206 
REVIEW OF THE AFRIL NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
Still-slop milk, is no better than slow poison, espe¬ 
cially for infants anti children. In addition to these 
cheatings, some cows will give a large mess of 
milk for three or four months after calving, and 
then suddenly dry up. They may be several years 
older than represented, suckers of their own milk, 
unruly, kickers, wild, quarrelsome, with a hundred 
other tricks, which no person can ascertain till he 
has had them in possession some time and fully tried 
them. 
We regret to say, that some, who ought to be 
above such trickery, have the meanness to allow 
their men to sell cows, (and horses too,) which in 
consequence of various imperfections they do not 
care to keep ; and this without allowing the purchas¬ 
er to be informed of the animal’s faults. We have 
occasionally heard of amusing instances of the per¬ 
sons employed meeting together for “a trade,” and 
mutually cheating each other, or rather their employ¬ 
ers most outrageously. When bear bites bull and 
bull gores bear in this kind of way, we have but 
precious little sympathy for them. 
THE DOG DISTEMPER. 
In looking over the May number of the Agricul¬ 
turist, I find you are asked how to cure the dog 
distemper. As you seem to think it rather out of 
your line, and T can’t say it is exactly in mine, I 
will give your friend a prescription which I have 
seen frequently tried and never known to fail. 
Here it is, and if it don’t cure the dog, I give him 
the liberty of sending me the hind leg of the next 
one he loses. 
Lay your dog down, and just behind the fore 
legs on each side and over the lungs, put on about 
a teaspoonful of spirits of turpentine. This will 
make the animal almost mad, for a while, but in 
forty-eight hours, he will be sound and well; so 
you will thus end the chapter on the dog distemper. 
Should this suit you, I may at some future time, 
give you something else, perhaps on planting, or 
more probably on gardening, in which I now take 
the most pleasure. 
P. A. Wray. 
Montgomery, Ala., May 14th, 1849. 
We shall be happy to hear from our correspond¬ 
ent often, and trust he will continue to favor us 
with his communications as proposed. 
VALUABLE LANDS IN EASTERN VIRGINIA. 
The subscriber has spent several years, in ex¬ 
ploring Eastern Virginia, to enable him to give au¬ 
thentic information to all who are seeking new 
homes, or profitable investment. He believes the 
region around Petersburg, and on or near the James 
River, combines more advantages, than any other 
in the United States. It is generally healthy as 
has been proved by a number of families from the 
northern states now settled here. The climate is 
delightful, the winters being so mild, that plow¬ 
ing is seldom suspended more than two or three 
weeks during the winter, and stock needs very 
little protection. Fruits of the best and most val¬ 
uable sorts ripen here a month earlier than in Penn- { 
sylvania, New Jersey, or New York, and can be j 
sent to the noxthern cities by daily steamboats, in 
a few hours. Fish and game are also very abundant. 
The soil is excellent and susceptible of very- 
high improvement, producing from 50 to 60 bush¬ 
els of corn and 15 to 35 bushels of wheat per acre. 
Calcareous marl is superabundant, and is believed 
to be the cheapest fertilizer known. The under¬ 
signed, as agent, has for sale a great number of 
tracts from 100 to 7,000 acres each, at $1.50 to $50 
per acre. (See advertisement p. 231.) Some of 
them with very fine buildings, and highly improved, 
others with valuable water power and timber of 
the very best quality for lumber and ship building. 
A descriptive list, and any desired information, 
will be freely sent to all who desire it. Letters 
should be pre-paid, addressed to Petersburg, Va. 
Samuel S. Griscom. 
May 15, 1849 
REVIEW OF THE APRIL NUMBER OF THE 
AGRICULTURIST. 
The Quantity of Seeds usually Sown to an Acre. 
—This is a valuable and useful table. Yet I must 
protest against the “ usual quantity” as too small 
entirely. 1 have no doubt that the quantity stated 
in the second column, should be the minium instead 
of the maximum, with nearly all the seeds [Belay 
there, Captain. Read the late English agricultural 
journals on this subject, then judge whether we are 
right or not.—E ds.] wheat and oats most particu¬ 
larly so. Much of the wheat that is threshed in a 
machine is so injured that it will not germinate. 
The best wheat 1 ever grew, I sowed three bushels 
to the acre- Grass seed is almost always sown too 
sparingly. But still, this table is a very useful one 
for many of your readers don’t know the quantity 
of seed required, and I advise ail of them to pre¬ 
serve it carefully. 
Adulteration of Food, No. 10.—And still they 
come. Is there no end to this catalogue of wick¬ 
edness ? There is one consolation to me, however, 
about the article of catchup, and all its impregna¬ 
tions of salts of copper, &c., and that is, if anybody 
in this country will be foolish enough to buy and 
use an imported article of this kind, such stuff is 
fit for their food. But Mr. Editor, I pray you take 
the hog out of that olive oil. Faugh ! Is it possi¬ 
ble that I have been eating lard, while the religion 
of my ancient house forbids me to eat the meat of 
that unclean beast ? I can forgive the admixture 
of oil of poppies, or even the lead and zinc, but 
Oh, Bah ! Have I been all these years discarding 
hog flesh and eating lard 1 And then to think how 
much money I have paid for it, because it was put 
up in bottles and labelled “oil of olives.” Your 
rule for detecting the counterfeit is very good. I 
should like to try the same upon the counterfeiters 
over a very “ brisk fire.” 
Agricultural Education in Bavaria. —When shall 
we be able to write “ the agriculture of America 
has experienced a great improvement in conse¬ 
quence of the system of national education which 
has been adopted ?” It seems that it is made a part 
of common-school education there, to teach boys 
the science of agriculture, and the girls domestic 
economy, cookery, &c. Well 1 we have a different 
[fashion here. We teach our boys to hate the farm 
and our girls that it is ungenteei to know aught 
about the kitchen. And we see the effect. 
Sugar Cane on Worn-out Cotton Lands. —If all 
