THE CULTIVATOR. 
151 
in fact, the most economical mode of heating by fire in 
the room. The new mode of heating by a furnace with¬ 
out the room, or the hot water plan, is probably chea¬ 
per and better; but is not likely to be adopted very ex¬ 
tensively in cottages or farm houses. Some I know 
would propose close stoves instead of Franklins; but 
they are detestable things, and cost you as as much in 
doctors’ bills as they save in fuel. 
3. When building, it would cost no more to dig the well 
in the kitchen or woodhouse adjoining, than at a dis¬ 
tance, and would be far more convenient. The same 
may be said of the privy or water closet, which can be 
as well within as without the house, if properly con¬ 
structed. 
4. There is economy, as well as convenience, in com¬ 
bining all the offices of a farmery as much as possible 
under one roof. You will find much that would interest 
your readers on this point, in Loudon's Encyclopedia of 
cottage, farm and villa architecture, and in the works 
of several other English writers on cottage architecture 
that have lately appeared, and the work of a French 
architect, named Morel Vinde, if I recollect aright. I 
believe we are far behind the English in architecture in 
general; and the “ snug English cottage and farmery,” 
with alterations to adapt it to the taste and wants of 
our farmers, would be a great acquisition to our coun¬ 
try. 
I hope this subject will be pursued by you and your 
readers; and that we shall have a variety of plans from 
time to time in your “Cultivator,” not only of farm 
dwellings, but of farmeries and farm out houses, in 
which picturesque and architectural effect will be com¬ 
bined with cheapness and utility. There is a gentle¬ 
man in our state, who from the attention he has given 
to this subject, I presume to be well qualified to en¬ 
lighten the rest of us. I know not whether he is one of 
your subscribers or not; if not, he ought to be; if he 
is—hoping this will meet his eye, I will venture to 
say to Mr. Lord, that the possession of talents which 
enables him to serve his countrymen in any way, im¬ 
plies the obligation to do so; and a hint to as sensible a 
man as he is, ought to be sufficient. Yours, 
j}»**** p*** 
P. S. I made some inquires of you nearly twelve 
months since, respecting the use of oil cake or flax seed 
meal, as feed for cattle. Since that time, I have had 
an opportunity of trying it for myself—having fed eight 
cows upon it—and I can safely recommend it to such of 
your readers who are as ignorant of it as I then was, 
as a most invaluable feed. My cows gave considerably 
more and better milk than before. Indeed I found it of 
sufficient advantage to them to pay for giving them a 
meal of it morning and evening all through the summer, 
although my pasture has been good and abundant. For 
fattening calves it is excellent. A little of it mixed with 
the cow’s milk, will do better than to let them run with 
the cow altogether, at the same time that you save the 
greater part of the milk. 
One of my neighbors has also used it for raising sheep, 
and another for fattening hogs; and both speak of it in 
equally favorable terms. Hogs fatten very rapidly on 
it; and if put upon corn wholly for a short time before 
killing them, their flesh is said to be as good as if al¬ 
ways fed on corn. 
Objection to Zinc Roofs—Soaking Seed Corn— 
Chinese Corn. 
Rose-Hill, Flushing, Aug. 21, 1839. 
J. Buel, Esq.—Dear Sir—In the “ Cultivator” for 
this month, I notice a communication from Egbert Haw¬ 
ley, relative to the construction of farm houses. Of 
roofs he says—“shingles are becoming scarce, and in¬ 
ferior in quality, and we must look for a substitute. 
Slate are expensive, liable to break, and I suppose not 
quite tight, &c. and in casting about for a good cover¬ 
ing, sheets of zinc have appeared to me to be a desira¬ 
ble article. It has one good quality, at least; it will 
not rust like tin. Cannot some of your correspondents 
tell us where it has been tried, and how well it answers ? 
Such knowledge would be very desirable to future buil¬ 
ders.” 
I can inform Mr. Hawley, that “sheets of zinc” were 
tried upon several of the large buildings in the U. S. 
Navy Yard at Pensacola, and found not to answer' at all 
as roofing. They would leak, although put on with the 
greatest care, and not a nail would hold where origi¬ 
nally driven. The difficulty is, that the metal will ex¬ 
pand and contract on every change of temperature, and 
to such an extent as to defy all attempts to prevent it. 
It was found necessary to remove the zine, and substi¬ 
tute slate, which, when properly 'put on, I conceive to 
be the best article for roof, quality and size being duly 
considered. 
If metal is desirable in any case, I should select tin, 
of suitable size and thickness, have it well soldered, 
and then painted. According to my experience, the only 
objection to tin is, not that it rusts, but, that after a 
time, however smoothly it may have been put on, it 
will become wrinkled, and on a cool night succeeding a 
hot day, it will make noise enough to keep a nervous 
man awake. Respectfully yours, 
WM. W. VALK, M. D. 
P. S. I planted five acres in corn about the 25th last 
May, put it in drills 3| by 1 foot. Soaked the seed in a 
strong solution of nitre, and to half of it, added as much 
lime as would adhere. The limed portion came up first, 
and was 6 inches high when the other was but 1. I 
counted the seed, and found that it took 120,000—half 
were pulled, leaving 60,000 to grow. It is now from 9 
to 11 ft. high, and promises a large yield. Six rows of 
the “Chinese tree corn” are now growing opposite to the 
above, and merits no further notice than to say it s an 
abominable “ humbug.” ___ W. W. V. 
The Philosophy of Breeding. 
Mr. Buel —Will you be so good as to answer the fol¬ 
lowing question ? Will a sow of one breed of hogs, and 
a boar of another, produce a mixed breed? or will they 
take after the boar or sow so as to show which they are ? 
It is a question of much doubt, and one which should 
call forth investigation, as it will throw much light on 
the best manner of getting a good breed. My impres¬ 
sion is, that they will not mix, and if that is the case it 
would be better to keep the original breeds to them¬ 
selves, as their habits would be more congenial. If my 
opinion, in this case, should prove to be correct, the at¬ 
tempt to cross must inevitably be a serious injury; for 
example, if one half of your stock should be the wood 
or hunting hog, with long legs, narrow backs and slab 
sides, and never get flesh enough to prevent them from 
travelling at least forty miles per day, and the other half 
with short legs, broad and heavy, and could not travel 
one-fourth of that distance, the food for one not suitable 
for the other, and their tempex-s by no means alike, what 
might we expect from an unsuccessful attempt at amal¬ 
gamation? Yours respectfully, 
STEPHEN McCORMICK. 
Auburn, Fauquier Co. Va. August 28, 1839. 
ANSWER. 
The progeny of a sow and boar of different breeds, will 
be a mixed bred, generally partaking more oi the male than 
the female parent, at least in the exterior appearance. If 
the farmer has a good breed, therefore, he should cross it 
with a better, or with one at least as good If he has the 
wood or hunting hog, he should make no cross, but buy and 
breed from both male and female of improved breeds. A 
hunting hog will not give half so many pounds of pork for 
five bushels of corn fed to him, as will an improved Berk¬ 
shire.— Cond. Cult. 
A proposition to be considered. 
Rahway, Sept. 12, 1839. 
Mr. J. Buel —Dear Sir—You have informed the read¬ 
ers of the Cultivator of your intention of closing the 
present volume of that valuable journal in December, 
and I presume not one of them have objected to it.— 
You also shew us the cheapness of it, compared to other 
journals, and also compared to the other back volumes, 
which were published at lower prices. The favor that 
I am about asking of you, will put you in mind of the 
old proverb, “Where much is given, much will be re¬ 
quired.” I flatter myself, that it will meet the wishes 
of all your subscribers: at all events, it does of those 
with whom I have conversed upon the subject, if it will 
not incur too heavy an expense upon yourself It is 
this: that you will give us the next volume of the Cul¬ 
tivator folded in the form the Farmers’ Cabinet of 
Philadelphia is folded. It will make it much handier, 
and altogether a much better proportioned book, and 
may occupy the front of the book-case, where it will be 
always at hand as a book of reference. But its present 
size prohibits its occupying the place it deserves; and 
the expense of getting it bound (in a manner the book¬ 
binders term half-binding) is one dollar, which equals 
its first cost. 
I have taken the liberty of proposing to you this al¬ 
teration, knowing that you are always seeking for, and 
willing to adopt, any plan that would be an improve¬ 
ment. If the present price of the Cultivator will not 
admit of this alteration, I am confident that your sub¬ 
scribers would all agree to advance the price to $1.25 
or $1.50; for at either or these prices it would cost but 
$2 bound, which is the exact amount it now- costs. 
Yours very respectfully, 
WILLIAM A. STONE. 
$3“ This matter shall be duly considered, and our de¬ 
termination, with the reasons which control it, given in 
our next number.— Cond. 
Small Seed Potatoes. 
Rahway, Sept. 12, 1839. 
Sir — I have made an experiment this season, for the 
purpose of ascertaining in what manner small potatoes 
give the best yield, taking into consideration quality 
and quantity. For this purpose, I selected 30 potatoes 
about the size of a black walnut with the shell off', and 
planted them all in one row; 10 of which I planted 
whole, 10 with the blossom ends cut off, and 10 cut in 
two. The product was as follows: 
The whole ones weighed, 71b. lOoz. good quality. 
Those with blossom end cut off, 71b. 13oz. better. 
Those cut in two, 121b. 4oz. best. 
WM. A. STONE. 
Poudrette and Urate. 
[We have already published several communications, show¬ 
ing the value of these fertilizing materials, and we give the 
following communication in further confirmation of their 
utility—with the remark, however, that they come too 
much in the shape of quack medicine certificates; and were 
we not satisfied, from personal experience, of the great 
value of poudrette, we should be apt to suspect their im¬ 
partial character.— Cond.] 
I, Benjamin Lattin Wood, of the town of Poughkeep¬ 
sie, carpenter, certify, that in May, 1839, I procured 
two bushels of poudrette. I made a solution of a part 
of it, and soaked my oats in it about six hours. I was 
about three weeks behind the usual time of sowing 
oats, but gathered them about one week later than my 
neighbors did their oats. They have only been thresh¬ 
ed in part, but the yield from them has been first rate. 
I planted two rows of the common bush bean in hills 
about two feet apart, and put about a gill of poudrette 
to each hill, on or about the 20th May, 1839. Previous 
to the 23d of August I had gathered one crop of green 
beans, pod and all perfectly tender. On that day there 
was another crop ready to be picked, and another crop 
about one-third grown, and the bushes were in blossom 
also at the time. I have now had four crops from the 
bushes, of the first quality of beans, and have never ate 
better. I can recommend truly the use of poudrette for 
farming and gardening purposes. 
BENJAMIN LATTIN WOOD. 
Poughkeepsie, Sept. 1839. 
On the 26th August, 1839, Mr. Wood exhibited to me 
a stalk of the bush bean referred to in the above certifi¬ 
cate; he said his family had eaten one crop of beans 
from the bushes, of which I had no doubt from appear¬ 
ances. There was then on the bush shown me, beans 
fit to eat, another set about one-third grown, and a great 
many blossoms. On the 9th of September he stated to 
me, that since showing me the bush, he had had an¬ 
other crop of beans on the vines besides those shown to 
me, and that new blossoms were still coming out on the 
bushes, so that, if not killed by frost, he would, accord¬ 
ing to the then prospect, have six crops of beans in one 
season from bush beans to which he had applied about 
one gill of poudrette to each hill. Such a yield I have 
never heard of before. The ground on which Mr. 
Wood sowed his oats, was in good order for a crop, but 
the influence of steeping grain in the solution of pou- 
drette on vegetable matter, shows the quick and pow¬ 
erful influence which poudrette has where the ground 
is in good condition. It must not, however, be inferred 
from what Mr. Wood states, that mere steeping would 
produce the same effect on poor ground; I know it 
would not, from experiments made. For oats, the ap¬ 
plication of from 15 to 20 bushels per acre, sown in 
broadcast before the second harrowing, will be all suf¬ 
ficient. A. DEY. 
I, George Walton, of the city of New-York, of the 
age of 56 years and upwards, do certify, that I have 
been a gardener by profession from my youth. That 
in the spring of the year 1837 I planted in the yard of 
Mr. Anthony Dey, in La Fayette Place, in the city of 
New-York, four young grape vines, namely, 2 Isabella’s, 
1 Catawba, and 1 Sweetwater. They grew very little 
in 1837, and not much in 1838, until some time in the 
early part of the summer, and after there had been ap¬ 
plied about two quarts of poudrette to each vine. The 
earth was removed from around the roots and the pou¬ 
drette applied to the roots, and then covered over again 
with earth. Soon after this application, the vines be¬ 
gan to grow very rapidly. This year, 1839, there has 
been applied at three several times about two quarts 
each time. The vines have grown very rapidly, and 
all, except the Sweetwater, have a very large number 
of bunches of grapes this season, such as I have never 
witnessed before. The Sweetwater was killed down to 
the ground, but this year has grown stronger and long¬ 
er than I ever saw before. I attribute this unusual 
growth and great quantity of fruit to the application of 
poudrette. GEORGE WALTON. 
New-York, Sept. 11, 1839. 
I have conversed with gentlemen who have applied 
poudrette to the mulberry trees, in different ways, and 
comparing the results, I think the best method is, to 
put around young trees about a gill or handfull next to 
the roots, in the manner Mr. Walton did about the 
grape vines; and the quantity may be increased accord¬ 
ing to the age and growth of the trees. When so ap¬ 
plied, the growth has been quick and powerful. 
Sept. 1839. A. DEY. 
I, William Henry Wright, of Poughkeepsie, farmer, 
certify, that in the spring of 1839,1 made the following 
experiments in the use of urate and poudrette. 
I soaked corn, part in a solution of urate and part in 
a solution of poudrette, about 12 hours, according to 
the printed directions, and some was planted without 
being soaked. There was a decided benefit in all that 
was soaked, over that which was not. The grain came 
up quicker, stronger, and of a dark green colour, and 
grew with great rapidity, and the yield from it was 
greater. 
On other hills of corn and potatoes about a gill was 
applied to each hill, and the effectwas quick and power¬ 
ful, and have never applied any manure that was to be 
compared with it in its beneficial results. The potatoes 
were superior to any 1 ever saw, both in quality and 
quantity, and at least two weeks earlier than common. 
I soaked also oats about 12 hours, and some not so 
long, but the result was the same, as applied to the corn, 
a decided superiority over that which was not soaked, 
on land in the same condition. 
I soaked timothy and clover seed a few hours in Pou¬ 
drette, and rolled it in lime ; the seed has come up well, 
and there is a manifest difference between it and some 
that was not soaked. And on the whole, I can recom¬ 
mend it as the best manure I ever tried. 
WILLIAM Ii. WRIGHT. 
Poughkeepsie, Sept. 1839. 
I have watched with great care and attention the se¬ 
veral crops referred to in the certificate of Mr. Wright. 
The corn was planted from about the 20th of May, 1839, 
