210 
REVIEW OF THE FEBRUARY NO. OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
the hard hollow tube we find it as used for fish- 
poles. After it is three years old, there is less 
change in its growth or appearance for 30 or 40 
years than any other grass that I know of. When¬ 
ever it seeds, it dies. In 1832, if my memory serves 
me, there was an universal seeding of corn on the 
Mississippi. The seed is something like oats in 
looks and nutriment. “ When cane-brakes are 
abundant cattle will fatten:” but the “ range” must 
be very large, or it will soon “ run outfor this 
gigantic grass is soon destroyed by the inroads of 
civilization. Tennessee, Kentucky, Southern Illi¬ 
nois, and Indiana, were once covered with cane, 
which is now rarely seen in all that vast region. 
But some of those taverns are not so rare ! 
To Render Paper Incombustible. —I wish some of 
our political papers would try it, instead of so much 
“villanous saltpetre.” 
More Facts about Pork and Bacon.— Friend Solon 
has given us some very plain, straight-forward di¬ 
rections how to do up the thing in real Hoozier 
style; and “ Down East folks” must indeed be 
“hard to understand,” if they need to ask any more 
questions. As for that bacon which he brags so 
much about, if he will send “ a sample” to the New 
York Farmers’ Club, and they will let me know 
when the “Hoozier Ham” is on the table, it shall 
be properly tested and reported upon. It certainly 
is a very cheap and easy way of salting pork if it 
will do. The “ cotton bag” mentioned, I presume, 
is to be made of cotton sheeting, and not of “ cotton 
bagging.” I see the Editor of the Farmers’ Cabinet 
recommends the same. Let’s try it. [If Mr. Rob¬ 
inson will be so good as to reply to Reviewer’s hint 
with a fine large ham, we will see it properly cooked 
and set before the Farmers’ Club.] 
A New Way of Fattening Hogs. —I can improve 
upon this “ six feet square.” It is to confine each 
hog in a narrow stall where he can never turn round 
from the time he is put up to fatten till killed. The 
stall should be about ten feet long and two wide— 
the trough at one end and door at the other. A 
wide plank is to be made to fit in grooves at each 
end, which being put in, the one which makes the 
stall the narrowest at first, is moved out as the 
porker grows and needs more side-room. If he be¬ 
longs to a respectable family of hogs, he will back 
up to the door every time occasion requires, to de¬ 
posit his offal, which should be cleaned out daily, 
and at other times he will lie and sleep upon the 
clean floor, with his nose close to the trough, with 
nothing to disturb him in his solitary confinement. 
The floor should pitch from the trough, and all 
roofed in. Any number of these stalls can be ar¬ 
ranged “ all in a row.” There is no more need of a 
hog turning round in his stall than there is for a 
horse to do so. It is only the fashion. [We enter 
our caveat against this close confinement of fattening 
animals—-the meat of such is not near so healthy 
and nourishing Give us the meat of an animal that 
takes exercise. Think of the deer and his luscious 
venison, and retract your error, Mr. Reviewer.] 
Ladies' Department. —Here I catch it. What 
have I done ? I had thought myself so much of a 
“ ladies’ man,” that I should always be a favorite 
in this department. But it seems that I have trodden 
on somebody’s corns—and she calls me “ a crusty 
old codger,” and “ a stiff old bachelor.” Only think 
ot that, my dear wife and pretty daughters—seven 
all told, besides six stout sons—a baker’s dozen alto¬ 
gether. “ Sisters,” it is true I have none, but God 
bless you, my dear “E. S.,”I have some of the 
sweetest cousins in the world, and this you would 
acknowledge every time you looked in the glass, if you 
knew who I am. But I must look up my file of 
the Agriculturist and see what it is that I have said, 
whereby I have offended—-for I am such a careless, 
good natured old fellow that I have quite forgotten. 
Well, after all, it is not so very bad. True I said 
“ some folks painted and spun street yarn,” &c., 
but I did not say “ E. S. used too many words 
that’s poz. And so she is in the wrong for once— 
that’s some comfort. And I did not try to laugh 
her out of her “fancy.” I was crying instead over 
the folly and wickedness of modern fashiona¬ 
ble education. And as for “ E. S.” being “ discur¬ 
sive,” I won’t say a word. As for her determin¬ 
ing not to read any more of the critiques of Re¬ 
viewer, it is no use. She will do it. Can’t help 
it. For she has often before had the indulgence of 
that big laugh over some of my writings (under 
another name), and will again. Thank you, my 
dear E. S., for that last wish. When shall I call? 
Musical Bells for Cows, and musical belles for 
dairy maids, would give us that good old tune of 
butter and cheese, in its sweetest tones. I like this 
French notion; for, notwithstanding my objection to 
“ piano- thumping,” I love music Pray Mr. Allen, 
get up some of these cow-bells for your warehouse. 
They certainly will be preferable to some of the 
unearthly sounding ones that we sometimes hear 
“ over the hills and far away.” 
Boys’ Department. —This little article and plain 
table about the difference of value between great 
and small apples, is worth more than you charge 
for a whole volume of the Agriculturist, to every 
man, woman, and child, that reads it. I pray you, 
reader, turn back and peruse it again. It is valuable. 
That plate is too foggy to convey any clear idea to 
the mind of a child. Seen by itself I never could 
have told what it was intended to represent. Pic¬ 
tures, unless made clear and expressive, do not serve 
to elucidate the subject, but rather to confuse. 
There is great fault in this respect in children’s 
books. They often get very false notions of the 
appearance of an animal from a badly executed pic¬ 
ture. . 
Foreign News. —I am glad to see that at the 
Smithfield show there was a great increase of fat 
cattle, and that Prince Albert and other noblemen 
are large breeders. How noble it will be of these 
men, when they send over these fat cattle to Ireland 
and make them all up into rich nourishing soup to 
save their poor brethren from the horrors of starva¬ 
tion. I am afraid, however, that some of these 
large English cattle breeders are not aware that 
these poor Irish could live on beef without potatoes. 
Beet Root as a Substitute for Flour , is another 
expedient of the times to see how cheap the poor 
laborer can be kept alive, without trenching too 
close upon the starvation point. There is some¬ 
thing revolting and horribly wrong in the fact that 
a few comparatively, of the whole population of 
Europe, are the owners of all the soil, and riot in 
luxurious wealth, while the great mass are half 
starved upon “ beet-root bread” and potatoes, in 
