356 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
much as we would have liked. We selected for 
experiment six polled Galloway cattle, that had 
been fed on turnips and straw up to the 10th of 
January, when the experiment commenced; 
two of them got, in addition to their turnips, 4 
lb. of linseed cake; two, 4 lb. of cotton-seed 
cake, and two, 4 lb. of bean meal, till the 10th 
of April, when they were slaughtered. They 
were measured on 10th January and 10th April, 
(when the cotton-seed cake was finished,) and 
weighed after they were slaughtered. The re¬ 
sults are as follows : 
Weight 
by meas¬ 
urement, 
Jan 10. 
Weight 
by meas- 
urement, 
April 10. 
Weight after 
being slaughtered. 
Beef. 
Tallow. 
1. Linseed cake. 
Pounds. 
894 
Pounds. 
977 
Pounds. 
903 
Pounds. 
56 
9. Linseed cake. 
888 
966 
911 
59 
3. Cotton-seed cake, 
861 
950 
955 
49 
4. Cotton-seed cake, 
830 
912 
875 
63 
5. Bean meal. 
888 
945 
882 
58 
6. Bean meal. 
860 
961 
920 
52 
They consumed each daily during the experi¬ 
ment about 150 lb. of Swedish turnips, besides 
straw. The cattle, when slaughtered, were not 
as ripe as we would have wished; but we 
thought it better to send them to the flesher, as 
the eotton-seed cake at our disposal was fin¬ 
ished. This will account for the actual weight 
being less than the weight by measurement, as 
cattle not in a ripe condition never weigh out to 
the measurement; a fortiori, the diiference be¬ 
tween the real weight and the weight by mea¬ 
surement on 10th January, will be greater than 
the difference between the real weight and the 
weight by measurement on 10th April; so that 
the real increase of weight during the three 
months of experiment is not indicated by the 
figures above. All that we wish to impress 
upon our readers at the present time is, that 
cattle fed on cotton-seed, cake made as much 
progress as those fed on linseed cake and bean 
meal—a fact which was abundantly manifest 
both from the appearance and touch of the ani¬ 
mals. 
Feeling satisfied that cotton-seed cake could 
be used profitably as a substitute for linseed 
cake, if the price were not too high, we endea¬ 
vored to obtain more of it, and at the same time 
to try the seed itself as an article of food. We 
got some fresh seed newly imported from Ja¬ 
maica, and some cake imported from America, 
by Mr. Bennet, of Leith. We selected eight 
cattle for experiment; two to be fed on linseed 
and chaff, two on cotton seed and chaff, two on 
linseed cake, and two on cotton-seed cake, the 
whole to get turnips and straw in addition; 
both the linseed and cotton-seed were bruised, 
the latter in an ordinary oat-bruiser. The cot¬ 
ton-seed cake got from Mr. Bennet is shaped 
mto squares of 10 inches and 8 inches thick; it 
is not so brittle as that got from Mr. Burn, is 
softer, not so pleasant to the taste, and of a saf¬ 
fron color. We could not by any coaxing get 
the cattle to eat it by itself, and were obliged 
on that account to disguise it by mixing it with 
other prepared food, which the cattle are now 
eating; but this change has had the effect of 
interfering with the experiment in some mea¬ 
sure. We are not surprised at cattle evincing 
a dislike to some kinds of food which have been 
imported from distant countries, as there is 
often the risk of their being damaged either by 
fermentation or sea-water during the voyage; 
and perhaps this was the case with the cotton¬ 
seed cake. We have several times experienced 
the same thing with different samples of foreign 
linseed cake. The experiment is going on at 
present, and, in so far as we can judge by the 
eye and touch, the cotton-seed has an equal ef¬ 
fect with the linseed in improving the condition 
of the animals. 
Portions of cotton-seed cake were sent also 
to Mr. Dudgeon, Humbie, and Mr. Johnston, 
flesher, Edinburg, who is also an extensive 
feeder. Mr. Johnston’s opinion of the cake 
may be judged of by his ordering 10 tons more 
of it whenever it could be got. Mr. Dudgeon, 
however, did not form such a favorable opinion 
of it, from one of his cattle that were fed on it, 
having died suddenly. The cake had been 
given to a number of cattle going loose in a 
court, and, as was to he expected, where cattle 
in courts arc very fond of a particular kind of 
food, the strongest took far more than his own 
share, while the weakest got none at all. We 
understand that it was one of the best in the 
court that died. It was sent in to Professor 
Dick for examination, who found the stomach 
quite full of the cake, as was reported to us, 
and gave it as his opinion, in a letter now be¬ 
fore us, that “ Mr. Dudgeon’s animal died from 
having surfeited itself with the cotton-seed cake, 
as by the analysis of it there is nothing delete¬ 
rious in it.” It was enough, however, to dis¬ 
courage Mr. Dudgeon from using any more of 
it for food; he therefore applied the rest of it 
to the potato crop in comparison with rape-cake, 
and from the produce he was led to form a 
more favorable opinion of it than of the rape- 
cake. 
[Since writing the above, we have received the 
following remarks from Mr. Bennet: “The 
cake we sent you is the produce of Louisiana; 
the process for making it is patented, and many 
thousands of dollars have been spent in bring¬ 
ing it to its present perfection. To extract the 
oil from the cotton-seed oilcake, they operate as 
follows: Plan I. 1st, Break up the cake as 
tine as can be in cast-iron or other mill; 2d, 
Crush it as fine as can be, through rollers; 3d, 
Put into large casks, and put jet of steam in it, 
then the oil, the stearine, and the olean, will 
rise to the top, and the seed below is prepared 
for the feeding of cattle. Plan II. Crush and 
run it between rollers; apply a jet of steam 
into it till it is properly cooked, then put it into 
the presses. It will give 5 quarts of oil to each 
100 lb. of cake. The offal is a highly nutritious 
food for cattle, aud is devoured by them with 
avidity. The oil, stearine, and olean, make the 
best kind of soap for woolen and other goods, 
and either the hard or soft soap from it are 
found to be excellent for fixing Turkey red and 
other difficult colors.” Several gentlemen who 
obtained some of the cake from Mr. Bennet 
have expressed their satisfaction with it. In 
some cases the cattle did not seem disposed to 
eat it at first, but eventually did so, when they 
became very fond of it, and they greatly im¬ 
proved.] 
(To be continued.) 
A GRAND CHANCE FOE POULTRY BREEDERS. 
We have received, through a friend, the fol¬ 
lowing letter from Dr. F. S. Genand, of St. Jac¬ 
ques, L’Achigan, Leinster county, Canada East, 
and publish it for the benefit of those who have 
poultry to dispose of. For further information 
please not to address us, but the party above- 
named, or some one in Quebec. The proper per¬ 
son there would be the President or Secretary 
of the Industrial Exhibition, but we have not 
his address; it would therefore be advisable for 
those interested, to write direct to'Quebec for it. 
St. Jacques, L’Achigan, Leinster Co., ) 
Canada East, July 19, 1854. ( 
In Canada, where I reside, there is not a sin¬ 
gle poultry dealer where people can be supplied 
with Asiatic and other fowls. Such amateurs 
who have imported some at heavy expenses, 
keep their fowls for themselves, and thus de¬ 
prive people of the benefit of raising choice 
poultry. The expenses and great risks in for¬ 
warding, incurred by those who import fowls or 
eggs from the United States, utterly discourage 
the majority of amateurs and others, in trying 
this means of improving their stock. 
September next, there will be held in Quebec, 
a great Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, 
which will be visited by thousands of people. 
This will be a good opportunity for poultry 
breeders to sell, and they will confer a great 
service upon the people of this country by send¬ 
ing in at that time, a large collection of pure- 
blooded fowls of their choicest stocks. Besides 
the satisfaction of conferring a service upon this 
country, it will also in return prove to be a very 
profitable and satisfactory speculation. I may 
warrant this, as Asiatic and choice poultry is in 
great demand in Canada. People here are very 
desirous of procuring Asiatic, and other fowls, 
but they do not want to incur the risks and 
vexations of an importation. 
Allow me to request you to use your influ¬ 
ence to induce poultry breeders and dealers in 
vour place, and elsewhere, to come to Quebec, at 
the time of the Exhibition, with large collections 
of choice fowls. If poultry dealers in the 
United States knew this circumstance, I have 
no doubt but they would take advantage of it, 
and would find it a profitable and successful 
speculation. F. L. Gen and, M. D. 
AGRICULT URAL FAIRS. 
State Fairs seem to be growing into the 
Great Annual Festival, in many of the States, 
eclipsing all other gatherings by their compre¬ 
hensive character, bringing into contact and 
communion men of all occupations and tastes, 
from the most remote portion of the State; and 
by the great aggregation of stock, vegetables, 
fruits and implements for exhibition, illustrating 
the perfection to which, by skill, care, aud ob¬ 
servance of physiological and mechanical laws, 
animals, vegetables and fruits, and the rude im¬ 
plements of the farmer can be brought. They 
cleave scales from the eyes of ignorance. They 
sweep away the films of prejudice, like cobwebs. 
They infuse into the mind of the young farmer 
aD ambition to excel in his profession. They 
teach the money-loving votary of the profession, 
what fearful wastes, what exhaustion of his 
soil, what deterioration of his crops and stock, 
have been the consequence of persisting in 
dogged, and selfish, and unnatural courses, be¬ 
cause his fathers did before him. They impress 
in ten thousand ways, the superiority of intelli¬ 
gent over mere brute labor, and tell with ten 
thousand illustrations, that a sharp intellect is 
as necessary at one end of the plow, as a sharp 
coulter at the other; in a word the supremacy 
of mind over matter.-— Toledo Blade. 
— --• e-e—- 
i’or the American Agriculturist. 
DROUTH IN TOMPKINS COUNTY, N. Y. 
Lake Ridge, Tompkins Co., N. Y., August 3,1854. 
Messes. Editors :—I am located in a region 
where we are suffering exceedingly from drouth. 
And although vegetation suffers on mine and 
adjoining farms, more than it has been known 
to during 25 or 30 years, still, on farms one 
mile nearer the Cayuga Lake, the drouth is still- 
more severe. In most of the meadows, there 
is no more verdure now than in mid-winter. 
Our pastures are so dry that fire would sweep 
over them with a fearful rush. In a few days 
more, should there not fall a plentiful supply of 
rain, all of my animals must be foddered. A 
part of them are fed at the barn now. Water 
is failing in many places. Many springs which 
have been considered never failing, have dried 
up. Many of our forest and ornamental trees 
are putting on their autumnal garb, and many 
have even died, for want of moisture. 
Of crops we can tell a doleful story. Though 
wheat came in tolerably well, still the drouth 
damaged it very much. Corn, it is appre¬ 
hended, will prove a complete failure. On ac¬ 
count of the backwardness of the season for 
planting corn, much of it never came up. Al¬ 
though many pieces of corn look rather promis¬ 
ing, still it is feared it will not ear well. Many 
hills six feet high, show no signs of ears. Acres 
of it, not more than one foot in height, is now 
tasseling. Should this weather continue two 
weeks longer, our hope for the corn crop will 
be gone. Oats and barley, which are now be¬ 
ing harvested, are very short. In some in¬ 
stances, they reap ordinary crops; but, as a 
general thing, we get from about one-fourth to 
one-half of an ordinary crop. The straw, in most 
