92 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
To Correspondents, &c. 
DISEASES IN POULTRY. 
“ A Subscriber,” at Morristown, N. J. loses most of 
his poultry. “They thrive well for the first three 
weeks,” after being, we presume, shut up to fatten; 
they then sicken, and in two or three weeks die. “ On 
examination,” says our correspondent, “I find the wind¬ 
pipe filled with small red worms, from very small to the 
size of a coarse thread.” The disease is new to us; 
and in prescribing, we refer rather to preventive than 
cure. We would change the food, occasionally mingle 
salt with it—give a bath of sand and lime rubbish, and 
clean and whitewash thoroughly the inside of the poul¬ 
try-house, a measure that should be adopted at least 
every spring. 
CAPONS. 
To capon cocks (we write in answer to the request of 
a Long Island correspondent,) make an incision with a 
sharp knife, under the lowest rib, with your fingers lay 
hold of the parts to be extirpated, and cut them away 
with sharp scissors. Put a stitch or two in the wound. 
So Mr. Willich directs. The effect of the operation is 
to increase the delicacy and fatness of the meat, and 
the size of the bird. 
K. E. Russell, of Camden, S. C. asks us, among other 
questions, what crops or shrubs will grow under the 
shade of two oaks in his garden, which he is not will¬ 
ing to spare? What is the best compost for a coarse 
sandy soil which “ bakes very hard in dry weather ?” 
What quantity of seed should be sown per acre, of red 
and white clover, lucern, timothy, herds grass, orchard 
grass, ruta baga, carrot, &c. ? And we give the subjoin¬ 
ed brief answers. For the shade of the oaks, select the 
handsome native or other shrubs which are found grow¬ 
ing, or are known to grow in the shade of other trees, 
including the common and variegated holleys, laurels, 
&c. or sow orchard grass, or plant strawberries—hav¬ 
ing first made the soil mellow and rich. From the sand 
“ baking,” it probably has much clay in it. Lime or 
manure, or vegetable mould, will tend to improve its 
texture and increase its fertility. Sow on an acre 1G lbs. 
red and 1 lb. white clover; or a peck to a half bushel of 
timothy, if with clover; or a like quantity of herdsgrass; 
2 bushels of orchard grass; or 15 lbs. lucern; or 1 lb. 
ruta baga; or as much carrot seed as will furnish 
plants to stand four to six inches apart, in drills 18 
inches asunder. 
TO KEEP FRESH MEAT. 
What is the best method of preserving meat, say 
shoat, beef and mutton, during warm weather ?— Ten¬ 
nessee correspondent. Answer. Keep it in a refrigerator, 
an ice-house, well, or other place, where it will remain 
dry and in a low temperature. 
QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED BY A. SUMNER, OF S. CARO¬ 
LINA. 
1. What would be the proper season, in lat. 34, for 
sowing ruta baga, to produce the best crop ? Can best 
be decided on trial. We suggested sowing at the far 
south in the month of August, that the crop7 congenial to 
a cold climate, might come to maturity late. But Mr. S. 
Weller, of N. Carolina, (see Cult. vol. III. p. 144,) pre¬ 
fers sowing the middle of July. His crop was more 
than 600 bushels to the acre. 
2. Is a crop of ruta baga of more advantage to stock 
than sugar beet? That is best which is found best 
adapted to the soil and climate. If the sugar beet does 
well, be content, till it is found, by limited experiment, 
that the ruta baga will do better. They are about equal 
in nutrient properties. The Swede prefers a sandy, 
the beet a loamy, and both a rich soil, and good care. 
ILLINOIS FARMING. 
We have received, from a valued correspondent, a 
rather facetious account of the popular mode of farming 
in Illinois, which we take to be rather a caricature 
than a true portrait; and we are partly confirmed in this 
opinion from the fact, that our correspondent has sent 
us twenty-two subscribers from the neighborhood upon 
which he indulges his sarcasm. If the farming is as 
bad as he represents, we hope the Cultivator will help 
to improve it. 
RENOVATION OF OLD MEADOWS. 
A Dutchess correspondent asks what is the best mode 
of renovating old meadows, the soil of which is clay; and 
what crops are proper for a rotation upon such soils? 
He will find these questions as satisfactorily answered 
in our March, May and present numbers as we are able 
to instruct him here. Peas, oats and potatoes will serve 
as good fallow crops upon his clay, to precede wheat; 
and we would not advise that the land be restocked 
with grass seeds until the sod is perfectly rotted, the 
ground ploughed deep, and well mixed and pulverized. 
The beans extensively cultivated on clays in Great Bri¬ 
tain, are the horsebeans, neither adapted to our climate 
nor our wants. 
apples of 1836. 
We have received from D. B. King, of Waterford, 
two apples, sound, and of pretty good flavor, of the 
growth of 1836, and raised by E. Howland. What gives 
particular interest to the circumstance, is the mode in 
which these apples have been preserved. In the sum¬ 
mer of 1837, Mr. King kept his apples in charcoal; and 
in overhauling this in May, 1838, he discovered the 
sound apples, which had escaped notice the preceding 
year. Charcoal has long been noticed for its antiscep¬ 
tic or preservative properties ; and it has been particu¬ 
larly recommended to pack seeds in it, to preserve their 
vital principle, in passing the equator. Might it not 
prove an excellent material for packing apples in that 
are to be shipped to Europe, or the south? 
A LARGE CALF. 
Thomas Coleman, of Lewes, Del. writes us, that he 
has a calf which, at six months old, weighed five hun¬ 
dred and forty-five pounds. It was fed upon ruta baga, 
potatoes and the milk of its dam. 
maple sugar. 
We have received a sample of beautiful maple sugar, 
from M. E. Vail, of Bennington, Vt. white, dry, and 
well granulated, about equal to second quality Havana 
clayed. “I made from eight trees,” says Mr. Vail, 
“ one hundred pounds of the same I send you.” This is 
an average of 12 lbs. the tree. If this sugar is made, 
or refined by any new process, we would thank Mr. V. 
to apprize us of the mode. If our maple sugar was 
purified with animal carbon, a material now extensive¬ 
ly employed in sugar refineries, and which may be pro¬ 
duced any where with little expense, and clayed, the 
process of doing which we have published, it would be 
equal to the best Havana. 
animal carbon as a manure. 
We have received a hogshead of pulverized burnt 
bone, from the Mess. Stuarts, corner of Greenwich and 
Chamber-streets, New-York, to make trial of as ma¬ 
nure. _ We noticed sometime since, that this article had 
been imported into Scotland from Sweden, and profita¬ 
bly applied to the soil. That which we have received 
has been enriched by having been used in the sugar re¬ 
fining, and is of course charged with mucilaginous mat¬ 
ter. We have little doubt of its utility; and the price 
we understand it is sold at—25 cents the barrel—is cer¬ 
tainly low enough. 
BRUSSA MULBERRY. 
We have received from N. Haight, Esq. of New- 
York, a compliment of four ounces of seed of the Brussa 
mulberry, imported from Smyrna. If our predictions 
should be verified, that this variety of the mulberry is 
more hardy than any other foreign kind, even the com¬ 
mon white,—and that it yields a silk surpassed by none, 
it will be a great acquisition to the northern section 
of the union. We are in a fair way to have a good 
stock of plants. The 6,000 sold belonging to Mr. Rug- 
gles’ estate, and an equal quantity retained by Mr. 
Rhind, will probably make 100,000 plants the current 
year; and add to this ten thousand plants sold and re¬ 
tained by Mr. Haight, and the seed furnished by him, 
and it will be seen that our supply will soon be abundant, 
if on further trial if shall be found to realize the high 
expectations which some have formed of its hardiness 
and excellence. 
ROHAN POTATO. 
We received several recent applications, by letter, 
for a tuber or two of these potatoes, which we could 
not grant, for the reason that we had planted our whole 
stock. This potato maybe had of us, in autumn, in 
quantities. 
ITALIAN WHEAT. 
Our friend, Mr. Hathaway, of Rome, persists in cau¬ 
tioning the public, against soaking the Italian seed 
v neat more than 20 minutes in strong brine, lest it de¬ 
stroy the germinating principle. He cites five instances 
in proof—in one lOu grains were soaked 1 hour, and 
42 only germinated; of that which was soaked 3 hours, 
nine-tenths failed; and of two other parcels soaked 6 
and 9 hours, all was killed. Mr. H. ascribes this result 
to the thin skin of this grain. We repeat that the prac¬ 
tice of steeping seed wheat in pickle is common in both 
Europe and America—that we have practised it nearly 
twenty years, and that the cases cited by Mr. H. of its 
injurious effects, are the first that have come to our 
knoAvledge. 
PEAT OR TURF. 
We have sundry inquiries from O. C. Freeman, of 
Detroit, on this subject, which it is difficult for us to an¬ 
swer, without a better knowledge of the material he 
describes. The swamp, Mr. F. informs us, has an up¬ 
per stratum of 14 to IS inches of what he terms peat, 
which is underlaid by 3 or 4 feet of muck. He has cut 
a drain two feet deep. The drain should be three or 
four feet deep, and below the muck, if practicable ; and 
if this does not lay the ground dry, drains should be 
made round the borders, and others diagonally from the 
main one, if necessary. When laid dry, the upper stra¬ 
tum, which we suspect is a compound of ligneous matter, 
roots and muck, may be either cut and dried, and used as 
fuel, or converted into manure, by burning, mixing with 
lime or stable manure. We refer Mr. F. to the three 
last numbers of vol. IV. for ample instructions upon this 
head. 
SUCCORING CORN. 
“ Should Dutton corn be succored ?” We answer—the 
same rule will apply to the Dutton that applie&tio' other 
corn—it increases the proportion of sound grain, and 
somewhat accellerates the ripening; process—though it 
does not, we think, increase the quantity, while it sen¬ 
sibly diminishes the good forage, and causes additional 
labor. We do not succor our corn. 
STRAWBERRIES. 
Some of our correspondents complain, that their 
strawberries do not fruit, though they flower finely.— 
R. Hoyt, of Danbury, Ct. has asked us to suggest a re¬ 
medy. Most of the species of this fruit possess both 
sexual organs in the same blossom, like the apple; but 
there is one kind of the hautboy, at least, and perhaps 
more, that bear these organs in separate flowers, and 
on separate plants. The male, bearing the stamens, 
never produces fruit ; and the female, bearing the pistil, 
will of course not fruit, unless within the fruitifying in¬ 
fluence of the male, the blossoms becoming abortive.—- 
I o prosper well, the two sexes should be planted to¬ 
gether, m the proportion of one male to about ten fe¬ 
male plants. The selection is most readily made when 
the plants are in flower, and they should then be mark¬ 
ed, to be able to take the due proportion of each from 
the stole. The male flower is larger than the fe¬ 
male, and on examination will be found to be devoid of 
pmtil. As Angust and the early part of September is 
the best season for planting beds of this delicious fruit, 
we propose in our next to give directions for their cul¬ 
ture, and to notice some of the most esteemed species 
and varieties of this fruit. 
Mr. Myers, of New-Brunswick, will please forward 
the explanation of his drawing of the Centrifugal Des- 
siminator. We refer to the parts—the letters in the 
drawing—and the price of the machine. 
Acknowledgements. —A bundle of Chinese mulberry 
plants, and six ounces of Chinese mulberry seed, 
from IX Hagguston, Watertown, Mass.; Portuguese 
spring wheat, from L. Ashburner, Stockbridge, Mass, 
water melon seeds from J. N. Pallain, Georgia * 
Small’s improved plough, from W. Small; Bushnell’s 
improved drill-barrow, from the patentee; gigantic 
wheat from G. C. Thorbun, New-York; seeds of 
prarie flowers, from E. Dunn, Esq. Little Rock, Ar- 
kansaw. 
correspond ences! ~ 
Freaks of Nature. 
Mendon, III., May 9, 1838. 
Sir—A s you are endeavoring to collect and distribute 
among your numerous patrons, not only all that which 
is useiul and instructive, but also that which is curious 
and entertaining, I send you the following, not that it 
possesses either of the above characteristics, but is sim¬ 
ply one of those freaks of nature, which so often occur 
in the distribution of the different varieties of plants in 
the vegetable kingdom, and which are seldom noticed. 
_ In the month of September last, while engaged input¬ 
ting up corn in a field in which the prairie was broke 
two years before, _I observed that there was occasional¬ 
ly a bunch of prairie grass growing, which is often the 
case if the prairie is not well broke at first, and the fu¬ 
ture crops well taken care of. On one of these bunched 
I noticed a number of dwarf ears of corn growing 
which excited my curiosity. The bunch of grass grew 
near a hill of corn, and differed not from other prairie 
grass, and the corn grew where the grass seeds, if it 
can be said to seed. The ears were six or eight in numi 
ber, three or four inches long, rather imperfect in their 
formation, kernels smaller than those on perfect ears 
I regret it much that I did not preserve some of the 
ears and plant this year with prairie grass, out of curi¬ 
osity, to see their progeny, but it was set up with the 
other corn, and before I thought more of it, was carried 
away, and I saw no more of it. 
TIMOTHY DEWEY. 
To prevent the ravages of Rats In Grain. 
How to prevent the ravages of rats in grain after it 
is housed, has been an inquiry of long standing. We 
can never exterminate them to such a degree as not to 
apprehend their incursions, for a horde of these trou¬ 
blesome visitors Avill often make their appearance when 
we least expect them. Instinct points the way to where 
that provision best suited to their nature is found most 
plentiful. We have often found, when we went to 
thrash, our oats cut and cleaned by them, and the straw 
rendered unfit for any purpose whatever, even the sub¬ 
servient one of litter. 
But every evil has a cure; and I harm found common 
elder to be a preventive, and have tested its properties 
as an anti rat application. When the grain is to be 
packed away, I scatter a few of the young branches 
over every layer of bundles, being mindful to have them 
in greatest abundance on the edges of the pile. The 
drying of the twigs will give the grain an odour not re¬ 
lished by the vermin—which scent in no wise detracts 
from the quality of the straw for horses, as it makes no 
difference with them. I have tried it successfully, a 
number of years, in wheat, oats and corn. 
RUSTICUS IN SOLEA. 
Improvement of the Mind. 
Watertown, May 18, 1838. 
Dear Sir, —I read the letter of Mr. Robinson to 
Judge Buel, to which you referred me, with pleasure ; 
the object is highly praiseworthy, particularly in a go¬ 
vernment like ours, where all power is vested in the 
people. Whatever has a tendency to elevate the cha¬ 
racter of the working, or productive class of men, adds ! 
stability, and a fair promise of durability, to our insti¬ 
tutions. Had Adam not eaten of the forbidden fruit, I 
think each individual of our race would have been en¬ 
gaged in promoting the common good. But it is not so; ; 
we are selfish, and all we hope or look for in the best of 
men, is, that in pursuing their own interests they may 
select such objects as may also be useful to others, and 
have a tendency to raise the standard of human cha¬ 
racter ; but I doubt if persuasion only will, or can pro¬ 
duce the desired effect. 
Men are apt to arrange themselves into two classes: 
one live by their labor, the other attempts to live by 
their wits; or, the one earns, and the other appropriates 
the earnings of the former to their own use, availing 
themselves of the follies and vices of their neighbors;, 
