VO!,. X % . X(). 51. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL 



405 



the chance of a valuable progeny to select a cow 

 combniing in a gooil degree, aptitude to fatten, 

 strong constitution and ca|)aliility of endnriiig o'Sr 

 severe winters, a kind disposition, and withal a 

 good inilker. Such cows can be found among us, 

 and if they were mere common, or a certainty 

 they would produce their like, the necessity of 

 iniport(;d stock would be much less urgent than 

 it now is. Now, unless there is a trace of foreign 

 blood in the animals, flieie is no certainty, scarci?- 

 ly a ]irol)ahi!ity, that the progeny will resemble 

 the parent ; the excellencies are merely acciden- 

 ■*t:il, they do not belong to the original slock, they 

 are not in the type, and therefore will be evanes- 

 cent. 



A short sketch of the various crosses which 

 have produced the present improved breeds of 

 cattle in England, may not be out of place here. 

 In Great Hritian, the Short Horns, one of the val- 

 uable kinds, anil which is now principally sought 

 after in this country, comprise the descendanis of 

 the Dutch breed, the parents of the original Dur- 

 hatns ; the Teeswater, a cross between the I>ur- 

 hani and the Aldtrneys; the Holderness, improv- 

 ed by a cross with the Tees waters ; and the York- 

 shires, a cross between the improved Holderness, 

 and the improved Short Horns. The "improved 

 short horns," the best breed of cattle existing, con- 

 sidered in every respect, is a cross of the best 

 Teeswater or Durham, with the Galloway from 

 the north of England, and no animal can be con- 

 sidered as of- undisputed blooil, whose pedigree 

 cannot be traced np to the celebrated Teesw.-jter 

 bull Ilubhack, owned by Mr Colling, the original 

 improver of the breed. Next to the Improved 

 Short Horns, the Devonshire breed, are ranked in 

 value. They are supposed to belong to the orig- 

 inal stock of cattle in Great Britain, imconlamina- 

 ted by foreign intermixture. Mr Bakewell, by 

 breeding from the best animals that could be se- 

 lected, brought ttie Devons to such .3 state of per- 

 fection, that all attempts at crossing by other 

 breeds iiave only deteriorated instead of improv- 

 ing the breed; and though for some pnrjjoses, 

 partially superseded by the Short Horned Dur- 

 hams, they are still deservedly great favorites. In 

 beauty and uniformity of color, a dark rich nia- 

 liogaiiy, the Devon has the advantage over the 

 Short Horn, while the latter clearly asserts the su- 

 premacy in form. The celebrated Ayrshire breed 

 sprung from a cross of the native Holderness and 

 Highlanil with the Durham. 



It is, perhaps, unnecessary to illustrate this sub- 

 ject farther. What has been done abroad, can be 

 done here ; and our agriculturists should remem- 

 ber that they stand on the high vantage ground, 

 gained by the experimejils and labors of centu- 

 ries. Tiie ground already travelled by the pio- 

 neers in the improvements of breeds, is not again 

 to be gone over ; the point of success reached by 

 others, is our starting point ; and much shall we 

 be to blame, if with all the additional light of 

 science, and the experience of years, in our pos- 

 session, we suffer improvements to retrograde, to 

 go backward instead of forward. 



W. GAYLORD. 



Onondaga County, 1837. 



wheat districts of our own State, are all hut favor- 

 able. The autumn was iinfiivorable, and the grain 

 did not get its accustomed growth, and good hold 

 of the ground. The spring has been equally un- 

 favorable. The variable, or alternate freezing 

 and thawing weather, has seriously injured tlie 

 wheat and rye. We are yet to lenrn what injury 

 this grai:i has to suffer from the Hessian fly. If 

 we add to this, that the grain worm may be ex- 

 pected to extend its ravages south and west, prob- 

 ably into Dutchess ami Ontario, we shall have lit- 

 tle cause to expect a better wheat crop than we 

 had in 1836. To show that the croj) of 1836, fell 

 far short of our consmnption, it is only necessary 

 to state, that there was imported into New York 

 alone, from Europe, in 1836, half a million bush- 

 els of wheat, and in the current year, up to the 

 19th of April, eight hundred and fit'tyseven thou- 

 sand bushels, making in the aggregate about one 

 million three himdredand sevi;uty thousand bush- 

 els of wheat, besides rye an<l other grain — thus 

 drawing from the country some millions of dol- 

 lars for bread stuffs, our great staples, which we 

 have been in the habit of exporting to a large 

 amount. Much of this grain came from the Bal- 

 tic and the Black seas. 



Admonished by these startling facts, and by the 

 general commercial distress of our country, which 

 has hardly hegim -to develop its worst features, 

 it behooves the farmer to husband all his labor 

 and his means, and diligently to employ them in 

 augmenting his summer crops, of grain and of 

 roots. The price of meats have been so high, and 

 the scarcity of forage so great, that our live stock 

 has been greatly- diminished, and prudence and 

 good management are necessary to replenish our 

 herds and flocks. I\luch,in the present and com- 

 ing years, will depend upon the industry, sagacity 



and firnmess of the yeomanry of our country 



Albany Cult. 



The Hauvkst Prospect, — So far as regards 

 winter grain, is glooiny, as much so, we fear, as 

 it was twelve months ago. Our accounts from 

 Virginia, from the Middle States, and from the 



Wash your Wool Clean. — We have deemed 

 it a duty to give a hint upon this subject, regular- 

 ly as the time comes roimd for clip[)iiig the fleece. 

 And we do it at this time because we think that 

 many o( our farmers are still in the habit of not 

 properly cleansing the fleece as it should be, ei- 

 ther from an indifference, or from an incliiuition 

 to have it weigh as much as possible. ]\ow we 

 are anxious that you should have heavy fleeces, 

 and get a heavy price for them, but we are as 

 anxious that the fleeces should be nothing but 

 wool, and that of a good quality. It may he laid 

 down as a general rule, that he who neglects to 

 cleanse hi-i wool thoroughly, loses more in |)rice, 

 than would pay him for the little extra trouble of 

 doing it as it should be, besides suftering in rep- 

 utation. The pmxhaser always ready to seize 

 u|)on any thing which will excuse him from giv- 

 ing more than he can possibly help, looks careful- 

 ly to the appearance, and if it be dirty, will al- 

 ways diminish his price suflicient at least to keep 

 himself on the safe side; and this fliminntion is 

 always more than would pay for all the expense 

 of having this work done i)roperly. 



Perhaps it may not he amiss to refer the reader 

 to the plan of washing sheep recommended last 

 year, viz: where there are not proper and suita- 

 ble natmal conveniences to make a large vat — we 

 do not see why a large half hogsheail w.)uld not 

 answer, place it in the fall of some brook, and let 

 the stream run into it, an orifice at the bottom al- 



lows the water to escape, though not so fast as it 

 goes in, and the operator stands on the outside, 

 and performs the labor. 



It is probable that, owing to the pressure of the 

 times, the price of wocd may vary from that of 

 former years, but we would advise v/o(d growers 

 not to be frightened and inmdcr all thf ir sheep, 

 because the <-ommercial horizon is a little cloiidv. 

 There will probably he but little imimrtcd, which 

 will keep up the den.and nf American wool at 

 some price or other, nnd we doubt not that the 

 troubles of trade will become set. led by another 

 vear. — Me. Farmer. 



SusAR FROM INDIAN CoRN. — It is saiil tl.iat the 

 Revolutionary heroes used to sweeten their switch- 

 el with corn stalk molasses, and ]>erhaps their 

 children may be b 'uefited by ii knowledge of the 

 fact that both sugar and molasses can still be ob- 

 tained from that plant. How profitable the man- 

 ufacture of it may be, we canimt say, as we be- 

 lieve no experiments have ever been tried to test 

 the fact, at least in Maine. Some experiments 

 were once tried in the south of France, in order 

 to ascertain the quantity v hich could be obtained 

 and the following were the results:. 



" 1. The stalk of the corn contains little or no 

 sugar previous to flowering. 



2. At the time of flowering a small quantity of 

 sugar may be detected. 



3. When the grain is still soft, the stidk con- 

 tains about one part in a hundred of chrystalliza- 

 ble sugar. 



■ 4. When the grain is completely ripe, the stalk 

 contains two jiarts in the hundred of sugar, and 

 four parts in the hundred of rich and good tasted 

 molasses." 



The poniacn may be given to cattle, or made 

 into wrapping paper. It is not known how far 

 the above calculation will agree with the plant in 

 our climate. We shall probably not need this ar- 

 ticle to manufacture sugar from, so long as it i an 

 be obtained in large quantities from the ma|>le, 

 sugar beet, &c. But the fact may be im|)ortant 

 in one point of view. If the statements are cor- 

 recrt, the stalks are more nourishing for cattle, if 

 cut when they are ripe, tlian if cut earlier, and as 

 they are cut for this purpose, a little judgment ex- 

 ercised in the business, founded on a knowledge 

 of the projierties, may make no small saving. — 

 lb. 



Fron) what we have learnt recently by letters 

 and conversation, we are inclined to think that 

 the wheat cro)! will be much better than was an- 

 ticipated by many. Wherever the frost has not 

 been too destructive, the growing crops have been 

 greatly improved by the rains of the present month, 

 and indeed, where that enemy to fall grain lias 

 been most rife, great good has been effected by 

 the flelighlful showers of which this month have 

 been so prolific. Should June prove favorable to 

 its ripening, an average cro|) of last fall's sownig, 

 may be expected, though the aggregate quantity, 

 W3 fear, will be much less than that of former 

 years, a greatly reduced quantity having been 

 seeded, in consequence of the difiiculty of getting 

 good seed last summer. We are pleased to learn 

 that the spring wheat sown in this State, generally 

 looks well, and justifies the hope of go.od yields. 

 — Farmer if Gardener, 



