56 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



costly humbug" from condemnation on 

 mere hearsay evidence. Let that commit- 

 tee organize an agricultural club to meet 

 at Brandon, or any other place on James 

 river, where large fields of heavy wheat 

 and oats may be found, at the beginning 

 of next harvest; offer an appropriate pre- 

 mium for the reaper that proves itself the 

 best on trial of two entire days at least, 

 and as much longer as the club may de- 

 sire; invite competition, with the promise 

 of a good harvest dinner; and I guarantee 

 that Mr. M'Cormick and his reaper will be 

 there, and that whether victor or van- 

 quished he will so demean himself as to 

 merit and meet the cordial approbation of 

 the club. This is not written for publica- 

 tion, far from it, for there may seem to be 

 something of the partisan in it, and such 

 contestsshould neverappear inthe Planter; 

 it should make friends, as its editor does, 

 whenever and wherever known. But I 

 ask you, as a friend, to use your editorial 

 influence to have justice done Mr. M'Cor- 

 mick; he is my friend, and worthy of the 

 friendship of all. My motto in his case 

 is, fair play and the public good. 



I send with this a collection of extracts 

 from English papers, which, I hope, may 

 allay the fear of Mr. Booth that the pre- 

 mium awarded Mr. M'Cormick at the 

 World's Fair will "strip America of the 

 incidental renown." Make what use you 

 please of them. 



Remembering you with much regard, 

 I am yours, respectfully, 



R. Grigsby. 



BONE MILL AT RICHMOND. 



"VVe are happy to inform our readers that 

 there is a Bone Mill now established in 

 Richmond by Mr. R. R. Duval. We have 

 visited and inspected this mill, and can recom- 

 mend it to such as want bones. There are 

 two qualities of bone dust ground, the one, 

 which is quite fine, nearly all in dust and the 

 balance in minute particles, is called dust, and 

 the other, which consists of coarser particles, 

 should be called chips. Mr. Duval separates 

 these by a sieve, and sells them at different 

 prices. The first at 75 cents the bushel, and 

 the latter, which is in fact the common Balti- 

 more article, at 55 cents the bushel. "We 

 think the bone dust of Baltimore is nearly all 

 made of bones that have had all the animal 

 matter extracted from them, and have thereby 



lost much of their value. Mr. Duval's not 

 having been subjected to any such process are, 

 of course, superior. 



The advantage of the "dust" over the 

 "chips" is in their more minute subdivision, 

 and consequent more immediate action on the 

 crops to which they may be applied. It will 

 consequently take a less quantity, say one-half, 

 to produce the effect. But the chips will last 



STRAWBERRY CULTIVATION. 



Those who know anything about the mag- 

 nificent strawberries and the immense quan- 

 tity of them raised in a bed thirty feet by forty, 

 for several years past, in the garden formerly 

 owned by me in King street, may like to know 

 the process by which 1 cultivate them. I ap- 

 plied about once a week, for three times, com- 

 mencing when the green leaves first began to 

 start, and making the last application just be- 

 fore the plants were in full bloom, the follow- 

 ing preparation— of nitre of potash, of glauber 

 salts and sal. soda, each, one pound; of muri- 

 ate of ammonia, one quarter of a pound — dis- 

 solved in thirty gallons of rain or river water. 

 One-third was applied at a time; and when 

 the weather was dry, I applied clear soft water 

 between the times of using the preparation— 

 as the growth of the young leaves is so rapid 

 that unless well supplied with water, the sun 

 will scorch them. I used a common watering 

 pot and made the application towards evening. 

 Managed in this way, there is never any ne- 

 cessity of digging over the bed or setting it 

 out anew. Beds of ten years old are not only 

 as good, but better than those two or three 

 years old. But you must be sure and keep the 

 weeds out.— Friends' Reviev.\ Philadelphia. 



I made a solution and applied it by the 

 above directions to a strawberry bed nineteen 

 feet square, in the spring of 1852, and notwith- 

 standing the season was unfavorable for the 

 strawberry, I gathered two bushels and a half, 

 (even measure,) of the finest berries I ever 

 saw; some of them weighed over a half an 

 ounce, and measured between four and five 

 inches in circumference. 



P. D. Bernard. 



Marl.— Mr. R. M. Bridges, of White 

 Chimneys, Caroline, Virginia, has left a spe- 

 cimen of marl at this office, which, from its 

 rich appearance, we have no doubt will be a 

 mine of wealth to him. Those who know the 

 value of marl, are requested to call and see it. 



p. D. B. 



