226 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
July 
IH9NTHLY NOTICES—TO 
Communications have been received, since our last, 
from Wm. R. Prince, Deane, J. T. Plummer, Charles 
Colby, A. W. Day, J. B. T., Hampden, Subscriber, 
Isaac Hildreth; C. V. H., A Maryland Subscriber, F. 
Emslee, One of your Subscribers, J. C. H., A. B. Allen. 
Books, Pamphlets, &e., have been received, during 
the past month, as follows: “ Knapp’s Chemical Tech¬ 
nology,” vol I; from the Publishers, Lea & Blan¬ 
chard, Philadelphia.——~“ Ewbank’s Hydraulics and 
Mechanics,” part VIII., from the Publishers, Greeley 
& McElrath, New-York.—-—Report of the Commis¬ 
sioner of the Patent Office, from the Commissioner, 
Hon. Edmund Burke, and D. Gold, Esq.——Seeds 
of a species of Clover, growing in the vicinity of the 
city of Mexico, from A. Phelps, Esq., New-Orleans. 
---Self-Educatir n, or the Philosophy of Mental Im¬ 
provement., by Wm. Hosmer. From W. H. Ongley, 
publishers, Havana, N. Y. 
Hemlock Hedge or Screen. —In the garden of J. 
W. Wheeler, Esq., of Hyde Park, we lately saw a 
beautiful hedge, or screen, of hemlock, (Abies cana¬ 
densis.) We had not previously seen this material 
used for such a purpose, but in this instance it has an¬ 
swered admirably. Mr. W. informed us that it had 
received no particular pains in its management. The 
young trees were taken from the woods when from 6 to 8 
inche” high, and set where they now stand; since which no 
attention, has been given except to keep, them sheared 
in the proper form. It is five years since the screen 
was planted, and it is about three and a half feet high, 
perfectly even, and so dense as to be wholly impene¬ 
trable to sight from the ground to the top. We would 
not be understood to recommend hemlock as a live 
fence against cattle, and we are not certain that it 
would answer against sheep, as they might check its 
growth by browsing, especially in the winter or early 
in the spring, when, in consequence of the scarcity of 
green forage, they will eat hemlock freely. But for a 
screen, in pleasure grounds or gardens, we have seen 
nothing which surpassed the one alluded to. 
SALE OF Short-Horned Cattle. —Mr. Prentice, 
of Mount Hope, has disposed of all his short-horned 
cattle to George Vail, Esq., of Troy. The lot con¬ 
sisted of twelve bead, four of which were cows that 
Mr. P. reserved at his sale in 1845, and the others 
were young animals bred from them since that time. 
As the cows mentioned were those which Mr. P. se¬ 
lected especially for himself, from his former herd of 
about sixty head, it may well be supposed that they 
are of high value, and we may add that their,; off¬ 
spring bid fair to equal them in the points and qualities 
which constitute first-rate short horns. 
The circumstances which have induced Mr. Prentice 
to part with this stock are, briefly, the appropriation 
of his farm to purposes which render it impracticable to 
keep a breeding herd. The addition of these animals 
to Mr. Vail’s former stock, puts him in possession of 
the largest and most distinguished herd of short horns 
in this section of the country; and as it is his intention 
to continue the breeding of them, persons seeking for 
choice animals of this highly esteemed breed, will here 
have the advantage of a wide range for selection. 
We trust that Mr. Vail’s success as a breeder will 
be proportionate to his enterprise, and indeed we be¬ 
lieve that good animals of this breed will continue to 
command remunerative prices. At some of the late 
sales in England, quite as large sums have been ob¬ 
tained as this description of stock has generally brought 
in times past. We notice, for instance, that the re¬ 
mainder of the herd of short horns belonging to the es¬ 
tate of the late Earl Spencer, has just been disposed 
of at public sale. Eighty-eight animals were sold, and 
brought the enormous sum of <£5,743.10s., about 
$28,717. Sixteen bulls produced an average of £90, 
($450,) each. One, “ Upstart ,” sold for £210, 
($1,050,) and another, “ Usurer ,” for £420, ($2,100.) 
Natural History. —We are indebted to Mr. Hen¬ 
ry Jordan, for a copy of the doings of the “ Natural 
History Department of the Brooklyn Institute,” of the 
meeting held on the 18th of May. Interesting obser¬ 
vations were made by several gentlemen, especially in 
reference to some department of entomology. Mr. 
Hooper observed, that lepidoptenous insects were sep¬ 
arated into three grand divisions: “ The butterfly, the 
moth, and the sphinx, and these three are again divi¬ 
ded into various families and generations, and then 
into species. The greatest distinction between the 
moth and sphinx besides form, flight and food, consist 
in the form the larvee of all the sphingii assumes, when 
a state of rest, resembling in figure the Egyptian 
sphinx holding on to the tree with its hinder feet, and 
raising its foreparts and curved neck, and hence its 
name.’ 
Mexican Clover. —We have received from Mr. A. 
Phelps, of New-Orleans, a few seeds of £ kind of clo¬ 
ver, said to have been found near the city of Mexico. 
Mr. P. thinks it is superior to any clover in the United 
States. The seeds have been sown, and if they vege¬ 
tate, the plants will be fairly tried. 
Farmer’s Cabinet. —We learn from the June num¬ 
ber of this paper, that its publication will be discontin¬ 
ued at close of the present volume, (next month,) and 
that arrangements have been made by which subscri¬ 
bers to the Cabinet will be supplied with the American 
Agriculturist in its stead. 
Superior Materials for Painting. —We have re¬ 
ceived from Mr. Richard Dally, of New-York, sam¬ 
ples of white lead and linseed oil, as prepared by him for 
painting. The mode of preparation was noticed in our 
number for January last. For further particulars see 
advertisement in this number. 
Castor Oil. —A “Subscriber” wishes to obtain 
information in regard to what machinery, and the cost 
of the same, is necessary to express, without heat, the 
oil from the castor bean—the apparatus to be calcula¬ 
ted for the manufacture of twenty to thirty barrels of 
oil per year. We shall feel under obligations to some 
person engaged in this business, if they will furnish the 
information desired. 
Powdered Charcoal. —Mr. Charles Colby, of 
Meriden, New-Hampshire, states that he applied six 
bushels of charcoal, ground in a mill, to an acre of po¬ 
tatoes, putting it in the hill at the time of planting. 
He thinks it prevented the “ rot.” We have no doubt 
that charcoal is a good antiseptic, but it does not ap¬ 
pear from Mr. Colby’s account, that the preservation 
of his potatoes was owing to the application of this 
substance. To be sure, the potatoes were sound, and 
so they were in many instances where nothing was 
used; and we have often seen the “old tubers” as sound 
as his are represented to have been, where nothing 
but ordinary manure was applied. If he had put the 
charcoal in alternate rows only through the piece, 
