THE CULTIVATOR, 
1G7 
ing. B}’- proceeding in the way here pointed out, using 
full blood bulls and the best native cows, our stock as 
a whole would be rapidly improving,.and the way pre¬ 
pared for an advance on any of the present breeds. 
But it may be doubted by some, whether any improve¬ 
ment on the best of the present high bred cattle, is pos¬ 
sible, and the idea of it be scouted as an absurdity. 
‘‘What,” it may be said, “talk of improving a.breed by 
crossing them with those still lower in the scale?” We 
answer yes, and hope to show there is nothing chimeri¬ 
cal in the plan. For illustration, vve will again recur to 
the Short Horns, as unquestionably at the head of the 
improved breeds. Breeders have enumerated a great 
number of points as going to make a perfect animal; to 
make one absolutely perfect, we will suppose that 30 
enumerated qualifications are requisite; that the Short 
Horns, as approaching the nearest to this standard, pos¬ 
sess 20 of the desired qualities; and the other varieties 
or breeds in a descending ratio down to our native stock, 
which may be put as possessing but five of these requi- 
sdes. The queslion is, can an animal possessing 20 good 
points, be improved by one possessing only 10 or 5? We 
answer yes, if the one possessing 20 is ileficieiit in any of 
the points possessed by the lowest, or by 6. 20 may be 
deficient in hardihood or the power of enduring our sea. 
sotis; in milking properties adaptation to labor; quali¬ 
ty of flesh; or some other point or points, possessed in a 
remarkable degree by 5; and this deficiency remedied 
by a skillful cross with 5, which shall engraft ami fix the 
valuable point on 20, would make it 21, or furnish a de¬ 
cided advance towards animal perfection. 
The oitlnioas we have advanced in this paper, are not 
to be considered as mere theory alone; experiment has 
in a great degree demonstrated their correctness. At our 
caitie shows, crosses of the improved breeds with our 
oar native cattle, have been exhibitetl,which have placed 
beyond a doubt the possibility of rapidly improving our 
stock in this way, and by their siii)erior qualities fur¬ 
nished every incentive to the undertaking. But there 
must be no breeding liownwards; every cross must be 
upwards both in blood ami in desired qualities. We do 
do not say that any animals haveyet been produced equal 
to tlie finest of the improved breeils, but we believe some 
might be pointed out that would not suffer materially in 
a conii)arison with a great majority of our imported ani¬ 
mals, for all the ordinary purposes of the farmer. 
Believing as W'e do, that it is to skillful crossing of the 
improved pure stocks with our best native animals, we 
are to look for the e trliest as well as the permanent im¬ 
provement of our herds, and the building up of an Ame¬ 
rican breed worthy of the name, the importance of in¬ 
troducing and preserving animals which shall serve as 
the basis of this improvement, forces itself upon ns at 
once. It is to the pure blood stock already among us, 
or which may be introduced, in^t wo look: 
and every precaution should be used by the breeders of 
such sioek, ami every effort usetl not only to keep them 
pure, but to provide for their further advance by skillful 
breeding, and by the infusion of new blood occasionally, 
to prevent the enfeebling and degenerating effects of too 
close in and in breeding. The breeders of improved 
stock can scarcely attach too much importance to pedi¬ 
gree, as in that alone have they proof of the emlurance 
of the valuable qualities of the animals they breed; and 
the confi lence of the public once shaken on that point, 
or any deception practiced, will be most unfortunate, as 
seriously tending to check the improvement of domestic 
stock. Men who do not look at the subject in all its 
.bearings, are sometimes heard to complain of the prices 
)j5aid for imported or improved animals, and denounce all 
efforts at improvement as speculation, or mere money 
making. We, on the contrary, view the improvement 
of our domestic stock of all kinds, as an affair of national 
importance, and think the public spirited individuals en- 
gaged in the business are richly rleserving the approval 
and the thanks of the agricultural public. If they are 
well paid for their labors in the cause of improvement, 
we shall rejoice at it most sincerely; but we have yet to 
learn that any American breeder has found his purse 
grow inconveniently heavy, in consequence of his cattle 
sales. The men who add as efficiently to the national 
wealth as they do, are, to say the least, entitled to their 
share. 
SEEDS. 
Every farmer should as far as possible raise his ov 
seeds, as he will not only thereby avoid a considerab 
Item of expense, but will, if there is proper care ai 
skill used in their production, have such as may be d 
pended upon. There are but very few of the cultivate 
vegetables and fruits, of which the seeds can be depen 
ed upon for the production of plants like the original 
other plants of the same family are permitted to blosso 
in the immediate vicinity. The cause of this is to i 
found in the effect which the fertilizing dust or pollen < 
flowers has on the germs or seeds, when different vari 
ties are placed so near each other that intermixture tak 
place. It is in fact a real cross, as distinct as that ( 
animals, and with as decided results. For the philos 
phy of the matter, we must refer to Prof. Lindly’s wo 
on Horticulture, or Roget's Animal and Vegetable Ph 
Biology. Every farmer or gardener is aware thatappi 
or peaches raised from seeds, are rarely like the frt 
lat produced them; that melons, squashes, &c. are a 
to mix or degenerate, and that where several varieti 
o corn are planted together, intermixture is certain 
fhiL ^ oppportimity of verifyii 
this Ja.st result two years since, when we cultivated son 
twenty-four or five varieties of corn in a field as an ex¬ 
periment, to test the period of ripening qualities,; &c.i 
and the singular manner in which the different colors and 
qualities were blended, ivas both curious and instructive. 
In purchasing seeds from our agricultural seed stores, 
farmers are very frequently disappointed in the plants 
produced, a disappointment frequently owing to there 
not having been sufficient care taken while growing the 
seeds, in preventing the possibility of intermixture. 
Beets may be mentioned as an instance of this; as per¬ 
haps there are more failures in these seeds, and more in¬ 
stances of degeneracy with these than any others. It 
may be considered a rare instance of good fortune, if the 
man who purchases blood beet seeds, does not find when 
they grow up, that his roots are a coarse unpalatable ar¬ 
ticle, of some shade between red and white, or perhaps 
yellow, and utterly unlike what he expected. We have 
found that this result has been prevented, if when the 
seed beets are set out, and the stalks shoot up, we exam¬ 
ine them and select for preservation, those plants, the 
stems of which are of a deep red color; or when white 
or yellow are desired, selecting the purest of the kinds, 
and destroying the others at once. Planting for seed at 
such distances, that intermixture will not take place in 
the way pointed out, will also secure the seed from de¬ 
terioration; but this, except with professed seed grow¬ 
ers, is not always convenient. The best way to keep 
the varieties of early cucumbers, summer and other 
squashes, &c., when grown as farmers usually produce 
them in their gardens, is to allow those that set the ear¬ 
liest, and of course nearest the root, to remain for seed. 
Experience shows that these are less liable to crossing 
and degeneracy than those that set later, owing perhaps 
to the number of other blossoms being smaller, and the 
danger of the fecundating pollen being transported by 
flies, bees, &e. proportionably less. One thing is clear; 
seedsmen cannot be too careful as to the quality of the 
seeds they put in the market. Carelessness as to the 
kind, or the purity, has an inevitable tendency to destroy 
all confidence in these necessary establishments, without 
which it is scarcely possible agriculture should reach the 
elevated position we trust it is yet destined to reach in 
this country. 
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA. 
We make the follow’ing extracts from a private letter 
from a friend at Mount Prospect, near Columbia, dated 
J une 17: 
“We have extraordinary weather here so far—a heavy 
frost on the 2d of June, injuring the potatoes, corn, ^nd 
garden vegetables. Corn will be short in the stalk with 
us this year; but short stalks generally bring large ears. 
I plowed an eight acre field on the 16th, l7th and 18th 
of May, with four stout horses, often in afrot, plow run¬ 
ning twelve Inches or more deep, stirring up the ground 
like a little earthquake, covering under six inches of 
grass, which had grown through a heavy coat of long 
manure; and on the 19th and 20th, I planted corn, we(. 
ting with strong dung water and rolling in plaster. It 
came up very black and rich, but the cut worms set to 
and cut nearly every stalk in the whole field; fortunately 
for me, the corn was covered much deeper than I want¬ 
ed it done, and it all sprouted up as fine as ever; but the 
worms attacked it again, cutting it off the second and 
third times, and they are at it yet. I replanted the field 
with sharp sticks, putting a grain in each hole made by 
the stick, where the worms had cut the corn too near 
the root. I plastered the corn with a composition new 
to me, and I suppose to every body else in this neigh¬ 
borhood. I hauled a black substance from the depot at 
Columbia, which was cleaned out of the steam engines 
that draw the cars on the railroad—the ashes of bitumi¬ 
nous coal, wood, &c. It looks much like fine bitumi¬ 
nous coal, but there is considerable wood charcoal in it. 
I screened the rough particles out and spread it on tlie 
barn floor till it became dry. I took of the coal dust 
about 25 bushels, 10 bushels of leached ashes, 10 of lime, 
and 6 of plaster, and mixed the whole well together; it 
was dry enough to absorb about a hogshead of dung wa¬ 
ter from the cistern, quite thick and dark colored, which 
I put in, I sowed it along the row pretty thick, and it 
is astonishing how it made the corn grow. If the cut 
worm took the stalks off, it would almost rival the or¬ 
chard grass in growing again. It may be a crop yet, 
but I doubt it. By plowing deep, the sod got too low 
for the worms; hence they were more severe on the 
corn. I have other fields of corn, on which, previous to 
plowing, I spread long manure, and plastered the manure 
at the rate ot a bushel to the acre; this bids fair to be a 
crop. 
“ On the sixth of May, I sowed an orchard broadcast 
with corn and clover; trees so close that the limbs of 
of one row touch the other; and notwithstanding the 
constant shade and cold weather, the corn looks well, 
and is larger than my other corn, and the clover is grow¬ 
ing finely. No kind of a crop, except it is orchard grass, 
can be expected to grow in an orchard so closely set 
with trees, and it surprises me to see it grow as it does. 
I can see in places where several trees are missing that 
corn and clover are well adapted to sow together, and 
that the weeds are not more liable to infest it than other 
gram. If Mr. Drummond would sow good clean land 
with corn and clover,—about three bushels of corn 
slightly sprouted, and a peck of clover seed, swelled and 
rolled in plaster, to the acre, and harrow and use the rol¬ 
ler as It should be done, I shall be much mistaken if the 
weeds get the better of the clover. If they do, it must 
be very foul land. I hav» a field of corn, which I in¬ 
tend, after passing the cultivator through the last t.me, 
to sow with clover for pasture. 
“ I have some doubts about the wheat crop. I rode 
about thirty miles through this county, and it is evident 
to me that it will be tight squeezing to be two-thirds of 
a crop. The wheat generally looks too dark and broad 
in the leaf, especially in the limstone land, I have ele¬ 
gant wheat, twenty-three acres, which will average 
twenty-five bushels—some acres will overrun thirty, but 
it will take it to make up for wet spots where it is thin. 
If our farmers would use long manure first for corn, and 
then wheat, instead of putting it directly on wheat, they 
could raise better crops; but it is unpleasant to work 
among long manure, and our farmers hate it as much to 
plow when the plow chokes, as they dislike to read ag¬ 
ricultural papers. Lancaster county has a host of good 
farmers, I admit, but they might still be better if they 
were not so much prejudiced against book farming, as 
they call it, and would be willing to read and judge for 
themselves.” 
PREMIUMS OF THE MASS. STATE AG, SOCIETY, 
As a matter of interest to many of our readers and sub¬ 
scribers, we condense from the columns of the N. E. 
Farmer, the Premium List offered by that flourishing 
Society for the present year. The trustees of the Soci- 
ty give notice that they shall again omit for the ensuing 
year, their Catile Show at Brighton, and that the stale 
premiums will be awarded to any stock, &c., at the an¬ 
nual show of the Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden 
Agricultural Society, in the autumn of 1843. By com¬ 
bining the influence and premiums of the State Society 
with the County or local associations, more interest it is 
believed will be excited, and the benefits of the institu¬ 
tion more extensively felt than before. We think the 
dwellers in the beautiful valley of the Connecticut, may 
count with safety on one of the most imposing and siden- 
did exhibitions that have ever taken place in this coun¬ 
try. The New-York State Society, and our friends of 
the Genesee valley, must look well to their laurels. 
$100 is to be divided in premiums among the follow¬ 
ing descriptions of stock, viz:—Best full blood, and best 
native Bull,—best full blood and best native Heifer, 
milked not less than three months, quantity and quality 
of milk to be considered,—best yearling full blood Hei¬ 
fer,—best pair working Oxen, and best pair three year 
old Steers. 
For the best farm of not less than 70 acres, to which 
no premium has been before given, $200,—second best 
$150,—third best $75,—fourth best $50, and fifth beslS25. 
These premiums are on a liberal scale, and we doubt not 
will find numerous competitors. Farms offered for pre¬ 
mium will be visited by the trustees, or an agent, which 
will save the proprietor the trouble of furnishing an ac¬ 
count of his farm. In the meantime he is provided with 
a series of questions, 33 in number, relating to his farm, 
its management, &c. which he is to answer to the best 
of his ability, and which experience shows, will be the 
means of eliciting much useful information for the pub¬ 
lic. These questions are arranged with great care and 
skill, and embrace most of the important topics of farm¬ 
ing, as practiced in New England. 
For the best rotation of crops, on not less than 2 acres, 
and for 3 or 4 years, commencing when in grass, $75. 
A full history of the culture during this time is required. 
For the best acre of Carrots, orange or while, $40,— 
best acre of Mangel wurizel, $30,—best acre of Sugar 
Beet, $30,—-best acre of Ruta Baga, $20,—best acre of 
Cabbages, $20, For the best half acre of each of these, 
one half the sum named per each acre. 
For the greatest quantity of vegetables raised, (grain, 
peas, and beans excepted,) regard also being had to value, 
and expense of cultivation, $30. 
For the most successful experiment in the improve¬ 
ment of pasture grounds, $30. 
For the best experiment in draining and reclaiming 
wet lands, not less than 3 acres, $50. 
For the most satisfactory experiment with green crops 
as a manure, $50. 
For the best newly invented or improved agricultural 
implement, from $10 to $50. 
For the best mode of rearing, feeding, and fattening 
cattle, $20. 
For the best conducted experiment on the use of lime 
as a manure, $50. 
For the best experiment with bone manure, $20. 
For the best improvement on the common subsoil 
plow, $50. 
For the best form for a farmer's Diary and Account 
Book, .$30. 
For the best apple orchard, $50; second best, $30. 
For the best practical treatise on injurious insects, $100. 
Claims for the premium on Crops, Mani res Expei-i- 
ments and Inventions, with the required evidences, must 
be sent free of expense, to Benj. Guild, Esq. Boston, 
on or before the first of December next. All premiums 
awarded will be paid on demand. 
Massachusetts, it will be seen, fakes the field strongly; 
and the experience of this, her leading Society, fully 
justifies the movement. The Old Bay State deserves 
much credit for her legislative aid to agriculture, and 
the result shows that the seed she has so liberally sown, 
has fallen into a rich and productive soil. Massachusetts 
knows, and is willing to trust her farmers; let oilier 
states profit by her example. 
Take things always by their smooth handle. 
That life is long which answers life’s great ends. 
