1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Free Seeds for 1882 — An Unusually 
Large Distribution. 
We take great pleasure in announcing, at this 
early clay, that owing to several favoring cir¬ 
cumstances, we shall he able to present to our 
readers the coming Winter, a large assortment 
of Field, Garden, and Flower Seeds, both of 
standard and new varieties, ancl in much larger 
parcels than ever before. The new postage law 
will greatly facilitate the forwarding of seeds at 
a cheap rate, to all parts of the country. Last 
Winter the postage was G cents per ounce, or 
36 cents per pound, on the shortest routes; now 
it is but 1 cent per ounce, or 16 cents per pound. 
Then it cost 20 cents an ounce, or $3.20 a pound ! 
both to the Pacific Coast and to the British Pro¬ 
vinces ; now it costs but 2 cents per ounce, or 
32 cents for a full pound, to the Pacific, and but 
half of these rates to the Canadas. This will be a 
great saving of expense, and enable our distant 
readers to get large parcels of good and choice 
seeds at very little cost. 
Again, we are ourselves growing a dozen 
times the quantity of seed this year that we 
have ever before been able to produce; while the 
good season in Europe, and the large production 
and less demand in this country (owing to loss 
of the usual Southern market), will enable us to 
purchase at wholesale, for the same money, 
much larger supplies than hitherto. We are 
therefore safe in promising to our readers a 
quantity of seeds for the next season, that will 
far surpass in value anything that we have been 
able to do in the past. 
These seeds will, of course, be free to all our 
subscribers for the next volume. The list will 
be announced at the earliest date that w T e can 
get them collected—certainly by January, and 
w T e hope in December or November. Our facil¬ 
ities for collecting and distributing seeds are un¬ 
surpassed, and we shall be able to send out, as 
a gratuity, a quantity that will often be worth 
to the recipient one-fourth to one-half of his 
subscription, and not unfrequently worth more 
than the entire cost of the paper for a year. 
Present Prospects of Farmers. 
The transactions in the New-York Breadstuff 
Market, since the last Agriculturist went to press, 
and the latest news from Europe, are of the 
highest interest to farmers. The sales of flour, 
wheat, and corn, mainly for export, have been 
immense. During a single day (Aug. 15) the 
sales of flour and wheat in this city, alone, 
were equal to half a million bushels of wheat! 
The prices of wheat and flour have gone up 
five to fifteen per cent within two weeks ! In 
our issues for months past, we have insisted 
that not only was there a large deficit in the 
last wheat crop of Great Britain, involving a 
heavy demand upon this country, but that the 
incoming crop must be short. It could not be 
otherwise, with the poor seed used, and the 
continuous rains all through the sowing season 
last Autumn. At the date of our last report, 
news of favorable weather had just arrived from 
Europe, and speculators had managed to in¬ 
culcate the belief that the harvest would be 
good, and as a consequence of this belief, our 
markets sunk to a low point, for, with a surplus 
of grain here, the prices must necessarily be 
governed in a large measure, by the immediate 
or prospective foreign demand. 
i he positive advices received here since the 
10th of August, settle the question beyond a 
doubt, that the crops just gathered, or being- 
gathered, have been short, both in Great Britain and 
France and in some other countries of the Con¬ 
tinent, and that large exports from this country 
will continue for another year, unless there 
should be an entirely unlooked for interruption 
of friendly relations. 
From a careful survey of the numerous re¬ 
ports from all parts of our own wheat growing 
States, we conclude that, taken as a whole, the 
crop now gathered will be above an average one. 
This will afford a supply for home use, and a 
moderate surplus for export—not enough to 
overstock the market, or keep prices very low. 
The war caused a depreciation in the Southern 
State Stocks, so largely used as bank securities 
at the West, and this, of course, depreciated 
the bank bills. The depreciation went so far 
as to nearly destroy the bank issues in all the 
States west of Indiana, except Iowa, and the re¬ 
sult was, that for several months there was no 
money afloat, either to pay debts or to buy 
grain. Latterly, large amounts of gold have 
been forwarded from the East, which is begin¬ 
ning to find its way into the Western country. 
The constant demand for breadstuffs for Eastern 
consumption, and for export, will tend to great¬ 
ly increase the circulation of gold and specie¬ 
paying ban-k bills among the masses at the 
West. The immense sums now being expend¬ 
ed at home by our General Government, are be¬ 
ginning to set money afloat. The Treasury 
Notes, of which a million dollars a day are 
now provided for, and are being issued, will, 
during the continuance of the war, add greatly 
to the sound circulating currency of the country, 
and money will soon be plentiful, at least 
among those who produce the necessities of life 
—breadstuffs and meat. People must eat, and 
there are about as many mouths to be fed in war 
as in peace. Those who have crops to sell will 
therefore find a market for them; and as for 
breadstuffs, the foreign demand and the abun¬ 
dance of money, will keep the prices up to a 
paying figure, at least. 
The expenses of the war arc immense, but 
they are lax-gely charged to the future, in the 
form of govenxment loans, to be gradually liqui¬ 
dated over a long series of years; and, unlike 
all foreign wars, the money expended is not 
going out of the counti-y. On the other hand, 
we are impoi-ting little foreign merchandise to 
be paid for, while we are constantly receiving 
large amounts of hard coin from abroad in re¬ 
turn for the surplus products of our fertile 
soils. It would seem as if an over-ruling Provi¬ 
dence had so ordered the seasons and the course 
of events, as to prepare us for the great contest 
in which we are now engaged for constitutional 
freedom and the final establishment of our 
government on a firm, permanent basis. 
There is some anxiety in regard to the system 
of direct taxation established, but this is need¬ 
less. The amount to be raised annually, aver¬ 
ages less than two dollars for each inhabitant 
of the Free States. It will fall heaviest upon 
those best able to meet it; and very few persons 
would hesitate to voluntarily subscribe this 
amount, to support and maintain a free govern¬ 
ment, to the influence of which we are so largely 
indebted for the prosperity we have enjoyed. 
To the cultivatoi-s of the soil the present state 
of the country presents the strongest incentives 
to exertion. Their products will be in demand, 
however much all other commodities may be 
depreciated. He who fails, through fear, or slug¬ 
gishness, to put in every qcre of wheat possible, 
9G1 
and to increase the products of his acres to the 
highest point, fails in his duty to himself, to his 
family, and to his country. There is eveiy mo¬ 
tive to increased exertion, and to a careful study 
of the best methods of cultivation. If all other 
incentives fail, the certain prospect of full re- 
turns for the products of the soil, will sui'ely 
stimulate to active and well directed laboi\ 
Uepaul Barley—Giant Rye. 
Last Winter we received two parcels of seed 
from Jno. S. Graham, of Calaveras Co., Cal., ac¬ 
companied by the following note: “ I send you 
a few seeds of what is here called Nepal (Ne- 
paul) Barley. It may be on the Atlantic side, 
but I have seen no account of it.-Last season 
I drilled in one ounce on 147 square feet and it 
yielded 161 pounds of clean grain, or at the rate 
of 92 bushels per acre. It has a unique appear¬ 
ance when heading out; the heads are six rowed 
and beardless-The gigantic rye enclosed is 
believed to be particularly adapted for making 
vermicelli. It may be what is called “ Polish 
Wheat” at the East, though not known by that 
name here. It groxvs 6 feet high, and yields 
well.'The above seed we sowed April 
15. The barley seed received was a splendid 
grain—very large, heavy, clear skinned, in brief, 
the finest specimen we 
ever saw. It grew about 
three feet high, and 
bloomed. The acconx- 
panying sketch presents 
the exact appearance ol 
a head in bloom. It 
had a few short spikes 
or dwarfed blunt beards, 
as shown in the cut. 
Being on dry sandy soil, 
and the drouth exces¬ 
sive, the kernels did not 
fill well enough to equal 
the seed sown. This is 
the first specimen we 
have seen, though we 
believe some seed was 
distributed from the Pa¬ 
tent Office a few years 
ago. If it did well, we 
ought to have heard 
more of it ere this. 
From our small experi¬ 
ment under unfavorable 
circumstances, and from 
Mr. Graham’s account, 
we should judge that 
this grain would be a 
decided acquisition, at 
least in some parts of 
the countiy where it 
may be found to flour- 
is well. The “ Gigantic 
Bye" received, was also very fine, literally agi 
gantic kernel, as light colored and clear skinned 
as good wheat. Being sown in Spring, and suf- 
fei-ing from the drouth, it did not attain a hight 
of more than four feet, and the kernels were 
slmxnken. What it would do if sown in Autumn 
and under favorable circumstances, we can not 
tell; it appears to promise well, and we shall be 
glad to l-eceive a larger parcel to sow this Fall. 
According to the Farmers’ Magazine, 7,452 
tuns or over fifteen million (15,000,000) pounds of 
cheese were exported from the United State*), 
from Sept. 1st, 1859. to Sept. 1st, 1860. 
