40 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
American Agriculturist. 
New-York, Wednesday, March 29, 1854 
Bound Volumes. —We have a few ets (26 
numbers) of volume eleventh, bound and un¬ 
bound. The price, at the office, of the unbound 
volumes is $1.00. The bound volumes are 
neatly put up in cloth covers, gilt backs, at $1.50. 
We can also furnish the covers separately, 
gilt and all ready for putting in the paper, for 
twenty-five cents each. With the covers thus 
prepared, any bookbinder can complete the 
binding for twenty-five cents. Volumes sent to 
the office will be bound complete for fifty cents. 
We are having printed a new edition of the 
first ten annual volumes of the monthly Agri 
culturist, which can be supplied for $1.25 per 
volume or $10 for the set of ten volumes. 
- * *« -- 
“SLICKING UP” THE FARM. 
We do love to pull stumps in the spring of 
the year, when they arc sufficiently rotten, and 
hang in the ground by a single snag, which the 
retiring frost has left loose enough for a stout 
yoke of oxen, or a vigorous pair of horses, with 
a taught chain, and a long pull, and a strong 
pull, and a pull altogether, to draw out at one 
single, earnest effort! How cheerful, in a 
sunny day in March, or April, to go into a mea¬ 
dow, or pasture, or plow lot, dotted over with 
huge stumps, that have stood there black, 
charred, and rotting, ever since the stalworth 
boys that now go out afield with you were ba¬ 
bies, disfiguring the ground, a perpetual eye¬ 
sore, and a bane to all neat farming, and tear 
them out one after the other, roll them into 
heaps, and after drying a few days, set fire to, 
and see them melt down into a low heap of 
ashes! IIow clean, and smooth, and fresh the 
land looks afterwards; and how comfortable 
you feel that so much more of a bad job is got 
along with. Having cleared many a hundred 
acres of forest land, we feel as if every stump 
we draw from the ground was another good 
deed added to a life not altogether without en¬ 
deavors. While we live, and own a farm, we 
expect to have a bout at stump pulling every 
year; and it exhilirates our sedate manhood 
equally as when we played a game at ball in our 
long-passed boyhood. 
Rock blasting, and stone lifting, where they 
are too plenty, is also a cheerful, although labo¬ 
rious operation, none the less improving in its 
effects than stump-pulling. March and April 
are the best months for either of these, as the 
frost of winter invariably loosens, and makes 
them come easier than at other seasons. 
-« e -- 
Farms for Sale. —What is the matter with 
the farmers in Eastern Massachusetts ? A sin¬ 
gle Boston paper, of last week, contains adver¬ 
tisements of between seventy and eighty farms 
for sale. We do not find as many thus adver¬ 
tised in all the New-Yorlc papers put together. 
Perhaps the reason is that the shrewd Yankees 
have learned the advantage of advertising better 
than others. We frequently have inquiries for 
farms in the vicinity of New-Yorlc; and we sug¬ 
gest to those who are anxious to dispose of their 
lands to make the fact known through our ad¬ 
vertising columns. A few dollars thus spent 
may add hundreds to the price they will obtain, 
by bringing a larger number of competing cus¬ 
tomers. Such advertisements should describe 
the location, quality of land, nearness to mar¬ 
kets, churches, schools, &c., and especially give 
the price and terms of payment, as this will save 
much trouble both to buyer and seller. 
■--- 
SWEET CORN FOR FATTENING. 
An intelligent farmer in Onondaga, plants 
many acres of sweet corn for fattening hogs. 
The greater amount of saccharine matter in it, 
is said to add to the sweetness of the pork made 
upon it. It is highly relished by both fowls 
and animals, and is said to be more easily di¬ 
gested than yellow corn. 
We insert the above,'which we find in an ex¬ 
change paper, not however to endorse it, but for 
the purpose of correcting conclusions that might 
be erroneously drawn from’it. In the first place, 
we believe sweet corn is a poor yielder as to 
quantity. There may be exceptions to this, in¬ 
stances of which we shall be happy to receive 
from our correspondents, but the general re¬ 
sult we believe to be as we have stated. 
Secondly, saccharine matter, sugar, starch, 
and oily substances are essentially the same in 
composition, the elements being absolutely the 
same, the difference being only a slight differ¬ 
ence in the proportion. Starch and oily sub¬ 
stances exist ready formed in considerable 
quantities in vegetables. The vegetable fats, 
when taken into the stomach, are probably at 
once carried to their appropriate cells in the 
animal system, without the process of rearrange¬ 
ment by the vital action of digestion ; and the 
starch may be converted into fat, perhaps quite 
as easily as sugar. The ordinary varieties of 
corn contain less saccharine matter, but probably 
a much greater proportion of both fat and 
starch, and possibly may be better adapted for 
fattening animals, bushel for bushel, than the 
choicest varieties of sweet corn. This much is 
our conjecture. If any of our correspondents 
can afford us detailed and accurate experiments 
on this subject, we shall be happy to receive 
and chronicle them. 
TAKE CARE OF THE FEET. 
WATER-PROOF PASTE AND RUST PREVENTOR. 
A very good paste for this purpose, can be 
made by melting together lard and rosin. The 
exact proportions are not material. For leather, 
say one part of rosin and three parts of lard. 
For coating any kind of metal to prevent rust¬ 
ing, the rosin may constitute about one-third 
part of the mixture. 
This, like all other water-proof mixtures, 
should only be applied to the soles of boots or 
shoes, and the lower parts of the upper leather, 
except where the boot is to be constantly im¬ 
mersed in water. The more open and porous 
the upper part of the foot of a boot or shoe 
can be, the better; for the perspiration—which 
from every person’s feet amounts often to half 
a pint or more daily—will pass more freely 
through the leather and escape, and leave the 
feet dry and warm, instead of damp and cold, 
as they will invariably be, if entirely surround¬ 
ed with air-tight leather or rubber. 
Nothing conduces more to freedom from colds, 
and consequent good health, than a proper care j 
of the feet. Few persons grease the soles of 
shoes, while in reality this part needs most to 
be guarded against water. Sole-leather is usu¬ 
ally quite porous, admitting water freely, and 
is almost always upon damp or wet ground. 
The above preparation is most admirable for 
protecting farm implements from rust, as well 
as household utensils, especially knives and 
forks which are seldom used. A thin coating 
of lard and rosin, is a much more effectual and 
certain protection than the usual method of 
keeping them wrapped in dry flannel. 
- 9 9 •- 
IMPROVED STOCK FOR SALE. 
We desire to call particular attention to the 
advertisement of Mr. Lewis G. Morris and Mr. 
Noel J. Becar. These gentlemen have re¬ 
peatedly visited Europe for the purpose of making 
their selections, which they have done with great 
care and at the highest prices. They have also 
given the most careful attention to the breeding 
of these noble animals since their arrival in this 
country, and have been quite successful in their 
progeny. Their establishments arc models to 
American breeders, and it affords us sincere 
pleasure to recommend them in unqualified 
terms. Those in search of improved stock, will 
do well before purchasing to first call on Messrs. 
Morris & Becar, and examine their superb 
flocks and herds. Mount Fordham and Smith 
Town arc delightfully situated, and it is an 
agreeable ride to either place. The former is 
easily reached in one hour from the City Hall. 
-« 9 «- 
Gravel Wall. — Mr. J. M., of Indiana, re¬ 
quests us to “ republish a description of a ‘ gra¬ 
vel wall house’ from No. 9 of the Agricultor 
We do not find any such article in that num¬ 
ber. Mr. M. will find a review of Fowler's 
work on this subject on page 265, No. 17, Yol. 
11, of the Agriculturist. We do not recom¬ 
mend this style of building either for cheapness, 
convenience, or durability. Any person, how¬ 
ever, wishing to investigate the matter further, 
can procure the work by addressing Messrs. 
Fowler & Wells, of this city. We believe the 
price of the book is 87i cents, sent postage free 
by mail. 
J - •-*-« - 
THE BORAX WASHING RECIPE. 
We have heard a few reports from the Borax 
washing recipe given in a former number, most 
of which are very favorable. One person only 
has objected to it, and she says it is a great im¬ 
provement for most clothes, but that where they 
are very much soiled, some rubbing is necessary. 
Mr. Davis of Morristown, N. J., in a postscript 
to a letter says: 
Mrs. Davis wishes me to say that she has 
had the washing-soap made of borax, soap and 
water, according to the directions you gave in a 
former number of your paper, and that the wash¬ 
woman gets through her work in much less 
time, and does it much better than with any 
other preparation she has ever had in use for 
washing. It readily starts the dirt and bleaches 
the clothes at the same time, without any appa¬ 
rent injury. It saves much time and work, two 
very important considerations in these times of 
poor hell). This one recipe is worth years of 
subscription to your paper. 
- 9 0 9 - 
The Cincinnati Brice Current publishes the 
final report of the hogs packed in the West, 
