an A ee C< ES a NV \) ‘ala ‘Ar anal \' \ / A NAAN Taal \ i \ Al AY ——— -- 1S 4:8. G18 G18''* 4 & £1h 2 ‘es f A gp i ‘ ray ~ ~ ~ A A yy ~ iv BS t ; AS e By, Q)\ =! \ \ a! : A a A 5 ‘ r\ AA ‘ awa fs n ¢ y MN A\AA ns ; a a Pt oh iN AR ATA A AA BT AR AAR OAT AR TR RA I IRR En A a et oe ee — ’ \ PIL Ie seue a a a> De» Dy ti ‘S 355 3 33. > 33 a» pie Tai 20 DSA ED — Drm D> aa ge Dee | Toph iWae ey ee DIES o°) 2? De Pe HEME VPI W A >> E> Dane J] Shi ee OD 2A 3D >. > Beh 3% De 86 Daim: DOTS Ds nD? > >> > Seo ee Sie > ae Bet yD ID >a SID hw SoD DRS Dee Ye: ¥ aS » DD a> D> py Dr Py DP _ D> D> DD DDB DP PD. ye > > > ie ene DPQ’ ww DSPp ois we rd >> 3D > Sy 2 Dew: ew) lS Se »> > De > Dede 2D IDY>_ DY DH>* = ~ SD Des Dw WD * yD 2D D>, > so ADS) DID : ‘>. >> Pedy wee. UD 2 yes ans DPE Die 2 Oa >: - nD a Pi Sn DI a sy D> D> Dd DPD? e Za ee > By) 2) > >. 2 DD? > > DD > eee tee eae DD > > SP eee a >> ‘3 > DP i> > p > 38> => S350 33 >> >) > aed ae >: +5 >> > Fai wae > > Sa a > >) > ‘ De: >> > >>» we ¥ 28 >. = ; » ¥ oa > 2. 222 >> ; >» 22° E >> we 0 DD yn | >t ey: > Dr ate ae 23S « Pe Ry oy 2 é YZ > fA s wa > ~. now 5 Si jb so ie Set fsa > OY DH >>> >>. D> 0030 SS 4: om eee > oa 55S 2B, DDD ID > ae SS 2 D> DD DD» SD > 22 > 22 Dw So: i>; 2 22: = me S>..2 >> Eats > = $5 re a 2 22D D>> Se 355s ee ee a I> > So eS 82a sat cok co fet Sa ue S eat ccm aes iemenee nye als eee 402 Pe MOMMnmBnee Of ON Animal heab- 60 Mowe das bc ceca e's cles accu c ce ene emsweetcnetancsee seas 503 ELEM MET OED nS = 92 Soa) Soo ano Seach a stelsiaie aks oo dee mind = See adele Soe ae nele Serene te tea 296 Alkali soil for corn......-. eae pepe LACE Gs SRE” Le Coo RLS 2 1 ee A ae ee eee 344 oo BEETS ToT, TE GEG cE SIRE Sr ee a Pera SS ys 32 BMMmEletasOnpiion Of, by charcoal. ..-.....---25-c22s- Meese cecetebetececs Wee Noe ee cemee nets 501 extraction of, from the atmosphere by humus ,.-.......-----------------20-- o-sseee 28 EMEP IEE UTES CO A = oS oto ote te ors abeks me a Ont eee ee ee ee ene etc meeeoenees SCA ae 504 PPA PALCIGOMUNCOSPITAtION 202 s25 bake. ete Nee eu Ok Bee Bak ay ee eae 377 Analysis of a species of aquatic grass, (Sporabolus cryptandrus)..-...--.----------------------- 500 MAC ATEOMMMOONISI AND. | 3s cic csc ft bese de dass cwonebe cutee asee nee cease euoneas 500 MUNG Gicdl SOREL ZOLA ss) Her eee ches occas oSS.s bce e ses eee Ae cee eee anise eee ee 218 BERTIE sce errs pee ie URL Tal eles Boe Rai oe 8 EN Rice ioe i ae 308, 371, 500 mineral phosphate from South Carolina. 2.22... . seeless ces boeken seoe eet seacsees ooo ac-b one woo eon bac boc cen ere cweccene ss secant nena er 400 Acarcify of small, in Hrance.... 22... .-n- - 0-2 nen ae <= or een = een ele= ee een Beer 565 26 SEUINIMAP LD eee intra ee eae cee ols Soin sone Sew cle winioloi de acinle ane sama tee 376 spilG-MiGal ANG*PONES:..--- 22... - 26 isos scien nee cela main amie m olin sium pl ea ep ee ate as, LOPE TA RE ee eee ne SaCrn Reet cose Moa scnoASeSacose oc occas 142, 222, 313, 381, 446, 505 Bran ATOM SAWOUSE o5- 5. one sae saan aw eg cc amie ane 'e ge la aoe ln selena te ieee alate ee 148 ‘Bread-making: improved mode Of ..- 22... 0 -o.2= sce n ew eae nes n nee ege case ne= == == 1-2 eee 81 ‘Breeds of: British Cattle, origin of... -. =. os emeaoe nic onme see areens peepee ees Se s-s ee 147 iBroom-corn in. Doulas County, Mlinois .. 222.55... o ie eee scree ice sepia tate 1a 9 ae rr 345 budding trees, water-glass for. - -..- =... ---sse-- choc cbess seomt oven senser tee cess. < + ese ee 28 Bulletm of the: Department .< .- 2.65.2) eo a cane ee bine nahn eee eee eee a eee 19 POE ALUUICIAN (2's .< 6 orm «ce ae wis tis ee wen leds bitaie eh eas oe a erin See ee eae ee 443 c. Wshhare, (COCHR-DUb-< =< <= <2 ~ a= == )= in lola = me aim) = ia/= ame mnie = = rn ee 463 Dia phxee moObhyhhO! coho. coc em booms elon moe Cece = eee a eee etme pect nese p= nae 137 Maliiornia, aoricolture il}... <.- i. .c.2 -aycici de = bee wie alee Sele ele oes erie osteo 199, 528 a large wheat-field in... 2.) b,c 2c8 ais ee tage nce =e ese nes Eee eee eer 239 alfalfa in f52 6. e ce sade neat omen oteceein teen ee Sees Seen 296 Heeb sugaB IM. oa. ose eee diet cn ekae wen Sentences eos abet ae Ee en 521 COPLON IN . 2-5 sais Se esse ceded nace oe oe see pach ee ee ee ee 343, 397, 493 deStructive grasshoppers in..- 2... -.:-...s020essce0< sence dss dee Sele e eee 22 PTAPEs AN... 2 ede seen noe eee teepe cee = een ees cles ce Sees ae ele err 488 POPSAN &.. 20... =. . essen aslo t oes ae weasel cle pie ae oles meee ole ee rr 461 merino-rams for 304 OTARG ECS IN. c=... soem tema n= ae ena neee- oilee aiaie ee ee ee 239 products outside the ordinary limits of agriculture in 200 Talo-fall in 2... 2.2 sock ccc cccle sl occ pe ccc ante ate cb ve csl sea een ea rrr 165 TOASINS : 62s scene dee wend acne ee swe nee Se setcmctescses Laer 238 SUK-raIsing In... sac g o-oo ee eet et btiele ote ae eon ane er 320 DOULHEMN) = - oo. Se 5555 enw ewe ee ee olen lee cas Be a ote ne rr 239 sugar-beets In»... 2-. cc cce cs see cescateese acdsee. elses esccwecl ee eee 345 swamp-lands I. jose een cach = ce eda cece ctes cece seccet catenicbaiedn. ice ieee 199 pimberin. se oeee see Hee bmeedaSain do seecicoe sae deceeeh ie cee = See ee 200 TODACCO UN |. oslo wee cats ow eee emieanisea teens sitio sete ees Se ace =e e eee 394 tree-culture inl occ. cecede cen Pe ob eee Sete seen oe eee eee er 319 wheat, export of 520 wool product Of. 2a sees eae ede ak ace pace ce et modern en se naseee = Cee: See 162 Malves; malformation Of-2- a2 sesessee ne neers aa eee cece ee iediees gece escc6ee sae H Carbolic acid as'a disinfectant... .- 222-02. so. encde cco ceccine tees sane ose ee ee eee 139 MPatorpillars. 25.4. 92 2 - oesia cers co ees Sec e on een ce sei sees Get ee aoe eee er 306 destroying of ..-..-.. wages oe de sicm mace cute ce sciee Jet tee teat cs) =e 236 Wattle, condition of... 2.62. cl llec oes ons cea ee poe cen ee eee ee ase reas ee 112 cross between the Zebu (Bos Indicus) and European....-....---..-------------+--=e---- 460 GISCREO 3. os Sew swe ee ws se coe owe see saan ee panetias Se) Sa Cee EE eee ee 342 diseases Of 42... 62 tine snc dcmelse nc eu Senenes Sacens Seen en eee eee 35, 123 enzootic: miscarriage in... .:2 22222 a. Fact co dente eee eee cee eee eee eee origin of breeds, British::~ 2.22. .5¢ 2.5 cn ce discs aencsceeeocee =e ee ee eee 147 Plagno se. sac. seat ete e renee er ee chee eee weds meedSee eae 396 In France 2. . 2202 sa. 2 et ea ee ene eee 520 international council on the ..2.2l22 5... 2.-5-- ses doenee races cee oe eee 229 prevention and cure.of typhus im .. 2.22, 2).5-2scss eco ec eae one ence <> + - = =e 151 Splenetic'or poriodic faverin .. . oo. ceees eee oe eee tet ee eee eee ee a 92 Collars, destroying Mold in... . 2... .< coe ccc nce cele e eee ec nee enetneeee thon eee 25 preventing the germination of potatoes in -22.-2- 55-2... .). 25-2. ---- --- sre 26 Cereals, culture of, in Virginia...2..-2.. 000) coil ee e.g 91 BURGUNDY aia eie acces amine Seen Meee wedectctucaccusces bests cs... 96 N55 ae a ee ea a SI ERIN iy Eee ABE Seep e-s------- 22-8, 92 HAGHOTIOS 2-5-2 - 2 55522 lee ee coco be coe cee oon a tonne nee tle oe 34 moxking in Texas... 2.0... .ccclecececwecen eee lb eb ene dunee oe beet 522 (Giese lt Lt a ales Leber ty. cet fon ot. eee ee i 20, 76, 137, 218, 307, 371, 440, 500 Chemistry, progress of .............. wenee dees cectinel lence eee... Je 378 ChicagoMivestock at..-2- 0. too ele calc ho ce neo ee cne eee oho ales 89 MIMO V OMENS 3/5 5- So .oS coos he on ee ee ee ene oenecsouuee sense 402 water, microscopic forms in........- * oecenwldece pescbened sos: eee 232 MUNIN CH -WUGS peter me ence cee ne sc cn sec cca ccesee ete teens oe 238, 307, 320 PRAT AN ce Se bce ald coma ear oSeeavclusein eee ieee ee ee 378 WANCUONG 2 Fo omn tone nw nwen cnc see secc ens ce ccccenene eee on ee 73, 93, 152, 241 | 463 503 306 34 377 INDEX. Vv ie r Page. Boerne UM MIBLA NUN MORAN pr Banta anak ite meme anes saibismaee ae aoccaciae 2.0 tacecs as tase eee een 344 anne cLespeaesa, sttara,) 3m Alabama. 2.22. . sso - o cacid Sewcw deine sc o'snt nt sco e teen eee 344 in South Carolina ............-...-.-.-.- a 399 iu PUSU UE ACE caus SPB EEC ac 2p Ser Ee EC eRe EET H mei, Semin imam Rem EME a 400 Coal, bituminous, ammonia in..-.............-...2..5.---26- 504 powdered, for unhealthy plants.........-...--...------ 145 REEPMEIEC ALD ACO oct oi ceia wel ancwle sce cdltcaatacesene seas MC Greene (PERE ORC loeb eee 463 Colony in San Bernardino County, California --........-.. Pa ee hs SNe x SER ae seks cee 158 MIMS SELCUMICULG NS vo cuain. dodo atta de cole we Sols idee iuete dada to pdaw see a alee cee eects 157 PRMBREMCTECOIOVS. to < Foc de ode e nasa acemam Sao apes eta te asia does ee ee bin ee 463 MESURE St ests els Pele ud aa winooh dase Meaa eae ace dade Oca tana a Se sand ba See ee Se 519 MMA HEI se Secs toe soo se won e aso as She voem de oa anes Suche dose pie na ido ey ee es 32, 393 SURES INS NU A LI eras Sala haa = cinrateimr aint hel io Mot ae et eee a aalte a ele Sata ad oe cian ieee aoe ee 401 MMIERECEEH Crees tas san daa oeae ett ata a ase Sate ds baton Ale cond tee chat at aaee eet ee 217 Combustion, effects of compressed air on ......-..--.--- tetera Hoes eae oe ee te oe nepal 505 NBL COUN: OF UW OOM s,s 5 52'o sto dae aie cotta s ceils ps ood ne ee So iotoe uaa d aoe 445 Commissioner of Agriculture, address of, at the Minnesota State Fair .............-..---.----- 347 communications from .........-------.--- 64, 207, 211, 214, 347, 352, 359, 432 PME TCO Oss WINTOD-OTAINS 2 == Se oe on acne saweawon ssp eessascenes ee deseer ee one ee 483 OE URILEST 2c 2 opal eae SS See ee ee Pn rae peek orem ee mem fee es! C 190, 269, 336, 426 SPMIRCNNE atte tet olor = cies Sete ms cistisae aol oe SS ces eee calc eee ae NG Oot ce raced s Be eee 112 UPC - 2c SoS RCS ES eA ae Se Rate Ae oe eT ese ROR et Peep e casey eS A 185, 250, 329, 419, 470 SERIE arse a alae oo washes Cale s Ne icaate de tn amen emejaciso ea eae 182, 263, 331, 422, 474 i SOMtHeEN MIRSISSIPDE 2./22- 64s seas sews sue Season ets se Sees 343 PARSE ay oh ne te Ss a Sosa eats Dore Masta oa Irate ate viele wee sete eewssee 197, 280, 340, 430, 486 PME PIN ALS S182 oo cso nwa bekona tuccd vaegee se cse acs Senden dene te oe eee ee eee 112 ene AGC HO DED 52206 as(t i 22 Sa ae Ans safes Mad ramen ea cae hem= oo aie SiS ee neo eee 274 TERR een Pte 3) oot so cial alt vianiciarnee he ows Heidt atsicicle Hote Mon See oC olen oe eRe 193, 275, 337 ISN LOM DAS HELOS toe keg gp cir rio 487 POE EMBEN POD (0 ct h,a5 = od oa Faas Aaicia = 4s eo dated seater eat oe othe UR capone oes 97 heavy yield a Mupiaa eeaa ae 2. acl sdiiae Me hae Ses eee Game aoa dae Sema ee oe ae te ae ok oe 160 eT IMME Va ELITE ONS! 5 2 35 02+ oo eos i 2 Soya aoe sae Baad ee aa Os ee oe 92 STUD LLNS Gb es ee Si ae eee ee er ete mmm eS mes ey - By eee 95 BLULG OV oe chee Go) eee eee ee ee ns ee ie ae A aie. ee te 4 STA db ences neestes (ee ES TI ne Ie y Dee ey ARN eee ol 3 Eula Did: GS TO a, ee a eer eee emg ens Tite Ce eeu ve Se 57, 487 SER SEM EMM es Sry 8 FS aye Se ae oso Pe on Sa Se ae a mat 282 (OCPEM REPEL IGUETED 65.46 oe en i a tre. a eee ne te 368 SL MISE EEETTILO TNS Te eas. 35) so seh saedek Soaks hesao cartes tse. oedbaseaards 182, 263, 331, 422, 474 SOM ASINY MISSIRSIPPlrde,5 4 h0255- 50,5 23a= 56 aes oss as oedoee eee anes 343 PE PreMEOHOL OHS OMSHCCOSEII sso feoe8 ss 2Gaco ee aos oa te odode ee ee ere 514 EES AMLONM (OL.. Soest e sees da cao cee casceoanteccs ona ae a pee eee 147 Cultivation and hybridizing of wheat 432. of cinchona-trees in Java 503 trees WO Kansas oe ook oom. velop cine cisinioe oe eee atnimmieis ae Ete ae lee 520 Culture, new conditions of, in Florida ; 91 PUSMIONS MEW, ShUMINE LOLs. < (osc sce nln ee on 2 ee ainia e Sens wee een ie ee 83 MPTG-NV GUIS oo clicit ate nie wc isnisis, c/a a 1spejaneienisig ninim o-ale'einelnjolele chic niei=niaieleyeyaienatstel aaa a late arr 306. Dd. Mawes: co-operative, In Sweden. ---<- = 2. = eee = cece nme e pase mwiee ae eee ea oe ee eee 452 Wereneracy, physical, ofcity population... - 2. 02262 o oe sejoanleleciem eels seen ss ie ee 34 Welaware, a°ricultural Progress IM... -cc-.<2<00cee reas blewen we same eee eee se ee 156 Deterioration of cotton and SUGAT-CANO, « «= 0 ee cna ceae ae cimeeewisnek ce en ets eee 211 LOR GERD Dini (oni hy es Ws See SR ee ahaa osoeee sae sesseed aos sesagogss << Ronn ae nee eee et 462 Cattle, black lege. 2.22.2 pee shicle eisein sete aoe =e anne he a OEE eee Eee en 462 MOPSOB eaters ellis bicle sown tele eh enn eee ees aed a a See eee 343 ‘“foohiand, mouth,” (epizootic'aphthe) |. 62. ec) 2 cable seen= clay she Rey eee eee 125 ini Wn land =< o-oo. 2 ok ne ona alec blelale a= eee eee 397 ROSAS SCA TLO M2 a15 2, sininiasa > lain mye si oo elmsetw = mjolmse apie miele wisi he sal een et a 462, 488 Diseases, local, relations of, to the nature of the soil..-~. 2.222... leo ce cece te eee ee eee ae eens 393. OL CAbtO 2.2 oot Lose eee ect sk neice cc's selene aeeitee sind Seinen s oa = re 35, 123 farm-animals. 505 oc. e0ec se cce cece: one cceeece pe teeeise he eeee ee eee 120 TROVBES aio aia sabe ow Slo Siayee sibs oie eee Se meine ac oleae tate Oink ee ee ee er 120 BHEGD Re eee coe ece ee seit See eee eee elbe sales sane ote gute ean eee ee 128 In) OLELON Ee renis qecescs eence ec enee cmctse ek Reee eee A 521 SWANO e\ - SYe ie tales ose wn ee ale leas elctne'e os beets eisihe aol ae ea eet 130 F VATIONS os oo oe oc lewic cee cei tice te ocle ee ple mnie seen sine ee ie eee 125, 130 DIsinfectant \oc - fs:-'s. cite deidi-ajeivielweisisiv'ad sc eccec a delecwegecsielse cen acmnaeia «canals see 139 for disease-germa in clothing... 2.2 - 22-2). .e2ee ee oe seeeetes ee eee eee 93 valuelof sirondin'as a. <-..se- sere tdecce cece aces ct eee soot een eee 445 Diversiby in southern IMdustpys-- ~~ 2). cele ae cine em ee sleeinlem se eee see en eta ee 241 Drainage and sewage, effect ot, on mortality in Calcutta...........-..--.--------------.---<---- 82 Drought, inflnence of, on the soil. .- 2... oe so a aaie oie wien ae ewido «ose eines = er 344 E. Harth closet, Mowle'st .2.- 3-2 see ecco set cscceceeces ser mseenihe sieeeetesa eee sas 458 ODT eb OW) iad afloat sie Salers haps nto el oleic silencio mst te Se aie alee a aim la le ne eh 216 Hconomy. i these Of fOdd ero jane cca m lenin aim =) =| imine ia ee lm = lemme anal el 389 Kducsation; industriak. 35h see soc e esect chee de scc scene ch ces sable cee a sere seat 394 Ege-plant pests, (Hpicauta Marginata) -.- - -- oa 2- nawane te oc anc an spn neces ee ne ones s ese enene=nee 24 Hees and poultry, influence of food upony...--..--.2is>-06--6- eect eee eee Sens = eee eee 145 composition of jalbumen Of 22 - 0ciiie <2 ced Saws cals este cm eic.e we ee nninielse is 4) = er 24 from.a hen, the number Of ..2- 03-4 ssc wissen cle ecdctes sind emise esse -- eee 234 silk-worm) hatching at will. t.—.2 2-2. cscs sacle eenenceee see (es sccelagsts--ase = 31 regulating the hatching of. .-2 2.2204 5.---- 22 te aeninecnne = sense eee 146 Hmigrants, Florida’as a,home for: ;.- 52.21.20. 422.08 eect. Caet ae She cee soe ee 495 Hmteritis, in horses, cure :Of. 222.2 622500 ss saie oes aeece sic nse ces enets soe anne e p= ee er 231 Mnbomological record): <2secceuscs on aeeeoeeesron eerste ape eecnres ECE 22, 74, 137, 215, 304, 366, 438, 497 Enzootic miscarriage in cattle 30 pIZootiGapuih ee) os i22 beech aie bow me ac eee ees HMPizootics aMong SWINE... -.- cae. sci sone a wanldh apiece ascucsncienceaade taeneces «<< eee HMiaparto grass, cultivation Of 3... scjccp- <0. 50 cb ccd ceamccimeceds ce oncne gcesetccenk ep RIOD LS and Other Plants: --0% (0 ise see eee ae ee ee oe eee ad cadence ec ee PlobalWS 2. 2. bse a tle occ cone eee weienule eee ab since s eiste elects on properties of... 26.6 cece ecco c aden sec meclenssenaeea tic tecuclaten ess anche Sees ; AOC imam i= ain olen >, etinte Sm oe wipes) eel ofa ne Tee ete ated le nese eh re Exchange of agricultural information, products, implements, &c., with foreign countries..-.-.- 282 Hxerement, human, value of asia fertilizer. 1... . ceeds ce es nb eacs coo+ sana ee ee aes 312 Expermmental farm for Mississippi. .<.252..- nes c+ -nceecadesmcecccsccgus = Selene eae eee 160 TAPING) oo oo o's Soak eee eee ee nto Fn aes ey eee 163 stations,, agricultural... 0.2.2 acc c sane cnuenbeddeeetes: scat knees 297 In Teall y.. 5 ae aieee chine vicincetcae cuisine sais s/cis\ aim >=) =e ee 398 Pxperiment in growing potatoes ... 2.2.6 i secsndeeccacawcineee seus o-cs-ccceneeeee eee a ee ares 462 plowing be BSEOAM .- enn ee c cnn scenes Sembee tem cniet s cccece ee Ree 517 Experiments in the manufacture of beet-sugar he Ee Ae PS aE AS HES eae © isc je ekee eed eee 220 PAASING COLLIN... asic ei clea ae cae vega dels cu eearetueelele we ce cel Nae a eee ae 4&9 WVAPD COTM 15\oa'ec nis cc eae dete tt ec coed eee aed e utes eb ec tscc en eee ee eee ee 292 forest-trees'in Kansas.'.......cavckeccbedsuae~-0suanteetee sees eee ae 506 prass-seeds and Corm....0. << c2-0 pee comiece cane ciee eee eee eee eee 98 Exportsyf Warren Connty, Kentucky. .........j..5-gen nba beens es cee eeee een e eee 33 Px position, agricultural, at.Barcelona, Spain :..... .-.0-s2clc. ween eedseudeeuneues ace esses 289 ‘ results of, in Prussia. 2. ssc scce betel cece enone eet ee ee ee. =e eee 456 eee eee ee ee ee ee \ INDEX. VII F. Page. Facts from various SOUPCCS .----- +++. +2 eee sees eee nee eee eee eee ee eee eee 31, 88, 152, 238, 319, 389, 458, 512 PTET SEEREEe LST GO ORO UT ON OF aialelafolatn) clatalaj=)='= cla simielels\p/ninu'ale'nla's'm)ci ein ala'sin/dalolat sl aa’ nteiwie molars a oete ae eten 112 PHNECOS OL pT OL) MEthY PEP TONG pets males cielacte omens msemte ceisiu ner cision es a> 3) eee 240 AIBGAA CSOD ects afer ta dic aialalats aaa cise cis jcinte ole rem acincawa die aeciceetaicac.o 2 5. bo oe 120 ERC ESTO Stat iia ayiata siainiaia’a hate la/ 97 PE MEU Ota) (- one eRe eee eta ans 5 enh sees See Bit cde sonsecs ues be cntin ane baiteielme's wanes 25 Mrioiminess Of stanislaus County, California. -.-2.~<'u.---=.sc.- se les = 2 aces sec bacmece ce cncane 344 Penner A CR Oren eee N ee ee OD epee ie ee whe in aes Bee co eetene 487 re PaIME RETA CI Oe foto cs a =e EN tos Deals bone tee RO SEE CRSA ee ob eae bonnie celcie. + «weer 236 G. TED GOS ON BO rs Ac = 2y= be eaten ee ned Loe Sar taret at otra, SA ease ietarelella stot orale Sind al om eee 72 tools, iron, how to prevent from rusting....-...- SF ee hE A A ein 27 DASHA OM OLiOL, SOULS 11h AVSOL DUD G4 se etorniaie oes aoa ds a beware ceric tied Gielen aloe olen ole esate 29 4 ~ VIII INDEX. ‘ Page Geor gia corn in Egy nt te ewe we natn nee ences as fa ee ee ee ee ne ee eee ee eee eee ee eens 97 frnitand fertibizersell 2-2-2 =. facsd2 20-2. sncs-aesssced ae eee eee eo ee eee , 88 G08 UN. 2 co Saeco tees nin elec new awaen ow cn seat e~ = m'nlwmm aol = =m lene late eis ee 155 wheat and potatoes in Western 163 Nitrogen, absorption of, by plants .....-..-...------- 83 Et) ATS U ES ie ee eis so tbguescocsc 139 compounds’ of, produced! in soils--- os os 2 ose me ann a ante iel 309 int TVS" SUL, SOULCES OF <6 oo - eee woe we nee een oa eee bl ele ee ae 231 of the atmosphere, relation of, to vegetation.............--------------+-------------- 146 souree Of, it Plants ~ oo ie a eee ewe oe ma mein none sinln wee nape = = 2a ee 145 North Caroling, arricaltural specialties im -....- 02.225. eon cance ene ceck =e enue. sheen eee 398 Cotton ExperiMents IM... 5S. ae 5 ne cle eon wm ene nielsin ela oie lea aie 91 farmers’ iClWD in. 2% 5-5. 6.6 ewes le te edema ele min ola cine leet ae telat 94 ISPRIGEE UE TEECCe De Ss Set a Se ee een SACS eS ab seas 142, 222, 313, 381, 446, 505 CHOMICH Rahs Oe es Moa sao acces nbc ncine ena cceeiman xe cee er eee 20, 76, 137, 218, 307, 371, 440, 500 microscopic... -... .- 225, 317, 387, 449, 507 ON GHG PATAEN! SV Fons one oe o1- wis == ele wie so mleiele ale come eps ee = wie ale ee a eee 72 SOLEUUL HUE eee eee ee moe cee eee bs.5/ Sioa mcr einiers eee else em eee AR ON 8 24, 79, 143, 229, 441, 503 ROH (CORK ace ois 2 cee ects odew esas inch woe cwele aiceonae dase bat aeesints =e aS eer OUD TAADIVE | aon os eon ps ee ena oi cr cnn wed am dle tecleleinieiote cata thelial ae Oats.7a hardy: variety, of, in! Texas... << <-02--jnn0 see eances = nies PONOUIONNO tae ae ere Meee ee aneL tet aeiceace eld IFPXGOISIOR too 2 mne\e/n'c Sains ss ote ne nniie 1s nemfalec a cie ese site yee iat ae ae IM OPEGOM.- 2 Soc mn in ae ole sete sa ane wie neeecees ee aren eee ee ee white Schonen, in Georgia 224. <2... see nce ocee ese cee ceca ceee seas ake ee ee Ohio, agricultural society in Mahoning County SADR AMAIA S ATS. ote ee eee ee Me ee ore eee eee wss5 5 dodo teen eae 519 TIMOStONES |. -- 2 =. sone eis an ok enone = on cemen le scene ences es tin cioa eee err 138 Onion) blichtiand smut... 8 oe ne eos erie sem secon oe aan eases one ee 449 Opium-poppy in France 461 OP Terao hh hess Se ee CS see es ea ene Sosa gu uooAee aesae erence: ee ee = = 7 in Louisiana 461 grove in Florida 99 TEAISEY boot Saoneoss aise 444 Oranges in California 239 Oregon, agricultural society in Linn County 32 diseases'of sheep i... = osc ee sen eee ete ecco en dower se scabs esse eee eee 521 XCCISIOY O8bSID. o-oo a see oe ck as een cee meseae sete -bstenssc ceca 5 eee 95 PUPS ANE ie oe oeicle cee been ten Soe ecm wale oplens Beebo oe vente eee eens ee eee rs 320 Otee County, Nebraska - 2.522. 226 425 23 desde oe een ae gents eee eek eee ee 159 Ozone, production of, in the air. -.- 2-622 -s.---- oe- sae ee ce se cos oops eae ee cee =e ee 377 o P. Patms, introduction ‘of usetal; into Florida. -.'.... 22202 ba bee ae oe eee 85 Paper fron, WOUU <2 2 2s seo ee ne oe eb eee oe cle oo neo ee ee eae DAPANCSC oe ole eae a ele cena lece = olor m ene ce eee = oc /eale ne lo a eae er palmetto-leaves for’: .-.i.0 2k <2 238k Sk ceases enn aoe ponte nnencees Ob ene ae Parasite, new, of ‘the sprace.. -20. 3.60.0 eek lees ebenccaces sete eck enelecs elsuesae ra Pasturage, poisonous, 1 Wlorids. 1-2 S os een ee eee scence s = See bee See eee eee Pastures and srass; conditionvof... 2-242 acs ecme cas => os coon cedeeneasse alee Peaches, beetles in decaying ...-.-......-.-: ees ce ltae totes caused ones See ea Peach, larve in terminal shoots of irees worms in \.) Sd a eke) se ee ete mes estes on tena neat cee e. cea SNe ete 368 yellows’of ‘the * 25%. s.5 eb ant ath ek cos ac soc cnence cece sebeenesc.o5.ee Pea-Nuts im Tennessee « -\ i255. - sodsac cles ceca occa dew ce encesiew msncct Joss cccee re frear-tree blight... .. 05.22. .o tenes ecenee snl kcecwcnen cedaet ceeaceeasccce 6: come Pennsylvania, cultivation of Corn in’... .. =... 2.35... oet-e-essscnes co ee oe --n soca eee sheep-husbanary it «2. 256 eee ei cee sence cee ce ween eee eee Waltz Wheat in etn cissaccctacce actos cnn ctnalicatancen tee. +> oh Seer Ne. NOLS, OW. sicn'sio vied cts bo eclce eee n cee Pigs, how to prevent sows from devouring their Phosphate-bedson ‘the Dniester. .-. =. 0.2.2.6 -0s-ccce se cccncesa ces cs June sep eeee eee ene mineral from South Carolina, analysis of Plantaingihe;Mamnila hemp! 2.5.0.2. sncsisccacees edecsewecescss +o + seco ee eneeeee eee Planting; somthern;.and.northern’ farming .....5.2.25-.-s2-0-+.---02 seas onan ae ee ee Plants, absorpiiom of nitrogen by - 2.2.2 ss boo 5 se teonc cece esas oo cn see ele eee eee Amemuiniin ‘Groat Britain. « --2.).-2 22's J. sc cneecs «veces 2 0c nee CEE eae bonis Taleo amountiand origin of mineral matter in). oc. 042. 2c. 55 acc chee Se ease eee CucalyPUMAANG OUIEN 25 cones ceca nese se nae ee cede teen u oe sncdn eee eee see ieee increasing the vigor of growth in inflNeH COIGHMIPADIDN -2-'--s we oops mewth onte powdered coal for unhealthy.--...-........ preferences Of tapi |e os Lk See cc abate eee diene oe eee ee ae. Fee Pleuro-pneumonia INDEX. XI Page BORON GON Of. Peres ana OSIS/ OL UNE Va art once sa cicniw een nolncisamagy unin d cle kwine concn a einlelsme ame 219 Pollution in water .-..--.-...-----.- ween eee eee eee e ener enn nee ee ener n ene ne ween ene 237 Popwlamon, physical dereneracy Of City --.----- 2. 42nd ence toon wen amen aisee nse ncedenag 34 Pork, influence of food on the quality of .-..-.- SATE a PRs REEL A et Are OR ME 95 RIEU ONEANN oo oc oon omicleien nnn etn ein oe ew wm einw cin cm ain nises main ncecinehodeeiensines Ueettenscwndoen's 78 Porasnianiby a New Method 2.2. eee ea een nmin eine seems cise ee 443 function of, in soils ...-.-... 237 PRIMA ONANGS, LNG. 222.5252 5-2 s-5--- creme ecsonee=e 16 EESTI QLITAOO oon ve = aa alee Jaelwiein o nnih as aclecie dase wn ecinea'ccneds sine/siemla dae me stiseivinie's iam = 217 SE AEIIEEIUISLO Ue iar ata tae ae o> woic aan elaine ne'salep aici so ake < winia one wa atereienie e aleaeine eae ence 507 fons Un. JSG Lis Jee SE Se ea ee re HSS sore seeigeseoce sce Sass enea ad 397 Potatoes, amount of seed and culture for a crop Of. ..... 2.0. Jo- 2.0.2 e cee ce enn nce cc eseeene-o-e 401 BABA LAH OVY OSLOLT INOW: SOUR so cosien sane seh ante nawicain, ante seed site aes tame ‘ 163 CL GHhe See tae SS Sat ae EE Sane et en CCOneS sre aease 270, 336, 426, 477 Sere UNPRESNLIT, PLOWS oe a alaia\sa amin = alele ina sieln eyo aie bin a ese aiatchcsnol a aiejelalain ie ioe rained hii 462 preventing the germination of, in cellars.......-.-- 22.202... en cwew eee een se -oe een 26 Papp eEente LECT OREO EN pao oie) aie'alniore aba = al oletatmrai=t=) alo aelelaist<(aiats = meio een ee ie ale eter 27 SE RMERA SEC SLAVE YI OLt an can anew choe ate ais) a aiesine aliniaieie one Sea aneaeee e ere 27 Poultry and eggs, influence of food upon.--.-.-.----.- 145 eran eRe RITE LITE OLS Sore ois a = Sei wm clo nie nian =e nice aoe Sem ache semin mitleienicie ans momen inka mins 156 Sa PGI LIARS Se Syma at eitisiois a aoe ons ericieni niece piciemacte cio oe ele ee eee 94 Preparation of timber, Department report on 27 Pe PCROEVAIION) Of WOOK <0). 02- 5-2. 0.2 lene aw aeedee PEAR eee ys ec arte aes en pad pape fo Neo es Wa 445 Price and average yield of farm-crops..-......--- He SetHn eee Saou nopede ace enenecdG aaa agsussdsaee 469 Pee poracre or Crops.in the United States... 222.12. so0c oe see tea ecec mee 433 aR EER Le a Slt cc oatral ofa cela) mimiors atone s cinls Sinyelet ploimayeleywinja Matsa s\anim srelwig jae ee 4 EU. o2-- 20 tas oh SCSRU ES BEC OE Soe Sas ASC Sener eee perigsqSeser or Seo ateseeereebesecl8t 6 oy MLD: oso! SSCS Soe eae es ee eS OCe EE See Ono Serer ar sab ine oie erOersarn ny Sei, J 5 Prices, comparative, and numbers of farm-stock 51 De G0) Gh i ee 377 Productions, agricultural, of Wiirtemberg ..............--.----.-.----+--- 206 Products outside the ordinary limits of agriculture in California 200 Profit, comparative, of slave and free labor.--...----. Sinan, URE Se hos ac SIMeL oh cdhencke eee ar cra ee ae a 320 Ponneci aarnintul, im Lee County, Mississippi... 2. cece cne eis ne ce cwen ose e nse tececine ce cacees 344 R. HE SBT LIMII TT COUTSO) OL shoe cists acta + a.m 'a'2 shale Saicln elven alanis mee cenisa shew ace ttle eee meet eae 394 fall in California 165 The (GT SLL Se: 5 Se 462 Raisins produced in California 238 ee a arta oN 2 ce iw asm ein ia «win cisiwratn ace el ain a ainjniavaln'a iste sinisigec aieiene alee tee eee 319 EM IEITAE Va atts 00 oso) ro omisia w'vias 4's aioli a Auta alelnindas Wie a eee ela ea eeaene eae 93 aE EEE RODE TOO a2 20 2 - = otk soos sano 2a oe wine = Shiv w Sce bic ont a, ce eloietnceeneuee Ome nenEe 394 A RENTER UCL PO VAOL UNO) «| i) 5 nia oo (mm want syeiniu) ojo = wins arasesio ahs Se Iealan/ dew sya tanmaectae route mer aae 321 TEs eR SPME SEE AEIEEEN EEL OD tee alot eee em wm nei nolo ee eee ee ee ane 521 husbandry eGo ee aso sein ene cen wie aes mle rie elm > Belo mene ee ee 320 in Pennsylvania ‘ < 93 flnke pie estes ee ee anne 517 Snow, early, in Utah 487 effect of, on the temperature of the soil beneath it 239 Silk Gocopneieeas -iescec < ook wit wie = iwintea ec cone sw sie eine onininia wile eben ee eae ee 33 GwiARe MN tan to. . = s 2 cls oe wok ln s\n|clo' se oeig eke ees cere Site cup an nes he ee eee tn. 489 UDARCANBAS ean ae osn a vsicemnie oois\n en's s\ek ir cig saa en ae hi alee le ape ie ie ie 458 POOUS, LESb LOT! oa ne om cae oe cen ee nem ee neni eienine sme eae anaes es a= ee 445 MAUS AN CANTOLNIA se aie «ols oo m2 hin ve =imin = © emi eam win imn b 9 Sree elm ale lee len 320 worm epes, hatching ab will).-.- 2 oe a oe hee om eee pen a 31 revnlating the hatehing Of. 02 = <<< cece. sees aan een eee ae eee nee ty ees 146 worms, Delprino’s mode of treating 86 RUECERS HISTO WADE, cnr eh = tena aes neni seas eee ee : 521 Bociouies APTICULINTAL NOW o-. smc ens sch ece Scie niciste sem on ias mene ae el 522 Soilj/a shitting, erasses for fixing;* =... 00.00.2202 soll se eee es ee = caebeeunes so eee 223 benefit of muck and -limeion sandy: --2- 20-5 oe oe oe ne ten wens ole eee 344 improvement of, by green manuring 461 IMMBHCe OLULOHehtON. ce ce eare- ee cee see ete amen =i oie tae ee ee Jon aes se 344 relation of local diseases to the nature of the-.....-..- Renee mes St ----- 393 hemMperanune Of Lhe) ----ee es 2s a anne ans =n meee ees henna ee oe ee 310 fie Dlack: “of Russialt's.- ost sola. sees cess - seca eecm eet cies ote snnias Sake ee 501 Soils 2 DSOLDEN’ POWEL OL. 2-o-- 4- see n= wn dies omcle ee wee = seo = nie oe ee 26 difference in capacity of, for absorbing and retaining heat.-.--......-.------------------- 373 effect of commercial fertilizers in cold 462 function of potassium in.....-.-.------------.. 237 influence of veretable mold on----- 2.5... 2-0 en 2 oe ce eee eee ee er 373 POWer Of, an absorpine’ Gases. —.- = Wo. ene ae ewe ee a a eee sal ee | ee ee 29 production,of nitrogen ‘compounds ins--.- 22 se ee Soe re eee ee 309 South Carolina, clover in..-.....-..---- Joao ame otid Soe ee = ge ernie ie eee ee rrr 399 the time to sow wheat and clover im): 0) 2-0. --- Sha ~ 2 ey ee 487 Sows, how to prevent, from devouring their pigs...--..--.------+-----------0-- 20+ nee ---reenne 237 Sparrows: Hnelish, in "Australia - 2.5 J. Soc pe = oe no = ale ew alsin eee ee weenie eon ae 398 Specialties, agricultural, in North Carolina: -.:--.-20. -- 2. 3102 sc- 02 - ose = 2 ee 398 Spectroscope, the, in testing the purity Of wines.-i-..2--0.. 25.2. 22. 2 noe n ee eee 81 DSPIENGHICHOVER.o2~ <2 + 22 fase oe comet pee we een eae eee wie nla 2 ele ome ae eas pe er 123 Statistics, acricultural, of Boone'County, Wlinois--.. 2... ene oe 156 Treland 23. 24.0. eso. ei. Ponies eee eet oat elon n nee 496 Jefferson County, West Virginia .~. 222-2522... =. 89 SECO LULV AON IT MULOVe sauce cose foci ah Caen ae eee eee aaa oie oa ne wie ee 99, 392 eulture in Scotlands - 2. 22. Ube 3c ae eee noc ce apes oe sae Oe 459 Steam-plow, the Hyde-2s fo scjcccee ere arn an sie se ne eee hee Seen ne 321 plo weN eA Bon aM yap em tei aims int = mim hes ee ere ens eee re 32 power, experiment in plowing by-—--- 222. J-- 2-2. --eaee wee eens - mn ee 517 LCC OUROMILOIA see pie oo kene a om cme men oe clewicne Ce Clee mnt in nie melee eo a em ete tee 378 Shneig bee a Sago ee hee So aetee” seas SoSeion sas ate aah ele eas ne a alee eae 342 movements at ChiCAGO eo =e oes wenn eee ne ee eel 402 ROWSE SS Aen eases Qnabende os Hose Serotec ee poose sc ioeee espsscesece== Nee aee eases cceh s+ - =. 342 Hales wn AKONvOCK Ye. sae oesice ete ce lee © wine cegeeie ees onelamie ee OS a ee 522 chorowsh=pred ins NOVa SCOUM.---\- =...) a0 ewe ee eae nee eee eae 517 brade.ol Bunalo =e ee i Se ee ee ale neta ieee ee cl 396 Siréams sensitive to ‘sound:'-<2% 0-2. a2 = oe es cance hans once ste eene eee 446 Striped cucumber-beetle, remedy for. -.---- 2... --- on ios eee ape ne oe ee onda =e ee 24 Stupble, constituents of Ao Sa ee Se oo ane A ee er 311 Sugar and frait in Southeastern Louisiana ~-- ~~) ee 95 ibeetsuin Calitormia= se Po ee oR en ene ee eee ee er pate ds 345 beet; thesin: Sweden... -.2t2.5o2 sas e eee oe fn sn vaca nebmece share ce see 133 cane, condition of. --.-- oecace wa neecetensade ecb ere cst acres he eee net Sete ens Qi “conversion of, with glucose, by light : Geteniorstion OL oo ee Selene ene = minor oats Saino ae a finererop iofee’.t ate ooo eA eee eite es eee ce ee eee eee importation ‘of. 2. LSet Sechaba eases eee = se eR Een ok «ne ete ee culture Of) in Louisiana. 22222 Joe eccesies cere ee cleo aes em ne eel rr increased consumption Of ..-./.-.-- 2a. es = scene ese ececs cee edocs enace>-- sea refining, use of caustic barytes in......-.-..---.----. alewe ew oeewes so o= see Suint, utilization of -.-...-.. cde ac wen eeice eweeele cis vote alwaccier sat iene Se6s sets POEIEEIT, {Salta corn cil wiciwinb ie ~ ale ene pas nce conse cede seek ae eee Ceeeee ocioe CoS aoe ar AM MINELALCOAl 22. 2a - ssieiss cee ase cecec cet eee cob bewcmer Steeees 2 ose. ern MIRWVO: of ose lice won mechs coe cebec mc nine qed meen ee eS IEE cemioe ae on a <0 SwaipJands in\California -\-~.\..- 0.52: scr tebe esse ecem een aeeea- ane one land, reclamation Of. ~ 7... scc~ ooccs lend cues caeec oo edcese ccs cece es eee Sweden, cu-operative dairies in Swine, PISOASS OL... «as sae wie wie ea ewe con noe ese ee ee edweaeceewces a= t-+ tee re Swiss school of milk production and management..-...+-...-------- (2-2-0220 een eee owen en ne eee 162 T. Tappahannock wheat in Ohio 90 Mea, adulteratiomotescs <2 occ cececc cee sc edc cou pecs weeds ce sktow = 6s occ male ae eee 34 Carolina, (2IeGeMssine) ccceciwncecc cc dace tans pane cet cer cep. cect cee eee pene =n 20 jculture in Japaiicet-ofescead- ewes : 286 STowing inindia seseeee sees cee ee ee 240 in (Georgia ‘.”. - orn icine bans bee b Sees aeae tee» 3... SL plant, growing from S@gdS osc cc ce es - sucess can ee cel ecee <9 s.- onc cee eee Eee Eee ee ee 72 Temperature of the soil. con. elke. seco wivew ed oo eee sc hoa de bee Lae en oe ee 310° INDEX. XIII Page Temperature of the soil as affected by snow above it......-....---- 2-0-2 20 e cece cece cee wees e ee 239 percentage of cream as affected by... .- 22. 2-0 een eece nee ween en reee nee 241 PERRIER SCOMPOA-TILUS ATs). ain'> oie a am onc snn seers m new demnin sc ewineieiewsiguasccernccvies blade noc acncsnasdel 488 THETALLTACtIONS Of, TOP CMIPTADUS ~~. ~ Soc cc en con eneeene cre mescneerercawas-n-ssquenee 201 emcee VAMeby OL ORGS IN). co. oan ~ oes ann fam am so eeninie winien pm mince eine eine ao sons ae 99 PREC PL OOS 1D orca sion w minim w'cim'o om wininicinin wine n oh wn oiaie m niniminimin ine nln afr)nin animale cinininn cimnsie swine a. ate 32, 321 MITER CU ROMO ic cine che icc mnie so cient ers Nala aah ele lela ye shed miata rain’ ahs: ofa ee nici aed 344 Oioht nos ene SP CEE AR ESA ER SED Be Ger ee ee OSS AE Ses cieleh SE 488 TiS) clint HEB CHER HABS SOO OOSC Seo SBE Oe SSO DS SEES Spot Me tee geonSeece boo sr RobesA 462, 488 ODT GHG Te oA APA Ee eee SE osese & Gre Oo Ueno Coa SEetaEbnatot coe ecntsCoeE 202 ets RIS (OG eS eB ARES ae Senne eee eon a eee ene SSS nseoer Ee Sona badeesiccso pare che DOLE 522 SUI OLM thle OTASSOR Ws cou oe aw is anes cian so 4 Glo owinlneial oln.ncyeinls stejelelaein ateiaie =\aiaie alee als 157 Pin Th a Aa ae ESOS Cecer SS BEADS t ees rP CCT pocaneEeTo sancUaScccperr ase er oasis 157 RE AERA te tee eo sini os 3 aloe bs mislulinfat ayaa ala ctatale oie ola wisinisiats [ale apmyatet ota ech Sota ae 401 Lat be WGN ese ee Be ee oN ee ae Se Son meSe mech soon Sor mn Oe aSboeiie cnc 516 ents Stee aloha 3. along a cise ee ielein oles asp aoe ciaigtninioe slate log eieloraiet alee ene 516 Montgomery County ...............-.-.-------- eee helena cep een paneer eseaabinee = aac 157 ce ULELENG S102) 5 02 el 2 ee eee eee ae Pee ie a ene 391 FeRAM MEME ts atc ta aslo oa aaim © Hie wine wdlvie wd eleieis Seale cco Sec acca Samia oa maee en teoes 123 SPIE MHA IOIN OHS IOL, ANALY ZO wre cie'a) a's sicinidiaicls a afelaial sale ania in alatale aisles via wislaiaineisio as =eraaie 219 SATE Tan ACRE LHOL IE) 6 oie <3 chee = = ile wc vile unis s Sates aicte'en oe wiaiclnie Soe aaelal See, is 487 Western, agricultural and mineral resources of........--- Safes foie nie ote wen Se ee 397 MAMBO NVMOMh IN SOUGHEIN 22... --as cae ccnee cece sasen cee Mi ola ard haya la a aia ons ae aot Teale toe 157 MERSIN al or clec cisine's oScwjne otc nice ined aes e one aes Canam Aauaa ns ds, Soa mseeteee serge 158 OLD LESL ES ?h Vy IGU Re ee ee ae eee een Pree See AME rere meric Manteo 96 Timber, Department report on the preparation of .......... Fee ala siete, Crate Bd, ofa etme SRLS = Se a Oe PERMIT aie ce aa acids soc s | ocia Sani bs vate = peeiGwd sab camaniabactescecbercmes sacaae 200 RARE ODLASK Sic sa'ta x secte sage sole eee eens eee 487 VCldin 2 (COPPOE etenite pics > =) a \eisinielninw b «winle im eta'n! =/niole 3 0'no 2/ale\ ow em wid ae alee eee ee ae "442 Wihieat and chinehiues soe n. «ces 2 =) n iene ani alsie eon aie eas ee ae ee ae 238 clover, the time to sow in South Carolina..--....-22-2- 20 cece eeceredecccee see cseecen 487 COUNVON TWENTY ACIES\: | 2-2 2) oe nilenjn nome leir wie eye misia iaie plait a = mleielete ete atste te ee 96 poustoes mn Western New York... . .- 2 onc ceceen ose sicaaeakianee ase 163 ATOVENDIERIOL 2 oe < cceie an oe = bene pnt eminmeisinieeclplais 4 < silamue s/o ee aa ee 487 average price of, per bushel, in the several States, January 1, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, UN LOU onmscinee vints spe os maininie(eisis = seem m\simio aaleleya elo faioia elite ate fale tee 6 WONMEIOMIOL i228 sac sists d ocsiew ct sceee a seneee cess amenable cee 173, 256, 335, 413 Crops in Winpland 2c a0 - 5 2 doe cine ce ren ren nle cr ome ca sania peel 33 cultivation and hybridizing of 5-6. 5. nt = oe a eee dare ene n eee 432 experiment in Minn Gs0tan. iene cele pee tice cnc pace ecnemem les wolner sae ce eee 99 export of California)... occ. 22 10 xi seb ocae ee isle ee Sain ee eee ee oe ee 520 held, ailarce,in (California: 5. 2.0025. ce atmo capes neceemebeeces anon ne = yee eer 239 Bint SR ate LN ST OU Dao Vo ee oO as See 88, 346 401 164 399 163 90 90 346 162 308 Odessae: sot) 2tseee eo oe tabi s aap scedeses hescuek ee nccncnee cede ne Cn 159 PTICOOLS 5 ase Mads Slade ja vinc e panied cea ese denne ceceid Gee Se 5) productiofone kernel of - 32)... -.-..- ocse'selec emie cde doce os las cneeest eae n eee ee 519 PUSAN Hee ks oat tae fase sd coder ews sce ence abe meses wceenas ee Gee 28 BOCM IN TOW a soc tcceeceon ts ecicdoce ccandblecetmgc nonce tele cee ee eee 99 spring, in Central TMlinois. 2. 2...oc eos e ce dic cer eesen ode dae en oe eee 90 Fappahannock, i OHIO. S. . 22.225. caso docs an waise se eteace 22. ee bee e ee eee 90 Wits 6. Sie diese cect Sc adecsc cost bee eden 90 MPOUZONC 2 Sec ctis tod snd crce sobs dcee ac easiness ceencneaseeeseseeeee 164 WAMEED SN: sites cot esate. va tb os cane dcle aside catacdcneadeceee See taee te 159 andispring,in Wisconsin. 22: 025... c2s2s2ns os eee ce ot ee ene en eee 518 condition! of 22 oss. es.825202 doced ariel oo aoa) eee 10 Wield Of ec. conto ee ee eS ee eee 3 Wane and rapes: 2222.2 32 oc love cisc-c-cesdbecadcesseccsacceksesclee. ate = 345 on Kelley's Island... ...-s.2.052-.5+-.2+:neoc-b +c cece ne ease eee 91 productofliSil A rT mi b a ~ f HOVAT AN DAO: = ‘ By ; , 7 ‘ : > ' est. ae on ave. 45% % ; P rn ts r f q pfs \ : ¢ 4 } ao b 2 et CEE RD OND LE QR DF nh Os * § . wee : ’ , ; a4 a he eticy Bot 2 bse s j WAST EVE EESA MOLTO. PALLET OE 18% i . i. é eos OLY REE OR DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Statistical Division, January 18, 1872. Sig: I herewith present for publication the results of a statistical in- vestigation of the rate of yield and home values of the principal pro- lucts of agriculture, together with articles upon rice production, the progress of the beet-sugar manufacture in the United States, swamp- land reclamation, and the Potomac lands; also data from the divisions of chemistry and entomology, scientific notes, facts from foreign sources, and meteorological records for the month of December. J. R. DODGE, Statistician. Hon. FRED’K WATTS, Commvissioner. YIELD AND PRICES OF FARM CROPS. The January returns of statistical correspondence give the estimated yield, by counties, of each principal crop, and the actual prices at which an average quality of each product is sold in the home markets. These averages are combined in obtaining the rate of yield and prices (in home markets) of each State. The accompanying tables give these State averages of yield and price, for corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, buck- wheat, potatoes, tobacco, hay, and sorghum molasses. YIELD OF CORN.—An increase in the amount produced, per acre, is shown in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and California. The section west of the Mississippi River gives the highest averages, Iowa standing at the head of the list, at 42.5.bushels per acre; Nebraska following, at 41.5; Kansas, 40; Ohio, 38.5; Illinois, 38.3; Missouri, 38; Wisconsin, 37.7; Minnesota, 37.3; New Jersey, 36; Indiana, 35.7; New Hampshire, 35.7; Vermont, 35.6; Pennsylvania, 35.5; Massachusetts, 34.3; New York, 33; Con- necticut, 31.4; the remaining States running below 30, down to 10 in South Carolina. The highest yield in the South is 26.7 bushels in Arkansas. YIELD OF WHEAT.—The yield, per acre, of wheat is reported greater than last year in New Hampshire, in all the Middle States, in Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kansas. The States reporting yields above 10 bushels per acre are Oregon, 19.2 bushels; Massachusetts, 18.2; New Jersey,18; California, 17.5 (possibly inaccu- rate, on account of non-receipt of returns from several wheat-growing counties ;) New York, 17.2; Connecticut, 17; Vermont, 16.6; Pennsy]- vania, 16.2; Kansas, 15.9; New Hampshire, 15.2; Michigan, 14; Ohio, 13.9; Missouri, 13.4; Maine, 13; Llinois, 12.3; Wisconsin, 12,2; In- 4 diana, 12; Maryland, 12; Delaware, 11.5; Texas, 11.5; Minnesota, 11; Iowa, 10.8; Nebraska, 10.3; West Virginia, 10. The lowest aver- age is 5 bushels in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. For averages of these and other crops, reference is made to the tables which follow. PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. PRICE OF CORN.—A material reduction in the home prices of corn, from the quotations of last year, is reported from all the Northern and West- ern States. The product of the New England States, while bearing a higher price than that received from other sections, is somewhat de- pressed in value by the present abundance of western corn. The home markets of Pennsylvania, creating an active local demand, have helped to keep up the local prices. In most of the Southern States, in which less is grown than is required for consumption, rates are fully sustained. In Louisiana there is a great difference between the quotations of the river parishes and those in the interior, where the supply is mainly from the home product. In Texas the severe drought, reducing the estimated yield of 1870 from 26 bushels per acre to 19, has had a large influence in placing the average price at $1 11 instead of $1 06 per bushel. Arkansas has felt.the effect of western abundance on the lines of in- land navigation and of a fair yield on an enlarged area at home, reduc- ing the average from 80 to 66 cents. Tennessee, more dependent upon home supplies, increases last year’s average of 47 cents to 51 cents, while showing a yield reduced from 25.8 to 23 bushels per acre. The yield per acre in West Virginia and Kentucky is less than in 1870, and the reduction in price is from 64 to 63 cents in the former State and from 48 to 47 cents in the latter. In Michigan, with a yield reduced from 37 bushels to 32, the price has advanced from 55 to 59 cents. In all of the remaining Western States the average of reported prices is less than last year, and the yield per acre is greater except in Indiana, where the acreage was increased four per ceut., and in Ohio and Wis- consin, in which the difference is very slight. The yield in the latter State, estimated at 38 bushels for the crop of 1870, is placed between 37 and 38 bushels by the assessors’ returns of that year. The figures for these States are as follows: JANUARY, 1872. JANUARY 1871. States. Yield. | Price. Yield. Price. Bushels. | Cents. | Bushels. \Cents. 0: U7 Re a Ae SNR RE Lene) ohh tA SO 9 ae 38.5 45 39 48 TAC Fine LoS ed Ue alc wie os SRE EG SAD Oe te pp as re ae 35,.%, 37 39. 5 38 LULL TOTS a et, gn eR RUNS Le ol le Se ee Meal Nk 38.3 32 3o-2 35 Weartouaincce ses 2 oe ti Be es a eee oe Meets 37.7 43 38 52 IN ERMSLOD oe aa Sone base ale k Sse te Wie eee eas EE ae ete ays: 44 33 51 DTT Fon. (CS Eee CE eee tents Sere) Bal 9 ees, 42.5 23 32 34 BY G55: 1:2, Se i hee are gee Caw A OOS ee ee Se 38 31 31.4 44 RNC | oo Se ea ee en POR Peed a eam at OU oe Cer Sy 40 29 28 538 IN ODYRS Babee et we bsoe cms ace chk cet ee eee Le ea 41.5 25 29 36 The lowest rate reached is that of Iowa, dropping from 34 to 23 cents, with a yield of 42.5 instead of 32 bushels per acre; that of Nebraska falls from 36 to 25 cents; and of Kansas from 58 to 29 cents, the esti- mated yield having advanced from 28 bushels (a very small crop for Kansas) to 40 bushels this year. The following table gives the estimated home prices of corn in Jan- uary of each year since 1866: 5 Average price of corn per bushel on the 1st of January. States. 1872. 1871. 1870. 1869. 1868. 1867 1866. Lo eae $0 98 | $114] $127] $138) $1 59 | $1 35 $1 21 PMEIAMIOSIITO>....52 5.220202 eens sees e ee 99 1 09 1 30 1 43 156) 13%.5) Les 0 00 Se ee ar See 99 1 10 1 40 1 34 ee) BAL 1 15.25 BUIRERONUROLES 62-25 --2.-55-5.----j0000-- 2% 98 98 I 32 1 32 1,53. 1 34 110.5 — APG GULL a a a ec 99 1 06 1 28 1 65 164] 1 42 1 22.5 STUD TES ee ee ere 1 07 114 1 30 1 35 1 50 1 26 oo oo aS a Se aes en ears 82 87 1 03 112 1 32 1 16 95 Ged) 22 07 a eee ee 79 81 95 99 1 23 | 103 85.5 PGE AURD or mm ame = mln we oc ee wewlnices>- = 75 vG) 92 1 00 117 91 |} 80 Jou (0916 te 20s 60 i AAS eae 85 1 02 87 15 EER GE faleia als! siaix'= a5 oiaio a aeclncim x. 64 71 7 87 1 09 93 76.10 V0 i oe ee 67 65 91 16 85 Hal. jnoaaetchs ae Pinon arora... -.-..22-2--2--+-2ees---- 71 18 1 00 718 ThOde i te 12, ere eS. Schih OF hr eee 92 1 06 1 40 1 00 Bech asl ute sce ase Salle oat ee 93 90 1) Pil 91 G6 Wotiitvaoans cea. Sb 00 boa a ee 1 09 1 35 1 45 1 41 1 38 B50) Wve ca'ss<2'3 2 SG es Se 92 93 114 86 MOM Tb Ok Mis teal «ates MOS SRT oes) 65a 56 Bese Beer eSeeEEesee 98 98 1 12 74 BS ea a es |e TTR 5-86 Se 1 12 1 10 1 09 15 i 10 DS ed | See ee ae WCE) 2 wee ee ee 1 06 ae 62}e 75 Le ld | Sey serene Arkansas 80 92 63 I is (et | ge ead Tennessee 47 77 49 55 AE | see West Virginia 64 79 75 89 64 53. 66 Kentucky 48 66 47 65 49 43. 33 Missouri 44 60 57 66 58 52 Tilinois 35 57 43 68 43 29, 25 Indiana 38 70 52 65 44 38. 70 oN 2. S 48 72 60 82 54 44, 42 Michigan 55 74 76 96 82 60.11 Wisconsin 52 65 58 86 82 46 Minnesota 51 63 64 1 07 alate! 51.5 Lh 2 soe ae en 34 50 37 55 44 30 JDopufnt). .. 62t ge 2 re 58 44 99 55 63 53 Nebraska 36 37 69 74 68 59 California 1 20 OE eee Dee NS yore Mere sete [eaters seeks Oregon TOOK setee call aciaascc laceercretsaletisie ate pu ee ae tea This table shows that corn was highest in price in 1868, the rate reced- ing in 1869, and again advancing in January, 1870, as aresult of the small crop of 1869. The occurrence of two large crops in succession, in 1870 and 1871, has had an important influence in depressing the value of this production to a lower point than has been reached since the war. In these tables, so full of local variation and fluctuation, are seen the results of meager crops, of the greater prominence of other products, of demand springing from the employment of labor in other industries on the one hand ; and on the other the effect of abundance and a large ratio of corn acreage to the cultivated area. An examination of the record, by counties, would show the influence of isolation from railways and river navigation, and of other local circumstances. PRICE OF WHEAT.—An advance in the averages of county prices of wheat, since January of last year, is made in every State. The crop was al average one, but not so large as that of last year, while the ex- port demand to supply the large deficiency in Great Britain, and that portion of the large deficit in France which shall not be provided for by the substitution of coarser grains and other products, has been unusually pressing. The increase in value in the principal wheat-pro- ducing States is as follows: . January, | January, ry January, | January, States. is7' | 1871. a iema.'|" 18TH. ji WIND TT ee TERE Sean Gee CIN oat 1. 26 100 BWARCONSINY Pesaran ess cces cee 1.11 . 90 PDS RERERA Oa ia hae cata Sei! = 1. 26 POON Mommesotay sense .)soo wesw 1. 00 . 83 ASCE) ES ee Aaa TOSI Pilon seam hse es coat - 96 73 DNS Se Be Se peaee 1.18 SO4TT MASSONYL cx ccthe- os eciceencsace 1.16 OL 6 The prices of past years, as reported by county correspondents, the State averages of which are recorded in the following table, do not show fluctuations and variations so striking as those which appear in the ~ table for corn, but afford a sufficiently vivid illustration of the effect of the rate of yield, distance from market, the relation of home supply to local demand, and other local causes of fluctuations. Prices were highest in 1867, and the lowest in January, 1870, after the great crop of 1869; higher again in January, 1871, and now advanced stillfurther. In Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, the averages are higher than in Janu- ary, 1869, but in other wheat-growing sections they do not equal the rates recorded at that date. Average price of wheat per bushel on January 1. 1872 1871 1870. | 1869, | 1868. 1867 1866. MIG Se ete | ee gece $1 80| $178) $183] $240] $279| $2986] $221 New: Hampshine 2. i500 eos sta e 5 tle Se 1 72 1 59 1 85 2 42 2 89 2 58 2 60 MBNINONG hs sono cea ee Peek te claee cu te 1 6 i 2 26 2 76 2 67 218 Massachusetts 1 1 2 40 2 81 2 78 2 21 hove Island 32-3042 se ock cide, case wccleles oapelack soca (Sse e See ean Coe At Ud pees eles RVOUMOCIICU GM een Sena oe aes ee tome nccnek 2 63 83 2 37 NOWRMORK Sot Soho ote Hee fe eeasee 2 64 2 67 2 08 INGWed Crceyrecse bawes a tece es caren a coy 2 58 2 93 2 32 Pennsylvania-...-.- 2 43 2 67 2 05 Delaware......-- 2 38 3 00 2 00 Maryland ....... | 2 43 2 94 2 06 Warpinia.-22.23-+ pe bP 2 85 North Carolina 211 22 South Carolina 2 38 3 19 CTOQROIR eee eee I one ee 2 35 oT WOT Ao era S 2b -\s ak anise Se own se eee ECM (Oa oee del ee oat me he eh Lie DAMES TH kee ay A ate 8 CE Be Niet a 205 PAE | Parsley acne’ WVETSNISAI DN oe as os vei te eer seen ane ote 2 40 Po a pee eS LOUISIANA tind fae ss ws slau Stvon sapiehls ehee 2 50 2 50 eehewors "DOXA = oct Cee cee teen Ces tee ces bacewose 1 89 y ey eer Arkansas ios. 2.03. See a ees Soe Se ce ae 2 OL ZOG Is. 3-6 Ee ARGYIVIVSICITE SS ER ee eS (Y 2 18 pee ees NRE ig Bs BO 71 CR PS SS So Ae ee 2 39 2 67 1 89 Ben tuGiny Chis ees. HA ee eee 217 2 30 1 70 RVINSOU Uae os see a ao oo oe a ae ee 2 00 2 01 1 62 MOIS Wee LE. eee te a ene Se ee 1°97 1 93 i 69 Anca n 8! Bs ois Speed co eyis gag ate. AE os 2 21 2 41 1 35 SOUS es oe ees eion sae ere Ea ence ceeioe = 2 36 2 52 1 59 Mnehipan [352-22 shel. novo eet eens SEE 2 34 25 1 65 PAVIS COTS foc cect eas tate se ae io eee 17 1 67 1 09 UIIHONU Uae ec eee ae oe eee ee eee 1 48 1 36 80 Croan sae pe ke Eee ee es page Se ERE Be Ps 1 43 1 42 1 00 LEN Ee se re ee SN Ce 113 86 79 135 1 84 1 91 177 PT OUTAGKE ooh ae seek Se Sai Oe Ree ee AN aie 90 64 51 96 1 32 ce | 1 49 Meditornra sore se Sted Lae yeh ee ee Oe 1 41 1 10 93: |.-2-2 -42]. ate oe, eee SREP OM = Coo Gets Cot phan chats eae eae eee tsar Nt Bees pee ry see igs (bec ec ee 1 PRICE OF HAY.—The short crop of 1871 has made prices higher than for several years. The advance is greatest in the Hastern and Middle States, in Texas and in California. The States showing a decline are Delaware, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Lowa, Ne- braska, and Kansas. The highest average reported is that of New Jersey, $26 70 per ton; the lowest, that of Nebraska, $4 76. The average for the Southern States exceeds $21—a region where hay of suitable grasses can be cheaply grown, though there is a prevalent con- trary opinion elsewhere which may even be shared by southern agricul- turists. The average for the Middle States, with their millions of city population, is but little larger. The following is a statement of the average prices of ltay in the several States for seven years past: ‘ 7 Average price of hay per ton, January 1. States. 1872. | 1871. | 1870. | 1869. | 1868, | 1867. | 1866. Maine .....-.-----. Stet plata aiaint arws'atmiant alec ele hes ate $26 00 | $19 69 | $15 25 | $12 00 | $14 62 | $19 28 | $11 81 MPLIAMIDSHITO. -0 5225.52 s scence nen nena ae 23 00 | 19 85] 1500} 13 50} 1500] 1788] 1470 ee aa aaainie a sadn conn aelscem ane nae 17 50 14 50 13 00 14 50 15 36 PENH oa 522-5. 6 casce nana oes pes 38 37 | 2212 G2 LL Re 20 00 | 26 62 OSG UA a a ee a a 17 25} 21 60 New York..... 2 15 00 | 17 47 New Jersey ---- 19 00} 2213 Pennsylvania. - - 16 00} 14 83 I PIEEL OE. eLesat ut sani soe a cack ae sees 20 00 | 17 66 EN Pee Le eee 5| 1677) 1754 Tiida oe a p 13 00 | 12 48 SOD) Ti ee er 15 00 | 12 06 ln Onn a hr ars 1700 | 19 50 RE al lobule os amis) = oar ce ain 2190 | 21 58 eee ak a naman anf aededanalhmeascot|oaeseccc|anesqsccfeceeecan SLE ope ees See eee 19 28; 20 00 Mississippi 17 00} 16 43 Louisiana ---..--. 10 00 | 19 75 10 00 16 60 16 00 20 75 15 50 18 95 15 00 11 44 43 (25 14 80 11 00 11 11 10 00 9 73 11 09 11 63 13 80 12 32 15 00 16 14 11 00 11 11 7 00 7 28 6 50 | ar it’ 8 16 5 08 5 40 5 54 £0 T OL OF T 06 #8 63 LL L°66 co cS 0 T 661 00 T 9 96 16 GST os I 96 80 T b ‘83 OL . OF OF T Lo Tr I CLT OTT BE GE Per PG 9T OF 9 °66- GB 8 ‘TE c¢ 8t 06 £01 GB ¢c‘IP 69 16 £6. 6ST 0L 81% 0g 8 ‘le 19 61 cL T 6ST 63 Ob gg T&L GL L'96 OF 9 66 1G TIF 1g 6 ‘61 96 8 OL £& CGP 6E EOI . +8 L'06 oF ai ina 8 EE £9 8 ‘Ot 00 T Il bP € ‘Le cs cor 69 €'8t 9S 6 66 ce 9 '8E 09 E90 ee care § ep LLe £8 29 TF GPE OL :. 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OOLSL ale. Sos : 2 oe eee purysy spomrt ET Be ie Re a LL ee ee a a Brine 7 iets Shan ea 16° oe ; beeen cece lines cece eel see cece seen e==> gan ggnyORSsE’ | ee oor 00T ce gi eo ml Se S8-Fe = SIE g Gna 96° eG OOOES | OSF Tao). eee Sp ob ob ols wove oi PC ae er . ae OE al ee Bee ee ce (ee Ss aot |es komma o< oes Soe [vgs eal ne 0'T wee ece eee |ee ee eeeeee[en eee e reese sees eees[ieeeesssees+= grrsCUBEy AON Nd ey eee ee Ae ae Re ee eee eee 00 £%. 16° y wefee ee ce eeee feces ese e ee fens cree eee eee ees o ee? OOTE AT Wes con nO D 6 86 00 86 eee See es cee oe |e. Ab a eee al ess oe * CG Sack HeGUy 00 9% | 9F : ¢ Se Sit | a= ft = opm b> Py) ecg & es > b> b> b ; b ee Meee 4 | bed 4 ne 4 eee |oves| SEES | eees | SESE | aged | eyed | sed Bee | Paes | Sees | PRES | Seee | BARS 4 > O5pon on « @H®s,| of m1 IaH le tt te ~w 9 Tete Ya OD ech @a0S| anan | Cece | se45 | Sa, fe) s343\s 5 Ai Sent ee mee eal tr ‘a Osis do me | © 2 wie 25 ford ee | HOak 3 eS) Sacer Fos ~ =) el tt9 73 pS = i) 2 a am 50 5 aae § RoR Bass aPds Bas 8 mPa Buy? S289 eo Pab® ae. zase SEs Lee | ‘BOIRIS Pay en aees ry go ¢ eS & 8 OS, ws a s ee | ase| #3 | 4se| &8 | ase| £3] Fees. Hee | Set |-be|Se8| -fe| Bed os oe} = a5 2, PBs SES PES pobisis| eat = Pas (SG : Sees ep Fe Eg 7 i BT OFZ = = : see do. ... 48 to ==) || UVOle await c enc ommcseteee do... 73 to 5 Oats, WHITE... ......-.-5- dde.=: 49 to — || Barley, winter .........-.- do... 80 to 82 NOT MEK... 13/4 Lia haa 38 to — BPR Se Soccer dors. 624 to 75 Lio eee do... 81 to SA MUPELaNg sam acioet sears = Sees per ton..| 16 00 to 25 00 Binlcy, winter, No.2.-...-. do’... 75 to 85 || Pork, mess............- per bbl..| 13 25 to — — Spring, NOL? Se .-.< douse: 75 to 80 Lard, prime steam ....-- per lb.. 8} to 83 Hay, tight-pressed, common to Otte iste sisiecieice doreae 8to . — @horca--.-...--- per ton..| 14 00 to 19 00 || Butter, choice -........... done: 23 to 33 loose-pressed, prime to medium to fair....do..-. 17 to 20 Ghoiee.-..-.'.--- per ton..| 17 00 to 21 00 || Cheese, choice factory ....do..-. 143 to 15 Pork, mess. ...... ---per bbl..| 13 50 to — — || Cotton, middling does. 18? to 19 ine ee oss) — = tou | | Lobaccoslugne.seseeee eee et 63 to 8 Beef, alta eee per bbl..| 13 00 to 13 50 common leaf ....do..-. 8 to ef EES et ins! cia(e ais a's = = do..../ 26 00 to 28 00 medium to good leaf, Lard, prime steam. .....- per lb... && to 83) penlbe essere 9 to 12 Butter, western reserve...do-... 23 to 25 || Wool, tub- wauhen a iaatele oe per lb.- 59 to 70 choice cent'l Ohio.do.... 18 to 22 fleece-washed ...-.-. dow-2 48 to 56 Cheese, western reserve .-do.... = to = unwashed medium .do.... 40 to 42 choice factory;....do.... 143 to 15 Tobacco, lugs, West Va...do.... Sto 9 NEW ORLEANS. lugs, Kentucky. .do.. : 93 to 13 : medium leaf, West Vir- Flour, superfine.-....-- per bbl.-| - 7 12 to. 97 25 PINTS... 2s. per lb.. 8 to 15 extras, (according to medium leaf, Ky.do.... 13 to 16 rei eee ee per bbl.-| 7 3%%to 9 75 Wool, tub-washed .....-.- do... 65 to 70 || Corn, white...-.-...: per bush. . 74 to 78 fleece-washed, manufac- wellowisscsanc 4) Tioga Wee. - 2a E. T. Bentley... 4)..2=3 Lewisburgh ...-..-- Wnioneee eee Prof. C.S. James. ..--. Manlishe. we. . 35 <--.-- Cumberland -.| W. H. Cook, M. D MimROGK Vonscsisee|s 2 GO teense: Jacob Lefever ......-- Fountain Dale. ..-. UNG Eh aee eee 8. Cowalker\-2 soc aes York S. Springs. ...|.--. Gy 22 See J. H. Marsden, M. D_.- Grampian Hills-.-..| Clearfield ...-. Elisha Fenton .-....-.. Greensburgh .....- Westmoreland} J. M. L. Stump ..-.--.. Wranklin.©-).55--) 5. Venango...... Rev. M. A. To sae Connellsville....... Fayette....... John, Naylor... 2-2 Tarentum ........- Allegheny ....| J. Cummings.....---.. Pittspurgh 3. --2-\h--+ dor terete George Albree .-..---. Allegheny. -|.-.----.|.-- AC: Co Se B. Feicht, M.Du.:..... Greenville ..-..--.. IMerCer A. - 22.48 D.B. Packard $2.22 -2- Neweastle. -.-.--.-. Lawrence. .--. EK. M. McConnell ..-..-.- Beaver Jo. 4: S822 hs Beaver! .- bse Revik. T. Daylor—.=-- Cannonsburgh -.... Washington ..| William Smith, D.D.-. DELAWARE, Matiord! 2t- eee. os Rent) cc: sess R.A (Gilman ee ei MM GVOr se ts. eo oo. oe ea lO ne ieie se ae J. H. Bateman .....--. MARYLAND. Woodlawn.......-- Cees es se'-5 on J. O. McCormick .... -- aN Shomes 3 Se cete Harford .....- G..G. Curtis: -225-22.- 3 Woodstock College.| Baltimore... -. Rev. A. X. Valente. ... Amnapolis’'.;.22.2.. 4 Anne Arundel| W. R. Goodman. -..--. St. Inigoes ..-....-. St. Mary’s ..::| d. H. Elliott .-.-)..--.. Sam’s Creek .....-- Camoliee jcasc ¥F. J. Devilbiss -.-..--- Mt. St. Mary’s.-...-- Frederick .. ..| Prof.C. H. Jourdan .-.. Hrederick. -.52-.-- RG Aes gers J. K. Hanshew.---.---- Cumberland ....-.- Alleghany ....| E. T. Shriver..-.....-.. DIST. GOLUMBIA. Washington ......- AWN hakey (yay CEN re Roser oc aa ely Scr VIRGINIA. Johnsontown ....-- Northampton .| C. R. Moore ...-------- MapeVville’. c.pcsaest |= Pee OO meee eee Emma C. Townsend -. Hampton ........-. Elizab’th City.| J. M. Sherman ........ Spay 7 Cag 3 Aaa SOIR =] her) AWE eRDReSe omer cera Women .\-... ..<--- King George..| E. T. Tayloe .-...-.--.. Of in eee Fairfax ......- H.C. Williams........ DE ietnireth amc mi EM SOP tenet ee G. A. Bowman........ Ageornk ~-.-....-- pe Oakes oe C. Gillingham. ....--.. Wear Vienna ......|..-- Oss eeclesae RRO e yee ae ee Piedmont. ........- Fauquier -.--. Walliams... seen ea). Piedmont Station..|....do ......... W. A. Marti: -.-...-. Keswick Station ...| Albemarle ....| Capt. D. B. Horn...... Mit. SGlonies-is-6:.. Augusta.....- J. Bo @lark, MP. Das: =... Lynchburgh....... iBedtord -s22) 26 C. J. Meriwether...... Wytheville ........ Wythe........ Rey. J. A. Brown ..-..- WEST VIRGINIA. Wreston : 2-5 -eereee ToC WAS oii. <: «/=in'e Benjamin Owens....-- CabellC, Hi. -2 28-62 Cabell .-...... CG. L.. Role mera = s--: NORTH CAROLINA. Tarborough........ Edgecombe ...| R. H. Austin...-.-.--. MPetOVO oo) os oe ae Granville ..... W.R. Hicks, M.D.... Date. 11, 25 23 fe 5) Maximum tem- perature. Date. . perature. Minimum tem- Mean tempera- ture. Rain and melted show 54 70 62 | Ss) IIs raSawawors 1 | bt CO HID DO Ore a a WODRFURAH DMD UONW oO bj halls 28.2 BESSEES BUCO We wee eee PrPpoPrepE SSSEESES ww RBERse anwuce wo SLEEP MAS’ WUNAKWSRAD SrPrPpr EE Sa Ss5288 29 8 yO }9 SE 0 8 eeeeee eyeor wo Rose ere SSs 41 Table showing the highest and lowest range of the thermometer, §:c.—Continued. rE : : Ss é a |2 [2 ro paar} fo oO , as ze | Bs By State and station. County. Observer. Date. Es Date. | BE | & es g 8 5 Pal =I ~ ee Ae a $ I A Bus lee es N. C.—Continued. Deg. Deg.| Deg. | In. Fayetteville ....... Cumberland ..| G. W. Lawrence .....-. 26 74 PAL 16 | 44.0} 1.90 Albemarle ......... Stanley ......- AY epenonse yse eed ate 26| 74 6,9 5 | 39.0] 1.17 Statesville ......... Tredell ........ ®: A: Alison’ .. 29.5422: 25,26,31 | 60 21 5 135,20) 25 Asheville .......... _Buncombe ....| E. J. Aston..---...-.-- 25 65 Q1 4) STs eSSe 13) cae tG eee Boe Ge i vie J.T. EK. Hardy, M.D-...| 25, 30 70 21 @ (SBM ore een SOUTH CAROLINA, Gowdeysville...... SEO oo - 1s Charles Petty.......-. 26 70 6 12 | 44.0] 2.17 Greenville C. H....| Greenville....) L. Gibbon ............ 18, 19 70 Q1 16 | 42.7] 3.40 GEORGIA, Camden......- H.. Ew Hallver ~ 2220205 23 74 6 25 | 49.1] 1.55 Bite dive w= eso « do .........}| Ebenezer Barker......| 24, 26 76 6 29 | 52.9 | 2.65 Charlton...... Dr. F. M. Smith ...-..-. 24, 27 78 6 26) | 5325 |------ IBTOOKS!.5.--5< Jl Cutler... <2. Se =i 31 77 6 Qh tetas OF Wee eet kO SED a = ia=o S, Pasantordis pf acsace 26 74 Q1 19 | 47.8] 6.30 alton: -;..--.- Charies Deckner.....- 31 72 5, 21 14 | 44.0} 0.77 Walkers... A. R. McCutchen...... 25 70 | 5,6, 21 12 | 40.6 | 2.49 Lawrence. .... TM Peters: ).- ---a-—- 29 69 5 16 | 44.0] 1.50 Dallas ..-...-- Dr. Fahs and Miss R. 25 76 5 23 | 52.3 | 2.90 B. Deans. Carlowville ........|..-.. GOr asc: an aE TG SOM! 2 torial 30 76 5 19 | 50.0 3. 61 Hayana.....------- TCE ee meseere H. Tutwiler, LL. D.... 26 74 fp 16 | 49.0] 2.35 FLORIDA, Near Port Orange..| Volusia...-..-. S. W. Chamberlin -.... Q7 76 7 32 | 56.5 | 3.98 Jacksonville ....... aval... <2. A.S. Baldwin, M.D... 2 88 6 29 | 57.0 | 2.15 Picolata ....-..---- St. John’s..... GiBPPowelleeccess th 23 79 6 Sire ees! he a Tampa........-.--- Hillsborough..| W.F. White.......... i 332) ve a1| 31] 57.3] 3.00 Swiellborm: + -..2.--- Suwannee ....| Geo. R. Thralls......-. 11, 30 78 21 30 | 57.1 | 2.30 Wewport:..:.....-. Wakulla....... Chas. Beecher ........ 8 74 Q1 Csi ee SH SeMees TEXAS Clarksville......--. Red River ....| Rev. John Anderson -.|* 30 77 20 Qt} 49.00)... =. Near Clarksville. ..|.... ones .28 42 Allen Martin .......-. 30 73 20 19 | 43.9 | 0.39 PIOUSTOM 3.5. ),5.5--. Tie au ls eae Miss K. H. Boxter... .. 18 84 4 28 le SOcaal emer UNCLE is ae Bastrop --.:..- SE NViad els = 2-50 shears 31 82 5 5a fast ey |p a STS iss sei i = Fayette ...... Joseph Fietsom. ...--- 22 77 4 24 | 52.8] 0.50 Qhritane sees <5. DeWitt ....... A.C. White, M.D..... 25 &0 i] 24 | 53.1 0. 50 SWAT oa a ea beat J. Van Nostrand .....- 19 78 4 22 | 49.9} 1.00 Clear Creek........ Galveston. ..-. George N. Leoni .....-. 19 80 4 29 | 53.5] 2.60 LOUISIANA. New Orleans....... Orleans)... -. R. W. Foster.....-.--- 25, 31 80 5, 6 Pe SPE 3. 26 Ponchatoula ....-.- Livingston....| H. Collins..-.....-...- 23 81 5 24 | 55.6] 3.98 MISSISSIPPI. Columbus. ......--- Lowndes. ..... do Hy Rareang. 2 Job. 18, 23,30) 74 6 21 | 46.2) 1.76 Marion Station ....| Lauderdale ...| T. W. Florer, M. D.... 25 73 5 18 | 46.0] 1.90, Holly Springs. ..-.- Marshall. ..... P. B. Coleman. .....-.- 25, 31 70 21 16 | 39.1] 4.10 Grenada-..---..--. Grenada ...... lp ay NOs. asa.36 4c 7 719 6 18 | 46.4 | 2.20 Near Brookhaven..| Lawrence..... Mrs. W. E. Keenan. --- 30 80 5 19 | 52.3] 1.40 ARKANSAS. Pocahontas -....--. Randolph ...-. J.P. Martin, M. D.... 30 74 4 8 | 33: Galeelee Mineral Spring ....| Hempstead ...| Harmon Bishop...... 2 31 70 4 14] 43.9] 0.75 TENNESSEE. Elizabethton. ....-. Wanter ..2-.5 a9 CW Wee wis «an. 2eio 31 72 21} —6| 36.4] 0.85 Greeneville ........ Greene...-..-- 8.5. & Rev. W.S. Doak 30 70 QT |) — Diigo. oy) 00. BL Knoxville.......... RRO <28s.2 «32 O72 KG shames taxeewe a 31 65 21 6 | 36.9 | 3.27 42 Table showing the highest and lowest range of the thermometer, §:c.—Continued. A g | @ Ei S| 2s|5e State and station. County. Observer. Date. | 34 | Date. ES $ z so a5 #a|,°| 2a ca = "Sp § a 3 a lg | Tenn.—Continued. . | Deg. Deg.| Deg.| In. Clearmont .-...-..- Wiarrtenes..-e EP iIODG 2-06 cial 30 69 Q1 6 | 38.9] 2.86 PATISUIN 2b nies = einem aWrilson sees coe P. B. Calhoun......... 30, 31 72 |4, 20, 21 8 | 39.2] 3.44 Clarksville. .......- Montgomery ..| Prof. W. M. Stewart. . 30 69 21 3) 36.0] 2.54 Arenton sees sci Gibsonseee cece We T. "Griesbyne th. 2 30 73 4, 20 13 | 38.6 | 2.50 La Grange........-. Fayette.....:. W. XE. Franklin, M. D. 30 70 21 13 | 40. 2. 20 KENTUCKY. (Paine Grove <= <..2=~ Clark ii. ee S. D. Martin, M. D..... 31 68 21; — 8] 30.8] 4.18 Shelby City.-....-- Bowle rene = Howard Shriver -.-..-- 30 66 21|— 6} 346] 3.08 Near Louisville....| Jefferson...... Nirs PE MOUS ea eee 30 64 21|}—3| 318) 3.05 Blandville)....2.5-. Ballard: 2/2 Ws ELOrruen ss eee 30 70 | 20,21 2 | 3464 sao OHIO | Splom 2.52 - sees meek Columbiana...| J. E. Pollock .........- 31 57 21 | —18 | 25.1 | 1.56 Martin’s Ferry..---. Belmont .-..-. C.R.& MarthaB.Shreve 23 63 QL |, —L2 | 2a Nese Painesville ........ Lake......- eee Ue eOLTISe sone cee te 31 55 21 | — 8 | 25.5] 3.80 Adams's Mills...... Muskingum ..| C. A. Stilwell........- 31 58 Q1 | —14 | 26.7] 2 85 Pennsville 2... —..- Moreanie eee. T. J. Bingham......... 23 63 21 | —14 1238.6 1> 2.20 Gallipolis.....-.... Gallia ....- 25. JASPMROO Pers’ enon 31 70 21‘) + 8 | 30:8 | 138 penlinyseen sac... WOVain eee eee i, Merrick! tSyaseecens 31 56 Q1 | —18 | 24.4] 1.63 Sandusky .........- Erie ose. soe Thomas Neill ......... 30 47 20} — 3| 25.5) 1.68 Carsonss-- stacks se EIT OR pees ame Mrs. M. M. Marsh ....- 3 58 |20, 21, 28) — 6 | 29.2 |...... North Fairfield ....|..-.- dot-ss: S150: SSOPTass.s ee cee eee 30, 31 58 21 | —18 | 26.4] 1.96 Westerville ........ Franklin Prof. J. Haywood..-.... 23 55 21 | —16 | 26.8] 2.16 North Bass Island -} Ottawa Geo. R. Morton, M. D. - 23 51 21) — 7| 249] 1.86 Marion clots aa. Marion ....... HH. AS Drne, MED... 30 54 21 | —17 | 24.8 | 2.52 Hillsborough......- Highland .--.. J. McD. Mathews..... 23 56 21| — 7) 28.5) 3.06 AKSnpon noes ecee es PLardin cece e se C. H. Smith, MD .-.... 31 65 21 | —13°]' 25.5) ais Bellefontaine .-..-.-. Wogan) ote. cee William Barringer. --. 31 56 21 | —12 | 25.0} 2.45 Urbana University.| Champaign -..| M. G. Williams -.....- 30 58 21 | —17 | 26.2] 2.30 Bethel Hae. che a2 Clermont ..... G. WaiCrane 2 eee sce. 30 60 21 | —15 | 27.34) 3.31 HATMOD so n= occ Defiance ...... BANC SLEW uceem te eets 23 56 21 | —18 | 23.8 | 2.60 Carthagena Mercer’ ....:5.- Prof. W. R. Mueller...| 23, 31 62 21 | —10 | 28.7] 3.45 Jacksonburgh ..-...| Butler .-.....- J.B. Owsley, M.D ....| 23,31 58 21) — 8] 28.2}| 2.95 Oxfordas-sore-- eect laeer do Perc cues R. W. McFarland..... 23] 58 21 | —12 |] 26.8} 3.60 Mount Auburn Ins.| Hamilton ---.. Prot 3H. White. os." 3l 68 21| — 6} 29.5] 3.38 Cumminsville......].--- d0 pe ce-nuen J. EE Shieldg. 0 pea ee 30 47 QL) — 8 2a eae Cincinnati ta)... S.-- Goesee nn G. W. Harper....-...- 31 61 21 | —.5 |) 380i = oat DOs fee. sce ceeleeee Ges eran Re CAPbillips ioe. eens 23 61 21} — 3] 238) 3.90 College ves meme else. donee ee J. W. Hammith. 222222 23, 30,31; 56 21 | —10 | 28.1] 3.11 MICHIGAN. Alpena = 2k. .ee.cne Alpena ...---. CUBA Wee Beh anor Asmar 23 35 20:| —.9 | 29.107) 06 MU BRLOUG . = note nnn Wayne ...--.. H.W, Higgins) ..522-- 23 52 21 | —22 | 22.3] 1.567 Monroe City. ...... Monroe ...---. Thomas Whelpley .... 23 52 21) —10'4 Bi) soe State Agr. College -| Ingham....... Prof. R. C. Kedzie .... 23 51 20 | —23 | 21.2 | 1.76 Litchfield.......... Hillsdaleeye.- 23) RaBallardies fee sees e 23 45 20 | —19 | 21.1] 2.18 Olivet College...... HMatonsee. 2-5 Prof. A. F. Kemp...-.. 23, 48 20 | —17 | 20.5] 2.55 Grand Rapids..-.... onteteesew cee E.S. Holmes, D. D.$ -.- 23 | 48 20} —12 | 22.1] 214 Worthport ..-.-.... Leelenaw ..... Rev. G. N. Smith..... 23 43 20 | — 6} 21.0/)....-. Benzonia ..-... ale 2| MBONZIO Ve oo see William Wilson ...... 23 38 20; — 1/211] 470 Ontonagon......-... Ontouagon....| E. Ellis, M.D.........-. 16 34 20} —14 |, 11.5] 2.05 @ INDIANA. } Fort Wayne ....... Alen 2 ees 0 R.S. Robertson ......- 23 53 Qi | —15 | 24.6] 275 Mt. Carmel ........ Franklin...... J. A. Applegate and | 30,31 56 21|}— 6] 26] 245 . daughter. AUYOLS scenes > Dearborn ..-..| George Sutton, M. D-- 31 60 21| — 9} 23.9% 3.20 Vevay -- 2c. eaereee Switzerland...| C. G. Boerner..--..--. 30 64 21|— 7) 30.5] 29% Knightstown .....- UIST Pen ace ID. Deéem' 2 beeeeeee ee 31 57 QL | —15 | 26.0} 2.11 Beech Grove. sceces|e-- 2 COT eae William §S. Clark...-.. 30 58 21 | —12 | 26.2} 2.85 LAVODIA 2; -- 45 Eero Washington ..| J. K. Howard ......... 30 62 QL) — 8] 264) 275 WACONIg......- -e eee Harrison...... Adam Crozier...-.-.-.. 30 68 21 | — 2} 31.27 3.69 Steam Corner...... Fountain ..-.. B. C. Williams, M. D.. 30 56 21 | — 7 {| 23.9} 2.80 Werom.).:5 2, 7a Sullivan ...... Thomas Holmes ...... ae) 62 Q1| — 1 | 23.5] 2.90 New Harmony..... POseyosee 22. = Jobn Chappellsmith .. 30 G64 21 213124 22s 43 Table showing the highest and lowest range of the thermometer, §-c.—Continued. State and station. County. ILLINOIS. Near Chicago.....- Coplkegan.- hice Evanston Wrareneo-..-.-..-.- oni ae Louisville Belvidere TOBORUES sen | E a = (2) ia H ° (o) H A jo) 1. Gy diet Ge ee $52. 30 82.30 | 116.53 | 148.57 | 58.50 93. 07 | 130. 53 163. 21 Georgia sO Bee be EAS Ser Cpoc eae ES 38.70 | 61. 41 87. 36 | 113. 29 40, 20 63.54 | 92.53 129, 45 RENE et eh sta ks chiecaieatee o wo, - 33. 42 51. 82 76. 86 |'102. 28 34. 70 54. 00 79.47 102. 92 WREMUHO RAVES sits tess cscu esses c- se. 33. 39 49.19 68. 00 89. 67 36. 14 py hors) 12. 42 96. 35 De ee ee 28. 43 41. 83 59. 90 88. 26 28. 57 44. 60 66. 66 93. 93 UE eR 2 I 12, 43 18.72 | 30.08 46. 23 12. 06 18.19 | 26.96 45, 52 The rates at which horses are held in Texas are still less than in any other State, but they are gradually advancing, the appreciation being more noticeable in the serviceable and salable ages than in year- lings or colts. The difference in values seen in the accompanying table is occasioned quite as much by breed and selection for special uses, as by the location with reference to the great centers of business and popu- lation. The price of mules has declined nearly in the same proportion. As compared with the record of last year, the following examples of prices of animals three years old and upward, will illustrate this decline: In Illinois, $114 44 to $107 95; in Kentucky, $115 14 to $112 89; in Ten- pe $128 to $119 12; in Georgia, $139 86 to $130; in Texas, $73 60 to $67 60. A heavy decline is recorded in the value of neat-stock. Prices are lower than for seven years past, except in Texas, where appreciation is result- ing from the heavy drain upon the stock-reserves made for several years past by the drovers. In 1869 prices of cows attained their highest limit, since which date the tendency has been downward, especially during the past year. An illustration of the changes during this period, in different sections of the country, is presented in the following table: CJ States. 1872. 1871. 1870. 1869. 1868. 1867. 1866. veo Tiiee DPSIETRS | Se rr $39. 87 59. 16 57. 00 67. 50 67. 11 59. 80 62. 00 DY ag? (Te 2b ae ee eee 39. 53 48. 51 54. 11 54. 14 52. 54 Ditewe 54.14 TRE La a aaa 39. 16 46. 67 46. 83 47.11 44, 94 47. 36 51.18 DAE Aa ee Se to 37. 36 45. 09 44.77 43. 00 43. 07 44, 94 47.33 Wiehigan:- 22-2 -.-.--- Re Bee Ce eae eee 36. 86 41.15 42.94 44, 62 42. 30 47. 27 43.7 LONG 2h re ert ee ee a Paired 37. 68 7. 02 38. 11 36. 62 35. 90 34, 84 Towa oe 34. 31 34. 91 36.13 31.10 31.35 30. 12 Missouri 31.92 | 32.32] 31.21 | 29.04] 29.86 32. 87 Kansas 38. 46 37. 42 30. 67 29. 88 32. 11 27. 94 Tennesse O85 1) SOL OG een04s S508 1 27088) o.oo Georgia - H 8 21. 61 22. 48 22. 36 21. 06 PAT ere SSN ee [a << m3 oa ow cas Sa civ atte wae 14. 12 12. 83 10. 67 9.12 10. 29 PE 20 fo Sakae Oxen and other cattle have declined in value quite heavily in the Hastern States, partly as a result of the general depreciation, and obvi- ously from the scarcity of hay and other feed, causing a feeling of dis- eouragement unfavorable to high prices. In the Middle States, cattle of the age of three years and “upward average about $50; last year $64. The ratio of decline has been small in the South, where the rates 54 are low, the breed inferior, and where the need of more and better stock is beginning to be felt. Lower prices prevail in the Ohio Valley, but in Wisconsin and Minnesota, where cattle are gradually assuming their place in the farm economy, as wheat culture becomes unprofitable, rates are very well sustained. Inthe Missouri Valley the depreciation is even heavier than in the Ohio Valley. It is hoped that the bottom has been reached, and that the prices of farm-stock may not continue to suffer a greater depreciation than that which affects other branches of produc- tive industry. _ Sheep are the only animals of the farm that command higher rates. The advance in price, with the enhancing value of wool, is greatest in the principal wool-growing States. In Vermont the average price of a sheep not less than one year old, has advanced since February of last year from $2 75 to $4 56; in New York, from $3 37 to $4 32; in Penn- sylvania, from $3 45 to $3 70; in Ohio, from $2 49 to $3 37; in Mich- igan, from $2 45 to $3 14; in Illinois, from $2°15 to $2 90; in Iowa, from $1 88 to $2 41; in California, from $2 84 to $3 08; in Texas, from $1 59 to$1 73. The Southern States have few sheep, and have not felt the appreciation materially. The decline in the value of hogs is very marked, as will be seen from a comparison of our returns for the past four years in the principal pork- producing States. Something of the difference noted in the average prices of the different States is due to degrees of improvement in quality,, and difference in average weight, relative amount of feed, care, &e. | | | 1872. 1871. | 1870. | 1869. & e | / -_ 3 pS baal 2 es chp | ae a ie er States. — aa Nee ah = & 2 = = Bere | hte Patil aad a a A oS dy a Boobs 8 dre | = i) = o z= o —) 5 ml | - a > ad - a Za gE 9 ye a io) p ° ~ ° | Una hy eon Kaeo 4 aS 2 5egc $2 55 | $5 71] $365 | $8 30] $4 26 $10 88 | $446) $10 35 APIO te oe ae = ee eee See ue oe |} 393 | 9 07 620 | 12 97 695 | 16 76 6 33 15 53 TG mie Gh We BEANE sos se aor ogee Soe | 3 54 8 06 5 39 | 13 34 5:27'}) 2ST 5D 29 12 40 PERSE nie aya arcs a cade sine eeoiae ier 2:98) 679 472| 10 01 509 | 12 37 4 OL 11 56 CED Cin cd Uae Saee, Spgs Ripe BEERS Tel 6 | 8378| 748] 579] 1271] 632| 1365) 615| 45/93 Wisconsin ..-......-- Se ein een Ie) Sirota) 6h28 | 12 91 6 41) 14 35 5 35 13 45 IMI TMIOR Oba oe aces meee se cee Bate eof AOA 28004: 5 05 | 11 29 578} 12 13 5 54 12 91 OWS = on tae nee cle Seeie re aise een ae mien Cf! Ml fouls FE 3 28); T2679 6 47 | 14 90 6 02 14 41 MIsSsouri.ssccs ceeteseceeedoscees se ; 218 | 4 78 337) 728 3.53 8 9 2 70 7 03 EKBWSAS) of8 os ote= eee ba meetin 4 27 | 9 25 693 | 14 73 516] 1273 4 95 12 46 | | 55 SI FE SIT 0c TTL | 68.09 4 eX cil 08 OL 16 LF 80 SF 16 1% PIL 06 LE LOT Fr 69 0S 9F 99 1% e0r GL L9 €I 8h 00 %¢ 06 &% LOI 99 FF oor 0G LL 81 0S 00 1% 96 18 8g Gh LE 06 &% 8% SI 66 00 Se ia ST SIE | 0S @ 60 FE gir z9 &6 00 OL £6 OF 00 6% OeT LL 0€ TT SF LOL «| So LL 6 98 Om 9% ¥8 TS 6¢ 61 OF Gh 9% OT 8 & 901 08 &6 G6 OL pes =| COT cI PL 08 €¢ OF 8 LI & 901 6F 8% Orr Le SOT | $9 9b €8 FE POT 00 88 £2 19 0S & 16 1 201 OL 63 OIL 9¢ GIT | IE 6b 9L 96 601 Ge 80 | £8 6L 08 &¢ 60 £8 oll 6% 66 cor 08 80T | LG GL #S FE COL 82 00. | &8 TL G6 1S ae 18 901 LL && 601 ¢6 LOT Tr SL 80 SE 00T % 88 06 6¢ £8 IF £F 86 CG) ee SSR STS a o> a ne abe STOUTTIT. 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The following extracts from regular correspondence may be taken as samples of memoranda, accompanying figures for tabulation: Piscataquis County, Me.—A great reduction in numbers and prices of stock of all de- scriptions, resulting from the scarcity of hay. Middlesex County, » Mass.—The scar city and high price ot hay has reduced the number- of neat stock. Hogs have also fallen off in number, on account of the low price of pork, Fancy horses have increased in numbers. Berkshire County, Mass.— Horses number about the same as they did a year ago, but are «cheaper. All horned animals have fallen in price; cows selling very low, from $25 to $65. Sheep and hogs have increased in numbers. Kent County, R. 1. —In consequence of the great scarcity of hay, all descriptions of stock have fallen off greatly in numbers, all ‘passable beeves having been sent to the butcher last fall. Horses have also been greatly diminished in number. Tolland County, Conn.—The short crop of hay has caused a diminution in numbers and prices of beef-stock. Hartford County, Conn.—The milk demand has increased the number of milch cows, while oxen have fallen off in number. Warren County, N. Y.—The scarcity of hay has compelled farmers to sell off their young cattle and sheep. Oxen and other cattle bring low prices. Onondaga County, N. Y.—Cows have been low, but the price is advancing. Farniers incline to increase their sheep-flocks on account of prices of wool. More mules raised and used than ever before. Genesee County, N. Y.—Milch cows have fallen off greatly in price; more sellers than buyers. Sheep have increased in value. Camden Count Ys WN. J—The short hay-crop has caused a diminution in prices of mileh cows. Armstrong aunty, Pa.—A scarcity of fodder has reduced the number of cattle. Hogs have been plenty and cheap, and are considered unproiitable in this season of scarcity. Horses have increased in numbers, but are somewhat cheaper on an average, though extra good ones are high, bringing $200. Elk County, Pa. —Milch cows are much higher than usual, as many were killed in the fall for want of feed. Asking prices range as high as $55 to $60 for fresh cows. Bradford County, Pa.—Prices of most kinds of stock have fallen off nearly one-half, during the past year, but cows and horses maintain a good price. Prince George's County, Md.—The stock of hogs has been diminished, owing to ‘the low price of pork. Clarke County, Va.—Cattle number about the same as last year; there are more young animals, but few fat cattle, and very few are purchased to graze. Milch cows are more numerous and cheaper. Sheep have increased in number and in mutton quality; more have been bought to fatten than last year, Horses have increased about ten per cent. in number, but prices are lower. Prince George County, Va.—Cattle have been reduced five per cent. in numbers by an epidemic which prevailed here last summer. The number of hogs has fallen off about twenty per cent. The number of sheep has more than doubled, and lambs sell readily at from $3 to $5. The lumber business has caused an increase of ten per cent, in the number of mules. Orange County, Va.—This county is beginning to assume its former standing as a grazing district. All kinds of stock have slightly increased except sheep. Powhatan Count, y, Va.—Prices of cattle are low. Hogs have increased in number and quality, on account of the mast crop. Stanly County, N. C.—Cattle are more numerous and their prices lower. The stock of sheep is diminishing every year, from neglect and ravages of dogs. Cholera has made much havoc among hogs, but the price of pork is low. Harnett County, N. C. —Half of the sheep in this county have been Reetroved during the past year by dogs and thieves. Surry County, WV. C.—An increase in the number of horses, mules, and cattle, and a decrease in prices. “Sheep have decreased in numbers, owing "to slaughter for food and destruction by dogs. Washington County, Texas.—Pigs six months old sell for $10 each. Fayette County, Texas.—Sheep Tapidly disappearing westward. Williamson County, Texas.—There is every spring a demand for ponies to drive stock with. The number thus driven has cut down the home stock 10 per cent. Mast-fed pork sells at 4 cents ; corn-fed, 5 cents per pound. Bexar County, Tecas.—Merino ewes bring $5 in gold. De Witt County, Texas.—Fifty per cent. of our cattle have died in two weeks, grass being scarce. Sheep, horses, and hogs doing well. 58 Putnam County, Tenn.—Planters south raising more stock, which cuts down our market. Monroe County Tenn.—Horses and mules have increased, from the failing demand of the South. Some sheep sent to Virginia. Knox County, Tenn.—Declining demand for stock has discouraged shipments. Hence all kinds are increasing in number. Giles County, Tenn.—Wool worth 65 cents ; more dogs than sheep here. Larue County, Ky.—Mules are low-priced, because the choice animals have been shipped to market. Builer County, Ky.—Price of wool has increased; large numbers of sheep sold, to be driven out of the county. Hogs have increased on account of the mast. Lincoln County, Ky.—All the marketable mules have been bought up. Demand for cattle improved, but not so great as last year. Active demand for sheep for slaughter. Adair County, Ky.—More grass and stock raised than under the slavery régime. This branch of industry increasing. Prices of stock are low. Hardin County, Ky.—Beef-cattle, 44 cents choice; fat hogs, 4 cents. Medina County, Ohio.—Horses and cows not increased; sheep increasing, owing to in- ereased demand for wool; hogs. decreasing; pork selling in Cleveland at $5 per hun- dred-weight. Two fatal cases of Trichina spiralis in that city, and other cases not so. serious, have made pork unpopular, and cut down prices 12 per cent. Demand for beef and mutton increasing. Cleveland is becoming a great market for farm pro- ducts. Henry County, Ohio. and $4 to $5 dressed. Lorain County, Ohio.—Stock of cattle decreasing and sheep increasing, especially long- wooled sheep; sheep have done finely where well cared for; prospect of better prices of wool encourages better treatment. Scarcity of fodder has cut down the prices of cows. All kinds of farm stock healthy. Morrow County, Ohio—Demand for horses less than formerly; cattle lower in price, but rising; sheep higher than for several years, on account of advance in wool. Long- wooled sheep bring from $10 to $20; their number increasing. Franklin County, Ohio—Mules in demand for farm work; sheep scaree and high; horse breeds improving. Montcalm County, Mich—Hogs plenty; pork averaging $5 per hundred-weight, and beef, by the side, $5. Cass County, Mich.—Sheep are the favorite stock, while hogs are disregarded. Calhoun County, Mich.—Low prices of beef, pork, and dairy products have depressed cattle and hogs. Sheep have appreciated. La Porte County, Ind.—Horses mostly small or medium sized, hence they do not bring good prices. Heavy draught-horses arein great demand at high prices. There is a small sprinkling of Durham blood in the cattle, which adds to their market value. Martin County, Ind.—Sheep reduced in numbers by heavy sales to drovers, to be sent east and south. Cass County, I1.—Stock of horses gradually increasing, with diminution in prices. Abundant corn leads to feeding more cattle than last year; 5,000 beef cattle feeding in the county. Sheep scarce, on account of low prices of wool. Hog crop increased 25 per cent. Williamson County, I1l.—Large number of sheep shipped for mutton, which, with the advance in wool, has doubled the prices of last year. Bureau County, 1U.—Sheep raised in price, but less in number. Fond du Lac County, Wis.—Sheltered stock looks extremely well. Green County, Wis.—Only the best class of horses salable. Pierce County, Wis.—Sheep rising in price; hog-raising will be less lively next year, through present low prices. Dodge County, Minn.—Great increase of bees; number of swarms double of last year. McLeod County, Minn.—Unexpected demand of the Hudson Bay Company, and the great fires, have reduced the stock of cattle. ; Pocahontas County, Iowa.—Prices of all kinds of stock have fallen greatly in a year. Marion County, Iowa.—Prices of horses, mules, and cattle but little more than nominal. Linn County, Iowa.—All kinds of stock lower than for six years. Jefferson County, Iowa.—Large numbers of stock cattle taken to Ilinois. Hogs in- creased. Harrison County, Iowa.—Horse stock improving; geldings bringing $200, and stal- lions as high as $2,000. But in many cases horses decline in price from overdriving. Franklin County, Mo.—All\ sorts of live stock, except sheep, lower than ever known. Phelps County, Mo.—Stock prices low; sheep decreased by ravages of dogs. Vernon County, Mo.—Horses and mules increased 27 per cent. in numbers, and declined 30 per cent. in price. Cattle declined 9 per cent. in numbers, and 33 per cent. in price. Perry County, Mo.—Low price of wool depressed the number of sheep, but it is en- larging. Fat hogs weighing 200 to 400 pounds, bring $3 80 live weight, 59 Ellsworth County, Kansas.—Thousands of Texas cattle, driven into the county, have died. Ripley County, Kansas.—Number of all kinds of stock increased, and prices decreased. Nemaha County, Nebraska.—Sheep husbandry stimulated by advance in wool. ; ‘Seward County, Nebraska.—Large increase in numbers of stock on account of immi- gration. Webster County, Nebraska.— Heavy losses among Texas cattle. Washington County, Nebraska.—Oxen going out of use; cows and stock cattle increas- ing. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CONVENTION. The following call was issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture for a meeting of the representatives of scientific and practical agriculture of all sections of the country: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, D. C., December 20, 1871. Sir: By the act of the 2d July, 1862, Congress donated to the several States a-por- tion of public lands, in the ratio of their population, for the purpose of establishing agricultural colleges, thereby evincing a purpose to promote that-great interest, through the instrumentality of the respective States. Many colleges have been, and doubtless many more will be, established. State agricultural and horticultural societies and boards of agriculture have also been established by lawin many States. A correspond- ence and consultation between friends of these interests have led to the conclusion that a convention of delegates representing them, for the purpose of conferring upon sub- jects of mutual interest, would promote the good of all. It has been suggested that I take the responsibility of initiatingsucha meeting. I therefore propose that each agri- cultural college, State agricultural society, State horticultural society, and State board of agriculture, depute two delegates to meet in convention at the city of Washington, on Thursday, the 15th of February next, to take such action regarding the interests of agriculture as they shall deem expedient. IT am, very respectfully, FREDERICK WATTS, Commissioner. Responding to this call, delegates from agricultural colleges and State societies, agricultural and horticultural, met in convention in the library hall of the Department of Agriculture, on the morning of the 15th instant. Several district and county societies, and-at least one town club, presented delegates, all of whom were ultimately received as members of the convention. The Commissioner, in a brief opening address, welcomed the delegates, referred to the college land grant of 1862 as an earnest of the disposition of Congress to assist in promoting the interests of agriculture, and asked the co-operation of the bodies represented in the convention, in the work of the Department of Agriculture. ‘ ; Professor J. B. Bowman, regent of Kentucky University, was made temporary chairman. A committee on organization, consisting of thirty- four members, was appointed, and the permanent oificers of the conven- tion were elected, as follows: President.—Dr. George B. Loring, of Massachusetts. Vice-Presidents—Alabama, S. G. Reid; Arkansas, Thomas Smith ; Connecticut; E. H. Hyde; Georgia, Hubert Fielder; Delaware, W. H. Purnell; illinois, J. O. Cunningham; Indiana, Thomas Dowling; Lowa, E. R. Shankland; Kansas, Joseph Denison; Kentucky, J. B. Bowman ; Maine, 8. L. Goodale; Maryland, A. B. Davis; Massachusetts, W.S. Clark; Michigan, T. C. Abbott; Minnesota, W. 8S. King; Nebraska, D. H. Wheeler; New Hampshire, Natt Head; New Jersey, George F. Cook; New York, Ezra Cornell; North Carolina, N.W. Woodfin; Ohio, 60 J. P. Robison; Pennsylvania, H. N. McAllister; Rhode Island, Geo. F. Wilson; South Carolina, D. W. Aiken; Tennessee, Hunter Nicholson ; -Texas, Wm. J. Hutchins; Vermont, Crosby Miller; Virginia, Thomas Branch; West Virginia, A. Martin; Wisconsin, Hon. G. W. Hazleton ; District of Columbia, Chalkley Gillingham; Department of Agricul- ture, Wm. Saunders; Utah, James McKnight. Recording Secretary. yy Johnstone, of } Michigan. Reading Secretary.—C. W. Murtfeldt, of Missouri. Corresponding Secretary.—J. R. Dodge, Department of Agriculture. The business committee, consisting of one from each State ‘represented, made a preliminary report, recommendin g four topics for consideration, viz: 1. The expediency of seeking further land-grants from Congress in aid of industrial education; 2. The expediency of establishing experi- mental farms and stations; 3. The propriety of modifying the military instruction given in the national colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts; 4. The best methods of co-operating with one another and the . Department of Agriculture. A paper was presented by the Commissioner, suggesting action of the convention, as follows: The act of July 2, 1862, is an earnest expression of Congress that a scientific education’ is essential for development of agricultural knowl- edge, and evinces the determined purpose of the Government, through the agency of State legislatures, to establish institutions of ‘learning, where the youth of the country may be trained and properly fitted to elevate the standard of active, practical life, and secure for it the in- creased fruits of skillfully directed labor. It becomes those, therefore, who are directly interested in this subject, to take active measures to second the effort, and make use of the measures which have been adopted by Congress for their benefit. In the prosecution of this object, it is manifestly the duty of individuals interested in its promotion to examine the subject, and point out the detailed processes by which the design and bounty of Congress may be made most available. This convention, composed of such as have taken an active part in the prosecution of agricultural study, has been convened to consider this. That the points which necessarily present themselves may be duly considered, we present the following resolutions: Resolved, That it will greatly conduce to the successful operations of agriculture throughout the world, that its operators should have the light of scientific ‘know ledge to euide the work. "Resolved, That we recognize in the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, the foundation upon which may be organized and built colleges and schools, where the scientific principles. and knowledge of agriculture may be taught, and that it is our anxious desire and duty to foster and encourage them in the work of educating farmers. Resolved, That in the establishment of agricultural colleges and schools, their organization should embrace the “following principles: 1st. They should be distinctively agricultural in their government and teachings; that while no branch of learning shall be excluded, whether it be the knowledge of language, of mechanics, or military tactics, yet the main design Shall be a knowledge of all those branches of natural and exact science and practical skill ‘which peculiarly belong to a finished agricultural education. 2d. That in any such college or school, actual manual labor should be practiced and taught. 3d. That females, as well as males, may be admitted as pupils. Resolved, That horticultural and agricultural societies, and agricultural 61 sates and school, are co-laborers in the same field, and tend to pro- mote the same object—the proper cultivation of the soil ; and that all these should unite on any plan of education by which the light of knowledge should be made to shine upon their work. Resolved, That the Department of Agriculture is also a creature of the Government, established for the same great purpose of cherishing and promoting the interests of agriculture, and that its efficiency must necessarily depend upon its intimate connection with all other agricul- tural institutions which exist in this and foreign countries; and we therefore recommend to the said. Department that it establish such a relation with the agricultural colleges and schools, and horticultural and agricultural societies, as that there may be a continuous exchange of information, seeds, roots, plants, and publications as shall be mutually advantageous, and conduce to the leading agricultural and horticultural interests of the country. These resolutions were adopted by the convention. Upon the first topic of regular business, relative to further aid to agricultural colleges and schools, Mr. Folwell, president of the Minne- sota University, illustrated the injustice of the distribution of lands, deprecating the departure from the precedent of apportionment by territory rather than by population. Mr. Gregory, regent of the Illi- nois University, deemed unjust an apportionment of land to States having public lands, and scrip to those having none, and favored a new apportionment to common, normal, and high schools, and agricultural and other colleges, as follows: 1st. One-third of the fund, or the income of, to be apportioned to the States on the basis of the number of children between the ages of six and fifteen years, to be used in the payment of teachers’ wages or the purchase of school libraries, on such plan as each State may de- termine. 2d. One-third to be apportioned to the several Stateson the same basis as before, to be used in support of normal schools and of normal classes in high schools, in such way as the several State legislatures may determine: Provided, that at least one-half of such fund shall be apportioned to the several schools in the proportion of the number of the normal pupils who shall complete the normal course and pass the examinations prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction or other proper State authorities; and, 3d. The remaining third to be apportioned to the several States as follows: One-half on the basis of the population of such States, and one-half on the basis of area of the States, to be used in support of the agricultural, polytechnic, and other State colleges and universities, in such way as the several States may determine, These propositions, after discussion, were referred to a committee of five members, and made the special order for the opening hour of the second day. aC motion, the following special ‘committees were appointed by the chair: Hqualization of land-grants.—Felwell, Minnesota; Bowman, Ken- tucky; Gilman, Connecticut; Abbott, Michigan ; Fielder, Georgia. Military education. —Gregory, Illinois; Clark, "Massachusetts ; Clark, Vermont; Alvord, Virginia; Klippart, Ohio; Welch, Towa. Experimental stations. ;. Nicholson, Tennessee ; Needham, Massachu- a ; Hamilton, Pennsylvania; Johnston, Connecticut ; Allen, New ork. Co-operation with the Department of Agriculture.—Barnett, Georgia; 62. Curtis, District of Columbia; Smith, Vermont; Reynolds, Mlinois; Robison, Ohio. On the morning of the 16th, the business committee, through Com- missioner Watts, reported a recommendation : 1. For the appointment of acommitteeof five upon the best methods of preserving the timber of the country, especially of the Rocky Mountains and the central prairie regions of the republic; 2. That boards of agriculture be established in all States in which they do not already exist; 3. That a committee of five be appointed to visit Congress and request an increase of appro- priations for the distribution of publications and seeds by the Depart- ment of Agriculture. The report was adopted. The committee on the equalization of land grants reported resolutions to remedy both the inequality and insufficiency of the grant of 1862, by an additional distribution of not less than one million acres to each State, to be selected and located at the pleasure of the grantees. “After a very full and general discussion, and presentation of numerous amend- ments, the substitute of Mr. Gregory, of Illinois, was adopted, recom- mending to Congress the bestowal of an additional grant of land, or proceeds of land, upon alli colleges established or to. be established under the grant of 1862, and the appointment of a committee of one from each State to urge this proposition upon the attention of Congress. The committee upon ‘co-operation with the Department of Agricul- ture made a report, closing with the following recommendations : 1. That the several societies and colleges have some specific organ of communication with the Department of Agriculture, the person, time, and topics known, and that the Department prescribe the topics, with 5s ase printed inquiries. . That an annual convention, like the present, be held, in which rep- resentatives from the several State societies, and other societies covering a larger or smaller area, and the agricultural colleges, may be repre- sented on some proper basis. 3. That the Department tabulate the information thus obtained, and distribute it among the several lesser organizations. Among the sub- jects to be presented shall be the briefs of all the organizations of States and other large district societies, with such revision and sugges- tions as may aid in determining the best mode of organization. 4. That the several State societies co-operate fully with the Depart- ment in obtaining statistics of every sort—especially of growing crops— and make suggestions as to improved methods of estimating them ; also, in such observations upon the weather as may greatly increase the data for determining the local varieties of the seasons. The degree of suc- cess already attending the observations made, give encouragement to this direction of inquiry—to be made in detail, to determine the local laws, and for larger periods, to anticipate the probable state of the sea- son, and possibly to influence them to some extent, or at least better to conform to them. 5. The Department shall consider the entire field of investigation, and assign to the several State societies appropriate subjects of observa- tion, and also subjects for scientific investigation by the agricultural colleges and professors. 6. It shall collate information as to the practical working of different forms of minor organizations, less than State societies, so as to exhibit the best and most approved form of clubs for the immediate information and education of the farmer at his work, making them schools for the ae and eye alike. . Prior to the assembling of the national convention, specific sub- 63 jects of conSideration shall be prescribed, and persons of high qualifica- tions appointed to open the discussions. 8. That for each duty a specific organ, whether of the Department or ~the societies, shall be provided, either by the appointment of an indi- vidual or a committee. Thorough elaboration of information, and pro- per digestion of matter for publication, shall, if possible, be the duty of some officer of the Department. 9. That among the subjects for reports at the next convention held, according to the first resolution, be the following: First. On the importance and means of improving physical expertness in agricultural labor, the object being to devote to the development ot human skill the attention too much confined to the horse and the brute creation, and a report to be presented concerning expertness in farm- labor. Second. On the importance to farmers of accurate accounts of ex- penses, receipts in detail, and of careful study of these, as a means of constant annual improvement. Third. On the best means of organizing neighborhood associations for mutual improvement. Fourth. On the best method of conducting experiments, and the necessity of careful records, and of separating the conditions involved. 10. That copies of this report be communicated to the several State societies and agricultural colleges of the United States, and they be re- quested to communicate their action in regard to the proposed relations to the National Department of Agriculture, and of the persons appointed as organs of communication. This report was accepted, and referred to the Department of Agricul- ture. A resolution, presented by Senator Morrill, of Vermont, favoring a donation of land, or the proceeds of land, sufficient to found a professor- ship of one of the branches of practical science in the land-grant colleges, ‘and the assignment to each, by the War Department, of an officer of the Army competent to give mathematical and military instruction, was adopted. General N. N. Halstead, of New Jersey, offered a resolution recom- mending a provision by State and county agricultural societies, for a scholarship in agricultural colleges for each county, and also a provi- sion on the part of agricultural colleges, requiring a satisfactory exam- ination of students by a committee of practical farmers, before a diploma can be given, which was also adopted. A resolution offered by Mr. J. N. Sturtevant, of Massachusetts, com- mending the plan of the agricultural and economic museum of the Department to the agricultural colleges of the country, was adopted. Also, one presented by Professor OC. V. Riley, of Missouri, asking an appropriation to enable the Department of Agriculture to publish the illustrated work of its entomologist, Townend Glover, on insects; and an annual appropriation of not less than $10,000 for defraying the cost of experiments in the destruction of noxiots insects, to be made by the different State boards throughout the country. Prof. Hunter Nicholson, of Tennessee, chairman of the committee on experimental stations, reported a resolution instructing Professor S. W. Johnston, of Yale College, to make an investigation of the workings of experimental stations in Hurope, and report further upon their character and value, and the practicability of their establishment in this country, as an aid to scientific agriculture. Adopted. A resolution was adopted recommending the increase of the salary of 64 the Commissioner of Agriculture from $3,000 to $6,000, and one favoring an increase of the salaries of the statistician, entomologist, and superin- tendent of gardens and grounds, from $2,000 to $4,000 respectively. The following views of the results of the convention are presented by the Commissioner of Agriculture: The late convention, convened at the instance of the Commissioner of Agriculture, has afforded an ample opportunity to the Department to accomplish the object it had in view—a knowledge of the men who, for the present, have in their hands and direct the destinies of the agricul- tural interests of the country, and some knowledge of the instrumental- ities through the medium of which they operate. The assemblage was mainly made up of the principals and professors of agricultural colleges, whose origin may be traced to the act of Congress which made provision for their establishment; presidents and secretaries of agricultural and horticultural societies, and the chief men who compose boards of agri- culture of the different States. It was reasonably supposed that the experience and knowledge of such an assemblage of men would shed much light upon a subject which, at this moment, so occupies the public mind. While every branch of industry, commerce, manufactures, and the art of war itself, is anxiously watched and cared for by the action of the Government, it was very natural that they who have sought to pro- mote the great cause of agriculture should seek an opportunity to confer together about what should be done to invoke the good offices of the Government in their behalf. The Commissioner of Agriculture, in view of the necessity of a co-operation of the Department with those active and energetic men who in their respective communities had been selected for their ability, to give a right direction to the subject, very naturally hit upon the idea that agricultural colleges that owed their existence to the immediate provision which Congress has made for them, like his own Department, depending upon its will and pleasure, would be most likely to respond to an invitation which invoked only a consul- tation upon a subject.of common concern. It was not without some hesi- tation that the Commissioner ventured to draw upon the services of this class of men, because he felt that the draught involved an expenditure of time and money, which, though it might be repaid by the good which would result from such a conference, might be considered by others an assumption on his part which the occasion did not justify ; and yet to exclude those who had thus voluntarily devoted themselves to the work of promoting the cause of agriculture, to lose the benefit of their counsel, and the opportunity to acquire a personal acquaintance of them, led to the conclusion to enlarge the number, at the risk of affect- ing the business capacity of the convention by reason of its numbers; so that the design ultimately was to invite two delegates from each of the colleges and State agricultural and horticultural societies, and State boards of agriculture. All these came and more, and betore the con- vention adjourned no one was refused admission who pleased to apply. And every interest, feeling, and project was represented. The business committee, (composed of one from each State,) at the outset of the meeting, made a report, which had been previously pre- pared by the Commissioner, recognizing the act of Congress of 1862 as the expression of the purpose of the Government to establish agricultural colleges in the States, and endow them with a fund commensurate with the great necessity for the introduction of scientific knowledge into the 65 practical operations of agriculture, and recommending an immediate connection and correspondence between the Department and these in- stitutions, on all subjects pertaining to experiments in the science and practice of agriculture, and pointing out some points of the basis upon which they should be made to stand. This was all a committee, com- posed of so many members, could do, and this action was unanimously adopted by the convention. All else, the work of the convention, had its origin in resolutions proposed by its individual members, which were as various as the different projects which were calculated to affect agri- cultural interests. The disposition of the public lands, how they should be best appropriated to promote the success of the colleges and of edu- cation generally, was discussed in all its phases; the threatened de- struction of forests, how they might be preserved and increased, claimed _the attention of the convention as a subject of important interest, and the action of Congress was strongly invoked to pass such Jaws as would induce purchasers and owners of pwhlic lands to protect the timber yet in forest, and plant upon the prairies, where now there is no timber. The whole doings of the convention made the impression that the con- ference had been a profitable one; that it had linked the Department with the agricultural institutions of the country; that each might profit by the aid of the other, and that both would actin harmony to promote the common good. FORESTS AND THE PUBLIC LANDS. The following views on the conservation of forests of the public lands, _and on the proper basis of land-grants for educational purposes, are those personally entertained and presented by the Commissioner of Agriculture : The public lands and the disposition which shall be made of them by the Government of the United States is a subject of such magnitude and importance, and so nearly allied to those agricultural interests of the country which this Department has in charge, that the duty devolves upon me to observe and carefully scan any movement with regard to them which has a tendency to disturb or promote the ultimate progress and improvement in the cultivation of the soil. The destruction of the forests of the country, which is now going on with so fearful rapidity, should arrest the attention of Congress long enough to institute the inquiry, What can be done to prevent so great a calamity as that which now threatens us?—the want of a sufficient quantity of timber to meet the actual necessities of life, and, what is of equal importance, the climatic influence which will be occasioned by de- nuding the earth of its timber, and plants of the shelter and protection which it affords. Jt is not my purpose to stop here and inquire into the philosophy of the causes of water-fall; nor how the electrical rain-bearing clouds are dissipated before their watery elements can reach the earth. These are points which I prefer to leave to scientists, and which, happily, I think, they have not overlooked, but, on the contrary, have brought much learning to bear upon them, which may ripen into conclusions which will be received as practical truths. It is enough for us now to know the palpable facts that our springs of water, and the streams that issue from them, are greatly diminishing in volume; that our wells have not the depth of water they formerly had; that our crops suffer 2 66 for want of rain to an extent that was not so common in olden times; and we do know that where these changes have occurred, the country has been stripped of its timber, and its fountains, springs, and streams laid bare to the broiling sun and unbroken winds. These facts, put together, exhibit a practical cause and effect with an apparent force of truth which should command our attention, and induce the inquiry whether the Government may not interpose its power and influence to protect the timber-lands of the country. There are yet thousands of mil- lions of acres of public lands undisposed of, and, as to them, I beg leave to suggest that, from this time forth, no disposition shall be made of them for any purpose or for any consideration, pecuniary or otherwise, with- out a provision imposing a condition, to be inserted in the warrant or patent, as the case may be, that the grantee shall keep at least ten per cent. of the lands so granted in timber, if there be so much, and, if not, . that he shall be allowed a credit of twenty per cent. of his purchase- money as an inducement to plant so much of his land in timber; and to insure the performance of the condition, a failure on the part of the purchaser should work a forfeiture of his title. Let us imagine the millions of acres of Government lands yet to be surveyed and disposed of in sections of six hundred and forty acres, and these divided into one hundred and sixty acre farms, and each having sixteen acres of woodland so disposed as to afford a shelter to the orchards and growing crops, and the whole system working its wonderful influence upon the ~ streams, the climate, and everything that grows upen the earth. While I look at this subject only in an agricultural point of view, there is another in which the nation should look upon it as extremely important—the annual consumption. The dwellings of twenty millions of people here are chiefly made of wood; the out-buildings are almost entirely built of wood; the fencing, which costs actually more than all the buildings, is of wood; and all these are being continually consumed by time. Railroads consume timber immensely. It has been estimated that each day in the year trains run about three hundred and twenty thousand miles, consum- ing one and a half cords of wood for every twenty-five miles, making a daily consumption of nineteen thousand two hundred cords. Sixty thou- sand miles of road require two thousand five hundred ties to the mile; and assuming their life to be five years, an annual consumption of thirty millions of ties is required; and it may be safely said that the waste in getting out ties is one-third of the tree. Add to this the fencing of these roads, the half million of telegraph-poles which each year will be required, and the vast amount of destruction of forests by flood and fire, and we must be startled into the conviction that we must not only make an effort to stay the hand of ruthless destruction, but we must make an effort to restore that which has already been destroyed. Where land sold by the Government has no timber upon it, I would not only abate the purchase-money to induce planting timber, but I would ex- onerate the land from the payment of taxes for a certain number of years. Doubtless, there is no State or Territory which would not gladly co-operate with the General Government in any measure which con- duces to so much good. Would the insertion of this proposed condition impede the sale or retard the settlement of the public lands? In other words, would it be objectionable in the view of the settler or purchaser? It can seareely be supposed that any one inclined to make a home in a new country would fail to foresee the immense advantages that would accrue to an entire community of farmers by the protection which would be afforded to 67 their orchards, crops, and buildings, especially if they be assured by the law which controls the titles of all that it is a fixed principle, by which all must be governed. Apart from the considerations of interest involved in these suggestions, how much would such a state of things add to the beauty and character of a State? The idea that one-tenth of its lands was covered with growing and thriving timber, producing every year an amount equal to all the wants of its owners, and yet not diminishing in area, would give an eclat to a whole State in which such a system prevailed, and add immensely to the value of its estates. Lands thus kept in timber are not lost to the productive industry of the country, for, if properly cared for, there are certain grasses which grow profusely in the woods, and afford an amount and quality of pasturage which would be quite as profitable as any other part of the farm. In every point of view in which this subject may be looked at, it presents the strongest reasons why this most vital interest of the country should be guarded through the instrumentality of the power of Congress when disposing of the public lands. It should be a stipulated condition of all grants that ten per cent. of the land granted should be kept in timber. There is one other subject, which pertains to the disposition of the public lands, to which attention should be attracted. By the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, there was donated to the States about ten mil- lions of acres of the public lands, and the principle of distribution was to each State in proportion to its representation in Congress—30,000 acres for each Senator and Representative—whereby Minnesota was en- titled to 120,000 acres, whereas New York was entitled to 990,000 acres, the latter having an area of about thirty-two millions of acres, while that of Minnesota is about fifty millions. This basis of pro rata works such manifest injustice, whatever may be the object of the grant, that it should never again be allowed to control that just equality which is always sought to characterize the action of the Government. Its injustice is made the more manifest by the consideration of the facts that in 1850 the cultivated area of Minnesota did not exceed two thousand acres, whereas in 1868 it was about one million three hundred and eighty thousand. acres; and what was unjust in 1862, when the law was passed, has already become more than doubly so in 1872, because of its increased and continually increasing population. This comparison is used as an illustration of what is equally true of all the Western States and Terri- tories. ' It is not an easy subject to say what would be a proper basis of pro vata division, such as would reconcile itself to our sense of justice. Area of territory naturally suggests itself. But this, too, would manifestly work inequality and injustice, for many reasons which readily present themselves. All legislation is for the common benefit. It is to do the greatest good to the greatest number, and not to the greatest part. And while the time may come when Minnesota may equal or double the pop- ulation of New York, that time is yet very distant, and time is an ele- ment which should occupy a prominent place in any investigation of such a subject. Again, in some of our States and Territories there are large areas which are not susceptible of either population or cultivation to any great extent. In such cases, to measure a division upon such a basis, would be without the sanction of any principle of right. Itis much easier to tear down than to build any structure; but naturally striving to give to each of these conflicting elements their due weight, a compromise between them suggests itself. In the councils of the nation territory is comparatively silent and weak, while population is loud and 68 strong, but apparently ever ready to enact laws according to equity and justice. I suggest that both these principles of territory and population shall be invoked in the solution of this question, and that when our lands are to be divided between the States pro rata, the basis of it shall be both population and territory; that one-half shall be pro rata according to population or representation, and the other half according to area of territory. This may not, in all possible cases, produce exact justice and right, but it will approximate it as nearly as human law ean attain any object. FARM RECORDS. Few systematic records of yield and value of farm crops, or of the re- sults of peculiar culture or variable seasons, have been published in this country. Mr. John N. Nelson, of Newark, Rock County, Wisconsin, has communicated certain results of his farm-work for twenty-two years, showing the product and price of corn and wheat, beef and pork, for that period. Wheat produced and sold in twenty-two years. . Value ; Year. Acres. | Bushels. venlized: Remarks. Sonor ononoe 25 359 | $286 25 | Kind, Hedge-row; beardy and good. ; Pooloseesece es 28 128 79 25 | Kind, Hedge-row; badly blighted ; wet summer. TS sere ee 12 169 90 38 | Kind, Canada Club; good. 18532 er pee 10 57 29 68 | Kind, Canada Club; partly destroyed by chinch-bug. Ue See e soe 12 36 29 20 | Kind, Canada Club; Besiveren by chinch-bug. Lennon ae pice 24 215 224 00 | Kind, Canada Club; good; bugs again. aiies see Sa 50 589 504 30 | Kind, Canada Club; good, put light crop. els (YS BRE Se 25 39 39 00 | Kind, Canada Club; destroyed by chinch-bug. 138 Soe 44 965 610 50 | Kind, Canada Club and Rio Grande; good. psa ae eee 20 183 189 24 | Blighted badly ; wet summer. ARGOS ei De Ee 50 989 788 00 | Kind, Rio Grande; good. ii oS eee 35 663 474 33 | Kind, Fife and Rio Grande; good. Ley eh Ab See oe 40 793 531 10 Do. EGS cee acts 25 105 81 10 | Kind, Fife and Rio Grande ; destroyed by bugs. TLS ie ea 30 282 | 339 00 | Kind, Fife and Club; damaged by bugs. ~* TEGO LHe Sosa. D9 Fah Sets SB aes sere oe Bugs took all the crop. TR66 20 52:$¢ 522 35 234 284 40 | Kind, Fife and Rio Grande; badly damaged by bugs. WEB Tsetse oette 30 179 395 75 | Kind, Fife and Rio Grande ; blighted. ABGS TS .. Fate 30 506 844 86 | Kind, Fife and Rio Grande; good. TEGO Soe tsk aig QBil eek celeriac Bugs took all the crop. ROTO cle tesee 25 248 313 50 | Kind, Sangapore or Mammoth; good. SUL ees eee 20 184 202 40 | Kind, Sangapore; dry season; quality good. 627 6, 923 | 6,336 24 | Total amount sold. 880 812 00 | Amount used in family. 1,096 | 1,040 20 | Amount used for seed. otal iro listecmate « 8, 899 | 8,188 44 69 Corn sold in twenty-two years. Year Acres. | Bushels. | Value. Remarks. MoO ice Aecoeeg 20 8 $2 60 | Kind, Hackberry and Dent. $851 =. =--- 25 90 30 00 | Kind, Hackberry and Dent; good. 1852- ...----.- 30 27 6 50 Do. 1b) GSES 15 103 44 40 Do. See wtaicie = =\~i- 25 432 178 10 Do. Reise acca a= 27 449 208 90 Do. oS Da Se Asse oe 30 606 286 00 Do. MBO To cl conn = <= 37 1, 300 568 50 Do. $enbes-2------ 35 590 157 70 | Light crop; dry season. AB59S Aedes she 40 1,000 | 744 00 | Extra good. nD SSP eeoes 40 475 132 20 ood. ARGUS Re 3. 30 250 165 50 | Part destroyed by chinch-bugs. POD Re aias:e)nialn ate 40 2, 371 | 1,986 10 | Good. GUS EAs 35 851 371 37 Do. BRGHEe seo 60 1, 448 | 1,538 90 | Damaged by chinch-bugs. 1B EF peeeee 37 516 258 11 | Good. PEGGs 2 = 55-4: 40 715 321 34 Do. RG < a0 ainic 30 229 160 00 Do. DBRS aa mites 40 614 496 00 Do. OOO sais ant 45 949 611 25 Do. 1st Loree Eee 50 830 548 00 | Dry season; crop light; quality good. WS ae os Soa 48 791 407 31 | Dry season; quality good. 779 14, 644 | 9,222 78 | Total amount sold. 1, 200 430 00 | Amount on hand and present value of, at 40 cts. per bushel. Total .. 15, 844 | 9, 702 78 Beef sold. Year Pounds Value. Remarks ! $315 00 | Fed corn on cob. 300 10 0. 250 00 | Fed 386 bushels corn-meal. 40 00 | Fed corn-meal. 140 00 | Fed cob and corn, ground. 261 00 Do. 163 00 | Fed cob and corn, ground. 60 00 Do. 40 00 0. @1 00 | Fed corn-meal. 10 67 Do. 90 00 | Fed cob and corn, ground. 119 32 Do. 130 00 Do. 13 75 Bae oe Sats All the cattle sold alive on tho scales, ex- cept three or four. She AR Do. 85 25'| Had single quarters dressed. 2,099 09 Of the fat cattle, Mr. Nelson says: “I sold 56 head of fat cattle -altogethe Tr. In 1852 I ground the corn and fed 386 bushels of meal to 10 head, about 38 bushels each; and I think that would prove a correct basis for averaging the remainder. These 56 head cost $657 12, or ‘$11 77,5, each; sold for $2,099 09; average, $37 48. Cattle mostly two years old, bought in the fall and sold in the spring following.” 70 Pork sold. Year. Pounds. Value. Remarks. | see Se ERE ee Cenk ode 1, 161 $45 00 | Fed corn exclusively. psi ee a 5 55 ee ae ea 2 hf. 1850 Seen ePeR Per soc tet eke \emie site 3, 760 222 00 | Fed corn exclusively. CCRT += 44d 5 NA See ee ee ome 2, 713 95 81 Do. NGRA Ree at ins cians tet ee een nkiasicsee = 3, 497 165 85 Do. PaHnee Re cane oc sae oe eee thee at oleemee eee Relciem Semanae > de a4 BE SR ey es Rees || A eee he SE eS Li). 642 i ee aes Seam aero 3 505 27 7 Do ANB ase anes ence ne nae ma = <> aa eee ee Cee ine me eee Loi De AaRSReSs 3582 oS saoreesaoe see 2,011 86 86 Do SOO nee ene acne s once ae pee 1, 075 33 81 Do DSGL eeeeee eee s i's = ne ae ee 3, 989 171 &0 Do. 1862: ee wes a> cs cec cee eneee 981 &8 00 Do BRB eRe he oincindn acne EER ae 1, 000 124 80 Do. Aly: ¢ Cae a eee teettoe OSL ae 1, 279 86 51 | Part meal and cooked. Dee ieee ten ool ee ee ee 3, 616 183 00 Do. PSH Grech coc uculen nc abnlce eRe eet e -1, 736 188 00 Do. 5S Se ee STS Sry 555 aa 2, 985 285 24 Do. FUSOD coin clejani cise ae ee OR RE ee eels 2, 720 235 00 Do. BODO SSRs |. ss See ee am wes 2 6, 528 214 40 | Part meal and pumpkins, cooked. | 39, 556 2,253 85 | Pork averaged 5 cents per pound. 13, 200 660 00 | Used in family in twenty-two years. 52, 756 2,913 85 Belelepeite cee 300 00 | Value of hogs on hand. Biialbe ees td) ere eee ee yen ae 3, 213 85 Wheat account condensed. Cost of plowing, sowing, dragging, and rolling 627 acres, at $2 per acre... $1,254 00” 1,096 bushels seed-wheat, at 95 cents per bushel......--...--------.------ 1,041 20 Cutting, binding, setting up, drawing, stacking, thrashing, and boarding, fe 89 mertacre 3-028 cee S A Se cok i eee * 1,812 03 Rent of Jand, at '$2'50 peractet=- 2..)2:6 ave - o> aes e - +e ae eel 1, 567 50 Cost, ($9 05. per sete) 52 fy 2 20 oon 3 eae oe se r 5, 674 73 Receipts from wheat. 6,923 bushels sold; average (about) 92 cents per bushel ..---..----..----. $6, 336 24 880 bushels used in family, at 92 cents per bushel .-....--..-....----.---- 809 60 Total receipts 5. << /--. WS. 2 aoc ee ons kee eee eee 7,145 84 Cosh, ce cote cee te eo ce Se RE RS orth ce 5, 674 73 Protit,<($2:34 per acre)... 28 NeSs>.. ae Pig ee 1,471 11 Corn account condensed. Cost of plowing, dragging, rolling, and planting 779 acres, at $2 per acre-. $1,558 00 Cultivating and harvesting, at about $3 73 per acre ..---...---..--------- 2,912 19 £00-bushels of seed sown). 2°) aoe Eee 5 as eee. 100 00 Rent of land, at about $2 50 per acre .----..- Misiswisinieeeeniie - =. -seer ee do....| 150 to -— CHOICE messes cee do.--.| 750 to 8 00 yellow)2-5- = csneeee do....| 150 to -— Wheat, red........--. per bush..| 1 574to 160 || Hay, State............- per ton..| 2200 to - — WIG 2 - so-ccet nce do....| 158 to -— |! Pork, mess.-...-......- per bbl..| 18 50 to 22 00 SPMNE cows neeeeces do....| 127 to 130 PIM ye ae eee eee do....| 17 00 to 18 00 Worn; wmixed/22 oc eescoe WOen oe 38 to 5D |) Beef Mess-..-2-coae- sees do....| 13 00 to 14 00 pyolloWieeoascienn onion dosres — to w= AN ard: 52. sce eee per lb... 11} to 13 PWHIGO Sensei enone doen = 55. to — Butter, overland..-...-..- dolzae 20 to 25 Oats, white ...--.-.-:.---. doeee 374 to 45 California ......-.. doves 25 to 324- mixed. och ook ee doles 42 to 43 Oregon '<222eseeeee os=o- 15 to 20 BRIVO ow toric eteckin tin ctmeiene Goeeee 774 to =——' | \Cheese.2¢- Shencesmca meee go:22, 15 “tes a7 Barley, winter ......------ do: --2 70 to 85 || Wool, native...........-.- do.... — to 20 PAW oes coe see eee perton-..| 15 00 to 19 00 California .......... doses 24 to 30 {Pork ‘MOSS: ooes «nscale, per bbl-..| 13 25 to — — Oregon? -s-—=seneee do... 28 to 30 [The publication of the meteorological tables in the monthly is from, this date discontinued, by direction of the Commissioner of Agriculture. | MONTHLY REPORT Oy THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MARCH AND APRIL, 1872. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICER. 1872. ’ ‘ ‘ if oy Au ; at tai) 2, Pg ws , AF haat va 4 * vaeer « hy © As Wey, Nata ¢ | ee ” t Sd ae a ia ais RR A "A 4 it os Rey ‘> Le mn de : are ane ‘ : nly 1 nt Dee 8 7? a ra Pe J ee i. S A ve " ve ‘ j ‘ - "i \ aN ‘ } ‘ " é ” Le ty. ge” 2 hs « ay ‘ i « ) * . A id * MONTHLY REPORT. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUBE, Statistical Division, April 26, 1872. Snz: 1 submit herewith, for publication, a digest of the reports of our statistical corps, relative to the condition of winter-wheat and other ce- reals, the condition of farm animals, and the comparative prevalence of disease among them during the past year, with a communication giv-_ ing an account of the progress of the beet-root sugar manutacture 0 i Sweden, and recerds of the operations of the several Divisions of the Department. J. R. DODGH, Statistician. Hom FREDERICK WATTS, : Commissioner. CONDITION OF WINTER GRAIN. The lew temperature of the mouth of March, and the accumulations of winter snow and ice, have retarded the springing of vegetable life, and tinged with gloom the views of local reporters. Over a large area, at the date of returns, snow still covered deeply the grain-fields, and. only conjecture, founded on the forwardness and vigor of plants at the opening of winter, and on the mechanical conditien of the soil and the severity of thé season, could point to the probable status, of tlre winter grain, The general tenor of reports carries the idea, not of sweeping destruction by freezing, but of injury by thinning cut, by killing in spots and patches, and especially by retarding an early start and vigorous growth. in many cases the plants, apparently dead, were only sleeping, unpromising in, appearance but firmly rooted, and ready, with favoring warmth.aud sunshine, to start into sure and steady if not rapid growth. Where the fields were drained, the soil deep and mellew, the casualties of winter have been unknown; where the seeding was done with the drill, on land having any fair degree of suitable preparation, almost absolute immunity from loss by freezing has been secured. It is strange that the use of the drill has not become universal. The fact remains that nearly all the wheat of the Hastern States, almost all in the South, much in the Middle States, and no little im all portions of the Western, is seeded by hand. The use of drills enough to sapersede all the broadcast sowing of the country weuld secure in a single year in- ereased yield sufficient to pay for them. The April returns, as a whole, indicate stunted appearatice, retarded growth, and rather more than an average amount ef destruction by win- ter-killing, but a sound condition of the roots of plants in suitable soil or that covered uniformly with spew, which with favoring weather may 106 secure @ Vigorous growth aud a good yield. The droughts of summer always interiere, in a larger or smaller portion of the wheat area, with the proper time for seeding; those of last season were only a little more extended and severe than usual. - Our climate is peculiarly subject to them, and this fact should enforee the more general draining, deepen- ing, and mellowing of the surface soil, which alone, in the experience of the past, as reported each spring from almost every county in the coun- try, would suifice to insure against the worst effects of drought upon our winter grain. In Maire the ground was deeply covered with snow; but it was believed that the plants were safe. In Aroostook County an interest in winter grain is arising, as the result of a few good crops of winter- wheat last year. The snow was deep in New Hampshire on the 1st of April; the earth frozen, in the locality of our Hillsborough correspona- ent, “to the depth of seven feet.” The small area reported in Ver- “mont was generally promising when last seen in the autumn. In Massa- chusetts some reports of winter-killing are received. The few fields of wheat near Providence, Rhede Island, are flourishing; but rye is injured by freezing, the ground having been bare most of the winter; and rye in Kent County has been roughly treated by the winter winds of Feb- ruary and March, which have been unusually high. In Connecticut there has been much bare surface and severe weather, and the rye-fields present a somewhat unpropitionus appearance. The reports are more favorable from Hartford than from Fairfi¢ld, Windham, and New London. The reports from New York in the early part of the month were not very cheerful in tone, the snow and ice not having disappeared, but indicated a probable improvement, under the influences of fine weather, the plants being generally alive. A few extracts from correspondence will illustrate these points: Niagara: Very poor; so dry last fall that but little growth was made except on the best prepared land. Dutchess: Look badly now; little snow. Genesee: The wheat was small when winter commenced, and has been uncovered most of the time; the top looks dead, but there is probably vitality enough in the roots to give a fair promise with favorable weather. Chenango: Below average; little protection from snowy. Sullivan: Scarcely any winter-wheat; rye looks very bad; little snow to cover it. Yates: Wheat-fields are very bare now, but the roots seem to be generally alive. The fall was extremely dry, so that it got a poor start, and there has been no snow to protect it. -Seneca: Never looked worse; top entirely dead. Monroe: Looks poor; cold winter and little snow. Jefferson: The ground was frozen hard in December, and afterward a partial thaw setiled the snow down into a hard icy crust, which has since remained on the ground; hence the prospect is not very promising. Erie: Small on account of drought in the fall. Albany: Rather poor, having been exposed for three months to searching winds; but the hard- est time is yet to come from freezing and thawing. Chautauqua: Badly frozen; and looks bleached, owing ‘to cold winds withont much snow. Onondaga: Wheat got a light growth in the fall, and has been mostly covered with snow since. Steuben: Severe ccld and little snow has been hard on wheat and rye; the Fultz wheat looks better than any other, and promises to be ap acquisition. Washington: Ground frozen more than two feet deep, and has been solidly frozen all winter; ngw covered with snow. Livingston: Wheat not looking well; steady cold with little snow; the ground frozen very deep. Greene: Looks rather poor. The ground has not been covered with snow a whole week during the entire winter; the coldest weather was in March, accompanied with high norgh 107 winds. Queens: Under snow; the river stili frozen one foot thick, and used as ahighway; good sleighing in some parts of the county. Oneida: Winter grains are now covered by one to two feet of snow, and the winter has been steadily cold. Cntario: Poorest condition known for thirty years, owing to absence of snow and freezing and thawing. Ulster: No snow; but the ground frozen four feet deep, with an occa- sional surface thaw. Schuyler: Very bad; the ground was very dry last fall, so that the plants got a poor start, and the winds blew the earth from the roots, there being little snow to protect them. There was but one fall of snow of over six inches in depth, and that remained upon the ground only four days. Rensselaer: Wheat, rye, clover, and timothy all appear to be dead, though we hope it may turn out better than that. It has been the Hardest winter for seventy years. One- third of the potatoes frozen, and two-thirds of the bees dead. The heaviest teams crossed the river at Albany, the ice being three feet thick. Ground frozen from three and a half to five feet deep. Most of the New Jersey returns represent the ground poorly covered with snow, while the temperature was low and the soil deeply frozen. In Morris County winter-grain was “much injured by freezing and thawing ;” in Burlington ‘“ few fields have.an average appearance, while many*look worse than for seven years past;” in Cumberland the “plants had a good start in the fall, are well rooted, but as yet look bad;” in Camden “winter commenced in November, with ‘very high winds, which seemed to kill the tops of the grain, and there was but little snow to protect it, so that littie evidence of vitality appears, ex- cept in protected situations or fields early sown;” in Hunterdon, as the result of freezing, “many farmers contemplate plowing their fields for corn and oats when the weather permits ;” in Union, where the ground was reported to be frozen to the depth of 20 inches at the date of the report, the appearance of wheat and rye fields is bad; and similar re- ports come from Hudson and Essex, where high winds have prevailed, with jittle snow. The fly has been busy in Warren and Burlington. The latter report says: “I have frequently found as many as four in a single stalk. Of course here, as elsewhere, the fly does most harm where neither’the soil nor farmer supply the plant with the food nec&- sary for vigorous growth. Much of the soil in the wheat-growing por- tion of our county is of that texture which best withstands the effects of a winter like that just past, (will not blow when dry; will not ran when freezing and thawing,) and a favorable spring may yet give us a erop on this soil. Rye is grown on our lightest soil, and will bear a higher mark than wheat.” The reports from Pennsylvania refer to the severity of the winter and the depth of freezing ; in some cases 25 feet, in others 4 teet, at the date of mailing. ‘There was “constant freezing from November 23 to April 1” in Cambria, and “fields that were green in fall are now bare;” “fields look as if scorched by fire” in Westmoreland ; fields are injured by the fly and by frost in Lancaster; winter-wheat in Danphin “has the appearance of having been frozen off, as the stem in many places can be lifted from the roots ;” small growth was made in the fall in Brad- ford; looks poor in Cumberland, “but roets are living and commencing to grow ;” much winter-killed in Mifflin, where a very large crop was grown last year, half of it the Fultz variety. Similar reports come from Wayne, York, Perry, Clinton, Chester, Tioga, Bucics, Indiana, Elk, Beaver, Susquehanna, Greene, Armstrong, Lawrence, Lycoming, Hun- tingdon, Mercer, W yoming, Adams, Warren, Northumberland, Wash ington, and Lehigh. ‘The fly is reported in several counties. 108 Lack of winter protection caused severe injury in Delaware. South of Maryland and Virginia little wheat is grown, and rye mainly for winter pastures. A. selection from returns will represent the con- dition of winter grain: we » MaryLAnp.—Queen Anne: The winter has been very hard on wheat, the growing season of last fall having ceased on the 1st of December. Fertilizers were very extensively used, and wheat seeded on or before October 10, with a liberal supply of fertilizer, and on properly drained land, has made « rapid improvement within the last few days, and now looks quite promising. When ground was not properly drained, or wheat seeded late, it still presents a poor appearance. It may not, how- ever, be so badly hurt as its present apparent condition would seem to indicate, as the season is very backward, and the best wheat is no-fur- ther advanced than it should have been by March Ist after passing through an ordinary winter. Iwill add thatthe Fultz wheat you sent me has wintered well and promises to be a valuable acquisition. Wash- ingtan : Wheat has looked badly, owing to dry fall and ‘severe winter, but is improving rapidly now. The Fultz wheat ‘received from the De- partment last fall, although sown late, looks remarkably well. ‘Consid- erable has been sown from seed procured in Pennsylvania, and gener- ally looks much better than other varieties. Harford: Looks worse than for many years; fly last failand winter-killed. Cecil: Many fields ruined by fly last fall, and very severe winter; little snow. . ‘Carroll: Very unfavorable. Early-sown grain ‘suffered trom Hessian fly, while dry weather and the severe winter ‘have bleached the plant. Talbot: Wheat looking badly. Fly in the fall and frost in winter. VIRGINIA :—Hingand Queen: L never saw wheat or rye in worse con- dition. These crops, as well as oats, have ‘so diminished in ‘product as to render the return of seed doubtful. There were many instances last year of a product less than the amount of seed sown, and the present crop promises no better. Highland : Looks very badly, showing only dead blades above ground. Henry: The winter has been unysually severe and there has been more snow in March than ever before known. Wheat-fields look naked, but the roots appear sound and the plants healthy. Washington: Wheat worse than for many years. Dry weather all the fall, and from December to March. ‘Chesterfield: Back- ward, buta remarkably good stand. The Fultz wheat received from the Department last fail was seeded with great care and promises well. Craig: Freezing has continued to within a few days. Henrico: Re- markably fine. Fall late and wet enough to give a good start. ‘Bath: Injured by hard freezing and so small an amount of snow in early win- ter. Oulpeper: Fields look bare and unpromising from freezing and thawing in March. My Touzelle wheat received from the Agricultural Department three years ago looks about twenty per cent. better than the Fultz, California, or Lancaster, sown at the same time and under equally favorable circumstanees, The Scotch rye sent from the Depart- ment last fail also looks very well. @#lwanna: Looks backward, but is not winter-killed, having been protected by continued snows. Mrederick : Wheat better than average, scarcely winter-killed atall, but the present cold, dry weather is unfavorable. Gloueester: Generally looking badly; that jate sown much frozen. Rockbridge: Looks better now than an® January and February. The snows of March seem to have infused new life into it and a fair crop is promised. Montgomery: Wheat below an average in appearance, especially late sown; but it is not winter-killed and may makea good crop. Rockingham : Looks well; the dry statg ot the ground prevented much injury from frost. Louisa: No rye raised. 109 Wheat does not look well; was sown early and had a good start, but the winter has been very severe. Grecnviile: Below average. Severe winter and little snow. Prince George: Wheat sown broadcast, espe- cially on clay soil, is much winter-killed, but drilled wheat looks strong and healthy. Little or no rye. Mecklenburgh : Far above last year. More snow and ice than almost ever knéwn before, which have protected the wheat. Campbeil: WLooks well, considering the, cold and lack of snow early in the winter, but is not as promising new as at first of the year. Buckingham : Although there was more snow than for many years past the w heat i is looking badly. After it had been covered for several weeks there was a sudden thaw, followed by intexse cold, which killed much of it and left the rest exposed. The Iultz wheat received froin the Department last fall has proved much more hardy than other varieties, and promises © good yield. NortH CAROLINA. — Grane ilie: Much injured by freezing and thaw- ing, with little protection from snow. Jecklenburgh: Barly: sown looks well; late, peor. Catawba: Looks well in spite of severe winter, owing to fine fall growth. Rockingham: Looks well;. much snow. Rowan: "Very backward, but a good stand. Beaufort: Good; much snow. Cur- rituck: Much thrown out. Wilkes: Looks dead, but roots seem alive, Gaston: Thin stand, from freezing out, but looks well. Warren: Un- promising ; unfavorable fall. MeDovell : Owing to late and open fall, it hada good start; looks well. Orange: Very bad; much frozen ont, especially on red land. Hertford: Very unpromising; wet, cold winter. Stanley: Winter wheat and rye are in average condition. "The stand is good, and if no late disasters cut it off, a fair erop may be looked for. Our early red wheat is, in truth, too far advanced in sunny positions, when late frosts may damage it. The Tappahannock, introduced some years ago by the Department, though not equal to what it was at first, presents a thrifty aspect; its large tus ssock and broad blades cover the ground all over with a dark, green carpet. Of the Fultz wheat sent last fall it is reported that, so far, “there is nothing remarkable about it, unless it be its slender erowth.” Of fifty-five counties reporting wheat, accounts are favorable from thirty, unfavorable from tweuty, while’ twenty-five return “average condition.” — Sourn Caroiina.—Anderson: Wheat late, bet healthy; much winter- killed. Hight snows, the last eight inches deep; tleepest for many years. Richland : Vine; no, freezing out, owing to the moist state of the ground during the extremely cold weather. Union: Wheat good when sown before November 15; late-sown wheat, small. Marion: Karly-sown wheat looking well; the Fultz wheat promising. Schonen oats and Seotch rye have not stood the winter well. Alargearea has been sown _ in oats and the prospectis good. Itisnow considered the safest and most economical grain and forage crop that can be raised in thecounty. Ler- ington: Winter wheat is somewhat backward, and the stand not very good, owing, doubtiess, to the late sowing and very cold winter. Wheat sown -here on the Ist of October, and moderately fertilized, would almost invariably reward the laborer abundantly; but cottonseed is generally used for manure, and therefore farmers wait until the last of #November, and even later, in order to prevent its sprouting, and thus injuring its fertilizing properties. Besides, the cotton-picking demands the attention of their entize force until about that time, and therefore the wheat crop is generally sown from one to two months too late to produce the best results. The correspondent says: “My own wheat sown inthe middie of November, and manured with cotton-seed and Wando 110 phosphate, looks remarkably well, and bids fair to yield a first-rate erop. This is perhaps partly owing to the seed, it being of the Tappahannock variety, and raised in Missouri, which will be likely to result in its ma- turing from ten to fourteen days earlier than from seed raised in this locality. The Fultz wheat sent. me by the Department is also looking remarkably well, and will apparently sustain the reputation it has acquired in the North. I have some small patches of rye, which look well, though used for pasturage all winter, and will doubtless yield well.” GEoRGIA.— Hall: Good stand, but very backward. Snow six inches deep March 22. Neverknown before. White: Little wheat sown; much more rye; looks well. Walker: Wheat smaller than ever before at same date, but stands good. Rye,average. Newten: Backward; winter oats somewhat winter-killed. Merion: Wheat not looking well, on ae- - count of the extremely cold,wet weather ; rye looks well; the Fultz wheat from the Department looks well, but the Scotch rye seems to be a failure. Gilmer: Looks well; severe winter, but protected by much snow. Wilkes: Wheat in good condition; the Fultz wheat looks best. Heand: Wheat backward, but fair. Cherokee: Very backward; in some places, frozen out until too thin. Fannin: Wheat looks 50 per cent. below an average; rye also 20 per cent. below; the Fultz wheat looks better than any other kind; Scotch rye did not germinate. Dawson: Generally bad; but where early sown looks well; little rye sown. In Georgia eight counties report superior condition, twenty-eight a good prospect, two an average, and fifteen an unpromising appearance. FLoORIDA.— Wakulla: The correspondent says: “The past winter will be remembered in Fiorida. I have felt colder weather here, but through January and February it was almost uninterruptedly cold, which is unu- sual here. The planters commenced planting corn the last of February, but, by reason of the superabundance of wet and cold, the stands are not good and the crops are looking badly. ALABAMA.—Fauderdale. Very promising. Great pains taken in seed- ing. Livingston. Not very promising; much frozen out and sustained only by the fibrous roots still retaining theirhold. Blownt. Much snow, and it looks fine. Macon. Large crops of wheat, rye, and oats sown, and look well. ; MISSISSIPPI.— Amite. Wheat a failure as usual, and red oats a perfect success—entirely rust-proof. Wayne. No wheat grown. Rye and oats fine. Attention turned to winter-oats, which do well. Red rust-proof oats a favorite. Indications of increased attention to cereals appear in Texas, pointing to an enlarged area to be harvested this season. The fields are gen- erally promising. A good account is given of the appearance of the Tappahannock and Fultz varieties. In Cherokee County the condition ef the latter, as well as Scotch rye, is 50 per cent. better than other kinds. Abundant rains, causing vigorous growth, are reported from Kendall. Wheat promises to be ripe in Ellis by May 10. A backward condition is reported from Independence, Columbia, and Blanco. In- crease of acreage is especially marked in Grayson, Kendall, Lampasas, and Johnson. The appearance of wheat is generally unpromising in Arkansas. It is not a prominent interest and few counties are reported. ¥ In Tennessee the early-sown wheat is generally in vigorous growth, while much that was sown in October and November was killed or in- jured by freezing. Careiess preparation of the soil is given as another cause for unpromising condition in many places. That which appeared to be frozen out is generally improving rapidly. * In Bradley County - 4 111 the early and the late-sown are looking ,well, while that seeded in October is winter-killed. In Robertson, Fultz wheat, sown October 27, makes a fine show. ‘The poor appearance of late-sown grains is marked in Meigs, Roane, Lincoln, Madison, and Jefferson. The accounts from Kentucky are quite various—some promising, others gloomy. , ~< epeecee-< *'- -p ashe eee ee Sen 81.43 solphate of lime... ...-ssenueee ee. - +: ~-c + Lee ene Oe 4,21 Earthy matter, insoluble in hydrochloric acid...... ey eh 2.02 Water, determined at 1009 G70... -... 22. ee 2.34 100.00 Mixed with muck or barn-yard manure, this substanee will have the effect of mild lime. Where fuel is cheap it may be made more active by burning it as lime is burned. : SULPHUR IN MINERAL COAL—OHIO LIMESRONES.—Professor Worm- ley, in a paper appended to the Ohio Geological Report for 1870, gives an interesting account of the chemical composition of the mineral coals and limestones of that State. Without any very accurate determination of the fact, it has heretofors been assumed that the sulphur in bitaumin- ous coals exists in combination with iron in the form of ferrous sulphide, but the investigations of Professor Wormley prove conclusively that this is not the case, at least so far as the coals of Ohio are concerned. In all his investigations a large redundancy of sulphur over the quantity of iron necessary to*convert it into a sulphide was found. The experi- ments detailed on the heating properties of different coals are very interesting. Science can hardly do a more important service, at the present time, than to determine how much heat can be produced by the combustion of a given weight of coal of the various qualities. This paper reports that all the limestones of Ohio contain magnesia, though jn very different proportions. The blue limestone (Trenton) has 5 per cent:, the Clinton 12, the Corniferous 28, and the Niagara 55. These facts are important in an agricultural point of view, but we regret that the professor did not determine the proportion of phosphate of lime in these several qualities of stone. The permanent action of lime as a manure depends much on the quantity of phosphoric acid it may contaim. ARTIFICIAL WATER-LIME.—It has been long known to chemists that water-lime consists substantially of quick-lime, burnt clay, and a small portion of the oxides of iron and magnesia, but scarcely any effort has been made. to utilize this knowledge. All yellow or red clays contain iron, and most specimens of lime in use contain the required magnesia. If burnt clay or brick-dust in fine powder be mixed with an equal weight of fresh slaked lime and twice this weight of clean, sharp sand be added, a compound will be formed which will harden under water equal to the best hydraulic cement. GERMINATION—ITS RELATION TO L1GH’.—The theory of the germi- nation of plants, which has been héretofore admitted, requires that the germinating seed -be excluded from direct sun-light. Late experiments ‘appear to establish the fact that, while exclusion from the luminous rays of the solar spectrum is necessary to the healthy germination of seeds, yet the chemical or actinic rays are indispensable to that process. These penetrate mueh deeper into the soil than do the luminous rays. The exclusion of the chemical rays, and not the absence of oxygen alone, is assumed to be the cause of seeds failing to grow when buried too deeply in the earth. Will our agricultural colleges settle this question ee —— : 139 by careful experiments? Let us have all that can be known of the mys- teries of plant-life. CARBOLIC ACID AS A DISINFECTANT.—C. Homburgh, of Berlin, pro- poses to use carbolic acid as a disinfectant, by saturating sheets of Bris- tol-board, or any thick spongy paper, with a solution of carbolic acid in water. The paper, in pieces of any convenient size, may be hung up in the room to be disinfected, or may be placed in drawers or ward- robes, where it is desired to protect clothing from moths or other insects. This suggests a convenient method of using this excellent disinfectant and insect destroyer. AVAILABLE NITROGEN.—P. P. Deherain (in Comptes Rendus) ad- vances a somewhat novel theory of the reduction of atmospheric nitro- gen to an available form for the support of plant-life. He endeavors to prove that the free nitrogen of the atmosphere is brought into com- bination during the oxidation of organic matter in the soil. To demon- strate this he dissolves glucose in a dilute solution of ammonia in wa- ter placed in a large flask filled with a mixture,of equal parts of nitro- gen and oxygen. NUaving closed the flask, he heats the mixture gently tor one hundred hours, at the end of which time the whole of the oxy- gen has disappeared, and 5.9 per cent. of nitrogen has been taken up. The same process with humic acid and potash shows a loss of 7.2 of ni- trogen. If these results are confirmed by subsequent experiments, they will throw light on the hitherto obscure subject of the production of nitric acid. ‘ FORMULA FOR FERTILIZERS. — M. George Ville, in the Journal @ Agriculture Practique for February 22, 1872, gives the following form- ula: of chemical manures at present 1n use in France, with the modifica- tions which he proposes to introduce, to which he appends the prices of the several ingredients used in the compound, both in the old form- ula of 1868 and the new of 1871. By way of explanation to some of eur readers, it may be proper to say that a kilogram is equal to 2.204737 pounds—a france is a value ot 18.6 cents, and a hectare is a land-measure of 2.4711 acres. Old formula for clover and hay. Acid phosphate of lima......--- toe 400 kilograms = 64 francs. p20 Se .-200 kilograms = 124 franes. Sulphate of lime (plaster)..............-. 400 kilograms = ‘8 frances. 196 francs. Cost per hectare = 196 franes, or $36.45, ‘ For which he substitutes the new formula with the prices of 1871 ap- pended : mem phosphate of lime....-..--..-... 400 kilograms, worth 52 francs. Chloride of potassium............ Pe .200 kilograms, worth 50 franes. Premeeie OF lime... .-. 2.22... 400 kilograms, worth 8 francs. 110 franes. Cost per hectare = 110 francs = $20.46. For clover or Burgundian hay, M. Ville says he does not hesitate to recommend ithe chloride of potassium as a substitute for the nitrate, but for cereals (wheat, rye, barley, &c.) it is necessary to supply nitro- gen in some available form, and for this purpose he uses the sulphate of ammonia as in the following formula: 140 Acid phosphate of lime.....0..-...-. 400 kilograms, worth 52 franes. Chloride of potassium ..............- 200 kilograms, worth 50 franes. Sulphate of ammonia... .2. 2: gee! 590 kilograms, worth 195 franes. Sulphateior lime... 2). eee ea ke. 210 kilograms, worth 4.20 “ 501.20 frs. Cost per hectare = 301.20 franes == $54.52. By the term “acid phosphate of lime” we suppose the author means bone meal or ground mineral phosphate of lime, reduced to a soluble form by the addition of half the weight of sulphurie acid. * The Feuilleton du Journal des Débats of February 7, 1872, gives an account of several institutions throughout Germany, France, Italy, and other parts of Europe, which are said to render very great and efficient service to agriculture. They are styled agricultural stations, aud have for their object the promotion and diffusion of agricultural science, and the protection of practical farmers from frauds practiced upon them by dealers. To attain this object they devote themselves to the presecution of different experiments in vegetable and animal physiology, the analysis of soils and fertilizers, and all the different pro- ducts which are presented to them by the practical husbandman. They have a double mission imposed, that of being both theoretical and prac- tical: they must work up the scientific theories and discoveries and put them in such a shape as to be understood and, utilized by farmers. A much better idea of their object will be conveyed by giving the different heads into which M. Grandeau has grouped the work pursued by the different stations. ‘They are as follows: ete ist. Researches and experiments upon the production of vegetables and animals. The word production is here taken in its broadest sense. It comprehends at once the researches upon the different branches of ani- mal and vegetable physiology, zootechny, physiological chemistry, and vegetation meteorologically cousidered. 2. Informal lectures involving the principles of aguicultural science, and communicating results of work in field and laboratory. od. Publication of the successful labors of the several stations in annual cr periodical reports. 4th. Special researches and analyses of earth, water, and fertilizers, for their peculiarities. Further, there are stations which devote themselves to examina- tions not less necessary than those of fertilizers, viz: that of seeds. The stations devote themselves to the study of the laws which regulate the development of all organized beings. But, says M. Grandean, in order to do this with suecess they should not only be provided with shifficient means and ‘material, but should also be directed by men of tried capacity, versed in the knowledge of the natural sciences, and prepared by special studies for the accomplishment of the important mission confided to them. In the last connection, he says one should not undertake this without the expectation of repulse. In the begin- ning all the stations devoted themselves to the general study of animal and vegetable physiology, but finding the field too comprehensive, they concluded that it would be much more profitable to make a division and specialization of the work. After that they each, having a particular subject assigned them, occupied‘themselves with different branches. - Thus the stations of Weisbaden and Kloster-Nenbourg devote them- selves to grape culture and wine manufacture; those of Brunswick and Mariabrunn to wood culture; those of Gorze to silk culture. The sta- 141 tion of Lodi devotes itself to researches upon the manufacture of cheese; and those of Parvi to the study of cryptogamic botany. Phe author begs leave, in order to convey a more perfect idea of this ereat labor enterprise, to make some extracts from the programmes of researches prosecuted at the different stations. The following are some of the questions to the solution of which the stations of Kuschen and Proskow will devote themselves during the current year : Ist. Essays upon culture in aqueous solutions relative to the assimi- lation of ammonia, urea, and hippuric acids. 2d. Experiments upon the amount of water evaporated by different plants. 3a. Researches upon the influence exerted by the volume of earth upon the development of different plants. Ath. Trials on the culture of plants and of new varieties. 5th. Trials of different manures, having for their sole object the de- termination of the different combinations of nitrogen. 6th. Estimation of the richness of stubbles and roots in mineral mat- ter and nitrogen. ith. Researches upon the mixed seeds of the red clover, of Lucerne, or Burgundian hay, of esparcetié, and the grasses. 8th. Researches upon the digestibility ef stubbles, the nutritive ele- ments contained in young clover, old clover, and in Lucerne hay. 9th. Researches and experiments upon the different modes of the preparation of hay. 10th. Comparative researches upon the utilization of the nutritive elements of Lucerne as it is usually prepared, and of brown. lith. Researches upon the feeding of dry clover with the addition of different nutritive substances. The stations publish every year the programmes of their researches and experiments, and very materially enrich science with many valua- ble discoveries. But their popularity is chiefly due to the analyses of fertilizers and the controlling influence they exercise over their trade. The prices of analyses are fixed, by the founders of these institutions, sufficiently low to encourage custumers, and yet cover the expense and leave the station a small allowance. This prevents the sale of worthless material by dishonest manufacturers, and protects the honest dealers as well as the farmers who use the productions. Jn France this abuse by manuiacturers of fertilizers became so great, and so burdensome to agricultural industry, that they endeavored to prevent it, and founded laboratories charged with the examination of commercial fertilizers. Among these laboratories that of Nantes, con- ducted by M. Bobierre, has rendered the greatest service to agriculture. But unfortunately they are not sufficierit!y numerous to be everywhere efficacious in aiding the husbandman. The agricultural societies there- fore decided that analytical laboratories should be established in every district. They farther demand that informaticn shail be given to the minister of agriculture concerning the exact state of the soil which they cultivate, and the nature of the fertilizer used upon it. The method of inspecting commercial fertilizers practiced throughout Germany is conducted in the following manner: After the manufac- tarer has prepared a certain quantity of the fertilizer, the chemist goes to him unexpectedly, has him weigh in his presence the sacks destined for sale. He then takes a quantity which he deems necessary, makes an analysis of it, and publishes its composition. But there are stations devoted to the investigation of a matter equally important with that of fertilizers. Itis the examination of the differ. 142 ent seeds offered in large quantities in the markets. The imperfect and foul seeds which they very often contain make them a source of great an- noyance to the planter. The examination of seeds, therefore, is highly beneficial. The stations provide experts who continually carry on these examinations of all the seeds offered for sale, which, if they are bad, they condemn, and publish the amount of their adulteration. To show ~ the great importance of this measure, as well as the very great ex- tent to which these adulterations are carried, it is stated that Mr. James Buckman, formerly professor in the agricultural college of Cirencester, England, who is occupied with the examination of different seeds, found that certain specimens of red clover of commerce contain from 7,000 to 8,500 grains of foul seeds per liter. Specimens of white clover showed 125,000 to 213,000 grains of strange seeds per liter; while in an equal quantity of carnation clover, guaranteed pure, he discovered 43,500, and in ray grass of Italy, 450,800. _, Mr. Charles S. Bigge found in his determinations upon the germina- tion of seeds that in different specimens of carnation clover the num- ber of grains which grew varied between 18 and 68 per 100; white clover furnished 42 to 48 per cent. of good grains; the ray grass of England, 22 to 24 per cent.; anf he found that in a specimen of ray grass of Italy only six retained their germinating faculties. Other in- stances of adulteration and presence of foul and useless seeds in the articles offered in commerce were cited, but enough have been given to show the enormous extent to which this evil is practiced, and the very great value to the farming community of this branch of investiga- tion. All the researches and experiments of the stations are very thorough and complete, and therefore of almost infinite value to the practical farmer. This fact, together with the vast amount of valuable informa- tion which they render to the scientific world, should favorably recom- mend their establishment in every section where agricultural industry is practiced. FIRST WORDS OF THE BOTANIST. By GEORGE VASEY, BOTANIST. The present botanist of the Department having but just entered upon his duties, no extended report of operations is possible. A great amount of work has been accomplished by my predecessor in putting up and arranging the botanical collections of this Department. A large portion of these are distributed in the cases, en appropriate shelves, numbered in order from 1 to about 200, corresponding to the natural orders. Large quantities of specimens yet remain in packages, awaiting examination and distribution, and the mounting of such as are not yet represented in the general herbarium. Here are deposited the botanical collections of the different exploring expeditions of the Government, together with the numerous private col- lections which have come into its possession. Here should be a repre- sentative of every species of plant growing within the United States, and, as far as practicable, of the plants of other countries. Aj- though a large portion of these specimens have but little popular inter- est, they are of great value to the cause of science, as showing the re- lationship between different families of plants, recording their -geo- graphical range and distribution, and furnishing a means of comparison 143 and recognition of such plants as are often sent in for identification. Thus, specimens of grasses and forage plants are frequently sent to this Department by farmers and others on account of some special qualities of excellence or adaptation to" the peculiar conditions of some location in which they have been observed to grow. In.connection with the ordinary botanical specimens, it would seem to be highly desirable to have a more complete representation of all our native forest-trees, in the form of sections of the trunk or body of the trees, in such form as to illustrate the natural appearance both of the bark and of the wood—a section of the wood being also polished, to show the quality of the grain and its adaptation to mechanical pur- poses. Such a collection, properly prepared, would prove of great interest not only to science, but to practical agricuiture and mechanies, and would tend to show how rich are our native forests in the variety and value of their trees for various purposes in the arts and manu- factures. This feature of the work would also have a practical bearing upon the important questions now agitating the pnblic mind, viz: The preserva- tion and perpetuation of the forests of the country. Every means pos- sible should be employed to diffuse information on this subject, and thus promote national wealth and prosperity. : Another object of great importance to the country is the diffusion of information respecting the vegetable or fungoid diseases which affect many of our most valuable agricultural products. Our grains, our or- chards, and vineyards in many localities are suffering from the ravages of blight, mildew, mold, rot, or other fungous parasites. These require in- vestigation, in the expectation that a full knowledge of their nature and habits of growth will enable us to discover means of arresting and con- trolling their progress. in conclusion, I will express the hope that the value of this collection to the cause of science will not be overlooked. To a casual observer there may not appear any connection between the multitude of specimens arranged in the cabinet of the naturalist and the cause of agriculture. To the inexperienced hundreds of these specimens appear identical. But all intelligent persons are aware that it is only by virtue of an intimate knowledge of the multiplicity of forms which crowd every department of science, and of the relations and affinities which they sustain to each other, that the specialist is enabled to recognize and classify the various objects which come to his attention. It is this special knowledge which enables the botanist to recognize a new grass or other plant, and to judge what may be expected of it as an object of cultivation. . Indeed, at the present day, it cannot require much argument to show the influence of science on mental culture, and consequently on national elevation, in other respects than those which relate to immediate pecun- lary profits. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. INCREASING THE VIGOR OF GROWTH IN PLANTS.—A very important announcement has lately been made in I’rance as to the effect produced upon the luxuriance of vegetation by the disturbance of the natural position of the branches. It has been known for some time that if two branches of a fruit-tree be selected of about the same size, and the same 144 upward inclination to the horizontal plane, and one of these be bent downward toward this plane, it appears to lose its vigor, while the other gains in a like ratio. It is now anggunced as the discovery of an ignorant peasant on the Danube, named Hooibreuk, that this law holds good only up to the horizontal position; and that if the branch is de- pressed still further, and below the horizontal, it becomes characterized by much greater vigor than before, and, in fact, will put out leaves and branches to an astonishing and unheard-of degree. But this depends upon keeping the branches as nearly as possible in a straight line, the effect being measurably lost with a considerable carvature. In this case, only the buds which occupy the top of the are are developed com- Vig. 6. pletely, at the expense of the rest, which remain in their original condi- tion, contributing neither to the ex- tension of foliage nor of fruit. (The successive pesitions of the branch are illustrated in the accompanying eut, Fig. 6.) cating these facts to Les Mondes, at- tempts to show the causes which seem to determine so great a flow of sap to _ the branches inclined below the hori- ~ zontal line, and thinks that the ex- planation is to be found in the estab- lishment of a siphon arrangement, by means of which the juice is carried a over the bend from.the main stem in “= excessive flow. Be this as it may, the fact remains, as illustrated by ra gentleman. In early spring, when e took four plants of about the same years received a good deal of attention, and little by little we are ae- quiring more definite ideas in regard to this disease, as well as to its in- fluence upon the healthfulness of the milk and flesh of the animal. The experiments of Chauveau have shown that tuberculosis of cattle is transmissible; that is to say, by bringing sound cattle in communica- tion with those that are diseased, similar tubercles become developed in the former, or, in other words, they become afflicted with murrain, which is only another name for tuberculosis. ' The investigations of Professor Klebs, in Berne, have shown still further that the transmissibility of the disease is not limited to cattle, but may also extend to’other animals; indeed he has been convineed that the human tubereles are equally trausinissible with those of cattle, and that murrain in cattle owes its origin to the same infectious material as the human tuberculosis. hus, certain Guinea pigs having been fed with the murrainous matter, were infected with it, and others, treated with the tuberculous matter from man, exhibited the same result. Duchesne-Toureace, in communi- an experiment prosecuted by this 145 . Again, murrain has been produced in cattle from feeding or inoculat- ing with the human tuberculous matter, and hence it follows that the tuberculosis is transferable from cattle to man, and it appears highly important that murrainous animals should be carefully watched, and that inspection of their meat should be very strictly attended to. Professor Gerlach, of Hanover, has lately prosecuted additional ex- periments upon murrain, and has established not only its transmissibil- ity by inoculation, but also has shown, by numerous experiments, that tuberculosis can be transferred by feeding with the milk of murrainous -eattle. As conclusions from the facts ascertained by him, Professor Gerlach remarks that, up to this time, murrain has been looked upon, in a Sanitary aspect, as an innocent disease, but that it must hereafter be considered as quite the contrary. In former times, or toward the end of the last century, the murrain of cattle was considered as a kind of venereal disease, and while this view lasted great caution was observed in regard to the flesh and the milk. Since it has been ascertained, how- ever, that this is not a syphilitic condition, the meat has been consid- ered as wholesome. This is now known to be an entirely erroneous as- sumption, and the greatest possible care should be taken to avoid using the meat or the milk in any way. ' INFLUENCE OF FOOD UPON POULTRY AND EGGS.—The influence of ’ the food of poultry upon the quality and flavor of their flesh and eggs has not generally been taken into consideration ;,but it is now well ascertained that great care should be exercised in régard to this matter. In some instances it has been attempted to feed poultry on a large seale in France on horse-fiesh, and, although they devour this substance very greedily, it has been found to give them:a very unpleasant savor. The best fattening material for chickens is said to he Indian corn-meal and milk; and certain large poultry establishments in France use this en- tirely, to the advantage both of the flesh and of the eggs. SOURCE OF NITROGEN IN PLANTS.—It is well known that the quan- tity of nitrogen contained in the crops exceeds in endrmous proportion that existing in the manures, the excess undoubtedly being derived from the air. It is now a question whether this is extracted directiy from the air by plants, which would thus have the power of assimilating directly, or if it is first taken from the air by the soil, so as to combine with organic matter, and form an assimilable compound. According to Deherain, oxygen, in the presence of organic matter, combines directly with nitrogen to form a compound analogous to the humus of the earth, or to ulmic acid. To illustrate this he placed in a tube oxygen, nitro- gen, glucose, and ammonia. On drying the tube and heating it, a black nitrogenized matter was left, and a portion of the nitrogen in the tube was found to have disappeared. PREFERENCES OF CLIMBING PLANTS.—According to Mr. Henry, cer- tain climbers evince a partiality for some particular species of plants, stretching out their tendrils and branches so as to come in contact with them, while to other species they have as decided an aversion, avoiding them, and never becoming attached to them, though they run up the surface of the wall side by side. POWDERED COAL FOR UNHEALTHY PLANTS.—In a communication, addressed to the Revue Horticole, the writer states that he purchased a very fine rose-bush, full of buds, and, after anxiously awaiting their maturing, was greatly disappointed, when this took place, to find the flowers small, insignificant in appearance, and of a dull, faded color. : 146 Incited by the suggestion of a friend, he then tried the experiment of filling inthe top of the pot around the bush, to the depth of half an ineh, with finely pulverized stone-coul. In the course of a few days he was ‘astonished at seeing the roses assume a beautiful red hue, as bril- liant and lively as he could desire. He tried the same experiment upon a pot of petunias, and soon after all the pale and indefinite colored ones became of a bright red or lilac, and the white petutiias were variegated with bea wtifal red stripes. Some of the lilac petunias became a fine dark blue. Other flowers experienced similar alterations; those of a yellow color alone remained insensible to the influence of the coal. REGULATING THE HATCHING OF SILK-WORM EGGS.—Duclaux, after a careful observation of the external conditions which favor and influ- ence the hatching of the eggs of silk-worms; has prepared the following rules, by attention to which it is said that the development of the eggs can be regulated at will. First, to prevent an egg from being hatched at the usual time, it must be kept, from the period of being laid, at a temperature between 59° and 68° F, ,and then exposed fourteen days to cold, three months before the time at which the hatching is desired, being subsequently treated in the usual manner. ‘To cause an egg to hatch before the usual time, it must be exposed to cold twenty days after being laid, and kept in that condition for two months, and then removed. ” Six weeks later it will be in the same condition as ordinary eggs, and can be treated inthe same manner. In this way it is possible to have silk-worms ready for hatching at any season of the year. MILK-SUGAR FOR VEGETABLE JUICES.—According to Dr. Bouchar- dat, a specimen of sugar obtained from the Achra sapota of the West Indies, on being treated with boiling alechol at 90 per cent., was found to leave a residu um, which, on further investigation, proved to consist almost entirely of milk- ‘sugar, this substauce forming "45 per cent. of the original mass. P RELATION OF THE NITROGEN OF THE ATMOSPHERE TO VEGETATION. —Deherain has been conducting certain experiments upon the influence of the nitrogen of the atmosphere on vegetation, and arrives at these conclusions: First, that in the course of the slow combustion of organic matter, the nitrogen of the atmosphere enters into combination, probably to form nitrie acid, which, in contact with an excess of carbonized mat- ter, is reduced and then gives up nitrogen to the organie matter; second, that every plant which throws off refuse matter upon the soil which sustains it, furnishes the occasion of a greater or less fixation of nitrogen. This reaction, continued for many years, ultimately produces the accumulation, in soils left to themselves, of a quantity of nitrogen sufficient to maintain a large crop of cereals; third, it is not only by the slight percentage of nitrogen which it contains that dung exercises an action upon vegetation, but, in addition, by the carbon matter in decomposition, which constitutes its entire mass. Buried under the soil, and exposed by the process of cultivation to the infiuence of the air, this organic matter becomes burned, giving rise to notable quantities of carbonic aci id, and its combustion determines the union of elements of the air, with the nitrogen of the dung, and with the nitro- gen which, previously floating in the atmosphere, is henceforth drawn into the series of meétamorphoses which lead from the soil to the plant and from the plant to the animal. PREPARATION OF BEET LEAVES FOR FODDER.—Méhay maintains the 147 entire success of his method of so preparing the leaves of the beet as to render them capable of preservation for several months as fodder; and at the same time greatly improving their qualities as food for cattle. The method consists simply in placing them in baskets, and immersing them in a tank containing diluted hydrochloric acid of 4 degrees of Beaumé. The result of this is to greatly condense the volume of the leaves, and to render it necessary to add more fresh ones to fill up the basket, which has to be again immersed, and finally allowed to drain off. The leaves may then be placed in beds, in dry earth, and kept until needed for use. According to a report of a committee who exam- ned the results of this process, domestic animals become extremely fond of the leaves thus prepared; and, indeed, milch cows fed with them are said to give a large increase of milk, with a decided improvementin the quality of the butter. The tendency to diarrhea in cattle produced by the fresh beet leaves seems not to be developed by this prepared fod- der, and for this and many other reasons it is strongly recommended to agriculturists. MILK OF DISEASED CATTLE.—Mr. Husson, in a paper upon the milk of animals diseased with the cattle plague, announces, as the result of one of his researches, that neither the flesh nor the milk of animals suf- fering from this cattle plague—contagious typhus—will convey the dis- ease, although they may suffer greatly in their nutritive properties. The milk of diseased cows he found to have a more or ee warked reddish- yellow tinge, and a disagreeable flavor, although cats fed upon it seemed to suffer no inconvenience. As general conclusions, Mr. Husson remarks: First, that when the typhus breaks out in a cow-house, all the beasts therein are subjected, although in different degrees, to the epidemic influence. In fact, in one instance, the whole herd died, with the exception of four cows, which never seemed to be ill, although they furnished one of the three speci- mens of milk analyzed. Second, milk cannot, any more than flesh, transmit the disease to man, nor to animals that do not belong to the ruminant family. Third, notwithstanding this, even during the first stage of the disease, when the yield still continues normal, the milk should not be employed as food for young children, in consequence of the modification that has taken place in its principles. Fourth, from the com- mencement of the disease, the combustible elements of the milk, in great part, disappear, while the azotised elements, on thecontrary, are increased in considerable proportions, and are soon found commingled with san- guinolent matiers. Frequently there may be observed, under the mi- croscope, agglutinated globules, either mucous or purulent. NEW VARIETY OF CUCUMBER.—In “Land and Water” we have a figure and description of what is called the new white-spine cucumber. This, when raised on a trellis, grows to an enormous size, one vine having three specimens, each of them three feet in length, besides many others over two feet long. The flesh is said to be very solid, with but few seeds, and the flavor very fine. This method of growing cucum- bers is recommended as furnishing a much superior result to that of allowing them to trail on the ground, as they thus grow finer, straighter, and with a larger yield. This new cucumber has the skin pertectly smooth. It is very short in the neck, and it is considered a decided gain to the resources of the vegetable gardener. ORIGIN OF BREEDS OF BRITISH CATTLE.—In a communication to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, by Mr. William Boyd Dawkins, on the ‘‘ Origin of our domestic breeds of cattle,”-he re- 148 marks that at the present time there are three well-marked forms inhab- iting Great Britain. These consist of the hornless cattle, which have lost the horas which their ancestors possessed through the selection of the breeder. The polled Galloway cattle, for instance, are the result of the care taken by the grandfather of the present Earl of Selkirk, in only breeding from bulls with the shortest horns. The hornless is altogether au artificial form, and may be developed in any breed. Second, the Bos longifrons, or the small black or brown Welsh and Seoteh cattle, which are remarkable for their short horns and the deli- eacy of their build. Third, the red and white variegated cattle de- scended from the urus, and which have, on the whole, far larger horns. The jarge domestic cattle of the urus type are represented in their ancient purity by the Chillingham wild oxen, (as generally called,) which were probably introduced by the English invaders of Roman Britain, being unknown to that country during the Roman oceupation. The Bes longifrons, (long-horns,) on the other hand, were the sole oxen which were domesticated in Great Britain during the Roman occupa- tion, and, in remote times, were kept in herds by the users of bronze, and betore that by the users of polished stone. The.present distribu- tion of the two breeds agrees almost exactly with the areas occupied by the Celtic population and the German or Teutonic invaders. Both the Bos longijrons and the urus were probably derived from some country, to the south and east of Europe, and were introduced by the herdsmen and farmers of the polished-stone period, at a very remoge antiquity. BRANDY FROM SAWDUST.—The fact has long since been known that if cellulose is boiled with dilute acids grape-sugar is produced, and a similar treatment of lichens, according to a process devised by Professor Stenberg, is the initial step to the- preparation of a very fair brandy.’ . We now learn that quite a good brandy can be made from sawdust, generally froma mixture of the sawdust of pine and of fir timber. For this purpose 9 parts of very moist sawdust, .7 of a part of hydro- chforic acid, and 33.7 parts of water, making 45.4 parts in all, are to be boiled together, under steam pressure, for eight hours and a half, after which the mass is found to contain 3.33 parts of grape-sugar; and after eleven hours 4.38 parts, in all over 19 per cent. of the entire mass. The actd is now to be nentralized with lime, so that the mash, cooled and ready for fermentation, is to contain one-half a degree of acid, (accord- ing to the acetometer,) and a suitable amount of yeast is to be added. After ninety-six hours of fermentation the mash is distilled, and sixty- one quarts of brandy of 50 per cent. of strength will be obtained, per- fectly free from any smell of turpentine, and of extreme excellence of flavor. The experiment has not been conducted in a practical way on a sufii- ciently large scale to determine positively the merits of this procéss, but it is not at all unlikely that the success may equal that with the lichems, and that a large industry in this direction may be developed. Iti is not improbable, too, that experiments will show that other kinds of wood than those mentioned may be found better adapted to the pur- pose. in question. INFLUENCE OF HEAT ON PLANIS.—Hugo de Vries, in a paper upon the influence of heat upon plants, discusses, in the first place, the up- ward limit of temperature for vegetable life, ad finds oceasion to agree with Sachs, who gives this limit at 120° to 180°, Fahr., for the air, and 112° to 117° for the water, although some latitude must be allowed for the age and precise character of the plant. In cases of thermal springs which,contain living algie, this limit must, of course, be largely extended, Se ee ee ee ee a : 149 as the result of special adaptation. In reference to the effect of rapid changes of temperature, the author finds that such alternations, how- ever great and rapid they may be, do not exercise any injurious effect upon the vitality of plants as long as they remain below the maximum allowable and above the freezing point; but that such changes do exer- cise a direct effect upon the movement of the protoplasm, by causing its cessation, even in cases where the heating or cooling slowly, to the Same degree, would not produce a similar effect. Inquiries into the influence of temperature upon the rapidity of germination confirm the results already obtained by Mr. Sachs—that for each species there is a most favorable degree of temperature for growth, since growth takes place at that point more rapidly than at any other temperature; and that below this point the length of a growing radicle increases in pro- portion as the temperature is elevated, while above that it is diminished more and more as the temperature ascends. INOCULATION FOR RINDERPEST.—In an article upon inoculation for rinderpest, detailing the resuit of several experiments instituted in Russia on this subject, the following conclusions are arrived at: 1. Rinderpest must be considered asa typhus of a peculiar character, which, while having some resemblance to the epidemical typhus in man, differs from it in its permanent course, and the persistent occurrence of a catarrhal condition in general, and a mucous coating of the intestines in particular. 2. The rinderpest is disseminated principally from the steppes of Asia and other provinces of Russia. The region, however, where it first arose and the causes of its origin are unknown. 3. The contagion of rinderpest is transmitted, in part, by-direct contact with diseased animals, and partly by the emanations from living and dead atiimals, affected, although not to any great distance at any one time. ‘4. In the south of Russia rinderpest is, comparatively, less contagious and dangerous than in other portions of the empire. 5. In summer and winter the rinderpest is generally less violent than in spring and autumn. Autumn is the most unfavorable time for inoculation of rin- derpest, the most favorable time being that in which a moderate tem- perature predominates. 6. All races of cattle are not equally sensitive to contagion of rinderpest. Those less liable are the Kirgus and Kal- mInuck races, belonging to the steppes. 7. The alleged mitigation and weakening of the virus by repeated inoculation, and in the succeeding generations, does not prove to be substantially true, according to the experiments of Robichew, as even in the fifteenth generation it did not seem to have lost its activity. Professor Jessen considers, however, that the question of the weakening of the virus cannot be regarded as closed until a special series of experiments has been instituted, in which the contagion has been inoculated from the first generation, on gradu- ally, to complete inactivity. 8. It has not been determined, positively, by the experiments how long the pest contagion maintains its aggres- sive activity. In many cases the virus loses its infecting power after the course of a few days; in others it remains many mouths. It must, nevertheless, not be overlooked that the aggressive power of the con- tagion may be dependent upon its, preservation or other influences. Single cases of inactivity of the virus may be explained under the sup- position that this has lost its activity in consequence of the milder na- ture of the epizootic, cr the animals inoculated with the virus did not become ill, or only in a slight degree, on account of their want of sensi- tiveness to the contagion, or because they had already experienced the natural disease. In regard to the action of fresh and old virus, ex- periments have shown that the former generally produces more, and the 150 , latter less violent sickness, and, in many cases, the latter is even in- active. 10, Animals which become violently ill under inoculation, and show the characteristic indications of rinderpest, are not sensitive to further infection. Such animals, however, as are but slightly ill after infection are not always spared when exposed to a repeated attack. 11. It is impossible to say how many years such animals as have survived the inoculation of rinderpest remain protected against a new infection; possibly during their whole lives. An immunity has been shown for a period of at least six years, this being the extent to which the inquiries of the committee have carried them. 12. The ques- tion whether inoculation has any influence upon the course of the rin- derpest when the natural disease has attacked the same herd cannot now be definitely answered. 13. Dysentery is no protection against rinderpest, as animals attacked with this disease do not lose their sus- ceptibility to the infection of rinderpest when exposed to its influence. 14. The discharges from the eyes and nose are the most efficient of all means of propagating the disease., The result of the inoculation was the same, whether applied on the neck, the ears, or the tail; whether it was communicated by drawing through a thread saturated with virus, or by inserting a strip of the skin cut from an animal which had died of the disease. The characteristic features of rinderpest present them- selves generally between the fourth and eighth day after inoculation ; and those animals in which the disease becomes fatal generally died on the sixth day after the outbreak. Experiments with reference to the power of infection €esiding in the skin of diseased animals resulted as follows: a. Sound cattle can be affected by fresh or by imperfectly dried and cleaned skins of affected ones. 0b. The skins of diseased animals which have been simply cleaned by washing with lye and ashes or lime-water, or which have been dried at a considerable degree of heat or thoroughly dried in the open air, do not communicate the infection. The drying of the skins, however, should be conducted, if in the air, at a distance from stables or meadows, and in winter artificial heat must be employed. In conclusion, the committee make the following remarks: Although the result of the experiments prosecuted to the present time upon inoe- ulation do not entitle the committee to present inoculation as a presery- ative against the propagation of the rinderpest, they believe that land proprietors should be authorized to establish inoculating institutions at their own expense, the application to be made with the consent of neighboring owners of the cattle; and that these establishments should be widely removed from the roads upon which cattle are transported, and that they should be presided over by thoroughly educated veterinary surgeons. VARIATIONS OF FLOWERING SEASONS.—Fritsch has lately published the result of an investigation into the variations of the seasons of flowering of plants in different countries, in the same year, and in differ- ent years; and basing his conclusions upon fifty-two plants and twenty- three stations, he remarks that the variations of the seasons of flower- ing are greater, as this time naturally falls in the earlier part of the year. Thus, of plants flowering in March, the variation will amount to thirty-seven days; while of those flowering in June, it amounts only to twenty-four days. ‘These variations, again, are on an average as great in positive seasons as in negative; that is to say, the acceleration of the flowering season, on an average, of each plant investigated, is as great as the retardation ; and it is only necessary to divide the entire varia- — _ 151 tion by two iu order to obtain the deviation, whether positive or nega- tive. USE OF SEWER-WATER AS A MANURE.—According to the Revue Hor- ticole, experiments with the sewer-water ot Paris, in the cultivation of certain lands below the level of the city, commenced three years ago, have been of the most satisfactory character, and the eagerness that the farmers now exhibit to obtain permission to use these waters on their lands, wherever it is practicable, is justified by the great in- crease in their value, many of them having previously been of little worth. Thus certain lands now rent for six and seven times as much per annum as iormerly. PREVENTION AND CURE OF TYPHUS IN GATTLE.—Dr. Déclat has published a report of certain experiments instituted by him for the pre- vention and cure of typhus in horned cattle, taking the occasion of a severe outbreak of the disease in France, in the early part of February, 1871. In the first stable he visited he found eight animals, of which number, one was dying with the fever; a second was badly attacked; and a third had fallen and could not get up; all the others being more or less under the influence of the disease. They had all been officially condemned to destruction as incurable. He first proceeded to admin- ister a draught, consisting of eighty grains of carbolic acid in five to six quarts of water, to which was added a hypodermic injection of one hun- dred and twenty-five grains of carbolic acid, with the addition of a new substance, the’ precise nature of which he does not disclose at present. Two other animals were treated by a veterinary surgeon who was in attendance upon the herd. Out of these seven animals three died and four were cured, while of another series similarly affected six were cured out of ten; and, in the opinion of Dr. Déclat, none of them could have survived without this treatment. A similar treatment of animals not actually under the influence of the disease was followed with the happiest results. Of twenty-five, to which the above-mentioned application was made, not one contracted the disease; the doctor, therefore, thinks himself entitled to urge the prophylactic treatment as of the utmost importance in similar cases. As the result of his researches in this direction, he contends that, by means of his method generally applied, typhus may always be prevented; ean almost always be cured while in a state of incubation; is very often cured in its first period, and is sometimes cured at a more advanced Stage. é KEEPING GRAIN IN VACUO.—Some time ago Dr. Louvel suggested the ‘idea of keeping grain in a partial vacuum, by introducing it into air- tight vessels and exhausting the air, this being intended to prevent in- jury from dampness, and to secure it from the attacks of insects as well as vermin. We now learn that this idea has been brought to a practi- cal test, and that it bids fair to enter largely into the operations of grain-dealers. For the purpose in question, vessels are made of boiler- iron, to contain about twenty-seven bushels; and after the grain is intro- duced and the cover applied, a vacuum is effected, which, for this pur- pose, need not involve a reduction of pressure of over one-sixth to oue- seventh of the ordinary atmosphere. Any number of these receptacles ean, of course, be made, and can be used over and over again indefinitely. 152 FACTS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. YINCHONA.—Since the publication of our February number, contain- ing an article on this subject, (pp. 73, 74,) the Department has reeeived several letters fron: California in relation to the same subject. | The first is from Arthur B. Stout, M. D., of San Francisco, with a copy of a proposed act “to create and establish a State botanical and zoological farm for the experimental culture of all desirable plants of foreign or indigenous growth, available for economic purposes, for the cultivation of knowledge in zodlogy, and for the foundation of a public thermal sanitarium for the cure of chronic maladies.” The plan sug- gested, and to be carried out by legislation, is to appropriate one mil- lion acres of publie lands, (granted by the State or by Congress,) forty thousand acres to be divided into four nearly equal and appropriately located farms, so as to obtain all the benefits of different climates, soils, altitudes, and of thermal springs—all to be under one general govern- ment, and each to be managed with reference to the object of its msti- tution. ‘As the California legislature meets only biennially, the corporators desire, to avoid delay, that permission to occupy at least a portion of the lands be obtained from Congress, so that cinchona plants may be procured and set ont immediately. F, A. C. Grebuer, of San Francisco, writes that he assisted at intro- dueing cinchona plants into Java, under Dr. Jiinghiihn, and in their cultivation under the present Superintendent Van Gookum. He also planted ever 200,000 cinchona trees in his own coffee plantation, and when they were six years old their bark was sold in Frankfort, Germany, at the price of bark from Peru. Though acquainted with the British plantations at Ceylon and Nighliberry, he confines his remarks to those of Holland, in Java, as the bark is superior to that of British India, and fully equal to that of Peru as regards the quality of the quinine extracted, though the alkaloid is generally less than in the Peruvian. He says that the shipments of barlx from Peru and Bolivia are apnu- ally decreasing. The plantations in Java now contain over four mil- tions of trees of the best kind, and in the course of the next year a factory will be erected there to extract the quinine and prepare it for use. Mr. G. thinks the climate of Southern California well adapted to the raising of cinchona and coffee, and that Chinese labor there will not be dearer, considering its greater efficiency, than Malay laborin Java. He says that entire freedom from frost can only be secured south of Los Angelos, along the coast of San Diego, extending back ito the country some thirty or forty miles; that in this district the average temperature for years bas. been about 62°; the lowest, 51°, in January; the highest, 73°, in August; the rain-fall is 10 inches anntally, bat there are tre- quent heavy fogs. Wood-land is scarce, but that is no objection. Mr. Grebuer believes that capitalists cannot be interested in the sub- ject until one or two successful experiments have been made, and pro- poses to commence on a small scale, at the same time trying cottee planting, and increase the planting as results may warrant. That sue- cess may be attained in growing the cinchona, there is little doubt; but as the cotiee-plant requires a temperature uniformly above 55°, there 1s less prospect of success in its culture. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION.—The next meeting of the National Agricultural Association will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, on . 158 the fourth Monday in May, proximo. In a eireular issued by the Pres- ident, F. Julius Le Moyne, esq., the importance of the meeting is set forth, and every agricultural organization threughont the country urged to send representatives. ANGORA GOAT-BREEDERS’ CONVENTION.—The goat-breeders of Cali- fornia met in convention, in the eity cf Sacramento, on the 28th day of February last. A. permanent organization was efiected, and rules and regulations for the government of the association adopted. The follow- ing-named gentlemen were elected officers for the current year: Thomas Butterfield, president; Nathan Gilmore, secretary; and L, A. Upson, treasurer. A committee, previously appointed, made a report on the condition, &c., of the Angora, or Cashmere, goat on the Pacific coast, from which we make the following condensed statement: First. The experiment of importing and acclimating them has been crowned with suecess. They have proved both healthy and prolific. The offspring of the pure blood goats are improving in size, and bear heavier fleeces than the imported, fully retaining their rich, silky, and glossy character. The fleece will range in weight from three to three and one-half pounds each from one-third to pure-blood, where they are in large bands; where they range in small bands, and are properly shel- tered ana cared for, they will average four to five pounds each. The number of pure-blood imported goats, including their offspring, will approximate two hundred and forty, about one hundred of which are owned by one party in Monterey County, about fifty in the hands of avother party in El Dorado County, while the remainder are scattered threughout the coast. Second. The crossing of the Angora with the native goat (breeding the Angora buck to the common female goat) has also proved success- ful. The progeny is healthy and inéreased in size over both native and pure-blood stock. The fourth cross produces as heavy a fleece, and of as good quality, as the imported, while the flesh of the grades makes excellent mutton, which commands a ready sale.. They are found to be far more healthy than sheep, being free from scab and other cutaneous diseases, and with none of the rank, musky. smell so offensive in the common goat. Third. 1¢ is found that the arid plains, bushy foot-hills, and rough mountains of the Pacific coast are well adapted to their growth, as they are now flourishing from Oregon on the north to San Diego on the south. The total number of these goats on the Pacific coast is esti- mated at forty thousand. Fourth. A large majority of those who first engaged in raising An- gora goats were induced, from various reasons, but principally from the scarcity of pure-blood and high-grade animals, to use very low-grade bueks, a great proportion of them being less than seven-eighths.. No fleece has resulted trom such crossing; neither is it possible to attain that end so long as such bucks are used. ‘Chis much, however, has been attained: A large number of grades have been, by this system of breed- ing, worked up to a point that by now crossing with the pure-blood bucks a flock of valuable wool-bearing goats will be the immediate re- sult. in crossing, the fleece all comes from the buck, consequently the blood of the buck should be pure. Pifth. There is no market or machinery for the manufacture of the fleece in California, and the prineipal market is found in Philadelphia. Here the fleece brings 40 cents per pound for the lowest grades, ran- 154 ning up to 80 cents, $1.10, and $1.20 in gold, as per quality. There is a considerable quantity of wool (mohair) in the hands of breeders, yet it is not in sufficient quautities to induce the parties holding: it to take the trouble to ship it to the Hast. Sixth. The skins of low-grade wethers, disposed of for mutton, are now dressed—the inferior ones into leather for the manufacture of boots, shoes, and gloves, while the better ones have been dressed with the fleece on, and used extensively and profitably in the manufacture of robes, ladies’ furs, &c. AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS.—Mr. I’. H. Gordon, president of the Smith County (Tennessee) Agricultural Club, in the course of a recent letter, makes the following observations touching the great importance of agricultural associations: : Our club unanimously approves the efforts of your Department to enlighten our farmers. And here permit me to say that if the Department of Agriculture can induce farmers everywhere to form small clubs of eight or ten members, and bind them per- manently together by motives of self and social interest, so as to induce them to attend all their meetings regularly, and to devote much time to the stady of agriculture at home, then our whole industrial population will educate themselves in their profes- sions, and make rapid improvement in the means of living and the prosperity of the country. There can be no general education which is not self-education. A State cannot educate the people. They can and must educate themselves. The State can stimulate, foster, and facilitate self-education. To do this, the Government must reach every citizen at home, individually. If your Department can induce the farmers to form small neighborhood clubs everywhere, then you can reach every one through his club. What our National Legislature and your Department ought to do, in order to accomplish this desired object, must be left to the best minds of the nation. It is evi- dent that farmers will not readily and generally send their sons to our agricultural colleges until they themselves have been partly educated. They must first appreciate the value of science before they will send their sons to college. Hence, the work of reform must commence on the farm and at the fireside. But to accomplish this object your Department must organize small neighborhood clubs everywhere, and send them the science cf water, air, soil, and the animal and vegetable kingdoms. These documents will be their text-books at home. Thus the National Legislature will enable your Department to educate all farmers at the fireside and on the farm; and thus the United States present to the world the first educated community. But you cannot get the people generally to form small clubs, unless you offer them some strovg inducements. You must teach them that the Government will furnish them with books, documents, and other favors, only upon the condition that they shall use them. They should be required to form clubs before receiving any favors; and more; so long as such favors are continued they should report annually to your De- partment. NECESSITIES OF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE.—Mr. Harvey Ham- mond, of Augusta, South Carolina, under date March 2, 1872, writes as follows: I return to you the acknowledgments and thanks of the Beech Island Farmers’ Club for the seeds sent by the Department of Agriculture. They have reached us safely, and have been distributed. I trust in due time to report a good result from their trial. The members of the club would likewise signify to you their appreciation of your expressions of interest in southern agriculture. We feel more and more the need of information as the problems set before us by the emancipation of our laborers continue daily to widen. Trained to work, laborers employed by us for their own and their children’s children’s lifetime, we find ourselves constantly out of our depth as we try to fathom the many and profound changes required by a system that employs la- borers by the day and by the job. For instance, we cannot understand how it is that, with a svil and climate producing crops that give a much larger money yield per acre than in the Northern and Western States, we are not able to pay one-fourth the wages to labor that are paid there. It may be that a laborer does more there than he does here, and we therefore feel a great interest in knowing the cost of the various sorts of farm work by the piece in the different sections, ¢. g., daily wages being $1, what does it cost to break up, broadcast, an acre of ground, to plant an acre of wheat, to build 100 feet of fence, to lay off an acre of corn, to eut an acre of grass, &c., &e. In meteorology, too, we would be benefited by some more general statements. As, for instance, a record for successive years of the last frost in spring, and the first frost in autumn ; the sums of the temperature, of the rain-fall, &c., for each season, and dur- eS “183 ing the period of growth of our leading crops.. The farmer has not the time or the capacity for making these generalizations, either from his own observations, (usually worthless,) from those of the Departinent of Agriculture, or of the signal service. At present the distinctive features of succecding crop seasons pass by, and leave no record for our guidance. : As for seeds, we feel especially the need of grasses and other forage crops for winter and spring grazing and feeding. We also believe that our cotton-seeds might be greatly improved by a system of budding and hybridizing the varieties of this plant, where it could be scientifically conducted for a length of time, as it might be under glass; and we believe that the southern cotton-planter must rely more and more on the excellence of the staple he produces to overcome competition from other countries. NORTHERN MAtnzE.—Mr. J. W. Lang, secretary of the Brooks Farmers’ WV ALE AATOOS c S much DPSt-Ciass fe Club, says that Aroostook County contains much first-class farming land, and will receive a large immigration this spring. A colony has . been planted there, of Swedes, by State authority and expense. State lands are actually given away to settlers, 50 cents per acre, paid in work upon roads to convenience the settler; and farms, with some improve- ments, can be procured cheap. Wheat, corn, oats, rye, potatoes, hay, and other products are largely produced. Stock-raising is a leading feature. Orcharding yetinembryo. Schools, mills, and social privileges abound. ’ The act to promote immigration and the settlement of the wilderness portion of this State, passed by the present legislature, probably provides for all the expenditures of money that will be necessary for the State to make in this direction. The Swedes are proving themselves industrious, economical, and enterprising. That they have a true conception of what is needed to develop the resources of their chosen homes is shown by the fact that they are to erect a steam-mill for the manufacture of lumber. FARM PRODUCTS IN NEw Yori.—At a late meeting of the Le Roy Agricultural and Horticultural Society, Mr. H. Ives reported a success- ful potato culture upon 24 acres of average soil, clover turf of a year’s standing, turned under and thoroughly tilled with the shovel-plow and cultivator. This thorough tillage prevents rot in the seed, and is cheaper than hand-culture. Such weeds as escape it are carefully exterminated by hand. The whole expense of production, including interest, was $972; the yield was 3,600 bushels, which, at 40 cents per bushel, $1,440; leaving a net profit of $468, or nearly $20 per acre—over 48 per cent. upon the cost. The most productive varieties of seed were the Harrison and Peerless. . The president, Mr. H. H. Olmsted, realized a profit of 50 per cent. upon a moderate yield, raising 2,400 bushels of Early Rose upon 10 acres; and 820 bushels of Harrisons upon 24 acres. Mr. HE. Hammond, of Bethany, found the Early Rose to blight extensively in the top in the second year. Mr. W. L. Bishop raised 200 bushels per acre, bat lost about half by blight. Mr. J. Peck, of Stafford, found the Peach Blows better than the Early Rose. Mr. C. K. Ward raised 8 acres of Diehl wheat, 44 bushels per acre. It was well manured with ten or twelve loads per aere. White Michi- gan on the same field yielded only 33 bushels per acre. Mr. J. Peck, of Stafford, raised the pure Diehl wheat after barley, putting twenty loads of manure per acre. Yield, 30 bushels per acre, and quality excellent. Mr. W. L. Bishop raised 50 acres of wheat—25 each of Diehl and White Michigan—raising 1,400 bushels, or 28 bushels per acre, worth, at $1.60, $44.80, leaving a net profit of $26.60 per acre. Mr. A. Hill, on 13 acres, raised 77 bushels shelled corn; corn, fodder, and pumpkins brought $105.50; expeuses, $49.50, leaving a profit of $56. Mr. R. Sweetland raised 150 bushels of Sanford ears per acre, but would not recommend it as a general crop. Mr. J. EK. Hazleton said that there are no orchards in this county too old to be productive. Many trees in New England two hundred years 156 old were still healthy and productive. The best time for pruning is after the middle of June. Several gentlemen denounced the injudicions pruning practice employed in many cases. ; AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS IN DELAWARE.—Mr?. William C. Lodge, secretary of the agricultural society at Claymont, Delaware, states the object of that association to be the diffusion of scientific knowledge, based upon actualexperiment. The practical aims of the society embrace the most profitable crops that can be grown in the locality, and the secur- ing of maximum results with a minimum outlay of labor and expense. Especial attention is given to the propagation of new and yaluable varieties of fruit. Periodical exhibitions are not contemplated, but specimens of merit are presented at the’weekly meetings. PRAIRIE FARMING IN ILLINoIS.—A_ correspondent from Du Page County, Ilinois, a resident since 1842, commenced farming operations in that year by breaking the ‘raw prairie” from 4 to 6 inches deep with the plow. He found that the more deeply plowed sod rotted much the sooner. Part of the first year’s breaking, sown with oats, yielded about 40 bushels per acre. The remainder of the breaking was planted in seed-corn, dropping the seed in every fourth row, lapping the furrow over the corn. This part of the breaking vielded from 25 to 30 bushels per acre. The following year, the sod not yet having sufficiently rotted the furrows were turned back again, harrowed three or four times, and sown with fall wheat. There being but little snow that winter, the wheat mostly froze out; it was “ball” wheat. Next season another fal- low was sown in “blue-stem” wheat, yielding forty bushels per acre. The land was plowed in May, and again just before seeding time, which was during the full moon of September. The seed was sown broadcast on @ six-pace land, at the rate of abont 2 bushels per acre. The ground was cultivated with a broad shovel-plow, and then the grain was cov- ered by a small triangular drag. In twenty-five years, farming on this system, our correspondent never failed to raise a good crop of fall wheat. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS OF Boonr County, ILLINoIs.—Mr. G. B. Moss, of Belvidere, Tilinois, has compiled for the Department the tollowing statistics for Boone County for twelve years, ending with 1871, giving an illustration of the lecal changes and increase of proéuctions throughout the Western States. Wis 2 a en al — Sosa RS HORSES. Hogs, ° SUEEP. CATTLE. MULES. NUMPER ACRES IN CULTIVATION, ’ C7 S Smee | het 6 f) 1) gel bh eee ax a ae Mane ee S E i Bale +8 £3) Re ge A vi y ae Eee 5 4 4 | q 4 4 - ! Oo am : Bs Teh) a 6, 010 10, 604 14, 487 15, 231 96 15, 654 | 22, 950 25, 847 fies) 2 as ee 6, 438 6, 754 19, 531 14,718 106 | 19, 472 18, 542 24, 003 TEGO eee ee 2 6, 465 5,679 | 24,008 14, 8R2 98 |. 21,911 17, 385 21,995 TOG oe eres = ono - 6, 093 7, 791 Beil | ~ 13,791 100 | 20, Slt 16,171 | — 20, 657 5.683 | 8971 | 25,693 | 11,590 85} 18/334 | iviie| 93,333 5, 643 7, 558 21, 267 11, 019 63 16, 743 17, 231 25, 860 5, 531 4, 881 17, 703 22, 365 | 43 18, 514 16, 430 26, T96 5, 195 5, 525 18, 001 14,370 | 30 24, 817 15, 21, 157 5, 043 G, 490 13, 523 | 14, 371 42 | 31,849 15, 670 18, 894 4 847 5, 167 9, 475 13,533 | a 36,342 | 14,020] 15, 228 A, F60) 3, B44 5, 808 12,617 15 | 38,109 | 14, 368 16, 196 4, G08 3, 293 4, 942 12, 507 | D1 78,084 | -17, 530 21, 497 (ae—3 ——— - fen ce Dotals. 2: sae 66, 318 76,757 | 202,239 | 160, G95 | 713 | 340, 373 | 203,358 ] 262, 065 Moang:..5./...) °5,526| 6,396|. 16,633! 13,391) a9 | 28,364) 16,946) 21, 838 | | i | 157 AGRICULTURE IN CoLORADO.—Mr. Thompson J. Hough, near Idaho Springs, Clear Creek County, Colorado, at an altitude of 8,400 feet, last season raised successfully the following crops, viz: Beans, (dwarf,) beet¢, cabbages, (early,) carrots, cresses, lettuce, onions, parsuips, peas, (all sorts,) radishes, turnips, potatoes, barley, oats, timothy. The following crops have been tested, but have entirely failed, viz: Pole-beans, corn, cucumbers, musk-melons, water-melons, squashes, and tomatees. The blue-bird, this spring, was first seen March 18, nine days earlier than last year. Natural grasses are failing rapidly, from being trampled by -steck, while their seed, when sown, grows so slowly as to be of little practical value. A strong-growing perennial grass is the especial want of ‘those regions. . FARMING IN TExAs.—Dr. D. W. Broduax, of Cameron, Milam Couaty, Texas, writes : Mr. John Gratham, of this neighborhood, with the assistance of an infirm boy seventeen ae ot age, cultivated and raised, in 1868, 22 acres of cotton, from which he gathered 27 bales averaging 514 pounds, equal to 28} bales averaging 500 pounds. On other land, with same labor, he made-1,000 bushels of corn. In 1869, on the same land, he made 20 bales of cotton, averaging 522 pounds per bale, and 200 bushels of corn. In 1870, on the same land and with the same labor, he raised 24 bales, averag- ing 518 pounds per bale, and 1,200 bushels of corn. His wife and two little daughters assisted in gathering and saving the crops. In addition, he raised potatoes, onions, and all the garflen vegetables usually cultivated here, largely in excess of the wants -of his family. He also raised a number of hogs, and had a considerable quantity of bacon to sell. He paid $3 per acre for his land. As good land now brings from $3 to $5 per acre. ; MONTGOM=RY County TExXAS.—Mr. Charles B.S. Stewart, secretary of the agricultural society of this county, reports that, since the emanci- pation of the slaves, the practice of saving eorn-fodder in that county has been measurably abandoned, with excellent results in the increased weight of the corn and in increased attention to Hungarian grass, oats, millet, &c. It is found that the whole stalk of oats cut “ before the milk formation ” becomes very nutritious, and is entirely eaten up by cattle. It requires, however, twice as long to cure hay irom the oats cut at this stage. The cotton area of this county, in 1872, will be in- ereased 50 percent. The crop of 1871 was crippled by a drought of five weeks. lt was forwarded before the advance of prices, to the great loss of the producers. The merchants are looking sharply after the earliest reports of the crop. DISPLACEMENT OF NATIVE GRASSES IN TmxaS.—In the prairies of Texas, especially on river and creek bottoms, the native grasses are rapidly disappearing, from the number of stock ranging upon them, But little effort has been madeto supply the loss by cultivating other varieties. Cattle now require feeding. California clover grows here very copiously. Blue grass is growin: well in Washington County, and Ttalian rye-grass in Montgomery. Other varieties are well spoken of. WINTER WEATHER IN SOPTHEASTERN Trexas.—Mr. J. EB. Carlton, corresponding secretary of the Agricuitural, Mechanical, and Blood-Stock Association of Jasper, Jasper County, gives the following record of the weather of that locality for each day of January and part of February, 1872: ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th, frost; 6th and 7th, rain; Sth, 9th, 10th, freezing; 11th, 12th, 13th, frost; 14th, 15th, 16th, freezing; 17th, 18th, rain; 19th, 20th, freezing; 21st, 22d, snow; 23d, rain; 24th, 25th, rain; 26th, 27th, sleet; 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, freezing. February 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, frost; 5th, 6th, 7th, rain; Sth, 9th, 10th, cold wind; 11th, 12th, 13th, cold and biustering; 14th, 15th, 16th, fair. The coldest winter 158 cnown by the oldest inhabitant. This disposes of the pretense that shelter is unnecessary in that climate for farm animals. SAN BERNARDINO.—A correspondent, under date of March 23, sends us some facts relative to the new settlement of “ Riverside,” San Ber nardino County, California. This settlement is located in theupper part of the Santa Anna Valley, near Mount San Bernardino, fifty miles east of Anaheim Landing on the Pacific Ocean, and sixty miles southeast of Los Angeles, at an elevation of about 1,000 teet above the level of the sea. The settlement is about eighteen months old, and already em- braces some sixty families of enterprising and industrious people. The lands on which they are located are from 60 to 100 feet above the Santa Anna River, which furnishes water by means of a ditch ninemiles in length, for irrigating purposes. This ditch was not completed until July last, and nothing was raised but corn, beans, &c. Yellow flint- corn, planted August 1, and the white bean, planted the 23d day of the same month, ripened. A large area has been sown with wheat and bar- ley. Barley sown early is now heading out, and early wheat is about ready to head. A second crop of corn and vegetables will be raised after the barley and wheat are harvested. Garden vegetables, includ- ing corn, beans, and squashes, are now several inches high. Strawhber- ries, unprotected, are now ripening. Field corn is up and looking finely. The land is clay with a mixture of sandy loam; the climate is dry and warm; the air is pure,and is considered very healthy, being regarded as especially beneficial to those afflicted with lung diseases, many of whom made their home there during the past season. The climate and soil both appear favorable to the cultivation of the raisin-grape, orange, lemon, lime, and English walnut. A noticeable thing in the climate is the fact that when the mereury descends to 32° the frost seldom cuts down such tender vegetation as corn, beans, &c., only slightly, if at all, injuring them. MESQUITE-GUM.—Mr. F. Kalteyer, treasurer of the Agricultural and Industrial Association of Western Texas, says the mesquite-gum of that region is almost identical with gum arabic, having been in use there for medicinal and technical purposes, especially in the preparation of mucilage, gum-drops, jujube-paste, &e. The past year it has become an article of export, some 12,000 pounds having been gathered in Bexar County, and as much more between that and the coast. No gum is gath- ered west of Bexar, though the drought was favorable to a large crop. This gum is hardly known east of the Brazos. It exudes from the stem and branches of a Afimosa, several species of which grow in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. One of these species, Algarobia glandulosa, (Tor- rey and Gray, N. A. F., 399,) is rarely met with below the mountair regions of Western Texas. The species most common in Bexar County grows from 20 to 40 feet high and 18 inches thick. rom it charcoal is manufactured. It is generally used for picket poles, being very dura- ble. It is also made into handsome furniture, the grain being very fine. it grows where no other fruit-tree would live. It was favorably noticed in the last annual report of the American Pharmaceutical Association. WIRE-FENCES IN Trexas.—Mr. R. E. Talbot, Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas, describes a new wire-fence which has been extensively introduced into that section, which, it is claimed, can be built for less than $1.25 per red. It has been fully tested by wild Texas cattle, and is perfectly hog-proof. It consists of eight wires, No. 9 size, passing through cedar posts arod apart. The lower four wires are 6 inches apart, and the others 9 inches. This will give a 5-foot fence. Between q 3 . ; i 159 the posts weave in three sawed or split pickets, which should not reach the ground. Staple the wires to the pickets. Oror County, NEBRASKA.—A correspondent writes us that the winter-wheat has been badly injured in this county, though the full ex- tent is not known. Osage-orange hedges are thought to be almost en- tirely destroyed. FRUIT PROSPECTS IN ILLINOIS.—Mr. J. Cochrane, of Havana, Mason County, Mlinois, writes, under date of April 6, that about half the peach buds in that section are killed, those that are yet good being mostly seedlings. The prospect for apples, pears, and cherries could not be better. y . WASHINGTON TERRITORY.—Mr. A. H. Miller, a resident for twenty years of Yakima County, Washington Territory, sends us some interest- ing facts concerning that Territory. He has never seen the snow exceed eight inches in depth, nor remain on the ground over two weeks in each year. The wind rarely blows a gale even in the winter season, and the cutting blasts of the prairie States are never felt. Asa gen- eral thing stock can be well kept through the winter on uncut grass. Cows, dried in the fall, get into good order for beef by spring, and calves and yearlings steadily gain in size without any other feed than that obtained by grazing. The soil is measurably good—in some places remarkably productive. While one spot may possess a rich, black, loamy soil, the ground a few yards distant will be white with alkali. Corn, wheat, oats, barley, sorghum, broom-corn, millet, herd’s-grass, melons, tomatoes, beaus, potatoes, &c., yield good crops with fair cul- ture. One farmer raised last year on sod land 40 bushels of sound corn to the acre and 73 bushels of goose-wheat or Russian rye. Another raised 60 bushels of white winter-wheat to the acre. It is no uncommon thing to cut from 80 to 90 bushels of oats to the acre. The cultiva- tion of sorghum promises to be successful, as does that of the larger and smaller fruits. ODESSA WHEAT.—Mr. L. H. Eaton, of Monroe, Green County, Wisconsin, has cultivated the Odessa wheat for five years, with good results. Twice during this time other varieties failed, but the Odessa produced 20 bushels to the acre. The berry is small, but weighs 63 pounds to the measured bushel. It is equal to winter-wheat for milling purposes. It is eight days later in ripening than other varieties. WINTER-WHEAT.—Mr. John J. Thompson, of Thompson’s ranch, Da- kota Territory, writes under date of March 8 that he has 40 acres of grow- ing Baldwin wheat which has stood the winter finely, and is now quite aS green as it was the Ist of November last. EFFECTS OF THE SEVERE WINTER.—Mr. kh. EB. Baldwin, writes as follows from Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas, under date of March 30: The winter has been one of unparalleled severity. Twenty thousand cattle have perished in the Solomon Valley from starvation and the cold weather. Potatoes buried for spring use and for seed are mostly frozen, the ground freezing sometimes to the depth of three feet. Early-sown winter-wheat is almost an entire failure. That sown late in the fall and not germinating is now coming up, but must inevitably make a very light crop. TRIAL OF AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.—The Ohio State board of agriculture have appointed a trial of agricultural implements and ma- chines, to take place at Springfield, June 18, 1872. The following is a list of classes designated for competition, with the premium for the best of each description: Plow for general purposes, stubble-plow, sod-plow, 160 double plow; premium in each case, a silver medal or $20. Subsoil plow, hill-side plow, one-horse plow, double-shovel plow—a premium for each of a silver medal or $10. Steam-plow, practical utility of opera- tion to be fully demonstrated, $50; improvements in plows, diploma. ‘Pwo-horse grain-drill, $40 and diploma; one-horse grain-drill, $10 and diploma; garden seed-drill, $5; horse-power corn-planter, $20 and diplo- maj; potato-planter, $5; potato-digger, $10; two-horse corn-cultivator, $20 and diploma; one-horse corn-cultivator, $10 and diploma; farm- road scraper, $10; roller and crusher, $15; harrow, $10; mole or blind ditching-machine, $20; post-hole borer or digger, $5. In ‘giving pre- miums on plows, the following points will be considered: Gross draught; weight; loss of power in overcgming friction; net power required to cut and turn the furrow-slice; width of furrow-slice; depth of farrow- slice; comparative draught; simplicity of structure; materials; work- manship ; durability; price; superiority of work. Competition is in- vited from all parts of the Union. PREMIUM CORN CROPS IN VIRGINIA.—The following particulars are from statements on corn by competitors for premiums at the Rock- bridge County Fair, Virginia: Farm of J. D. H. Ross, clay loam, upland; an old timothy and white clover sod, plowed in December with three horses, harrowed four times with three horses; hills marked 3 feet by 34 feet apart,and manured with home-made compost, a handful to three or four hills; plowed three times in the course of the season; one acre yielded 76, bushels of shelled corn, 56 pounds to the bushel, and five acres gave 2534 bushels. Farm of A. L. Nelson, loam, with clay subsoil; in grass for four years; plowed in February to a depth of 12 or 14 inches, and harrowed well just before planting, April 26 and 27; the hills received plaster and ashes at the rate of two-thirds of a bushel of plaster and one and one-third bushels of ashes per acre; one aere yielded by measure 911 bushels; by weight, 86 bushels 37 pounds each; five acres yielded 317 bushels by weight. Farm of G. W. Petti- grew, on a sandy loam, having a northeastern exposure, and overlaid by one to three inches of soil deposited by the flood of 1870; plowed in April to the depth of ten inches, planted April 12; one acre yielded 894 bushels by measure, or 97 bushels 47 pounds by weight, and five acres gave 400 bushels and 40 pounds by weight. EXPERIMENTAL FARM FOR Mississrpp1.—Governor R. C. Powers, of Mississippi, in a message recently communicated to the legislature of that State, reeommends that the grounds lying between the State capitol building and Pearl River be erected into a public park and ex- perimental farm for agriculture, under the auspices of the Planters, Manufacturers, and Mechanics’ Association of that State. Buta small appropriation is asked, which the governor thinks should be expended under the direction of the State engineer and professor of agriculture of Oxford University. ' HEAVY YIELD OF CorN.—J. Sanders, of Saunders County, Nebraska, deposes that he raised 18 acres of corn last year, which averaged 90 bushels to the.acre. J. H. Nesbitt, of the same county, also deposes that 75 acres of corn raised*by him averaged 97 bushels per acre, while another field of 175 acres averaged 85 bushels per acre. PROPER MODE OF TESTING SEEDS.—Mr. Hiliott H. Benton, of Le Roy, Dodge County, Wisconsin, in a letter commending the policy of this Department as to the distribution of seeds, says: To get a practical result in the least ‘time, seed sufficient for at least one-half acre Se ee ee ee ’ 161 should be furnished, so that ordinary fiecld-cultuze in every respect should be observed in testing its value; and this can be done satisfactorily only by a perfectly similar treat- ment of some common sort under perfectly similar conditions, side by side, such as, first, amount of seed per acre; second, quality and situation of land; third, manner and time of sowing; fourth, depth and manner of cultivation; fifth, former treatment of land, &e. The testing of any field-crop requires very faithful management and patient waiting, for not less than three years will be essential to acclimate and give an average of seasons. The most valuable result would be reached by a maximum yield from the use of a minimum amount of fertilizers and labor. There is no practical value attaching to the use of an unlimited amount of manure and labor, simply to get the largest percentage of yield, for the crop may cost more than itis worth. But the first point should be to ascertain the best manner of sowing; secondly, to ascertain _the proper amount of seed per acre; thirdly, to ascertain the best method of eultiva- tion for a certain variety of grain and a certain character of soil; and, fourthly, to apply the manure in the manner to get tho bestaetiect. EXPERIMENTS WITH SEEDS.—The committee appointed at the con- ‘vention held in Chicago, on the 24th and 25th days of August last, to report a plan of experiments to be tried in common at the different agricultural colleges of the country, submit the following : Experiment No. 1, to test the variation of soils on adjacent plats.—We recommend that 20 lats of one-twentieth of an acre each, 2 by 4 rods, with strips of 4 feat between each, © selected on a soil as uniform as possible, which has not been manured, at least for a _-number of years. It should be well drained, (tile-trained is best.) The aspect of the whole should be the same, and the slope, if any, as uniform as possible. Where not uniform the facts should bo noted. They should be plowed and otherwise cultivated uniformly at the same time even in the day, and under the same conditions as nearly as possible. These plats should bv planted to corn in drills at a uniform distance between rows, one kernel in a place, at uniform distances in the rows, so that each plat shall contain the same number of stalks. Good cultivation should be given, but no manure applied, ana the experiment should be repeated in 1873 and 1874. The stalks _ and ears on each plat should be counted. The corn should be cnt up at a proper stage of Tipeness, weighed green, each plat separately, and cured in the same stooks; and when thoroughly dried should be weighed again, stalks and‘all. The ears should then be husked and weighed separately, both when first husked and again when the cobsseem thoroughly dried. The pounds each of soft and sound corn should be noted. The dates and amount of time occupied in going through each process of planting, culture, harvesting, d&c., should be accurately noted and performed in the dry part of the same day. This experiment is intended to ascertain the differences in the natural produc- tiveness of adjacent or nearly adjacent plats, with the view of getting the exact con- _ ditions before applying manures. The corn used should be the variety most successful in the neighborhood, and the strips between plats should be kept cultivated. eriment No, 2. io test the uniform application ef manure on alternate piats.—As an im- mediate experiment, under somewhat uncertain conditions, we recommend this: The same care in securing uniform soil, aspect, slope, &c., should be had. Werecommend, as in the other case, 20 plats, each 2 by 4 rods, but separated each from the other by strips of 4 feet each, in order that the influence of the manure on mauured plats may not be felt on unmanured plats. These strips should be kept clean and the surface stirred. The same weight of manure, of uniform quality, should be applied to alter- nate plats, leaving the other half unmaaured. The plats should be planted with corn, and be cultivated and harvested as prescribed in experiment No. 1. Experiment No, 3, to test ihe comparative productiveness in hills and drills —Two acres, as nearly uniform and identival in soil, aspect, and slope as possible, should be planted, after staking off the ground, as in experiment No. 1, one in hills, the other in drills, the rows being the same distance apart, and the number of stalks to the square rod the same. ‘The different fields should receive the same amount of cultivation, the crops be harvested and weighed, and the sound and soft corn compared as in experi- ment No. 1. Lixperiment No. 4, to test the comparative effect of common and continuous cultivation. —We recommend that another acre be taken, 10 by 16 rods, and divided into one-twentieth of an acre plots, and planted with corn in drills, as ia experiment No. 1, making the rows run the long way of the acre, four rows to the rod, or forty rows, each 10 rods Jong. Commencing on one side, give the first four rows common culture; the next four continuous stirring of the surface during the whole time of cultivation, and so on, alternating through each acre, giving five strips common and five strips continuous cultivation. In harvesting, we take account only of the two middie rows of each strip or tier of piats. These should be eut up, weighed, dried, husked, &c., as tn experiment No. 1. . * 162 LUMBER PRODUCT OF THE UPPER MIssissipp1.—Local estimates as- sign the following aggregates to the last “‘log crop” of the Saint Croix River and its affluents, viz: Willow River, 9 ,000, 0090 feet; Apple River, 25,000,000; Wood Kiver, 3,000,000 ; Clam’ River, 5,000, 000; Yellow River, 9 060 ,000 ; Nimekanen River, 25,900,080 ; Chipenazey River, 7,000, 000; Notogatic River, 6,000,000 ; Frog Creek, 5,060,000; Beau Creel, 2,100, 006; Moose River, 4,000, ‘000; “Main Sati Croix’ River, 6,060,000 ; Snake River, 70,000,600 ; Kettle River, 30,000,000—total, 206 000, 060. The Mississippi and its ‘affluents, above the Falls of Saint Anthony, yielded about 200,000,000 feet, making 412,100,000 feet pro- dneed by the Upper Mississippi. and its ’ affluents during the winter of 1871-72. SWISS SCHOOL OF MILK PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT.— The Swiss Mountain Union, which has for many years been interested in the milk business, has issued a circular in which it claims that milk pro- duction and the care of the mountain pastures are the inseparable fac- tors of the nation’s wealth. The only article of export is cheese, which was exported in 1868 to the value of 18,674,852 franes, and in 1869, 21,453, 796 francs. The increase of milk products in other parts of the world is alluded to. American factory cheese, an imitation of the Eng- lish Cheshire, is rivaling its prototype in its home market. Sweden and Denmark have established extensive dairies, while Holland, which con- trols the cheese trade of the world, has established at Utrecht a perpet- ual exhibition of dairy. utensils, &e., for the instruction of dairymen. The Austrian minister of agriculture has given two annual prizes for the benefit of cheese-factory associations, while in Vorarlburg, Tyrol, . Bavaria, Italy, and Prussia, the latest facts, principles, and improve- ments are disseminated by means of itinerant lecturers, fairs, exhibi- tions, and publications. It is proposed in Switzerland to adopt this pol- icy in the organization of a scheol of theoretical and practical instruc- tion in milk production and management. For this purpose funds are to be raised from the cantons, agricultural societies, and individuais. Great results are anticipated from this enterprise. COTTON-SEED AS A FERTILIZER.—Mr. G. G. Zenor, a planter near Pattersonville, Louisiana, last year made 65 hogsheads of sugar from 35 acres of old prairie land. From 12 ACTS, fertilized with cotton-seed at the rate ef $15 per acre, he obtained 35 hogsheads, or nearly 5 hogs- heads per acre. The remaining 25 acres produced 30 hogsheads, or less than 14 hogsheads per acre. This surplus product of 1% hogsheads, about 2,000 pounds per acre, involved an additional cost for fertilizers of about three-quarters of a cent per pound. CALIFORNIA WOOL PRODUCT.—From Miller & Co.’s annual wool report, dated San Francisco, California, March i 1872, we have the following facts relative to the wool product of that State for the year just clos ed: Spring clip, estimated receipts at San Francisco and other points, 18,389,187 pounds; fall clip, 9,896,941 pounds; pulled wool re- cely ed, 990,125 pounds, making 2 2 total of the produet of California, for the year 1871 of 24,276 203 pounds. The total product for 1870 was 19,460,565 pounds; inc read, 4,815,688. There were also received at San Francit sco from Humboldt, ’ Oregon, Washington Territory, and British Columbia, 1,187,160 pounds: from Sandwich Islands and Australia, 1,016,463 pounds, and from Mexico 1,090 pounds. Total amount re- ceived from other sources, 2,204,713 pounds. ; ‘‘ Lost NATION WHEAT.”—Mr. J. W. Lang, of Brooks, Maine, writes —— | 163 that this wheat is taking the lead in his State. Notwithstanding the drought and grasshopper plague, seventy-three bushels of handsome wheat were produced last year on three acres of plowed land upon an old farm in Waldo County. On another, where the grasshoppers were in great numbers, reducing the hay crop three-fourths, sixty-four bushels were produced on four acres. No other grain was harvested on the same farm out of several acres sown. This wheat makes a fine grade of flour, and holds its reputation in all parts of the State. Com- mands $3 per bushel for seed. ENCOURAGEMENT TO TREE-PLANTING IN MAINE.—The following act was passed by the recent legislature, and has beeome a law: That any land-holder in this State who shall plant or set apart any cleared lands, or lands from which the primitive forest shall have been removed, for the growth and pro- duction of forest-trees, within ten years after the passage of this act, and shall suc- cessiully grow and cultivate tae same for three years, the trees being not less in num- ber than two thousand on each acre, and well distributed over the same, then on application of the owner or occupant of such lands to the assessors of the town in which the same is situated, and is so successfully cultivated or set apart to forest-trees, and at the time of such application shall file with said assessors a corvect plat of such lands, with description of their location, and setting forth all the facts in relation to the growth and cultivation of said grove of trees, er incipient forest, the same shall be exempt from taxation for twenty years thereafter; provided such grove or planta- tion of trees shall during that period be kept alive and in a thriving condition. WHEAT AND POTATOES IN WESTERN NEW YorxK.—At a recent meet- . ing of the Le Roy Agricultural Society, Genesee County, New York, C. K. Ward reported a crop of 352 bushels of Diehl wheat, grown on 8 aeres, Which had been dressed with about eleven loads of manure per acre. This yield, averaging 44 bushels per acre, was the largest he had. ever obtained. W.L. Bishop reported 1,400 bushels of Diehi and white Michigan wheat on 50 acres, averaging 28 bushels per acre, worth $1.60 per bushel. Jixpenses per acre (on summer fallow) $18.20, leaving a profit of $26.60 per acre. H. Ives, of Batavia, reported 3,600 bushels of potatoes, Karly Rose, Goodrich, Harrison, and Jackson, on 24 acres, averaging 150 bushels per acre. Total value of the crop, at 40 cents per bushel, $1,440; expenses, including $16 for manure on one acre, taxes, and 7 per cent. cn land, valued at $180 per acre, amounted to $972, or $40.50 per acre; total profit, $468; profit per acre, $19.50. Mr. Ives has had long experience in this crop, and this statement rep- resents his average product and profit for acourse of years. He plants on a clover sod of one year, and does all the tilling with shovel-plow and cultivator, running them once a week till time of wheat harvest. HH. H. Olmsted, president of the society, reported 2,400 bushels of Early Rose potatoes on 10 acres, averaging 240 bushels per acre, and 820 bushels of Harrison on 23 acres, averaging 328 bushels per acre. FLAX CULTURE IN IRELAND.—The acreage of flax culture in Ireland, for the year 1871, in the provinces of Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, and Munster, was 156,883 acres. The number of acres devoted to this cul- ture in the same provinces in 1870 was 194,910, showing a decrease of 38,027 acres in the year 1871. EXPERIMENTAL FARMS.—Mis. William Daviess, of Harrodsburgh, Kentucky, in a well-written article contributed to the press of that State, urges the establishment of experimental farms in each county, under the direction and control of county agrieultural associations. PULTZ WHEAT IN POTTAWATTAMIn CouNTY, IowA.—Mr. D. B. Clark writes as,follows from Council Bluffs, Iowa, under date of April 8: September 17, 1871, I sowed four quarts Fultz winter-wheat. All winter-killed ex- 164 cept a little end of the picce protected by a board fence. October 7, sowed four qnarts same variety, which is also all winter-killed. The past winter has been the most severe on wWinter-wheat we have had for many years. A good rain a few days ago has revived the little wheat still alive. September 8, I sowed one field of Iowa Amber. From present appearances, it will make half or two-thirds of a crop. On the following day I sowed another field of the same variety of wheat, which looks as though it would make three-fourths of a crop. FULTZ WHEAT IN CALHOUN CouNTY, ALABAMA.—Mr. E. T. Read writes from Jacksonville, Alabama, under date of April 7: ‘ Wheat is more backward in appearance than usual at this season of the year, but we have high hopes of a good crop. The Fultz wheat has stood the coll weather ot winter best of any thus fay. I think it will be a success here. EXCELSIOR OATS.—Mr. John De Lyser, of Sheboygan County, Wis- consin, gives the following as the result of his experiments with Excel- sior oats: . In the spring of 1869 I received from the Qepartment of Agriculture 10 pounds of Excelsior oats. Owing to the wet season, I only succeeded in raising 14 bushels, weighing 40 pounds to the bushel. In 1870, I sowed this seed on a half acre of ground, and secured 22 bushels of oats, weighing 42 pounds to the bushel. Last spring I sowed 11 bushels on four and one-half acres, and raised 40 bushels to the acre, (thrasher measure,) weighing 49 pounds to the bushel, being 61%; bushels (cf 32 pounds to the bushel) per acre. . TAHITI corron.—In January, 1871, this Department received through — Hon. Geo. M. Robeson, Secretary of the Navy, a specimen of the cotton staple grown in the island of Tahiti. The staple was of such unusnal length and fineness that the then Commissioner at once wrote to Hon. Dorance Atwater, our consul at Tahiti, requesting him to procure from two to five bushels of the seed for experimental purposes in the extreme Southern or Gulf States. Secretary Robeson, in his letter transmitting the sample of cotton, informs the Department that the naval officer for- warding it states that in the year 1870 two million pounds of the cotton were sold in France at $1 per pound. About six bushels of this seed were received from Mr. Atwater, afew weeks ago, and five bushels of it were at once forwarded, in packages of one peck each, to lead- ing cotton-growers of the South. The remainder, about one bushel, was forwarded to the Cotton-Growing Association of California. TOUZELLE WHEAT.—Professor J. W. Mallet, of Albemarle County, Virginia, says of the White Touzelle wheat : . The grain ripened rather earlier than most of the wheat in this region ; was fall and plump, weighing 624 pounds to the bushel, and was a good deal admired hy many farmers, who considered it likely to prove a useful variety here. FINE GROP OF SUGAR-CANE.—The Louisiana Sugar Bowl, of April 4, says that the Patont Brothers last year cultivated 106 arpents of plant, and 70 arpents of stubble-cane, with twenty hands, and made 225 hogs- heads of sugar, weighing about 300,000 pounds. This is ¢qual to a yield of 1,7043 pounds to the arpent, which, at an average of 7-cents per pound, yielded within a fraction of $119.32 per arpent. The same hands also made enough corn to supply the plantation during this year. Be- sides their own crop the Patont Brothers ground the small crops of eight or ten of their neighbors, amounting to about 75 hogsheads more, they receiving about one-third of this sugar, which swelled their crep to about 250 hogsheads last year. WINE PRODUCT OF 1871.—In a paper read before the Mississippi Valley Vine-growers’ Association at a recent session, Mr. Bush estima- ted the production of Missouri at 1,000,000 gallons; Illinois, 1,200,000 ; New York, 2,250,000; other States east of the Rocky Mountains 1,000,000; California, 7,000,000; total, 12,450,000. Mr. Bush predicts * ' } P 165 “that Saint Louis is to become the center of this interest—another Bordeaux for the distribution of wines.” ‘RAIN-FALL IN CALIFORNIA.—The rain-fall of the closing months of 1871 at San Francisco was greater than that of the same portion of any previous year since the settlement of the State. The rain-gauge shows that, prior to January 1, 20.29 inches had fallen. The next largest ob- served aggregate was in 1851, amounting to 19.31 inches. At Sacra- mento, up to December 31, the rain-fall was but 12.42 inches; at Stock- ton 10.80; at Turlock, in Stanislaus County, 8.52; Saint Andreas, up to December 23, §.52; Shasta, up to December 26, 30.25; Nevada, up to December 30, 36.00; Los Angeles, up to December JO, 8.21, 5 | Tv | MARKET PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. : Articles. March. April. NEW YORK. Flour, supertine, State....-...---- per barrel..| $6 10 to $6 50 $6 25 to $6 60 emtra, State.---...--.-.-. pets CONS nae 670 to 7 50 670 to 6 45 Nie aupemune wesiern..-...----.-.d0--.... at OY tole S 50 6 25 to 6 60 extra to choice western.-..--.- dope ass 6 70 to 9 50 .6 65 to 9 50 Geis Souther -2.. 22.25. 5.52... GOR L085 7 OOM CON E75 690 to.7 10 Poca bo CHOICE... ..-...--.--. COhwas ss 7,80) ston 9) 50 715 to 9 50 Wheat, No. i spring. .-----..----- per bushel..| 157 to 1 59 155 to 1 59 Meeeapiie.-----------.--.d0...... 152 to 156 150 to 153 winter, red, western ..---..-.-- GOses4ea! AebSr toy S70 1 67 to 170 amber, WesterD...-.-------..- Gp=s,-. 3 LO ton 73 fare eel Pray white, Wester. 2.. ...-...--.-. dO) 4a:445 1 72) tot 80 1% to 1 80 Hye) ....--:-+--------+-------+----- dors: 2 to 93 88 to 824 Sera a 2 ------ aos.) 4: 1124 to 1 14 80 to 83 IEE le caies. 2 «<2 -45---. 00.0002. 52 to. 54 534 to . 57 Corn, new western, niixed....-.-.....do...... 40.500 YF FOk 71 to 714 Old pwesterm, mixed.....-...-... CO aoe she ut esa ee ale ah i I, SP a ag Hay, shipping qualities........---. per ton--.| 25 00 to 28 00 to 29 00 een 2 -- ss >---. Osa cue: 27 00 to 32 00 23 00 to 34 00 os a Se eee per barrel..; 13 50 to 14 10 12 75 to 13 00 OL Es eee CLOefemses 12 00 to 13 8&7 10.75 to 127% IBGerepimneieSS Voss. =~ => 42-2. ---- MS Sonata 9 00 to 11 00 8 00 to 9 50 OMURANIOSS = 92-552 -5--.2---. dors...) 11 00). toy 12, 50 10 00 to 12 00 Ln) ot ae A Oe per pound. - 94 to OF 84 to 84 ather, westerm --2-.---....2... OL eee 12) to) 4.23 12) to.,, 23 CUO. a ee ee do tee = 2) 21. to 37 24 to 40 Cheese, western dairy.-.............- QO siee ae 14 ta . 16 14 to 7 State factory--.%...-.-..-...do..---. 15 . to 174 Peta 4-20 Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary...-do....-.. 198 to =. 218 20% to 22% low middling to good middli’g.do....-. 212 to 234 224 to 2456 Tobacco, lugs, all grades. ............ Cones. 3 74 to o} 8 to Of BemeOn eat. J. - a ayans gee ro13) sae St to 10 9 to 10% ARERR SS de dlwale sd wceatea ns cin Owe 23 70 to 874 62 to 83 Prizs\ ib Last eae Se Ses See (110 eee Sm stom ONMAleee 23 tees Set 228 California, spring clip---.-..-..-- OMe sb ois 8 oc Svan aN eg A ee SiR ay os VENUE i RR Se Sa 5 Oe Ze 39 to A} 43. to ——— Texas, inferior to comimon,.... (1a Se MT ae TSS a Re eR) BOSTON. | Flour, western, superfine....-.... per barrel..| .6 00 to 6 25 6 00. to _6 50 * RAEN ©) --.0. w io tarot eee Gone. 4% OOO, 25,25 675 to 8 00 CMOEOee ss. Soe. eee CLOSES = nt 8 50 to 10 50 8 25 to LL 2 BOUbelM. CXUTAS...- ..--50 200 Clore =. 7 00) to 7% 500 “O00 enor ei ep 166 Market prices of farm products—Continued, Articles. March. April. Boston—Continued. Flour, choice Baltimore-.-...--..- per barrel--| $9 00 to$10 50 $9 00 to11 CO UES ip eel ae ER a ae so - per bushel..| 160 to 1 65 150 to 190 ye. = 25-5 ee n= i eee coe lo 0282 90 to 95 92: to 95 Barleyye eect Cee a ce eee Eee eee Os.) Sa 75 to 1 20 75 to 1.20 Corn, southern yellow. --...-..2..... Oz. ese 7 to 78 77 to 78 Western ‘Mixed oe oeee eee eee. dopeee= t: 1x LOWS ae AO) a tT western yellow... --22£2-.. .-.- do. 22ke 7% “to 78 77 to 79 aak, ess... ee eee ee eee ee per barrel..| 1000 to 12 00 10 00 to 12 00 CXETS @ Sek ee peace eeme = 1.6 U0. oes 12 00 to 16 00 12 00 to 16 00 Pore prime . 2 as eeeeee eee ees 5 oe eke doescers 12 00 to 1250 | 1100 to 12 50 IES LEC ASCE ee a sai cles Sem nee dozteece 14:75 to 15 00 14 00 to 14 50 Lard 2\.2-2-¢ eee Peer eee tos se See pe 94 to 10 9 to 9% Butter, New York and Vermont....--do-- 18 to 35 18 to 35 Canada, choice. .-.--....-+. WW agiate oi 27 «to 30 29 to 32 MUESDGEN Ge Cetin te Me cate occ len de> seeet 17 ‘to 27 13:5 ‘toy eeces Cheese, N. Y. and Vt., choice factory..do-.-.--. 164 to 1735 19 to 20 Ohio choice factory Sigel Bote ee do-cekr- 14 to 164 17 to 19 Haves Perris = ctin cine oa oes per ton...}| 22 00 to 32 00 30 to 33 Wool, Ohio and Pennsylvania. .-.. per pound... 79°) tO eo 10. 10° sag IMichrean es. Scie Soe cea ae Saath dorset 70 to 2 oO. be? TSO other Pwestermoee.-5-ece. 22h Gots. te. 70 to 80 73 to 82 Calitornian=3-).3. e820 ee eee ek MO%.228 30. to 55 35° to 55 ERBMAS EL ce Geese cele eee ete. doses 35 to 50 35 to 50 COM DINC AMMeele sees aeee ee ~E- doz eit 90 to 92 92 to 95 PHILADELPHIA. : POU, Superine.c eae «seu teec eee per barrel..| 525 to 5 7% 5 25 to 6 25 CE 0 :) He yey Samar Sh apa ae dover cer 6 00 to 8 50 6 00 to 8 50 family and fancy brands..-....do...--. 9 00 to 10 00 10 GO to 11 60 Wheat, red, Penn. and western....per bushel..| 160 to 1 62 1°76; tom tag Bmiber. | she cck ce ewceees 2 sorte oemleecees atee beet eee 180 to TINO Soh Ree let a cia ts Cee eee ses ca doseeet 90 to 87 to 88 (Worn: syellowc. es. tease ee soeen es (Oz2 coer 554 to 66 65 to mixed, western.......-..----.- do... 222° 66 to 64 to 66 Oats, western Whee eee, eee dopzeee. Hd. to 56 54. to 5D Pork, mesese2. 2. - So cmsc ene Or Darrel 14 00 to 14 75 13 00 to 13 25 Beer, mess, city pi acked bocue olecek do.-2ee= 15 00 to 15 50 14 50 to 15 00 Tied MC Rey oe BS, ek per pound 94 to 92 82 to 9 Cotton, fmiddlimorie oe. see eee ee Os. soee 23 to 234 23 to 234 BALTIMORE. lourAsuperines- ee... --e np eeeees per barrel..| 625 to 675 350 to 7 00 OXUEA och ect ee teen eeeeEeee aps. 2e 725 to (8 2 725 to 8 00 family and ancy 5. eee eee. dos fiece 825 to 1% 25 8 25 to 11 25 Wheat, Pennsylvania.......----. per bushel..| 166 to 1 72 181 to WESEIN coo ce eRe eee ees doses et ioe Soc cote eee eee were ------ Maryland: ..3\cceeeeeee mee dos: 2-4-0222. 2s28e eee “175 to 200 RM Ooo em ea nb me EEE Ose 22s: 95 to 1 02 9 to 1 05 pea ey eUDW..--- 02+ .~-- ge eens cpr: et 64 to 63 to SSS a aes ie res alae 64 to - 66 63 to 64 PIA WP RUOED a> = me om clemine - eae per ton. ..|-...-.5--.-0225 sees Pennsylvania and Maryland ....do..-.-.|!.+--.-.-----+-----|-----+ -----------= Porte Waren erie tts ctu: 2k pee _per barrel..| 14 00 to 14 25 13 25 to 13 50 Butter, western, prime to choice..per pound... 21 to. 27 |..---.-------2=sSe IN WROD eee cis. ans es Seo ee 10s eae 3b ito 38° [| . 2-326 eee Cheese, western factory ---..-.-. .-.- (1 nn PS Se ERS ae ESNUEED -oee eee. ee ui 2S, MO se ace|. 28 5s cee ieee eee | == a Lard: 2-¢t Seem eek eben es oie hee ip... 9 to 94 | 8% to 9 Cotton, Ondiiatyerce: cee eeris s+ dmeagaee TAG tortL 500 \\a---- s oss o's < per barrel. 5 75 to EXtla) sees e eee eerie = cn - se cic Oeerets 6 25 to CHOICE Sse eer mtee oe aie cince use dozen es 8 10 to Wheat; redigiesa-ee to scts sass per bushel 165 to NFU eens) 8 ee oT a do sec5: 165 to spring - Bee sic nis eee Omit 1 36 to Corn ame die een = So wieiew ona codier COs sae 40 to Volo ase ne me lao Soke NAS Sos Costories 39 to eLUT IS Se are any aera dosaacia- 55 to ORGS WWIRMG is G2 era mere tomer seiee ag doeesas. 36 to TAUROC St seve ciclocbe ele sete a eae eis dopseses 36 «to NV Otome seit arc ae ta mbe estes io dopasase 80 to BAC LOM SS WAINIDOI ois /ni- bistejola ia mreeracec eae GOsss==- 70 to SPRUNG Lee ites mes weenie ae dOpareee 624 to TR AVise ae oe sccom ee see Stee ware per ton..| 15 00 to POLE WIMESS ssa esaciee ce eiceisie este ae per barrel..| 12 75 to and, prime Steanises. cesses. ese-sses dosezsc- 84 to Sti) Gate relate te aneare eine ee dossss3: 84 to Bute Chores. sees ees) oe Dek Pound = 22 to medium to fair.......--..--- dossate: 15 to Cheeses choice tactory 9-221 +-2--1-—-= dO=sse=4 | 164 to Cotton, middling pl pal Ls 09a Jone em pt doves se¢ 21 to Mopaceo, UG oe aaa oas ses os eee Per CWib--||)) 4920 eat common leaf........+----+-- dossz23% medium to good leaf.....-..-- dovss:5s Wool, tub-washed...........-.--.per pound... 80 to HeCCO-Washed: i 2. .c--cocces ee doss seo: feaead seve unwashed medium ......--.--. does 474 to “ NEW ORLEANS. ° Hionr, superfine .ccia’: see sc eats caae per barrel..| 6 624 to extras, (according to grade) -.-.-.do..---. 750 to RIeFE, SON ELUG) = s\e oer <= ee per bushel-.| 75 to EY ELLOW? a= 525 see hes ee doses. 73 to MUX OC. on eie2d cw Greco ae eee dors. -4= 73 to VR ees aie sala a code ese oe ee ee Lae asta: 53 to EVA CHOIGE) 0 =. 5- /oels = see oe nieeemen per ton..| 31 00 to [Die Eee Reise sic45 he dopeaes- 28 00 to Gepost eee tones sare cesar per barrel..| 14 50 to Beef, "mess, (Te SAS) bese s oss cre tee ee doss-=:- 11 00 to Lard, MALCOM ee tapi oe 6 ele cia ce eae per Poe: 94 to IRG0? Cons ior ceeeapEEneepe cara! Oo. ssace 10 to Butter, choice western....-.......... a Soe 22 to Ta02. .Sa Se See eeepee eS oe a seeas 34° to Cheese, choice factory..-.....-.-.---- doze: -. 17nete western reserve...........-.- Gore... - 16 to New York eream......--..-2- doxsss+? 18 to Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary ....do..---- 19 to middling to good middling --.do.----. 214 to Tobacco, lugs 7= see sees err = - == dOmmer es 8 to low-legfeseee eee eeene tas oo: dowse=<- 9 to Meditim) Sosa ee eee ea GO. -<=. 94 to April $0 20 to $0 21 15° to 18 18 to 19 62 to 68 40 to 50 63> 16 85 5 50r t6 6 00 to 7 50 800 to 8 8 170 to 190 1 78. to 1 97 143 to 1 45 39 to ‘524 40 to 51 464 to 55 37. to 43 342 to 414 76 to 77 60 to 80 50 to 614 17 00 to 20 00 11 75 to 12 00, 81 to 94 24 to 40 15 to 24 18} to 22 22" to - 6 80 to 8 25 8°25. to "Sivo 9 00 to 12 00 75) de 77 45 to 47 6 50 to 7 25° to: 11708 75 (to. 7480 72 to “75 72 to 75 55) 0 58 37 00 to 40 00 35 00 to 13/950 te 11 00 to 12 00 94 to 94 94 to 104 30 to 40 to 19 te —— 18 to —— 20 to —— 181 to 21 221 to 23+ 8 to 9 9 to 94 93 to alt 169 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. March. April. SAN FRANCISCO, Mippestpertine......-.....-....- per barrel..| $5 50 to $4 75 to SMULAISUPCL «= cts ) ee -~ 2 age ABA 00 NeSuciyiiey, 3 ean et ntl hoc rs eed aa’ dal) Bey ; ¢? y a Ee ver orem - 1 ends Rey . sis ann ee CORTE ae we } ; | ‘ . Ln 4 LS aR Pe ith %, GAY 5 ot F o< > abt we «dee ee ee 7 ee yak)! 2 } ik} i: . . tr , > , ' . 4 . | ) ri ’ ' ' ON ; * / 5 . ) ' ’ ‘ s . » . ’ . , . . w 2. cd : MONTHLY REPORT OL THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR MAY AND JUNE, 1872. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIOE. MONTHLY REPORT. " . DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Statistical Division, June 22, 1872. Sim: I respectfully present, for publication, a report of the condition oi crops for the month of June, with collections of statistics and records of the condition of agriculture, from home and foreign sources; articles upon Northern farming and Southern planting, the deterioration of cot- ton and sugar-cane, and the epizootic diseases of swine; and notes of current work of the entomologist, chemist, and botanist, a record of scientific discovery in the direction of rural arts, and miscellaneous facts from original sources. J. R. DODGE, Statistician. Hon. FREDERICK WATTS, Commissioner. CONDITION OF THE CROPS IN JUNE. WHBAT. The returns for June have been carefully examined, percentages of area and condition have been tabulated, and averages calculated with reference to the comparative wheat area of each county. This compound method—and only true one of obtaining a State average—involves an immense amount of labor, which cannot be done in a day; yet the re- sult is a reliable and satisfactory expression of the deliberate views of the county statistical boards, and may be received as the only complete and approximately accurate review of the wheat prospects of the coun- try in the first week of June, 1872. The following tabular statement of the general character of the re- turns from nine hundred and three counties, including a large proportion of the wheat area of the country, shows that 48 per cent. are unfavora- ble, 22 present an average condition, and 30 per cent. are above average. : Above av-| Below av- Average. erage. erage. Total. Counties. | Counties. | Cowuties. | MOLL od RR Sd a 3 2 il WVeIMEMON SILO... coo. cess sees eset Nee Ohare eee 2 bi vg 7 Varia? 2) ane ee ee 5 4 1 10 WCRI oa c= so 2 3 em EE 3 ea) Pt eer aes 1 5 Sinton, eee re! So epeeap a Mees tesa. 1 4 usw (NOE. 1: 633s See Ere So eee 1 2 30 33 RIRVERLOIRO Verran 2. voc. S-- Seis paeeene eS prefs: cess 11 12 MeunsylvaMias.2-)5-5..-.--..6-2 rhe Ap eb i) hate Sea 2 eee vi 38 WD 2D PARIRE SES ya) TO LI i es ae | 2 3 eid 28a) os Ser Sb a Aas 8 aan A ee ea en 13 13 174 Above av-| Below av- Average, erage. | erage. ot | | | Counties. | Counties. | Counties. Win pin eee ee ss. os bate e st edo CEE REE Se 1 5 36 INPPER Co amNG = 2-5 -< =~ spec eam n'a] 16 20 12 SOUHL CATON. - + 40 %.- 2 cinn 22 Soe ooo 4) 2 3 CREORMER eae ccets skis = es accee oot nae = o-< | 19 27 11 HONEATIO EMIT ete BE A Nh A aS 4 15 2 MISSIBSUD DL 22 Sees stb ena ee eens a '- | 6 3. eben ee “] STSES CEPT vee PN SS gL eS 2 3 lee eee PRERANISAG Se. 2)! b 5/32 nies nee eRe ea, Stoic wi 3 8 2 Tennessee... - bee ae 5 7 26 4 Woosh Vireimia - 2.07 2 coer aes conta bose | 3 4 21 Kemnne kiya} 2455 12 5 Scares eB thas 14 18 6 (Cite 2a ae See), ho ea eee 2 2 48 Ete Hae: 3. ee Pee hss cocci es ox 5 5 25 SVRTC ce em er Se US a 8 10 38 MUGS) et oc Stee ess a) See mel 10 16° 26 WASCONSINGS 2 aneeeere eis a kA AN eee 10 16 4 Surin Bolas eee ee eo. Se Resp emer il 9 11 1 TIGR ERR EL Pe A me ae Ay 9 ai 4 AVISSSOURI MY pee Un foe he ee eel 4 8 By) a AS Seen eee eee ee Se ale ee ee | 3 1 28 INCH AREA E En Feta Sa Che ra Aa Thy dee 1 11 2 OAT i ee eich cit me seo me operate ie oe 8 1 eh 2 (RPT PST ETT, 1 a A ES rel ete | ) 3 6 Totaly. es. z 199 | 70 434 A calculation of the percentage of area as given in the general tables which follow this crop report makes the depreciation in the total area % per cent. The wheat crop of 1871 was estimated at 130,000,000 bush- els, at the close of the harvest, with an average yield of 114 bushels per acre. If 12 bushels be taken as a fair average, a yield of 113 would be a depreciation of 44 per cent. The October returns of estimated product made the total depreciation nearly 7 per cent. The total aver- age of condition in the June returns of the present year is 94, which would indicate a product (prospects continuing unchanged till harvest) of fully 220,000,000 bushels. This would be 67,000,000 bushels less than the unprecedented crop of 1869. An increase of area in spring-wheat is reported in ten counties in Maine, and a decrease in one (Piscataquis) of 5 per cent. Somerset gives 15 per cent. increase, and Aroostook 10, the average for all the counties reported being 8 per cent. Very littie winter-wheat is grown, but there appears to be an increase in the area. Only Lincoln and Sagadahoc report low condition, and the general average is 1 per cent. above. Only two counties in New Hampshire—Grafton and Strafford—give diminished acreage. Sullivan and Merrimack show an inerease. The acreage is equal to the area of the last crop. All except Strafford re- port 100 for condition, making the general average 99. Ten counties in Vermont make returns of spring-wheat, seven report- ing the same area as last year, Orleans 105, Chittenden 110,and Orange 115. In condition only Bennington is below average, Addison and Orange 120, and the average of all 106. In Massachusetts a diminution of 4 per cent. of its very small area ap- pears. In Franklin County, which produces nearly half of the winter- wheat of the State, and very little spring-wheat, the area of the former has been reduced 5 per cent., while its condition is 100, or average. Wor- cester, which grows more than half of the spring-wheat of the State, L15 makes an average, both in area and condition, while the general average of the State, both for winter and spring, is 98. The returns from Connecticut average 95 per cent. for area, and 88 for condition. Returns from several counties do not include wheat. Of thirty-three counties of New York reporting winter-wheat, (representing six-sevenths of the crop,) only Warren and Westchester, which grow very little wheat, return condition higher than 100, and Putnam 100. The general average is for winter 68, and 91 for spring; representing a deficiency in the wheat-crop of New York of about 28 per cent. Five counties—Monroe, Niagara, Livingston, On- tario, and Genesee—which produced more than four millions of bush- els in 1859—average this season but 64 in condition. The total area of winter wheat is 98 per cent., only Wayne, Niagara, Stenben, Dutchess, Schuyler, Schenectady, and Delaware, making returns below 100, while Warren, Wyoming, Broome, Yates, Monroe, Oneida, Erie, and Jefferson make returns above 100. The wheat prospects indicated by the April returns, which were not very cheering, have been impaired by drought. Twelve counties in New Jersey, which represent four-fifths of the total product, average 98 per cent. for area and 70 for condition. Only Essex, which is unimportant as a wheat county, returns average con- dition, while Hunterdon, the first in wheat production, returns 25. A reduction of one-tenth of the wheat area of last year is indicated in Pennsylvania, and a condition of 30 per cent. below an average is presented. The reports represent thirty-eight counties, of which Clearfield alone returns 100. Had the season been propitious since the opening of spring, the losses by winter-killing would have been by no means irrepar X able. The York corre- spondent declares the prospect the worst one for thirty-seven years. Drought, cool winds, and the fly are among the evils added to winter- killing. We have returns from thirteen counties in Maryland, which together produced 86 per cent. of the wheat reported by the last census. No re- turn gives an average condition, the highest being 85 for Calvert. Frederick, which usually produces one-fifth of the crop of the State, is credited with 70: Montgomery sends the same figure; and other counties make still worse returns, as 60 for Howard and Queen Anne; 50 for Bal- timore and Talbot; 30 for Cecil; 25 for Carroll, Washington, and Har- ford ; and 20 for Kent. Delaware has been afflicted with drought, reducing condition to 70, while the area in comparison with that of. last year is 06. Fifty-two counties of Virginia indicate a loss of 2 per cent. in area, and a depreciation below an average of 15 per cent.; only-five counties indicate condition above 100; thirty- six below, and eleven 100. Those standing highest are Gloucester, Montgomery, Giles, Scott, and Henry. Loudoun, which should yield half a million bushels, is placed at 60, and Augusta, which stands next in production, is put at 80. - South of Virginia, reports are more favorable. North Carolina gives an average of 101, both for area and condition. Of forty-eight counties reporting, only twelve place condition below 100. The superior appear- ance of drilled wheat is noted. In South Carolina, area is represented by 96, and condition by 97. Fifty-seven counties i in Georgia make wheat returns. Very little com- plaint of rust or insects is made, and the weather has been quite favor- able. The area is averaged at 98, and condition rises to 105. Only eley- en returns of low condition are made. 176 In Alabama few counties produce wheat except to a very limited ex, tent. Twenty-one make reports which are quite promising. Area 105- condition 115. Only nine returns of wheat come from Mississippi. These indicate a decrease of 5 per cent. in area, and place condition at 104. From Texas only ten counties make returns. These indicate an in- crease of 15 per cent. in area, and place the average condition high, at 117. . Wheat is in fine condition in Arkansas, (110,) though there is always quite too small an area, and that of the present year has declined 10 per cent. from last year. Thirty-seven counties in Tennessee make returns of wheat, only four of which present condition below 100. It is noted that better tillage is beginning to prevail, and that a good harvest is assured from lands properly tilled. The reported area is 3 per cent. greater than that of last year, and condition high, averaging 117. In West Virginia there is no decrease in the wheat area, but its con- dition is not promising, being represented by 85; Jefferson, a county famous for flourishing wheat-fields, by 62. Three-fourths of the twenty- eight counties reported make low returns of condition. There was some injury by winter-killing, and more by drought in May. A diminution in area of 8 per cent. is apparent in Kentucky, but the crop is in superior condition, averaging 108, only six counties standing below 100 of the thirty-eight reporting. Seven counties, representing one-fifth of the crop of the State—Christian, Hardin, Jefferson, Mercer, Shelby, Spencer, and Warren—average 115 in condition. Returns from fifty-three counties in Ohio indicate a reduction of 12 per cent. in the area} and 22 in condition. Ten counties, Builer, Craw- ford, Darke, Fairfield, Greene, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, Seneca, and Stark, representing one-fourth of the usual product of the State, average a depreciation of 20 per cent. in condition. Sciota and Butler are placed at 110, and Fairfield and Huron stand at 100, Trumbull and Delaware reporting 95; Hamilton, Geauga, and Seneca, 90; Holmes and Mahon- ing 85, and all others falling still lower. The reported causes of damage are freezing, drought, the Hessian fly, and poor tillage. The prospect is almost equally gloomy in Michigan. 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ERO, teen eee owe ee meee eee ee eens = cnn sicln a ET, 45 Sa Storer e eR Ennemeinas 42 ~~ ss.> 9s +.e« =e On Grean oo ARs Ee eae ean n rion tis= © 2-97 =-<.- -\ne nse yy: Peace ol ae) one as >" BIOROLUT 7777" THISMODSL AA, "7°" Stour --*-BURIpUy -- UVSIOIT genes OTU() sisi cesiese AON IOS. “ BIMISILA 982 AA > gassouue 7, *- susuByry Sicsmiplnro™ puvpAaeyr ee ee 7" OIVMRTAC -* wlovATASMUOg ----£OS1OP AKO NT SARIS II CICE Oe YLOX MON minis o< 3\e sin.eninin eine siniaininie nie sir naan t > ma === IMOTZOOUNOL -* puv[sy opoyry Jenene nce eee ee eee reece eres eee * s}josnypesseyy pile ae iwisla sae seis sin rinicc.c ns. #\ni5.='s.'s.niein S25 Sag QUOULLO A. ieee et oceania = ee ein gavesesto-2:°** OTTORCUIG PR ALONT SEAS SESS Eee aee eee oureyr ‘s0q249 1993 AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. The biennial report of the California State Agricultural Society for 1870-71 has been received. --\--<- -<---- ewts..| 10, 269, 198 15, 629, 435 5, 117, 392 8, 940, 597 DAG do... 327, 919 130, 370 165, 301 17, 791 grenre GrOPURRINY a= ns se 2232-0 do 3, 348, 214 3, 049, 031 1, 949, 805 2, 018, 292 SRMNISEMEDE TINGE ho) Gio < 30.10 | 29.45 | 30.20 3, 038 3, 196 90, 940 96, 570 ORGS be ee eeaseeeacer \o0RS $848, 862 18 1, 164, 619 1 47 | 1, 712,948 43 2.901, 974 123 | 3,568,191 05 3, 448, 306 104 | 3,581, 763 28 936, 426 93 871, 819 49 1, 205, 703 198 | 2,387, 629 67 1, 257, 626 134] 1,694,580 43 3, 105, 932 80 | 2,495,188 66 5, 047, 986 1 08 6, 006, 583 69 1, 703, 793 | 112 1, 919, 002 95 3, 692, 209 71 | 2, 621, 468 39 The prices of wools, according to local classification, (four-fifths being “bastard” or grade wools,) have been as follows since 1863: ote German | Bastard | Spanish Year. wool. wool. wool. | | Cents. Cents. | Cents. 32. 4 42.8 | 59.5 41.7 48.3 | 57.6 39.05 | 43.7 55. 8 35055 | Peso. ee 48, 3 47 | 41 | | 60.02 31. 6) || 40 | 50. 02 20. 08 2957, | 42.8 27.9 | 37.9 50. 6 ‘SOUTHERN PLANTING AND NORTHERN FARMING. BY THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. The great diversity of climate and soil which characterizes this ex- tensive country renders the task of reviewing the principles and prac- tices of farming, as they prevail in various quarters, exceedingly diffi- cult; for that which observation and experience have taught to be entirely successful and profitable in one region, would be very inappro- ‘priate and entirely fail in another. In our agricultural journals and elsewhere we meet constantly with discussions, as to the best modes of cultivation; and while the contestants, reasoning from their own ex- perience, seem to differ essentially, it does not necessarily follow that each may not be right in the doctrine Which he advocates; they may have only failed to recur to the fact that they reason from stand-points and accompanying surroundings which differ as essentially as the doe- trines they respectively advocate. This may be illustrated by recurring to the. oft-repéated discussion of the merits and demerits of deep and shallow plowing, while the solution of the problem is clearly to be found in the character of the particular soil to be plowed; for while a tenacious clay subsoil may be most profitably plowed to any depth which can be enriched by cultivation and manure, a good surface, having 208 for its base a sand or gravel subsoil, may be plowed so deep as to reach a bottom which has no capacity to hold either water or manure. Thus should that question be settled everywhere. The earth that is plowed the deeper will receive the most and retain the longer the rain that falls upon it, and of course furnish a greater space in which plants may feed and grow; and besides this, it affords a reservoir into which, in freezing weather, the rain may settle from the immediate root of the growing plant, which thus escapes from being embedded in ice, and spewed or frozen out, as clover and wheat often are in the Middle, West- ern, and Northern States. But the whole subject of deep and shallow plowing is one which every farmer must study in connection with the character of the soil he cultivates, and govern his practice accordingly ; keeping in view, however, that a fresh, uncultivated soil, brought to the surface for the first time, may disappoint his expectations in its eapacity for fruitfulness, until it shall have received the benefit of manure, and especially the amelioration of light and heat. The subject of rotation of crops is one which deserves especial atten- tion, and which must be considered with reference to the locality where it is practiced; but that it is an essential principle which must enter into the successful operations of the farm, is as certain as that a diver- sity of food conduces to the health, strength, and mental capacity of man. The analogy is by no means an imperfect one. What can be so plain, if we but reason from natural cause and effect, as that bringing into requisition again and again the same means of production, the same muscular powers of locomotion, the pursuit of the same train of thought, serves but to exhaust the soil, as it debilitates and exhausts the capacity of man? The earth will certainly cease to yield a product of the constituent parts of which it has already given all it has. And here let us consider the result and effect of continual restoration of the soil by the application of superphosphates, guano, and other commercial manures. Will not this supersede the necessity of rotation? All these may contain many of the component parts of production, and most of them are soluble in water, and, therefore, more immediately convertible into plant-food, stimulating. in its character, quickly bringing into re- quisition the powers of the earth, and consequently in the same degree exhausting those powers; and like spirits habitually administered to the body, requiring an increase of quantity to produce a like effect; and eventually increase loses its power, and the earth, like the body, dies from exhaustion. There is an active, living principle in a diversity or rotation of crops, which nature dictates, as is exhibited in the practical operations of the farm. Dig up an old apple-tree, and a young one will not grow successfully upon the same ground, and no manure will make it grow. It is vain to theorize upon the subject, and we may as well conclude that there is no substitute for a rotation of crops in a proper management of the farm. But what shall the rotation be? Here we must recur to the idea that while it is indispensable, it must be regulated by circumstances. In the Middle and some of the Western States the usual routine is clover, corn, oats, or spring barley, wheat, and with it timothy and clover; the former sown with the wheat in the fall, at the rate of about three quarts to the acre, and clover in the spring, about one bushel to five acres. This grass is mowed and made into hay the second year, and often the third; then the manure of the farm should be put upon the sod, and again it goes into corn. By this rotation the land continues to grow better and more productive from year to year. There are points at the South, and also in the West, where this rotation 209 cannot be pursued, because the soil and climate are not congenial to the growth of all such grain. If so, let others be substituted; but if there be any point where grass of some kind cannot be raised, then it had better be abandoned as an agricultural district, and appropriated to some other purpose; for it may be questioned whether anything that grows out of the earth can be grown profitably where grass will not grow. Grass is the great renovator of the earth, and will always grow, with the use of lime, where land is worth cultivating. The marked contrast between the modes of culture of the farmer of the North and planter of the South is not to be traced to any essential difference in the principles by which the cultivation of the earth should govern the one or the other, but is rather to be accounted for by the circumstances of these localities. Climate has had much to do with the subject, the character of labor more, and the education and habits of the respective populations greatly conduced to the essential differences in the practical operations of the farm. In the Southern States it is as uncommon to meet with a barn, as a place of preparation of the products of the plantation, as it is in the North to find a farm without one. The planter contents himself with the reflection that his cattle require no such shelter from the elements with which he is surrounded; while the farmer estimates his barn, not only as a shelter for his cattle from wet and cold, but as a manufactory of the only fertilizers upon which he relies to improve his land; and not only this, but as a place where his products are prepared for the market without waste or deterioration, and from whence the straw, hay, and fodder are distributed to the cattle for their comfort and for the profit of the farmer. The southern planter will not realize the truth of this, although he finds himself scattering over a thousand acres; abandoning one spot with the hope of finding another less exhausted, or perhaps somewhat rested from the fatigues of a series of crops of the same thing; while the northern farmer, with his well-farmed hundred acres, will be found to increase the fertility of his land and add to his acres year by year. We have almost said that a barn is essential to the operations of the farm; that it is through its instrumentality that it is fertilized and improved; while the manure of the barnless plantation is wasted upon the desert air. Ali other questions respecting the management and economies of plantation or farm management resolve themselves into the considera- tion of labor, its character and qualities. Our southern people are essentially agricultural. They have had no other subsisting interests to any extent. The existence of servile labor, imposed upon “the minds of the land- holders, made it a part of their earliest education that labor was degrading. This was a necessary consequence of a system in which men were born to command and obey. However well educated, their minds were not turned to the subject of agriculture. They had no neces- sity to investigate the practical workings of the plantation; that was in other hands, whose special business it was to oversee as well the labor as the laborer. But now there is a new state of things, when it will become imperative upon the owners of estates to study agriculture as a science, to think and plan for themselves, to devise their own modes and schemes for the improvement of their lands and the economies of ‘nsing hired labor. It does not necessarily follow that planters have suffered anything in the change of the character of their laboring hands; expe- rience has proved that they have lost few or none of them; and when we remember the amount of work accomplished by one who earned at most but a mere subsistence, who was engaged in a duty of which he 210 would accomplish just as little as he might, and performed it as badly ; and now, when he shall have been stimulated by the hope of gain, the fear of competition, the approbation of his employer, and, not least, the anti- cipations of an independent home, it is questionable, if not clear, that the planter will, in the end, be benefited by the change. There is, to say the least of it, great encouragement in the consideration that laborers in the South are not wanting, that their labor is not too expen- sive, and that the products of their soil are well paid for in a never- failing market. There is a great disparity, even now, between the conditions of north- ern farmers and southern planters; for, apart from the mere considera- tion of the sacrifice of human life, the former were rather benefited by the results of the war, while the latter lost their all, and were driven to the resort of double and triple cropping to meet their actual necessi- ties. Hence the soil has been exhausted, and nothing but the lapse of time will enable them to restore it; and that, too, by a rotation of crops to which grass must contribute largely. There is no mode by which the fertility of the soil can be so cheaply restored as by clover. The size of, plantations in the South is a great drawback to judicious farming. Ithas been clearly demonstrated that one hundred acres c¢are- fully and judiciously tilled will, with the same labor, produce as much as two hundred carelessly farmed. It is not enough that the surface be loosened, and seed be committed to the earth, to insure an ade- quate yield. The ground must be well and deeply plowed and plowed again; it must be well harrowed and harrowed again, until it is brought nearly to the cgndition of the seed-bed of a garden before the seed is committed to it; and then the seed should be selected with a degree of care which will insure the separation of the indifferent and the good. And this is a point of the utmost importance—tfar greater than is usually attributed to it. No matter what the seed may be, there will be found good, bad, and indifferent among it; and that these should be separated is as fixed a principle as that better seed will pro- duce a better plant, and that a better plant will produce better cotton, tobacco, wheat, or corn. To separate them is not a question of labor or expense, for it may be relied upon that the result will repay it four- fold. How they may be separated may be answered by saying that in- different seed is almost invariably lighter, and that the winnowing-mill, which will blow fifty bushels of seed from a hundred, renders a most valuable service to the result of a bountiful production. There is one more subject to which the attention of farmers every- where should be drawn—the pasturage of cattle upon land when it is wet. There is no one whose experience has not taught him that to plow land when it is wet is injurious to it. The reason is manifest: The earth may be said to be a set of mouths and lungs which feed and breathe; to plow it when wet shuts up its capacity to feed and breathe; in other words, it smears its surface so as to make it impervious to light, air, and heat, for the want of which it dies; and a death, too, from which resuscitation is extremely difficult. This same consequence is the result of pasturing cattle upon lands whose surface has been made wet by rain or otherwise; it is worked into a mortar incapable of producing fruit. Farming, like all other of the occupations of life, requires a study of the scientific principles which enter into it, thought of the modes of their application, and especially the observations of practical experi- ence; and these combined will always produce profitable results, Prejudice often puts its seal of thoughtless reprobation upon what it 211 scornfully terms book-farming; but the farmer need not fear to learn his art from any source. If the chemist has analyzed the production of the soil, and found, to an unqualified certainty, its component parts ; and if natural philosophy teaches that these component parts are taken from the earth, the lesson is certainly taught that the earth becomes ex- hausted by a continuous draft upon it, and eventually ceases to yield the product. If he discusses the chemical properties of lime, and its effect when brought in contact with the earth—when, therefore, it may be profitably applied and how used—such discussion may be turned to a most practical and profitable account by the farmer. If the entomolo- gist has carefully studied the life and habits of the bugs, flies, and worms which infest the earth and all its growing vegetables, plants, and fruits, and teaches the nature and extent of their depredations, and thereby, to some extent, puts it in the power of man to thwart their operations; if he puts into our possession the facts with regard to the character of birds which are insectiverous and which are not, which are destructive and which are not, thus enabling us to guard against the one and protect the other; if the investigations of the botanist point out the nutritious, fibrous, or medicinal character of a plant, and where it will grow successfully and where it will not—what distinguishes one plant from another; if the natural philosopher treats of the nature of the earth itself, and how it is affected by light, and heat, and air, and how it gives life to the germinating seed, and strength and stature to the grow- ing plant; if, in fine, it be the unchangeable laws of God which give vitality to every living and growing thing upon the earth, is it not well that thefarmer should study. to know what those laws are, and give them their most potent influence to produce the best results from the work of His hands? DETERIORATION OF COTTON AND SUGAR-CANE. BY THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. By the extensive and intimate intercourse which this Department has with the agriculturists of the country, it has been strongly impressed with the idea that the products of grain, cotton, and sugar have much depreciated in quantity, and, it has been alleged, in quality also; that this is a very unnatural and alarming result, of what is undoubtedly an im- proved condition of agriculture, must strike the mind of the most casual observer; and it has induced the Department to inquire particularly, and gather the facts, and elicit the opinions of cotton and sugar planters and dealers on the subject, with the view of knowing whether it was within the scope of authority of this Department to come to the rescue or aid of interests so important. To effect this object, letters were di- rected to many intelligent cotton and sugar planters in all the Southern States tending to elicit answers to the following inquiries: 1st. Have these products deteriorated in quality or quantity? 2d. And, if so, to what source do you attribute such deterioration ? 3d. Can this Department do anything to remedy the evil? These letters have been extensively responded to, and it is gratifying to believe that much intelligent thought has been given to the consid- 212 eration of the subject. While much comment is made upon the effect pro- duced by the great change in the character of labor, and the want of con- trol over it, which the planter has once had, a compendium of the whole correspondence leads to the inevitable conclusion that both cotton and sugar have diminished in the quantity of production, but that neither has depreciated to any extent in quality, and the cause of failure is most unerringly traceable to the planter himself. If this Department can impress upon the planters of cotton and sugar the indispensable importance of selecting seed and carefal culti- vation, it will have accomplished the introduction of a remedy which ‘will cure the evil. What are the “ Dickson,” the “ Boyd,” the “ Peeler,” the * Hurlong,” but the productions of selection? Does not all nature teach that in her operations “like produces like?” oak os aa = decease ATISUF IS os ice ciendies Pee eee eek 1865 PRUMBAVTOULD i. 3-ciscrees = eS ee peo. - S's ae 32 878 910 Kinsiom of Saxonys--.)-smeeee- -2- Eee ee 5 oo4 359 Grand Duchy of Oldenburg.,...........-... 5 29 b4 Weehy. or Brunswick: -eoeee: oo... ae 2 10 12 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin .-.-. - 1 26 27 Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ....... -- 4 4 Dnehy OL-Lavuenburk arene... -. 2. bee eee i af 1 Grand Duchy Saxe-Weimar-Hisenach ........ 6 69 75 Duchy Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.....-.....-..---- 4 15 19 Duchy Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen, ..... ae 35 46 Duchy Saxe-Alponpurg..-. 2s. e: at de ee 8 8 Muchy Anthaieree: «-a'- cis. pee a eee 1 8 9 Principality of Lippe.-....-. aie (one oe oe a 1 2 3 Principality of Schwarzburg-Rndolstadt ...-- 11 11 Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen .. ..- 6 6 Principality of Reuss, senior and junior ...... -- 11 11 Trmepaitay ol VWaldeck ”. Ysct cack Sink See 3 3 Free City of Hamburg.......- Lach Re eee 3 3 ree mOiuy wor Lubeck ss ssc. is .d ule ee ee ee 2 2 Free City of Bremen......-... WamhalS MARC'S S i 2 2 manedom ol Bavariag \...t Ya. Sca.0 Jel eh pee 1 39 31 Kingdom of Wiirtemburg.-...........--.-..- 1 74 75 Grand Dochy ot, Baden. 020 l sts en's oe 3 17 80 Grand Doechy of Hesse.) 35). 2c 2 Sek ebb 3 7 10 Grand total soiree whe a see rgee 17 1, 664 1, 741 This does not include the following : 1. German Agricultural Society, established 1860, in Heidelburg. 2. German Fishery Association (1870) in Berlin. ; 3. South German Agricultural Society. 4, Central German Horse-breeding Society. ENTOMOLOGICAL RECORD. By TOWNEND GLOVER, ENTOMOLOGIST. LARV@ IN TERMINAL SHOOTS OF PEACH.—In examining peach-or- chards in the neighborhood of the Maryland Agricultural College, about the first week of May, almost all the young twigs of the trees were ob- served to be killed at the extreme point or end for a distance of 1 to 24 inches, and the terminal buds entirely destroyed. On cutting open these dying twigs, the injury was found to be caused by a very minute cater- piller, which, entering the twig near a bud, had entirely eaten out the pith and interior, leaving only its “frass” and the exuding gum, to mark the spot where it had entered. When confined in a glass case, after about a couple of weeks, several of the larve left the injured twigs, and formed very loose cocoons on the sides of the box, or among the rubbish and old leaves lying scattered on the earth, and in about six to 305 ten days the perfect moth appeared. Specimens were forwarded to Mr. V. P. Chambers, of Covington, Kentucky, who is making a special study -of our micro-lepidoptera, and he decided it to be Anarsia (Zeller) prui- nella, (Clemens,) probably A. lineatella (Zeller) of Europe, (Fig. 10,) the larvaof which was described by Mr. Clemens as taken June 16, full grown, and about to transform on the limbs of a plum, but no food-plant is mentioned. The tail of the pupa is attached to a little button of silk, in an exceedingly slight cocoon. There was scarcely a single young tree in the peach-orchard examined, that was not more or less injured by this little pest, and at least as many as twenty to fifty injured twigs were found —_~._ on some very young trees. After the insect leaves ah thetwig, the injured part dries up and breaks off. : This insect was also seen, though in much smaller nun. “se bers, last season, in Maryland and Virginia,and apple-trees are also frequently observed injured in a similar manner in Maryland, and itis probable that the damage is done by the same worm, but as we have not yet succeeded in breeding them from the apple, we cannot say with certainty. The ljarve are about 0.25 of an inch in length, head black, body dark reddish brown, with lighter rings, the third ring being more conspicu- ous and whitish; the moth is quite small, and measures 0.40 to 0.60 of an inch in expanse of wings, and is of a pale-gray color, with a few blackish spots on the upper wings. Should this insect increase in num- bers as much during the next year as it has done since the last, it threatens to be a great scourge to peach-growers. The only way to de- stroy them is to go around the peach-orchard in May and June, and cut off such terminal shoots as appear to be withering or drying up, and then burn them with the caterpillars inside. This at least would pre- vent their multiplying to such an extent as to be very injurious at pres- ent. When not so very numerous, they appear only to serve to some- what prune the trees, as they take off merely the tips of the branches. MITES IN PEAR-LEAVES.—In May many leaves of the pear-tree were observed to be covered with dark-brown blotches somewhat like a fun- goid growth, but upon examination by Mr. Taylor, microscop- ist of the Department, these blotches were found to be inhab- ited by myriads of small mites almost invisible to the naked eye. These mites appear to run all over the leaves, but espec- ially to burrow in the brown patches, which appear to be en- tirely eaten out by them. Their bodies are long, cylindrical, yellowish white, with only two pairs of legs, placed very far for- ward near the head, and they move with considerable agility. They are also marked with a multitude of rings, and have two long hairs or bristles and two shorter ones on the end of the abdomen. There is a somewhat similar mite mentioned by Packard as the Pyphlodromus pyri, of Sheuten, which is said to live under the epidermis of pear-leaves inEurope, but no mention is made o the brown blotches on the leaf, ap-parently formed by the mite. In his figure also the head is much more obtuse than those examined in the Department. A thorough drenching with whale-oil soap-suds would doubtless destroy many of them, as their bodies appear to be very soft. All infested leaves, likewise, should be immediately removed and burned as soon as discovered. InsEcT InsJuRIES.—The Colorado potato beetle (Doryphora decem- eal 306 lineata) has made its appearance in Pennsylvania in two counties, in one of which the damage is reported as quite light. South of Mason and Dixon’s Line this insect is reported in one county in each of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee, but in all these the injuries are reported small. Their greatest annoyance is in the “States north of the Ohio River. In Ohio several counties report greater or less injuries, not so severe, however, as those reported from Michigan. In Indiana this beetle is more or less destructive, while in several counties of Illinois it is despairingly pronounced a permanent scourge. In one county only (Outagamie, Wisconsin) are they pro- nounced worse tlian in 1871. In Minnesota and Iowa they are disappear- ing in most of the counties reported, while in Kansas they are but incidentally mentioned. In Clarke County, Virginia, the Cantharis or common potato beetle is injuring the crops to some extent. The counteracting agency of other insects destroying the Colorado beetle is mentioned with much satisfaction in different parts of the country. The ravages of this insect are comparatively trifling the present year. A correspondent in Erie County, Ohio, states that the Colorado po- tato-beetle abounds, this being their worst season; but by concert of action through the county it is kept in check; that when the weather is hot, the best way to destroy them is to keep the land well cultivated, and when the light, well-pulverized soil is hot, in the middle of the day, knock them off the vines, and ‘the heat of the ground will kill them. When the weather will not admit of this, a tablespoonful of Paris green in a pailful of water sprinkled on the vines will be effectual. CUT-WORMS.—The cut-worm is reported’in a few counties of New Eng- land and the Middle States as destructive to corn, tobacco, meadows, and fruit. In North Carolina an insect, probably another variety of the eut-worm, is reported as injuring cotton. In Sullivan County, Tennessee, the worms are dug out of the ground, as many as sixty having been found in a single hill of corn. In Upshur County, West Virginia, and in several counties in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, the ravages of the cut-worm have been quite severe. This insect is occasionally mentioned in the reports from Illinois and Missouri. Locusts.—The locust or Cicada has made its regular seventeen- year visitation in Wise County, Virginia, especially injuring young fruit orchards. Locusts also are annoying the peach-growers of Madison County, North Carolina. In Red River County, Louisiana, they injured young cotton-plants. In Richland County they appeared May 14 and . departed June 12. They were present in immense numbers in Laurel County, Kentucky, from May 13 to June 20, but did no serious damage. They were more destructive, however, in Shelby, Jefferson, Jackson, and Pulaski Counties. They are reported also in Highland County, Ohio. APHIDES.—Aphides or plant lice have been found in the hops in Oneida County, New York. In Bladen, Moore, and Perquimans Counties, North Carolina, and in Marlborough County, South Carolina, this pest has been annoying to the cotton-planter. CATERPILLARS.—A small, dark grey caterpillar has injured the goose- berries and currants in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Rice caterpillars ' have been destructive in the rice districts in Georgetown County, South Carolina, and in Glynn County, Georgia. In Crittenden County, Arkansas, caterpillars are at work among the apples. In Kane County, Utah, this pest is devouring the corn. GRASSHOPPERS.—Grasshoppers are numerous, but not destructive, in Milam County, Texas, and are reported in Rice County, Kansas. In Morgan County, Utah, they destroyed half the spring grain and a fourth of the potatoes. 307 ARMY woRMs.—Ravages of insects bearing this name are reported in Pike and Posey Counties, Indiana, in White County, Illinois, in J effer- son County, Iowa, and in Nevada County, California. CHINCH-BUGS.—The chinch-bug was destructive in Madison, Lawrence, Washington, Perry, Clinton, Clark, Crawford, and Effingham Counties, Illinois; in Polk, Jefferson, St. Clair, Lewis, Marion, Montgomery, Rey- nolds, Vernon, Harrison, Perry, Iron, Dallas, and Johnson Counties, Missouri; in Bourbon, Franklin, Miami, Osage, and Coffee Counties, Kansas, and in Thayer, and Nemaha Counties, Nebraska. MISCELLANEOUS.— White grubs are complained of in Rhode Island, and Michigan; rose-bugs injured the grapes in Middlesex County, Con- necticut. An unknown wheat fly is reported in Mechlenburgh County, Virginia. ‘The wheat midge is reported in Putman County, West Vir- ginia. Canker and measuring worms did great injury to the fruit in Delaware County, Ohio. In Lucas County, Iowa, an unknown insect seriously damaged the grapes and even killed the vines. CHEMICAL MEMORANDA. By Ryztanp T. Brown, CHEMIST. EXAMINATION OF MARLS.—The -marls which are associated with the tertiary belt lying between the Alleghany Mountains and the Atlantic coast are of more importance to the agriculture of the country than has been recognized heretofore. They consist of an accumulation of the re- mains of marine animals, chiefly shell-fish, closely allied to the species now existing in the neighboring bays and estuaries. Sometimes, how- ever, the teeth of the shark are found in a good state of preserva- tion.. These remains are commonly imbedded in a very fine sand, which, on first exposure to the air, has a dark green color, but, on dry- ing, becomes an ash gray or light lead color. These beds vary in thick- ness from a few inches to 10 or 12 feet. In most of these the remains have not undergone petrifaction, though the animal matter appears to have been almost entirely removed. In consequence of this most of the shells will crumble into powder on exposure to the air. The amount of organic matter in these marls is, therefore, very small, but nearly all the mineral elements of these ancient organisms remain in a form which can be made available in the production of crops. The phosphoric acid is chiefly in combination with lime as a neutral phosphate, and consequently is insoluble; but the disintegration of the shells reduces it to so fine a state of division that the phosphate, under the influence of carbonic acid, passes slowly into an available form. A portion, however, of the phosphoric acid is in combination with iron, from which it is readily liberated in the presence of potassa or lime. The alkalies (chiefly potassa) are in combination with silica and iron, forming a double silicate of potassa and iron which is insoluble in water; but, on exposure to the air, the compound is broken up by the iron pass- ing into the form of a peroxide, the remaining elements being resolved into silicic acid and soluble silicate of potassa, which is available for the use of crops. The supply of marl in the belt above alluded to appears to be practi- cably inexhaustible; but the quality differs materially in the different beds even in the same vicinity, as will be seen by the following: 308 Analysis of marls from the vicinity of Marshall Hall, Charles County, Maryland. No. 1. Organic matterand moisture, ..--.Geen- .----- --Seeeeere ps == - =< > =e 2. 030 CarhonatewWuiumMe .. ose. pecs neem => oo = = == tema eel nae =. 2 ee ee 54. 070 Carbonate of mapnesia\:.2-2.\.- seer o-. === “eee eee ee iec-e. - l= oe 1.304 Phospheme Bcids..---\- oo. seems = + << er eee ee eee ee is oe ae eee 0. 350 Peroxides of iron\and alumina. sees s----. s 2200s seen eee eee eee pee eee 2. 955 WAITKRITGS |) = = occ nice namie = ols Reo wie) onc Sop es 36 eee ee 1. 000 Sito: Ae Se SSE ee se Nob ech), 2/-\ Rees cris ssa tas isssade-. ee 38, 291 100. 000 No. 2 Organic matter and mpisture -..-...-.---------.+----.----------+- > aoe eae 1. 900 Warwanic Acid 2225 peepee ee mel: = = = ols eee eae see - ce seee eee 1.214 Phosphoric Acid on eeeep en. -- n= =~ were tae ae een 0. 653 HGHNG) oe 2 = aoe eRe ool sp ao olee eam pen ole ee ne 9.465 Peroxides of iron aad alumina ...-.. ..-2.. 0022) 2-22-22 ee se oe ee 2. 207 PANIC ANIGS ope pee elon a= 3 oon soonest owen ame wer oso eee ae eee nnn , 0.800 Silicary cee teeeiee 22 secs code ances oe tee ess asec er = aan 83. 761 100. 000 No. 3 WTORPOR EE on <= - statin ois e sce Sema ee pre ee eee = oe ee 1. 950 QOreanie Maver s. .--. 622 on anos He eee eee eee ee ee 1. 980 MacbonabevOriuime,.- > ociseee one 22 ocean 8 vio Slee onion a 35. 504 Carbonate Of Maeiiesia <2) - eas wee oe we cine nine ieee = ee 3.550 Phosphoric acid... 7922-25 ke oe oe ee een ee 0. 210 Peroxides Ofaron and alumina)... --2- hes licecne see eo 6. 095 ANKLES ee Soloeni coin c,c1u lala etmeyere dozzeee 7 to 124 Cotton; ordinary to good ordinary, 22 J2cs2.2-.-5-- 2252-0 neeee 204 to 232 lowmmiddling to good middling. 2222). 222...522 25. 2dosnees 242 to 274 Tobacco oes eulionates. 22.0. Jo le ee ee oe Soe ee doze 84 to CoMmmonsromediim leat 2262 epemeee ess = seeeeeee doz2e2 91 to 10% Wool pulledgteseeepeenet stn. o.i.c0c cease <= 2 qe eee dobeece 50. to 60 Tl D=aV AS ed emer tee is ciloc osc ac See etree 5 eee dooce 75 to 80 California, Spm OiClp 22 <2. <2 22 eee me ee eee eee doz-2-5 40 to 45 California wtallaelip se)... 2- . Jace ees eisaee seme date sae 30 to 32 Texas, Interiorgo COMMON). <<... scenes ae eee Gosse==| 30 to 43. eS 323 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. BOSTON. Beeeemmesrern superfine ..............---.-----.----- per barrel.. CEEOL AS <9 a crcla.= ol helen alenietiaiala'= <\c)0'<'aa/ain'= aac adores. MEPIRTCUIOLEG) Shim dea cra sora ncaiascne ss. tassels do. 25. PMO ULAS 5. goc.9 tio~aitelsiaqurehseraatysa=.sa6) ce cise doses RIE PENH GIIN OVC. -\- oso a ani bie ieyseoalnjcja nines teu doweees ot pe ARGS eee per bushel... See SS cae sates case cess anata caaeceaeauses dopo | Soca BAe eS Si glen dowsee MBO UTHern Ny VYelOWW .--- .----0 o.cecs snccns «seas ence = donee | SaaS UTR IVE CLUE ofa avarel'e |= wal, win eta) wii ilo ciclet=nisiniy ams) =(= Simin dome. | SUPPER ION, ¢/alajniaic c/a) m\napainja)o.n.e) sieieieisioysismiaipiasnjeia=jnie doze. ERMAN Mee oe oo) wc <5 oie) sms ciwie ee nine aiwie einio.einjaieim wines as per barrel.. Speers ere ars) ois Sal cra) oxic, eisin'si'= ania) osm serra miatore donee COME TAS -¢ 2.6635 Sie eee eee aie eee ee ae doze: UbntS 2.35 02 CeeReHPEOtE OEE CEeeee “ee en rod Ac plate ore don25.. LeU ee eee ore Op SEE CHEER GE ARSE ER Sap Ae Re A ae per pound... Bumerenewerork and Vermont... 2... -2--000ecesneecse ss does sa- Paitin, POO tO) CHOICE. - 2-1. sane nonsense nes cit doease: Wossiheii S25 eS a ee eee ee een EES ie de oe Cheese, New York and Vermont, choice factory.........--. dons. Ohrontactory, good to choice... --....-.-...--..-5-- dozeeee IER «a5. <5 - croc ho GARR ee Sa ae per ton... - Meaeeieand Pennsylvania .......-.--..-----.----- per pound... SUL ih 325 Soe SR a oe ae eerie nN ernie do sss Ovo) SES TACETIIDE eg £22002 232 (ou DOPE dS SS SoS Ee ee ee are Eater net dOess-6 PE oI Sates cisinjepnicicin a nacc ean qacctodeels dorteee REED ace ya acai ny sian misynsaacciniminp aioe ai = close ae PHILADELPHIA. SL) STIG 365 Sep eee eee ee per barrel.. BE oe tect GREE OED ne eee eee Oy ces dosssas Faye ANG fancy, DraNds: .- 2... .-26-, 0-25 sss 0-25. dosssee Wheat, red, Pennsylvania and western............-.- per bushel... SOD 5055s Bop See ss eee ee ee ais tte aisints dozsass P08 2226 Sot) Sea ee ee aetssteat eee dos=ae: Coon VallON? oo 526) 0a nt dows52 Rn MNERUODI So r= 5.3.05 =,- 35,52 noise o jaienisiaislge sine «leslie dos 32a. ate Wester white. -/ 22... ..5..----5.e-e- SE Beeedee aed dosiuse eS per barrel... TE is a dotasne is 5 2 Shale Cnc ne kale tid einietns one. per pound... IIIS on. oo oo os wu sn cae se S omen ees nene GOs BALTIMORE NOD Soe se ack S ikcape a cae onic per barrel.. RAMU sos = or BOE ES ne ae Bae eve See OC Ee te dozes: NUMER LATICO es as wn oa Ses donee. RECO TCO! 8 5 eieaweweyeicn bn ae neen =e per bushel.. WHO --- ~~ 2-2 - soos ene woe nee eee ee 0. 2. aS a D1 dopee- SI ro SR ae doxstes. SI 2 ee eG dos. 2% 2S 25s ee per ton.. Peuusylyania and Maryland...2...........---. 22s. danese ol ie Jeniene Sasaer barrel «. NES = 3, a es ee Oe. eeieeeS, Wesberm factorye ...-...--.. ---cee seen cece ce ans ee do... SPR EMEPAULOUY:.. . 0-23 2a a eeten ana saath eee do.. July. 95 to 1 06 oe tO, te 2O) 68 to 69 65 to 67 68 to 69 9 to 10. 20 to 25 20 to 24 15 to 29 1, to ee 65 to 75 62 to 70 62 to 67 25 to 57 35 «to 50 75 to 80 5 250 to SAID 600 to 675 7 50 to 11 00 70) stor 177 to 180 65 to 64 to ——— 63. to ——— 43 to 9 to 94 252 to 264 6 00 to 7 00 0225 to ‘9°85 9 50 to 10 00 200° tor 2°10 200 =to 2ar0 98° to, 1.05 67 to 68 77 ~to 79 35 00 to 37,00 33 00 to 37 00 13 75 to 10 to 17 324 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. BALTIMORE—Continued. Bsa). Bo. 2a ee ponies Sane Pee ade seine +--+ ++ 452s en POROUNG a: Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary..-.....--.-------------- doseues low middling to middling ...--......-.------------ doses Tobacco, common to good lugs-...--..----- ---------- per cental.. common to medium-leaf......--.---------------- ra A Wool, unwashed, free from burs. .-.--..-------------- per pound.. tub-washed .. 2... 20 cece en eee e ee eee ee eee eee e eens M05 saes CINCINNATI. Flour, superfine ..--...----------- ---+-----+--------- per barrel. ORGTAL Sa eles Peele aeien cles a 2 cane cou nus cecqsescescninw dose family. 2-22... eine one enn mage eee ce nine ee een wee Go'saacte Wheat, No. 1, white-.--.--- Oooo ene te ween cece ee ceeese per bushel..|..---. pslBi Peper NO: 2; WHite 2... =o seen oie weenie reine wierere mr eetemneta ol ee es Sr je No. 1, red ..---- -- +--+ 2-2-2 ence ewan wee cwe se nee DOexsont 1.55: to..1 66 No. 2, red ....---- ---- ---- 2+ eo ee eee ene eee ene do: ..-.})) 1,50 ite Corn, white.-.---...---- .----+----++ +--+ --- 2 eee eee eee eee dbv-nes 53 to 54 yellow . .----+ 2-20 eee eee een ee ee nee ee eee ree ee 00. s-~/4|+ - ees ese ce peewee seat eee ee dole 9 00 to 11 00 Porke/ 686. 5 5s sain gisten oe sle o =5 soe sda ant eames per barrel..| 12 50 to 12 55 OXPED a Sctecieo mpteeinet = aime 6) o1<°o 1 ie) alnlelmtaler u's) wtetnlerenetetiain tats ose. 285202522 ae eee Beef, Mess. 2 fotos cesta nee oes =. vo eeveeccaaicu=cteeEn docens 9 00 to DOE eee RO) oe loa Sec RUC SE On OO DCOMB EEO ODOCBEEEC ce: per pound. . 72 «to 83 325 Market prices of farm produces—Continued. Articles. \ Cur1caGo—Continued. BERIIOGOQAUY ..< =< RE eG HOME A CHOBY)q. 2.2 5-20-05 sl cccinee cine csadeaceccee dossese EE a ne doses a faa rete per cental.. ASTID OTD LG fehsece Gi Ie i ay a ae dows ce meme nO FO0d leat. _ 6. est ee ene nent dosacin= ST ee per pound... ae ci oe acc dee Smal agide ewes wens Onno NR NOOMMeGIUM 0... osssc cecensoncee ees Jes Osa Lyi S7L[A ETL 2) ae a per barrel... (LISI Coc SOSt AEE OE Seat pe Nee pie et ie aa ar doses EE EE ae ee per bushel... CO SLUUINT? sched AAS AS A ae oes hol pe doze: Rts hh OR a ert es eae eo ee horas dolcee= eo ee ee wee dotrie: Memeerer 2 a. ia 2. 2k Se a en cine cea bie per ton... TLS CORES SS A Or a ee rr D dose SE ES a 2 per barrel... TEESE AIM gs PC Ones ES oo ye cok Oe os eawcas per pound... oe a cere MR ee os ow ols oe nee Oe se. CTS CEN 1 a 1 a dowees: SE DOICE i 22a ak ts COs ee Cheese, New York cream.........- LO SS S15 oes. MEMEEEOEN ELOROTVO .... <6 Jel nu meen. oa ete do... Cotton, ordinary to low middling................-22-.---- do.. wet ee eee te we ee ee eee ee eee July. $15 to $0 17 12 to 14 12) to 13. 10 to 11 10 to 11 59 to 62. 43 to 45 60 to 73 425 to 4 75 5 00 to 7 5O 775 to 10 00 £,40-taceTs5e 1 35 to. 1 524% 75 to,, 1:20 38 to 47 38 «to 44 40 to 564 294 to 37 28 to 354 58 to 62 40 to 5D 18 00 to 21 00 11 80 .to 19:25 92 to 74 to 8 Tato 17 7 ‘to 11 114 to 124 244 to 25 7 50) to ,8.50 8 25 to 9 00 9 00 to 11 00 65 to i 54 to 62 46 to 47 6c tom 67-75 725 to 10 50 69 to 70 57 to 58 40 to 46 28 00 to 30 00 26 00 to 27 00 127500 tO) Loven 11 50 to 12 00 9 to 93 LO. to 10£ 16 to 18 30) >to 17. to ——— 12. to 124 194 to 23% 326 Market prices of farm products—Continued. 7 =. Sie baa: ” a Articles. July SAN FRANCISCO. ’ BignrSUperiine |... ocsias awe eee eee yess eS o> 2 mc oem per barrel..| $4.50 to $9 25— OXULAIUP CLIN GMs ele eee ete Hlslacs l= oid eee Cosas 5°50 to 6 2 . lieher eravdests pct eceen tent! ~oslods per ton.-.| 850 to 18 50 Pork, mess. - -2-- see te ae eo be oe oe we wt ee ee ee ee DOF DATES) 5 [OUNIE) Soo 6 on 1o\ G64 SUBSE ero Seaao mesos somes do..--<|" LoyOu ste BRB R tN OSS iso ae EI one fee -n fom oieinicis alcninie es inieete mien & eee d0seeee 12 00 to 20 00 Ward hoa eee Co eeeele saa scans soe er cece enele meee per pound... 10 to 124 Cinniere, On GnbNaGl 53 S84 popes espoo eee cote soodooaoacescscr dO ae 15 to 20 (CANROre 2) 3S e AERA Se eNOS Be AAS Baa do!s222 224 to 25 PCE ON Eee sel aia vo on Ae nape Soe eenln eerie ee = ate ae dozie72 10 to 15 (OEE IS 3525 h.65806 Gab ROSS Gon soca GOSS On esac aS aaa: oc dole 12 to 16 Wily IMS) 42 Gabe beeeope eased ooo soaGadactaaort Se skos em. doe 30 to (CHILO Soca beeBona ned scoasceen Gagsc0 sosseso Sone dol=e 35 to 40 (ONGUD SBS S SSSehG son 54 dase pe paes ao DIbasch 3 a30 Br dof 38 to 40 e) \ MONTHLY REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, L872. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1872. heey [MELE CO ee 13 ere kt ee , re F ef pe A hh free ' d BPs sani bg la x i ; ~ ™ 4 x ie ote r’ = ADEUTT at id P f es Lt, Sk b oH + ‘ via i ek fF Jes has ; i ML; “44 , ) ; ee s 1 ; ; ¢ * . e j soy) Leet De) aE 0) ie Pee Lye t§ MONTHLY REPORT.’ DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Statistical Division, September 23, 1872. Sir: I report herewith, for publication, statements of the condition of farm crops, as shown in the returns for August and September, and statistics of market movements and prices, together with other matter representing the work of the several divisions of the Department of Agriculture. Respectfully, J. R. DODGE, Statistictan. Hon. F. WATTS, Commissioner. CONDITION OF THE CROPS. : CORN. The condition of corn is better than for several previous seasons, throughout New England. The unusually warm weather, in connection with seasonable rains, which have kept green even the sandy plains of the coast section, has given high promise of a large yield, which early frosts can now scarcely impair. The Maine and Connecticut averages are 7 above; New Hampshire, 6; Rhode Island, 5; and Vermont, 2. The average of condition in New York is 110, the best reports coming from the principal corn-producing counties, of which, Livingston re- turns 125; Onondaga and Ontario 120; Wayne, 115; Dutchess, 110; and Suffolk and other large counties, 100. The counties of Hunterdon, Monmouth, Salem, Warren, Morris, and Mercer, in New Jersey, yielding more than half the corn supply of the State, average 111, but the remaining counties reduce the general average cae Salem returns 95, and Atlantic 50; no other returns fall below In Pennsylvania, such counties as Lancaster, York, Washington, Bucks, Berks, Westmoreland, Cumberland, Centre, Montgomery, and Chester, none of which produce less than a million bushels, and some of them nearly three millions, average together 109, which is also the average for forty-one counties reporting corn. 330 Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are the only States between Maine and Georgia which report the corn prospect unfavorable. The average for Delaware is 57, for Maryland 86, and Virginia 95. The reports from: Virginia are variable, some “ better than for years,” as in Bath, while others give expectation of but half a crop. Accomack, which usually produces half a million bushels, returns condition at 110, while Fauquier, which stands second in corn production, makes its record 90. North Carolina guarantees a large crop of corn. Only Edgecombe and Jones report low condition, ten counties average, and thirty-seven above, the average for the State being 112. In South Carolina only four counties report less than 100, and the State average is 106. . In Georgia, where the average is 108, some of the larger corn counties make even more favorable returns. In Alabama, Wilcox reports 150; Lawrence, 125; Dallas, 115; Mont- gomery,110. Theseare among the heaviest corn-producers. Only three counties report low condition. Average, 107. A large yield is promised in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Ar- kansas promises an average, and Tennessee 5 per cent. above. In Kentucky, among counties usually producing over a million bush- els each, Shelby is placed at 120; Jefferson, 110; and Fayette, 100. Only two are below average. In Ohio, of forty-three counties reporting, only two are below aver- age, Seven average, and thirty-four above. Of sixteen counties, which produced twenty-three millions of bushels in 1869, Franklin and War- ren report 125; Darke, 120; Coshocton, 115; Clinton, Miami, and High- Jand, 110; Licking and Fairfield, 100; and Montgomery, Ross, Fayette, Butler, Champaign, and Hamilton, 105. From many of the principal counties in Michigan, including Jackson, Calhoun, Saint Joseph, Livingston, Branch, and Washtenaw, returns of 100 are made, while Oakland returns 95, and Hillsdale 80; the average for the State being 99. Among the Indiana counties producing more than a million bushels each, Madison repdrts 125 for condition; Marion and Wayne, 110; Bartholemew, 108 ; Shelby, 105. The State average is 105. Of fifty counties reporting in Illinois, thirty-two report high condition, seven low, and eleven average. Among those usually growing from two to six millions of bushels each, the following returns are made: Sanga- mon, 115; McLean, Mason, Macon, Tazewell, 110; Madison, 100; Cham- paign, 90. The general average is 107. Wisconsin, like Michigan, falls alittle below 100. La Fayette, second county in production in 1869, returns 120; Rock, 125; Iowa and Rich- land, 100; Green, 95; Fond du Lac, 85; Jefferson and Columbia, 80. In this State and Minnesota the average is the same, 98. In Iowa the counties producing not less than a million bushels each, average 103, while the average for the State is 164. The following counties in Missouri, which produce from one to two nnillions of bushels each, average 112, viz, Clay, Cass, La Fayette, Holt, Platte, Jackson, Nodaway, Boone, and Saint Louis; Cass and Saint Louis being placed at 100, and Nodaway at 125. The State average is 110. In Kansas, Doniphan, the first in corn production, is reported at 110, as also are Atchison, Johnson, Bourbon, Miami, Shawnee, and Mar- shall; Brown and Pottawattamie, 125; Cherokee, 130; Linn, 120; Nemaha, 115; Jefferson and Coffey, 110. The State average is 112. Nebraska averages 111; California, 103; Oregon, 101. 331 The following is a classification of the September returns of corn: & 4 83 - o fb) “oH oe States. | &p 2 2) po A ie 5 ° ° Say SS > 2 3 SOA =< |< a) a 5 ers re eee See 4 Oghancaas 10 ER A a | 2 Sl here Pace 7 a 8 ee ee | 6 Al Nees ts 10 IEE ie oo ln in nasi eo wclcavle oes sei bamseicse. 3 Ai in eps De 7 fenode Island ....-.....-. | RE ee see 8 ee 5 en ee ee 1 OSs oo: 2 Te ns waa ceca top aes an\nician os cas onic 2 As hae arae 6 Mow YOLK ......- oo COS tes tel. Tin ee a ae 6 23 31 32 Ee ono earn na eelre weet tk Codes [wile wles 10 2 12 IERIE oe clad = io sas Sse a oe Sanja wij ale ta ale abale wit Bie 6 3 2 4] RN ola om wa, eo wiv wu ecin asian daisinm abe siehs oe AoE eel eee 2 2 a ee ee 2 ia 8 11 It ectos= 65-0 2 Sen cane onsale ne cens cans 10 12 23 45 i) Lo) 5 a 10 a7 2 49 SG 2 ee a 4 10 4 18 ee 15 26 9 50 MIP on oo. . accede wc alamm cece ccus 3. 2 10 15 IEEE es =. oa neces enue ceiass sees LG 3 31 SS a IE I ee en ce ANS RL a ane 1 30 rE PEE eo seb S wawene eo oue soe 5 14 1 20 SR oo apne cas Sa oe cndcccicvams Galen 6 23 3 32 ood .2-- sent Sse SSE ae Sea i eee Setar 3 5 7 15 op uesise co) Yes SG eee a A ee ee pe a 29 12 48 SUREMENTS ISS afoot eo cS a6 owiee 35 Sebel nsesenseeee 8 i 4 23 SW GIR 0 65 6 Sa Se | 3 3 2 36 WOT eS eee eee ee er rr et ii 34 Pp 43 RRR ne oe clei mima mS semis ie mare i i= w= Qosmio 1/8) 6 8 oF SEIT Ser oe ct ee fe le ch cee obees 12 25 10 47 UU cee on PeAGqOS SDB ASe ssa eae ee eee ae 11 32 zi 50 Ceram eri 2202 ik 2D ek ee 5 5 12 92 WU tir. 2.5 0554 GAS one ee ee | 6 4 5 15 a ee econ nico Sa aida aisle aes ese ih: 21 8 40 SATII ER ee no. oe ve ec cleac woe cea cue 9 Zi 8 54 LOLA S . ssc 260 e ECO BEE ee 8 23 1 32 ety os. pe ee SRS ie ee 3 a 1 11 ed) a 9 a ee ee ee ee ee dh 6 Dv 15 oo. loi eo 1 oe ee a 1 1 9 Ee Sed, 204 | 530 | 163 917 COTTON. The county reports of the condition of cotton are less favorable in Sep- tember than were the returns madein the earlier part of theseason. Vigor- ous growth, stimulated by fertilizers and sufficient moisture, characterized the fields of the Atlantic States up to the season of the first picking, and gave promise of unusual fruitfulness. The plants werein many fields too stocky and succulent to withstand well the recent local droughts or to endure the draughts upon vitality consequent upon the maturing of their heavy burden of bolls, causing forms to drop and young bolls to wither. In exposed bottom lands, where sudden and heavy rains occurred, damage by flooding resulted. While a few reports allude to the pres- ence of insects injurious to cotton,losses from that cause, in all the States east and north of Alabama, are less than usual. Local droughts of considerable severity have prevailed for several 332 weeks in portions of the territory west of Alabama, while a sufficiency of moisture has been reported of the Atlantic States, and inmany places an excess of rain is observed. Eleven meteorological stations, in differ- ent parts of North Carolina, show a record of rain-fall in August rang- ing from 2.60 inches in Granville to 7.80 in: Mecklenburgh, and make an average of 5.27 inches. Three reports from South Carolina average 7.15 inches, the lowest rain-fall being in Newberry, where injury was wrought by ‘heavy rains followed by drought.” The average of seven stations of Georgia was 4.18 inches, the lowest record being 2.70 at Fulton, and the highest 6.50 at Washington. The range in Florida was from 2.60 inches in Duval to 23.25 in Wakulla, and the average 8.90. The average of stations reported in other States is as follows: Alabama, ~ 2.75 inches; Mississippi, 2.72 inches; Louisiana, 2.76; Texas, 1.44; Arkansas, 2.76; Tennessee, 3.06 inches, the range being v ery wide, 1.33 in Montgomery to 6.01 inches in Summer. The condition of the crop, as shown by the returns received in Sep- tember, in comparison with those of August, is as follows: September, August. Viaroinia Pee somes china cia c Sane asic cles cals oe eae ac eej-ne nee sp oe 101 Norphi@arolmaetee an. joe ce cobiacct bette ce tent rue reese a 101 99 Sonuth#@arolina 2S. ee Skee Ce ES eee 95 98 COWETA). 3495 6955 bosseddb osm ane sie ssocde poe Sees sass e co: - 96 104 PROV eee ee cieihiais fmila chs eters sia'e eet eiave ainers saree ee tee) cae ee ee eee 92 96 Ava amare ces tm Mos. scie eat aac be ack oe cee tice Oen mee ai == eae 88 107 WHR SST COS 5 54H ONS. 30 Cee SouoarGeSorco dere Sse nsescasedecedes7 s+: 90 112 PHONISTANAN cis deice ce S tee Seb e ee ss cobtns accent ee tne cee anne 86 101 psa eee se itt! oc eee Neen Aes eet ee ee ee 94 103 PATICATINAS fomoos cla ioe eke aie aciaieicsisicws ele nine pete eee moe Sein etn one eee 78 96 PRONTICSSEG <2 ate ot elev cemcm ele tle Ce catch aka sbeee Dae eel eee 92 104 Thus the prospect throughout the entire cotton area, which favored a yield 5 per cent. larger than an average product, promises at the present. time about 9 per cent. less than an average. The increase of area over last year, and the unfavorable character of the season of 1871, still point to a material increase in the total crop of 1872, while the possible extension of insect ravages, or the early occurrence of frost, may mod- ify the present expectation. The only counties reporting cotton in Virginia, are Northampton, Southampton, King and Queen, Chesterfield, Greenville, and Patrick ; and in these the average of condition has declined from 101 in August to 97 in September. Returns from thirty-eight counties in North Carolina average 101 in September, against 97 in “August. Mecklenburgh holds its August esti- mate of 125, and Edgecombe has advanced from 75 to 100. Twelve re- ports are below 100. No material loss from insects is reported. The average condition in South Carolina has fallen from 98 in August to 95 in September. Darlington, Barnwell, Edgefield, and Fairfield Counties, which together produced 90,000 bales of the crop of 1869, ay- erage 96, Darlington and Fairfield standing better than in August. Richland, reporting 100 in August, has been “Visited by the caterpillar, which reduces the estimate to 80. In August only twelve counties in Georgia, of sixty reporting, re- turned condition less than 100, and the general average was 104; in September it is replaced at 96. ’ Insect ravages are becoming serious in several counties, especially in Lee, Twiggs, Spalding, Schley, Baldwin, and Marion. In Gwinnett the crop is claimed to be better than ever be- fore; that 10,000 bales are expected, 6,000 being deemed a large crop prior to 1860, this prospect being due to good culture and a liberal use 333 of fertilizers. Georgia is employing fertilizers more extensively in this culture than any other State. The decline during the past month in Florida has been from 96 to 92. The caterpillar appeared in Suwannee as early as July 15, and divested of leaves whole fields before August 15. Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Gadsden, and Taylor have also been visited. Floods have swept a large area of bottom-lands, and heavy rains elsewhere have caused leaves and forms to fall. Only four counties in Alabama made returns below 100 in August, the general average being 107; two-thirds of the present returns are below 100, thirty-two counties averaging 83. Of the prominent coun- ties, Hale shows a decline from 110 to 67, Russell from 103 to 97, and Marengo from 90 to 70. Montgomery indicates an advance from 105 to 110. Two-thirds of the returns include a reference to insect ravages. The general average of Mississippi returns has fallen since the Au- gust report from 112 to 90, Warren has declined from 110 to 108, Madi- son from 105 to 77, Hinds from 100 to 60. Three-fourths of the returns are below 100. Insect depredations are serious in many counties. The average for Louisiana was 101 in August; in September 86. In Caddo the decline is from 90 to 50, from 100 to 75 in Concordia, from 95 to 80 in Claiborne; while in Madison, a prominent parish, an ad- vance from 120 to 140 is reported. The caterpillar has been destructive in Tangipahoa, Marion, Red River, Saint Landry, and Concordia. In some counties persistent and comparatively successful efforts were made to destroy the early brood of caterpillars; in Wilkinson large numbers were killed, and in Warren both the caterpillar and boll-worm were held in check by the vigilance and industry of planters. Drought has shortened the Texas crop, and reduced the average of the returns of condition from 103 to 94. Few reports of the presence of insects are received. The average of Arkansas returns has been decreased from 96 to 78, mainly by dry weather. In Tennessee, drought has also been injurious, reducing the average from 104 to 92. The forms and young bolls of the top crop are rapidly falling off, threatening a material reduction of the crop. In presenting the following extracts from notes accompanying the September returns, it should be remembered that the tables present in compact form the spirit and substance of all the returns received, while the extracts are necessarily desultory and exceptional : Nort CaroLina.—Crop has rapidly improved within thirty days; just commenced opening, and promises a good yield. Avecklenburgh: Best crop since the war; a little rust ; too much rain; very heavily bolled. Onslow: Never finer in growth, though in- jured by late rains, causing it to shed forms. Pasquotank: Poorer than ever known. Sampson: Very seriously affected by rust. Bertie: Below average; three weeks ago it was 15 per cent. above; rust has proved very destructive; prospect a third less than it was two weeks ago. , _ Sour Caroira.—York: Growth remarkably rapid, on some farms too rapid, caus- ing the casting of fruit to a considerable extent. The stock is unusually well grown and filled. Two weeks ago the crop promised 25 per cent. above average, but continu- ous rains during the latter half of August have caused some rot as well as shedding of young fruit. Clarendon: Poorer than for forty-seven years; fine up to July 15, when hot drought set in, cutting down the prospect to two-thirds of an average; fruit has fallen to a great extent; only July cotton left; rust has become general. Marion: Early cotton damaged by drought; late cotton by rust. Richland: Much injured by rust, and in some localities by caterpillars destroying the whole August crop. GEORGIA.—-Glasscock : Great falling off in cotton; rust and_rain have shortened it a half from what was expected a month ago; caterpillars and boll-worms on some farms. Marion: almostevery field suffering from some disaster—caterpillar, boll-worm, or rust—and, in some cases,'all three. Late cotten has no matured fruit, but a rank 304 growth of weed. Even without the assistance of these scourges the early and late cotton both suffered severely from unusual shedding of bolls, and from extremes of hot and dry weather. Calhoun: Injured a third by wet weather and caterpillars. Columbia: Crop shortened by overgrowth and casting of fruit. Lee: Caterpillar has entirely stripped some fields and threatens to sweep the whole; crop probably 75 per cent. below average. Floyd: Caterpillars have just made their appearance, otherwise the crop is very promising. Zwiggs: Within twenty days a fine prospect of cotton has been reduced 20 per cent. below average. Fulton: Best crop ever known, opening finely. Coweta; Suffering from caterpillars and blight, besides rust; prospect very gloomy. Spalding: Worm and rust doing great damage. Schley: Caterpillars sweep- ing whole fields in forty-eight hours. Baldwin: Badly damaged by drought and cater- pillars ; September cotton will be cut off. FLoripa.—Suwannee: Caterpillars appeared July 15, and ate up some fields clean by August 15; September 15 the crop will probably be swept; long and short staple cot- ton will be cut short at least one-half. Zeon: Caterpillars appeared in force August 18 and by the 25th had stripped cotton of all the leaves, and ‘exposed the fact that there was little or no young fruit, forms, or bolls on the stalks; crop probably not over a third of average. Jefferson: Caterpillars and rot have done serious injury to the crop, which probably will not be over half average. Madison: The best crop, by far, since the war; caterpillars have not done much damage in this county, as yet. Gadsden: Rains heavy and continuous since the last report, making cotton to shed its forms and young bolls, besides causing a great increase of rust, and “ black” or “boll” rot. Cat- erpillars have also done great damage. Late planted cotton will be a failure. Taylor; Excessive rains have made the cotton shed its fruit; caterpillars stripped the leaves. Notoyer a half crop at best; top cottonalllost. Egyptian cotton very fine; but little injured by the caterpillar. ALABAMA.—Crenshaw: Prospects very unfavorable; entire fields denuded of leaves by army-worm, boll-worm, and rust. Montgomery: Crop very fine and opening rapidly, ’ put caterpillars are very destructive. Franklin: Seriously injured by drought; will probably be not over half crop; half green bolls have fallen off. Colbert: Injured by dry hot weather; very few bolls from August growth. Clarke: Within ten days the caterpillar has been very destructive ; early cotton a Half crop; of late cotton many fields usually averaging a bale to the acre will not make over a bale to 10 acres. Conecuh; Within ten days the worm has destroyed almost the whole crop, tussell: Forward cotton injured by rust; late cotton taken by caterpillars. Calhoun: Army- worm within five days has reduced the prospect from average to 25 per cent. below. ‘Chambers: Worms doing same mischief. Butler: Army-worm doing great mischief ; every field bare of leaves. Macon: Crops cut short by drought, rust, and worms. Perry: Nearly half destroyed by caterpillars. Dallas: Caterpillars reduced the crop to nearly 50 per cent. below average. Pike: Within ten days army-worms shave swept the crop, especially the late planted. /JVilcox: Freshets and worms haye cut down the crops one half. Tuscaloosa: Crop greatly reduced by drought and cater- pillars. Limestone: Cut short a fourth by rust and worms. . Misstssipri.—Attala: Fine prospects of the crop existing two weeks ago are seriously compromised by drought and worms. Pike: Shortened by drought and army-worm ; squares falling. Lauderdale: Fine prospects up to August 10, when the drought cut the crop short. Crops of last year 4,000 bales; this year not over 3,000. Jasper: Cot- ton-worm at work. Newton: Crop doing well. Noxubee: Crop a failure, especially late cotton. Wayne: Alarm about caterpillars subsiding; these worms will shorten the crop very considerably. Coahoma: Drought has cut down the crop 25 per cent. Hinds: Crop half cut off by drought and worms. Lee: Reduced 50 per cent. by drought. Madison: Prospect reduced a third within a month. Clark: Unprecedented falling off of the crop since July 25 through drought and caterpillars; there will be no top crop; the greater portion of the crop will be open in September. Neshoba: Yield lighter than last year; drought and worms have seriously shortened it. Yala- busha: Has failed rapidly of late through drought, blight, and worms; not over a half crop. Marion: Worms have swept the crop; yield not over 65 per cent., at most. LOUISIANA.—Morehouse: Half crop; injured by long drought; quality of staple above average. Caddo: Drought has reduced the crop 50 per centum below average. Franklin: Ruined. Madison: Fine. East Feliciana: Crop decreased a third by drought and worms in August. Iberia; Bolls and forms shedding freely through drought. Claiborne: Blasted by drought. Tangipahoa: Fearfully injured by drought ; caterpillar taking what is left; perhaps half a crop will be gathered. Saint Landry; Probably reduced to a half crop by long drought and army-worms.. Led River: Shortened 10 per centum during August by drought and army-worms. Richland: Reduced to a half crop by drought. Bossier: Shortened a half by drought. Concordia: Caterpillars have swept many plantations; in many fields not a leaf has been left; damage worse along the river than in the interior. Rapides: Stripped of all foliage between 15th and 20th August; cannot yield over one-third of an average. 339 TExAs.—Coryell: Drought has cut down the crop to a half average. Kaufman: Throwing off on account of rain; worms have done a little damage. Red River: Suf- fering for rain. Dallas: Will average not over 600 pounds of seed cotton per acre, or 200 pounds of lint; July prospects reduced a third. ilis: Drought shortening the crop again. Henderson: Crop ruined by drouth—average not greater than last year— 35. Williamson: Drought has shortened cotton a third. Milam: Upland cotton short- ened by drought one third; bottom crops shortened one-fourth ; opened prematurely. Gonzales: Low condition; drought has caused squares and small bolls to fall; worms have done some damage. Austin: Scarcely average owing to drought. Johnson: Dry weather shortening cotton crop, yet it will be double of last year’s yield. Iayette: Drought has cut down the crop at least a third, yet in river-lands crops well cultivated will proluce 500 pounds per acre. Caterpillars have been very troublesome; now stripping all the leaves; early prolific seed mostly used. Waco: Yield will not pay three-fourths of the cost of production ; worst failure yet known here. Marion: Crop almost ruined. Rusk: Opened to the top; all the squares dropped off on account of drought. ARKANSAS.— Monroe: Drought causing the squares to fall; crop below average. Crit- tenden: Seriously damaged by drought and rust or blight. Pulaski; Shortened by drought 33 per cent. Prairie: On uplands cut off three-fourths; short also on bottoms. Diew: Crop will be short. TENNESSEE.— Madison: Suffering from drought; squares and bolls dropping; rust in a few fields. McNairy: Very promising; average considerably increased. Hardeman: Seriously injured by drought and heat. Weakley: Drought has reduced the crop one- half. Giles: Shedding squares and top bolls; will probably be cut short one-fourth. WHEAT. The September returns, which give the condition of wheat when harvested, present the following list of States above average: Maine, 109; North Carolina, 109; South Carolina, 102 ; Georgia, 104; Alabama, 105; Mississippi, 102; Louisiana, 112; Texas, 120; Arkansas, 106; Tennessee, 116; Kentucky, 110; Minnesota, 104; Nebraska, 109. Those below 100 are New Hampshire, 95; Vermont, 91; Massachusetts, 97 ; Connecticut, 95; New York, 85; New Jersey, 89; Pennsylvania, 76; Delaware, 92; Maryland, 74; Virginia, 99; West Virginia, 96; Ohio, 84; Michigan, 95; Indiana, 97; Illinois, 95; Wisconsin, 98; Missouri, 70; Kansas, 85; Oregon, 96; Iowa, 100. Reference is made to the tables for August, in which the condition of spring-wheat in that month is shown. OATS. Of the New England States, Maine reports the oat crop 8 per cent., and Connecticut 5 per cent. above average, the other States being about 5 per cent. below. In some parts of Vermont and Massachusetts, exces- sive rains blighted the crop while growing, and injured it in the shock after harvesting. The same causes reduced the crop below an average in all the Middle States. In Indiana County, Pennsylvania, the loss is stated at 20 per cent. In Warren County, New York, the Birlie oats are pronounced inferior in quality to the common black oats, besides being weaker in straw and smaller in quantity, requiring a longer time to ripen. In Virginia, the depreciation is 25 per cent. The Norway oats made a very fine yield in Frederick County. The Schonen is pro- nounced the best variety ever tried in Highland County, but an entire failure in Accomack. Here, however, the oat crop has failed for the last ten years. In North Carolina, the crop is 7 per cent. above average; but im all the other Atlantic and Gulf coast States it falls from 2 to 24 per cent. below, except in Texas, which reaches 111. In Travis County, a new variety—the red oats—yielded from 75 to S80 bushels per acre. Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky report from 5 to 7 per cent. above average, and West Virginia 3 per cent. below. The crop was injured in the shock in several counties of these States, by rains 336 North of the Ohio, Illinois reports an average crop, the other States being from 1 to 9 per cent. below. In Lee County, Dlinois, the yield will average about 50 bushels per acre. in Champagne County, the injuries of worms in this crop are noted. West of the Mississippi, the crop was from 4 to 14 per cent. above average, except in lowa—2 per cent. below, where, in many places, it ripened too rapidly. In Califor- nia, it was 1 per cent. below. Contra Costa County is said never to fail of a fair crop. In Oregon there was a deficiency of 4 per cent. | BARLEY. The barley crop is quite deficient. Kast of the Mississippi, the only States that reach an average are Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama, in all of which the average is small. ~ Of the Southwestern States, Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky are above average, as are, also, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oregon. All the other States are deficient. TOBACCO. Of twenty-three States reporting the tobacco crop fifteen are full average or above, viz: Connecticut, 108; New York, 106; Pennsylvania, 102; North Carolina, 105; Georgia, 103; Alabama, 101; Arkansas, 105; Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, and Kentucky, 100; Lllinois, 101; Missouri, 103; Nebraska, 107. The remaining eight States are below average, viz: Massachusetts, 99; Virginia, 91; Tennessee, 91; Ohio, 92; Indiana, 98; Wisconsin, 85; Iowa, 96; Kansas, 96. The crop was injured in some localities by heavy rains, and in others by severe drought. In many cases the crop was highly stimulated by quick fertilizers. GRASS AND PASTURES. In the New England and Middle States the hay crop was aboveaverage, except in New Jersey, where it was 10 per cent., and in Delaware where it was 45 per cent. below. The fine rains of July and August, in many localities, delayed harvest and caused the crop to be gathered in in- different condition, but brought up the pastures to an unusual high average. In Delaware the remarkable shortness of the crop is attributed to severe drought. In Maryland and Virginia the same cause cut down the yield 38 and 31 per cent., respectively, below average. In Charles County, Maryland, no crop was harvested. From North Carolina to Florida the crop was above average, but westward to the Mississippi several per cent. below. Louisiana reports 14 per cent. and Texas 4 per cent. above average. In Gonzales County the crop was mostly of roillet and mesquite grass, a branch of production which shows consider- able increase. Arkansas is 11 per cent. above average, while Tennessee is 3 per cent. below, on account of the drought in some counties shorten- ing timothy and red-top. Kentucky is above average. Ohio and Michigan are, respectively, 18 per cent. and 3 per cent. deficient. All the other Western and Pacific States are above average, the excess ranging from 3 to 14 per cent. POTATOES. tust and rot, resulting from excessive rains, reduced the crop in the Northern New England States, through New Hampshire rises to ayer- 337 age. In Massachusetts, on the contrary, the leading complaint is of drought. Rhode Island and Connecticut are above average. All the Middle and Southern Atlantic States are below average, except North Carolina and Georgia. In Delaware and Maryland potatoes suffered from severe drought, reducing this crop in the former 27 per cent., and in the latter 35 per cent., below average. Of the Gulf States, Florida is 6 per cent. and Texas 22 percent. above average; all the rest are be- low. Arkansas is full average; Tennessee and Kentucky 6 per cent. above; West Virginia 10 per cent. below. North of the Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are full average or above; the others below; Wisconsin being deficient 20 per cent. West of the Mississippi, all the States are above average, except Nebraska, which is 2 per cent. below. California is 7 per cent. below, and Oregon 6 per cent. above. Sweet potatoes.-_With the exception of North Carolina, which is about average, the Middle, Southern, and Southwestern States report defi- ciencies ranging from 1 to 32 per cent. North of Ohio, Indiana is the only State that rises to average. Missouri and Kansas are full average or above, while all the other Western and the Pacific States are below. FRUITS. Apples.—The apple-crop of New England ranges from average to 33 per cent. above. In every one of these States the September returns show an improvement over those of August, except in Rhode Island, where the crop about held its own. Our correspondent in Newport, Rhode Island, says that the apple-crop of that region has grown very precarious of late years; crops of ten years together do not now equal what was considered a good crop thirty or forty years ago. In Norfolk County, Massachusetts, cider-apples are so abundant as to sell at 10 and 15 cents per bushel. In Windham County, Connecticut, the canker- worm (Anysopteryx vernata) was troublesome in a few orchards. In New York the apple-crop rose, during August, from 2 per cent. below average to 6 per cent. above. Complaints of falling from the trees were mentioned in the August returns, in several counties. In New Jersey the crop slightly improved during August, reaching 22 per cent. above average. In Gloucester and Morris Counties the fruit is reported as especially fine. In Pennsylvania the crop, during August, rose from 15 per cent. to 24 per cent. above average. In Berks County the market was overstocked, and thousands of bushels left to rot upon the trees. Several counties report crops exceeding any former ones. In Delaware the crop was not only excellent, but it appears to have im- proved during August. The August returns represented it 50 per cent., and the September returns as 75 per cent., above average. In Maryland the crop is reported at 19 per cent. above average, with a considerable improvement during the previous month. This abundance appears to be general throughout the State. In Virginia it rose nearly to a general average, though shortened by drought in some localities. In North Carolina it was abundant and generally good. In one or two counties late frosts were quite destructive. In South Carolina it was not over two-thirds of an averagein quality, and generally inferior. ~ Georgia reports an inferior crop, decliaing during August, though in some localities the fruit was unusually fine and well flavored. In Flor- ida it was comparatively a failure, and in Alabama and Mississippi con- siderably below average. The rot was quite severein many places. In Louisiana and Texas the general yield was satisfactory, though in some places the fruit was imperfectly developed and fell prematurely from the 038 trees. In Bexar County, Texas, it was remarked that young apple-trees yielded astonishingly. The crop ranged from 4 per cent to 15 per cent. above average in Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. In some places the fruit rotted considerably and fell from the trees, but in other locali- ties the crops exceeded those of any former year. The yield was about average in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. In some counties the trees were loaded with fine fruit, especially in orchards that failed of a crop last year. In Bureau County, Lllinois, the fruit sold at $1 per barrel, and in Warren County, Ohio, as low as 40 cents per barrel. The crop of Michigan was reduced by drought 5 per cent. below average, and in some localities the keeping qualities of the fruit considerably depreciated. Jn Wisconsin the yield is reported 23 per per cent. below average. West of the Mississippi the crop amounted to . about an average, Nebraska declining from 15 per cent. to 3 per cent. above during the month of August. In these States apple-culture is in a comparatively infantile condition, but gives promise of great re- sults hereafter. On the Pacific coast the yield is quite inferior, having been cut short by spring frosts. Peaches.—Peach-culture is not of sufficient importance in Northern New England to attract much notice from our correspondents, yet in New Hampshire the crop is 15 per cent. above average, with a decided improvement during August. In Rhode Island it is noticed that peaches, like apples, are becoming quite precarious. In Connecticut the crop is below average, having declined during August. In Massa- chusetts the few peach-trees that escaped the severe freezing of last winter were loaded with fruit. In New York the crop rose during August to 9 per cent., and in New Jersey to 10 per cent., above average. In Morris County, New Jersey, Hale’s Early ripened early, but was inclined to rot. Pennsylvania was about average. The crop of Delaware was reduced, in July, one-half, and in August two-thirds, by the extreme drought. In all the South Atlantic and Gulf coast States the crop was quite inferior, except in North Carolina, where it was 5 per cent. above average, and in Texas, where it was about average. Several counties, however, presented marked exceptions, the fruit being unusually fine and abundant. In some counties of Louisiana the ravages of insects are noted. Arkansas and Kentucky are considerably below average, while West Virginia reports but little over a half crop. Tennessee is about average in spite of injuries to early fruit by excessive rains in some counties. Ohio and Michigan report less than a half crop, complaints of winter- killing being numerous, while Indiana is 5 per cent. and Illinois 15 per cent. above average. In Saint Clair County, Illinois, the crop was so abundant as to lose almost all marketable value. In Wisconsin and Minnesota peach-culture is not sufficiently important to attract attention. In the other States west of the Mississippi River the reports are highly satisfactory, showing a condition of the crop ranging from 6 per cent. to 33 per cent. above average. In California and Oregon _ there will be less than three-quarters of a crop. The crop of the Pacific coast, however, will, in coming years, be greatly increased by the yield of large numbers of young trees lately planted. Grapes.—The grape crop of the New England and Middle States is below average, except in Rhode Island, where it is 5 per cent. above, and in Delaware, where it isa fullaverage. In most of these States the reports show a decline during August. The South Atlantic and Gulf States are full average or above, the Scuppernong enjoying its usual . / 339 prominence. In a few localities excessive rains have developed a tend- ency to rot and mildew, but the general condition of the crop appears to be quite satisfactory. In Louisiana insects were troublesome in some cases. Arkansas is considerably below average. In Bradley County the Iona and Delaware rotted badly, but the Concord, Allen, and Rogers hybrids did well. The Scuppernong never fails in that re- gion. Tennessee and Kentucky are above average, but West Virginia falls 3 per cent. below. In Randolph County Concords were excellent, but Isabellas rotted badly. In Ohio and Michigan the crop is deficient, but in the other States north of the Ohio River it is considerably better than usual. In Knox County, Illinois, Concords, Clintons, and Dela- wares fruited well; Rogers hybrids were largely winter-killed. West of the Mississippi the crop was above average, except in Minnesota, 3 . per cent. below. In Muscatine County, Iowa, it is reported as enormous. In New Mexico complaints are received of injuries to the crop by hail and flies. In California the crop was reduced 13 per cent. below average. Sun-seald, mildew, drought, and foggy weather are mentioned among the causes of the decline. In El Dorado County foreign grapes were a full average, being somewhat better than native varieties. Oregon reports full crops. Miscellaneous.—Pears were remarkably fine in Middlesex County, Connecticut, and King George County, Virginia. In Lee County, Mis- sissippi, Duchesse pears rotted considerably. In Jefferson County, Kentucky, pears were mucli injured by insects. Pear culture has been commenced in Washington County, Nebraska, with very good prospects. Strawberry culture was remarkably successful in Somerset County, Maine, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Steuben County, New York, and Santa Fé County, New Mexico. In Manatee County, Florida, guavas were reported as plentiful, and ripening fast. Oranges were expected to be fit for shipment by the middle of September. Bananas were better than for three years. 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AS sf OE. bas oe HO ag pb LO . 78 LPS Semis | Fees eg Tes Pe) Bee re ewer es |e | Be Leelee “BLOT Qsning fo finp ysq ayy uo “af ‘sdowo ay fo uoyipuod ayr Burnoys aqvyz 342 EXTRACTS FROM CASUAL CORRESPONDENTS, - STOCK-BREEDING. — Shenandoah, Virginia.—I have now been in the business of breeding and raising pure Short Horn cattle for twenty-five years, and am firm in the belief that they are, as a breed, far superior to, and much more profitable to handle than our common stock. To demonstrate this, I give a statement of the sales of 26 head of cattle, raised before the war, when beef commanded ordinary prices. The calves were fed on bran and hay the first winter, on hay, fodder, and straw the second and third, and grazed well during the summers. They were fattened on twenty-two bushels of corn each, weighing, at an average age of three years eleven months and a half, from 1,500 to 1,985 pounds ; nine of them bringing $91.11, fifteen, $100, and two, $106, per head, or an average of $97.38 each. From my observation I think these prices are at least 30 per cent. better than could have been obtained for any common stock ever raised or fattened in this section of the country. STOCK-RAISING. Granger, Texas.—We are now undergoing quite a revolution in the way of stock- raising. Heretofore the ease and cheapness with which cattle have been raised, roaming at large upon our vast prairies, have prevented our people from any extra labor or outlay that might be necessary to improve their stocks of cattle. But within the past two years the grass upon the prairies, from over-stocking, has deteriorated so much in quality and quantity that our nomadic system must give way to a more profit- . able mode of stock-raising. Still, such is the expense of importing stock, owing to * our interior situation, and the risk attending the same from casualties on the route and acclimation after arrival, that importations on an extensive scale cannot be ex- pected for some time. However, a few enterprising citizens are giving the subject especial attention, and we hope in a few years to have native-born breeders from im- ported stock, to which time we anxiously look as the dawning of a new era in the history of our country. » Experience teaches me that, with proper attention, no country is better adapted to sheep-raising than this, though our people have been greatly discouraged, from the fact that whole flocks sometimes die out in a few weelkg, but the cause is emaciation, superinduced by the disease known as the scab, and the practice of indefinitely in- creasing the size of flocks, and not providing for them in winter. We have lately received most valuable acquisitions to our hog-stock by the intro- duction of thorough-bred Chester White, Berkshire, Poland, China, Neapolitan, and Essex. Much attention is new being paid to this stock. Our county boasts some dozen or more thorough-bred stallions, besides numbers of brood-mares. Altogether, I think our prospects for rapid improvement in stock-raising are quite flattering. ; Ldgefield, South Carolina.—My land is adapted to the eulture of cotton, and only about half enough corn is produced for home consumption, all long forage being care- fully husbanded for work-stock. Cattle are not fed through winter at all, and I could have a marketable beef at any time from my small herd without making much choice. After the cattle pick over our corn-fields in the fall they are turned into the cotton- fields, (the crop having been gathered,) the tender limbs and immature bolls affording excellent winter pasturage for awhile; after which the small winter undergrowth among the broom-grass in the old fields keeps them in fair condition until the spring pasturage is ready. It is my experience that cattle, if not fed regularly, do better not fed at all through the winter. On my farm, of about 600 acres, half of it turned out and spontaneously set with a species of wild clover and broom-grass, I could winter 40 head of cattle. F Nemaha, Nebraska.—The amount of stock of all kinds is rapidly Increasing, owing mainly to the passage of a herd-law. CATTLE-DISWASE. East Baton Rouge, Louisiana.—Some few cattle have died during the past summer; supposed to have been poisoned in browsing, or drinking stagnant and impure water. Nothing is known positively as to the real cause, nature, or treatment of said disease. I examined two cases that resulted fatally some five or six days after the attack. The symptoms were general lassitude, a drawn up or contracted body, loss of appetite, and obstinate constipation. The only lesions discoverable after death were softening and an easy separature of the mucous lining of the stomach proper. Long-digested and half-digested food were impacted and pressed in between the folds, rather dry; and the mucous coat separated and peeled off upon the slightest effort. No ulceration anywhere discoverable. The feces in the bowels natural and rather dry. 24a 343 DISEASE AMONG HORSES, Lee, Towa.—There is a fearful disease here among horses. Veterinarians say it is congestion of the small blood-vessels. It sometimes commences in the limbs and sometimes in the head. It is something like erysipelas. If not attended to when the horse is first taken it will soon terminate fatally. We hada very fine horse die with it. It commenced in her limbs, which began to swell, and appeared stiff; if extended to her head, threat, and lungs. The throat swelled dreadfully. We poulticed with may-weed until the swelling went down, but it broke inside. COTTON IN CALIFORNIA. Sonoma, July 20, 1872.—The cultivation of cotton, which has already proved a suecess in Merced and other central counties in this State, is attracting the attention of the more progressive of our own farmers. Accordingly, this year, the experiment of rais- ing it here has been undertaken by Messrs. Miller & Nealy in Dry Creek Valley. The plants at this time look thrifty, being full three feet high, with promises of an abun- dant crop. Other parties have also engaged in its cultivation. Should the soil and climate of this county be found favorable to its production, there is no doubt that it will, ere long, be very extensively cultivated. Snecessive cultivation of wheat for years has very much impoverished the soil. Our farmers must seek some other crops, orruin their lands. Cotton may fill this want; and, if so, Sonoma County, with its genial climate, and rich, productive soil, may soon help to restore king cotton to his throne. CONDITION OF COTTON IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. Brookville, Noxubee County, Mississippi, August 29, 1872.—The cotton crop I regard as a failure, resulting from various causes. One-third of the crop of this county was planted very late, and, owing to the long dry spell, did not come up in time to make a good yield. This late planting is now being discovered by that pest the army- worm. This young cotton, which, a few days ago, promised a large yield, say from 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre, will not make on the average 200 pounds seed-cotton. I do not regard a single bloom that has appeared within the last fifteen days, or that shall hereafter appear, as of any account. Nearly all the young bolls have dropped, or are now being destroyed by the worm stripping the young bolls of the cup surrounding them, and thus stopping their growth. The rust has taken possession of all the poor upland cotton, being now dry as stubble. Last week, in visiting Columbus, I saw considerable sandy land, and did not see an acre that would produce 300 pounds ; many aeres will not yield 200 pounds. This same land last year made from 800 to 1,000 pounds seed-cotton. Iam safe in saying that the crop, not only of this, but also of Lowndes County, and Pickens County, Alabama, has fallen off at least 50 per cent. within the last twenty days. To make a large yield, we should have bloom until September 10, but this year very little bloom after August 10 will make cotton. The three counties, Noxubee, Lowndes, and Pickens, Alabama, will not make as much as they did last year. If the general crop is no better than in these three counties, it cannot reach 3,000,000 bales. Our labor is doing finely—gathering the crop rapidly. Nearly the entire crop will be open in a few weeks, as the sun can directly reach the bolls, since in a few days more all the leaves will be destroyed by the worms. POISONOUS PASTURAGE. Columbia, Florida.—There is a belt of land, some two or three miles wide by ten or twelve long, upon which no cattle can be raised, an occasional case excepted. They are attacked with flux or scours, which reduces them very fast, and soon causes their death. It is called by the old herdsmen here, “pond disease,” but the few cypress ponds are hardly sufficient to account for it, since we find similar ponds where the cattle are quite healthy. Some residents of the section have not raised more than a cow or two in ten years, but have lost a great many bought and taken there. Cattle grazing upon it for a week or two are rendered almost incurable. Frequent salting and bleeding by cutting ears and tail, are the principal remedies resorted to, and in bad eases they avail very little. Some think it is caused by eating certain vegetables ; thers by the dews; while others assert that cattle may feed on the affected belt hrough the day and remain healthy if driven off at night. There has been some fever mong our cattle, doubtless originating from grazing on overflowed lands, which has een done in many localities since the excessive rains of August and September last. It was confined mostly to young cattle, about 10 per cent. of which died. 92 a 344 CALIFORNIA CLOVER. Victoria, Texas.—The California clover is doing finely. It is at present about 16 inches high. The burs or seed-pods are produced at every joint, the joints being abont 13 inches apart. Ateach of these there springs up a flower-stalk half an inch in length, terminating in a cluster of small yellow flowers, from four to six in number, from which the burs are formed. These runners or stems grow to three or four feet in length, putting out laterals, jointed like the main stock, and filled with seed-pods which cover the surface of the ground from one to three inches deep, and of which both fowls and animals are exceedingly fond. JAPAN CLOVER. Elmore, Alabama.— Thousands of acres have remained unfenced here since the war, and many farms have been abandoned. The lands have grown up ina pine, and most of them are now covered with wild clover, (Lespedesu striata,) on which eattle and sheep browse daily, and get seal fat; even our horses and mules fatten quickly on it. JI know some regard it as worthless, butthis is a mistake; it is far superior to our native grass. The red and white clover are both doing well Lere on small patches. FARMING IN KANSAS. Aitchison County.—I have traveled through fourteen States and Territories west of Pennsylvania, and this is the best ‘‘ lazy man’s country ” I have found. Our pastures are the unbroken prairie, upon which stock runs at large seven or eight months in the year, and trom which their supply of winter food can be drawn by simply cutting and stacking the native grass. Corn grows with but little work, one hand attending from 40 to 60 acres with a sullxy-plow, ou land ouly half broken up in the spring, and planted with a horse-planter. Some land which has been planted in corn for the last sixteen years still averages from 30 to 70 bushels of shelled corn per acre. ALKALI SOIL FOR CORN. Los Angelos, California.n—We think here that it is owing to the presence of this alkali, (which abounds here,) more than to any other reason, that corn produces from 50 to 140 bushels of shelled corn to the acre, with almost no cultivation after planting. Would this alkali added to other soils make them produce greater crops of corn? A FRUITFUL PROSPECT. Lee, MississippiicThe declaration of all men is that they never saw, at this season of the year, so good a prospect for fine crops in this county, and the cultivation has been better than ever betore. The freedmn are working better than formerly. BENEFIT OF MUCK AND LIME ON SANDY SOIL. Ocean, New Jersey.—There is nothing like muck for our sandy lands, a liberal use of which, having previously prepared with lime, will produce most satisfactory results. It holds the moisture when nothing else will. Our poorest land can be made to bloom ike a garden. A FRUITFUL COUNTRY. Stanislaus, California.n—The wheat and bariey, the staples of our county, have been harvested, and thrashing is going on rapidly. I have counted thirteen thrashers and separators in operation all in sight. I have visited forty-seven, and find the yield to be over 14 bushels to the acre on the average. From my own observation, and that of my assistants, I place the product of this county at 2,500,000 bushels of wheat, and 300,000 of barley. Our thrasher and separator has been at work twenty-four days with 18 horses and 13 men; has thrashed 24,800 bushels of grain, mostly wheat. INP LUENCE OF DROUGHT ON THE SOIL. Hawkins, Tennessee—Our wheat crep is the best we have had for fifteen years, both white and red. The dry weather of last summer, that ruined our corn crop, seemed to put the land in good condition, so that the best crops were made where corn had been grown the year before. 345 TOPS. De Kalb, Illinois—Hop-yards are becoming quite numerous; the cultivation of the hop is engaging the attention of many. It is found that it is quite at home on the prairie soil; indeed, it grows spontaneously in all the river and creek bottoms, matur- ing well each year, with few or no parasites. BROOM-CORN. Douglas, Illinois —Broom-corn is quite a product in this county; will produce a full average crop. ECCENTRIC SEASON. San Pete, Utah.—The season has changed this year from what it has been since this county was settled. We have had thunder-storms every few days, and some of them extra storms. On the 4th of June a thunder and hail storm passed over Fayette. Hail-stones as big as marbles cut down the garden-truck, cut the fruit off the trees by the bushel; also cut off the young shoots and the bark, almost to their destruction. Hail-stones formed drifts in some places two or three feet deep. On the 24th of June we had another thunder-storm which brought down the water in a solid sheet; it did not stop to rain, but came at once in rivers and took all before it. On the 30th we had a snow-storm which clothed the mountains with a white mantle, but soon disappeared, followed by a slight frost. METEOROLOGICAL CHANGES. King George, Virginta.—The rains of August have fluctuated greatly in the last twenty- odd years. In 1867 they amounted to 10.795 inches; 1866, 1.17 inches; 1869, 0.61 inch; 1870,0.81 inch. These three are the least in twenty-three years. Those of the late August were 1.805 inches. Afolt, Missouri.—We are having so much rain that I fear fully one-half of our wheat . will be destroyed by mold or sprouting. When it is not raining the air is so damp - that it dees not dry. A salt-cellar filled with salt, in twenty-four hours becomes nearly all water, and this dampness has continued for a month. I cannot but believe that the cultivation of the soil and growing of trees north, west, and south of us, where millions of acres have lately been broken up, have affected our climate. Until five years ago it was remarkable for its aridity; since then the moisture has regularly increased, till this year it has become ruinous. Up to the 10th of last April eleven millions of trees had been planted in Nebraska, and millions had been planted in tho years before this. We are at the very point to be influenced by this, if any point is; for the clouds formed in Nebraska and Kansas float over us. Certainly our climate is not as it was eighteen years ago. EUCALYPTUS AND OTHER PLANTS. Galveston, Texas.—I report progress with seeds of Australian trees received from the Department of Agriculture January 17, 1872, and planted the same date. The euca- lyptus or gum-tree has grown in six months, from January 17 to July 17, to the height of 33 inches. Other varieties of the eucalyptus, in the same time, have grown from 12 to 22 inches. The casuarina or beef-wood tree—the native oak of Australia— has grown about 24 inches.. I divided the seeds with others, and have received from them reports of success fully equal to mine. The eucalyptus is certainly the most rapid-growing tree I have ever seen. GRAPES AND WINE. Lowndes, Georgia.—We have in this county about 32 acres planted with Scuppernong grape, increasing every year, all started since the war. There is a fine opening here for persons wishing to go into wine-making; young vineyards can be bought cheap. Our people are all poor; we want and invite immigrants; land is from $2 to $10 per acre. Pulaski, Missouri—There were but few grape-vines in this county before last spring. Then, in this immediate vicinity, some eight or nine acres of vines were planted, and they are growing finely. We have organized a grape and fruit-growers’ association. SUGAR-BEETS IN CALIFORNIA, * J Sacramento.—The culture of sugar-beets is attracting much attention in this locality. There are about 1,200 acres now growing, within five miles of Sacramento, along the American River, which promise a heavy yield. The Sacramento Beet-Sugar Company will soon commence working them up, - ; 346 FULTZ WHEAT. Buncombe, North Carolina.—The Fultz wheat sert me, put in by different persons and on different kinds of soil, looks very well on strong, deep, stiff, mulatto soil, and, if manured, on gravelly, gray soil. Other varieties of wheat are considerably winter- killed on loose, open, porous soil. Greenville, South Caroliua.—One of the grains of the Fultz wheat, sent me last year by the Department of Agriculture, produced fifty-six staiks, averaging 3 feet high; size of leaf 1 foot long by } inch wide. Each head contains 30 grains, an in- crease of 1,680 fold. It has no rust, and is now so far developed that it is independent of any drawbacks from fluctuations of weather. It looks fair and beautiful, a proof that it is in the right belt of earth and climate. LINCOLN WHEAT. Jasper, Towa.—I send you a sample of wheat grown here the Jast two ‘years, by the name of Lincoln wheat, a bearded variety. It is the hardiest, most productive, and in every respect the best wheat I have ever seen. It should be well distributed through the States that grow spring-wheat. It is neither early nor late in maturing. ROTATION IN CROPS. Greenville, South Carolina.—Ninety-nine times in a hundred, wheat planted here by the 10th of October will yield a good crop by the 10th of June. Clover-seed, roiled in at the same time with the wheat, will give a crop of “stubble-hay” after the wheat comes off, better for cattle than corn-fodder. If the land is good, the clover, which stands three years, will yield a larger profit in hay than any other crop. Then cloyer- sod, plowed in and put to corn, will give 30 bushels to the acre. Then, with six wagon- loads of barn-yard manure to the acre, plowed in, it will yield a wheat crop of from 12 to 15 bushels per acre. Then let the field stand in clover and rest for three years again. DISASTROUS FLOODS. Greene, Missouri.mAn abundant harvest is generally promised, though in some sec- tions there have been disastrous floods, completely ruining bottom-farms, washing the soil entirely away, and leaving beds of gravel in its place. In some instances the first intimation of danger would be the noise of the flood coming down the valley, which was described as a wall of water, 6 feet high, reaching from bluff to bluff. Eye-wit- nesses say that two dense clouds came from opposite quarters of the heavens, and that when they met a perfect deluge followed. Several lives were lost. Ada County, Idaho Territory.—The unusually high waters in the Boise and Payette Rivers, upon which are situated most of the cultivated lands of the county, have seri- ously damaged the grain crop, though it is hoped that the injury will be found to be less than at present reported—some estimating it at one-fourth of the entire crop. The waters are now subsiding rapidly. 347 ‘ THE MINNESOTA STATE FAIR. The annual fair of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society was held _at St. Paul on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th of September. An address was delivered on the third day of the fair by the Commissioner of Agri- culture, the greater part of which is herewith presented: FARMERS AND CITIZENS OF MINNESOTA: In passing through yourmost interesting State, viewing your splendidly built cities and towns and lovely farms, it requires a thoughtful imagination to realize the truth that, as a State, you had no existence five and twenty years ago. It seems as if enchantment had lent its powers of creation, or that all these extensive works had been spoken into existence by a miraculous agency. _ But things around teach us otherwise, and we recur to the prodigious enterprise of the American people; and when we look into the philosophy of that, our amazement is subdued by the vasiness ef the field in which we live. The minds of men expand or contract with the objects which surround them. But I came not here to philosophize, but to commune with an agricultural people on a subject which peculiarily belongs to them. As the curiosities of literature attract the attention of the philosopher, so do those natural curiosities which grow out of the consideration of the mouths and lungs of the earth, the development and growth of plants, their life and death, their products and their uses, attract the attention of farmers. There is no occupation of life to which the teach- ings of science are so applicable as that of agriculture, and no teaching so useless and deceptive when unaccompanied by practical experience. You are an agricultural people; the statistics of your State, so wisely and carefully collected and published, evince the great interest you take in this subject. Tor more than forty years have I been engaged in con- ducting the operations of a farm, not so much with the view of pecuniary profit as for the indulgence of an ardent fondness for the study of the mysteries of the art of farming. I will be indulged, therefore, in the discussion of a subject so familiar to you. The first and great leading idea which presents itself with regard to the management of a farm is rotation of crops. Wheat is the great Staple commodity of your State; and while the genial nature of your. soil, the delightful character of your summers, and the natural instincts of reason forbid the cultivation of this grain alone, I fear you are prone to forget that there are certain and fixed principles, dictated by natural laws, Over which you have no control, which must be observed in the course of farming. It is not worth while to inquire into the mysterious influence,which the growth of one plant exerts upon the production of that which succeeds it; it is enough that we do know and to some extent act upon the knowledge that a rotation from one crop to another is essential to the successful growth of any.. It isa fact within the knowledge of every observing man that the dverage product per acre of ‘wheat everywhere throughout the United States has diminished in quantity, and that the grain itself has degenerated in quality. Acquired knowledge of the science of agriculture, improved skill in the use of that knowledge, and greater experience in the application of both—the ingenuity of the mechanic coming to our aid to supply us with such implements as almost supersede the drudgery of labor— notwithstanding all these, wheat, the great leading:crop of the country, has fallen off. Why is this, in a period when the same efforts of science and industry in England have increased their crop nearly five bushels to the acre ? It is because, while they not only study to know what ov 348 crops and what rotation of those crops are best adapted to their soil, they pursue that rotation with a determination of purpose with which no accident or exigency is allowed to interfere. While the growth of the various root crops enters largely into their system of cultivation, it is because experience has taught them that it is an essential item in a proper course of rotation and conduces to the growth of wheat. Now, while the root crop may or may not be congenial to your soil and . climate, or may or may not conduce to the maintenance of your wheat crop, it is well that you should learn the lesson of experience. And I here take occasion to suggest that moisture is the prominent character- istic of the climate of England, and that there is no part of the United States so dotted with lakes and traversed by rivers as the State of Min- nesota, and, therefore, perhaps, no part of it so well adapted to the growth of wheat. _ There is a fitness of things in the rotation of crops which commends it to our judgment. Itis adapted to our necessities. We must have bread, because it is the staff of life; we must have meat, because it is essential to the growth and strength of man; we must have the power of animals to do our work; and we must have gardens and fruits to fur- nish the enjoyments of life and the comforts of health. The wheat crop supplies our bread; corn enables us to make our meat; rye, oats, and grass ‘to feed the animals which supply our labor; and, therefore, it is a part of God’s plan of creation that these crops should alternate, and that their successful growth should be dependent upon one another. He is a daring man, and will ultimately be an unsuccessful farmer, who runs counter to this plain dictate of Providence. Hessian fly, midge, army-worm, and divers and nameless insects dep- redate upon the wheat crop, and in the Eastern States smut and mil- dew prevail to a great extent, and we are prone to attribute these to any cause which will relieve ourselves from the imputation of bad farming. Our daily observation is that vermin always attack a poor and diseased animal, and the analogy is perfect with regard to their depredations upon the poor and worn-out earth. Exhaustion is productive of ver- min, vermin of disease, disease of death. Again, we are teo much in the habit of treating the oceupation of the farmer as a die cast upon .the board of chance, to be consigned to the exigencies of time and sea- son; when, on the contrary, all our work should be so performed ag to anticipate time and season, and provide for their contingencies. There is one other subject to which I desire to direct your special at- tention: the selection of seed. There is no more common idea than that seed degenerates from long use.. No idea is more erroneous. If the general principle were true that vegetation degenerates by cultivation, the world long since would have ‘come to an end. The opposite conelu- sion is true, that cultivation is the improvement and life of vegetation, and that, by a selection gf the best seeds, the best roots, and the best animals, improvement is always the result. If a farmer wanting fifty bushels of seed-wheat will run a hundred bushels through a winnowing- mill until he reduces them to the quantity required, he will improve his crop from five to twenty percent. This is not anew idea; it has the au- thority of ages, for Virgil, in his Auneid, and in his own peculiar lan- guage, much more emphatically and beautifully expresses it: I have seen the largest seeds, tho’ viewed with care, Degenerate, unless th’ industrious hand Did yearly cull the largest. I have neither time nor opportunity now to discuss the subjects of stock-raising, wool-growing, and cheese and butter making, for all which - 849 your natural facilities are such as are seldom bestowed upou any peo- ple, and I am pleased to know that they have already attracted your at- tention. They are to be reckoned among that diversity of agricultural employment which necessarily leads to a rotation of crops. * * * To those who have put their hands and hearts to the work of promot- ing the great interest of agriculture there is a pleasing consolation, and encouragement, too, in the reflection that they are upon the flood-tide of public favor; that those they benefit now look with corifidence upon the . efforts they make; that, whilethe fluctuations of business, the casualties of commerce, the interruptions of trade, the disturbances of society itself, are but incidents of the moment, only occurring to be as soon forgotten; that, while amid the other and conflicting elements of busy life, the pleas- ing anticipations and profitable speculations of one class are the dreaded forebodings and dire calamities of another, all classes unite in the fer- vent prayer, the kindly sympathy, the liveliest hope that success may crown the efiort of the farmer. Do we appreciate this? Do we now feel that our art commands the study of the philosopher, the science of the scholar, the eloquence of the statesman; that the whole world, with a unanimity which no other subject can command, lifts up its sympa- thizing voice to cry “‘ God speed the plow ?” There is a reason for this, and it is found in the fact that the product of this art contributes more largely than any other to human happiness, and that the art itself is better adapted to human skill. These are important considerations. How shall we promote this great art is a question which addresses itself to all of us with a foree which must command our attention. 7 First, then, study to know the subject which thus excites our common | interest. Is it enough to understand that if the earth be stirred and the seeds be sown their product and all else is a natural result of God’s providence? Is it enough that we should be told and believe that the plow is the best implement with which to till the earth, and that seed sown by the hand of man is allthatis necessary toenableus to drag through the natural period of our existence, thus made toilsome and miserable ? Is it enough for ourselves to know that we but live and move and have our being? Is that large portion of mankind which is engaged in that work of the world content thus to grovel and crawl, only occasionally to be startled into an attitude of amazement at the prodigious products of the minds of men around us, and again to relapse into the contem- plation of our own inferior condition? We answer emphatically, No! With regard to our occupation we should rather look upon this lovely earth of ours as the beautiful landscape of God’s creation, imbued with the powers of life, to breathe and feed, yielding its elements and pro- ducts to the nursing and delicate operations of our hands. While we follow the plow we should perceive its use ; we should see in it how the polished mind of man has infused mechanical science into its structure ; we should mark well the work it has to do, and its adaptation to the work ; we should contemplate those seeds we commxt to the earth, and believe it is not the work of chance that they grow, and that they, too, are imbued with the germinating powers of life and light, and character- ized in their existence by the qualities of good and bad; and we should know that perfect analogy which characterizes life in its conception, growth in its progress, the product of its results, and the final death of all vegetable as well as animal creation. But above all and over all we should contemplate ourselves; that we are a part of the special work of God’s hands, placed here and employed to direct and govern all these things. They are no artificial objects, on which we are to ex- 350 pend our happy thoughts and lives; they are the delightful things of nature on which you operate, and nature co-operates with you in all your labors and sweetens them to your contented spirits. Rest upon this as the grand secret of your constant attachment to agricultural pursuits. You work with nature and only modulate and benefit by her functions, as she takes up and quickens and completes the work of your hands. . There is a moving, living, acting principle in your labors which dis- tinguishes them from other pursuits. The earth yields its strength and increase to the seeds you cast upon it, to the cattle that wall upon it ; the winds seem to blow, the rains to fall,and the waters to run for you ; the very frosts and snows of winter give salutary checks to the rank- ness of vegetation, lighten the soil, and destroy what is noxious; ang every principle of animal and vegetable organization and existence co- operates to support and enrich you. There is a charm in this which must last while the spirit of man feels and acknowledges the strivings of his own mind and the power of God around him. We do not veason thus, but we feel it; and it is this mysterious and ‘acting charm which has infused its sweetness into the hearts of all rural people in all ages of the world. That you are not as intelligent and well-informed as a parallel grade of society in towns we must allow; that you are as truly aware of and united to support your interests we do not mean to assert. Your scat- tered and isolated mode of life weighs against you on these points ; but that you have more sincere hearts and a sounder morality is as indis- putable; you have a pureness of purpose, a simplicity of mind, as well aS manners, that are more than equivalent for the polish and conven- tional customs of society, and with all a cordiality which is only to be found in the good, homely, hearty hospitality of a country house. I have thus endeavored to make the impression that, while you have much to learn, yours is a happy condition of life, and that your pursuit is So essential, and its improvement so important to yourselves and the world at large, as to claim for it a high place in the estimation of man- kind; and it is for you to make that claim, for the world never respects the man who does not respect himself. We must take our place, then, in that race of honorable competition into which all the trades and occupations of life have entered, and whose goal is the honor and glory of exalting their own profession and adding so much to the sum of human happiness. Who possess advantages superior to yours? With every quality of soil, and with a climate which breathes into all the essential vegetables the breath of life and into man the atmosphere of health, what do you want but to call into action the native strength of your own minds and the energies of your own hands? ‘ But that mind which gives direction to the hands must be a cultivated mind, for we should never cease to remember that intellect is that “ talent” which the goodness of God be- stowed upon His own image; not that it should be buried in the earth, and restored upon the return of its Lord and Master in its original sim- plicity, but that it should be cultivated, enlarged, and appropriated te His great design. It is demanded of us that we should put eur hand to the noble work of education, and espegially that we should direct that education to a course of study which will fit the mind and adapt the energies of the body to that expansive, interesting, and delightful sub. ject in which you are engaged and for which the world has yet done so little. * f J It is for you, then, at all times and under all circumstances, to 351 demand that, in the practical workings of society, your interests shall be cared for; that while common schools and literary colleges receive the fostering care and bountiful endowments of the Government, the farmers’ school demands the like support. We would have you, too, constantly to summon yourselves to the bar of your own consciences, to contemplate the duty you owe to your own vhildren, to compare the life of ignorance, as it gropes along in its dif- ficult path, that seems to have no other object than that it niay breathe and live and die, with the brightened intellect of the intelligent man, whg acts’ under the influence of thought, who moves in a sphere of ie ulness and thrift, and whose steps mark the path he treads through 17e. . To the merchant and mechanic, the active and energetic motive powers of busy life, we address ourselves and ask you to look with favor upon any project which shall have for its object the education of the farmer. The busy marts of men are filled with the products of his labors; his success and his profits contribute largely to the trade and commerce which are the product of your enterprise. While the abun-. dant yield of the husbandman enriches him, the result is favorably felt in every department of the merchant’s counting-house and the mechanic’s shop. As, then, you move and make your impress upon the minds of men, let your actions be tempered with the idea that all business, whether in the merchant’s store, the mechanic’s shop, or the mariner’s ship upon the ocean, is dependent: for its working elements upon the products of the farm. . To the professor and the student, to you who already possess the lights of reason and enjoy the fruits of knowledge, we will not appeal in vain\that your influence may be thrown into the scale of agricultural progress; that, while you have in your own hands that helm of power which gives direction to the elements of government, you will always’ have in mind that to promote the true and efficient principles of political economy, to expand and increase the influence of that virtue whereby alone we may hope to maintain our own free Government and laws, is to educate the farmer. sWe ask of the statesman, while he advocates the interests of his con- stituents at the bar of the Senate; of the lawyer, who advocates the _ cause of his client at the bar of justice, and of that sacred office which advocates the cause of man at. the bar of Heaven, that they may ever remember the magnitude of your temporal as well as eternal welfare. Let us not forget to exhort her, whose influence is always so strongly marked upon the character of men from their cradle to their grave, to think of these things: the mother, whose affections root so deeply in the existence of her child, whose anticipations are so often stimulated to painful anxiety for its welfare, who watches its progress in life with an eye to doubt and danger, whose hopes may be elevated to the Giver of all good, that he has smiled graciously upon the career of her darling child, or whose fearful forebodings may be realized in the spectacle that he is despised by the society of men and frowned upon by the attributes of Heaven. In conclusion, I have a word to say with regard to these your annually occurring exhibitions. Here allis reality. You meet your friends, who are embarked in the same enterprise of life and whose thoughts and hearts are congenial with your own. You see many of whom you before had but heard; and here, too, you learn to realize the force of numbers, of intelligence, of the strength of which you are composed, and that power which may be wielded by your will. You carry to your homes. 352 in your mind’s eye, the beautiful models of your art, the judgment of their use, the calenlation of their value, and you see those marvelous productions of your fruitfal soil which serve to expand your own views of the extent of the workings of your own skill. These are the delight- ful points in your life, to which the memory recurs with pleasure; they are the safety-walves which let off the pent-up monotony of a coun- try life; and, therefore, we would have you to remember that these ex- hibitions are yours; that, while you are their authors and finishers, no one of you should ever fail to be their fricnd and patron. AGRIGULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. ° By THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. The prejudice onee entertained by the mass of agricultural laborers against the use of labor-saving machinery has been entirely dissipated ; practicai experience having taught that the amount to be done is greatly multiplied by the facility for doing it, and that the demand for laborers continues to increase and wages to be enhanced as the greater amount of labor is accomplished. If two bushels of grain be raised where but one was raised before, the area to be cultivated is greatly increased, and the farmer is better enabled to compensate the laborer, because the aid of his labor has produced a greater amount of profit. These facts, and the inferences fairly deducible therefrom, have led to the abandon- — ment of all opposition to or prejudice against the improved machinery of the farm. . : In the midst of the competition which forces upon the market ma- chinery of all kinds, each claiming for itself high qualities and superior capacity, it behooves the purchaser to look well and wisely at the sub- ject, and adopt some general principles which should govern his aetion in the choice he may make. ' To speak of the plow: The same implement will not answer the par- pose in all kinds of soil; hence, in making choice of one, the farmer should study the character of his soil and the topogtaphy of his farm, for the difference in the mechanical structure of plows is essential. ‘While one is short, abrupt and wide in its working parts, and having no ten, dency to easy, direct action, another is long, of gradual slope in its mold- board, and its action direct and center-draught. The fitness of each of these must be measured by the character of the work to be accomplished. The object of plowing being to break up and disintegrate the soil, mak- ing it pervious to light, heat, and atmospheric food, it seems to follow that the plow that will best accomplish this object is the one which. should be chosen; provided, however, that in its use it does not require too much power. in any good plow the principle of direct action, or what is generally termed center-draught, should be found. It consists of such a combination of all the parts, to-wit, mold-board, beam, land-side, bar, and point, that one shall not counteract the operation of the other more than the necessity of the case requires. A compe- tent observer, standing in front of a well-constructed plow, will find its beam, mold-board, bar, and land-side, all in mechanical keeping with each other, not tending in different directions, requiring great power to overcome leverage without accomplishing any usefal conse- quence. The clevis, to which the power is attached, should be back at 353 the sheath immediately above the mold-board, and connected only at the point of the beam by a rod moving in arabbet. This arrangement, while it places the point of draught immediately at the work, relieves the beam from the danger of strain and consequent displacement, 80 destructive of the whole implement. Plows are distinguished by being either right or left handed; that is, throwing the furrow to the right or left side. The use of either is common to particular localities ; in some, such a thing as a right-hand plow is not to be found, while.in othersa left-hand plow is scareely known. But it may bé remarked that where the left-hand plow is used ‘the team is almost invariably driven with a single line, and that of a right-hand plow with a double line; and for the reagon=-and itis one of the advantagesclaimed for the left-hand plow— that the lead-horse walks in the furrow, and consequently requires less guiding and less skill in the plowman. Thereis, perhaps, no implement of husbandry which has undergone so many changes and so many im-° provements as the plow; and now every part of it is caléulated with a’ ‘mechanical nicety, thatit may be the better adapted to the work which it has to perform. The harrow is an implement of no Jess importance than the plow, and has, perhaps, undergone as many changes. The rotary, the square, the conical, the single, and the double harrows have all, in their turn, claimed precedence of eachother. The position of the teeth, whether they shall incline backward, forward, or laterally, are all mooted points which elicit the inquiry of the farmer. To attain the great object of pulveriz- ing the soil, the rotary harrow has in it a plausibility whieh demands attention, and if the ground to be harrowed were always frée from stub- ble and weeds it would act well its part; but for practical every-day work, upon all qualities of soil, it is not to be relied upon. Its machin- ery is {oo complicated, and it may very well be doubted whether any implement haying spindles and journals which come in contact with plowed ground, will answer the purpose intended. But there are certain a * principles connected with the construction and use of the harrow which should always be kept steadily in view. The teeth should have sucha relative position that they should not follow each other in the same 354 track; and, farther to insure this, the harrow should be so constructed that its motion forward should be steady, swayed neither to ‘the one side nor to the other, either by impediments in the way or inequalities in the surface. It should pursue its course as steadily as the plow it- self, for if the teeth are so placed in the harrow that by a straight for- ward taovement they will not follow each other, when the motion is irregular they will follow each other. ‘This is to be prevented only in the structure of the implement and the adaptation of the power so that the draught shall be from two points instead of one. This idea cannot be so well illustrated as by a drawing. , The material of this harrow should be of white-oak or other hard wood, in size 4 by 4 inches, and the teeth of steel three-fourths of an inch square and set strai oht i in the wood. It will be perceived that the main beams may be separated by means of the screws and nuts which ‘ connect the parts, thus, so to separate them, as to make it useful to har- row corn at its first stage of cultivation. The reaper and mower, or the twocombined, have become indispensa- ble implements upon the farm, because they greatly cheapen the expense of the harvest, as may be shown by a plain calculation : A machine and pair of horses will easily cut ten acres of wheat in a a day, and this re- quires a driver and six hands to rake and bind. Allows cost of team, at.-..--..-.--.,------- =) eee $2 00 Seyen men, at $1.50 per day each. : oc... cee, seep Peper eas 10 50 Making the cost of putting up ten acres............--- . 12 50 Using the cradle, which is the next cheapest mode of cutting exat the same number of acres would require— 3 Five cradlers,-at $2 per day.-\...----2.-+ -<\s--05< 39 8ee ee $10 00 Ten rakers and binders, (called followers,) at $1.50 each....... 15 00 Making the same amount of work cost ......--.--.-.--- 25 00 These estimates of cost are based upon prices actually paid in the in- terior of Pennsylvania during the past summer, so that it is made mani- fest that the machine is indispensable. There is no implement by which the farmer is so likely to be deceived as this one. The variety is endless, and each has the sanction of a Government patent for some feature of its structure, to add plausibility to its value. It may truly be said of all these that when new, well put up, Oiled, with a good team in the hands of an expert, and smooth ground, they will do excellent work; but on the farm these conditions are not always present, and the implement, which is an expensive one, is found to be wholly’ inefficient by reason of a radical defect in the mechanical principles of its construction. The work to be done by a reaper and that by a mower differ in impor- tant particulars. One will not do the work of both for the reason that the latter requires a higher degree of speed. Grass stands thicker than grain; the machine cuts closer to the earth and consequently meets with more entangling impediments, and to overcome these there is re- quired a higher degree of speed. By a late invention this is sought to be accomplished by a substitution in the reaper of a spur-wheel of less diameter to work upon the master-wheel, thus producing a higher speed. How far other parts of the gearing may be calculated to endure this 355 greater strain time and experience will demonstrate. Apart from the - consideration of the mechanical construction of the power by. which action is given to the knife and reel, there is less difference in the principle of cutting grain than might be imagined; all cut with a knife against a steel, the two forming, as it were, the blades of shears, the former gathering the grain and forcing it against the lat- ter to be cut off. The McCormick machine is, perhaps, the only one which is an exception, for it does not profess to eut upon the principle of shears, the blades of the knife being oval instead'‘of pointed, and therefore incapable of gathering to any material extent; their edges serrated instead of smooth, so that when the standing grain is touched by the knife it is cut. The blades of many other machines have serrated edges, bug none of them cut upon the same principle. McCormick of Virginia, and Hussey of, Maryland, were competitors for the honor of being the first inventor of the reaper, and they differed in the prin- ° ciple just mentioned, each patenting his machine with this specific dif- ference. It is an essential difference, and one which preserves itself to this day. Of the merits or demerits of the one or the other the pur- chaser must judge, and in making up that judgment these considera- tions enter into it. The defect in all machines is that in their operation they choke, and thus fail to cut, and stop. This is occasioned by the obstacles which cause lateral pressure, whether that be the weight of the grain cut or irregularities upon the surface, for as the bar recedes the knife for thé moment ceases to operate; but the forward motion still gathers the grain into the shears, until the quantity resists the cutting power, and the operation is clogged and stopped. The claim for the machine which does not thus gather up the grain to be cut is, that it is not to the same extent liable to this objection. Whatever may be said for or against the machine which runs upon one or two wheels, there is no such thing as providing entirely against lateral pressure. The McCormick machine runs upon one wheel, while almost all others have two.. It is claimed for these that, having two wheels, they have a broader and firmer base, and are therefore less liable to lateral pressure ; but this may well be doubted, inasmuch as two wheels capable of mov- ing backward or forward, or one standing while the other moves for- ward, by more easily affected than one somewhat imbedded in the soft ground. - To avoid the side-draught and induce a steady forward motion is a geat desideratum, and for this reason.it is well to consider what is the best kind of team to be used. The whole machine is guided by the tongue, and if it can be kept steadily in its course, lateral pressure is thereby avoided. If there be but asingle pair of horses used, the point of the tongue is free to sway from side to side, and the cutting-bar necessarily loses its leeway, and while regaining it the operation of the knife is stopped, and the machine consequently clogged. If four horses be used, this renders necessary the double-tree, single-trees, and lomg trace-trains, the whole keeping up a continued vibration at the end of the tongue which is ill-adapted to steadiness of motion. Three horses, then, would seem to be more appropriate to the attainment of the object desired. One hitched immediately to the end of the tongue, whose power would be constantly used in drawing the machine, would also tend in a greater degree to preserve a steady forward motion. We have said that there is scarcely any reaper which will not oper- ate successfully in the hands of a skillful manager, but the farmer Should not be deceived by such test. Far better rely upon the charac- 356 ter which the machine has attained from the judgment of skillful me- chanics and experienced agriculturists. With regard to the mower, which is just as useful as the reaper, and perhaps still more profitable, it should not be used as a combined machine, The work to be done differs essentially. While the one may cut a swath of five and a half, or even six feet, the other should not ~ exceed four. The dense, green, heavy weight of grass cannot be suc- cessfully cut closely to the ground in a swath of five and a half feet, while the sparse and comparatively dry straw can be readily eut with a stubble of nine inches. One machine badly answers the purposes of ~ the other, and the farmer cannot afford to dispense with either. Of all the implements for use upon the farm there is no one which tells of greater benefits than the roller. It pulverizes the clo@s, smooths the surface for the scythe or the reaper, and compacts the earth about the seeds and roots of plants; but above all, and of more importance than all, it destroysvermin. That the earth should be made fine is the object of plowing and harrowing. The roller greatly conduces to this. That small stones and rough places upon the surface should be driven out of the way of the scythe or mower is a desideratum which every farmer will appreciate, and when his seed is first sown, or when the-frosts of winter and thawing of the spring have loosened its growth upon the surface, it may be imagined how it would be benefited by giving it a bed in the earth again. Butits most useful purpose is less satisfactorily explained, for its proof is only found in the experience of its use. All know that most of the vermin which afflicts the farmers’ crops has its resting and often its breeding place in the earth. There, and upon the young and tender plait, is where it deposits its eggs. The cut-worm destroys corn at the surface. The Hessian fly deposits its eggs upon the young wheat-blade, which often falls to the ground. The fine, is fully charged with the eggs and the embryo of vermin of all sorts, in all stages and in all periods of their existence, and it may readily be imagined what an amount of destruction would follow the passage of a heavy roller over the surface. It may be said without the fear of anything but the doubt which inexperience would suggest, that the farmer who constantly uses a roller will never suffer from cat-worm, army-worm, Hessian fly, midge, or any pest which has its origin in the earth. The construction of a roller is as important as its use. The one in common use is a single log, six, seven,.or eight feet in length, fixed in a frame by a gudgeon in each end. This is wholly unfit for the purpose. Jt is too long to adapt itself to the surface; cannot be turned without shoving the plowed ground into hillocks, and is heavy to haul. The | roller should be in sections—how many is a consideration of little moment, provided the number be even—so that,in turning, while one- half goes forward the other half goes backward, and thus rolls all the tiffe upon its own ground. The cheapest and best roller is made of six sections-of fifteen inches in width. These sections are made of cast iron after the manner of a wheel with spokes and hub, by which they are strung upon a common shaft fixed in a frame. The wheel turns upon the shaft, which, if it have a support in the center, is well, but it will work well without. Tlis roller may be profitably tised upon corn- ground betore it is scored out, and soon after the plant shows itself at the surface; upon oats-ground when it is sown; upon oats when four or five inches. high; upon young clover in the spring, as soon as the ground is sufticiently dry to allow the horses’ feet upon it; upon wheat-ground to prepare it for the drill, and upon wheat in the spring. It cannot be * , ; 357 told with any degree of certainty when it is that the vermin are de- stroyed, but it is certainly at all times and periods when they are in the egg and embryo. Let it not be said that this costs too much labor. It is labor most profitably spent. * Little need be said with regard to the hay-rake, for its universal use is sufficient evidence of its value as a labor-saving implement. With a single horse and boy it will do the work which once required eight men. The steel-tooth rake has been greatly improved and perfected by the pag for discharging the gathered hay, instead of the old mode by the a The thrasheris a machine necessarily used upon the farm, but does not always belong to it. The one to be spoken of is an implement of the farm, Which thrashes but does not winnow and prepare grain for the market, and one which every farmer should own. It is a horse- power machine capable of thrashing about’ one hundred bushels of wheat per day. The power requires four horses, and the machine five persons to supply and feed it and remove and put away the straw. It is to be distinguished from the thrasher which winnows the grain and imperfectly prepares it for the market at the speed of three or four hun- dred bushels per day, and involving the employment of a corresponding number of hands. The use of the one is an operation of the farmer him- self, the other that of a person whose business it is to thrash for others. The one thrashes the grain:as you want it, and allows the storage of the straw and chaff for future use, such as food and bedding for cattle and the consequent making of manure. The other thrashes the whole crop at once, rendering necessary the immediate disposal of it, and giving you an amount of straw which you have no place to put but into stacks or the barn-yard, or to be otherwise wasted, for such a quantity cannot be converted at once into manure, but is greatly wasted upon the desert air. But the farmer’s own machine may be used, if properly constructed, for another useful ‘purpose, that of cutting up his eorn-fodder. Fodder- cutters, as they are constructed, do not answer well the purpose for which they were designed. They are not quite equal, in point of strength, either in their construction or cutting-knives, to the work required of them. The spikes of the thrasher may be so constructed as to answer both the purposes of thrashing and cutting. They may be made two inches wide, one edge preserving the rotundity of the spike, while the other may have the sharpness of a knife, and by reversing the cylinder you present the knife-edge to cut the fodder into shreds, or the spike- edge to thrash the grain. Cultivators are as various in their construction as the minds of men. To destroy grass and weeds and loosen the ground between growing plants is the work they have to do, and the simplicity of it points uner- ringly to the implement which is best adapted to the quality of soil where it is to be used. If the work is to be done with one horse, there is no implement that will do it better than the old-fashioned double shovel- plow. It has the advantage of being always in hand, to be readily guided to the point where its work will be most efficient. If two horses be used, there are other implements which will do the work much more speedily by straddling the row and operating upon both sides of it. This treatise upon the subject of agricultural implements is induced by a desire to direct the farmer to the choice of those which are best adapted to his particular purpose, and to point out to him the princi- ples which enter into the consideration of the subject, thereby guarding him against the plausible theories and deceptive appearances which so often surround it. 358 “CULTIVATION BY STEAM. Mr. O. E. Lawrence, of Magnolia Plantation, parish of Plaquemine, Louisiana, responds to a request from this Department for a statement of the results of his trial of the steam-plow, as follows : Two hundred and twenty acres of my cane crop, one hundred and forty acres of which were plant canes, and eighty acres first-year rattoons, were, I believe, as tho- ' roughly plowed and cultivated by steam as could be desired. The plant canes were grown upon land which, after yielding a crop of corn, was again broken-up by the steam-plow 26 inches deep; then, during the winter, laid off in rows fully 8 feet apart and 8 inches deep. In the month of February the cane was planted and covered care- fully with a hoe.: I avoided carting the seed cane for plants upon the land, carrying it in from each head-land by hand. ‘The seed was good, and was planted*in the usual way by laying down three canes in each row. It came up well, giving a perfect stand. In the months of April and May, when the plant cane was about 18 inches high, I sub- soiled the crop with my five-tined steam cultivator 26 inches deep, twice between each row, working over about ten acres each day. It left the land thoroughly loose and pulverized, and elevated about 6 inches above the level before sub-soiling. This, as the canes began to shade it, was clean and free from grass, and thus was obviated the necessity of giving them at this period of the season any more work, which in ordinary cultivation is always requisite. The cane continued to grow with great rapidity, and on the 10th of June, when it was large enough, and the ground sufficiertly settled to bear up the mule-teams, I gave it a thorough plowing with our two-mule plows, following with the hoes, hilling and laying it by. Thus the entire crop, with the excep- tion of this last working, was cultivated and made by steam. On the Ist of September these canes were blown down very flat, from which they only partially rose. They cut for the mill, when rolled in December and January, from 7 to 12 feet in length, and this after being frosted so that we had to throw away the first two joints. The juice weighed but 64 to 7 degrees Beaumé; but under the circumstances the yield was over 3,000 pounds of double-refined sugar to the acre, and had the canes stood up until cut for the mill and been as ripe as our canes usually are, I feel satis- eee would have produced over two tons to the acre, and this upon old heayy clay and. The eighty acres of first year rattoons grown from the stubbles of the steam-plowed cane, planted in a similar manner last year, were barred off and well dug in the month of March, then subsoiled and cultivated by steam precisely as the plant-canes. The yield was over 2,500 pounds of sugar to the acre. Deep steam-plowing upon well ditched lands, I have always believed, would result in an average yield of over 2,000 pounds of sugar to the acre, but this was when I only expected to use the steam-plow in the breaking up of the lands. The use of steam for deep subsoiling in the cultivation of the canes, I confess, has far exceeded my expecta- tions, and I am fully continced that an average yield of even much more will be real- ized, and this too with less than half the labor now employed under the old system, in which the average yield is not over 1,000 pounds of sugar to the acre. To this may be added the complete preservation of our stubble canes against the cold and winter rains, so often disastrous to our rattoons. The advantages of deep plowing and subsoiling by steam over the ordinary cultiyva- tion by horses, and the consequent trampling and packing of the ground, can hardly be overestimated. It enables the land to absorb the heavy rains and prepares it for the free admission of air and heat, and thus changes entirely the character of our soils— rendering the heavy clay lands productive and easily worked in seasons of drought, which we are so often subjected to. The crops grown upon deeply-plowed lands sus- tain no injury. This has been constantly my experience ; in fact the steam-plow seems to command the seasons, enabling the soil at all times to retain and transmit moisture, upon which fertility mainly depends. But I fear the prospect at present is not very bright for the extension of steam cultivation in our State. A long war, with the break- ing up of the most of our large plantations, the entire destruction of our labor system, followed by scarcity, inefficiency, and high price of labor, and this by a succession of bad seasons, together with enormous taxation, has to a great extent disheartened our planters and paralyzed their energies ; and though they have made almost superhuman efforts to restore their estates, yet to-day we have to witness, lamentable as it is, this once great and prosperous interest almost in its last throes of existence. Many of our finest plantations are now abandoned, and offered for sale without purchasers at less than half the cost of the improvements. Deep plowing; less land cultivated, and that done much better; the introduction of steam-plows and the lands plowed by contract, (where the proprietors do not choose 359 to purchase,) as is now done with eminent success in England and other countries, and a check to our excessive taxation, would soon restore us. With this every suitable effort should be made and inducement held out with a view to bring to our fertile lands and genial climate, so rich in promise, the enterprising and intelligent emigrant of every nation. Then, as the future surely indicates, will come a division of our lands with the division of our system of labor. The large and costly sugar-houses will be employed as central factories; capital and labor will blend harmoniously together, and, I trust, a new era will dawn upon our now depressed and struggling people. In justice to the eminent inventors and manufacturers of the double engine steam- plowing tackle and implements, John Fowler & Co., of Leeds, England, I can only say, ufter three years’ experiencé with two complete sets of their tackle, that the ease and - facility with which they are handled, their simple and perfect application of power,and ° the completeness in every way in which they are worked, entitle them to the high appre ciation with which they are now regarded in every part of the civilized world. And I trust the genius of American inventors, which has been constantly but unfortunately directed to the,construction of a traction-engine, moving like horses over the land, with the plows attached, which must continue to be a failure, will soon be convinced that the double-engine system, in which two engines upon opposite head-lands, carrying the winding-drum and alternately paying out by single line of wire rope, pull the im- plement between tltem, is all that can be desired for the most perfect system of steam- cultivation. Necessity will-soon compel us to take a “ new departure.” The constant increase ot emigration and population in the grain-growing States of our country will soon de- mand a better cultivation and increased production. In Englaud steam plowing has increased the yield of wheat from 16 bushels to 28 bushels to the acre. I do not*believe the agricultural interest of our country can much longer turn a deaf ear to this last and greatest achievement of steam—its successful application to the cuitivation of the soil. It has broken the yoke, and lifted the burden which, for ages, held both man and beast in bondage, ameliorating their condition by making that which was most onerous, easy and attractive; it has elevated labor and dignified the plow. E, LAWRENCE. “NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN FARMING: In March last a communication was addressed to the Commissioner of Agriculture by the secretary of the Beech Island Farmers’ Club, in South Carolina, making certain inquiries concerning the comparative advantages of the different methods of farming at the North and South, with particular reference to the cost and the profits of culture. To this communication the Commissioner responded as follows : Harry Hammonp, Eszq., Secretary Beech Island Farmers’ Club, Augusta, Georgia. Sir: In reply to your letter of the 2d instant, I feel sincerely inclined to give you all the information which I have upon the various points of inquiry which you make. Let me premise, however, that the short experience which you have had does not jus- tify the conclusion that the work of the farm cannot be profitably done by hired labor, with the usual concomitants of a farmer’s family. Experience in the Northern and Middle States has taught us otherwise. Farmers there live comfortably, improve their farms, and often grow rich; and with your soil and superior climate there is no rea- son why you may not do the same thing, especially as the product of your land hasa greater money value, acre for acre, than in the Middle States. In answer to your sev- eral queries, let me instance an agricultural district in the interior of Pennsylvania, where land is worth about $100 per acre, when improved with house, barn, and neces- sary out-houses. Such farms will average in size about 120 acres, most of the land be- ing cleared and fenced into fields of about 15 acres. The force that works the farm is generally the farmer and his two sons; or if be has but one, he must have one hired hand, to whem he would have to pay about $20 a month, and board him. It would _ require six horses or mules to do the work ; it would sometimes be done by four; there would be 8 cows and as many young cattle, and sometimes 12 sheep, and perhaps 10 , to 15 hogs. Sometimes the farmer will require additional hands, for which he will pay about $1 per day, and in harvest one half more, for raking and binding after a reaper 360 and hauling in, but not quite so much for hay-makiug. From this an average product would be: Wheat, 800. bushels, worth....-.-.--..-... + aero sAbsheme® 6-0) =< cgpeae $1,200 00 Oats: 1,200) bushels, worn: ).i2+ sapere o. » wc.w'cia Bolenetd deleeremi ix cdte! > niche 480 00 — Gorn, 1,200 bushels; worth 2.25 daneees-+ + erik Gsiewe-iseiceke 29 v= vic eee , 600 00 4 "2,280 00 Deduct from this, of wheat for bread and seed, 160 bushels....-. $225 00 Oats for feed and seed, 300 bushels.---.. .----+ veeeraceecee reer - 120 00 Corn for feed and seed, 400 bushels....-...------+-+-+---- “éaate 200 00 —_— 545 00 : ‘ , 1,735 00 Paw orione anil): 2c tence whinwatece AR eis: cha tomes etna 240 00 Extra hands.......-.-- BI eels arellsbele tis nin Bik aOR eT See vib Bis alee oie 110, 00 —— 350 00 1, 385 00 From this farm there would be realized for potatoes, turnips, fouit, gar- den vegetables, butter, eggs, and poultry, about......-..-----..---.-- pax, 600 00 "1,985 00 All the hay, fodder, and straw are consumed upen the farm; the wool is worked into clothing and blankets; and there will be expended in cloth- ing for family, blacksmith’s bill, and repairs of farm, &¢,.---.------ eens * » (98D 100 Leaving a cash balance Of .-..-.< .s5 sain sdheved cues doe open eee 1,000 00 Now this is an account of the operations, practically, of a thrifty farmer, who under- stands hishusiness. He takes his breakfast, and has his horses fed, geared, and watered, that they may be in the field at sunrise. He gets his dinner about 11 o’clock a, m., and is in the field again by 12 o’clock, and quits work about sundown. What it costs to break up an acre of ground, no one can answer; nor would an answer be of any value. And the same may be said of the cost of planting an acre of wheat or laying an acre of corn, These are items in the business of a farm which cannot be aggregated for any valuable conclusion, nor can it be told how much it costs to put up 100 feet of fence. As to all these things, so many circumstances exist as to vender any truthful estimate at one point wholly inapplicable to another. It is un- doubtedly true that a hired laborer at the North will do double as much work in aday, asa black man will doin the South. This is doftbtless attributable to the fact that the one has been educated to work, because to earn his wages he must; the other to avoid labor, because his compensation was the same whether he worked or not. This will not always be so, for the time is coming when free labor will produce about the same results everywhere. There are many colored laborers in the Middle States whose capacity for labor is quite equal to that of the white man, and who earn the same amount of wages. If farms ate leased to tenants, they pay the road and school taxes, and the landlord the county taxes. Each finds one-half of the seed, and receives one-half the products, _all hay, straw, and fodder being used upon the farm. About one-third of the land will be put into wheat, and one-third into corn and vats, and the remainder into grass; and it is becoming a common practice, and a one, to turn no cattle out to pasture until after the grass is cut and the hay made. This grass is of mixed clover and timothy, the latter sowed in the fall with wheat, and the former in the spring, after which tho field should be rolled for the double purpose of embedding the clover seed, and making smooth the ground for the greater conve- vience of reaping the crop. When the wheat crop is taken off, the young clover should not he pastured much, and it would be better if not at all. The next year’s hay is here made; and at this point one of your difficulties oceurs. You have no barn to put it in, and Iam aware that it would be difficult to convince you that you have any necessity for one. You persuade yourselves that your climate is such that cattle do not require shelter. This is to be unmindful of the fact, that this is the least important function of a barn, In the South 15 per cent. of your products is wasted in cutting, gathering, stacking, and thrashing, while it should be hauled in good time and stowed away in a barn, where you may thrash it at your leisure, and feed your hay, fodder, and straw to your cattle, which would thereby be employed in manufacturing materials into manure that would otherwise he comparatively lost in the exposure to rain, sun, and wind. If cattle be kept in a barn and its yard, from the fall until the following June, and during May and June fed with grass cut from the fields for them, they will have used up all the 361. hay, fodder, and straw, aud manufactured it into manure that will be suflicient for 20 acres, and this should be put upon the clover sod, preparatory to corn planting the following spring; for which purpose the ground should be deeply plowed, so as to put the manure beyond the reach of a shallow plowing for oats the following spring. . When this crop is taken off, then plow deeply tor wheat, so that the manure may be thoroughly mixed with the soil, and ina proper condition for the following wheat crop. This rotation, or an equivalent, is absolutely essential to successful and profitable farming, : aentnineers are peculiarly an ‘agricultural people ; and yet about their farms there is a manifest indifference and carelessness about their condition. The fences are broken down, gates out of order, buildings out of repair, and implements lying around. It Sanaa be expected that the employés shall be diligent and systematic in the midst of disorder and confusion any more than a mechanic should perform his duty with indif- ferent or dull tools or a careless employer. It is easier and less expensive to have - things in order. With neatness and care, there isa spirit of pride andemulation which enters into the actions of every man and woman employed, and diffuses itself inte all the operations of the farm, to the great profit of the farmer, Before I close this letter, which has been written hastily and amid very much interruption, I desire to commend to your attention the use of lime. It is one of the large constituent properties of grass, especially clover, without the use of which no successful farming can be accomplished. Clover is a grass, too, which of all others will endure heat and cold, Nature has given to it a tap-root, which enables it to seek ‘mnoisture and protection toa greater extent than many other grasses the roots of which are much confined to the surface. I trust I may have given you some useful hints about farming. I did not intend to do more. Very respectfully, FREDERICK WATTS, Commissioner. © This letter was referred for consideration to a committee of the club, who subsequently submitted the following report, a copy of which was courteously transmitted to the Department: Report to the Beech Island Farmers’ Club on a letter received from Hon, Frederick Watts, Commissioner of Agriculture. Your committee have read the letter of Hon. F. Watts, referred to them, with great care and interest. Mr, Waits draws our attention to the fact that “our short experi- ence” does not justify the conclusion that the work of the farm cannot be profitably done by hired labor; and after stating that farmers in the Northern and Middle States “live comfortably, improve their farms, and often grow rich,” continues: ‘ With your soil and superior climate there is no reason why you may not do the same thing, es- pecially as the product of your land has a greater money value, acre for acre, than in the Middle States.” Of the correctness of this view there is not a reasonable doubt. We have had our days of gloom, and it would hardly be candid not to admit that there is some discouragement and anxiety still. But we cannot fail to recognize the important fact that failures, where they have oecurred, came from causes which lie mainly outside the provinces*of legitimate planting. Neither our soil, our climate, our products, (the money value of onr great staples in the market,) nor our labor, can fairly be taxed with them. In reference to the latter, it is only fair to the negro (the chief laborer) to state, that away from the towns and villages.and the malign influence of politics, as a rule, whenever fairly treated, be has been docile, steady, and effective, comparing favorably, we believe, with hireling laborers elsewhere, and unquestionably the best workers in our cotton-fields. Mr. Watts’ statement that “it isundoubtedly true that a htred laborer at the North will do double as much work ina day asa black man will do in the South,” is a popular notion there and here, but one, we believe, that could hardly be sustained by facts. In many kinds of labor, incident to small grain and gtfass culture, rearing stock, and managing the more complex agricultural implements, the negro has little practice, and therefore possesses little skill. But he is a good plowman, following the team as far as it ought to be driven in a day, and doing well, not only the coarser work in the preparation of the soil, but also the more delicate manipulations required by the young plant. And with the hoe, the chief implement in cotton culture, he has, from long training, acquired celerity, precision, and in short, efficiency, which the laborer of any other country would tind it hard to rival. To get full work from him it is necessary for him to feel that his pay is sure, and a part of it at least in some shape directly before him, and to thoroughly understand that the amount of work will be required of him, and that he can and ought to do it; which doubtless, are about the only 362 conditions under which full work is got from the hired laborer anywhere. We quote the following passage entire from Mr. Watts’s letter, and commend it to the careful attention ef the club. Jt exposes the chief defect in the training and habits of the southern planter, to which may be traced a large share of his troubles: “ Southerners are peculiarly an agricultural people, and yet about their farms there is a manifest indifference and carelessness about their condition ; the fences are broken down, gates out of order, buildings out of repair, and implements lying around; it cannot be ex- pected that the employers shall be diligent and systematic, in the midst of disorder and confusion, any more than a mechanic will perform his duty with indifferent or dull tools or a careless employer. Jt is easier and less expensive to have things in order. With neatness and care there is a spirit of pride and emulation which enters into the actions of every man and woman employed, and diffuses itself into all the operations of the farm, to the great profit of the farmer.” These remarks are worthy of consider- ation. We all assent to them, but something more than this is necessary. We must take the truths they convey, and carry them home with us, and set about at once con- forming our daily practice to them. Permanent success can only be assured by care- ful, unremitting, systematic, vigilant attention to details. Without that, no amount of general information, or of intelligence, or of energy, can gather the fruits of labor, but again and again we will find ourselves robbed of the best results of enterprises, however wisely planned and energetically pursued. : But while we unquestionably need to cultivate more orderly and systematic habits of attending to details, and there is vast room for practical improvement about our plantation buildings, fences, &c., it is not necessary, and would hardly be prudent for us to emulate the prim neatness of the New England or Middle States farmer. Our planting is done on a much larger scale and under very different conditions, Their handsome barns, neat,brick out-buildings, painted yearly, multiplicity of expensive stone fences, &c., are no more essential to us than are the decorations of the fancy store to the wholesale grocery. ‘ A large and not the least interesting portion of Mr. Watts’s letter is devoted to a mninute account of the operations of a thrifty northern farmer. It is especially inter- . esting to us, in enabling us to compare the results of farming here with those obtained under favorable circumstances elsewhere. An improved farm is instanced, of “ about 120 acres,” in the interior of Pennsylvania, worth about $100 an acre, or $12,000. Tt is stocked with 6 horses or ‘mules, (the work would sometimes be done by 4,) 8 cows and as many young cattle; sometimes 12 sheep; 10 to 15 hogs; and the force which works is generally the farmer and his two sons, or if he has but one, he must have one hired hand. Adding the value of the stock, of the necessary supplies, outfit in wagons, carts, implements, seeds, &c., and ready money required to carry on the work to the original cost of the farm, we will find the investment to be probably be- tween $16,000 and $17,000. The money value of the gross products of this farm in wheat, oats, and corn, is placed at $2,280, to which must be added $600 realized for potatoes, turnips, fruit, garden vegetables, butter, eggs, and poultry. All the hay, fodder, and straw, are consumed on the farm ; the wool is worked into clothing and blankets, and after providing bread and clothing for his family, feed for his stock, and paying for blacksmith’s work and repairs of farm improvements, &c., a net cash bal- ance is left in the hands of the farmer of $1,000. This we are told is the result of the operations of a thrifty farmer who understands his business. He takes his breakfast and has his horses fed, geared and watered, that they may be in the field at sanrise. He gets his dinner about 11 o’clock a. m., and is in the field again by 12 o’clock, and quits work about sundown. ® There is evidence here of care, industry, and economy ; but the results are not such as might safely be calculated on in planting in the South with equal care and industry and equal capital. Sixteen or seventeen thousand dollars would not have enabled one to plant largely before the abolition of slavery, when to get the labor it was neces- sary to own the laborer. But there has been a great revolution in this respect, and now a judicious investment of that amount, going wholly even upon the cash system, would place one among the larger planters. We will instance a plantation of 800 acres, among the better class of uplands in a healthy locality in Edgefield or Barnwell Counties of this State, or the adjacent counties in Georgia, about which we can speak with authority and accuracy from our perfect familiarity with them. Supposing this place to have the usual improvements, with 500 acres of cleared land and 300 In the woods, and labor secured and work commenced early in January, the following figures will show about how the inyestment should be made, and what results could be ob- tained the first year ; CASH OUTLAY. 800 acres lan@es- oc. wnwne- -- cow ven lpoe eck cn conve sre ceee pein en ee == wien 1Oimmles:. 2 ee ee oe pe sae com omnes Seek ppe one HEE ot Meee Lee eee eae 1,750 2 WAHDDS ods Eeat aces Be lei aude wee oe cabigiters - ee cce nee eee eee. : 300 3 Carte oie feb eea teen cece ec cos cw seme se bee ebne tk ee eee es oe ee Be 150 DVOKe OXON « .. - Vs cwed on cease seen conve pecsiseed sececenencees fast Aras innlgiciain ain $150 EU OMSHOIS COL ME crea nc pale cat saluie vais doje o'sin'a nce main testrinaisiucneien Goeejuc das 1, 000 RE TEST elie oe os 4a) wipe aja ooo 0 wwiciacniang ye uicheeeie Sad sine pleted 200 WR a Ng emia oo ctmicm Dy val= alnjaiie.< wroltn(aalae Tomes coe kao) Bee eee 900 Pe pen aaiaie anna arate, Sian min) melee) maine +s «we ca elaciciapewenis oe cia vnlaieicl » 150 | Wages, 22 hands......--.. Eph et he sap el et aie ou x, ah cs a Ee ee 2, 200 Peed, 22 hands -- -- 2 -- 2. 102 oin eve ee ewer serene cnc ens cece ease ence cee se 550 EES Deere 2 SI af aio vn 5 oi Sara ata ental el Si winia)en view deel pteictameeiecin «+ oilhe 400 EE aes ccc aw njies'e as = a ustejeeieei SSCP ose ne. ¢ eioraedc aha si eorieeea 15, 850 CROP. Cotton; 250 acres, 100 bales .. 2... 22. -- 2-2 eee cone cence ee eee enw e ween ees $10, 000 PEE ACHES TL O00 DUSHEIS 25s neces Gesin wees sole cica oons wos Se ba eeninieee 1,500 Pee ANCE 37) DUSHOIS i550 fs eioss iavelqdwe cule tees ceveitopecs anind docs cebot 300 4,000 bushels cotton seed ..--.- 2.22.2 eeee con cece nnn penne eee 3 eae 600 QUA aes Seinen ceca se a cawen wcewinen cee soos dose sen sainwes sewers nsw cnen 12, 400 ASSETS Ed feos enn on oo ween enna sacs en sene ivees ede souminass teas $8, 000 Loe. 6 Lose Schon Chpe BSR SSB SHeRRE SSE BR SBRRS Rend cee reser eee Hen mere 1, 600 ee eer aio nels clo so tela dol deimacis eames ceive 4s Sacciselsee date Sale. 200 a lee ol ole a ai nine gta ns mins winlnim in a aveioelminiticinS cae cineine 100 Pe ae ane ae 4,160 372 Phosphoric: acid.w.oe- es e~ sey eo = wae ee he bate oe eee eee et Trace. Magne aoa hos Sogo abc's trae SEE OC ERE RE SAS w obite nial ala ee Trace. Potassa:s. visay Ss bese nice bon dee tes Cees aw oi’n'> DEED ells Ses «ci oo oe 100. 000 No. IL.—Green-sand marl. Moistire,.- 3. ib ccapecy Seen ee eee Pe os: ee F 4.095 Norenoves 222 oh See Saath TER RT Sse SS Be ee re BN -9- 7,260 ° CarBonic! seid. 22) [2. 2.2 Se ee Se 5, 452 Inpn: and alumina 20025 25035, Ae: booe., Ae eee eee 3. 950 Pbosphorie Acid 74... 0 sob Be tae hss an «pace boeeieb oh OL Meee F 0, 250 Al atieghe soe a eG ee cree 0, 700 SUC aS ae ocean Pk onc war ene wocdngicsevar ope ee 78. 363 Magnesia ‘oe i fe eke ROe PeGedae ss ans OheAie (Dek. Se Trace. 100. 000 SS A specimen of lime marl (Calcareous twfa) from Charles G. Thomas, San José, Santa Clara County, California, on analysis gives the follow- ing results: ; Maoispupp SC a Geka. 202s SEL a Ps FEL 1.500 Carbonate ot Umesh: ob ose ee eo ee ee ee, ee 58. 360 Iron and’ alomina 222.222 ss eee Sk no cece eco ke beeps ate ee re 7.495 Pe of ee oe, eh oer ere ene PNR 0. 250 Phosplerre Acid: - ..2.5 nc ben tac wackeeboee+x-~nledhos ss vae lee ee Trace. Siligge ese. lcs Cee Pts eee Sr <6 oin 9s = pan eaean is : The fact of the absence of ash or solid matter and of the increase of moisture in the unhealthy leaves, would of itself account for their greater tendency to mold. Since leaves do not absorb earthy matter from the atmosphere, it is evident that the cellular structure of the tree has in some way failed to perform its functions ; for, had the ascending sap car- ried with it potash, lime, or other earthy matter, the leaves would have been stored with them, since the leaves have no power to evaporate them. The deficiency of earthy matters in the leaves may also account for the absence of ash in the fruit. If the theory is well founded that the leaves elaborate juice for the growth of the fruit, the leaves being de- prived of proper nourishment, the fruit cannot mature. It has been long observed that trees affected with the yellows fruit earlier and ma- ture prematurely, and soon decay. The presence of a larger amount of sap in the unhealthy than in the healthy, indicates an earlier and greater flow than in that of the healthy tree. The presence of watery sap in the leaves, twigs, and buds would induce naturally an early growth of fruit and premature decay. From these and other observations the _ disease seems traceable to the body of the tree or roots. Applications of washes in this case to the leaves would probably prove useless, but if applied to the bark and roots, might prove curative; and for that pur- pose, judging from microscopic observations, I would recommend the frequent application of hot lye as the best substance. FACTS FROM VARIOUS SOURGES. Economy IN THE USE oF FoppEr.—At a national convention of German agriculturists, chemists, physiologists, and directors of the experimental stations, held in 1871, Professor T. von Gohren presented his views on practical rules for the use of fodder. The following are the leading points in his discussion: In fixing such rules it is necessary to know, first, the general principles on which the desired results in feeding stock depend; second, the most economical means of attaining those results. Other things being equal, every method may be recommended which makes fodder more palatable and diminishes the tax on the digestive organs. It is necessary to distinguish between 390 food designed to sustain the existing condition of the animal and that designed, in addition, to lay on flesh, produce milk, supply the demands of labor, increase, &c. With regard to the former kind, the farmer may assume, as shown by the experiments of Wende, that the amount of nourishment needed for 100 pounds of live weight is from 4 to 1 pound of nitrogenous food, and from 7 to 8 pounds of food free from nitrogen, or of the same composition as starch. In regard to the other kind, we may make subdivisions with reference, 1, to work; 2, to flesh or growth ; 3, to fat; 4, to milk; 5, to wool; 6, to increase. For producing flesh an inerease of food in substances not containing nitrogen is needed. Albumen must be furnished, and this can be done to . the best advantage when the effect of oxygen in the circulation is re- duced to its minimum, a result secured by the use of hydro-carbons, such as oils and oily grains, which are far cheaper than albumenoids, For producing fat the farmer should use non-nitrogenous foods, be- cause they-are the cheapest. Fats can be produced from other fats, from hydrocarbons, and from albuminates; of these three ways, prac- tical agriculturists will chose the least expensive. For producing milk, if quantity rather than quality is aimed at, the lacteal glands must be stimulated to their greatest activity, and for this purpose food rich in nitrogen is needed; and since storing up fat is in- consistent with the activity of the superficial glands, to which the udder belongs, foods which contain a large amount of hydro-carbon must be avoided. Wool-production, provided the animal be kept in good condition, seems to be independent of the kind of food. In a specific sense there is fat-producing food ; but in that sense there is no wool-producing food. It appears from the experiments of Wolff that sheep will grow lean in body before the production of wool will be arrested. Professor von Gohren concludes his discussion in the following words: The most important part of our labor relates to the increase of the race. Animals which are intended for labor must have a fully developed skeleton, ample room for the play of heart and lungs,.and this can only be obtained by a full supply of food rich © in albumen and iron. The development of the intestines should be restrained by con- centrated food, that they may not interfere with the play of the lungs. Young cattle intended for fattening should be brought forward as fast as possible. According to Sauson and Claire Deville, early ripening depends, not so much on race, as on the com- position of the bones; the sooner carbonate and phosphate of lime are deposited the sooner the animal will be ripe. To attain this end milk and grain must be fed. The development of the chest viscera will be retarded by want of exercise and pure air, since this renders the labor of the lungs less. The development of the fourth stomach is promoted by food that is easily digested and full of fat. The opposite rule should be observed with young cattle intended for milk. The animal should be kept rather thin, and hence should not be allowed to suckle too long. Skimmed milk, hay, tea, &c., is much better food for calves intended for the dairy, as well as much cheaper, than the milk of the dam. CROPS IN HuNGARY.—The Department of State has transmitted to this Department a report on this year’s grain crops in Austrian Hungary, forwarded by Mr. John Jay, United States envoy at the imperial court of Austria, the same having been courteously transmitted to him by the Baron Orczy, acting minister in that court for foreign affairs. From this report it appears that agricultural products are classified in three grades: good, middling, and bad; that the country is divided into dis- tricts and sub-districts, having reporters and sub-reporters, who, in each instance, report the grain as belonging to the one of these grades Wee its condition justifies. The aggregate of these reports is as fol- OWS: Good. Middling. Bad. PEP MOELLER ss otc ac ea oT eh ad ae pers Sia unica pare ‘allots he 243 448 112 all rye. ..---------- 2-2-2 eee ene ee eee eee ce eee eee eee eee 110 338 330 IBOdN Nea de succceesa-~- >= ee ceue seusnaweeess sone ccccusccene 109 218 96 Hapeseed . 226 22-2 - = = ee nn ne te ene ene n- cee n ee ces eee ee 79 167 140 aren atten sict= ot i a < a a) Aen Meteo Bos ee RS Se x Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad -| 7,374 | 7,136 | 9,990 | 11,385 | 14,164 | 9,141 | 59, 190 Dlinois Central Railroad.......-----..------ 8,849 | 7,654] 8745] 6,369) 6,610 | 6,726] 44,953 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad..| 12,280 | 10, 460 | 15,510 | 23,143 | 29,796 | 26,019 | 117, 208 Chicago and Northwestern Railway...--.-- 8,572 | 9,320 |. 11,095 | 8,700 | 10,366 | 8,125} 56,176 Chicago and Alton Railroad .......----..-.. 6,565 | 5,500] 6,953 | 8,381 | 8,992 | 11,696] 48, 087 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- MONE eerie stews oo desc ce pemacbenremeees 145 113 90 79 3 4 434 Michigan Central Railroad................- 34 30 5 31 31 8 139 Michigan Southern Railroad....-........-. 241 697 242 63 114 335 1, 034 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Saint Louis n ESET OAM EER EER LEO c -a'p apn 222 poe eee 104 74 126 49 131 308 792 Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad . 793 541 263 158 233 755 2, 743 Driven INO WALASee nals ene on aus cenbe Ree 33 190 183 35 | 1,260 326 2, 027 POG Sees eee nine o'cv iano peemnceane 44,990 | 41,087 | 53,170 | 58,393 | 71, 700 | 63, 443 | 332, 783 > — 403 / ° TiOGS. ; . yO Fi. 4 | =3 ae os = 4 . =) io cael . Coed 5 A 5 Be bv q | #8 S 3) Ss a s m S ad Fy A 4 A 5 Aen Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.. | 59, 685 | 44,351 | 31,057 | 82,307 | 47,085 | 56,720 | 271, 205 Tlinois Central Railroad..........-.--.--+ :.| 63,182 | 39, 449 | 28, 354 | 29,341 | 49,783 | 45,554 | 255, 663 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. ./131, 171 | 99,904 | 51,269 | 53, 721 | 83,526 | 76,540 | 496, 121 Chicago and Northwestern Railway :--..-.- 65, 678 | 56,636 | 36,637 | 24, 644 | 42,193 | 40,513 | 266, 301 Chicago and Alton Railroad ..........-.--- 29,993 | 22, 768 | 20,352 | 25,113 | 34,866 | 29,198 | 162, 290 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail. road +o 7: 3. (Se ee ee eee 2, 001 384 51 332 161 159 3, 088 _ Michigan Central Railroad ...-.-...------- 3, 000 800 198 503 359 55 4,915 Michigan Southern Railroad........-.----- 2,677 | 1,085} 1,087] 1,013 | 1, 436 957 8, 255 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Saint Louis LST 7 Bee Seat e aida de siels 1, 266 589 271 325 | 1,205 701 4, 357 Chicago, Danyille and Vincennes Railroad.| 3,259 | 2,132) 1,509) 1,794) 4,645 | 4,309 17, 648 Inge Ok 23 138 736 OY [ane nae 8 225 “nig! 2S 361, 935 |268, 236 |170, 785 |169, 149 |265, 259 |254, 714 |1, 490, 078 PEE las ci Ne SHEEP. ® ee ero — oT — OO s . a ath VEN Es E E 3 A : Pi a3 ai) eis a es CM Eg ae = = Fy a 4 A 5 a4 Chicago, Ro¢ék Island and Pacific Railroad..| 9,518 | 9,645] 7,041] 4,775 | 1,997] 2,383] 35,359 Mlinois Central Railroad...........-.--.---- 8,812 | 6,232 |. 5,390] 4,341] 2,925 2,786} 30,486 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. ..| 12,336 | 15,118 | 13,340 | 8,285 |} 5,253 | 4,568 | 58 900 Chicago and Northwestern Railway...-...--. 3,965 | 4,378} 6,216 | 2,096] 3,414] 1,720] 21,789 Chicago and Alton Railroad.....---...--.-. 3,139 | 3,030 | 3,374] 4,116 | 2,184 410 | 16, 253 sire haha Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- 185 STs sea seein te ae 31 102 555 road. . Michigan Central Railroad .......-..--.---- 318 496 52 47 86 120 1, 545 Michigan Southern Railroad.........---..-. 2,140) 1,650] 1,481 250 187 756 6, 464 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Saint Louis SON sees 8 | segee~ a 82 105 106 352 Railroad. Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad.-| 1,597 | 1,017 540 353 207 825 4, 539 JUST GILT C0712 Ahn eeege ese Ree SeEer) BE BePecd MScnaee (Be peeoe ced) sberce celaccorese 736 Maye od, ee 42,069 | 41,803 | 38,170 | 24,771 | 16,389 | 13, 776 | 176, 978 HORSES. 2 o &4 @ 5 4 AG : 3 ee 5 2 E 5 ian eas a de | a D 5 E} So 5 H | A 4 5 Bed Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. - 104 287 233 162 283 48 1,117 Ilinois Central Railroad.............-.-..---. 126 305 320 251 207 190 1, 399 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad .. 132 285 573 476 575 248 2, 289 Chicago and Northwestern Railway..-...-- 123 423 408 498 513 347 2, 312 Chicago and Alton Railroad ...-......--.--- 7 71 2 124 50 169 521 Seared, Hort, Wayne and Chicago: Rails}: $22.22) s 22. loos). ae -eennfo an aamele atoms deo ase) ae oselalere road. , Michigan Central Railroad.....-..--------.|----.--. 16 13 12 35 5 81 Michigan Southern Railroad.........--.---. 14 12 36 6 22 9 99 Piteborer Cincinnati and Saint Louis Rail- |......-.|.....-.-.|-------- MIB ess gutsye cease 2 road, Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad.-|.-....-- 1 TES ere ess aie seis, <1 2 21 LT gf ha. Ec | RR SS pI en A eee eee a oy nae Ieee [Yh es 577 | 1,400| cso | 1, 531 | 1,685 | 1,018] 17,841 404 . SHIPMENTS. CATTLE. ned w a Bb a es H S =] g E ‘S = : rae ee =I = t ~} A i g E, @ a ier s es A 4 a 5 | ag Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. 469 228 ap | é24 185 722 | Bad Mlinois Central Railroad@.........-......---- 552 992) 1,001 | 63x 371 419 | -4, 009 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. . 541-| 1, 0x3 5x0 302 239 726 3, 471 Chicago and Northwestern Railway.....--.. 142 295 470 405 314 425 2, 051 Chicago and Alton Railroad .....0....-..-.. 1,032 | 1, 096 207 s12 139 | 1,180 | 4,516 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- 5 Uy A, 2 8h 2) ad a 11, 956 | 12, 826 | 15,925 | 16,981 | 24,615 | 18, 764 | 101, 067 Michigan Central Railroad ...........-..--- 3,488 | 5,539] 5,321 | 7,108] 7,641] 8,565] 37,662 Michigan Southern Railroad.............-.. 14, 511 | 13, 312 | 19, 783 | 25, 466 | 33, 445 | 21,543 | 122, 060 Pittsburgh, Cintinnati and Saint Louis JEWEL) i” Raa an aa a 356 715 197 93 40°C 1, 461 de oe ie PN 33, 047'| 3G, 146 | #3, 705 | 02, 474 | 67, 039 | 52, 89 | 234, 746 i : ’ HOGS. . , 2 . a (=) a. E a : bak & 5 rm = 5 —eS a a E FE be ge | 28 3 2 y oy = s “ 5 ca a < A 5 | 3 | |] —— | |_| —_ Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.-|........]....---- Eby BR 1B Hl cape ate 178 Hilingis Central Railroad. 5. 42... s2- caren] decease 92.1 -piabis a3) wae spl apes 52 Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad -. yo) ee pee ene Ls AES NOB 15-22 bape 337 Chicago and Northwestern Railway.-......f..-..... 56 6 63 219 259 603 Ghicago and Alton Railroad’: ).. bn conn othe odode - cea cake ae eae eta: Bee ee 4 4 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- : i RET Lf Ss 0 SE Fr a cae Be 8, 451 | 20, 223 | 31,256 | 37,733 | 41,662 | 52,272 | 191,597 Michigan Central Railroad .............-.-- 30, 086 | 31, 463 | 50,179 | 54, 632 | 87,326 | 83, 706 | 337, 392 Michigan Southern Railroad.....-.....--.-. 39, 646 | 52, 353 | 62,603 | 52, 723 | 67,048 | 70,699 | 345, 072 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Saint Louis ‘ 2 SURUi obs bie eye es Ia at Dm Cy Me AN a ge 521 dans cdesclscmieme palee capes eee 521 SoS REE RR Se Sh LD 78, 337 |104, 668 [144,209 |145, 151 |196, 451 (206, 940 | 875, 756 SHEEP. ————— ero i = a ‘ a y = 5 Ws) = . S 5 | 8 | 8 ) 8 1 5 A | A 4 A 5 2 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. . 160 181 . Eek eee 196 182 100 g19 dinpipis Central Railroad: {55.02 fe eee ee ase 590) la: nidlalnne |G bie See |] ara bieteetall eee 590 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad...|........|......-.).....--. 163 |} a..aeee 100 265 Chicago and Northwestern Railway .......-|....---. 196 | 9 21 48 d27 x61 Chigaga.and Alton Railroa@.... 22 22c.20. 0 scl... koe 52 49 152 |-5.5 5 355 608. Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne andChicago Railroad] 20, 481 | 18,827 | 19,796 | 9,406 | 2,701 v2 | 72,043 Michigan. Central Railroad ....0:/........-.- 2,594 | 5,244] 8, 382 871 Q74 |.--.---.| 17,365 Michigan Southern Railroad...,..........--|.--..--. 102 |. 1,259 | .6,517 | 2)74090 ° Hotse- a2 aS7 Pittsburgh, Cinciunati and Saint Louis Rail- a, ORGS depres ets =o boca a cae ae Oren fe 156 |. 2225-22]. +-< cod eee eene eee 156 intl en al ao ca! in OAS 23, 285 | 25, 348 | 29, 495 | 17,328 5,945 | 3,493 104, 844 ? ! 405 HORSES. aay E | 8 \ 2B 4 or ke : qd o} i y Bp Ei a cd es as A Pair 4 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad .|......-.|......-- gi iti, aaa Mes os 4 7 Winois Central Railroad..................0. 1 10 Oo he sae DSS eee 15 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad -. 4 1 14 6 oil he Sh 27 Chicago and Northwestern Railroad........ 16 65 102 53 163 51 450 + Chicago and AJton Railroad................ R 22 AR ae. Me 8 STM ee 2 = * 96 Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Rail- os Sod a a er 151 391 248 947 912 945 1, 494 Michigan @enpral Railroad ......-.--...--.+ ASME cet 144 174 203 109 645 Michigan Southern Railroad ............--. 213 610 957 906 953 912 4,151 Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Saint Louis SS ae . eee ees ee ee Vie case eel ee ocean | Meee aeree 15 Tac hos, jue eh 422-| 1,193 | 1,485 921 | 6,900 Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary.-...do low middling to good middli’g.do Tobacco, lugs, all grades.........---- do common to medium leaf ....do RINNE = noe cnn n anne woeenn do : pabowashed! ..5...--<.2ss.----2 do California, spring clip-...-.----- do ; UNOS Ih @ es Bee eet epee do Texas, inferior to common....- do Articles. NEW YORK. Flour, superfine State .........-.. per barrel... extra State...-....-.- Oe pes aoe (: Co yee. a Supermne western .......-....-d0-....- extra to choice western...--.- WOcaceas extra southern ...-...--.0----- CO nee ace good to choice southern ....-.. DOpsacce WW Hesb, NOul Bpring.....-......-. per bushel... RIN <—). 3 52+. --2---00.. «a winter, red, western..... at. cre aia ae amber, western.............- Hossened white, western........-.-.--- HOm sce er ee yi cau cn 7 le Een Dip Sa: 25% es re HO. ns cnc RR ge ob aise waist y+ -O.- cons Corn, new western, mixed......-.... WOns sons old western, mixed.........-.. Oe = S52 Hay, shipping qualities............ per ton. -. tot SS a eee eee Ole sass ee per barrel... TSGENG SAO Oe eee ee Se Beet, plain mess...u....--...-/s-.---- Oe sesee BASMAMIOSS] Foca e osiacus oiubis > e's GOs. Sst OS eS per pound. . WURUElNVESUCEN <.'=.2—- 2. ccd dejsen ccs doses. SO dort 2222 ~(heese, western dairy..............-- doz. 5-- State factory..:.....--...---- Os maiai-5 1, 304 | 1, 555 MARKET PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. | _ August. September. $5 55 to $5 90 5 8 to 6 00 6 65 to 7 50 7 00 to 7 90 5 (5b to 590 5785, to,. 6 45 6 50 to 10 75 7 00 to 10 40 710 to 900 7 00 to 9 75 9 05 to 12 00 9 80 to 12 35 £50 “tor 1 he I 63 to 1 64° 147 to 1 49 160!) to, 62 160 to 1 69 teal toe ob 170 to 175 162. to 148 1°70 “to: “185 Yo, to 2 00 734 to 74 75 to 35 Nominal. Nominal. 421 to 48 35 to 49 634 to 644 64 to 643 20 00 to 21 00 19 00 to 21 00 24 00 to 31 00 26 00 to 30 00 13 50 to 13 65 1410 to 14 2% 10 50 to 11 00 10 50 to 12 50 5 00 to. 8 00 5 00 to 7 00 7 00 to 10 00 700 to 900 8 to 9+ 81 to 94 11 - to 16 10 to 15 20 to 26 20 to 26 9 to 12 12) “to 133 11 to 13 13 to 144 164 to. 19 + 17% to 204 202 to 233 214 to 248 84 to 91\ 9 to 101 94 to 102 10 to 112 30 to OB) Misi aan rege See ae 65 to 70 621 to ——— 40 to 45 35 to 38 20 to 77 ae Ne A 18 to AS Ne ogame rf e 406 Market prices of Jarm products—Continued. Articles. August. September. BOSTON. Flour, western, superfine......... per barrel..| $5 00 to #5 50 $5 50 to $6 00 extrasiu.2iseedeeet ys Os s.i5 625 to 8 00 675 to 7 00 (60) (6/2 es 9 ya do.2 324 8 50 to 11 50 7 50 to 11 00 southern extras...2/-20---.-- dos sae= 625 to 7 00 675 to 7 25 choice Baltimore........-.--.d0....-- 10 00 to 11 50 950 to 12 00 Wheat scones. ive nk Rae et per bushel. 160 to 180 150 to 1 8 v6: ee. s 24 ee 2 a dostesee 85" ‘tai 590 8 to 9 Perey. baa. cent ccs une n dostces: 75 to -1 10 75 to 11 Corn, southern yellow............... dowseeee 70 to fl 70 "tape western orimwed sees. oh oe doe 2. 67 to 69 68 to 70 western "yellow. s2..- sees cee Cozwees 70 to 71 70 to 71 Beet, Wess eee eee cee ee per barrel..| 1000 to 12 00 10 00 to 11 00 CXUL A oe ee ee ts See vee dese 12 00 to 16 00 11 00 to 15 50 POrk,” PHiMmppseeeetee’. tt Whe at fe 10-22. 11 25 to 12 00 11 25 to 12 00 INBES eee ye noire ce sat oee eee do..-#.| 1400 to 14 50 14 75 to 15 00 WaTA 2 Pree en een ooo. - ober. ee por pOnnd 2 9 to 10 9 to 10 Butter, New York and Vermont.....- ‘it pee 18 10), nee 15: to 28 anada, ChOIGR 22. oe 20) dO ee ee 22 to 25 22 to 25 VOSUCITD 2/7 2 eet ames ae Gorsseee 12 to 23 12° to 23 Cheese, N. Y. and Vt., choice factory..do-.--.- 9 to 123 13. to 14 Ohio, choice factory......-... dos eee 10 to iif lijto 1 LEO) SR OR A ARS per ton.--| 20 00 to 31 00 20 00 to 29 00 Wool, Ohio and Pennsylvania. .... per pound.. 609 to 72 58 to 70 Michigan. i255. 5. 02. Pa ae ahr Moe see 58 to 65 57 to 62 other westermeeecesrs. cote. ite Baeae 57 to 65 55 to 60 CulToRNIs Pe ee ee hee oe doe set 25" 10) 555 25 to 32 Texas... 2. -. Fibs $k A sane obese dots 35. «to 50 35 «to 50 combing-fleece ...........--.-- dota! 70 to % 70 to 7% PHILADELPHIA. fagar) SUperiine .... ob... 5. . per barrel.-| 475 to 5 50 450 to 5 50 OXiTAG | See eee eee aera ce goss 5 50 to 625 575 to 6 25 family and fancy brands.......do..--.. 7 25 to 10 50 7 00 to 11 00 Wheat, red, Pa. and western...... per bushel.-| 165 to 1 70 162 to 1°72 : BMPEL 2 nek esas ome eee ece ees aorssee! 170 to ‘1 88 175 to 1°82 JE aed Sete So ie CS Sheetal 3 Rica date or dor! 80 to 74 to Corn nVyellOw othe ceeee ee ores doses 62 to 66 to 67 BORED ee omer RES pean pose 61 to 64 to 65 Oats, western white _.......--....--- dor ss ee 43 to 44 45 to 46 Pork, mess.-....--.--------------per barrel.-| 14 00 to 1425; 1500 to — Beef, mess, city packed..--....-..-..- do2szee 14 50 to 1500] 1450 to 14 75 OSTA cccct cceree te One eee per pound.. 9 to 94 9 to 94 MOOULON, IMINGUNe 2. Sc cee ee een ee. gosssten 212 to 224 221 to 23 |s Fc aE aia Soaps BRE OE 5 SI per ton <|..2.c. Bre ee ee 36 00 to 45 00 BALTIMORE. PACE BM Derinoe ..\..-. oouce. eeeone per barrel. 450 to 925 500 to 875 MMA ocsk ease ete eee dottese 5 70" to, 9900 650 to 8 50 family and fancy -...-...----- eS 8 25 to 12 50 9 00 to 12 00 Wheat, Pennsylvania.-.......-.. per bushel: -|..-~=-%...2. 0252-2 s nee NESDORD jase ncn eRe doz2-28 160 to 170 160 to 1 65 Maroy soy oc ec cee (se PA RP SS PS A LOO ASS 5s 525 5 ey Moteeeey 60 to 70 75 to 8 Corn, yellow eesees -- 2s RA cone oes 22. 60 to 64 64 to 65 WhILe eee ene. s cea. eee Mores 22s 72 to 67 to 68 Hay; Westerdespree ose ein}. wees per ton..-| 34 00 to 35 00 34 00 to 38 00 Pa. and Maryland choice. .. ..--d0.Jcer)2 2. 2. tener ee 40 00 to 42 00 Pons, Mess cece waren pees eves voce per barrel.-} 1450 to 14 75 15 00 to ——— Butter, western, prime to choice..per pound.- 18 to 22 18 to 2 New York, ..-200--200------- GOtseeteeeee pabeeeee soe enc tone oh ies oe eta 407 Market prices of farm products—Continued. © Articles. . August. September. BALTIMORE—Continued. Cheese, western factory ..--..-..-. per pound..| $011 to $0 124 | $014 to $0 142 BEEN TL GUD =- Ste sa Veta s OOo acess cdccccnie coc ee se ae eae ee MEN 2 2s wees anne eee @ to. t0y 8} to 104 Geirongerdimary ......---6 2.6252... dgsseae- 193 to 194 20 to MBE Soeelgun socio naps ca does. 214 to 21} 2L to 224 Tobacco, common to good lugs -.-per cental.-| 650 to 9 50 650 to 950 : common to medium leaf ....do-...--. 10 00 to 12 00 11 00 to 12 50 Wool, unwashed, free from burs....-. iG eee 40 to 42 33.00 oe HUD Washed 6.55 -265 ese. - aoe AC Kae ee 60 to 62 56h tO. 5a) CINCINNATI. Pijur, eaperane..........0...0-. per barrel. & 25. fo 5,75 575 to 6 50 OUT oe oO 6S ao Uee Seg See Caseats 750 to 7 75 7 35 to .7 50 CGE seca Sac ~ oon clean OOS oe 8 00 to 760 to 875 Wheat, No. 1 white.....-....---. per bushel..| 1 60 to 165 to 170 Gy! 200 eee eee eee eee (Wer eeae 515 G0 I 8,8 SUy L1G doze 160 to 1 62 155 to 1 60 Ld. 2 GIUEE aE See eae eae dotzc zs: 1 60 to 150 to 1 55 eee eee dda sass 52 to 53 48 to 0 er aes COnaeeen eens tenes tacos 46 to OrinvwbluGees.~---25s25-/6 2...) =: =adOeeeee 36 to ——— 41 to a bt) dorseee: 33 to 3 2, to 35 oe ee a eee doreess: ie, 101 | 5 65 to (73 Barloy, witlter, NO.2 2... 225.2 cee. dowtesos GO ta' 770 $0 to 1 2% St OMe os. oc 6 2s Sou CO nesses GO CO) a (acer teste rerataye sa aici Hay, timothy, new, com. to choice..per ton:--| 15 00 to 23 00 |..-......-..--.--.. USED SS eee aces <<< a= os =o per barrel..| 13 00 to 14 50 13 25 to 13 75 JOG D soso le ROSe np pe eHeeBeEEse AG ceils nese ince e ara eee ee ee aici no Cn a eee d@isse-: 11 00 to 11 50 9 50 to 10 00 INGE 56 cone pene eee dozr2=- 1300) thot 13°50 Creates se ec ae Lard, prime, steam.......-...--.. per pound... 84 to S 82 to Butter, Western Reserve -..--...----- dosteas: 20 to 22 20 to 228 choice Central Ohio. -..--..-.-. doscscee LST COtt 207 eae state oe orem Pepaeee Ulta. 226. 22-----------00...--- 10 “to: )/ “1s 10 to 18 Nemteneees teetoc sc dito se a dovseee 12) -tor> 25 12, tor) (25 Wool, tub-washed ..........-.-....-d0...... 60 to 65 58 to 62 fleece-washed, manufacturing..do...--. Berto 60 AS to! 52 fleece-washed, combing ..-.-..- GOsasaee GB tO) ee eee late cae unwashed, manufacturing....-do..-..- 40 to 45 36 to 40 unwashed, combing..-.--:..-.. - AOssase 50 to 46 to 48 ol EAE ee eee de@zsenee 53 to 55 37” to> Uae CHICAGO. Flour, winter, extra .....--.-.--- per barrel..| 7 50 ‘to 10 50 850 to 875 BORN CRUTa’. 0. .253-.255--- CU nee 600 to 7 75 500 to 675 ‘Wheat, No.1 spring.....---.....- per bushel.-| 1 33 to ia tor d. 29 Mareepring 22.2965 5.08-05. doses i 131 to 132 122 to 1 234 MOMSISPOIN eS CES. ss oben os doz-2=2% 114 to 1 143 1 15¢ to 1 16 DEORE G2 ah Sao 0 ccm le atnwos Seton dosssess 42 to + 424 384 to 394 RICCHOO s-~ ices eee ceaaessasese dos sess 39 to 394 364 to 37 OG, 102) Caeser tere eae dosses25 27'-—«&to 274 25 to 254 20) eu CRABB Sone Renooe cree dOssts 25 24 to 25 20 to 205 DiVGy INGE s-o0---- venace wngese enone do...s-- 60% to 61 57 to 58} Loy 0) 7 re dOssess: 50 to 55 47 to 48 Hay, timothy, (on track)...--.--...-perton..| 14 00 116 00 14 00 to 19 00 PRAM 2) So ce'SeU ees ce doses! 9 50 to 11 00 9 00 to 11 50 JO BGS), 2 re per barrel..| 14 00 to 14 123}/ 1450 to 15 00 SraUitee Met ets. aks ~\- akinisceiweanee EO seca shee ees fics clea |se ao. seen BOM MILCRSE = oe cided vss oscinenuies wane dowzesee 9 00 to 10 00 9 00 to 10 00 408 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. August, September. Curtcaco—Continued. Vatd. .-~ eo omnes Ja geien esas se-ces per pound..| $0 81 to #0 dO to Butter, choice dairy...-----.----.---d0...-.. 7 is* to y ee # a to #0 “< fair to good tub and firkin....do...... 13 to 14 to 18 Cheese, New York factory ...... -.-. a ee LI, to, oe a2 if ta - Wool, tub-washed..--,.-.----..----- ( i eee 60 to (70 1. elto 9) 67 fleece-washed -..--------..---- dO aes 35 to 54 40 to 58 unwashed, medium..-.- Pee tee Fc papel ‘40 to 43 36 to 40 SAINT LOUIS. Flour, superfine. --..--.--.-.----- per barreli:}). .Jehsea ee scant: 425 “to ee OXtras -------+----+---0-+---- O------ 690 to 7 7% 500 to 6 65 CUOIGM ae eta eae wo ew-eeere-- Wenn etn |s wity seveane evenee 110 to 137 : Corn, mixed ...-.------------------- eae 39 to 49 3 tf 45 yellow... ----+---+-+-----+ +--+ GOvishs speesend =, 2a 96 ig, White .....---------++---++---- do.....- 50 to —— 46 to 47 Oats, white..---.-------------+ +--+ -d0..--.. 39 to —— 31. to. ..32) mixed ....-----+ -----+--2+---+- do...... 264 to 38 21 to 30 RYO oe ---e nee eee nee veneer ee eee do....-. 60 to 4 to oF Barley, winter --.----.-------------- Gi: Jegeg Nominal. cantina: eee 5 SPViNg ---- ---2-- -- ee ee- eee do....-.- Nominal. 40 to Hay .-- ++ --- 220 ee eee ee een ee tee eee per ton..| 1400 to 2100 | 1400 to 22 50 Pork, mess.---------------------- per barrel..| 1350 to 1375 § 1475 to 15 00 Lard, prime steam -..-.-------.-- per pound.. 9 to 10 to 10} Kettle .-...-.--2-++----------0 Cl i om Butter, choice ..--..-.--.-----++---+- OO eos ese csnmnse dO .aa9< 102 to 11} 124 to Butter, choice western....-..---.---- Osman. Ves toe 2p 18) 16 SEL Gi 0o4.56e eaegoenor as Se OO SeeRe 30 to — 30 to Cheese, choice factory..-...--------- Osa am4 14 to 15 12 ta yeahs western reserve... @-------- COeatise stan clea dio mmc nicl eas Ee ae ot .4a- New York cream-.-.. -----.--- Orrin. 16 to 16 to —— Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary ....do...--- 181 to 194 138i to 1 middling to good middling....do-....-. 193 to © 204 20% to 214 Tobacco, lugs. ----- ---e-e ween ee eens GO sinsatninte 84 to 94 84 to VoOWelOatvew es saltemicceines=se=- doveeaes 94 to 104 934 to 104 INCGLUIG ‘eo aeere eins simah n= RIS do feces 104 to 114 104 to 123 409 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. August. September. SAN FRANCISCO. US per barrel..| $400 to $4 50 $4 00 to $4 25 Beer SUPCTHNG ....-.--ev0 race G5 55% 475 to 5 00 440 to 4 50 mieten STACCS ...--. -1---5 «--- UD ii ee 5 25 to 6 00 475 to 575 \ S02 Se per cental..| 150 to 1 65 145 to 1 55 eae anes cea 160 to 1 65 150 to 1 55 Ce avon eee oon wees oe 00s ac~~ 4| 160 to 1 65 170 to 17% RIND We eeteianic cic cic vac oui J Roe Ocrena 155 to 1 60 160 to 1 65 Lis, (CUETO RE OOS GORE ICE Eee per ton..| 9 00 to 15 00 9 00 to 16 00 CURLS Gch ae ee per barrel..| 17 C0 to 20 00 17 00 to 20 00 MEGNGR INOS Sie ee = o<- ss -- eo n'5<- CAS Soo] SSE n Smee eee ses 17 50 to 18 00 IBGRRINGR Mis ttan se cacscc\cineeosesus oye doses 12 00 to 14 00 12 00 to 13 00 IDG) ocooL Eee pe bB SS SeeGE ones per pound... 10 to 11} 104 to 113 Buteer, overland ................... ize .cers 18 to 20 224 to . 25 ORG le Sa doses 25 to « 30 25 to BYE: SPEOROU so wcce necreeensnee n=-- GOeae=s 15 to 18 29 to IGE SE BUTTOIBD TING > VUTLOIVD 10 NT Sg * BIULL A, DS OSSIAN KE OIVMVIOCT ~ermeaAsaue dg Bomocie oenremrirns ¢ se towel ae Sara AOSIO £ MON -""-yI0X MON Oe IOS glo = qnoo0unoy Soins sine seo "Seio ns en ss ese oc Rea ere Qasmeeers = sharers puLsT opoyry Ss Se Sins Sinicisieie Jslsisin sts S]JOSNTOVSSe TY tg 4{UOULIO A Se OULB poard -Ul09 9DBI1O "T tag, uWor}Ip *T r0q TOr}Ip “109 00VIOAY “100 OSRIOAY yen -0290 -0190 “asVad “SULVIS penaymoj—ezeq ‘1aqoj09 fo inp ysT oyz uo “o,f ‘soto ayy fo wonrpuog 432 CULTIVATION AND HYBRIDIZING OF WHEAT. By THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. i I have heretofore taken occasion to draw the attention of farmers to the fact that, in the midst of the decided progress which is being made in knowledge, which is necessarily the result of experience, and not- withstanding the great advantages which are afforded by the superior skill with which improved implements are used, the wheat crop of the country has depreciated, certainly in quantity, and, perhaps, to some extent in quality. Wheat is justly estimated, as to its relative value, as a primary article of production, as well as a profitable result of industry. It behooves, therefore, all who are concerned in the production or use of this valuable cereal to consider well all the circumstances which affect its quantity or deteriorate its quality. This paper is indited for the purpose of making two suggestions, each of which I commend to the serious consideration, and criticism, too, of all who take any interest in the subject. The only marked change which has occurred in the routine of culti- vation in the Northern and Middle States, and which is, doubtless, being followed in the Western States, is the abandonment of the use of rye as a rotating crop. This has undoubtedly been produced by the conviction that a second crop of wheat, which has lately become almost universal, is more profitable than to follow wheat with rye. This is, perhaps, a short-sighted view of the subject, for while the second crop of wheat may produce more money than the crop of rye, the ultimate profit to the farmer is exceedingly questionable. In drawing upon the land for a second crop of wheat, you again call upon it for that which you have already taken; you call upon it to perform a work in which it has been already engaged for nearly a whole year. To use “an appro- priate analogy, you call upon a man, without rest or food, to continue through the night the work in which he has been engaged all day. _ While the body may endure the additional and extraordinary exercise of power, it is left in a state of exhaustion, unfitted to respond to any future immediate call upon his health and strength. The simile is almost perfect ; the land is called upon to perform a task which it has just finished, and it is thereby left in a state of comparative exhaustion ; and although from its great quality of fruitfulness it may be productive and survive this extraordinary draught upon its natural capacity, yet it is left in a condition of frailty which time only cures, and this, per- haps, more than counterbalances the immediate profit of the second wheat crop. There is another view of this subject which deserves consideration. And here let me borrow another familiar analogy. The physical ener- gies of any animal are unequal to a continual draught upon the same muscular powers of the body. To walk up a flight of stairs, or upon a long continued level plain, bringing into requisition the same muscles, produces a degree of exhaustion which a like amount of diversified work would not effect. Now, while we may not be able to understand all the physical powers of the earth involved in the growth of its productions, nor to define how or what are its operations, all are convinced, from the evidence of actual observation, that these powers become exhausted from too severe use, and fail to respond to our great cupidity. What and how many kinds of crops shall make up a proper rotation, is a question which involves the mysterious inquiry, how the growth of 433 one crop affects that succeeding it. Experience has taught that timothy and clover take better when sown with rye than with wheat, and nature almost always dictates nicely in the operations of ag riculture. It may be that rye affords an essential element in a proper. and natural rotation, and it is earnestly suggested that in the order of crops it be restored to the place it held some forty years ago. The second suggestion which I ‘have to make is, that the -various varieties of wheat are supposed to become so ‘mixed as to lose their identity. It is in vain that the earliest and best seed is sought after if its product be negligently commingled in the barn, by accident or de- sign, with other wheat having entirely different, and may be indifferent, qualities. It should be remembered that wheats grow differently, ripen at different periods, and when ground, require different treatment. It is a matter, then, of no little consequence that they should be preserved in their original ‘purity of kind, and true to their names. And in this connection ) remark that my observation has led me to the conclusion that wheats do not hybridize or cross-breed by any natural process. This is a daring proposition, and one which conflicts with much written authority. The suggestion is made for the purpose of eliciting a more minute examination of the subject than has hitherto been given to it. That the unscientific reader may the more readily comprehend the principles of hybridizing and cross-breeding, as they are effected through the generative organs of the vegetable kingdom, I quote from an arti- cle by Horace Viper, in the report of the Department of Agriculture for 1867, page 296, wherein the first principles of reproduction are So clearly and intelligently stated. The author says: If we examine attentively a perfect flower, we shall find that it consists essentidlly of two sets of organs, one called the pistils, and the other the stamens. The pistils are located in the center of the flower, and the stamens around them. The summit of the pistil is called the stigma, and on the top of each stamen is situated an anther, a small sack which contains the pollen or fine dust-like substance that fertilizes the ovules or young seeds of the plant. These organs are supposed to perform offices anal- ogous to those of the animal kingdom—the stamens representing the male, and the pistils the female organs. When the anthers, which contain the pollen, arrive ata certain degree of maturity, they suddenly open and emit a multitude of minute grains of pollen, “which penetrate through the whole extent of the vascular tissue of the pistil, and ultimately reach the ovules, thus fertilizing them and making them capable, when mature, of reproducing plants of their own kinds. The author then proceeds interestingly, and in language intelligible to the plainest comprehension, to discuss how admirably nature has provided the modus operandi. by which the male and female portions of the plant are brought into contact with each other, and produce the fertilization which results in fruit; but while he treats of perfect flow- - ers, where the stamens and pistil’s are in the same flower, as in the apple; where they are in different flowers, as in the oak; and where they are in different flowers and different plants, as in the hemp—in all of which the pollen is conveyed by artificial aids, such as the wind, birds, bees, or insects—he does not refer to those cases in which nature has'so constructed the flower that access of pollen from other flowers is entirely excluded, and hence natural hybridization is practically im- possible. Dr. George Vasey, the botanist of this Department, in commenting upon my views of this subject, says: ; In those leguminous plants with papilionaceous flowers, the anthers are kept in contact with or in proximity to the stigma by the keel petals, which closely embrace them until fertilization is effected. This is designated ‘“ close fertilization, in contra- distinction from those cases where the organs are freely exposed to the air and liable to intermixture. In some piants of the fumitory family, the anthers and stigma are 434 confined by a close-fitting sac, formed of the two inner petals of the flower. In other cases the fertilizing organs are contained and kept in contact in long tubes, where access of foreign pollen is apparently excluded. Indeed, in some flowers where the stamens and pistils are exposed to the air, nature apparently furnishes special pro- vision for self-fertilization, as in the Kalmia, where the anthers are contained in little sacs or pouches of the corolla until the pollen is mature, when by an elastic spring of the filament the anthers are liberated and thrown toward the pistil and the pollen diffused upon it. In some plants of the nettle family the filaments are folded spirally until the sepals expand, when they rise with elastic force and scatter the pollen. In these and other cases which might be mentioned, although cross-fertilization is not absolutely excluded, yet the provision seems to be specially designed for self-fer- tilization. On this subject we may quote a remark of Professor Henfrey, in his admirable ‘‘ Hlementary Course of Botany :” Though cross-fertilization is very general, yet there are some cases where every adaptation seems to be made with the view of securing self-fertilization, as in the fol- lowing case: In Dombeya the sterile stamens are longer than the fertile ones, and are endowed with a power of movement in virtue of which they curve downward and outward, so as to come in contact with the fertile stamens whose anthers open out- wardly. In this manner the sterile stamens become dusted with pollen, and then become uncoiled and assume an erect position, so as to come in contact with the stigma, whose curling lobes twist round them and receive the pollen from them. Other instances are well known to botanists where fertilization takes place in the bud before the expansion of the flower, in which cases self or close fertilization only is possible. By my direction Dr. Vasey, with the aid of Professor Taylor, of this Department, made a dissection and microscopic examination of two and twenty flowers of wheat in different stages as they approached maturity. Watching the progress of this examination, because I deemed the sub- ject as interesting as it is important, I am strongly impressed with the belief that wheat is a result of close fertilization, and that cross-breed- ing in this plant never occurs but by artificial means. The impression is so universal, that by sowing different kinds of wheat together they will cross-breed, and thus partake of the character of each parent, that the hypothesis should be further investigated, and _ the truth established by conclusive authority. SYSTEMATIC CROP REPORTS. There has frequently been expressed, in commercial papers and in in- dustrial addresses, a vague desire for “systematic crop reports,” with- out the slightest indication of what that system shall be, or wherein it should differ from that already inaugurated by this Department. ‘There has been much of “littering generality,” but absolutely nothing of practical suggestion to aid in establishing a better system. There has sometimes appeared a querulous dissatisfaction with present means of information, but never a spark of originality in furnishing superior facil- ities. News editors sometimes claim that the newspapers are the best sources of knowledge concerning the crops. What are the sources of newspaper information? A glance at green fields through car-windows, in inter- vals of deep cuts and subterranean passages; a casual inquiry at rail- way-stations of a farmer, the extent of whose observation and judgment is unknown; local correspondence, not unfrequently the diseased fancy of a croaker, and sometimes the estimate of true observation and fair 435 judgment. Occasionally a newspaper, with commendable enterprise, solicits crop statements from the area of a State, or several neighboring States, and obtains irregularly located returns, desultory, fragmentary, combining several crops in one generalization, one having no points of comparison with another, altogether defying interpretation in figures or by any other method of consolidation into one definite expression of quantity or value. More frequently commercial runners of dealers in cereals, wool, meats, or fruits, hired to aid in depressing or raising prices, supply, from all quarters, these news items, tinted with roseate or cerulean hues as best may suit the purpose of their principals. Are these statements reliable? Dothey admit of systematic compilation and accurate generalization? Is there not a need of greater accuracy, sys- tem, and thoroughness than any newspaper can attain in the haste con- sequent upon its daily issue ? Some writers upon “‘ systematic crop reports” have suggested the ap- pointment of a person in each congressional district to collect and col- late crop news. The cost of such service, with traveling and other expenses, would be at least a round million of dollars, and it would prove entirely impracticable and useless, requiring a whole season to traverse the territory sufficient to make one report, while observation in any one county would cover a stage of growth different from that ob- served in any other. If there is a better system than that adopted by this Department it should supersede the present; or, if modification of the official plan would improve it, suggestions founded in sound sense will be promptly considered and tested. As many evidently do not understand this plan a brief description is given. A statistical correspondent is selected from each county in the States.. The nomination is made by officers of agricultural societies, by mem- bers of Congress, or by individuals of known character for judgment and integrity. The qualifications requisite are, large facilities for obser- vation of growing crops, sound judgment in agricultural matters, and promptness in responding to circulars of inquiry, both egular and special. The position is honorary rather than remunerative, affording ’ no temptation to mercenary unfitness, offering only co-operation of the Department in local improvements, and such incidental favors, in its dotumentary and other distributions, as may serve to indicatea just appre- ciation of the unselfish efforts of public-spirited farmers in the improve- ment of their respective neighborhoods. These deserving appointees continue faithfully, year after year, a service rendered more efficient by repetitions of its performance, and report, in the first week of\each month, with a uniformity and promptness scarcely equaled by salaried: “agents under compulsory requirement of prompt correspondence. They also respond willingly to systematic inquiry upon special topics for in- vestigation, as wages of farm labor, cost of fences, statistics of bee- keeping, and any specialty demanding a systematic collection of facts, from original sources. These men associate with themselves several as- sistants, representing different sections of the county, thus constituting a county board of crop statistics. The inquiries are forwarded several weeks in advance, and copies are placed in the hands of these assistants, in season to make the requisite observations, and correspond or confer with the principal, who is then ready to make a deliberate and _ trust- worthy return. The tabulated returns for October, pages 430, 431, in answer to twenty-two separate inquiries, will illustrate the range of the monthly schedules, which vary constantly with the season. These returns, coming in throughout the first half of each month, 436 many of the more distant requiring a period of ten days in the trans- mission by mail, are tabulated as received, the county percentages summed up, and the aggregate divided by the number of counties. Then, as certain counties may produce of a given crop many times the amount grown in certain others, a compound calculation is made, involy- ing the relative production of the counties, by which the first crude average is corrected. and the exact value of the entire returns expressed. It will be seen that the amount of labor involved in this work is hereu- lean, fifty to one hundred calculations often being required to correct the average of a single crop in a single State. In addition to the tab- ulated returns, ‘‘remarks” illustrating the peculiarities of the local situ- ation are made by each correspondent, which are examined, condensed, some of the more noticeable arranged for publication, and the remainder, in spirit if not in substance, enter into the statistician’s summary of the monthly crop returns. So many are necessarily of a similar tenor that it would confuse and tire the reader to print in detail ‘extracts from correspondence” of tenfold the usual length. It is, of course, understood that the returns which are tabulated are in figures. The unit in all comparisons is 100, 7. e., 100 is the area of last year, if comparative acreage is sought; 100 is a healthy normal “condition” of growth and vitality, which should insure, with a contin- uance of circumstances equally favorable, an average crop; and 100 is an average yield, when the amount of production is asked for. ‘The in- quiry is also made, after the harvest is fully over, for the actual local yield per acre in bushels of each crop. From all these returns, sifted, digested, compared, and evident or proven mistakes corrected, and in- consistencies harmonized, the average of each crop for each State and for the United States is found; and the result is evidently more trust- worthy than any other mode of estimating hitherto undertaken. Ger- many has a somewhat similar plan, based upon percentage returns, and the English mode is simply a collection of miscellaneous reports couched in the language of the individual reporters, similar to the systematic collections attempted by newspapers in this country. . These crop-reports are made monthly during the growing season. For several years seven such reports, between April and November, . have been tabulated and published. Is there a necessity for more fre- quent reports? The New York Journal of Commerce has the following, which has been copied by two or three agricultural papers: ~ At present our only classified crop-reports are those prepared by the Agricultural Department, and sent out monthly. They are not badly done, but, unfortunately, are too late to be of much use; some of the information representing items weeks old, that have already appeared in the papers. At present our best sources of knowledge about the crops are the journals in ditterent parts of the country. If the Agricultural De- partment would pick up a little more energy, and obtain fresh and early crop-news once a week, instead of monthly, and give it to the press, that would be a decided gain. But if the Signal-Service Bureau could take charge of the work, we would pre- ter to lodge it there. Tf the commercial editors and the public generally will be content with a score or two, or even a hundred, of local reports daily, they can be furnished with ease; if, on the contrary, a comprehensive view of the condition of a crop throughout the country is desired, it is highly probable that weekly reports, based upon returns which are two weeks en route to this office, cannot be safely promised. The return-circulars are mostly mailed between the 1st and 8th of each month, are tabulated and condensed as they arrive, figured up before all are in, the record is closed by the 15th, and condensed summaries of results telegraphed, as fast as complete, from the 15th to about the 20th of each month; and then 437 , the entire matter is committed to the Congressional Printer, when the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture for promptness ceases. Is greater celerity a reasonable expectation? It may be said that the returns should be telegraphed. But there are no telegraphic stations in a large portion of the counties reported. If there were, $100,000 per month would not pay the cost. With ten times as many telegraphic re- porters as are now required for meteorology by the Signal Service Office, each responding to atenfold longer list of inquiries, a new disparity occurs in the conditions of crop and of weather-reporting. In onecasea look at the thermometer, the barometer, and the sky, &c., suffice for dreport; in the other, observation throughout the county, examination of all the various crops, conference with assistants, requiring days of preparation, are ab- solutely necessary. In view of the character and extent of the work to be done, both in the field and in the office, the absurdity of daily or weekly reports of the condftion of crops must be apparent to every prac- tical and reasonable man. The Christain Union, of September 4, thus gives the monthly report a character for freshness of news far in -advance of the literary monthlies: — , Probably every one who looks over the monthly reports from the Department has frequent cause to regret the tardiness of their publication, but printers and publishers will readily appreciate the reasons which make it so difficult to keep such publications up to date. Let the reader take up any of our magazines when they first appear, say about the 20th of the month preceding their date, and he will be surprised at the staleness of the news. Here, for instance, is Harper’s, for September. Whatever charges may be brought against that firm we cannot fairly charge them with lack of enterprise, and yet the “ Historical Record” for September contains no account of anything that happened after the 24th of July.* If this be the case where subjects of living and universal inter- est are treated, how much greater must be the delay where the magazine has to be made up from the reports gathered from every township in the Union. ‘The election in North Carolina, on August 1, was of such importance that every nerve was strained to get in the returns promptly, yet it was only last week that an official count, incom- plete at that, was published. There is at present nothing to induce agricultural agents to send in their county teports, and the wonder is that the work is done as well asitis. It is believed, however, that a great improvement can be made, and ought to be made, but increased appropriations are necessary. It may not be known that the total appropriation to the statistical division of this Department, to cover all expenses of collecting, tabulat- ing, and preparing the crop-reports, as well as the cost of all other sta- tistical investigations, and the preparation of matter for the annual and all other reports, is but $15,000 per annum. At the same time the real value of the gratuitous service rendered by correspondents cannot be placed at less than $150,000. The franking privilege also saves a large item of cost, and the blanks and printed reports are an expense of nearly $15,000 per annum. The crop-return system, exclusive of the other ‘operations of ‘the division, does not cost the Department exceeding $7,500, or the Congressional Printing-Office more than an equal amount. With this small expenditure, in the first years of immaturity and in- completeness, a fair analysis of results will show this system to be superior to any hitherto attempted in this country, and to possess capa- bilities of far greater usefulness if Congress, the press, and the people manifest a liberal and intelligent appreciation of its actual value. *The September report of the. Department of Agriculture gave the crop report of Oregon, Texas, Florida, and of every other State in the Union, for September, made up and mailed from the Ist to thel0th, a synopsis of which was published Sep- tember 18th, and the entire number of 84 pages issued in September. 438 ENTOMOLOGICAL RECORD. By TOWNEND GLOVER, ENTOMOLOGIST. - / “ARMY” OR “SNAKE WORM.”—A letter Was received in the latter part of July from a correspondent, Mr. C. Moralle, of Leesburgh, Virginia, containing a number of very small white worms, or larvae, having dis- tinct black heads. These worms appeared to be clinging to each other by means of a viscid substance on the surface of their bodies, and formed a small living mass. In the accompanying letter Mr. Moralle stated that what attracted his attention was “ the peculiarity about them that they gathered in a long string, resembling a snake, piling themselves up thickly in the middle and tapering at each end, and when they moved the whole mass moved as in one body.” Unfortunately these worms were all dead when they arrived, but Mr. Saunders, of this Department, brought a mass of similar larve a few days afterward, which had been given him by a gentleman also in Wirginia. These specimens were placed in a glass jar, having a small quantity of damp soil at the bot- tom, and retained. their ball-shaped form for some time, and then com- menced to creep round the side of the jar on the earth in a string, three or four abreast, and continued traveling for a couple of hours; they then dispersed and buried themselves a short distance under the surface of the earth, and changed into pup, appearing six or eight days after- ward as perfect flies. These were about one-tenth of an inch in length, (expanse 0.13,) of a dusky black color, with dark brown legs and dusky wings. Upon examination they proved to be a species of Sciara, the larve or worms of which usually feed upon decay- ing vegetable substances, and are frequently found in fungi. The species above mentioned as occurring in Virginia is very similar in habits to a European species, Sciara thome, which is usually called the snake or army worm in Germany, from its habit of sometimes assembling in innumerable numbers, créeping among and over each other, and hanging together by means of a viscid moisture, and forming a mass like a snake or rope, sometimes several feet in length, and two or three inches in breadth. The fly of the European species, Sciara thome, is described as having yellow stripes or points on the abdomen, whereas our American species (at least when dried) does not show any vestige of yellow whatsoever on the abdomen, but is of a uniform dark brown color, although the worm or larva has the same habits of forming snake-like processions. It is somewhat singular that these worms appeared almost simultaneously in two places in Virginia, while no mention is made of their appearing elsewhere. These insects (Sciara) generally do no damage to cultivated vegeta- tion, although one species, Sciara (Molobrus) mali, is mentioned by Dr. Fitch as being found in the interior of apples, especially when pierced or eaten out by the codling moth, (Carpacapsa pomonella,) or other insects, where they merely accelerate the decay of fruit already previously in- jured. In Europe the larve of other species, Sciara fucata, and quin- que maculata, live in putrid or decaying turnips, &c., and have been accused of producing the disease in potatoes commonly known as the “scab.” Sciara pyri is said to deposit its eggs in the yet unfolded pear-blossoms, the larvie of which, when hatched, work themselves down to the core, causing the young and yet undeveloped fruit to wither and fall to the ground. The species tound in Virginia probably does no injury to cultivated 439 plants, but feeds on putrid vegetable substances, under bark of trees‘ moss, or stones, and in decaying fungi, as a very similar larva not yet developed into the perfect fly has lately been taken near Washington, feeding by hundreds on the under side of a species of fungus or agaricus, (allied to Amanita muscaria,) which was completely riddled and destroyed ‘by them. If this is the case in one instance, may it not be probable that these larve, when in such multitudes as to entirely destroy the fungi upon which the eggs were deposited and the young larve had previously existed, may find it necessary to emigrate in swarms in search of fresh fungi to feed upon? j INSECT INJURIES.—Lachnosterna.—In New Londop County, Connec- ticut, the grass, in many meadows, was eaten up at the roots by a worm which, most probably, was the Lachnosterna fusca. The white grub- worm—a name which popularly designates several species of the Lach. nosterna—was more or less injurious to corn in Cass County, Michigan; ‘in Noble and Laporte Counties, Indiana; and in Muscatine and Mahaska Counties, Iowa. Potato insects.—The Colorado potato beetle (Doryphora decem lineata) is reported by its specific name only in Ohio, where it was destructive to the crops of Franklin, Hamilton, and Noble Counties. The potato crop was molested by insects, not specifically designated, in Washington County, Pennsylvania; in Cass and Shiawassee Counties, Michigan ; in Ramsay County, Minnesota; in Reynolds and Ozark Counties, Missouri; and in Curry County, Oregon. Cut-worms.—Some species of the Agrotis, commonly called cut-worms, i were injurious to corn in Howard County, Maryland, and in Cass County, Michigan. Chinch-bugs, (Micropus (khyparochromus) leucopterus.)—This insect was especially destructive to sorghum in Adams County, Ohio; in Jennings and Brown Counties, Indiana; in Jasper and Phelps Counties, Mis- souri; and in Linn County, Kansas. The newly-sown wheat crop has felt their ravages in Brown and Jennings Counties, Indiana; in Macon, Boone, Polk, Crawford, Jasper, and Reynolds Counties, and in Linn County, Kansas. Franklin County, Illinois, was overrun with them to the great damage of the corn crop, as alsoin Jennings and Boone Coun- ties, Indiana; in Macon, Boone, Crawford, Polk, Jasper, Reynolds, Phelps, Miller, and Iron Counties, Missouri, and in Linn County, Kansas. In Crawford County, Missouri, three distinct broods are noted. The first appeared about the Ist of May, and inflicted such damage upon the wheat crop that several fields were plowed up. The second brood came about the last of June, and the third about the last of August. At the last visitation the corn was in milk, and upon it they fell with great voracity, very seriously reducing its yield both of grain and of fodder. Army-worm, (Leucania unipuncta.)—The army-worm greatly damaged oats in Carroll and Ogle Counties, Hlinois. In Cherokee and Labette Counties, Kansas, they did great mischief in newly-sown wheat, especi- ally on stubble ground. Hessian fly, (Cecidomyia destructor.)\—During the spring the fly infested the wheat in Ralls County, Missouri, and in Labette County, Kansas. In the latter-named county it was observed especially in early sown crops. Grasshoppers.—A. grasshopper (probably Caloptenus femur rubrum) in Lincoln County, Kentucky, cut the buckwheat down close to the 440 . ground. In Thayer County, Nebraska, corn was seriously damaged by another species, Caloptenus spretus, Pea-bugs.—The pea-bug (Bruchus pist) troubled farmers in some parts of Davis County, Utah, causing them to discontinue the planting of that crop. Cotton insects.—The cotton caterpillar, or army-worm of the South, (Anomis axyline,) and the boll-worm, (Heliothis armigera,) completed their summer’s work by a very effective demonstration during Septem- ber. North Carolina, judging from our previous reports, had enjoyed almost entire immunity from this scourge during the summer, but during September it was felt seriously in several parts of the State. Reports of insect depredations have been received from Tyrrel, Wake, Craven, Edgecombe, and Sampson Counties. In Dooly County, Georgia, the caterpillars appeared early in the month, and entirely swept the top crop. They reduced the yield one-half in Calhoun County, and were very mischievous in Muscogee, Lee, Sumter, Worth, Colum- bia, Heard, Marion, Schley, Wilkinson, Chattahoochee, Upson, Liberty, Whitfield, Clay, and Decatur Counties. In several cases their depreda- tions exceeded anything of the kind previously known, involving the déstruction of leaves and bolls entire. In other cases their injuries resulted in the reduction of the yield by a very formidable percentage. Caterpillars and boll-worms, also, figure prominently in the Florida County reports. Serious depredations were committed in Liberty, Jackson, Suwannee, Orange, Gadsden, Jefferson, Alachua, Clay, Colum- bia, and Levy Counties. In Alabama, the same blighting influence was feltin St. Clair, Hale, Butler, Clarke, Lee, Montgomery, Colbert, Blount, Calhoun, Macon, Chambers, Pike, Autauga, Perry, and Limestone Counties. In some cases, as in Pike County, the brunt of the disaster fell upon the lowland cotton. The mischief appears to have been even still more serious in several counties of Mississippi. In Jasper every- thing about the cotton plant that a worm could eat was stripped. Complaints are very earnest of these depredations in Rankin, Warren, Grenada, Amite, Wayne, Yalabusha, Lauderdale, Washington, Wilkin- son, Winston, Jefferson, Hinds, and Kemper Counties. In several of these counties very little cotton matured after August 1. Louisiana sends reports of insect damages to cotton in Union, Morehouse, Tangi- pahoa, East Feliciana, Concordia, Claiborne, and Washington Counties. Very great damage was also done in DeWitt and Austin Counties, Texas. In the last-named county whole fields were swept. CHEMICAL MEMORANDA. By RyLanp T. Brown, CHEMIST, LABORATORY WoRK.—J. E. Johnson, of Saint George, Utah, forwarded to the laboratory a specimen of Indian food, much used by the tribes inhabiting the great central basin of the continent. The specimen which reached the laboratory had the appearance of a bulbous root which had been subjected to the action of heat till it was quite soft. Mr. Johnson describes the plant as belonging to the genus Yucca, and as growing abundantly in dry rocky soils. We regret that we are not able to obtain the root in its fresh state, for in its roasted condition, both the starch and true sugar would probably appear as glucose, or fruit sugar, in the analysis. After subjecting the sample to a temperature of EE 441 100° C. for forty-eight hours, it gave the following results on proximate analysis : SAUMUR TR SISOPAN ein ntald, cid ) 2 o o o 7) i=} AY t Py te Ay =| Ay Central station, Stockholm.| 6, 155 603, 902 573. | 55,352| 12 1,197 | 6,739] 660, 452 Branch station, Oerebro....| 1, 273 120, 057 444 43, 052 32 3,109 | 1,749 168, 218 Branch station, Skultuna-.. 921 90, 436 620 60, 372 32 3, 105 1, 573 153, 913 Branch staticn, Nyképing.- . 787 716, 977 69 6, 716 3 305 859, 83, 998 Branch station, Eckilstima, (CYS te) er 190 19, 105 45 A. it ee Pee eee 235 23, 525 Branch station, Ultuna, (8 MIGMUNS yeeracas o=s--<52-- 197 19, 614 17 Me Gio set isal = Saneee 14 21, 289 Branch station, WNortelji, (iW). eer 446 i! 63° | eeews hoc sueensee 7 509 Other dairies 280, 759 636 64, 118 3 310 | 3,527 344, 187 BHOHA Se seanivs se ~s cess 1,211,296 | 2,404] 235, 769 82 8, 026 | 14, 963 | 1, 456, O91 Further details, especially the financial results which have been successful, are prom- ised at an early day. A statement of the products of the Stockholm establishment and its branches by months (of the year 1871) shows a decrease in the last part of the year, ascribed to the great number of young calves at that season. Month, Total product: Gener al ota 3 Pounds. Pounds. RENN Eh Wane tee clo 2 a2 Sroka, a oe da nis ine swinsreate ede wiaeiteaselemns , 63, 523 44,115 Ss ee aaa) Cin amas sania ed eee cise nines, ean ieeee a 73, 295 45, 038 Be UD occooric cone da ae eh i i en ee ana nee es es 101, 230 61, 890 DAN co oe t cecoce rn cE Ne ee EER Se a tale ea ae RRC hea 113, 860 65, 840 LOS pee shocteototdt [oe Eg ee reece oe see $35, 550 72, 420 Tt sees net sence 23 eo REESE Es ie a ean ai SOU 117, 880 68, 680 DOU 22 snag oc toc nOSS COD BIRO RO OREE CEES REE EEE aE Re et | ae het aia 124, 920 ‘76, 530 ASS TST 2s need CCQS RE BCE HSE Ne Ser ee are al i SR eS ee 105, 070 65, 380 ees RE ese tan oe ea ewes ces ee tate Uicene wee cases 97, 740 58, 960 DEEMED TATE 2 no Looe eigen ene eee eee ee ee _ 83, 890 52, 700 mr RCP ene eee. SaaS Sais 225 Skye Be eoe weed cimacdadence 67, 260 45, 090 RMI MEI hop 6 sa c= 2s os che cece ce census dessin eas 67, 500 38, 980 CTP. sonccnsS oS SHARE CUBSS EE pe GEE RA Oe See eee a eam 1, 201, 718 695, 623 Pounds. MapAMOXDOELOG!. 4.2 picanmnin de Sia nanat de tdtee otc a oanlcce mc eeeete e 1, 456, 891 earns fa atain siecle s/s cio im ees ie olen aie ios Saini aoe ae eee 344, 187 eDO als cepts = alsin Ie are cette oot as oe de pace o ae saree ee oe 1, 112, 704 Sold in Stockholm or neighborhood. -.....-.----.-----.------------.--- 89, 014 pial productions sc. oles ee toes aoc 5a gee. 5 = dinel- 1, 201, 718 Swedish measurement.—1 pound = 0.93697 pound, United States, avoirdupois, (or 1 pound, United States 1.067 pounds, Swedish;) 1 quintal—100 pounds, Swedish; can (kande)—0.69139 gallon, United States; 1 gallon, United States, = 1.446 cans. Swedish ; 1 rixdaler —100 oere = $0.2756 gold, United States. 456 | LOG ‘T| 9ET | 299 'T| OLF ‘L| GEG 'S ome or PS 9g aL 09 ecg | LOT einen P LLe | 9 89 PL C98 ‘T| STS ‘T| OT £6 | 760 ‘S| Ses ‘T ii 6F €98 | 8g £3 | StS | LIS | oz 3S 6 | FIL | t0F Ct eee eRe ed ee ae os ; xPOT } Scr fay FI S8— | £96 | LOP et lee ee Se SES | OLB | E%E mM MR a °\ ee be ee = = & = & fo) a i=} oO (ar) g 3 ¢ g —jo 1oquin\y GIL 096 T1é CLS € S66 is ‘mory1sodxo TO JOquInU [eIO7, ‘s[VUIUE Fo ToMIsodxAy £98 ‘LT 109 ‘6 08 PSL Lae 6LE G BLE % G96 * I Q nO Ss = £69 ben) © No mo Nv ‘szogisodxe Jo 1oqmn NT STF ‘09 | ¢c6 ‘98T| FI6 000 ‘F 06E ‘ET | 169 ‘08 086 ‘E | 968 ‘6s GR6 ‘8 TIL Tb CPL IIL Pip 66 616% | G8L ‘ST 899 'T_ | st '9 £68 ‘8 | S86 ‘SE 00T 009 Br‘ | 96 ‘2 668 ‘T | 86L‘F 2 A S E oe, 8. = a @ “SJOROLL “3700 Sunox x oer TOT| 280 ‘G9 | 6 ‘OT | FLT ‘OT 008, sapere a GLI 6T ‘OT | GLG ‘eT | FEF ‘T | 11g ee8‘G | cés‘e | OFT SLg 'T 00€ ‘LT | GI 'OL | 9GL‘F | BLOT 119 GG | E66 GT | GOLF | 620 'E TL6‘L | OFO‘F | Ter ‘s | ose CoN ESI so al AAT as PP 9S8 ‘9T | 066 ‘FT | 998 OLG ‘ 688 ‘@ | 86F‘T | ST 002 96T'S | 8991S | GFB‘T | 98E'T €19'S | 116‘T | ace iy | iS) D Qa = io] HO BE ) ee | £2 | £3 BD | 2 | Be am Sp Op a) O icy es ES 2.0 ae BE =a 4 Bk ne fa) 7 7 “S1O[VY[}. UT S}drooayy ‘oyeYS OT} TOIT “requ \— BISsnig JO 07e3s ‘TBO, Pg Os UWLaT[OZMEYOH "* BISsuig YSueqy Cr nae ness N-OSsey Sepetis Socios aides ges cics Zhou see eet aes ee Bryeydysa Ay DIAS A ST AS wb PLS ASS a Se ee ees oe _oAoUeH a Reise ae dee Les rasie ee he eer S WIo}S[OH-STMSeT GOS tt ee ee ee ee ee ne ee ee ee ee ee ee eee eee AUOxEg ere er ee tem mt we te we eee eer rceeoeece ae @ecneb ons BISELIS BlUBIOulog ------Simquepurig BISsuig = <7 do stOry | -BIO0SSB [BINg;NOTISe [vajzUeD eTy Aq SuOTyIsedxq ~ yuaunwodag fansna«z, ayy fo son -synig £0 noaung ayn fo ‘wawabup 44 °F fig ‘aanqnowhp fo pwwumdeg 9y2 sof paindatg "LLQT (wah oy; Burwnp vissnag ur suoyrsodxa pounggnowbno fo s2)nsegy 457 oss ‘6 | #90'T) 9c% *eang[Nor1 0 sqoofqo 10710 “3B J “*S}UOUL -o[ duit pue seurrpor yy £00 ‘3! 06 OZI | S8¢ ‘T} £9 a i ee GOL | SLB 06 6 | Alea eS Gp se zane Lp | 2OL C86 | FE IL iatd FLO | ST ee 6FT Gh sae aos j I 66 |F 01 9€T Teles |e cL FC et CR ie adie G 668 | ST | St COE ye ae ee a ele a-|-2-%--| go |-=-e-- SiS Ee ea ee aan =a ef lof Fl E| es | & peel 2. |S eee clan epee | eal ae |e S| 8 eS tes : sjyonpoig | —O0 poprvAr o10M soztid oa, 0S8 | 0&6 ‘6 ETT ‘| €98 | 961 | 92 | 0&6 | GLG ‘es! 9eB‘T] 98 | OTST] SVT | Ls ‘T)"----- 77 eIssnig Jo 0783s ‘Te}07, 9 Dae BG ee a Se Se eran eee Te ea dace he ge ramos legen lia A anc tg pean ae W19T[OZMET OH JEEP CAS) Cy eae pI Kh ERNE 99 |Sto's] eo | T HORS eal OCR wale pgs cee: eae ee BISSNIg YSmoyy Papen Gey PS Blige 27me ees [ikem VON CS Zee tae ae eee OGy gig apn cs bees NESS N-OSSOH GP 826 AL ToL iE | 8 9 € LT 688 v| 19 6 8S 9 DCO iain cba 3 nee ape "7" erpeydyso AA £66 | LPT €| 818 S| sos | OS £9"> | oe €0¢ OT] 86S | FS PES «|G C8 Ze ES ROE eli eg Ca ea IOAOUR_L TSE | 76S ‘T) 99h ‘T | 968 | 36 |-77- ig LIS’ | OTE |-=>"> 9I- |8 (Ap nal PROC RRS cco scene UTO4S[OF{-SLMsSoTTOS GIT | TeL | 468 |G 6S 9 TG! | PLL TI | $8 1% &T G See ee SORE ie = oo Set a AMOXVG LG 680 T} 866 T |-"-"7* IL I cr PIG G | Geo | C8 |G cpt pees Ve eee Je Pas tig OE BISETIS eT O DIO GEES Teo | +g Ghee EL CUS Nl FEES fee RSP) 06 ile ais ate Sana ye ogeet RODEO: O9T | €86 | 19h L | £B gpa Whig Greta 8¢ BLOSGx STOR 5 = eeee TOE | @ OG! “gilt eget See Sar teas > 5 sq vepuelgy 8 bb ists Th 9 & Gs | SIP 66 I (eee || een bilan eR ge eae eT BISSnIg wn = : ie) pera es (gy Fee elapse | a ley [g,ee 5 bo] ima w F S = 5 =| inn A i) fay a = ® 2 iS) Fy & ia ® ae) & Be ge 5 ia Ea 2, ot = a D, g a3 5) obo | el eee Bile | 8 | es Se oo aS) fe . ional oe 5 a2 |) 26 B x | ost a 5 F165 —Jo SUOTVTNOSSE [L.INy = g ey 5 = NOLS [wyueo ony Aq suomtsodxgr : —u 3 4 *szoqisod a | ao; iE CUTS SHOD -X9 JO coqrun yy FE & ‘syuemo td —sioyisodxe ‘popazavae soztig ‘ponnyuojn— oP ‘nissnig ue suoyrsodua pounynorwby fo 31) nsexy “MT puv sOuITRTT | Oo caoquinyy 458 FACTS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. SILK-CULTURE IN KANSAS.—In the Annual Report of this Depart- ment for 1870 it was mentioned that Mr. KE. V. Boissiere, a wealthy French gentleman, had engaged in the culture and manufacture of silk at a place which is now called Silkville, near Williamsburgh, in Frank- lin County, Kansas; and a general description was given of the build- ings and machinery already completed by Mr. Boissiere, and of his prospective arrangements, for extending his enterprise. The Depart- ment has received a letter from Mr. Boissiere, under date of the 12th instant, in which he makes the following statement of the result of his first experiments during the past season : I commenced the weaving of silk-velvet ribbons at this place in 1869, hoping to make it a successful business. I conceived the idea of attempting, in connection with it, to raise the silk itself. Accordingly, I procured from France, and planted in the spring of 1870, a sufficient quantity of the seeds of the white mulberry, the leaves of which con- stitute, almost exclusively, the food of silk-worms in that country. The seeds germi- nated satisfactorily, and produced trees which have made a remarkably rapid and lux- uriant growth. I have 10,000 of them, yielding in the proper season as much, and apparently as good foliage as could reasonably be Gesired. i Last spring I received from France three ounces of silk-worm eggs. Of these, two ounces (one ounce each, of the yellow and white varieties) hatched on the 27th of April. They appeared to do well until the time of spinning, about the 2d day of June, when the worms died in such large numbers that the yield was only 20 pounds of cocoons, instead of 200 pounds, which is understood in France to be the average yield from two ounces of eggs. The third ounce, which I considered more promising than the others, and on which I relied more confidently, hatched the 15th day of May. The worms were at first lively, and appeared perfectly healthy, and so continued until the intensely warm weather of the first part of June, when they began to sicken and die, and so many of them died before spinning that I obtained barely 5 pounds of cocoons—only one-half, proportionally, of the scanty yield from the first hatching. It is perhaps proper to remark, that the weather, during the months of May and June last, was es- pecially unfavorable to silk-worms, beiug very wet, and heavy thunder-showers being frequent. But, besides these adverse circumstances, which may be regarded as only occasional, I suspect that French silk-worms, having become habituated to the com- paratively moderate summers of Europe, cannot well endure the change to the sultry summers of Kansas. I hope for better success with the Japanese variety, with which I propose, if possible, to experiment next year. From the cocoons produced by the first hatching this year I obtained very good eggs, but I have more confidence in Japanese eggs. MOULE’S EARTH-CLOSET.—Dr. Fergus, of Glasgow, in a recent paper read before the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh, on the sewage question, makes the following remarks upon the earth-closet system of the Rev. Henry Moule, of England, which was fully described, with drawings illustrative of its mechanical arrangement, in the Annual Report of this Department for 1871: Mr. Moule’s earth-closet has done well in private houses, asylums, and small villages in this country, and in India has been a very decided success. The great objection to ifs use in towns is the bulk of the material required. This objection is removed by employing, as Mr. Stanford proposes, seaweed charcoal instead’ of earth. As a very small quantity of charcoal is sufficient, by an improved closet, it is expected that even less than weight for weight of excreta will be found sufficient. I have repeatedly seen Mr. Stanford’s process in operation, and am convinced it is in every way well worthy of trial; as it satisfies, in all respects, whatever the most ardent sanitarian could desire. The product from the closet is a black mass, somewhat like cinders, free from smell, and without the least appearance of fecal matter. Mr. Stanford considers that 8 ewt. per head per annum is sufficient, and that this need only be removed once a year; and the reservoir of char at the top of the house need only be replenished once a year. The closets are arranged to be quite automatic, and require no attend- ance from within. Mr. Stanford values the char after use at 8s. a head per annum, and proposes to burn it in revolving retorts, and to collect in suitable condensers the gas-liquor, tar, and gas. The charcoal increases at each reburning, and therefore the 4 459 plan is self-supporting, unless, indeed, the increased value of the char should render it advisable to sell it. STEAM-CULTIVATION IN SCOTLAND.—There is evidence of great im- provement in the agriculture of the north of Scotland; and it appears to have been promoted by reducing the size of home farms to smaller and more manageable dimensions, few of them now exceeding 200 acres, by a judicious system of rotation of crops and a more liberal use of manure; and by steam cultivation. It is claimed that the intro- duction of the steam plow has been the chief agent of the great changes which have been produced in the direction of profitable husbandry. A larger breadth of land has been brought into cultivation, and immense tracts of waste land, hitherto covered with heath, have been reclaimed and rendered capable of producing good crops of cereals, vegetables, and grasses. Thousands of acres of moss, and heavy clay, and hill-side lands, which could not be reached by ordinary methods of culture, after being trenched and drained have been brought by the steam plow and harrow into a cultivable state. Where neither men nor horses could be employed, the steam plow has been made to tear through everything. To avoid the risk of the breakage of gear in rough land, where the plow is liable to come against boulder stones and old tree-roots, a plow with a revolving coulter has been introduced—that is, a coulter which will cut its way smoothly until it meets with a root or stone, when it will pass over it with a rotary motion. THE FOREIGN HOP-CROP.—The hop crop in England the present year is said to be.remarkably fine, being large, heavy in quantity, and su- purbin quality. Itisdescribedas being the fifth largést crop of the century. The growth will average half a ton per acre. As 60,000 acres were cul- tivated, the yield will be, therefore, 30,000 tons, which is said to be an excess of 7,500 tons over the annual requirements of the brewing trade of the country. The Belgium hop prospects are also represented as being remarkably heavy ; and at Nuremberg the crop will be from one-third to one-half more than last year. From Pleinfield, in the celebrated Spilt district, a good average produce is expected. In the lower Pala- tinate (Rhenish Bavaria) one-fifth more hops were grown the present - year than in the last season. From Hanover, likewise, and indeed from almost all the hop-growing districts of Europe, alike favorable accounts are received. The German, French, and Belgian crops are represented as being of superior quality, the portion of brown or diseased hops be- ing unusually small. The estimated value of this year’s crop in Eng- land is $18,000,000. Although there is an increased consumption in Germany, France, and Belgium, there will be a considerable surplus for exportation in all those countries. In the United States the crop will not supply theshome demand, although, according to the agricultural census, the crop is sevenfold evhat it was in 1850, the State of New York producing two-thirds of the whole amount; so that large importa- tions from both England and the continent are anticipated. NEW SYSTEM OF LAND-TENURE IN EGypt.—In the monthly report of the Department for July, reference was made to the rapid increase of the area of cultivable lands in Egypt, resulting from the wise improve- ments of the present Khédive, whose aim is to ameliorate the system of land tenure, so that there may be something like private ownership of land. Egypt proper is estimated to possess about 5,000,000 acres of arable land, four-fifths of which is state property, the tenants who oc- cupy it having nothing like a freehold or fee simple, and no title in fact oa * . 460 ' or privilege in the land, except that of occupancy and enjoyment of its produce by paying an annual tax. This tax is heavy and onerous, aver- aging between seven and eight dollars an acre upon the lands of the delta—that portion of the country which is enriched by the Nile—and a much less, but yet comparatively burdensome, sum upon the inferior lands in a country rarely visited by showers. The new system which has been initiated is to allow the tenant, by the payment of a sum equiv- alent to six years’ taxation, to becqme, in,a partial sense at least, the owner of the land which he occupies, with all the advantages attaching to a freehold, except the ultimate right to transfer or sell. CROSS BETWEEN THE ZEBU AND EUROPEAN CATTLE.—The Depart- ment has recently received from Prussia, in exchange for its own reports, a variety of officialagricultural publications. The“ Landwirthschaftliche Jahrbicher,” which is the organ of the Royal Prussian agricultural de- partment, contains a notice of some experiments on the cross between the zebu or Indian 6x (Bos Indicus) and European cattle, by W. Na- thusius-Konigsborn. The doubts that have existed in regard to the fe- cundity of this cross led to the experiments which, the writer thinks, must forever set the question at rest. The male zebu made use of was a yearling calf from the zodlogical gardens, of the peculiar bluish white color characteristic of the zebu race. Four heifers of Holland stock were got with calf by this animal, and produced two heifers and two bull calves, all of which were successfully raised. Though the dams were variously colored, all the calves had white stars in their foreheads. When they arrived at suitable age they were bred with each other and with other cattle, and both sexes proved in every respect capable of propa- gating their race. The amount of milk given by the half-bloods was about 509 quarts per annum. This was so much below the ordinary average as to prevent all hope of their being a desirable breed. In ad- dition the oxen, from which much was expected in speed and endurance, proved so incorrigibly obstinate as to defy all efforts to train them for the yoke, lying down on the smallest provocation, and in one case where it was necessary to lead one of them a short distance, the animal died the next day, it was supposed from the effects of anger and excitement. They acted much more like half-tamed wild beasts than like domestic cattle. The only redeeming feature was the quality of their flesh, which, in those that were sent to the butcher, proved to be excellent. TOBACCO IN OWEN County, KENTUCKY.—R. W. Orr, secretary of the County Agricultural Association, writes to the Department, under date of October 15, that the tobacco crop of that county for the year 1872, in quality, is much superior to any other for the past five years, and that Owen County has the finest crop this year of cutting leaf of any county in the State, or even the Union; and it is now claimed*that that kind of tobacco is the finest placed upon the Cincinnati or Louisville markets, which are the principal points for the sale of their crop. It is claimed that the day is not far distant when the Owen County tobacco will be favorably known all over the world for its superior qualities for chew- ing. The eleventh annual exhibition of the Owen County Agricultural | Association, just closed, proved quite a success, holding five days. The third day is called the tobacco day, upon which are exhibited samples of the best cutting leaf tobacco, White Burley, Red Burley, and Twist Bud. The show of tobacco on that occasion was the finest ever exhibited there, and the samples were afterwards sold at public auction 461 vi for one dollar per pound, and were purchased by one of the largest tobacco firms in Cincinnati. OPIUM-POPPY IN FRANCE.—The cultivation of the opium poppy in France is steadily increasing. It now occupies 50,000 acres, of the value of 4,500,000 francs, yielding opium to the value of 2,000,000 frances a year. Different samples of opium, raised in various parts of Europe, are said to have yielded from 8 to 13 per cent. of morphine. * ORANGE-CULTIVATION IN LOUISIANA.—In the orange district in Louisiana there is a gradual extension of groves and an increase in pro- duction. In Plaquemine Parish about 2,000 acres are occupied by orange groves. Usually there are 100 trees to the acre, and a healthy tree will bear from 500 to 2,000 oranges, 1,000 being a fair average. They are worth on an average $10 a thousand. Hops IN CALIFORNIA.—A hop circular, issued August 1, by Miller & Co., of San Francisco, gives some interesting facts relative to hop- growing in that State. There were under hops in the State in 1870 441 acres; 1871, 332; 1872, 618. There were exported from the port of San Francisco in 1870, 383,982 pounds; in 1871, 223,475 pounds ; in 1872, up to August 1, 46,697 pounds. The imports were, in 1870, 1,137 bales; in 1871, 825 bales; in 1872, up to August 1, 479 bales,.a bale being about 200 pounds. It will be noticed that in 1871 there was a large falling off from 1870 in acreage, exports, and imports, but a great increase of acre- age in 1872, caused by a growing appreciation of the home product on the part of brewers. The estimated yearly consumption in the State is 450,000 pounds. The product in 1870 was 557,118 pounds; in 1871, 277,055 pounds. There was, August 1, a prospect of a fair average crop this season. IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL BY GREEN-MANURING.—A correspondent at Port Gibson, Mississippi, believes a large portion of the South have reached the conclusion. that their prosperity henceforth must depend mainly on improvement of the soil, and that, for securing this result, there is no other means so abundant, certain, and cheap as green- manuring. He also expresses the opinion that, in that latitude, the most valuable of the grains for forage, winter-pasture, and green-manur- ing is rye. A FRUIT-GROWING REGION.—A correspondent in Lunenburg County, Southern Virginia, represents that fruit is easily produced in that region, but scarcely any attention is given to its culture, none being raised for market. Peaches grow almost spontaneously, and ripen from June till October, but are only raised for swine and for making brandy. Though pears grow and yield abundantly, only the poorest varieties are raised, mainly for the manufacture of perry. All kinds of grapes which have been tried thrive, but few are cultivated. Said a neighbor, ‘“ What is the use, when, with my little hand cider-mill and a negro to help, I can go into the woods and in a half day make 10 gallons of as good wine as ever was drank?” Apples do well, though more liable to decay than further north. Plums and cherries do better than he has ever known them to do elsewhere. Wild strawberries, raspberries, dewberries, and blackberries abound, and prunes, pomegranates, quinces, and figs can be raised, and are, to some extent, in gardens. GoopHUE, MINNESOTA, FARMERS’ CLUB.—Harrison Lowater, secre- tary, writes that its members had under cultivation, in 1871, 139 farms, with areas in principal crops as follows: Wheat, 6,126 acres, yielding 83,498 bushels, or 13.6 per acre. 462 Oats, 1,487 acres, yielding 63,888 bushels, or 43 per acre. Corn, 610 acres, yielding 20,985 bushels, or 34.4 per acre. Barley, 942 acres, yielding 28,959 bushels, or 30.75 per acre. The number of farms represented the present season is 158, with 9,985 acres in wheat, 1,753 in oats, and 472 in corn. In 1871 the aver- age acreage to a farm was, of wheat, 44 acres; of oats, 10.7; of corn, 4.4. In 1872, of wheat, 63.2; of oats, 11.1; of corn, 3. EXPERIMENT IN GROWING POTATOES.—Mr. James Wells, of Chico- pee, Massachusetts, plowed deep and harrowed a piece of green sward, designed for a garden; dug deep holes three feet apart each way, put sods in the bottom, grass side down, and on them cow-stable manure, about two quarts in each hill; covered this lightly with soil, cut one bushel of early rose potatoes so as to have but one eye in a piece, and put two pieces in a hill, 6 to 12 inches apart. The ground was kept free from weeds, and the hills made “high and large.” The product was 51 bushels of potatoes, 48 of which were of suitable size for the table. The ground measured 4,280 square feet, or a fraction less than one-tenth of an acre; and, therefore, the crop was at the rate of over 500 bushels per acre. a BLACK-LEG.—Our correspondent at Western Park, Howard County, Kansas, represents that a cattle disease prevailing in that locality, and known as black-leg, attacks young stock in about the following propor- tions: 70 per cent. of calves, 25 per cent. of yearlings, and 5 per cent. of two-year-olds. Herecommends feeding freely with salt as a prevent- ive, and as an antidote, the tincture of aconite, which he has tried with some success. ; ’ EFFECTS OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS IN COLD SOILS.—Our cor- respondent in Milton County, Northern Georgia, represents that by the use of commercial fertilizers that county has beer rendered as producet- ive in cotton as the southern portion of the State. It is an elevated region, situated on a spur of the Blue Ridge which divides the Missis- sippi and the Atlantic slope, and the soil is a cold red loam or rotten clay. The stimulating fertilizer gives the cotton-plant an early start, and the weather is seldom, if ever, hot enough to cause it to wither or rust. ARMY OF SQUIRRELS.—Our correspondent in Jackson County, Ar- kansas, reports that squirrels in large flocks are traveling through the county, and destroying entire fields of corn. They are so plenty that as many as 125 have been killed in a day by one man. DISEASE AMONG CALVES.—Our report for September from Lawrence County, Indiana, states that quite a number of spring calves have died in that locality of a disease which runs its course in from three to five days; the several stages being stiffness, disinclination to move, and loss of appetite. TEXAS CATTLE-DISEASE.—It is reported that at a locality in Boone County, Missouri, about twenty cattle have recently died of Texas fever; also that in Bates County, and in Christian County, Ilinois, the same dis- ease has broken out and is spreading with fatal effects. In the two former instances its origin is traced to droves of Texas cattle passing through the places, and in the latter to a herd of the same brought into the place by a stock-man. RAIN In UTAH.—Our correspondent in Kane County represents that, while rains have been so abundant as to damage late crops in some locali- 463 ties, they have brought the county generally into a fine condition for the winter range of stock, and that, according to his own observation and reports from all parts of the county, stock was never in a better condition for winter than now. CROPS IN GREELEY, CoLORADO.—N. ©. Meeker, of Union Colony, has had ten acres of land in cultivation this season, from which he has gathered crops as follows: 34 acres of wheat, 75 bushels; 2 of corn, 50 bushels; 1 of oats, 30 bushels; 1 of sugar-beets, 7 tons; 2 of Hubbard squash, 6 tons; and a half acre of cabbage, 7 tons. He represents that, for want of thorough cultivation the yield of beets was only about three-fourths _ of a crop, and that the corn suffered from being too thick. FRUIT IN KANSAS.—A correspondent in Cowley County reports that its prospects for fruit-raising are very promising. Young fruit-trees gen- erally are doing well; peach-trees only three years old have borne fine fruit, and in another year the county may expect a full supply of peaches and small fruits, and a year later, of apples and cherries. CoOcOA-NUT CABBAGE.—This new variety, recently introduced by the Department, has been tested by a correspondent in Mercer County, Ohio, who commends it as early, hardy, yielding good heads, and of better flavor than any other variety he is acquainted with. CULTIVATION OF CINCHONA IN BENGAL.—The cultivation of cinchona trees in the district of Sikkin, Bengal, which was started in 1862 by Dr. T. Anderson, is said to be very profitable, and in this district there were under cultivation in March, 1871, the following species: 1,233,715 trees of cinchona succi rubra; 440,000 trees of cinchona officinalis ; 33,400 trees of cinchona calisaya; beside 480,000 young plants of cin- chona succi rubra in the nursery, which had been raised from the seed. The annual yield is about three hundred pounds of bark per acre. THE AMOUNT OF ARABLE LAND OF THE NETHERLANDS.—Nearly one- fifth of the entire surface of the Netherlands is wholly unfit for cultiva- tion, while more than another one-fifth is meadow-land; about 71,500 acres are market gardens ; 60,000 acres are orchards; 47,500 acres are cultivated with tobacco; 35,000 with hemp; 375 with hops, (in one dis- trict only ;) and 500 acres are wholly devoted to the cultivation of the bulbs of tulips, hyacinths, &c. ¢ MARKET PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. FOR OCTOBER, 1872. Articles. Price. Articles. | Price. NEW YORK. New York—Continued. Flour, superfine State.. per bbl.| $6 10 to $6 50 RivO los «aac gee ac eran moe do...| $0 80), to .— == extra State ......-..-. do.:.| 710 to 8°00 Abid Ree OMe ont + et ae do...| 107, to — — superfine western ..do...| 610 to 6 50 Qaita, aan epee cles si. dows 38 to $0 46 extra to choice western, Corn, western, mixed ...... do. 2 64 to 654 Pomuarrel. ...-..2.-/2-% 710 to 11 25 Hay, shipping qualities..perton.| 20 00 to 21 00 extra southern...per bbl.| 7 70 to 10 00 PLUMG ees ok sets... do..-} 24 00 to 30 00 choice southern... -- do.../ 10 50 to 1250 |} Pork, mess ..-...-.....- per bbl.| 14 00 to 14 25 Wheat, No. 1spring...perbush.| 158 to 1 63 PLUMB as. s ss eeca - do...| 11 25 to 11 75 Woo 2s8pring |... .: do.-.| 150 to 1°57 Beef, plain mess --..-.-..-- do...| 500 to 700 winter, red west’n..do...{ 163 to 1 73 OXtTa MeCSS- 3-4: 2-—---- do...| 8 00 to 10 00 wire, western -.!.do.:.|° 1 70 to 2.02. |} Bard, -1---5,--.-.--.<...- per lb. &} bo 9% 464 Market prices of farm products—Continue. Articles. Price, Articles. New Yore—Continued. BALTIMORE. Batter, western ..-.... .- per lb.} $0 10 s $0 22 || Flour, superfine ........ per bbl.| $5 00 State dairy .......-. do... 20 t 32 Oxt@ag . . 22 s-ssnee ree do...| 6 Cheese, western dairy --... do... 11 S 13 family and fancy.-.-..do..- State factory ---..-. do. . 11} to 14 || Wheat, red southern --per bagh: Cotton, ordinary to good ordi- choice red -.-.-.... MAT yy. ek per lb. 15$ to 184 low middling to good Corn, yellow middling .-.-.-. per lb. 18% to 204 whit - Tobacco, lugs, al grades -..do.-. 9 to 10+ || BiyOrcsaossexies Fe common to medium Oats = .2.. tees ke pees 3 Jeafe. che Sane per lb. 10 to 114 || Hay, western, new prime, per Wool, extra pulled. .-..-..- do.. 54 to 55 BOD. 2.5502 52 gene eee Sad spring clip, per. Old. 355. 35s per ton. ONG 2nd pcos 334 to — || Beef, mess city-packed- ee bbl Catifornia fall clip,scoured, OxXilans---ekene eree do... per pound - seater eee: 70 to 90: || Pork; messiie.. 0+ --eeenee do... 'NOxas.o 5 --eeens per lb.. 374 to _ Butter, western......---. per lb. N. Y. State fleece....do-..-. 55 to 60 Glades: "Seen do... choice Ohio, XX ....do..-. 58 to — || Cheese, western factory ...do..-. eastern factory--..-do-.-. BOSTON. Lata: 502 /jnso55 ceosene ene do. Cotton, ordinary to good ordi- Flour, western, superfine-perbb)-| 5 25 to 6 00 Mary ..Scseooe! per lb. western extras ...... do...}| 700 to 900 ‘ low middling to mid- western choice. -..... do...| 9 25 to 12 00 dling ':...2s22 22 per lb. southern extras .-.-- do...| 700 to 750 || Tobacco, lugs....--:- per cental. choice Baltimore.-...do...| 10 00 to 12 00 common to medium IWiHeat cee a MGxA AS pe 2 s\se kone do... 35 to 45 || Cotton, ordinary to good ordi- MENCA) eno. cec ease do... 30 to 60 MAT 2 a -aesoee per lb. combing-fleece ...... dose. 67 to 70 low middling to good middling ....-- per lb. PHILADELPHIA. Wool, common to medium washed-fleece..per lb- Flour, superfine ........ per bbl.| 425 to 500 medium to fine.-- as ee Ox(iaseeeeen oe - do. 5 50 to 6 25 tub-washed .-.-.--- : family & fancy brands. do.| 775 to 10 50 unwashed cloth’g ie Wheat, western red. ..per pea: 170 to 175 unwashed, comb’g.do- -- ampOre-ssess:-s=-- -| 18 to -— pulled: -ssecneeeeee do... WIIEC 22 eon ine ore ---| 190 to 200 1 SS Sy -do... — to _ CHICAGO. Corn, yellow....---- _do... 70 to = MUO. Son sple eee ioe 68 to 69 Flour, winter extras. ...per bbl. Oats, new white hut 42 to 44 spring extras.-.---- do... old white <52-22- cme. 49 to — || Wheat, No.1 spring-...per bush. Pork, m@ss\se222525--ee~ per bbl.| 15.00 to 15 25 No.2 spring ------- do... Land: < oes uspoasceepecoeee per lb. 9 to 94 No. 3 spring .-.----. do... Cottons t2.2ec..css es. eseee do... 19 to 19% || Corn, No.2 .....-.--2cs--6- do... wwrnboe S sssssssess BRRSSSRSSR BoRASS Re et wormw9r BIBER 465 Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. . Cuicaco—Continued. Corn, rejected.....-.-.-.- per Ib OaigeniGieneea.------------ do... TCH een ~2 ==. =~ do... TUVGMNOM Minas .2---------- do: o: EMiGetodl.=----.------- dozst oh do... PAIBeted, 2 —~--..--—.2 douss Hay, timothy (on track) .per ton. UHEIO Sonn ase an ha = do... iPGtk, MESS. ..-\.'.-.2.--- per bbl Beet, OAD So oS Ree do.. e@xtra Mess ......-..-. do. - DegTO ie aecsasjan ess = =---4- er lb Butter, choice dairy .-..-. (OR fair to pood...-.-... do.. Cheese, New York factory. do... Ohio, factory..-....- do... Wool, tub-washed ......... cloves fleece-washed ....... do... WiC ee do. . Flour, superfine ....-.... per bbl Ghd: ie do. Git Wheat, spring eRe tactac w= ces - MELO scarce a awe an ao! aa tb OUO Wa eee <2 sn- 5+ WAU ON er Oats) white .2-.2.......-.,. MIXe0).- <2 EVE wenitctewicnea en = TAO CS othe be ee LEO ie Soe neer See ene IEDR Messe coos sows. HGATO TOT CO sc cee xiancnen-- LGN SA Butter, choice #02 medium to fair. .... do... Cheese, Ohio factory. -..-.-- do... New York’.......--- doz =: northwest’n fact’y do. .- Cotton, middling..-........ daze. Tobacco, Teac. per cental. common leaf .-..- do. medium to good leaf, per cental ..........- Wool, tub-washed.......- per lb. unwashed........... do... Price -| $0 34 to$0 344 23% to 234 20% to 21 55 to —_ 46 to _— 67 to 684 38 to 48 15 00 to 17 00 10 00 to 11 50 14 50 to 15 00 900 to —— 10 00 to — — ito | 8} 25 to 28 16 .to 22 144 to 154 13 to 14 57 to 64 30 to 53 44 to 47 500 to 5 75 6 00 to 750 800 to 950 115 to 125 140 to 185 155 to 190 364 to 42 — to — — to — 29 to — 273 to 28 57 to 70. 55 to 1 00 14 00 to 22 00 14 50 to 14 75 9% to 94 103 to 11 25 to 27 20 to 23 144 to 15 143 to 15} 143 to 15 18 to 18$ 800 to 9 25 8 25 to 9% 10 00 to 11 50 58 to 60 30 to 38 NEW ORLEANS. OXVaS so ectinacse aed Ghoitecsescesseaets Com, winter. 2. a yellow:-~ 22 5-2.uu. see mixed ... Oats, ordinary prime to choice..--... do... Way, Prime'. -..¢4-.2e45 = per ton CHOLGD 22. ec eyes do. POV MOSS... 22 Le 8 ees er bbl Beef, mess, (Texas) .......- do. . Lard, Mercer. 5.150 s2ckeLs per lb Oho tc a'x o sieleterars do Butter, choice western. .... do IG ORE CRIN trs 40) 207 do Cheese, choice western ....do- New York cream..do western reserve..-do... Cotton, good ordinary....-. dov=2 low middling to good middling......- per lb. Tobacco, lugs. .-...:.-.-... do-=- ow. leafs. 212... ~.doL. medium leaf ..... do... SAN FRANCISCO. Flour, superfine...--.... per bbl. extra super.-...-..- do... higher grades....--. do. - Wheat, State... 02.51 per cental. Oregon... 222.42 ss. do.. Corn, white: Sbest stays: do. WELLOW: wesee elon Seer dost Hay) State. ...-t2.-225-2 per ton. Pork, Messense-seecassk per bbl. prime mess.......... dou ‘Beef, Wess: ale see ese do... hard). Cesecee ae ee per lb Butter, overland....-....-. doe California ........- do... Oregon e225 222.4 do. @heese:.4. ssssa2 fs ee do... Wool, native: ~.55. 0s ckn oe. do... @aliformig):-2 css. 2 eee do... Oregons = sseee ees do... rice. Articles. | Price. $5 00 to $6 00 700 to 8 50 8 75 to 11 00 65 to _— — to — 63 to _— 37 to 38 4) to 43 24 50 to 26 50 23 00 to 28 50 15 50 to 15 75 11 00 to 11 50 92 to 10 11} to 12 22 to 24 31 to 32 18 to — 18 to 19 — to = 17% to 18} 18% to 194 83 to gi 9} to 104 104 to 114 400 to 425 450 to 4 75 500 to 5 50 145 to 1 65 1609 to 165 170 to 1% 160 to 1 624 10 00 to 16 00 17 00 to 20 00 17 50 to 18 00 12 00 to 13 00 1034 to 114 20 to 25 30. to 45 20 to —_ 11 to 15 12 to 20 20 to 25 30 to h om ‘, “a et ae Ay j » ; = > % \ ‘ 1 v y / . { \ Hite, cay hee 4 oa care Me * B a : ‘ ’ . 7" ‘ . i ee ys ‘ » J ; i : Su ' ‘ : . 5 r ey . i ‘ Py) * ) ’ a ser Hd jarh iF ri HE NA Sas MONTHLY REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, L872. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1872. MONTHLY REPORT. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Statistical Division, December 21, 1872. Sire: [herewith present for publication a digest of returns of correspond- ence, showing the average yield per acre and price of each principal crop in the counties of the several States, with a statement of the con- dition and qualtity of certain farm crops; also a record of prices of farm products in the principal cities, and current, statistical data, and the re- sults of investigations in the several divisions of the Department. Respectfully, , J. R. DODGE, : ' Statistician. Hon. FREDERICK WATTS, Commissioner. AVERAGE YIELD AND HOME PRICE OF FARM CROPS. YIELD PER ACRE.—The average yield of corn per acre, as reported by correspondents, stands highest in Iowa, 40.8 bushels, the Illinois aver- age being 39.6, that of Indiana 39.8, and of Ohio 39.5. The average of the States of the fortieth paralled is within a fraction of 40 bushels, those of Pennsylvania and Nebraska being 39 bushels, and that of New Jersey 39.5 bushels. New England, with her garden-patches of corn, re- turns 51 bushels for Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 32.2 for Connec- ticut, 36.1 for Maine, and 38.2 for New Hampshire. In New York the average presented is 37.5. Texas makes the highest southern average, 28.5 bushels, declining to 24.3 in Arkansas, and 24 in Tennessee, and to 17.5 in Mississippi, to 13 in Georgia; the lowest average being 9.6 in Florida. The highest wheat returns are those of Minnesota, California, and Texas ; the lowest are those of South Carolina, the range being from 6.4 to 18.7 bushels per acre. The rate is materially higher in the Gulf coast States than in the Southern Atlantic States, increasing from Georgia westward. 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CORN FOR FUEL. Pottawattamie County, Iowa.—Iowa coal is worth $7 per ton; wood from $6 to $7 per cord, according to quality. People are burning a good deal of corn ; think it as cheap at 18 cents per bushels as coal or wood, while it is clean, neat, and handy; no dirty hands and no chopping with dull axes. Harding County.—We had an immense crop of corn in 1871, and nearly as large in 1872. At the gathering of the last crop there was old corn enough to answer the wants of the country until the harvest of 1873. Thousands upon thousands of bushels that were purchased by dealers and shippers last year have been held over, as there has been no time since the harvest of 1871 when it would pay to shell and ship it. Large quantities are now burned for fuel, as itis thought cheaper to burn at 15 cents per bushel of 75 pounds on the cob, than wood at $5 to $6 per cord. A perpetual or “ draw” lime- kiln, running night and day, burned large quantities the past autumn with very satis- factory resuits as to cost, and an extra quality of lime over that burned with either coal or wood; so the proprietor informed me. I myself sold to him old corn at 20 cenis, as preferable to the present crop at 15 cents. He ships to the whole west half of the State, to the Missouri River, and even beyond to Dakota. UNSEASONABLE WEATHER IN TEXAS. Nueces County, Texas, December 1.—On the 16th of November we had ice half an inch thick, and on the 17th three-fourths of an inch thick. The winter has commenced five weeks earlier than in 1871. Should the cold weather continue the mortality in cattle will be greater than last year. The cattle are in poorer condition and the grass is shorter, owing to the protracted drought of the past summer. COSTLY HUNTING. ’ Prairie County, Arkansas.—The fires following the long drought have devastated the country, the loss in this county being about $150,000. This enormous loss has been caused by hunters from Tennessee and Kentucky setting fire to the woods. THE TIME TO SOW WHEAT AND CLOVER IN SOUTH CAROLINA. Greenville County, South Carolina.—Ninety-nine times in a hundred wheat planted here by the 10th of October will yield a good crop by the 10th of June. Clover-seed roiled in at the same time with the wheat will give a crop of stubble-hay after the wheat comes off, better than corn-fodder for cattle. If the land is good the clover,’ which stands three years, yields a larger profit in hay than can be gained by any other erop. Then clover-sod plowed in and put to corn will give thirty bushels to the acre. Then, with six wagon-loads of barn-yard manure, plowed in, the wheat-crop will be from twelve to fifteen bushels per acre. EARLY SNOW IN UTAH. Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, December 1, 1872.—On the 26th of October we had the first snow-storm of the season, which was very severe, lasting from Saturday night to Tues- day noon following. A night of dismal coldness succeeded, and storms and cold weather ‘have prevailed up to the present, with but little cessation. Large quantities of winter- apples have been frozen on the trees, and considerable quantities of carrots and other roots have frozen in the ground. The “oldest inhabitant” of these mountains has never before seen winter set in so early and so severely. Mining and other industries seem almost paralyzed—none expecting 4nd none being prepared to meet the inclem- encies of an almost arctic winter while yet a month or more of the fall season remained. Much annoyance and considerable suffering has resulted from the temporary stoppage of the operations at the coal-beds. . AN OVERPLUS OF WHEAT. Alameda County, California, September 1.—Thousands of sacks of wheat still remain on the field where it was thrashed, there being no place to store it. Granaries and warehouses are full, and not one-half ships enough to take the surplus away. Freight now to Liverpool £5 10s. against £2 10s. last season. In proportion as freights go up the price of wheat declines, There are needed in San Francisco Bay one hundred more ships than are there to export grain. The high prices of labor, sacks, and freights have about discouraged the farmers, so that they are at present doing but little toward put- 488 ting in another crop. Many who faised thousands of bushels of grain have not been able to pay their debts and go on another season. November 1.—Many thousand sacks of wheat still remain in the fields, and along the lines of transportation, awaiting shipment. One hundred vessels have already loaded and cleared for domestic and foreign ports, and when as many more shall have loaded there will still be a large amount of wheat to spare. - FLAX. Washington County, Nebraska.—¥or the first time since the settlement of this county flax has been raised very extensively. It is estimated that the product of seed will be nearly, if not quite, 5,000 bushels. BEET-SUGAR. Sacramento, California.—The Sacramento Beet-Sugar Factory is now in full operation -on this season’s crop of beets—a fine yield—turning off the finest of sugars of different grades. TEXAS CATTLE. Labette County, Kansas.—I live within two miles of the line of the Indian Nation; I can see daily thousands of Texas cattle, of all ages, looking northward wistfully for the day when the statute says they may “ cross the line.” Marion County, Iowa.—Feeders are to a considerable extent compelled to purchase Texas cattle in order to get the number desired. Over two thousand have been pur- chased and brought into this county. With nearly all the purchasers the stall-feeding of these cattle is as yet an experiment. But as corn is very cheap, there being an im- mense amount, several of our most enterprising feeders have bought them in lots of from 100 to 300 and are feeding them on corn, costing from 15 to 20 cents per bushel. TEXAS CATTLE DISEASE. Saint Louis, Missouri—We have had the genuine Texas fever in that part of the county lying immediately west of the city. In the vicinity of the cattle-yards on the Pacific Railroad, in the western limits of the city, the city cows took the infec- tion, and about 45 have died. At Rock Spring, a mileand a half further west, I sawin a yard where some 40 dairy cows are driven to be kept over night, two cows dead and several sick. Some 35 cows died in that vicinity. At Cheltenham, two miles further west, I lost one cow, and about 40 others died in the neighborhood of the same disease. Some Texas cattle, supposed to be strays, were in the neighborhood about the middle of August. Three miles further west there have been heavy losses, and the disease is still prevailing. The stray Texas cattle had been there also. I know of a loss of over 200 head in this county. With many of the sick cattle there have been veterinary sur- geons, but, as far as I know, withouteffectingany good. Mr. B. F. Thomas, who has lost seven, has two now sick and says he has cured two with aconite. He has administered this to those now sick, but thinks that, at the time, the disease was too far advanced to admit of a cure by it. AN ADVERSE SEASON—PREVENTIVE OF MURRAIN. Powhatan County, Virginia.—The current year has been the most difficult and disas- trous to farming and planting operations known to the writer in an experience of forty years. Drought prevailed throughout the whole growing season, shortening the crops of every description, except wheat, from one-fourth to three-fourths of the amount usually raised. 3 Chills and fevers have prevailed to an unusual extent; also, murrain among cattle, and some valuable animals have: been lost. Many in this vicinity recommend a mix- ture of salt and hickory-ashes, in equal quantities by measure, kept in troughs where the cattle can have free access to it during the het months, as an unfailing preventive, they having tried it for thirty years with entire success. A quantity of sulphur, equal to one-fourth ef the mixture of salt and ashes, added to it, has also been found bene- ficial. : PEA-NUTS IN TENNESSEE. Wayne County.—Our farmers have never raised any pea-nuts until this year. They have gone into that crop pretty extensively, and will raise about 60 bushels per acre— little over half a crop, owing to the drought we had the latter part of summer. GRAPES IN CALIFORNIA. . Amador County.—Grapes are good and plentiful, selling for $12 to $15 per ton, or about 40 cents per bushel ; can be raised here cheaper than corn or potatoes in Illinois or any other State. 489 SILK-CULTURK. Tooele County, Utah.— Mulberry plantations are doing well; sericulture will soon be in full blast. LARGE CROPS, Woodson County, Kansas.—K rom the best statistics I have been able to obtain, and from my own observation, I estimate that we can spare from this county alone 250,000 bushels of corn and 75,900 bushels of potatoes. Such a crop was never raised here before. What we now want is a market. Linn County.—The corn-crop is quite large. The increased facilities for cultivating (the double-team corn-plow being now generally used) nearly double the acreage. Cache County, Utah.—We have raised the largest crops this season ever known in this county; and as there are no grasshoppers, there is every prospect of success next season. OVERESTI MATE OF CROPS. Stanislaus County, California.—Tbhe wheat-crop in this State has been annually overestimated, in the first instance by farmers themselves. As an example, (thoughan extreme case,) a neighbor stated, in San Francisco, that his yield would reach 20,000 bushels ; .when thrashed, he had 4,500. This county was estimated at 7,000,000 bushels ; as near as I can get true data from my own observation and that of my assistants, afper visiting many thrashing-machines, the thrashing does not show half that amount. Many thousand bushels yet remain to be thrashed. EXPERIMENTS IN RAISING COTTON, Arkansas County, Arkansas.—I found one stalk of cotton, planted about the 18th of June, on which I counted 115 grown bolls. This will make 1.15 pounds of seed-cotton. An acre of cotton planted 4 feet by 4 feet, and each stalk producing as well as that, would yield about 3,000 pounds of seed-cotton. This year’s experience proves to mo that a fair crop of cotton can be raised on the bottom-lands, planted after the 1st of June, provided the land is in fair order. I have long been of the opinion that the most economical way to produce cotton is in checks, 4 feet by 4 feet on the bottom-lands, and 3 feet by 3 feet on uplands. I am certain that an intelligent laborer can cultivate twice as much checked, 4 by 4, as in the drill-system, in which at least three-fourths of the cultivating has to be done withthe hoe. In the former method the riding sulky- plow can be used to great advantage, leaving little to be done with the hoe. BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS. Gedsden County, Florida.—Under the influence of the Gadsden County Agricultural Association, which I am sory to say is the only permanent organization of the kind in the State, the farmers of the county have been greatly stimulated this fall to the seed- ing of an increased area of oats and a better preparation of the soil. Heretofore, the general rule has been to appropriate to the cultivation of the oat only such portions of the farm as were too much exhaused to produce an average crop of corn or cotton, and consequent failure has been the usual result. But experience has now demon- ‘strated that there is no other crop planted which responds so satisfactorily to a liberal application of fertilizers and a proper preparation of the soil, and I trust that our farmers have entered upon a new era in regard to the growing of this invaluable cereal. In an adjoining county, 84 bushels to the acre in one instance, and 96} in another, have been realized on ordinary pine-land suitably fertilized and properly prepared for seeding. They were sowed the later part of October and harvested about the middle of May. The clay lands of middle Florida are admirably adapted to the growing of the oat, and if greater attention were given to it there would never be any serious complaint of a lack of corn. 490 JUTE-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. Experiments in cultivating jute in the Southern States thus far indi- cate that both the climate and the soil are well adapted to its growth, and there is a fair promise that its production will become an extensive and profitable industry in that section. Its fiber supplies material in manufactures for which there is a rapidly increasing demand, and which, except to a very limited extent, does not take the place of cotton ;, while, therefore, it will not supplant the latter nor compete with it in the market, it may enlarge the area of profitable rural industry in the South. It is claimed that were the South to divide the labor it now bestows exclusively upon cotton between that and jute, the result would be an increase in the value of the cotton-crop, it having been proved that, beyond certain limits, an increase in the product occasions a diminution in the total value; that it supplies the raw material for coarse fabrics, which are now largely imported by the cotton-growing States, but which might be manufactured by their unskilled female laborers at a saving of millions ; that it can be raised and prepared for market at a greater profit per acre than cotton. The following communication has been received from Mr. E. H. Derby, of Boston, who is an enthusiastic believer in benefits to result to the South, and so to the whole country, from jute-culture: As the jute-plant has been acclimated in the Southern States and I haye exerted my-- self to aid in its introduction, many questions have been addressed to me from the South as to the culture and harvesting of the plant. I have consequently written toa friend in India, and subjoin extracts from his reply, which will be useful to the planter if published in your valuable report. I am convinced by this reply and by other letters from the South that the rich lands of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, will, with fair cultivation, yield 3,500 pounds, or ten bales, of fiber to the acre, in place of one-tenth of that amount of cotton. Iam convinced also that it can be produced at less than one-tenth the cost of cotton, that the caterpillar will not touch it, and that if planted around the cotton-fields it may possibly protect them from that voracious. insect. I am also led by my letters to hope that it will attain to its full growth in three to four months, and that the same field may yield two crops in one season. I have just returned from Scotland, where I visited the jute-factories in the flourishing city of Dundee, where the import and manufacture of jute is making wonderful pro- oTess. ” ‘The subjoined table gives in tons the import and manufacture of jute in that city since 1837 : Tons. Ta 9 CBG O92 oud Be Ate RD Ue eBO Eel co 2 Be 1, 136- TrihSA7 Cache eh RS Lo ERR ee Do Re eee {nvbeod: 2) idly, Seow Ch aebe Uy aan euse 8 Lvabie fo er 16, 590° Ti dB72. oo WE ad hath ee ini eas ae 000: wee ee ee ee : Since 1854 the increase has been about 500 per cent., and in this interval of time the cotton manufacture has not grown at one-fifth of that rate. Some of the jute-yarn which I saw at the factories is spun very fine and sold for 8 or 10 centsa pound. It is used for bags and carpets, and some of the latter, handsomely colored, have sold for 16 cents per square yard. It is also interwoven with silk, linen, and woolen threads into cheap cloths. By the subjoined extracts you will notice that the jute-seed from one acre will suffice to plant fifty acres, and that the plant is usually gathered some weeks before the seed ripens. I suggested this idea last summer to Mr. Chapman, of Point Coupee, but pre- sume that most of our planters havethis year allowed their seed to ripen, in which case they may have plenty of seed but inferior fiber, and possibly require the ramie-machine to separate the fiber from the stalk, and possibly thus make it available for coarse if not for fine fabrics. The progress of events convinces me that the jute is just what the South requires to diversify its industry and to fill up the gap when cotton is a failure. With. the growing demand for it, jute promises to pay much better than cotton. I noticed in the jute-mill at Dundee that after the jute was sorted a woman placed a layer of it on the floor, then sprinkled it freely, first with water and afterward with 491 oil; she then placed another layer over that and sprinkled it in the same manner and so piled up layer upon layer. This sprinkling was before the fiber was spun. An extract from the reply above mentioned is given, as follows: The quantity of jute and seed produced to an acre depends greatly on the richness of the land it is planted on. Serajgunge, Naranogunge, Dacca, and other northeastern districts, where about four-fifths of the total crop are raised, produced from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds of jute on an average; in some cases, however, as much as 4,000 pounds are produced. The yield of seed is about 1,000 to 1,200 pounds per acre. In the coun- try fifty miles around Calcutta, the production of which is called dessee or country jute, the yield is smaller, being only about 600 to 1,000 pounds of fiber, and more seed, say 1,500 to 1,600 pounds per acre; but on rich, damp lands the product is almost as rauch as in the northeastern provinces. The dessee description was used only for local consumption until about five years ago, when shipments of it to England began, ‘and both the shipments and production of it are increasing every year. Jute is sown broadcast, and about 22 to 28 pounds of seed are required to an acre. In the north- eastern provinces it is planted in February and March, and is cut about the end of ' June and beginning of July; the dessee is sown in July and cut in August and Sep- tember. On rich land it grows and ripens quicker. In the northeastern districts, when grown onrich soil, the diameter of the stalk at the bottom is from three-quar- ters of an incb to one and a quarter inches, and the length from 7 to 10 feet, and some- times, but rarely, longer and thicker. The country jute is 4 to 7 feet long and one-half to three-quarters inch in diameter. The plants are cut about 3 inches above the ground, excepting dowrah, whichis uprooted. The butts are cut at the time of baling the jute for export in Calcutta. When the stalks are cut they are covered with a green bark, which, after going through certain processes, becomes fiber. The planters can- not tell at the time of cutting the stalks whether any, or how far from the bottom any will be hard. The stalks are cut about a month before the seed ripens, and the poorer plants are generally let go toseed. Jute made out of the plants producing seed is hard and barky. The unripe seed cut with the stalks is of no use. It grows best on rich, moist ground, but not on low ground. Castor-oil cake is the best for it, and next to that cow-manure; but the country planters, as the ground is naturally rich, use no manure whatever. An acre of cotton costs much more than an acre of jute. Juteand cotton do not interfere with each other in the least. Cotton grows in the northwest- ern provinces, Central and Southerh India, while jute is raised in Bengal. The little cotton that Bengal produces, and the little jute the cotton districts produce, are of poor quality, and only raised for local consumption. For the last few years jute has been encroaching on the linseed-crop, as the same ground is suitable for both. . The statements above answer, in part, the inquiries in the subjoined communication addressed to this Department by William M. Hazzard, of Georgetown, South Carolina : The cultivation of rice is attended with so many difficulties and risks, and such an outlay of money, with little or no remuneration, that we shall be obliged to abandon our lands, or introduce some plant less liable to the disasters to which a rice-crop is exposed. From experiments I have seen made I am satisfied that our lands are well adapted to the growing of jute. This plant, whenever tried in the rice-fields, has grown most luxuriantly. I have thus far failed in my efforts to obtain seed enough to plant three or four acres the coming year. I should be glad to obtain all the information the Department of Agriculture san furnish in reference to the time of planting, mode of cultivation, time for cutting, and mode of curing and preparing for market. A correspondent at Charleston, South Carolina, reports that he planted jute-seed June 10, on very poor land, and October 1 the plants had grown to 9 height of 6 feet. That it can be raised at the South with success and large profit he has strong faith. The following extracts from correspondents give the results of their own experiments in growing it: ; _ Orange County, Florida—I plowed up and thoroughly prepared a half acre of medium grade pine-land, and sowed the jute in drills May 23. It came up well, but owing to the excessively hot, dry weather it alldriedup. On thesame day sowed asmall platin a bay-head. It came up and grew finely. I am now gathering the seed. Some of it is 12 feet high, and all as high as I can reach, showing that on damp, rich soil it will here succeed fiaely. This bay-head is muck, several feet deep, which I cleared off and limed two years ago. Upon it bananas grow from 12 to 15 feet high. Muscogee County, Georgia.—I consider the experiment in jute-raising a success. The cultivation jis simple and the cost of production small. I had seeds 492 sown broadcast on broad beds; some on sandy river land, and the rest on stiff clay land. The latter did very much better than the former. The cultivation was the same, but many of the plants on the sandy soil died out after having attained their full growth, while those on the clay lands remained green and vigorous and matared their seed. The plant requires moisture. The seed was sown in May, and the plants could have been cut in September. A frost, on the 15th of October, which injured the cotton, did not leave its mark on the jute. It attained the height of 15 feet, and in appearance somewhat resembles a plantation of young peach-trees before being re- moved from the nursery. I had the plants cut in-October and steeped ten days in stagnant water, after which the fiber was easily stripped off. New Orleans, Louisiana.—Jute-seed received from the Department of Agricul- ture was planted on the 11th of April. The soil was well plowed and harrowed and in good condition. Patch No. 1, rich soil, 3 feet above ordinary gulf-tide, planted in drills 34 feet apart; patch No. 2, very rich soil, oue foot above tide, planted in chops 4 feet by 23; patch No. 3, same as No. 2, planted broadcast; soil very dry at planting. Seed covered one-half inch deep did not germinate until rain on the 22d of April. May 12. Passed the cultivator through patches 1 and 2. May 27. Chopped with hoe the large weeds from the same; jute 2 feet high ; no further cultivation. Patch 3 received no attention after planting.. Almost continuous drought this summer; jute suffered, but not so much as corn and other crops. July 10. Cut a portion of patches 1 and 2 9 and 10 feet high; put the same in bayou-water for seven days, and got beautiful fiber the entire length of the plant. July 15. Planted again the land which was cut on the 10th. At this date, October 10, this second crop is 8 feet high, looking well, although it has suffered much from excessive drought. Wishing to save asmuch seed as possible for a more extended planting the next season, I could afford but a fractional part of an acre on which to arrive at some idea of what amount of fiber we may expect per acre. On the 28th of August I cut a portion of patches 1 and 2, plants measuring from 11 to 13 feet; seed-burs about halfgrown. (This was in accordance with direction in Agricultural Report of 1871, page 172.) The quantity of fiber saved satisfied mo that the yield of these patches would be quite equal to 4,000 pounds per acre. Patch 3, broadcast, is exceedingly dense and heavy; portions being matted with native weeds, it is impossible to make a reasonably accurate estimate of yield per acre. Wishing to test the aquatic qualities of jute, I selected patch 2, as liable to over- flew by heavy rain. The season being almost entirely without rain, I transplanted zome of my July planting, when 2} feet high, into water several inches deep. The plants have continued to grow finely, and are now looking well; this in a continuous dood of water for several weeks. The above correspondent (F. W. Johnstone) states: “The seed we are how gathering appears larger than that planted—evidently improved. it takes just 600 of the Calcutta seeds to equal in weight 500 of the Louisiana.” But it is quite probable that when the newly gathered seed is thoroughly dry it will lose this excess in size and weight. Under date of October 22 he forwarded to the Department three sam- ples of jute-fiber, with a report, of which the following is an abstract: Sample No. 1 was cut four and a half months from sowing, when the most forward seeds were half ripe; No. 2, three months from sowing, when the first blooms appeared. This he thinks the -best time, as at that stage female labor can do the cutting, and there being then only one quality of fiber, the expense of slow and tedious assorting and of cutting butts is avoided. No. 3 was from the second crop, planted July 15, and cut two months later. He further reports: Some of the July planting, second crop, is now fully matured for fiber; some planted the first week in August will make a full crop, unless the frost is unusually early. In- quiries from South Carolina to California are being made of me for seed for next sea- son. I have none to spare. Mr. Chapman, of Red River Landing, is asking $5 per pound. He has two varieties, the pod-bearing and the bur-bearing seed. The pod- bearing variety he thinks much superior to the other. This he got, I think, three years ago, from the Department of Agriculture. The seed the Department sent out last spring was exclusively the bur-bearing, which is brown in color, while the pod-bearing is green. I have some plants which have been flooded constantly for two months now seeding in 6 inches of water. ; Charleston, South Carolina.—I have done what I could to encourage experi- ments with jute, and have distributed hundreds of packages of seed raised by my- self. Experiments have been in the highest degree encouraging. The plant seems to Hourish quite as well as in India. 493 Mr. H. H. Stevens, of Webster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, aman- ufacturer of jute imported from India, to whom this Department sent a sample of that grown in Louisiana for examination, reports that in length, strength, and color it is fully equal to India jute. He adds: The Department should do all in its power, and, if necessary, ask of Congress more power and more money, to extend the culture of this fiber in the country. Twenty seven years ago, in Dundee, Scotland, the question was, whether there was any valuo * in jute. To-day, of an export from Calcutta of nearly, if not quite, 3,000,000 bales per annum, Dundee consumes a large share. The Department has received from gentlemen in Louisiana and Geor- gia very encouraging accounts of their experiments, together with speci- mens of the jute-fiber which they have produced. Mr. Thomas H. _ Dunham, of Boston, to whom a sample was forwarded, writes as follows : The quality is very superior. The market is just now depressed very much. Some parties here have lost heavily on imported jute-butts, and this season (before the fire) India goods were imported at immense loss. The present rate is 6 to 8 cents a pound, (gold;) the usual rate 10 to 13 cents, (gold.) Your sample is very superior, and at 10 cents (gold) it would be safe to quote. You will understand that our merchants do not favor home-growth of jute, or rather, make light of it; but my advice to you is, leave no step possible to push the jute- growth ; make every offort to get it raised here. Beyond and above all obstacles push it on. The country will sustain this to any extent. The motive is greater than you can have any idea of. The moment you get the growth started, you will be fully as- sured, as capital will follow quickly, as in cotton. Suppose it were a new growth of cotton, no one would doubt the success, or the aid needed. Our growth of jute will nearly equal half the cotton-crop. We can cut off India supplies, as we have done in cotton. The interests of our merchants are so interwoven with India importations that they will (as they do) say, “You will never get any quantity grown,” and make light of it. But your sample shows that its cultivation is feasible, and it must pay’when the market changes. All orders to India are stopped now, and the revulsion will bring jute higher here, within the next year, than it has ever been. COTTON-RAISING IN CALIFORNIA. Reference has hitherto been made to attempts at cotton-growing in California, the results of which, during the last two seasons, seem to indicate that the climate and soil of the southern counties do not offer any insuperable obstacle to the production. The small crop of 1871 found aready home market, being found to possess a remarkable fitness for combination with wool in.various fabrics. The wool manufacturers ab- sorbed the product of Merced County, paying 25 cents per pound, and made further inquiry throughout the State for ‘ California cotton.” The crop of 1872 has been variously estimated by parties whose facili- ties for obtaining information entitle their opinions to respect. Mr. Charles S. Capp, in an elaborate paper published in the ‘“‘ Resources of California” for November, gives the entire acreage in cotton during the past season at 800 to 900, averaging from three-quarters to a bale per acre. The San Francisco Commercial Herald, of a later date, gives the entire crop at 1,500 bales. Local estimates fixed the area plantedsin Kern County (part of which failed) at 500 acres, and the average yield ef Merced, Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties at a bale peracre. Some isolated’ experiments, on a small scale, are reported in other counties. In Merced County, near the villages of Snellings and Hopeton, on the Merced River, several enterprises in cotton-culture were inaugu- rated. Of these the largest plantation was that of Buckley & Brother— 250 acres. These gentlemen, in 1871, raised over 20,000 pounds on SL acres, an average of 400 pounds per acre. They claim for their crop of this year a far more promising and profitable character. Near them 494 Colonel J. M. Strong planted 200 acres; Mr. C. 8S. Peck 75 acres; Mr. C. Deane 25 acres. The total area of all the plantations in this locality was nearly 600 acres. These crops were all raised on alluvial bottoms deposited by the Merced River. They exhibited an exuberant growth of weed, many stalks being from 4 to 6 feet high, with an unusual num- ber of bolls. The lower branches, in some instances, were weighed down so that the bolls rested upon the ground. On thin light soils un- derlaid with gravel the plant either opened its bolls prematurely or dried up altogether. On moister soils, unirrigated, the growth was suf- ficiently thrifty—from 3 to 5 feet; on still damper ground, or where irri- gation had been used, it was too rank. Near Plainsberg, on Mariposa. Creek, about a dozen miles south of the Merced River, about 100 acres. were planted in cotton. Mr. H, M. Ruer raised a good crop on wheat- land, unirrigated. He found the best soil to be light sandy loam or sedimentary drift, which, when well pulverized, did not crust or bake. In the same locality Mr. R. Harris planted 27 acres; Mr. T. J. Wilcox 26 acres; Messrs. Turner and Helm 20 acres. The soil of this locality is. drier than on the Merced River plantations, and the cultivation not so- careful, heuce the stand secured was inferior. In Fresno County Mr. C. D. Davis planted 40 acres, near King’s River,. using 30 pounds of seed per acre, with irrigation. He was sur- prised to find the bolls atthe second picking, as numerous and opening as. freely as at the first. His entire expense of cultivation is reported at $770, giving a margin of profit so broad as to induce him to enlargé his plantation to 160 acres in 1873. It is currently estimated that during the coming season 1,000 acres will be planted in cotton in Fresno County. Mr. G. W. Allan, near Bakersfield, Kern County, exhibited fine speci- mens of Dixon, Texas, and Golden Prolific cotton, which, though planted late—some of it in June—matured a month earlier than it would have done in his native State, South Carolina, producing a finer and whiter staple. He finds the cotton season of that locality remark- ably long, no injurious frosts to be apprehended from April 1 to October 10. Cotton not being planted till after the close of the rainy season does not require the laborious and expensive process of hoeing to keep down the weeds. As it is gathered before the next rain-fall, there is no occasion for ‘‘ moating ” or separating therain-stained fiber from the clean. Mr. Stein raised a small crop in the same locality in a young vineyard. it was a fair crop, though somewhat neglected in its earlier stages. The growth was as thrifty on the alkaline portions of the field as on any other. The “California Cotton-Growers’ and Manufactures’ Association 7 purchased 10,000 acres near Bakersfield. Of this area only 300 acres were planted the past season on account of the difficulty of obtaining good seed. A portion of this crop being freely irrigated, was ruined by weeds. Other portions, to which this process had been more sparingly applied, produced a fair crop. That portion which escaped the inflic- tion entirely made a remarkably fine growth. Superior samples of Peerless, Dixon, Golden Prolific, and Texas were exhibited, of which the earlier planted were the more excellent. The association proposes to plant 2,000 acres in 1873. To encourage the growth of the staple during the coming season, it will, without charge, furnish the neigh- boring cultivators with good seed and gin all their crops. A considerable importation of cotton-gins has been made, especially of portable machines, in different parts of the State. The crop real- ized from 20 to 22 cents per pound in different localities. 495 FLORIDA AS A HOME FOR EMIGRANTS. Mr. John F. Rollins, of Fort George Island, Duval county, Florida, sends the following account of his experiences and observations upon Florida as a home for emigrants: My plantation is a sea-island in the mouth of the Saint John’s River. We have a slight frost occasionally, but the orange and other equally hardy trees do well even farther north, if wpon the sea-coast. I find also that grapes, peaches, figs, plums, &c., do well with me. I have been a resident here for four years; have passed through many, if not all, the experiences of a new settler in this State, and have come to the conclusion that if those who come here to settle will bring the same amount of health, good sense, money, and pluck which new settlers take to the far West, we should have less complaints of Florida and more successful settlers. The truth is, writers about Florida have given more “flowers” than facts, and hence settlers have come here expecting too much from the climate and depending too little upon their own efforts. It is hardly to be expected that one so sick and broken down in the North that he can live there no longer should be able to come here, bringing, it may be, only a few hundred dollars with him, go into the woods to make him a hone, and go successfully through all the hardships incident to such a life. Yet, very many of our new settlers have been of this character, and consequently there have been many failures. Florida is a “land of flowers ;” but still it requires time and labor to raise crops and to grow orange-trees. There is no question of the profitableness of fruit-raising. Oranges, lemons, limes, figs, grapes, bananas, pine-apples, pomegranates, peaches, apples, pears, plums, &c., grow ‘well in various parts of the State, and a settler can select his location so as to raise whatever fruits he wishes; but he cannot grow every kind upon the same lot, nor can he expect to have them allinaday. The orange will, of course, be the chief attraction, and settlers will especially desire information about that. I have given this fruit careful study, and find that it flourishes over a large part of the State, though some localities are better suited to it than others. The young trees are tender, and require careful attention and cultivation, but when once established they are hardy; and, having reached the proper age, bear annually large crops of beautiful fruit. As there are no good nurserymen engaged in raising young trees, we have here- tofore been unable to procure good ones of any variety, and it would be a great help if the Department would aid us in procuring stocks and seeds to propagate from. Frosts and the scale-insect are to be contended with by the orange-grower. From all information I have been able to collect, frosts seldom do serious injury, though occasion- ally a crop may be lost and a few trees killed. Asa protection, I would suggest that the limbs of the orange-tree be left to grow as near the ground as possible. Where they are cut off it would be well to place a wide board against the south side of the trunk, to protect it from the sun after a freeze, as it is its hot rays shining upon the exposed trunk, suddenly thawing the congealed sap, rupturing the sap-vessels and splitting the bark, which kills or injures the tree. The scale-insect may be disposed of by care and carbolic soap. It requires about the same time and care to bring an orange as it does an apple orchard into bearing, but the orange-orchard is more profitable than the apple, and full as safe. So with other semi-tropical fruits; when once in bearing in their chosen locali- ties they are very profitable. The new settler must use good judgment in selecting land for the crop he wishes to grow, and not believe all that is told him by those who have land to sell. Our climate, soil, and crops are so different from those of the North and West that the new-comer has to study each, and often has to learn how to raise a good crop under the teaching of experience—a teaching which is expensive of both time and money. Of our field-crops, sugar-cane is doubtless the best. It is a pleasant crop to raise, and properly and well manured, has proved exceedingly profitable. By the use of manure, as large crops of sugar-cane can be raised in Florida as in any other State, if not larger; no other State has a climate better suited to its production. Lands not teo dry should be selected; those low and moist but well drained are best. Good modern machinery is not very expensive, but if settlements were made in colonies, so that one large mill would answer for all, it would be a decided advantage. Sweet podtatees, cultivated near a market, are quite profitable. And so of other vege- tables. Nearly all varieties grow well here, and the farmer who will give proper at- tention to the cultivation of a garden need never be without fresh vegetables for his table. Many fail in this, and so throw the blame upom Florida; but the reason of their failure is that they do not select a suitable place for the garden, or do not plant at the proper time, and give it due attention subsequently. 496 The soil of Florida is mostly sandy; some sections, however, have clay and others have limestone formations. Much of the sandy portions is underlaid with clay, and when near the surface the land is good. The State has large stores of natural ferti- lizers; muck and mar] beds are often met with. The lands generally being light, re- quire manure to produce large crops, though good ones are often made withoutil. If our people used the same amount of manure used in New England, our crops would compare favorably with any section. The climate is favorable to the prolongation of life, the extremes of heat and cold . are less than in the other States, and the air is bland and healing. The out of door life led by the inhabitants tends to health, and when they live in a comfortable manner, have suitable food, and take reasonable care of themselves, there is very little sick- ness, and very many who come here sick and drawing near to death, recover and become hale and hearty. The new settler should take care to secure a high and dry building-spot, as far from stagnant water as may be. The pine-lands are most salu- brious, though old clearings in the oak hummocks are usually healthy. There is more or less fever, chills, &c., but ordinarily these readily yield to proper remedies. Much of such sickness would be avoided by suitable care; new-comers should not work out of doors during July, August, and September between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p. m., nor should they expose themselves to the night-air if located in a malarious region. We have a.long warm summer, but the thermometer does not rise so high as in the far North. The canker-worm was destructive to apples in Suffolk County, Mas- sachusetts. Caterpillars and boll-worms were observed in the cotton-crop in nu- merous counties in the cotton States, a continuation of the ravages previously reported. CHEMICAL MEMORANDA. . By Rynanp T. BRowN, CHEMIST. LABORATORY WORK.—The fiber of a species of aquatice grass, (Sporo- bolus. cryptandrus,) found growing along the shore of Lake Krie, was sent to the laboratory by H. C. Beardsley, of Painesville, Ohio, to determine its adaptation to the manufacture of paper. * A proximate analysis shows the following composition in 100 parts: Tnorganic, matter. 206). -25-- 2-2-0 sncwine cn enra --n ess one pionis 0 suisse 1.947 Gellulin, (ADEs) fameeaee se se ao -)=etele mee non mn pene Sen cwr ern cnn ene eeee 98. 053 100. 000 It is therefore rich in the material for the manufacture of paper. A specimen of marl from Queen Ann’s County, Maryland, presented by Thomas Hill, of Baltimore, Maryland, gave on analysis the following result: Moisture, (determined at 100° C).----. --.--- --. 2-2 eee enn ne ene wn een nnn 0. 2700 Carbonateoplimen.-.)\sce-esniacelee as =e) acelaee oes — ae eee nen mp ls eee ORCAMIGINATLOD <= Sema eees ce eee amon nleinl= Seed pecan ess eee eee -. 383,200 Oxides Ob on and alNMIN a <. oscc sace an) Se eee ee oie elne Roe a5 307 2. 832 Phosphoric acid... 22. ..cce. p= ene se eeee cece ne cece races once eons oleeninsee 0. 678 Tie 22-5 ccose hrormioe yas mie cle oh atasdastiinie cine Sinner aie ean cea ee 0.310 Magnesia... 2. 12a nice. woe cee oene teenes snc nn> powers enn ss ~ nin nan 0. 388 Siliccous MAHI ase 222 sles eee ties ee Soles e weil e eee ae a ee 35. 622 NGOBS icin -is's amc wnat eh min oeieercca eee eeee ee acs ae see cee eee ee 0.570 100. 000 Mr. J. H. Philips, Spring Bluff, Adams County, Wisconsin, presents @ sample of shale or rock of which he wishes to know the value as a fer- tilizer. On analysis it shows the following composition : Water, (determined At 100° CO.) on oe oe oe ale nen = ene nin cine 1.706 Sriiceous Mathonees stele i. ~1 ose eee eine Liew. otc cee snen enn 43. 110 Tron/andjalumina;(oxides),...- 2) 22h eis cos. pale oe oo etn olele nan ates 20. 655 Dimietee- 2... Pee ea nim & (cic ete elaine sista ieee lees}=/= aie Se eta en Ot 5. 360 Magnesia 2... 2.2220 cece nnn woes neces eons con ween ee eons eons o =a 5a see 11. 560 SOU Soe ae 2). one oe Se Sees eee ote vem wim leia otc eet toterele isin chats iota aie 3. 446 Carbonicvacidl: (2-5 Coteee be s- = o= «as cine clean © nies weierm ope ile 14, 258 Phosphoric acid and potash, of each... 2... .----. eee ee tweet nee ee ree ene none @ trace. 100. 089 501 A package of mineral phosphate from near Charleston, South Caro- lina, was sent to the laboratory by the Commissioner of Agriculture. Its composition is eemrataanormmed @, 100° C.) score aes 2. ace cee nee ecewee meee ennsenenyense 4, 4750 BUPEMNPREIRIAINU CY. (.15 2:5 oc = 2 = o's cw ween cne pase cn= ane (Sora aim palate) excita Palate pi ay eae ee 33, 8400 SUITES ert ee eee Seite | a an casa: Gate oS o ala Dlalnaia a aaah saves 7. 5620 EP MEMEMERT TET We oS oho 2 cS Sn Pe ae eet aera ala ale' acl eajciateqisisiae! sicee Fra te caera, oie apactet aie 0, 6650 See tron and alumina. ~~ 2 <8. 12 - wn ee ween en os ee ween 7, 2702 Insoluble phosphoric acid.....----..-- A Eigen Metagenics! Bi 8 Fo 16, 3485 PANO RO NOLIC ACI enol. ac ciate needs So 4. c (a sia) Samos apaine wie maa shinee sin = sim saint 1. 8860 Es Sn oh tee oa ral ele aE a nin ciaalal'd'ca 0 1G Cm Plalaraln maida ay ates here 18, 0591 oa Lntiaee Agee GBgaco eaoSeclce dash Saeebeipeoced BE ola sesoeb SSaoeT c --- 90.1360 EMESIS ee erg ano chia) iat nts ania Sisto na'a ol tin.a).« = ais aio, a aieie seams apie pio as.a «0.1541 EINE ores cee ac Jad clovaialetaiiala tng a'o'e: cerca ata aw a osis bein Siaheisialae'ersicms 1. 3286 SUNT oe ae apf Ueto teat et Cotes a )afae avila’ ave Livan ied PNR NS wid as 0. 5960 bib Stl 00 Rae ee eee eSreee sSopcG dso ceR An Hee basSchtaPasece 6, 8712 99, 9927 VALUE OF CITY WASTES.—The German system of experimental sta- tions is furnishing scientific agriculture with data which cannot fail to have an important bearing on the production of that region. Mr. Lep- mann, director of the central station in Bavaria, speaks of the loss of fertilizers in the wastes of the city of Munich, which he estimates as containing a population of 177.000. The amount of available nitrogen annually lost in the human excrements, fluid and solid, of that city, he places at 1,857,714 pounds ; to which he gives a value (reduced to our currency) of $433,467. This gives an aggregate loss of nearly halt a million of dollars. While this waste is being suffered the German fields are enriched by an annual importation of 1,000,000 hundred- weight of Peruvian guano, at a cost of about three millions of dollars. Munich, however, is but one of a number of German cities whose wastes, if cal- culated at the same ratio, would be equal in value to the fertilizers im- ported. Mr. Lepmann proposes that this waste be saved. ABSORPTION OF AMMONIA BY CHARCOAL.—Journal of the Chemical Society (London) gives a very interesting series of experiments on the absorption of gases by charcoal, as that phenomenon is effected by temperature. ‘The experiments were conducted and are reported by Jolin Hunter, M. A., and were performed chiefly with gaseous am- monia and cocoa nut charcoal. The principle established by these exper- iments is that the absorbent power of charcoal diminishes froin 0° C. to 55° by a ratio corresponding to the change of temperature; but above that temperature the ratio constantly decreases as the heat increases. These facts Have au important agricultural bearing. Vegetable mold owes its dark color chiefly to the presence of carbon, substantially in the condition of charcoal, and on this, to a great degree, depends its power to absorb gases. At night, when the temperature of the soil falls to 15 C. (60 F.) the absorption of ammonia will be active and a stock will be accumulated in the soil; but when the temperature rises with the sunshine the function of the leaves become active and the supply of food for the roots is diminished. THE BLACK SoIL or Russta.—We reproduce the following paper from the researches of L. Grandeau, into the nature of the black soils of Rus- sia. ‘This investigation has an important bearing on American agricul- ture, as we have in the Northwestern States and Territories thousands of acres which agree in chemical composition and in physical properties with these Russian soils. The chief importance of these researches, however, is found in the light which they throw on the part which oxalic 502 acid and carbonate of ammonia play in rendering soluble the mineral elements of plant-food. But the paper will speak for itself, and we ask for it a careful perusal : The point of departure in my researches is a work upon the black soils of Russia, the fertility of which is well known. Having at my disposition large samples taken from a.vertical section of three meters (9 feet 9 inches) at Uladowka, (Podolie,) I have been able to make a complete examination of a soil which, having never received any manure of any kind, and having been submitted to triennial rotation, produced for several years 22 hectoliters (about 62.4 bushels) of oats and 30,000 kilograms (66,000 pounds) of beets per hectare, (2.47 acres.) The chemical composition of these soils does not indicate a persistent fertility; and it was to determine the causs of this which led me to the results which form the sub- ject of this memoir. The black soil owes its color and perhaps its fertility to a parbic- ular combination of the organic matters with silica, phosphoric acid, iron, lime, and magnesia, which I have separated, and of which I shall describe the principal proper- ties, united in the soil, in all probability, with earthy bases. This complex substance is not removed, in its natura state, either by water, or by acid or alkaline solutions. It is first necessary to destroy the calcareous combination in which it isengaged. We may proceed in the following manner: treat the soil with a slightly acid solution, wash by displacement in order to remove the excess of acid, moisten the residue with ammonia, aud exhaust the soil by continued washing with ammoniacal water. The black matter is thus dissolved, the soil is completely decolorized, and its physical and chemical properties sustain important modifications. The dark-brown solution thus obtained, treated for the ordinary re-actions of phos- phorie acid, iron, magnesia, lime, and silica, does not indicate the presence of any of these substances, which facts correspond with those observed by Th. de Saussure in his classic researches upon the soils. j Evaporated to dryness it gives a brilliant black residue, brittle and solnble in the alkalies. When calcined this carbon leaves a red colcothar residue, whose coloration and weight vary with the nature of the soil from which it is obtained. This carbon will, as the case may be, give from 2 to 60 per cent. of its weight ofash. Treated with nitric acid this residue is partially dissolved ; the soluble part consists of the phos- phates of iron, manganese, lime, magnesia, and potassa. The part insoluble in nitri¢e acid is completely attacked by sulphuric acid. It consists of silicate of iron containing a little silicate of lime. I consider it due to M. P. Thenard to recall here the important part which he was led (in 1858,) according to his experiments to assign to the silicates as solvents of the phosphates in the soil. As we have seen, ammonia, in certain conditions, dissolves in the soil the phosphates of iron, lime, magnesia, and silica in a state of combination which chemistry has here- tofore been unable to produce. : The black soil which I have analyzed contains, per 100 grams of soil, 0.30 gram of phosphorie acid, of which 0.16 gram, that is to say 80 per cent., is in a state easily rendered assimilable by vegetables, as we shall see further on. The soil of Russia gives per kilogram 42 grams of this black matter, leaving by calcination 21 grams of ash. ‘Lue analyses of different soils collected in my work and the comparison of the agri- cultural products of these soils.show that there is a close relation between the fertility of a soil and its richness in matters soluble in ammonia, (especially phosphoric acid in this particular state.) What are the re-actions under whose influence the organic matter combined with the earthy basis in the soil in nature are placed at the disposition of the roots of vegetables? The following facts seem to me to offer a satisfactory response to these questions. I have ascertained that the intervention of a strong acid, such as chlorhydric, is unnecessary ; a dilute solution of oxalie acid will set free, in the soil of Russia, the matter soluble in ammonia. When the black soil-is treated with oxalic acid, then with water, and finally with ammonia, we obtain a brown solution con- taining phosphoric acid, iron, lime, magnesia, and silica, as with chlorhydrie acid. The oxalie acid, which usually appropriates the calcareous elements of the soil, is un- able to precipitate the lime engaged in this organi¢e combination. After having endeavored, witbont any decided success, to substitute free carbonic acid gas for oxalic acid, I have completely succeeded with carbonie acid, combined with an alkaline base, especially with carbonate of ammonia; a dilute solution of this salt passing slowly through a layer of black soil plays successively the part of an acid and that of a base, vis-a-vis, npon the black matter in question; at the begin- ning of the experiment the carbonats is decomp >sed, its carbonic acid combines with the lime, which renders the black matter of the soil insoluble; the ammonia thus set free dissolves the black substance liberated from the lime, and the soil is decolorized ; the deep-brown solution, evaporated to dryness, gives a red residue, (phosphoric acid, iron, lime, magnesia, aud silica,) exactly analogous to that which I have described 503 above. We have reason to think, therefore, that carbonate of ammonia is the true natural agent for the solution in the soil, of iron, phospborie acid, silica, lime, and magnesia, that is found in that particular state which is the object of our study. If Tadd that farm manure, treated in like manner as the soil, gives all the points com- parable to the ammoniacal solution of this black soil, I shall have pointed out the principal results of my analytical researches. It now remains to examine how this solution of phosphates, silica, lime, &¢., behaves in the nutrition of vegetables and the influence exerted by their preseuce or absence in soils having other parts identical. I have undertaken, for this object, direct experi- ments, the results of which I have the honor to communicate to the acaiemy, what- ever may be the end. I shall now endeavor to show how the black solation extracted from the soil behaves in a dyalizer. In the interior vessel I placed a solution of black matter, giving by calcination 53 per cent. of mineral residue, (compared with the weights of dried black matter.) After thirty-six hours the exterior liquid, (distilled water, ) which had remained entirely colorless, was evaporated and the residue analyzed. The latter, which contained no carbonaceous matters, was composed of phosphates of iron, manganese, lime, magnesia, and a small quantity of the black solution of soil, less the organic substances. ‘The liquid of the interior vessel was evaporated, and the residue, calcined, gave but 8 per cent. of ash; 85 per cent. of the mineral elements having therefore passed through the membrane. If seems to me to result in this: Ist. That the mineral elements in question (phosphorie acid, iron, lime, magnesia, &e.) are in a state directly assimilable by the vegetables, or that they may be more or less absorbed by the roots. 2d. That the organic matter of the humus is not absorbed aad remains in the soil. It follows from all the facts recorded in my memoir, Ist. That fertile soils contain the nutritive elements under the form offered in farm manure. 2d. That the fertility ef a soil is intimately connected with the richness in the mineral elements and organic matter soluble in the ammonia which it contains, 3d. That the organic substances are in nature the vehicle of mineral plant-food, which they extract trom the soil in order to present them under a form immediately assimilable by the roots of vegetables. SCIENTIFIC NOTES.—Professor Roscoe, in a recent lecture, gives the results of his observations on the sun’s rays. The intensity of solar heat reaches its maximum some time after the meridian, but the chemical rays have their highest force at noon. The chemical intensity of the solar rays appears to depend entirely on their approach to the vertical direction, and therefore have equal intensities at equal distances on each side of the meridian. The chemical power of sun-light also varies with the place of observation in a manner which cannot be accounted for by the ditference in latitude. Professor Roscoe gave the results of measure- ments made at Kew, at Lisbon, andat Para. At Kew the chemical inten- sity was represented by 94.5, at Lisbon by 110, and at Para by 313. A hazy atmosphere appears to cause the absorption of the chemical rays in a remarkable degree. This would appear to demand a clear atmos- phere for the healthy condition and rapid growth of vegetation. Influence of alcohol on animal heat—The old idea that alcoholic drinks heighten the temperature of the body has received numer- ous contradictions in recent times. C. Binz (N. Repert. Pharm., xxi, 116, 122) communicates the results of experiments performed by Dr. Mainzer*on himself and on another healthy individual of strong constitution. The experiments were carefully performed, avoiding all possible sources of fallacy. Dr. M., in making observations on himself, lay in bed lightly covered, and determined the temperature by means of a very delicate thermometer, the indications of which were read off every fifteen minutes. The alcoho] was taken between 7 and 10 in the morning, 3 and 7 in the afternoon, and 9 and 12 in the evening. The alcohol (98 per cent.) was diluted with thrice its bulk of water, and the quantity varied from 15 to 80 cubic centimeters. As the result of his observations, Dr. Mainzer concludes that there is ne appreciable alteration in the temperature when alcohol is taken in the above doses. Cultivation of the cinchona-trees in Java.—The Journal dé Pharma- cie et de Chimie for October says: ‘In a letter from M. Van Gorkom, 504 the author states that the cultivation of these trees prospers in every respect; a manufactory has been established for the preparation, on the spot, of alkaloids, (quinine, &e.,) extracts and other pharmaceutical preparations derived from the cinchona-barks, and six tons of that bark were sold by publie auction at Amsterdam in March last. The annual expenses of cultivation, &c., are now balanced. and all the original outlay of capital is expected to be returned before the year 1876.” Paper from wood.—In the manufacture of paper from wood the pulp was formerly produced by mechanical means chiefly. A new method, invented by Sinclair and improved by Unger, has been adopted in Ger- many, it is said, with good success. The wood is treated with stron soda-lye under pressure of six atmospheres. The fiber is bleached wit chloride of lime as usual. It does not require grinding to form a pulp, and a good substantial paper is produced without a mixture of rags. Ammonia in bituminous coal.—Dr. Gerlach in a recently published essay, entitled “Investigations of some of the ammoniacal waters of gas- works,” gives an interesting exhibit of the amount of ammonia, and the form in which it exists, in the coals of Saxony. At the Chemnitz, gas- works, where the Zwichau coal is used, he found the water to contain hyposulphite of ammonia, 0.103; sulphide of ammonium, 0.034; bicar- bonate of ammonia, 0.105; carbonate of ammonia, 0.456; sulphate of, ammonia, 0.046; chloride of ammonium, 3.046. Gas-water from the Bonn gas-works, where Rubr coals are used, contains hyposulphite of am- monia, 0.503; sulphide of ammonium, 0.622; bicarbonate of ammonia, 0.245; carbonate of ammonia, 3.312; sulphate of ammonia, 0.130; chloride of ammonium, 0.374. These numbers relate to grams in 100 cubic centimeters. Improvements in street-cars—We are pleased to observe that Mr. Stephenson, of New York, whose name is favorably associated with the building and furnishing street-cars for the principal cities of the world, has introduced several improvements in the construction of that almost indispensable vehicle. The first of these relates to the method of con- necting the running-gear to the body of the car. This improvement consists in the use of rubber, or other elastic material, interposed be- tween the iron connections, so as to relieve passengers from the annoy- ance of the clatter and noise of the wheels, and the disagreeable jar pro- duced by the application of the brakes. Another important improve- ment consists in substituting a spring-check for the axle-shoulder. This is designed to relieve the concussion felt when the car is forced from side to side by the inequalities of the track. What remains now is to discover and apply some cheap and efficient power for propelling street-cars. The late visit of the horse-disease to our principal cities has impressed us with the importance of this matter, and taught us how inconvenient it would be to return to our former methods of city locomotion. : Native sulphur.—At% the late meeting of the British Scientific Associ- _ ation, Dr. J. W. Mallet reports the discovery of a remarkable bed of native sulphur in Louisiana, at a point about fifty miles east of the Texas line. A boring struck the bed of sulphur at the depth of 450 feet, and, after penetrating it 100 feet, passed into gypsum underlying the sulphur. We have heretofore regarded native sulphur as of vol- canic origin; but there is no evidence of volcanic action in this vicinity. It is stated, in the paper referred to, that the sulphur is more or less mixed with calcium carbonate, which would indicate deposition from water; but sulphur, except in chemical combination, is not soluble in 505 water, and therefore could not have been deposited by precipitation. It is said that petroleum is found on the surface in this vicinity, and combustible gases escape in the same locality. Did this bed of sulphur originate in the decomposition of carbon sulphide formed in connection with petroleum? The question of the origin of this sulphur-bed is one of transcendent interest in mineralogical chemistry. Uniform standard of measures, d&e—The scientific circles, both of Europe and of this country, are continuing the agitation of thé question of uniformity in weights, measures of length and capacity, coinage, &c. When nations were isolated, as they were five hundred years ago, each one could have its own standards; but the present state of intercom- munication demands uniformity. This is not merely the demand of commerce and trade, but the scientific investigations of the age require uniformity in standards of comparison, in the several fields where these are prosecuted. Nothing can be more absurd than the English system of weights and measures, which in the main we have followed. For example: we write—it weighs an ounce. Now, who knows precisely our meaning? It may be the avoirdupvis ounce—the sixteenth part of a pound; or it may be, as the word means, (Latin, uncia,) the twelfth of a pound. Science demands something more certain than this. Ifthere are formidable objections to the French decimal system, they must be re- moved, or some other standard, divided decimally, must be adopted. This must extend, especially, to the measures of temperature, so as to abolish the present confusion, consequent on having three standards of graduation in thermometers. Effects of compressed air on combustion—James B. Eads, in his report of 1870 on the bridge at Saint Louis, stated that the combustion of candles in the caisson, under the influence of compressed air, was much ' more rapid than in the open atmosphere. This conflicted with the result of experiments previously made by certain European scientists, which conflict induced Mr. Eads to review the conditions under which his former conclusion was reached ; and now we have the statement from him that combustion is not more rapid in compressed air, but that it is more persistent than in common atmosphere. The difficulty of extin- guishing the flame is the effect of compression forcing the oxygen into more intimate contact with the combustible body. BOTANICAL NOTES. By Gro. VASEY, BOTANIST. A porsonous RUDBECKIA.—A few weeks ago a package of leaves and roots was received by this Department from Mr. William Kancher, Ore- gon, Missouri, with the statement that the plant was causing the death of many hogs in that county. An examination proved this plant to be a species of Rudbeckia, (R. laciniata,) a plant of the order Composite, and nearly related to the sunflowers. As poisonous plants in this family are very uncommon, Mr. Kancher was requested to make further investi- gations respecting the plant and communicate to the Department. The following is his reply: Dear Sir: Yours of the 15th instant, in relation to the samples of Rudbeckia sent by me to your Department on the 11th instant, js before me. You express a doubt of the injurious effects reported by me, and desire that I should make a closer investiga- tion of the matter. Ihave accordingly made numerous inquiries among those who claim to bave had hogs poisoned by this plant, and find that all agree as to the plant, and that those I sent you are identical with the plant pointed out to me as the one which did the injury complained of. 506 The effect claimed is delirium succeeded in a few hours by death. The hog invari- ably seeks water, and if he reaches it remains in it until he dies. Vomiting and purg-. ing often occur, and are considered favorablesymptoms. The discharges are green. Milk and lard are the most effective remedies, and always give relief when the animal is discovered in time. A number of cases were named to,me where the hogs had passed into an extreme state of delirium, but were relieved in a few hours by pouring a pint of milk and lard mixed down the throat, and restored to complete health with- out any other treatment. This plant is very plenty along the creeks in this county, and is among the earliest in the spring to send forth its leaves; which are eagerly eaten by hogs when turned ont. It is also the latest green thing that grows in the fall of the year, and is then eaten by the hogs. During the summer months they do not eat it, probably for two reasons: the plants are then tall and nof so tender, and there are many other things then for them to eat. The plant is used by some people very early in the spring for “greens,” but all seem careful to avoid using 1t except when very tender, as it seems to be the general belief that it is poisonous ; indeed, cases have been cited to me wherein the same results followed the use of it by persons as has been observed in the hog, except that none have been fatal. We publish these statements to call attention to the circumstance and stimulate further inquiry. When used for greens, the boiling will probably dissipate the poisonous property. The leaves of many com- posite plants have an acrid, irritating property, and a few are known to be virulent: poisons. POTENTILLA FRUTICOSA, OR SHRUBBY CINQUE-FOIL.—In the last Monthly Report, in an article on garden-shrubbery for frontier settlers, this shrub was mentioned asone which might readily be obtained in many northern localities, and placed in the gardens as an ornamental shrub. We have received from Mr. T. 8S. Gold, of West Cornwall, Con- necticut, a protest against its use for this purpose, for the following reasons. He says: . Tt is known here by the name of “hardhack,” and it is the worst plant we have. It is vastly more injurious than the Canada thistle or the daisy. Scarcely known fifty years ago, it now covers, to the exclusion of everything else, thousands of acres in Northwestern Connecticut and Western Massachnsetts. It delights in strong, damp pasture-land, and it is rapidly taking possession of snch fields. Plowing destroys it;. mowing keeps it under, and it only spreads in moist, rough pasture-land. It spreads alone by the seeds, which are blown on the surface of our winter ice and snow to great distances, and, seeding in a settler’s yard, it would come up in any damp fence-corners where the seed would lodge. It is a new-comer here, and is twice as abundant as it was twenty-five years ago. Our old men well remember when it first attracted their attention. Though still unknown in some towns, it is decidedly the worst plant we have in Berkshire and Litehfield Counties. TREES FOR CULTIVATION.—Mr. Samuel Preston, of Mount Carroll, Tilinois, in a letter to this Department, writes that, 1n the list of forest- trees adapted to growing on the western prairies, published in the Monthly Report for August and September, the best and most impor ant of all is omitted, viz the American chestnut. He says: : It has generally been supposed that the chestnut conld not be suecessfully raised upon our prairies. But my experience, and that of others, proves it to be a mistake. J have them seventeen years old, and bearing nuts, and some of the trees are 12 inches in diameter. They grow faster than the butternut, which I also have of abont the same age. I have never succeeded in transplanting the chestnut, while I have trans- planted the butternut with a loss not to exceed 2 per cent. For a wind-break I would substitute Lombardy poplar for cottonwood, as being more easily raised from the cuttings, bears closer setting, has a more sightly appearance, has no cottony down to fill the air, holds its foliage much longer, and, therefore, is a much better wind-break to an orchard. I have both, and at this writing (October 14) the cottonwoods are bare of leaves, while the Lombardies are full of foliage, and look as fresh and green as in midsummer. EXPERIMENTS WITH FOREST-TREES IN KANSAS.—In the Kansas Farmer we find an account of the condition and growth of various kinds of forest-trees on the grounds of the State Agricultural College at Manhattan. We notice that on upland, seedlings of the present year, of green ash, have made a growth of 1 to 2 feet; ailantus, 20 to 30- inches; catalpa, 1 to 2 feet; silver-maples, 24 to 50 inches; black walnut, 507 12 to 14 inches. All these are on the hills north of the college-building, in a locality much exposed to winds, and on a gravelly soil. In another part of the upland grounds, silver-maples, from seed planted in 1871, are 8 to 10 feet high; ailantus, of same age, 7 feet, and very vigorous; white elm, three years, from seed, 8 to 10 feet high; chestnut, three years old, about 3 feet. In several places on the upland were cot- tonwood-trees, some from chance seed and others from cuttings, all showing the vigor of this great native tree. Both the native willows and willows from cuttings received from this Department had made a very satisfactory growth. “ No one looking at the pines near the college-building can doubt the feasibility of covering the uplands of Kastern Kansas with pine-forests. Upon the whole, the experiments with forest-trees at the State Agricul- tural College, though on a limited scale, are highly satisfactory in their résults. They show with what ease the prairie farmer may surround himself with trees from seeds and cuttings of the natives. But how many farmers will heed the lesson ?” MICROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS. By THomas TAYLor. POTATO BLIGHT AND ROT.—The potato-disease was first observed fn Germany, near Liége, in 1842; in Canada in 1844, and in England in 1845. In the following year it prevailed very extensively over almost all parts of Europe. The summer was unusually cloudy and moist, a circumstance which probably had some effect in fostering the disease. It has been estimated that the damage sustained by Great Britain and Treland for the year 1845 was not less than £21,000,000, and sin 1846 probably twice that amount. ‘The London Times estimates that the loss sustained by Great Britain during the present year, in conse- quence of this disease, will be about from twenty to thirty millions ster- ling. Many of the best minds of Europe are now engaged in investigat- ing the nature of the disease, and recent microscopic investigations show that, notwithstanding the fact that during the last thir ty years the potato- “rot has been attributed to the presence of a parasitic fangus known as Botrytus infestans, a new form of fungus has been lately dis- covered in the rotting potato by Dr. M. Payen. Berkeley and others, however, consider the form to be probably a secondary fruit (oospore) of the potato-fungus itself. Further investigations are deemed neces- sary, as the habits of the fungus are not yet fully understood. It has long been observed that the fungus attacks the stalks first, causing brown blotches. The disease is next transmitted to the tubers. If we take a withered stalk, which has decayed in consequence of the fungus, it will be found that the brown markings have ripened into forms simi- lar to,those discovered by M. Payen, and if a longitudinal section of the stalk is made, it will be seen that the interior is also covered with these spores highly matured and generally connected with a very slender jointed light-brown mycelium. The dark rounded forms are visible to the naked eye, but when viewed under a power of 50 diameters they appear to vary in size, although with this power they generally appear to be about the size of a large pea. Some are elongated, and all are of - avery dark brown color. ; Fig. 21. A represents various groupings on the interior of the stalk. When highly matured they are covered with dark-brown, ridged, thorn- like appendages having a slight wavy appearance. 508 Fig. 22. B represents a longitudinal section of the stalks; 1, 2, 3, 4, dotted ducts; 5 and 6 spiral ducts; 4 and 6 are represented as being choked up by means of budding spores, which were probably absorbed as germinal matters and matured as represented into well-defined cellu- lar structure. Their enlargement by the mere process of budding would tend not only to fill up the whole air-space, but also to burst the cell- Rie ai walls, destroying the functions % of the plant. U, budding-cells passing through dotted duct- cells. 8.5.8.8, the newly dis- covered fungi-fruit, (oospores.) Fig. 23, C represents ahighly magnified interior view of the cells of the skin of an affected potato, through which a dark jointed amber mycelium trav- erses. Ihave not been able to detect any form of mycelium traversing the potato-cells, ex- cept on the interior surface of the skin; but judging from the the habits of mycelium, I doubt not but that it may be found traversing the interior of the vascular bundles of potatoes highly decayed, and as de- scribed by Dr. Payen. Fig. 24. D exhibits the appearance of a section of potato showing the starch-cells and vascular bundles, dotted ducts, and spiral forms inter- mixed. The largest cells shown are more highiy magnified to illustrate their real character. They exhibit three belts or rings, and these rep- resent three distinct cell-formations. The interior or third cell contains the starch. ' Fig. 25. E exhibits a section of a potato; g, the root-stem; a, a, section Fig. 22. of eyes; ¢, ¢, ¢ exhibits the posi- tion of other eyes, but not in section. It will be seen that the inner markings exhibit a series of central circular and . radiating lines leading from and returning to the root-branch g. These lines represent the ar- rangement of the vascular bun- dles of the potato. When a potato is cut in two sectionally, lines will be exhibited as shown, especially if a “ pink-eye” po- tato is used; and, if exposed to the action of the air for a sbort time, the nitrogenous matter in the immediate vicinity of the vascular bundles blackens. I have stated that the starch is - inclosed in three cells. These cousist of, first, an outer cellulose, transparent cell; secondly, an opaque nitrogenous cell; and, thirdly, of an inner cell, composed of very trans- 509 parent cellulose, in which the starch-granules grow; ) represents such a cell. These cells contain 30 to 40 starch-granules, C represents a broken cell from which the starch is seen as if in the act of leaving; s represents a portion of a broken cell; p, precipitated starch. On receiving some diseased potatoes from Mr. B. P. Ware, of Swamp- scott, Massachusetts, under date November Ist ultimo, [commenced a se- ries of experiments ou them, Wie a having in view the detection of i the mode of action of the fungus on the nitrogenous matter of the potato aud other considera- tions. I arranged five vessels as follows: into No. 1 put a solution of sulphate of copper: into No. 2, a dilute solution of sulphite of soda; into No. 3, [/ sx the milk of caustic lime in ex- {| cess; into No. 4, a very-dilute } solution of carbolic acid in wa- § ter; into No. 5, pure water. I \' placed in each solution half of a diseased potato. The follow- ing will show the action and results after six days’ satura- tion. The potato in No. 1 sola- tion was foand to be perfectly preserved and deodorized, so that it could be sliced into sections, and preserved for future use. No.2 solution failed to preserve, deodorize, or prevent the destructive action of the mycelium of fungus, contrary to expectation. No.3 destroyed the odor on application, but in two days the lime became completely carbon- ated, forming a mass of chalk, when the offensive odor appeared again, and decomposition of the nitr« genous cell went on as if lime had not been present, and infusorial life, in the form of bactari, appeared in great numbers. No. 4 specimen was ‘ Fic. 24 g. 24. preserved completely. In No. 5 specimen decompo- sition seemed to have been slightly retarded at first, but the decomposition on the third day was in full action, and the odor became very offensive be- fore the sixth day. When a portion of No. 3 was placed on a microscopic slide, and secured by means of a glass disk, and viewed under a power of about 75 diameters, masses of starch- grains appeared in cellulose cells all over the field, resem- bling d, Fig.5. A reference to Fig. 6 F will show the position of those cells a,d,t. They are held in position in the potato by the nitrogenous cell ¢, which is held in turn by an outer and ianer cellulouse cell, a,d. When a sound 510 potato is grated down, all these cells are broken, because of their perfect cohesion to one another. One cell cannot be broken withont breaking all. Butin the case of rotting potatoes, the nitrogenous cell which binds the three together is partly removed by the fungoid action, but prinei- Fig. 25. pally by infusorial life (bacteria,) which live on it. The inner or center cell containing the starch is thereby liberated. Its buoy- ancy is so great it floats the starch in the water. All starch ‘sin perfect cells is, therefore, ‘ washed away in the mannutae- 4 ture. 1, \ 4 “\4 MM. Payen, as early as 1846, in | a paper read by him before the Paris Academy of Sciences, stated that the starch of pota- toes affected of fangiis not in- /j jared, and during the present f year Dr. Hooker, of the Kew ‘¢ Gardens, London, has, after a niuicroscopic examination, made a public statement to the same effect. Starch manufacturers, baci : on the other hand, have stated in the columns of the English scientific monthlies that, while they do not deny the statements of these scientists, they aftirm that a large portion of the starch of rotting potatoes will not sink, and is consequently washed away. These microscopic observations explain the discrepancy between the savans and the practical manufacturers. ‘To overcome this difficulty, I placed a portion of the rotting potato in a muller, and ground it inte a very fine pulp. I next placed the pulp into water. Atter twenty-four Fie. 26. hours I examined microscopic- ‘ ally the precipitate and the whit- ish matter floating in the colamn of water. I found the whitish substance to be cellulose, or broken eells, while the precipi- tate was pure starch, showing. that the starch had escaped from the cells by the extra friction. In order, then, to save all the starch of rotting potatoes, it is oply necessary to grind them with such improved machinery as will reduce the potatoes to a finer pulp. Martin McKinzie, of Boston, wrote to the Depart- ment, under date November 1, ultimo, stating that, in a field near his residence, Early Rose and Jackson White potatoes were planted this last season adjoining each other; the first, Early Rose, proved nearly an entire failure from blight—fungus; while the second, or Jackson Whites, grew to perfection. Not the slightest appear- ance of blight was manifest in any instance on them. The writer further 511 states that the conditions of planting, manuring, and soil were practi- cally the same in each case. Facts similar to these have frequently been made from time to time, and form an important point for investigation, and conclusively show that the condition of the potato itself has as much to do with the rot as the fungus, Botrytus infestans. It has been fre- quently stated “ that the potato, from high cultivation, has run out, and that recourse should be had to the seed of the plant as a means of renew- ing the crop.” The terms, “high cultivation,” if they have any practical meaning, must signify that an internal organic structural change has taken place. It may be that the vascular bundles occupy a larger space in the highly cultivated potato, so called, than they did when they first became an object of public interest; if so, this alone might in part explain one of the great causes of potato-rot. ‘The fact that the disease in the potato-plant always appears first in the vicinity of the vascular bundles, or air-cells, would seem to fortify this idea, and investigations in this line might prove profitable. An abundance of moisture and heat will produce rank growth. The first structure formed is cellular, which includes the vascular bandles or air passages, and other forms of cellular tissue. Nitrogenous cells next follow, as a lining to cellulose cells, and, in the case of the potato within this cell, again forms a second cellulose cell, which becomes the starch-cell, and the more likely is this the mode of action, from the fact that starch may be made from the nitrogenous mat- ters, while from the former the latter cannot be made. It is self- evident that the Jackson Whites, in the case alluded to, were proof against the attacks of fungi, although surrounded by it, and the inference might be drawn that the Jackson Whites seed was in a more favorable condition when planted than was the Early Rose seed, and hence the assimilatio#s of the plant were not retarded. Still, the unfavorable climatie conditions under which they grew would change in some degree the relative organic internal structure. After several such changes were effected under the conditions stated, viz, extraneous moisture and high temperature, the Jackson Whites would probably be as liable to disease as the other variety. Seed will not come to perfect maturity under adverse conditions, especially plants that are very susceptible to climatic changeS. Seed of the same stock, attaining its perfect development under more favorable conditions of sun heat and moisture, all other conditions being equal, would probably give much more favorable results, changing probably the relative proportions of the vascular bundle, &e., to the parenchyma cells. Judging from analogy, I am of opinion that more attention should be paid to the climatic conditions under which the seed was produced. Selections of seed made for a series of years from favorable climatic districts would have a great tendency to produce that healthy form of tuber desired tor seed purposes. The savans of Europe, according to the English monthlies, have nothing better to offer asa renfedy but the cutting off the stalks the moment the brown blotches appear. The climate of Great Britain and Ireland, as a rule, is very unfavorable for the growing of tubers from seed. Theclimateis frequently extremely moist. Botrytus infestans on potato fungus is always present in damp places, living on weeds, &c.; its constant presence is well known to micologists. Notwithstanding that Botrytus infestans is truly par- isitic, its ravages are modified by climatic conditions. 512 FACTS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITION IN NEW Soutu WALEsS.—The Agricul- tural Soviety of New South Wales proposes to hold a Metropolitan International Exhibition in the Exhibition Building and Prince Alfred Park, Sydney, commencing April 22, and closing about 3d of May, 1873. The council having charge of this exhibition most cordially solicits agriculturists and manufacturers of every class in the United States—especially of every description of machinery, and agricultural implements—to contribute specimens to the exhibition, with the view of opening with that colony a valuable market for the sale of the various manufactures of this country, which stand deservedly high in that interesting and thriving colony, to which, with the Australian and adjacent colonies, it is predicted a large and most profitable trade will soon be opened, owing to the fact that our facilities for reaching those markets are much greater than those of any other country, shipments being made from San Francisco direct, either by sailing-vessels or steam- ships, at least once in each month. Awards will be made to exhibitors, solely on the merits of their articles, without regard to the country from whichthey came. The Department hasbeen favored by Mr. Jules Joubert, secretary of the society, with schedules of prizes, which are unusually liberal. MILK PRODUCT OF AN AYRSHIRE DAIRY.—E. T. Miles, of Maple- wood farm, Worcester county, Massachusetts, furnishes for publication the following statistics relative to the entire dairy of Ayrshires he has kept for the three years ended July 1, 1872: 5 Ss Number of days in milk. Weight of milk in pounds. Ss eee - wei os i 8 . : : hae (uhe=te = = & = e = s | 3 = 3 a) 3 3 E! oo ze) cd > = r q |- 3 2 2 = =) = Miller Od. 225585 ce 13 1,110 284 | 279 288 6, 5884 4,797 5, 692% eanhyr cus seeees es 11 985 315 | 365 298 8, 011 7, 922 7, 555+ MINIG 2522 Jost eee eas 11 1, 070 2Q°24 307 220 5, B31 5, 930 4, 24e4 DIBISY psc n Sin, Sobel ea 2'2 11 1, 125 321 | 278 263 6, 953 5, 95 5, GUIE DAISY cepecee cect cns « | 10 1, 028 313 304 302 6, 618 6, 1454 6, 300% Mynzile) ist - so. .2-.2252 5 995 265 267 228 4, 819 5, 9504 7,047 © Cleanaitaee) eee 5 | 1,085 301 309 324| 5,178 6, 0214 5, 7644 Maud Muller .......... 5 137211 ae Te Ba ace 905) ||... . aca e eee 5, 493 advo Borng ss: 5: sat-cace 5] 1,073 163 307 284 3, 190 5, 1024 4,785 Ellen Douglas..........| 4 BARTS toy fo Soo 166 O67 oon eee , 281 5, 313% MEV TITAS SEE cites lates 3 aa e-ceacee a panees ee D4) 4) 2 2 Sad eee ee 2, 352E The largest product was by Beauty, in 1869~70, being 8,011 pounds, or, reckoning 83 pounds to the gallon, 915.54 gallons; averaging for the 315 days she was in milk, 25.43 pounds, or 11.6 quarts, per day. The smallest product was by Myrtle 2d, (three years old,) in 187172, being 2.3522 pounds, or 269 gallons; averaging, for the 114 days she was in milk, 20.64 pounds, or very nearly $$ quarts per day. It is worthy of notice that Beauty was only 12 pounds heavier than this heifer, and that there was but one other in the lot lighter than she. In 1871-72 the total yield of the 11 cows was 56,1644 pounds, or 6,418.9 gallons; average per cow, 5,105.9 pounds, or 583.5 gallons; average season in milk, 273 days; daily average for each cow, 15 pounds, or a little less than 6.9 quarts. * This is at the rate of 13.97 pounds per week in June; 11.76 pounds in July; and 9.52 pounds in August. 513 COMPARATIVE AMOUNT OF CREAM FROM DEEP OR SHALLOW SETTING OF MILK.—Thomas Kdge, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, has made the following experiment : After mixing milk, the quantity not stated, soas to have it homogeneous, he divided it into two equal parts, putting as much in one can, 12 inches in diameter, 20 inches deep, as in 6 shallow pans. He added three pints of water to each can, and a half pint to each pan, and put the cans and pans into cold spring-water, so that the surface of milk in each was level with the surface of water. The skiin- mings of cans and pans on six successive days were done at the same time. The daily amounts, as given, make the total of cream from the cans, 68 pounds; from the pans, 48¢ pounds; showing an excess of 194 pounds, or a fraction over 39 per cent. of gain over the pans, though the experimenter states, not in accordance with his other figures, that the excess wis 183 pounds. These two lots of cream being churned on the same morning, that from tie cans yielded 14 ounces more butter than that from the pans; the respective quantities of butter are not given. During the experiment he noticed that the cream from the cans was less solid and tenacious, more easily strained, and thickened less after straining, than that from the pans; also, that if both lots were not skimmed till the paus were ready, that in the cans soured and sometimes thickened, and no more cream rose after skimming; but if both were skimmed when the cans were ready, a small amount of cream would subsequently rise in the pans. On the: other hand, members of the Solebury Farmers’ Club, Backs County, Pennsylvania, made experi- ments, in which the difference in depth ‘was much less, with the. follow- ing results, Henry Wildman, beginning June 3, mixed and divided into two eqnal parts the milk of fourteen wilkings, the aggregate weight of which was 555 pounds. One-half was set 6, the other 24 inches deep. The cream from the deep set made 12 pounds 8 ounces of butter; from the shallow Set, 13 pounds 3 ounces, a difference of 11 ounces in favor of the latter. The temperature and other particulars affecting the result are not stated. During the week following May 27, EB. Reeder put, each morning, 24 pounds of milk into two pans 4 inches deep, and 24 into four pans 24 inches deep; each evening, 36 pounds into three pans 4 inches deep, and 36 into six pans 24 inches deep, making a total of 840 pounds. The temperature of the milk-room, carefully noted, ranged from 56° to 60°, and the milk stood forty-eight hours before skimming. From the deep- set, 43 pounds of cream were obtained ; from the shallow-set, 46 pounds. The time required for churning the cream, put into the churn at a tem- perature of 56°, was 18 minutes for that trom the deep-set aud 17 for that from the shallow-set. The butter obtained from the former weighed in the lump, 19 pounds; from the latter, 21 pounds; atter being worked and formed into pound-prints, that from the former weighed 16 pounds and 12 ounces; that from the latier, 18 pounds and 9 ounces; a diifer- ence of 1 pound and 13 ounces in favor of the latter. The milk was the mixed product of 5 cows, and the butter averaged 1 pound for every 24 of milk. : HK. Michener states that he “set four milkings 5 inches deep and 3 inches,” and obtained from the deep-set 64 pounds of butter; from the Shallow-set, 7 pounds, but gives no further particulars, except the state- ment that his family considered shallow-setting less trouble than deep. THE TWO SYSTEMS OF AGRICULTURE AT THE SOUTH. A careful observer reports the following facts respecting two intelli- gent, enterprising planters in the same locality in Louisiana: They 514 were possessed of equivaleut fortunes, and of plantations about equal in size and productiveness before the war. At itsclose, both were stripped of everything except their desolated lands. Onxe of "these planters fully appreciated the necessity of adapting himself to the new order of things. Recognizing it as his first duty to provide for the immediate wants of hisfamily, and remembering that his neighbors who were exclusively eceu- pied in raising cotton must have food ‘for their families and hands, ‘he gave his first attention to the raising of products for: home consump- tion—corn, potatoes, garden vegetables, orchard, and small fruits; clover for stock and food for swine. Cotton and rice had a place in this diver- sified agriculture, but they were made subordinate to those products which every family must have for the table. Beginning in ths way, on a small scale, he could avoid a great debt, and its consuming canker of interest; get along with a small amount of help, and have constant and remunerative employment for that; secure his family a comfortable support independently of prices in the market, and be sure of a ready sale for whatever surplus he raised. Year by year he has made steady upward progress; his fruit trees have come more and more into bearing; his clover-fields have been extending; and his means for increasing the productiveness of his lands have been multiplying. To-day, if he has not more wealth, his family have more comforts and luxuries, he has more ready money, and is more independent than be- fore the war. The other could not overcome his attachment to the old system of exclusive cotton-planting, but has steadily adhered to it. “ In fact, he has taken up his vegetable-garden with the adored staple.” This plan necessitated the contraction of a large debt, with its accumulating interest, from the very beginning. This has grown as steadily as his neighbor's gains, and the probability is that his now heavily mortgaged plantation must pass out of his hands before another season. NEED OF DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRY.—Mr. H. D. Clayton, president of an agricultural society at Clayton, Alabama, reports that in that section cotton has hitherto been almost the only agricuitaral product. A few “scrubby” cattle are raised, but of the stock, horses, sheep, and hogs, possessed by the owners of the soil, 99 per cent. are bought elsewhere. Convinced that greater profit, and much greater independence of the ravages of insects, of the vicissitudes of the season, and of commerce, wonld result from raising 4 variety of agricultural products insfead of cotton alone, he is endeavoring to introduce a change to that effect. CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN CoTTON CULTURE.—A correspondent in Jefferson County, Arkansas, who has been “ a cotton-grower for thirty years,” furnishes some valuable hints respecting that branch of hus- bandry. Having had, this season, an opportunity to examine exten- sively fields of growing cotton in Tennessee and Northern Alabama, as well as in his own section, he reports “(fair crups where the land was well cultivated, and indifferent ones where it was not.” In the latter case the loug-continued drought and intense heat of the season greatly injured the crop in two ways: first, the roots did not strike down deep, but grew near the surface; and, second, the slender growth occasioned by shallow and poor cultivation left the surface more exposed to the heat of the sun. The well-cultivated fields had @eeper and more vigorous roots, and the surface was better shaded. There has been much defect- ive’ cultivation, he represents, for the reason that the freedmen, who have doue the work, have been compelled to use poor teams and plows, for the want of means to buy better oves. This is one among many illustrations which show, directly or indirectly, that every degree of im- provement in the condition of the laboring class will result in advantage 515 to their employers, not less than to themselves. The drought caused the picking to be earlier than in an ordinary season, and hence the new crop begins to arrive at the receiving ports earlier—a fact by which merchants at a distance are liable to be misled, since in seasons free from drought, which make cotton through August, early receipts are indicative of a large yield. On the other hand, in estimating the amount of the crop, it should be remembered that in dry seasons like this, 100 pounds of seed-cotton will gin more lint than in an ordinary season, because the seed is lighter. Our correspondent concludes as follows: The information, respecting the cotton crop, gathered by the Department of Agricul- ture is becoming reliable, and therefore valuable to the planters. The seed most valu- able to growers is that of the finest variety of multiboll cotton. The fairs ought to offer premiums for cotton-stalks with the bolls on them and the cotton in the bolls, not for clean cotton in the bale. The latter indicates nothing but “ pains taking,” which may be done by any one, and a premium for it results in no benefit to agriculture. But the seed of a fine variety of cotton is to cotton-growing what the importation of fine stallions or bulls is to stock-raising. They may improve all the stock of the State and their offspring become immensely valuable. Our reliable cotton-belt is between 32° 30! and 35°. This belt grows the short-staple and the bulk of our crop. The long-staple erop with us is very small. Asia and Africa have cotton climates, but not the seasons and the intelligence. Egypt grows a good quality of what we may call long-staple, but not equal to our islands off the coast of Georgia. We have the finest cotton coun- try in the world, and are the most intelligent people who grow cotton. We must, therefore, make our own seed. - It cannot come from anywhere else. Our best multi- boll seed must be produced in our own fields. Selections and crossings continued long enough will secure the desired result. Hence the propriety of offering premiums for sced at our fairs. AN ACTIVE FARMERS’ CLUB.—The Concord (Massachusetts) Farm- ers’ Club now numbers thirty active members, nearly all of whom are directly engaged in farming. The club holds weekly meetings at the houses of the members, a subject for discussion being assigned for each meeting. The following is a list of the subjects to be discussed, in the order named, during the coming winter: Wool and mutton—can they be grown profitably by Concord farmers? marketing and care of milk; potato crop; pastures; resources of the farm in fertilizing material ; alternation of crops reduced to a system ; milk—how much does it cost to make a can in summer and winter? farming to-day compared with twenty years, ago; insects; position of the American farmer; means for improving the soil, and the best method of composting manures ; care of milch cows, and best method of feeding ; crops of 1872 compared with former years, and their money-value; hay and its substitutes; best method of curing and feeding ; theory and practice of agriculture; a summer’s experi- ence in gardening; soils, variety, and to what best adapted; advantages of a country home; asparagus; trees of Concord, indigenous and introduced; thunder-showers ; history of agriculture ; roots—best method of raising them, and their value for feed and market; improvement in houses. FARMERS’ CLuBs In Nova Scori1A.—An act has been passed by the provincial legislature of Nova Scotia for promoting the formation of farmers’ clubs thoughout that province? The board of agriculture of the provinee has for the purposes of the act been constituted a bureau of agriculture, and has been authorized to establish societies, to be called farmers’ clubs, in all the different counties of Nova Scotia. -'The clubs are required to prepare statistics in all the branches of agricultural and horticultural industry in their several counties, and to publish, in such manner as to secure the widest circulation, all such reports, essays, and other information as they may procure and adjudge suitable for publica- tion. ‘The bureau is to prepare papers from time to time for the consid- eration of clubs, embracing such subjects as drainage, fertilizers, improve- ment of swamp-lands, rotation of crops, lands best adapted for cereals, im- provement of stock, &c. Premiums are to be offered for essays on ques- tions of scientific inquiry relating to agriculture and horticulture; on 4 516 the raising and improvement of stock, on improvements in agricultural implements and machines; and generally for excellence in any branch ef agricultural, horticultural, or floral industry; and the bureau is annually to epitomize the results arrived at in the various discussions before the clubs, and cause the same to be published for general sale and distribution. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA.—The official reports of Australia make the aggregate area of land under tillage, for the year ending March 31, 1872, 937,220 acres; an increase of 28,205 acres over the previous year. The amount of wheat produced is stated at 4,500,795 bushels; oats, 3,299,889; barley, 335,506; maize, 30,533; beans, millet, and sorghum, 173,217 rye, &c., 8,496; green crops, exclusive of those in kitchen and market gardens, 159,093; hay, 144,637 tons. Total pro- duet of grain, 8,348,756 bushels, being an increase over the previous year of 2,892,159 bushels. Average yield of wheat per acre, 13.45 bush- els;-oats, 18.76; hay, 1.4 tons. The yield of wheat in the entire colony for the last ten years is given as follows: | | ligt, aed Average Year ending March 31. | Area in acres. | Gros re of bushels i ie: snels. | per acre. | H hol 3S Cea ee ee ee: oe) ease es mpetyer oR Feta Rie 162,009 | 3,008,487") 18.6 “CO Secs eaatel 2aei Sage ps tee ess $2 aye ce ae eee er 149,392 | IS38;762 . 9, TES TESTS SA RRS uae ee ac whee be eens 6 MeL Bote 125,040 | 1,899,378 | 13.2 EOYs sees eles sais ete cake Ries Meat cetete eete creer 178,628 | 3, 514;227eee 19,7 AG epee cue Le) ores TAT eine nee ee ce 208,588 | 4,641,205 | 22.3 “lo Toi Spare ye Seo Ae ety Hay reales Lear 216, 989 | 3, 411, 663: 14) gy PSG He Pe te Srey Set heen 5 ee eae 259,804 | 4,229,228 | 16.3 TBO ase aoe USAR eto a cee eee Sia erat, oats oalmeia 288, 514 | 5, 69770560 19,8 a EVA Meth Coc yele eee be) Aa So Ss aes kc mn pene oh Nia 284,167 | 2,870,409 4 10:0) Lye ee Ds a ee aE D YS cee cc, sg Lok Raa 334, 609 4,500,795 | 13. 45 The above gives an average product per acre for the ten years of 13.9 bushels. FOREIGN GRAPES IN TEXAS.—A correspondent of the Department in Austin, Texas, states that since the war the attention of agricultur- ists in that State has been largely directed to the culture of the grape - and other fruits. For a number of years, he says, experience has shown beyond a doubt that the climate of Texas is very favorable to the culture of the foreign grapes. A number of varieties are under culti- vation, and have produced very fine fruit, evenin years when the native grape has been killed by late spring frosts. QT Hay IN TexAs.—A correspondent of the Department in Millheim County, Texas, writes us that hay in large quantities has been harvested in that county the past season, which will be of great service the com- ing winter, the prairie pastures having been almost destroyed by the drought. THE LUMBER-TRADE OF FLORIDA.—It is reported that the number of vessels freighted at Pensacola with timber for Huropean ports in the year ending October 1, was one hundred and sixty-six, with an aggre- gate tonnage of 139,081; the total of cubic feet thus exported was, of hewn timber, 5,790,072; sawn, 1,500,029. The corresponding statistics for the year preceding were one hundred and fourteen vessels, with a tonnage of 95,489, and a total in cubic feet of hewn timber, 4,063,327 ; sawn, 1,057,455. The total of feet cleared for American ports in the year 517 ending October 1, was 45,953,574. Of these 9,303,706 were shipped to Boston, 6,474,343 to New York, and 3,651,547 to Philadelphia A pros- perous though less extensive lumber-trade has also been carried on the past year at Jacksonville, Fernandina, and some other points. THOROUGH-BRED Stock IN Nova Scorra.—The friends of agricul- ture and the public authorities in Nova Scotia are making a laudable effort to encourage the more general diffusion of thorough-bred stock throughout that province. The board of agriculture, under the author- ity of the provincial legislature, have imported a number of entire Eng- lish draught-horses, Short-horn, Ayrshire, and Devon bulls, bull calves, and cows, and Cotswold, Leicester, Shropshire, and Southdown rams and ewes, which were offered for sale at public auction at Halifax on a recent occasion, under the restriction that the animals were to be kept in the province for breeding purposes. The idea of improving the stock of the gountry by importing pure breeds and selling them at auction is borrowed from the Belgians, who have long been in the habit, under the countenance and direct support of the gov ernment, of importing Durham bulis and heifers, and disposing of thei by public sale in the different provinces of the kingdom. FLUKE IN SHEEP.—The disease known in common parlance as “the fluke,” from the popular name applied to the entozoa found in the livers of those afflicted, is prevailing to an alarming degree in Australia. In consequence of the reticence of stock-owners on the subject the extent of the malady is not stated; but it is no secret that one large stock- owner, out of 44,000 sheep, has lost 30,000 the past year, and that a flock of 5,000 flukey ewes produced only 90 lambs. Through the un- willingness of stock-owners to investigate the matter and seek for a remedy, the disease has spread unchecked, until in some parts of the colony it is said to be difficult to find a sound sheep for the butcher. In portions of the New South Wales back country, where the negroes occasionally steal a sheep and feast upon it when half raw, it is said to be no uncommon occurrence to find the natives dying of fluke. In Tasmania the disease is likewise very fatally prevalent. EXPERIMENT IN PLOWING BY STEAM-POWER:.—On the 8th of No- vember, on the seed-farm of D. Landreth, at Bloomsdale, near Bristol, Bueks County, Pennsylvania, a trial was. made of the ‘“ Williamson road and field steamer,” under the supervision of the inventor, D. D. Williamson, of New York. The experiment is reported as entirely suc- cessful. Mr. Williamson’s invention is an improvement on the “ Thomp- son road-steamer” of Great Britain, consisting mainly in the attachment of vuleanized-rubber tires in such 2 way as to prevent the wheels from ' sinking in soft soil, or compressing it to an injurious degree. The report represents that the steamer consumes about one ton of “coal per day; re- quires for working it an engineer, fireman, and “ a boy to drive a water- cart ;” can be used for driving thrashing and other machines; will draw from twenty to thirty tons of freight in wagons on any fair country road; will turn on a space not exceeding in “diameter its own length ; will plow, on land suitable for cultivation. by steam, from one to three acres per hour, according to length of land and depth of furrow; and costs, with plow and tackle complete, $5,000. The following extracts are from a description of its action by an eye-witness: No team of horses could have turned, backed, and stopped with more facility and cer- tainty. It was run up the steep bridgeway of a barn, having an elevation of 1 foot in 5, backed down, and run up again with the greatest ease and facility. For a fur- ther confirmation of its capacity a couple of large farm-wagons were coupled behind it, in which about twenty of the guests were seated for aride. It trotted off with us on ' the public road toward Bristol, at the rate of six to seven miles per hour; weat through 518 gates, turned in at bars, crossed soft gullies, went up sharp hillocks, crossed at a sharp elevation the railroad-track, and down again on the other side, ayd, making a short turn, brought us back through a field of fifty acres, which had been plowed with it, to the place of departure. This plowing was beautifully done, and we were informed at an average depth of 9 inches, much of it being 12 inches. No more acéurate or level furrows,,as it appeared to us, could be made by any plowman with a well-trained team of horses. : After being uncoupled from the wagons it was attached for a trial of plowing to the Williamson ganeg-plow, consisting of five secured to one frame. st RENE i 7 On the way to the field the plows followed the steamer as erected as a two-wheeled cart. Not a moment was lost in getting to work. The field selected was an old tough sed with a steep grade in the center. The tripping of a lever by the fireman, which he performed from his station at the boiler, let the plows into the ground, and away ~ rolled the steamer as straight as an arrow, with the tough sod-furrows rolling over behind like so many wavés. The work seemed perfect, each furrow being meehani- cally correct and alike in width and depth. At the ascent of the grade in the middle of the field, no diminished speed was observable, the power seeming so arbitrary and irresistible that no ordinary field obstructions could have resisted its continuous pro- gress. Arrived at the end of the field, the fireman pulled another rope, and out shot each one of the plows, the steamer spun around on one wheel, ran across the headland, and turning into a new land, was instantly at work on the “turn-bout.”. There was no hitch, no slipping or b&cking, but a simple, silent triumph of good, sensible engi- neering. We are thus particuiar in describing exactly what we saw and was witnessed with surprise and pleasure by the whole company, because it demonstrated that the expe- riment of steam on the farm and on the road was successful in every point. METEOROLOGY IN AGRICULTURE.—The powers of the Signal-Office have been enlarged by the act of Congress of June 10, 1872, and extended to the more immediate interests of agriculture. Appropriation is made by that act for the expenses of storm-signals, by telegraph, announcing the probable approach and force of storms throughout the United States, for the benefit of agriculture as well as of commerce. ‘To aid in the accomplishment of the object, the Chief Signal-Officer has issued a circular to agricultural and horticultural societies, inviting any sugges- tions or recommendations to perfect the system now established, and to renderit more directly useful to the agricultural interests, and suggesting that the best mode in which such societies can co-operate with the Signal- Ojifice in the matter is by the appointment of permanent committees to confer occasionally with the Chief Signal-Oftficer, and to take, in conjune- tion with him, such steps as may be deemed desirable. A large number of societies have already responded to the request of the Signal Officer, and appointed the committees as proposed. It is not to be understood that these committees are to take meteorological observations or make reports for the signal-service, the only object being to obtain their prae- tical co-operation through correspondence and conference. DESTRUCTION OF COTTON BY FLOOD.—Our correspondent in Mobile County, Alabama, reports that a recent flood has been very destructive to cotton, the principal agricultural product of that county. Is is esti- mated that it destroyed from 500,000 to 600,000 bales, which would oth- erwise have been shipped from Mobile. The falling off thus occasioned is so great as to somewhat cripple the commerce of that port. AGRICULTURE IN ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.—This is a small county lying east of San Francisco Bay, and having a population of about 35,000, with 6,474 registered voters. The present assessed value of its real estate is $27,486,940; of its improvements, $5,498,020; of its per- sonal property, $6,748,665. In 1871 it had of land inelosed 94,790 acres; cultivated, 124,546 acres ; upon which were produced, bushels of wheat, 429,443; barley, 204,580; oats, 29,947; rye, 300; corn, 23,485 ; buckwheat, 789 ; ‘peas, 2,925; beans, 3,110; onions, 36,400; tons of po- tatoes, 9,022; beets, 870; turnips, 115; pumpkins and squashes, 594; hay, 8,875; pounds of flax, 13,500; hops, 6,500; wool, 247,840; butter, 519 226,250; honey, 750. In 1872 it had under cultivation, of wheat, 115, 408 ACTES ; barley, 67,837 ; oats, 858 5 Botanoes, 968 ; total under these four products, 185, O71 acres, "peing 60,525 more than’ were occupied by all the grain and vegetable products cultivated the previous year. In cultivated trees it has of apple, 50,514; peach, 13,520; pear, 16,164 ; plum, 11,858; cherry, 28,519; nectarine, 3,300; quince, 1,468; apricot, 3,427; tig, 817; lemon, 62; orange, 82; olive, 587; prune, 3,066 ; mul- berry, 1,204; almond, 152,956; walnut, 3,576; grape-vines, 223,102. In live stock it has, of cattle, 22,598; horses, 6, 711 ; mules, 631; asses, 14; sheep, 58,560 ; Cashmere and Angora eoats, 43; hogs, 2,556; hives of bees, 300. CorkK-0OAK.—A correspondent, dating at Alhambra, California, reports that the acorns of the cork-oak, distributed by this Department a few: years since, have done well, and expresses the opinion that a new sup- ply would be carefully improved in view of prospectiv e profitable results. THE RICE CROP.—Lafourche, one of the principal rice-growing par- ishes of Louisiana, has produced this season, as reported, about 15,000 bushels of clean rice. This is about equal to the crop of the same parish in 1869. Honey IN CoLoraApo.—It is-reported that two years ago Mr. N. O Stewart, of Jefferson County, started with two hives of bees, which have now increased to 21 hives, and have yielded the past season about 2,500 pounds of honey, worth from 40 to 50 cents per pound. Mr. Stewart has never fed his bees, and they have cost him little or no attention. PRODUC? OF ONE KERNEL OF WHEAT.—Our corre espondent in Mer- riwether County, Georgia, states that a “ volunteer” kernel of wheat, which came up in the garden of Hon. O. Warner, this season, produced 99 heads and 3,058 kernels, the largest heads having 75 each. It was an early red, bald variety, and matured about the Ist of June. WINTER AND SPRING WHEAT IN WISCONSIN.—A correspondent in Sauk County represents that the Diehl wheat (winter) received from this Department has proved hardy and productive, yielding on new ground 402 bushels, and on old 25. It isso well appreciated that he readily sold his whole crop at $2 per bushel for seed. He believes that hence- forth Wisconsin, in part at least, must raise hardy varieties of winter, instead of spring wheat, and must keep the soil in good condition by the use of fertilizers. ‘Many hope to obviate the failure in raising spring - wheat by a change of seed from one locality to another, but he is con- vineed that the difficulty is too radical to be remedied in that way; that it results from exhaustion of soil by continuous cropping, regard- less of the Jaws of compensation. FARM-ANIMALS IN On10.—The official report for 1872 gives the total of farm-animals in Ohio, compared with year 1871, as follows: In 1871, number of horses, 711,349°; cattle, 1,646,440; mules, &e., 21,986; sheep, 4,302,904; hogs, 2,164,403. In 1872, number of horses, 718,157; cattle, 1,761,623 ; mules, &c., 22,958 ; sheep, 4, 464,898; hogs, 2,315,554. Increase of horses, 6,808; cattle, 115 183 ; ; mules, &e., 972; sheep, 161,994 ; hogs, 151,151. CULTIVATION OF CORN.—Shoemaker & -Robinson, of West White- land, Chestér County, Pennsylvania, claim to have produced, the present year, on 10 acres and 92 perches of land, 1,005 bushels of corn, allowing 70 pounds of ears to the bushel; 70 pounds were shelled, and it made one bushel and two quarts. During the summer of 1871, the field was 520 limed at the rate of 60 bushels to the acre. In the winter of 1872/72 it was well covered With barn-yard manure, which was plowed under in Apt il, scored about 4 feet scant each way, and planted w ith three grains and compost in each hill, in the first week in May. CATTLE-PLAGUE IN FRANCE .—The cattle typhus or plague is repre- sented as having almost entirely disappeared in France, after having cost the country at least 57,000 head of cattle, approximately estimated at 15,000,000 franes, or $3,000,000, the average value of each beast vic- timized being 266 francs. Forty departments, including about one-half of the territory of the country, suffered from the disease. CoLuMBIA County, NEw York.—Lying in the valley of the Hudson, with ready access to market, and possessing varieties of soil which adapt it to the production of all kinds of grain, vegetables, and fruit, Colum- bia County ought to be among the first in agricultural progress and prosperity.. As yet, few advances have been made upon old methods, but subsoiling , under draining, and kindred improvements are beginning to engage the attention of farmers, agricultural journals are spreading among them, and there are other indications that the era of progress is at hand. - TREE-CULTURE IN KANSAS.—Willow-cuttings received from this Department, and set last spring by the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan, Riley County, are reported as having been meas- ured, October 15, with the following results: Height of Saliz babylonica, 84 feet; S. japonica, 65 feet; S. acutifolia, 6 feet; S. moschata, 5 feet. There were other cuttings from the Department, but the above were the most thrifty. Lombardy poplars, from cuttings set last spring, were 6 feet high. Among upland willows the Salix triandra (from the Department) had grown over 4 ‘feet. On the w hole, the results of experiments with forest-trees at the agricultural college are reported as highly satisfactory. A cor- respondent in Linn County also reports very favorable results from seeds of ailantus and honey-locust trees received from this Department. The - plants are rej resented as very thrifty ; also as growing twice as rapidly in red as in “ a very rich black soil.” FARMING IN LOUISIANA.—An occasional correspondent, writing frpm Morehouse Parish, represents that, in that section, the present genera- tion of laborers will not realize that the land now needs different and more thorough cultivation than when new; and so are likely to go on, to the end of life, “making corn and cotton, just as old masters did when they were young.” ‘This‘season, on a place which he superintended, he made, from 150 acres planted in cottot n, 175 bales; but other places worked by him, to which he could not giv ‘e personal supervision, did not yield half as well. He reports that in ‘that section cotton, now housed, turnsout better than was anticipated, and corn enough has been raised to supply their own wants. He adds: I and two. others cut hay last spring, on a prairie above here, (Bayou Bartholomew, ) which is very fine. We had the first "mower ever brought into North Louisiana. I suppose we cut 100 tons. There is enough on the prairie to supply the rough forage for the whole parish. It contains 5,000 acres or more, covered with grass from Imee_ high to as high as the head of a man on horseback. WHEAT-EXPORT OF CALIFORNIA.—The exports of California wheat, from the first arrivals of the new crop to December 1, amounted to five and a half million centals, or over nine million bushels, freighting nearly 150 ships. A score of vessels, at San Francisco, were awaiting cargo, and the daily shipments averaged 1,000 tons. But small inroads, how- ever, had been made upon the inland accumulations of grain. Flour 521 shipments, this fall, have been quite limited, being confifed mostly to a few thousand barrels of low-priced superfines sent by steamer to Hong- Kong. FLUCTUATIONS IN THE PRICES OF SHEEP AND LAMES.—The Mark Lane Express gives a table showing the range of prices for sheep and lambs sold at the Lewes sheep fair, England, for the years 18405055, and from 1859 to 1872 inclusive. The highest price is for this year, ranging from 40 to 72 shillings for sheep, and from 26 to 48 for lambs. The largest for sheep was in 1850, being from 20 to 35, lambs ranging from 15 to 25; but in 1868 the latter ranged from 14 to 26, sheep selling at 20 to 41. Jor the whole period the average price was, for sheep 38s. Gd., for lambs 26s., the extremes of annual averages being, as above, for sheep 56s. and 27s. 6d., and for lambs 37s. and 20s. DISEASES OF SHEEP IN OREGON.—A correspondent in Lane County writes as follows: Our sheep, in Oregon, have new, and, to me, strange diseases. One, here called “leeches in the liver,” is prevalent and fatal. The liver is filled with leeches, resem- bling those found in water, which appear to be at home in sheep, deer, and eattle. Thousands of sheep die annually in our State from their presence. Symptoms: The sheep become stupid, look sorry, fall away in flesh, the head swells about the nose, and the skin of the’ jaw hangs down like a sack or bladder filled with water. “Staggers,” another disease which I have not found in the books, is attended with the following symptoms: The sheep begins to shake its head, and scratch its ear with its hind foot; subsequently it goes round and round, falls down, gets up, falls again and again, looks wildly out of the eyes, and seems te be on a “regular bender” for one and sometimes for four or five days. I am told that sometimes sheep die of “staggers,” but cannot vouch for the statement. Can any of your correspondents point out the proper names and remedies of these diseases? SUCCESS IN GROWING SILKWORMS.—The experiment of Mr. Romulus Bonhomme in growing silkworms, at Los Angeles, California, the past season, is reported as very successful. The mulberry trees used are of the alba and moretta varieties, of which he has 16,000 trees, four and five years old. He has tried the Philippine, which he regards as nearly equal to the alba, and the multicaulis, which he has abandoned as com- paratively worthless. He sets his trees in rows 16 feet apart both ways; has tried 8 feet, but finds that too near, the leaves of trees so crowded nog being healthy for worms. From four ounces of eggs he obtained 445 pounds of cocoons. His loss of worms was less than 1 per cent. of the number hatched. During the first and second stages of growth he feeds from young trees; the third and fourth, from older trees and leaves. During the first three stages he feeds three times a day; dur- ing the fourth, five times a day and twice at night. He finds that the worms from one ounce of eggs require, to perfect their growth, 1,200 pounds of leaves, while in Italy and France the same quantity requires from 1,800 to 2,000 pounds. He began feeding the French yellow variety on the 15th of April, and the cocoons were completed in thirty- six to forty days. As his object was the production of eggs, his cocoons are all perforated. The eggs, of which he has 460 ounces in excellent condition, are estimated at $6 per ounce. He is confident that for the successful culture of: the silkworm, the climate of Los Angeles is no- where surpassed. BEET-SUGAR IN CALIFORNIA.—The Alvarado beet crop of 1870 yielded less than 8 per cent. of sugar, the whole amount being 500,000 pounds; that of 1871 yielded about 8 per cent., and amounted to 750,000 pounds; that of 1872 yields 83 per cent., and it is estimated that the whole product of sugar will be from 1,000,000 to 1,250,000 pounds. It is reported that the home product, as yet in its infaney, has already 522 had the effect to reduce the price of No. 1 granulatgd sugar in Califor- nia 1} to 2: cents per pound, and to make it 1 cent per pound lower, on the average, than in the New York market. ; CHEESE-MAKING IN TExAs.—A Mr. Brown, who emigrated from Jefferson County, New York, to Hrath County, Texas, began there experiments in cheese-making, in 1869. With rude apparatus, he made, from 35 common Texas range cows, 1,000 pounds; lost 700 pounds of it, and soid the rest for 35 cents per pound. With better apparatus, obtained from the North in 1570, he made, from 40 cows of the same grade, 2,000 pounds, and lost about 500. Inferring that the loss was not owing to climate, cows, or feed, but té improper management of the business in that untried climate, he improved the winter following in gaining information from the best authorities on cheese-making; pro- cured Bavarian prepared rennet, and last season tried again, and with very satisfactory results, not losing 10 pounds. He estimates that with good management an ordinary Texas cow will make, during the season, 100 pounds of cheese, besides rearing a calf, and that at least $40 worth of pork may be raised on the whey trom her milk, properly fed out. AGRICULTURE IN IpAHO.—Mr. J. H. Evans, Lewiston, Idaho, writes to this Department, under date of October 11, that it was thought until the last few years that mining was the only pursuit that would pay in that upper country; but that the last three years have developed the fact that there is a vast agricultural country along the tablelands and valleys of the Blue and Coeur d’Aléne Mountains. A brief description of the Genesee Valley, in about the latitude of 46°, will apply in most respects to numberless others. This valley is ten miles from Lewiston, the capital of Nez Perce County, at the conflu- ence of the Kooskooskie with the Lewis and Clark branch of the Co- lumbia River, and is some fourteen miles long, and from half to one mile wide.’ The soil is a vegetable mold, slightly intermixed with sand, from two to three feet deep, resting upon a clay subsoil. . Water, dur- ing the dryest part of the year, is found at the depth of 12 to 16 feet, pure and cold, while along the smaller valleys intersecting the Gene- see are to be found numberless springs. Timber consists of pine, fir, tamarack, and cedar, and is inexhaustible. The hills are covered with the finest bunch-grass, which has remained green and tender all sum- mer, upon which cattle and horses thrive as well as upon any of the tame grasses. Stock-raising is destined to be one of the leading pur- suits, as the mild winters render it unnecessary to provide but a small amount of focd; indeed, thousands of Indian horses and cattle go through every winter without any feed. There is only one man in many miles who had any crop the present season, and he had wheat, oats, and barley of a superior description. He also had fine vegetables of all the common kinds. There was frost every month the past summer on the low, moist land, but none on the hill-sides until the 25th of Septem- ber. Apples, pears, peaches, plums and. grapes, do splendidly along the Clearwater River. NEW AGRICULTURAL SocreTiEs.—John F. Hauser, Grundy County, Tennessee, writes to this Department, under date of October 30, that the interests of agricultural progress must necessarily lead the farmers to this Department for advice and support, and that he takes pleasure in announcing the organization of the Agricultural Society of New Switzerland, composed of a Swiss colony in Grundy County, Tennessee, counting now twenty-eight members, and enjoying a healthy and flourish- ing condition. Heretofore, the Cumberland Mountains have been re- 523 garded by the native inhabitants as entirely unadapted to farming pur- . poses, except for stock, fruit, and a few vegetables; but now this region . is beginning to attract the attention of immigration, and will soon change the wild aspect into a lovely landscape of productive farms, aided by in- dustrial and commercial enterprise. The erroneous notion of former days has been sufficiently disproved during the four years since the colony was founded. They have now to show specimens of wheat, rye, and oats, vegetables and fruits, grapes, &c., which wiil compare with sunilar products grown anywhere in the United States; and he hopes, in time, by a more practical and a better knowledge of the peculiarities of soil and climate, to surpass them. For such. purpose their society was organized, and is laboring diligently. PURE AND CHEAP MiLkK.—In London the names of those who are known to sell adulterated milk are published monthly, and, it is said, with good effect. The plan has been attempted in some of the cities of the United States, but only partially, and with very limited success. There is in London a company—the Aylesbury Dairy Company—which occupies premises covering an area of fifty acres of ground, the system being to procure and distribute milk from reliable sources and of an assured good quality, at rates which shail be reasonably remunerative to dairymen, and at the same time secure consumers against extortion from speculators, middle-men, and others. The company has been in operation long enough to have tested its practicability and beneficent effects, and it now supplies several thousand families once, twice, and, in some instances, three times a day, with pure milk. It commenced with a capital of fifty thousand dollars, but, that has been increased to five hundred thousand, upon which a dividend of ten per cent. is paid. The price of milk furnished by the company has never exceeded eight cents a quart. The purity of milk may easily be determined by ascer- taining the percentage of cream and solid matter which it gives. Gen- tine milk will average ten per cent. of cream and twelve per cent. of solid matter. A milk with less cream and solid matter than this has been, skimmed or watered. Stock SALES.—Mr. L. L. Dorsey sold, November 15th, at his stock- farm, eight miles from Louisville, Kentucky, 49 horses for $23,220, being an average of $472 per head. The range was from $3,600 for ‘“ Rolla Golddust,” a gelding twelve years old, to "$175 for a saddle-gelding. Mr. Wm. Worfield, whose farm is near Lexington, Kentucky, had a large sale of short-horns, November 12th. Of the bulls sold, a list of twelve, with the prices and ages afiixed, is given; six of them were ealved in 1871, and six in 1872, The twelve sold for $3,350; average price, $2791. The six calved in 1872 sold for $1,315; average, $2191, The six calved in 1871, for $2,035; averaging $3391, The range of prices was from $650 for os: Loudon Duke Sth,” calved November 22 22, 187 ip to $50 for “ Wexford,” calved April 8, 1872. The latter was red and white. “ Jack Tar,” red, calved a month later, May 10, was sold to the same purchaser, J. H. Spears of Illinois, for $505. Of the cows sold, a list of thirty-seven is given, which brought a total of $13,641; average price, $368.67. The extremes in price were, for “‘ Loudon Duchess 6th, ? roan, calved December 31, 1870, $2,025, and “Laura Lee,” red: -roan S61. e \ ' 524 MARKET PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. For November and December, 1872. Articles. November. December. | ¥ NEW YORK. Flour, superfine State .-...--.--.- per barrel..| $5 80 to $6 20 | $5 90 to $6 30 Gutta Rishe ck ete omere Le 7 eed | “690 to 700 | 700 to 780 SUperine Westells.-.oeseee He O0--\ooce | 5 80 to 6 20 | 5 90 to 6 30 extra to choice western..-..-.- WO cae 5 | 680 to 1100 | 6 90% toMteop extra southern.-.2-- 0252.5. 52 10). ie |. 710 ‘to 9:15 “\\ (7 LOR omee mis choice southern... - 22-25-22 GOn cess | 9 20. to 12-00. |». S920 Nitenizaie Wheat, No, d‘spring...5.-. 2 - per bushel..| .1 64 to 160 to 161 No. 2 spring......-.--..-----do......| 158 to 1 58} | SSeS e see winter, red, western......--.- GO saa cas 160 to 163 | “6@3e%or tree white winter, western....--.- doseiict | 190!-sto 176 to 2 05 1 Re Sos Ao Sees He Bao SSeS _---do..--.- | 85 to 91 to RULE eR See a ne weet wc et ee OO-ses2 . 70 to 85 | 90 to 92 Odts Seren ten Seon eas rce ce nee. HOO mec one | 38 «to 50 | 49 to 55 Cor S20 BESS a) LE Ras 9” 6 aes Goze. | 65 to 66} | 63 to 754 Hay, shipping qualities............ per ton...| 20 00 to 21 00 | 2200 to prime, for retailing........----- doseeree 25 00 to 30 00 28 00 to 36 00 Pak, Wiens 8 sacks niet Sn eeciesth aie per barrel..| 15 25 to 15 80 | 15 75 to 16 00 PTAMP HERS -.42 02 -ene nk = eile 3 geste: 15 00 to | 15 257 %be Beer wlan WNOsS 2.2 os cc eae es 0 400 to 850 | 400 to 12 00 OXbVA MESS Mee sn lee ee ae ne iste aa doles 850 to 1000 | 1200 to 13 50 ania Ges seein oe ee eee ce eee per pound. -! &L to 8g | 7% to &2 Butter, western ....---- See SE BOISE WMO seme = | 10 to 22 10 to 22 State rd aity ose aoe eaee eee @oseee ce 24 to Shit | 24 to 3D Cheese, western dairy-.-.-.-.-----..- Othe 22 123 to 132 | 124 to 132 State factory. 2.-2-22---46 SPAS Ait mar 12 | te aie 12. «to, :na4 Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary....do...-.-. 164 to 192 | 163 to 18% low middling to good middli’g.do..-.-.-. | 194 to 214 18% to 214 Tobacco, lugs, all grades-....-. yes eae don ere | 9+ to 103 |. 91 to 103 common to medium leaf -.-.do...--. | 10 to 114 10 to 114 Wool extrampullledeneesa.eelsece pm oeese. 574 to 613 to 65 California, spring clip...---.--- OG re Se | nn eee Meee es a California fall ‘clip: 225.2 -- <= .. doze see 26 to 33. to ——— 4 [eb 67 1H” pig oapae ee ar Caray} Sa dor heee | 24 to 38 | 42 to 434 New York State fleece ....-.--- Gone Lise ciegt te eae was| on 0 eee Choice.Omotetee: cme e cee eeer dos-see- (ee aise eee eee | apices Be eth ES, BOSTON. | Flour, western, superfine.....---.per barrel... 525 to 600 . 500 to 6 00 Oxtlads.. cee eony ee Oe ee | 650 to 850 | (‘Gijeugaumees GhOIG.s sneer eee dos. -3 | 875 to 11 50 | 9)00aerr ae southern extras .-.\-22--- ---- QOxeecce | 675 to 725 | 67 to 725 choice Baltimore.....--.-----do.....-| 1000 to 1200 | 1000 to 12 00 GYM OVS Yin, LP SR A oe ees el per bushel.. 160 to 200 160 to 2 00 Corn, southern yellow. ...----.------ MOterans 71 to 72 72 to 7% western mixed........--.----- doleeeing | 69 to 71 70) toute western yellow.----.---------- dozsse.2 | 71 to 72, | 72. to 73 RYO Tee che tee eee eh mem ols balemin= las (Oe cer os &5 to 90 | 4-00Mite Barley tas peers ast ese teeee dozoecee 7> to, 110 90 to 1 20 COPS) BAe a2 5 a eee ee doneeaee | 40 to 56 45 to 56 - Beef, western mess..-..--..-..-.-per barrel..| 11 00 to 12 00 13 00 to 15 00 WeSbOLD GXTA- oes -ieesake se cee e Omea cies 11 00 to 12 00 11 50 to 12 00 POUk, S036 06) peemee ieee as wa wee Gea 16 00 to 1650 | 1650 to 17 00 PLUMS pose seat eee ee ee dop-no-e 12.00 to 1250 | 1250 to 13 00 Lard 45220 beeen evecare - epee e per pound.” 9, to . 108 9 to 94 Butter, New York and Vermont....-..do.....- 15 to 34 | 15 to (33 WCRURE) 3S sc aitan ane heen eeecnt dO. woes 15 (to 180 12 to 30 52 or Market prices of farm products—Continued. ee --+ Sette —— 7 | Articles. November. December. — Bosron—Continued. Cheege, N. Y. and Vt., factory ....per pound..| $0 13 to $0 153 | $0 12 to $0 144 New York and Vermont dairy..do...--. | 124 to 15° | 11 to 14° Ohio factory, good to choice..-.do..----. 124 to Toes 12 to 144 Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary....do...... | 17 to 20 | 164 to 19 low middling to good middling do....-.- | 20 to 23 19 to 23 oe 0 ar dOsae nae 9 to 92 | 19 to 104° common to medium leaf....do.---... | 10 to 12 11 to 12 Hay, eastern and northern....-...... per ton...| 20 50 to 28 00 20 00 to 28 00 western Choice .............---- dozc22%! Ey omen ee atc orks haice Aaa aha Wool, Ohio and Pennsylvania- .---. per pound...) 55 to 70 65 to 80 Mrchigan .. 2.22.56. a ceeseee es dozaes-: | 55 to 60 63 to 70 other western .........---..... GOseasss | 53 to 59 63 to 70 COTTE ee ee ie ae doves | 20 to 45 32. «to 524 RP SEIMEP rat 2. Sinn dee cess wis ogre s=* | 30, t0 45 45 to 55 (ES) 22a a re doszize? . 30 to 62 45 to 75 combine-fleece ......---..----- dojass2! 65 to 70 80 to 82 nee eELMNC-.-~...----------- per barrel 5 50 .to 875 | 525 to 8 50 in| 2 re TBE dots2a8 #196 * 50516039250) | Op aUueom Once. family and fancy ....-...--.-.- do wl 80) ton 2°05 180 to 205 (LIK) 2a eee €0psaacs | 1 80-to 2.05) J 85> to 210 oo eS cs doesseer 58 to 60 | 57. (tor 60 i a ee ane dos-ae i 60 to 68 bY. dot GS IO cdocce = See dove2es- 80 to 85 80 to 85 Asoc 20662 ee ee Caeerae- | 39 to 43 | 42 to 47 Hay, western, good to prime.....-.. per ton...| 3000 to 32 00 30 00 to 34 60 Loo per barrel... 15.00 ~ to’ 20) 00) | 252.2 co seer GR, 1G. Con see 23) 00! toy 2or 00k 2575.15 6 = eee LOUIS Osh) LAC a dang. 16 00 to | 15 00 to 16 00 LCG Gide Ree ea dove. | Pao tO 104 8 to 104 Butter, choice and fancy..-..--.-- per pound..| 27 «to 30 | 30 to 3 LMT? (io) 0a 0) | Re eee ea down-c 22). to: . 26 20 ton 1 36 Glecsemwesterm ---.2.....-..-.2.--.- dove se 144 to 1a =| 144 to 15 COSC ee ae dorouee: | 142 to 154 15) to 15} Cotton, low middling to middling .-..do.._--- / 194 to 193 | 18 to 194 ordinary to zood ordinary ECO as Sas —— to 182 152 to 182 Tobacco, ings, Virginia and Ky...-percental..| 800 to 950 | 850 to 10 00 common to medium leaf... - dotasees | 10 50 to 12 00 10 00 to 11 00 Wool, fleece, common to fair....-.. per pound... 43 to 54 45 to 50 GM VASHEC | oo 2 2 oi fee ai ete ce doyeeeee 45 to 49 53 to 56 unwashed, free from burs...-.. dozasse. 30 to | 36 to 40 TNE act co rel a A oS eae dOts2sc5 38 to —— 40 to 49 CINCINNATI Bloum superine..2...)./.25..-22. per barrel:.| 500 to 575 | 525 to 6 00 PDE ME chose sls ska pe ceca do. seek 675 to 7 00 725 to 7 40 family and fancy ...2.--..2--- doraenes 700 to 9 00 740 to 9 00 Witear, winter red....-........-. per bushel..| 143 to 145 | 145 to 168 GS escent ee ha aero oe Occ ceet 160 to 1 65 160 to 1 65 Le eee ees See dozss.54 i = 50) to, 1.70) 424 68) tor eis MRE fee ace sii oe cwlae soy s do-et ae 37 «to 41 | 40 to 44 Oats, white, good to prime.---..----. doOsteaee 31 to 33 32 to 34 PWERGG Sn a o\siss Sees as'scfe ose wae eon aces | 28 to 30 |, 27 to 31 ING ose: 4 J ee eee eee eee doctaee. 55 to 70 70 to a2, Barley, prime to choice fall --..-..... Goeaenes 85 td 90 85 to 90 prime to choice spring... .----. doco: 80 to 85 78 to 83 526 Market prices of farm products—Continued. | Articles. November. CINCINNATI—Continued. Hay baled WO: 5-7 ein sicee ore sa per ton...| $18 00 to$21 00 lower grades. ......-------.----d0..-... 14 00 to 18 00 Boric IGee, Os 3's ose e toe ete -per barrel..| 14 25 to 14 50 Beef, "plate Eee cece aeons melsalacceies doz. -<2| . 12 7a toms OD Lard, Giby Kebtlete colic nse se See per pound... 7¥ to 8 new prime steam .-------.-.--. Osc. -- | 7% Butter, Western Reserve, choice .. .--- Gh bere | 23 to 25 CentraliOhio) -s2 22>)-o" es-- == ho gaeer | 20 to 22 Cleese itacionyee chon a cisiltenia tals aris SIO yaes Se | 15 to 16 Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary..-.do..-..- | 16 to 174 low middling to good middl...do....-. 182 to 194 Wool, common to med. washed fleece.do..---- 47 to 48 medium to fine)---.s.1-----.--- dex. 224 48 to 50 Sy Suolb=wiashed ite S2cesecer- ae <5 10 cust 50 to 55 unwashed, clothing...-..-.-.- Oe oes 30 «to 35 unwashed, combing....--.-... - do-=! =. | 46 «to 48 pulled eee ce ci seer eeeee dows eect 35 to 37 CHICAGO. Flour; winter, (extras, <2 5). 2-5. a-- per barrel.-| 8 50 to 10 00 Spine, extfas..- 2b. sos. cee sevdOnwen al) TA 75 een sous Wheat, No. lspring.-.- ...--..-52 per bushel..| 117 to POC CS NIN ie erie ae anata OG ecm 1 074 to 1 08 NOP SIS LUN OU: Bev cer cot Mise crate dps ses. 96 to 974 Gorm Nor2es- 2S ioote.sscscus haces GOs.a5 - <1 314 to 31} rejected .... SHS SS SAE Sort mae bt casas = 30 to 304 Oats SING SO Rese eee ere cee aaa ee OReR See 202 to 213 Wey OWE! oh Sop eS se naoebbceesqso5 or dOsac5=- 17 to 174 VO MINOn ee Serie etn) s eae bem cee dos. 225. 513 to MAIBUGEs Mee een Lee Sth ble ee SU oe cae 464 to 47 Barley, Ome ee ee ee eae te cheeks mete GO esesc 624 to 644 MOVE CHEM eer eee cette ete mete ial= eet ats doz sa. s 38 «to 42 Hay, ‘timothy, (on track)...-..---.--per ton. -| 15 50 to 17 00 prairie, (ontrack) .-22- 2.25572 < don2-cos}) L000) tomioo GLK MNGSS eee emer mee stealer per barrel../ 14 00 to 15 00 Beef, NEMS IES won ee Ceo: pate eels ris ee St | 800 to 8 50 SRTANNESS- so tase sos eee eee oes dO. csa3 | 9 00 to 10 00 Bard eee = eee nce eae aap aaa per pound. .| 07 to > Butter, choice dairy :----ece sheers O0ne ae 25 to 26 medium to good......°...... WO sesos 18 to 22 Cheese, New York factory ..---. ---- dosseees | -15 to 16 Ohio factory:s2-2 2.2% 3, eee ae do*s 2222 34 to 141 Wool, tub, common to choice. -.-----do...--. 50 to 60 fleece-washed....-.-------+--. doses. 38 to 52 PUlled . we sos cee meee cea dostsc-e 40 to 45 SAINT LOUIS. Flour sppiaoextras ..------ --. ==persbarrel==| 10 00 to 6 00 willter superfine. ..-.--..----- Geese 400 to 4 25 z extras to choice......-.do...... 450 to 9 00 Wheat, Spring sess /- arc cine per bushel... 95. tos 135 WiINter ede: cas.) s aes sere dows. {35> tondeo0 WHI. 2 Gece wei dice cree bocce Osceees 148 to 1 65 Carn, MIKCAe vases eee = «ces electors doOwssse- 30 «to 41 FOLLOW ieee in eeeeient> sinls - Cae tot doves: 41 to WV CON ia.tarte neice Wain stapee ai do--s-.- | 50 to Ostia, Awhtbessoc 2 ance ie eelne secs. s does 264 to _40 oe Sues. 312 = ipRas cae 32 CdS Bb abc doesn | 26 to 32 RYO thee eo ena ees epitete enieens Cowes 52 to 5d Barley wieshe ebeuieteeeses Bye sae se doses 45 to 85 FI RLY sie epis wets Seca aes side sep tones ae per ton 13 00 to 18 75 December. 918 00 to$21 00 15 00 to 17 00 12 00 to 15 00 to 7x to 7+ to 25 to 28 16. to 25 144 to 154 152 to 172 18 to 193 47 to 48 48 to 50 50 to 5d 30 to 35D 46 to 48 oO” to edi 8 50 to 5 75... 40) ab aie 1.16. top ao 1 09% to 110 -99 to 1 01 3b 40 31d 29 to 24° to 25 22 to 23 574 te ——— to 61 to 62 to 850 to 9 00 9 50 to 10 00 074 to O73 24 to 28 18 to 22 14 to ies 12 to 1314 55 to 7 45 to 57 40 to 45 480 to 7 30 450 to 5 00 5 95 “toagase 1 054 to 1 25 1 504 to 1 90 - to ——— 33. to —— 3a1 250 34 to 2 ae 18) 34 252 to. 274 58 to 61 55 to 1 00 13 00 to 23 00 527 % Market prices of farm products—Continued. Articles. November. December. Saint Lovurs—Continued. Ss ce So ee hens per barrel.) $16 00 to | $13 00 to$13! 2000 00: 5 ee eae ieee GOyas wns 13 00 to$l5 00 13 00 to 15 PEMEMMMINOLRCO...- 5 oan swincesien sm = per pound... 7% to 82 7+ to Eee ee stand ol a a'oia'c'u! we wile (0) 9% to 10 7+ to BMMET CHOICE 22. 22. ooo nnn s sn nee i eae 26 to 30 | 24 to } TEOMA tO Tair. 5222 Sc. QO ae = | 18 to 24 15 to Cheese, Ohio factory ..... ..-----.-.- Omer =e 154 to 16 142 to Now: York factory ------.--.-- Gare os 154 to 16 15 to Northwestern fact ory -.---.- Ores ae 154 to 16 15 to a Os eases | 183 to 19 18 to (onli voc) Ihr t: | ee percental..| 775 to. 8 75 to common to medium leaf....do...... 8 50 to 10 2% to WWieol, tub-washed......---..-... per pound. -| 50 to 56 | 65 to Ti: i ee CO se sli | 25 to 32 | 40 to NEW ORLEANS. | PiGuE eeMpeniiye 2 -/55-52---25-55- per barrel-.| 5 25 to 5 374 to PSUS eres is acs = we'd wie oie 5 doeee sac 600 to 8 2 530 to 7 HER + 3B eee eee (loseeses 82> to 9 75 7 50 to 10 50 ohn, hie per bushel... 70 to 59 to . Oy se ee COnsesce 68 to ——— 59 to soe MoS ee eee Gon aoces | 67 to ——— 58 to MIOGUNMary. 0.6... ..--5..5-.\..+-00..-... | 38 to to printe to choice..--.. Ri, fare ate dowcecn: 38 -to” 40,-) >) 420 AG UO, (Mol 265A a per ton.-| 25 00 to 27 50 25 00 to 26 00 CUTE 45 a Cowes: | 28 00 - to 28 50 30 00 to ——— Dills) (nt) 2a per barrel..| 17 50 to 19 50 13 50 to 14 00 Te noi, Waste (CG) a eae don sa25- 11 00 to IL 50 11 00 to 11 50 Butter, choice western...-.-..... per pound..| 22 to 23 20 to ; BST ee Aaicate ot Sinic.e coins ofa sOOsn oes. op . tO 34 30) bo Cheese, western factory --.2--...-.--.d0..---- 15 to 154 to Mew work Cream... --c----- dozeaves ig) Ao, 18 17 to ——— western reserve.....--.----.- dO) 54 2 to to Cotton, ordinary to good ordinary....do..---- 16 to 18+ 164 to low middling to good middling.do.....- 18 to 19} 17% to COSCO It 3S ee ee a dots23% 84 to 94 8 to low 7G See Os seeeal 91 to 101 92 to Smecimm-leat.... ...--.----- mos. 103 to 114 | 9 to Ee = io 3 <= 2s = 2 = AGiovasm | 49 to ——— } 46 to — Grenm, onisiana....-.---4..--- doseeeen 35 «to oT 40 to SAN FRANCISCO. 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