FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
291 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
By the steamer Acadia we are in receipt of our 
foreign journals to July 29th. 
Markets. — Ashes, sales trifling, and at lower 
prices. Cotton, same as per our last. Had it not 
been for the agitation in Ireland, it wbuld undoubtedly 
have advanced. Pork has receded 2s. to 35. per bbi. 
Lard, a small advance, and quite scarce. Other 
provisions without change. Wheat, an advance of 
3s. to 5s. per quarter. Indian Corn , an increased 
demand at better prices. Rice, Is. to 2s. higher per 
cwt. Wool , improving. 
The Weather was wet and unsettled, but the crops 
still promising, with the exception of potatoes, among 
which the rot had shown itself throughout Great Bri¬ 
tain to considerable extent, and slightly in Ireland. 
Money continues abundant. 
Annual Show and Fair of the English Agricultu¬ 
ral Society, —This splendid exhibition took place at 
the ancient city of York, on the 11th, 12th, and 13th 
of July. A friend, now travelling in England, who at¬ 
tended it, writes us, that there was an immense con¬ 
course of people present, and everything surpassed 
his expectations. Mr. Bancroft, the American Min¬ 
ister, was there, and made an excellent speech upon 
the occasion. The horses were superb and numerous. 
The Short-Horn cattle did not meet his expectations ; 
all were too large, fat, and coarse. The Herefords, a 
fair show; the cows very good, the bulls only so-so. 
The Devons were choice. The hogs quite numerous, 
large, and fine. The small breeds very beautiful. 
The sheep, especially the long-wooled, in considera¬ 
ble numbers. He particularly admired Mr. Webb’s 
Southdowns. Of the agricultural implements, our 
readers will form some idea, when they are told the 
catalogue alone makes a book of 226 pages. Several 
gentlemen delivered excellent lectures during the 
show, on agricultural subjects of different kinds. 
Prince Albert, and Prince George, of Cambridge, were 
present, and took a lively interest in the proceedings 
of the society ; which, we are glad to learn, is annu¬ 
ally increasing in number and usefulness. 
Clucking Hens. —I have known one or two doses of 
jalap relieve hens entirely from a desire to sit; and, 
in my opinion, it is far better for the purpose than the 
cold-water cure. I have known English fowls to lay 
in three weeks afterwards.— Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
Garden of Mr. Koch, at Cologne. —A correspond¬ 
ent to the London Gardeners’ Chronicle, says :—As 
an Englishman, fancying that we are the gardeners of 
the world, you may judge my surprise on visiting the 
garden of Mr. Koch, which is situated in the midst of 
this city, to find ourselves fairly beaten. This gentle^ 
man, who is a silk manufacturer, devotes his entire 
time to his garden, and may be said to live in it, so 
passionately fond is he of flowers. He showed me at 
one coup d'ceil 30,000 Camellias, of which he possesses 
700 varieties. After walking through a splendid ave¬ 
nue of Magnolia trees, we came to several beds of 
tree pseonias of 14 years’ growth, consisting of 120 
varieties, and at the end of the path was a fine speci¬ 
men of the Paulownia imperialis. The azalea beds 
were no less remarkable, containing 300 varieties, and 
under glass were 15,000 cacti. To produce these va¬ 
rieties, he has an apiary of 400 hives, which yield 1,200 
pounds of honey annually ; and in the system pursued 
by him, the bees are never destroyed. To visit this 
gentleman’s garden, in the month of May, would be a 
treat for your travelling readers, who may be pleased 
to know that such a garden is to be seen, and is will¬ 
ingly shown by its polite owner. 
Vitality of Eggs. —It is impossible to fix any pre¬ 
cise limit to the duration of the vital principle in eggs, 
since it varies, from the very first, according to the 
vigor of the parents of the enclosed embryo, and, in 
the end, appears not to be suddenly extinguished, but 
to fade away into gradual powerlessness. Those who 
are anxious to secure a valuable variety, one chicken 
of which is worth a whole brood of ordinary sorts, will 
run all risks ; after seven or eight weeks their chance 
is not utterly gone. Some of the chicks will be found 
dead in the shell, but those that are hatched, if they 
survive the first 48 hours—the great difficulty—are not 
afterwards more weakly nor troublesome than others. 
In the meanwhile, air should be excluded from the 
eggs as much as possible. It is best to set them on 
end, and not to suffer them to lie and roll on the side. 
Dry sand, or hard-wood saw dust (not deal, on account 
of the turpentine), is the best packing. But when 
choice eggs are expected, it is more prudent to have a 
hen waiting for them, than to let them wait for her. 
A good sitter may be amused for two or three weeks 
with a few addled eggs, and so be ready to take charge 
of those of value immediately upon their arrival.— Ibid. 
How to Make Unfermented Bread .—After a consi¬ 
derable number of trials, I have adopted the following 
mode of making the unfermented bread which is now 
regularly used in my house :—I carefully-mix, by sift¬ 
ing with the flour, first, tartaric acid, and next bicar¬ 
bonate of soda, in the following proportions, viz :—To 
14 pounds, avoirdupois, of flour, 8 drachms ot tartaric 
acid, and 11 drachms of bicarbonate of soda. Once 
mixed, it will keep any length of time, and is always 
ready for use. Sufficient cold water to make it into 
dough, rather thinner than ordinary, and immediate 
baking in a quick oven (either in tins or not), is all that 
is required to make it into bread. The bread is of 
excellent quality, and is much admired by all w T ho 
have tasted it.— Ibid. 
Relative Value of Food .—Mr. Hyett, who is ac¬ 
quainted with the researches of previous waiters, and 
himself a student in this very interesting subject, gives 
the following list of equivalents, in weight, as to the 
relative value of food :— 
Wheat, 
. 
. 
. 
_ 
41 lbs. 
Peas, 
- 
. 
_ 
. 
45 
Barley, 
- 
- 
- 
- 
54 h 
Oats, 
- 
- 
. 
_ 
55 
Beans, 
- 
. 
_ 
_ 
611 
Clover hay, 
. 
. 
. 
. 
90 
Ordinary hay, 
- 
- 
- 
- 
100 
Pea straw, 
- 
_ 
- 
_ 
125 
Potatoes, 
_ 
_ 
. 
200 
Cabbages, 
- 
. 
. 
_ 
250 
Carrots, 
- 
- 
. 
_ 
275 
Oat straw, 
. 
. 
_ 
_ 
300 
Barley straw. 
- 
. 
300 
Beets, 
_ 
. 
_ 
. 
397 
Wheat straw, 
> 
- 
_ 
. 
450 
Bean straw, 
.. 
. 
_ 
.. 
450 
Green clover. 
. 
. 
_ 
, 
475 
Turnips, - 
- 
- 
- 
- 
500 
Composition of Wool and Hair.— Wool contains 2 
per cent, of ash, human hair about 1. The latter con¬ 
sisted, in one case, of 
Soluble chlorides and sulphates, - 0.51 
Oxide of iron, - q.39 
Insoluble sulphates and phosphates and silica, 0.20 
The organic part is as follows 
Carbon, • 
Hydrogen, 
Nitrogen, 
Oxygen, 
Sulphur, 
Human hair. 
50.65 
6.36 
17.14 
20.85 > 
5.00 5 
1.10 
Wool. 
- 50.65 
- 7.03 
- 17.71 
- 24.61 
100.00 
100.00 
