1852 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
371 
sters. By careful crossings of this kind a popularity 
would thus be imparted to the mulish family, that in no 
other way can be obtained, and there is no good reason 
why mules averaging sixteen hands high, embodying a 
beautiful combination of the points of both races of ani¬ 
mals, cannot be raised with as much certainty and suc¬ 
cess as attend the efforts put forth to improve the race 
of horses, or any of the domesticated animals. Good 
mares for the purpose are abundant in Pennsylvania, 
in parts of Tennessee, and in most of the northern states; 
and the Spanish Jack should be imported and made to 
take the place of the stunted and inferior race that are 
generally found in this country. This may at first sight 
appear a small matter, but the demand has become so 
urgent and universal for mules, throughout a very large 
portion of the Union, that to our minds, agricultural so¬ 
cieties might with great advantage to the interests of ag¬ 
riculture, held out liberal encouragement for the improve¬ 
ment of this description of stock. The Board of Agri¬ 
culture for the State of Ohio, have at both the annual 
State Fairs, awarded very liberal premiums to the own¬ 
ers of the best specimens of Jacks and mules; and in the 
rearing of this stock, that state is now taking a very pro¬ 
minent stand, as well as in most other departments of 
agriculture. 
The President of the Board of Agriculture, Michael 
L. Sullivant, Esq,, who is the proprietor of a farm of 
some nine thousand acres of beautiful land, lying contig¬ 
uous to the state capital, and along side of the national 
road, some seven miles in length, is the owner of several 
Jacks, and his annual sales of mules range from three to 
four hundred, mostly three and four year olds. Many 
of his mules are broken to the plow and wagon, and the 
strongest and finest teams that are brought into the Co¬ 
lumbus market, are those of Mr. Sullivant’s, consisting 
of four well trained mules to each wagon. 
The business of trading in mules is becoming a great 
favorite with many farmers in Ohio and Kentucky, and 
the day is not distant when this department of stock rear¬ 
ing will be very extensively and profitably conducted 
throughout all the north-western states. The Upper 
Mississippi Valley, including the states of Illinois, India¬ 
na, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, hold out greater in¬ 
ducements for the propagation of mules, than any oth¬ 
er portion of the Union. The boundless and inexhaus¬ 
tible character of the pasturage of this interesting region; 
and having a direct water communication through the 
unrivalled Mississippi, to the southern states, where the 
future demand will largely exist; together with the new 
and increasing demand that has been imparted by the 
tens of thousands of California and Oregon emigration, 
that annually pass along the over-land route, mostly ma¬ 
king their outfits in those states, all tend to make that 
the most desirable location that could be selected for pro¬ 
secuting extensively the business of propagating and rear¬ 
ing large and handsome mules. 
The entire cost of rearing a three-year-old mule in Il¬ 
linois or Iowa, need not exceed thirty dollars, and the 
price obtained ranges from sixty to one hundred dollars, 
according to quality. Ko other stock are reared with so 
little expense and risk, and none affords so large a profit, 
with the prospect of a continued steady demand. To 
make the business as profitable to the farmers as it is sus¬ 
ceptible. more pains are required on the part of those 
who undertake to select the Jacks, and instead of employ, 
ing small and badly shaped mares, the largest and finest 
should be selected for this purpose. Then, instead of al¬ 
lowing the young mules to become stunted the first win¬ 
ter, by a short allowance of provender, and even that of 
an inferior quality, as much pains should be taken in pro¬ 
viding them with wholesome food, as is given to the rear¬ 
ing of colts or calves. The young mule is very hardy, 
yet to secure a full and early developement, he requires 
artificial food in winter and spring, as well as any of the 
young of the other descriptions of domesticated stock. 
W. G. Edmundson. 
-- 
Prolific White Clover. 
I had been in search of wild plants on the 6th of July, 
1851, and happened to find a root of white clover of the 
same kind as the red. I planted one of the stems in my 
garden, and it grew well, producing three blossoms be¬ 
fore fall. I covered it in the winter with dry stalks. On 
the first of May, 1852, I removed the covering and buri¬ 
ed it in one inch of earth. In eight days the clover made 
its appearance. Twelve stems branched in every direc¬ 
tion, and on the 1st July twelve blossoms appeared, each 
double, like the red clover. Stem after stem grew from 
each of the twelve, and blossom after blossom, till on the 
10th there were 84 blossoms, on the 20th, 345—-on the 
30th, 690—each of the blossoms having from 84 to 130 
petals. 
I think it will continue to blossom during the month 
of August. It covers a plot of ground as large as a car¬ 
riage wheel, with an average length of stem of 2 feet 3 
inches. Can any of the farmers in the states produce 
such a plant in one year and twenty-five days? Several 
of our farmers and gardeners confess never to have seen 
its like before. I think I shall have thirteen roots from 
it this fall, beside the seed. The text book on the Agri¬ 
culture of New-York, for 1848, says, “ Only two kinds 
of clover are cultivated to any considerable extent in this 
country, the common red clover, and the cow-grass, or 
short clover;” besides these there is the white clover, 
found in pasture lands. 
One of the numbers of the Cultivator speaks of the 
White Dutch clover. I have never seen it, and would 
like to know to what class it belongs. I have several va¬ 
rieties of clover in my garden, but one is missing. It be¬ 
longs to the white kind, and runs on the surface of the 
ground, like the strawberry. 
There are various species of plants yet undescribed. 
Francis McKay. Richmont, Halifax , N. S. 
-- 
Saltpetre for Seed Corn. —The Germantown Tele¬ 
graph gives the statement of Tracy E. Waller, who 
soaked his seed corn in a solution of saltpetre and hickory 
ashes, made of 2 lbs. of the former and one pint of the 
latter in a gallon of warm water, the seed soaking 3 or 4 
hours. The soil was not very good, but the corn was 
luxuriant. This experiment is easily repeated—but it 
may with great propriety be asked, what influence can 
this soaking have on the corn plants after the first few 
days of their existence, when the roots have run off far 
beyond its possible influence ? 
