222 
review of the march no. of the AGRICULTURIST.-NO. 3. 
month, and garden vegetables are being eaten in 
March. It is very difficult to calculate an agricul¬ 
tural or horticultural article to suit the wide-spread 
varied climate of this nation. [But this was done 
in the Northern and Southern Calendars, in our 
third volume; and these, by the way, have been 
the regular plunder of every Almanac maker and 
writer of Calendars si nee their publication.] 
Hints to Ladies. —Should have been hints to the 
carpenter who builds the stairs, to carefully round 
off the corners, and then the paper may be dis¬ 
pensed with. 
Boys’ Department.—Useful Amusements. —I object 
to the positive term of the first line. It should 
have read, “ the care of young stock should belong 
to the women and boys.” But when you know 
what you know, you will not say, “ on most 
farms it does,” &c., because on most farms, except 
where linger a few of the ancients, like your old 
lady of the Diary, the women pay but little atten¬ 
tion to the stock. And some of our boys are more 
inclined to become acquainted with a stock of dry 
goods, than a stock of cattle. And far too many 
know more about sucking the bottle , than sucking 
the calves. The same remarks of kind treatment 
should apply to every domestic animal upon the 
farm. Be gentle, and they will be gentle. 
Another Poultry Account.- —Here we have a kind 
of Peter Parley poulterer, who understands what 
but very few writers do, “ the art of writing for 
boys.” They must be amused while being instruct¬ 
ed. He is willing to tell his errors, which but few 
are. Evident from the quantity of lice, that you 
did not use whitewash, ashes, and lime enough, in 
the hen-house. Ought to have burnt that brush 
heap that harbored that rat. Ought not to feed so 
high, and ought to have used cheaper feed. Ought 
to have put one grain of strychnia in a piece of 
meat, or inside a little lump of lard on a chip, and 
put that in the way of their dogs. It is very 
wholesome medicine for night-prowling dogs; it 
entirely cures them of the propensity. Some of 
these figures in some places upon both sides, will 
look rather large, but perhaps are all right, except 
the feathers. They are quoted “ above the market.” 
Friend L., will you tell the boys how that pond is 
made, artificially, to hold water all summer ? 
There are many places where such ponds are 
needed. 
Foreign Agricultural News. —Will those reduc¬ 
tions of the British tariff so greatly benefit this 
country as is anticipated, if met by a “ similar 
spirit at Washington,” upon the free-trade prin¬ 
ciple ? The discrimination between “ bacon” and 
“ horns,” of 7s. on the cwt, shows very plainly 
that the British cabinet never were in the city of 
“ Porkopolis.” It is all “ gammon.” To save 
the Times the trouble of sending us a recipe to 
cure the “ dainty dish” of bacon, I will give one 
w free of postage.” Use 6 lbs. of salt and 3 oz. of 
saltpetre, to 100 lbs. of pork, and never touch 
water to it, or use a cask—salt it on a bench where 
all the bloody matter can drain off. When the salt 
is absorbed, put it to smoke where the fire will not 
heat it, and where there is a good ventilation, and 
use hickory or maple wood—don’t smoke too fast, 
and my word for it, the bacon will be as good as 
was ever eaten by Englishmen. If hams pay duty, 
how we are to make the custom-house officers be¬ 
lieve that mutton hams are not hams, is past my un¬ 
derstanding. “ More gammon.” There are a great 
many sheep in the United States that ought to be 
muttoned, but I hope Mr. Rotch will bring us some 
from Spain that ought not to be. . . The prize that 
Mr. Norton has won, shows that the Highland So¬ 
ciety think that there are other objects worthy of a 
prize besides big bulls and boars. When shall we 
witness the same spirit here ? 
To prevent the Return of Disease in Potatoes .— 
More gammon. The truth is, the disease has 
shown itself in isolated places upon the ground 
prairie of Illinois, within a year past, where it was 
utterly impossible that it could have been by conta¬ 
gion with diseased seed. The military cordons of 
Europe never stopped the cholera, nor will it pre¬ 
vent the spread of the potato disease. 
Increase of Stock in New South Wales. —Why 
cannot we have an annual census of stock taken by 
the assessors in our country, to show that we grow 
some too ? In regard to sheep, particularly, such 
tables would be useful. [Reviewer will find these 
matters in the census returns of this State, taken 
last year.] 
Steep for Seed Wheat. —Very rational, and plainly 
stated. Something of a job to prepare the seed of 
some of the western wheat farms—and costly, but 
it might pay cost, and make profit. 
Potatoes. —“ No great loss without some small 
gain,” if the diseased tubers will fatten the pigs 
faster than sound ones. But I fear that in this ac¬ 
count there is more “ gammon.” We have a dis¬ 
ease in this country that don’t stop after it starts, 
till the whole potatoe is “ as rotten as a potato.’* 
Do they plant potatoes in England, in autumn ? 
[Yes, in the South of England; and have them ripe 
in May, to supply the London market. The winter 
there is seldom colder than the month of November, 
in latitude 40°, in the United States. It is usually 
much more rainy, however.] I know it is done in 
Mississippi, but did not know it was so in England. 
But “ live and learn” is an old and true proverb. 
Editor’s Table. —Now, my dear reader, here is 
“ more gammon.” The editor of the American 
Agriculturist is a bachelor, and, as a matter of 
course, has not got any table ; though his personal 
appearance certainly indicates that he is fond of a 
good table, and yet I know few men more abste¬ 
mious. But as he has had the advantage often of 
sitting at a good table, he ought now to be able to 
set a good one for us. I have now shown up his 
“ bill of fare” for one month, and what do you say 
to it ? Does he furnish forth a good table to feed 
our intellectual appetites, and gratify our hunger 
after a knowledge of an improved state of agricul¬ 
ture ? Who votes in the affirmative? His sub¬ 
scription list will tell. Who votes in the negative ? 
It is no libel, I suppose, to say not one. 
The Illustrated Botany. —Of all the valuable new 
works noticed in the editor’s table, this may be 
made the most interesting. W hether this is so or 
not I cannot say, not having seen it. While upon 
this subject, I will offer my opinion, that if some of 
our publishers would issue a cheap edition of 
Michaux’s North American Sylva, it would meet 
with a ready sale, and would prove a most valuable 
work for all agricultural readers. The plates axe in 
