166 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Comments on the August No. of the Cultivator. 
The first article upon which I shall offer any remarks is that 
under the head of “ Signs of better Times.” I agree with you 
in all but the second sign—which is in the following words: 
“ Speculation has had its day, and the thousands who have 
been ruined, have had time to repent at their leisure. The 
mass of the nation are convinced that honest industry, and 
slow and sure profits are far preferable to the hap-hazard and 
demoralizing influence of such haste to be rich.” 
It is true that the particular speculations which have ruined 
thousands have had their day; and that the multitude of victims 
thereof have had full time to repent. But will they do so, —at 
least so far as to be effectually guarded against the first new 
and strong temptation to speculate in some untried way ? Ex¬ 
perience, I think, says—no. For although—even ruin itself re¬ 
sulting from too great haste to be rich, may check them for a 
while, yet all history proves that those whose hearts have 
once been poisoned by this most destructive passion,—so ap¬ 
propriately called by the Romans,—the “Auri sacra fames,” 
rarely ever recover entirely. Nothing but the early moral and 
religious educa *on of our whole people, as it should be, can 
ever save us from it. — 
I believe there are many of your readers beside myself, who 
heartily thank you for publishing the letter of the English far¬ 
mer—Mr. John Hannam. Nothing will tend more to strengthen 
those numerous ties of interest and friendship which should 
preserve our two nations in perpetual peace with each other, 
than the frequent interchange of such communications; and 
whenever needed, I should rejoice to hear that they were pub¬ 
lished in every state in our union. 
In regard to the proper time of cutting wheat, the very accu¬ 
rate experiments of Mr. Hannam confirm the opinion which, I 
believe, is now very generally adopted by the best and most 
experienced wheat growers. The state which Mr. Hannam calls 
“ raw,” I understand to be that in which the grain has entirely 
lost its greenish hue, but will still mash upon being pressed in 
the hand. And if cut in this state, numerous experiments long 
ago published in our own papers, prove, that it will not only 
make better flour, when dry, but will weigh more than that 
which was not cut until “ dead ripe,” and consequently is bet¬ 
ter also for market. But it should not be forgotten, that the 
proofs of “ dead ripe” wheat being best for seed, have been quite 
as numerous and satisfactory. Indeed, it seems to me pretty 
well established, that it is still better for sowing; if it be kept 
until it is a year old. It is said to yield more gram in propor¬ 
tion to straw than newer seed. 
Your correspondent, D. L. of Erie county, N. Y. asks for 
some information as to the best means of preventing smut in 
wheat. The kind of smut which he describes is not known in 
my part of our country. But in regard to that which converts 
the substance of the grain into a stinking black powder, the 
general belief is, that if you will suffer your wheat to be “ dead 
ripe” before it is cut, then soak in strong brine, and roll it in 
lime, no smut will ever affect it. I have witnessed many proofs 
of the correctness of this opinion. 
Suffer me now to make a few remarks on the communication 
of your correspondent, “Pearl,” of Hinds Co. Mississippi. 
He will be a Pearl of high value indeed, if he can teach us how 
to make corn without plowing at all, which, if I understood 
him, has been done, at least in his own neighborhood. His 
words are,—“In the driest year I ever saw a crop made, (1832,) 
I saw corn in a field where a part was plowed, and a part a plow 
had never been in, only a row divided.”—“ In the plowed part 
the corn was badly fired,”—in the other part, it was “green to 
the earth.” It is from the words which I have taken the liber¬ 
ty to underscore, that I infer Mr. Pearl knows how to make 
corn without plowing at all. Now such a mode would truly be 
a great treasure to all the lazy corn growers of our country; 
and since it is my misfortune to be one of them, I am particu¬ 
larly anxious to try it in my part of the country ; especially 
since the only plan of the kind that I ever heard of before, most 
wofully failed with all who tried it. It was sold as a secret 
by a certain Hibernian, whose name I forget. The price to each 
purchaser was some forty or fifty dollars, and he actually hum¬ 
bugged a considerable number of very good corn growers in the 
Ancient Dominion, until he amassed several hundred dollars and 
forthwith decamped. This, you must admit was quite enough 
to make me somewhat sceptical, as to the possibility of making 
corn entirely without the plow. But still it is so great a desi¬ 
deratum, that I am not only willing, but desirous to try the plan 
mentioned by Mr. Pearl, especially as it seems procurable with¬ 
out money and without price. 
Without questioning the gentleman’s facts, or claiming to 
know more about making corn than the “ old planter,” who 
acknowledged that he could not account for the firing of the 
plowed corn, I will venture to offer the following explanation. 
If the ground had been plowed in a wet state, or not until long 
after the drouth commenced, then the firing of the corn was an 
inevitable consequence of the operation. As to his cotton ex¬ 
periment, if the plowed part was the worst, it might, have been 
owing to its having been plowed when the land was in an unfit 
state; in which condition it is an actual injury to all plants to 
stir the earth, either with the plow or any other implement. 
That corn will grow well “ alongside of a large log”—is a cir¬ 
cumstance which has been seen by many others besides Mr. 
Pearl. It is simply because the log keeps the earth moist and 
pliable,—a state absolutely essential to the growth and health 
of all cultivated plants, which state must be produced by deep 
tillage, as it would be neither very practicable nor economical 
to cover our cornfields with logs, especially in the old states 
wherein timber has become scarce. If Mr. Pearl “ cannot see 
how stirring the earth will make moisture rise,” he should con¬ 
sole himself with the reflection that it is a misfortune common 
to us all, not to be able to see any thing which takes place un¬ 
der ground. But if he means, merely that he cannot under¬ 
stand the why and the wherefore, he and all may say the same, 
even of our own existence, as well as of millions of other facts 
in regard to which we have no more doubt than we have of our 
living, and moving, and having our being. But this business 
of stirring the earth causing moisture to rise, happens to be one 
among the millions of other facts which are perfectly compre¬ 
hensible. The process is called capillary attraction, aided by 
atmospheric heat, which penetrates the earth to a considerable 
depth, and deeper when it is in a comparatively loose state, 
than when more compact and hard. Any man who doubts, un¬ 
less he be one who will not believe his own eyes, may soon con¬ 
vince himself of the fact, by the following very simple experi¬ 
ments: Let him sink one end of a dry string in any vessel of 
water, and suffer the other end to hang out side. He will soon 
see,—not only that the whole string has become wet, but that 
the water begins to drop and trickle from the outside end. Capil¬ 
lary attraction is the cause of it. Next, let him turn two tum¬ 
bler glasses bottom upwards, and place one over a well, deeply 
stirred spot of earth,^and the other in a hard path. Both will 
soon show moisture on their inside, but the tumbler over the 
stirred spot will show a much greater quantity than the other. 
Both these experiments have been made by thousands, and have 
always produced the effects here stated. Now, if Mr. Pearl, 
or any other person can prove that in the latter experiment, the 
stirring of the earth had nothing to do with causing more mois¬ 
ture to rise in one tumbler than in the other, I can only say 
that, in my humble opinion, he will be well entitled to rank 
with Sir Isaac N 7 wton himself in the class of Natural Philo¬ 
sophers. 
Mr. W. P. Kinzer of Pennsylvania,—“A Young Farmer” from 
North Carolina, and Mr. A. G. Alsworth of Mississippi, well de¬ 
serve the thanks of all who are friendly to the establishment 
of a National Society of Agriculture. Their advocacy of the 
scheme will somewhat mors than balance the hostile attacks 
of your correspondents “ Northern New-York,” from Ballston, 
and F. Burt of Ohio, who are the only two enemies that have 
yet publicly avowed themselves. If none more formidable 
should appear, I think there will be little difficulty in predict¬ 
ing a favorable result. — 
Mr. J. R. Moser’s humorous account of what he calls “ The 
Skinning System,” which prevails in some parts of North Caro¬ 
lina, is a happy illustration of the effects of very shallow culture. 
But a man has only to travel through some parts of Virginia 
and Maryland, to find a full match for it. Fortunately, how¬ 
ever, for the cause of agriculture, the land-sldnners are men 
who either will not, or cannot read. There is no hope of their 
reformation so long as they wilfully continue in this state of 
deplorable ignorance. But their number is slowly decreasing, 
and therefore we may reasonably hope—will soon be extinct. 
In Mr. N. Sutherland’s enumeration of the various methods 
by which wheat may be converted into cheat, he has omitted 
one which I beg leave to add, as I have seen it more strongly 
recommended than any other I have yet heard of. It is, to have 
the wheat grazed down by geese if they can possibly be pro¬ 
cured. — 
Your quotation from “ The Tennessee Agriculturist,” has 
something in it so marvellous, that the editor, I hope, will par¬ 
don me for asking a few questions. Has he himself ever seen a 
horned snake? If not, why does he say, “it is true,” there is 
really a serpent so called? No museum I believe, has yet any 
such curiosity in it. Again, what appearance was it, on the 
small end of the “six or eight foot pole,” struck by a rattle¬ 
snake “ at the base end,” that he saw in “ a few seconds” after 
the stroke, and supposed to be the poison of the rattle-snake? 
How did he know it to be the poison? Might not the appear¬ 
ance have been caused by something else ? I cannot believe it 
was the poison for this reason. If the viris of a rattle-snake 
could travel through a green pole at the rate of six or eight feet 
in a few seconds, would it not be diffused through a human 
body with equal rapidity ? And if so, how could any person 
who had been bitten, possibly escape death, as they often do in 
cases where some hours elapse before the usual antidotes can 
be applied? These considerations induce me to believe that 
whatever the editor of the Tennessee Agriculturist saw at the 
small end of the green pole, it could not have been rattle-snake 
poison. _ Commentator. 
Culture of Forest Trees. 
To Francis H. Gordon, Esq. Tennessee: 
Sir—Not having seen any answer to your inquiries in the May 
number of the Cultivator, for “accurate information on raising 
chestnut timber from the seed, and red cedar from the berries,” 
I take the liberty of respectfully submitting, that, when a boy, 
I remember to have often searched for seedlings under chest¬ 
nut trees, in the spring of the year, pulling and eating the nuts 
that had germinated after having lain upon the ground through 
the winter,buried under the leaves. I have noticed that walnuts, 
hickory nuts, acorns, &c. germinate in the same manner. Ta¬ 
king nature, therefore, as the best guide in these matters, I 
would say, plant all kinds of nuts in autumn, before drying. 
Plant in rich soil, for notwithstanding the chestnut seems na¬ 
turally to delight in poor soils, there is no principle better es¬ 
tablished in timber growing, than that young trees should al¬ 
ways be raised on good land, so as to carry a stock of health 
and strength with them from the nursery. Cultivate in nurse¬ 
ry two years, and then plant out where to stand, six feet apart, 
early in the spring. It is asserted positively, by experienced 
English planters, that where the reproductive timbers, as the 
oak, chestnut, &c. are well managed in this way, they will be 
larger at seven years old, of nursery culture, and the tap-root 
cut when transplanted, than at ten years old from seed planted 
where the timber is to stand. 
I have tried, in vain, for two seasons past, to grow chestnut 
trees by engrafting the scions on oak roots. A neighbor of 
mine had sent him from Ncw-York, last year, two thousand, I 
think, of the sweet or Spanish chestnuts, about four hundred of 
which have succeeded. They came boxed in sand, which is the 
most approved method, I believe, of packing the seed, and this 
must be done when fresh gathered. Nuts and acorns intended 
for seed, must never be suffered to become dry or even wilted. 
Relative to the red cedar berries, lam unable to say whether 
they vegetate the first season, or like the holly, hawthorn, and 
others, not until the second. If on trial you shall find they do 
not come the first season, I would suggest that they be treated 
after the manner directed by Philips, in the Sylva Florifera, for 
causing the berries of the holly to vegetate the first season, which 
they will never do unless when they have passed through the 
stomach of fowls. He says : 
“We have therefore only to give them a similar fermentation 
by art to that which nature gives them in the body of birds, to 
enable us to raise plants in one year instead of two. For this 
purpose, take a bushel of bran and mix it with the seeds in a 
tub, and wet it with soft water, and let it remain undisturbed 
for ten days, when it will begin to ferment. It must be sprinkled 
occasionally with warm water, to keep it moist, and in about 
thirty or forty days, the heat of the moistened bran will put the 
berries into a state of vegetation fit for sowing. March is the 
best season for sowing, and September, (inEngland,)the proper 
season for transplanting young hollies, but in cold moist soils 
they may be safely transplanted in the spring. Mr. Evelyn says, 
he has raised hedges four feet high in four years, from seed¬ 
lings taken out of the woods, which should induce us to make 
more frequent trials of raising fences of this prickly plant.” 
To the farmers of this prairie country, there is no subject that 
commends itself more forcibly to their notice than the growing 
of valuable timber and the rearing of live fences. I, for one, 
am endeavoring to make some advances in this line, but labor 
under great embarrassments for want of choice timber seeds. 
Should a National Agricultural Society be formed, I think there 
might be established a general seed depository of native and ex¬ 
otic plants of great utility. Another legitimate object would be 
the publication of a concise manual on planting. This business 
of cutting down and destroying timber is to have a limit, and 
the whole country will be eventually renovated, like the Bri¬ 
tish Isles, with a choicer growth. It is wise in a national point 
of vie w to begin when young, for our live oak is not inexhaustible, 
and our rail roads and canals every where demand more du¬ 
rable timber in their construction and repairs. Our numerous 
steamboats too, particularly on the rivers of the west, plying 
night and day for weeks against the current, should be con¬ 
structed of better timber than grows here now. In fine, there 
is no use to which timber is applied, from the common uses 
of fencing to those of ship building, that would not be greatly 
subserved by giving to the subject of timber planting that con¬ 
sideration it justly merits, as one of the concomitant concerns 
of agriculture. M. L. KNAPP, M. D. 
P. S. I see, by referring to page 90, June No. of the Cultiva¬ 
tor, that the editors in answer to Hugh Gaston, have given the 
process for cultivating the cedar from berries. I will not, how¬ 
ever, withdraw my quotation from Philips, as he is good autho¬ 
rity, and his receipt may be useful in reference to seeds which 
require two years for germination. 
May I avail myself, Messrs. Editors, of this opportunity, 
there being no depository of timber seeds, or system of ex¬ 
change, to solicit information through your widely circulated 
periodical, from farmers of various localities, where any of the 
undermentioned species of timber may grow, and who will en¬ 
gage to put up for me, and deliver at some point of snipment, 
the seeds of the chestnut, beech, American poplar, white and 
red cedar, white and pitch pine, American larch or hackma- 
tac, hemlock, holly, osage orange or box-wood, white mulber¬ 
ry, and the hedge shrub called pyracantha. I am anxious to 
obtain all of these the coming autumn, and to test the growth 
of the evergreens, particularly on these prairies. I think the 
above, added to what I have and can obtain in this locality, to 
wit: the different varieties of oak, the hickory, ash, maple, 
black and white walnut, pecan, cottonwood, linden, black and 
honey locust, elm, sycamore, coffeenut, buckeye, hackberry, 
ca.talpa, cherry, black, Chinese and Alpine mulberry, white 
thorn, and Judas tree, will make a grove of mixed woods, worthy 
to grace a prairie; and I will be under particular obligations 
to you, Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker, and those who through 
your columns, engage to aid me, besides paying for the seeds 
and holding myself bound in courtesy to answer exchanges. 
Middletown , 111. August, 1841. M. L. K. 
Mr. Prentice’s Farm—Short Horns, &c. 
Mr. L. Tucker —While spending a day in your good city of 
Albany,a short time since, you were so kind as to invite me to ride 
with you to view the beautiful farm and country house of Mr. 
Prentice, two miles below. What I there saw, savored so much 
of improvement in all that tends to exalt our agriculture, as 
well as of good taste in embellishing the rural resting places 
of our opulent men, that I shall be excused for trespassing a 
moment on your columns in noticing it. 
I can only speak of the charming villa and farm of Mr. P. by 
remarking, that it is in all respects such a spot as a gentleman 
of wealth, good taste, and of strictly vt litarian notions, would 
select for a country residence, where he could at his ease and 
leisure enjoy an almost unbounded, yet well defined and delight¬ 
ful landscape, surrounded with all the luxurious appliances 
by way of buildings, garden, orchard, park, and farm, which 
even a wide ambition would desire; and where, I hope, he may 
long enjoy the intelligent and sensible pleasures which he has 
already drawn into his possession. I was charmed with the 
grounds, the fruits, and the flowers, which the politeness and 
kind attentions of the owner pointed out to us, and more 
than usual with the beautiful landscape which ever spreads 
abroad from the crowning hills of your glorious Hudson. But 
what most engaged my attention was the noble herd of 
Improved Short Horns, 
which Mr. Prentice has for the past five years been collecting, 
principally from importations of his own, at great expense and 
labor, from England. His herd now consists of between thirty 
and forty as fine animals as can be found, I venture to say, in 
any herd of an equal number in the United States. 
They were in excellent condition, which was the more sur¬ 
prising, that there was scarcely any feed in the pastures; and 
he assured us that they ate nothing besides the scanty herbage 
growing upon them. 
Among so many beautiful animals, it is difficult to remember 
names, and I took no notes ; but I cannot omit to name one indi¬ 
vidual and her produce, that struck me as a remarkable instance 
of the value of a fine and fortunate cow. His “ Matilda,” iff mis¬ 
take not, seven years old, with her six heifer calves and their pro¬ 
duce, exhibit the most beautiful as well as remarkable specimen 
of an entire Short Horn family that I have witnessed. Few ani¬ 
mals can equal them in excellent points, and still less exceed 
them in the ripeness, maturity, style, and fashion of their ap¬ 
pearance. Several of the cows, Mr. P. informed us, were ex¬ 
traordinary milkers, one or two giving for weeks together, as 
high as thirty-two quarts of milk per day, a quality, however, 
characteristic of the Short Horns. Mr. P. has been eminently 
successful in crossing his fine bred cows with a stout and 
vigorous bull, “Leopard,” from the Patroon’s stock o£ Short 
Horns, which as a herd, although somewhat coarse, are of great 
size and most vigorous constitution, and making a capital cross 
with finer and high bred stocks. This experiment Mr. P. has 
tried with great success, and I shall be disappointed if some of 
the best animals in our country do not date their origin or de¬ 
scent from his herd. 
Among the cows, were several that were imported during the 
last two or three years, from some of the best stocks in Eng¬ 
land, and Mr. P. informed me that four more are now on their 
way from thence to his farm. It is needless to remark on the 
high public spirit of such efforts at this peculiar time, to im¬ 
prove at great expense, the stock of our country, when sales 
of high bred animals are so remarkably dull, and the spirit of 
improvement seems almost ground under by the extraordinary 
depressions of the times. Few individuals, indeed, are so pa¬ 
triotic as Mr. P. under such circumstances; yet I trust he will 
find his reward. It is owing to the exertions of such men, al¬ 
though often ridiculed by the many, unthinkingly, that our ag¬ 
riculture has for some years past made such ample progress. 
The seekers of fine stock should visit the herd of Mr. Pren¬ 
tice, and as he offers a part of his herd for sale, among which 
are several likely young bulls, at low prices, they will hardly 
fail of suiting their wishes if the acquisition of good stock is 
their object. 
In addition to his cattle, Mr. P. has a choice flock of South 
Down Sheep, imported from England by himself, and equal to 
any that I have seen. These bid fair as a mutton sheep, and the 
producers of a good farmer’s wool, to take the place of all oth¬ 
ers on the common soils of our country. I also noticed several 
excellent Berkshire sows and pigs which have been bred on the 
farm for several years, and of a superior quality. These fine 
animals, I am pleased to say, are superseding all other breeds 
of swine, among the truly intelligent farmers of the United 
States. 
Leaving Mr. Prentice’s, we rode on to take a view of the 
Hereford Cattle, 
of Messrs. Corning and Sotham. These were in fine condition, 
although suffering, as were Mr. Prentice’s, from short and dry 
pastures. Having seldom seen any of this kind before, they 
struck me as being a fine and superior breed of cattle for beef, 
and for laboring purposes, and well adapted to a prolific grass 
region where the rearing of cattle is solely an object. The 
cows of this breed cannot to appearance, be great milkers; or 
very superior ones ; and although they are beautiful in form 
andlook, and a few of them possessed extraordinary points of 
development in excellence, yet as a whole, I prefer the well tried 
Short Horns, certainly thus far proved to be the best milking 
cows in the world. Still I will not condemn the Herefords. As 
working oxen, the Hereford bullock must be an animal of great 
honesty, strength, and beauty; and for beef, and aptitude to 
fatten, perhaps has no superior ; but the absence in them of that 
most desirable of all, the milking quality, enhances in my esti¬ 
mation over any others the improved Short Horns. 
Our return from this pleasant recreation brought us into your 
“Cultivator” office, where I could have spent many pleasant 
hours in conversation, and in looking over at my leisure your 
capital collection of agricultural works, plates, magazines, 
pictures, models, &c. and which I commend to all lovers of good 
agriculture, as they visit Albany. In due time, I hope to see 
you on your own farm, as every agricultural editor should be, 
surrounded by your own superior stock and husbandry, and 
giving practical lessons monthly to your readers, derived from 
your own experience. L. F. A. 
