^I)c iTaimci's iUontl)!!) bisitor. 



onci it may still I>e weliled lilie bar iioii, if it lias 

 Dot been Hised or over-ceiiieiittd ; Lot liy fiir the 

 most iiiiporl;irit jilter.itioii in its inopt'ities is, that 

 It can 1)6 hnidened or softeLied at piciisine. If it 

 be II ude 10(1 liot, and instantly cooled, it allalns 

 11 degree of hardness uliicli is snfficieiit to cut 

 idmost any otlier «nl)staiu-e ; but, if heated and 

 cooled gradujtily, it Imconies nearly as pure iron, 

 and may, with much the same facility, be man- 

 iifacliired into any deterinined form.— J/ecAa)iic'« 

 Own Book. 



markably, us, indeed, any one may do even though 

 whirled lhranf,'h the couiilryal llie railway speed 

 with whicli we are now carried, what an extent 

 of nnproveinent has been effected in this respecl. 

 Every one is slriick wiih the appearance of jjiep- 

 aiation for fumre exerlions, which are, at the same 

 lime, the token of well-deserved success.— jLort/ 



Alanly al the Livei-pool .If^ricultural Jhsocialion. 



To pRESERVii Eggs.— Dip them in a strong 

 Eoiution of lime, like whitewash i take them out 

 nnd let them dry ; Ilieii pactk them away in pow- 

 dered chalk or plaster of Paris. The "Germans 

 practice this with success. 



An hoitr at the old Play-gronnd. 



1 snt an liour tfi-ilay, John, 



Beside the old brook stream — 

 Where wn were school hoys in old time, 



When manhood was a dream ; 

 The brook is choked will, fallen leaves— 



The pond is dried away, 

 1 scarce believe that you would know 



The dear old plane to-day. 



The school house is no more, John ; 



Beneath our locust trees, 

 The wild rose by the window side 



J\o more waves in the breeze; 

 The scattered slones look desolate. 



The sod tliey rested on 

 Has been ploughed up by the stranger hands 



Since you and I were gone. 



The che.snul tree is dead, John, 



.\nd whal is sadder now — 

 The broken grapevine of our swing 



Hangs on the withered bough ; " 

 1 read our names upon the bark, 



And found the pebbles rare — 

 Laid up beneath the hollow side, 



.\.>i we had piled them there. 



Keneath the grass-grown hank, John, 



I looked lor our old sprini:, — 

 Th.at bubbled down the alder path, 



'I'hree paces from the swing) 

 The rushes grow upon the brfnk. 



The pool is black and bare. 

 And not a foot, Ihis many a day 



It seems has trodden there. 



1 took the old blind road, John, 



That wandered up the hill. 

 'Tis darker than it used to be, 



And seems so hme and still j 

 The birds sing yet upon the boughs— 



Where once the sweet grapes hung, 

 But not a voice of human kind, 



Where all our voices rung, 



I sat me on the fence, John, 



That lies as in old time, 

 The same half panel in the path, 



VVe used so oft toTlimb, 

 And thought how o'er the bars o( life. 



Our play-mates had past on. 

 And lelt me counlingon this spot 



The laces that ore gone. 



Progress of E.nglish Agricultdrf..— Farm- 

 ers are finding out that it is necessary for them, 

 with a view to their own interests, to' take a very 

 different course from ihat which was followed h\ 

 their .srandfathers ,ind f:i'e--it-{,'raiKllathor.«. \n 

 these (lays, no man is allowed to stand still. Im- 

 provement must go on. And 1 see ihrou-honl 

 the country, in every part of il, gtatifyintr proofs 

 that improvement is going on, as actively in the 

 agricultural as in the manufacturing districts and 

 operations of the country. Even within the la'-t 

 lour or live year.s, 1 see strides which, small as 

 they may be compared with what might be done 

 are gigauiic when cotnparcd with what was done 

 before. 1 think it is not more than four or five 

 years ago, that, at ,-, n.eeling of the Roval Agri- 

 cultural Society of England', I first noticed, as a 

 noveliyofa singular character, a new manure, 

 known as guano, and recommended to the a-ni- 

 cnlliinsts of England. If I ,im not misinforu'ied, 

 from the port ol Liverpool alone there have gone 

 out, within this single year, no less than I.^O^vr- 

 sels. chnrterrd e.xpressly for ihe purpose of ini- 

 liorting tins then unknown manure for the im- 

 provement of the agriculture of the country 

 Everywhere I see old and useless fences disap- 

 pearing, fields enlarging, improved modes ot ciil- 

 iivation adopted ; and I see going on will, i,,,. 

 mense rapidity that which, I must atrain and 

 again impress upon you who are connected with 

 the laud, is the basis of all im])rovemenl— deep 

 and through drainage of the laud; and not here 

 ulone, but throughout all England. I see most le- 



So.METHI.fQ NoVEt A GRE.4T CoRr* .ShELI.- 



ER.— Having occasion dnri'itf the List week to 

 call at the machine establishment of Mr. James 

 Wurray, al the head of the basin, in York street 

 our attention was called to the fitting up of a corn 

 sheller, on a new principle on board of an iron 

 steam. 'r, l>nig at an ailjacent wharf, and we 

 availed ourselfofthe inviialion oI'Mr. I\li)rrav, to 

 be present al the trial of the siieller, prior to' the 

 departure of the steamer to the scene of its fulnre 

 operations. VVe were accordingly summoned on 

 Ihnrsday to give our attendance on board a new 

 iron steamer, bnilt in Pennsylvania, and bronghl 

 through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to 

 this city, to receive the machinery for the opera- 

 tion of corn shelling, which was being prepared 

 by Mr. Murray ; she Is called the Loper, alid is In- 

 tended for the Roanoke and Norfolk trade. The 

 machinery for shelling Ihe corn aj.penrs to be 

 simple, and is a permanaut u.MUre to the vessel. 

 It is placed on a high upper deck, and has a hop- 

 per, into which the corn is to be spouted from the 

 batiks of the river, and passes from the sheller 

 into a st^reen, wliich takes otr the corn lioin the 

 cob, the latter being carried by ihe screen several 

 feet to take it out of the way, w hilst the corn drops 

 into the hold of the vessel wilhout handling, and 

 is thus ready for delivery atttliy market for which 

 It may be intended. The machine is worked by 

 the steam power by which the vessel is propelled, 

 and it may seem almost incredible, nevertheless 

 Mr. Murray and the owners, one of Whom was 

 on board, are coufideut of its capacity to shell not 

 less than 600 bushels of corn per hour, the day 

 through! and frmn the manner in which it used 

 up that which was at hand for the trial whilst we 

 were present, we have no right to doubt for a 

 moment ot their expectations being fully realized. 

 The owners are Mes.«rs. Antony & Harris, and 

 the one present was in ecstacies at the perlbrm- 

 auce, being thoroughly salisiied tliat it would 

 accomplish all that had been anticipated. We 

 learn that to Mr. Petiigrew, an eminent planter 

 ot N<,itli Carolina, is duo the credit of the plan 

 of this invaltiable machinery, and he was fortunate 

 in ills selection of such a master of his art as is 

 Mr. Murray, in carrying into execution the sug- 

 gestions of his mind— and we sincerely hope that 

 all iulere.sted in the matter, will be 'amply re- 

 munerated (or Iheir ingenuity, skill and e'nter- 

 prise. — Baltimore Farmer. 



I'rom the Albany Cultivator. 

 Spring Grain. 

 E,vceptiug Ihe liahiliiy of spring wheat to be 

 atliicked by ilie insect improperly termed " wee- 

 vil," we belie\ e il may be assumed as a rule, that 

 spring grains generally succeed be^t when sown 

 .as early in the season as the ground can be 

 brought into a proper slate to receive ilie seed.— 

 For oats, in particular,and especially on light soil.s, 

 our experience leads us to prefer an early seed 

 lime. In this latitiule, the ground freipiently be- 

 comes so far settled during this monih, that warm, 

 light soils may be sown. The proper quantity 

 ol seed per acre, is a matter on which much di- 

 versity of opinion prevails. From one and a half 

 to Jive bushels of oats are sown by different far- 

 mers, lu our opinion,theqnantilv of seed should 

 be varied according to ihe nature of ihe soil, and 

 Ihe ti^nie of sowing; so that no fi.sed rule can be 

 laid down. Of the grain we are now speaking 

 of, we should use fioin two to three bushels per 

 acre, in the ordinary mode of sowiiii;. And we 

 would here remark, that our experience has 

 shown that /fsj seed is required on rich than on 

 thin sod. The reason is this : That in the first 

 case the abunilant fiioil the plant receives indu- 

 ces It lo titter, or spread ; whereas in the latler 

 case but a single seed stem, perhaps, is thrown 

 up. It should therefore be made an object to sow 

 on thin land as much seed as will be sure to cov- 

 er the ground at once with a sufficient number 

 of plants, for if this is not done, weeds, or .some 

 foul gnuMh, will be sure lo infest the soil lo the 

 injury of ihe crop. 



As regarils the practice of sowing four or five 

 bushels per acre, as we have mentioned is some- 

 times done, we must confe.ss we have seen no 

 satislactory evidence of its expediency. 



For barley, a loamy soil is considered pre(L-r- 

 al)le; we have, however, seen good crops grown 

 on quite stiff clays, properly draineil and worked. 

 We have sown Ivom two and a half to three bush- 

 els per acre. 



For wheat, loamy soils, which coniain some 

 ime, are best. We prefer sowing „l„,i,t two 

 bushels ol seed to the acre. We remarked above 

 tiowever, Ihat the quantity of seed depended 

 somewhat on the lime of sowing- ihns, early 

 sown gram has more time to tiller, and itaclnallv 

 will spread much more than late sown. In ouV 

 reoiarks about the quantity of seed, we h.ive had 

 only 111 view the ordinary modes of .sow ing ; „o 

 doubt IS entertained that by the adoplion of oth- 

 er modes, much seed might be saved. Sowing 

 or plauluig in drill.s, by maehine.s, has been much 

 practiced in England, and to some extent in this 

 coutiliy, and so far as we have known with suc- 

 cess. Dibbling, or planting in liilLs, is also some- 

 what practiced in England under the <:llolment 

 system. In this way a few qnnrls only of seed 

 IS enough (or an acre, nnd the product is very 

 great, making an average, in some districts, of 

 (orty-eight bushels per acre, lint it must be rec- 

 ollected that under this system the ground is hoed 

 and kept clean while the crop is growing—the 

 cheapness of labor, and the deariiess of land 

 justifying the course. But the American flirmer 

 would hardly find his account in bestowini: so 

 much labor in proportion to ihe quantity of eroimd 

 and the quantity of produce. 



We have said that spring wheat is liable lo be 

 injured by an inseci. We think that which is 

 sown early is most subject to injury from this 

 cause. I( the sowing is deferred till the latter 

 part ot May, it is thought the sensonof the wornj 

 becomes past before the wheat is sufficiently ad- 

 vanced to be injured by it. But as the late sown 

 wheat IS more liable lo injury (iom rnsl, &c., than 

 early sown, the farmer must make his calcula- 

 tions as he best can, which enemy is m.,M ft,,- 

 midable, or in what course lies Ids g'reatest chance 

 of success. 



Peas, for early use, cannot be sown too soon 

 afler ihe ground is dry enough to work. Select 

 a warm piece of ground, rather sandy, and do 

 not put on too much rank or strong manure, as it 

 lends to throw the peas too much inlo vines. 



The pea crop is a very profitable one in many 

 situations. Sown on a sod furrow, it furnishes 

 an excellent preparation for wlieat, or any other 

 crop. Very hot weather seems nol to be favor- 

 able to the /fWmg- of peas: therefore it is advisable 

 to sow them so early that they may get well ad- 

 vanceil belbre the holiest anddryest part of the 

 summer comes on. 



Peas and oats are sometimes sown together, 

 and are considered profitable. Ground into meal 

 they (iirni an excellent food for fattening hogs 

 and olher animals, and in seclions where Indian 

 corn cannot well be grown, are highly esteemed. 



Corn and potatoes cnltivaled in alternate row.s, 

 increases the product of the potatoes one-lcjurth. 



Effects of Ashes.— Mr. Peter Crispell of 

 Hurley, Ulster county, informs ns that he raised 

 last year, on one acre of laud, three tons Iwclve 

 hundred and eighty pounds of hay, at one crop. 

 The hay was in men.-haniahle coiidiiion and of 

 good quality, as it will appear (Voiu the fact 

 that it was sold at eight dollars per ton, and wa.s 

 all weighed on the scales. The spil where this 

 crop grew, was a dry, loamy alluvion, and had 

 been in grass many years. Last spring ,Mr. C. 

 spread on a hundred" bushels of leached ashes 

 to the acre, which cost eight cents per bushel.- 

 Tlie ashes increased the qiiautiiy of hay nearly 

 one-half, and from former experiments iii the 

 useof ihem. it is known that iheir effects continue 

 for several years. 



Mr. Crispell has made some trials wiih both 

 leached and unleached ashe.s. and ihe results, in 

 his case, would seem Ki show that Ihe iinleaclied 

 are not more valuable ihaii the leached, lie 

 thinks that ashes vvhicli have laid some time afler 

 being leached, are much more valuable than when 

 they are applied immedialely afler leaching. He 

 inlorms us that this is also in aceonlniice witii 

 the exj.erience of several of the Long Island fur- 



