366 



MOOBE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 



NOV. 13. 



SHEEP-SHEARINGS. 



Mtasity Eds :-HaviDg noticed in the Rubal of 

 Hie several accounts, by different person?, of the 

 weight of fleeces shorn from their sheep, the last 

 tllp. I thought I would like to tasks a few remarks 

 npon the subject, and also send a statement of the 

 result of my last sheep-shearing, which yon are at 

 liberty to publish If you see flt 



I think yonr correspondents, generally, have not 

 been ns partfcnlar in their statements as they 

 shonld be, if they wish their readers to form a 

 oorreot idea of the comparative value of their 

 flocks; for, if onr best aothoritles are correct 

 iip»D the point that sheep consume food In pro- 

 portion to their weight of carcass, it Is jnat as 

 ■necessary to know the actual weight and condi- 

 tion of that carcass, to judge or its real value for 

 producing wool, as it la to know the weight of 

 wool shorn. 



If the above be trae, a sheep weighing 200 

 pounds, and shearing six pounds of wool, is worth 

 for wool bat one-balf as much as a sheep weighing 

 100 pounds, and shearing the same amount of 

 wool, and, besides that, the wool of small sheep, 

 ff free from gom, is usually of a letter quality than 

 lhnt of large ones. 



My sheep are Spanish Merino, and nearly all 

 from stock selected by myself in Vermont. I 

 have saved all the ewes from this stock for my 

 own use, keeping my flock reduced by selling from 

 my old stock, until now my Dock are nearly all 

 pare blood. You see from this that I have not 

 had the opportunity of selecting which I shall 

 have when my llock becomes entirely 



of ( 



, but;.-. 



,>:,!,] 



be after taking out some of the lightest shearers. 

 My flock of ewes numbera 110, including year- 

 lings, and, to show yon that I am improving, I will 

 give you a separate table for the yearlings. The; 

 were all well washed and in good store condition 

 when sheared, and the wool free from gum. 



• v.. .-. '■ I 



Two yearlings weighing, one 52 fi>&, and the 

 athor 58 lbs., sheared respectively, 8 11-16 and 9 

 i-lfi lbs., being about 1 fi>. wool to 6 of carcass. 



BORGHUM SYRUP. 



Ens. Rubal:— If your columns are still open for 

 this subject, you will be likely to have some flatter- 

 ing accounts of sweet success in the manufacture 

 of sugar and molasses from the Chinese 8ogar 

 Cane In onr State, In this town we have mills in 

 operation that are turning out barrels of splendid 

 syrup. The proprietor of one informs me he oan 

 in snu rapture molasses for the growers of the cane 

 at 14 cents per gallon, and intends to enlarge his 

 facilities and advertise to that effect before another 

 planting season. The syrup Is already on sale at 

 onr country stores for 50 cents per gallon. And it 



Now, all that Is wanting is fsr the farmer to 

 know before he plants, that he can convert it into 

 the sweet stuff with no more trouble than to grow 

 it and deliver to a mill within a convenient dis- 

 tance, say three or four infles, or even five miles. 

 He will be sure to place enough to make three or 

 four barrels of syrup— ind half an acre Is sufficient 

 for this with tout an ordinary crop. The Beed for 

 that unantitj cannot cost more than ten or twelve 

 cents,— the cultivation and harvesting is no more 

 than thai of Indian corn. The Beed, if It ripenp, 

 can be rarnefl to good account, — is worth at least 

 as nn.fi as d&ts. Much of the seed In this county 

 has *pen>d perfectly. The leaves may be cured 

 for ^ inter fodder or fed green. On the whole, the 

 Ucredulousare beginning to lap Sorgbam molas- 

 ses with a hearty smack, and exclaim, " I did not 

 believe that sugar cane could be sucoeBBfolly grown 

 at the North. L w. b. 



Eds. Rural: — Judging from the sneering tone 

 of certain communications in your paper in regard 

 to the Sorghum, or Chinese Sugar Cane, I conclude 

 that It has failed to meet the expectations of its 

 cultivators In your State. Here, on the contrary, it 

 has been a splendid success. Nearly every farmer 

 has raised a little, and with the rude home-made 

 wooden mills to grind the cane and the cook-stove 

 to boil down the juice, the product has been about 

 eight barrels per acre of very line syrup. Many 

 have also made good sugar from It, while others 

 have failed In this. We shall expect to export, in 

 a few years, sugar and molasses to yon, if, indeed, 

 the crop cannot be grown in New York.— Hal, 8yc- 

 amore, De Kalb Co., XL, 1858. 



CEMENT 



WOODEN WATER-PIPE. 



Ens. Ritual:— As yonr contributors are mi 

 strangers to each other, they should receive e 

 ments, necessarily brief, with charity, until 

 whole of the facts are known. 



I. S. Horbib & Co., mistake the motive 

 comparing a certain pipe to their wooden 

 ^•rplpe in Kb capacity, and of imperishable 

 teriala. "Of course entirely disinterested," 

 they, No, interested. Not as inventor and m 

 facturer, but aa every farmer should be in 

 health of his family, and comfort of his domestic 

 animals. 



I thank T. O. p etem for hu angge8tionfl in the 

 Rubal of Oct 23d. I have no intention to "mi 

 lead," no Interest at «uk«, and ftir be it fnm me * 

 deceive. A good cause needs but truth to sustain it 



A ftw years since, wishing to know the cost of 

 coment pipe, I made similar inquiries to Mr. 

 Pbtirs, and came to a I Ike conclusion— that it was 

 too expensive. But I have found by using both 

 tile and cement that a pipe, both efficient, durable, 

 and cheap can be made, and that, too, by any one 

 with sufficient common sense to make him a good 

 former. I have ever guarded against misleading, 



and it is with pleasure that I give the figures to 

 prove the stati meat, of imperishable materials, 

 costing for the same, tweuiy five oenta per rod. 



First, the tile. They were prooured at the fac- 

 tory, less than three milesdlstant, for $10 per thou- 

 sand and the usual discount of ten per cent, cost- 

 ing, Including cartage, when laid on the bank of 

 the ditch, only one cent apiece, and thirteen of 

 these will loy one rod. Good water-lime, for twelve 

 shillings per barrel was brought the same distance 

 — the empty barrels folly paying for carriage. At 

 the rate of one part of lime to three parts sand, 

 one barrel of lime is sufSolent for twelve rods, and 

 at one-fifth of lime — which I found to be equally 

 good— the cost of materials Is even leas than 

 twenty-five cents per rod. A larger portion than 

 the latter of lime to sand is never used by one of 

 our most skillful builders. I have made no allow- 

 ance for sand, as it was found In abundance at the 

 Bprlng. T. C. P. wiU see, that with tiles not one- 



balf B 





loned pipe, and if laid in a little frame, It ia as 

 smooth and uniform In size as a l by 4 inch scant- 

 ling, and as likely to resist pressure as any wooden 

 pipe of its size, and two men oan make fifteen or 

 twenty rods in a day. Mx. P. will be more success- 

 ful than many if hia wooden pipe, where it Is laid 

 in dry ground, does " last one generation, at least," 

 without repairing. He is favored with a large 

 stream of water, but those families dependent upon 

 water brought from a distance, do not think it 

 more pure and healthfnl for passing slowly thro' 

 a decaying pipe. 



With no motives other than the public good, and 

 to answer many inquiries as to my experience in 

 conducting water, to prompt these statements, I 

 think no candid person will judge me desirous of 

 controversy. n, j. p. 



THE APIARY-WINTERING BEES. 



Eds. Rubal:— Wintering bees Is the great daide- 

 (urn, and, I would add, the " ne plus ullra" of keep- 

 g, or rather their management in this changing 

 climate. I would be willing to pay a heavy bonus 

 learn the art or secret of wintering bees suc- 

 cessfully In this locality — it would be a fortune In 

 few years to any one engaged in this roral 

 pursuit. 



ive kept bees for some fifteen years or more, 

 ne of my experiences is that T lose from one- 

 fonrtb to three-fourths, and one year ago last u in- 

 four fifths of all my swarms. It will readily be 

 ceived that increasing my apiary is rather slow 

 iaese. The fact is that my bees are running 

 out — the common phrase among unsaccessful cul- 

 9ts in this as well as some other departments of 

 .1 affairs — but I am one who is not satisfied 

 i the result hitherto, and have studied not a lit- 

 tle and desire to study more the cause of my|fatlnre 

 and the remedy. I think now that my study has 

 een entirely in vain respecting the causes or 

 of the great destruction ot this profitable 

 and indnstrious insect 



The firBt cause to mention is the great changes 

 in the temperature of the atmosphere and its ef 

 feet on the bees. I have known the mercury to 

 'tiua 10 : In the short space of eight hours, vis., (ram 

 BB below zero to 34° above, and a change of 25° is 

 of frequent or of almost daily occurence. This to 

 bees, or similar insects, mast be, to say the least, 

 very unfavorable. Bee-keepers have observed that 

 when beeB have been confined in the bive for a few 

 dajB by a low temperature of the air, and then by 

 a change of atmosphere can get out, that they will 

 empty themselves end on returning to the hive 

 are ready like hungry wolves to eat before them — 

 hence tbey require more honey to winter them 

 than is thought to be necessary by writers on the 

 bee, and many swarms are starved to death simply 

 from the cause of voraoieus feeding induced by 

 frequent atmospheric changes. Another effect of 

 of these atmospheric changes is, that the bees are 

 confined to the hive on ohilly days even in the 

 beBt part of the season for gathering honey, thus 

 diminishing the supply of honey for winter use. — 

 Another effect ia to chill the yonng brood and to 

 prevent the development of new bees and thus di- 

 minish the numerical strength of the colony and 

 involving extra labor of clearing the oomba and 

 preparing for another brood. Again, the chilly 

 days of the late spring months prevent batching, 

 and conHequentlJfcwarming is delayed very late, so 

 much so, that the late swarms cannot possibly 

 gather honey enough for their winter store, and 

 starvation Is the result These are some of the 

 causes I think of my failure In managing lees — 

 the remedy is not so easy to find or discover, but 

 I am in hopes to get some hints in the Rubal from 

 more experienced hands. 



As you like short articles I will close for the 

 present, hoping to allude to the subject again in 

 another communication, for there is material 

 enough for more than one short newspaper article. 



DOOR-YARD FENCE. 



Eos. Rural: — Permit a subscriber to give, 

 through your valuable paper, an answer to Mr. 

 E. H. Wright's Inquiry concerning the best and 

 cheapest door-yard fence. 



I have juBt performed the ceremony of what 

 disinterested passers-by (whose judgment in regard 

 to heauty aud symmetry is beyond question,) call 

 a happy union of Mr. Black Iron wltn Mies White 

 Pine. They are to be supported in future by Old 

 Red Cedar, the Father of woods in durability. 



Mr. Wbhjht, here is a description of just the 

 fence you want, as well as every other gentleman 

 of taiU. Take red cedar posts six feel long, four 

 by four, and two by four. Bet firmly, eight feet 

 apart, and three feet above ground. Spike on the 

 top of the posts, strips or rallg of two-Inch pine 

 plonk sixteen feet long and three inches wide, bo 

 as to project one-half Inch each side, and beveling 

 the edges, on top, one inch back. Bpaee off four 

 rods two inches, from centre to centre,— being 

 careful to bring the rods which come on the poBta 

 exactly In the centre — bore with a quarter a 

 sixteenth-Inch bit Saw out on the back side 

 the post, eighteen Inches from the top, a block t 

 Inches wide, one and one-balf inches deep, 

 receive bottom rail Saw the bottom rails, from 

 sixteen feet plank, lour Inches wide, and notch 

 fit the gain lu the posts so as to make a face in 



front bevel erwb edge one Inch back. Dress 

 out strips of board one half inch thick, uud one 

 inch wide — to represent a bar of iron— tit one ettip 

 to each space between posta space off and hjie as 

 above. Make a half circle of plank ten inches in 

 Her to bend rods over. Get quarter-inch 

 I iron ten feet long, cut in the centre, aud 

 over the plank, pulot rods and half-loch 

 strips black, the balance of the feuee white, before 

 putting fence together. When the paint is dry, 

 lall the half-inch strips on the centre of bottom 

 all. The base board should be one foot wide, bev- 

 eled and nailed flrmly to the poBts and along the 

 bottom rail one inch from the top. Tbe oorner 

 and gate posta should be ten inches square, with 

 casing, molding and caps, and when finished these 

 poets should be eight Inches above the rods. Bore 

 one hole olose to corner poBt on line with the 

 others in the top rail Take a bent rod and cut off 

 one leg so that It will come half way through top 

 rail, put tbe other leg in hole ten inches from post 

 Now take a rod four feet and a half long, and bend 

 on a four-Inch circle— place one leg In first bole 

 from post and the other in third bole. Now take 

 rod, place one leg in the second bole and tbe 

 other in the seventh, snd so on. It will bo neces- 

 ry to 0U* three rods to each email post 

 Make the gates like the fence, running a rod, of 

 three eightbB iron from corBer to corner, with a nut 

 ne end to tighten rod. 



to the cost any man of ordinary Ingenuity can 

 put it up himself, and the cost of the material will 

 about three dollars per rod. 



RTJRAX MATTERS IN NORTHERN OHIO. 



Messrs. Ens: — I do not know how extensively the 

 [tjbalIs taken in Ohio, but lam afraid not enough 

 for the general good of its citizens. It appears to 

 iat we must go out of the State to procure the 

 best family paper, as the Rural is the first sought 

 for among several different papers taken in my 

 family. 



mit me to say a few words for Northern Ohio. 



We recently returned from our State Fair, held at 



SanduBky City, which passed off very pleasantly, 



I a fine display of good stock, but not as many 



cattle as we have seen heretofore at some of 



exhibitions, and an excellent display of fine 



tea In all other departments the exhibition 



fine. Floral Hall, as well as the whole Fair 



Grounds, gave great credit to the citizens of San- 



rord in regard to the crops in this part We 

 i fair crop of wheat with very light oats 

 and barley, and about one-half the amount of com 

 that is usually planted. We see the necessity of un- 

 dervaluing this season, which is driving many of 

 fanners to it Had our corn and wheat lands 

 been well underdraiued this season, we wonld 

 realize more than enough to pay the oost I have 

 just completed an underdrain of forty rods with 

 mall fiat eand stone, set in such shape as to leave 

 i narrow passage at the bottom. Some of the 

 readers of the Rural say that such a drain will an- 

 a better purpose than tile; but would not tile 

 be better on sandy sollf Also, would an under- 

 thrown promiscuously In clay subsoil? Is there 

 danger of its filling? Will some of the readers 

 of the Rubai. answer? Also, should meadows 

 smooth bottoms be broken np when the crop 

 b to fall? Such I discover is the case with 

 of mine, especially in the dryest parts of the 

 field, where ft Ib tbe best plow land. How can it 

 ought to in the most profitable manner when 

 your land is sufficiently drained to admit of plow- 

 ing if necessary? I have a meadow that was bro- 

 up and reseeded. The firstyearitcuttwo tuns 

 acre; second, one and a half; this year, one 

 per acre. What ehall I do with it? It 1b good 

 Boil for wheat and corn. F. R. Otis. 



POTATO EXPERIMENT. 



Eds. Rural:— While on a visit to A. Woolcot, 

 Esq,, of East Bloomfleld, a few days since, he gave 

 me the result of a new mode of cultivating pota- 

 toes, as follows:— Last epring he received from a 

 friend one potatoe, having sixteen eyes, which he 

 out into as many pieces, and planted one piece In a 

 bill. Each piece grew and threw up one stalk 

 only. When the stalks reached three or four 

 Inches above tbe ground he put the spade under 

 each hill and raised it np so as to let the air under- 

 neath, and thus left it to grow. After a few days 

 new tops began to appear, so that each hill pro- 

 duced from three to seven stalks as large and 

 thrifty as was the first They were cultivated by 

 hilling np after tbe common manner. I assisted 

 him In digging and weighing. The product from 

 tbe sixteen eyes, from a common sized potato, was 

 ninety three pounds— out bushel and a half and three 

 pounds, large sized for the variety. I believe It 

 was of the kind known as Palo Reds— propagated 

 by Mr. Goodrich at Utics, in this State — each hill 

 produced from three to sixteen tubers— the three 

 largest potatoes were in one hill where was placed 

 the smallest piece of Beed, and this hill had but 

 three stalks of tops. The yield from each hill was 

 large for the amount of seed. The amount of topB 

 was larger than tho average of hills where four 

 times the amount of seed Is used. Mr. W. Is con- 

 fident that the raising of tbe hill aud admitting 

 air was tbe menus of the large topB— and ho has ap- 

 plied the same process to a part of bis ruta bagas 

 and tomatoes, which ahow a. much larger growth 

 than those that were left to grow after the com- 

 mon method. a. n. 



Cobiilr-StonI Buildings— Reading in the Bu- 

 bal of tho 21th of July, an inquiry iu regard|to 

 cobble-stone buildings, and seeing no reply from 

 any one, as I have bad some experience during tbe 

 past twelve years, I thought I would give what in- 

 formation I could, in hopes it might benefit some 

 one who msy wish to build, especially it they are 

 as green as I was when I commenced. Good 

 coarse lake sand is the best— any clean eand, how- 

 ever, will do, after sifting the same aa for brick 

 mortar. One bushel of slacked llmo to three 

 bushels of sand, will make goodmortur, but Iprefei 



I will look whiter. It should be 

 ich atiffer than for other atone work.— A 

 Kit, Bedford, Mitlt., 1 



CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 



Lemons is Rennet — Will Amelia please answer 

 through the Rural whether she put* tbo whole of 

 the lemon in rennet for ebecae? Would not the 

 juice of the lemon have a tendenoy to sour tho 

 ourd? By bo doing she will oblige a constant 

 reader of the Rural.— Louisa. Dundee, N. K,1868. 



Another Curs for Garget. — A cow for which 

 I paid $45 came from her pasture with her odder 

 oaked "as hard as a brick." I milked her as well 

 as 1 could, getting but little milk, it being bo thick 

 that I had to pull It out with my fingers. I then 

 made a strong decoction of wormwood, thickened a 

 little with Indian meal and rubbed it in thoroughly 

 with the hand. I repeated it in the morning, get- 

 ting away all the coagulated milk possible, and at 

 night found my favorite as well as ever.— R. R. 

 Stoddard, Wetktrtjuld, M Y, 1858. 



Potato Exi-briubnt. — The result of 

 meat in planting potatoes 

 Fair of the New London Ce. Soolety, at Norwich, 

 Conn., which possesses some interest An equal 

 number of sets from the stem and fruit ends were 

 planted separately on the same soli with the same 

 quantity and kind of manure, and received exactly 

 the same treatment in every degree. Tbe stem 

 ends gave fourteen and one quarter (14) i pound* 

 while (what are usually called) the fruit ends, yield- 

 ed only seven and three-quarter (7 j) pounds. This 

 includes everything on the roots; the smallest as 

 well as the largest The variety, Dover,— 0. W., 



About Millbt.— Seeing an inquiry in the Rural 

 of Oct 23d, about growing millet, I would say to 

 the writer thereof that he managed right, and 

 would have bad a good crop if the seed bad been 

 good. I got duped the same way last spring. I 

 bought four bushelB of millet — enough to sow 

 eight acres. Bag No. 1, was three-fourths millet 

 and one-fourth pigeon grass; while bag No. 2 was 

 three-fourths pigeon grass and one-fourth millet 

 I got twelve loads from the piece, such as it waa 

 Millet will grow on any kind of land that Is clear 

 of water. You can't have the land too deeply 

 plowed, or too rich— the richer, tbe better it will 



grow. Yield from one to three tons per acre J. 



F., Huntley, Illinois, 1858. 



StDB-HiLt, and Level Land Plows. — As I have 

 not seen any reply to the inquiry of my neighbor 

 " A" lu regard to side-bill and level land plows, in 

 tbe Rural of August 11th, I thought I would offer 

 a suggestion or two in replying to his wants. 1st, 

 In regard to "Barnaby's and Moore's Patent" I 

 know nothing. 2d, Aa to side-hill plowing and 

 side-hill plows I do profess to know something, and 

 by experience, and to whioh I will briefly remark 

 that I consider Lockling's Patent Side-Hill (wood 

 beam) the best in use for clay laad. I also consider 

 it very good for level land with one exception, that 

 is, it cots rather too narrow a furrow. They are to 

 be found at most of our hardware stores. Price, 

 $7,50 to 8,00. If neighbor " A" now differs any from 

 my opinions, I will try and convince him if he will 

 bat mofco mo a visit, daring the coming plow sea- 

 son.— B., Alfred Centre, N. Y, 1^8. 



Prevention Better Than Cube.— I saw in the 

 Rubal of Sept 25th, an article on breaking heifers, 

 which I consider very inhuman, to say the least of 

 it. Kindness to the animals under our care is al- 

 ways the best I will give you my way of breaking. 

 Fasten them by the head so that they can't get away, 

 next take up the fore foot on the Bide that you 

 milk— have a strap with a buckle on one end, and 

 buckle the foot up tight to the forearm, so that 

 the heifer can't get her foot to the ground. Doing 

 so, she can't kick if she tries, and does away with 

 the necessity of a man standing, gad In hand, to 

 whip Bad abuse the poor animal. I have practiced 

 tbe above way of breaking heifers for the last ten 

 years, and have never known it to fail. As men's 

 wages are higb, nnd timber scarce, I could not 

 afford it If Mr. & D. A. will try tbe above, he will 

 save time, beef, aud milk.— J. F., Huntley, Illinois, 

 Oct., 1858. 



Salt fob Manorial Uses.— We are glad to 

 hear of many experiments going to test tbe value 

 of salt as a manure. Trusting, ss wo do, in its 

 success, whenever judiciously employed, we would 

 recommend more extended experiments, and a 

 wider list of cropa to whioh it should be applied, 

 believing that it will pay, not only on wheat, but 

 on gross, corn, potatoes, Ac In tbe bauds of tho- 

 rough farmers the question must eoon come to a 



Many, no doubt, now folly convinced of its value, 

 are deterred from Its use by the oost of the article. 

 By suoh as are situated near salt works, experi- 

 ments can be c 

 and II 



boilers. It coats nothing at the works, and large 

 quantities can be had on appllcaton. The expense 

 of transportation would be but trifling anywhere 

 along our canals, and we would be glad to team of 

 extensive experiments through its application. 

 Apply salt to your orchard, farm, and garden cropa 

 and report tho result — G. W. H , Cortland, N/ Y., 

 Oct., 1856. 



Propolis, or Bee Glue,— It has been said by 

 the greatest Aplariata of this State, that no modern 

 writer on bees bus been able to detect them in the 

 act of gathering this substance, and the reason la 

 as they suppose, because there are so few bees 

 gathering it. Near my bees there are a few trees 

 called the Balm of Gilead, and during the latter 

 part of July and the month ef August, I have fre- 

 quently seen beea perched upon the branches 

 collecting a substance resembling propolis, nnd I 

 am pretty well satisfied that it is. The reason they 

 do not collect It in the month of June, Is beoause 

 tho buds of these treea are not formed— the gum 

 being on the buds— but in August I have seen It 

 so thick, that I oould get a teaspoonful' in a short 

 time. Now, If sny one doubts this, they can get a 

 few slips of this tree, and set them in a good spot 

 a short distance from tbe bees, and if ho does not 

 see bees collooting it then there are no beea that 

 Is If be has twenty or more swarma A person 

 having one or two swarma might not see them In 

 tbe act, as there would be so few collecting It— L. 

 A.AsriNWALL, Ireland's Corners, Alb. Co., N. Y. 



Inml Misccto. 



Aubicttlturaj.Lkotchbs, &c.— As we frequently 

 have letters Inquiring for the right persons to 

 deliver Addresses and Lectures on Agriculture, 

 Ac, It bae occurred to ua that we might be of ser- 

 vice to bII parties iaterested by giving a list ( 

 those who are qualified and willing to act In that 

 capacity during the ensuing winter. Therefore, 

 If our readers will aid us in this matter by giving 

 the addresses of gentlemen prepared to enter the 

 arena aa leoturera on Rural snd kindred subject*, 

 we will ere long give a list containing Ike Infor- 

 mation so often desired by friends connected with 

 Ag. Societies and other association-. 



— There are among our contributors and cor- 

 respondents quite a number of persons admirably 

 qualified for lecturing on practical and ecleutitlc 

 subjects, but we cannot say whether they will 

 acoept invitationa What nay Hon. T. C. Pbtbhb 

 of Darien, Maj. Brooks of Wyoming, and a scire 

 of others. We suggest that the two gentlemen 

 named be called, for they ate eminently capable. 



Cleansing Soils. — An agricultural exchange 

 very truly remarks there Is no season of the year 

 when so much can be effected in tbe way of cleans- 

 ing the soil from spurious vegetation as in the fall, 

 after the removal of the crops. By scraping the 

 soil and removing the rubbish, a vast quantity of 

 seeds will be removed and destroyed, as well aa 

 roots, all of which arc too commonly permitted, 

 in the present lax and imperfected system, to ro- 

 main to annoy tbe farmer, and perplex the opera- 

 tionsof the successive year. Great watchfulness fa 

 required to keep down those vegetables which 

 poison and impoverish the soil without returning 

 any profit, and no one who cultivates even a rood 

 of soil, should neglect it A few hours' labor, and 

 a slight expenditure of cash, will, at this season, 

 effect more than days of effort in tbe spring will 

 accomplish, even with the mostscrupulouB care, — 

 Any one who adopts this plan, will at once perceive 

 its advantages. 



Sobgsuii in Cincinnati— The last issue of the 

 Cincinnati Grtuette gives an account of the expert- 

 menu of Col. Warring (a farmer residing a few 

 miles distant from that city,) with tbe Chinese Su- 

 gar Cane, the results of whioh we condense as fol- 

 lows:— '■ On the 20th of last May CoL W. planted 

 between one and one-half and one and three- 

 fourths acres, from which he has finished manu- 

 facturing syrup, with a yield of 440 gallons. The 

 cost of refining aud clarifying is about nine cents 

 per gallon. With the mill and evaporators used 

 by him, (expense $300.1 aud employing two men, 

 thiee boys, and a pair of horses be con readily 

 turn out two barrels of syrup daily. The seed he 

 feeds to hogs, and considers it valuable for its 

 fattening properties; the strippings make excellent 

 provender for milch cows, and they eat it with 

 avidity. For these two purposes he considers this 

 portion of the product fully psys for crushing." 



Tub Hog Thadk of tub We6t. — The Cincin- 

 nati Gazette has an article on tbe prospects of the 

 waffio ia Hwiuo during tho ensuing packing season, 

 and from the survey of tbe whole field of produc- 

 tion, concludes that the increase of Indiana, Illi- 

 nois, Iowa, Missouri and Tennessee, will, iu the 

 aggregate, range from fifteen to twenty-five per 

 cent in number without any material decrease or 

 Inorease from last year in the average weight 

 Hogs have passed' through the summer in good 

 condition. The corn that is now being fed to them 

 is of superior quality — much better than that used 

 last year, and tbe animals promise to come forward 

 In good order. The conclusion arrived at may be 

 elated in brief, as follows:— 1, Very light stocks of 

 old products on the let of December. 2, An in- 

 creased consumption in 1853. 3, No material dif- 

 ference in the average weight as compared with 

 last year, 4, An increase in number, in the total 

 crop of, say twenty per cent 



ExPBBisrFNTB wtth Undbrdbalning.— A fair teat 

 of the value of under-draining is furnished by tbe 

 Country Gentleman, In some experiments made and 

 reported by Mr. Thomas, of Cayuga Co. The land 

 was a medium between a heavy clay and a light 

 loam; the drains were about three feet deep 

 and two rods apart, with tubular tile, two Inches 

 in diameter — tbe cost being 40 cents a rod, or $112 

 per acre. Tbe crops grown the present year were 

 corn and spring wheat, and the increased product 

 of each, compared with like crops on the same 

 land undralned, wonld repay the expense ot drain- 

 ing in three years time. What farmer can make a 

 better use of bis capital than to expend it In this 

 Improvement * 



Cleveland Bbbp in Good Rbpote— A late 

 Issue of the Cleveland Herald Bays the contracts 

 for Beef to supply the British army and navy have 

 been made. Proposals for seven thousand tiercca 

 were advertised for and were awarded as follows: 

 Col. N. M. St AND art, of Cleveland, three thousand 

 tierces, Craoln & Co., of Chicago, five hundred 

 tierces, and the balance between Adams, of Baltl- 

 , and Domlkick, 

 1 for the Cleve- 

 tbsn for that packed 

 ir cities. The average price is 

 £2 leas than that of last year. Cleveland thuB 

 stands at the bead of the United States in the 

 quality of its b eef. 



Poultry and Eoos— Fowls like the warm south- 

 ern aspect, where they can huddle together In the 

 sun during the middle of the day. Provide them 

 such a place and plenty of food, sneb as corn, cob- 

 meal mixed with scalding water, or hot potatoee, 

 with occasional feeds of the flesh of young calves, 

 plucks of sheep, and constant access to pure water, 

 gravel, old mortar, oyster or clam shells, and bones, 

 all broken finely, and they will yield eggs In abun- 

 dance through the cold weather. 



Large Yield— Mr. 8. N. Allbx. of Greece. Ib 

 this oounty, produced the past season 281 bushels 

 of pctatoes from Q boshols of seed. Variety, the 

 Purple Mercer. The potatoes were eat fine- 

 having two to three eyes in a piece— two pieces In 

 each bill. Planted about loth of June, on light 

 sandy soil— part of tho K round barley stubble, and 

 part clover aud timothy sod. Used some six 

 loads of barn-yard manure. 



of Philadelphia 

 of Cincinnati. The prices agree* 

 land packed beef a 

 at either of the othi 



