1861. 



THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 



225 



ing into a j'Ri-d of its own breadth (20 feet) ftiid BO feet 

 deep— tlie otlier barn adjoining, 40 feet by 75, including 

 s central floor of 35 feet, benentli which tlie basement is 

 to be occnpied as a hospital for lambing ewes, and a bay 

 on either .--ide 20 feet in width and open down to the 

 ground. The width of the flour is such that two loads can 

 come in abreaslif desired: and an immense quantity ofgrain 

 may be tlirashed here without inconvenience, the thrash- 

 ing machine employed carrying out its own straw into the 

 yard, where it is s'uickcd at 16 or 20 feet distance from 

 the barn. This Cattle-yard has a third grain and hay barn 

 on the opposite side, with stables beneath for the farm 

 horses, and is enclosed with walls for the remainder of 

 this and the oilier two sides. 



The basenjcnt of the two barns described is eight or nine 

 feet high —the smaller of them 16 loot and the larger 20 loot 

 posts above the basemcnU. The racks mentioned, in 

 which the fodder is dropped down to the sheep through 

 openings in the floor above, are composed of slats too 

 near together (2 or 2^ inch spaces) for the sheep to thrust 

 their heads into the hay far enough for the seeds to get 

 into their wool. Mr. Geddes finds the arrangement of the 

 sheep-barn work so exceedingly well in practice, that he 

 thinks it can scarcely be rivalled, and for convenience, 

 tidiness and apparent excellence in all other respect.", the 

 writer certainly has never seen its superior. 



These notes are too extended for more than a word 

 with regard to the sheep themselves, which are of Merino 

 descent, with a Saxon fineness of wool readily command- 

 ing BO cents a pound ; they are of good size, having long 

 been bred with a view both to this object and to fineness 

 of the wool, which is not laden down with grea.se although 

 by no means dry— altogether a flock which no iover of the 

 Fine-Wools could pass by without notes of ipost sincere 

 and earnest admiration. Even one who must confess to a 

 bias for the Downs and Leicesters— in these times of low 

 mutton markets — cannot help appreciating merit of an- 

 other sort ; and as to mutton even, Mr. G. is going to con- 

 vert us, hereafter, to the Merino faith, when one of those 

 wethers is properly ready for the knife. 



The farm, we should add, has been for some time back 

 carried on by Mr. Jamks Gkudes, who has his father's en- 

 couragement and advice in every improvement he under- 

 takes; and we believe that the two gentlemen have been 

 plotting together with a view eventually of making their 

 300 acres su|iport oUO sheep, yield .still larger grain crops, 

 and continue to improve in fertility several per cent, each 

 year at the same time. Our space has allowed us barely 

 to present a skeleton of their system of management— to 

 which we deem it scarcely neeensary to add that, neither 

 from his own experience, nor from that of other good far- 

 mers around him, is Mr. G. led to express the most re- 

 mote doubt with regard to "the profits of farming" if set 

 about in the right spirit. 



" H. H. D." AMONG THE Dkvons. — The Mark Ijane Ex- 

 press chronicler of "the Herds of Great Britain," has at 

 last gone down into " the land of apple orchards, shady 

 lanes, junkets and syllabubs," and found for the first time 

 in his life a dish of clotted cream flanking his matutinal 

 eggs and muffin. He feels him.sclf " well out of the Booth, 

 Bates and Townley jurisdiction," and with hearty good 

 will docs "suit and service to the Red and All Red 

 dynasty." Its "wide, lull loin, neat fore-quarter, juicy 

 steakcut, small bone, and Absence of coarse beef, along 

 with that winding horn and bright deer-like eye," which 

 " had not failed to strike the late Earl of Leicester, when he 

 visited Davy's, Qnartly's, and Mcrson's herds, in his 

 ' searches after truth ' and beef," have carried the Dcvons 

 into many other counties of England, as well as "among 

 the turnips and partridges of Norfolk " — into France and 

 Australia, as well as to " the New World, where," as we 

 are told, " yokes of them form such a pleasant feature in 

 the great States Cattle Show.s." And "the numbers ex- 

 hibited both at the Royal and Smithtield arc annually on 

 the increase; and last Christmas tide, the Short-Horns 

 ■were only in a majority of five over 'the juicy red line.'" 

 Nevertheless, it is added, " their lack of size by the side 

 of the Short-Horn and Hereford, has created a prejudice 

 against them, which their hardy qualities and their cream 

 and beef talents have not enabled them to overcome. 

 North of the Trent the Durham holds its own, and the 

 Hereford is the favorite 'beef machine ' of the Midland 

 counties." 



Time or Sowing Timothy. — A writer on this subject in 

 the Ohio Farmer, would sow either very early in the spring, 

 or as late as October in the fall, to escape the effect of dry 

 weather occurring before the plants come up, or while 

 they are very small. He gives an account of two pieces 

 sown last year, one after wheat, the ground being plowed 

 the middle of August, and harrowed and sowed to timothy 

 seed the Isl of September, after a smart shower. The 

 other was corn ground, harrowed between the shocks of 

 corn the 1st of October and sown innncdiutely. It came 

 up, and co\ild be seen forty rods distance before winter. 

 The first sown showed no signs of growth, and was again 

 harrowed and rcsown the middle of October, and has 

 since done well. Land for spring sowing, he thinks should 

 be fitted in the fall, then by sowing early, the frosta will 

 bury the seed in the best manner. 



Thick ano Thin SEEniNO. — In commenting upon some 

 remarks recently given in the Country Gentleman in 

 reply to an inquiry, in which the advice given was "gene- 

 rally, but not always, to sow the most seed on rich land," 

 tiie editor of the Genesee Farmer quotes English au- 

 thorities recommending the rcvei-so ; " but," adds he, " the 

 climate of Great Britain is so ditlorent from ours that we 

 are not safe in adopting practices based solely on English 

 experience. As a rule, the English farmers sow much 

 thicker than we do ; what would be called thin seeding 

 there would bo considered thick seeding here. The rea- 

 son for this difference is propably owing to the fact that 

 we sow wheat in the fall a month earlier than the English 



and it is well known that the later wheat is sown the 



more seed is required. Again, they sow their spring 

 crops at least a month earlier than we do, while the 

 ground is cold and sluggish, and for this reason more seed 

 is desirable than with us. 



" There is one consideration connected with this sub- 

 ject which must not bo overlooked. It is of the very 

 "reatest importance. Thiti seeding has a tendency to 

 retard the period of ripening. So that though, as we 

 said before, rich land needx less seed than poor land, yet 

 it is safer to sow wheat rather thick on rich land, in order 

 to avoid late ripening and its attendant evils of midge and 

 mildew." 



Death of M. T. Goi.nSDORODon. — The American Far- 

 mer announces the sudden death of this estimable gentle- 

 man, of congestion of the brain, at his residence near 

 Easton, Md., on the 10th of March. " Mr. Goldsborough 

 was well known within and beyond the limits of the State, 

 as one of our most intelligent, and at the same time prac- 

 tical and successful farmers. As President of the Talbot 

 County Agricultural Society and Vice-President of the 

 State Society, he liaa been for many years prominently 

 connected with the various measures pertaining to the 

 improvement of our agriculture." 



Aguicoi.tdre in Utah. — We have received a letter 

 from the Secretary of the " San Pete Agricultural and 

 Manufacturing Society," dated North Bend, San Pete Co., 

 Utah, Feb. 8, 1861 — from which it appears that an active 

 association has been formed for the advancement of the 

 agriculture of that district of country, and that a Fair 

 was to be held by them in October next. Mr. Sii.ek also 

 encloses the following " preamble and resolutions passed 

 by the A. & M. Convention for this county, which was held 

 at Moroni on the 25th and 26th of Dec, 1860 :" 



Whereu It becamea the duty of eveiT one Interested In agricultural 

 purnuita to not only till the earth, but to store the mind with useful In- 

 formation in regard to the subject, and whereas Andrew L. Slier, Esq.. 

 Secrelaiy of the San Pet« Agricultural and Msnuracturlng Society for 

 this county, has laid before the Convention the following works, the 

 '■ Country Oenlleman," " Cultivator," ami " Annual Reiilsttr." pub- 

 lished by Luther Tucker A Son. Albany, N. Y.. also the "American 

 Agricultui'ist," published by Orange Judd, A. M., New-York City 

 which we have carefully examined— therefore be it 



llcsolved— That we do earnestly recommend to the farmers of this 

 county to subscribe for the above named papers, which we deem 

 worthy of the patronage of every person engaged in the great work of 

 agriculture and home manufacture. 



Resolved— That we will use our best endeavors to extend the circu- 

 lation of said works. 



Keaolved— That this preamble and resolutions be forwarded to the 

 Country Gentleman and American Agriculturist by the Secretary of 

 the San I'ete A. ft M. 8oc, with a request that tliey publish the same, 

 ANURKW L. SILER, Sec.'y. 



[For the Country Gentleman and Cultivator.^ 



KENTUCKY BLUE ORASS-Poa Compressa. 



L. TncKKit & Son — Observing in the last issue of Codn- 

 TBY Gent., a short article with above heading, in which 

 the writer speaks of purchasing some of it from me, I 

 write to correct an unintentional error in the botanical 

 name, which may lead to confusion, with persons unac- 

 quainted with the grass. 



I have never kept in my seed warehouse, or told Foa 

 eompreasa, but the real Kentucky blue grass, Poa pra- 

 tensis, or green grass as we call it in this section. This 

 is a very valuable grass, and by its abundance of radical 

 leaf, forming the basis of our best mixture for the lawn 

 or grass plot, but it is also very nutritious and highly 

 relished by stock. Muhlenburg used to style it " optimum 

 pabulum," the most valuable of all grasses. 



The natural growth and abundance of this grass in some 

 sections near Philadelphia, especially Chester county, 

 where it starts spontaneously on clearing off the timber, 

 has given a character to Philadelphia beef and Philadel- 

 phia butter, as unsurpassed elsewhere. As the writer 

 remarks, it makes an early and late pasturage, and keeps 

 green till Christmas. 



Poa compressa is occasionally found growing here, but 

 so fur as my knowledge extends, is never sown. It yields 

 but a small amount of herbage compared with the other. 

 Our farmers object to it on account of the difficulty of 

 getting rid of it. The rhizomas or creeping roots are 

 very tenacious of life, and increase and hold on, almost 

 approaching in this respect, a Canada thistle. 



PASCHALL MORRIS, 1120 Market-sl.. Philadelphia, 



[For the Country Gentleman and Cultivator.] 



Varieties of Spring Wheat — Time to Sow. 



Messrs. Eds. — In the Co. Gent, of March 21, your cor- 

 respondent, John R. Prince, makes inquiry in regard to 

 the best time to sow spring wheat to escape the midge, 

 and adds his experience with the same. In answer, I 

 would say that to escape the depredations of the wheat 

 midge, more depends upon the variety of wheat sown, 

 than upon the time of sowing. The Canada Club is an 

 early variety, and cannot be safely sown in midge infected 

 regions. I have known several attempts at growing this 

 variety of spring wheat hereabouts, where it was so de- 

 stroyed by the midge as not to be worth harvesting, and 

 was left uncut. The Fife wheat is a later variety, and 

 generally escapes the midge, but is often considerably 

 shrunken from rust or other cause. The " China Tea," 

 (spring wheal) is a late variety, and unless sown vert/ early, 

 will continue to grow so late, that before the formation ot 

 the grain, the midge will have had their "day," and gone 

 for the season. It is generally sown from the middle of 

 April to the 10th of May, but good crops have been grown 

 here both earlier and later than that. It is a "rank 

 grower," and for its many other good qualities has nearly 

 supci-seded all other varieties, at least in this locality. 

 East Shelby, Orleans Co., N. T. I. I. 



Union (Me.) Ao. and Hobt. Society.— The following 

 is a list of Ofllcers elected at the Annual Meeting held at 

 Patten, March 9th : 



President— IvoRT 1). Gerry, N. 8, (Range 6,) Golden Ridge. 



Vice PresldenU— K. 0. Slel«on. Alfred (Tushman, K. Korbes. 



Trustees- Jacob Saunders, B. II. Chesley. L. Hloke, Patten-James 

 Brown, No. 6, 11. 6-A. Cushraiui. No. 3— J. Hall, Pallcn— 8. L. Kim- 

 ball, No. 6. 11. li. 



Recording Secretary— Samuel Darling. Patten. 



Corresponding Secretary— S. Robinson, No. 'A, R. 6. 



Treasurer and Collector— H. N. Darling, Patten. 



Vermillion Co., Ili..*- The following are the Board of 

 Managci-s, and postoftice address, of the Vermillion Co. 

 Ag. and Mech. Association : 



President— Col. Jons GKRAan. Georgetown. 



VicePiesident— A. M. C. llawes, Georgetown. 



Kecording Secretary— Lemuel ('ros-i. Danville. 



Corresponding Secretary— .lames Thompson, Catlln. 



nVnn.i......— I II llnu. r<alltn 



J. II. Uass, Catlin. 

 Directors— Harvey Sandusky, jr., Catlin ; D. S. T. Jack. Catlin ; J, 

 C. Smith, Itidge Farm ; Col. Jesse Baldwin, Georpetowp ; John RIa. 



A Fine Colt. — I have a colt which stood, at nine months 

 old, 14^ hands high, and measured around the arm 19 in- 

 ches. He is in excellent proportions throughout. Sired 

 by Bay Slate — grand sire, Green Mountain of Vt. Dam 

 bred in Kentucky. C. G. Taylor. Rock Island Co., 111. 



Grain Proddct or an Illinois .School District. — 

 A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer gives the following 

 statistics of the grain grown last year in a single school 

 district in Lee Co., Illinois, us gathered by the teacher. 

 " District No. 3, four miles south east of the city of Dixon, 

 contains 24 families, and an area of less than two by three 

 miles. Number of bushels of wheal, 24, 692 ; corn 

 41,428; oats 12,586; barley 1,947; ryeB83; buckwheat 

 483; clover seed 182; potatoes 2,084. 



" Our Gamers are Full." 



Tho great eiio and the number of the grain wnrohousos in 

 Chicago are the wonder of all visitors. And yet vast as they 

 nro— two of them ajfording room for 700,000 bushels— there 

 is not storage in tho city fur another week's receipts. Vessels 

 and propellors are in request for loading in order to make 

 room for what is arriving. As we are r«c«ivingfrom sixty to 

 a hundred thousand bushels daily it ia plain that unlen navi- 

 gation opens within two or three weeks our railway managers 

 will be obliged to send peremptory orders to tho country to 

 stop shipments. 



Our tables published a week ago show that we hare now in 

 the city at least 4,300,000 bushels of grain. The amount ia 

 probably grniiter bv tho rccoipta of liu«t week. Of this wo 

 have 1,650,000 bushels of wheat and 1,600,000 bushels of corn. 

 Taking the nmountsin s^ore, " by ciphering " some very curi- 

 ous results will bo reached. Allowing 60 bushels to the load, 

 nearly double what the farmer's t«nin hauls, and it would 

 take 71,666 teams to draw it; and if each team occupy 20 

 feet, it would take 365 miles of road to give standing room. 

 This is exactly tho distance between Chicago and Cairo. 

 And again, it would require 287 vessels and propellers to clear 

 out our storehouses if each ono take a load of 15,000 bushels. 

 And yet all we have in store is not a tithe of what our Inrm- 

 ers will send forward during the season if satisfactory prices 

 are realized. — Chicago Tribune and Press. 

 . •-^ • • 



PnoKiT or Sheep. — Paoli Lathrop, Esq., of South Had- 

 ley, Mass., stated at a recent Agricultural discussion, as 

 reported in the Boston Cultivator, thatVitliout regard to 

 any profit from the wool, a pound of mutton could be 

 made cheaper than a pound of beef, adding that " in fat- 

 ling sheep, one great advantage was, they could take their 

 grain in a crude stale and would thoroughly digest it, 

 whereas the grain for cattle had to be ground, and a six- 

 teenth part paid for that operation. He thought the Eng- 

 lish mutton breeds of sheep most profitable. His prefer- 

 ence was for the South-Downs. They fatten easily, and 

 their meal is very fine. It is with sheep as with cattle— 

 the large breeds arc most profitable on rich laud, and the 

 small breeds aie best fitted for poor lands." 



