218 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Mr. Editor, to say a few words on another sub- 

 ject. I sincerely wish you could by some means 

 or other induce your correspondents to write 

 over their own names. It would make the 

 Planter still more interesting. I have no doubt 

 if all were required to do so, most would get 

 over their false modesty, and at all events we 

 should have more reliable suggestions and fewer 

 vagaries. For one, I never adopt or regard the 

 suggestions of an anonymous writer. 1 take it 

 for granted that if he is certain he is telling the 

 truth he will not be ashamed to sign his deposi- 

 tion. I really think if a man advises others to 

 make important changes in their management 

 and cultivation, and induces them to do so, by 

 recording extraordinary success, he is morally 

 bound to hold himself responsible — responsible 

 to the agricultural public. If he draws upon 

 his fancy for his facts, which is too often the 

 case, we should know his name, and we then 

 should be prepared to place a proper estimate 

 on his facts when he appears subsequently. — 

 Men will promulgate opinions and state the re- 

 sults of experiments under cover of an incog, 

 which they would not venture to do over their 

 own names, and it is this inaccuracy and reck- 

 lessness of anonymous writers, which so im- 

 pair the value of our public journals — we are 

 so often deceived, that we lose confidence in all 

 the statements and recommendations which we 

 see, and believe nothing but what we have tried 

 ourselves and so our sources of improvement 

 become narrowed down to our own personal ex- 

 perience. I believe that anonymous communi- 

 cations did more to break down the Farmers' Re- 

 gister than any other one cause. Its sheets 

 were constantly filled with the long, visionary, 

 speculations and absurd theories of these writers, 

 which were attempted to be sustained by fanci- 

 ful facts, until the paper became almost a pio- 

 verb, and few had the temerity to appeal to its 

 columns as authority in support of their views. 

 It is this which has brought " book farming" into 

 such deserved disrepute. Men whose manage- 

 ment is so notoriously bad, as not to be listened 

 to by their neighbors, ought not to be allowed 

 to palm their advice off upon the public over 

 anonymous signatures, merely to insure a hear- 

 ing. This is too often done. And if, Mr. Editor, 

 we want short, practical, reliable, communica- 

 tions, and an interesting, valuable agricultural 

 journal, let us go for the honest impress of the 

 planters first. 



Wishing you success in all your enterprises, 

 I remain yours. &c. 



N. A. Venable. 



Our own estimate of anonymous correspond- 

 ents coincides exactly with that of Mr. Venable. 

 A speculation or theory may be as good over a 

 false as a real name, but it is not speculation 



that we want — our object is to obtain the result 

 of well conducted experiments, and three fourths 

 of the communications made to us, depend for 

 their value upon the veracity of the narrator. 

 Of what worth is the evidence of an unknown 

 witness whose name is not heard and whose 

 face is not seen ? We know that it is a kind of 

 delicacy, we think a very false one, that induces 

 some of our best correspondents to withhold 

 their names from their communications. But a 

 consideration of the injurious effect upon the 

 interest and usefulness of their essays, should 

 serve to overcome any such feeling. For our 

 own part, we would iecommend our readers to 

 pay very little regard to anonymous communi- 

 cations, unless the obvious justice of the rea- 

 soning they contain, is sufficient to recommend 

 them. We always postpone an anonymous 

 communication, even of superior merit, to one 

 with the real name attached. 



From the American Agriculturist. 

 RAISING TURKEYS. 



Heretofore I have had so much difficulty in 

 raising turkeys as to be almost discouraged, but 

 of late have been very successful, in consequence 

 of pursuing the following mode recommended 

 to me by a lady, who said that she had no trou- 

 ble with them : 



When first hatched give no feed for twenty- 

 four hours, then give a little curd made from 

 buttermilk, increasing the quantity as they grow 

 older, at the same time feeding the hen with 

 whole corn. They should be secured from the 

 wet, and by no means have Indian meal; but 

 with the curd they may have in moderate quan- 

 tities, wheat bread soaked in buttermilk, or 

 crumbs of the same. I believe Indian meal is 

 fatal to the greater part of the young turkeys 

 which die in the attempt to raise them. To al- 

 low them to wander too much is attended usu- 

 ally with considerable loss. I have found it a 

 very good plan to make an enclosure of boards 

 six feet square or so, and twelve to eighteen 

 inches high, and set this in a grass field during 

 fine weather, in which to confine the young tur- 

 keys. This is removed occasionally from place 

 to place, the chickens thus get all the fresh 

 green food they may need, besides an abundance 

 of insects. 



Chales Starr, Jr. 

 Mendham, N. «/., Jidy, 1844. 



ELECTRICITY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURE. 

 It has been long known that electricity pos- 

 sessed the power of promoting the growth of 



