— - I I. 



TWO DOLLAES A YEAR.] 





"PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT." 



[SINGLE NO. U-Ot.TR CENTS. 



VOL. X. NO. 3.! 



ROCHESTER, N. Y., 



-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1859. 



1 WHOLE NO. 471. 



MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 



AGMCCITPRAI, LJTERAKY t\D F\U1LY NEWSPAPER. 



ability u 



PENNY-WISE. - POUND-FOOLISH. 



mi tun steps whither we will — seek soci- 

 ot 4b* Mlf-oonstit.uU.<d "circles 1, 

 ini.i ivlii.ti -.niiiv I'.'vcti in our republican tehd) 

 19 divided— in |>nblic or private, church or State, 

 we find the extremes indicated by our caption — 

 iw penny-wise, and their opposite*, 

 those who may bo classed among the pound -foolish. 

 It is not our intent, however, to take the world for 

 n field in winch lo operate ; to select and analyse 

 the peculiar physical anil mental in -.tin -in-, h n i, 

 « hich wo floily and hourly come iu contact, but 

 nil In r, to observe llml Ww/urm has its ropresentn- 

 lives in this idiosynerticy of temper aud disposi- 

 tion, and to point out, if possible, tbo deleterious 

 (Herts net i on, uminil by such a code of lows, must 

 have upon any calling— to seek the proper mode 

 of avoiding these pernicious results by combining 

 all energies, the out-lay of thought, strength, time 

 and money, for the promotion of one object — the 

 working together "t" all thing* for good. 



When we speak of progress as associated with 

 agriculture the ideas cluster around the word 

 /, rtiUtff— here we have (he Alpha and Omega, the 

 beginning and the end of all operations intimately 

 related to the soil. It is a well-established fuel 

 tluii manure is the basisof agricultural prosperity, 

 ami the farmer who permits the springs that would 

 enrich inm to ran waste— who allowa the vtry 

 "tinnct <■/ war" to be squandered — because of 

 the expense connected with the construction of 

 sheds or collars Tor its protection, is fully exhibit- 

 ing a penny-wise policy. Nor are the fatal work- 

 ing! of such a mode of procedure confined to his 

 own immediate domain, the whole conntry, — by 

 the force of bad example, by a decrease of products 

 and a proportional decline in the monetary value 



■■■■''■ ' ■■■ I injuriously. In order 

 form some slight estimate of the dependence which 

 the Tiuiliiinicdl. mnnulartunng mid commerci 

 terests of the country place upon the culture of 

 the earth WO make a short extract from a paper 

 upon the ■• Statistic-, ofour Nation's Agriculture," 



rend by Job* Jat, Beg., before the Geographical 

 and Statistical Society of New York. Mr. .Uv 

 said:— "Agriculture is by for our largest Na 

 Bona] interest. HDplOjinB forty-four per cent, ol 

 the male population, while commerce, uieuofnc- 

 HireSi trade, the mechanic arts and mining, employ 

 BUI thirty percent It represents about five-sixths 

 ill! of the country, and its products 

 amount to some sixteen hundred millions of dol- 

 lars a ycB, ,„ Now Vnrk „ oUvit | lMilm ) |us t)ie 



metropolis, the agricultural im 

 jetjfcttrec-fourthsof the taxes." A ' 

 remarked, '■ agriculture, commerce and manu- 

 factures ■t.sn : A \ n Q c|ustcr 



the largest in the center, and that largest i, 



■ performing ail that 



I. us far as gathering 



1 1 mcerned, and ji 

 ;ht to be . 



agriculture." 



the pabulum ol tl 



-ii, the very objei 

 tainwl ore thwart. I Th. soil 



■ i the retort 



to justify a further and similar Outlay, nini j^j 



untoward condition of affair* seem- 



\ little exarinnn. 



-1 might prove thnl it was tlmoM 



saturated with moisture — that ■ large quantity of 



•tagtiant water could be found in it at any period 



There is little doubt that this ia the i 



the complaints with which the car 



is greeted about crops that " don't pay," and it is 

 a waste of words lo argue that such a soil cannot 

 be madt to product <• pitying crop without draining, 

 if one of the penny-wise men be the opponent in 

 discussion. A man possessed of such a soil must 

 be tardy in all his uperul ions, preparing the ground, 

 planting the seed, etc., and when these labors are 

 finished, the crop is at the mercy of the weather, 

 drownings and burnings alternate, and the finale is 

 marked by depletion of energy, kindly feelings 

 and purse. 



Mistaken economy is nowhere more observoble 

 than in the purchases often mode by this class of 

 individuals. "What's the price'" is the only 



question in the loul related to acquisition or trans- 

 fer. Utility and convenience have nothing to do 

 ivith their bargain-making — valuable or vuluofew 

 it matters not if it be only obtained with the min- 

 imum expenditure of dollars and cents. Next 

 summer's corn-field labors may be prolonged, aud 

 hired help be needed for doubled work days, be- 

 cause of defective tools with which to "boo out 

 the rows ;" there may be a cessation of hostilities 

 in the midst of having or harvesting because of 

 some "old iron" that cost only its one-fourth of a 

 cent per pound, (very dear lit the price, however,) 

 hut these are for tho future, and if any of our 

 penny-wise men are over known to exhibit the 

 slightest knowledge of Holy Writ they would 

 probably quote for our especial benefit, "take no 

 heed of the morrow." 



There nrc those whose bi.au idtal of a farmer 

 could be better tested by a dynamometer than any 

 other instrument we wot of. Their battle-cry is, 

 "mtuclt/ muscle/" We must, however, do them 

 the justice to soy that they practice what Ihcy 

 ptrach — from morn till night they toil and tug in 

 the haradss they, themselves, have put*on. The 

 implements they u-o are scanty in numbers, or im- 

 perfect in material and manufacture, — heir looms, 

 in all probability,— but were not their ancestors 

 good formers, and what knew they of these new- 

 fangled farm i tig notions? Talk to such of labor- 

 saving macbiuery, of change of seed-, rotation 

 of crops, &c; but one labor remains and you huve 

 reached the height of absurdity — advocate book- 

 knowledge iu farming. 



Hut why shall we specify further? Not a depart- 

 ment of the farm but can feel the blighting inllu- 

 eoce of the penny-wise — the soil and its peculiar 

 products, stock, out-houses, and last, though not 

 by any means least, the farmer's own home and 

 family. What shall be suid of one who, for the 

 sake of putting a few pain v shillings in his purse, 

 would deprive his hen -eh oh I i it that wealth which it 

 is not iu the power of man to take from them — 

 would add to the burden of cares sustainea by the 

 mother of his children, or destroy tho budding 

 hopes of those who look up to him as father?— 

 And yet this class is not to be figured up by tens 

 or even hundreds— would we could soy their num- 

 bers were more like "angel visits!" When such 

 individuals have put on the " old man" is it strange 

 that they arc left to wage life's battle alone?— 

 strange — should you query concerning the sous 

 aud daughters who "long ago" made what little 

 sunshine was noticeable around the old home- 

 stead, — to learn they "began to put on airs; got 

 a notion they were too good to make farmers of," 

 and have long since lost their identity aud genuine 

 whole-souled country simplicity amid the crowded 

 avenues and artificial wants of the city? The 

 remedy for all these evils is apparent, nnd, while 

 wc leave this portion of our subject for the thinkers 

 to digest or extend as they may see Gt, we can but 

 hope that our chosen calling— that of tilling the 



soil — moy r 



bo left in the hands of 

 wise to receive its meed of 



Want of space compels the putting over or the 

 second brunch of our subject for future reference, 



WHAT HAS BECOME OF IT1 



Is the RrriAL of December 4tb we stated, upon 

 the authority of a telegraphic dispatch, " that the 

 Commissioner of Patents purposed inviting sixty 

 or seventy eminent agriculturists from different 

 States to meet at Washington in Convention early 

 iu January, to discuss Bgl icultojfa] topics, and com- 

 pare statistics. Each one will receive five cents a 

 mile mileage, and twenty-five dollars 

 Tins was sutliciently explicit— no risk would be 

 incurred by the "eminent agricultui 

 were to be carried to the "city of magnificent dts- 



and lodged, and sent home again at 

 the expense of the "dear people." Here wos a 

 golden j^ortunity for the sell-dubbed " profes- 

 sors " "'Scientific agriculturists," "tcrro-cuitur- 



■■■■■■■ >nnn*, that was not to be despised 

 — a chance to " fare sumptuously every dav," and 

 at the same time, each could blow his measure up- 

 on the trump or Fame. The eventful period arrived 

 Monday, ad inst., if we mistake not, and we have 



.tched and waited for the lightning's 



in imagination, the steed harnessed by Mouse, was 

 sending throughout tin- length mid breadth of the 

 land the results of long continued experiments in 

 culture — universal panaceas for all the dls lo 

 which our domestic animals are subject - a nidi .. s 

 of soils, roots, grains, fruitfcic, coupled with the 

 honored names of Lieuio,^hS.-ston, Davy, and 

 the other worthies who have rendered essential aid 

 to agriculture We had prepared ourselves for 

 any amount of "organic matter," "phosphates 

 aud super phosphates," " ammonia," " silica," 

 "chlorides, and anti-chlorides,"— we held our- 

 selves in readiness to receives! large freight of all 

 the "gases" in the chemist's category- :i- >mII as 

 some that were to be generaoKl at (he "Conven- 

 tion" — but our watching and waiting has been in 

 vain — alas I they come not as yet. 



But, seriously, none arc more ready than are we 

 to admit the almost boundless opportunities for 

 improvement which our preaent system of forming 

 is offering to the thinkim.-. intelligent cultivator of 

 the soil, — and none, are more gratified at the 

 progress which each year is slowly bul Mnely de- 

 veloping. While we bail with satisfaction every 

 agency calculated (o elevate the calling of the ag- 

 riculturist, we may, in all good faith, be permitted 

 to question the propriety of such a Convention us 

 the one above noticed. What aid can these gar- 

 rulous individuals, with their scientific jorgou, their 

 reckless estimates and assertions, and their vision- 

 ary theories bring to agriculture? Were we moving, 

 as a rural people, at hazardous speed, we would joy- 

 fully note such a gathering — when dangers ahead 

 give signal "put on the brakes," just such an in- 

 stitution as this Washington Convention could 1'md 



hitiut; mill ,i n .i i.jm i. He .In ■ I.i . itI.iiiii. 



The extreme paucity ,T ; t. /. I of thoroughly 

 established conclusions in agricultural affairs, has 

 left open a field in which those who live at the ex- 

 pense of the honest toiler find ample grazing sur- 

 face. Hardly is one fallacy buried, before another 

 occupies its place— scarcely has this or that scheme 

 been branded as an impostion, before the leeches 

 are again abroad — too often with o parchment 

 bearing the seal of one of tbe Departments of 

 government. Year after year Congress appropri- 

 ates thousands of dollars for " the dissemination of 

 useful Agricultural information," — and with what 

 result? The question is put boldly, honestly — 

 with what remit f Those of our farmers who have 

 experimented with the seeds and scions that have 

 been issued under the frank of the " Commissioner 

 ul Patents," are requested to respond. Let us 

 know whether wo are getting value received from 

 outlay or the Nation's funds — let us 

 ■hether the people have received any- 

 thing — if we except the Chinese Sugar Cane, aud 

 one or two other minor matters — for the money 

 bo lavishly squandered in order to obtain" useful 

 Agricultural information." This is the point — we 

 want the farmers to answer whether this whole 

 affair is a National Hcnelii or a National Humbug. 



The position of Patent Commissioner, we are 

 aware, is not that of a sinecure — there are too 

 tunny conflicting opinions which need toning lo 



render its duties a 



POlj pic, 



do of passing 

 away the time — and while we lake great pleasure 

 in recalling any of the good things which this 

 Department has been instrumental in presenting 

 tbe agriculturist, we must express our long-formed 

 opinion that radicul changes will have to be insti- 

 tuted before it can lay claim to materially aid or 

 assist in Rural Improvement. 



WINTERING CALVES. 



Wn 



tiding t 







visitor asked, "Why do you take so much 



about calves,— many people lot them take their 



chance with the other stock through the winter?" 



Avery poor chance, I '' e-lit that would be, for 



farmers who treat calves so, wouldn't take much 

 core for the comfort of any tenant of their barn- 

 yard. Calves which "take their chance," are of 

 the same breed with those which furnish crows 

 with bait, and tanners with kip-skins in spring 

 time. If they live, it takes all summer for them to 

 get ready to grow again— if tough enough, they 

 will stand another winter, and fill the ranks of the 

 raw-boned cows and lank, unruly steers, which ore 

 the pests of onr highways* and disgrace our stock 

 husbandry. 



Then is "a more excellent way"— one more 

 satisfactory to (he "merciful man's" feelings, as 

 well as profitable to the pocket. Perhaps I do not 

 practice it in all respects — yet my way may be 

 worth the telling of 



TUB Winter 1 have got my calves in the barn, 

 and the stable arranged to suit me. [They hare 

 plenty of room — 14 feet square — and a good man- 

 ger to eat from— one which Hold* all I put in for 

 them until they " eat it out,*' or Charlet, ormysclf 

 remove it. Tbe front has V shaped openings for 

 them to put their '.■■ "1- ll " '-' if a size appro- 

 i . bottom of the manger 





inches above the floor, a board slants 



R. I^Xri v ri]NrG'.S WAJXNIN,& AXD ASSORTING MACHINE.™ 



epresonted is of recenl 



introduction, hmin^ i n ^itemed on the Eotli i I 



vugu \ i 58, but in- ab ....I' m ei\ ad i&n' h [hi oi 

 and commendation. Though we have not yet seen 

 it in operation, we are of opinion — from the mini 

 ncr of its construction, ami the testimony of prac- 

 tical and reliable men — that it will prove of great 

 value to the agricultural public. In noticing it the 

 editor of the New England Farnur says;— "Wc 

 have several times seen this machine iu operation 

 and believe it to be tbe best Funning and Separat- 

 ing Mill ever invented." As it promises a cheap 

 and easy manner of thoroughly cleaning grain for 

 seeding, it is worthy the special attention and 

 examination of farmers throughout the country. 

 The construction, capacity and operation of lb( 

 machine, are thus described by the inventor ■■: 



those having personal knowledge of il can deciide: 

 "This machine not only eUttttt rapidly every 

 kind of grain, glass and garden seeds, beans, 

 coffee, rice, 4c, from chaff, dust and dirt, t 

 separates from them all foul tceds, and also a. 



back about o foot from the front, so that the feed 

 will slide forward within their reach. The open- 

 ings come within six iodic- ol Hie mangei bottom 

 and extend up nearly three feet, and are about 

 twenty inches wide tit the (op, 

 Nothing in the fodder line, that I ever put before 



calf, seems to " take" better than good, early cut 

 ami well, but not over cured clover hay. They 

 will do well on it without anything else, but they 

 will do better with an occasional feeding of 

 cut fine, and well salted, " ju-t for a change -," they 

 return to hay with a renewed appetite, and evince 

 by then playfulness that they " feel first-rate." and 

 by their looks that they are thriving aud growing 



1 like to have my valve* and other Stock, with 

 coats as sleek and shining in winter as in summer, 

 and with comfortable shelter and care, it is not 

 difficult to secure it. 



Calve-, to thrive, must hove water at least twice 

 a day, and if they can have it close at hand and at 

 will, all the better. The best we can do is to give 

 them water morning and night, letting (hem toko 

 a tittle excursion of about six or eight rods, 

 it li seems " lough" to them, no doubt, to 

 their warm stables on u blustering du\ , for a drink 

 of cold water; but (he weather is no worse to them 

 than to their owner who goes with them, I should 

 like to have a big cistern to catch the water from 

 the barn roof, a good pump in it, and there nn 

 stock should have water before (hem in the yard 

 three or four times a day. ul the least. 



Calves may be stabled, and fed, and watered, 

 and yet suffer from waul of cleanliness. We clean 

 our stables out every day and give new litter, ami 

 the amount ot good inanuie fin ui-hed null DO quite 

 an item to our next year's crop. Hut our story i- 



geltiiiL- tedious- we will onh -,-\ tO tttS t'"" ; '- 



iiHii calves ■' obana . ,! ■ 

 them to take it, von «ill find il '" pay "' '" ""' 

 .o now think of." F>«KS" "■ 



P. S. My mang< i won't bold com ! 



calves even- time they went throiur" ' 

 seemed to think them von n >'*'*■ "" ' t; " ivc 'hem 

 some to-day; and. like any old eow, ib'-y pulled 

 (hem out one by one. and dropped them under 

 . but'asmall portion .luslas I expect- 

 ed. I, too, think out-doors. On clean trosen 

 ground, the only fit place to feed corn fodder.— B. 



i Hi 1 1 pun- a I Iieli' uiln.s. r, nil ■''■ tifict •jrmUt OT Stftt, 



' \" ' or Graham dour, foi ' ; ''i d, Ac Wheal is 



I. ,. ' I.i i ' . r-,,,-1,1... ,l|,' ■ . l.ilo ami nil iuipii 



riti , iq also all cereal products. Indian, broom 



ami -..-.it i mi, clover, timothy, red-top, millet. 

 hemp, flox, canary and garden seed, are cttantd, 

 I ISSOBTBD, so that no picking over can 

 improve them. The machine possesses many novel 

 and superior featnree,seporat«s everything accord- 

 ing to I 



r pla; 



the ill aw;. 



»| » i"/"'tii »°" 



ie screens used in thismocbinearcanew 

 differing from, and in nil respects supe- 

 rior i .. uin thing heretofore in use -being perfectly 



smooth, qfimmo 



ond'of great durability. The machine is smaller 

 than ordinary winnowing mills, runs much easier — 

 is very simple and durable, not liable to get out of 

 order, and may be retained in any place on the 

 floor by the weigh I of (he operator. Us cost is 

 about the same as good Fan Mills." 



ABOUT CLUEE-MAKING. 



Eds. Rvbai.:— It would gratify mc much if some 

 of your readers would give a good and easy 

 method of rectifying eidor ami keeping il sweet 

 through the summer months. There is a person 

 in my neighborhood who uses some process to his 

 own profit, but bo keeps it a profound secrel. 1 

 have tried the popular nostrum.'* uf iiutxtnrd *■>■' 

 and raw 6i«f without any benefit. It Is said that 

 a gallon of alcoholic spirits will stop fermentation ; 

 but it is objectionable, rendering il too stimulating 

 for a common beverage, and to many on temper- 

 ance principles. 



I would like to inquire what is tbe meooing of 

 the process, in your number of the 11th ult.,— 

 clipped from a Springfield paper, and glvsn and*! 

 the authority of a loomed professor— which pro- 

 poses to add a certain • titj oi •' 



lime, known, as an article of menu! " ■ 



a plat 





■ ide of lin 





-iich 1 





anti-chlo- 



..;. ii combjna- 

 lemistrv — and 1 



ibt-ii 



discrepancy of t. 



Neither can I underslam 

 too rational of the prescriptio 

 have any effect 



and sulphuric " 



chemical affinities of lime 

 so strong that no other acid 

 i Hung short i.r a red heat 

 iull : j,.., . jt, and ii 't enUn Ij tl m The odditta 



,.! | ■ ''-'"■ WOtflfl bfl more in unison Willi 



chemical laws, as it would be acted upou by tbe 

 carbonic acid produced in fennentali 



'■ ii-oluble compound of carbonate of 



lime, and be precipitated to the l)0ti Asbo*, 



or any other alkaline substance 

 woidd have much the norm- 



■■ ■ 



I | opinion, wo know i . . . lo'l- ■■' il"- ["■' 



.'ion of cidffl 



aoufacture. Ihevsoal course is to gathersl) ''"■ 



" 



have rejected— let them lie, i< ■ "'"'-. "' '" , ' 1 "' 



ill all other work is done, when tin 

 nd pressed through straw 



mesa— in fact, the whole prove" is »» far from 

 tl. i! thiistian virtue as light ft larkuew. It is 



