1846. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
99 
mnam»»gfri?a!gffl?EwrciaBB3gE3g3gB3iiB&gSaB^ag^^ 
FOREIGN—IMPORTANT. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 
The last arrival from England brought the important 
intelligence that a scheme has been announced in par¬ 
liament by Sir Robert Peel, for the total repeal of the 
Corn-Laws. Although it is not proposed that the total 
repeal shall be immediate, yet it is remarked that the 
scheme will operate as a repeal, “ as it is probable that 
during this year the duty will not be higher than four 
shillings per quarter, a comparatively nominal charge.” 
This information cannot fail to be regarded with great 
interest in this country; but what will be the precise 
effect of the new measure, must be proved by ex¬ 
perience. It seems reasonable that an opening will be 
made to a considerable extent for some of our agricul¬ 
tural products—especially Indian corn, (if some good 
way can be devised to secure it from injury during trans¬ 
portation,) and well cured salted provisions. From the 
article which we give below, it will be seen that free 
admission is to be allowed to these articles immediate¬ 
ly- 
It does not appear that any new measure has been 
proposed for raising the government revenues. The 
Premier stated in the speech accompanying his propo¬ 
sition, that “such was his confidence in the elasticity 
of the revenue, that he intended to make no proposition 
with regard to the income tax; and indeed he hoped 
there would be no necessity for the imposition of any 
new tax.” 
The following is a summary of the new scheme, as 
given by the London Mark-Lane Express: 
1st. A TOTAL REPEAL OF THE CORN-LAWS, 
after three years, with very moderate rates of duty 
from the present time. 
2d. Free admission immediately of Foreign Cattle, 
Maize or Indian Corn, Buck Wheat, Potatoes, Vegeta¬ 
bles, Bacon, Beef both fresh and salted, and Pork. 
3d. A Reduction of one-half in the duties on Foreign 
Butter, Cheese, hops, Fish and Cider. 
4th. A Reduction of 3s. 6d. per cwt. in the differen¬ 
tial duty on Foreign Free Labor Sugar—reducing the 
protection on British Plantation Sugar to that amount. 
5th. A Reduction of the duty on Grass and Clover 
Seeds to a very small rate. 
6th. A Reduction of the duty on Foreign Spirits from 
22s. lOd. to 15s. per gallon. 
7th. A totol Repeal of the duties on Foreign Cottons, 
Woollens, and Linens, with a great reduction on Silks. 
8th. A Reduction of one-half in the duty on Wrought 
Clothing, Boots and Shoes, manufactures of Metals, and 
Carriages. 
9th. A total Repeal of the duty on Dressed Hides; 
and a reduction of the duties on Foreign Tallow, Soap, 
and Candles. 9 
10th. A further reduction of the Timber duties. 
11th. An alleviation of Highway and County Rates, 
and an alteration in the Law of Settlement favorable to 
the Agricultural Districts. 
There is to be no increase of the Income Tax. 
SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
W. B. Hamilton, of Philadelpeia, recommends the 
subsoil plow as a means of guarding crops from injury, 
either by drouth or wet. In a dry season, he thinks 
the mellowing of the soil to tne depth of eighteen 
inches, as might be done with this implement, the 
roots of the plants would penetrate and find moisture, 
perhaps sufficient to mature the crop, though none 
should fall from the clouds while it was growing. The 
advantage, he thinks, would be particularly conspicuous 
on soils of a clayey character, with a tenacious subsoil. 
On the other hand, he remarks that in a wet season, 
clayey soils hold water “like a jug,” and when satura¬ 
ted and exposed to a hot sun, the plants are “ scalded to 
death.” By subsoiling, or, as he expresses it, “by 
having the bottom of the jug knocked out, the surplus 
moisture would escape, leaving the soil in a condition 
to yield a good return.” The land might also, he ob¬ 
serves, “be plowed at a time when otherwise it could 
not be touched without detriment.” 
EXPERIMENTS WITH POTATOES. 
G. M. Kassen, of Bethlehem, Ct., says—“ I have 
tried several experiments in planting potatoes, and 
have found the following results. Of the large red kind 
I planted 10 hills of each sort, which, when digged. 
weighed as follows:— 
lbs. oz. 
No. 1, large, whole,. 56 4 
« 2, “ 'two halves,. 61 12 
“ 3, “ one-half,. 46 12 
“ 4, very small,. 42 8 
Another experiment with 5 hills. 
No. 1, large and whole,. 26 6 
“ 2, “ two halves,. 27 7 
“ 3, “ one-half,. 20 3 
“ 4, very small,... 14 7 
Of the Scotch greys—5 hills each. 
No. 1, large whole,. 24 6 
“ 2, “ two halves, ..29 14 
“ 3, “ one-half,. 22 10 
“ 4, very small,. 19 2 
Another experiment with same kind. 
No. 1, large whole,. 16 8 
“ 2, “ two halves,. 29 12 
“ 3, “ one-half,. 28 4 
“ 4, “ very small,. 24 12 
It will be observed that there is considerable unifor¬ 
mity in the results of these experiments, viz: the pro¬ 
duct being always greatest from two halves of a large 
potato put in a hill, and always least from the small po¬ 
tatoes. . 
THE RIGHT SPIRIT. 
Mr. Tucker —The farmers of Vernon friendly to 
the cause of agricultural improvement, have formed 
themselves into an agricultural association. Regular 
weekly meetings have been held during the winter, 
which have been well attended. Committees were ap¬ 
pointed to confer and report upon the various subjects 
pertaining to agriculture, which has called out the pe¬ 
culiar views of the several members, together with 
much profitable discussion. A circulating library is 
designed to be established, and a routine of useful experi¬ 
ments in farming are to be resorted to the ensuing sea¬ 
son. A package of seeds, together with the several re¬ 
ports of the Commissioner of Patents has been received. 
Above sixty copies of the Cultivator and Genesee Far¬ 
mer are taken by the farmers, and the right spirit 
is manifest. The officers of the association are I. S. 
Hitchcock, Esq., President; N. S. Wright, J. Whipple 
Jenkins, S. H. Church, and C. Wetmore, Vice-Presi¬ 
dents; H. D. Tuttle, Treasurer; L. T. Marshall, Cor. 
Sec’y; F- Ingersol, Rec. Sec’y. L. T. M. 
Vernon Centre, N. Y. Feb. 9, 1846. 
POTATO DISEASE. 
Mr. Charles Blandy, of Brownsville, Ohio, writes, 
“ Having planted several lots of various aspect and po¬ 
sition, the last year, I have by careful observation come 
to the conclusion, that the best, if not the only method 
to raise this desirable esculent, is, to select a high piece 
of ground, naturally dry, and fully open to the sun; to 
plant early, and dig as soon as the vine or haulm be¬ 
gins to die; to keep the soil loose and free from weeds 
of all kinds. By adopting this course, I am almost the 
only man in this vicinity whose crop was free from rot; 
although the kind planted by myself and neighbors was 
the same—the blue-eyed A eshannock, known in New- 
York as Mercers.” 
MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURE. 
Extract of a letter from Dr. M. W. Philips, Ed¬ 
wards’ Depot:—“Our people are improving, and will 
improve, and I tell you more than this, that low prices 
of cotton and high prices of our necessaries will open 
out in this my clime a production that will drive many 
from our market. Pork can be bought cheaper in East¬ 
ern Mississippi than in Cincinnati; hay or fodder can 
be bought cheaper than, in New-York, Cincinnati, or N. 
Orleans. I have sold an excellent lot (10 steers) of beef 
