12 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
we may enumerate the Beurre Die], which is in eat¬ 
ing from November to January ; the Napoleon, at 
maturity in November; Maria Louisa, ripening in 
October, besides many others of proved excellence. 
The good varieties which Van Mons has produced it 
is said amount to three or four hundred. 
\ : ' _ • . V _ : . 
Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland.- —Some 
unknown friend has kindly sent us the Scotsman, 
printed at Edinburgh, several columns of which are 
occupied with an account of the meeting of this soci¬ 
ety at Dumfries. There were more than two hundred 
cattle entered for premium, of the Galloway, Short 
Horn, Ayreshire, and other breeds; more than 500 
sheep, besides horses, swine and other domestic ani¬ 
mals ; many new implements, seeds, grains, roots, &c. 
The Messrs. Lawsons, who have one of the best ar¬ 
ranged seed establishments any where to be found, 
and who have been justly commended for their zeal 
and taste in getting up an agricultural museum, exhi¬ 
bited several new seeds of wheat, barley; oats, &c., 
which promise to be an acquisition to husbandry; 
they also exhibited the Rohan potato. But what 
strikes us as particularly characteristic of Scotland, 
is the interest which the leading men of the nation— 
the nobility, clergy and men of fortune—take in these 
associations, and the encouragement they impart to 
them by personal attendance at their meetings, as 
well as by pecuniary contributions. And we observe, 
that on this occasion, many gentlemen, of distinguish¬ 
ed agricultural repute, attended from England, Ire¬ 
land, and a deputation from an agricultural society in 
France. 
Two experiments were made by Hart Massy, Esq. 
of Watertown, Jeff, last spring, according to the Wa¬ 
tertown Standard, one in his corn field, and the other 
in his orchard, which produced uncommon results.— 
He planted five rows in his corn field with seed soaked 
in a solution of salt petre,—and the product of these 
five rows was greater than the product of 25 like rows 
along side, similarly treated in all respects save in pre- 
^ ^6 seed. The steeped corn was not touched 
worm, while the rest of the crop was nearly 
destroyed by them. We have been in the habit of 
dissolving salt petre in our steep for seed corn, for 
many years; hut as we have steeped it all, we are 
not able to judge of its comparative advantages.— 
Great benefit has been ascribed to nitre, in the prepa¬ 
ration of seed wheat as well as corn, in communica¬ 
tions from Robert Johnson and Dr. Graham, formerly 
senators, to the old society of agriculture, &c. 
Mr. Massy’s other experiment was to scatter plas¬ 
ter upon the blossoms of an apple tree, which had 
been shy in bearing—and had never given over two 
bushels of fruit. The tree bore almost twenty bush¬ 
els, presumed to be caused principally by the gypsum. 
The fecundation of the fruit blossom is effected by the 
pollen of the male organ coming in contact with the 
female organ. Whatever prevents this contact, as 
strong winds or heavy rains, renders the blossoms 
abortive. The female organ in this case, could not 
have been rendered fertile by the mere contact of the 
plaster; but this might have operated beneficially, by 
adhering either to the pollen, and thereby rendering 
it less liable to be blown or washed away; or to the 
stigma of the female organ, and causing the pollen to 
adhere, when it chanced to fall upon it. 
Vetches. —Vetches, sometimes called tares, are ex¬ 
tensively used in England as a green crop, to be cut 
and fed green, like luzern and clover, to working and 
other cattle. They are of two kinds, winter vetches, 
sown in autumn, and cut in the spring, and summer 
vetches, sown in the spring, and cut at mid-summer, 
in time to sow the ground with winter wheat or rye. 
The late Chancellor Livingston made experiments in 
cultivating them as a fallow crop, in 1794, and the re¬ 
sult is recorded in the memoirs of the old society.— 
Sown upon a light loam in May, and plastered, they 
produced a good crop. They were cut when in bloom, 
in August, and cured like hay. The product was 
about 25 cwt. Three bushels were sown upon a slaty 
gravel and plastered. These were intended for seed ; 
but continued to grow, while the seed at the bottom 
was moulding and wasting; they were five feet long 
in October, but only three pecks of seed was obtain¬ 
ed. The summer vetch has been tried in this neigh¬ 
borhood. It gave a great product in vines, but 
very little seed. Cattle are fond of them ; and if the 
seed could be readily procured from abroad, they 
might no doubt be profitably cultivated, on a small 
scale, for working cattle or milch cows, particularly in 
the vicinity of large towns, where pasture is scarce. 
Cuttings .and Grafts, intended for propagation this 
spring, should be made before the buds begin to swell. 
They may be preserved in the cellar, or buried in the 
ground till wanted. Cuttings of the grape, currant, 
gooseberry, quince, &c. should be cut square and 
smooth, at a joint or bud, and the former should, if 
convenient, embrace half an inch of old wood, that is, 
wood two years old. Four eyes are enough to a cut¬ 
ting, of well ripened wood; and all the buds save the 
upper one, may be inserted under the surface ; and in 
the grape the upper bud may be slightly covered with 
loose earth. All cuttings strike best in a sandy soil, 
which is not wet; and where sand does not exist, it 
is well to throw a handful into the hole where it is 
designed to place a cutting. See pages 6 and 138 
last volume. 
Correspondence Condensed, &c. 
We are obliged, from the number of communications 
on hand, to give a portion of them in a condensed form, 
or to content ourselves with a sort of summary of the mat¬ 
ters which they embrace. And here we are disposed to 
remonstrate against a growing evil—that of communi¬ 
cating or asking information under false names. We 
verily are disposed to be more accommodating to gen¬ 
tlemen who give us their proper names, than to those 
who are anonymous, although we mean to be civil to all; 
and we believe the public are much of our way of think¬ 
ing. Gentlemen who are able and willing to advertise 
the public of what they believe, or know, to be useful, 
will very much enhance the value of the obligation, by 
giving it the sanction of their names. It is creditable— 
it is highly praise-worthy—to enlighten and instruct our 
fellow-men, in whatever may tend to improve their con¬ 
dition in life; and the public are apt to think, that those 
who are not willing “to take the responsibility”—by 
giving their names, are either influenced by a false mo¬ 
desty, or distrust the information which they offer for the 
guidance of others. But to our task. 
ROOT CULTURE. 
We have a score of queries from an anonymous corre¬ 
spondent in Tennessee, in regard to the culture of roots, 
a subject on which we have endeavored heretofore to be 
full and explicit. Among them are the following— 
1. Can the root culture he brought to as high a degree 
of perfection, and cultivated to as great an extent in the 
present state of labor, as in England ? We answer in 
the affirmative—as much as any other branch of tillage 
husbandry. Labor costs more, but land costs less, with 
us; while the excess, if any remains, is counterbalanced 
by the rents, tithes, and poor rates, which the English 
farmer pays more than the American farmer. We are 
neither deficient in climate nor soil; but we are deficient 
in good implements and good culture. The expense of 
securing the turnip crop during the winter, though not 
great, when custom has rendered it common, is in a mea¬ 
sure saved to the British larmer. But we do not think 
the culture requires to be as extensive here as in Great 
Britain, as, from the extent of our lands, compared to 
our population, winter forage is cheaper here and more 
abundant, than there. And besides, our Indian corn crop 
is a great source of winter cattle food, and of excellent 
food when properly secured and fed out, which the far¬ 
mers of Great Britain cannot command. The ruta baga 
can be raised here as a second crop, after clover has 
been taken off; there it cannot. It can be raised here, 
under good management, at four cents the bushel. These 
facts will enable the farmer to decide, after a fair trial, 
how far root culture is adapted to his soil, his location, 
and the profits of his business. 
2. In what soils do they best ftourish and give the most 
abundant product ? And, 
3. Which is the most profitable for stock, ruta baga, 
mangold wurtzel, or sugar beet? The ruta baga does 
best on good sands, gravels or light loams; the beets on 
loams, either of sand or clay. Both require dry soils 
and rich soils; and long manure, spread and ploughed 
under, may be economically applied to either. We think 
the Swede ordinarily gives the largest crop, demands the 
least expense in culture, in harvesting, and securing for 
the winter; and according to the tests which have been 
accurately made in Scotland, it is rather superior to 
mangold wurtzel for feeding stock. The beet requires 
to be sown early in May—the ruta baga may be sown 
from the middle of June to the middle of July, according 
to latitude; and of course the former requires from six 
to eight weeks longer tending than the latter. The dif¬ 
ference between the sugar beet and mangold wurtzel for 
cattle, it is presumed is not material. The latter will 
ordinarily give the largest crop, but the former contains 
the most saccharine or nutritious matter. 
STARCH AND SUGAR. 
W. Edwards, of Lima, who will please accept our 
thanks for his friendly offices in our behalf, asks us to 
publish the process of making potato starch, and also the 
process of converting this starch into sugar. We com¬ 
ply as Jar as it is in our power. 
To make potato starch .—Wash the potatoes, and grate 
them into water, for which latter purpose a large grater 
should be procured from the tin-man ; or, if on a large 
scale, the potatoes may be reduced to pulp in a grater 
cider-mill. Then take out the refuse pieces, if any, with 
the hand, and next strain the whole of the water in which 
the potatoes have been grated through a thin cloth, ra¬ 
ther coarse, or fine sieve, and afterwards frequently put 
on and pour off water, until it comes clear from the 
starch, which is always allowed to settle or fall to the 
bottom of the vessel in which the operation is perform¬ 
ed. Frozen potatoes may be profitably employed in this 
way, if grated before they thaw, they are found to 
yield half as much starch as fresh or'unfrozen ones. 
The refuse pulp, when taken from the sieve, possesses the 
property of cleansing woollen cloths without hurting their 
colors; and the water decanted from starch powder is 
excellent for cleansing silks, without the smallest injury 
to their color. 
We have said that the constituents of sugar and starch 
are the same, though differing in their proportions. The 
component parts of each, in 100, are given in Davy’s 
Agricultural Chemistry as follows: 
Sugar. Starch. 
Carbon, (Lavoisier,). 28 (Thenard,) 43.55 
Oxygen, . “ ..64 “ 49.68 
Hydrogen, “ .. 8—100 “ 6.77—100 
-100 
43.55 
56.45—100 
Or, Carbon, (Thenard,) 42.47 
Of water or ? u 
its elements, > oi.od- 
We have also stated, in the 12th number of our first 
volume, on the authority of the Edinburgh Quarterly 
Journal of Agriculture, that starch may be converted in¬ 
to sugar, by means of sulphuric acid, &c. Our corre¬ 
spondent wishes to know the quantity of aeid employed, 
and the whole process of transmutation. Upon these 
points we cannot enlighten him or the public farther 
than we have already published; apd we do not know 
that the process has yet been promulgated. 
To raise carrot seed, Mr. E. is informed, it is not ne¬ 
cessary to use either long or short manure, if the soil is 
rich, as it ought to be. Blant out the roots in the last of 
April, or first of May, three feet apart, and drive a stake 
down by each plant; and as the seed stalks rise, tie them 
to the stakes, and gather the seed as it ripens. 
Devastation by Blackbirds. —O. H. Otis writes us from 
Bristol, Wisconsin, that the times have proved disastrous 
there, to new settlers, on account of the ravenous birds, 
which destroyed the crops of the last season almost en¬ 
tirely, with the exception of potatoes. He implores our 
advice, how to diminish the unaccountable number of 
blackbirds that visit them during the harvest season; 
and we are sorry that it is not in our power to offer him 
relief. 
“Interior,” who dates at Little-Falls, admonishes 
against the use of tobacco water, in destroying lice upon 
cattle; and states, that where it has been used, some 
have sickened and died. He quotes Prof. Muzzy on the 
poisonous quality of the oil of tobacco, in support of his 
hypothesis. There is a manifest difference between the 
decoction and the oil; and asimmence numbers of cattle 
and sheep have been washed with the former, or im¬ 
mersed in it, without it having caused sickness and 
death, we suspect that in the fatal cases noted by our 
correspondent, the calamity would have befallen the ani¬ 
mals, even if the decoction had not been applied. 
Another anonymous correspondent, who dates from 
Masonville, advises that calves tails be shortened some 
eight or ten inches, in order to prevent the “ horn-ail,” 
when they become of age! We cannot become a par¬ 
ty in the outrage against the works of Providence 
which this practice would inflict; and therefore protest 
against the preventive, as contrary toreason as well as hu¬ 
manity. To atone for this, however, our correspondent 
recommends improvements in feeding hay and construct¬ 
ing milk-houses, which are better entitled to notice. In 
the first he recommends a free use of the hay knife, that 
the fodder may be taken from a small, rather than a 
large surface—the former being more snug, economical, 
and less injurious to the hay than the latter. He has 
his milk-house raised above the surface of the ground, 
instead of its being sunk below it, as in a cellar or spring 
house, with a trap-door in the floor, for the purpose of 
letting in fresh air from below. He has windows, with 
shutters which are closed in a hot day, and his house is 
shaded by surrounding trees. He thinks he gets more 
cream in this way than in any other, as his milk-room is 
generally cool and dry. The suggestions are worthy the 
notice of dairymen: 
After culture. —G. W. Latham, of Jeffersonton, Ya. 
wishes us to explain what we mean by “ after culture,” 
as applied to the corn crop. We mean all the culture 
that is given to the crop after the seed is deposited in the 
ground. 
Miller’s Toll .—A correspondent in Owego, wishes to 
know what toll millers have a right to take by law for 
grinding grain. The communication of our correspon¬ 
dent would be given entire but for the press of other 
matter. Our correspondent weighed all the erain he 
had ground, for some months, took it to mill himself, and 
afterwards weighed the product. The result was, he 
found that twenty per cent had been abstracted for toll, 
instead of ten per cent, which he supposed was the legal 
allowance. Assuming that our population is two mil¬ 
lions, and that each inhabitant consumes five bushels 
annually, the difference between ten and twenty per 
cent toll, gives an aggregate to the millers of one million 
of bushels of grain annually, more than he thinks they 
are entitled to. We confess our surprise at not finding any 
law regulating this matter, and on being told that there 
was no such law. We have weighed our grain also, and 
have found the same result—a diminution of twenty and 
twenty-two per cent abstracted for toll. These imposi¬ 
tions are so gross as to call for legislative enactments on 
the subject. As long as the matter is left to the discre¬ 
tion of the miller, impositions will continue. It is at all 
events proper, that the miller should be required to put 
up a notice on his door, of the rate of toll he does take, 
and to be obliged to abide by his rule, that his custom¬ 
ers may be apprised of the fact, and be enabled thereby 
to select the most reasonable. At present, custom, which, 
in the absence of law, has the binding force of law, 
seems to have settled the toll at ten per cent. If the 
miller can with impunity take twenty, he may by the 
same rule take fifty per cent. The business really re¬ 
quires to be regulated by some definitive and binding 
regulations. 
