editors’ table. 
133 
^bitora’ ®ctbk. 
President Taylor’s Views on Agriculture.— 
We are glad to perceive the prominent notice which 
agriculture receives at the hands of President Taylor, 
in his recent inaugural. “ It shall be my study to re¬ 
commend such constitutional measures to Congress as 
may be necessary and proper to secure encouragement 
and protection to the great interests of agriculture, 
commerce, and manufactures ; to improve our rivers 
and harbors ; to provide for the speedy extinguishing 
of the public debt; to enforce a strict accountability 
on the part of all officers of the government, and the 
utmost economy in all public expenditures.” These 
are the sentiments of an enlightened, comprehensive 
patriot, not one of our modern, progressive, imitation 
statesmen, whose intellects, interests, and efforts begin 
and end with gulling a narrow-minded constituency 
with a show of patriotism, which, rightly named, is 
the most arrant demagogueism, intended for their own 
selfish purposes at the expense of the best interests of 
the whole Union. If the principles of President Tay¬ 
lor are followed out by Congress, it will not be long 
ere we have an intelligent National Board of Agri¬ 
culture, such as was recommended by the immortal 
Washington, the benefits of which will eventually be 
felt from Maine to California. 
National Agriculture—The Newly-created 
Home Department. —We are rejoiced, yet disap¬ 
pointed by the late act of Congress in creating the 
Home Department, the object of which is, to with¬ 
draw from the other already overburdened branches 
of the Executive, some part of their duties not neces¬ 
sarily connected with them. Among these are the 
Patent Office, the Indian Department, some matters 
relating to internal improvements, and several minor 
subjects. This is all very well and calculated to sim¬ 
plify the operations of the machinery of government, 
while it will materially add to its efficiency, if admin¬ 
istered with energy and intelligence. 
But we have cause for an intense regret, that a 
clause for the organization of an Agricultural Board, 
in the bill originally introduced, was stricken out be¬ 
fore its final passage. Thus it has ever been with the 
concerns of agriculture in our national councils. This 
immense and vital interest of our country, without the 
successful prosecution of which, the United States 
would be reduced to beggary and starvation within a 
single year, is thu3 left, as heretofore, to take care of 
itself, without one single act or countenance from the 
legislative action of our representatives. We are 
tired with arguing the point of the demands of agri¬ 
culture on the favorable notice of the government. 
We can only express the wish, that those who reject 
every measure of assistance to this great interest, 
might be confined to their own windy productions for 
food and raiment, till their craving stomachs and 
shivering limbs prompted some aid to those on whom 
they are dependent for the daily comfort of both. 
When our farmers and planters become wearied with 
this neglect, they will take some measures to remedy 
it. We trust they will receive no attention till they 
have themselves manifested a becoming interest in 
the subject. 
The American Bee Keeper’s Manual ; being a 
Practical Treatise on the History and Domestic Eco¬ 
nomy of the Honey Bee, Illustrating the Best Me¬ 
thods of their Management, through Every Branch of 
the Culture of this Insect; the Result of Many Years’ 
Experience; by T. B. Miner, Embellished with thir¬ 
ty-five Beautiful Engravings, pp. 349, 12mo. C. M. 
Saxton, 121 Fulton street. Price $1.00. This treatise, 
which has been announced in glowing colors, we 
think quite equals the author’s promises. It is writ¬ 
ten in a clear and comprehensive style, touching upon 
every subject of interest, in a manner that shows that 
the author fully understands the subject. Some of 
the elucidations are in a conversational style, of the 
most familiar and interesting character. The most 
prominent feature of the work, however, is the large 
number of illustrations it contains, which must have 
been a heavy item of the expense of getting it up. 
Every person, whether a bee keeper or not, should 
possess a copy of this interesting and instructive 
treatise. 
North British Review. —We have received 
from Messrs. Leonard Scott & Co., 79 Fulton street, 
the February number ot this sterling periodical. The 
articles are, as usual, of a high character ; but the most 
interesting one of the present moment, is the re¬ 
view of Macaulay’s History of England, the first two 
volumes of which we read immediately after being 
issued by the Messrs. Harper, with intense delight. 
In our humble judgment Mr. Macaulay will create a 
new era in historical writing. 
The Working Farmer ; edited by James J. Mapes, 
and published by Kingman & Cross, corner of Nassau 
and Beekman streets, New York, pp. 16 quarto, 
monthly. The editor of the above is already known 
to the public as a lecturer, and a vigorous writer on 
several scientific subjects, and we have no doubt he 
will make an interesting periodical. We hope the 
publishers may be remunerated for their enterprise by 
a liberal subscription list. 
Pennsylvania Cultivator and Mechanic and 
Iron and Coal Register ; Dr. Thomas Foster 
editor, Foster & Co. publishers, Harrisburg, Pa., pp. 
32 octavo, monthly. Price $1 a year. The Pennsyl¬ 
vania Cultivator is handsomely printed and illustrat¬ 
ed, and abounds with highly-valuable practical 
matter. Will the publishers please to send us the 
first four numbers, as No. 5 is the only one received. 
The Wisconsin Farmer and North Western 
Cultivator ; Edited and published by Mark Miller, 
101 Maine street, Racine, Wisconsin, pp. 24 octavo, 
monthly. This is a surprisingly well got up and ably 
edited publication, when we consider that fifteen 
years ago, scarce a white man had a fixed habitation 
within the limits of what is now a large state, prob¬ 
ably with a population of at least 130,000 souls, and 
their numbers annually rapidly augmenting. There 
is no surer sign of the prosperity of a country founded 
upon the most solid basis, than an enlightened and im¬ 
proving system of agriculture ; and ifWisconsin liber¬ 
ally supports such works as the above, we shall have 
great confidence in her soon attaining a high rank in 
the Union. 
The American Fruit Book ; containing Direc¬ 
tions for Raising, Propagating, and Managing Fruit. 
Trees, Shrubs, and Plants; with a Description of the 
Best Varieties of Fruit, including New and Valuable 
Kinds; Embellished and Illustrated with Numerous 
Engravings. By S. W, Cole, Editor of the New-Eng- 
land Farmer, &c., &c., Boston : John P. Jewett, pp. 
288,18mo. The object of this treatise has been “ to 
furnish a book adapted to the wants, and within the 
means of every family in the country—-emphatically 
a work for the million—containing all the practical 
information necessary for the production and success¬ 
ful management of trees, and the selection of the best 
varieties of fruit, in order to excite greater attention, 
both in cultivator and consumer, in raising more and 
superior fruits.” Published, and for sale by C. M. 
Saxton, 12L Fulton street. New York. 
Lumber in Maine. —In the town of Bangor, Me., 
the quantity of lumber surveyed in 1848 amounted to 
212,932,449 feet. 
Comparative Value of Stocks. —One share in 
the bank of earth is worth ten in the bank of paper. 
