72 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
N. Y. State Agricultural Society. 
The above Diagram is arranged to exhibit the daily 
variations of both the Barometer and the Thermometer. 
In the upper part the horizontal spaces stand for tenths 
of an inch, above and below 30 inches.-In the lower part, 
each horizontal space stands for 10 degrees of the Ther¬ 
mometer. The white dots indicate the hight of the mer¬ 
cury at the morning, noon, and evening observations. 
A Noble Work for Every Reader to 
Engage In. 
It was our lot to be among fcie first to visit Gettysburg 
after the memorable battles on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days 
of July last. The scenes there witnessed can never 
he forgotten. In the presence of the suffering, every 
thought of mere curiosity, or of personal comfort, was 
instantly banished, and no more satisfactory effort hare 
we ever put forth, than that of laboring there to alleviate 
the pain, and to promote the comfort of the sick and 
wounded, of both friends and those but recently foes. 
Strange it may seem, but with others we can testify, that 
a wounded enemy excited scarcely, if any, less sym¬ 
pathy, than an own brother would have called forth.— 
Strong as was, and is, the impression left by the mangled 
corpses, the ghastly wounds, and the quiet but deep agony 
of the suffering, another and a more pleasing recollection 
brightens the terrible picture. The thankful words, or 
the yet more touching grateful looks of the wounded 
men, as the reward of the attention possible to give them 
under the circumstances, are yet vividly before us. Even 
the cup of cold water, presented to the parched lips, 
brought to the giver an instant and abundant reward. 
We then realized, as we now wish to have every reader 
realize, the necessity and the blessedness of the great 
work being done by the “ U. S. SANITARY COMMIS¬ 
SION.” Their depot, established on the field almost 
before the-smoke of the conflict had rolled away, was 
thrown open with supplies of just the articles needed. 
Reader, could you have been with us and others, as we 
hastened to and from that tent in the hospital camp in 
grove, bearing in our hands wine, brandy, and other 
stimulants for the fainting, portable soup and soft biscuits, 
concentrated coffee and lemonade, with other articles of 
food and drink; bandages for wounds; under-clothing 
for those carried to neighboring tents and hospitals; could 
you have helped bear these things to the wounded men, 
you would surely say, let the coffers of this noble Com¬ 
mission never for one moment be empty. Why ! what we 
save done, and helped do, on but a small portion of the 
field then occupied by the Commission, was enough to 
warrant all the contributions that have been or may be 
made to this Commission. 
But the Sanitary Commission extends its labors and 
furnishes its supplies to every part of the broad territory 
mbraeed in the war. What we witnessed at Gettys¬ 
burg is repeated after almost every battle. Our associate, 
Col. Weld, speaks from personal experience away in the 
distant Southwest. While being carried, with hundreds 
of other sick and wounded before Port Hudson, to the 
hospital at New-Orleans and while an inmate there, the 
whole of them were supplied with necessaries, comforts 
and delicacies from this source, which could have been 
obtained in no other manner, and which greatly aided in 
his own recovery and that of his companions. 
These widely extended operations involve not only im¬ 
mense labor, freely given by the leading men in the Com¬ 
mission, but large funds are required. The noble gifts 
from California supplied these freely for a time, but 
even that was far too little, and at the opening of this 
year the treasury was nearly empty. The East and the 
West, by means of great fairs, are vieing with each other 
in raising money and other supplies, but there is still 
abundant room for more effort. Every added dollar may 
carry some comfort to a brother or a friend of the giver— 
what if it do the same for a sick and wounded enemy, 
even,—will it not be well given 1 
Let us propose a plan. The Agriculturist Family is 
a magnificent one—the subscribers soon to be a hundred 
thousand, and the readers hundreds of thousands. Can 
not we unite our mites, our pennies, our dimes, our dollars, 
our five dollars, and make up one great contribution to 
this noble work ? What a sum if every reader should 
give or collect a single dollar ! Let us do it. Many have 
not the ability perhaps to give a whole dollar, though when 
we set about a good work in earnest, it is sometimes 
wonderful what we can do. Let those who can not give 
so much, ask others for aid, and get together from others 
at least a dollar. Some can give or collect five, ten, 
twenty or more. Our readers in Canada, and in the other 
British Provinces, who sympathize with us in our afflic¬ 
tion, may desire to contribute to aid the suffering. Re¬ 
member that this is no party work ; the Sanitary Com¬ 
mission seeks out and relieves the suffering, no matter on 
which side of the line of battle they may be found. 
We propose to all who feel disposed to join in this 
work to send their contributions to this Office and we will 
hand them direct to the Sanitary Commission. 
All contributions of $1 and upward will be acknowl¬ 
edged in the Agriculturist, or in a Supplement if needed, 
the names classified by Towns, Counties, and States. 
Let every man, every woman, every child, put a hand to 
the work, and let the world see what the Agriculturist 
Family can do when they all work together. Let us 
have responses from the Sunrise regions of Maine to the 
most distant point in the Territories beyond the Rocky 
Mountains, for our readers dwell there ! This is a pleas¬ 
ant work for the Children. We know of five little boys 
who collected $23 in pennies and half-dimes, and sent it 
to the Commission. Let us have the ages of the children 
who collect and forward money to the 
AGRICULTURIST SANITARY COMMISSION FUND. 
P. S.—The first Cash Subscription to the above fund 
is from the Agriculturist itself, viz.:.$300.00 
At the Annual Meeting, held at Albany, Feb. 10tl» and 
11th, the show of Seeds and Dairy products was unusual¬ 
ly small. Considerable excitement occurred wiili refer¬ 
ence to the location of the next Fair, whether at Utica or 
Rochester. Finally, by common consent, the matter was 
left with the Executive Committee, who will doubtless 
be influenced by the best proposals received. Some re¬ 
marks were offered by the Editor of the American Agri 
culturist, urging the importance of the Society’s taking a 
higher stand in regard to awarding Diplomas ami i-re- 
miums, to the end that these should not become so com¬ 
mon and so cheap, as to lower their value, and the char¬ 
acter of the Society itself. Some discussion ensued, and 
there was a general agreement that more discrimination 
should and would be exercised hereafter.—Mr. Judd call¬ 
ed up the importance of experiments upon new potatoes, 
diseases, etc., made by Rev. Chauncey E. Goodrich, 
of Utica, who has for many years devoted all his spare 
time and his income to this subject; and now, owing to 
pulmonary disease, is unable to earn even his former 
small salary as Chaplain. A number of gentlemen bore 
testimony to the importance of these experiments, some 
estimating their value to the farmers of New York State 
alone at many million dollars. Mr. Judd then proposed 
a testimonial to Mr. Goodrich, from the farmers them¬ 
selves, as individuals, not as a Society, and started the 
list with a check for $50. Several other gentlemen (of 
whose names we have not yet a record) handed in simi¬ 
lar sums, and others lesser amounts, and nearly $600 was 
made up at the time, which will doubtless be increased. 
Luther H. Tucker, Esq., at Albany, the Treasurer of the 
State Society, was nominated treasurer of this special 
testimonial fund, and to receive further subscriptions, 
either directly, or th.ough the other members of the Com¬ 
mittee, appointed for the purpose, viz : lion. A. B. Con 
ger, Ilaverstraw, N. Y.; T. L. Harrison, St. Lawrence 
Co., N. Y., and the Editor of the Agriculturist, N. Y 
We hope, all who feel interested in the matter, will con 
tribute whatever they may feel disposed to give, from $ 
upwards. We can well afford to place Mr. Goodrich in 
a position to continue his experiments, and the introduc¬ 
tion of further new seedlings of this important crop.—At 
the Wednesday evening meeting, very interesting papers 
were read by J. Stanton Gould, Esq., on Sorghum, and 
by Dr. Asa Fitch, on Insects, especially on the Cut 
Worm, to which we may refer hereafter. 
Officers Elected for 1864: President: James O. 
Sheldon, of Ontario Co.—Tice Presidents: 1st District, 
Simon R. Bowne, New York City: 2nd, Samuel 
Thorne, Duchess Co. ; 3rd, Herman Wendell, Albany ; 
4th, T. L. Harrison, St. Lawrence Co.; 6th, Solon D. 
Hungerford, Jefferson Co.; 6th, Ralph Newell, Delaware 
Co.; 7th, II. Ten Eyck Foster, Seneca Co. ; 8th, Wm. A. 
Bird, Erie Co.— Executive Committee: Samuel Camp¬ 
bell, Oneida Co.; R. II. Avey, Madison Co.; T. C. Peters, 
Genesee Co.; S. R. Pinckney, N. Y. ; Elon Comstock, 
N. Y.— Cor. Secretary: Col. Benj. P. Johnson, Albany.— 
Recording Secretary: Erastus Corning, Jr., Albany.— 
Treasurer: Luther H. Tucker, Albany. 
---- —m. -- 
How to Get Laborers Direct from Europe. 
In the American Agriculturist for February (page 35) 
we explained how to get laborers from among the arriving 
immigrants. Some are sending direct to Europe for 
them. Rev. P. Bartlett of Great Bend, Pa., an English¬ 
man, but long a resident in this country, sailed from this 
port on Feb. 17. to visit his native town, where he is to 
have the assistance of relatives and acquaintances, and 
expects to bring over a hundred farm laborers and 
mechanics. The funds were mainly supplied by farmers 
and tradesmen in central New-York. It will probably be 
mostly returned in the wages of those brought to them. 
The example may be followed in many other places, 
where a suitable, reliable agent can be employed. There 
are multitudes of good men in England, Scotland and 
Ireland, and in Germany, who would be ready to em¬ 
brace such an opportunity to come to this country. The 
main difficulty will be to get passage for all who will be 
coming thither the present spring. Steerage passage in 
the steamship lines will be very scarce Those who start 
in sailing vessels by the middle of April, will be likely 
to reach here by the beginning of the haying season, anu 
those starting two or three weeks later will arrive in time 
to help in the harvest of wheat, and autumn work. The 
expense will not be great. The steerage passage by 
steamer averages about $30 (in gold). As most of those 
who would come, would have a few dollars at least, and 
as they would be under the care of an agent friend, and 
go direct to the place of labor, probably about $30 in 
gold or exchange, ($40 to $50 in currency), would suffice 
on the average for each person sent for. Mr. Bartlett, if 
as successful as he anticipates with his first company, 
will probably continue his labors. He hopes to be here 
at the middle of April. lie goes abroad with the highest 
recoipmendations of ability and integrity—as we know 
