314 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
of regulating the current of air which passes 
between said plate and wheel, as described. 
Bog Cutting Cultivators.—Additional im¬ 
provement. —By E. L. Freeman, of Bellville, 
N. Y. Originally patented June 21, 1853; I 
claim the fastening of the tooth by matching 
the shank with iron having a head or flanges on 
it, whereby the action upon the wood is divided 
forward and downward by means of which the 
key and mortise are saved from wear and in¬ 
jury. 
-*~®-e- 
Cotton in Algeria.— The French correspon¬ 
dent of the Journal of Commerce says: 
The Constitutional has nearly three columns 
on the culture of cotton in Algeria. Details are 
given of the progress in the growth of the arti¬ 
cle on your side of the Atlantic; with the infer¬ 
ence that Algeria may exhibit a similar fecun¬ 
dity under the auspices of the government. 
According to a recent number of the Moniteur, 
the efficacy of its measures is proved by the 
accounts which come from every point of the 
prosperous condition of this year’s crops in the 
colony. The Prefect of Algiers, after a personal 
survey, reports that “ it is quite possible for 
Algeria, in a comparatively brief period, to pro¬ 
duce a large portion of the cotton now used in 
the manufactories in France.” 
Tiie above engraving represents a new and 
useful machine for paring, coring, and quarter¬ 
ing apples, or it may be used simply for paring. 
This machine has just received the Bronze Me¬ 
dal from the jury of examination at the Crystal 
Palace Exhibition ; and the fact that this is the 
only instrument of the kind publicly noticed by 
the jury, establishes its claims to superiority. 
We have not had an opportunity of testing it 
on all kinds and shapes of apples, but from the 
little trial we have given it, and from the princi¬ 
ple on which it is constructed, we think it a most 
useful and practical invention. 
The San Bernadin Valley. —A writer in the 
Journal of Commerce thus describes the soil 
and productions of this fine valley, recently 
settled by a party of Mormons: 
The soil is derived from the disintegration of 
granite and talcose rocks, and varies from a 
sandy gravel to a light granite sand and deep 
sandy clay, and the ground becoming more 
clayey as you descend into the lower grounds. 
The middle lands are admirably* adapted for 
raising wheat and barley, and all the cereals. 
The barley and wheat is sown here in Novem¬ 
ber and December, and frequently' two crops are 
taken off in the year without resowing. The 
common produce of an acre is 50 to 60 bushels, 
and 30 bushels for the 2d crop. The straw 
grows to an enormous size, frequently' standing 
7i feet high, and of great strength. This great 
size of the straw is to be expected, as the soil 
of decomposing granite supplies an abundanpe 
of silicate of potash, from which the plant ob¬ 
tains the silica of the stalk. The abundance of 
straw is so great that the wheat fields at this 
time present the appearance of a well-littered 
farm-yard and afford much food for the stock. 
The greatest facility exists here, as in many 
places in Southern California, for raising cattle 
and horses. Green grass can be had throughout 
the year, and the wild oats and grasses cover 
the hill sides without cultivation. No winter 
shelters are required for the stock, and the na¬ 
tural increase from these, without much care or 
expense, is a source of great wealth. 
The Mormons manufacture abundance of but¬ 
ter and cheese. The greatest amount of butter 
is made in January, February, and March. It 
is now worth here 62 to 75 cents per pound, and 
cows command 60 to 100 dollars. Vegetables of 
all kinds grow with rapidity, and of superior 
quality. A sweet potato weighing 9 pounds 
was grown here last season. The place is also 
favorable for the culture of the grape, and new 
vineyards and fruit orchards have been com¬ 
menced. The raining season commenced early 
in November, and rains continue at intervals of 
a week or two until April. 
Advice to Farmers. —Feed your poultry well, 
and you will insure full’ crops. 
CLAIMS OF AGRICULTURAL PATENTS. 
ISSUED for the week ENDING JAN. 10, 1854. 
Corn Planters. —By Samuel Malone, of Tre- 
mont, Ill.: I claim the peculiar construction of 
the horizontal slide, made reversible from end 
to end for the purpose of varying the quantity 
of seed planted, as set forth. 
Corn Shellers. —By Banford Gilbert, of Pitts¬ 
burgh, Pa.: I do not claim as new the use of 
the feeding apron, nor the use of a toothed cyl¬ 
inder, or screen, separately considered. 
I claim constructing the teeth on the cylinder 
and concave bed of the peculiar form described, 
and arranging the same in curved rows, so that 
during the revolution of the cylinder, the con¬ 
cavity of the rows of teeth on the cylinder meets 
the concavity of the rows of teeth on the con¬ 
cave bed, in combination with the screen or 
separator and the self-adjusting concave, as set 
forth. 
Cotton Gins. —By B. D. Gullett, of Aber¬ 
deen, Miss.: I am aware that brushes have been 
so arranged in gins that their bristles extend 
between the saws, but in such a manner that 
the sides of the bristles would act against the 
fiber, therefore I make no claim to any arrange¬ 
ment of bristles acting in that manner, my in¬ 
vention being confined to such an arrangement 
of the brushes that their bristles will act end¬ 
wise against the fiber, in which position they 
are found to brush out the motes with much 
better effect than any other. 
I claim the combination of the mote brushes, 
operating as described, with the saw and strip¬ 
ping brushes, as specified. 
Cotton Gins. —By Leonard Campbell, of Col¬ 
umbus, Miss.: I do not claim the use of brushes 
suspended in a position so as to allow them to 
hang loosely between the ginning saws. 
But I claim the concave brush ribs and con¬ 
cave brush in combination with the brush wheel, 
for the purpoge of scouring the nap, which is 
formed by the ginning saws out of the cotton, 
and at the same time remove all impurities or 
foreign substances from it, said ribs are each of 
them provided with two rows of short stumpy 
bristles, which are secured on the inner edges 
of said ribs, as described. 
I also claim the concave plate for the purpose 
-• - 
Careful use of Hordes. —An acquaintance 
lost his horse a few days ago, in a manner that 
would suggest an habitual caution in driving. 
The horse, a valuable one, well kept, in good 
spirits, and in perfect health, was taken from 
the stable and driven. He had ascended a long 
and hard hill within the first mile of driving, 
and as soon as the summit was reached, the 
driver, as is the habit of many, touched him 
with the whip; he sprang, stopped, staggered 
and fell, and by the time the driver could alight 
from the carriage, he was dead. An examina¬ 
tion showed that a large blood vessel near the 
heart had been ruptured .—Farmer & Planter. 
A Liberal Gift. —We see by the Worcester 
Spy , that Hon. Stephen Salisbury, of that city, 
has given to the Worcester County Horticultu¬ 
ral Society the sum of $3000, to be applied to 
to the reduction of its debt. The income of the 
Society during the past year was $1000 over its 
expenses, which, with the generous gift men¬ 
tioned above, reduces its debt on its fine Hall to 
$8000. The Library has also been largely in¬ 
creased during the year. 
-• o •- 
CURING GRASS FOR HAY BY STEAM. 
This is an age of bold innovations of old cus¬ 
toms. We have one to propose which is worthy 
of the consideration of our State Agricultural 
Society, and now is the time to think about it, 
that premiums may be offered, or the matter at 
least discussed at the January meeting of the 
members and executive committee. It is to 
solve the question of curing grass for hay—that 
is discharging the water from it by steam in¬ 
stead of the slow, imperfect process of drying it 
in the sun, often interrupted by rains, and the 
product injured or spoiled. Now, if saturating 
it with steam will have the effect, as we believe 
it will cure it, so that an hour of sun will dry it, 
or so that it may be preserved with salt, it opens 
a new era in the use of steam for agricultural 
purposes. The process need not be a very ex¬ 
pensive or laborious one. Let the grass be 
heaped up as fast as cut and covered with India 
rubber cloth. Then a pipe from a steam boiler, 
mounted upon a wagon may be inserted under 
the center of the pile, and steam applied to a de¬ 
gree of heat strong enough to almost cook the 
whole heap; at any rate to prepare it for very 
rapid sun-drying.— New- York Tribune. 
That grass can be cured rapidly by steam, is 
a fact well known to all who are acquainted 
with the progress of invention; and as stated 
above, it is only a question of economy between 
curing hay by solar influence, and that of steam. 
