358 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Decembeb, 
California. 
Answer. — “ Only 
10% o’clock, A. M., 
Oct. 24th, 1861, and 
All’s Well.” 
Rocky Mountain*. 
Great Western Plains. 
Mississippi. 
TALKING ACROSS THE CONTINENT. 
Alleghanies. 
‘Call.’ —Oct. 24., 1861," 
2 o’clock, P. M.—All 
hail to the Pacific 1 
What’s the Hour ? 
Aside from war topics, the most noteworthy 
occurrence since the last Agriculturist went to 
press, is the completion of the telegraph from 
the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic seaboard, mak¬ 
ing a continuous wire 5000 miles long, from San 
Francisco, Cal, to Cape Race, Newfoundland. 
Messages are now sent almost instantaneously 
over this whole distance. News from Europe, 
received at Cape Race at noon, and sent at once 
to San Francisco, arrives there almost as soon 
as the sun which arose at Cape Race 4j hours 
before. A message over the wires, started at 
noon from New-York, would reach San Francis¬ 
co at a quarter before nine A.. M., of the same day. 
Above we have tried to give a birds-eye 
view of this great work. Our Continent, 
though but an island in the broad expanse 
of water that overspreads three-fourths of the 
earth’s surface, is yet a vast plain, broken by 
great mountain ridges on the west and east, and 
intersected by mighty rivers. Starting at the Pa¬ 
cific, the row of poles bearing aloft the diminu¬ 
tive wire, rises over the Sierra Nevada peaks, de- 
Bcends into the Utah Valley, then over the snow¬ 
capped Rocky Mountains, then away through 
the Missouri and Mississippi Vallej’s, then over 
the Alleghanies, and down the Atlantic slope 
containing many States, each almost as populous 
as kingdoms of the old world. Those who 
have traveled across a single State, can have a 
faint idea of the immensity of the space trav¬ 
ersed by the living wire—the nerve that instan¬ 
taneously carries the pulsations of thought from 
shore to shore of our continent. We on the At¬ 
lantic can seize the wire and shake hands with 
our brethren on the Pacific, and hold converse 
almost as familiarly as if we stood face to face. 
We stand in awe as we contemplate the achieve¬ 
ments of science, and wonder what the next 
age, perhaps the next year, will bring forth. 
--—— —— > —-- 
/ Unusual Announcement. 
Interesting to all our Readers, and particularly so to 
. the Readers of the “ Connecticut Homestead .” 
It is seldom that any announcement is made 
of additions to, or changes in the editorial depart¬ 
ment of this journal. The aim is to make the 
American Agriculturist an institution of itself— 
not dependent upon any local or temporary in¬ 
fluences or connections. The paper must go 
right on, even though circumstances should re¬ 
move every one of those now connected with it. 
For business purposes, the name of the responsi¬ 
ble Editor and Proprietor is given. (We might 
keep at the head of our columns a long list of 
those laboring to make these pages valuable— 
W. Clift, A. D. Gridley, W. A. Fitch, Clarkson 
Taber, Karl Riedel, etc., etc.—but this is not 
needed, nor is it desired by them. What the 
Agriculturist itself IS, is the essential thing.) 
We will, however, depart from the usual 
custom, to announce that hereafter the Agricul¬ 
turist will have added to its previous working 
editorial force, Mason C. Weld Esq., the well 
known editor of the Connecticut Homestead, a 
paper that has for several years ranked fore¬ 
most among the reliable agricultural and horticul¬ 
tural journals of the country. The Homestead 
will be merged into the Agriculturist, which will 
thus combine the advantages of both journals.* 
Mr. Weld has enjoyed peculiar advantages. We 
knew him, years ago, as the efficient assistant of 
the elder Silliman in the general Laboratory of 
Yale College, and also of Prof. Silliman, Jr., 
and the late Prof. Jno. P. Norton, in the agri¬ 
cultural school of that College. Mr. W. after¬ 
wards devoted considerable time to study and 
observation in Europe, a part of the time with 
Liebig himself. His subsequent experience as 
Editor and Publisher of the Homestead, and 
his practical acquaintance with the agriculture 
and horticulture of Connecticut will, ive trust, 
aid materially in increasing the value of the 
Agriculturist to all its readers. And here let us 
add, that we believe the above and other gener¬ 
al arrangements, warrant us in confidently prom¬ 
ising to all our readers that the next volume of 
the Agriculturist will far excel the present and 
all previous volumes in the amount, variety, and 
value of the practical information it will furnish 
for the Farm, Garden, and Household. 
^Special to Subscribers to the “ Homestead.” —Ar¬ 
rangements are made for the Agriculturist to be sent to 
subscribers to the Homestead for the full time they 
have paid in advance for that paper. Mr. Weld will be 
with us in a week or two, and we hope his former patrons 
and readers will accompany him to his new field of labor. 
Immense Sales of Breadstuff's. 
The prosperity of the whole country, not of 
farmers alone, but of all classes, is just now so 
directly connected with the flour and grain 
markets, that their condition is a matter of the 
highest interest to all. Money is the strong arm 
of the government. Without this it would be im¬ 
possible to provide munitions of war, and to 
pay, clothe, and feed the vast armies now need¬ 
ed to re-establish our country on its former 
basis. Money the Government has in abund¬ 
ance. Instead of sending abroad forty to sixty 
million dollars of specie, as in previous years, 
we are not only keeping what we have, but re¬ 
ceiving immense sums from other countries in 
return for the surplus breadstuff's which Provi¬ 
dence has given to us just at the time when all 
Europe is deficient. The Banks of this and 
other cities are so surfeited with solid coin, that 
they, from time to time, loan to the government 
fifty millions in a lump, and more readily than 
five millions could usually be furnished. 
The condition of our own and foreign grain 
markets was discussed pretty fully last month. 
Suffice it to say here that our latest reports from 
Europe fully confirm all that we have previous¬ 
ly stated. France has been wide-awake to the 
crisis, and the most pressing immediate wants 
of that country have been provided for, but the 
demand will continue large, up to the next 
year’s wheat harvest, at least. In England there 
was almost a panic at latest advices. The 
MarJc-Lane Express of the 28th ult., says. “. .The 
season is no ordinary one, and requires more 
than ordinary promptness and activity to steer 
the (breadstuff) trade through the breakers that 
are ahead. Stimulated by Government, the 
French merchants act instanter, with a certainty 
of success, both because they have official sup¬ 
port, and because the large requirements of the two 
countries are patent to every one. It is doubtful 
whether the whole range of foreign markets will furnish 
wheat enough to supply the deficiency." - We have 
confirmatory reports from other sources, both 
in England and on the Continent. England and 
France will not be easily led into a war with 'us for 
cotton, when a war would shut out our breadstuffs. 
The market review prepared for this month’s 
American Agriculturist (page 376,) gives, in very 
condensed form, some exceedingly interesting 
tables, showing at a glance the trade in bread- 
stuffs, both in the New-York markets, and in 
several important interior towns. We hardly 
need repeat them here. It will be seen that dur¬ 
ing the past 27 business days the sales in this 
market alone, mainly for export, have reached 
the enormous figures of795,000 barrels of Flour; 
8,998,000 bushels of wheat; and 4,521,000 bush¬ 
els of Corn. The flour and wheat sales equalled 
12,596,000 bushels of wheat, or an average of nearly 
half a million bushels every day for a month ;• ist 
The known sales of Hour, wheat, and corr. lor 
only 27 days past, foot up 17,494,000 bushels 
—seventeen and a half millions ! or an 
average of 648,000 bushels daily. And nearly all 
of this has gone abroad. The exports from this 
City alone, from January 1st to Nov. 13, have 
been 22,364,403 bushels of wheat; 2,484,079 
barrels of flour (equivalent to 12,420,395 bush 
els of wheat); and 10,407,300 bushels of com. 
Total 45,192,098 bushels. The amount 
will be swelled to considerably over 60,000,000 
bushels before the close of the year. Philadel¬ 
phia has also exported this year an equivalent 
of3,793,173 bushels of wheat and corn, viz - 
flour 329,512 bbls.; wheat 1,443,568 bushels 
corn 703,045 bushels. 
The effect upon the farming and other inter 
ests of this country, of these large shipments, 
and of the continued large foreign demand, 
which must last for seven months at least, can 
readily be conceived. We shall, in future num 
bers, present further interesting items in cornier 
tion with the grain trade of the country. Tho 
speedy closing of the canals will, during winter, 
materially affect the markets of this city at least 
and doubtless those of the whole country 
