SOUTHEEN CULTIVATOE. 
217 
in the meantime, refer you to such works as the follow- 
ing : — “ Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Grape,” 
by J, Fiske Allen; ^‘Hoare on the Grape Vine;” “The 
Culture of the Grape and Wine Making,” Robt. Buchan- 
an; “The Cold Grapery,” by Wm. Charlton, &c., &c. 
Also, the articles of the late Sidney Weller, and others, 
in back volumes of our own and contemporary Southern 
journals. 
Precocious Biddies.— L. M. — Your hen story is by no 
means “marvelous.” We have a Brahma pullet, hatched 
latter part of January, present year, that has already laid 
out her brood of eggs (some 25 or 30) and gone to setting. 
She is now (June 20th) scarcely five months old ! A 
black Shanghai pullet, of the same age, has also com- 
menced laying. Neither of these are more than half-grown, 
but they have had extra care and attention, and icAeai has 
entered largely into their food. They have also had a 
wide range in the fields andwmods, which, of course, was 
a great advantage. 
We are as, usual, obliged to defer until our next, 
the answers to several inquiries receivad just as we are 
g'oing to press. 
Alabama State Agricultural Society. — We have re- 
•ceived the List of Premiums for the First Annual Fair of 
this Society, to be held in the city of Montgomery , from 
the 23d to the 26th of October next. The list is extensive, 
liberally and judicious, and should produce a fine display 
'Of the agricultural, mechanical and artistfc skill of our sis- 
ter State. We wish the Alabama Society the most grati- 
fjfing success, and hope there will be a brisk and gener- 
ous competition for the first premium on the list, which 
reads thus : — “For the largest amount of money, contri- 
buted by an individual or firm, to this Society’s funds — a 
Silver Pitcher, S25.” 
Crops in South Western Georgia. — A subscriber, 
writing from Thomasville Ga., under date of May 30, 
says : 
“ Our crops are beautiful, as most delightful showers 
are now refreshing our lands, (after an exceedingly dry 
spring,) and rapidly advancing vegetation. Our country 
is^ also fast developing its superior advantages, and bids 
fair to be the most desirable portion of the State. 
Truly Yours, - C. B. M. 
Physalis Edulis-^Correction.— In his article on this 
new plant (June number, page 194) our friend Nelson is 
made to say that “the Physalis Alkekengi is considered 
very unwholesome^" where it should have read '’■wholesome." 
We are assured by Mr. N. that the Physalis is q[uite an 
acquisition, and we hope to to ^ee it generally cultivated. 
Deferred Matter. — ” Brief Notes on Slrawberrid," 
and various interesting communications intended for this 
number, are unavoidably laid over until our next. 
New Advertisements.— The especial attention of the 
reader is called to the follotving ne^^ advertisements, in 
present issue : 
Fertilizers. 
The Illustratsd Plorticulturist. 
Td the Planters of the South. 
Plantation for Sale. 
Augusta Seed Store. 
Merino Rams for Sale, &c. 
The Season, since our la’st, has continued quite favor- 
able. We have been blessed with several fine soaking 
showers, and crops of all kinds, present a very cheering 
appearance. Will our friends in different sections send us 
brief notices of the state of the crops, as the season pro- 
gresses I 
Misplaced Credits. — We find a portion of our article 
on Grouting f &c., (from June number, page 186) trans- 
ferred to the columns of our friend, FREAs,of the German- 
town Telegrayh, and credited to the Michigan Farmer ; 
but, as if to sustain the doctrine of “compensation,” the 
Arkansas Stfite Gazette and Democrat, of June 8, comes 
to us, all the way from Little Rock, with a long piece o^ 
poetry that we do not remember to have ever seen before, 
credited to the Southern Cultivator, All right, friends ! 
Only (as in this instance) give us more than you take 
from us, and we cannot help being satisfied. 
The poem alluded to, “The Logan Grazier,” from the 
pen of Thomas Dunn English, is a good one, and as the 
Cultivator has received credit for it, it shall not be with- 
held from our subscribers. Look for it in our next. 
Fostering all but Agriculture. — It is said that the 
Agricultural Bureau which had been attached to the Patent 
Office, is to be discontinued in a week or twm, the appro- 
priation for it being exhausted. Most of the clerks have 
been already transferred or dismissed. 
We do not, however, hear that the Army and Navy 
Bureaus are to be discontinued, or that there is to.be any 
discharge of clerks and other worthless hangers-on from 
the War Department ! It is high time that the people 
should derive some benefit from the immense sums of 
money yearly appropriated on all sorts of fidvolous pre- 
texts by Congress. The Agricultural Bureau must not be 
discontinued ! - To be sure, it has not done all that was 
expected from it ; but it keeps alive a spirit of inquiry 
and interest in agriculture, and it should, not be thrown 
aside until it has a longer and fairer trial. 
To Correspondents. — Communications have been re- 
ceived and are on file from the following and others ; 
A. G, S.— H. J. A— W. R. B.— J. N. L. S.— J. B. C.— 
Jolin Farrar — J. S. G. — James McCullough — George D. 
Norris — W. W. A. — Farmer — W. P. W. — B. Brewster — 
J. B.— H. H. H.— W. N. W.-G. T. A.— Blanc— A. D. B. 
— J. R. S.— E. S.— Mrs. W. G. E.— A. C. H.— J. D. H , 
&c., &c. 
The SqcAR C^op. — We take from the Alexandria Re- 
publican of the 21st ult., the following unwelcome news 
concerning ftie sugar crop; 
“ We have lately recei^^ed accounts of the sugaf crop 
that are of a most deplorable character. It seems that the 
longdroutli we ha^^e had has ruined, almost destroyed it. 
The plant cane is completely dried up, leaving not the 
first sign or prospect of its ever going to seed; and the 
ratoon cane, fotthe most part, is equally unpromising. It 
is thought that the growing crop will not turn out as much 
cane as will 4)6 required for the next year, and that if the 
condition ofibe crops in other parts of the State is no bet- 
ter than it is here, there will not only no sugar made, but 
that seed will have to be imported from abroad.” 
