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CRITIQUE ON THE DECEMBER HORTICULTURIST. 



fall upon it. This seals the canister up, 

 hermetrically, so that the fruit will remain 

 unchanged for a couple of years, or longer. 

 The immersion of the cans in the boiling 

 water does not impart the slightest taste of 

 their having been cooked to the fruit. 



The canisters of fruit should be left in a 

 cool place. When wanted for use, unsol- 

 der the tops with a hot iron and the fresh 

 fruit is ready, — having been perfectly pre- 

 served without the aid of sugar or brandy. 

 Yours, W. 



CRITIQUE ON THE DECEMBER HORTICULTURIST. 



BY JEFFREYS, WESTERN NEW-YORK. 



Your Leader — Agricultural Schools. — 

 If the farmers of our country do wake up to 

 their own interests, as late appearances in- 

 dicate, they may at least succeed in putting 

 themselves, as a soldier would say, in 'posi- 

 tion. Of all professions known in our land, 

 the farmer is the only one who steadily op- 

 poses his own interest in improvement. 

 The lawyer, the doctor, the merchant, the 

 statesman, the politician, the mechanic, the 

 artisan, — in fact, the disciple of every pro- 

 fession but agriculture, is actively awake to 

 his own improvement in all that appertains 

 to his craft. But the farmer's knowledge 

 " comes by nature," and he has no need of 

 education in his own profession, if his words 

 and acts are to be believed for the few cen- 

 turies in which he has existed. And even 

 now, when the other professions are eager 

 to help him into a school for his own spe- 

 cial benefit, the chances are equal that he 

 will, donkey- like, let fly his heels in its 

 face, instead of making an effort to effect it. 

 I don't mean to be disrespectful, Mr. 

 Editor ; but when I hear farmers — men 

 who are indebted to the soil for all that 

 they are, and look to it for all they expect, 

 and ought to know the value of practical 

 agricultural education — voting in legisla- 

 ture against every proposition for their own 

 good in that line, for fear it will make 

 "book farmers" of their boys, and yet sup- 



porting bank charters in shoals, railroads by 

 the score, and all sorts of corporate privi- 

 leges as a matter of course, I do think that 

 ive farmers — yes, I claim to be part of one 

 myself- — are a very consistent body of gen- 

 tlemen. Thanks to our new Constitution. 

 special bank, insurance, turnpike, and manu- 

 facturing corporations are at an end ; and 

 everybody can have them by general law 

 that want them ; and when our railroads 

 shall be created by general law, too, as 

 they soon will be, I trust that such of those 

 among our farmers who do wish to get a 

 very incompetent (as it will be,) share of 

 state consideration for their just benefit, 

 may be heard. 



Governor Fish deserves the thanks of 

 every farmer in the state for his liberal re- 

 commendation of the endowment of an ag- 

 ricultural school ; and I trust that the effi- 

 cient and intelligent board of commission- 

 ers which he has appointed to draft a plan, 

 will present such an one to the legislature 

 that they will at once adopt it. For fifteen 

 years past the state agricultural society 

 have recommended it; and last winter, for 

 the first time, have they been able to- bring 

 the subject to a notice in the executive 

 message. Your remarks on this subject 

 are well timed, and to the point. It is 

 true that a school, if one be now established 

 in this state, is to be an experiment in the 



