I860.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



701 



ment of human life in which we do not 

 find the weak and foolish men. This is 

 true of farming as much as of any other 

 calling. But no one dreams of setting down 

 the vocation of agriculture, because, like 

 every other, it has had its proportion of stu- 

 pid men. 



Why then should agricultural writers, as 

 a class, be summarily rejected because some 

 of them are visionary ? Are we not to be 

 allowed our share of fools as well as every 

 other department of life ? We insist on 

 our rights. 



A book or a paper never proposes to take 

 the place of a farmer's judgment. Not to 

 read at all is bad enough ; but to read, and 

 swallow everything without reflection, or 

 'discrimination, this is even worse. Such 

 a one is not a book-headed but a block- 

 headed farmer. Papers are designed to 

 assist. Those whd read them must select, 

 modify, and act according to their own na- 

 tive judgment. So used, papers answer a 

 double purpose ; they convey a great 



> amount of valuable practical information, 

 and then they stir up the reader to habits 

 of thought ; they make him more inquisi- 

 tive, more observing, more reasoning, and, 

 therefore, more reasonable. 



Now, as to the contenss of agricultural 

 papers, whose fault is it if they are not 



\practical ? Who are the practical men? 

 who are daily conversant with . just the 

 things a cultivator most needs to know ? 



' who is stumbling upon difficulties, or dis- 

 covering some escape from them ? who is 

 it that knows so much about gardens, or- 

 chards, farms, cattle, grains and grasses? 

 Why, the very men who icon't write a 

 word for the paper that they read, and 

 then complain that there is nothing prac- 

 tical in it. Yes, there is. There is prac- 

 tical evidence that men are more willing to 

 be helped, than to help others; and also 

 that men sometimes blame others for things 

 of which they themselves are chiefly blame- 

 worthy. 



Interesting to Wives. 



As a general rule it is most economical 

 to buy the best articles. The price is, of 

 course, always a little higher, but good ar- 

 ticles are best. It is a sacrifice of money 

 to buy poor flour, meal, sugar, molasses, 

 cheese, butter, lard, &c, to say nothing of 

 the injurious effect upon the health. 



Of West India sugar and molasses, the 

 Santa Cruz and Porto Rico are considered 

 the best. The Havanna is seldom clean. 

 White sugar from Brazil is very good. 

 Refined sugars usually contain the most- 

 saccharine substance, therefore, there is 

 probably more economy in using crushed 

 loaf, and granulated sugars than we should 

 at first suppose. 



Butter that is made in September and 

 October is the best for winter use. 



Lard should be hard and white; and that 

 which is taken from a hog over a year old 

 is the best. 



Rich cheese feels soft under the pressure 

 of the finger. That which is strong is 

 neither good nor healthy. To keep one 

 that is cut, tie it up in a bag that will not 

 admit flies, and hang it in, a cool dry place. 

 If mould appears on it wipe it off with a 

 dry cloth. 



The best rice is large, and has a clear, 

 fresh look. Old rice sometimes has little 

 black insects inside the kernel. 



The small white sago, is the best. The 

 large brown kind has an earthy taste. 

 These articles; and ground rice, tapioca, 

 &c, should be kept covered. 



The cracked cocoa-nut is the best, but 

 that which is put up in pound papers is 

 often very good. 



Shells are apt to be musty. Try a quar- 

 ter of a pound before buying a quantity. 



To select nutmegs, pick them with a 

 pin. If they are good the oil will instantly 

 spread around the puncture. 



Oranges and lemons keep best wrapped 

 close in soft paper and laid in a drawer of 

 linen. 



When a cask of molasses is bought, draw 

 off a few quarts, else the fermentation pro- 

 duced by moving it will burst the cask. 



Bread and cake should be kept in a tin 

 box or a stone jar. 



Salt codfish should be kept in a dry place, 

 where the odour of it will not affect the 

 air of the house. The best kind is that 

 which is called Pun, from the peculiar 

 colour. Fish skin for clearing coffee, should 

 be washed, dried, cut small, and kept in a 

 paper bag. 



Soft soap should be kept in a dry place in 

 the cellar, and should not be used until six 

 months old. 



Bar soap should be cut in pieces of a 

 convenient size, and left where it will be- 

 come dry. It is well to keep it for several 



