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{at . THE FARMERS DEPARTMENT.

AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR AUGUST.

London. Sept. I--This has been, as it general- Iy is, amontb dedicated to the labors of the harvest. Little was done before the beginning ofthe month, but then the reapers went to work with the wheat in earnest, and in a short time the greater part of it in the Southern districts of Great Britain was cut and carried. The barley and oats followed, and for about three weeks all went on as prosperous as heart could wish. It was dry, sunny, and warm;without mists, without rain, and fresh. ened by gentle breezes. But an entire change has at length come upon us. For these ten days past the weather has been threatening, and partial showers have one about in some quarters heavy,in others ight, and the pro.

".mgress of the harvest has been considerably

impeded; but on Sunday night downright se- rious heavy rain commenced, which has continued, with some anxious intervals, up to the present time, with a continuel heavy wate. charged atmosphere. Every descrip- tion of corn that is abroad is drenched and soaked; straw and grain to the very core. Unfortunately, even in the Sourthern parts of England, there is too much in the field cut, and not carried. 0f wheat perhaps, not a very considerable quantity; some of the backward turnip wheat, some the produce of cold soils, and some the property of laggards. But oats and barley, particularly the latter, are very generally caught. A change of wea- ther has been indicated for some days, the alteration had been foreseen and expected, and consequently every one has been hastening ' )cut and carry as fast as he could; but in ) ' latter operation most have been baflled by xteasing flying showers that came drizzling over the crops,j ust as they were ready to be fork- ed or carted. Some few, the fortunate cultiva- tors ofwarrn, forward soils—some lucky ones whom the showers, in their caprice, passed by, with none or only a few drops from their skirts have men able tosecure their spring corn in time, but; general, farmers have been toiling and bustling cal- to nostrate their crops before this soaking rain. There they lie without re- medy, some in cock, some in swath, the barley, aoddening, staining, sprouting; the pulse, of which the late sorts are still abroad, blackening. bursting. wasting; the cats resisting the wet best, but with little chance of being preserved from growing, should this weather con. tinue; and from the loo period of drought that has occurred. there isiut too much reason to apprehend that it may he succeeded by hea- vy and protracted rain. We pray that our tears maybe groundless, and that an interval at least ofdry weather, for the securing of our crops, may be vouchsafed by Him who has promised that “Seed time and harvest shall not cease.” In the North, of course, the busi- ness ofagriculture is not so forward, and the wheat harvest not so far advanced: It is how- ever, a matter of consolation that through Eng- land, in general, a larger portion of wheat than usual has been secured in excellent condition. The produce of the harvest, according to appearances, and accounts from various quar- ters, must be large. The quality of the wheat is generally good, as is likewise the case with cats.

When a really plentiful harvest is in pro. tress, with rumours of abundance far beyond the reality. with favourable accounts of the crops on the continents, and more than a mil- lion of quarters of bonded grain in our ware- houses, it is not surprising that prices should fall. Accordingly it appears that wheat has

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

very considerably declined, with the expecta- tion of a farther depresion, which, however the continuance of rainy weather may have a tendency to elevate. But then comes the serious question, what is to be done with the millions of quartet: of corn in our warehouses! The importers have got a wolf by the car, which they know not whether to hold or to letloose. Whenever he is liberated it is probable that both mer- chants and farmers may be pretty severely bit- ten. If this large stock be now thrown into the market, in conjunction with the supply of a plentiful harvest, it will probably lower pri- ces toa degree that will bear hard both on the importer and British farmer, that will achieve the ruin ofman now struggling with a long succession of di culties, and will con- vert that plenty, which ought to prove a bles- sing, into afruitful source of misery and dis- aster.

lfthe importer will not consent to pay the present high duty, he must make up his mind to keep a large capital unproductively locked up foraconsiderable time; or he may be com- pelled by and bye to submit to the payment of a still higher duty and to dispose of his com- modity even on worse terms than at present. In the mean time it is a fearful thing for the farmer to have this enormous mass of grain hanging overthe market, and ready to over- whelm it whenever it may chance to be let upon it. The Revenue would certainly receive a considerable addition by the payment of the presentduty on so large a stock of grain, but it would be more than counterbalanced by the ruin of numerous individuals. On the whole the present crisis seems to demonstrate that our symemofcorn laws possesses too much ofa speculative and gambling character to be sa- lutary for the merchant and that it also tends to produce too great an accumulation of grain in warehouses to be safe for the British grower. Present circumstances lead to the conclusion that a permanent fixed duty would be better for all parties in the community.

ITEMS IN RURAL ECONO MY.

Remedies against Rats and Mice— “ Take one quart of oat meal, four drops ofOIl of rhodium, one grain of musk, two nuts of nux vomica powdered ; mix the whole together, and place it where the rats frequent; continue to do so, while they eat it, and it will soon destroy them. Or, take equal quantities of unslacked lime, and powdered oat-meal; mix them by stirring, without adding any liquid, and placeasmall quantity in any place frequented by rats. They will eagerly swallow the preparation become thirsty, and the water which they drink will cause the lime to swell and thus destroy them.

Remediufor musty grain.—Wheat or other grain, if musty, may be cleansed by the follow- ing process. The wheat [rve or Indian corn] must be put into any convenient vessel,capa- ble of containing at least three times the guantity, and the vessel must be subsequently

lled with boiling water; the grain should then be occasionally stirred, and the hollow and decayed grains, (which willfioat) may be removed; when the water has become cold, orin general, when about half an hour has elapsed, it is to be drawn off. It will be pro- perthen to rinse the corn with water, which may have taken up the must; after which the corn being completely drained, is without loss oftime, to be thinly spread on the floor of a kiln. and thorough y ried. care being taken to stir, and turn it frequently during this part of the process.

By this simple operation, it is said that grain,

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however musty, may be completely purified with very little ex ease, and without requiring chemical knowle ge or a chemical apparatus.

For the Scab in Sheen—Sir Joseph Banks gives the following remedy. Take one pound of quicksilver; halfa pound of Venice turpentine, halfa pint of oil of turpentine; four pounds of hog‘s lard : Let them be rubbed in a mortar till the quicksilver is thoroughly incorporated with the other ingredients. To be applied along the back on the skin, in two lines on each sid‘. in one down the shoulders, and between the legs. The operation not to be later than the middle of October.

Another remedy for the same Disorder.-Dr. Deane says the sheep infected is first to be ta- ken from the flock, and put by itself; and then the part affected is to have the wool taken oil, as far as the skin feels hard to the finger, washed with soap suds, and rubbed hard witha shoe brush, so as to cleanse and break the scab. Then annoint it with a decoction of to- bacco water, mixed with a third of lie of wood ashes, as much grease as this lie will dil- sclve. asinall quantity of tar, and about an eight of the whole mass of the spirits of turpen- tine. This ointment is to be rubbed on the part affected, and for some little distance around it, at three different times, with an interval of three days after each washing. With timely precautions this will always prove sufficient.

The Rat in Sheep.—Auther Young says that feeding sheep in dew is found to rot them more than anything else; on which account they do not let them out of the fold till the sun has exhaled the dew from the pastures. The same writer gives the following receipt for this disorder. “ Give to each sheep one' spoonful of the spirits of turpentine,mixed with twoof water; after fasting twelve hours let them have three doses; staying six days be- tween each dose; this is said to have been used with success, even in cases were the fleece has been nearly gone, and the throat terribly swelled.” ‘. \

Remedy for Lice and Tick: 9-.‘n Sheep. Mr. Coke’s receipt fordressing all his flocks re- vious to winter was as follows: two poun sof tobacco, two paunds and aha'f of soft soap; one pound of white mercuryrin powder; boil in eightgallons of water one‘ hour; part the wool once down each shoulder and the breast, and twice along each side ; into which pour it: this quantity is enough for forty sheep.—Young's «innate, sol. xix. p. 448.

Dairy Scum—Have ready two ans in boiling water; and on the new mi k’s co- ming to the dairy, take the hot pans out of the water, put the milk into one of them, and co- ver it with the other. This will occasion great augmentation in the thickness and quality of the cream.

For Rheumatic Pain: or Lumbago.-—The fol- lowing is by Authur Young, an English agricul- tural writer ofmuch celebrity. .

Dissolve as much salt in water as will make It swim an egg, rub it with your hand on the part affected before a fire, for fifteen or twenty minutes,just before going to bed. It is uncon- monly efl'ective.

From the Family Directory—By J. and R. Bronson.

MADDER RED ON WOOLLEN. To dye one pound of yarn or flannel, it will require the following articles: Three ounces of alum, 1 ounce cream of tar- tar, 8 es. of madder, 1-2 an ounce of stonelimo