379 
Cone’s Dynamometer—Sheep Husbandry No. 1„ 
In your remarks upon the State Fair, I coincide 
with you, except in relation to the time of holding 
that Fair. Would it not be better to ha\e the Fair 
come about the 10th or 15th of September ? Then the 
farmers of Western New-York are more at leisure than 
in the first week of that month, for you know they 
must attend to getting their wheat in at any rate, as 
that is all that can be grown in our section of the 
country, to raise cash; and nearly all the wheat sowed 
in western New York is sown in the first week of Sep¬ 
tember. 
I am making preparations to have my improvement 
uniform throughout the union, and an exclusive pro¬ 
perty in the same. 
I am cordially yours, The Inventor. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
SHEEP HUSBANDRY, NO. 1. 
Messrs. A. B. & R. L. Allen :— 
Dear Sirs: —From the commencement 
of your publication, I have watched its de¬ 
velopment and progress, not only with great 
interest, but also with much gratification. I 
have been especially gratified by seeing the 
National character of your work; for it has 
been American in fact as well as in name. 
This, one of its chief characteristics, I hope 
will be-continued; for though we had be¬ 
fore no lack of agricultural periodicals of a 
local character, good and highly useful ones 
too, yet we needed at least one publication 
at some central point, of a somewhat diffe¬ 
rent order; one which should be comprehen¬ 
sive and national in its scope, and as broad 
in its views as the whole of our extensive 
and growing country. 
I well know that there were those, who 
objected to and and decried the attempt to 
establish your work on such a foundation, 
and who thought its chance of success would 
be diminished by aiming at anything beyond 
the usual local character, of the hitherto most 
successful agricultural newspapers and maga¬ 
zines of the United States, but I trust you 
will live to demonstrate the fallacy of such 
narrow views. Allow me to offer my con¬ 
gratulations on the progress you have already 
made, and in the name of many of your read¬ 
ers and friends, to wish you the best success 
in a long career of extended usefulness. 
It has struck me, that giving your publica¬ 
tion a National aspect, your very location 
at a commanding point of the North, would 
enable you, in many respects, to be still more 
highly useful to the Southern and South¬ 
western portions of our country, than if you 
were established among them. 
There are many things in Agricultural and 
Domestic Eccnomy, if not in Political Eco¬ 
nomy, which have hitherto been better under¬ 
stood and practiced at the north than in the 
more southern states of the Union. Especial¬ 
ly has this been the case in the New England 
states, owing doubtless, somewhat to the 
nature of their country and soil, but more 
to the character of their people. Those of 
them engaged in agriculture, have long 
understood and practiced the doctrine of 
making the farm and their own domestic 
labor, produce them as far as possible, all the 
necessaries of life, their clothing as well as 
food, so as to buy but little, and thus pay out 
as little money as possible; and the extent 
to which they have succeeded in this, would 
be matter of wonder and surprise to those 
who are unaccustomed to witness it; many 
wealthy and respectable families coming very 
near the mark, of “ living within themselves,” 
—perhaps quite as near as is desirable. In 
this frugality, has lain the true secret of their 
superior success and real independence, and 
their general freedom from debt and embar¬ 
rassment in these times of universal difficulty 
and depression. These means and elements 
of independence, are to a considerable extent, 
worthy of transplantation to the southern and 
south-western portion of our country, where 
in some things, as I will presently explain, 
they will admit of a ready adaptation, on a 
more extended scale. 
I notice that the south is apparently wak¬ 
ing up somewhat, to the great importance of 
this subject, and I am disposed to give you 
credit for some instrumentality in drawing 
attention to it. Instead of devoting their 
whole strength as heretofore, to the produc¬ 
tion of some one great staple, cotton for ex¬ 
ample, which is liable to failure of crop, and 
at times to great depression of price in mar¬ 
ket, they are now learning that it is best to 
raise their own corn and pork, as well as other 
provisions, and as far as practicable, to pro¬ 
duce within themselves, clothing for their 
laborers and families, instead of buying and 
paying out money for everything they con¬ 
sume. In proportion as they succeed in 
putting this in practice, will be their inde¬ 
pendence and permanent prosperity. 
In natural connection with this subject, it 
has appeared to me that the south and west 
would be great gainers by the introduction 
of some new staples of an extensive and per¬ 
manently important character, adapted to 
their soils and climate. 
More desirable than ever, does this seem 
at the present time, when almost all our pro¬ 
ducts are so exceedingly depressed in price, 
as scarcely to remunerate the cost of pro¬ 
duction, after deducting the expense of trans¬ 
portation to market. The article of silk has 
