AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
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AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, T1IE MOST USEFUL, AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN Washington. 
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EDITED BY ) 
ORAKOE JUDD, A. M. I 
, PUBLISHED BY 
\ AliLEK & Co., !§» W«ies*-s». 
YOL. XV.—No. 2.] 
NEW-YORK, NOVEMBER, 1855. 
[NEW SERIES—No. IOC. 
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A CHEAP AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY. 
FARM AND GARDEN OF MR. AMOS BRIGGS, 
SCHAGFITICOKE, N. Y. 
By reprinting some of the earlier volumes, 
anil supplying deficient numbers of the later volumes, the 
publishers have succeeded in preparing a number of com¬ 
plete sets of the American Agriculturist, beginning with 
1842 and ending with the volume just closed. 
These constitute Fourteen large volumes, bound in 
uniform style, each volume being supplied with a full al¬ 
phabetical index, by means of which immediate reference 
can be made to any topic or subject desired. 
The whole set furnishes more than Five Thousand 
pages, in which is discussed almost every subject in the 
range of Agricultural Science and practice. There is 
scarcely a topic connected with farming, gardening, stock 
raising, fruit growing, &c., upon which valuable informa¬ 
tion may not be found, in one or more of these volumes. 
There have been few practical writers on agriculture, 
either in this or other countries, whose direct or indirect 
contributions have not assisted in filling and enriching 
these pages from time to time ; and we think it no exagge¬ 
ration to say that the 14 volumes of the Agriculturist con¬ 
stitute the most complete compendium or encyclopedia of 
Agriculture to be found in the country. We have much 
to regret that the entire work has not been stereotyped, 
so that an unlimited supply could be furnished, as it 
ought to form a part of every public and private agricultu¬ 
ral library, and it would be especially desirable to have it 
in the aichives of every agricultural society. This will 
not be possible, however, as there is but a limited number 
of complete sets, and no more of these can be obtained 
after the present supply is exhausted. 
The fourteen volumes will be neatly packed and for¬ 
warded to any direction desired, on the receipt of $15 by 
the Publishers. 
Any of the old Series—included in the first ten volumes 
—will be furnished at $1.25 per volume ; and any of the 
new Series—included in volumes XI, XII, XIII, and XIV 
—at $1.50 per volume. 
Orders for the above, or any further inquiries, may be 
addressed to ALLEN & CO., 
No. 189 Water-st,, New-York. 
Agents’ Receipts, etc.—A number of persons in differ¬ 
ent parts of the country have interested themselves in 
Drocurlng subscriptions for this paper, and we have not re 
cently heard of any imposition practiced uDon subscribers. 
Those more immediately connected with the Office are 
furnished with regular Office receipts, signed, and en 
dorsed upon the margin, by the Conducting Editor; and 
when these are presented, no one need have the least 
hesitation in receiving them, as we do not give them out 
to irresponsible persons. 
Letters in regard to seeds, implements, books, &c., 
should not be mingled with matters relating to the 
American Agriculturist. In this office we have no con¬ 
nection with any business whatever which does not relate 
directly to the affairs of the paper. When practicable, we 
are glad to attend to any reasonable request made by sub¬ 
scribers. 
Paper is cheap, so is postage, and we earnestly request 
correspondents to write on one side of the sheet only ; 
and further, that they will place their lines as widely 
apart as may be, so that in preparing articles for the prin¬ 
ter, we can always have room between them to insert ad¬ 
ditions or corrections. 
Correspondents will please keep matters relating to 
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nioations for the paper. 
In a recent trip to Rensselaer County to 
deliver the address at their annual fair, it 
was our happiness to stop over night with 
the President of the County Society, and to 
examine his rural improvements. The vil¬ 
lage of Schaghticoke lies mainly upon the 
north bank of the Hoosick and not very far 
from its mouth. This stream, which is an 
insignificant brook among the mountains of 
Berkshire, here spreads out into an ample 
river, and pours a large body of water into 
the Hudson. Its waters are as clear as 
those of the sparkling springs that feed 
it, and are much less affected by drouth 
than many other streams. As the fall here 
is ninety feet within a short distance, it gives 
abundant water power and furnishes great 
facility for manufacturing. A large capital 
has been invested here, and Mr. Briggs and 
his brother have pursued their enterprises 
for many years, and reaped the accustomed 
rewards of skill and industry. 
In the midst of his manufacturing enter¬ 
prises, this gentleman has found leisure to 
surround his home with a garden, and as his 
means increased and the appetite grew by 
what it fed upon, he has shown his rural 
taste upon a large farm. The garden 
though in the heart of the village, is not of 
the seven-by-nine order, but is generous in 
its proportions, though it hardly covers an 
acre. It has been under his charge some 
eighteen years, the trees are coming into full 
bearing, and he is beginning to gather the 
fruits of his past horticultural skill. It is 
particularly encouraging to beginners who 
are just setting their first dwarf pears, and 
preparing their first grape border, to be set 
down in a garden where the results they are 
contemplating are already reached. Their 
faith is very much strengthened in the ca¬ 
pacity of dwarf pears to yield a remunera¬ 
tive harvest. They will venture to be more 
liberal in their expenditures when they see 
that similar labors have not been in vain. 
The premises look inviting from the street’ 
though you catch but glimpses of the golden 
fruit through the heavy foliage. The first 
thing that strikes you as you enter, is the 
flower garden, and the ample space that 
is alotted to it. This is, as it were, the cas¬ 
ing of the gem inclosed within, the picture 
of silver for the apples of gold that hang, 
tempting as the Hesperian fruits, just be¬ 
yond. This department is under the man¬ 
agement of the lady of the house, and noth¬ 
ing grosser than what tempts the eye and 
olfactories is suffered to intrude upon these 
borders. They are now beautiful in the 
variegated array of autumn flowers, and do 
great credit to the skill of the cultivator. 
We have strong hopes of our American 
ladies yet, and do believe that they will be 
drawn into greater familiarity with air and 
sunshine, flower borders and health. The 
example of our amateur lady cultivators is 
contagious, and it is no uncommon thing to 
find an accomplished woman superintending 
her own flowers, or even transplanting and 
cultivating with her own hands. 
By far the larger part of the garden is de¬ 
voted to fruit, which is cultivated with 
remarkable success. The pear trees are now 
quite well grown, and many of the standards 
have been grafted with a great variety of 
fruit. The Bartletts make a splended show, 
and have their full share of room. The 
Sickles are also conspicuous, and the limbs 
completely bronzed w r ith this luscious fruit. 
One old Virgalieu does well here, and the 
newer varieties inserted upon well grown 
stocks, in two or three years give perfect 
samples of their fruit. Mr. Briggs has also 
given attention to grape culture, and has the 
most popular varieties, with some natives. 
The Catawba rarely gives perfect fruit, and 
the Isabella quite frequently fails. He has 
the first crop of Concord growing close by 
the Isabella, and though we examined closely 
and tasted samples from both vines, we could 
not discover much difference in the degree 
of ripeness. It is to be feared that all the 
promises of early maturity of the Concord 
will not be fulfilled. We shall wait another 
year before we order our first vine. He has 
the Northern Muscadine already fully ripe 
(Sept. 20), and it is the best native we have 
ever met with. It is decidedly foxy in its 
smell, has something of the flavor of the 
Catawba, and may prove worthy of cultiva¬ 
tion where the Diana will not ripen. This 
last bears trial better than any of the new 
grapes, and gives general satisfaction. 
But the penchant of Mr. Briggs is the 
plum, and in this his success is astonishing. 
He has some sixty varieties of this delicious 
fruit; though some of the early varieties had 
already gone, the show of the remaining 
trees was worth a long journey to see. The 
limbs were full, and the walks were strewn 
with the fruit—red, purple, green and yellow. 
Most of them were perfect and of large size 
for the varieties. The W T ashingtons and 
Jeffersons—the Ida Gages and the Golden 
Drops fully bear out their high reputation. 
