458 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



2d. It cuts the grass more closely and evenly 

 than is commonly done with a scythe by the best 

 mowers. 



3d. It is built mostly of iron ; is strong and dur 

 able ; is not liable to break or get out of repair 

 with fair usage. 



4th. It is less work to keep the cutting teeth 

 sharp and in order than it is a scythe. 



5th. It is easier work for a man and a team to 

 propel and manage the machine than it is a harrow 



Gth. The construction of the machine is me- 

 chanism reduced to its simplest elements. 



7th. All the difficulties in mowing by machinery 

 are overcome. It may be done, and this machine 

 will do it. The price of the machine is $100. 

 Any application for the right to manufacture and 

 vend, them in specified districts, or for the ma- 

 chine, may be addressed to the subscriber, or to 

 S. W. Hawes, of this city, and will meet with 

 prompt attention. William F. Ketchum. 



Buffalo, Sept., 1848. 



In conclusion, let me appeal to the great house 

 of RuGGLES, NouRSE, Mason & Co., and like estab- 

 lishments of Boston, and ask if there is not any 

 one among them of public spirit enough, to say 

 nothing of private interest, who will engage in 

 this cause. It needs not the gift of prophecy to 

 say that he who shall embark in this enterprise 

 will not lose his reward. Like the fortunate pub- 

 lishers of Uncle Tom's Cabin, he may anticipate a 

 rich harvest of gain, and he will not be disap- 

 pointed. A. 



Ac/on, Aug. 31, 1853. 



Remarks. — Our correspondent has not run ahead 

 of our own desires in regard to the Mowing Ma- 

 chine. The season has passed for the introduction 

 of one this year ; but next season we hope to see 

 them introduced, and shall give the matter per- 

 sonal attention. We would inform him that 

 Messrs. Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & Co. have al- 

 ready soldKetchum's and other Mowing Machines, 

 and will supply any demand made upon them in 

 future. 



IMPROVEMENTS AT THE CAPITOL. 



The labors of Major B. B. French, the new com- 

 missioner of Public Buildings, are well employed 

 in the improvements he is making at the Capitol. 

 The whole work now in progress there (except the 

 extension of the two houses of Congress) is under 

 the superintendence of Major French, and he is 

 acquitting himself admirably. 



On the exterior the new group of statuary by 

 Greenougli, representing the "Triumph of Civil- 

 ization," is being placed on the north base of the 

 great staircase, on the east front. The group is 

 composed of several pieces of art, embracing the 

 civilized man, the savage, a woman with her son 

 in her arms, and a trained dog, all to be placed 

 upon a pedestal, consisting of an irregular mass of 

 rock, and adjusted in accordance with the orig- 

 inal idea of the illustrious American artist. 



In the interior the building has been renovated 

 beautifully from the base to the summit. The 

 two rotundos of the Senate and House have been 

 elegantly painted. The frescoing of the Hall of 

 Representatives is a great improvement; and when 



the curtains and carpets are arranged, the room 

 will present a splendieJ appearance. 



The large paintings have been much improved by 

 the cleaning of the frames and the application of 

 varnish to the canvass. Should the great paint- 

 ing of the Discovery of the Mississippi, by De Soto, 

 arrive in time to complete the series of pictures, 

 the chief rotundo will be beautiful and grand in- 

 deed. It is stated that this painting is already on 

 its way. We ardently hope it may arrive and be 

 put up before the commencement of the next ses- 

 sion of Congress. 



But the great feature of these improvements is 

 the new hall of the Congressional Library. This 

 hall is now composed entirely of iron, having two 

 galleries and three rows of alcoves surrounding the 

 room. The painting, gilding, carpeting and fur- 

 nishing are truly elegant ; the whole constituting 

 a public library hall without its equal in the world. 

 The room will be opened to visitors during the day ; 

 and we can assure all our readers who may be pres- 

 ent on that occasion that they cannot fail to be 

 much pleased. — Washington tfnion. 



STOOK--NATIVE AND IMPROVED. 



The wild cattle of Great Britain, and from which 

 was derived its present race of improved stocks, 

 and a pure specimen of which is said to be still 

 preserved in the Park at Cliillingham Castle, the 

 seat of the present Earl of Tankerville, are thus 

 described by Mr. Bailey, the steward of the Earl 

 ofT . 



" The color of these animals," says Mr. B, "is 

 invariably white ; the whole of the inside of the 

 ear, and about one third of the outside, from the 

 tip downwards, red ; the horns are white, with 

 black tips, and bent upwards. Some of the bulls 

 have a thin upright mane, about an inch and a 

 half or two inches long. The weight of the oxen 

 is, from twenty-five to forty-five stone, of fourteen 

 pounds. The beef is finely marbled, and of excel- 

 lent flavor. When the cows calve, they hide their 

 calves for a week or ten days in some sequestered 

 situation, and go and suckle them two or three 

 times a day. If any person comes near the calves, 

 they clap their heads close to the ground, and lie 

 close like a hare in a form, to hide themselves. 

 This is a proof of their native wildness, and is cor- 

 roborated by the following circumstance which 

 happened to the writer of the narration, who found 

 a hidden calf two days old, very lean and very 

 weak ; on stroking its head it got up, pawed two 

 or three times Hkean old bull, retired a few steps, 

 and bolted at his legs with all his force ; it then 

 began to paw again, bellowed, stepped back, and 

 bolted as before ; but knowing its intention, and 

 stepping aside, it missed him, fell, and was so 

 weak that it could not rise, though it made several 

 efforts ; but it had done enough ; the whole herd 

 was alarmed, and coming to its rescue, obliged 

 him to retire ; for the dams will allow no person 

 to touch their calves, without attacking him with 

 the utmost ferocity." 



