AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
8 
All Books received.—\f not unworthy of notice—will be an¬ 
nounced in this column by title, as soon as received. 
Fui ther notices or reviews of Agricultural and Horticul¬ 
tural Books will b' given—when their striking merits 
or demerits require it—after we have had time to thor¬ 
oughly examine them. 
THE AMERICAN HERD BOOK, 
Containing Pedigrees of Short Horn Cattle, with introduc¬ 
tory notes, by Lewis F. Allen. Vol. 2. Buffalo: 
Thomas & Lathrops. 
We have received from the compiler a 
copy of this indispensable book to the Amer¬ 
ican Short Horn cattle breeder. It is clean 
white paper, illustrated with fifty-eight wood 
engravings, mostly by J. W. Orr, of this 
city, from original drawings by J. R. Page 
and others, of living animals. 
The whole number of pedigrees contained 
in the book, including the “ produce ” of 
registered cows, is about three thousand. 
This volume supplies a void which has 
long been felt by the American cattle breed¬ 
er, in tracing the Short Horn genealogy of 
this country back to its original stock. The 
English herd books are so expensive, and 
difficult to procure, and withal contain so 
few American pedigrees, that they can not 
be used to any extent on this side the Atlan¬ 
tic. A resort must therefore be had to do¬ 
mestic volumes. 
Every Agricultural Society in the United 
States should have both volumes of the Herd 
Book, for the government of its Short Horn 
cattle committees ; for without a full knowl¬ 
edge of the pedigrees and genealogy of the 
animals before them, it will be impossible 
for such committees to arrive at the true 
merits of what are brought before them. 
The introductory notes contain matter of 
much interest to the breeder, historical and 
otherwise, which should be understood by 
all who intend to breed intelligently and cor¬ 
rectly. As the edition is limited, it will be 
well for those wanting the work to lose no 
time in procuring it. Copies can be pro¬ 
cured through the publishers of the Agricul¬ 
turist. The price to non-subscribers is $6. 
The Stable Book. —A Treatise on the 
Management of Horses, in relation to Sta¬ 
bling, Grooming, Feeding, Watering, and 
Working, Construction of Stables, Ventila¬ 
tion, Apppendages of Stables, Management 
of the Feet, and Management of Diseased and 
Defective Horses. By John Stewart, Veteri¬ 
nary Surgeon. With notes and additions 
adapting it to American Food and Climate. 
By A- B. Allen, editor of the American Agri¬ 
culturist. New Edition, 378 pages. Price $1. 
C. M. Saxton & Co. 
Reemelin’s (Chas.) Vine-dresser’s Manual. 
—An Illustrated Treatise on Vineyards and 
Wine-making, containing full instructions as 
to location and soil; preparation of ground ; 
selection and propagation of vines ; the treat¬ 
ment of a young Vineyard, trimming and 
training the vines ; manures and the making 
of wine. Cloth, 50 cts. 102 pages. C. M. 
Saxton & Co. 
New-York Horticultural Review 7 , a new 
monthly. C. Reagles, New-York. 
The Rabbit Fancier, a treatise upon the 
Breeding, Rearing, Feeding and general man¬ 
agement of Rabbits, with remarks upon their 
Diseases and Remedies, drawn from authen¬ 
tic sources and personal observation, to 
which are added directions for hutches, feed¬ 
ing, cooking for table, &c. By C. N. Be- 
ment. C. M. Saxton & Co., New-York. 
101 pages. Price 50 cents. 
A Muck Manual for Farmers : a Treatise 
on the Physical and Chemical proportions of 
soils ; the chemistry of Manures ; including 
also the subject of composts, artificial ma¬ 
nures, and Irrigation. By Samuel L. Dana. 
C. M. Saxton & Co., New-York. New Edi¬ 
tion, 312 pages. Price $1. 
Practical Husbandry, by Winslow C. Wat¬ 
son. A Prize Essay before the New-York 
State Agricultural Society, 1855. From B. 
P. Johnson, Secretary of the Society. 
Cora and the Doctor ; or Revelations of 
a Physicians Wife. J. P. Jewett & Co., 
Boston, Mass.; pp. 407. 
Knickerbocker Magazine, for October. S. 
Hueston, Nassau-st., New-York. Full of 
racy and humerous good things ; for proof, 
read Editor’s Table. 
National Magazine, for October. Carleton 
& Phillips, No.200Mulberry-st., New-York. 
Beautifully illustrated, and one of the best of 
its class. 
Putnam’s Magazine, for October. J. A. 
Dix,No. 10Park-place, New-York. As usual, 
an excellent number. 
Ladies’ Repository, for October. Carleton 
& Phillips, New-York. Beautiful cuts of 
See-Saw, Mother and Son, and replete with 
valuable articles. 
Household W’ords, for October. J. A. Dix, 
Park-place. Like its predecessors—good. 
RIGHT VIEWS OF AGRICULTURE. 
A clergyman in Illinois, who has culti¬ 
vated a plot of ground to lengthen out his 
scanty income, and who never fails to have 
the American Agriculturist as a helper, 
writes us, in a recent letter inclosing his sub¬ 
scription : “ I look upon progress in agricul¬ 
ture as one of the great and important means 
of developing, improving and elevating man¬ 
kind in the scale of being; of promoting in¬ 
telligence, which is the most efficient and 
important handmaid to religious improve¬ 
ment ; and the science of cultivation should 
be fostered by every lover of his race.” 
Another clergyman, who was very active 
in getting out his parishioners to a course of 
lectures we were once giving, was ques¬ 
tioned as to the reason of his activity, as he 
was not a farmer: “ Why,” said he, “ if I 
can get all my agricultural hearers to rea¬ 
soning upon their every-day work, they will 
be better Sunday reasoners; and if they can 
get better crops for the same labor, they 
will have more leisure for thinking and read¬ 
ing ; they can educate their children better, 
and our whole community will be greatly 
improved if we can get one and a quarter 
spires of grass or wheat to grow where we 
get but one now. And more,” said he ; “ if 
you can not look beyond a selfish motive, I 
can give you even that: If you get more 
crops in this parish, by giving a little atten¬ 
tion to the science of agriculture, then you 
can increase my salary. So you see I am 
every way interested in making better farm¬ 
ers of my parishioners.” 
MULES VERSUS HORSES. 
Mr. William Ebbets, the Superintendant of 
the Sixth-avenue Railroad stables in this city, 
gives us the experience of that company, 
leading to the conclusion that for labor at 
ordinary rates of speed, mules are prefer¬ 
able to horses. These hybrids may be put 
to labor younger than horses, being as fit for 
service at three years old as horses are at 
five. They are less liable to the accidents 
of disease, so that on an average they wear 
one-and-a-half times as long. The amount of 
feed they require is at least one-third less 
than that of horses of the same weight, per¬ 
forming the same work. 
The horses and mules of the Company do 
an equal daily labor—the average travel is 
I6i miles. Of hay they receive the same daily 
allowance eight pounds—but in the addition¬ 
al feed of meal, the mules receive but half 
as much as the horses, and yet, as any one 
may observe, keep in better order. For this 
reason the Company are substituting mules 
for horses as fast as may be. They pay, on 
an average, $300 per pair for mules, while the 
average for horses is not over $225. The 
expense of raising mules is no greater than 
that of other costs. 
To offset economy in feed, mules can not 
compete with horses in point of speed. This 
is due in part to their smaller size, but 
mostly to difference in composition. The 
material of which a mule is made seems to 
be tougher, and less given to motion, so that 
with the effort a horse uses in making four 
miles an hour, a mule makes not more than 
three. Over-sized mules, as ovei'-sized 
horses, do not wear well. The most eco¬ 
nomical weight for either animal is about 
eight or nine hundred pounds. A mule will 
draw a heavier load than a horse of the same 
weight. 
The meal fed is composed of equal parts, 
by the bushel, of maize and oats ground to¬ 
gether. Of this, a horse gets one hundred 
pounds a week, and a mule fifty pounds. 
The drivers prefer the horse-teams on ac¬ 
count of their more stylish action. 
To Loosen Glass Stoppers. —Let the head 
of the stopper rest against the edge of a 
wooden table, and tap the stopper lightly on 
the side in an upward direction with some 
light body—a small billet of wood is best 
for this. If this fail, expand the neck of the 
bottle by warming it in the flame of a lamp, 
continually revolving it to prevent its crack¬ 
ing, and then rap it gently as before. The 
most inveterate cases give way to careful 
heating. 
