THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



5 



in midwinter. I cut them for my young 

 stock, and feed them whole to those whose 

 teeth are well settled; about a half a 

 bushel per clay to the latter, and less to 

 the former. 



I am, dear sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



W. H. SOTHAM. 



MILLSTONES. 



Herschel, in his discourse on the study 

 of Natural History, states that the follow- 

 ing process is used in some parts of France 

 where millstones are made. Wheri^a 

 mass of stone sufficiently large is found, 

 it is cut into a cylinder several feet high 

 and the question then arises how to sub- 

 divide this into horizontal pieces so as to 

 make as many millstones. For this pur- 

 pose horizontal indentations or grooves 

 are chiselled out quite round the cylinder, 

 at distances corresponding to the thickness 

 intended to be given to the millstones, into 

 which wedges of wood are driven. These 

 are then wetted or exposed to the night 

 dew, and next morning the different pieces 

 are found separated from each other by 

 the expansion of the wood, consequent on 

 its absorption of moisture. 



HORTICULTURE. 



There is no acre upon the farm that pays 

 so well as a highly cultivated garden. The 

 following essay upon Horticulture was ad- 

 dressed to the Newberry Agricultural Society 

 by Mr. M. Hall, of South Carolina. It con- 

 tains practical information in a condensed 

 form that will be very usetul to young begin- 

 ners. It should be remembered that the sea- 

 son of that region is about three weeks earlier 

 than our own. 



As it has fallen to my lot to offer a few 

 imperfect remarks upon this all-important 

 branch of industry, I shall commence with 

 onions, as the seed is the first thing that 

 should be sown in the garden in the fall 

 season. Have your bed well manured 

 with well rotted stable manure ; then 

 plough up the bed deep and close ; other- 



wise, spade it up, rake and level the bed. 

 Then take a small sprouting hoe, and 

 open a small trench (or furrow) about one 

 inch deep, and about eighteen inches apart, 

 then drill your seed thin. When done, 

 cover it with a garden rake about half an 

 inch deep. These seed should be sown 

 as early as the month of September or 

 October. The ensuing spring, when the 

 plants are well up, take a sprouting hoe, 

 and cut square across the drill, as though 

 you were thinning cotton the first time. 

 As they grow up, they should be thinned 

 out by degrees, until you have thinned 

 out to one stalk, (or onion.) When they 

 get to be about one inch in diameter, the 

 dirt or earth should be carefully scraped 

 away from them, and be kept free from 

 ail weeds and grass. Should any of them 

 incline to go to seed, the buds should be 

 nipped out. By this method you may 

 raise as fine large onions from the seed, as 

 you can from the plants, and of decidedly 

 a better quality. Those who prefer rais- 

 ing onions from the plants, (or as they are 

 commonly termed, seed onions,) should, 

 after preparing their garden as before men- 

 tioned, plant them six or seven inches 

 apart, and the rows should be from twenty 

 to twenty-two inches wide. This should 

 be done about the last of December or the 

 first of January. They should be ma- 

 naged in every respect like those which 

 grow from the seed, and as they begin to 

 bud for seed, the bud should be taken out, 

 except such as you wish for seed. After 

 the onions have matured, the top will gen- 

 erally fall down ; then they should be dug 

 and let lie two or three days in the sun ; 

 they then should be gathered and spread 

 thin on a dirt floor, taking care to examine 

 and pick out those which may rot. Let 

 them have air plenty. 



Early cabbage seed should be sown in 

 the first of January, in rich, loose soil. I 

 have often found that burning a brush 

 heap on good, strong, sandy land, answers 

 the purpose extremely well. Then dig 

 up the ground deep with a mattock, or 

 sprouting hoe, rake and level your bed 

 smooth. Then sow your seed, and cover 

 them as shallow as possible. This is the 

 time of year to begin to prepare our gar- 



