THE CULTIVATOR 
173 
THRESHING MACHINE—POND MUD—CORN 
SHELLERS—WEEVIL IN WHEAT. 
A correspondent at Montpelier Springs, (Ga.) makes 
some inquiries in regard to the topics we have named. 
And first, threshing machines with separatoi’s attached. 
Pitt’s separator is the best we have seen used, and think 
it might be adapted to any good machine. There are 
many good machines, but perhaps as many poor ones. A 
good machine will not break the kernel, or leave white 
caps, of which the writer complains. For kinds, and 
prices, we must refer to the advertisements in the Culti¬ 
vator. One remark, however, we must make. All the 
machines which we have seen, or used on our farm, are 
too liable to break and get out of order. The castings 
are too light for the power used. This, where the means 
of repair are at hand, though vexatious, is not so serious 
an evil, as when a machine fails at the distance of per¬ 
haps hundreds of miles from the means of remedying a 
failure. As to the amount of wheat a machine will 
thresh in a day, nearly all is depending on the condition 
of the grain itself, whether cut with a sickle or cradle, 
well cured or otherwise. Two hundred bushels may be 
considered a fair day’s work for a four horse machine. 
Pond mud may be drawn and spread upon land when¬ 
ever most convenient; but the better way is to draw and 
spread in the fall. Where considerable stock is kept, 
and stable manures abundant, mixing the pond mud with 
that, in hekps, or covering the cattle yards with the mud, 
makes the best of compost, and adds materially to the 
value of the whole. 
There are several good corn shellers, of which Whit- 
ford’s is perhaps as good as any. These machines, in 
general, are liable to the same objection made to thresh¬ 
ing machines; they are not substantial enough, and the 
same may be said of chaff cutters. Farmers require 
things strong, rather than handsome; where strength and 
beauty are united in an implement, all that can be rea¬ 
sonably asked in those respects, is gained. 
As to that injurious insect, the weevil, a number of 
experiments have been made by order of the French go¬ 
vernment in relation to the preservation of wheat from 
this insect. Reservoirs, made in limestone rock, or dug 
and lined with strong mortar well dried, and then filled 
with wheat, were found to preserve the wheat sound for 
years, when hermetically closed, If containing the in¬ 
sect when enclosed, they ceased to multiply, and soon 
became'dead or torpid. Dr. Harris says—“ T'hese in¬ 
sects are effectually destroyed by kiln drying the wheat; 
and grain, that is kept cool, well ventilated, and is fre¬ 
quently moved, is said to be exempt from attack.” 
MR. COLMAN’S CIRCULAR. 
In the Sept. no. of the London Farmer’s Magazine, 
we find a circular addressed to the farmers of Gi’eat 
Britain, intended to call out statements relating to ani¬ 
mals, culture, plants, climate, &c. &c. The queries are 
happily constructed, and we doubt not will be responded 
to frankly and fully, in a great number of instances. If 
so, a mass of information of the most valuable kind will 
be collected, of which we may expect the substance in 
the reports be is to make of his tour, and which can 
scarcely fail to be of great interest. We give a para¬ 
graph of the remarks of the editor of the Magazine, in 
introducing the circular to his readers, as exhibiting the 
singular want of information prevailing among well in¬ 
formed men in that country respecting this: 
“ Wc are, unfortunately, (and it is a disgrace to us as 
a nation,) lamentably deficient in statistical information 
on agriculture. The United States, every year, when 
the census is taken, institutes the most searching inquiry 
into the number of live stock, relative produce of the 
soil, extent of land under cultivation in different crops, 
&c. Beside these media, agricultural commissioners 
are appointed for each of the states, to report specially 
to the government upon the condition and progi’ess of 
agriculture, and of these commissioners, Mr. Colman 
was one of the most indefatigable.” The reader will 
see it would scarcely have been possible to have crowd¬ 
ed more errors info a single paragraph. There has been 
as yet but one agricultural census taken; the census is 
taken on'y once in ten years, instead of every year; the 
gov^ernment does not appoint state agricultural commis¬ 
sioners; not more than three or four out of the twenty- 
six states have appointed such commissioners; and the 
result of the agricultural census shows the inquiry was 
any thing but searching. Of Mr. Colman’s labors in 
Massachusetts, too much can scarcely be said in their 
praise, and we trust those of Prof. Emmons in this state 
will be equally successful. 
BLACKBERRY BRIERS. 
Messrs. Editors —I have about two acres of land 
overrun with blackberry briers, and cannot get rid of 
them. I would esteem it a great favor, if you would in¬ 
form me through your Cultivator how I can get rid of 
them, without referring me to a late number of the Culti¬ 
vator, as I have no spare funds left. 
Long Island, Aug. 3, 1843. A Subscriber. 
If “ A Subscriber” will turn a flock of sheep upon his 
blackberry acres, we think he will find them speedily to 
disappear. If very large and thick, they maybe mowed 
or cut down, and the sheep will take care they do not 
rise again. Sheep farms are rarely troubled with the 
blackberry or raipberry. If cut so as not to fruit, the 
bushes in a few years will perish of themselves, or they 
may be dug out and the land cultivated. 
BEMENT’S CULTIVATOR.—(Fig. 93.) 
A correspondent at Pickensville, Ala., requests us to 
give an engraving of the implement called a cultivator 
at tb« north, as many of the subscribers to the Cultivator 
in that section of the country have never seen one, and 
opinions are very discordant as to its nature and use. Wc 
comply with this request willingly, by giving a cut of 
one called Bement’s Cultivator or Horse Hoe, which, 
with perhaps some modifications, is found to possess 
valuable qualities, and is in extensive use. There are 
many others in use, but the general principle of all is 
the same; an implement drawn by a horse, constructed 
so as lo spread according to the width of the rows, and 
by stirring the earth to the depth desired, between the 
rows of any cultivated crop, such as corn, roots, cotton, 
&c., exterminate all weeds, keep the earth loose and fri¬ 
able, and save a great amount of labor. The shares may 
be made of cast or wrought iron, and adapted in form to 
several kinds of culture. We have known it used suc¬ 
cessfully for plowing in wheat, as well as in the cultiva¬ 
tion of root and corn crops, and it is one of those imple¬ 
ment, which when once used, the farmer is rarely wil¬ 
ling to do without. 
AGRICULTURAL FAIRS FOR 1843. 
Few things are more cheering to the real friends of 
agriculture than the reports which are thronging in upon 
us from the different parts of our wide countrjq telling 
of the success which has attended the numerous Cattle 
Shows and Fairs that have been held the present season. 
The spirit they exhibit, the enthusiasm in the great 
cause of agriculture and domestic industry they prove, 
must be considered among the most favorable indica¬ 
tions that the cause is progressive, and the course of the 
friends of improvement still onward. The county so¬ 
cieties of the state generally, and particularly the State 
Agricultural Society, have made evident advances in the 
public favor, and consequently in their wide spread use¬ 
fulness. With scarce an exception, the meetings of the 
present year have been better attended, the competition 
more spirited, the animals and products exhibited of a 
superior class, and, what should not be overlooked in 
the matter, the ranks of the grumblers and fault finders 
have materially decreased. The good results h'ave been 
too evident to be disputed, and public opinion is fast 
coming to the conclusion that such exhibitions are es¬ 
sential to agricultural improvement, and deserve the aid 
and support of every good citizen. In some few in¬ 
stances, unfavorable weather may have occasioned a 
falling off in the attendance, but could not damp the 
feelings of those present, or lessen the interest taken in 
the exhibition. Good animals, it is shown, exert a 
double benefit; they afford a better profit to their owner, 
and they create a spirit of emulation in others. Nothing 
is so convincing to a farmer as actual comparison; with 
him, seeing is believing, and these agricultural exhibi¬ 
tions are precisely the places where cattle, implements 
and products are submitted to these processes. 
We should be pleased to allot a large space in the 
present no. of the Cultivator to the details of these 
meetings that have reached us, but space forbids. The 
many interesting incidents, the addresses, the interchange 
of friendly feelings, would furnish matter for interest 
as well as for speculation. They would show that the 
right spirit is at work, and that the American farmer has 
only to follow up the career of improvement on which 
he has just entered, to insure personal competence and 
a deservedly high standing in the community. 
Not only has New-York shown the importance of ag¬ 
ricultural Fairs and Shows, but from all the states evi¬ 
dence is reaching us that the farmer is awaking, and 
that the example set for years by some of the more fa¬ 
vored sections of our country, has not been lost. The 
Cattle Shows of New-England, in their excellent ma¬ 
nagement, their liberal support, and the confidence with 
which they are received, scarcely leave any thing in 
those respects to be desired, and their influence is what 
might well be expected. Every where agriculture is 
going ahead; sounder views of its importance, and the 
best measures for its support, are clearly gaining ground; 
public men are beginning to trace its vast influence in 
all the departments of political economy; and it is 
yearly becoming more evident that all other subjects ai'e 
of minor consequence in questions of general interest, 
compared with agriculture. The producer is fast 
rising to his proper place, and labor is no longer disho¬ 
norable, except with those who are lacking in common 
sense. 
The addresses of the present year have, so far as 
they have fallen under our notice, been characterized 
with great ability and practical directness. Some of 
our most eminent men have cheerfully responded to the 
calls made upon them to officiate as speakers at these 
exhibitions, and have brought to the occasion the zeal, 
intelligence, science and practical skill for which many 
of them are distinguished. In others, the pi’actical 
farmer has left the plow to become the speaker, and 
showed that he was not one whit behind the best, in the 
interest he was able to impart, or the zeal he brought to 
the support of his favorite theme. 
Many of the errors of the past in conducting these 
Fairs have been corrected; experience will do away the 
remainder;, and for the agricultural societies of this 
country, we may well anticipate a long career of pros¬ 
perity and usefulness. 
GREAT YIELD OF WHEAT. . 
The following note from Mr. Dickinson of Onondaga 
Hollow, will show the course adopted by him in produ¬ 
cing his crop of 52^ bushels of wheat per acre, the pre¬ 
sent season. There can be little doubt that much more 
labor is expended in producing the wheat crop general¬ 
ly, than would be necessary if the grounds were pro¬ 
perly prepared once for all, made clean, and kept clean, 
so as not to require fallowing as a cleaning process. We 
have as yet heard of no yieltl this year that has exceeded 
this. 
W. Gaylord, Esq _^I send you a hasty account of the 
preparatory treatment, nature of the soil, &c., in the case 
of the wheat crop to which allusion has been made. Two 
years since, this month, I purchased the farm on which I 
reside, and commenced working it the next spring. 
There had been no clover seed used on the place by the 
occupant before me, except on the lot where the wheat 
was grown by me. That field had a crop of oafs taken 
off, and was then seeded to clover. In the spring w’hen 
I came on the farm, the clover was small and thin, and 1 
sowed on it, bushels of plaster per acre. The second 
week in July, I mowed off the clover for hay. The last 
of August, I plowed in a large growth of clover, and 
harrowed it thoroughly. On the 6th and 7th of Septem¬ 
ber, I sowed on one bushel and three pecks of Canada 
flint wheat to the acre, and harrowed it in. The soil is 
a friable black slate or loam. The wheat in the whole 
field was remarkably equal, and the crop per acre as sta¬ 
ted. Yours truly, O. Dickinson. 
Onondaga, Sept. 11, 1843. 
CONVENTION OF BREEDERS. 
The Convention of Breeders heretofore called, met at 
New-York on the evening of the 17th ult., and was or¬ 
ganised by the appointment of Dr. J. A. Poole of New- 
Jersey, chairman, and Mr. Parsons of New-York, sec¬ 
retary. After the reading of the circular calling the 
Convention, an intei-esting discussion took place, in which 
Messrs. Watson, Allen, Bement, and others partici¬ 
pated, on the various subjects alluded to in the circular. 
After the appointment of committees to report on the 
points of excellence in the several breeds of Durhams, 
Herefords, Ayrshires, Devons, and native stock, the con¬ 
vention adjourned to meet the following evening at the 
same place. 
On Wednesday evening, a report on the Ayrshires was 
read by Geo. Randall, Esq. of New Bedford, and one 
on the Herefords by Geo. J. Pumfelly, Esq. Owego. 
The committees on Devons and native stock made no re¬ 
port, and that on Short Horns, consisting of Messrs. 
Prentice, Bement and Allen, stated that from the lit¬ 
tle time they had been able to devote to the subject, they 
had found themselves unable to prepare such a report as 
they would be willing to submit to the convention, and 
asked farther time to make their report. Though the 
reports nsjadc were not taken up, discussed and disposed 
of, they elicited a good deal of remark on the general 
subject of breeding, from most of the members of the 
convention, among whom were Messrs. Prentice, Sher¬ 
wood, Vail, Bement, and Pumpelly, of this state; Messrs. 
Watson, Whitney, and Townsend, of Conn.; Mr. Ran¬ 
dall of Mass., and others whose names we do not recol¬ 
lect. A resolution was passed, requesting the committee 
on Short Horns, to which was added Dr. Poole and Mr. 
Watson, to report to the annual meeting of the N. Y. 
State Ag. Society, to be held in this city on the 3d Tues 
day of Jan. next, after which the convention adjourned. 
NUT GRASS. 
Mr. H. F. Bond of Kingston, N. C. inquires whether 
“any of our correspondents can inform him how to de¬ 
stroy nut grass.” As it is unknown to us by that name, 
will some of our correspondents acquainted with it, and 
the methods of destroying it, respond to the inquiry? 
Curious Fact —Does not the following, which we 
find in the Columbia (S. C.) Advocate, strongly support 
the doctrine of Liebig, that in the absence of other 
means of nutrition, the nutritive organs act upon, and ap¬ 
propriate the stores already existing in the body; in oth¬ 
er words, W’ould the pig have lived so long had he been 
lean at the time of disappearance ?—“ Some two months 
ago. Mi. James Lyles of this place, missed a favorite pig, 
which, as it was very fat, he supposed had been used by 
some lover of fat pigs, and gave it up for lost, until last 
Tuesday, when he commenced the repair of his house, 
and on raising the floor, which was decaying from dry 
rot, he found his pig still breathing, after at least 58 da 3 ’'S 
of entire abstinence from food or drink. The pig is still 
living, and able to take a little meal and water. A num¬ 
ber of the most respectable persons can attest the above 
fact.” 
