Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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. '7. . ' V*T - '.?&&&*. v' : * * ' " \ "iS ' , . - >**. f - 1 ?fr ' '"i c ^ .. <&stm vwmm&w Amwrnrnwiw??* ?. * . **<'.' " - -* txs' v< ^jBSjfeSfcN > _ ?j VOLUME VII. CHER AW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 184>. NUMBER 48 ? ^-? - m L!""i 1 11 1 1 \ By Af. JV. Tkbms:?Publi?h?d weekly at /Are? dollars a ynar; with an addition, when not paid cv thin three months, of twenty per cent per annum. . Two new subscribers may lake the paper at fire dollars in advance; and ten at twenty Four subscribers, not receiving their papers i? town, may pay a year's subscription with the dollars, in advance. A year's subscription always due in advance. Papers not discontinued to solvent subscribers in arrears. Ad9trii?ement? not exceeding I fi lines inserted far one doll ir the first time, and fifty cent* each ibsequont tune. For insertions at interval* of two w-ieks 75cents after the first, and a dollar if the intervals are longer. Payment due in advance for advertisements. When the number f insertions is not marked on the copy, the adrertiwntnt will he inserted, and charged ti l rdereri oat. 0"Th? postage must he paid on letters to the dit?r on the business of the office. From the Crescent City. AGRICULTURE LIFE. In antique tunes the labors of husband* ry were real. There was little romance about them, save that which lives attend* ant on a healthy, honest profession. In the old republic when luxury began to creep in to sap their foundations, and the art* rose up. as if to light with a false glory the dissoluteness and enervation J iL- ?? - ? una rvv a nrl tlin aroillin, uir ruiimiivc ui pn.u ? ..... sentiments of hollow feeling also began to clothe the aspect of life in the country in gorgeous and glistening hues. The Bucolics of Virgil?the Odes of Horace, Juvenal and Martini, did much to entice men back to the only healthy state: employment in tilling the earth; yet so vivid were their representations?so specious their logic?so sweet their productions, that many a man who took the plough in a spiritof great trust, came hack deadened and disappointed to the glare?and bad atmosphere of city life. If you look history through you will find that the poets of all debauched ages, have dwelt most fondly upon the charms of the country? and the greater por.ion of their readers, and nearly all the?r fame, have lived and been originated in cities. By "charms of the country," we do not inean the occupations of the country, nor perhaps would they have thought so, J had they composed their sonnets as Burns often did, at the tail of the plough and in the steam of the furrow; hut their readers to understood them, and an injurious reaction was the consequence. No poet " 1 I I I who dreams in hi* verses ot rocic ana siiuu- ; cd (Jell?of moonlight and lapsing waters, 1 can refer to aught else than such in the country* but w hen he coines to associate the lowing of herds?the creak of the wagon?the sounds of the hay tune and the joy a of the harvest; ho invests the acene with a romance which the labor at. lend*nt doe* not justify. It is too common in our own turn's, to direct the alien. J. lion of men from the city lite to that of the country, by these beautiful, yet oneaided views; and the same rc-aetion is the consequence, which we noted above It is very pleasant, thai 'whistle of the plough hoy,' hut not when you whistle at the plough yourseii?pleasant it is to r.v..ir the lowing of cattle,. w iien you are not liable to fodder them the coming wmtr. in snow three feet deep. 'I he-.songs oi the hay.tunc are pleasant when yon can sit under <iii apple tree?not ammiahie to the labor of the scythe?and lite sportof harvest are quite attractive wncu you have only to kiss the girls at husfriig-tiuie, instead of knowing that after a vear's hart work in all weathers, you have just *made both ends meet,'and a " mignty little" over. Siill we recommend a country lifi ?not I because it it poetic, hut because n is pro. ductive of healthy feeling, and brings Ian. dabte result* to honest efforts. It is dis tirxTiiiwhed from life in a city, hv charms B that every reflecting and moral mail can easily consider for himself?*by a tone of heart more satisfactory?by years hi< *s.>ed with competence, and not gangrened h\ wealth?ny leisure for contemplating tlie Great Author,?as the magic changes of nature occur ; and hy the chance of rais ing children of sound hodv, and minds directed toward usefulness. Those who think that fanners should be Philemons, and their wives and daughter* Phabes and Cloes, make a great mistake; and nothing is more disgusting ttian to see a husbandman who in his toil thinks constantly of Cincinnatus, and is daily turning back from his plough to ee if no M deputation from the city" is Coming to call him to office. There are many such, and they arc a scandal to agricultural life, and to the farmjr er't profession. We look upon agri. culture as the best heritage (except Revelation) from God to inan. Who embraces it as a means of existence, ennobles himself. Farmers are the 'salt of the earth'?anti-septics to the putrifying atmosphere of the city?the purifiers of hollow and heartless life ; they are leavan which, would we take counsel of (heir sphere and duties, would straightway leaven the whole lump. The present disorganized and distressful times are leading thousands of men who have clung as if for dear life to the counting-room and the professional office, to turn a serious attention to life in the country-?to hard work. We have within ten days, heard as many men lament that they were not bred farmers. For i t'iO middle-aged of the present generator?! : no hope of reform is left, ho! the vming i are in n wa\ to bo safe. will p * -nts nnlv : : r< fleet that :htr mechanic as r?'*|?e Jnide i ! as tin- lawyer, arid the planter as noble as \ j the merchant. Above all, let every farmer destine his children to be farmers and toe j wives of farmers. PEAT COMPOST. According to the statement of Messrs. Phinney and Haggerstoti, as contained I in the Report on the Geographial and \ I Agricultural Survey of Rhode. Island, by j Dr. ('. T. Jackson. a compost made ??f three part?* of peal and one "f stable manure, is equal in value to its bulk of clean stable dung, and is more permanent in its effects. Dr. Jackson deems it essential that animal matters of some kind should he mixed with the peat, to aid the demmpo I sition and produce the requisite gasses. Lime decomposes the t?eat, neutralizes the acids, and disengages the acids, and dis. engages the ammonia. The peat absorbs the ammonia, nod becomes iri part solu hie in water. The soluble matter, according to Dr. Jackson, is the npocrenate of ammonia ; eremite of ammonia, and crenate of lime being also dissolved. With an excess of animal matter and lime, free carbonate of ammonia is formed. The p< at should be laid do\yn in layers with barn-vard manure, night soil, dead fish, or any other animal matter, and then each layer strewed with lime. In Dr. Jackson's report, he has presented highly valuable results from the use of this compost, which deserves the attention of ..unr,' wrri/.llhilrillt Iff* ITIVftS tllG folloW I ct <1 and removed fr??:n the ci'y of Boston an. . nu illy, is almut f?mr hundred thmsind squaro I fort. It is u cii by cultivators in tlie iminedi ile I . . . ! ! vicinity, bmn* c?mpo>tod with .so I. lime, p*at^ &,c. Lar^o quantities ot animal matter from slough cr-housiH. und other sources, are also made u>o of. The h -apt are left exposed, ancorcrcd to tlie air, and t!?o value of tho compost is consequently greatly diminished. Sen pago 183. GATHERING AND PRESERVING APPLES. Various theories have been offered for preserving npples in a sound slate for winter use, or for distant voyages. S<m?e have proposed gathering the fruit before it is rioo. and drvinff it on floors before it ? * r ?( * %j is up ; this has been tiicd ; the apples lose all their flavor, and keep no better than by some less troublesome modes. Dr. Noah Webster recommends that they should be put down between layers of sand which has been dried by the heat of summer.?This is without doubt an excellent mode, as it excludes thn air, and j absorbs the moisture, and must be useful , when apples are to bo shipped to a warm ! climate. Chopped up straw has also been highly ' recommended to be placod between the I ' ? ?- e, ing details ofthe manner in which the compost was.prepared upon the farm of i Mr. Sanford, near the village of Wickford in North Kingston. 44 In the corner of the field a cleared and level spot was rolled down smooth and hard, and the swamp muck was spread upon it, forming a bed eight feet wide, about fifteen or twenty feet long, and nine inches thick. Tor every wagon load of the muck one 1 barrel of fish was added, and the fish were spread on the surface of the muck, and allowed to become putrescent. The mo. ment they began to decompose, he again i covered them with peat, and a renewed Jnvcr of fish was spread and covered in i the same mr.nner. The fermentation i was allowed to proceed for two or three weeks, when the compost was found to heroine fit for the land. To this he was advised to add lime in the proportion* of one cask to each load of compost early in the spring, which it was supposed would complete ?he decomposition in two or 1 three weeks. Such a heap should be rounded up and covered, so a-* to prevent 1 j the rain washing nut the valuable salts, I ih it form in it. A u'd in case of the escape of much ammonia, more swamp muck or peat should h?* spread upon the heap, for the purpose of absorbing jr." f)-. JackI son 's ^of opinion tent the phosphorn* md of tii?- p at and aniin il matter would ? ? ?!v<?rf the Jmc into a phosphate, and i thus approxnnnto it very c'osok io horn ! manure?Report, p I To Any refuse annual matter ran he, ? } i < jtir.se, employed in n- similar > 'f.T'r ! I In- eareass ?>{ a dead hof* v. in - ; ; often suilvrrd { ? pi.!};;'? ' o :?<r av y ! <>:?. ? elri i.ia. has o<-?? ii p-.'.k ? no . i i?i decomposing 20 tons of tea; mi (if. i ; , ' : and iransforininiT tt into tin* ??: ??l nr?< >? j nig mi mire, ?Yohng's Letters of Agri j \ cohl. Letter 25 p. 20*v* | iNigiit soil may l?e composted" with peat;} with great advantage, sufficient lime he. lag added to deprive it of odor ; large | quantities of ammonia are given ot}* and j absorbed, "j* Appended to Dr. Ja? k?o i's report will he found a letter Irom E. Pmnney, E^q . j I ??f Lexington. well known as ? lie ?*" It.e J most skilful agriculturists on ihc reclaim i mg of peal as manure.?Lribig. la a Report on a R\?xint'nitim of the Geo- j Logy of jWixsa:hu*elts, lc3 <. L)r. Dm* p ?rticu. I larly notices lu? evlu ion of ammonia from f-rmooting (iunjj, ami suppose* lint tli? amnonii combines wit Ii gdno t.) form a soluble com* pound. S ;? JVita to pige 83 of the R-pnrt. KYzht SAL. The quantity of night s ?il col. la vers of fru t; hut I hav ijoticc-'l that straw from :h*? f?er<=j)irat* ?r? it t *h;i>e?s. ??* i comes must v. and may probably do more ! hurt than eood. When apples are t?? j lit- exported, it has uei /? recommended ! liiat faeh ho separately wrapped in coarse paper, in the manner orangesand lemons are usually put up. This is, without (i'Uibt, an excellent mode. And Mr L >u don has recommended that apples dentin. ?'d for Europe, should be packed be. 1 I ween layers of grain. ^ cc. r...:? ... UreHl (JlJRIIIIlirK (il IIUTJ imih an; lartia j in the vicinity of Boston, ami put up for ! winter use, for the maikets. and for ex* pnrtation. The following is the mode almost universally adopt* d by the moat expcricnced ; and by tins mode apple*, un ?i?-r very unfavorable circumstance*, are frequently preserved in a sound state, or not one in rifry defective, for a period of seven or eight months. The fruit is miffered to hang on the tree to as late a peri* od as possible in October, or till hard frosts have loosened the stalk, and are in immediate danger of being blown down bv high w inds ; such as have nlready fallen are carefully gathered and inspected, and the best are kept for early winter. They are carefully gathered from the tree by hand, and as carefully laid in baskets. I VI .....II cong/inafl ftniir hnm-lti I .K'-W, nciro?.ui>uiii.u lrorn bakers, are usually preferred; the baskets. being filled, arc cautiously lower* edinto the barrels and reversed. The barrels, being quite filled, are gently shaken and the head is gently pressed down to its place and secured. It is observed that this pressure never causes tnem to rot next the head, and is necessary, as they are never allowed to rattle in removing. No soft straw or shavings are admitted at the ends ; it causes mustiness and decay. They arc next carefully placed in wagons, and re moved on the bulge, and laid in courses in a cool, airy situation, on the north side of buildings, near the cellnr, protected bv a covering on the top, of boards so placed as to defend them from the sun r and rain w hile the air is not excluded at the sides. A chill does not injure them; it is no dis service; when extreme cold weather comes on, and they are in immediate danger of being frozen, whether by night or day, they are carefully rolled info a cool, airy, dry cellar, with openingson the north side, that the cold air may have free access ; they are laid in tiers, and the cellar is indue time closed and rendered secure from frost. The ba/rels arc never tumbled or placed on the head. Apples keep best when grown in dry seasons, and on dry soils. If fruit is gathered late, and according to the above 'directions, repacking is unnecessary ; it is even ruinous, and should on no occasion be practised till the barrel is opened for ase. It has been fully tried. W'neii apples a re I ? In; exported, M r. Cob. lo t has recommended that they should ii ' possible, be earned on deck ; otherwise between docks. Between decks is thu place, and in the most, dry, cool, and airy pari.?Kc.ndridc s Netc OrchardUt From l\e Farmer * Cabinet. t'HOKING THK HOHSK. Mr JZdilur.?The remarK of your e.o; r.o.aiM- r nt at page 31S oj your : ;< ?i v, * * I'hat many ol. us trans, ??se ir?f ?i oof la>i?jrs. reminds uitfc e mom; adopted irrtiie shoeing ofii:chnr*i . wiiit'h 1 once witnessed, and wiiien is, 1 b< iieve, of importance stllficient to do servo noiieotn the pages o| your valuable and very interesting work. Ii occuri-ti at the tow n of Croydon, near London, which is known ns ttic centre of stag unfit, s'? well attended by the whole coun try around, and pspcrniily by the hrgnuretl hlopds of L mdon ; and wnere mav bo seen a field'of the best horses in the whole world?many of them worth their five 01 seven thousand dollars. A- I once passed through this town, one of in\ horses' shoes Oceanic loose, and I went to liie shop of a smith named Lovelace, to get it fastened; the shoe ?as nearly new, and had become lonsi in const queuce of iho nails having draw n ..e ii.*> hfif.f. althouoli thev had been ; - p? - * clinched ill the manner Univeisaily prac ti-ed. The smith remarked thai all the othi r shoes were loose, and would sikjm. drop ..ft*, when [ requested him to tak< tm in offand replace them; and then dui i perceive ilie diff rent mo k which he a .opted tor fixing them, which I will her*ilctaii. As las* as he drove the nails, he merely hent the points dow n to the hoot without, as is customary, twisting them off with the pincers; these he then droc* home, clinching them against a heavy pair of pincers, which were not made very sharp ; and alter ihis had been vcrj carefully done, he twisted off each nail as close us possible to the hoof; the pincers being dull, the nail would hold, so as to gel a perfect twist round nefore it separated. These.twists were then beaten close into the hoof and filed smooth, but not deep, or with the view to rasp off the twist of the nail. "Oh ho!" said I, 441 have learnt a lesson in horse-shoeing," "Yes," said lie, " and a valuable one; if I were ever to lose a single shoe in a long day's hunt, 1 should have to shut up iny shop; my business is to shoe the horses belong* ing to the hunt, and the loss of a shoe would be the probable ruin of a horse worth, perhaps, a thousand pounds ; but I never am fearful of an accident." " Simply, because you drive home and f'U- i. ' ' ~ - ' fti'irh the nails Itiforr voti twist them off," -raid 1?? Yes," replied Hp, " r?y which I secure a rivet, as well as a clinchThe thir<g was as Hear as the light of day, and { have several tunes endeavored to m ikeo'ir shoe ing.smiths understand it, hut they cannot .tee tin: advantage it would he to themselves* and guess there, r..?. :* ?j j_ .1 . ?" ' ? ** tuvuiu nrvrr au in inric yuris f but rf my In-other fumii-rs cannot see how it work* with half an rye, and have not the resolution to get it up into practice, they ought to are the shoes ilr??p from the feet of their horses daily, as I was once accustomed to do. Now, let any one take up an old horse.shoe at any of the smiths* shops on the road, and exam, ine the clinch of the nails which have drawn out of the hoof, and he will soon perceive how the tiling operates. In short, if the nails are driven home before twisting off, and the rivet formed by the tvist he not afterwards removed hy the rasp, I should he glad to be told how t >e shoe is to come off at nil, unless hy first cutting out the twist. I am, sir, a con. stant reader of the Cabinet, and cne who has benefitted many dollars by the various bints which have been given in its pnges. J. S. Amongst which, perhaps, no one has appeared of more value to our practical readers than that here presented. Will our correspondent accept thanks for his very interesting ?* hint," which is given in the true spirit of reciprocity ??Ed. "Oats.?A writer in the Maine Farmer says that ten or more successive crops of oats may be taken from the same ground, if the stubble is ploughed in in the fall without manure, and that the crop will increase from such a course." [We once saw a lot in this town cultivated for three successive years as follows: In the spring it was sown in oats; when the oats were cut off* the stubble was turned under and corn planted. In the fall the corn was cut down at the ground and gathered as food for cattle. Still each succes. sive crop of oats was manifestly better than the preceding, the oat stubble, grass and corn roots, being the only manure which it received.?Ed.] \ ' sandy soils. The Editor of the Massachusetts Ploughman being called on for his advice on the treatment of sandy soils that will hold manure, recommends the application of ten cords of clay, or fire cords of leached ashes, to the acre ; the coating of clay, if it can be had conveniently, to bo put on some time in autumn. Dut there io no crop he says so appropriate to light, sandy soils as buckwheat. * ^ " " This is quite as sure a crop as any of the English grains, and our poorest lands will produce it. In Virginia and in New York this grain sue. cecds well?even the worn out soils of the Ancient Dominion that will yield but fire bushels of corn per acre will give double that quantity and val. ue of buckwheat, and at less than half the ex. pcnsc. " This is a summer grain and it will not impor. erish a poor soil. But turning in one crop in June and sowing another on the furrow, to be harvested, a poor soil will improve from year to year, and it J to 3 j bushels may be counted on as an average yieid. We have thousands of such lands in Massachusetts which now lie idle. Buckwheat usually commands gf L ^5 to ?1 50 per bushel every spr.ng though nojody .3 ready to buy i in autumn. But .t may oe used oy pvt. y firmer at home, and a oushel of it is wo. til more for hogs and for hens titan a bushel of corn. " iiucKwacat should be sown in the latter part of June; some fartncis sow as late as July 4th.? When a field is kept for the buckwheat the scattering seeds of the previous year will sometimes be sufficient without sowing any in June. Uus bushel per acre Will oe sumcieut where there is no seed in the ground ; half a bushel is the usual quantity in other cases. " The buckwheat may be saved for the grain, or it may be ploughed in when full in blossom to ennch the soil, and grass seed may be sown on the came ground in August, with or without other manure** Sorrel, he says, never raises its head where BucKwhcat is sown. If the land is naturally too lijht and porous for grass, keep it for Buckwueat from year to year, and the sorrel will never be troublesome. This product will grow and spread sudicicntly even on poor land to smother' all other plants on sandy loams.?So. Planter. From the Southern Planter. CORN. There is no one subject in agriculture that is more peculiarly interesting to us than the cultivation of Indian corn. In the first place, it is the national crop; in the second, it bears with it a spice of romance, as being intimately connected with that race upon whom only the sacred hand of antiquity has yet impressed the stamp of poetry in this neto world; but thirdly, and chiefly, because it is believed to be the most valuable vegetable growth, take it all in all, cultivated by the hand of man. I do not believe either that our savage predecessors, or our tobacco making ancestors, ever brought the cultivation of this noble vegetable to perfection. I am very sure that the system of neither the one nor inc oincr wu 01 me character best adapted to the present state of our soil. Neglected, as to a certain extent, this valuable crop now is, still in point of profit, it heed not shrink from a comparison with either of its haughty rivals, wheat, or tobacco. Facts and experi. ence, which settle the claims of high and low, will prove the corn growing to be as independent and prosperous as any other interest in the State. But it is my settled conviction, that a thorough examination into its nature and character would induct an improvement in its cultivation, that woulc place this vegetable of indigenous growth upon i I much more derated position than it even now oc cupies. It is very true that thousands of intelli. j gent farmers have been for hundreds of years culI tivatirig this simple crop, and it would seem wonderful that there should be any thing yet to learn about it; but that no fixed principles bare been as yet established, is vouched by the fact that there arc still as many opinions about the simplest Doints in its management, as there are different cu'tivators. That thin variety of opinion exists, arises, I believe, from the fact, that until the late establishment of agricultural papers, men ploughed, sowed, and reaped, without thinking at all; at any rate, without receiving from each other the advantages of their mutual observations. Until within the last ten or tw< lve years, the darkness of the middle ages covered the agricultural history of America. Indeed, it was not until our cxI hausted soils forced us to bring mind to the assistance of matter, that our fanners began to think at all, and it was not until the general establishment of a medium of communication, that any thing but the w.ldest gucwrs, founded upon the loosest facts, occupied the cultivators of the earth. Mortifying as this picture of ignorance may be to many of your older readers, it is neverthelcss true, and when they reflect, how they themselves were in former days immersed, soul and body, in politics, they will be forced to concede that the science of agriculture found little space in the minds of their contemporaries. But, thanks to the good sense of our dcep-think ing, practical people, as me stem necessity 01 an exhausted soil demanded a different course of eonduct, they have lately begun to investigate the secrets of the great business in which they arc employed, and hence it is, that, although we have been cultivating corn for hundreds of years, we are now just upon the threshold of discovery with respect to its nature and character. These remarks, which I hope, if not very flattering, will not prove very tedious, have been elicited by reading an excellent essay on the subject in the 44 Southern Agriculturist" from the pen of Dr L. R. Sams, of South.Carolina. Dr. Saras, as the result of several investigations upon the roots of corn, found them to consist chiefly of perpendicular roots, from which numerous smaller ones proceeded horizontally. The depth, number, and proportion, of the perpendicular roots, the Doctor found to depend very mjjch upon the nature of the soil in which they grew. In a very light, sandy soil, incumbent on a loose subsoil, he found an average of twenty-five perpendicular roots, from three and a half to four feet long. The eixo and extent of the lateral roots he found to be dependent upon the moisture of the surface soils. In a poor soil, of a dry season, they did not exceed two or three inches in length, while many were much shorter; on the other hand, in a rich moist soil, these lateral roots were very much increased, not only in numbers, but in all their dimensions, a large proportion of them extending from one to two feet or more from the stalk. On a close, heavy soil, based on a stiff subeoil, the perpendicular roots were found more numerous, but shorter, reaching an average depth ol only two feet. The horizontal root*, though of smaller diameter than the perpendicular, were so much more developed than in the former case, especially when favored by a moist and mellow soil, as to traverse and occupy the entire intervals (a space of five feet) between the rows. The practical deductions that Dr. Sams draws from these facts, are, that if the soil is made rich and mellow to a considerable depth, the perpendicular roots will naturally penetrate to that depth, and as he found that the extension of the side roots along the surface was chiefly a substitute of nature for the obstruction of the perpendicular roots, he concludes, that whenever free passage is atFordad the latter through rich ground, that this plant will be furnished by these means with food and moisture, even during a drought; when the lateral or surface roots, that would otherwise supply their place, would be entirely parched and killed. > gain, where a free descent is afforded through a mellow soil, the root3 will be found almost wholly within a circle of two feet, of which the stalk is the centre j consequently, present economy would recommend the application of manure within that space. On the contrary, where, from the nature of the subsoil, the support is derived from the hor.z^ntal roots, the application of manure in the hill would fail to fu n sh the roots that had extended beyond its influence with their food at the most critical period of the plant, viz : the fill.ng of the ear. Firing, Dr. >-ains considers, as nothing more than a failure of a sup. ply of food and moisture to this most succulent and ibiiv of th<? table tribe; and cl< ss planting - .rrj -- ? -? leads to thii fatal consequence, only, because, in ourusutl mode of cultivation, the plan' is dependent for a supply of food and moisture on its lateral roots, which can only find a su:ficicnt supply for one stalk within a given space. One thing is certain, that very large crops can only be obtained by close planting, and it is a great desideratum to know how that can be effected without the danger of firing, that usually attends it in this region. It is only by a strict examination into facts with all their attendant circum*tancesvsuch as the world is indebted to Dr. Sams for, that any correct or philosophical conclusions can be arrived at.? He may possibly have erred in the inferences he has drawn, but the agricultural commtnity are at least indebted to him for the communication of the interesting facts he has observed. Yours, with the best wishes for the success of your useful and practical paper, A Corn Grower. From the Southern Planter. charcoal. This substance is attracting great attention C6 a fertilizer, and we make the following extracts from a paper published in the Transactions of the York State Agricultural Society, by Mr. J. I H. Hepburn: 44 In tho neighborhood in which I live there are a great many hearths of coal pita, as they are | called; place* where wood has been piled, and t burned into charcoal, scattered about the country. ' r 1 have invariably observed, that upon these hearths, in the course of a few years, a luxurious coat of grass made its appearance, when all around in the vicinity scarcely a blade of grass could be found, and what there was found out of the coal hearth was a*ckly and dwarfish. This was so weli known that in the beat of summer, when the pasture in other places was dried and withered by the summer drought, it was a common practice to drive the cattle to the 4 coalings,' as they are called, sure that they would there oh. * '' tain food. During the last autumn, business called me into Hartford county, in Maryland.-? .' i While there, I waa surprised at the exceedingly luxuriant growth of a crop of grain but lately seeded into a field, on Deer creek, and also at the very peculiar rppearoncc of the . soil. The soil upun'which the grain waa growing had a remarkably dark appearance, and appeared to be ao mel- ... low and friable as nearly to bury the foot at every step, and although it Ly very level did not appear to the touch to be ao; not aa the soil in the other tu Us arouTid it on the aame level. My attention waa excited by what I saw, and 1 inquired if the field had not betn covered with charcoal, and waa told that it had been. I inquired when it waa done, anil waa told it had been sprea^ upon it more than tveenly years ago:! I then aaked what was the general quality of the crops raised upon it, and I was told that they were invariably fine, both as to quantity and quality. The per. son who lived upon the property informed me that he had repeatedly hauled the soil from that field and spread it upon the surrounding fields, and be could, for years, or in fact from the time he aprcsd it there to the present day, always see, by the- . a| growth upon these places, exactly where he had put it!! W US " I had for some time past had my attention- di. " rected to the subject, but here I found it fully itvcloped to my full satisfaction. \ " When I returned home, I made it the subject of conversation frequent ly^with the farmers in our ncighbor'.iood, and from one of them I learned that when he lived in Chester county, Pennsylvania, with his father, a part of their farm becatue worn out and unproductive. It was abandoned for scveral years, and in the mean time many coal pits had been formed upon several of the old fieidf, by drawing the wood there to burn into coal, that had been cut in the adjoining timber lands. After some time they again put those fields under tillage, and he states that wherever a coal licarlh had been left, there the crop of grain and the growth of grass was equal, if not superior, to that which grew upon any of their most productive fields. Another case of the application of char, coal I have found in this neighborhood wts made by a gentleman in the iron-business to his meadow,'! ' near the coal house. He had a large quantity of the coal that had become too fine to be used in the furnace; he did not know exactly what to do with * it, it was in the way, and he concluded, as the easiest way. to dispose of it, to haul it out and spread it upon the grass land. He spread it late in the fall, and for many years he informed mc he ' ouKrv cu me mvsi aaiuiiisiiuig-cueciprouuceu upon his yield of grass. The quantity was nearly double, and the eficct continued as long as he owned the property, which was at least ten years; so he informs me. " From what I can sco of its effect, where a large quantity is left upon the ground, as for in-. stance, in*the centre of the hearth, it takes a con. sideTable time for it to acquire a sufficient degree of moisture to penetrate to the bottom, and until it has acquired that degree of moisture nothing will grow there. Around the outer edges of the circle where it is thrown upon the ground it is soon saturated with moisture, and vegetation m soon'facilitated, and goes on rapidly. I should judge, from this, that when hbout to be applied to land the coal should be ground fine, and then thoroughly wetted and sown or spread With a lime spreader over the surface of the soil. From the circumstance of its being easily powdered or mashed up, I should suppose that the process would be very easily effected by maVn^n floor of plank, say circular, and procuring a good sized stone, to be affixed by a eh ?ft to an upright post, throw tho coal into the circular planked way, and attach & . horse to the shaft passing through the stone, and drive him round, carrying the stone, in its passage, over the coals. A very simple dhd easy process,* precisely similar to (Ire old-fashioned way of grinding or breaking up bark, practiced by the tanners, previous to the invention of the ca6t iron mill now in use. The ccst of covering an acre would bo ! . /?; a - r :. i... i ..I ..ff?. iU.^ Uliung, iVllU li il (i.ouuui'u iiuuiiiu rurviuiui iiiu<> . . of forroin g a permanent vegetable basis in tbe soil, for lime to act upon, it appears to me it would wMl repay a greater amount of labor and expense than would be necessary to try it. " I have just been made acquainted with an. other result of the application of charcoal to arsi b!e land, that if general, from its application, will induce its use by every one who can procure it at a reasonable price; that is, wherever charcoal has been applied rust nevtr affects the groicing crop of wheat! ! My friend who has communicated this fact to me states, that he has observed it. particu. Iarly, and when the field generally has been 4 struck with rust,' as it is called, those places where he had applied the charcoal invariably ts. caped. J. H. HEPBURN. Jersey Shore, Lycoming Co., Pa." * CEMENT. In the New England Farmer, Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 21, we find tbe following statement: ? ?. -r it.:? i? .i? r* u j '' inc iuiu conquest 01 ;?i^h ib, uj iuv * iuiui, I. has made known a new cement used in the pub- lie works in that city. It is composed of two part* of ashes, three of clay, and one of sand. This 1 composition, called by the Moors, Fabbi, being again mixed with oil, resists the inclemencies of the weather better than marble itself." Mr. Dorr, of Roxbury, called upon oe, a few days ago, to look up the above article in our back volumes, and stated that he used Cement made according to the above directions, around the win. dow casings of a etone-houac he was building about the time this article appeared, and it has proved as good as the statement represents, h * ? ?ii. *' j