THE CULTIVATOR. 
108 
should substitute ultimately for the “ shortest time,” as 
more likely to lead to improvement. We advise our 
correspondent to make a jaunt of observation and of 
inquiry to the Patuxent, to Fredericks, to the upper part 
of Delaware, and to Pennsylvania—to Mr. Patterson in 
his own state, and to the Messrs. Reybolds, in Delaware, 
and to learn how the best farmers manage matters in 
those reputed good farming districts. We can only 
venture to make a suggestion, which is, that our cor¬ 
respondent confine his attention to the improvement of 
one of his fields only, availing himself of all his re¬ 
sources of fertility—till he has brought it into a high 
state of improvement,—and to stock the other two fields 
with cattle and sheep. For the course of crops best 
adapted to his object, we refer him to our remarks on 
alternating crops, p. 53 of this volume. When one 
field has been made to attain the desired fertility, at¬ 
tention may then be given to the second and third fields. 
The latter will be in progress of improvement by means 
of the farm stock, which will also contribute to enrich 
the first field. We lay it down as a rule that labor is 
far more profitable, when applied to one field in an im¬ 
proved and highly productive state, than the same labor 
is when imperfectly applied to two fields in an impove¬ 
rished and unproductive state. 
Our correspondent who makes the above inquiries, 
has appended to his letter the following note: 
“ Mr. J. Hathaway is certainly mistaken relative to 
brining wheat before seeded. I bought some this spring 
of very ordinary quality, soaked it in strong brine one 
night and part of the next morning, and limed it. It 
came up soon, and now looks tolerably well.” 
A PLOUGHING EXHIBITION AND SALE OF CATTLE 
Was to take place the 1st of the present month, at 
Hoboken, under the direction of the American Institute. 
The notice of this exhibition came too late for our 
July number; and it is now too late for us to speak of 
it in terms which its importance would justify. 
MAUL. 
The specimen of earth sent us by Mr. Fullerton, of 
Orange; as also the specimen sent us by a gentleman 
whose letter we have mislaid, and whose name and re¬ 
sidence have escaped our recollection, are both marl, 
but the per cent of carbonate of lime which they con¬ 
tain, we have not been able to ascertain. 
ON THE TREATMENT OF COWS BEFORE CALVING. 
“ A subscriber/-’ who dates at Hoosick, asks whether 
cows, showing a flush of milk, before calving, should be 
milked or not? 
When the udder is greatly distended, and indications 
ol inflammation appear, cows should be repeatedly 
milked, particularly young ones, and the udders should 
be anointed with some cooling ointment, or olive oil, or 
unsalted butter. A neglect to do this often causes se¬ 
rious inflammation and injury. In old cows unaccus¬ 
tomed to this precautionary measure, evil is less to be 
apprehended. When tumours appear on the udder, a 
salve, consisting of one ounce of Castile soap, dissolved 
in one pint and a half of new milk, over a moderate fire, 
constantly stirring it till it be thoroughly incorporated, 
is a good application. An ointment prepared from the 
juice of the leaves of the stinkweed (. Datura stramo¬ 
nium) mixed with hog’s lard, is also recommended. 
When the inflammation, however, becomes violent, re¬ 
sort should be had to internal remedies. Where no in¬ 
dications of inflammation, or of tumours, appear, the 
udder may be left undisturbed. 
Errata. —The reader is desired to correct two errors 
in the communication of “P.” page 82. In the 10th 
line, for “ substance and for the food of plants,” read 
“ substances used for the food of plants.” In the 14th 
line, last paragraph, 2d column, dele, or strike out, 
“ own” at the termination of the line. 
OORUiaS PON PENCK. 
The Salutary Influence of Agricultural Journals. 
Whiting, June 25th, 1838. 
Hon. J. Duel —Dear Sir—Having been a farmer all 
my days, I now, in the sear leaf of life, just begin to 
appreciate the advantages which the rising generation 
have over those who, like myself, have farmed it from 
tradition. It is a source of much gratification to me to 
see farming begin to take a stand, among the varied 
and multifarious occupations of this busy world, as a 
scientific and honorable employment. 
Much of this change—and I hardly know whether it 
would be saying too much to say, is wholly owing to 
the untiring and indefatigable labors of a few agri¬ 
cultural papers in the country, among which the com¬ 
mon voice of community sets yours down as the stand- 
dard work at the present day. Without feeling the least 
disposition to derogate from the praise-worthy exer¬ 
tions of the New-England Farmer, a pioneer work— 
the Genesee Farmer, and others of more recent intro¬ 
duction, now in the full vigor of manhood, all have a 
strong claim on the gratitude, not only of the farmer, 
but the nation. I am much gratified to see the increased 
interest among farmers of patronizing agricultural pa¬ 
pers, and frequently when the interesting subject of im¬ 
proving our farming occurs, in conversation among my 
friends, inquire—do you take the Cultivator? And be¬ 
ing answered in the negative, say to them, just hand 
me a dollar now, and I will send it to Albany, with 
your address and that of your post-office, and at the 
end of the year, if you are sick of your bargain, I will 
take you papers and pay you back your money, noting 
to them at the same time, that it is more than probable 
that it will cost them a dollar or two more before the 
end of the year—that my son and many others had be¬ 
come so interested with the work, that before the end 
of the first year they had sent and purchased the back 
volumes. Much good may, in this way, be done to our 
farmers, to say nothing of the additional patronage it 
will give the publisher, and thereby enable him to im¬ 
prove the value of his publication. 
Deacon T. had taken your paper from the commence¬ 
ment, and feeling an interest for his neighbors, got some 
half a dozen to subscribe for the 3d vol.; at the end of 
the year he called on them to see if they would continue 
their subscriptions: one young man hardly knew whe¬ 
ther he could, as it would now cost a dollar. Well says 
the deacon, “ now look back and see if you cannot think 
of some improvement you have made from the informa¬ 
tion you got from the paper the last year, to the value 
of a dollar:” he reflected a minute or two, and replied 
—“ I did save two lambs last spring from some hint in 
the Cultivator, which are now worth more than two 
dollars.” He continued his paper. Some may be dis¬ 
posed to smile at the simplicity of our young farmer— 
let them smile if they please, but profit by it at the 
same time: it was a genuine practical observation. “ I 
have saved enough on every acre of corn I have raised 
for years to pay all the cost of the paper, from intro¬ 
ducing one implement, the description of which I found 
in the Cultivator,”* said a venerable,! practical minded 
friend ol' mine to me, as I took up his paper and was 
giving it a hurried glance. 
“ Any farmer, who will read any single number of the 
Cultivator attentively, may, by a judicious application 
of the information he may get, save or make, more than 
the whole vol. will cost him,” said T. F. B. Esq. the 
other day, when talking of the importance of farmers 
taking agricultural papers: he is one of our most tho¬ 
rough practical farmers. I shall take much satisfac¬ 
tion in furthering the circulation of your paper. Yours 
respectfully. J. A. WALKER. 
Portable Bam and Sheds. 
Mr. Buel —Sir—The following cut is intended to re¬ 
present a Portable Barn and Sheds, which I have lately 
caused to be erected. 
[Fig. 1STo. 39.] 
The improvement consists partly in the cheapness of 
its structure and different uses to which it may be ap¬ 
plied. 
It can with little hindrance be moved from one field 
to another; the sills answer every purpose for runners; 
the end sills and sleepers are framed into the posts, as 
at A, three feet above the shoe or side sills, which 
makes a retreat or shed for sheep under the barn. The 
roofs G, on each side of the barn, are fastened to the 
posts by tenons, and supported with braces, as at D. 
The roofs at each end, B, are made fast at the end sills 
by three hinges CCC. When no use is made of the 
barn or sheds, or when it is to be filled with hay, the 
studs, F, are removed, the roof drops similar to the leaf 
of a table: and when it is desired to prevent winds 
and storms driving under the barn, the end which stands 
to the windward may be closed. The draft is fastened 
at the end of the sill E. 
The extra expense of a portable barn, over and above 
stack yards, will in three years be remunerated in the 
extra value and saving of hay and labor. 
It may be profitably used to improve the barren parts 
of pasture land as a summer house for sheep. 
Yours, S. W. JEWETT. 
Weybridge, Vt. June, 1838. 
Millers’ Tolls. 
Rahway, N. J. June 18, 1838. 
Mr. J. Buel —Dear Sir—Since your correspondent 
from Oswego has inquired what toll millers, bylaw, have 
a right to take for grinding grain? I have seen by the 
May number of the Genesee Farmer, and June number 
of the Cultivator, that Mr. David Walton, of Burling¬ 
ton county, N. Jersey, and Mr. John Westly Luff, of 
Spring Mills, Delaware, in justification of the millers’ 
extortionate tolls, understand the science of taking toll 
better than weighing air, or at all events I would not be 
very well satisfied with their deducting 12 pounds out 
of every 60 of my wheat for fixed air. Mr. J. W. Luff 
presumes to make it appear that 60 pounds of wheat 
contain more than one bushel of loose air, which he 
cannot prove by practical philosophy. He may make 
it appear that one bushel of air may, by artificial power, 
be condensed into a very small compass, but it will not 
weigh any heavier than when it filled the bushel mea¬ 
sure. And I further contend that if he gets more loose 
air in any species of grain than its circumference will 
contain, he will be obliged to employ some artificial 
power to aid nature in her wonderful and mysterious 
*_Tho Cultivator. f Late Hon. Henry Ohn. 
works of its germination. According to the Rev. David 
Blair’s philosophy, under the head of pneumatics, in his 
experiments in weighing air, he found that it weighed 
324 grains for every 1,000 cubic inches; and that it was 
900 times lighter than water. Now before Mr. J. W. 
Luff can prove to my satisfaction that there is 12 pounds, 
or even 12 ounces, of fixed air in 60 pounds of wheat, he 
must first prove that the Rev. D. Blair knows nothing 
about philosophy, or at all events of that part of it under 
the head of pneumatics. If these gentlemen will take 
the trouble to make the calculation, they will ascertain 
that there is 2,150 42-100 cubic'inches in a bushel; 
therefore, if 1,000 cubic inches of air weighs 324 grains, 
2,150 42-100, or one bushel, will weigh one ounce and 
nine penny weights, but no more. I am under the ap¬ 
prehension that the millers in this part of the country 
have been studying and practising this new science of 
taking toll. Yours most respectfully, 
WILLIAM A. STONE. 
Schenectady, 28 th June, 1838. 
Dear Sir —Jesse Degraff, Esq. a scientific farmer, on 
the north side the Mohawk river, just called me to in¬ 
quire whether I had answered the criticism of Mr. 
Burnham, (in the Cultivator of this month,) on my ob¬ 
servations on early sown grain, as he considered us at 
issue on the theory of plants exhausting moisture from 
the ground, and should look for my reply. 
I acknowledged to him my want of care in the lan¬ 
guage used, shewing why early sown grain is favored 
in times of drought, above that sown late. I explained to 
him that it must be within the observation of every vi¬ 
gilant farmer, that early sown plants suffered less from 
the evil of early May and June droughts than those of 
late sowing. The roots become larger, extend deeper 
in the soil, whence they obtain more nutriment—through 
that and the shade of the increased growth of the plants, 
were protected from the rays of the sun, while those of 
late sowing became stunted and unproductive. That I 
had found clover seeds sown on naked ground, failed, 
because the sun dried the roots when small, and they 
perished: while those sown with grain were saved by 
the protection of the grain from the sun in dry weather, 
and succeeded. He was fully satisfied with these ob¬ 
servation, as he had made similar remarks, and that 
they did not contradict the theory of Mr. Burnham, but 
that an explanation would be expected from me. Will 
this suffice ? 
In my communication on the liability of oats to lodge 
when sown on strong ground, and prevented by mowing, 
your printer said stony ground, which made nonsense. 
Most respectfully. 
DAVID TOMLINSON. 
The Gram Worm. 
St. Armand, L. C. June 26, 1833. 
J. Buel —Sir—The grain worm having done conside¬ 
rable injury to the wheat crop in this vicinity, for seve¬ 
ral years past, my attention has been called to the sub¬ 
ject, and I think I have found a remedy. My way is as 
follows, viz : when the heads or ears of wheat begin to 
show themselves I sow about two bushels of slaked 
lime or good house ashes on an acre of grain, when it 
is wet with dew, I repeat the operation once in eight 
days, until the grain begins to harden and is out of dan¬ 
ger. The philosophy of it is simple; the lime or ashes 
render the plant unpleasant to the fly, so that it will not 
alight upon the grain to deposite its young. My reme¬ 
dy is prevention, which is better than cure. 
JOHN GERRISH. 
Remark. —We have tried a single application of lime, with¬ 
out any sensible benefit. What repeated applications would 
do, we are unable to say; but we doubt the benefit of any 
topical application, except it contains something offensive, in 
its odor, to the fly. 
We must have Knowledge. 
That our farmers may carry into their occupation a 
“ zeal according to knowledge,” they must be better in¬ 
formed on subjects connected with agriculture. 
It is not sufficient, in this country, that a few scienti¬ 
fic men direct their attention to it. They, indeed,may, 
and should lead the way. But they cannot effect so 
much at once, as in other countries where the many are 
more under the control of the few. 
Here it must be a gradual business. The pioneers of 
improvement can instruct and influence by precept and 
example those with whom they come in contact, and 
thus in time the whole community may be reached, “ as 
the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake.” And when 
this is once done, our intelligent population will turn it 
to much better account than if they had adopted im¬ 
provements, they knew not wherefore. 
The farmer who avails himself of all the knowledge 
within his reach, can generally turn it to good account. 
Every improvement in his business, made in any part 
of the country, is at once before him for his inspection 
and adoption. Each hint of the most gifted minds is 
made to subserve his interest; each new implement to 
minister to his ease or advancement. New varieties of 
itock are brought to view, for his selection—new plants 
solicit his culture. But above all, this knowledge gives 
him the power of discrimination—qualifies him to se¬ 
lect judiciously—and prevents him from being imposed 
on by pretended improvements. 
Plodding ignorance may indeed amass wealth but it 
is not so common as with the well-informed. And when 
this is the case, it is generally done by a “mill horse” 
round of toil and vexation, without knowing or caring 
for any thing beyond the narrow circle in which they 
