REVIEW OF THE AUGUST NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
369 
greatly conducive to health. And I do look upon 
it as a duty that every city corporation owes to the 
inhabitants, to establish public baths. Every step 
taken to keep the persons of a population cleanly, 
.s two steps towards improving their morals. No 
dirty population was ever one of good morals. No 
public improvement would be of more benefit to a 
large class of the population than one which would 
give the facilities for bathing to the working classes 
of all cities. No dwelling ought to be considered 
finished without a comfortable bath room. I have 
experienced so much benefit from bathing in sick¬ 
ness, that I am thus urgent in its recommendation. 
Sheep Yard and Stables .—When the western 
prairies and mountainous regions of our country 
can boast of such as are here represented, then we 
shall not be pained with the account of so many 
sheep perishing for want of shelter. 
Economy in Budding Materials. —Let us exam¬ 
ine whether it would be economy for the farmer to 
use stone, brick, and iron, almost exclusively in 
building. In most parts of the United States, 
buildings can be made of wood far cheaper than 
of any other material. I suppose that a barn built 
of wood, for instance, which would cost $300, 
might cost $1,000 if made of stone, brick, and 
iron. The interest on the excess of cost, $700, at 
7 per cent, is $49 per annum, a sum sufficient to 
build a new frame barn every six years. Should it 
be economy to expend the $700 in building a 
barn of imperishable materials, notwithstanding it 
might “ last a century,” or even untold centuries'? 
I fully believe that iron might be economically 
used in some cases, for building in cities, but 
I doubt the economy of substituting it for wood, in 
farm buildings, in a country where wood is so 
cheap as it is in the United States. It is never¬ 
theless true, that “ farmers and others, of this 
country, too frequently build for temporary use.” 
It is still more true, that those do not study econo¬ 
my, who, as is very often the case, “build them¬ 
selves out of house and home.” I fear that this 
would still more often be the case, if farmers gene¬ 
rally undertook to follow the advice of Mr. Cooke, 
and “ discontinue the use of all kinds of lumber 
hitherto employed in the construction of houses.” 
Much more might be said upon this subject. 
A Few Simple Facts .—This is a very erroneous 
head placed over a very important article. It 
should have been headed “A Few Very Important 
Facts.” If facts that are calculated to save human 
life, are not important, I don’t know what are. 
The writer speaks of stopping dangerous bleeding. 
I have often found pulverized gunpowder to be 
one of the best stiptics ever used. One of the most 
ready ways to prevent the fatal effects of the poi¬ 
son of a snake, is immediately to suck the wound. 
If the person can get at it himself, suck hard and 
thoroughly at once, without fear. If out of reach 
of the mouth of the person, it is better to get a 
friend to do it. If the mouth is sound, no danger 
can possibly arise, or a little oil or lard taken in 
the mouth previously, would enable any person 
with perfect impunity to suck all the poison out of 
any snake bite, unless it had penetrated a large ar¬ 
tery. 
Another Fact Relating to the Potato Disease , 
communicated by Mr. Betts, of Newburgh, is quite 
sufficient to knock down several very fine theories 
upon this matter. The fact is, though knocked 
down, I expect to see them and their advocates up 
and running again, for they are as hard to kill as 
the buffalo; for, in another article, it is said that 
“ no animal requires so much killing as buffaloes •’* 
but the animal that theorizes upon the potato rot, 
ought to have been excepted. “ The buffalo inva¬ 
riably evinces the greatest repugnance to lie down 
when mortally wounded;” and so does the theo- 
rizer upon this unaccountable calamity. 
American Holly Hedges .—“ The American holly 
is the sturdiest and best armed tree in the world, 
and flourishes in all locations.” Does it ? Did 
the writer of this article ever see it growing in the 
northern part of the United States, in any degree of 
abundance ? It may be said to be a native of New 
Jersey, but further north, or even in the mountain 
regions of the south, I think there are a few loca¬ 
tions where it does not flourish. I think I have 
seen a few specimens in the vicinity of Boston, but 
whether natives or not, I cannot say. But one 
thing I can say, that is, holly hedges, will never 
flourish in many locations north of the home of 
the “ South Carolinian.” 
Venitian , or Tanner's Sumach .—I do most cordi¬ 
ally extend the right hand of fellowship to Mr. 
Prince, for the sentiment “ that the first object of 
our country should be to render herself perfectly 
independent of foreign supplies of all articles which 
could be produced from our own soil.” And it is 
“ humiliating” to think that we should be willing 
to continue in such a state of ignorance, as we do, 
in regard to what might be made far more profita¬ 
ble in cultivation than the old routine of crops cul¬ 
tivated by ourselves and our ancestors, since the 
first settlement of the country. Perhaps not one 
in ten of the cultivators of American soil, are 
aware that sumach is imported into this country from 
Italy and other parts of Europe. I do not know, 
myself, how great the demand is, nor what quanti¬ 
ty would be required to supply the consumption of 
the globe; but this fact I do know, that there are 
millions of acres of waste land in the southern 
states, upon which it might be grown to an extent 
sufficient to tan and color all the fabrics in the 
world. The common sumach attains a size upon 
the rich lands of the Yazoo, suitable to make fence 
rails, and for which it is often used. And the Ven¬ 
itian sumach might be cultivated with more profit 
than cotton, if the cultivators could be insured 
anything like the present common prices. Unfor¬ 
tunately for the prosperity of this country, she is 
wedded to the idols of importation, and “ free 
trade” is one of the humbugs of the age. 
Directions for Gathering Garden Seeds .—If these 
directions of “ E. S.” were honestly carried out, 
by all gardeners, we never should hear so much 
about the necessity of “ changing seed.” It is the 
indiscriminate planting of all manner of seeds, that 
is the cause of vegetables “ running out.” Why 
do we not remember and practice upon the method 
of Mr. Brown, in selecting Indian corn seed % 
Who has forgotten the anecdote of the “ barrel 
wheat,” where a man made such a great improve¬ 
ment and gained a great prize for seed wheat, by 
whipping the sheaves over a barrel to get the seed 
off the largest and best heads until he almost pro 
