THE CULTIVATOR. 
149 
etermed, of having a barn here, a stable there, corn-house in 
none place, and a cow-house in another—this latter arrange¬ 
ment always had in my view a most unslighlly and un-sys- 
etem-like aspect. 
If a thrashing machine should be intended to be used in the 
(getting out of the grain, preparation for the horse-path may 
xbe made under barn floor, in the cow stables, or in a part of 
tone of the passages, from which a strap may pass upwards 
tto a wheel on the machine. 
ROBERT SINCLAIR. 
Importance of selecting Seed. 
Liberty, Bedford Co. Va. Jlugust 22, 1839. 
To Judge Buel, Editor of “The Cultivator.” 
Sir —It has been said that he who enables us to rear 
two blades of grass where formerly we raised but one, 
is a benefactor to mankind. He then who teaches his 
(fellow men to rear two ears of corn where formerly they 
(raised but one, is no less a benefactor of his species. 
Several gentlemen in our country apparently claim pa- 
iternity o! the idea of selecting seed corn from the most 
p prolific stalks. And many purchase at high prices small 
parcels of seed corn thus selected, called after a Mr. 
Baden, whose name it has assumed from his distribut- 
iing it, and from its singular yield, &c. It matters not 
to the cultivator who rears it, what name it bears, or 
who first conceived the idea, so he is benefited by it. 
Nor should its true parent care, so he can enjoy the 
ihigh gratification of having promoted the interest of his 
’ fellow men. The idea was first suggested to me in the 
/ year of 1800, when a small boy, occasionally attending 
to my father’s stock of animals, from the peculiar fruit¬ 
fulness of a single one of them and all her progeny of 
both sexes, which I particularly noticed for several 
years ; and in 1815, when I became a cultivator of the 
i soil, my first object was good seed of every crop I 
, wished to raise. And recollecting the success of my ex¬ 
periments in raising stock from the offspring of the 
i above animal, I commenced the experiment on the ve- 
; getable creation, by selecting my seed corn (the most 
important crop in our country,) in the fall of 1815, ex- 
: clusively from stalks having two good ears on them, cut¬ 
ting the stalks off at the ground, and hanging them in a 
high dry place secure from rats, &c. until planting sea¬ 
son ; then shelling off a little from the small end of each 
ear and planting the balance of the ear; and being fully 
satisfied of the increased product, disclosed it to my 
neighbors, all of whom, who saw my corn in the 
field, or who tried my seed with their own, were fully 
convinced of its beneficial results, and by degrees it has 
spread over the country generally. In the fall of 1821, 
as a means of diffusing the information as above ac¬ 
quired as extensively as I could, I wrote to Mr. Skin¬ 
ner, editor of that most invaluable periodical, “The 
American Farmer,” of Baltimore, (and which paper I 
am pleased to hear Mr. Skinner has recommenced pub¬ 
lishing in that city. Those having that paper of above 
date can refer to my letter.) Soon after which, I sent to 
several gentlemen, at their request, supplies of seed 
corn near Baltimore, Richmond, Charleston, &c. all of 
whom w'ere fully satisfied on the first trial of its pecu¬ 
liar and uncommon product. Some years afterwards it 
was said by some that the crops from the seed collected 
as above was later, and of course more subject to in¬ 
jury from early frosts, &c. To obviate which, I se¬ 
lected my seed from the double, treble and quadruple 
ears that were most forward, and soonest matured and 
ripe. This was done without any sort of trouble, as 
follows : When my hands were cutting the tops off the 
corn in September, for winter forage. &c. I directed 
the tops to be left of those stalks only which had the 
most forward and fine of the double, treble and quad- 
druple ears, which was perceptible to every eye by the 
dead silks, or by the shuck whitening and drying first, 
&c. By this mode at gathering time one may know at 
a distance all the selected seed corn; and by this pro¬ 
cess, in a few years, my corn was decidedly earlier and 
more forward than any of the same kind, the seed of 
which had not been selected from the most forward, as 
was acknowledged by all who planted of my seed thus 
selected. I would, therefore, respectfully suggest, 
through the medium of your very valuable and widely 
circulating paper, “The Cultivator,” to all corn plan¬ 
ters (as well as of vegetables generally) of any kind 
of corn they choose to cultivate, not to reject the idea 
because their ancestors have not pursued it from time 
immemorial; and after a few years’ trial of it, (which 
can give them very little trouble) if they should find no 
benefit from it, to drop it. I have not for many years, 
owing to professional duties, increased afflictions, and 
other causes,, attended to this subject as much as its im¬ 
portance deserved, although it has not been wholly 
neglected; and I can now show in my fields of Indian 
corn, of the same identical kind I commenced with in 
1815, many stalks having three, four and five ears each ; 
and some (including short corn) six, seven and eight 
ears each. A brother chip of mine, in an adjoining 
county, some years ago, purchased a small tract of land 
and planted my seed corn on it the first year, and as¬ 
sured me the following fall, that the astonishing pro¬ 
duct from that seed had enabled him the same summer 
to sell the land at an advance of over one hundred per 
cent profit. I might relate many other facts of some in 
terest on this subject, but my purpose will be fully an¬ 
swered, if from what I have said, I may induce those 
who cultivate the soil to try this experiment themselves, 
as well with other vegetables as with Indian corn; for 
I doubt not a fair experiment would prove equally pro¬ 
pitious and satisfactory with many of the vegetable 
creation if fully and fairly tried. Indeed, the selection 
of good ripe, well chosen seed of any and every kind, 
is well worthy the attention of every cultivator of the 
soil. I may, Mr. Editor, towards planting season, give 
you some account of my experience as to the manner of 
preparing seed corn when planting, &c. and its results, 
(as this letter is already long enough,) and I hope edi¬ 
tors of agricultural papers and newspapers will give the 
above suggestions an insertion for the benefit of their 
patrons, &c. Your subscriber, and ob’t serv’t, 
_WM. COOK. 
To prevent the Murrain in Cattle. 
East Raisinville, Monroe Co. Mich. July 26, 1839. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir—In the July number of the 
Cultivator for this year, which came to hand two or 
three days since, I have read the communication from 
Mr. Payn of Black Locust Grove. I have never read 
any thing which more fully accorded to my views and 
experience on the subject of murrain in cattle. For the 
last thirty years I have resided in the north part of the 
state of Ohio and in the east of Michigan. I have suf¬ 
fered severely in the loss of stock by this grievous plague, 
until about eight years since, losing every year more 
or less, from one to sixteen head in a season. As for 
a specific cure, I do not believe there is any; but I will 
give you the result of my experience as to a preventive. 
If you think best to give it to the public through the 
columns of the Cultivator, you are at liberty to do so. 
About eight years since I had lost two fine oxen, and 
was then doctoiing the third, which was in the last 
stage of the disease. An elderly gentleman was passing, 
and rendered me some assistance. He told me that there 
was no use in doctoring; the better way was to prevent. 
He gave me the following as a preventive, and added 
that it was so simple he doubted much whether I would 
follow it. He said, fix you a trough in the yard where 
your cattle could go to it every day, and mix equal 
portions of slaked lime and salt, and keep it always 
there. “ And,” he added, “ if after three months, you 
lose a creature, draw an order on me and I will pay for 
for it.” Since that time I have literally lived up to the 
specification, and I have never lost but one cow since, 
and I have kept from fifteen to fifty head on my farm 
ever since. Now, sir, whether it is the addition of lime, 
or whether it is the regularity of always having salt 
where they can take what they please, and not one day 
take a larger supply than is heathful, and then be with¬ 
out, I do not know, but there are some facts I do know, 
that the stock will not consume as much salt mixed with 
lime as they will without; and such is my confidence in 
the remedy, that when I change my cattle to fresh pas¬ 
ture, that my portable salt trough goes with them, and 
is always kept well supplied with the mixture. I said I 
had lost one cow: the circumstance was this: on examin¬ 
ing into the matter, I found the man that had the care 
of my stock (for I was much away myself) had put 
the lime barrel down cellar, and the moisture of the 
cellar had entirely destroyed the properties of the lime. 
My method is to procure my lime and set it in a dry 
place, and let it air slack, and I am always supplied 
with the article as fast as I need it. With this instance 
excepted, I have never seen a healthier stock than mine, 
and I attribute it entirely to the lime and salt, as there 
is in this country, and my neighbors all around me are 
losing more or less every season. I am not able to give 
you the wliys and the wherefores about the matter, nor 
am I competent to write for the Cultivator; and I have 
to say, that should it be published it will require some 
time and patience to make it as it should be; but the 
correctness of the facts I vouch for. Yours with great 
respect, LEANDER SACKETT. 
Rev. Mr. LodoCs Select School. 
Montvue, Warren Co. Va. (P. 0. Middletown, \ 
Fred. Co. ) August 20th, 1839. $ 
Honored Sir —In the Cultivator of the present month, 
(vol. VI. No. 6,) I observe an editorial notice of my 
private and select school. I certainly feel under obli¬ 
gations to you and your kind correspondent. The no¬ 
tice referred to, terms it a manual labor school. The 
labor, however, is altogether agricultural and horti¬ 
cultural. Formerly, a mere manual labor system was 
pursued, but the idea of an agricultural school was 
first obtained from the perusal of your truly valuable 
periodical, of which I have the pleasure to be a sub¬ 
scriber and constant reader. The plan of my school is, 
to enable youth to obtain literary and scientific, in con¬ 
nexion with agricultural knowledge, and at the same 
time to diminish the expenses of their education by 
their personal labor in the garden and on the farm. It 
is altogether a private establishment upon a small scale, 
no more being admitted to the agricultural department 
than may be deemed necessary to carry on a limited 
system of rural occupations. The course of education 
pursued in the literary department is a liberal one, yet 
the number of students likewise limited. In this de¬ 
partment, I have the happiness to say, a number of 
young men have been educated, who stand high in the 
several professions of law, medicine and divinity. The 
agricultural department is as yet in its infancy, but as 
far as my experiments have extended, I see no ground 
for discouragement, although an entire novelty in this 
part of the country. I hope you will excuse the liberty 
I thus take of calling your attention to the error in term¬ 
ing it merely a manual labor school ; an error of little 
importance in itself, were it not that it makes your pe¬ 
riodical apparently depart from its legitimate objects in 
noticing that which has no immediate connexion with 
agriculture. The connecting of an agricultural depart¬ 
ment with my school, I do not consider of any pecuniary 
advantage to myself, the labor of inexperienced youth 
by no means compensating for the deduction required 
to be made in their session bills. Yet I cannot doubt 
the ultimate success and utility of these schools in u 
country like ours. And I hope you will persevere in 
your laudable efforts to press this subject upon the at¬ 
tention of the community. I have been much interested 
in reading your articles on this subject, both editoral 
and from correspondents. And may you reap the 
pleasure of beholding success following your every ef¬ 
fort. The high encomiums passed upon your periodical 
by gentlemen of scientific and agricultural standing in 
every part of our nation, render any expressions on my 
part altogether superfluous. Suffice it to say, that it is 
considered by myself and friends here as decidedly the 
most useful and the most ably conducted agricultural 
publication within our knowledge. Very respectfully, 
__ JOHN LODOR. 
Common School Education. 
Schenectady, 11th September, 1839. 
Dear Sir, —In your last number of the Cultivator, 
for September, I saw a “ Circular on Common School 
Education,” over the signatures of the distinguished 
names of Theodore Frelinghuysen of New-Jersey, 
Charles Brooks of Massachusetts, Henry R. School¬ 
craft of Michigan, Theodore Dwight, jr. ofNew-York. 
It is a pleasing circumstance that such men have en¬ 
gaged in this important cause. I hope a new system of 
education will be established,—I mean a new set of 
books, written purposely, so that when children are 
learning to read, they may learn the principles of a mo¬ 
ral life. 
The best patrimony that children inherit, is a correct 
moral education. Hitherto children have been taught 
to read, with the single object of learning to read only 
when they might have had the foundation of a moral 
life, if the books employed in teaching were so written 
as to inculcate those firm principles of moral ethics 
which are calculated to make us happy in this life, and 
the only mode of living so hereafter, by learning to love 
God with all the heart, and our neighbor as ourselves. 
If this divine principle was in full practice here, we 
should enjoy heaven on earth. And is it not chargeable 
to faulty education that it is not so? 
Some persons assert, that the natural temper and fa¬ 
culties of man are the sole cause of their evil conduct 
in this life, and that it cannot be prevented by educa¬ 
tion. Such opinions must arise from want of obser¬ 
vation. Why are the inhabitants of South Africa and 
Southern South America living in a degraded state al¬ 
most on a par with the brutes? And yet those men are 
made with rational faculties of improvement like all 
other men, where the greatest improvements have been 
made, by cultivating their natural faculties. 
A friend of mine informed me, many years a°-o that 
he knew a man of a family, living on the border of 
Oneida lake, in the state of New-York, at the time 
when that county was a wilderness. The son told my 
friend that they could not raise a pig without great 
care, as bears and other wild animals would take them 
lor lood. That they had a cow, which fed in the fo¬ 
rest; that his mother went to look in the woods for her 
to milk her, and that if night overtook his mother be¬ 
fore she found the cow, she made her bed, when the 
darkness stopped her search. This was a white wo¬ 
man, and it must be evident that her degraded state 
was chargeable to want of education. What a wide dif¬ 
ference between that woman and a delicate and well 
educated woman, in civil society! And is not educa¬ 
tion the sole cause of difference ? 
Education does not always produce virtue, for edu¬ 
cation has not always been founded on virtuous princi- 
pies Even our accademic schools are faulty, in teach¬ 
ing the dead languages in books written by those who 
knew not Christian principles, and exhibited the most 
glouous actions to be those which could accomplish the 
greatest destruction of their fellow men by skilful war¬ 
fare. Even the teachers of morals are faulty. Palev 
has been the standard of moral ethics in our colleges 
and Paley’s maxims are almost void of Christian moral 
ethics. They are mere worldly expedients. If such a 
course is Pursued, when will our youth become moral 
and correct? Education makes the man and the Christ¬ 
ian. Evil communications corrupt good manners.” I 
pray that these distinguished men, when in convention 
in November, as proposed, will renovate the whole sys¬ 
tem. God bless their labors to that use. 
While a convention of such men, and for such purpose 
meet lor the improvement of education, I would suggest 
the propriety of their giving attention to the correction of 
orthography. There is now a great waste of lime and 
space in writing many words, according to the continua¬ 
tion of the old mode of spelling", such as spinnin° be¬ 
ginning, running, &c. &c. 
The verb of spin is changed to the participle of the 
present tense by adding ing, when ning is nonsense, as 
rung is a word of no meaning. So the verb to commit 
is changed to the participle of the past tense, by adding 
ed, when the present mode is ted, which is nonsense 
So the using two g’s in the word drugist, bagage wa- 
gon, &c. &.c. I have, for a long time, made the correc¬ 
tion, under the risk of being called a faulty speller 
It needs some authority to make the correction gene- 
ral. Lexicographers dare not, but such a convention 
would be justified, and receive public approbation and 
thanks. 
Will you please to make this known to those gentle¬ 
men. It can’t offend them. RespectfulJjq 
DAVID TOMLINSON. 
