22 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
Animal Products. 
What is the cost of production and market value in 
your vicinity, of wool, silk, wax, honey, cochineal, butter, 
cheese, eggs, oeef, mutton, pork, hams, lard, oil, hides, 
tallow, pelts, &C.'? What is the cost of transportation by 
canal, railroad, or otherwise, to the Atlantic or Gulf mar- 
kets '? 
Manures. 
What manures are most in use, and which the most 
valuable for special crops % If guano, bone-dust, pou- 
drette, super-phosphate, lime, gypsum, charcoal, ashes, 
fish; muck or any other valuable fertilzer are employed in 
your vicinity, state the cost, modes of application, and their 
effects upon the respective crops to which they have been 
applied. The result of any accurate experiments would 
be desirable, especially as connected with any of our 
great staples — cotton, tobacco, hemp, flax, wheat, oats, 
rye, barley, rice, potatoes or Indian corn. 
Agricultural Products. 
What crops can be cultivated to best advantage in your 
vicinity 1 The best modes of cultivation 1 The maxi- 
mum and average yield of each, and the smallest yield 
that pays expenses '? Have you any established rotation 
of crops I What plants are cultivated for the purpose of 
plowing under as a manure I Have you any remedies 
against the diseases and insects which infest your crops I 
What are your best modes of harvesting, storing and pre- 
paration for market “? What is the cost of production and 
market value, in your vicinity, of the various kinds of 
grains, roots, hay and fodder, cotton, hemp, flax, hops, 
sugar, tobacco, (S^.? What is the cost of transporting 
each product by canal, railroad, or otherwise, to the At- 
lantic or Gulf markets 1 
Special interest is felt at the present time in those plants 
which are employed in the manufacture of cordage, cloth- 
ing, &c. — such as cotton, hemp and flax. Are any of 
these crops profitably cultivated with you I If so have 
you any improved varieties, new modes for market? 
Market and Kitchen Gardening. 
Please give the names of the best varieties of garden 
vegetables, the usual times of sowing, periods of maturity, 
and their market values. What vegetables are brought 
into your vicinity from the North, South, East, West, or 
from beyond sea; at what season, and at what prices? 
PVuiis, WiTies, tf-c. 
What varieties of summer, fall, and winter fruits are 
cultivated with the best success in your section ? What 
kinds are attacked by the blight, mildew, or insects par- 
ticularly injurious to their growth ? If any, what reme- 
dies have you against their attacks ? Have you any im- 
proved modes of cultivating fruit, harvesting and prepar- 
ing it for market ? What is the cost of transporting those 
kinds not perishable, to the Atlantic and Gulf markets, by 
canal, railroad, or otherwise? Is the grape cultivated with 
you for table use, or with the object of making wine ? If 
for either, can you communicate any information relative 
to its history, cultivation, preservation, or the manufac- 
ture, cost and market value of American wine? What 
fiaiits are sold in your vicinity grown at the North, South, 
East or West; at what seasons and at what prices ? 
Note. — Please to treat of each subject under a distinct 
head, after the manner of the arrangement of last year’s 
Report ; and, if convenient, leave one side of your manu- 
script blank. 
PARKING IN TEXAS— IRRIGATION, &C. 
Messrs. Editors — I hoped to have heen able to give 
you some interesting accounts of my agricultural and 
horticultural operations in Texas, but, owing lo the late- 
liess of the season and the unfavorable circumstances 
under which I started, I have been so unsuccessful that I 
have felt no inclination to communicate. My fruit trees- 
and shrubbery (which were in great variety) that I received 
from the North as well as from the West did not arrive 
until April, and that in a perished condition, and, of 
course, all died, though every means was used for restor- 
ation. My Peach, Apple and Osage Orange seed arrived 
at the same time, none of which, as yet, have vegetated, 
although I cracked some of the peach stones and steeped 
the other seeds in luke warm water. As for my flower 
seeds I never sowed them at all, for experience had taught 
me that it was useless to sow the like at that season, in 
this clime. I took advantage of the margin of a small 
stream and sowed Rhubarb, Tobacco, and Celery seed 
and found, for about two feet from its brink, they all vege- 
tated and grew beautifully, while over that distance none 
grew at all. And again, about the last of July I sowed 
Cabbage, Brocoli, Celery and other small seeds, and ex- 
perienced the same result, although that sowed away 
from the stream I shaded with green boughs and watered 
freely, which convinces me that nothing but irrigation can 
be depended on to produce humidity enough for gardening 
purposes in this climate, the evaporation is so great. Now 
to the question I wish to ask you : at the bottom of my 
garden I have a never failing stream of water with a fall 
of four feet in ten yards ; in fifty yards I could get six 
feet. In this creek I am anxious to put a hydraulic ram 
by which I can raise the water 15 er 20 feet to answer the 
purposes of irrigation, but of the nature and the man- 
ner of the working of these rams I know very little, neither 
am I acquainted with any one that does know anything 
about them ; therefore, if you can give me any information 
respecting them I shall receive it as a favor, or if you can 
send me any work on the subject I will pay the cost by 
return of mail. 
Our crops of Irish potatoes were never so good as this 
year. Corn is fine. Wheat is excellent; we have been 
using Texas made flour for some time ; it is better than 
imported. I saw wheat sown in March of as good quality 
as ever I saw in any country. Oats in quality and quan- 
tity, I never want better; and as for Millet, the quantity 
raised per acre is incredible ; it has superceded prairie 
hay altogether. Yours respectfully, W. D. 
Remark. — In the use of the Hydraulic Ram, we believe 
one foot fall will give you ten feet rise. The Rams, of 
different capacities and prices, may be had at most of ouv 
large hardware stores, with pamphlets or circulars des- 
cribing the method of fitting up and arranging. — Eds. 
A Steam Plow. — Among the inventions of the day is a 
plow to go by steam. Its construction is simple; a velo- 
cipede on wheels sixteen feet high and eight feet apart, 
with a governing wheel eight feet high. It may be con- 
verted into a steam land locomotive, and on a smooth, firm 
road, travel at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour. It 
can be used for various purposes. It is the invention of 
Mr. Henry Cowing, of Louisiana. 
|^"It is estimated that 100 pounds white zinc paintwdll 
cover, when applied in three coats on new work, as much 
surface as 166 2-3 pounds pure white lead. The white 
zincs, even when exposed to coal, gas, bilge water, and 
sulphurous vapors, retain their original brilliancy and 
whiteness. Apartments just painted with zinc paint, may 
be slept in with impunity ; whereas, according to the best 
authority, rooms should not be used for sleeping apart- 
ments for two or thi-ee months after being painted with 
lead. 
Nothing sets so wide a mark between a vulgar and 
a noble soul, as the respect and reverential love paid to 
woman kind. 
