182 
PLANK ROADS. 
Among the distinguished Kentuckians pres¬ 
ent, were Mr. R. Wickliffe, and his brother, Gov¬ 
ernor Wickliffe. It is a name not unknown to 
fame. Mr. Clay got home on the evening of the 
second day, and was present a short time on 
the third day. The shout with which the Ken¬ 
tuckians received him, gave evidence of the 
mighty hold he has upon their admiration. 
Virginia , Dec., 1850. A. S. M. 
The above article from our respected corres¬ 
pondent has been on hand some time. The 
reason of its delay is owing to the publication 
of Mr. Kinnaird’s letter in our February number, 
anticipating it, in part. However, the subject is 
so important, and so well and differently treat¬ 
ed, a little repetition, we hope, will have the 
effect of more thoroughly rousing the attention 
of our readers to the great interest of stock im¬ 
provement. It is astonishing how slow this 
thing progresses; our farmers want line upon 
line, precept upon precept—here a little and 
there a great deal. 
The article on Mr. Renick’s stock shall fol¬ 
low in our next. 
PLANK ROADS. 
Among the many improvements m the means 
of communication which have been prosecuted 
in the last few years, plank roads are assuming 
a very important rank. A little work, by Mr. 
Kingsford, of the Hudson-River Railroad, is of 
great interest, and should be well circulated 
throughout the country. It appears that the first 
plank road in Canada was laid down in 1836, 
and in New York, in 1837; but it is only within 
the last four years that they have been much 
prosecuted. The number of plank roads in ope¬ 
ration in Canada and the state of New York are 
as follows 
Canada. New York. 
Number of roads, 
Number of miles, 
Average cost per mile, 
Total cost, 
— 19 
442 2,106 
$1,700 $1,833 
$773,500 $3,860,292 
Very nearly four millions of dollars have been 
expended in New York upon these roads, and 
the resulting advantages are immense. The 
roads have all been subscribed for by individu¬ 
als, and all pay handsome dividends. For in¬ 
stance, the Troy and Lansingburg road pays 10 
per cent., semi-annual; the Utica and Burlington, 
20 per cent.; and we believe none in operation 
pay less than 10 per cent., and none of the 
stocks can be bought in the market. 
The importance of plank roads in farming re¬ 
gions becomes self-evident, when it is stated that 
on the Salina road a two-horse team drew six 
tons of iron twelve miles without unusual strain. 
Four and a half tons is an ordinary load, and a 
team will travel with it eight hours per day, four 
miles an hour, day after day. A farmer, in a 
heavy country, stated that the tolls paid saved 
themselves in the labor of cleaning horses. In all 
localities where these roads are in operation land 
rises greatly in value. On the Salina road, farm 
land rose from $9 to $15 per acre. On the 
Syracuse road, the increase was $10 per acre. 
It will be observed that an amount of property 
equal to $4,000,000, bearing a high rate of inter¬ 
est, has been created, and that the property has 
added in addition several millions to the value 
of the land through which it runs, and that all 
this property is mere saving from the old cost 
of transportation. As the existence and opera¬ 
tion of these roads is but little known out of 
their localities, we append the following statis¬ 
tics - 
Names. 
When 
opened. 
Length, 
miles. 
Cost per 
mile. 
Great Western, Albany, 
1849 
11 
$2,555 
Fonda and Carogo, 
1849 
m 
1,850 
Fultonville and Johnstown, 1849 
5 
5,000 
Rome and Utica, 
1848 
15 
5,000 
Northern Road, Utica, 
1848 
22 
1,713 
Utica and Burlington, 
1849 
5£ 
2,100 
Rome and Oswego, 
1847 
60 
1,500 
Rome and Western, 
1849 
11 
1,500 
Rome and Taberg, 
1849 
9 
1,300 
Rome and Madison, 
1849 
22 
1,250 
Salina and Central, 
1847 
16 
1,500 
Syracuse and Manlius, 
1849 
8 
1,200 
Syracuse and Bridgeport, 
1849 
12 
1,400 
Syracuse and Oswego, 
1849 
32 
1,300 
Salina and Liverpool, 
1849 
11 
1,400 
Syracuse and Tully, 
1848 
25 
1,100 
Split-Rock Head, 
— 
— 
1,50© 
Hannibal and Oswego, 
1848 
11 
2,000 
Do. do. 
1849 
5 
1,300 
Every section of the country should be lined 
with these roads as tributaries to the railroads. 
Their progress at the west is very great already. 
— Reporter. 
Suggested Remedy for the Potato Rot.—- 
Mr. George Luther, of Martha’s Vineyard, North 
Carolina, from some experiments made on the 
potato, is of the opinion that if farmers would 
take the tops and transplant them, it would be 
the means of securing a healthy crop. 
Charring Posts before setting them into the 
ground makes them last much longer. 
