1847. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
245 
one ear and excise about an inch from each cord—so 
with the other ear.” 
After the operations have been performed, it is re¬ 
commended to turn the horse to grass, to give him no 
grain, and neither ride or drive him until he is well, 
which it is said will require several weeks, and it is re¬ 
commended to give him on alternate days, a teaspoonful 
of salt-petre, and a tablespoonful of sulphur, for 9 or 
10 days; bleeding him every two or three days in the 
course of that time. 
In case the disease has reached the third stage be¬ 
fore treatment is commenced, it is directed to u bore a 
gimblet-hole in each protuberant bone of the face, 
(one on each side,) and introduce into them a piece of 
arsenic the size of a pea, wrapped in tissue paper.” 
Road Making.— I was gratified by your introdu¬ 
cing the subject of roads to the notice of the readers 
of the Cultivator, and I like much the suggestions of 
Mr. Gillespie, in your quotations from his work on 
road making. Vie, at this place, need only to travel 
a few miles south, to the bounds of Pennsylvania, to 
see proofs of the advantages of the money tax system 
for road making and repairing, over the operations of 
our plan. Although the soil there is inferior to ours 
for roads, and the settlements newer and more scanty, 
there is a strikingly marked difference in the quality 
and condition of the roads in their favor. 
I have long thought that a mode of taxation entire¬ 
ly different from any that I have known adopted, might 
be devised, which would secure the object more cer¬ 
tainly and cheaply, and be less burdensome to the peo¬ 
ple. It should embrace the principle, as a main fea¬ 
ture, that every parcel of real estate should support that 
portion of road which passes through and by it, and 
be, with suitable exceptions and qualifications, ex¬ 
empted from further taxation for such purposes. I 
think a system based on this principle might be per¬ 
fected, so as to effect the following advantages: Every 
person owning real estate, would at once make his 
portion of the road in the best and most durable man¬ 
ner. They would feel that by this course, they would, 
as it were, relieve their estate from the payment of 
annual interest on a mortgage with which it was en¬ 
cumbered. He could perform his work when conve¬ 
nient, instead of doing it at the order of a captious 
overseer. He would do it as he does the work on his 
farm by full days’ work, instead of wasting his time, 
as is commonly done in the present system. Besides, 
a commendable emulation would be excited among 
neighborhoods and individuals, which would insure ex¬ 
cellence in their work. 
I should think that a commissioner of highways (I 
would by no means have more than one,) should be 
elected in each town, to perform the ordinary duties 
of superintendents—seeing that all roads are con¬ 
structed on one and an improved model, and kept in 
perfect order. He should also assess an equitable tax 
on all personal property in the town, a poll tax on all 
persons not exempt as above, and a tax on such real 
estate as is located in villages and other situations, in 
which no specific labor is needed. The money so 
raised to be applied to the construction and repairs of 
bridges, and to aid those persons who may be too hea¬ 
vily burdened by their portions of road. If this source 
of revenue should not prove sufficient for those purpo¬ 
ses, he should have power to direct an appropriation 
by the board of supervisors, chargeable to the general 
account of the town. 
I should think that all the commissioners of towns 
in a county, would form an appropriate board of ap¬ 
peal, from the decision of any one commissioner, in all 
eases of grievance, on the part of individuals, or of the 
own, with, perhaps, ultimate appeal to the board of 
supervisors. I do not presume that this sketch of a 
plan approaches a perfect one—perhaps you may think 
it chimerical. If so, I hope you or others will con¬ 
trive a plan which will operate better than the present 
one, which almost entirely fails with us, though the 
highway tax bears a proportion to our town and 
county taxes, as six to fifteen. A. D. Binghamton, 
July 12, 1847. . 
Successful Steep for Seeds. —Much has been 
said and written on the subject of soaking seeds in dif¬ 
ferent preparations, for the purpose of promoting their 
rapid vegetation and growth. As far as I have heard 
or read, these experiments have proved that most of 
these solutions or preparations are nearly or quite 
worthless. I will, however, state a few facts in regard 
to one solution that I have tried for the last three seasons. 
In the winter of 1845 I found, in the Philadelphia 
Saturday Courier I think, the following recipe—‘‘Soak 
garden seed four hours in a solution of chloride of lime 
in the proportion of ^oz. chlor. lime, to one gallon of 
water.” The writer observes that seeds which were 
soaked thus, came up some days sooner than those which 
were not soaked, and that the plants kept the lead 
through the season. 
The experiment being easily tried, I made up my 
mind to give it a. fair trial, and see what the result 
would be. On the 10th of May, 1845, having my 
ground ready, beds made, hills all prepared, so that as 
little time as possible should be consumed in planting, 
I put cucumber, muskmelon, beet, summer savory and 
radish seeds, and corn, beans and peas into the solution, 
let them soak four hours, and planted immediately.— 
Twenty-four hours after planting, I dug up some of the 
corn and peas, and found that their roots were from 
one to one and a-half inches in length. In forty-eight 
hours the roots were three to four inches, and the spire 
one to one and a-half inches in length. The precise 
day that they broke ground I now forget. 
My cucumbers and melons came up quick and well, 
and for the first time in my life, my beets were up be¬ 
fore any weeds were started. In a garden adjoining 
mine, planted nine or ten days previous to mine, beans 
were just breaking the ground when mine were plant¬ 
ed, yet mine passed them in a week my corn came up 
about the same time, and my peas came up first. Now 
as to the moisture merely, seeds lying in the ground 
eight or ten days would imbibe as much as they would 
by being soaked four hours. I have not marked the 
exact time of my seeds vegetating, since 1845. I 
know, however, that my seeds do not fail me as they 
used to do, and as my neighbor’s very frequently do. 
This year I did not plant my garden till the 17th of 
May. Everything that I soaked came up quick, so 
that my plants were altogether ahead of the weeds, 
and my cucumbers and melons have kept out of the 
reach of the bugs, while my neighbors have planted 
two, three, and four times. I have never seen any no¬ 
tice of this solution, except as above mentioned. Two 
or three of my neighbors have tried the experiment 
this year with the like good results. Bailey. ' Bing¬ 
hamton , 1847. . 
Gluten in Wheat. —This valuable constituent in 
wheat, varies much in quantity with climate, and with 
the kind of manure. Wheat in warm climates has most 
gluten, often nearly one-half more. Equal portions of 
Cincinnati and of the best Alabama flour were made 
into bread, with the addition of equal portions of yeast. 
On baking, the bread from Cincinnati flour was found 
to be 33 per cent, heavier than the flour and yeast to¬ 
gether; the Alabama flour had gained 55 per cent., in 
consequence of the larger quantity of gluten in the lat¬ 
ter. Wheat manured with ox-blood and some other of 
the most powerful manures, was found to contain about 
three times as much gluten as with cow manure 
