SOS 
December Wotes from Buffalo to Wew Yorft. 
did not believe anyhow they would ever bear 
soon enough to do us any good as long as we 
might live. We were quite credulous to 
the first assertions, and as we had not then, 
arrived to even the half of the three score 
and ten years, allotted to man by the Psalm¬ 
ist, we simply answered, “our heirs may,” 
and kept on busily planting. The result is, 
that last year, the third only after setting out 
this small number of fruit trees, we had all 
the cherries and plums we wanted, besides 
lots of them for our neighbors, and a tolera¬ 
ble good supply of apples and pears. The 
peach trees all died, because neither climate 
or soil suited them. To be sure the trees 
were well advanced that we set out, being 
from 5 to 6 years old, but it goes to show 
how very soon one may get a supply of fruit 
of his own, even in a bad location; and if we 
were seventy years old tomorrow, and had a 
rod of spare ground, one of the first things 
we would do, should be to plant a fruit tree* 
or fruit shrubs upon it; and to conclude this 
episode, Mr. Do-nothing and III prophesying, 
was the most importunate beggar of fruit 
we had during the season, and he has done 
nothing for himself yet, and we fear never 
will, though he possesses much more and 
better land than we do. 
The Messrs. Raynors have some fine 
stock, mostly grade Durhams, and they are 
endeavoring to grow up a choice milking 
breed for the dairy, by crossing an excellent 
thorough bred Durham bull, on the best na¬ 
tive and grade milkers they can procure. 
Their pigs also are fine, which they intend 
shall all be full bred Berkshires as soon as 
possible, yet with no intention of breeding 
for sale, but simply for their own fatting. 
It was here we saw a new grain fork, the 
best adapted for pitching sheaves of grain, of 
any tiling of the kind we ever before noticed. 
New Pitchfork.— Fig. 22. 
Its construction is perfectly simple, and it 
can be made by any skilful blacksmith ac¬ 
customed to forge pitchforks. It consists of 
two tines C, nine inches long, which are 
spread 2 inches at the shank, and 2 1-2 at the 
ends. The shank has a sudden curve at the 
end, of about 2 inches, so as to bring the 
points of the fork nearly in a line with the 
direction of the handle and shank. The na¬ 
ked part of the shank B, is 8 inches long, 1 
inch wide, by 1-3 of an inch thick, and enters 
the handle, which has a ferule A, on the end, 
of 5 inches, secured to the shank by a strong 
rivet. The tines and shank are made of the 
best of German steel, and possess great elas¬ 
ticity, which very much lessens the labor of 
pitching. The handle may be of any desired 
length,but should possess as much elasticity 
as possible. Mr. A. Raynor informed us, he 
could easily throw a sheaf of wheat over his 
barn from the load, and that he never pitched 
so easily with any instrument as this. The 
sheaf leaves the tines with an elastic spring, 
and the fork at the same time utters a mu¬ 
sical sound, like the tuning fork, when struck, 
of a music master. Well pleased with what 
we saw here, and after partaking of a good 
dinner, we set out again upon our journey* 
Though of rather a light soil, it is a fine 
wheat growing district all the way to Ro¬ 
chester, the raising of which has been quite 
profitable till this year to the farmers; and 
large stacks of straw are every where seen 
on the road, and buildings, stock, and other 
things, making a beautiful rural picture, even 
in the dead of winter, and giving the travel¬ 
ler a favorable idea of the comfort, neatness 
thrift, and independence of the inhabitants. 
At Rochester we had a pleasant chat with 
our brother editors of the New Genesee 
Farmer We believe it is Mr. Colman’s in¬ 
tention to proceed next spring to Europe, to 
spend a couple of years in taking notes on 
agriculture, in a similar style to those he 
published when Commissioner of Massachu¬ 
setts. This we are not at liberty to officially 
announce at present, but we hope to be au¬ 
thorised soon. We are certain if he does go, 
he will present the American public with the 
most interesting and valuable account of Eu¬ 
ropean agriculture ever yet given to it. We 
shall envy him his tour, if he enjoys half 
the satisfaction which we did recently in 
England. 
Taking the railroad the same evening for 
Auburn, we arrived, maugre 15 inches fall of 
snow, early the next morning. The cars 
were well warmed by stoves, and with cush¬ 
ioned seats and backs, and our own carpet bag 
for a pillow, we had a comfortable time of it 
and a good night’s sleep. Soon after our ar¬ 
rival at Auburn, we were called upon by 
Col. Sherwood, one of the most spirited 
farmers and stock breeders in that section of 
the country, who immediately took us to his 
farm, about one mile from the town. Col. S. 
only got possession of this place last spring, 
when scarcely a shed or rod of good fence 
was upon it. He immediately erected cheap 
comfortable barns, connected by long sheds 
