IMPORTANT FACT. 
223 
this country. They were owned by the late Wm. 
McClure, of Philadelphia. Let us have this valu¬ 
able work reprinted. The country needs it. [The 
attempt was made two or three years ago, and 
proved a failure. We would inform Reviewer that 
a work is now in the press of Messrs. Harper of 
this city, by Mr. Browne, which will not only em¬ 
brace the substance of Michaux’s work, but will 
also treat of the principal fruit and ornamental trees 
of this country, and may be bought for the reason¬ 
able sum of $ 5 .] I 
Life in California. —More annexation. No 
objection. It is destiny. And that “ representative” 
will come to Congress at St. Louis, upon a railroad. 
If this is visionary, it is a vision of futurity, which 
our children (if we had any, Mr. Editor) would 
live to see. 
European Agriculture, No. 5 .—Have not seen it. 
But, upon the whole (doubtful pi'aise), I am glad to 
hear you say that you “ like the latter part of this 
number better than anything which has yet appear¬ 
ed in Mr. Coleman’s work.” Now, the fact is, and 
it ought to be spoken out boldly, this work is a flat 
failure. It is not what the American reader ex¬ 
pected from Mr. Coleman’s pen ; and it is dear at 
cost. I never saw a number of this paper, that I 
did not esteem of more value than any of the four 
first numbers of Mr. Coleman’s tour. I am not 
alone in my opinion. And if there is not substan¬ 
tial reason for the public to “ like better” the suc¬ 
ceeding numbers, there will be a very loud speak¬ 
ing out. 
Agricultural School. —These attempts of indi¬ 
viduals to do a national work, however praise¬ 
worthy, can never succeed. When the agricul¬ 
turists themselves will lay aside their foolish 
squabbles for “ party,” and send more from their 
own body to legislate for them, then may we expect 
to see agricultural schools worthy their name, and 
not till then. 
Important Discovery. —Not half so important as 
it would b.e to hear that an improvement had been 
made in the present manner of cultivating and pre¬ 
paring the hemp crop for market. 
Review of the Market. —As farmers, what have 
we to complain of these prices current ? But we 
can, if we will, learn a useful lesson. For in¬ 
stance, here is a difference of fifty per cent, in the 
price of butter. All owing to the manner of pre¬ 
paring it for market. Cheese varies 100 per cent., 
and ought to vary a thousand, for the same reason. 
The variation of cotton from 6 to 10 cents is partly 
owing to natural quality ; but there is an immense 
loss upon the same quality of this crop to the plant¬ 
er, which is entirely owing to the slovenly manner 
of preparing it for market. One mill per pound 
upon this crop in the United Stales makes a great 
sum of money. The same remarks will apply to 
almost every article of produce. In noticing the 
cattle market, we are impressed with the fact that 
we are enormous consumers of meat. Is it the 
most healthy or most economical diet ? . . . In the 
premium list of the State Ag. Society, shall we find 
a premium of $100 to the society of that county 
that furnishes evidence of taking the greatest num¬ 
ber of agricultural papers ? They could net offer a 
better one. 
I have now passed every article in the March 
No. of the paper under review, except the adver¬ 
tisements, and some of them might be commented 
on with profit, but I desist. My review is already 
a very long one. But I hope it does not contain an 
unusual amount of superfluous matter. 
My object has not been to praise or blame, or 
pick flaws, but to write an article to do good. At 
present, I prefer concealing my name. But, as a 
general rule, I think that correspondents should 
give theirs, with the place of residence, and even 
the latitude would be useful. I hope no one will 
fear to write on account of the reviewer, for if 1 
should continue to review (which is doubtful), it 
shall be done in a spirit of good-will to all men. 
The next shall be an improvement upon this— 
i. e., shorter, consequently better. Reviewer. 
When our correspondent criticised our article on 
the stable. May No., page 160 , we wrote the fol¬ 
lowing explanation, which we intended should 
have been inserted at the time, but there not being 
room for it on that page, we thought proper to defer 
it till he got through with his review. 
The cut made use of in March No., was intended 
to illustrate a method of managing a kicker, and the 
rack had nothing to do with the illustration of that 
particular subject. The artist probably put it in 
for effect, and to set off his cut; why else it should 
appear there would puzzle us no less than Re¬ 
viewer. By looking over the preceding numbers 
on the Stable, he will find that we have given 
illustrations of many kinds of racks and hay 
mangers, good and bad, indicating our decided pre¬ 
ference for low ones, as the best. And yet some 
horses must have a different kind. 
Reviewer’s method of preventing kicking by 
hobbles is a good one in the open fields, though it 
frequently disfigures, and sometimes utterly ruins, 
the horse; but we must take the risk of that. It is 
generally used, however, to prevent jumping o* 
straying away; to apply it in the stable where the 
kicking is most dangerous, would be very hazard¬ 
ous. We doubt whether a hobbled horse could 
get up in a narrow stall after lying down to rest, 
and in his efforts to do so, he would be very likely 
to injure himself so materially as to become utterly 
useless. 
As to smooth shoeing, we contend that it is best 
in all countries during the dry or summer months; 
in the winter or muddy months, Southern horses 
would require corks to their shoes, as well as those 
at the North, otherwise they would slip badly, and 
the fatigue of travelling consequently be greatly 
increased.* 
Important Fact.— From experiments made in 
England some time since, by Dr. Anderson, it was 
ascertained that 1 bushel of wheat measured in a 
vessel 11s inches deep, weighed 56 lbs. 6'| oz.; and 
that a bushel of the same kind of wheat, measured 
in another vessel 85 inches deep, weighed 56 lbs. 
0g oz., making a difference of rather more than one 
bushel in 144 —a loss of some moment when large 
quantities are delivered. The same principle will 
apply to rye, oats, barley, and many other sub¬ 
stances sold by measure. 
