18G7.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Str«wb«*rry SIiom' of tlie Aiikm-. 
Iran Inntituto.—The American Institute arranged 
for an eshibition of Strawberries on Juno 18th, but the 
iinfavorablo weather indneed a postponement until the 
£)ih. In consequetKe of this change, the show was not 
BO large as the verj- liberal premiumssliould have brought 
out. The quality of the fruit more than compensated for 
the lack in quantity. Several new berries were shown, 
most of which are noticed on page !£)1. Though some of 
ttic principal prizes were, (br reasons satisfactory to the 
judges, not awarded, wo must commend the liberality that 
proposed them, and we liope tliat such generous efforts 
in behalf of horticulture may in the future lead to satis¬ 
factory results. 
The following arc the premiums awarded: 
Preminm Offered by Dudley S. Gregory, $50. For tlto 
best collection (not less than 25) of named varieties in 
bearing, to bo cxliibited in pots not more than 10 inches 
In diameter—lleisig & Ilcxamcr, New Castle, N. Y. 
Premium Offered by Salem IT. Wales, Esq., $25. For 
the best collection (not less than 20) of named varieties, 
one pint each—Iteisig & llcxamcr. New Castle, N. Y. 
Premium Offered by Wm. IT. Butler, Esq., $12. For the 
best collection (not less than 12) of named varieties, one 
pint each—Frank Brill, Newark, N. J. 
Premium Offered by Nathan C. Ely, Esq., $0. For the 
best collection (not less than fi) of named varieties, one 
pint each—E. Williams, Montclair, N. J. 
For the best plant (In fruit) of any kind, to l>c exhibited 
in a pot not more than 10 inches in diameter, $5—S. 
Spingstcad, Unlonport, N. Y. 
For the 3 heaviest berries—S. Spingstcad, Unlonport, 
N. Y. 
For the best quart of Agriculturist, $-3, James M. Betts, 
Stamford, Conn.; for the best quart of Austin, $-3, Frank 
Brill, Newark, N. J.; for the best quart of Durand’s Seed¬ 
lings, $3, Frank Brill, Newark, N. J.; for the best quart 
of Green Prolllic, $.3, Frank Brill, Newark. N. J.; for tlie 
best quart of Ida, $.3, E. Williams, Montclair, N. J.; for 
the best quart of Jucunda, $.3, Frank Brill, Newark. N. J.; 
for the best quart of Lennlg's White, $.3, Frank Brill, 
Newark, N. J.; for the best quart of Rippowam, $.3. J. 
W. Faulkner, Stamfortl, Conn.; for the best quart of Rus¬ 
sell’s Prolific, $.3, E. Marshall, Ponghkecpsic, N. Y.; for 
the best quart of Trlomphe de Gand. $-3, Mrs. R. A. Kerr, 
Marlborough, N. Y.; for the best quart of Wilson’s Al¬ 
bany, $.3, E. Marshall, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; La Constanto 
was exhibltcti by O. Cleveland, Jersey City, but ho being 
a manager, was debarred from receiving a premium. 
II. Beecher & Sous, Wcstviile, Conn., for the best fniit 
ba.skct, $.3. 
Twenty-eight varieties of seedlings were exhibited in 
small quantities; all were presented by T. R. Peck of 
Waterloo, N. Y., and some of them show good qualities. 
Tub Orkelet Prize. —Regarding the prize of $50 of¬ 
fered by Mr. Greeley, the Judges, John Ellis, Thomas 
Median, Geo. Thurber, and J. J. Thomas, say that sev¬ 
eral fruits of great promise were offered for this prize, 
among which were No. 18, Chas. Downing; a seedling of 
remarkable size and beauty. No. 30 of Seth Boyden’s 
Seedling; Romeyn’s Seedling, a very prolific variety, and 
Durand’s Seedling; but before this premium can be 
awarded, according to the terms specified, the plants 
should lie examined on the ground to ascertain how they 
have wintered, and again in fruiting time, by a committee 
appointed for this purpose. 
.'\oteM on Fnrmin;^ in the 4>irain 
DUtrIcta of Pciiiiaylvaiila and New Jersey. 
—Almost every State has its distinct phases of agriculture, 
occasioned by its soil and climate, or by its first settlers. 
Grain growing, which is the leading business in the hus¬ 
bandry of the best portions of these States, is secured by 
the peculiarities of the soil mainly. The soil which is 
under the plow is easily tilled, and comparatively free 
from boulders or large stones. There is nothing to inter¬ 
fere with the plow, the liarrow, or the cultivator. For 
the most part, com is not touched with the hand-hoc after 
planting, and even the planting is often done by the drill. 
Lime is almost everywhere cheap, and with the small 
quantities of manure made, sen’cs to keep np the fertility 
of the land with very moderate applications. The fanns 
underlaid with limestone arc said to bo subject to drought 
in summer, making them unreliable for pasture. Rye or 
wheat, oats and com, are easily raised, and probably pay 
better than dairy farming. They take less capital, involve 
less lalmr, and require less skill. The rotation, com on 
a limed sod, oats or a summer fallow, manure and winter 
grain, either rj'o or wheat, clover, and timothy are com- 
mon,’making a five or six years’ course. Tlicrc is a uni¬ 
formity in following this course, without mucli regard to 
the nationality of the original settlers. 
We come upon the characteristic I’ennsylvania Barn, 
long lieforc we enter the State at Easton, traveling by the 
Morris and Essex railroad. It Is planted, if possible, 
upon a side hill, and has one or two stories below the 
barn floor, where the hay and grain are delivered. The 
best nuHlel has stone gables, and the walls of the lower 
stories arc of stone or brick, laid in mortar, and made rat 
proof. The entrance to the main floor is directly from 
the ground on the upper side, or by a broad drive-way of 
gentle ascent where this is necessary. It is of large capa¬ 
city, frequently 50 by 100 feet, and will hold several hun¬ 
dred tons of hay and grain. There are deep bays on either 
side of the floor for hay, and immediately beneath the 
floor is the granary into wliich tlie wheat, oats, and rye 
arc received, when they are threshed. The threshing and 
cutting of 8traw,com fodder, and hay, is all done by horse 
power. The cut feed is conveyed by a shoot to the stables 
in the basement, where it is mixed with meal, and fed to 
the animals. The whole basement is occupied with stalls 
for cattle and horses. There is a large cistern in the side 
hill, catching all the water from the barn, and furnishing 
an abundant supply for the stock. A pipe brings the wa¬ 
ter from the cistern. Immediately in front of the feeding 
stalls, so that little time is lost in watering. Sometimes 
a neighboring spring. Instead of a cistern, furnishes the 
water. There is one grand defect in this style of barn— 
the want of some means near the stalls for the preservation 
and composting of manures, and with this supplied, we 
do not know tliat it could be changed for the better. Ma¬ 
nures arc not prized so highly as they are further east, 
and for this perhaps the lime is at fault. It is a great 
labor to clean out tlie stables in this kind of bam. The 
manure is carried out by wheel-barrow or other contri- 
vauce, and deposited in the open yard, where, mixed with 
straw, it lies exposed till the annual clearing out comes 
in August or September, for the oat stubble or summer 
fallow. A bam cellar underneath the stables would save 
largely in labor, and in the value of manure. We think, 
on many of these farms, from two to five hundred dollars 
are lost every year for want of a cellar. 
Pork raising is quite an important Item in the business 
of the grain farm. The pigs arc sometimes fed in clover 
througli the summer, but quite as frequently mu at large, 
and the manure is wasted. They arc geuerally fed upon 
raw corn, and in large inclosnres when shut up for fatten¬ 
ing. We did not find the small pen well filled with muck 
or loam, upon which the eastern farmer relies for several 
cords of his best manure. We believe it pays to have 
swine sheltered, and to feed with ground and cooked food. 
Raising roots receives very little attention in the grain 
growing districts. Potatoes arc raised for the table, and 
the yield is quite as generous as in the Eastern States, 
but we did not see any large fields of carrots, parsnips, 
beets, mangels, or turnips. Perhaps the climate is not so 
favorable, but we could not loam that experiments had 
been tried to test the matter. We think some of the 
roots would be found to succeed very well, and that they 
would be found to bo a' very profitable addition to the 
stores for the winter feeding of cattle. We suspect room 
will yet be found in the model barn of this region for a 
root cellar, and that carrots will become a part of the 
daily rations of the horse. 
The hreeding of iiORsgs is a common branch of busi¬ 
ness upon the grain farm, and generally pays well. They 
arc not of any distinct breed, but are larger than those 
raised at the cast. There is a great demand in the sea¬ 
board cities for a large horse, weighing from twelve to 
fifteen hundred pounds, for trucks and heavy wagons, 
which Pennsylvania, more than any other State, supplies. 
Almost all the work upon the farm is done by horse-power, 
and this requires a large force,whlch,on the eastern farm. 
Is supplied by oxen. The young horses are kept until of 
suitable age for service, and then sold for from two to five 
hundred dollars each. Strength and size arc qualities 
sought more than beauty and speed. The horses for ex¬ 
portation are a large item in the wealth of the State. 
Farming by Proxy is much more common than at the 
East. The land,owner. Instead of renting his farm for a 
stipulated price, or upon shares, hires a foreman or farm¬ 
er to oversee and board the laborers. He is not a resident 
upon the farm, but visits it as often ns suits his conve¬ 
nience, and gives such directions as he chooses to the 
foreman. The compensation of the foreman varies accord¬ 
ing to circumstances. We found one who received 3G0 
dollars a year, house rent, fuel, and the use of two cows. 
He agreed to board laborers at' three dollars a week, and 
the laborers worked for Ifi dollars a month (wet and 
dry) and board. Another on a somewhat larger farm re¬ 
ceived 700 dollars a year with house rent, fuel, and other 
privileges. He boarded the laborers at a stipulated price, 
made all the inirchascs, and sold all the products of the 
fann, and kept the accounts. Land owners who pursue 
this course, are generally men of business in the neigh¬ 
boring villages or cities, who see the farm frequently, and 
keep close watch of the management. They have a farm 
account, and know the profit or loss of the business. We 
found one gentleman who farmed in this way, making 
from 7 to 8 per cent, on riis capital, and he could show the 
figures. He spent money freely, and got it hack again. 
____ 281 . 
The Picnic, and How to Go to it. 
The picnic is an inslilut ion in our cities and vil¬ 
lages, and nothing is more common than a gen¬ 
eral turn out of friends and neighbors for some 
luiid letreat in the dog-days. It is quite as 
much needed upon the farm, and now that the 
hay and grain harvests are mainly over, a good 
time generally should be inaugurated by the 
3 'oung men and maidens of the farm. “All 
work makes Jack a dull boy.” Who should go? 
Everybody that has done good solid work 
through the hay harvest and behaved himself; 
tlie commodore, 5vho has bossed the work, and 
done the thinking, and had the tools all ready 
in season; his wife, who has spread a bountiful 
table and sent savory luncheon to the field; 
little Bess, who has mixed the sweetened water, 
tempered 5vith lemons or with vinegar, and 
brought it to the field; little Bob, who has rode 
liorse to plow, and raked after the cart all sum¬ 
mer; the old folks who liave happy memories 
of harvest days; the good dominie, who has 
sweat in his pulpit to make your Sabbaths prof¬ 
itable, and j'ou better every day in the week; 
the doctor, who has taught you to observe the 
laws of health, and prescribed apples and pears 
instead of pills—every lionest worker, old and 
young, ought to have a day’s release from toil. 
Where should they go? To any pleasant spot, 
not too far off to make it a weariness—some 
river bank, some island, some sea-side resort, 
some hill or mountain, where there is grateful 
shade and fine scenery. IIow should they go? 
With their own teams, if possible. The railway 
and steamer will do for poor people who can¬ 
not support an establishment of their own. We 
like independence and a home made picnic. 
What shall they do? Enjoy nature and society. 
Do not impose upon anybody the necessity of 
a lecture, or a speech, or be tied up to any pro¬ 
gramme. Singing is in order, so is swinging, 
and silence and quiet, if people like them better. 
Only get the people together, and let jmur com¬ 
mittee see that each family brings its offer¬ 
ing to the festival, and it will take care of itself. 
Top Dressing Grass Lands. 
A very interesting experiment lias been made 
with various kinds of manures applied to grass, 
at the State Agricultural College of Michigan. 
The manures were applied to the plots, from 
May 5th to 10th, 18G4, and the products 5vere 
carefully cut, dried, and weighed, in July and 
October of the j’ear 1864 and 1865. Tlie soil 
was a light sandy loam. 
bush, of plaster per acre gave an increase of 4,1531b of hay 
“ “ wood ashes “ “ “ “ 3,9421b “ 
loads of muck “ “ , “ “ 4,683® “ 
“ and 3 bushels of salt “ 6,318® “ 
bushels of salt “ “ “ “ 4,184® “ 
loads of horse manure “ ' “ “ 5,023® “ 
This experiment covers two years, and seems 
to have been carefully made. It gives, without 
much doubt, the approximate value of these 
manures as top dressings for light sandy loams. 
It shows that two bushels of plaster are worth 
a little more than two tons of hay, and five 
bushels of ashes produce nearly the same quan- 
titJ^ E.stimating hay at 15 dollars a ton, this is 
a very good price for plaster and ashes. Farmers 
5 vho want to get ahead should certainly invest. 
The experiment also shows the great value o^ 
muck in comparison 5vith stable manure, and it ^ 
is for the sake of the muck argument that we \ 
give place to this experiment this month. The 4 
muck is shown to bo nearly as valuable as tin; 
