252 
REVIEW OF THE JUNE NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
he expects us to do that, he will be very much 
mistaken. He must take things in the rough, or 
not at all. Just such as the article upon the 
Cultivation of Potatoes .—If this writer had been 
required to go into all the minutiae, we never 
should have seen the result of his experiments. 
Just such another article is that entitled 
Value of Seaweed as a Fertiliser .—These are 
the kind of experiments that a farmer can easily 
make, and should make, and should report for 
the benefit of those engaged in the same pur¬ 
suit. 
Manures, No. 1 . —The writer says “manures, 
when judiciously applied, are the great sources 
of agricultural wealthand goes on to show 
that we all sprung from a dunghill, and cannot 
live without one. How shall this truth be im¬ 
pressed upon the minds of all who cultivate the 
earth, that every dollar expended in enriching 
the soil will pay him a greater interest than 
bond and mortgage. But I differ with the 
writer, somewhat, in the way that dollar shall 
be expended; whether in street manure, marsh 
mud, homemade compost, or in the purchase of 
more concentrated fertilisers. Let every farmer 
try experiments for himself, which is cheapest, 
the offal of the city, before it goes into the sea, 
or afterwards, in the form of mud, seaweed, fish, 
or guano; but let him resolve never to attempt the 
cultivation of land unless he uses something to 
make it rich, except when it is already as pro¬ 
ductive as art can accomplish. 
Poultry Raising .—According to the estimate 
of Mr. Miner, the golden fortunes of some of the 
maniacs who have lately gone into the hen 
trade, are not quite so sure as they have counted 
upon—of course before the chickens are hatched. 
But still Mr. M. thinks “a fortune can be made 
on poultry.” Let us see how. For my part, I 
do not believe it ever has, nor ever will be; and 
that any large outlay of capital with that expec¬ 
tation, will prove an addled egg. 
Gapes in Chickens .—Facts stated in this article 
are good evidences that the most healthy situ¬ 
ations for poultry are where the fowls run at 
large in open, new grounds; and that is about 
the only place where they are ever profitably 
raised, for then they get their own living, and 
live free from disease. 
Value of Guano as Manure .—Is it necessary to 
go to England for facts to prove this? Have we 
none in America ? 
Profitable Dogs. —This writer need not draw 
upon imagination, as he has, to prove how 
profitable it is to keep dogs. The whole south 
and a large part of the north and west, are in¬ 
fested with dogs that kill more » sheep than are 
killed by wolves. In fact, in some districts of 
Virginia, admirably adapted to sheep and wool 
growing, the business cannot be carried on for 
the dogs. There is but one way to rid the 
country of the contemptible pests, and that is to 
levy a tax upon all owners, and offer a premium 
for the scalp of every dog that has no owner. 
Agriculture of New Hampshire. —I am pleased 
to see how philosophically this writer treats the 
jokes, pretty stale ones, too, some of them, that 
are said and sung about New-Hampshire rocks 
and sterility. Notwithstanding the hard gran¬ 
itic soil, there is more grass grown there among 
the rocks, than some farmers in this Union ever 
thought of; and grown to good profit, too. If 
I you doubt it, go and look at their sheep and 
1 herds of beautiful cows and serviceable oxen. 
I am pleased with the spirit of this writer, and 
hope we shall hear from him again. Give us 
some details of farming in your state. Let 
southern and western farmers, who complain of 
hard work to live upon thousand-acre farms, 
hear from you how many persons can live upon 
one of one tenth the size, and that, half 
rocks. 
English Race Horses. —I have no objection to 
this race, nor proper trials of speed. But as 
things are, and have been long conducted in 
this country, I have become so disgusted with 
the very name of race horse, that I can no 
longer look upon the subject without prejudice. 
The racing stock of the United States, are no¬ 
toriously deficient in the good points that con¬ 
stitute a good roadster or farm horse; and the 
race courses have generally become sinks of 
immorality, every way injurious to the commu¬ 
nity ; and I would no sooner publish anything 
having a tendency to commend them, than I 
would any other manufactory of drunkards. 
Not that this article does approve of anything of 
the kind, but I am led into the train of thought 
by the title. By the by, I suppose it is copied 
from some English work—but who? What 
does “ Rous ” stand for ? Some of us jough old 
farmers are extremely ignorant, and I think I 
have seen some complaints of your articles 
being stolen without due credit. Take care 
that you are not guilty of the same fault. 
[“ Rous ” is Lord Rous, the son of a distinguish¬ 
ed nobleman, and related to many of the high¬ 
est nobility of England. He is a great sports¬ 
man, and distinguished writer, like the cele¬ 
brated late Lord George Bentinck, son of the 
Duke of Portland. In his line, Lord Rous is as 
well known as Dickens or Bulwer, in theirs, 
and it would look odd enough if we put more 
than an author’s name to his production. Would 
the “ captain ” have us explain who William 
Shakspeare was, for fear his name at the foot 
of an article was not sufficient explanation of 
who wrote it ?— Eds.] 
Wasting Manures. —Why, I have seen a thou¬ 
sand worse cases than that, and have already 
spoken of several in the present review. 
New and Highly-Improved Iron Horse Power .— 
“ What a long tail our cat has got”—almost 
as long as this title. And then what a small 
picture for such a quantity of machinery. Up 
stairs and down stairs, in the barn and out of it; 
and if it had not been for a bush at the corner, 
we could see round behind the barn into the 
meadow, where that fellow is going to mow as 
soon as he gets the scythe done that he is 
grinding. I hope his grindstone has friction 
rollers—it will almost go of itself, then, and save 
all back and arm aches. But pray tell me hon¬ 
estly, is this as good a kind of horse power as 
those known as “ the railway horse power, 
for a small farmer ? 
