Newspaper Page Text
[Written fur the Southern Field and Fireside.]
A PRIZE ESSAY.
AGRICULTURE.
BY A PLANTER, ST. SIMON’S ISLAND, OA.
In this age, agriculture is so completely inter
mingled with prosperity and adversity, that its
study should occupy a great portion of our time.
As we approach the subject, the first impres
sion that the mind receives, is the almost prodi
gal waste which has swept over the fairest por
tions of our State, by endeavoring to extract
treasures from the soil, without returning proper
requisites for sustaining frequent yields. To
make the theories of the past subservient to
our faults, shows an ignorance of the principles
that govern the growth of plants, and a depen
dance solely upon accident for the reward of our
labors. If we so much acknowledge the impor
tance of agriculture as to engage in its pursuits,
it is essential to acquire those great principles
that lead to successful husbandry; and as the
subject is investigated, we find beautifully pro
vided by nature rules to be governed by, and a
a system to make those rules most practicable.
Yet, notwithstanding the interest and impor
tance of the subject, the endeavors that have
been made to kindle in the bosom of agricultu
rists a desire of preserving to posterity the pre
cious inheritance of Georgia in all her majesty
and beauty, and the sad proof we have in
the decay of States, once the pride of the
South; the same exhausting culture of too fre
quent cropping, yearly desolate homes, and
causes a healthy clime to be abandoned, for the
sickly regions of the West. Although this ex
hausting culture was commenced by new set
tlers, they were not censurable for beginning it,
“but they and their successors are not the less
condoranable for continuing it, after which justi
fied it had ceased.
The system was first begun in Eastern Virgin
ia, because it was the first settled part of the
present United States; and it continued to pre
vail for many years until the country was nearly
reduced to barrenness, and the proprietors to
ruin. From this erroneous policy so long pur
sued in Virginia, and the well known disastrous
results in the general, and seemingly desperate
sterility of the older settled portion of the State,
it seems strange that Georgia should not have
taken warning, and learned to profit by the wo
ful and costly experience of others. But it ap
pears that all agricultural communities must run
the same race of exhausting culture, and the
proprietors, before £eing convinced of the pro
priety of commencing an opposite course, bo
come so reduced by yearly failure of crops, that
the only alternative is to abandon home, and
seek the western wild. It cannot be said that
agriculturists in our State frown ujion the warn
ing each year teaches, for with pride I can say,
there are those in my own neighborhood, who,
through love for their Empire State, have availed
themselves of the resources an Allwise Provi
dence has placed at their disposal, and by prepara
tion of soil, and judicious application of manures,
have caused sterile fields to produce more than
when first planted. It was in 1850, a field which
once produced abundantly refused to yield.—
The com indicated sourness ot soil, and after the
next year’s attempt, the field was abandoned as
being completely worn out. A change then
took place in the cultivation of the land. A
New England farmer turned his attention to re
claiming it. His process was, thorough drain
age, deep ploiving, manuring with compost , and
rotation of crops. The first yea; proved the cor
rectness of his treatment, and during the third
year I was invited to attend tlio “breaking in’’
and measuring of the corn which yielded from
one acre, eighty bushels.
As this is not an isolated case, where fields
have been reclaimed by the same treatment, I
shall contend, that thorough drainage , deep plow
ing, manuring with compost, and rotation of
crops, are the four great rules of successful ag
riculture.
The first principle that we must recognise is
thorough drainage. The North has seen the
mighty influence this subject wields over the
destinies of her husbandmen, and her sons have
made it their study. We find one of her ablest
agriculturists divides it into two parts, Mechan
ical and Chemical, and under the head of me
chanical changes, writes as follows : Thorough
drainage deepens the soil; every one who has
atttempted to raise deep rooted vegetables upon
half-drained swamp land has observed the ut
ter impossibility of inducing them to extend
downward their usual length. Parsnips and
carrots on such land frequently grow large at
the top, but divide into numerous small fibres,
just below the surface, and spread in all direc
tions. No roots except those of aquatic plants
can be expected to grow in stagnant water. If,
therefore, it is of any advantage to have a deep,
rather than a shallow soil, it is manifestly ne
cessary, from this consideration alone, to lower
the line of standing water at least to the ex
tent to which the roots of our cultivated crops
descend. A deep soil is better than a shallow
one, because it furnishes a more extensive feed
ing ground to its roots. The elements of nutri
tion found in the soil are not all upon the sur
face, and market gardeners and nurserymen
show by their practice that they know, if others
do not, that a trenched soil, three feet deep, is
better than one of a less depth. We also know
that corn in a dry soil sends down its rootlets
two feet or more, as well as most grasses.—
Thorough drainage prevents surface washing.
All land which is not leveled, or covered with
grass, is liable to great loss in spring and au
tumn. If the land is already filled with water,
or has not sufficient drainage, the rain cannot
pass directly downward, but runs away upon the
surface, carrying away much of the soil, and
washing out much of the valuable elements of
fertility which have been supplied at such ex
pense. If the land be properly drained, rain
passes downward, saturating the soil in its de
scent, carrying the soluble substances with it to
its roots, and the surplus water runs off in the
artificial channels provided by the draining pro
cess. So great is the absorbent power of drained
lands, the* after a protracted drought all the
water of a heavy rain storm will- be drunk up
and held by the soil, so that for a day or two
none will find its way to the drains, nor will it
run upon the surface.”
Thorough drainage lengthens the season for
vegetation. In some portions of our State
where winter is long, and swamp or bottom
lands to bo planted, the farmer’s energies should
be exerted to get in his crop early, so as to give
it full maturity before frost. Drainage prevents
those disadvantages that often exist when hav
ing to plow during wet weather; which im
pede the progress of planting; hence, he is able
to plant at least a week earlier, for with the
water out of the soil fear cannot exist as to the
seed sobbing or the plant dying from cold.
“ Thorough drainage prevents injury in times of
drought. By the very deepening of the soil, of
which I have already spoken, the roots of plants,
we have seen, will not extend into stagnant
water. If, then, as is frequently the case, even
on sandy plains, the water line be in early
SOTS 80VX3K3B3UI VXX&D HI HEE&XBE.
spring near the surface, the seed may be plant
ed, may vegetate, and throw up a goodly shoot
of leaves and stalk which may flourish as long
as the early rains continue; but suddenly the
rains cease, the sun comes out in his June
brightness, the water line lowers at once in"the
soil, the roots have no depth to draw moisture
from below, and the whQle field of cotton, com,
or wheat, in a single week, is past recovery.
Now, if this soil be drained, so that at the first
start of the crop there is a deep seed-bed, free
from water, the roots strike downward and pre
pare for a drought. This subject commanded
the attention of an agricultural meeting held at
Albany, New York, in 1855. The great drought
of’s4 being the topic, the Secretary stated: The
experience of the past season has abundantly
proven that thorough drainage upon soil re
quiring it has been a very great relief to the farm
er ; that the crops upon such land have been
far better generally than those upon undrained
lands in the same locality, and that in many in
stances the increased crop has sufficient to de
fray all expenses of improvement.” Thorough
drainage improves the quality of crops, for fre
quently, in dry seasons, we hear formers boast
ing of the quality of their products. Indeed,
this topic need not be enlarged upon, as every
farmer knows his com, wheat, Jfcc., are heavier
and more sound when grown upon land suffi
ciently drained. Drainage with tiles has for
years been practised in England, and, indeed,
in some portions of the New England States.
Forcible arguments may be adduced in its favor
where land is scarce and expensive; but it is a
question if it would be profitable here where
land is so abundant. And it really does appear,
that the method cheapest and best suited to our
country is that with open ditches which are kept
open at every working of the field.
Good sense and sound philcsophy next de
mand the subject of deep plowing, which, as yet,
has commanded but little attention at the South;
although years have elapsed since we first heard
of its beneficial results in Europe and the North
ern States. The frequent prevalence of drought
during the summer months, which blight fair
prospects, seems to call for some practice that
will assist the farmer to ward against this evil.
At a glance, we must percieve that, if a field be
plowed four inches deep, the rain will thoroughly
soak that depth, and then the water will with
difficulty percolate through the unstirred ground,
until the soil becomes so hard as to present a
resistance, when it will flow to some lower level
or become injurious to the crop. This is avoided
by deep plowing and drainage combined; for the
deeper it bo plowed—the longer it will retain
moisture, the rains preventing any injury from
heat. The most skeptical must be convinced
that deep plowing furnishes a reservoir of mois
ture for the roots to feed upon, long after the
surface has been parched by continued heat.—
Another advantage of deep plowing is, that all
roots are enabled to extend themselves to seek
moisture, thus lending great assistance to the
tap root in support of the plant. After the first
and only rain we had last year during the sea
son it was most needed for filling corn, I took
up two stalks of corn out of a field, a portion of
which had been plowed five inches, the balance
not at all. I found that the corn taken from the
plowed ground had a much longer tap root,
longer side roots, and many more than the stalk
taken from the unplowed ground; also, that the
rain had run off the unplowed ground almost as
fast as it fell (a thing that frequently occurs on
land baked by heat.) giving but little nourish
ment to the plant ; while the plowed soil was
thoroughly soaked to the depth of the plowing.
The result was that the plowed com was made
by the rain, while the other fired after a few days,
producing merely nothing. How important,
therefore, is it for us to till our soil so that every
rain may be of benefit. The very idea of flush
ing up an entire field becomes an insurmonutablo
barrier, which has been stormed in this section
by a little plow, shaped like a smoothing iron,
with shank like a cutter. After laying off the
row with a turn plow, it is run in the furrow to
the depth of six inches, leaving no other sign
than the appearance of a mole having passed
over the ground. Two furrows are thrown upon
this, and the tap root of the plant then has what
is equivalent to deep flushing. Our duties next
lead us to a department in agriculture that is
yearly becoming more important. The day is
too fleetly passing for the subject of manuring
to be disregarded; and we must not be unmind
ful of the fact, that judgement is essential in
deciding its application. Opinions are various
as to the best manures. Some consider that
all calcareous manure, vegetable and chemical,
are fertilizing to the soil; but experience must
decide what is best adapted to each particular
locality. No greater attention is required than in
the selection of marl manures, for although most
valuable, yet the inexperienced, by a total
ignorance of the soil, they best suit, often apply
them with but little success.
“ Marls are of various degrees of coherence,
some oceuriug in the form of a more or less loose
sandy powder. These differences arise in part
from the kind and proportion of earthy matter
contained. They vary also in their composition.
Some rich marls consist of broken and com
minuted shells, which clearly indicate the
source of the calcareous matter they contain. —
The clay and stono marls are very similar in
composition, but' shell marl very different. —
Clay marls have the appearance of clay. When
long exposod to air, or put into water, they
crumble into powder. They seem to have much
the same qualities as lime. Stone marls are
often richer in lime than clay marls. The chief
difference is that they dissolve sooner than clay
marls, and commonly have a stronger power of
neutralizing acids and producing salts. Large
pieces of stone marl have been seen in clods
upon the land, years after it had been applied.
This renders it necessary to apply it in large
quantities;.on sandy soil, about fifteen hundred
bushels to the acre; on alluvial, one, fourth.—
Shell marl is very different from the two just
described. It is a fine fertilizer and benefits all
qualities of soil, and does not deprive land of
its vegetable matters; it can, therefore, be suc
cessfully used on clay and stone marl lands that
have been exhausted by crops.”
Although the effect of marling is not so quick
as lime, it lasts longer, and is undoubtedly safer
as a manure. Its fertilizing qualities last long- ’
er than, perhaps, any other kind of manure, as
once every four years is quite sufficient for ap
plying it. Experience often teaches that lime
as a manure should be used with caution. —
Strong lands for a time may bo benefitted by it;
but frequent application does more injury than
good. In some instances, its effects are very
encouraging, when the next year’s treatment of
the crops in the same manner proves injurious.
Salt as a manure in some sections proves
very beneficial; but an analysis of the soil and
plant should determine its use and that of lime.
Peruvian guano has been used with apparent
success. All concentrated manures, for a time,
are used with success, but when their fertilizing
qualities are exhausted they leave the land in a
more impoverished state than at first. Time
must determine the practicability of using any
expensive manures when there is a risk of the
soil being injured by their application. Atten
tion should, therefore, be paid to those manures
that suit all qualities of land and can be pro
cured without the outlay of money. It is, in
deed, unpardonable that every farmer does not
correctly appreciate the influence which a pro
per application of manure has on his crops. Al
though an example is set us in the wise provi
sion by the Author of nature, that the growth
of one year becomes vegetable food for the next,
we remove the sustenance for man and beast,
and reject the lesson taught us by the All Wise.
Time wears on, and we sadly learn by the ste
rility of our soil that we must seek tho lesson
once rejected. It has been discovered that
plants are incapable of dissolving soluble sub
stances, however minutely divided. This fact
alone would confute the theory of Tull, and
others of his day, that earthy matter is the true
vegetable nutriment, and that manure is only
useful in mechanically pulverizing the soil. To
produee this necessary state of solution of animal
and vegetable substances is the principle use
of fermentation, and care should be taken of
excessive fermentation, the greatest obstacle to
the sobbing of manure that can be experienced,
as it frequently leaves it in a scorched state,
which causes the gaseous escape of fertilizing
particles, thus rendering it of little use.
As fermentation takes places slowly, lime or
ashes should be added in small quantities.—
When it becomes a practice of placing in the
farm yard everything collected off the premises
capable of being converted into manure, the
farmer will regret not having commenced the
practice at an earlier day. Rich swamp muck
trampled with cotton seed, broad cast thickly
over every other layer, appears more beneficial
than all other manures. The muck is often ap
plied with admirable effect without any season
ing, or intermixed with barn-yard or specific
manures. Muck of all qualities, if justly called,
is composed of vegetable substances, and by its
name we recognise the meaning of “ decayed
vegetable-matter; and thus every fanner readily
discerns what is meant. It is scientifically
called by several names, the most common
humus, the Latin for earth or mould.” Stock
hart says: “ This term is identical with decay
ing organic matter. In this acceptation it has
been known and valued for many years in agri
culture. Vegetable mould (humus) is the term
applied to the upper black or brown layer of tho
earth, which has been formed in forests by the
decay of fallen leaves. The dark fat arable
soil, containing much partially decomposed or
ganic (vegetable) matter, is said to be rich in
humus , while the dry light soil in which it is
wanting is said to be poor in humus. The farm
er knows that contrary to what happens in
his woodlands, the humus diminishes in his
field, and so much the more rapidly as his crops
are more abundant; he knows that fields rich
in humus are as a general rule more fertile than
those which are poor in humus. Accordingly,
by the term humus, we must understand a
mass of brown, decaying matter, partly soluble,
partly insoluble, partly acid, partly neutral,
which, with the uninterrupted presence of air,
water, and heat, may be still further decomposed,
and carbonic acid and water thereby evolved.
Carbonic acid and water are indispensable to
the nourishment of plants; hence, in a soil rich
in humus the plants will grow more vigorously,
because they can find these, and can absorb by
their rootlets more of these two nutritive sub
stance, than in a soil poor in humus. Humus,
moreover, exerts a beneficial influence upon ve
getation, because it loosens the soil by the de
velopement of carbonic acid and because
it possesses the power of attracting water
from the air, retaining it a long time, and
because by means of acids contained in it is
able to abstract ammonia from the air, and
also from manure, the third means of nutri
ment of plants.” Another merit of this great
gift of nature is that, although it may be exposed
to the air it retains its good qualities, and by
yielding its own virtues to roots that traverse
it, produces a wonderful effect on all qualities of
soil. When applied to clay land, the result cheers
the farmer to renewed exertions, where the in
juries from drought on unmauured lands become
disheartening. To be ensured of success, how
over, in its application on clay lands, drainage
must be tho first process, for it would be folly
to attempt their amelioration with anything so
long as water is allowed to destroy the effects.
Notwithstanding the privilege many possess of
profiting by this truly valuable provision of na
ture, we have yet to learn that farmers have
seen the folly of their ways, resorted to these
expedients for sustaining their fields in those an
nual tasks, which they, as severe taskmakers,
exact from them. Many are convinced of the
importance of these four principles in agricul
ture ; a few may have adopted them, and been
discouraged by neglecting a rotation of crops ;
for unless the four be combined, we contend that
success in agriculture becomes doubtful.
To prescribe a general rule for rotation would
be impossible, as it should be arranged to make
it most remunerative, keeping in mind the im
portance of having plants of different habits,
and constitutions succeeding each other ; deep
rooted crops should be succeeded by such as
pierce but a little way into the_ earth, for each
draws nourishment peculiar to itself. Founded
upon an acknowledged fact that every plant takes
from the soil different ingredients, a succession
of any particular crop must exhaust that partic
ular ingredient essential to its growth and be
corno extinct. Botanists often experience this
fact; for a plant is found in one field for years, in
abundance, and in the course of time, wholly dis
appears. Fields frequently refuse to yield bounti
ful harvests of a crop that once appeared well
adapted to the soil, and failure is attributed to the
season, when impartial investigation would trace
it to an exhaustion of that particular ingredient ne
cessary for its growth. Some other crop requiring
different food, planted in such fields would flourish
luxuriantly, amply repaying for drainage, plow
ing, and manuring. It should also be remem
bered that some plants favor the growth of dif
ferent weeds and insects, which multiply rapid
ly, and can bo destroyed only by rotation. Mo
dern farming in Great Britain, in its improved
state, does not permit two grain crops to come
in succession, and as all other agricultural oper
ations are subservient to the perfection of her
wheat, which we find is never sown but at in
tervals of three years, we are incliued to believe
that in our State wheat should follow potatoes,
oats, or rye. ,
As our pride should be the perfection of our
King, we would have it rest upon a bed pre
pared according to the four great principles of
agriculture, which ensure its success when fol
lowing the wake of other great staples of our
State. Although our varied climate presents
raro inducements for the cultivation of products
now neglected, we have so few farmers that no
crops are planted but such as give immediate
profit; and their treatment of the soil perfectly
harmonises with this ruinous idea. Could the
planter be induced to become a farmer, wo
would find hay raised in abundance, rice adapted
to land now looked upon as incapable of produc
ing anything but cotton ; sugar made in suffi
cient quantities for plantation use, Ruta Baga
turnips constituting an important crop for win
ter forage, orchards adorning lands about the
premises now grown up in weeds, and vineyards
proving an invaluable acquisition when failures
of cotton crops would place the farmer in em
barrassed circumstances.
'W e have been blessed with even- facility of
independence, and negligence alone conduces an
opposite result. The day is not far distant, I
trust, when these advantages will be embraced,
and it will bo our pride to become famous, prac
ticing those great rules of agriculture which en
sure independence, prosperity, and happiness.
SULPHUR FOR MILDEW ON THE GRAPE.
When at Quincy, 111., last summer, we recom
mended to a gentleman whose grape vines
were much affected by mildew, the use of sul
phur, and he now writes us for more definite
information in regard to its action, and the man
ner of application.
Powdered sulphur dusted on the effected parts,
lias, for many years, been known as a remedy
for mildew on the peach. It is only since 1846
that the grape mildew has attracted much at
tention ; but since then, its ravages, some years,
have been so extensive in the wine districts of
Europe as to create much alarm, but it is now
demonstrated that the judicious application of
sulphur is a certain remedy—and the only one.
The object to be aimed at in applying the sul
phur, is merely to bring it in contact with the
mildew. This can be done by simply throwing
the sulphur on the vines and bunches. Quite a
number of machines, called sulphurators, have
been invented in England for this purpose, re
sembling, somewhat, a miniature fanning-mill—
the sulphur being scattered on the plants by
the force of the wind. They are used extensive
ly in the English hop-yards—sulphur being
found equally effectual as a remedy fdr the hop
mildew.
Sulphur volatalizes rapidly at 180 a , and the
fumes destroy the mildew. In greenhouses,
therefore, a good method is to scatter sulphur
on the hot water pipes, or whitewash them
with a mixture of four ounces of sulphur (black
sulphur the best), and four ounces
of quick lime, dissolved in three gallons of wa
ter, closing the house afterwards from thirty
minutes to an hour, according to the virulence
of the disease. If sulphur is ignited, sulphurous
acid gas is formed, which destroys the leaves,
as well as the mildew. It will not do, therefore,
to burn the sulphur.
Sulphur is insoluble in water. But if one pound
offlowers of sulphur, and an equal measure of
quick lime, are boiled for ten minutes in a glazed
earthenpot, with five pints of water, hyposul
phite of lime is formed, which is very soluble.
It should be constantly stirred while boiling.
It is then allowed to settle, and the clear liquid
is. when cool, ready for use, after being mixed
with one hundred parts of water. The vines,
are syringed with this water. This is effectual,
economical, and easily applied on a large scale.
This hyposulphite of lime may easily be ob
tained by leaching the refuse lime of the gas
works. The hyposulphite is very soluble, and
the less water used for the purpose the better,
in order to avoid dissolving other substancos.
It should afterwards be largely diluted with
water, and applied with the syringe, as before
recommended.
If seven pounds of sulphur and one pound of
lime are boiled in water for several hours,
pentasulphuret of caleiiftn is formed. This sub
stance contains about eighty per cent of sulphur,
and is quite soluble in water. We have never
seen it recommended for mildew, but think it
eminently worthy of trial. It is the sulphur,
and not the lime, that is the effective agent;
and the less of the latter in proportion to the
former the better. The pentasulphuret of cal
cium contains more than ten times as much sul
phur, in proportion to the lime, as the hyposul
phite of lime. It approximates closely to a solu
tion of sulphur.
We hope some of our readers will experi
ment with tliis compound, not only on the vine,
but on the gooseberry, the mildew of which is
closely allied to that of the grape. It is not
improbable, too, that it would be useful in pre
venting the cracking of the pear, which is now
generally conceded to be caused by a fungus.
Geenese Farmer.
MI
INTRODUCTION OF EXOTICS EXPERIMENTS
WITH THE GRAPE VINE AND WITH
TEA PLANT.
Among the many squares that are not squares
in the plan of this city is one of five acres,
bounded on the North by Missouri avenue, on
the East by Four-and-a-half street, on the South
by the canal, and on the West by Sixth street.
Less than a year ago this square was little bet
ter than a marsh or morass; but it is now fast
assuming form and beauty. Tile-draining has
rendered the soil dry, warm, aud friable, and
ingenious culture is developing upon the sur
face products that have seldom hitherto been
found in close proximity. Hero are young but
prospering grape vines frefcu El Paso, from Ar
kansas, and from other States of the Union, as
well as from Hungary and Egypt, all to be test
ed in various ways, but especially by experi
ments having for their object tho blending varie
ties by hybridization, in order that the American,
retaining its vigor and exuberance, may have
its acerbity, its “ferocity,” as it is sometimes ex
pressed, subdued through the influence of the
older cultivated grapes of other climes; or that
these may be re-invigorated through the influence
of the more hardy American vines. The Egyp
tian varieties—the “seedless” and the “lady-fin
ger”—of which there are eight or ten thousand
plants, have been introduced by means of cut
tings ; the El Paso, of which there are one or
two hundred thousand, liave been produced from
seeds. Here, also, is a forest of tiny pines, an
inch or two in eight, sprung from seeds brought
from the Pacific coast; aiid native plum trees,
from seeds obtained in Kansas and in Texas;
and radishes from China; onions from Egypt;
“Melocliia,” an Egyptian soup plant, the leaves
of which are exceedingly mucilaginous and
sulated reservoirs for storing up the electric
agreeable in flavor; the Pyrethrum caucasicum
the dried flower-heads of which produce the
far-famed vermin-destroying powder; the wax
bearing Rhus of Japan, the product of which
has recently created some sensation in com
merce ; the hemp palm from China, of which
a grass cloth is made; the olea fragrans, of
China, from which tho better varieties of tea de
rive their rich aroma; the seedless pomegranate
of Egypt, highly prized because it is seedless;
the camphor tree; the cork tree; the Mahonia of
Texas, which produces a fruit of great value for
preserving, the osier willow from New England,
which soon attains a height of eight or ten feet;
cauliflowers, large, healthy, well-headed, and
prolific in seeds, and remarkable because of
their peculiar cultivation; American oaks from
the acorn: tho American larch, Ac. Here, too,
may be seen, as developed in this locality, tho
products of one hundred and twenty-three sam-.
pies of wheat collected from every region of the
globe, similar experiments with the same series
being in progress in central Pennsylvania and in
Texas—wheat bearded, and wheat beardless,
and wheat ortfcarvellous variations of appear
ance, all attended by the beneficial coccinellidae,
which are busily employed in devouring the
plant lice and other parasites by which the
wheat is attacked; and an apiary of choice bees,
we are informed, is soon to be appropriately
added to this scene of ingenuity and industry.
But the crowning glory of all is comprised in the
exhibition, within an admirably constructed
propagating house, to which the warmth of
steam or fire has never been applied, of more
than fifty thousand heathful, thriving, and beau
tiful tea plants, the seeds of which have been
received from China within a few months.
Some of these plants are just peeping above the
soil, while others, more superficially covered
with earth in the cases, germinated during the
voyage, and are now a foot or more in height.
We are thus about to determine practically the
two-fold problem, whether tea-culture is possi
ble, and may be rendered profitable in the Uni
ted States—a problem once discussed in its
quality respecting wool, again respecting cot- *
ton, respecting Sorgho sucre, respecting im
proved breeds of bovine animals, and respect
ing almost everything good and valuable that
we possess in agriculture. It was well said by
the honorable Secretary of the Interior, in his
last annual report, that “in a country possessed
of so great a variety of soil and climate it was
wise to essay the propagation of every plant
affording any hope of usefulness, especially as
such success would more than compensate for
all the cost and trouble attending many in
stances of failure. We trust the present experi
ment may prove a happy exemplification of this
remark, and not only a source of immediate ad
vantage to our country, but also a stimulus to
farther enterprises of like character. The
public should feel a deep interest; and it gives us
great pleasure to commend it to the continued
and increasing encouragement of the people,
of Congress, and of the National Administra
tion.—The Constitution.
——‘MM—
SUPERIOR WHEAT.
Mr. Charles Smith has exhibited to us some
specimens of wheat grown on his place, which
surpass anything of the kind we have seen. The
grain is very large—twice the size of the com
mon variety, very firm, and wo learn make most
beautiful flour. The specimen left iu our office
is taken from one hundred and twenty-six bush
els raised upon five acres of land, which has
been in cultivation for sixty years. It is the
Gale wheat, and has but recently been intro
duced into this State from Alabama. Mr. John
White has some of the same variety equally as
good.— AlibeviUe Banner.
-
THE BLACK WALNUT TREE.
There are few more beautiful ornamental, and
useful trees than the Black Walnut (Juglans ni
gra). Well does Dr. Bindley call it the “noble
Black American Walnut.” It is better appre
ciated in Europe than in this its native country.
On the banks and islands of the Ohio river, Mi
chaux says he has often seen trees three or four
feet in diameter, and sixty or seventy feet in
height; and that it is not rare to find them six or
seven feet in diameter. “When it stands isolat
ed,” he adds, “its branches, extending horizon
tally to a great distance, spread into a spacious
head, which gives it a very majestic appearance.”
Downing well observes: “ The Black Walnut
has strong claims upon the Landscape Gardener,
as it is one of the grandest and most massive trees
which he can employ.” It is admirably adapted
to extensive lawns, where there is no want of room
for the attainment of full size‘and fair propor
tions. Its rapid growth and umbrageous foliage
also recommend it for wide public streets and av
enues.
Os the fruit of the Black Walnut, and of the
value of the wood, we say nothing. The tree
begins to bear when eight to ten years old, and
ago increases its fertility. In New York, the
fruit is not as largo or as fine flavored as in Ken
tucky or Ohio; but even here it is highly esteem
ed. The tree is easily propagated, and should be
more extensively planted.— Genesee Farmer.
Font Thousand Hogs in Difficulty. —Mr.
George Coon’s hog pens, in Millcreek bottom, at
tached to the White Mills Distillery, fell down
with a tremendous crash, about 4 o’clock yester
day afternoon, carrying about four thousand hogs
with the wreck. 'Hie pens, of course, were de
stroyed, and some forty or fifty hogs were killed,
and nearly a hundred were so bruised and maim
ed that it was necessary to slaughter them.
The squealing of the hogs while involved in
the ruins and fragments of the pens, is described
as something harrowing—considerably worse
than two pigs under a gate. The distillery
hands rushed to the rescue of the unlucky pork
ers, and extricated them as speedfiy as possible,
giving all that were uninjured a sweet respite of
liberty, of which they availed themselves by
roaming at large all over the valley. During the
day a number of persons wereactively employed
in collecting the scattered droves, but many
were lost. Some fat, swill-fed fellows were
overcome by the heat, and were slaughtered.
The loss of the proprietor will amount to several
thousand dollars.
. The pens were located near a bluff bank and
over a drain some distance from the distillery,
and were elevated from the bottom of the ditch
some thirty feet. They had been inundated
twice by backwater during the spring, and the
foundations were weakened, so that when the
pens were filled, they were not strong enough to
support the weight upon them.
Cincinnati Commercial, July 2.
From West Africa.— We have received files
of the West African (Cape Coast) Herald to May
11th.
The arrival of several cotton gins, presses, and
a large quantity of cotton seed, sent out by the
“Manchester Cotton Supply Association,” is no
ticed. The Herald contains an article strongly
advocating the development of the agricultural
resources of the country, particularly the growth
of cotton, as an aid to commerce. That journal
remarks that everywhere between Cape Palmas,
on the West Coast, and the river Cameroons, in
the Bight of Biafra, we hear complaints that the
markets are glutted with European and Ameri
can produce, and that there is no corresponding
quantity of African produce, to be given in ex
change. The trade is manifestly overdone. As
yet, no native merchant of any prominence has
made any special exertion for the encouragement
of cotton culture, though several chiefs and plant
ers are growing the plant on their lands iu the
interior.
In Cameroons, trade was dull; in Brass River,
much sickness prevailed. At Bonny, health was
improving, and oil was coming in, but was very
dear, and a number of ships were waiting car
goes. The French man-of-war “Benaudin” was
waiting the issue of a demand made by the com
mander of some debts of long standing, due a
merchant Considerable quantities of cotton
continue to be exported from Lagos.
H. Y. Journal of Commerce.
79