76 
THE CULTIVATOR 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
THE AMERICAN MUCK BOOK ; treating of the nature, proper¬ 
ties. sources, history, and operations of all the principal fertilizers 
and manures in common use, with specific directions for their 
preparation, preservation and application to the soil and to 
crops; as combined with the leading principles of practical and 
scientific agriculture, &c. By D. J. Buowjse. New-York: C. 
M. Saxton—420 pages 12rao. 
The Muck Book contains a great deal of valuable mat¬ 
ter. This has been drawn from a large number of the 
best authorities on the subjects indicated in the title; the 
numerous analyses of plants and manures, are particu¬ 
larly valuable, and are not to he found in any other single 
treatise. 
In sifting out from so many authorities, we observe 
that a few portions of chaff have found their way among 
what was intended for clear grain. One of these is the 
recommendation of common and voltaic electricity to 
hasten the growth of vegetables, by burying wires in the 
soil. How is it possible that the minute portions of elec¬ 
tricity brought down into the earth by these wires, should 
he of the least benefit to plants, since the moment the 
fluid reaches the moist earth, it may be dissipated thou¬ 
sands of miles in every direction in a moment of time! 
This experiment is recommended for trial • hut it was 
tried some years ago, in various parts of the country, by 
those who did not see its theoretical absurdity, with about 
as much effect, (as a western editor who tested it amply 
remarked,) as if two toads had sat winking at each other 
from opposite sides of the garden. It is true, the drill 
of beans and peas, planted immediately over the wire, 
grew much more vigorously than the others, in conse¬ 
quence, solely, of the deep trench of mellow earth made 
in laying the wire ; and the grape-vine which grew so as¬ 
tonishingly at the foot of the lightning-rod, received its 
vigor from the deep bed of loose soil excavated in setting 
the foot of the rod into the ground. This was all. We 
are much in favor of experiment, when there is any pro¬ 
bability or even possibility of success; hence we should 
not summarily reject the twenty-six recipes, given in the 
Muck Book, for special manures for different plants or 
crops •, although their indiscriminate application to all 
kinds of soil, whether containing the same ingredients or 
not, might be regarded as approaching empiricism. 
But we did not intend to write a review of the work, 
hut merely to invite attention to its contents, the great 
body of which possesses high value, especially to the in¬ 
vestigating farmer, to whom an occasional sprinkling of 
doubtful matter can be no objection, as such a farmer 
does not or ought not to take statements merely upon 
trust. Those who wish to advance towards perfection in 
the saving, manufacturing, and judging of the compara¬ 
tive value of manures, and in applying them with the 
least possible waste to crops, will find in this hook a vast 
magazine of suggestions and advice, worth many times 
its cost and the labor of perusal. 
THE SKILFUL HOUSEWIFE’S BOOK; or Complete Guide to 
Domestic Cookery, Taste, Comfort, and Economy. Embracing 
659 receipts, pertaining to house-hold duties, gardening, flowers, 
birds, plants, Ac. By Mrs. L. G. Abeel, New-York: C. M. 
Saxton—200 12mo pages. 
Thts work, from the pen of a -well known and success¬ 
ful authoress, we think the best domestic guide for the 
Feb. 
young housewife that we have yet seen, and the veteran 
housekeeper may learn much from it that is useful. It 
is chiefly a compilation, with enough original matter to 
give it a character of its own. The selections are evi¬ 
dently the result of judgment and experience. 
The u Moral Hints” are not the least excellent and 
interesting part of the work. As examples of these, the 
following are about fair specimens 
“ Scolding. —I never knew one who was in the habit 
of scolding, able to govern a family. What makes peo¬ 
ple scold? The want of self-government. How then can 
they govern others! Those who govern well are general¬ 
ly calm. They are prompt and resolute, but steady and 
mild.” 
“ Politeness. —The forms and ceremonies of polite¬ 
ness may be dispensed with in a measure, in the relaxations 
and intimacies of one’s own fire-side, hut kind atten¬ 
tions never.” 
“ Truth. —The heaviest fetter that ever weighed down 
the limbs of a captive, is as the web of the gossamer, 
compared with the pledge of the man of honor. The 
wall of stone and the bar of iron may he broken, but his 
plighted word never.” 
“ Childhood is like a minor, catching and reflecting 
images all .around it. Remember that an impious, pro¬ 
fane, or vulgar thought, may operate upon a young heart 
like a careless spray of water thrown upon polished steel, 
staining it with rust that no after efforts can efface.” 
A score of pages are occupied with such gems as the 
above, which we should like every living person to read. 
The main portion of the hook is devoted to directions for 
cooking, and the various operations of household econo¬ 
my, to a due share of excellent instruction for the treat¬ 
ment of the sick, preparation of simple remedies, and to 
a vast amount of miscellaneous facts, exceedingly conve¬ 
nient and useful for every woman to know. The. price of 
the hook, bound for the mail, is only 25 cents, and the 
postage but a quarter of that sum. 
The Dairyman’s Manual, by G. Evans. —We are 
indebted to the author for a copy of his work, consisting 
of the history and importance of the dairy, descriptions 
of the different breeds of cows, the management of the 
dairy, the diseases incident to cattle, &c. The book is 
neatly executed, and contains valuable information. 
Harper’s Magazine for January, contains a biography 
of Franklin with forty-five illustrations,—follows Napo¬ 
leon in his Egyptian campaign, and reviews the news 
of the preceding month. Carlyle and Dickens, each in 
his peculiar style, cater to the public taste, the one giving 
his impressions of the opera, the other in a ghost story. 
The editor’s columns display some reflections, as well as 
amusing anecdotes, while Punch indulges in rare comi¬ 
calities on the Bloomers. 
The International, is improving in matter and style, 
and is more decidedly American in its characteristics, 
than Harper’s. The January number has some finely 
executed illustrations of the subterranean scenery of the 
United States.—a comparison of the poetry of Stod¬ 
dard and Taylor, and a new poem by Alice Cary. The 
foreign articles are well selected, and, as a whole, it has 
no peer in the literary monthlies of the day. 
Graham’s Magazine, in point of execution, is decided 
ly in advance of its contemporaries. Its plates are beau¬ 
tiful, and it has a solid, substantial look about it. The 
I contents will speak for itself. 
