been within the last four years a total increase of £47,000,000, or an average increase of about £12,000,000 a year. The amount thus sent abroad in payment for corn must have had a material effect in causing the commercial crisis of last November. He had been informed that, in consequence of the enormous importations of rice which had taken place, £1,000,000 had been lost during the last year upon that article alone. The importations of rice began to increase in 1855, owing to the high price of corn in the previous year, and it appeared that 170,000 tons of rice had been imported from India alone during each of the last two years."

4. THE HORSE, AND HOW TO TAME HIM.

OUR readers have seen some accounts of the magical process of horse taming which is practiced by certain persons, and of which they have preserved the secret very closely. Mr. Rarey, who has had great success in this particular, has lately written a letter for the New England Farmer, from which, we make an extract. He says:

"The art of subduing horses of vicious and ungovernable dispositions, has assumed an importance only commensurate to its great utility. The wonderful success of our countryman, Mr. Rarey, in England and France, has created a great excitement, and a consequent desire to be informed of the method by which these astonishing results are achieved. I am more particularly induced to revert to this subject, from the fact that numerous recipes have been published in New England papers, professing to be the method by which Mr. Rarey subjugates and has acquired so much control over the horse. One of the recipes is as follows: Take the grated horse-castor or wart, which grows on the inside of the horse's legs, put it on an apple or other enticing substance, and let him eat it; then rub a few drops of the oils Cumin and Rhodium upon his nose.' "It is stated that these drugs possess some potent charm by which the animal is rendered obnoxious to his vicious propensities, and his disposition radically changed to that of subservience, docility, and implicit obedience to the mandates of his conqueror. In response to which I unreservedly assert that no such result is produced. The horse castor exhales an extremely pungent ammoniacal effluvium. The oil of Cumin is manufactured from the seed of the same name, and in smell somewhat resembles turpentine; it is very persistent, and will volatize its strong odor without any perceptible diminution for several days. The oil of Rhodium takes its name from the island of Rhodes or roses. It is procured by maceration from rose-leaves, and has a very agreeable and powerful aroma. The use of the drugs in subduing an ungovernable animal is quite limited. Their powerful smells serve to attract his attention for a few moments, and in this manner, may possibly prove auxiliary to subsequent operations in ameliorating his incorrigible temper.

"It is a fact, authentic beyond all cavilling, that horses imbued with the most intelligence and qualities of endurance, are generally the most stubborn and implacable; hence, the inestimable value of some process by which they may be reduced to domestication and consequent utility. The plan pursued by Mr. Rarey and myself produces this result, and therefore its importance. No horse will submit to man unless convinced of his superiority. To obtain this supremacy in ordinary cases requires no skill, but where the animal is headstrong and obstinate the matter assumes a more formidable aspect, and defies the orthodox means by which success has been realized.

"The obdurate horse, then, must be vanquished in a trial of strength; he must be placed in such a position that all his efforts and struggles at resistance shall be skillfully encountered, and rendered futile. This accomplished, the horse becomes a slave, and only as such, is he useful. In this lies the whole secret of horse taming. It requires nothing but confidence, fearlessness, and patience, and perseverance in the operator to perform what appears to be almost miraculous. The time required to conquer the horse varies with the animal's disposition, from fifteen minutes to three hours, and in a few isolated cases, it is necessary to repeat the operation. In general it is quickly and noiselessly accomplished, but at times the struggle is severe and protracted, but

THE SORGHO, OR SUGAR CANE AGAIN, ETC.

97

success invariably eventuates; during the period I have imparted instructions in horse training I have had several very vicious animals subjected to my treatment, which I have in no instance failed to conquer."

5. THE SORGHO OR CANE SUGAR AGAIN.

ON several occasions attention has been called through the pages of the Review to the great deception being practiced on the country by virtue of representations in regard to the Sorgho or Cane Sugar, which were not only not sustained by the facts, but were in direct opposition to them. We asserted that, as a sugar or syrup producer, it was of little or no value.

Having just laid our hands upon the New England Farmer, we find the editor endorsing an account of a most disastrous failure of the Sorgho experiment in these words:

"We yielded a good deal of space last year for a fair discussion of the merits of the Chinese sugar cane, advised our friends to try it in a small way, and have more recently given many accounts of results in various quarters, and the conclusion we have come to is this: When molasses is seventy-five cents a gallon in the winter or early spring, [that is, every ten years or so-Ed. Review] and the prospect is strong that it will remain so, it will be wise for those who have light, early land, to cultivate the cane."

The account which the editor endorses is given very humorously. The party had seventy gallon of juice from two hundred and thirty-four hills of cane, and agreed with a neighbor deacon to work it up for half. The account proceeds

"We had seventy gallons of juice, but from these seventy gallons we obtained but seven gallons of syrup. There came a sudden early frost, which injured the cane so that we thought it would not yield so much saccharine matter.

"Now the deacon had to strip the leaves from all the stalks before they could be crushed, and the frost had made them adhere closer, and increased the labor. Then there was the expense of transportation to and from the mill, all of which brought up our three gallons and a half of syrup to quite a respectable price. At last it was completed, and the deacon tasted, we tasted, the children tasted, and one looked at the other, then we tasted again, then a silence. I wanted to say it was good, but I couldn't tell a lie. The deacon finally said he liked it, and he thought the more one ate of it, the better they would like it. We tried the experiment, and kept a tumbler of it near us through the day, and occasionally tasted, as we have seen old women do with herb tea, but our palates were inexorable; we could not like it, and finally we told the deacon if he would take the whole for the labor of preparing the stalks and the expense of transporting them to the mill, we would conclude the bargain. He assented, and we thought he had the hardest share, if he was to eat the syrup. So you see, Mr. Editor, we furnished land, seed, and manure-and learned wisdom. I ought to add that our Indian corn was good, and ripened very well, notwithstanding the wetness of the season. The potatoes were very fine, mealy, and delicious, with no symptoms of disease. These good old friends were true to us, and if I farm it again I shall cultivate their acquaintance more closely."

6.-AGRICULTURAL WEALTH OF OHIO.

THE Commissioner of Statistics of Ohio has recently made a report in regard to the agriculture of the State, from which the following digest has been made. It will interest our readers:

1. OF WHEAT. The following is the crop of wheat raised in Ohio for eight

successive years:

In 1849.

1850.

1851.

1852.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

This gives most remarkable variations. The crop of 1849 was not half that of 1850; and that of 1850 was nearly treble that of 1854! The variations in the production, per acre, are about in the same ratio as that of the general aggregate.

The average of eight years' production per acre, is fourteen bushels; and this may fairly be assumed as the general average of wheat production in Ohio. Since 1854, the wheat crop of Ohio has recovered. In fact, the price of wheat got to be so high in 1856 and 1857, that farmers could afford to raise, even at a small rate of production. There is no probability, however, that Ohio will soon obtain again the great production of 1850, or that the United States will even raise any very great surplus.

Wheat, as a grain, does not seem native to this country; but corn, oats, and rice, and potatoes, all are, and, therefore, (if this be so,) it is not surprising that the native plants should excel in strength of growth. The wheat has three great enemies, besides drouth, etc. It has the winter freezing, the summer smut, and the weavil, all to contend with; and each of these has frequently killed the whole crop in certain localities.

As the production is variable so is the price. In the last three years, the price of flour at Cincinnati has varied from $3 70 to $8 per barrel. In a length of time the average price of flour has been $5 per barrel, which is about equivalent to $1 per bushel for wheat. At that price, and an average production, wheat is a productive crop. Thus: an acre, fourteen bushels, at $1 per bushel, $14; cost of cultivating, $5; seed, $1-net profit, $8.

This counting interest at eight per cent., should make a well improved wheat field worth $100 per acre. But we suppose the best wheat field of Ohio may

be bought for half that.

2. OF THE CORN CROP.-Corn is the real staple of the Ohio valley, and its production increases much more rapidly than even that of population. The following are the statistics of the corn crop of the last eight years:

Here we see the crop has uniformly been less in alternate years, the even years being bad crops; but, on the other hand, the aggregate of each two years has increased at a very uniform rate.

Looking to the uniformity of these results, but that the last aggregate was rather large, in proportion, than in 1853-'54, we doubt whether the aggregate of 1857-58 will be as great an increase. Indeed, if it shall come up to that of 1855-56, we shall be surprised. The average of these crops is about 64,000,000 bushels, which may be regarded as a fair average for Ohio.

The average per acre of the corn crop is thirty-five bushels. There are counties which have raised sixty bushels to an acre, and farms which have averaged an hundred, but these are in remarkably good seasons and districts. They are not common cases. On the whole, the corn crop is a very profitable one, and will long remain the great staple of the Ohio valley.

OUR INLAND COMMERCE.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.

99

1.-OUR INLAND COMMERCE.

THE Hon. Mr. Hatch, of New York, lately treated of this subject in a speech before Congress. He says:

For the extent of the inland commerce, I refer to the official report.
Andrews, in his Colonial Lake Trade, 1852, says-page 49:

"The whole traffic of these great waters may be now unhesitatingly stated at $326,000,000, employing seventy-four thousand tons of steam and one hundred and thirty-eight thousand tons of sail, for the year 1851. Whereas, previous to 1800, there was scarcely a craft above the size of an Indian canoe to stand against an aggregate marine, built up within half a century, in what was then almost a pathless wilderness, of two hundred and fifteen thousand tons burden." In 1856, you will find in a report of the Committee on Commerce to the House (No. 316, page 9, vol. 3) an elaborate statement of the tonnage, imports, and exports of each of the lake districts, as follows:

Commerce of the lakes-exclusive of freight and passenger trade.

Total value of commerce of the lakes, exclusive of Prusque
Isle and Michilimackinac...

629,423,320

I will also add from Graham's official report to the Senate-page 401: "The States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and the Territory of Minnesota, have their shores washed by the great inland seas, whose intercommunication, by ship navigation, is much interrupted by the want of a safe and sure channel over these flats.

"The States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and a portion of Michigan, on the one side, are crippled in their important commercial relations with the remaining portion of the State of Michigan, and with the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and the Territory of Minnesota, on the other side, by this intervening obstacle. Something would seem, then, under the purview of the Constitution, to be necessary to be done, in order to regulate the commerce between these States. Viewed in this light, the subject becomes one of great public concern.

"The value of the articles of commerce and navigation which passed over these flats during the two hundred and thirty days of open navigation, in the year 1855-say between the middle of April and the 1st of December-will be presently shown to have amounted to the immense sum of $259,721,455 50; that is to say, $250,721,455 50; or, per day, during the navigable season, $1,129,223 72. The improvement, then, when undertaken, should be executed with a degree of permanency and celerity combined, commensurate with its importance and the magnitude of the interests involved."

Those who wish to make the comparison between the inland and foreign commerce will find that the former always largely exceeds the latter whenever a healthy prosperity exists among the people, and the balance of trade with foreign countries preserved.

2.-CHARLESTON AND HER STEAM MARINE.

THE Charleston Courier, which is certainly the first commercial paper in the Southern country, as it is one of the oldest and most useful sheets, thus condenses some facts in regard to the growing commercial marine of that ancient emporium:

It will not prove a very difficult matter, we think, to conjecture what the good people of our city would have thought or said, had they been told considerably less than a half century ago, that at this day the proud waters of our capacious harbor would bear on their bosom no less than some two dozen large and minor class steamers. Such, however, is nevertheless a fact; art and science, energy, intelligence, and commerce combined, the five most powerful levers to advancement and progress, have accomplished it. Of the most prominent of this steam marine we will notice the Isabel, with William Rollins, her veteran, gentlemanly, and efficient commander. She is a first class semi-monthly, for the conveyance of passengers and freight between this port and Havana and Key West, leaving this port on the fourth and nineteenth, and Havana via Key West, on her return, on the tenth and twenty-fifth of each month. Mordecai & Co., 110 East Bay, are the agents of this fine steamer. In connection with the Isabel we have the large class reserve steamer Catawba, Capt. Hawes, always ready and willing to meet any emergency in which her effective aid may be needed. Mordecai & Co., are also her agents.

Then, and in the following order, we will proceed with our list by noticing the New York and Charleston line (semi-weekly) for the conveyance of passengers and freight, Henry Missroon & Co., corner of East and Bay, and Adger's, South Wharves, agents. The steamers of this line, each having gentlemanly, able, and popular commanders, now consist of the Columbia, with her pioneer Captain, (M. Berry;) the Nashville, Capt. Murray; the James Adger, Capt. Andrews, and the Marion, Capt. Foster; the two latter of which have been laid up for a short time to refit.

The Keystone State, side-wheel, with her noble specimen of a sailor and gentleman, Capt. Marshman, for passengers and freight, a first class vessel, leaves this port every alternate Saturday, for Philadelphia. Her agents are T. S. & T. G. Budd, 76 East Bay.

Cromwell's (propeller) Line, with its attentive and faithful officers, for passengers and freight, and plying between this port and Baltimore and New York, consists of the Memphis, Captain Watson; the Atlanta, Captain Layfield; the Westernport, Captain P. S. Berry; and the Thos. Swann, Captain Ramsay. John W. Caldwell, corner of East Bay, and Boyce & Co., South Wharf, are the agents of this line.

The Everglade, for passengers and freight, is a Florida packet, and leaves this port every Tuesday morning. Her deservedly popular commander is L. M. Coxetter, and her agent Geo. S. Roux, Brown & Co.'s Wharf.

The St. Mary's, Captain Freeborn, a faithful son of old Neptune, another Florida passenger and freight packet, leaves this port every Sunday morning. R. Q. Pinckney, Jr., North Commercial Wharf, is her agent.

We have noticed, how

ever, that, within a few days, the St. Mary's has been withdrawn for repairs. The Carolina, with her true old salt, Captain Surtis, being a first class steamer, leaves this port, for Florida direct every Tuesday afternoon. H. L. Chisolm, 6 Southern Wharf, is her agent.

The Gordon, Capt. Barden, her active commander, for Savannah, a fine steamer, leaves every Monday and Friday evening. E. Lafitte & Co., Savannah Steam Packet Wharf, are her agents.

The Cecile, Capt. Peck, so favorably known, for Beaufort, Boyd's Landing, Port Royal Ferry, Hilton Head, and Savannah, leaves every Thursday night. E. Lafitte & Co., are also her agents.