348 
REVIEW OF THE JULY NUMBER OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 
two or more of which received, as they richly 
deserved, the highest prizes in their respective 
classes. We rode after several of this family of 
horses, and found each strong, well-built, fleet, 
good winded, easily trained, and gentle — excellent 
either for the road or farm. Most of these could 
whirl a buggy with two persons, a mile, within four 
minutes, and some we think might be easily trained 
to trot within 2:45 to 3 minutes. We think them 
a valuable acquisition to the county or wherever 
they may be introduced. Our crowded columns 
will not permit so full a notice of this fair as 
we intended to make. 
. .CONVERSATION WITH MR. H. L. ELLSWORTH. 
' This gentleman, from whom we always learn 
something new, called to see us a few days ago. 
His residence is at Lafayette, Indiana, where he is 
farming upon a tolerable large scale. He has 
1,200 acres of corn, this year, that will average 
sixty bushels to the acre. He grows but little 
wheat, for the reason that he finds corn to be the 
best crop. He had 100 acres of the former unhar- 
vested this year, which was killed by rust. He 
gets his corn grown for five cents a bushel, and it 
costs about as much more to harvest it. 
Among other things, he described to us a very 
simple, effective, and certainly a very cheap ma- 
chine to cut up corn, which he has just invented. 
He took two pieces of scantling, five or six feet 
long, and fastened them together by a rude hinge 
at the point, in the form of a V, with a hickory 
bow, having a spread just wide enough to run be- 
tween two rows of corn. Upon each side, he af- 
fixed a portion of the point of an old scythe, pro- 
jecting out just far enough to sweep a row of corn 
upon each side. The bow serves for a handle and 
spring to keep the sides apart, and yet allow them 
to yield. Another bow, upon the top of each side 
piece, prevents the corn from falling on the ma- 
chine. A couple of short, wooden teeth, sloping 
back, set in the forward part, keeps it from rooting. 
He then hitches a stout horse to the machine and 
lets him walk between the rows when the corn 
falls " like grass before the scythe." He then 
skips one row and cuts the next two, so as to set 
up the four rows upon the one standing. 
Mr. Ellsworth is now fattening cattle, with his 
great corn crop, for New- York market. And the 
manner of getting them here is to be after this 
manner: He has his own boat, upon which he 
tows them up the Wabash Canal, to Toledo, with 
his own horses, freighting back pine lumber, &c. 
The boat is to be open, but has an oil-cloth cover 
to use, when required. The cattle will stand in 
two tiers, heads to centre, and as the boat cannot 
be wide enough, on account of locks, to allow 
them to stand at right angles with the sides, they 
will be arranged thus:g|J|g^gg§gSHAt Toledo, they 
gj steamboat to 
will be shipped on 
Buffalo, at a cost of $2.50 a head, and from there, by 
canal or railroad to Albany. As soon, however, as the 
Erie Railroad is completed, that will be the rout, 
as the directors have assured Mr. E. that they will 
pursue a very liberal policy in this matter towards 
him and all others disposed to undertake to send 
forward provisions for this great city from the 
west. 
Our readers can judge something of the magni- 
tude of Mr. Ellsworth's farming operations, when 
we tell them that he is now building 28 miles of 
new fence in one job. 
Mr. E. tells us that there are now in operation 
at, the far west, three manufactories of corn starch; 
and from a sample shown us, we judge it is fully 
equal to whe^at starch, and can be made a great 
deal cheaper. He also mentioned the value ol 
kiln or rather steam-dried hommony, or grits of 
corn, for exportation. This article, we know to be 
an excellent substitute for rice. So is hulled 
wheat. 
Mr. Ellsworth has adopted the plan of working 
cows in the yoke, to a considerable extent. They 
make excellent workers, and he finds it does not 
hurt them for breeding any more than it does to 
work mares, if done in moderation. He also sows 
rye for fall feeding, to a considerable extent, and 
finds that stock never get the scours from eating 
it ; while wheat will give it to them directly. 
Grinding corn and cobs together, he thinks very 
highly of. For that purpose, he uses one of Bo- 
gardus' mills. 
Such are a few of the facts one learns from an 
hour's chat with this enlightened ' agriculturist.' 
We hope to give our readers many such specimens 
of conversation, in the course of the next year, 
with some of the most enterprising and improving 
men in the country. 
REVIEW OF THE JULY NUMBER OP THE 
AGRICULTURIST. 
Profits of Poultry Raising. — I have often thought 
that the raising of poultry, in the vicinity of the 
city of New York, or any other city, might be 
made as profitable, comparatively, as this account 
of Dr. Chase, by selecting some suitable location 
and preparing for a permanent business. I should 
prefer a piece of woodland, where I could have 
at least four acres of ground, enclosed for a thou- 
sand hens [So large a number of hens has never 
been known to succeed well together. — Eds.] includ- 
ing a good watering place. The best and cheapest 
fence for a poultry yard, I believe, would be wire. 
Fowls raised in the yard would never fly over a 
fence eight feet high, unless hard driven. At least 
such is my experience. 
Dick's Anti-Friction Cheese Press. — "Anti-fric- 
tion" fiddle faddle. How can a machine operate 
without friction % If, by the use of this press, 
" the whey is entirely removed with half the labor 
usually required," we had better throw away all 
our old ones, and get this "anti-friction" machine. 
It so happens that I have seen some dozens of 
new machines, each one saving half the labor of 
its predecessor, and yet it is not quite all saved yet. 
As I have never seen one of Mr. Dick's presses at 
work, I cannot say but that it is a very good one. 
A Cow Depot. — This is a new idea, yet a capital 
one. But I am not quite so sure that it would be 
so good a business as you suppose. It would no 
doubt be good for purchasers, but is there sufficient 
business to be done among that class of buyers, 
who would pay a shilling premium for the advan- 
tage of buying of a dealer who would be "strictly 
honest ?" If I were sure that it would be a pro 
fitable undertaking, I should earnestly urge some 
