172 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



principal phrenologists in Edinburgh, where 

 his head was examined carefully. The great 

 powers of observation are tlie first to strike us 

 ou liK)king at die Lead, and give a breadth over 

 tlic eyes, extending as far as the ears, which we 

 seldom see. Of particalar organs I shall not 

 speak. 



" It may be interesting," says Professor Greg- 

 ory, '• to miuiy of our readers to know-that Pro- 

 fessor Liebig is in person tail and well fomied. 

 His complexion is dark, his countenance is 

 hatnLsome, aud in tlie highest degree animated 

 and cxpres.rive. His cerebral development has 

 been carefully examined by the Edinburgh 

 phrenologists : it is of tlie very highest class, the 

 intellectual and moral regions greatly predomi- 

 nating. Perhaps Europe does not contain a 

 larger anterior lobe of the brain than Liebig's; 

 and this, with his active aud energetic tempera- 

 ment, point him out as one bom to take a lead 

 in science, and to give a new du-ection to the 

 age. As a man, he is no less amiable than dis- 

 tinguished as a philosopher." 



It is scarcely proper speaking of a living man 

 to say much of his domestic life : to say he is 

 married, or to speak of his children is more 

 properly for a future time. 



It may be that tliose who read this sketch 

 will suppose that it is not sufficiently laudatory. 

 It is unneces-sary to praise any man, let us only 

 tell what he has done, and the feeling of praise 

 rises in every mind ; here something of what he 

 has done in Agriculture has been mentioned ; if 

 it has been clearly stated, those -who see its val- 

 ue will not fail to give due credit to the man. 



Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman 

 IN THE South — Tlie sort of inJ'ormatio7i 

 needed there, with suggestions for Agricul- 

 tural writers. 



, Aug. 27, 1845. 



Dear Sir — * * * As your work is large, 

 I hope you will find room for articles particu- 

 larly applicable to Southern Agriculture. All 

 information about cotton aud com is, of course, 

 valuable to us. Indigo and tobacco, particularly 

 Spanish, are again atti-acting our attention. — 

 Muck and marl are two hobbies with me, and 

 to these, together with draining and making 

 manure, I devote one-third of my effective force, 

 the year round. I have been doing so for three 

 j'ears, and have just an-ived at the point of mak- 

 ing more with the other two-thirds than I did 

 formerly with all. I hope to pass it very far in 

 time, besides vastly increasing the value of my 

 land. 



We are very ignorant here of the labor-saving 

 machines at the North. They have many in es- 

 tablished use that we kno\v nothing of A list 

 and description of all invented within 20 years, 

 and in successful operation, with their prices, 

 and where they may be had, would be very val- 

 uable. Indeed, a series of ai'ticles, .stating and 

 illustrating all the changes and improvements in 

 Agriculture for 20 years, would be highly ac- 

 ceptable here. The old plan, the now jilan, and 

 the advantages of the change, would give us 

 very important truth. 

 f:i7(;; 



I wish you could reform agricultural writers 

 in one important particular. They state their 

 experiments in such a loose way that one can 

 seldom try them. A man, you know, might de- 

 scribe a one-dollar bill and a ten-dollar bill from 

 the same bank, very minutely, to his owni satis- 

 faction ; yet, if he left out the trivial circum- 

 stance of the 0, we should not know tliat one 

 bill was ten times as valuable as the other. We 

 want quantities in bushels — distances in yards — 

 areas in acres — in short, the length, breadth, 

 depth, weight, measure, time, &c. &c. of every 

 thing, minutely, accurately, and in terms under- 

 stood every where. It is not only useless, but 

 provoking, to read nine-tenths of the articles in- 

 tended to enlighten agricultural readers. 



From the American Farmer. 

 TO PREVENT SMUT IN WHEAT. 

 Since our own directions upon this important 

 matter were written, we have received the an- 

 nexed note from Hon. Wm. Cannichael, whose 

 authority with us is equal to that of any agricul- 

 turist of our State : 



SUCCESSFUL EXPERI.MENT TO PREVENT SMUT 



IN WHEAT. 

 To the Editor of the American Farmer : 



In the .3d vol. of the Farmers' Register, page 

 743, there is an account of a series of experi- 

 ments made by M. M. de Bombasle, for preserv- 

 ing Wheat from the Smut, one of which he 

 found entirely successful ; and, perhaps, some 

 benefit may be derived from an account of the 

 advantage I have derived from its application. 

 I recommend to you to subjoin that article, as it 

 may give confidence to my experience. 



Smut was brought on my farm by changing 

 my seed Wheat, and though it never extended 

 so far as to produce very serious injui^', I was 

 very anxious to expel it ; and, in the year 1843, 

 I used the means in the article I have referred 

 to, according to the manner therein directed. — 

 At the ne.xt harvest, I found the Smut much di- 

 minished, but some still remained. Last Fall I 

 used the .same means, under a different applica- 

 tion. I dissolved, in a large tab, 18 lbs. glauber 

 salts in 22 gallons of water. The Wheat was 

 thrown into it well-washed, and so much of the 

 solution as was not taken up was drawn off for 

 farther application ; the Wheat was then put 

 into abed of quick-lime (slaked immediately be- 

 fore being used) on my bam floor, well stirred 

 so as to produce adhesion to each grain, and 

 then spread to dry. 



I have lately finished threshing. I have ex- 

 amined the Wheat and have not detected a 

 Smut-ball. This is also the experience of my 

 overseer and my most observant laborer.^. 



I do not know that the germinating power 

 would be injured if it remained unsown for 

 many days under the lime; but to avoid the 

 hazard, I have permitted the Wheat thus pre- 

 pared not more than three days unsown. 



My neighbor, Mr. Wm. D'e "Courscy. to whom 

 I communicated the experiments of Mr. Bom- 

 basle, made one with common salt, by which 

 the Smut was much diminished, but some still 

 remained. My experiment with glauber salts 

 has resulted in entire success. 



WM. CARMICHAEL. 



Wye, Queen Ann's Co., E. S. Md. 



^^^ 



