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tree are affording nourishment to natural limbs and foliage upon the same tree of ten times the amount.

Some of the scions this year set had blows upon them, which may hardly be expected to bear apples the present season; but it would not more surprise us to have those scions* bear next year than it has to witness the progress which they have already made.

The orchard, which has been grafted and nurtured under the care of Mr. Foster at Canterbury, although the first grafts were set only six years ago, produced last season something like a hundred bushels of the grafted apples. The product will soon be increased ten fold.

To the Editor of the Southern Planter:

My dear Sir, —I see you have published the remarks which I submitted as an introduction to my hog essays. This encourages me to proceed in the undertaking. You have, however, omitted one thing, which I requested you to do; and as I consider this an affair of great consequence, I must again call your attention to it. The probability is, that I shall continue to har-rass you on this point, until you comply with my request. It is this—that you will furnish as accurate an estimate as you can of the immense quantities of meat which are regularly brought to Eastern Virginia every year, and consequently the immense amount of money which is carried away from us for this single article. Your office is cool, and it requires a cool place for such calculations in this hot weather. Whilst therefore I am in the harvest-field busily employed in taking care of the crop which a bountiful Providence has given me, you w T ill I hope retire to some cool comer, and there make out the estimate which I request* For my part, I feel humbled when I reflect upon the dependence, the degrading dependence to which we submit in regard to other sections of our country. If we want a bundle of hay, we go to the north for it; and if we want a horse or mule, or hog, we go to the west for them. Nor is this the worst of it, for large quantities of our money go there also. No wonder then that the balance of trade is continually against us, and that we remain poor, whilst other portions of the country are getting rich. I wish you therefore to show the amount of the evil, whilst / endeavor to suggest the remedy. But my business at present is with the hog.

The next thing to be considered is—what kind of hog is most profitable for the farmer to

* We have endeavored to obtain some statistics on which to found such a calculation, but find it impossible to make even an approximation to the truth. We have however ascertained enough to satisfy us that the amount is enormous and well worth consideration in a national point of view.— Ed.

raise ? I answer at once, it is the hog which combines the greatest thrift with the earliest maturity ; or it is the hog which comes to maturity in the shortest possible time, and at the least possible expense.

The good points in a hog, as I think, are great length of body, shoulder and back broad, legs very short, ham full and square, and as a consequence of all these, carcass very deep. In such an animal the weight is invariably great in proportion to the compass. Some hogs that I have seen, present one of these good points, but are defective in others. They have for instance the broad shoulder, but the body is so short as to furnish no middling, and are perhaps thin in the ham also. I call that hog the best then, which will give me a good full ham, a good large middling, and a good broad shoulder, and all this with as little legs and head and other offal as possible.

You see from the above, that I attach no great importance to mere size, on the contrary I consider excess in size as an objection. I never saw an overgrown animal, horse, mule or hog, but was coarse in feature and unwieldy in motion. Such animals also, are usually enormous devourers of food. Some time ago Mr. Cottrell in the upper end of this county, had a hog of such extraordinary size, that he sent him about as a show. He weighed (if I recollect aright) more than 1200 lbs. live weight; and yet a near relative of the owner told me there was no economy in rearing such hogs, for said he, " he eats as much as a horse." The question therefore with me is, not how can I get the biggest hog, but how can I raise my hog to a good weight in the shortest time and at the least expense.

Nor am I of those who think, that because a hog is a hog, there is no difference between them; and that if one hog differs from another, it is owing to some better treatment, and not to some peculiar trait in his kind. I once inclined a good deal to this popular theory myself, but subsequent experience and observation have thoroughly cured me of it. For several years I had been in the habit of raising hogs to the amount of my family consumption. My practice was to keep them up and feed them w r ell; and having a thrifty breed, they generally rewarded me with their manure and flesh to my entire satisfaction. They were a cross of what is commonly called the Skinner hog, or our more common breed, I however called them the corn-house breed, and truly they were well named, for if I had a fat hog, I had at the same time an empty corn-house.

In the mean time I had heard of the celebrated Berkshire, and my agricultural papers came to me time after time, presenting (as they said) an exact likeness of that famous animal. But as I knew that painters often flattered the

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human countenance, I thought it was very possible for the engraver to perform the same kind service for his hog also. And especially as these flattering accounts were generally accompanied with an offer to sell, I looked upon the whole as a mere imposition. The multicaulis humbug had just passed away, and I regarded this as another effort to gull the public. Thus matters stood, when a valued neighbor of mine borrowed a young Berkshire boar to improve his own stock of hogs. I saw this animal, and although he had been crippled in his feet and badly treated in other respects, there was something in his whole appearance which made it evident that he was very superior to any hog I had ever seen before; but as my neighbor had been imposed on in the mulberry affair, I was still incredulous about the hog. At length the progeny of this young boar made their appearance, and the pigs from common sows, were so strikingly improved that all my suspicions immediately gave way, and I actually paid my neighbor $20 for one of his best half-blood pigs. Since that time I have seen many Berkshires and now own several of of them, and I hesitate not to say, that for great thrift and early maturity, for peaceable and quiet habits, and indeed every other desirable quality, this is the hog for farmers^ nor is there any mistake about it.

You will see from this statement how slow and guarded I have been in coming to the above conclusion. It was not, in fact, until conviction was forced upon me that I yielded my assent ; and this too after I had seen the Bedford or Wobura, the No Bone, the Parkinson, the Bj'-field, the Essex Half Black, commonly called the Skinner, the Barnitry, besides other varieties which are a manifest improvement upon our original stock of hogs. After seeing and carefully examining all these, and owning several of them, I must give the decided preference to the graceful Berkshire, and therefore recommend him to my fellow farmers.

To this hog there is one, and but one objection, and that is the great price at which he now sells. But this, as I think, may in most instances be easily obviated. The plan is this— let some spirited breeder procure a boar of the genuine breed ; and here I am aware is a difficulty, for such is the demand for this hog at present that many half-bloods and other spurious breeds are imposed upon the anxious purchaser as the genuine article. There are, however, many honest breeders, and among them several with whom I am personally acquainted, who would scorn an imposition of this kind. At all events, let a genuine boar be procured—select the most convenient point in the neighborhood and there stand him at a moderate price, just as people now stand their stallions. Call in the incredulous to see him, and especially let them see his pigs from a good common sow of any kind,

and my word for it, he will soon have business enough to do. I now have two boars, and although I paid what is generally considered a high price for them, I shall from present prospects, more than get back their original cost before the close of the year.

Having now determined the kind of hog, which above all others I can recommend to my brother farmers, I will defer for your next what I have to say about their accomodations. In the mean time, let me congratulate you on the improved form of your last number. Your publication is now approaching what we farmers need, a work made up of short, plain treatises on practical subjects. Continue your friendly visits among us; tell us in person as well as in your work, what we ought to do, and how we ought to do it. We will give you a cordial welcome, and in the name of the farmers I promise you the plain hospitalit}' for which they are celebrated. Wishing you all possible success in your laudable undertaking, I am &c.

J. H. Turner.

LEAF MANURE.

J\Ir, Planter^ —I observe a piece in your fifth number on the above manure, in which the opinion is expressed that the removal of leaves from wood land will impoverish the land. Now, I suppose that if wood land was annually raked clean of all its leaves, leaving the ground bare, it would certainly impoverish it; but I hold the opinion, that it does not require all the foliage of the forest, cast off every autumn, to sustain its growth. I have been in the habit, for the last sixteen years, of hauling into my farm pen, stables, stable lot, hog pens, &c. as much offal from the woods, as I could with all the team I have, and yet have left enough to sustain a vigorous growth of timber. In this way alone, I have made annually from three to six hundred four ox loads of manure, of sufficient strength to make poor land produce respectable corn and wheat.

Where the woods are thick set with whortleberry bushes and other under growth, as it generally is in this part of Virginia, I think the horse rake would be rather more trouble than profit. I find that one hand with a hand rake can generally keep a cart supplied, and also aid the driver in loading, unless the distance the cart travels is very short. I have found it best to mix the pine leaves and oak together, though I have used them separately to an advantage. My usual plan is to haul in my corn stalks first; then cover with the oak leaves; and last with the pine leaves, (all of which I aim to get in January) so that when the whole is dug up with a dung hoe, they are very regularly mixed.

It is incredible to one who never tried it, how much manure can be made on a farm by care*

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fully and perseveringly (aye, that's the word, per-severingly) collecting every substance that will make manure. I recollect some years ago to have seen an account published, in which it was stated, that a tumbril load of manure had been made from every hog fattened. I said when I read it, that I did not believe it; my opinion at that time being founded on the idea that an animal could only make so much manure and no more; but I have long since found out, that, it is not how much manure each animal ought to make, but how much each hand ought to make with the aid of the animals.

And now, Mr. Editor, I will tell you what effect the publishing of that account, named above, had on me. I went to work, sir, to test the truth of the statement, and found that not only a tumbril load could be made, but a great deal more! for since the last winter, I made three good loads from each hog fattened ; (when I say a load I mean such a load as will cover a surface of twelve yards square well) and the growth of corn now shows that the quality was not inferior to any used for the present crop.

With the hope that this statement may induce some one to try it, I will give you the modus operandi, viz. about the first of October, I made my hog pen twenty-five yards long and four lengths of ordinary fence rails wide; which, allowing for the crook in the pannels, made it about ten yards wide; I then spent a day with two carts and four hands hauling pine tags into it; and after spreading them regularly, put in the hogs, who immediately set to work rooting and revelling in the trash, so that in a week or ten daj^s, the trash was all reduced to fine manure. I then spent another day hauling in oak leaves, and so on hauling in alternately pine and oak, until a short time before the hogs were killed— making in all, about five days spent in hauling* in the litter, which made 120 loads of good manure. If any one doubts it, let him try it.

You will perceive, Mr. Editor, that my fingers are better adapted to hold the plough than the pen, but as I was disposed to indulge a little in the shade this warm day, and looking over the last number of your paper, I concluded I would make the above communication. If you think it, or any part of it, worth publishing, you may do so, if not, just throw it aside, and there will be no harm done. W. S. R.

P. S.—I have some idea of giving you my opinion of the root crop, especially as it differs from almost all those who have written on the subject. From the little experience I have had with them, I find them the most costly, and the most impoverishing crop, (especially turnips of all kinds) I have ever cultivated. W. S. R.

We shall be very much pleased to hear from our correspondent, at any time, and upon any subject he may

* Some of the litter was hauled fully a mile.

choose, no matter how much his conclusions may differ from the popular doctrine. We are wedded to no set of opinions whatever. Our columns are open to free discussion, and any article, like tiie present, containing-views, the result of actual experiment, will always find favor in our eyes.

BACON.

A Mr. John Lewis, formerly of Spottsylvania county, Virginia, writes to the Editor of the Cultivator upon the subject of curing bacon. His hailing place entitles Mr. Lewis, of whom it strikes us we have heard before, to speak with authority upon this subject.

Mr. Lewis's mode differs a little, we think, from that generally adopted in his native county. He uses a mixture of three parts salt and one part hickory ashes with which he rubs the skin and covers the fleshy side of his hams and shoulders to the depth of three-quarters of an inch. A pickle is thus formed in which the meat is suffered to lie from five to seven weeks, according to the size of the hogs. When it is taken out it is washed clean in lukewarm water, and after being permitted to drain and dry, is dipped into what he calls h'is meat paint. " The meat paint," he says, " is made of warm, not hot, water, and very fine ashes stirred together, till they are of the consistence of thick paint. When the pieces are dipped in this, they receive a coating, which protects them from the fly, prevents dripping, and tends to lessen all external injurious influences."

To preserve bacon, some external coating is necessary. We know of none cheaper or more convenient than Mr. Lewis's. The canvass bag, notwithstanding it costs a little more, we have been in the habit of using in preference to the thick white wash, which is somewhat similar to Mr. Lewis's meat paint. We should fear, however, that, after the evaporation of the water, the ashes would be left with very little tendency to adhere to the meat.

THE FILBERT.

We would commend the cultivation of this delightful nut to our gardeners in general; not by way of a "crop," as it is recommended in the northern papers, but for domestic use. Those, who have used only the imported nuts of the shops, can have but little idea of the sweetness and flavor of the freshly gathered filbert, grown in Virginia. We do not know any name for the variety we have been accustomed to see raised in this country, but know that it is smaller, thinner barked, and much more highly flavored than the imported article. The filbert is a hardy bush and a prolific yielder.

A Mr. Downing, in the "Magazine of Horticulture," recommends a soil naturally dry rather than moist, but a dry, gravelly loam, ox

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sandy loam, is preferable. The kinds preferred by Mr. Downing are the Cosford, the Frizzled, and Northampton Prolific. The avarage crop in England, we are informed, is about 800 lbs. to the acre.

Set out a few bushes. For a very trifling expense they will afford you " nuts to crack" during the whole winter.

THE DAHLIA.

The following mode of treating the roots of this gorgeous flower has been furnished the Cul-

tivator by those experienced and distinguished florists, the Messrs. Prince, of Long Island. They say, " Our practice in wintering dahlias is exceedingly simple. As soon as the frost has killed the tops, we cut them off and take up the roots, and then dry them for two or three days in the sun, after which we place them on shelves in a cellar, perfectly dry and free from frost, where they remain until the period for spring planting. Moisture is destructive to them, and in a damp cellar or room they are liable to rot; but in a dry one, not a single one will be injured, if it is kept free from frost."

CATTLE.

In the present cut we have endeavored to kill two birds with one stone. We have thrown upon a native cow, on the commons of Richmond, an English martingale. The object of this contrivance is to prevent injury to the limbs of trees, when it may be found desirable to turn cattle into an orchard, or when they may be allowed to trim the grass in the yard.

The animal herself exhibits a specimen of what may be effected by attention to our native stock. Now, we ask our readers if it is not better, by careful selection and judicious crossing, to raise a stock, which will be acclimated, than to rely upon northern or western importations 1 When we consider the mysterious and fatal disease to which all imported cattle are subject in Eastern Virginia, we hazard the assertion, that home production is the only course to which we can ever look for permanent and valuable improvement in our stock of cattle. It seems to be a principle universally recognised, that cattle degenerate, with few exceptions, with a change of climate. Accordingly, every district in England has its particular stock, which is always the native acclimated stock improved by judicious breeding.

So valuable is acclimation, that the judicious breeder seldom discards the native stock, but builds upon it by selection and crossing. Poor as our stock of native cattle may appear, we are little aware how much of that appearance is owing to indifferent keep and bad management, or what improvement may be effected by a more judicous course.

We once knew a physician, in a county practice, with a fine eye for a cow, who, when he met with one that pleased his fancy, would purchase her for eight or ten dollars, and by judicious keep and management increase her milk from a quart to several gallons. She then became the wonder of the neighborhood, and was purchased by some less judicious gentleman at a high price. Another was soon procured in her stead, with the same result. Our physician, who was a man of great observation and judgment, and devoted to agricultural pursuits, often declared the conviction of his ability, if his professional engagements permitted, to raise from | our native cattle a stock equal to any that could be imported.

The fact is, that for the producing a good stock of our own, the material is not so much

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wanting in our cattle, for nature every where affords favorable specimens of her work, as informal ion and discernment amongst our breeders. What avails it to advise the selection of the best individuals, if, ignorant of anatomy and of those points indicating the qualities you desire, you know not how to select.

Cattle are used for three purposes, as oxen, as producers of milk, or for the food they afford as beef. There are certain points of form giving activity and endurance to the ox, there are others indicating milking propensity in the cow, and there are others again denoting a tendency to convert food into fat. The marks of each are certain and easily to be understood by observation and study, but they no more come by nature than reading or writing.

We then advise our farmers to make themselves acquainted with these points of form, by resorting to the best works and obtaining the best advice they can procure upon the subject. Let them select a certain number of our native cattle, according to the information they shall obtain, and keeping them in the best manner, let them select from their offspring those individuals as breeders having the points they have learned to esteem. Every year they will find the produce coming nearer their beau ideal of perfection, and they may very soon venture to confer upon their stock a high sounding name which will be all that is wanting to enable them to rival the ° imported."

give him cow's milk boiled with a little flour, and with warm injections of mullein, flax-seed tea, or slippery elm ; if, on the contrary, the animal is without appetite, it is a sign that the evacuation is dangerous, and ought to be checked ; give something more than a quarter of an ounce of assafcetida diluted in one of the above teas, which he must be made to swallow milk warm : besides which, he must have injections morning and evening until the disease seems to be checked, then suppress the evening remedies, and suppress them entirely, as soon as the colt is evidently better. It is more prudent to keep the mare out of pasture, and feed her on dry hay, &c. A careful attendant on the colt, will best know whether to continue the remedies or not. Mind that the mother's milk has a great influence on

the colt."

ARTIFICIAL SPRINGS.

It is stated in the Cultivator, upon what seems to be good author, that water may be obtained in the dryest ground, by the following procees: Dig a hole, and insert a common barrel; pack the earth closely around the barrel, and fill it with pebble stones. The water will soon rise and continue to flow over the top of the barrel.

The author attempts to explain it upon the principle which produces ordinary springs, but we would prefer being satisfied of the fact before we enter upon the rationale. Will some of our subscribers try this mode of furnishing their dry fields with a continued supply of water, and inform us of the result ?"

SCOURS.

FRUIT TREES.

Draining, which is necessary to the proper cultivation of every species of vegetable, has been found particularly beneficial to the growth of fruit trees.

From the Boston Cultivator, we see that a Mr. Chinney, of that State, of great agricultural reputation, has found by experience that the water in a retentive sub soil was so injurious to the growth of his trees, as to justify the expense of ditches cut from two to three feet deep to carry off the surplus water, which, collecting in the loose earth, destroyed the tender roots. At the bottom of these ditches is left a water course of about eight inches covered with flat stones; on these brush and briers are thrown, and the whole filled in with the earth thrown in from the ditches.

By pursuing this method, Mr. Chinney has secured the most entire success upon ground, when all his attempts to rear an orchard had failed before.

The following treatment of this disease, which is so common amongst the colts of the stock grower, is recommended by a Mr. Mentelle, in the Kentucky Farmer. We know nothing of Mr. Mentelle, but our own experience confirms the value of his general course of treatment.

"As soon as the disease is evident, the mare and colt must be taken from the pasture if they were at grass, and their treatment must be different, according to the degree of appetite retained by the colt; if he eats or sucks heartily,

HAY.

We extract the following sensible remarks from a treatise on hay making-, published by Mr. S. W. Jewett in the Northern Light.

Hay making is one of the most essential theories in agriculture, and perhaps one where the practical operation of profit and loss is as much varied as any one process in farming.

With regard to the mowing of grass, in general, for hay, the workmen should be made to cut as low as possible, by which the crop is increased: if it be wet by dew or rain, hands should be ready to shake it out immediately after the scythe. As soon as the external wet is dried off, it should be raked and secured into cocks of seventy-five or one hundred pounds.

It may be proper here to remark, that the hard hay of a poor soil is little subject to heating, which often occurs with that on rich soil made of succulent herbage. The latter therefore requires longer time for its making.

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To preserve as much of the sap of grass as possible without increasing the danger of firing, is, in my view, the grand practical problem of hay making. To effect this, grass should be put immediately into small ha}' cocks about four feet high ; not by rolling, but by laying one fork full upon another, and of as small a diameter at the base as they can be made to stand with, giving each of them a slight kind of thatching, by drawing a few hands full of the hay from the bottom of the cock all around, and laying it lightly upon the top with one of the ends hanging downwards. This is done with the utmost ease and expedition; and when once in that state, the hay is in a great measure out of danger; for unless a violent wind should arise immediately after the cocks are put up, nothing else can hurt the hay; as no rain however violent can penetrate these cocks but for a very little way ; and if they are put up dry they never lie together so closely as to heat, although they acquire in a day or two such a degree of firmness as to be in no danger of being afterwards overturned by wind unless it blows a hurricane.

If there should come rain upon the cocks many times, it will be proper to give them an airing before they are removed to the barn; and more especially that portion which comes in contact with the ground. In such cases the first drying wind, or fair day, lay them over into tramp cocks, by placing the top of the cock on the ground and putting two or more together ; in this way the hay is secured until the maker wishes to remove it to the stack, yard or barn.

Clover hay should remain longer in the cock than other grasses, that all the larger stems may undergo their proper fermentation. Hay cured in this manner being rather heavy at the time of its removal to the mow, the process is every year condemned by our laborers; but we find no hay that opens more bright and sweet than that which is cured in this manner.

The old mode in which I was first educated to make hay, by spreading and turning, is not only more expensive in curing, but the value of the hay is lessened at least one-third.

Where the grass is matured and thin, the weather being good, it may be only the business of a day; but this cannot be the case with a heavy burden or early mown hay; the grass being cut when full of juices, the succulent stalks require time as well as sunshine to part with their moisture. When spread and exposed to the hot sun, the leaves and exterior parts soon dry, but the interior parts of the larger growth are not divested of their moisture. If housed in this stage of the curing process, it is sure to undergo, in the evaporation, an overheating in the mow; or if it is exposed to dry by the effects of wind and sun so thoroughly as to prevent any after damage, then the leaves and blossoms

which constitute the best parts of the hay are over dried, crumble, and are lost.

It is asserted by distillers of plants, that to procure the most oil, they must not be dried in the sun, as it not only lessens the quantity of oil, but also diminishes the flavor. When the plants are allowed to uudergo a severe fermentation by being packed in heaps so as to heat, it diminishes the oil, sugar, or mucilage, also; which properties are the life-giving essentials to all the animal creation.

Most plants produce more oil when distilled full in the blow: clover should be cut in this stage; this bay is eagerly devoured by stock, and affords the most nutriment if well cured at this period, as above advised, but cattle reject it, and would nearly starve rather than to eat coarse clover that has been whitened out in the sun.

Herds-grass or timothy should be cut when nearly ripe, as the latter math and seed adds to the value of the crop; red-top may be the last hay-grass that is to be cut, as it grows in moist lands.

On our clay soils, where both timothy and clover abound, if the first part of the season be dry, and the middle and latter season be wet, it is better for the mixed crop to stand a greater length of time; because the after math may gain more by standing than the first crop will lose by seasonably cutting.

I generally let the grass ripen, that some seed may fall every other year to the ground, to prevent a degeneration, and to keep the land well stocked. To effect this, we reverse our mowing by cutting first this season the field which was the last to receive the scythe last year.

We also use as little salt as possible at the time of putting up our hay: the best time and method of feeding salt to stock in winter, is to brine the hay in the more mild or warmest days, when the stock have the least appetite; in this way we find a ready market for our poorest hay, as sheep and cattle will devour it with avidity if well brined. I am of the opinion that salt is not good but injurious to stock, if they are obliged to take much of it in cold weahter. By brining the hay, say one quart of salt to five of water, for one hundred sheep, once or twice a week or less, every warm spell, it will increase their appetite and digestion, and is a preventive against the scours in sheep, and other cattle; hay also when cured in the cock is not as liable to produce the above disease as it is when half cured in the sun, and then mow burned.

I was greatly prejudiced against the horse rake, until I was frequently advised by other judicious farmers to give it a trial. We soon found it equal to two extra hands in collecting hay, to say nothing about the greater profit in avoiding the exposure to rains.

Where the grass is heavy, wet, or quite green, we follow the scythe, and spread the grass, as

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soon as partially wilted. We rake first one way with a revolving horse rake; sufficient help follows with forks to put it into cocks; then the ground is all cross raked, and by this process a field of eight or ten acres may be secured in a short time. We thus gather it up as clean as it would be if raked by hand. Thus by laying prejudice aside (by the way, farmers are apt to have too much of it,) long enough to give it a fair trial, we have been the gainer full ten fold.

PAINT.

To the Editor of the Southern Planter:

My Bear Sir, —Circumstances have compelled me to travel a good deal lately, both at the north and the south, amongst the neat cottages of Massachusetts, and the desolate dwellings of Virginia. As a southerner my pride has been mortified at the contrast. Why is it that the dwellings of the poor in our native State lack all those outward appearances of decency and comfort that are attainable even by the poorest 1 In Virginia, the eye of the traveller is now and then greeted with the view of a splendid mansion belonging to some extensive landed proprietor, but the general appearance of the homestead is that of desolation and of waste. Most especially, is there a general lack of the cheerful influence of paint. An excellent dwelling with a good enclosure may be frequently seen disfigured with the sombre and gloomy rust of time.

Struck forcibly with these facts during a long day's travel in Eastern Virginia, the impression of universal gloom was deepened by the appearance of the little inn at which I sought repose on a sultry evening in the month of July. The proprietor was a man of substance and well inclined to indulge himself and his guests in the good things of this life, but the whole establishment, in its outward appearance, exhibited a want of those little ornaments and arrangements of herb and flower, that give to the dwelling of taste its peculiar charm. Most of all, there was a total lack of paint—every thing was dingy and dark. I could not help thinking what a different appearance might be given to the whole establishment by a few hours use of the paint brush. I pictured to myself the surprise of the proprietor upon the following morning, if, taking advantage of the light of the moon, some kind friend should spend the hours of the night in giving a new coat to his houses and enclosures. I doubted if he would know his own premises, and whether, rubbing his eyes, he would not imagine that by some Aladdin's lamp he had been transported during his sleep to Fairy land.

Such a course of reflections probably influenced my sleeping thoughts, for, during the night, I fancied myself a mighty painter, a profession to which I have been fondly devoted; but, instead of painting mimic scenes with Claude Vol. 1-16

Lorraine upon a piece of pitiful canvass, I imagined, that striking out a new and nobler walk of art, I was, pot in hand, travelling about the country beautifying and adorning the face of nature, painting every dwelling, out house, and enclosure in old Virginia. I never enjoyed more exquisite delight than was afforded by a contemplation of the improved appearance of the country, which seemed to me to be stretched out as in a map before me. I could mark my course, as, with wonderful celerity, I proceeded with my mighty brush from county to county, rendering that which was dark and gloomy bright and cheerful, brushing off, as it were, at one grand flourish the dark cloud that rested upon an extensive tract of country. I could see the smiling countenances of the inhabitants, rejoicing in the new beauty of their homes, and greeting the great painter as a public benefactor.

But probably from a change of position, a change came o'er the spirit of my dream—brush, brush, brush, and no effect. The impenetrable gloom resisted all my efforts, and amidst the groans and execrations of the disappointed multitude I found that my paint pot had been exhausted. At last my brush stuck fast, and was itself immoveable, and I awoke from my impo^ tent efforts to find myself grasping the bed post, with which I had been ttying to revolutionize the world.

The glorious vision of the night afforded me food for thought during the next day's ride, and as I have been long considering what disposition to make of my means, which are ample, I have resolved to bequeath an hundred thousand dollars to the painting up of my native State.

Yours, A Traveller.

We are well acquainted with the eccentric writer of the above, and have little doubt of his carrying 1 his resolve into execution; for he is a confirmed bachelor, and fully able to do what he proposes.

But he is also stout and hearty, as bachelors generally are; we would, therefore, advise our friends not to wait for his death, but proceed immediately to act upon his hint. Amongst the farmers of the north, the most managing and saving people on the face of the earth, paint is universally resorted to as a point of economy, and no judicious manager will fail to U3e it upon every article of wood that is exposed to the weather. Its preservative qualities are worth generally ten times its cost. The mixing and application are simple processes, although many are not aware of it. We design hereafter to give some plain and simple directions upon these points, conceiving that we can in no manner be more useful to the public than by leading to the more jrencral use of this valuable article.

For the Southern Planter. SLAVERY.

Mr. Editor, —Notwithstanding your objection to the introduction of exciting and agitating topics in your agricultural periodical, I hope }'ou will not refuse a place in your columns to the

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following views on slavery. However in its political aspect it may form a subject of discussion between the north and south, there can be but one opinion upon those exciting points among the southern people, to whom, I presume, your circulation is chiefly limited. I do not propose, therefore, to discuss this point in its political bearings, both because you very properly reject such discussions, and because upon those points your readers and myself are no doubt perfectly agreed. But, the subject is also intimately connected with the agriculture of our country, and it is in this point of view that I design to offer you the opinions of a very humble but devoted friend of the south.

Many errors prevail, I am satisfied, amongst the southern people themselves upon this important subject. There is one, particularly, common to the north and the south, that I am especially anxious to refute; which is, that white is more economical than slave labor. This, I am satisfied, has lead to much emigration to free States, as much to the disappointment and regret of the emigrants themselves as to the injury of their native State. No opinion, it seems to me, can be more ridiculous and absurd. What is it that makes labor dear or cheap? It is certainly the expense of maintaining and supporting that labor; and will it be contended that the negro of the south lives more expensively than the white laborer of the north % Is his food better, his raiment more costly, or his dwelling more expensive ? But it is urged that a white man will do more work than a negro. Is this a fact ? In a southern climate we know it to be untrue, and in any climate I believe the assertion is unfounded. Indeed we are charged, in one breath, with working our slaves to death, and in the next, it is asserted that the labor is most expensive, because less work is obtained from them.

The truth is, man, neither black nor white, works, but from compulsion. This compulsion is more readily and fully applied to the black than the white laborer, and consequently, more work is obtained from the former than the latter. Moreover, this class, I mean the operatives on the soil, especially under the burning influence of a southern sun, must always be of the most degraded class, requiring a degree of restraint for their subordination incompatible with that freedom to which beings more elevated in the scale of humanity are entitled. Nature, as if with this design, has dressed the African in a livery, which enables us to make him the subject of peculiar legislation. This, with the white man, although it might be equally required, it is utterly impossible to effect. Hence, we have a class to perform our menial offices in a perfect state of subordination, clothed and fed at the least possible expense.

And let us not forget the advantages to be derived from the fact that our menials arc in a

state of perfect subordination. I mean advantages in a pecuniary point of view. Every man who superintends the labor of others knows the advantage of system and a division of labor— how perfectly these principles may be carried out in the case of the slave, who is the continued and absolute property of his master, must be apparent to the most casual observer. When he is once instructed in his particular department, he is not to be exchanged, like the white man, at a particular period for a new hand, who is again to be instructed, but he continues to revolve in the circle, which practice has made to him both easy and agreeable.

To assert that the negro's understanding is incompetent to the discharge of the ordinary work upon a farm is to assert what our experience proves to be untrue—he is as intellectual as the white man, who has received no more instruction, and there are thousands of white operatives in Europe and probably in the factories of this country equally as ignorant as our negroes. They are found sufficient for the management of much more difficult operations than any required of our ordinary farm hands. We know that, with proper attention, they make excellent mechanics, and, with proper instruction, they are perfectly capable of performing the simple operations of agriculture.

How is it then, it is asked, that a laborer does more work at the north than at the south ? Why is the northern man thrifty and independent, whilst the southern cultivator is generally hard run and behind-hand 1 Is not this attributable to the blighting influence of slavery % I answer, no; the fact, if it be so, is attributable to the habits of the master rather than to any inherent property in the servant. In fact, the master makes the servant. And under the control of the lazy, indolent and extravagant planter of the south, the active laborer of the north, freed from the constant vigilance of his master's eye, would degenerate into the careless and slothful servant of the south. Indeed, we see this effect produced universally upon the emigrant of the north. No matter what his degree or condition, he sinks into tropical sloth and southern extravagance.

Notwithstanding the drawbacks proceeding from the enervation of climate, and the still more objectionable habits of waste and extravagance engendered by our peculiar circumstances, so favorable is our climate, and so well adapted to it is our negro labor, that we are, and ever must be the great unrivalled agricultural producers of this continent. The agriculturist of the south does not make less than the farmer of the north, but he spends more; and that is the only reason that he is not so thrifty and independent. He has it in his power to be so with half the labor.

My object in this essay, Mr. Editor, is to disprove the injurious supposition that the existence of slavery is obnoxious to pecuniary prosperity.

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Injurious I term it, as well as erroneous, because, I believe that with many it has lead to dissatisfaction and emigration. I am desirous too that my countrymen should be aroused to, and grateful for, the benefits they enjoy, and the greatest amongst these, I believe to be, the possession of a slave population.

Let him who is about, to remove to a free State to get rid of the incubus of slaves, which he asserts has kept him down, let him re-consider the matter, and put the saddle upon the right horse. Upon trial, he will find, as thousands have done before him, that, if he carries his idle and careless habits into a free State, he will miss very much the retainers, who were not the cause of those habits, but the means of his support, in spite of them. The habits of idleness and extravagance, which exist at the south, may be traced to other causes, .independent of the institution of slavery: or if this system is instrumental in producing them, it is by the facilities which it affords to the acquisition of wealth.

Not only for agricultural but for manufacturing purposes, negro labor has been found to be the most economical and advantageous that can be had.

So much, sir, for the pecuniary considerations upon this subject. There are other lights in which it may be viewed as affecting our agriculture, which I will perhaps make the subjects of some future numbers.

Yours,

J. S.

IRON HOUSES.

Iron seems to be gradually usurping the place of timber as the latter becomes more scarce. It has long been used for door and window frames, with great advantage. The hulls of boats and the roofs of houses are frequently made of iron. The front of the Miner's Bank at Pottsville, Pa. is entirely iron, and is represented as very beautiful. A church is now in the course of erection at Liverpool, made, as far as practicable, of cast iron, and a gentleman of Brussels has lately constructed an iron house, said to answer the objects .intended in a satisfactory manner. The walls are hollow and the hot air circulates from a central point in the kitchen through the intervals in the walls, and by means of valves, the quantity to be admitted may be regulated.

The expense there is said to be no greater than if brick were used. The advantages, over and above the beauty of the structure, are represented to be its permanent nature and the facility with which it may be moved.

From the Western Farmer. MEDIUM SIZED versus LARGE HOGS. Mr. Editor, —You are aware that I am now, and have been ever since 1820, extensively engaged in pork-packing in this city ; and I feel that I may without presumption, lay claim to

not a little experience in the business. It is fully as much to my interest, and that of every one else engaged in curing pork for market, as to the interest of the farmer, that the very best breeds of hogs should be scattered over the country.

When I first entered into it, the pork brought to us, was produced from the same miserable race yet to be found through much the greater part of the west. It yielded us little lard, and the sides were unfit for mess or clear pork—too thin and only fit for bacon. The first improvement we had was the little chunky China hog— a perfect mass of lard—hams light and too fat— though the waste of offal was trifling. The next we had was the large Warren county hog, requiring years to mature, and then coming to us of an enormous weight—great waste of offal—the hams too large and badly shaped, as was also the shoulder—and the sides, nevertheless of their great size, were thin in proportion. They were still a great improvement. The crosses of these and the Russia and By field, in the hands of some of the more judicious breeders, produced a very excellent hog—and we who were the purchasers, were anxious for any improvement on the unprofitable woods-hog usually raised.

Though as I have remarked, so long engaged in the business of packing, I had paid but little attention to the breeding of hogs, though always keeping a few of the best I could find on my farm, and improving them to the best of my ability. It was not until some of the part-bred Berkshires were brought to us from Butler and Warren counties, that I was struck with the great improvement they were on any thing I had yet seen. The perfect manner in which they were fattened—their extraordinary length of body, and the thickness of the side meat— their small, yet thick, fleshy shoulder—the great weight and handsome form of their hams—the great yield of lard, and little waste of offal, either of inside waste, or head and bone, proved to me that they were a something entirely different and altogether superior to any other breed within my knowledge. On making further inquiry respecting them, I found them equally advantageous to the farmer and drover, as to the pork packer. Prolific and easily kept; maturing early and fattening kindly to as great weights as were desirable ; stamping their own character strongly on any other breed with which they might be crossed; and travelling well to any reasonably distant market.

I had before this been breeding hogs for sale, and seeing at a glance, the great advantage it was going to be to me in my packing business, to have such a hog as the Berkshire in general use, I at once engaged in it largely.

True it is that I cannot give up my farm, and my attention and capital, to the breeding of fine stock, without a prospect of money-making by

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it; but that was the secondary object I had in view—my pork-packing business was of the first importance to me. I saw and dreaded the efforts that were made to introduce an extremely large hog into Kentucky, for I had about this time transferred my pork business to that State, and had gone to very great expense in erecting an extensive establishment back of Covington, and intended making my entire purchases in the State. We can make no use in this market, of animals weighing from 400 to 600 lbs. even though they may be well fattened. A hog of the proper form and quality of meat, that matures at ten or twelve months old, so as to fatten properly, and then weighs from 200 to 300 lbs. is the sort for which we will give the highest price, because it yields us the greatest profit. And most assuredly it will also pay the farmer best. We have no population to supply, that will consume large, coarse, indifferently cured meat. Our principal demand is for city and family use, both here and in the cities of the south and east. The ham is with us the most valuable part of the hog, and the celebrity of those cured in Cincinnati is now great. This part must be heavy without being large—-round, thick and plump; the flesh, though principally lean, yet marbled with fat, Next to the ham the lard and side meat yield us the greatest return—the former must be abundant in quantity, and fine grained; which never is the case with any hog until he has somewhat matured—the latter must carry its thickness throughout, having no thin flanky parts; and must be fat—and last we rank the shoulder and the jowl.

Many of the Boston and Richmond dealers, and those from the other cities in the east and south, come here annually to have meat packed— they all prefer such a hog as I have described, and will buy no other if they can help it. How the drovers, who are represented as driving to Richmond and Charleston, and as preferring the largest sized hogs, can possibly dispose of such animals there, I cannot understand. Nor how meat of a size that I know from experience, cannot be cured, even with the aid of cool cellars here, can be kept there, surprises me. Think of a pair of hams, Mr. Editor, weighing 148 lbs. in the climate of Charleston, or Richmond, or Baltimore! They would indeed require to be cut in two—and then what a sightly object!

Still some regions of country may require a larger hog than others; and to supply those who may think so, Mr. A. B. Allen, now on his way to England, will import for me some of a size sufficient to suit any taste. For my own part, and for my use for packing, I want neither an extravagantly large hog, nor yet a very small one. A hog that has to be fed two winters, never will pay first cost; if he can be had of sufficient size without wintering at all, so much the more profit—a spring pig killed in the fall at

200 lbs. nett, will evidently pay better than if the same hog had been kept over winter, and reached the second fall 500 lbs. nett.

I have been speaking now as a pork packer, not as a breeder; and what I have said, I say in all sincerity. I have no desire to injure the business of any other breeder of improved hogs, nor to prevent their continuing their improvements to as high a point as they please. But I do regret to see gentlemen of science and experience going back to a large, coarse hog, such as the Woburn, Irish grazier, or Leicester, when they can procure a breed so infinitely superior— the improved Berkshire.

John Mahard, Jr.

Cincinnati, July 5, 1841.

We think that our most judicious farmers concur entirely with Mr. Mahard in preferring- a moderate sized hog-. Indeed, over size is an objection we have often heard here urged against the Berkshires themselves. Mr. Mahard has been totally misinformed in the fact that large hogs could be sold in this market. Our packers never like a hog to exceed two hundred, and hams are preferred weighing about ten pounds ; above that weight the price declines a cent or two in the pound, and beyond fifteen, they are unsaleable.

If it is a fact, which we do not doubt, that a certain age is necessary to impart maturity, it will always be an objection here to any hog that the food, which is necessary to keep him in good health and condition, will cause him to weigh more than 150 or 200 lbs. within that period. On the contrary, the stock, that attains that weight at maturity with least food, will always be preferred.

For the Southern Planter.

Mr. C. T. Botts ;

Bear Sir, —While I acknowledge the sincere pleasure which I have derived from the perusal of your valuable paper, I must confess that I have felt some little disappointment in looking over your rich table of contents to find no communication upon one branch of agriculture of great interest to me personally, and of general interest to the farmers of our country. I allude to the subject of hay-making. Having recently purchased an estate which is believed to be pe-. culiarly adapted to the growth of hay, I wish to enter upon its cultivation, and having no experience on the subject, I had hoped to avail myself of the experience of others through your valuable paper. Can you not, Mr. Editor, induce some one of your practical hay-making acquaintance to write a communication on this subject for your next number ? Or, should you fail to get a written communication, can't you avail yourself of your squeezing process and extract the desired information by verbal inquiry? As "brevity is the soul of wit," and your paper is designed as a machine for condensing agricultural knowledge, the latter perhaps would be the better plan. In order to assist you in the process, I will suggest a few specific queries, in which I

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feel an especial interest, and you can enlarge or extend them as you may think proper.

1st. What is the best period of the year for seeding- herds-grass on meadow or bottom land ?

2d. What quantity of seed will be required per acre ?

3d. What is the most approved method of sowing, by hand, by perforated tin cylinder, or other machine'?

4th. What is the best method of covering the seed, by roller or by harrow 1

5th. Is it important to cleanse the land by a corn crop, or will it not yield (like wheat) a heavier crop when seeded upon a summer or fall fallow %

6th. When it is desirable to break up old meadows what is the proper time for doing so ?

7th. When an old herds-grass meadow is broken up, and neatly harrowed and rolled in August or September, will it be necessary to re-

seed it, or will not the seed on the land come up and be sufficient to afford a thick crop?

As I have communicated nothing of interest to your readers, but only ask for information, I do not expect you to publish my letter, but hope that you will be enabled through some practical farmer among your acquaintances to obtain the information desired in time for your August number.

Yours, respectfully, J. R. G.

Henrico , July 24, 1841.

Dr. G.'s communication was not received in time to enable us to comply with his request in this number. We have therefore taken the liberty of inserting the letter, with a request that some of our hay-makers will afford him the information he desires through the September number. For this purpose the article must be received by, at least, the first of that month. The subject is exciting great interest, and Dr. G. is not alone in his inquiries.

SUBTENDED HIVE.

We have here a cut of a newly invented, and highly approved bee-hive. It is taken from a little work published by Mr. Thomas Affleck, of Cincinnati, alluded to in our last. We promised then a further notice of this little treatise highly recommended to us by a connoisseur. Since reading it, we do not hesitate to bear our ow T n testimony to its value. Although not deeply learned in the subject, we venture to say that Mr. Affleck's work is philosophical and replete with curious and useful information.

His plan of hive purports to be founded upon the observation of two facts in the natural history of the bee not generally regarded. The one, their universal inclination to build downwards, and the other, that the honey does not

acquire its full flavor, nor can it be removed without injury, the same season it is made.

We know not why every farmer should not grace his table with this delicious food of his own making. Mr. Affleck demonstrates that it may be made extremely profitable, and we doubt not that there are many families, who, by means of his little work, alone, might make a good business of it. But this and many other little luxuries ought to be had by every farmer without purchase. " Many mickles make a muckle," is a Scotch proverb well worth remembering. Over and above the saving, these luxuries are always much better, or at least they seem so, when they are of one's own raising. With what an air of pride the good housewife places upon

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her morning table a plate of nice delicious honey, and with what honest satisfaction she replies to your compliment, " it was made at home." What a word that is! Husband, children, guest, and all, think it a thousand times better for being made at home.

They esteem it a thousand fold for the valued hands through which it has passed, and an entire confidence in the neatness of its management gives a flavor which nothing else can impart.

Attention to such things is rather a recreation than a labor, and serves well to relieve the severer toils of a farmer's life.

Mr. Affleck considers the bee moth as the great and only difficulty to be encountered in honey making. The ravages of this little insect are to be prevented only by great attention, the amount of which is lessened by his particular construction of hive.

This hive we shall now proceed to describe in Mr. Affleck's own words. We shall make frequent use of his work hereafter, every word of which might well be copied into any agricultural paper:

" It is a simple and economical plan; of easy management; and one within the means of any farmer who can handle a saw, a plane, and a hammer.

"The boxes of which it is composed, are formed of good, well-seasoned pine plank—if possible, free from knots and wind-shakes. It ought to be at least one inch thick. The boxes may be ten, eleven, or twelve inches square, in the clear. Let the plank be dressed on each side, and jointed on the edges, so as to fit close, without being tongued and grooved. Before nailing them together at the sides, lay a thin strip of thick white lead paint on the edge to be nailed, which will render it impervious to the ovipositor of the moth. In the top cut two semicircular holes at the front, and two at the back, of one inch and a half in diameter—the straight side being in a line with the back and front of the box, so that the bees may have a straight road in their way from one story to the other. Put the top on without any layer of paint, using eight stout screw nails, that it may be taken off to facilitate the removal of the honey. Give the outside of the box two coats of white lead paint, all except the top; and let it be done so long before it is necessary to use it, as that the smell may be dissipated, as it is very offensive to the bees. Pour a little melted bees-wax, while pretty hot, over the inside of the top, which will enable the bees to attach their comb much more firmly. Let three-quarters of an inch of the thickness of the lower edges of the box in the inside be bevelled off, so as to leave but about one-fourth of an inch of surface to rest upon the stand— this will afford less shelter for the eggs of the moth.

" We will suppose the boxes, thus made, to be a cube of twelve inches inside. In that case, the tunnel stand will be made thus:—Take a piece of two inch pine plank, free from knots and shakes—what carpenters term clear stuff; length twent}'-six, and breadth eighteen inches. Ten inches from one end, and two from the other and from each side, is marked a square of fourteen inches. From the outside of this square, the board is dressed off, with an even slope, until its thickness at the front edge is reduced to half an inch, and at the other three edges to about an inch. The square is then reduced to twelve inches, in the centre of which is bored an inch auger hole; to this hole, the inner square is also gradually sloped to the depth of an inch; thus securing the bees from any possibility of wet lodging about their hive, and affording them free ventilation. There will then be a level, smooth strip of one inch in width, surrounding the square of twelve inches, on which to set the box or hive. Two inches from the front edge of the stand, commence cutting a channel two inches in width, and of such a depth as to carry it out, on an even slope, half way between the inner edge of the hive, and the ventilating hole in the centre. Over this, fit in a strip of wood as neatly as possible, dressing it down even with the slope of the stand, so as to leave a tunnel two inches in width by a quarter of an inch in depth. Under the centre hole, and over the outlet of the tunnel, hang small wire grates, the one to prevent the entrance of other insects; and the other to be thrown back to permit the exit of the bees, or fastened down to keep them at home in clear, sun-shining days in winter. For feet to the stand, use four or five inch screw-nails, screwed in, from below, far enough to be firm. The lower side ought also to be planed smooth; and the whole should have two coats of white paint some time before it is wanted."

No. 1 represents the box turned over on the side, so as to give us an inside view ; and above it is a representation of the stand upon which it is placed, bevilled inwards and outwards as described in the directions for making.

The swarm is to be hived in the spring in No. 1. In ten days, it will be found, generally, that this apartment is filled with comb; in which case, a second must be added, by an assistant who lifts the one in which the bees are, and another, after carefully sweeping off the stand with a little broom, slips the other one under the first, presenting the appearance of No. 2. This process is at the proper time, repeated with the third box, when the whole presents the appearance of No. 3. The top of No. 1 is now unscrewed and the honey withdrawn.

CORN-COB MEAL.

Sir, —As the question of the value of the cob in feeding, when ground with the corn, is again

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coming into consideration, perhaps the following extract from l Steward's Stable Economy' might go far to decide it, in the minds especially of those who know that the cob is equal in quantity to the corn—the only consideration which is necessary in the present stage of the question: on some future occasion, it may be shown that the cob itself is fully equal in quality to the same quantity of oats for this purpose.

" Condensed food is necessary for fast working horses ; their food must be in less compass than that of the farm or cart-horse, but to this condensation there are limits. Grain affords all, and more than all, the nutriment a horse is capable of consuming, even under the most extraordinary exertion ; his stomach and bowels can hold more than they are able to digest; something more than nutriment is therefore wanted, for the bowels must suffer a moderate degree of distension, more than a wholesome allowance of grain can produce; they are very capacious; in the dead subject more than thirty gallons of water can be put into them; and it is thence evident they were not intended for food in a very condensed form, for it seems natural that they require a moderate degree of pressure or dilation to assist these functions, they must have something to act upon. Now, when hay is very dear and grain cheap, it is customary in many stables to give less than the usual allowance of hay and corn, but the alteration is sometimes carried too far, and is often made too suddenly: the horses may have as much as they will eat, yet it does not suffice without fodder, and, having no hay, they will leave the grain to eat the litter: a craving sensation of emptiness seems to arise, and the horse endeavors to relieve it by eating straw. The sensation cannot be that of hunger, else the horse would devour his corn ; but whilst he has plenty of grain and plenty of litter, the diminished allowance of hay is borne with impunity. But when a sufficiency is not obtained in any shape, the horse loses appetite and becomes emaciated; his bowels are confined, his flank is tucked up, and his belly almost disappears ; in general he drinks little water, and when he takes much he is apt to purge. His belly is often rumbling, the bowels apparently containing a large quantity of air, which occasionally produces colicky pains; these horses are very liable to crib-biting and wind-sucking, and it is certain that these diseases are very rare amongst those that live on bulky food.

When the ordinary fodder is very dear, its place must, therefore, be supplied by some other, which will produce a wholesome distension of the stomach, although it may not yield so much nutriment: straw, roots, either or both, may be used in such cases; the tucked up flank, and the horse's repeated efforts to eat his litter, show that his food is not of sufficient bulk to sustain nature in her operations. And when work demands the

use of condensed food in a horse that has been accustomed for some time to bulkier articles, the change must be made by degrees and with the greatest caution; remembering, that coming from grass or the straw-yard, the horse for a time, requires more fodder than would be proper or necessary to allow him at his work, after a season." Now, it would appear that the cob, ground with corn would be just the proper quantity of fodder for mixing with the corn, the condensed food, for almost all purposes; and nothing, surely, can be mingled with it more readily and conveniently, or so profitably as the cob, which, at the same time, saves the expense of shelling. When, therefore, the philosophy of the arrangement comes better to be understood, we may expect that to grind the cob with the corn will be the general practice, for the feeding of stock of all descriptions.— Farmers' Gazette.

For the Southern Planter. TOBACCO.

In the June number of the Planter I commenced an essay on the culture of tobacco, which I will now resume.

The crop being planted and replanted until a growing plant is in every hill, it is necessary that the land should be frequently stirred and kept clear of grass and weeds in the early stage of their growth; a little earth drawn to them with the hoes at each working, and the worms caught and destroyed. The worms do but little injury before harvest, and generally are most numerous about the full moon in August.

When the tobacco is large enough to top, the bottom leaves should be removed about six inches up the stalk; (this is called priming,) eight leaves suffered to remain, and the bud and top leaves pinched off. I prefer eight leaves as the plant will be richer and ripen earlier; and late tobacco, such as is not large enough to top before September, six leaves; and late in that month, four leaves are as many as will probably ripen before frost. The sooner it is topped when large enough the better, and this is the case when it can be primed as above directed, and the bud removed without injury to the top leaves.

Tobacco should be thoroughly ripe before it is cut. For unless it be completely ripe, it will be necessarily poor, and will cure of a bad color; and planters, even those accustomed to making the crops oftener err in cutting it before it is ripe, than any other part of the management of the crop. When the plant is ripe, the leaves have a smooth, oily appearance, the ends of them will either fall to the ground or curve under the plant, and are thick and brittle. The top leaf on the north side of the plant is the last to ripen, and when the oil has reached the end of it, having the above described appearance, it may be safely cut; but it is always better, unless frost is ap-

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prehended, to err on the safe side, and not cut the tobacco until it is positively certain that the plant is perfectly ripe.

In warm weather tobacco will generally be ready for firing in three or four days, in cool, perhaps eight or ten will be required—this can be easily ascertained by an examination; for when a majority of the leaves are piebald, that is, about half green and the other half yellow, and a peculiar sweet scent is exhaled, it is then ready for firing. Before tobacco is cut it is advisable to erect scaffolds in convenient parts of the field, where carts can reach them without difficulty, or near the tobacco house; and when cut, great care must be bestowed to prevent it from being scorched by the sun, or bruised by handling. If large, eight plants are enough to hang on each stick, and more in proportion if smaller, according to size: the tobacco is then removed to the scaffolds and the sticks placed side by side as near as can be conveniently done, until ready for firing; or rainy weather should require it to be moved earlier to the house ; for the longer the time it can reman on the scaffolds, until ready for firing the better, so that the sun may strike the stems and stalks and cause them to cure with less fire; yet it is more important that after it has commenced yellowing that it be not drenched with rain.

Tobacco houses are generally built of poles. Twenty feet square on the inside of the house is considered the best size; and from three to four tiers below joists the best height. When the house is raised about nine feet high, tier poles are put across four feet apart; and when about three and a half feet higher, another series of tier poles; and so on, until the required number of tiers are put up; the roof is then framed with cross pieces the same distance apart, nailed to the rafters on each side, so that the roof of the house may be also filled with tobacco, and the chinks between the poles are filled with timber and daubed with mud. A cellar from three to four feet deep is very advantageous, if the location be suitable for the purpose ; as it makes another tier, adds greatly to the safety of the house whilst the tobacco is firing, and the heat not being scattered by the air, takes better effect above.

The sticks of tobacco when placed in the house, should be (if the tobacco be large) from eight to nine inches apart, and if small, seven or eight inches, as this will leave a space between the sticks for the heat to ascend and cure the tobacco above; and if room for housing the crops were wanted, after the leaf is cured, the tobacco on two sticks may be put on one and placed away on one side of the house. This is called re-hanging.

A weak fire should be kept under the tobacco which fills each space between the tier poles until the leaf is nearly cured j the heat six feet above the fire should be kept at ninety degrees

of Fairenheit thermometer the first and second days, and not exceed one hundred the third day. Three days will generally be required to cure the leaf, when the fire may be gradually increased until the stem is cured, which will require at least three days more with a strong fire. I consider it the better plan to cure the stem in warm weather before the fire is stopped; for if the tobacco gets in high order (that is very soft) before the stem is cured, the leaf near the stem is impoverished, which may be discovered after it is cured. In cool weather in October it is not so important to have the stems entirely cured, as -the frost has pretty much the same effect as heat; yet it is necessary that the leaf be entirely cured, and the stem partly before the fires are put out, and if warm, damp weather, supervenes, or the part of the stem which is uncured become hard, for the fires to be renewed and kept up until the stems become soft and of a dark color.

Some planters keep up the fires under the tobacco day and night; but I think that firing all the night may be dispensed with, provided that at bed time the wood be so arranged that no danger of increased heat for the first three nights be practicable, and for the next three that the house be not burned. Firing all night is attended with danger to the health of the negroes ; for in the tobacco house, during the night they will certainly go to sleep, and in the morning after having been profusely sweated all night, go out into the cool air, the perspiration is suddenly checked, and violent colds or more fatal diseases are apt to follow. After the curing process is performed, nothing more is necessary until it is taken down for stripping, unless in long wet spells of weather, the tobacco should be dried with a moderate fire. I will, in time for your November number, give my views upon stripping, bulking, and prizing the crop.

Rich. G. Morriss.

Buckingham, July 29, 1841.

We return Mr. Morriss our sincere thanks for his polite compliance with our request that he would append his name to his essay. We have had repeated calls for the name of the author of the first number, and have not hesitated to give it privately. We have always found that it enhanced the value of the article.

If any gentleman differs with Mr. Morriss in his treatment of this crop, we invite him to say so, and give his reasons for it. Our object is, by free discussion, to elicit the best mode of managing this great staple of our country.

For the Southern Planter.

Middlesex County, July 21, 1841.

Mr. Editor,—I send you the names of four additional subscribers to your valuable paper, of which I have read, with much interest, every number, and I would here observe that my experience differs in part with that of the anony*

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145

mous writer in the American Farmer, relative to suckers in corn. I saw some years ago in the Albany Cultivator the same assertion, that suckers would not lessen the quantity of corn, while they greatly increased forage, and I was induced to try it, as the latter was an important item with me. 1 am thoroughly convinced that my crop of corn was greatly injured, (it being a dry year) and that the additional fodder was a poor compensation. 1 believe, however, that the suckers, that put out below the first joint of the corn at the ground, might be advantageously left in a good season, as they al\va3's bring the ear on the side of the stalk and not on the top, as the others do.

I observed in your June number the query— " Whether the cultivator can be substituted for the plough ?" My opinion is, that it may be in the early part of the season very advantageonslj' used instead of the plough, but that corn should be well ploughed from the 20th of June to the 5th of July; after which, if dry, the cultivator should be again used in order to freshen up the land to catch the dews. A common iron tooth harrow is preferable to the cultivator when corn first comes up, as. you may run it on the top of the bed, and the teeth will stir the earth immediately round the corn, and will not tear up one stalk in a thousand. This harrowing will make the corn grow much faster than a working with the hoe, and if the land does not produce much early grass, this, together with the cultivator, will not only substitute the plough but the hoe also. In order to use the cultivator to the best advantage, the corn should be planted in a row each way, and, in fact, 1 prefer having it so planted for any system of cultivation; as corn will bear being put much closer when the current of air has free access each way. This mode will obviate another objection, that is splitting the bed with the plough and leaving the hard land naked that was covered up in breaking the land in the winter. Very few persons can ever think of covering any thing but the place where the com is dropped, and consequently the grass immediately springs up on the top of the bed, and renders the corn much harder to weed. Corn should be planted.even with the surface of the earth and a very small portion of dirt put on it in the early part of the season, but when planted late, it must be covered deep, or the earth becomes dry, and there is not sufficient moisture to bring it up.

Should you consider these few crude and desultory observations of any consequence, you are at liberty to make such use of them as you may think proper.

Yours, Jas. S! Bristow.

P. S.—I observe in one of your numbers that

you decline the recommendation of lime or marl

as an improver of the soil, because there exists

a difference of opinion as to its action as a fer-

Vol. 1—17

tilizer. Upon that principle we might refuse to partake of our daily sustenance, because we could not understand its action upon the system in order to sustain our existence and give energy to the body. The application and the action are distinct, and therefore the former should be recommended, because we know that lime improves the soil, and imparts vigor to the growing plants, although we may not know why or wherefore. I would recommend you to call upon Mr. James Christian, of Charles City County, for information as it respects marl, as he has much experience and skill in its use. To us in lower Virginia, marl is indispensable, and we would like to see something in your paper occasionally, to cheer us in our progress and combine the experience of others with our own.

J. S. B.

Upon the first point in Mr. Bristow's communication, of the propriety of suckering corn, we find a contrariety of opinion amongst our best farmers. We doubt not, that contrariety arises from inattention to the particular circumstances under which each experiment has been made. We arc, therefore, pleased to see such distinctness of detail as to the season, &c. accompany any report of experiments. In this way, apparently conflicting results may be reconciled, and a chaotic mass of opposing opinion be reduced to rule and order.

Mr. Bristow has totally misunderstood us in supposing that we "decline the recommendation of lime because there exists a difference of opinion as to its action as a fertilizer." We are at a loss to conceive what expression gave rise to the supposition. We once remarked that we had carefully abstained from participation in the discussion of the mode in which lime acted, because we did not think any satisfactory explanation of its mode of action had yet been offered to the world, and we did not conceive our readers would be as much edified by a description of abstract theories as by reports of actual results. We thought, to use Mr. Bristow's simile, that it was wiser to induce our readers to resort to their bread for sustenance rather than to permit them to starve, whilst we discussed the theory of its operation.

We shall forward Mr. Christian a copy of Mr. Bristow's request with which we hope he will be induced to comply.

For the Southern Planter. TWYMAN SHEEP.

Mr. Editor, —Will you be so kind as to learn for what price a pair of Mr. Twyman's sheep, described in the 76th page of the Planter, can be had, delivered in Richmond'? I am particularly fond of the stock and would like to improve. Yours, R. W. C.

Having received several applications of a si« milar character, we avail ourselves of this opportunity to say that we have had an interview with the gentleman who represents Mr. Twy-man in this city. His views are wholly disinterested. He is desirous to introduce into this country a stock of sheep, which he considers;

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superior to any he ever saw. His services are entirely gratuitous. The cost of importation, including all expenses, he estimates would not exceed forty dollars a head. He would warrant them at fifty. As he charges nothing for his trouble, and is in no way to be benefitted by the transaction, he requires a deposit of the money, at least forty dollars, before he gives the order. He will import a pair for his own use and he advises those who may desire the stock to order ewes only, as the services of his ram can be had gratis. We were much pleased with the agricultural spirit and liberal offers of this gentleman.

LOAM.

We have received the following' from a subscriber: Hermitage, July 27, 1841. Mr. C. T. Botts :

JSly Dear Sir, —I have lately become a subscriber to the Southern Planter, but am so little of a farmer, that I do not yet understand, even the terms used in agricultural works. Thus the term " loam" (although a word in the most common use) puzzles me exceedingly. I read sometimes, of "sandy loam," "clayey loam," " rich loam," and I believe several other varieties of loam, and am perfectly at a loss as to their component parts, whether they are natural or artificial formations, or even whether they are formed on the top, or below the surface of the earth. I expect, Mr. Editor, there are others, as ignorant in this respect as I am ; and you would therefore, I am sure, confer a favor on that portion, at least, of your subscribers, by giving us in your next, a particular description of the various kinds of loam, the manner of their formation, their component parts, &c.

Allow me, in conclusion, Mr. Editor, to suggest, that when any term is used in your articles, which you think may not be understood generally, to give us some note of explanation; it would certainly be of great service to us, who are learning the rudiments, and it certainly could not be objectionable to any portion of your subscribers. By the by, a vocabulary of agricultural terms, with full but plain definitions, I think would be very useful, in the study of the science of agriculture.

I am, Mr. Editor, very respectfully yours, &c.

The word "loam," like many others, is frequently used in a very loose and indefinite sense in agricultural communications. From this want of critical precision in the use of language flow undoubtedly much confusion and misunderstanding. And yet how is the difficulty to be remedied? The communicators of the most valuable agricultural facts are not always the best scholars, and we should be very loih to exclude the experience of some plain practical man, because he had used a word in a different sense from that assigned it by Johnson or Walker. Yet it is so desirable that certain fixed ideas should be attached to particular words, that we will avail ourselves of the hint of our correspondent so far, hereafter, as to make a collection of

those agricultural terms, which are floating loosely upon the sea of words, and assign them their appropriate places. As to this particular word, "loam," we understand that it is used critically to express the idea of any soil, which is a compound of sand and clay. Neither a pure clay nor a pure sand is loam, but any admixture of both is. Consequently, most top soils are loams, and may be sandy or clayey loams according to the predominance of the one or other of the ingredients. The word, however, is frequently used to express the top soil, or that which is subjected to cultivation, without reference to its composition.

The following is from an old bachelor, and Heaven only knows how he learnt any thing about sweets of any kind. We wash our hands of the matter:

EXTEMPORE SWEET-MEATS. Take out the seed of a pound of raisins— chop them fine—add a pound of sugar, and stew them lightly with just as much water as may be necessary to reduce them to the consistency of ordinary sweet-meats, and you have a very pleasant dish.

TO BORE GLASS.

The difficulty of boring glass has been experienced by all who have ever tried it. A friend of mine having occasion to bore a hole in a piece of half-inch glass used his lathe with emory alone, sand alone, and finally a mixture of the two, and after nine hours work had advanced only about the sixteenth of an inch. A paragraph in some newspaper met his eye, wherein it was stated that a drop of spirits of turpentine with a very small addition of camphor would greatly facilitate the work. The latter ingredient not being at hand, he tried the former, when to his astonishment, he made a half-inch hole in a half-inch glass in exactly three minutes and a half, using only a common brace with a bit made to bore brass.

Try the experiment yourself, that you may be able lo speak with more confidence on the subject.

The above is from a valuable correspondent upon whose statements the most implicit reliance may be placed. He requests us to call the attention of scientific men to the point, and obtain an explanation of this singular but well attested fact.

DRENCHING.

It may be remembered, that, in an early number of the Planter, our readers were guarded by a correspondent against the danger of drenching. From our exchange papers we perceive that the celebrated Dr. Dick, of Edinburgh, in reply to some inquiries of a correspondent, alludes to the same difficulty in the following words:

" The simplest and best way to give liquids to a cow, when she is tied to the stake, is for the operator to pass his left hand under the cow's

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147

jaw, and to take hold of her left cheek with two of his fingers, and with a horn or a bottle to pour the liquid into the right side of the mouth with his right hand, giving both the tongue and jaws as much liberty as possible. An assistant should steady the head, and assist in keeping it moderately high by taking hold of the horns.

" When cattle are held by the nostrils it frequently produces coughing or sneezing, and substances are apt to get into the windpipe. It is a bad practice to press or gripe the windpipe

or gullet in order to make them swallow, or to take hold of the tongue, as is frequently done; and when they cough the head should be let down at once, so that, if any thing has got into the windpipe, it may be driven out. Accidents, such as you have described, are frequent, and I think, commonly arise from the causes which I have alluded to, or the rough manner in which cattle are too commonly treated.

" I am, sir, your most obedient servant,

William Dick."

For the Southern Planter.

POTATO STEAMER.

JWr. Editor, —Next to those which form the staff of life no vegetable is so universal as the potato. In some shape or other it forms a portion of the food of high and low, rich and poor. Yet very few are aware how much of the flavor of this delicious food is dependent upon the mode of cooking. They should never be permitted to touch the boiling water, but should be suspended over it, so that they will be subjected to the action of the steam only. In this way they will be brought to the table dry, porous, and mealy, instead of close, waxey, and water-sobbed. No two vegetables are more different than steamed and boiled potatoes. Thousands are no doubt aware of this fact, and yet there are thousands that are daily using the close, sobbed, unhealthy and tasteless article we have been describing. Every man can afford the simple apparatus that is necessary for steaming potatoes. It may be made in the shape of a tin bucket with a false bottom pierced with holes on which the potatoes may be placed, above the reach of the water, which occupies the space between the two bottoms. No kitchen is perfect without such an utensil, and yet there are many in which it is not to be found.

Yours, An Epicure.

We wonder with our correspondent that an apparatus for steaming 1 potatoes is not more common than we should judge it to be from the appearance of the dish we sometimes see upon the table of our friends. A very simple utensil, for this purpose, of which we have been at the pains of obtaining- a cut, may be had, at a very trifling expense, from any of our hardware stores. It is a pot, as represented, with the lid upon the left, and the perforated false bottom on the right. We know nothing that will better pay the cost of purchase.

HENRICO AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

Our readers generally will be pleased to gather from the following projet of the fall proceedings of this Society, that it is in the most flourishing condition. Although its funds are ample, the Executive Committee have wisely concluded to make the premiums numerous rather than large. We hope never to see the day when emulation is excited by large premiums. We would rely upon a spirit of generous pride rather than a love of money to do any thing. Whenever the premium becomes an object for its intrinsic value, every thing like harmony and good feeling are banished—the spirit of money making, with all his demon host, lakes possession of the scene, and the physical is only advanced at the expense of the moral culture.

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

" The next exhibition of this Society will commence on the 20th day of October next, with stock, agricultural implements, &c. and be continued from day to day until completed.

The farmers of the State, and all others who take an interest in the cause, are respectfully invited to attend. The arrangements of the Society with its advantageous location justify us in expressing our confidence, that the exhibition and fair will amply repay a ride to Richmond from any part of the State.

The following premiums will be awarded: No. 1. For the best stallion, for harness, the saddle,or draft, (the premium not having been awarded at the spring exhibition), $15

Committee—Gen. Bernard Peyton, R. B. Haxall, and Charles Marx.

No. 2. For the most highly improved and best cultivated farm, a premium of 25

For the second best, 20

For the third best, 15

For the fourth best, 10

Reference being had to the means (as well pecuniary as others) of the proprietor for improvement, the amount of labor employed upon it, the means resulting from the vicinity of the farm to the city, &c. The object being to place the industrious cultivator with limited resources, and no other labor than his own, upon the same footing as the largest cultivator with ample resources. It is to be distinctly understood, that not only the actual fertility of the soil will be considered, but special attention shall be paid to the means which are in actual operation for enriching the farms—to the condition of the enclosures—to the mode of cultivation, whether conducted with neatness, system, and economy—to the condition of the stock, and especially whether provision has been made for their comfortable accommodation in bad weather—the buildings also, farming utensils, garden, and every thing connected with the comfort and prosperity of the establishment, will come under the review of this committee.

Committee—Wm. H. Richardson, Richard S. Haden, and Francis Staples.

No. 3. For the best garden, not less than two acres, 15

For the second best, 10

Committee—John Carter, Richard Hill, Jr., and Joseph Sinton.

No. 4. For the best field of corn, not less than five acres, 15

For the second best, 12

For the third best, 10

For the fourth, 8

Committee—Maj. Ed. Christian, Edwin .Hill, and Wm. A. Gay.

No. 5. For the best field of tobacco, not less than one acre, 10

Committee—John C. Hobson, Frederick

Bransford, and Wm. Anderson, Jr.

No. G. For the best crop of turnips, not

less than half an acre, $8

For the second best, .6

For the third do. ' 4

No. 7. For the best crop of beets, carrots,

or parsnips, not less than half an acre, 8

For the second best,

For the third do. 4

No. 8. For the best crop of potatoes, Irish or sweet, not less than half an acre, C For the second best, 5

No. 9. For the best crop of cabbages, not less than half an acre, 6

For the second best, 4

No. 10. For the best crop of pumpkins, not less than one acre, 6

For the second best, 4

Committee—Ro. Carter Page, William Miller, and I. A. Goddin.

Persons who intend to compete for any of the foregoing premiums except No. 1, will please give notice to the committee appointed to award the premium or premiums for which they may be competitors, by the \hth of September next, after which, it will not be practicable to attend to any application.

The foregoing premiums will be awarded on the first, day of the meeting immediately after the annual report to the Society— when the several committees are required to hand in their respective reports to the President. The exhibition of stock and agricultural implements will then be made, after which, a fair will be held for the sale of such stock and other articles as may be offered—and it will be continued on the second day, if not concluded on the first,

The succeeding portion of the exhibition will be in the city, in the largest room or rooms that can be obtained—when the following premiums will be awarded, after which a second fair will be held, for the sale of such of the articles as may be offered. No. 1. For the neatest and most substantial counterpane, a premium of G For the second do. do. 4 No. 2. For the neatest and most comfortable mattrass l filled with hackled shucks, or cotton, and made at home, 5 For the second do. do. 3 No. 3. For the best comfort or comfortable, 6 For the second do. do. 4 No. 4. For the best bed quilt, 6 For the second do. do. 4 No. 5. For the best table cloth, 6 For the second do. do. 4 No. 6. For the neatest and most substantial carpet, not less than ten yards, 10

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149

$5 6

7 6 5

4

10

5

5

3

For the second best,

No. 7. For the best hearth rug,

For the second do.

No. 8. For the best specimen of stockings, socks, gloves, or mittens, of Virginia raised silk, thread, wool, or cotton, worsted or mixed,

For the second do. do.

For the third do. do.

For the fourth do. do.

No. 9. For the best specimen of fruits— apples, pears, &c. &c.

For the second do. do.

No. 10. For the best specimen of dried fruits, not less than half a bushel,

For the second do. do.

No. 11. For the best specimen of preserves, not less than one gallon, 5

No. 12. For the best specimen of pickles, not less than one gallon, 5

No. 13. For the best specimen of flowers, the production of the exhibitor, 10

For the second do. do. 5

Premiums will be given in money or plate, at the discretion of successful competitors.

The Society hopes to have the aid of the ladies, to award the thirteen last mentioned premiums.

The Committee have thought it expedient to make the premiums large in number, rather than in the amount, to afford the gratification of a premium to as many as possible.

It is to be understood, that all the articles on which the last thirteen premiums are offered, must be the production of the exhibitor.

The mechanics and artisans of the city, and others to whom it may be convenient, are respectfully invited to send to the first day's exhibition, such specimens of their own industry and skill, as they may think proper to have exhibited.

The most ample and particular arrangements will be made for the accommodation of stock, for any number of days that may be necessary, and it is recommended that it be generally on the ground by the evening preceding the first day's exhibition.

The following additional committees are appointed, viz:

To select a place for, and to conduct the first day's exhibition—the President of the Society, Charles T. Botts, and Richard Hill, Jr.

To select a place for, and to conduct the succeeding portion of the exhibition—William B. Chittenden, Gustavus A. Myers, Dr. Henry Myers, Thomas A. Rust, William McCrery, and Henry Ludlam.

Jesse H. Turner, Thomas S. Dicken, Richahd G. Haden, Wm. H. Richardson Joseph Rennie,

1

I I

! Executive ' Committee.

Since Bending 1 to press the communication of Dr. G., in p. 140, we have received the following- from a young but enterprising and observant farmer. We hardly know any one upon whose judgment we would sooner rely. The Doctor will find in this article answers to several of his enquiries.

For the Southern Planter. RENOVATING MEADOWS.

■JVfr. Editor, —Your kind offer to take your homespun friends lo your wardrobe, together with a desire to contribute my mite to the cause of agriculture, has induced me to pay a visit, through the medium of your valuable Journal, to my agricultural brethren. I give you below my method of renewing my herds-grass meadows. As early as practicable after cutting my hay, I plough up that portion of my meadow which needs re-sowing, so as to turn the sod completely over; and to effect this object more perfectly, I use a large two-horse plough, with a coulter in front to cut the sod; this is followed by a man with a hilling hoe to open the furrows, which are sometimes filled up by the turf's falling back. After the ploughing is completed, I use a heavy roller in order that my meadow may present as even a surface as possible. After this operation a bushel of grass seed should be sown to the acre and harrowed in. This method renders it unnecessary to cultivate our meadows in com to cleanse them, as it completely destroys all of the natural grasses, and secures a good crop of hay the next summer; not however from the seed sown, but from the volunteer herds-grass, which puts up most luxuriantly between every furrow slice. If any of your readers doubt the success of the above method, let them give it one fair trial, and they will no longer remain skeptical. Yours,

Wm. M. Carter.

FENCING.

William D. Wren, J

We have expressed, heretofore, the opinion that whenever fairly tried, the post and rail fence will be found, not only the most sightly and durable, but actually the cheapest. We are happy to find, from the Farmer's Cabinet, that a Mr. Worth of Pennsylvania, highly spoken of by the Editor, concurs in that opinion. He recommends the preparation for it as follows:

11 Plant an acre of ground with chesnut and locust seeds, five-sixth of it with chesnut for rails, and one-sixth with locust for posts. Four trees will grow on a perch, making six hundred and forty on the acre. I suppose that forty of them will fail, leaving six hundred trees, each of which will produce in thirty years, and every twenty to twenty-five years afterwards, twenty rails or posts, which will yield at each cutting twelve thousand posts and rails, or two thousand pannels. Then say the acre of land is worth eighty dollars, it will reduce the

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materials to four cents per pannel, which with making and putting up will not exceed twenty-five cents. In point of durability I am persuaded that it will be exceeded by none except the stone, and it will have an advantage over that by being moveable when necessary.

" One acre thus appropriated is sufficient for a farm of five hundred acres—and consequently, a quarter of an acre will be abundant for a farm of one hundred acres. To what better or more profitable purpose can so small a portion of the best land on the farm be appropriated 1 The only objection is, that there is no immediate availability—that from twenty-five to thirty years must elapse before the trees can be made into rails. This objection is as unsatisfactory as it is unsound. There are thousands, who, if they were now to appropriate sufficient ground, according to the size of their farms, and plant it as proposed, may with the blessing of Providence, live to enjoy its advantages for years. What! not plant an orchard, or a grove of locust, or a cluster of maple, because we may not live to enjoy the benefits thereof! Such sentiments should never find an abiding place in the bosom of an American farmer; for every intelligent man knows full well, that every measure of this kind tends not merely to adorn and beautify his plantation, but also greatly to increase its prospective value. Every farmer should see without delay to having his ground suitably stocked with trees.

" It is estimated that a fence of locust posts and chesnut rails, with very little repair, will last at least sixty years, so that the necessities of the farm would require only the third cutting of the timber—the two intermediate cuttings, yielding thirty thousand posts and rails, are ready for a market, which would be readily found, and which at the low rate of five dollars a hundred, would give the owner of the farm an average gain of twenty dollars, for each and every year the acre of land was thus appropriated—in addition to furnishing all necessary fencing for the farm. This, dating from the commencement, is a handsome profit."

In the Western Farmer, a Mr. Hinde, backed by the Editor, recommends the cultivation of the catalpa as the most lasting wood known in this country.

He says, "General Harrison some years ago, from his residence on the Wabash, had entertained a high opinion of the vast importance to the farmers of Ohio and Kentucky, and of the the great West generally, growing the catalpa or catawba tree for post and rail fences : his remarks were published in a Cincinnati paper. Mr. Jefferson, in his notes on Virginia, or in some other, published forty or fifty years ago, states that this tree was a native of the Wabash valley. In 1816, '17, I found them here; but no one, not apprized of the fact, would take

them to be the catalpa or catawba tree, as growing wild they look like the linn. That the high recommendation given by Gen. Harrison of the timber, is correct, I shall now state, that on yesterday passing the farm of Mr. Samuel Rigg, living three miles west of this, I was s"hown a post fixed for a barn, and a roof formed and covered over; yet the post had shot out limbs ; all but one was cut awy, which formed a shade for the stock, as well as a post to sustain a barn ! Another man, about three miles from Mr. Rigg, had fixed a similar post for a gate, which has grown into a tree, and no trace of the post is left! A tree, fallen across a creek near Vin-cennes, has formed a bridge for the French for 70 years !—Mr. Rigg informed me that his barn post had lain exposed to the weather for several weeks before it was planted."

Much diversity of opinion exists as to the proper time for cutting timber, and advocates may be found, we believe, for every day in the year. The prevailing opinion in modem times seems to be, we think that timber lasts best if cut when the sap is thinnest and flowing most freely, which, in our latitude, we presume, will be about the first of May.

It is recommended also, in putting a post in the ground, to reverse the order of its growth, and put the upper end downwards.

LEATHER.

A Mr. Howd, of Wayne County, New York, has lately taken out letters patent for an improved mode of tanning leather. By means of a tight vat, from which the air has been exhausted, he accomplishes the tanning process in from twelve to thirty-six hours, making, it is said, an article superior both in appearance and quality to the one produced by the usual slow process. The rationale of the operation, as detailed in the Wayne Standard, seems to be philosophical and plausible. Many former attempts to produce the same effect have resulted in failures. Time will show the fate of this.

MISCELLANY

RICHARD III.

Sir Robert Walpole declared that any thing was true but History. Certain it is that facts are often distorted by the passions or prejudices of historians, and when the motive for such perversion is of an universal character, the error sometimes obtains a complete triumph over truth. To lend his aid, however humble, in rescuing truth from obscurity, is the part of an honest man, and to brush away the clouds of calumny resting upon the fair fame of an individual is not less the duty than the pleasure of him, who would do justice to his fellow-beings.

There is much reason to believe that the cha-

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151

racter of Richard III. "the crooked back tyrant," has been long resting under undeserved obloquy. We once knew a very learned and profound lawyer, much given to black letter lore, who held this opinion—his premature death alone prevented his being known as the brightest ornament of the bench to which he was raised. He contended that an examination of the statutes passed during the reign of Richard would prove that no prince, that ever sat upon the English throne, had more regard for the liberty of the subject. His administration, he said, was one of the wisest and best England ever knew; and Shakspeare, who he often asserted was the historian of England, had traduced his character, to gratify the family spleen of Queen Elizabeth. In confirmation of the opinion, that Richard has been grossly slandered as well in person as in character, we quote the following from Strype's Life of Stow, a work of the very highest authority. He says:

" One observation more, made by Stow, may here be mentioned, which I have from George Buck, Esq. who saith of him, that he was a man indifferently inquisitive after the verbal relations of the persons of princes, and curious in the descriptions of their features and lineaments; and that in all his inquiries, he could find no such note of deformity in Richard III. as historians commonly relate; and that he acknowledged, he had spoken viva voce with some ancient men, who from their own sight and knowledge affirmed, that he was of bodily shape, and comely enough, only of low stature."

The following- pleasing" anecdote is worthy of commemoration, as a beautiful example of one of those noble, undaunted, and generous spirits, that sometimes illumine this sordid world of ours:

A VILLAGE PATRIOT.

The footway from Hampton Wick through Bushy Park (a royal demense) to Kingston upon Thames, had been for many years shut up from the public. An honest shoemaker, Timothy Bennett, of the former place, "umoilling (it was his favorite expression) to leave the world loorse than he found it" consulted an attorney upon the practicability of recovering this road for the public good, and the probable expense of a legal process for that purpose. " I do not mean to cobble the job," said Timothy, " for I have seven hundred pounds, and I should be willing to give up the awl, that great folks might not keep the upper leather wrongfully." The lawyer informed him that no such sum would be necessary to try the right; then said the worthy shoemaker, "as sure as soles are soles, I'll stick to them to the last? and Lord Halifax, the then Ranger of Bushy Park, was immediately served with the regular notice of action ; upon

which his lordship sent for Timothy, and on his entering the lodge, his lordship said with some warmth, "And who are you that has the assurance to meddle in this affair ?" " My name, rny lord, is Timothy Bennett, shoemaker, of Hampton Wick. I remember, an't please your lordship, to have seen, when I was a young man sitting at work, the people cheerfully pass by rny shop to Kingstone market; but now, my lord, they are forced to go round about, through a hot sandy road, ready to faint beneath their burden ; and / am unwilling to leave the world worse than I found it. This, my lord, I humbly represent, is the reason why I have taken this work in hand." "Begone," replied his lordship, "you are an impertinent fellow." However, upon mature reflection, his lordship, convinced of the equity of the claim, began to compute the shame of a defeat by a shoemaker, desisted from his opposition notwithstanding the opinion of the crown lawyers, and re-opened the road, which is enjoyed by the public without molestation to this day. Honest Timothy died about two years after, in the 77th year of his age, and was followed to the grave by all the populace of his native village.

HUMAN TALLOW.

The fat of human beings, it is said, makes the best and nicest candles. What a use for some old ladies and gentlemen we ha\'e seen ! Dr. Millingen tells a story of an Irish chandler, who, after the invasion of Cromwell, obtained great reputation for the beauty and excellence of his candles. After a while, the article deteriorated, and to the complaints of one of his customers, he replied, "I am sorry to inform you that the times are so tranquil, that I have been short of Englishmen for a long time." The poor Irish, we presume, would not answer.

THE UGLY LEG.

Nothing in this world is more to be admired than that beautiful and Christian spirit, which leads us to dwell upon the beauties and overlook the defects of our fellow-creatures. Dr. Franklin relates a singular expedient resorted to by an old gentleman to test the presence of this disposition. For this purpose, he made use of his legs, one of which was remarkably handsome, the other by some accident crooked and deformed. If a stranger at the first interview regarded his ugly leg more than his handsome one, he doubted him; but if he spoke of it, and took no notice of his handsome leg, that was sufficient to determine the philosopher to have no further ac-quantance with him.

Let querulous, carping, fault-finders, who are a disgrace to humanity, take warning from this anecdote, and leave off looking at the ugly leg.