FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
93 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
By the arrival of the Steampacket Hibernia, we are 
favored by full files of our European journals up to the 
4th of February. 
Markets. — Ashes have declined, andareslow of sale. 
Cotton has advanced from f to f d. per pound during 
the past month, and an enormous business been done in 
it. The unprecedented number of 109,570 bales hav¬ 
ing changed hands in a single week, and the sales for 
the preceding five weeks were 355,000 bales, against 
127,000 during the same time last year, while the im¬ 
port has been 74,000 bales less. The Pacha of Egypt 
has ordered an advance of considerable extent on all 
his cotton in the European market. Stock on hand at 
Liverpool on the 1st February, 625,000 bales, against 
522,000 same time last year. Cheese of a fine, fat, 
well made quality, is in good demand. Beef \ Hams, 
and Pork, selling moderately. Flour , Lard , and Tal¬ 
low, dull. Flaxseed brisk, an unusual quantity will be 
sown in England this year. Rice, Tobacco, and Naval 
Stores, a steady demand. Seeds unaltered. 
Money is very abundant, and interest as low as ever 
again. The bullion in the bank of England is upward 
of £13,000,000, (about $62,000,000.) Stocks of all 
descriptions are on the advance. 
Business generally is active, and the people well em¬ 
ployed—a marked improvement has taken place over 
the corresponding period of last year. 
Steam-Plow. —This instrument continues to work 
favorably in morasses and bogs where horses can not 
be introduced. 
Longevity of Horses. —Mr. Blair speaks of three 
horses which he knew, that died at the ages respective¬ 
ly of 30, 37, and 39 years. Mr. Percival mentions one 
that died in his 62d year. 
Waste Land in Great Britain. —It is estimated that 
there are at least 30 millions of waste land in Great 
Britain, one half of which is susceptible of cultivation. 
Sheep in the British Isles. —These exceed 30 millions 
in number, which is 10 millions more than we have in 
the United States, and yet how small their territory 
compared with ours. 
Alpacas in England are fast being naturalised. 
They prosper well, and their fleeces also improve un¬ 
der the care bestowed upon them—they now shear usu¬ 
ally from 10 to 13 lbs. each. Peru produces about 
5,000,000 lbs. of Alpaca wool. Its texture is nearly 
like silk, and it makes a cloth highly prized by the 
Spanish ladies. We often saw these beautiful animals 
when in England. Our climate would suit them well, 
and we wish some gentleman in this neighborhood 
would undertake their introduction into the United 
States. 
Cochin China Pullets.-— At a dinner recently given 
by the Queen of England at Windsor Castle, among 
other good things served up on the occasion, we notice 
were several Cochin China pullets, which weighed be¬ 
tween 6 and 7 lbs. They had been reared and fatten¬ 
ed at the royal aviary. 
Manuring Strawberries. —There appears an undue 
fear of manuring strawberries. I have read some¬ 
where that all plants that throw out suckers or runners 
rapidly deteriorate the soil, and that a power of escape 
to new ground is given by the runners. If this is cor¬ 
rect, it is a reason for the good results I have always 
seen of manure. How rarely, except where strawber¬ 
ries are grown for profit, do we see room enongh giv¬ 
en. Beds of strawberries are objectionable for this 
reason, and it is this cause rather than manure that 
leaves are more abundant than fruit. I have tried 
and proved this. Where strawberries are grown for 
profit, (that is, grown at all in the true sense,) they 
should be planted in rows—the large sorts not less than 
30 inches in the row, and 15 inches from plant to plant, 
and no runners suffered to remain. By these means, 
with deep trenching and early planting, any sort worth 
cultivating may be grown large and abundantly. 
Mr. Colman. —We understand that Mr. Colman has 
nearly recovered from the effects of the accident of be¬ 
ing thrown from his horse when visiting a farm near 
London, and that he is rapidly writing out his tour. 
The public may expect to see the first number shortly. 
Horticultural Mission to China —Mr. Fortune from 
the English Horticultural Society arrived in China on 
the 9th of July last, and had every facility rendered 
him for prosecuting his labors. When last heard from 
he was preparing to visit the northern provinces. 
Shed feeding of Sheep. —Since Mr. Childer’s experi¬ 
ments of the great saving of food and greater gain in 
weight of sheep fed under cover, sheep feeding under 
sheds is rapidly increasing in England. 
To Kill Worms. —Use a solution of corrosive subli¬ 
mate. 
Destruction of Snails by Common Salt. —Having 
strewed some common salt upon the ground, I placed a 
number of snails among it; all those that came out of 
their shells and touched the salt, immediately threw 
out a greenish globular froth, and in a few minutes 
were dead. 
Early Standard Currant-Trees. —As a matter of 
fancy, I have for some years grown currants as stan¬ 
dards ; and observing the constant crop that clusters 
round the head, and the little room they require, I pot¬ 
ted about this time last year several three-year-old 
trees, and placed them on the back stage of a green¬ 
house; they bloomed and set their fruit well, and ri¬ 
pened about five or six weeks earlier than the out-door 
fruit. They were trained with small heads, and with 
the ripe fruit were remarkably showy. They are very 
easy to manage. The cuttings should not be shorten¬ 
ed back, but disbudded to the top bud, repeating the 
disbudding till it reaches the required height. A plant 
three years from the cutting yielded in my greenhouse 
about three pints of fruit. 
To keep Mice from Peas. —Having tried a number 
of plans for preventing mice from destroying winter- 
sown peas, I have found none so effectual as the fol¬ 
lowing : Steep the peas a short time in salad oil, and 
then dust them all over with rosin ground to a fine 
powder, then sow them immediately afterward. 
Enormous Egg. —An egg was this week laid by a 
goose at a farm in Quermore, near Lancaster, whose 
weight was 10 ounces, its circumference longitudinally 
was 10^ inches, and it measured 8| inches round. 
Large Onions. —An average sample of 15 onions, 
which weighed upward of 10 lbs., was grown on a 
small croft in the fertile village of Longton, near Pres¬ 
ton, which had been sown with 5 lbs. of seed from the 
same ground. It is supposed more than as many tons 
have been gathered. 
Twine for fastening Wall Trees. —In training plants 
and fruit-trees to the wall, I have for some time used 
twine dipped in linseed oil, and dried, instead of bits 
of cloth; it is neater, more convenient, and affords no 
harbor for insects. Drive the nail into the required 
place, slip a tie with the twine over the head, bring 
the branch down and secure it with a knot. A tree 
secured in this manner is capable of being better train¬ 
ed, the branches better secured, and the whole appear¬ 
ance more workmanlike.— Gar. Chron. 
