THE CULTIVATOR 
53 
The CLEVELAND BAY. 
The annexed figure (25,) 
is a portrait of a Cleveland 
Bay stallion, copied from 
Low’s Illustrations. This 
breed of horses, says Prof. 
Low, has been formed by 
the progressive mixture of 
the blood of horses of higher 
breeding, with those of 
the common race. It is 
termed Bay, from the pre¬ 
vailing color, derived from 
approximation to the supe¬ 
rior races, and Cleveland, 
from the fertile district of 
that name situated in the 
North Riding of Yorkshire 
on the Tees. About the 
middle of last century, this 
district became known for 
the breeding of a superior 
class of powerful horses, 
which,with the gradual dis¬ 
use of the heavy old Coach 
Horse, became in request 
for coaches, chariots, and 
like carriages. The breed, 
however, is not now con¬ 
fined to the district of Cleve¬ 
land, but is cultivated thro’- 
out all the great breeding 
district of this part of Eng¬ 
land, although Cleveland 
yet preserves its pre-emi¬ 
nence, and supplies with 
stallions the parts of the 
kingdom • where superior 
Coach Horses are reared. 
‘‘ The true Cleveland Bay 
may be justly termed a breed, from the similitude of 
characters presented by the individuals of the stock. It 
has been formed by the same means as the Hunter, name- 
ly, by the progressive mixture of the blood of the Race 
Horse with the original breeds of the country. But a 
larger kind of horse has been used as the basis, and a 
larger standard adopted by the breeder. By coupling a 
Race Horse with a Draught Mare, an animal will be 
produced partaking of the properties of both parents, and 
which may be employed as a Coach Horse. But the re¬ 
sults, as was before observed, of such a mixture are un¬ 
certain, and the progeny will probably be wanting in 
just proportion of parts. Many Carriage Horses are 
doubtless produced in this manner, but many of them, if 
their history were told, have been found to be worthless. 
To rear this class of Horses, the same principles of breed¬ 
ing should be applied as to the rearing of the Race Horse 
himself. A class of mares, as well as of stallions, should 
be used having the properties sought for. It is in this 
way only, that we can form and perpetuate a true breed 
in which the properties of the parents shall be repro¬ 
duced in their descendants. The district of Cleveland 
doubtless owed the superiority which it continued to 
maintain in the production of this beautiful race of horses 
to the possession of a definite breed, formed not by acci¬ 
dental mixture but by continued cultivation.” 
THE CLEVELAND BAY HORSE—(Fig. 25.) 
FARMERS, SOW GRASS SEED, 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —This important branch 
of farming has been too much neglected by most of our 
farmers. The almost total neglect to sow grass seed 
upon our lands, has caused them to run down at so low a 
rate, that few cattle could be kept, and consequently the 
fertility of our lands has rapidly diminished. The free 
•use of clover and plaster, has raised many poor, worn out 
farms, and that too, at a cheaper rate than by the use of 
stable and other manures. It has been remarked by ma¬ 
ny farmers, that if they can Once get clover to grow on 
their lands, then they can raise any other crop; and this 
we firmly believe. Many farmers, when they sow clo¬ 
ver seed, sift it out as though they were sowing “ gold 
dust,” with the thumb and finger. Old farmers used to 
say, that when you sowed your turnep field, you must 
leave your seed at home; but this “old maxim” will 
not hold good with regard to sowing grass seed. A cer¬ 
tain farmer has remarked, that when we sow grass seed, 
instead of sifting it out with the thumb and finger, it 
should be sown out of the tail end of the cart, with a 
shovel. The Idea to be conveyed is, that it should be 
sown with a liberal hand, and of this fact, every farmer 
must be convinced on trial; as when it is sown thinly', 
the plants come up scattering, and in nine eases out of 
ten, the weeds will overrun the whole. There is a dif¬ 
ference of opinion among farmers, with regard to the best 
time for sowing grass seed; however, we would re¬ 
commend sowing in the spring, with your oat and bar¬ 
ley crops; and in the summer, with your buckwheat 
crop; and also, in the fall with your rye and wheat 
crops. Sowing in this way, we shall be likely to hit 
right, either at one time or another, as the case may be; 
always recollecting, that when we leave a piece of 
ground, at any season of the year, to put on the seed, and 
especially clover seed. It is a very good time to sow 
clover, on winter grain in March, on a light snow, as 
we have found that it takes very well, when sown at 
th^time. Durand. 
Derby, Com, Jan. 31 1843. 
WATER POWER CHURN 
Editors of the Cultivator —I have but just read 
the inquiry asking of me a description of a wheel, con¬ 
nected with the power churn described at p. 167, vol. 9. 
There are two kinds of wheels that may be used, both 
of which are economical. The common saw mill or 
flutter wheel, and the tight bucket wheel. Where the 
stream is large, and the supply of water abundant at all 
times, the flutter wheel woqld be preferred, as the cost 
of its construction is less, and no geering is required; but' 
when the stream is small, or in the dry season becomes 
very low, the tight bucket wheel should be used. Where 
there would be a fall of two and a half feet, should it be 
necessary to use the last mentioned kind of wheel, make 
it two feet in diameter, three feet wide, with a rim two 
and a half inches deep; the buckets should be about two 
and a half inches apart, and put in with such an inclina¬ 
tion to the lining as would prevent the water from emp¬ 
tying out too soon, which I should think would be some¬ 
thing less than 45°. There will be wanted, for a shaft 
to a wheel of the above dimensions, one four feet long 
and one foot square, (or make it eight sided if you please,) 
with an iron rod running through it, and extending two 
or three inches beyond on each side, as a gudgeon,which 
will prevent it ever working loose. Four arms will be 
sufficient for each rim, which in that case will be made 
of quarters, and care should be taken to have them (the 
rims,) as little cross grained as possible. A wheel of 
this size, when running at proper speed, (which phi¬ 
losophy dictates should be slow to get the greatest amount 
of benefit from a given quantity of water,) will require 
gearing to give the proper motion to the churn dash. The 
casting that will be required, will be a cog rim about the 
size of the rim of the wheel, to be attached to it, and a 
cog wheel of a foot in diameter, so cast as to have a nob 
near the rim on one of the spokes, to attach the upright 
to the horizontal of the fi-ame work of the wires. 
The rise and fall of the dash will be affected at three 
places in the construction. First, the distance the nob 
is from the center of the cast iron wheel; next, by 
the length of the horizontal of the frame work at the 
stream, and by the corresponding horizontal of the frame 
work at the house. This last may be perforated ivith 
holes, that will serve to increase or lessen the motion, as 
required. The reason that I do not give the length of 
the different parts of the frame work, is because I have 
forgotten the proportions of the one of which I superin¬ 
tended the construction. Select large sized wire. To the 
other part of the inquiry, I would answer that a conside¬ 
rable elevation or depression would not hinder its ope¬ 
ration, and that it will work at a much greater distance 
than 160 yards. Pulleys, by all means, should be used. 
I forgot to mention that if a flutter wheel is used, the 
crank is attached to the end of the gudgeon. 
Waterford, Oakland co. Mich. Dee. 1842. G. Cook. 
WILD TURKIES. 
Messrs. Editors —Ever since Gen. La Fayette was 
in this country, and expressed a wish to obtain some wild 
turkies to take with him to France, I have felt an inter¬ 
est in this kind of poultry. When I came to this state 
in 1835, I made up my mind that I would endea¬ 
vour to obtain and domesticate some of them as 
soon as I could. Upon inquiry, I learned that oc¬ 
casionally a nest of eggs was found and put under 
hens to be hatched out, and the young ones killed 
in the following winter, 
under an apprehension 
that they would run off in 
the spring. In 1837, a 
nest of eight eggs was 
found,which I purchased. 
These I set under a hen, 
and all were hatched out. 
A difliculty now occurred. 
The young turkies paid 
no attention to the hen’s 
cluck—^were disposed to 
wander about, and make 
the hen follow them, in¬ 
stead of their following 
the hen. In this way, 
they were in danger of 
being lost, and some of 
them were lost in conse¬ 
quence of going further 
from the house than the 
hen was disposed to fol¬ 
low. Of the eight, I suc¬ 
ceeding in raising but 
one, though I believe 
none of them died a na¬ 
tural death. This one 
kept company with the 
hens, and roosted with 
them, till by repeated a- 
larms from vermin, he 
forsook the hen house and 
took the roof of a stable 
for a roosting place. This 
proved to be a cock, but it 
was not till he was more 
than eighteen months old 
that he began to strut and 
gobble. In a very windy 
time, he would leave ,his 
roosting place, and go 
into the hazle bushes which were near by, to lodge. On 
one of these occasions he v as killed, probably by a prai¬ 
rie wolf, as they were plenty in the neighborhood. This 
turkey was so thoroughly domesticated, that he would 
eat corn out of my hand, and showed no more disposi¬ 
tion to wander off than my hens. 
The last year a wild turkey’s nest was found in the 
neighborhood, and I obtained seven of the eggs and set 
them under a hen. Six of them hatched, and I made a 
yard on a grass plat for them, by setting up boards edge¬ 
ways, in a square form, and one tier high, where I kept 
'them confined till they became attached to the hen, and 
then let them run at large. I took some pains to have 
them run in the garden to keep the vines clear from 
bugs, which they did effectually, without doing any da¬ 
mage to the vegetables. My place, as I keep no dogs for 
the protection of poultry, is beset with what our sucker 
folks call the tcild far minis,such as weasels,skunks, minks, 
racoons, and prairie wolves, so that I succeeded in rais¬ 
ing but three out of the six. These I valued very highly, 
and thought them out of danger, when a hunter came along 
and seeing them a little distance from the house, shot two 
of them, so that my stock is reduced to one solitary hen. 
My own experiments in rearing wild turkies, go no fur¬ 
ther, but I know of the results of the experiments of per¬ 
sons of my acquaintance in this county, some of which I 
' will give. A family in a small grove, had a pair of wild 
turkeys; the hen when a year old, laid a nest of eggs, but 
none of them hatched; a season after this she raised a lit¬ 
ter of young ones, which after getting their growth,with 
the old^ ones in company, left the grove, and never return¬ 
ed. Another family had a pair; the hen got accidental¬ 
ly killed when about a year old,and the gobbler kept com¬ 
pany and roosted with the fowls. The next spring the 
owner procured two tame hen turkeys, and succeeded in 
raising 28 half bloods. A neighbor had a wild gobbler 
domesticated, one year old, and two tame hen turkeys. 
That season not an egg hatched; the next season, from 
one of the hens, the other having died, he raised fourteen 
or fifteen half bloods. The gobblers (unlike the tame in 
that respect,) it seems do not come to maturity till they 
are two years old. The half blooded turkeys bear a 
greater resemblance to the wild than they do to the tame, 
and will breed equally well. 
Although my attempts at rearing wild turkeys have 
been so unsuccessful, I am not discouraged, but intend to 
persevere in the effort a while longer; I believe that it 
will be some little object to raise the full and half bloods 
here, but much more of an object to raise them in your 
neighborhood, for the city market. The reason why 
they would have a preference over the tame turkey, is, 
1st. That they are larger; one was killed about ten miles 
from me, which weighed 24 pounds; and I have heard 
of their being killed in Ohio, one at least, which weio-hed 
rising 30 pounds. 2d. They are more robust, will bear 
the rain and wet grass, and therefore more easily raised 
than the common turkey. 3d. They are hunters of flies, 
bugs, and other insects, and eat much less corn or meal 
than other poultry, and of course more profitable. 
They are a more beautiful fowl than the tame turkey. 
Their color being brown or snuff, with feathers having a 
lustre or brilliancy upon them, in some degree like the 
peacock. There are at present, within five miles of me, 
five full blooded wild turkies. If the gobblers were in 
your part of the country, I should think them better worth 
$50 a piece, to run with a flock of tame hens, than some 
imported animals are worth the prices they have brought. 
Rockvale, III. Jan. 28, 1843. S. 
