AmMIcan a d rig tr l l 1 tr^ i si’ 
325 
were considered important in crossing. Never 
breed two old birds together; this produces 
slowness of motion and looseness of feather. 
When you incorporate new blood, choose simi¬ 
larity of feather to the race you are breeding 
from. Put a stag to an old hen rather than an 
old cock to a young hen ; it is somewhat singu¬ 
lar, but we believe true, that the produce of the 
latter do not equal those of the former. Such 
certainly was the belief of my cock-fighting 
friends. You may put a mother to her son, 
and the progency will be good; but do not 
cross again. The best blood crossed after this 
has a tendency to run. The first cross, or that 
of mother and son, is one of the best crosses 
that can be made, and develops the best quali¬ 
ties of both sides of the house. Father and 
daughter will not answer equally well. Be 
more careful of your female side if possible 
than your male. “ I have always bred my best 
cocks from the hen,” was a saying I can remem¬ 
ber as long as I can remember any thing, as 
being an axiom with him from whose experience 
I have learned my chief cock-breeding know¬ 
ledge. He believed this principle to hold good 
from the human race downwards, an opinion in 
which he is not singular,— CocJcspur, in Poul¬ 
try Chronicle, 
AGRICULTURE OF BELGIUM. 
A ride through Belgium in early autumn is 
perfectly enchanting; the air is balmy, the ver¬ 
dure still fresh, and luxuriant, the earth is 
teeming with its choicest fruits, and on every 
hand are the indications of industry and thrift. 
In thoroughness and neatness of cultivation, Bel¬ 
gium equals the richest agricultural counties of 
England, and appears in striking contrast with 
France. How lucious were the peaches, pears, 
plums, and grapes, tastefully arranged in little 
baskets, which the tidy peasant women offered 
at the windows of the railway carriages for one 
franc (twenty cents) the lot; just such as, dis¬ 
played in Taylor’s window, would command five 
times that sum. Occasionally a broad sweep of 
a meadow reminded us of a western prairie; 
but we were continually fascinated with the 
garden culture that obtains even in large fields 
of vegetables and other esculents. Was it be¬ 
cause the women work in the fields even at 
grubbing potatoes, that every thing was in such 
good taste and perfect order ? Rather because 
in this old and circumscribed country, the mul- 
tum in parvo, variety in condensation, must be 
sought even in tilling the ground. We noticed 
some fine large fields of grain, and of rich pas¬ 
ture land, neatly enclosed in hedges, which in 
Belgium, as in England, are a general substitute 
for fences. The railway from Brussels to Aix- 
la-Chapelle affords a most agreeable variety of 
scenery.— Correspondent of the A r . Y. Inde¬ 
pendent. 
WEATHER AND CROPS IN FRANCE, ITALY, 
AND ALGERIA. 
Paris, July 19th, 1854. 
We have not, to this day, ent red upon the 
summer. I have lighted a fire every morning. 
Heavy rains occur within every twenty-four 
hours. A scientific journal attributes the “at- 
mosphereric perturbations” to the influence of 
the new comet discovered on the 4th ult. It 
predicts a spell of intense heat after the extreme 
humidity. The tremendous hurricane experi¬ 
enced in the capital and environs, and several 
of the middle departments, on the 30th ult., is 
accounted for in the same way. This visita¬ 
tion was attended with phenomena so diversi¬ 
fied and curious, that it will be the subject of 
a formal report to the Academy of Sciences, 
which cannot fail to attract the attention of 
your meteorologists. 
During last week the stock market was dull; 
the purport of the Czar’s answer to the sum¬ 
mons of Austria and Prussia was uncertain; the 
continued wet weather might injure the har¬ 
vests ; the large reinforcements about to be 
dispatched to the Baltic and Black Seas, argued 
stupendous enterprises; speculators preferred 
inaction to manifold risk. 
The latest special reports concerning the 
grain harvests from Tuscany, the Papal domi¬ 
nions, Sicily, Sardinia, Piedmont, nearly all the 
peninsular indeed, represent them as abundant. 
It is calculated that the three provinces of Al¬ 
geria yield this season two millions of hectoli¬ 
tres of the cereals. The hectolitre is somewhat 
more than seven bushels. Egypt is likewise 
uncommonly fruitful. According to the agri¬ 
cultural reports of this day, the French harvest 
will be more than average ; prices of flour and 
grain have begun to decline every where. 
Wines are on the rise, as sad accounts come 
from the vineyards of the middle and southern 
departments. Little sensation is excited, as 
yet, by the war; until some great blows be 
struck, the public mind will remain seemingly 
indifferent.— Corr. of Journal of Commerce. 
AGRICULTURE IN JAPAN. 
A correspondent of the New- York Observer, 
thus writes from on board the United States 
frigate Powhattan, while at anchor in the Bay 
of Yedo, on the 31st of last March. The agri¬ 
culture of Japan must be as instructive to us 
western nations, in many respects,"as that of 
China. 
The region of country near this anchorage is 
exceedingly fertile, and the black rich soil pro¬ 
duces two crops annually; the wheat and bar¬ 
ley are now almost ready to flower in some 
places. The rice fields are draining, and will 
soon be ready to receive the shoots, for here all 
the rice is transported. Wheat and barley are 
drilled and not sown broadcast, and the vigor¬ 
ous grain shows the care bestowed on it. Dur¬ 
ing the time we have been in this Bay the cli¬ 
mate has been very pleasant, a good medium 
between too hot and too cold; snow resting on 
Mount Fusi and other high mountains, but 
never on the lowlands. This peak is considered 
about 14,000 feet high, and lies nearly due west 
of our ships, raising its symmetrical cone far 
above every other point. The country is un¬ 
dulating in this vicinity, a succession of ravines, 
plateaux, valleys, and ridges, affording room for 
forest-lands as well as grain. Terraces are 
common, some of which have cost great labor 
to dig them down. Oak, chestnut, maple, pines, 
furs, and other trees not recognized in their 
winter nakedness, are common; but the abun¬ 
dance of the Camellia Japonica, growing 40 and 
50 feet high, and now lately covered with flow¬ 
ers, is the admiration of all. The Japanese fur¬ 
nished a large supply of them for the dinner- 
tables the other day. The white Japonica is 
not so common, only one or two trees having 
been met. The Pyrus Japonica is also common, 
and peaches are now in full flower. I have 
seen two specimens of pine trees, the tops of 
which were forced down and trained over a 
framework, leaving the trunk like the handle of 
an umbrella underneath this canopy of 30 feet 
width. The time spent on one was 20, on 
the other 30 years. A pine grafted on a fir 
was also shown me; and if this small village 
exhibits these horticultural curiosities, larger 
cities doubtless furnish greater rarities. Many 
of the pines and other trees covering the hills 
are planted, and we have met farmers putting 
out saplings on steep hills, which otherwise we 
should never have suspected were not natural 
growth. This shows the great cost of fuel and 
the care taken to keep up a supply. 
OHIO IMPORTATION OF CATTLE. 
The Society of Shakers at Lebanon, Ohio, 
have recently imported a valuable collection of 
Short-horn cattle, comprising six young bulls 
from eight months to two years old, and ten 
cows and heifers. They are from the extensive 
herd of James Douglas, Esq., of Athelstaneford, 
East Lothian, Scotland, and cost from forty to 
two hundred guineas each. The whole cost, in¬ 
cluding the expense of getting them out, was 
about $85,000. This is the third large importa¬ 
tion into Ohio this season. 
- • •« -- 
Correspondence of the American Agriculturist. 
Sidney Center, Del. Co., N. Y., July 24,1854. 
* * * 4= yy E jj ave suffered m uch in this 
section from a severe drought. No rain except 
slight showers has fallen since the 25 th May 
last, until last Saturday, when we had a heavy 
shower. 
The grass crop got a good start in the spring, 
and there is a fair yield of hay, but the pastures 
are badly dried up. Oats cannot be half an 
average crop. Corn is now growing fast, and 
will probably be heavy. Rye is generally h tr- 
vested and came in well. There is scarcely any 
wheat raised in this section. 
S. L. Wattles. 
Near Geneva, N. Y , July 24, 1854. 
Our severe drouth still continues, our corn is 
suffering severely and pastures are entirely 
dried up. Barley very short, I think not half a 
crop; oats not much better, unless on the best 
of land. If rain does not come immediately I 
don’t know what we shall do with our stock. 
Wheat harvest is finished, or nearly so, and got 
in in fine order, so far without a shower; in fact 
wo have only had two showers here since 20th 
of May. You may guess we are in a deplorable 
condition. John Johnston. 
TnE Grape Crop. —The season has not been 
the most favorable for our vineyards. During 
the last week we have visited some vineyards 
and made dilligent inquiry concerning all,' with 
a view to ascertain the prospects of the coming 
crop. 
Among the vineyards on the hills and slopes 
in Storrs township, the grapes are fine, and 
promise rather more than an average crop. 
In the neighborhood of Carthage, the Cataw- 
bas are badly mildewed. The Isabellas are not 
seriously injured, though there is still time for 
them to be spoiled. 
There are not many vines in the northern 
part of Columbia township, but the grapes 
there are looking well. Mr. Ben. Kittredge, 
who has a farm near Plainville, has the best 
vineyard in that neighborhood; he will get 
nearly an average crop. At Plainville, Judge 
Cross has nearly two acres of thrifty vines, 
from which he will get an average crop. The 
vineyards of Messrs. Collins and Bramble also 
look well. 
Mr. Rintz, whose vineyard is near the river 
road, will have but a light crop this season. 
Last year Mr. Rintz made five thousand gallons 
of wine from five acres of ground, an unprece¬ 
dented crop. 
One of the largest and best worked vineyards 
near this city, is that of Messrs. Corneau, the 
celebrated manufacturers of Still and Sparkling 
Catawba wines. Messrs. Coneau will gather an 
average crop this season. They make a large 
quantity of wine, annually, of their own vin¬ 
tage. 
On the whole, we believe that the grape crop 
of 1854 will be something less than an average 
crop.— Cin. Com. of July 20, 
Utah Cotton. —We have been presented by 
Elder Blair, of Salt Lake city with a small sam¬ 
ple of cotton, grown in Utah Territory. The 
staple is short, but the fibre is fine; and the 
color resembles that of the celebrated Sea Island 
variety. Upon the whole, it has more of the 
appearance of fine Merino wool than cotton. It 
is, we are informed, of the [variety that is grown, 
to some extent, in portions of the Canadas; the 
seed having been carried from that region to 
Utah, where it is said to grow finely.— Texas 
paper. 
No Agricultural Patents issued last week. 
