi-epare the beds by sowing the Guano broadcast, at the rate of 300 pounds to the acre, then chop it in, and afterwards rake in the seed. In that quan- tity I have not found it to impair the genniuating powers of the seeds. I have succeeded worse with melons than any thing else ; though with cymlius on a somewliat moist piece of ground, it has acted finely. The melon vines, however, are improving ; and when the rain comes I hope they will make good progress. In a nur- sery of young peach and apple trees, the effect has been as decided as on any other growth wliatever. The ground on which they grew, is very thin, and from the pale, sickly color which most of tliem exhibited last summer, I appre- hended they would not come to much. But, since the ai)plication of Guano, the color has changed to a dark, rich green ; and the young shoots have put out with great vigor. On cab- bages I have not yet tried it, 2ny early crop having been manured in the Fall and Winter; but I have a good deal of land ])repared ready tor being set out with plants for Fall and Win- ter cabbages, as soon as there comes a sea.son. On early planted com, on moist laud, the Gu- ano shows itself very well, but not witli late planted on high land. In fine, considering the character of the season, the results are in almost every waj' satisfactory, and my confidence in its virtues is undiminished. Nevertheless, I liear some people cry out against it, and repre- sent it as valueless. In the last Southern Planter, there is a com- munication from a gentleman who .states that he has made various trials, and in every instance there was no perceptible effect. He does not state from whom the Guano was obtained. [On reference to his article, I find I am mistaken 34 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. he obtained it fi'om Williams &. Haxall, though I don't know of what cargo.] But in the face of such a cloud of ■witnesses, I am at a loss to per- ceive how any intellic^ent man can risk his repu- tation by publishing it as worthless. That there will sometimes be failures, may very readily happen. 1 have experienced them myself; and I have sometimes found the best manure to lie in the gromid entirely inert, without being able to account for it. Colman, in his last number, ac- knowledges there have been failures in Eng- land : the only wonder is that with a new and powerful article the failures have not been more immerous, from injudicious applications, — die testimony in its favor could not v/ell be stronger. In a previous letter thou made sorne inquiry as to the best time for applying Guano to corn. In one of the discussions of our Agricultural Societj', I submitted the inquii-y, in the hope that some member might be able to give a satisfac- tory answer, by refering to the action of other manures. One of our best farmers stated that he had frequently applied well decomposed manure to corn, ^^ hen it was in the shoot ; and even in silk and tassel, the etlcct had always been to iucre;i.se the size of the ear without ad- ding to the growth of the stalks. He added that he had been surprised at the prompt action of manure applied so late. Without any experi- ence on the subject, my opinion is that there should be two applications to com : one at the time of planting or weeding, enough to give the young plants a start, but not to force them too much ; and the other about the time of shooting, or a little before, according to convenience. His is the Peruvian mode, and it is not likely that Ave can adopt a better. I have heard of several persons who have condemned the use of Guano on tobacco beds. To show how easy it is to raise tobacco plants in a manner entirely different from the old way, I will give the ex- periment I made. A tobacconist in Petersburg having some veiy rare tobacco seed, requested me to sow them for him. On the 1st of May, I .^elected a piece of old but rather moist ground, reduced it to line tilth, but neither manured nor burned it. Having previously prepared the seeds by sprouting them, I sowed them on the bed, and in a few dayj? they began to come up. I did nothing but apply a weak solution of Gu- ano about twice a week, and keep the bed clean ; and by the end of May there were some plants large enough to set. I have never seen a more nourishing patch. As the season advances I shall be verj" happy to conmiunicate with thee, and exchange such information as v^'c may acquire. I am mo.«t tiailv thy friend. (.SiuTied) 'T.S.PLEASANTS. To George Lavs', Baltimore. [Communicated to the Fanner and Mechanic for pub- lication,] Amkbican Institute, > New-York Farmers' Club, June 17, 1845. 3 Col. Edward Clark in the Chair. So much of the minutes of the last meeting was read as related to tlie question of Culture of Corn. Mr. Meigs read the following letter from William B. Oddic, Esq., of Rockland: Rockland, June 9, 1845. n. JIeigs, Esq., Sec'y : Dear Sir: I have ueed Guano in a liquid state to steep ."eed in, juid find it fur before any prejwriition of Ealt-petre, ammonia, &c. Kor com there is no thing belter. I planted a newpiece of ground, plowed (82) it for the first time this Spring, and dropped the seed, after allowing it to soak two days in the above mixture, and found that it came \\\) four or five days before cora planted at the same time withoiu Gu::no bemg used. The color of the leaf is a deep irrcen ;md the slocks stotit, and, notwithstanding frost and drouth, grows rapidly. I used one pint of Guano to four gallons of blood-warm water, immersing the grains, after straining well. You would be astonish- ed to see what an admirable emetic it is for the crows — they have visited the field once, but requiring no more medicine they have since kept aloof— the best scare-crow extant. I believe that Guano, used as above, hn.s the temporary effect of giving the plant a fine impulse, when, as its roots di.-lend, they have the good old fashioned stable, cow or hay manure to sustain them. Yours, respectfully, WM. B. ODDIE. On the question of its permanency fan im- portant point) we took occa.sion, in the delivery of a discourse in September last, at Wilming- ton, Delaware, to remark : " It may be fair to presume, however, from the promptness and energy of its action, and the very moderate quantity usually applied, that it will not be so enduring as a heavy dressing of puti-esceut manure." But against that apprehension we find in Mr. Colman's last Report he says: " It has been questioned v.-liether its effects will be permanent. I can only answer, that I have seen its obviously beneficial effects three years after its application, upon grass. How^ much longer it.s efficacy maj- be expected to continue, experience only can determine." The cases of application this j'ear have been sufficiently numerous and variant, and the ef- fects, it is to be hoped, noted with sufficient ex- aatness to .settle the question beyond all dispute at what price it may be expedient to use it. Any manure of a portable nature and condensed efficacy, must be very valuable as applicable to tobacco and other plant beds, where the embryo, as it were, of large field crops are to take their first growth within a very small space. Might not planters of tobacco contrive always to have plants by watering their beds with a solution of Guano, or of the sweepings of pigeon and poultrs' houses ? But nothing can be done out of the common track without some personal en- ergy and perseverance. The half very often consists ill beginning to do a thing. Walnuts. — I beg (.says Juglans) to call the attention of the public to the advantages of planting those ornamental and productive trees, the -wood being very valuable. With regard to culture, .sow the nuts in beds, which should be kept free from weeds, and at the end of three }-ears plant finally 160 trees to tlie acre. Wal- nuts will grow in the poore.«t soil, and mixed with the forest trees fonn good belt.«. &c. In the tenth year they will begin to bear, and tak- ing the average produce per tree at only one bushel, the value of which is 10s., they will give i'80 per annum for the acre ; deduct Gd. per buishel for picking, and £'i a year for the land, and it will leave i'54 of clear profit. The ex- pen.se of planting, fir.=t co.^t of seed, and every expense included, will be about £2 per acre. [Englisli paper. :^ "o ^1 Kl id M ^^ c ^ t>J •■$ ^ ^' ^ SOUTH-DOWN SHEEP. SOUTH-DOWN SHEEP FORM AND QUALITIES. We shall endoavor to preseut to the patrons of " The Fanners' Library and Monthly Jour- nal of Agriculture," the true forms and proper- ties of the various species of Domestic Animals — not with an air of exaggeration as a fancy sketch of the perfection to which they might be brought, hut as a genuine picture of the best, such as skill and care have actually made them, in countries where they are supposed to have attained their highest degree of improvement. — The object is, that the farmer may have before him a standard of attainable excellence, up to which eveiy man of proper pride will endeavor to bring his own ; for as little can be hoped for fi'om a farmer -svithout pride, as li'om a soldier without ambition, or a housewife without clean- liness or diligence. The selection, for the first number, of portraits of South-Do\%Ti Sheep, was not to indicate any partiality for that over other breeds ; it was rather a matter of chance. All other breeds, which may be regarded as \vell adapted to the peculiar circumstances of any considerable dis- trict of our country, will, in turn, be in like manner illustrated, and their properties impar- tially described. The portraitures given in this number are found in an English work of authority and great research on ^Vool, Woolens and Sheep, \\here they are given to represent tln-ee South- Down Wethers of Mr. Grantham, exhibited at the Show at the Smithticld Club hi 1835. In the work before us, it is stated that the average dead v«-cight of the South-Down Weth- er varies fi-ora 8 to 1 1 stones ; but Mr. Grantham exhibited a pen of three in the Show of the Smithfield Club, in 183-5, one of them weighing 20 stone 3 lbs., a second 20 stone 6 lbs., and a tliird 21 stone. From the same work we take, as cliaracteris- tic of this breed of Sheep, as follows: — " The next is the hill .sheep, adapted to more elevated situations and shorter feed in the natu- ral and permanent pastures ; able also to tra^•el without detriment a considerable distance to the fold and to the Downs. Tiiere can be no hcfJ- tation in fixing onl.hc ^ou/h-Dow nasthc model here. " The following is the substance of the de- scription of this sheep by Mr. Ellman, wh.o, if he may not be con.sidered like Mr. Bakewell with regard to tlie Leicester, as founder of the breed, yet contributed more than any other man to its present iniprovemont and value. " The head small and hornless ; the face speckled or grey, and neither too long nor too (83) short. The lips thin, and the space between the nose and eyes narrow. Tlie under iaw, or chap, fine and thin ; tiie ears tolerably wide, and well covered with wool, and the torchead also, and the whole space betv/ecn the ears well protected by it, as a defence from the fly. " The eye full and bright, but not prominent. The orbits of the eye— the eye-cap, or bone- not too projecting, tliat it may not tbnn a fatal obstacle to lambing. "The neck of a medium length, thin towards the liead, but cnlaiging towards the shoulders, where it should be broad and high, and straight in its whole course above and below. The breast should be wide, deep, and projectin°- for- wards between the fore legs, indicating a'good constitution, and a disposition to thrive. Cor- responding with this, the shoulders should be ou a level with the back, and not too wide above ; they should bow outwards from the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and leaving room for it. '• The ribs coming out horizontally from tlie spiiie,j8,nd cxtenduig far backward, and the last nb {trojectiiig more than the others ; the back flat from the .shoulders to tlie setting on of the tail ; the loin broad and tiat, the rump long and broad, and the tail set ou high and neariy' on a hue with the spine. The hips wide, the space between them and the last rib ou either side as narrow as possible, and the ribs eeuerally pre- senting a circular form like a baiTel. •■ The belly is straight as the baclc. •' The legs neither too long nor too short. The fore legs straight from the breast to the foot ; not bending inwards at tlie knee, and standing fur apart both before and behind, the hocks having a direction rather outward, and the twst, or the meeting of the thighs behind, being particularly full ; the bones fine, yet having no appearance of weakness, and of a speckled or dark color. " The belly v.^ell defended with wool, comin" down before and behind to the knee and to tlie hock ; the wool short, close, curled, and line, and free fiom spiry projecting fibres." Of Mr. ^Vebb g sheep, referred to by Mr. Ste- venson, and of the very ram ho brought home with liiin, and which, unfortunately, it seems he has lost, -wo find the following notice by Mr. Allen in the Agi-iculturist, vol. 1, page 104, founded on personal knowledge and obsei-va- tion : — "To give an ideaof the weight of Mr. Webb's annuals, the buck selected for Mr. Eotch, though only six montlis old, weighed 152 lbs. on the scales; Bishop Mead's, eighteen months old, 248 Ib.s., and Mr. Steven.son's. ."auioage 2."i4 ibs.' while a wether, exhibited at Cambridge oil Chri.stmas-day, 1840, weighed, dre.ssed wnh the head on, 200 lbs., aside fi-om yielding 28 lbs. of rough tallow. The average weight of his weth- ers, however, at eighteen to t\\-entj- montlis old IS but about 30 to 3.5 lbs. per quarter. Tiie bucks shear from 9 to 11 lbs., and the average sheai-ii 36 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. of the whole flock is 6 lbs. 15 oz., and of a qual- ity of wool that we tliought better in the gen- erality of South-Downs. The fleece ia close and compact, and we should think would resist rain, sleet and snow, nearly as well as the best merinos." Being a-ware that two of our mo-st eminent citizens — Mr. Webster in the North, and Mr. Stevenson in the South — ^had both selected Sheep of this breed to bring home to America, we were naturally, as it will be admitted, curi- ous to know what coincidence of views had prompted tlie choice of the same breed for re- gions of countiy so essentially different in most of the circamstances likely to influence a choice of stock Sheep. Accordingly application was respectfully made to both, in the confidence that they would be alike ready to state, as we knew they had been alike disposed to take note of Vr'hatever they could discover in the Agricul- ture of England that could benefit the landed interest of their ov^-n country. This explanation is given to show how it is that ■we have been so fortunate as to draw from Mr. Stevenson the very interesting letter wliich follows, quite .} enough in itself to justify our anticipations i and to evince bis deep anxietj- for the redemp- tion of the Agincultural prospects of his no- ble State. We will only add that, lively as is our sense of obligation for the prompt- ness -with which be has answered to the call we ventured to make upon him, we hope to be often subjected to the same impressions. Mr. Web- ster's engagements here in causes of great im- portance, left liim no leisure to descant on topics more congenial to his natui-al temper ; but when he shall, in July, get quietly seated under bis umbrageous elms at Marshfield, we shall hope to have some kind friend there " takin' notes " of his observations on English Agriculture, as adopted and not adapted to the United States. — IVe shall see. Correspondence with Honi A. Stevenson. Office of the Farmers' Library, > New-Yokk, 6th May, 1845. > Dear Sir : — I persuade myself that in the subject of this you will fiad some excuse for the demand it is designed to make on your known partiality for Agriculture, as well as on your personal kindness. Circumstances beyond my control have driven me here to reside, where, I am sure you will be pleased to learn, I have found agreeable emploj-ment for all my time and anxiety, in tlie editorial management of a journal to be devoted impartially and exclusive- ly to Agricaltnre. The design and plan of it is explained more particularly in the accompany- ing paper. It would not become me to ask your patronage of it, at least not until you can better judge of its merits by a sight of the first number ; nor, indeed, at any lime should I deem (84) your patronage in any shape so acceptable and auspicious as in that of communications, such as your observation and experience so well qualify you to make. The most particular objects of this, however, are to bespeak an indulgent re- ception of the first number, and the favor of let- ting me know as to your South-Downs enough to constitute historical memoranda of the partic- ular race fi-om ^vhich they sprung, and the par- ticular considerations which led you to the se- lection of that breed. There are, I am aware, verj- strong attractions for sheep husbandry in Virginia. Will you per- mit me to inquire what you regard as the most formidable obstacles to its extension in that and more Southern States — especially in the vast extent of their more hilly and congenial districts, as such districts are knov.-n to be. I made an earnest effort, before I left Wash- ington, to get for the " Farmers' Liurary " a portrait and memoir of that eminent promoter of Southern Agriculture, Col. John Taylor, of Caro- line. Witli every courteous disposition on tne part of his son, Mr. W. P. Taylor, to meet my \v ishes, they have been grievously disappointed. It was not that any thmg was necessaiy to revive my recollection of, or to augment mj- sensibility to, the value of his ser\-ices ; but Iv.as desirous, by the renumeration of them now, to hold him up in a stronger light to the rising generations, as one of the greatest benefactors of the land — one of whom it may be said, as it may not of all good writers on Agriculture, that his zeal was not ahead of his practice — one who, in a \vord, stimulated men to think ; without which no signal improvement is to be achieved in one art more than another. I still cherish the hope of getting what may approach -svhat I sought in reference to the au- thor of Arator. Mr. Madison, too, of course will have a place in the Library as the President of the Albemarle Agricultural Societj-, and au- thor of one of the best (if not the best} addresses from any friend of the cause. I cannot forbear the opportunity io express my humble gratification at tlie formation of yon r State Society for the promotion of the Agricul- ture of your State. It will come in for a full share of attention in the periodical I am engaged to conduct. With science and experience as you have in the head, and such activity and in- telligence in the members, of your Association, its ends must be accomplished. There is radi- cal evil somewhere : it is time to probe it, bold- ly and fearlessly, and to look for the cure. I pray yon pardon me for ti-onbling you with a more extended exposition of my undertaking than I had intended. The first number will appear on the first of July, and will contain Portraits of South-Down Wcdiers, taken from Bischoff's work on Sheep r SOUTH-DOWN SHEEP. 37 and Wool aiid Woolen Manufactures ; and these portraits it is desirable to accompany with remarks on the peculiar qualities which adapt them, under certain circumstances, to the use of i American Fanners. Wiih gi-eat respect and esteem, i I remain, Sir, 'your obedient servant, | J. S. SKINNER, To Hon. Andrew Stevenson, Vice President Viiginia Agricultural Society. The Retreat, near Riclunond, June 16. 184.5. Mif dfar Sir: On returning home, after an absence of some ^veeks, I found your kind let- ter, with the accompanying- Prospectus, for the new Journal of Agriculture which you are about to edit. This Avas tlie first intimation I had received upon the subject, and I beg you to believe, that I was as much gratified at re- ceiving your letter, as I shall be instructed and edified by your Journal, to \vhich I most gladly become a subscriber, and now enclose in ad- vance the first year's subscription. Whilst, you do no more than justice in re- garding me as the warm and devoted friend of Agricultvire, you greatly overrate my ability to render to it that aid ^vhich I should be happy to afford, and \vhich many of my friends are pleased to anticipate. The trutli is, I have neither the information, or time, to enable me to add much to be common stock of agricultural knowledge, and you must, therefore, set me do^\^l for Httle else than one of j"our constant readers ; an occasional correspondent and con- tributor to your Journal ; and one of its fast and devoted patrons. This is all that I have it in my power to promise, and so far I am \viUing to stand eommitted. I rejoice, my dear sir, to see you once more in the field " giving note of preparation," not, however, for battle or slaugh- ter, but as ihe friend and champion of the arts of Peace. The lam-el which entwines the He- ro's brow is bathed in blood and wet with the tears of the widow and orphan, but die cine ^^-l■eath of the Husbandman is green with his o^\^l woods unstained with gore, and unmixed with c>-press. Go on. then, and devote your talents and labors to objects so worth}- of them, and by which you \vill confer benefit as \vell as honor upon our common countrj-. In tliis good work God speed you success. Of the importance of Agriculture, in a physi- cal moral, or political point of view, I need saj- littlc to you. If, with the wisest, the richest, and the most po\verful nation, AgiTcultural pur- suits have ever been esteemed the most honor- able, as well as the most useful employments of man. how much more should this be the case in a countrj' like ours, where the Institutions, Gov- ernment and People depend so essentially upon their successful operation. Indeed, Providence seems to have decided for us tlie great question of preference, so Ions ac-itated bv pohtical economists. We are, and must continue, if we expect to remain free and prosperous, emphat5- cally an Agricultural People. And does not self-interest, as well as patriotism, combine to stimulate us to the improvement of our systems of husbandry ? What nation has ever existed celebrated for its advancement in civilization and the arts, in which the marked encourage- ment of Agriculture has not been admitted ? And yet, what country on earth so deeply in- terested in its success, has shewn less attention to it than our own ? The spirit of improve- ment has not only been suSered to languish, but its essential and vital interests, have been shame- fully neglected. Who can witness, my dear sir, without deep mortification, the sU-eam of emigration fi'om the whole of our Atlantic bor- der to the Western portions of our Union? How many persons do we daily see eeULng their farms at low prices and relinquishing their buth-places and friends to settle in the rich val- hes of tlie West, from a supposed inability to support themselves on theii* poor and exhausted lands. Is not this the result of gi-oss misman- agement and a continued perseverance in the old and WTetched system of cultivation '.' How long rfe Ave to be doomed to this state of things ? And are we never to profit fixjm the experi- ence of otlier nations ? W hilst in Great Britain 7iine-tentks of the lands are leased to tenants who pay from 30 to 60 shillings sterling per acre, and find every thing for husbandn,-, they can even on these terms gro-w rich ; yet we, (at least at tlie Soutli.) %vithout tithes or heaAy taxa- tion, and with numerous laborers, can barely make out to support ourselves from the pro- ducts of our estates. I have seeii it stated very recently, on the autliority of some eminent Brit- ish stati.«t, that to supplj' the United Kingdom of Great Britain Avith the article of wheat alone, Avould take tlie employment of the -whole Brit- ish Na-*^- ; and to bring all their Agricultural Products, as now^ enjoyed, %vould take the na-vy of the whole -^^-orld. To ascertain this, it -would only be necessai-y to take the average con- sumption of each inhabitant, and multiply the annual amount bj" the Avhole number of the population. England, as you know, has been called a garden spot, and such it justly may be regarded, -when with a teiritorj- not larger than that of New- York or Virginia, it can support a population nearly equal to Uiat of tlie whole United States. It is alone by skill and industry that they resist the danger of excessive popula- tion pressing upon the means of subsistence, and thus enable them to supply an increasing population, not only\vith the same but a much better description of food from tlie same dis- tricts of country. Now, to -what is all this to be attributed, but to superior productiveness oc- casioned by superior cultiva-tion, and the addi- 38 MOISTIILY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. tional fact, tliat they cultivate no more land ihan they can manure and improve. It was, I think, the late Lord Leicester [Mr. Coke] who once said that the great and prevailing- error in Eng- lish Agriculture was what he called over-plow- ing, and ha\'ing more land under tillage than the quantity of manure \^•ould justify. This, I thmk, is one of the gi-eat evils in our system of cultivation. If. ou the conti-ary, we were to limit our tillage to our supply of manure, what aji increase of old and exhausted fields should we witness ? and yet I am convinced that our planters and farmers would be in much better and more prosperous circumstances. Our rule, however, seems to be, that having so many la- borers we must necessarily cultivate a gi-eat deal of land, whetlier it be rich or poor. This is one of the en-ors of our Agriculturists, and it tJierefore becomes important to convince them tliat means exist by which their poor lands may be fertilized and rendered profitable at much less expense, and by which their lauded property, as well as the comforts of life, might be greatly increased ; and that these means are in their own power. This is, doubtless, a subject which wiU command attention and engage your vigor- ous pen. I flatter myself also with the hope that your Journal will not fail to notice another important matter connected with the Agricul- tural mterests of the Middle and Southern States. I mean the iatemal communication of the coun- try and the transportation of our Agricultural Products. Our produce, until it reaches the market of exportation, does not change its cha- racter of interest. It is still the planters, and only becomes an article of commerce when it touches the hand of the merchant. The trans- portation, therefore, to market, is as intimately connected with its value as any proce.ss of its previous preparation, and the planter and far- mer have, therefore, a deep iuterest in the im- provement of the internal navigation of the country. To accomplish this, we sliall require not only the aid of the press but the continued and enlightened influence of the whole Agri- cultural commmiitj-. Indeed it should be borne in mind tliat in governments founded upon re- publican principles, national enterprises, to be 6ucces.sful, require the support of general senti- ment and feeling. Public opinion must there- fore lead while government follows, to organ- ize the means of earning into effect the popu- lar will. It will need, also, the enlarged views and enlightened policy of our State Govern- ments. You ask me in your letter for some account of my South-Down Sheep, imported three years ago, and the reasons -which led to their selec- tion. 1 regret to say that I have been unfortu- nate -with the lot. I had the misfortune to lose the buck and one of tlie three ewes soon after their arrival in the United States. I attribuled the loss to the voyage. The result has been tliat I have now only the half breed. Concur- ring in the general opinion that the breed of Sheep, to be reared, ought to be selected ac- cording to the nature of the pastures and the artificial means of suppl_\-ing food, I gave the preference to the South-Downs, over all the other breeds, for this section of country. In selecting a mountain breed, for instance, for rearing in low arable land, the advantage would be lost of producing a larger and a finer class of animals ; and so, on the other hand, if a lo%v-land breed is carried to a mountain region, an evil of a different kind is committed, much more hurtful ; for a fine stock would be ruined if placed in a situation where it could not be maintained. The South-Down I found adapted to most situations in the midland parts of England. Besides their beauty and fullness of form and propfinsitj' to fatten, tliey had patience of occa- sional short keep and an endurance of hard stock- ing, equal if not superior to any other sort, with an earl}' maturity scarcely inferior to the best of the New Leicesiers, and ^vith flesh of an equally fine grain and flavor. They were, moreover, better suited to an extensive range of light soils, and to our naturaljaud permanent pastures. An- other reason, too, was their good and abundant wool, and their supposed hardiness and good health. These were the reasons of my prefer- ence for the South-Do%vns. I was particularly anxious in selecting to get a fuie male sheep — I did this upon the ground that, as respects both cattle and sheep, the opinion was general and doubtless coiTeci, that m most cases the quali- ties of the male parent predominate in the off- spring, and the more indifferent and the worse bred the female was tlie more this would be the case when she ■^^•as put to a well bred buck. I procured the ram and ewes from the folds of Mr. Jonas \Vebb, of Cambridgeshire, who, I think, is justlj' esteemed one of the most eminent breeders in England. He obtained at the Show- of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, at Liverpool, in 1841, three of the highest pre- miums for his South-Downs, over all the compet- itors of the United Kingdom. Virginia has many advantages for breeding sheep, not surpassed in the United States. The middle part of tlie State, and especially the whole range of the South- West Mountains and Blue Ridge, afford tlie gi-eatest facilities for fine sheep-walks. HiUs covered with fine herbage, extensive enclo- sures, abundance of running water, and well sheltered by trees against the heat and sun of summer. But tlie prejudice which the late Col. John Taj lor, ol Caroline, (who, by the bye, did more for Agriculture than anj' man in America,) had against sheep, has been the means of ren- dering this description of stock unpopular in SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE. 39 many parts of the Southern country. You will remember that some years ago he expressed the opmiou, " that thcij consumed more food, in pro- portion to their size than any other stock ; that they were more liable to disease and death, and that they could never be made a projitable stock throughout the extent of the warm, dry climate of the United States, tcithont banishing tillage from vast tracts of country." Now, ■without examining in extent this opinion, I think I may venture to say that this denunciation of tiiis peaceful and valuable race of animals (from ■which we draw so many of the comforts and luxuries of life) is not concurred in by any large portion of American Agriculturists ; and that if this distinguished patriot and statesman had lived at this day, he would have clianged this opinion. But I must cry you mercy, and for- bear. I have spun out this letter to an unrea- sonable length, and can only promise not to tax you in this way again. Under your auspices, and that of your distinguished and scientific co- laborers. Agriculture, 1 trust, ■will soon rear her head and recover her ■vigor ; and whilst Com- merce plows the ■wave. Agriculture will laugh on the land, and Peace requite us at liome. Very ti-uly and cordially, believe me, my dear Sir, Your friend and ob't serv't. A. STEVENSON. To the Editor of the Farmers' Library. SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE. To the President and Directors of the " Virginia State Agricultural Society." It was w^ith no slight degree of pleasure that I received the pamphlet containing the " Con- stitution and Proceedings of the Convention for the Formation of a State Agricultural Society," at Richmond, on the xJOth of Januai'y last. This pamphlet, with the names it contains and objects set forth so clearly and forcibly, revives pleasing, sacred recollections of friends ■whose countenance to me has ever been -warm from the heart. The name of Virginia itself recalls to mind many of the most illustrious ornaments of our history. The State which, with many other illustrious men, lias produced a Washington, a Henry, a Marshall, a Jefferson, a Madi.son and a Monroe, may well claim a place among the most exalted communities of the earth. It must, therefore, be a source of sincere pleasure to every patriot, to learn that a spirit has manifest- ed it.«elf among the descendants of these great men to meet their obligation of honor — to call into action the abundant intellectual and physi- cal resources of the 7ioble and variegated dis- trict of this Union embraced within the limits of Virginia. Let us pass, then, at once from the retrospect of what we can all feel, but which language is too poor to express, to cast a glance over the ac- tual condition of a region so rich in all the natu- ral elements of growth and prosperity. In my humble labors to advance the various industrial interests of our common country — beginning with the old American Farmer, in 1819 — the generous public of your State have given me so many proofs of kindness and confidence, as to embolden me to offer to them this statistical re- trospect, in some respects painful, but indolent (fi7) acquiescence in them only can make the results humiliating. Gratitude to your citizens, as well as my position here, as the conductor of a work designed to form, in the course of its publication, a Library for American Farmers, conspire to enforce upon me the duty of frankness in what- ever I shall from time to time venture to say, as I shall often say what occurs to me as best cal- culated to redeem the agricultural condition of the old tide-water States South of New-York. — The suggestions which may be made respecting Virginia, her resources and means of recupera- tion, will be applicable in a great measure to all the rest ; let that bo borne in mind as we pro- ceed. The needful discrimination may be safe- ly left to all intelligent and reflecting readers. A high sense of moral and political right pro- duced the Declaration of Independence. The sentiments, then a passion, though abated in their intensity, yet burn, and we hope ever will, in tlie American breast ; yet their influence had produced different effects in different States. from local causes. Virginia, from her commanding position, su- perior force, and the great intellectual elevation of her leading men, was naturally led to the ex- amination of great State questions, and to over- look her material domestic interests. It was, of course, a consequence, that the policy of the State would become such as to render undue devotion and employment of mind and time to party politics. In a society so eminent as is that of Virginia for mental improvement and power, the discussion of any subject which should arrest general attentiim and strongly en- list the feelings, ■would naturally engross U>o much of the time and ^vithdl•aw the energies of tlie greatest minds from personal application to interests which cannot be neglected with impu- nity. That most vital interests have been neg- lected ill your State, is matter which cannot be denied, however much regretted ; but when we direct attention to the causes of that neglect, we cannot but express high respect for the gener- ous feelings of the people. That Virginia has not advanced, in either population or wealth, in proportion to other States of tlie Union pos- sessed originally of less natural advantages, must be admitted ; and devoted as has been the heart and hand of him who addresses those whose friendship he warmly cherishes, they cannot take amiss his advice to look their actual and comparative situation Jirmly in the face. The formation of your Society, we may hope, as I before said, is the fore.shadowing event of a most salutai-j- change, a counter-revolution which may restore Virginia to the rank in the confederacy which is due to her from relative extent of tenitory, and more particularly from relative position. If her soil has been exhausted by improvi- dence, the materials are at hand to restore it — of this truth you have been most ably advised by your distinguished President — but in that respect slie does not suffer by comparison as much as is generally supposed. In tlie last volume of the Ne^v-York State Agricultural So- ciety, you will see it stated by its zealous and efficient Secretary, Mr. O'Reilly, on authoritj- not questioned or questionable, that such had been tlie depreciation of the wheat crops, ow- ing to exhaustion of the soil, con-sequent on ill- judged farming, that the product of wheat lands between Seneca Lake and Niagara River has not, for the last three or four years, exceeded the low average of eleven or twelve bushels per acre ! Indeed, he had authority for declaring that in reference to a single county (Seneca) possessing unsurpassed natural capacity for producing wheat, the average j-ield is uo\v not over ten bushels per acre, on lands which twenty years ago freely yielded twenty." Is the wheat crop better, asked Mr. O'R., any where in Western New- York tlian in Seneca ? Thus, Farmers of Virginia, you see that other States have been running the same career of improvident cultiva- tion that you have, and with like results, " al- ways taking out of the meal-tub, and never put- ting in, will soon come to the bottom," is a simple illustration by a wise man that any fool may understand ; but ■while your generous na- ture vk'ill forbid your deriving any consolation from the knowledge that others have been in their agricultural practices as incautious as yourselves, it behooves me to draw your attention, as I shall in some early future number of the Farmers' Library with some minuteness, to what is now doing in New- York to arrest the progress of agricultural exhaus- tion, t3 enable her to hold on her course of rapid growth in all that gives population, wealth, power and political predominance to States. To return, now, to Virginia. The most valuable of her unbounded resources remain ; for there are yet her spacious baj's, fine navigable rivers, her inexhaustible beds of iron, coal, and beds of shells and marl, her internal lakes of salt water, her forests and diversity of soil, and central position on the Atlantic coast, with more than ordinary temptation and facili- ties for internal improvements. But, as we be- fore said, there are other States than Virginia in- terested in the views we shall present, for such a member, bearing so large a share in the national mass, cannot advance or recede wdthout aflect- ing the whole body politic. In one connexion her interests and fate are identified with all whose staples are the same and produced by the same species of labor. The subjoined tabular data will serve to show the wide field of enterprise presented by Vir- ginia, not only to her own citizens, but to emi- grants who pass by Uie advantages there of- fered, to seek far less certain comfort and fortune in the central or more distant section of the Con- tinent. With some intermingling and identity along the lines of separation, Virginia is divided into three natural divisions : the Eastern or al- luvial, the Central or mountainous, and Western or Ohio section. Time and space do not allo^v tis to compile and present (as it might better answer the pur- pose in hand, to do) the population of each County, of each Division at the several periods; but taking, first, the alluvial or "Lower Vir- ginia," embracing thirty Counties, and it will be found that they contained a population in 1810 of -^58,246 ; in 1820, 260,524 ; and in 1840, a popu- lation of 273,240 — being an increase of only 14.994 in a period of thirty years. Here, then, we have a section of Virginia, comprising an area of 8,875 square miles, of the most anciently inhabited part of the State, on which the population is distributed at the rate of veiy little more than 30 to tlie square mile, and on which the ratio of increase was only 1.05 — one and one-fifdi per cent. — in forty years. It would be difficult, if not unpossible, to find another equal surface of the earth — so abund- antly supplied with navigable bays and tide- water rivers. Here, too, opens, in many re- spects, the finest bay of the American coast, from Cape Honi to Labrador. It would be in vain to ascribe this phenomenon in human popu- lation to any defect of the soil, or insalubrity of the climate. In an early volume of the Ameri- can Farmer, it was .sllo^vn that in a certain area of a tide-water eastern shore County of Mary- SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE VIRGINIA. 41 land. (Talbot,) was to be found the greatest ag- gregate age in a like extent of equal popula- tion, probably, in all the Union. It would be hazarding nothing to assert, that with its soil and facilities of navigation, the surface of these alluvial Counties would not (with a skillful exer- cise of human industry and talent acting on its resources) bo cro'wded in conveniently, with a five Ibid greater number, or, with 1,300,000 in- habitants ! To blink these views would be about as wise as the whistling of the boy to keep off ghosts as he rides along, unexpectedly benighted, by an old country church-yard. Let us now take up the Counties which con- stitute strictly Middle Virginia — embracing 36 Counties. Of these the population, in 1818, was UlJAl ; in 1820, 486,555 ; and in 1840, 510,930. Comparing the population of these Counties, as it stood in 1810, with that of 1840, and also with that of the intermediate year 1820, we see how slow was the increase even where there was any, and in some of the Counties there ap- jiears to have been an actual decrease between 1820 and 1840 ! It is true that in some cases these diminutions have arisen from division of Counties, but the general results, however, are in no serious manner affected. The ratio of in- crease during the same period of 30 years from 1810 to 1840, vt'as here, again, but 1.14 per cent, and, what is yet more significant of decay, (for in such cases, with your neighbors pressing for- ward, to stand still is to go backward,) the ra- tio of increase during the last period of 20 years from 1820 to 1840. was only 1.05, corresponding with that in Lower Virginia in the period of 30 years from 1819 to 1840. Assuming the population in the aggregate of these diirty-six Counties in J.Iiddle Virginia, on an area of 24,300 square miles, to amount now, in 1845, to 534,600, and the distributive popula- tion would thou be only Ucenty-two to the square mile ! The area of England has been variously es- timated at from 50 to 57,960 square miles, and its population, according to the census of 1831, was 13,894,569, and in 1841, according to the latest authority within convenient reach at this moment, was estimated at 16,000,000. Sup- posing England and Wales, then, to have a population at this time, of 16,500,000, as we may, and the square miles to be 55,000, and we have a population of 300 to tlu3 square mile — with about one-fourth part of the soil estimated yet to be uncultivated. AU Europe, with a popu- lation of at least 250,000,000 on a surface of 33,000,000 square miles, su.stains about 75 to the square mile. These comparative views are given to show^ the vast capabilities of Virginia ; but how do the navigable rivers of England compare with those of Virginia ? Take into \new the entire extent of Europe;»nd there is no risk in estimating Middle Virginia as capable of sustaining a more dense population than now exists in Europe, surface compared with surface ; but even with 75 to the square mile, and an ag- gregate arises of 1,822,000. Take, now, the 52 remaining Counties, com- posing Western Virginia, and they present an aggregate population in 1840 of 432,855. The progi'essive population of these Counties could not be given, because in tlie period from the first census down to 1840, such have been the extensive changes of old Counties and the crea- tion of new ones, as to preclude any analysis. West Virginia comprises an area of 28,000 square miles, which, divided by 52 counties, gives to each a surface, within a very small fraction of 500 square miles, and her distributive population is 15 to tlie mile. SUMMARY OF ALL VIRGINIA, DIVIDED ONLY INTO EAST AND WEST ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1840. Area in Pop. in Sections. Whites. Colored, sq.m. sq.m. Eaft and Jlid. Va. 369,398 437,544 33,175 30 West Va. 371,.570 61,285 28,000 15 749,968 498,829 1,239,797 61,175 a»..20 Total, Total population. The very unequal distribution of the colored race, on the two great sections of Virginia, must strike every one ■whose attention is turned to the subject. The verj^ thin general popula- tion is, again, a far more serious matter. We have already shown, over the State, that every individual counts against thirty acres of land, very nearly. To cure any evil it is necessary to look it fearlessly in the face. As Burns says, " O vrad some Power the gifue gie us, To see oursels as ithers see us." The subjoined tabular view ought to cany its lesson in solemn admonition to more States than Virginia: The States which border on Virginia are — Area Pop. in I op. to sq. m Acres in sq. m. 1840. in 1840. to indv. Marj^and, 10,800 469 232 42 14 Penn-a, 43,930 1,724,033 40 16 Ohio, 39,000 1,519.467 38 15i Kentuckv, 39,000 779.828 20 :n Tennfij.-iee, 44.000 829,210 19 ■m N. Carolina, 43,800 75:3,419 17 37 Totals, 220,5:50 6,075,189 ar...24 23 But remember how lately Ohio was under Ten-itorial Government. In 1800 her whole population was but 35,36,5, while that of Vir- ginia was 880,200. In 1840 the pojmlation of Virginia had risen to 1,239,797, when Ohio had gone up to 1,519,467. What must have been, during that time, the appreciation in the value of her lands! Marjdand, nearly resemblin* Virginia in her laws, policy, institutions, and the nature of her natural advantages and re- sources, has in Jiffy years increased but 160,000. 42 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. and that almost excftisively in Baltimore, and in that portion of the State resembling Western Virginia, where her accumulations have also occurred. Her tide water country, taking 8 or 9 counties on the Eastern Shore, has actually retrograded in the last thirtj' j-ears. The elements here presented carrj- their evi- dence and conclusions so clearly with them, that comment is unnecessary. If we add the ex- tent and population of Virginia to the foregoing, we have a connected area so near that we maj' assume it at 282,000 square miles, on which, in 1840, there was found an aggregate population of 7,314,986— or only 25 to the squai-e mile. The land surface of the earth would be examined in vain to find another superior region, in all that nature presents for cultivation and use, to the human head and hand. We may at once assert that lliree-fold of the existing population of the whole United States might be placed on the space befoi-e us, and, under v^ise policy, enjoy more physical, moral, and intellectual advan- tages, than it is possible to realize over a surface so vast in proportion to either the present, or, we fear, future population within any short pe- riod. In this great space Virginia comprises the cen- tral position, and in many respects the gi'eatest concentration of natural advantages, and without any exception presents the mo.st propitious na- tural field for immigrants that exists on the face of the earth. What is it, then, that keeps them at a distance, and drains your own people a\vay fi-om the graves of their parents and their own birthplaces ? The extreme cheapness of rich Government lands, generously surrendered by yourselves, (and a small portion of the pro- ceeds of ^vhich you now so magnanimously re- ject,) and the facilities for rapid and cheap transportation to those lands, bj" works con- structed by the enterprize and unaided resources of the people of New-York, act as resistless drains of immigrants to the West. But, except that her harbor is somewhat nearer and more accessible, -what advantages has New- York en- Joj-ed over Virginia, as to inherent resources, and in her relations to the We.«t and South-AVest '.' and how has .she contrived so to outstrip Vir- ginia in public works, in education, in growth, and in power over the destinies of the Roj)ub- lic ? Has she, let us repeat, more, or deeper, or farther reaching baj-s or rivers ? or richer muies of coal and iron ? or lime or marl ? or more copi- ons springs of salt water ? or higher falls or greater volumes of water po-wer ? If New- York ha.« the Hudson, with its head-spring near the Lakes, have not you the James river, extending yet nearer to the Kenawha, with its bosom al- ways open to receive the products of your indus- try, while the Hudson is hcrmetrically scaled for months? Look along your eastern boundary, I'ii'JI and fi-om nie margin of the Chesapeake, trace up to their sources all the noble rivers that rise in the heart of j'our agricultural population, like so many natural canals sweeping along thousands of miles of fertile shores, and compare all these with the con>paratively narrow and iron bound shores of the Hudson ! Where, then, let us re- peat, is to be found the reason that you, the most favored portion of this continent except, per- haps, Maryland, stand still in mid gi-owth, like a lightning blasted tree of the forest, while North- ern States are going ahead in all that constitutes vi-ealth and po\\'er, with a rapidity unparalleled in the annals of human popidatlon. Is it that these people act while j'ou talk 1 At the instant that we are Avriting, a man, employed for nothing else but to disti'ibute them, throws on the table within our reach, the following printed paper. Read it, we pray you — even it will serve to thro^v some light on the sort of people, and the progress with which you have to contend. Notice to Emigrants. — The subscribers having been appointed Aeents for forwarding Emigrants by Railroad from Albany to Buti'alo and intermediate places, are enabled to send them, dining the Sum- mer, from Nevr-York to Iltica for $2,0G ; to SjTacuse, $2,92 ; to Auburn, $3,36 ; to Rochester, $4,61 ; to Buf- falo, .$5,50. Children from 2 to 12 years old half price ; under two ycaj-s free ; and all Baggage from Albany on the Railroad is entirely free. It is evident that it comes much cheaper to the Emisrrant to travel by railroad than by canal, he reaching Eutlalo per steamboat from New- York, and railroad from Albany in 42 houi's ; whereas, it takes per canal trom 9 to 10 days. The following calcula- tion shows the result, viz : Passage to Buffalo per Raihoad $5 50 Luggage from New- York to ^Ubany, 100 lbs. free, balance for 100 lbs 0 18 Luggage from Albany to Butfalo tree. Living for 42 hours, say 0 75 Total per Railroad $6 43 Passage to Butfalo per Canal, say 2 00 Luggaee to Butfalo, 50 lbs. free, balance for 100 lbs 0 55 Loss of time at least 9 days, worth to the la- borer, say 50 cents per day 4 50 Living for 10 days, 50 cents per day 5 00 12 05 Deduct fare per Railroad 6 43 The traveler per Railroad saves $5 C2 They also forward passensers to Portsmouth, Cin- cinnati, and other j)laces in Ohio, Pittsbtirgh, Louis- ville and St. Louis, at the lowest rates. Alf informa- tion as to different routes given ffrntis, and tickets to be had only at the Albany and Butfalo Railroad Of- fice, .59 Cortlandt-strect. Wolf & Rickebs. Here, then, you behold, before a ship aiTivcs at the wharf, as they are doing every day, with hundreds of immigrants, she is boarded and every passenger made to know that in forty-two hours he and his 100 pounds of baggage may be set down 450 miles on his icai/ to the Vv'est for SG,43, including meals ! while, suppose him to be at Washington, on his way to the West, it would cost him $2,50 to get along the first 38 miles, or one-eleventh part of the distance from New- York to Bufi'alo! It was not then, too soon, when, in fonning your Societj-, in Januarj- SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE .... VIRGINIA .... NEW-YORK. 43 last, j'ou called your Convention of " the first Statesmen of Virginia, the most distixiguislied Fanners of the State," together, as forcibly stated by Mr. Minor, "to engender a general and univcr.sal spirit of improvement, and to bring its influence to bear not only on the pecu- liar interests of the Fanners, but on all the great and vital interests of the Commonwealth." May tlie result be, in the words of the strong Ad- dress elicited on that occasion, " the coiTCCtion of defective sy.stems of husbandly, the intro- duction of improved breeds of cattle and of the best and cheapest implements of Agriculture, and the general diifusion of valuable, interest- ing and profitable inforviation, where ignor- ance, indifference or obstinacy now retard the progress of improvement." On looking back at what we have \sTitten, we find it will be necessary to postpone to die next number the reflections suggested by a view of the case as already set forth ; and if we were sure that tlic able men who have taken it in hand would not look back, we would not dare suggest remedies in the presence of physicians so much more eminent and skillful. As it is, -we shall continue in the next number of The Farm- ers' Library an oxpositionof such views ashave occurred to ns, but we shall do it with a stronger feeling of justification, and hope of escaping all charge of presumption, by throwing what we have to say in the form of a letter in reply to one just received from Mr. Affleck, an agriculturist of the first order of intelligence and public spirit, in Mississippi, who gives us the glad tidings that tliere, too, " the first important step has been taken." In the meantime, we will only pre- mise further, that we apprehend the reme- dies proposed do not go to the root of the dis- ease— that they vvill prove palliatives rather than cures. It is not, as it seems to u.s, improved breeds of animals, or improved implements, that Virginia needs. The existence and the where- abouts of both of these are knovini, and he who has means can have no difficulty in procuring thc-m. The disease lies much deeper. But yve have already appropriated more space than we could liave done with propriety, were it not, as before intimated, that whatever observations ap- ply to the industrial resources of Virginia, are in a great measure applicable to all the grain growing States South and West of the Dela- ware. Thus far had we written with a running pen, when tlie po. Albany, June 23, 1845. ) Mr. J. S. Skinner: Dear Sir : I have the honor to transmit here- with, for your acceptance, a copy of the last Annual Report from this Department, together with a concise exposition and historj- of our Com- mon School system, prepared by myself, and pla- ced, under the directions of the Legislature, in each of our School District Libraries. An exam- ination of the.se documents will enable you to obtain a good general idea of the ju-ominent fea- tures of our system of public instniction, its ca- pabilities and results. It has occurred to me that an organization so extensive and efficient — embracing the entire territory of our State, and cemented together by the active and constant cooperation of our fel- low-citizens generally, without distinction of party or sect — might afford a most valuable me- dium for the collection and diffusion of Agricul- tural Science. Emanating from the Principals and Professors of our State Nonnal School, this indi.spensable branch of modern education might, as it seems to me. find its way through the teachers there annually educated and .sent forth, to the several County Associations of teachers, and by them be carried into each of the eleven thousand School Districts of our State, to fertilize, in good time, as well the soil as the mind. My views upon this subject have been given, somewhat at length, in two com- munications addressed to a Committee of the State Agricultural Society, of which Hon. .John Greig was Chainnan, in reply to a Circular re- ceived from the late Recording Secretary ; and will be found in the volume of the Transactions of the Society for the present year, recently published. They have elicited con.siderablc op- position from practical farmers as well as prac- tical educationists, upon the gi-ound not only (92 that our elementary schools are not sufficiently advanced to admit of the introduction of Agri- cultural Science a.s a specific branch of study, but that Agricultural Science itself is still in its infancy, and therefore not entitled as yet to take rank with those standard branches -which are required to be taught in our in.stitutions of learning. These objections, it will readily be perceived, even if their validity be conceded to tlie fullest extent that can be claimed for them, are of a temporary character ; and in proposi- tions and discussions of this nature, I think we should regard the future even more than the pre- sent. Through the agencies no^v developing themselves in evei"y section of the State, we may reasonably, in my judgment, indulge tlie hope that a few years will place our Connnon Schools on veiy high ground as nurseries of the mind and the heart ; and will enable them to dispense broad-cast over our entire population, the seeds of sound knowledge and lasting improvement; nor, judging of the probable future from the past, need we labor under any apprehensions that the progress of Agricultural Science, in all its departments, will keep pace with the ad- vancement of the age in other respects. With every disposition, therefore, to concede to the greater practical knowledge and more enlarged experience of those who view this subject dif- ferently, I cannot regard the suggestion that this important branch of a finished education shoidd be introduced into our Common Schools as either vi.sionary or impracticable. My o\v'n earnest con- viotion is that it should be so introduced : that eve- ry teacher should be capable of teaching its ele- mentary principles ; that text-books on the va- rious subjects connected with these principles, adapted to the comprehension of the learner, should be prepared and used ; and that well- written treati.ses and essays on these subjects should find a prominent place in everj- District Library. In this way, I am satisfied, great and lasting good may be accomplished ; and I ^vould respectfully invoke your earnest and efficient cooperation in the extension and enfoix-ement of these views, should they be so fortunate as to meet with your approbation. Should a favora- ble opportunity present itself, in the course of your undertaking, it will afford me the utmost pleasure to discuss this whole subject, in a friendly and familiar spirit, w^ith those who view it through a less enthusiastic certainly, and perhaps a more practical, medium than myself. With gi'eat respect, your obedient servant, SAMUEL S. RANDALL, Deputy Superintendent Common ScJtools. Nothing is more satisfactory than the demand for the means of draining land, as evinced by the constant eftbrts ■which are making to provide tile-machines which shall manufacture them cheaply and well. We have to direct the at- tention of our readers to an advertisement in last ^veek's number, which states that a machine capable of delivering 800 feet per hour of tiles 3^ inches by 3^ is on exhibition at No. 14 South- street, Manchester-square, London, ^vhere any one interested in draining land may attend and judge of its ffiecacy. Mes.-^rs. B. Denton and ChaiTiock, who are connected with it, are well known by their useful writings on the subject of drainage. [English paper. XeMT r„rk Pubbxhtd hv OreiUr ft N. f:iraJh f.-r- .••. farmers Lihrari J 5 SKlffNEk £>U SILK PLANT FROM TRIPOLL For the Silk Plant, which has been litho- ^aphed for this number ^ve are indebted to the Secretary of the National Institute, so called — we say so called, for although truly broad and National in spirit and objects, we are not aware that it has yet been adopted, by the wise men who g^ard the interests and chai-acter of the Republic, and who ought to be the first to see that its true welfare and glory can in no way be 80 well secured as by manifesting in the spirit of their laws a love of justice and a readiness to promote the permanent growth of the arts and sciences. Even the fund so munificently bestowed by a stranger in a foreign land, in a moment of en- thusiastic admiration of our government, to found an Institution at Washington, for the dif- fusion of useful knowledge, if not impro^'ident- ly squandered, is at least withheld, as if to sho\v to the world that we are wanting either in sense or honesty to appropriate it. How could that be better appropriated than by bestowing it on the National Institute, with a condition requiring the use of it for the promotion and diifusion of the Science of Agriculture, in something like the proportion that that interest bears to all others in the country. The Meteorological Table which accompanied the drawing and description of the " Silk-Plant," w^as sent back to Secretary Markoe, so that we cannot institute an exact comparison between the climate of Tripoli and the Southern States, but w^e doubt not the plant \vould flourish in the South if conviction of its adaptation to practical purposes should invite its cultivation. But the wish to encourage the Institute, in making the Fanners' Library the depository of whatever may be deemed an useful addition to the stock of American Agricultural knowledge or pro- ducts, is sufBcient inducement to give place to any of its communications, in a manner best cal- culated to evince our sense of duty as a mem- ber of the Institute and our individual anxiety to Bee it achieve its laudable and exalted pur- poses. We have a few seed for distribution. The Plate of the plant, for convenience, has been reduced to verj- little more than half of its natural size. U. S. Consulate, ? TRipoLt, 28th December, 1844. 3 To Franxis ^L^nKOF, Jr. Esq. Cor. Sec. of the National Institute, TTaskington. Sir : I herewith transmit to the Institute a small specimen of " vegetable silk," raised from (93) a few seed that I received from Luccc (Italy,) which origmally came from Syria. Without any instraction or knowledge of this plant, I sowed the seeds in pots in the month of March last. lu May and June they obtained the heighth of six to eight inches, ^vheu I trans- planted them into my garden, about eight inch- es apart, much too near as my experience proves. In the months of August and Septem- ber they \vcre in flower, and the pods com- menced opening in October, the plants' being from six to eight feet high, and though ^ve have had the thermometer frequently as low as 4l>° Fahrenheit, and the apricot and pomegranate trees, with the vine, have all shed their leaves, yet there remain several pods, on the " Silk plant" which are still perfectlj- gi-een and show no signs of suffering or cold. This, ^vith some other proofs of the plant being hardy, induces me to believe and hope that it might be suc- ce.ssfully cultivated in all our cotton gTO\ving States, and should it become a staple com- modity, no doubt tlie inventive genius of our coimtn-men would soon discover the means of spiuningik without tlie aid of the cotton fibre, which I am told thej' use in Syria to assist the spinning — their knowledge of the art not ex- tending beyond the primitive distaff. The only infuiTuation that I have acquired of this plant, further than recounted above, is from the mouth of one of the "propaganda" established here, ^vho has seen it growing in Syria, where he tells me it flourishes, and that " the cultiva- tion of a small field gives support to a family ;" that in the second and third years it is extreme- ly productive. The plants grow to the height of ten to fifteen feet, and are generally sepa- rated from eight to ten feet from each other. I also foi-ward yon by this occasion the small quantity of seed of the plant which the limited number I have raised enables me to spare, with the hope of sending a greater quantity next year should the climate of our Southern States prove favorable to its culture, or should it be even otherwise interesting. I beg you will distribute these .seeds amongst those gentlemen from our " i ottou growing States." -who will take an interest in making an experiment of the cultivation. Permit me to mention two gentlemen to whom I would be pleased to have presented a small portion : Hon. Richard Donnel, of Newbern, N. C, and Hon. D. Le>-y, M. C, from Florida. Fearing to trust to my botanical knowledge in giving a satisfacton' description of the plant, I send a preserved specimen of a small bi'anch of the plant, w ith the pods or cocoon attached, and also a rough sketch on paper of the same, which may serve in the event of the specimen itself not being properly preserved. I also enclose a summary- of Meterological ob- seri-ations, made here, for the year ending Jul}- 1, 1844, the details of which, t have regularly forwarded to the Surgeon General of the Army. Very respectfully, Sir, your most ob't. serv't. D. SMITH M-CAULEY. 46 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Culture of Silk in South Carolina. Davis's Mills, Barnwell District, S. C. May 1, 1S45. Sir : The prospects of Silk in this section of the country ai'e poor indeed. The long waiin spell through February and part of March, brought out vegetation rapidly — tlie Silk Worms hatched out early and were prosperous until the cold weather set in, destroying in many places the peaches and many other fniits, cutting down the coni many blades high, and killing much of it — entirely destroying much of the forward wneat — killing the Mulberry leaves of every description. Of course most of the Silk Worms were lost. I saved a few tliousands by cutting the tender twigs, stripping oti' the bark and giving both the twig and bark for food. The drouth setting in about the fourth week in March, continued until last week, when we had a light .shower. So vegetation has been kept back very much. This week Ave have fine refreshing showers, and all around seems to smile in beauty. The few cocoons made seem firm and of good quality. Very little disease has been among the W orms this season here. I think on average five to the thousand have not taken dis- ease. I expect at some future time to state my method of raising them. I intend sending to the Institute what raay remain after saving a supply of eggs, principally to convince the citi- zens that it is ill their power to raise them to advantage, by aid of the old and young mem- bers of the family, who now raise hardly any thing. When once they see that something can be obtained for their labor, hundreds, I think, in this section of country, will readily come into raising Silk, to their own comfort, and the general benenfit of their country. Very respectfully, your ob't. ser%-'t. (Signed) NEEDHAM DAVIS. Directed to the American Institute. Woolen Manufactures and Wool.— Re- turns upon this subject vrere issued on Saturday, by order of the House of Commons (on motions of Mr. Mastermau and Mr. Aldam). It thence appears that the declared value of the British woolen manufactures exported from the United Kingdom in 1844 was *i.'68,204,S3e, of which i;2,444,789 worth was expiorted to tlie United States of Am,erica. During the same year fio,- 079,.")24lb.«. of sheep and lambs' wool, foreign and colonial, were imported into the United Kingdon, of which 1,924,836 lbs. were re-ex- ported from the United Kingdom, diiefly to Belgium. Of British sheep and lambs' wool, 8,947, G19 Ib^. were exported to foreign countries; and 8,271,006 lbs. of British woolen and worsted yam, including yarn of wool or worsted mixed with other materials. There were also imported into the United Kingdom 035,357 lbs. (of which 47,848 lbs. were re-exported) of aljiaca and llama wool; and 1,290,771 lbs. of mohair, or goats' wool, of which 97, .529 lbs. were re- exported. English paper. An ExTTtAORDiNARr Prolific Pig.— Our respected townsman, Mr. Charles Minshull. of Highgate, has a sow^ which has produced him 61 pigs in one year, viz : on the 13th of Mav, 1844.21; .5th of November, 18; 1st of Mav. 1H45, 22 :— total. 61. Of this viduuble breed MV. Minshull has brawn of the November litter. [Birmingham Advertiser. (94) Wonderful Engine. — It is alleged that a wonderful engine, called the air-engine, has lately been constructed by Professor Reinagle, ^^'ho is .securing patents in every civilized coun- try of the earth. The power, which is self-pro- duced in the engine, is obtained from condensed au', which, though easily manageable, begets an immense force, the present engine, which stands on a sjjace not exceeding two feet square, hav- ing a power equal to five hundred and sixty- eight horses. For pumping water out of mines it is gravely proposed to use a 10,000 or 20,000 horse-power in order to do the work promptlj^ It is stated that, with the present small engine, two hundi'ed and twenty tons can be propelled at the rate of twenty-five to th.irty miles per hour. The description of the action of the ma- chine is very vague, but it is said that several very eminent and scientific men have examined it and expressed their astonishment. Professor Faradaj-, having seen the drawing and heard the theory and practice of this invention ex- plained, complimented tlie inventor by declar- ing, tliat he had discovered perpetual motion of the most temfic description. Nutritious Food. — A verj' interesting re- port on the comparative nutritive jjroperties of food was lately presented to the French Minis- ter of the Interior by Messrs. Percy and Vau- quelin, two members Of the Institute. The result of their experiments is as follows : la bread, every hundred pounds' Aveight are found to contain 80 lbs. of nutritious matter ; butcher meat, averaging the various sorts, contains only 31 lbs. in 100 lbs. ; French beans, 2.5 Ib.s. ; peas, 23 lbs. ; lentiles, 94 lbs. ; greens and turnips, which are the most aqueous of all vegetables u.sed for domestic purpo.ses, fumisli only 8 lbs. of solid nutritious substance in 100 lbs. ; carrots 14 lbs. ; and what is very remarkable, as being in opposition to the acknowledged theoiy, 100 lbs. of potatoes only yield 35 lbs. of substance valua- ble as nutritious. According to this estimate, 1 lb. of good bread is equal to 2J or 3 lbs. of best potatoes; and 75 lbs. of bread, and 30 lbs. of butcher meat are equal to 300 lbs. of potatoes. Or, again, 1 lb. of rice or of broad beans is equal to 3 lbs of potatoes ; while 1 lb. of potatoes is equal to 4 lbs. of cabbage, and to 3 lbs. of turnips. This calculation is considered perfectly con-ect, and may be useful to families where the best mode of supporting nature should bo adopted at the least expense. [Chambers's Edinburgh JoumaL New Grape, — We have tasted a bottle of delicious Champagne Wine made from a vine which Mr. Lester, U. S. Consul at Genoa has just brought with him from Italy. A quantity of the.se vines vvas sold, by Wm. H. Franklin & Son, 15 Broad street, on 1st of July. We are informed that thest^ vines were taken from Savoy and Piedmont, //oot under the snow, and conseciuently will endure the cold winters of our climate, and vi-e believe the}- are the first Italian vines ever introduced into the U. States, which could be cultivated in the open field. The wine is the richest and most delicious Cham- pagne we have ever drank. We are informed by American gentlemen who have eaten the grape at Mr. Lester's house at Genoa that they found none so delicious in any other part of Eu- rope. We understand there are several varieties. [Evening Mirror. A NEW VEGETABLE AND NEW GRASSES. 47 A NEW VEGETABLE AND NEW GRASSES RECOMMENDED TO BE IMPORTED. It is the crowning glory of Commerce that her ofllco is to niaiutaiii throughout the world an equilibrium of kr.pwledge, to transfer whatever is peculiar and valuable in one climate or coun- ti-y, to be cultivated and enjoyed in every other, where Nature can he persuaded by Art to en- tertain and support it ; or where this may not be done ijrofitably, then it is her province to in- terchange whatever might bear transportation, hut refuses to be acclimated. Thus has Com- merce been justly denominated the handmaid of civilization — and who so barbarous as not to do her homage in that beautiful character ? Viewed in this light, it is easy to see how the Merchant may become the benefactor of the Farmer when appealed to in his behalf, to intro- duce from abroad new vegetables, plants, ani- mals, machines and materials for the jiromotion of American Husbandry. No^v, for example, if our brief residence did not forbid it, we would call upon some generous New- York Merchant- Fanner or friend of Fanners, of whom doubtless there are many, to import a ne'w Grass, much spoken of in late English papers, that no tune might be lost in securing the benefit of it, if adapted to our climate. And here it is \vorthy of remark, that \vhile in manufacturing and other arts the delay of a few^ weeks in the im- portation of any new contrivance or discovery- involves the lo.'ss of only that much time, it is far different with Agriculture and Horticulture. The delay of a week or two may involve the loss of a season, and with it the entire year. We have ourselves had occasion to feel the force of this, in the commencing niimbcr of the Farmers' Library; for while we have on hand a mass of matter which seems calculated to throw much light on the preparation of the land and other points connected with the culture of Tin'uijjs and Potatoes, two most important pro- ducts of Agriculture, we have entered upon our duties just a few ^veeks too late to present any thing now available on <7iese subjects. Wo must therefore reserve for a more appropriate opportunity much of what wc hope may prove useful if not new on these points But as to the Grass that has lately been mentioned with strong commendation and interest, in the Eng- lish journals, and which wc hope to see im- ported by some gentlemen having facilities to do it. We find the follov.-ing notice in the January number of ''The Journal of Agriculture and Transactions of the Highland Agricultural So- cietj' of Scotland." Who knows but tliat before many years ^^■e may see all the marshes along the sea-beach, from Marshfield to the sea-shores of North Carolina, green with luxuriant crops of the Tussac and Teteue Grasses ? TUSSAC GRASS OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. BY KEV. JAMES DUNCA.V^ M. W S. So much has of late been said respecting this grass, and such high expectations haxe been formed of it proving a valualile acquisition if introducc;d and propagated hi this counti-y, that a brief description of its appearance and pro- perties can .scarcely fail, we think, to be accept- able to the readers of this journal. Although not brought prominently into notice till the recent voyage of discovery in the antarctic regions, under the superintendence of Captain Ross, it has been long known to botanisis, and is alludefe to by most of the navigators who have touched at the islands which form its prin- cipal locality since tlie days of Cook. Its botanical characters, however, do not seem to have been closely examined, nor rightly under- stood, until investigated by Sir W. J. Hooker, who has given an account of it, accompanied with a colored representation, in a pamphlet entitled "Notes on the Botanj' of the Antarctic Voyage." Neither docs it seem to have occur- red to those who first noticed this grass that it was calculated to flourish on the shores of northern Europe, the circumstance which now claims for it such a degree of attention. It is called the Tussac grass from its habit of growth, the roots becoming densely matted to- gether, tmd the lower parts of the stalks fonning a large tuft or tussac. These basal or colum- nar portions, formed by the close approximation of the stems or cuhns, often rise to. a consider- able height — from four to six feet ; the long tapering leaves then diverge from them, and hang down all aroand, often in a very graceful curve, like the falling ■waters of a jet d'can. These masses are insulated, generally a few feet apart, and the leaves, meeting above, foi'm a kind of arched roof, beneath which the ground is generally quite bare of vegetation. A tussac ground thus forms a ct.nipletc labyrinth, and a man may walk among its green arcades com- pletely concealed from view. Naj-, a house may be foniied of it in a very short time : the inclined stems, when fastened together, may be made to serve as a roof, while the dry leaves about the root make a tolerably good bed. Bou- gainville states that he often in this way obtained shelter for him.'-clf during his wanderings. This, however, refers to the plant in its most luxuriant state of growth : it is often so low as .scarcely to afford adequate shelter to the flocks of penguins vi'hich resort to it for the puiijose of building their nests and rearing their young. By the earlier naturalists who examined this 48 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. grass, it ■was tliought to be a fescue, and -we ac- cordingl}' have it referred to under the names of F(Utiica JlalcUata and Festuca cccxpilosa. Forster notices under the name of Dactylix CiEspitosa, and tliat appellation is nov\' retained, as a careful examination of its charncler leaves no doubt that it belongs to the genus Dactyl/x. It has thus a generic relationship to a well- known grass in this country, the Dactylis glo- merata, or cock's foot — [or orchard grass] — a strong, coarse grass, insulated tufts of ■which may be seen growing by the side of every hedgerow and field. The tussac is perennial ; the root consists of a dense mass of tortuous fibres. The stems, which spring from the little hillock fomi- ed by the roots, are numerous, erect, branched or divided only at the base, from three to four feet long, smooth, and compressed. The leaves are numerous, the lovs'er ones very long, not unfrequently from five to seven feet, about an inch broad at the base, and gradually tapering to a point ; from above the middle they are curved do\\nvvards, or even pendent; the stem- leaves become gi-adually shorter upwards, and are of a pale glaucous or sea-green color ; the other leaves are pale yellow. The panicle is a span long or upwards, verj^ dense, forming a somewhat interrupted spike, nearly \.\\o inches broad, compressed and obtuse ; the branches short and erect ; the rachis angled. " Spikelet composed of three or four florets, of a pale yello'v\' -green color. The calycine glumes are lanceolate, acuminate, longer than the spike of flowers, slightly keeled, shortly ciliated on the back, three and a-half lines long, the margins a little involute, and, as well as the apex, mem- branous and transparent, the superior one a lit'le longer than the other, three-nerved, the nerves ciliated. The lower glnme or palea of the corolla is ovate, concave, compressed, and sharply keeled; bluntly trifid at the apex, five- nen'ed. Stamens three. Anthers pale yellow. Ovai-y neai'ly ovate and glabrous. Fniit elong- ate-ovate, or almost cylindrical, slightly trigo- nous, of a pale yello^v color, and smooth."* It will at once appear, from the length and breadth of the leaves, the dimensions of the culms, and the profusion in ■which both these are produced, what an immense quantity of herb- age this plant is calculated to afford. Both the leaves and stems abound in saccharine matter, and form a most nutritious food. The inner portion of the stem, for a little %vay above the root, is soft, crisp, ^vell-flavored. somewhat re- sembling the kernel of a nut, and is often eaten by the inhabitants of the Falkland islands. The young shoots also are boiled and eaten like a.s- paragus. This tends to show the wholesome nature of the ■whole plant as an esculent ; but it is as affording pasturage for cattle that the tussac is to be chiefly valued. The Falkland islands have long been known to be inhabited by many ■wild cattle and troops of horses, and these are principally supported by this grass, ■which they prefer to every other kind of food. Not only these, but every herbivorous animal in these regions not only devours the tussac with avidity, but is affinued to fatten on it in a short time. This predilection is shown for it both in a green .state and when dried, insomuch that co'ws and horses often eat the thatch from the roofs of the hou.';es ^vllen it happens, as it often does, to be composed of tussac grass. * Ilooker. " Notes on the Botany of the Antarctic Voy.ige," p. .50. (9fi) " During several long ride.s," says Lieut. E. C. Moody, " nito the country, I have always found the tussac flourishing most vigorously in B]X)ts exposed to the sea, and on .soil unfit for any other plant, viz. the rankes'l peat-bog. black or red. It is singular to observe the beaten foot- paths of the wild cattle and horses, marked like a foot-track acro.ss fields in England ; extending for miles over ban'en moor-land, and alwajs terminating in some point or peninsula covered with this favorite fodder; amid which one is almost certain to moet\vith solitary old bulls, or, perhaps, a herd of cattle — verj- likely a tixjop of wild horses, just trotting ofl' as they scent the coming stranger from afar. I have not tried how it would be relished if made into hay, but cattle will eat the dry thatch oft' tlie roof of a house in Winter; their preference to tussac gi'ass being so gi-eat that they scent it a consid- erable distance, and use every eftbrt to get at it. Some bundles, which had been .stacked in the yard at the back of Government House, ■were quickly detected, and the cattle from the village made, every night, repeated attempts to reach them, which occasioned great trouble to the sentry upon duly." It is the opinion of those who have visited the Falkland islands, that, if proper attention were paid to the jj'ropagation of the tussac grass, and if it were prevented from being entirely eaten do\vn in those places where it now abounds, it would, of itself, with- out aid from the other indigenous vegetation, not only yield abundant pasttirage to all tlie cattle no^v existing there, but would support as many as there is ever likely to be a demand for in that quarter of the globe. The islands just mentioned may be said to form the metropolis of this interestmg plant, and, as far as yet known, its geographical range is comprehended within the 50^ and 60° S. lati- tude. Forster found it in New- Year's Island, Statcn Land. Commcrson cites the Straits of Magelhaens as one of its localities ; and Dr. Hooker sa^w it on HeiTuite Lsland, Cape Horn. It has also been noticed in considerable quan- tity in some of tlie smaller of the Aukland group of islands. It is generally found growing near the shore, and flourishes best where tlie saHne spr^y dash- es over it. Indeed, exposure to the sea-breeze, and the peculiar influences which emanate from the ocean, are conditions which seem essential to its pro.sperity. It is then only tliat it reaches its most stately proportions, and assumes that exuberant and im|)osing form, which have led one author to speak of it as the " splendid tussac grass, the gold and gloty of the Falklands." — As it recedes from the ocean, it becomes dwarfed and sickly, as if out of its kindred and appropriate element, in this respect resembling our own native Arundn arcnnria, Trtticvm jnnreiim, ami certain other gramineous plants. As with these akso, and a considerable number of other species, the glaucous color of the tussac grass may I'.e regarded as indicating it to be a littoral plant; for it would seem as if many of the plants growing near the soa caught their hues, as they are known to actiuire certain other of their properties, from the element in their vi- cinity. It is probable that the saline matter the plant derives from the spray and sea-breezes, C'ontributes not a little to render it so palatable to cattle. The ground on which the tu.^sac grass flourishes best is a wet peaty soil, often vei-y bleak and poor, and scarcely capable of sustain- ing any other kind of herbage. It seems to be the almost unanimona opinion of those who have examined this plant in its na- tive localities, that it would succeed in certain situations in our o-svn countrj". A writer in the " Guernsey Star " newspaper, who appears fa- miliar with the subject, expresses his hope tliat the " splendid tussac grass will 3-et make the fortune of Orkney and the owners of Irish peat- bogs." The Governor of the Falkland Islands, Lieutenant R. C. Moody, is of opinion that " the wild West Coast of Ireland would exactly suit tliis grass." Mr. Lyall, of the discovery ship " Terror," — than whom no one has more zeal- ously investigated the botany of these regions— in a communication to the writer of this notice, says : " 1 should think that sheltered spots, near the beach, on some of the smaller of our West- em islands, are the situations in which the tus- sac grass is most likely to succeed." Sir W. J. Hooker says : •■ The nature of the soil and cli- mate producing this grass gives every reason to believe that the shores of a vast extent of Eng- land, Scotland and Ireland would suit it equally well ; more especially the Western coasts of the two latter countries." In tliese circumstances, public curiosity could scarcely fail to be excited, and some degree of interest to be attached to the attempts made to introduce the grass into Britain. No living plants ever reached this country. Dr. Hooker did, indeed, dispatch .some young plants in cases, but they perished during the voyage. The seeds have been found to germinate freely in the Governor's garden in the Falkland I.slands, and it was thought there was every probability that they would likewise do so when transport- ed to this country. The first attempt to rear the plant from seed in Britain was made by Sir ^V. J. Hooker, in Kew Gardens, but he entirely failed. Last Winter, a package of seed, care- fully collected and preserved by himself, was presouted to the writer of this notice by Mr. Lyall, of the " Terror." It was duly sown last April in a garden in the village of Denholm, Ro.xburghshire, and carefullj- attended to ; but although the seeds seemed liealthy, and in good condition, not one germinated. Seeds collected at the same time, and by the same individual, were sown in Kew Gardens, but the result was the same. The Higlilaud and Agricultural So- ciety of Scotland latel}- purchased two lbs. of seed, which had been sent to the Colonial Of- fice. It has been intru.sted to the care of Mr. Lawson, the society's seedsman, and, if it fail to grow, it will be from no want of attention or skillful treatment. It was lately stated in the newspapers that Dr. Murray, of Hull, had suc- ceeded in raising .several plants from seed given to him by Sir W. J. Hooker, and his success ^vas ascribed to his having steeped the seed in some chemical solution previous to sowing it. It is not ea.sy to see any reason why the Tus- sac Grass sliould not succeed, at least to a cer- tain extent, in this country. The climate, soil, and most other conditions, are not so different from those it meets with in its native regions as to be likely to fonn insuperable obstacles. It should be remembered, also, that the grasses in general have a veiy wide geographical range ; some of them, in fact, such as the Poa annua, perhaps approach nearer to true cosmopolites than any other distinctly flowering plants. The high utility of this tribe of plants in affording food to animals, might lead us beforehand to imasrine that they would be widely distributed, readily propagated, and possess tlie power of '(97) 4 accommodating themselves with facihty to a change of circumstances. This we accordingly find to be the ca.se in a singular degree, and it aflbrds a fair presumption of success in any at- tempt to bring a grass from one country for the purpose of being cultivated in another. In the present instance, one of the circuni-stances which indicates most strikingly that the influences un- der which the Tussac flourishes in a Southern latitude are not remarkably difl'erent from those to which it would be subjected in a Northern one, is the fact that, on the verj^ same grounds where it prospers is to be found a variety of plants ^^•hich also grow naturally in Britain. — Among the.se are the common grasses, Lolium percnnc, Aira Jlexuona, and a species of Triticum, probably T. jmicenm. If these grasses thrive in the Falkland Islands under the same conditions as the Tussac, it may be fairly inferred that the latter would not refuse to grow in Britain, where they find all that is necessary for their prosperity. Among the other British plants growing in tlie Falkland Islands may be mentioned Apium grai'eolens, Cerastium vul- ^atum, Ahinc media, Senecio vulgaris, Veron- ica serpi/Uifolia, and Ruviex acetosella. In fact, the general aspect of the vegetation is es- sentially European, and in not a few respects resembles that of Great Britain. We shall probably, however, be disappointed if ■we ex- pect the Tussac to reach its utmost state of lux- uriance in this couutn,-, and to tbrm those huge and almost arborescent masses of herbage, an assemblage of which resembles a thickset copsev^ood, or a miniature forest ; but even in a dwarfed and impertect condition, it could not fail to be an important addition to our native grasses, and ^vould still greatly exceed the dimensions even of the most stately of them. "When cultivated in the Falkland Islands, it is recommended either .that the seed should be sown in patches, just below the surface of the earth, and at distances of about two feet apart, or that it should be di'illed in rows, like tuniip.s. Treated in the latter way, it was found to spring up strongly from the seed. It must, however, be taken into consideration, as re- marked Ijy Sir W. J. Hooker, that, in order that it may thrive in this countrj-, the plant must so far change its habits of the Southern hemisphere as to forget that our Winter is its Summer, and vice versa. The merits of the above grass have probably been the cause of another similar production of the Falkland Islands having been in a great measure overlooked, although its qualities seem to be such as to entitle it to attention. This is a kind of fescue grass, the Festuca alopecurtis of D'Urville, and the Aritndo alopccurmt of Gaudichaud. In a report transmitted to Lord Stanley, it is spoken of in the following terms: " Another, grass, however, and of more ex- tensive distribution than the Tussac, scarcely yields to it in nutritious qualities. It covers every peat-hog with a dense and rich clothing of preen in Summer, and a pale-yello\v good hay during the \Vinter season. This, hay, though formed by nature without the operation of mow- ing and drj-ing, keeps tliose cattle which Iiave not access to the Tussac in excellent condition, as was proved by the beef with which our hunting parties supplied, for four months, the discovery ships. No bog, however rank, seems too bad for this plant to luxriate upon, and, as was observed during a sui-veying excursion which had been made to Port William, although the soil on the quartz districts was voi-y iiiipro- lific in man}' good grasses which Hourish on the slate-clay, and was, generally speaking, of the -worst description, still this fescue-gi-ass did not appear to be aft'ected by the difterence, nor did the cattle fail to eat down large tracts of such pasturage. " The numerous troops of horses, too, on the flanks of the Wickham heights, can procure httle other fodder; while those of Mount Lowe and Mount Vernet must depend upon it entirely. Should the Tussac disappear from any part of the Falklands, where stall-fed cattle are kept, it might be desirable to treat this fescue-grass as hay in England ; by wliich process its nutritious qualities would, doubtless, be much better se- cured to the animals during winter than by suf- fering the leaves gradually to wither, and not gathering them tiUnature has evaporated all the juices. For sheep it might also answer well, when converted into liay. though it seems likely that tlie wet nature of this grass, together with the damp situation where it grows, would pre- vent these creatures thriving upon it, if restrict- ed to such diet ; and, at all events, newly im- ported flocks should not be suddenly removed ft-om dry food to what is of so very succulent a nature." KOHL RABI— IMPORTANT TO FARMERS. Sir : Everything which in ihe slightest de- gree tends to the improvement of Agriculture is, in the jiresent day, of so much importance that I need not apologize to you for troubling you with a few lines on a .subject so interesting to the cultivators of the soil. The deficiency of the Tuniip and Sv^-ede crop, in consequence of the extraordinary drouth of the last Summer, and the innumerable destructive insects, fly, grub. &c,, produced by the dry and wann weather, has been a lamentable bloAv to the fanners of this country, and should lead agricul- turists to endeavor either to eradicate those ene- mies to their hopes, or to introduce a root etiually valuable with the tuniip while it is less obnox- ious to the attacks of those vermin. The Kohl Rabi appears likely to supply this desideratum ; and I wish, by giving you an account of my ex perience of it, to induce the fanners of this country to tiy it on a larger scale. If we can obtain a root (if I may u.se the Iri.shism of call- ing that a root which grows above ground) pro- ducing an amount of food — l.st, equal in bulk to the largest crop of Swedish turnips; 2d, of equal or more nutritive qualities; 3d, not ob- noxious to the attacks of grab or fly ; 4th, bet- ter adapted for keeping through the Winter; 5th, capable of being planted at any season of the year; 6th, enduring the fro.st of our Winter — we shall have obtained one of the most useful and valuable plants which the Giver of all good has bestowed upon men. I may be considered too sanguine if I attribute all the.se qualities to the Kohl Rabi, but I feel convinced that it deser^'es the greatest part if not all the praise which I ascribe to it. I obtained a small quantity of seed in Germany last year, and in the month of March I sowed (thickly) a patch in a sunny bed in my kitchen garden ; the ])lants soon came up as thickly as possible, much re- sembling young broccoli j'l^'^t-''- The di-y weather .set in, and I despaired of being able to plant them out in the ground which I liad pre- pared for them. After vv'aiting several weeks, and fearing that the plants liad become alnio.st too old to transplant, I ventured to do so, lest the (98) season should go by. I made a good, strong comjiost with cow-dung and water from a muddy pond, and another sort of diluted pigs' urine, and in planting each plant (about eighteen inches apart) 1 made a good puddle about the roots ; in less than a week the plants held up their heads and began to grow vigorou.sly. In Octo- ber I- gathered in mj' crop, and the result is as follows : — On a plot of gi-ound, as nearly as I can reckon, containing 18 perche^ or lug, I had 27 kipe baskets full, vveighing on the aver- age 80 lbs. each, or, deducting .'5 lbs. for the basket, 7.5 lbs. each ; thus I had 2,02.5 lbs. on this small piece of ground, besides four or five hun- dred weight of mangel-wurzel and selfset po- tatoes. This, however, was the produce of the driest season in the memory of man. I have no doubt that more than double the amount might be expected in any other season. Several of the bulbs weighed six or seven pounds. 1 pur- pose sending a fev^ as .specimens to the Glou- cestershire Agricultural Show. I so^ved some more seed on chance, without any manure, in a soil rather impoverished, in the month of June, having waited in vahi for rain. The plants came up but did not thrive. During the la.st month, after I had dug a field of potatoes in a good soil, I tran.^ferred these sickly plants to the late potato patch, where they have taken root, and are growing surprisingl3' : I pui-jiose letting them stand the Winter, and have little doubt dial they vsill endure the frost and .snow. Any agriculturist who v^ould like to see them grow ing, and •will apply to mj- bailiff, at Herap- sted, is perfectly welcome to inspect the grow- ing crop. The bulb partakes of a mixed cha- racter, something between the inside of a cab- bage stock and a Swedish turnip. When young they are an excellent and delicious table veget. able. I am, Sii-, yours obediently SAMUEL LYSONS. Hempstcd Court, near Gloucester, Nov. 11. N. B. — The seed should always be so^vn in a bed, and transplanted ; it giows more rapidly, and would secure it from the attack of the fly, if it were inclined to attack it, which I believe it never is. [Gloucestershire Chronicle. KOIIL RABI, OR EGYPTIAN KALE. To the Editor of the Farmers' Gazette : Sir : In your paper of March 29tli, there is a letter from Mr. Samuel Lysons, on the cultiva- tion of the Kohl Rabi for cattle ; and as Mr. L. mentions having obtained a small quantity of seed in Germany, it may not be generally known that it can be obtained fi-om any respectable nui-seiy man in this countiy. I have grown it aimually (with the exception of tv.-o or three j-ears) tor the last eighteen years, as a culinaiy vegetable, and have found it very convenient and useful when other more tender vegetables were scarce, especially from October to May, during which time it can be had good. The tops are used, when young and tender, for greens; but the.?e should be gathered verj' sparingly, otherwise it will retard the growth of the bulb, which sometimes, on strong, rich soils, will weigh a stone each ; but when they come to anything like that size they ai-e not fit for the table" as they get hard and \\oody ; therefore, to have them tender and fit for the table for seven or eight months of the year, it is necessary to make two or three sowings from the first of Marcli to the end of May, in a small seed bed, for which one ounce of seed will be sufficient ; and when the j'oung plants have produced a few rough leaves, they should be pricked into a nurse»"y-bed, six inches a part, and in four or five weeks they will be fine, strong plants to plant out finally in lines, two feet apart, and 11 or 15 inches in the line, as they, as w^ell as al- most every other sort of vegetable, are better fla- vored when allowed plenty of room for^un and air about them. Those who may wish to cultivate Kohl Rabi on a large scale for cattle, mu.st make their .seed- bed accordingly ; and. perhaps the last week in March, or beginning of April, ^vould be the best time for sowing the seed ; and as those would have but liitle chance of being pricked out into a nursery-bed, if the weather was favorable at the time of planting, they would do very well without it. Indeed, I have no doubt but they would do equally as \veli to sow at once in the drills, the same v.ay as turnips, about the begin- ning of May. This would save a deal of labor, and not be so dependent on the v/eather; and as the seed is rather dear, it would be a more economical plan to dibble in tlie seed, at a foot apart, dropping two or three seeds into each hole along the top of the drills ; and when the ])lants were of proper size to thin them out to one in each hole, and otherwise boo and clean the ground, tlie same as for turnip crops; and when the bulbs get about the size of a person's hand, if a little earth is drawn totlie stem it will do them good, but not to raise the earth so high as to cover any part of the bulb ; and as tliey will .stand very severe frosts without injury, T did not find it necessary to store them up in the Autumn. I think, ^Ir. Editor, that the cottagers \vould be greatly benefitted by growing annu- ally more or less, as they had convenience, of Kohl Rabi, as it is a vei'y hardy plant, and can be very readily cultivated' ; and, by having a small quantity sown in a seed bed in the beginning of April, it would be ready to plant out in any spare corner, or after a crop of early po- tatoes. It is also well adapted to plant in any vacancies that may occur in late crops of field potatoes, &c., and with veiy little trouble it might produce a great deal of food: for, when boiled and sliced with a little melted butter, it makes a very palatable dish ; and to tho.se who have a cow or pig it would be particularly use- ful during Winter. Yours. &c. JAMES ALEXANDER. Heath Farm, Athy, .April 1 . KOHL RABI. I obsep-cd in the d'cTrdcners' Chronicle, of the 8th in.st., some account of growing Kohl Rabi in Gloucestershire. I wishto add my tes- timony of its hardihood and usefulness for field culture. Being very little affected by the in- sect tribe, of late so destructive to the turnip, its early growth is very rapid ; the plants soon get out of the way of iL-j only enemy, the slug. My method of cultivation is to drill 1 lb. per acre of the seed with the mangel-wurzel; so that if the mangel-wurzel fail, which it mostlv docs to some e.xtent. I have plants enough of the Kohl Rabi in the Held to fill all vacancies which occur on the ridge. This transplanting is done by ■women and children gowing up and dow-n the furrows, and inserting a plant where it is wanted ; and as they take up some earth with tlie root, the plant receives but little check in the operation. My Kohl Rabi has been exposed to the frost all the Winter without receiving in- jury; and when cut, affords excellent food for ewes and lambs. I do not find they get sticky except the stalk, which, when cut", cattle will eat down to the root witli les.s waste and spoil than either mangel-wurzel or turnip. J. S. in the Gloucester Telegraph. P. S. — I have grown both the purple and green varieties ; the purple always grows to the largest size. Sulphate of Lime or Gypsum. — This sub- stance, which is a compound of sulphuric acid and lime, is found in abundant quantities in a native st.rte, both for the purpose of agriculture and the arts; and it has been recommended for the same purpose as the muriate of lime, viz : the fixing ammonia ; but it is infinitely inferior for that purpose, in conseipicnce of its di.ffirult solubility — at the temperature of CO", one part of gypsum only being soluble in 4i;0 parts of wa- ter, to obtain which, however, the gypsum must be finely divided and macerated for a great length of time. Its more obvious use in agricul- ture is, however, as a direct food to certain plants, either as supplying the sulphate of lime or, by its decomposition, affording the sulphur necessary to the due development of certain plants, such as the Crucifera, &c. Tlie follow, lowing table, extracted from " Spreugel's Anal- y.ses," shows the quantity of lime and magnesia, sulphuric and phosphoric acids, in 100,000 parts in several of our ordinary crops : Wheat Barley Oats Potatoes Cabbage Swedish Turnips . Wheat Straw Barley do Oat do Red Clover Beet Turnips u!ph. Phos. Lime Magn'a. Acid. Acid. 9G 106 86 33 1822 835 240 55'! 152 584 285 127 180 67 32 202 282 32 76 22 70 13.3 22 50 59 35 54 774 890 37 118 79 94 123 41 406 210 70 40 436 408 170 160 12 138 167 73 The above table may not be strictly accurate, bttt I believe it approximates to the truth, and certainly agrees -with my own practical obser- vations respecting the exhausting powers of dif- ferent crops on various .soils. Cabbages are known to be one of the most scourging crops that is grown, and we see from the above table that both it and swedes require a large amount of the sulphate of lime ; the next is red clover, and the application of gypsum to the clover crop, on lands sparingly endowed with this substance, has been so repeatedly treated of that it is an act of supererogation to enlarge on its useful- nes.s. — [Jour, of Highland and Ag. Soc. of Scotland. Rhub.^rb or Pie Plant.— This is another highly esteemed esculent for early Spring u.<:e, and of the easiest pos.sible cuhure. The plants continue many years in full bearing, and occupy very little room — a small number being sufficient for a family. The seeds may be sown anytime in Spring, and will make good strong plants in one year; when they should be transplanted to i a rich deep border, or any convenient spot— 5 placing them three or four feet apart. The ^ stocks should not be cut until the plants are at ^ least two years old. [Ohio Cultivator. ^ 52 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. AGRICULTURAL MACHINES PATENTED. By the aid of Mr. Keller, a scientific g-entle- man, lately of the Patent Office, and now agent for obtaining patents, and one in whom the utmost confidence may be placed, it will be in our power to keep our readers advised of the progress of improvement in Agricultural Ma- chinery, as far as that progress may be indicated by the issuing of Patents for new inventions. It is not designed to cumber our pages with descriptions of every piece of humbuggery, however specious its pretensions, hut the inten- tion is, by engravhigs and descriptive explana- tions, to give the earliest and most authentic knowledge of whatever may come into exist- ence which gives fair promise of saving labor and of augmenting crops. At present we must be content with pre-senting the last report to the Commissioner of Patents, made by Doct. Page, then, and w^e hope now, of the Patent Office. These (Keller and Page) are gentlemen, like many others, in the Departments at Washington, of sound scientific acquirements, who are little known to the public, but who are the real doers of the work, while their nominal and official superiors, too often scioli.sts and empirics, run away with all the credit. We are promised a summarj- which shall bring up the account to the middle of July — for the August number of the Farmers' Library. ■"The large number of patents gi-anted for applications pertaining to this class may be .tKkc^ as fair ground for the deduction that the safejoctis still one of great growmg interest, and is at present engi-ossing a very large share of the inventive talent of our country. In the short epace of one year, it could hardly be expected that any important revolution, any signal dis- ooverj', or many really u.^eful inventions, should bo made in a pursuit claiming, above all others, the -right of primogeniture. Advances, ncver- dielefis,.aw; constantly being made in this branch of indastry. Every year it is acquiring fresh laurels and a higher reputation for itself The -".iitweat of the brow" is not now the mainspring of itB operations, the grand key to its success ; nor the open field the sole theatre of experiment. The closet the lahoratoi-y of the cliemist, are its nurses. The mo.«t exalted intellects are be- coming farmers, as it were, in the retiracy of their studies. Science, both chemical and phy.si- cal, have become the palladium of agriculture. Since the publication of Liebig's valuable work on the Chemistrj- of Agriculture, we must date a new era in this science. It has, at least, received a fresh impulse from his labors ; and Us publication in this countrj-, in newspaper form, for the low price of 25 cents, (when the ordinary bookstore price has been $1 50,) will aid greatly in disseminating knowledge, so es- (100) sential to fanning interests. The u.se of guano as a manure has long been known in remote paits of the world, and this substance has been employed for many years to fertilize the barren soils on the coast of Peni ; but it does not seem to have elicited attention, other than as a matter of curio.sity, from the most enlightened agricul- tural portions of the world, until after the ap- pearance of Liebig's work. The announcement that it was only nece.ssarj' to add a small quan- tity of guano to a soil which consists of nothing but sand and clay, to procure the richest crop of maize, was sufficient to awaken an interest in the fanner, and excite the cupidity of the mer- chant. No writer has dwelt so much on the importance of nitrogen as a manure, as Liebig ; and it is this feature in part, which constitutes the grand novelty and value of his work. In the above-quoted asseition, where Guano is ad- ded to clay and sand, we suppose not a trace of organic matter in the soil ; and j'ct, by the addi- tion of a manure, consisting chiefly of urate, phosphate, carbonate, and oxalate of ammonia salts, all containing nitrogen, we have the rich- est crops of maize. The husbanding substances containing nitrogen, and attention to the proper methods for its fixation, will soon become objects of paramount importance with the farmer. Plows. Several important improvements have been made in this instnimcnt during the past year ; but they are chiefly for modes of fastening and so fitting the points and shares, that, m case of wear or injury, they can be ea.sily replaced by the farmer himself It is a question, perliap.s, yet to be decided, whether cast iron plows are more economical to the farm- er than the plows with cast iron mould boards and wrought shares and points. In the latter, the mould board is liable to be broken, and, if so, can hardly be replaced ; but, as the share and point are the parts most liable to injury, if these are wrought iron, and fastened in a simple and firm manner, the farmer who is in the neigh- borhood of an ordinary blacksmith, or may have one upon his establishment, can easily repair the damage, which, in the case of the cast iron jdow, he could not do without sending to the manufacturer or the foundrj- for a new casting. This objection to the cast iron plow is now, in a great measure, obviated by many dealers, who are in the practice of putting up with each plow, for a slight extra expense, two or more extra points and shares. Few plows have been pa- tented during the past year. Several applica- tions have been made for patents for the substi- tution of steel for cast or wrought iron in plows, and rejected upon the well-establi.thcd ground that the mere substitution of one well-known material for another is not the subject of a patent. Several cultivators and combined plows for light soils have been patented ; but nothing of definite value can be predicated upon this cla-ss of inventions. An ingenious instrument for digging potatoes has been the subject of a patent, and, though it may fail to do all it pro- fesses, is certainly an approximation to an in- vention very much needed. This operation is EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY ON VEGETATION. one of vast labor; and a cheap labor-saving macliine, which, in case of very large crops, sbonld leave one-tenth, or even a larger propor- tion of the crop in the ground, would be a welcome invention. A promising improvement has been made in the grain cradle, by making the teeth of hollow metal, tilling them up with wood sufficiently far to insure strength. The teeth glide very easily through the gi'ain, and ai'e not liable to the ob- jection of warping and sticking where the grain ia wet, as in the case with wooden teeth. A simi)le and elicctive instrument for gather- ing fruit from trees has been patented, by which the ladder may he generally dispensed with, and the trees and fruit saved from injury. Some important improvements have been made in smut machines, and in machines lor hulling seeds. The wheat fan, or winnowing machine, has been of late much improved by the use of the spirid fan in the place of the old Hutter-wheel fan ; and, although the introduction of the spiral fan is not recent, yet it has, during the past year, been introduced under such modifications as to render the instrument very serviceable. In connexion with this instrument also, an interest- ing and useful feature has been secured by patent, consisting of a mode of so operating the screens or sieves as to give just that motion which is imparted them when they are used in the hand. Bee-hives. — A growing interest is evident in this branch of agriculture, and a large number of applications have been received. Seven of them have been patented, and a greater number rejected. Most of the alleged improvomenta have claimed to be remedies against the bee moth, the pest of the apiai'ian. As bee culture increases, the bee moth seems to become more numerous and troublesome, and should, there- fore be vigorously met by vigilance and in- genuity. In this latitude, it requires every attention to save the bees from this their great enemy ; and so fonnidabli; has it become fi'ora numbers, that the same devices which may, per- hap.s, be found to give protection further North, will not apply here. Nothing yet seems to be of any value, except placing the hives upon the ground — the hives being made very tight, and the entrance of the bees being as low as possible. EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY ON VEGETATION. We might be charged with indifference to the progress of Scientific Agriculture, were we to send out the first number of the Farmers' Library vvidiout adverting to one of the most remarkable novelties that has lately attracted pubHc notice, to wit : The eflTects of experi- ments lately made in England to test the effects of Electricity on Vegetation. Hence we had ar- ranged for publication what seemed most im- pressive and worthy of regard. On reflection, however, we conclude to postpone for another number all notice, except what follows. In the mean time we may observe that the subject seems to be, practically speaking, exactly in that .state of uncertainty which demands further and more exact experiments, before it can be had recour.«o to by practical men with any certainty of useful results; and again, it will probably be found that in our own country, and by a member of our "Agricultural Association," too, the investi- gation and knowledge of this extraordinary agency, as connected with vegetation, has not been in the real of the fullest and most recent European expositions. The paper in our codection, from English journals, the mo.st cautious and candid and wor- thy of regard, (and it is highly so,) is the sketch which one of these journals contains, of a re- cent Lecture by Rev. E. Sydney, delivered be- fore the Royal Institution of London — (one before which every man who does speak, must be on his guard) — and it happens to be witliin our knowledge, as it may be in our power to show, that his views had been, for the most part, bj' some w^eeks anticipated, to the effect we have already intimated. Finally, we may venture to promise by the aid of a friend, to keep our read- ers acquainted with what may transpire, as far as any usefid purpose is to be accomplished, or the novel or lately revived subject of EJectro- Vegef.ation. Without his aid, in the midst of such elements, we are free to confess it, we .should feel in some danger of being drowned or blown up. For an early and verj^ interesting paper on this subject, the reader is referred to the April number of the American Agriculturist, from the pen of Mr. Norton, a most valuable contributor to that very enlightened journal. In that paper occurs the following passage : " It was at first expected that manure would bo of no further use, but it is now said that its action will be much more powerful with the help of this new ally." On that passage the following remarks wore made by the gentleman (Mr. Seely) member of the Agricultural Association to whom we have already alluded. With these remarks, (sections of a lecture delivered before the Agricultural Association,) which we have been kindly per- 54 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. niitted to use, iind which may be valued for tlieir practical beariug as for their scientific elu- cidations, we shall close what we have now to say on Electricity apphcd to Ag^cnlture. The letter, says Mr. S., which calls forth these observations concludes : 45. "It was at first expected that manure would he of no fnrther use, hut it is now said that its action will be more powerful with the }ielp of this nere allr/." It was indeed a fallacy to have supposed tliat exciting the frame would feed it. No living organization ever created oiic atom of its struc- ture. It does but transform its elements ; the vegetable those which nature or art have placed within the reach of its roots or leaves. These elements placed there, are as spontaneously sought and procured by it, however minute in the "atom tliey may be, through the roots, or leaves, as would be similar by the animal who sees a'hay-stack ; and they are equally indis- pensable to both. If previous vegetation has taken up the food of the soil, and the crop has ijeeu can-ied to a market, it should be recollect- ed that that act is the act of man in his political and social relations ; that Nature knoivs nothing of it and does not provide against it ; what she takes up she git^es back again to vegetation — because, under her administration it generally perishes on the spot, and in so doing restores the elements of organization back to the soil again, with the accumulations from the atmo- sphere, and the water and ammonia of the air, by decay, equally fitted in ten thousand suc- cessions, for as many renewed appropriations to the same uses. If it has been earned oS" by the cultivator, he should remember that in selling tlie crop he is called on, as he values the capital invested in the price of his land, to restore it, in so far as he stands indebted to the soil for it ; that all of the price he obtains beyond what will replace the fertility of his soil is his gain and no more. To appropriate more is literally sell- ing (or lessening the value, which is the same thing,) of his land. 46. "When he seeks, through electricity, to force the vegetable, he is merely caUing on the functions of the structure to take up more of the elements contained in the soil or the atmosphere, and, referably to the products realized, they must be found there either at the hands of na- tnre, or of his art. Without this his electri- city will do him no good ; but he may justly anticipate that in vitalizing and energizing the functions of the vegetable frame (as he thus may do with the aid of electricity) through the ma- nuring elements of the soil, he rateahly, but no further, enables the organization, through this augmented vitally electric force, to seize upon, and, through decomposition, accrete the hydro- gen of the water — the elements of the soluble ammonia, and cai'bonic acid of tlie soil, of the aeriform carbonic acid of the air, and v/hat else of the pi*imitive rock in its disintegrated and soluble state may be there. Thus Nature re- ferably will assist the vegetable with elements for his gain ; and, as he forces the structure, through accumulated hydrogen, carbon and am- monia at the roots, hack toirards the luxuriance of the carboniferous era he may also conceive that he may, referably to seedless and flowerless vegetation, and, to a given extent also, as to the flowering and seed bearing races, apply accu- mulated Electricity. It is an undoubted fact, which may bo shown by a hundred fac-simile plates in my possession, that the vegetation of that era was, not only as luxuriant as I stated in my previous lecture, but that it was then twenty fold what it now is. 48. The question, and the only one, then, is — Hydrogen and carbon, with the other requisite."?, being no/ n rally or artificially, and rateahly supplied, \ww far \vill Electricity, in connection with them, safely and profitably assist in the operation, in one or both of the ranges of the vegetable existence to which I have adverted. This, as I have before said, can only, as I ap- prehend, be determined by practical obsen'a- tion and experiment. It may, as a matter of pleasing in.structiou, be as ^vell essayed in any part of the city, as in the countiy, m the ordina- ry plants of a family. It is what they seem to be trying in Europe. It is what we should try here too, if we mean to place and keep our intellects on a par with theirs. W. A. SEELY. New- York, March 3, 1845. DURHAM OXEN. To the Editor of the Mark-Lane Expres.? : Sir: It may be new to many of the readers of your valuable journal, to learn the particu- lars of the best ox ever bred in England. This "wonderful animal, commonly called the Dur- ham Ox, or Day's Ox, I saw several times, and knew the owner, Mr. John Day, well. The said Durham Ox was sold to Mr. Buhner, of Harnley, near Bedale, for public exhibition, at the price of £140 ; this was in Eebruarj', 1801 ; he was at that time computed to weigh 168 .stone of 14 lbs., his live weight being 2.52 stones. Mr. Bulmer having obtained a carriage for his con- vej'ance, traveled with him five week.s, and then sold him and the caniage at Rotherham, to Mr. John Day, on the 15th May, 1801, at ±250. On the 21st of May Mr. Day could have sold him for 500 guineas, on the 13th of June for 1,000 guineas, and on the 8th of July for 2,000 guineas. Mr. Day traveled with him six years through the principal parts of England and Scotland, till at Oxford, on the 19th of Februarv, 1807, the ox dislocated his hip bone, and continued in that state till the 15th of April, when he was slaught- ered, and notwithstanding he must have lost considerably in weight during those eight weeks of great pain and illness, his carcass weighed, at 14 lbs. to the stone, four quarters, 165 stone, 12 lbs.; tallow, 11 stone 2 lbs.; hide, 10 .stone, 2 lbs. At eight years old this wonderful animal weigh- ed, alive, 83 cwt. 3 qrs., the greatest weight ever known ; he girthed in the least place, be- hind his shoulders, 11 feet 1 inch. This large, handsome ox, brought the Durham cattle into such a high repute ; nay, this ox speaks volumes in favor of even a single cross of this blood, for the ox was the produce of a common co^^', which had been put to Favorite, at five years old. This single cross striking the admirers with amazement, -what a great mis- take there has been in not crossing all coarse beasts in Great Britain and Ireland with the pure Durhams ! I have no doubt but the Dutch cattle, and most otlier foreign beasts, w^ill be cros.sed with them, which vv'ill not only put some fat on their back.s, hut will marble tlieir lean meat with fat, and make them more suitabh; for our roast-bcef-cating metropolis, London, the best and greatest mart in the world. THE DISEASE IN POTATOES. 55 THE DISEASE IN POTATOES. VARIOUS THEORIES— THE LAST ENGLISH SUGGESTION. When it is considered that the Potato Crop of the United States is set down at more than a hundred million of bushels, it will be admitted at once how important it is to discover, if pos- sible, the cause of any disease which may seri- ously threaten a branch of industry which is followed and much relied upon for subsistence throughout the whole country ; for there is not a State in the Union which does not look to it as the principal culinary vegetable. Even in Arkansas, the crop is estimated at more than 50,000 bushels. New-York is put down at 2G,- 553,612 bushels, and, what we should not have expected, the crop of North Carolina, prior to the last census, is stated to have been 4,517,863 bushels, though we suppose the mountain ranges of the Southern States to be exceedingly well adapted to the growth of this important product. In her more than 8,000,000 of bushels of Pota- toes, Vermont doubtless iinds a great support to her successful sheep husbandry. The following paper is found in a late num- ber of the London Gardeners' Chronicle. What sreates some hesitation in giving full confidence to the theory of the writer is the fact that this disease should have appeared simultaneously in so many parts of the world. A statement ap- pears from a friend of the Editor of the Ameri- can Agriculturist in his third volume, page 354, to the eflf'eet that the disease is to be ascribed to an insect attacking the seed Potato when plant- ed. He .says: " In the year 1843 I planted a field of several acres in drills, harrowed the ground level, and top dressed it with lime and charcoal dust. The yield was 432 bushels per acre ; at the same time the Potatoes throughout the neighborhood were decayed. This year I planted the same seed in the following manner: The ground was thro\\n into drills, and manured heavily ; the Potatoes were cut into sets of single eyes fourteen days before reqiiircd for planting, and covered with plaster and lime ; thej' were then placed in the drill, 9 inches apart, tops, centres, and ends sep- arately, to mark the difference in growth ; and each alternate three rows then covered with dif ferent substances, such as lime, .sulphate of am- monia, silicate of potash, &c. When dug, they were all sound except a few rows on which nothing had been used but the manure, and these were decayed, although received only three weeks before planting directly from France. The only reason that I can give why my Potatoes have escaped tlie jot is, that the above substances used in dressing them were offensive to the insect." (103) We shall omit nothing which may seem cal- culated to throw light on this interesting subject. In so doing, as must always happen, many con- jectures will be hazarded and suggestions tlirown out that may prove fallacious ; but it would not be either fair or safe for us to with- hold what the reader might deem to be signifi- cant and at least worthy of experiment ; and, after all, it is equally the interest and the duty of the Farmer to make experiments, and, let us add, to report the result for his Library and for the common benefit. We have no doubt of the soundness of the theory which recommends that Potatoes, as well as fraits, be occasionally renewed, from the seed. New and improved varieties may be expecte^, after a few generations— with some things sooner, with others later. It is said that by planting the stone of the most worthless peach, a fine variety may be expected in three or four generations ; the same as to the apple and pear in a somewhat longer time. The famous Mercer Potato has been clearly traced by Mr. Kennedy, near Meadsville, Pennsylva- nia, to its origin in the seed apple. THE DISEASE AND FAILURE OF THE POTA- TO CROP EXPLAINED. [The foUowinc; are portions of a paper on this sub- ject, by A. Patullo, Esq., of Edinburgh, read before the Highland and Agricultural Society, on the 7th instant. It has since been published "as a separate ti-act.] As to the early histoiy of the Potato plant, it appears to have been imported into Ireland from South America more than 200 years ago, and introduced into this country from Ireland about the year 1740, whicli was a year of scarcity, when a few were brought over to Scotland; but their culture was then confined to the gar- den, till about the year 1753 or 17.54, when thev were raised in the field ; but the plant has not been extensively cultivated in this country more than seventy years. There are great varieties of the Potato ; and the kinds finst known in this quarter were the Kidneys, the Leather-coat (called from the roughness of its skin), the Blackamoor (that is, the dark-colored Virginia), and the Killimancas (query, the Dons), which appears to have been a cro'ss between the white and red. The prevailing kinds in our day are, the Kidney, Perthshire Reds, Dons, and Buffs ; the latter two being at present most extensively planted in this neighborhood. Then; is also another .species called the Surinam, or Hog Po- tato, or Yam : this variety is not eaten by the human specie.s. at least in this couiitiy, "but it has two valuable properties to recommend it, as it is verj' productive, and has never yet been known to fail ; as also the American Early, which always succeeds. The first system of degeneracy of the phmt in Scotland appeared about the year 1780, when the distemper, called the curl, first appeared in the crop ; but it then occurred so rai'cly, that vei-y little notice was taken of it ; but the evil gradually and extensively increased, when, about the years 1784-5, the whole crops of the Lothians were seriously affected by it. A remedy, however, was accidentally discovered, b}' changing the seed from the high country ; and this was and has been the only remedy for the disease of the curl to the present day. At this early period, the seed procured from the high countiy had to be changed every three or four years ; but it was found, as the cultivation of the plant increased so did this disease ; and from about the year 1820 up to the year 183.5, it was customary to change the seed every other year; and from 183-5 to the present year, 1845, the whole seed had to be changed yearly, as it was found that a new disease appeared in the fields : the .seed only partially germinated — great blanks or failures took place — and many farm- ers almost lost their whole crops. This dis- ease in the seed was called the wet and dry rot ; and, in many instances, seed from all situa- tions, high and low, has now also failed. These two kinds of disease, which destroy germina- tion, are variously accounted for. Some ascribe the cause to maggots and flies ^vho feed upon and destroy the seed-plants ; but this is a conse- quence, and not a cause ; for maggots or flies are only to be found on diseased or putrid vege- tables : they riot and banquet on putrefaction : it is their natural food, and there they are only to be found. Plant, then, a sound Potato in a good soil, and properly treated, it vi'ill find its w^ay to the surface, and produce a good crop in defiance of all maggots and flies. The seeds of disease, then, must be in the constitution of the plant. In examining a diseased Potato, which has, as commonly called, blind eyes, and ■will not germinate, it is plain diat there is canker on the skin, and plague spots all over it. This, if planted, will certainly be attacked by the mag- gots and flies ; but the plant is in a state of de- cay or puti'efaction — in fact, a caput mortuum — and it properly belongs to the flies and mag- gots by right of inheritance. The great object to be attained, then, is, to plant sound seed, and the maggots and flies will not relish it. As the crops on the high lands arc early checked by frost, and the tops or haulm soon destroyed, they do not fully ripen ; and this circumstance has induced farmers in the low distiicts to take up their crops for seed in a green or unripe state, in order to imitate tlie operations of nature on the hill grounds ; but this plan has also failed. Seed has been often raised from the apple, but in two or three years it curls and degenerates. It is now generally allowed, and the idea long entertained, that it is quite impo-ssible to raise seed Potatoes ^vithout being affected with curl in a low situation, or in a high temperature fi-ee of degeneracy or curl ; but at an altitude of 400 feet, it then entirely disappears. Li this there appears to be a veiy remarkable peculiarity in the nature and constitution of the plant ; but in looking to its origin, general historj', cultivation, and general management in this country — its success and failure — 1 have been led to a far different conclusion. Indeed, from what I have already stated, it must clearly appear to every '(104) one, that there can be only one cause for the failure of the plant, viz., over-cultivation. The crop too often repeated on the same soil, and too much stimulus applied to the plant, has ■^veakencd or desti-oyed its vital energies, and rendered it incapable of reproduction. In the cultivation and general management of the plant, we have entirely lost sight of nature, which always follows the moderate or middle course ; and, by a long train of mismanage- ment, we have nearly lost this most valuable root ; and if we shall persi.st much longer in followmg the present unnatural and inconsider- ate course of treating it, we shall certainlj- lose it. Who can contemplate a luxuriant crop of growing Potatoes in full bloom, but must reflect on the immense stimulus applied to produce such a mass of stem, fohage, and blos.som, and, at the same time, hoNv much the roots or tubers must be enfeebled and exhausted in producing it 1 The first practical experience of failure which I met with on my own farm struck me most forcibly. lu the year 1837, I had a small quantity of Potatoes for seed, which I had re- ceived from the high grounds (the farm of Bon- ally, in the high part of the parish of Colinton). I thought them vei-y fine ; and having selected the b8.st for seed, I manured the ground heavily in the drill with the richest and best dung on the fai-m, in order to have as many as possible for planting the succeeding year. The extent of gi-ound was about an acre, and I certainly obtamed an excellent crop ; but as I never planted a u-holc field, in the same way without some variation, hy way of experiment, (a hint here that will not be lost on the observant reader,) I planted a few drills of similar seed next to them, very moderately manured, and at the time of taking up the crop, this acre was still green in the tops, and we commenced to take up the crop at the opposite side of the field, making them the last to be taken up. The few drills already mentioned were pitted on the end of a pit not meant for seed, and the produce of the acre was pitted by themselves. Next season I planted the greater part of the produce of the acre in the ordinary way, and lost one-third of the crop. I also planted tlie produce of the few drills in the ordinary ■way, and had a little curl, but not a single blank. I was verj- particular in all the operations of pitting and cutting, and I am quite sure that the seed was not injured in that way. I come now to state an instance, and one of many that can be adduced, whiqli most clearly and satisfactorily supports my assertion, viz., that a heavy crop, grown in any situation or soil, ■will always be found to produce, in a cer- tain degree, degenerate and tainted seed. The following is a letter I latelj; received from Mr. Cunninghame, tenant, Harlaw, in the parish of Cume. This farm is situated near the foot of the Pentland Hills, at a;n elevation of more than 500 feet above the level of the sea. The follow- ing is a copy of Mr. Cunninghame's letter : — ■ " Harlaw, May 5, 1845. " My dear Sir : The new land in the Bog- park was never in crop in my rememlirance, either white crop or green. I drained the land every furrow : they were old round-about ridges. I plowed the land, and part of it I sowed with oats, and haiTowed the Potato land along with \vhat was intended for oats. In the Spring of last year — about the end of April, the 20th or 24th of the month — I employed two men to plant them, and put them in ■with the spade : THE DISEASE IN POTATOES. 57 they put the line across the furrows, and made a rut on each side of the line ; turned out the sod, put in the dung about 12 tons per acre, and then returned the sod. I emploj^ed a boy with a hoe after them, to blind any of the chinks; and after the crop waa well brairded, I dug or rather scraped with a spade betwixt the drills, which were 28 inches wide, and about 20 days alter I drew the scrapings to the plants with a hoe. I measured several drills at lifting-time, and the produce was nearly as possible 100 bolls per acre — (a boll, ■we believe, is 400 pounds.) — I planted one drill with Iri.sh Cup.s, and the crop was good; one drill ^vith Buffs — th(;y^vere also good ; one drill of Reds, from E.atlio (the low countrj-), \vhich turned out a bad crop ; the rest was from Biggar .shiel, all Don.s. My other Po- tatoes -were planted in the field adjoining. — • About the middle of May I gave them about 20 tons of dung per acre. I began about the first week of October to lift them, and lifted the bog- crop first, and they were all pitted on the same plan ; the pits about 4 feet wide, and about 5 inches taken out of the bottom, the Potatoes put in, covered with straw, and after\vards about 4 inches of earth. I put in wooden ventilators, square boxes made of paling-rail, with open- ings at the bottom, about 2 feet down amongst the Potatoes, and the other end above the pit. I let them (the ventilators) stand this way for four or five weeks, and then put on about 10 inches of earth ; as soon as I sa^v an appeai'- ance of frost I stopped them with straw. I may add that the boxes ran short, and I finished with straw, which seemed equally \vell to an- swer the purpose. I have ju-st put the la.st of the Potatoes in the barn to-day, to cut for seed. Those from the new land and gi-eat crop do not appear to be so good seed as my other Pota- toes, which were not half the crop : there seems to be more blind-eyes amongst them. My going or cropping land has lain twice in pasture during the last 15 years. I do not think it possible that any of the seed which I planted could be heated after cutting ; and I had no op- portunity of knowing ^vhether those planted had been heated before I received them : of course they have not been heated this season. I forgot to mention that the bog-land, before draining, was all naturally ^^'et. The reason I gave it so little manure was, that the cattle had lain in that i>art of the field, and the land was enriched from that circumstance. '■ I am, ice, JOHN CUNNINGHAME. " P. S. My brother at Kenleith got some seed Potatoes from the west country — nine bolls from new land, and one from going or cropping land and he says that the latter is the best seed, hav- ing fewer blind-eyes." The above completely confirms what I have already advanced, viz., that a heavy or over- grown crop of Potatoes, in any soil or situation, will al%\'ays yield bad Seed-Potatoes; and that over-cultivation is the sole or chief cause of the degeneracy of the plant. It seems self evident, then, that the crop first degenerated in the ricii and cultivated districts of the lo\v country, producinar curl in the plant ; that, as the cultivation of it increased, the curl increased, and a change of seed was found ne- cessary from the high country ; that within these ten years past, in addition to curl, that blanks or entire failure of the plant lias taken place in our fields, and the disease of curl, and the complete or partial failure, has kept pace^with the ex- (10.=>| tended cultivation of ma plant, and in the exact ratio of the quantity of stimulus or manure ap- plied; and that the finst blanks in the fields have appeared to have continued since the manure has been so much increased to the crops, viz., during the last ten years,Mie quantity of manure applied to the crop having been increased one- fourth generally all over the country, as the in- creased quantity of manure (when the crop has succeeded) has in a very remarkable degree in- creased the return, to the extent, in many cases, of one-third more Potatoes ; and in some in- stances the crop has been doubled. But as the crop is increased in quantity, so does it decrease in quality ; and vary nearly in the same ratio. That the plant has continued longer in the hill-districts, free of curl and failure, is no argu- ment again.st my theorj', as it is the poverty of the soil and the want of manure that have saved it. It not only has received less manure— for they have little to give it — but it has not re- ceived at its roots so much of that heating and stimulating article, horse-dung or stable-manure ; which I attribute as the cause of assisting mate- rially in the deterioration of the root. The crops also, until of late years, have not been .so often repeated on the same soil ; and a change of crop is of great advantage to the health and well-be- ing of any plant. I come now to the cure or remedy of the dis- ease, or the best means of procuring and raising good seed — as I do not yet despair of seeing good seed, and the best that can be raised, to be Ibund iJthe early and highly cultivated districts. It must, of course, be obvious to all, that, if pos- sible, .seed should be obtained from South Amer- ica ; but as it would not be pos.sible to procure more than a very limited quantity, we ought to try what can be done to improve those of our own country. I would recommend to select the best varieties, and raise from the apple ; but, in the mean time, to have the best and soundest seed for present planting — always, of course, avoiding the produce of a great crop, grown in any situation or .soil. The land intended for seed should be plo\ved deep in the autumn, and, if possible, by the trench-plow. The drills to be .'iO inches wide, and manured moderately with, if possible, a mixture of earth ; and if eartli is not previouisiy mixed with the manure, a little may be drawn into the drills above the manure, and before planting the seed. Mr. Dickson, Saugh- ton, near Edinburgh, who has been very suc- cessful in raising good crops of Potatoes, is very judiciously, this year, mixing all the manure in- tended for Potatoes with earth. The ground intended for seed should be planted with whole Potatoes, and about 14 inches apart ; or the Po- tato cut in two, and planted at 10 inches — (both may be tried ;) the plants to be placed near the surface, and never highly earthed up by the plow, as it is natural for the tubers of the plant to run upwards; and the more of them, in ripen- ing, that may be exposed to the .sun and air, (greened.) they will make so much the better seed. To be taken up rather green or unripe than otherwise, but approaching to a ripe state. To be placed in pits, (in an airy situation,) at about 2^ feet at bottom : they may be carried up pretty hiirh, and tile pits may be made of a tolerable length. They should have first a little earth thrown over them — saj- half an incli — and then a good covering of straw, finishing witli a few inches deep of earth, as it is the straw which will defend them from frost ; and a few straw fiinncl.s, at short distances, is all that is neces.sarj' 58 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Tbe seed Potatoes sbotild be planted by the 1st of May, at farthest. In the late disti-icts, as the seed may be injured by the fiost before taken up, thej- could be well earthed up by the plow a short time before tiic frost may be ex- pected : and the same may be done in the low country ; but o!" course the}' do not run an equal risk so early in the seasfjn. although we all know that a very slight decree of frost ^vill in- jure the Potato. Those not meant for seed ought to be managed much in the sanae \vay ; gi'i'ing the land, however, more manure, and y>l;mting deeper : as the Potato, if gi-eened, vriW of course be unfit for food. I would advise the experi- ment of topping or cutting the Potato-tops when too luxuriant. It may be done in this way : — A per.son, ^\•ith a common !iar\'est reaping-hook, about the time of the decay of the blossom, should be employed to go along the drills and cut oft' the top.s, about 2 inches or so below the blossom : this will not only ])revent tliem from seeding, but will check the luxuriance of the stems, and save the exhausted roots or tubers. I have alwaj-s thought that the produce of any overeTO\\-n or luxuriant white crop pro- duced inferior seed ; and I suspect tliat it will be found that all white and green crops may be too highly cultivated. It is well known that turnip-roots rot and decay prematurelj- from the application of too much manure. I have aLso long entertained the idea that smut in vv'heat. barley, and oats, has always arisen from over-cultivation ; and, if we .shall find out the cause, we can have less difficulty in finding a remedy. I therefore hope that Agriculturi.sts wOl a.s.sist me in exploring the field of over-cul- tivation, which has seldom or never been thought of, as almost every Farmer has gone on upon the principle that too much .stimulus could not be applied : the crop may have been too luxuri- ant to be profitable, but the degeneracj- of the seed or root has been invariably lost sight of. — We must, then, bear in mind that Dame Nature may be assisted or followed with success ; but if we shall attempt to deviate from her law, we are sure to fail. iVote. — The author of " The Problem Solved," in a Tery ingenious treatise on the subject, has pointed out the prob.'ihle effects of cutting the Potato in the Spring or bleeding ^^eason. and also on producing and raising seed from the apple. In planting the Potato whole, of course this objection would be obviated. I have mentioned thai the American Early, and the Surinam Potato or Yam, have not been known to faiL Neither of these has been oxten.si^ely culti- vated ; and although not an absolute failure, yet it is vpell known that they have degenerated ; and the Yam. for this and other cau.^e.-', has neaily disap- peared from our fields. My plea is, that long-contin- ued and extensive cultivation will finally deftmy the plant ; and the Surinam and American Early form no exception to the theoiy advanced. Potatoes. — Early in .Tanuarj- last I planted a plot of ground with Poden's early Oxford Po- tatoes: half of the plot I planted with cut sets, the other half with \\-hole Potatoes. They were all planted ."> inches in depth, and were not co- vered with any manure or litter of any kind. — The frost has not injured tlic whole Potatoes in the least, as they have all come up and are hoik- ing very healthv ; but it bai entirely destroyed the cut sf;t.s. They were all planted in a stiff, damp soil, which was frozen for several inches below them. [C. J. Perry, Ilandsworth. noF,] After-culture of drill Potatoes. — SiR: The after-culture of drill Potatoes is usually done by paring or cuttmsrthe drill, at each side of the plant, and within three inches of it ; then tlie drill harrow and roller, if necessary, are applied, to break any lumps the harrow may bring to the surface ; ^^•eeding, &c. is then performed ; the fine earth is then put to the Potatoes by a double moulding plo^v; this operation is agraiu exe- cuted when the work is finished. It is after this fashion that all the practical farmers act, that I know of, with the exception of one, who, I ad- mit, is entitled to take the first place, as a really practical and successful agriculturist. His plan is, not to pare or cut his drills, but to cut the cen- tre between them ; and then put the earth up to the plant. His reason for not cutting is, not to injure or di.sturb the roots ; but he takes great jiaijis in hoeing and weeding. It may be, tliat some information can be sup- plied tlu'ough the columns of the Gazette on this practice ; and perhaps you might favor the public with your own observations, on the rela- tive merits of both-plan.s. [In the course of our practice, we never had the earth cut away from the drill, unless by the coulters of the scarifier ; and this we con.sider neccssarj-. in order to have the ground properly cleared, and kept loose and open for the admis- sion of :ur. This can be done with safety, in the early stages of the plant, before the roots have extended themselves; yet we consider a distance of three inches from the plant too little. as the manure would be liable to be dragged out, and tlie sets displaced. Six inches on each side of the plant, wiU be near enough in the first instance ; and in our succeeding application of the implement, it must be contracted according to the increased space occupied by the roots.] The Potato Probi-em Solved. — The Cause of the Disease in the Potato pointed out ; Remedies ex- emplitied ; and New Systems of Potato Cultivation proposed. By Robert Arthur. W. H. Lizars, 3 St. James's-square, Edinburgh. 47 pages. A.N'Y new suggestion towards the explanation and prevention of the Potato rot is worthy of attention and trial, and especially one so well founded on analoicy as that brought for\vard by Mr. Arthur. In reference to the propagation of plants bj- means of eyes he quotes the following pas.saires from Dr. Lindley's work on the " The- ory of Horticulture." — "The only species very generally .so increased, are the Potato and the Vine." " In order to insure success in this operation upon the Vine, it is only necessaiy that the eye xhould be dormnnt ■" and reasoning from this on analogy he recommends Potatoes to be cut for seed at a period when the juice in them is dorm nut, so to speak ; v^hen in fact the set will not bleed at a cut suiface. He shows, in a variety of instances, though not in so many perhaps as would be needed to prove " the Po- tato problem at last to be '• xolved," that the practice of cutting the Potato sets in Autumn in- stead of Spring perfectly an.swers. Perhaps the mo.st .striking confirmation of his views would be the general success of the Potato crop this year — for the sets, owing to the frost, must have been mnch in that dormant .state which he re- commends when cut this Spring. We could easily extract many intere.s-ting paracraphs from this little ^vork. but we have no wi.sh to satif:/^/ the curiosity of our readers and interfere with its sale by transferring its contents to our column.^. The book is written by a yiractical gardener, and well desen-es extensive peru.sal. POTATOES HOT-HOUSES, ETC. AUTUMX-PLANTED POTATOES. " EstC " planted swme Potatoes in October. foUowijiar the advice given in tlie Gardeners' Chronicle. — The earth was drawn into a ridge over the sets, ■which were thus 5 inches under ground. The frost penetrated 8 inches, being tried on purpose, yet on examining the sets last -week all that ^ve!■■e examined were found unhurt and sprout- ia?. Xearly a quarter of an acre was planted. [We have the same report to make ; .so that the frost question may be considered settled.] Potato Cultcre. — This being a subject in which evert- one is interested, I think it cannot be too much discussed, as every hint at this sea- son must be of benefit to some parties. I have examined those of mine, planted in January last, and find the whole tubers now beginning to bud, but the cut ones are every one rotten, where- fore I consider it to be folly in any one to plant cut sets in Autiimn or Winter. They cannot stand much wet ^vithout rottin?. nor can they endure much dry weather, as then by losing the water which forms a great part of their struc- ture, they equally become inert from vs-hat is termed dn,- rot. so diat either too early or too late planting does not suit them, but as stated by a correspondent in last week's Gazette just ^vhen they naturally begin to sho\\- signs of vege- tating. Of course it is clearly proved tliat as far as the safetj- of the seed goes vi-hole tubers may be set at any time by a Uttle care being paid to the m;inner of putting them in the ground, althoueb. if to remain long in the earth, they should be carefully selected tree from cracks or blemishes, for otherwise they would share the fate of the cut ones. [John Thomas, Wem, Salop. Expeditious mode of planting Potatoes. — {From the Farmers' Gazette.) — SiR: I see in tliis day's paper a remark regarding a speedy way of planting Potatoes; and as I have planted, in ten days, twenty-rvvo English acres, which I think good work, I give you my plan : — I have the field first cleared of weeds, and harrowed, so as to leave no obstacle in the ^vav. I keep seven horses at work : two opening and clo.siug drills as fa.st as they can go. the other five drawing out manure and seu (the manure being principally in the field.) I put two men to assist the cart-men in filling tlie carts, so as to occasion no delay. I keep also two men ia tlie field, to as-sist in unloading, one working at each hind corner of the cart. The driver, standing in the cart, with his grape (fork) throws the dung into the middle drill — the Uvo others manuring their respective drills on each side of him. — Three drills are thus dunged, while the horse is slowly moving onwards. After them I have three women spreading the grapefuls thus de- posited, and three more dropping the Potatoes about ten inches apart. I have m this way, in one day, put in neaiiy three English acres-^the one pair of horses opening and closine. The great thing is, to have all things ready before commencing, -so that no time may be lost : and also to have su85cieut hands, so as' to prevent the horses from beinsr kept unnecessarilv idle. Yours, &c. A SLUSCRIBER, Gypsum in South Carolina. — The Southern Agriculturist says '■ a specimen of Gj-psum was lately sent to Dr. Gibbes of Columbia, fi-om Mr. Insraham's on Cooper river. It resembles the ^^ psum of the Paris basin. The Atmosphere op Hot-houses. — I am astonished that so great a portion of the horti- cultural ^^ orld should still be content with the capricious and uncertain degree of atmospheric humidity in the great majority of hothouses of the present day. We hear of nice little flanges or covers, of about an inch in depth, being cast, it may be with the piping : and which the hot- water man, of course, deems perfection, but which I consider play-tliiugs ; and we some- times hear of sudden deluges of steam being shot, as it ^vere, from a 48-pounder. into the at- mosphere of the house, which, for die space of half an hour, casts a London fog completely into the shade : and this is what is called following Nature, whilst both are equally unnatural. — ^^^lat is ^vauted for vegetation in general, is an immunity from excessive humidity, as well as from fitfal drouth. I am quite of opinion that no invention will ever excel, for simplicitj-.and elSciency. a cemented brick trench, with the bottom jjipe resting on it. and a permanent source of water in a cistern overhead, ^vith a tap to run into the trench. The bottom, or re- turn pipe, is seldom more than from 90= to 110'= in most hot-water apparatus, and this imbedded in -vvater, or partially so. ^^■ill produce humidity sufficient for any orchidaceous or other hot-house. Houses supplied in this w&y possess an atmo- sphere exactly resembling a genial evening in May, and the only hygrometer \vanted to prove this is the nose of a tliorough practical man. In addition tn this, I am of opinion that there should be apertt&es in the front wall, open night and day. and capable of graduation; this was long since recommended by the late Mr. Knight By means of these the air will be in constant circu- lation, preventing stagnation on the one hand, and preser4-ing a due proportion of the constitu- ent and vi\-if\-ing gases of the natural atmo- sphere on the otlier. Red-spider and such like pests wiU be seldom seen in such structures, pro\-ided a clever sy.^tem of potting (founded on tlie permeability of the soil to the atmosphere, by means of thorough drainage, and the free use of undecomposed turf, with its native texture.) be conjoined with it These from wall aper- tures, or ventilators, should enter iust over the piping, if possible : the effect of which would be to carry the artificially moistened atmosphere tlirongh the whole body of the house. By the flange or other mode (in which sudden deluges of pipmg hot steam is produced) tlie furious steam is carried immediately to the roof of the house, where, of course, it is condensed, and descends in drip ; and the greater the difference betvveen the outer and inner atmospheres the greater is the amount of drip, and consequentiv the greater is the drj-ness of tlie atmosphere be- low, especially if die fitful cause of steam be- come suddenly short of supply. Althonsh I ad- vocate a constant source of pure air from the front, I would have the glass roof if possible, as close as a Ward's Case : and now diat the duty is to be removed from glass. I make no doubt we shall soon be enabled'to bid defiance to both leakage and hailstones. Of course. I would have ample ventilators at the back, to be used in cases of necessity : these, however, in sener- al are mere wasters" of heat and moisture. "Ver\ different is the office of the front apertures. [R. Errinston. Grafting the Chestnut on the Oak.— In the department of Correze. an oak. engraft- ed eidit years ago with the che.stuut. has" pro- duced at length chestnuts of a good quahtv. GO MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Feeding of Animals. — Hay is the kind of fodder most frequently used, and may be con- sidered almost as the normal food of those ani- mals which are of the most importance in the farm. It is on this account that it may conve- niently be taken as a standard by which other kinds of vegetable food may be compared. The quality, liowever, of liay varies extremely ; our standard, therefore, must be good meadow hay. It appears, from the analysis I have made at va- rious periods, that in the state in which it iscon- Bumed it contains from 1 to 1^ per cent, of azote. As, however, the determination of its nutritive value is of great importance, I shall point out the mode of proceeding, in order to obtain specimens representing as fairly as pos- sible the mass from wlience they are taken. — The method is applicable to other kinds of fod- der. Hay is composed of four distinct parts, each of which has a very different nutritive value. It is of consequence, then, that in a specimen taken for the determmatiou of the azote it con- tains, each of these parts should be properly represented. I distingush in hay — 1, the woody stems ; 2, the slender straws or stems to which the leaves were attached ; 3, the leaves, flowers, and seeds. A small portion of hay is taken and carefidly sorted, and the parts are weighed sep- arately. In a specimen of strong meadow hay, made in 1841, 1 found — lbs. drachm.'!. Woody stems 2,404 Taken for analysis, 680 StravFS or verj' slender stems 8,493 " " 239 Flowers, leaves, and a few seeds 1,764 " " 497 Mixture analj'sed 1,416 My analysis gave — Azote, per cent 1.19 Contract hay for Parisian Caralry, 1840 1.21 Hay ti-om Alsace of 1&3.5 1.04 1837 1.15 Mean of four samples, in the state in which it is consumed 1.15 In this state it contains from 11 to 12 per cent, of moisture, which is dissipated by desiccation. Since albumen, caseum, and vegetable gluten, contain 16 per cent, of azote, the animal matter (or flesh) may be estimated at 7.2 per cent. Hay does not, however, alwaj"s present this quantum of azote ; that, for instance, from marshy land contains liecidedly less. Some, on the contrary, is more rich in the animal principle. The same hay vi'ill give a larger proportion if the woody stems which it contains be removed. The second crop is generally more nutritious than the first, as we have often proved at Bechelbronn ; but it is considered, I know not why, to be less fit for horses. Perhaps this ari.ses from its being more liable to be more or less spoiled in the stack, in consequence of its being made in damper weather. A second crop e.ive on analysis - . 2 per cent of azote. A choice sample of the first quality 1.29 " " Hay divested of the greater part of the woody stems, and con- Bisting principally of bottom.. 2.1 " " These examples arc sufficient to prove that, in considering the substitution of other food for hay, attention must be paid to the quality. In the table which I have prepared, I have taken, as the basis of the equivalents, ordinary meadow hay, containing 1.15 per cent, of azote and 11 per cent, of water. The importance of a table - (108) of equivalents, as regards different kinds of food, is duly appreciated by all agriculturists; and great thanks are due to those who have taken pains to arrive at a knowledge of their relative value. The mode of using such tables is very simple. The numbers placed below the value of hay indicate the weight which may be substituted for 100 lbs. of hay. For instance, according to Block, 366 Ib.s. of caiTots may be substituted for 100 lbs. of meadow hay. Ac- coiding to Pabst, 60 lbs. oats=100 lbs! hay. — Would we then substitute Jerusalem artichokes for 3.3 lbs. of oats, which form part of the food of a horse, we find in the table 60 lbs. of oats= 274 lbs. Jerusalem artichokes, whence ■we con- clude that it will require 15 lbs. of the tubers to compen.sate the above named weight of oats. — A certain knowledge of the relative value of food may be of real benefit in niral economj-, as it may guide the farmer in his determination of what kind of diet is the most profitable. Sup- pose, for example, 165^ lbs. of potatoes to be worth lOd. in the market, when 220| lbs. of hay is worth 5.-;. Then, if we admit, in accordance with theory, that 220i lbs. of hay=695 of the tu- bers, it is clear, on comparing the price of these equivalents, that there is a Cfmsiderable advan- tage in buying potatoes, for the 695 lbs. of pota- toes would cost only 3s. 6d. At this price it would be beneficial to the farmer to sell his hay and replace it with potatoes. The equivalents which I have deduced from the analysis of vari- ous kinds of food agree in most cases ^\ith the numbers assigned by practical men ; sometimes, on the contrary, they differ remarkably. It must, hov^'ever, be observed, that the equivalents of practical writers exhibit differences of the same nature. Schnee and Thaer give as the equiva- lent of 100 lbs. of hay 666 lbs. of w-heat .straw, whereas Flotow gives 175 lbs. According to Meyer, 290 lbs. of tumips^lOO lbs. of hay, whereas Middleton gives 800 as the equivalent, a result which accords with that of theory. — Block gives 30 as the equivalent of peas, \\hile Thaer, who is quite as high an authority, gives 66. The same agriculturist gives 460 as the equivalent of mangel-wurzel, wliile Pabst and Meyer give 250, and M. de Dombasle 261. — Making every allowance for the difficulties of the subject, it is hard to account for these great discrepancies. As regards the marvellous agree- ment which the practical results frequently pre- sent, one cannot but be convinced that authors have often silently transcribed the results ob- tained previou.sly by others. It is often impos- sible to decide whether the data of agricultural vi'orks are original or merely transcriptions. — Every one at all acquainted with experiments will at once decide that 11 isolated observers can never have arrived in the case of Lucerne hay at the exact equivalent of 90, or that five have obtained preciselj' 600 for Cabbages. [BouEsingault. Manure for Onio.ns. — I have always suc- ceeded in the follo\\'ing way, beini? the surest and most economical : — Take off about 4 inches of the earth on the surface, the length and width of your bed, so that the ground under be sohd. Spread stable-dung well over, about 4 inches in thickness, and then cover the same over with the earth taken from the surface. Sow your seeds rough, and you are almost sure of an abund- ant crop ; and the land is the best for parsnips and carrots the following year. [R. F. J., Ottery EDITOR'S TABLE. Agricultural Journals, — We should be glad to give in an early number, a list of all the Agricultural papers in the Union — their place of publication and terms. The matter of " ex- changes " is one entirely under the control of the Publishers of the Farmers' Library, and they instruct us to say, that they will be happy to exchange with all Agricultural Magazines and Periodicals, without reference to difference of price. Should any of our cotemporaries deem themselves obliged by this offer, they will best know how to make that feeling apparent. The wish is to maintain with them, a rivalry, only in doing good to each other and to the connlry. Washington's Letters on Agriculture. — We cannot do better than employ the words of a much esteemed colleague, the Editor of the New-England Farmer, who says of these letters : " Everj- thing that emanated from the pen of this illustrious man, has a sacred value to all true Americans. His letters on Agriculture, addressed to Sir John Sinclair, have recently been published by Franklin Knight, of Wash- ington City, in a style that renders their posses- sion peculiarly desirable by every American fiirmer, and, indeed, by all Americans — the letters being engraved from the original, and being perfect fac similes of Washington's hand-writing. This mere fact of itself, renders the letters of great value to tlie American public." To the above we add a single suggestion or inqnirj- — whether it might not be well to place these letters in the common schools of the coun- try, were it only to familiarize the rising gene- ration with the autograph of the Pater PatriiB, and the better to impress on it from such high authority, his sentiments as expressed in one of his letters to Sir Arthur Young : " The more I am acquainted with Agricultu- ral affairs, the better I am pleased with them ; insomuch, tliat I can no where find so great satis- faction as in their innocent and useful pursuits. NOTICES or NEW BOOKS, Even if we had time to read and to write critical notices of the books which may be laid on our table ; we are not sure that it would not better comport with justice to the author, and with the interest of tlie publishers, to make these notices descriptive, rather than critical ; (109) only giving our readers an inkling of their con- tents, and leaving them to judge how far the subjects as thus indicated, invite further ac- quaintance with the work. On this principle we shall proceed, and even for this we have not room in this number to notice all tho.se which have come latest to hand. The following is a most captivating title of one scarely dry from the press of Messrs. Wiley & Puiuanf, from an author of well established reputation. The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America; Or, The Culture, Propagation and Management, in the the Garden and Orchard, of Fi-uit Ti'ees generally, vrith de.scriptiona of all the finest varietiea of Fmit, native and foreign, cultivated in this Coumrj\ By A. J. Downing. We have not had time to examine it, but who need fear to enlist under such a flag and flag- bearer ? 5^^ Several works from those eminent pub- lishers of Philad. Messrs. Lea & Blanchard, have been kindly forwarded through Mes.srs. Wiley & Putnam. These appear to have been either edited or authored, by Mr. J. S. Skinner, and as that gentleman is a near rela- tive of ours, we do not feel at liberty to speak as fully of them, as otherwise we might do. One is an American edition of YouATT ON THE HoRSE. — In this case, more than 60 pages have been added by Mr. S. partly on tne American Trotting Horse, besides an elaborate essay on the natural historj- and uses of the Ass and the Mule. Clater on the Diseases of Horses, by the same author, editor and publishers, is a smaller work. Speaking of them both, the American Editor in his preface, referring to the merits of the English copies, says: " The two are adapt- ed to meet the demands of the scholar and the groom ; the former (Youatt on the Horse) claim- ing a place in the Library of ever>- gentleman, as this one should should be found for daily reference in every stable, along with the curry- comb and the brush." Yet another volume, by and from the same parties. Diseases of Sheep and Cattlk. — To this Mr. Skinner, has appended a treati.se on the Econ- omy and value of Oxen, for farm labor, with hints and illustrations for breaking, gearing, &c. The Sportsman and his Dog, by J. S. Skinner, is the la.st, and verj- recently from the same publishers. The author attempts to justi- fy his avowed partiality for the canine race. MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. when of established and pure lineage, by citing the example of illustrioiis men. To other great names he might have added that of the immort- iil Linnaeus, who say.s, among otlier things, "he is the most faitliful of all creatures ; dwells with man ; fawns on his returning lord ; hears not in his memory the stripes he miiicts upon him ; nuis before him on his journey ; looks back at a cross-way, and seeks obediently that which is lost; holds watch by night; aimounces tlie ap- proach of any one. and guards the property." "The Farmer's and Emigrant's Hand- book," is an acceptable offering, from the prolific press of Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. distinguish- ed for discrimination and enterprise in "their Une." It has already gone to a second edition, and ought to be valuable,— " comprising the clearing of the forest and prairie land— gardening— fann- ing generally — fan-ieiy — cookery — and the pre- vsn'ion and aire of diseaites !" All these guide books, by the bye, seem to take it for granted, that everj- man fi-oni abroad, is to wend his way to the far West ; as if there were not millions of acres of uncultivated land left in the "old thirteen!" We wish the Southern people would take measures to let Europeans know that there is such a water as the Chesapeake Bay, and such a region as the mountain sides and mountain vallies of cheap and rich land, in a climate so healthy as to need no books to teach either prevention or cure ;— where there are no fevcrs,and where none die of consumption e.xcept Doctors ! If they will provide a conveyance to these lands, and employ a certain " writer, under the signature of William Darby," to write a " guide book," the New- York public works will no longer cany all the emigrants that come to America, through to the lakes on their way to Oregon. ly Bocissingault's Work o^ Rural Economy has been well reprinted by D. Apple- ion & Co., and is without doubt a work which well illustrates the existence of- a highly im- proved taste in what concerns the science and the literature of Ag-riculture. True, " Mr. Geo. Law, Agi-iculturist," repudiates the translation, as not being genuine ; but, bating any want of literal accuracy, or nicety in the translation, the book conUiins a ma«s of very valuable informa- tion for every Fanner who desires to keep pace with the progress of scientific development in all that is connected with his pursuit and chief bu- siness in life. ^., To Mr. S. S. Randall, General Deputy Sni.erint.;ndcnt of the Common Schools of New- York, we are much indebted for a copy of his clear and admirable " Digest of the Common School System," and for the Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for (110) 1845, no less for the manner than the matter of tlie offering. Well dofcs this volume accomplish the "design" of the author, as thus announced in the preface : — "A historical sketch of the origin and progress of the system from its inception to the present period, accompanied by a brief e.xpo.sitiou of its present condition, has been annexed to the work, with the design of rendering it more ac- ceptable as well to our own citizens as to those of other portions of the Union, who may feel an interest in tracing the gradual advancement of our legislation on this important subject, and in ascertaining the prominent features of our sys- tem, as moulded by the succes.«ve improve- ments consequent upon an experience of nearly forty years." With the concuiTence and hoped-for aid of Mr. R., we shall use these volumes in a manner which may serve to assist the particular efforts of true philanthropists in other States where en- deavors are beginning to be made to establish general and practical systems of education — a matter which is never to be lo.st sight of in all plans for the improvc7nent of the AgricuUvre of the Stales. For as surely as the continued fer- tility of land depends on the naUire of the sub- stratum, .so surely does the .success of every scheme for meliorating the condition of any people, in any and in all their branches of in- dustr\% as well as in their morals, depend on their being well instructed in all that pertains to the occupations on which they are to rely for their support. An ignorant people can never be a prosperous one ; they are ever liable to be abused, for there are always demagogiies and hj-pocrites on the lookout, ready " booted and spurred " to ride them. It shall not be our fault, aacording to our poor ability, if the AgriculUiral class does not get its share of knowledge of ^^■hat science is discov- ering and experience putting in practice for their benefit. Vegetable Silk.— The latitude of Tripoli, in Barbary, whence this plant was received, is 3-2^ 51' 50" North, longitude 13= 11' 4?" East of Greenwich. The general result of the meteorological ob- ser\-ations which accompanied the paper on Vegetable Silk was, first, as to Rain : The ag- gregate for the year was 18-05 inches, and the writer says that in fourteen years' residence there he does not recollect ever seeing a long- continued rain, nor a day of " entire cloudiness." As to Heat, the maximum was in July 106^ Fahrenheit; the minimum 42^ in Januarj-. There are other meteorological \-iew8 pre- sented in this table, such as observations on the Winds and Currents, which may piove in- teresting to Professor Silliman, Mr. Espy and others, whose researches have contributed to EDITORS TABLE. 63 give ns a name and a standing among the Sa- vans of the world. We are aware of the resemblance of thia plant to our 6jnimou Milkweed, (Asclepins tubcrosa) It is probable that it is of the same class and order, viz. : Gynan(lria,pcntagynia; but the species, and even the genu.s, is undoubtedly different. The Asdcpias gi-ows abundantly in our fields, and seems most to afi'ect light and arid soils. The Silk Plant would be likely to flourish in the same situations, though it is doubtful if the climate of our Northern, or even Middle States would be sufficiently congenial to it, to make its ciilture there an object worthy of attention. We should be glad to see the ex- periment fairly tried in tlie Southern portions of our country. GRE.4.T Sale of Cattle at Albany. — We are glad, on every account, to learn, by the following from the New- York Express, that Mr. Prentice's gi-eat sale of Short-Horn.s was well attended. From Mr. Allen, of the Ameri- can Agriculturist, viho was in attendance, and who has done much to> spread a knowledge of die fine properties of the Short-Horns, we shall doubtless have a more particular account of the sale. We hope this measure on the part of Mr. Prentice docs not indicate the withdra'wal of the liberal countenance he has given to one of the most important branches of Agricultural economy : " The entire herd of Short-Homed Cattle of E. P. Prentice, Esq., of Albany, was sold in that city on tlie asth in.st. The cows were sold from ■*225 to $100; heifers in proportion. There was a great deal of interest attending the sale, which shows that the spirit for Agriculture is wide awake in this State." Since -writing the above, we have received the following, from a con-espondent in Albany. It >vill be seen tliat the cows averaged nearly tlSO. It is to be hoped that those into whose hands tliis fine stock has fallen wiU keep them in a manner that shall do justice to their breed and breeder : Citizen Office, Albany, June 25. The interest excited by the sale of the entire herd of improved Short Horned Cattle of E. P. Prentice, Esq., of tiiis city, brought a host of visiters to the sale. Annexed is a summary of the sales with the names of the purchasers, made up from the cata- logue of the auctioneers, Joshua I. Jones & Parke. Names. Piirchnscrs. Residence. Price. Flora, cow. Imp J. B. Nott Albany Co. .$1.50 Ciity, heifer W. S. Parker . .Brooklyn ... 100 Calf of Flora " .. " ... 40 Miss Rose, cow J. S. 'Wheoler. .Tlyde Park. . 140 Roan heifer Wm. Kelly Rhinebeck. . 70 Catharine, cow M. Bates New-York . . lO.") Balize, bull calf Green .. 53 Matilda, claimed by tlie owner. Pnowball, cow Smith I.onj Island. lOO Nun, cow Wm. Kelly Rhiuobcck.. 110 Melieea, cow A\'. S. Parker . . Brooklj-n ... 120 Caroline, cow, parsed. (HI) Cora, cow J. McNaughton. Albany 125 Meg, heifer Wra. Kelly Rhinebeck. . 65 Tyro, buU calf J. B. Nott Albany 55 Baisy, cow '.Dr. McNaughton " 105 Nell, cow M. Bates New- York . . 225 Diana, cow J. W. Bishop ..Wash. Co... 1,55 Tecumseh, bull J.Parker Brooklyn.. . 200 Betty, calf Wm. Kelly Rhinebeck.. 55 Swally, cow, claimed by owner. Ciilf of Dutchess 30 Rover, heifer D. P. Douw . . .Albany 70 Charlotte, cow J. W. Bishop . .Wash. Co. . . 190 Calf of Fairfax J. H. Prentice 55 Ada, cow R. H. Green 170 Calf of Ada W. S. Parker. . Brooklj-n ... 45 Juda, heifer E. S. Prentice 250 Duke, allowed to owner. Appolonia, cow J. P. Erayton . .Albany 160 Louisa, cow R. H. Green 150 Burley, heifer V. P. Douw Albany 80 Splendor, cow W. J. Parker ..Brooklyn.. . 190 Pegg}', cow J. P. Brayton . .Albany" 200 Peggy 2d, calf V. P. Douw Albany 110 Ramble, heifer W. J. Barker 75 EslciTille, claimed by owner. Jenny, cow E. H. Smith 105 Jilt, heifer Wm. KeUy Rhinebeck .. 60 Calf of Jenny J. T. Walker . . Ohio 25 Aurora, cow J. B. Nott Albany 145 Timour, bull calt... M.J. Hays Canada 80 Calf of Aurora J. T. Walker. ..Ohio 75i Dora, not sold. Miss Smith, cow...P. W. Tuthill 80 Faufax,buU W. J. Parker 205 AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. Engli.sh Agricultural journals give general reports of weather and of crops, with the ut- most confidence in their accuracy — as for in- stance in the last number received of the Mark- Lane Express, the editor pronounces the then growmg crop of wheat to be the most promis- ing throughout the kingdom within the recollec- tion of the oldest inhabitant. How impractica- ble is it, for obvious reasons, to give such re- ports, with any thing like the same particularity in this country ! Look at the difference in the size of the area, over which our diversified crops are growing. Virginia alone for instance, has an area, about one-third larger than Eng- land. The State of Ohio contains 8,000 square miles more than Scotland. From Augusta in Maine to New-Orleans is about 200 miles more than from London to Constantinople. We think, however, we may venture to state that the wheat crop of 1845 in tlie United States will prove to be more than an average one. The accounts from Maryland and Virginia are very favorable. A cool and dry Spring has usually been found favorable to that grain. — Mo.st apprehension had been felt about the crops in Ohio, but Batehani's Ctdtivator of the 15th ult. says that recent .xhowers had greatly im- proved the jirospccts for wheat and com, so that the yield of wheat '• may be as great, if not gr<>ater, than for .several years past," and has no doubt the crop of com will prove at least an average one. The crops of Ohio must have an important bearing on the general average of the country, seeing that her product in 1840. of 64 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. wheat, was 17,979,647 bushels, and Indian corn 35,552,161. But what a sombre picture comes up to us from the South. We must hope it ia over- charged. The Charleston Courier publishes the following extract from a letter, dated Fairfield District, 14th instant: " Over my parched and naked fields drouth has reigned and does reign supreme. My once verdant fields of small grain have withered and died under the ravages of the chinch bug ; my dwarfish and sickly com is threatened with an- nihilation from the same cause ; my pastures are ash-beds ; my water courses sand-beds ; and my cotton barely rears its puny head above the scorched earth. When employed at my busi- ness, devasted oat fields, blighted com, and stinted cotton sicken my heart. When I stroll to uncultivated fields, famished hogs and stag- gering cattle are my comforters. Clouds pass over, thunder rolls, but all ends in mockery. — Hope has been defen-ed till I have lost all ac- quaintance with it. It would seem inevitable that I must not only fail to make my bread, but that the whole country around must share my fate. A Rich Morsel foii American Chkese Mo.SGERS. — From that truly national and de- servedly popular periodical, Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, we derive the following interesting item : American Cheese Exported into Great Britain. From Europe. From America. Total. Years. Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. 1841, 254,995 15,154 270,149 1842 16.5,614 14,098 179,712 1843, 136,998 42,312 179,310 1844, 160,654 53,115 213,769 The Liverpool Times says : " To our American friend.s, we say, send to this country nothing but a good article, introduce more color into it, and we are sure that in another year England will use four times the quantity of its previous consumption. We shall also be pleased to find that the manufacturer and exporter get a larger share of the prices for which it is .sold in Eng- land. The writer of this has now upon his table an American Cheese equal to the cele- brated ' Stilton,' for which 25 cents per pound is obtained, while this excellent ' American ' is sold at 13 cents, only." PRICES CURRENT. [Correcled for the Monthly Journal of Agriculture-I ASHES— Pots, Ist sort ^ 100 Iti. 3 R7i® Pearls, 1st sort 4 25 ® BEESWAX— American Yellow — 29.J ®— 30 CANDLES— Mould, Tallow..^ ffi... — 9 @— 11 Sperm, Eastern and City — 27 ®— 29 COTTON— From — 5 ®— 9i COTTON BAGGING— American... — 14 @ CORDAGE— American ® tb. — 11 ®— 12 DOMESTIC GOODS-Shmings,f)'y. — 5 @— II Sheetings — 6i®— 12i FEATHERS— American, live — 26 ®— 30 FLAX— American — 6V®— 7 FLOUR & MEAL— Genesee, ^ bbL 4 62i® lYoy 4 56JS> Michigan 4 50 ® 4 56t Ohio, "Hat hoop 4 50 ® 4 561 Ohio, Hayivood &. Venice 5 37i® 5 50 Ohio, via New-Orieans 4 25'® 4 37i Pennsylvania 4 75 ® 4 87^^ Brandywine 4 871® Georgetown ^... 4 75 ® 4 87J^ Baltunore City Mills ". . . . 4 75 ® Richmond City MiUs 6— ®650 Richmond Countiy 4 75 ® AlexMidria, Petersburg, &c 4 75 ® Rye Flour 3 — ® 3 25 Com Meal, Jersey and Brand 2 31i® 2 56i Com Meal, Brandywine hhd, 11 75 ® GRAIN— Wheat, Western..^ bush. — 95 ® 1 06 Wheat, Southern — 95 ® 1 — Rye, Northern — 64 @ Com, Jersey and North ... (raeas.) — 47 ® — 48 Com Southern (measure) — 44 ® Com, Southern (weight) — 45 ® — 46 Barley, Westem — 50 ® — 52 Oats, Northern — .38 ®— 40 Oats Southern — 32 ®— 33 HAY— North River bales — 45 @— 62| HEMP — American, dew rotted... ton 85 — ®95 — water rotted 120 — ®182 50 HCr.S— Ist sort, 1845 — 12i ® — 15 IRON— American I'ig, No. 1 35 — ®37 50 " Common |32 50 ®35 — LIME— Thomaston %> hhl. — 85 ®— 90 LUMBER— Boards, N.R., ^M. ft. cb-. 30 — ®35 — Boards, Eastern Pine 10 — ®11 — Boards, Albany Pine ■^pce. — 7 ® — 17 Plank. Georgia Pine ^M. ft. 33 — ®.35 — Heading. White Oak ^M. ®45 — (112) Staves, White Oak, pipe Staves, White Oak, hhd Staves, White Oak, bbl Staves, Red Oak, hhd Hoops Scantling, Pine, Eastern Scantling, Oak Timber, Oak ^ cubic foot Timber, White Pine lumber, Georgia Yellow Pine Shingles, 18 in <^ bunch Shingles, Cedar 3 feet, 1st quality. Shingles, Cedar, 3 feet, 2d quality. Shingles, Cedar, 2 feet, 1st quality. Shingles, Cedar, 2 feet, 2d quality. Shingles, Cypress, 2 feet Shingles, Company MUSTARD— American NAILS— Wrought, 6d to 20d Cut, 4d to 4Ud PLASTER PARIS— ^ ton PROVISIONS— Beef, M., new f bbl. Beef. Prime, new Pork, Mess, Ohio, old and new.... Pork, Prime, Ohio, old and new. . Lard, Ohio ^ IB. Hams, Pickled Shoulders, Pickled Sides, Pickled Beef Hams, in Pickle ■^ bbl. Beef, Smoked ^ ft. Butter. Orange County Butter, Westem Dairy Butter, ordinary Cheese, in casks and boxes SEEDS- Clover !>■ ft. Timothy ■F tierce Flax, Rough Flax. Clean SOAP— N. York, Brown ^O' ft . T.4LLOW — American, Rendered. . . TOBACCO— Virginia ® ft . North Carolina Kentucky and Missouri WOOL — Ame. Saxony, Fleece,^' ft. American, P"ul! Biood Merino American h and i Merino Americiui Native and i Merino. .. Superlinc. Pulled — ®— — ®— — ®26 — ®30 — ®16 — ®35 25 ®— 18 ®— 35 ®— 50 ® 2 — ®24 — ®22 — ®17 — ®16 — ®13 — ®30 16 ®— 10 ®— 4i®— — ® 3 75 ® 9 75 ® 6 75 ®13 75 ®10 7i^®— 6JS— 4.1 ®— 6 ®— — ®12 8 ®— 14 @— 11 ®— 10 ®— 6 ®— 6 @— 50 @12 50 ® 8 — ®— 3'.®— 7 ®— 2i®— 2i®— - 2i@- 36 ®— 32 ®— 27 ii— 24 ®— 31 ®— 31 12} 5J- 7i 5} 5 ■5} 38 34 28 26 32 x-rw' - * :*; _a^J^:u 1 '^i MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. NO. 2. AUGUST, 1845. VOL. I. LADY SUFFOLK. A DISSERTATION ON HORSE BREEDING, AND ON THE TROTTING HORSE OF THE U. STATES. Ah! What is this we have here? says the Btaid and sober farmer, as, on coming in from his daily round, he puts aside his sombrero, and takes up the Farmers' Library, to beguile tlie time, while the thrifty housewife is spread- ing his frugal repast. ^Vhat do I see ? Lady Suffolk ! the cynosure of all observers ; the very pink and Fashion of the day on evei-j' Trotting Theatre ! And is it then a part of the design of a work which is offered for our in- struction and amusement, to encourage and illustrate such diversions ? No ! good reader, not at all ! There is, says the good book itself, a time for all things, as there is a place for all things; and the place for all field amusements, in our country, is the " Spirit of the Times." Far fiom wishing to poach on the manor of our friend Porter much rather viould we assist in stocking it with choice game — but who besides Neptune can wield his own Trident ! Who but himself, wear the armor of Achilles ! and besides, as we well remember, he did once come very near taking the wind out of our sails^ w^hereupon we surrendered to his management and direction, the whole field of rural sports, and have ever since most heartily wished that his success might only equal his spirit, — may he never be at a loss for the where, and the where- withal, to wet his line and his — whistle ; and may he never thro\v fly, without hooking a trout. No, gentle, sedate, and courteous reader ; we have been at some trouble and expense to pro- cure and offer j'ou a portraiture of Lady Suffolk, for the sake of presentirig to the eye of the prac- tical fanner, as well as the amateur of horse flesh, who may or may not be horse breeders, tlie true foi-m and points, as nearly as the arts at (173) 5 our command would enable us ; of an animal the most distinguished in that form of action, the trot, which of all equestrian paces deserves to be regarded as the 7nost useful in the business of life ; unless it be, what he " of Roanoke " de- nominated, the " long slouching walk of the blood horse in the plow." Although, as may be seen in our edition of " YouATT AND Skinner on the Horse," pub- lished by Lea & Blanchard of Philadelphia, we had given accounts of many of Lady Suffolk's most distinguished feats, we had never had the pleasure to see her until today,nor, that we remember, had we inquired particularly, cer- tainly not successfully, into her genealogy. But seeing how she had gone, both the pace and the distance, we never doubted, that whenever it should be traced, it would be found to be of high aristocratic blood. Hence, when we came now, as in duty bound, to look into her lineage, it occasioned not the least surprise to find it tracing through more than one stream, directly to the fountain of so much that is superexcellent in horseology — to wit : to the loins of old Messen- ger himself f In truth, when we reflected on her birthplace — Long-Island — and came to sec her veins so well defined — her apparently hard bone — her large, open jaws — prodigious muscu- lar development, and yet more, her grey color, and the way she carries her age, we should have been disappointed not to find at her heart something of the same strain of blood that confen-ed similar power on her near i-elatives, Mamhrino and Ahdalla — son and grandson of Messenger — trotters and the getters of trotters. According to the best information we have been able to get, Lady Suffolk was by Engi- neer, a grey horse, he out of a mare whose 66 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. pedigree is not remembered, but " was under- stood to be a blooded mare " — Engineer was by Engineer, said to be an uncommonly fine horse, and by Messenger. Lady Suffolk's dam, was a dark bay or brown mare, by TJow Quixote, grey horse, and he again by Messenger. Lady Suffolk was bought (when four years old, and when she was yet barefooted and hardly briJle-'wise, having never then looked through a collar) by David Bryan, Esq, of Brooklyn, her present ownier — w^ho, "though laughed at by some, thought he saw something about her that pleased him." She made her first appearance about 14 months after he bought her, on the Beacon Course. She has trotted many more than fifty matches, appearing at dif- ferent times at Baltimore, Philadelphia, Ne'w- York and Boston; -vsinning much oftener than she has lost, and making the quickest time on record : doing her mile on tin-ee diflerent occa- sions, under the saddle, in 2m. 26^s. On the Centreville Course, she trotted one mile, in a two mile match, in 2m. 30s., in harness. She was beaten but once last season, and only once again tliis season, and that only by a neck. At Hyde Park, Philadelphia, she ti-otted matched in hame.ss along-.side of Ripley, two miles in 5 minutes 19 seconds, distancing Hardware and Apology. Her owner has taken no measures to test, accurately, the time in which she can go her mile, under the saddle ; but would gladly match her for any reasonable amount, against her greatest, and the quicke.st time on record — 2m. 261s. He thinks, and we do not doubt, that Lady Suffolk is stiU, like the whole world, in a state of progress, and has not yet reached her highest point of capability. Like all ^vell-b^ed dames, she is remarkably quiet and gentle ; nothing fussy, impatient, or ill- tempered about her. Any old woman might drive her to market, where she might remain in a wagon unnoticed, except by a man who had an eye for a good thing. It is worthy of note, to show how accident rules the destiny of horses as well as men ; that her sire was for a long time neglected, being put off, for the most part, with ordinarj', nn.sightly mares, and tlie way that he was at last reclaimed, and brought into full relief, was thus : Doctor Bow- ers, being often sent for, as country phj-sicians are, on certain pressing emergencies, that won't stay for any man's convenience, to go in a great hurry, especially to his female patients, several times obser%-ed that the messengers sent for him, rode horses of uncommon po^ver and action ; and inquuing into their history, was unifonnly answered that they were by Engineer ; a horse witli which he had been familiar, and that had been denied the tip top mares where he .stood, so that his owTier had .sold him off to distant (17-4) parts, in disgust, at his being underrated. On seeing thus the marks he had left behind, the Doctor had the sagacity to go or send in search of him, and tracing him through Connecticut and Rhode-Island, found him stowed away in some odd comer in Massachusetts ; and for a trifle recovered liim and brought him back again, to enjoy better opportunities of transmitting his superior qualities, suchasai'e embodied in Lady Suffolk, and a half sister, standing now in the next stall to her, at Brookljn — a flea-bitten grey mare, of the same age, who, though badly spav- ined, moves witli great speed and pov>er, and exhibits, in like manner, the remarkable points that distinguish the Mes.senger stock ; such as may be, even down to the present generation, at once detected by quick-sighted connoisseurs of good cattle. 65,000 have been repeatedly refused for Lady Suffolk, and tlie probability is, that like other distinguished performers, she may go to act in Europe on a theatre, larger, and more remuner- ating than is to be found in this Democracy. The point that impressed us most forcibly, at the first glance, as most stiiking in the physique of Lady Suflblk was, as before stated, her wondei-ful muscular display, over the shoulder and arm— thigh and leg proper — her strong loin and good share of bone, — all indicating great strength. Professor Cliue, of London, one of the most esteemed wTiters on the art of breeding, and on the form of animals, remarks, that " muscles and tendons, which are their appendages, should be large ; by which an animal is enabled to travel with greater facility." " The strength of an animal," he adds, "does not depend on the size of the bones, but on that of the muscles; many animals with large bones are weak, their muscles being small." In our country we are well satisfied, and it is probably true as to others, the improvement of domestic animals, has been much retarded, by the vulgar persuasion, that the largest males should be selected, for the purpose of pro- creation ; a most pernicious en-or ! This fallacy is the source of the mortification experiehced by many fanners, who select from their herd or their flock, or in purchairing give the largest price for overgrown bulls and rams, witliout respect to form or familj-, or excellence in par- ticular points ; and too often give the preference to stallions blazoned in their handbills, for being " full sixteen hands and upwards under the standard." It was not thus that the Collingses improved the short bonis, or Ellman the South- downs, or that the general stock of English horses, has been brought to its admitted excel- lence. This has been accomplished by success- ive, and hi most cases judicious crosses, having frequent recourse, when building up their pre- LADY SUFFOLK. 67 sent superior stock, to foreign crosses. Most frequently to Barbs, (as the Godolphin.) which is known to be a race of comparatively small horses, with thin skin, fine hard bone, and a great share of muscle. Many are at a loss to account for the fact, that English horses have not been benefited by recent crosses with Arabian stallions, but to us n seems apparent, that the reason why the DarUy Arabian, and after him the yet more celebrated Barb, Godolphin, contributed more decidedly than any Arabians have done since, to tlie improvement of their stock, is, tliat tliey were imported at the very juncture when the English stock was in a condition to need a cross, that should impart more muscle and harder bone, with better wind ; while it should dimin- ish tlie size and weight of the carcass, which had been made too heavy and inert, by repeated rccour.se to Flemish and German blood. On this point Professor Cliiie is quite explicit : " the sreat improvement of the breed of horses in England, arose from crossing witli those dimin- nf.ive stallions, Barbs and Arabians: and the introduction of Flanders Mares into this country was the source of improvement in the breed of cart horses : when it became the fashion in Lon- don to drive large bay horses, the Armors in Yorkshire put their mares to much larger stallions than usual, and thus did infinite mischief to their breed, by producing a race of small chested, long-legged, large-boned, worthless animals." The ill effects here described by the distin- guished Professor, was the result in our ov\-n country, of a large " Cleveland bay "' stallion, imported by the late Robert Pattison of Mary- land, and sent into Frederick county of that State. His j-ounger brother, a gentleman of fortune by inheritance, but a fanner by choice, and of uncommon sagacity and judgment, would have foreseen the result of such a cross. No- where so systematically as on his estate, h.ave we ever seen so fully carried out and completelj' illustrated, this important principle in breeding as already quoted from Professor Cline, that " to produce the most perfect formed animal, abund- ant nourishment is necessary from the earliest period of its existence until its gi-owth is com- plete." So thoroughly is Mr. P. impressed, too, with the expediency of getting as much blood- as you can into the horse of all work, consist- ently with the weight w-hich is indispensable for slow and heavy draught, that he seeks to have as much of it as can be th^•o^vn into his ploxo and wagon horses. Were the question doubtful, tlie ai-gumeut must preponderate vihich is supported by the practice and exporience of an agriculturist, rare in all countries, who is ready with his reason for every thing he does, and " no mistake at that." | 1175) Having accomplished their purposes by en- larging the lungs, and 'impro\'ing the conform- ation of their species, giving more muscle in proportion to the mass of flesh to be canied, the same stallions, from Arabia and Barbary, could they rise PhoBnix-like from their ashes, could, probably, not now be employed with the same beneficial effect in England. English writers, and among tliem Mr. Aperly, (Nimrod,) one of the most voluminous and ac- complished, on field sports, admits the superior- ity of tlie American Trotter, and as that is perhaps the only sort of animal, or department, in which we can lay claim to excellence over Jolm BuU, in any of tlie properties which give value to domestic animals ; and as, moreover, speed in that gait, combined with lasfing7iess, is a desideratum in horc-es destined as well for public and private coaches, as for all kinds of light harness, and quick ti-avehng, it becomes an interesting inquiry, both to amateurs of the Horse, and to practical fanners, — whence has resulted the superiority asserted for, and con- ceded to the American Trotting Horse? Is it that we possess a particular strain of horses not to be found in other counhies, not thorough-bred, but yet of a specific breed, which has been found or made in America, and which may be kept separate and distinct from all others, tlie root whereof is not necessarily to be looked for, like that of our thorough-bred stock, in the English Stiid-Book, or in the blood of some Eastern an- cestor— a breed to which, iu a word, recourse maybe had as a stock of horses sui generis, and one that may be rehed upon to supph" fast goers iu this pace ? Or is it that we owe the number thai can go their mile under 2.40, to the higher estimate which is placed on excellence iu that way, in this country ; and to die greater pains taken and skill exercised in educating and training horses to go ahead in the ti-ot ? We confess that reflection and aO die lights we pos- sess, lead us to the adoption of this latter theory. There are various reasons why this propeity in the horse should be more attended to in this, than perhaps auj- other countiy. May it not be referred in some measui-e, to our political mstitu- tions, as we have already seen, in tlie view which has been taken [in Skinner and Youatt on the horse] of the progi-essive improvement of horses in England, how their qualities have, from time to time, been influenced and modified by their field-sports, the state of their roads, the fonn of their coaches, and changes in their war- like and agricultural habits and implements? Under the effect of our political institutions, which create frequent division of estates, it is next to impossible tliat there should exist in America a class of men with sufficient and en- during wealth, either hereditary or acquireil, to maintain the costly and magnificent airaiige- nsests for the sports of the turf and the chase — BBch as have for centuries existed in England. Yet men must have amusements, and those which are found a-field are at once the most attractive and salutary. It may be very safely affirmed, that while thtxe can exist in this countrj- no permanent class of men possessing the wealth which affords ■&e time, and cherishes the taste, for the more expensive diversions of the Turf and the Chase ; it must y-et always abound far beyond all other countries, under their existing governments, in citizens of middling and yet easy circumstances, vnth means enough to indulge in other sports iijvolving moderate outlay, including the owner- ship of a good old squin-el gnu ; and the luxury of a good horse ; and hence the use of both is as familiar to the great mass of Amej-ican people, &om their childhood, as it is sti-ange to the com- mon people of any other countrj' ; except as to tJie emploj'ment of the horse, in his lowest of- fices of field-labor and common drudgeiy. No Southern boy, at least, just entering his teens, desires better fun than to be allowed to catch sjod mount any horse in the most distant pas- ture, and ride him home at the top of his speed, Tvithout saddle or bridle — and as to the use of Sre-arms, it was remarked to the writer during «he Late War with England, both by General Soss and Admiral Cockbum, that in no country fcad they ever witnessed any fire so deadly as that of the American militia, as long: as they Kould stand ! In tlie towns, there is not a so- feer and industrious tradesman who cannot ma- «i&gg to keep his hackney ; and these consider- ations sufficiently account for the number of re- ^larly constituted Trotting Clubs of easy ac- cess, with courses that serve as so many nurse- ries, where the horse is'educated exclusively for ike trot, and his highest physical capacities dr&^^^l out in that form. These associations are <»mposed, for the most part, of respectable and ^dependent meclianics, and others, especially tiictualcrs, among whom in all times there has eicisted a sort oi esprit de corps, or monomania on tliis subject, which leads them to spare nei- ther pains nor expense to gain a reputation for «-\'fling a crack goer. This sort of emulation so jitfects the class, as to have given rise to a com- mnn saying that "a bv.tcher always rides a 'tr6lter" According to the theory here maintained, the •gieat n!/«iJ(r>' of trotters in America that can go as before said, their mile under 3 minutes, and file jjoany that do it under 2m. 40g., and even in sozne cases under 2m. 30s.— as, for instance, in dte case of Ripton and Confidence, whose per- formances have given so much gratification to i^ortsmen, is to be explained in tlie same way &at we account for tlie great number of superb hvMters tliat are admitted to abound in England (176) above all countries, not excepting our own. — There, in every county in the Kingdom, there are organized " Hunts," with their whippersin, and huntsmen, and earth-stoppers, and costly appointments of every kind to accommodate some fifty or a hundred couple of high-bred hounds, whose pedigrees are as well preserved as those of Priam or Longvvaist ; and a wide district of country is reserved and assigned ex- clusively to each hunt. Eox-huutiug is there termed, par excellence, a princely amusement; and gentlemen of the mo.st exalted rank and largest fortune take pride in the office of " Mas- ter of the hounds;" and assuredly, in all the wide field of manly exercises, none can com- pare with an English fox or steeplechase, for union of athletic vigor and daring skill, and magnificence of equitation ; unless, perhaps, it were some splendid charge de cavalrie, like those we used to read of, made by the gallant MuRAT at a critical moment of the battle, when he was wont, in his gorgeous uniform and tow- ering plumes, to fall with his cavalry like an avalanche upon his adversary, confounding and crushing him at a blow ! Truly, it would well be worth a trip across the Atlantic, to see a sin- gle "turn out" of an English hunt, all in their fair tops, buckskin smalls, and scarlet coats — mounted on hunters that under Tattersall's liam- mer would command fi-om one to t%vo hundred guineas ! Imagine such a field, with thirty couple of staunch hounds, heads up and sterns down, all in fiiU cry, and wcU away with their fox!! " Now, my brave youths, Flourish the whip, nor spare the galling spur ; But, in the madness of delight, forget Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hiUs we range, And dangerous our course ; but in the brave Ti"ue courage never fails." To indicate more strongly the prevalence of this partiality- for trotting-horses, and emulation to own the fastest goer, and the number and ex- tent of associations and arrangements for this sort of trial and amusement, it need only be mentioned that the " New-York Spirit of the Times" contains lists of hundreds of matches and purses, and of thousands on thousands of dollars in small purses, won and lost on these performances on trotting-courses ! A number of these performances might be given, enough to show that the excellence which is conceded to American trotters is not founded on a solitary achievement or very rare cases, nor to be as- cribed to the possession of any distinct and pe- culiar breed of horses ; but is the natural and common fruit of that union of blood and bone, which forms proverbially the desideratum in a good hunter, and of which Ladj' Suffolk pre- sents a remarkable specimen, with the super- addition of skillful training, vi7tch practice, and artful jockeying for tlie trotting course. Who can doubt that if Hiram Woodmft' wei-e to go to England, having the run of their hunting-sta- bles, he might select nags enough which could soon be made, under his training and consum- mate jockeyship, to go along with Edwin For- rest and Lady Suffolk, Ripton, Rattler, Amer- icas, and the Dutchman ? On this point the following may be aptly exti-acted from the high- est authority — our Bell's Life in London — to wit : Porter's Spirit of the Times : " Nimrod, in ' admitting the superiority of our Trotting-Horses to the English,' claims that the English approach very near to the Americans,' even in this breed of cattle. But there is no comparison whatever between the Trotting- Horses of the two countries. Mr. Wheelan, who took RatlJer to England last season, and doubly distanced ■with ease evei-y horse that ventured to start against him, as the record sho\%s. informs us that there arc twenty or more roadsters in common use in this city, that could conqiete successfully with the fastest trotters on the Enelish Turf They neither understand the art of training, driving or riding, there. For example : some few years since, Alexander waiH purchased by Messrs. C. &: B. of this city, for a friend or acquaintance in England. Alexander \vas a \vell-known roadster here, and was pur- chased to order, at a lo\v rate. The horse was sent out and trials made of him ; but so unsuc- cessful were they, that the English importers considered him an imposition. ThusJthe matter stood for a j-ear or more. When 'W' heelan ar- rived in England, he recognised the horse, and li'amed the particulai-s of his purchase and sub- sequent trials there. By his advice the horse was nominated in a Stake at Manchester (we bi.'lieve) witli four or five of the best trotters in England, he (Wheelan) engaging to train and rid(j him. When the horses came upon the ground, tlie odds were 4 and 5 to 1 against Alexander, who won by nearly a qnarter of a VI lie '. Wheelan says he took tne track at .'Starting, and widened the gap at his ease — that near the finish, being surprised that no horse ^vas anywhere near him, as his o^vn had not yet made a stroke, he got frightened, thinking some one might outbrush him — that he put Alexan- der up to his work, and finally won by an im- mense way — no horse, literally, getting to the head of the quarter stretch, as he came out at the winning stand ! The importers of Alexan- der, at any rate, \vere .so surprised and delighted at his performance, that they presented Whee- lan \vilh a magnificent gold timing-watch, and other valuable presents, and sent Messrs. C. & B. a superb service of plate, which may be .seen at any time at their establishment in Maiden- Lane." Here it is clearly shown that the comparative speed of American horses is to be attributed not to breed, but to management, on which we the rather insist, as it is to be desired that American agriculturists, and all breeders and trainers of horses, should understand and practice upon some fixed and rational principles, rather than rely for success on some imaginary strain of horse.s, of no certain origin or established blood. After all, \ve have accounts of performimces in trotting, by English horses, that may be consid- ered as extraordinai-v as those of our own, when (177) allowance is made for the greater value placed, and the more attention and skill bestowed, upoa trotters in this country than in that. The celebrated English ti-otter Archer, de- scended from old Shields, a remarkably strong horse and master of fifteen stone, (two hundred and ten poimds,) trotted his sixteen miles, in a very severe fi-ost, in less than fifty-five minutes. In 1791, a brown mare ti-otted in England, on the Essex road, sixteen miles in fifty-eight min- utes and some seconds, being then 18 years old ; and. while we are writing, we learn from aa official report tliat Lady Hampton, on the Od of May, 1842, in England, trotted seventeen miles in 58m. 378. in harness. She was driven by Burke, of great English trotting celebiity. On the 13th of October, 1799, a ti'ottiug match wa3 decided over Suubury Common between Mr. Dixon's brown gelding and Mr. Bishop's grey gelding, earning twelve stone (one hundred and sixty-eight pounds) each, which w^as won by the former in twenty-seven minutes and tea seconds. A Mr. Stevens made a bet which was decided 5th October, 1796, thai he would pro- duce a pair of horses, his own property, tbat should trot in tandem from Windsor to Hamp- ton Court, a distance of sixteen miles, witliiB the hour ; notwithstanding the cross country road, and great number of turnings, they per- formed it with ease in fifty-seven minutes aa3 thirteen seconds. Plienomena trotted nineteen miles in an hour. — These examples are adduced to show the fallacy of that impression whisb would lead the public to look to any but the ti-ue and rational sources of superiority — iar mankind has ever been prone to the marvelona^ prefen-ing to look for all that does not lie on the surface, to some mysterious influence, uneon- nected ■with known and rational causes. The trotter, according to the distance prescribed as the mea.sure of his capacity, needs the combina- tion of form and blood — of bone and of muscle, which give distinction to the hunter; and the reason, if it be asked, %vhy the thorongh-trrtd cannot be relied upon for a hard run over a rough country, is, that he rarely combines these requisites, and is, moreover, put to his work when too young ; but does any one doubt that Sir Archy, or Timoleon, or Eclipse, or imported Tranby, or Leviathan, ■would have made first- rate hunters or trotters, if, before they were put to hard ■work, their frames had been left to ripen, and their bones and joints and muscles to get fii-m and solid, and at the same time pliant omA supple, by gentle and moderately increasing exercise until five or six years old — for here it is to be noted that, as to the age at wh ich the trotter should be put in training, and that at which he reacheshis maximum of power, thoagu there would seem to be some difference of opin- ion, all agree that the d'Otter is not in his prime 70 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. until he is eight or nine years old. The Abdal- lahs, great-grandsous of old Mcssengei', trot much younger ; Hiram \V"oodniff — and there can be no better authority — would commence a horse's training for the trot at five or six j^ears of age, giving him light work, ho^vever, but going on increasing his work from year to year, and ex- pecting increasing excellence up to nine or ten years, and with kind usage he might continue up to this mark for three or four j-ears longer, and they often last to perform admirably until after twenty — for example : Columbus, Paul Pry, Topgallant, &c. The stoutest horses, of whatever kind or de- gree of blood, might be expected to give way if put at three or four, as the race-horse is, into se- vere training under heavy weights, for trotting- stakes or the chase ; but on the other hand, with- out blood to give him wind and courage, what •would avail his •' bag of bones," in a trial to trot his hundred miles m ten hours? Johnson, au- thor of the Sportsman's Cyclopedia — justly es- teemed high authority on such subjects — ^re- marks that " thorough-bred horses, and particu- larly those of the best blood, are seldom pos- sessed of suflBcient bone to render them pre- eminently calculated for the chase ; yet I am free to confess that the very best hunters that have fallen under my observation have been remarkably well and very highly bred, but yet not absolutely thorough-bred." The same re- mark, it is not doubted, might be made as gene- rally applicable to our first-rate trotters, at long distances. The case of Abdallah and Messenger has been instanced to show that great trotters, not thorough-bred, may and do hegct trotters; and hence some would argue that a distinct race of horses may or does e.xist. But it is to be re- membered that both Abdallah and Messenger are sons of Mambrino, son of old Messenger, and of Messenger mares, though not thorough- bred ; and nothing is better known by all who have been in the habit of attending to these sub- jects, than that the Messenger family is distin- guished for making first-rate coach-horses — quick in ligiit harness, and remarkable for endu- rance and long life. That Abdallah, therefore, himself deep in the Messenger blood, should be himself a trotter and a getter of trotters, only proves that like begets like ; and that of a dis- tinct breed, like the thorough-bred horse, cha- racterized by the possession of general proper- ties belonging only to and constituting that breed, there may hs particular families distin- guished for some peculiar qualities not possessed in the same degree by other families of the same breed. Thus we have the three classes of the English thorough-bred stock, to wit : the Herod, the Matchem, and the Eclipse, that have sei-ved as crosses for each other. In like manner, it may be said of the improved short-horn cattle — (1T8) their general characteristic is early maturity and propensity to fat, without being generally re- markable as deep milkers, though tliere are families of the short-horns esteemed for that quality. A dash of the blood of old Messenger imparts high form and action for the State coach, and the eye of the connoisseur can detect the signs in a horse in ^\•hose veins flow even one- eighth of his blood ; so the fact is generally known lo old gentlemen in the South, and espe- ciallj' avouched by the Sporting and Agricultu- ral Society in South Carolina, that the stock of old Janus (there called Genius) was so remark- able as road and saddle horses, as to have got- ten to be considered a distinct breed ; so the Topgallant stock made fine saddle-horses, excel- ling in the canter. The blood horse, too, is re- markable for longevitj' — the Messenger stock particularly so. If the truth could be known, it is probable it flowed in larger or smaller streams m each of the four thoroughbreds which the late General Hampton (sire of that paragon of sport.smen and gentlemen, Col. Wade Hamp- ton) drove in his coach all together for sixteen years. While it has been found impracticable to ob- tain any precise infonnation as to the pedigree of some of our very best trotters, in other cases where more is known, they are found to be deep in the blood. — Awful, whose peiform- ances will be seen in the tables annexed, is known to have been gotten by a thorough-bred " American bo}\" Abdallah, as before men- tioned, is by Mambrino, and he again, a great trotter, by Messenger ; but Dutchman, one of our best trotters, has no known pedigree, though we have some reason to think he was by Young Oscar, then at Carlisle. He was taken out of a clay -yard, and was transferred to the trotting- turf from a Pennsylvania wagon-team. Wood- ruff thinks blood does not give them length, or the power to go the long distances; but in this it is believed he must be mistaken. These Ca- nadian or Nonuan-French stallions, small and compact, which on well-formed, large mares give such fine harness-horses and trotters, are, as before said, deeply imbued with the blood of the barb taken from Spain into Normandy. We have been told lately by an intelligent English- man, that the infusion of blood into their coach- hor.ses has enabled them to lengthen their stages, and in very observable proportion to the degree of blood. Finally, as where the blood of the trotter when known, is seen to flow in so many instances from a spring of pure blood, is it not fair to infer a similar origin in cases where the blood cannot be traced ? especially as the uni- versal experience of all times proves that in other paces, the cases have been extremely rare, in which a horse of impure blood has been known to kerp vp a great fligh t of speed 1 A LADY SUFFOLK. 71 horse of mUrd blood may be a great trotter at a long distance, because his speed at his best is greatly behind that of the best speed ou the tarf ; but it would, according to all principles of reasoning, be unreasonable to expect great ex- cellence even as a trotter, in horses altogether free from the blood which gives foot and wind to the Eastern courser. Though we may not be able to trace it, and though in solitai-y cases a horse without it,may possess great speed and last- inguess in the trot, from excellent accidental conformation, -we repeat that the possession of the two wan-ants the presumption of the third, however obscure the traces, or remote the ori- gin ; — this is our theory ! But the action to be cultivated in the racer and the trotter is of itself sufficient to explain why a racer should not suc- ceed at once ou the turf and on the trotting- course. All reflecting and observant men will admit that "as there is no royal way to mathe- matics," so there is but one way for a horse to excel in his business ; and with rare exceptions there is but one in which any individual horse can excel. Whatever that business may be. to be perfect in it he should be educated and kept to it — and to it only. A trotting horse should do nothing but trot. ^ The weight carried on the Northern Courses, where a majority of our trotting takes place, is 145 pounds, witliout any distinction for age or sex ; and the same weight has to be carried by the driver, exclusive of the weights of his sulkey or match cart, as by the same jockey in the saddle. These match-carts are of the neatest coiiBti-uction, and weigh generallj- nearly ninety pounds, though they often weigh twenty pounds less, and there are one or t^vo which weigh but fifty-three pounds ! But the mere weight to be carried or drawn by a trotter, is much less re- garded by the sportsman than in the case of the race horse. On the Hunting Park Course, near Philadelphia, the weight was formerly 147 pounds in the saddle, and in harness catch- weights, but they have now adopted the New- York scale. But in far the greater number of the ca.ses below, unless the weight be expressly named, it may be presumed to be from 14.') to 155 pounds. Hiram Woodruff weighs without his .saddle KiO pounds. On the Beacon and Centreville Courses, pacers are allowed five pounds, and wagons, in distinction from sulkeys or match-carts, must weigh 250 pounds. As a matter of course from the dilTerence of weights carried along by him, the trotter gen- erally makes better time under the saddle than in harness, though there are some exceptions to this rule. Another consideration has great in- fluence upon this difference in time. Under the saddle, the jockey can hug the pole of our oval- shaped courses more closely than in harness, and thus he actually goes over less ground. (179) And for an obvious reason the speed of a horse in going " round the turns" is more retarded in a sulkey than under the saddle. As before stated, no allowance of weights is made for age, and in consequence no note is taken of the age of trotters in ofBcial reports of their perform- ances. We have already intimated that in introducing Lady Suffolk to our readers, accompanied with this dis-sertation on Trotting Horses ; our aim is, not to encourage a fondness for equestrian exhibitions of this character, merely as an amusement ; but to indicate how excellence so desii'able in this property of the horse, is only to be secured and cultivated, by attention to blood and good management of the breeding stud. With that object in view, and on the salutary principle of mixing the agreeable with the useful, it is deemed not amiss to entertain the reader, [-who may not have seen, or who may have forgotten them, with a few MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES OF EXTRAORDINA- RY PERFORMANCES OF AMERICAN TROTTERS. Topgallant, by Hambletonian, trotted in har- ness 12 miles in 38 minutes. — See Turf llegis- ter, vol. 1. p. 124. Ten miles have been repeatedly trotted in America within two or three seconds of thirty minutes. A roan mare called Yankee Sal trotted, as has been .stated without contradiction, in a match against time, on the Course at Providence, R,. I. which was at the time heavy and deep, fifteen miles and a half in 48m. 43s., a rate of speed so prodigious vnder the circumsla/ices, that we have often suspected there may have been an error as to the time. Lady Kate, a bay mare, 15 hands high, trot- ted on the Canton Course, near Baltimore, 16 miles in 56 m. 13s., and the reporter adds, " she could have done seventeen with ease." In October, 1831, Jerry perfonned 17 miles on the CentreviUe Course, L. L in 58 minutes under the saddle. In September, 1839, Tom Thumb, an Ameri- can horse, was driven in England 16J miles in 56m. 45s. W^e shall have more to say of this phenomenon, when we come to his performance of 100 mile.s. In 1836, the grey gelding Mount Holly was backed at $1,000 to $500, to trot twenty miles within the hour. The attempt was made on the 10th of October, on the Hunting Park Course, Pa., but failed. He performed 17 miles in 53m. 18s. widiout the least distress. He was miser- ably jockeyed for the first five mile.s, doing no one of them in less than five minutes. Pelham, a large bay gelding, in a match to go 16 miles within tlie hour, performed that distance without any training in 58m. 28s. He went in harness seven miles in 26m. 29s., when, the sul- key being badly con.sti-ucted, he was taken out and saddled, and mounted by Wallace (riding leolbs. without his saddle) and won his match. Paid Pry, a bay gelding, -was backed to per- foi-m 17| miles within the hour, under the saddle. On the 9th of Novera])er, 1833, on the Union Course, L. I., he won the match, performing 18 miles in 58m. 52s. Hiram Woodruff, weighing 72 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. then 138 lbs. jockeyed him. Paul Pry was nine years old, bred on Long Island, and got by Alouut Holly, dam by Hanibletonian. In 1831, Chancellor, a grey gelding, ridden by a small boy, performed 32 miles on the Hunt- ing Park Course, Pa., in 1 hour, o8m. 31s. The last mile, to save a bet, \vas trotted in 3m. 7s. In October of the same year, George Wood- ruff drove Whalebone, on the same Course, the same distance in 1 hour, 58m. Ss. He com- menced the match in a light sulkey, which broke Aowa on the I4th mile, and was replaced by one much heavier. This Course is fifty feet inore than a mile in the saddle track, and much more than that in the harness track. On the nth of September, 1839, Mr. Mo- Mann's bay mare. Empress, on the Beacon Course, in a match against time, S600 a side, performed in harness 33 miles in 1 hour, 58m. 55s. The Amei-icaii horse i?a«Zer was ridden by Mr. Osbaldi.stone in England, in a match against Driver, 34 miles in 2 hours, 18m. 56s. — Mr. Os- baldistone rode 125 lbs. ; Rattler was 15J hands high. In July, 1835, Black Joke was driven in a match against time, on the Course at Providence, R. I.. 50 miles in 3 hours, 57s. A grey roadster is reported to have performed the same distance on tlie Hunting Park Course, Pa., in 3 hours, 40m. It was a private match. A grey mare. Mischief, by Mount Holly, out of a Messenger mare, 8 years old, in July, 1837, performed about 84 J miles in 8 hours, 30m. in harness, on the road ti^om Jersey City to Phila- delphia. The owner would not allow^ a whip to be used. The day was excessively -wann, and the mare lost her match (to perform 90 miles in 10 hours) through the stupidity of a groom who dashed a pail of water over her with a view of cooling her. Tom Thumb, before mentioned, performed on 2d Febi-uaiy, 1829, on Sunbury Common, England, 100 miles in 10 hours, 7m. in harness. He was driven by \Villiam Haggerty (weighing over 140 lbs.) in a match-cart weighing 108 lbs. This performance, so extraordinarj-, demands more than a passing notice, and ■we accordingly abridge from an English paper the foUowiug deacription : " Tom Thumb \vas brought from beyond the Mis-souri, and is reported to have been an Indian pony, caught wild and tamed. Others again allowing him to have been thus domesticated, think him to have been not the full-bred wild horse of the ^Vestem prairies, but to have had some cross of higher and purer blood. But too little is known of his breeding, saving his Wes- tern origin, to justify any satisfactory speculation. "His bight was 14^ hands, and his appear- ance, when standing still, rough and uncouth. From his birth, he had never been shorn of a hair. He was an animal of remarkable hardi- hood, a hearty feeder, and though accustomed to rough usage, was free from vice, playful and good-tempered. He was eleven years old when he performed his match, and had never had a day's illness. At full speed his action was par- ticularly beautiful — he threw his fore-legs well out, and brought up his quarters in good style ; he trotted square, though rather %vide behind, and low. He was driven without a bearing rein, which is going out of use in England, and simply v^ith a snaffle-bit and martin- gale. He pulled extremely hard — his head beinii, in consequence, well up and close to his " (I'-^O) neck, and his mouth wide open. He did his work with great ease to himself, and at 11 miles the hour, seemed to be only playing, while horses accompanying labored hard. " The whole time allowed for refreshments da- ring his great performance, amounted to but 37 minutes, including taking out and putting to the cart, taking off and putting on the harness, feeding, rubbing do\\-n and stalling. The day before and the day after the match, he walked fuU twenty miles. His jockey provided himself with a whip, but made no use of it iu driving him ; a slight kick on the hind-quarters was quite sufficient to increase his speed when necessary." In February, 1828, a pair of horses trotted against time 100 miles on the Jamaica turnpike, on Long Island, and won in 11 hours, 54m. CENTREVILLE, L. I. Tuesday, May 10, 1842 Purse $300. Two-mile heats, in harness. D. Bryan's gr. m. Lady Suffolk Owner 1 1 H. Woodruff's br. g. Ripton 2 2 Time, 5.10—5.15. Wonders will never cease — the grey mare has proved the better horse, and no mistake. — No longer ago than last Saturday, Ripton popt it to the mare and Confidence, over the Beacon Course, in the quick time of S.IO^ — 5.12^. On tlie present occasion, Ripton ^va3 the fa- vorite at 100 to 70. At the start they went off ^vell together, at the top of their rate, making play from the score : on reaching the first turn, Ripton broke, and tlie mare took the lead by several lengths, going finely. Hiram made sev- eral efforts to make up his loss, but all was of no avail ; the mare kept snugly to her work, and led throughout the heat, making the quick time of 5-10. Second Heat. — They both cooled off well, and came up ripe for mischief. They got off well together at a flight of speed ; Ripton broke, as usual, on the first turn, and lost several lengths, the mnre taking the lead. Hiram got Ripton snugly to his work again, and caught the mare in the last quarter of the firpt mile, both coming down the straight side at a tremendous flight of speed ; on making tlie turn, Ripton broke, and lost about fifty yards ; and before the mare got out, Hiram made up his lost ground, lapt the mare comins? do^^^l tlie quarter stretch, but was unable to win the heat, for Hiram had taken the kink out of his horse to make up the lost ground. Ripton was very restless, and broke several times dming each heat HUNTING PARK COURSE. On Tuesday last, a splendid trot came off over the Hunting Park Course, two-mile heat.s, be- tween Ripton and Lady Suffolk, in which they made the best time on record at this distance, in harness. Hiram Woodruff on Ripton won the last heat by six inches only ! Hiram Woodruff's br. (r. Ripton Owner 12 1 Da\'id Brjan'a gr. m. Lady Suffolk 2 1 2 Tune, 5.07—5.15—5.17. The following table has been made with care. It will be seen that while, in this list of about thirty gi'eat performers, not one is over 16 hands, only two are under 15. USUAL HIGHT OF TROTTING-HORSES. The annexed list gives the hight of many cel- ebrated horses, estimated only, but by two most experienced men, one of whom had groomed or ridden almost every one named, and the other is an old amateur, who has the quickest eye for ahorse, and who rode after most of those named, and has seen tiiem all repeatedly. Of the twen- ty-nine in the list, they differed only about eight, and of these only bj- one inch, save in a single case. In the eight cases we have given the estimate of the jockey who had ridden or driven them, and have great faith in its accuracy. Names. hands, inches. Dutchman 15 3J Lady Suffolk 15 2 Columbus 16 1 Aaron Bun- 1.5 1 Rattler (tlie latest) 15 2 Screwdriver (old) 16 0 Do. (latest) 15 0 D. D. Tompkins 15 0 Lady \V arrington 15 1 Lady Victorj- 15 2 Topgallant .". 15 3 Sir Peter 15 2 Whalebone 15 3 Shakspeare 15 2 Betsj- Baker 15 3 Cato : 16 0 Edwin Forrest 15 0 Burster i 15 0 Xorman Leslie 15 3 Contideuce (latest) 15 2 Locomotive -."?. 16 0 Sally Miller 15 3 Charlotte Temple 15 0 Washington 16 0 Modesty 14 2 Greenwich Maid 15 0 Awful 15 3 Henry 15 1 Paul Pry 16 0 TRAI.VI\"G A.VD JOCKETISG THE TROTTKR. The acknowledged superiority of the per- formances of the American over English trot- ters, or, to speak ^vith more precise accuracy, extraordinary.- performances in a greater number of cases, has been already attributed to superior skill in training • but on that ^ve must not be understood as layin? .so much stress as upon s«- periorjockci/'c'hip in this particular department: for th^ training of the trotting horse, so far as ■we can learn, requires no considerable skill, save as it is connected -with the skiU of the jockey, who usually, acts in both capacities. — For training, the whole code is said to consist of three words — air, exercise, and food. The work given him in training is severe according to his constitution, and consists in walking him from twelve to tvventy miles daily, and giving him " sharp work '' tliree or four times a ^veek. This '• sharp work " is usually a distance of t%vo miles, or sometimes three. The horse is not put to his speed this entire distance, but taught to rouse himself at intervals, at the call of his jockey, \Nho encourages him and brings out his utmost capacity by his voice, not less scarcely than by the usual persuasion of whip and spur. This feature of trotting jockevship is peculiar, (181) and not a little amu.sing. The jockey is contin- ually talking, or rather growling, to his horse, and at times he bursts out into shouts and yells, that would be terrific if not so ludicrous. The object would appear to be twofold — first, to en- courage his horse to the utmost possible-exertion of his po^vcrs when called upon ; and, again, so to accustom him to this harsh shouting, that he may not break up when he hears it from the opposing jockey — for it is deemed not unsports- manlike for one jockey to break up the pace of another's nag by thus actually frightening him. Many a victory has Hiram Woodruff won by thus rousing his ovm horse and breaking up Ids opponent's on the last quarter. These two mile drives are not repeated as is usual in training the race-horse. Nor is the work of the trotter given at intervals so regular as in the case of the other, nor is he kept in such habitual quiet ; tlie trainer consults his own convenience to a great degree as to the time Ts-hen he will give his nag exercise, and he never hesitates about taking him out and showing him at any hour. In other respects, too, the treatment of the trotting-horse differs from that of the more high- bred racer. Less deUcate in constitution and form, he is less delicately fed and groomed. — Allowed to eat when and what they please, trotting-horses are groomed with much the same care as well-kept towTi coach-horses, or perhaps the English hunter. In the two grand points of keeping tliem in robust health and giving them hard work enough, the training of the trotter and the racer is identical. But. for the trotter, from six to eight weeks' training is deemed suf- ficient. We are inclined to believe that very much of the superiority of the American trotter and roadster is attributable to the skill of the jockey. Our mode of driving them differs es- sentially from the English ; and, though neither ea.sy nor elegant it succeeds admirably in de- veloping the capabilities of a horse at this pace. The case already cited of Wheelan and the horse Alexander, in England, is in point, and it is practically illustrated every day in New- York, many English residents of which city are trot- ting amateurs; they, one and all. after a little experience, adopt the Yankee mode of driving. It has long been a question exciting much in- terest, whetlier twenty miles has been, or can be, trotted in one hour. There is no record of any such performance, although there have been many attempts to do it. But men of great judgment and long- experience are so fu'lv con- fident of the ability of our hor.ses to go that dis- tance at the required rate, that lai-ge odds would be laid that it can be done. The diflBcuily is to find an indiWdual who will, at this day, back him to an adequate amount ; for it will readiiy occur that ahorse that can accomplish the feat must be of great value, and the risk of injurj- to 74 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. him is, of course, very considerable. It is be- lieved that $10,000 to $r),000 wonld readily be laid tbat Dutchman can do it, and probably Americus would be backed at less odds like- wise to do it. The trotting- amateurs in New- York profess to entertain no doubt at all upon the subject, and it is believed they have suiB- cient reason for the opinion. In making: the presence of Lady Suffolk the occasion for this long disquisition on the trotting hor.'^e, whose powers we have illustrated by ex- amples of extraordinary pci-formance, v^-e have been influenced, let us repeat, by all the consid- erations which the strictest utilitarian can be supposed to regard. We are convinced that whenever we shall have entirely lost sight of the wonderful capabilities %vhich are only to be found in the bred horse, the mevitable conse- quence mu.st be general deterioration, ; while, with proper inducements and precautions to measure his foot and to guage his bottom, no such consequence need be apprehended. 'VS'^hen we insist that, without a good portion of blood, "we can reckon on no general or peiTnanent sup- ply of good nags for the saddle or the harness, possessing fleetness and endurance, our chief purpose is to impress upon American horse- breeders, generally, the absolute necessity of preserving that blood in its purity. A well- fonned horse, of cold blood, may, it is tnie, oc- casionally get fine stock, especially on large, hiirh bred mares ; but to abandon, therefore, our reliance on the blood of the Eastern courser, which has come down to u.s, intact, for ages, would be to let go the rudder at sea, be- cause, perchance, the ship might be floated on an even keel into safe harbor. How the measure of excellence is to be applied, and the results to be recorded and preserved, we must not .stop to discuss. Those who are opposed to all field-.sports, on account of the dissipation and vice with which thej- are too often accompanied, might j'et learn to tolerate what they cannot en- joy. Even Agricultural Fairs and Exhibitions are not always free from profane and immoral indulgences, though utlder the strictest regula- tions. In short, the ^vhole business of life is mixed up with good and evil, and is full of compromises. Shall we forego the use of gun- powder, because that "villainous compound" eometimes charges the pistol of the duelist; or throw up. altogether, the use of steam, because human life is sometimes sacrificed by the care- less u.se of it ? POLlTICAf. VALUE OF THE B It E D HORSE. But it is not only as a question of individual comfort, or of agricultural economy, that the ad- vantages of a breed of superior horses are to be looked at. It is worthy, too, of the serious re- gard of the Statesman, in the higher and more ^ (182) important aspect it presents in a military point of view, and as thus connected with our nation- al defences. In cavalry, perhaps more than in any other w^eapon, our locality must always give us an advantage over any invading force. An enemy cannot bring cavalry with him. — With something like a well-arranged system in breeding our horses, this advantage may be tiirned to great account in time of war. With the forecast that distinguished his military ad- ministration. Napoleon had the sagacity to esta- blish Haraa, or studs, in the several depart- ments of France, where thorough-bred stallions were placed at the service of the common farm- er, on terms which barely paid the expense of their keep. But to come nearer home — while every one at all familiar with the incidents of our own Revolution, knows how much was ef- fected in the South by Lee's fiimous " Legion," few, comparatively, may be aware to what that celebrated corps chiefly owed its efficiency — and yet it is undeniable that in a great measure tlie prevalence of blood in his horses made it at once the scourge and the terror of the enemy. Wonderful in their endurance of hunger, thirst, and fatigue — prompt to strike a blow where it ■\^"as least expected, and, when forced, as quick to retreat — they may be said to have well earned the description applied to the Parthian steed : '■ Qvot sine aqua Partliiis nullia cvrrat equus. How many miles can ran the Paithian horse. Nor quench his thu-st in the fatiguing course ! " Artificial Manures. — The extent to which research has been carried to discover new fer- tilizers, and the universal conviction, in Eng- land, that only by the free use of manures can their lands be kept in heart, is well evinced in one of the excellent letters of Mr. Norton, (the 11th,) published in that most excellent journal the Albany " Cultivator. ' " As Guano begins to fail, (says Mr. Norton,) they are bringing home the bodies of the birds themselves ; some of them were lately sent here in order that their value as a manure compared v\ ith that of Guano, might be determined by Prof Johnston. They had lain buried for years under the Guano, and in appearance resombled the smoked geese from the Shetland Islands, sold in the shops here. They are quite satur- ated with ammonia, and their large bones add much to their value. They would require chop- ping into .small fragments before depositing in the soil, and in consideration of this serious drawback, Prof Johnston considers them worth about £4 per ton, or nearly $20. Were it not for this difficulty, they would be worth as much as Guano itself" The Royal Agricultural Societt of England consists of 6,933 members. They pay their Secretarj' two thousand dollars a year ! LINDSEYS ARABIAN. 75 OBITUARY NOTICE OF GEN. T. M. FORMAN OF MARYLAND. WITH A CURIOUS HISTORY, DERIVED FROM HIM, OF THE IMPORTATION OF THE CELE- ■ BRATED STALLION, LINDSEY'S ARABIAN. The brilliant exploits pcrfonwed, in the Revo- lutionary War, by Lee's famous Legion, alluded to in the close of the preceding chapter, were ascribed at the time, in a great measure, to the high breeding of his cavalry liorses, rendering that Legion, as already stated, at once " the terror and the scourge of the enemy." The reader ^^•ill not take it amiss that we should transfer to our columns the curious ac- count of the importation of that renowned horse. This accoiint was derived by the Editor, from the late General T. M. Forma.v, who was too good a judge of the virtues of a good horse, and when alive loved a good horse too well, to take it amiss that his name should be associated in the same obituaiy notice, with one so distin- guished in equestrian annals. G^n. T. M. For- man was a Revolutionary compeer of such men as Howard and Smith and Guest and Stewart, and survived them all until very lately, respect- ed as a fine specimen of the " time that tried men's .souls." He was truly a gentleman of the old school. At the time of his decease, which occurred recently, he must have been more tVian four score years of age, and yet he continued, sedulously, to the last, not only to bud and graft choice fruit, but to plant the nuts and seeds of forest trees, and to embellish with exotic trees and shrubberj', his much-loved garden, at Rose- mount, on the beautiful shores of the Sassafras. A memoir, in illn.stration of his partiality for rural life, and his disposition to grace and em- bellish it with hospitality, literature, and flori- culture, is due to his memory, and would be, we need hardly say, an acceptable offering to tlie pages of the Farmers' Library. LIND.SEY'S ARABIAN. Abotit the year 1777 or '78, Gen. H. Lee, of the Cavalry, and his officers, had their attention drawn to some uncommonly fine Eastern horses employed in the public service — horses of such superior form and appearance, that the above officers were led to make much inquiry re.spect- ing their historj- ; and this proved so extraordi- nary, that Captain Lind.sey was sent to examine and make more particular inquiry respecting the fine cavalry, which had been so much ad- mired, and with instnictions, that if the sire answered the description given of him, the Captain was to purchase him, if to be sold The Captain succeeded in purcha.sing the horse, who was taken to Virginia, where he covered at a high price and with considerable success. (183) It was not until this fine horse became old and feeble that the writerofthe.se recollections rode thirty miles expressly to see him. Ho was a white horse, of the most perfect fonn and Sym- metry-, rather above fifteen hands high, and although old and crippled, pppeared to possess a high and gallant temper, which gave him a lofty and commanding carriage and appearance. The history of this horse, as given to me during ■' c Revolutionary war, by sev^eral respectable persons from Connecticut, "at vsrious times, is: — " For some very important service, rendered by the Commander of a Briti.sh frigate, to a sou of the then Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor presented this horse (the most valuable of his stud) to the Captain, who shipped him on board the frigate, with the sanguine expectation of obtaining a great pi-ice for him, if safely landed in England. Either in obedience to orders, or from some other cause, the frigate called at one of the English Wesf-lndia islands, where being obliged to remain some time, the Captain, in compassion to the horse, landed him for the pur- pose of exercise. No convenient securely en- clo.sed place -could be found but a large lumber yard, into which the horse was turned loose; but delighted and playful as a kitten, his liberty soon proved nearlv fatal to him. He ascended one of the piles, frBm which and with it he fell, and broke three of his legs. At this time in the same harbor, the English Captain met with an old acquaintance from one of our now Eastern States. To him he offered the hor.se, as an animal of inestimable value could he be cured. The Eastern Captain gladly accepted the horse, and knowing he must be detained a consider- able time in the Island before he could dispose of his assorted cargo, got the horse on board his vessel, secured him in slings, and very carefully set and bound up his broken legs. It matters not how long he remained in the harbor, or if quite cured before he arrived on our shore ; but he did arrive, and he must certainly have cov- ered several seasons, before he was noticed as first mentioned. " When the writer of these remarks went to see the horse, his first attention was to examine his leg.s, respecting the reported fracture, and he was fully satisfied, not merely by seeing the lumps and inequalities on the three legs, but by actually feeling the irregularities and pro- jections of broken bones. " In Connecticut (I think) this horse was called Ranger; in Virginia (as it should be) he was called Lindsey's Arabian. He was the sire of Tulip and many good runners ; to all his stock he gave gi-eat perfection of form ; and his blood flows in the veins of some of the best horses of the present day. Make what use you plea.se of this statement: I will stand corrected in my nan-ative, by any per.son ^^•ho can produce bet- ter testimony respecting Lindsey's Arabian. " Your obedient servant, F." September 10, 1827. TURNIP CULTURE IN ENGLAND. THE NORTHUMBERLAND PLAN (CONSIDERED THE BEST IN ENGLAND) DESCRIBED. The introduction of Turnip culture, as a field crop, seems to have been a providential inspi- ration. It was introduced first, upon a large scale, from Flanders into Norfolk, about two centuries ago, and tlience passed into the South of Scotland and the North of England, not until a century after, so dilatorj' are Farmers in adopting new objects and new processes, adapted to their pur- poses of life. ] a Norfolk, we are informed the cultivation of T umips as winter food for stock, was for a long time confined to one or two indi- viduals, and at last spread widely, and was much accelerated and improved, by adopting the row, or drill system, invented by that great benefactor of English Agriculture — Jethro TuLL. The broad cast system is still practiced in Flanders, and to a certain extent, yet prevails in England ; though in both countries the labor- ers hoe them out, with a dexterity, which ob- viates in a great measure, the ill consequei-ces of the broadcast system, as practised in this country — at least in our Southern States. There, how- ever, Turnips fomi but an insignificant object of regard. Most farmers looking to them, as for centuries they did in England, only as a culinary vegetable ; and for that purpose they ' cmcpen ' a small piece of old land, and sow their Turnips 60 thick as to shade the ground, leaving them to their fate, often without even thinning and hoe- ing. Now, however, that every one is becom- ing sensible how indispensable it is to increase the quantity, and to improve the quality of his home-made manure , it may be expected that more attention will be given to this important crop — important as compared with other root or green crops, on account of the facility of raising, and of presei-ving it. It is admitted that Turnips in many parts of Europe, are at the foundation of all the best systems of farming, ina.smuch as they supply the requisite manure, and at the same time dean the land, for subse- quent crops, by the numerous plowings and liarrowings which are indispensable in Turnip culture — a tiling very much overlooked by American fai'mcrs, who seem not to reflect, that every spear of grass, and every noxious weed, takes from the crops not only the food which it finds in the soil, but its full share of that which floats in the atmosphere. It is admitted that such has been the effect of the introduction of Turnips as a field crop, in England, that witiiout (184) it, she could not have stood up under the load of her national debt. In the preparation of the ground, and the management of the crop, what is called the Northrimberland plan is considered the best, and that has been briefly described in the man- ner that we shall presently see ; — the objection that will be raised to it in our country, is the labor it requires ; but much better would it be, in most cases, to restrict the labor at command, to dbe-fourth of the surface, to which it is usu- ally applied, than to waste it as is done, over fields barren by exhaustion, and ■want of ma- nure ; and yet more so by the slovenly and ini- pei'fect manner in which they have been tilled. Persuaded that it is too late in the season to offer information which may be availed of now to any great extent, (although we have seeu a heavy crop of common Turnips from a sowing on the 10th of September,) we proceed novs' to give— TUE NORTHUMBERLAND PLAN. The County of Northumberland has been one of the foremost of the English counties in adopt- ing the improved system of Agriculture — the chief feature of which is the cultivation of tur- nips for the rearing and fattening of cattle. Tur- nips accordingly occupy a large proportion of every fann, the soil of which admits of this cul- tivation. So great has been the advantage de- rived from this change from the old triennial system, that many fields now yield heavy crops of this useful root which in most other {larts of England would be considered as totally unfit for its cultivation. This has arisen from the early adoption of the culture in rows on elevated ridges, wliich has received the general appella- tion of the Noithuml)erland method, and which we shall therefore describe with some minute- UCi.S. The ground having been prepared by as many plowings and han-owings as may be thought requisite to pulverize it and destroy the weeds, and laid quite flat, an experienced plowman draws as straight a fuiTow^ as possible, and, re- turning, lays the next fun-ow slice upon the first, thus completing what is usually called a bout. The usual width of the furrow being 9 inches, the first ridge and fun-ow take up 13 inches; the next fun-ow slice being laid over the first, the whole work takes a ^^■idtll of 27 inches. He then enters again at the distance of 27 inches from the land side of the fir.st-made fuiTow, and completes a second bout parallel to the first. When the whole field is thus laid in- to narrow ridges, which, from the soil being light and crumbling, gives the section of tlie surface a waved appearance, such as is repre- sented in the annexed cut, the depressions are ahout 6 inches below the former surface, and the ridges as much above. This at once doubles the depth of the cultivated soil in the ridges. — The manure is no'w brought on the land in small one-horse carts, the wheels of which are about 54 inches apart, so that the horse walks in one furrow while the wheels move in the Uvo ad- joining. The manure, vi'hich is chiefly conimon farm-yard dung, not too much decomposed, es- pecially if the soil is inclined to clay, is laid in small heaps, drawn out of the cart bj' a dung- hook, or, which is better, by a boy standing on the load in the cart, who forks it out more regu- larly as the horse goes slowly on. It is then laid equally in the fun-ows by women and boys. — The quantity thus laid on depends on the sup- jily of the yard compared with the breadth of turnips intended to be sown, for the whole is expended on this crop. In general, not less than 15 or 20 single-horse loads per acre are thought necessary to produce a good crop. — Twice diat quantity is often put on. This dung is evenly distributed in the furrows to the right and left of that in ^vhich it has been deposited from the cart. The plowman now begins to co- ver this dung by splitting the ridges in two, lay- ing one half to the left and the other to the right, and reversing the bouts, so that the ridges are now directly over the dung, whicn is complete- ly buried. The appearance of the Held after tiiis is exactly similar to what it was after the first bouting. A roller is now drav^ai over the ridges, to flatten them at the top, in order that they may better receive the seed, yihich is drilled exactly on the middle of the ridge by a machine attached to the frame of the roller and dragged after it. The roller is usually sufficient- ly large to roll two ridges at once ; and, in that case, two drilling-machines, each guided by a man, are fixed to it, and one horse, walking in the middle furrow, draws the whole apparatus forward. Thus, two men and a horse, with a boy to lead the latter, can drill four or five acres in one summer's day. The drill barrow has a very slight coulter, hollowed out at the back part to receive the tin tube through which the seed is delivered. The simplest construction of that part v\hich distributes the seed is a tin cyl- inder, or, rather, double cone, with holes in the circumference, through which the seed falls into the tube. The seed-box revolves on an axis, turned by means of a connection with the axis of one of the wheels of the machine, which re- volves with it ; the other wheel turns round this axis. As long as the first -mentioned wheel goes on tlie ground, the seed is delivered ; but as soon as it is raised, so that the drill proceeds on the other wheel alone, no seed falls through, be- oause the axis no longer turns. Thus nozie is lost in turning at the ends of the ridges. In verj' light soils anotlier slight rolling is necessary to press in the seed ; but, in stifter loams, a small chain or piece of iron, dragged after the coulter, is sufficient to cover the seed without rolling. — By this method the seed has not only a greater depth of mellow soil to strike in, but the fermen- tation of the dung immediately under it acts as a hot-bed, and soon brings it up ; by ^vhich means it generally is so rapidly in the rough leaf that it seldom suffers from tlie depredations of tlie fly. Experience shows that in a mui.-l cli- (185) mate the ridge system produces much more cer- tain and heavier crops than could be expected in general from the most careful broadcast cul- ture. As soon as the turnip has four leaves out of the ground, the rows may be thinned by the hand or by tlie hoe, and the plants may be left from eight to ten inches apart. The next pro- cess is stirring the ground between the rows with a light one-horse plow. This plow takea a small sliallow fuiTow to the left of the raw, within three or fonr inches of the young plants, and lays it in the middle of the interval between the ridges. When this has been done on both sides all over the field, there will be small ridges formed between the principal ridges on which the turnips grow. All weeds are thus buried, except between the plants in the rows, where they are taken out by the hand or hoe. Some time afterwards, a naiTow cultivator, like har- rows with crooked lines, which are called cnts' claws, from their shape, is drawn over the last- made ridge, to pulverize the earth and clear it from all remaining weeds ; this is repeated more than once, if it should be thought neces- sary. Before the Autumn rains set in, or the turnips have too vi'ide spreading tops, a plow with a double mould-board is drawn along the middle of the intervals, and lays half of the pul- verized soil on each side against the ridge on which the turnips grow ; not to cover the roots and protect them from frost, as some think, but to supply fresh mellow earth for the extenduig fibres of the root to strike into. In heavy, wet loams, it may be necessary, in order to make a clean, neat furrow between the rows, to let off any surface water, in the latter end of the sea- son, w'ith a double mould-board plow, and dig out deeper water-farrows with the spade across the ridges, where they may be required by the nature of the surface. But tliis is not often ne- cessaiy in common turnip soils. By following the above system, Swedish turnips, and even common white turnips, may be raised with suc- cess on the heaviest .soils ; and if taken up early, and stored for winter use, they will leave the land in as good a state for wheat, with one or t^^•o p^owings, as if it had been fallowed. The carts which take off the turnips will not hurt the land, for the hor.se walks in a deep furrow, and the wheels move in similar ones, and thus the mellow earth is not ti'od upon. In order that the dung, which is not yet fully decomposed, may be spread evenlj- for the next croji, the ridges are often made in a diagonal line acrcss the usual line of plowing. When the turnips are off', one bout of the plow levels each of the ridges, heavy harrows level the whole, and it can be plowed in proper stitches for the sowing of the next crop. Sometimes what is sown im- mediately, but more frequently barley witli clovei'-.seed in spring. In the latter case the Swedish turnips maj' be left on the ground all winter, and taken up or fed oft" early in spring. Though j-ou may traverse the whole of North- umberland without meeting with a single field of turnips sown broad-cast, the drilling of other crops is by no means so common as in Norfolk and Suffolk, where most of the turnip.s, on the other hand, are still sown broad-cast. The ex- pen.sc of tlie machines for drilling corn may be one cause of this, but it seems not sufiicient to account for it. It is well known to all good farmers that all the subsequent crops depend on the snece.ss of the turnips. These are the source from which manure is provided, and no crop will keep so 78 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 1 much cattle during winter and early spring, witli so little exhaustion of soil, as turnips. The manure abundantly put on the laud to raise the turnips is a fund laid out at great interest for the benefit of tlie future crops : for the whole course is benefited by them, especially if they are fed oft" by folding sheep on them. Whether wheat or barley is sown after turnips, clover and grass- seeds are usually sown amongst it. The hind beiug clean and in good heart, the grasses grow thickly and cover tlie gi'ound well the year after. In the heavier loams, after the grasses have been once mown for hay, the land is depastured for two or three j-ears, and then it is plowed once and sown with oats. After oats come beans, witli some manure, and wheat ends the rotation. This is considered tlie best cour.se for keeping the land in a state of progressive improvement. On very rich soils another crop of beans or peas may be taken after the wheat, and then wheat or oats again. "Few .soils, however, except the richest and deepest, will bear this exhausting course ; and it is more prudent in general to re- turn to the turnips after the first crop of wheat. On light gra^ elly soils, -where the clover and grasses soon fall off, the Norfolk system answers best. The tm-nips are fed off with sheep, or, where the crop is heavy, half the turnips are drawn for oxen and cows and the otlier half fed off; or, which is a late improvement, tliey are out into slices or strips by a machine, and given to the sheep ^vith cut clover hay iu shallow troughs on the ground from which turnips were drawn. In this way the turnips aro much farther ; and the lambs and old ewes will tlirive and fat- ten on them, which they could not have done in the old way for -want of teeth to bite them. After turnips come barley and broad clover, with a small portion of annual rye-gras.s, mown once for hay and plowed up for •w'heat. The next course is the same, witli the variation of some snb.stitute for the broad clover which should not be sown ou the same land oftener tlian once in eight years to ensure good crops. Pai-t of the land may be in peas or tares to cut green, and part in gras-s-seeds without clover, according to the judgment of the farmer. There are some very heavy and wet soils in the county, ^vhich will not readily bear turnips, and where the sheep cannot be folded in winter, nor the turnips carted off without greatly injuring the laud. There a fallow is unavoidable at least once iu six or seven years. In other respects they are cultivated in a similar manner with good loams. The practice of thorough-draining, ^vhich is spreading rapidly, ^vill probably soon banish clean fallows, and substitute turnips in their place, even iu tlie most retentive soils, which will in time be converted into rich loams by the efi'ect of cultivation, loaming, manuring, &c., as may be seen in many old gardens, of which the natm-al soil was once a retentive clay. In due time we shall revert to tlie culture of this root, being satisfied that not\\'ithstanding certain and serious impediments, tending to frustrate tlie best directed attempts to cultivate Turnips, especially in the Southern low lands of this countrj', on any thing at all approachmg the scale on which it is practised in England, the Swedish Turnip might, still be made to contri- bute largely and profitably to the siistenance of beasts, and so to the accumulation of manure — the fertility of the land, and the increase of all other crops. For this impres.sion we might rely for strong support, on the heavy crops w^e sa-w, near maturity, last Autumn at Marshfield, and at Hereford Hall. UNDER-DRAINING. ONE OF THE GR.A:ND IMPROVEMENTS IN PROGRESS TO SUPPLY BREAD TO THE INCREASING POPUL.4TION OF ENGL.\ND. There are now in progress, in Great Britain, two great and fruitful means of adding to the Agricultural products of tlie countiy, so much needed by the growth of her population, to wit : U.vder-Draisisg asd Irrigatio.v. Of these two great modes of fertilizing land, the one the most expensive, tlie other the most beautiful of all agricultural operations; the latter onlj-, in the opinion of an American citizen of profound judgment, who looks at such things with the eyes of a Bacon or a Brindley, is applicable to our coimtry to anj- great extent. Under-draining, which answers its purpose only ^vhere it is thoroughly performed, is, per- haps, too expensive for extensive use in America. Like Iron works, the e.stabli.«hment of which costs so much moiicv, few have capital caual to the enterprise, but those who have, get the better paid for their investment We have, however, seen under-draining practised with eminent skill and success, bj- a very plain, un- pretending, worthy farmer, in Prince Georges county, Mar>-land, with results that do high honor to his sagacity and forecast ; and the more so as, probably, he had never read any description, or seen any specimens of the manner of conduct- ing it. He, Mr. Somers, residing .some miles below Nottingham, in Prince George.s county, has successfiilly under-drained boggy meadows and adjacent upland, by means of large poles laid along side of each other, ani covered in a peculiar and careful mamier with cedar brusli, and then with sods and dirt. His example is well worthy of beimr imitated, and might be. at UNDER-DRAINING. 79 least on a small scale, in a thousand instances in liis own county, with profit and \vith credit ; and why should not the farmer be as ambitious of credit, for the appearance of his farm, as the commander about the cleanUncss and discipline of his ship, or a Colonel for that of his regiment ? On the importance of draining, so much neglected in our countrj-, as far as our observa- tion has extended, (with some memorable ex- ceptions, such as may be seen at Indian Hill,) we can only repeat the persuasion heretofore expressed, that next after, if not before thorough tillage, in importance, as ui fact, it should pre- cede all tillage, is thorough draining — a process aptly denominated the motlier of all agricultural improvement. To this, the young farmer on coming to his estate should give his first atten- tion ; and here again we perceive the necessity for early instruction in the principles of hydrau- lics, so far at least as to know the laws which govern the rise and the running of water ; for all attempts at draining must ultimately fail, if not conducted with reference to such principles, whether they be learned by experience, some- times dearly bought, or by studying at school the science of the thing. It will ever be in vain to look for good crops, cither of grajn or grass, until the land has been drained of^l superflu- ous moisture ; and yet tliere are few farmers who might not reclaim portions of their land by drainmg judiciously conducted, vchich \vould, when so reclaimed, be the most productive por- tions of their estate, and well supply the place of such as they might profitably sell, or give to their children. St all events, such eye sores as tliese wet spots, throwing up useless if not nox- i ions grasses, and exhaling malai-ia, are disgust- ing to look upon, and ought to be deemed as disgraceful to any practical farmer as galls on ilie back or shoulders of his woi'king animals. Lmdenwold. under the careful management of Ex-President Van Burex, is understood to ex- hibit remarkable specimens of perseverance and skill in the art and economy of draining. Ill due time, as -we can get opportnnitj', the patrons of the Farmers' Library shall be put in posst'ssion of full information as to the principles and most approved materials and system, for performing tliis great means of reclaiminsr, in man}' cases, the most valuable portions of their land, leaving them to decide how far they possess the means of carrying it out, each one in his own case. This is one of the cases where men of fortune and libera! spirit might render essential service to Agriculture, by putting in operation some specimens of die most approved metliods of under-draining, in order to test, for the benefit of those whose more limited means make it im- prudent for them to lead the way — th.e actual expenses and results. The scale of expenses abroad, on account of difTerencc of cost of labor (187) and materials, may not apply in America, but the necessaiy allowance on these points may be made, while the efi'ects in regard to the meUo- ration of tlie laud, and the increase of its crop, would be alike in botli countries. Our readers may be interested in the testi- mony given before the Tamu-orlh Agricullural Society, on the results of reclaiming land by under-draining, by Lord Stanley, at a meeting of that Association last year. " It was impossible to cast round their eyes about the country in wliich they lived, and not acknowledge diat there had been a vast im- provement in the practical agiiculture of this country within the last ten or iffteen years. In producing that improvement he firmlj' believed that this society had borne its full share, and he should deeply regret if any circumstance ■what- ever deprived it of that support which all who were engaged in the cultivation of the soil ought to render it. Perhaps tliey would permit him to make a few observations on two subjects which were of primarj- and vital importance in the science — for it was now becoming a science — of agriculture, wathout which all others were comparatively worthless. A real, effectual, and thorough draining of the soil was of vast import- ance in the first instance, and it was die found- ation of all improvement. Now it was quite true that agriculture was not capable of that in- definite extension by vs'hich the manufacturing interest, in its rapid progress, had astonished the world, and astonished itself; but it was equally true that agi-iculture was capable of vast exten- sion and improvement. The surtace of the soil was limited, and the capacity of the soil was also limited ; but they were limited in a much less degree than \vas generally supposed ; and he spoke with the greatest confidence when he said that, of the waste lands of this couutrj', a vast propoilion was capable of producing a large profit on a lai'ge — an immen.scly large — outlay of capital expended upon it ; and, con- sidering the condition of the country, and the increa-sing population of the country," it was not only their interest, but it wa.s also their bounden duty, to exert themselves, and to apply their best energies, not of sinews alone, but of the mind and intellect, to ascertain how the soil could be made more capable of supporting the population. The importance of thorough drain- ijig was universally admitted, but, perhaps, he might be permitted to state two or tliree facts as practical result-s, which had come under his own observation, showing that what he was preach- ing to them, he was, in a certain degree, prac- tising himself In the course of the last two or three years, they — he spoke for his father as well as for himself— on behalf of themselves and their tenants, had put under ground nearer three than two and a half million of tiles, and had tlius fairly indicated their belief and confi- dence in the success of a great experiment. And why had tlioy done so .' Every month that passed over his head convinced him that, so far from having done all that could be done, they had oidy made a beginning, and were only doing that which it \\as not only their bounden duty, but, still more, dieir abundant interest to do. He would state one instance of the practi- cal returns which might be expected from tldo- rougii scientific draining. In IBll, his father was about to mclose in the park at Knowsley, a MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. tract of about eighty acres. Of this eighty acres about twenty were strong clay land, with a very retentive subsoil, and tlie remaining sixty he remembered from his boyhood as the favorite haunt of snipes and wild ducks, and never saw there any thing else. In the course of the first year the sixty acres maintained, and maintnined very poorly, during the summer, six horses ; and on the twenty acres there was a very small crop of very poor hay. It was impossible for land to be in a poorer condition ; and they would agree with him when he told them that, in breaking it up, they had some two or three times todig the plough horses out of the bog. In a 811 the whole of this land was thoroughly subsoiled and drained, and in 1842, what was not worth 10s. an acre the year before, was in turnips, and on that land they fed off in five months, and fattened for the butcher, 80 beasts and yOO sheep, and aftei-wards carted into the farm-yard 350 tons of turnips. In the present year they had a very fair crop of barley and oats, which his friend Mr. Henry would be very glad to show to any gentleman who felt any curiosity on the subject. Now he did not hesi- tate to say that that laud was, at that moment, worth 30s. an acre. The outlay upon it for pul- ling up old fences, thorough draining, tilling and breaking it up, amounted to just £7 10s. per acre, just giving 20s. for every 150s. of outlay, and giving to the landlord a pcmiancnt interest of 14 per cent, on the money laid out on that unpromising ground. It happened that, in the same year, they took into their own hands land which had been abandoned by the tenant as perfectly worthless. It was a large field of twenty-two acres of very poor sandy soil. It was drained at an expense of £2 per statute acre, and in the first year they fed off on that land 120 sheep, the remaining part of the turnips being carted to the farm-yard, and he ventured to say that, at the expense of £'2 per acre, the land as increased in value 10s. per acre to the landlord and IDs. to tlie tenant. IRRIGATION. HOW CONDUCTED— ITS VALUABLE RESULTS STATED. This is one of the two great fertilizing expedi- ents, of which we have already spoken, as now operating wonders for the agriculture of Eng- land ; under-draining, as there practised, being too costly for American Farmers generally, while irrigation is within the means of many, on whose estates springs and streams of larger or smaller volume, invite this use of a great and cheap resource for the increase of their crops, as well of grain as of grass. Here we take leave to repeat from a discourse delivered recently before, and at the request of the New-Castle county, Delaware, Agi-icultural Society, a few remarks which we had there the honor to submit, on the value of this operation : Irrigation is, in my vie^v, another means of augmenting agricultural products in a degree that farmers seem not to be generally aware of; and there is not a district teacher in the State who might not in a few hours comprehend and instnict his jjupils in the rationale of this im- portant operation. A single chapter in such text books as you ought to have provided for your common schools, with diagrams to illus- trate the process, would render the whole sub- ject at once familiar to the dullest capacity. ' It is apparent to the most superficial observation,' Bays an experienced writer on this topic, ' that the places contiguous to springs, over which their waters continue to flow, are ever covered with a conspicuous verdure of the sweetest grasses ; w hile stagnant water converts the land into mar.fh, productive of nothing but coarse and unpalatable aquatic plants. To imitate this process of nature constitutes the leading prin- ciple of irrigation' In fact, my friends, the object of the physical sciences, at the mere sug- gestion of which, in connexion with their busi- (1P8) ness, practical fanners are prone to take alarm, after all, is but to observe and to imitate and regulate the processes of nature. How many there are who have small streams passing through their farms, which, if taken at their sources and conducted along the highest line that the water would flow, might be made to iixigate and fructify every acre over which they could be turned ; and he must be slow in the comprehension of his interest, who does not see how profitable, under favorable circum- stances, is all land kept under the .scythe, com- pared with that which demands frequent plow- ing, especially in a country like ours, where the deamess of farm labor stands like a ' lion in the path ' of niral improvement. In the practice of this important and beautiful operation, our country is, especially, much behind others which are much in the rear of us in general intelli- gence, and in that natural shrewdness and readiness to take a hint which is said to charac- terize ' the universal Yankee nation.' The writer on irrigation, who laid down the general principle in the words I have quoted, gives many verj- striking instances of the profits resulting from it in England and Scotland, as well as on the Continent ; otherwise, I have heard the niles and results of irrigation no where so well stated as by Mr. Webster, with his usual clearness, on his return from England. Under a strong persuasion that this is a piacti- cable but much neglected resource, within the reach of American farmers, you will bear with me while I rehearse a few of the examples to show the advantages of irrigation given by the writer already mentioned. R. K. Campbell, of Kailzie, commenced irri- gating, by forming 5| acres of tlie lower part of his lawn into water meadow. In its natural slate it was worth $10 an acre yearly rent, which .some years since was the yearly rent of i the Delaware meadows, below Philadelphia. IRRIGATION. 81 The formation of the meadow cost S37 50 per aero, and, for the last 20 years, the grass produce of this laud, m hay and after-grasa, has been, annually, $55 per acre — the hay crop being 6,600 pounds per acre of the finest quality. The same gentleman has another inigated meadow of 8| acres, formed out of a perfect bog, only worth originally 5 shillings annual rent per acre. The expense of forming tliis meadow was S'27 .")0 per acre. It has since yielded, in hay and after-grass, to be fed off to sheep an annutd income of $27 50, in place of $1 25 per acre. The late Sir George Wontgomerj-, in 1815, converted 9 acres of partly boggy and tlie re- mainder dry soil, worth ten dollars j-eariy rent, into irrigated meadow, at a cost of $25 per acre. It has since yielded 6,600 lbs. of very superior hay to the acre, and its gro.ss produce is $55 per acre. In 1802, a 9-acrc lot, belonging to the Duke of Bedford, was prepared for irrigation, and in 1803 it produced as follows : In March, it was stocked with 240 sheep, for 3 weeks, at 6d. each per week, making ^18, or SIO an acre, for the spring feed alone. In June, mowed 2 tons of hay to the acre, worth, as per statement, S2G a ton ; August 20, mowed again 1 ^ ton an acre, at £i per ton ; September 16, put on 80 fat .sheep, for 3 week.s, at 4d. each per week ; and then it fed lean bullocks, not reckoned in the account — making from the 9 acres $740, or $80 per acre of annual produce. I once heard Mr. Crowninshield, then Secre- tary of the Navy say that he gave ^00 an acre for land in Massachusetts, and hacTto pay $50 an acre to clear it of stone, before it could be plowed. I saw land being ditched, cleared, and cleansed of alders and stone, at Indian Hill, in Massachu.setts, requiring msre labor to get up one acre than is expended in the ordinary way on 100 acres in Delaware or Maryland. But what is impoiisible to indomitable perseverance ? The veiy aspect of such land is terrible to a Southern man ; yet, suppose, by an outlay of $10, or even $20, or $30 an acre, in ditching, draining, or in-igation, a Delaware farmer would, as man}' might, reclaim otherwise wortliless land, making it produce, without further culti- vation, say 2 tons of hay, worth on the spot at least $10 per ton, at the same time di.ssipating sources of autumnal disease, and rendering his farm at once more beautiful and more pro^iuc- tive ; liow much better and more patriotic would it be than pusillanimously to flee across the mountain.s, he knows not where, far away from the grave of his fathers and the endearing associations of his youthful pastime, ay, and of youthfitl son-ows? Has not he already lost the best part of his nature who has ceased to feel in heart that there is, indeed, " no place like home ?" Would that Americans could forego the love of change for change sake, and acquire, in place of it, something of that love of home, however humble it be, which prompted one of England's best poets to say of the Swiss, " Dear is that shed to which his soul conforms And dear that hill which lifts him to the storms." But, when driven to seek a home in other States, there are districts near at hand, in some of the " Old Thirteen," far more inviting than the rude borders and den.se forests of the distant West. Liebig informs us that " in the vicinity of Liegen, (a town in Nassau,) from three to five perfect crops are obtained from one meadow (1S9) 6 and this is eficcted by covering the fields with river water, which is conducted over the mead- ow in Spring by numerous small canals. This is found to be of such advantage, that suppo.sing a meadow not so treated, to yield one thousand pounds of hay, then from one thus watered 4500 pounds are produced. In respcq), to the cultivation of meadows, the country around Liegen, is considered to be the best in all Ger- many." ON IRRIGATION. . . .By Rev. VV, L. Rham. Of all the substances which concur in the ve- getation and growth of plants, water is the most essential ; without moi.sture the seed cannot genniuatc, nor can the plant receive nourish- ment. Hence, in wann climates, where rains are periodical, and where the soil is dried and parched by a contmued evaporation, no verdure exists, except where springs or rivers supply the waste of moisture. The warmer the climate and the more rapid the evaporation, the more luxuriant is the vegetation, provided there be an abundant supply of water. Tiiis circum- stance has suggested the plan of diverting streams and conducting them in channels to fer- tilize as great an extent of land as possible. In China and in India, as well as in Egypt, ingenious modes of watering lands have been adopted fi-om the most remote ages. No ex- pense has been thought too great to secure a supply of water, and to distribute it in the most advantageous manner. It seems that where there is great heat in the air, water alone will supply the necessary food for the growth of plants. It is probable that the component parts of the atmosphere are more easily separated, and made to enter into new combinations with those of water, in a high temperature than in a lower ; or that the leaves and green parts of ve- getables imbibe water in a state of solution in air, and that in this state it is more easily de- composed. Atmospheric air and water contain all the principal elements of vegetables, viz. ox- ygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen ; the re- mainder are either found in the soil or diffused through the water. Manures seem to act prin- cipally as stimulants or reagents, and are them- selves composed of the same elements : they are of no use unless diffused or dis.solved in water ; but when the water is impregnated with animal or vegetable sub.stances, the effect is far greater and more rapid than when the water is pure. Water has also an important office to perform, if we admit the principle discovered by Ma- caire, that plants reject through their roots those portions of the sap which are the residue of its elaboration, and which are of no further use to the plant, but rather injurious if they are again imbibed by the roots. Plants seem to require a removal of their excrements, as animals do when tied up in stalls or confined in a small space. If this is not effected, they suffer and contj-act dis- ea-ses. The percolation of water through the soil is tlie means which Nature has provided for this purpose. Hence we can readily suppose that the mere washing of the roots has a benefi- cial effect, and to this in a great measure must be ascribed the fertilizing effects of pure and soft rurning water. If water stagnates and is evaporated, and the noxious matter held in solution remains in the soil, all the advantage of irrigation is lost, and the better kinds of grasses are succeeded by 82 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. rashes and coarse aquatic plants, as ma^ be seen in all marshy spots. The circulation of the water, therefore, appears to be as necessary- as its presence ; and, pro\-ided there be a sufBcieut supply of water of a proper quality, the more porou^ the soil, and especially the subsoil, is, the more ^^gorous is the vegetation. It is on this principle alone that we can rationally ac- count % the great advantage of irrigation in those climates where rain is abundant, and where the soil, which is most benefited by hav- ing a supply of water running through it. is of a nature to require artificial draining as an indis- pensable preliminary to being made fertile by irrigation. By keeping tliese principles in ^-iew, great light will be throv\-n on the practical part of irrigation, which, ha\-iug been long estab- lished by experience, before these principles were thought of depends not on their correct- ness, but only confirms tiieir truth. The whole art of irrigation may be deduced from two simple rules, which are. first to give a sufficient supply of water during all the time the plants are growing, and, secondly, never to allow it to accumulate so long as to stagnate. — ■We shall see hereafter one apparent exception to this la-st rule, but it ^^-ill be readily explained. The supply of water must come from natural lakes and rivers, or from artificial wells and ponds, in \\hich it is collected in sufficient quan- tity to disperse it over a certain surface. As the ■water must flow over the land, or in channels through it. the supply must be above the level of the land to be irrigated. This is generally the principal object to be considered. If no water can be conducted to a reservoir above die level of the land, it cannot be irrigated. But there must al.so be a readj' exit for the water, and, therefore, the land must not be so low a.s the natural level of the common receptacle of the waters, -whether it be a lake or the .sea, to which they run. The taking of the level is, therefore, the first step towards an attempt to irrigate any lands. Along the banks of running streams Xature points out the dechvity. A channel, which re- ceives the water at a point higher than that to which the river flows, may be dug \vith a much smaller declivity than that of the bed of the riv- er, and made to carrj- the water much higher than the natural banks. It may thence be dis- tributed so as to descend slowly, and ^vater a considerable extent of ground in its ^vaJ' to re- join the stream. This is. by far, the most com- mon mode of irrigation, and the .shape, size, and direction of the channels are regulated by the nature of the surface and other circumstances, which vary in almost every situation. A few examples will give to those who are not ac- quainted with the best mod&s of irrigating land a pretty accurate notion of the sj-stem. We shall suppose a river to run widi a rapid current between high banks. At some point of its course a portion of the \vater is diverted into a canal dug along tlie bank, with a very small declivity. The water in this canal will flow with less rapidity than the river, but will keep the same level as that part of the river where it has its origin. Thus the water may be carried over lands which are situated considerably above the bed of the river farther down. All the lands between Uiis canal and tlie river may be irri- gated, if there is a .sufficient supply of water. The canal may be carried to conidderable dis- tance from the river. The size of tiie canal and its declivity depend on the quantity of water (190) which may be made to flo^v into it. A dam is often constructed across a river, in order that as much of its water as is possible may be diverted, and the original channel is often laid quite dry, to take advantage of all the water at the time when it is advantageous to irrigate the land. To have an entire command of the water, there are flood-gates on the main channel and on the lesser branches. By opening or shutting these, the ■water may be stopped or made to flow, as may be required. It must be remembered, that to carry water to a considerable distance, and in great quantity, a larger channel and more rapid declivity are required ; and it is a matter of cal- culation whether it is most advantageous to bring a smaller quantitj' to a higher point, or a greater abundance somewhat lo^wer. Having a certain command of water, it may be caiTied from the main channel by smaller branches to dilTerent points, so as to irrigate the whole equally. — These branches should be nearly horizontal, that the water may overflo-w the sides of them, and be equally distributed over the land immediate- 1}' below. Every branch which brings water over the land should have a corresponding chan- nel below to carry it off; for the water must never be allowed to stop and stagnate. When it has run 15 or 20 feet, according to the declivi- ty-, over the laud situated below the feeder, or the channel which brings the ■water, it should be collected into a drain to be carried off, unless it can be used to irrigate lands which lie still lower. Finally it runs back into tbe river from which it was taken, at a lower point of its course. When there is a considerable fall and a suffi- cient supply of water, a series of channels may be made, so situated below each otlier. that the second collects the water which the first has supplied, and in its turn becomes a feeder to iiTigate the lower parts of die dechvity : a third channel receives the water and distributes it lower do^\^l. until the last pours it into the river. This is called catch-work, because the water is caught from one channel to another. This me- thod is only applicable -where there is a consid- erable fall of water and a gentle declivity to- \vards the river. But it must be borne in mind that the water is deteriorated for the purpose of irrigation, when it has passed over the land, and that it is not advantageous to let it flow over a great extent when a fresh suppl.y can be ob- tained : but where only a small portion of water can be commanded, tliat must be made the most of; and it wiU irrigate three or four portions of land in succession, without there being any very marked difference in the effect : beyond this it rapidly lo.ses its fertilizing qualities. This is not owing to the water having deposited the ferti- lizing substances which it held in solution, or which were diffused through it, but it is owing to its having taken up some which are detri- mental to vegetation, and being saturated with them : at least this is the most probable opinion when all circumstances are taken into the ac- count. The general principle of irrigation may be described as the suppK^ing of ever}- portion of the surface vith an abundance of water, and taking it off again rapidly. In many situations ' the great difficulty in irrigation arises from the ! want of a supply of water ; but even then a par- I tial irrigation maj' be effected, which, ahhoagh j not perfect, will have its advantages. A small , rilf; which is often quite dry m summer, may ; stilf, by judicious management, be made to im- WATER MEADOWS. 83 prove a considerable portion of land : its waters may be collected and allowed to accumulate in a pond or reservoir, and let out occasionally, so that none be lost or run to w.^ste. If there is but a small quantity, it must be husbanded and made to flow over as great a surface as possible. If there is water onlj- at particular seasons of the year, and at a rime when it would not be of much use to tlie land, it may be kept in ponds, and it wll lose none of its qualities by being exposed to the air. If animal or vegetable mat- ter, in a partial state of decomposition, is added to this water, it ^vill much improve its quality, and. by a judicious distribution of it over the land, a great benefit may be obtained. If there is not a want of water, there may be a want of decli^ty to enable it to flow off, which, it should always be remembered, is an essential part of irrigation. Art may in this case assist Nature by forming a pa.ssage for the -svater, either in its course towards the land to be irri- gated, or from it after it has effected its purpose. Where there is no natural exit, and it might lead to too great an expense to make an artifi- cial one, the water may sometimes be led into shallow ponds, where a great part is evaporated ; or porous strata may be found by boring, into which it can be made to run and be dispersed. Along rivers, where tlie fall is very impercepti- ble, a chaimel, brought from a considerable dis- tance, may give such a command as to throw the water over a great extent of surface : and, to carry it off, anotlier channel maj- be cut. emp- tying itself at some distance below : so that lands which lie along the banks of a river may be irrigated, although they are actually below the level of the river, and require banks to pro- tect them from inimdation. When tlie surface to be irrigated is verj- flat and nearly level, it is necessarj- to form artificial slopes for the ^vater to run over. The whole of die ground is laid in broad beds, imdulaunar like the waves of tlie .sea. The upper part of these beds is quite level from end to end, and here the channel or float which brings the water on is cnt. From the edge of this channel the sround is made te slope a foot or two on both sides, and a ditch is cut at tlie bottom parallel to the float. The whole of the ground is laid out in these beds. All the floats are supplied by a main channel at right angles to the beds, and some- what above them ; and all the ditches or drains run into a main ditch, parallel to the main float, and belo\v the lowest drain. The course of the water is verj- regular. As soon as the flood- gates are opened, it flows into all the upper channels, which it fills till they overflow in their vi'hole length. The sloping sides are covered with a thin sheet of running ^vate^, which the lower drains collect and carry into tlie main ditch. WATER MEADOWS. HOW MADE AND MANAGED. E.XPERIESCE has shown that there are particu- lar seasons when the water has the best effect ; a pertect command of it is therefore indispensa- ble, and also a regular supply. During fro.st. when ail dry meadows are in a state of torpor, and the vegetation is suspended, the water- meadows, having a cuirent of water continually flowing over them, are protected from the effect of frost, and the grass will continue to grow as Ions as tlie water flows over it. Too much moisture, hoNvever, would be injurious, and the meadows are therefore laid dry by shutting the flood-gates, whenever the temperature of tlie air is above freezing. By this management tlie grass grows rapidly at the fir.st sign of Spring. Before the dry upland meadows have recovered the eSects of frost and begun to vegetate, the herbage of tlie \vater-meado\vs is already luxu- riant As soon as tliey are fed off. or out for the first crop of hay, the water is immediately put on again, but for a shorter time ; for the warmer tlie air. the less time will the grass bear to be covered vvith ^vater. A renewed growth soon appears, and the trrass is ready to be cut a .sec- ond time when the dry meadows only give their first crop. Thu.«, by judicious management throe or four crops of grass are obtained in each season, or only one abundant crop is made into hay. and the sheep and cattle feed off the others. The usual way in which the grass of waier- meadows is made profitable is by feeding ewes which have early lambs till the middle of April. A short flooding soon reproduces a crop, which (191) is mown for hay in June : another flooding gives an abimdant aftermatli, which is eitlier mown for hay, or fed off by cows, bullocks, and horses ; for at this time tlie sheep, if pastured in water- meadows, are very subject to the rot. The va- lue of good water-meadows could scarcely be believed by those who are not familiar with them. Where the water is suited to irrigation, they never require manuring. The fertility is kept up continually, and the only attention re- quired is to weed out coarse aquatic plants, which are neither nutritious nor wholesome in hay or pasture. The best soil for a w-ater-meadow is a good gravel. The finest water-meadows on the Avon in Wiltshire, \\here the richest herbasre is found, have scarcely any soil at all, but are on a bed of shingle and pebbles, matted together by the roots of the grass, which proves to demonstra- tion that the waters of the Avon contain all the principles essential to rapid vegetati>-.n. Great attention is required, and some experience, to irrigate meadows so as to give the greatest profit In hot weather, when we should imacine that the land must be thirsty, and that too much wa- ter cannot be poured over it much mischief may be done by injudicious flooding. In \Vinter, on tlie contrary, the land may be covered with wa- ter for \veeks without injury ; and, if an earthy deposit takes place, the subsequent fertility is greatly increased. But tliis is not properly irri- gation : it is inundation, and tlie effects depend 84 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Fig. I on entirely different causes. When low mead- ows are inundated in Winter and Spring, it is the muddiness of the water which enriches the land : a fine layer of extremely divided matter • is deposited, and, when the water subsides, this acts as a coat of manure. Water may be carried in small channels through meadows without being allowed to overflow^ ; and in this case the effect is similar to that caused by rivers or brooks, which wind slowly through valleys, and produce a rich ver- dure along their course. This is vv-afering, but not properly iirigating. When this is done ju- diciously, the effect is very nearly the same aa when the land is irrigated ; and in hot climates it may be preferable, by giving a constant sup- ply of moisture to the roots, while the plants are grovsing. The great advantage of water-mead ows in England is not so much the superior quantity of grass or hay which is obtained when (192) they are mown, as the earlj' feed in Spring, when all kinds of nutritive fodder are scarce ; when the turnips are consumed before the natu- ral grass or the rj-e so'wn for that pui-pose is fit to be fed off, the water-meadows afford abund- ant pasture to ewes and lambs, which by this means are brought to an early market. The Farmer who has water-meadows can put his ewes earlier to the ram, ■without fear of wanting food for tham and their lambs in March, which is the most trying season of the year for those who have sheep. At that time an acre of good gi'ass may be worth as much for a month as a later crop would for the remainder of the year. When it is intended to form a water-meadbw on a surface which is nearly level, or where a fall o< only two or three feet can be obtained in a considerable length, the whole of the land must be laid iu beds about 20 or .30 feet wide — tlie middle or crown of these beds being on a WATER MEADOWS. 85 level with the main feeders, and the bottoms or drains on a level with the lower exit of the wa- ter, or a little above it. To form these beds most expeditiously, if the ground is already in g-rass, the sod may be pared oft' and relaid after the l)eds are formed, by which means the grass will be sooner reestablished ; bitt except in very heavy soils, where the grass is some time in taking root, the easiest and cheapest way is to plow the land two or three times towards the centre, and dig out the drain with the spade : the earth out of the drains, and that which is taken out of the upper trench or feeder, may be spread over the bed to give it the proper slope. A roller, passed over the bed in the direction of its length, will lay it even ; and, the seeds of grasses being sown over it, the water may be let on for a very short time to make them spring. As soon as the grass is tv,o or three inches above ground, a regular flooding may be given, and in a very short time the sward will be com- plete. Instead of sowing seed, tufts of grass cut from old sward may be spread over the newly- formed beds, and they will soon cover the ground. The Italian ryegrass, which has been lately introduced into this country from Lom- bardy and Switzerland, grows so rapidly, that if it be sown in Febraary. or as soon as the snow and frost are gone, it will afford a good crop to food off in April, or to mow for hay by the be- ginning of May ; and after that it may be cut repeatedly daring the Summer. But where the soil is good and the water abundaift, good natu- ral grasses will spring up \vithout much sowing, and soon equal the old water-meadows. It seems essential to the fonnation of a good water-meadow that the bottom be porous and free from stagnant water ; hence under-draining is often indispensable before a water-meadow ean be established ; and a peat-bog, if drained and consolidated, may have water canned over its surface, and produce very good herbage. If the soil is a very stiff clay, draining is almost in- dispensable where a water-meado^v is to be made. The more porous the soil, the less depth of water is required, ■which is not obvious at iirst sight ; but the clay lets the water run over the surface without soaking into the roots, whereas the porous soil is soon soaked to a considerable depth. The water mu.st therefore be longer on the clay than on the sand or gravel, to produce the same effect. If the water is properly ap- plied, all kinds of soils may be converted into fertile vi^ater-meadows. On very stiff clays, a coat of sand or gravel, where it can be easily put on, will greatly improve the herbage. It should not be plo%sed in, but laid on the surface two or three inches thick : chalk will also im- prove the herbage. The usual time of letting on the -water on wa- ter-meadows is just before Christmas, and it may continue to flow over the land as long as the frost lasts : in mild weather it may be turned off during the day and put on again at night un- til the frost is gone. The grass will soon begin to grow, and be ready to be fcd off. When thia is done, the water is immediately let on for a short time, and turned off again to allow the ground to diy after a few days' flooding, and the water is let on again at short mtervals. The warmer the air is, the shorter time must the wa- ter be allowed to cover die meadows. As soon as the grass is five or six inches long, it must be left dry entirely till it is mown or fed off. In Summer the floodings must be very short, sel- dom more than twenty-four hours at a time, but frequent. Thus a gi-eat weight of grass may be obtained, j'ear after year, without ajiy manure being put on the land — care being taken that, where the surface is not quite even, the hollows be filled up with earth brought from another place, or dug out of the drain, if that should be partially filled up -with the soil which the water has can-ied into it. We alluded before to a case where water may remain a considerable time on the land without injui-y ; this is when there are inundations from rivers, which rise above their beds in Spring, and cover the lo-w mead- ows which lie along their banks. In this case the gi-ass, which had not yet spi-ung up, is pro- tected from the cold ; and, if there is a deposit from the water, there is a considerable advan- tage. But, ^vhen it subsides, it must be made to run off" entirely, without leaving small pools, by which the grass would invariably be injured. Small ditches or channels are usually dug, by which all the water may ran off, unless where the subsoil is very porous, or the land is ■well under-drained, which is seldom the case in the.se low meadows, for the drains would be apt to be choked by tlie earthy deposit from the water. These inundations can sometimes be regulated by means of dykes and flood-gates, in which case they partake of the advantages of irriga- tion, and also of that depo.sition of fertilizing mud which is called warping. [^^''ARPING.] The preceding plan (Fiir. 1) will explain what has been briefly said respecting the differ- ent modes of iragating land. A A is a river, \vhich has a considerable fall, and then flows through a level plain. A considerable channel is cut at B, where there is a rapid fall over a natural or artificial dam. This channel is car- ried round a hill and supplies a series of chan- nels, C, C, C, placed below each other, forming catch-work along a declivity. A portion of the ■water goes on to D, where it supplies the feed- ers of a regular set of ridges, or beds, made as before described, from which the ^vater retm-ns into the river by a main trench, into which all the drains run. On the other side of the river, where the slopes lie somewhat differently, there are seve- ral examples of catch-^work, the black lines rep- resenting the drains ■which receive the ■water after it has flowed over the surface and carry it into the river below. It is evident that all "the feeders are nearly horizontal, to aUow tlie water to flow over their sides. Fi^. 2. r^. 2 is the eection of catch-work, a, a, are the feeders ; 6, the drain ; c, c, c, c, intermediate channels which act as feeders and djains. (193) Fi^. 3. Ridge-work. Fig. 3 is the section of two adjoining ridgea. a, a, the feeders ; 6, 6, b, the drairw. Fig. 4. Fig. 4 13 a 3luice to regulate the flow of water. PLANT WATERING. As gooii potting is the first step in plant growing, so good watering is most assuredly the second ; the former, even when rightly ac- complished and with the best materials, may be defeated through -want of skill in watering. — Imperfect knowledge or carelessness in the due administration of this essential element kills more plants, or keeps more in suspense between life and death, than utter ignorance in all other matters relating to plant gro'wing. Let us not imagine that because we have put a root to a plant, and placed it in a pot in the right way and in the proper kind of soil, that the object of our solicitude is accomplished, and that our duty is terminated ; for the contrary is the fact, if we have ambition enough to desire our achieve- ments to be admired or recorded. It may be superfluous to state, that plants either suffer from too much or too little water ; but it is not so to show that this is frequently the case in the same pot at the same time ; that is an evil far more extensive in a general col- lection of plants than may be supposed, ajid a point opposed to good cultivation earnestly de- manding our attention. When the surface-soil In the pots becomes drj', a careless hand adds at once a fresh supply, without ascertaining wheth- er the soil, in which the roots are, at all requires it, and again on the other hand, the top soil fre- quently appears perfectly wet, while the bottom of the ball is as dry as dust. This is a most ca- lamitous circumstance, and one of common oc- currence, especially amongst newly-potted plants. When a plant is just potted, it should have a sufficient supply to penetrate every part of the ball, and then remain until another sup- ply is positively required, that is, till the ball has parted with a greater jiortiou of its moisture I and the plant is upon the point of flagging, the "" (194) interstices being all filled with air as it should be. This air again requires to be driven out by a fresh supply of water, thus keeping up a vig- orous and healthy action by continual inter- changes of air and water, but at the same time never allowing either of them to remain long enough to affect the health of the plant. Wa- tering by " driblets" is the worst of all water- ing ; it keeps the surface of the soil in a puddle, but never reaches the roots ; the eye is thus de- ceived, and the plant is often dead before the cau.se is discovered. When a plant does not part with its moi-sture freelj', like its neigh- bors, but remains in a wet ■ state, it should be immediately mspected ; for should a plant re- main subject daily to the application of driblets of water for any time, death miist of necessity ensue. One effectual watering, whether ap- plied to plants in pots under glass or to those committed to the soil in the open ground, is not onh' of far gieater utility, but much more eco- nomical than ten ineffectual supplies. There is no duty attending plant cultivation so difficult to perform as this, and to entrust it in careless and incompetent hands will certainly entail upon a collection of valuable plants po.sitive ruin ; for unless he who uses the watering-pot has some practical acquaintance with vegetable economy, and can discriminate so far as to act agreeably to the necessities and wants of the subjects committed to his care, he will always find himself a day's march in arrear. These neces.iities and wants, be it remembered, are not (}uite so apparent to the naked eye of the novice as they are to the keen and scrutinizing vision of the ever-anxious, and hence ever- watchful, cultivator There is a kind of v^-atering verj* commonly performed in many places, which cannot, when ENTOMOLOGY. 87 valuable and choice plants are attempted to be cultivated, be too severely censured. This is the daily afternoon supply, which is given to every plant as lar as time will admit, regardless of its requirements. — at least, when this opera- tion is entrusted to men of inexperience, which is but too common ; and this kind of gardening goes on in many places for years. Plants die, it is true ; but this is one of the unresolved mys- teries in gardening, which, to some minds, is quite satisfactory, and enables them to account for the loss of plants by violent means. Finally, it has been asked, how often are we to water this or that plant, and the answer usually is, al- ways when it requires it ; let us, therefore, add, and with some earnestness, ««ver before. [Duro. ENTOMOLOGY : OR, A DISCOURSE ON INSECTS. " A wiae hand has scattered tliem every where, and given to each kind its par- ticular instinct, its peculiar economy, and great fecundity." "From the gigantic banyan, which covers acres with its shade, to the tiny fungus, scarcely visible to the naked eye, the vegetable creation is one vast banquet, at which her insect guests sit down." The experience of every practical Farmer will bear its testimony to the tnith of this assertion, which we quote from an eminent work on Entomology, not for the purpose of spreading a truth which must be universally ad- mitted by every intelligent observer of Nature, hot as an apologj', or, rather, a reason, for occu- pying a few pages of an early number of the Farmers' Library with the remarks to which it properly leads. Experience also teaches every cultivator of the soil that innumerable varieties of this minu- ter portion of the animal kingdom are unbidden and costly "guests" at his own private table — feeding on his industrj-, preying on his means, and diminishing his profits. DecandoUo and other Entomological writers have calculated that the number of the.se insects w^hich draw their sustenance from herbivorous plants, amounts to 100,000 species. Some of these feed only on one kind of plant, while oth- ers inhabit a plant in one section, or season, and not in anciher. One species, furui.shed by Na- ture with an organic machinery, admirably adapted for boring or burrowing in the earth, assails the root; another inserts its proboscis in the fibre of the leaf, and extracts only the sap : this eats only the parenchj-ma, never touching the cuticle; that devours the lower surface of the leaf; while a third perforates the stem. — Obedient to its instinct, each individual species industriously contributes its .share to the general desolation; and the practical acquaintance with these periodical ravages which has been forced upon the Farmer, has hitherto produced no (195) remedies, or, at best, such only as are partial and uncertain, for an evil so extensive. While the provident housewife industriously destroys the loathsome vennin (cimex lecfularius) which infest her dormitories, her less persevering spou.se, in indolent despair, pennits all the resi- due of the Hemipterous family, undisturbed, to feed on his crops, and then patiently replants, to supply them with a fresh banquet. Content to tread in the footsteps of the ages which have preceded him, he looks at every diverging path with contempt or dismay ; and hence it is that, until of late year.s, improvements in Agriculture have been so much behind the advance of know- ledge m eveiy other useful art. This reproach, it is true, bears less heavily on our day than it did fonnerly. A liberal, intelligent spirit has lately been infused, the tendency of which is to enliven and elevate our s3-stem of Agriculture, and to enhance the reputation of those to who.se hands it is committed ; and of all the occupations of life, which presents a wider or more attractive range to the philosophic mind ? Not that we are to expect eveiy tiller of the soil to overleap the adverse circumstances of his condition, and to penetrate and comprehend the numerous processes in the economy of Nature. But the duty, no le.ss than the interest, of every gentle- man Farmer — by which phrase is intended, merely, him whose days are not all necessarily required for manual labor — prescribes the em- plo3-ment of a portion of his lei.sure hours in pursuits and researches which will not fail to invigorate and embellish his practical know- ledge. To such we would suggest, generally, the importance of a course of reading in Natural History ; and, paiticnlarly, of a competent ac- quaintance with that one. among the most inte- resting of all its branches, called " Entomology" — and for such reading we propose to supply tlie materials, in part, in the "Farmers' Li- BRARV." Entomology — derived from two Greek words (entama and logos) signifying a discourse on insects — treats of the "organization, habits, pro- perties and classification of those articulated ani- mals which are distinguished by the presence of anteniKB (antenna, a Latin word for yard-arm) and of breathing organs, composed of ramified trachea, with or witliout air sacs." Various ■writers, from Linnajus to the latest entomolo- gists, have suggested classifications of the insect tribes. The first-named writer classed them from their wings ; Fabricins from die structiLre of tht mouth, and Latreillo from a view of their general organization : Kirby, a more modern writer, adopts the 7iumber of legs as a basis of classification ; while Kollai- thus describes them : " Insects are animals which have a body con- sisting of one or more divisions ; articulated feet ; a head conspicuously distinct from the body, on which are placed two moveable horns, called antenntE. They breathe through air- holes, which are situated on the sides of the body; the greater number having wings, in their perfect state, and only a proportionably small number are entirely without tliem. — With the exception of certain groups, all in- sects have six feet, and their bodies are divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen, by notches or incisions ; hence the name insect is derived from the Latin word inseco, to cut or notch. Before they attain their perfect state, they are subject to various transformations, which are called metamoi-phoses." By the researches of these and others who have devoted their time and talents to a pa- tient and laborious investigation of the sub- ject, great additions have been made to the stores of useful knowledge. The science, however, is still in its infancy — a vast field remains to be explored — and it is in the power of the Farmer greatly to aid the entomolo- gist, by observing the mmute, but varied and interesting, habits of insects. He -would thus inform him.self of the period.s, the fonn, and die manner of their appearance ; of the plants which are their favorite food ; of the modes of their ap- proach, and the parts which they select for their attacks. By adding experiment to ob.sers'adon, he might also obtain a knowledge of their anti- pathies; and in this way render Entomology more subservient to the interests of Agriculture than it has hitherto been. It is to this latter point that it appears the proper province of the Farmer to direct the course of diis department of Natural Historj-. — Entomologists, lured by the love of research, may well content themselves with the develop- ment of such facts as will satisfy the curious philosopher; and, without going bejond this, they have a strong claim to the grautude of the practical Agriculturist, for whose benefit they (191-;) have opened the mine of Knowledge, which they offer to him to explore at his pleasure. — From their investigations he may learn that the ravages on die turnip crop arc caused, first, by the turnip flea, (the Chrysomcla nemorum of LinnsEUS,) — a coleopterous* or hard-shelled in- sect, scarcely an eighth of an inch in length — smooth, shining, and of a brassy color — which attacks the turnip, both in its perfect and larvse state ; its favorite food being the young plant, just as it is beginning to unfold its cotyledon, ar cup-shaped leaves — stripping an entire crop with a.stouishing celerity. The next enemy of the turnip plant is the saw-fly, (alhalia spina- ■rum,) — so called because die instrument with which Nature has supphed it to deposit its eggs, ■which is placed at the extremity of the abdomen of the female, on the under side, resembles, in its construction and properties, the saw and au- ger. The eggs of this fly are deposited on the young turnip plants, from ■which they emerge into larvae, with a rapidity which scientific men find it difficult to explain. These larvse, of a deep black color, as soon as hatched, commence their attacks, which they continue until dieir full growth, a period of a few weeks, when they drop from the plant among the rotten leaves, and speedily enclose themselves in a cocoon, composed of two distinct layers of silk, out of which it gnaws its way \vhen the fly is matured. Inexplicable instinct is .said to teach all insects to weave their cocoon thinnest in the part which is to cover die head, to facilitate the escape of the fly when the time for its voluntary imprisonment has expired. Farmers suffer greatly from the depredations of this insect. Sir Arthur Young states that the loss of the turnip crop in England in one year, by the ravages of this insect, was estimated at $.500,000. It has been known to destroy a crop of 200 acres of Swedish turnips, although a belief has prevailed that this species of turnip is comparatively safe from their attacks. The injury they inflict is the cons^amption of leaves to the stem, by which the plant is destroyed, or the bulb dimmished by the obstruction of die vegetable functions.- The tcire v:orm (ataphcBgus Vuieatus) is another enemy of the turnip plant, which cuts the stem from the root, so that the plant dies on the spot. This insect is the larvae of chick -beetles, (elate- ridiej and is so constructed as to leap a great bight. The larvae of this beetle, known under the name of ■wire-worm, appears sometimes, says KoUar, in great numbers, and devastates * Coleoptn-a, (Beetles,) with six feet, and mostly with four winirs, tlie anterior pair of which are homy, in the form of a covei-ing for the two posterior winirs, which are sometimes wantincr. They have upper and lower jaw.'?, (mandibles and maxilla;,) for gnaw- ing and chewing ; their under winfs are transversely folded. Examples : the may-bug, horns, (ceram byci- df\-e generally mean as much, Maryland, North and South Car- olina, Georgia, Alabama, and all the old grain- growing and planting States South and West of Delaware. But to return to the list of pre- miums awarded, look at them in the light we have already indicated ! It will be seen that these do not embrace but are over and above the thousands of dollars given for best imple- ments and animals— cheese and butter, fi-uit and poultrj-. They are aU for the written results of philosophical or practical inquiry, and observa- 1 tion — in a word for excmses of the miud,hroxight to bear upon tlie practical cvery-day concerns of the working Fanner. Countless are the benefits and blessings de- rived, every day, by the plain, practical work- ing man, which, without his being aware of it, and even while he is deriding the thought of it, are the legitimate fruits of scientific discoveries made by men, in many cases, who never ran a furrow or planted a seed of cotton or of com in all their lives. But this is a theme worthy to be separately dwelt upon and illustrated when we can get time. The Journal Committee have reported the following awards to the authors of Prize-essays, and schedule of the subjects of Prizes, amount- ing to £310, for the Reports and Essays of next year : AWARDS. The Prize of 20 sovs. [$96 80] to Mr. H. White, of Warrington, for his Essay to the De- tails of making Cheshire Cheese. The Prize of 50 sov. [$242] to Mr. E. W. Cor- ringham, of Bolham Hill, neai- Retford, for his Report on the Farming of Xottingham.shire. The Prize of 50 sovs. [$242] to Mr. W. F. Karkeek, of Truro, for his Report on the Farm- ing of Cornwall. The Prize of 50 sov. [$242] to Mr. G. Buck- land, of Beuenden, for his Report on the Farm- ing of Kent. The Prize of 20 sovs. [$96 80] to Mr. J. Wat- son, jun. of Kendal, for his Essay on Reclaim- ing Heath-land. The Prize of 10 sovs. [$48 40] to Mr.E.Bow- ly, of Cirencester, for his Essay on the Advan- tages of One-horse Carts. The Prize of 20 sovs. [$96 80] to Mr. J. Gri- gor, of Norwich, for his Essay on Fences. The Prize of 10 sovs. [$48 40] to Mr. G. Do- bito, of Kirtling Hall, Newmarket, for his Essay on Fattening Cattle. The Prize of 20 sovs. [$96 80] to Mr. F. W. Etheredge, of Park-street, Westminster, for his Essay on the Cheapest and best Metliod of Es- tabhshing a Tile-yard. The Prize of 20 sovs. [$96 80] for an Account of the Best Experiment in Agriculture, to Mr. J. Hannani, of North Deighton, near Wetherby, for his Essay on the Theoiy and Application of Bone-maimre. Be it not supposed that we are holding up these Proceedings of the Royal Society, either for hopeless emulation, or invidious comparison. The object is to gratify a natural curiosity on the part of our readers, and of our Agricultural So- cieties, to see what is doing in a country where art has done so much for the plow — moreover (we confess tlie soft impeachment) we would commend the quo animo of these proceedings especially in as much as they indicate a strong persuasion among the most enlightened men in old England thatmind— thought— reading— phi- losophical and poLHicoeconomical investiga- tion, have something to do with, and may lead to improvements mjarmim:;, as well as in Law, Physics. Mechanics, Manufactures, Commerce, (206) Ship-Building and Salt, Sugar and Iron ma- king ! ! The following is the schedule (referred to above,) of the subjects for which the next Pre- miums of a similar class are to be awarded : — SCHEDU1.E. & On the Agriculture of North Wales 50 On the Agriculture of the Weet Riding of York- shire 50 On the Agiiculture of Cambridgeshire 50 On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Break- ing up Grass-lauds 50 On the Improvement of the Condition of the Agricultural Laborer, as far as it may be Promoted by Private Exertion, without Le- gislative Enactment 30 On Keeping Farm Accounts 10 On Employment by the Piece 20 On Peat-charcoal as a JIanure 10 On Sulphuric Acid and Bones 10 On White Mustard 10 On St. John's Day Rye 10 On Draining Running Sands 10 " The Council have received from the Journal Committee a highly favourable opinion of the character of the Essays sent in this year to com- pete for the various Prizes offered by the So- ciety." We propose to skim, for the patrons of the Farmers' Library, the cream of these and all other Essays where the matter may be calcula- ted to .shed useful light on the path of American Husbandry. "Tlie Council have accepted the invitation of a public meeting, convened at Newcastle-upon- Tyne, to hold the Country Meeting for the Northern District, atthattovvn,in the year 1846." We are under tlie impression, that the Town which gains the favor of having the yearly meet- ing and exhibition held in it, is required to subscribe $5000. Utica, we doubt not, will do the handsome thing, in the way of arrangements for the Fair next Autumn. We hope the State Society will employ a good proportion of the funds at its command for best essays, that shall best explain the principles of fanning practices and machinery. Such practical essays as Mr. Thomas's, pubhshed in the last number of the Farmers' Library, and such as a very able and scientific one from the polished pen of Doctor Gardener, which we have been kindly per- mitted to peruse ; are calculated to do more good than the exhibition thrice repeated of all the fat animals in New York — useful as that is in its way. May we hope for the influence of the new "State Agricultural Society of Virginia," in the ' establishment of local societies for the discus- sion of Agricultural subjects" as has happened under the auspices of the National Society in England ? At tlie meeting here referred to, the Secretary, whose official conduct was on all sides applaud- ed, offered his resignation onthegi-onnd that hie tiro thousand dollar salary was inadequate! " The Council, in conclusion, have the satis- faction, at the clo.se of the 7tli year of the estab- lishment ot the Society, of congi-atulating the members on the steady advance of the Society in the accomplishment oV its various practical ob- jects, and the gradual development of its pros- pects and resources : among whicli the Council cannot help alluding to the establishment of lo- cal societies for tlie discussion of agricultural subjects, which they feel have mainly origina- ted from the attention v^'hich the exertions of this Society have attracted to Uie improvement of agriculture, and which the Council are confi- dent wUl lead to the most beneficial results." We will see in the September number what is doing, in the same spirit, m Scotland. DRAINING TILE. With commendable vigilance and attention to the wants of A griculture, and the various ex- pedients and inventions to supply them, the New- York State Agricultural Society has ofl'er- ed a medal for the " Best sample of drain-tile." This justifies the presumption, that under cer- tain circumstances, that article may be profita- bly employed in our country, and thus the whole economy of the question is opened for the consideration of those who may desire to avail themselves of it, in conducting one of the most important processes to which a farmer can have recourse, for augmenting tlie productiveness of his estate. The more important and worthy of being employed, when the farmer cMn possibly command the labor and the means of carrying it out, because, generally, it would be made in- strumental in giving activity to the very por- tions of his farm, which, but for their superflu- ous moisture, would be the most productive — not only the most productive, as respects actual fertility, but profitable, as it prepares such por- tions to yield crops of a kind that demai>d the least amount of labor to husband them. As in some measure illustrating a subject which seems thus to have attracted the coun- tenance of the best organized and efficient soci- ety in the Union, we have chosen the following from the last number received of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. This is one of these cases not to be much, if at all, affected by obvious and admitted ditference of climate ; the propriety of the measure depending rather on general princi- ples : in a word, to be regarded merely as a question of means and end — of profit and loss. We give a cut of the machine, such as we find it in a late number of the London Agricultural Gazette, where the advertiser refers to the com- munication here inserted. It will take an eye of quicker perception of the principles of ma- chinery than ours, to understand the construc- tion of this one ; but it was deemed best to give it such as it is, along v^'ith what follows : ON THE CHEAPEST METHOD OF MAKING AND BURNING DRAINING TILES. To the Earl Spencer: My Lord, — The active interest you have so long taken in every thing connected with British (207, Agriculture, induces me to address to you the following communication on the subject of making and burning draining tiles, of whatever form, in the readiest and cheapest manner. My attention has been very forcibly draviii to this subject by the liigh prices demanded by the manufacturers of these indispensable instru- ments of agricultural improvement, prices in- deed so high, that even without the expense of carriage, they must have the eftect of confining within comparatively very uan-ow limits their adoption. It is true that the application of macliinery to the producing of draining tiles, promised, and in some degree eti'ected a reduction in the price of tiles previously made by hand, Jjut owing to the mistaken views of those who worked these in- ventions, in fancying they could secure a monop- oly of machine-made tiles, in requiring a seig- norage on tiles made by their machines, and in the high cost of those machines, they ofi'ered the tiles to the public at so high a price that it soon became evident, if draining tiles were to be used to the extent required throughout the Uni- ted Kingdom, that some other machinery of a less costly description, with equal, if not gi-eater powers of production, and with unfettered liber- ty of using it, would be discovered — and this re- sult has accordingly taken place. Two ma- chines, worked by hand, have been discovered in the course of this year, viz. " Clayton's Ma- chine," which is a fixture wherever set up, and for wliich a patent has been taken out ; the other called " Hatcher's Machine," easily moveable, and manufactured and sold by Messrs. Cottam and Hallen, Winsley-street, London. The lat- ter machine is the mvention of Mr. Jolm Hatch- er, brick and tile maker and potter, living in the parish of Benenden, in Kent, where I reside, and is the one I have adopted : and all the sub- .sequent calculations and quantities are made in reference to the producing power of that ma- chine. I beg to assure you that, as my sole object is to put the pubHc in pos.sessiou of the readiest and cheapest way of obtaining these tiles, if any other machine as yet discovered could make them better and cheaper. I should instantly adopt it, as I certainly shall if any such be hereafter invented ; and it is quite certain tliat the public will apply the only real test of merit to these machines in determining their choice of one, viz., the cheapest rate at which tiles can be produced by them, taking into ac- count the price of the machine, the amount of labor necessary to wo)'k it, the goodness and the quantity of tiles it can produce in the day, and the simplicity of its con.struction. Being fully aware that Hatcher's machine was not excelled by any other yet discovered in all these essential points, and therefore assum- ing that machinery had accomplished much, if lOO MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. not all that conld reasonably be expected from it, I still felt that the heavy expense of erecting kilns, as they arenow constructed, together with the necessary sheds and other buildings inciden- tal to a regular brick and tile yard, reijuircd so large an outlay, that the price of draining tiles would still continue too high for universal use, notwithstanding every improvement in the me- chanical production of them. To this difficulty another must be added, uo less serious, in at- tempting to reduce the price of tiles, viz. the ex- pense of carriage of an article so bulky. Every one must be aware that beyond a certain dis- tance from everj- brick and tile manufactory (unless it stands on the bank of some navigable water,) the expense of carnage of tiles will im- pose the limit of their application to land drain- age. What, then, is to become of those immense districts in the United Kingdom that are so sit- uated ? It will not much reduce the evil to in- cur all the heavy expenses of erecting kilns, sheds, &c. &c. after the usual manner; for inter- est on capital embarked in thfc business, togeth- er with reut, must be added to the co.st of mak- ing them ; and after all, if the object be to make draining tiles only, it is obvious that these build- ings of a permanent and expensive character will become useless, whenever the circle around them is furnished with tiles, the extent of that circle being always detennined by the expense of carriage beyond it. Reflecting on these obstacles to universal drainage, where required, I conferred with Mr. John Hatcher on the possibility of erecting a kiln of common clay, that would be effectual for burn- ing these tiles, and of cheap construction — and the result was the building one in my brick- yard in July last, and the constant use of it until the wet weather at the commencement of this winter compelled its discontinuance, but not until it had burnt nearly 80.000 excellent tiles ; and in the ensuing spring it will be again in reg- ular use. I shall now proceed to take in order the six points enumerated under the 9th head of the Prize Essays for 1845, as printed in the last vol- ume of the Eoyal Ag. Society's Journal, viz. : — 1st. Mode of working clay according to its quality. -•Sd. JIachine for making tiles. 3d. Sheds for drying tiles. 4th. Constniction of kiln. 5th. Cost of forming the establishment. <5th. Cost of tiles when ready for sale. Ist Point. Working the clay. All clay intended for working next season must be dug in the winter, and the earlier the better, so as to expose it as much as possible to frost and snow. Care must be taken if there are small stones in it, to dig it in small spits, and cast out the stones as much as possible, and also to well mix the top and bottom of the bed of clay together. It is almost impossible to give minute directions as to mixing clay with loam, or with marl when necessary, for the better working it afterwards, as the difference of the clays in purity and tenacity is such as to require distinct management in this respect in various locahties; but all the clay dug for tile-m.aking •will require to be wheeled to the place where the pug-mill is to work it ; it must be there well turned and mixed in the spring, and properly wetted, and finally spatted down and smoothed by the spade, and the whole heap well covered w^ith litter to keep it moist and fit for use through the ensuing sea-son of tile-making. (208) 2d Point Machine for making tiles. For the reasons already alluded to, I prefer Hatcher's machine. Its simplicity of construc- tion, and the small amount of hand-labor re- quired to work it, would alone recommend it ; for one man and three boys will turn out nearly 11,000 pipe tiles of one-inch bore in a day of ten hours, and so in proportion for pipes of a larger diameter; but it has the great advantage of being moveable, and those who work it draw it along the shed in which the tiles are deposit- ed for drj'ing previously to their being burnt : thus each tile is handled only once, for it is ta- ken off the machine by the little boys, who stand on each side, and at once placed in rows on either side of the drying shed; thus ren- dering the use of shelves in the sheds wholly unnece8.sar3', for the tiles soon acquire a solid- ity to bear row upon row of tiles till they reach the roof of the sheds on either side ; and they diy without warping or losing their shape in any way. The price of the machine is £25 ; and it may be proper to add, that the machine makes the very best roofing-tiles that can be made, and at less than half the price of those made by hand, as well as being much lighter, and closer, and straighter, in conisequence of the pressure through the die. It is necessarj-, in order to ensure the due mixing of the clay, as well as to form it into the exact shape to fill the cj'linders of the machine^ to have a pug-mill. Messrs Cottam and Hallen make these also, and charge £W for them. — This mill must be worked by a hor.se ; in gene- ral one day's work at the mill will hirnish rather more prepared clay than the machine will turn into tiles in two days. 3d Point. Sheds for diying. The sheds necessary for this system of tile- making will be of a temporarj' kind : strong hurdles pitched firmly in the ground in t\yo parallel straight lines, 7 feet apart, will form the sides of the sheds, and the roof will be formed also of hurdles placed end^vays and tied togeth- er at the top, as well as to the upper slit of the hurdle, with strong tarred twine, forming the ridge of the roof exactly over the middle of the shed. They must then be l!«ghtly thatched with straw or heath, and the sharpness of this roof will effectually protect the tiles from rain. Two of these sheds, each 110 feet long, will keep one of the kilns hereafter described in full work. N. B. — These sheds should be so built as to have one end close to the pug-mill and the clay- heap, only leaving just room for the horse to work the mill, and the other end near the kiln. Attention to this matter saves future labor, and therefore money. 4th Point. Construction of kiln."?. The fonn of the clay -kiln is circular ; 1 1 feet in diameter, and 7 feet high. It is wholly built of damp earth, rammed firmly together, and plastered inside and out w-ith loam. The earth to form the walls is dug out round the base, leaving a circular trench about 4 feet wide and as many deep, into which the fire-holes of the kiln open. If wood bo the fuel u.sed, three fire- holes are sufficient ; if coal, four will be need- ed. About 1200 common bricks are wanted to build these fire-holes and flues : if coal is used, rather fewer bricks will be wanted, but then .some iron bars are necessary — six bars to each fire-hole. The eartlien walls are 4 feet thick at the floor of the kiln, are 7 feet high, and tapering to tlie thickness of 2 feet at the top ; this will deter- mine tlie sloirt! of the exterior face of the kiln. The inside of the wall is carried up perpendicu- larly, and tlie loam plastering inside becomes, alter die first burning, like a brick wall. The kihi may bo safely erected in March, or when- , ever the danger of injury from frost is over. — After the suniniei' use of it, it must be protect- ed by faggots of litter against the wet and the frost of winter. A kiln of these dimensions will contain 47,000 1 inch bore pipe tiles. 32,500 li 20,000 IJ " 12,000 2i and Uie last-mentioned size will hold the same number of the inch-pipes inside of them, making, tlierefore, 24,800 of both sizes. In good weather thi.s kiln can be filled, burnt and discharged once every fortnight; and 1.5 kilns may be obtained in a good season, producing — 705,000 1 inch pipe tiles ; Or. 487,500 Ij " Or, 300,000 l| " and so on in proportion for other sizes. N. B. If a kiln of larger diameter be built, there must be more fire-holes, and additional shed room. 5th Point. Cost of forming the establishment. The price charged by Messrs. Cottam and Hal- len for the machine, with its complement of dies, is £25 Price of pug-mill ^ 10 Cost of erecting kiln 5 Cost of sheds, straw ! 10 Total .±50 The latter item presumes that the farmer has hurdles of his own. 6tli Point. Cost of tiles when ready for sale. As this must necessarily vary with the cost of fuel, rate of wages, easy or difficult clay for vvorking or other local peculiarities, I can only give the cost of tiles as I have ascertained it here according to our charges for fuel, wages, &c. &c. Our clay is strong, and has a mixture of stones in it, but the machine is adapted for working any clay -vvhen properly prepared. It requires 2 tons 5 cwt. of good coals to bum the above kiln full of tiles. Coals are charged here at 2as. per ton, or 1,000 brush faggots will effect the same purpo.se, and cost the same money; of coui-se some clays require more burning tlian others ; the stronger the clay the less fuc.l required. The cost of making, the sale prices, and num- ber of each sort that a wagon with 4 horses will cai-rj', are as follows : Cost. Sale Price. Wagon *• d. s. holds 1 mch pipe tiles.. 4 9 per 1,000 12 8,000 U " .-6 0 " 14 7,000 li " -.8 0 " 16 5,000 .10 0 " 20 3,500 2| " .12 0 " 24 3,000 Elliptical tiles 24 ) Soles..... loj.... 2,000 All these tiles exceed a foot in length when burnt The co.st price alone of making draining tiles will be the charge to every person making his own tiles for his own use. If he sell them, a higher price must, of course, be demanded to allow for some profit, for credit more or less long, for bad debts, goods unsold, &c. &c. ; but he who makes his own saves all expense of car- riage, and, as his outlay will not exceed £50, the interest on tliat sum is too trifling to be regarded (209) and he has no additional rent to pay ; and after he has made as many tiles as he wanted, his ma- chine and pug-mill will be as good as ever with reasonable care, and will fetch tlicir value. I fear tliat no drawing could be made that would ensure a person erecting one of these kilns by it from the chance of failure ; and I do not know any way by which the.se kilns can be erected, and the mode of using them taught, so as to obviate disappointment, except by Mr. Hatcher being engaged to erect one or two in a county, which will sei-ve as models. It will not be improper to put those who may adopt any machine for tile-making upon their guard against the prejudices of tile-makers. The necessity and the demand for draining tiles has infinitely outstripped the possibility of the supply being furnished by hand-work alone in the old way : but as the services of every man who has been used to this work will be more than ever needed, the employer will find his account in securing them for the working of his machine by giving liberal wages, and by con- vincing the men that their earnings by work, not so laborious, but more effective, will be at least equal, and they will soon really be greater than they obtained ti-om their former occupation. I hope that this paper will prove the means of saving a large expenditure on buildings of a per- manent character, where draining tiles only are wanted to be made ; as such buildings, under such circumstances, will become useless when they have supplied the district immediately around them : for land once thoroughly drained with tiles, and on true principles, is, generally speaking, drained for ever. With sincere regard I remain, my Lord Very truly yours, TH03. LAW HODGES. Hemsted, Kent, Dec. 18, 1844. NOTE BY JIR. PUSEY. If Mr. Hodges should succeed in rendering the making of draining-tiles a domestic manu- facture, he will have set the seal to their cheap- ness, and thereby conferred a great boon on Farmers. As there is no point in which our Society has been more successful than in re- ducing the cost of drainage, we may take this occasion of looking back to what we have done. In the first Number of our Journal, published in 1839, I find the following passage : — " The expense (of thorough-draining) is estimated from £3 to £12 per acre, according to the fre- quency of their apphcation." The price in my own neighborhood and m the Isle of Wight was then 60s. per 1,000 for tiles, and 30s. for soles, being 90.s. for every 1,000 feet of materials. In 1841, we discovered that Mr. Beart in Huntingdon.shire was selling tiles of about the same size for 22s. and the soles for about 10s. be- ing 32s. for every 1000 feet of materials. In 1843 we found that pipes of various shapes were sold in Suffolk and Kent at 20s. per 1000, being 20s, for every 1000 feet of materials. I was thus enabled in May, 1843 to give the following reduced estimate for draining an acre of land : — Distance between Drains. Pipes. Total Expenses. Feet. 66 44 33 22 16i £ 0 1 1 2 8 13 0 6 0 13 d. 4 0 8 0 4 £. s. d. 1 0 0 1 10 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 \ 102 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Our engineer, Mr. Parkes, has since examin- ed the subject of pipe-drainage most minutely. He has proved that in theory an inch-pipe can discharge the heaviest rains from the land, and he has gone far to .show their efficacy in prac- tice. Mr. Pai-kes. in his Report on the Imple- ments shown at Southampton, announces that such pipes are actually now selling in the Isle of Wight for 12s. per" 1000. I may. therefore, after so short an intei'val again have the plea- sure of laying before the Society further re- duced estimates of the price of drainage. The most convenient measure is, I think, the furlong, because that is the old dimension in length of an acre, the width being 66 feet ; and if the cost of one drain for that width be known, it is easy, of course, to calculate for nearer distances. A furlong, too, is equal to 40 poles, a common length in calculation for the digging of drains. Cost of T'horongh-draining one Acre. ^^ ^ ill C C X C = j- o ^ 1% 1.1 •S 'an y c (5.gc ^ C 1^ C ^ fcS .s r^ Feet. 8. s. d. S.. 8. d. 66 1 660 8 8 0 0 16 0 44 u 990 12 12 0 1 4 0 33 ^ 1320 16 16 0 1 12 0 22 3 1980 24 24 0 2 8 0 16i 4 2640 36 36 0 3 12 0 A trifling addition must be made for main- drains. In laying down the pipes we should look to those counties where draining w-as in- vented, and has been practised most largely. I mean our Eastern Counties, Essex, Suffolk, Nor- folk, Herts. &c. For, as Mr. Copinger Hill* in- forms us. " On the heavy lands of Suffolk and the adjoining counties under-draining at a dis- tance of I6^1reet and a depth of 26 or 30 inches is as much a matter of routine as hedging- and *Society'B Journal. Vol. iv. p. 26. ditching." Now the usual shape of drains there is extremely narrow at bottom, tapering down from a width of 4 to that of 2 inches, as shown in the drawing given by him, and here repeated. It so happens that this old and approved shape from the birth-place of thorough-draining is pre- cisely adapted to ourmo.st modem improvement, the small pipe. The Essex tools which have been for some time employed by my workmen, W'ere found by them last winter equally adapted, at least in very strong clay, for pipe as for thorn- draining. They are the old-fashioned naiTow spade and the scoop. ^Vith this narrow spade three cuts are made, two on die sides of the cut, and one across ; but m clays perfectly free from stones, I believe that the bitting tool mentioned by Mr. Arkell in his Prize Essaj-on Drainage is even better. I will only add that if Mr. Hodges's temporal^ kilns and sheds should enable the fanner to make inch-tiles at 4s. 9d. per 1000, the estimates for drammg an acre must be further reduced as follows : on claj'-lands without stones: Feet. 66 44 33 22 16J til C 2 - « V. 3 0 . 1.1 6h3-i = .&■ bo .S •£ 11 s. d. s. 1 660 3 2 8 n 990 4 9 12 2 1320 6 4 16 3 1980 9 6 24 4 2640 12 8 48 H o. £. s. d. 0 11 2 0 16 9 12 4 1 13 6 3 0 8 The ordinary distances may be taken at 33 and 22 feet, givirig the length of drains 2 or 3 fur- longs per acre. If land can be thus permanent- ly drained for little more than a pound or a guinea and a half per acre, and if the closest drainaije that can probably be required may be done for three pounds per acre, there will really be no longer any excuse for an undrained field in any part of the countrj-. PH. PUSET. 'jjiiiyiiiijij|iiji iii. '_UJ/ 'I, J ijLh'M^:^ LIME AS A FERTILIZER. 103 LIME AS A FERTILIZER. The ase of Lime in building, is of the earliest antiquity, but for the purpose of manure, the use of it has been confined to Europe and North America ; tliat emploj-ment of it never having been thought of in Asia or Africa, though the substance itself is every vihere is to be found. In this country, the application of Lime to land has greatly mcreased, w-ithin the present century. An impression of its durability over other fertilizers, has contributed much, no doubt, to its popularity ; yet while the use of it is ex- tending, the question as to its mode of action, has not been definitively settled. On that point much difference of opinion exists, as there does also, about the modus operandi of Sulphate of Lime, or Plaster of Paris — some maintaining them to be manures in themselves, entering into the composition of the plants, while others be- lieve that they contribute — especially Lime — to the decomposition of the vegetabrei matter it finds in the soil ; preparing it to afford food and sustenance to the growing crop. Those who contend that Plaster of Paris acts its part, by drawing moisture from the atmo- sphere, are required to say why it does not thus benefit vegetation by drawing moisture from the atmosphere, as well in one region of country as anotlier. Yet it is well known that so great is the difference of its action in that respect — so inert is it in one country and so powerful in an- other, that nothing is more common, when a landholder offers to sell his estate, than for him to be asked, first of all — "Is yours plaster landV And this is easily understood, since it is well known, that where plaster or sulphate of lime will act, as it does on the old soft yellov^- looking, broom-sedge lands of Calvert, Prince Georges, and Anne Arandel counties, m Mary- land, no fertilizer, natural or artificial, vegetable, animal, or mineral, is to be compared ■with it, in point of cheapness and efficacy, up to that de- gree of melioration which re.sults in a heavy crop of red clover ; and which reaches to, if it does not end with, the production of about eight barrels (40 bushel.s) of Indian com, or one thou- sand pounds of tobacco. As it is with Lime, so it is with Plaster of Paris, the first application is attended with the most obvious effects ; but this may be because there is then the greatest room for improvement ; and consequently the effects are more visible. But the question has been raised, whether applications of plaster, however often repeated, will do more than (and that by means of the grass crops, especially clover, it (211) secures) keep the land to that moderate point of productiveness, ever after, which is the result of the first clover crop that follows the use of it. We say moderate productiveness, because, surely every farmer is bound to esteem forty bushels of com as very moderate, in the face of so much testimony to prove that eightj- bushels have been frequently, and sometimes one hund- red, gathered from an acre. The evidences of the power of Lime to carry up the produce of land to a much higher mea- sure, and to maintain it there much longer, than other manures most in use, have as before said, greatly contributed to extend the use of it. Observation of its great potency, especially in Pennsylvania, among a people slow to be moved, and not liable to be wheedled in practical matters, has caused much inquiry to be made as to the mode of rising it most common in that country, and much, accordingly, has been writ- ten on the subject. The agricultural journals abound in descriptions of the practice of liming, and with speculations as to the proper time and quantity to be applied ; and in what reference, direct or remote, to other manures, and to par- ticular crops. The point in regard to which we apprehend hurtful mistake is most likely to occur, is, as to the state in which it should be applied : that is, how soon from the kiln, and \\hat treatment it should undergo in the meantime ; how much or how little should it be purposely exposed to wet or rain or dew, or to be left m a condition to draw moi.sture from the atmosphere. As to the season of the year, the answer re- lated by Doctor Darlington, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, a writer to whom Agricultural Science is so much indebted, as having been given by a Dutch farmer, probably comprehends all that need be said : "Never mind," was his reply ; " when — so you get it on your land .'" But the time is not now, however lately it may have been, when farmers of the first order of intelligence will be satisfied with knowing the mev2 mechanical routine of time and quan- tity. An impulse has been given to the mmd — its facultj- of curio.sity, the mother of knowledge, has been excited, and men who were content to know how much will do. now demand to know the way in irhick it works. Tell us, say they, ko7v it acts, and we shall better understand all the details of practice, and be better prepared in case of disappointment, in a particular case, to ferret out the reasons of the failure, and tc guard against its recurrence. Without this knowledge of the mode — the philosophy of its action ; we shall ho ever liable to mistakes ; and besides, says the agriculturist of the new school, there is neither satisfaction nor honor, even in success, which, as far as the farmer is concerned, he has not much more agency in securing, in- tellectually speaking, than the man he hires, or the horse he drives. Hence it is, that the newly-awakened spirit of inquiiy is busy to find out the true science of all things that come within the compass of the farmer's calling. The true theoiy of the rise and recession of the sap — the birth and strange metamorphoses of insects — the physio- logy or laws of animal and vegetable life — and of the nature and action of manures — and first of all. perhaps, of Lime. Is it not apparent that when that point comes to be clearly settled, it may be used with greater judgment and confidence, and with so much the less chance of abortion ? For example, if its mode of action is only to convert vegetable substances present in the land from one condi- tion, useless as food for plants, into another which may form for them their most nutritious food, does it not follow that it would be a profit- less waste of lime to bestow it where there was obviously no such vegetable substance to be acted upon ? But, without further preliminarj^, we proceed now to give an essay, at hand, on the use of Lime. What we have here written is not only as an introduction to this essay, but once for all to ad- vertise the reader, that w^hen other dissertations on the same subject, presenting otlier views, find a place in the Farmers' Library, it will be under promptings, and with motives such as have been here explained. The more than 100 pages, appropriated monthly, by the publishers of this journal, will afford us ample space " and verge enough " to spread before the intelligent reader the various theories contended for, where investigation has not removed all doubt, and we deem it but fair to afford him a view of the several facts and opinions upon which he may exercise his own judgment, and form his own conclusion. In the September number, we shall give an- other dissertation, presenting additional, or other views. ON THE ACTION AN"D USES OF LIME IN AGRI- CULTURE, AND THE MOST EFFICIENT AND ECONOMICAL MODES OF APPLYING IT TO THE SOIL. By James Anderson, Esq. of Gorth- leek, Invemess-Bhire. [Premium, 10 Sovereigns.] The action of lime in agriculture depends much on die state in which it is applied to soils, whether pure as an oxide of calcium, or com- bined with an acid, and then, chemically speak- ing, a salt of lime, and likewise on the condition (21-2I and composition of the soil in various respects at the time of its application. The lime of agriculture is principally derived from large deposits of native carbonate, (lime stone,) and, in this form, it is found in frequent and very considerable quantity among the va- rious geological formations. The sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris) is also found in very con- siderable quantity in Germany, including Aus- tria, France, Switzerland, Spain, the American States, the Peninsula of Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, in our o-wn couutiy, and elsewhere, abundantly. However, the sulphate is not in Britain yet applied directly to the soil so exten- sively as in America and other countries; it ex- ists in vegetable ashes, and is sometimes so ap- plied in this country, particularly to the legu- minous crops, as the clovers, with very benefi- cial eifects. In Holland, the utmost confidence is placed, and with apparent good reason, in the restorative and lertilizing powers of the ashes of bituminous peat. Phosphate of lime, another salt or acid com- pound of tliis substance, is applied in bone ma- nure, being the principal mineral integrant in tlieir composition ; and it is also supplied to the soil by the application and decomposition of the vegetable fibres and animal substances which find their way into the fructifying mass of the farm-yard manure heap. It occurs in nature in veins and beds in connection -wiih tin and iron ores, and is found in masses in Britain in Devon- shire and Cornwall — and in at least one locality in Spain, besides in Saxony and Bohemia, and elsewhere. This substance would be well worth a fair trial in various soils, and we have eveiy reason to think, from experiments on a small scale, it might prove a valuable manure. The principal supply of lime, however, for agricultural purposes is derived from the appU- cation of strong heat to the native carbonate, which expels the carbonic acid, and in this state it is carried to the surface over which it is to be applied, where it is slaked with water, with which it readily combines, being at the same time reduced to a fine powder, the most conve- nient form for its application to the soil. W^hen pure, before uniting with water, car- bonic or other acid, it is known under the fa- miliar appellation of quick-lime. Applied in this state to soils containing organic substances, it enters into union with these substances and foiTiis compounds which are partially soluble in water. All organic substances contain abund- antly carbonaceous matter and oxygen, and, by attracting these, the quick-lime is gradually con- verted into a carbonate. But in practice the quick-lime is generally slaked with water before it is applied to the .soil, in order to reduce it to a po^vder ; and it is thus more equally divided in the process of scattering it over the surface. When slaked, or in union with water, it is chemically styled a hydrate, and operates in the same way as quick-lime in reducing or com- bining with organic substances. It retains no longer the same action ; but, on the contrdry, operates powerfully in preventing the too rapid decomposition of organic substances already in a state of solution or approaching to it. Having stated generally, in a few words, the action of quick-lime and hydrate, and carbonate or mild lime, we shall reserve the details of the most efficient and economical modes of applica- tion to be .specified and explained as they may naturally suggest themselves in our progres.s. 1. We have to consider the most suitable LIME AS A FERTILIZER. 105 period in the rotation for the application of lime. W ith a view to economy and efficiency both, this must be when the land is preparing for a fallow or fallow crops. It should always in this case be applied as a hydrate. At this time an opportunity is otrered, when the land is in pro- gress of tillage at any rate, of intermixing and thoroughly incorporating the lime with the soil, when it immediately acts, as before stated, upon any insoluble organic substances which it may contain ; and, instead of remaining dormant, in- active, and useless, as these substances had been during the previous rotation, they grad- ually form combinations with the lime, which become partially soluble in water, and thus, when lime is judiciouslj' apphed to a fal- low, it is one reason for a smaller quantity of manure sufficing. This, of course, will only happen when there has been an accumulation of tibrous and insoluble organic matter in the soil, which is always the case in newly im- proved land, and where tlie soil, though in cul- tivation, has never previously undergone liming, and more particularly if it contains in itself little native calcareous matter. With regard to the crops to w^hich lime is found most beneficial, we shall begin with the Ccrealia, and of tliese we shall speak to wheat, barley, and oats. We know, in imiumerable instances, that wheat is groNvn on soils previ- ously incapable of yielding an abundant or re- munerating crop. We do not doubt that this is partly owing to the previous ope|^tion of effi- cient draining, as die most ignorant agriculturist is now aware of the fact, that the application of manures, organic or inorganic, is compara- tively fruitless without attention to draining, as a preparative, in the first instance. From the previous application of lime to a fallow, we see a very moderate allowance of manure — consisting either of bones, themselves containing a large proportion of phosphate of lime — and various combinations of decaying organic substances, produce an admirable crop of turnip, and tlius prepare the way for a ricli and luxuriant crop of barley, and this, too, on soils that riiuged fonnerly very low indeed in the scale of fertility, but have been quickened into life and productiveness by the presence of this new agent. We have seen also a very superior crop of barley fi-equently produced on barren moorland, by the simple application of lime, and with a very little addition indeed of in-nutritious and ill-prepared manure in our own island, at an elevation of 8U0 or 900 feet, and between latitude 57^ and .")8'-', and this too on a soil, to say the most for it, of average barren- ness. As to the oat crop, in the rotation, we have not observed that it is by any means proportionally so much improved by the application of lime. But this may be accounted for by the great ex- haustion of manure caused by the luxuriance of previous barley crops. In high and cold local- ities, -where oats are cultivated as the principal grain crop for winter fodder, and the lime applied and harrowed in above the plowed natural lea, the effect on the crop has been very beneficially apparent, particularly and chiefly where the land had been well drauied before tlie application of the lime. The improvement in the succeeding pasture-grass was, if possible, still more remarkable and lasting. This is easily accounted for when we consider that the cold in this countrj-. at considerable hights, and the con- sequent low natural temperature of the contained (213) water in the soil, together tend to retard the de- composition of any portion of the fibre of the growing natural herbage that may be left un- consumed on the surface. But when lime is applied, it immediately dissolves tliis fibrous de- posit, which has been, from the above causes, unceasingly accumulating, and converts it into wholesome and abundant nourishment for a higher and more useful class of plants. At great hights, then, and in cold localities generally, the effects of lime are particularly striking, and also very lasting, after draining. Of the Leguminous crops, we may say un- hesitatingly, from what we have observed, that they caimot be cultivated with any success \vith- out the previous application of lune, unless where abundance of native calcareous matter exists in the soil. The bean, indeed, and, so far as we have observed, tlie potato crop, are ex- ceptions to this rule ; although we have seen lime, in compost with earth or old turf dykes, give a most productive and valuable crop of potatoes. Whether spread on the surface of pasture-land alone, or in compost -with earth, or applied with a crop and grass seeds, with a view to pasture, it never fails to call into existence the dormant seeds of the superior grasses in the soil, and to nourish and facilitate the growth of tho.se that may have been confided to it by the agi-iculturi.st. This is a fact placed beyond all dispute. It is a never-failing fertilizer of grass land. 2. The efiects of lime on peaty soUs are the folio-wing : — Peat is kno^vn to contain two substances in- imical to vegetation, and eminently preventive of the changes and interchanges, the decompo- sitions and recompositions, necessary to afford a supply of genial nourishment to a superior class of vegetables. These injurious substances are tannin and gallic acid. But let u« consider for a moment the composition of these inimical com- pounds, and -we shall find that we have it in our [)0wer, by a simple process, to convert them into substances most friendly to the advance- ment of superior vegetation, and in this form contributing highlj' to the fertility of soils. We find on analysis that they are composed of llie following constituent proportions : — Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxyeen. Tannin 52.59 3.825 4.3.583 Gallic Acid, 56.64 5.00 38.36 We have .shown in the first part of this essay, that quick-lime and hydrate have a powerful affinity for carbonaceous matter and oxygen. This known, with the assistance of the above analysis, it is at once clear ho-w they operate be- neficially on peaty soils. It is'evident that, by appropriating a jiortion of the carbon and oxy- gen, the lime neutralizes the acid in both these substances, itself becoming a carbonate ; and, by this change, substances that were fonnerly destructive to fertility, combining in part with the lime, are resolved into their simple elements, and, assuming a new character, gradually be- come capable of sustaining an improved vege- tation. Of cour.se, as we bave already .shown, the lime will act on the fibrous vegetable re- mains in tlie soil, combine with them, and con- vert them by degrees into soluble and fructifying nutriment ibr vegetables. If, after peaty lands have been once limed, it should be found advis- able, for any cause, to break up a lea, (and this sliould be as seldom as po.ssible, such lands being better laid to grass,) it would be an improvement lOG MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. to do so by parinir and burning, as, by the appli- cation of beat, a portion of the lime, now con- verted into carbonate, from being so long buried and in close contact with the soil, would be freed fi-om its acquired acid, and restored anew to its original state of purity when first applied — or, in other words, be reconverted into tpiick- lime — and would thus be rendered capable of exerting a renewed action on the peaty sub- etances present, and, from its recovered causti- city, again promote the various processes of decomposition and recomposition so favorable to the development of healthful and luxuriant vegetation. 3. The action of lime on clayey or aluminous soils is as follows : — It operates both in the fertilization and com- minution of clayey soils. Prom the minuteness of its particles, they easily insinuate themselves into the clay. On the particles of lime, too, encountering any enclosed organic matter in tliese aluminous masses a strong action imme- diately takes ])lace between the lime and such matter, ^vhich, by combining with, disorgan- izing, and reducing such organic matter, destroys the continuous solidity of the clay which con- tained it : and from this, with the evolution of the gases and other attendant action, the stub- bom clay at length becomes cellular. 4. In sandy .soils, lime operates beneficially as follows : — It is w^ell known that sand (silica) differs much from clay (alumina) and lime, in two im- portant characteri.stics particularly. Both lime and alumina have a great affinity for organic matter and moisture, and retain both these sub- stances by a powerful attraction ; sand has no such affinity, and on tliis depends its barrenness. It is merely commingled with organic matter at any time, never chemically combining with it in any quantity, and retaining it by no degree of attraction whatever, in this way it offers no resistance to the rapid escape of such sub- stances by combinations with the components of moisture deposited by the atmosphere and the constituents of the atmo.sphere itself; and tlie fructifymg properties of the manures are thus quickly withdrawn from the .soil, and escape from it, in the aerial form, into the atmo- sphere. Besides this, they are washed away, in part, by heavy rains and superabundant moist- ure, beyond the reach of tlie root fibres of the crop they were intended to nourish. To cure these defects, lime is applied. From its affinity for moisture, it attracts it from the atmosphere, and, when voluntarily discharged from this source, promotes its retention in the bodj' of the ^oU. By combining with any organic manures that may be added to the soil, it prevei.ts their •wastelul and too rapid escape ; and thus, bj- rendering the soil more retentive of moisture and organic substances, and improving its tex- ture and consi.steuce, emmently promotes and increases its fertility. After the explanation we have just given, it is difficult to see how lime can be dispensed with in tlie improvement and perfecting of any soil, unless that soil should be naturally calca- reous. Such a soil efi'ervesces powerfully with acids, and is thus easily detected by the most untutored inquirer. The only case in which we found lime to produce no great sen- sible or perceptible beneficial effect, or verj' little, was when superabundant moisture existed. But, even vihere the soil had been previously ex- hausted bv overcropping and bad cleaning, we •214) have found quick-lime, by destroying insects and their larviE, and the seeds and roots of noxious and unprofitable plants, and by converting these, as already explained, into \\hole8ome nutriment for succeeding crops, a most useful coadjutor, in connection with a well-conducted fallow, in re- storing vigor and energy to the most exhausted subject. W'^here former injudicious applications of lime had been made, ^ve can recommend no efficient restorative but a copious supply of or- ganic manure and rest in grass. One instance of abuse of lime we may par- ticularly notice here. Thirty jears ago and upwards, lime, at the rate of ~'00 bushels of hot shells an acre, was spread on between 100 and 200 acres of verj' light siliceous, open, dry, gra- velly .soil, scarcely 200 feet above the level of the sea, and within a mile of the coast, between lat. 57^ and 58"^, in north Britain, and being treated rather sparingly on some occasions, in after cropping, as to manure, till v,'ithiu the last eight years, though correctly fanned by the ro- tation of turaip, barley, and haj- seeds, and hay followed by pasture for one year, and some- times two years, it has not and will not recover this overdose for a long time to come. Although the soil was poor, the lime, being new to iti" exhausted at first all its organic mat- ter, and produced wonderful crops for some years; but at length it came to be, that, in 1839, rather an unfavorable season, and frequently previously in a field of upwards of twenty-five imperial acres, there was not produced twenty quarters (160 bushels) of oats, and the quality not so good as the dressings of a veiy rich and productive crop. It will be a very expensive and unremunerating process to recover this soil by rest and manure. Some parts were, at the same rate and at the same time, manured with lime containing a trace of magnesia, and these portions of the surface are still quite distinguish- able from the remainder by a vegetation of an aspect if possible more miserable, sickly, and attenuated than that which covers the general surface. 5. We now come to consider the effects of Lime on a deleterious subsoil. On this subject we can also venture to say a little, from some experience and attentive ob.servation in the im- provement of waste land, and from extensive draining of arable and waste in the progress of improvement. Subsoils frequently hold in their composition deleterious sub.stances, which consist principally of the salts of iron or manganese, and some acid, resembling the gallic and acetic, derived from the decay of vegetable substances. We have witnessed tlie benefit in these instances of the application of quick-lime. In the first place, the Ihnc attracts and combines with the acid.s, by which means the salts of iron and mangan- ese are neutralized, and the acid adhering to the lime is not merely rend(-red innocuous, but converted into a po.sitively fertilizing substance. Where any sourness, or vegetable acid in any form, exists in the soil or subsoil, which very frequently happens on examining the composi- tion of waste lands with a view to improvement, and which has been caused by the long exist- ence and periodical decay, while in its unre- claimed state, of a worthless vegetation, if lime be applied, it immediately combines with and neutralizes the effects of such di-literious com- ponents, destroying the acid by withdrawing its carbonaceous matter and oxygen, aiid thus, be- coming a carbonate of lime, materially adds to LIME AS A FERTILIZER. 107 its own value a8 as a fertilizing iugredient. Tli.s we have tested freciueutly, so as to satisfy ourselves of the effieiency of an application of lime in all such cases, and of the i)erlLct propri- ety of recommending it to an improver whose chemical knowledtje may not be sufficient to conduct the simple process of analyses if he should have any good ground for suspicion from the (lark color of the .subsoil, or any other fami- liar and often locally understood symptom that such latent causes as we have been describing ai"e operating against his interest. The salts of the protoxide of iron amount to thirty-eight, with nine double salts, making to- gether lorty-seven salts of the protoxide of iron ; and these are generally soluble in \sater. The known salts of the peroxide of iron amount to flirty-three, with twelve double salts, making tit'ty-tive salts of the peroxide of iron, and they arc all .soluble in the same menstruum. .Most of tlie salts of mimganese are soluble in water, and on their precise degree of solubility depends their destructive and injurious cftects. The salts of iron, where water abounds in the .soil, gradually form, by combining with the earths, as ■we have often seen, a most impervious and injurious subsoil ; but on being freed, by drain- ing, of excess of moisture, and broken up, and, more effectually still, if trench-ploughed after draining, and thus partially exposed to the fruc- tifying and pulverizing action of the atmos- phere, such a subsoil will be speedily rendered innocuous ; and, if lime be thereSl'ter applied, the cure is conij)lete ; — and, after resting a little, a soil thus prc()ared may be converted to the purpo-;es of jirolitable culture. 6. We have already, under head 2, shown the effects of tlie application of lime in improving the texture, constitution, and general fertility of the soil. We may now add here, that when cal- careous matter is deficient in soil."?, it will be highly beneficial to supply it even in the state of native carbonate, and without calcination, if a supply can thus be more cheaply and con- veniently obtained from the sweepings of the highway.*, which often contain a considerable admi.xture of carbonate, or from any other na- tive calcareous deposit, such as shell or clay marl, or calcareous sand, &c. Clay marl is best adapted to sandy or siliceous soiLs, and shell marl and calcareous sand to clayey or alumin- ous soils or stiff' loams. However, when too easily obtained, such advantages are sometimes abu.sed ; .several instances of this kind have come under our observation, and we may here mention one as an example. On an estate in North Britain, where a very valuable and ex- ten.sive marl depo.sit exists, permis.sion was given to the tenantry to apply this substance to their farms free of all charge : their holdings chiefiy consisted of light siliceous and very shal- low i)eaty .soils, and the proportions were left to their own discretion. This deposit was verj' rich in calcareous matter. It was used with something like su.spicion and distrust at first in any great quantity, but some favorable results so raised tlie expectations of the tenantry that they heaped on their land an unlimited bulk, and the con.sequence was, that a few years of fruitfulne.ss and of injudicious, and too often in- cessant cropping were succeeded by j'early in- creasing sterility and loud and fruitle'ss lamenta- tions. The soil, of course, will require the same treatment to recover it as if it had received an over-do.se of unmixed lime. 7. The quantity of lime which might be ap- (51. 5) ^ plied to the soil in different cases is a most important subject; also, whether it seems most beneficial to apply lime in large quantity ;md at long intervals, or in smaller quantity and at shorter intervals ; and we shall endeavor to be as explicit and intelligible on the subject as wo possibly can. In a deep peaty soil there is little danger that the proper quantity of quick-lime will be ex- ceeded, and carbonate may be applied in al- most any probable quantity. We need only instance as grass-grounds the famous Orcheston meadows. In a sandy soil there is scarcely more danger that this will be the case with car- bonate, neither will it be so with caustic lime, provided it be ^vell mixed beforehand with clay or common soil containing a proportion of organic matter, such as old turf dykes or pond scourings, or suchlike substances. When a soil contains a fourth part of alumina, (a stiff' wheat soil,) and lime is to be applied lor the first time, it should never be in less quantity, at the verj- least, than 150 bushels of shells, heaped measure, to the acre. A third part of this quantity should be repeated on occasion of every third fallow thereafter, to keep up a desirable activity in the soil, a great proportion of the first applied quan- tity having by this time disappeared and been washed away by natural agencies ; and on each occasion of a fallow, when no lime is applied, from one cwt. to two cwt. of nitrate of soda or potash to the acre should be cai-efully sown over the young wheat or turnip crop, as it may happen, a moist morning being selected for the purpose ; and this will not only nourish and stimulate the young plants, and effectually de- stroy the numerous tribe of insects and their larvaj, so peculiarly destructive to the turnip crop in its first stages, but what is not appropri- ated of it by the plants descends vs'ith the mois- ture into the soil, and immediately acts upon the lime, no^v chiefly become a carbonate, by de- priving it of its acid, and restoring it to its ori- ginal state of purity, when its caustic properties are restored, and it again operates with the same activity as when first applied to the soil. It is necessary to apply the 150 bushels in the first instance to insure the ett'ectual solution of the natural and necessarj' acoumulation of the iu.soluble organic matter which must occur in a soil which has been covered with vegetation of any description ; but a small application every thii-d fallow, with the alkaline application to each of the two intermediate fallows, will there- after prevent any such useless accumulation of insoluble organic matter, which needs must otherwise increase in the soil from the annual decay of the root fibres and other accidental and necessarj- remains of the different natural herb- age, plant.s, and crops of the previous rotation. When a soil is composed of four parts in five of silica, the remainder being principally alu- mina and organic matter associated with a por- tion of impalpable siliceous powder, it may be made a superior turnip .soil, and incalculably improved by the application of carbonate of lime in large quantity ; but about 100 heaped bushels of shells to the acre will be a sufficient dressing of caustic lime on a first application to the soil, care being taken that a fair allowance of manure is always supplied at each recur- rence of a fallow, and it may be repeated in the same proportion and at the same periods (a third to every third fallow thereafter) as we have just recommended in clayey soils. The quantity of nitrate of potash or soda, be it observed, to be the same in both cases, that is, the same both in aluminous and siliceous soils, but the proportion of lime to vary as 100 to 150, both in the first and successive applications. We have every reason to think, I'rom all our patient investiga- tion, experiment, and experience that this v/ill eventually be found a verj' economical and ef- fectual if not the moat economical and etfoctual, method of applying lime to soils. When easily and cheaply obtained, about fif- teen bushels of wood or peat ashes, applied in the same manner, form a good substitute for the nitrate of soda or potash ; and bituminous peat for this purpose is always to be preferred. 8. We have already stated that we have uni- versally found that, unless thoroughly under- drained, it is in vain to expect any remunerative return from the application of lime, and we may add, any descri]jtion of manure, whether organic or inorganic. Where superfluous moisture ex- ists, the interstices of the soil are completely choked up with the fluid, the beneficial action of the atmospheric air excluded, a soiiruess con- tracted prejudicial to healthy vegetation, and the fructifying portions of the manure rendered inactive or washed away beyond the reach of a crop, while the temperature of the soil is also materially reduced by the presence of superflu- ous moisture. 9. The effect of applying lime along with other manures, that is, at the same season, and to the same crops with other substances, de- pends entirely on the period of the operation of fallowing at which it is applied. If it be applied to the fallow before the dung, and harrowed sufficiently into the soil, inter- mixed and incorpoi-ated thoroughly with it, the lime will combine with and immediately operate in reducing all the root fibre and insoluble or- ganic remains of the natural herbage or previous crops as it may hapjien to meet with, and thus convert into nutriment, for the succeeding crop, what was before of no service whatever ; and if any acid or noxious rejected matter slfould be left by the plants of the previous rotation, as is believed by many scientific persons to be the ca.se, the acid and noxious principles are neu- tralized by the lime, and the soil purified and enriched at same time. If not laid on, however, till after the dung is applied, of course it must and does abstract carbonaceous matter and oxy- gen from the manure, in the first place, com- bining with the more soluble portions, and this combination rendering them temporarily in great part less soluble, and thus not so well cal- culated to afford immediate nutriment to the succeeding crop. This may not be of such im- portance in wheat culture, which crop is best treated as a biennial, and thus remains a long time on the ground. But it does not appear to be so well calculated for a turnip crop, requiring as it does an immediate and concentrated sup- ply of stimulating and soluble nourishment. With farm-yard dung it does and must operate in this way. W e have used street manure to turnips, which suits this croj) better than mo.st others. Street mamiro frequently contains a considerable por- tion of carbonate of lime, and sometimes native sulphate; but an application of caustic-lime, af- ter adding this manure to the soil operates pre- cisely as in the former case we have been de- scribing, in fonning compounds partially insolu- ble in water, and in withdrawing carbonaceous matter and oxygen, and thus being ultimately converted into a carbonate. (216) Rape-cake we have used very little, although, thrown into the soil along with the seed of tur- nip, in moist seasons, it makes a capital dressing, as we have often witnessed. It is well suited to clay soils in some cases ; but it is scarcely adapt- ed to a fallow, unless combined with more sub- stantial and lasting manures. We have used bones extensively in different soils, but always as limed land, and have never paid particular attention to the eflects of apply- ing both at the same season. W^e knovv-, how- ever, from very careful analysis, that the follow- ing is their composition : — Cartilage — a compound |Carb. of Lime 11-3 of Carbon, Oxygen,Hy- I'hos. of Lime 51.4 dnigen, and Nilro- FluateofCalcium 2 gen 33.3 Phos. of Magnesia 1.16 Soda I.2I Of course the application of caustic-lime ^vould operate powert'ully in reducing the bone, by acting on the cartilaginous portions, and with- drawing the carbon and oxygen ; but we have always found the most efficient and economical method of applying this manure to be over a portion of spit dmig previously deposited in the turnip drills, which is preferable even to mixing the bones with the manure to cause icnnenta- tion before applying the mass. The evolution of gases and volatile alkali, with the increase of temperature during the fermentation caused by the subterposition in the drill of the spit dung, affords the most forcing and stimulating nour- ishment to the tender genu, and has the further reccmmeudation of economy and efficiency. — W^e have gro'wn a very excellent crop of tur- nip on a vei-y diy light siliceous gravelly soil, with eight bushels of bones, over ten single hor.se-cart loads of farm-yard dung, an aci'e. "V^'ith regard to soot, we have witnessed its admirable effects sown over gras^ lands, spring com, tares, and young tui-nip, but have never seen it applied at the same time with lime. It is most eftectual in desti-oying the numerous in- sects which prey on vegetables in their early stages. However, we should think it injudi- cious in the extreme to apply it with quicklime, which would immediately and wastefuUy de- compose its substance by disengaging a great portion of the volatile alkali, although there would not be the same objection to sulphate of lime, which would rather operate in preventing the too rapid disengagement and dissipation of its volatile parts. We may conclude this head by remarking that where the object is permanent pasture, the application- of the manure and the lime at Ihe same time has been found beneficial, the eflects being more lasting ; but quick-lime or hydrate should never be applied to rich fertile old loams in cultivation, containing much soluble organic matter, unless as a compound with vegetable mould, or in some shape intimately combined with organic substances. 10. It seems .supei-fluous here to describe tlie familiar operation of fallowing. All that one need say is, that after this cleaning operation has been carefully executed on the best principles, tiie lime should be well harrowed in and thor- oughly incorporated with the soil. From being reduced to a hydrate it becomes so perfcclly di- vider!, and its particles rendered so minute, that the chemical action on any organic remains of former crops it meets with in the soil is imme- diate, and thus, rapidly becoming mild from this action, it is, in a manner, prevented from com- bining with the more soluble portions of the sub- sequently applied orgaaic manures. Care must alwayg be taken not to exhaust the soil by over- cropping: after the application of lime in any shape, and the most approved and least exhaust- ing coui'se or rotation adopted on similar soils should never be departed from ; and a farmer should never yield to the lure of a deceitful fer- tility consequent on a first application of lime ; for the stimulus vv'hich produced this fertility will speedily exhaust the vigpr of the soil, un- less its energj- is supported by judicious man- agement. 11. It is very advantageous in some cases to apply the lime in the form of a compost, with clay, earth, or sand. A sort of artificial marl is thus formed, which is advantageously spread on gra.s.s lauds, affording them additional nourish- ment, at the same that the tiuickdime or hydrate is partially deprived of its caustic property, which recommends the practice much — caustic- lime in powder being, in quantity, destructive to living vegetables. When the object is to im- prove the texture of a soil of sand, or clay, or peat, a compost has much to recommend it. — Lime combined with sand being best adapted to an aluminous or peaty, and with clay for a siliceous subject. A compost in such cases has been found to be eminently beneficial, and preferable to the application of unmixed lime. ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE. As heretofore intimated, we may here repeat, that the experiments in the application of elec- tricity, which have lately attracted a good deal of notice in Europe, have not befcn attended with results sufficiently uniform and encourag- ing to warrant plain, prudent, practical men, in giving their time and pains to a subject as yet rather too much iVj the clouds. Still, as one of the sentinels, on the look out for any thing that may turn up in this very age of invention and discovery, it will be expected of us to cry WIio's there ? whenever any thing new makes its ap- pearance on the Agricultural Horizon. In cases like this, as in the application of steam and the attraction of lightning from the clouds, the way is, perhaps too much so, to receive the first suggestions with distrust, if not ridicule. " Visionarj- enthusiasts," " crack-brained men " — generally pennyless, arc left te go ahead, as they may, or fall as tliey often do, victims of poverty, distrusted and repulsed by your " prac- tical man," and your "man of means" — .such was the fate of Fitch— such of Rumsey. It was not their kind fate to meet with a Bridge- water, an Appleto!*, or a Lawrence; and the world knows them not as the first suggest- ers of steam appliance to navigation — poor thej- lived and dying are forgotten. Within the limits of this verj- corporation lives now almost unknown, if we are not misinformed, a second James Watt, in the person of a retiring and ob- scure genius — Bogardus.* In the garret of the Treasury- Buildings at Washington, is a gray headed man, of three score years and ten, witli an eye and a soul * See Proceedingg of American Institute vol I page 4^4. (217) fired with intelligence and spirit — the man who first measured the Sabine with chain and com- pass, who fought by the side of Jackson at New Orleans — a man who thirty years ago wrote in this city an " Emigrant's Guide," who of His- torj'. Geography, and Statistics, knows more than all in the building put together — and who does the reader suppose this man is and what is he about ? It is no other than the venerable William Darby, employed this hot weather, through his ' ten hours,' at one of the lowest desks in the building, on the pay of a half- fledged midshipman, at work that any common clerk might perform — such is political justice — but we had no calculation of being borne away on a visit to him just now, even by force of electricity. Electrocnliure, we were going to say, will be further experimented upon by sci- entific enthusiasts, and by tho.se who mingle science with practice. If successful the public will hear of and enjoy the results. Until these are known, we shall do no more tlian note what occurs at home and abroad, as briefly as may be consistent with our duty to journalise such things. Happily the monthly space allowed us leaves us still room enough to keep pace with all practical developments. None, therefore, we are persuaded, will deem it inappropriate that we cater as well for the man of the closet, as for him of the field. For the votary of science who goes before to explore the grounds and mark out the way, as for the working man who follows after to reap and gather the fruits of his discoveries. What follows then, is what we have seen most worthy of preservation. We arc aware that what is slated in reference to Mr. Foster's experiments, has already been published in most of the agricultural journals ; 110 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. and will thorefore be already familiar to most of our readers ; but as some of the otlier articles refer to tins statement it has been deemed best to preserve at once and together these differ- ent accounts and suggestions, tliat the subject may be, as far as this journal is concemed, dis- missed until the close of the year, when doubt- less we shall have reports of other and perhaps more particular and reliable obsei-vatious. In such a case it is better to do a little too much, than to fall short of what might be ex- pected or useful. Corn Cultivation by Electricity.— At a meeting, last week, of the Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshu-e, the following description was given of the result of the first considerable experiment of apply- ing the free electricity of the atmosphere to the cultivation of com. Dr. Forstcr, of Findra.s<-iie House, near Elgin, had thrashed, weighed and measured his electric cultured chevalier Bariey, and the product was the enormous quantity of 104 bushels, or 13 quarters per ton ! The tail com was not measured, and each bushel weigh- ed 54 i lbs. The weight of the straw was 9,300 lbs. per acre. The cost of the electric apparatus is £1 per acre, which will last for twenty years. V; j; 29 yards. A c Strong Wood Hooked Stake. COST. fi lbs. of iron wire at 4.1. per lb. for buiied wire, . . -28. 4 do. do. at 3d. per lb. for euspend. do Is. •J poles of dry wood, at 6d. each, Is- Labor, &c ^• 5e. As the area increases the cost diminishes ra- pidly. Convenient and desirable areas arc for— Two acres. 127 by 75 yd.«. U of an acre, 73} by Xi yd.?. - -- i do. 55 bv -22 do. I do. 36 by 16* do. One acre, 80 by .55 do. 5 of an acre, 82i by 44 do. The mode in which the plot is laid out, is as follows: with a mariner's compass and mea- sured lengths of common string, lay out the places for the wooden pins, to which the buried wire is attached, (by pas.siug through a small staple). Care must" be taken to lay the lengtli of the buried wire due North and South by com- pass, and the breadth due East and West. This wire must be placed from 2 to 3 inches deep in the soil. The lines of the buried wire are tlien (2 completed. The suspended wire must be attach- ed, and in contact with the buried wires at both of its ends. A wooden pin with a staple must, therefore, be driven in at A, and the two poles (one 14 and the other 15 feet) being placed by the compass North and South, the wire i.s placed over them and fastened to the wooden stake, bui touching likewise at this point the buried wire. The su.speuded wire must not be drawn too tight, otherwise die wind will break it. jElectro culture is a very interesting subject ; but we must not allow ourselves to be misled by it. It is to be regretted that Dr. For.ster's ex- periments are not given at more length ; at present they are so imconipletely stated, that no opinion can be formed upon them. As to iron wires lasting in the ground for twenty years, that is inconceivable, unless they are protected in some way. Upon the whole, we think it better to ^\ait, than to come to any conclusion either one way or the other.] Lond. Agr. Gaz. Electric Agency applied to Horticul- ture.— I have been making several experi- ments, the results of which have been of the most satisfactory character. My application of the subtle agent has been through the medium of galvanism, and as it is generated it is totally under control, which is not the case if it is col- lected (as is generally the case) from the atmo- sphere, which is always subject to the uncertain fluctuations known to exist in telluric and at- mospheric electricity. My experiments are, of course, far from matured, but yet they may not be void of interest to j'our.self First Experiment : T took an old 50-pair gal- vanic trough, and lined one-half the length of one side with zinc, and the oppcsite side in a similar manner with copper ; they being about 12 inches long and 2 deep, leaving a di.stance be- tween the plates of 4 inches, and connected by a zinc band. The trough was filled with moist soil and Turnip seed .sown thickly upon the surface and pressed into it, but not covered, one-half being under the galvanic iniluence, the other in a natural state. Kesult.s: the seeds under galva- nic influence swelled and sprouted many hours before the others, and twice as many vegetated ; and by die time they were all well up the gal- vanic ones had the advantage of 24 hours. I should tell you that they were placed in a tem- perature of more tlian 60°, and were all well up in three daj-s ; therefore 24 hours is a most ex- traordinary advance. Second Experiment : I lined a common flow- er-pot, 6 inciies wide at the top and 4 at the bot- tom, with zinc and copper, as in the last expe- riment, die plates being, of cour.«e, deeper ; I then sowed three Cucumber seeds in it, and three in another pot, without galvanism, and placed both in the same temperatuie, as the last experiment. Results: In the course of two days, the galvanic seeds appeared 11 hoiirs be- fore the others ; in three days both were well up, the galvanised having greatly the advantage in strength and color, and gouig ahead rapidly. After a lapse of a fortnight, the galvajii.»ed seeds seemed to have tlie advantage of four days' growth, were much darker in color, and about twice as strong, healthy, and vitrorou.s. I also tried an experiment with some Pea,s. which had been sown some time previously, and were jnyt cutting the ground. A zinc jilate, 1 foot square, was placed at the end of one of the double rows, and buried to an inch below its upper edge, and a similar plate of copper was buried ELECTRICITY. ,7n 111 at the other end to the same depth, and connect- ed by a copper wire. The weather was showery, and the growth of all wa.9 rapid. In the course of 30 hours, the galvanised ones had assumed a darker appearance, and were more regtilarly up than the others, and decidedly in advance ; and in the course of a fortnii^ht they were so much forwarder than the others, as to be easily s<^en at a cou.siderahle distance, and were alto£;:fther much higher :uk1 stronger. I am also trying an experiment with some Pota- toes, but they are not up yet. These results have been so satisfactory to me, that I intend to trj- the principle upon an acre of Barley, and am preparing the wires for that purpose ; and, when fuiished, will send you the results. A. RoYAi, iNSTiTtmoN, May 16. Reverend E. Sidney on the Electricity of I'lauts, and intluence of Electricity on Vegeta- tion. In introducing the subject of his lecture, Mr. Sidney took occasion to draw attention to the important nature of the inquiry, its high in- terest as a branch of natural science, and the valuable practical results which might possibly be brought to light in its investigation. The at- tention of electricians, he stated, had been drawn to tlie subject so long back as 1746, when a Mr. Maimbray, at Edinburgh, announced that elec- trified plants grew more rapidly and vigorously than those that were not so treated ; about the siune time the Abbe Nollet discovered that elec- trified seeds germinated with increased facility; and these observations were confii-Sied and ex- tended by the experiments of Bertholon and Jalabcrt, the former of whom attributed very marked etlects to the use of electrified water. — The truth of these experiments was supported by some electricians, but denied by others, who, upon repeating them, could not perceive any ef- fect produced on the electrified plants : amongst the latter class stands the name of Sennebier ; but on reading the account of how his experi- ments were performed, it is no longer surprising that he failed to perceive any effect from elec- tricity as he placed the seeds which were to be electrified inside an electrified vessel, a situation in which it is evident they would not be ex- posed to the electric influence. After briefly ad- verting to the more recent observations of Davy, Pouillet, and others, Mr. Sidney drew attention to the recent progress of tlie subject, and the high interest it was at present exciting. The first point which the lecturer insisted on, wa.s, that electricity appears to exercise a powerful influence on growing plants; in support of which he quoted a number of experiments and obser- vations, all tending to .show that plants, under tlie influence of electricity, grow with increa.sed vigor, and more especially when negatively electrified. The manner in which drooping plants have been observed to revive, on the ar- tificial application of electricity, was also no- ticed; and, lastly, the effects which are found to be produced by thunder-storms were described. The rapid growth of plants during thunder- storms might, no doubt, in part be attributed to other causes; but. at the same time, it was a very fair inference that the electric condition of the air had something to do with the phenomena, as such a conclusion was borne out by numerous experiments, on a small scale, made with artifi- cial electricity. Electricity of low, hke that of high tension, has been found to affect germina- ting seeds and growing plants in a remarkable manner; it was noticed bv Davy, that seeds a:er- (219) minated more freely at the negative pole of the voltaic battery than at the positive, and since his time numerous experiments have been made, all tending to prove that voltaic electricity pow- erfully affects plants. Mr. Sidney next drew at- tention to the facility with which fresh vegeta- ble matters conduct electricity, in consequence «f the good conducting power of the fluids which they contain; this was illu.strated by plac- ing a small blade of Grass in contact with the conductor of a powerful electrical machine, when it was proved that the whole of the elec- tricity generated by the machine was quietly carried away by the blade of Grass. It was also shown that the pointed forms of the leaves and other parts of plants, combined with their good conducting power, fitted tliem most admirably to receive or disperse electi-icity ; and hence electricians sometimes employed vegetable points in place of metallic ones for those pur- poses. To show this, a large Leyden jar was quickly and silently discharged, by bringing the pointed blades of Grass near its outer surface, and the brass knob at the top. In consequence of the high electric powers of plants, as might be supposed they exerted a marked efi'ect on the electric condition of the atmosphere, .so that when an electroscope indicated abundance of electri- city in the free open air, it indicated none in the vicinity of a tree with pointed leaves. In illus- tration of the good conducting power of vegeta- ble matter, Mr. Sidney .stated that it was impos- sible to give an electric shock to a circle of peo- ple standing on a lawn, as the electricity inva- riably took the shorter and better conducting course through the Grass ; whilst there was no difficulty in giving a shock to any number of per- sons standing in a circle on gravel. 3dly. The apparent adaptation of the vaiious parts of plants to different electrical uses, was pointed out. — Thus, the first leaves of many plants are pointed and acute ; others rounded" or globose. The buds of most plants are pointed, or covered with a strong pubescence. Some plants, more espe- cially tho.sc which grow rapidly, have an im- mense number of sharp points, or pointed hairs; whilst those which grow less rapidly, or are in- tended to meet the variations of the seasons, are less pointed, but often provided with dry thorns or pi-ickles. As plants come into flower, they generally tend more to a globose form ; the flow- er-buds are generally rounded, and the fruit, or seed-vessels, are seldom provided with acute points. It may, therefore, possibly be the case, that though electricity is favorable to plants at one stage of their growth, it is hurtful to them at others, just as is well-known to be the case with light, which is essential to them when full- grown, but is hurtful to them in the embryo state. The general phenomena of vegetation were then considered in relation to electrical agency; It would prove an interesting subject of inquiry, to examine in how far the rise of the sap in spring is influenced by electricity ; it is certain that in spring, and before the leaf-bude are opened, whilst they still retain their pointed form, the air is dry, and in the most fittins state for electrical effects. Mr. Sidney then adverted to the singrular powers which plants have of pre- cipitating moLsture from the atmosphere, an ef- fect which he suggested might pos.sibly be of electric origin, and endeavored to strengthen this view by a number of ingenious artruments ; amongst others, the remarkable cases described by Mr. \Veekes and other electricians, in which showers of ram were brought down by the use of uninsulated kites. The lecturer next endea- vored to show tliat the forms and geographical distribution of certain species of plants indicate a relation to their electrical properties. Thus, for example, the numerous Pine and Fir trees which abound in high latitudes, present most ad- mirable extensive discharging apparatus for re- ceiving or di.ssipatiug electricity ; and, suppos- ing the preceding observations correct, such trees would exert most important and beneficial influence in equalizing the electric condition of the atmosphere and tending to produce a great- er uniformity of temperature. Lastly, the sub- ject was considered as a purely practical one, and the prospect which there exists of electrici- ty being advantageously applied to stimulate or assist vegetation inquired into. Mr. Sidnej' seemed to think it very questionable whether electricity could ever be usefully applied to the improvement of agriculture, but in horticulture (in forcing flowers and fniits,) he thought there were prospects of decided benefit; and, there- fore, tliat this branch of the subject was well de- serving a careful experimental investigation. — Electricity, both common and voltaic, might pro- bably be advantageously employed in assisting the germination of old and dry seeds; and like- wise, applied with caution, in the culture of exot- ics and otlier hothouse plants, its use might be productive of good results. 'The lecturer exhi- bited several plants which he had caused to grow in earth under the influence of a feeble current of voltaic electricity, generated by a plate of zinc and another of copper, connected togeth- er, buried in the soil beside the roots of the plants ; and in the case of plants of Potato, Cine- raria, and Mustard, which he exhibited, a very marked effect appeared to have been produced, as the galvanised plants ^vere larger and much more vigorous than those without the plates. — He stated that he had also produced a very good effect on Pines, Cres.s, and Fuschias, but had found plants of Pelargoniums killed by the ap- plication of the zinc and copper plates. The well-known experiment of Dr. Forster, on Bar- ley, was then described, and shown to be a de- cidedly unphilo.sophical arrangement, so that it appeared very doubtful whether electricity had anything to do with the large increase of crop said to have been obtained by that gentleman. — At the same time, the experiment was highly deserving of attention ; and Mr. Sidney suggest- ed that it would be well worth while to try ex- periments on electro-cultivation, describing se- veral which have been commenced in Norfolk and elsewhere, on more accurate principles ; he also gave a brief .sketch of some of the experi- ments on this subject, at present being made by Mr. Edward Solly, in the gardens of the Horti- cultural Societj'. The lecture was, throughout, worded in the most guarded and cautious lan- guage, the whole subject being new, and but vei-y little understood ; it was, therefore, brought forward rather with a view to excite attention, and induce further research, than to propound theories, or make startling assertion.s. Mr. Sid- ney very justly observed, that putting aJl theo- ries a.side, there appeared to be sufficiently nu- merous well-authenticated facts to wan'ant fur- ther inquii-y and experiment. From the London Agricultural Gazette, June 7 JElectho-Culture. — The extraordinary ef- fect of Electro-culture, as stated by Dr. Fors- ter on his Barley crop, has induced me to make an experiment precisely according to the plan (2-20) and diagram given in your number of the Agri- cultural Gazette for April 12tli ; but as I only put the wires down so lately as the 23d instant, after the Barley was above ground, it is too soon yet to expect any difference, and none is yet visible ; but as I purpose making two or three more experiments on other crops, and I observe in your last Number that the experi- ment of Dr. Forster's plan is described as not being a very scientific one, and that experiments are now in progress in Norfolk and elsewhere on more scientific principles, I shall feel greatly obliged to you if you can furnish me with the particulars of such experiments, or of any one that you consider more likely to bring out the best results for my guide, before putting down any more diagrams on this interesting subject. — .?r. Y. Z., A iiubscril/er. [The effect, or rather the tendency of any metallic connection be- tween the soil and the air, some 15 or 20 feet above, clearly must be to induce a similar elec- tric condition between the two — to hinder any irregularity in the distribution of electric influ- ence— -simply because metals are good conduct- ors of electricity. Whether such a result is desirable as regards the crops growing on the soil remains to be ascertained ; but certainly, in order to obtain it that arrangement of wires must be best, in which there is the most perfect connection by conductors between the soil and tlie air. Perhaps other purposes may be an- swered by Dr. Forster's arrangement of wires ; but so far as they tend to connect by electric conductors the soil and the air, we do not by any means think it the best that could be sug- gested. We have had since February a copper wire 120 yards long, studded with upwards of 1200 metallic points, suspended in a direction magnetically north and south, hi a somewhat elevated position, at a distance from trees, and at an elevation of 20 feet from the ground ; and this wire is connected with the ground by another, which, when it meets the ground, branches out and spreads over an extent of about the 8th part of an acre, on which Wheat is growing ; but the plants have not ?7i appear- ance benefited the least from it. Dr. Forster declines to be respon.sible (and ju.stly so) for the results of experiments perfonned otherwise than as he has directed ; but we cannot see what influence his arrangement of wires pos- sesses that ours has not in a greater degree.] — The following is another communication on this subject, just received :— Since I communicated my trial of Dr. Forster's plan of electrical cul- tivation, a plot of Potatoes, similarly treated, has been followed by similar effects. The rows within the wire are distinctly visible, thoee with- out only partially appearing. In both ca.ses, the row adjoining the buried wire is favorably af- fected, though not included in the square. This lateral influence every electrician would ex- pect; the great wonder is, how the electricity is so perfectly confined within the wires. — Though, of course, the theor>' is nearly a mys- tery at present, we must infer that the aerial wire collects the fluid and the buried wire dis- tributes it to the ground, through which it per- colates and stimulates the vegetation. Of course if you extend the enclosed area too much, the supply of electricity would become inadequate. If you increase the number of aerial wires you would obtain more electricity, but fail in its gradual and equal distribution. For these reasons, which I think Dr. Forster has mis- apprehended, I still recommend futui-e expori- mcnters to try long narrow parallelopfraniH, and avoid large areas. What has hitherto been doDO on tJiis subject is of small moment : the attempts have been merely trifling and theoretical. Dr. Forster has the sole merit of first suggesting a uflcful and economical application of this won derful agency. In fact, the great objection to the success of bis system is, tliat such a sudden advance in cultivation as this promi.scs has nev- er been made before, and seems almost contrary to the laws of aature. DEXA. EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL FAIR OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. Of tliis great national display of the products of American Agriculture, Arts and Manufac- tures, we have room only for a few words of ex- hortation to every friend of the substantial inte- rests of his country to lend it his countenance and encouragement in every fonn. We are well advi.sed that the exhibition will be opened to the public on Monday, the 6th day of Octo- ber, 1845, at 12 o'clock M. at Niblo's Garden, Broadway, in the City of New-York. Contribu- tions from exhibitors will be received on Thurs- day, Friday and Saturday of the previous week. To insure the most favorable locations, and the advantages of competition, the pro(^TCts of the Manufacturer, Mechanic and Artisan must be delivered and entered on the books of the Fair, on one of those days. The chance of a good lo- cation will be in favor of those who come the first and second days. Fruits, Flowers, &c. form an exception. The proper time for entering them will be specified in the Agricultural and Horticultural circular, or notices hereafter to be issued. Arrangements already made, and in progress, for carrj-ing out the E ighteentb Celebration, arc on a scale more extended and attractive than ever before; and if public favor towards this institution continues to extend and increase each year as it has during the last seventeen, means will be afforded of enlarging the value of the pre- miums, and thereby creating a more intense and univernal competition. Several opulent and munificent individuals, desirous of making the exhibition wortliy of our great Emporium, and giving a fresh impulse to improvements in our countrj.-, have vo.unteered donations for the pur- pose ; others have promised not only to contri- bute, but to use tlieir mfluence to cause their friends to do the same. After resening what discretion demands, to cover the annual current expenses of the Institution, every dollar will be expended by the Managers to promote improve- ments in Agriculture and the Arts. It is the fix- ed policy of the Institute, to appropriate every dollar for the benefit of that public which has been its generous, unfailing patron. There will be an opening addrea.s followed by novel and interesting displays o£ fireworks. On Thursday, the 9th of October, a National Convention of Farmers, Gardeners and Silk Culturists will be held. For the second week has been assigned the Cattle Show and other live Stock, and the plow- ing and spading matches. The Anniversary and other discourses will also be delivered in the course of the Bccond week. The Horticultural exhibition of vegeta- bles, fruit, flowers, &c. will be in Niblo's long promenade, and superintended by eminent Hor- ticulturists. The best new and useful inventions will be objects of the highest honors. The following is the list of Managers — while their names give assurance that all will be done rightly, and in order, the thanks of the commu- nity are due to them, in advance of that per- formance, which with such citizens, is sure to follow their consent to serve : Adoniram Chandler, Edwd. T. Backhouse, John Campbell, Jas. Viui Norden, II. W. Cbilds, Joseph Curtis, Geo. Endicott, Wm. Hall, Jo.seph Torrey, Jas. R. Smith, Martin E. Thompson. Isaac Fryer, John D. Ward, Edward Clark, Robert Lovett, Gurdon J. Leeds, A. D. Frye, T. B. Stillnian, Joseph Cowdin, Ja.s. J. Mapes, Geo. F. Barnard, C. C. Haven, Chas. Mapea, Jonathan Dodge, T. W. Haxvey, T. B. Wake- man — Managers. We may be allowed to add, with some sense of national pride, that in these exhibitions, our American Institute here, at the great commer- cial Emporium of the Country, has set an exam- ple of sagacious attention to great public inter- ests, which even London is only just now about to follow. The London Athenaeum has just announced the " possibility of establishing something of the kind in the British Empire." We, thanks to the indefatigable officers and managers of our Insti- tute, are already in the fruition of what they are just hoping to accomplish. In the annunciation of their project, in the Athenoaum of June last they say : " Besides the delight and instruction which would certainly be afforded, it may fairly be ex- pected that a periodical competition of this na- ture will exert some beneficial effect on the pro- gress of the Arts ; not only by exciting honora- ble rivaJry in the producers, but by enabling the consumers better to appreciate real excellence. 114 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. \S''ithotit entering- into details, it may be stated, that the plan embraces the exhibition not mere- ly of products, but of the instruments of produc- tion in actual work — the facility, rapidity, pre- cision, and economy of the act of fabrication be- ing often much more wonderful than the fabric itself, lu carrying out these ideas, it is intended i entirely to exclude all private, personal, and po- litical objects. It is hoped that the plan may be preser^'ed so free from objection on these points, as to command the approbation of all ranks, and justify its promoters in anticipating the highest patronage." NEW-YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. CATTLE SHOW AND FAIR FOR 1846, TO BE HELD AT UTICA, SEPT. 16, 17, 18. have been offered, that we see no occasion, ever, if we had room, for publishing the Bill of Fare in detail. The first on die list are : For the best cultivated Farm, of not less than 50 acres, exclusive of woodland, regard being had to the quantity of produce, the manner and expense of cultivation, and the actual profits : First premium S.50 ) Second do $30 Third do $20 Theke is everj' rea.^ou to hope that this great | gathering of practical Farmers, the bone and I sinew of the land, will transcend m numbers and in display of the products of Agricultural Industry, all that have preceded it. At tlie 6ea.son chosen, there will still be lingering a vast number of strangers, who have come to escape exposure to the enervating heat of Southern climes, and to obser\-e the habits of their more thrifty brethren of the North. We would recommend all such to gather in at Utica, at tlie great Cattle Show— tiiere they will see Northern men and Northern Industry in their true character and genuine colors — hard hands and hard sense, with their fat bullocks and their fine-wooled sheep — tlieir sharp plows and stur- dy oxen to turn the glebe — the 50 acre man, as proud in his position and as useful in his sphere, as any Lord of the Manor. After all, what is there to be envied, about the man of overgrown estate, except the sagacious indus- try which may have made him so ; and the power that being so confers on him, to set use- ful examples in illustration of modes of im- provement, and in the introduction of good things that require extraordinary means. In that light the rich man is truly emnable. In everj' department of Industry, in everj- imple- ment of Agriculture, those who attend this great Exhibition, and that of tiic American Institute, may expect to see something new. Come, then, Farmers, one and all— these are your Holidays. Let it be there seen, that if the Merchant can boast his splendid Sliip, sailing faster tlian the wind, the Manufacturer his Works, in which omnipotent steam is controled with equal ease to carve a seal or lift the ponderous tilt hammer; so you can show your well-tilled Farm, your elcek horses, your fat cattle, and rich products of the field and the orchard, the dairy and the garden ; all emblems as well of peace as of plenty ! The public has been in so many forms adver- tised of the particulars for which premiums Bat, Avhat we humbly regard ■witli peculiar approbation is the offer of Premiums : For the best series of Essays on the importance of Ecientilic knovcledge in prosecuting Euccess- fuUy the ordiuarj' pursuits of Agriculture $100 For the best Agricultural Text-Book for Schools. 100 For the best Text-Book on Horticulture 50 For the best Essay on Subsoil Plowing, with the results of actual experiments in the State of New-York 20 For the best Essay on Draining, with details of the results of actual experiments, showing the expense and supposed increased value of the land 10 For the best Essay on Irrigation 10 For the best Essay on the Culture and Manufac- ture of Silk 30 For the best Essay on the prevalent Disease in Potatoes 20 Cattle are classified into and premiums offered for Durluitns. Tltrefords, Vtvonn. Ayrsliires. Crosses of Natires and Improved. Natire Cattle, and Oxen — three year old, tico year old, and yearling Steers, and Fat Cattle. y Sheep into Long-woeled, Middle-wooUd, Merinos and their grades, Saxons and their grades, and Fat Slieep. Horses into Stallions, Mares, Matched Horses and Geldings. Swine into Boars. Soirs, and lots of Pigs. And, for the rest, prizes are oti'ered for Poultry, best Farm Implements, Butter. Cheese, Ma- ple Sugar, Corn-stalk .Sugar, Silk, various DomeMic Manilfacturcs, Fruits, Ftovrers — best crops of Wheat, Indian Corn, Rye, Barley. Oats, not less than tw) acres ! and the various Vegetables most cultivated, besides Hops, Flax, Broom Cffrn, Clover and other Grass Seeds. Those who present claims to premiums for farm- crops must state in writing the following particulars : The condition of the soil at the commencemeiit of cultivation for the crop : the preinous crop and culti- vation, and quantity of manure used upon it ; the quantity and kind of manure the present season ; the quantity and sort of seed used ; the time and manner of sowing, cleaning and harvesting the crop ; the amount of the crop detennined bv actual weight or mea.surement ; and the expense orcultivation. The land shall be measured by some surveyor, who shall swear to the correcmess of his survey, and that it was made with a chain .aid compass ; aiid the claim- nut of the premium, with two other persons who as- sisted in measuring, shall certify mider oath as to the i quantity produced from the piece of land mentioned | in the certincate of the surveyor ; and a sample of grain shall be presented at the ;mnual meeting, with the oath of the applicant that tliat same is a fair sam- ple of the whole crop. mSCELLA>iEOUS. Wrought Iron Gate with cast iron pillars $10 Best iron WTieelbairow Silver Medal. C)mament;J cast iron Vase on pedestal $8 Be.-al, .lergcy and Brand 2 3U@ 2 56J Com Meal, Brandyvrine hhd, 11 75 @ GRAIN— Wheat, Western..^ bush. — 95 ® 1 05 Wheat, Southern 1 00 ® 1 06 . Rye, Northern — 65 ® ' v';a~ii Southern (measure) — 50 'S> Com, Southern (weight) — 49 -S— 50 Barley, WtMcm @ Oats, Northern — 42 '®— 44 Oats Southern ® HAY— North River bales — 50 ®— 75 HEMP — American, dew rotted... ton 85 — ®100 — water rotted 120 —® 1 82 50 HOPS— 1st sort, 1845 — 12i @— 15 IRON— American Pig, No. 1 35 — -S'S? 50 Common 32 50 ®35 — LIME— Tliomapton i^ bbi, •&— 75 LUMBER- Board;', N.R., ^M. ft. c\i. 30 — ®35 -— Boards, Eci"Urn I'ine 10 — ®11 — Boards, Albany Pine ^pcc. — 7 ®— 17 Pknk, Geor-ia Pino ^M. ft. X\ — @35 — • Heading, Wh'iie Oak f^ M. ®45 — (2241 Staves, White Oak, pipe 45 — ® Staves, White Oak, hhd 37 — ® Staves, White Oak, bbl 28 — ® Staves, Red Oak, hhd 27 — ®28 — Hoops 25 — @30 — Scantling, Pine, Eastern 14 — ®16 — Scantling, Oak 30 — @35 — Timber, Oak f>' cubic foot — 25 @— 37 Timber, White Pine — 18 ®— 25 Timber, Georgia YeUow Pme — 35 ® — 40 Shingles, 18 in ^ bunch 1 50 ® 2 — Shingles, Cedar. 3 feet, lsto,ualitv. 22 — ©24 — Shingles, Cedar, 3 feet, 2d quality. 20 — ®22 — Shingles. Cedar, 2 feet, 1st qua. 'y. ®17 50 Shingles, Cedar, 2 feet, 2d quality. 15 — ®16 — Shingles, Cypress, 2 feet 11 — ® 13 — Shingles, Company ®30 — MUSTARD— American — 16 ®— 31 NAILS— Wrought, 6d to 20d — 10 @— 12i Cut,4dto4ad — 4}®— 4| PLASTER PARIS-HP ton 2 50 ® 2 62i PROVISIONS— Beef, M., new ^ bbl. 8 75 ® 9 25 Beef, Prime, 5 75 ® 6 — Pork, Mess, Ohio, old and new.... 12 62i®13 Vii Pork, Prime, Ohio, old and new.. 9 75 ® 10 62 J Lard, Ohio ^ Iti. — 7i®— 8i Hams, Pickled — 6}:®— 7 Shoulders, Pickled — 4J-®— 5 Sides, Pickled — 6®— 6i Beef Hams, in Pickle ^ bbl. 12 — ®12 50 Beet; Smoked <>■».— 8 ®— 8} Butter, Orange County — 15 ® — 18 Butter, We.«tem Dairy — 11 ® — 13 Butter, ordinary — 10 ® Cheese, in casks and boxes — 51® — 6i SEEl )S— Clover ^ U5. — 6i®— 7i Timothy ^ tierce 12 — ®14 — Flax. Rough 8 50 ® 8 75 Flax, Clean ® SOAP— N. York, Brovni ^16.— 3J®— 5* TALLOW— American, Rendered... — 7®— 7i TOBACCO— Virginia ® tb. — 2|®— 5* North Carolina — 2}®- 5 Kenmckv and Missouri — 2^® — SJ- WOOL— Anie. Saxony, Fleece,^ lb. — 36 @— 38 American, Full Blood Merino — 32 ® — 34 American \ and J Merino — 27 & — 28 American Native and i Merino. . . — 24 @ — 26 Superfine, Pulled —31 ®32 — ^> MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. SEPTEMBER, 1845. VOL. I. PORTRAIT OF A SHORT-HORN BULL : WITH A BMEF SKETCH OF THE QUALITIES OF THAT BREED, AND OF ITS INTRODUC- TION INTO MARYLAND. We pretend not to offer anything new in giv- g the portrait of a Short-Horn Bull ; indeed it 'i would be difficult to present an^ttimg in the way of form or description of the properties of •attle, with which agriculturists, at all accus- tomed to read the many excellent journals of the day, have not been made familiar. Never- theless, tlie plan of the Farmers' Library would be but partially filled, if we did not, in due time, take care to have it represent pictorially, and in every mode of illustration, every sort of beast or bird that has been, or that probably might be profitably brought under our dominion, or em- ployed in the purposesof the Agriculturist. We propose to make its pages the repository and instructor of the Naturalist as well as the Farmer The animal selected has been taken pretty much at random, to give what we know to por- tray the characteristic points of that breed of cattle. We should have been glad now, as we shall at any time, to give the likeness of a Cow of this breed, imported from Ireland— sent out by Mr. Murdoch, a gentleman possessing a large share of various and useful kno\vledge, now re- siding at Ashe\nlle, N. C. The Cow to which we allude is Sophy, property of Mr. George Law, of Baltimore, and is probably equal to, if not the best milker in the Union. The qualities of the short-honis have been so often described, and are so^vell known by their diffusion through the States, as to make it almost Biiperfluous to repeat that they excel in symme- try of form, in early maturity, delicacy and light- ness of head and tail, and in aptitude to lay on fat. As milkers they appear to have been con- demned or approved, as purchasers have hap- pened to get them of particular families — lactif- (273) erous secretions running in cue family, as it is said, in a remarkable manner, while the fatty secretions in like manner distinguish other fam- ilies of the same breed. Then, again, the Herefords are not without their advocates, in England as well as America ; while there are those who maintain that for all purposes — the pail, the shamble.s, and the yoke — the Devons, on a given amount of food, prove to be the most profitable, take them " by and large," for the generality of farmers and the common pastures of the country. The fine Ne'vr- England Oxen are deep in this blood. To all we shall hold an even scale of compar- ison— giving their forms to the life, and impar- tially delineating their qualities on the best tes- timony within our reach. We well remember the sensation made in Mai-yland by the first exhibition of three im- proved short-honis — Champion, White Rose, and Shepherdess — at a cattle-show at the old Maryland Tavern, a few days only after their 'arrival. The very best cattle that the country could bring together were thrown so far into the shade that their owners hardly knew where to find them ; and yet there were very fine cat- tle ou the ground, of mixed blood, from the best cattle of Holland and Ireland, which had been imported by the late W^illiam Patterson aJid Mr. O'Donnell — to whose public spirit, so much at that time in the lead of their cotemporaries, we would fain do justice, even at this late day. A few days before the arrival of the cattle above named — sent out at onr instance, from what we had read of the excellence of short- horns— Governor Lloyd, a very large landhold- er and accomplished farmer of the Eastern 118 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. Shore of Maryland, had contended that ou his large estate he had cattle equal to tlie crack stock of England. But when these tliree individuals sent out by the late Mr. CHAMnoK, of Blytlic, Nottinghamshire, England, (and paid for by fiznds liberally placed there by the late Robert Oli- ver, at our instance, merely on the suggestion of the good he might thus do to the Agriculture of the State) came upon the show-ground, Mr. L. was seen to walk round and carefully exam- ine them, and tlieu instantly and ou the spot of- fered $1000 for the Bull and the Heifer, White Rose. As we had no use whatever for them, and were, moreover, bound to see the friend in- demnified who had provided the credit for their importation, we told him they could not be sep- arated, but might all three be had for $1500 — somewhere about cost and charges — with which he at once closed, and bought them forthwith, and afterwards said that he considered himself reimbursed by one cross of the bull on his nu- merous herds on the fourteen farms he owned on the Eastern Shore. Such is the history of this first importation of short-homs into Mary- land— a history that may as well be preserved here as elsewhere in the Farmers' Library, where it ought to have place ; and we might, perhaps, as well add, in candor, that resem- blance between Champion, at two years old, and tlie Bull prefixed to these hasty remarks, may have inclined us to choose him from among a vai-iety of fine engravings (the best of them by Scott) in the London Farmers' Magazine. As we have before said, the Herefords and the Devons, and the perhaps equally symmetrical and fine soft-skinned, but not so large, Ajt- shires, and the ragged-hipped, deer-necked, rich milking Aldemeys, shall all — all have their full and fair chance m good time. In the mean- time we present the foUovs^ing essay : ON THE GOOD AND BAD POINTS OF CATTLE, AND ON THE FORMATION OF FAT AND MUSCLE. By Mr. Robert Read, V. S., Crediton. The skin or external envelope in the rumin- antia herbivora is an important feature in devel- oping the disposition of cattle to fatten, and is of much import to the farmer and grazier. A good skin is kno\\Ti by the familiar name of touch — that is, the animal should possess a mellow skin, with resiliency, moderately thick, yet loose and yielding to the fingers when gent- ly elevated, and resuming its station with an elas- tic spring, as if there was underneath a tissue of wool impregnated v^-ith oil. The resilience of good skin in an animal depends on the organi- zation beneath it, and the presence or absence of cellular or adipose tissue. The existence of this membrane constitutes a good handler — the deficiency the reverse. The pilarj- or hairy covering should be thick, not coarse ; glossj- and soft, with an inclination to yellow, and in proportion as this exits as a quality or constituent, so ia the propensity to (07 .n fat : on the other hand, a thinness of hair and coarseness in fibre denotes an unthrifty animal, more especially if conjoined \vith a dense firm hide or skin, and with short hair. This implies a bad handler, and- is a sure indication of being a slow feeder, with a tardy disposition to in- crease in volume, either of fat or muscle. It is by the feel of the cutaneous tissue that a judg- ment is formed as to the state of maturity now, and that an opinion be formed of the condition and v^'orth hereafter. The beautiful mo.st>j «kin, that seems like soft velvet, its peculiar feeling as if it were stretched over a bed of down, when the fingers are applied, and its easy resilience when traction is made use of, are the best and surest prognostics as to the futm-e wortli of the animal. Physiologically speaking, a mellow skin arises from a free circulation of the vascular sys- tem through the meshwork of the cellular or ad- ipose tissue, or those cells that are destined for the reception of fat These tissues are consid- ered by some alike s\-nonjTnous anatomically. They are always in a moist state, from the inter- nal cavity of the cell performing the office of exhalation. Want or supply of interstitial de- posit makes a good or bad skin. The adipose and reticular tissues are extreme- ly vascular, more especially that portion in im- mediate connexion lying under it A good and kindly handler has a full development of tliis material well spread over the superficies of the external frame under the skin. The membrane- ous tissue is a bed for the origin of the absorb- ents, and die adipose tissue is tlie depository in which the fat is deposited by the exhaleuts pe- culiar to it. These membranes participate in the character of the hide. They are more dense and inelastic, and less expansive. They do not admit of being so readily dilated by the inter- stitial deposit, and, consequently, are longer in acquiiing a mature state in the progress of making fat. A thick and unyielding hide, not succumbing to the internal deposit in the adipose tissue under the skin, is thus continually reacting by pressure on the absorbents, and in this manner makes the animal slow in accumulating fat on the external parts of the fi-ame. The diflerence in the feel between the glossy and coarse-haired animal is dependent ou the secretion from the cutis. In the thick skin it is more in.spissated, and exfoli- ates in branny scales. In the mellow and glossy skin it is more oleaginous, ^^•hich may al«) be accounted for. Its having a greater freedom for tlie assimilation of nitrogen — one of the com- pf)unds of ammonia — a chemical agent that is abundantly given oft' from tlie skin and uniting with die unctuous exudation of the cutis, gives to the skin that peculiar saponaceous feel so necessary as the index of that organ perfonuing its healthy functions, and may be ranked as a sure sjnnbol of early maturity. The ears should be of a fair proportion, not over large, thin in texture, and capable of free and quick motion. A good ear denotes good quality ; a coarse ear, thick and large, is gejier- ally associated with much coarseness in the ani- mal. A good ear is nearly always found in com- bination with a prominei.t and beaming eye, with thin palpebrae or eyelids. This development of eye is most times in uni- son with a good and clean horn, tending to a very slight red at the radicles or roots. This in- dicates also a kindly disposition to early matu- rity. The happy and beaming eye of the healthy GOOD AND BAD POINTS OF CATTLE, &C. 119 animal shows contentment, a very desirable omen as to the quick growth of the animal; while, on the contrary, a heavj- eye, with a want of vivacity, with thick eyelids, and a too visible conjunctiva or white of the eye, is indicative of an unhappy and restless temper, incompatible with a good and profitable feeder. The eye of contentment, of quietude, and of cahn expres- sion of countenance, is alone compatible with that temperament so conducive to accumulation of flesh and fat. These qualities, if derived he- reditarily, will he maintained throughout the whole evolution of growth. They are also well- known signs of early disposition to maturity. — The hereditary principle should always be borne in mind — the old adage of ■' like will be- get like '' — whether applied to the symmetrical law of external form, of quality, of temper 'either good or bad), of constitution, of a dispo- sition to make either fat or muscle, or to any other cause inherently acquired. Therefore the only method to ensure those qualities %vhich are 3o essential to the ^yelfare of the farmer, is to jommeuce primogenitively with the best and most approved principles that have hitherto been found to ensure a healthy and profitable stock. I shall now speak of bone, as being the frame- work on which all the materials of the body are built. It should, when examined in the living animal, have the appearance of being fine and small in structure. It then augurs a good quali- ty and being readily disposed to fatten, although it sometimes betrays too great a delicacy of con- stitution. A bone may be small from a consoli- dation of its structural parts, yet be capable of sustaining more weight, superincumbently, than bone of a larger size, and who.se size depends only on the cellular expansion, and not on a cyl- indrical consolidation. A large bone maintains a coarse-bred animal, a dull feeder, with a torpid vascular action, that oidy tardily irrigates the frame with the living stream. Such animals have a greater disposition to lay on more mus- cular than fatty substance. Having concluded my observations on the ex- ternal structure, relative to the propensity ani- mals have of making fat, I .shall now offer a few opinions on the arrangement of the internal or- gans for that purpose. The lungs should be large ; but not occupying the chest too much posteriorly : the chest capa- cious, and deep anteriorly ; these being the or- gans for preparing the arterial blood that nour- ishes every part. I have also remarked, from inspection after death of hundreds ot animals, that the roots of the Innsrs do not diminish in size so much as that portion which is in contact with the midriff in the fatteninar animal : lungs over larfjre are not more productive of fat than those which are of a moderate size. My solution of this fact is, that if the lungs occupy too much of the chest in the posterior part, there is a limitation to the expan- sion of the rumen, or first stomach, and the animal docs not enjoy so much lengthened quietude in rumination, a circumstance very ef?sential to the fattening beast. This substan- tiates what I have before stated. The chest cannot be too deep nor jet too broad in its ante- rior external conformation ; tiierefore, instead of attrihulina the full, spreading, wide-ribbed chest, posteriorly, as instrumental to the lungs, the space for the expansion of the stomach must not bo overlooked, a large digestive apparatus being required for all large herbivorous animals. The heart is an important organ in the animal frame, i (27.^) It is rarely found over large in the fat animal. It is the forcing pump by which the whole of the body is irrigated through the arterial tubes. If s>Tnmetrical organization pervades through- out the animal, the chances are, that the vascular action will harmonize over every part, and the deposit of fat %vill equalize over tlie whole of the body. On the contrary, an animal with dis- proportionate parts will have a greater disposi- tion to lay on muscle or fat on those parts respectivelj- that have the greatest share of vascular action. I am now proud to state some indisputable fiicts. I have many times examined animals by mediate auscultation, with capacious chests an- teriorlj-, and the lungs duly inflating them. Previous to their being stall-fed, they have, when slaughtered, lungs small posteriorly. It is also certain, that if an animal dies well, the lungs will be found disproportionate to what they must have been in the living animal. I do not agree with the generally received opinion, nor with Dr, Lyon "Playfair, that the lungs must be of necessity small when an ani- mal first begins to fatten ; but, as the fattening process goes on. the internal cavity of the chest becomes smaller, the action of the heart weaker, and the lungs dimmii?h m size in a regular gra- dation from various causes ; first, from limited expansion ; secondly, from absorption, and by pressure of the sun-oundiug parts : and, lastly, from quietude never allowing their due inflation, which the act of depasturation aftbrds. The liver is also found small. This I consider to be from absorption and internal pressure of the surrounding organs. The liver has also a diminished supply of intestinal and mesenteric blood, from the appetite not being so vigorous, and less food being eaten, as the animal grows to maturity. I have known many animals die from ac- cident, that, on inspection after death, have had large lungs and livers. They were in lean con- dition, but had every good quality for fattening: and I have no doubt would have made prime fat beasts, and whose lungs and livers probably would have been smaller when slaughtered. I do think that Dr. Lyon Playfair is wrong in the opinion, that small lungs and livers are the best organs for the assimilation of food and fat. I think that the reason why animals become speedily fat in proportion as they approach ma- turity, is from the arterial action being slow, and the venous circulation impeded from the pres- sure of the accumulating fat. The arterial cx- halents deposit more than the venous circulation can return, or their absorbents take up. Thus the harmony is broken. It is a fact welJ-known, that verj^ little blood of the venous kind can be taken from the fat animal. From what I have stated, taken collectively and in conjunction with the primeval external confiimiation of the animal, may be deducted those determinations which tend to either the formation of fat or muscle. The tendency of certain articles of food to fatten stock, and tlie suitability of others to keep up the general growth, afford" a fruitful field for inquiry, I shall begin with those that favor evolution of growth, A series of substances that are charged with albumen or a vegetable gelatine, are nitrogenized in the maxirnum : — barley, oats, peas, and beans, tbmi examples. These substances, having much nutritive matter, make the best food for the purpose- of general growth, with the various herbivorous food for the young animal ; but the more such food ap- proximates lignin, the more insoluble and innu- tritious it is. Herbivorous foofi for the yonng animal is naturally required, from its abounding with sev- eral elementary principles, as ammonia, &c. in unity vyitli earthy matter ; which, taken in with the food in depasturing and uniting with the in- herent Ibrmation of phosphoric and muriatic acid (and the phosphoric acid in the farinaceous food,) form the phosphate and muriate of lime. Wheat, with the gelatine of the fariua, consti- tutes the formation of bone ; hence the necessity, or rather advantage, of supplying the growing animal with such a material. The next series of substances are those which contain the saccharine principle, and are nitro- genized in the minimum. They are disposed to the formation of fat. They consist of the dif- ferent sorts of bulbous or esculent roots, as tur- nips, m;ingel, beet, &c. These substances, when mixed with the nutitrive matter of the farinacea, constitute the essential compound necessary for the production of fat and muscle in the animal body. The table subjoined is one of equivalents, by the celebrated cliemist, Brande, shov/iug the relative quantity of albumen and other matter in leguminous and bulbous food. 100 Parts. Barley Oats Beans Acorns, 2 months dried vSv?ede Turnip Conmion Globe s5:e 92 75 80 69 a 75 60 52 40 JL I 10 13 25 27 U I This table is practically one of my own, as to the quantity of nutritive matter in the aconi. On reference to it, any one will quickly perceive those bodies which dispose to make fat or flesh : thus experience has shown the decided advan- tage of giving to animals bulbous roots, with those substances rich in albumen, when they are preparing for the butcher, and when growth is requisite to be freely allo^ved to the young depasturins? beast. Gelatine, a substance natu- rally abundant in the vegetable creation, is also a chief ingredient in the animal tissue. The scientific agriculturist will di.scover the best method on reference to the table. As far as philosophy teaches, those substances that have the property either of forming fat or muscle, are the azotized and non-azotized food in their rela- tive proportions. The disposition of certain breeds to make fat internally, and of others ex- tenially. is a physiological fact, which can only bo explained on the principle of those breeds acquiring such a disposition hereditarily, or it may be from the animal possessing such an ap- titude from the method of feeding in conformity with the selection of food. Now the breed of the South Devons are coarse, bony, large ani- mal.s, and not dispo.sed to make fat on the super- fices of the body, but more internally : the North Devon is a small-boned and kindly animal, and disposed to fatten either externally or internally. A North Devon is a bad handler, with other points good: physiologically, we should infer that fat would be deposited interaally, from the skin being thick and inelastic, showing the ab- sence of tbos<; tissues that are for the reception of fat externally. Suppose "we have a South- rj7ii) hammer, a good handler, with a mellow and plastic skin, and every other denotation of being disposed to fatten, the probability is, diat the fat would be deposited externally. In my Immble opinion it is so with every other breed. We must attend more to the external form and quality, in conjunction with locality, climate, and soil. Guernseys or Alderneys make fat but very indifierently externally. I well know practically, that an animal of either breed, with good .skin and good bone, &c.is inclined to fatten on the outside ; but, when such is the case, there is an absence of it internally. The circulatory system, with the local form of an animal, may also be reckoned amongst those causes which tend to balance the fat indiscriminately either inside or out. Say that an animal kindly dis- posed to fatten has a few points that prepond- erate ; for instance, he is large over the sirloin — the blood vesseLs, nerves, and muscles of such a part take on a corresponding size. When he begins tO have more food given to him, the cir- culatory system becomes more full of blood, and, as a natural consequence, the larger parts have a greater influx of blood — thus tlie growth of the.se parts either in fat or muscle, and they be- come of larger proportions, and deposit more fat than those which are not commensurate in vascular action. Before concluding these remarks I beg to offer an opinion respecting small lungs, as stated by Dr. Lyon Playfair (at a meeting of the coun- cil of the B-oyal Agricultural Society) that they are more favorable to the formation of fat. Dr. P. says, horses have large lungs. I well know, and not speculatively, that horses, if fed on meal and potatoes, or turnips, quickly and rapidly make fat. In fact, this is the compost that horse dealers use to puff up the farmers' cattle, so as give them a glossy and plump look previous to sale, and the being put to work in this state oftentimes cau.ses their death. On opening them, I have seen them loaded witli fat. Now this is not in accordance with Dr. Play- fair's views. My firm conviction i.s, that animaJs with small lungs in their growing state will in proportion suffer in their external form. From observations I have made on animals of divers breeds, I have come to the conclusion, that they make fat internally or externally, regularly or irregularly, in accordance with the organization in structural arrangement, linked ^^•ith those grand principles that modifv' the external con- foi-mation of every animal, locality, clime, and .soil ; and. la.stly, the manner m which beans and acorns harden the flesh of animals. That they do so is an undisputed fact. The hardness of flesh or muscle depends on the riclmess of its lymph or fibrine. Beans and acorns contain large quantities of vegetable albumen com- pared with any other food given to horses or cattle. It is on this account, that food which contains a large share of albuminous constitu- ents, when given to horses, cattle, or pigs, makes them develop so great a degree of muscular fii-mness; but when substances rich in starch, mucilage, gum, or the saccharine principle, are added to beans or acorns, the hardness of the flesh becomes lessened, and the fat more emol- lient. I have pratically proved this with horses. I have given beans and acorns to horses with hay -chaff on the farm. The mi/scular power has been augmented, the flesh feels hard, they work well without fatigue, do not perspire, aiid. La fact, they are in full vigor. I have altered ST. JOHN S-DAY RYE, AND LUCERNE. 121 their diet, and given, instead of chaff, turnips, cither the Swede or common Globe, and tlie eflect is soon visible. The flesh becomes soft and pufly — little work excites perspiration — in fact, the animal is soon reduced from a state of g(»od firm condition to one bordering on debility. From the taking away tliose substances, beans or acorns, wbicb possess in a maximum degree the richest albumen, and the supplying those that contain it in the lov.'est degree, or minimum, the albuminous principle exi.sts in several forms ; and by it the living materiality of the animal body is by a law of animal chemistrj' built, under tlie guidance of immateriality. [Veterinarian. ST. JOHN'S-DAY RYE, AND LUCERNE, }IOW TO BE CULTIVATED FOR EARLY GREEN FOOD, The economy of American Husbandry, is, according to our observ'ation, in few^ things more deficient than in the common failure of farmers to take measures of precaution to have an early supply of green food for their stock, and espec- ially for their workhorses and milch cows, at that most trying and equivocal season of the year, which falls in just between Winter and Spring ; and which is yet neith^ the one nor the other as respects temperature or vegetation ; for even though the crop of hay, and of fodder, may be reasonably abtmdant, and sufhcient, in ordinary years, to last until " grass comes ;" yet if the Winter should happen to be unusually protJ-acted, it becomes impossible to eke out their fodder until that time does come. In that case the cattle are turned abroad to glean a scanty supply of half-opened buds in the woods, and of young grass which is insufficient in quan- tity, substance and nourishment. This is the time, and this the occasion, for the sagacious Farmer to manifest his judgment and fore- thought. In later Spring, and midsummer, any sort of a manager may have sleek horses and fat cattle ; but the sign and the honor of good management consists in maintaining them in uniform condition, or nearly so, throughout the year. •'Well icintered^— half -summered" is the motto of all good stock-masters. Thus it be- comes important to determine the surest substi- tute for short crops of hay, and the most succu- lent, natural and wholesome food for Spring, even thouirh hay should bo plenty. The best reliance within our knowledge for a very early supply of green food, coming tv.'0 weeks sooner tlian clover, is Lucerne and Rye — both these have we advocated repeatedly, through other channels, but, unfortunately, no class of people require to be so often reminded and urged to any new and untried expedient, as do agricul- turists— not that they are not quick enough to catch a humbug as it flies along, as one of some sort docs eveiy year, generally in tlie Spring, (2771 such as calico-corn, California tobacco, Rohan potatoes, &c. &c., but the tr'al of tliese requires no great effort, and involve* but little additional labor. Very different is it when it is proposed to try an altogether new crop, for a particular purpose, demanding care in the preparation of the ground and otherwise a considerable de- parture from the usual routine. Failures in a large portion of the few- attempts that have been made, as far as we know, to em- ploy Rye as a green crop for soling horses and milch cows, at lea.st until the clover is sufficiently advanced to take its place, have doubtless been owing, in most instances, to waJit of care in Ttiaiuiring and preparing tJw ground, by re- ducing it to the finest state of pulverization, and in not sowing early enough. The same may be said of Lucerne — some contend that Lucerne is apt to fail from the dryness of our Springs ; though this may happen the first year, yet as it is known to send down a longer and larger tap- root than any other grass, and as all accounts, as well they may, on that account, agree that it re- quires a subsoil free from standing moisture. It is probable that even cropis of Lucerne which present the most unpromising appearance at the close of the first year, might yet prove highly profitable subsequently, and for many years, as we have known them to do, and especially if suitably top-dressed. Having yet seen nothing to .shake our confidence in the value of these grasses, if we may call them such, we shall per- sist in recommending them, and in enforcing our impressions by such illustrations as we may find in American and European Agincultural jour- nals. What we have here said is but preparatory to the re-publication of papers from foreign pe- riodicals of late date, in which both Lnccr-Tie and a peculiar kind of Rye are recommended in the strongest tenns for the purposes above named. What there may be peculiar in the " St. John s- day Rye," we know not, except from what is 122 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. said in these papers, but the patrons of the Farm- ers' Library may be assured that effective meas- ures sliall be taken for the importation of small quantities, sufficient for trial, in this and in all similar cases, lo be distributed among them as soon as we can get time to make the an-ange- ments. In this couutrj' it is known to us that, a.s in England, Lucerne requires that the ground to be dry and clean, and we should think it pro- bable that it might answer to sow it with rj'e or oats, which might assist it in keeping down the weeds the first year, where it is decided to sow it broad- cast, as we have known it to be done, with satisfactory results; but no farmer who drills it will grudge the time given to keep it clean the first year ; at all events it cannot in- terfere injuriously or inconveniently with any but a planter, and even he should try it on some scale. Though there may be nothing very new in these Essays to those who have paid attention to the subject, even they may here have their attention re-drawn to the matter in a way that may at least have the effect of prompting a trial, but, small or large, let it be a. fair one. Let the ground be well manured, as it should for everj- crop, but in this case with either well-rotted ma- nure, or with bones, ashes, or guano, as being the cleanest. Let it, furthennore. be made clean and fine, and sowed [we believe] about twenty pounds of seed to the acre of Lucerne ; or, if Rye, let the ground be, in like manner, thorough- ly well manured and put in fine tilth, and sowed as recommended in these Essays, and we will venture to predict the most gratifying result. If the conditions are complied with, and the ex- perimenter is disappointed, the Eanner.s' Li- brary shall record the false prophecy : ON THE ST. JOHN'S-DAY RYE. By PH. PUSEV, M. P. Thk late Lord Leicester advised that no fanning experiment should be published until it had been successfully tried for three years. — But thouirh I have not grown the St. John's-day Rye as yet even for two complete years, its promising appearance, and the approval of neighboring farmers, encourage me to lay a short account of this plant before the Society. — It was in 1 842 that Mr. Taunton, of Ashley, near Stockbridge, first made it known to me iu the following terms: " In your digest of the progress of agricultu- ral knowledge, j'ou .say, of early Rye, that ' some fai-rners do not approve of it ; for while young it gives but little food, and it shoots up rai)idly to a har.sh stalk, which stock do not relish.' But this reproach does not apply to the variety of Rye which is the best worth cultivating, and, as I think, the only one worth cultivating to any extent for the purpose of green meat — namely, the St. .Tohn's-day Rye, fseigle de Si. Jean. J — This plaiit. if sown in proper time, and on a suitable soil, presents itself to the scythe in a state palatable to horses for full three weeks, or more. I would sow not more than one-fourth of the ground with common Rye by tlie side of '278; it, for tlie common Rye is a very few days earli- er, and, by the time w^hen that becomes harsh and woody, the St. John's-day Rye has attained its perfection. Of this latter I have had, on a suitable soil, to the extent of 11 London loadsof straw per acre, when left for seed ; for it will grow from 6 to 7 feet high. The time to sow it is the 24th of June ; at all events get it in before July. The soil for Rye ouirht to be a siliceous soil ; it does not reject a considerable admixture of claj-, but it ought to come under the descrip- tion of a sandy loam. If you want such a bur- then as I have described, of course the conditioa of the .soil must not be poor, and such produce will pay for good land. The soil, too, needs to be compressed after sowmg, if the land be at all light, by rolling or sheep-ti'eading ; otherwise the Rye-plant is peculiarly obnoxious to the wire-worm. The mass of foliage in October would induce you to feed it then ; but I would recommend you to abstain : the leaf (unlike Win- ter barley) is very little changed by the AVinter, and it so cheri.shes the young foliage, which shoots up in Spring covered with this den.sc man- tle, that it will repay j'our forbearance with am- ple interest. I have seen it in the end of Feb- ruary', or beginning of March, equal, if not supe- rior, to the best water-meadow for ewes and lambs ; for soiling in stable, the horses will eat it when the ear is fairly developed— and it may, perhaji-s. be 5 feet high, (according to the soil ;) it will have tillered so much that the produce will be a very heavy one." In June of the following year (1(^43) Mr. Taun- ton sent me another account of his furtlier suc- cess in the growth of the St. John's-day Rye : " I enclose to you a stalk of my St. John's-day Rye, length 6 feet : it has not yet flo\\'ered. I began to .soil eight cart-horses vi'ith it on the 13th of Rlay, then 3 feet high, and four cows a week later. Both these kinds of stock still eat nearly the whole of it, with scarce any waste ; so that it has now been twenty-two days iu use, and I e.Kpect that they will eat it freely some days longer : thus, you see. extending its eatable state nearly to a month. If I had possessed a greater breadth of this crop in the present season, I should have begun a week earlier, not waiting till it had attained the hiijht of 3 feet. " The ground which bore this had a dressing of dung just before sov^'ing. It .succeeded wheat, cut green into stable ; but j-our calcare- ou.s grit detritus- is a far more favoi'able soil for Rye than our chalk. " This plant, and, I believe, this variety, proved fatal to hundreds of our brave men on the .sandy plains of Belgium, two days before the battle of \A''aterloo. They marched through fields of it higher than their heads. The glitter- ing points of their bayonets marked the track of their march to the enemy's artillery, which vs-as on an eminence, while the Rye being higher than their head.s, thej' could see no enemy, and knew not whither to direct their fire." Mr. Taunton having presented me with some .seed of this Rye, it w as sown in the course of July, 1843, on some poor moory .soil, without manm-c; was fed off in the Autumn, and again in the Spring ; yet produced, on little more ihau a quarter of an acre, 13 bu.shels of seed. That seed was sown again la.st year in August, as soon as har%'ested : it produced on a sandy loam very good feed in the Autumn, and in this back- ward Sj)ring it realised Mr. Taunton's descrip- tion, and established its character here by gov- LUCERNE. ering 4 or 5 acres ^\'ilh a tliick coat of herbage, in \vhich tlie lamb:» were bro^^'sing breast-high, while diere was little or no other feed in the neighborhood. I hud, too, in the late Mr. Rbam's Dictionary of the Farm, a yet more fa- vorable account of it. Under the article Rye, in that convenient little book, our lamented col- league observes : " There is a variety of Rye mentioned by continental authors by the uaine of St. Johns-day Rye, becau.so it grows so i-apid- ly that if sown about St. John's-dav it will be fit to mow green by the middle of September; and iu favorable seasons may be fed off again in November without preventing its giving ample feed in Sprhig, and a good crop of grain at the next harvest. It might be advantageous to in- troduce this variety into England, if it be not already known." On the other hand, it is right to state that, when our seedsman, Mr. Gibbs, in- quire(i respecting it in iU native country, he was informed that its cultivation was not spread- ing Lu Belgium. But the rea.son assigned was it8 inferiority to the common Rye in yield of seed ; and this objection, though valid in coun- tries where rye bread is eaten, will not apply where, as in England, Rye is intended princi- pally for green fodder. Although then, as I said, my trial of the St. John's-day Rye is mcom- plete, and though it has not been .sown here as yet on its peculiar day, it has evidently t\vo ad- vantages over the common Rye. It tillers so much as to produce double the quantity of herb- age on tlic same space of grouij^. Indeed, m one field where the two varieties were growing together, the common Rye, after twice feeding cff, became so thin that I plowed it up ; while this new Rye covers the ground with its third crop as with its first. Besides tillering more, it is also sweeter than the common rj-e when yonng. Where they grow together, the hares and rabbits, while we had any, ate it before the other. Its principal merit, however, is its supe- rior sweetness in advanced growth, and the con- sequently longer time during which it remains fit for use as spring feed. Good farmers who have seen it agree -svith me, that this new Rye -should be tided upon such light hoUo^v soils as we sometimes find on our southern chalk-hiUs. On such land, in dry seasons, fanners often lose their tuniip crop after it is singled out ; but Rye is known to boar well such looseness of soil. If it were .sown instead of tumip.s, or where the turnips had missed, on a part of the turnip-land, even one sreen crop in the Autumn, to say no- thing of two, and another in Spring, might com- pensate for .such a crop of roots as this land gen- erally yields. If it stood for seed afterwards, it would then ahso take the place of the barley crop — the turnip's natural successor ; and the rotation would remain undisturbed. I will only add one suggestion, or rather call attention to a statement of Mr. Taunton's, that if the St. John's- day Rye be left uneaten in the Autumn, it will artbrd feed for ev.es and lambs equal to the best water-meadow, as early as the beginning of March or the end of Februarj- — an invaluable time for such feed. All that is hoped of a new plant is seldom reali.scd in practice ; but what I have myself seen of the St. John's-day Rye, and the opinions of farmers who have also watched it, make nie sure that I should not be rash in advising occupiers of light lands to give it a trial, but that unfortunately, as I am informed, no .seed is now to be procured abroad with a certainty of its genuineness. Piiseyi May 12, 184,'i. (-279) ON LUCERNE, AND THE PKKPARATION OF THE LAND. B Y J . TO WE BS. The more we see of Lucerne, the more have we cause to be delighted. In Thauet, and such chalky districts, it forms the chief article of green fodder, for upon such soils meadovz-grass will not thrive to perfection. The land which the plant aflfccts is a rich, mellow loam, not very heavy, but uuctuons, re- posing upon a chalk rock, at a foot or more be- low the surface : but Lucenie will prosper well in any good garden soil, and continue in heart for eight or ten years, yielding, iii showery sea- sons, five, six, or seven cuttings eveiy season, provided the foolish, unremunerative practice of leaving the herbage to stand till the flowering be abandoned. I propose to treat of the culture of Lucerne experimentally, after as.suming that it is essen- tially a lime plant, since it has been found that the ashes contain, of phosphate of lime, 13 per cent. ; chalk, or calcareous matter, .50 per cent. If these be onlj' approximations, we are taught thereby that lime or its combinations form the specific and appropriate manure ; and, therefore, that in any inland county on the south side of Yorkshire, there can be little difficulty in securing a great return for comparatively a moderate degree of labor and attention. I shall suppose a case which is of common oc- currence— that of an old pasture, foul with meadow crowfoot, (ranunculus acris.J dande- lion, &c., which requires to be broken up. The 1(171(1 must be cleaned, and this is best effected by paring and burning, by which mjTiads of the wire-wonn may be destroyed, and some alkali and calcareous matters produced, in the form of ashes. These ashes are to be scattered over the pared surface, and then the ground should be trenched two good spits, or eighteen inches deep. At the bottom of each trench, and again over the first returned spit of earth, a two or three-inch stratum of street or spit dung, or of prepared cloacene, should be laid. By prepared cloacine, I mean the contents of a privy, mixed with twice or thrice the volume of loam or good earth, over which has been sprinkled tv^'o or three gallons of diluted sulphuric acid to fix the ammonia. This compost, after stand- ing six months and being once turned and mixed, would prove an excellent phosphated manure. \Vlien tlie trenching is completed, a further dressing of dissolved bones should be given in the following manner : For the half of an acre, take one bu.shel and a half of true bone dust, one-third of its weight of concentrated sulphuric acid, and three times its weight of water. Put the last into an open tub, pour into it gradually the sulphuric acid, stirring with a wooden oar, then add the bone dust. Stir from time to time, till the mixture assume an uniform consistence, and it will consist of sulphate of lime and phos- phate of lime, with an excess of phosphoric acid. Incorporate v^-ith it .so much dry, sandy earth, .saw-dust, or fine coal ashes, as will bring it to the temperament of moist garden mould ; then deposit it in heaps on the land, and when ])retty dry, scatter it over the ground; after which, fork the surface, and sow the seed aa the work proceeds. If however, the land be somewhat foul witk root weeds, it wiU be better to crop the whole piece with potatoes in the first Spring, omittiaj 124 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. the bone dress, and to barrow or tborougbly rake the land once or twice ; after which, tiie hoeings required 'during the growth of the po- tatoes, and the digging up of the crop, will pretty effectually clean and prepare the soil, especially if it be set up in high ridges during Winter. Lucerne seed, costs about Is. or Is. 3d. per lb. I have steeped it in nitro-sulphates, in order to try their efficacy, and have also on the same day sown the unprepared seed, employing artificial heat; and both have germinated alike. All pasture seeds ought to be so tested, because of existing frauds ; but if the sample be proved good, five or six pounds ■will sow half an acre, provided the rows be 12 or 14 inches apart, but some recommend 8 or 9 inches. The drills are not required to be more than an inch deep, and the seeds should not be thickly deposited. The best season is mid- April ; but Jime, if showery, will do well. The gennination is rapid ; and when the plants are safe from the first as- saults of insects, (lime dust is a preventive remedy,) they should be thinned to three-inch distances at first, and subsequently to six inch- es, surface-hoeing the plot with the spad or Dutch hoe. It is astonishing how^ productive the plant be- comes during the first Summer, provided the ■weather be sho^wery, with intervening periods of ■warm sunshine. I have cut six or seven swarths of fine, lush herbage, between an April so^wing of the seed and the end of the following October ; and have found the part first cut ready for the scythe again by the time that the cutting was completed. Dming the course of the first Summer, the land should be kept perfectly clean ; it will also be prudent to cut but twice, and then only when the plant shows its blossom buds, never suffer- ing a seed to fonii, nor, indeed, the flower to ex- pand. It is the chief object to obtain a strong and vigorous crown in the early course of the plant's growth ; and this is done by leaving it to attain that maturity which is indicated by bloom : if cut in the first instance, while purely succulent and immature, the same debilitating effect might result which would be produced by cutting-over a fresh plot or bed of very young aspai^agus ; for both plants produce crowns, which form round the first collar and much extend its bulk. In fact, if Lucerne be thinned out to six-inch distances, the entire spaces will shoi'tly be filled up by lateral devel- opments. The hoe ought to be veiy effectually used so soon as every portion is cut, in order to exter- minate weeds, and particularly tufts of grass ; or in lien of the hoe, a two-pronged bent or drag fork, with broad tines and a long handle, would be found a very effective tool. The habit of (growth, with strong, deep roots, and extending crowns, indicate plainly that sheep .should never be suffered to depasture the autumnal herbage, for their bite is so close that numbers of the hest plants would be sacrificed. Therefore, at the final cutting of the season, ■which ought not in general to be made later than the middle of Oc- tober, the ground bet%veen tlie rows should be hoed ; and when Winter sets in, a dressing of fine coal-ashes mixed with bone-dust — nine bushels of the ashes to one of the bones, for ev- ery half acre — will prove very beneficial to fu- ture growth. Gypsum might be added to the extent oi' the bones, and this would give more quality to the ashes, which frequently contain about one-tenth part of sulphate of lime ; the remaining nine-tenths being chiefly impure ei- lex, with a little iron. lf-/y«eer?ii« have been sown in deeply prepared and enriched earth, dung and putrescent ma- nures as top-dress are seldom required ; where- as good inorganic manures tend to keep the surface-soil pure, light, and free from weeds. — This is of consequence, as otherwise, when once tufts of grass obtain possession, patches will speedily occur, and the compact beauty of the rich herbage will disappear. I have lately inspected a small piece, that I remember to have observed eight or ten jeara since, then growing and producing- abundantly from April to November ; the rows are above fourteen inches asunder — the plants in perfect order, and in straight rows, not a blank visible, and so high as partially to fall over and conceal the spaces. It was under the scythe during the first week of the present May, and was evi- dently carried away in detail for green fodder. The bulk ■^^'as enormous ; and during a .season of alternate periods of rain and fine weather, this small plot, scarcely, perhaps, of t'VN'enty poles, will yield an ample supply for a cow. — The soil is now a blackish mould, full of vege- table matter, and it is kept hoed as the rows are mo%vn. This plot is situated near the termination of the old Xown of Croydon, leading from the church to the Brighton road, and is almost sur- rounded by dwelling-houses. Now, as a small piece in a towTi can be kept in full bearing during ten years, v^'hat might not be done with a few acres among the dairv-fanns of England and Ireland ? Farmers shirk the trouble of xhc hoeing ; but such mistakes, and a neglect of their own real interests, is in this, as in but too many other instances, but too appa- rent. There is not a plant which, if prudently prepared for, and skillfully managed, will so amply remtinerate as Lucerne. It \\'ants calca- reous phosphates, with a good staple loam, which, if scaled upon a chalk bottom, will be thereby improved : with these, its cultivation is most simple, and the labor required is not more than that of a crop of ridged and properly grown turnips. May I5:h. J. TOWERS. Cape Wool. — Of the Cape Wool nothing now remains to be said ; it has taken its place in the grand market of Europe amongst the best, and may soon be the first in the iirst rank, for the Cape climate and natural grasses seem or- dained to bring the merino breed of sheep to pevtcction. This article of export has increased in the following proportions : In 18-24, 23,049 lbs.; in 1834, 143,883 lbs. ; and in 1844, 2,233,946 lbs. The rate of increase in New-South Wales for similar periods often years, when the quantities were not far from those of the Cape, down to 183.5, was as follows: In 181.5, 32,971 lbs.; in 18-2.5, 411,600 lbs.; and in 1835, 3,893,927 lbs. Thus, in the last period of ten years at the Cape (1834 to 1844). the quantity of Wool increaced about fifteen times. During a similar period of ten years at New-South W^ales (1825 to 1835), the increase was only about nine time.''. Such are the powers of the country bountifully be- stowed on the inhabitants ol' the Cape of Good Hope. fSoulli African Commercial Advertiser. NEW-tORK STATE AGRICULTURAL FAIR : TO BE HELD AT UTICA, SEPTEMBER 17th, 1845. We arc indebted to the politeness of Mr. Tucker for the following account of the pro- ceedings of the New-York State Agricultural So- ciety, in reference to the Exhibition to be held at Utica on the 17tli September iust. The public will be gratified to learn tliat the Annual Address is to be delivered by Josiah duiNCV, Jr. Our anticipation of enjoyment is none the less from the recollection of having heard him witli admiration deliver his com- mencement oration at old Harvard. NEW-YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The meeting of the Executive Committee of the State Agricultural Society for August, was held at the Society's room, in Albany, on the 14th. Present— B. P JOHNSON, of Onfiida, President. E. P. Prentice, Vice-President-^lbany. Alexander Walsh, Rensselaer. George Vail, Rensselaer. Thomas IIillhouse, Tieasurer. Luther Tucker, Recording Secretary. Letters were read from Hon. Wm. H. Sew- ard, Auburn ; Hon. LutlierB radish. New- York ; Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., Boston ; Isaiah To-wn- send, Albany ; James Gowen, Esq., Philadel- phia ; James S. Wadsworth, Geneseo ; Francis Rotch, London; James Taj-lor, Birmingham; Hon. John Savage, Salem ; Lewis F. Allen, Esq., Buffalo ; Paris Barber, Homer. The Board proceeded to complete the list of Judges to award the Premiums at the next State Fair. The following are the JUDGES TO AWARD THE PRIZES. Cattle, Class I. — James Govpen, Philadelphia; J. a. f^kinner. New- York ; Thomas UoULs, Gilbertsville. Cattle, Clauses II, III, IV. — Adam Furguson, Wa- tertovi'n, C. W. ; F. Ingersoll, Vemou ; D. D. Camp- bell, Schenectady. Cattle, Classes V and VI. — J. R. Speed, Caroline ; Wm. Fuller, Sknneateies ; Aaron Petrie, Little Falls. Working Oimi. — Sanford Howard, Albany; An- drew J. Bell, Lairds^'ille ; Squii-e M. Brown, Elbridge. Steers. — E. P. Peck, Sheldon ; Clift Eamea, Rut- land ; Israel Boies. Homer. Fat Cattle and Fat Sheep. — Ela Meniam, Leyden ; Lester Barker, Clinton ; P. N. Rust, Syracuse. Stallions. — J. M. Sherwood, Auburn ; Win. Jones, Queens county ; Edward Long, Cambridge. Mares and Colts. — Anthony Van Bergen, Cox- sackie ; Willard Ives, Watertown ; F. P. Bellinger, Herkimer. Matched Ilcrrses. — Wm. Salisbury, Leeds ; Duncan Robinson. Fishl;ill ; H. S. Woodruff, Auburn. Sheep. Class I. — W. A. S. North, Duanesburg ; Ro- bert Mus.^on, Gilbeitsville ; Jas. Parker, Jr., Trenton. Sheep, Class II. — S. Waite, Jr., Montgomery ; W. II. Sotham, Albany ; Lyman Sherwood, Auburn. Sheep, Class III. — Chester Buck. Lowville ; Sara'! Chcever, Stillwater ; D. R. Gill, Henderson. Skej-p. Clti.-is IV. — J. P. Bcckman, Kinderhook; J. M. Ellis, Onondaga Hill ; M. Y. Tilden, New-Lehjinon. Swine. — L. B. Lsingworthy, Rochester ; Geo. Webb, Pamelia ; Hiram Hopkins, CortlandvUle. I (281) Poultry.— C. N. Bement, Albany ; T. H. Hyatt, Ro- chester: Storrs BaiTOws, South-Trenton. Vegetables.— V>. B. Fuller, Hyde Park; B. W. Dwight, Clinton ; H. L. R. Sandt'ord, Volney. Plows. — George Geddes, Tyler ; C. C. Dennis, Au- burn ; M. L. Brainerd, Rome. Wagons, Harrows, Cultivators, FanningMilh, Ma- chines for cutting cornstalks. Horse Puioers and Threshing Machines, Drill Barrows and StrawCut- ters. — H. S. Randall, Cortlandville ; G. W. Patterson, Westtield ; Myron Adams, East Bloorafield. All other Agricultural Implements. — Pomeroy Jones, Laird-^ville ; John Williams, Jr., Salem ; T. R. IIus- sey. Auburn. Butter. — E. W. Bateman, Venice ; Z. Barton Stout, Richmond Hill ; Elijah Rhoades, Manlius. Cheese. — T. C. Peters, Darien; Thomas Burch, Little Falls ; Hamson Blodgett, Denmark. Sugar. — O. Ilungertbrd, Watertown ; E. Mack, Ithaca ; George B. Rowe, Canastota. SiUt. — Alexander Walsh, Lausingburgh ; Samuel Thompson, Utica ; John Walsh, Albany. Domestic Man ufaciurcs. — Judge Oonklinj, Auburn ; Roswell Randall. Cortlandville; Le G. Cannon, Troy. Fruits. — J. J. Thomas, Macedon ; Chas. Downing, Newburgh ; P. Barry, Rochester. Flowers. — Prof. Jackson, Schenectady; Benjamin Hodges, Buffalo ; Charles Tracey, Utica. Plowing Match.— Lewis F. Allen, Buffalo ; N. S. Wright, Vernon Centre ; E. Marks. Tyler ; William Ottley. Oak Comers ; John John,ston, Geneva. Miscellaneous and Discretionary Premiums. — Thos. Farrington, Owego; B. N. Huntington, Rome; Joel Rathbone, Albany; J. J. Viele, Lansingburgh ; Oli- ver Phelps, Canandaigua. TRANSPORTATION OF STOCK. The Committee on this subject reported that arrangements had been made with the different Railroad Companies, whose officers, with their usual liberality, had agreed to transpoit, free of charge, all animals and articles designed for ex- hibition at the Fair. Gentlemen who intend to send their stock by tlie Railroad, must give notice at least one week previous to the Fair, to LuTiif.R Tucker, Albany ; M. D. Burnet. Syracuse ; J. M. SHEit- wooD, Auburn; L. B. Langworthy, Roches- ter; and L. F. Allen, Buffalo — so that the no- ce.s.sary preparations may be made by the Com- panies for their tran.sportatiou. They farther reported, that cxti-a trains would be run. in which visitors to the Fair will be car- ried for a sum not exceeding half the usual rates on the roads. Of their times of starting, notice will be given as soon as the arrangements are completed. The Packet Boat Companies have made arrangements to facihtate the conveyance of visitors at rea.sonable rates. It is o.Kpected that the operations of Ihe Mag- netic Telegraph will be exhibited on the grounds during the Fair. It is intended by the proprietors of this work to have it ready for operation fi-oni Utica to Little Fails, a distance of twenty miles. Articles designed for exhibiti-3n at the Fair, may be directed to the care of Farwell & Har- rington, Utica, who will take charge of tliem aa directed by the owners. REGULATION* FOR THE FAIR. All members of the Society, and all who may become members at the time of the Fair, by the payment of $1, will bo furnished with Badges, • which will admit tlie person and his wife and children under twenty-one years of age, to the exhibition at all times during the Fair. Tickets to admit a single person, 12^ cents. Members will be allowed to enter in carriages with their families, but no hacks or other public conveyances will be permitted to enter, except when the iumates are members of the Society, •without paying $1 for each enhance, and the inmates, if not members, to furnish themselves with tickeLi. Gentlemen may become members and obtain Badges at the stagcofHce of J. Butterfiold & Co., and at the bookstores of I. Tiffany. G. Tra- cey, Bennett, Backus & Hawley, Gene.see-st., Utica, or at the Business Office at the Show-Yard. All exhibitors at the Fair must become mem- bers of the Society, and have their articles en- tered at the Business Office before taking them into the enclosure. All those who intend to compete for the Pre- miums on Agricultural Implements, Butler and Cheese, Sugar, Cocoons, Silk, &c., should have their specimens on the ground on the 16tii, that they may be deposited in their appropriate places, and the rooms suitably arranged on the day previous to the Fair. No premiums will be paid on animals or arti- cles taken away before the close of the Fair. Every thing intended for the exhibition, must be on the ground at or before 9 o'clock, on the morning of Wednesday, the 17th. Animals and other articles offered for exhibi- tion, must be labeled with the owner's name and residence at full length. THE COMMITTEES TO AWARD PREMIUMS. Th.e several Committees to award Premiums, are requested to report themselves at the Socie- ty's room, at Uagg's Hotel, on Tuesday Evening, the 16th. or at the Bu.siness Office on the show- grounds previous to 10 o'clock on Wednesday morning, the 16th, after which all vacancies will be filled, and the Committees will enter upon their duties at 12 o'clock. The Judges are requested to furnish their av,'ards to tlic Recording Secretary by lv2 o'clock on Thursday, that a list may be made out from which the Treasurer can pay the prizes imme- diately on the Reports being read from the stand. The Judges will not award the prizes offered, unless in their opinion the animals or articles exhibited are worthy of the Premiums. Prize animals and implements at the previous exhibitions, will be allowed to compete for tlie prizes ; but they must receive a higher prize, or in a different class, to entitle them to a Pre- mium. Should the same Premium heretofore given them be awarded, they will receive a Certilioate to that effect instead of die prize. No Viewing Committee, with the exception of the Committee on Di-scretionary Premiums, shall award any Discretionary Premium, with- out the previous permission of the Executive Board, expressed through their President. The Annual Address will be delivered, under the large tent, at :i o'clock on Thursday after- noon, by Hon. Josi ah QuiNcv, Jr., of Boston. Inimediiitely after tlie Address, the Reports of the CominittiHs to award lh(! Premiums will be read, and the Premiums paid at the Treasu- rer's office. The Treasurer wiU also be in at- tendance at the Society's room, at Bagg's Ho- tel, on Thursday evening and on Fridaj-, for the purpose of paying Premiums. On Thursday afternoon the Premium animals will be exhibited on the grounds, separate from the others, with cards showing the Premium awarded to each animal, so that the public may have an oppoi'tunity of viewing the animals which have been adjudged worthy of the Pre- miums of the Society. Composition of Soils. — Now, through the labors of Sprengel chiefly — not solely, lor he had predecessors and contemporaries also, though less laborious, and less clear and decided in their opinions than himself — it has been estab- lished regarding soils — 1. That they all contain a certain pi-oportiou of organic, chiefly vegeta- ble matter, which readily bums away when they are heated to redness in the air. Tliis combustible matter in peaty soils sometimes amounts to .50 or 60 per cent, of the whole weight ; while in clay soils, such as the white undrained clays of Lanarkshire, less than one per cent is present. 2. That in all naturally fer- tile soils, the incombustible part contains a notable quantity of each of 10 or 11 different mmeral substances. 3. That soils in ^% hich one or more of these substances is either wholly wanting, or is not present in sufficient quantity, will not produce good crops. 4. That to these latter .soils what is ^\ anting may be artificially added, and that thus their fertility may be in- creased, restored, or maintained. 5. That some of these substances, when present in excess in the .soil, become noxious to the plant : and that, to render such a soil productive, this excess must be, in some way or other, removed. These five propositions comprehend nearly all that is of importance, in regard to the incombustible part of the soil. Tliey are all fully and fre- quently stated in the works of Sprengel. They are illustrated and enforced in these of Liebig and Johnston. It would interfere ^^-ith our present purpose to dwell upon the combustible or organic part of the soil. But, with the aid of these propositions, tlie general doctrine of soils, and the action of saline or mineral manures, be- comes so far cleai* and simple. A soil, to be fertile, must contain 10 or 11 known substances. If any of these be altogether absent, you will improve your soil by adding them to it ; if they are present, the addition of them will do no good. If salt, or gj-psum, for example, or the ingredients of ^vood ashes, be wholly absent, you will obtain large crops by adding these substances largely to the soil ; if they are merely deficient, a .smaller application will be of ser- vice ; if they are already present in sufficient quantity, any application of them to the soil will be so much money thrown away. '[Edinburgh Kevicw, Jan. 1845. GuA.s'O. — Have any of your roiTpspondents, in their experience with this, found it to have any influence on the scent of flowers ? I have used Potter's Liquid Guano about once a week, to Pelargoniums and the more choice of the tea- scented Ro.ics. The foliage and flowers have been most luxuriant in their appearance , but the fragrance of the rose seems, in some in- stances, to have been changed even lo a most unplea.saDt odor. Can that arist; from the use of Guano ? [EnglUh paper. SUGAR ITS CULTURE AND MANUFACTURE. 127 ORATION DELIVERED BEFORE THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION OP LOUISIANA, ON THE TWELFTH OF MAY, MDCCCXtV BY JUDGE P. A. KOST. Mr. President and Gentlemen, of the Agricuhural and Mechanics' Association — In rising to perform tlie duty which it has been your pleasure to assign to me on this inter- esting occasion, I am aware that you do not ex- pect trom me an academical discourse upon the importance and the dignity of Agriculture. — Planting is not canned on with rhetoric, and if our occupations be worthy of praise, it is in good taste to let others speak it. You want facts, careful observations, and practical results. You are in search of knowledge. I am bound to say that I have little to impart, but I am willing to converse with you on the subject of our common iiursuits; to direct you to the sources from which I derive the limited infonnatiou I possess, and to state the experiments by which I have at- tempted to apply that information to the Agri- culture of Louisiana, and the maiHjfacture of its products. I do not, however, desire you to take my results as rules of action, till you have verified them, and if I can succeed in awakening a spirit of in(iuiry which will induce you to do so, their accuracy is of no consequence ; the discovery that I was in error will bo as useful to you, as the certaiuty that I was not. In a paper •which I had the honor to con- tribute to the labors of the Association, last year, I stated that the modem improvements in Agri- culture were the result of recent and more ac- curate knowledge on draining, plowing, manur- ing, and interchange of crops, I then gave a description of the process of thorough draining as practised in Great Britain, and of subsoil- plowing, which is the comjjlement of it. It is unnecessary to revert to the subject here, except for the purpose of stating tliat this process is being rapidly introduced in the British West In- dies, and that it has proved as beneficial there as iu Europe ; so much so, that, although by the prestjnt modes of cultivation, the average of rat- tooiis and plants is seldom two thousand pounds of sugar per acre, it is confidently believed that, in lands thoroughly drained and sab-soiled, the average will be five thousand pounds per acre. I have no doubt of it, and when that system is introduced here, the produce of a depth of six- teen inches of dry alluvial .soil cannot be pre- dicted ; nobody knov^'s to what size cane may be made to grow, and how much sugw it can yield. But, Sir, the process is expensive and can only be introduced gradually. We must for the present go on with our open drains, and we can do passably well %vith them, provided we have th prHotice of making cheese on the -Sabbath, aa on other S days, i.s .still very general. upon land let for 30s. [$7 5Q annual rent] a statute acre ; but in a few instances 5 cwt. per cow^, and even more, is .sometimes made. This cau only be from a small and choice stock. The Season. — It is the practice amongst farmers in this county to airange so as to have most of their cows calving in the months of March and April ; and so soon as the calves are fed or dispo.sed of. the cheese-making com- mences, and continues (excepting in small dai- ries) to nearly the end of the year. In January and February the quantity of milk obtained is often so small that the farmer prefers selling it in the neighboring towns or making it into but- ter. There are, however, instances, in large dairies (of 70 or 80 cows), of cheese being made throughout the year. Milking. — The operation commences about five o'clock in the morning, and five or six in the evening. In this county it is the practice for most of the servants, both men and maids, to as- sist, and lor the cows to be milked iu the cow- houses (called here " shippons '') all the year round. When, as is usual, there is one milker for everj- six or seven cows, the milking seldom exceeds an hour and a quarter.* The milk of new-calved cows is not mixed with the other until about four or five days after calving. Offices and Utensils. — As the evening's milk is seldom made into cheese until the fol- lowing morning, and sometimes in small dairies (where four " meals " are used) not until the sec- ond morning, a cool "milk-house" ia necessary ; on which account it usually occupies tliat side of the farm-house least expo-sed to the sun. The uten- sils in which the milk is kept are usually port- able shallow earthenware vessels called " pan- mug.s," and in some dairies leaden or zinc cool- ers. Most of the milk-rooms have lattice or wire windows for the circulation of air, and the floors are laid in a sloping fonn for the free escape of the cold water with which they are daily swilled throughout the summer months. If precautions of this nature be not attended to, there is a ri.sk of the evening's milk becoming suur ; in which case, whatever quantity of new milk be added to it in the morning, the cheese v^ill hcnonr also. I am led to believe that a temperature of as near 50^ Fahrenheit as could be maintained, would be best for a milk-house throughout the year. — The dairy is generally situate near the milk- house, andi fitted up with two xet-pan$, or boilersf — a large one for scalding the v\-hey, and a .smaller one for heating water. The ''chee.^e- presses " and "screw" are kept within this room, and the operation of cheese-inaking is here carried on. Some fannhouses are not pro- vided with a dairy, and the cheese is then made in the kitchen — this is commonly the case on small farms. The " salting and drying-house" (often one and the same room), if conveniently situated, adjoins the dairj-. The cheese is placed here on stone or wooden benches, salted exIernaVy. and is afterwards left so as to dry gradually before being removed to the clieese- room. By some dairy-maids, this external salt- ing is dispensed with, and the room is then of * I was told by an apparently very respectable man, at Saratoga Springs last week, that he knew a New- York fanner, worth more than $200,000. whose daughters milked the cows regularly. [Ed. F. L. t South of New-Jersey, milk-house and daii-y are .sjTionymous. [Ed. h". £. course only used for drying. These offices wee all on tlie ground-floor. In some cases the clieese-room ia over the dairy, in others over the kitclien, or some other room wherein a fire is usually kept, and sometimes, though rarely, over the cow-houses or sialics. Light and air are in- variably excluded, either by a curtain or shut- ters.* Tiie floor is either of iilastcr (gypsum) or boards, but more commonly the latter ; some of the larger cheese-rooms are warmed by stoves, or hot air. and occasionally, though rarely, by fire-places in the room itself. The .small cheese- rooms are seldom supplied with artificial heat, except what is gained from the rooms below. — Some cheese-rooms are occasionally found to be in the .summer time too warm, in which case the cheese has to be removed for a time to a cooler part of the house. This is more generally neces- sary where the building is slated, and exposed to the noon-day sun ; but is seldom or never ex- perienced where the roof is of thatch. The size of these offices is of course regulated by the extent of the farm ; where 30 cows are kept I find them nearly as follows : Yds. Yds. Sq.Yds. Milk-house 6 by 3 or about 18 Dairy 6 by 5 " 30 Salting and drying-hou.se. 4 by 5 " 20 Cheese-room over daiiy and drying-house 10 by 5 (or 8 by 6) " 50 The utensils, excepting those I have de- scribed, will be noticed hereafter. Process of Cheese-makisg. — As the first process — namely, that of extracting the whey and salting — occupies, according to circum- stances, from five to seven hours, it is found most convenient to commence it in the morning. This being the case, the evening's milk has to be kept all night in the milk-house. In the morning, the cream having been skimmed off, a portion of this milk is warmed. This is done in a circular flat-bottomed brass or tin pan. (see a, fig. 4,) floated in the boiler, the water of which has been previously heated for that purpose : the size of this pan is about 20 inches in diame- ter and 8 inclies deep. The (juantity to be warmed depends upon the state of the weather ; for the first two or three months of the season (say March, April and May) it is not unusual to heat as much as lialf the evening's milk to a temperature of 100^ Fahrenheit, and this heat is rarely exceeded, excepting by those dairymaids who wish to save themselves trouble in the after process. The " cheese-tub," which is similar to a brewing-tub, having been jjlaccd in readiness in the dairy, the cold milk is now put in and the warm added. Supposing the temperature of the cold milk to be about 50^, and the warm 100^, and they were in equal proportions, the heat after mixing would be 75^, or something less ; but in warm weather it will be sufficient if it reaches 70-". I have known instances of good cheese being made in summer \\-ithout ^varming any portion of the evening's milk — in- deed, such now is becoming the general prac- tice. In very warm weather .some dairy-maids tliink it necessary to redvice even the tempera- ture of the morning's milk. The cream, which is diluted either in about double its quantity of warm or new milk, or by being exposed to the heat of the boiler in the same way as the milk, is next x)ut in. I have before stated that it is * One reason, amonsst others, assigned for this (uni- versal) practice, is its tendency to prevent the mis- chievous crt'i'cts of the t!v. customary to retain a small part of the cream for butter: when this is the case, it is considered best to skim it off the whole surface of the cream before diluting, as by that means the froth and bubbles, which are supposed to be prejudicial to the cheese, will, for the most part, be taken off. Tliis leads me to the conclusion that fixed air, if it gets mixed in the curd, has been found to be detrimental. Since warming of fluids has a tendency to di.spel this fixed air, it is perhap.s worthy of consideration whether it would not be better to warm the whole of the evening's milk to the required temperature, rather than heating a part of it so high as 100^. The pro- cess adopted with the evening's milk, as above described, is generally finished previous to the time of .milkhig in the morning ; but if not, the dairymaid stops and completes it before the new milk is brought in from the cows. This new or morning's milk is then added by passing it through a. sieve placed upon the " cheese-ladder" over the cheese-tub. When the whole is thus collected, some few bubbles are invariably found floating on the surface ; these are skimmed off and passed through the sieve to break them. One of the mo.st important points uov^- to be attended to is the heat of the milk preparatory to coagulation, as the milk, if at a proper tem- perature, should now be ready to " set togeth- er," that is, to receive the rennet. This heat is rarely tested by any other thermometer than that of the daii^-maid's hand ; some may, and I have no doubt do, determine it pretty correctly, but cannot alwajs. In con,sequence of the changes in the weatlier it is difficult even for an experienced dairymaid to know at all times what proportion of the eve- ning's milk should be warmeil ; she is therefore cautious not to warm too much, until the morn- ing's milk is added and the consequent heat as- certained. If it be deemed too cool, a little of the evening's milk which has been reserved is then warmed, so as to produce the heat re- quired ; but when none has been reserved, the necessary quantity taken from the tub after the admixture of the two milkings is ^^•armed for that purpo.se. Little is known amongst the farmers or dain'maids as to the precise heat which is best. I have seldom heard the subject named, except by a vague compari.sou, that such and such dairies were made colder or warmer than others. I am acquainted with some farm- ers whose wives are said to have a peculiar method of their own, and wlio, I believe, obtain a high price for their cheese in the ^lanchester market, chiefly from the tendency of the cheese to green mould. I know little of the system which these parties adopt, but I understand they make their cheese " cold " — that is. set the milk together at a low temperature ; and I am also inclined to tliink they use less salt than oth- ers. I have not solicited the privilege of prying into the mysteries pursued in these dairie.?, nor could I expect to have been .so indulged if I had, especially if they had supposed it was for publication. It is said these parties get a great- er prii'e for tlieir cheese than many of their neighbors, which I have no rea.son to doubt; and I think, from wliat I have seen, they make quite as gr*" the whey to escape through. The tub is now set three or four inches atilt to drain the w-hey more readily fironi the curd, and to admit of its being collected and carried off. The skim- ming-dish is again required to lade out the whey. The whey, on its way to the set pan, is passed throush a sieve, to collect any curd ■w hich may happen to be floating in it. Tliis curd is what is called slip cyrd. which by .eome is not returned to the tub, for the rea.=on I have ijefore stated. The weight and board are shortly taken off. and such part of the curd as has been squeezed from tinder them is again collected on one side, and a heavier weiffhi (say 50 or 60 poundi applied as before. As the whey escapes from the curd it is laded out. In the course of a quarterof anhour the board is airain removed, the curd cut in intersections of six or eight inches apart, to assist the discharge of the whey, and the board, witli additional weights 'about double the last], again applied- Some dairy-maids now ' Ax, this stase, it is the practice with some dainr- maids, when they suppose the cord is colder or mere tender than it ought to be, to return a few gailcms of whey afaar it ha? been heated over the boifer in the brass pan JEto the tub aiain. to assist the discharge of the rf-maining whey. It on the contrary, the cnrrt is found warmer than i.- intJ-nded or desirable, which is e-imetrme; the case in hot weath«T or during thundr r. a few gjilluns of cold wai»ir are appSedto prevent the curd becoming toaah. These inconveniences would, in my opinion, seldom if ever happ«-n if a thermi.ra- eter was used at £rn, and the proper hmax at that tane adhered to. add the slip curd. The weights are asain in- i creased if it be thought necessary : observicg ! always to let the pressure ickich' is applied be ; gradual, and 7-eg-ulated by the degree of cirni- j pactness of the curd, for it this is not attended I to now, as well as afterwards, a considerable ■ portion of butyraceous matter wiU be forced out I and the cheese of cotirse deteriorated. j The curd is again cut into square pieces, taken I out of the cheese-tub and broken a little by the i hands as it is passed into the '• thrusting-tab ' j (a. Figs. 2 and 3). [In some dairies a large-sized cheese-vat, in others a wUlow basket is substitu- ted for the thrusting-iub.] In this the extraction j of the vshey is afterwards continued by the ap- i plication of •• the screw," of which there are two or three kinds, but all on the same principle ' (see Figs. 2 and 3 1. The old plan of thrusting — ' and from which the term is no doubt derived — was by means of a pole four or five yards long, j iixed at one end into an upright post, \\hilst at I the other was seated a lusty lad or a man. who I kept regularly pressing down the pole upon the curd, the pole acting as a lever. Both poles and men are now almost entirely expelled from the Cheshire dairies ; and the screw is al.«o likely to be superseded by the "lever press" (Fig. 5). The advantages of this over the screw are, that it sinks by its own action with the curd — any degree of pressure required can be applied and gradually increased, a/idless attention is neces- sary : whereas the presstire from the screw is sudden and uncertain, and having no self-action, requires the dair}.--maid's assistance every five or ten minutes to render it effectual. The •■' thmsting-tnb." in which the curd has now to be pressed, is round, and is perforated with holes at the sides and bottom for the whey to escape tlirough (see a, Figs. 2 and 3). Be- fore the curd is put in, a •• cheese-cloth " of the coarsest kind, about one and a half yard long, and a yard wide, (or of dimensions sufficient to contain the cardi. is placed in it* In this the curd, after being broken, as before stated, is en- veloped, and a " sinker." or stron? circular board, which fits the inside of the tab. placed on it [b. Figs. 2 and 3!. Upon this the screw Jor lever press, if used] is let down, and the power gradually applied. To assist still farther the discharge of the whey, long iron skewers are introduced through the peribrations in the tub, -with their points directed npward.=, so thatwhen the skewers are ■withdrawn there is a drain made for the -whey to follow. These skewers do not remain in more than five or ten minutes ; the pressure is continued a little longer. The curd is now cut through, in intersect ions of two or three inches apart, -with a large dull knife, so as not to injure the cheese-cloth, and the edtre or comer of the card is cut off all round, and placed in the cen- tre. After this the pressure is again applied, and gradually increased, and the skewers introduced ! and '.vithdrawn as before, after the lapse of about i fifteen or twenty minutes. The curd is then taken completely out of the mb. cut into four or five pieces, and each piece broken separately with the hands to about the size of two or three inches square. A clean dry cloth is made use of tl.'e curd folded in it, and asain pressed and skewered. These operations arc repeated until the wbey is sufficiently extracted to admit of the ' ChetfecJotk* are Irnm, of a rather closer texture than canvass, and made for the pDrp<>s<: The coaree kind are sometimf-^ termed screte-clotiif. CHESHIRE CHEESE. 143 cxird being tcdted, whis of curd. He also informs me he sets his milk together bv a thermometer, and at a temperamre of 7^ or 77-.— May, 1S15. I The former would easily be ascertained by I means of a gauge, or graduated rod, which any j farmer might make for himseh". to suit his ovm I cheese-tub. The way to make it v^ould be to j pour into the tub a gallon of -w-ater, or any liquid, , and then to note its higfct; and mark it on the I rod. This being done, put in anod>er gallon and j a?ain mark the bight, and so on tmiil the tub is : full; taking care afterwards to introduce the rod ' into the same part of the tub, as the bottoms ' are not often leveL It has generally been considered that a gallon of -mWk (supposing little or no cream^iias been I taken from it 1 will produce upon an average of ; the season one pound of saleable cheese : tha: i is, when the cheese is four or five months old. — In aattmm there is alvrays more curd from the . same quantity of milk than at any other pan of theseason. During wet weather there wiH sometimes be I more milk than usual though not a proportion- - ately greater quantity of ctird. An experienced dairy -maid soon detects these different results. and makes allowances accordingly. I have met vvith no dairy-maid who regularly •weighs the salt; but a highly-respectahle farmer, whose wife makes a first-rate cheese, has given me the weight used in his dairy, as near as the san^ can be computed. It is as ibDows : — In March and ,ipnl their I'd. lb. oz. cheeses average about .30 and ab't 0 10 salt is used. Inilav, June sndJulT-.-TO -20 jInAuiua: '....60 " 112 I In September 50 "14 " j InOcto'oerandNovem'erSO " 010 In the above instance it ■wDl be seen that { more in proportion was used in stimmer than at I other times, and that the average is 1 lb. of salt 1 for 40 lbs. of dried cheese lor say forty gaUone I of milk). I I was favored with an account from another I dairy in w^hich. to oblige me. the salt for <>«« was I weighed. For a cheese which welshed 46 lbs. a few days after makins' (say 42 lbs. at ibtir I months old) 1 lb. 1 oz. was used. This is also j after the rate of 1 lb. of salt for 40 lbs. of dried I cheese, and \vas said to be the quantity uniibna- 1 ly used throughout the year in this dairy, which ! consisted of about forty cows. I A third account is fhjm a %airy of sixteen I co-ws : die quantity of salt used was generally ] about 1 lb. for 4.5 lbs. of cheese : but the dairy- I maid made a trial last year with one cheese. i using only three-qtiarters of a pound. The I cheese was made at the beginnins of Jtine. and ' ^vhen weiched in the middle of September was 42 lbs. This c'beese wtis admitted to be better than the others in the same dairy.* The salt termed the " middle grained " is the ; kind senerally used: but some use -fine.'' Be- ' lore applying n the curd is cut into three or fotir ' equal-sized pieces, and each of these is broken i into smaller pieces by hand, or is palsed once . tarough the curd-miilt fig. 4j. The salt is then * It msy not be out of place here to stare ths: a: i Northwich. which is about the cenvre of the cotinry. ' and where the principal salt-works are found, salt is : at present bought for Sd. per bushel of .56 lbs. In I lajse quantities the price is conaderably lower. I t The cmrd-miH is of recent introduction, ard ii is only in a few dairies that it is met with : some dsirv- maids hie'nly approving, others ocjectins to it. I tfirn'r it will soon be more seneraUy adopted.~as it effects a eavius in time, and break? the turd more reeuiariy . than it can be dose by hacd. scattered over it, and the " breaking" continued either by the liands, tlie curd-mill, or both, until the salt is well iulennixed and the curd perfect- ly crumbled. Each portion as it is broken is put into the cheese-vat, in which has first been placed a clean and rather finer cloth than was used for the previous process, an