No. 1. 



Dahlia. — Gypsum in South Carolina. 



21 



winter's stall-feeding. An animal thus 

 treated, will iiave his beef well marbled 

 with fat, and no more is required by those 

 who are to regale on it. 



Having-, in the fitlh volume of the Me- 

 moirs of this Society, given my sentiments 

 fully on the subject of over-feeding cattle, 

 I shall only refer to two large animals to 

 which my remarks will apply. Tlie first is 

 the ox Columbus, which was raised in Green- 

 land, New Hampshire, and afterwards shown 

 and slaughtered in Philadelphia, a few years 

 since. His live weight was 4000 pounds, 

 and, as was said at the time, did not repay 

 the purchasers. The second was the N. J., 

 (Salem) ox, in the year 1S18, seven years 

 old, which from his fourth year had been 

 daily pastured and fed with corn meal, and 

 with hay and the same addition in winter; 

 the precise amount not stated ; dead weight 

 2,165 pounds, rough fat 136 pounds. His 

 portrait is on our walls, and in the fourth 

 volume of the Society's Memoirs. 



The little attention paid to the cultivation 

 of root crops, besides potatoes, for feeding 

 not only cattle but horses, by farmers, was 

 mentioned and dwelt on by the members 

 W'hose ample experience enabled them to 

 speak witli confidence on the economy of so 

 doing, and of the ease with whicli they may 

 be raised. No food yields a greater return, 

 or pays better than carrots, parsnips, sugar 

 beets, and turnips. They require to be sown 

 in rows, for which drills may be bought at a 

 moderate price, at the Agricultural Ware 

 Houses in Philadelphia. 



Mr. Richie, of Philadelphia county, stated 

 that a volunteer red cherry had made its ap- 

 pearance on his farm, which promises to be 

 an acquisition, as it possesses the lively acid- 

 ity of the well known " pie cherry," and is 

 as yet unaffected by the insect which has 

 proved so deadly an enemy to the latter. 

 He offered to supply grafts to the members, 

 and will doubtless do so to others. This 

 "new comer" here, is doubtless a variety 

 produced from the accidental dropping of a 

 " pie cherry," and the fact of its growth and 

 merits lead to an expression of regret for the 

 marked neglect of the cultivation of fruit in 

 Pennsylvania, although it is well known 

 that nothing on a farm pays better, or re- 

 quires so little trouble. Farmers in the 

 New England States bestow attention to 

 fruit, and had it not been for their very 

 abundant supply of apples during the last 

 autumn, Philadelphia would have been de- 

 prived of a wholesome luxury. They were 

 not only handsome in appearance, but some 

 of great size and cheap, while those brought 

 to market from Pennsylvania were few in 



number, unattractive in appearance, and 

 dear. A farmer could not more surely pro-, 

 vide a good revenue for an infant child, than 

 by setting out tour or five acres of the Mar- 

 shal apple, or of the Rhode Island Green- 

 ing, and one or more acres of the Prune 

 Plum. 



Mr. Uhler, Assistant Secretary, made a 

 verbal statement of his analysis of the marl 

 of New Jersey, which has done so much for 

 the barren sands, and unproductive soils of 

 that State, and gave the theory of the action 

 of its component parts. At the request of 

 the Society, he promised to produce a writ- 

 ten article on the subject at the next meet- 

 ing. The attention of the Society was 

 early called to the operation of this marl, 

 and knowing that in no other way than by 

 analysis could the principle of its fertilizing 

 property be ascertained, and the various re- 

 sults from its use be accounted for, Mr. 

 Henry Seybert, at the request of the Socie- 

 ty, made a masterly Chemical examination 

 of it, which was inserted in the fifth volume 

 of the Society's Memoirs. He first ascer- 

 tained that it generally contained nine or 

 ten per cent, of potash ; and hence its fertil- 

 izing effects when applied to soils deficient 

 therein. Mr. Uhler will explain its mode 

 of action. 



Dahlia. — Too richly manured a soil gives 

 too much vigor to the stem and leaf I raise 

 them in soil without manure, and when they 

 begin to bud, I cover the soil around them 

 with about two inches thick of well digested 

 manure. This causes the flowers to come 

 forth with surprising quantity and of great 

 size. I also cut off superfluous branches 

 and buds. I have used with great success 

 the ammoniacal water which flows from the 

 gas distillation of coal. I found that five 

 parts of water to one part of the gas water, 

 was best for the Dahlias. 



Gypsum in South Carolina. — The South- 

 ern Agriculturist says, "a specimen of gyp- 

 sum was lately sent to Dr. Gibbs, of Colum- 

 bia, from Mr. Ingraham's, on Cooper river. 

 It resembles the gypsum of the Paris basin, 

 which is extensively quarried for the manu- 

 facture of plaster of Paris, and as the geo- 

 logical position is the same, it is hoped it 

 will be found in abundance." 



It was well said by a sagacious observer, 

 that "mankind might do without physicians, 

 if they would observe the laws of health; 

 without lawyers, if they would keep their 

 tempers; without soldiers, if they would 

 observe the laws of peace ; but there is no 

 doing without farmers.''' 



