The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-09-26


countries Of Southern Europe, where the article.
like water, Is placed on every table. free of cost
but sn extra charge made for coffee aud very
exhorbant one for tea. They scarcely ever in
dulgo in il to excess, while Ia Northern Russia,
where ardent spirits used as substitutes for
wines, intoxication ia the prevailing vice.
am now about to say few words on very
Important branch Of husbandry, of peculiar in
terest to the American farmer. | allade to the
growth of WOOL AN article which in no sm all de-
gree affects our foreign and domestic exchanges
SO far as experience has demonstrated, large
portions OF our country are admirably adapted
to the growth of wool In the production Of no
other article has there been so great AN improve
ment ia quantity and quality Oar early at-
tenpts at wool growing were almost exclusively
confined to the inferior breeds OF sheep, and the
coarser qualities OF wool, under the prevalent
impression that the Saxon, Merino. South downs,
aud all other finer qualities could not be raised
in this country. Recent experiments, however,
go far to show that the finer qualities of wool
can be produced in this country, by similar care
and attention TO the breed and culture Of sheep,
as we'll as in any part of Europe, and to an ex-
tent far beyond our present demand The hills
of New England, New York and Pennsylvania
have been shown to be we'll adapted to the rails
4 VI
the mountains of Virginia. North Carolina and
other Southern States, are equally favorable to
the same culture. Wool and sheep. growing are
also becoming an important branch Of industry
on the Western prairies, and it is highly proba-
BILE that the regions be 1t adapte to them, will
vet be found between the Mississippi and the
Pacific. in the valleys and upon the great plains,
on both sides of the Rocky Mountains Those
regions are particularly adapted to grazng-
They are for the most part elevated, dry and
healthy, Astounding in rich grasses ID pure wa
ter The extent Of country to which refer
embrace an area more than twice that Of the orr
einal thirteen States of the Union, and is des-
tined to be occupied by an intelligent, ndustri-
Gus and cnerge ic race Of men, not inferior in
any respect to those who inhibit the old States
Nature has designed it for the habitation of al,
agricultural people, and grazing must be their
predominant pursuit.
In the early stages of the woollen manufac
lures of Europe, the finer qualities of wool were
almost exclusively supplied by Spain, and the
belief existed there, as it did here, that no other
country could supply the same quality. The
Northern cline, it was thought, would impair
the fineness of the staple. But the merino sheep
introduced into England soon dspelled tina. pre-
JUDGE, and their Introduction, at the beginning of
the present century, into Saxony and Siesia es-
tablished the fact,that proper and cutivati ~
will do more in this branch of husbandry tn s
mere climate or other favorable adventitious cir
cumstances- The Saxon merino, for the pur-
pose Of wool-growing, is now far superior ID
the Spanish, and its wool brings much higher
price in the principal markets of England, France
and Belgium Indeed the finer qualities of
wool are now almost exclusively supplied by
Germany, while Spanish merino wool has a-
most entirely disappeared from the wool mar
kets of Europe,
The history of wool growing and sheep cul-
ture in Europe is full Of valuable lessons to
the American farmer. 1t shows what h.ow-
ledge, diligence and care can accomplish against
adverse climates and Indifferent SOILS The les
son IS full Of encouragement to us, and has,
already stimulated the emulation of our hus-
bandmen. If | can read the future of this
county, wool, in a very few years, will become
as much an article Of expectation, as cotton,
provisions and bread-stuff, and this notwith-
standing the powerful rivalry which our WOOL
growers on the Pacific will find in the progress
of woolgrowing in Australia
There is one more species Of industry, lately
come into bse as an incident to agriculture,
which deem of sufficient importance to recor :
mend to the attention of your society. 1t is tie
manufacture of oil and candles from the fat of
a hog, known in the vocabulary of the West
as the prairie whale" The progress of man
ufacture of these articlos is Western dis
covery, and is leading to important results in
the agriculture and commerce ofour country.
The uses to which lard oil may be applied
are almost infinite. 1t was first employed as a
substitute for lamp oil and sperm candles but
was gradually made to take the place of almost
every species of animal fat, or vegetable oil,
employed in manufactures, and now most ex-
tensivey used in all kinds Of machinery. tits
also introduced to a very large extent, in many
branches Of domestic economy, and when refined
and properly prepared, is used even in the shape
of a condment Of the table, or an indispensable
article of the toilette. Lard oil, it is said, is
largely exportedto France, and after undergoing
various chemical operations, re-impored into the
United States, and sold in various metamor
phoses, as salad oil, pomatum, or bears grease
know not whether ] am permitted to press
these considerations for the purpose of stilnu-
even the ingenuity of European chemists will
in due time, find its match in the indigenous
F." Yankee ingenuity" of the United States
Meanwhile | am glad to see the lard oil manu-
factories flourish, having no apprehension that
they will ever seriously interfere with the whale
fisheries of New England, the great school of
our Sailors and the great nursery of our navy.
On the contrary, it appears that sperm oil, not
withstanding the competition of lard, is still
commanding respectable and recommending
prices its superior qualities and the valuable
uses to which Il may be applied, operating quite
as much in its favor, ms the diminished number
of whales, which compels our hardy fishermen
to seek for them in higher and more dangerous
attitudes,
would say few words on tho growth Of
timber, a subject much neglected by our coun-
trymen. Yet timber is one of the most valua-
BILE productions of the soil, and nm indispensable
requisite to the Improvement and civilization of
man. No country on earth is, in this respect
more blessed than ours None fcan boast Of
such variety Of forest trees adapted to the
various uses Of farming, the mechanic arts, ar
chitecture and ship-building. In no other coun-
try do We find such magnificent shade trees,
such extensive and superb primeval forests, and
in no part Of the world is the reproductive power
Of the soil less exhausted than in our own Yet
with all these incalculable advantages, and with
our uubounded coal-helds, the want Of firo-wood
is already felt in some districts which, like the
praries of the West are naturally destitute al