THE CULTIVATOR. 
309 
low and other early trees may by greater expansion of 
foliage have acquired more hardiness, whilst the oaks 
and such as are late in blooming may not have budded. 
But is the button-wood one of our hardiest forest trees ? 
Its natural location is on the rich bottoms and shores of 
our large rivers in the middle and western states, while 
the oak, chestnut, &c., are found in high latitudes and on 
mountain sides where they brave the severer storms 
that there prevail. 
The opinions I have thus ventured to express seem 
strongly confirmed by the account given of the Plantanus 
Occident alls in Selbv's British Forest Trees, and 
which I have not seen elsewhere noticed. After des¬ 
cribing the tree, he says —“ It is evident from the fatal 
effects produced by the severe spring frost in the month 
of May 1809, and by the severe winter of 1813 and 1814 
that it is in reality of a more delicate constitution, and 
less able to bear the vicissitudes of our climate than the 
oriental plane. In the year and month first named a 
severe frost destroyed the tender shoots and leaves just 
then bursting from their envelopes, of most of the largest 
trees; and though some which were not killed by the 
first attack made an attempt to push again late in the sea¬ 
son, the feeble shoots they emitted were again destroyed 
by an early autumnal frost; this sealed their doom, as 
nature was too much exhausted to make a successful effort 
the following spring, and they speedily died.” 
There are farther remarks by that distinguished author 
illustrative of the effects of severe frosts on these trees, 
most of which were destroyed by the severe winter of 
1813 and ’14, and they are now rare in England. I trust, 
however, that nature, always provident, will adapt them 
to the changes and vicissitudes of our climates and spare 
us this noble tree. Yours, A. S. Roberts. 
Philadelphia, Sept. 8, 1845. 
THE CENTER DRAFT PLOW. 
Mr. Editor— Professional business having taken me 
away, I was from home when your number for August 
reached my place of residence, or I should have noticed 
sooner the report of the committee on the trial of 
the Center-draft plow at Albany. As a young friend 
observed, when introduced for the first time to a newly 
married pair, he had been considering for some time 
which he would rather be, whether Mr. or Mrs. L., 
so I find it difficult to determine which most to admire, 
the subject of their report or the document itself, both 
being, in my estimation, master-pieces in their way. I 
have been in the constant practice of using the center- 
draft plow for eighteen months, but it will be as many 
years before I shall cease to talk of and admire it: and 
yet, I admit it is necessary to understand it before it can 
be thoroughly appreciated. As has been said, its opera¬ 
tions are spade labor, and so are the results, amounting, 
I am fully borne out in declaring, to the difference of a 
profit and loss on a farm. To speak the truth, I could 
not keep my farm in proper cultivation without it, and 
this I say from practical experience; for since I have 
used it I am able to keep the weeds under, which I never 
could do with the cutting plow, the center-draft first 
breaking and pulverizing the furrow-slice, so as to shake 
out the weeds by their roots, thus causing the death of 
one half by exposure to the sun and air, and hurling to 
perdition the other half, into the bottom of the furrow, 
making manure of them. 
After this, however, I must be permitted to make an 
observation, without the shadow of animadversion on 
the committee’s report, but to point out an error in judg¬ 
ment regarding the utility of the dynamometer in the 
trial of plows at our meeting, save and except as to the 
simple fact of ascertaining the mere comparative quantum 
of draft. I maybe singular in my opinion, perhaps, 
but I believe much injury and wrong judgment has arisen 
from its use; the committees on plowing being often led 
astray in their estimate of the value of a plow by its 
lightness of draught, without taking into account the cul¬ 
tivated and upturned state of the furrow-slice, so that 
the plow that cuts the land smoothly with its well-sharp¬ 
ened wing and point and coulter, and sets the furrow to 
an angle of 45° or even less, and passes on without break¬ 
ing or disturbing a particle of it, is measured by the 
dynamometer against another, which breaks without cut¬ 
ting, and cultivates the earth, like the spade and rake, 
from the bottom to the top of the furrow, which can only 
be done by a resistance amounting to a great many 
pounds, perhaps in some instances to a hundred, over the 
mere cut-and-edge plow. To be sure, the plow r that 
shall be found to pulverize the soil like the center-draught 
at an expense of resistance not greater than the Ransome, 
would be a remarkable implement; and thus I estimate 
the Prouty-plow, from data derived from the working of 
my teams, on which I can fully rely, it being seldom now 
that I see them turn a hair or quicken a breath in the 
labor of turning the stiffest soil, while formerly, they 
would be covered with foam. It has been computed 
that two horses in a center-draft plow are equal to 
three in almost every other; and this I go for, and a little 
more occasionally. D. C. 
New Brunswick, N. J., 1845. 
“ SPARE THE BIRDS,” 
Say a large host of scribes in the different agricultural 
papers. Though the birds destroy, mutilate, and defile 
the fruit, yet they also eat the insects which destroy the 
fruit. Hence we should spare the former on the princi¬ 
ple of “ setting a thief to catch a thief.” 
But this benevolence should be more expanded. The 
grubs and wire-worms, though they destroy the crops, 
also destroy the weeds which choke the crops; therefore 
“ spare the grubs.” Canada thistles, though they choke 
the crop, also choke mulleins, docks, and Johnswort, 
which injure the crop also; therefore, “spare the Cana¬ 
da thistles.” 
I am so heterodox as to differ from others. I am in 
favor of destroying all depredators that are proved to be 
such. If they happen to be snakes, destroy them ; if they 
are birds, destroy them; if insects or noxious weeds, 
destroy them;-—and then I have the privilege of dispo¬ 
sing of the crop, as is most convenient. We must take 
care of our own crops and show no partiality to any in¬ 
truders or thieves, however handsome their dress or fine 
their music. Let every one be judged by his actions. 1 f 
a snake kills field mice, and does no injury himself in 
turn,—protect him;—if a “ feathered songster,” eats and 
defiles fruit, and does no good beside—destroy him. 
And however much good he may do in saving- the farm 
or fruit crop from insects, if after it is thus saved, he 
appropriates it all to himself, he has forfeited protection. 
There seems to be a sort of morbid humanity in favor 
of birds, because they are birds; true humanity should 
extend to all animals alike, which have feeling. Is it 
any greater merit to be a bird, than a toad, snake, or liz- 
zard? Why must the snake be killed and the bird be 
spared, when both may be equally innocent or equally 
guilty? Whose fault is it that the toad is a toad ; why then 
visit him with the blame of what he cannot help? He is 
not a free agent in this matter. A rogue should not es¬ 
cape if he has a handsome face, nor an innocent man be 
punished though hook-nosed and hump-backed. Let 
us discriminate. Some birds are our friends, and do us 
good; others are gross nuisances, let them be abated. 
X. 
METHOD OF PRESERVING PORK. 
Mr. Editor —I am aware that much has been written 
on this subject, and also that the great mass will continue 
in the beaten track of their good old fathers, because 
they are unwilling to run any hazard, and I am fully 
satisfied that there is a great difference in cellars, some 
favorable to the preservation of meat, others unfavorable; 
and so of other articles. The method which I have 
adopted for two years past, has previously been prac¬ 
ticed by some of my friends with complete success, where 
the common mode had often failed. I pack my pork 
the same day of killing, (even though it be not fairly 
cooled through,) in the common mode, except I use 
Turk’s Island or rock salt. The same day I scald and 
skim my brine till it is perfectly pure, then boil and pout 
to my pork boiling hot. It penetrates at once equally 
