editor’s table. 
£93 
QJMtor’s 3abU. 
Stock and Implements for the Show of the N. 
Y. State Ag. Society. —These must all be at Troy 
early on Saturday morning, September 11th, in order 
to be transported on that day to Saratoga. Those hav¬ 
ing stock to show, will bear this particularly in mind. 
If any are in doubt about the regulations, or wish to be 
advised on any particular point, they will do well to ad¬ 
dress B. P. Johnson, Esq., at Albany, Secretary of the 
Society. In all their calculations, those desiring to ex¬ 
hibit, will bear in mind that it is better to be too early 
than too late. 
Return of Professor Norton. —We have great 
pleasure in stating, that our excellent friend and cor¬ 
respondent, Professor John P. Norton, of Yale College, 
returned from Europe last month in the Steamship 
Washington. He has, altogether, spent several years 
abroad for the purpose of perfecting himself in his 
studies, and will soon enter upon the duties of Profes¬ 
sor of Agricultural Chemistry, at Yale College. Stu¬ 
dents will now have a good opportunity of studying this 
highly usefftl science at home, and we trust it will be 
the means of giving an impetus to agriculture not yet 
known among us. 
The Pictorial History of England ; being a His¬ 
tory of the People, as well as a History of the King¬ 
dom. Illustrated by several hundred wood-cuts of 
Monumental Records, Coins, Civil and Military Cos¬ 
tume, Domestic Buildings, Furniture, and Ornaments; 
Cathedrals and other great works of Architecture, 
Sports and other Illustrations of Manners; Mechani¬ 
cal Inventions; Portraits of the Kings and Glueens; 
and remarkable Historical Scenes. By George L. 
Craik and Charles MacFarlane, assisted by other con¬ 
tributors. New York : Harper & Brothers. Yol. ii., 
pp. 876, large octavo. Price, 25 cents per number, or 
$>3.50 a volume. The more we become acquainted with 
this work, as it issues, the more we are convinced of its 
excellence and adaptation to the tastes of the American 
people; not only because it is intrinsically the most au¬ 
thentic, the most attractive, and the most valuable his¬ 
tory of England ever published, but because it shows 
the rise and progress of a race distinguished alike for 
genius, true bravery, love of liberty, and a generous 
glow of patriotism, whether considered in respect to 
time, place, or external influence ; with institutions re¬ 
cognising the equality of all in political rights; affording 
protection to the weak against the powerful; and secur¬ 
ing to all equal freedom of opinion and conscience admi¬ 
nistered according to laws framed with the consent of all. 
To show the pains and expense bestowed upon the 
preparation of this work, it may be stated that, for con¬ 
tributions alone, $250,000 have been paid, inclusive of 
payment to artists, printers, and others belonging to the 
craft We would invite the especial attention of the 
farming community generally to the pre-eminent claims 
of this sterling and most important publication. It is 
incomparably more thorough, accurate, and attractive, 
as well as more suited to the habits, feelings, and genius 
of our people than Hume, Smollett, Granger, Gold¬ 
smith, and all former historians; and we therefore re¬ 
peat the recommendation that every family in our land, 
who can afford it, should subscribe for the work as it ap¬ 
pears in numbers. The illustrations are both curious 
and very attractive, and we would add are alone well 
worthy the price asked for the numbers. 
Death of Mr. Samuel Waite. —We notice with 
much regret the decease of this excellent friend of agri¬ 
culture. He died at his residence in Coldenham, 
Orange County, N. Y., on the 29th of July last. Mr. 
Waite was a native of Somersetshire, England, but 
emigrated to this country at an early age, and has ever 
since assiduously devoted himself to the pursuits of ag¬ 
riculture. He was extensively engaged for several 
years in the importation of the improved breeds of horses, 
cattle, sheep, and swine, both here and at the South 
and West; and while in this business, he crossed the 
Atlantic thirteen times. For the past few years he re¬ 
mained on his farm, in Coldenham, devoting his atten¬ 
tion to its improvement, and the breeding and dissemina¬ 
tion of his flocks and herds. In the formation of the 
Orange County Scientific and Practical Agricultural In¬ 
stitute, he took an active part. He was also a very effi¬ 
cient member of the Orange County Agricultural Society, 
and was one of its best supporters. We have often had 
the pleasure of visiting Mr. Waite, his father, and bro¬ 
thers, all of whom are most excellent farmers. We 
deeply sympathize with them and all other friends in 
the loss they have sustained. His place will not easily 
be made good. 
Growth of Indian Corn. —The hot weather of the 
last fortnight has almost doubled the growth of corn. 
A man in Amherst noted the growth of a single stalk 
during three hot days last week, as follows: first day, 
6 inches ; second 5£ ; third 5; total, 16^ inches in three 
days.— Springfield, Mass., Republican. 
Last season, we measured com for many days in 
July, in the town of Wheatland. Five inches in 24 
hours was the largest growth noted. All vegetable 
physiologists concur in saying that plants give out car¬ 
bonic acid at night, and absorb oxygen ; and leave it 
to be inferred that they do not grow except during the 
light of day. [Can they not receive nourishment 
through the roots during the nights] We found, how¬ 
ever, that corn and a grape-vine increased in length 
quite as fast from 8 P. M. to 4 A. M., as during any 
portion of the sixteen hours from 4 A. M. to 8 P. M. 
Few are aware how much water a hill of growing 
corn will throw off from its long and broad leaves dur¬ 
ing a hot day in July. During this rapid evaporation, 
not a particle of the mineral matter taken up into the 
circulation with the water that enters the roots escapes 
with the vapor into the atmosphere. When these mine¬ 
rals exist in the soil in due proportion to meet the pre¬ 
cise wants of the organizing tissues, such organization, 
in favorable weather, goes ahead at a cracking rate. 
To feed living corn-plants judiciously, is a point in ag¬ 
riculture not sufficiently understood .—Rochester Am. 
Country Residence of Mr. Dey. —We would call 
attention to the advertisement of Mr. Dey in another 
part of our columns. We are informed by those ac¬ 
quainted with his place that it is one of the most desira¬ 
ble residences for a country gentleman to be found in 
northern New York. 
Farming in Vermont. —The largest farm in Ver¬ 
mont is said to be that of Judge Meech, at Shelburne, 
eight miles south of Burlington. A correspondent who 
has just been over it says, this year he will mow over 
500 acres and cut 1000 tons of hay. He keeps 300 
sheep, and has now 400 head of neat cattle. A few days 
ago he sold fat oxen enough to amount to the sum of 
$2460. He has also sold this season 1000 bushels of 
rye.— Ex. 
Cranberries. —Mr. William Hall, of Norway, Me., 
has succeeded in raising cranberries on a patch of 
boggy land. He sowed the berries in the spring, on 
the snow and ice. The seed took well, and rooted 
out the weeds. Last year he gathered six bushels from 
a patch of land about three rods square, which, a few 
years since, was entirely useless. If this berry, which 
commands so high a price, can be as easily cultivated 
as this, it certainly is an object for farmers to try the 
experiment on their boggy lands. 
Change in the Post-Office Regulations. —Post¬ 
masters are prohibited from forwarding subscriptions 
for public journals, as they have been in the habit of 
doing for a long time past, the regulations which con¬ 
ferred this privilege having been rescinded. . Hereafter- 
persons desiring to subscribe, or to renew their subscrip- 
| tions to newspapers, must enclose the money in a letter. 
