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22. Avena Stativa, L. Common Oats. Everywhere cultivated.

23. A Elatior, L. Oat Grass: Grass of the Andes. Sometimes cultivated, but not

highly esteemed.

24. Bromus Secalinus, L. Cheat, ox Chess. A troublesome grass in wheat fields; well known to every farmer.

25. B Arvensis, L. Brome Grass. Frequent in pastures and moist meadows: makes

a tolerable hay.

26. Festuca Pratensis, Huds. Meadow Fescue. A highly valuable grass: growing spontaneously and abundantly, in all our rich meadows and pastures.

27. Poa Pratensis, L. Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass : Green Grass: Blue Grass, of Kentucky ; but not of other districts. This is decidedly the most valuable of all our pasture grasses ; and comes in, spontaneously, in all our rich, calcareous soils.

28. P Trivialis, L. Rough-stalked Meadow Grass. Frequent in moist meadows and

pastures. It closely resembles the preceding species, and is a valuable grass ; but not so valuable as that other.

29. P Compressa, L. Flat-stalked Meadow Grass: Blue Grass. Sometimes called Wire

Grass. Not so much esteemed as the two preceding species ; but in good land it affords a valuable, nutritious pasture. It is sometimes rather troublesome in cultivated grounds. There are several other species of Poa on our farms, but greatly inferior in value to these, and some of them quite worthless. The P. Pungens, which has been spoken of in the journals of late, is mostly a woodland species and not valuable.

30. Dactylis Glomerata, L. Orchard Grass. A valuable grass,—more so for pasture than for hay; and often cultivated.

31. Eleusine Indica, Lam. Dog's-tail Grass. Very common in lanes and wood-yards. Cattle and hogs are fond of it.

32. Secale Sereale, L. Common Rye. Much cultivated in some districts.

33. Hordeum Vulgare, L. Four-rowed Barley. Much cultivated.

34. H Distichum, L. Two-rowed Barley. Ditto.

35. Triticum Sativum, L. Wheat. Universally cultivated; and several varieties, both awned and awnless, have been successively preferred.

36. T Repens, L. Couch Grass. In Virginia called Wire Grass. A grass of some

value; but so difficult to subdue, that it is considered a pest where it abounds. It is rare in Chester county.

37. Lolium Perenne, L. Ray Grass, or Rye Grass. Often found in our meadows, and sometimes cultivated. It is a grass of considerable value; but not much attended to in this country.

38. Andropogon Nutans, L. Wood Grass: Indian Grass. A worthless grass, often abundant in poor, neglected old fields. There are two or three other species, equally worthless, often to be met with.

39. Sorghum Saccharatum, Pers. Broom Corn. Well known, and much cultivated. Two or three other species occasionally cultivated.

40. Holcus Lanatus, L. Feather Grass : White Timothy. A grass of indifferent quality; frequent in meadows.

41. Leersia Oryzoides, L. Cut Grass : Wild Rice. A worthless grass; often rather troublesome along swampy rivulets.

42. Zea Mays, L. Indian Corn. Cultivated by every body.

43. Tripsacum Dactyloides, L. Gama Grass: Sesame Grass. A stout, coarse grass, which has attracted some notice in the west; but is probably unworthy of culture. It is but little known in Chester county. The 33 grasses, here enumerated, are perhaps the best known in this region. About 20 of them may be ranked among the valuable plants (some 12 or 13 being more or less cultivated); and the residue are regarded rather as weeds.

44. Dipsacus Sylvestris, L. Wild Teasel. A coarse, biennial weed; quite worthless, and rather a nuisance in some neighborhoods.

44. Plantago Major, L. Common,ox broad-leaved Plantain. A well-known, worthless weed, in lots, and about houses.

46. P Lanceolata, L. English Plantain: Buck's-horn Plantain: Ripple Grass.

Cattle feed upon this species, and it has been sometimes cultivated for a sheep pasture; but our farmers dislike it—especially on account of its seeds mingling with those of red clover, and reducing the value of the latter.

47. Symplocarpus Fcetida, Nutt. Skunk Cabbage. A frequent nuisance in swampy meadows.

48. Lithosperum Arvense, L. Stone Weed. A worthless weed ; frequent in pastures.

49. Echium Vulgare, L. Blue Weed: Blue Devils. A highly pernicious weed; frequent in Maryland; but rare, as yet, in Chester county.

50. Echinospermum Virginicum, Lehm. Beggar's Lice. A frequent weed in pastures, and along fence-rows; the burr-like fruit often matting the fleeces of sheep, and manes of horses.

61. Convolvulus Arvensis, L. Bind Weed. A worthless vine, introduced into some cultivated grounds, and exceedingly difficult to eradicate.

52. C Batatas, L. Sweet Potato. A well known esculent; often cultivated here, but

still more in New Jersey, and in the South.

53. Datura Stramonium, L. Jamestown Weed, or Jimson: Thorn Apple. A well known noxious weed; in waste grounds, &c.

54. Verbascum Thapsus, L. Common Mullen. A worthless biennial, abounding in the fields of slovenly farmers.

55. V Blattaria, L. Moth Mullen. A frequent weed in pastures ; but not so troublesome as the preceding.

56. Solanum Nigrum, L. Nightshade. A noxious weed, in waste grounds.

57. S Tuberosum, L. Round Potato: Irish Potato. Universally known, and cultivated

for its valuable tubers, of which there are several varieties. The Lycopersicum or Tomato, is also much cultivated, in gardens, for its esculent fruit.

58. S. Carolinense, L. Horse Nettle. A most pernicious weed, and extremely difficult to eradicate ; happily rare, as yet, in this region.

59. Lobelia Inflata, L. Eyebright: Indian Tobacco. An acrid weed, frequent in pastures. It has been suspected as the cause of slabbering in horses, but the fact is not well ascertained. It is the famous medicine of the Thompsonian Doctors.

60. Cuscuta Europ^a, L. Flax Vine: Dodder. A pernicious vine, frequent among cultivated flax.

61. Chenopodium Album, L. Lamb's Quarters: Goose-foot. A coarse weed, common in gardens and cultivated lots.

62. Beta Vulgaris, L. Garden Beet: Sugar Beet. A valuable esculent; the variety, called Sugar Beet, much cultivated for feeding stock in winter. The B. Cycla, or Mangel Wurtzel, is also cultivated but not extensively.

63. Cicuta Maculata, L. Water Hemlock: Wild Parsnep : Spotted Cowbane. A poisonous weed; frequent in wet meadows.

64. Archemora Rigida, Dc. Cowbane. A weed, said to be highly poisonous to cattle; frequent in low, swampy meadows.

65. Pastinaca Sativa, L. Common Parsnep. A valuable esculent; chiefly cultivated in gardens, but often straying into the borders of fields, and becoming a troublesome weed.

66. Daucus Carota, L. Carrot: Wild Carrot. The cultivated variety is a valuable esculent ; but the Wild Carrot is becoming a serious nuisance on many farms.

67. Sambucus Canadensis, L. Elder Bush. A troublesome shrub, in many enclosures— especially along fence-rows, hedges, and borders of fields; giving them a slovenly appearance.

68. Rhus Glabra, L. Common, or Smooth Stmiach. A frequent nuisance, in poor old neglected fields, and along fences.

69. R Radicans, L. Poison Vine: Poison Oak. A frequent pest along fence-rows, and

clinging to old stumps and trees ; poisonous to many persons. JR. Venenata, Dc, is a very poisonous species, occuring in swampy thickets, along rivulets.

70. Linum Usitatissimum, L. Common Flax. A plant well known for its valuable fibrous bark, and oily seeds; but sparingly cultivated, of latter years, in this district.

71. Allium Vine ale, L. Garlic: Crow Garlic. An obnoxious and troublesome plant, especially in dairy pastures, and among wheat crops.

72. Ornithogalum Umbellatum, L. Ten O' Clock. A plant which has escaped from the gardens, and is a vile pest on many farms.

73. Juncus Effusus, L. Common Soft Rush. A worthless plant; common in low grounds, and often forming tufts, or tussocks.

74. Veratrum Viride, L. Swamp Hellebore: Indian Poke. A frequent weed in swampy grounds.

75. Rumex Crispus, L. Sour Dock: Curled Dock. A troublesome weed, in moist, rich grounds

76. R Obtusifolius, L. Bitter Dock. Also a worthless, troublesome weed.

77. R Acetocella, L. Sheep Sorrel. Another worthless species, and often so abundant

as to be a nuisance.

78. Polygonum Aviculare, L. Creeping Knot Grass."]

79. P Erectum, L. Erect Knot Grass. \ All worthless ; and often trouble-

80. P Punctatum, Ell. Water Pepper. y some about houses, lots and

81. P Persicaria, L. Lady's Thumb. waste grounds.

82. P Pennsylvanicum, L. J

83. P Sagittatum, L. ) These two species are commonly called Tear-Thumb, and are

84. P Arifolium, L. ] often abundant in swampy meadows.

85. P Convolvulus, L. Climbing Buckwheat, Frequent in wheat fields.

86. P Fagopyrum, L. Buckwheat. The only valuable species of this numerous genus

known here. It is much cultivated in new and hilly grounds, though considered a severe crop on good soils.

87. Agrostemma Githago, L. Cockle. A troublesome pest among wheat.

88. Phytolacca Decandra, L. Pokeberry Bush. A well-known, coarse weed; frequent in rich soils and new grounds.

89. Crataegus Crus Galli, L. Cockspur or New-Castle Thorn. ) Both these species of Cra-

90. C Cordata, Ait. Washington Thorn: Virginia Thorn. ) tcegus are employed in

hedging —the latter to a considerable extent in this country, though the former is probably the better for tliat object.

91. Potentilla Canadensis, L. Cinquefoil. A worthless little weed; common in poor, old neglected fields.

92. Rubus Occidentalis, L. Raspberry. \ These three species of Briar, though } r ielding plea-

93. R Villosus, Ait. Blackberry. \ sant fruit, are rather troublesome intruders in our

94. R Trivialis, Mx. Dewberry. ) fields and pastures.

95. Rosa Carolina, L. Swamp Rose. Annoying weeds, in low grounds.

96. Portulaca Oleracea, L. Purslane. A common weed, in gardens and corn-fields.

97. Papaver Dubium, L. Field Poppy. An introduced weed ; becoming a nuisance on some farms.

98. Hypericum Perforatum, L. St. John : s-ivort. A pernicious and troublesome weed ; common in pastures.

99. Ranunculus Bulbosus, L. Butter-cup: Crow-foot. Worthless; and becoming a nuisance in some meadows.

100. Nepeta Cataria, L. Catmint. A common weed, in waste grounds.

101. N Glechoma, Benth. Alehoof: Ground Ivy. A frequent weed about gardens, lots,

and along fences.

102. Lamium Amplexicaule, L. Dead Nettle: Hen Bit. A common weed, in gardens and cultivated lots.

103. Leonurus Cardiac a, L. Mother iv or t. A troublesome pest about gardens, houses, and in waste grounds.

104. Lin aria Vulgaris, Mcench. Toad-flax: Ransted Weed. A vile nuisance in our pastures and along fence-rows.

105. Verbena Urtic^folia, L. Vervain. A worthless weed, in our pastures.

106. Camelina Sativa, Crantz. Wild Flax. A weed; frequent among flax, and other cultivated crops.

107. Capsella Bursa Pastoris, Mcench. Shepherd's Purse. A troublesome weed, in cultivated grounds and pastures.

108. Lepidium Virginicum, L. Wild Pepper Grass. A worthless weed; the reddish-brown seeds often occur among Timothy seed.

109. Sisymbrium Officinale, Scop. Hedge Mustard. A common weed, in waste grounds, lanes, and borders of fields.

110. Brassica Campestris, L. Turnip-rooted Cabbage. A variety of this, called Ruta Baga, or Svjedish Turnip, is sometimes cultivated for stock.

111. B Rapa, L. Common Turnip. Generally cultivated. The B. Oleracea, or Common

Cabbage, in its numerous varieties —and the sub-species, called Cauliflower, and Broccoli —are also much cultivated; but the culture is chiefly confined to gardens.

112. Malva Rotundifolia, L. Running Mallows. Common weeds, about gardens, houses, and cultivated lots.

113. Sida Abutilon, L. Indian Mallow. A troublesome weed, in cultivated lots and waste grounds.

114. Medicago Sativa, L. Lucerne. A valuable plant for pasture and hay in some regions, but very little cultivated in Chester county.

115. Trifolium Arvense, L. Stone Clover: Welsh Clover: Rabbit foot: Hards-foot Trefoil, A worthless species ; often abundant in poor old fields,

116. T Pratense, L. Red Clover. Highly valuable, and generally cultivated.

117. T Repens, L. White Clover: Dutch Clover. Common in our fields, and much esteemed as a pasture, though rarely cultivated.

118. Arctium Lappa, L. Burdock. A well-known nuisance, in waste grounds, &c.

119. Carduus Lanceolatus, L. Common Thistle. A common pest on good land.

120. C Arvensis, Smith. Canada Thistle. The vilest nuisance which has yet invaded

our farms. Though not common, it has got possession in several localities, and will be found exceedingly difficult to eradicate. There are three or four other species among us, but not so troublesome as these.

121. Cichorium Intybus, L. Wild Succory. A worthless weed; becoming frequent in the northern districts of Chester county.

122. Leontodon Taraxacum, L. Dandelion. A common, well-known weed.

123. Sonchus Oleraceus, L. Sow Thistle. A frequent weed, in cultivated lots.

124. Vernonia Ph^ealta, Willd. Iron Weed. A troublesome pest, in moist meadows.

125. Eupatorium Perfoliatum, L. Thorough-stem: Thorough-wort. A frequent weed, in wet meadows and low grounds. Generally known as possessing medicinal properties.

126. Solidago, L. Golden Rod. A numerous genus; of which some of the species abound as weeds, in old fields and along fence-rows.

127. Aster, L. Star-wort. Another numerous family; some of which (as A. Tenuifolius, or Ericoides, L.) are troublesome weeds in our pastures.

128. Erigeron Canadensis, L. Horse-weed, "j Worthless weeds; generally abundant in our

129. E Strigosus, L. Flea-bane. > pastures, and especially in the first crop of

130. E Heterophyllus, Muhl. J upland meadows.

131. Xanthium Strumarium, L. Clot-bur. A common nuisance, in waste grounds, roadsides, &c.

132. X Spinosum, L. Thorny Clot-bur. A most vile pest, wherever it appears; rare,

as yet, in Chester county.

133. Ambrosia Trifida, L. A coarse, worthless weed; in waste grounds, fence-rows, &c.

134. A Elatior, L. Bitter-weed: Rag-weed. A common nuisance; generally abundant in stubble-fields, after harvest.

135. Bidens Chrysanthemoides, M.x. Beggar Ticks. A frequent nuisance, in swampy meadows, along rivulets, &c.

136. B Frondosa, L. ) Spanish JYeedles. Troublesome pests about gardens and

137. B Bipinnatifida, L. j cultivated lots.

138. Anthemis Cotula, L. Stinking Chamomile: Dog's Fennel: Richardson's Pink. A troublesome, fetid little nuisance; common in waste grounds, lanes, and pasture lots.

139. Achillea Millefolia, L. Yarrow: Milfoil. A common weed in our pastures; considered entirely worthless here, though English writers speak of it as being food for cattle.

140. Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, L. Daisy: Ox-eye Daisy. A vile pest; becoming very abundant on many farms in the north-eastern portion of our county, and will doubtless soon pervade the whole country.

141. Gnaphalium Polycephalum, L. Life Everlasting. A frequent weed, in old fields and pasture-grounds.

142. Senecio Hieracifolius, L. Fire-weed. A coarse weed; common in new grounds, especially in and around spots where brush heaps have been burnt.

143. Euphorbia Hypericifolia, L. Spurge: Eyebright. An acrid little weed, full of milky juice; common in pastures and cultivated grounds. This, like the Lobelia, has been suspected of causing the slabbers in horses: how justly, has not been ascertained.

144. Urtica Pumila, L. Rich Weed. A common weed, in rich moist grounds, about houses, &c.

145. U Dioica, L. JYettle. A well-known pest, in waste grounds, &c.

146. Amaranth us Albus, L. A coarse, branching weed; about barn-yards and waste grounds.

147. A Hybridus, L. A coarse, troublesome weed, in gardens and cultivated lots.

148. A Spinosus, L. A still more pernicious species; but rare, as yet, in this region.

149. Cucurbit a Pepo, L. Pumpkin. Generally cultivated among Indian corn, &c. as food for stock.

150. Smilax Caduca, L. Green Briar. A troublesome nuisance, in poor, old neglected fields. The *S. Rotundifolia, L. is another well-known pest, in thickets and clearings.

The foregoing catalogue comprises the more obvious of the plants known to our farmers, either for their usefulness, or as weeds and pests. Of the useful plants, there are but about thirty-five species in the list, of which some twenty-five are more or less objects of field culture; leaving the large proportion of more than three-fourths of pernicious or worthless weeds, to be extirpated, or

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kept in clue subjection. To do this, requires both skill and vigilance ; and every one will admit, that an important preliminary step will be to acquire an accurate knowledge of the plants to be dealt with—to know them by sight, by name, and by character. Having made himself botanically and practically acquainted with the species here enumerated, the intelligent farmer may gradually and readily extend his knowledge to other less important plants, which he finds on his grounds; and also to the various species usually found in the garden; as well as to the several kinds of timber trees and shrubs, in the woodlands.

Such knowledge will not only be practically useful, in many ways, but will be found highly interesting to inquiring minds. It will, moreover, tend to elevate the intellectual character of agriculturists to that rank which is due to a noble profession, and to which every American farmer should earnestly aspire.

In conclusion, I will add, that, if the suggestions here made should find favor with any of our Chester county farmers, and they should think proper to commence collections of such plants as they find on their premises, whether of an useful or pernicious character, it will give me great pleasure to assist them, to the extent of my ability, in determining the names and properties of those occupants of the soil.

Wm. Darlington.

West-Chester, Penn., Aug. 25, 1841.

ECONOMY OF LABOR.

The following extract from the Farmer's Ma. gazine, whilst it affords some useful hints upon the construction of farm buildings, also exhibits a minuteness of attention to the economising of labor, that will surprise some of our readers.— There, it is very properly considered, that the quantity of labor required, regulates the cost of production, and, consequently, that, labor saved, is money made; notwithstanding its cheapness, in England, this golden rule is never forgotten ; and the farmer is constantly upon the alert, by the exercise of his ingenuity to lessen his labor, and increase his profits:

"In selecting the site of farm-offices it is desirable to combine in the greatest degree which circumstances admit of, the following objects:— proximity and easy access to a public road; a situation central, as regards the tillage-land, and so as to communicate with all parts of it by the levellest road possible, as the intervention of a single hill that could be avoided may make the difference between two horses in a cart and one. A southerly aspect; as cattle are found to thrive better and to fatten sooner, in folds open to the

sun, than in those from which his rays are excluded. A command of water; so that a supply may be conveyed through the different parts of the buildings, and if the grounds affoid it in sufficient quantity, where it can be brought and collected to work the thrashing machine, and thence conveyed away, with little expense and without injury, or, it may be, with benefit to the adjoining lands; where a sufficient supply of water cannot be had, the cheapest and best power is steam, if coals be within a moderate distance; water enough for that purpose may be collected, if a spring is not at hand, from the roofs of the offices, if preserved in a tank made in a shady situation and lined with clay or bricks. If the economy of labor is to be studied in fixing the site of farm buildings, it is not less to be attended to in their construction and arrangement ; they commonly form three sides of a square open to the South ; the highest buildings being on the North side, and those of a lower description filling up the East and West. The stack-yard is on the North side of the square, and the barn containing the thrashing-machine projects into it at right angles with the line of hovels which constitute the northern side of the square, the straw being thrown from the rakes into a large barn or straw-house in the centre of that range, where it is piled up for use. It is of conseqence that the barn be in the centre of the range, because the straw to supply the cattle is carried out right and left, and only to half the distance which much of it would require to be carried if the barn stood in any other situation ; the same reason holds with regard to corn which is being thrashed and intended to be laid up in granaries : grain keeps much better in granaries that are over open hovels, than those that are over close houses in which horses or cattle of any kind are tied up : and by this arrangement the granaries are made over the hovels, which extend from each side of the barn, and the corn is carried to them from the dressing floor below, without being taken from under the same roof, or the sacks are drawn up by a pulley and tackle worked from the wheel of the thrashing machine whether driven by water or steam, and conveyed on hand-barrows with wheels to all parts of the granaries; from which again they are loaded into carts through trap-doors in the floor, below which the carts are placed within the novels. The saving of labor attending the laying up and removing of corn from granaries so situated, as compared with others at a distance from the thrashing barn, is very obvious. It is desirable for the same reason that the straw barn should stand the cross way of the thrashing barn, and not in the same range with it, so that the rake of the machine may deliver the straw into the middle and not the end of it; in this way the straw has only to be carried half the length of the house instead of the whole :

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and when two kinds of straw are in use, one for fodder and another for litter, they canbe kept quite distinct, and are easily taken out by leaving an open space between them. Peculiar situations may very properly render deviations from these general rules at times right and necessary, but where so important a consideration as the economy of labor is involved, and that for a long course of years, as in the erection of an extensive and permanent set of farm buildings, too much attention cannot be paid to it in the arrangement to be adopted. Dilston, \8th Feb., 1841.

BREWERS' GRAIN. Mr. Buckland, in the Farmer's Magazine, gives an account of a most prodigious crop of ha}' produced by scattering brewers' grains over an indifferent meadow. He advances the opinion that vegetation is most rapidly promoted by manuring plants, in general, with their own species, in a state of decay.

MANURES. Investigations are going on in the scientific world to ascertain, by an analysis of the constituents of certain plants, the applicability of particular manures to their production. It is probable that, in this way, some very satisfactory results may be obtained. A " Table of Manures," made out on this principle by Mr. John Robinson, has already been published in London, of which we hope to obtain a copy very shortly.

PLOUGHING.

The following extract from Chaptal's Agricultural Chemistry, shows the necessity of working a crop, especially during a drought:

" The air may be considered as a vehicle, constantly loaded with a quantity of water in vapour, of which the coolness of the night causes it to deposit a part upon the earth. The surface of the ground and the leaves of plants are often moist in the morning: the return of the sun, and the heat of the day, evaporate this liquid, to be deposited again at sunset, and during the night; thus, by an alternate movement, determined by the changes in the temperature of the atmosphere, at different periods of the twenty-four hours, water is constantly applied to plants, to preserve them from the excess of heat, which would wither and dry up their organs.

" The aqueous vapours suspended in the air begin to be condensed and precipitated at sunset, and with them is deposited the greatest part of the emanations which have arisen from the

earth during the day; these exhalations, though beneficial to vegetation, are almost always injurious to man, and it is not without reason that he fears and shuns the night damps. In southern climates, where the heat of the sun is more intense, and rains less frequent than in the northern, vegetation is supported by the dews, which are very abundant. In order that the dews of night may produce their best effects upon vegetation, it is necessary that the soil should unite certain qualities, which it does not always possess.

"When the soil is hard and compact, and forms, by the action of the air, an impenetrable crust, the dew is deposited upon the surface, and evaporated by the rays of the sun, without having moistened the roots of the plants or softened the earth around them; so that, of the organs that serve to convey nourishment to the plants, the leaves are the only ones benefitted by the dew, while the roots, which are the principal vehicles of nutriment, when the plant is fully developed, are not in any degree benefitted by it.— It is necessary in such cases that the soil should be softened, lightened, and divided, so that the air may convey the water with which it is charged to the roots of the plants, and to every part of the earth surrounding them, to a certain depth; thus the plant can imbibe, through all its pores, the reviving moisture ; and that which it received by its roots is more lasting than that which it absorbs in any other way, because the roots being sheltered from the rays of the sun, evaporation takes place less rapidly, and the moisture is retained, whilst the leaves are speedily dried by the heat. Besides, that earth which is most easily affected by the dews yields most readily to the action of the roots, whether it be to fix the plant firmly, by their extension, or to draw from the soil its nutritive properties.

" This explains in a natural manner the origin of a custom observed by all agriculturists, and of which all acknowledge the advantages. When vegetables, such as peas, beans, potatoes, and other roots, are sown in furrows, at equal distances from each other, the soil in the intervals is hoed or dug with the utmost care, and thus rendered light, soft, and favorable to the air; whilst at the same time weeds, which would be hurtful to the cultivated plants by depriving them of nourishment afforded by the ground, are destroyed, and the soil rendered more fit to receive the rain and convey it to the roots. I do not deny that these benefits are real, but I hold them to be secondaiy, and subordinate to the advantage derived from opening access to the air, and permitting it to deposit its dew T s upon the roots, and upon the earth in contact with them.

"I have uniformly observed the effects of this method to be equally speedy and favorable in the cultivation of beet-roots, and I have never employed any other to restore their vegetation to

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its freshness, when they become yellowish and drooping ; in three or four hours it will become ft beautiful green, and the loaves spread themselves out, although no rain may have fallen; and this often when the soil had not contained a single weed. I have observed the same effect produced upon the other culinary roots.

11 In the South of France, where it hardly ever rains during the summer, the foot of each setting of the vine is laid bare, by digging around it a circular trench, deep and wide enough to contain, uncovered, the stump, and the radicles proceeding from it; and the opening is speedily covered over by the leaves and branches. It is evident that this method has no other advantage than that of facilitating the access of the air to the roots, that it may deposit there the dews with which it is more abundantly charged than in cold climates—if it were not thus, this practice 'would expose the vines to be dried up by the scorching heat of the sun."

TRENCHING. We have been lately furnished with the- expe rience of a very judicious manager in favor of the system of trenching, recommended by Cob-bett for garden purposes, and published in an early number of the Planter. The propriety of turning up the subsoil, or virgin earth, involves the old question of deep or shallow ploughing which, we believe, has been chiefly a subject of doubt, because it is one dependent upon circumstances. Certain it is, that there are subsoils, that contain some of the necessary constituents of vegetation in a high degree. Amongst these, may be mentioned the mineral alkalis. All soils are supposed to have been formed, originally, from the separation and solution of rocks—this operation, commenced by the carbonic acid of the atmosphere, is continued by the roots of plants. The alkalis of the soil are by this process dissolved and used up by the plant. The quantity of potash obtained from vegetables shows that they draw* this article from the earth in great abundance—unless replenished by artificial means, the stock is exhausted. But, if we go deeper than the roots of plants have penetrated, we turn up a soil which, by the new action of the carbonic acid, afforded by the atmosphere and the roots of plants, becomes more thoroughly disintegrated, and thereby yields the necessary supply of alkali. Upon this point, Liebig remarks:

" The first colonists of Virginia found a country, the soil of which was like that mentioned Vol. 1—24

above." " Harvests of wheat and tobacco were obtained for a century from one and the same field without the aid of manure; but now, whole districts are converted into unfruitful pasture land, which, without manure, produces neither wheat nor tobacco. From every acre of this land there were removed, in the space of one hundred years, 1200 lbs.

of alkalies, in leaves, grain and

w ; it be-

came unfruitful, therefore, because it was deprived of every particle of alkali, which had been reduced to a soluble state ; and, because that which was rendered soluble again in the space of one year, was not sufficient to satisfy the demands of the plants. Almost all the cultivated land in Europe is in this condition. Fallow is the term applied to land left at rest for farther disintegration. It is the greatest possible mistake to suppose that the temporary diminution of fertility in a soil is owing to the loss of humus : it is the mere consequence of the exhaustion of the alkalies."

In ploughing though, when we turn up the new, we turn down the old soil: and whether we are to profit by the exchange will depend upon the particular constituents of each. We may, possibly, turn down a rich loam, whilst we bring to the surface an unimprovable subsoil. In this case, which, we believe, very seldom oc" curs, we hear of the injurious effects of deep ploughing. By stirring deeply, we, at any rate, secure the advantage of loosening the earth, and thereby admitting the air, to a greater depth'; and if the top soil is not turned under very deep we place the nutriment it may afford just in the way of the roots of plants. Our advice is then, plough deep; you will be right nine times out of ten.

Mr. Towers, in an article published lately in the British Farmer's Magazine, asserts, that potatoes, and some other vegetables, will be found to flourish ia a very extraordinary manner upon a soil newly turned up. He says :

"In 1S30 I had a striking example of the good and evil of raising the soil of the substratum to the surface. I had the garden trenched in portions, two and three spades deep. In one portion we brought up a deep orange, ochrous loam, abounding with flint stones and aluminous adhesive masses; this soil, had, surely, never seen the light, or imbibed the air. I arrived on the property after the first week of June, and therefore, could not effect this trenching till the end of the month. Then, or early in July, seed of Portsmouth broccoli was sown: the season till August proved showery. The plants, when ready, were transplanted in this new loam, and.

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late as it was, they grew surprisingly: the winter of 1830 it was very snowy, but not rigorously frosty. However, no plant was lost, and when the growing season commenced, the growth was surprising, the yield great, the heads large, and of a quality that I never since have been able to rival."

VINEYARDS. It is asserted, upon good authority, trimmings of grape vines, chopped

that the fine and

hoed in, furnish the most bountiful supply of manure for the succeeding crop. Circumstances are daily coming to light, that lead to the inference, that decayed portions of a plant form the very best means for its reproduction.

EPIDEMIC.

An epidemic has lately made its appearance amongst the cattle of England, which like the cholera, seems to have travelled progressively from East to West. We extract the following notice of it from a lecture delivered by Mr. Ferguson in the Dublin Society House; " it had travelled through Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Bohemia, Hungary, and Prussia, previous to its making its appearance in England, which it seems it did on the western coast of that island, about two years ago. Every description of animal, living in a state of domestication, have been affected by the peculiar state of the atmosphere that has for some time past existed. Man, himself, has not escaped, and even poultry has been affected.— All cloven footed animals have evinced pretty nearly the same symptoms; the principal characteristics amongst this class of animals being an affection of the mouth, feet; and udder—the former having a number of vesicles or blisters formed in it, on the tongue and gums: the feet and udder being frequently affected in the same manner, although sometimes they are merely tumified." The learned gentleman then proceeds to prescribe a wash, which we will keep in case we are visited, as most likely we shall be, by this formidable disease. Inoculation, which has been practised to a considerable extent, and is recommended by Mr. Ferguson, is extremely deprecated by others.

WARTS ON COWS.

I had a cow that had a large bunch of wart grown under her udder, as large as the back of

my hand, and it kept increasing. I made a strong decoction of alum and water, and washed the part two or three times a day : in a short time it was as clear as any part of the udder.— I likewise have had cows teats so covered with warts that it was difficult to milk them; by applying the above decoction to the teats after milking, morning and night, the warts soon dispersed.— Bell's Messenger.

HEALING WOUNDS IN TREES.

The branch is cut off at a distance of three or four feet from the tree, care being taken to support it in a manner to prevent it from splintering the stump. The bark of the stump is then cut into narrow longitudinal strips,which, after being carefully peeled off with a barking tool as far as the body of the tree, are tied back so as to keep them clear of the saw in the amputation of the stump close to the body of the tree. The saw-cut surface is then smoothed with a wide mortice chisel, and is covered with the strips of bark, cut and fitted to it as accurately as possible, and fastened down with brads driven nto the depth of about one-eight of an inch.— The wound and surrounding parts are next covered to the depth of two or three inches with a cataplasm, according to the following receipt:— Clay, 4 parts; fresh cow dung 2 parts ; finely sifted wooded ashes, 1 part; add cow's hair, such as that used by plasterers, a handful or more, according to the quantity of the composition required. Mix these materials together in a very regular manner, moistening them with water to bring the whole to a proper consistence. To preserve the cataplasm from injury, a stout canvass is passed over it and sewed round the body of the tree; both of which must remain six or eight months; their removal depends solely on the healed state of the bark. When the bark is healed, the part of the tree where the branch was amputated will appear as if no limb had grown there. The operation should not be performed in the winter months, for the bark will not run or separate from the wood, and the wounded part would be liable to be attacked by frost.— Transactions of the Society of Arts.

AMERICAN LABORERS.

The American laborer is most expert at the use of the axe and the scythe, but handles the spade most awkwardly, having no idea of banking, hedging, and many other operations common to English laborers. The versatility of his talent, however, renders him far superior to the British laborer in America, the latter having no chance with him in the use of the saw, the hammer and the trowel: it forms part of his ordinary business to build log-houses, mend ploughs,

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wagons and harrows, and even kill and dress sheep and pigs.— BeWs Weekly 31essenger.

It is this minute division of labor, which, while it renders the British husbandman unfit for the rough roll and tumble life of the woodsman of America, makes him so much more perfect in the particular branch in which he has been educated. To the fact, that there is a place for every man, and every man in his place, much of their superior husbandry is to be attributed.

MOTT'S AGRICULTURAL FURNACE.

It is very seldom that we have an opportunity of speaking of any agricultural invention with the unqualified approbation that we are enabled to bestow upon the utensil figured at the head of this article. It was constructed in consequence of a suggestion from the American Institute, that a simple, portable, and low priced furnace was much wanted by the farming community.

Mr. C. N. Bement, a distinguished agriculturist in New York, testifies to its superiority over every other contrivance that he could obtain for trial. The desideratum of applying the whole heat to the boiler is obtained completely by a very simple construction. No individual, who desires to obtain boiling water upon the most convenient and economical plan, should hesitate to procure one of these furnaces. They can be had in this city of Messrs. D. & C. R. Weller, for prices varying from $12 to $35, according to size; the largest holding about sixty gallons. We conclude our notice of this excellent invention with the following certificate, which is not a whit beyond the testimony of several other

excellent farmers who have called on us to testify to its merits:

Messrs. D. & C. R. Weller:

Gentlemen, —We have given " Mott's Agricultural Furnace" a fair and impartial trial, and for boiling food for cattle or hogs, recommend it to the agricultural community, as decidedly the very best article of the sort we have ever seen for convenience, despatch, and economy in fuel. We are perfectly satisfied, that no farmer, having use for any thing of the sort, would, upon trial, be without one for double the cost. Such also is the universal opinion of every one with whom we have conversed, who has used them. In the language of one of much more experience than ourselves, " we cannot say too much for them.' 1 Yours, A. B. Shelton.

John Poe. Thos. J. White.

Nov. 1, 1841.

SEED POTATOES.

In the Chronicle I observed some remarks from Perth relative to the failure of the potato crops; and I have no doubt the failure has almost always been caused by keeping the seed in large quantities together, frequently before being perfectly ripened. I have for many years past, at the time of taking up, adopted the plan of laying upon the ground for some time, till they become green and hard, such potatoes as I intend for seed the following year, and keeping them by themselves during the winter. "By this means I have never known any to fail when there has been a very general failure throughout the country; and I have noticed that a general failure has mostly followed a bad season for ripening the tubers the year before. I feel confident that if this mode of hardening the seed tubers were adopted, there would be no failure in potato crops, and the plants would come up much stronger and more healthy.

Gardeners 1 Chronicle.

Whilst on this subject we beg leave to detail the purport of a conversation held lately with a most observant and intelligent grower of Irish potatoes in this vicinity. He stated that, from sundry experiments, he was satisfied of the necessity of procuring his plantings every year from the north. In 1839 he purchased northern plantings, and never saw finer potatoes than they produced in 1840. He re-planted them in 1840, and finished out a few rows with more indifferent looking potatoes purchased from the north. Notwithstanding the purchased plantings were not apparently so good as those he raised himself, and although they were subjected to exactly

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the same treatment, the product was infinitely superior. The fine potato of 1839, although very superior in 1S40, had degenerated into an inferior article in 1841. Upon a visit to Massachusetts this fall, he was informed by a potato-grower of that State that the same necessity existed there of looking further east for their plantings. Every year he obtained them from Nova Scotia, and he found upon inquiry that even there the potato degenerated upon cultivation, and that they were compelled to resort to the seed every two or three years.

BRAN.

A writer in a British agricultural journal suggests that the bran of wheat should, from the stimulating salts it contains, form an excellent manure especially for wheat. He begs that it be tested at the rate of from three to six hundred weight to the acre. The experiment is worth trying in our milling region, where it is so abundant; particularly, as we are satisfied, that wherever its properties as a feed are fairly tested, it will certainly fall to a suitable price for manure.

To the Editor of the Southern Planter:

JSJ.y Dear Sir, —I am a subscriber to several agricultural papers, because I think the meanest amongst them is worth ten times the amount of subscription. Yours is the only one I lake south of the Potomac, and from the specimen } T ou have afforded me of a southern production, I feel inclined to extend my list in our own section. Will you be good enough to assist me with your advice on this point 1

Whilst I have my pen in hand I will take occasion to protest against the spirit of my northern periodicals upon the subject of the fair sex.

Why sir, their gallantry, which freezes up during their long winters, has not time to thaw in summer. They are as cold ns frogs. Here, woman is associated with all that is bright and charming. The great object of man is, by incessant labor, to make her life one unvarying scene of ease and pleasure. There, her name is never mentioned but in connection with work. Work, work, is their incessant cry. Our women do not work enough, is the burden of their song. I wonder the dear creatures do not make their escape from these cruel task masters, and fly to the arms of the gallant sons of the south. Why sir, the poorest man in Virginia would scorn to tax the gentler sex to contribute more than was agreeable to his support. He will tell you that he took his wife to his bosom, to cherish, protect, and support her, and that as a man, he does not shrink from the task. He will advise the fe-

males of his household to engage in the gentle occupations of their sex, for the sake of securing their own happiness, but never for the purpose of lightening the burden which nature has so properly devolved on his broader shoulder. We hope the day is far distant when the gallantry of a southerner will permit him to make those, whose happiness should be his only care, partakers in his toils and burdens. Yours, A Farmer, Husband, and Father.

Upon the first point of our correspondent's essay, w r e are most happy to respond to his inquiry. Although, where all are good it is invidious perhaps to distinguish any, we cannot forbear to call his attention, particularly, to the Western Farmer and Gardener, published by Mr. Affleck in Cincinnati; the Southern Agriculturist, published in Charleston. The Agriculturist, published in Nashville, Tennessee, we have heard of, but never seen. The Ploughboy is the title of a cheap periodical, that has lately appeared on our exchange table. Of course, he is familiar with the excellent work of our neighbor, Mr. Ruffin, which has done so much for Virginia, and the south. Indeed, as he intimates, he cannot go amiss. Although some are certainly worth much more than others, we will hazard the assertion, that there is no agricultural paper, published in America, that is not worth, to any farmer who w r ill read it, ten times its cost. Of course we do not mean to recommend any one man to take all—the labor of sifting would be too great—that is rather the business of the editor, or editors, he may choose to employ.

On the second point, we are a little more chary of our opinion. It is a delicate subject. We certainly admire the gallantry of our correspondent, but we cannot consent to the proposition, that our friends of the north are wanting in this essential quality. Our system of agriculture and civil institutions differ in many respects, but we feel well assured that they entertain, in common with us, the most profound respect for the female character. Woman has undoubtedly her duties to perform in a certain sphere, and whilst we never wish to see her degraded to a productive drudge, yet her operations though quiet, are not unimportant, and if we do not greatly err in our correspondent, there are many of the products of female labor about his household, which it would be testing his gallantry pretty severely to deprive him of.

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IRRIGATION. Whether rain water is efficacious because of the ammonia with which it is charged, as supposed by Liebig, or by its action in dissolving this and other salts contained in the soil, as imagined by his predecessors, certain it is, that this element is absolutely necessary to vegetation, and also, that it is valuable in proportion to its impurity. Indeed the waters of running streams arc rendered impure by the accessions, which continued washings are constantly affording of the richest portions of the soil. It is the part of wisdom in man to counteract the operations of nature, where those operations militate to his disadvantage. Hence, to force the river to give up this rich deposite may be done to great advantage, under certain circumstances. The circumstances, upon which the profit of irrigation will depend, are of course the nature of the locality, and the extent to which the particular stream happens to be charged with enriching properties. This varies much under different circumstances ; below a city, the water is found to be much more fertilizing than above it, and there are many streams into which nature throws such boundless riches that they should be forced to disgorge them, if it be possible to accomplish it.

Irrigation is much practised in the East; where, to be sure, it is absolutely- necessary to counteract the dryness of the climate. But even in Europe, it has been resorted to, it is said, at great expense, with wonderful advantage. We are sure that there are many situations in our country of hills and streams where this practice might be adopted with the greatest benefit. Wherever there is a waterfall, with a level below it, at a comparatively trifling expense the water may be lead into a canal above, from which it might, at pleasure, by means of gates, be permitted to flow upon the land below. This action, especially upon meadow lands, is said to be most astonishing; indeed, the immense expense that is sometimes incurred to obtain it in Europe, proves that there, at least, the natural advantages attending thousands of localities in this country would never be neglected. We will be more specific hereafter in a description of the work and its effects, hoping that some of our readers, whose circumstances justify it, will be induced to encounter the expense of a trial of the system-

is their capacity for absorbing moisture. The extent of this capability may be easily tested with even a specimen of earth. Let the portion to be tested be thoroughly dried and weighed ; then, after it has been subjected to the atmosphere, let it be weighed again. The difference will show its capacity for absorption. By making frequent use of such simple means, the practical farmer can easily render himself familiar with the relative capabilities of soils in this respect.

TEST OF SOILS.

One of the most valuable properties of soils, and one in which there is a wonderful difference,

TURNIP FLY.

In the report of the Stoke Ferry Farmers' Club, it is stated that " the fly had been proved to abound most in wooded enclosures, and generally prevailed most near the hedge rows, thereby showing that in them they were bred and hatched. This circumstance it was which led the late Mr. Robert Paul to devise the plan of a decoy stetch ; which, in fact, was nothing more than a border or head land round each side of. a field, and which he recommended should be ploughed and sown with white turnips, a month or so before the main crop was sown. He always contended that the fly was more partial to white turnips in the broad leaf, than to a young Swede. As to any application of soot, lime, elder boughs or smoke of any kind, to the growing crop, it was considered utterly useless—a rapid growth was all in all, and this could obviously be best obtained by a clear, fine tilth, and high manuring"

SEEDS. We some time since quoted an opinion from the Louisville Journal, that northern seeds would ripen earlier upon southern fields than seed raised in the same latitude. The editor therefore advised the importation of northern wheat for seed. It is certainly a great desideratum to obtain early maturity in this crop : a few days will often afford security both against fly and rust; but we are inclined to think that this effect is to be expected rather from southern than northern seed. Dr. Lindley says that plants, which for a course of years have been cultivated on a warm dry soil, will acquire habits of great excitability, which they will not readily part with even under circumstances very different as to soil and climate. The late Mr. Knight, too, used to say, that the crops of wdieat on certain high cold ground he cultivated, ripened much earlier when

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he obtained his corn seed from a warm district than when he employed the seed raised in the immediate neighborhood."

To the Editor of the Southern Planter :

Bear Sir: —This paper will be devoted to what I consider the best mode of treating the hog. And in the offset, I bespeak the patience of your readers, for to do any thing like justice to the subject, I must necessarily be somewhat particular.

We will suppose then that you have the proper accommodations for your hogs, such as have been described, or something similar to them ; and that in addition to this, you have a boar of the improved breed, (the common hog, with but few, if any exceptions, is of very little value,) and that he has been kept constantly apart from . your sows. This is a matter of great consequence for if he be unrestrained, he will either stray away, so that you will lose him, or he will have intercourse with the sows at improper periods of the year, or what is still worse, he will set them to breeding when they are too young for the purpose. And here I will remark, that the best time for the sows to have their pigs is about the first of March, or first of September, consequently the proper time for them to go to the boar is about the 10th of November or 10th of May, for it is well known that the usual time of gestation with this animal is just about sixteen weeks. We will suppose, further, that you have a likely well grown sow, ten or twelve months old, (younger than this will be too early) and that at one or the other periods indicated above, she manifests an inclination for the boar. She may now be indulged, and if she stands quietly during the whole operation, one coitus will ordinarily be found sufficient. Indeed, I consider one as preferable to a dozen or more. The boar is then to be returned to his pen, and the sow to be put in another, and there kept apart from all other hogs, until she is entirely out of heat. After this she may be turned out, and commonly requires no other attention, except that she be kept in good growing condition. A few days or even a week before the expiration of her term, she ought to be put up in a good sheltered pen, with a small quantity of short litter to make her bed with, and then my practice is to feed plentifully, not only with solid food, such as corn or meal, moistened with water, but with such succulent food as I can command at the time. This I find to be a certain preventative of that vile and unnatural propensity, which some sows have to devour their young. When treated in this manner, I have never known in any instance a sow to eat her pigs. The " after-birth" is always disposed of as nature prompts them—they eat it.

After farrowing, almost the only attention for the first two or three weeks is to the sow. The

pigs during this time are dependent entirely upon her for their food. And here let me particularly impress it upon all breeders to be very sparing of food for several days after bringing forth. The creature now, as all other creatures in a similar condition, is in a feverish state, and a plentiful supply of food, especially of an exciting nature, would but increase the difficulty. Let her be kept on strictly a short allowance, until by her clamour and importunity, she manifests herself to be very hungry, and then } r ou may gradually venture upon more plentiful supplies. After the first week, there is commonly no risk in giving her as much food as she will eat quick and with a good appetite. But by all means, avoid satiety, and upon the first indication of loathing the food, take the whole away, and let the next supply be proportionably moderate.

At from two to three weeks old, the pigs will commonly manifest a disposition to begin to eat. This ought by all means to be encouraged, for by it, you relieve the sow, and in addition to this promote the more rapid growth of the pigs. To effect this I have tried two plans; the first was to place food (sour milk mixed with meal is very good) on the outside of the pen, to which the pigs have access, by means of a hole made for that purpose; or, secondly, keep the pigs constantly shut up, and when you wish to feed them turn the sow out, for she will not let the pigs eat with her. The first plan I have tried, and found this objection to it, that the stronger pigs would drive away the weaker, and thus my purpose was in part frustrated. The latter I am now trying, and thus far, though a little more troublesome, I am pleased with it, but the experiment has not proceeded far enough for me to speak in confidence about it.

I ought to have remarked earlier, that if after farrowing, your young sow brought, forth more than^ye pigs, the smaller and more feeble ought to be taken from her, so as to reduce them down to that number. Four or five thrifty and well grown pigs will be worth more at two months old, than ten poor meagre ones. And then again at weaning, which lakes place at six or eight weeks old, if there be a poor and unpromising pig, (and this is often the case,) I mark him, and he is destined to leave the herd. To effect this, 1 have three resources, in one or the other of which I have always succeeded. The first is to sell him for what I can get, or if I fail in this, then to kill and eat him; or if he is too poor for this, then to give him away, and in the latter I have never yet failed. I have already remarked, that five pigs is the extreme number that ought to be left with a young sow.

I will further remark, that

)w, however

large, ought to have more than seven.

At the time of weaning, or even earlier, would be better, the males are castrated, and when this operation is performed very early, the wound

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soon heals, and the pigs appear to suffer almost nothing from it. The sows with me are never spayed nor shotted. As a substitute for this very disagreeable and even barbarous process, I endeavor to make the pigs quite fat at as early an age as possible, and when I succeed in this, they very rarely show any inclination for the boar. If, however, this inclination should manifest itself, I indulge them about two months before the time of slaughtering ; and I find that the young open sow treated in this waj', makes just as good meat as thespajred sow or the barrow.

Weaning is effected by shutting up the pigs in their pen for about a week or ten days, in which time the sow's milk dries up, and there is commonly no more difficulty about it. The pigs ought now to be turned out, and suffered to go pretty well at large, for neither the pig, nor any other young animal, will thrive much in a state of constant confinement. This liberty is allowed them, until they become so large as to be mischievous ; they are then confined closely to their pen, except that they are allowed the use of the lane belonging to the piggery, for occasional exercise. And this continues to be the case till they are sold or slaughtered.

I ought, perhaps, before concluding, to say something relative to the diseases of hogs. But really I have had so little experience on this subject, that I feel very great diffidence in entering upon it. Till recently, I never knew what it was to have any sickness among my hogs, but lately they have been visited with a very fatal malady. It is not my intention to give a description of this dreadful disease. They who are curious on this subject, will find it very accurately described in the last number of the Farmers' Register, page 554. This disease among my hogs, I consider as a judgment justly deserved for my carelessness. Sometime ago, I was in the habit of keeping ashes mixed with charcoal constantly in my hog pens, and as long as I did this, my hogs were perfectly free from disease. But for six months or more I have neglected it, and the consequence was, that this fatal disease made its appearance among them. After trying various remedies, all of which turned out ineffectual, I at last resorted to ashes and charcoal, and this is the only thing which has made the least impression upon it. My hogs are not yet well, but are evidently convalescent, as physicians say.

And now, sir, in summing up the whole, you will perceive that I lay great stress upon the following particulars :

A good thrifty breed of hogs, coming early to maturity.

Good and comfortable accommodations for them.

The number of hogs kept, graduated by the amount of food which you have for them, so that they may ahoays have an abundance.

The number of pigs allowed to a sow, restricted so as never, under any circumstances, to exceed seven, and generally below it.

Getting rid, on some terms or other, of all unpromising pigs, so that none but the likely and thrifty are kept for store hogs.

Pushing the pigs when young, so as to get them fat early, and then it will not be difficult to keep them so.

"And last though not least," the food to be given at regular stated times.

If you can make up your mind to attend to all these particulars with steadiness and perseverance, you will have, or I greatly mistake, success in rearing the hog. And now wishing you and your readers all possible prosperity, I am, &c. J. H. Turner.

HESSIAN FLY.

We w T ere struck by an observation made in our office, a few days since, by one of the best farmers and most extensive wheat growers in the state of Virginia. We showed him a sample of " fly proof wheat." " Why, says he, the Hessian fly is the chief source of my profit. By judicious management and high cultivation I keep clear of the fly, whilst the slovenly farming of my neighbors fosters it, and so keeps up the price of wheat. If the fly (laughingly) did not kill the wheat, it would be so plenty that it would hardly be worth raising. Seriously, if a good manager were to look to his own advantage only, he would dread the day when the much talked of remedy for the Hessian fly shall be discovered. As a patriot and philanthropist, he might rejoice that the great mass would be benefitted even at his own expense."

We are assured, from other sources, that this gentleman has, by a system of high cultivation, discovered the only remedy that, in our opinion, will ever be found for the Hessian fly. We shall address ourselves to his, philanthropy ahd patriotism to make that system public; although we rather suspect that it involves too much industry and attention to be generally popular.

For the Southern Planter. PRESERVATION OF TIMBER.

If we view a horizontal section of an exogenous tree, such as the stump of one of our forest trees sawed smoothly off,we find it presentinga regular arrangement of certain organs, viz. the pith in the centre, next to this, concentric layers of ligneous matter, exterior to these, the cortex or bark, and the medullary rays which pass from the centre to the circumference. During the first year of

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the existence of a tree, the pith is humid, and presents a greenish hue, and performs an important role in transmitting the sap for the support of the first ligneous layer that is formed around it; as the tree grows, the pith dries, becomes white, and ceases to be important. With each year of the tree's existence a new ligneous layer is formed consisting essentially of woody fibres, and the ensemble of these ligneous layers constitutes what is commonly called the wood of timber trees; the most exterior of these layers are known as sap-wood, and is of a lighter color and is less solid and less durable than the heart-wood, which is found in the central portion of the tree. The sap-wood and the bark are the principal channels for the conduction of the fluids of a tree, and as the lasers of which the sap-wood is composed grow older, they cease to act as channels, and the sap concretes in their cells and intercellular passages, and gradually gives them the dark color, and greater solidity, and weight of heart-wood. This is very visible in the pine tree, and is easily proved by maceration in proper acid, and even oak and lignum vitas submitted to rough experiments lose their color and ponderosity, and display their fibrous frame as light as that of the willow.

Thus we see the reason of what observation and experience has taught us, with regard to the importance of selecting a tree with a sufficient portion of heart-wood, and the necessity of trimming off the sap-wood which contains the very elements of decay in the shape of the uncon-creted fluids; and thus we may learn, the importance of cutting trees at those periods of the year when they contain the smallest quantity of fluids, which periods are mid-winter and midsummer, whilst spring and autumn are to be avoided; as at these seasons great quantity of fluids are required either for the development of the buds of last year, or for the formation of buds to be developed the next year. Heart-wood may be kept under water, or in a dry place for hundreds of years without suffering any appreciable change; but when it is exposed to heat and moisture, or is alternately dry and wet, or when it is in juxta-position with putrefying matter under water, it undergoes decomposition ; and since it is often necessary to use timber in situations where it is exposed to these causes, many efforts have been made, by various persons, to counteract their effects, but no one seems to have been so successful as Mr. Kyan. This gentleman was led to suppose from some of his experiments, that the decomposition of wood was dependant upon albumen, and knowing that animal matter was made durable by the combination of gelatine and tannin (as in manufacturing leather) he inferred that he could prevent the decay of vegetables by combining something with its albumen, and he selected for this purpose corrosive sublimate, which has fully an-

swered his purpose—as wood placed in tanks and saturated with a solution of this substance, is rendered almost indestructable, as far as the usual causes of decay are concerned.

This fluid is absorbed by the vegetable tissue, in consequence of one of its properties (thechy-groscopicite of the French) of absorbing fluids, as is exemplified by a dry tobacco leaf, coming in order as it is called, in damp weather, when the humid atmosphere comes in contact with if; which faculty exists even after the termination of vegetable life, as the case of the tobacco leaf proves, as well as the moist condition, that dead trees and stumps are found in, when they still preserve their erect position even. Mr. Caleb Cormalt's paper, copied in your last number, has induced me to offer you these remarks in confirmation of his views, and afforded me another opportunity of signing myself

A Naturalist.

The following is extracted from the Boston Cultivator. We know nothing of the character of the anonymous correspondent, and we are generally loth to even quote statements, the value of which depends upon the veracity of the relator, where there is no guarantee of character. Such communications are always invalidated by being anonymous.

In this instance, however, we are inclined to think, from our own experience, that the writer is, to a certain extent, worthy of credit. We have known peas, beans, and potatoes, under certain circumstances, planted in the fall with considerable success. We should be pleased if some of our market gardeners would make some experiments for us and report the result—their own judgment will guide them in the selection of vegetables. If the germinating principle is not injured by the winter frosts, they will certainly be obtained much earlier than they can be had by spring planting, and we have often noticed that, as a general principle, early crops are the best.

AUTUMNAL SOWING. To the Editor of the Cultivator.

Much has been said and written of late by our agricultural brethren in favor of sowing the seeds of several species of vegetables in the fall, instead of deferring it, as has usually been the practice, until spring.

To this subject my attention was first directed by an article in the Farmers' Cabinet, and as the course of practice pointed out appeared to me at the time to be both important and feasible, I determined to "give it a try." From that time, now several years since, I have been constantly en-

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gaged in experimenting- upon seeds of all the various descriptions usuall}' sown in this climate that are in their nature sufficiently hardy to survive uninjured through the chills and frosts' of winter. The conclusion to which these experiments have led, is, that the seeds of many of our garden vegetables, usually so denominated, invariably do much better, and yield far more abundantly when sown in the fall, and furthermore, that in all cases where the circumstances of soil, aspect, and vegetable stimuli are equal, the trouble and expense of cultivation, are far less under this system, than under the old.

Every observing farmer must have noticed that seeds, accidentally disseminated from seed stalks in autumn, and buried beneath the fine soil of the surface by the fortuitous agency of winds, rains, or frosts, or, indeed, by any other cause competent to such a result, are invariably developed some weeks sooner than those sown in the spring; and that the "start" which they are thus enabled to obtain, secures to the plants, not only a superior forwardness through all the subsequent periods of their growth, but not un-frequently a happy exemption, also, from the ravages of the innumerable hosts of insectiverous depredators, by which garden vegetables, in a less forward state, are so frequently destroyed.

There are some varieties, however, to which this rule will not apply, as the} 7 are too tender and fragile in their nature to endure the effects of the chilling blasts and frosts of the early spring. But the onion, as well as the carrot, beet, parsnip, and cabbage, and indeed several other kinds of valuable plants, are in no wise injured by these causes, and if favored with proper attention in the after culture, are almost certain to experience no detrimental effects therefrom. It has, however, been recommended by some not to sow the seed in the fall, as herein directed, but to deposite it in bags or boxes in the earth, and then sow in the spring.

But this can only be necessary where the grounds are infested by fowls, for as the sowing, if performed in autumn, will of course be postponed by every judicious and reflecting person, until the ground is just upon the point of "closing up," there will be but little if any danger of loss from any other causes. And besides, seed thus prepared is never so forward as that which is exposed to the full action of the earth the pericardium of seeds thus buried, during many months, having been found, upon examination, to be almost as firm and indurated in its texture, as when inhumed; whereas those seeds that have had the full benefit of the operations of frost and the elastic gases always germinate with the greatest rapidity and produce invariably much the most healthy plants.

More than two-thirds, perhaps three-quarters of the productions of the earth, from which man and beast derive sustenance and support, mav Vol.1— 25

be cultivated in this way. Many of the cereal grains, to wit, oats, wheat, barley, and rye, as well as potatoes, and indeed, all the numerous varieties of turnips, have been so cultiva-'ed, and can be again. The florist also may avail himself, to a certain extent and with equal advantage, of the same rule. It is a practice, in short, founded upon the immutable principles of science, and, what is still more confirmative of its " philosophy," and feasibility in practice; it is the system which nature herself pursues.

A Practical Farmer. October 1, 1841.

M'CORMICK'S REAPING MACHINE.

Col. Edward Smith, of Rockingham, has called our attention to a reaping machine, advertised and described by Mr. C. H. M'Cormick in the Staunton Spectator. Col. Smith we know to be a sound, practical man, and understand that he is one of the best farmers in the agricultural county of Rockingham. He speaks in high terms of the machine after witnessing its operation in the last harvest. The machine is described as being extremely simple and durable, an easy draught for two horses, which with two hands, have cut readily twelve acres in eight and a half hours; saving, it is said, at least a bushel more of grain to the acre than can be effected by the best cradling. From the testimonials adduced to support the character of this machine, we are inclined to entertain a highly favorable opinion of its value. We should be extremely pleased to see Mr. M'Cormick and his reaper on this side of the mountains next season,

03* The machine, we observe, is furnished at the, as it seems to us, extremely low price of $100, and warranted to perform as described.

TINKLER'S PLOUGHS. The Editor of the Enquirer concludes a notice of the "Planter," indited with his usual courtesy, with the following request;

" Will the Editor in his next be good enough to give a complete description of the Tinkler plough, its mode of operating, and the soil to which it is best adapted f 1

The Tinkler plough was introduced into this region of country by the inventor in the month of March, 1841. It soon grew into great favor, and is in many respects the best plough we have ever seen. Its great excellence consists, we think, in the peculiar shape of the mould board, which it is impossible, either by word, or an en-

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graving, to describe accurately. Attached to the point of his plough, Mr. Tinkler has a coulter of peculiar construction; it is of cast iron, sharp and thin, extending only seven or eight inches above the point; consequently, when the plough is in the ground, the upper, point of the coulter appears just above the surface. Thus, by means of the wing and this coulter, the perpendicular and lateral cuts are made with two thin sharp instruments, whilst the long and taper wedge of the mould board raises and turns the slice in the most beautiful manner imaginable. This plough never chokes, and turns under weeds and clover in a manner much more perfect than we hive seen effected by any other implement. Besides the peculiarities we have mentioned, in one form of Mr. Tinkler's plough, two mould boards are united at the heel, in such a manner, that whilst one sets upon the ground, the other is elevated at an angle of forty-five degrees. A common beam revolves upon the centre, so that

when the ploughman arrives at the end of his furrow, he turns his beam, throws his other point upon the ground, and goes back down the same row. This of course makes a hill side, or right and left hand plough ; but this plough Mr. Tinkler prefers for level land; contending, that the additional weight is not regarded by eithei horse or ploughman, and that much is gained by proceeding up and down, from one side of a field to another, without land or water furrows. It is true, that in this airangement, one stocking answers for two ploughs, but we are inclined to doubt, whether this and the other advantage claimed by Mr. Tinkler for his rotary plough, are not more than counterbalanced by the complication, and some other disadvantages to which this particular form is subject. He has, however, testimonials from the best farmers, of its | great superiority. For general purposes we should prefer the simpler form of his stationary plough.

TRACK ROAD

6.R.BUCKELEW.

We present to our readers a view, taken from ; the Mechanics' Magazine, of Williams's track road. The inventor thus describes the nature and advantages of the plan he proposes:

" It becomes necessary to inquire in what way timber, which is so plenty, and appears to last : well, can be disposed of to our advantage. My | reflections upon this subject have brought me to j believe that timber hewn flat and laid in ways i or tracks lengthwise of the road, to bear the pressure of wheels, would insure the end desired. The method that I believe to be the best is to; hew and lay four ways or tracks, two quite flat, say one foot on the face, and two furrowed or guttered so as to receive the near wheels of all wagons and carriages.

fa

" These tracks ought to be laid about five feet apart from centre to centre. The gutter or furrow made to receive the near wheels of carriages should be about three inches deep, and say four inches flat in the bottom, the tops being six or seven inches open. This would receive the wheels of all or most wagons. The centre of this track, laid say five feet from the centre of its fellow track, which is a foot on the face, would give such a diversity of width, that while the near wheel is kept in the furrow, the off wheel would be on the other track, notwithstanding a small diversity in the width which exists between the wheels of different wagons.

" The two near tracks ought to be laid about four feet apart, from centre to centre, and gravelled or M'Adamized between them, for what I

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shall call the driver's path. This path would accommodate footmen, horsemen, and teamsters, or, if thought best, a horseman's path may be constructed on each side of the outer or off tracks. Four feet for the driver's path, and five feet each for the horse paths, together with six inches on each side for the surplus widih of the outer tracks, make a total width of fifteen feet from out to out of the two carriage ways; eight and a half feet on each side would be the width of summer road and ditch in a thirty-three feet graduation.

" In case a carriage of speed should overtake one of burthen, it will be easy for it to mount over the driver's path and run in the left hand track until an opportunity appears for it to resume its proper one: the driver's path being raised but three inches.

"As to the lastingness of timber thus situated, I am of opinion it would be good. The earth or clay would completely envelope every stick its whole length, except the upper surface, by which its native juices would be completely extracted, particularly if the timber be large enough to cut through the heart."

This suggestion has been partially adopted ; with what success we are not particularly informed. How economical and advantageous such a plan would be for common roads would depend somewhat upon the contiguity of timber, &c. We should be more afraid than the inventor seems to be of the wear and tear attendant upon the constant friction of wheels upon a much frequented road.

Whilst its value for general purposes may be somewhat problematical, there can be no doubt of its economy in many wet, low places, through which much hauling is to be done. We once laid such a track through a marsh upon which we hauled a large quantity of wood to great advantage.

Upon the Chickahominy, especially, there is much valuable timber that is accessible only through the low fiats that surround it. Here it is only necessary to lay two tracks of flattened trees, spiking on them two pieces of three by four scantling, so that the width between the pieces shall be a little greater than the measurement of your wheels from out to out; thus the wheels are kept upon the solid track, and if it is level, one horse will pull a cord of wood with the greatest ease. If much hauling is to be done, it will be better to lay the rails upon a bank, ten feet wide, thrown up from ditches on each side. Indeed, where much hauling is to be done, as of marl, especially over rotten ground, we feel

assured that this is the best and most economical road that can be devised.

We have no doubt, that upon such a road, the mud from the marshes and pocosins of the lower country might be hauled upon the upland, to great advantage.

CORN.

[Dr. Osborne has very kindly furnished us with the following letter, read before the Agricultural Society of Cumberland. We are not personally acquainted with Col. Isbell, but understand he is just the plain, practical, successful farmer, whose opinions are most valued where he is best known. We would be much obliged to the Colonel, if he would favor us with a more minute and particular description of his method of cultivating his corn crop. Does he not use the hoe at all 1 Does he find the product as great as where more labor is used, or is it only that the difference in product is not equal to the difference in labor? Are we right in supposing that he objects to a fall fallow, because he wants the spring sod, in its decay, to furnish food for the young corn ? Answers to these enquiries, with any further suggestions to which they may give use, are respectfully requested.]

Willow Banks, Oct. 7ih, 1841.

Dear Sir,—It was my wish to have joined your Agricultural Society to-morrow, but very pressing engagements will prevent my doing so ; if however the subjoined statement of my mode of raising corn be considered worthy of the attention of the Society, it is at their service. The plan recently adopted by me, and differing so essentially from all others heretofore practised upon is conducted in the following manner: Fallow your land well—carefully turning under all turf, and do this in the spring if possible. Harrow with light harrows before you plant; have your rows 5 feet 3 inches wide, and 2 feet 3 inches in the step, lay off with small trowel hoe ploughs, not cutting more than 2 inches deep at the farthest, so as not to turn up the turf; plant early and cultivate quick with single straight tooth harrows, seven teeth in each, the frame in the form of Y; timber 3 inches square, iron teeth 1 1-4 inches square, and about 8 inches long. Harrow about four times, and la}' by your ciop in June. If this method be practicable, and I have found it so, its advantages will present themselves so apparently as to need no specification.

Respectfully yours, &c.

James Isbell.

To Dr. N. M. Osborne, Stony Point Mills, Cumberland, Va.

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AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITION.

The second exhibition of the Henrico Agricultural Society came off on the 21st and 22nd of October, in the city of Richmond, with great eclat. Our narrow limits forbid the extended notice of this meeting which our interest in it would induce, and which its importance demands. It is enough to know that the institution has realized the expectations of its most sanguine friends. Its funds are ample, the exhibitions interesting, attendance numerous, and interest unabating. The first day the Society and company met at Bacon's quarter. Here the mere looker on found less to interest him than usual; the exhibition of stock was indifferent; indeed, none was to be expected—the fall meeting is for a different purpose—no premiums were offered on any stock except one for the best stallion for farming purposes: this was unanimously awarded to a very fine, active, muscular bay of Gen. Carrington's, by the imported Cleveland out of a Roanoke mare. The Virginia cross has certainly improved the stock ; reducing the beef, and condensing the bone and muscle of the sire.

If the sight seeker left the ground disappointed in the exhibition of stock, not so the real farmer. In the report of the several committees, especially that upon farms, he enjoyed a treat of the richest character. We wish we had room for this excellent report—it is worthy of the source from which it emanated. With great discrimination and judgment, the hardy laborer, who, with his own hand alone, drew from the earth a comfortable subsistence for himself and family, was selected as the object of the society's second premium. This committee exhibited not less of taste than discretion in this seeking for examples of skill and thrift in the abodes of humble industry. We must be permitted to quote the following extract from the conclusion of this excellent report;

" We observed in the course of our examination of several farms upon which we have not reported many evidences of great industry, directed without; judgment or skill, and in a great degree neutralized, by reason of total ignorance of agricultural improvements and the application of labor. Still the spirit of industry is there, and some have caught the spirit of improvement too; are becoming sensible of the necessity for improving their houses and enriching their lands j but are uninformed as to the best means within their own reach of effecting that object.

It must seem incredible to those who have not witnessed it, that a man with a wife, and eight, nine, or ten children to provide for, and who, for that end, taxes bis physical powers to the utmost, from the beginning to the end of the year, should yet be, or appear by his practice to be insensible to the inconvenience, discomfort, and risk of living in a house whrch has probably been occupied by several generations, without r epai, and which, with every thing around it, is in the most neglected and dilapidated condition. Yet such is the fact, and, in many instances, with industrious, respectable, and meritorious men, who, it would seem, have no conception of the importance, and the economy too. of first attending to the security and comfort of themselves, and of every thing around them.

It is not necessary for us to offer a remark upon this mistaken and destructive policy—we hope to see the influence of the Society applying the remedy, wherever there is industry and intelligence for it to act upon.

In conclusion, we are happy to have it in our power to report that, in the course of our examinations, we had the satisfaction of noticing a more general spirit of Agricultural improvement than we were aware of There is a fine field for the operations of the Society, and every encouragement to perseverance in the cause. But there is much to do, and we believe one of the great principles of success is to be found in the encouragement of a class of cultivators, who, heretofore, seem to have been entirely overlooked. It is the men who guide their own ploughs, drive their own produce to market, and in times of danger, shoulder their muskets and take the field.

A distinguished prose writer of our own country, satirically remarked of the people of a great commercial city of the North—that there, " the Lawyer looks clown upon the Merchant, the Merchant upon the Grocer, the Grocer upon the Green Grocer, and the Green Grocer upon the Apple Woman—who don't care a straw about any of them. We trust it is not so among us— but these sturdy citizens of ours who have as much sterling merit and independence of character as any men on earth, who regard with indifference or contempt the trappings of wealth and station, and ask no favor but of the Almighty— have been left to drudge on, generation after generation, without an effort to improve or to aid their agricultural labors. They do not want industry, but they want the lights of agricultural science and improvement, which the necessity for constant toil and their own limited resources, places beyond their reach, but which could so easily be imparted to them by those who are favored with knowledge, leisure and wealth.

These, and otherconsiderations which address themselves forcibly to the patriotism and liberals

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ty of our more favored people, this Committee would, if in their power, most earnestly endeavor to impress upon the wealth and intelligence of our old mother Virginia, throughout her extended borders. Give our people the lights of practical knowledge, improve our system of education, our agriculture and our mechanic arts, and the Old Dominion will once more be in the ascendant.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Farm Committee.

Wm. H. Richardson, Chrrtn.

October 20, 1841."

After the distribution of the premiums, the Society adjourned to the meadow to witness a ploughing exhibition. We saw here some highly finished and good looking ploughs, manufactured by the celebrated Prouty & Mears, exhibited by Mr. Howard ; also some equally in appearance, exhibited by Messrs. Gretter & Peake, from the factory of Ruggles, Nourse & Mason. Mr. Tinkler was also on the ground with his celebrated plough, and Mr. Palmer appeared with his, that is too well known hereabouts, at least to need any further proof of its merits. But the ploughing match was absolutely nothing. There was no dynamometer to measure the draught, and the work was done upon a clear sod, over a light sub-soil, where any plough would do pretty work—consequently it all looked well, but it afforded no real test of the respective merits of the implements. One thing though we took great pleasure in noticing, the skill exhibited by one of the ploughmen; this was a negro man in the employment of Mr. Goddin; his furrows were as straight as an arrow, and his judgment in managing his team and his plough entitled him to a premium—he is worthy of this notice at least. We should like to see Hicks matched against any plough man, black or white, north or south. We think they would have to confess, " Old Virginia is hard to beat."

The second day the exhibition of domestic manufactures excited great interest; every body argued from the first display the most brillant success in this department. We were lost in the mazes of counterpanes, comforts, and wollen stockings; but when we came to the department of the mechanic arts, we were a little more at home. The display of agricultural and other implements from the workshop of Mr. John Hitchcock would have done honor to Niblo's itself. Our farmers were delighted to find that they could be supplied with such implements by our own citizens, and many were

proud to carry home these beautiful specimens of domestic manufacture. But what pleased us most of all, was the specimens of superb workmanship, in the shape of grates furnished by Mr. Samuel Denoon, entirely the product of negroes in his employment. Here was a practical refutation of the doctrine, that negro labor is unfitted for the best systems of agriculture ; that they cannot be taught the arts necessary to a perfect system of husbandry : let such cavil-ers and unbelievers exercise the same patient industry in teaching their operatives, that Mr. Denoon h s bestowed on his, and they will find that the class that can produce such beautiful specimens of iron work, are capable of learning any of the more simple aits of husbandry.

This article is already much longer than our wont, and we are compelled, for want of room, to omit much that is worthy of notice. We say to our readers, come next spring and judge for yourselves. The agricultural spirit that will be excited, will be worth more than ten times the cost of the trip. We see and feel that the originators of this Society, by the example they have set, by the energy and zeal that they manifest, are doing more for agriculture and human improvement, than the whole race of politicians for the last twenty years.

CORN.

[We would call the attention of corn growers to the variety cultivated by Mr. I. H. Goddin in this neighborhood, and so highly recommended by the Farm Committee of the Henrico Agricultural Society. Specimens may be seen in the windows of Mr. Howard's agricultural store, where the seeds may be obtained—price $5 00 a barrel.]

GRASSES.

[A valued friend called on us a day or two since with two specimens of grass, which he thought might prove interesting to the agricultural public. The fiist was obtained from the farm of Capt. Meriwether, in Albemarle, who esteems it very highly; he considers it very superior as a hay to either herds grass or timothy. It grows very luxuriantly, and seems admirably adapted to the soil and climate of Albemarle. For farther particulars he referred us to Capt. Meriwether, himself; from whom we should be much pleased to hear upon this or any other subject. The specimen is preserved at our office, and is worthy the inspection of the curious.

The other specimen made its appearance in

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the garden of our visitant two or three years ago, and grows very luxuriantly. Its appearance is singular, and we should be very far from indulging any very sanguine expectations of its value as a hay.]

AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT.

We have been highly gratified in noticing the march of agricultural improvement, as evidenced by the increase in our good city of establishments to supply the wants of the farmer. Mr. Palmer, whose old stand has been long and favorably known to the public, has brushed up and enlarged prodigiously. Messrs. Gretter & Peake have united with their grocery establishment a large assortment of agricultural implements, and our friend Mr. E. C. Howard has lately opened, at the corner above the Banks, a select assortment of seeds and implements. These with our own small collection, to say nothing of the manufacturing establishments of Messrs. Parker & Spencer, afford facilities to the Virginia farmer, which should render it unnecessary for him to go out of his native state to supply all of his professional wants at least.

Much of this agricultural spirit hereabouts has been the offspring of the Henrico Agricultural Society. We sincerely hope, that the same means generally adopted, will extend it from one end of the state to the other.

THE ADDRESS. Mr. Turner delighted a large audience with the short and pithy address, delivered before the Henrico Agricultural Society on the second day of its exhibition. The Parson's genuine humor and polished wit, render him eminently fitted for the delivery of a popular address. It is seldom that his hearers fail to be instructed by his sound reasoning and amused with his lively pleasantry. Amongst his other conceits, he maintained that Eden was a farm instead of a garden, and consequently that Adam was a farmer, and that his great success was attributable to the smallness of his farm, and the goodness of the farmer's wife.

MISCELLANY

THE FARMER.

BY WILLIAM HOWITT.

There is no class of men, if times are but tolerably good, that enjoy themselves so highly as farmers. They are little kings. Their concerns are not huddled into a corner as those of a town tradesman are. In town, many a man who turns thousands of pounds per week, is hemmed in close by buildings, and cuts no figure at all. A narrow shop, a contracted warehouse, without an inch of room besides to turn him in, on any

or four pair of dirty stairs, is all the room that the wealthy tradesman can often bless himself with: and then, day after day, month after month, year after year, he is to be found, like a bat in a hole of a wall, or a toad in the heart of a stone, or of an oak tree. Spring and summer, and autumn, go round : sunshine and flowers spread over the world ; the sweetest breezes blow, the sweetest waters murmur along the vales, but they are all lost upon him ; he is the doleful prisoner of Mammon, and so he lives and dies. The farmer would not take the wealth of the world on such terms. His concerns, however small, spread themselves out in a pleasant amplitude, both to his eye and heart. His house stands in its own stately solitude; his outhouses stand round extensively, without any stubborn and limiting contraction ; his acres stretch over hill and dale; there his flocks and herds are feeding ; there his laborers are toiling—he is king and sole commander there. He lives amongst the purest air and the most delicious quiet. * * Ample old fashioned kitchens, with their chimney corners of the true project-ing-beamed and seated construction, still remaining ; blazing fires in winter, shining on suspended hams and flitches, guns supported on hooks above, dogs basking on the heart h below ; cool, shady parlors in summer, with open windows, and odors from garden and shrubbery blowing in ; gardens wet with purest dews, and humming at noontide with bees; and green fields and verdurous trees, or deep woodlands lying all round, where a hundred rejoicing voices of birds or other creatures are heard, and winds blow to and fro, full of health and life enjoyment. How enviable do such places seem to the fretted spirits of towns, who are compelled not only to bear their burthen of cares, but to enter daily into the public strife against selfish evil and ever-spreading corruption. When one calls to mind the simple abundance of farm-houses, their rich cream and milk, unadulterated butter, and bread grown upon their own lands, sweet as that which Christ broke, and blessed as he gave to his disciples ; their fruits ripe and fresh plucked from the sunny wall, or the garden bed, or the pleasant old orchard ; when one casts one's eye upon, or calls to one's memory the aspect of these houses, many of them so antiquely picturesque, or so bright, looking and comfortable, in deep retired valleys, by beautiful streams, or amongst fragrant woodlands, one cannot help saying with King James of Scotland, when he met Johnny Armstrong:—"What want these men that a kins: should have 1 ?"

HANGING JUDGE. Counseller Grady, on a trial in Ireland, said, he recollected to have heard of a relentless hand; without a yard, stable, or an outhouse of i Judge ; he was known by the name of the any description; perhaps hoisted aloft, up three I Hanging Judge, and was never seen to shed a

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tear but once, and that was during the representation of The Beggar's Opera, when Macbeth got a reprieve!

It was the same Judge, we believe, between whom and Mr. Curran, the following pass of wit once took place at table. "Pray, Mr. Curran," said the Judge, " is that hung beef beside you? If it is, I will try it." " U you try it, my lord," replied Mr. Curran, " it is sure to be huntr."

TO THE READER.

We once again present ourselves before our readers in our individual capacity. This is the tenth No. of our little work : for the sake of closing with the year we shall publish the two last numbers together in the ensuing month, and taking time by the forelock, we will beg those of our friends who are satisfied with our endeavors to please them, to renew their subscriptions at once. We should like to form some idea by the first of January, as to what number of copies it will be advisable for us to print for the coming year. To the patrons of the present Volume we return our sincere thanks. We started the Planter without a subscriber in the world, satisfied that if we did our part, the public would do theirs. We formed no sanguine anticipations of the first year's success. W T e knew how natural it was for the public, in such a case, to require one year of probation at least. We offered the income to the printer, if he would bear the expense, but he was not soft enough to accept the proposition. We commenced with an edition of twelve hundred, which we have increased to three thousand. Notwithstanding all the embarrassments of a beginning, we shall clear two hundred dollars for our year's labor. Let not the reader smile at our triumphant boast. The pioneer in such an undertaking will assure him that this is to be reckoned the most distinguished success, and we are highly gratified at the result.

But although this is doing remarkably well for the first year, it would not answer quite so well for the second. We have endeavored to do our part. We have been gratified with the most substantial and flattering testimonials that the public were satisfied. We will promise that the Planter shall not deteriorate; indeed, it will go hard, if increased experience should not better its condition. Without meaning to arrogate

any thing to ourselves, except untiring industry, and the most zealous devotion to the cause in which we are embarked, we think we can undertake, if our subscription list shall justify it, to furnish a paper not surpassed by any in this Union, if we can afford to go abroad and visit the best farmers in Virginia, witness their system of management, learn their modes of cultivation, gather and compare their opinions, we do not doubt we could collect a fund of information, that would render the columns of the Planter equal to any paper published in America. But this plan requires an abandonment of all other pursuits, and an entire reliance upon our paper. Of course it requires a great increase of our subscription list: will our friends, who concur with us in the value of such a course, help us to that increase? Let each man bestir himself in his own neighborhood. If every subscriber would only add another to his name, we should be satisfied.

Depend upon it a reliance upon communications will not do. Those who are best able to afford information have often least inclination to write. In the words of a friend who called on us a few days since, it frequently happens that those who write most, plough least. We have sought communications, in vain, from some of the most enlightened farmers in the state; they will tell you any thing but they will write nothing. Indeed to collect and condense is the labor for which the Editor is paid, and it is a burden that he too frequently devolves upon his correspondents.

In conclusion, we say, that if the public will make it an object for us to devote our sole attention to the " Planter," we will endeavor to make it worthy of their patronage.

Of course, the twelve numbers are all that will be sent without the remission of another dollar. We open a new list for the second volume, and no name will be enrolled without an advance of the subscription. Obvious necessity justifies a strict adherence to this rule.

We would beg our friends to remember in transmitting their subscriptions, that any Post Master will frank the letter, and thereby save the postage to both of us.

We are happy to announce that we have received another article from Mr. Morris on the curing of Tobacco, which we are obliged to defer to our next, for want of an engraving which will accompany it.

We hope that the length of our opening article will not induce the fear that we are relaxing in our labors, or that we mean to treat our readers to long and tedious essays. We copied Dr. Darlington's treatise, not to be read, but to be referred to. Its value constitutes the best apology for its insertion.