1861. 



THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 



113 



Society, WB8 that held rI Chicago in 18n9, but we doubt 

 if the receipts there exceeded $25,000. Tlie St. Louis 

 Agricultural Association has taken in very large amounts 

 on eoine occasions, but we have never seen the olficiiil 

 returns ; moreover, the element of Trotting Horses enters 

 BO largely into the character of these shows, that we hardly 

 consider it lair to compare them nith those in which tliere 

 is no such attraction to create popular excitement. The 

 Provincial Exhibition of Canada West at Hamilton in 

 1860. is also entitled to mention among the most success- 

 ful shows on this side of the water ; the receipts we do 

 not know, but the Prince of Wales proved even a greater 

 card in the hands of its managers, pecuniarily, than the 

 intrinsic merits of the alTair, as great as these undoubtedly 

 were. 



We fear we shall be obliged to confess, therefore, that 

 the Leeds Royal must " go to the fore," as the English 

 say, for attendance as well as receipts, of all similar ex- 

 hibitions outaidc of as well as in Great Britain. 



— We are indebted to Mr. J. M. Wade, of Rhode 

 Island, for copies of the Leeds Mercury, with very full 

 reports of each day's proceedings. It may be noted that 

 at the Dinner, Lord Powis the Chairman, in one of his 

 leading speeches, remarked that " the Royal Agricultural 

 Society were most anxious on such occasions to receive 

 the representatives o( those nations, both on the continent 

 of Europe, and, he might add, on the continent of Ameri- 

 ca, which were interested in Agriculture." In illustration 

 of the enterprise and prosperity of English agriculture he 

 alluded to the fact that that country " at the present 

 moment was importing at considerable expense from 

 America some of its best Short-horn blood, which in pre- 

 vious yeare had gone over to the United States," — an 

 announcement which is reported to have been greeted 

 with much applause. ^ 



Thk Aubdbn Ruapkrs. — The city of Auburn, N. Y., 

 stands in the midst of a very (ertile farming region, and 

 for a town of 10,000 inhabitants is largely engaged in the 

 manufacture of agricultural implements. There are four 

 mower and reaper manufactories, viz., one for the Kirby 

 machine, manufactured by D. M. Osborne & Co.; another 

 for the Hus.scy; a third for the " Cayuga Chief," made by 

 Sheldon & Co., and the fourth for JJal'ls, made by Ross, 

 Dodge & Pomroy. Several trials of these maehiiios have 

 been made in different pari* of the county, and all have 

 proved very successful. In some instances the committees 

 to award pri/.cs have been puKzled to decide between 

 tbem, and hav.e handed back the entrance fees to the 

 owners, and made no award. The dynamometer baa shown 

 varied results, sometimes in favor of one, and sometimes 

 for anotiicr, the average being not widely apart. In mow- 1 

 ing, cutting about .5 feet, 800 lbs. has been about the draft 

 required, some below, and others above. On our own 

 grounds we have had an opportunity of trying the Cayuga 

 Chief of Sheldon and Co., and found it to work to much 

 satisfaction. It could be made to cut wilhin less than an 

 inch of the earth, if desired, and its height of cutting 

 might be increased to any degree. A piece of rough and 

 sidling ground being selected, it proved itself equal to 

 sustaining the rough usage required. It would cut per- 

 fectly when the hoi-ses were moving at the rate of 

 only one mile an hour, or le.«s, and did its work well in 

 turning a circle of less than 6 feet radius. The horses ap- 

 peared to draw it very easily, nearly as much so as they 

 would draw an empty wagon. This remark applies es- 

 pecially to the small sized mower, the draught of which is 

 exceedingly light. It has a peculiar and useful arrange- 

 ment for elevating the points of the fingers at a raised 

 angle to pass over stones. It is made of iron, and is 

 strong and durable. Doubtless the other machines men- 

 tioned, or a part of them, are its equals in most particu- 

 lars, but we had not the opportunity of testing them so 

 well. J. 1. T. 



Thk Haetest in Franck. — At our last advices con- 

 cerning the French crop.H, July 20, Harvest had already 

 been completed in the South, was fairly under way in the 

 Central departments, and would be soon undertaken in 

 the North. Thus the character of the crop could not 

 be completely estimated. But the Paris Journal of Prac- 

 tical Agriculture remarks that " if bad weather continued, 

 if persistent rains came to compromise the housing of 

 grain, the estimate would certainly have to be a very in- 

 different one. But we must hope for brighter days in the 

 last of July and during August. In any event," advice 

 is given for the construction of the moycttes, described in 

 the Country Gentlkman last year, for the protection of 

 the grain from bad weather — " permitting cutting it a lit- 

 tle before its maturity, sheltering it from unliivorable 

 skies, and affording the means of bringing in the sheaves 

 perfectly matured and preserved, at wliatever time may 

 best suit the state of the weather and the farm work." 

 Previous storms — especially the tempest of the 2'2d of 

 June, referred to in this paper a fortnight ago — prove to 

 have done even more duninge than had been anticipated. 

 Rust had begun to show itseif in some localities, although 

 not as yet to the very great injury of the grain. Mons. 

 Barral, in reviewing the returns from about forty corres- 

 pondents in different parts of the country, inclines to the 

 opinion that the product will be on tho whole somewhat 



below an average one. Forage crops and the afler-math, 

 he says, will be " decidedly less bad " than had been 

 feared. 



Adams Co., Pa., Aoricultkral Society. — We arc 

 preparing for our annual agricultural exhibition, which 

 takes place Sept. 23 — 26. Our list of premiums will bo 

 respectable. Our officers are John BuRKnoLnER, Presi- 

 dent ; Jacob Dilzer and Wm. Walhay, Vice Presidents ; 

 George Wilson, Recording Secretary; Wm. B. Wilson, 

 Corresponding Secretary. Competition open to the world. 

 We have about five acres of ground beautifully situated, 

 with good spring water on the eround, and all necessary 

 sary buildings for the comfort of man and beast, w. b. w. 



. ••• 



Agricultural Items from the European Continent. 



PRKPARBD BY THE. KDIT0R8 Or THK COUNTIIY GBNTLRMAS. 



There are 600 Agricultural Associations in the French 

 Empire, distributing about $240,000 in the aggregate in 

 premiums of various kinds. Complaint hav- 

 ing been made that the French Ag. Exhibitions were only 

 " got up," as we should say, for the benefit of land-hold- 

 ers and other wealthy jnen, Mons. Barral relates that he 

 was present at the distribution of about 70 prizes at the 

 late Show at Metz ; " there were not ten persons who came 

 for them who wore coats — more than 60 being peasants, 

 vine-tenders, herdsmen, laborers, &c., in blouses and thick 

 shoes, with their iron-shod sticks, and very proud of their 



success." That America, which has heretofore 



only sold salt meat to Europe, should have sent " real 

 Durhoma " to England, is spoken of in the Paris Journal 

 d Agriculture Pratique as proving eombien Vagriculture 

 yankee marche vile dans le progres — which may be freely 

 translated to signify that the forward march of Yankee 



agriculture is a regular quickstep. The Prussian 



Bureau of Statistics has just published some interesting 

 documents with regard to the progress of breeding do- 

 mestic animals in that kingdom, from which we learn that 

 there were in Prussia 



Horses, l.SW.OOO In ,1816, 



Hnrried Cattle,.. 



Sliei'p. 



Swine, . 

 Mules, . 

 Asses. . 



s.ou.mio iio. 



, 8,2l)ll.lH]0 do. 

 , 1.<IM,(M0 do. 



1,617.000 In 1858. 

 6.-I87.IIO0 do. 

 1.0.;l(i2.0(IO do. 

 2.577,000 do. 



Goals, 148.000 do OW.OOO do. 



Showing, by reducing other kinds of stock to an equivalent 

 in cattle, that in the forty-two years, Prussia had increased 

 the number of her domestic animals nearly one-half (43 

 per cent.) upoD the live stock she kept at the commence- 

 ment of that period. We are promised farther facts in 

 connection with these figures, and at present will only call 

 attention to the rapidity with which Sheep have increased 

 in numbers with the improvement of agriculture, while 

 Cattle have been almost at a stand-still — the increase in 

 gouts probably assisting to some extent in supplying what- 

 ever increased demand there may have been for milk. 



Prussian agriculture shows a decided tendency to sub- 

 stitute bone dust for purcliases of guano, and to mistrust 



the mixtures sold by manure makers. A trial 



has been made to introduce Ericson's engines ir. Prussia — 



as yet without succe.ss. Portable engines for 



farm purposes are still very rare there, the duty keeping 

 out engines of English manufacture, and those of domes- 

 tic construction failing to do their work well. 



Experiments made in Bavaria, in the preparation of peat, 

 have excited a good deal of attention among agiiculturists. 

 There and in some other parts of Germany, peat is a very 

 important article of fuel ; we remember to have seen it in 

 large open sheds to admit of ventilation, along the lines 

 of some of the railways for engine use, just as in this 



country, the roads are bordered with wood sheds. — : 



Liebig and othera have done much to cull attention to the 

 importance of utilizing the sewage of cities I'ormanurial pui 

 poses, without any experiment having thus far been made to 



answer their efforts and expectations. The report 



of the Prussian Bureau of Rural Economy, from which thesi 

 last items are laken,says that Short-Horns are there constant 

 ly coming into higher appreciation, although the results 

 of purchases of them in England have not always proved 



satisfactory. The utility of great market faii-s 



tor the sale of animals of a particular kind is now fully 

 recognized among Prussian agriculturists. A horse mar- 

 ket established at Konigsberg was sustained successfully 

 in 1860 ; a sheep fair was instituted in Pomerania, and 

 a hoi'se fair at Broraberg. 



Agricultural education appears to bo advancing more 

 rapidly in Germany than in any other country, if one may 

 judge by the number of schools and pupils. In Bavaria 

 it appears that they are now establishing "schools of 



meadow culture ;" one district alone (Upper Franconia) 

 has three, and in Lower Franconia one has just been open- 

 ed which already numbers 45 pupils and 12 professors. 

 Efforts are also making for the establishment of " Schools 

 of Sylviculture." In the central administra- 

 tion of Wurtembcrg, it was lately proposed to appoint for 

 each " circle " or district, a nomadic professor who should 

 spend all his time in travelling, in giving agricultural ad- 

 vice and instruction, in preparing reports, and acting ag 

 an arbitrator or referee. This plan having failed to meet 

 the approval of the ministry, several of the "circles'* 

 have chosen men of reliability to serve as " agricultural 

 technologists," and charged them with what we take to bo 

 a sort of agricultural survey, together with such other 



duties as the interests of agriculture may demand. 



— It is stated that Professor Ran has collected at Hohen- 

 lieim twenty or more school teachers, to give them agri- 

 cultural lessons, which they may in turn impart to their 



pupils during the coming winter sessions. In 



France, Agiicultural education is not advancing as its 

 friends could wish ; nevertheless the means of extending 

 agricultural instruction among all classes of society, are 

 now studied and discussed, and improvements are hoped 

 for "in the lot of the professors, and in the education of 



the pupils." 



» « « 



COST OF CUTT ING HAY. 



We recently published an estimate of the comparative 

 cost of making hay as formerly practiced by the use of 

 the scythe, handrake, &c., and as now performed by the 

 assistance of the mowing machine, horse-rake, horse-fork, 

 &c. The writer of these remarks and estimate, had prac- 

 ticed hay-making forty years, and had used the different 

 kinds of implements and machines alluded to, and he in- 

 tended to make a fair calculation, subject, however, to any 

 corrections that might appear to be obviously required. 

 We have just received a communication from a corres- 

 pondent at Amsterdam, N. Y., which he will perhaps ex- 

 cuse us for not publishing in full, but which stales that 

 the article above mentioned contains " false and erroneous 

 notions, and misrepresentations," and adding, " I think it is 

 designed to insult me" — he asks, " who do you suppose is 

 fool enough to believe that hay cut by a machine does not 

 need curing by cocking up, spreading, &c.;" he thinks it 

 will require " a very energetic farmer to get in hay for 60 

 cents a ton ;" and he concludes, " If I see another article 

 in the Cocntry Gentleman so devoid of fairness and 

 truth, I now advise you that you will get no more sub- 

 stantial support from me, and I don't care how soon tho 

 paper is stopped." 



We regret that the estimate published strikes our cor- 

 respondent so unfavorably, and at first we were at a loss 

 to know why it should do so ; but find on turning to page 

 173, vol. 11, of the Country Gentleman, that he there 

 made an estimate to show that scythes were more economi- 

 cal than machines. He is not alone in that opinion ; al- 

 though the number holding it is becoming rapidly less 

 every year, as mowing machines arc known, improved and 

 cheapened. The estimate of the cost at that time is too 

 great for the present ; and taken altogether, he places the 

 cost of cutting per acre at over one dollar a ton. This 

 may be the case where a costly machine is used for a 

 moderate or small farm. The estimate we published was 

 founded on the usual charge of 60 cents per acre.* Wo 

 are aware that on some large farms, it falls within this 

 sum, and those who have good machines, and cut for the 

 season, make money at it. Our correspondent admits a 

 machine will cut over 8 acres a day ; this would be over 

 four dollai-s a day with one. If he will carefully read 

 over his own article which wo published in 1868, and the 

 recent one to which he objects, he will find the most of 

 the positions of the latter are in substance fully sustained 

 by the former. We do not understand that he regards 

 the horse-rake and horse-fork, as " insults," but as admit- 

 ted improvements. Further examination and experiments 

 will place the mower and hay sweep in their proper posi- 

 tion. In the mean lime, he must allow a free discussion 

 of their meriUf, founded on cinefully conducted experi- 

 ments. Improvement will surely go on, even If "bis 

 paper is stopped." 



• We have just seen a neiBlihon 

 acres of meadow, and m ollit-ryvji 

 used a Ketcfmm mower four ycjirs. 

 fur lialf price. He Oiioks ii jrooi 

 acres; and that the expense per i 



ne ftirmer, who cuts this year 180 

 r.H nearly OS larRe an amount. He 

 iinil then sold it, in Kood condition, 

 wellniade mower will cut 1,000 

 Lcre, including repairs, will not bo 

 I'acehls, for tts use. A t'eiun cuts 10 acres a day, whicli at « a 

 day. Is 20 cenU an acre— total 32 cents. Hut as horses are usually idle 

 wliile men ai-e using scythes, he thinks the real cost per acre, sliould 

 not be placed at over 2d cents. On sraaller farms, the actual cost 

 would of course be more. He thinks mowing machines good savers 

 of labor— reapers, tai- less so. 



