AMERICA# AGRICULTURIST. 
204 
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Kcw-foik, Wednesday, Jan. 3. 
A FEW PLAIN WORDS TO OUR READERS. 
We trust our readers will understand that 
it is far more a matter of necessity than of 
pleasure , that we so frequently appeal to 
them for assistance in increasing the circu¬ 
lation of this journal, and that we so often 
refer to the character of our enterprise. 
They must all be aware that no small amount 
of money is required to carry on a paper like 
this, especially when, as now, nearly two- 
thirds of all we receive from subscribers (al¬ 
lowing for those furnished at the club rates,) 
is expended for the sheets of white paper 
alone, upon which the Agriculturist is print¬ 
ed. We could use inferior materials, but 
this would not comport with our design, 
which is to furnish a first-class journal, 
both as regards its mechanical execution and 
its contents. We have, then, only one-third 
of the receipts for meeting the expenses of 
type-setting, press-work, mailers, traveling 
expenses, losses by mail, postage, the sala¬ 
ries of those continually occupied upon the 
paper, and an occasional contributor, &c. 
The fact is, and our readers (especially those 
who fancy that the Agriculturist is a money¬ 
making enterprise, and that they are in duty 
bound to get it as low as possible,) may as 
well understand it at once—we have expend¬ 
ed during the past year much more than we 
have received, and this may possibly be the 
case for a year or two to come, in order to 
make the Agriculturist just what we think it 
should be. We do this because we believe 
the time is not now distant when we shall 
draw around our enterprise a very large cir¬ 
cle of intelligent farmers, with whom it will 
be pleasurable to hold weekly intercourse, 
and that in a few years, at most, we shall 
receive enough above expenses to remuner¬ 
ate us for present loss. 
But we mean what we say when we affirm, 
that to make money by publishing the Agri¬ 
culturist is not our object. We have other 
sources of income, sufficient for our wants, 
and which would be less enjoyed could we 
not take some part in aiding on the public 
enterprises of the day. The Agriculturist is 
our contribution to the cause of improve¬ 
ment. We have now a large list of subscri¬ 
bers, but nothing so large as we should like 
to have, in order to reduce our expenses, 
and to address them from week to week. Our 
readers, who know the paper and can speak 
of it, are our main reliance for enlarging our 
list of subscribers. Many of them have done 
much already, and we feel quite sure that 
others will lend us a helping hand, now that 
we have plainly told them that we need their 
aid. We wish to add to the intrinsic value 
of these pages by such facilities as money 
only can procure. We wish our editors to 
be less confined to office labor, which others 
could be employed to do, that they may 
spend much of their time upon the farms of 
our readers, in various parts of the country. 
As we have all the machinery of the paper 
to keep under way for many or few subscri¬ 
bers, every new one we now receive yields 
some profit to go towards reducing the gen¬ 
eral expense. 
Let us then ask you who read this, to re¬ 
member the great cause we advocate, and 
each add one or two new names to the list 
for 1855. One new name from each subscri¬ 
ber would put the American Agriculturist upon 
a paying footing, but as at some offices every 
farmer is already a reader, let us ask others 
to send us two, three, four, or more. [What 
say you to this request l Can you not re¬ 
commend the American Agriculturist to your 
neighbors with a certainty of benefitting 
them ? 
THE PAST YEAR. 
The past year has been an eventful one, 
especially to the farmer. The short crops in 
Europe in 1852 caused an extraordinary de¬ 
mand for American produce. In October, 
grain, flour,beef, pork, &c., began to rise rap¬ 
idly here, and by January 1853, these staple 
articles reached almost famine prices, which 
they maintained till September, when a sud¬ 
den fall to some extent took place, which the 
most sagacious, in this country and Europe, 
generally considered would rule permanently 
throughout the year. But the great deficien¬ 
cy in the Indian corn crop here, in conse¬ 
quence of the severe drouth the past sum¬ 
mer and fall, the small quantity of old grain 
on hand, both in this country and in Europe, 
and the fierce and active continuance of the 
war there, have caused a gradual advance in 
prices, and flour and grain now stand consid¬ 
erably higher than they did a twelvemonth 
ago ; and the prospect is that they may still 
advance. Potatoes and other vegetables are 
about the same as they were last year at this 
time ; beef and pork are a little lower. 
The season for nine months past has been 
extraordinary. One of the coldest, most 
snowy, and wettest of springs; the hottest and 
driest of summers ; and a colder November 
and December than our countiy has known 
for many years. Yet as a whole, the two 
past seasons have been highly advantageous 
to the farmers. The only crop that has been 
materially short the past season was corn. 
All the others for two years past have been 
abundant; and the prices obtained for them 
are so great, the farmers have generally be¬ 
come independent, and in many cases rich. 
In their abundant prosperity we greatly re¬ 
joice ; for in this profession is bound up much 
of the wealth and strength of the State. 
This should induce them to look about now 
and see how much good they can do with 
their wealth, and consider what solid im¬ 
provement they can make for the com¬ 
munity. 
The mercantile, manufacturing, and me¬ 
chanical interests are now suffering greatly 
in the country, and there is much distress and 
absolute want among them, while the agri¬ 
cultural class, who have kept aloof from 
speculations, and continued steadly in their 
own business, have abundance, and to spare. 
The wants in our country and in Europe 
another year will be very large, war or no 
war, and we trust our farmers, with their 
accustomed energy, are preparing to supply 
them. They ought to double their crops of 
spring wheat this year, and add at least one 
half to those ofcorn and potatoes. This should 
not be [attempted [so much by bringing an 
increased breadth of land under cultivation, 
as in their improved practises. Manure 
more highly, plow deeper, choose superior 
seed and implements, and cultivate the grow¬ 
ing crops more thoroughly. Draining also 
should be materially increased, especially if 
those rich marshes and bogs, which with 
their standing water, are now an injury rath¬ 
er than a benefit to their owners. 
BASKET WILLOW. 
We have just been informed of the inven¬ 
tion of a machine for the removal of the 
bark on willow twigs, preparatory to send¬ 
ing them to market to manufacture into bas¬ 
kets. The removal of the bark has been 
the great obstacle hitherto in supplying our 
home markets, as the great amount of labor 
required, at American prices, left little mar¬ 
gin for profit to the producer. A successful 
machine, for this purpose, will enable us to 
fully supply our own wants, extensive as 
they now are, and daily increasing. 
This for the present can be done with our 
native [willows, of which we have a very 
large variety. Some one we believe places 
the number as high as fifty, though this we 
think hardly possible. Yet, whoever will 
observe, as we have frequently done, the nu¬ 
merous kinds growing at the North and the 
South, the East and [the West, can not but 
estimate the aggregate as large. Of these, 
the supply sent to our market is principally 
made up, and is already large, and commands 
extravagant prices. From four to six cents 
per pound is paid for these native twigs, 
when stripped of their bark and dried. Six 
times the [price of hay, ought to remunerate 
the farmers’ boys and girls for sending wood 
to the Atlantic cities. 
There are myriads of acres on the Missis¬ 
sippi and other river bottom lands, that are 
now covered with natural willows, suitable 
for basket-making. These have only to be 
cut over annually, to[produce just the article 
that will command these high prices. It is 
true these native willows are not as valuable 
as the imported basket willow, but till these 
are grown to sufficient extent to supply our¬ 
selves, which we are gradually doing, the 
cultivation and preparation of the native 
will be found to pay well. 
We understand some one in Connecticut 
has written a work on American and other 
willows. If the author or publisher will 
send us a copy we shall be happy to receive 
and call public attention to its contents, if de¬ 
serving of it. The true interest of America 
as a nation, consists in diversifiying our prof¬ 
itable productions and employments, to the 
fullest extent of which our climate, soil, and 
circumstances are capable. 
Cattle Trade of New-Hork City. —In 
connection with our market reports for this 
week, we present a general summary of this 
branch of business for the past year which is 
of considerable interest, both for present 
perusal and future referance. 
