CULTURE OF CRANBERRIES.—SCARCITY OF SWINE AND SHEEP. 
79 
week or ten days, with a little more care while 
standing in harness, was all that ivas requisite to 
ensure the safety of the horse. After that he is 
even less liable to cold than before the clipping, 
from the fact of his seldom sweating, and when 
he does do so, that he dries quickly, instead of 
standing for hours in a long wet coat of hair. It 
also in many cases makes a perceptible improve¬ 
ment in the cheerfulness, and consequently in the 
action and work of the horse—gives him a most 
beautiful, velvet-like, close coat—and much facili¬ 
tates th.e groom’s work of cleaning, &c., &c.; in¬ 
deed, so generally is the advantage of clipping ac¬ 
knowledged, that even the mail and stage-horses 
have this expense bestowed upon them ; and not 
unfrequently a cab-horse is seen half clipped? that 
he may be the easier cleaned from the filth of 
London mud. Shaving has been resorted to for 
the same purpose, but is not so well liked. Sin¬ 
ging has been practised, and a very clever little in¬ 
strument was invented for applying the flame ; 
but of all the modes, clipping has the preference, 
though you find the singer in almost every stable 
for the ordinary purpose of trimming horses, and 
is, I presume, now to be purchased in New York ; 
if not, I would recommend attention to it. 
India-Rubber Boot. —Being now fairly in the 
stable, let me mention the patent India-rubber 
boot, as the very best and neatest protection I ever 
saw for an interfering horse. It remains in its 
place, fits close and snug to the ankle rounding in 
with the fetlock joint to the pasture. As far as 
my experience goes, after two or three years’ use 
of them, it causes as little, or less chafe, than any 
others ; and when worn on a black leg, draws 
very little attention to the infirmity of your horse— 
which, by-the-by, is a very hateful one. What is 
more absurd than a horse going on three legs, and 
carrying the fourth, because he can not keep it out 
of his way ? 
CULTURE OF CRANBERRIES. 
Having been frequently addressed by gentlemen 
in your state upon the subject of cultivating the 
cranberry, I beg leave through your paper to an¬ 
swer them, by replying to the following queries 
of one of my correspondents just received. 
1. Are the plants obtained from the berry? It 
is my opinion they are not, as I have repeatedly 
tried the experiment of endeavoring to grow them 
from the seed, and have known others do the same, 
but without success. 
2. Is manure necessary in the rows or hill ? I 
should think it was not, for our greatest yield of 
cranberries in their wild state, is obtained from 
cold sour lands. 
3. What time in the spring or fall should the 
roots be planted ? I had always followed planting 
in the spring till the fall of 1842. The vines 
planted that fall yielded a few berries the succeed¬ 
ing autumn of 1843, but not so abundantly accord¬ 
ing to their time, as those planted in the spring. 
This, however, may be owing to the cold season 
we had ; for the cranberry here, generally, was 
cut short last year. 
4. The manner in which I commenced the cul¬ 
ture of them, and success up to this date ? In the 
spring of 1840, I planted half an acre with roots, 
put out in drills 18 inches apart, and 2 inches from 
each other in the drills. The following autumn, 
1841, I gathered 12 quarts of fine cranberries. 
The next autumn I gathered 28 boxes, measuring 
one half bushel each box, of which 6 boxes were 
sent to the American Institute, and were awarded 
a diploma. The fall of 1842, I gathered 81 boxes 
from the half acre, and again was awarded a di¬ 
ploma by the American Institute for such as I 
showed. The past two years have been very bad 
seasons for the cranberry, the crop having fell 
short of its usual yield greatly; but not so much 
so as the common wild cranberry. I have set out 
plants every year since 1840, taking the most 
thriving which I could find, and have always had 
a good yield when the season was reasonably fa¬ 
vorable. 
Arty one wishing to obtain roots will please ad¬ 
dress me, stating the number of square rods they 
wish planted, when I will give my prices for the 
same. Sullivan Bates. 
Bellingham , Mass., Jan. 25th , 1844. 
SCARCITY OF SWINE AND SHEEP, 
Swtne of all sorts have been selling high lately, 
and there is great inquiry for them now. Many 
think as times improve, and the farmers’ spirits 
rally a little, that Berkshires will be in active de¬ 
mand again at fair prices. I should like to see 
your opinion on the Chinese breed for this country, 
for making shoat pork for the city market. There 
is an immense quantity of that kind sent to New 
York from this county in the summer months, alive, 
and in the early autumn months, dead. It is of a 
superior quality, being fatted from the refuse of 
the dairy. The Chinese breed, if we could get 
them to produce fast enough, would do us good. 
They are small and slow of growth : but they are 
easily kept, and we could therefore feed more of 
them—the pork of this breed is most delicious. 
There is more inquiry for sheep since the late 
advance in wool. It is supposed there is not one 
fourth the number of fine sheep in this county that 
there was eight years ago, and many will soon 
regret having so heedlessly destroyed this invalu¬ 
able animal. S. W. 
Orange County , Jan. 19 th, 1844. 
Instead of thorough-bred Chinese, we would 
recommend our correspondent to take a cross of 
them upon the Berkshires, as this produce would 
make just the thing for his purpose. We recently 
saw at Mr. Woolsey’s, and also at Mr. Valk’s, on 
Long Island, some beautiful specimens of the swine 
kind made in this way. We need not add the re¬ 
peated experiments we made on our farm several 
years ago in thus crossing these breeds, as they 
must be still fresh in the memory of the readers 
of the agricultural journals. It is sufficient to say 
that they were highly satisfactory, and found favor 
with all who desired a medium-sized animal. 
