■viMafftyasj!Baix^r^xi*xx^ir-73 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
41 
in the ground, and oUen a man to follow with a 
hoe to turn over the lurrows, where the plow 
did its office imperfectly. With all this force, 
an acre per day was considered good work. 
Now, u®der the very same circumstances, an 
acre and a half is jjlowed per day, with a single 
yoke of oxen, and one man : and the work is 
done in a manner infinitely superior to the old 
mode. All this has resulted from the improve- 
ments that have been made in the plow. Some 
■of the strongest minds in the country have been 
directed to the subject. Even so far back as 
the times of Timothy Pickering, who had been 
Secretary of State under vTashiogtO'n, this mat- 
ter was engaging the attention of intelligent 
■men. Mr. Pickering -gave the following rule 
for the construction of the mold-board: 
“ Having fixed a straight line, by one cut of 
a saw from the upper corner of the mold-board 
behind, to its point forward, cut away the wood 
above and below that line in such a manner that 
when finished if you carry a straight rule from 
She fore to the hind part, keeping it all the way 
at right angles with the straight line, it shall 
touch ike face of the mold board, iti its whole 
breadth, in straight lines., through its entire ; 
winding, so that its upper ■covnci' behind shall 
overhang the lower sufficien ly to elect a ■com- 
plete turning of the furrow slice.’” 
The Albany Cultivator, from which we get 
the inlormation staled herein about ancient and 
■modern plowing in New England, says that this 
rule of Mr. Pickering is stifl adhered to in all 
the raodera improvements of the plow. How 
many plows are there in Georgia constructed 
according to this r-ale.; or, indeed, according to 
any fixed rule 1 
Grape V-ines. — The usual way of propaga- 
ting grape vines among planters, is by cuttings, 
or layers. With professional gardeners, there 
are other modes, involving the refinements ol 
science, and requiring an amount of care and 
attention which none but prof ssional gardeners 
can bestow on the business. In the common 
mode, with all the attention that can usually be 
given to the process, success is very far Irom 
being certain. Hence the small extent to which 
even good grapes are multiplied in the Southern 
States. When a single vine shall have been 
once established, the'e is a mode by which it 
can be multiplied to any moderate extent, by 
layers, without much trouble. We are indebt- 
ed to Mr. Afflmk, of Ingleside, Miss., for an 
account ot it. In a letter to the editor, of 28th 
January, he says: — 
“Let me give you the benefit of a hint I got 
I'd propagating the g'^ape, trom the last ganjener 
I had. Alter selecting your vines (shoots) for 
layering, open trenches, .sav two inches deep, 
(after properly preparing the ground, of course,) 
in convenient positions for layering, and in 
these trenches peg down the vines, before the 
buds begin to swell, or about that time, wiihout 
cutting into or twisting the vines, and leave 
them so, without ".ny covering of earth, until they 
make shoots a toot long. Then cover up care- 
fully by hand, and lava litde litter over to keep 
moist. Each eye will then make you such 
plants as { send you. I had some even much 
stronger, but they are planted out. By the old 
plan of covering up ai once, I did not get any 
such plants, nor near so many.” 
The road ambition travels is too narrow for 
friendship; to crooked for love; too rugged tor 
honesty ; and too dark for science. 
Lard Lamps. — Bacon’s JLaid L'duips, an aU- 
vertisement of which will be round on the 
last page of the Cultivator, are exactly as they 
are described to be. We have tried them, and 
therefore speak from personal observation. We 
have v/eighed the lard and measured the time, 
and find the rate ot consumplion to be one ounce ; 
fortwo hours; that is, supposing the lard to, 
■cost 8 cents per lb., the cost is one-fourth ui a ' 
cent per hour. That is a degree of economy al- 
together suitable to the limes. The light is a 
very pleasant one, without either smoke or dis- 
agreeable smell so often occasioned by burning 
oil. In addition to all this, the lamp is a very 
neat article, and very cheap; and is withai so 
simple in construction, as to occasion no diffi- 
culty in its ma nagement. 
Improvement in Virginia. — In our Janu- 
ary number, we said that the emigrants from 
New York were rapidly improving-the poorest 
lands in some of the poorest counties in \ ir- 
ginia. There has been, very naturally, a good 
deal of curiosity excited to knowhow this result 
is being brought about, the opinion being, that 
from similarit) of soil and climate in Virginia 
and Georgia, the process that succeeds there 
will answer here also. Happily for all whose 
attention is turned to this subject, we have, in 
the Southern Planter, a brief oullitieof the prac 
lice of the New York emigrants in Virginia, 
Mr. Bolts, the editor, says; — 
“They came poor to poor land, and they are 
getting rich and getting their lands rich too, 
with no other means than their starving prede- 
cessors enjoyed. He says that they are not 
more intelligent generally, probably nut as much , 
so, as the natives aiound them. Nor are ihey 
more scientific cultivators ol the soil; but the 
great, secret is, they save every thing and they 
.nake everything work, they buy as little as 
possible; the money they do spend, is either tor 
the absolute necessaries of life that can’t be 
m de at home, or tor manure, good implements, 
and other things criculated to mcrease their 
products, in this latter class of articles, he 
says, they are the most liberal pur ha.sers fur 
their means he ever saw. But they save and 
husband every thing upon the tarm that will 
make manure, as if it were gokl A clo.se log 
pen is made, the bottom ot which i.s puddled, 
and this is the universal depository tor the 
sweepings of the house, the empiyings of tne 
wash tubs, ihe ollal of their victuals, and every 
thingelsethaia Virginian throwsaway. There 
are no drones in the lii\e; men and b-iy-, old 
women, young girls and liitle children, all work 
incessantly. Alter a child is six year.-tdd, he 
is a help rather than an incumbrance, in a pe- 
cuniary point of view, rtius they grow rich, 
wffiere their neighbors would grow poorer every 
day; and .such are the happy effects of well re- 
gulated labor, that their oecuriiary p ospcriiy i.s 
only equalled by the comiori, cleanliness, and 
happiness of their homes.” 
Hotchkiss’ Water Wheels.— \Ve would 
call the attemion of mill owners to the adver- 
tisement of Mr. Hotchkiss’ Premium Vertical 
Water Wneels, to be found on our last page. 
The certificates annexed, from practical men 
who have witnessed ttieir operation, sufficiently 
attest the value ol the invention. 
Relief of Asthma. — Get some blotting pa 
per andsoak it well in a strong solution of salt- 
petre. Take it out and dry it. On going to bed 
light it, and lay it on a plate in your bed-ronm. 
This may enable persons badly affiicied to sleep 
well. 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
For ihe Soalherii Cullivaior. 
Flowers. — Charcoal as a Maiiui e. 
Mr. Editor; — 1 am no farmer, an 1 therefore, 
peihaps, am not eriiilled io a place in your co- 
lumns. But I shall address my-self to your fair 
readers, and with this dedication, I know your 
gaUani-ry will not allow y. u to expel meirooi 
them. 
1 design to speak ot flowers, a^nd their cultiva- 
tion in part. Last spring, I noticed several ar- 
ticles on the tase of chare lal as a manure. I 
was induced to try some experiments with it, cm 
difierent flowers, and the efiects were favorable 
beyond conception. I give you a statement of 
my expei imenis, for the i enefit of the ladie.s, 
who, “the fairest of a 11 flower's,” delight in the 
cultivation ol a sp.!eDdid flower. 
My first experiment was on the Chinese 
biscus. It was small, had been much affected 
by the frost, had turned yellow, and hail all the 
ap,pearanccs of a rapid decay. I mixed equal 
parts of charcoal and earth, and applied to the 
roots. In two weeks, it began to change color 
and to grow. In two months, it had grown 
more iban two fee . 1 then added well rotted 
cow manure, and on to Chrisimas it continued 
to grow and bloom most splendidly, 
Ttie next experiment, was one upon orange 
and lemon tree.'-;. The surface soil was remo- 
ved to the roots, and charcoal also applied. 
The eflect was equally as great. So, likewise, 
was the effect produced upon the india-rubber 
tree 
Another experiment was upon the geranium. 
It gave health and vigor to the plant, and pro- 
duced an abundant cro[) of blooms, enlarged in 
size, and increased in richness of color. I dis- 
covered, however, that the plants were more 
easily hurt, by the warm weather, than former- 
ly. So, taking the hint, I removed the charcoal, 
and a|)plied earth in its place. In one instance, 
I covered the charcoal with earth. The effect 
which followed in both cases, was all that 1 de- 
sired. The quantity of charcoal applied, was 
equal in parts with earth. 
Another experiment, was upon the Cactus. I 
applied about one-founfi charcoal, mixed with 
suiface soil. The effect was to produce rapid 
growth, strong and laige flowers, as well as to 
protect, to a great extent, the plants from decay 
or rot. 
A Cactus speciocissimus had been potted two 
years, had routed well, but never grown a par- 
ticle. 1 filarited ii in charcoal, half earth. In 
ten days the bud began to swell; and in thirty, 
the shout was more than two inches long, it 
grew finely the whole year, i applied one- 
fourth ('ha''coal to the Cactus truncatus with 
great effect, enlarging the wood very mm h, 
hastening the bh om ten days before the time, in 
the (ireviousyear, enlarging tlie number ana in- 
creasing their brilliatuy. 
The same application was made to tfie C. 
septangular is, which increased its growth very 
tnuch; hut the age of the plant prevented its 
blooming, and therefore I cannotspeakof the ef- 
fect which it ' ould have produced. 
The C. truncatus and C. speciosus both were 
rnanmed with charcoal, and increased growth, 
number, size aii'i quality ol flowers, was the re- 
sult. 
For the Cactus, rharc'ial is decidedly the best 
stimulant 1 have ever tried. One thing, how- 
ever, should alwavs be borne in mind io its ap- 
plication: it is ver-' porous, and conseijuently 
a'irnits the air freely 'o the roots of 'he plant, 
arving, an'i consequently destroying them. 
Whether it be a[. plied in large or small quan- 
tities, it should be covered with an inch or two 
ofearth, or else daily waterings given. 
Upon the Camelia-Japonica, I likewise 
made experiments. Nut more than one-fifth 
charcoal was mixed with the earth, which was 
poured around the ball of earth and roots, when 
transferred to a larger pot. No perceptible ef- 
fect was produced upon the p'ant during the 
summer. The roots, I found upon upsetting in 
