2*28 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. 
By the last packet at Boston, we received from our 
kind friends in England, an unusually large supply of 
foreign Agricultural Journals, among whicn are the 
Farmer’s Magazine for May and regular files of the Mark- 
Lane Express, New Farmer’s Journal, Gardener’s Chron¬ 
icle , Agricultural Gazette, Farmer’s Herald , fyc. 
State of the Weather, Crops, &c. —Accounts state 
the month of May was unusually cold in England, as well 
as in this country, but in respect to moisture, the weather 
was the reverse of what it was here- '.here being no rain 
of any consequence in England during lae month, and but 
very little during the month preceding. The severity 
of the drouth had injuriously affected many of the crops. 
Some of the late spring grains had vegetated but very 
imperfectly—the pastures were in many instances dried 
up—in several districts the animals had to be supported 
by foddering, and the stock of hay was being rapidly 
consumed. It is hoped, however, that the drouth is at 
an end. Rains had fallen in some places on the last days 
of the month, and there was a prospect of more. In 
Scotland, there had been some deficiency of rain, but the 
wheat and other ci’ops looked rather promising. 
Extract of a letter received in New-York, dated Lon¬ 
don, June 3:—“Our weather has been singularly dry 
and free from all moisture for the last ten weeks—so 
much so as almost to have checked farming vegetation, 
with the exception of the autumn sown wheat—as for 
barley, oats and beans, they are just above ground, and 
the latter are in blossom, not six inches high. Of hay, 
compared with last season, the crop will not be one-fifth 
in quantity. In short, we must be large customers of 
your Western States, if matters continue as at present.” 
The introduction of live stock into England, which has 
taken place to some extent under the new tariff; has, it is 
said, resulted in a general loss to the speculators. Some 
of the animals, imported in store condition, had been put 
to stall feeding, but in no instance have they thriven well; 
on the contrary the change of diet had such an unfavora¬ 
ble effect upon them, that in the course of a few weeks 
they have been attacked with disease and rendered almost 
valueless. 
Farm laborers were getting ready employ at from 10s. j 
to 12s. per week. 
The Mark Lane Express of June 3, says:—From the 
United States, and Canada, immense quantities of salted 
beef and pork, together with hams, cheese, bacon, &c., 
have come in, yet the demand for those articles has im ¬ 
proved, and prices have been well supported. For in¬ 
stance, American cheese has sold at from 34s. to 43s.; 
beef, 30s. to 38s.; pork, 36s. to 40s. per cwt.; tongues, 
24s. per keg; smoked hams, 52s. to 56s. per cwt., duty 
paid; beef, for ship’s use, 80s. to 90s.; prime mess, 65s. 
to 70s. per tierce; and prime mess pork, 45s. to 52s. 6d. 
per barrel, in bond. At these rates, a good business has 
been transacted, with every prospect of higher figures. 
American Seeds in England _At a late meeting 
of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, Mr. 
Colman presented samples of several kinds of seeds 
which he had received from America, and which were 
distributed among 30 members of the council for trial, 
and their reports respectively on the results of their cul¬ 
tivation. Among the seeds were millet, broom-corn, 
herds-grass, or timothy, ( Phleum pratense,) and several 
varieties of Indian-corn. Mr. Colman is strongly in¬ 
clined to think that the early kinds of Indian corn may 
succeed in the southerly part of England. Mr. Colman 
also presented two plows, one made by D. Prouiy & Co., 
Boston, and the other by Ruggies, Nourse and Ma¬ 
son, Boston. The committee of arrangements have made 
preparations for the trial of these plows with those of 
English manufacture, at the coming show of the Royal 
Agricultural Society at Southampton. Mr. C. likewise 
presented American grain-cradles and scylhe-snaiths, 
of improved construction, besides turnep-weeders, ma¬ 
nure-forks, &c. 
Agricultural College in England.. —At a public 
meeting lately held at Cirencester, (Eng.) in furtherance 
of an agricultural college for the education of young 
men in the theory and practice of agriculture. Earl 
Bathurst, Lord Ducie, and other noblemen, as well as 
tenent farmers, took part in the proceedings. More than 
one half the necessary funds have been already subscribed 
or promised. A report from a committee who had visi¬ 
ted the agricultural colleges of France, Switzerland, 
Prussia, &c., was read, stating that all those institutions 
were flourishing, and their beneficial influences were 
becoming more widely extended and acknowledged. 
Defect in Potatoes. —Several European writers 
seem to entertain the notion that the failure and poor 
quality of the potato-crop for a few years past, is owing 
to the degeneracy of the variety from age. They also 
recommend unripe potatoes for seed, for the reason, as is 
alleged, that they will vegetate more readily and vigor¬ 
ously than ripe ones. We do not think that either of 
these theories is supported by facts, in this country. 
Guano. —That is said to best which is brightest color¬ 
ed—being freshest, or last formed. On some of the 
islands in the Pacific, it is said its smell is perceptible at 
the distance of fourteen miles. There are places where 
it is seventy feet thick. 
The Alpaca in Great Britain —It has been stated 
that this animal, which has within a few years been in¬ 
troduced into Great Britain, has not proved to be very 
healthy there. A late foreign paper says there can be 
no doubt as to the climate of England anil Scotland being 
suitable, and that the difficulty lies wholly in getting 
them there—the animals always becoming sickly on 
their voyage from Peru. It is said they contiue healthy 
till they reach the Cape of Good Hope, when they begin 
to droop and frequently die. The account to which we 
allude, says there is a pair of these animals in Stirling¬ 
shire, (Scotland,) which have been kept there for eight 
or nine months, and stood the severe winter without in¬ 
jury, and more hardy than the native sheep, required less 
food, and subsist where sheep would die. They are said 
to be now in perfect health, very docile, following their 
keeper like a dog, and are very elegant and interesting. 
The weight of their fleeces was 17^ lbs. The owner 
anticipates that the time will come when the rough hills 
and heaihy mountains of Scotland will be covered with 
them, and that they will become a source of wealth to 
the proprietors of the Highland districts, where they will 
thrive on those coarse kinds of herbage which neither 
horse, cow, or sheep will touch. 
Rot in Sheep —It is well known that sheep affected 
with the rot, have insects in their livers called Jlukcs. 
There has been much speculation in regard to these in¬ 
sects—whether they are the cause or the effect of the 
disease, or whether they are produced spontaneously in 
! the liver, or proceed from eggs taken into the stomach 
'of the sheep, are points on which writers are not agreed 
| In an English paper we notice an extract from a lec¬ 
ture lately delivered by Mr. Brightwell, in which he 
: spoke of these insects. He says —“ The vulgar notion 
j seems to agree with the scientific one, viz: that the eggs 
or larva of insects are drunk in the water. The strong- 
; est proof of this I know, is in the relation of the woman 
j at or near Cork, who had larva of the church-yard bee- 
! tie in her stomach. By an absurd notion she drank a 
j mixture of water and clay from a priest's grave! I be¬ 
lieve there are doubts whether the larva within animals 
|ever become insects or arrive at the pupa state. In the 
lease just noticed, I think it is said they did so; if not 
that foolish woman must have taken great draughts at 
!at various times, to produce the vast quantity of larva 
I which at various times came from her stomach. Al¬ 
though larva may come from animals’ stomachs with the 
|excrements, and afterwards become perfect insects, still 
jl cannot see how they can pass from the liver. Wheth¬ 
er my views on the rot in sheep's livers be right or 
wrong, I aril safe in saying that the animals originally 
belonged to high and dry districts, and the nearer their 
pasturage comes to that, the less liable will they be to 
the rot, both in foot and in liver.” 
Preserving Grass for Fodder. —Pr. Johnston says: 
“ A method has lately been tried in Germany which 
seems in a great measure to attain this object. Pits are 
dug in the earth from ten to twelve feet square, and a? 
