37 
Lowisiana.—Lafayette: Average yield of all crops low on account of 
bad cultivation. 
Texas.— Washington: Everybody swears to go slow on the cotton 
question, but everybody plants largely and neglects other crops. 
Tennessee— Monroe: Fine breeds of cattle, sheep, and hogs being 
introduced, with better seeds and implements. 
Kentueky.— Boyle : Scarcity and unreliability of labor causes a change 
from grain to grass. The fault lies in not stirring the ground to 
a sufficient depth ; this is chargeable as much to the employer as to the 
laborer. Pendleton: Farm-products are not paying farmers much 
except hogs, which sell at $6.75 to $7 per cental gross at the pen. 
Ohio.— Coshocton: Farmers generally in good spirits, being liberally 
rewarded by ruling prices and average yields, and having sustained no 
losses of stock during the year. Belmont: The past year has been the 
least prosperous for ten years; fruit a failure, wheat and hay half crops, 
and wool low. 
Indiana.— Gibson: Plenty to eat, but money scarce. 
California.—Sonoma: The coming season very promising. 
CHUFA, OR EARTH ALMOND. 
The Department has of late received many inquiries for seeds of the 
chufa, (Cyperus esculenta,) as well as requests for information as to its 
character and cultivation in this country. To meet these inquiries, the 
Department has ordered from France a supply of the seed for distri- 
bution. 
The chufa is a perennial, indigenous in the south of Europe, growing 
in the form of a rush to the height of about 3 feet, producing small 
tubers about the size of an ordinary bean, called by the French sowchet 
comestible, (rush-nut.) It was introduced into this country more than 
twenty years ago, and proved very prolific when planted in the light 
sandy soils of the Middle and Southern States, as also in richer soils. 
It belongs to the same genus as the notorious wild “ nut-grass,” (Cype- 
rus repens,) but does not spread like that pest of southern fields. 
In taste, the tubers resemble a delicious chestnut or cocoanut, and, 
like them, may be eaten raw or cooked. After soaking in water twelve 
hours, they may be eaten as a sauce. Dr. C. T. Jackson, of Boston, 
Mass., analyzed them, and furnished the following result for the Agri- 
cultural Report of the Patent Office, 1857, page 166: ’ 
ME CE Lo tuiel, o hbase tala h pi alee «+ hada wise oped 15.50 per cent. 
MOS MNALLET! 6 bik Se SUBD hie, AOA te panied thie be os AB, phbnt 
PRO ola ad ab ONE ato ele ar Anlbie a's ood gis wlalg ides ARVOO: (fot 
A peculiar sugar, like Manna. ......0.-6.caesee seen VQ 25), $6 0 166 
WW aie Fe wis i3"2 CTS a Be a ae ee eee eee Oe BO yh: +6 
at ON Sp Laity Sajeia ats 4 Se dD. & Hes « Poa = RAE Dp at OAH ob 46168 1/66 311% 
Mucilage, or gum, with a little albumen ...-......-.--- Gy GB} 1.44 1.5% 
100. 00 
