158 
REVIEW OF THE MARCH NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
REVIEW OF THE MARCH HUMBER OF THE 
AGRICULTURIST. 
The first article in this number is a continua¬ 
tion of foreign notes upon 
American Agriculture. —Crude and somewhat 
untrue as these notes are, I hope they will do 
some good. Farmers in this country need a 
little stirring up so as to make them sensible of 
their faults. Men cannot be expected to cure 
themselves of habits of slovenly farming, before 
they are made sensible that their system needs 
improvement. 
Poultry Raising. —This writer, and some of 
your other correspondents are determined to 
make your readers understand that there is 
some humbug in this branch of the business, at 
any rate. I think Mr. Miner is decidedly in er¬ 
ror in regard to hens ceasing from laying in 
warm climates during the winter months. At 
least, Old Jo says he is, and negro authority 
about poultry will go further with me than any 
amount of white folks’ say-so. There is no 
mistake though about the truth of the last par¬ 
agraph of Mr. Miner’s article. 
What Can I Do ?—A very pointed question, 
admirably answered. I recommend that every 
town in the whole farming country of America, 
should do just as the people of Norfolk county 
have done, if they desire to succeed in an agri¬ 
cultural society. That is, get men, women, and 
children all deeply interested in the subject. 
That little article contains facts worth a fortune. 
Let every reader put the question to himself, 
and then read it over again and find an answer 
to the inquiry of what he or she can do, and 
they will soon see how much good one individ¬ 
ual can do to a large community. 
Imports and Exports. —Expenditures exceeding 
income, that is all. And the end is not yet. 
Cranberries. —After reading this statement 
about the profitable appropriation of worthless 
swamps, can any one tell me why it is that more 
of them are not put under the same system of 
cultivation? 
Village Lectures.— These should never be 
passed lightly over. Encourage your children 
to read them. They contain a deal of valuable 
information. 
Embellishments of Railroad Embankments is a 
subject worthy the notice of everybody. At 
present, they are the most unsightly objects in 
this country. Let the press begin to press the 
matter into the public noddle. 
A Jaunt in Ohio.— 11 1 was disappointed in my 
first impression of Cincinnati,” says the writer. 
So. was I more than a quarter of a century ago. 
when I saw what a quantity of excellent land 
lay between the town and those hills, upon 
which tract then lying waste, the city has spread 
its giant limbs, and is already climbing the steep 
hills beyond. The growth of American cities 
comes nearer realising some of the creations of 
fancy in Arabian tales, than they do the reali¬ 
sations of sober calculation. The fact is, all 
calculation is at fault. Where the most calcu¬ 
lating people on earth have calculated to make 
a city grow, the forest is still growing, while 
other places, upon which no calculation was 
made, have disappointed the shrewdest calcula¬ 
tors. 
Georgia Burr Millstones. —How little is known 
of the riches that lie buried in the soil of this 
country. I hope to see these articles generally 
introduced, if they are what the writer assures 
us of their character, because they are Ameri¬ 
can, and will tend to promote home industry. J 
Mulching Orchards. —I advise everybody, who 
ownes a fruit tree, or ever expects to be worth 
land enough to plant one upon, carefully to 
read this article. They will learn a secret 
about the cultivation of trees worth a hundred 
times more than the cost of this paper for a 
year. No doubt by mulching, fruit trees could 
be grown at the south in situations where they 
now fail entirely. It would be worth while to 
try the effect of the system upon orange trees. 
Who knows but the blight and death of this 
valuable tree might not be prevented by cov¬ 
ering the whole ground with pine straw or other 
substances that would make a covering imper¬ 
vious to the sun’s rays ? 
Orcharding .—Directions for raising fruit trees 
from cuttings, or seeds either, and on budding 
or grafting, with about one half the American 
farmers, is labor lost. However good the di¬ 
rections are, they will not be followed. It would 
have been one of the most interesting pieces of 
information obtainable by the census takers, to 
know what portion of the cultivators of the soil, 
cultivate fruit enough for their own use. I an¬ 
swer not one half, and half of that half grow 
only the kind known as five to the pint. Talk to 
such folks about planting a nursery! Why, 
they would never nurse a plant if they had one, 
except nursing their wrath against some neigh¬ 
bor, who objected to raising fruit only to feed 
those who are too careless or indolent to raise 
their own. Talk to such folks about pruning 
their young trees. Pshaw ! The only pruning 
they ever give them is to let in a few hungry 
cattle in the winter; for all they can get off the 
apple trees will save fodder. Talk to them 
