386 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DR. PERRINE AND MR. SMITH. 
After our September number went to press, which, 
the reader will remember, contained some strictures up¬ 
on the plan and Statements of Dr. P. by Mr. Smith, P. 
M. at Key West, we received the distressing intelli¬ 
gence of the murder of Doctor Perrine, and the break¬ 
ing up of the beautiful and flourishing settlement of In¬ 
dian Key by the Indians. A short notice of his death 
was all we could at that time give, and the following 
imperfect tribute to his memory and labors, prepared 
for the next number has been unavoidably deferred un¬ 
til the present time. 
Dr. Perrine had for many years been U. S. Consul 
at Campeachy; was a physician of eminence, and pas¬ 
sionately fond of Botany and its kindred studies. In 
these he had attained great proficiency, and few if any 
men now living, have that intimate acquaintance with 
tropical plants, their habits and uses, which he had. It 
has long been known that some of these plants of the fa¬ 
mily of the Aloes, produce articles of great importance to 
trade and commerce, such as Sisal.or Manilla hemp, as 
the strong fibres of the leaves of these plants are called ; 
and Dr. Perrine had formed the plan of establishing in 
Florida a colony for the purpose of naturalizing these, 
and all tropical plants suitable to the climate and soil, 
or of permanent value for their products. In his pre¬ 
parations for this establishment; in collecting the plants 
which he hoped would form a valuable acquisition to 
this country ; in conducting the extensive correspon¬ 
dence necessary to engage public attention and secure 
the aid of government in the undertaking, he has been 
indefatigable ; and had not the fatal Florida war, with 
its massacres and murders, broken out, every thing 
promised ultimate success. It was a great undertaking, 
and of its vastness and importance he was well aware, 
to transport and naturalize on our shores, the agave, the 
cocoa, the breadfruit, and the various other productions 
so well known and so valued in a tropical clime. 
Before the war broke out he had collected many use¬ 
ful plants, some of which were transplanted in favora¬ 
ble locations on the Peninsula, near the Florida Cape, 
and under the temporary care of Mr. Dubose, keeper 
of the light-house at that place, while others were un¬ 
der his own care at Indian Key. It is well known that 
the settlement at the Cape was one of the earliest pla¬ 
ces that felt the fury of the savage foe, and no attempts 
to restore the colony or proceed with the object 1 of the 
tropical plant company could now be made. Dr. Per¬ 
rine and his friend Mr. Howe, employed themselves in 
making such arrangements and suggesting such facts 
for the consideration of the public, as would best ena¬ 
ble them, when peace should be restored, to most effect¬ 
ually accomplish their intentions. They established 
themselves on Indian Key, one of those coralline reefs 
that enclose the Florida coast, and which from its dis¬ 
tance from the main land, the known cautious habits of 
the Indians, and the fact that Table Key, another islet 
about a mile from Indian Key, was a naval depot, was 
considered perfectly safe from savage assault, a confi¬ 
dence which the melancholy result has proved was most 
mistaken. The meteorological tables kept at this place 
by Mr. Howe, which we have had the pleasure of ex¬ 
amining, and of which a part were laid before Congress 
in the able Report of Mr. Linn on the petition and 
statements of Dr. Perrine, with the accompanying docu¬ 
ments, engravings, &c. were far the most complete pa¬ 
pers of the kind we have ever seen, and furnished the 
most ample data on which to found conclusions respect¬ 
ing the temperature of that part of the United States. 
Dr. Perrine was so well acquainted with the nature 
of the obstacles to be encountered, arising from the pe¬ 
culiar formation of the country and the Indian charac¬ 
ter, that he had little faith from the first in their expul¬ 
sion by the ordinary rules of warfare. His plan was to 
offer a reward sufficiently large to induce the Indians 
themselves to come in voluntarily; and had it been tried 
in good faith, before the foe had become so convinced 
of his being able to carry on the war with almost per¬ 
fect impunity on his part, there is the greatest reason 
to think the plan would have been successful; and the 
expenditure of millions of money, and the sacrifice of 
hundreds if not thousands of valuable lives, been ar¬ 
rested. Even now it may not be too late, and it seems 
the only method that can be adopted with a reasonable 
hope of terminating the contest. 
The numerous letters and reports of Dr. Perrine, 
published in the various journals of the country, or in 
the hands of his friends, contain a vast amount of use¬ 
ful information on the geology, botany, meteorology, 
and general character of the Florida peninsula, and if 
his strong expectations, and unbounded attachment to 
his undertaking, gave their flattering colors to some 
of his representations, his conscientious regard for 
truth, and the mass of facts they contain, with the use¬ 
ful suggestions they embody, give assurance they will 
not be lost to the country. 
Those who have read the interesting details of the 
massacre, and the almost miraculous escape of the few 
survivors, given in the public prints, and particularly 
in the account drawn up by Mrs. Perrine herself, since 
her arrival in this state, will not desire a recital of that 
tragic occurrence. Indian Key which, under the inde¬ 
fatigable care, and at the great expense of Capt. House¬ 
man, had become from a barren coral rock, one of the 
most delightful retreats in the Florida seas, a garden of 
a few acres in the midst of the ocean, is now desolate; 
and the hospitable, intelligent and friendly few, who 
constituted its inhabitants, have fallen beneath the 
tomahawk, or are scattered wherever safety and a 
home can be obtained. In the death of Dr. Perrine we 
feel that we have been deprived of a kind and noble- 
hearted friend ; that the country has lost an ardent pa¬ 
triot ; national independence and improvement, a zea- 
ous friend ; science an able advocate ; and the cause of 
agriculture, a steady, intelligent and efficient co-opera¬ 
tor. Peace to his memory. 
Since the above was prepared, we have received from 
Miss H. M. S. Perrine, daughter of Dr. Perrine, a 
communication, dated Palmyra, Oct. 16th, correcting 
with no little feeling the alledged misrepresentations of 
the paper of Mr. Smith; as part of the remarks of Mr. 
Smith were owing to an inadvertance of ours in attri¬ 
buting the improvement of Indian Key to the Doctor, 
an error corrected above, Miss P. will pardon our 
omission of that part of her paper relating to this sub¬ 
ject. To Mr. Smith’s remarks on the subject of the 
Mulberry and growth of silk, she replies as follows:— 
“ The Chinese Mulberry can be seen at Indian Key, 
in the garden of Charles Howe, Esq. from 10 to 12 feet 
high, of a healthy, thrifty appearance, from which 
worms have fed and spun their cocoons in each of the 
winter months. That there has been one failure in Key 
West, I shall not dispute, though he (Mr. Smith) says 
the ‘ several thousand cuttings ,’ were taken from trees 
raised on Key West; and of course these trees were not 
a failure.” 
In common with every other individual acquainted with 
the labors and the object of the Tropical Plant Company, 
Miss P. sees in the breaking up of Indian Key and the 
death of her lamented parent, a cause of deep regret, “ as 
withholding from the country for a time at least, the 
cultivation of plants which were calculated to make the 
calcareous and shallow soils of southern Florida sup¬ 
port a dense population; supply for commerce import¬ 
ant articles; and furnish a large surplus, for which ma¬ 
ny thousands of dollars are now annually sent abroad.” 
The subjoined extract is the close of Miss P.’s com¬ 
munication: 
“ To some of your readers it may not be uninterest¬ 
ing to know that the remains of my father, which have 
been found, will lie beneath the broad leaves of one of 
the original Sisal hemp plants (Agave Sisalana) that he 
introduced from Merida, as being the most suitable 
place, until some other monument shall be erected to 
his memory.” 
We have watched the progress of the Tropical Plant 
Company with great interest. We have been fully 
aware of the importance to the country of the underta¬ 
king ; and have admired the enthusiasm and self-devo¬ 
tion of Dr. Perrine. We have from the first been con¬ 
vinced that when the time shall come in which the la¬ 
bors of peace can advance in Florida, and the plan pro¬ 
jected by Dr. Perrine in the colonization of plants be 
carred into effect, that the peninsula of Florida, will 
assume an importance in the estimation of the cultiva¬ 
tor of the soil which it does not now possess. And then, 
long after the notes of regret with which the journals 
of the country from Maine to Georgia have been filled, 
the plants he has been the means of introducing, and 
under one of which he is now sleeping, will be a monu¬ 
ment more durable, and more honorable to his memory, 
than any mausoleum constructed by human hands. 
WINTER BUTTER. 
Of all the products of the dairy, there is none more 
extensively used than butter; and there is none, the 
preparation of which requires more care, or better re¬ 
pays a little extra attention. The difference between 
good and bad butter is as wide as between the Zenith 
and the Nadir; and there is nothing more advantageous 
to the dairywoman, or more to be coveted by her, than 
a high reputation for the quality of this article. Good 
butter always indicates good order, great neatness, per¬ 
sonal supervision, domestic industry, and skill in house¬ 
wifery ; and when a man carries an inferior article to 
market, the opinion entertained of his wife is directly 
the reverse of this. 
The first thing to be attended to in making sweet but¬ 
ter, and butter that will keep, is the perfect purity of 
every thing used in the manufacture. Not only the 
vessels used, the pails, pans, churns, &c., but the room 
in which the milk is set, and the air which circulates in 
it, while the cream is rising, should be clean and free 
from every offensive odor whatever. 
The temperature also of the milk while rising, and 
of the cream while churning, is of much moment. 
Cream on the milk will be injured or melted, by too 
high a temperature, as well as while the churning pro¬ 
cess is going on; and if the temperature is too low, the 
cream rises so slowly, that it becomes bitter and the 
butter of course is unpalatable. A temperature of 
from 50° to 60°, has been thought the best for the milk 
room, and from 60° to 65° will make good butter. The 
churning after it commences, should proceed without 
intermission until the butter is formed, and separated 
from the milk as far as it can be in this stage of the pro¬ 
cess. 
The salting of the butter is a matter essential to its 
good quality. Too frequently, salt of a coarse, inferior 
description is used; and so much is put in that it re¬ 
mains undissolved, gritting like sand in the teeth, and 
provoking uncomfortable thirst. The salt for butter 
should be of the purest kind, made as fine as it can be 
by grinding, and if a little powdered salt petre is mixed 
with it, it will be none the worse. Some have recom¬ 
mended 5 lbs. of good salt, 8 ounces of salt petre, and 1 
lb. of first rate loaf sugar, thoroughly incorporated and 
used for salting, at the rate of an ounce and a half to 
the pound of butter. If the salt is of the right kind, and 
the butter is correct in other respects, it may be ques¬ 
tioned whether the addition of any foreign ingredient is 
not to be deprecated. 
The great point in making good butter, and that which 
will keep, is the freeing it from all buttermilk; and if ev¬ 
ery thing else is well done, if this point is overlooked, good 
butter is impossible for any length of time. The mix¬ 
ture of milk in any degree with the butter is sure to pro¬ 
duce frowiness or an unpleasant taste to the butter; and 
the entire freedom from this, constitutes the grand se¬ 
cret of making good butter. There are many who think 
washing butter with water incompatible with retaining 
the rich flavor, but if the water is cold and pure, it is 
scarcely possible any thing should be washed away, the 
buttermilk which destroys the flavor of all butter ex¬ 
cepted. Besides, the best butter in the world and that 
which in all markets commands the best price, viz. 
Dutch butter, is invariably made in this way; and 
where the example has been followed by others, it has 
rarely failed of success. If any, however, doubt the 
propriety of washing butter, they may use any method 
they choose, provided the milk is separated perfectly. 
Perfectly freed from the substance that causes it to as¬ 
sume the putrid frowy taste of bad butter, it may be 
kept with almost as much ease as tallow ; and solidity 
in packing, clean sweet vessels, and a low temperature, 
will ensure its keeping for any reasonable time. Let 
no one expect good butter, however, so long as coarse, 
impure salt is used, or a particle of the buttermilk is al¬ 
lowed to remain in it. 
JDotmstic <gronom|). 
Italian mode of preparing Strawberries. 
Place as many berries as will form one layer at the 
bottom of the dish, and sift powdered loaf sugar over 
them; then place another layer, and sift sugar again. 
When there are five or six layers prepared, cut a fresh 
lemon, and squeeze all over them. Before serving, they 
should be gently moved, that all the berries may have 
the benefit of the lemon juice and sugar. Good, eaten 
in any way ; when so prepared, this fruit is truly deli¬ 
cious. — 
Cooking Beets. 
Take beets of middle size, and after removing tbe 
tops and dirt, roast them in a fire as potatoes are roast¬ 
ed. When done, they are peeled and served up in the 
usual mariner. One who has tried them cooked in this 
way, says they are much sweeter and richer than when 
boiled; as by roasting, none of the saccharine matter is 
lost. It is a singular fact, that roasted potatoes are one 
of the most efficient remedies or preventives of the scur¬ 
vy, a property wholly lost when boiled. 
Oyster Com Cakes. 
Take one quart of green corn, rasped from the ear 
with a coarse grater, two tea cups full of new milk, one 
tea cup full of flour, mix them together, and add two 
eggs well beaten, season the batter with salt and pep¬ 
per, and bake upon a griddle. The corn should be in a 
state most suitable for roasting or boiling. This pre¬ 
paration makes a capital dish. 
Preserving Fresh Frnit. 
Currants, cherries, and damson plums maybe preser¬ 
ved in a fine and fresh state, by gathering the berries or 
fruits when perfectly dry, leaving the stem on each, 
placing them lightly in stone jars, or bottles, without 
bruising or causing the escape of liquor, closing the bot¬ 
tles with cork and rosin, so as to exclude all air and 
moisture, and then burying them in a trench in a gar¬ 
den, neck downwards. Fruit so preserved, for some 
uses is preferable to dried fruits. 
Buckwheat Cakes. 
To make good cakes, the flour must be good ; not 
that coarse black compound, which sometimes passes 
under the name of buckwheat flour, but which owes its 
origin to the slovenly gathering of the grain, and imper¬ 
fect hulling before grinding. Mix a quart of flour with 
a pint of lukewarm milk, (some prefer water,) add a 
tea cup of yeast, and set it in a warm place to rise. A 
little experience will teach the house wife so to regu¬ 
late this point of yeast and rising, as to have cakes wet 
at evening for breakfast, and in the morning for supper ; 
for be it remembered, those who have these light cakes 
for a few meals, will with difficulty come back to cold 
bread. When tbe cakes are light, salt is added, (some 
put it in at the making,) and should the cakes sour, a 
little salseratus dissolved in milk and stirred in, will im¬ 
prove them much. A small quantity left in the vessel, 
a stone pot is best, will serve as yeast for the succeed¬ 
ing mixing. They may be baked or fried; eaten as 
bread with meat, or with butter and sugar. 
The Endicott Pear Tree. —The oldest fruit tree in 
the United States, is probably the pear tree known by 
the above name, and growing at Danvers in Massachu¬ 
setts. Two hundred and ten years since, this tree was 
brought, with many others, from England by Governor 
Endicott. All the others have perished, but this is still 
vigorous, and has this year borne a large crop of fruit. 
This is valued more as being the production of a tree 
dating from the days of the pilgrims, than from any pe¬ 
culiar excellence, it being, when compared with some 
of the modern fruits, only of inferior quality. 
