THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 



33eboteti to ^sncttltunr, horticulture, anS the f^euscnolti &rts. 


Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 

Xenophon. 


Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 
State. — Sully. 


C. T. BOTTS, Editor. .... 


Vol. IV. RICHMOND, JUNE, 1844. No. 6. 



For the Southern Planter. 

WHITEWASH AND PAINT. 

Mr. Editor, — There is in the domestic habits 
and management of the people in the Northern 
(I will not use the term "free" in contradistinc- 
tion) and Southern States, nothing more striking 
than the difference in the appearance of the 
dwelling, out houses, garden and other fences ; 
especially all those about the homestead. In 
the North, all looks neat and fresh, with their 
houses and yards as if newly painted or white- 
washed; their porticoes shaded and ornamented 
with the honey-suckle and multiflora, their little 
green plats before the door fringed with beds of 
roses, pinks and hearts-ease. How different in 
f\ the South ! — in loo many instances, houses dark 
*» and dingy — windows broken — palings broken 
down — gardens demolished and lawns large 
enough for a New England plantation, rooted 
up by hogs, or grown up in weeds. I repeat, 
that though this state of things is not so uni- 
versal as to make it characteristic of the large 
plantations of the middle and Southern States, 
this side of the Delaware — it yet exists to an 
extent which reflects any thing but credit on 
their proprietors. Surely those whose establish- 
ments exhibit this slovenly exterior, do not re- 
flect that the passer-by who sees it, is apt to 
suspect that interior management is in some 
correspondence with external appearances. Let 
it not, however, be therefore inferred that the 
lady of the house is neglectful of what it is her 
province to look after — for what can she do, un- 
assisted with means or materials? Let her 
have but a little help, a little encouragement in 
the way of kind words, and a small outlay — 
one hour in the week of "the hands on the 
place," with one or two dollars laid out in lime 
for whitewash, and a few flower seeds, a ham- 
mer, a gimblet. and a few pales and nails to 
patch up the enclosure, and what a difference 
it would make in the little territory reserved for 
the dominion of the housewife ! How unjust, 
not to say cruel, to withhold all supplies, and 
yet make her bear the responsibility of the 
home department ! The very thought of it al- 
ways so fires me with indignation, that I could 
write a sermon if time and words were at com- 
mand. But I only meant, without a word of 
comment, to send you, for preservation in the 
Planter, the accompanying recipe for making 
Vol. IV.-16 



the best sort of substitute for paint — let it go to 
your readers, that no excuse may be left for not 
having their houses wear that outward appear- 
ance of cleanliness and attention to looks, which 
betokens pure morals and a cultivated taste 
within. 

J. S. S. 
Washington, April 22, 1844. 

" Brilliant Whitewash. Many have 

heard of the brilliant stucco whitewash on the 
east of the President's house at Washington. — 
The following is a recipe for making it, with 
some additional improvements: 

" Take half a bushel of nice unslacked lime, 
slack it with boiling water, covering it during 
the process to keep in the steam. Strain the 
liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add 
to it a peck of clean salt, previously well dis- 
solved in warm water; three pounds of ground 
rice, boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in boiling 
hot ; half a pound of powdered Spanish whit- 
ing, and a pound of clean glue, which has been 
previously dissolved" by first soaking it well, and 
then hanging it over a'slow fire, in a small ket- 
tle, within a large one filled with water. Add 
five gallons of hot water to the whole mixture; 
stir it well, and let iti* stand a few days covered 
from the dirt. It should be put on quite hot; 
for this purpose it can be kept in a kettle on a 
portable furnace. It is said that one pint of this 
mixture will cover a square yard upon the out- 
side of a house, if properly applied. Brushes 
more or less small may be used, according to 
the neatness of the job required. It answers 
as well as oil paint for wood, brick, or stone, 
and is cheaper. It retains its brilliancy for many 
years. 

" There is nothing of the kind that will coni- 
pare with it, either for inside or outside walls. 
Coloring matter may be put in, and made of 
any shade you like. Spanish brown stirred in 
will make red or pink more or- less deep, ac- 
cording to the quality. A delicate tinge of this 
is very pretty for inside walls. Fine pulverized 
common clay, well mixed with (his Spanish 
brown before it is stirred into the mixture, makes 
a lilach color. Lampblack in moderate quanti- 
ties makes a slate color, very suitable for the 
outside of buildings. Lampblack and Spanish 
brown mixed together produce a reddish stone 
color. Yellow ochre stirred in makes a yellow 



122 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



wash; bat chrome goes further, and makes a 
color generally esteemed prettier. In all these 
cases, the darkness of the shade will of course 
be determined by the quantity of coloring matter 
used. It is difficult to make a rule, because 
tastes are very different ; it would be best to try 
experiments on a shingle, and let it dry. I have 
been told that green must not be mixed with 
lime. The lime destroys the color, and the color 
has an effect on the whitewash, which makes 
it crack and peel. 

" When walls have been badly smoked, and 
you wish to have them a clean white, it is well 
to squeeze indigo plentifully through a bag into 
the water you use, before it is stirred in the 
whole mixture. 

"If a larger quantity than five gallons is 
wanted the same proportions should be observed." 

This is the third or fourth time that, by parti- 
cular request, we have published the above re- 
cipe, which we have no doubt is an excellent 
one. But after all, we believe that white lead, 
especially at the low price at which it can be 
purchased at present, is the best and most eco- 
nomical pigment that can be used. At any 
rate, this is the experience of our Northern 
friends, who are proverbial for their economy 
and management. They paint every thing, ex- 
cept the ladies' cheeks, and that nature does for 
them in a manner to surpass even the purity of 
their beautiful cottages. 

We intend to furnish directions for the mixing 
and laying on of white paint, so that every far- 
mer may become his own painter. It is an 
operation much more simple than is generally 
imagined. 



For the Southern Planter. 

SMALL FARMS. 

Mr. Editor, — The great error committed by 
a very large majority of farmers is to cultivate 
too much land. The conduct pursued by a 
young farmer in my part of the country forcibly 
impressed this truth on my mind. He com- 
menced farming on a tract of ordinary land, 
and influenced by the example of those around 
him, planted seventy thousand tobacco hills on 
slightly manured land; two hundred thousand 
corn hills on broomstraw and hen-nest grass land ; 
he sowed one hundred bushels of wheat suc- 
ceeding his corn crop; and in return fordiligent 
cultivation and a continual hard press during 
the working season, he gathered eight or ten 
thousand pounds of tobacco, five hundred bushels 
corn, and two or three hundred bushels wheat. 
This system was pursued by him for several 
years, with about the result above stated. Now, 



sir, how many farmers in Eastern Virginia are 
there who pursue the same course with similar 
results; perhaps four-fifths, or may I not say 
nine-tenths : that is at least the proportion within 
my observation. 

I will pursue the history of my farmer for 
their especial benefit. I have said he had a 
tract of ordinary, I might have said, poor land ; 
he had something else worth a little more than 
his land ; he had a strong mind stored with a 
good stock of practical sense. He concluded 
there must be a better way of getting along 
than the one he was pursuing, and that he 
would try by doing less work, to make more 
money ; a notion which I dare say the most of 
us are willing to adopt. He cut off nearly two- 
thirds of his crop, thirty thousand tobacco hills; 
next, he made less than one hundred thousand 
corn hills. He concentrated all the fertilizing 
means which he had expended before upon the 
larger surface, upon the more limited one, and 
at the close of the year, he gathered a little 
more crop than he had ever made before. Now 
this was encouraging, was it not 1 As he had 
expended a little more than one-third of the la- 
bour, he had nearly two-thirds of his time, to 
devote to some other, and he hoped more profi- 
table employment ; that time he employed in 
gathering materials to make manure. Adhering 
strictly to a small crop well manured and dili- 
gently cultivated, he has now the pleasure of 
gathering at the close of each year about double 
as much as he did in the beginning, besides 
having in tobacco an article worth as much 
again per hundred as formerly. He cultivates 
no land which will not well remunerate for the 
labor expended ; and in addition to the ordinary 
means of manuring, he uses gypsum freely on 
his growing crop, and thought a year or two 
ago when tobacco was higher than it is at pre- 
sent, that every barrel of gypsum applied to his 
growing tobacco, benefited him fifty dollars. 

I am here reminded of the remedy for flies in 
the tobacco plant bed. Is it generally known 
that one gallon of gypsum mixed with one gal- 
lon corn meal, is sufficient to sprinkle over a 
plant bed of two hundred square yards, and if 
repeated as often as it disappears, answers the 
twofold purpose of preventing the ravages of 
the fly, and is the best manure for plants known? 

I will conclude this communication, as it is 
already too long, by stating what would scarcely 
be credited, that the example of ihe farmer, 
above alluded to, is lost upon his neighbors. — 
Men are so wedded to old habits, that they pur- 
sue the old plan, of large fields, hard work, and 
small profits. The occupation of cultivating 
the soil is certainly a delightful one, but to look 
upon gullied hillsides, perpendicular ploughing, 
and, as a necessary result, corn-stalks a little 
larger than broom-straws, is enough to cool 
down the most ardent zeal, and give it over to 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



123 



the management of the ignorant "drawers of 
water and hewers of wood." 

BERKSHIRE HOGS. 

I do not know an individual who has mixed 
the Berkshire in his stock, or attempted to raise 
them exclusively, whose stock has not mate- 
rially deteriorated. I know several who used 
to raise an abundance of pork and a surplus for 
sale, who now are dependant on Kentucky for 
their supply. I have never had one ; my ob- 
jection to both Berkshire and Nobone is one that 
would be laughed at by the Yankee; legs too 
short, and body too large : they require too much 
food and have too little ability to get it. Give 
me something of the South Carolina Sand Hill 
hog, a hearing ear, (at least in acorn time,) a 
light body, and long legs, then a good range, 
and I will ensure meat enough. 

X. R. S. 

Nottoway, April 25, 1844. 



HOW TO CATCH CROWS. 

The following description of a successful 
mode of catching crows appeared not long since 
in an English paper — and will doubtless prove 
new and interesting to many of our country 
readers, who are annoyed by these inveterate 
corn-stealers in the planting season : 

"At Dover, last week, a novel wager was de- 
cided at the Red Cow public house, between 
several persons who had met there to regale 
themselves. The intensity of the weather, it 
appears, having put the feathered tribe to the 
shift, a vast quantity of crows were daily ob 
served to congregate at Farthinglowe, between 
Dover and Folkestone, on a mizen, whose inter- 
nal heat had rendered the surface clear of its 
coat of snow. This circumstance did not es- 
cape attention, and a wager as to the number 
of birds that could be taken resulted. Accord- 
ingly the person proceeded to prepare for the 
performance of his task, by carefully making a 
quantity of small paper caps, in shape resem- 
bling a cone; these were besmeared with bird- 
lime round the inner part of the base, and as 
many holes were made in the dung-heap as 
were required to deposit and keep them in an 
upright position. Into each of these caps a 
bean was put; and the scheme being thus far 
complete, the parties left to witness the move- 
ments of the unsuspecting crows. Presently, 
innumerable quantities dropped upon their old 
haunt, and peering out the treasures which lay 
at the bottom of the caps, sweeter far than the 
grapes in the fable, strutted and croaked, and 
apparently complimented each other on their 
good fortune. At length, one of the smutty 
gentlemen, bolder than the rest, determined to 
make hay whilst the sun was shining, popped 
his head in to seize the treasure ; but no sooner 



had he grasped it in his beak, than in trying to 
withdraw his cranium, it adhered to his raven 
coat. The sight was now extremely laugh- 
able ; blacky shook his head, but he lost not the 
envelope ; then attempted to fly, he soared a 
considerable height in the air, skimming wildly 
around, until at length he dropped and was 
taken ; and in this way, scores of them were 
observed buffeting against each other, until the 
bet was decided by a larger quantity being 
caught than the stipulation of the bet required, 
and in less time." 



For the Southern Planter. 
THE RIGHT USE OF APPLES. 

Mr. Editor, — A farmer of this county, two 
years ago, made from a moderate orchard, ap- 
ples of which he sold a part in Richmond and. 
elsewhere for $125. He used enough others 
to fatten his hogs through the earlier part of the 
fattening season ; thereby saving, as he thinks, 
at least fifty bushels of corn, worth fifty or sixty 
cents a bushel. He put away, besides, an 
abundant winter supply for his family ; and 
gave to several of his neighbors as many as 
they wanted, for the like use. He made no 
brandy — no cider, except, perhaps, one keg for 
vinegar. He had the unspeakable comfort of 
reflecting, that none of his fruit contributed one 
atom to the frightful mass of crime, vice, want 
and misery, which strong-liquor is constantly 
creating. How nobly does that honesl farmer 
contrast with him, who makes the apple and. 
peach tree more baleful than ihe deadly Upas; 
and converts the harvest itself, (Heaven's richest 
bounty,) into a wider means of destruction than 
if the same fields had been sown with dragon's 
teeth, like the fabled one of old ! 

Before harvest time, I wish to say a word to 
your readers about the drinks which suit that 
time best. I want to see if you and I cannot 
swell the number of those who let no intoxicat- 
ing liquor enter their harvest fields. There 
must be at least a hundred and fifty farmers in 
this county who act upon that principle ; and 
in the State, fifteen or twenty thousand. I have 
hopes, that next harvest their number will be 
doubled. If those who have not tried the new 
plan, will consult those who have, its adoption 
will be certain. But I save this subject for 
your next number. 
Your friend, 

John Dumpling. 

Louisa, April, 1844. 



SOILING CATTLE. 



John Q,ii incy, Jr., at a late agricultural meet- 
ing in Boston, said that his father had kept his 
stock of cattle on fifteen acres, by feeding them 



124 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



with the green food in the stable, the same cat- 
tle having required ninety acres of pasturage 
when they ran at large. His father's farm has 
no fences but the boundary fence, and he sup- 
poses that the cost of keeping division fences in 
repair would be greater than the expense of 
cutting green food for them. The soiling sys- 
tem is beyond doubt the economical system un- 
der certain circumstances; for instance, near 
large towns and in all prairies. Illinois would 
save more than her people pay in taxes by laws 
to prevent stock from running at large, and dis- 
pensing altogether with fences, except such as 
are necessary to keep up the stock. 

Louisville Journal. 



For the Southern Planter. 
BACHELOR'S PUDDING. 

J\lr. Editor, — Please present my dutiful re- 
spects to Aunt Dumpling, (for so we ought all 
to call her,) and tell her I always sleep on a 
hard bed, otherwise I should not wake in time 
to attend to my business ; moreover, I would be 
affected by a pain in the breast, and a lassitude 
and debility unfitting me for my daily avocation. 
Tell her also that I have tried ripe bread long 
since, but prefer it made into what, for want of 
a better name, I call bachelor's pudding. Thus, 
break or grate the bread into new milk, and per- 
mit it to get soft before adding a good portion 
of boiled rice, some eggs, butler, and other con- 
diments that the taste may dictate, and sweeten 
well with melasses.* Wonder if she will try 
it? My very good friend Judge R. . . pro- 
nounces it excellent, and Major Pickles says he 
knows what's what. 

Have you heard any thing of the Robinson 
Grass yet? Some persons have lately been 
lauding the Velvet Grass. I should like to 
know how to get rid of it, being decidedly the 
most indifferent of its genus I have tried. 

I really do not see the necessity of resorting 
to Bommer or any of his class for instruction in 
the art of making manure; for if we would 
avail ourselves of the advantages afforded us in 
almost every situation, there are few whose 
lands would not improve fast enough. Your 
course in relation to this matter is highly com- 
mendable, and must tend to general good, for 
which I trust you will reap your reward. The 
post of schoolmaster and editor of agricultural 
journals, I consider the most responsible, impor- 
tant and honorable in the land. 

After the demise of the late lamented and es- 
timable Buel, I proposed that each subscriber to 
the Cultivator should contribute one dollar to- 

* A syrup of the consistence and sweetness of ho- 
ney, and produced by the labor of asses in grinding 
sugar canes — thence melasses from mel and assinus, 
an ass, or asses. — Bordley. 



wards erecting a monument to his memory. 
But my proposition was passed by unheeded, 
slept the sleep of oblivion, and he whose merits 
elevated him far above warriors and statesmen, 
was not deemed worthy of this small token of 
the estimation in which his invaluable services 
were held by his countrymen. But " exegit 
monumentum cere perennius,'' and he will forever 
live in the hearts of the good and the wise. 

Oberlin. 

Jlpril 20, 1844. 

N. B. — In this month's number there is used 
the word luashy instead of swashy in my com- 
munication. The sentence should read thus, 
" such as are too wet and swashy," &c. 



GREEN AND DRY WOOD. 

A cord of wood whilst green, is said to con- 
tain 1,443 pounds of water, or one hogshead 
and two barrels. Let every farmer who hauls 
wood to market, remember that when he trans- 
ports it green, he is carrying that weight and 
quantity of water on this load, which, if he had 
suffered his wood to remain after it was cut till 
it was suitably seasoned, he might save from 
the burden of his oxen or horses, or pile upon 
the top of it three-fourths of a cord of seasoned 
pine, and yet have no heavier load than the 
green cord alone weighed. — Maine Cultivator. 



EMIGRATION. 
We make the following extract from a letter 
from Dr. Philips, Editor of the South- Western 
Farmer, Mississippi, to his brother Editor of the 
American Agriculturist. We do not hesitate 
in expressing the opinion, that this estimate of 
the disadvantages of emigration, is in accordance 
with the experience of nine-tenths of the emi- 
grants to other States ; the most of whom have 
sought, in a change of habitation, a relief from 
difficulties, which they were too loath to ascribe 
to the effects of an ill-regulated life : 

"Pleasures and Advantages of Remaining at 
Home. — Let any man ' cypher' up the cost of 
moving — the cost of land — the cost of build- 
ing — the cost of clearing — to say nothing of 
the deprivations in a country where farms are 
to open — the loss of dear associates — our school- 
mates — and the time required to prepare for 
making mone}', and I venture on it, no sane 
man will move. I want to see many from 
those old countries here: not that, Indian-like, 
I wish them to suffer because I have, but that 
I want a thicker-settled country, and more de- 
mand for land. Yet with all this I would re- 
commend them to improve at home where they 
now are ; husband their resources ; study the 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



125 



economy of manures, improved agricultural im- 
plements, stock, seeds, the best rotation, and 
management of crops. 

" Would that man merit aught but oppro- 
brium, who would urge his fellows to sever 
every tender tie that binds him to ' Home, sweet 
home;' to even the 'old oaken bucket;' to the 
soil ; to his associates and relatives, for the pur- 
pose of getting richer land, which, when cleared, 
and cultivated as is now done, will cause the 



young flock to wander again — and in reality, 
only serve to support one generation? I say 
nay, and therefore urge it on our brother farmer 
C. McD., as on all others in that good old State, 
to make it a part of their regular business to 
save, gather and make manure ; they will find 
that three years of labor, with the cost and loss 
of moving, will give them such lands, that they 
will cling to the 'old South State,' even if they 
live in the ' Peedee country — God bless you,' " 



For the Southern Planter. 
FLOOD GATES 




C. T. Botts, Esq.. 

Dear Sir, — I have been a subscriber to your 
valuable paper ever since you commenced its 
publication and I have read all of the numbers 
I believe (except one or two discontinued in 
consequence of my delinquency in failing to 
comply with your terms,) with increasing in- 
terest, and many of its contributions with very 
great advantage. I feel, therefore, that whilst 
I have been profiting by the labors and sugges- 
tions of others, I am under some little obligation 
myself to add rny rnite to the common stock. 

I have determined, like all of the rest of your 
contributors, I suppose, to tell first what I know 
most about. Fixtures on farms, I think, whilst 
we have been rapidly improving in agricultural 
implements, have been comparatively neglected, 



;and most certainly there is no one thing on the 

I farm, which contributes more to the farmer's 
success than convenient, substantial fixtures, 

I whilst indifferent fixtures and awkward ill-con- 

j trived tools and implements serve better than 
any thing else to dampen his ardor and disgust 

| him with his vocation. Most of our farms in 
Virginia are intersected by small streams run- 
ning across our fields ; it is, therefore, necessary 

i where a fence or enclosure intersects one of 
those fields, to have what we call in this part of 

J the country flood gates. Now, so far as my 
observation extends, there is no one thing about 
our farms worse contrived than these aforesaid 
flood gates. Most generally you find where 
the fence crosses the branch, a long pole extend- 
ing across, and perpendicular stabs, (let's call 



126 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



them slobs,) driven through the water into the 
mud, which serve at every swell of the stream 
to collect a hammock, which sweeps away pole, 
fence and all. I have prepared a drawing of 
one I design putting up, which I herewith en- 
close you. It is designed only to prevent stock 
from getting into the field ; I have no doubt, 
however, it would be equally effectual in pre- 
venting their getting out. The drawing speaks 
for itself and needs no explanation. Q,. 

Well constructed flood gates are undoubtedly 
very desirable appurtenances to a farm ; but we 
think the construction recommended by our cor- 
respondent is more expensive than necessary. 
If for his framing he will substitute a round pole 
extending across the branch and pinned down 
securely at each end, and upon this pole let his 
gate play by means of two white oak splits bent 
around it and secured to the top of his gate, he 
will have a fixture answering every purpose, 
erected at much less trouble and expense. 



EXTRACT FROM COL. BONNER— CURE 
FOR BARREN SOWS. 

" While writing, I thought it not amiss to 
give you the favorable results of an experiment 
of mine upon a fine Berkshire sow, purchased 
last fall of Mr. C. N. Bement, near your city. 
She was over two years old when I bought her, 
and although she ran regularly with his boars 
she had never produced a litter of pigs, or had 
even been in pig, to his knowledge. With a 
full knowledge of these facts, I purchased her. 
On the first of November last, 1 found her in 
season for the boar, and turned her in the pen 
to one of mine ; he served her repeatedly for 
two days. In about twenty days I found her 
again in season for the boar, and was persuaded 
by many friends that she was too fat to breed. 
I put her again to the boar, and turned her out 
in the woods without any food, to reduce her. — 
She continued to reduce daily, and got quite 
•poor, but was in season for the boar every eigh- 
teen to twenty-one days, and was as regularly 
served by different boars, until about the 10th 
of June. I then concluded to half-spay her ; 
or, in other words, to take out one of her ovaries, 
or prides, as we Georgians call them. I did so 
by making or cutting an incision in her right 
side, and took from her as large a pride as I 
ever saw. In the latter part of July, thereafter, 
I discovered her again in heat for the boar, and 
turned her into a pen to my imported boar, On- 
tario, and I am pleased to tell, that she not only 
proved in pig, but that on the 13th instant, she 
produced me six fine pigs — five sows, and one 
boar pig. I would further remark, that she had 
on previous occasions been served by Ontario, 



and that her condition as to flesh, &c, was about 
the same it had been for several months, and 
the treatment precisely the same. It is the first 
and only instance of the kind I ever heard of, 
and thinking it possible that some of your many 
readers might have a sdw similarly constituted, 
concluded to give you the above fact." 

We know of several instances where great 
disappointment and loss has been caused by the 
failure of sows to breed. Although, so far as 
we know, his remedy is perfectly novel, it is 
based on strict physiological principles. Ex- 
cessive ardor, or frequently repeated sexual con- 
nection, is usually a hindrance to impregnation, 
and the removal of an ovary, by lessening the 
first, had a direct tendency to produce the result 
desired. It is more than possible that the re- 
duction of flesh might have been also useful, as 
the pressure of fat usually closes the fallopian 
tubes and effectually prevents impregnation. 
Albany Cultivator. 



For the Southern Planter. 
CLOVER, HERDSGRASS, AND TIMOTHY. 

Mr. Editor, — I was much amused and grati- 
fied at the style in which you commented on 
the sayings and doings of the Farmers' Club of 
Henrico at their last meeting in October; and 
as clover formed the subject, of discussion, I re- 
solved at the time to give you the following 
hints as to the manner of curing it. After cut- 
ting, let it lie as long as possible without burn- 
ing, and then put it up in the following manner: 
Cut for each cock three sticks, eight or nine feet 
long ; stick the ends in the ground, about two 
feet apart, and tie the tops together with a rope 
of hay ; then get a cedar log, and thrusting one 
end in between the foot of two of the upright 
sticks, let it remain in the base of the tripod; 
leave a limb upon the other end by which you 
may draw the log out when required ; stack 
the clover, or other hay, against the sticks and 
over the log; then draw out the log; an open- 
ing will be left that will furnish free circulation 
for the air, and the clover will be very rapidly 
and perfectly cured. I have put up hay in this 
way whilst it was raining, and found it most 
excellently cured. 

On the subject of herdsgrass, permit me to 
add one word to what has been already written. 
Very poor and very dry land will bring it, if 
managed properly. It should be sown with 
oats or at the time of laying by your corn ; turn 
in the product next year, and follow the plough 
with a roller; then harrow lightly, and sow 
timothy and roll again ; then add a little top- 
dressing in the fall or early in the spring, and 
you will cut a good crop of grass. Our grasses 
do not penetrate deep enough to get the benefit 
of the soil on account of the dryness of the 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



127 



climate, and they, therefore, suffer much from the 
drought; but when the surface is inverted and 
the sod is kept unbroken, the grass puts up 
backwards, and the growth, even without ma- 
nure, would astonish any one who saw it. If 
you are sceptical, just come out about the 10th 
of June, and you will then see for yourself. — 
Let there he no mistake about the time the 
grass is ploughed under: this should be done, 
if the grass is to be cut, immediately after the 
scythe ; otherwise, when the heads are dry, and 
when the stalks are green, but ripe. 

Timothy is a different thing from herdsgrass ; 
it is a complete bulb or root, of the shape of a 
wild onion. When it is cut, this strong root, if 
left to itself, sprouts promptly and sends out two 
or three shoots. If in this sprouted, green, and 
growing state, it is turned under so deep as to 
be beyond the influence of the sun and air, it 
must rot, of course: but if it is turned under 
only two or three inches deep, it comes through, 
and is greatly strengthened. I am now certain, 
that any land that will bring broomstraw, will 
bring good grass. 

The farm 1 live on had not one thousand 
spires of good grass on it four years ago, and 
now, although no manure was ever put on a 
blade of grass, I cured 40,000 lbs. last year, 
notwithstanding I lost from five to ten thousand 
weight for want of hands to save it. This year, 
I hope to reach 60.000 lbs. If the Farm Com- 
mittee of the Agricultural Society will call on 
me from the 5th to the 20th of June, and will 
award a premium for " the most made from the 
least spent," I shall be happy to see them. 

In my next, I will furnish you with a plan to 
enable poor farmers to make poor lands rich, 
which has forced itself on my attention, as it 
affords more, in rny opinion, for the amount ex- 
pended than any other plan I have seen recom- 
mended. 

Yours, respectfully, 

J. H. D. Lownes. 

Brookland, April, 1844. 

There is no information more to be desired 
than this promised by Mr. Lownes. We shall 
look for hi3 next communication with no little 
interest. 



STOPPING BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. 

Dr. Negrier, of Algiers, France, has published 
a new method of stopping bleeding from the 
nose. The following fact induced him to try 
the plan : — " Some years ago, I cut myself un- 
der the nose while shaving. The blood flowed 
copiously from this petty wound, and I could 
not stop it, either with court-plaster or by cau- 
terizing with the nitrate of silver. By chance, 
however, I lifted up both my arms at once to 
reach something, and I 3aw, to my great sur- 



prise, that the flow of blood, which was copious 
just before, immediately stopped. I lowered my 
arms, and the haemorrhage began again ; I again 
lifted them up, and again the blood immediately 
stopped. In this way I renewed and stopped 
the flow five or six times, in order to convince 
myself perfectly that the sudden raising of the 
arms was really the cause of the haemorrhage. 
Lastlj 7 , I kept my arms raised for one or two 
minutes; and during this period a plastic crust 
formed upon the cut, which put a final stop to 
the hremorrhage." 

The following case, being one of those re- 
ported by the author, will show his method of 
proceeding: — 'April, 1839. A chimney-sweep, 
aged fourteen, had already lost two hundred 
grammes (six ounces) of blood from the right 
nostril. The blood was still flowing very fast. 
I had the boy placed with his head high; then, 
with the fore-finger of the left hand, I compressed 
the nostril from which the blood was flowing ; 
while doing this I made him lift up his right 
arm perpendicularly, telling him to keep it so 
for two minutes ; the haemorrhage had stopped 
in ten seconds." 



For the Southern Planter. 
PRESERVATION OF VINES. 

Mr. Editor, — The preservation of vines (such 
as musk melons, cucumbers, &c.) from the little 
green striped bug, which so frequently depre- 
dates upon them, to the great annoyance and 
disappointment of housekeepers and gardeners, 
has long been a desideratum with that class of 
the community ; and as yet, I believe, but few 
remedies have been found effectual. As the 
season is now approaching, when the attention 
of such persons will be again called to the sub- 
ject, it has occurred to me, that I might perhaps 
do them some little service,by suggesting through 
the Planter a plan which I have pursued for se- 
veral years with complete success. It is not 
original with me ; I am indebted for it to some 
agricultural paper in which I found it some 
years ago ; but as I have never seen it else- 
where, perhaps it may be new to some of your 
readers. It ma} 7 not be unprofitable, therefore, 
just at this time, to inform or remind them of it. 

The plan is simply this: Take short pieces 
of boards that are easily handled — shingles, old 
barrel heading, or any thing of the kind — lay 
them along the rows, or drills, immediately at 
the root of the vine as soon as it comes up, and 
let some person go every morning about sun- 
rise, and again in the evening about sun-set, 
and turn up the boards. He will find the bugs 
reposing under or adhering to them, and with a 
little wedged shape stick, he may destroy every 
one. Any little boy can do it, and in one hour 
can attend to all the vines in the largest size 
gardens. 



128 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



The philosophy of the thing I presume is 
simply this: the bug takes shelter under the 
boards, as a convenient location to the vine, 
from the cold and damp of the night, and from 
the sultry heat of the day, and only comes out 
to feed in the cool of the morning when the dew 
is off, and in the cool of the evening, before it 
falls — and by anticipating their time a little, 
they are easily surprised and taken. 

By attending to this method only a few days, 
if the weather is seasonable and the ground 
rich, the plants will soon get out of their reach, 
and no further trouble will be necessary. I have 
only to add, that I have now been trying it for five 
or six years, and have never failed, from that 
cause, to raise an abundant supply of those de- 
sirable fruits. 

Your friend, C. 



From the Louisville Journal. 
PEACH TREE WORM. 

Much has been said and written respecting 
the worm which is so destructive to our peach 
trees. Now my object is not so much to point 
out a preventive as a cure, which, after eight 
years trial, I can speak with some degree of 
assurance. It consists in the following simple 
method : — Early in the spring, soon after the 
frost is out of the ground, I lay bare the trunk 
of the tree at the roots, then pour on from two 
to four gallons of boiling soap suds, which may 
be easily obtained after washing; taking care 
so to remove the earth as to retain the boiling 
suds around the tree ; then immediately replace 
the earth. 1 usually perform the same opera- 
tion again in August ; and once a year I scrub 
the entire trunk of the tree with strong soft soap 
suds ; this method has never failed in keeping 
my peach trees entirely free from worms. This 
method I consider much better than digging 
away the earth and probing with a penknife, 
as it takes comparatively but little time, and is 
much more certain. Many persons might be 
deterred from trying this method fearing it would 
injure or entirely destroy the tree but I can safely 
say I have never known a single instance where 
the tree sustained the least injury. I have sold 
peaches for four dollars per bushel the subse- 
quent fall after the operation. 

As to a preventive, I have never found any 
thing to answer as well as tan-bank, stone coal, 
or pounded charcoal ; either will answer the 
purpose, but should be renewed once a year. 

M. Flagg. 



For the Southern Planter. 
RUST. 



Mr. Editor, — Much has been written on the 
subject of rust in wheat ; I have, however, seen 
(as well as I remember) no reference made to 
its being caused by fallowing and seeding the 



land when too wet. I may be in error, (and 
some whom I have conversed with on the subject 
seem to think so,) but twenty j^ears close obser- 
vation has led my mind to the conclusion, that 
in a majority of cases, the rust which injures or 
destroys wheat, is caused by seeding on land 
too wet, or that has been fallowed when too wet. 

This is a tobacco planting region, and we 
generally sow our wheat from the 20th of Sep- 
tember to 31st of October, sometimes earlier and 
sometimes later, as the tobacco housing permits. 
The time of commencing harvest varies from 
the 20th of June to the 6th of July, depending 
more on the season than the time of sowing. 

In 1832, my land was fallowed, when exces- 
sively dry, and in seeding a cloud of dust fol- 
lowed the ploughs and harrows. The winter 
and spring following, up to the 9th of May, 
were ordinary ; from the 9th of May to the 30th 
of June, there fell an unusual quantity of rain, 
which in many places beat down the wheat 
and caused the straw to have a dull, weather- 
beaten appearance ; there was, however, no rust; 
the crop was a good average, and the grain 
weighed upwards of sixty pounds to the bushel. 

In 1835, my crop was seeded on land that 
was very dry, and which had been fallowed 
very diy. The winter was unfavorable and the 
spring backward up to the 25ih of May, when 
rain commenced and continued in torrents with 
little intermission until the 20th of July. Much 
of my wheat was cut while rain was actually 
falling; the crop was for the most part lodged 
and mildewed, indeed rendered almost worthless; 
nevertheless, there was no rust. 

In the fall of 1836, my land was fallowed 
wet, though seeded when dry ; the spring of 
1837, was dry, cold, and harsh, to the 12th of 
May, from which time to harvest, it was sea- 
sonable but not too wet. The wheat crop was 
badly rusted, and almost a total failure. The 
fallowing season (August and September of 
1837,) was extremely dry, as was the seeding. 
Up to the middle of May, 1838, the spring was 
uncommonly cold ; from thence to harvest sea- 
sonable. The wheat crop in quantity and qua- 
lity very heavy with bright straw. 

The fallowing and seeding in the fall of 1838, 
was done in very dry weather; ihe winter and 
spring of 1839, ordinary ; the wheat crop was 
uncommonly fine in quantity and quality. 

The fallowing and seeding seasons of 1840, 
1841 and 1842, were wet, and the crop of each 
succeeding season were ruined by the rust. I 
am also convinced when wheat is caused to 
rust by wet, hot weather in the spring, the mis- 
chief is done thirty or forty days before harvest. 
I believe a hot, wet spell of five or six weeks in 
April and May, will cause almost any crop of 
wheat to rust, nor can any weather in June 
save it. 

Wheat sown on land where gypsum has been 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



129 



freely used, is certainly more apt to rust, than 
where it has not been used. It does not, how- 
ever, necessarily follow that gypsum is the sole 
cause of rust ; on the contrary, I consider its 
agency comparatively insignificant in producing 
that result. 

Wheat seeded on land too wet, (like most 
other crops,) takes a bad start, does not leave 
the ground until warm weather sets in, say last 
of April or first of May, which does not leave 
it sufficient time to grow and ripen ; the conse- 
quence is, when the ripening season arrives, it 
rusts and dries up. 

Lime and ashes, so far as my experiments 
extend, have but little agency in arresting the 
malady. A return of the old fashioned Indian 
summer autumns, deep snows through the win- 
ter, with moderately cool and seasonable springs, 
would remove (in my humble judgment) all 
complaint about rust, and I much fear the wheat 
growers of this region have no other hope. It 
is true, that virgin soils seem less liable to pro- 
duce rust, than (what is called) old land ; and it 
is equally true, (I presume) that any application 
which would reinstate that virginity, would be 
an advantage ; but the question is, can such an 
application be made, and if so, would it effec- 
tually remove the evil 1 I think not ; for 1 have 
seen wheat badly rusted on land very recently 
cleared. 

The foregoing offers no remedy ; it is indeed 
a forlorn hope : if, however, you deem it worth 
inserting in the Planter, you can do so. 

With esteem, I am your obedient servant, 

WlLLTAM MASSIE. 

Pharsalia, Nelson Co., April 8, 1844. 



For the Southern Planter. 
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE FRENCH. 

JWr. Editor, — I send you below some more 
translations from the French, for the Planter; 
I will in my next send you the article on marl, 
alluded to in the note at the end of this commu- 
nication. 

Your obedient servant, X. 

Hanover, April 10, 1844. 

<: The first thing that a person should do who 
wishes to establish a farm, is, to inform himself 
of all the expenses consequent upon the under- 
taking. * * * * 

" 1 arn in favor of a farm of moderate size, 
where the farmer can choose his ground and 
spare no means by which to bring his farm to 
a high state of improvement. I would espe- 
cially counsel you not to forget the advice of 
Columella, ' the field should be weaker than the 
laborer, for if it is stronger it will become over- 
run with weed3.' Adapt the size of your farm 
to the mean? you possess ; if you possess but 
Vol. IV.— 17 ' 



little, attempt but little, and never commit the 
folly of going in debt for your farm. However 
small the rate of interest that } 7 6u pay, you will 
find that in the first years of your experiment 
you will be unable to pay it from the product of 
your farm. You reckon falsely, if you suppose 
that 3'ou will be able to repay the borrowed mo- 
ney from the proceeds of the first harvest; al- 
most all of those will be absorbed by expenses 
as necessary as unforeseen. Besides, the har- 
vest of the first year (I hesitate not to speak of 
the three first) is often small, either from the bad 
husbandry of the farmer who preceded you, or 
from your own imperfect knowledge of the soil 
and 3'our inexperience. The instructions that I 
am about to give will, I hope, be useful to be- 
ginners, and I can offer them with the more 
confidence since I speak of that which I have 
seen and practised. * * * 

"Hcec sunt mea venijicia, (these are my sorce- 
ries,) said Cresinus, bringing into the forum his 
rustic implements, and assuredly there was rea- 
son in what he said ; in the ploughs which turn 
over the earth well and open a deep furrow, the 
harrows and rollers which soften and divide the 
soil, behold already a part of the art of farming. 
It is essential then that the farmer should have 
some idea of the instruments which he should 
employ. 

" The Plough. — As it would fill a volume 1o 
treat of all the different varieties of the plough, I 
will refer you to the savans who have already 
written on the subject. I do not even wish to 
decide which is the best, and I think that the 
plough used in each country is good, if they 
knew how to employ it. It may not perhaps 
be amiss to introduce here the words of Liebault : 
'I will forbear from speaking in this place of the 
form of the plough and of the different varieties 
that are used in different portions of the coun- 
try ; since it is necessary to adapt to the soil 
that is to be cultivated, the utensil that is to be 
used.' In general each country has adopted a 
plough suitable to its soil. In one part of France, 
for instance, in Brie, &c, they use the turning 
plough, so called because they have a share at- 
tached to one very large point above which is 
placed a piece of arched wood, called versoir 
which always turns the earth over on the same 
side ; they use this plough bescause they plough 
there in beds to draw off the water. In other 
parts, as in Picardie, they use a plough which 
has two points, near which is placed a piece of 
wood called an ear, which is moved at will, be- 
cause the lands not being wet, they plough them 
flat. To change your plough without much 
reflection and before many experiments, is a 
folly. The plough which succeeds in Brie will 
not suit our canton, (Oixe.) 

" Harrows. — It is well to have harrows of 
two kinds — heavy ones for land that is hard or 
covered with large clods — light ones to be drawn 



130 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



by one horse where the soil is soft. The teeth 
of the harrow should be long and made of sea- 
soned wood, the cornelle (dog wood) is the best 
-wood that can be employed for this purpose. As 
the teeth often break, one should keep a supply 
of them on hand, and never permit a harrow 10 
be used with teeth that are broken or too much 
worn. As to the form, I prefer the triangular to 
the square, as they break the land better and 
more quickly. A farmer should have one harrow 
with iron teeth, which should be fastened with 
nut» to the bars made very strong and bound 
with iron bands; this instrument, unknown in 
many places, is yet useful in all countries if you 
except sandy soils ; all other varieties of land 
will derive much benefit from it when they are 
hardened by great rains or heat, or when they 
send forth much herbage. 

"Manure. — Land would always produce 
abundantly if it received the necessary manure ; 
one great care of the farmer then should be, to 
multiply his manures as much as possible. The 
most common and most easily obtained, is that 
produced by horses, cows, sheep and swine. One 
can unfortunately only augment the quantity by 
degrees; for if manure produces good harvests, 
the good harvests in their turns afford the straw 
from which an increase of manure is derived, 
and this it is that renders the first years difficult ; 
the crops failing for want of manure, and the 
manure being scarce on account of the medi- 
ocrity of the crops. Thus it is often necessary 
on a farm neglected for a long time, to purchase 
the first year straw of which to make manure, 
and to procure by these means good crops. But 
only that straw which has been well trampled 
and prepared by the cattle forms manure ; it is 
necessary therefore to buy a number of cattle 
proportioned to the quantity of forage that one 
has to convert into manure, which number should 
be augmented as the lucerne, sainfoil, and other 
species of grasswhich good husbandry will afford, 
come on. Thus three things are necessary for 
the collection of manure — sufficient material, a 
considerable number of cattle, and an abundance 
of food. As to the best manner of using ma- 
nure. In the first place, you should be careful 
to have your manure well rotted, particularly 
such as is to go on flinty land. It must not, 
however, be too much decomposed, for then it 
loses much in quantity ; they put generally two 
four-horse wagon loads to the arpent. It is bet- 
ter to put it sparingly ; for four arpents with a 
moderate crop, will produce more than two 
where there is a large crop, and two where there 
is a small crop, on account of the need that the 
land has for assistance. Eesides, too much ma- 
nure sometimes causes the wheat to lodge, and 
sometimes it causes so much grass to grow as 
to destroy the wheat. ' Manure frequently and 
little,' is the doctrine of Columella and Palla- 
dius. ' Much fruit may be obtained if you re- 



fresh the earth with frequent and moderate ma- 
nurings,' says the first; 'Nee prodest nimium 
stercorare uno tempore, sed frequenter et modicey 
Pall : Nor is it beneficial to manure too much 
at one time, but frequently and moderately. I 
do not speak of the opinion of Columella that 
it destroys plants to manure them on the wane 
of the moon. I confess I put no faith in those 
prejudices, but prefer to say with Olivier, 

'L'homme e'tant trop lunier 
De fruits ne remplit son panier.' 
The man who trusts much to the moon 
Will find his gamers empty soon. 

"Maul is a very useful manure on some 
lands. Marl is a white stone found benea.th the 
surface of the earth at a depih more or less 
great ; it is necessary for soils that are cold and 
retain water, that are hard to plough and will 
crumble. It is, however, necessary to put it on 
moderately, because otherwise it will render the 
land too light, and will alter its nature. After 
having marled land, it is proper to manure well 
immediately and turn under the marl and ma- 
nure together ; a greater quantity of manure 
than usual is required, well rotted and at least 
twelve wagon loads to the arpent." 

(1) We will speak of marl more in detail in 
September. 



HINTS TO LOVERS OF FLOWERS. 

A most beautiful and easily attained show of 
evergreens in winter may be had by a very sim- 
ple plan, which has been found to answer re- 
markably well on a small scale. If geranium 
branches taken from healthy and luxurious trees 
just before the winter sets in, cut as for slips, 
and immersed in soap and water, they will, after 
drooping for a few days, shed their leaves, put 
forth fresh ones, and continue in the finest vigor 
all the winter. By placing a number of bottles 
filled in flower baskets, with moss to conceal the 
bottles, a show of evergreens is easity insured 
for a whole season. They require no fresh 
water — Selected. 



GUANO. 
We have alluded before to our own experience 
of the wonderful effects of this extraordinary 
fertilizer. Until we read the following commu- 
nication, however, for the author of which the 
Editor of the "American Farmer," (whose state- 
ments we are always ready to endorse,) vouches, 
we had no idea that this substance could be 
made subservient to the general purposes of the 
farmer. If the data be correct, it is the most 
convenient and cheapest manure that can be 
obtained. There have been several importations 
made into this country and the price as well as 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



131 



the quality has varied very much. We obtained 
a small quantity in Baltimore a few days since, 
which we are retailing for gardan purposes. It 
can be had by the quantity in this market for 
from six to ten dollars per hundred weight. — 
The Editor of the " Farmer' recommends that 
it be kept very closely protected from the air, to 
prevent the loss of ammonia upon which its 
virtue chiefly depends. For this reason he 
reckons the guano imported in close casks as 
worth twice as much as that brought in bags. 
For the same purpose, to arrest the escape of 
the ammonia, he recommends that it should be 
applied in combination with plaster or charcoal. 
Several attempts have been made both in this 
country and in Europe to imitate this substance 
by an artificial mixture, and it is supposed that 
an article of equal efficacy can be obtained by 
the use of the fructifying ingredients in the 
guano, which may be furnished at a less price 
than the original article can be imported for. 

It will never be forgotten that these manures 
are not intended to supersede those which can 
be collected or manufactured upon the farm ; 
they are only worth considering when the do- 
mestic supply has been exhausted. 

The following is the communication alluded 
to: 

For the American Farmer. 

GUANO. 

Having used the past summer, about five 
hundred weight of this new manure, and pre- 
suming that an account of its action or effect 
on various crops, will not be devoid of interest, 
I will give 3 7 ou the results of my experiments. 

For grass crops of all kinds, particularly when 
used, as a top-dressing, I consider guano inva- 
luable. Indeed so decided is its effects on grass, 
that, if a specific had been invented for this 
crop alone, it could not have answered better. 

Owing to a great hurry in the spring work, 
consequent upon a very backward season, it 
was as late as the 13th of May before I com- 
menced the experiment with guano. This was 
at least three or four weeks too late, as the 
grass had made a start of from eight to ten 
inches. One bushel (46 lbs. in weight,) was 
applied on one quarter of an acre of blue grass 
and clover, which, owing to its peculiar situa- 
tion and other circumstances, had been undis- 
turbed by the plough for fifteen or twenty years, 
although it had been top-dressed every second 
or third season, with stable manure. On the 
1 3th of June, the grass was mowed ; and so 
powerful was the action of the guano in the 
short period of thirty days, that the crop was 
double the usual quantity of hay grown from 



this piece of land. This fact was ascertained, 
not only by comparing the crop with that on the 
adjoining land of the same character as to soil, 
but from the knowledge of its usual product in 
former seasons, being half a cart load, (one- 
fourth of a ton,) having this season produced a 
full heaping load (one-half of a ton ) 

A second crop was cut from the same spot, 
in August, and again it showed the same re- 
sults ; the crop being fully double that on the 
adjoining land. If, as they have experienced 
in England, that one dressing of guano will act 
for three seasons, you will see how valuable a 
fertilizer guano is for this purpose. 

Ten different trials on timothy, orchard grass, 
clover, &c. — on newly set, on old sward un- 
pioughed for twenty-five years, and on pasture, 
have fully established, in my opinion, the cha- 
racter of this manure for grasses. The quan- 
tity applied, was generally at the rate of two 
hundred pounds, or about four bushels to the 
acre. On one spot where it was applied too 
fully, (probably at the rate of seven or eight 
bushels to the acre,) the first cutting of grass 
was very luxuriant ; but after that, the grass 
seemed to die entirely, looking as though fire 
had passed over it : in a few weeks, however — 
when the power of the guano had become 
weakened by the rains, as I supposed, it reco- 
vered its growth — and at the second cutting, 
yielded comparatively as well as the first crop. 
The soil on which all these experiments were 
made is a tolerable loam, with a stiff clay sub- 
soil ; and the guano was applied at various 
times from May to August, with but one appli- 
cation to each spot or piece. 

On potatoes and corn I was disappointed with 
its action — seeming to produce no decided ef- 
fect ; — but this is accounted for in the fact, that 
it will not act on rich land or land highly ma- 
nured. Both of the crops mentioned, were in 
strong ground and manured in the hill with sta- 
ble dung, previous to the application of the 
guano. This accords with the experience of 
the London Horticultural Society in their expe- 
riments with guano, who say, " that a quantity 
which would be highly beneficial to a poor soil, 
will become deleterious upon land previously 
rich and well manured." In England it has 
been found to be an excellent manure for pota- 
toes ; and the experiments of Mr. Teschamaker 
in Boston with it upon corn — published in the 
Farmer some time since — proves its value with 
this crop. If I had applied it, on the corn and 
potatoes, instead of stable manure, I have no 
doubt of the result. 

On turnips (for which in England it has been 
found superior to the turnip specific, bones,) it 
produced a decidedly better crop, than another 
piece manured with stable dung ; and I have 
no doubt, from its salt and pungent flavor, it 



132 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



keeps away the fly, generally so destructive to 
this crop. 

On flowers, I found the rose to be much invi- 
gorated, both in growth and bloom ; but ob- 
served no decided benefit on any ■'other species. 

There is one remarkable circumstance con- 
nected with guano, or rather the application of 
it, which requires notice ; — it is, the fact, that 
water is necessary for its proper action, — it 
ought to be applied to the soil just previous to a 
rain ; as owing to the large quantity of ammo- 
nia it contains, this valuable portion of its ferti- 
lizing ingredients is liable to be evaporated, un- 
less soon carried beneath the surface, or ab- 
sorbed by the plants to which it has been ap- 
plied. If the soil is stirred as it ought to be, 
except when used as a top-dressing for grasses, 
immediately after its application, there is less 
liability of any of its good qualities being lost. 

I have before me a letter from a gentleman, 
many years a resident in Peru. He thus de- 
scribes the manner in which guano is used 
there: — "For maize, (Indian corn,) when the 
plant is twelve inches high, a small quantity is 
put around each plant, hoed slightly in and wa- 
tered within twenty-four hours — (our frequent 
showers would obviate the necessity of water- 
ing;) again when the corn is just beginning to 
put forth ears, the same operation is performed. 
By this treatment, lands which un manured gave 
only thirty fold, have been made to yield two 
hundred fold." 

I believe guano can be imported from Eng- 
land at as low, or perhaps a lesser rate, than 
from South America. This is owing to the fa- 
cilities granted to the English company who 
import it ; and also to the difference in the 
charge for freight; freight being about two- 
thirds less from England, than from Chili and 
Peru. It was quoted a short time since in the 
Liverpool price current at 9 to £12 per ton — 
say XlO-g- per ton — counting the pound at 480, 
(this includes exchange,) it stands about $50 
per ton in Liverpool; the freight would be about 
one cent per pound, and duty twenty per cent.; 
costing landed here, about $85 per ton ; or un- 
der, four cents per pound. Two hundred pounds 
on one acre, will manure it at an expense of 
$3. What is the comparison as to cost, be- 
tween it and stable manure ? Let us have your 
views upon this point; twenty loads of stable 
manure for one acre will cost over twelve dol- 
lars, and the hauling from the city is worlh as 
much more. There may be differences of opi- 
nion in regard to the cheapness of guano over 
other manures ; but it would appear from the 
price at which it was selling at Liverpool, that 
it might be imported to great advantage. 

P. S. — In an article copied from the Maine 
Farmer into the American Farmer, of the 24th 
instant, guano is spoken of as requiring very 
little of it to manure an acre, and in the next 



sentence thirty-five bushels of guano are said to 
be equivalent to seventy loads of dung, on one 
acre. Is not this a typographical error? If it 
is of the same component qualities as the guano 
used in the foregoing experiments, thirty-five 
bushels ought at the very least to manure seven 
acres. 



SUBSTITUTE FOR GLASS IN HOT BEDS. 

We notice in Hovey's Magazine of Horticul- 
ture, an extract from a German publication, 
giving a substitute for glass in hot beds. Take 
fine white cotton cloth and cover the frames. — 
To render it transparent and impervious, it is 
covered with the following preparation, viz : 4 
oz. of dry pulverized white cheese ; 2 oz. of 
white slacked lime; 4 oz. of boiled linseed oil. 
Mix these well, and add 4 oz. of the whites of 
eggs, and as much of the yolks, and the mass 
is made liquid by beating. The application is 
similar to varnishing any other article. This is 
certainly much cheaper and safer than glass. 
Tennessee Agriculturist. 



For the Southern Planter. 

LARD. 

Mr. Editor, — I have been reading your paper 
ever since you set it going, and I think an agri- 
cultural paper a most convenient and useful 
thing. The farmers too are a very good dis- 
posed and accommodating sort of folks. They 
don't keep things to themselves like Free Ma- 
sons, but will tell their neighbors whatever they 
know will benefit them. Now, sir, some peo- 
ple are too proud to ask information, particularly 
about little matters, but 1 have always heard 
that good management was made up of little 
things, and hope some of your contributors will 
furnish me the information I ask. Mrs. Gig- 
gins, (whom of course I consider a first rate 
housewife, as do all who know her,) has been 
overtaken for once in her life. She is not easily 
caught I can assure you, but on this occasion 
she has been. The last winter we put up as 
nice a parcel of lard as you ever saw. It 
would have made you smack your lips to taste 
of some of Mrs. Giggins thin biscuits. Well, 
sir, you know if lard, or butter, or such like 
things, are kept in a confined' place, such as a 
cellar or such like place, it will acquire a cer- 
tain unpleasant taste and smell. Now, our lard 
is not exactly spoiled, but then it is not Mrs. 
Giggins' kind of lard. Our cellar is an un- 
commonly dry one, and we thought it would be 
entirely secure, but it is not. You know what 
1 mean better than I can tell you. I observe in 
your April number creosole is recommended to 
restore meat a little tainted, but how could I ap- 
ply it to the improvement of my firkins of lard 1 
Please ask some of your knowing fanners and 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



133 



chemists to help Mrs Giggins oat of her difficul- 
ties, for she is very much put out about her lard. 
Perhaps too they can tell me another thing. 
Do persons who put up a good deal of lard, put 
any thing with it to preserve it? A few years 
ago a large bacon-curer told me that he was in 
the habit of putting saltpetre with his, but did 
not say how much. Now, I am sure something 
is put in it, for the. grocers and other large dealers 
keep it in their cellars without injury. 

Do, Mr. Editor, help Mrs. Giggins out of her 
difficulties, and she promises in turn, if any 
should need her aid, she will tell them how to 
make mincepie, or light bread and rolls, or any 
thing else that any other lady under the sun 
knows. Or if they will come and see US' they 
shall have the best we can give, and be their 
own judges. 

Yours, respectfully, 

Simon Giggins. 

April 10, 1S44. 

From our knowledge of Mrs. Giggins' house- 
wifery, we think we can safely promise to any 
one who will assist her in her present difficulty 
ample compensation in some of her excellent 
recipes. 



EFFECTS OF DEEPENING THE SOIL. 

The Liverpool Times gives the following fact, 
illustrating the beneficial effects of loosening 
the soil to a considerable depth : 

" On Saturday, there were exhibited in the 
Exchange News Room, two enormous speci- 
mens of the red beet, or rnangel-wurtzel, grown 
by Mr. Robert Neilson, in a field on his farm at 
Halewood. Each of them weighed upwards 
of twenty pounds. They were not merely cu- 
riosities in themselves, but remarkable proofs of 
the effects which may be produced on vegeta- 
tion by deepening of the soil, for the ground 
which produced these gigantic roots, would cer- 
tainly have produced double quantity of pota- 
toes, or of turnips or of ordinary sized beets, 
usually grown on an equal extent of land. — 
They show that by deepening the soil, an 
amount of produce may be got from it much 
greater than any one has yet thought it possible 
to raise." — Louisville Journal. 



For the Southern Planter. 

THE HILLY AND MOUNTAIN LANDS OF 
THE SOUTHERN STATES. 

Mr. Editor ■, — A letter was some time since 
drawn from the Hon. T. Clingrnan by inquiries 
addressed to him as to the climate and agricul- 
tural resources, especially for sheep husbandry 
of his District in North Carolina — the famous 
Buncombe District. The letter treated also, 



briefly, of the manufacturing capabilities of the 
same region. It lifted the veil and disclosed to 
view a fine country, hitherto, in a manner, un- 
known ; and from the striking nature of the 
facts staled, and the wide circulation which has 
been given to them, there is reason to suppose 
the time may be close at hand when public at- 
tention being drawn to its resources, a portion of 
the enterprise and capital which rail road and 
canal facilities have carried exclusively to the 
West, will be directed to Western Virginia and 
the mountainous and hilly portions of the Ca- 
rolinas and Georgia. 

To T.-S. Skinner, Esq. 

Assistant Post Master General, Washington: 

J\ly Dear Sir, — I received your hurried line 
and take the liberty of sending you some que- 
ries if you would have the kindness to get Mr. 
Clingrnan to answer. My object is entirely 
sheep feeding and stock raising. I am not 
bound to any place or locality but where may 
suit my object, but my great object is suitable 
ground and cheap and a healthy situation — none 
other at any price. But I agree with you, that 
the Northern States is not the place, but fear 
from an observation of Mr. Clingman's, these 
grounds are not suitable either. What would 
be my way there from here — by Wheeling or 
Baltimore ? 

QUERIES. 

1. At what price per acre could the district 
of ground mentioned by Mr. Clingrnan be pur- 
chased at, and what would "be the terms of pay- 
ment ? 

2. How much of it is clear of timber and fit 
for cultivation and fit for sheep or cattle feeding ? 

3. How much per acre would it cost to clear 
it and have it fit for cultivation, &c. ? 

4. Are there any water falls on these lands, 
and are the streams constant ? 

5. How far is it situate from any good town ? 

6. Is there any society, and of what descrip- 
tion, near it 1 

7. Is there any place of religious public wor- 
ship, and what denomination? 

8. Are there any good schools near it ? 

9. What is the highest temperature in sum- 
mer, and the lowest in winter ; any severe frosts, 
and what is the general continuance of it ? 

10. What description of timber is generally 
on these grounds; any of the pitch? 

11. Is ague or fever prevalent in the neigh- 
borhood, and is it generally healthy ? 

12. Is the ground naturally dry, or full of 
springs, and will it answer for growing wheat ? 

We can very clearly see that with the pros- 
pect for an increased demand for wool in Ame- 
rica, the subject of sheep raising is fast becom- 
ing the engrossing one of the day. A great 



134 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



demand is arising for good sheep lands, and we 
are perfectly satisfied, and have long ago ex- 
pressed the opinion, that no State in this Union 
is better able to supply that demand than the 
State of Virginia. The queries above will fur- 
nish a clue to the requisites sought by our 
Northern friends who are inclined to embark in 
this business, and we shall be much obliged to 
any of our correspondents who will assist in de- 
veloping the resources of the State by furnishing 
satisfactory answers to them. 



ORANGE COUNTY BUTTER-MAKING. 

Goshen butter, made in Orange County, this 
State, is celebrated the world over as being equal, 
if not superior, to any other produced in the U. 
States. It undoubtedly owes its reputation, in 
a measure, to the careful manner in which it is 
made ; the food of the cows, however, from 
which the milk is concocted, has something to 
do with it, as the pastures in the best districts 
of Orange County abound with sweet grass 
and white clover, which unquestionably are 
great requisites to insure sweet butter. We 
took the opportunity during two recent trips to 
this county, to visit several of its dairies, and 
make ourselves as well acquainted with the 
process of butter-making here as our time would 
allow. Those the most complete which passed 
under our inspection, we found upon the farms 
of Frederick J. Betts, Esq., of Newburgh and 
General Wickham, of Goshen. As we took 
full notes of the latter establishment, our de- 
scription will apply more particularly to this. 

The cows are regularly salted and kept in 
good pasture during summer ; in the winter, 
each one by itself in a stall, with a separate 
door to it, in a building forming two sides of a 
square, round a large commodious yard. The 
lower story of the barn is appropriated for the 
stables, the upper part for hay and fodder. Gen. 
Wickham has several dairy establishments ; the 
most perfect is that within two miles of Goshen, 
numbering forty cows. These are brought up 
to the yard night and morning, and regularly 
milked. The outer paling of the yard is distant 
only about fifty feet from the farm-house. Here, 
right opposite the farm-house, is placed a tunnel, 
into which the milk is poured as fast as a pailful 
is obtained from the cows. A short perpendi- 
cular tin pipe connects the tunnel with a hori- 
zontal one, which is buried two feet under the 
ground out of the way of the frost, and leads 
into the cellar of the house. When the milking 
operation is going on, a woman stands in the 
cellar with empty pans placed under the end of 
this horizontal tube, which, as fast as filled, she 
sets away upon the cellar bottom. Here the 
milk stands till it becomes loppered and soured, 



as it is said to make more butter in this state 
lhan in any other, and of a better quality. It 
is now poured, cream and all into the churns, 
which hold about one barrel each. If the wea- 
ther be cool, and the milk not sufficiently warm 
to come readily, a can is filled with hot water, 
and this is placed in the milk in the churn, and 
stirred about till it reaches a temperature of 
from 55 to 60 degrees. A small water-power 
is now applied to the churns, the handles of 
which are moved up and down. Where water- 
power cannot be had, a dog, goat, calf, or sheep 
is used. Water-power, however, is to be pre- 
ferred, as it is the most steady, and according to 
the good housewife's notion, who certainly ought 
to be authority on these subjects, it produces the 
best butter. When the butter has come, the 
power is stopped, and a pump is rigged into the 
churn ; the handle of this instrument is then at- 
tached to the power, and the butter-milk pumped 
up into a reservoir just outside of the cellar, 
standing on a level with the ground. From 
this the butter-milk is conducted by means of a 
tin pipe about one hundred feet to another reser- 
voir close by the piggery, from which the milk 
is dipped out in buckets, and fed to the pigs ; so 
that everything almost, moves of its own accord 
or by water, from the moment the milk is drawn 
from the cows in the yard, till it is churned into 
butter, and the butter-milk is concocting itself 
into pork from the pigs' stomach. The whole 
expense of laying down these tin tubes is but 
trifling. The expense of building a water-wheel, 
and bringing the water to it is greater or less 
according to one's position; but when a dairy 
of forty cows is kept, it is well worthy of being 
adopted if not too costly. 

After churning, the better is thoroughly washed 
off with cold water; if this be not done, it is 
difficult to get the butter-milk clean out of it. — 
As soon as cool and solid', the butter is taken on 
to a marble or smooth stone table, properly 
salted with clean, fine salt, and worked over 
thoroughly with a wooden ladle or spatula. — 
The hand is never allowed to touch the butter, 
as it is warm, and softens it. After being tho- 
roughly worked, half, or full firkins, made of 
white oak staves, (the latter holding about eigh- 
ty-five pounds, and the former forty pounds,) 
are used for packing it. Previous to packing, 
the firkin is well washed inside with cold water, 
and then rubbed all around with salt ; the butter 
does not then adhere to the sides of the keg, 
but comes off clean when wanted to be taken 
out for table use. It is put down in layers as 
churned of three or four inches deep. When 
the firkin is full, a linen cloth is placed over 
the top of the butter, on this about half an inch 
of salt, to which a little water is added so as to 
form a brine. The firkin is now headed up and 
sent to market. Mr. Betts thinks if the butter 
be destined for shipping, stone jars with covers 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



135 



would be preferable to firkins for packing, and 
his opinion coincides with our own. 

In butter-making, a good cellar is a very im- 
portant consideration ; indeed, without one, it is 
almost impossible to produce good butter. The 
cellar should be about seven feet deep; eighteen 
inches of which should be above the level of 
the ground, for the purpose of having windows 
in it for ventilation. These should be open at 
all times, and instead of glass be made of fine 
wire-gauze, stretched across the apertures. — 
This prevents the entrance of the smallest fly 
or gnat, and yet is no hindrance to the air. The 
walls ought to be of stone, and pointed ; the 
bottom of stone slabs or cobble stone, thickly 
plastered with water cement. Made in this 
manner, neither rat, nor mouse, nor any other 



vermin can find entrance; and the butter, and 
cream, and milk, are perfectly protected. 

General Wickham's farm-house is one of the 
nicest cottages we have lately viewed ; with a 
pretty yard in front, studded with, flowers, and 
embosomed in shrubberj'. The piggery, barns, 
stables, and yards, are also very complete; and 
.they all stand close by a wild little stream that 
runs babbling on in its clear full course over a 
pebbly bottom to the noble Wallkill. Altogether 
it is one of the prettiest models of a dairy esta- 
blishment we have ever seen, and a young friend 
of ours, who accompanied us to inspect it, quite 
forgot his own handsome cottage and fine farm, 
in admiration of that of General "Wickham's. 
.American Agriculturist. 



MOTT'S AGRICULTURAL FURNACE 





We present our readers with a cut of Mott's 
Agricultural Furnace, one of the most conve- 
nient and economical utensils ever invented for 
the use of the farmer. It is so constructed as 
to expose the greatest surface of water to the 
action of the fire. The economy of fuel is very 
great, and it is an object to save the labor of 
getting wood even where fuel is plenty. The 
apparatus is complete in itself furnishing both 
furnace and boiler and needs only a short piece 
of stove pipe to make it ready for use. For 
boiling food for stock, it i3 unquestionably the 
cheapest and best apparatus that can be ob- 
tained. We saw Mr. Moll's wareroorn strung 



eEff 

with medals awarded at different agricultural 
exhibitions, and certainly amongst the farmers 
of the North this apparatus stands unrivalled. 
We have just made arrangements with the 
manufacturer for a constant supply, and can 
furnish them at the following prices: 

A Boiler holding 15 gallons for $11 GO 
A Boiler holding 30 gallons for 17 CO 
A Boiler holding 40 gallons for 20 00 
A Boiler holding 50 gallons for 22 00 
A Boiler holding 60 gallons for 25 00 
A Boiler holding 80 gallons for 32 00 
A Boiler holding 120 gallons for 42 CO 



136 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



HARROWING GRAIN. 

We have often found great benefit in harrow- 
ing winter grain in the spring of the year, as 
soon as the ground is well settled and dry, more 
especially when somewhat winter killed. It 
stirs the earth, encourages tillering, and adds to 
the vigor of the growth of the plant. The har- 
row should be followed by the roller, so as to' 
replace the roots of the plants which may be 
made bare by the harrow, and crowd them into 
the earth. It is hardly necessary to add, that 
the harrow should be light, with short fine teeth. 
Among the German population of this country, 
we have seen wooden-tooth harrows frequently 
made use of for this purpose. 

We believe that barley, oats, and all spring 
crops of grain may be harrowed to advantage, 
whenever the surface of the ground becomes 
somewhat hard and encrusted, which all clay 
soils are liable to after a hard rain. Harrowing 
the hemp crop under such circumstances, we 
were informed in Kentucky, has been found 
highly beneficial. — American Agriculturist. 

We have both harrowed and rolled wheat in 
the spring, and never without deriving decided 
advantage. — Editor American Farmer, 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER 
OF PATENTS. 

We are indebted to the politeness of Mr. Ells- 
worth and some of our friends in Washington 
for several copies of the interesting Report of 
the Commissioner, for the year 1843. An act 
of Congress passed in 1839, appropriated from 
the patent fund a certain amount to be expended 
in the collection of agricultural statistics, and 
the character of this report must satisfy the 
most sceptical as well of the policy of the ap- 
propriation, as of the ability of the officer to 
whom the task of making the collection has 
been assigned. We wonder at the ingenuity 
which has enabled Mr. Ellsworth, with such 
small means and such slender facilities as are at 
his disposal, to produce such an interesting and 
instructive document. Nothing but a genuine 
and thorough devotion to agriculture could have 
lead to such a result. 

Mr. Ellsworth has undertaken to furnish a 
tabular estimate of the different crops made in 
the different States of the Union during the 
year 1843. We wish the Commissioner had 
informed us of the sources from which he had 
obtained his information, that we might judge 
for ourselves of the reliance to be placed in this 
statement. We do not entertain the shadow of 
a doubt that Mr. Ellsworth has done all that 



labor and ability could effect, but without much 
more accurate means than any we imagine to 
have been at his command,.we doubt his abdity 
to do any thing more than make a very rude 
guess at the actual result ; a guess, if he will 
excuse us for saying so, almost as much calcu- 
lated to mislead as to inform. At any rate, the 
tables derived from the census of 1840, "with 
all the means and appliances to boot," are ad- 
mitted to have been, in many respects, fallacious 
in the extreme. Still, we do not mean to say 
that much valuable information could not be 
collected by such an indefatigable officer as Mr. 
Ellsworth, but only to hint that in our opinion 
the report would have been more full and com- 
plete, if the author had given us a better oppor- 
tunity of judging of the accuracy of the infor- 
mation with which he has been pleased to favor 
us. According to these tables, in the product 
of wheat, Ohio ranks first, New York second, 
Pennsylvania third, and Virginia fourth : in In- 
dian com, Tennessee first, Kentucky second, Vir- 
ginia^ third, and Ohio fourth: in tobacco, Ken- 
tucky first, Virginia second, and Tennessee 
third. 

But these tables form but a small portion of 
this valuable report : in three or four hundred 
pages Mr. Ellsworth has presented us with a 
condensed view of the latest improvements in 
the arts, especially in those appertaining to agri- 
culture and rural economy. From these pages 
we design making copious extracts for the be- 
nefit of our readers. Instead of the 15,000 co- 
pies of this report printed by order of Congress, 
the number ought to have been sufficient to en- 
able the memhers to place one in the hands of 
every farmer in the Union. 



From the Tennessee Agriculturist. 
TO DESTROY WORMS ON CABBAGE. 

Gentlemen, — I am not aware that the follow- 
ing easy and simple method of destroying worms 
on cabbage, has ever appeared in print. I be- 
lieve it was discovered by an unlearned person, 
and I hope will not be less efficacious on that 
account. As the worms are already commenc- 
ing their depredations, it will be well to publish 
it soon. 

At night (about sun down) strip off one of 
the lower leaves and lay it on the top of the 
cabbage, back side down. In the morning very 
early take it off, and the whole, or a large pro- 
portion of the worms of that cabbage will be 
on it, and can be disposed of as any one sees fit. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



137 



Two or three trials will effectually free the cab- 
bage from all worms. I believe it never fails 
except when the nights are quite cool. 
Respectfully, 

W. Chandler. 



A NORTHERN TRIP. 

We have just returned from a pretty exten- 
sive tour at the North, and we design in a very 
few words to inform our readers of what we 
saw in the agricultural way worthy of note. — 
In the cities of New York and Boston, we found 
many novelties, and a few, very few, improvements 
in agricultural implements: of these we shall 
speak more at large hereafter. We spent se- 
veral days in Albany, and we are indebted to 
the kindness and hospitality of our friends of 
the Cultivator for an introduction to some of the 
most agreeable acquaintances we ever made. — 
Under their auspices we visited the splendid 
villas, and still more splendid herds, of Messrs. 
Prentice, Sotham, and Vail. We went ex- 
tremely ignorant, and came back, we flatter 
ourselves, fully initiated into all the mysteries 
of the great art of "handling." No one, we 
believe, can look wiser than we can now, when 
speaking of the head, the eye, the brisket or the 
quarter of a bull or cow. 

At Mr. Sotham's we saw his splendid herd 
of Herefords, and although to our unsophisti- 
cated eye, the color of this stock was not so 
agreeable as the beautiful roan of the Durhams, 
still, from all we saw and heard, we are inclined 
to think, that for the combined purposes of the 
pail, the shambles, and the yoke, this stock can- 
not be excelled in America, at least. We wish 
some of our graziers in the Western part of 
this State could have looked in upon Mr. So- 
tham's herd; if we are not greatly mistaken, 
some of his stalls would have been quickly 
emptied, and it would not have been long before 
the beef of the Richmond market would have 
exhibited proofs of the Hereford cross. We 
will not leave Mr. Sotham without reminding 
him of the recipe for that "home brewed," and 
of the specimen barrel with which it was to 
be accompanied. 

Mr. Prentice informed us that we did not see 
the best of his Durhams, but if those that were 
absent were to be judged of by those we saw, 
then must they indeed have been splendid spe- 
cimens of their species. Here we were shown 
a little thorough bred Ayrshire cow, with one 
Vol. IV.— 18 



of the most beautiful calves we ever saw. We 
adhere to the opinion, notwithstanding the more 
imposing form of the fine cattle at which we 
have just been looking, that this is the breed 
best adapted to the scanty pasturage and pro- 
verbial negligence of Eastern Virginia : they 
are good any where ; as milkers, we believe they 
have few superiors in Europe, and for hardihood 
they have no equals. It would be hard to find 
much finer specimens than those in ihe posses- 
sion of Mr. Prentice,and in consideration of what 
we consider a false relative estimate of a more 
favorite stock, this cow and calf can be bought 
at a price that ought to cause them to be jumped 
at by any farmer who wants a stock, that will 
afford him the greatest quantity of milk and 
butter, fur the least food and attention. 

It was really delightful to witness the judi- 
cious use of wealth in the many elegant com- 
forts and pleasures with which this refined and 
cultivated gentleman had surrounded his family ; 
his elegant and convenient mansion, his beauti- 
fully ordered and highly cultivated garden, his 
fish pond, and the thousand proofs of capital 
judiciously invested in real comforts and plea- 
sures, served to distinguish the kind and liberal 
paterfamilias, and the elegant and accomplished 
gentleman. We saw here collected on a little 
spot of fifty acres, at an expense hardly greater 
than the annual incomeof someof our rich landed 
proprietors, more rural elegancies than we ever 
dreamed of in our own thoughtless, extravagant, 
harem scarem country. Mr. Prentice showed 
us some twelve or fourteen different varieties of 
pigeons, some of them, especially the English 
carrier pigeon, surely the most beautiful of the 
feathered tribe. 

We also went over to the beautiful and flour- 
ishing village of Troy, to visit Mr. Vail and his 
herd of Durhams. Take it altogether, this is 
beyond doubt the finest slock of Durhams we 
ever beheld, and we confess we had formed no 
idea of the majesty of a bull, until we saw 
Wellington and Meteor. 

Our observation, however, lead us to this con- 
clusion, that in the preference we have given to 
the Hereford herd of Mr. Sotham, green as we 
are, we may have been somewhat mislead by 
the superior keep of this stock ; for we are in- 
clined to think from the appearance of his cattle, 
and the style of his fixtures, that Mr. Sotham 
is a thoroughly practical man, who sees and 
attends to his own business, and that as a cattle 



13S 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



raiser he has no superior, and probably hardly 
any equal, either in the North or the South. 

It was with great regret that we left the city 
of Albany whose hospitality we shall never for- 
get. The road from Albanj r to Boston passes 
through one of the wildest and most picturesque 
countries that it is possible to conceive, and un- 
til you approach the city of Boston there is 
hardly room for a vestige of cultivation. In 
fact, to one who has seen the best of Virginia 
farming, there is little in the cultivation of crops 
that is to be learned in a Northern tour. Their 
country is marked by a neatness of villages, by 
the richness of occasional patches, by an air of 
comfort and tidiness about the homestead, that 
are delightful, but for any thing like a system 
of farming, it is folly to talk about, going to the 
East. They are a vigorous, intellectual and 
economical people, and they will become the 
greatest manufacturers that the world ever saw, 
but nature has denied them the opportunity of 
being farmers. 

It is singular how extravagant these econo- 
mical people about Boston have become in the 
style and finish of their agricultural implements. 
It is very hard to be extravagant in the purchase 
of a too], and it is an error into which our far- 
mers are not likely to fall: but the thing is pos- 
sible, and we think that in Boston, it has ac- 
tually occurred. We saw ploughs selling there 
for thirteen and fourteen dollars, that, except for 
parlor ornaments, could have been made just as 
well for eight or ten. We were offered dung 
forks at thirty-six dollars a dozen, and we saw 
ordinary looking men in smock frocks, paying 
the retail price, $3 50 a piece, for them. We 
had a great mind to buy one and bring it home, 
just for the fun of the thing. Think of offering 
a man a dung fork at $3 50, who, if you show 
him one at seventy-five cents, wants to know if 
you hav'nt a commoner article at fifty. They 
run into one extreme and we into the other; 
but of the two, theirs is undoubtedly the safest 
and most economical. 

We may have something more to say of what 
we saw and heard during this trip hereafter, as 
occasion offers. 



them the size of a pin; by blowing, force out 
their contents. Then take calcined gypsum and 
Spanish white, about equal parts; mix them 
with water to the consistency of stiff paste, and 
fill the shells quite full with it, and place them 
in a warm place to dry. When dry, the sub- 
stance will be quite hard. If the hens chance 
to break the shells of such eggs as ihese, there 
still remains good formed ones, and those of bet- 
ter consistency than chalk." 



"NEST EGGS." 

"G. C. M." informs us that he manufactures 
" nest eggs" as follows : — Take eggs and make 
holes in the large ends about one-fourth of an 
inch in diameter, and in the small end make 



HORSES AND CATTLE. 

We would recommend to the domestic quad- 
rupeds of America to hold a convention, after the 
fashion of the daj', and vote a resolution of 
thanks to Mr. J. S. Skinner for the benefit he 
has confeired upon the race by his introduction 
to the American public of Youatt's celebrated 
treatise on the horse, and Clater's " Every man 
his own cattle doctor." 

Like every thing else, the veterinary art has 
made rapid strides within a few years ; and now 
that science has rescued our poor dumb servi- 
tors from the dominion of empiricism, "Ma- 
son's Farrier" has ceased to be a text book and 
the ornament of a farmer's library. Professor 
Hind's work long ago taught us to discard this 
popular book as the very essence of quackery. 
Youatt's work, enhanced as it is by the notes 
of the American Editor, ranks, we presume, as 
the most valuable treatise extant upon the sub- 
ject of the horse. Clater's work upon the dis- 
eases of oxen, sheep, and swine, we are not fa- 
miliar with, but it is enough for us that it has 
been revised by Youatt, and edited by Skin- 
ner. Surelj', the most interested considerations 
should induce every man who owns a horse and 
a cow, to make himself master of these valua- 
ble works. 



JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. 

We again ask farmers to try the Jerusalem 
artichoke for hogs. Break the ground well, lay 
off the rows four feet apart, and put a root 
every two feet ; cultivate as corn. It will re- 
quire three or four bushels of seed to the acre, 
but it is a pretty safe calculation to count on 
raising five hundred bushels to the acre. 

Tennessee Agriculturist. 



BLACKING. 
We received a letter from a friend in Ken- 
tucky enclosing us a list of subscribers, for 
which he says all he asks is, that we will pub- 
lish in the Planter a good recipe for making 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



139 



blacking. Ever since, we have been watching 
the gentlemen's feet as they passed our office, 
and having observed one whose boots cut a 
great shine, we begged him for the sake of our 
Kentucky friend to inform us where he got his 
blacking. To our great surprise, he told us 
that he was his own blacking maker — he said 
that the composition was a profound secret, and 
hinted that it was supposed by some philoso- 
phers that it was to this identical preparation 
that his Satanic majesty was indebted for his 
well known shining qualities. Under the cir- 
cumstances, he could not refuse to communicate 
it to our Kentucky correspondent, but he does 
so, of course, under the seal of confidence. The 
recipe is as follows : 

3 oz. ivory black. 

2 oz. coarse brown sugar. 

\ oz. oil of vitriol. 

\ oz. muriatic acid. 

1 table spoonful of sweet oil. 

1 pint of vinegar. 

Mix the ivory black, oil, sugar, and vinegar, 
and then add the oil of vitriol and muriatic acid 
mixed together. 



CORN MEAL RUSK. 

Among the many delicacies in the form of 
bread, which render the enjoyment of breakfast 
so acceptable, we know of none more deserving 
of notice than the one prepared according to 
the following recipe: 

Take six cups full of corn meal, four of 
wheat flour, two cups full of molasses, and two 
table-spoonfuls of saleratus, mix the whole to- 
gether and knead it into dough ; then make 
two cakes ; bake them as you would pone, for 
three-fourths of an hour, and you will have one 
of the most grateful descriptions of bread that 
ever graced the table. — Ex. paper. 



HOUSES OF UNBURNT BRICK. 
A mortar formed by a mixture of sand and 
clay, has long been used for cheap buildings in 
Europe, especially in France, where they are 
known as Pise buildings. It is said to make a 
very ornamental, cheap and substantial house, 
and has been highly recommended to the notice 
of our agriculturists. We remember that in 
some early numbers of the "American Farmer" 
very particular directions are given for the con- 
struction of these buildings, and we recollect to 
have heard of some gentleman in the county of! 
Cumberland who had made a very satisfactory! 



trial of Pise building in the erection of some 
negro quarters. 

The Pise mode proper, consists, we believe, 
in ramming and beating into moulds, until it is 
solidified, a proper mixture of sand and clay. — 
In his annual report for 1842, Mr. Ellsworth, 
the Commissioner of Patents, recommended a 
somewhat different mode of building with un- 
burn; brick, which he had adopted in the erec- 
tion of a beautiful cottage in the neighborhood 
of Washington City. In his last report he de- 
clares that experience has only confirmed his 
favorable opinions of the durability and value 
of this mode of building. We furnish the fol- 
lowing description of it adopted into Mr. Ells- 
worth's report from the " British American Cul- 
tivator," Toronto, Upper Canada: 

Houses properly constructed of this material 
are warmer, more durable, and cheaper than 
frame, and are destined to take the place of the 
log shanty, as well as the more expensive wooden 
walls. They are admirably adapted to the pe- 
culiar circumstances of Canadian settlers, as 
they neither require much skill nor expenditure 
to erect them. Those who profess to be the 
best acquainted with the subject, are of opinion 
that they are best calculated for cottages, or 
buildings that are not designed to be carried 
higher than fifteen feet. The great difficulty 
in high walls built with mud brick, is, that the 
rough casting, or outer coat of plaster, is sub- 
ject to fall off; the real cause of which has 
been heretofore overlooked. This falling off 
proceeds from the fact that the ingredients com- 
posing the plaster are not properly compounded 
and tempered so as to cause the surface to be 
impervious to water. By examining plastered 
walls minutely, there may be seen small aper- 
tures, which act as so many receptacles to re- 
ceive the water. The difference between burnt 
and unburnt brick is simply this : the one be- 
comes soluted the moment it comes in contact 
with water, and the other admits the moisture 
without becoming dissolved. Clay or unburnt 
brick houses are much more wholesome for 
either man or beast than either, burnt brick or 
stone, in consequence of their having less affi- 
nity to moisture. Burnt brick are extremely 
porous, and each brick freshly taken from the 
kiln will admit one-third of its weight of water. 
From these facts, then, it would appear that the 
only difficulty in the way in bringing rnud or 
unburnt brick houses into general use, is the 
liability of the plaster to fall off. We feel sa- 
tisfied that two very successful plans might be 
practised — the one to build a verandah around 
the whole building; and the other, by com- 
pounding the ingredients which compose the 
plaster, so as to form a close, — solid, — and im- 



140 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



penetrable surface. A plaster may be formed 
with an equal proportion of pure clay, sand, 
ashes, and lime, thoroughly incorporated to- 
gether, and mixed with a portion of fresh bul- 
lock's blood, equal to one-half of each of the 
above ingredients. The blood should be well 
stirred, to prevent it from coagulating. 

To those who have already built and are ap- 
prehensive that the plastering exposed to the 
action of the changes of the weather will not 
prove durable, we advise them to make a com- 
position of the following materials, and apply 
it, while hot, on the outer surface with a com- 
mon painter's brush: 

To five gallons of water, add five quarts of 
Liverpool or rock salt ; boil and skim ; then 
take six quarts of unslaked lime, slake and sift 
it, put it into the hot brine; also, one pound of 
alum, half a pound of copperas, three-quarters 
of a pound of pearlash — '.he last to be added 
gradually; then add four quarts of fine pure 
sand ; mix the whole together, and apply two 
coats as above. Any coloring matter may be 
added, to give the shade required. If this pro- 
ceess be properly performed, it will make the 
wall have the appearance of slate, and be re- 
markably durable. 

The mode of making brick is veiy simple. 
The first step is to make a clay pit in an oval 
shape, and fill it with pure clay. Blue is the 
best, if procurable. As soon as this is done, 
water should be copiously applied ; and after 
the clay has been saturated with water twenty- 
four hours, a yoke of oxen may tread or temper 
it; and, during this operation, short straw must 
be applied, at the rate of four common bundles 
to a hundred bricks. The bricks are moulded 
quite convenient to the pit, by simply placing 
the mould on the ground, which should have 
an even surface, and filling it with the tempered 
mortar with a common three-pronged fork. By 
drawing a straight-edge board across the upper 
surface of the mould, and raising the mould, 
the brick is formed ; which must remain on the 
spot until it becomes sufficiently dry to turn on 
its edge. When they are dry enough to move 
withont spoiling the shape, they may be stacked 
up to season, and should be secured from the 
wet by broad boards. 

In constructing this style of houses, the two 
following particulars must be invariably ob- 
served, viz: The erection of a substantial stone 
wall, at least two feet above the level of the 
ground, and a hip or cottage roof projecting 
over each side of the wall not less than thirty 
inches. Another very important feature is, to 
have a quantity of bond timber interspersed 
through the wall, consisting of one and a half 
inch or two inch plank. To give our readers 
some idea of the costs of such walls, when they 
are civen out by contract, we will illustrate the 
subject by mentioning the following facts : — Mr. 



William Beason, of the village of Yorkville, 
one mile north of this city, has built a very 
great, number of these buildings, and has inva- 
riably taken them by contract at the rate of one 
pound per hundred brick, including making and 
laying the bricks, being six inches thick, twelve 
inches wide, and eighteen inches long. He 
built, the last summer, a number of houses of 
various sizes, one of which was for a farmer by 
the name of Robert Masharfey, of the township 
of York, the dimensions being twenty-eight feet 
wide by thirty-eight feet long, and fourteen feet 
high, exclusive of two feet of stone wall for the 
foundation. The number of bricks in the wall 
(windows excepted,) was two thousand two 
hundred and forty-eight, which, at one pound 
per hundred brick, would equal twenty-two 
pounds ten shillings. There were eleven toises 
of stone required for the foundation, which cost 
six shillings per toise for laying into wall. — 
About one-half the quantity of the mortar is 
used for plastering on mud brick that is required 
on lathing ; and the plasterers will do the work 
for thirty per cent, less than on the latter. The 
chimneys and inside walls are very frequently 
made of the same material, but the bricks are 
much smaller. Any size may be used ; but the 
most convenient and expeditious size for building 
is six inches thick, six inches wide, and from 
twelve to eighteen inches long : the bottom and 
top of the chimney have, of course, to be built 
with burnt brick or stone. The only cement 
used for laying up the brick, is an equal propor- 
tion of pure clay and sand mixed to the consis- 
tence of mortar. 

Extract from the British American Cultivator, (Upper 
Canada,) March, 1843. 

We received, a few days since, a note from a 
friend of ours, who resides in the Brock district, 
in which he desires further information relative 
to the mode of constructing the above cheap, 
durable, and warm houses. We heartily re- 
spond to the call ; and take pleaure in not only 
answering his inquiries, but will give such ad- 
ditional facts as suggest themselves to our mind 
at the present moment. And if any other in- 
quiries are made by the same, or any other re- 
spectable party, on the above — or, in fact, any 
other subject upon which we feci competent to 
give correct and satisfactory answers — we would 
take a pleasure in disposing of them in the same 
way. 

The bricks referred to, for the construction of 
the inside walls and chimneys, may be made of 
almost any size to suit the taste and convenience 
of the builder; but the dimensions we gave in 
our last are decidedly the most preferable, and 
are sometimes used for outside walls when the 
building is not more than one story high. The 
whole of the chimneys for two-story houses 
may be built with unburnt brick, excepting the 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



141 



fire-places as high as the mantel-pieces ; and 
the portion of the chimneys that project above 
the roof, joining on to it, be made so that it will 
not admit any water to reach the clay, (un- 
burn t brick.) 

The principal object of bond timber is to at- 
tach fixtures to the wall — such as verandahs, 
door and window sills, base and surbase, &c; 
and no danger need be apprehended respecting 
their rotting, as the walls would have to be 
made impervious to water, to insure their dura- 
bility. It is obvious, when wood is thus secured 
from that devouring element, that it would re- 1 
main sound for centuries. 

Two-story houses require four pieces of tim- 
ber, at least four inches thick, sawed or hewn ! 
out the exact length and width of the building, 
which should be laid into the wall for the raf- [ 
ters of the verandah to rest upon, and should 
be laid about one inch within the outer edge of 
the wall. The rafters of the verandah should 
be attached to the lower edge of these timbers, 
and they, as well as all other outside bond tim- j 
ber, should be lathed with ordinary lathing ; 
and, by this precaution, the plastering will re- 
main as sound on the timber as on any portion 
of the building. 

October is the best month in the year for 
plastering outside walls, as it would be dried 



principally by the air, which would make the 
process more slow and perfect. 

Dr. Drury, an English gentleman, built a 
house on his farm on Yonge street, twelve miles 
from this city, in the summer of 1836, which 
was neither plastered nor protected with a ve- 
randah until the fall of 1838; and the wall, to 
all appearance, is as sound as the hardest gra- 
nite. This building is fifty feet long, thirty-six 
feet wide, and proporiionably high, and certainly 
has the most imposing and respectable exterior 
show of any farm building in the home district. 

We do not recommend this description of 
buildings to be raised very high in the wall, al- 
though but little apprehension need be enter- 
tained, if at least one experienced workman be 
employed about the job. 

A false notion has gained ground with many, 
respecting the tempering of the clay, in sup- 
posing that but little care need be bestowed on 
that department of the business ; whereas nearly 
the same minuteness should be observed as for 
burnt brick, with the exception that small stone 
or gravel do not materially injure them, and, 
therefore, need not be separated from it. 

We highly recommend unburnt brick for the 
construciion of sheds and stables for stock, and 
for every description of out-buildings that are 
desirable for the comfort of man and beast. 



PROPOSED METHOD OF TAMING A SAVAGE BULL. 




The Cap that screws 
oa the horn. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 



Fisr. 2. 



We have seen several plans for guarding 
against the danger of unruly cattle but none 
have appeared to us so neat and convenient as 
the following, described in a letter to the Editor 
of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural So- 
ciety of England : 

"Sir. — As 1 heard last week of a farm-servant 
being nearly killed by a bull, and as I sometimes 
hear of valuable bulls being killed on account 



of their being too savage to be safe, I have ven- 
tured to send you a plan to prevent bulls from 
injuring persons or animals of any kind. But, 
in case you consider this plan of too trivial a 
nature to be of general use, I request }'ou will 
put my letter and its contents into the fire ; as I 
have no doubt you are much troubled with use- 
less communications. 

The plan I send I have used, with perfect 
success, with a very savage bull 1 bought. Any 
blacksmith can make it ; the cost about five 



142 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



shillings: and it does not cause any annoyance 
to the animal when he does not try to use his 
horns. 

b is a cap screwed on the end of the horn ; a 
c is an iron rod hanging on a pivot in the cap — 
a chain from it leads to a ring in the bull's nose. 
The end of the rod a c, at a, Fig. 1, ought to 
be in a line from the root of the horn to the end 
of it; so that, in attempting to touch anything 
with his horn, the point a comes in contact with 
it, when of course the rod a c takes the position 
of one of the lines in Fig. 2, d e or g h, and 
punishes the bull by forcing up his nose. 

I turned a three-year-old savage bull with a 
cow that was bulling, and also turned a yearling 
bull with them ; in a few minutes the j'oung 
bull found that he was master, and punished 
the old one very severely : and 1 was shortly 
after able to lake off the irons, and as long as 
I had him he never offered to hurt a person, al- 
though when I bought him he had tossed se- 
veral people, and was sold to me as incurable. 
I have, &c. 

Erasmus Galton. 
Loxwn Manor House, near Cross, ) 
Somersetshire, June 13, 1843. $ 



THE NORTH MEHERRIN AGRICULTURAL 
CLUB. 

It gives us great pleasure to record the founda- 
tion of a new agricultural club in the county of 
Lunenburg, to be called the North Meherrin 
Club. We believe that these social neighbor- 
hood clubs are to do more for agriculture than 
will ever be effected by the more pretending, 
but less substantial, system of shows and fairs. 
We should rejoice to see them established in 
every neighborhood in Virginia. 



For the Southern Planter. 

RATS! RATS! 

Please, Mr. Editor, invite earnestly, the atten- 
tion of your correspondents to the following. I 
am sure you will rat-\fy what is said of the im- 
portance of the subject. S. 

Dear Father, — I forgot in my letter of last 
night to say any thing about rat traps. The 
rats here are getting beyond endurance, and 
have done damage to the amount of four or five 
barrels of corn at least. Could you not go to 
Mr. Ellsworth and get some information about 
rat traps ? It is astonishing how little is written 
on the suliject in the agricultural papers! Surely 
they are as great pests to the farmer as crows, 
grub-worms, and other vermin. In Europe the 
destruction of rats is a regular trade, handed 
down from father to son. The rat catchers 



travel about from parish to parish, and for a 
small remuneration will insure any establishment 
against rats. If you could set people to writing 
about it in Botts' paper or the Cultivator, some- 
thing useful might be brought out. 
April 12, 1844. 



TO SOFTEN PUTTY. 

This being often an object with the gardener, 
that he may remove glass from frames without 
breaking it, he will be glad to know, that a very 
strong solution of caustic potash, or caustic soda, 
applied to it for a few hours, by laying i^pon it 
an old rag dipped in the solution, will have the 
desired effect. — Farmers' Cabinet. 



From the American Farmer. 

MANAGEMENT OF PEACH TREES AND 
CULTURE OF INDIAN CORN. 

To the Editor, — The accompanying letter from 
Mr. Physick, son of the illustrious physician 
and surgeon, is too interesting to be buried on a 
private file. It is in fact a reply to one which, 
as Corresponding Secretary of the Columbian 
Horticultural Society, I was prompted to address 
to him for his views on the strangely contested 
question, whether it be or not, advantageous to 
cultivate peach trees ? The whole letter may be 
deemed worthy of insertion, and if so, it is at 
your service. Your subscribers, I am sure, will 
unite with me in a sentiment of thankfulness 
and respect to the writer, who, besides the obli- 
gation he confers by the prompt and courteous 
communication of his experience and opinions, 
sets in that respect, a salutary example to all 
who have it in their power to contribute some- 
thins; to the hive of knowledge. 
Yours, respectfully, 

J. S. Skinner. 

Washington, Dec. 17, 1843. 

To John S. Skinner, Esq.. 

Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 25th instant, 
with the National Intelligencer, containing your 
address to the Columbian Horticultural Society, 
is received, for which you will please accept my 
thanks. 

In the management of my peach trees, I use 
one part of saltpetre, to about four to eight parts 
of common salt, and apply in its solid state, 
about half a pound of this mixture to a bearing 
tree upon the surface of the ground, and in close 
connection with the trunk of the tree. I never 
disturb the earth about the tree — for a long time 
I applied it three times in the course of the year, 
though twice, I now think will answer — I have 
heretofore applied it in April, June, and first of 
September — now last of April and first of Sep- 
tember. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



143 



Of five hundred trees, three hundred were 
treated with salt and nitre, and two hundred left 
without its use — those around which the salt 
and saltpetre were put, were and still continue 
entirely exempt from worms — of those left with- 
out the salt and saltpetre, not one escaped the 
ravages of the peach worm. In your address 
you speak of the practice of taking- out the 
worm with a hooked wire. Allow me to sug- 
gest the proper time for destroying them, which 
is from the 15lh to the 25th of August with 
me, when they have enveloped themselves in a 
cocoon, or otherwise are in their chrysalis state. 
The envelope of the aurelia, is made up of the 
tree, and resembles the outer bark in color, and 
will be found lying under the gum, on the ground, 
near the tree, or in connection with the tree. I 
have taken in this way, as many as thirty-nine 
of these worms from one tree, and have sedu- 
lously watched thern building their cells for 
hours together. The greatest distance I ever 
obtained one from the tree, was about three and 
a half inches, and have often made them build 
their chrysalis habitation under the bark of the 
tree, near the outer opening of their depreda- 
tions. It is generally believed that this worm 
causes the yellows — this it may do; but I do 
not believe that such a case occurs once in a 
thousand. I have produced the yellows in 
young trees, about which there never was a 
peach worm, and upon taking them up have 
examined them, but no trace of that insect 
could be found. 

The worm I believe to be the effect of bad 
culture, or an error in general culture, and as 
uch as this idea may be laughed at — for I 
nk I see you smile — I believe I can prove it 
ctically. I have five trees that have been 
full bearing for five or six years, about which 
orm has never been, although I have endea- 
vored to have them ; but as a few years will 
test this matter with me, upon an extensive 
scale, I will take leave of the subject for the 
present, and attend to your inquiry about corn. 
Time of Planting. — As soon as the tempera- 
ture of the earth is sufficient to produce germi- 
nation quickly, which is with me from the 1st 
to the 10th of May, though my neighbors pre- 
fer planting in April. 

Distance. — Two and a half to two feet nine 
inches square, or three feet by fifteen inches 
drilled, leaving two stalks in the hill. As the 
corn plant probably grows more luxuriantly, 
and obtains a greater height, of stalk with you, 
I would suggest for drilled corn, three feet by 
not over eighteen inches. 

Kind. — I have not experience enough in the 
different varieties to name any particular kind, 
my plan being to select a kind adapted to my 
soil, that will give the greatest yield of shelled 
corn per stalk, without reference to the number 




of ears upon the stalk, and with that view I 
plant a variety of gourd seed. 

Manure. — Stable manure spread upon a clover 
sod in the spring, — the grass not to be dis- 
turbed — ploughed in the fall, and the succeeding 
spring cross-ploughed when the ground is dry, 
breaking the sod and turning it partly up again. 
I have no experience with swamp mud, and not 
sufficient with night soil, to say any thing about 
its application. 

Working the Crop. — I should like to see the 
matter taken hold of by an abler hand — for I 
seriously believe, that the general crop of corn 
throughout the country, is shortened one-fourth, 
if not more, by an error in culture, and there is 
as much more labor expended upon the working 
of the crop, as there should be. When a plant 
is maturing organs for the deposit of matter, for 
its re-production, it cannot be disturbed without 
injury. It is well known to gardeners, that by 
hilling plants, when coming into bloom, early 
maturity is obtained ; though the quantity of 
fruit or seed may be lessened ; too much work- 
ing prevents nature from performing her part. 
As I have given my views of this matter to the 
public, I will close this hasty letter by saying, 
that as soon as my corn will admit of it, after 
it is up, I throw a furrow from it, and the next 
day flake it down — if drilled, I hoe out the grass 
and weeds that have started between the hills — 
in about ten days to two weeks after this work- 
ing, I throw a furrow to it and flake it down ; 
this is all the working I give the crop, and at 
this last working, the plant has probably attained 
about one sixth of its matured height. I have 
no weeds in my corn-field ; the shade of the 
corn keeps them in check, and 1 do not believe 
that my crop of Indian corn ever fell short of 
seventy-five bushels per acre, except the dry 
summer of 1838, when I had four bushels to 
my neighbors' one, per acre — his corn being 
planted four feet or four and a half feet square. 
With much respect, 

I am, dear sir, yours, &c. 

Lyttleton Physick. 

Ararat Farm, Oct. 28, 1843. 



For the Southern Planter. 

STEAMED CORN. 

JMr. Editor, — If you think the following worth 
communicating you can do so. Corn as a grain 
food for horses or any other stock, in the spring 
months, fed in the usual Virginia way, is ge- 
nerally too hard and indigestible, affording very 
little nourishment. After trying cob meal, ho- 
miny, soaking the ear, &c, I have concluded 
that they are all objectionable. Cob meal is too 
binding, and hominy not conveniently prepared, 
the soaking is too apt to sour before it is ready 
for use, (though good for hogs,) I was induced 



144 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



to steam corn, ear and all ; it is prepared in a 
few minutes, as follows: take a cask about the 
size of a whiskey barrel, with water enough to 
cover the corn, then put in hot rocks, then the 
corn ; cover the top with a cloth ; in a few mi- 
nutes it will be saturated, grain and cob; horses 
will eat grain and cob, receiving the full nutri- 
ment, and the toll at the cob mill saved. A 
handful of salt in the barrel on the corn is good. 
Respectfully, yours, T. S. A. 

April 8, 1844. 



STURGEON STEAK. 

In our peregrinations, we lately met with a 
dish of sturgeon steak, which struck upon our 
palate as a little better than any thing of the 
kind we ever tasted before. Mindful of our 
Charles City friends particularly, we asked for 
the recipe for cooking it, which is as follows: 

" Slice the white part of a sturgeon, and 
pour upon it boiling water to extract the oil, 
then boil it in lard until nearly done ; put it in 
a stewpan with a little water, flour, cream, but- 
ter, pepper and salt, or catsup, if you like it, 
and stew it well." 



MANURING AND STEEPING OF SEEDS. 

The quantity of inorganic matter contained 
in the grain of wheat, oats, barley, &c, is com- 
paratively small. But, though small in quan- 
tity, this inorganic matter is absolutely essential 
to the perfect condition of the seed, and to the 
healthy growth of the plant that springs from 
it. When seeds are steeped in water, they 
swell and increase in bulk. They absorb a por- 
tion of the water and of any saline substances 
it may hold in solution. Now, if the small 
quantity of saline or inorganic matter which 
exists in seeds, does really promote their growth, 
may not a larger quantity promote it more? — 
May not the growth be more luxuriant if the 
seed be steeped in water containing saline sub- 
stances in solution, and be thus made to absorb 
an additional proportion? It does not appear 
unreasonable to suppose that a bushel and a 
half of seed wheat may be made to absorb a 
pound of saline matter. This appears, indeed, 
to be only a very small quantity, and yet, if ab- 
sorbed, it would add one-half more to that which 
the seed naturally contains. We cannot pro- 
nounce beforehand, with absolute certainty, that 
by this absorption the growth of the seed would 
be greatly promoted, though both theory and 
practice concur in rendering it probable. Thus 
the experiments of Bickes — whose mode of pre- 
paring seeds appears to be a simple steeping in 
saline solutions — appear decisive in favor of the 
opinion, that such artificial additions to the sa- 



line matter of these, do really, in some cases at 
least, greatly promote the growth of the seeds, 
and increase the luxuriance and produce of the 
aftercrops. — Professor Johnston, in the Journal of 
Agriculture. 



ERRATUM. 

In the note at the foot of p. 124, read — thence 
melasses, from rnel honey, and asinus an ass. 

CONTENTS OF NO. VI. 



Whitewash — A recipe for making a brilliant 'white- 
wash, p. 121. 

Paint — Use of, recommended, p. 122. 

Smalt Farms — Policy of concentrating manure and 
labor on a limited space, p. 122. 

Berkshire Hogs — The Sand-hill preferred, p. 123. 

Crows — How to catch them, p. 123. 

Apples — Their value and how to use them, p. 123. 

Soiling Cattle — Economy of, p. 123. 

Pudding — Recipe for making a bachelor's pudding, 
p. 124. 

Wood — Fire-wood should be permitted to season be- 
fore it is hauled, p. 124. 

Emigration — A new and old home compared, p. 124. ■ '.. 

Flood Gates — A plan recommended, with a cut, p. 125. 

Barren Sows — How to render them productive, p. 126. 

Hay — Directions for curing, p. 126. 

Bleedingof the Nose — To stop, p. 127. 

Vines — To preserve from bugs, p. 127. 

Peach Tree Worm — To guard against, p. 128. 

Rust — Supposed to proceed from wet seeding, p. 1281 

Translations — From the French, p. 129. 

Fiowers — To convert geraniums into evergreens, p. 
130. 

Guano — Recommended as the cheapest manure the 
farmer can purchase, p. 130. 

Hot Beds— A substitute for glass, p. 132. 

Lard — Inquiries about the preservation of, p. 132. >■■■' 

Deep Ploughing— The effects of, p. 133. 

Step— Adaptation of Virginia to sheep raising, p. 
133. 

Butter — Process of butter-making in Orange Comity',' 
New York, p. 134. f? 

Mott's Agricultural Furnace — Recommended, with" a a 
cut, p. 135. 

Harrowing — Winter grain should be harrowed in the 
spring, p. 136. 

Commissioner of Patents — A review of his annual re- 
port, p. 136. 

Cabbage — To free from worms, p. 136. 

A Northern Trip — Editor's account of, p. 137. 

Nest Eggs — To make artificial ones, p. 138. 

Youalt <$' Clalcr — Review of works on horses and 
cattle, p. 138. 

Jerusalem Artichokes — Recommended for stock, p. 138. 

Blacking — Recipe for making, p. 138. 

Corn Meal Rusk — Recipe for making, p. 139. 

Houses — Made of unburnt brick, p. 139. 

Bull — To guard against danger from mischievous '- 

cattle, p. 141. 
Agricultural Club — Notice of a new one in Lunen- 
burg, p. 142. 
Rats — Inquiries for a preventive, p. 142. 
Putty— To soften, p. 142. 
Peach Trees — To manage, p. 142. 
Indian Corn — To cultivate, p. 142. 

Corn — Advantages of steaming corn and cob, p. 143. 
Sturgeon Steak — Recipe for making, p. 144. 
Manuring — By steeping seeds, p. 144