30 



Agriculture. — Exjylosion in a Porh-liouse — Lives lost. Vol. VIII. 



covery of this tree from what has so sadly, 

 and repeatedly spoiled its beauty, and threat- 

 ened its ruin, they will confer a favour upon 

 many a lover of the Sycamore. 



Ai;iit'ultiire. 



We are hioiily qratilied at the increased 

 interest now manifested at tlie South oene- 

 rally, on tlie subject of agriculture, and we 

 trust the day is not distant, when it shall be 

 seen in the Carolinas and Georgia, that we 

 are able to make our own corn, raise our 

 own mules, horses, cattle and hogs, as well 

 as our numerous cotton bags. But if we 

 would do this, we must abandon the ruinous 

 practice, so long pursued among us, of wear- 

 ing out our lands, tln'owing them away, and 

 clenring more until all is wasted, and then 

 decamping and seeking a new home among 

 the fertile regions of tlie far West. We 

 nmst improve our lands ; we must, by im- 

 proving our system of cultivation, learn to 

 plant fes and make mori?,- we must, with- 

 out extending our borders, increase our re- 

 sources, and thus virtually enlarge our ter- 

 ritory. 



"He is a public benefactor, who, by the 

 prudent and skilful outlay of his time and 

 money, shall make a single field yield per- 

 manently a double crop; and he who does 

 this over a square mile, virtually adds a 

 square mile to the national territory — nay, 

 he does more: he doubles to this extent, tlie 

 territorial resources of the country, without 

 giving the State any larger territory to de- 

 fend. All hail, then, to the improvers of 

 the soil ! Health and long life be their flir- 

 tune — may their dreams be few and plea- 

 sant, and their sleep, the sweet repose of 

 the weary — may they see the fruits of their 

 own labour, and may their sons reap stil! 

 heavier harvests." 



But if we would thus improve the soil, 

 and so become public benefactors, we must 

 become acquainted with the nature and cha- 

 racter of our soil, and what sort of culture, 

 &c., is adapted to its nature, condition, &c., 

 and to do this, we must read, yes, read as 

 well as work ; for whatever may be thought 

 and said of "Book Farming" and "Theoreti- 

 cal Planting," we will find the following 

 sentences to hold good in the main : 



"Siiow me a thrifty, practical and experi- 

 mental farmer, and I will show you a man 

 who reads works on agriculture, or who bor- 

 rows his hints from a neighbour who takes 

 agricultural papers. 



" Show me a farmer whose fences are 

 going to decay; whose half-starved cattle 

 are strolling over a brush field; and I will 

 show you a man who, if he is not on the 

 retroi>-rade track, takes too little uiterest in 



agriculture, to patronize an agricultural 

 paper." 



But if we would read, we must take a 

 newspaper: aye, that's the very thing we 

 would recommend, for the borrowing system 

 we never did like: take a paper yourself. 

 "But this will increase my expenses!" Aye, 

 true enough, it will from one to two and a 

 half, or three doUnrs a year; but then if it 

 increases the yield of your fields, two fold, 

 and makes you a richer, happier and wiser 

 man, surely you will not be much the loser 

 in the end. — iS. C. Teynp. Advocate. 



Explosion in a Pork-house— Lives lost. 



On Saturday afternoon, 25th of February, 

 a lire broke out at Cincinnati, in the smoke 

 house of Messrs. Pough ct Alvord, at the 

 corner of Walnut street and the canal, 

 which, in its consequences, was one of the 

 most distressing that ever occured in that 

 city. The Gazette says: "The smoke-house 

 was in the rear, and somewluit detached 

 from the main building, being connected 

 with it only Ity a woodc^i door and narrow 

 j)assage-way, through which the meat was 

 usually wheeled. It was thought the tire 

 could be confined to the former, and tor that 

 purpose the pork-house was closed as tight 

 as ])ossible, by shutting all the doors and 

 windows, to exclude a rush of air to feed 

 the flames. In the course of half an hour, 

 the main building was filled with smoke, 

 rarified air, and probably some inflammable 

 gas, from the smoke-house, and when the 

 flames burst througli the wooden door con- 

 necting the two buildings, an instantaneous 

 roar of flame was perceived, and in the 

 twinkling of an eye, tlie whole of this spa- 

 cious, sui)stantial building, was a mass of 

 ruins. The whole roof was lifted up in the 

 air, and thrown into the streets in large 

 fragments — the second story walls on the 

 north and south sides were thrown down, 

 and tlie whole eastern end of both stories, 

 fronting on Walnut, blown into the streets, 

 from its foundation up. 



The appearance of the explosion was aw- 

 fully terrific, and its consequences fatal to 

 several of our most estimable citizens. It 

 is thought that from eight to twelve persons 

 were immediately killed, and probably twen- 

 ty were severely wounded, some of them 

 dangerously. — Exchange paper. 



The brine in which cucumbers have been 

 preserved, is said to be fatally poisonous to 

 cattle and hogs. One of our citizens a \'ew 

 weeks back, lost a cow from her having eaten 

 a quantity of pickles which had been thrown 

 out in an exposed situation. — Piscataquis 

 Herald. 



