202 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
instead of teaching their sons their own business, most 
usually transform them into merchants, lawyers, doc¬ 
tors, or dominies. This is all wrong. Agriculture is 
the very back-bone of all business, the main-spring of 
all wealth, and should be regarded as a profession of the 
highest respectability. It gives those engaged in it a 
feeling of independence, genuine nobleness without os¬ 
tentation, honor, honesty and firmness, well calculated 
to perpetuate the free institutions of our happy country. 
The truth of the eloquent panegyrics of the ancients 
upon this employment may be more easily realized here, 
than in any other country upon earth. We confidently 
hope to see public opinion speedily righting itself upon 
this subject, and to find people seeking their permanent 
interests, and advancing the prosperity and glory of our 
wide domain, by engaging more generally in this health¬ 
ful, honest and independent business.— N. Y. Sun. 
[From the Sangamo Journal .] 
Important to Farmers. 
There are few of our farmers who have not witnessed 
the effects among cattle, of a disease known as the mad 
itch. It has sometimes carried off the most valuable 
stock; and all efforts to arrest the disease appeared to be 
useless. We think we can now lay before our stock 
raisers a remedy for this disease. It was discovered by 
Mr. David Simms, a farmer, living on Lake Fork. Con¬ 
sidering it valuable to the public, he has handed us the 
annexed notice of it for publication. We would sug¬ 
gest to our farmers to preserve it, as it may prove of 
more value to them than the amount they would be re¬ 
quired to pay for a dozen volumes of the Journal: 
fodder or tops, from November till April, can secrete 
any considerable quantity of milk; we know that there 
is a large quantity of nutritive matter in each of these 
kinds of provender; but to replenish the udder, it is ne¬ 
cessary that some such liquids or succulent pabulum 
named, be daily given. No one should keep a cow to 
the pail who does not keep her well; humanity as well 
as true economy are both consulted in so doing. 
Marl. -The meliorating effect of marl has been 
known in Europe for a long time, and clay, stone and 
shell marl have been severally used with decided ad¬ 
vantage, and as our tide water regions are well supplied 
with each of those varieties of calcareous matter, we 
trust, as a beginning has been made, that wherever ob¬ 
tainable, our farmers will freely use it. Of this they 
may be certain, that nothing like permanent improve¬ 
ment can be effected without the use of calcareous ma¬ 
nure of some kind. With the aid of lime, or marl in 
some one of its forms, with the addition of grass leys or 
green crops of some kind turned in, almost any soil 
may be pushed beyond even its primitive state of fer¬ 
tility. 
Accumulation of Manure. —The scrapings of the road, 
the lanes, leaves collected from the woods, weeds from 
fence corners and any where else, marsh mud, fresh or 
salt, and indeed all vegetable or animal offal, if spread 
on the surface of your cow yard, becomes in a few 
months as good manure as stable or cow dung, for in 
addition to their own specific virtues, they sponge up 
and retain great portions of rich liquids which would 
otherwise be lost. All cow yards should be basin-like 
in form so as to prevent the escape of such liquids.— 
Farmer and Gardener. 
To the Editor of the Sangamo Journal — 
The undersigned takes this method to inform the far¬ 
mers and all those who raise cattle, that he has disco¬ 
vered a cure for the mad itch, a disease which is often 
fatally destructive to that species of stock. Last win¬ 
ter was two years, when I had four cows attacked with 
the above complaint, and I tried every thing I could 
think or hear of, to cure them, but with no good effect. 
This winter another of my cows took the same disease, 
which I discovered early one morning; and as soon as I 
discovered it, I gave her as much soot and salt as she 
would lick, and in a few hours after, I gave her from 
three quarters of a pound to a pound of pulverized 
brimstone. In the morning following, I gave her as 
much salts. The cow is now well, and is as hearty as 
any of my cattle. It is my opinion that sulpher itself 
will cure, or sulphur and salts given in the way pre¬ 
scribed. The cure was effected in about a week.* The 
remedy operates severely for two or three days as a 
purge. 
To those who are not acquainted with this disorder, I 
will inform them that it first comes on with a kind of 
hiccoughs or jerks at every breath. The brute jerks it¬ 
self full of wind ; frequently licking their sides and back; 
occasionally rubbing their heads; and if not stopped in 
five or six hours, they rub with apparent madness, and 
continue to swell until death takes place, which will be 
within about ten or twelve hours after the attack. 
This cure is from experience, and I give it for the 
good of my fellow-citizens. 
DAVID SIMMS. 
Logan Co. March loth, 1839. 
Management of Sandy Loams, &c. 
Mr. Ducket, of Surry, England, a most accomplished 
and successful farmer, ascribed the luxuriance of his 
crops to three principles, which he laid down for his 
guidance, and strictly adhered to. He relied, upon, 1st, 
deep ploughing, by means of which the roots of his 
plants were permitted to penetrate the earth to a depth 
where they found a uniform moisture, by which they 
were preserved in a healthful and flourishing condition, 
while those of his neighbors, who were shallow plough- 
ers, in seasons of drought, were measurably destroyed. 
In Flanders, in the Peys de Waes, where the soil 
was originally a barren white sand, by a sure process 
has been brought to a state of fertility which entitles it 
to be called a fruitful loam. At first it was barely 
scratched, being ploughed not more than ten inches 
deep; it was subsequently gradually deepened as it was 
enriched,—and it is now stated that this barren sand 
has been so fertilized that it bears to be entrenched to 
the depth of fifteen or eighteen inches. This operation 
is performed every seven years. 
Clay soils. —All clay soils intended for spring culture 
should be turned up in the fall, to receive the benefit of 
the action of the winter’s frost, which mellows and re¬ 
duces it infinitely better than any treatment which man 
is susceptible of giving it. If very tenacious, its con¬ 
dition may be greatly improved by simply adding sand 
to it, after the ploughing, and so harrowing it as tho¬ 
roughly to mix the two together. Instances of the suc¬ 
cess of this practice are numerous in Europe, and are 
said to have been so decidedly striking as to excite sur- 
rise. In numerous cases the advantages have been 
qually as great as if the clay has been heavily manured. 
Milch Cows. —These animals should always, if possi¬ 
ble, be kept where they can have free access to good 
water, whether ranging in the pasture or confined in 
the barn-yard. From experience, we hesitate not to 
say that having water always at hand will make a dif¬ 
ference of 25 per cent in favor of their yield. In win¬ 
ter no man should pretend to keep a cow to the pail 
who does not provide her twice a day with either good 
rich slops, pumpkins or roots. How in the name of St. 
George can it be expected that a cow fed upon dry hay 
Advantage of Manure. 
We have frequently endeavored to call the attention 
of our readers to the subject of manures, and of apply¬ 
ing them to the soil, but we fear that farmers in general, 
do not sufficiently appreciate their value. Our reason 
for forming this conclusion is, the prevailing inattention 
to the matter; although farmers are ever ready to ac¬ 
knowledge their conviction of the value of manure, yet 
we think their negligence in applying the means for 
procuring, preserving, and applying it to their lands, is 
a plain proof that its real value is not generally known. 
The following short narrative is as plain a demonstra¬ 
tion of its profitable effects as we have usually found ; 
which, although we were not eye witness of the facts, 
came to us through a channel which left no doubt of 
their correctness. 
A gentleman, somewhat inexperienced in the business 
of farming, sowed a piece of ground containing about 
twenty-one acres with wheat, at the rate of one bushel 
per acre, from which he obtained only twenty-one bush¬ 
els, or about the quantity sown. Thinking that the re¬ 
sult might have been owing to some unfavorable cir¬ 
cumstance, to which a second crop might not be sub¬ 
jected, he again sowed the same piece of ground with a 
like quantity of seed, and again obtained a crop similar 
to the first. This latter result induced him to think that 
the failure in both cases, was perhaps occasioned by the 
exhausted state of his land; he therefore resolved to test 
the effect of manure, and accordingly collected what he 
could, and applied it to one acre of the same ground, 
which acre he sowed a third time, and obtained from it 
twenty-one bushels, or as much as the whole twenty-one 
acres had produced without manure. 
We not unfrequently receive details of as profitable 
results from the application of manure as the above, 
and we have not a remaining doubt, but almost all ex¬ 
hausted land might, with proper culture, be as much or 
more improved; but what adds consideration to this, is 
the great improvement in so short a time. And it goes 
further to prove the utility of applying manure liberally 
on a small piece of ground, rather than the too common 
practice of scattering a small portion over a whole farm 
of considerable extent. Had the gentleman in this case 
have scattered his manure over the whole twenty-one 
acres, it might have yielded him more grain than he ob¬ 
tained from the one acre, but we must observe that it 
would have required twenty-one bushels of seed instead 
of one, and besides, a great deal more labor and ex¬ 
pense in cultivating, which items would have greatly 
reduced his clear profit. This error in the most of our 
farmers, produces a serious drawback, and cheats them 
out of the greater part of their profit; if, instead of one 
hundred acres, they would apply the same amount of 
labor and other expenses on twenty-five, they would 
raise as much or more produce and consequently their 
clear profits would be greatly increased.— Farmer’s Ad¬ 
vocate. 
Saltpetre in Meat. 
Lansingburgh, N. Y. August 5, 1839. 
It is a matter of regret that while so much salt meat 
is made and used, we have not yet acquired the proper 
knowledge of the best mode to prepare and preserve it; 
nor is it known how noxious salt meat may become by 
an improper use of saltpetre in the pickle or brine usual¬ 
ly employed. . 
There are various modes of preserving salt meat and 
fish, by drying, salting, pickling, oiling, smoking, &c.; 
but I merely mean at present to notice some of the de¬ 
fects and noxious properties of our actual meat, either 
beef or pork. 
One of the main defects appears to consist in the use¬ 
less addition of saltpetre to the pickle whereby the meat 
often becomes sour or spoiled, and always acid and per¬ 
nicious. I never could understand why this substance 
was added to common salt, except that it is said to make 
it look better. But it ought to be known that saltpetre 
absorbed by the meat is nitric acid or aqua fortis, a 
deadly poison ! whereby our salt meat becomes unpala¬ 
table and pernicious. A slight excess of this acid ren¬ 
ders the meat sour, or spoils it, as we say. It has been 
suggested to correct this by potash, which re-absorbs 
this excess; but this only hides the defect without neu¬ 
tralizing the whole poison. 
Is it not surprising that we should feed and deal, as a 
staple of our country, with an article containing a por¬ 
tion of such active poison as nitric acid? In fact, our 
salt meats are no longer meat! They are a new perni¬ 
cious substance produced by a chemical action of salt 
upon the flesh of animals. This flesh, when fresh, con¬ 
sists chiefly of gelatine and fibrine. Gelatine or jelly is 
the substance soluble in warm water, forming a broth 
by boiling, or becoming a jelly by concentration ; while 
fibrine is the fibrous tough part of the meat, which can¬ 
not be dissolved, and is therefore unfit for food, while 
gelatine is the nutritious part of the meat. 
But it is well known that salt meat and even corned 
beef can no longer afford a broth, and therefore the ge¬ 
latine must have been changed to another substance no 
longer soluble, nor so nutritious, by the chemical action 
of salt and saltpetre. To this new substitute chemists 
have not yet given a name ; but it is as different from 
meat as leather is from the hide before it is tanned by 
the tanbark or tannin. 
To this chemical change in meat are to be ascribed 
all noxious qualities of salt meat, and the diseases to 
which those who feed chiefly on it become liable; sea 
scurvy, land scurvy, sore gums, rotten teeth, biles, ul¬ 
cers, &c. which we entail on ourselves by using a kind 
of poisoned bad meat, which we call salt. 
This important and doleful fact ought to be well known 
generally to all those who raise cattle, cure meat, or 
consume it, in order that they may correct this sad de¬ 
fect. 
The first thing to be done is to abandon altogether the 
use of saltpetre in curing meat. This is indespensable, 
and no one who is told that aqua fortis is the produce of 
it, ought any longer use this poison in pickles or brines. 
The best substance for it is sugar. A small quantity 
makes the meat healthier, sweeter, nicer, and quite as 
durable. Let this be known to all our farmers and sai¬ 
lors. 
How to make brine for meat perfectly innocuous, is 
yet a desideratum. Gelatine ought to be preserved in 
salt meat pure and soluble, as it is broth in cakes, before 
any salt meat can be perfectly healthy and equal to fresh 
meat. But at any rate by withholding the saltpetre, we 
divest it of a deadly poisonous substance. 
C. S. RAFINESQUE, 
Prof. History and Natural Science, Elm Place. 
Agricultural Warehouses. 
1 One of the great causes which has led to the superio¬ 
rity of English agriculture, is to be found in the estab¬ 
lishment of agricultural warehouses, nurseries, seed- 
stores, &c. in all the principle cities and villages of the 
kingdom, where agricultural implements of the best 
kinds, seeds and trees of the best quality and varieties 
can be obtained by all who wish them, at reasonable 
rates. The establishments of Loudon, and of Knight, 
in London, and of Lawson, and Dickens, in Edinburgh, 
are celebrated for the extent of their collections, the 
great amount of business they perform, and the ac¬ 
knowledged benefits they have conferred on the agri¬ 
cultural world. In these warehouses, seed stores and 
nurseries, may be found ploughs, harrows, rollers, and all 
the tools and implements required by the farmer and 
gardener ; seeds of the purest and most approved varie¬ 
ties, and fruit and forest trees suitable for every situa¬ 
tion. A large proportion of the farmers purchase at 
these stores their seed wheat, their grass seeds, &c. 
and by long experience, the proprietors of these estab¬ 
lishments, knowing the kind and quality of the soil, can 
better apportion the kinds and quality of seed required 
for such lands than the cultivators themselves. So ex¬ 
tensive and necessary has these branches of business be¬ 
come, that in a late number of the London Gardener’s 
Gazette, a list of those the most distinguished are given 
from the principal cities and towns, amounting to no 
less than 800. 
In the U. States, such establishments could scarcely 
be less useful than they have proved abroad ; yet their 
number is very limited, compared with what we think 
the advancement of agriculture, and the benefit of the 
farmer demand. A few, however, exist, and we hope 
their success will be such as to cause the establishment 
of others at all the principal points of our country. If 
in every principal city or village the farmer could be 
certain of finding at some store or warehouse, the im- 
plements he needs, of the best kinds and quality, he 
would esteem it a favor, as saving him much trouble in 
collecting from various places the articles he wants.— 
And so with places for the sale of seeds and trees, which 
are becoming daily more useful and indispensable. 
The agricultural warehouse of Mr. Breck, at Boston, 
the publisher of ihe New England Farmer, is one of 
the most extensive in New England, if not in the Uni¬ 
ted States, and has been found of essential service to 
the farmers of that region. In the city of New-York, 
a beginning was made some years since by Mr. Fleet, 
then publisher of the New-York Farmer, in establish¬ 
ing such a warehouse, and is now carried on with spirit, 
and we trust success, by J. W. Yfeaver &c. Co. 79 Bar- 
clay-street. With the warehouse is connected a seed 
