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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
DUTCHESS COUNTY CATTLE SHOW. 
We were much pleased with the Annual Ex¬ 
hibition of the Dutchess County Agricultural 
Society, held at Washington Hollow, the 4th and 
5th insts. This Society have a permanent lease 
of a fine plot of fire acres, enclosed with a high 
board fence, and have erected a commodious show 
building, 50 by 80 feet, and another smaller one 
for the transaction of business. These were 
built by subscription, at a cost of $2300, and are 
an element of permanence in the operations of 
the Society. 
They have a good rule, which requires all en¬ 
tries for competition to remain till the close of 
the exhibition. This prevents any decrease of 
interest which would arise if the animals, &c., 
were allowed to be removed before the final 
breaking-up. 
The weather was very fine, and we have sel¬ 
dom seen so large a gathering at a county fair. 
A shilling admission was charged to those not 
members, and from this source alone some $500 
were added to the funds of the Society. 
The entries of stock for competition were un 
usually numerous. We counted 59 horses; 131 
cattle, besides upwards of 20 for exhibition only; 
218 sheep; 41 swine; and 33 entries of poultry, 
amounting to some 150 or 160. 
These animals, with a few exceptions, were all 
very fine. The majority of the horses were de¬ 
scendants of imported Messenger. Among the 
cattle were several pairs of excellent workin 
oxen, exhibited by J. TnoRXE, J. Van Wagner, 
•J. Dotv and others. There were between 40 
and 50 pure short-horns, and a majority of the 
others were crosses with this breed. We noticed 
3 or 4 Devons, one of them a fine yearling bull 
belonging to Isaac N. De Forest. 
Mr. Kelly, of Rhinebeck, and John F. Siieof, 
of High Cliff, exhibited very superior lots of 
young short-horns. Of pure short-horns for 
competition, 10 were entered by D. B. Haight, 
3 by S. Taber, and the others by B. Haviland, 
B. Colver, A. Morey, A. Allen, J. TnoENE, J. 
Doty, etc. 
Messrs. Gazeley, Vail & Co., exhibited their 
splendid Cotswold ram, imported from England, 
which took the premium at the recent State Fair 
at Saratoga. This ram is 4 years old, weighs 
about 400 lbs., girth 6 feet 2 inches, and sheared 
18£ lbs. last spring. The same gentleman exhi¬ 
bited 8 fine Cotswold wethers, which also re¬ 
ceived premiums at Saratoga. 
Mr. D. B. Haight exhibited a splendid year¬ 
ling South Down buck, and also a very fine 
lot of ewes of the same breed. These gentlemen 
are doing much to improve farm stock, and de¬ 
serve the thanks and patronage of stock-breed¬ 
ers. 
There was a pretty large show of poultry, 
which we did not find time to examine particu¬ 
larly. There was a fine show of implements, 
fruit, corn, beets, &c., &c. We were sorry to 
see a comparatively small display of solid house¬ 
hold productions, ami especially to find an entire 
absence of bread. Ladies form an essential part 
of the visitors of our fairs, and they should also 
be cncorn-aged to competition in producing the 
substantial articles of family consumption. To 
make a good loaf of bread is quite as essential 
and quite as difficult as to produce a fancy co¬ 
verlet. 
There are several fine animals in Dutchess 
county, which have taken premiums at the State 
Show, which were not exhibited at home. We 
were sorry not to see them at the county exhi¬ 
bition, for it was thought by many that, had a 
few more of these been on the ground, the show 
of stock other than horses would have eclipsed 
the State Fair at Saratoga. Mr. Thorne entered, 
for exhibition only, his celebrated ram recently 
purchased at Jonas Webb’s sale. This ram took 
the highest prize at the Annual Show of the 
Royal Agricultural Society. A plowing-match 
came off at noon on Wednesday. The gentle¬ 
man chosen to give the annual address having 
disappointed them, Mr. Judd, of the Agricultur¬ 
ist, by invitation of the Society, gave a short 
extempore address. This was followed by the 
awarding of the premiums, after which the 
crowd dispersed. The cheerful countenances of 
the careworn officers and of all others present 
indicated—what all had good reason to feel— 
that this had been one of their most successful 
annual shows. lmost a score, said in our hear¬ 
ing, “Next yearlshall go ahead of what I have 
done this year.” This is the right spirit, and 
we have little doubt that the determination will 
be carried out. 
-- 
Draining. —Our regular articles on draining 
will be resumed as soon as the present press¬ 
ure of agricultural fairs, &c., shall give us time 
and space. 
-»«-«- 
UNDER-BRAENTNG.-FACTS AND QUESTIONS. 
In a recent agricultural paper appears the 
following statement: “ In a properly-made tile, 
the water percolates freely through the body of 
it. You may readily demonstrate this by cork¬ 
ing up tight the two ends of a proper drain-tile, 
and immerse it in water; you will find it full of 
water very quickly.” 
If this be truo to its full extent, then draining 
tile can be used to much greater advantage than 
is commonly supposed. I will state a case in 
point. On my farm is a narrow strip of land 
situated between two sand-hills; it is the natu¬ 
ral outlet for the water from these hills, and is 
consequently full of springs. Two years ago, I 
constructed drains through it, with a view to 
collect the water and supply my house by 
means of a water-ram. I succeeded in getting 
a stream of pure, soft water, discharging three 
gallons per minute, with a fall of about six feet. 
By the use of a No. 4 ram, my house and barn 
are well supplied with water at an elevation of 
some sixty feet. I have already been paid for 
my expense and trouble in being relieved from 
drawing water for family use from a deep well; 
in the superior manner in which my cattle have 
have wintered since they have had water in the 
yard, and in the gain of two acres of the best 
land on the farm, which was previously worth¬ 
less, but is now suitable for almost any good 
crops. 
But the perfect success of my operation is 
somewhat affected by the washing of quick¬ 
sand into my drains. These are constructed a 
part of the avay through a fine white sand, 
through which the water comes. They are 
made in part of timber and in part of stone, 
neither of which entirely keeps out the sand, 
though the timber answers best. 
If the tile will allow the water to percolate 
freely, and continue to do so, my water-works 
can be made very complete. But there are 
two questions which need the answers of experi¬ 
ence, viz.: 
1st. ~Will not the poroc* of" tile laid In Sftnd 
soon become so filled up by the fine particles of 
sand or other matter, that water will no longer 
percolate freely ? 
2d. What proportion should there be between 
the surface of the tile and the water, in order to 
secure complete drainage and the largest pos¬ 
sible stream ? 
It is my purpose to institute some experi¬ 
ments immediately; but if any one has had suf¬ 
ficient experience in similar cases to answer the 
above questions, he may confer a favor upon 
many by publishing the results of his experi¬ 
ments. J. M. J. 
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and 
Geology. By James F. W. Johnston, M.A., 
F.R.S.S., &c. With a complete Index and 
American Preface, by Simon Brown. 381 
pages; price $1. O. M. Saxton, New-York, 
Publisher. 
We have just perused a hundred pages of the 
above work, and shall finish the rest at our 
leisure, though we have for years made the au¬ 
thor’s larger works our constant text books. 
No one has done so much as Mr. Johnston to 
collect and arrange in a popular and useful form 
the discoveries made in scientific agriculture; 
especially in that part looking to the relations 
of the plant to the soil. This latest work is ad¬ 
mirably adapted to the wants of those farmers 
who, having little knowledge of scientific agri¬ 
culture, wish to study it farther without going 
too deeply into the examination of enlarged 
treatises. We think this book contains about 
all the every-day working farmer has time to 
study. We give below the first section of the 
opening chapter, which sets forth the author’s 
views of the province of science in agriculture, 
and is, like the rest of the book, well worthy of 
perusal: 
The object of the practical farmer is to raise, 
from a given extent of land, the largest quan¬ 
tity of the most valuable produce, at the least 
cost, in the shortest period of time, and with the 
least permanent injury to the soil. Chemistry, 
Geology, and Chemical Physiology throw light 
on every step he takes, or ought to take, in order 
to effect this main object. 
Section I.— TF7i«t Chemistry , Geology, and 
Chemical Physiology mny hope to do for Agri¬ 
culture .—But there are certain definite objects 
which, in their connection with agriculture, these 
sciences hope to attain. Thus, without distin¬ 
guishing the special province of each, they pro¬ 
pose generally: 
1°. To collect, to investigate, and, if possible, 
to explain all known facts in practical hus- 
bandry .—This is their first duty—a laborious, 
difficult, but important one. Many things which 
are received as facts in agriculture, prove to be 
more or less untrue, when investigated and test¬ 
ed by experiment. Many ascertained facts 
appear inexplicable to the uninstructed—many 
even opposite and contradictory, which known 
principles clear up and reconcile—yet there are 
many more which only prolonged research can 
enable us to explain. 
2°. From observations and experiments made 
in the field, or in the laboratory, to deduce prin¬ 
ciples ichich may be more or less applicable in 
all circumstances.— Such principles will explain 
useful practices, and confirm their propriety. 
They will also account for contradictory results, 
and will point out the circumstances under 
which this or that practice may most prudently 
and most economically be adopted. 
Armed with the knowledge of such princi¬ 
ples, the insti’ucted farmer will go into his fields 
as the physician goes to the bedside of his pa¬ 
tient,—prepared to understand symptoms and 
appearances he has never before seen, and to 
adapt his practice to circumstances which have 
never before fallen under his observation. 
To deduce principles from collections of facts, 
is attended with much difficulty, in all depart¬ 
ments of knowledge. In agriculture it is, at 
present, an unusually difficult task. Observa¬ 
tions and experiments in the field have hitherto 
been generally made with too little care, or re¬ 
corded with too little accuracy, to justify the 
scientific man in confidently adopting them as 
the basis of his reasonings. A new race, how¬ 
ever, of more careful observers and more accu¬ 
rate experimenters, is now springing up. By 
their aid, the advanco of sound agricultural 
knowledge cannot fail to be greatly promoted. 
3°. To suggest improved, and, perhaps, pre¬ 
viously unthought-of methods of fertilizing the 
soil .—A true explanation of twenty known 
facts or results, or useful practices, should sug¬ 
gest nearly as many more. Thus the explana- 
