76 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
upon an entirely incorrect report of an old 
“ speech” of ours which found its way into 
the Doings of the “ New-York Farmers’ 
Club ”—so called—given in the Transactions 
of the American Institute. 
Valley Farmer.— This old agricultural 
monthly, edited and published at St. Louis, 
Mo., for a number of years past, by Mr. E. 
Abbott, is hereafter to be published simulta¬ 
neously at St. Louis and Louisville, Ky., by 
H. P. Byram, under the joint editorship of 
Norman J. Coleman, Ephraim Abbott & H. 
P. Byram. 
Carolina Cultivator, Raleigh, N. C.— 
The publisher, Mr. W. D. Cooke, has se¬ 
cured the editorial services of Prof B. S. 
Hedricks, Professor of Agricultural Chemis¬ 
try in the University of North-Carolina. 
THAT PUMPKIN. 
Providence, R. I., has lately become noted 
for a “ fever-and-ague medicine,” (Rhodes’,) 
and well it may, if the very soil thereabouts 
produces quinine pumpkins. We have drank 
cinchona decoctions, taken quinine in Allo¬ 
pathic doses, made wry faces over quassia 
tea, and played “ shut your eyes and open 
your mouth” to a dose of boneset—but all 
these mixed, and “ boiled down,” would 
hardly produce such contortions of visage, as 
our “ sub ” exhibited when we got him to 
taste the specimen slice of a Rhode-Island 
pumpkin, received from Messrs. J. Batch & 
Son, druggists, of Providence, just as we 
had written out our last “item ” for the De¬ 
cember number. 
We carefully examined this pumpkin—it 
may be a squash—it may be a cross of the two 
—we cut it in several places, and the afore¬ 
said “ sub ” tried the seeds, and tasted a 
portion of every part, in hopes of taking 
away the taste of the last piece, and his final 
decision, uttered with emphasis, was, “ It’s 
all bitter!” Said pumpkin was raised by 
Dr. A. C. Whitman, of Fiskville, R. I. 
Our first impression was that the doctor’s 
“student” had emptied the quassia or qui¬ 
nine bottle on the ground where this pump¬ 
kin grew, or that he had soaked it in tansy 
or impregnated it with wormwood. But 
still the specimen appeared to be a natural 
growth, and we wrote to Dr. Whitman for 
something of its history, of the manure used, 
the plants growing around it, &c. We will 
inquire whether any one else has seen any¬ 
thing of the kind. It resembles both a pump¬ 
kin and a squash, in size, shape, color, and 
general appearance. We give Dr. Whit¬ 
man’s letter: 
Fiskville, December, 1655. 
Mr. Judd: Dear Sir— I received your note 
of the 1st inst., soliciting further informa¬ 
tion respecting the “ bitter pumpkin.” I will 
give you the history of it as far as I can. 
Last spring, while preparing to plant some 
cucumbers, I discovered this plant, and as it 
looked very thrifty I concluded to let it 
grow. My cucumbers were twice eaten up 
by the striped bug, but this plant was unmo¬ 
lested—no bug or worm disturbing it. On 
one side of it was planted beets, parsnips, 
radishes, &c., and on the other musk and 
water-melons. The manure was stable and 
hog-pen manure made on the lot. The plot 
on which it grew has been used for a vege¬ 
table garden for a number of years. I do 
not know of anything having been put upon 
the ground that could have produced such a 
growth, and I am sure it was not impregna¬ 
ted with any bitter substance after it grew. 
The vine was very prolific, for this one 
stalk or vine produced, I think, fourteen 
pumpkins, or squashes, whichever you choose 
to call them. I have six or eight of them 
now. * * * Very respectfully yours, 
w. c. WHITMAN. 
Perhaps some of the curious will be suffi¬ 
ciently interested to send to Dr. Whitman 
for a few of the seeds. Why might not the 
extract of this “ vegetable ” be a good spe¬ 
cific for the fever and ague, if it can be 
propagated ? It is certainly bitter enough, 
if bitterness is all that is required for that 
ailing. 
MR, THORNE’S IMPORTATION OE CATTLE. 
By the steamer Washington, recently ar¬ 
rived at this port, Mr. Samuel Thorne, of 
Washington, Dutchess Co., N. Y., imported 
two very superior Short Horn bulls. 
Neptune (11,847), deep roan, calved Nov. 
14th, 1850, bred by Mr. John Booth of Kill- 
erby, England ; got by Water King (11,024), 
out of Bloom, by Buckingham (3,239), &c. 
His dam, Bloom, was bred by Mr. Richard 
Booth, and was a great favorite with him. 
Neptune is one of the most imposing look¬ 
ing bulls, especially in front, that was ever 
imported into the United States. His horns, 
head and eyes are fine, with a slightly arched 
and well set neck. He is short on the legs, 
and possesses a very deep, wide brisket, to¬ 
gether with great depth of flank — thus 
making him a large animal in a moderate 
compass. We need not inform those who 
are conversant with Short Horns, that Mr. 
Booth’s stock has a great reputation in Eng¬ 
land, and we are informed that Neptune 
ranked there as among the best bulls of his 
breeding. 
Grand Duke 2d (12,961), nearly all red, 
calved Sept. 22d, 1853 ; got by 4th Duke of 
York (10,167), out of Dutchess 64th, by 2d 
Duke of Oxford (9,046), out of Duches 55th, 
by 4th Duke of Northumberland (3,649), &c. 
As to his breeder, Mr. Bolden claims to have 
bred him, and has so entered him in the Eng¬ 
lish Herd Book, with what propriety, our 
readers will judge, when we inform them 
that Air. Jonathan Thorne, the father of the 
importer, Air. Samuel Thorne, purchased 
Grand Duke 2d’s dam before he was calved, 
at the late Earl Ducie’s sale, in the summer 
of 1853 ; but owing to an arrangement by 
which Air. Thorne obtained Duchess 59 and 
68, he left this calf with Air. Bolden, soon 
after being dropped. Air. T. has now paid 
Mr. B. the enormous price of 1,000 guineas 
($5,000), just the amount his father paid for 
the first Grand Duke, also in his possession. 
Grand Duke 2d we think fully equal, if not 
superior, to the first Grand Duke, which is 
saying perhaps as much as is necessary, to 
give the public a good idea of him. But to 
this we xvill add, that he is very stylish, and 
remarkably well ribbed up. As Short Horns 
are generally inferior in this point to their 
distinguished rivals, the Herefords and Dev¬ 
ons, to be well ribbed up is a great desider¬ 
atum in bulls of this breed. 
We think the public under much obliga¬ 
tion to Air. Thorne for his spirit and enter¬ 
prise in these importations. It will be recol¬ 
lected that his father, in 1853, paid 600 guin¬ 
eas ($3,000) for Duchess 64, the dam of 
Grand Duke 2d. This Duchess is)now in 
the possession of young Air. T., and has al¬ 
ready dropped two very fine calves to the 
first Grand Duke. 
ABOUT WASHING, 
The Agriculturist for 50 Cents ! 
Reader, suppose you keep a careful ac¬ 
count during a year of the total amount of 
useful knowledge derived fropi the pages of 
this journal—putting together the direct ben- 
fit received, and the indirect profit resulting 
from the hints and suggestions thrown out 
from time to time. If you do this, we should 
hazard nothing in proposing to take one-half, 
or one-tenth of that sum, as full pay for the 
subscription. In twelve monthly numbers 
we give from 600 to 1,000 articles, on a great 
variety of topics. How many of these fur¬ 
nish you useful hints'! We leave you to 
answer. 
The price for a single subscription is only 
$1 a year. Now we will give you a recipe 
which is being sold all over the country at 
this time, for 50 cents to each purchaser. 
If it is worth this price to every family, as 
such buyers as we have talked with say it 
is, you have here, in this one article, 50 cts. 
worth of knowledge, which, deducted from 
the cost of the paper, leaves you only 50 
cents additional expense for all the other 999 
articles, more or less. Is not this as plain 
as simple subtraction! Here is an exact 
copy of the recipe, as sold about the country 
RECIPE FOR MAKING ONE BARREL OF SOAP. 
1st. Cut in slices 25 pounds of bar soap of 
a good quality, and dissolve the same in 15 
gallons of boiling water, and let it get cold, 
when it will be thick. 2d. Dissolve 13 lbs. 
of sal soda in 15 gallons more of boiling 
water, then add to the same water 24 lbs. of 
unslacked lime. Let these articles boil to¬ 
gether 15 minutes, and when cold, turn off 
this fluid and mix it gradually with the soap, 
not disturbing the sediment; then add 2 
pints of alcohol and half pint of camphene ; 
stir up together and it will be fit for use. 
Secresy enjoined. 
We enjoin secresy on all who read the 
above, for two reasons : First—The recipe 
says, “Secrecy enjoined” ; and, second, if 
any persons want the recipe, they can sub¬ 
scribe for the paper and get it as you do. 
We do not specially recommend this prep¬ 
aration, for two reasons: First—Because we 
do not like a mixture containing so much 
camphene—it might be absorbed and injure 
the washer ; and then if Bridget should use 
too much of such a mixture, it might injure 
the articles washed. In small quantities it 
would doubtless answer well, and we feel 
quite certain the mixture is as good as any 
