116 
SOUTHEEN CULTIVATOR. 
with her laws and be successful. In all former times, 
science has been too limited, embracing too little of the 
wide field of the avocations of man. Therefore, we have 
not suitable text books for teaching in such schools as 1 
have here designated. But we must have such books, and 
the Professor of each new department of the University 
ought to write them. They will have better opportunities, 
and can, therefore, make better books than any other per- 
sons. 
It may be objected (as many objections can be urged 
against any useful thing) that at the beginning, qualified 
professors cannot be found. This is true. But you ought 
to select men of the best talents and best scientific attain- 
ments that can be found, and then let them go to work and 
educate themselves while they are teaching others. They 
must avail themselves of such information as they can get 
from the text books that exist, and let their own researches, 
studies and experiments furnish the balance to make up 
such text books as are needed. These books will neces- 
sarily be quite imperfect at first, but every new edition 
will give them wider scope of science, and every new pro-- 
lessor will add something valuable, till the whole range 
of natures’ laws will be unfolded and practically taught to 
students. And here let me request, in behalf of the agri- 
cultural interest, that Dr. Lrk shall set about at once, and 
write a text book on agriculture, adapted to schools. Such 
a book is needed in the University, and will meet with 
ready sale all over the country. He may thus do much 
good for agriculture, while he will be able to improve 
each new edition. F. H. Gordon, M.D. 
Siigartree Farm.^ {near Rome, Tenn.,) Feb., 1855, 
BEEMUDA GEASS. 
OoR former remarks upon this grass, have elicited much 
inquiry, more than has been agreeable, where each inquir- 
er propounded querries enough to occupy a day in ans- 
wering! 
The grass known in Southern Mississippi under this 
name, Bermuda Grass, is that knov/n to botanists as Cy- 
nodon dact/ylon, and is undoubtedly the Dunb or Dopb 
grass of the Hindoos, their sacred grass, and is a native 
ofthe valley of the Ganges. How it acquired its present 
local name, is not known, unless from having been intro- 
duced to South Carolina from Bermuda at an early day, 
ov supposed Xo \\^xve been derived thence. It never ma- 
tures seed, so far as known, in any of these Southern 
States; certainly not in these latitudes, but is propagated 
solely by scraps of sod or of roots. These, when cut 
thinly from a closely grazed pasture, may be tramped into 
a barrel or box, and will carry safely to a great distance, 
and go almost as far as ordinary grass seed in planting 
cut. The ground should be put in thorough order; if for 
meadow, harrowed quite smooth after deep plowing, and 
rolled after planting if the soil is light. If for hill-side 
pasture, plow into horizontal ridges, and protect with 
guard -drains, and if very poor, apply a little manure in 
the rows before planting. A very small scrap of sod, or 
a few joints of stem and root, planted shallow at short dis- 
tances, say in squares of 2 to 3 feet, will quickly cover the 
ground. 
This grass is an abominable pest in the crops, yet its 
value for meadow and for pasture is so vastly greater than 
that o^any other, known as yet to us, for these latitudes, 
that it richly repays all the risk and trouble. Devote a 
piece of rich bottom land to meadow and surround it with 
a hedge of Cherokee Rose. It unit 7iot pass that hedge. 
Shade destroys it. And for pasture, select your poorest, 
worn, and washed hills ; or nooks of creek bottom, occa- 
sionally overflowed. A smothering crop of corn and 
pnmpkins, or corn and peas, will so far check its growth on 
tolerably good land or where a liberal application of guano 
or cotton seed is made to the crop, as to admit of a crop or 
two of cotton being taken. But it compels, most exactmg- 
ly, a rotation of crops. No known plant will improve 
land so rapidly when only grazed and that not too close- 
ly- 
As a pasture grass, it far excels the famed Blue grass of 
Kentucky or Musquit grass of Texas, four to one as a 
summer pasture, and two to one as a winter pasture. But, 
for the latter, nothing should be allowed to graze upon it 
after the first of August, or even first of June would bo- 
better. 
For hay making, we unhesitatingly state that it will 
yield more than double, if not quadruple, the return of 
sound, nutritious hay, to any other grass yet known to 
the farming world. And now that machinery or horse- 
power can be applied to the entire process of mowing, ted- 
ding, pressing, etc., no crop grown in this conntry will 
equal or approach it in cash return to the acre or hand. 
For this, however, the richest bottom land on a navigable 
stream would be requisite, as also good annual top dress- 
ings with guano, or rich and fine composts or waterings- 
with a solution of guano, and occasional cutting and rolling, 
being necessary. 
Having been thus explicit, we trust inquirers will look,, 
and try and judge for themselves ; merely adding the as- 
surance that we have stated what we know and believe.— 
T. Affleck’s ^'■Southern Rural Almanac,''^ 
THE MARTIN. 
Messrs. Editors — I have ever been an admirer of the- 
house martin, and hail with much pleasure his annual re- 
turn to the little house I have provided for him, but for 
which he is sometimes compelled to contest with much 
spirit before its pre-occupant, the blue bird, will yield his- 
right by possession. Plis friendly disposition, his clreer- 
ful, peculiar twitter, to say nothing of his dislike for that 
unwelcome visitor to our fowl -yards, the hawk, are some- 
of the qualities that make his presence so interesting to 
me; and I wish that all those mischievous boys about town 
were all my sons just long enough to authorise me to give 
them a severe dressing, for wantonly destroying the life of 
this harmless bird. But j took my pen to call the atten- 
tion of such of your readers as may not have remarked 
the habits ofthe martin, to the regularity with which they 
make their annual returns. In 1852 and 1853 his notes 
were first heard on the tenth of March. Last year he 
made his appearance on the twenty-seventh of February 
and the present year, on the’ tenth of March. Some timer 
since, the appearance of this bird, or the whip-poor-will, 
could be taken as pretty good evidence that cold weather- 
had bid us adieu; but not so now ; for recently our sea- 
sons have become almost as capricious as some coy maid- 
en. Respectfully, V, L. 
Cedar Green, {iicar Augusta,) March, 1855. 
Cashmere Goats’ Wooi. — We have received from 
Richard Peters, Esq., of Atlanta, Ga., a specimen of this 
wool. It is fine, glossy and beautiful — of ten months’ 
growth, and about nine inches in length. Judging from 
this sample. Cashmere gout’s wool is '-a good institution,” 
and one which we trust will be chartered in this country. 
Mr. P. remarks that he owns ‘ all of the ewes in the U, 
States, except three” — and that “they are fast coming into 
favor in this dog-loving, sheep-hating country, as they can 
resist the attacks of <Sogsr —Rural New Yorker. 
Heading of Cabbages and Cauliflow'ers. — It is stated 
in some of the papers that cabbages and cauliflowers, 
transplanted twice, with an interval of some two weeks- 
between, will cause them to head much better than with- 
out this treatment. It is easy enough of performance, and 
may be worthy of trial; it is possibly true, that this may 
be the result. 
