&I)C .farmer's iHont()iij Visitor. 



47 



Important Facts. 



The New York Courier gathers the following 

 nets from the report of the Commissioner of 

 Patents ;it Washington : 



Immigration.— The number of persons arriv- 

 ing in five principal ports, from Europe, in [he 

 year ending September 30, 1847, is stated to he 

 233,798— an increase of not less than 82,134 in u 

 year. Add to this, the immigrants from other 

 ports, nml ihe immigration was probably not less 

 than 300,000. 



The following table presents the comparison 

 in this respect of the last two years: 



1846. 1847. Increase. 



New York, 98,843 145,890 46,967 



Huston, 14,079 20,745 0,006 



Philadelphia, 7,237 14,763 7,526 



Baltimore, 9,327 12,018 2,081 



New Orleans, 22,148 40,412 18,294 



151,664 333^98 82,134 



The sales of public lands, principally in Illi- 

 nois, Indiana, Missouri, Alabama, Louisiana, 

 Arkansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin, amounted to 

 2,520,000 acres. 



As a proof of the increase of population in the 

 n.'w established Territories, the increase of the 

 population of Wisconsin is given, which is as 

 follows: 



1830 3,245 1842 46,648 



1836 - - 11,686 1845 - - 117,000 



1838 - - 18,149 1846 - - 155,277 



1840 - - 30,945 1847 - - 215,000 



This, of course, is the result of increase of 

 population. 



The commerce of the port of Philadelphia, for 

 1847, exhibits the same prosperous characteristics 

 which have marked ihe business and interests of 

 the Union generally. The following compara- 

 tive table presents a summary of ihe principal 

 items for the last few years: 



1845. 1846. 



Value of imports, §7,494,497 00 .$7,808,615,000 

 Duties received, 2,370,517 71 2,420,01178 



1847. 



Value of imports, $12,145,937 00 



Duties received, 2,904,748 97 



Value of exports lo foreign ports during the. years 



1843, 1844 and 1845. 



1843. 1844. 1845. 



Domestic articles, $2,837,646 3.320,1173 3,418,928 

 Foreign " 221,525 338,023 502,905 



Total .... £3,059,171 3,694,090 3,196,833 



Value of exports to foreign ports during the years 

 1840 and 1847. 



1846. 1847. 



Domestic articles, 84,590,744 7,038,087 



Foreign " 521,310 643,178 



Total $5,118,054 8.579,265 



Tonnage entered from foreign ports. 



American vessels, 

 Foreign '• 



1845. 

 73,705 



10,794 



Total tons . . . 84,489 

 Arrivals from for. ports, 387 

 Arrivals coastwise, 8,929 



Total tons . . . 84,100 

 Clearances for for. ports,400 



1840. 



37,146 



12,483 



99,029 



450 



6,008 



9,477 



458 



1847. 

 117,927 

 40,144 



148,071 

 657 



17,083 



17,840 

 598 



Arkansas Lead Ore. — Mines of lead have 

 been discovered in Arkansas, and the ore on be- 

 ing analyzed was found to be worth §70 per ion, 

 for the silver alone which it contains. It may 

 therefore be regarded as the Argentine ore of" 

 lead. The ore, then, instead of being smelted 

 in the ordinary way, should undergo the prnces.- 

 of cupellatiou to extract first ihe silver, and the 

 residuum would he nearly as valuable as if had 

 undergone the process of smelting. 



Every dairy should have a vessel of lime-water 

 sitting in it, say half a gallon of lime to ten or 

 twelve of water, simply to rinse every thing in. 

 The vessel can be filled up as often as you 

 please. It will remove acidity or had ordor. 



A Profitable Cow. 



Boston, February 23, 1848. 

 Mr. Editor:— Allow me to make the follow- 

 ing statement of the quantity of milk given by a 

 cow kept some years since by my father in 



Boston. 



The cow was kepi for the convenience of the 

 family, hut we always had more milk than we 

 wauled, which was readily taken by the neigh- 

 bors. 



The quantity sold in one year amounted, at 6J 

 cents per quart, to ... $13037 



Being equal to * - - 2086 quarts. 



The quantity used in the family, 

 at the very moderate allowance of 

 three quarts per day, - - 1095 



Total, 3181 quarts. 



This is an average of over 8k quarts per day for 

 the whole year; and I am confident that the 

 quantity exceeded this, for we often had milk to 

 spare for days together, and I have made no ac- 

 count of the milk consumed by the calf. 



The cow was of native, breed, and during the 

 summer was pastured in a poor pasture at South 

 Boston, distant at least a mile. At home she had 

 hay in abundance, and daily four quarts of meal 

 and bran — say half each mixed. The milk was 

 always of the best quality. 



This is not a remarkable yield by any means, 



hut I think it exceeds that of the average of the 



cows in our State, and shows that our native 



cows, when well fed, will do themselves credit. 



F. 



Fur Hie Farmer^ Monthly Visitor. 

 " What are you doius'!'' 



Mr. Editor: This plain sharp-pointed ques- 

 tion was directed to me by a friend in Pennsyl- 

 vania, whose kind wishes for my welfare, promp- 

 ted him to know something of my doings, in this' 

 my native State. To give a satisfactory answer 

 to this inquiry, embraces a wider range, than the 

 first thought would seem to suggest. In claim- 

 ing your indulgence to speak through the Visitor, 

 it shall be my object to add something to the 

 common stock of practical knowledge, in Farm- 

 ing. 



Having been a resident of the State of Pennsyl- 

 vania for ten years, it will he readily conceded that 

 I may know something of the true character of 

 her citizens, having received some impressions, 

 which time and climate may not have thus far, 

 obliterated — I have ever fell a:i interest in what- 

 ever was calculated to promote her general good, 

 or preserve her honor, untarnished, hut the sen- 

 sitive chord was most forcibly touched, while 

 reading the able and spirited report of our Sec- 

 retary of the Treasury, submitted at the opening 

 of the present session of Congress — In giving 

 the round of pecuniary bearing of his sciieme 

 upon the commercial world, he hauls up, and 

 pays his respects in gallant style to the Old Key- 

 stone; thus 1 was almost forced by impulse, to 

 stand up, make my low bow, and thank Mr. 

 Walker for ihe just compliment which he be- 

 stows upon our glorious commonwealth, em- 

 phatically the Key-Stone of the Federal Arch. 



In proceeding to answer ihe important inquiry, 

 at the head of this article, you will plea.e allow 

 me to go back in order to gain a little force, and 

 I will start from the year 1831, about the time 1 

 become my own man. An adventurous spirit be- 

 ing prevalent in our State, I made up my mind to 

 try my hand, with many others, at fortune-making, 

 in the Far West. My father having died two 

 years previous, left us (myself and a younger 

 brother) in possession of a good farm, situated in 

 Xorthfield, upon the eastern bank of the Merri- 

 mack river — but this was a small matter compar- 

 ed wilh the golden harvest 1 had in view. I left 

 forthwith, and " did not let my courage tire " till 

 falling in wilh an acquaintance in the interior ol 



Pennsylvania, and making a halt, finally settled 

 down in the mining region, at Poitsville, Schuyl- 

 kill county. Here we find a population gatln nil 

 from all quarters of the globe, each pursuing his 

 favorite calling, and I may say a more happy, in- 

 dependent, carc-for-nought sort of people no 

 where exists. Eew, however, could hail this as 

 the pUice of their birth, it being of magic growth. 

 Many had left the learned professions, finding 

 more ample scope, in the application of practical 

 science to Nature's laws, which should teach them 

 "to pierce the bowels of Ihe earth and bring 

 forth from the caverns of the mountains, metals, 

 which will give strength to our hands, and sub- 

 ject all nature to our use and pleasure." No 

 aristocracy prevails here; fortunes are won or 

 lost, alternately, as the diamonds glitter or the 

 "vein is in fault." 1 shall not attempt a descrip- 

 tion of the mining operations, as it would occupy 

 too great space. Suffice it to say, she abounds 

 in mineral wealth. Wilh an excellent soil in her 

 rich and extensive vallies, with her noble rivers, 

 her magnificent scale of internal improvements ; 

 with all these advantages, there is one fact which 

 we cannot conceal. Her state debt was a bur- 

 den to her inhabitants, anil in vain she looked lo 

 various sources for relief— she changed her civil 

 rulers; we pressed to the ballot-box with an ardor 

 as though her whole fate hung upon the safe de- 

 posite of our single vote. Her case grew worse, 

 the prescriptions of Whig and Democrat proved, 

 both alike, quack medicine. At length, however, 

 the remedy began to develop itself in the pro- 

 gress of the disease — an evident connection be- 

 tween cause and eject — the United States Dank, 

 having obtained its charter under a heavy bonus 

 lo the State, had wasted its capital in fruitless 

 endeavors to sustain other sinking corporations. 

 The " monster" was forced to yield with all its 

 appendages, in the shape of coal and iron cor- 

 porations'. In this general convulsion, our State 

 threw off chartered monopolies to the amount of 

 seventy millions of dollars— she arose, after her 

 nap, and "shaking the dew-drop from her mane," 

 resumed her seat with proud determination a- 

 mong her sister States. Thus depending upon 

 the individual enterprize of her citizens, she has 

 progressed with unexampled prosperity. 



You will imagine, by this time, I have tasted 

 some of the varieties of life. It was now 1841 

 and business being in an unsettled stale, 1 began 

 to reflect upon the happiness I might enjoy in 

 the life of" a quiet and peaceful New England 

 farmer. My wife having been brought up in the 

 old school of farmers' principles, knew how to 

 use ihe butler ladle as well as finger the keys of 

 a piano. She thought it would lie a happy 

 change to become the wife of a farmer. We 

 accordingly arranged our effects, and with our 

 four representatives,* made good our retreat to my 

 native home, and planted my column securely 

 upon ihe banks of the Merrimack. Here I made 

 my stand as a right rather than a favor, not 

 having disposed of my share in the paternal es- 

 tate. But the farm I must say presented rather 

 a sorry picture ; stone-walls broken down, gate- 

 posts leaning this way and that, hay-mow at half- 

 mast, &c. ; but I had proved tuy armour, howev- 

 er, and was not discouraged. My brother, in tho 

 mean time, having imbibed some of the popular 

 delusions of the day, it seems, thought posterity 

 might be under greater obligation to him from 

 his endeavors to reform the world, than for his ex- 

 ample in farming; thus he did not render an 

 account most to his advantage, as he otherwise 



* We have added three since. 



