SOUTHERN •CULTIVATOR. 
249 
the subsoil was impervious to water, and the ground | 
plowed as shallow as is the custom of the country, th« ! 
drought injured our crops not a little. A hot southern ! 
sun and .'-hallow tillage demand a rain about three times a j 
week to keep the surface of the earth moist. i 
Deep culture and rolling the ground are desirable. It ■ 
should not be too open, as it favors the escape of water 
by evaporation. Two or three inches of loose, light soil 
greatly favor the escape of moisture and the too rapid 
drying of the ground. Anything that will render the sur- 
face a little more compact, and the subsoil a little more ; 
pervious will bring moisture up from below to the needy | 
roots of plants, and not permit its serious loss by evapo- | 
ration from the surface- of the earth. Many planters do 
not appreciate the value of rolling nearly all tilled land to j 
bring it into a better physical condition than the plow | 
leaves it. Mellow the soil as deeply as practicable, and ; 
then compress the surface a little to mitigate the intensity 
of solar influence, which really deteriorates the land in ! 
more ways than one, if cultivated. L. i 
McComb's Iron Clasps. — The editor of the Vicksburg 
Whic has been shown a new invention for fastening iron ! 
^ I 
bands upon bales of cotton, so as to allow of their use as i 
a substitute for rope. The fastening can be done much | 
sooner than a rope can be tied. It is made by bending | 
over each end of the strap so as to form two hooks, and 
when one is placed in the other, a sliding clasp is placed 
over them, which confines them immovable. They are 
said to obviate the objections generally made heretofore to 
iron bands. 
"Cass County [Ga.] Agricultural and Horticultu- 
BAL Society.” — We are glad to perceive that the leading 
Agriculturists of Cass county have formed a Society with 
the above title. The following officers w'ere unanimously 
elected, at the preliminary meeting held at Cassville on 
the Isi of July : 
T. M. Young, President. | 
WiLLts Benham, j 
W. W. Clayton, v Vice Presidents. i 
T. G. Barron, ) I 
Samuel H. Smith, Recording Secretary. I 
James G. Ryals, Corresponding Secretary. j 
Executive Committee — John S. Rowland, M. A. j 
Cooper, Lindsay Johnson, Mark Johnson, Lemuel Dillard, j 
C. A. Hamilton, J. C.Sproull, A. F. Wooley, Dr. Stephens, I 
and R. H. Cannon | 
— i 
The " Ivy Green.” — This beautiful ornament to walls | 
is not sufficiently cultivated. A contemporary gives us 
the following hints : 
By a little management you may have your ivy to cling 
perfectly. Whenever a branch grows without attaching 
itself to the wall, cut olT the loose part close to a leaf be- 
neath which the attachment is perfect. Continue this] 
process till the wail is covered, and ever afterwards cm | 
away all hanging branches, or by the force of the wind j 
they will detach others besides themselves. When the I 
ends of growing ivy once loose their hold, they are never | 
still sufficiently long to be able to attach themselves, but, | 
by cutting away to the point of contact, they are enabled 
to proceed to the new growth and thus hold fast. Cut 
off the hanging branches as soon as seen ; for, bv swing- 
ing about in the wind, the injury is constantly increas- 
Back Numbers of the Cultivator Wanted.— We are 
desirous of obtaining several of the May and November 
numbers of this journal for 1855, to complete our flies, 
and will cheerfully pay 20 cents each for all of either date 
sent us in good order. 
MOLES IN GARDENS. 
A neighbor wishes to learn through the CuUicat.n the 
best plan, or any feasible one, for killing moles in gar- 
dens. ^ 
WATER-PROOE CLOTHING, 
To those of our readers who desire to furnish their ne- 
groes with water-proof clothing, during the cotton picking- 
season, it will be interesting to know that twenty thou- 
sand tunics, now being prepared for the French army, are, 
according to a recent statement of M. Payen, a chemist of 
some note, rendered water-proof by the aid of alum and 
sugar of lead, without the use of India-rubber or gutta 
percha, or any other gums or oils. The process given is 
very simple, and is claimed to render any species of tissue 
water-proof Dissolve two pounds and a half of alum in 
four gallons of water; dissolve, also, in a separate vessel, 
the same weight of acetate of lead in the same quantity of 
water. When both are thoroughly dissolved mix the so- 
lutions together, and when the sulphate of lead resulting 
from this mixture has been precipitated to the bottom of 
the vessel in the form of a powder, pour off the solution, 
and plunge into it the tissue to be rendered water-proof 
Wash and rub it well during a few minutes, and hang it 
in the air to dry. 
Cotton for 1855. — In answer to an inquiry, the Secre- 
tary of State has communicated to the House some in- 
teresting and valuable statistics of the cotton trade. The 
amount of cotton exported from the United States w'as as 
follows in the year 1855 : 
To Great Britain G73,4J3, 259 lbs., free; France, 210,- 
1 13,809, paid duty, ^2,939,300 ; Spain, 33,071,795, paid 
duty, $'265,290 ; Hanse Towns, 30.809,991, paid duty, 
$25,795; Belgium 12,219,553, free; Austria, 9,76! ,405, 
free; Sardinia and Italy, 10,087,004, different rates ; Rus- 
sia, 448,897, paid duty, $47,018 ; Mexico, 7,527,079, paid 
duty, .$103,1 18; Holland, 4.941.4I4, free; Sweden and 
Norway, 8,428,437, diiferent rates; British North Aineii- 
can Provinces, 883,204, free; Denmark, 209,180, freep 
Cid'a, 9,020, paid duty, $2,355 ; Portugal, 144,006, paid 
duty, $19; elsewhere, 270,822. 
Total amount expoited in 1855, 1,003,424,601 pounds, ♦ 
which at an average price of eiglit cents per pound, would 
produce the enormous sum of $80, 673, 968. 08 as the South- 
ern experts of a single article. 
» ^ 
More Camels for Texas. — The United States steam- 
ship Surprise, now lying at the Navy Yard, New York, is 
to be sent again in a few weeks for a reinforcement to the 
stock of camels brought iu by her on her lust trip, amJ 
landed in Texas for ihe United States Government use.s. 
It has been found that the experiment succeeds admirably, 
and that for the transfer of the United States stores across 
the plains of Texas the camel is perfectly fitted, and with- 
stands the soil and climate of the country without an/ 
difficulty. Thus far only thirty-five have been brought. 
It is intended iu the next trip to bring fifty. 
