1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
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Premium No. 20—Paints. 
20 Subscribers at 80 cents each, will entitle the person get¬ 
ting up the club to an assortment of Windsor ifc Newton's 
Water Color Paints— consisting of 12 colors, put up in 
a neat mahogany case, with brushes, etc. These Paints are 
imported from London, and are by all considered the best 
in the world. They are adapted to the finest work, or they 
will make a neat and appropriate present to any of our young¬ 
er readers. They will be sent post-paid anywhere in the 
United States within 3000 miles. 
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15 Subscribers at 80 cents each, will entitle the person get¬ 
ting up the club to an Assortment of Osborne dcllodgkinson's 
W at cr Color Paints, consisting of 24 colors or shades, 
put up in a neat case with brushes, cups, etc. These are of 
American manufacture, and though not so fine as the above, 
will answer for ordinary practice by children or beginners, 
and for common sketching. Sent same as No. 20. 
Premiums Nos. 22 to 26. 
We have not space left to describe these particularly, this 
month. The Cylinder Plow was described in this journal 
last year. It is undoubtedly a great improvement. The 
Eagle Plow is well known, and so is the Hay and Straw 
Cutter, and the Steel-toothed Cultivator, one of the most 
useful implements on the farm. The Lard and Wine Press 
is a very convenient household implement, for pressing out 
lard or tallow, the juice of grapes, currants, berries, &c. 
For the prices, and subscribers required, see the table above. 
Market Review, Prices, Weather, etc. 
American Agriculturist Office. ) 
New-York, Thursday, Dec. 18, lb62. j 
1. TRANSACTIONS AT TIIE NEW-YORK MARKETS. 
Receipts. Flour. Wheat. Corn. Bye. Barley. Oats. 
24 days this ni’th 637.000 3,934,000 2.7*7,000 6.850 295,000 869.000 
27 days last m’th 530,000 4,520,000 2,692,000 41,100 387,000 7S5.000 
Sales. Flour. Wheat. Corn. Bye. Barley. 
24 days this month, 41S.000 3.605,000 3,216.000 53,250 312,000 
27 days last month 670,000 6,378,000 3,455,000 35,000 361,000 
2. Comparison with same time last year. 
receipts. Flour. Wheat. Corn. Bye. Barley. Oats. 
24 days 1862 . 667,000 3,954,000 2,787,000 6,850 295.000 869.000 
25 days 1861 ... 705.000 3,159,500 2,361,000 203,975 260,000 1,469,000 
sales. Flour. Wheat. Com. Bye. Barley. 
24 days 1862. 418.000 3,605,000 3,216.000 53,250 312,000 
25 days 1861. 778,000 5,6-11,000 3,229,000 204,000 276,000 
3. Exports of Breadstuff s from New-York, Jan. 1, ter Bee. 17. 
Flour. Wheal. Com. Bye. Barley. Oats. 
1862. 2,888,619 24,890.^41 11,531,819 1,099,656 22,783 172,922 
1861 . 2,926,328 27,50S,40? 12,1*5,055 S82,240 3,000 159, S45 
4. Receipts of Breadstuff's at Chicago, Jan. 1, to Dec. 8. 
Flour. Wheat. Corn. Bye. Barley. Oats. 
1862 .1,694,852 12,876,587 30,913,682 942,240 947,145 3,388.997 
1861.1,477,615 17,542,G77 26,290 096 493,782 422,803.1,394,852 
Current Wholesale Prices. 
Flour—S uper to Extra State : 
Superfine Western.. . .. 
Extra Western. 
Extra Genesee.. . 
Super, to Extra Southern .. 
Rye Flour—F ine and Super. 
Corn Meal... 
Wheat—A ll kinds of White . 
All kinds of Red. 
Corn—Y ellow. 
White. 
Mixed..... 
Oats— Western. . 
State .. 
Rye . 
Barley. 
Beans—M edium and Pea, bu. 
Marrow and Kidney _ 
Hay. In bales, per 100 lbs. .. 
Cotton—M iddlings, per lb.. . 
Rice, per 100 11)9.. 
Hops, crop of 1862, per lb. 
Feathers, Live Geese, p. lb. 
Nov. 19. Dec. 18. 
»5 
65 
@ 
6 
40 
?5 
80 
6 
40 
5 
65 
@ 
5 
SO 
5 
80 
© 
6 
95 
5 
90 
@10 
00 
6 
15 
@10 
00 
6 
50 
© 
8 
50 
6 
50 
@ 
8 
50 
6 
50 
© 
9 
75 
6 
80 
©10 
00 
4 
25 
® 
5 
75 
4 
00 
@ 
5 
65 
3 
70 
@ 
4 
25 
3 
80 
@ 
4 
50 
1 
50 
@ 
1 
65 
1 
50 
® 
1 
65 
1 
16 
@ 
1 
45 
1 
22 
@ 
1 
47 
72 
@ 
74 
80 
@ 
72 
© 
84 
85 
@ 
65 
@ 
71 
76 
@ 
77 
67 
@ 
69 
68 
@ 
.70 
67 
© 
69 
69 
@ 
70 
§6 
@ 
90 
83 
@ 
97 
1 
45 
@ 
1 
60 
1 
25 
@ 
1 
45 
2 
50 
@ 
3 
00 
2 
35 
@ 
2 
75 
3 
00 
<■’. 
3 
25 
2 
50 
@ 
3 
00 
65 
@ 
80 
75 
@ 
90 
G9X@ 
70 
66 
@ 
7 
00 
@ 
9 
25 
6 
75 
@ 
9 
00 
18 
© 
25 
17 
@1 
S3 
45 
43 
@ 
45 
Seed—C lover, pet* lb. 
low® 
10X@ 105f 
Timothy, per bushel. 
2 00 
© 
2 25 
@ 2 3,>4 
Sugar—B rown, ner lb . 
Molasses,N ew-(jffleans, p.gl.. 
9 
© 12 
8 
@ ll X 
40 
@ 50 
32 
@ 40 
.Coffee. Rio, per lb 
29 
© 33 
28 
@ 32 
I’ohacco — K ent uckv,&c, p.lb.. 
15 
@ 30 
13K® 30 
Seed Leal, per lb... . 
15 
® 35 
9 
@ 30 
Wool—D omestic fleece, p. lb.. 
55 
© 70 
58 
@ 65 
Domestic, pulled, per lb. 
65 
@ 68 
48 
© 62 
Tallow, per lb. 
Oil Cake, per tun. 
11X® UK 
10X@ 10Y 
41 00 
@4b 50 
43 00 
@51 00 
Pork—M ess, ner bbl. 
12 S7M@13 00 
14 00 
@14 1214 
Prime, per bbl. 
11 50 
@ 
11 62 X® 
Beef—P lain mess.. 
12 00 
@13 50 
11 75 
@13 00 
Lard, in bbls., per lb. 
9X@ 10}£ 
9J4@ 10 
Butter—W estern, per lb_ 
16 
© 20 
16 
@ 20 
State, per lb.. 
21 
@ 25 
21 
@ 26 
© 8 
@ 2-1 
Eggs—F resh, per dozen. 
20 
® 22 
22 
Limed, per doz. 
18 
© 19 
15 
© 16 
Poultry—F owls, per lb. 
10 
© 12 
8 
® 9 
Ducks, per lb. 
12 
@ 14 
10 
© 11 
Geese, per lb.. 
11 
© 13 
7 
© 9 
Turkeys, per lb ... . 
13 
@ 15 
10 
© 12 
Partridges, per pair. 
"Wild Pigeons, per dozen... 
81 
© 87 
75 
@ 87 
1 75 
@ 2 00 
75 
© 87 
Wild Ducks, per pair. 
50 
@ 75 
31 
© 33 
Venison, per lb. 
12 
@ 14 
10 
© 11 
Potatoes—C ommon, p. bbl.. 
1 25 
@ 1 62 
1 50 
© 1 75 
Buckeyes, per bbl. 
1 62 
@ 1 75 
1 50 
@ 1 75 
Peach “Blow, ner bbl . 
Mercers, per obi.. 
1 62 
@ 1 87 
1 60 
@ 2 00 
2 00 
@ 2 37 
1 75 
@ 2 50 
Sweet Delawares, per bbl_ 
2 50 
@ 2 75 
2 50 
@ 3 00 
Sweet Jerseys, per bbl . 
Onions, Red & Yellow p.bbl. 
1 75 
@ 2 00 
2 00 
@ 2 25 
2 25 
@ 2 50 
2 25 
@ 2 50 
White, per bbl. 
3 00 
@ 
2 50 
@ 2 75 
Turnips—R utabagas, n. bbl.. 
Marrow Squashes, per obi_ 
87 
@ 1 00 
1 00 
@ 
1 25 
® 1 50 
1 50 
@ 1 75 
Pumpkins—C heese, per 100... 
6 00 
@10 00 
5 00 
@10 00 
Cabbages, per 100. 
3 00 
@ 4 00 
3 00 
@ 5 00 
Apples, Western, per bbl.... 
Apples, choice, per bbl. - 
1 50 
@ 1 75 
1 62 
@ 1 87 
2 50 
@ 3 00 
Apples, River, ner bbl. 
Quinces, per bbl. 
1 00 
@ 1 25 
75 
@ 1 00 
2 50 
@ 3 00 
2 00 
@ 3 50 
Cranberries, Cape Cod, p.b’l 
11 00 
@12 00 
11 
@ 13 
Western, per bbl. 
Dried Apples, per lb. . _ 
9 00 
@11 00 
7 
@ 9 
5 6 
4 
@ 6 
Dried Plums, per lb. 
12 
@ 13 
12 
@ 14 
Dried Peaches, per lb. 
15 
® 18 
16 
@ 18 
Hickory Nuts, per bushel.. 
2 00 
@ 2 50 
1 75 
© 2 50 
Chestnuts, per bushel. 
5 00 
@ 6 00 
4 50 
@ 5 00 
The condensed Tables, given above, present in concise 
form a summary of the transactions for a month past. 
These figures are laboriously prepared from a large 
mass of notes collected by us daily, in the markets and 
elsewhere. It is to be noted, however, that the past 
business month has been only 24 days, owing to the 
occurrence of Thanksgiving holiday, to there being one 
day less in November than in October, and to the fact that 
there were five Sabbaths in November, this year, the last 
two of which are included in the month, ending to-day. 
Still, it will be seen that the receipts were 131,000 barrels of 
flour in excess of the previous month, equivalent to 655,- 
000 bushels of wheat. The receipts of Wheat are very 
nearly the same, if we allow for the extra days last month. 
Corn, Rye, and Oats, have come in more freely. The 
sales of Breadstuffs have been considerably lessened, as 
shown in the second part of table 1. By reference to ta¬ 
ble 2 9 it will be seen-that while the receipts (allowing for 
one day less) have been about the same as last year, the 
sales have fallen off materially. Inland navigation is now 
closed, and though the railroads will continue to bring 
forward considerable supplies during the Winter, the 
prices will depend much upon the amount of the supplies 
already here. These are not believed to be very large. 
During the past month there has been no exciting cause 
of activity in Breadstuffs, and the market has been very 
quiet. The variations in the value of Gold and foreign 
exchange, have had the most to do with changes in 
prices. As was shown in an editorial article in the Amer¬ 
ican Agriculturist for November (page 328), a rise in the 
relative value of Gold and currency, produces a corre¬ 
sponding rise in Sterling exchange, in which case it is 
more advantageous to send abroad wheat than gold, and 
the export demand is consequently better. During the 
past four weeks gold has vibrated between $128 and $133, 
or a premium of 28 to 33 per cent, upon the standard 
paper currency, and the prices of Wheat and Wheat 
Flour, and Corn, have changed nearly in the same ratio. 
The financial policy to be adopted by Congress is not set¬ 
tled. On the one hand it is*proposed to raise money for 
the expenses of Government and the war, by selling stocks 
at whatever price they will bring in the market. This 
would be a move towards returning to a specie basis. On 
the other hand it is proposed to increase the issue of cur¬ 
rency. If the latter policy be adopted, and many finan¬ 
ciers think it the only practicable mode of raising funds, 
the relative value of gold will be increased with the in¬ 
crease of paper issues, and the prices of farm products 
will rise correspondingly. Thus : should the premium 
on gold rise to 100 per cent, it would be just as cheap to 
send abroad Wheat at the price of $3 per bushel, in cur¬ 
rency, as to sell it at $1.50 per bushel if gold were the par 
standard of valuation. As we showed in the article above 
referred to, farmers are directly benefited by this distur¬ 
bance in the relative value of gold and paper currency, 
whatever may be the present or ultimate effect upon other 
classes anil upon the country at large. If the currency 
be doubled, the prices of farm products go up according¬ 
ly. It is true that these prices are not on a gold basis, 
but if the double price be in a currency that is at par in 
paying of debts for land, or other liabilities, the increased 
nominal price is directly advantageous. The general 
27 
opinion is tliat further issues of currency will be made, 
and that the prices of breadstuffs will go up: and we find 
dealers disposed to hold on to their present stocks . 
Rye has come in much less freely, while the Iransactions 
in slocks on hand have been much lighter tfian the previ¬ 
ous month, and market prices average about 5 cetds per 
bushel higher than at the date of our last report.. .. Bar¬ 
ley has not been so largely dealt in ; the fever heat of 
speculation has in a measure'subsided, and prices have 
declined from $1.45'®$1.60 to $1.25®$1.45 per bushel. 
— Provisions have not been very active. Mess Pork lias 
advanced fully $1 per barrel. Live Hogs are coming for¬ 
ward, for packing at this point, more freely than ever 
before, the receipts for the past week being 53,778. This 
is caused by the unsettled condition of tilings at the 
Southwest, and by the scarcity of barrel-makers at the 
West. New-York city is just now the “ Porkopolis” of the 
country.... Groceries, Rice, Tobacco, and Wool have been 
quiet, without material change in prices _Hay, Hops, 
and Seeds have been in good demand. The present 
prices, and any changes since last month, are indicated in 
our table of Prices Current. 
N. Y. 0,5vc Stock Markets. — T ite Cat¬ 
tle Markets have been abundantly supplied during the 
past month, the average being 5,342 per week. Prices 
fell off a little Nov. 25., advanced %c. Dec. 2nd, and M 
c. more Dec. 9th. At the last general market, Dec. 16lh, 
prices again declined % c. There were 6,276 beeves on 
sale, some of them very fine. Prices ranged at 10c.® 
12Xc. per lb. for the estimated weight of the four quart¬ 
ers, for Christmas or premium bullocks ; 8>£e.ffi9c. for 
prime animals ; 7 c.iffiSc. for common to medium; while 
the poor grades, some of them genuine ‘ scallawags” went 
at 5 c.i®6c. The average of all sales was alout 7 %c. 
Tea I Calves.—Receipts have averaged 430 
per week. Fewer calves are sent to market now than at 
any other season of the year. They sell quickly, the 
best for 0cM6%c. per lb. live weight; 5c.fa)5Xc. for 
good and 3c.®4c. for bobs and coarse overgrown calves. 
§1ieej» tacacS Ljoailts.—Receipts, are falling 
off and prices gradually advancing. Average receipts 
10,039 per week, with a demand exceeding the supply. 
Several thousand dressed sheep are sent in eaeli week, 
which makes up in part for the deficiency of live stock. 
Quite a number of extra large fat sheep sent in for 
Christmas mutton brought $15 to $18 per head. Some of 
them weighed 240 lb. each. Good sheep at 100 Jbs. are 
worth prices equivalent to 5Xc. per lb. live weight ami 
fair stock 5Jsf. Pelts are worth in quantity $2.00®$2.25 
each. 
Live Blog-s—Were never before so abundant 
in this market. Receipts have averaged 47,166 per 
week, and numbered for the week, ending December 16 , 
53.7 J8—the largest number ever received in a single 
week. In the face of such arrivals hogs are selling well 
and prices have advanced a little during the month. 
Prime fat, heavy, corn-fed hogs readily command 5c. 'ab\< i 
c. per lb. live weight; medium hogs 4Jfc.®5c.. and dis¬ 
tillery-fed 3%c.®4Jfc. Packing is carried on to an extent 
never before equaled in this region. 
The Weatlier has generally been fine for 
winter with but little severe cold, the coldest day being 
14° above zero. We have had comparatively but a light 
amount of rain and one fall of snow, an inch deep. - 
Our Daily Notes condensed, read: November 20. 21, 
heavy N. E. rain—22, cloudy, cool—23, 24, clear, windy— 
25, clear A. M., cloudy P. M., rain at night and on 26—27, 
28, clear, fine—29, clear A. M., light rain P. M.— 30, clear, 
mild.- December 1, light l ain— 2, clear, fine—3, cloudy 
A. M. t and slight rain P. M. — 4, cool — 5, cloudy A. 
M., slight rain P. M., and 1 inch snow at night-6, 
clear, cool — 7, coldest day of the season, mercury 14"—8, 
clear, cold—9 to 13, fine, clear, mild days— 14 fb 15, fog 
A. M., clear and mild P. M. bolli days — 16, windy with 
showers—17, 18, 19, clear, cool. 
The ISaiu Fall and melted snow, for month 
ending Dec. 15, amounts to 4.03 inches which fell suffi¬ 
ciently to be measured at six different times, besides other’ 
light showers. The Barometer has shown marked and 
extreme variations, the range being nearly 1 ‘t inches, 
from 29.35 inches to the unusual height of 30.70 inches on 
Nov. 16. 
Thermometer at 6 A. M., New-York. 
[Observations carefully made upon a standard Ther¬ 
mometer (Fahrenheit.) —r indicates rain — s, snow .] 
NOVEMBER. 
1 ... 
...52 I 
1 7.... 
,. ,34.v| 
113... 
.. 46r|25.. 
2... 
8.... 
,t32 
14... 
...36 | 20 . 
.. 58r!26.. 
... 42r 
3... 
....51 | 
9... 
...35*1 
15... 
...40 21... 
...53r 27.. 
.... 38 
4. . . 
....37 I 
10 ... 
..41 j 
16... 
...25 {‘22... 
... 42r|28.. 
5 .. 
...46 
11... 
..36 
17... 
. . 39r 23... 
....37r 
6.. 
... 36r| 
12.... 
...4Si! 
18 .. 
...44 24... 
...32 ,30.. 
.... 35 
Average.. 
DECEMBER. 
1 - - 
.. . 47r| 
4 .... 
...29 
1 7... 
...14.110... 
...26 113 . 
...37r 
2.. 
....37 
1 5.... 
1 8 .. 
.. 18 11... 
....40 
3 . 
....30 
1 6..., 
...30 | 
9... 
...26 |l2... 
.. 38 ]15.. 
....46 
