372 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
■¥ 
AUGUSTA, GA: 
VOL, XIV. NO. 12--- DECEMBEE, 1856. 
ANSWEKS TO COERESPONDENTS. 
Chinese Sdgar Cane. — A. M. P.— Plant in 4 or 5 feet 
drills, dropping two seedy every 18 inches in the drill. Al- 
low all suckers to stand, and if you wish the greatest 
amount of saccharine juice, send your hands through the 
field to pinch or pull off the tassels or blossoms as soon as 
they appear. Cultivate in all respects as you would Corn, 
making the ground deep and ricky to begin with, and 
keeping it mellow and free from weeds, with horse-hoe, 
cultivator a shallow-running sweep. You can easily ripen 
two crops of seed from one planting (at Eufaula) ; as the 
roots, when cut, not later than July, throw up suckers or 
‘‘ rattoons,” and ripen seed again before frost. If you 
plant for fodder, lay off your drills 3 teet apart, and sprin- 
kle the seed along, say 1 or 2 inches apart in the drill. — 
Work often between the rows, applying a little phosphate 
or guano, (mixed with leaf-mould) as a top-dressing, once 
or twice during the growing season. From land man- 
aged in this way, you can cut 4 or 5 crops oi green for- 
age in one season ; or, if you prefer it, make an immense 
quantity of the very best dried fodder. It abounds in 
saccharine juice, is very nutritious, and greedily eaten by 
cattle, horses, mules, sheep, hogs, goats, &c., &c. For 
further particulars, see pamphlet, elsewhere noticed. — 
Your other request has been complied with. 
Dorking Fowls. — W. S. — These are nearly of all colors, 
from pure white to a dark brown, but never black — the 
latter must be crosses. The pure breed are of medium 
size; with short (white) legs; five-toed, generally; 
plump-breasted and long- bodied; rather delicate in con- 
stitution, and by no means equal to the better specimens 
of the Brahma or Shanghai. VVe have kept the latter for 6 
or 7 years, and do not begin to get “ tired” of them yet. 
We do not know of any Dorkings for sale in the South. 
Planting Trees. — E. P. C. — Strange ! that people 
will not learn something about a matter of such general 
interest as the proper time to plant trees. Let us, then, re- 
peat that any time from the fall of the leaf in Autumn to 
the swelling of the buds in Spring will do : but that we 
greatly prefer to have all our trees planted before the middle 
of January^ if possible. See directions, dec., elsewhere. 
Washing Machines.— W. H. Goodrich & Co., of this 
city make an excellent article, worth $'25 or S3b- 
Potato Digger — Byram’s Patent Digger, manufactured 
by Pitkin Brothers, Louisville, Ky., may be obtained from 
C. H. Camppield, 171 Bay street, Savannah, Ga. 
Pace Peach, &c. — E. P. — We can furnish you trees or 
scions of the Pace and the October peach this fall. Let 
US know how and when to send them. 
%\t €nliM 
Back Volumes, &c. — D. C. T. — We can supply all but 
two or three of our back volumes, bound, at S'i-50 each. 
iVlany thanks for the numbers sent us. 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR FOR 1357. 
We have in progress, for the next year, many new ar- 
rangements, which cannot fail of rendering our journal 
even more usefnl, interesting, and acceptable to our read- 
ers than it has heretofore been ; though the many com- 
mendations which itis constantly receiving. more than satis- 
fy our “approbativeness.” In all that relates to the great 
Planting interests of the South, we shall continue to have 
the assistance and experience of nearly all the best and 
most progressive Plantei’s of the Cotton growing States ; 
in the Horticultural and Floral Departments, we have se- 
cured regular communications from several of our most 
intelligent and successful Gardeners, and in Pomology, we 
shall be aided by such able pens as that of Van Buren, 
Nelson, Summer, Axt, Legare, “A, C.,” BLXHANAN(of 
Ohio) and many others. The Editors forbear to speak of 
themselves farther than to remark, that their interest in 
Agricultural Improvement increases with each year that 
is added to their lives, and to promise their best and most 
earnest labors for the furtherance of the objects to which 
this journal has been devoted for the last Fourteen years. 
May we not rely on our friends and the public for gener- 
ous co-operation in our efforts I 
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL FAIRS.-PROGRESS ! 
Fairs have been held the present Fall in North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Ken- 
tucky, &c., &c , and many new objects of Southern skill 
and industry brought to the notice of the public. In the 
Mechanical Department, the improvement over former 
years was especially noticeable, many articles rivalling 
in execution and inventive skill, the most ingenious pro- 
ductions of our Yankee friends. In Fruit Culture,, 
also, we are making astonishingly rapid strides, and 
people in all parts of the country are beginning to open 
their eyes to the almost boundless capacity of our cli- 
mate for the production“of all the finest Fruits of the tem- 
perate zone. The show of Southern Apples at Raleigh,. 
Atlanta, Columbia and Montgomery, would have aston- 
ished Northern Pomologists and such Southerners as have 
heretofore supposed that “ Apples cannot be raised in 
the South.” Pears, also, only require a little attention to 
surpass those of any other country; and, as regards 
Peaches, Figs, Grapes, &c., &c., we are far in advance of 
every other portion of the Union. In fine Live Stock, also, 
our breeders are decidedly taking the lead, having started 
j with the determination to have none but the Z'f.sb and gen- 
I erally selecting such without regard to expense. It would be 
j difficult to find among the flocks and herds of any country, 
! finer samples than can be now shown by Messrs. Peters, 
Warren, Harden, Watts, Waring and others of Geor- 
gia; Hampton, Davis, Parker, Summer, &c , of South 
Cai’olina ; and many other enterprising amateurs in the 
various States South and West of us, whose names we 
I cannot now recal. 
I In the way of Field Crops, fine samples of all our sia- 
