AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
137 
blood, and makes it distasteful or poisonous 
to the lice, and thus they either drop off and 
die or are killed by it. Others contend that 
sulphur is of little or no value in killing lice. 
We have never tried sulphur for these pur¬ 
poses, and can not recommend it, but give 
these suggestions for what they are worth. 
Mowing Match. —The Monroe County 
(N. Y.) Agricultural Society are preparing 
for a trialof mowers on alarge scale, to take 
place near Rochester, on the 5th of July. 
This is a good arrangement if well carried 
out, as we doubt not it will be. We only re¬ 
gret that the exhibition was not appointed at 
an earlier date, so that farmers could be guid¬ 
ed by the result in purchasing implements 
this year. 
Prepared Covers. —We keep constantly on hand pre¬ 
pared covers for Volumes XI, XII, XIII, and XIV, which 
will be furnished at 25 cents each. These have stamped 
sides, and gilt backs, are uniform, and can be put on by 
any book-binder, at a cost of 25 cents. They can not be 
mailed very conveniently. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
ALFALFA. 
Lieut. Wm. Lewis Herndon of the U. S. 
Navy, in his “ Exploration of the Valley of 
the Amazon,” says the alfalfa is “ a very 
green and pretty kind of lucern, universally 
used in this country (Peru) for pasturage.” 
It is described as a very thrifty, nutritious, 
and palatable plant, eagerly sought for by all 
domestic animals. 
The alfalfa is also very hardy. It grows 
luxuriantly at an elevation of 10,600 feet 
above the level of the ocean. Then why 
may it not be introduced, with almost a cer¬ 
tainty of success—as a hardy and most valu¬ 
able grass—into our northern and eastern 
States, and into Canada 1 
In my opinion the U. S. Government can 
not subserve the agricultural interests of this 
country better, than by procuring the alfalfa, 
and other valuable seeds from foreign coun¬ 
tries, and distributing them among reliable 
farmers to be tested. It is true this course 
has been pursued to a considerable extent; 
but this should be made one of the principal 
objects of all exploring and other expeditions. 
Instead of enlisting the services of the army 
and navy and other departments of the gen¬ 
eral government, to advance the interests of 
commerce and manufactures exclusively, let 
their eldest sister, agriculture , come in for a 
share of the “ aid and comfort.” 
But if either one of the trio is to receive 
the largest share of attention, give it to ag¬ 
riculture. Widen, deepen and enrich the 
agricultural resources of our country, and 
you make her at once rich, happy and inde¬ 
pendent; E. S. Holmes. 
Lockport, N. Y.,May 4, 1855. 
Sales of Short Horn Cattle in England. 
—The sales of Short Horns next week will 
make it probably the most remarkable of the 
year in that respect. Mr. Wetherell of Dur¬ 
ham has two sales and Mr. Stafford three. 
The Hendon sale on Tuesday, to which we 
referred last week will be followed on 
Wednesday by a sale of 40 pure bred Short 
Horns from Mr. Ambler’s herd at Watkinson 
Hall farm, near Halifax, Yorkshire, and on 
Friday by the auction at Springfield Hall, 
near Lancaster, when the whole of the herd 
oi the late John Bolden, Esq., will be sub¬ 
mitted without reserve to public competition. 
Mr. Bolden was a cotemporary of the Col- 
lings, and his cattle have been bred chiefly 
from the herds of Messrs. Bates and Booth. 
Mr. Ambler’s stock is descended from the 
herds of the Earl of Carlisle, Earl Ducie, 
and Earl Spencer, and those of Messrs. 
Bates, Bolden, Booth, Fawkes, Maynard, 
Tanqueray, Townley, and others. And we 
maymentionin reference to Mr. Tanqueray’s 
herd, what was omitted last week, that a 
good portion of the young stock are by the 
best bulls in the country, namely : Duke of 
Glo’ster, and 5th Duke of York.— Agricul¬ 
tural Gazette, April 21. 
HIGH PRICES AND WEATHER IN ENGLAND. 
Judging from the following extracts from 
the Mark-Lane Express, the winter has been 
as severe, and the spring as late in Great 
Britain as here. Cattle, sheep, and stock of 
all kinds are scarce, and enormously high. 
Thousands have been prematurely sent to 
the shambles, and hundreds have died of 
starvation in the United States ; and there 
seems to be a short supply in other coun¬ 
tries. Hence the high price of beef, mutton, 
and other meats. All except the very rich 
will have to live mainly on fish, peas, beans, 
corn and rye for a few months to come, or 
else expend all their earning in butchers’ 
meat, flour and potatoes. Fortunately the 
first five articles mentioned are quite as 
healthy and more lasting, and make as good 
muscle as the last three. 
Stock — Cattle, Sheep. —The high price of 
every kind of food has most unquestionably 
had a very detrimental effect upon farm stock. 
Cake, corn, hay, as also every kind of suc¬ 
culent food, have throughout the winter been 
unusually scarce and dear; consequently, 
all has been dealt out with a parsimonious, 
if not stingy hand ; no waste or superfluous 
feeding allowed. The result is, that this, in 
conjunction with one of the longest and se¬ 
verest winters ever known, has left ordinary 
grazing stock lower in condition, and of 
course less able to feed or graze satisfacto¬ 
rily, than I have ever known. This danger 
is, I think, much increased by the vicissi¬ 
tudes they have already undergone, and the 
trying ordeal through which they are now 
passing and have yet to pass. Throughout 
the whole of last summer they suffered great 
privations, both from a deficiency of food 
and water, the one indigestible, the other 
unwholesome. Fatting stock became lean, 
store stock distressingly reduced to “ nothing 
but skin and bone,” to the no small injury to 
health and future progress. This has to be 
dealt with. To this add the further priva¬ 
tions of a most trying winter; and then ev¬ 
ery grazier must see the difficulties his live 
stock have to encounter and overcome be¬ 
fore he must look for any return of profit. 
Crops — Wheat. —This is the only crop of 
which I can at present take any notice, fur¬ 
ther than to say, that as every kind of spring 
corn has been put in after the best order, 
and the soil being in a highly satisfactory 
state to receive it, a good and abundant crop 
may be fairly anticipated. Not so with 
wheat. The long and severe winter, the 
continuous frosts without snow, or other re¬ 
maining moisture (for the absence of rains 
during the summer and autumn left the soil 
dry, open, and light), has resulted in a very 
thin plant on all good soils, almost annihi¬ 
lation on elevated sands and gravels, and 
great injury to all light and thin soils. The 
whole crop throughout the kingdom has pre¬ 
sented a dull, brown, deplorable appearance 
till within the past few weeks, and is but 
slowly recovering its growth and color at 
the present time (April 10th) on the best 
soils, while in very many cases on other 
soils the crop is plowed up and sown to 
barley, &c. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
VITALITY OF SPANISH MOSS. 
Ill number 82 of the American Agricultu¬ 
rist you ask your Southern readers whether 
the long moss grows on trees after they are 
dead. Had I answered the question with¬ 
out a special examination after reading the 
article, I should have certainly said no—that 
it died with the tree. But 1 went out the 
next morning into my orchard, where I knew 
there was some upon a tree which has been 
dead six years. I procured some of the 
moss, and, to my surprise, found it not only 
alive but actually growing. The presump¬ 
tion with me had always been, that it died 
soon after the tree was killed ; but that, from 
its wiery tenacity, it wmuld continue to hang 
on the tree for a considerable time. This 
instance shows that it is possible that it will 
live upon a tree as long as there is bark 
upon it. I find no moss where there is no 
bark. B. F. Ashley. 
Montgomery Co., Ala., April 18, 1855. 
[We invite a further examination of this 
matter. Does the moss require sap or sus¬ 
tenance from the tree, whether alive or dead, 
or will it grow “ hanging from a crowbar,” 
as has been frequently asserted in our hear¬ 
ing 1 —Ed.] 
OSAGE ORANGE HEDGES. 
The following circular contains some use¬ 
ful information, and we give our readers, as 
well as Mr. Sleeper and Messrs. McGrew, 
Leas, & Co., the benefit of its insertion. 
Farmers of the West: 
Let me spring upon you this question l 
Are you alive to the improvements of the times 
which most concern you? This is truly the 
fast age. The age of lightning speed and 
wonderful labor-saving inventions. These 
are the times that are prophesied of—when 
“ knowledge shall be increased.” These are 
the good times long been coming, when there 
shall be more use for the 11 pruning hook ” 
than for the sword. 
Farmers of the West, what think you of 
the living fence ? It can not be that you have 
an incurable fondness for mauling and haul¬ 
ing rails, or the toil of fitting and refitting 
common fences. 
The general introduction of living fences 
shall be marked as an important epoch in the 
history of agriculture in America. 
Let me invite you to turn a practical eye 
to facts and figures pertaining to the Osage 
Orange hedge fence in our country. 
An extensive business is now carried oil 
by several companies in the Western States 
in planting and training these hedges for a 
stipulated price per rod or mile, McGrew, 
Leas, & Co., of Ohio, have under contract 
with different farmers in that State 85 miles 
of hedge, now one and two years old. They 
have also contracts in Illinois for setting this 
spring 225 miles of hedge, the largest por¬ 
tion of which is to be planted along the line 
of the Illinois railroad. The prices paid for 
furnishing and setting the plants, and train¬ 
ing the hedge to maturity, are from 75 cents 
to $1 25 per rod, according to payment, or 
from 50 to 40 cents per rod for furnishing 
and setting the plants, the owner completing 
the cultivation and training. 
These are practical men, most emphati- 
