160 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. j 
By the late arrivals we have our foreign journals up 
to the 21st of March. 
Markets. — Ashes remained as per our last. Cotton 
had fallen |d per lb.; Flour 2s. to 2s. 6d. per bbl.; In¬ 
dian Corn, 3s. to 4s. per 480 lbs. In provisions and 
other articles, we see no change worth recording. 
Money was becoming rather scarce in consequence of 
the large amount of specie going out of the country for 
provisions. 
Steep for Seed Potatoes. —Mr. Webster, of the Ips¬ 
wich Philosophical Society, recommended that cuttings 
of potatoes intended for planting, should be immersed 
six or eight hours in a solution of hydrochloric (mu¬ 
riatic) acid, consisting of 1 oz.’by measure, of acid, to 
1 gallon of water. He states that he has been engaged 
since 1843 in a series of experiments upon the mode of 
preserving this valuable root, and in the course of his 
recent investigations, he has discovered that a steep of 
the above description will prove a remedy to the pre¬ 
vailing disease. The expense of steeping seed for 
planting an acre is about fourpence (eight cents), and 
incurs scarcely any additional trouble. 
Substitute for Cream in Coffee. —Beat the white of an 
egg to froth. Put in it a small lump of butter, and 
gradually turn the coffee to it, so that it may not curdle. 
It is difficult to distinguish the taste from fresh cream. 
To prevent Vermin on Poultry. —Scatter slacked lime 
on the perches and floor of the hen-house, in every eight 
or ten days, and it will effectually eradicate the lice as 
well as promote the health of the fowls. 
Value of Night-Soil. —The city of Paris derives a 
revenue of nearly $ 200,000 per annum for the privilege 
of permitting certain persons to collect and use this 
article, from the vaults, for manure. 
Chalk and Coal-Fires.- —The practical utility of 
chalk as an article of fuel has been lately tested, and 
with the most satisfactory results. Surrounded with 
coal, it gives a strong heat, and a clear fire, at half the 
usual expense ; so that to the poor in the chalk districts 
it must be an invaluable boon! 
Liquid Malt and Hops, or Concentrated Extract of 
malt and hops, is now very extensively used through¬ 
out the country, for the purpose of domestic brewing, 
as the entire process can be performed without employ¬ 
ing any of the ordinary brewing utensils, but merely 
by dissolving the extract in boiling water, and ferment¬ 
ing at a proper temperature, with yeast. Dr Ure and 
Professor Brande, both celebrated chemists, speak in the 
highest terms of this preparation of malt and hops. 
We understand there are three kinds of extracts; one 
from pale malt for ale, another from brown malt for 
porter-brewing, and a third from malt alone for mak¬ 
ing malt .and other British wines; it is also recom¬ 
mended for speedily preparing small quantities of 
sweet wort to drink medicinally. 
Economical Mode of Cutting Cauliflowers. —Instead 
of cutting off the whole head of a cauliflower, leave a 
part on, of the size of a gooseberry, and all the leaves; 
second, and even third heads will be formed, and thus 
they may be eaten for two or three months; when, at 
present, by cutting the head completely off, the bed of 
cauliflowers are gone in two or three weeks. 
To Cleanse the Teeth and Improve the Breath '—To 
four ounces of fresh prepared water, add one drachm 
of Peruvian bark, and wash the teeth with this water in 
the morning and evening, before breakfast and after 
supper. It will effectually destroy the tartar on the 
teeth, and remove the offensive smell arising from those 
that are decayed. 
Soda-Coffee. —The flavor of Coffee may be im¬ 
proved by adding forty to fifty grains of carbonate of 
soda to each pound of roasted coffee. In addition to im¬ 
proving the flavor, the soda makes the eoffee moreheal- 
thy, as it neutralizes the acid contained in the infusion. 
Camelina Sativa—Gold of Pleasure. —W. 'Taylor, 
Esq., F.L.S., read a paper, “ on a new oil plant, called 
the gold of pleasure, or Camelina sativa, and its im¬ 
portance to agriculturists and manufacturers generally, 
with remarks on the opportunity now afforded of intro¬ 
ducing its cultivation into Ireland.” Samples of the 
seed and oil were exhibited. “ I have,” observes Mr. 
Taylor, “ paid great attention for the last twenty years 
to the cultivation of oleiferous plants, the result of which 
has been the discovery of the Gold of Pleasure, or Ca¬ 
melina sativa. The plant is an annual, belonging to 
the natural order Crucifera, and grows to the height of 
two or three feet; it is a native of the most northern 
parts of Siberia. The first supply of seed was received 
from Professor Fischer, of the Royal Agricultural So¬ 
ciety of St. Petersburgh; the soils best adapted tc its 
cultivation are those of a light nature, but it does not 
fail to produce a crop on land of the most inferior de¬ 
scription ; it has been found on barren sandy soils 
where no other vegetable would grow. The time for 
sowing the seed is early in the spring months; the 
quantity of seed required per acre is ten pounds; it 
should be drilled in rows about nine inches apart, and 
may be cultivated after any corn crops, and is a non¬ 
exhauster of the ground. Professor Van Ost, an. 
eminent experimental chemist of Belgium, says, ‘ If 
farmers did but know the value of this plant, they 
would all grow it.’ A fine oil is produced from the seeds, 
fit for burning in lamps; it can also be used in the 
manufacture of woollen goods, soap, &c., and can be 
sold at a cheap rate. The oil-cake made from this seed, 
has also been found highly nutritious and useful in fat¬ 
tening oxen and sheep, as it contains a great portion of 
mucilage, albumen, gluten, and other matter, which, 
when combined, is found to be very beneficial in de¬ 
veloping fat and lean. Mr. Taylor concludes his 
paper by referring to the present distressing state of 
Ireland, and the importance of endeavoring to introduce 
into that country the cultivation of so valuable a plant, 
and by expressing his willingness to find seed provided 
he might be allowed to purchase the crop, which he 
states to be worth eight or ten pounds per acre without 
the straw.” 
[Gold of Pleasure, so highly vaunted by our trans- 
Atlantic friend, is often found growing in our culti¬ 
vated fields, chiefly among flax, with the seeds of which 
it is sometimes introduced from abroad; but it does not 
long propagate itself with us spontaneously. It is an an¬ 
nual, from one to two feet high, with small, pale-yellow 
flowers, possessing but little beauty, which put forth in 
the month of June. We have heard of but few in¬ 
stances of this plant being cultivated in this country, 
and therefore cannot recommend it with much hope of 
success.] 
Period of the Gestation of Cows. —From the late Earl 
Spencer’s observation on the period of gestation of 
seven hundred and sixty-four cows, it appears that it 
extends to two hundred and eighty-four days, not two 
hundred and seventy days, as formerly stated. 
Comparative Nutritive Poivers of Green and Dry 
Fodder for Cattle. —A communication has been made to 
the Paris Academy of Sciences, by M. Boussingault, on 
the comparative nutritive powers of green and dry fod¬ 
der for cattle. Hitherto the received opinion was, that 
natural or artificial grasses, oh their being converted 
into hay, lost a portion of their virtues. To determine 
this point. M. Boussingault fed a heifer alternately, for 
ten days at a time, upon green or dry food, and weighed 
the animal after each ten days. He found no differ¬ 
ence in the average weight; and therefore comes to the 
conclusion, that the hay made from any given quantity 
of natural or artificial grass has the same nutrition as 
the quantity of green food from which it is made.— 
London Athenaeum. 
