332 Lettuce. — Method of Determining the Weight of Cattle. Vol. XI. 



fairly judge of the commercial prosperity of 

 a country from the amount of sulphuric acid 

 it consumes. Reflecting upon the important 

 influence which the price of sulphur exer- 

 cises upon the cost of production of bleached 

 and printed cotton stuffs, soap, glass, &c., 

 and remembering that Great Britain sup- 

 plies America, Spain, Portugal, and the 

 East, with these, exchanging them for raw 

 cotton, silk, wine, raisins, indigo, &c., &c., 

 we can understand why the English govern- 

 ment should have resolved to resort to war 

 with Naples, in order to abolish the sulphur 

 monopoly, which the latter power attempted 

 -recently to establish. Nothing could be more 

 opposed to the true interests of Sicily than 

 such a monopoly; indeed, had it been main- 

 tained a few years, it is highly probable that 

 sulphur, the source of her wealth, would 

 have been rendered perfectly valueless to 

 her. Science and industry form a power to 

 which it is dangerous to present impedi- 

 ments. It was not difficult to perceive that 

 the issue would be the entire cessation of 

 the exportation of sulphur from Sicily. In 

 the short period the sulphur monopoly lasted, 

 fifteen patents were taken out for methods 

 to obtain back the sulphuric acid used in 

 making soda. Admitting that these fifteen 

 experiments were not perfectly successful, 

 there can be no doubt it would ere long 

 have been accomplished. But, then, in gyp- 

 sum — sulphate of lime — and in heavy-spar — 

 sulphate of barytes — we possess mountains 

 of sulphuric acid ; in galena— sulphate of 

 lead — and in iron pyrites we have no less 

 abundance of sulphur. The problem is, how 

 to separate the sulphuric acid, or the sulphur, 

 from these native stores. Hundreds of thou- 

 sands of pounds weight of sulphuric acid 

 were prepared from iron pyrites, while the 

 high price of sulphur consequent upon the 

 monopoly lasted. We should probably ere 

 long have triumphed overall difficulties, and 

 have separated it from gypsum. The im 

 pulse has been given, the possibility of the 

 process proved, and it may happen in a few 

 years that the inconsiderate financial specu 

 lation of Naples may deprive her of that iu 

 crative commerce. In like manner Russia, 

 by her prohibitory system, has lost much of 

 her trade in tallow and potash. One coun- 

 try purchases only from absolute necessity 

 from another, which excludes her own pro- 

 ductions from her markets. Instead of the 

 tallow and linseed oil of Russia, Great Brit- 

 ain now uses palm oil and cocoa-nut oil of 

 other countries. Precisely analogous is the 

 combination of workmen against their em- 

 ployers, which has led to the construction of 

 many admirable machines for superseding 

 manual labour. In commerce and industry 



every imprudence carries with it its own 

 punishment ; every oppression immediately 2 

 and sensibly recoils upon the head of those ! 

 from whom it emanates. — Liebig^s Letters. 



Lettuce. — The use of Lettuce as a cool- 

 ing and agreeable salad, is well known ; it 

 is also a useful ingredient in soups. It con- « 

 tains, like the other species of this genus, ■ 

 a quantity of opium juice, of a milky nature, ^ 

 from which of late years, medicine has been 

 prepared, under the title of Lactucarium, 

 and which can be administered with eflfect 

 in cases where opium is inadmissible. 



The varieties are very numerous. Those 

 herein enumerated have been selected from 

 the many which have come under our obser- 

 vation, and will be found to suit the various 

 seasons of the year. Some varieties cele- 

 brated in Europe, are of little value here, 

 soon shooting to seed under our hot sun. 



The Early Cabbage Lettuce is the earli- 

 est; it produces a moderately sized and very 

 firm head; it is known among the Philadel- 

 phia market gardeners as the "butter salad." 



The Royal Cabbage Lettuce is a very 

 large variety, dark green, with firm head, 

 and withstanding the sun better than the 

 preceding variety, not rapidly shooting to 

 seed. 



The India is a very fine kind, produces 

 large hard heads, leaves wrinkled, stands 

 the sun remarkably well. 



The Philadelphia Cabbage resembles the 

 " Royal," and is in all respects a desirable 

 variety. 



The Early Curled [Silesia] does not head; 

 is used principally as " cut salad." — Massa- 

 chusetts Ploughman. 



Method of Determining the Weight 

 OF Cattle. — The following method of as- 

 certaining the dead weight of cattle by mea- 

 surement when alive, has been adopted to a 

 considerable extent. It is found to be an 

 expeditious mode; and if not to be implicitly 

 depended upon, at least furnishes a very im- 

 portant assistance to the judgment of the 

 dealer. 



Ride. — Take the girth of the beast by 

 measuring round with a string or tape close 

 behind the shoulder-blade, and the length by 

 measuring from the fore part of the shoulder- 

 blade, along the back, to that bone of the tail 

 which is in a perpendicular line with the 

 hind part of the buttock. Multiply the girth 

 (in feet) by itself, and that product by the 

 length, and then again by 42. The last pro- 

 duct, divided by 100, will give the weight in 

 Smithfield stones of 8 lbs. each. If stones 

 of 14 lbs. are required, the multiplier will 

 be 24 instead of 42. — Baxter'' s Library, A. K. 



