1876 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
331 
represent our agriculture publishes to the world 
such incoherent rubbish as this article. We do not 
so much care what people abroad will think of us, 
but we do care what American farmers will think 
when they read such a production from one who is 
their official chief. We have received inquiries 
from California, Ohio, New England, and elsewhere, 
asking what it all means.—We do not know. 
Ogden Farm Papers.—No. 79. 
BY GEORGE E. WARING, JR. 
Since writing the last number of these papers, I 
have passed the whole of a long day, on which 
there were very few visitors, in going carefully 
over the display in Agricultural SMI at the Cen¬ 
tennial. This examination leads me to modify in 
a slight degree my previous opinion. The impres¬ 
sion one gets during the examination of only two 
or three hours, is what I represented, because this 
length of time is sure to be mainly monopolized by 
a few of the more striking features. But on fur¬ 
ther study it became evident that it is by no means 
just to say that there is anything like “ A good ex¬ 
hibit of the agriculture of almost the whole world.” 
If we take out the barrels, bottles, cans, and boxes, 
which are filled with whisky, rum, gin, tobacco, 
cigars, starch, tomatoes, etc., we rob most of the 
foreign exhibits of their crowning glory, and sadly 
take away from the brilliancy of the display that 
even our own country has been able to offer. This 
is not the place in which to print objections to the 
products of the still, the wine press, oiyof the to¬ 
bacco field, but to see at least one-fourth of this 
fine building filled with a dazzling display of 
cooperage, glass-blowing, and label printing, is 
simply absurd. All this part of the show is beneath 
contempt, and, as an exhibition, has nothing what¬ 
ever to do with agriculture—the tobacco exhibit is 
not quite so subject to this criticism. A pyramid 
of barrels, said to contain whisky, highly varnished, 
with gilded hoops and ornamental brands, give one 
a far less adequate idea of the products of the in¬ 
dustry of Canada, than would a simple, printed 
statistical table, showing the amount of whisky 
that she produces as compared with other coun¬ 
tries. All this sort of thing is a fraud. It pretends 
to be an exhibition of materials—it is in reality only 
an exhibition of packages, and packages are not 
worth sending to a world’s fair. Several foreign 
countries have sent instructive and representative 
exhibits. Those of Brazil and Liberia are conspicu- 
omsly so, but with a few notable exceptions of this 
class, there is more of interest in the Exhibition of 
Oregon, or Iowa, or Massachusetts, or indeed in 
Landreth’s exhibition of grains alone, than in the 
whole of those of the great foreign countries. If 
one is seeking the beauty of a display of soil pro¬ 
ducts, no more beautiful example can be found 
than in the collection of pine cones from California 
—a collection that surely should find its place in 
some Eastern museum. 
Tucked away in one corner of the building, not 
open to any one of the main aisles, is one of the 
most valuable exhibits of the whole show—to one 
who seeks knowledge for its own sake. It is hard¬ 
ly likely that the silk industry will be widely ex¬ 
tended in this country, and it does not seem proba¬ 
ble that we shall ever grow tea here, but in the 
Japanese corner of Agricultural Hall, there is, 
among other things of subordinate interest, an 
illustrated description of the tea and silk industries, 
which is worthy of all admiration. Many of the 
uteusils are shown in their full size, and perfectly 
arranged for working, and every step of the pro¬ 
cesses, of the growing and curing of the leaves, of 
the raising of silk worms, and of the care and sup¬ 
ply of the mulberry leaves, is shown by a series of 
little paintings, accompanied with a plainly written 
and carefully arranged description of each item of 
the work. An examination of this display will not 
be, even from a practical point of view, a waste of 
time, for it will teach the important lesson that in 
agriculture, as in everything else, a minute and care¬ 
ful attention to details, makes the sum of a great 
success. There is one little hint contained here, 
which may be applicable for some of our uses. It 
is an arrangement for storing a three or four days’ 
supply of mulberry leaves in such a way as to keep 
them fresh. It was new to me, but may be com¬ 
mon to all silk growers. The leaves are spread in 
very shallow wicker-work trays, so lightly as to 
produce no pressure, and these trays are placed one 
on top of the other in a tight box which has no 
bottom, and which stands on the ground in a place 
where it is protected from sun and wind. The 
coolness and moisture of the earth serves to main¬ 
tain a fresh condition of the contents. 
In the Norway section there is a plow with which 
I was very much struck. The plow proper consists 
only of a point and a mold board. Directly behind 
the point there stands a broad wheel or roller, 
which takes the place of the sole, and relieves al¬ 
most the whole friction of the downward pressure 
of the plow. Behind this, set at an angle so that 
the necessary size can be given it without coming 
in the way of the turned furrow, is another beveled 
wheel, which acts as the landside, and carries the 
side-thrust. I did not see this plow at work, and 
could only judge of it on general principles, but it 
is impossible that it should not, if properly con¬ 
structed, relieve this severest of our horse-labor of 
a very large percentage of its severity. 
Mr. John-Coleman, who was selected by the Royal 
Agricultural Society of England, as the English 
member of the Agricultural Group of the Judges of 
Awards, and whose intelligence, thoroughness, 
clear-headedness, and great fairness, won for him 
the high regard of all with whom he was thrown 
in contact, said of the double furrow plow now 
much used in England, that after all, its great ad¬ 
vantage over others, is due to the beveled wheel 
which takes the thrust against the land, and so re¬ 
lieves the plow of its greatest friction, (another 
arrangement of rollers carries the weight and re¬ 
lieves the friction on the sole). This is precisely 
what the Norwegian revolving land side does, and 
as this and the sole roller are both adjustable, and 
have good arrangements for being kept clean, I am 
convinced that they cover a principle which might 
be widely and successfully adopted. Quite near to 
this plow stands a capital full-sized model of the 
Norwegian sledge, with its fur clad driver, and sim¬ 
ply harnessed stuffed reindeer, which must be the 
delight of all who remember their school book pic¬ 
tures of the reindeer and sledge under the black 
northern sky, and within a halo of aurora borealis. 
The Norway harrow, with revolving tines, so often 
pictured in agricultural papers, is here seen, I be¬ 
lieve, for the first time in America. 
Beyond a capital self-opening gate from Canada, 
the above are about all that impressed me in the 
foreign exhibits—though, of course, farther investi¬ 
gation must have developed more. I found my 
time again chiefly monopolized by the excellence of 
the American implements and machinery depart¬ 
ment, where amid so much that is worthy of notice, 
it must seem invidious to call attention to particu¬ 
lar objects. However, there are a few things suf¬ 
ficiently out of the ordinary run to merit special 
notice. Among mowing machines and harvesters 
the improvements are mainly in a class with which 
visitors to county and state fairs are tolerably 
familiar, or are at least steps in advance in a famil¬ 
iar direction. Here there appears an entirely new 
departure in the direction of vibrating movements 
—as for the knives of mowing machines. The 
mowing machine called the “Haymaker,” may not 
be, and probably is not the best, for the reason that 
it has not had the years of skillful improvement to 
which these implements generally have been sub¬ 
jected, but if I know anything of mechanics, its 
curious gimbal joint “wobbling” movement, is a 
new departure in agricultural mechanics which will 
in time carry it to the very head of the list—I gath¬ 
ered also that this was Mr. Coleman’s opinion. The 
movement is doubtless applicable to all agricultural 
implements where a vibrating movement is needed. 
The fence making machinery, for the boring of 
holes in posts, and the turning of round tenons to 
fit them—so arranged that the panels may be set at 
any angle, (if a snake fence without post holes is 
deshed), must be of great value. I asked Mr. 
Coleman what he considered the most important 
improvement in the whole implement department, 
and he at once and decidedly gave that honor to 
Stratton’s apparatus for loading hay on to wagons. 
He subjected this apparatus to the severest tests at 
the trial of harvest implements at Schenek’s Station, 
and said that its action was simply perfect, the 
whole work being done perfectly and completely 
by the forward movement of the wagon as it passes 
along the windrows—without other manual assis¬ 
tance than that of the man who stows away the load. 
One can never close any description of any part 
of the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, 
without the saving clause that all his efforts have 
been entirely inadequate, and that no description 
can give a fair idea of what is to be seen in any de¬ 
partment. The immensity and variety of the whole 
are simply beyond the power of words to convey, 
and my own impressions concerning it all, were 
most tersely expressed by Mr. Judd, whom I met iu 
the Government Building, and who said “I shall, 
tell all our readers that they must come, even if 
they have to sell an acre of land.” 
Mr. Coleman and I got away from our duties as 
Judges, to devote a day to visiting the farm of Mr. 
James Young, at Middletown, on the Susquehanna, 
below Harrisburg. Mr. Young is a shrewd, 
thorough going Pennsylvania Yankee, who has ac¬ 
cumulated a large fortune in business, and who 
realized fifteen years ago the necessity for anchor¬ 
ing a part of his investments in our fundamental 
industry. He has bought in the immediate vicinity 
of his town eight or ten farms, aggregating 1,200 
acres, and has applied himself zealously—spending 
money without stint—to bringing them to the high¬ 
est state of cultivation. So far as I know this is 
the best and the best managed farm east of the 
Alleghanies. If we except his large herd of Jersey 
cattle, there is not a single element of “ fancy farm¬ 
ing ” about the whole establishment. Everything 
is plain, solid, substantial, and good. Much of the 
land was subject to injury from the accumulation 
of surface water, and much of it was rendered 
nearly valueless by underground springs. These 
have all been thoroughly drained by the opening of 
ditches ; by the alteration of the surface conforma¬ 
tion, so the surface water should flow off; and by 
the making of underdrains wherever the ground 
showed a springy condition. Small fields have 
been thrown together until the average size is from 
40 to 60 acres. Lands worn out by a long course of 
skinning, have been improved by thorough culti¬ 
vation, by the abundant use of manure, and by 
deep plowing, until they have been brought to a 
very high average of fertility. Every year, from 250 
to 300 acres of corn are grown, (averaging from 60 
to 70 bushels per acre), and the whole crop is fed 
on the place—the corn-fodder being cut and 
steamed with meal and bran. About the same area 
of wheat is grown, together with a wide stretch of 
rye and oats. Hay is largely sold, but, by the use 
of the steamer, the straw and corn-fodder are made 
available for feeding, and the enormous manure 
heaps, which at the time of our visit were being 
hauled out to manure the wheat fields, attested the 
extent to which the produce of the farm is con¬ 
sumed at home. We bantered Mr. Young a little 
as to the amount of money he must have expended 
in bringing his large farm to this condition, but 
were silenced by his reference to the “ducks and 
drakes ” that had been made of his other invest¬ 
ments in coal, iron, and lumber industries, from 
which the bottom had entirely dropped out. Let 
it not be supposed that Mr. Young’s agricul¬ 
tural success has been bought with money alone, 
or that it maintains itself as an investment in 
government securities would do. Every step of its 
progress has called for the most persistent and un¬ 
remitting labor and attention, and there is no pros¬ 
pect that these can ever be relaxed. Industry and 
close attention have shown here as well as elsewhere 
to be the leading elements of success in farming. 
Mr. Young’s Jersey herd illustrates very fully all 
that I have said on the subject of breeding for 
fancy colors. Conceiving the idea that fashion and 
high prices were tending in the direction of “ solid 
colorand black points.,” Mr. Young has made these 
his leading aim, and has eertainly succeeded in get- 
