AMERICAN AGKRICULTURIST. 
107 
cultural College of Michigan. It is located near Belle- 
fonte. Centre Co Its resources consist of $5,000, a legacy 
of the late Elliot Cresson, $10,000 subscribed by the 
citizens of Centre Co., $10,000 appropriated by the State 
Agricultural Society. The legislature have appropriated 
$25,000 absolutely, and $25,000 on condition that further 
subscriptions to an equal amount shall be obtained. A 
building is in process of erection which wiilaecommodate 
three hundred students. The present intention of the 
trustees is to open the institution within the current year 
with sixty to seventy students... .The faculty will con¬ 
sist of a president, with four or five professsors. The ex¬ 
perimental farm consists of four hundred acres, two hun¬ 
dred of which is the noble gift of one of Pennsylvania’s 
noble sons—Gen. James Irvin, of Centre Co.—and two 
hundred sold by him conditionally, the institution being 
obliged to pay interest only upon the fixed valuation. 
The whole farm, except about sixty acres, is under culti¬ 
vation. 
The Agricultural College of the State of New York is 
located at Ovid, between Ser.eca and Cayuga lakes, and 
on the banks of the former. The farm consists of 686 
acres. The resources of the institution are $40,000 loan¬ 
ed by the State. A college building is in process of erec¬ 
tion, which will accommodate 350 students, capable of 
beingeniarged to contain five hundred. The design, plan, 
and course of study will be essentially the same as those 
of the other institutions named. It will be under the con¬ 
trol of a board of trustees. 
The People’s College of the State of New York was 
chartered in 1854, and is located at Havana, Schuyler Co. 
It would seem, from the perusal of a pamphlet issued to 
the public from the institution, that it is the intention of 
its managers to give instruction in agriculture and the 
mechanic arts, in connexion with a regular literary, or in 
such one or more branches of knowledge as the students 
may prefer. Connected w ith this institution is a farm of 
two hundred acres on which the college ouildings are 
being erected, and on which it is contemplated to erect 
buildings for carrying on various mechanical operations, 
in which, or on the farm, students may, in their discretion, 
labor a portion of their time ; thus acquiring a practical 
knowledge of the patticular branch of business they pro¬ 
pose to follow, while contributing largely, or perhaps 
wholly, to their own support and tuition while acquiring 
nil education. The institution is to be controlled by a 
board of directors, with a president and competent num. 
ber of professors. 
In Maryland $50,000 has been subscribed by public 
spirited individuals for the establishment of an agricul¬ 
tural college. The State has appropriated $0,000 per an¬ 
num fur its perpetual support. Proposals are issued for 
the purchase of a suitable farm The institution is to be 
managed by a board of trustees chosen by the stock 
holders. 
The details relative to management, course of studies, 
&c.,not yetdetermiued upon. 
Massachusetts, in 1850, authorized a board of commis¬ 
sioners to report a plan for the establishment of agricul¬ 
tural schools. Professor Hitchcock, one of the commis¬ 
sioners, made an elaborate report relative to agricul¬ 
tural Colleges in Europe, and the board recommended a 
plan to the legislature, but no further action was ever taken 
upon the subject. 
In Tennessee, Franklin College, near Nashville, was 
organized in 1854, with the design of making it an agri¬ 
cultural college, uniting culture of the soil with intellect¬ 
ual training. Physical labor was made optional with the 
student. That feature was finally abandoned; and the in¬ 
stitution is now converted into a classical college. 
The Union Agricultural Society of Virginia and North 
Carolina have established an experimental farm near Pe¬ 
tersburg, at a cost of $30,000 which is now in operation 
under a practical overseer. An application to the legisla¬ 
ture of Virginia for the endowment of an agricultural in¬ 
stitute in connection with the farm failed of success. 
In Mississippi a State agricultural bureau has been es¬ 
tablished by recent enactment. 
The State of Ohio has established a State board of Agri¬ 
culture, the object of which seems to be to collect agri¬ 
cultural statistics, but to what extent or with what especial 
object the undersigned is unable to learn. 
Connected with a classical institution at College Hill, 
near Cincinnati, is a scientific department and experi¬ 
mental farm, where are taught various branches of learn¬ 
ing directly connected with horticultural and agricultural 
pursuits. 
In Georgia there is an agricultural professorship con¬ 
nected wilh the University of that State, with an endow¬ 
ment of $20,000, a donation ot one of her public spirited 
citizens, where the sciences directly connected with agri¬ 
cultural pursuits are taughtin regular courses of lectures, 
with, as the undersigned is informed, much advantage to 
the agricultural interests of that State. 
Scientific schools and agricultural professorships have 
been established in connexion with very many of the uni¬ 
versities and colleges of the country to, in some degree, 
satisfy the irresistible craving and demand of the age for 
more thorough and practical instruction in the arts and 
sciences that bear directly upon the industrial occupations 
of men. * * * 
From the census of 1850, we learn that the entire free 
male population of the United States, over fifteen years 
of age, was 5,371,876. Of this number, 2,389, 013 are re¬ 
turned as farmers and planters, while in the professions 
of law, medicine and divinity, 94,515 are employed. To 
educate these 94,515 men for the learned, professions, 234 
colleges are established, endowed by many millions of 
dollars, and two milions of dollars are actually expended 
every year in the education of 27,000 students. * * » 
The Weather. 
May has had its usual prevalence of cold, sour, 
easterly weather, and to all people of short me¬ 
mories, has seemed the most wet and nasty of all 
Mays upon record. But, fortunately, there are re¬ 
cords of the weather. Kindred spirits with the phi¬ 
losopher of Brooklyn Heights make note of the 
passing changes, and hand down to posterity the 
tables. The blossoming of peach, cherry, and 
apple trees is put down in many an almanac in the 
farmer’s home. Frequently the apple has not 
bloomed until the 25th of May, and occasionally 
not until June 1st, in this latitude. The season is 
rather more than an average for its earliness. 
It has been wet daring the month. But it should 
not he forgotten, that Mav of 1857 had twenty- 
one dark, cloudy days, with more or less of rain. 
Many seeds have probably rotted, and the usual 
amount ofobjurgation has been bestowed upon the 
worms on that account. It is not yet too late to 
plant many of the field and garden seeds a second 
time. Cucumbers, melons, squashes, and sweet 
corn make nearly all their growth after June 1st. 
It is still in ample season to plant corn and pota¬ 
toes in the field. Replant in all cases where 
there has been a failure. 
- » » . 
The Late Planting of Corn. 
No farmer should despair of a good crop, 
whose seed is not yet in the hill. Corn fails 
to come up from poor seed, and from too early 
planting, oftener than from all other causes com¬ 
bined. In places north of this latitude, June 1st 
is as good as any earlier date. One of the pre¬ 
mium corn growers of Connecticut plants uni¬ 
formly June 6th, or as near that date as possible 
He never fails to grow a good crop, and at much 
less cost than the market price per bushel. 
-.-■ !» 4 ■ 0 < » 
Hay Caps. 
These articles we wish to keep before the peo¬ 
ple. "We are persuaded from our own experi¬ 
ence and observation, that no small investment, 
in tools to work with, will pay better than hay 
caps. Hay cured in the cock is much belter than 
that overdried in the sun. With these arti¬ 
cles on hand, the farmer is master of his circum¬ 
stances, and can throw the old adage, “ Make hay 
while the sun shines,” to the winds. At least, he 
can stop making it before the juice is all evapo¬ 
rated, and can put his hay into cock, without fear 
of rain, to finish the curing process in the best 
manner. A single shower will often damage a 
ton of half-dried hay, four or five dollars. The 
hay-caps, to save it, would not cost much more. 
They are almost certain to pay for themselves 
every season they are used, and in some wet sea¬ 
sons they will save several times their cost, 
They can be got up for from twenty to forty cents 
apiece, according to size and quality. For an 
ordinary cock, weighing about a hundred pounds, 
a cap one yard and a-half square is plenty large 
enough. It is well, however, to have a few of two 
yards square, for extra sized cocks, for the tops 
of stacks, and for shocks of grain which are 
not put up to stand the weather. The objections 
to hay caps are generally made by persons who do 
not understand the use of them. They are best 
put on with loops at the corners, and pins; and 
with a little experience in handling, the ordinary 
force upon a farm in haying time will be able to 
secure a morning’s mowing against all showers 
that give any notice of their coming. It is very 
little work to make them, they need no painting, 
and they do protect the hay. Get them in season 
that you may not have to suffer the upbraidings of 
conscience, when you find yourself caught with 
six tons of hay down, all wet and mouldering, for 
want of a few dollars’ worth of cotton cloth, 
which is now sold at an unusually low price. 
White French Turnips—Prince Albert and 
Black Mercer Potatoes. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist : 
I am glad to see by the May number of the Ag¬ 
riculturist that you have secured some of the 
Long White French Turnip seed, and offer it for 
distribution among your subscribers as a pre¬ 
mium. This is a hardy variety, a late keeper, 
and approaches the Ruta-baga in size and shape. 
As for flavor, either raw or cooked, I never tasted 
of any other sort equal to it. No member of my 
family likes boiled turnip, but on my asking each 
one of them to try this, the other day at dinner, 
they found it so rich and sweet in taste, that all 
ate heartily of it, and voted it must henceforth be 
one of the dishes of our table. I only regret these 
luscious turnips are not to be had now in our 
market. The above is my experience ; how 
others will find it I cannot say—for we know that 
all root-crops vary much in flavor, dependant 
something on the season, the soil, and llie ma 
nure. For example, take potatoes of the same 
variety, and as near alike as possible, and plant 
some on a dry limestone or gravelly soil, without 
manure, and the others on a rich, moist loam, or 
on land highly manured from the barn-yard, or 
with sea-weed, or any rich, putrescent fertilizer, 
and the crop on the dry soil without manure will 
be far superior in flavor and mealiness to those 
grown under the other circumstances mentioned 
While on the subject of potatoes, allow me to 
say that in respect to the Prince Alberts, I dis¬ 
agree entirely in opinion with your correspondent, 
Mr. Stephens, page 100, of your April number. 
This potato requires a warm season to ripen well 
in this climate, and further North, and then it is 
one of the very best varieties within my know¬ 
ledge. Last season, it is well known, was very 
late and cold .—all of a fortnight later than usual. 
Then the Summer was not only unusually cool, 
but quite wet. Hence, some of those grown 
last year have got the reputation, according to 
Mr. S., of “boiling wet and soggy.” It was the 
season, the soil, or the manure which was in fault, 
depend upon it, and not the potato. 
Of all the varieties of potato 1 have had on my 
table, I prefer the Black Mercer. It is the best 
keeper, and the most nutritious and mealy. I 
have had them as late as the fore-part of July, 
and even then preferable to the new Bermuda, 
Norfolk, or any early sort grown in this neighbor 
hood. The only objection to it is, shy bearing. 
But it is not in the nature of things to produce so 
large a crop of dry, mealy potatoes from a given 
area of land, as of the coarser fiber, and more 
watery kinds, like, for example, the Red Merino 
the Rohan, and others I could mention, 
j A. B. Allen. 
L Neio-York, May 6tli, 1858- 
