270 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
“FREE” SOCIETY — EIFE IN NEW YORK. 
That immaculate Black Republican sheet, the New 
York Tribune, gives us the following graphic and attrac- 
tive picture of the present condition of that city ; 
Sixteen murders have been perpetrated in this city since 
the 1st of April, about which lime Mayor Wood began to 
develop his programme of violent resistance to the laws, 
and the whole army of grog-sellers bid defiance to any 
legal interferance with their desolating traffic. There 
have been at least twice sixteen attempts to murder, be- 
sides violent assaults and rum-hole fights without prece- 
dent. Ten thousand hardened and hopeless female out- 
casts .swarm the street at night, two thousand children 
under the guise of pedlars, from the age of ten to sixteen, 
penetrate every public building, store and office in the 
city to beg, steal, spy for burglars, and on their own ac- 
count to practice those vices which cannot be named in 
respectable language; five thousand great and small 
gamblers prey upon the credulous and infatuated, stand- 
ing all day at the doors of their dens in Broadway, as well 
known in person and profession as the Mayor himself; 
ten thousand lazy, drunken, thieving, short boys, swill 
boys, killers, roughs and rowdies of other names, lounge 
on the rum-cursed corners of the street, making day dis- 
gusting, night hideous, and travel dangerous to all who 
can be suspected of having respectabifity or money ; thou- 
sands of emigrant swindlers, mock auctioneers, lottery 
dealers, policy backers, pick-pockets, hall thieves, burg- 
lars, wharf rats, area-sneaks, pimps and vampyres, prac- 
tice their knaveries as openly and with as little fear of 
punishment as though they were engaged in the most 
virtuous and legitimate of human pursuits. 
The swell-mob of London, flying from the argus-eyes 
®f a real police, and the unendurable felons of San Fran- 
cisco, expatriated by the bullets and the hemp of the Vigil- 
ance Committee, are received here with open arras, parade 
our streets under, not only the toleration, but the protec- 
tion and personal friendship of the police, carry our pri- 
mary elections, and flil high places on our nominating 
committees. On every hand we have vice and crime and 
splendor; crime, vice, ruin and beggary. Here, in the 
most fashionable faubourgh, is the Crockford’s of New 
York; there, between the palatial residences of a million- 
aire and a divine, is the “maison de joie” of a woman 
whose dress is the most brilliant, whose equipage the 
most costly, whose appearance the most stunning, of any 
of the gay butterflies, virtuous or vicious, whose beauty 
and wealth add glitter to the opera or sunshine in the pro- 
menade. Within a bow-shot of these palaces is the other 
side ofthe world; for brocade, rags; for diamonds, dirt; 
for Johan nisberger, whiskey; for millionaires, beggars; 
for divines, devils; for Aspasias, drabs; with here and 
Jhere some poor, starving wretch, painfully enacting the 
“Song of the Shirt,” her besieged virtue glimmering in 
ihe misery of this tangible hell, like the fabled jewel in a 
dung-hill And, over all we have a set of men called 
julers, wiangiing like hungry dogs for the public purse: 
lying and cheating for advancement; plotting to over- 
Ihrow all law, that they may rob the people; and, in their 
influence upon our vast criminal population, recklessly 
flaring their incendiary torches in our moral powder house. 
How TO Kill Ants. — For the benefit of those persons 
whose premises are infested with ants, we can inform 
them, on very good authority, that, by putting a piece of 
theCianuret of Potash, about the size of a hazle-nut, into 
the mouth of the hole, they will in a short time be rid of 
these trouble.^.) me pests, as it speedily kills them. This 
pxpparaiion ran usually be obtained at the Druggists, and, 
as it is the base Prusic Acid, too much caution cannot be 
taken to guard against accidents. 
STANFORD’S WIED OAT GRASS — RESCUE, &c. 
Editors Southern Cultivator — The July number of 
the Cultivator lies before me to-night, open at page 222, 
on which John R Stanford asks “to hear of the result” of 
trial from all who have sown that Wild Oat Grass. Bting 
one of the favored who received a package “gratis,” I 
cheerfully respond, which, by the way, I intended to do, 
but waited until our hot weather had “come and gone.” 
Understand, I never saw the grass before this year, there- 
fore, I only give you what I know. 
On the 2tith of November lastl sowed the seed on land 
only prepared by the plow, it was rough covered with my 
foot, when some ofthe clods were broken. Land medium 
quality, upland, oak and hickory original growth, cleared 
in 1828 or 1829. 
I have now gathered a few seed ; seed stalks 2 to 3 
feet high. The seed stalk dry for a few inches only, rich 
green foliage, blades of grass in many instances 6 inches 
long. It has withstood one of the coldest winters and 
springs I have ever known, with a luxuriance of growth 
more allied to oats, rye and barley, &c., than of the grass- 
es generally. There is now as rich, green, luxuriant foli- 
age as at any prior day. I have had too little to experiment 
with; other than to let it alone. No care or attention ex- 
cept to pull up weeds in and about it once, about 40 days 
ago. No fancy culture. 
The Rescue, I allude to merely to show the difference. 
I bought a bushel ofthe seed Land plowed and harrow- 
ed, seed sown and brushed in. I have gathered about half 
bushel of seed — to try again — and if there are any green 
blades I cannot see with the aid of the Brazdian pebble 
glasses. I mean the grass is as dead as my oats, rye or 
barley that is cut. 
Phinn Grass, sent me from New Hampshire, is now as 
green as it was two months ago, pretty tufts rather longer 
than the Wild Oats, and close to the earth ; only fit thus 
far as a grazing grass. Not a seed stalk yet. 
These two grasses — Wild Oats and Phinn — with my 
success this year with Clover, Blue, Timothy, Red Top 
Alfalfa (Lucerne or Chilian Clover, identically the same), 
have given me so much satisfaction that I have determined 
to appropriate 6 acres of land to a trial of as many grasses 
as I can procure. By staking off, or laying off into beds | 
of an acre each I can try 48 varieties. I will prepare it 
handsomely and only ask for seed enough for i of an 
acre of all varieties known. Thorburn, of New York, 
writes me and sends a catalogue describing 22 varieties, 
besides the clovers. My object is to test the varieties that 
will endure winter and summer, fora year or years. 
I have received from Mr. K. Park, of Oakland, Texas, 
two varieties of the Musquit — Aromatic and Millet, or 
Wheat Musquit. 
Preparing land, labelling each parcel of land shall be 
done with all the care I am capable of, and 1 only ask to 
be put in possession of the seed I am, at the same lime, 
willing, and really prefer it, to contribute all my seed and 
S5, if any one will undertake the experiment who is more 
able and competent. 
Hoping that this may stimulate our folks to an exer- 
tion, I am, as heretofore, 
Yours truly, M. W. Philips. 
Edwards Depot, Miss., July, 1857. 
How TO GET A House out of a Whiskey Barrel. — Put 
the barrel in a secure place, near a spring of good water, 
on the road to a grog-shop. When you want a dram, 
take the price of it in your hand and start to the grog- 
shop ; go as far as the spring, drop the money through 
the bung-hole, take a good drink of v.iater and return 
home. Repeat this operation till the barrel isfttll, knock 
out the head, and you have the price of a splendid brick 
building. 
