SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
31 
Have a Home. — Young naen have lately written to us, 
asking: “ Shall we marry, possessing only small m.eans V’ 
If the means are adequate to meet the wants of the man 
and the future wife, why not'? But they should be suf- 
ficient for this, else the most painful consequences may 
ensue. Moderate means are ample for the real necessaries 
of life, which ought to satisfy human beings, so far 
as externals are concerned ; insuring social and domestic 
enjoyment: meeting the real purpose of existence — their 
own advancement and that of others. But have enough 
for this. Have a home. Have a home, young man, be- 
fore you have a wife. 
At least have means to provide one. You have no 
business with an Eve till there is a paradise to place her 
in. Secure the garden, rnd the Eve will follow. If you 
are unable to provide an Eden, who ought to trust you 
with an Eve'? Sacred as we regard love, we do not be- 
lieve in divorcing it from common sense. This experiment 
is generally fatal to both happiness and respectability. 
Wake from mere dream-life, exert your energies; procure 
means by some kind of honest labor; secure a home; 
then ask your own heart, and the girl phrenologically 
best adapted to you, the question, “Shall I marry'?” — 
Life Illustrated. 
A New Species of Cotton. — Mr. Thos. Smith, who 
resides in the immediate vicinity of Richmond, has a 
small field of cotton which is considered a curiosity by 
all who have seen it. It dilfers but little in appearance 
from the ordinary kind, except in color, which is as deli- 
cately crimson as a maiden’s blush. Not only is the stalk 
of this gorgeous hue, but the leaves also, the vividness of 
color fading, however, as it approaches the margin of the 
leaf, into a purplish green. This is not the eifect of dis- 
ease or of any extraneous circumstances connected with 
its culture, but a peculiarity in the plant itself, every stalk 
possessing the same rich and healthful glow, and as thrifty 
as any cotton in the country. Where the seed originally 
came from we have not as yet ascertained. The prospect 
of a heavy yield is equal to that of any other species, be- 
ing well boiled, and the weed of vigorous growth. We 
were shown the lint of a few bolls of last year’s grovrth, 
and for fineness and length of staple we believe it not in- 
ferior to the sea island. If this cotton turns out as well 
as present appearances indicate, it will be a valuable ac- 
quisition to this branch of agricultural industry. — Rich- 
mond ( Va.') Reporter. 
■ ' ■ ■ ^ » ■■ 
A Merited Rebuke. — We learn from the Macon Tele- 
graph that at the late term of the Superior Court of Pike 
county, a master was convicted of cruel treatment towards 
a slave, and was fined four hundred dollars by Judge 
Cabaniss. We know nothing of the details of this particu- 
lar case, further than stated above, but if any transgres- 
sion against the law should be punished to the fullest ex- 
tent of the penalty annexed, it is unnecessary cruelty to 
slaves. In fact, the cruelty practiced by some masters to- 
wards their s'aves, has given abolitionism more capital to 
go upon tnan everything else combined, and such ex- 
amples as set by Judge Cabaniss will go far to lake the 
wind out of the sails of abolitionism. — Exchange, 
A Farmer’s Library.— Dr. Johnson being once asked 
whom he deemed the most miserable, replied, “The man 
who cannot entertain himself with a book on a rainy day.” 
Were the question put, What farmers are likely to make 
the most rapid progress and improvement in husbandry'? 
the answer would be, other things being equal, those who 
read most on the subject of their vocations. A man who 
reads little, no matter what his vocation is, will be likely 
to think little, and act chiefly with reference to tradition- 
received from former generations, or else in imitation of 
what is going on about him. There is always hope of a 
man who laves reading, study and reflection. Not all 
who buy books liberally and patronize the press gener- 
ously, are readers. There is a class of fancy book buyers 
who purchase freely and expensively, but who read little 
and profit nothing from the stores of knowledge treasured 
up in their libraries. Fine collections of books nicely ar- 
ranged on shelves may satisfy desires of covetousness, but 
can impart little or nothing, only as they are read, studi- 
ed, and referred to. 
Every farmer, whether rich or poor, learnecTor unlearn- 
ed, should have a collection of books on agriculture, hor- 
ticulture, and the several subjects more or less intimately 
connected with the objects of his special pursuit. A few 
good books costing but little, should make the beginning 
of the farmer’s library. 
Gumbo Soup. — Who has not heard of the famous gumbo 
soup of the South-west, and who has ever visited New 
Orleans without luxuriating on it, and declaring it the 
very best soup ever conceived 1 We have often wonder- 
ed v/hy it is not generally made throughout the South, 
where all the ingredients are easily obtainable. Here is a. 
recipt for making it, furnished to the Mobile Mercury ^ by 
Mrs. L. H. Wright: 
“ After your chicken is prepared, fry it to a nice brown 
color ; season it with black prepperand salt ; have a large 
soup-plate full of okra; chop fine, throw away the heads 
' of the same, as they are hard. Always use the long white, 
it being more tender and better flavored than the other 
kinds ; stir in this with the chicken ; and it will partake 
of the taste and seasoning of the chicken. Fry it a little, 
and have ready some boiling water, pouring over, say 
three quarts, and allow a sufficient quantity to boil away; 
let all boil down until the chicken becomes perfectly ten- 
der, so that it may easily be torn to pieces with a fork. 
If firied, it requires more pepper and salt, which shoul 
be added before it is thoroughly cooked. The gumbo 
thus made will be very thick. If you do not like it made 
in this way, do not boil so much, as it spoils all kinds of 
soup to boil down and fill up again, as many do, with 
cold water, and besides it is never so rich. Have vice 
boiled tender, but be careful that the grains are separate. 
Of course, it is both wholesome and rich. 
Netting Hogs. — The Kentucky rule is said to be, for 
the first 100 lbs. deduct 25 for gross; for the second 100 
lbs. deduct 12 1-2; for the third 100 lbs. deduct 6 1-4; all 
over the third hundred is net. The net weight of a hog 
weighing 100 gross is 75 lbs ; a hog of 159 gross will net 
118 3-4; of 250 gross 209 3-4 net, and a hog, the gross 
weight of which is 300 pounds, will net 256 1-4 pounds. 
From the gross weight of a hog that goes over 300, 43 1-4 
pounds only is dedusted, even should the weight be 400. 
This rule, if correctly stated, may be of use to somebody. 
The Sugar Crop in Porto Rico. — Advices from Porto 
Rico to the 27th ult., state that Ihe^ island, after a long 
drouth had been deluged with rains, which had beaten 
down the cane fields and done some damage to the crops. 
The promise, however, was still highly favorable. Th« 
port of Aquadilla was visited by a severe hurricane on 
the 24th ult., attended with shocks of earthquake. One 
or two lives were lost The shipping escaped with slight 
damage. 
