84 



F A K M E R S' REGISTER 



[No. 2 



the size asiced for by Dr. Periine, is probably not more 

 than the cost of public printing- already wasted (if 

 leading to no further action than merely paying the 

 printer,) in publishing the documents sustaining the 

 petition. Indeed, it would be a provision for Dr. Per- 

 rine, with which he might well remain content, if 

 congress would merely pay to him as much money as 

 has been, and will, without scruple, and as a mere 

 matter of course, be paid for printing and circulating 

 his memorials and documents. The printing of this 

 single pamphlet must have cost more than congress 

 probably would grant directly to aid the true improve- 

 ment of agriculture. A less sum, for establishing a 

 Board of Agriculture, the legislature of Virginia re- 

 fused, and with so much slight and contempt, as to 

 leave no ground for any advocates lor agricultural im- 

 provement to ask again for legislative aid or bounty. 



After the foregoing paragraph wos in type, we re- 

 ceived from Dr. Perrine a second pamphlet, of the 

 same purport and substance, though not in precisely 

 the same form, being the "Report of the Committee 

 of Agriculture" to the Senate of the United States on 

 his petition, with accompanying documents. This 

 publication, though in pamphlet form, would be a book- 

 seller's volume, of 142 pages letter press, and 24 more 

 pages of well executed and handsome copperplate en- 

 gravings of various tropical plants referred to by the 

 petitioner; and of this, also, 5000 copies were printed, 

 in addition to the "usual number" of congressional 

 documents. This is not onh^ probably, of double the 

 cost of the other publication spoken of above, but both 

 of them are but second editions, revised, corrected, 

 and enlarged, of prior publications, made in like man- 

 ner by order of congress — and which course of an- 

 nual publication will continue so long as Dr. Perrine 

 shall continue to present his claims, even though he 

 may fail to obtain one dollar for the benefit of himself, 

 or his plans. What we before supposed to be proba- 

 ble, is now placed beyond doubt, viz.: that the mere 

 cost of printing his documents, if paid directly to Dr. 

 Perrine, would be certainly equal to the value of the 

 township of land in Florida for which he asks. And, 

 if he could even get half as much as the clear profit of 

 the printers of his documents, he would find the busi- 

 ness of petitioning annually more profitable than we 

 fear he will in other respects ; and the amount gained 

 greater than any legitimate and honest appropriation 

 that will be made in aid of the objects of his petition. 



Some novices in the knowledge of congi'essional 

 economy, may wonder why two such voluminous pub- 

 lications of the same character, and form so nearly 

 similar, and in editions of like size, should be published 

 at the same session of congress; inasmuch as nearly half 

 the expense might have been saved by printing the 

 whole number even of the larger work. But if this 

 cheaper course had been pursued, one o.iiy of the two 

 public printers would have had a fat job, whereas now 

 one has been given to each of them: and this is an ob- 

 ject more cared for, and far more cherished, than ei- 

 ther the emoluments of Dr. Perrine, or the diffusion of 

 agricultural information, and the consequent improve- 

 ment of agriculture. 



We copy below the 'Report' of the Committee of 



Agriculture of the Senate; and heartily wish that its 

 general recommendations and objects may receive 

 from both houses of congress as much favor, and pub- 

 lic bounty, as the subject has already served to furnish 

 of profitable jobbing to public printers, and of expen- 

 diture of public money, useless except to these go- 

 vernment pensioners. 



REPORT TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED 

 STATES ON DR. PERRINe's PLAN OF INTRO- 

 DUCING TROPICAL PLANTS. 



The Committee on AoTJcuIture, to whom was re- 

 ftjrred the memorial of Dr. Henry Perrine, late 

 American Consul at Campeachy, praying for a 

 conditional grant of land in southern Florida, 

 to encourage (he introduction and promote the 

 cultivation of tropical plants in the United States, 

 have had the same under consideration, and 

 beg leave to submit, to the consideration of the 

 Senate, thelbllowing report. 



At the express desire of the memorialist, your 

 committee has long delayed its action for the pur- 

 pose of niaking a rigid investigation of his sug- 

 gestions, his services, and his plans, in relation to 

 the immediate domestication of tropical plants in 

 southern Florida, and of their gradual acclima- 

 tion throughout all the southern and southwestern 

 states; and hence your committee has arrived at 

 *he conclusion that his services have been great; 

 that his suggestions are important; and that his 

 plans are laudably patriotic and practicable. In 

 obedience to the treasury circular of the 6th Sep- 

 tember, 1827, Dr. Henry Perrine appears to be 

 the only Americal Consul, who has perse veringly 

 devoted his head, heart and hands to the subject 

 of introducing tropical plants in the United States; 

 and his voluminous manuscripts alone exhibit a 

 great amount of labor and research, which pro- 

 mise to be highly beneficial to our common coun- 

 try. The memorialist founds his hopes of final 

 success for the immediate propagation and sub- 

 sequent cultivation of tropical plants in Flori- 

 da, on lour leading facts: 1. JVl any valuable ve- 

 getables of the tropics do actually propagate them- 

 selves in the worst soils and situations, in the sun 

 and in the shade of every tropical region, where 

 a single plant arrives by accident or design. 2. 

 For other profitable plants of the tropics, which 

 require human skill or care, moisture is the equiva- 

 lent to manure, for tropical cultivation essentially 

 consists in appropriate irrigation. 3. A tropical 

 climate extends into southern Florida so pecu- 

 liarly lavorable to human health and vegetable 

 growth, that the lertility and benignity of its 

 atmosphere will counterbalance the sterility and 

 malignity of its soil. 4. The inundated marshes 

 and miry swamps of the interior of southern 

 Florida are more elevated than the arid sands 

 and untillable rocks of the coast ; and hence the 

 same canals which may drain the former will 

 irrigate the latter, and afford the appropriate pro- 

 portion of moisture for both. The memorialist 

 founds his hopes of success for the gradual ac- 

 climation of many profitable plants of the tropics, 

 throughout at least all our southern and south- 

 western states, on, 1st, The general history of 

 all tropical plants whose cultivation has been 

 gradually extended towards the poles. 2d. The 



