THE CULTIVATOR. 
11 
the Cultivator, and to some of which he alludes. On the 
subject of agricultural education, and particularly the ne- 
cessity of having the basis of agricultural science and 
practice taught in our common schools, Mr. Fuller takes 
true and strong ground. There can be no good ceason 
given why hoys and young men, intending to make ag¬ 
riculture a pursuit or profession, should not in the com¬ 
mon school, be able to acquire that elementary know¬ 
ledge at least, so essential to future advance, and final 
success: 
“ What,’’ asks Mr. Fuller, “is the great business for life ofa 
large portion of our population ? Agriculture ! We teach our 
children to read and write, together with the elements of arith¬ 
metic, geography, and grammar. All this is well, but will such 
an education meet all the wants of practical life—has the time 
spent in the acquisition of knowledge been as well spent as it 
might have been—could not some time have beenspa.-ed to learn 
the geology and chemistry of soils, not only how soils are form¬ 
ed, but of what they consist 1” 
We hope to see this subject attracting more and more 
attention, for we are confident it is one of vital impor¬ 
tance to the progress of improved husbandry. Agricul¬ 
tural education has not received the attention it deserves 
from individuals, or from the state. We want schools 
at which both the theory and the practice of agriculture 
shall be taught to those who most need it, the sons of 
farmers, or those who intend themselves to become 
farmers. We want well arranged agricultural school 
books for the use of common schools, and agricultu 
ral works or periodicals, should form a part of every 
^•cTiool district library. The want of such instruction 
in agriculture, is more and more deeply felt by thou- 
samis. We have now before us, a letter from a gentle 
man liberally educated, a skillful practical farmer, and 
tne owner of one of the best farms in-the state, making 
some inquiries as to tiie analysis of soils, and lament¬ 
ing that a part at least, of the time spent by him in 
the study of the languages, had not been devoted to 
chemistry, as connected with agriculture. This case is 
not a singular one. There are multitudes who feel the 
■want of a more thorough knowledge of agriculture, and 
they should let their voices be heard in favor of a radi¬ 
cal reform in this matter. Let us hope that the sensi¬ 
ble remarks and forcible appeal of Mr. Fuller, in be¬ 
half of a more extended agricultural education, will not 
be unheeded. 
AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS OF THE U. STATES. 
U 
<c 
Theee is annually published at Washington, a state¬ 
ment of the commerce and navigation of the country, in 
a volume of some 400 pages. From that embracing the 
statistics of 1841, the last published, we extract the fol¬ 
lowing summary of the principal exports for the year: 
Products of the sea,. f2,846,S51 
*' forest,. '6,264,852 
agriculture,. 83,677,947 
manufactures,. 13,593,072 
Total of Domestic exports,. $106,382,722 
The agricultural products are classified as follows: 
Produots of Animals, 
Beef, tallow, hides, horned cattle,. 904,918 
Butter and cheese, . 504,813 
Pork, bacon, lard, live hogs,. 2,161,627 
Horses and Mules.. 293,143 
Sheep,. 35,767 
Product of Vegetables. 
... 822,881 
. 7,769,646 
4,360,180 
Wheat, . 
Flour, . 
Indian corn,. 
“ meal, . 
Rye meal, . 
Rye, oats, and small grain, 
Biscuit, or ship bread, . 378 041 
Potatoes, . 641402 
Apples, . 48^396 
. 2,010,107 
T, . -$12,377,282 
Tobacco, . 12 . 606,703 
312,954 
682,457 
138,505 
159,893 
. . 12,606,703 
.. 54,330,341 
103,441 
Flaxseed, hops, brown sugar. 
Total of agriculture. 
. $83,677,947 
Such tables are valuable, as showing the relative pro¬ 
ducts that go to make up our exports, and consequently 
of paying other countries for the articles we purchase 
from them. They also exhibit the proportion each of 
the great interests of the country contribute to the sum 
total of products, and as a fair matter of inference, the 
protection and care to which they are severally entitled to 
receive from the hands of Government. 
Notices of New IjJttblications. 
LIEBIG’S ANIMAL CHEMISTRY. 
W-E intimated in a late number, our intention of giv¬ 
ing an extended notice of this new work of Liebig, but 
have hitherto found no space; and the extensive circu¬ 
lation it has received from the press of the New World, 
added to that of several American editions in the book 
form, has rendered such notice now a work of superero¬ 
gation. Very few writers have had the satisfaction of 
finding their works so extensively read as Prof. Liebig; 
and we may add few works have so well deserved to be 
read as his. Liebig has made no reply to the criticisms 
which have appeared on his first volume. Chemistry ap¬ 
plied to Agriculture, although some of them were suffi¬ 
ciently caustic. He has done better, and in the time 
which more irritable men would have spent in contro¬ 
versy, he has produced a second volume, giving still 
more profound proofs of his chemical skill, and of the 
success with which he is interrogating nature. It is a 
PRICES OF WHEAT. 
The following table of the comparative prices of wheat 
in America and Europe, taken mostly in December of 
1840, will we think be of interest to many of our read 
ers. It is calculated per bushel of 60 lbs., and will show 
that there are some places nearer England than we are 
where wheat is as low as here, and from whence as a 
matter of course. Great Britain could draw supplies were 
her markets for wheat open, before they could be for¬ 
warded from this country. 
New-York, 
Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, •• 
Montreal, ••• 
London,.. 
Paris,. 
Bordeaux, 
Marseilles, •• 
Nantes,. 
Dantzic,. 
Biga,. 
Petersburg,-- 
Taganrog, 
1,04 to 1,08 
1,05 
1,02 
1,07 
2 , 00 , 
1,38 
1,49 
1,40 
1,38 
1,23 
1,49 
1,38 
87 
96 
96 
1,03 
1,80 
1,23 
1,35 
93 
1,26 
99 
1,38 
1,29 
84 
Archangel, 
Rostock,. 1 ,02 
Harnburg,. l,02 
Koningsberg, . 1,02 
Kiel,.;. 96 
l.egborn,. 81 
Genoa,. i,08 
Ancona,. 93 
Stettin. 96 
Naples’,. 96 
Trieste,. i,02 
Santander.. 1,32 
Odessa, 99 
$ 96 to 1,02 
1,08 
1,12 
1,23 
1,05 
1,26 
1,3.3 
96 
1,06 
1,03 
1,17 
1,38 
98 
volume which will be read, and re-read; one which 
compels men to think, to study, to reflect. Abridg¬ 
ment of it we have found impossible; for the whole may 
be said to be a series of propositions, not independent, 
but so woven together and dependent on each other, that 
separation is difficult. Men who think the world is mov¬ 
ing too fast, the vis incrticc, class, who dread to have old 
opinions disturbed, or cherished notions shaken,will de- 
cry,notconfute,Prof. Liebig; while those who see in each 
successive conquest of science, a vantage ground for still 
greater achievements, will look with interest for the 
Px'ofessor’s third and concluding volume of this series. 
The practical inferences which may be drawn from his 
beautiful demonstrations of the use of carbon in the ani¬ 
mal system, may be seen in the following extract from 
that part of the work which describes the effects of the 
food of the carnivora and gramnivora in nutrition. It 
furnishes more matter for thought than volumes of ordi¬ 
nary declamation. 
'‘Man when confined to animal food, requires for his 
support and nourishment, extensive sources of food, even 
more widely extended than the lion and the tiger, be¬ 
cause, when he has the opportunitjr, he kills without 
eating. 
“ A nation of hunters on a limited space, is utterly in¬ 
capable of increasing its numbers beyond a certain point, 
which is soon attained. The carbon necessary for I’e- 
spiration, must be obtained from the animals, of which 
only a limited number can live on the space supposed. 
These animals collect from plants, the constituents of 
their organs, and of their blood, and yield them, in turn, 
to the savages who live by the chase alone. They, again, 
receive this food unaccompanied by those compounds, 
destitute of nitrogen, [starch, sugar, &c.] which during 
the life of the animals served to support the respiratory 
process. In such men, confined to an animal diet, it is 
the carbon of the flesh and of the blood, which must take 
the place of starch and sugar. 
“ But 15 lbs. of flesh, contain not more carbon than 4 
lbs. of starch, and while the savage with one animal and 
an equal weight of starch, could maintain life and health 
for a certain number of days, he would be compelled, if 
confined to flesh, in order to procure the carbon neces¬ 
sary for respiration, during the same time, to consume 
five such animals. 
“It is easy to see, from these considerations, how 
close the connexion is between agriculture and the mul¬ 
tiplication of the human species. The cultivation of our 
crops, has ultimately no other object than the production 
of a maximum of those substances which are adapted for 
assimilation and respiration, in the smallest possible 
space. Grain, and other nutritious vegetables, yield us, 
not only in starch, sugar, and gum, the carbon which 
protects our organs from the action of oxygen, and jiro- 
duces in the organism, the heat which is essential to life, 
but is also in the form of vegetable fibrine, albumen, and 
caseine, our blood, from which the other parts of our 
body are developed. 
“ Man when confined to animal food, respires, like 
the carnivora, at the expense of the matters produced by 
the metamorphosis of organized tissues; and, just as the 
lion, tiger, hyena, in the cages of the menagerie, are 
compelled to accelerate the waste of the organized tissues 
by incessant motion, in order to furnish the matter neces¬ 
sary for respiration; so the savage, for the very same ob¬ 
ject, is forced to make the most laborious exertions, and 
go through a vast amount of muscular exercise. He is 
compelled to consume force, merely in order to supply 
matter for respiration. 
“Cultivation is the economy of force. Science teach¬ 
es us the simplest means of obtaining the greatest effect 
with the smallest expenditure of power, and with given 
means to produce a maximum of force. The unprofita¬ 
ble exertion of power, the waste of force in agriculture, 
in other branches of industry, in science, or in social eco¬ 
nomy, is characteristic of the savage state, or of the 
want of cultivation.” 
Dana’s Muck Manual— Second Edition. 
Right glad are we to find that Dr. Dana’s Muck Manual 
has so soon reached a second edition, an early copy of 
which has been forwarded us. Considerable additions, 
among which are a full index, add much to the value of 
the work. We have but little to add to the extended 
review which we gave of the first edition in our last 
volume. We can recommend it to our farmers as one 
of the very best theoretical and practical works on ma¬ 
nures, and their action, that has yet been published. 
The present edition is well bound in cloth, and will be 
sold at the reduced price of 62i cents. The farmer who 
does not avail himself of the stores of information con¬ 
tained in this volume, neglects one of the best aids to 
his progress. - 
Natural History of New-York. Parts II and III. 
The second and third parts of this plendid state 
work have been laid on our table, but at so late an hour 
that we have barely time to announce their publication 
to our readers. Part I contained the introduction, and 
Dr. DeKay’s Report on the Mammalia of the state. 
Part II is Dr. Beck’s Report on the Mineralogy of the 
state; Part HI is Prof. Vanuxem’s Geological Report of 
the Third District. Dr. Beck’s report is a volume of 
some 560 pages quarto. It is divided into 2 parts, the 
first. Economical Mineralogy, and the second. Descrip¬ 
tive Mineralogy. It contains a most instructive survey 
of the various minerals found in the state, salt, plaster, 
lime, iron, lead, &c., &c. It is accompanied by plates 
illustrative of the various forms of crystallization. We 
shall doubtless have occasion to refer to this work more 
at length hereafter. 
The report of Prof. Vanuxem forms a volume of more 
than 300 pages, and embraces the survey of the counties 
of Montgomery, Fulton, Otsego, Herkimer, Oneida, 
Lewis, Oswego, Madison, Onondaga, Cayuga, Cortland, 
Chenango, Broome, Tioga, and the eastern half of 
Tompkins. 
It will be seen from the list of counties enumerated, 
that the third district embraces a very important section 
of the state, one containing the great deposites of salt 
and gypsum, as well as the various kinds of lime-stone 
found within its limits. From the known talent of the 
surveyor, w^e had been led to expect much from his 
labors, and the rapid glance we have been able to cast 
oyer its pages, has convinced us the public will not he 
disappointed. Embracing as it does, the w'hole series 
of New-York rocks, from the primitive, to the verge of 
<he Pennsylvania coal series, it comprehends a great va¬ 
riety of formations, distinctly marked both in their ex¬ 
ternal, and fossilleferous characters. Introductory to 
each of the groups into which the whole series is divi¬ 
ded, are well executed engravings of such fossils as are 
characteristic of that group, to the general accuracy of 
which we can bear willing testimony. The great regu¬ 
larity of the New-York series of rocks, and their exten¬ 
sion to the v/est, renders their proper classification and 
understanding, of much consequence to the American 
Geologist. We shal[ endeavor to give a more extended 
notice of this report hereafter. In the mean time we 
can only say that this state 'work, in its progress, more 
fully developes the necessity and utility of the underta¬ 
king, and the ability of the individuals to whose hands 
its execution was entrusted. 
Sparks’ Life of Washington. 
We have received from the publishers, Tappan and 
Dennett, of Boston, a copy of Sparks’ Life of Washing¬ 
ton, abridged: 2 volumes 12 mo. This is an abridg¬ 
ment of the Life prepared by Mr. Sparks, as introduc¬ 
tory to the “Writings of Washington,” in 12 volumes. 
A work from the pen of Mr. Sparks stands in no need 
of eulogy from us; but when that pen lias been employed 
in illustrating the history of the Father of his country, 
we feel a pleasure in calling the attention of our readers 
to the fact. 
Where is the American that has not read a Life of 
Washington ?—and where is there one who would not 
gladly set down to the perusal of another ? Long years 
ago we read the magniloquent volume of “Parson 
Weems;” then the standard and voluminous work of 
Chief Justice Marshall; then the Waitings of Washino-- 
ton, and always found much to admire and approve that 
we had before overlooked. There is something in the 
character of Washington unlike that of ordinary men- 
in him we cannot trace those workings of selfishness or 
ambition, which so much mar the history, and disfigure 
the chai-acter of many of the most prominent men of the 
age. age. Pa riot. Saviour of his Country, these are 
h s acknowledged titles. He has a hold on the affections 
of his country which no other man can have; which no 
other one will probably ever deserve. As a Farmer, 
Washington was immeasurably in advance of the times. 
His letters show a clear-sightedness on this subject, as 
strongl)- rnai'ked as those relating to W’^ar or Government. 
The publishers deserve the thanks of the public for 
bringing out this work in so good a style, and every 
faniil}'^ in the country should possess a copy. 
From the same publishers we have also received a 
work entitled “ Universalism Examined, Renounced 
Exposed, in a Serjes of Lectures; by Matthew Hale 
Smith.” It is doubtless well worth examination- but 
notices of such polemical treatises do not fall within the 
limits of our periodical. 
Hops—Great Yield —We believe the past season 
has been a favorable one for hops, but the low prices ex¬ 
perienced for several years past, has discouraged the cul- 
tivators, and many growers have abandoned the business 
Mr. Gurdon Avery, of W^atervilie, Oneida co., according 
to a statement by him in the papers of that county, has 
raised this year, on 12 acres af land, 29,937 lbs. He 
challenges the world, on both quantity and quality, for 
$1,000 dollars, on the same quantity of land; or quality 
without quantity, or quantity without quality, for $500. 
Ml. Avery is doubtless safe; for his crop is unequaled by 
any one on record. In England, the average is 7 cwt. 
per acre; and the very highest rated at 20 cwt. per acre: 
while Mr. Avery’s is about 25 cwt. 
