THE CULTIVATOR. 
15 
States, which we insert in another column ; and se¬ 
veral other matters of great interest to the silk 
grower. We commend this publication to the no¬ 
tice of all who have commenced, or who intend to 
commence, the silk culture. 
Extensive preparations are making, and heavy- 
capitals have been put in requisition, to extend 
greatly this business the coming season, particular¬ 
ly in the middle states, where we think it can be 
managed with the greatest economy; while the 
northern and eastern states will probably be found to 
excel in growing the sugar beet, as this is more pro¬ 
perly the beet zone—the root grown here abound¬ 
ing more in sacharine matter than that grown at the 
south. This is inferred from the fact, that the beet 
grown in the northern departments of France fur¬ 
nishes a richer juice than that grown in the southern 
departments. 
The Ohio State Agricultural Society, 
Was organized early in January. Samuel Spang¬ 
ler was appointed president, and William H. Harri¬ 
son and eighteen others, vice-presidents. It has 
commenced its operations with a spirit which pre¬ 
sages much good to the state ; and which will tend 
to arrest, we doubt not, that exhausting system of 
culture, common to the settlers on new lands, which 
has so lamentably impoverished the soil in the old 
settled states. The society resolved to establish a 
state agricultural journal—to petition the legislature 
for pecuniary aid, and to provide for an agricultural 
survey of the state ;—to inquire into the propriety 
of invoking the aid of the national and state govern¬ 
ments in purchasing, for the use of the society, a 
farm, or a tract of land, for the purpose of making 
experiments, and establishing thereon an agricul¬ 
tural school; and to take measures for the organ¬ 
ization of county agricultural societies, of which, 
however, several already exist. 
The establishment of a state agricultural journal, 
will no doubt accelerate agricultural improvement; 
but its potency and its benefits will be more than 
doubled if the society can introduce it into common 
schools, or common school libraries. It will con¬ 
tain much matter of interest to the boys, and will 
beget in them a taste for useful inquiry and experi¬ 
ment ; and in this way too will incidentally be 
brought under the eye, and made to exert a benign 
influence on the practice of thousands of parents, 
who, if they read at all, must in this or some other 
way be decoyed into the habit. [We beg to make 
our acknowledgments to the society for the com¬ 
pliment it has done us, of enrolling the name of the 
Conductor among its honorary members.] 
To Preserve Poultry in Winter. 
About the 15th November, the Conductor pur¬ 
chased a quantity of poultry for winter use. The 
insides were carefully drawn, their place partially 
filled with charcoal, and the poultry hung in an airy 
loft. It was used through the winter, till about the 
first of February, and although some was kept seventy 
days, none of it was the least affected with must or 
taint—the charcoal having kept it sweet. 
Relative Advantages of Large and Small Sheep. 
In the proceedings of the Penrith Agricultural 
Society, England, we find some remarks of Mr. 
Gray, on the comparative profit, to the grazier, of 
large and small breeds of sheep, which we transfer 
into our columns for the benefit of our readers—of 
the buyer as well as the seller of mutton. It is a 
mistaken notion, too prevalent, that the largest car¬ 
cases are the cheapest, or the very fat ones the most 
palatable and healthy. On the contrary, the Devon 
cattle, South Down sheep, and the Berkshire pig, 
which are considered medium sized breeds, give 
better beef, better mutton, and better pork, than the 
larger and coarser breeds of these animals. The 
former give more fat lean meat than the latter, that 
is, the fat is better intermixed with the lean; the 
meat is more rich, tender and economical for the 
table, although the proportion of clear tallow or fat 
may be less. But our extract refers merely to the 
profits of the grazier. It seems that in their awards 
at the fair, the judges had somewhat favored the 
small breeds of sheep. On the health of the judges 
being given, Mr. Gray, the chairman, addressed the 
meeting, and among other remarks, made the fol¬ 
lowing : 
“I dare say that the opinion of the judges, with re¬ 
spect to sheep, has been much censured, although I de¬ 
clare I have not heard any observations to that effect. 
My reason for supposing so, is this, that people who 
have not great experience of the qualities and niceties 
connected with every description of stock, are apt to 
look principally at that which fills the eye, and to form 
a favorable opinion of animals upon a large scale, and 
this is particularly the case with respect to the Leicester 
sheep. I have had considerable experience with sheep 
of this description, having, in former times, kept a flock 
of between nine hundred and one thousand Leicester 
ewes, and therefore I have some title to speak upon the 
subject. I say, then, that the largest sheep are the least 
profitable. If it can be ascertained, as I believe it has 
been, that you can feed on an acre of land a greater 
number of pounds of mutton in carcases of from 18 to 20 
lbs. per quarter, than in carcasses of from twenty-eight 
to thirty lbs., then every one must agree that the advan¬ 
tages are on the side of the smaller carcases. The rea¬ 
son of this is obvious; in times of drought and scarcity, 
a small animal can collect for itself as much food as a 
larger one, and having a smaller carcass, it derives 
more advantage from it. Whilst, therefore, the larger 
animal is losing in condition, the smaller one, if not im¬ 
proving, remains stationary; and ivhen the period ar¬ 
rives at which abundance of food can be obtained, it al¬ 
most immediately re-assumes its position, and is lit to 
go to the market sooner than the larger animal. I do 
not presume to offer any thing like dictation to this 
meeting, but I am confident that those gentlemen pre¬ 
sent, who have had experience on this subject, will bear 
me out in saying, that there are advantages inbreeding 
the description of stock to which I have been referring, 
which do not attach to animals of better appearance 
and larger size.” 
Economy in keeping Horses 
Roberts, in his Agricultural Economy, maintains 
that one pair of horses, well kept, are sufficient 
team to work a fifty acre farm, and to work it well, 
under the alternating system. It has been proved, 
he says, that a team going at the respective rates 
of a mile and a half and two miles an hour, will 
plough in nine hours as follows : 
Width of furrow. Rates per hour. A. R. P, 
Eight inches, .. One mile and a half, 10 0 
Nine inches,... ditto, 1 0 20 
Eight inches, .. Two miles,. 1 1 10 
Nine inches,... ditto, . 1 2 0 
Three things requires attention from every man 
who wishes to keep horses well and economically: 
1. The food must be natural for them ; 
2. The quantity of food requisite to keep their 
condition equal to their work ; 
3. The best manner of giving them their food, 
with the view of its being speedily eaten, so that 
they may lie down to rest. 
The natural food for the horse, says our author, 
is corn, hay and grass ; but that under artificial ma¬ 
nagement, there may be advantageously substituted 
for natural food, or conjoined with it, potatoes, par¬ 
snips, carrots, turnips and mangold wurzel, toge¬ 
ther with straw, bean (and corn) stalks, pea haulm, 
vetches, clover and other cultivated grasses, cut 
green. 
Hay is sufficient to keep a horse to look at; but 
corn is indispensable to enable him to stand hard 
work. A horse requires thirty pounds of dry food a 
day, of which a part must be corn or its equivalent; 
to those which work, one pound of good oats is equal 
in nutriment to three pounds of good hay. Heavy oats 
are worth more, pound for pound, than light oats, 
as will be seen by the following scale : 
Weight per bushel. Produce in meal. Produce in bran. 
42 lbs. 25 lbs. 2 oz. 16 lbs. 14 oz. 
40 lbs. 23 lbs. 6 oz. 16 lbs. 10 oz. 
38 lbs. 21 lbs. 12 oz. 16 lbs. 4oz. 
36 lbs. 20 lbs. 3 oz. 15 lbs. 13 oz. 
34 lbs. 18 lbs. 11 oz. 15 lbs. 5oz. 
32 lbs. 17 lbs. 5 oz. 14 lbs. 11 oz. 
30 lbs. 16 lbs. 1 oz. 131bs. 15 oz. 
tion of food for a horse, have been publishod in the 
Sporting Magazine, and are worthy of notice, as 
coming from a proficient in the management of 
horses. 
lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 
Corn, peas or beans, ground or crushed, 5 5 10 5 
Hay, cut into chaff,. 7 8 10 8 
Straw, do . 7 10 10 0 
Potatoes steamed,. 5 5 0 0 
Malt dust or oil-cake,. 0 2 0 2 
Bran, .. 0 0 0 7 
Grains, . 6 0 0 0 
, 30 30 30 30 
Other articles, such as apples, carrots, parsnips, 
turnips, beets, &c. may be substituted. If the food 
is found to be heating, small doses of nitre or flour 
of sulphur may be found beneficial; and about two 
ounces of salt should be given twice or thrice a 
week. 
Foot Rot in Sheep. 
We find in our last Farmers’ Magazine, the fol¬ 
lowing directions for curing this disease, which are 
simple, cheap, and we should think effectual. 
“Towards evening draw the lame sheep from the 
flock, have the hoot of the deseased foot, as far as it has 
any dirt or fester under it; wipe it dry and clean, and 
bathe the tender parts in the evening with a feather pre¬ 
viously dipped in butter (muriate) of antimony; keep 
their feet dry during the night, and on the following day 
they may be turned into a pasture by themselves, where 
they will daily become better. At the expiration of 
about a week they should again be examined. The 
majority of them will be found perfectly well, and may 
be allowed to join the sound flock, as they will be clear 
of all infection. Perhaps about one in ten will require 
a little more pairing with a knife, and a very slight re¬ 
dressing of the sore place, with the feather prepared 
as before. JOHN BERKETT. 
“ Dallston, Oct. 1838.” 
J ournals of Education. 
. We have recently received three new publica¬ 
tions of this class; one from Boston, one from 
Hartford, and one from Detroit. They all evince 
talent and good judgment in their conductors, and 
an awakened and praiseworthy zeal in the com¬ 
munity. We consider the increased circulation of 
periodicals on education and agriculture, as among 
the greatest improvements of the day, and as the 
certain precursors of an improved state of society. 
_ In general, the different kinds of grain are nutri- 
cious in proportion to the weight; while two pounds 
of green food or roots, are considered equal to one 
of dry. 
“Whatever fodder be used” says Mr. Roberts, “it 
should be supplied in such a form as to be eat forth¬ 
with, that the poor animals should enjoy refreshing rest: 
to secure this, the fodder should be cut or crushed, and 
placed in a manger”— not a rack. “ When the respective 
feeds will have been consumed, every horse will lie down 
to rest; his hunger being satisfied, there will be no 
temptation to keeping him standing for hours, as would 
be the case, were his rack stuffed with hay, according 
to the too general custom of Jarmers. The nutriment 
contained in. every kind of grain depends upon its 
weight.” It is to be remarked] that concentrated food, 
as grain, will not do alone, there must be something to 
increase the bulk, to impart the stimulus of distension, 
before the functions of digestion can be carried on in 
perfection. Horses, therefore, and even fattening ani¬ 
mals, which are fed high with grain, require cut hay, 
or even straw, for this purpose, independent of the nu¬ 
triment they afford. 
“ When the quantity of hay supplied as food for 
horses,” says Mr. R. “ has been increased, and the quan¬ 
tity of oats diminished, it has been found that the ani¬ 
mals, though they appear to improve, as to the fatness 
of their looks, were nevertheless not so able to stand 
hard work; and on the contrary, when the corn has 
been increased, and the hay diminished, it has been 
found -that though the animals might, as to appearance, 
be leaner, yet that they were stronger, more equal to 
hard labor, and in better working condition.” 
The following different component parts of a ra- 
Insect Enemies, 
Three prescriptions against the depredations of 
insect enemies, which prey upon our garden and 
field crops, have been mentioned to us, of the effi¬ 
cacy of which we make no pretensions of a person¬ 
al knowledge ; but which being simple, and within 
the means of every family, and the trial of which 
will cost little or nothing, we give as we received 
them. 
A good lady, now a widow, whose husband was, we 
believe, a gardener, says, that the sowing of buck¬ 
wheat, broadcast, in the preparation of a turnip crop 
is efficacious in preventing the ravages of the turnip 
ly, and that when the turnips have got their rouMi 
leaves, the buckwheat may be cut up without dan- 
gei ; that her husband always had good turnips with 
this precaution, and seldom saved his crop without 
it. Another widow lady gives us a like assurance, 
trom her own practice. 
A highly respectable gentleman assures us, that 
he is never troubled with the yellow bug upon his 
cucumbers and melons—because he always scatters 
upon the hills, at planting, a little lettuce seed. 
And our Michigan correspondent, Mr. Beden 
maintains stoutly, that poppies are a sure protection 
against every species of obnoxious bug and fly. 
There is no doubt that the odor of many plants is 
obnoxious to certain insects, and will protect from 
their depredations. Thus Russian leather is safe 
against the moth that often destroys the binding of 
books,, on account of the odor of the bark with 
which it is tanned. Spirits of turpentine, and the 
shavings of cedar, will protect clothing from the 
same and other insects, on account of the odor 
which they impart. The elder and hemp are ob- 
noxious to many families of insects; and we do 
not see why buckwheat may not be so to the turnip 
fly, lettuce to the yellow bug, and poppies to manv 
flies, bugs and other insects. It will not cost much 
to try either or all of them ; and if successful the 
the secret is worth knowing. ’ 
Templemoyle Agricultural School. 
We gave in our July number an account of this 
school, recently established in Ireland, by private 
subscription. We have just seen an account of the 
first examination of its pupils. It is an establish¬ 
ment designed to afford a practical instruction in 
agriculture and the simple sciences, with wholesome 
tood and a comfortable home, to one hundred pu- 
