AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
245 
followed the radiations of war, commerce, and 
emigration over a stupendous segment of the 
earth’s surface, stretching across the whole of 
Asia, and extending as far North as Lake Baikal, 
Siberia, in the sub polar region comprehended 
between latitudes 56° and 58°. In Africa, it 
resignedly plods its weary way across its entire 
breath, and from the shores of the Mediterra¬ 
nean to the region of tropical rains. 
Recent explorations demonstrate that the 
high table-lands of Texas, New-Mexico, Utah, 
Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, and portions of 
Central Mexico, are fitted for camel travel— 
that they constitute, in fact, an American camel 
region. This remarkable adaptation did not 
fail to attract the attention of Mr. Bartlett, late 
Commissioner for running the boundary line 
between the United States and Mexico, and the 
advantages that would be gained by using 
camels instead of mules, horses or oxen, often 
occurred. These advantages are set forth at 
length in his “Personal Narrative,” just pub¬ 
lished by the Appletons. 
The object of the Company is to import from 
an accessible camel region of the old world— 
from Algeria, for instance, which is in posses¬ 
ions of a civilized power—an adequate number 
of the different varieties of the camel, and to 
employ them in the transportation of men and 
munitions of war over the arid wastes of the 
West. This object has the sanction of the 
secretary of War, who, in his late report, 
presses with great urgency upon the attention 
of Congress the expediency of introducing 
camel transportation into our newly-acquired 
territories. General Davis remarks, that a rail¬ 
road, such as has been contempleted to connect 
by the most eligible route the Mississippi river 
with the Pacific coast, would but partially re¬ 
move the difficulties that have now to be en¬ 
countered. It would serve to transport troops, 
and to supply depots along the route, and at 
the extremity of the line, but there would be 
still vast regions of the interior too remote ma¬ 
terially to feel its effects. For many years to 
come, communications with these regions can 
be carried on by camels with less loss of animal 
life, less human suffering, and more rapidity, 
than by any other means. 
The Commissioners named in the charter, 
are Messrs. Wm. G. King, Charles W. Webber, 
and Edward Magauran. We wish them every 
success in their undertaking. The introduction 
of the camel will fix the second great epoch in 
the history of the domestication of animals use¬ 
ful to man on this continent.— Spirit of the 
Times. 
Transportation of Beef Cattle. — The 
Rochester Advertiser notices that a freight train 
from Buffalo for New-York, passed down the 
Central Railroad on Wednesday evening, con¬ 
sisting of thirty-nine cars, having on board five 
hundred and ninety head of cattle. These 
probably did not weigh less than three hundred 
and fifty tons. The Advertiser says: “It is 
presumed that when the Central Railroad and 
others West shall have been double tracked, 
the business in the beef line will be further 
simplified and expedited. Instead of sending 
the cattle to market, they will be butchered in 
the West, and by means of refrigerating cars 
and ice, the meat will be presented clean and 
cool in the sea-board markets, much to the re¬ 
lief of those places, both in the way of cleanli¬ 
ness and price.” 
We are glad to chronicle any movement which 
will do away with a single butcheiy in this 
city. They are sickening, filthy dens, which 
never ought to be permitted within the pre¬ 
cincts of a large town. 
-*-0-0- 
Housing Manure. —In a late visit to Arden- 
heim, the highly cultivated farm of Dr. James 
A. M’Crea, President of the Montgomery County 
Agricultural Society, we were very much struck 
with the judgment displayed, not only in the 
selection and extent of the different crops, but 
also in the barn and storage arrangements. The 
manure yard, which is of large dimensions, 
slightly bowled out in the middle and protected 
with a good stone wall, contained several hun¬ 
dred two-horse loads of manure, while nearly 
as much more had been housed, which labor 
was performed at odd times, so as not to inter¬ 
fere with the other operations of the farm. The 
manure thus secured against the ruinous effects 
of sun and rain, is enhanced in real fertilizing 
value not less than 25 per cent. All that por¬ 
tion of the contents of the yard, for which no 
room could be provided, Dr. M’Crea informed 
us, w r ould receive a plentif ul covering of refuse 
straw, so as to protect it against the debilitating 
rays of a summer’s sun, and afford it the en¬ 
riching process of shade.— Germantown Tele¬ 
graph. 
-- 
Swelling of Grain. —We have a great deal 
of faith in tough newspaper stories, especially 
if they are “ fish stories,” but we cannot swal¬ 
low the following: 
A canal boat, loaded in part with 1100 bushels 
of peas, was sunk in the Hudson, opposite 
Albany, last week. The swelling of the peas 
burst open the side of the boat.— New-Raven 
Journal. 
We do not think the above statement at all 
improbable, for it is well known that a large 
quantity of grain, stowed in bulk, on board the 
ship “ Great Republic,” was at the time of her 
destruction by fire so moistened by the water 
thrown on to save the ship, as to spring part of 
her deck almost clear from the knees, by the 
expansion of the wheat. 
-• o •--— 
RUNAWAY OX IN BROADWAY. 
On Tuesday, as a large brindled ox was pass¬ 
ing up the Avenue to that bourne from which 
oxen never return, except in disintegrated sec¬ 
tions, as steaks, sirloins and the like, he sud¬ 
denly elevated his tail, gave a loud bellow, and 
started with furious speed up the street, the 
driver in hot pursuit, yelling “whoa;” at the 
highest possible key of his voice. Boys shouted, 
darkies ki-hied, and nursery maids seized their 
juvenile charges and fled up the stoops. But 
no accident occurred, until an old gentleman, 
with a red wig, who was perambulating, en¬ 
tirely unconscious of danger, attracted the at¬ 
tention and excited the ire of the headlong ani¬ 
mal. “Lookeout, mister!” screamed a Fifth 
Avenue stage driver from the top of his vehicle, 
“ that are critter’ll spile yeour beauty.” “ Look 
out dere!” shouted a Dutch bootmaker, through 
the open window. But it was too late ; the old 
gentleman saw his danger, and, holding on his 
white hat, started into a vigorous trot, the left 
horn of the animal taking deadly aim at a 
corner of the silk handkerchief that protruded 
from his coat pocket behind. A slight motion 
of the ox’s head after duly adjusting his horn, 
sent the old gentleman to a level with the 
second story windows; and yet strange to say, 
beyond the novelty of the sensation, he escaped 
unhurt. The next object of onslaught was a 
pea-nut stand; and that edible, together with a 
lot of ginger-snaps, experienced a farther upward 
tendency that must prove highly satisfactory to 
holders. After backing his beef stakes through 
a plate glass window, our brindled friend disap¬ 
peared around a corner, hotly pursued by a tow¬ 
headed urchin armed with a joint of stove pipe 
and two tin colanders. These runaway oxen 
sometimes produce more mischief than fun.— 
Journal of Commerce. 
- 9 © ♦- 
Flour going East by a New Route. —Yes¬ 
terday a miller of this city shipped one thou¬ 
sand barrels of flour by the steamer Herald, 
for Cincinnati, whence it goes to Cleveland, 
thence to Dunkirk, and thence over the Erie 
Railroad to New-York. The whole charge for 
transportation through the route being $1.78 
per barrel. Since the break in the Illinois canal, 
shipments are suspended by that direction, and, 
as to sending- by the way of Nevv-Orleans, that 
is out of the question. Nothing remains, then, 
but to depend upon the Ohio river, and its tri¬ 
butary railroads, for getting flour, hemp, and 
other produce East.— St. Louis Intelligencer. 
- ♦-#-* - 
Cattle Moving. —Within three days past 
the number of neat cattle which had passed 
over the Michigan Central Railroad has exceeded 
500. They are transported from Chicago to 
Detroit for six dollars per head. It occupied 
twenty-four hours to bring them from Chicago 
to Buffalo ; here they rest and feed twenty-four 
hours in a pasture, no opportunity either for 
food or water being given while on the cars, and 
then they are shipped for Buffalo. In cool 
weather they bear the journey well, those which 
arrived yesterday were looking very bright and 
lively.— Detroit Inquirer, 2d inst. 
- 9 G 9 - 
Liberal Appropriations. —The Richmond 
(Va.) Dispatch says the Council appropriated 
the handsome sum of $5,000 towards the per¬ 
manent endowment of the State Agricultural 
Society, and in addition to the praiseworthy and 
munificent act, unanimously adopted a resolu¬ 
tion appropriating $5,000 more to make such 
arrangements in and about the Fair grounds as 
may be necessary to accommodate the Agri¬ 
cultural Exhibition in October. 
He that cannot forgive others, breaks the 
bridge over which he must pass himself; for 
every man has need to be forgiven. 
-- 
CLAIMS OF AGRICULTURAL PATENTS, 
for the week ending JUNE 13, 1854. 
TnREsnERs.—Wm. Palmer, of Elizabeth City, 
N. C.: I claim, first, the peculiar form and con¬ 
struction of the furrowed surfaces of the flanches 
and rubbers, as described. 
Second, I claim the combination of such rub¬ 
bers that are adjustable with such flanches, and 
their arrangement, as described, upon opposite 
sides of the flail case, and also the combination 
of such rubbers and flanches with the rotating 
flails, as set forth. 
Winnowing Machines. —J. Keech and S. 
Stillwell, of Waterloo, N. Y.: We claim the 
movable trunk, for the purpose of converting 
the open horizontal blast of the ordinary win¬ 
nowing machine into a vertical blast separator. 
Harvester Cutters. —Bronson Murray, of 
Farm Ridge, Ill., (assignor to T. R. Spencer, of 
Geneva, N. Y., assignor to J. S. Wright, of 
Chicago, Ill.:) I claim making the rear serra- 
tures of the sickle blade sickle-edged, as set 
forth, except the rear-projecting points, which 
latter construction I disclaim, as being the in¬ 
vention of Henry Green. 
Harvesters. —Ira Reynolds, of Republic, 0.: 
I claim, first, the arrangement of a double se¬ 
ries of double edged shear blades supported at 
their rear ends by the reciprocating bars to 
which they are pivoted, and regulated by tem¬ 
per screws, as set forth. 
Second, the grain gatherer, so arranged that 
its forward portion can be elevated or depressed 
from the driver’s seat without stopping the ma¬ 
chine, as set forth. 
Hardening Tallow. —Chas. Schinz, of Cam¬ 
den, N. J.: I claim the use of either the nitrate 
of ammonia alone, or conjointly with sulphite 
of ammonia, for the purpose of hardening fats 
used for the manufacture of candles, as des¬ 
cribed. 
Endless Chain Horse Power.— G. West- 
inghouse, of Central Bridge, N. Y.: The mode 
of gearing by internal gear and pinion I have 
adopted, is old—the peculiar construction of 
the parts of it is my invention. 
I claim the construction of the gearing as set 
forth, having a pinion permanently affixed on 
the end of each shaft, to either of which the 
hubs of either the driving or band wheels fit 
and are fastened.— Scientific American. 
