260 
EDITOR'S TABLE. 
(fMtor’0 ®abk. 
The American Herd Book. —By Lewis F. Allen. 
Owing to the late hour at which it came to hand, we 
had no other space left in our last than an advertising 
column, to notice this highly valuable pioneer work. 
As the author of it is a relative of ours, we shall leave 
it to others to speak of it as it more fully deserves. 
We made a mistake in our last, in,stating that it con¬ 
tained the pedigrees of only 130 bulls and 240 cow t s ; 
whereas, it records 200 of the former, and upwards of 
400 of the latter. For various reasons, which we 
think absurd enough, a considerable number of breed¬ 
ers neglected to forward their pedigrees for publication. 
Several of them already regret their omission, and 
promise to furnish them for insertion in a second 
volume, which we have no doubt will soon be called 
for. A limited edition of the Herd Book has been 
issued 5 those in want of it, therefore, cannot be a mo¬ 
ment too soon in applying for copies—a short time 
hence and it may be too late. 
History of American Cattl.e. —With numerous 
engravings. By Lewis F. Allen. This work is en¬ 
tirely distinct from the Herd Book, and is designed to 
take the same place in America as Youatt’s British 
Cattle does in England. This is nearly ready for the 
press, and will soon appear. 
A Brief Comfend of American Husbandry.— 
By Richard L. Allen. This work is designed as a 
manual for the Farmer and Planter. It is of the same 
size as the American edition of Stable Economy, and 
will be published this month. We think, when out, 
that it will prove the best work on American Agricul¬ 
ture yet issued from the press. But we shall not at¬ 
tempt to praise it in advance. Those who have read 
the excellent articles contributed by Mr. K. L. Allen, 
for this journal, can judge whether he is sufficiently 
qualified for the task that he has imposed upon himself, ! 
to write a brief compend of American Husbandry. j 
Transactions of the New York State Ag. 1 
Society. —We have at length been favored wdth a 
copy of this work. It is a goodly volume of 527 
octavo pages, and, judging from a cursory perusal, it 
comes nearer what it should be than any of its prede¬ 
cessors. But first we would ask wffiy does it borrow i 
its frontispiece ? Is it done to advertise other papers, 
or why is it put there ? We hold that the. Transactions 
should be bona fide the. transactions of the State Society, 
and not extracts and revamped matter, set off with 
show pictures from any preceding publication what¬ 
ever. There has been enough of this already. The 
cuts of the Show Ground at Utica are pretty and ap¬ 
propriate, giving an attractive idea of the same. We 
are happy to say that these are NOT BORROWED. 
We hope similar ones will grace every volume. Mr. 
Quincy’s address should have first appeared here, and 
not been previously published in pamphlet form for 
the benefit of some particular printer. Of the reports, 
we like those best which arc the briefest. We can con¬ 
ceive of those on Swine and Poultry as funny enough 
to be read on the occasion ; but not sufficiently digni¬ 
fied to bind up in a volume to be sent out to Europe 
and elsewhere, as the Transactions of the New York' 
State Ag. Society. We find no such things in the 
Transactions of the English or Highland Ag. So¬ 
cieties. What the public expect in such volumes is 
valuable FRESH matter, in as simple and condensed 
a form as possible, for the sole benefit of the plain 
matter-of-fact farmer. Reports of farms we were 
much interested in, and hope the Society another 
year will give prizes on the agriculture and improve¬ 
ments of counties. The article on the Wheat Fly, 
however valuable it may be, should have been rejected, 
for the simple reason that nearly all of it had previ¬ 
ously appeared in another journal. It is a rule with 
European Societies to reject all such matters as have 
been previously published, otherwise they might print 
ten thousand volumes a year, and call them their 
“ Transactions.” The question arises, is this matter 
bond fide the transactions of the State, or County So¬ 
cieties ? Yes ; then print it. No; then reject it. We 
should be glad to speak of other parts of the volume 
under review, but have not space to do so now. The 
Treasurer’s Report shows $ 2,000 belonging to the So¬ 
ciety, invested on bond and mortgage, and a cash 
balance on hand besides, of $546.21. 
Voyages of Discovery and Research within 
the Arctic Regions. —By Sir John Barrow. With 
Maps. Pp. 359, 12 mo. Price 50 cents. Harper & 
Brothers, 82 Cliff Street. This is another of those no 
less beautiful, than highly valuable, pocket volumes,, 
such as we described in our May No., in noticing the 
“ Journey to Ararat,” that the Messrs. Harper are 
issuing from their teeming press. The present volume 
under notice, may be properly called a continuation 
of one by the same author, published some time 
since, giving an account of the discoveries and ex¬ 
ploits of the old mariners in the days of the Cabotas. 
This commences with the voyage of Captain Buchan 
in 1818, and ends with the discoveries of Mr. Simpson 
in 1839. It is a delicate task to abridge a number of 
large octavos to a moderate-sized duodecimo; but in 
this we think Sir John has eminently succeeded, pre¬ 
serving all that the public generally would care to 
know of the Arctic Regions. The perilous incidents 
and adventures of the several voyagers, are, in most in¬ 
stances throughout the narrative, given in the original 
words of the waiters of the journals,, which we think 
altogether better than for the author to have remodel¬ 
led them in his own style. 
European Agriculture. —By Henry Colman. 
We are in receipt of Part VI. of this publication, and 
are glad to find the author leaves speculative and ex¬ 
traneous subjects to take care of themselves, through¬ 
out the number, and confines himself to practical mat¬ 
ters of value. Paring and burning, draining, ditching, 
and warping, are the principal subjects of this number, 
all of which Mr. Colman has treated in a brief and 
clear manner. 
The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art 
and: Rural Taste. Edited by A. J. Downing. Pub¬ 
lished by Luther Tucker, Albany, N. Y. A monthly 
publication of 48 pages, octavo. Price $3 a year. 
This work is beautifully embellished wfith numerous 
wood cuts, and is got up throughout in a style that 
would do credit to European publications. The editor 
has been long and favorably known as the author of 
“ Landscape Gardening,” the “ Fruits and Fruit Trees 
of America,” See. ; and after saying thus much, we 
need add nothing more to show that he is eminently 
qualified for the task he has undertaken. The articles 
in this number are pertinent, varied, and racy. A suc- 
cessien of such will make this journal deservedly 
popular. A work of this elegant order has long been 
wanted in the United States. We welcome Mr. 
Downing among the editorial corps, and wish him all 
success in his arduous undertaking. 
The New England Farmer. —We deeply regret 
to learn, that this old and favorite work was _ discon¬ 
tinued on the 22 d of June last. It had completed its 
24th volume, the publication having been commenced 
in 1822. Its familiar face and instructive pages will 
be sadly missed by its friends. We trust its proprie¬ 
tors, Messrs. Breck & Co., will ever find other objects 
on which to bestow their attention, which may con¬ 
tribute to their w r ealth and happiness. We presume 
the increase of their mercantile business, leaving them 
little leisure to attend to editorial duties, w T as one 
cause of their discontinuing the Farmer. 
