102 
Southern Agriculture. 
of fruit and vegetables that we have at the north 
flourish here in the greatest perfection, besides 
many known only in tropical climates. Every 
thing planted in New-York in April, may be 
done so as far south as the 31° of latitude in 
January, and what follows in May and June, 
may be planted in February and March. We 
left New-Orleans early in May, at which time 
strawberries and cherries were out, and green 
com from an early northern variety; new 
potatoes, beans, blackberries, and such fruit 
and vegetables generally, as we do not get till 
July, were plenty in market. 
The stocks of the country, are the descen¬ 
dants mostly of the old Spanish and French 
cattle introduced into the country, when occu¬ 
pied by the those emigrants. The latter have 
enormous long horns, curling curiously out 
from the side of the head, something like a 
merino buck’s, while in the clean sinewy 
limbs of the latter, we thought we could trace 
an affinity of blood to the Isle of Jersey breed. 
They make very good working cattle and pretty 
fair beef, but the cows are generally very poor 
milkers. The sheep are principally of the old 
Spanish stock, with long fine spindle legs, long 
neck, sharp on the back, but tolerable heavy 
quarters, and as delicate mutton as we ever 
tasted. The fleeces are light, and of a medium 
quality, and without wool on the legs or under 
the belly. It would be difficult to trace the blood 
of their swine, unless they have a cross of the 
Mississippi alligator in them. Suffice it to say, 
they are generally as wretched brutes as one 
need look at. Great improvements, however, 
are now going on in the stock department since 
the formation of agricultural societies. Very 
superior blood horses are now produced here, 
and quite fair ones of the utilitarian kind. 
Mules are not bred as large as in Kentucky, 
but in these they are improving. Short Horn, 
Hereford, Devon and Ayrshire cattle have been 
sparingly introduced, and the benefits of their 
crosses are beginning to show, while the Chi¬ 
nese and Berkshire hogs are occasionally seen 
scattered along on the plantations. There are 
some fine flocks of Merinos and Saxons, and now 
and then a South-Down and Leicester. The latter 
variety of sheep is pronounced too gross and 
fat to endure the climate, and the same objection 
was made to the Short Horns, which would 
scarce ever survive through the year. We 
apprehend that their so universally dying there 
arises from two causes, the first is, they are too 
highly pampered in flesh when bred, and are 
not introduced at a sufficiently early age to pass 
through the ordeal of acclimation. 
Among the most efficient that we recollect 
in introducing improved stock into the south, 
are Messrs Bagg and Wait, who went twice 
out to England for this purpose, and brought 
back Short Horns, Cart horses, and Cleveland 
bays; South Down and Leicester sheep, and 
Berkshire hogs. Mr. Robt. W. Scott, of Ken¬ 
tucky, took a fine lot of Short Horns to Missis¬ 
sippi, last winter, and Mr. Affleck, editor of the 
Western Farmer and Gardener, embarked ear¬ 
ly last fall with a superior lot of cattle and 
swine from the States of Ohio and Kentucky, and 
remained all winter, and took particulai 
pains in distributing his animals as widely ovei 
the country as possible. Many others have 
doubtless contributed more or less to the intro¬ 
duction of superior stock into that region, a- 
mong whom we recollect Messrs. Hendrickson, 
Mahard, and Beech of Ohio. We trust that 
the demand in that country will warrant a con¬ 
tinuation of the same laudable movements 
hereafter. 
New Orleans is a populous beautiful city, 
and its hotels particularly magnificent, larger 
even than the Astor House in New-York. 
The Cotton Presses also are of great extent; 
one covers an entire square, and is 600 feet 
long, by 400 wide. The churches, hospitals, 
prisons, and the government Mint, are worthy 
of notice. The old French cathedral is the 
noblest piece of antiquity America can boast 
of out of Montreal. In the old part of the town, 
owing to the prevalence of the French Lan¬ 
guage and style of architecture in the buildings, 
one can hardly believe himself in the United 
States. The markets here are particularly 
worth visiting; fish and flesh are displayed in 
great profusion, and plants and flowers, and all 
the varieties of the north, together with a great 
variety known only to the south. The foreign 
exports are second only to New-York, and the 
river displays a vast variety and great extent of 
water crafts, from the humble flat boat up to 
the full rigged merchant ships, and sea and 
river steamboats. 
Notwithstanding the banks of the Mississippi 
are generally so flat, a sail up its mighty stream 
particularly from 50 miles below, to 200 miles 
above New-Orleans, is varied and delightful. 
The country is cleared up from one to four miles 
in width and under a high state of cultivation. 
Fields after fields, continually present them¬ 
selves to the enraptured eye, some of which are 
not less than a thousand acres under a single 
fence, of sugar, rice, cotton and corn, intersper¬ 
sed with meadows of rich grass, dotted by large 
numbers of horses, mules and cattle, sheep, 
goats and hogs. The planters however, are 
scattered thickly along, mostly in the old French 
and Spanish style of architecture, with piazzas 
all round, many of these are of imposing ap¬ 
pearance, surrounded with beautiful gardens 
and ornamented grounds, hedged in by the 
