diet chiefly consists. They also parch the seeds, and after bruising them in a mortar, make them into soup, which they season with salt and pepper. The seeds parched and ground with an equal quantity of cocoa, make an excellent chocolate.

The first public notice taken of the superior oil which the seeds yield, was by the late Mr. Morell of Savannah; who, in a communication to the American Philosophical Society, in the year 1769, and published in the first vol. of their Transactions, in 1771, observes, that "the seeds make oil equal in quality to Florence, and some say preferable. Some say, one hundred weight of seed will produce ninety pounds of oil, others say less."* Romanst says, capt. P. M'Kay, of Sunbury, in Georgia, told him that a quantity of the seed sent to Philadelphia, yielded him twelve quarts per bushel." This account has been confirmed by others.

In 1805, I received some seeds from Georgia, and placed them in the hands of B. M'Mahan, nursery and seedsman, for gratuitous distribution, and in a paper in Dr. Coxe's Medical Museum, vol. 2. I noticed Mr. Morell's account of the oil, and also the 'utility of the leaves in dysentery.

Within two or three years, Mr. Few, of N. York, but formerly of Georgia, commenced the business of expressing the oil for sale : -I have used part of one bottle, two years old, for sallad, during the last year, and can say with safety, that to my taste, it is equal to the finest olive oil I ever tasted. Several bottles of it were also used at the table of the late President Jefferson, during the last year of his administration, and much approved of. The oil is clear and light coloured, and somewhat thinner than olive oil. It has moreover this great advantage over the olive oil, that it does not become rancid by exposure to the air. The remains of the bottle used in my family last year, are now as sweet as when it was opened. This quality was long since remarked by Romans, who adds, that the second expression, which is procured by the addition of hot water, is muddy at first, but on standing, it will deposit a white sediment, and become limpid as the first running. The

* A keg of the seeds was sent to the Society by Mr. Morell, but no attempt was made to cultivate the plant.

Account of Florida, New-York, 1775.

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oil is at first of a slightly pungent taste, but soon loses that. Last year I received a half rice tierce of the seed, which I sent to Mr. Garnet of New-Brunswick, to press, and hope soon to receive the oil from him.* Should it prove equal to that which I now have, I will use no other as an article of diet.

When we reflect upon the immense quantities of every species and quality of oil which are consumed in medicine, diet and the arts, we cannot entertain a doubt of the ready and extensive sale, and profit that would attend the cultivation of the Bene plant.

Hitherto, the great profit attending the cultivation of cotton, would not permit those who had land fit for it, to listen to the suggestion of the probable advantage to be derived from any other crops; but the circumstances of the world are now changed. The great tracts of our country at present devoted and devoting to the cultivation of cotton, added to the political situation of the old world, has lessened the demand for the article, and consequently diminished the price of it. The late embargo too, which the unjust conduct of the warring powers of Europe forced the American government to adopt, and which deprived them of our cotton, have induced France to grow it largely in her southern regions, and to stimulate the Italians to a more extended cultivation of it than hitherto. In the last expose of the situation of the country by the minister of the interior; it is said, hopes are entertained that France and Italy will be able shortly to supply all the cotton that the two countries may require. England also, besides her WestIndies will receive it from Africa, where great exertions are making to raise it, and whence too, it is known one or two vessels arrived last year in England with the first cargoes of the article; it is probable that the cotton of Africa, will be for some time inferior in quality to the cotton of the United States, but practice will make perfect, and we shall not for a long time find any sale for our cotton on the continent, owing to the powerful influence of the French emperor: all these causes combined, must necessarily diminish the price of cotton, and ought to show the planters of

* Mr. Garnet has erected a wind-mill upon a new construction to grind grain, crush flaxseed, &c.

the southern states the necessity of turning their attention to the raising of new articles of commerce.

Mode of Cultivation.—Mr. Morell directs to sow the seed in holes about three feet apart, dropping in each about ten grains, and when up, the plants are to be thinned to three or four of the most promising. The seeds will appear (in Georgia) in September, and when full grown are to be gathered in before they become dry. The method is as follows:-as soon as you perceive about three-fourths, or four-fifths of the pods ripe on the stalk, and the lower pods begin to lose their seeds, it is time to take it in, for after that, as much as ripens one day at top, so much falls out of the pod at bottom: then take a sharp hatchet bill, or some such weapon, and with it cut off the stalk, twelve to eighteen inches below any of the seed, holding the stalk with the left hand; and' when cut, a second person is to receive it, keeping it upright, till he has his load; if turned down, the ripe seed will fall out of the pods. It is then to be carried to a barn and set upright on a close floor, or left in the field, till all the pods are fully ripe and open; then threshed and sifted.

The dibbling plan recommended by Mr. Morell, would be very tedious, even in the southern states, if pursued extensively; for cheap as the labour of slaves is, compared with our northern cultivation, there are few estates, where the time which a more expeditious mode of cultivation would save, might not be profitably employed. It is probable, that the seed sown broad cast upon land properly cleansed, and harrowed in, would answer well. Whether it would be necessary to mix sand or ashes with the seed, to insure a regular crop, and the quantity of seed per acre, are matters which the experience of a year or two would teach. If however the drill system is preferred, the seed may be dropped from a common turnip drill, and sown eighteen inches apart, and the intervals kept clean by the horse hoe, or hand hoes. Sickles, or reaping hooks might be used to cut it down; the early morning after a heavy dew, or a misty day, should be chosen, to prevent the dropping of the seeds.

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The stalks may be tied up in small sheaves, and set up against the fence or the side of the field, where the immature seeds would

speedily ripen. The direction of Mr, Morell, to begin to cut before all the seeds are ripe, should be strictly attended to, otherwise great loss will be sustained in cutting and removing the sheaves. In leading them to the barn from the field, care must be taken to have the carts tight, in order to save the seed which may shell out; and if a coarse cloth be spread on the bottom, the quantity of seed saved would be much increased.

One of the objections which may arise to the cultivation of Bente for oil, is the want of a mill to crush the seeds. I shall endeavour to supply this want, in a future number of this work.

I have recommended the Bene plant to the enlarged notice of southern planters, solely on account of the oil it yields; but it is also worthy of attention by reason of the medicinal qualities of its leaves. This fact alone ought to entitle it to cultivation on every farm in the southern and middle states. The dysentery, a disease that frequently ravages our country settlements, yields very readily to an infusion of the leaf in water. In the year 1803, during an epidemic flux, which raged with great violence in the upper country of South Carolina, this remedy was attended with the best effects. Three or four leaves infused in a pint of cold water, will in a short time yield a thick mucilage, which may be given to the quantity of five or six pints daily. The infusion of the dried leaves is equally beneficial.

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ACCOUNT OF THE SOCIETY FOR IMPROVING THE BREED OF CATTLE IN PENNSYLVANIA.

THE increasing spirit for improvement, of every kind, in Pennsylvania, and especially in Agriculture, and a conviction of the great influence which a well regulated Society would have in promoting the object of a general improvement of the breed of domestic animals, induced several gentlemen in Philadelphia and its vicinity, to associate last year, under the title of the "Pennsylvania Society for improving the breed of Cattle;" who have published the following address,

A NUMBER of persons concerned in grazing, and residing in and near Philadelphia, having formed themselves into a Society for the purpose of endeavouring to improve the breed of Cattle in the United States, but particularly in the State of Pennsylvania, beg leave to call the attention of those who are interested therein, to the important subject.

Although the neat Cattle of the northern states in general, are the best formed in this country, and after having had the advantage of good pasture, make as fine beef as any part of the world can boast of; yet it cannot be denied that there is much room for improvement. This is not to be wondered at, when it is considered, that in England, where the attention of numerous persons has been successively directed to the improvement of every species of domestic animals, for upwards of the last fifty years, it is acknowledged by the best authorities, that even at the present day, good cattle are extremely scarce, and of course command very high prices.

The present time is peculiarly favourable for the commencement of a change in our stock, and many circumstances combine to render the undertaking highly propitious.-The attention of more persons of capital, than formerly, is directed to the cultivation of the earth: the taste for education, and the means of obtaining it, are rapidly diffusing throughout the country: the spirit for settling our new lands is yearly increasing; our popu lation is augmenting to a degree unexampled, owing to the enjoyment of peace, the productiveness of labour, and the freedom and

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