138 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
Ueatli of Col. A. McDouald. 
The Eufaula (Ala.) Shield ol tae 221 inst. 
comes to us clad in the habiliments ol mourn- 
ing lor the late Col. Alexander McDonald. 
Though personally unknown to us, we have 
been lor ye. rs lamiliar with his name and es- 
timable character, and we should be derelict in 
our duty, while paying this brief tribute to the 
memory ol a sincere Christian and zealous phi- 
lanthropist, not to acknowledge his many and 
repeated kindnesses to us as publishers ot the 
Southern Cultivator, w'ith the last most no- 
ble effort in behalf of which our readers are fa- 
miliar. 
From the Eufaula Shield. 
Death of Col. McDonald — The sad duty 
devolves upon us lo record the sudden and mel- 
ancholly death ot our esteemed friend and use- 
ful lellow-citizen, Alexander McDonald. He 
died at his residence in this place, on Sunday 
morning last, the 16th inst. 
A week previous to his demise, he was in 
the enjoyment ot fine health, as robust and ac- 
tive as we had ever known him, — but a lew 
days sickness ended his mortal career— and he 
lives in another and happier state ot existence. 
Our friend enjo)ed a high reputation among 
all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
He was, emphatically, an honest man — he 
wronged no man in reputation or purse — he 
spoke evil ol none, and his motto seemed to be, 
“ to do all the good he could, and as little harm 
as possible.” 
But we did not take up our pen to write an 
eulogy upon the character ot our departed 
Iriend, — the reader will find below an obit- 
uary, prepared by one ot his agricultural 
friends, in which his efforts to promote the 
great cause ol Agriculture are particularly no- 
ticed another article is in preparation, by a 
member of the Church to which he was attach- 
ed, in which his character as a man and Chris- 
tian, will be held up as an example worthy of 
imitation. Sutfice it then, lor us to add, that 
Alexander McDonald lived the life of a Chris- 
tian, and died as he had lived — expressing a 
readiness to answer the summons, it the Lord, 
in his wisdom, should see fit to call him Irora 
time to eternity. He has left an affectionate 
wite to mourn his sudden departure— and while 
she drops the tear ol griet over the mound ol 
earth which marks the resting place ol his mor- 
tal remains, her wounded spirit is soothed by 
the assurance that she wilt meet hi.m again — 
“ W here sick.iess and sorrow, pain and death. 
Are felt and feared no more” 
Obituary — Departed this life, on the morn- 
ingot the I6ih inst. at his late residence in Eu- 
laula, Barbour County, Ala., Col. Alexander 
McDonald, in the fiity-fifth year of his age. 
Col. McDonald was, for many years of the 
latter part ol his life, a devoted Iriend to the 
cause of Agriculture. He not only wrote much 
in favor of the cause of Agriculture, as the 
sheets of many ot the leading Agricultural 
works will attest, but he took an active and 
leading part in holding up and sustaining the 
Barbour County Ag. icultural Society. It of- 
ten happened, in the history ot this Society, 
Irom its peculiar location, in a new and unset- 
tled country, that it had to struggle through 
many difficulties. Amid all these limes of 
trial,. Col. McDonald would never, for a mo- 
ment, relax his exeitions. The surrounding 
difficulties appeared only to stimulate him to 
new exertions — and often, when all but him- 
self, had despaired ot its continued existence, by 
his untiring exertions, he would, in some way, 
manage to revive its dormant existence, and 
bring it into new and improved lite and action. 
His exertions in the cause of Agriculture, 
appeared to be particularly directed to the cul- 
ture ot Cotton and the i.nprovement ot its sta- 
ple, In this department he was unsurpassed 
by any one in this section of country, and equal- 
led but by tew, in the quality of his cotton. 
Col. McDonald has, also, distinguished him- 
self, in his late liberal offer to be one ol a thou- 
sand to procure twenty thousand subscribers for 
the Southern Cultivator; and we fear that this 
laudable undertaking will suffer from his de- 
cease. 
This active friend to the cause ot agriculture, 
now rests from his labors. His work on earth, 
is done. His friends teel a well-grounded hope, 
that he is now reaping the rewardof a well-spent 
lite. His example remains for us to imitate; 
but his cheering voice in the great cause of Ag- 
riculture, is forever hushed in the silence of 
death. C. 
Yankee Farming. 
We have often, in the pages of the Cultivator, 
referred to the neatness, economy, industry and 
enterprise prevailing on farms in New England: 
— so often indeed, and in such terms, as perhaps 
to make some Southern Planters despair of ever 
attaining to any thing like the same perfection, 
in the practice of their profession. Now, as a 
small crumb of comfort to such despondents, if 
any such there happen to be, we present to them 
another view of Yankee Farming. How must 
our lazy conks of the sunny South be exalted in 
their own estimation, when they learn that “two 
thirds of the New England Farmers,” notwith- 
standing all that has been said in their praise, 
carry on their business pretty much as the like 
business is very generally carried on here. Read 
the letter which follows. We find it in the 
"Boston Ploughman — and really it reads very 
much like a description of very common South 
era management; — so much of it at least as de- 
scribes the practice of the aforesaid “two thirds 
of the New England Farmers.” 
Save all the Manure. — Mr. F7c?r7or,— Ma- 
nure! Manure! What can a farmer do without 
it 1 What ca?i’t he do with it '? And yet though 
all may admit its worth, how far from economi- 
cai are many in its manufacture or application. 
If the yards are well filled with “stuff from the 
sides of the road” once a year, and well plowed 
through the summer they consider nothing more 
can be done in the way of “making manure.” 
Now, for a moment, to consider what we de- 
pend on to impart value to our compost heap. 
Of chiet importance is the solid excrement of our 
stock. Two thirds of the New England farmers 
allow the sun and rain to waste half of this arti- 
cle. HowT Why! They throw it out from their 
stables daily on to the heap in just sufficient 
quantity to shingle it well over so that by the 
next morning’s contribution that of the previous 
day is as dry as a last year’s robin’s nest! If, 
instead of the sun, we should have a “dull spell,” 
the heap fares little better. The fall of several 
hogsheads of water from the eaves, washes off’ 
the finest part into the road, or perhaps the well. 
Then as to liquid manure. Our friends who 
practice as above stated, don’t know anything 
about it. Their barns set -flat on the ground. 
All that falls, escapes to the ground, or diies 
up on the floor. Again, look at the cow-yard 
All the droppings lie scattered about, game for 
chickens, if it should be a fair day, no risk o’f 
clean stives at night! 
Without any apology, a .^’evv words as to my 
way. I occupy a barn with a cellar, which is my 
hog-pen. A scuttle in the floor enables me to 
tip down a load of rich earth from the bank of 
the river, every few days. I keep the hogs at 
work mixing this up with all the droppings, 
which, whitfioutthe least exposure, areputdown. 
Rainy days, when some of my neighbors “go a 
fishing” I slake a cask of lime down the scuttle, 
and then step in among very respectable com- 
pany and finish what they may not have com- 
pletely done. 
Manure is the /bud of plants in a great mea- 
sure. Something may be obtained from the at- 
mosphere and 'he earth, still manure is the 
cause of beautiful and luxuriant vegetation. 
Let none be wasted! Save it all ! 
Concord, July ISth, 1846. W, D. B. 
Original (fTainmnuications. 
Greeu Barley a Substitute for ludiaii Corn. 
Mr. Camak : — Having noticed in the May No. 
of the Cultivator, an inquiry from one of your 
South Carolina correspondents in regard to Bar- 
ley, and not having noticed in any of the suc- 
ceeding numbers a response to that inquiry, I 
hope you will consider it in good place, as the 
season is fast approaching for sowing, to sug- 
gest a few particulars, the result of some expe- 
rience and observation, touching the cu’tivation 
and use of thisimpo.tant and too much neglect- 
ed grain. 1 say important, because it is the de- 
liberate opinion of the writer that there is no 
small grain of more importance to the farmer, or 
that will make so profitable a yield to the same 
quantity of ground. That it is neglected needs 
no demonstration, as perhaps there is not one do- 
zen farmers in every fifty in the South who make 
any sort of advantageous and successful use of 
this almost perfect substitute for Indian corn. 
Having been a peculiar subject of the unprece- 
dented drought of 1843, which for a time hung 
like an incubus upon the energy and industry of 
the agriculturists, paralyzing, in some sections, 
his best directed efforts, 1 immediately set about 
taxing my managing and ec momical powers, to 
see if anything could be done to make up for a 
deficiency of corn, where not more than one- 
fifth of a crop was realized. Among the most 
successful of these efforts was that made in the 
cultivation of Barley. 
After hauling a considerable quantity of stable 
manure, ashes, rotten straw, &c., upon a little 
more than one acre of thin land, suflBcient, I 
v\ ould say, not to be more particular, to give the 
entire surface a tolerably good coat — the lot 
was well broken up, having previously spread 
the manure as regularly over the surface as could 
be conveniently done. The barley was then 
sown, about a bushel and a half to the acre, and 
well plowed in. This was about the lOih of Oc- 
tober. The whole was then turned loose to the 
seasons until some time in February, having kept 
fat during this time a latge gang of pigs, wdth- 
oul a grain of corn The winter, being unusual- 
ly severe, thinned the stand very much, perhaps 
one-sixth the quantity which stood upon the lot 
having perished by cold. 
At the above specified time, February, my 
mules and horses were growing quite thin under 
hard service upon the daily use of twenty-four 
ears of corn, cutoats, fodder, straw, &c , in suffi- 
cient quantity. A resort was now made to the 
green barley, it having grown sufficiently high to 
grasp in the hand and cut with a rcap-hook. It 
was soon ascertained that this food was prefered 
by tile stock to all other kinds, corn not excepted. 
A reduction was therefore made in the quantify 
of corn, from twenty-four ears per day down to 
only five, to each horse or mule at night, and the 
other food considerably lessened. Under this 
latter course of feeding my mules and horses im- 
proved and did better than upon the original 
plan above stated. 
This small lot continued an abundant supply 
for six head of working animals for nearly two 
months, filling three large troughs each day at 
noon and night during the whole time. The re- 
sult was a neat saving of at least fifty bushels of 
corn, and a considerable amount of oats, fodder 
&c. In addition to all this, theie was great im- 
provement in the health and appearance of the 
stock. 
These animals were kept at hard work during 
the time they were fed upon this green food, not- 
withstanding which fact, they did not sweat or 
scour more than ordinarily. This is a remarka- 
ble fact, not understood by the writer, as all other 
kinds of green food used to the same extent by 
working animals, will produce these effects moro 
or less. These facts have suggested the belief, 
that green barley is sui generis, possessing pe- 
culiarly fibrous, esculent and nutritious qualities 
not contained ia any other species of green food. 
Green wheat and oats were also used, of 
which the former is best, but neither can be fed 
to working animals to any great extent without 
the ordinary quantity of corn and fodder at the 
same time, as they will weaken and reduce the 
animal by sweating and scouring. I have also 
been informed that green rye will not answer 
alone for working animals, it not being sufficient- 
ly nutritious to sustain them during hard labor, 
and is liable to weaken by sweating and purging,. 
