THE CULTIVATOR. 
75 
in different parts of the country, and have materially les¬ 
sened the labor of preparing this crop for market. 
Which is the best or most approved, we have no means 
of determining. Further attention we doubt not will 
still more improve the processes of hemp culture, and 
remove many of the obstacles which are at present in 
the way of producing a perfect article. When we re¬ 
member that the naval and commercial marine of the 
United States requires annually some ten or twelve thou¬ 
sand tons of hemp, independent of the quantities required 
for cotton bagging, &c. &c., the importance of the hemp 
culture will be better understood and acknowledged, and 
the necessity of continued efforts in the culture more ful¬ 
ly apparent. 
Jfotkss of Vero publications. 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE N. Y. S. A. SOCIETY. 
By the 5th section of the “Act for the encourage¬ 
ment of Agriculture,” passed May 5, 1841, it is made 
the duty of the Executive Committee of the New-York 
State Agricultural Society to examine all reports and re¬ 
turns made by the presidents of the County Ag. Socie¬ 
ties, and arrange and report the same, together with a 
statement of their own proceedings, to the secretary of 
state, in the early part of each year. 
The first report, made in consequence of this provi¬ 
sion, is now before us, under the above title; and though 
possessing some defects incident to the nature of the sub¬ 
ject, or rather a first undertaking, we think it will be 
received as a favorable indication of what the society has 
already done, and the great good we trust it is yet destined 
to accomplish. The report before us embraces—1. A 
brief account of the origin of the society in 1832, its re¬ 
organization in 1841, and the acts of the legislature in fa¬ 
vor and in aid of agriculture. 2. The proceedings of 
the society for 1841, under the new organization, em¬ 
bracing an account of the several meetings of the socie¬ 
ty ; the fairs at Syracuse and annual meeting at Albany; 
premiums awarded, and reports made to the Committee. 
3. Reports of county societies. This part contains re¬ 
ports from the counties of Tompkins, Orange, Monroe 
and Steuben, Orleans, Oneida, Niagara, Washington, 
Jefferson and Onondaga, with some suggestions as to the 
manner in which the intentions of the legislature in 
granting the aid of the state may be best met in the fu¬ 
ture proceedings of the county societies. 4. Report of 
the corresponding secretary. By direction of the Exec¬ 
utive Committee, the Cor. Sec’y opened a communica¬ 
tion with gentlemen in different parts of this state, the 
United States, and Great Britain, on the various topics 
connected with agriculture, for the purpose of collecting- 
information which would be useful to the farmer, both 
theoretically and practically. The call has been cheer¬ 
fully responded to; and the following schedule of pa¬ 
pers will show the auspicious result: 
Agriculture of Cayuga county, by U. F. Doubleday and Ira 
Hopkins. 
Agriculture of Cortland county, by Jesse Ives. 
Agriculture of Dutchess county, by Henry Staats. 
Agriculture of Herkimer county, by Aaron Petrie. 
Agriculture of Madison county, by Alex. Krumbhaar and 
Thomas Mellen. 
Agriculture of Ontario county, by Z. Barton Stout. 
Agriculture of Putnam county, by Leonard Clift. 
Agriculture of Queens county, by Albert G. Carll. 
Agriculture of Saratoga county, by Howell Gardner. 
Agriculture of Washington county, by Ahira Eldridge. 
Agriculture of South Carolina, by Hon. Joel It. Poinsett. 
Agriculture of Pennsylvania, by Wm. Penn Kinzer 
Agriculture of Virginia, by James M. Garnett. 
Agriculture of England, by John Hannam. 
On Tillage, by Willis Gaylord. 
On the Fruit Garden, by David Thomas. 
On the Increase and Prospects of Silk Culture in the United 
States, by Gideon B. Smith. 
On the Culture and best variety of the Mulberry, by Daniel 
Stebbins. 
On the different Breeds of Cattle : the most profitable Breeds, 
by Henry S. Randall. 
On the points by which Cattle should be judged —the best 
breed, by Heman Chapin. 
On Cattle — Sheep—Root Culture, by Daniel S. Curtiss. 
On Geology, as connected with Agriculture, by Willis Gay¬ 
lord. 
On Charcoal as a Manure, by John H. Hepburn. 
On Wintering Horses, by Ezra Meech. 
On the most profitable breed of Horses, by Wm. B. Ludlow. 
On the History of Sheep, by Henry S. Randall. 
On Merinos and SaxonS, by William Jarvis. 
On the Saxon Sheep —its value compared with the Merino, 
and with the English breeds, by Henry D. Grove. 
On the Paular Merino, by S. W. Jewett. 
On the Management of Sheep, by L. A. Morrell. 
On the Construction of Fences, by H. S. Morse. 
On the Culture of Hemp, by Joseph Sawyer. 
On the Introduction of Italian Wheat into the United States, 
by Jay Hathaway. 
On Domestic Poultry, by C. N. Bement. 
On Feeding Swine, with Suggestions as to the best breed, by 
B. P.Johnson. 
On the Grape, by L. B. Langworthy. 
Letter from Samuel Lawrence, Esq. 
We have room in this place only to invite the atten¬ 
tion of the reader to the papers on the “ Agriculture of 
England,” by J. Hannam; the Fruit Garden, by David 
Thomas; “ Different Breeds of Cattle,” by the Cor. Sec’y ; 
“ Domestic Poultry,” by C. N. Bement,- e ‘ Management 
of Sheep,” by L. A. Morrell; and “ Feeding Swine, with 
Suggestions as to the best breed,” by B. P. Johnson. 
The report contains fine engravings of several of the 
animals that obtained the premiums at the Society’s fair 
at Syracuse. We do not deem it necessary to remark on 
the report farther in this place, as by the liberality of 
the legislature, ten times the usual number of copies 
were printed for the use of the house — 500 copies for 
the State Agricultural Society, and 20 copies for each 
agriciu ural society in the state, thus wisely ensuring an 
extensive circulation. That it will be welcomed by the 
farmer, and be considered as a creditable and useful con¬ 
tribution to the agricultural stock of information, we do 
not doubt. ___ 
THE MUCK MANUAL FOR FARMERS. 
Under this unpretending title, Dr. S. L. Dana of 
Lowell, Massachusetts, has presented to the agricultural 
public a work of sterling value, and deserving a thorough 
examination by every farmer, both for the theoretical and 
practical views it contains. Dr. Dana has long been 
connected with the extensive manufactories of Lowell 
as the chemist of the print department; and the exten¬ 
sive use of cow dung for the purposes of these establish¬ 
ments led him to a more thorough examination of its 
nature, with the expectation of providing a substitute, 
than had yet been made. This, of course, embraced its 
use as a manure; and some of the opinions of Dr. D. 
having excited considerable attention, the citizens of 
Lowell requested him to deliver a series of lectures on 
agriculture and its kindred topics before them. This 
was done; and he informs us this volume contains the 
substance of those lectures. No farmer can read this 
work without benefit, or being- impressed with the im¬ 
portance of chemistry as applied to agriculture. The 
man of science may not be able to give in his adhesion, 
at once, to all Dr. Dana's views; but so well reasoned 
are his conclusions from his premises, that we think the 
grounds of dissent with any will be few. His explana¬ 
tion of the action of gypsum differs from that of Liebig; 
and he dissents from the position that rain or snow wa¬ 
ter contains free carbonate of ammonia, although he ad¬ 
mits the existence, in both, of ammoniacal salts. The 
late hour, however, at which we have received the vo¬ 
lume prevents our noticing it as fully as it deserves, and 
we shall return to it at an early opportunity. Meantime, 
we cordially recommend it, as a most valuable contribu¬ 
tion to the great science of agricultural chemistry. D. 
Bixby of Lowell, publisher. 
JOHNSTON’S LECTURES ON AG. CHEMISTRY. 
There can be no question but that the scientific part 
of agriculture has received an astonishing impulse from 
the publication of Prof. Liebig. Chemists seemed dis¬ 
posed to rest with the conclusions to which Davy and 
Chaptal had arrived, and few were disposed to hazard 
any new investigations. Liebig’s book disclosed at once 
the vastness of the field to be occupied, and an army of 
laborers have rushed to its occupancy. We have no¬ 
ticed above, the rich fruits which have been gathered 
by one of the distinguished men who are engaged in 
this important pursuit; and the volume before us is ano¬ 
ther contribution from an ardent and successful laborer 
in the same field. Every reader of agricultural works is 
familiar with the name of Prof. Johnston of the Uni¬ 
versity of Durham in England. The volume consists 
of eight lectures delivered before the Durham Co. Ag. 
Socieiy, and the members of the Durham Farmer’s Club; 
and commencing with the simplest elements of Ag. Ge¬ 
ology and Chemistry, conducts the reader to the consi¬ 
deration of the most important principles connected with 
vegetable growth, organization, and decomposition. 
The constituent parts of vegetables, the earthy salts, sili¬ 
cates, &c., the manner in which substances used as ma¬ 
nures contribute to the growth of plants, and all the 
questions relating to vegetable physiology are passed in 
review, and discussed with the ability of a master. On 
some points, particularly those relating to the composi¬ 
tion and action of animal manures, we consider him less 
clear and satisfactory than Dr. Dana, while the limit as¬ 
signed by himself to the work of the latter did not allow 
so full an examination of the mineral or earthy constitu¬ 
ents of the globe as has been done by Prof. Johnston. 
We need not say that we are happy to notice the publi¬ 
cation of such works as these Lectures of Dana and John¬ 
ston. They will be read extensively; they will make 
farmers think; they will place agriculture in a new and 
more imposing light in the minds of thousands; since 
science in its complicated forms is proved to be but its 
handmaid and servant. Such works are magazines of 
facts, from which the farmer will draw conclusions aid¬ 
ing him in his pursuits, and the study of which will add 
materially to his stock of available and therefore useful 
knowledge. Messrs. Wiley & Putnam of New-York are 
the publishers of this, as well as of several other valua¬ 
ble agricultural works which we have lately had occa¬ 
sion to notice; and the farming public are certainly 
much indebted to them for their enterprise. 
Address before, the N. Y. S. Ag. Society, at their annual 
meeting in Albany, January, 1842. By J. 15. Nmt, Esq. 
W e welcome the appearance of the address of Prof. 
Nott before the public, in a form and manner suitable 
to the sound and patriotic sentiments it embodies, and 
the eleg-ant and forcible style in which these sentiments 
are conveyed. Into the details of agriculture Prof. N. 
did not enter, and this may be deemed a practical defect 
by some, yet the reader on the whole will be apt to for¬ 
get the omission, or visit it with the slightest possible 
degree of censure. The address gives a notice of the 
former agricultural societies of this state, alludes to their 
failure, traces the history briefly of some other socie¬ 
ties, particularly the Scotch Highland, and the Berkshire 
Ag. Societies, inquires into the cause of the success of 
these, and suggests measures to insure the continued 
prosperity of that of New-York. The cause to which 
the address traces the success of the two societies we 
have named, is their cattle shows and fairs; and the con¬ 
clusion at which he arrives is, that agricultural societies 
without these cannot long profitably exist. The sug¬ 
gestions respecting a Board of Agriculture, the neces¬ 
sity of placing the funds of the society on a permanent 
footing, the benefits of knowledge in the pursuit or prac¬ 
tice of agriculture, and the advantages that would ensue 
from the establishment of agricultural schools, are all 
deserving, and will receive an attentive consideration. 
DR. BULLIONS’ THREE GRAMMARS. 
The Principles of English Grammar; comprising the 
substance of the most approved English Grammars ex¬ 
tant, with copious exercises in parsing and syntax, for 
the use of academies and common schools, on the plan 
of Murray’s Grammar. Fourth edition, revised and cor¬ 
rected, by the Rev. Peter Bullions, D. D. Professor of 
Languages in the Albany Academy. 
Also, by the same author, “Principles of Latin 
Grammar,” and “Principles of Greek Grammar,” 
constructed on the same plan, and comprising the sub¬ 
stance of the most approved grammars extant for the 
use of colleges and academies. 
The English grammar, whose title is given above, 
has been prepared with great care, and with special re¬ 
ference to the wants of common schools in the United 
States. The author's aim, as he states in his preface, 
has been to correct what is erroneous, to retrench what 
is superfluous or unimportant, to compress what is pro¬ 
lix, to elucidate what is obscure, to determine what is 
left doubtful, to supply what is defective in the books 
already in use, and to bring up the whole to that point 
which the present state of education requires. We use 
the language of men whose standing and scholarship is 
a guarantee for the truth of the statement, when we say 
that this English grammar is “ at once, the most concise 
and the most comprehensive of any with which we are 
acquainted; as furnishing a satisfactory solution of near¬ 
ly all the difficulties of the English language; as con¬ 
taining a full series of exercises in false syntax, with 
rules for their correction; and finally, that the arrange¬ 
ment is in every way calculated to carry the pupil from 
step to step in the successful acquisition of that most im¬ 
portant end of education, the knowledge and use of the 
English ianguage.” 
The Latin and the Greek Grammars, by the same au¬ 
thor, are constructed on the same plan, and have re¬ 
ceived the highest commendation from the most compe¬ 
tent judges. To use the language of the New-York 
Evangelist, in these works—“ Dr. Bullions has aimed 
to express the principles of grammar which are com¬ 
mon to the three languages in the same terms as nearly 
as possible. Thus he furnishes the scholar with the 
means of comparing the languages both in their points 
of agreement and difference. The value of comparative 
grammar as a means of mental discipline and enlarge¬ 
ment has not been sufficiently realized.” 
SILLIMAN’S JOURNAL FOR APRIL, 1842. 
This is a rich number for the man of science, and as 
usual contains a number of articles interesting to the 
general reader. The review of the N. Y. Geological 
Reports, though brief, is well written; and the paper by 
Prof. Maclaren of Edinburgh, on the Glacial Theory of 
Prof. Agassiz, will arrest attention, and well repay pe¬ 
rusal. There is a fine engraving of a new trilobite, 
found in Ohio, in the strata that may be considered the 
equivalent of our Trenton limestone, b}r Prof. Locke. 
Published at New-Haven, at $6 per annum, postage laid 
by the publishers, when the money is sent in advance. 
NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, NO. 115, APRIL, 842. 
This number of our favorite review contains 12 arti¬ 
cles, all on interesting subjects and ably treated. Of 
these, the “ Red Man of America,” the “ Early History 
of New-York,” and the review of “Liebig’s Organic 
Chemistry,” will be read with interest. We are glad to 
perceive that a second edition of Webster’s American 
edition of Liebig has been just issued from the press 
This speaks well for the diffusion of agricultural know¬ 
ledge. Munroe & Company, Boston, are the publishers 
of the North American. 
NEW PERIODICALS. 
The American Botanical and Horticultural Magazine .— 
We have been favored with the first number of this ma¬ 
gazine, which was commenced in New-York last month, 
and is hereafter to be issued on the first of each month. 
Each number is to contain at least four colored litho¬ 
graphic drawings of flowers, executed from nature by 
the most experienced and skilful artists, with 24 pages 
large octavo letter-press. The drawings in this number 
consist of the Primula sinensis, Siphocampylus bico¬ 
lor, Cineraria Waterhousiana, and Chorizema varium. 
They, as well as the letter-press, are executed in the 
best manner—quite equal to any similar London work 
which has fallen under our notice. It is edited by Prof. 
J. H. Griscom, M. D., and published by Geo. S. Cur¬ 
ry & Co., 167 Broadway, New-York. Price 75 cents 
per number, or $8 a year. We shall be rejoiced to hear 
that the work is liberally patronized. 
The American Agriculturist .—This is a new agricultu¬ 
ral monthly, to be published in New-York under the 
editorial direction of Messrs. A. B. & R. L. Allen, 
formerly of Buffalo, by Geo. A. Peters, 32 pages octavo, 
at $1 a year. The editors are well known as corres- 
podents of several of our agricultural journals, and will 
no doubt make an excellent paper. 
