44 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



agricultural school that would be an honor in all coming 

 time to our Empire State. I only throw out the hint here 

 by way of text. Who will take up the subject and finish 

 the sermon? It is worthy of consideration. 



I now come to the December No. The first article I 

 shall notice, is that upon 



Preparing Corn {Maize) for Shipping to Europe. — It 

 strikes me that I am Yankee and old sailor enough to 

 invent a portable steam-engine, that can be taken into 

 the warehouse or on deck of the receiving ship, which 

 shall thoroughly dry the corn in the act of passing it on 

 board and into the hold. By passing the corn through a 

 tube of only a few feet in length, made so that a volume 

 of hot steam surrounds the corn and keeps the tube as 

 hot as steam can make it, would effectually free the corn 

 of moisture, so that it would go into the hold so dry as 

 almost to insure it against mustiness. Who will try it? 

 I charge nothing for the patent. 



Letters from the South. — "Richard is himself again" 

 whenever he takes hold of the pen. But at present he is 

 travelling by railroad entirely too fast to give that in- 

 terest to his letters that a slower rate of locomotion would 

 enable him to do. So general a description as becomes 

 necessary to crowd all the country between Baltimore and 

 Charleston into one letter, lacks that detail which gives 

 zest to a traveller's notes. We want you to stop by the 

 wayside and "talk over the matter" with the old man and 

 woman, girls and boys, besides the negroes. Give us "ten 

 thousand a year" of little details of Southern farming, to- 

 gether with descriptions of lands, farms, ferries, stock, 

 tools, and all the fixings. You must do it. The editor has 

 long promised us something of the kind. [We have some 

 of his letters in hand, which will soon appear, particular 

 enough to suit Reviewer.] 



Present Corn-Crop. — "Five hundred millions" is "all in 

 T^y eye," and plenty of room for more. Your own esti- 

 mate is nearer the truth, but that of 5 3/5 bushels to each 

 soul in the United States, based upon the census of New 



