216 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
ALBANY, JULY. 1S45 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Communications have been received, during the past 
month, from John Clark, Alex. M'Doriald, A Farmer's 
Wife, S. Tillotson, D. G. Mitchell, C. N. Bement, E. 
Comstock, Thomas Close, Isaac Dillon, S. B. Buckley, 
Woodside, Grazier, C. Butler, A. F. W., O. P., J. P. 
Norton, J. Gird wood, Barclay White, J. R. A., J. P. 
We are under obligations to Greely & M’Elrath, 
publishers, New 1 -York, for Part II[. of Dr. Lardner's 
Lectures on Science and Art—To Messrs. Yalic &. Co. 
Flushing, for Catalogues of Roses, Pelargoniums, &c. 
cultivated at their Exotic Nursery and Horticultural Gar¬ 
dens; (see advertisement)—To Lea & Blanchard, 
publishers, Philadelphia, for vols. 3 and 4 of the “ Ex¬ 
ploring Expedition’’—To Lewis Gompertz, Esq. Lon¬ 
don, for nine numbers of the “ Animal’s Friend,” and a 
vol. entitled “Moral Enquiries”—To L. Durand, for 
Premium List of Nevv-Haven Co. Ag. and Hort. Socie¬ 
ties. 
{(tl ? 3 The continuation of Mr. Robinson’s Notes of his 
Tour, were forgotten till too late for this month. 
We have received a letter unpaid from Jonathan 
Morgan, Portland, Me., accompanied by diagrams, de¬ 
signed to show that Lawrence's Improved Buckle, spoken 
of in our May number, is ‘‘no new thing, but has been 
in use' for a great length of years.” He is informed that 
there is no similarity between his buckle and Mr. Law¬ 
rence's. 
Egyptian Barley —A correspondent at Laurens, S. 
C. (Dr. W. R. we believe,) wishes to know where this 
variety of barley can be obtained. Who will furnish the 
information ? We shall be glad to hear from our corres¬ 
pondent, on the subject he mentions, or on any other of 
interest to our readers. 
Quackery.—John Clark, of “ Flat Rock, Shelby 
county, Indiana, Noble township,” sends us unpaid, a 
long and almost unreadable letter; the purport of which, 
so far as we can make it out, is to inform the public that 
he thinks he has found a cure for milk-sickness, and is 
willing to “sell a knowledge of it to ail that wish to pur¬ 
chase, who appear in person .” In a postcript he informs 
those who wish to have any communication with him, 
to be sure and pay their postage. 
□’“A Farmer's Son,” (Watertown, N. Y.,) will 
accept our thanks for his good wishes. We should be 
glad to receive any agricultural facts from the county of 
Jefferson, which we know can boast of some as good 
farmers as any other section. The “first attempt” of 
our young friend, certainly needs no apology. His 
opinion in regard to the usefulness of well conducted 
agricultural papers is undoubtedly correct. 
Transmutation. —We have not room for the well- 
writ’en communication of our respected correspondent, 
C. W. of Maryland. He has not probably read the able 
discussions which took place on this subject, some years 
ago in the Virginia Farmers’ Register, American Far¬ 
mer, Genesee Farmer, and The Cultivator, or he w r ould 
not suppose that the disbelievers in the transmutation of 
wheat into chess, “mostly rely upon ridicule,” to support 
their side of the question. On the contrary, they rely 
on the unchangeable laws which govern the growth of 
plants, from which there never has been, to our know¬ 
ledge, a well-authenticated instance of departure, and 
that there never will be such an instance, we have the 
assurance of Him who provides “the seed-time and har¬ 
vest,” for He informs us that “what a man soweth, that 
shall he also reap.” Our correspondent thinks “with 
Prof. Lindlev, that further observations are required to 
settle this question;” and “that if one kind of grain 
could be made to produce another by experiments so 
performed as to be free from fallacy, the question would 
be at once settled.” No doubt of it. “ But we may not 
be able to succeed in this experimentally without a vast 
deal of time, labor and expense.” If our correspondent 
is disposed to experiment in this matter, we will agree 
to pay all expenses incurred, and pay him a premium of 
$50, if he succeeds in showing that chess can be produced 
from pure wheat—with this single proviso, that he shall 
report his experiments for the benefit of the public, in 
case of his failure to demonstrate the doctrine of trans¬ 
mutation. 
Ribbon Houses.— In our Feburary number we spoke 
of this kind of houses. We have received a letter from 
Mr. Thomas J. Lewis, in which we are informed that 
the plan is coming into use in Massachusetts, with con¬ 
siderable approbation. That “ two men can build a two 
story-and-a-half house, twenty by thirty-five feet, in five 
days; and by men too, who have but little knowledge of 
the carpentering business,—making a house much hand¬ 
somer, stronger, warmer, and above all, at one-half the 
usual expense.” 
MONTHLY NOTICES. 
Imported Blood Horse.— Mr. C. T. Albot, of 
Westernville, Oneida county, N. Y., who has lately re¬ 
turned from a visit to England, brought with him a fine 
English blood horse, called Consternation. This horse 
was bred by Matthew Hornsy, Stiltenham, Yorkshire, 
England, and is said to be of the best racing blood. In 
1844, being then four years old, he won a purse of 100 
sovereigns over the York course, beating the noted horse 
Phoenician. From an accident to one of his legs, he has 
not since been run. Consternation is a large horse, for 
one of his age and breed, with good bone, clean limbs, 
and muscular quarters. When we saw him he was in 
low condition from the effect of the voyage, so that his 
appearance was of course less favorable than it will be 
after he shall have had an opportunity to recruit. From 
the pedigree of this horse, it appears that he inherits the 
blood of some of the most celebrated stock ever produced 
in England—such as Hap-Hazard, Highflyer, King-Herod 
and Flying-Chiiders. We are no advocate for racing 
horses, but we believe an occasional dash of (he pure blood 
of the race-horse is of advantage to our stock for the car¬ 
riage and road. Practice, we think, has fully proved 
this, both in England and this country. We invite the 
attention of connoisseurs to Mr. Albot’s horse. 
Novel Rat-trap. —We saw it stated in a newspaper 
several years ago, that a rat hail been caught by an oyster. 
We hardly gave credit to the story then, but have lately 
seen proof that similar things are sometimes done. A 
man brought us a rat caught by a clam. We were shown 
the rat, trap and all, so that there is no doubt about it. 
We were told it was the second rat which had been so 
caught in the course of a few days. The operation of 
the trap is this—the clams lay in a cellar—occasionally 
one would die, and when the shell opened, afforded the 
rats, we suppose, a delicious morsel. The live clams 
would also sometimes open their shells, and into these, 
as they were searching over the heap, the unwary rats 
dropped a foot, which was at once grasped and held 
firmly in this animal vice. 
Mistake Corrected. —A mistake occurs in the last 
or fourth volume of the Transactions of the New-York 
State Agricultural Society, which may lead to a serious 
error if not corrected. In speaking of the use of whale 
oil soap on page 310, for “ half a pint of soap added to 
half a pint of water,” read, half a pint of soap to half a 
PAIL of water. Unless the degree of dilution approaches 
the latter, vegetation may be destroyed by the acridity 
of the soap. 
Agricultural Address of Col. A. McDonald, be¬ 
fore the Agricultural Society of Barbour county, 
Alabama. —In the Southern Shield we find a copy of this 
production, which is highly creditable to the author, 
and, we should think, well calculated to stir up the peo¬ 
ple of that section to the improvement of agriculture. 
Besides many other matters, Col. McDonald comparer 
the present state of agriculture at the south with what i 
