gyr^-'^hy-""'"^'"'*'*' 



^|)C iiivnuv'5 iHontl)li) bisilor. 



43 



preventive and cure Cor bots i\ii<1 murrain, llav- 

 ini; a sick Imrse wliioli lie sv;is unable to cure liy 

 other melius, lie piivc liini a table spouu-l'ull oC 

 lime slaUed, three times a wooU in his feed. Af- 

 ter two week?, the horse passed off' bots in large 

 quantities, and recovered. Bots put into lime 

 died in fortv eight hours. He feeds it to cattle In 

 inixing it sulh their salt, and allowiu<; them al- 

 ways to have access to it. Since he adopted this 

 course he lias lost no auiiuid by murrain, though 

 lie lost many before.— ProiVi'e Fanner. 



1'reparation of CloveTv Seed. — We have re- 

 ceived two commmiications from Joseph War- 

 basse, of Newtown, Sussex county, N. J., on the 

 preparation of clover seed for sowiiip, by which 

 the writer calculates he makes a saving of one 

 half the seed required. This is a matterof no 

 little consideration at the present price of seeil. 

 Mr. Warbasse's process secuis to be predicated 

 on the assumed lact, that ordinarily more ihau 

 one half of the seed sown does not germinate, 

 either from the want of moisture to swell it, or 

 of gypsum, the jiresenee of which lie considers 

 e.sseutial to stimulate the germinating principle. 

 Mr. Warbasse is probably right in stating, that 

 one half the clover seed sown does not come up ; 

 and he is strengthened in his gupjiosition that 

 much of it remains dormant in the s(.il by the 

 fact he states, ami which is of coiuuion notorie- 

 ty, that plaster sown upon light lands, will bring 

 in clover, uliere no seed is sown at the time. 

 Mr. Warbasse's remedy for the evil is, to saturate 

 and swell tha secil thoroughly in soft w;iter, to 

 which a small quantity of salt is added, and after 

 it has become well saturated, to coat it with gyp- 

 sum, ifec, the effects of which seem to be to 

 prevent tiic escape of moisture which the seed 

 has imbibed, and thus insure its germiuatiou and 

 growth. A fiuMher advantage may be, that the 

 salts impart fertility to the soil which comes in 

 immediate contact with tlie seeds, and causes a 

 more vigorous growth. Such seems to be the 

 philosophy upon which Mr. W.'s practice is found- 

 ed. We give the process of preparing the seed 

 in his own \vords: — 



"The seed is to be made thorougldy wet with 

 a strong pickle from your pork cask, so as to wet 

 the floor: then let it remain as a heap one day, 

 it being thus miule larger in each grain. In cold 

 weather, warm your pickle and give it an addi- 

 tional salting next day. Spread it about one or 

 more inches thick on a dry floor, and in a few 

 days a crust of salt will be formed on '.'ach grain, 

 again enlarging it; when you wish to sow it, the 

 weather being calm, moisten it with more salt 

 pickle ; sprearl it over a floor, and put on italiout 

 three quarts or more of plaster to a half bushel 

 seed; mix it well; the [ilaster will adiiere to the 

 crust of salt on each grain, still further enlarging 

 it; and thus you have in bulk nearly one bushel 

 out of half 11 bushel of seed. Keep it moist in a 

 cellar until you sow it, and take no more seed in 

 your fingers but rather less than in the o^d way, 

 making longer steps while sowing, and go over 

 the eight-pace land three times. 1 have thus 

 sowed twelve acres or more with one bushel ot 

 seed, and all in good condition. 



"For want of plaster, strong dry ashes may be 

 used, not over moist ; but as 1 have not fully test- 

 ed the advantages of this method, I shall leave it 

 as it is." — Yankee Farmer. 



butter. It is well known that cow's milk is liable 

 to vary considerably, according to the nature of 



From the Albany Cultivator. 

 E.vperimeiits in Making Butter. 



The following communication, we think valu- 

 able because the experiments which are detailed, 

 seem to have been conducted with the care and 

 judgment necessary to establish a fact. We are 

 not disappointed at the results— former experi- 

 ence having led us to believe that where milk is 

 kept at the right temperature, all the cream will 

 rise, and we can get no more than all by the scahl- 

 ing |)rocess. Either of oiir correspondent's plans 

 is far better than letting the milk fVeeje, which 

 should not be permitted. 



Messrs. Editors — In the winter of 1841, we 

 instituted soitie experiments by scalding the milk 

 with a view of ascertaining a better metboil of 

 obtaiuiug cream and making butter in cold wea- 

 ther than heretofore adopted. Our experimeiitM 

 then were coufiiied to the milk of one cow ; it 

 now embraced the milk of five cows, which 

 probably may account for the difference in the 

 amoiuit of milk taken to produce a pound of 



the lood and the state of the weather. The 

 quality of the milk of a cow can easily be decid- 

 ed by a lactometer, or by setting a portion of it 

 tor cream in a u iue-glass, and com|)aring it with 

 others in the same way, and under the same cir- 

 cumstances; or the milk of a particular animal 

 can be placed by itself for a period of time, and 

 the actual produce deieruiiued. 



There is u great difference in the quality as 

 well as the quantity of milk given by cows of 

 the same appearance and treated in the same 

 manner. Not iinfre jueiitly in the same herd, the 

 prodtict of one cow is worth double that of an- 

 other. The writer has known one cow whose 

 milk would not produce butter, and strange as it 

 may appear, she raised the iiittest calves of any 

 cow in tin; herd. It is presumed that every per- 

 son who keeps a cow is desirous of having one 

 of su|((;rior qu.-dity, but it is more the result of 

 good Ibrtune than prudence if he obtains sucdtaii 

 one in tlie ordinary way. 



Our object in the present experiment was made 

 not only with a view to ascertain the comparative 

 advantage, if any, of heating the milk, but in the 

 lime employed in convening the cream into but- 

 ter; the amount obtained fi'om n given quantity 

 of milk; and the qualiiy of the butter, all man- 

 aged under circumstances as nearly alike as pos- 

 sible. The difKcuIly of raising cream and mak- 

 ing good butter in cold weather is well known to 

 all who have |iaid any attention to that branch of 

 the farmer's business. 



The results of our experiments in 1S41 in- 

 duced the belief that lieati'd or scalded milk pro- 

 duced the greatest quantity of cream and be^t 

 tpiality of liulter; but the comparative experi- 

 ments now made, and the results, confound us. 

 The process of scalding milk is irnublesome, and 

 the milk after the cream is removed, is poor and 

 of but little use, except for the pigs. Although 

 we are much disappointed iu the result, we take 

 great pleasure iu making it known. The object 

 is interesting not only to those who make farm- 

 ing their business, but to every family whose situ- 

 ation and circumstances make the keeping of 

 this valuable aiiinial, the cow, |n'aclicable ; it is 

 important not ouly-because cows supply the mar- 

 ket witli milk !md butter, but because they con- 

 tribute so much to SHbstaiitial domestic eomlbrt 

 and conveuiouce. 



Experiments correctly made and fairly tested 

 form the data ou which improvement shradd be 

 founded. Exactness is important in one's eli.-ir- 

 acter and usefulness. There is a satisfaction too 

 in knowing what we do. For this reason we 

 were very particular to weigh the milk when tak- 

 en from the cow and strained into the [laus, to 

 note the temperature when setting for cream ; to 

 weigh the cream before churning; to note the 

 temperature while churning; the time emiiloyed 

 in churning: and the weight of the butter after 

 having been thoroughly worked. 



Agricultiu'e must be considered as one of the 

 exact sciences, and we shall never know whether 

 our progress in it is forward or retrogade, until 

 we have done with g'ut'MiHg. But, methluks I 

 hear you say, ''it is troublesome to be ex;iet." 

 We answer, the trouble is not so great where the 

 habit is once Ibrmed ; and is very iiMicli more 

 than compensated by the satisfaction exjierienced 

 in doing ii. 



The result of the experiments are as follows: 

 — The night's milk of Use cows, commencing on 

 the 5th of .Fanuary and ending ou the 9tli, w;is 

 subjected to the Ibllowing process, .^s soon as 

 the milk was drawn from the cows it was strained 

 into tin pans, and weighed, and amounted to 70] 

 pounds. After standing twelve hours, boiling 

 water was introduced iu an under pan, made for 

 the pur|)C3e, whi(di is suiliciently deep to hold 

 about the same quantity of water as there was of 

 milk, the top of the luider iian fitting closely to 

 the tqii'.er part of the other; the uudi.r one near- 

 ly straight oti the siiies, the other fiariug, l.y which 

 means sufHcient room is left to retain tlie steam. 

 From the 70.} lbs. milk, after standing iu a room, 

 the temperature of wliicli was from 50 to 55, 

 thirty-six hours, 6i lbs. of cream was taken from 

 it. This cream was churned iu a tenqierature of 

 IIO (legs, and produced Si lbs. of butter — time of 

 churning 17 minutPs. 



On the lltli of Jau'y we commenced setting 

 the milk for cream iu the usual wav, from the 



same cows in the same room, iu a temperalmu 

 ranging from 48 (legs, to 5G degs. ; after standing 

 forty-eight hours it was skimmed. It was so 

 managed tliat the sanic amount of milk (70.i lbs.) 

 was used, which produced 14 Ib.s. cieam, iu which 

 unavoidably remained considerable milk. This 

 cream was subjected to the satue process uud 

 temperature as the former, (60 degs.) and pro- 

 duced the same amount of butler, and occupied 

 12 minutes iu churning. 



Now, there may have been some ounces differ- 

 ence iu the two parcels, as our steelyards mark 

 nothing less than ^ pounds, but we were particu- 

 lar-in noticing the movement of the beam, and 

 did not discover any material dirterence. 



From the above experiments we have arrived 

 at the following conclusions: That when the milk 

 room is cold, say 30 deg.-i., it is most a<lvantageons 

 to scald the milk, I ntwhen the tem|)eralure docs 

 not liill below 48 <legs. little or nothing would l;e 

 gained by adopting it. There is so llllle differ- 

 ence iu the quality of the butter that it wouhl be 

 difficult lor the nicest taster to distinguish which 

 was made the one way or the other. Tin; color 

 too is so similar that it would be supposed both 

 rolls were made from one churning. 



C. N. BEMENT. 



Three Hills Farm, Jan. 20, 1844. 



Report of the Committee on Agriculture, in 

 tlie New York House of Assembly, Siavch 

 7, 1814. 



Mr. D. Lee, from the committee ou Agricul- 

 ture, to whom was referred so much of the Gov- 

 ernor's message as relates to Agriculture, and 

 also the annual re|)ort of the New-Yijik State 

 Agricultural Society, embracing returns lioui 

 forty-six county societies, has had those subjects 

 under consiileration, and respectfully su'.imits 

 the following report : 



Sof'nrasyour cor-niiiittee have been able to e.xataine 

 tlio m-.inuscript essnys and otScini ipporls made by the 

 State and County Socic-lies. tliey appear to tin drawn uj» 

 in strict conffinnity to existini^ laws, and therefore your 

 committee do not leel at liberty to alter or abridge them 

 in any respect. Taken 33 a whoie. these documents (ton- 

 tain a large amount of information of great practical 

 value lo the finniiia interest of the State. Tiio Treati.^e 

 of Mr. Gaylnrd (m insects Injurious to Field (.."ro;is, &.C. ; 

 llie C=s.ay on the Introduction of JNew A<::ricultural Fro- 

 ducts, and on the bnportance of the (ieolngical Survey 

 in its eonnesioil with Pranlical Husbandry, »s£c., are worth 

 many times the co^t of publishin;^ all ilie reports. Hith- 

 erto it has been customary to print ten times the usual 

 number for the use of members of the Lesislaturc and 

 State Ofncers. 500 copies for the use of tlie State Agri- 

 cultural Suciely. and twenty copies f.ir each of ihe coun- 

 ty societies, lielieving Ui.u these documents will coni- 

 pire favorably with any that have preceded lliein from the 

 same source, and are well calculated to render the agri- 

 cultural labor of this groat Scate more productive to the 

 community at large, as well as more profitable to the cul- 

 tivators of the earth, your committee do not hesitr.te to 

 recommend the printing of the number of copies above 

 earned. 



In his late message, the Governor say.s : " The number 

 of acres of land charged with ta.ves in 1842, was 27,176,- 

 031. valued at ,5504,s:54,029." According to the State 

 census of 1825, the number of acres under cultivation 

 was 7,100,967. The same authority in 1335, gives the 

 number at 9,t).^5,'126. At this time the nuinbar of acres 

 under cultivation, probablv, does not vary much from 

 11.000,000. According to 'the U. S. census of 1840, the 

 number of persons actually employed in rural pursuits, 

 was 455,954 i while the whole number actually engaged 

 in manufactures, ihe mechanical eiLs, trade, internal, 

 coasting and foreign commerce, was 'Z01.\T2. These 

 brief statistics demonstrate the important truth that Ag- 

 riculture is the great productive interest of the Stale of 

 ISew Vor!:. 



Your committee deem It not out of place to inquire 

 whether the half million of laboring people, who culti- 

 vate eleven millions of acres of t'air farming lands, do 

 now realise as large a return for their capital and Indualry 

 as is practicable 7 



In the returns of the census of 1840, the wheat grown 

 in this State, (12,286,418 bushels,) was estimated at ,gl 20 

 per bushel ; corn ( 10,972,236 bu.ihcls.) at 75 cents ; oats 

 (20.675,847 bushels,) at 41- cents; and hny (3.127,047 

 tons.) at 510 per ton. At these prices, which ore now 

 too high tiy one-third, the ajgregate products of all our 

 rural industry were valued at ^109,071,416. Ueduce this 

 gross sum to 577,000,000, as it ought to be, and divide 

 that by 11,000,000, the number of acres in cultivation, 

 and the average crop wos worth only seven dollars per 

 acre. 



From considerable eAperience, much study and reflec- 

 tion, your committee are of the opinion that the 11,000,- 

 000 acres of cultivated lands in this St ile, might be made 

 to yield, without any additional expense, an average of 

 three dollars per acre more of the valuable fruits ol the 

 earth, than they now do. tn other words, the same labor, 

 which is now measurably lost through ignorance of the 

 laws of nature, through inattention to the constituent 

 elements of all cultivated plants, and of the affinities that 

 govern their chemical and organic combinations in prac- 

 tical agriculture, might, by the aid of plain and available 



