AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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great practical results will follow. The plow 
has been in operation for at least four times ten 
centuries, and with very little real alteration, 
so far at least as regards its plastering and con¬ 
solidating of the subsoil; but let other powers 
of stirring, mixing, and pulverizing, be brought 
into operation, and a more open subsoil, a 
deeper soil, and, as a consequence, more yield¬ 
ing and productive crops, will be the result.” 
Since reading the above, we have found the 
following letter on the same subject, from Mr. 
Meciti, in the London Times : 
The Doom of the Plough. 
A calm and rigid investigation and compu¬ 
tation have convinced me that the doom of the 
plow, as an instrument of culture, is sealed, 
and that the rotary forking, or, as it is wrongly 
called, digging machine, is the only profitable 
cultivator. Even with six or eight horses it is 
cheaper and infinitely more effective than the 
plow. 
Since the trial of implements at my “ gath¬ 
ering,” I have received from one of our North 
American colonies the model of a newly-invent¬ 
ed machine, which, by a happy and most simple 
combination of horse and steam-power, will— 
and I pledge my agricultural reputation for it— 
not only deeply, cheaply, and efficiently culti¬ 
vate and pulverize the soil, but at the same 
time sow the seed and leave all in a finished con¬ 
dition. It will also, by a simple inversion, cut 
and gather the corn without any rake or other 
complication; while both in cultivation and 
harvesting its operation will be continuous and 
without stoppage. 
I may venture to state generally that the 
implement, when complete, will weigh about 20 
to 25 cwt., will require a pair of horses, and 
will represent the power of about eight to twelve 
or more real horses. 
The implement for digging will require one 
man and one boy only, including the manage¬ 
ment of the steam engine; in reaping, the same, 
with the addition of three men to bind as the 
corn falls into their arms. The men will be 
carried on the machine. J. J. Meciii. 
SMALL AND LARGE CATTLE. 
The smallest specimens of cattle we have yet 
seen on exhibition in this country, are now 
shown in the neighborhood of the Crystal Palace 
in this city. One is a Shetland cow, full grown, 
and only 31 inches high. She gives a good 
mess of milk every day. A still smaller cow 
of the sacred Burmah breed is there, only 30 
inches high ; while her mate, the bull, scarcely 
exceeds 32 inches; his length from the base of 
the horns to the rump is 46 inches. 
Near these may be seen oxen of American 
breed, enormously large—5 feet 6 inches high to 
6 feet 3 inches, and of corresponding length and 
girth. One of these lias a back so broad that a 
person might lay a mattrass bed upon it, and 
take a comfortable nap. He must be careful, 
however, in doing so, not to turn over too far, 
or he might get such a fall as would not be over- 
agreeable to his bones or flesh either. 
GIANT WHEAT, OATS, CORN, &c. 
We have gleaned from the California and 
Oregon papers, just received, the following no¬ 
tices of the tall products of our Pacific coast. 
It is rather amusing to hear our Western neigh¬ 
bors crow so lustily; nevertheless, we cannot 
doubt their facts, for we have the proof positive 
here in our own office. If our friends will do 
us the favor of a call, we can show them some 
of the most superb wheat we have ever seen, 
just arrived from Oregon. Whether it would 
grow as large and plump on this side of the 
Rocky Mountains we cannot say, but it would 
certainly be worth the, trial among our wheat- 
growers. They might take a peck or even a 
bushel of the seed as an experiment. The trial 
would be well worth the trifling cost. 
Tallest Yet ! — Mr. Wilson, a resident of Co- 
lumnes river, sent the Sacramento Union a 
bunch of green oat-stalks, measuring seven feet 
and six inches in height! This is enormous, 
and challenges any thing in its line we have 
heard of. 
In reply to the above challenge, M. II. Camp¬ 
bell, residing ontheSantiam river, twelve miles 
from Salem, laid on our table, on last Thursday, a 
bunch of green side oats measuring eight feet in 
height! And what renders this specimen the 
more remarkable, is the fact of these oats being 
the product of the second volunteer crop from the 
original seed! One of the heads measured 
seven and a half inches, and contained three 
hundred and ten grains, weighing two ounces! 
Unlike the majority of the specimens, these oats 
are not the production of one solitary spot on a 
farm, for Mr. Campbell informs us that he has 
four acres of these oats, the yield of which will 
average one hundred bushels to the acre! We 
feel no hesitation in saying that this specimen 
of oats far surpasses any thing of the kind ever 
produced, and we feel proud in concurring with 
Mr. Campbell’s request, by sending it to the 
World’s Fair in New-York, as a sample of the 
agricultural productions of Oregon. 
Let Californians, Washingtonians and others, 
take notice that we throw down the gauntlet, 
and challenge them to produce a specimen equal 
to ours in height, weight, and number of grains ; 
and by the time that is accomplished, we trust 
that the present wonderful growth of these oats 
will only be the average of all the crops in 
Oregon. 
Oregon Outdone! —We have seen some oats 
of volunteer growth from the San Lorenzo 
Ranch of Messrs. Root and O’Connell, in Ala¬ 
meda county, nine and one half feet high. There 
are from one seed 19 stalks, containing altogether 
4,213 grains. Some of the stalks are an inch 
and a half in circumference. These oats are to 
be sent to the World’s Fair at New-York. 
Two or three days since, we published an ex¬ 
tract from the Portland Commercial , in which 
that paper spoke of oats 8 feet in height, raised 
in Oregon, and challenged California and the 
world to produce its equal. It is to be hoped 
that they will “ gin in” now. 
We have received some fine specimens of 
wheat from Sonoma. Mr. Leiding furnishes us 
with a number of heads of wheat six inches in 
length and well filled, and Mr. Dreslek has se¬ 
veral acres of wheat which averages about 8 feet 
in height, and it is estimated to produce about 
80 bushels to the acre. How is Oregon on the 
wheat ? 
We learn from the Gazette that Raymond & 
Hahn have raised from their gardens, near Co¬ 
lumbia, a stalk of corn 14f feet high. 
Tall Corn. —A gentleman who owns a farm in 
this vicinity says that he has corn upon his place 
that will measure six feet from the ground to the 
ear. He could not inform us as to the quality 
of the seed planted, but thinks it was the large 
white corn that grows in the Western and South¬ 
ern States. Such a growth as this cannot be 
scared up every day. 
There is a calf in Polk county, three days old, 
weighing 440 pounds. 
Great Wheat. —Some beautiful specimens of 
the cereal products of our valleys are before us. 
Heads of wheat, gathered from a field in Santa 
Cruz Co., are among them, each of which contains 
no fewer than one hundred and twenty grains , 
and many as high as one hundred and thirty-two 
grains. This splendid product is from the Pajaro 
Valley, near the southern boundary of Santa 
Cruz Co., where great things are doing among 
the farmers, to judge from the report of the 
gentleman who has brought this wheat to our 
attention. The field in which this specimen was 
raised will average about sixty bushels to the 
acre. 
The Greatest Yet. —We were yesterday even¬ 
ing shown a bunch of wheat raised in San Joa¬ 
quin county, four miles from Stockton, on the 
Calavaros river, numbering forty-six heads of 
from two hundred and ten to two hundred and 
thirty-two grains to the head, and weighing one 
pound. It is to be sent to the World’s Fair by 
Bekfokd’s and Co.’s Express, at whose office it 
may be seen previous to the sailing of the 
steamer. This is certainly superior to any thing 
we have yet seen or heard of, and unless some one 
of our famous wheat-growing counties comes in, 
San Joaquin leads off. Nothing can be produced 
like it any where out of California. 
LIVE CATTLE WEIGHED BY MEASURE. 
The only instrument necessary is a tape 
measure with feet and inch marks upon it. The 
girth is the circumference of the animal just be¬ 
hind the shoulder blades. The length is the 
distance from the shoulder blade to the rear of 
the buttock. The superficial feet are obtained 
by multiplying the girth and length. The fol¬ 
lowing table contains the rule to ascertain the 
weight of the animal: 
If less than one foot in girth, multiply super¬ 
ficial feet by eight. 
If less than three and more than one, multi¬ 
ply superficial feet by eleven. 
If less than five and more than three, multiply 
superficial feet -by sixteen. 
If less than seven and more than five, multi¬ 
ply superficial feet by twenty-three. 
If less than nine and more than seven, multi¬ 
ply superficial feet by thirty-three. 
If less than eleven and more than nine, mul¬ 
tiply superficial feet by forty-two. 
Example. —Suppose the girth of a bullock to 
be six feet three inches; length, five feet six 
inches. The superficial area will then be thirty- 
four, and, in accordance with the preceding table, 
the weight will be 782 pounds. 
Example. —Suppose a pig to measure in girth 
two feet, and length one foot nine inches. There 
would then be three and a half superficial feet, 
which, multiplied by eleven, gives thirty-eight 
and a half pounds as the weight of the animal 
when dressed. In this way, the weight of the 
four quarters can be substantially ascertained 
during life.— Boston Traveller. 
AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN EUROPE, 
Tnn Royal Agricultural College at Cirencerets, 
England, has six professors. The instruction 
extends over three years, and the studies pur¬ 
sued are as follows: 
1 . Science and Practice of Agriculture; 2. 
Chemistry and Chemical Manipulation: 3. 
Practical Chemistry; 4. Botany, Geology, and 
Zoology; 5. Veterinary Practice; 6. Mathe¬ 
matics; 7. Natural Philosophy; 8. Surveying 
and Practical Engineering. 
The lectures are as complete and practical as 
they can be rendered. The Agricultural Col¬ 
leges of Germany and France are still more 
complete and efficient. That at Hohenheim, in 
Wurtemberg, employs one director, six profes¬ 
sors, four functionaries, and two tutors, and has 
connected with it an estate of 3,325 acres. The 
instruction is embraced in 40 courses, such as— 
1. Practical Agriculture, including Meteorology 
and Practical Mechanics: 2. Culture of the 
Grape; 3. Fruit Trees; 4. Raising and Man¬ 
agement of Cattle ; 5. Of Horses, with Veteri¬ 
nary Practice, Pathology, and Therapeutics, 
&c.; 6. Silk Culture; 7. Rural Industry; 8. 
Rural Economy, Surveying, Engineering, Valu¬ 
ing, &c.; 9. Book-keeping; 10. Working a 
Farm; 11. Algebra and Pure Mathematics as 
far as Geometry; 12. Physics, Mechanics, and 
Chemistry, including Analysis; 13. Rural Law; 
and 14. Constructions, Architecture, and Draw¬ 
ing in all its branches. This is a mere imperfect 
outline of the studies, the whole being much 
too long to copy in this place. 
Europe contains 22 superior Agricultural 
Schools, equal to the best Colleges in the 
United States ; 54 equal to our inferior Col¬ 
leges, or High Schools; and 214 Elementary 
Schools; while there are 14 Agricultural De¬ 
partments connected with Colleges and Univer¬ 
sities, making a total of 352 institutions, solely 
devoted to education in this art. 
