AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
FOR THE 
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VOLUME XXXVIII.-No. 1. 1STEW YORK, JANUARY, 1879. NEW SERIES-No. 384. 
A Remarkable Pyramid of Cheese. 
At the recent dairy fair in New York, described 
on page 7, the most conspicuous objects were two 
immense pyramids of cheese, one on either side of 
the haM. That on the right contained ten tons of 
Vermont and Western cheese ; that on the left was 
still larger; it was decorated with flags, ivy, ever¬ 
greens, and upon its sum¬ 
mit a fine Jersey cow,— 
dead of course, but hand¬ 
somely mounted and quite 
• life-like. The artist and 
engravers have made an 
accurate representation of 
it, in the picture on this 
page. This pyramid was 
constructed and exhibited 
hv the Messrs. H. K. & F. 
B. Thurber, of New York. 
It comprised many varie¬ 
ties of home and foreign 
make. The lower course 
was a row of great 
cheeses, each weighing 
about 800 lbs., and orna¬ 
mented with cards, bear¬ 
ing appropriate inscrip¬ 
tions, among which were: 
“And carry these ten 
cheeses, with the captains 
of their thousand, and 
look how their brethren' 
fare.” 1 Samuel, xvii., 18; 
“A last course at dinner 
without cheese, is like a 
pretty woman with only 
one eye .”—Brillat Sava- 
rin. Above these were ar¬ 
ranged smaller American, 
and the peculiar shaped 
fancy and foreign cheeses. 
On one side was a Gruyere 
cheese, with the inscrip¬ 
tion from Hudibras: 
“And prove that she is not 
made of green cheese,” 
and a jolly face represent¬ 
ing “the man in the 
moon.” The Messrs.Thur¬ 
ber contributed largely to 
the interest and success 
of the fair. At one side of the pyramid was a table, 
containing a large variety of foreign cheeses, in¬ 
cluding oddly shaped ones from Italy,made of goats’ 
milk, and put up in bladders : the famous English 
Stilton and Cheddar varieties, Irish cheese, French 
and Swiss cheese, which the firm procured abroad 
and brought over especially for this exhibition. 
Pleasant Figures Continued. 
Large Exports.—Encouraging Prospects. 
Never before in the past 25 years have we been 
able to presen’ to our readers 6uch a continuous 
succession of gratifying figures. These figures show 
that, as a nation, we are buying fewer foreign arti¬ 
cles, are economizing in expenses, and at the same 
time arg sending abroad a largely increasing amount 
of the productions of our own fields and manufac¬ 
tories. We are producing and selling to others far 
more than we are buying, and by so much bettering 
our financial condition. It matters not whether 
we are accumulating the difference, or using it in 
cancelling an indebtedness to other nations previ¬ 
ously incurred. Last month we gave a variety of 
general figures, and brought the statistics down to 
Oct. 1. We have now the official reports to Nov. 1. 
These show that during October alone we exported 
products to the amount of $65,135,000, exclusive of 
specie, while we imported only $37,391,875 ; or, in- | 
eluding specie, the exports were $06,530,736, and 
the imports $40,884,079, a balance in our favor of 
almost $20,000,000 for a single month, averaging 
about $740,000 for each business day. For the ten 
months, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 1, we exported, ex¬ 
clusive of specie, in round numbers, 600 million 
dollars worth ($599,073,799),and imported $362,003,- 
787 worth, a balance in our favor of $237,070,012, a 
gain for each business day of $911,700, that is nearly 
a million dollars a day ! And this, too, with the low 
j prices of hreadstuffs and other commodities sent 
abroad. The large foreign demand continues, and 
for the reasons explained last month, is likely to do 
so, until our large surplus is mainly exhausted, and 
a good opening left for the grain crops of 1879. 
The prospects are encouraging for farmers, and, 
indeed, for all others. An abundance of food at low 
prices favorably affects all classes, and will greatly 
aid recuperation of business generally. The crops 
of 1878 were the largest, in the aggregate, ever pro¬ 
duced. We can not reasonably expect a repetition 
of these another year, but what may be lacking in 
quantity will probably be made up in better prices. 
Let our farmers therefore lay out large plans for 
the year, during this leisure month. For the various 
spring crops to be put in, plan to do it well—to get 
the largest yield possible from the smallest area. 
The advice last given above, needs to be taken to 
heart more and more by 
our cultivators. Ten bush¬ 
els of wheat per acre 
may just about pay ex¬ 
penses, if it does even 
that, while 20 to 30 bush¬ 
els may pay handsomely. 
Ten acres yielding 200 
bushels, requires only 
about half as much plow¬ 
ing, harrowing, seed, and 
reaping over, as twenty 
acres producing only 200 
bushels. The same reck¬ 
oning applies to com, and 
to every other crop, and 
to farm animals as well. 
Some animals scarcely 
yield flesh, work, or dairy 
products enough to pay 
their keeping. Others 
give double return from 
the same food. The win¬ 
ter months afford time 
and leisure to think, to 
read, and study books 
and papers on farming, 
to talk with others, and 
thus get every possible 
hint upon the question 
of what are the most 
profitable animals —how to 
increase the yield per 
acre—how to prepare the 
ground, and what varie¬ 
ties of seed to plant and 
sow, not only to yield 
well, but to render one 
as much as possible in¬ 
dependent of the weather. 
The best seed, and a few 
drains, or a few open 
dead-furrows even, may 
save a crop from the dis¬ 
astrous effects of a wet season, should it come, 
and go far to decide the question of a profitable 
or an unprofitable year’s work. ’Squire Bunker says 
the best manure is a liberal application of brains. 
medium Sized Fowls tlie Best.—I. K. Felch 
says; Many of the favorite breeds of fowls have 
suffered from the effect of breeding for large size. 
From 6 to 8 pound hens, and 9 to 11 pound cocks, 
for Light Brahmas; and 5 to 7 pound hens, and 7 
to 9 pound cocks, for Plymouth Rocks, are the 
weights at which the greatest productiveness will 
be found, and to force the fowls beyond those fig¬ 
ures, will result in a sacrifice of their laying quali¬ 
ties. The smaller breeds, such as Leghorns, Games 
and Hamburgs, will stand forcing, without deterio¬ 
ration, to a greater proportinate degree than those 
first mentioned. The rule should he, guard against 
excessive weight in the Asiatics, and loss of weight 
in small breeds, if great productiveness be the aim. 
COPYRIGHT, 1878, BY DRANG* JtTDD COMPANY. 
A PYRAMID OF CHEESE, EXHIBITED AT THE INTERNATIONAL DAIRY FAIR. 
