92 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
Wliite Pines and Muds. —John Carter, of 
Penn., asks information on these topics. In our opinion, 
it. will pay to plant the white pines in the thin woodlands. 
The seed may be gathered in the Fall, before the frost dis¬ 
lodges them from the cones, or can be purchased of nur¬ 
serymen. We should prefer to turn in clover to carting 
muck a mile or more, as a general thing, though the ex¬ 
tra teams ot the farm may well be employed in Winter in 
distributing muck previously thrown up and dried. 
Comparative Value of Piaster and 
Aslies— J. R.Wright,of C.W., makes inquiry upon this 
point. The economy of using plaster depends so much 
upon the character of the soil, that nothing but experi¬ 
ment can determine the question for his land. Ashes and 
lime, at the prices he names, are valuable fertilizers, par¬ 
ticularly on cold wet lands. See articles on manures. 
I’lic Dioscorea at the South— Robeit Chis¬ 
olm, of South Carolina, writes us that “ this plant has 
proved an entire failure the past season. Of ten plants 
received from New-York, only one survived the Summer, 
and that is about as large as a Pindar, or pea nut.” We 
are sorry that any part, and all, of our beloved country 
is likely to be deprived of “this richest boon ever be¬ 
stowed upon the race.” 
Grass Seed for Hay.— Asa Parker, of N. C., 
wishes to know the best varieties to sow for the hay crop. 
Meadow-grass, (Poa pratensis,) Timothy, ( Phlemnpra - 
tense,'] and Blue-grass, [Poa compressa ,] with several oth¬ 
er varieties, are good. Timothy does we 1 on reclaimed 
marshes, and from the location of Mr. Parker’s land, we 
think this variety will not disappoint him. 
An Absorbent for Night Soil.— E. Williams, 
of N. J., is informed that wood ashes are unsuitable ; they 
send off the ammonia. Muck or peat is good, and the 
drier the better. Loam is good, and a subsoil in which 
clay predominates will answer. The coal ashes, if dry, 
will do as a divisor, but have little absorbent power upon 
the gases. Plaster is also good to mix m. 
Cider Pumice.— John Payne, of Conn., inquires if 
this has any value. It contains probably a good deal of 
acid, which would be injurious to vegetation. Correct 
this by the use of lime in a compost heap, and he can de¬ 
termine whether it is worth saving or not. We recom¬ 
mend saving and using all organic matter on the farm. 
Horticultural Society—D. B., of Utica, sug¬ 
gests the propriety of forming a society for the exhibition 
of flowers in this city. We have such a society, and oc¬ 
casional exhibitions. They will become more numerous 
as floriculture makes progress among us. 
Patent Cow Milkers.— We do not believe in 
them. Not even the eloquence of our friend Petit, of N. 
J., can convert us. Sorry it is so, but we are incorrigible 
as yet. 
Analysis of Soils.— E. A. Weston, of Penn., in¬ 
quires for the best treatise on this subject. This is a very 
nice business, and should only be attempted by very skill¬ 
ful and long-experienced chemists. 
Col. .Joseph Paxton— Invites us to visit the val¬ 
ley of the Susquehanna. We should only be too happy to 
accept, his hospitalities, did time permit. We shall keep 
an eye that way—and perhaps go there. 
Tomatoes -O. Farwell inquires about the health¬ 
fulness of tliis vegetable. They are regarded as a whole¬ 
some article of diet for all classes, by the “ faculty.” 
Compost.— We refer our correspondent, J. It Ken¬ 
yon, and other inquirers, to our series of articles on ma¬ 
nures. 
J. H. Cap well— Answer to your letter waiting 
room. 
Corn Song— Very good. Will appear in due time. 
Bommer’s Manure.—“ A Subscriber” inquires 
the value of this method. It lias been before the public 
some dozen years or more. A friend purchased a book 
containing the “secret,” for which he paid $5, “expect¬ 
ing to make his fortune by cheap fertilizers.” The 
pile of manure, “ala Bommer,” is yet to be made, though 
the book has been on hand for ten years. We have not 
much faith in any process of manure-making hawked 
about the country for sale as a secret. Our correspondent 
should use his best facilities for making fertilizers at 
home. Full one-half of these are ordinarily wasted. 
Bone-dust will pay at anything less than a cent a pound ; 
for some crops, it is worth more as a special manure. 
Ncw-.Tcrsey Marls.—A. S., of Fittstown, puts a 
series of questions about these marls, that can only be an¬ 
swered by a minute chemical analysis, costing perhaps 
fifty dollars, which we have no time to make. It is the 
business of parties having marls to sell to procure such 
analyses from the best chemical authority. One from Pro¬ 
fessor Johnson, of New-Haven, showing what these marls 
were worth for manure, would command the confidence 
of intelligent cultivators, and greatly increase their sale, 
if valuable. Without some such authority, our answers 
would necessarily be mere speculations, which are not 
particularly profitable. “ Facts,” as Mr. Gradgrind would 
say, “ are what we are after.” We shall be glad to hear 
about that new kind of fence, “ short, and to the point.” 
tjiieea’s Portable Forges.— C. W. Hartshorn, 
ofN. J., wishes to know'ifthese are suitable for farmers’ 
use. If a farmer lives at a distance from the blacksmith, 
and has a native aptness for tinkering, it is well to have 
one of these forges, which are compact and very conven¬ 
ient and cheap. As a rule, every farmer ought to have 
enough to do in his own calling to fully occupy his time. 
“ Every man to his calling.” 
Emigration vs. improving the Old 
Farm.— David W. Wilson, of Penn., asks light as to 
the better course for Eastern farmers. It depends so 
much upon the character of the man, that we cannot give 
advice in his case. As a rule, we think men who own 
farms at the East w ill do better to improve them than to 
go West If he will use his saw-dust and muck liberally 
in his stables and yards, sow' plaster for clover, make 
compost heaps of muck and lime to spread and plow in 
for corn and potatoes, he will probably change his opinion 
of the productiveness of the old farm. 
Our Seed Distribution. 
From the simple offer of a few thousand packages of 
the new Sugar-cane Seed to our subscribers, made in De¬ 
cember last, this business has grown to an undreamed-of 
magnitude. During the past month letters of application 
have come in daily by the bushel. We shall send out 
this season, alone, at least 60.000 packages, and we know 
not how many more, as the demand is slill as great as 
ever. These are scattered all over the country—here a 
little and there a little. More than half a tun of Sugar¬ 
cane Seed will barely supply the calls upon us. We have 
succeeded in securing, in all, about three-fourths of a tun, 
to be ready to meet all demands. The other varieties of 
seeds offered last month have gone by dozens of bushels. 
But notwithstanding the expense and labor attending 
this enterprise, we confess to a liking for it. The income 
of the paper furnishes abundant means, and it is our pres¬ 
ent purpose to follow up the plan hereafter. We areal- 
ready looking out for the cultivation of new and valuable 
seeds during the coming Summer, so as to be prepared to 
distribute them largely next Winter. Our only regret is, 
that we were not prepared to make earlier arrangements, 
attend to the business more .systematically, and give a 
greater variety of choice to subscribers the present sea¬ 
son, embracing flower seeds, &c., for our many lady sub¬ 
scribers and readers. They shall be duly remembered next 
Winter. 
From our location and peculiar facilities, and by a 
w holesale operation,w e can furnish seeds a hundred times 
better and cheaper than isolated individuals can get them 
otherwise. A little parcel of corn or oats taken in a let¬ 
ter packet from our office, and dropped by the mail car¬ 
rier, say in a remote eastern or western town, if it prove 
valuable there, will soon be multiplied and become dif¬ 
fused through the surrounding neighborhood, and the 
same will be the case in tens of thousands other localities. 
Our sheet (and its seed offers) already reaches over fifteen 
thousand different Post-Offices, from Maine to California 
and Oregon, and across the two oceans bounding our Con¬ 
tinent. But notwithstanding our large measure of suc¬ 
cess, our hopes and expectations are far higher. If Bro. 
Moore, oi the Rural, will excuse us for using his favorite 
term, w e will say— Excelsior is our motto. 
Prepare the Seed Envelopes. 
We must again ask those sending lor seeds to prepare 
the envelopes as directed on page 68, March No. When 
half a bushel of letters come in at a time, it is next to im¬ 
possible to open them all, sort the envelopes, hunt out 
from a long letter just what kind of seeds are desired in 
each, label the letters single, double and mixed, for five 
kinds of seed, so that the seed clerks may know whal to 
do with them, and not sometimes make a mistake. Please 
note what is said on page 68 about marking the left upper 
corner, putting the stamps one over the other on the right 
margin, &c. Also give the name and address in the letter 
accompanying the envelope. These are small matters in 
individual cases, but amount to a good deal with us in 
handling over sixty thousand such envelopes. 
Sweet Corn Scarce. 
The rush of applications for both Darling’s and Slow- 
cll’s Sweet Corn, offered in our last, is fast diminishing 
the twenty odd bushels we had provided at first, and we 
find it exceedingly difficult to procure more good seed at 
any price, though w'e have partial hopes of getting at least 
ten bushels. Lest w'e should fail in this, will those ap¬ 
plying hereafter please name whether King Phillip Corn 
or White Poland Oats would be preferred as a substitute, 
should we be finally obliged to make some substitute. We 
cannot, hereafter, send more sweet corn of either kind 
than will go under a three-cent postage-stamp. When 
more than one stamp comes on an envelope we will re¬ 
turn it enclosed. 
IPgp Large Seed Premiums. 
A great number of persons have written desiring to pur¬ 
chase of us large quantities of the Sugar-cane Seed. We 
have generally declined these applications, for three rea¬ 
sons.—first, we have not had it; second, we pledged oui- 
selves to distribute our entire former supply free ; and 
third, when we became both editor and proprietor of this 
paper, we determined to remain free from all business op¬ 
erations whatever, except those legitimately connected 
with the publication, to the end that we might be entirely 
independent, and on this account have refused to dabble 
with outside purchases and sales of any kind. 
It is, however, our legitimate business to extend our 
circulation as widely as may be, and having now new 
seed enough to warrant it, we offer to remunerate any 
one for time spent in soliciting new subscribers, after this 
date, by giving to the person sending a club of six [for $5] 
a package of about 10,000 Seeds, or full half a pound ; and 
for a club of ten, [for $8,] a package of 20,000 Seeds, or 
about one pound. The persons calling for these will need 
to provide for their delivery, by express or mail, accord¬ 
ing to their location. The cost of sending by mail a pound 
of seed and the packing bag, will be a trifle over $1. Any 
excess we will pay. 
N. B.—Any person intending to secure this premium, 
but wishing to receive the seed at once, can immediately 
order the number of copies he will want, and have them 
sent to his own address with the seeds, and then procure 
his list of subscribers, and deliver the papers to them as 
received. New subscriptions can begin with the volume, 
as the numbers are stereotyped. 
Ail Abundance of Sugar-cane Seed. 
AN EXPLANATION. 
From the first we had no very high hopes of the value of 
the Sorghum Saeliaratum (nor indeed of any other,) as a 
Northern sugar-producing plant, and we were some¬ 
what surprised at the result ofourown small experiments, 
and the favorable reports from others, the most striking 
one being that of Mr. Hewlett, given on page 38, (Feb. 
number.) We have repeatedly cautioned our readers 
against entering into any outlay in its cultivation the pres¬ 
ent season, beyond a small experiment, though even an 
acre or two can scarcely result in loss if it be grown for 
forage only. There is likely to be enough who will tes- 
lts value for sugar-making to decide that point the prest 
ent year. Our first intention was to send out to our sub¬ 
scribers, in small parcels, what seed we had raised and 
such as we could procure conveniently, the chief aim be¬ 
ing to furnish enough to plant thirty to fifty hills, (or their 
equivalent, in drills,) that its growing and ripening capa¬ 
bilities might be tried in different localities, and seed se¬ 
cured in abundance for another year, if wanted. We first 
offered 200 to 250 seeds to all desiring. This was all our 
then supply would warrant. Seeing a considerable ma¬ 
nia to procure seed, and receiving private offers for our 
entire iot, at high rates, from irresponsible speculators who 
wished to peddle it in small parcels at the West, at exorbi¬ 
tant prices, suggested the idea of advertising the fact that 
all our subscribers, old or new, would be supplied free— 
we say free because we believe we give the dollar’s worth 
in the paper itself. 
As our stock of seed began to run short, we made great 
exertions to replenish it, and measurably succeeded, as 
announced last month. But to our earnest inquiries 
whether an unlimited supply of a reliable article could be 
procured in France, we could get no definite answer until 
the middle of March, when, much to our satisfaction, we 
procured nearly half a ton, half of it in hand and the re¬ 
mainder soon to arrive. We immediately increased the 
amount offered to 600 seeds to each future single appli¬ 
cant, and 1,000 seeds each to clubs of six or more, when 
prepaid envelopes were supplied to send them in. Since 
that date, we have returned in every single-stamped en¬ 
velope fully 400 seeds, or as many as could go under a 
single stamp, and when two stamps came we have put in 
at least 600 seeds, as nearly as they could be measured 
out, and tins will be continued up to the latest period of 
planting, unless our supply should chance to run out. 
which is not likely to happen, as we have a large stock, 
and also have hopes, though not a certainty, of getting 
still more if it is called for. 
We regret that we could not at the time send more to 
the first applicants, but probably the amount first sent will, 
in most cases, be all desired for this year’s experiment. 
An opportunity to obtain half a pound or pound, or 
more, is made known under the head of “ Premiums.” 
Great SaleofSIiort-IIorn Cattle. 
We understand that Mr. Lewis G. Morris, of Fordham, 
has sold the whole of his magnificent herd of Short-Horn 
cattle to Mr. Samuel Thorne, of Washington, Dutchess 
County. These added to the superb animals heretofore 
imported by Mr. Thorne, makes his herd, taking its high 
breeding into consideration, superior to anything in Great 
Britain or America, excepting perhaps that of Mr. Bates. 
