RECENT FACTS. 449 



this year G,500 acres in cotton, and 3,500 acres in corn and small grain. 

 Three hundred and sixty hands (colored) were employed, receiving 

 wages, payable quarterly. liations were also furnished. 



Colorado Jf our for the East. — The Greeley Tribune, Colorado, in Octo- 

 ber, 1872, recorded the fact that an order had been received at Denver 

 from Boston for 50 car-loads of Hour. 



Large yield of potatoes. — The Sac (Iowa) Sun says that Mr. D. B. Nel- 

 son, of that vicinity, raised, in 1871, on two acres, 700 bushels of pota- 

 toes, and on one acre 525 bushels. 



JJlffercnt soils for different varieties of potatoes. — Mr. C H. Sweet, 

 of Onondaga County, New York, says that several years of experience 

 in buying and selling potatoes and experiment in growing them have 

 proved to him that different varieties require different soils, if not dif- 

 ferent methods of culture, in order to the attainment of the best results. 

 On chestnut loam, near Rochester, he has grown the Fluke and the 

 Prince Albert, obtaining large yields of superior quality ; but on the 

 clay-loams of the section Avhere he now resides, and with the same 

 manures and culture as in the first-mentioned case, these varieties are 

 inferior in yield and quality. In the northern part of the county, on 

 sandy and limestone soils, the Early Goodrich does not succeed well, 

 while in his locality it is the best in yield and quality of any of the 

 varieties grown, not excepting the Early Eose. 



Products of Southeastern Virginia. — The Norfolk Virginian states that 

 225,450 bushels of pea-nuts, worth about 500,000, Avere raised in the 

 southeastern counties of the State in 1871. There were also exported 

 about 82,500,000 worth of cotton, fruits, vegetables, &c., besides grain 

 and lumber, value not stated. 



iShipments of 2Iissouri sumac. — In the early part of the current year 

 12,000 pounds of sumac were shipped from Missouri to New York by 

 rail, and thence by vessel to Saint John's, New Brunswick, to be 

 used for tanning purposes. This is stated to have been the first ship- 

 ment of sumac from Missouri. 



Onions in 31assacJmsetts. — Mr. C. T. Warner, of Sunderland, Massa- 

 chusetts, reports his average crop of onions at 500 bushels per acre. 

 His most profitable season was in 1801, when prices reached $1.50 per 

 bushel. In 1871 ho obtained 600 bushels per acre ; price 07 cents per 

 bushel. The following is his estimate of the cost of the crop per acre : 

 Preparation of ground, 810; manures and fertilizers, $100; seed, $15; 

 cultivation, $100; rent of land, $30; total, $255. On the crop of 1871 

 this would show a profit of 8117 per acre. 



Tea-culture in California. — The attempts at tea-growiug in California 

 appear to have resulted in failure. The experiment in El Dorado 

 County Mas superintended by a gentleman experienced in the tea-culture 

 of Japan, but neither there nor at Calistoga did the plant exhibit a sat- 

 isfactory growth. The Pacific Eural Press expresses the fear that the 

 climate of the State is not adapted to tea-culture. 



The Buena Vista vineyards. — The Buena Vista Viniculturist Associa- 

 tion, of Sonoma County, California, in 1871, made 142,000 gallons of 

 wine and 5,000 gallons of brandy. Five thousand bottles of champagne 

 are turned out per month, and there were about 30,000 lying in the 

 racks in July, 1872. The association has 540 acres of bearing vines. 



SiU:-raising in California. — The impetus given to the raising of silk- 

 worms in California was checked by the failure of the cocoon trade 

 with Europe. The introduction of "family reels'' for reeling the cocoons 

 is not deemed desirable, manufacturers of silks preferring larger lots, 

 carefully assorted, composed of threads which are uniform in size, 

 29 A 



