THE CULTIVATOR. 
155 
rations, should be left unremunerated, in part, at least, 
for his invaluable services. 
It now remains to be seen whether a discriminating 
public will recognize such efforls, by attending this sale, 
and purchasing the animals offered at any thing like fair 
prices, or by a culpable listlessness and want of true self 
interest, permit, in their sacrifice, a public disgrace. 
Were this herd of cattle in England, they would un¬ 
doubtedly bring twice the sum at public sale, that their 
proprietor would ask for them at private contract, if he 
were now at liberty to do so; and to such gentlemen as 
propose to send to England direct for fine animals, at 
enormous prices, as is almost every year the case, and 
then obtain those of no better quality, and perhaps infe¬ 
rior to those now offered, this presents an opportunity of 
which they should wisely avail themselves. 
To breeders, this sale is of vital interest. It must, for 
a time, at least, fix the selling value of American Short 
Horns. The number and the quality of this herd, and 
the prices they will bring, are far too prominent to be 
overlooked or forgotten, by the subsequent purchasers 
for some time t<? come; and although the writer of this 
is a breeder to a moderate extent himself, yet having not 
the remotest pecuniary interest in this herd, or in the re¬ 
sult of the sale, he has a deep feeling that the integrity 
and high character which this noble breed of cattle pos¬ 
sess in the estimation of our most intelligent farmers, 
6hall be sustained by prices that will continue to render 
them an object of attention for all future time. 
Let there then be a rally at this sale, and a substantial 
dispositson evinced to sustain one who has made such 
important acquisitions to the true welfare of our agricul¬ 
ture as has Mr. Prentice, in the importation and rearing 
of his beautiful herd of cattle. Publius. 
WHITE-WASHING. 
This is the the season of the year for white-washing. 
There is no doubt that a coating of lime-wash, or some 
other application, tends greatly to preseve buildings, 
fences, &c., that are exposed to the weather. The in¬ 
side of our dwellings, also, is greatly improved in ap¬ 
pearance, as well as rendered more conducive to health, 
by washes of lime. We have in former volumes given 
various receipts for making white-wash; and would 
refer our readers to the vol. for 1843, p. 88. 
In the Report of the Commissioner of Patents for 1844, 
we find the following directions for making washes, and 
which are there recommended with much confidence. 
The superiority of this wash said to depend upon white 
vitriol, sometimes called sulphate of zinc, which is rep¬ 
resented as a powerful mordant to harden and fix the 
paint. 
For brick or stone.-— One barrel of stone lime, (fresh 
burnt is best,) slake it, and then add two barrels of hy¬ 
draulic cement or water-lime, stir them together until 
about the thickness of paint suitable to be laid with a 
brush; then add twelve pounds of white vitriol, (sul¬ 
phate of zinc,) stir same for an hour, or till thoroughly 
mixed; let it remain twenty-four or thirty hours, and it 
is fit for use. When you commence using it, take for 
every four gallons, one quart of fine dry sand, and stir 
them together; put it on the wall with a large paint¬ 
brush ; if too thick add a lidle water. This mixture pro¬ 
duces a pale yellow ; after which, (when dry,) to pro¬ 
duce a pure white, go over the same with white-wash, 
as follows : one bushel of lime, with one pound of sul¬ 
phate zinc. 
For wood-work. —One bushel lime; one pound white 
vitriol, (sulphate of zinc;) one quart of salt; one peck 
of white sand. 
Sulphate of zinc can be formed by taking one part sul¬ 
phuric acid, four parts water, and adding as much zinc 
as it will take up. 
The sting of a Bee, it is asserted, owes its poison¬ 
ous nature to its being an acid; and therefore liquor po- 
tassia, by neutralizing the acid, becomes one of the best 
remedies. As it is very caustic, and corrosive to the 
skin, it must be applied at the precise spot, on the point 
of a pin or on the tip of a camel’s hair pencil. 
Notices of N cm publications. 
FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 
The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America; or the Culture, 
Propagation, and Management, in the Garden and Or¬ 
chard, of Fruit Trees generally; with Descriptions of 
all the Finest Varieties of Fruit, native or foreign, cul¬ 
tivated in the gardens of this country. Illustrated icith 
numerous Engravings and Outlines of Fruit. By A. J. 
Downing. 1 vol. 12 mo., (and also 8 vo.) New- York, 
Wiley 4' Putnam. 
It is with feelings of more than ordinary gratification, 
that we announce the appearance of this invaluable work. 
We are sure that none of our readers will be in the least 
disappointed with its contents, notwithstanding the high 
expectations which have been raised by the known abili¬ 
ties of its author. A deliberate examination of a large 
portion of the work, enables us to say, without hesita¬ 
tion, that it is by far the greatest acquisition placed with¬ 
in the reach of American cultivators of fruit, which has 
ever yet appeared. 
Nearly sixty pages of the first part of the work are de¬ 
voted to the general principles and practices of fruit cul¬ 
ture. The greater part of this is the direct result of the 
author’s own extensive experience, combined with that 
of the experience of others; anil taken as a whole, it is 
a perspicuous and admirable digest of all that is known 
on the subject up to the present time. The remainder 
of the volume is chiefly devoted to the different kinds of 
fruit, their management, diseases and enemies, and full 
and accurate descriptions of the numerous varieties, of a 
large part of which excellent outline figures of the natu¬ 
ral size are given. 
The pre-occupied state of our pages, prevents our en¬ 
tering upon an analysis of the work at this time: but we 
shall next month take up the subject and favor our read¬ 
ers with extracts from several portions of the work. 
The clear and neat style of the author, his exten¬ 
sive and long continued experience, and the unwea¬ 
ried labor which he has bestowed upon the work, have 
rendered it nearly all that could be desired in the present 
state of knowledge on the subject. New and repeated ad¬ 
ditions to the stock must of course be continually made; 
and in promoting and facilitating these additions, this 
work must prove a powerful auxiliary. 
There are occasionally incidental remarks made, and 
opinions advanced, with which we do not fully agree, or 
which may partake of a conjectural character; but they 
are very few in number, and can scarcely affect the value 
of the work even in a trifling degree. The amount of 
matter afforded in a clear and condensed work as this is, 
of no less than 500 pages, with about two hundred engra¬ 
vings, illustrating the processes of Grafting, Budding, 
Training, &c. and outline figures of fruits, at the low 
price of one dollar and fifty cents, should induce every 
one who cultivates a single cherry tree or currant bush, 
to possess it at once, and avail himself of the ample in¬ 
structions and interesting facts with which it abounds. 
Report on the Geological and Agricultural Survey of South 
Carolina, for 1844, by M. Tuomey— pp. 64. 
We are indebted to Col. A. G. Summer, of Columbia, 
S. C., for a copy of this work. The Report consists of 
three general divisions, or chapters, viz: Primary Rocks, 
Metals, and Economical Geology—to which is added an 
Appendix embracing the “ Prize Report of Experiments, 
submitted to the State Agricultural Society of South Ca¬ 
rolina, Nov. 1844,” by Francis S. Holmes. 
We find in this Report, some interesting facts, partic¬ 
ularly under the third division, or Economical Geology; 
we cannot, however, do more for the present than brief¬ 
ly advert to them. Speaking of Gneiss, the writer states 
that it occupies, in a considerable degree, the mountain¬ 
ous portion of the State, and that he 
“ Was not a little surprised to find on the very summit of Glassy 
mountain, and on one of the highest of the Saluda mountains, crop* 
that would have done no discredit 1o more favored localities. On the 
most rugged sides of these mountains, particularly in the moist dells 
the luxuriance with which the natural grasses grow, show how we* 
