68 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
By the arrival of the Steamer Caledonia, we are in 
receipt of our foreign journals to the 18th of December. 
Markets. — Ashes , in fair request. Cotton , a decline 
of § to 4 d. per lb. Wheat, and Flour, a slight ad¬ 
vance. Indian Corn , no change. Beef, the same. 
Pork, a reduction of 4 5. to 5 s. per bbl. Cheese , improv¬ 
ing. In other articles, nothing of interest since our 
last. 
Money was decidedly easier, and good bills were dis¬ 
counted at from 6 to 7 per cent. 
Importations of Grain and Provisions into Great Bri¬ 
tain and Ireland. — A considerable quantity of bread 
stuffs and provisions will be wanted from America, in 
conseqnence of the rot of the potato, and the natural 
requirements of the people. We advise our farmers to 
sell now as fast as they can ; for we are of opinion that 
prices are as high at this moment as they will be this 
year, and the produce of the United States ought to be 
moving forward so as to ensure a sale before Russia, 
Germany, and other European countries have an oppor¬ 
tunity of supplying the British market. 
Smithfield Cattle Show. —This great annual show of 
fat stock commenced in London on the 8th of De¬ 
cember last. We observe that the Short Horns took the 
first prize in classes 1st, 2d, and 8th; and the second 
prize in classes 1st, 7th, and 9th. The Herefords took 
the first prize in class 7ch; the second in class 2d. The 
Devons took the first prize in classes 4th and 5th; the 
second prize in classes 3d and 4th. The first prize in 
class 3d, was a cross of the Short Horn and Devon. 
The first price in class 6th, was a Highland ox. The 
first prize in class 7th, was a cross of a Long Horn and 
Hereford. The first prize of class 9th, was a Long 
Horn. The Shoit-Horn prize steer which took the gold 
medal as the best of their show, it is said, “ possessed a 
greater number of good points than perhaps any other 
beast that ever appeared in Smithfield.” Among the 
most distinguished exhibitors, we notice Prince Albert; 
the Dukes ot Rutland and Richmond ; Earls Radnor and 
Leicester —the latter quite a young man, and son of the 
celebrated Earl Leicester (Mr. Coke of Norfolk); Lord 
Portman, &c., &c. We only mention these titled per¬ 
sonages to show such of our readers as were not before 
aware of the fact, that the most distinguished men in 
England take great pride and pleasure in obtaining 
prizes by a show of fat animals reared and fed on their 
own farms. 
Reduction of Duties in Austria. —On the 1st of Janua¬ 
ry a reduction was to be announced by the Austrian 
Government, on the duties upon raw cotton, sugar, and 
other colonial produce. 
Health of Professor Berzelius. —The great Swedish 
chemist, Berzelius, is so dangerously ill, that his friends 
despair of his life. 
Distilled and Fermented Liquors vs. Bread. — It is 
calculated that Great Britain and Ireland, annually 
spend about two hundred and fifty millions of dollars 
for distilled and fermented liquors, and only one hun¬ 
dred and twenty-five millions for bread ! Two for the 
former, for one for the latter S 
Composts for Wheat and Carrots. —One of the best 
crops of wheat I ever grew (48 bushels to the acre), 
was manured with 10 bushels of salt to 20 of lime to 
the acre, mixed 3 months, and kept dry before its appli¬ 
cation. My carrot crop this year was manured with 
20 bushels of soot and 6 or 8 of salt to the acre, mixed 
also 3 or 4 months previously. 
To Keep Birds from Fruit , <pc. —The following plan, 
which I discovered by accident, is, I think, perfectly effi¬ 
cacious. One of my servants having by chance broken 
a looking glass, it oceured to me that the broken pieces 
suspended by a string, so as to turn freely in every di¬ 
rection. would give the appearance of something mov¬ 
ing about, which would alarm the birds. I accordingly 
tried the plan, and find that no bird, not even the; most 
fool hardy of them (a nest of newly-fledged sparrows), 
dare come near. They had attacked my Peas. On 
suspending a few bits of the looking glass amongst 
them, the marauders left the place. The tomtits at¬ 
tacked my Seckel pears ( which they seem very partial 
to) ; *a bit of looking glass suspended in front of the 
tree put a stop to the mischief. My grapes were next 
much damaged, before they were ripe, by thrushes and 
starlings ; a piece of looking glass drove these away, 
and not a grape was touched afterwards. I have be¬ 
fore tried many plans, but never found any so effectual 
as the above.— Gard. Chron. 
Portuguese Hams. —In a late numbers was pointed 
out some of the ingredients for flavoring certain far- 
famed sausages. It should have been added that they 
are called lombo de porco (loin of pork), being made of 
the entire loins cut from the bone and rolled together, 
before being put into the skins ; they are well soaked in 
a Port-wine brine. The equally famous Lamego (in 
Portugal) hams, so called, though made all over the 
northern provinces, are cured with sugar, which gives 
them that peculiar tenderness and delicacy, and the 
brine (made of Port wine, sugar, salt, garlic, and sweet 
herbs), that peculiar flavor for which they are so re¬ 
nowned. The pio, a smaller sausage, is made like the 
German, the meat being previously cured as above be¬ 
fore being minced and put into the skins. Birch wood, 
myrtle, cistus, and other aromatic shrubs, which abound 
all over the country, are used for smoking * th'em. —- 
Ibid. 
East India Cotton. —The Secretary of the Manches¬ 
ter Commercial Association has received a letter of ad¬ 
vice from theflirectors of the East India Company, stat¬ 
ing that they had given instructions for forty-five bales 
of cotton, grown from New Orleans, seed to be forward¬ 
ed to him from Coimbatore, by the ship Olinda, from 
Cochin, for sale in Manchester. It is expected that the 
vessel will arrive very shortly, and that the cotton 
will be of a superior quality to that previously con¬ 
signed to the same gentleman by the company, for sale. 
There have also been received two small samples of cot¬ 
ton grown at Coimbatore under the superintendence of 
Dr. Wight, from seed sown at the suggestion of the 
Commercial Association, at an earlier period than us¬ 
ual by about a month. One is a very fair sample 
indeed, being long in staple and of a beautiful white co¬ 
lor ; the other is very different, owing to its being in¬ 
jured by “ damping,” that is, from the damp weather 
preventing the pods from opening at the proper sea¬ 
son. 
To Preserve Eggs. — I knew a very experienced and 
attentive housekeeper, who had a long shelf with some 
20 or 30 dozen holes into which she put her eggs, buy¬ 
ing them when they were cheap, and turning them up¬ 
side down every other day. By this means she kept 
them during the winter fit for the breakfast table as well 
as for the cook. There is another equally good. Place 
a hoop on the floor of a room, and within the eircum- 
, ference of the hoop place a quantity of eggs every 
other day draw the hoop gently backwards and for¬ 
wards, and the eggs remain fresh as above. A third 
way, one practised in my house, is to line the bottom of 
a drawer with longitudinal partitions loosely papered, 
and every other day pull the drawer out a few times 
somewhat gently, as well as just running the hand over 
them once a week, and the eggs remain fresh as before. 
A fourth way (a wholesale way) would be to pack a 
quantity in a small tub, and turn the tub upside down 
every other day. The eggs may be bought as early as 
August.— Gard. Chron. 
Keeping Ice under Straw. —It is stated that ice will 
keep very well, closely packed on ground sloping each 
way, and covered three or four feet thick with straw. 
