Usefulness of the Sunflower . 
one hundred plants, set about three feet distant from each 
other, &c. “ will produce one bushel of seed, without any 
other trouble than that of putting the seeds into the ground, 
from which he thinks one gallon of oil may be made/ 
“ By an estimate made, it appears, that one acre of land 
will yield to the planter between forty and fifty bushels 
of seed, which will produce as many gallons of oil.” The 
remainder of the essay is taken up with many valuable 
observations on the mode of expression, and on other 
points connected with the subject, which are unnecessary 
to be here transcribed, since the whole of the original 
communication will be advantageously read, by any one 
who finds an interest in the present essay. 
Mr. John Saunders, of Gloucestershire, (England) has, 
called the attention of the public, in Dickson’s Agricul- 
tural Magazine, No. 6, to “the use of the seed of the 
great sunflower, (Helianthus animus) as a food for swine, 
rabbits, poultry, &c.” in which communication he rec- 
kons that an acre will produce from fifty to sixty sacks, 
(weight of sack not mentioned,) the profit of which, at 
the low rate of two shillings and sixpence per sack, is 
estimated at four pounds sterling per acre. He remarks 
likewise that the stems partake so much of the nature of 
wood, that, when perfectly dry, they may be burnt as 
fuel, an acre affording from three to nine waggon loads.. 
He suggests also their use by wattling and other modes, 
to enclose sheep, and to guard them from the inclemen- 
cies of the weather ; and that, where there are dry walls, 
with the aid of rafters and hurdles, they might be con- 
verted into an excellent covering for temporary sheds in 
the fields, and about the homesteads, for pigs and other 
animals. He recommends the leaves as an excellent 
green food for rabbits, or as serving for litter when dried. 
The plants, too, he affirms, will remain a long time af- 
ter they are ripe, without shedding their seeds, through 
