132 
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
JTamgit Agricultural 
By the steamer Asia we are in receipt of our foreign 
journals to the 1st inst. 
Cotton advanced again, and had got back to about 
the same prices as per our last. Most other American 
products remained with little or no change. 
The Shantung Cabbage. —A correspondent at Shang- 
hae, writes to a gentleman in England, that he is about 
to send him some seeds of the Shantung cabbage, which 
one of the French missionaries had procured in the 
north of China. He says that it somewhat resembles 
the Savoy in appearance, is of a delicious flavor, and 
weighs 60 lbs. It is supposed that July or August is 
the right month for sowing. 
To Accelerate the Germination of Seeds .—When a 
gardener has some choice and scarce seeds, or when he 
is endeavoring to raise a particularly early crop, he 
takes more than ordinary care with them. He selects 
some good soil, sows his seeds, waters them enough, 
but not too much, and takes the greatest care to fit all 
the conditions to the nature and requirements of the 
young plants. If he is anxious to hurry on the germi¬ 
nation of the seeds, so as to bring the young plants for¬ 
ward as rapidly as possible, he gives them a little bot¬ 
tom heat, sowing the seeds in fine mould resting on half- 
rotten dung, because, under those circumstances, the 
gentle heat of the still fermenting manure, and the va¬ 
pors which it gives out, are highly favorable to the ger¬ 
mination of the seeds. This is one of the best known 
modes of raising young plants; for notwithstanding all 
that has been said about seed steeping and other 
wonderful modes of accelerating the growth of plants, 
we have, at the present time, no more powerful mode 
of aiding germination, and forcing the growth of young 
plants. This is the plan adopted by the best garden¬ 
ers with their choicest seeds.— Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
The World’s Exhibition. —Her Majesty’s Commis 
sioners have made the following regulations respecting 
the admission of visitors:—The exhibition will be open 
every day, Sundays excepted. The charges for admis¬ 
sion will be as follows:—Season ticket for a gentleman, 
£3 3s.; for a lady, £2 2s. These tickets are not trans¬ 
ferable, but they will entitle the owner to admission on 
all occasions on which the exhibition is open to the pub¬ 
lic. The commissioners reserve to themselves the pow¬ 
er of raising the price of the season tickets when the 
first issue is exhausted, should circumstances render it 
advisable. On the first day of exhibition, season tickets 
only will be available, and no money will be received at 
the doors of entrance on that day. On the second and 
third days, the price of admission on entrance will be 
(each day,) £1 ; on the fourth day of exhibition, 5s.; 
to be reduced on the 22d day to Is. From the 22d 
day, the price of admission will be as follows:—On 
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in 
each week, Is.; on Fridays, 2s. 6 d .; on Satursdays, 5s. 
No change will be given at the doors. This regulation 
is necessary to prevent the inconvenience and confu¬ 
sion which would arise from the interruption or delay 
at the entrances. The progress of parcelling off the 
allotments of each nation is now progressing rapidly. 
The first consignment which has been received for ex¬ 
hibition, is a milliner’s box, containing two caps of a 
novel pattern. Upwards of £100 were taken at the 
door on a day for the admission of visitors, and the 
receipts are said to be steadily on the increase, so great 
is the curiosity to examine the inside of the “ Crystal 
Palace.” 
The Pine and Cedar Forests of California. —Of all 
the wonders I have ever seen in the vegetable king¬ 
dom, nothing will bear comparison with the magnificent 
and lofty growth of cedars and pines which embellish 
the hills and mountains that lead to, and make up the 
great Sierra Nevada range. The magnificence and 
grandeur of scenes in which these trees abound, cannot 
be imagined by any man who has not seen them, and 
felt the awe and sublimity to which they give rise. I 
have counted in a circle of 50 feet in diameter, 13 pine 
trees, not one of which was less than three feet in dia¬ 
meter, nor less than 250 feet in height, nor was any of 
them marked by the slightest curve or inclination. 
They are the inimitable and lofty monuments of nature* 
uninfluenced by sweeping storms and winds, unbent and 
undecayed by a centurian age. Not a limb nor a knot 
can be found upon their bodies until you reach an alti¬ 
tude of from 100 to 200 feet, beyond which height they 
continue to grow until their towering majesty over¬ 
awes all surrounding objects, and affords a fit re¬ 
fuge for the noble bird which adorns the banner of the 
country. No man can travel through these scenes 
without feeling that the grandeur of Omnipotence itself 
is teaching him his finite and insignificant powers. 
Such was the moral influences of these leviathan 
growths of cedars and pines upon my mind, I would 
not have dared have given entertainment to a fugi¬ 
tive thought against the supremacy, wisdom, and pow¬ 
er of Jehovah. Such are the pine and cedar forests of 
California. And when you reflect that they cover an 
area of hundreds, if not thousands of square miles, you 
are prepared to admit the importance of this claim 
which we would urge upon the consideration of our , 
friends.— Toronto Globe. 
Grease for Carts , &c. —The following composition is 
recommended by a writer in the “ Independance Beige,” 
for greasing carts and other agricultural implements :— 
Take 4 lbs. of India rubber, dissolved in a proper 
liquid, 1 lb. of gelatine, 10 lbs. of carbonate of soda, 
45 quarts of animal or vegetable oil, and as much 
water; boil the water with the carbonate of soda and 
gelatine, then add the India rubber and the oil, stir the 
mixture well until it forms a homogeneous liquid. The 
: above proportions may be varied, and if the India rub¬ 
ber and oil are previously purified, the carbonate of 
soda is unnecessary. The above mixture will be found 
very useful not only for greasing carts, (fee., but also 
for keeping the farm harnesses in order.— Flore des 
Serres. 
