AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
HAY CAPS. 
280 
Jmerra ^grmtlterid 
Xcw-Yoi'k, Wednesday, Jan. iO. 
NATIONAL POULTRY SHOW- 
We hope the poultry fanciers of the coun¬ 
try will be ready to meet the call of the 
managers of the forthcoming show, next 
week, by sending a larger collection of do¬ 
mestic fowls and other valuable birds, than 
have ever before been brought together in the 
United States. The point for the show is 
central, accessible and convenient; the list 
of the premiums large ; the judges excellent; 
the array most admirable ; and the cause 
worthy of earnest and united effort. 
Few persons are aware of the value of 
our poultry, and the quick return it makes 
for the capital invested, and the labor be¬ 
stowed upon it. We believe the amount 
largely exceeds that of sheep in the Union 
(we will look this^up and see) ; at any rate, it 
is large enough to minister largely to our 
luxuries, and many of which maybe deemed 
the necessaries of life. It is therefore a 
matter of national and large importance 
that we compare the best breeds, analyze 
and scan their relative merits carefully, and 
adopt such as are known to yield the largest 
returns in their eggs, their young, and their 
tlesh—all of choice quality. By such judi¬ 
cious selection we may easily augment the 
profitable products of our poultry full fifty 
per cent, which will be a nett gain to the 
country of many millions annually. We 
say again, then, let every breeder send in his 
choicest specimens, and let every one who 
takes any interest in national, economical, 
and praisworthy pursuits, attend and judge 
of their respective merits ; then select for 
himself such kinds as he mayjudgetobe 
both for his own taste, circumstances, or sit¬ 
uation. For particulars see advertisement 
MULES ON CITY RAILROADS. 
We notice an interesting item in the An¬ 
imal Report of the Sixth-avenue Railroad, 
in this city. Speaking of motive power, the 
report says that the substitution of mules for 
horses has been tried, and that so far as it 
has been possible to effect the change, the 
experiment has justified all that was hoped 
from it. This company formerly employed 
390 horses, but they have now reduced the 
number to 208, and in place of the 182 horses 
dispensed with they have only 131 mules. 
They thus not only saveAhe feeding of 51 
animals—quite a saving—but the 131 mules 
employed consume much less food than an 
equal number of horses. We have little 
doubt that the different railroads in the city, 
having probably 1,500 horses, will substitute 
mules for them as soon as those animals can 
be obtained. 
We have published several editorial arti¬ 
cles urging upon farmers the economy of 
raising mules to use upon the farm. The 
same qualities which render them so superior 
to horses for drawing passenger cars on 
railroads, will be found equally advantagous 
for farm Avork. The increased demand for 
them also adds to the importance of farmers 
entering immediately into the business of 
raising them as a source of profit. 
IMPORTED DEVON CATTLE. 
By the steamship Washington, one Devon 
bull and three Devon cows arrived at this 
port last week, for Mr. Richard Peters, of 
Atlanta, Georgia. These animals were se¬ 
lected for Mr. Peters, in England, by Mr. 
Davy, and are choice specimens of the breed. 
They were chosen more particularly for 
great milking qualities, Mr. Peters preferring 
such only as have proved their superiority 
at the pail. He thinks these animals will 
rank among the best in that respect ever im¬ 
ported into this country. 
These Devon's are very fine in all their 
points, of good size and constitution, and 
will unquestionably prove a great acquisition 
to the improved stock of Georgia. They 
were forwarded, in excellent condition, to 
Mr. Peters, by the steamship James Adger, 
for Charleston, on Saturday last. 
Mit. Mapes is out in the January Working 
Farmer with his promised onslaught upon 
Mr. Tucker, of the Country Gentleman , and 
Mr. Judd, of the American Agriculturist. 
Mr. Mapes’s own statements merely refer to 
a point of etiquette, which it is scarcely 
worth while to discuss. He devotes nearly 
two columns to letters from a certain Geo. 
E. Waring, Jr., detailing his own private and 
public interviews with Mr. Tucker and Mr. 
Judd. So far as we are concerned, his letter 
would be wholly unworthy of notice was it 
not a complete series of misstatements, to 
call them by the mildest name. “At our 
leisure” we will take occasion to correct 
these misstatements, and perhaps at the 
same time time answer the question, “ Who 
is this Geo. E. Waring, Jr., who is so sedu¬ 
lously puffing himself in some of the New- 
York daily papers, and elsewhere, as a con¬ 
sulting agriculturist,” &c. ? Those who may 
wish to see his portrait will find a good one 
in the Ohio Statesman and Democrat of No¬ 
vember 4tli, a copy of which the editor 
kindly sent us. 
A correspondent thus remarks on an ar¬ 
ticle published in our last, entitled, “ Loss of 
Hogs on Grand Island”: To the December 
snow-storm of Grand Island we can give 
but brief sympathy. If every “ wood’s” 
hogthatso famished could come again to life, 
an additional curse from every sensible in¬ 
habitant there would fall upon the whole 
race. These dead hogs are alossto nobody. 
The only regret is that any of the tribe 
should have escaped. The Democracy” 
had better congratulate the “ losers.” 
We are glad to learn that our Middlebuck 
correspondent contributes nothing to the to¬ 
bacco fund. There is a very large number 
of contributors to this fund already, and yet 
the stock is below par ; it yields a poor div¬ 
idend. A much better investment might be 
made elesewhere, which, as in the case of 
our friend, would yield an income not to be 
purchased by love or money. 
We know by experience that during these 
short cold days there is little time for doing 
any thing else than to take good care of the 
farm animals, and provide a supply of fuel 
for the present and future wants of the house¬ 
hold. But some thought should now be de¬ 
voted to arranging our plans for the future. 
We could "suggest numberless little jobs to 
occupy every hour not devoted to the neces¬ 
sities of the present, but we will now speak 
of only one which we have reserved to this 
season. 
Most farmers are doubtless aware that on 
an average one-fourth of the value of all hay 
gathered, is lost by its'exposure to rain and 
heavy dews. This loss may be saved by 
simply being provided with a supply of hay 
caps. These are made of pieces of cotton 
sheeting, say a yard and a half square, with 
the torn edges hemmed, and a loop of tape 
or string sewed upon each corner. They 
would be rendered more effectual if slightly 
coated with oil; or by dipping in water made 
quite milky with chalk, or whiting, and after 
drying dipping them into alum/water. If pre¬ 
pared in the latter manner they will shed 
water quite freely. 
When grass is cut down and put up in 
small stacks of two to four hundred pounds 
each, it can then be protected by one of these 
cloth coverings, the corners of the cap being 
fastened down by thrusting little wooden 
pins through the loops into the sides of the 
stacks. Protected in this way, hay can stand 
in the field unharmed through rain and dews 
till it is thoroughly cured. Let us estimate 
briefly the cost and profit of this process. 
If we allow one of these caps for 200 lbs. 
of hay, ten will be required for a ton. As the 
cloth may be quite coarse, the expense of 
each will not exceed fifteen cents. The 
caps may be used two or three times in a 
season, and if taken care of they will last for 
five or six years, or longer, and then the pa¬ 
per makers will buy them at one-fifth of first 
cost, so that every two caps, costing 25 cents, 
will serve for curing at least a ton of hay. 
No one will deny but that hay thus cured will 
on an average be worth at least a dollar more 
on the ton, than if subjected to the usual 
damage of rain and dew. We advise every 
person raising hay to prepare a few dollars’ 
worth of these caps during this leisure month 
and have them laid away in readiness for the 
haying season. The same caps may be 
used to protect shocks of wheat and other 
grain. They will very often pay for them¬ 
selves in a single season. If not quite satis¬ 
fied as to their utility, prepare 20 or 30 of 
them and try them one season, and see if 
they do not pay. If they do not, the cloth, 
will not be lost. There is no particular ne¬ 
cessity for any preparation added to the cloth, 
as a piece of simple cotton thrown over a 
rounded hay-cock will generally conduct off 
even the heaviest shower of rain. 
To the Maine Farmer. —If our facetious 
friend, the editor of the above excellent pub¬ 
lication, will give us the weight, in ordinary 
flesh, of his “ little scrimp of a cow,” that 
“{yielded twenty-one pounds of butter per 
