154 
NECESSITY Of INDUSTRY AND FIXED HABITS OF THE PLANTER .—ITEMS. 
delicate flavor. One of the hens, Bessy, exhibited 
by Her Majesty, laid 94 eggs in 103 days.” 
The Cochin-China cock has been crossed with 
the Dorking hen, and the produce is said to be su¬ 
perb, Pullets of this cross have been known to 
weigh 10 lbs. each at six months old. If the above 
portraits be correct, we should be afraid the cross 
would add too great a length of leg to the Dorking, 
and we very much doubt whether the best speci¬ 
mens could be improved by it. But there are poul¬ 
try fanciers who will have size let the shape and 
other qualities of the birds be as they may. For 
ourowui part, we much prefer medium-sized poultry 
as most delicate and profitable. 
We are not aware that any genuine Cochin- 
China fowls have been introduced into this country. 
A Mr. Nolan has recently imported them into Ire¬ 
land, and the Queen of England has occasionally 
made presents of them among her noblemen. We 
do not know how they can be procured except direct 
from Cochin-China; and we must say to our friends 
in advance, that we cannot undertake their impor¬ 
tation from any quarter. We here give them all the 
information we have upon this interesting subject. 
NECESSITY OF INDUSTRY AND FIXED 
HABITS OF THE PLANTER. 
It is a very common saying, that “ an overseer un¬ 
derstands better the business of his employer, than he 
does himself.” If such be true, and the planter can 
afford it, he had best sell his property and live on 
the interest. In cases of that kind, it show's clearly 
two things; one is, that such a planter dislikes his 
business and will not try to learn its duties, or the 
other is, he is either sadly deficient in mind or 
energy. I do not mean by this that an overseer is 
incompetent to the task of judicious management; 
far from it, as I have seen some excellent planters 
and managers; but what I mean is this, that all 
planters should be fully competent to instruct others 
when necessary, and never to be at a loss at any 
time on his own estates. Again, the duties of a 
planter embrace a much wider scope than that of 
an overseer. One must plan for the other to exe¬ 
cute, and with the one and the other, success should 
be the result. There is no duty whatever pertain¬ 
ing to the plantation, from the low T est to the highest, 
but what a good planter should understand, and be 
able to have properly managed or executed if neces¬ 
sary. He should feel at home at all times. 
If a man is true to his interest, policy dictates 
that he should be permanently located, at an early 
period of his life. The unsettled man may be 
compared to the “ rolling stone that gathers no 
moss.” Hence the necessity of understanding 
thoroughly the proper mode of cultivation and the 
management of lands. Generally speaking the 
migrating man belongs to that class of planters who 
are careless of the soil, exhaust it for present crops, 
without an eye to the future. His lands are heavily 
taxed by injudicious management, and before he has 
secured the value of the labor bestow r ed in clearing 
them, he is left with a crippled plantation yielding 
but a poor crop. To move in quest of the virgin 
soil again, is but incurring heavy expenses, hard 
labor, loss of time, deprivations innumerable, and 
parting with many things, apparently of no value, 
until want demands them. Such men are enemies 
particularly to their children, for they are always in 
advance of civilization, and the inheritance to be 
hoped for is property without that knowledge 
which renders the property more useful. The set¬ 
tled and contented man is by far the most prosperous 
in the long run; if he makes not rapidly, it is sure 
and safe. His calculations are based upon experi¬ 
ence ; familiar with all things around him, his path 
is plain, his land-marks are established, his confi¬ 
dence is sure, all whom he meets are known, his 
children are provided for, and their education re¬ 
garded. How different is the wanderer, who lives 
and dies among strangers, and in a strange land! 
Such are the considerations which should govern a 
planter, in attending to the duties of his occupation ; 
hence the necessity of industry and a proper know¬ 
ledge of his business. J. H. D. 
Barbour Co., Ala., Feb., 1847. 
A TRAYELLJNG~CIDER-MILL. 
As you wish the farmers to send in their facts, I 
will give you a new plan for making cider. I have 
invented a Travelling Cider-Mill and Press, so con¬ 
structed that it can be moved about from one farm 
to another by two pair of horses, or of oxen. My 
neighbors laughed at me when I told them w T hat I 
w T as about, and said it would not do. I told them 
that was my business, not theirs,—so when the 
mill was finished and well at work, grinding the 
apples and pressing out the cider at the same time, 
and this too in a perfect manner, they came flocking 
in numbers, not a few, as much pleased as though 
I had been grinding with the s ‘ elephant.” 
Last fall this mill travelled about from orchard to 
orchard, and made 237 barrels of cider, sometimes 
making as many as thirteen barrels a day. This 
shows, as a certain jumper said, “ some things can be 
done as w T ell as others.” The mill and press can 
be made in this place for about $20. If you want 
a description of my mill, I will give it to you some 
other time. John Wilson. 
Union Mills , Erie Co., Pa., March, 1847. 
A Remedy for diseased Peach-Trees. —Among 
all the remedies for the prevention and cure of the 
diseases of the peach-tree, which have been recom¬ 
mended, there is one that I do not recollect to have 
seen mentioned, and, as far as my observation ex¬ 
tends, is of more value than all the rest put together. 
That is chamber-lye or urine. If those who have 
peach-trees will save this article and put it on the 
roots of the trees, instead of throwing it in the sink, 
I can assure them that they will not be troubled 
with worms or the yellows, but will have healthy 
trees and plenty of peaches. M. 
New York, March 24, 1847. 
To destroy Weeds in Gravel-Walks. —Of all 
the excellent recipes for keeping pavements^ and 
garden-walks free from grass and weeds, nolle is so 
effectual as to hire the cook to pour upon them 
every morning the water in which the eggs for 
breakfast have been boiled; but the virtue is en¬ 
tirely lost if it be not done the instant the skillet is 
taken from the fire—that is, the water must be 
boiling-hot. 
