154 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
OUR BOOK TABLE. 
HowtoWritk: a Pocket Manual of Composition and 
Letter- Writing, &c., &c. This is the first of a series of 
popular Hand-Books, and embraces hints on Penman- 
ship and the choice of Writing Materials, Practical 
Rules for Literary Composition in General, and Epistol- 
ary and Newspaper Writing, Punctuation and Proof 
correcting in Particular; and directions for writing Let- 
ters of Business, Relationship, Friendship, and Love; 
illustrated by numerous examples of genuine epistles, 
from liie pens of the best writers; to which are added 
Forms for Letters of Introduction, Notes, Cards, &c., 
and a collection of Poetical Quotations. Price, in pa- 
per 30 cents, muslin 50 cents. 
How to write is intended for a class of young people 
and others, who are not satisfied with the puerile and 
trashy works so common under the general title of Letter- 
Writers, who do not desire to be saved from the necessity 
of study and thought, but who will be grateful for a little 
guidance in their studies, and for such instructions as will 
aid them to think for themselves, and to express their 
thoughts in fitting words. 
A leading New Fork paper, of a recent date, speaks of 
it in the following terms of high commendation : 
'‘There are many ‘grown gentlemen whose education 
has been neglected,’ that will find invaluable assistance in 
the hints and directions of this little Manual. It has been 
compiled with excellent judgment from the best authori- 
ties on the subject, though the fresh and lively manner of j 
the book is due to the Editor. The ample details which i 
it gives in regard to the mechanical execution, social eti- 1 
quelte, and cunventional forms of the various kinds of cor- | 
respondence, constitute (lie most useful portions of the 1 
volume, and can scarcely fail to be of advantage to a very 
large cla<s ot letter-writers. We commend to our readers 
es[)ecialiy its directions respecting ‘orders for newspapers’ 
and other periodicals. They are explicit and admirable, 
and their general observance would save a world of trouble 
both to publishers and subscribers ” j 
The same publishers have also just issued “ How ; 
to Talk,” “How to Behave,” “How to do Busi-j 
ness,” &(•.. Price of each voLirne, 30 cents, paper covers ; I 
50 cents, muslin. Address: Fowler &, Wells, 308 1 
^ j 
Broadway, New York. ^ 
Massachusetts HoRTicut.TUKAL Society. Reports ofthe j 
Committees tor 1857, with a list of members, &c. Bos- j 
ton : 1857. j 
1 he Reports of the Ma.ssachusetts Horticultural Society I 
are always welcome ; evincing, as they do, a thorough- 
isess of discrimination, and a most liberal and progressive 
spirit in ail that relates to the improvement ofgardens and 
orchards, the introduction and trial of new fruits, &c. 
AVe are indebted to tlie kindness of Ur. Ebe.v. Wight, 
Corresponding Secretary, for tlie present and many pre- 
vious Reports of the Society. 
The Cotton PLantcr and Soil. Fanner Planter., Ara- 
tor, Carolina Callivator, Southern Planter, (fcc., &c., are 
all battling earnestly and ably for tlse Agricultural in- 
terests ofthe Soutii, and should be warmly sustained by 
all our people. I 
^^’All subscriptions to the Southern Cultivator begin j 
with the January number. • j 
j HIDES A^'D LEATHER. 
i Country Tanners are so scarce at the South, and have 
1 local markets entirely so under their control that hides 
I which are worth, green, 12 cts. a pound in New York, and 
ten in Savannah, are bought for six cents a pound in the 
interior of this State. On the other hand, good leather is 
sold at higher prices than we dare to name, lest our 
word should be doubted, or our information. The public 
good seems to demand the extension of this branch of 
manufactures; and where it is properly conducted, it is 
equally profitable to the proprietors, and beneficial to the 
community. It is the height of mismanagement to send 
our hides a thousand miles North to be tanned and curried, 
where bark is much dearer than at the South, and have 
the leather returned, taxed with several mercantile profits 
before it reaches the consumer. By this double loss, we 
get only half price for our hides and pay two prices for 
leather, boots and shoes. L. 
Michaux’s Bequest, — We learn from the Charleston 
Alercurij that Michaux, the well known French botanist 
and author of “American Forest Trees,” has remembered 
the New World, in which he long labored, most munifi.- 
cently, in his last will and testament, bequeathing us the 
generous sum ofS“22,000 for the encouragement of sylva- 
cultureand horticulture; S14,000 to the American Philo- 
sophical Society, and .-$8,000 to the Massachusetts Agri- 
cultural Society. It is now more than half a century 
since Michaux’s first labors in this country, and there are 
at present growing on the Ashley River, South Carolina, 
says the Alercunj, Camelia Japonica trees planted by his 
own hands, over thirty feet in height, branching from the 
very roots, and crowned every year with the glory of 
their magnificent bloom. 
Peppermint Oil. — Two towns in St. Joseph county, 
Michigan, produce large quantities of Peppermint, from 
which the oil is extracted by manuUcturers there. In 
1855, 25,000 pounds of the oil was produced, which 
lirought, in the New York marker, S3 per pound. From 
8 to 12 pounds is produced from an acre of the plant. The 
first crop requires a good deal of care; but the next two 
years it yields wiihout attention. After the third year> 
the crop must rotate, in order to rest the land. The mint 
IS cut in August, and the oil extracted by distillation, filtra- 
ed through flannel, and put up in tin cans for market. 
S.ARDiNES IN Alabam.a. — The Colurubus Sun says: — 
The ColumLais Enquirer learns that in the Coosa river, a 
few miles above Wetnmka, sardines, precisely like those 
imported from the Mediterranean, abound and could be 
caught almost by the wagon load. We can testify to the 
correctness of the E/iquirer'’s information. We have 
feasted on the sardine.s of the Coosa. They are caught in 
traps in great abundance by J. P. House, at his plantation 
on the Coose, about 15 miles above AVetuiuka, and in 
the absence of a market near by for disposing of them 
fresh, feeds them to his negroes. They are, without doubt 
the genuine sardine. 
