292 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
.foreign Agricultural News. 
By the steamer Niagara we are in receipt of our for¬ 
eign journals to 3d of August. 
Markets. — Cotton has recovered from the slight de¬ 
pression of the week previous, and was at highest quo¬ 
tation of the month again. Grain , in consequence of 
the fine harvest weather was slightly depressed. 
Death of Rev. William Kirby. — We regret to an¬ 
nounce the death of the Rev. William Kirby, Rector of 
Barham, Suffolk, the well-known author of the Intro¬ 
duction to Entomology, written in conjunction with Mr. 
Spence. He died on the 4th of July, in the 91st year 
of his age. 
Effects of Railroads on Agriculture. —It is stated 
in a late English paper, that in consequence of the in¬ 
troduction of railroads, the number of horses in Eng¬ 
land has been reduced from 1,000,000 to 200,000. Now 
it is computed that it requires as much land to subsist 
one horse as it does to subsist eight men. Consequently, 
it would appear that the 800,000 horses displaced by 
railroads make room for an additional population of 
6,400,000. 
Potato Disease in Ireland. —I am sorry to learn 
that disease is again beginning to show itself in Ireland, 
in the leaf and stalk, as well as in the shape of blotches 
on the tap roots. This may, perhaps, be the most fa¬ 
vorable opportunity that has yet occurred for observing 
where the true seat of the disease is. Favorable 
weather, invigorating the vital force, has brought up 
the plant in the finest apparent condition, above ground. 
But is the tap root clean and white as it used to be 
twelve or fourteen years ago ? If potato growers gen¬ 
erally will ascertain this, with the least convenient 
delay, and continue their observations until the Royal 
Agricultural Society’s meeting, and be ready to report 
them there, this great point may be settled. In all my 
observations since 1845, I do not remember a single 
case in which the blight appeared above ground before 
the blotch on the tap root occurred; but many, where 
the root was blotched and even ulcerated, whilst the 
I ilant above ground, remained green and vigorous, so 
ong as it was favored by fine weather.— J. Prideaux. 
Bran as a Manure for Turnips. —I tried bran, and 
it failed most completely; the first year it was used in 
the original dryness, the second year it was steeped in 
water, and afterwards mixed and dried with quick¬ 
lime. In both cases, the bulk of bran formed a damp 
mouldy consistence, in which the seed vegetated, but 
never pushed beyond the lump, and not one plant ever 
brairded. Maggots were numerous. The circumstance 
uzzles me very much, having read the success of 
ran in Mr. Blackie’s Cvclopfedia.— Gardeners' Chron¬ 
icle. 
The American Churn. —My experience differs so 
widely from the advertised testimonials, that I am very 
curious to learn what has been the case with others 
who have tried the American churn. My dairymaid 
has had a six-pound churn in use for the last month, 
perhaps ten or twelve churnings,) under the most favor¬ 
able circumstances, at 58° or 60°. The butter has 
never come in less than 17 minutes, usually in about 18, 
and once it did not come in less than three quarters of 
an hour; while the advertised testimonials state a 
much shorter time, namely, from 12 minutes even to 
4 minutes.— Ibid. 
Annual Show of the English Agricultural Society. 
—This was held at the old city of Exeter, on the 16th 
17 th, and 18th July. We are in receipt of letters from 
several of our friends who were present, giving full de¬ 
tails of the show; but being of too great length to copy in 
full, we condense what is most important from them. 
Of implements, there were 11S exhibitors, and about 
$2,000 distributed in prizes for them. The variety of 
them is much greater than with us; there were some 
which are not shown at all at our agricultural 
societies’ exhibitions. Among the most important 
of these were steam engines, fire engines, ditching 
plows, tile machines, clod crushers, and portable farm 
railways. A four-horse steam engine on its best trial, 
threshed out 480 bushels of wheat in a single day, at 
one fourth the cost of horse labor. 
Of cattle, the show was very fine in Herefords, and 
numerous as to Devons, Exeter being the home of this 
beautiful breed of animals. In other stock, it was only 
moderate. 
The American ministers to England and France, 
Messrs. Lawrence and Rives were present, and each 
made an excellent speech. They were received with 
great applause. Among other Americans present, we 
notice Mr. Lewis G. Morris, of Westchester, N. Y., Mr. 
Taintor, of Hartford, Ct„ and Mr. Gordon, of Virginia. 
A Venerable Tortoise. —A large land tortoise has 
been brought home by the Geyser steam sloop from 
the Cape of Good Hope, as a present for her Majesty, 
and was placed in Buckingham Gardens on Monday. 
The tortoise is in remarkably good health, and during 
the voyage it took its regular promenades upon deck, 
making no apparent difference in its walks, although a 
full-grown person sat on its back. Its age has been 
handed down in the families in whose possession it re¬ 
mained until sent to this country; and it is thereby 
known to be 179 years old. It subsisted during the 
voyage, on pumpkins.— London Newspaper. 
Coconut Sugar .-—Ceylon newspapers mention a new 
source of sugar, as likely to be of importance to that 
colony. The sugar is obtained by cutting off the coco¬ 
nut flower stem, attaching a vessel to it, and evaporat¬ 
ing the liquid; it flows over in quantities so great as 
to be almost incredible, and I have seen samples of the 
sugar equal to anything ever obtained from the sugar 
cane, and produced in such abundance from a tree as 
to promise immense returns yearly to the owner of it 
Would you kindly state your opinion as to the chances 
of a tree so bled, living in health any length of time. 
[A coconut tree comes to full bearing in seven years, 
and will continue in vigor for 70 to 100 years in Cey¬ 
lon, producing from 100 to 300 nuts yearly. We should 
imagine a tree so tapped would live but a very few 
years].— Agricultural Gazette. 
Preservation of Green Kidney Beans. —The follow¬ 
ing is the process employed by M. Gehen de Montignv, 
for the preservation of green kidney beans :—In fine 
weather, gather the pods, before the seeds are too visi¬ 
ble ; take the threads off, plunge the pods in boiling 
water, and then take them out immediately; let them 
cool, put them in a tub in layers five inches deep, alter¬ 
nating with vine leaves, which must begin and end the 
series; on the top of the last layer of vine leaves, put 
a stone heavy enough to keep the whole well pressed. 
Then pour in some salt water until the top is covered; 
replace the water as it evaporates. The beans can 
thus be preserved quite fresh.— Flore des Serres. 
Root Pruning. —Pear trees, which are three or four 
inches in diameter, a few inches from the ground, and 
growing luxuriantly, should have a trench opened round 
them about 4-| feet from the stem, and as deep as the 
roots go. Cut all very strong roots, which are going 
down into the subsoil, with a strong chisel; and, in 
filling the trench, add some fresh, turfy loam. Let the 
ground round the tree be thoroughly watered a few 
hours before the trench is opened; this will soften the 
soil, and very much facilitate the operation.— Garden¬ 
ers' Chronicle. 
