FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
347 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
By the steamship Acadia we are in receipt of our 
European journals to the 4th of October. 
Markets. — Ashes. Large sales in Pots and little 
doing in Pearls—a slight advance has taken place. 
Cotton remained without change since the departure 
of the Caledonia on the 19th ult., so that the depression 
of price during the month of September has been only 
|d. per lb. There is a steady demand. Stock on hand 
at Liverpool on the 1st of October, 904,500 bales, 
against 814,000 same date last year. Flour and Grain 
still continue excessively dull. Provisions. Beef, 
Pork, and Cheese, considerable inquiry, especially of 
the finer kinds; Lard had advanced from 6d. to Is. per 
cwt.; English Cheese is short in quantity this year, 
owing to the great drought. Naval Stores were quite 
active. Tallow and Tobacco the same. 
Money is easy and abundant, though a good demand 
exists for it. 
American Stocks. A slightly increased confidence is 
taking place in them. 
Trade still continued active. 
The Harvesting of grain was nearly over. The 
crops are good and uncommonly well secured. 
Guano from Ichaboe was selling from £6 to £6 5s. 
per ton. When it can be had in the U. S. as reasona¬ 
bly our farmers will use large quantities. 
Wool. About 20,000 bales of Australian was adver¬ 
tised in London for sale soon at auction. A large 
number of buyers were flocking in, and good prices for 
it were anticipated. 
American Hay. That which has been exported to 
England was of timothy or herds-grass, which being 
much coarser than English hay, prejudiced buyers 
against it. They formed their opinion of the hay from 
its coarseness, and not from its quality for feeding. We 
are persuaded that for nutriment it is equal, if not su¬ 
perior to most English. The prices it sold at were low, 
and in several instances subject the shippers to a loss. 
We hope the English people will try the quality of our 
hay before they allow their prejudices to condemn it. 
Sales of Durham Cattle. —These continue to bring 
high prices in England. Mr. Whitaker has just sold 
his entire herd at auction, consisting of 79 head. The 
highest'price obtained was for Buchan Hero, 350 guin¬ 
eas ($1,750); the lowest, a cow, at £25. The lot 
averaged £51 7s. each (say $250). Mr. Yorke had a 
large sale averaging £35 each. Mr. Smith also had a 
spirited sale of Durhams. Several of the above ani¬ 
mals were purchased for the continent. The King of 
the French bought the Earl of Buchan, calved July, 
1843, for 200 guineas. 
Twin Chickens. —It having been deemed advisable 
by Mr. Walters, the superintendent of her Majesty’s 
aviary, in order to improve the breed of the genuine 
Dorking fowl, that it should be crossed with that of the 
Cochin China fowl, the necessary arrangements were 
made for that purpose. A Dorking hen, which had 
roosted for some time past with the fowls from China, 
has recently been in the habit of laying twice, and 
sometimes thrice a week, eggs containing double, or 
two distinct yolks. Mr. Walters, determining to try 
the experiment of attempting to hatch one of these 
double-yolked eggs, placed it, with several other eggs, 
under the hen. The result^was that two chickens 
were produced from this single egg; one is a cock bird 
of the pure Cochin China breed, and the other is a 
hen chick of the Dorking species, both of which are 
now five days old and in good health. This is a cir¬ 
cumstance, as we are informed, unprecedented in the 
annals of natural history.— New Farmers’ Journal. 
Three Hundred and Twenty Bushels of Wheat per 
Acre. —It has been asserted by some, and sneered at by 
others in this country, that 100 bushels of wheat could 
be easily grown upon a single acre. It will be seen that 
the following little experiment in England produced 
at the rate of 320 bushels ! The imperial bushel con¬ 
tains 2,218T92 cubic inches; the Winchester (our 
common bushel), 2,150*42; the imperial bushel, there¬ 
fore, is to the Winchester as 1 to *969447. The Eng¬ 
lish quarter of wheat is 8 imperial bushels of 70 lbs. 
each, equal to 9| American bushels of 60 lbs. each. 
At the end of August, 1843, 1 planted in my garden 
32 grains of wheat, at 6 inches distance, an inch and 
a half deep; the seed was of the first-rate quality. 
This seed produced this year 32 plants, having from 20 
to 28 stems and ears each; the average number of ears 
was 16; the average weight of each plant If ounce. 
An acre of land would contain, at 6 inches distance, 
174,240 plants; the produce 304,940 oz., or nearly 
19,600 lbs., 320 bushels, or 40 quarters per acre. The 
expense of dibbling would be more than saved by the 
diminished quantity of seed required. I do not mean 
to state that such a result would be obtained upon a 
large scale; but I think it is worthy of trial, when we 
know that the average produce is only 2§ quarters per 
acre, and that it is possible (?) to grow 40: it will be 
allowed that there is ample scope for improvement. 
Try a breadth in your fields an inch and a half deep ; 
put 1 grain, and 1 only, in each hole—plant it at 6 or 8 
inches distant—be sure to plant good seed—get as much 
produce as you can, but go for 40 quarters per acre. 
Grafting the Chesnut on the Oak. —In the depart¬ 
ment of the Correze, an oak, engrafted eight years ago 
with chesnut, has produced at length chesnuts of good 
quality. The success of this experiment is deemed im¬ 
portant for extensive districts where the oak flourishes 
and the chesnut is barren, and where the fruit is needed 
for food. 
Mexican Pheasants. —A pair of these superb birds 
has recently been sent to the Queen of England. They 
are of immense size, being nearly as large as a turkey. 
Their crests are black, resembling in shape a cocka¬ 
too’s, which it is expected will change to a bright yel¬ 
low color, when they have attained a certain age. The 
feathers from their crests, along their backs are per¬ 
fectly black, having an extraordinary woolly appear¬ 
ance. Their fine full breasts are also black, beautifully 
spangled with white. Their legs and gills are of a rich 
red color. They have now become so exceedingly tame 
that they will feed from the hands of her Majesty and 
the Prince Consort. 
Preserving Apples in Pits. —Apples may be kept in 
pits after the manner of potatoes; we have seen this 
practised both in France and England with success; but 
the fruit does not keep long after it is taken out; con¬ 
sequently, only a small quantity should be taken out at 
one time, and the pit should be instantly closed up, to 
prevent the admission of air. Apples kept in this man¬ 
ner will be found quite good and sound in the months 
of May and June, or even July, if they have been pit¬ 
ted in a careful manner, all bruised ones being rejected, 
which would destroy the others. A little powdered 
charcoal should be carefully sifted over the apples as 
they are laid up, which should be done in regular 
layers. The charcoal absorbs any moisture that is 
given off by the apples, and keeps all cool. After this 
is done, take some clean wheat straw, or hay, and lay 
it over the fruit, to the thickness of a foot, fastening it 
down with ropes made of the same material, then cover 
them up with earth to the depth of a foot. This cov¬ 
ering will prevent any change in the atmosphere from 
reaching the apples. The operation should be per¬ 
formed in dry weather.— Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
