64 



THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN. 



July 28, 



NoTV^ A-dvertiaomentB. 



BuMKKT, C. N., Shctlnnd Ponies, *c., for Snle. 



Bbown & Co., J. B Portiibic Cider nnd Wine Mills. 



Bakkh, OcomiB, KvcrunoHH for Snif 



BnvANT, ABNBn II (iroJil lidirulo Strawberry. 



Kllswoktii lb Co., Lewis,. .. (Jiinii'iuT U'niilcd. 



Lkvin, Jamks V siM'cp \Vii?li Tolmcco for Sale. 



PA11I10N9 & Co., Di'hiwiirc (iramtviuef for Snlc. 



Kedmonv, Wii.UAM, Liiccster Bucks for Snli\ 



Bbeldom, G. JL. Machine for Uigginn Kock». 



Will it Pay to Irrigate ?— Tliroiit;li my fnrm nin 

 two brooks (o\llo<l " branches " here) wilh fall enough to ena- 

 ble mo lo throw a small stream of water to the top of a hill for- 

 ty feel high, and about four hundred feet from the stream to be 

 nsod, from whence the water could be conveyed so as to cflcc- 

 tually irrigate ten or twelve acres of garden or truck land. 

 Will you, or some of yourcorrcsipondents who may have expe- 

 rience in regard to irrigation, tell mo whether it would pay to 

 put up a hydraulic ram, or Boraebody's pump, for the purpose 

 of irrigating this land, which lies raoslly ou two sides of the 

 bill? An artilicial pood could be formed ou the hill, nnd a 

 good supply of water thus kept on hand. If irrigation i» ad- 

 vised, which is the best means of throwing the water up— by 

 ram or pump? N. Saruent. M'aMngton CUt/. (Our own 

 opinion of the advantages of irrigation is so favorable that we 

 Blionld be strongly inclined to recommend its trial, but we shall 

 be glad to receive any experience tending to throw light on the 

 subject if oar readers can furnish it. A water ram, or one of 

 the self-acting pumps or " water-engines," manufactured at 

 Watert()WU, N. Y., would be the means we should employ.] 



Agricultural Papers. — E. K. F., Eatton, Conn. 

 Id answer to your request for names of Agricultural papers, we 

 may mention : 



Th4 Maine Farnur, weekly, Augusta, Mc. 

 J7i« Neio-Engtand Farmtr, weekly & monthly, Boston, Mass. 

 Thi Massachxi«ett9 Plowman^ weekly, Boston, Mass. 

 2P/« Bojtton CitUivator^ weekly, Boston, Mass. 

 The American AgricuUurist, monthly. New- York. 

 The Country Gentleman, weekly, Albany, N. Y. 

 The Cultivator, monthly, Albany, N. Y. 

 The Rural American, sumi-monllily, Clinton, N. Y. 

 The Jiural JVfw- Voj'ker, weekly, Kociiester. N. Y. 

 T/ie Genesee farmer, monthly, Rochester, N. Y. 

 7'he Ohio farmer, weekly. Cleveland, O. 

 The Michigan farmer, monthly, Detroit, Mich. 

 T^te Prairie farmer, weekly, Chicago, III. 

 T/ie Wlnconsin farmer, monthly, Madison, Wis. 

 The Canada Farmer, semi-moutlUy, Toronto, C. W. 

 The farmer and Mechanic, monthly, Baltimore, Md. 

 Fatal Disease among Sheep.— I.Ast full I went 

 Into the State of Maire and-fHircliased from fanners in the vi- 

 cinity uf Ihe Kennebec river about two hundred and thirty 

 sheep. Being a novice in the business, at the suggestiou of 

 MtOur Chissam, of Augnstji, an ardent friend of the Countky 

 Gentleman, which, as he uasurod me, " was supposed to know 

 everything pertaining to sheep," 1 at onct: suliwcribed for your 

 Taluable paper, and also purchased " Randall's rracticai Shep- 

 herd;" aud with these universally acknowledged "Sheet An 

 chors," I set sail, us I supposed, without the slightest chance 

 of getting aground. But tlie " fates " were not pro]>itlous, and 

 1 have not only got aground, bnt have got the " biggest half" 

 of my flock into the ground also— in short, Satan seems to have 

 set his seal upon my doomed flock, and they arc daily going, 

 and will foou be goue. Kow, I wish to repeat the inquiry, 

 " What ails the Sheep >" It Is impossible for me to deesribe 

 the symptoms of their disease (if it is a disease) for they are 

 apparently well one (lay and are dead Ihe next, throwing oft' 

 life with hardly a struggle, and without any warning or symp- 

 toms of disease they "go out " like a flickering candle. Please 

 enlighten me, if possible. I have about seventy lambs in the 

 same pasture with the sheep, which seem perfectly healthy and 

 vigorous, and do not at all incline to the foul example of their 

 dams. Some of the sheep swell excessively after death. If 

 they are poisuucd, why are not the lambs alTectcd also ? Why 

 Is it f How is it ? Pray tell us 1 J. C, Xorth Andover, Mass. 

 [We submit these inquiries without remark, as we cauuot an- 

 swer them satislactorily.j 



Fences. — In reply to John Scott's inquiry of his 

 brother farmers, I would rcconmicnd, if he wishes to prevent 

 the passage of swiue. a flood gate ; that is, something similar 

 to an ordinary panel or picket fence of suitable length, and sus- 

 pended by two short chains from a pole reatitg at each end on 

 strong forks set in tlio ground on each side of tlic stream ; the 

 pole should be above high water mark. But if he only wishes 

 to fence against ordinary cattle, three or four poles of chestnut 

 or some other light and durable wood, attached by short chains 

 to a substantial post on one side of the stream, and the other 

 ends rested on pins driven into another post on the other side, 

 make a convenient and reliable fence ; the poles should be at- 

 tached at the large end to the post, and then in time of freshet 

 they give way to the water and awing around on to the bank, 

 and can easily be replaced aflcr the water subsides. 



ConcordiiiUe, Pa., 1 mo., \6th, IStil. B. W. P. 



Blackberry Root Cordial.— Will you please ask 

 some of your correspondents to give througli your colunms, a 

 good recipe for making a cordial or syrup with the Blackberry 

 root— giving also the best time for digging the root? There is a 

 great c;Ul from Ihe hospituls though the country for the various 

 preparations of the Blackberry, and as tlie crop of berries is 

 almost a failure this season, in the West at least, no doubt pre- 

 parations from the root would be extensively made if the pro- 

 pass wore only known. J. R. Paddock. Cincinnati. 



A-dmo-wl ertgmenta. 



CoMMtTKioATioNB hftvs been received during the week ending 

 July 25, from Illrnm Walker— R. C— .Tosiah Crosby— N. Sar- 

 gent— L. O. B.— T. A. P.— B. W. P.— S. Edwards Todd-0, 

 B. D.— J. S. Rohrer— John Hague- C. E. B.— J. E^John 

 Landrigan— J. R. Paddock — A. G. G.— N. C. M.— J. W. 

 Clarke-S. W.— D. C. Burnett— S.— J. C. 11.— J. F. C. 



rOIS BON ESFRIT RT SK8 CUA 



Albany, July 28. 1S64. 



J^~ The ftttention given in tlie WcBt to the fattening 

 of entile, together with theincrcnsed facilities for bring- 

 ing tliom to market, might appear likely to produce 

 a ruinous competition for the grazing farmer at the 

 East. The extent of the western traffic has come to 

 be immense. Mr. Corbett of Chicago in an article* 

 prepared for the Department of Agriculture, gives the 

 following figures of the receipts, shipments, &c., at 

 that place, for four years : 



Total Cattle Shipped No. City con- 



received. East. packed. sumption. 



18S9 in.BiM 87,684 61,606 42,.'i()4 



1860 i';7,ioi 'ri,m .•M,tiS8 43,074- 



l^lil !»4,S7a 124,146 63,784 20,070 



ISO!! 209,l>55 112,745 69,087 87,223 



In 1861, however, 8,5C3 head were shipped east by 

 the Joliet cut- ofif— going around instead of through 

 the city — so that the total shipments for that year 

 should be 133,700 huad. In 1803, 41,593 head were 

 shipped in the same way, and 40,330 head by the 

 Gieat Western road from Central Illinois, connecting 

 with the Wabash Valley road at State Line, which 

 would make the total ler that year, 194,567 head. If 

 these figures are correct, the shipments of Western 

 cattle iauluded iu the above table were mttUiplied mwe 

 tlian five-fold in the short period of four years ! 



In the last annual volume (1863) of the Agriculture 

 of Massachusetts, we lind a r«|iort from the careful iien 

 of Mr. Phi:«kas Stkdman on the production of meat 

 by the farmers of that State, as a source of profit. After 

 alluding to the widely different opinions expressed by 

 different persons on the subject, Mr. S. goes on to 

 show that "it is both profitable and expedient," if not 

 on a large scale and as a primary object, at least as a 

 secondary one, and in connection with other branchef. 

 In connection with dairying, the production of poik or 

 raising of veal calves, proves very remunerative ; and 

 " the production of muttou in Massachusetts is large- 

 ly on the increase from year to year, and, ns we have 

 reason to believe, with satisfactory results." As to 

 beef cattle, Mr. S. says of alall feeding : " If to the 

 value of the beef, Ihe market value of the manure be 

 added, it is still doubtful whether the sum total would 

 yield a full remuneration to the feeder. Yet with the 

 exercise of good judgment in selection and purchase, 

 and with skill and economy in feeding, together with 

 due care in the preservation and application of manure, 

 we arrive at the conclusion that this branch of meat 

 producing is profitable." The three points here al- 

 luded to, furnish exactly the secret of success ; those 

 who fail may fairly conclude that in one of these they 

 have gono somewhere amiss ; for, as Mr. S. jjroceeds to 

 say, a neglect to bring them into requisition, "serves 

 to reverse the whole operation, and render it unprofit- 

 able, if not disastrous." With this caution, however, 

 he still asserts that " those farmers who have been 

 most persistent in this course of feeding, will at least 

 compare favorably with others pecuniarily, while their 

 farms at present are in a higher state of cultivation 

 than those of their neighbors, ■who have pursued a 

 diflerent and opposite policy." 



As to grassfceding, Mr. S. says that it is pursued to 

 a considerable extent in all the five western counties 

 of the State, and with a good profit : " we feel it safe 

 to say that an nvernge advance of thirty-three per 

 cent upon the purchase may bo relied upon in return 

 for six months' pasturing, or from ten to fifteen dollars 

 per bead. Where suitable stock can readily be pro- 



cured, -we believe that no better use can be made of s 

 large proportion of our good pasturage." 



In tlie production of beef by either of the abovB 

 methods, it is taken for granted that the animal is 

 purchased for the purpost^ — not bred by the feeder. 

 As to breeding, ns well as fc^eding, taking into account 

 all the drawbacks encountered and expenses incurred, 

 Mr. S. still leans to tli opinion that the experiment 

 may be satisfactorily tried. Ilis estimates show but a 

 very n.irrow margin for profit ; and yet, " upon care- 

 ful consideration of the benefits of spending the pro- 

 duce upon the farm, and the increased advantage in 

 this ri^spect of the production of meat over that of 

 milk, butter, or cheese, to be at once conveyed to the 

 market, it maybe well questioned whether the former 

 is not really more remunerative and should rtot receivo 

 increased attention." But much emphasis is pro- 

 perly placed npon the breeding of such animals as will 

 be most likely to pay for beef, when tlrey prove lack- 

 ing in milking capacity for the dairy ; upon liberal 

 feeding, and upon the advantogo to be derived by tho 

 gradual improvement, by judicious breeding, both of 

 tho daii'y cows of the State, and of the working oxen 

 by which its farm labor is so largely performed. 



Mr. Stedman, and the committee of the Board for 

 whom he reiwrtf, assert in conclusion that it is to this 

 source more than any other, that the farnrers of Mas- 

 sachusetts must " look for the recnpcmtion and reno- 

 vation of our somewhat exhausted nnd sterile soil." 

 Their rejiort is both practical and instructive, and can 

 hardly fail to contribute to the desired end. 



Consulting Horticnltiirist and I/andscape 

 Gardening.— Mr. Fkteh B. Mead has retired from 

 the editorial cliair of The J/ortietiUurist, and oi>cncd an 

 olllce at oaTy Broadway, New-York, where lie proposcB 

 to devote his time to the preparation of plans lor Grape- 

 ries, Grecn-Houees, Forcing-Houses, Propngnting-Hon- 

 sc6, and all classes of Horticultural Buildings ; also 

 plans for laying out and improving grounds, both pub- 

 lic and private. 



Mr. M. also announces a new strawberry under the 

 name of "Mead's Seedling," raised by him some years 

 ago, and since tlioronghly tested. He thinks it lias 

 proved itself, "after long trial, not surpassed in some 

 particulars, and in others not equaled." 



Electric Theory. — The Genesee Farmer quotes the 

 theory of one of its correspondents, (of course without 

 endorsing it,) in relation to the potato rot, the cause of 

 which he thinks he has satisfactorily discovered. 'When 

 the plants are kept well cuHivated, and the soil porous 

 and mellow, he asserts that electricity or " electric life," 

 penetrates freely through the pores, and maintains a 

 vigorous and healthy growth, but as soon as the plow 

 and hoc are laid aside, the soil becomes compact, and 

 the " electric life " cannot get through it. To avoid this 

 calamity, " eouductora " must be spread upon the land 

 Jiud plowed under, such as manure, woolen rags, &c. 



The practice is good, the theory rather amusing tlion 

 otherwise, and is a specimen of the many ways in which 

 those who know nothing of the science endeavor to ex- 

 plain ineomprehensible phenomena by tlie word "elec- 

 tricity." One might as well set up a theory that the 

 music of the bobolink would cause plants to grow freely, 

 provided the necessary requisites were supplied for this 

 music to pass into the soil through the pores, by drain- 

 ing, mellow cultivation, and such conductors of the 

 sound as yard manure and guano. One theory is as good 

 as another. 



Cost of Raising Carrots. — L. L. Fairchild of Wis- 

 consin, furnishes the Rural New-Yorker with the ave- 

 rage cost of raising the carrot eiop, according to tho 

 practice of two successful farmers of that Stale. Lcivia 

 Sawyer finds that raising an acre costs him $39.01, and 

 his avci-agc crop is five hundred bushels, or a little less 

 than eight cetits per bushel. Col. Lockwood, who ma- 

 nures more highly, and gives very thorough cultivation, 

 finds the cost of raising an acre to be $59.18. His average 

 crop is over one thousand bushels per acre, or a little 

 less than six cents per bushe^ In one instance he raised 

 a thousand bushels on one-half an acre of land. 



Success and profit iu this crop, depend entirely on 

 doing the woik right. To plant on poor soil is labor 

 thrown away, and to employ wet or cloddy ground is no 

 better. The soil must be deep, rich, and finely pulve- 

 rized, aud should be planted early enough in the season 

 to place the plants beyond the danger of early summer 

 drouth. But most important of all for pioUt is a soil 

 free, or nearly free, from tho seeds of 'weeds, for if these 



