152 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
AUGUSTA, GA: 
VOL. XIII, NO. 5 MAY, 1855. 
ANSWEKS TO INQUIEIES, &C. 
Millet. — L. E. B. — :One bushel per acre will be plen- 
ty. Sow In drills on your veiy richest land. 
Agricultural Fairs. — C. P. — Your remarks and 
strictures are to the point ; but something similar has 
been published in our journal, not long since. The 
Georgia Fair of the present year is to be held in Atlanta 
during the week, beginning on the 10th of September. 
We sent you a paper containing the Premium List, per 
mail. 
Hedges. — A. M. P., of Ala. — Yes ! we do believe as 
strong as ever in the Osage Orange: but to make satis- 
factory growth, the strip of land on which your hedge is 
planted must be either naturally rich or made so by the 
use of a compost of good stable manure and leaf mould. 
A single row of plants, ten inches apart, is all-sufficient. 
Follow our previously published directions in regard to 
after- culture, trimming, &c. Especially, do not be afraid 
to use the knife freely, during the first year or two. 
A hedge, to be of any practical value, must be so close 
at the bottom that a rabbit cannot get through. We 
have some faith in the ‘'’Spanish Bayonet” ( Yit^cca gloriosa 
or Y. OLnifoliol) or “Adam’s Needle,” as a defensive hedge 
plant; though our friend, Thos. Afpleck, of Miss., (good 
authority) says it will not do. One of our correspon- 
dents (vol 11, for 1853, p. 121) intimates that it may be 
kept close at the ground by the repeated cutting down 
of the trunk with a long-handled saw. Has any one 
given it a fair trial ? Mr. Affleck speaks very highly 
of the CratcBgios [Mespilus ?] Pyracantha or “Evergreen 
Thorn,” both for ornament and defence. This is an 
evergreen^ quite thorny, and will grow from cuttings ; all 
of which are good points ; but we still continue to “pin 
(mr faith” on the Osage Orange, while holding ourselves 
open to conviction. You remark truly, that “hedges we 
must have sooner or later, as rail timber is rapidly wast- 
ing away; and ordinary rail or plank fences are no pro- 
tection against thieves or fire ; to say nothing of their 
speedy decay and need of continual repair.” 
The Japan Pea. — R. L. 0., Burke Co. — This Pea is 
not the “Java” (Cow) Pea. The former has a strong, 
upright stalk, heavily laden with pods, each of which 
contains two very beautiful cream or ivory colored Peas. 
They are good to eat ; but it is slow work to shell them. 
The stalk may be good for fodder. We have not tried 
it. It is rather a handsome plant — a little like the 
Windsor Bean in its habit. We can send you seed in 
the fall. 
Strawberries. — A. J. S. — See directions in Work for 
the Month. We have now over 30 distinct kinds in our 
specimen beds, besides large “patches” of Hovey's, Early 
Scarlet., McAvoyh Superior., &c., &c. Will supply you 
with plants in October. Mr. Peabody’s general system 
is an excellent one; but we have little faith in the ex- 
pediency of attempting to produce this fruit more than 
3 or 4 months in the year. Between August and the 
following April you may, by mulching, constant water- 
ing, &c., raise “here and there” a berry; but to look for 
a full, “paying” crop of fruit during the latter part of 
summer or the cold and changing weather of fall, winter 
and earh" spring, is altogether unreasonable. See Pat. 
Office Report for 1853, page 314, for the article of Mr. 
Peabody. Also, our journal for October, November and 
December, 1854, for a series of articles on this subject. 
Essex Pigs. — H. R. W., Macon Co., Ala. — This breed 
is a jet black, of medium size, rotund form, excellent 
fattening properties, and, we believe quite hardy and 
prolific. See engraving on page 157 of present number. 
They may be ordered from the following gentlemen : 
South — R. Peters, Altanta, Ga. North — C. S. Wain- 
WRiGHT, Rhinebeck ; and Lewis G. Morris, Mount Ford- 
ham N. Y. 
“Rescue Grass,” &c. — T. P. L. — See article from the 
Southern Planter, in present number. Your favor will 
appear in our next. 
Tinley Peach. — G. R. K., Holmesville, Ala. — We 
answered your inquiry respecting this really fine fruit, in 
a former number. Robt. Nelson, of Macon, Ga., can 
supply you trees next fall. 
Clover in the South. — J. C., Ala. — We will cheerful- 
ly copy the article alluded to in the June or July number, 
and feel obliged to you for directing our attention to it. 
Blind Staggers in Horses.— E. C. C., Tuscaloosa. 
Ala — Can any of our readers furnish us a specific ? If 
so, W'e will gladly publish it. 
Hollow Horn — Homespwiv ' — Your article will ap- 
pear in our next — also an answer to your enquiries. 
Stoddard’s Shingle Machine. — A. B. E., Washing- 
ton, Texas. — Address A. S. & A. D. Hill, of this city, 
respecting the right in Louisiana and Texas. 
Correspondents writing to us on their ownhusi- 
ness, will bear in mind that we have to pre-pay the letters 
replying to them. As the expense will be very heavy, if 
we have to pay the postage on all such letters, we must 
ask our correspondents to envelope us in every instance 
a stamp, if an answer is expected. 
New Postage Law.— From the first of last month 
(April) no letter will be sent through the Post Office unless 
the postage is pre paid. Postmasters are directed to retain 
all letters not pre-paid, and post a list of the same in the 
Post Office, and' if not paid within one month, they will 
be sent on to the Dead Letter office. Letter writers should 
notice this regulation. 
THE SEASON, 
Thus far, has been most unfavorable for all agricultural 
and horticultural operations. From the 27th to 31st of 
March, we were visited with an almost unprecedented 
“spell” of cold weather — the mercury, on one or two 
occasions, in this vicinity, dropping down to 18° and 20° 
above zero, accompanied with a fierce, bitter and blight- 
ing wind from the northwest. The peach, nectarine and 
plum trees were either in full bloom, or had formed fruit 
half the size of a pea. All in the latter stage, were entire- 
ly destroyed ; but a very few of the undeveloped buds es- 
caped. Btrawberries were blooming and in fruit, and the 
first crop of these was utterly cut off; as were most of the 
earliest Apples and Pears. All Corn, above the ground, 
was, of course, cut down ; and in many cases, the sprouts 
under the surface, were killed, with the grain itself. 
Wheat, winter Oats and other small grains, were very 
severely injured ; Sweet Potatoes, planted in the open 
ground, rotted badly; and all tender garden vegetables 
were involved in the common ruin. So far as we can 
learn from our exchanges, and letters of friends and cor- 
respondents in different parts of the South, this generai 
