164 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
WHEAT CULTURE IN ALBANY. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —As you encourage the 
cultivators of the soil to publish the results of their ef¬ 
forts, I take the liberty of mentioning a small experiment 
in raising winter wheat on Patroon street, about a mile 
and a half from the capitol. About the 12th of October 
last, I sowed half an acre and 14 rods on ground which 
had been planted with potatoes. The seed sown was about 
a bushel and a half, rolled in plaster. The ground was 
plowed but once, but w'as well dragged. No manure 
was put on it after the potatoes were gathered. The crop 
has been lately gathered, threshed and cleaned, and the 
produce is 21 bushels of clean plump wheat, or 37-| bush¬ 
els to the acre. The whole expense may be estimated 
as follows: 
Plowing and dragging, .. $2.50 
Seed,. .. 1.50 
Harvesting, . . 2.00 
Threshing and cleaning,. 2.50 
Amount of expenses,... $8.50 
Produce of wheat, .. $21.00 
Straw,.. 2.00 
,$23.00 
Deduct expenses,... 8.50 
Leaving a profit of. $14.50 
The principal error consisted in sowing too much seed. 
If one-third or one-half less had been sown, I am con¬ 
vinced a much better result would have been produced. 
The soil is clay, and I think the experiment proves that 
the clay lands in the vicinity of this city may be made 
highly productive as well as ornamental, by a proper 
culture. Indeed, there are vacant lands, or lands imper¬ 
fectly cultivated, within three miles of Albany, which, 
if rightly managed would support one-third of its popu¬ 
lation. Youes, &c. A. B. 
Albany, Aug., 1843. 
BREEDING—FEEDING CALVES, &c. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I see by the August 
No. of the American Agriculturist, and the last number 
of your paper, that a controversey has commenced on 
“breeding.” This I hope will be carrietl on in friend¬ 
ship and good feeling, for it is a subject that will render 
much benefit to the country. Able and uniled opinions, 
given cheerfully, candidly and liberally, must enlighten 
those who read, and stir up the spirit of those who ad¬ 
vance them; therefore I give all speed to your labor, and 
will join in the effort with good nature, as soon as an 
opportunity offers, and you are settled down to cool ar¬ 
gument. In the meantime, I will give Mr. J. W. Smith, 
the desired infoi-mation he solicits on my system of 
feeding calves. 
I have a small boiler that contains about thirty gallons 
of water; I put in about twenty-five gallons, and about 
twelve quarts of linseed; keeping it well stirred, to pre¬ 
vent burning at the bottom, whilst boiling over a “slow 
fire,” for two hours. As soon as the oil is sufficiently ex¬ 
tracted from the seed, I strain it through a sieve, and 
when cold it becomes a thick jelly. The same boiler is 
about half filled with water, and a large tin warmer 
about two inches smaller in circumference, (with two 
side handles to lift in and out,; in which I heat the milk, 
adding a fifth jelly; the water between the two vessels 
prevents the milk from burning, which is a great injury 
to calves. I gave it then about the same warmth as from 
the cow, morning and evening, and they did very well; 
should they scour, give them a small ball of mutton suet, 
or part of a tallow candle, and it will stop it at once. 
Allow me to tell you that I have had a number of 
breeders from all parts of the United Slates to view the 
Herefords, anti most of them say they are agreeably dis¬ 
appointed; they expected to see from the accounts they 
hear and read of them, coarse plain animats. Now, Mr. 
Editor, I will place them in a pn.?i ion for proof. I will 
show six or ten breeding cows and a bull, all pure Here¬ 
fords, against the same number of nny breed, from any 
herd in the United Stales, for beauty, symmetry, quality, 
milking, and activity for ioreetling working oxen, for a 
silver tankard, value fifty dollars, and meet half way be¬ 
tween the acceptor. I <lo this to defend, and not to 
“brag.” I will leave this challenge open for one year. 
On the first of .lanuary, I will give you a statement of the 
butter made from fourteen cows, but it will not be an ac¬ 
curate one. I have sold cream, cream cheese, and new 
milk, of which I have not kept any account. I will give 
you the actual weight of ihe butler made, but it will not 
come up to some of the statements -of your correspon¬ 
dents. I shall has'e several excuses to make this }-ear, 
but next year shall be a fair trial. 
Hereford Hall, Sept. 15, 1843. W.M. H. Sotham. 
Clover xt the South. —It has long been supposed 
by many, that clover could not be grown in the south, the 
climate being too hot and liry for the plant. A Mr. Rose, 
however, in a late no. of the Soulhern Planter, contro¬ 
verts this position successfully, and from his own expe¬ 
rience. The diffioully seems to have been sowing the 
seeds in the spring, when they would germinate, but pe¬ 
rish during the hot summer. He sows the first week in 
October, and even earlier, preferring a stiff clay soil, as 
he has not succeeded on light sandy ones. One piece of 
red clover sown by him, was cut six years in succession, 
the last five years for seed. 
ORR’S AIR TIGHT STOVE_(Fig. 80.) 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker— Having experienced 
in my own establishment, the comforts and advantages 
arising from the use of the air tight stove, I am desirous 
of fulfilling the injunction of the Holy Book, in ‘Gloing 
good,” by communicating through the pages of your 
widely circulating journal, a knowledge of that invaluable 
appendage to our household arrangements. To this end, 
I have procured from the agent for the manufacture of 
these stoves in Philadelphia, W. W. Hughes, 45 Walnut 
st., a stereotype east of this very neat and elegant parlor 
stove, an impression from which I should be pleased to 
see transfered to your columns, that the knowledge of it 
may be extended from “ Maine to Georgia;” it being, in 
fact, as well adapted for the south as for the north; the 
facility of diminishing the heat, being as great as for in¬ 
creasing it, fitting it equally for both. Indeed, the value 
of it cannot be apprehended but by experience; I can 
therefore only say with my friend Mr. B. Cooper ofCam- 
den, “ I would not be without one for ten times its cost.” 
Before using, it will be necessary for the protection of 
the stove, to spread about two or three inches of wood 
ashes over the bottom, and upon this place the wood ; the 
fire is regulated by raising or lowering the door, the 
smallest aperture being sufficient fbr a strong draft; a 
valve in the smoke pipe facilitates the arrangements, by 
giving the power to extinguish the fire almost instanta¬ 
neously when desired. With regard to the actual con¬ 
sumption of wood, much must of course depend upon the 
degree of heat required, as also upon the size or number 
of the apartments to be warmed; but to say that the quan¬ 
tity might be reduced to one quarter part, under any cir¬ 
cumstance, is, I conceive, far below the mark. Nor is 
this consideration one quarter part its real value; for, as has 
elsewhere been said,*—“The price of the air tight stove 
might be saved in the difference in the cost of fuel in one 
winter; but the convenience, cleanliness, comfort, and 
consolation arising from having at all times, by night as 
well as by day, just so much heat and no more, as you de¬ 
sire, and all regulated in an instant, by merely turning off 
or on the draft by the finger and thumb, are justly incon¬ 
ceivable, and not to be appreciated but by experience. 
The fire is made up in the morning by supplying half a 
dozen short billets of wood; and no more will be re¬ 
quired, under ordinary circumstances, for twenty-four 
hours, or perhaps more; the stove being closed on retir¬ 
ing for the night, during which the jn-ocess of charring 
goes on, but no flaming. I am tempted to say, I closed 
tight the door of my stove at lO o’clock last night, and 
having occasion to rise at three this morning preparatory 
for a journey, I found the atmosphere of the room 70 de¬ 
grees of heat by' the thermometer at the farthest part from 
the fire; and by raising the draft half an inch, I increased 
it to a degree that quite surprisetl .me. I calculate tliat one- 
tenth part of the wood required to heat a room by burning 
in the open chimney, will be more than sufficient to keep 
the same room at the same temperature, by means of the 
air tight stove. And then, the convenience of having to 
light the fire but once during the winter; and taking 
from the stove in the morning, charcoal for lighting the 
other fires in the house, will render it the most profila- 
ble, as well as the most desirable, of all the numerous 
contrivances that have come down to us in the shape of 
about 500 varieties of stoves of all sizes, shapes and pri¬ 
ces. And then, the very prevalent complaint of bronchi¬ 
tis, will, I am satisfied, be avoided; for with me there is 
no question, that the cause of tliat disorder is attributable 
to the inhaling of air that has passed over a red hot body 
of metal, by which, having been deprived of its oxygen, 
it is rendered unfit for respiration. For the sick cham¬ 
ber too, it is peculiarly well adapted, as it emits no un¬ 
pleasant smell; creates no noise or dust in managing; 
diffuses a genial glow that can be regulated to a degree, 
by means of a thermometer; keepiiig it to that point re¬ 
commended by the .attendant physician—a point which 
in many cases might be of vital consequence; while to 
the practitioner himself, whose hours of attendance are 
uncertain to a proverb, and whose nights are so often 
broken in upon by professional visits, the use of this 
stove would appear absolutely necessary to his well be¬ 
ing; for on leaving home, he can regulate the draft of 
the stove so as that in an instant on his return, after an 
absence of twelve hours, he may raise the heat to any 
degree he might choose. But to none will this stove be 
more convenient than to the farmer, whose concerns so 
* Farmer’s Cabinet. 
often call him and the members of his family abroad, or 
into the kitchen or dairy, at which time friends might 
call, and render a fire in the bettermost room very desi¬ 
rable, although but for a short time; it is, therefore, on¬ 
ly to have the stove pretty well filled with wood in the 
morning, closing the door, and he has it in his power to 
give his warmest friend a correspondent welcome, by 
opening the draft of ihe stove, and on his taking leave, (o 
close it; and as effectually put a stop to all farther ex¬ 
pense of fuel, be it even until the end of the day'. In 
short, I know of nothing of the kind that can at all com¬ 
pare with the air tight wood stove, either for economy, 
comfort, cleanliness or convenience.” 
And to all this I bear willing testimonj', after two 
year’s experience, during which I have never encoun¬ 
tered the least trouble or difficuKy in the management, 
or entertained the most distant idea of danger from ex¬ 
plosion. It is said these stoves have been constructed so 
as to burn coal; but I would remark, as the object is of¬ 
tentimes as much to diminish the heat as to increase it: 
nay, to extinguish the fire sutidenly, and as suddenly' to 
rekindle it, I cannot imagine that any fuel would be so 
convenient for the purpose as wood; at the same time, 
that of the hardest quality is much to be preferred, hicko. 
ry being of more than double the value of pine; it is al¬ 
so more economical to use it as large as can be made to 
pass in at the doorway of the stove. And in many other 
ways will the use of these stoves prove of the greatest 
comfort and convenience, particularly in the cool and 
chilly evenings and mornings of spring and autumn, as 
also during the prevalence of damp weather at these and 
other seasons of the year, when a fire for a few hours 
only, might be the means of warding off a fit of sickness; 
while in damp and unh^lthy situations, as also in newly 
erected habitations, the savings in physician’s fees have 
often been more than the cost of them, twice told; a 
handful of kindling W’ood being sufficient to cause the 
diffusion of a sensible degree of warmth throughout the 
room, and carrying off the damp atmosphere; nay, it is 
a fact, that the burning of a newspaper only has been of¬ 
ten known to cause a very perceptible degree of warmth 
in the room on a chilly and damp evening in summer. 
In short, I know of nothing that I would accept in ex¬ 
change for my stove, if I had not the power to replace 
it. Your subscriber and constant reader. 
Eastern Shore, Aug. 14, 1843. .Iohn W. Smith. 
SPADE LABOR.’ 
Messrs. Editors —Having been present at an inte¬ 
resting conversation which took place on board the steam 
ferry boat between Philadelphia and Camden, N. J., on 
a subject which is not always “ understood,” but much 
“ seen and felt,” I have a desire to record it for publi¬ 
cation in your valuable pages. It was commenced by a 
lad of fourteen, who, on counting the receipts for a quah- 
tity of Jersey truck, which he had sold in Philadelphia 
market,observed, in soliloquy, One thing's sartin; if we 
don’t put down these canals and railroads, they’ll soon tlo 
us up: ’tis no use, any longer raising early truck for 
’delphia market; the Baltimore folks get there afore us, 
and that’s what I call robbing the milk of the cream.” 
A passenger observed, “ Ah ! machinery will be the ruin 
of this country, as it has been that of every other. When 
I was young, a man could live by his labor, and there 
was then plenty of employment; but now, what’s a man 
to a sleani engine! Such things ought not to be allowed; 
there are already too many improvements in every branch 
of business.” To which an old farmer replied, “ And 
yet, friend, this has been the case, for years, and will no 
doubt continue as long. But what are the improvements 
of the present day, compared with the substitution of the 
plow for the spade in husbandry? If you and I had lived 
at that time, I dare say we should have expected starva¬ 
tion; and yet people lived through it you see. The plow, 
however, was only the substitution of one implement for 
another; the spade itself being' also a machine—an in¬ 
novation on nature’s own machinery, the thumbs and fin¬ 
gers.” 
These observations opened, unexpectedly, a very in¬ 
teresting debate upon the real advantages of the plow 
over the spade, in which it was by no means evident that 
they were veiy much anti decidedly in favor of the form¬ 
er; nay, in more instances than one, it was attempted to 
be demonstrated that, taken for all in all, the spade was 
to be preferred. A person present remarked, he had seen 
nearly a hundred men, women, and children, digging in 
a field in Fr.ance, where were four plows going at the 
same time; tlie proprietor of the land assuring him, that 
he considered the economy of the plow not quile so de¬ 
cisive as was generally believed; the superiority of the 
crops, both in quantity and quality, and the condition of 
the land after spade culture, often paying vei y handsome¬ 
ly for the extra expense; while the occupation which it 
furnishes for the agricultui’al population of a country, is 
of still farther importance. In his estimation, the great¬ 
er facility rendered by the plow, was of more conse¬ 
quence to the hu.sbandman, than the difference in expense. 
Reflecting after wards on what I had heard, and remem¬ 
bering that I had somewhere seen an interesting account 
of a set of experiments that had once been made in Eng¬ 
land, for the purpose of ascertaining the difference in cost 
and produce of the two systems, I turned to an agricultu¬ 
ral work of the time, and was so fortunate as to drop on 
it; here it is : 
■ “Mr. W. Falla of Gateshead, Newcastle upon T 3 'ne, 
gives a detail of experiments made during four years in 
succession, in the culture of wheat by the spade, which 
places this mode of tillage in a very favorable light. He 
had long eultivateti a nursery garden of one hundred 
