362 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MAY ir,i84;j 



From the American Agriculturist. 



THE TIMES— PROSPECT OF THE PRICE 

 OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

 In the January No. of this paper, we gave a 

 short article on the proapect.3 and price of agricul- 

 tural products, and a few reasons which ind\iced 

 us to believe, that there wduld he a rise in their 

 value ; and lest some of our readers may not have 

 the number at hand to refer to, we briefly repeat 

 them. The winter thus far had como upon us unu- 

 sually early and severe, and there was every ap- 

 pearance of its continuing so ; that it would proiia- 

 bly be followed by a cold, late spring, and that 

 there must conseiiuently be a much greater con- 

 sumption of forage than usual ; that the passage of 

 the late tariff would enable our artisans to resume 

 their manufactures to a greater extent than hereto- 

 fore ; that the modification of that of Great Britaui 

 would permit considerable exports of provisions ; 

 and that finally, money would become so abundant, 

 and to be had at so low a rate of interest, as to in- 

 duce capitalists to make such investments as would 

 ensure the undertaking of new enterprises ; and 

 thus, notwithstanding the late abundant harvest, 

 our farmers could henceforth look to more cheer- 

 ing prospects. 



Well, a winter of unexampled severity has pass- 

 ed ; a oold frosty spring is upon us, which we fear 

 may continue to the end ; and the corn in most in- 

 stances all through the south has been cut off, and 

 a second planting been necessary. In many parts 

 of the country, especially at the great West, after 

 consuming all the forage, thousands of cattle, 

 sheep and'swine have actually perished by starva- 

 tion. It is stated that full one-third of the flocks 

 and herds have died in Michigan, though we think 

 this an exaggeration. Now all these things must 

 r,ecr':.'->U, hnve an efi'ect upon prices, and howev- 

 er favorable the harvest ot tlie cuiiuni; Bv,^;.;n r.-.zy 

 be, we doubt whether produce will be any lower 

 than it now is ; for, notwithstanding the great crops 

 of the past year, all that has come forward has 

 been rapidly shipped or sold, and our markets now 

 are left comparatively bare. We cannot hope for 

 the abundant crop in all things, that we had last 

 season,— it w.as literally a year of abundance, and 

 such as does not often occur. 



For the two past months, flour and provisions 

 have been steadily advancing in price. Cotton, 

 after falling to one cent lower per pound than it 

 was ever before known, has at length taken a start 

 both in England and this country, and we should 

 not be surprised if within three months it wer- 

 half to one per cent, higher than at present. Cer- 

 tainly it must be, if the season does not assume a 

 more favorable aspect ; for the recent attempts at 

 cultivation of this great staple, have signally failed 

 in India, and Europe must still look to the United 

 States for its supplies of the mid,dle and better 

 qualities. The rise of cotton will affect other pro- 

 ducts more or less ; so that with the present su- 

 perabundance of capital, both in this country and 

 abroad, we are satisfied that wo are now entering 

 upon a new career of prosperity, and tliat business 

 generally will have assumed great activity by Sep- 

 tember next. 



Several of the States seem determined to prose- 

 cute their internal improvements under any circum- 

 stances, and contracts are now making publicly 

 and privately, for building railroads and digging 

 canals in various sections of the Union. These 

 enterprises, together with a fuller prosecution of 



manufactures, will divert some of the labor which 

 for the last five years has been engaged in raising 

 produce, to be the consumers of it; and, to con- 

 clude, every thing presents a much more cheering 

 aspect to our mind. We may be over sanguine in 

 our hopes and expectations, but we confidently 

 think that the day of darkness is at length passed, 

 and that we may now look forward to a bright se- 

 ries of years of steady, active, profitable business. 



From the same. 



STANDARD OF CHARACTER FOR PRIZE 

 CATTLE. 

 Mr Editor — Sir: k is generally understood, I 

 believe, that the object of offering p 



izes for the 



best stock, by the State Agricultural Sociey, is to offered by Mr Rotch : 



I had not noticed it before ; and I returned home 

 with a determination that if ever I exhibited hiin 

 again, I would saw off his horns ; but this or some- 

 thing else, so affected the animal, that he sickened 

 and died in less than one month afterward ! 



At the annual meeting of the N. Y. State Ag- 

 ricultural Society, in January last, the writer called 

 attention to the propriety of " erecting a standard 

 of character for every class of stock to be exhibi-- 

 ted hereafter for prizes; and also a standard of 

 form, and every point necessary to constitute a 

 perfect animal, to be noticed according to its influ- 

 ence in the decision of the judges." 



This excited considerable interest, and some de- 

 bale as to the manner in which it could be effect- 

 ed, and finally resulted in the following resolution, 



irollect together 



from different sections 



•Resolved, That the executive committee be re- 



iiid from different herds, that a comparison may be quested to call a meeting of breeders, at such time 



made by placing them side by side, that their mer- 



ns they may deei.i proper, for the pui'- 



its Ml uenieriis may be fairly tested. A farmer, | pose of discussing the different points of merit in 

 livinif in a remote section and not in the habit of [ domestic animals, with a view of arriving at some 



visiting, except in his immediate vicinity, may sup- 

 pose that he possesses the finest animals in the 

 country, which is very natural, as he has probably 

 never seen any belter or perhaps equal, and his | (^^ ^ ^g^y important one, and requires some agi 



definite opinion as to the points most desirable to 

 be attained in breeding." 



As this subject is not only a very interesting, 



being much superior to those of his neighbors, he 

 rests perfectly contented. This I consider a very 

 dangerous situation for a breeder to be nlaced in 

 It is only by comparison that his eyes will be open 



tation, I am induced to throw out the following 

 hints, and solicit others to give their ideas and 

 opir.i ;!? vpon it. 



We will suppose, for example, that the follow. 



ed, or that he can be convinced of his error ; when ing should be agreed on as the points of horned 

 by occular demonstration, the defects of his ani- j cattle for comparison, and that the animal combin 

 mals will be so apparent, that he will return home 

 with a determination to improve, until he shall ar- 

 rive at the acme of excellence. 



These exhibitions are a school for the novice, 

 the young, and inexperienced. Here they not on- 

 ly find some of the best animals in the State, but 

 they meet gentlemen from all parts, interested in 

 .1,0 o-mo pursuit, hear the di^erent opinions, and 

 see the good and had points pointed out, which 

 perhaps heretofore had escaped their notice. 



And now let me ask, how many of those per- 

 sons generally selected as judges of stock, know 

 what points are necessary to constitute a perfect 

 animal, or one that approaches nearest? I must 

 confess my own ignorance, and seek for informa- 

 tion. At present, there is no rule or criterion for 

 ll?e government of the committee, and they are 

 left to decide according to their whim or caprice. 

 We want enlightenment on that subject; and for 

 that purpose I coincide with the suggestion you 

 made page 140, vol. i. of your paper, that the 

 "chairman of each committee mount the rostrum, 

 the animal or manut-actured article be brought out 

 before the public, and then the explanations for 

 their decisions be set forth at large." " What a 

 school would this be to the rising, ay to the risen 

 generation. A person might learn more by attend- 

 ing one such day's exhibition and explanation, than 

 from studying books, and plates, and animals, un- 

 aided by the opinions of others, for a month." 



As the awards and the reports are now made 

 out, we are left in the dark, and drive home our 

 animal, without knowing why he was or was not 

 successful. The writer speaks feelingly on this 

 subject, as he exhibited an animal last fall, in the 

 first class of bulls, to which was awarded the third 

 premium. One of the committee was asked where 

 his bad points were, or why he was placed third ? 

 The answer was, that his liead was too short, and 

 his horns a little loo long! Now this was news to 

 me, and my eyes were opened, for I must confess 



ing or possessing the greatest number of these 

 points, shall be deemed most meritorious : 



1. Head small, with a bright and prominent eye. 



2. Horns small and tapering. 



3. Neck small at the junction with the head, 

 and gradually thickening to the shoulders. 



4. Brisket broad, deep, and projecting well for- 

 ward. 



5. Shoulders full, and no hollow behind them. 

 ti. Hody deep, round, and capacious : back 



straight. 



7. Loins broad, and wide between the hips. 



8. Legs short, full, and muscular above the 

 knee — small below. 



9. Flanks well let down. 



10. Tail set on even with the line of the back, 

 small, and tapering to the end. 

 Broad in the twist, and if a cow, large milk 

 veins, and capacious udder. 

 Ttuuigh last, not least, soft silky hair, thin 

 skin, and good handling of the flesh. 

 Other points might be given, but the above will 

 exemplify my ideas on the subject. 



Truly yours, C. N. BE.MENT. 



II. 

 12. 



ffhile Carrol. — The cultiyation of this root is 

 attracting considerable attention among farmers in 

 England at present, as well as in this country. It 

 is stated in some instances to yield 30 tons to the 

 acre. Lord Ducie regularly obtains an average 

 of 24 tons to the acre; and Mr Harris estimates 

 the tops to be equal to a second crop of clover. It 

 has been common in Flanders and Germany for 

 two centuries. — Amer. Jlgricult. 



White Worms among Cabbages. — Count do Gour- 

 cey, in his Agricultural Tour in England, states 

 that Mr Mure strewed a bed of cabbages with ni- 

 trate of soda after a rain, and the ravages of these 

 insects immediately ceased. — Ibid. 



