420 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



of earth. The entire width of subsoiled and 

 scarified land was 1<? inches, and a very thin 

 coating of dead grass choked it up every 30 or 

 40 yards. 



As good a Subsoil Plow as this can be placed 

 on the plantation of any member of this Club 

 for $6, and can be made to pulverize the earth 

 as deep and as wide with two good mules. The 

 Roller is of no appreciable value ; while the 

 diggers, whose only possible use might be to 

 pierce a clod occasionally, and which absorb at 

 least one-half of the motive power, are simply 

 a nuisance. . 



The unanimous opinion of the committee is 

 that the " Mapes' and Gibbs' Rotary Digger" 

 is a gross imposition. The question was put 

 and not one of the committee would consent to 

 accept of it as a present. 



The "Washington Plow, No. 2," the cost of 

 which was $10 at the factory, was next tried. 

 It was found to be rather too much for one yoke 

 of oxen, but two yokes carried it with ease, and 

 it cut and turned a furrow 12 inches deep and 

 12 inches wide. For breaking up land and for 

 •hill-side ditching and surface drains, it is an 

 excellent implement. While in the opinion of 

 the Committee the "Digger" never can be im- 

 proved into a machine of any economic value, 

 they think it would be a very great improve- 

 ment to the latter valuable plow to make the 

 beam 6 or 8 inches longer. All of which is 

 respectfully submitted to the Club. 



R. Bradford, 



Chairman- 

 S. Clark, 

 II. R. Cook, 

 Jon. M. Miller, 

 Geo. B. Mills, 

 J. H. Lamar, 

 T. W. Wkatley, 

 II. L. Mayson, 

 Jan. 17, 1857. Committee. 



[Without expressing our own opinion on this 

 subject, but merely for the purpose of showing 

 how differently the same matter is regarded by 

 different people, we append the following Re- 

 port on this implement, from a number of gen- 

 tlemen at the North, who also witnessed it in 

 operation. — Eds. So. Cult.] 



Mapes 7 and Gibbs' Digging Machine. 

 This implement the committee saw in use, and 

 had every reason to be satisfied with its perfor- 

 mance, as it leaves the soil in better tilth and 

 to a greater depth, than can possibly be brought 

 about by plowing, harrowing and rolling. — 

 This machine may be worked by a pair of oxen 

 or mules, and will disturb as much soil in two 

 hours to a depth of sixteen inches, as can be 

 disturbed in five hours by the same team with 

 any plow to the depth of eight inches ; or, dif- 

 ferently stated, it will disturb five acres to the 

 depth of sixteen inches, in the same time that 



the same team can plow two acres to a depth of 

 eight inches. The soil is left in a finely divid- 

 ed state, and the machine may be so set that 

 the surface will be turned to any required depth 

 from one to twelve inches, while the lower por- 

 tion is disturbed without being elevated or mix- 

 ed with the surface-soil. 



H. Meigs, Chairman. 



JonN A. Bunting, 



Thos. W. Field, 



A. 0. Moore, 



John V. Brower, 



R. L. Waterbury, a. d. 



C F. Tuttle, 



A. S. Walcott, 



Wm. Raynold, 



S. Elackwell, 



John M. Bixby, 



New York, Jan. 3, '57. Committee. . 

 *-»-^-®-* - 



Barometer for Farmers. — In one of his let- 

 ters, Humboldt says that a barometer should be 

 considered as necessary on a farm as a plow: 

 but farmers generally prefer to trust in the 

 moon and other exploded nonsense, rather than 

 invest thirty dollars cash in a reliable instru- 

 ment that would repay them tenfold. A sub- 

 stitute, called Leoni's Prognosticator, is sold 

 for ten dollars. It consists of a phial fall of a 

 clear liquid,, in which swims a snowy substance; 

 in fine weather that substance lies on the bot- 

 tom, but before a storm it rises to the surface, 

 with a tendency to the side opposite the quar- 

 ter from which the storm is coming. The sub- 

 stances used are kept secret. An ordinary ba- 

 rometer indicates the densityof the atmosphere. 

 Leoni's instrument evidently indicates its elec- 

 tric state, and for that reason we are of opinion 

 that it is a better instrument to prognosticate 

 the weather. The following is a substitute that 

 will not cost more than a shilling', and for 

 aught we know it may be tne identical thing 

 itself. Dissolve some camphor in alcohol and 

 throw into the solution some soda ; the cam- 

 phor will be precipitated in snowy flakes ; col- 

 lect these by passing the mixture through a fil- 

 ter, and put them in a phial with clear alcohol 

 in which as much canphor as it would take has 

 been dissolved. Cork it, place it where it will 

 not be disturbed, examine it every morning and 

 night. 



Marking. — An English writer gives the fol- 

 lowing: — Mark on either side of the nose of the 

 sheep, the initials of the owner's name, and on 

 the opposite side any number by which he may 

 choose to designate the particular sheep, by 

 means of a small iron figure or letter about an. 

 inch long ; which being dipped in common oil 

 colors, mixed with turpentine to dry them 

 more readily, is placed on the part described, 

 and will continue until the next shearing 

 season. The process is easy and will give the 

 animal no pain ; the marks cannot be readily 

 obliterated, which is not the case with tattooing 

 or cauterizing — Wool Grower Reporter. 



