THE CULTIVATOR. 
79 
farmers to introduce new plans of improvement in 
their agricultural operations. Notwithstanding the 
slowness of our progress in the scale of agricultural 
improvements, in comparison with what is being done 
in some parts of Europe and the United States, yet 
it ought to be matter of some encouragement to us, 
that by making a seven years comparison we can dis¬ 
cover that we have progressed a little. Our Socie¬ 
ty was formed in 1830, and as was usual at public 
meetings at that time, the brandy and wine bottle 
was brought in abundant requisition, and aftei the 
close of business, the meeting was broke up in dis¬ 
pute and disorder. But clear cold water has now ta¬ 
ken the place of the brandy and wine bottles at our 
agricultural meeting dinners, and generally super¬ 
sedes the use of whiskey in the field ; and we expect 
for the future to bring clearer heads and sounder un¬ 
derstandings to our assistance in hastening mental 
and agricultural improvements. Six years ago an at¬ 
tempt was made by the managing committee to in¬ 
troduce the culture of the ruta baga, by offering a 
small premium to any one who would cultivate a 
quarter acre, but not an individual could be induced 
to make the trial. But last year a number of pieces 
came in competition, and received premiums. My 
own received the first, and yielded at the rate of about 
six to seven hundred bushels per acre, and this year 
there is a prospect of considerable being cultivated, 
if seed can be obtained. Mangold wurtzel would re¬ 
ceive a trial also, if we could get seed. 
J. G. BOOTH. 
Economy of Manures. 
Hagerstown, April 25tli, 1838. 
To Jesse Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir—* * * In 
speaking of 40 loads of manure to the acre for corn, 
does Agricola mean cart or wagon loads 1 I find a 
much smaller number of wagon loads of long manure 
from my farm yards, (so constructed as to retain all 
the lye, and the manure completely saturated with 
the lye,) a handsome dressing for corn. On the sub¬ 
ject of manure, I will observe, that my system is, to 
carry out from my farm yard two crops a year. The 
first crop is made chiefly from straw, during the fall 
and winter, and carried out in March, for my corn 
crop. I then, immediately, commence feeding my 
corn stock fodder, brought in and stacked near the 
farm yard, so as to be fed and littered away in my 
farm yard, where my cattle and horses are kept until 
the middle of May, or the crop of fodder is consumed. 
By keeping my cattle up in this way until late in 
May, I find their manure, mixed with the corn stalks, 
produces fermentation and decomposition by the mid¬ 
dle or last of August, so as to enable me to use the 
manure to great advantage on my fallow fields as a 
top dressing, to be harrowed in with the seed wheat. 
This year I shall keep my cattle, &c. in my farm yard 
after they have consumed the corn fodder, and feed 
them on clover, cut and brought into the farm yard 
and fed from racks. This, I think, will greatly en¬ 
hance the value of the manure, expedite fermentation, 
and tend greatly to decompose the corn-stalks. My 
corn field will be an old clover field, mixed, I regret 
to add, with too great a quantity of wire or blue 
grass, (to get rid of which I wish you to instruct me.) 
The sod is turned under, deep, in the fall. In the 
spring, the spring crop of long manure is applied, and 
the ground cross ploughed, throwing the long manure 
below, and the sod turned under the last fall, a great 
portion of it is brought to the surface, which, by the 
use, then, of a heavy harrow, twice applied, is well 
mixed with the soil, and my land, I find, in good con¬ 
dition ; and by the use of the Cultivator, frequently 
used during the summer, my crop of corn will be pro¬ 
ductive, and the land put in fine tilth for small grain. 
I have been surprised to find the sod turned under the 
preceding fall, on being brought to the surface and ex¬ 
posed in the spring, easily pulverized and incorporated 
with the soil, and so decomposed as to furnish, I 
would suppose, fine pabulum for the young corn. 
The above remarks, hastily thrown together at a 
leisure moment, are intended to elicit your opinion. 
A short letter in reply, (or full on every subject, if 
you can spare the time,) will be esteemed a favor. 
I am, sir, very respectfully, your ob’t serv’t, 
F. TILGHMAN. 
Remarks. —We are inclined to think that cross ploughing 
for corn both wastes the fertilizing matter of the sod, and en¬ 
courages the growth of blue grass. We venture to suggest, 
that the spreading of the spring crop of long manure in the 
spring upon the clover ley, and then ploughing it under well 
once, would be a preferable course. If the sod is found to 
decompose in the winter months, it will do so much more 
readily in the spring, particularly if aided by the leaven of 
long manure. Mr. T. will find his queries, in regard to pre¬ 
serving corn, and to what constitutes a load of manure, in a 
measure anticipated in other columns of this paper.— Cond. 
To the Dairy Women of our Country. 
New- YorJc, April 25th, 1838. 
The undersigned, dealers in butter and cheese, 
would call the attention of the manufacturers of these 
articles in the middle and western part of this state, 
to the existence of general and just complaints in re¬ 
gard to the quality and condition of both butter and 
cheese made in such sections, together with the packa¬ 
ges. In view of this fact, and to encourage an im¬ 
provement that will restore and increase the reputa¬ 
tion formerly enjoyed by producers of these articles, 
they would respectfully submit to their consideration, 
the following viewp, relative first to the manufacture 
of cheese:—In all cases, the milk and rennet should 
be perfectly sweet; as much of the animal heat 
should be evaporated from the milk as time will ad¬ 
mit ; when the curd is properly produced, break it up 
very fine, cook it well, but do not heat it so much as 
to start the oil in the curd ; season it with clean fine 
salt, pure from lime; put the cheese in the press 
cool; press it hard, in order to extract all the whey 
from the middle before the outside closes tight; con¬ 
tinue to press for two days ; irom the press put a dry 
cloth over it for a few hours, until a rhind is formed— 
then put on Annatto, dissolved in strong lye ; cover 
again with cloth until next day ; after the cloth is re¬ 
moved, put on a thick strong coat of melted bees-wax 
and lard, or butter; get a bright smooth surface, and 
keep one, by constant rubbing and turning, until the 
cheese is perfectly cured. When put in the casks, 
let it always be done in cool dry weather. All cheese 
should be slightly colored with Annatto in the milk, 
and such as do not exceed fifty pounds in weight, 
should be made a bright orange color—cheese of 
this description being generally in good demand for 
the southern markets. Finally, there should never 
be any late cheese. In no case should cheese be sent 
to market made after the 15th day of September, nor 
should it be sent even thus late, unless the utmost 
pains is taken with it, and unless well cured by a fire. 
It is of the greatest importance to the dairying inte¬ 
rest, that these rules, in regard to late cheese, be 
strictly conformed to: for this kind of cheese not only 
destroys itself and greatly injures the market for a 
good article at the present time, but should the prac¬ 
tice of making and sending it be persisted in, it will 
eventually destroy the business. To prevent any loss 
to the farmer, the undersigned would advise them to 
make butter after the 15th of September. Butter 
made after this time always commanding a fair price. 
2nd. Of cheese casks.—They should be smoothly 
and well made of good seasoned wood, not less than 
half an inch in thickness for small casks, and five- 
eighths of an inch for large casks: the heads of all 
large casks should be at least five-eighths of an inch 
in thickness, to prevent them from springing; the 
staves should be narrow, in order to preserve their 
places and keep the cask round; there should be al¬ 
ways a fair bilge, with at least eight good substantial 
hoops, (maple hoops should never be used,) ; the 
quarter hoops should never be put down so low on the 
casks as to allow the staves to spring out when the 
head hoops are taken olf; the other hoops should all 
be securely nailed. 
3rd. Of butter.—In all cases where it is made from 
cream, it should be churned before the delicious flavor 
is lost, or any bad flavor is induced; avoid too much 
heat in the process,* as this causes the butter to be 
soft, and of fine grain, bordering on a waxy charac¬ 
ter ; never fail to extract every particle of milk be¬ 
fore it is laid down ; season it with rectified fine salt, 
or ground solar salt, and work in no more of it than 
will be entirely dissolved—where any of it is left un¬ 
dissolved, it destroys that delicate rosy flavor which 
renders the article most desirable, and its value dimi¬ 
nishes in proportion to the excess of salt—this being 
one of the greatest objections to western butter. 
4th. Of the packages.—The undersigned would re¬ 
commend two kinds, viz. firkins and Welch tubs.— 
The firkins should be made of seasoned white oak 
and walnut hoops. Where white oak is not to be 
had, they should be made of heart stuff of white ash, 
and hoops of white or black ash, or elm, of good 
shape, and perfectly smooth; have on at least ten 
good hoops, smoothly shaved; be perfectly tight, and 
contain 100 lbs. Welch tubs should be made of sea¬ 
soned white ash, hooped with seven substantial split 
ash hoops, smoothly shaved, to contain 100 to 120 
lbs. Both firkins and tubs should be soaked with a 
strong pickle, in order to saturate the wood before the 
butter is laid down, (but never put any salt at the bot¬ 
tom or on the top of the butter.) Great care should 
be taken to put it down solid; never fill the packages 
so full as to have the head or cover touch the butter, 
and always make a smooth surface on the top with 
the ladle. The tubs and firkins should be weighed, 
and the actual dry weight marked upon them with a 
marking iron in such a manner as not to be oblitera¬ 
ted ; and let them always be found accurate. 
In conclusion the undersigned give it as their decided 
opinion, that the manufacturers of cheese and butter m 
* It has been found, that the best and most butter is obtain¬ 
ed when the cream is about the temperature of 55°—and if the 
temperature is over 60°, the quality is inferior, and the quan¬ 
tity diminished. Hence, every dairy should have a thermo¬ 
meter.— Conductor Cult. 
the middle and western parts of this state, who will 
observe the above rules, and unite with the observ- 
vance a desire to make their articles of the first qua¬ 
lity, after a little experience, will soon be able to 
compete with any part of the United States, both in 
quality and prices, at home or abroad. Possessing, 
as these manufacturers undoubtedly do,—one of the 
finest soils, and best adapted to grazing of any in our 
country, they may produce the article m the greatest 
perfection. On this, as well as other accounts, the 
undersigned wish to impress upon their minds the im¬ 
portance of this subject, and that the course recom¬ 
mended is the only one which will secure to them the 
advantages of a fair price and good reputation for 
their labor and pains. 
Leggett & Lapham, 
Nathaniel Gordon, 
Wm. H. Davenport, 
Burrell, Perry & Co. 
John Johnson’s, Son, 
Gregory & Brown, 
Walter Sutherland, 
Eleazer Mills, 
P. Pidgeon, Broker, 
Abbey & Atwood, 
A. B. Meech & Co. 
Smith, Howe & Palmer, 
Stickney & Dean, 
Gove & Brown, 
Charles F. Joy, 
Robert Nisbet, 
Seth Miller, 
Cook & Gage, 
Varnum S. Kinyou, 
John P. Snell, 
Curtis Easton & Co. 
Nisbet & Husted, 
Henry W. French, 
Charles Stanton, 
Solomon Petree, 
John J. Owens, 
Ashley Devenport, 
A. H. Buel, 
Henry Carter, 
Chas. Stokes. 
On Steeping Seed Grain. 
Ionia County Seat, Mich. April, 1838. 
Sir —Having recently become a patron to your ex¬ 
cellent and very useful paper, and in the last volume 
finding several communications upon the subject of 
steeping seed corn, from persons who have been un¬ 
successful and are adverse to the practice, 1 feel dis¬ 
posed to offer a little of my experience in its favor. 
It is now some twenty years or more since I first 
inherited the practice (from my elder brother - ,) of 
steeping seed corn in a solution, of sal nitre, and have 
ever derived manifest benefit therefrom. One object 
of this communication is to relate the effects of this 
practice on a particular occasion, which, however 
incredible it may appear to some, is not the less true. 
Another is to encourage those unsuccessful steepers 
to try again and again—try on. In the spring of 
1826, I planted twelve acres of corn on a green sward 
recently turned over ; harrowed and the rows marked 
out, and as usual put my seed a steeping the evening 
previous to the commencing the operation of plant¬ 
ing. Repeated experience had proven to me that if 
the planting was accomplished before the cold easter¬ 
ly storm commences, which visits our country be¬ 
tween the 5th and 20th May usually, my corn was 
more thrifty, would better endure a drought, and be 
beyond the effects of early frosts ; while the older 
farmers in my neighborhood, who waited for that 
storm to pass by, were sure to have a poor crop, when 
that storm was late, or a drought followed, as was 
sometimes the case. On this occasion the storm 
came on in the midst of the planting, and drove the 
men from their labor. The seed in a tub was brought 
home apd put in the carriage-house, and in hopes the 
storm would pass off in a day or so, the liquid was 
not poured oftj but remained with the seed until the 
germs had grown a quarter or three-eights of an inch ; 
in this state the seed was emptied upon a piece of 
very coarse sacking, the corners of which were purs¬ 
ed over a hoop and fastened, and hung up to drain, 
where it remained for some days until the storm was 
over, when the planting was recommenced with this 
sprouted seed, the germs of the corn having become 
wilted somewhat and thereby toughened, so that they 
would not break off; readily satisfied me that the seed 
would grow; the planters being faithless, thought to 
improve the matter by putting in five and six kernels 
to the hill, instead of three or four, as I had directed ; 
the first consequence of which was, that the seed was 
all used up before finishing the ground, when I knew 
there was an abundance. This was, however, kept 
secret from me until the corn told the tale, and I was 
obliged to pull up at least one-third of the corn so 
planted, and showing satisfactorily that the seed all 
came up. 
My invariable mode in preparing the seed was to 
put the nitre into boiling water, that it might the more 
readily dissolve. As to quantity I was never precise, 
but as we Yankees would say, “guessed at it.”— 
When the nitre was all dissolved, and I could bear 
my hand in the solution, I poured it upon the corn, 
and if there was not sufficient water to more than co¬ 
ver the seed, added more warm water, otherwise the 
swelling of the seed would soon cause a portion of it 
to be out of the water. 
Should you deem this communication useful in what 
I esteem the very excellent practice of seed steeping, 
you are at liberty to make such use of it as may seem 
proper. Very respectfully, sir, your obd’t servant, 
J. Buel, Esq. TRYON. 
