REVIEW OF THE APRIL NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
207 
of the refuse of sugar cane is returned to the soil, 
will it ever wear out 1 My idea is, that a crop 
that never ripens seed, and of such an enormous 
growth as the sugar cane is, if all the fibrous part 
of it he returned again to the land and well buried 
by good tillage, will continue to produce a very long 
time without wearing it out. Hew different with 
cotton. There are 20 or 30 bushels of the oily seed, 
besides the lint, taken off every year, without any 
return, and such treatment will wear out any land 
in the world. So will the process of burning up 
all the refuse of sugar cane. And these owners of 
"old cotton lands" must take care that they do not 
pursue a course with cane that will wear them out 
for that too. 
Agricultural Tour, No. 4. — I only Rotiee this to 
say to Mr. Robinson " go ahead," you are engaged 
in a good cause. I hope every body reads your 
letters with as much satisfaction as I do. I trust 
you will keep on until the end of your journey at 
the north, and that you may he spared the cholera 
in future, as we should not like to part with you 
yet awhile. 
L. F. Allen's Agricultural Address. — How much 
of goad sound doctrine do we find in these few col- 
umns. How long must we implore and beg our 
state and national legislators to give facilities to the 
farmers' children to get an education suited to their 
pursuits in life ? Probably not until a majority of 
just such men as Lewis F. Allen shall be sent to 
make our laws. I pray that such a time will soon 
arrive. For then shall the sons and the daughters 
of America rise up and call her blessed. It is a 
disgrace to this great agricultural country that there 
is not, with the exception of a few private institu- 
tions like Professor Norton's and Mr, Wilkinson's, 
a schod in the country for the education of farmers. 
How long shall these things be ? 
Queries in Regard to the Water Ram. — Turn 
hack, reader, to p. 121, and if you have one of 
these invaluable machines, go to work at once and 
answer the questions therein asked. By so doing, 
you will confer a public benefit. 
Southern Farming. — Are there farmers at the 
south ? I thought that there existed a deadly feud 
against grass of all kinds; and yet here is a man 
trying to raise clover, and that, too, with a view to 
improve his estate. Why, if his land is worn out, 
why don't he run off to Texas, or somewhere else, 
no matter where ? So it is " at the west;" where 
a great many other dunces have gone. If this sin- 
gular phenomenon of a man, an improver of lands 
in Georgia, should succeed in getting a stand of 
clover, let him sow plaster upon it in the form of 
the letters of that word, and he will see the effect of 
it as plain as did Dr. Franklin. 
Adulteration of Guano. — Is there not a little of 
that same adulteration a little nearer to us than 
England ? I should like to know who I buy of, 
and that who should be responsible for damages. 
And so it seems that there are a few Yankees over 
the water, also. I wonder if it is not some of the 
old seed from whence the New-England breed orig- 
inated? 
Herefords vs. Devon and Short-Horn Cattle. — 
" Dat ish a very clear case, and mine shugment 
ish dat der blaintiff win," was the decision of a 
justice of the peace in the good olden time, after 
hearing the plaintiff state his case and the testimony 
on his side. Only wait a bit until Mr. Devon 
shoves in his long horns, and my Lord Durham 
brings his beef to market. But as I am a Here- 
fordshireite, I mean to be hard to be convinced. 
Value of Bones as a Manure. — " Many families 
in the United States waste more bones than would 
serve to manure the wheat they consume V True, 
and it is not the dead bones alone, that they waste, 
but it is those which are covered with flesh — both in 
man and beast — wasted in the vain effort to make 
wheat and other grain without giving it the needful 
food, such as the wasted bones, and a thousand- 
and-one other good fertilizers they might give the 
land, if saved, and applied, instead of being thrown 
away . 
Wheat Growing in Texas. — That is a tolerable 
big western story about wheat that weighs 70 lbs. 
to the bushel, which is all flour except a very light 
bran. The Texans need never fear that the coun- 
try will be overstocked with sugar. For it is an 
article that the consumption of is increased in a 
geometrical ratio, as the price decreases. I have 
no means of knowing how low a price sugar can 
be made there ; but 1 see your travelling corres- 
pondent, Mr. Robinson, says it can be better made at 
three cents than cotton at six: and if sueh be the 
case, I am inclined to think that consumers will 
continue to be found for it at that price, so that the 
market will not be so likely to be overstocked as 
with cotton. 
Cost of Manuring an Acre of Corn . — Tell it not 
to the Wabashers, where the whole product of an 
acre would not pay for the manure. Letus see — 80 
bushels of corn at 10 cents, $8 — minus $5.16. It 
wont do for that latitude. But that is the kind of 
country folks move to, when they emigrate "out 
west." Here, on the Atlantic, where every bushel 
of corn is worth at least half a dollar, we can 
afford to pay $1 3 an acre for manuring. 
Hours of Sleep. — Thafs a mistake. Human na- 
ture requires more than five. A sort of dog na- 
ture may live upon that. And if the nature of my 
children, if I had any, required eleven, I should not 
think it wicked to give it to them. The next time 
you need two lines to fill out a column, instead of 
robbing us of our sleep, use these : — 
Let nature have full hours of rest ! 
Of five, or eight, take which is best. 
Sheep Shears. — It is a most singular thing, that, 
while such an article as the one here represented 
can be had for fifty cents such miserable things as 
are to be found on many farms, called sheep shears, 
should be continued in use by any being, except 
that old fellow who sheared the hog, and for which 
purpose they are just fit. 
Origin of Soap. — What a pity all family "broils 1 - - 
would not go off as slick as soap. Perhaps they 
would if 
Female Education, were of a different sort. Al- 
though I still like to hear the buzz of the spinning 
wheel, I agree with Amanda, in the spirit of this 
article — particularly in that " evening dance." 
Antidote to Poison. — I wish it was as easy to 
prescribe a remedy for a poisoned mind as body ; 
for the cases are more common. 
Editors' Table. — Upon the subject of "National 
