62 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



THE TOMATO. 



The celebrity of this plant has become asto- 

 nishing. A few years since, prejudice reviled at 

 its excellences with its most vindictive tauntings. 

 Now, it is an article of so general popularity, 

 scarcely a garden, or an apology for one, is to be 

 found where it is not cultivated, and almost eve- 

 ry voice is loud in proclaiming its excellences. 

 The tomato has three kinds or varieties, to wit: 

 the large common, the egg, and the golden drop. 

 We prefer the two last kinds for culture, as they 

 are firmer, or more solid in their texture and 

 more delicate in their flavor. The tomato may 

 be started in a hot-bed, or in boxes in the house 

 in March, Then by care, large thrifty plants 

 will be ready for putting out as soon as the sea- 

 son of frost is passed. They do not require a 

 rich soil; this causes them to run too much to 

 vine, but. rather an excitement to push forward 

 to perfection. We know of no more sure effec- 

 tive to produce this, than to put say half or a 

 third of a common shovel full of hen or pigeons' 

 dung in the hill. It is admirably calculated for 

 pepper or for tomatoes. 



After the early frost had killed the vines last 

 fall, a friend of ours, of close observation and 

 exact calculation, experimented feeding the to- 

 matoes that remained to her cow. They were 

 readily eaten, and the quantity of milk was in- 

 creased. This certainly adds another to the 

 thousand and one uses to which they have been 

 applied. W. B. 



We have received a communication com- 

 menting in pretty severe terms upon what the 

 writer was pleased to term, " the barbarity" of 

 Mr. Drummond's plan of killing his old and 

 useless horses, cattle, &c. for his compost pit. — 

 In contrast with this inhuman conduct, is cited 

 the treatment Dr. Parish, of Philadelphia, be- 

 stowed upon an old and favorite horse of his. 



We hardly waited to finish this epistle, to 

 throw it in the fire, and should not stop to no- 

 tice it now, but that we have observed "stuff" 

 of a similar character in some of the journals 

 of the day. If any gentleman has a horse to 

 which he has formed an attachment, in the name 

 of common sense let him indulge his fancy in 

 keeping and cherishing him as long as he 

 pleases. And so, we can respect the feeling 

 which preserves a favorite tree because it is 

 linked with dear and cherished associations, but 

 is this any reason for going without fire-wood, 

 and leaving the forest untouched ? We scorn 

 the sickly sensibility, which will kill an old hard 

 working ox for the purpose of converting him 

 into beef, and cannot bear the idea of putting 



him to death for any other use. We will guar- 

 antee that the animal has more sense than the 

 man, and, if he could be consulted, would tell 

 you, that if you are going to kill him, it is very 

 immaterial to him whether you convert his car- 

 cass into beef or into corn and wheat. Now, if 

 we were not afraid of shocking the delicate sen- 

 sibilities of some people, we would recommend 

 our farmers to proceed straightway to convert 

 three-fourths of their dogs and cats into good 

 wholesome vegetables in the way recommended 

 by Mr. Drummond, and would even venture to 

 urge, that there was no more impropriety in 

 raising them for the express purpose, if they 

 could find their profit in it, than there would be 

 in raising and fattening a nice young pullet for 

 the table. 



A NEW SPECIES OF MANUFACTURE. 



We learn that Mr. Stearns, of Woodstock, 

 Vermont, is about to establish, at the State Dam 

 in this city, a manufactory of satinet out of 

 woollen rags and the usual amount of cotton 

 warp. Flannel rags, old woollen stockings, old 

 carpets, and every kind of woollen rags, except- 

 ing broadcloth and cassimere, will be used. — 

 These rags are converted, by a certain process, 

 into a substance resembling wool, and are then 

 spun into yarn. Rags of broadcloth and cassi- 

 mere cannot be used on account of their being 

 deprived of the adhesive quality necessary to 

 form a firm thread. — Troy Whig. 



Patent Office, Jan. 25, 1843. 

 To the Editors of the Southern Planter: 



Gentlemen, — I take pleasure in transmitting 

 a very beautiful sample of " Kloss's White Blue 

 Stem" wheat and refer to the Hon. John Snyder's 

 letter for a description of its origin and proper- 

 ties. The same letter will inform those desirous 

 of a larger quantity, where to apply. I also 

 send a sample of Valparaiso wheat, just received 

 from South America. 



I am, most respectfully, yours, 



H. L. Ellsworth. 



Hon. Henry L. Ellsworth, 



Commissioner of Patents : 

 Dear Sir, — The bushel of wheat I have sent 

 you is the product of my county — Union, Penn- 

 sylvania. Its origin is briefly this: My neigh- 

 bor, Christian Kloss, saw, in his field of Blue 

 Stem wheat, a single top-proud head ; he was 

 struck with the contrast between it and the 

 wheat of the whole field, this being the only 

 white head in it, and much the largest. At 



