li 



THE GENESEE FARMER, 



make either hunters, carriage-horses, or hacks, of a 

 useful and powerful kind. 



There Is a class of nKires much higher than that 

 which I have described above; I mean those which 

 combine gi-eat power with a pedigree little short of 

 thorough-bred — mares which have in their youthful 

 days been foremost in the hunting-field, and contend- 

 ed, perhaps not unsuccessfully, in the steeple-chase. 

 Such are the dams of the craclvs of the Melton field, 

 and of the ^^ctors at Liverpool and Leamington. 

 But tliey are so difficult to buy and so rarely in the 

 market, that the majority of breeders have Httle 

 chance of trj-ing their luck with them. Their owuei-s 

 naturally desire to secure a foal, when it may be a 

 great prize, won at a small cost, and will therefore 

 seldom be disposed to pai-t with them. It requires, 

 moreover, a more ripened judgment and more mature 

 experience, to select mares fit for the production of 

 first-class huntere and steeple-chasei's, than for the 

 rearing of a less ambitious character of stock. The 

 stallion to which they are put ought to be one of a 

 superior class to the majority of the itinerant animals 

 which secm-e the custom of so many farmers, simply 

 because they save them the trouble of further inquiiy. 

 It may be laid do^^^l as a general rule that the horse 

 ought, if possible, to be a better animal than the 

 mare. Then there is the difficulty, even when a horse 

 of tried excellence is found, of discovering whether 

 his points and his blood are suited to the mare. The 

 art and the science of breeding first-rate horses, are 

 not to be mastered without much thought, trouble 

 and research. There is no royal road to it. He who 

 wishes, in spite of every obstacle, to attain golden re- 

 sults, must adopt a course the very antipodes of the 

 too common one, of putting some mare, because he 

 happens to have her, to some horse, because it hap- 

 pens to come into his yard. He must never breed 

 from a bad mare or a bad horse; nor must he grudge 

 a few pounds spent in securing the best of either sex 

 within his reach. A judicious outlay of capital ^^^1I 

 here assuredly not fail to reap the reward which has 

 attended the improvement of eveiy other description 

 of stock. — Mark Lane Express. 



Soda Bread axd Biscuit. — ^^lany families are in 

 the habit of making bread and biscuit by adding mu- 

 riatic acid to carbonated soda for the production of 

 gas in dough, instead of raising it by yeast. The 

 practice would be harmless if both the acid and soda 

 were pure, for common salt results from the combina- 

 tion of the alkali and acid named. Muriatic or hy- 

 drochloric acid usually contains lead in solution, ac- 

 quired in the process of manufacture, and jjersons 

 have been attacked with painful chohc from eating 

 soda bread in which the acid named was used. We 

 use tartaric acid with soda in making light warm 

 rolls, and find it purer and better than muriatic acid. 

 Two tea-spoonfuls of tartaric acid to one of the su- 

 percarbonate of soda raises bread or biscuit enough 

 for a family meaL 



Trying to farm without capital, is Uke trying to 

 run a locomotive without fuel Money and wood 

 both nvust be consumed, if they are to move the ma- 

 chine 'jf the farm or of the rail 



AGRICULTQRAL EDUCATIOX. 



The Hon. Marshal P. Wildkr, Chairman of a 

 Bo:ird of Commiss-iouers appointed by the Legisla- 

 ture of Massachusetts, has A\Titten an extended and 

 interestiug report on the subject of Agi-icultm-al Edu- 

 cation. It contains an instructive account of the 

 principal colleges and schools in England, Scotland, 

 Irehuid, France, and other continental nations, de- 

 signed to teach the several arts and sciences which 

 pertain to rural afiim's, from the pen of Prof. Hitch- 

 cock, who devoted some months, while abroad, lo 

 collecting the information given. The Royal Agri- 

 cultural College at Cirencester has six professors, and 

 700 acres of laud for agricultural pm^wses. The 

 object of this institution is to prepare young men to 

 become intelUgent proprietors of farms, or to superin- 

 tend in the most skillful and successful maimer the 

 farms of others. From the mihappy operation of 

 caste in English society, says Prof. IL, and from the 

 want of governmental patronage, this college is not 

 so well attended as its founders anticipated. There 

 are accommodations for 200 students, but only .'jO 

 now belong to the school. Those residing in the 

 building pay S355 annually; those who board eL<'- 

 where, pay $175. Formerly, the school was open for 

 the sons of smaller farmere, but could not find support 

 on that plan, and it was found that, if these attended, 

 the wealthier classes would not send their sous. 'J'he 

 price, accordingly, has been raised, and none but the 

 sons of gentlemen, such as clergymen and wealthy 

 laymen, now attend. None of the nobility send their 

 children, though many give their money for its support. 



The impassible barriers of caste happily do not 

 exist in this republic; and it would be impossible to 

 establish an experimental farm of 700 acres, erect 

 suitable buildings to accommodate 200 students, ap- 

 point six able professors, aided by museums to illus- 

 trate natural histoiy, comparative anatomy, vegetable 

 and animal physiology, and provided with a chemical 

 laboratory for making original researches, cabinets 

 of minerals, and all other needful appliances, and not 

 have the institution crowded with students. 



The Agricidtural School at Grignon, near Paris, is 

 in a much more flourishing condition. " In going 

 through a stable," says Mr. H., "containing a num- 

 ber of fine cattle, I observed one young man with 

 a broom, cleaning the legs of an ox, which had laid 

 down in its leavings. The director whispered to us 

 that that young man was the son of a wealthy banker. 

 Indeed, the pupils aU appeai-ed as if they had not 

 been accustomed to labor. Formerly, pupils were 

 admitted from the laboring classes to attend the lec- 

 tures, without residing in the institution, but they are 

 now excluded. They now pay 750 francs, or 5?138, 

 for board, and receive nothing for their labor. This 

 institution receives $1,100 fi'om government an- 

 nually." 



Ah-eady it has sent out about 600 pupils, and the 

 present number is about 80. The farm connected 

 with the institution contains 750 acres. The system 

 of instruction and study is extensive and thorough, 

 embracing algebra, geometry, mechanics, suiTcying, 

 levehng, stereometry (measuring solid bodies), Hnear 

 drawings, in the mathematical sciences; meteorology, 

 mineral chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and botany, 



