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amount, about 100 millions worth could be produced, and ought to be produced, in our own country, by the labor of our own people. For example, we import of—

Copper, in various forms, $3,617,000

Iron, 15,209,000

Lead, 2,305,000

Paper, 597,000

Gloves, 1,559,000

China and Earthenware, 4,037,000

Linseed, 3,003,000

Wine, in Casks, 2,448,000

Wine, in bottles, 1,825,000

Brandy, 2,527,000

Grain Spirits, 1,125,000

Molasses, 8,250,000

Sugar, brown, 42,614,000

Sugar, white and loaf, 154,000

Tobacco, 1,358,000

Cigars, 4,221,000

Salt, 2,031,000

Coal, 772,000

Glass, 1,166,000

Making an aggregate of $99,819,000

Virginia alone could supply the iron, coab -copper, lead, salt, tobacco, glass and kollyrite 'for china and earthenware for the whole Union. Louisiana, Florida and Texas ought ;to produce the sugar, molasses and rum; and

• other States should produce the wine, brandy, distilled spirits, linseed, and many other articles now imported, in quantities sufficient for the consumption of our population. And yet, with a climate and soil adapted to the growth of all that we need, except tea, cof-Jfee and spices;—with mountains and val-"leys filled with iron, and coal, and salt, and .copper, and lead, and gypsum;—we leave them all but partially developed, and draw

• our supplies from foreign countries!

An apt illustration of Virginia policy is ito be found in an incident, which will probably be remembered by many of the inhabitants of this city, as it occurred within a short distance of the spot on which I •now stand.

About twenty years ago, it became necessary to erect a banking house in Richmond for the use of the Exchange Bank, then recently incorporated, and although the! structure is probably erected on a stratum!

• of granite, and certainly stands within a' mile of the finest granite quarries in the 'Union, the granite of which it is constructed '

was imported from Quincy, in the State of Massachusetts!

If the articles which I have enumerated among the imports were, as they shoud be, produced in the United States—if the laborers necessary to produce them were consumers instead of producers of provisions, it is easy to perceive what an increased demand would be created for the breadstuifs, live stock and other products of our farms. An ample and a steady market, would spring up at our own doors, for everything we have for sale, and prosperity and comfort would spread through all our borders.

But this view of the interest of the farmer, in the growth of domestic manufactures, and in the home market which they supply, would be very imperfect without a reference to other aspects of the subject.

The prices of all commodities are regulated, not only by the laws of supply and demand, but, also, by the condition of the currency. Gold and silver are, by our Constitution and laws, the measure of value. It is of the highest importance that this standard, by which the value of other commodities is estimated, should itself be stable and uniform. Every one would understand, at a glance, the evils that would result from having a fluctuating standard of weights and measures, and the injustice of allowing parties to contract according to one standard and to fulfill the contract by another. The injustice, in this case, strikes the mind because the standards—the. yard-stick, the pound weight, and the bushel,—and the subjects to which they are applied, are material and tangible. But the fluctuations in the measure of value, though less apparent are not less real nor less injurious than fluctuation's in the measure of quantity. If a party were to contract to deliver, at a future day, a hundred bushels of wheat, which, according to the present standard, would mean a quantity sufficient to weigh 60 hundred pounds, it would be iniquitous to allow the seller, when the day for the delivery arrived, to discharge his obligations by tendering a quantity that would weigh only 40 hundred; or, to compel him to deliver a quantity that would weigh 80 hundred, in payment. This would be palpable to the meanest capacity. Yet, how few realize the fact, that equal injustice is constantly beiug practised, in consequence of changes in the measure of value. In times of prosperity, when the balance of trade is in favor

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°f the United States, gold and silver ai cumulated in the eountry. Like every other article of opmmeroe, their value is affected to a great extent, by the ratio bet wren the supply and the demand. When the supply is increased, the demand remaining the same, the value is diminished, and on the other hand, as the supply is diminished, the value is increased.

• Let us now look at some of the practieal effects of these fluctuations in the supply and value of the precious metals on the con-traets of men. If a farmer contract a debt of $1,000 to-day, when wheat is worth SI per bushel, he can discharge his debt by transferring to his creditor 1,000 bushels of wheat, or the price for which he can sell it. But, suppose he contracts a debt of that amount, payable in one or two years, and, in the meantime, the balance of trade has turned against the United States,—a rapid exportation of specie has taken place, and the quantity in the country is reduced one-half. It is plain, that the value of gold will have appreciated nearly in an inverse ratio to the quantity left. The measure of value will have changed ; one dollar will now buy what it would have required two dollars to buy the year before ; and the farmer will now have to give two thousand bushels of wheat, or its price, to pay the debt, which one thousand bushels would have paid, at the date of the contract. Thus, by a change in the condition of the currency, his debt is substantially doubled, because it requires double the amount of property to pay it.

We had many striking illustrations of this proposition during the commercial revulsion of 1857. In that year, our imports greatly exceeded our exports, and it became necessary to send abroad a large portion of the coin of our country, to pay our foreign indebtedness. Heavy drafts were, accordingly, made on the specie in general circulation, and on the reserved stocks in the banks. These drafts were, for a time, promptly met, but at length they became so onerous, that the banks were compelled to suspend specie payments. A panic soon followed, credit was prostrated, those who had money hoarded it, and debtors found it almost impossible to obtaiu coin, to discharge their obligations. Gold was nearly doubled in value, and those who were fortunate enough to have it were enabled to buy Virginia State bonds at 854 per share of $100, and all other property at similar rates of

depreciation. Tho debtor, therefore, who relied 00 the sale of Virginia stocks or Other property to meet his obligations, found himself under the necessity of selling twiee the quantity he he had anticipated to pay his

debt. And the mischief was aggravated by the fact, that the low in all such eases, fell on those least able to bear it, and the profit accrued to the capitalist and the speculator.

These revulsious in our monetary s\ have been of such frequent occurrence, and have been attended with such wide spread ruin, that it is time public attention should be directed to the discovery of the appropriate remedy. In my judgment they can only be averted by making more at home, and buying less abroad. We should incur no foreign debt which the exports of our own productions will not pay. We should keep our gold and silver at home, and thereby maintain the stability of the standard of value. If it is to fluctuate at all, it is better that the fluctuation should be in favor of the debtor than the creditor—by a depreciation in value, caused by too large a supply of gold and silver, than by a rise in consequence of a scarcity. This policy commends itself, especially, to the favor of those who are inimical to the extravagant system of credits, which has prevailed in our country. It will certainly tend to impose wholesome restraints on it by giving the creditor to understand that deferred obligations will probably be discharged in a depreciated currency.

An abundaat supply of gold will also serve to develop new sources of wealth, and to stimulate industry and enterprise in every department of business.

The present is an auspicious time for the investigation of the subject, in all its relations and bearings. We are just recovering from the effects of one commercial crisis, and unless all the signs of the times are fallacious, wc are fast drifting on to another. The importations of the present year promise to outstrip in amount those of 185G-'7. Already the clouds that indicate the approaching storm are visible in the horizon. Heavy indebtedness has been incurred, and there is no foreign demand for our bread-stuffs Cotton will go far in liquidation, but it will not suffice to discharge it. L shipments of specie have commenced. The measure of value is being rapidly contracted, and prices have fallen, and will continue to fall, until they sink below the European

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level. The gold and silver, which should be employed at home, is going abroad to pay for articles -which ought to have been manufactured at our own doors.

Let us refer, for a moment, to the statistics of the import and export of the precious metals. The export of specie from New York and Boston alone, in the first eight months of the present year, amounted, in round numbers, to fifty-seven millions of dollars. The receipts from California and all other sources, for the same period, were about twenty-eight millions. The difference, twenty-nine millions, has therefore been drawn from the banks and the general circulation of the country.

On the 1st of January last, the banks of New York held about twenty-nine millions of specie, and at the close of August they held twenty-one and a-half millions. They lost, therefore, in the period referred to, but seven and a-half millions, and the difference between seven and a-half and twenty-nine millions, equal to twenty-one and a-half millions, must have been drawn from the general circulation, or, in other words, from the pockets of the people.

The farmers, in common with all other classes of society, but to a greater extent than any other, are now feeling the effects of this drain of the circulating medium from the country. The drafts are made, primarily, on the commercial cities. They, in turn, draw on their debtors in the interior. As long as the supply from this source continues, the commercial centres can maintain their standing, but when it is exhausted, suspension and bankruptcy, and all the evils which follow in their train, are inevitable.

The whole supply of coin in the United States was estimated, by the Secretary of the Treasury, (Mr. Guthrie,) in his report to Congress on the finances, in 1856-'7, at from ($200,000,000) two hundred millions of dollars to ($250,000,000) two hundred and fifty millions. If the export shall continue to exceed the import as it has done in the last twelve months, it is plain that it will not require many years to exhaust the stock on hand. Need I pause to comment on the countless mischiefs that would result from such a condition of things ?

When will our farmers begin to comprehend their true interests, and to adopt the measures necessary to protect them ? When will they learn that their prosperity is intimately—nay, indissolubly—associated with

the manufactures, and the commerce, and the currency of the country ? When will they understand that every dollar of gold and silver exported from the United States contracts the scale by which the prices of of their productions are to be regulated ?

Gold is the medium of commerce, as well as the measure of value. By its agency all the exchanges of the subjects of commerce are effected. Withdraw gold from the coun-« try, and you at once depress the value of property—paralyze the arm of industry— stagnate the channels of commerce, and prostrate the interests of agriculture.

I proceed now to the consideration of the second topic to which I propose to invite your attention, viz : the relation of agriculture to the labor of the country.

In treating this branch of my subject, I do not propose to limit my observations to the labor which is directly employed in agricultural pursuits, but to present a brief review of its relations to the whole system of American labor, in all its departments. And, in this connection, I desire to make some remarks on the two systems of labor, free and slave, which exist in the two great geographical divisions of our confederacy; and to enquire whether it be true, as has been asserted in various quarters, and on high authority, that there is an inherent, necessary, and continuing antagonism between the two systems.

As preliminary to this enquiry, it may be proper to glance at the origin of the system of slave-labor in the United States.

History informs us, that more than a century elapsed, after the discovery of America, before any successful effort was made to establish permanent settlements of the white race on the eastern coast of our country. The first Colony was founded at Jamestown, in 1607, but for many years it had to struggle against such discouraging difficulties, that it barely maintained a precarious existence. A few years later, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, and, by degrees, sparsely populated Colonies spread themselves along the coast, from Maine to Georgia. The dangers and privations incident to the settlement and subjugation of a new country prevented rapid immigration to it; and, notwithstanding the .strong inducements that were offered, in the form of liberal grants of land, the growth of the Colonies was, by no means, satisfactory to those interested. The number of laborers was in-

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adequate to the efficient settlement and cultivation of the fertile buds. To supply this demand, the Mother Country, about the year L620, retorted to the expedient of introducing into these Colonies a

of involuntary immigrants, in th sons of Africans, who had been captured in the wars between hostile tribes, in their native country, and according to their usages, sold into slavery. This policy was approved and practised by the Colonies for more than a century.

At the date of the declaration of our national independence, this system of involuntary servitude, or slavery, had become engrafted on the institutions of all the Colonies. I use the term all the Colonies, advisedly; for, although an impression has very generally prevailed, that slavery never existed in some of the New England States, the fact is otherwise, as may be seen by reference to the census tables. According to the census of 1790, there were 158 slaves in New Hampshire, and 17 in Vermont, and the official returns of 1830 show that there were slaves at that time in every New England State, except Vermont.

At the commencement of our national existence, therefore, a compound system of labor—partly free and partly slave—pervaded the whole confederacy.

This system continued, in all the States,

Some of our brethren of the North are disposed, Like certain of the Pharisees of

old, to thank God " that tiny ;u< D other men are," and to assume to ti

I and their StstOi greet credit for disinterestedness and beneTolenee iu liber their slaves. 1 am as little disposed as any other man to withhold from them the pi to which they are justly entitled, for their many acknowledged virtues. I take pie*-sure in bearing testimony to their intelligence, integrity, industry, frugality, public spirit and geueral benevolence. But. spect for the truth of history constrains me to deny their right to be regarded as the benefactors of the negro race.

A general impression prevails, both in the North and South, that the people of the Northern States, influenced by a generous spirit of philanthropy, and a noble devotion to the cause of human liberty, voluntarily emancipated their slaves, by legislative enactments. If their legislation had been such as is generally supposed, it might well be questioned, how far it would establish their just claim to any high degree of merit, in a moral point of view; because, as I have already stated, it had become manifest, before any such laws were adopted, that the slaves of the Northern States were a burthen, rather than a benefit. The policy of those States might, there-

until the drudgery of subduing the prime- fore, be fairly attributed, rather to a dispo-val forests, and clearing the country for cul- sition to rid themselves of an ignoraut, im-tivation and comfortable habitation, had provident and unprofitable population, than been accomplished. Then the citizens of | to a desire to do justice to a " down-trod-the northern and middle States began tojden" race.

turn their attention to other branches of i But what are the facts of the case. My industry, and the discovery was soon made, professional duty has led me to investigate that while negro labor may be profitably the legislation of some four or five of the employed in pursuits which require mere Northern States, on the subject of slavery ; physical strength, it cannot compete, sue-: and I have yet to find a law of any one of cessfully, with white labor, in those avoca- them, by which a single slave has been tions in which skill, ingenuity and intellect, , made free. I think I may safely challenge constitute important elements. Experience . the production of any such law, from also demonstrated, at an early day, that the ■ archives of any Colouy or State of this con-negro race were physically unfitted to en- federacy. This is a bold proposition, but I dure the rigors of a northern climate, believe it to be true. As far as I have ob-

These considerations led to a general conviction, in the Northern Colonies, that negro labor was unprofitable, and induced them to adopt measures to rid themselves of the incumbrance of an unproductive population.

And here, it may be instructive to pause, and contemplate the means by which that object was accomplished.

served, the whole system of Northern 1 lation has been directed, not to the emancipation of slaves, but to the removal of the slave population beyond their limits. their laws on the subject were pi None of them, as far as I have been able to discover, operated to confer freedom on the slaves in being. They simply provided, that the offspring of female stares)

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who should be born within the jurisdiction' of the States passing such laws, after specified dates, should be deemed free. All who were slaves at the time remained slaves. The laws were intended to operate only on the after-born children, and the rights secured to these were altogether contingent, and could never vest without the concurrence of the owner of the female slave. There was no prohibition of the removal of the females. If the owner thought proper to retain them in the State which had adopted such laws, her offspring, born after the appointed day, became free. Freedom, therefore, even to the after-born children, was not the effect of legislation alone, but of legislation and the concurrent action of the master, in retaining the female in the State, until the law could take effect on the children. Without the consent of the master, indicated by retaining her in the State, until after the prescribed date, the law would have been inoperative.

It requires no great sagacity to see that this is the whole object and tendency of their legislation, as I have already stated, not to the emancipation of slaves, but their removal to other States. It amounted, simply, to a notice to the owner to sell his female slaves before a given day, under penalty of forfeiting her increase. The practical effects were such as might have been reasonably anticipated. The owners of the females took especial care to sell them southward before the laws took effect, and in this way the unprofitable slaves were transferred to the South, where the climate was more propitious, and the productions better adapted to their peculiar capacities for labor.

This view of the effects of these laws is strongly fortified by facts derived from the census tables. We have no authentic means of ascertaining the number of slaves in any of the States, prior to 1790, and we cannot, therefore, institute all the enquiries which we might desire, but we do know that the policy of removal, miscalled emancipation, was adopted between 1776 and 1790, and was in full operation at the latter date. A reference to the census of 1790 shows, that the whole number of free negroes in the nine Northern States (including Maine) at that date, was but 27,109. The fact that the number of free negroes in those States was so small, in 1790, is very persuasive, at least, to prove, that under this much

lauded system of legislation, freedom accrued to a very small proportion of the slaves of the Northern States. Much the larger number were sold to the people of the South, and the descendents of those slaves, now held under the warranty of title given by Northern venders, constitute s a large portion of the slave population of the Southern States ) and the purchase money paid for them by citizens of the South, contributed, in no small degree, to build up the manufactures and commerce of the Northern and Middle States.

It is also instructive to observe how the anti-slavery legislation of the North has kept pace with the increase of the growth of the great staples of the South.

It was not until the latter part of the eighteenth century, after Hargrave and Ark-wright had invented the spinning-jenny and Whitney the cotton-gin, that cotton became one of the important crops of the Southern States. As late as 1794, when G-en. Pinkney, of South Carolina, enumerated to John Jay the exports of South Carolina, cotton was not included in the list.

The inventions of the great mechanics, above referred to, gave a vigorous impulse to the culture of cotton, and it has now become the most important article of American commerce.

Cotton is an article peculiarly adapted to negro labor. Its culture is simple, and requires but little skill. It can be produced profitably only in the Southern States., where the almost vertical rays of the sun, and the debilitating influences of the climate, render it impossible for the white race to perform the labor necessary to till and secure the crop. The physical peculiarities of the negro, on the other hand, fit him admirably for the work. Created with a system of pores and glands adapted to the tropical climate of his native country, he thrives and grows strong under the sultry heat of the planting States, which would cause the most athletic of the Caucasian race, to sink into hopeless prostration.

When cotton became an important crop in the South, it opened a wide field for negro labor, and created a large demand for negro laborers. The opposite condition of things in the Northern States, where it had been ascertained by actual experiment, that negro labor could not be profitably employed, naturally led both sections to adopt a policy which would tend to the transfer of

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lave population from the Northern to the Southern St

In view of thex- historical facta, and logi-

cal deductions from them, it is idle to pretend that the legislation of the North was dictated by any sentiment of necrophilism. It was the offspring of an enlightened self-interest, and of those natural and OOOnomio laws, which lead to the adjustment of all things according to their just rclatious and affiniti

Having thus examined the principles by which Northern policy, in regard to slavery, was guided, it is proper that I should now advert to the changes which have taken place in public opinion at the South, on the same subject.

At the date of our Revolution, the agriculture of the South was in a languishing condition, and many of our wisest men attributed its want of prosperity to the existence of slavery. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Mason, Edmund Randolph, and other sages of that day, were deeply imbued with anti-slavery sentiments. Jefferson, in his first draft of the Declaration of independence, and George Mason, in the preamble to the Constitution of Virginia, made it one of the grave causes of complaint agaiust the British sovereign, that he had, " by an inhuman use of his negative, refused us permission to exclude negroes, by law, from Virginia." In his Notes on Virginia, and other productions of his pen, Jefferson expressed his opposition to slavery in the strongest terms, and, faithful to his principles, after long and untiring efforts, hi ceeded in excluding it from the Northwestern Territory, by the ordinance of I 787.

In 1788, George Mason, who had been a member of the Convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, in his letter to the Legislature of Virginia, explaining his reasons for withholding his signature from that instrument, assigned, as one of them, its failure to place an immediate interdict on the African slave trade.

I allude to these facts in no spirit of un-kindness to either section, but for the purpose of showing that neither section has been governed in its policy by the high principles of benevolence to which sometimes lay claim. The history of the world will prove that, while individuals may he, and often are, intluenccd by the nobler impulses of our nature, communities are controlled by their interest. The Northern

and Southern divisions of the Union ('institute no exception to this role. This fact should teach us a lesson of mutual charity

and forbearance!

The fact having been established, that negro labor is indispensable for the cultivation of cotton, and that white labor can he economically substituted for it, in the production of cereals, live-stock, and everything that is grown in the Northern sad Middle States, there has been a uniform tendency of the labor of the country, te> adjust itself according to this standard. Slave-labor is rapidly concentrating itself in tue planting States; while free-labor i-taking possession of the grain-growing and grazing States.

Planting and negro labor have a natural affinity, which, legislate as we may, will eventually assert its power. Labor, like every other commodity, will seek the best market. It will go where it will command the highest price. This great principle of politieal^cononiy withdrew slave-labor from the wheat and rye fields of the North, and it is this principle which is now draining the slave population from the border or provision States to the plantiug States.

The high prices of the products of Southern plantations enhances the value of slaves, and they are being rapidly sold to the planters. The interest on the prices they now command in market is almost equal to the annual value of their labor when employed in farming, and hence the farmer finds it to his interest to sell them.

The operation of this cause will be felt more sensibly every day. The acquisition of Texas, and the reclamation of the swamp lands of the Southern States, by enlarging the area of the cotton and sugar region, has tended greatly to enhance the price of negroes, and to withdraw them from Virginia, and the border States. Should additional territory be acquired in that quarter, the exportation of slaves will be accelerated, and at no distant day, it may become the pecuniary interest of Virginia to follow the It ad of the Northern States, and send her I slaves to the South. Everything seems to indicate a steady advance in the price of negroes. The demand for cotton is constantly iSing, and the failure of all attempts jto produce it elsewhere has shown, that the world must be dependent on the United States for its supply. By a wise provision | of nature, every country has the capacity

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to produce the food necessary for its population. The price of food must, therefore, be regulated and restrained, by the general production of the world. But only a limited district of country is adapted to the production of cotton. It can, therefore, have but little competition in the market, and as the demand increases more rapidly than the supply, the price of cotton, and of the labor necessary to produce it, must continue to advance. No one can yet predict the effect which the extension of commercial relations with China, 5 Japan, and the East Indies, is to have on the prices of the great staples of the South.

These facts lead thoughtful men to enquire, whether, at a future day, the line between the free and slave States, may not be more sharply and distinctly defined, than it is at present, and the institution of slavery be restricted exclusively to the planting States.

The tendency, is, certainly, in that direction at present, and a rise of twenty per cent, on the present value of slaves will lead to such an exodus, as has never yet been witnessed in Virginia, and the other grain-growing States. In this aspect, it is time that our people should ^consider whether the interest of Virginia will be advanced by the acquisition of additional territory adapted to the culture of cotton, when that acquisition is to be followed by the loss of a large portion of her effective labor.

This brief review of the history and progress of slavery is, I think, sufficient to show, that for the last seventy-five years, the tendency of labor of our country has been to adjust itself with reference to the productions of the different sections—free labor having acquired the ascendency in all the mechanical, commercial and farming departments of industry, and slave labor in those connected with the production of rice, sugar, cotton and tobacco.

And here, we are naturally led to consider a doctrine, which has recently been presented to the country under the most imposing circumstances. About a year ago, a distinguished Senator from the State of New York, in an address to the people of that State, expressed his deliberate conviction, that there is an inherent, and irreconcilable antagonism between the systems of free and slave labor. He said :

" Hitherto the two systems have existed

in different States, but side by side within the American Union. This has happened because the Union is a confederation of States. But, in another aspect, the United States constitute only one nation. Increase of population, which is filling the States out to their very borders, together with a new and extended network of railroads and other avenues, and an internal commerce which daily becomes more intimate, is rapidly bringing the States into a higher and more perfect social unity or consolidation. Thus these antagonistic systems are continually coming into closer contact, and collision results.

11 Shall I tell you what this collision means ? They who think that it is accidental, unnecessary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and therefore ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation. Either the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina, and the sugar plantations of Louisiana will ultimately be tilled by free labor, and Charleston and New Orleans become marts for legitimate merchandise alone, or else the rye fields and wheat fields of Massachusetts and New York must again be surrendered by their farmers to slave culture and to the production of slaves, and Boston and New York become once more markets for trade in the bodies and souls of men. It is the failure to apprehend this great truth that induces so many unsuccessful attempts at final compromise between the slave and free States, and it is the existence of this great fact that renders all such pretended compromises when made vain and ephemeral. ********

" I know, and you know, that a revolution has begun. I know, and all the world knows, that revolutions never go backwards."

. The proposition is certainly a startling one, and it took the country by surprise.

It involves an impeachment of the wisdom of the fathers of the republic, and a condemnation of the Constitution of the United States, as an abortive effort to blend together in harmonious co-operation elements essentially incongruous and antagonistic.

Is this proposition true ? Does it em

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1 lea flf :t "i, in the

' ition of the term, or is it the

'•m, addressed to the jealous

prejudices of a section.

[f the two systems of labor exi~

ii.> localities, competing and interfering with each other, maintaining a

ut rivalry, arid provoking colli by constant efforts to supplant each other, there might be some ground for apprehend-conflict between them. But do the IM justify any such assumption F On the contrary, docs not the whole ] history of the country negative the

idea, and show that the tendency of the two ms is toscparation,—to the withdrawal of each from the field appropriate to the other, rather than to mutual aggression, collision and conflict? Where, then, is the evidence of antagonism between them ?— Upon what facts docs this orator, who is so swift to pronounce judgment of condemnation on Washington and Hamilton, and Madison, and Jay, rely, to maintain his mis-ihievons dogma ? If it be true, the alternative he offers is submission or disunion ; abolition or revolution ! Is the country prepared tor such an alternative ? Do our northern brethren desire to press it upon The events of the next year may show. Their decision will derive new and fearful significance from events that have recently occurred within our borders. Should the sentiments of.the Senator from New York be endorsed and adopted by the people of the North, it will be time for the people of the South to decide what course their inte-. and their honor, and safety may require them to pursue.

I, for one, cannot believe that such an endorsement will be given. The solemn admonitions of W n have not yet been forgotten by his countrymen. His prophetic wisdom foresaw the character of the appeals which "designing men" would make to local prejudices, and, in his farewell address, he warned the people against them in these impressive wor I

" In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as ni of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing par-tics by geographical discriminations, .Y<>rth-ern and Southern, AHc whence desiguing men may endeavor to incite a belief that there is a real difference of local interest and views. One of the

expedients of party, to acquire infl' with particular districts, i> to misi the opiaiottS &nd aims of other diet You cannot shield jonrteh much

against the jealousies and heart-bur which spring from these misn They tend to render alien to each other who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection."

Let the people of the United States look on this picture and on that ! Here are the counsels of Washington—'here the S-nator from New York. Let the people choose between them !

Washington teaches that while it may be the province of "designing men" to foment local jealousies—to array section against section—to divide, that they may rule, as heads of dominant factions, it is the higher, and nobler, and holier mission of the patriotic statesman, to reconcile differences of opinion—to bring order out of chaos—to blend opposing forces into harmonious action, for the public good.

The idea that the tide of slavery, which, for three-quarters of a century, has been constantly receding from the North, is about to reverse its flow, is as absurd as to suppose that the waves of the Atlantic will again sweep over the crests of the Allcgha-nies. • The people of the North cannot be ed on by any such shallow sophistry. But looking at the question in another aspect—has the South anything to fear from Northern aggression.

I answer, unhesitatingly, nothing whatever ! This answer is dictated not only by a reference to the provisions of the federal

tution, which forbid all such ag sinns, but by other and still HOT considerations. I know that constitutional lotions', and parchment guarantees, and the rights intended to be guarded by them, may be trampled under foot, and thei do not always present a safe bulwark of de-Hut there is another, and in deference to the nomenclature of the author of the doctrine on which I am commenting, I will call higher law," which men never violate wilfully, and which will ever remain >ure and 8tea Ifast: I mean, the la

If all higher considerations should fail—if the men of the North should be to the appeals of justice—if they should prove regardless of all their constitutional and legal obligations, and feel

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

disposed to violate the rights of the Southern States, they would be restrained from doing so, by the knowledge of the fact, that the blow which prostrated the interests of the South would inflict an immedicable wound on the prosperity of the North.

Where, then, I repeat, is the evidence of antagonism between the interests or the labor of the North and of the South ? Those who arc disposed to indulge in narrow and contracted views of subjects may fancy they see evidences of an " irrepressible conflict" between heat and cold ; light and darkness ; summer and winter; the centripetal and centrifugal forces; and a thousand other objects in the material world, which seem to be irreconcilable; yet, under the rule of a wise and benificent Providence, how beautifully all these apparently opposing elements work together in harmony, to accomplish the wonderful designs of Him whose hand directs the machinery of the universe !

When the scales are removed from the eyes of such as I have mentioned, they discern that the only discord was in their own wicked hearts, and that the seeming antagonism in the elements of nature was but harmony not understood !

So, it often happens, in regard to political affairs, that men whose minds are misled by local interest, or distorted by party prejudices, can see nothing in the progress of events but evidences of clashing interests and u irrepressible conflicts," while, to those who survey the same objects, from a loftier stand-point, every element is seen to be performing its appropriate functions, for the development of some wise and benificent result.

How strangely must that mind be constituted, which can perceive a tendency to antagonism in two systems which move in different orbits, and have entirely different functions to perform ; systems widely separated, geogrophically, and whose influence is felt only in the benefits which they reciprocally confer on each other !

Southern labor is devoted to the production of articles unsuited to the climate and labor of the free States. Its great staples are cotton, sugar, tobacco and rice. Of these, but one, tobacco, and that to a small extent only, can be produced north of the Delaware.

On the other hand, the labor of the free States is directed to the cultivation of grain and the feeding of live-stock, and to manu-

factures and commerce, and other pursuits which are better adapted to the habits of their people, and the qualities and peculiarities of their soil and climate.

How, then, can the labor of one section come into competition with that of the other ? Do not the productions of the" North find their best markets in the South ? Are not the slaves of the planting States the largest consumers of the coarse woolens, and cottons, and shoes, and hats made by the labor of the North ? Do not the planters also buy a large portion of the finer goods, and furniture, and hardware, and machinery, and carriages, and saddlery, and agricultural implements manufactured at the North ?

And does not the the South supply the North with its cotton, and sugar, and rice, and tobacco, and other commodities, in their crude condition, ready to be converted by the labor and skill of the North, into the most valuable subjects of commerce ? How then can there be antagonism between two sections of country, and two systems of labor, whose productions, and whose avocations, are so widely different ? Antagnism implies opposition,—rivalry,—competition,— the interference of one with the other. But here, there is nothing of the kind. Neither produces what the other can profitably produce—on the contrary, each produces precisely what the other cannot produce, but what the other needs. Each offers to the other a good market for what it has to sell. An exchange, mutually beneficial, takes place between them. Both are enriched by it. The product of slave labor helps to pay the wages of the free labor of the North, and the product of free labor helps to pay to the owner of slaves the expense which he incurs, and the profit which he makes, by his operations on his plantation. Each section, and each system, consequently, contributes to the prosperity and wealth of the other. They are mutual benefactors, instead of antagonists. The relations between the two systems have become so intimate, and so interwoven with each other, that they can no longer be regarded as separate, independent systems, but are, in fact, harmonious elements of one great system of American labor. The truth of this proposition will be manifest, if we will turn our thoughts, for a moment, to the consequences which would ensue from a disturbance of the relations, which now happily subsist between these elements.

Til E SO IT II I- R \ I' L A NT E R.

If slavery were, by common con abolished throughout the United Bl

wo cannot doubt that the eonsequ<

: I'.' similar to tbOM ^s 111 < -11 MloW-

ipation in the British West India

Is. Wherever the negro is found,

tore is tl Then indisposition

to labor has become proverbial. It exhi-

. not only in their native country,

ami in the sultry climate of the Smith, but

midst the bustle and activity of the

Northern and Western cities, in which they They labor only under the are of necessity, and only to the extent which that necessity imperatively requires. As soon, therefore, as the discipline and compulsory authority of the master was withdrawn, they would sink into habits of idleness, which would leave the plantations of the Southern States, like those of Jamaica, desolate and uncultivated. They would seek a precarious subsistence, by irregular effort, and by depredations on the property of those around them. The production of the great staples of the South, would rapidly diminish, and ultimately they would cease to be articles of export. White labor could not be substituted, because experience has shown, that the white race cannot endure the exposure to the sun and atmosphere, which is necessary for the production of cotton, tobacco, sugar and rice. The abolition of slavery would, therefore, be equivalent to the banishment of those articles from the manufactures and commerce of the country. And what mind can conceive, or what pen portray, the consequences to the busi' and comfort, and happiness of the civilized world ! It would involve the destruction of countless millions of dollars of capital in the South, vested in lands, and in slaves and Btock and machinery necessary to cultivate them ; and in the North, in the factories erected to work up the products of Southern labor, and to produce all the fabrics necessary to supply its wants. It would involve the prostration of done trade, manufactures, and the mechanic arts —the stagnation of unmerce—the

derangement of the balance of trade and rates of exchange—diaai nvulsioni

in the monetary system—the serious injury of our shipping interest—I decline in our national resources—the paralysis of industry in all its departments—a general depression in the value of property, and >a scene of bankruptcy and ruin to which

the history of our country affords no parallel.

Such would be some of the more prominent and direct results of that emancipation which deludedenthu selfish agitators would seek to accomplish.

Hut the picture is, by no mi plete. It is plain thai the evils I have enumerated, would fall with more: crushing

force on the interests and people of the

North, than on those of the South. But, there are others peculiarly affecting thi States, which should not bo passed over in silence.

Who, that has visited the Northern States, has failed to note, with pride and pleasure, the evidences of prosperity and comfort that greet his eye at every turn ? Well cultivated fields—ueat farm-houses— thriving villages—cities thronged with a busy and enterprising population—factories, furnishing employment to thousands— harbors crowded with shipping—wharves loaded with the merchandise of the most distant lands—all bear testimony, which cannot be mistaken, to the material prosperity of the people. Innumerable school-houses, and churches, and noble institutions, devoted to literary and benevolent purposes, in like manner attest the attention which is bestowed on the culture and development of the moral and intellectual faculties of the citiz

Explore the sources of all this wealth and prosperity—enquire what stimulates this industry into activity '.'—what gives vitality to this extensive domestic trade'/ —what freights these fleets of merchantmen, on their outward voyages, and supplies the means of buyingthe home-bound cargoes'/—in aword, what sustains this whole system of industry, and equalizes the balance of trade between our own an 1 foreign countries f Every enlightened man will answer that the productions of the planting States, the fruit

than all other alts!

If, then, this system of labor should be :ly overthrown, by emancipating the 9 roth, and the substitution of a Worthless, indolent, pauper population in disciplined, and vigorous slaves who now supply the productive r of the South, who can compute the amount of injury that would accrue to the North ? Strike the single article of

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

cotton from the commercial schedules, and what would become of the factories, and commerce, and navigation of the North ; and of all the interests dependent on them ? Let business men answer the question.

But these are not the only evils, that would enure to the people of the non-slave-holding States, from such a policy. If the Southern slaves were liberated, they would, naturally, desire to remove from the scenes of their labor and humiliation, and seek abodes among the people of the North, whose sympathy had cheered them in their bondage, and whose homes and hearts, they would reasonably infer, were open to receive them. The three millions of liberated slaves, thus left free to choose their own places of residence, would soon scatter themselves, in the Northern and Western States, in quest of the means of substance. The better class would at once come into competition with the laboring population of the North, in all the more simple employments for which they were qualified, and the draymen, hackmen, cartmen, porters, hotel-waiters, stevedores, domestic servants, day-laborers, and others of like occupations, would doubtless find them formidable rivals, who would supplant them, or greatly reduce the profits of their callings. Much the larger proportion, however, from their natural aversion to labor, would refuse to work, and with their families, sink into the lowest depths of destitution and wretchedness; and the jails, alms-houses, and penitentiaries of the North would be their only refuge from starvation. They would become an intolerable burthen, and all classes of society would rise up to expel them. Under these circumstances, I can readily see how the tendency to a " conflict" between the black and the white laborer would become " irrepressible." The white laborer whose avocation had, heretofore, been respectable, and who had been accustomed to receive wages adequate for the support of his family, would not tolerate the competition of those who would degrade the dignity of labor, and underbid him in his business. The taxpayers would not submit to the burthen of maintaining an idle and thriftless population. The land-holder would not be content to have near his premises a class whose subsistence would be eked out by pilfering. A conflict would necessarily ensue—a conflict of clashing interests, and hostile races brought into immediate collision—a conflict

which must necessarily result in violence and bloodshed.

Is this picture overdrawn ? I refer those who think so to the riots that have already occurred from these causes, in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and other cities and townships in the non-slaveholding States. And whert it is remembered that but a few hundreds of free negroes, and these above the average of their race, for freedom is generally conferred on the most worthy, or acquired by the most thrifty, have led to such outbursts of popular indignation and violence, what would be the consequence of having three millions of them, of all ages, sizes, classes and conditions, precipitated on the non-slaveholding States ! .

I maintain, therefore, that precisely the opposite of the proposition of the distinguished Senator from New York is true. As long as slavery exists, it will retain the negro population in the Southern States— it will keep them separate and apart, and prevent their coming into competition with the laboring classes of the North—and the fruits of their labor will be auxiliary to the interests of the white race.

But the moment they are emancipated, the present line of demarcation between the two systems of labor will be eradiated. The levee, which confines the negro race within the Southern States, will be broken down, and a deluge of free negro migration will pour its desolating flood over the whole North and West, sweeping before it the peace and happiness and best interests of the people. The Northern States will then discover, when it is too late to repair the mischief, that they have rashly and wickedly undone all that was done for them by the wise policy of their earlier statesmen.

Were I a Northern man, therefore, and disposed to assume the championship of Northern interests, I would admonish my fellow citizens not to aid in the emancipation of the slaves of the South, but to remonstrate against it, and to resist it by all fair and honorable means, as fraught with incalculable mischief to the free States. I would conjure them to leave the whole subject in the hands of those immediately concerned, and of Him, who, although his purposes cannot be fathomed by human sagacity, we know, shapes the destiny of nations, and ordereth all things wisely and well.

Let us, then, by common consent, discard

THE SOUTH BRN PLANTER.

:,3:>

from our minds and our lu-nrts ill I

■nfounded notions of asUgoBitB between different parts of our common country.

itors have existed in i age— torj teaches oj an instructive

i on this subject In the early d i; Christianity, we arc informed, the members of the church f Corinth were bl< above all others, with spiritual gifts. To one was given wisdom, to another know-. to another faith, to another the gift ding, to another the working of mini-to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another divers kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these gifts proceeded from the game spirit, and all were intended to work t together for one common object—the salvation of man and the glory of God ! But the possessors of these various gifts, mistaking diversity for discord, began each to exalt himself above his neighbor, and to vie with him in the display of his endowments. A learned biblical commentator and historian (Thomas Scott) informs us that "this gave rise to vain glory, envy, corrupt emulations and repinings, which were equally opposed to piety and charity."

Thus it would seem that the very abundance of the gifts bestowed on the Corinthians became the chief source of danger to their spiritual welfare.

This led the great Apostle to the Gentiles to administer to them a rebuke for their dissensions, full of wisdom and profitable for instruction. After adverting to the munificent endowments which they had received at the hands of God, and the im-r use they were disposed to make of them, he said, (1st Corinthians, ohap. 12 :)

•• Pot, as the body is one, and hath many Members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Chrisi

" For by one spirit we are all baptised

into one body—whether we be Jews or Gen-

—whether we be bond or free, and

hav. all 1 to drink into one spirit.

" For the body is not one member, but many.

" If the foot shall say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body ?

" And if the ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body ?

" If the whole body were an eye, where

the hearing f If the wl. bear-

ing, «h the m< U

41 Hut now hath Grod Bel the members, every one of them, in the body as it hath pleased him.

•• And if they were all one member, where were the bodj r

11 Hut now are they many members, yet but one body.

" And the eve cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you."

These words of counsel and admonition were addressed by St. Paul, eighteen centu-_:o, to the factious Corinthians. But they were written and incorporated into the Holy Scripture, for the instruction of all nations and all ages. May not the people of the United States learn a lesson of wisdom from them ?

No nation ever possessed such a heritage as we enjoy. Providence has lavished on us every blessing in the richest profusion. With a territory stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean,' and almost from the Tropical to the Arctic region, we embrace within our limits every variety of soil and climate, and an aptitude for eve/y production essential to the comfort and happiness of man. If we were isolated from all the rest of the world, we have within our own borders every material element of national prosperity and grcatuess. And, as if with the design of securing perpetual harmony and union between the different parts, Providence has wisely ordained a natural and ne-l y division of labor between them, by adapting each to particular staples and occupations which arc unsuited to the climate and soil of the others. The Southern States produce the cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco ary for the whole country. The North Mipplies the skill and labor to manufacture the raw material into such fabrics as arc required by the other sections. And the Middle States furnish the food for the North and South. Neither can ■nooessfully compete with the other in its peculiar department of industry. Each is benefitted by the exchange of its surplus productions for those of the others, and they thus reciprocally minister to caeh others I And by a remakable departure from the general law of nature, whieh requires large streams to seek their outlet to the ocean, by the iberteot route, the great father of rivers, id of flowing eastward to the Atlantic,

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

pours his vast volume of waters in an almost due southward course, from the northern limits of the Confederacy to the Gulf of Mexico, thus passing through all the great divisions of our country, and furnishing a highway for commerce between them unequalled in extent and excellence on the face of the globe.

If the climate, soil and productions of our whole country were similar, competition and rivalry might engender ill feeling between the different parts. But each has its separate gift and their natural diversities, instead of being elements of discord, are sources of union, harmony and strength.

But, like the foolish Corinthians, some of our people are disposed to indulge " in vain glory, envy, corrupt emulations and repinings," which are alike opposed to truth, charity and patriotism.

To all such may we not, reverently paraphrasing the language of the Apostle, say

" For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is

OUR COUNTRY!

" For by one spirit are we all baptised into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit— the spirit of the Constitution !

u For our Confederacy is not one member but many. If the North shall say, because I am not the South I am not of the Union, is it, therefore, not of the Union ?

" And if the East shall say, because I am not the West, I am not of the Union, is it, therefore, not of the Union?

" If the ichole country were manufacturing, where were the cotton and sugar growing ?

" If the whole were agricultural, where were the commercial and manufacturing ?

" But now hath the wisdom of our fathers set the separate States, every one of them, in the Union as it hath pleased them.

"•And if they were all one State, where were the Union ?

li But now are they many States, yet but one Confederacy.

" And the East cannot say unto the West, I have no need of thee; nor, again, the Northern States to the Southern, we have no need of you.

" And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member ;

be honored, all the members rejoice with it!"

These are the teachings of inspiration ! And I appeal to my fellow citizens in all parts of the country, if they do not convey to us an instructive lesson of practical wisdom and patriotic duty !

Let us, then, in everything that affects the interests of our country, cultivate a comprehensive, catholic, national sentiment! Let us discard from our confidence and our councils all " fanatical agitators" who attempt, by any device whatever, to array one portion of the Union against another. Let us remember that, while each section has its appropriate function to perform, each is essential to the welfare and security of the whole. Let us bear in mind that " the* liberty and independence we possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts—of common dangers, sufferings and success." Instead of fostering local jealouses, and striving to inflame one section against another, let me urge you, fellow citizens, in the impressive language of Washington, to raise up your minds and your hearts to a just appreciation "of the immense value of your National Union, to your collective and individual happiness, so that you may cherish a cordial, habitual and immovable attachment to it—accustoming yourselves to think and to speak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperity— watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety—discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts I"

To Measure Hay Stacks.

More than twenty years since, the following method for measuring hay, was taken from an old publication. I have b®th bought and sold by it, and I believe it may be useful to many farmers: Multiply the length, breadth, and height into each other, and if the hay is somewhat settled, ten solid yards make a ton. Clover will # take from ten to twelve solid yards per ton.

Five hundred and twelve cubic feet in a compressed or well settled mow is regarded equal to a ton of good hay.

T II E SOUTH E UN" PLANTER.

887

Kentucky University.

[The I'MYKUsin of KENTUCKY was duly installed on th« -1st of September, I s "''.'. Among the interesting proceedings on the oocMiOQj Pb Millig \n de-

'1 his inaugural address, the introduo-I art of which contains inch a philosophical train of thought upon tin; stil! comparatively obscure subject of educational development, that we cannot resist the inclination to lay it before our readers.— I'll).]

MICUOAN/fl AIHUtESS.

Mr. President; Gentlemen of the Board of

Cm

furAy.

It has already become a proverb, that " The present is the age of improvement" There M not a branch of science within the Wide range of human knowledge, that lias not been more or less enriched by contributions from some of the master minds of the nth century.

It is not, however, so much in the department of the sciences, as it is in that of the arts, that we excel our predecessors. It is not so much in the discovery of truth, as in ried applications to the practical pur-and conveniences of life, that we are in advance of all ] rations. Some

of the most sublime die in science

the Graliloes, the Koplcrs, the Bacons, the Lockcs, and the Xewtons of even the seventeenth century. But these discos re to most persons of that age

what the gold mines of California were to the wild tribes of t 1 Very few then

knew how to appropriate them.

But BOW all is changed; or at let! rapidly ch ery thing is now as-

suming a more highly practical tendency. Agriculture and the mechanic arts are greatly improved by the application of science ; our rivers, lakes, and oceans arc rated by the power of steam; information is carried from city to city, and from continent to continent, with the velocity of lightning; and in a word, every thing is onward and upward and Westward.

A UUSBtion then I here of very

great interest to every true philanthr What IS the cause of all this v To what particular agency or instrumentality this state of universal improvement owe its origin and its progress? Why does the nineteenth surpass every preceding eentury 22

in all the elemental of wealth, \

civilization.

This question h rently

answered by different nlanonn or individuals. The mere politician who i- wont to contemplate every thing through tin- medium of political glasses, ha- usually found his an

in the great im p rov e ment! that have recently made in the SOiefl v.-rn-

ment. But this does not satisfy the |

enlightened and inquisitive metaphysician.

Tlu' question still occurs to him, whence this

great improvement in political science P It is an effect: and it must have I cause as Well as the recent improvements in agriculture, horticulture, and the other arts and sions.

The Christian philosopher who stops not with the consideration of second causes, but who is accustomed to trace every event in the history of human progress up to the I >i-vinc will, or rather to the Divine nature, wdierc all true philosophy ends, will, of course, refer all this to the agency of Him who made the universe; who governs it; and who is now evidently directing all things to the Speedy introduction of that glorious era, when " the wolf shall dwell with the lamb ; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them."

To this general solution of the problem, I no objection. It certainly j DJ a very just and rational conception of the whole matter. But it doei not meet the specific object of our present inquiry. Our lOt refer to Divine but. to human agency. We do not ask, what ha- 11 I done, but what has man done, under the Pi-vine guidance, to bring about this happy (h\ to he still more particular, what is the first link in the chain of human instrumentalities that has given to this wonderful or i all the ele-

of modern civilization.

Waiving for the p r es ent, the considers-

!' all the merely speculative tl human progress, I hesitate not to affirm my solemn conviction, that the true I this question is to be found only in tl perior education of the nineteenth cent This is the grand "primum mobile'* the great efficient mainspring of all th that man has cv cuted for

the elevation, civilization, and beatific of his race.

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

But let me not be misunderstood here. We often differ in our conclusions, merely because we use different nomenclatures. We often use the same word to represent very different and distinct ideas. This is particularly true of the term education. But few words have a wider currency; and yet very few are more imperfectly understood. The popular meaning of this term is extremely erroneous. It is generally used, as you are all aware, in the sense of acquiring and storing away ideas; which, like so many measures of wheat, oats, or barely, are to be retained in the graneries of the human mind j or to be dealt out to the highest bidder according lo the wholesale or retail prices of such gross commodities.

But as its etymology denotes, it primarily and properly signifies a process just the reverse of all this. It is not the treasuring up in the mind of any thing " ah extra;" but it is the developing, moulding, harmonizing, adjusting, polishing, and refining of that which is within the man himself.

This idea is so fundamental, that I beg to illustrate it with all possible simplicity, even before this very intelligent audience. As the occasion is somewhat elementary, I will no doubt be excused for introducing, at this point, a few very plain arid elementary suggestions.

Allow me then in the first place, and by way of illustration, to call your attention to the world of wonders, that lies concealed beneath the surface of even the most simple organized substance. Who, for example, that has never witnessed the mysterious process of vegetation, could imagine," a priori" that a single grain of corn is susceptible of such a development as we every year behold ? True, indeed,.without the influence of certain external agencies, its vital energies would remain forever latent. This may be well illustrated by the grains of corn that are sometimes found in the Egyptian pyramids, and among the ruins of ancient cities. But, by the application of heat, light, moisture, and electricity, the germ is quickened into life. We have first the root; next the blade; then the stalk; after that the blossom ; then the ear; and finally the full-grown corn in the ear. It is now, allow me to say, an educated grain of corn. Whether it has been properly educated or not, depends of course, on circumstances.

Now all this is very analogous to the education of the infant man. His is the most

complex of all created constitutions. He is a perfect microcosm within himself. He has a material body ; an animal soul; and a god-like spirit. These again are endowed with numerous and various faculties, each of which, by the use and application of proper stimuli, is susceptible of the most wonderful" and astonishing development. How amazing for example, is the difference between the muscular powers of the child and of the full grown Goliah ! Or between the mental powers of the infant Newton, and those of the philosopher Sir Isaac, whom God

"To mortals lent, to trace his boundless works From laws sublimely simple."

We do not of course pretend, by any system of education, to make every man a Newton. There is a natural limit to the development of every organized substance, whether vegetable or animal, beyond which no created power can extend it.

" For education ne'er supplied What ruling nature has denied."

The educator creates nothing. He produces neither mind nor matter. He merely develops, moulds, and polishes the raw material. But if he cannot make the moss bloom as the rose, if he cannot cause the daisy to tower aloft like an oak of Bashan, or like a cedar of Lebanon, he may nevertheless develop every faculty in each particular individual, to the full extent of its own natural capacity.

This, then, for the sake of distinction, we may call the first element of education. But it is only in theory that we can separate the developing from the moulding, polishing, and refining process. While our latent powers, energies, and susceptibilities are being brought out from the deep recesses of our being, by each one's being exercised on its own appropriate objects, they all receive at the same time a particular cast; they are, as it were, moulded in the types of the educator : they are either brought into a state of more active and sympathetic harmony, or they are crushed beneath the fetters of the most inexorable and oppressive despotisms.

This is so very obvious that it scarcely needs any illustration. It is a matter of daily consciousness, with every youth, that the performance of any one action begets in his system an increased facility for its repetition. This again, strengthens the same tendency, and so on till a corresponding habit is formed. We all remember with

THE SOUT II E R \ I' L A \ T B K.

what fear and trembling we made our first

in the simple art of ohirography. 'I'"

loiiu tlic first letter of the alphabet required

at t lint time a verj considerable effort Bui

When, therefore, a mans whole constitu* tion has been developed, moulded, polished-aiul refined t-> the fullest extent <»t ii pabilities; when all his facilities have :t almost forma itself; that is, it forme made to harmonise with each other, Md with :', if we have been bo fortunate a> toI the laws and principles of the physical, informs habit in harmony with the naturalI tellectua), ami moral universe) when laws ami constitution of our chirographic mind has bees filled with knowledge, and But otherwise, the die is east. The his heart with wisdom; then, ami not till decree of habit is, Let the fully developed then, can it he said with propriety that he

hand that IS cramped DOW, he cramped for

This is a very simple and familiar illustration "1" the force ami power of habit over all our faculties of body, soul, and spirit. 80 pla.-tic indeed is the infant constitution, that it may be easily cast into almost any mould whatever. We do not, of course, by tlii.-, intend to indorse the absurd dogma that '• .Man is a mere creature of circumstances." Not at all. Such a hypothesis has no foundation whatever in fact. There identlj in the mind of every man a natural affinity for truth, just as there is in hi- body a natural tendency to assume the upright position. But we all know that the human*frame has in its infancy been distorted into a thousand hideous forms; and we are just as painfully conscious that the infant mind has been as often cast into false in> of politics, philosophy, morality, and religion. The present chart of the civilized World is a melancholy illustration of this

How exceedingly important, then, it is that during the process of education all the (acuities of every youth should be so exer-ci-cd on their corresponding and appropriate

has been perfectly educated. He may indeed have a Btrong and athletic physical constitution; he may have been well instructed

in many of the arts and sciences; but a perfectly rational and Complete education lie has not received, while any of the t! specilied are wanting.

You now comprehend what T mean, when I say that education, in it- proper and comprehensive Bense, is the basis of all that tends to elevate, enrich, adorn, and refine human nature. And not only so, but I am sure that you also now fully acquiesce with me in the justness of the sentiment. Indeed, it is only necessary to state the premises, and the truth of our proposition follows with all the clearness and force of a mathematical inference. For if matter is not capable of self-improvement, if it is mind that discovers and that applies all the elements of wealth, power, and whatever else pertains ts the individual, the social, and the general good of mankind, then it clearly follows that - in all this mu.-t ever be in the ratio of its own education. Of what 11-e, foi example, is the gold of California, the coal and iron of Kentucky, or the diamonds of Golconda, to the man who has neither

objee secure their full and complete the intelligence nor the wisdom that is ne-

Oessary to appropriate them J

VTe boast of our civil and pOStsical institutions ; and well we may. for they arc the very best under the broad hcaven>. Hut of what use would they lie, with all their v. and multiplied excellences, to the sa

tribes of the We.-t ! or even to our Mexican neighbors'' The fact is, that men always have had, and that they always mu.-t and will have, laws and institutions corresponding to their own mental ami moral development. Deprive the rising generation, therefore, of what is properly implied in th and mystery of education, and you at render worthless all that \

by the blood of our Revolutionary fat!

you virtually annihilate our whole scheme of civil govern. 1.ent; you destroy our system of

development, and BO as to form, at.the same time, habits in harmony with his own primi-1 oii.-titution, and with the relations that lu BUStainS to tin entire universe. This is a matter 014 which there ;.- no room for ex-ration. Here' it is that all the powers of language be© me utterly bankrupt, and

every attempt at hyperbole falls far short of expressing the Bimple, eternal realitic and thai are involved in the education of every boo and daughter of humanity. The third object I of education.

is the acquisition of useful knowledge. Knowledge is the food of the soul :

"Man lov(>< it dearly: and the beams of truth

welcome touch hi* ondentanding'i Than all the blandishment* of sound, bifl car. Than ail of taste, his tongue.*'

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

internal improvements, with fill comforts and conveniences of social life you seal the Bible ; shut up the fountains of human happiness; and convert this whole land, which is now beautiful as the rose of summer, and delightful as the fragrance of autumn, into one vast, dreary, and howling wilderness.

The greatest problem, then, that man was ever required to solve is the problem of his own education. To show how human nature may be best developed and moulded, and in all respects adapted to the ends and objects of its being and destiny, is to do more for the elevation and general good of mankind than did Columbus by the discovery of a continent. And the man who does most for the execution of the plan is, next to its projector, the greatest benefactor of his race.

I have not the vanity to suppose that I have made the great discovery. An experience of more than twenty years in this most difficult of all the arts, has convinced me that the problem is not yet fully solved. It remains for a second Peter, bearing the keys of the Kingdom, to reveal the mystery.

Some things, however, follow very clearly from the premises now before us. If education consists, as I have said, not merely in the acquisition of knowledge, but primarily and chiefly in the development and proper discipline of all our faculties, then it is evident, for example, that it must of necessity be a very long, laborious, and expensive process ; that there is in fact no royal road to it; but that it requires the combined influence of the nursery, the common-school, the academy, the college, the church, and the university to complete it. These, I repeat, are all essentials. Take away any one of them, and the chain of means is broken; our whole system of education is rendered inefficient; and the feeble, irregular pulsations of society will soon indicate that a fountain of life has been exhausted, or, at least, that the stream has been diverted trom its proper channel.

I am aware that all do not think so. I know there are some very honourable men, even in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, who seem to regard our colleges and universities as non-essentials, if not indeed as public nuisances. They refer us to a Franklin, a Washington, and a Clay, who, without a collegiate education, have gained for them-

the varied selves a name and a reputation as enduring as the annals of our Republic.

But these men forget that the sage of Boston, the hero of Mount Vernon, and the orator of Ashland were nature's favorite sons. They also forget that each of these illustrious patriots and statesmen deeply deplored his own want of a thorough course of collegiate instruction and discipline. They forget that Franklin, strongly recommended the study of the ancient classics^ especially to professional men ; that Washington was the founder of a college which still does

honor to his

college name and

memory; and that

Mr. Clay was always the sincere friend and eloquent advocate of a thorough and liberal system of public instruction.

But we need not the testimony and advocacy of even a Franklin, a Washington, or a Clay, in behalf of our colleges and our universities. To test their real value and importance in a scheme of education, we have only to look into their own intrinsic merits; we have only to inquire what has already been accomplished through their instrumentality, and how much of the world's comfort, happiness, and prospective civilization still depends on them.

For if education is a blessing to society, why should it not be made as general and as thorough as possible ? • Why stop with the instruction and discipline of the common-school and the academy, while there is so great a demand for the very best educated mind in all the relations of life ?—What would now be the condition of the world, had colleges and universities never been established as a means of education ? How ^many would now have the Bible faithfully translated into their own living vernacular ? Where would now be the fifty million copies of the Word of Life that have revealed to all nations the strait and narrow way that leads to honor, to glory, and to immortality ? What would we now know of those polished arts and inventions that

"have humanized mankind,

Softened the rude, and calmed the boisterous mind?"

Where would now be most of those standard works of literature and science which are at once the guide of the farmer, the mechanic, the pedagogue, the lawyer, the physician, and the statesman ?—Is it not perfectly obvious to every student of history, that nearly all the great improvements that have recently been made in the arts and in

Til E SOUTH KliX PLANT K K.

841

i ither dii or indirectly, to minds thai haw bean thoroughly trained and disciplined in the halls of fur colleges and nnivi And

iom to every man ft" re-ion, that apon such minds wo most el-i tor the preparation of rapply the wants of the nnrsery and the eoinrnonvschoo], to my oothii

lution of thoae higher and note com-plicated problems on the demonstration of which must e?< r depend the progn Christian civilization r—Take. maple,

popular text-booka thai are

in the common-schools of Kentucky.

Who are their authors and compilers? 1>

not almost every child in tliis Commonwealth familiar with the names of a Wobsl

Inch, an Olmsted, a Danes, a BdoGuffey,

and many others wlio, haying graduated with the highest collegiate honors, devoted much of their subsequent labors to the preparation of text-booki for the education of youth 7

rd this question, then, as we may, it is nt that the common-school is just S8 dependent on the university as the univcr-- on the common-schooL

Bui L liave no doire to introduce invidu-

DS. I do not wish to array

the hi inst the lower classes of our

literary institutions; nor to discuss their

comparative value as elementary parts of our

;n. A- well might WC array the

inel the heart, ami contrast their influence on the lire, the health, and the activity of the body. No, my fellow --citizens, let there be no en the nnr-

the coiim odemy, the

college, the church, and the univc:

•. 1 let them al-in the grant work of quali-

fying each sueeessi ition for more

enlarged spin; isefulness and happi-

ness on earth, as well as for the higher,

purer, and holier enjoyments of heaven.

now proposes a mixture which I coat

Of paint that will dry Bf fa.-t M whit' R

but leave ai durable and elastic a coat as that of oil. To prepare it. instead of more

1 oil, a- iirually. lie add- to the paint, ground in oil, a BOlutlOn of wax and | in spirit. of terpentine. The mixture thus

prepared has the appears mmon oil

and paint, and acts like Bttoh. On

raporatiou of turpentine, it leaves a

nrmciently hard to hear gentle rubbing

without coming off. Barreswil has reported

BOme experiments with this mixture, and finds, that although it becomes sufficiently

dry and hard after a time, it docti not equal

i oil coating in this' respect; but lie

has no ckmbt that for some purposes it will

and quite desirable, lie gives the

following formula for its preparation: LO

parts of pure yellow wax are dissolved in the same quantity of linseed oil, and 5 parts of rosin in 8 of spirits of turpentine,

at a slow heat, (in separate vessels.) until quite liquid, when they are taken from the tire and mixed, with constant stirring, until they thicken. In this condition the mixture serves for out-door and store work. If to be applied with ground paints, it is thinned with spirits of turpentine, as required.

Dingier** Polytechnic Journal.

A short time ago,

A Timely Warning.

we were sitting in our office, cogitating upon the depravity of mankind, when there came a loud and peculiar rapping at the door. Very politely we gave the invitation to 'come in,' the door d, and a gentleman in black entered, and handed US his card. The gentleman in black, the card informed us, was Mr. Satan |

'• Mow dy'e do now-a-days?" said he. "Just tolerable thank you," we eMV 1 and mist ncous?" he inked.

W -i K : F :. " Yl responded; "about to write

an article to delinquent patrons. To oil coats there is this objection, that .... . ... .„

they ve,,ni,-e . , |,,n,tiv>!vl.,,, time to r W H?! •"""' ^1°". "T

dry When oil ,'f tmpentin. ,, V.,, ..uhh,!, an excellent Fr er, h,

the pain and although, by the ad- We felt Tied

dition of some other ra . the drying opinion, and an roud

may be hantfinftd, it area then takes np toojof our ut cannot say the same of a

much time, and leads to the .substitution of major! More than

whitewash and other water. Mr. Alluyijhalf of them owe us."

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June i

" You astonish me," he exclaimed. "And," he continued, " can't you do anything with them f

u It seems not," we answered.

" Well," said Satan, " I am sorry I hav'nt made their acquaintance ere this. They'll just suit me! Make out the list: "I'll take them !" And with a polite bow, His Majesty of the " Iron-works" departed.

—DeKnquent reader, this may be fiction, but we fear it will prove to be a reality. Take warning thereof, and pay the printer.

Dress of the Japanese Women.

The dress of the Japanese women is simple, but graceful. The robe which crosses the breast, close up to the neck, or a little lower, according to the taste of wearer, reaches nearly to the ground, and has loose sleeves, leaving the waist free. This robe is confined round the body by a shawl, which is tied behind in a bow, the ends flowing.— Everything in Japan, even to dress, is regulated by law; and the sumptuary laws have been very strict until lately, when contact with Europeans appears to be bringing about a slight relaxation. The color worn by all classes of men in their usual dress is black, or dark blue, of varied patterns; but the women very properly are allowed, and of course avail themselves of the privilege, to wear brighter dresses. Yet their taste is so good that noisy colors are generally eschewed. Their robes are generally striped silks of gray, blue, or black, the shawl some beautiful bright color—crimson, for instance—and their fine jet-black hair is tastefully set off" by having crimson crape, of a very beautiful texture, thrown in among it. Of course we speak of the outdoor dress of the women—their full dress within doors is far more gay.— Amer. Ruralht.

clover. If the clover was not introduced by the agency of the ashes, we know not how it was introduced ; for four years none was seen there before, or in any other part? of the field, and this was the only clover seen in said field the past season. Both grass and clover was more vigorous, green and lively within the top-dressed square, and just as visible all around was the exhausted crop, which said as audibly as grass could say, in its declining state, that it had received no such assistance from this individual fertilizer*

" On the hill-side not at all renowed for its wealthy properties in soil, we planted the Davis Seedlings and Jenny Lind potatoes, in clear coal ashes, half a shovel full in a hill. Below, on equally as good ground, we planted the same kinds of potatoes in compost manure, and the coal ashes, single handed, turned out the largest, best, fairest, and most numerous quantity of potatoes. In reality, they were the best raised on the farm. Almost side by side, in compost manure, our potatoes were somewhat infected with rot; in the ashes they were all healthy and sound almost to a potato."

Coal Ashes as a Fertilizer.

Wm. Leonard of South G-roton, Mass., gives the following statement in the N. E. Farmer, of his experience with this material as a manure:

" On an old mowing field too much run down, we top-dressed a square piece of ground fairly with clear coal ashes, early in the spring. While the crop was growing, at all stages the difference was perceptible. When ready for the scythe, it was more in quantity; and as to quality, it produced about equal parts of herds grass and red

Renovating Orchards.

The Gardners' Monthly says: " Established orchards, on thin or impoverished soil may be renovated in the following manner : If a tree has been planted, say fifteen years, and attained the size we might expect in that time, get, say ten feet from the trunk, and dig a circle two feet deep all around it, and fill in with a good compost; the effect the next season will be quite marked. If the tree is older or younger, the distance to start with the circle from the trunk, will of course be proportionate. A top dressing will also be of great assistance, as well as a vigorous pruning out of all weak or stunted branches. Moss and old bark should also be scraped off, and if the trunk and main branches can be washed with a mixture of sulphur and soft soap, much advantage will follow.

" Old decayed bark on fruit trees is always a sign of a want of vigor. When a tree is growing thriftily it cracks this old bark so freely, as to make it easily fall off; but when the tree is weak and enfeebled, the bark often becomes indurated before it has got cracked, and in this state the tree becomes what gardners call l hide-bound/

THE S Or Til ERN PLANTER.

::»:;

and artificial means musl be aborded I

tin* tl'

In the cherry ami plum trees this i> easily done, by making longitudinal incisions, through the bark with a sharp knife. In tli.' peach ami apricot, also, 1 have employ-td this process iriih advantage, in spite of learned theories, which hare attempted to show up the absurdity of the practice."

The SedkelPear.

A writer in the Minnesota TVnus, speaking of the fruits, gives the following account o\' the Seekel Pear:

About the year 1761, a Frenchman was banished from his native country, and settled on the "neck" below Philadelphia. This point of land, then deemed valueless, is a low marsh, lying between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, immediately above their confluence. He built his u cabin" on the bank of the Delaware. Some years after taking possession, he observed a small -rowing op near his door. lie guarded it with scrupulous care. It proved to be a pear tree. When of sufficient age to bear fruit, he found, much to his suprise, that the pears were of a superior quality and hseiouSBesa. Caning some to market they attracted attention, and were speedily sold. i two score years he derived quite a revenue from that source, obtaining fabulous |

I have been told by persons fully acquainted with the facts, that in BOmS instances he

obtained thirty dollars a bushel. Prom the

fa-t th.it u Peter/ 1 'his name) was in the habit of hanging his "sickle," a useful har-Miiplenient, on a branch of said tier, it took the name of the •• >ickle" tree. Modern parlan lined said vulgarity into " Seckel." The art of grafting not being i tised then to any considerable extent, and " Peter" not wishing to impair his exclusive monopoly, permitted no one to obtain ikoots. When he died, in 182}, he bequeathed his possession to Stephen Girard. These Strang - had Inn been neighbors; but a portion of the time inveterate enemies. A reconciliation was brought about in the full" _ulir manner:

Girard had a trench cut near the boundary line of " 1 depth, for

the purpose of draining his land. When a u high tide" WSS in. this trench WSS nearly full of water. It so happened, one day,

that u Girard' 1 tumbled in said ditch,

WSS unable to extricate himself and called loudly for help.

His enemy 1\ t. r # heard the dolOTOH

and cautiously approached t" ascertain the cause. Girard \\;i almost Buflbcated by the

muddy water. It OCCUTred tu hu mind that it was a happy time to czort favordbh

l-<>,,. He accordingly proposed his own

somewhat BSlnsh terms. The well nigh drowned Stephen gladly acceded, and IVt- r

signed and sealed the provisioni thereof by

pulling his heretofore litter adversary out of the awful ditch. The peace bo unauspi-ciously inaugurated, was preserved inviolate, to the death of " Old Peter," and Stephen Girard became his sole heir.

After Stephen (lirard became the fortunate possessor of old Peter's heritage he permitted grafts to be taken from the old Seckel tree. By this means the variety was extended. From this one tree all the numerous Seckel pear trees, throughout the length and breadth of the Union at the present day, originated. Probably but few even of our intelligent fruit grower aware of this indisputable fact.

From the Amrrican Agricultvr

Horses Need Air and Light.

If anything can be done to add to the comfort and^ealth of the horse, no animal deserves more to have such an effort made. Our stables should be constructed with sp -cial reference to his comfort and health, ami to these all other ;i - must yield.

Our fathers' and grandfathers 1 bams of the wide, old-fashioned sort, with all manner of loopholes and air-holes: between the vertical boarding you could put your whole hand. They were originally tight, but when well seasoned, there was light

without windows, and the pore air circulated freely. Here was perfeol ventilation, and yet talk with those same men about the necessity of ventilating a stable, and they are ready to prove that tip kept

- all their lives, who did well, v. well, were always in line health and B] and that a ventilator is only a fancy idea— one of the new-fangled notions of the sent generation.

Our I in archi-

t.■ctural beauty, and in more permi form of construction ; they are plea-!: the eye, tight, proof against the wind

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

weather, and with solid walls of brick and stone—all of which the poor horse would gladly exchange for the pure, fresh air, of which he is now deprived.

In providing for the necessities of a horse, it would be well to ask ourselves, how we should like to be placed in the same situation. If it is healthy for a man to live day and night in a close, damp cellar or underground apartment, then it is healthy for a horse. If it is healthy for a man to live on the lower floor, in an unventilated apartment, with a manure and root cellar beneath him, whose pestiferous miasmas are penetrating every crack, mingling with the foul air he breathes, and rising still higher, permeating the food he consumes, then it is healthy for a horse. But why argue against barn cellars and ill-ventilated apartments?— the proof is abundant to all who want it, and he that cannot be convinced, must cease to wonder why his horses have diseases of the skin, the lungs, the eye, etc., or the glanders, the grease, the scratches, and other diseases that are directly traceable to the impure atmosphere in which he compels them to stand and breathe.

We would, therefore, in the construction of a stable, endeavor to provide against these evils. Build root cellars and other cellars entirely distinct from the barn—at least not directly under the horse stalls; let there be a free circulation of jir under the floor, and particularly so throughout the stable apartments. Ventilate the horse stable through the roof, and entirely independent of the other portions of the barn; let the connection between the horse stable and the hay mow be closed tight, except when hay is being delivered. Ventilate the carriage-house through the hay mow and roof.

Let your horses' heads be towards the side or end of the barn, and provide the head of each stall with a fair sized window: a horse wants, under all circumstances, whether tired, sick, or well, plenty of light. When there is light and plenty of fresh air, it is a common practice to turn the stalls the other way, and keep the horse somewhat in the dark. A good horseman knows that a horse enjoys light and air as much as he does himself, and he will thrive better in the coldest winter on the lee side of a hay stack, than he will in a badly ventilated barn, however comfortable it may be otherwise. It is stated that, if the gases exhaled from a horse's body were confined around

him by a gas-tight bag, they would cause his death in twenty-four hours, allowing him at the same time to have his head out and to breathe the pure air.

If you want satin-skinned horses, in fine health and spirits, ready at all times to work or to drive, a thorough system of ventilla-tion will be one very important step towards it-

A manure shed should be built outside, the stable, and sufficient only to afford protection from wind ancl rain, with a door connecting with the barn, and running to the floor of the stable, which should only be open when the stable is being cleaned. The exhalations of the manure heap are then not permitted to return to the stable— nor should any of the gases generated in the stable, be allowed to pass into the carriage room or hay mow.

As a matter of economy, it is just as cheap to build a stable calculated to give a horse the greatest amount of comfort, as to build it in any other way. Cellars are handy arrangements, and in the first cost it may be cheaper to put them under the barn, but a few years' experience will show the heaviest balance on the debit side.

Geo. E. Woodward. New York, April 1860.

Geological

INFUSORIAL DEPOSITS WITHIN THE CORPORATE LIMITS OP THE CITY OP RICHMOND.

At a recent meeting of the Boston Nat. Hist. Society, Prof. W. B. Rogers presented some masses of infusorial earth from the tertiary strata of Virginia and Maryland, and gave a description of the geological and other conditions in which this and the associated deposits exhibit themselves in and near Richmond, in the former of these States.

The tertiary formations which underlie the wide plain extending from the seaboard to the eastern margin of the granitic and gneissoid rocks, approach their termination along this meridian, in a series of strata, which are separated by only a short interval from the irregular granitic floor. A little further towards the west they reach their boundary, partly by a rapid thinning away, and in part by abutting, along the hill-sides, against the indented shore of these ancient rocks, here rising to the level of the general upland surface.

THE SOUTH BEN PLANTER

345

In the deep ravines leading into the valley of Shookoe Cre< ily on its western ude, we meet wiili several extensive exposures of the tertiary strata, one ol which

embraces near!) the whole thioknessof l>"th the Eoeineand Meooine formations, as locally developed in this neighborhood. In all these localities, the In/utorial dqpotit is found occupying a position immediately above the upper limit of the Booine stra-tmn, or separated from it by a thin layer of whitish or of more or loss ferruginous clay. Like the associated bode, it fluctuates in thickness, as traced from one neighboring exposure to another, varying from twenty to upwards of thirty feet at the different locali-u the north side of the valley, and presenting, when measured some years ago on the opposite or Church Hill side, a thickness of nearly fifty feet. In addtion to the mi-tpiO fossils, which, in a more or less perfect condition, make up so large *U portion of the mass, this deposit presents a few of shells of well-known Meocine forms, of which the Astarte undulata may be mentioned as of the most frequent occurrence. It also contains imperfectly preserved remains of a slender creeping plant, as well M fragments of woody stems and branches, flattened and converted into lignite, and in some cases filled in all directions with the perforations of a Teredo.

The material of the Infusorial stratum is

rally of a very fine tetxture, admitting

of being bruised between the fingers into

an almost impalpable powder, singularly

free from gritty particles.

Although usually of a light-gray, almost white color, it includes in some localities rs of an ashy tinge, which are, however, not inferior to the rest of the deposit in the abundance of their minute organic forms. It has throughout a tendency to lamination in a horizontal direction, and towards its upper limit is so distinct as to cause it readily to separate in their crumbly plates. But of all its mechanical peculiarities, its great lightness is the most characteristic. From experiments made many year-Prof, liogcrs found that, when pure and quite free from moisture, this material, in ordinary state of compactness, has a weight only one-third ;i is an equal

bulk of water. The minute silioions I for which this deposit has long been noted, belong, as is well known, almost entirely to the family of Diatomaeea?, and includes a

luge proporti inodiselBS

allied forms, where exquisitely thin plates,

in parallel positions in the mass, have probably contributed t<> the laminated etrue*

ferred to. The numl . Such frustnles ami other silicious skeletons in each cubic inch of the pure material can only be reckoned by millions, and a cubic foot would contain a multitude far < \<< sd-ing in number the entire human population of the -!ol»e. — Annual of Scith coin r»j for 1*00.

Action of the Soil on Vegetation. The late Professor Gregory left the following summary of recent views relative to the action of soil on vegetation :

1. Way, and after him, Liebig, has shown that every soil absorbs ammonia, and also potash, from solutions containing them or their salts, generally leaving the acid, which takes up lime, &c, from the soil in solution. The ammonia and potash, which are absorbed in very large proportion by arable soils, are rendered thereby quite insoluble.

2. Arable soils absorb also silicic acid in very considerable proportion, and it also becomes insoluble.

3. Arable soils also absorb the phosphoric acid of phosphate of lime, or of ammoniaoo-magnesian phosphate, apparently soluting the acid, which also becomes insoluble.

4. llcnce^the soluble ingredients of manures cannot be conveyed to the plants in the form of a solution percolating the soil, (suoh as liquid manure, or a solution formed by rain-water with the acid of carbonic acid,) since such a solution is deprived of

1 ingredients by filtering through a very moderate amount of soil.

5. Hence,also,as the food of plants must thus be fixed in the soil in an insoluble form, it is plain that it ean only enter the plant in virtue ol' SOBM power Of agency in the roots, which decomposes the insoluble compounds in the soil, and thus renders soluble the nccc»ary matter.

(I. 'fhe absorbent power of soils is partly chemical and partly mechanical, as ps the ooal.

7. The quantities of alkalies, of phosphates of ammonia, \c. capable of being supplied to plants by rain-water, after it has

been percolated through the .-oil, even sup-

_ the whole to be assimilated, dot amount to *nore than a mere fraction of what the plants contain.

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER

[June

8. The theory of the transference of ammonia, potash, silica, phosphates, &c, from the soil to the plant, is not yet understood; but the old theory, that the rain conveys the food to the plant directly, is certainly not the true one.— Ed in. New Phil. Journal.

Diseases of Plants.

Great obscurity attends this department of botany, and much remains to be done ere a system of vegetable nosology, (nosos disease G-r.) can be completed. It is, however, of great importance, whether we regard its bearing on the productions of the garden or the field. Some have divided the diseases of plants into general, or those affecting the whole plant and local, or those affecting a part only. A better arrangement seems to be founded on their apparent causes, and in this way have been divided by Lankester into four groups. 1. Diseases produced by changes in the external conditions of life; as by redundancy or deficiency of the ingredients of the soil, of light, heat, air, and moisture. 2. Diseases produced by poisonous agents, as by injurious gasses, or miasmata in the atmosphere, or poisonous matter in the soil. 3. Diseases arising from the growth of parasitic plants, as Fungi, Dodder, &c. 4. Diseases arising from mechanical injuries, as wounds and attacks of insects. ^

Plants are often rendered liable to the attacks of disease by the state of their growth. Thus cultivated plants, especially such as become succulent by the increase of cellular tissue, appear to be more predisposed to certain diseases than others. Concerning the first two causes of disease, very little is known. Absence of light causes blanching, which may be looked upon as a diseased state of the tissues. Excess of light may cause disease in plants, whose natural habitat is shady places. Excess of heat is sometimes the occasion of a barren or diseased state of some of the organs of the flowers, and frost acts prejudicially on the leaves, stem and flowers. By excess of moisfure, a dropsical state of the tissue is induced.

Concerning the influence of atmospheric changes on plants, very little has been determined. Many extensive epidemics seem to depend on this cause. Thus, the late potato disease must be traced, apparently, to some unknown miasma conveyed by the air, and operating over large tracts of country;

the disease probably affecting some plants more than others, according to their state of predisposition, and in its progress leading to disorganization of the textures, alteration in the contents of the cells and vessels, and the production of Fungi, &c. In the early stage of the disease, a brown granular matter was deposited in the interior of the cells, beginning with those near the surface. For some time the cell walls and starch-grains remained uninjured, but were ultimately attacked, the former losing their transparency, and the latter becoming agglomerated in masses. Subsequently to this, parasitic organisms of various kinds made their appearance, cavities were formed, and rapid decay took place. Among the vegetable parasities were detected species of Fusisporium, Oidium, Botrytis, Capillaria, Polyactis, &c. The prevalence of hot or cold weather, the amount of- light and moisture, changes in the atmosphere, and electrical conditions of the air and earth, are in all probability connected with epidemic diseases. By some, the late potato disease is attributed to supposed evaporation and transporation, depending on the hygrometric state of the atmosphere. The vessels and cells are said to become charged with fluid, stagnation of the circulation takes place, and thus disease and death are induced.

Gangrene in plants, is caused by the alterations in the contents of the cells, leading to death of a part. In succulent plants, as Cactuses, this disease is apt to occur. Sometimes excision of the diseased part checks the progress of the gangrene. Canker, which attacks apple and pear trees, is a kind of gangrene. Some of the most important diseases of corn and other agricultural crops, are owing to the production of Fungi. These have been divided into : 1. Those attacking the grain, as Uredo foetida or pepper-brand. 2. Those attacking the flower, as Uredo segetum or smut. 3. Those attacking the leaves and chaff, as Uredo Ru-bigo or rust. 4. Those attacking the straw, as.Puccinia graminis or corn mildew.

Smut-balls, pepper-brand or blight is a powdery matter, occupying the interior of the grain of wheat, &c. When examined under the microscope, it consists of minute balls, four millions of which may exist in a single grain, and each of these contains numerous excessively minute sporules. It is caused by the attack of the Uredo Caries, or foetida. In this disease the seed retains its

THE SOUTH KKN PLANT E R

347

form and appearanoe, :in<l the parasitic fun-jas haa a peculiarly foetid odour, hence eall-Icing rust.

it du»t-brand, hi i sooty powder, baring no odour, found in oats and barley, and produced by [Jredo segetum. The die-self conspicuously before the ripening of the crop. Bauer says that in 1-160,000th part of a square inch, he counted 19 sporea of the uredo.

/.'< '. la an orange powder, exuding from the inner chaff scales, and forming yellow or brown spots and blotched in various parte of corn plants. \t owes its presence to the attack of Uredo Rubigo. It is sometimes

d rust) and red Some consider Mildew (Uredo linea-

called red gum

rag.

as another state of the same disease. Those fungi which are developed in the interior of plants, and appear afterwards on the surface, are called entophytic (ento» within, and Phuton a plant Grf.) Their minute sporules are either directly applied to the plants entering their stomata, or they arc taken up from the soil. Many other Fungi grow parasitically on plants, and either give rise to disease, or modify it in a peculiar way. Among them may be mentioned species of Botrytis, Fusisporium, Depazia, Sclerotium, Fusariumand Krysiphe. Fusis-porium solani is considered by Martins as the of a certain disease in the potato. In the recent potato disease the Botrytis infes-tans, a species of Fusarium and other Fungi, committed great rava. ading their lium or spawn through the cells of the - and the tubers, and thus accelerating their destruction. Berkeley, Bforren, and Town ley consider the Bot.ytis as the cause of the disease. Various of Hotrytis also attack the Tomato, Bret, Turnip and Carrot. A species of Depazia sometimes causes disease in the knote of Wheat A die P Rye and other gi called ergot, owes its production to the presence of a oi Spernuedia. By the action of the fungus the ovary hecomes dis-eased and altered in its appearance, soaa t<> be dark-coloured, ml project from the chaff in the form of a spur. Hence the name of spurred rye. The nutrition.- part of the grain is destroyed, and it acquires certain qualities of an injurious nature. 8pontan grene is th living for some time on diseased rye. Erg<»t has '

in Lolium, perenne and arvense. Festucald ar to have been successful,

pratensis, Phleum, pratense, Pactylis glome- although reported favourably to the French

rata, A ntIn ..\a nt h inn odoratUWi, 1'halaris

arundinacea, Ac.

Fruits when over-ripe are liable I of Fungi, which cause rapid decay; wood also, especially Alburnum or sap-wood, is injured by the production of Fungi. Dry rot

is the result OT the attack of .Mciulius I mans, which in the progress of growth, destroys its texture, and makes it crumble to pieces. Some kinds of wood are much more liable to decay than others.

The diseases caused by attacks of Fungi may be propagated by direct contact, or by the diffusion of the minute spores through the atmosphere When we reflect on the smallnessof the spores, the millions produced by a single plant, and the facility with which they are wafted by the wind in the form of the most impalpable powder, we can easily understand that they may be uaiver-sally diffused and ready to be developed in any place where a nidus is afforded. Perhaps some of the diseases affecting man and animals may be traced to such a source. Que-kett found that he could propagate the ergot by mixing the sporules with water, and applying this to the roots.

In order to prevent these diseases, it has been proposed to steep the grains in various solutions previously to being sown. For this purpose, alkaline matters and sulphate of copper have been used. In all cases, the seed should be thoroughly cleansed. Smut and pepper-brand have been averted by means. Tn the case of the latter, diseased grain- are easily removed by being allowed to float in water, and the grains that

remain are washed with a solution of lime, common potash, or substances containing ammonia, which form a soapy matter with the oil in the fungus. A weak solution "i' Sulphate of copper acts by destroying the fungus. To prevent wood from dry rot. the process of kyanizing and burnetizing have been adopted : the former consists in making

a solution of oorrosive sublimate enter into the cells and v ess e l s ; the latter, in im] nating the wood with a solution of chloride of zinc. Creosote has aiso been HI

preserve wood. Boucherie p 'hat a

solution of pyrolignite of iron BhouW he introduced into ti«. before being felled, by making perforations at tie' the

trunk, and allowing the absorbing

lis and vessel- to i plan

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

Academy, and also recommended by Mr. Hyctt.

Other diseases in plants owe their origin to insects. Earcochles, purples, or peppercorn, is a disease affecting especially the grains of wheat. The infected grains become first of a dark green, and ultimately of a black colour. They become rounded like a small pepper-corn, but with one or more deep furrows on their surface. The glumes spread open, and the awns become twisted. The blighted grains are full of moist white cottony matter, which, when moistened and put under the miscroscope, is seen to consist of a multitude of minute individuals of the Vibrio triciti, or eel of the wheat. The animalcules deposits their eggs in the ovary, and their young are hatched in eight or ten days. Henslow calculates that 50,000 of the young might be packed in a moderately sized grain of wheat. The Vibrio retains its vitality long. It will remain in a dry state for six or seven years, and when moistened with water will revive. The Wheat-fly, or Cecidomyia tritici, is another destructive insect. It deposits it oggs by means of a very long retractile ovipositor, and is seen abundantly in warm evenings. T^he Cecidomyia destructor, or Hessian fly, also causes injury, and is said to be very destructive to wheat in America. These insects are destroyed in numbers by the Inchneuraons, which deposits their ova in their bodies. The Apple-tree mussel, or dry-scale Aspido-tus conchiformis, attacks the bark of Apples, Pears, Plums, Apricots, and Peaches. Many of the Coccus tribe are highly injurious to plants. One of this tribe, in 1843, destroyed the whole orange trees in the island of Fayal, one of the Azores. Many insects cause the rolling up of leaves. Tor-tricida viridana acts thus on the leaves of the Oak, and various species of Losotaenia do so with other trees. Sacchiphantes abi-etis is the aphis which causes the leaves of the Spruce-fir to be united together, so as to have the appearance of a cone.

Many insects, called miners, make their way into the interior of leaves, and hollow out tortuous galleries, sometimes causing an alteration in the colour of the leaves. Galls are caused by the attacks of species of Cy-nips, which are provided with ovipositors, by means of which they pierce the bark or leaves with the view of having a nidus for their ova. These galls arc very common on the Oak, and are called oak-apples. Some-

times they have one cavity, at other times they are divided into numerous chambers, each containing a grub, pupo, or perfect fly, according to the season. Galls are produced on the twigs, catkins and leaves of the Oak. The artichoke gall of the Oak depends on an irregular development of a bud, caused by the attack of insects, and consistsof a number of leafy imbricated scales resembling a young cone. On examining the galls of commerce, the produce of the Quercus in-fectoria, some are of a blue colour, containing the larva of the insect; others are pale, and are marked with a perforation by which the insect has escaped. Extensive ravages are committed in Elms and other trees-by the attacks of Scolyti. The presence of I much moisture, such as the rapid flow of sap, destroys them. Mr. Robert found that the flow of sap might be promoted by taking off the suberous layer of the bark, and he proposes this as a method of getting rid of the insects. Some galls are formed in the substance of leaves, and burst through the cuticle in the form of ovate bodies, with cre-nate borders and opercula, which are perforated in the centre. These galls resemble parasitic fungi. Oak-spangles are galls of this nature. They are attached by a central point to the under surface of the leaf, the inner side being smooth—the outer red, hairy, and fringed. Each contains a single insect, which retains its habitation till March, long after the leaves have fallen to the ground.

It is impossible in this place to enumerate all the insects which attack plants. Almost every species has certain insects peculiar to it, which feed on its leaves, juices, &c, and often cause great injury. Those which are common to hothouses and greenhouses, have called for the- special attention of horticulturists, and various means have been suggested for their removal or prevention. Among them may be enumerated, vapour of tobacco, and ammoniacal liquor of gasworks, to kill aphides; vapour of sulphur, for the red spider; vapour of turpentine, for the wasp; vapour of crushed laurel leaves, for the white-bug; coal-tar, for the wire-worm, &c.— Balfour's Botany.

Every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that kuock-eth, it shall be opened.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Til E BOUTH ERN PLANTER.

:;ii)

mer't Mag

Feeding Statistics.

Sik, — A-'hiilturists have beta called upon feS believe that great 11isn iViTU-s ha\

ceiit'.v been Bade in tin- soience and prac-

llng of animals. To use the of one of the most notorious of the Dew lights on this subject: —"The manufacture of an alimentary and eondinicntal compound tor the seasoning of the food of Btock, is one of the most important ad-3 in applied science which the pen of the agriculturist lias to record."

Being largely interested in the feeding of stock tor profit, and haying devoted a great deal of time and money in inquiries to obtain fixed data relating to the feeding of animals, the conclusion to which 1 have arrived is, that no proof has yet been given that these new foods have any practical value whatever in an economical point of view. Nor does a knowledge of the composition of these foods add anything to what Mas previously known on the subject of feeding.

To enable those who are practically en-1 in feeding stock to judge for them-- what profit they are likely to derive from the use of food costing from £40 to £50 per ton, I propose to call attention to a few facts connected with the snbjeot of feeding, which have been established by the rc-of my own experiments.

The first question to consider is, what is the probable amount of saleable incrc.i meat, that may be calculated upon as the produ* < of a given amount of ordinary good fattening food"' Thesecond is, what is the probable value of the manure/ In offering a very few brief observations on these two points, 1 shall no! attempt here to give any

mparative feeding pro-3 of different foods, but merely state the average quantity of ordinary mixed foods of rccogi 1 quality, required

to produce a given amount o\' gross in or of carcass weight. I shall, hoi estimates of the comparative Value of the

maining for manure, from a weight of a number of the most impo of our stock-foods.

If feeding experiments are comb, over a sufficiently long period of time—if they include a sufficiently large number of animals to neutralize the influence of individual peculiarities, and if they are in all

other respects performed with sufficient <

results will be obtained from which there

would be but little deviation whenever the experiment was repeated. Resell

Mined may be cxpn d in a lew fig

which, for all the practical purposes 01

era! estimates, may be safely taken to ivpiv-sent the average result of well man

itock-feeding.

My own experiments show th:it oxen and sheep, led liberally upon good fattening food composed of a moderate proportion of oakc

Or com, a little hay or straw chaff, together with roots or otjier succulent food, will yield over a considerable period of time, one part of increase in live weight, for from eight to ten parts of dry substance supplied in such mixed food. The quantity of dry substance of food required will Vary between limits according to the exact character of the food and other circumstances; but nine parts of dry substance of food, for one of increase in live weight, may be taken as a very fair average result for oxen and sheep with good food and good management. The dry substance of the fattening food of pigs contains much less indigestible woody fibre, and a larger proportion of assimilable constituents than that of oxen and sheep, and in their case one part of increase in live weight should be obtained from the consumption of four to five parts oi' dry sub-Stanoe in their fattening food. By the " dry si//,stover. " of food is meant that portion which would remain after driving off, by I suitable heat, all the water which in their natural state they contain. Per practical purposes it may be Besomed that oil C and foreign corn will, on the average, contain rather less than one-seventh, and homegrown corn, hay, fee., rather more than one-seventh of their weight of water, the remainder being the so-called u dry *>/!>.«/■< of the food. In the same sen.-e the commoner sorts of turnips will, on the avci contain more than nine-tenth-, and BW< mangolds, Ac., less than nine-tenths of their weight of water, the remainder being dry Bubstance. Potato - consist i F ah at one-fourth dry Substance and three-fourth-ter. From these data the fanner will be able to judge for himself whether or d proper increase in weight or live tor the food c on s um ed j and from compara-oan decide whether or not he gets an adeqeateh rats of in-

crease by mixing with his other food some

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

of the mixtures offered to him at £40 or £50 per ton. To aid him still further in his calculations on this point, it may be stated, that owing to the fact that during the fattening process the saleable carcass increases very much more rapidly than the internal and other offal parts, it may be reckoned that nearly 70 per cent, of the gross increase of oxen and sheep fattening over a considerable period of time will be saleable carcass. Calculations of a similar kind, in regard to pigs, show, that of their increase in weight whilst fattening, little pigs less. than 90 per cent, may be reckoned as saleable carcass.

So much for the means of estimating the value of the increase in live weight of fattening food stock. I now turn to the question of the probable average value of the manure obtained from the consumption of descriptions of food.

The valuation of the manure resulting from the consumption of different foods is founded upon estimates of their composition, and upon a knowledge, experimentally acquired, of the probable average amount of those constituents of the food valuable for manure, which will be obtained in the solid and liquid excrements of the animals. In the estimates of the value of the manure from different foods, given in the following table, I have based my calculations upon what I consider the average composition of several articles, when of good quality.

TABLE,

Showing the estimated value of the Manure obtained from the consumption of 1 ton of different articles of Food ; each supposed to be of good quality of its kind.

Estimated money value Description of Food. of the Manure from 1

ton of each Food,

1. Decorticated Cotton-seed Cake, £6 10 0

2. Rape Cake, 4 18 0

3. Linseed Cake, . 112 0

4. Malt-dust, 4 5 0

5. Lentils, 3 17 0

6. Linseed, 3 13 0

7. Tares, 3 13 6

8. Beans, 3 13 6

9. Peas, 3 2 6

10. Locust Beans, 1 2 6(?)

11. Oatfl 1 14 6

12. Wheat 1 13 0

13. Indian Corn, 1 11 6

14. Malt, 1 11 6

15. Barley, 1 9 6

16. Clover Hay, 2 5 0

17. Meadow Hay, 1 10 0

18. Oat Straw, £0 13 6

19. Wheat Straw, q 12 6

20. Barley Straw, 0 10 6

21. Potatoes, 0 7 0

22. Mangolds, 0 5 0

23. Swedish Turnips, 0 4 3

24. Common Turnips, 0 4 0

25. Carrots. 0 4 0-

It will be seen how enormously the value I of the manure from one ton of different foods i varies according to the composition of the' food itself. Now, from the actual analyses that have been made of several of the expensive " condimental" compound foods, as! well as from a knowledge of the chief articles used in their manufacture, it may be safely asserted that a ton of few, if any of them, would yield a manure of anything like the value of either of the first nine j articles in the above list. In the case of the majority of these new foods, the value of the manure from a ton of the food would certainly be much less than that from a ton of any one of those nine articles.

To conclude: No experimental evidence upon indubitably trustworthy authority has yet been brought forward to prove that the use of the foods, costing from £40 to £50 per ton, will so improve the rate of increase of fattening stock upon a given weight of dry substance of food, as to compensate for the heavy cost of these condimental additions. Any intelligent farmer can, however, by the aid of the information which has been given above, satisfy himself on the point, if he will rigidly rely upon scales and weights, instead of upon merely casual observation. And with regard to the value of the manure, the figures in the above table, and the observations we have made upon them, will show him how much of his £40 or £50 he may expect to recover in the form of manure.

J. B. Lawes.

Rothamsted, Jan. \%th.

A gentleman once introduced his son to Rowland Hill, by letter, as a youth of great promise, and likely to do honor to the University of which he was a member; " but he is shy," added the father, " and I fear buries his talents in a napkin." A short time afterwards the parent, anxious for his opinion, inquired what he thought of his son ? "I have shaken the napkin," said Rowland, " at all the corners, and there is nothing in it."

_

Til K SOUTH KKN PLANTER.

Did'nt Think. Walking in the country one mornio curly Bpring-time near an orchard gate, verj 1 b large man banging to the top-roost limbs of s small apple tree with one band, while with the other be wa tinu off twigs and branches. We bade him morning. Be answered cheerfully; and we ventured to hint that the tree he hail climbed, bore a heavy burden. u \ ] rid, the trees all mail pruning, hut I can ">nly attend to a tew of them. The others would'nt bear my weight."

k> Why don't yon fasten your saw to a pole,

stand mi the (ground, and prune vSiich liinhs

as most require it?" we asked.

"Well, I declare," he answered, that would do—1 did'nt think of it."

There was a valuable lesson in that oon-fession — "did'nt think of it." It explained why in many respects, the fanner was not prosperous He was a hard worker, lie endeavored to he economical; hut he was

always behind. His orchard did'nt yield abundantly—his cattle had diseases—his grain was often poor —and he could only sell at a low price, became h> <ti<ln't think lie had never learned fore-thought—he did not understand how judicious head-work jists hand work.

Did'nt think —that is the sorry explanation of much error—of many a crime—of many a failure —of many a hardship, and many an abuse.

Little boys and girls, bear in mind tlmt

whatever advantages you may have at home,

ohool, in business, or in society, unless

you think, your lives will he sad and your

efforts mo al. Learn, then, while

you are young, the art of thinking. To be

id, you must understand the

art of reflection, a- well as appreciate the

pleasure of memory.— Rural Register.

* ♦•»»

New Agricultural Product. —Mr.

Louis Baker, of this city, has succeeded in raising the kk Japan pea," a desideratum which has not before been obtained. The seed which he planted were brought to the Unitfjd States by Commodore Porter, but

have heretofore always failed to germinate. The pea which has just been raised has a

pod of all varieties of length up to thirty-one inches, the whole of which is palatable and rich. It is very prolific, and when introduced will form a valuable agricultural product.— Wash, States.

Parasite Plants. Parasite plants, a- the name im] /•a, beside, and $itos, Food—I

whioh derive their food from other plant — sending prolongations of their tissue into other plants,and preying upon them. Many fungi, for instance, develop their s (seeds), and spawn (mycelium) in the interior of living ot dead plants, and thus • rapid decay. The disease of com (edible grains in general, and wheal in particular))

called smut and rust, and the dry rot in WOod, are due to the attacks of these parasitic fungi. The minute dust, or powder produced by these plana, consists of millions of germs, Which are easily carried about 10

the atmosphere, ready to nx themselvi

any plants where they can find a nidus. There are also flowering plants which -row parasitically, and they may be divided into two classes:—1. Those which are of a pale or brownish color, and have scales in place of leaves; and 2. Those which are of a green color, and have haves. The former, including Orobanche, or broom-rapes, Lath-raea, or tooth-wort, Cusouta, or dodder, derive their nourishment entirely from the plant to which they are united, and stain to have little power of elaborating a peculiai sap; while the latter, as Loranthus, Yiscum or Misletoe, Myzodendron^Thesium, Euphrasia, Milampyrum, and Buchnera, expose the sap to the action of air and light in their

i, and thus allow certain ehangi take place in it. The Misletoe, from its power of elaboration, is able to grow on different Species of plants, as on the apple, beech, oak, &o. Some ot' these par

•tached to the roots of plants by means of suckers, as in the ease of Broom-i Tooth-wort and Thesium; while oth< Dodder, Misletoe, &C., \'*<d upon the stems. The plants to which the parasite- a' tached give origin frequently to their specific

names. The species of Cuseuta,or holder,

inhabit all the temperate and warm pail the globe, and are peculiarly destruc; .

el.ver and lint flax | They are pr» from seed which at fust germinates in the soil like other plants; but after the has coiled closely round another plan:. becomes attached to it by met then all connection with the -oil c the Dodder continues its life as a pai

A remarkable tribe of parasites, called |J ;i f.

I, has been found in Sumatra ami Java.

They are leafless, and produce brown-colored

'

352

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

flowers, which are sometimes three feet in diameter. On account of their only producing a flower and root, they are denominated Ritzanths, (ritata, a root, and anthos, a flower—Gr.)— Balfour's Botany.

On the Essential Manuring Constituents of Certain Crops.

At the Aberdeen Meeting of the British Association, Professor Voelcker detailed the results of certain field experiments, having special reference to the turnip crop, which had extended over a period of four years. These are the most important points cited:

1. That fertilizers destitute of phosphoric acid, do not increase the yield of this crop.

2. That phosphate of lime applied to the soil, in the shape of soluble phosphate (su-per-phophate), increases this crop in an especial manner, and that the practical value of artificial manures for root crops chiefly depends on the relative amount of available phosphates which they contain. Thus it was shown that three cwt. of super-phosphate per acre produced as large an increase of turnips as fifteen tons of farm-yard manure.

3. That ammoniacal salts and nitrogenized constituents, yielding ammonia on decomposition, have no beneficial effect upon turnips, but rather the reverse. 4. That ammoniacal salts, applied alone, do not promote, as maintained erroneously, the luxuriant development of leaves; but that they produce this effect to a certain extent when salts of ammonia are applied to the land in conjunction with the mineral constituents found in the ashes of turnips.

The report likewise states that numerous analyses of turnips have been made, from which it appears that the more nutritious and best ripened roots invariably contain less nitrogen than half-ripened roots, or turnips of low feeding qualities. In the latter the proportion of nitrogen was found, in several instances, two to two and a half times as high as roots distinguished for their good feeding qualities. Similar experiments upon wheat showed that nitrogenized ammoniacal matters, which proved inefficacious in relation to turnips, increase the yield in corn (grain) and straw very materially, and that the increase of wheat was largest when the ammoniacal constituents were associated with mineral matters.— Annual af Scientific Discovery, 1860.

< • • » »

Open rebuke is better than secret love.

Farmers—Take a Hint.

It is very surprising to see how slow men are to take a hint. The frost destroys about half the bloom of the fruit trees; everbody prognosticates the loss of fruit; instead of that, the half that remains is larger, fairer^ and higher flavored than usual, and the trees, instead of being exhausted, are ready for another crop the next year. Why don't the owner take the hint and thin out his fruit every bearing year ? But no: the next season sees his orchard overloaded, fruit small, and not well formed; yet he always boasts of that first-mentioned crop without profiting by the lesson it teaches.

We heard a man saying, " the best crop of celery I ever saw, was raised by old

John , on a spot of ground where the

wash from the barn-yard ran into it after a hard shower." Did he take the hint, and convey such liquid manure into trenches to his garden? Not all; he bragged about that wonderful crop of celery, but would not take the hint.

We knew a case where a farmer subsoiled a field, and raised crops in consequence, which were the admiration of the neighborhood ; and for years the field showed the advantage of deep handling. But we could not learn that a single farmer in the neighborhood took the hint. The man, who acted thus wisely, sold his farm, and his successor pursued the old system of surface scratching. * A staunch farmer complained to us of his soil as too loose and light; we mentioned ashes as worth trying. " Well, now, you mention it," said he, n I believe it will do good. I bought a part of my farm'from a man who was a wonderful fellow to save up ashes, and around his cabin it lay in heaps. I took away the house and ordered the ashes to be scattered, and to this day I notice that when the plow runs along through that spot, the ground turns up moist and close-grained."

It is strange that he never took the hint! There are thousands of bushels of ashes lying not far from his farm, about an old soap and candle factory, with which he might have dressed his whole farm.

A farmer gets a splendid crop of corn or grain from off a grass or clover lay.

Does he take the hint ? Does he adopt the system which shall allow him every year just such a sward to put his grain on ? No; he hates book farming and scientific farm-

Til K SOUTH K R N I' LA N T K R.

:;:,:;

iug, ami this " potion of rotation," and on the old waj, A fen 3 our fanmers got roundly

in debt, ami they have worried and sweated under it, till sonic of them have grown r, and added not a few wrinkles to their faces. Do they take the hint '." Arc they not pitching into debt again?— Fruit, F/uircis, a in/ Firm in;/.

A Good Way to Grow Potatoes.

I plant medium-sized sets in good dry loam, about the first of April, and do not cover them more than two inches. Afl as the tops come through the ground, I com-menee moulding, and never allow the tops their free liberty to the light of night till the month pf May is about to say farewell, by which time my crops are nearly or entirely moulded up, and no more labor is required from me on their account, till 1 find it necessary to pick off the blossom. So now the green tops are generally appearing over the face of the ground, let me recommend to hand-scarify or fork the ground lightly between the rows; and as this is proceeded with, cover those young tops which show themselves completely, though slightly, over head with mould, and by constantly attending to this earthing over head and ears, the mere chance of frost pinching them is done away with ; and another consideration, by frequently attending to this, 90 of immense advantage to the future of the plants in regard to the openness of soil and the circulation of air Jo their roots; the earthing over process thus be-conn greet completed when in the

generality of cases we see it about to be begun.

Besides, the early earthing-over plan, as I will call ir. offen another great advantage, by securing a vigorous growth in the tubers. It is easily to be supposed th -hould

JSarily be formed before their leav should those of a hyacinth, in order to insure a first-rate flow < ps are allowed to take an undue precocity they are drawing too hard upon the supplies, and nearly ruining the pros a crop in order to satisfy an extravagant ambiti u.— Now, by repeatedly earthing them over head in their infancy, this growing parade is checked and smothered, and the formation of young tubers consequently accelerated, and by the latter end of May, when the 23

tops are allowed their full freedom, the tn-

lio begin to insist on their share of nourishment from t b o >m-

biued, which cheek all undue extravag in the branch, and the result beeomes

ciprocal action for both? Is it not SO 7 At

an3 r:lt(> > I M:m ' n, ' v ''" had grander since 1 adopted this method.

In finishing off the earthing over, m

them to present broad shoulders, slightly inclining towards the stem.-'; thus insuring moisture, and the largest hod? of Boil

sible for the tubers to form and -row in within reach of atmospherical warmth aud

its influence, for bj the delectable pointed

right angular moulding* generally seen, this is rendered impossible. And SO we will now suppose ourselves well on in June, with young potatoes every day for dinner, which, between ourselves, is bv no means an unpleasant idea. — Correspondent American Ayr (tuft nr I *t.

Underdrainage.

WHY IT MAKES SOIL MOISTER IN DRY WEATHER.

Every one can understand why the drainage of land should leave it dryer after rains. It is because the excess of water is carried off through the tiles. Fanners experienced in the cultivation of drained lands, who have drained extensively and tried the fects, agree, nem. eon. t that it makes the soil moistcr in times of drouth. But why this is so, they cannot exactly see. If we*

can make the following undent 1, they

will see that, by the laws of nature, an increase of moisture in dry times, i- ju

much a natural consequence of drainage, se>

a diminution of water in wet tin

All soils have, in different degrees, a relative power over water; that is, they hold a certain portion of water, after all ha- drained out that will. Sands hold the least A moderately compact loam holds twice as much 'id ; a stiff clay three times as much, and some peaty soils four tinSj -When you supply a soil with water beyond ipaeity to hold it, the exo ss flows off", Iif unobstructed, and leaves the soil with lonly so much i y for

—in other w<)i . and

|no more. Thus, if you pack your each with a hole in its bottom, o>>^ with a common loam, one with clay, and one with peat, each of these soils having, been tho-

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

roughly dried, and then by slow degrees pour a pail full of water on each, you will find that nearly all the water will pass through the sand; less through the loam, still less through the clay, and very little or none through the peat.

In a heavy rain any soil is more than saturated—has in it for a time more water than it can hold—but the water soon drains off, in case no obstruction is presented, and leaves the soil with its appropriate quantity of water; that is, so much as it can hold and yet be in a sound condition, such as to feel solid under your feet, and not to poach when the cattle walk over it.

But while the soil remains full of water, as while a heavy rain is falling, the air is pressed out, and then, as fast as the excess of water settles away into the earth, the air follows, and occupies its place. The soil examined in this state would appear to be made up of particles, each particle moistened with water, and air circulating through the intervening spaces. The difference between this and a soil that is water soaked, is that the spaces in one case are completely filled with air, in the other with water.

It is a well established fact, that air airways contains more or less watery vapor, varying from half to one and a half per cent, and averaging about one per cent. The more air is heated, the more water it can hold in solution; and if it is suddenly cooled, it gives up a portion of its water to any object it comes in contact with. For illustra-lion, you set a tumbler of cold water upon your dinner table, on a dry summer's day. You may wipe the outside as dry as you please, but soon it will be wet. The children say the tumbler sweats. But the truth is, the heated air coming in at the door and windows, as it passes by the tumbler is ■ cooled; its capacity for water is lessened; and it deposits a portion of its water on the • cool surface of the tumbler.

Just so, when a soil is open and porous, with a free circulation of air among its particles, the air aoming into the soil in a heated state, is cooled by contact with the particles, and deposits on their surface a portion of its watery vapor, precisely as on the tumbler, in the other case. It will not do to say that these particles of water, thus deposited, are too small to amount to anything. * On the millions of particles in a single spadeful of soil, they amount to a great deal, equal, throughout the body of

the soil; in the course of a day, to a pretty good shower; and this is the reason why farmers who underdrain, and plow deep, and stir the soil often, seldom or never suffer from drouth.— Lid. Farmer.

From the Charlottesville Review. Tobacco Fertilizers.

Holkham, April 19, 1860.—You were so polite as to solicit me to say something occasionally through your paper on the subject of agriculture, and I embrace this opportunity of urging upon the growers of tobacco the propriety, I might say the absolute necessity, of selecting good soil only, and cultivating at least one-third less ; concentrating their manures, home-made and bought, on a smaller surface, and making larger, heavier and richer tobacco, which invariably commands a remunerative price, because so few planters have the sagacity to adopt the only sure mode of raising this description of tobacco.

At this time the price of ordinary tobacco is so low, that no one can afford to grow it, while large, rich, heavy tobacco pays well. Some planters will doubtless say their soil is too poor to produce tobacco of this description, not so, however, except in but few instances. The writer of this has generally as good tobacco as his neighbors, whose lands are held from fifteen to twenty-five dollars per acre higher—overcoming the great inferiority of soil which this fact will indicate, by a greater concentration of manures and giving to its cultivation and general management, that attention, which could not be given to a 1 trge and full crop.

It may be said that if every one adopts this plan, the best tobacco will likewise come down to a ruinously low price. I grant it; but this can never be the case, as the farmers (generally with but few exceptions) seem to prefer groping in Egyptian darkness, and rarely abandon the error of their wtiys. Having received a great number of inquiries by letter and otherwise, as to the fertilizers I shall use on my soil for tobacco, to save much trouble I will here state, that I shall apply one half-barrel to the acre, of plaster, containing 10 per cent, potash, which I procure of Samuel Sands, Esq,, of Baltimore, editor of the Rural Register; and in addition to this, from one hundred and fifty or two hundred and fifty pounds of a preparation made by R. H. Sta-

Til E SOUTH Ki: \ PL A XTER

bier, Esq , for

andrin, containing two. thirds Peruvian (lu-ibo, and Soluble Phosphate, made

l>y treating Sombrero Guano, with Bulphric

1 ased tliis 1 istj on my wheat last

19 did several of my neighbors, ami

from present appearances, T consider ir an

dingly valuable fertiliser. All of the

simj-le phosphates, unless treated with sulphuric acid, are too insoluble, I fear, to produce any perceptible effect on the immediate crop, and especially these grown entirely (hiring the Summer and Pall.

Experiments have been repeatedly made in England, (where there is so much more j humidity than here.) establishing the fact that one bushel of soluble phosphate will produce as great an effect on the crop as five in the crude insoluble state.

Many short-sighted farmers will doubt-m using the above fer-' tilizer to the extent which I have recommended ; but who should hesitate one moment, when an expenditure of from eight to ten dollars per acre, will ensure a crop, in ordinary bi >rth from $125 to

|150 per acre, and afterwards a good crop! of wheat and stand of grass.

1 shall experiment, also, with some Elide or California (Juano, applying at the same time the preparation of Plaster and Potash, which I consider highly important, whatever else may be preferred.

Tn writing the above, no one, I trust, will be induced to suspect even, that I wish to disparage other preparations, of which there are now such a Dumber, nearly all of which seem to have produced good effects . and with some p< rsons. As an humble miner, in my plain way I have 1 to respond to these who have been so kind as to deem my opinion and practice of some value.

Such as they are, very hurriedly written, I seuu them for publication, trusting that , at least, who have induced me to prepare them, will properly appreciate my motives.

If acceptable to your readers, I may perhaps say mere to t! tonally, en subjects interesting to Agriculturists In haste most truly yours,

JOHN It. WOODS.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

Cooking by the Sun's Rays.

BY 1 NET,

Were it not for the erial si

surrounds our earth, all parts of its .«ur-faee would probably I

night, by radiation into space, as tie polar

regions are during six months 1

the sun. Tie- mode in which the a:

phcrc retains the heat and inoi tem-

perature of the earth's surface may be illustrated by an experiment originally made by Suassure. This physicist lined a cm wooden box with blackened cork, and, after placing within it a thermometer, closely covered it with a top of two panes of glass, separated from each other by a thin Btl of air. When this box was exposed to the perpendicular rays of the sun, the thermometer indicated a temperature within the box above that of boiling water. The same experiment was repeated at the Cape of ('< •< i 1 Hope, by Sir John Herschel, with a similar result, which was rendered, however, more impressive by employing the heat thus accumulated in cooking the viands of H •tive dinner. The explanation of the result thus produced is not difficult, when we understand that a body heated to different degrees of intensity gives off rays of different quality. Thus, if an iron ball be suspended in free space, and heated to the temperature of boiling water, it emits rays of dark heat, of little penetrating power, which are entirely intercepted by glass. As the body is heated to a higher degree, the penetrating power of the rays increase, and finally, when the temperature of the ball reaches that of a glowing white heat, it emits rays which readily penetrate glass and other transparent to noes. The heat which comes from the sun, consists principally of rays of high intensity and great penetrating power. They readily pass through glass, are absorbed by the

blackened surface of the cork, andas this

stance is a bad conductor of heat its te; ture is seen elevated, and it in turn rad heat, but the rays which it gives off are of a different character from these which it rc-I, They are voluminous, and have little penetrating power; they cannot i through the glass, and are retained within the box, and thus give rise to the accumulation of the heat. The limit of the increase of temperature will be attained when the radiation from the cork is of such an intensity that it can pass through the glass, and

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

the cooling from this source becomes just equal to the heating from the sun. The atmosphere which surrounds the earth produces a similar effect. It transmits the rays from the sun and heats the earth beneath, which in its turn emits rays that do not readily penetrate the, air, but give rise to an accumulation of heat at the surface. The resistance of the transmission of heat of low intensity depends upon the quantity of vapor contained in the atmosphere, and perhaps also on the density of the air. The radiation of the earth, therefore, differs very much on different nights and in different localities. In very dry places, as for example, in the African deserts and our own western plains, the heat of the day is excessive, and the night commensurably cool. Colonel Emory states, in his Report of the Mexican Boundary Survey, that, in some cases, on the arid plains, there was a difference of 60° between the temperature of the day and that of the night. Indeed, the air is so permeable to heat, even of low intensities, in this region, that a very remarkable difference was observed on some occasions when the camp ground was chosen in a. gorge between two steep hills. The inter-radiation between the hills prevented in a measure the usual diminution of temperature, and the thermometer in such a situation stood several degrees higher than on the open plain.— ScieMtific American.

The Tendency of Inventions to Mitigate Huinan Toil.

The application of machinery is the extension of man's mechanical powers. With the levers and pullies of his own mechanical frame, he can raise a given weight, or transport a burden through a given space. But how limited the extent of his unaided efforts ? How soon must all his native energies be exhausted ? But seizing nature's elements, and applying nature's mechanical laws, he extends his powers to inanimate objects, so that instead of his mind directing the machinery of his own hands, or his own mechanical system only, it becomes the directing agency of a vast and complicated machinery, effecting results beyond the capability of thousands of his species. Without artificial machinery, the efforts of the human mind must be limited by the efforts of the human hands; but with the full development of mechanical inventions, the

mind will be enabled to establish a most ' comprehensive supremacy over the world of matter. How feeble the power of the human hand, compared with the stroke of the steam-engine, and yet these hands can direct all its movements. How diminutive is the helmsman when contrasted with the mighty ship, which he directs in her course through the waste of waters; and yet it is but the extension of his moral and physical power over the varied parts and movements of this vast machine. How apparently insignificant are the operations in a spinning mill, compared with the magnitude of the machinery by which they are surrounded; and yet all these wheels, and shafts, and spindles, are .but an extension of their own mechanical system, presided over, and directed by mental being. The desired results are increased ten thousand-fold, and yet, the amount of manual and" mental exhaustion is proportionally diminished. It is thus, that by mechanical inventions, man establishes his supremacy over elements of nature, in order to employ them in his service, and render them subservient to his interests.

How different is the amount of physical force required in a modern quarry, with powder for rending the hardest rocks, with levers and cranes for lifting the huge masses —with railway tracks to remove them to a distance, and machinery to prepare and place on the building—compared with ancient times, when hundreds of slaves were yoked to a block of stone, to remove it from the quarry to the destined building ! Similar changes have occurred in every other department of operative production. The plow rapidly effects what a whole community cculd not accomplish with the spade. The sickle, the scythe, and the modern reaper cut down the yellow grain with a velocity which the hands of the whole population, unfurnished with an implement, could never have attained. Thus labor is set free from the agricultural world, to meet the demands of the commercial, without a diminution of the food raised, or the capability of preserving it. Nay, so divinely regulated have been the agricultural and manufacturing implements, that modern draining, sub-soil plowing, reaping, threshing, grinding and baking machinery, stand contemporary with the steamship, the spinning mill, the power loom and the railway. And thus, there is division of labor upon an extensive scale, each department is found keeping pace with

Til E SOUTH Ki: N PLA NT E II.

cquently, the increa

the nam an family, ot their ad van cement in

one or other department of civilised comfort

thf amount of requisite pro-

; yielded by the nil. Nor even where

sion is inere wed a thousand-fold,

i of toil press heavier upon

the peasant or 111.* agriculturist. Pro

and invention are constantly balancing between the amount of produee required, and the amounl of toil; so that the latter is gradually diminishing in each department, while the former is steadily taring throughout the wh Thus, it i^ manifest, that in every department of labor, machinery is taking the place ami performing tin 1 office of human hands. The products of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms are assuming the place, in the region of toil and accomplishing the purpose of men under a former system. In the spinning mill, the power-loom, and the railway, the steam-engine is the substitute for animal strength. A pint of water and a pound of coal originate a power and Mi-tain a motion which would soon wear out the human system of the strongest operative.

The metal fingers moved with exham

_;. and devouring Bpeed, set at defiance all attempts at manual competition. A steam engine ot one hundred horn power has computed at the strength of eight hundred and eighty men." This is sufficient to produce and sustain the motion of fifty thousand spin i producing a separate thread of a mile and a quarter in length in twelve hours. Thus every twelve hour- of

fifty thousand will produee sixty-

two thousand five hundred miles of thread, a leng two-and-a-half times

round the globe. In ordinary practice then fifty thousand spindles require seven hundred and fifty to superintend their operations; but, by the aid of this machinery, propelled by the power of steam, they

ean C00V4 it as mueh raw cotton into yarn as

would have required two hundred thousand us by the former method of spinning.

Thus, by the aid of inventions, which is

simply the employment ich water,

and OOal, and iron, tin : one indi-

vidual is made equal to the combined efforts

of two hundred and twi nty->ix. This h<»l<l> true in a greater or • of every other

department of machinery where steam is cm-

• Instincts of Industry.

1 ; the r.i ductiou i

oomplished by the of human

How remarkably is this illustrated by the railway, which i<. indeed, the valor ot' human strength! \\ same distance is traversed by walking even by the best Diodes of locomotion viously introduced, bow - on would tb man system weardowu under the opera! But the entire sum of physical Btn would he utterly inadequate to meet modern

demands; henee, all that has been obb

beyond the powers of walking, must he put to the account of human inventions. Nor is the amount alone affected ; this entire iu-crean of locomotive power ha- been obtained while there has hceu a eorrespondin

crease of bodily fatigue.

The reduction of human labor might be illustrated by the history of each individual mechanic, as well as hy the productive power of all combined. The human mind is gradually planning and constructing some implement of industry which may i° the human hands. Thus the mind is gaining supremacy over matter—the mental is directing and controlling the material. The higher ami nobler faculties of man are expanding, while the physical powers are relieved and his toil diminished. But this — will not he completed by merely transferring the burden of toil from the physical to the mental. The ultimate tendency i- t.i relieve the whole man from toil as a burden, and to make neoeSBBJy labor a plea-ant ( I 1 n the rapid progn

the present age may be seen signs of a] -preaching deliverance from the evils

dent to manual labor. Already are the heavier kinds of work transferred to untiling

machinery, n that by mere* direction, one man can accomplish what previously hun-conld not have effected.

oiun no*.

" Why has not the introduction of modern inventions already produced the n

El it not a fact that tfa Hon of our cities is as busily OCCU] lore the introduetion *A' spinning millfl railways?" It is fully admitted that the

fruits of modern inventions are but part

developed, and the community a- a wl

is more bosily occupit d than even under the

former system. But thi

and >'>cial reasons sufficient to ac

the fact. The moral state of tin

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

not yet such as to admit of that full measure of relaxation which machinery is calculated to afford, while there are social revolutions sufficient to account for the seeming paradox, that while machinery's doing the work of man, humanity itself should be more occupied. It must be observed that in connection with this rapidly increasing power of production at home, new nations have been springing up abroad, at once absorbing the operative classes and increasing the demand, in accordance with the powers of production; while national wealth and comfort have been increased to all Besides, the covetous spirit of man may and will pervert the choicest blessings. The race for riches has kept pace with the newly developed means of acquisition, and consequently, that release from grinding toil, which ought legitimately to be awarded to the operative, has been either wasted in fruitless competition or turned into channels of personal aggrandisement. But though, in the present progressive state of transition, in the social history of the world, and in the earlier efforts of mechanical invention, the demand may seem to keep ahead of the increasing speed of production ; and though this at first sight would seem to indicate that no release from toil can be expected by the introduction of mechanical inventions, yet, viewing the subject as a whole, it. is evident, that when machinery has attained its climax, and when the various departments have been balanced and adjusted, and when the entire system of manufacture and commerce shall be directed and regulated by sound moral principles, the necessary tendency of machinery must be to emancipate the operative classes, and thus to equalize the privileges of those who employ, and those who labor. Even under all the disadvantages resulting from a transition state, and in spite of the covetousness of the age, the hours of toil are already abridged, and the physical system so far relieved as to encourage mental culture. The ultimate result of this must be the revival of social and domestic affections, which are ready to expire under the exhaustion of physical slavery. Enlightened legislation has judiciously fixed the age as well as the time, beneath and beyond which grasping employers shall not be permitted to protract the hours of toil in public factories. This legal movement has been succeeded by another, still more praiseworthy, as it presents a nobler aspect of mutual interest between em-

ployers and employed, in which merchants and shopmen have voluntarily agreed to abridge the hours of daily attendance, besides, in many notable cases, adding the Saturday half-holiday as preparatory to the Sabbath. Let the covetous learn that " a man's, life consisteth not in the things that he possessed •" and let the avaricious be taught the benevolence of the gospel; then shall the Saviour's definition of a day.be taken as a standard, and all classes shall enjoy the domestic bliss of the evening. " Are there not twelve hours in the day ?" was the interrogation of Him who set the sun in the firmament. Will any man be prepared to say, that this is not a sufficient time to devote to the pursuits and objects of this present world ? The aid of machinery renders the abridgment of the period of labor practicable. It is avarice alone that gives rise to a spurious competition, and encroaches upon the privileges of domestic life. It is evident that even now the long-hour system, opposed as it is to the claims of nature and grace, is doomed. That God who made the sun to rule the day, also framed the human constitution in accordance with this physical arrangement, and that which the introduction of sin has deranged in the past history of man, the grace of the gospel will rectify in the coming Millennium. * * *

THE TENDENCY OF INVENTIONS TO ALLEVIATE HUMAN MISERY.

It has been previously established that the whole tendency of machinery, legitimately applied, is to reduce the quantity, and improve the character of manual labor. The transferrence of the heavier portions of human toil to mechanical inventions, is the direct method of cutting off a vast amount of physical suffering. Indeed, under proper regulation of machinery it is possible to remove all that constitutes actual suffering in legitimate labor. But it is very evident that the mitigation of mental and physical exhaustion must be accompanied by a reduction of disease. The substitution of activity in superintending machinery for the patient endurance of grinding toil, must necessarily tend to the health of the mental and physical system.

Mechanical inventions also tend to promote health, and to alleviate human misery, by removing these physical causes which produce disease, especially in towns and cities. The improvements of modern times

THE SOUTH K R X PL A NT BR.

in arc . in the formation of streets,

in the introduction cf water, the subterranean Bewerago, the burning of smoke, the disinfection of putrid substances, the light-

rontilation and construction of public buildings ami private habitations, mu>t all tend to improve health, prevent disease,and mitigate Buffering. The progress of medi-

lience, aided by chemical investigations, i increasing success to thepharma-

iu of Nature, while, already, the im-peovemenl of Burgical instruments, in conjunction with the uae ef chloroform, and other narcotic agents, has mitigated the excruciating pain formerly endured under surgical operations. Besides, the discovery of this agent, lias marked a new epoch in the healing arts, by giving a wider range to human ingenuity, by Bparing the feelings of the operator, as well as the pangs of the Bubject Is it not a remarkable fact that this secret should be disclosed in Britain at' the very time when it may be most extensively employed in dressing the wounds, and amputating the shattered limbs of her soldiers, | upon a distant field of battle? Are these if coming deliverance from a vast amount of physical evil? What the achiev-j menta of the future may be, none can predict, but enough has already been realized

to warrant the h

)pe

that a&enta Buch as

these may be rendered available in mitigating all those forms of suffering which are incident to the nature of man in a fallen state. The mind must be skeptical indeed, th;it re-

cogniies not the band of God in the discov-l

nd improvement- of medical aoieni readily as that hand is seen in the forms of disease. I>>> a reo now, behold in

the triumphs of the present age tin- harbin-

if that blessed future, which the poet anticipated under the sanction of inspiration. and 01 which he say- :—

•-<■ was norfo; the VokM of war for:

The sword, n share, a pruning hook, the .-pear.

jjrew and multiplied upon the earth, And tilled the city ami tli ath

waiting for the lapse of tardy nge That mocked birn Long."— Pol;

n$.

Blessed are they whi< I cuted for

right. . for their- is the King-

dom of J leaven

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they

shall see ' I

Agricultural Letter. W : rj be! - on? readers tin fellowii port* to "The Nottoway Club," which, have been kindly furnished us tor publication in tin- J'lnn-ter, by tin- permission of it- members^

WV an- under obligations to tliein ft)T many similar favors, hitherto bestowed: ami we hope that we shall he their debtOI for a great many more, in future.

Would that Virginia could justly boast of many Slich " Clubs" in her borders ; they would afford strong protection to her agricultural inter-ests, ami prove a mighty weapon with which to combat, and beat down ignorance, prejudice sloth.

For Sott. Planter, from the Nottotvuy Club.

Brickland, Va., May 9th, 1800. To Richard Irky, Esq.

I>"ir Sir, —1 am in receipt of yours inviting me to a meeting of the Nottoway Agricultural Club, on to-morrow, at the Nottoway Foundry, to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

It would be very agreeable to me to accept your kind invitation, if it did not interfere with jfcior engagements.

Agricultural reunions have gotten to be an institution at the South, and their beneficial influence is obvious throughout the whole planting regions They extend social relations, engender rivalry and imitation — diffuse information more impressive and practical when aided by our valuable periodicals, and the Nottoway Club is doing its work like men and pah:

With a diversified soil of "Chinquapin" . where every ounce of manure y<»u the .American weed, with vaih J Chocolate loam and numerous streams bor-dered with flat, rich bottoms, it may well be questioned whether it would be prudent to exchange fbl the blue limestone lands of our mountain valleys, or the deep, wide alluvial soils of the " great Father of Wal Yonr lots with with- hanging tobaCOO, and gracefullv waiving wheat tields, and lawn.-well endued with grass ami clover, att the attention and favorable mention of the

traveller, and attest the benign influence of

your society. Yonr county is entitled ; banner in the C D for the

quantity of tobaOCO to the hand, and 1 . . initiation and application of mani; The cultivator of JOUT chiiejurpin r have I buying out the river bel-

aud mountain valleys.

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

My earliest lessons in planting were given to me by the Fitzgeralds and Irbys—The first said, " to make good crops, or succeed in planting, give your fields a daily gaze"— accompanying the injunction, by applying a finger to the under lid of each eye, exposing a pair of as large, intelligent black eyes as any man ever had. Who could forget such natural teaching?

The second, to my question, " Do tell me the secret of your success in the management of Overseers ?" Replied, " do not excite their prejudices; teach them their character is their capital, and that your interest and theirs is identical. Why sir, my overseer has been living with me five years and has never owned a saddle; he thinks the grass would get an advantage of him if he went to the Courthouse." In those days, Overseers boasted of their right to visit monthly courts, and that practice sometimes gained them a blood shotten eye, and always grassy crops for their employer.

This gentleman was justly regarded as a worthy model of the Virginia planter, and by the zealous exercise of his sound, good sense, in every department, and by the " accumulation and application of manures," he produced a high degree of improvement, and demonstrated that the system may be carried too far and imperil health. Superabundance of vegetable matter, breeds animalcules, fungi and malarious fevers. His experiment proved there should be limits to the vegetable application to soils; and, doubtless, he was a martyr to the successful and profitable application of his farming theories.

The mission of your society is based on just ami benevolent principles, to improve the condition of a copartnership of labor; the stock contributed on the part of the white man is mind, and that of the black man, muscle.

The fulness of the corn-crib and smokehouse, is common property, and should crevasse or drought come, the black man knows he will be amply fed, clothed and cared for, unless " Masser" has lost his credit. Then he is ready and willing to form a new copartnership.

The white partner is sovereign to the extent of his domain, and is responsible for his administration to good neighbourship and the laws of society; his interest, feelings and humanity alike, inducing him to give ample protection to his negroes, abundant ; whole-

some food, good clothing, with the best nursing and medical skill when sick. The black man is best off, when restricted to his own log cabin literature;—the moral teachings of example; his religious exercises;—the excitement of the dance. He is naturally religious, and his implicit faith makes him the better Christian and slave. The white man has more individuality and care; the black man more faith and contentment.

It is a system that is progressive ; it must and will last forever. Tobacco and cotton have become to be necessaries, and the world will have them. Tobacco has lived and gotten into general use, in despite of governmental prohibitions and taxations, and all the fulminations of fanatical clergymen and doctors of medicine. The wants of man require cotton and will have it. The white man never has made cotton, nor will he ever do it. As the tropics are as a wall of fire to the whale, so is the climate of the cotton growing belt to the laboring white man.

African labor must and will continue to furnish tobacco, cotton, sugar and coffee,— utilitarian progress will crush out abolitionism. It is the foundation of a new sociology, and will preserve the individuality of man, our federative system and self-government.

Agriculture is the great desideratum of Americans, Professors, Lawyers, Doctors, Merchants and the Sailor regard their vocations as the pedestal, Pisgah's Top, the attainment of which is to enable them to retire to the comforts and mellow influence of a good plantation—Washington, Jefferson and a host of great men, hastened from the highest pinnacle of fame, to wear away their three score years and ten on their own farms. If the " old man eloquent" had have owned a. plantation in Nottoway, well stocked with African laborers, as Nottoway plantations generally are, he would not have died " in harness."

With thanks to yourself and the committee, and the hope that your society may continue to achieve good results, I am, very truly,

Sterling Neblett.

For So. Planter, from the Nottoway Club.

Experiments with Peruvian and Sombrero Guanos.

In the spring of 1859, I determined to make a comparison of the results of the application of Peruvian and Sombrero Guano,

T II E SO I'T II E R X V LA NT E R

and of the tw<» iii combination ; t'> that end

my feobaOCO l<»t was as nearly equally manur-o.l, with borne made manures broadcast, as I could aceompuah it, nearly the whole of the ndreaeed with a mixture of equal quantity s of Peruvian and Sombrero < I nano, at the rate of 260 pounds bo tin" acre in the drill ; through the middle of the lot, I then drilled ten rows with 260 pound pet of Peruvian Guano unmixed, and immediately along side, ten lows with 200

pounds per acre <>f" Sombrero Guano. In

the fall, -ay 1st of October. I cut one hundred plants of tobacco from eaoh expori-ment, taking the plants as they stood with-

lection, they were placed on marked sticks and lay in the same room; in the month of January, 1860, theywere stripped and Weighed tlie same day ; the one hundred plants manured with the mixed Peruvian and Sombrero weighed •! i pounds, or at the

!' 1360 pounds per acrej those man-

Tired with Peruvian Guano, weighed i-pounds, or at the rate of 1680 pounds per acre : the one hundred plants manured with Sombr I do, weighed ! ;| pounds, or at

the rate of 1600 pounds per acre. To the eye, the tobacco manured with the mixed

Suano Beamed to lie largest, hut. to my sux-

lied least] that manured with the

Peruvian Guano, when Stripped, was mani-richest and h( Respectfully submitted,

Wm. 11. Blakb.

April 12th, V

For the Soul/urn Planter, from Xottaicay Cluli.

Reciprocal Relations of Farmers and Millers. Mr. I'im.-ii.knt:

In discbarge of my annual obligation, 1 propose to discuss a subject of much more importance than is usually attached to it. 1 refer to the reciprocal relations of fanners and millers. Owning three mills myself. I can take the liberty of • opin-

ion that there IS no4 a more fruitful eourcc of imposition and injusti such operations are nsuelly conducted. I

claim no exemption for my own, hut if any imposition be practised, I desire to furnish the means crtion. Injustice is fre-

quently visited on the miller by the usual practice oi^ selecting a mill-hot without any regard to his honesty or carefulness. T have knotvn turns to leave the mill with the I

of the miller, for favorable turn'out, bu

depleted by depredation before reaching the owmr. complaint Such occur-

the necessity and pro] of some uniform standard of management, precluding such results. The plan I recommend is, tor the termer first u< Becure what is termed a sealed half bushel measure, with iron strij the top, to pi i

abrasions from the friction of measurement,

or variation from the convexity or concavity of the striker; that the owner should for

one time at least, attend to the measurement

of the corn, (even 1. that he accom-

pany it to the mill, and see in person to the tolling and grinding—that he shall measure the product at the hopper, and again at

home, the quantity being slightly h ssened by the agitation and compression of the removal ; that he shall then measure out for each person on his farm, the requisite quantity

tor a day or week, and ascertain thus exactly how much corn will make the requisite quantity. This being once done, will answer for life, and tend to preserve the satis-' factory, mutual intercourse of the parties, as well as check any proclivity to dishonesty on the pari of the miller or mill-boy. For the benefit of those who may not Bod it suitable or convenient to superintend the process, 1 will present some resultsis a measure superceding such necessity. A bushel measure is generally considered to contain huts ^ :l \. Ions, hut it will he found generally to contain near 1" gallons, and properly ground will yield 13 gallons of meal at the hopp

1 it asnot an unreasonable calculation on the part of the farmer, that after paying i fqr toll, he should reeeivi hack in hulk J ac-

ii in meal. If properly ground the

hulk is not reduced by the | f sift-

ing, as it lie- lighter after that operation.

The calculation should always be made by an even measure, as the heaping may be irregular. Perhaps the safer plan would be

to weieji all, though there is a n<

duction in weight from evaporation,

Where there is regularity in tlje quantity aunt and -round, and at regular intervals, the miller can tell when i' ed, whether there IS any material diminution,

and can refuse to i g the

.ml the p' ; to mill can do the

same, and when it is understood that such particularity is mutually observed, no difficulty is likely to U . This regularity abo ensures a cot

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

supply, otherwise some suffering will result from sudden exhaustion. I am persuaded that a regard for these regulations is essential to a proper and friendly understanding and intercourse with all concerned, and that no person can properly and safely complain without them I am farther persuaded that no person in the usual negligent arrangements of the country, loses less than the amount of his annual taxes, or will save less by a proper observance of these necessary precautions. This discussion might be advantageously extended as. to the proper system of management in providing and distributing supplies for servants either by the day or week, and on which I would be gratified by the views of others, preparatory to a decision, and most judicious selection. J% 10th, 1860. E. G. Booth.

Report on Guanos.

Last year I tuied several different kinds of guano. I laid off rows of corn, and ap-'plied on alternate rows Peruvian and American in equal quantities, as nearly as practicable, at about the rate of 200 lbs. to the acre. The early part of the season being wet and favorable to the growth of corn, the crop took • a rapid growth, the Peruvian bringing it forward much the most rapidly, and the American showing quite plainly. The latter part of the season proving dry, the Peruvian gave back, and at the maturing of the corn, there was no perceptible difference between that and the American —neither of them, owing to the peculiar season, proving of any material benefit. There have been seasons in my experience, where Peruvian will do more harm than good, and this was one of that sort.

I also tried Mexican and Nevassa guanos, and Superphosphates of Lime, Rhodes', and one made in Philadelphia, Twell's. I could observe no material difference between them, all of these being used in combination with Peruvian guano on Tobacco. The season being very wet, I am disposed to think none of them had a fair chance to show their merits, and I am doubtful whether I was repaid for their cost.

Respectfully submitted, by

Mnj, 10th. Richard Irby.

If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Manufacture of Wafers.

The mode of making the best quality of wafers, as practiced by the English manufacturers, is as follows:—Fine wheat flour is taken, and mixed with white of eggs and isinglass into a very smooth paste; this is spread over tin plates evenly, and dried in an oven, several of the plates being placed one over the other to communicate a glossy surface to the wafers. When dry, the sheets of paste thus formed, are laid up in a pile, about an inch or more in depth, and cut into circular pieces by a hollow punch, which, allows the wafers to pass up its tubular cavity and discharge themselves sideways as the cutting proceeds, which is effected with great rapidity. The variety of colors that are ordinarily communicated to wafers, is given to them in the paste, by the usual pigments in the dry powder state, or previously dissolved in the water employed. The French isinglass wafers, made in France, are formed of isinglass dissolved in water to the proper consistence, which is poured out upon plates of glass provided with borders, and laid upon a level table; to prevent the blue from sticking to the plates, a little ox-gall, or other, suitable material, is robbed over them. Previous to the isinglass becoming quite dry, they are cut through along the borders. The leaves are then removed and cut with hollow punches, as in the case of other wafers. The various colors are also communicated to them by pigments while in the fluid state.— Scientific Artisan.

Cutting Glass without a Diamond.

A subscriber to the Agriculturist, A Mead, N. Y., writes that glass may be readily cut with a file, by keeping it wet with spirits of turpentine, which gives it a "bite." We have seen the following process recommended for dividing circular vessels as bottles, jars, etc. Fill the vessel with any kind of oil up to the point where the division is to be made. Heat an iron rod to redness, and slowly introduce it into the top of the oil; the glass will crack in an exact circle around the surface of the liquid. The heat imparted to the oil, causes the inner side of the jar to expand rapidly, and thus makes a break.

[Remarks. —The last recommendation is of doubtful utility. We have often cut off glass bottles readily by first filing a small

THE SOUTH K UN PLANTER

:;.,:;

irting point, and then applying a hot iron [ it slowly

bark ill*- fine whei

; the cra< k. By k. eping the iron the break, yon c in / ad it in any lesired, bo a- to eat off the bottle

When at work in

itory, we often made extempore tumblers For holding various substances, by thus cutting off the unp< r part of 1" of which the necks baa been broken. We have also made gas transferrers, etc., by cutting off the bottom of cracked bottles,

and main body whole, with the bottom open. After i little prac-

ny one can, with a hot iron, lead a crack in a bottle, tumbler, or along Qui

in any desired direction. The sharp edges can be smoothed or rounded with a fine tile, or by grinding. We have often out a pane of glass nearly true across, by filing a Blight notch in the edge, laying on cold iron, or even a strip of wood for a rule, and then MBsiog a hot iron back and forward, along the place where the fracture is desired.— Ed.] —-1/-" rican Agru ulturalist.

Hake the Best of Everything.

Can't Afford It.

Those who are counting the cost of dissolving the Union-, may close their calcula-what after the fashion of the old a in the subjoined anecdote :— M A : having occasion to visit an old couple in Durham, of extremely penurious habits, found them holding counsel together upon a matter which apparently 1 heavily

I minds of both, and thinkii

the probable dissolution of

the i trously ill,

them all the consolation

in hi cut abort by being

inform. .1 that I y the Bub-

they were one which

afrlicr. d them still more deeply; viz: the

mere!; and, t tonish-

. tin y continued th tly calcula-

tion- until every item in the catalogue, from eofhn t" night cap. had I

with much grumbling at the rapacity of 'the undertakers,' when the bright thought radd< nlj struck th 1, and he

claimed— -Well, .) . y..u may m>t

die alter all, ye ken.' 'Band, and 1 hope t,' replied his hel] i low,

feeble voice,'fori am quite sore that we canna afford i;

An important lesson t<> I I the

earlier it is learned in life the 1 ■■ make t/i< I verytAing. As th

. " It is no use to cry milk." Misfortunes that have already happened cannot be prevented; therefore, the man, instead of wasting the time in Ls, will Bet himself to work I

his losses. The mistakes and follies of the may teach OS to be more cautions for the future; but they should m\ allowed to paralyse our i "r surren-

der us to weak repiningS. A retired merchant relates that, at one period early in his career, he had got almost to tie

bankruptcy; "but." says he, "I ploughed

a deep keel, and kept my own count and by these means he BOOU reCOV< Had this man given way to despair, had he

sat down to bewail his apparently impending ruin, he might now have been old and poor, instead of having retired in a splendid position. He adds, that a characteristic

v,a-, that through life, in all circumstances,

he did the best that he could, whatever that was, consuming no time in useless regrets over misspent time or bad speculations.

The rule holds good, not only in mercantile affairs, but in the whole conduct of life. The man who is bom to indifferent circumstances will never rise, if, abandoning himself to envy of those more blessed by fortune, he goes about sullenly and complaining, instead of endeavouring to ui the best of his ability what few advanl

a. The patriot deploring the dec-line

of public and private morals, \s;il neVCI

succeed in reforming the commonwealth, if tickles for visionary or impracticable measn more modi

..tie- that are really attainable. The irieiid will BOOB have no intimates at all, if, mak-

D > allowances f^r the infij human nature, he judges too harshly of the Conduct of his ac.|Uaintanees. Me

matrimonial quarrel might be av< idea, if

husband and wife, instead of taking offense bother on alight prov<

dwell rather on the good trait the

displays. The t a few

now living in retirement, who m

still gratified their ambition by serving

public, if they had under-; 1 the

fatigues and disappointments of public

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

Report of P. T. Tyson, Esq., Maryland State Agricultural Chemist, on Bones.

Bones were firsUused as a manure in Germany, and afterwards, in the year 1771, were introduced into England. Little use however, was made of them prior to the beginning of the present century, since which period their use has rapidly extended throughout Great Britain.

The high prices of bones in England have drawn, aud continue to draw, them from almost every part of the world j even the bones of the soldiers who fell at Waterloo, and at the siege of Sevastopol, have contributed to enrich the soil of Great Britaiu.

The first bones used for manure iu this country, it is believed, were crushed at the establishment of Mr. Win. Trego, and sold to farmers in Harford and Montgomery counties in the year 1836.

They were sold for some time at 33 to 35 cents per bushel, or about half their present value. The prices in England are about 40 pr. ct. higher than they have yet reached in this country.

When I first applied bones in Harford county, in 1839, the operation was watched with interest by my neighbors, some of whom thought they would prove an extravagant and useless application; and there were those who appeared to have formed theories in reference to manures which ruled bones out of the list, because, as they believed, they were of " too dry a nature."

Their good effect, however, soon became manifest, and the result was to produce* heavy crops upon soils which had been long lying idle, after having been rendered sterile by improvident planting and farming of former times.

The use of bones soon extended, and my old neighbors are now perfectly willing to pay double the prices which were then thought extravagant..

Whilst in Harford during May last, I had an opportunity to notice the durable effect of bones which I applied to land from seventeen to twenty years since. All the fields to which they were applied continue* to produce heavy crops under the judicious management of the present owner, Mr. Hanway.

There was one fiel 1 of 10 acres upon which I applied 300 bushels of crushed bones. He enlarged it, and applied 15 bushels to the acre over the whole, but finding the 10 acres which I had manured as

above so much more productive than the rest, he applied to the latter (which I had not taken in) 18 or 20 bushels more per acre. He expected, by this means, to equalize the fertility of the whole enlarged field. He informs me, however, that his expectation in this regard was not realized, and he was sat-" isfied would not be until he shall apply another manuring of bones, as he intends to do, to the part upon which I had applied none.

•Loudon, Joinston and other writers, inform us that the effect of heavy dressings with bones are clearly shown in England to endure for forty or fifty years.

We shall be prepared to discuss the cause of all this after having described the chemical and physical constitution of bones.

A bone may be described in general terms as a spongy structure, made up in part of a frame-work of phosphate and carbonate of lime, whose interstices are filled with^ani-mal matter analagous to gelatine, and a small portion of fat or oil. A piece of bone long exposed to dilute muriatic acid will be deprived of its phosphoric acid and other mineral matters, and leave the cartilage or gelatine in nearly original form. If we expose a bone in an open fire until it shall burn white, its form will not be changed, but the animal matter will have been burnt away. If, however, the bone be exposed to heat in a close vessel, all its animal matter, except a portion of the carbon, will be driven off. The remaining carbon, with the earthy matters, constitute what is called animal charcoal, ivory black, or bone black.

We have on record numerous results of analysis of bones of different animals, but the following, which gives the composition of the bones of the ox, will answer our present purpose :-

Animal matters analogous to gelatin and albumeD, called azotic compounds, .... 33.30 Phosphate of lime, . . . 55.85 " " magnesia . . 2.05 Carbonate of lime, . . 3.85 Fluate of lime, . . . 2.50 Soda, common salt, &c, . . 2.45

• The above are the results obtained from a fresh clean peace of bone. Those collected by the bone '.crushers, cannot but have more or less of dirt adhering to them, and after being crushed, they will absorb a portion of water. This adds to

Til E so IT II i:i;.\ PLANTER.

tlx-ir weight probably about ."> perct, and,

portion of the

it will l>< that IQO lbs. of ground or crushed ontain an av< tmount of gelatine end other i pounds, .... 32 lbs

i* lime. Of this last th< re isphosphorio acid ...

ad limn, .^ 281

Tl. ion of ammonia produced by

m position of the animal matters may be estimated to average about 7 parts of the above 82,

We may, therefore, assume the value of loo lbs. of crushed bones to consist »n :

Ammonia, 7 lbs.

Phosphoric acid, 245 ) r o u Lime, . . 28.5 j '

I" if lime, . . 3 "

Fluate of lime, . 2

Phosphate of ia . . 2 "

Bods, muriate of tfoda, Ac., . 2\ u

In addition to the above, there arc carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, produced by the decomposition of the animal matt

It has been stated to me that crushed bones had, in Borne instances, been adulterated with ' reign matters, but I have met with no certain evidence of the fact; on the contrary, an examination of a number of > mipli-s which farmers had received nYoan Beresal different sources, showed them to be practicable with an article of that kind.

There are difficulties in the way of adulterating ground bones, occasioned by the fact: d of foreign matters

can be readily with a good pocket

lens which ev r ought to |

They arc not injured if boiled m long enou | the grease tin

tain, bur if the boiling be continued until more or less of the gelatine be removed, their valu it is from

the gelatine that the annum, laced.

Pure fresh bonne should lose from per cent, of tlnir weight, when burned in nn open vessel until they become white.— Uut if they have been robbed of p*d their gelatine they will lose less weight by burning.

Prof. Johnston, in his Agricultural Chemistry, refers to a discussion which sprang up

which of ostitnenU attribute

their value. Spren ted thai il

to their phosphates onlyj and this opinion

! by Liebig. <):' all the credit to the smrooni from

their animal matter. It wonld, in my oph> ion, fa if time to gi?e to

nteatanrs. Both aides certainly knew that all soils which are deficient in phosphoric acid, arc rendered more fertile when it is supplied;

and it would be certainly difficult to find a

long in cultivation whose productive-

wqnld not be increased by the use of

ammonia, pro?] r more of the <

•itl elements be not deficient or altogether

absent.

It seems strange that men ■ question could have been raised by distinguished men in

the present day, when there is certainly no room to doubt for one moment the efficacy of both phosphoric acid and ammonia as constituents of manure.

Much difference of opinion has prevailed from the first use of bones, as to the best mode of applying them. In. Germany it was for a long time the practice to burn them. "Whether this was owing to ignorance or the want of bone crushing mills, we do not know. I believe, however, that this practice has ceased, and that crushed bones are now used in both Germany and in France.

ckhardt, in his Agricultural Chemistry, laments that, owing to the want of ap-ition of bones in Germany, they are largely exported to England for manure*.

In England they are crashed or ground fine, when they are to be drilled in with turnip seed ; but a rati; r kind is

ist. In this, country they are also crushed, but the kind suited for drilling in is not tditional c There are three modes of applying CTU bones to the soil :

1. In the dr. I purchase 1.

2. 'n sulphuric acid.

8. C in incipient decay, or, more

correctly, putrefaction of their animal matter.

If the object is the ] ment of the soil, without anting so much about a maximum growth of the first crop, the crushed bones may be applied in the

THE

SOUTHERN

PLANTER.

[June

dry state, without any previous preparation. This was the least expensive mode. (1.)

When they are applied for the benefit of only one or two crops, without looking to the permanent improvement of the soil, the phosphate of lime may be made soluble by means of sulphuric acid or oil of vitrol. (2.)

When the object is to have the bones in such a state as to produce an immediate effect upon the first crop, and which will be continued during many years, it is better to treat them as will be hereafter shown, so as to bring their animal matter into an incipient state of putrefaction, improperly called by some fermentation. (3.)

I have had some experience in the application of dry bones to land, and have also been able to collect the opinions of many who have extensively applied them in this, manner. It has the advantage of saving time and labor, but requires a larger dose to produce a given effect upon the first crop. Its effects, however, are more lasting, and will continue during a long series of years. This method may answer when the ground is intended to be kept permanently in grass. Gypsum should always be mixed with them in the proportion of I bushel to 10 of bones.

The system of dissolving in acid, I have been always satisfied, is less advantageous than the putrefactive process, and therefore I have never used the dissolved bones.

In a paper read before the meeting of the British Association, at Dublin, in 1857, Sir W". Murray claims that he was the originator of the practice of using dissolved bones more than forty years ago. Long experience, however, in the use of them has induced him to change his opinion upon that subject, and he now objects to the use of dissolved bones. He states that he finds " the soluble phosphates too soluble; that they melt too fast, and are carried into the subsoil or pass off into streams during rains."

He adds that tl his present views result from many years experience," and " ttfat they have been confirmed by a long series of experiments, carried on for him by the governor as well as the gardener of the Richmond (England) Lunatic Asylum."

The prompt action of dissolved bones upon crops brought them prominently into

notice, and induced many farmers to prepare and use them, and, besides, induced a host of parties to prepare them on a large scale to save the farmers the trouble of so disagreeable a process, and not without danger. I am fully convinced that if any. one will take the trouble to make proper comparative experiments with dissolved and putrified bones, and notice the results, during five or ten years, they will come to the same conclusion as Sir J. Murray did, who has the candor to acknowledge the errors into which he has led his brother farmers.

The books and periodicals for years past contain numerous directions for dissolving bones, and it is remarkable that they should differ so greatly in the proportions of acid required.

In the Patent Office Report of 1856* Mr. Brown recommended the use of five pounds of sulphuric acid to 100 lbs. of bones, and to compost them with muck.

An article in the Country Gentleman of the 28th October, 1858, by Prof. Gil-ham, .of the Va. Military Institute, refers to an article of Prof. Norton, which recommends 50 or 60 lbs. for whole bones and 25 and 45 lbs. for ground bones, and adds that he (Prof. Gilham) found even 100 lbs. of acid were not sufficient to dissolve 100 lbs. of bones.

The real state of the case is, that if it be desired to dissolve all the phosphates in 100 lbs. of bones, or about two bushels we must apply 59 lbs. of sulphuric acid, whose specific gravity is 1,85, diluted with three times its weight of water. And to effect a complete solution they must be frequently stirred during three or four weeks. If the bones be whole it will require many months to dissolve all their phosphates.

If it be desired to dissolve a part only, a less proportion of acid may be used. My own opinion is, the less, the more economical to the farmer in the long run.

We must not omit to count the cost of applying sulphuric acid to bones, which, of course, will be modified by the proportions used.

Let us first ascertain the cost of effecting a complete solution of the phosphate of lime in bones:

!

Til E SOI Til Ki; N PLA ME II.

367

1 . i I B | I I 11

50 " sulphuric acid (8ct8.), 1.77 We shoo Id add fof libor and the \ it or tub, which IS

destroyed, freight on acid,

08

2nd. If we use aeid sufficient to dissoWe hah the bi q< b, the cost will be as follows : 100 lbs. boo . . . 11.46

BO « sulphuric acid (3 cts.), .90

Labor, &o.j as before, . . .08

12.44

As a bushel of bones will average in weight 45 lbs., we have to deduct 5") per cent, to get at the cost of one bushel; therefore,

One bushel fully dissolved will cost SI.40 One bushel half dissolved will cost 1.10

It will be seen, therefore, that by dissolving we much more than double their eost, and if but half dissolved, their COSt is increased more than two-thirds in amount.

It is true that.a smaller quantity will suf-for an immediate effect, which may suit a temporary tenant, but let the land-owner bear iu mind that the whole ultimate benefit is iu proportion to the weight of bone* applied. It is true the action of the acid upon the earb-nate of lime produces a portion of gypsum, but so far as that article is concerned, we can purchase it at less than one-fifth the cost of making it.

When bones or phoepbatie guanoes are dissolved in acid it is usual to add absorbent materials, so that it may be d sufficiently dry to admit of being spread. Neither lime DOr ashes should be used for this pttrp it would precipitate

the phosphate and neutralize the eff the sulphuric acid.

Great care should be taken when the acid is poured into the water, which must be done before the bones are added. It must be done very gradually, because it generates heat above the boiling point, and is apt to jbe thrown into the faces and on the clothes lof the workmen.

Sir J. Murray thinks there is much loss by the soluble phosphates being carried off by water ; but there is good reason to believe that the cause of their effects being so slight after one or two crops, is more owing to certain known chemical reactions in the

soil. Soluble llnmina and iron,

ially the I from

soils, and when a soluble pho P lime

comes in contact with , the

horic acid is precipitated a^ pho*] of iron or alumina. I *< *11» cording to Bischoff, are among the most insoluble substances known in water and bonio aeid But some experiments «•(" Dr. >t prove that they arc soluble in alkaline silicates*.

Whilst it does not seem proper to apply sulphuric acid to bones, yet I think it probable that we may advantageously use either that or muriatic aeid in small proportion to some of the phosphatic guanoes, especially to those containing phosphates of iron and alumina.

It remains now to notice the third mode of preparing bones, which consists in Causing putrefaction and decay.

This mode has been evidently coming more into use within a few years past, and we often find directions in the agricultural jounMlp for effecting j r> most generally by making them into composts with stable manure or other matter. I have, however, met with nothing in that way that apt likely to answer a hotter purpose than that practiced by me li) years ago, after experimenting to some extent. And as inquiries have been made in answer to which I had found it necessary frequently to describe the process, it will now be repeated in full.

Having smoothed over the surface of the ground (under a shed, if convenient), place thereon evenly, a layer of 8 in. of gT

-. and then an even layer of good fine

J soil or earth, free from stones or sticks.

'Give a good sprinkling of gypsum owe? layer of earth. Another layer of boni

applied upon tho layer of earth, and the same alternations are to be repeated with . peum until we have four of each I .rth, and the height of the pile will

l 1 1 incl i. n.1 the bones are usually

each layer should be well moist with water or better with nrsne, in order to

i the process. It is proper to place iks in the pile reaching to which should be freqm ntly amined by feeling them, in order to jn Ige of the degree of heat produce! [f the weather be warm they will begin to heat in a few days, and in a week or two they will become hot. When upon taking out the

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

sticks they feel unpleasantly hot, the process should be checked by chopping or spading down the mass from top to bottom, which, if carefully done, mixes the materials well together, and they are ready for spreading.

If the process be commenced during cold weather it may be hastened by placing at the bottom a layer of fresh horse dung about six inches thick, and covering the pile with straw or fodder to retain the heat.

There is much testimony in favor of using salt as a manure, and it cannot be applied more advantageously than with the bones, because it promotes their solubility. It would be better to place the proper dose of salt with the gypsum upon each layer of the earth.

In reference to the quantity of bones to the acre, I may say, that after trying them in quantities from 80 bushels down to 10, I came to the conclusion that 10 bushels to the acre was the most advantageous quantity. I became satisfied, also, that this quantity, prepared as I have just indicated, and uniformly sowd, will be as effective for a year or two as double the quantity applied in the dry state.

Should the soil be dry when wheat ground is dressed with dry bones, and continue so for some time after, but little effect will be produced by them upon the autumn growth.

The effect of the putrefied bones will be obvious within a few days after the young wheat appears above the surface. The putrefaction in the first case goes on very slowly ; but when the bones have been once heated it will proceed more readily, and of course furnish an earlier supply of the much needed ammonia, as well as phosphoric acid.

One great advantage of bones over am-moniated guano arises from the fact that putrefaction and decay have progressed in the latter until nearly all the ammonia which they are capable of yielding has been already formed. And as it is very soluble in water, much of it is rapidly washed off during heavy rains, leaving a portion, which is absorbed and retained in the soil. This is going on whenever the ground is wet, so that when the soil is not frozen in winter, the ammonia is passing off and there is no crop growing to appropriate it.

When bones are applied, either dry or in the manner I have suggested, (3,) they are

giving out their ammonia as the crops require it, but in cold weather the putrefaction is nearly or quite suspended, according to the temperature, and again resumed in the Spring; at first slowly and then rapidly in hot weather, when it is most wanted by the crop.

I have very rarely met with those who have used bones for manure without being satisfied with their effects. Experience has shown, however, that their effects are not so promptly evinced in stiff clay soils as in those of a more porous character. The compactness of very stiff soil prevents sufficient access of air to assist in the decay of the bones. When applied to very wet soils the animal matters decompose so slowly as to produce little benefit to crops.

BONE BLACK OR ANIMAL CHARCOAL.

In former days bullock's blood was largely used in refining sugar, but in the improved modern process very little blood is used. The principal reliance is upon animal charcoal, through which the hot syrup is filtered for the purpose of being decolored. It is coarsely crushed or ground and the finer portions and dust sifted out, which would otherwise clog the filtering cloth or pass through with the syrup. After each operation the charcoal is again exposed to heat in closed iron vessels, and the dust, etc., sifted out as before. It is this material that is sold for manure under the name of bone black.

All the animal matter, except a portion of carbon, has been expelled by heat, leaving the carbon with the phosphates and other earthy matters of bones, and is, of course, valuable as a manure.

I have been informed that the refineries in Baltimore dispose of their bone black to manufacturers of fertilizers in Philadelphia ;> the whole amount being annually about half a million of pounds.

A sample which I obtained from Doug-herty & Woods, of Baltimore, was analysed by Dr." Piggot, with the following results, viz. :

Phosphate of lime, . . 70.10

Phosphate of magnesia, . .15

Carbonate of lime, . . 11.85

Charcoal (animal), . . . 10.98

Oxide of iron and alumina, 3.01

Sand, .... 2.83

Soluble salts, . . . .41

Soluble organic matter, . .13

tii i: so it ii BRN r i- \ ntki:

It ii to be regr< tted thai this large amount of phosphate of, lime should be earned oufl of our State instead of being used at home. TIuto is no doubt of it being valuable for

manure, ai its constituents olearty indicate, I r the phosphate and earboni

it contains. Its earboo also will prove

rbonic acid in the soil.

CKACkNILS OH QBXA1

This material consists of the tissues and other matters remaining after the melting and straining off the fat of animals.

At one establishment in Baltimore (the Butchers' Hide and there are 100,000 lbs.

dnced per annum, all of which is sold at one cent per lb. to parties in Philadelphia, to be used in the manufacture of ssian blue. I have no means of knowing the whole amount produced in Baltimore, but it must be considerable.

Boussingault determined the proportion of nitrogen to be 11.88 per ct which will,, produce during the decay of the material. hatic g wU1 have had tbcir d and

per ct. of ammonia, or nearly j cease to bc in dcmand by &rme „ j Jlt lcast

i where they have been tried. That sonic por-

Paci-

B iprcs-

sioo thai we have any " | . reju-

againsl the article, On the contrary, we would gladly oommend it in th terms, oOuTd we do so consist' i our

own Views. Wt dislike as much as any one, the monopoly of Peruvian guano, and would

be right glad if American farmers o »uld dispense With its use altogether. We C

heartily wish that all that, is claimed for the

" American guano " might prove to be below its real merits. Tt would be a national ; ing, of more value than all the gold of California. Several enterprising nun have devo-Tallow Association) ted their time and m tQ it3 iDtrod.iction,

'"I and, so far as we know, they have done this in the belief that they arc doing the country, as well as themselves, good service, in hunting up and bringing these fertilizers here.

But, as we have said to some of them personally, we think they are guided by an incorrect theory in regard to the wants of our soils and crops; and our present opiuion is,

equal to the amount in the best Peruvian

guano. It seems therefore, that it would I UoM^oFt^e n

be worth more than one cent a pound for fic Islandg prove moderately useful, is

manure if it were powdered or otherwise I bab , for wc have scen specimcnp wbich reduced to such a fine, state of division as; contained pumc i e nt ammonia and other or-would admit of its being properly mixed. • con . stituents to warrant , tbc M{ei tbat with the soil. As it comes from the press! th WQuld be beneficial to crops . Aml this Bakes are about three feet square and m ]n . accQunt for the fact that some about six inches thick, which are easily perrons hare heen pleased with their firat trial transported without being packed It is in nf Arncrican 0> Wc bavc examined a

faet almost assolid as wood itself, and will (l)/ , n different specimens of the material, in require suitable machinery to bring it into, Us unground) umnixe d state, and found them a proper State for manure I of varioug composition, running all the way

It is but very recently I learned that it from a nenr ly pure phosphate, up to o,

taining a valuable admixture of organic mat-

■as produced in quantities worthy the attention of farmers, but it is my iutention to examine further into it as early as practicable.

A mixture of cracknels and the bone blaek of the sugar refiuers would constitute a very valuable manure.

tcr including a considerable pet ammonia. Now any person chancing * tain a sample of the last named quality would doubtless see sufficiently good results to lead him to try it further, and to commend it to others. We have seen certificates from persons. But how many are there in the "Shall I buy 'American Guano?' " country who have reaped no benefitf We Duri;. it few montha, this question ba?e heard of many such, yet no on<

hasbeenaddrei lm collecting and setting forth the

sonally and by letter, a great number of times, i cases of failure, and fanners, as ■ classes*!-In fact we expect thatev minutes du-,d° m write out their experiem it is

ring the day, some one will knock at our door drawn from them, and BO m get the

and almost invariably a;*k on entering, dark side.* "'What do you think of this American guano

We therefore offer a general reply 24

♦An illustration may be given of the (Vt referred to above. A few years since, one of the apecial

d<

0

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER

[June

We have hesitated to discourage the introduction of the American guano, because we have hoped, that in the progress of the enterprise, there would be found deposits containing organic material enough to verify at least a portion of the expectations indulged on the part of the importers, and the public. This may yet turn out to be the case, and we advise those enlisted in the enterprise to turn their attention specifically to the discovery and introduction of organic deposits; for we are firm in the conviction that the purely mineral or phosphatic guanos, such as are now mainly brought here, will not prove profitable or satisfactory. We are aware that the sellers take a different view, and have on their side many scientific men ; but we are quite willing to put our opinions on record to be tested by time and experience. In the meanwhile, we must caution not only farmers but the importers themselves, not to invest too largely in a material which is at best of doubtful utility. In our last article on manures (No. 4) we stated, perhaps fully enough, our reasons for calling in question the supposed value of mineral manures generally, including the phosphates.

But whatever may be the character of some of the American guanos already introduced, or of those yet to be found and brought here, we will now only consider the general character of those offered, remarking that the chief excellence claimed for them by those interested, is that they abound in phosphates. We have been furnished with the following recent analyses of several cargoes, and the remarks thereon by Prof. S. W. Johnson, who conducted the experiments'..

pleaders for super-phosphate visited a New-England town, and lectured so strongly in favor of the use of this material, that the cultivators at once made up orders for some 80 tons, at a cost to them of nearly $4,000. It proved a failure, and we believe not a pound of it has since been sold there. But the buyers quietly pocketed the loss, acknowledged themselves sold, and discarded all scientific teachings in reg'ird to agriculture. But no one of them ever took the trouble to collect and publish the facts. On the other hand, in another town, one man obtained, or thought he obtained, good results, (perhaps he had an extra good sample,) and on application he gave his certificate in its favor. That certificate, and a few others of similar character, were published all over the land by interested parties, and very many persons bought super-phosphate or the strength of them. We only mention this as an il-tian of how one-sided Btatementfl may sometimes go forth, and further to invite those who try any new fertilizers t;o report their failures in all cases. Let us have both sides.

Yale Analytical Laboratory, ) New-Haven, Conn., March 16,1860. }

John B. Sardy, Esq.—Dear Sir : This may certify that I have inspected the discharged guano cargoes of the ships Gosport, Rambler, and Polynesia, late from Jarvis Island, have had average samples taken in my presence, and have submitted the same to chemical analyses, with the following results. The table also includes analyses of a sample of the Victory's cargo, Jarvis Island, and of a specimen from Baker's Island.

Gosport

do

Rambler

do

Victory

do

Polynesia

do

Baker's Island

do. do

3 S

M CD »

HI

"■ * £■

r s

47.47 41.47 55 01 59.17 83.93

These cargoes together show an average of Phosphoric Acid equal to 50 per cent, of Bone Phosphate of Lime, which is sufficient to constitute a valuable fertilizer, especially since the material is, on the one hand, very finely divided, and on the other, contains considerable organic matter, and Sulphate of Lime, which, being themselves easily decomposable or soluble, must leave the Phosphate of Lime exposing a great surface to the solvent action of the soil water. Simple calculation shows also that in the Jarvis Island Guano, by far the largest share of the Phosphoric Acid exists in the form of what is commonly called neutral Phosphate of Lime, which is characterized by a much greater solubility than is possessed by the Bone Phosphate. For these reasons this guano must manifest greater activity than other guanos which are more compact, and consist mainly of Bone Phosphate of Lime.

SAM'L W. JOHNSON, Prof, of ' Analytical and Agricultural Chemistry, Yale College.

Probably Prof. Johnson designed the above simply as a professional private business letter; he should have stated the results differently, if for the general reader. The second column, " Organic matter and

Til E SOUTH ERN PLANTER.

ined wat< i no valuable infor-

d. We are left entirety in doubt ai to hoa much of it m ,k combined w

and A-'- rut* matter." Bo

do indication whether the or-

r is simply useless or nearly uee->U8 material, or whether it

oontaini an appreciable amount of useful

nitrogenous compounds.

We liave oonfidenee in Prof. Johnson's

skill and integrity U an analytical chemist,

but we must differ with him in regard to atta o hee to these gaanos, and

to phosphoric aeid generally. lie estimates soluble phosphoric aeid as worth 12j eents per lb., and the vn^olubl . nts per lb.

Upon this basis the "Sombrero guano" imported into southeastern Connecticut quite

largely, was estimated to be worth over |30 pel ton. Many of the farmers who bought it upon this estimate, and h;ive tried it, would not now buy it at any price,

Prof. Johnson, very guardedly says above : u Simple calculation thow$ } But we think tlnse calculated values of } h sphoric aeid are not to be depended upon filiating its real value as a fertilizer. If the phosphoric acid in Peruvian guano really constitutes the estimated part of the value of that material, then we admit the calculated value of phosphoric aeid m other fertilizers; but we attribute the beneficial effects of Peruvian guano, bones, etc' mainly to the organic matters, and especially to the ammonia they contain.

The above analyses show the elements of a notable amount of sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris) in the first four specimens This is highly valuable upon some soils and

crops, while on others it i< nearly or quite d surprising p

from the use of only •Jen li s. «.f plaster to. the sore. And here is another mode of| accounting for the "d result.-

obtaiued last season from the American guano. The use of 300 to 600 lbs. of this to the 1 fnrnish plaster euough to

alone give lases. Put

farmers cannot afford to buy pla>t<>r in the

form of American guano el $80 I

per ton, when the simple, unmixed pi is abundant at ?•'> to S 10 per ton.

To sum up: the American guano is recommended and sold maiuly as a fertilizer aboundiug in phosphoric acid, and this in our opinion is of only moderate value at

best *—not 60 bO at all w

importation from the Paoifio Oeean. I results have sometii d obtained by

the use of the American guano, especially where it has chanced to contain abundant organic matter, and also where it has n-i-A freely enough to supply plaster to the

soil. Hut the results have not been uniformly good by any means, and the p' importations do not contain organic matter

enough to be taken largely into account in

estimating their value. Then fore, 1

our opinions in part, upon the considerations

stated above, mid in part upon the reports of the results of its use thus far, we are reluctantly forced to answer those asking our opinion, that we cannot advise fanners to purchase the American guano in quantity, until something is offered of different . nil character and composition from that now sold Limited quantities of it may be tried by tbe side of other fertilizers.

"What Manures Shall I Buy?"

" If you do not advise to use the manufactured super-phosphates, or the manipulated guanos, or the Sombrero, in short, any of these mineral fertilizers, pray tell us what manure we shall buy? "

Perhaps you need not buy any. If on the better class of prairie, or on other lands where there is plenty of vegetable mold upon the surface, then a good plow and a good harrow, to break up and pulverize the .surface well, so that the air may have free ac-to decompose the organic matter, may be the best ''manuring" you can give this year. An application of Alkali, in the form of ashes OT lime, mingled with the soil, is frequently good to remove son and hasten the decomposition of the organic materials, and prepare them to the plants. Alkalies are good 0U all ft Id, wit. or sour lands, wherever located.

On the poorer lands, especially in the ohler sections of the country. oanic manures that are accessible. < lood stable manure is always the hest, and u-ually

* There i- om view <>f the value of poluhle phosphoric aoid which . : that like ntlier acids it may act as an ab-taincr of ammonia, aid as hi u naaj be valt ahle to nd 'iii- Bay aeoount f<>r the c-o.i.i retail

ruin th« Dl in any form in which piioepbortc aeid ft : ocessiUe,

vast'y more than m'phuric acid, which i? a notah'e "fixer" or retainer of ami;

;72

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER

[June

the cheapest, where it is to be had. Next to this we esteem finely ground unhurried bones —not so much for the phosphoric acid they contain, as for their organic matter. We have this Spring bought of Messrs. A. Lister & Co., of Tarry town, N. Y., 1£ tons of dry bone saw-dust, for 1£ acres of ground which we wish to cultivate very highly.— (We mention this to show that we " practice what we preach."

Next to unburned bones we esteem pure Peruvian guano, the kind that costs $60 per ton—not the " manipulated," nor the " No. 2," which is sold at a less price, after going through some process of reduction. This sown in the drill at the rate of 100 to 500 pounds per acre, and well harrowed into the surface, or scattered as a top-dressing, is usually a paying application. The amount per acre depends upon the poorness of soil. For high culture, as in gardens, 600 lbs. or more per acre will not be amiss.

Next to Peruvian guano, try—well, we hardly know what to recommend, for there is little else in market always worth buying at the price asked, and the transportation There are several varieties of animal compounds, made in limited quantities, which are sometimes cheap at the prices asked for them, and sometimes not. We hardly dare recommend them for general use. Among them are: the blood and wool manure, when purely blood and wool, and not mixed up with sand; the poudrettes, when not too liberally compounded with muck, and when the excrements, from which they are made, have not been taken from cess-pools where a constant flow of water has washed out the most valuable portions. A fuller description of the fertilizers above alluded to, and others, will be given in the regular chapters upon manure.

A List of Wonders.

Among the thousands of marvelous inventions which American genius has produced, within the last few years, are the following, compiled in an abstract from the Patent Office Report. Read them over, and then say, if you can, that there is nothing new under the sun :

The report explains the principle of the celebrated Hobb lock. Its " unpickability " depends upon a secondary or false set of tumblers, which prevent instruments used

in picking from reaching the real ones. Moreover, the lock is powder proof, and may be loaded through the key hole and fired off till the burglar is tired of his fruitless work, or fear that the explosions will bring to view his experiments more witnesses than he desires. . Doors and shutters have been patented that cannot be broken through with either pick or sledge-hammer. The burglar's " occupation's gone."

A harpoon is described which makes the whale kill himself. The more he pulls the line, the deeper goes the harpoon.

An ice making machine has been patented which is worked by a steam engine. In an experimental trial, it froze several bottles of sherry, and produced blocks of ice the size of a cubic foot when the thermometer was up to eighty degrees. It is calculated that for every ton of coal put into the furnace, it will make a ton of ice.

From Dr. Dale's- examiner's report we gather some idea of the value of patents. A man who had made a slight improvement in straw cutters, took a model of his machine through the Western States, and after a tour of eight months, returned with forty thousand dollars. Another man had a machine to thrash and clean grain, which in fifteen months he sold for sixty thousand dgllars. These are ordinary cases—while-such inventions as the telegraph, the planing machine, the India rubber patents, are worth millions each.

Examiner Lane's report decribes new electrical inventions. Among these is an electrical whaling apparatus, by which the whale is literally " shocked to death." Another is an electro-magnetic alarm, which rings bells and displays signals in case of fire and burglars. Another is an electric clock, which wakes you up, tells you what time it is, and lights a lamp for you at any hour you please.

There is a " sound gatherer," a sort of huge ear-trumpet, to be placed in front of a locomotive, bringing to the engineer's ears all the noise ahead; perfectly distinct, notwithstanding the noise of the train.

There is an invention that picks up pins from a confused heap, turns them around with their heads up, and sticks them in papers in regular rows.

Another goes through the whole process

THE SOUTH ERN PLANT!'.!!.

of cigar making, taking in loaves and turning out finished cigars.

One machine cuts cheese; another scours knives and forks; another rocks the cradle ; and seven or eight take in washing and ironing.

There is a parlor chair patented that cannot be tipped back upon two logs, and a railway chair that can be tipped back in any position, without any legs at all.

Another patent is for a machine that counts passengers in an omnibus and takes their fares. When a very fat gentleman gets in, it counts two and charges double.

There are a variety of guns patented that load themselves; a fishing line that adjusts its own bait, and a rat trap that throws away the rat, and then baits itself and stands in the corner for another.

There is a machine, also, by which a man prints, instead of writes, his thoughts. It is played like a piano forte. And speaking of pianos, it is estimated that nine thousand are made every year in the United States, giving constant employment to one thousand nine hundred persons, and costing over two millions of dollars.— Baltimore Exchange.

4 » » » *

From the Country Gentleman and Cultivator.

Value of Corn Cobs. Messrs. Editors —In the Country Gentleman for Feb. 16. p. 113, I find an inquiry by A. W. Parsons, on the subject of corn-cobs for feed. As my mind has been somewhat exercised on that subject, I propose to give you briefly my conclusion, and the process by which I arrived at it. I had been in the habit of getting my corn and cobs ground together, as was the case with the most of my neighbors; but I was not exactly satisfied that it was a paying business, for, to look at a basket of cobs, it seemed to me that there could be but little nutriment contained therein—not much more than in a nice basket of chips. I concluded that the analysis of the cob must settle the question, aud on consulting authorities, 1 found that aeeording to the analysis of Chas. T. Jackson of Boston, Mass., the cob contained three and one-fourth "per cent, of nutritive matter. According to the analysis of Sir Humphrey Davy, the corn contained seventy seven per cent, of nutritive matter. Here then was a basis for calculation. If one hundred pounds of corn gives seventy-seven per cent., and one hundred pounds of

cobs gains three and one-fourth ]• r then one hundred pounds of corn if irorth as inueh as twenty-threi hundred and i nine poundi of ccbt. Well, now, think I to myself, that would make a pr sized pile of cobs. Now suppose a cow, or an ox, or a horse, to be a thinking re ing being, and then place the two piles 1 them—the one hundred pounds of corn, and the twenty-three hundred and sixty-nine pounds of cobs, and tell them there is just as much nutriment in one as the other, which do you suppose they would choose ? Would they not revolt, and justly^o, at the idea of eating all of that monstrous pile for what little it contained. And then the wear and tear, for it seems to me it would take a cast iron stomach, or something as strong, to digest the cob.

I believe the millers generally charge more for grinding when they grind the cob, so that in reality, we pay them all, or more than all the cob is worth for their work.

I shell my corn, and use the cobs for fuel, and I think they will nearly pay for the shelling of the corn if used in that way, for they not only make a good fire, but they make a large quantity of first rate ashes, and and then the convenience of handling the corn after it is shelled is no inconsiderabh item. John F. Ovenshire.

Bradford Co., Pa.

Following the Copy.

The Printers' rule is to follow the copy if it goes out of the window. It seems that the manufaeturers of England are equally rigid in their regulations and in both i the responsibility of mistakes which -times occur rests with those who furnish u the pattern."

.\ i>.< vithmit EhmdUt —The Railway Review reports that the managers of the (Jran 1 Trunk Railway sent I pattern fed Kngland of the Hi - Deeded to cut wood for their in Canada, and ordered 2500 of the irtioles made. The house receiving the order went immediately to work to fill it, and i months ago shiped to the managers of the

mad at Montreal the axe> ;is ord I'pon reoeiying their property, however, the BCientfie men found that not one I

2500 had a hole in it to reeeiv. handle. They were made accordi order—"exactly like tie have these axes for sale now in Montreal.— V York Obi

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

%\t $n\{\mx planter.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

Editors.

It is a very general impression among " the public"—who of course are uninitiated in the mysteries of the " Sanctum "—that the post occupied by the class whose name heads our page, is one of great pleasure, profit and idleness. The place of all others, where a man may secure for himself position, influence and wealth—together with a perfect exemption from the little vexations, labors and cares which beset other people, by a sacrifice of—nothing: Honors and profits are yours without the trouble of asking for them ! • Oh, ye Knights of the Pen, the Scissors and the Press ! the public must know your condition, your character, and the minutse of your ''daily walk;' 1 the ''secret springs of action " which vibrate in so many bosoms, and which are only unknown to yourselves : your gross receipts, and your net profits ; that being, editors, you are of course rich, idle and "sassy," for the "public" has had many dealings with you, and can bring up "many witnesses," out of whose mouths must be established " a proper conclusion."

But we know that you " are not like other men," and have concluded "to bring you up to condign." In short, to give you a trial, and to " show you up " fairly.

Accordingly we abandon the Chair, and count ourselves out, to avoid personality and to secure impartiality. We claim the privilege of an outsider, and as such, proceed to help you " see ourselves as others see us."

Stand up like men, and answer to the "public's" charge—if you can.

You are, in feeling, hard and callous, for " like the old woman's eels," you are used to being ,( touched upon the raw."

You utter so much "cop/" every day, or month, as the case may be, with no higher am-bitional motive than to gain for yourself " rest

for a troubled mind," and to appease the restless inquietude of " the devil," who can subsist on no other food.

In consequence of these, your professional idiosyncrasies, you are not sufficiently alive to the censure, the praise, the utter indifference) the sympathy and kindly regards of your fellow men— subscribers especially.

Speak now, ye gentlemen of the craft, for we will question you, and tell us if there be a man among you who has not felt his bosom swell? his breathing grow short, and a strong desire pervade his right arm to grasp the hand of some honest, manly fellow—one of Nature's noblemen, who has given you evidence of his capacity "to feel another's woes," by making you the recipient of an unsolicited and unselfish kindness? Wipe the ink from your faces, that when you answer we may see whether truth is patent as your mouth opens. We have an interest in you--no matter what your condition is, and will give you the suggestions appropriate to your case, kindly volunteered by Mr. " World-ly-Wise," for the present occasion.

As you do not conceal the fact that you are often " seeking rest, and finding none," we cannot help wondering whether such men be "sinners above all these," whose "lines are cast in pleasant places."

What right have you to lead a life of self-denial or industry; to work for the "common good," and the benefit of every class in the community ? Can't you attend to your own concerns, and let other people's business alone? 'Twould better suit the spirit of this progressive age not to be so " old fogyish," and to " take it easy."

You do feel anxious, do you, about your " Table of Contents," and the "opinion of the world?" How' can you be so nervous? You should preserve a "stiff upper lip" and a more independent equanimity.

You feel irritated and mortified, too, whenever

you catch a gratuitous "fling," or get an unde-

erved kick. Why don't you always cherish a

more Christian spirit ? Your flesh is weak ; then

in these times of muscle try to be more manly.

You do not fill your columns up with a sufficiency of original matter now, and sometimes you talk too much.

Because you are inclined to the opinion that "there's nothing new under the sun," is that any reason why any one man, in this "free country," shouldn't think the other way, or both ways, if he chooses?

Til E S or T II BRN PL A NT K R.

875

n, who wants ■ paper filled with your

thoughts ;i i present :i

filled WJtfa the very best ihougfa

"others," which you Ban arrange hy lahor ami

. artistically, to mil every bodj have oal] to .<tiVd the matter, that is all.

Why should you, (who arc only an Editor— Oiu.- of* that clftM who should fttl DOthlOg, knv.ir

even/ thing, and u-ant little.) feel concerned sboul

your li-t of mm-)>niji>i>z tubicribtrt to whom you

your paper regularly for years per-

Don'l you know that they hare only

"taken it" to "' ytmt" Why be con-

eemed at all about the state of your family! 1 Are they not participants of your fortunate lot;

can't you blot out from your remembrance the that your exchequer is empty, that printers will want pay for sending your papers to those who ''encourage" you, that '"bills payable" mus1 be u met" if they can't be conquered; ami that you must M renew " when you can't u take up;" that "the devil'' will creep close to your elbow again, crying " copy," while an echo from a "delinquent subscriber" replies, "copy if you dare!" Can't you, I say, very easily dispose of all these little troubles by—goin to sleep. Go on, then, and we will give you a ■swim ing lullaby.

We suppose we know something of you now,

we have questioned and examined you

od we think you are a "liar!

entitled to 1 '" hard lot" by " force of position"—

but time fails and we must draw our labors to

ie. We have given you "a patient and

impartial hearing}" and having mingled with that great world outside of the " sanctum," while we were not overburdened by the weight of our "working clothe-." we have taken upon us that broad mantle of Charity, which she ever

- to lend—the folds of which we spread over you. Having thus covered up your multitude of sins, our heart softens and goes out toward you, ami from its inmost depth ai warm aspiration for your happiness here and hereafter: since we arc inclined to believe it is

Me that you may be "more sinned against than sinning," and that sometime- you may offer excuses for, and explanations of imperfee-

ha\e little hope of

ftoiaJ results from the kindly BUf rein

remove that '• stumbling block" which causes our "brother to ol Therefore, we say to all MtrcasonapZ*, mm-pajfing tubicri

■■ Delinquenti <>n the Printer*$ booki ('an never enter lt<<i>

Attention Farmers. .

You would confer a great favor on the editOl of this paper, and we verily believe would do much good to one another, if you would write regularly your experience in your farming operations.

.Men who have never written a line for OS, or any body else, so far as we know, complain that we do not have " communications enough from Virginia farmers." Whose fault is it, we would ask, if we do not! We have begged you to write—we have printed what is written, and like " Oliver Twist," we have always politely asked " for more."

Gentlemen, it lays with you to provide the proper remedy, and to take away a reproach that criminates every one of you who can gain access to paper, pen and ink. Again we tay unto you, write! wkitk 1 WRITE.

The Virginia Farm Journal.

Mr. Crockett has announced already the discontinuance of this paper, and the arrangement

made with as to supply those, whose subscriptions to it are unexpired, with a copy of the Southern Planter in its stead.

It remains f.r u? to express our sincere regret,

that the Journal should be discontinued lor the

want of sufficient support; it was well edited,

published weekly, and offered at the low price

BI annum.

It is mortifying to know, that while Vxr furnishes subscribers enough to papers published out of the State to support half a dozen g"<"/ Oft** at home, she has ever dealt with a close hand with those of her own sons. We do not find fault

with the support extended by our ov

we could name, which are pub-which are human: that your lot will be I Iished i )t . ynm i llt . r bordcrs^-tliey hy of

much improved when -'the wioked eeaee from

troubling," and your u form " is "setup" in a

bett r ■ case " on high.

We leave the end to turn to the first cause of

I >o highly do we esteem them, that we would to-day subscribe for them, did we i joy the pleasure of reading them regularly, through the courtesy of their ed.: all romplaint against y<>\>. As a skilful physician through the customary exchange. But, in all could not expect to cure the disease while the (candor, we are sorry that there is so much truth

bssW

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER

[June

in the proverb, " A prophet is not without honor save iii his own country."

We shall mail the present number of the "Southern Planter" to the address of each subscriber furnished us by Mr. Crockett—except those who are already subscribers to our paper. If these gentlemen should wish to have two copies of the Planter sent them, they will give us notice, and we will cheerfully furnish them.

We request the favor of those who do not like the arrangement, to notify us at once to discontinue it.

Super-phosphate of Lime.

As it has been a matter of controversy lately, among some of our agricultural brethren, as to the merits of super-phosphates as manures, and the quantity of water which they may or should contain, without being subjected to a charge of adulteration, on account of their per centage of water, we publish the following article from the Charleston (S. C.) Mercury.

Messrs. Rhett & Robson are the agents for " Rhodes' Super-phoshate," and have published in the Mercury the analysis of an average sample of this manure, made by G. A. Liebig, of Balti. more.

For ourselves, we must candidly say, that we have had a very limited experience with superphosphates of any kind; but as we are entirely convinced of the necessity for supplying the soil with this ingredient, so important to most of our crops, in some available form, we expect to become "better posted" by-and-by.

We are glad to say we follow farming for a livelihood, and because we love it as a profession — therefore, we say to all farmers, we are proud to be ranked "as one of them ;" and we shall advise no man to follow where we would be afraid to lead. Perhaps we spoke too fast in saying "£o all farmers" —we acknowledged "equality and fraternity"—for we are sorry to say, that in this time-honored profession, may be found specimens of the idle, lazy, and "old fogy" crass of men ; some Who "don't take the papers," and who by neither any force of example, precept, or sympathy, extend aid to the zealous supporters of agricultural improvement. We believe that " farming will pay/' and that the judicious expenditure of money upon the lands, for reasons based upon common sense and the experience of prudent, sensible men, and the scientific developments of the present age, will as surely lead to increased profits to the farmer, as

any other class can reap from capital employed in other callings.

If we are wrong, we shall have the penalty to pay, as we don't expect to abandon this idea, or a farm, as long as we may continue in possession of "one red cent."

While we strongly urge upon all farmers the propriety of using all manures which may increase their crops or benefit their land, at the same time we commend caution, and prudent experiment on a small scale, with concentrated fertilizers, until they ascertain whether they are adapted to their particular soil, since there can be no doubt that the same article produces different results in different soils.

We are well aware of the fact that there is an incidental benefit to B. M. Rhodes & Co. in copying the article referred to, and we do not wish to be understoood, t in any sense, as the par-tizan of their super-phosphate, or the partizan of any concentrated fertilizer whatever. On this subject every man must form his own opinions > but as Dr. Liebig, from his position as an analytic chemist, must be considered as competent authority, we publish his letter as instructive on the subject of super-phoshphates generally.

Mr. Editor, —We hand for publication a report from Professor Liebig, of Baltimore, on Rhodes' Super-phosphate Lime, which Mali be' found of interest to those who have used it—as correcting some erroneous impressions, and also giving some suggestions as to its mode of application.

The extensive use of guano and artificial fertilizers, and the worthlessness of many, render it necessary that the planting interest should be protected against imposition, and secured in getting them of the uniform quality and standard they are represented to be. This can only be done by subjecting samples, taken indiscriminately from parcels, after arrival here, to analyze by chemists of established reputation here and elsewhere. This report fully confirms that of Professor Sheppard, published some time since, from samples taken from the same lot of 1,500 barrels in our warehouse.

Respectfully,

Rhett & Robson.

Baltimore, 67 South Gay Street, > April 13th, 1860. $

REPORT OF ANALYSIS OF RHODES' SUPER-PHOSPHATE, FOR MESSRS. RHETT & ROBSON, CHARLESTON, S. C.

A sample of the above, averaged from a lot of 1,500 barrels, was sent at my office, and found, upon analysis, to be composed as follows :

Til K S or Til RUN PLANT EB

877

Sulphuric acid

Lime

Phosphoiio acid

Phosphate ad alumina 0.61

Chloi i< nil 0.41

\ mbined... l 8.59

Sand mi. I carbon 5.60

Which eonstituemts are combined as fellows:

Bipbosphate of Lime 14.70

Containingof Phosphoric Acid..

I Li mi e

Water

; Arid L&79

Phosphoric Acid.. 11.11

Containing of Water

Sulphate of Lime hydrated 57.13

Containing of Sulphuric Acnl ..

( Lime 18

Containm V, r 1 1.'.'.')

Phosphate of Iron end Alumina 0.31

Chloride of Natrium "••! i

;iinl Animal parboil 5.60

Mnistors 5.76

100.00

The free Phosphoric Acid in this article, amounting to li.u per cent*, is equal to 18.80 per cent.of Super-phosphate)of Lime, rendering thr whole amount to thirty-three and a half per cent, of Super-phosphate of Lime.

These numerals speak for themselves, and show that this article r ep re sen ts the m<-centrated Super-phosphate manufactured from Bones, which is the most reliable and uniform* sour sphoric Acid.

The well-deserved name, "Standard* 1 which thi- Super-phosphate has attained, since its first introduction to ing to

at uniformity.

The results v. huh I have obtained by analyzing many samples, either sent to me from differ-or drawn by myself from the differ-d indeed from the Bsetory itself,

•pond SO nearly, or are within such limits, lly can he maintained by the greatest possible care and attention in the management of iishment In a -ample which I took warm and smoking from the workmen of the establishment, not Waiting for the usual dryii I found the

amoiu " per cent.

(26.) This is th hich I

ed. The ' in the consumption of this

article iiently, the inoreasing de-

mand, has ma iry the budding of a

second mammoth series of oil vitriol apparatus, which i- indeed the best proof of I this fertil

I ha v Cithern paper that th^

■water determination 10 ri-e to

and suspicion of adultern

ainted with chemical formulas, might well be surprised by the apparently high per eentage

Of wai II only remark that they mil* 1

make u dUtinotion between chemically combined ami mechanically mixed \

The superphosphate of lime belongs to that r salts wb ndant

on i oertain per bemically

combined. It i- impossible to produce this sent with lees than 15.38 pat ce ■• n in Che-

mically pure Mate.

The driving Of the water. Which ll only possible by calcining at ■ high heat, would totally alter the nature (if the ^alt by forming a .

[uently sease to be a soluble super-phosphate of lime, therefore the ad^ lined by treating bone- with sulphuria acid would be

entirely lost. (See Berzelius : (. nemi-trv, p. 107, vol. 3.)

All finely powdered substanocs are hygi

ptc, that is, they draw with avidity moisture from the air; therefore every finely powdered biphosphate of lime, coroirig dry bom the factory, will absorb water from the air. and cannot be found with le.-s than limr per cent, of hygroscopic water.

I do not think it inappropriate here to say BO you a few words in regard to the application ol these niann

The English and Belgians sow but one-third the quantity of luper-phosphate intended for a field, and spread the other two-thiras when the plants are beginning to Sprout, or when they have appeared above the surface.

The advantage to be derived from this method is two-fold : 1st. The exposed snper-phoephate being in contact with the atmospheric air, will have much greater opportunity ^i absorbing

ammonia from it. 2d. Haiti and dew dissolving

the super-pl t descends below the sur-

face, and none of this valuable fertilizer will be

i the fine ibres are ready to absorb it by

this time.

I feel convinced that no farmer desirous of improving \\\< land and increasing his crops. ought to be afraid of the trouble, i r to n

• trial in this method of applying this invaluable manure.

G. A. LBJBKh »°*« Vr. Successor to Hr. Charles Bickel.

The I ilsssJ esse 1 f is m iti t i~nn able

interesting family paper, filled with matter I

licial. amusing and instructive to both ti and young members of the fan Pub-

1 rgia, wee: ■ > Dol-

lars a year in ash

. K T talented and well-known editor of tl / • y Ma$enper for manJ

i i and Fire-

an I we do m ipcr to all id to

the rest of mankind."

0 THE

SOUTHEUN PLANTER

[June

Z. Drummond, of Amherst.

The venerable agriculturist whose name heads this article is no more, lie has been a subscriber to the Southern Planter probably from its commencement, and there is soarcely a volume, until within the last two years, when probably prevented from writing by advanced aye and increasing infirmities, which does not contain one or more sound, practical and instructive articles, on some well-chosen subject in agricultural economy, from his facile pen. For many years he was a constant contributor to the agricultural department of the Lynchburg Virginian, and his valuable communications did not fail to invest that always well-conducted paper with additional interest for the ^country reader, even when in its palmiest days, it could well boast as its editor the gifted and lamented Toler!

Our Farm of Four Acres, and the Money we made by it. New York: C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co. From James Woodhouse, Esq.

The peculiarity of this book is the plain common sense shown in it.

Two ladies leave London for the country, and manage by skill, attention and economy to obtain a larger share of health and comfort from a little farm of four acres than could have been believed possible. Their experience is pleasantly recorded. In well-written English they narrate how they learned with difficulty to make butter, to keep cows, pigs and poultry; they give valuable recipes for making bread, curing bacon and managing a kitchen, garden, and wind up the book by showing how cheaply a .^ony can be kept in the country, and. how much comfort there is in having one.

We commend the book to our readers; if they do not require the instruction, it will at least amuse and interest them. One lesson all may learn from it, for it is the central idea of the book—if you wish business well done, do it yourself.

Flint's Milch Cows and Dairy Farming.

We tender our thanks to Chas. L. Flint, Esq., the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, rhusetts, for a copy of the last edition of this very valuable book. We think every cattle breeder should have it, as it is sold at a moderate price, ('$1.25,) and contains a great deal of usefnl information on every subject connected with the dairy, breeds and management of cattle, making and preserving butter, &c, &c.

For the Southern Planter.

King & Queen Co., Va.

Mr. Editor : I have a nursery of young fruit trees which have looked well and flourishing until recently. They are infected with small bugs or lice, similar to those on cabbage in fal| of the year. They must, from appearances at present, kill all, or at least, nearly so, and thus end my crop of trees for one year. I have closely examined and watched them, but failed to discover their origin. I observe • very many small redish bugs, called, I think, the "lady bug," also a long, ugly fly. Will you, or some other friend of the farmer, tell us the name and description of bug or insect that propagates these vermin?—we may thus destroy them by a strike at their origin-—and oblige,

A Friend.

We hope some of our friends engaged in the nursery business will reply to this query, and oblige us— Ed.

« ♦ > • >

Erratum.

In Mr. Hill Carter's address, published in our May number, an important typographical error occurs, which the reader will please correct. Page 274, 3rd line from the top, for pure white " lands " read sands.

We return our sincere thanks to H. I. Smith, Esq., for a present of asparagus, which was very acceptable, and which we disposed of as he intended, by filling up the gaps in our ribs. Thirty stalks of this asparagus weighed only half an ounce less than five pounds.

Substitute for Guano.

The late Professor Johnston of Edinburgh proposed the following recipe as a substitute for Guano:

Seven bushels of bone dust, '. . 315 lbs.

Sulphate of ammonia, . . . 100 "

Pearl ash (or 80 B5s. of wood ashes.) 30 "

Common salt, 80 "

Dry sulphate of soda, . . . 20 "

Nitrate of soda, . . • 25 «•

Crude sulphate of magnesia, . . 00 "

610

The News,

Published at Independence, Va., by Thomas Pugh and Lundy, a weekly journal, neutral in politics. Price, 1.50 in advance.

We place on our exchange list and tender our cordial greetings, and best wishes to the publishers.

T II i: BOUT II K UN PL A NT BR.

:;:'.•

• Horizontal Culture.

many things to be taken into consideration thee-

lly and practically applied t«) lands

that soras, that

iljy, and need bringing to a level, in order to retain the -

Tlif iii>t thing to l'c (l<»no is branoh-ditches, conductors, to I straight as

; with the spade, and large enough

to hold all the water that the hill-aide ditches iiiiiv empty into them, this done, the next thing is the hill-side ditches, these will require some skill, patience and knowfc hut before you can commence, yon must

liavc some kind of an instrument to I

uro the grade for the ditch, for this I have found nothing to Burpasi the rafter-level. The first thing then is the construction and description of an instrument absolutely ; sary to lay off the work correctly —the

Opinion of many that they can lay off as

b ditch or ran as level i row l>y the

eye, to the contrary notwithstanding. Take

trips of plank 1 inoh thick.

• ml by letting into each other at such

as that the other ends will be just 12

■part from outside I i take

l' othi is width and thick-

niffioient length, and let the

end of '»ne into tie | third from

the top, or crown, and the other end one-third from the f.»ot of tin* opposite or othi i

The other piece mibt be I

the same way from the opposite aide piece

which will canes them to cross each other,

where they must he let into each other, the whole put together with ioob screws firmly.

Then draw a line from the outer corner ol' one fool to the outer corner of the other, mark and saw oil', this will make the instrument Hat on its feet, when raised upon them. It should have two good coats of paint to protect the wood from the influence oi' the weather. You can cither attach a spirit-level to it, or you may BS6 plumh and line; (J use the plumb,) fasten the line at the

crown of the instrument, and on a strip

attached to the under>ide of the two

sight across from one to the

Other, get your level marked hy placing the

instrument on some level rarj 't the

marks, place a block one inch thick under one of the feet, then mark the inch under your plumh line, and so on until you

it her way M you d Now the instrument is ready for operating with.

The next thing is to lay off the hill-side' ditches—examine the hill or slope that you. wish to operate on, consider where the ditch

ought to commence, where it should

run and where it should empty, so as to have the ditch where it might to he, hut at no time give your ditch less or more fall in order to get it empty at a certain place, always commence the ditch some dis-

ihove all the wa.-hes in the laud SO as to •top all the water that collects ami a off the soil. But if th in the field you wish to hill side il till them up so M you can more readily

thcin with your ditch.

i can commence your ditch cither at the emptying place, or at the top or upper

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

end of the ditch. "With new beginners, they had better begin at the top and carry the gn.de down. First select your place to begin, all ready on the spot, a good plowman with a good strong mule and good turn-plow. Now commence laying off your ditch and let the plow follow after you. The first three strides of your level give three inches fall to a stride, (without there should be a large quantity of water caught at the start,) then give one and a half inches every strike for the first 200 yards, if your ditch is longer, (though it should not be if it possibly could be avoided,) the first 100 yards give one inch, and the next 100 yards half inch. If your land should be very sandy, give less fall, and make the ditch wide with a high bank. Now your ditch is laid off, it has but one furrow, have another good plowman with a good and large turn-plow and strong mule ; have this plow, or as many more as are necessary, plowing out the ditch. Run three furrows close and deep as mule can well pull the plow, above the first furrow or the furrow that the ditch was laid off with, which will make four furrows, and in the fourth furrow run another furrow in order to get the ditch the deepest on the upper side. Always in plowing out the ditch, throw the dirt to the lower side; to do this, you will always have to drag back the plow, without you should be fortunate enough to be supplied with hill-side plows.

For every hundred yards, after the first hundred, increase your ditch in size one furrow in the width for the bottom. Say for the first hundred yards four furrows, for the second hundred yards five furrows, and so on. The great fault of many in making hill-side ditches, they make them too small, they soon become filled up, break and do much harm to the land in the way of making gullies, carrying off the virgin soil, &c.

In laying off hill-side ditches, there are many things to be kept in consideration, the quantity and force of the water, that will fall into the ditch that you are about making, you will have land that has but little descent; then in a few strides it will be steep and full of gullies that you have previously filled up, here give your ditch more fall, especially when you cross the old gulley, in order to run off more readily, for at all such places the water comes quicker and with more force into the ditch. Con-

sider the quantity of water that will flBw into your ditch at the heaviest rains that may fall on your fields, and make your ditches accordingly. Now your ditch is laid off and plowed out the first time, and the hoes should follow and drag the plowed up dirt out of the ditch, bringing it all to the lower side of the ditch, this done, cause the plows to follow after the hoes and plow out the ditch again close and deep with one furrow less ; but be certain to run the extra furrow in the last furrow on the upper side in the bottom of the ditch—this will cause the ditch to be deeper at the upper side than the lower side, which is a very necessary thing, so as to cause the water not to- bear too heavily on the fresh bank below. Now cause the hoes to draw the dirt out of the ditch the second time. At this time you may, and generally can, complete the ditch, have the loose dirt, and all bumps that may be in the bottom of the ditch dragged out clean, roots and grubs cut out smooth, large stumps and trees you can shun by observing them in time, and grade and make the ditch so as not to wash or break over at them, or by the alteration that you will have to make. Leave nothing close about the ditch that may fall into it, such as brush, old grass and weeds. Re certain to make your ditch large enough to carry off all the water that may fall into it. Make it wider and with a stronger bank at all the gullied places, for at these places the water will always come with some force, and here the ditch is more apt to break, and when broken it becomes very troublesome, for it washes out the old gulley that you have laboured hard to fill up, then your work in this line is all to do over, and you have less dirt to do it with, also your ditch bank at this place is to make up again. Always recollect hillside ditching is worth doing; and " what is worth doing, is worth doing well."

Your ditch is now completed. Now you must consider where the next ditch will be necessary. Here you must exercise some judgment; first consider the quantity of water that falls at the heaviest rains, and the distance below the ditch that you first laid off that the water will commence carrying off the soil, (t. e., the surplus water that your runs will not retain,) here, as near as possible, make your next ditch, and so on until you make all the ditches necessary on this slope or hill-side, and also

THE SOUTH K K X PLANT Kit.

381

wliriwiT a ditoh ii needed in the laid, or in any field that you have, until you have every spot of ground in your plantation that washes the least, or is likely to trash,

icil bj a hill-side ditch. II. would remark, the proper time to bill-side ditch y<»ur land is when it is just cleared ; whenever you harve your new ground ready for the plow you should first lay off and

nil the hill-side ditches that shall ever be needed—this done, the next thing is to run iff your land in rows to a perfect level, and ever afterwards keep them so.

Having your field or fields hill-side ditched, the next thing in consideration is the level or horizontal culture, or the means by which to arrive at it. Take your instrument where you wish to commence laying oft' your rows, have a b ll-toqgue plow this time to run oft' with. It is beet to commence near the top of the hill; be certain to commence bo as to catch all the rolling

Btart with your level, carry it to a perfect level, cause the bull-tongue plow to to follow after you, run on until you come to a ditch, do not cross it with your rows, for if yon do the plows will soon fill it up; but when you get to the ditch your first guide row is done, then go twenty, thirty, or forty yards according to the slope, the jer the guide rows must be. So, at the proper distance commence your second guide row, run BS the. first, and so on until the field or the whole of your plantation i> levelled. You may start plows to laying off aa soon as you gel two guide row> run ; but it i i run all your

guide rows first, so that when you coni-; be there with your any errors, and bo ready to run in new gui thai may be m

in filling up between the

In laying oft' the rows, give each hand [plowman) a rod just bj -you wish

the width of your rows, so they may h guide ; they will soon learn the proper width by th ■ ej . Cause one plowman to coin-mencc laying oft' rows on tin i<le of

ii the upper side of

tide row next below—i tween

the laying off will

meet in the middle. This they will do first at places where there is moae slope in the

land, and at more level plea will be

corners that must be run off; these will be mostly short rows, Tf by this time the level is lost, you must run in more -level or guide

rOWS, and l;iy oft' from them so astO have all

your rows from one end to the other on a perfect level; ami i;i tak-

ing up the guide rows until your fi< Id is completed, or the whole of your plaiitati-put in rows to a perfect level. '1 ' Opinion among many that this cannot be

done, it is impossible) they think, to get every

row from one end to the other t«i a perfect level! It can be done, and should be done by every fanner that cultivates hilly land; but to Jo it requires a great deal of patience, and a Btrong determination that there shall not be the least wash in bis plantation. Keep land, in this portion of the country, from washing and it increases in the ingredients that give food to plants, for the soil has a self-sustaining principle, and cannot be worn oh,,. if well hill-side ditched and cultivated on a level with a proper rotation of crops, and th 1 in accordance to

the laws, that naturally govern each and every plant that we cultivate. For an example take a poor hill side, that is almost murdered, ghost-'.ikc staring you in the face, put it under a proper system of horizontal culture—when you plow, plow deep ami on a level; how soon it is reclaimed. Nature will do her part, and soon, instead of a gullied and galled hill-side, you have one that will produce good crops. The great object in view is to retain the rain water where it fall* out, so as to have food in store for the plants during drought.

To keep your level or guide rows, in laying off tin 1 rows, the one next to to the row that you run with the level, make a little wider than the usual width of your rows, and when you sow the land in small grain, Of break it up, hap two furrows on your guide row. This ridge will remain distinct . when you wish to run oft' the land in | agadn, you will not have to run oft' guide rows. Always plow to a level, and never plow across the hillside ditches. Empty all your hill-side ditches into your OOflduCl

by no means ever let them empty under the

fence into the road. This mas hole,

and SOOn ruins the road. If you should

have a ditch running the same coarse of the other ditch' ,duc-

tors, let it empty into a hillside ditch that nipty into a conductor. I have, in a hurried manner, written out the plan (by which I have been operating for the last seven or eight year-, on the plantation where I have been doing busi-

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER.

[June

ness,) of Horizontal Culture. Land that I could make produce but two to three hundred pounds of cotton per acre, now produces over one thousand pounds per acre without one speck of manure.

Daniel Woffard.

REMARKS BY TfiE EDITOR.

The foregoing excellent, because practical article, though not written in that helle-lettre style, that may please the fancy of some readers, is eminently worthy of the study and adoption of every man in this country who cultivates but ten acres of land. Mr. Woft'ard understands the philosophy and true principle of properly placing land under the hvel culture system. Every position is distinctly taken and clearly described, so that no practical man need err in its application on the field. All of our old subscri-

' bers will distinctly trace through all this article the teachings of the " Cotton Planter."

* Years ago, (in 1844) when we put the level on our rows at LaPlace, but one writer, (Mr. Hardwick; of Georgia,) that we now recollect, stood firm with our position. Why did we take that (then extreme) position ?— The answer is found in this sentence from our correspondent, viz :—" The great object in view is to retain the rain water, where it falls out, so as to have food in store for the plants during drought." Mr. Woffard i§ a manager or overseer, and has, by this system, on the land of his employer, in the short space of seven or eight years, so improved it, that on land which produced but 300 J pounds of seed cotton when he commenced operating on it, now produces, under this level culture system, that retains rain water where it falls, one thousand pounds of seed cotton. It is not surprising that such an overseer should have remained thus long in the management of the same plantation. Every plantation in the cotton States can be treated in the same manner and to the same advantage. The comparatively level not less than the hilly. So level your culture and, deepen your plowing whether on level or hilly land, as to retain the rain water where it falls !— From American Cotton Planter a ml Soil of the South.

Common sense can accomplish much without talents; but all the talents in the world can accomplish very little without common sense.

For the Southern Planter

To the Vine Growers of the United States.

At a late meeting of the " Aiken Horticultural and Vine Growing Association," it was resolved: That a committee of five be appointed to open a correspondence with the various Vine Growing Associations in the

United States, and to ascertain the practicability of holding a Vine Growing Convention in Aiken some time next summer; and if found practicable and expedient, that the committee take such measures to secure this object as they may think proper, and that they report the result of their proceedings to this Society at its meeting in May next.

The following gentlemen were appointed the committee: Messrs. A. DeCaradeuc, Chairman; McDonald, Ravenel, Redmond, and Wood.

It is perhaps proper to state the object of the Association in proposing such a Convention, and to point out a few of the advantages to be derived from it. In the first place, it is necessary to come to some understanding about the names of the Grapes now under cultivation, as it is evident that great confusion exists in that respect. Most of the vines being known in different places by different names; the Black July, for instance, having five synonyms. Thus it often happens that a Vine Grower reads or hears great praises of a Grape whose name is unknown to him, and a description of which tallies with none that he has; he procures it at great expense, cultivates it with care for two or three years, and ultimately discovers it is identical with some other he has had a long time. This is discouraging, and has deterred many from procuring new and valuable varieties, which it would have been advantageous to have cultivated more or less extensively. This difficulty can only be obviated by a Convention such as is proposed— the best written description never being so lucid as to convey an exact idea of a fruit.

The meeting will take place at a season when the fruit at the South is ripe ; all Who attend are invited and requested to bring samples of their Grapes, ripe if possible, and green if otherwise, with a leaf and a piece of the wood, and names and synonyms attached. Those who cannot attend are requested to forward samples as above. Thus if we are assisted by the good will of a majority of Vine Growers, most of the varie-

TIIK BOUTH KKN PLANTER.

>:;

i the States will be represented ; their qualities, names, synonyms, -mat&u and b vast

amonnl of invaluable information derived. Naur agreed upon, accepted or re-

authority, will,

also, be requested to bring <>r si-ml samples of the wild from weir neighborhood

in the same manner, that the different ft] may be finally determined upon and each grape prop< rly classed under its ewe head or

an ohjec it importance to tin*

Botany of the country ana; perhaps, finally to the making of wine from them. We are daily Iditions to bur fist of natives,

and u rrreet nomenclature and

be at once m nlo, we will be thrown into inextricable confusion, cxpen.-ive ami troublesome to the growers. Another object of tin' Convention is to determine upon some manner of naming the different Wines. The ; r way of calling them by the name of the grape is in direct contravention to the I rules of wine growing countries. It has always been customary to classify wines by the name of a State, Province or District^ with the different brands attached to tin m. according to the name of the particular locality. Thus the general name •Wines Of the Rhine"comprises many particular brands, such afl 11"ckhcimcr, Johan-•., etc. Bordeaux wines include Vfargaux, St Julien, La Hose, etc. The reason for this is very obvious. The same grape will make totally different wines in different planes. And, again, in most wine conn? | we will, no doubt adopt the

same are mixed. A wine

made from a mixture of Catawba, Isabella and Warren could not be called by either of •

nt we have a hundred dlfi

o two of them alike.

>priety of the name

of the fruit in favor of the rian honored

naming after the State, l> ; or River, with brat ivate nam*

localities. Purchasers will then know at DUOS what they they arc buying, and will DOt

be prejudiced against Catawba or Warren wine, because they have tasted worthies

tawba or Warren wine.

Independently of thei! heamount

of information i meet-

ing in Buch a Convention as we pr

would truly be worth " Millions to tb tion," and would tend more to develop that

rich culture than all that could bo written.

We call, then, upon all who cultivate the

ther for the table ot for wine, or

culture, the committee in

their object—a Convention of I

from all the Vine < trowii ttiona in

sited States.^nd of private and orate Vine Growers. Let :ill who -determine at oner to meet in Aiken, S on the Third Tn-.«f(t)/ in August in there to assist in the good work—to compare their fruit and their views.

Aiken h;^ bci n selected as bein

from all quarters—North, South, bSast and West—being, at all times, unexceptioo- ^

able as to beabh, and a delightful summer WP resort for the neighboring cities, and well pmvided with ample accommodations.

tretarles of the different Associations

connected with the Vine Culture, would confer a favor by forwarding to this office, or to citnaf of the uentlemen of the Committee, the names and localities of their Societies, and all other information they may think proper.

A. DI CakADIT/C, Chairman, "Woodward,

B.C.

Pr. J.C. W. Mcik>NNAL9, Woodward, S. C.

H. W. RAYIir^L, Aiken, S. C.

B. .1. C. Wood, Aiken. S. C

1>. Kf.dmiim), Augusta, Ga. February, 1^

MUSTARI—The word mustard is said to have originated in the French phi "Moult me tarde," (1 wish ardently.' which the motto of the l>uke of Burgundy. He obtained L000 men Dijon, in return for which assistance he permitted that town to

bear his armorial ensigns with this motto. The devi< over the prii

in time the middle word 1 i !. and the other two were printed <>n abels which the merchants | with this commodity, and sent all >rld.

Let each man attend to his own calling ; so that decision of character ma\ mind <>f the public mass. Do not cherish any feeling of ft animosity, in order that you may alue upon human li: