THE CULTIVATOR. 
139 
the plan contemplated for an Institute, the object of 
which is to promote the great interests of agriculture. 
Should the Institute be sustained, it will, in some humble 
degree, supply that system of education which has been 
so much desired; it will add something to the advance¬ 
ment and influence of agriculture, and tend in no slight 
degree to that concentration of power and interest from 
which agricuUurists have hitherto experienced so little 
benefit. N. 
CULTURE OF COTTON AND CORN. 
We give the following from a private letter of Dr. 
Cloud, who promises us an article soon on the impor¬ 
tance of devoting ‘f more care and attention to the selec¬ 
tion of Cotton seed.” Uhder date of July 15, he says:— 
“ I have been induced to dispose of my place at Plant¬ 
er’s Retreat, and settle in Macon co. This exchange, 
though greatly to my interest, I made most reluctantly, 
on account of the loss of my manures and other prepara¬ 
tions for a fair trial and a great triumph in the improved 
culture of Cotton. I determined, however, to brave eve¬ 
ry difficulty, and I had collected at that late period a suf¬ 
ficiency of rather an inferior article of manure, that I 
found scattered about the place, to enable me to carry 
forward the experiment, though on a small scale, yet 
quite sufficient to test the system. Notwithstanding the 
most unfavorable circumstances, and a late start, toge- 
gether with the most extraordinary season I have ever 
seen, yet I have a beautiful experiment, both of Cotton 
and Corn, in every way equalling my last. My cotton 
now stands from 5 to 6 feet high, and topped on the 10th, 
on which day I counted on one stalk, and it not better 
than some others, upwards of 300 balls, blooms and 
squares. Ti'eatment just as described in the Feb. no. of 
Cultivator. The land rather better in its natural state 
than my land at Planter’s Retreat. I have no doubt but 
my success with corn under this system, will astonish 
planters as greatly as did that of my cotton.” 
ACCLIMATING CATTLE IN MISSISSIPPI. 
We are greatly obliged to our friend M. W. Philips, 
Esq. of Log Hall, Hinds co.. Miss., for his letter of 
July 23, from which we give the following extract:— 
“ In the July number of your present vol., page 117, 
you seem to think there is no great difficulty in rearing 
the Durhams here. Having had some experience in 
this matter, as much and probably more than any one 
else, I beg to correct you, lest my friends may be led 
to go into the purchase, without knowing the whole 
ground. I will not for a moment contradict any one 
who would say improved cattle would succeed as well 
here as elsewhere, if we would provide ample stores of 
feed and pasturage. That is not the difficulty: it is the 
keeping alive the first summer; for almost nine-tenths 
of them die of disease, not want of food. They must 
undergo acclimation; there is no doubt of this fact; I 
have it from gentlemen of high standing, of many dif¬ 
ferent plans being pursued, some stabling, some on fine 
pastures, some housing at night, &c., but in too many 
instances I might say all have died. We might prepare 
alt sorts of roots and all sorts of clover, but as good as 
these are, in all probability August will find many of 
them ‘numbered with the dead.’ I have been the means 
of introducing more horned stock in this region at least 
of Mississippi, than any one else; have lost about one- 
half, and for days together, in 1840, had to haul out a 
cow or a heifer. 
The greater part of the stock brought here, came 
very poor; did not improve at all until about 1st of 
June; then grazing on a good pasture, with an abun¬ 
dance of water within a few hundred j’ards of where 
they were at any moment. I had . fancied to myself 
they were safe, as they had begun to play and visibly to 
improve, when a fine young bull died, without any one 
noticing he was diseased. Immediately I brought up 
the stock into a lot, where the pasture was very trifling, 
commenced salting freely, with ashes, lime, tar and 
salts, but too la c. All that were affected, except one, 
died, and some twelve head cast their calves. I tried 
bleeding, salts, blister on the spine, clysters, &c. &c., 
but of no av^ail. I immediately changed their diet, and 
kept them the balance of the j^ear on principally dry 
food, since which I have lost only two from disease, one 
of them native bred. 
“ The experience of my friends corresponds precisely 
with my own. I will now give what I deem the best 
plan, and what I pursued with some others since re¬ 
ceived, and which plan was successful, had I not stopped 
too soon; but the cattle having lived till in Septembei', 
I thought them safe, turned them into the pea field, and 
so soon as they began to improve, (in some 15 days,) 
one cast her calf, and with all the attention of housing, 
physic, (calomel,) &c., she died. 
“ I would advise cattle be brought here from the east, 
because I have had four sent here from Philadelphia and 
Baltimore; one of the first died, by the brutal treatment 
of a negro—the other as I state above. I would also 
advise calves be brought under twelve months, young 
of any kind becoming acclimated soonest. 
“ The cattle may be well kept until April or May; 
they should not be suffered to improve after that time, 
their principal food dry provender, with an occasional 
grazing, say from 8 to 9 A. M. and 5 to 6 P. M. Let 
them run in a well shaded lot with free access to abundance 
of water to drink or stand in; to salt, mixed with ashes 
or a little lime, and ashed under which they can lie in 
mid day and at night. This plan I pursued, and so far 
I have saved more, considering the number I brought 
out, than is by any means usual. Understand me, give 
them water, salt and ashes without stint; drive' them to 
it, if they will not go, for frequently they will drink 
very much when they will not walk one hundred yards 
to it. Give them a vvell shaded lot; protect them from hot 
sun and the dew; feed on dry food, without permitting 
any increase of flesh, with enough grass to prevent fever 
or constipation of bowels, and no more. 
“Rely on it, it is not leeches that always cause mur¬ 
rain: I lost one that had access only to spring water, 
that we all drank daily of. It proceeds often here from 
the grass being forced into an undue succulence by sea¬ 
sons and our warm sun. Instances are known here where 
almost a whole herd of a hundred or more natives have 
died of it, from the fresh, succulent grass putting up in 
August or about, after the woods were burnt in midsum¬ 
mer. A friend lost several, after a fine rainy spell of 
weather. I have given my plan to several this season, 
and so far have not heard of any losses, and certainly 
we have had just the season for murrain.” 
THE BREEDERS’ CONVENTION. 
The following came too late for a place in the de¬ 
partment devoted to correspondents; we therefore give 
it a place here, and would renew the notice that the 
proposed convention is to be held at the Library of the 
American Institute, Nevv-York, on the evening of the 
17th October: 
Messes. Gayloed & Tuckee— I am glad to see by 
the June no. of your most excellent and valuable p-apei-, 
that a convention of breeders is to be held in New-'Vork 
on the 17th of October; and I doubt not it will be fully 
attended from our own and from other states, as afford¬ 
ing the very best opportunity of gaining information 
which is much wanted, not only by our young breeders, 
but by the agricultural community at large; I however 
wish the circular of the committee could have been 
more explicit as to the proposed mode of proceeding, 
and as to the farm stock to be examined, whether the 
whole or a part, and what part. 
A frequent inquiry has been made within my hearing, 
as to the necessity of the convention doing more than to 
decide on what are the constituents of excellence gene¬ 
rally, without descending into the particulars of breeds. 
It is claimed that what is profitable and best—what con¬ 
stitutes intrinsic value in any description of stock, is not 
changed by breed —it is still in the abstract the same 
thing; if a wide, full loin is necessary to excellence, 
is it not equally so in the Devon as in the Durham, and 
in all other breeds? 
Now I take it this is the very view of the subject 
which a further acquaintance with the science will cor¬ 
rect, and which the resolutions of the convention will 
tend to put in its proper light. If I understand the ob¬ 
ject of the meeting, it is to decide what of general ex¬ 
cellence is compatible with the peculiar and characte¬ 
ristic excellence of the respective breeds—what can be 
exacted of them without a deterioration of those fea¬ 
tures which form their distinctive character and useful¬ 
ness: for instance, great weight in the fore quarters, 
though very desirable and a decided excellence in the 
one breed, would injure the activity and utility of ano¬ 
ther; neither would the same size be necessary to the 
excellence of one variety, that would be required in 
another. Therefore, if purity of blood be desirable, its 
features must be retained, which could not be the case 
were the same points insisted upon as constituents of 
excellence, without regard to breed. The committee 
has shown its good sense and judgment in barring all 
comparison of breeds, and the convention will be more 
likely to agree as to what they should be, than as to what 
they are. Much, however, of the usefulness and har¬ 
mony of the convention will depend on the chairman, 
and his personal acquaintance with the subjects under 
consideration; for a watchful attention to, and a quick 
perception of the turn the debate may take, will be ne¬ 
cessary to guard against the vexed question of compa¬ 
rative excellence. 
Should these first meetings of the convention be pro¬ 
ductive of the advantage that is anticipated, will they 
not be so continued as to embrace all descriptions of 
stock, either now or at some future time, and perhaps 
discuss other unsettled questions of deep interest to the 
breeder? 
I believe great advantages must grow out of any ar¬ 
rangements that would more frequently bring together 
the breeders of stock, for the purpose of discussing mat¬ 
ters connected with their common interest. Yours, &c. 
Thomas Thomeson. 
Mountain Farm, August 11, 1843. 
WOOL GROWING. 
In Mississippi_ Extract of a letter to the editors of 
the Cultivator, from H. A. Gaeeett, Esq. Adams co.. 
Miss.:—“I have much confidence in our being able to 
raise the best and finest wool in this country. Our sheep 
here, in small flocks, live the whole year round in fine 
order, without any other feed than what they get from 
the pasture;: we never hear of any disease or complaint 
with them; salt, and protection from the dogs, is all the 
attention they require. I do not know of any very large 
flocks in this country, and cannot say how they would 
get on. I presume, however, it would require much 
more pasture than we now have.” 
On the Peaieies.—O ur friend J. R. S., asks the fol¬ 
lowing question:—“ Why is not the vast extentof prai¬ 
rie in Wiskonsan and Iowa, well adapted to the grow¬ 
ing of fine wool?” On this subject, we give in this pa¬ 
per, the opinions of an eastern wool grower, and we shall 
be glad to hear some of our western friends who have had 
experience in the business, on this question. 
FARMERS’ CLUBS. 
Of the various methods that have been adopted to 
awaken inquiry among farmers, promote investigation, 
furnish the means of interchange of thought, and create 
social harmony and good feeling, few have been more 
successful than the associations known by the name of 
farmers’ clubs. What the agricultural society is to the 
county, these are in many respects to the neighborhood; 
and the good results, wherever they have been instituted 
and sustained, are not less apparent. The effect of such 
associations does not so much depend on the numbers, as 
on the spirit, zeal and intelligence of the members, al¬ 
though where the right feeling prevails, the more that 
combine the better. There are few agricultural neigh¬ 
borhoods where a dozen men cannot be found willing 
to meet once a month to compare opinions, and commu¬ 
nicate the results of their experience and observations. 
Even half a dozen, if they are men of the right stamp, 
will make the meetings of such a club most interesting 
and instructive. Such meetings are the places to discuss 
and settle all points of a practical character in agri¬ 
culture; soils, their qualities, and the crops best adapt¬ 
ed to each kind; agricultural implements and their im¬ 
provement; new theories, and their rationality or prac¬ 
tical bearing; questions connected with agricultural 
reading or education; in short, everything belonging 
to the farm, the orchard or the garden, will be fouml a 
suitable and fruitful topic of remark. Such a club should 
possess an agricultural library, supported by the contri¬ 
butions of each associate, and open to every member; 
the books and periodicals to be subject to such regula¬ 
tions as to afford security against loss. The best foreign 
as well as domestic works on agriculture and its kindred 
sciences might always be found, and all the most valu¬ 
able of our periodicals useful to the farmer placed on 
file for reading or for reference. To each individual 
the expense would be far less than if his labors for in¬ 
formation were alone and unaided, and the mutual ad¬ 
vantages decidedly greater. 
Another of the benefits resulting from such an associ¬ 
ation would, or might be, the formation of an agricul¬ 
tural museum, embracing specimens of the various soils 
cultivated by the members, or any of those remarkable 
for their fertility or otherwise; specimens to illustrate 
the geological character of the district, and show the 
bearing this science has on agriculture; specimens of 
the various kinds of grain and cultivated plants,whether 
remarkable for size, novelty, or their valuable quali¬ 
ties; fi’uits, roots, &c. according to the season; together 
with all such matters as are calculated to interest and 
instruct such a body of men; the whole, as far as pos¬ 
sible, to be preserved for the benefit of all. We have 
merely thrown out these few hints, in the hope that 
some of our spirited farming neighborhoods may be in¬ 
duced to further develop them and reduce them to prac¬ 
tice. Wherever, in Europe or in this country, this or 
kindred jtlans have been adopted, the results have been 
most happy, and the cause of agriculture has received 
a decided impulse. 
SUCCESSIVE CROPS OF WHEAT. 
We find in the American Farmer a letter from A. 
Whann, Esq. of Elkton, Md., detailing his account of 
growing several successive crops of wheat from the 
same land. We give It as a proof of the capabilities of 
a good soil, not because we would recommend such a 
system of exhausting culture. The ground had been 
cleared for a long time, and for many years had been in 
timothy and clover. The first year it was manured on 
the clover lay, plowed and harrowed, and planted with 
cox'n—product, 850 bushels. We throw the 7 years into 
a tabular form: 
1 st year, manured, plowed and harrowed; corn,. 850 
2 d “ plowed and harrowed ; barley,. S 50 
8 d “ mannied, plowed once, and harrowed twice; 
wheat,. 422 
4th “ manured, plowed once, harrowed twice; wheat, 400 
6 lh “ manured, burned stubble, plowed as before; 
whe.-it,. 350 
6 th “ manured, plowed once, harrowed twice; wheat, 400 
7th “ manured, plowed once, harrowed twice ; wheat, 300 
Mr. Whann used the red wheat for seed, changing it 
every year until the last, when he sowed one-half with 
a white wheat which gave only 100 bushels, causing a 
loss of a quarter of his crop. His manure was stable 
manure, and not applied heavily. He sowed 2 bushels 
to the acre, and on the 15th of September in each year. 
Neither t-te fly or the rust troubled his wheat, though 
prevalent in tne vicinity. 
Clovee and I’exas Grass in Mississippi. —Our 
friend Philips, of the Southicestern Farmer, urges upon 
the Mississippiaus the necessity of a more general intro¬ 
duction of clover, and cites several cases where it had 
succeeded perfectly. Speaking of the gi-asses, he says:— 
“ Our o()inion at present, is that Texas grass will suit us 
better than any other—it is green all winter, spreads on 
the ground, has strong fibrous roots—on good land will 
grow high enough to mow, will bear the hoof and bite, 
and can be cut more than once.” 
