102 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
lating. But when we find on a farm of two hundred acres, 
that the farmer cultivates only two acres of potatoes, one 
acre of ruta baga, and perhaps a quarter of an acre of carrots, 
we call this ‘getting along,’ in the common phrase; but we 
can hardly dignify it with the name of farming. I atn aware 
that labor of a proper kind is in many cases difficult to be 
procured, and with our habits, as difficult to be managed.— 
Farming, likewise, can in few situations be successfully ma¬ 
naged, unless the farmer has capital to employ, equal at 
least to one year’s manure and one year’s crops. A large 
portion of our farmers, also, from the nature of their habits 
and style of living, are so prosperous and independent, that 
they have no occasion to extend their cultivation beyond 
what it now is, in order to meet their wants; and to incur 
all the trouble, vexation and risk of employing more labor, 
expending more capital, and increasing their cares. 
“ But it is not fair to produce such instances as any exam¬ 
ples of profit or unprofitableness of husbandry, when carried 
on, as all other branches of business, to be successful, must 
be carried on, with intelligence, skill, industry, enterprise; 
and all the capital and all the labor which can be advantage¬ 
ously employed in it. I will not, however, anticipate such 
general views of the subject, as I propose to take in the re-, 
trospect of the whole survey. 
“ Apples .—I should recommend strongly to the farmers of 
Berkshire, the cultivation of apples. The orchards are com¬ 
paratively few, and many have been neglected from the best 
of motives, an unwillingness to favor the facilities of intem¬ 
perance. But the value of apples for fatting pork and beef, 
and even for milch cows, so well established by innumera¬ 
ble experiments, and some cases rated as highly as potatoes, 
recommends them most strongly to increased attention and 
universal cultivation. The borders of our fields maybe lined 
with them; the road sides may be planted with them; they 
may be scattered over our pastures, with little or no injury 
to the crops or the pasturage, if properly arranged.” 
Brick and Tile Machine. 
A machine for manufacturing brick and draining tile 
is figured and described in the Farmers’ Magazine.— 
The brick machine will mould 24 bricks per minute, 
1,440 per hour, and, taking ten hour’s work, would give 
14,400 per day. A good moulder, with three or four 
attendants, will make 4,000 bricks per day. The ma¬ 
chine, with the same hands, will make 15,000; with this 
advantage, that the latter will not require half the time 
to dry, in consequence of the compression which the 
clay undergoes, and that when burnt they weigh three 
pounds the heaviest—the mould brick weighing 5 lbs. 
and the machine bricks 8 lbs. The tile machine will 
make 10,000 drain tiles a day, with one man and two 
boys, and 20,000 flat tiles for the drain tiles to lay upon, 
both 15 inches long. Under the old mode, a man and 
two boys made but 1,000 drain tiles per day, 12 inches 
long. The tile made by machine is also much stronger 
than those made by the old mode, and they are capable 
of being made from much stronger clay. This machine 
promises important benefits, wherever tile draining is 
practised, and will greatly lessen the expense. We 
should like to see it introduced into this country, with 
the attendant benefits of under-draining. Draining tile 
are manufactured in this city, but the price ($15 per 
thousand,) is such as to deter many from using them. 
With the machine in question, we are inclined to think 
they would be afforded at half the present price. 
The Pie Plant 
Is now coming into extensive use, though three years 
ago, there was little or no demand for it in our market. 
There are several varieties of the Rhubarb now em¬ 
ployed for culinary purposes, among which are two 
which have been recently introduced, viz. the Giant and 
the Tobolsk, the latter first last spring. The leaf stems 
of the giant grow to a great size, twelve stocks exhibit¬ 
ed by us at the late Horticultural Show weighing twelve 
and a quarter pounds. We think it makes a pie, if used 
before it is too old, as fine as any of the varieties. The 
quality of the Tobolsk we have not yet ascertained. 
Early Rising 
Is conducive alike to health, to pleasure and to pro¬ 
fit—we mean to the farmer. To health because it gives 
exercise when the atmosphere is most cool, pure and 
bracing. To pleasure, because nature is then in her 
most lovely garb, and the birds most full of song. To 
profit, because the two morning hours effect more in la¬ 
bor, and avert more mischief, than four hours at midday. 
Early rising, and exercise in the open air, are the best 
stimuli for our meals, the best anodyne for sound sleep, 
the best solace for care, and the best evidence of thrift. 
“Come boys,” is the best reveille upon the farm. The 
farmer who rises late, is generally behind his work; 
while he who rises early keeps before it. 
Comparative value of large and small Turnips. 
We have frequently alluded to the fact, that the ruta 
baga is the only cultivated root, that increases in nutri¬ 
tious properties as it increases in size. Sinclair found, 
on analysis, that a root of the common turnip, measur¬ 
ing seven inches in diameter, afforded only seventy- 
two grains and a half of nutritious matter, while the 
same quantity of a root which measured only four inch¬ 
es afforded eighty grains, or double what the large one 
gave. The largest root of the Swedish turnip afforded 
110 grains, while the middle sized or smaller roots gave 
but 99. The Swede is stated to have grown to weigh 
60 lbs. exclusive of tops and tails, in Van Dieman’s 
Land. 
The Army Worm, 
A letter from our correspondent at Quincy, Ill. ad¬ 
vises u$ s is making great ravages in that section of the 
country. We can neither give the history of this new 
enemy, nor prescribe a mode of destroying them. They 
are in a measure unknown east of the Allegany moun¬ 
tains; Yetj while penning this notice, our friend Rob. 
White, jr. of Shrewsbury, N. J. has called upon us, and 
informs that the army worm appeared in his neighbor¬ 
hood last season, and that this season its ravages have 
been alarming. When it enters a field it sweeps vege¬ 
tation almost clean, eating the leaves and even the 
beards of wheat without disturbing the grain, and di¬ 
vesting the corn wholly of its foliage. Every attempt 
to check its progress, as trenches, &e. had proved abor¬ 
tive. 
The Farmer is Neglected and Forgotten, 
In the strife for office, the thirst for popularity, and 
the eternal contest for charters of all kinds. No reports 
of any value, no bounties or premiums for new agricul¬ 
tural productions, which might add millions to the 
wealth of a state, are even thought of for a moment. 
Because we ask for the least we get nothing. An agri¬ 
cultural school cannot be established, because it might 
give more power to the dominant party; a pattern farm 
cannot be established, because it may increase patro¬ 
nage. Where and when is this to end, if we do not take 
up the matter ourselves, and urge it strongly upon 
those who call themselves the public servants ?— Corre¬ 
spondent of the American Farmer. 
Miscellaneous Items. 
Baldwin’s Portable Press —For hay, cotton, &c. is 
spoken of in the American Farmer, with high commen¬ 
dation, and is likely to save one-third the cost that is 
now required in the common hydraulic and screw press¬ 
es. One great advantage of this new press is, that it is 
portable, and may be placed alongside of the hay-rick, 
or in the meadow. A common carpenter can make one 
at a cost of $20 to $25. It will express cider, it is said, 
without grinding the apples. The address of the pa¬ 
tentee, or proprietor, is not given. 
An Improved Corn-Sheller, is announced in the same 
paper, by Wm. Carmichael, of Wye, Queen Ann county, 
which will shell fifty bushels an hour, by hand or horse 
power. A two horse power costs $55. 
Cerography, is the term applied to a new mode of en¬ 
graving, for the common letter-press, of maps, music, 
&c. which promises greatly to reduce expense. The. 
New-York Observer contains a well delineated map of 
Connecticut, ten by twelve inches, with the names and 
divisions of towns and counties, and the rivers, roads, 
&c. as fair as many copper-plate maps, worked off up¬ 
on the common news press. The editor claims the in¬ 
vention as his own. From what we can judge from the 
sample, it is likely to prove a very valuable discovery. 
Diminution of Neat Cattle in Vermont. —It appears 
from official returns, that the number of cattle in Ver¬ 
mont underwent a diminution, between 1832 and 1837, 
of more than 40,000 head ; and that in the same period 
the number of sheep was increased one million. In re¬ 
gard to the exclusive sheep husbandry, Mr. Coleman 
gives the following relation, as an evidence at least of 
the inconvenience, which is liable to result from it.— 
“Two years since, some of the best families in the coun¬ 
ty of Berkshire were without bread of any kind for a 
time, from the impossibility of obtaining it. They were 
persons, for example, who worked for the large wool 
farmers. They asked for money for their labor; but 
money was not to be had, because of the clipping of 
wool, owing to the derangements of business, had not 
been sold. They asked to receive their pay in grain; 
but the wool farmers had abandoned all cultivation, 
for the wool husbandry. They asked for their pay in 
pork ; but the farmers who raised no grain, could raise 
no pork.” 
Improvement in Pin-malting. —In Britain, pin-malting 
is divided into seven different processes, and the pins, 
ere they are fit for market, pass through seven sets of 
hands. Babbage shows, that one-half the expense of 
manufacturing is saved by this division of labor. Messrs. 
Stourm, Jillson & Co. of Poughkeepsie, by a new in¬ 
vented machine, have reduced the manufacture almost 
to a single process. “The wire of which the pins are 
made,” says the Poughkeepsie Journal, “ is taken into 
the machines, and the process of making the pins, with 
solid heads, all from the wire, is completed by the ma¬ 
chines, leaving nothing remaining to be done, except 
the washing and placing them upon papers. One man 
will attend two machines, and each machine will turn 
out 100,000 pins in eleven hours. The proprietors have 
now two tons on hand, of a quality far superior to all 
others;” 
Extirpation of Garlick. —Thomas E. Bond, in the 
American Farmer, says he has wholly destroyed the 
wild onion, in fields which have been over-run with it, 
by first cultivating them in corn, and, after the corn was 
gathered, ploughing the field again, and leaving it ex¬ 
posed the succeeding winter in the state the plough had 
left it. The same gentleman says, that St. Johnswort, 
another troublesome weed, may be killed by a single 
ploughing in the early part of June, when it is in blos¬ 
som, provided the ploughman, by means of a heavy 
chain attached to the plough, in the usual way, covers 
the plant effectually. If completely covered it will 
die. 
A sale of Durham. Cattle, belonging to Messrs. Gratz 
& Cooper, took place near Lexington, Ky. on the 14th 
June. Three males sold for $900, $280 and $760; and 
seven females for $601, $630, $631, $700, $861, $446 and 
$1,050—average $685.90—as stated in the Franklin 
Farmer. 
Bloody Murrain. —It is stated in the Franklin Farm¬ 
er, that this complaint has been cured, in its last stage, 
by simply giving the animal two doses of sugar of a 
pound each, mixed with water. 
Salt your Fruit Trees. —A writer in one of our ex¬ 
changes, mentions a decaying plum tree that stood in 
the midst of an asparagus bed, which, on dressing the 
bed copiously with pickle, began to revive and became 
healthy and fruitful. He accordingly recommends the 
free application of salt to such trees—presuming it will 
produce a similar effect. 
Whitewash for all Buildings, inside or out. —Take 
clean lumps of well burnt lime, slacked. Add one-fourth 
pound whiting or burnt alum pulverized, one pound of 
loaf sugar, three quarts of rice flour made in a thin 
well boiled paste, and one pound of cleanest glue, dis¬ 
solved as cabinetmakers do. This may be put on cold 
withindoors, but hot outside. This will be as brilliant as 
Plaster of Paris, and retain its brilliancy for many years. 
The east end of the president’s house in Washington, is 
washed with it.— Cincinnati' Chron. 
Whitewash is one of the finest things in the world to 
promote health and cleanliness. It also covers up a 
multitude of dirt, as a cloak conceals the rents in an old 
garment. Some farm houses look black and unsightly, 
while the crevices in the wood admit the rain. Perhaps 
they are not worth painting—but a coat of whitewash, 
which costs but a few hours of labor, with water and. 
lime, does the work. They look fresh and clean, and 
during a year the wash is soiled but little. We com¬ 
mend a coat of this to every man who has an unpainted 
house, both on the score of beauty and taste, as well as 
for cleanliness and the preservation of his building.— 
Northampton Cour. 
Stopping a leak. —The best thing for stopping a leak 
in a cask is whiting beaten up with common yellow soap. 
If this mixture be well rubbed into the leak, it will be 
found to stop it after every thing else has failed.— Farm. 
Cabinet. 
Short-Horned Cattle —Never think of buying short¬ 
horned or Durham cattle, until you are prepared to 
keep them well. They need an abundance of fresh pas¬ 
ture, and therefore to be frequently changed from one 
pasture to another, in succession, and plenty of food 
and good shelters in the winter. Thus provided for, 
they are valuable stock. But neglected in these respects, 
they are little better Ilian native cattle.— Franklin Far. 
Productive Cows. —A short-horn, belonging to Mr. 
Wolbert, Philadelphia, gives daily 27 quarts of rich 
milk, upon ordinary feed ; from which 14| lbs. of butter 
were made in a week. A cow belonging to Mr. Gowan, 
of Germantown, gave an average of more than 28 quarts 
of milk per day, for a week. 
THE BUDGET. 
Culture of the Strawberry. —R. Mansfield will find an 
answer to his inquiries in the Cultivator for August, 
1838. August is a good season to transplant the straw¬ 
berry. 
Disease of Dutton Corn. —George H. Patrick, of Ka¬ 
nawha C. H. Ya. states in a letter to us, that his Dutton 
corn, when about two feet high, showed symptoms of 
disease and death; that on taking up some plants he 
found, on applying the magnifying glass, a small green 
bug upon the roots, some of which were literally cover¬ 
ed with the insect; that his other corn did not seem to 
be affected; that the seed of the Dutton corn came from 
us; and he inquires whether it did not become impreg¬ 
nated with the ova of the insect during its soft milky 
state, the same as the pea—and whether the contagion, 
or insect, is not likely to spread to his other corn. We 
are unable to explain the matter. Nothing of the kind 
has ever appeared in our crop, or has before ever come 
to our knowledge. The ova could not have been depo¬ 
sited in the seed, but why the animalcula attacks only 
one variety we are unable to guess. 
Mr. Patrick adds—“ The root culture has just com¬ 
menced with us. Many are putting in small lots of 
mangold wurzel, parsnips, &c. and will put in, in due 
time, ruta baga. The Cultivator and the formation of 
our agricultural society, with premiums offered to the 
amount of five hundred dollars, has given us such a 
spirit of improvement in agriculture, that I am much 
in hope, with your assistance, we shall not return again 
to the old mode of cultivating the soil.” We beg Mr. 
P. not to forget his good intentions. 
Manual Labor School. —We are requested by a cor¬ 
respondent. to notice a select classical manual labor 
school, which has been established at Montvue, post- 
office Middletown, Frederick co. Va. by the Rev. John 
Lodoe. The manual labor may be voluntary, and is 
intended as a healthful exercise, and as a means of de¬ 
fraying the expense of tuition. 
The Rohan Potato. —In reply to the inquiry of Mr. 
Harris, of Orange C. H. Va. we state, that this potato 
should be cultivated like other potatoes; that the seed, 
that is balls, should be gathered when they have ma¬ 
tured, be dried, preserved from frost, and sown in the 
spring, in a bed of fine mould, and taken care of like 
other plants. 
Price of Animals, S^c. —A correspondent at Columbus, 
Miss, writes as follows:—“I perceive you have com¬ 
menced inserting advertisements. I wish you would 
impress upon those who offer articles of any kind for 
sale, the propriety of stating the price. I am aware 
that many do not like to make their price public; but 
those abroad could often make up their mind about 
what is offered by knowing the price; that is, many 
would know if their means would allow them to pur- 
