m 
AMERICAN AeRICtTLT'O'RIST. 
%mxim ^jriadtarist 
Now-York, Wednesday, June 21, 1854, 
Expiring Subscriptions. —As wc have before 
announced, the Agriculturist is sent no longer 
than ordered and paid for; so that any one re¬ 
ceiving the paper need not expect to receive a 
bill for it afterwards. With the last number of 
any subscription we send a notice that the time 
is up, or what is equivalent, we generally send a 
bill for another year. The bill is made out at 
the full price $2 a year. Those belonging to 
clubs will of course remit only the club price. 
- e-f-i- 
OUR FARM NOTES—LECTURES, &c. 
As our readers will see, we are making fre¬ 
quent excursions for the purpose of gathering 
up the experiences of practical men. Wc de¬ 
sign to make this a prominent feature in our 
paper; for we are well satisfied that in no other 
way can we furnish so much practical informa¬ 
tion to our readers, as we can by describing the 
particular practices of different men. This will 
give each one some of the advantages of a visit 
upon the farms of hundreds of his neighbors. 
One of our number—usually Mr. Judd —will 
generally spend two or three days, in the mid¬ 
dle of each week, among our subscribers, ask¬ 
ing and answering questions, observing qualities 
of soils and modes of cultivation; and occasion¬ 
ally a free evening lecture will be given where a 
room is at hand, and a number of farmers (and 
their families) can readily be got together. 
--« • *-- 
TO CORRESPONDENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS. 
Nearly all the matter for each paper must be 
in the hands of the Editors, at least a week be- 
fore it goes into the paper, in order that time 
may be had for looking over, correcting, print¬ 
ing, proof-reading, &c. New’s items, reports on 
crops, and such matters will be received as late 
as Friday evening. The paper is all completed 
and ready for the press on Saturday P. M., ex¬ 
cept the markets and state of the crops. These 
are made out Monday at the latest moment. 
The paper is printed Monday night and Tuesday 
morning, and mailed on Tuesday so as to reach 
many subscribers on Wednesday, the publica¬ 
tion day. 
-*--6-+-e- 
GREAT SALE OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 
We desire to call attention to the advertise¬ 
ment in the present number of our paper, of 
Mr. William Neff, of Ohio. This gentleman 
was among the earliest importers and breeders 
of improved stock at the west. His herd origi¬ 
nally was one of the very best in the country, 
and so continued up to May, 1842. This we 
say from personal observation, as wc had often 
visited it previous to that time, then in the 
neighborhood of Cincinnati. We have no doubt 
its character has been well preserved since that 
period, as Mr. N. has a good eye for choice 
stock, possesses ample means to carry out his 
objects, which he uses liberally. We can, 
therefore, confidently recommend his animals 
to all who are wishing to improve their herds; 
and, furthermore, we believe that whatever Mr. 
Neff says in regard to the pedigrees of his cat¬ 
tle, may be strictly relied upon. 
A WORD TO YOUNG FARMERS. 
There are multitudes of young men who are 
“hired out” at $12 to $16 a month, to work 
upon farms. They are active, intelligent, and 
enterprising, and are earnestly desiring to get 
ahead in the world, but they do not quite know 
how to set about improving their condition. 
Let us say to such, that we have known many 
in just their condition, who are now flourishing, 
well-to-do farmers. Indeed, we can point to 
more than one of our present subscribers, who, 
twelve years since, were working for $12 a 
month, and now they own farms of 100 to 200 
acres, valued at $30 to $60 per acre. But how 
did they accomplish this? We will relate 
briefly the history of one, which will indicate 
the course pursued by the others. 
George C-, or George, as we familiarly 
called him, was the son of poor parents, in the 
western part of this State. In 1840, he was 21 
years old, and hired out for a year for $125. 
At the end of the year, he engaged with the 
same man for two years longer for $300. Dur¬ 
ing these three years, he pursued a course of 
strict economy with regard to clothing and other 
expenses, and managed to make $125 cover his 
entire outlay. In 1843 he went to Michigan, 
and with $200 paid for 100 acres of govern¬ 
ment land, and commenced work. During the 
first year, he cleared and planted about five 
acres, besides working out two months at the 
season of highest wages. At the end of the 
year he had put up a convenient log dwelling, 
and returning to New-York State, he took to 
himself a help-meet —a poor, but healthy, en¬ 
terprising girl, who had, with a little aid from 
home, saved enough to purchase a cow, seven 
sheep, and a supply of plain furniture. 
We will not stop to detail all the particulars 
of their future course—how they spent their 
honeymoon, winter, and first year with few con¬ 
veniences ; how their food at first was chiefly 
furnished by the corn-field, cow, and rifle, and 
how they worked along for nearly ten years; 
but this much we learned from a friend who 
visited them last month, viz., that Mr. C- 
has now a convenient dwelling and barns ; has 
104 acres of cleared land, well fenced and bear¬ 
ing good crops, and has refused $45 an acre for 
his farm. We also learned that he has a healthy 
family of children growing up around him; and 
that being an industrious and moral man withal, 
and one of the first settlers, he holds a station 
of no little influence in society. On being 
asked “ if $8000 cash, would buy him out of 
house and home,” his answer was, that “ his 
land, stock, crops, &c., would bring him little 
short of $9000 in the market, and that he did 
not suppose he could better himself with 
$10,000 in hand; at least he had no disposition 
to leave the scenes of his first hardships, and 
and birth-place of his children.” Our friend 
and informant, who has been for twenty years 
tossed upon the busy sea of speculation, and 
has accumulated $40,000, or more, remarked to 
us with a good deal of emphasis, “ How gladly 
would I exchange situations with George C.” 
“Yes,” said he, “I would throw in the odd 
$30,000 to exchange children with him; that is, 
to see mine as healthy and vigorous as his arc.” 
Now we shall be told that George C-was 
“fortunate,” “had good luck,” &c., but we 
think his success has not been greater than 
that of perhaps a majority of the steady, tem 
perate, economical young men who entered 
upon a farmer’s life fifteen to twenty years 
since. Let it be kept in mind, that the savings 
of the first years are the foundations of success. 
If George C-, like a majority of young men, 
had spent half or more of his earnings in ca¬ 
rousals, parties, Sunday clothes, &c., he might 
still be a farm hand instead of an employer. 
- e © *- 
THE TULIP. 
There is no spring flower in cultivation, that 
will rank with the tulip, in the general beauty 
of its form, the wealth and splendor of its 
colors, the endless variety and brilliancy of its 
tints, as they stand in bold contrast to each other 
in a single flower, or blend almost imperceptibly 
their hues; or in the cleanness, purity, and 
peerless elegance of its stem and leaf, in every 
stage of growth. 
These are very high qualities to award to 
any plant, or flower, but the tulip claims and 
owns them all. Indeed, there is no floral dis¬ 
play, no picture of a single spot of earth what¬ 
ever in a northern climate, which can be made 
so perfectly beautiful — one which fills the eye 
with such intense fulness — as a bed of choicely- 
selected tulips. They are so easily obtained 
and propagated, that the humblest cottager in 
town or country can enjoy them ; and it is 
said that the Spitalfields weavers of London, 
on little spots of earth, often enclosed in boxes, 
rear and exhibit, at the London Tulip shows, 
flowers of wondrous magnificence, admired by 
the nobility, and coveted even by royalty itself. 
When the green leaf of the bulb has entirely 
faded, a few weeks after flowering, the functions 
of the plant, for the season, are suspended; it has 
gone to rest. Then is the time to take them 
up, and make selections for new beds. Those 
who admire tulips—and who does not ?—should, 
if possible, select their varieties themselves, 
when in the height of their bloom. This is 
usually more satisfactory, when one knows what 
and how to select, than to leave the selection to 
the gardeners; who, although they may give 
you choice, rare, and new kinds, many of them 
at high prices, too, will not so much please you 
as some that are more common and long culti¬ 
vated. In planting them, they should be so ar¬ 
ranged in the bed that the colors should show 
in striking contrast, giving to it as bizarre an 
effect as possible. This arrangement of color 
in a tulip bed has quite as striking an effect as 
the individual character of the tulips themselves. 
We have known very common bulbs, by a taste¬ 
ful method of planting, look more beautiful in 
the mass than the finest and most costly flowers 
when promiscuously thrown together. A Paris¬ 
ian sewing-girl, with a few parti-colored rem¬ 
nants, will, in a few hours, stitch together a 
more brilliant and attractive dress for the boul¬ 
evards, than the costliest robe got up for a court 
presentation. It is so with a tulip bed. The 
bulbs should not only be choice in themselves, 
but the arrangement of colors and sizes should 
be equally tasteful. Then, their effect is un¬ 
equalled by any thing else that blooms. 
There arc several kinds of tulip, as the Par¬ 
rot, or fringed, the full rose tulip, and the semi¬ 
double. They are, however, all inferior to the 
upright, cupped, single flower, which, when 
right, is the only perfect thing of its kind, and 
the only pne we should be anxious to cultivate. 
