FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS* 
251 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
By the steampackets Acadia, and Great Western, 
we have; our files of European journals to the 23d 
September. 
Markets — wishes had advanced, and were quite 
brisk. Cotton remained without any change, and a 
large business continued to be done in it till within 
four days’ sailing of the Great Western, when the op¬ 
erations were less active. The last accounts from Amer¬ 
ica represented the cotton crop as being rather more 
promising ; and in consequence of this, the prevailing 
opinion in Liverpool seemed to be, that the price would 
recede a trifle. The harvest was nearly over, and the 
weather continued very favorable ; prices of Grain and 
Flour, however, remained firm. Provisions without 
change, except in Lard , which had an upward ten¬ 
dency. Money continues very abundant. 
American Stocks are firmer, and there seems to be a 
growing confidence in them. 
Business generally in Great Britain was good, and the 
manufactures and all other branches of industry in full 
employment. 
Steam Plow. —The Dumfries Courier says, that Mr. 
Curtis, the eminent engineer, has been completely suc¬ 
cessful with his steam plow in turning up the soft 
ground of Lochar Moss, and it is anticipated that he 
will make wheat and clover grow where hitherto there 
has been only worthless heather. 
Ravages of Caterpillars on Gooseberry-trees may be 
prevented by dusting white hellebore over the leaves, 
at the rate of an ounce to thirty trees. 
Scotch Guano. —A plentiful deposite of this rich ma¬ 
nure, it is reported, is found on some of the northern 
islands of Scotland, which it is hoped will supersede 
that hitherto brought from the islands in the Pacific. 
American Hay Rake —We see that one of these 
machines was exhibited at the late Gordon Cattle 
Show. 
Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland. —We 
find a full report of the third annual meeting of this 
society, which took place at Belfast on the 30th Au¬ 
gust ; and as we have never given any notice of its 
proceedings, we shall devote a short space to them. 
England, Scotland, and Ireland, have now each a Na¬ 
tional Agricultural Society, conferring upon these 
countries inestimable benefits. 
The Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland was in¬ 
stituted in 1841, and has among its members nearly 
the whole of the noblemen and leading gentry of Ire¬ 
land. One of its chief objects is to encourage the foun¬ 
dation of local or district agricultural societies in dif¬ 
ferent parts of the country, to enter into communication 
with them, and afford them aid and assistance toward 
improving the husbandry, farming, and breeding of 
cattle, and culture of land in their immediate localities. 
Toward accomplishing this, the council have been very 
successful. In 1841 only 23 local societies were in 
connexion with the central one. In the year after the 
number had increased to 53, and at present there are 
no less than 80 of these institutions in connexion with 
the central body, to all of which premiums are open at 
the various meetings of the 1 ' society. 
The entries of cattle for exhibition on the present 
occasion were very numerous : upward of 800 of the 
finest stock of all descriptions in the United Kingdom. 
There were no fewer than 120 bulls, some of which 
were of a size never seen in that part of the empire 
before. 
The dinner was a capital affair, and it seems that 
the Irish, unlike us New Yorkers at Rochester, had 
the forethought to supply themselves with plenty of 
water. 
The banquet took place in a building erected for the 
occasion. The pavilion, or dining hall, was one hun¬ 
dred and twenty feet long, by ninety-four feet wide. 
At each end of the building was a platform, for the 
president and vice president. Behind each platform 
was a gallery for the accommodation of ladies, sufficient 
to hold about three hundred and eighty. The body of 
the building was large enough to contain about thirteen 
hundred at dinner, exclusive of the platforms, which 
were calculated to hold seventy; so that accommoda¬ 
tion was afforded for seventeen hundred and fifty per¬ 
sons. An abundant supply of water w s as introduced 
by pipes, and delivered, in the centre of every table, by 
means of thirty-four ornamental fountains. The hall 
was brilliantly lighted up by a number of handsome 
chandeliers. 
Of the speeches, we give that of Mr. Smith, on ac¬ 
count of its practical suggestions on thorough draining. 
Mr. Smith of Deanstone said that when he had the 
pleasure of visiting this part of Ireland before, he had 
the satisfaction of delivering a single lecture on thorough 
draining. He now saw a plentiful harvest from the 
seed he had then sown. He would take the liberty of 
mentioning a few leading points of great importance in 
thorough draining. The meeting were quite aware that 
the soil of Ireland and the climate of Ireland were wet. 
They had seen how nature shows that the drier the 
land, the deeper and more fertile was the soil. Follow 
out the suggestion of nature. Some might ask, Where 
are the funds to be found for this ? That difficulty 
would be easily overcome. Landlords who possessed 
wealth, would do the wisest thing for themselves, and 
for the prosperity of the country, if they would expend 
that capital in thoroughly improving their property, 
and draining. When once done, it should be done in 
the most permanent manner. He would say, first, do 
not stint the number of drains ; secondly, the depth of 
the drain is of peculiar importance. They should be 
sunk at least two feet and a half even in clayey land. 
Thirdly, the loosening of the soil requires the force of 
strong horses. But whether with the plow or the 
spade, employment should be given to the vigorous and 
abundant population. Even the pick and crow-bar 
may be used with advantage. His friend, Mr. Wilson 
of the county of Clare, had brought this into a system¬ 
atic form, and at the expense of about £1 per acre. 
He had taken advantage of the potato-furrows, and 
formed them into drains. The green-cropping system 
of agriculture is found to be of the greatest advantage 
in England and Scotland, and why should it not in Ire¬ 
land ? Farmers should make chemistry a part of their 
education. It would not only teach them to make ap¬ 
plication of new principles, but also to observe.—(Mr. 
Smith sat down amidst great applause.) 
Change of the Color of Hydrangeas. —We find the 
following curious account in the London Gardeners’ 
Chronicle:— 
A fact has come to my knowledge which may be use¬ 
ful to the lovers of blue hydrangea. A lady, a friend 
of mine, removed some plants that had always showed 
pink blossoms from a former place of residence, and 
planted them in a bed of bog-earth. They immediately 
began to blow blue, and have continued to do so for 
the last three or four years—as fine a blue as the plant 
is capable of. On examining the bog-earth, I find that 
it is very fully charged with a yellow ochraceous mat¬ 
ter, which I suppose to be an oxyde or a carbonate of 
iron, (sand, a little clay, and peat, forming the bulk of 
the mass.) The springs which feed the peat-bog 
whence the earth was taken, are strongly impregnated 
