104 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
The Back Volumes of the American Agriculturist, 
I'catly bound, can now be supplied from the commence¬ 
ment. These, of themselves constitute a beautiful and 
valuable Farmer’s Library, embracing a compendium 
o! all the important agricultural articles that have ap- 
peareed during the last thirteen years. First ten volumes, 
new edition, furnished bound for $10. 
Bound volumes XI, XII and XIII (new series), $1 50 per 
volume; unbound, $1 per volume. The whole thirteen 
volumes furnished bound for $14 50. 
^raeritaS Agriculturist. 
New-York, T!mrs<lay, April 2<8. 
JSIT* This paper is never sent where it is 
not considered paid fot—and is in all cases 
stopped when the subscription runs out. 
We occasionally send a number to persons 
who are not subscribers. This is sometimes 
done as a compliment, and in other cases to 
invite examination. Those receiving such 
numbers are requested to look them over, and 
if convenient show them to a neighbor. 
ENGLISH HORSES IN THE CRIMEA. 
We notice articles going the rounds of the 
agricultural press, stating that the reason 
English horses have proved so worthless in 
the Crimea is, they have “ too much race¬ 
horse blood in them.” This is an erroneous 
assumption, and is not the real reason. We 
do not care how much racing blood a cavalry 
horse has in him, provided he has been prop¬ 
erly bred ; and the more blood he has, we 
contend, the better he will be for it. 
What is blood , in the horseman’s accepta¬ 
tion of the term ? It is the finest, strongest, 
and most ivory-like bone ; the hardiest, 
toughest, and most elastic of sinews and 
muscle ; the best wind and greatest endur¬ 
ance ; the highest courage; the greatest 
speed and endurance for its size ; in short, 
the finest and best possible moral and phys¬ 
ical development of that noble species of 
animal—the horse. 
The true reason why English horses have 
not endured equal to the French and some 
others is, that they are too delicately reared 
and high fed for rough campaigning. But 
gradually season them to it, and they will 
go through any thing that hore-flesh is capa¬ 
ble of. If part bred horses were more rough¬ 
ly reared in England—say something like 
Welch ponies—they would endure an open 
winter campaign in the Crimea with as little 
suffering as the French or Cossack horses. 
The stables in England are made very 
warm and close—too much so. They are 
generally built of brick or stone, with per¬ 
fectly tight roofs, and are often lathed and 
plastered. In addition to this, the horse is 
very warmly blanketed, summer as well as 
winter, groomed in the finest manner, and 
regularly fed the best of grain, hay, or grass. 
Under such artificial treatment he becomes 
momentarily delicate, the same as man does 
in tight, warm houses, with thick, warm 
clothing, and a luxurious table. Now take 
horses thus reared and turn them out, ex¬ 
posed to wind, rain, sleet and snow, with the 
cold ground for a bed, and the open sky for 
a canopy; days perhaps without food, and 
even the little they then get of a damaged or 
inferior quality; over-worked and ungroom¬ 
ed ; would not sickness be expected as a 
natural consequence from such a sudden 
change to their rough treatment? This is 
even more than a hardy, rough Cossack or 
Tartar horse can endure, for it is well known 
that many of them have also perished in the 
past winter campaign in the Crimea. The 
French horses and soldiers have been taken 
better care of than the English in the Crimea, 
and this is the principal reason why they 
have suffered so much less ; though the cir¬ 
cumstance of their hardier rearing has doubt- 
best farmers and fruit-growers in the coun¬ 
try ; saying nothing of your own time spent 
in the effort. 
The time of seed-sowing in the garden 
has already come, and now is the time to 
take counsel, and lay out your plans for the 
season. 
We call special attention to the advertise¬ 
ment “Home on a farm wanted.” The ad¬ 
vertiser has ample references, and will be a 
pleasant addition to the family of some in¬ 
telligent practical farmer. ' 
less been somewhat in their favor. But rear 
a Polar bear as English horses are reared, 
and then abruptly turn him out to rough it 
in a Crimean winter, and see if he does not 
suffer materially from the cold weather; yet 
if gradually inured to it he would, after prop¬ 
er seasoning, become as hardy as any of his 
Polar bred and reared kindred. 
Back Numbers from the beginning of this 
volume (March 15), can still be supplied to 
new or renewing subscribers. We are 
pleased to find, by an examination of our 
books, that scarcely fifty subscribers have 
failed to renew, out of the large number 
whose time expired at. the close of the last 
volume. This is the best evidence that our 
efforts are appreciated, and acts as a stimu¬ 
lus to future exertion. 
BOOKS FOR THE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. 
Next to the blessedness of having a bit of 
earth to call your own, is that of having a 
practical treatise to tell you howto cultivate 
and improve it. A man who would go miles 
to see a gardener or fruit-grower, to learn 
the best method of growing a plant or tree, 
would not, perhaps, open a book containing 
the same information more fully and clearly 
stated. We are glad to see the multiplica¬ 
tion of books upon rural affairs, and we, who 
were stinted in our boyhood to the very 
brief agricultural hints found in the Farm¬ 
ers’ Almanac, really envy the young farmers 
of this generation, who have handsome duo¬ 
decimos, and octavos even, illumined with 
splendid drawings of trees, fruits arid flow¬ 
ers for their edification. If we ever wish to 
be young again, it is to improve the com¬ 
parative leisure of youth in gaining that 
knowledge of the garden, the orchard, and 
the farm, which the press is continually 
sending out upon the world. Our best gar¬ 
deners and fruit-growers are now writers 
for the public, embodying their experience 
of long years, in agricultural journals and 
text-books, so that a novice in the manipu¬ 
lation of the soil, if he will avail himself of 
their teachings, may, in a few years, be¬ 
come skilled in all the mysteries of cultiva¬ 
tion. 
A friend of ours, who says he takes agri¬ 
cultural papers and buys books to save post¬ 
age, has the right view of this subject. You 
will really obtain more practical knowledge 
of cultivation from almost any of the vol¬ 
umes issued from the agricultural press, or 
from a year’s file of a good agricultural jour¬ 
nal, than you could gainfromten times their 
cost expended in correspondence with the 
FAST TROTTING AND RUNNING. 
WIIAT A HORSE CAN DO. 
We believe the fastest trotting done in 
this country, was by Tacony, under the sad¬ 
dle—one mile in two minutes and twenty- 
five and a half seconds. 
The fastest running was: 
Lexington, four miles,...7m. 19fs. 
Lecomte, “ “ _7m. 32is. 
Fashion, “ “ _7m. 32£s. 
Geo. Martin, “ “ _7m. 33s. 
Several others have nearly equaled the 
latter’s time. The great four mile race be¬ 
tween Henry and Eclipse, on Long Island, 
was done in 7m. 37s. Lexington and Le¬ 
comte ran at New Orleans last month. The 
first time, 7m. 19is., was by the former run¬ 
ning alone against time. The second, of 
7m. 22fs., was a match run between Lex¬ 
ington and Lecomte, in which the former 
was victorious. 
It must be recollected that the New Or¬ 
leans track is very elastic, and is considered 
several seconds faster than the Union Course 
on Long Island. Perhaps on that, Lexing¬ 
ton and Lecomte would have made no better 
time than Fashion and Boston did, at their 
celebrated race in 7m. 321s. Boston is the 
sire of the Lexington above. 
A SHORT STORY. 
- ©- 
Young Wing, the son of Loo Chung, was 
a citizen of the Celeslial Empire, and lived 
on the banks of the river Min. His ances¬ 
tors for many generations back had been 
employed in the cultivation of Tea ; and this 
employment, as it were, hereditary, at last 
fell to the fortune of Yung Wing. In the 
early history of China, while agriculture was 
yet unsettled, the true nature and treatment 
of this plant was very imperfectly under¬ 
stood ; but, at last, time brought to light 
several new modes of culture, which, while 
they required less labor, were far more pro¬ 
ductive. 
Now, the wiser class of citizens not only 
favored these discoveries themselves, but 
also sought to make them known among 
their countrymen. They even went so far 
as to write books abounding in much instruc¬ 
tion and experience. But what had books 
to do with raising tea! So thought Yung 
Wing. And when his friends told him what 
they were doing, and what improvement 
they had made, beseeching him to listen to 
reason, and imitate their example, he only 
replied : 
“ Custom is my law. Her lessons are 
sure, and must not be set aside. Shall he 
