114 
FORBES SHANGHAES. 
of Solomon’s pools, which furnish a copious 
supply of water throughout the year, fine crops 
are obtained, including all varieties of fruit, 
peculiar to that warm climate. Grapes, figs, 
pomegranates, dates, olives, cucumbers, melons, 
&c., are raised in profusion. We understand 
some accessions to this new and praiseworthy 
enterprise are determined on, and that a small 
band of enterprising Americans are already 
organised, and expect to sail for Palestine the 
present season. We trust this new wave of our 
countrymen will push eastward, till it meets 
the booming tide now rapidly extending west¬ 
ward, and that they will meet in India to con¬ 
gratulate each other on a renovated world. 
By a late firman, of the sultan, the occupancy, 
and even the ownership of the Moslem domains, 
is thrown open to all nations ; and our straight¬ 
ened countrymen, who have quite lately found 
themselves hemmed in between the Atlantic 
and Pacific, or at least, for the present, and un¬ 
til a further annexation in Canada, Mexico, or 
Kamtchatka, will open a little further range 
for their active spirits, can now commence op¬ 
erations in Palestine—reclaiming the land, in¬ 
troducing pure Christianity, with its attendant 
blessings, and carrying forward the great career 
of physical, intellectual, and moral improve¬ 
ment. 
Any donations of money, seeds, or imple¬ 
ments, destined for the Manual-Labor School 
of the Holy Land, left with us, will be forward¬ 
ed to their destination. 
FORBES SHAWGHAE S. 
A correspondent of your paper has hit off 
the late poultry exhibition, at this place, in a 
somewhat humorous vein. His caricature of 
the “red Shanghae fowl is capital; the hat is 
his, and I hope he will wear it, broad brim and 
all, with becoming dignity. Any one having 
an eye for fun must enjoy it with a zest. 
The writer, however, is mistaken in regard 
to the Shanghae fowls, as market poultry, and 
I only desire to set the matter on a proper foot¬ 
ing, in order that the farmer, whose interests I 
have at heart, may breed that fowl which shall 
give him the best return for his investment. I, 
for one, cannot agree with him in regard to the 
Jersey blues, and having had no little experi¬ 
ence with that breed, do not hesitate to pro¬ 
nounce the Shanghaes superior to them, either 
as layers, or for market. In fact, there are few 
better layers than the Shanghaes, both in sum¬ 
mer and in winter. 
Col. Brockett, of Newton, Massachusetts, has 
the original importation of the Forbes stock. A 
few days since, he killed a pullet, which, when 
dressed for market, (divested of head, legs, toe 
nails and all,) weighed 8£ lbs. He also dressed, 
in like manner, two pullets, six months old, 
which weighed 12^ lbs. the pair. The flesh 
and all the meated portion was plump and full 
as you could desire for the table. 
Col. Brockett, through his friend, Mr. Pedder, 
will forward to you by Adams &. Co., a pullet, 
which, when you have exhibited to the satis¬ 
faction of your friends who may chance to 
drop in, you can pluck and dress; after that, 
you can report through your journal. It would 
be well to kill and dress the fowl some four or 
five days previous to cooking. 
Perhaps you may think me somewhat inter¬ 
ested in the red Shanghae fowls; but I will de¬ 
clare to you, that I am not the owner of one of 
them. E. W. 
Dedham, Mass., Feb., 1851. 
CURIOUS FACTS IN VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 
I was told at Tallahassee, Florida, that beets 
would not grow seed, top onions would not grow 
the bottoms, and black seed would not produce 
bulbs. Cabbage will produce seed, but that 
seed will not generally produce heads, but grow 
into long stalks with a few loose leaves, on top. 
I have seen such stalks six feet long. 
Corn from the north, though hard and flinty, 
when planted here, grows light and chaffy. 
Oats grow lighter and lighter, until they run 
out. On the contrary, cotton, which is here a 
hard woody stalk, would grow more like buck¬ 
wheat in New York. 
The Palma Christi has been grown here for 
shade trees; and tobacco was found as a wild 
plant all over the country, when first settled by 
the whites. A little further down the peninsu¬ 
la, sweet potatoes and arrowroot are now grow¬ 
ing wild; and so are pumpkins, and several 
other plants which are only grown with great 
care at the north. We live in a great country, 
as yet but little known. Solon Robinson. 
To Kill Cockroaches.— Mix equal quantities of 
red lead and Indian meal with molasses, mak¬ 
ing it about the consistency of paste. It is 
known to be a certain exterminator of roaches. 
A friend who was troubled with thousands upon 
thousands of them, rid his house of them in a 
very few nights by this mixture, Put it upon 
plates and set it where the vermin are thickest, 
and they will soon help themselves. Be careful 
not to have any article of food near by where 
you set the mixture. 
