50 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURlS'r, 
[February, 
Testiu^ EsS's Easily.— Housekeepers 
know how annoying it is, to have the fifth or sixth egg 
broken in a dish, prove a bad one, and spoil all the others. 
With rare exceptions, as in the case of a very thick shell, 
in our markets test eggs in 
this way very rapidly, as many as three to five dozen a 
minute, by taking up three at a lime in each hand, and 
passing them quickly between the eye and the candle, in a 
partially darkened room. It is so easily done, that all 
dealers ought to test their stock before selling or packing. 
Wants to l»e “ Eosted.”— “D. R.,” Ke¬ 
okuk, Iowa, writes ; “ I am unable to come to any con¬ 
clusion, as to whether any thing can be done to a dry 
xvhite oak (or other) post to cause it to stand longer, than 
it would if set without any preparation. I have set three 
acres of posts for trellises, and charred some and dipped 
others in coal tar, but they have not been in the ground 
long enough to test the question. I shall set i)4 acres 
more in the-spring. I have seen many persons of ex¬ 
perience who say, that neither tar nor charring does any 
good ; while others say both are good. It is a matter of 
much importance, as thousands of acres are being ‘ post¬ 
ed ’ every year.” The evidence which we have is ali in 
favor of tarring, that is setting the buts of posts in hot 
coal tar (still better is it to immerse the posts). Cliarring 
does very little if any good, except under certain condi¬ 
tions which are not well understood ; for some charred 
posts stand a very long time, while others decay as quick¬ 
ly as if nothing had been done to them. We are always 
glad of facts that go to prove any thing. 
IV. Y. State Ag^ricultural Society.— 
The annual meeting takes place at Albany, February 14. 
Masiarc—Water vs. Salt to I*reveiit 
Burning.— C. Killmer, Oswego Co., N. Y., is told that 
two quarts of salt to the load of manure will prevent 
burning, and asks our opinion. It will probably have a 
tendency to prevent burning or “ fire-fanging,” but water 
judiciously applied, is a perfectly sure preventive. Make 
the heap fiat and upon such a foundation that water will 
drain off from it readily ; make also a tank or vat to hold 
the leachings, and then set a pump with which, as often as 
the heap gets warm, drench it with the leachings, or with 
fresh water. The labor will be well rewarded. The 
heat of the interiorof the heap may be always known by 
a hard-wood pole kept thrust several feet into it, which 
may be occasionally withdrawn and felt of. Such a ma¬ 
nure heap may contain two-thirds or more of its weight 
of straw, salt hay, or muck, and be worth in spring three 
times as much as if it were only manure. 
Woolen Waste. —“S. K. ” makes the fol¬ 
lowing inquiries through the Agriculturist : — “ How 
shall I treat woolen waste in which there are many seeds 
of weeds, so as to prepare it for manure?” The best 
way is to put a large handful or so around each hill of 
Indian corn or potatoes. The seeds of weeds will soon 
vegetate and can easily be eradicated. If applied in this 
manner, they will all vegetate during the growing sea¬ 
son. If plowed under, a portion of the seed may not 
vegetate within several years. Woolen waste is an ex¬ 
cellent fertilizer for all grains, vegetables, and fruits. 
15am Weevils, —Thos. Maguire, Dauphin 
Co., Pa. We published last year the only sure cure for barn 
weevils which we know. It is to burn Hie barn ; but if 
any one can tell of a plan, even though not sothorough, 
which will either exterminate or partially destroy this 
pest, we shall be happy to publish it. 
Ylae SelecIloM of a Eil>rary is a work 
whicii needs high literary ability, good common sense, 
and busine.ss tact. Prof. II. G. Lane, whose advertise¬ 
ment will be found in our pages, possesses eminently 
these qualifications, and has given great satisfaction in 
the selection of botli private and public iibraries. 
Enller’s CiSrapc Ciiltarist. —This book 
at once took the rank of a standard work upon grape cul¬ 
ture, as it gives in a plain and concise form not only the 
practice preferred by the author, but the systems of train¬ 
ing followed by others. It is a complete manual, giving 
clear directions for every step from starting the plants 
from the seed or cutting, to the management of the fruit¬ 
ing vine, all fully and excellently illustrated. Price $1.50 
The Prize Barn Plans. 
In August last, Mr. David Groesbeck, authorized us 
to offer $300 in three prizes for barn plans, on certain 
conditions then published. Owing to the number of plans 
received, and the great study which was required 
thoroughly to understand the ideas of those wdio submit¬ 
ted them, it has taken longer to complete the examina¬ 
tion of them and decide upon the best, than was at first 
anticipated. We are happy, therefore now to relieve the 
anxiety to know the decision of the committee by pub¬ 
lishing it, and to announce our expectation of being able 
to give one or more of the prize plans in our next and 
succeeding numbers. There were 12S plans presented. 
Of these between 30 and 40 evinced much thought and 
study. Many were most carefully and even elaborately 
projected with perspective elevations, tinted in water 
colors as is usual with fine architectural drawings, and 
some two or three were elaborately painted in oil or 
water colors. The plans were boxed and sent to each 
member of the committe, one after the other; and when 
all had examined them, the gentlemen met at the Aslor 
House, and after spending the day in examining and 
discussing the plans, and the points which each deemed 
essential to a good barn, they submitted the following: 
Report of the Committee Invited to Decide upon 
Barn Plans, 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist: —The Com¬ 
mittee after mature consideration and discussion together 
over the plans, agree as given below ; although it is fair 
to say, that they arrive at a conclusion with no little 
difficulty, because so many of the 128 [dans submitted .are 
very meritorious. They find in no one of the plans all 
those points which they agree upon as essential ; never¬ 
theless the majority decide upon the following awards : 
The first prize, $150, to No. 51; [submitted by Myron 
B. Benton, Leedsville. Duchess Co., N. Y.] 
The second prize, $100, to No. 112; [submitted by Geo. 
E. Harvey, Cold Spring, Putnam Co., N. Y".] 
The third prize, $50, to No. 120; [submitted by E. 
Boyden it Son, Worcester, Mass.] 
[Signed] L. G. Morris, R. L. Allen, Dr. F. M. Hex 
A.MER, Samuel Thorne, Samuel J. Sharpless, 
Committee, 
Mr. Donald G. Mitchell, a member of the Committee, 
w'as prevented attending the meeting. He sent, however, 
a memorandum of his views and preferences, which, it 
may be stated, do not accord with those of the majority, 
in respect to the order of the premiums. 
Walks and Talks on the Farm. 
No. 26. 
I wish you had dropped in last evening. Mr, 
Chase, of the Agriculturist whs here, and would 
have been glad to meet you. I believe this is his 
first visit to Western New-York, and I fear he did 
not form a hivorable opinion of our .agriculture. 
He thought we had very small barns/ This, I take 
it, was a polite way of saying we did not raise as 
large crops as he had anticipated. We certainly, 
as a rule, need larger barns, but we need still more 
to raise larger crops. When a man gets good crops 
it is not long before he h.as good barns. 
He asked me what was our principal crop, and I 
could not tell him! What is it? It was formerly 
wheat, but is it so now? We are sowing far more 
wheat than w'e did five or six years ago, and I live 
in hopes, that the “ Genesee country” will in a few 
years be as celebrated for its W'he.at as in old times. 
At present wearertither in atransition state. Old 
style farming will not answer, our land needs drain¬ 
ing, and we must make up more and better manure. 
I suppose that while the roots of the original forest 
were in the ground, they opened a sort of passage 
for the water to pass through to the porous soli 
underneath. And this is one reason why land that 
was formerly dry and produced good crops, is now 
wet and comparatively unproductive. Then what 
I call the “natural manure” of our land—the rich 
deposit of leaves which had been accumulating for 
ages—is now pretty much used up ; we cannot ex¬ 
pect it to last for ever. If we manure a piece of 
land we get good crops from it for two or three 
years, but ns soon as the manure is exhausted we 
must furnish another dressing. This is a recogniz¬ 
ed fact, and the sooner we realize that the heavy 
coat of manure that nature kindly put on our land 
to give us a good start while the country was new, 
and while we had roads to make, houses and barns 
to build, everything to do and but little to do it 
with—the sooner, I say, we realize that this manure 
is gone, and that we must make more on our farms, 
the better it will be for the farmers and the country. 
Drainage and manures are what we most need. 
This would make our land as good as it ever was— 
and better. The climate has not ch.anged. Our 
winters are no colder, thermometrically, nor our 
summer hotter, than they were forty ye.ars ago. 
The only difference is, that then our farms were 
protected by extensive belts of timber, while now 
the severe west winds sweep over us without let or 
hindrance. This must be remedied as far as pos¬ 
sible, by setting out Norway Spruce and other 
rapid-growing trees for screens. Perhaps narrow 
fields and hedges running North and South will 
prove to be what we need. But be this as it may, 
judicious underdraining, good manure and belts of 
trees for screens, will give us as good land and as 
good a climate as we ever had, and there is no 
reason why we can not raise as good wheat, as good 
peaches, and as good crops of all kinds, as when 
the country w.as new. 
Yesterday I found one of my men carding the 
cows ! I have tried, often tried, to get this done, 
but never could get any one to do it willingly. I 
cannot account for this sudden conversion, unless 
it is owing to the fact that this man is fond of read¬ 
ing, and I lent him an English book in which this 
practice is highly recommended. Books and pa¬ 
pers have a far greater influence with such men than 
is generally imagined; and I really believe that it 
would pay a farmer to make his men a present 
of a good agricultural paper, or of some such book 
as Todd’s Young Farmers’ Manual. The great 
drawback to the ple.asures of farming, is the miser- 
abie class of laborers we too frequently get. I was 
greatly annoyed with them w'hen I first commenc¬ 
ed farming here, but have now only married men 
th.at live on the farm, and we get along very much 
better. They take .an interest in what is going on, 
and that is half the battle. I h.ave the misfortune 
to be considered .as a sort of amateur farmer, and 
of course h.ave difficulties to overcome w'hich do 
not fall to the lot of an ordinary farmer of estab¬ 
lished repute. I had not calculated on this pre¬ 
judice. I bought such implements as I thought 
were best. But I do not recollect one th.at was not 
pronounced useless. I got some steel plows, and 
you would be amused if I could rec.all the objec¬ 
tions that were made to them. “ They won’t stand it 
on the clay spots,” said one. “ If you strike a stone 
where will you be ? ” asked another. “ I don’t 
believe they are steel anyway,” said a third, and 
ali agreed that they were verj' pretty things to look 
at, but they would not stand hard work. All this, 
you say, does no harm. But in that you are mis¬ 
taken. These men are frightfully conceited, and 
when once they h.ave said that a plow will not 
work, they consider their reputation at stake, and 
if you persist in making them use it, you must 
expect pretty Large blacksmith’s bills. 
I have learned to pity the poor fellows, and, for 
the time being, yield to their prejudices. I laid 
aside the steel plows for the time being, and let 
them use the old ones they had been accustomed to. 
Then if they ever got short of points, I would tell 
them they must try and get along with one of the 
steei plows till we could get some more points. In 
this way we wore off the varnish, and the prejudice 
against them assumed a milder form. Still they 
never take one of these plows if they c.au help it. 
It will prob.ably be two or three years before they 
get accustomed to them—then they will use no 
other! 
The Squire wanted to borrow a plow last fall .and 
I lent him one of the steel ones. A few days ago 
he asked me for the address of the manufacturers, 
saying, “ It is the neatest and best plow I ever 
saw, and I must have one of them.” He did not 
know the trouble I had had with them, and I could 
not but feel grateful for this unexpected testimony 
