188 
MONTHLY NOTICES. 
Acknowledgments. —Communications have been re¬ 
ceived during the past month from Hon. H. L. Ells¬ 
worth, J. S. Skinner, John Lewis, S. L. Gouverneur, L. 
A. Morrell, An Amateur, L. Ashburner, D. C. Goodale, 
A. McDonald, Q., Solon Robinson, G. S. P., J. M. Har¬ 
lan, T. Edgar, Orange Co., S. Weller, D. A. P., T. 
Fountain, A Subscriber, L. Durand, L. Physick, Martha, 
Hazlewood, R. L. Pell, A. Walsh, J. E. W., N. N. D., 
Marion, J. L. Worthington, John Bonner, T. D. Bur- 
rail, T. C. Baldwin. 
Books, Papers, &c.— Low’s “Elements of Practical 
Agriculture,” a new edition, (the 4th,) received through 
Messrs. Wiley & Putnam, from London, but from whom 
we are not apprised—Young’s “Introduction to the 
Science of Government,” from William Ailing, Roches¬ 
ter—Mr. Botts’ Address before the Henrico Co. Ag. So¬ 
ciety; Rev. Mr. Henkel’s Address at the commencement 
of Marion College, on the “ Moral Dignity and General 
Claims of Agricultural Science;” Mr. Mathei’’s Ad¬ 
dress before the Middlesex Ag. Society; Mr. Ducket’s 
Address before the Prince George’s Ag. Society, and a 
Prize Essay on the System of Farming best adapted to 
the Tobacco growing counties of Maryland, by W. W. 
W. Bowie, Esq., from their respective authors—The 
Doncaster and Nottingham Gazette, from Rev. H. Col- 
man—The Cattskill Recorder, from A. Marks, Esq.— 
The Washington County Post, from Dr. Fitch—The 
Connecticut Courant, from E. Cowles, Esq.—The Cort¬ 
land Democrat, from H. S. Randall, Esq.—The Long 
Island Democrat—Addresses of Hon. D. D. Barnard and 
Gen. Tallmadge before the American Institute, and the 
“ Silk Culturist,” from A. Walsh, Esq.—Winter & Co.’s 
Descriptive Catalogue—Report of the Providence Athe- 
neum—Descriptive Catalogue of Prince & Co.’s Linneean 
Botanic Nursery, Flushing, and of Thomas Hancock’s 
Nursery, Burlington, N. J.—Mr. Bacon’s Address be¬ 
fore the Berkshire Ag. Society, and Mr. Howai'd’s, be¬ 
fore the Muskingum Ag. Society, from their Authors— 
The Hampshire Gazette, from W. Lathrop, Esq., and 
The Elmira Gazette, from A. J. Wynkoop, Esq. 
Illustrations _^We have now on hand, for the il¬ 
lustration of our next vol., engravings of a design for a 
House, by T. M. Niven—designs and plans for a Farm 
House and Farm Buildings, by J. J. Thomas—an im¬ 
proved Bee Hive, by “ P.”—a Gate, by J. Willard— 
views of Fences—portrait of a Shepherd’s Dog—several 
farm implements, &c. &c. The drawings of Dr. Cloud, 
S. Hitchcock, Joseph Fowler, and D. A. D., are in the 
hands of the engraver. In its illustrations we intend the 
next vol. shall equal, if not excel, any preceding one. 
Potatoes. —We give two papers in this no. on the 
subject of the rot in the potatoe, which is prevailing so 
extensively through the country. Thousands of bushels 
have been lost in this way in this vicinity. It will be 
seen that Mr. Fountain attributes the death of his swine 
to feeding potatoes which had been struck with the rot, 
though they were boiled and mixed with meal. The 
Utica Gazette mentions two instances where farmers lost 
their hog.s from the same cause. 
Sugar from Cornstalks —If any of our readers have 
succeeded in making sugar or molasses from the corn¬ 
stalk the present year, we shall be glad to receive a state¬ 
ment of the process pursued, for publication. 
Mr. Colman. —We find in our English papers an ad¬ 
mirable speech made by this gentleman, at the meeting 
of the Wentworth Farmer’s Club, to which he was in¬ 
troduced by Earl Fitzwilliam, which it was our inten¬ 
tion to have published in this paper, but we find ourselves 
unable to give it for want of room. It is pleasant to us 
to find Mr. Colman never losing sight of the necessity of 
ameliorating the condition of the laboring classes, and 
while engaged in receiving and communicating agri¬ 
cultural knowledge, never merging the moral and intel¬ 
lectual in the physical condition of the man. From the 
attention paid Mr. Colman, his facilities for observation, 
and his undoubted ability to improve his advantages in 
every respect to the utmost, there can be no question that 
his Reports will be of the highest value and importance. 
“The Farmer’s Mine.” —Our amiable cotemporary 
in a neighboring city, whose pleasant criticism on our 
brief notice of the “Farmer’s Mine,” in the Sept, num¬ 
ber of the Cultivator, appeared in the last number of his 
journal, is respectfully informed that the senior editor 
of the Cultivator did not pen the notice in question, and 
therefore his personalities might well have been spared. 
The senior editor of the Cultivator, however, is not so 
“ io-norant of the usages of printers,” as not to be aware 
that the practice of making books wholly with the scis¬ 
sors and paste, wiihout the trouble of even connecting 
paragraphs, is somewhat unusual; and that when whole 
page's or chapters, are appropriated from a work trans¬ 
lated with acknowledged care and accuracy, and at great 
expense, some acknowledgment of the translator’s la¬ 
bors and merits; would seem appropriate and due. Fur¬ 
ther, the senior editor of the Cultivator cannot believe 
that our cotemporary could have been aware of the man¬ 
ner in which the ‘‘ Farmer’s Mine” was prepared, or he 
would have hesitated at endorsing it as “ containing much 
original matter,” as he has done in his notice of the pub¬ 
lication. 
D. K. Minor presents his compliments to those 
who have used poudrette of his manufacture in the years 
1841, 1842 and 1843, and requests of each a detailed state¬ 
ment of the crops and the soil on which it was used; the 
manner of applying it, and the result of its use, espedally 
as compared with other manures, when used compara¬ 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
tively. His object is to publish a pamphlet giving 'both 
sides of the question, and one copy or more will be for¬ 
warded to those who comply with this request, that each 
may know how others have used it, and the result. An 
early compliance will benefit those who desire to use the 
article, antf much oblige the inquirer. 
The Season in Tennessee —Extract of a letter from 
J. L. Vaughan, Esq. dated Caledonia, Nov. 15:—“ This 
has been an unprecedented year from the first to the pre¬ 
sent date; winter having set in nearly a month ago. 
Heavy frost and rain every day or two: killing frost the 
13th ultimo. Crops will be short of all kinds, and scar¬ 
city of money in the midst of all; otherwise the Culti¬ 
vator would be taken generally.” 
The Farmer’s Encyclopedia. —We have received 
the 16th and last no. of Carey & Hart’s reprint of this 
work. Very great additions and improvements have 
been made to it by its indefatigable American editor, G. 
Emerson, Esq., making it one of the most valuable 
works the farmer can add to his library. The volume 
contains nearly 1200 pages, closely printed, and is sold 
in parts at $4, or at $5, bound. 
The Silk Culture. —No. 6 of Greely & McElrath’s 
“ Useful Works for the People,” is a Treatise on the 
Silk Culture in the United States, embracing all the in¬ 
formation necessary to the culturist, a brief history of 
what has been done, and a great variety of matters of 
particular interest to all who realize the importance of 
the silk culture to our country. Price 25 cents. 
Winter & Co.’s Catalogue. —A very great improve¬ 
ment has been made within the last few years by many 
of our nurserymen, in the getting jip of their catalogues. 
Among the best of those we have seen, is that of Messrs. 
Winter & Co., proprietors of the Linnsean Botanic Gar¬ 
den and Nursery, at Flushing, L. I., whose advertisement 
will be found in this paper. Persons, with one of these 
Descriptive Catalogues in their hands, will find little 
difficulty in making a suitable selection of trees and 
plants. 
The Medico-Chirugical Review _The October 
no. of this popular medical work was promptly re-print¬ 
ed by R. &. G. S. Wood, New-York; 300 pages octavo, 
per no.—rquarterly, at $5 a year. 
Blackwood’s Magazine for November, has been re¬ 
ceived from the New World office, New-York; where it 
is re-printed in two or three days after its arrival, at the 
low price of $2,00 a year. 
Oats as a Green Manure _^We have noticed seve¬ 
ral instances lately in which this crop is highly spoken 
of for groitring to be turned under as manure. A late 
writer in the South. Tern. Advocate, says he makes a 
practice of turning in oats annually, and finds his soil 
constantly improving. He allows no land to lie idle, but 
in the fall plows in all his stubbles, weeds, straw, &c. 
with such green manures as he may have on hand. Their 
decomposition furnishes a good preparation for the next 
year’s crop. 
A Good Cow.—Dr. Parker of the Asylum at Colum¬ 
bia, S. C., has a small native cow which cost him only 
ten dollars, which for two years past, has given milk 
constantly at the rate of from eight to twelve quarts per 
day; so says the S. C. Register of Agriculture of Oct. 26. 
It is a common practice at the great milk dairies in the 
vicinity of London, to keep a cow in milk as long as 
possible, as when she ceases to give milk she is fattened 
for the butcher. Few, however, even of the most cele¬ 
brated breeds, equal in quantity for so long a time, this 
Carolina cow. 
FEEDING ANIMALS. 
Some very useful remarks, and important tables of 
comparison, are given in a late number of the Royal Ag. 
Soc. Journal, from the French of M. Antoine. The most 
important of these tables we may give hereafter, but at 
present we shall merely quote what is said about feeding 
animals. 
“ A certain quantity of food is required to keep an ani¬ 
mal alive and in good health; this is called his necessa¬ 
ry ration of food; if he has more, he will gain flesh, or 
give milk or wool. An ox requires 2 per cent of his 
live weight in hay per day; if he works, he requires 2| 
per cent; a milch cow 3 per cent;_a fatting ox 5 per 
cent at first, 4^ per cent when half fat, and only 4 per 
cent when fat, or 4^ on the average. Sheep grown up, 
require 3J per cent of their weight in hay per day, to 
keep in store condition. Animals while growing require 
more food and should never be stinted.” 
According to this culculation, a sheep of 50 lbs. weight 
would require 1 lb. 11 oz. per day; and one of 100 lbs. 
weight, 3 lbs. 5 oz. Or it would require 199 lbs. of hay 
to keep the first sheep 4 months; and 397 pounds for the 
same time the last. This it is believed agrees very well 
with the experience of our farmers, who are in the ha¬ 
bit of allowing about one ton of hay to every 10 sheep. 
It must be remembered, however, that this calculation is 
based on the very best hay; so that when the farmer 
whose sheep have had this quantity of thistle, johnswort, 
daisy, &c. &c. but all called hay, dealt out to them, findshis 
sheep dying off by dozens in the spring, he need not attri¬ 
bute it to an error of calculation. The great differnce be¬ 
tween hay of the first quality, and that of inferior kinds, 
is too much overlooked by the farmer. According to M. 
Antoine, if 100 lbs. of good hay is taken as the standard, 
it will require 120 lbs. of the second quality to keep an 
animal in as good condition as the first; 140 lbs. of the 
third quality; and so on, until hay may be so poor as 
scarcely to support animal life given in any quantity. 
IMPROVEMENT OF DOMESTIC STOCK. 
The exhibition of stock at the numerous Cattle Shows 
and Fairs that have been held the past season, proves 
most conclusively that public attention is awake to the 
importance of their improvement, and in the great mass 
of reports of committees presented to the several asso¬ 
ciations, it is gratifying to find that the process of im¬ 
proving the native breeds by crosses, is in most cases 
recommended and insisted upon. In the July no. of the 
Cultivator, we called the attention of our farmers to the 
necessity of such improvement, and pointed out what we 
considered the most certain and ready means of effecting 
it. It may not be amiss here to recapitulate the positions 
taken by us in that paper, as circumstances have given 
it an importance and influence little anticipated at the 
time of writing. 
In the first place, the advocates of improvement were 
considered as divided into three classes: those who pro¬ 
pose substituting an entire stock of pure blood animals 
for those at present existing; those who maintain that 
we have in our native breeds all the materials for im¬ 
provement, and that a recurrence to foreign blood is 
unnecessary; and those who are in favor of selecting 
choice and high bred foreign stock, and crossing them 
with our best native animals, keeping in view the points 
or qualities we are most anxious to secure and perpetu¬ 
ate. To this last course we gave a decided preference, 
and proceeded to show the best methods of carrying out 
the course preferred by us. In doing this, we made a 
rapid survey of the principal improved breeds, and gave 
a preference to the Short Horns as the breed most highly 
improved, the one in which the good qualities could be 
considered as most permanently fixed, and therefore 
the one to, be selected for the purpose of improving our 
native stock by skillful crossing and Ibreeding. Taking 
it for granted that no one breed of animals is absolutely 
pei'fect or incapable of further improvement, and that 
all animals of even the best breeds are not uniform in 
their desirable points or qualities, we proceeded to state 
some rules in selecting the animals to be used in breed¬ 
ing. And first, we recommended that a pure bred bull 
derived from a breed, or particular family of a breed, 
possessing in a most marked manner the qualities de¬ 
sired, whether aptitude to fatten, deep milking, excel¬ 
lence in the yoke, kind handling, &c. &c. should be se¬ 
cured; and secondly, that the best native cows, selected 
with refei’ence to the same desired qualities, be crossed 
with the bull so chosen. We showed why breeders had 
so frequently suffered disappointments, and traced the 
difficulty to breeding from half blood bulls, when the 
true course would be, if the progeny of a cross between 
a pure blood bull and a native cow was a bull calf, to fit 
him for the yoke or the shambles; if a heifer, to put 
her to a pure blood bull, and there would be a reasona¬ 
ble certainty of a good calf. By this constant reeuiTence 
to pure blood, the whole stock would be rising; by 
using half blood bulls, it would as certainly be sinking. 
Proceeding in this way, using full blood bulls and the 
best native cows, we argued that the way was prepai-ed 
for an advance on any of the present improved breeds; 
or, in other words, that a breed might be produced more 
valuable to the American farmer, and combining more 
of the qualities desirable in a stock for his use, than any 
of the foreign ones. Basing our statement on the fact 
that no breed is absolutely perfect or incapable of fur¬ 
ther advance, and aware that improvement has been 
made in the way before pointed out, we affirmed the 
possibility of improving one breed, by a cross with 
another one, decidedly inferior as a lohole to the one im¬ 
proved, and we adduced a suppositious case to show that 
ihere was such a possibility. As this position of ours 
has been most strangely mistaken, and our meaning 
most strangely perverted, to use a very mild expression, 
we shall be pardoned if we define it in this place more 
fully. 
In looking over the history of improvement ip ani¬ 
mals by breeding, and in no country has this been car¬ 
ried to such perfection as in England, it appears evident 
that the first step was to select the best breed, and the 
best animals of this breed, and then in whatever point 
or quality they were deficient, to supply this deficiency 
by crosses with animals possessing the desired form, 
point or quality in a remarkable degree. SucRlt is clear 
was the course pursued by Collings, Berry, Bakewell, 
Ellman, &c. &c. If an animal possessed the requisite 
quality in a great degree, and particularly if it was one 
permanent and constitutional in the race, that animal 
was selected to impart the desired quality to the improved 
breed, even were it inferior in some respects to the one 
to be improved. It is true there was a risk in the ope¬ 
ration; it is true that but a portion of the progeny might 
possess the desired quality, and it is possible the other 
portion might be poorer than either, but what cared the 
breeder for that? He had gained his object; he had 
secured in his breed the desired quality, and by breeding 
from those that possessed it, and not from those that had 
it not, it became fixed and permanent. It is true, skill 
and judgment were required, and without these no man 
need expect success in breeding. We are aware that 
another canon of breeding has been laid down, which 
is, “ if an animal be deficient in any one point or more, 
it must be crossed by another animal equal to it in all its 
good points, and superior to it in all its deficient ones.” 
To show the unsoundness of this, we have only to refer 
to facts. Mr. Colling resorted to the Galloway cross to 
<^ive vigor and constitution to his Short Horns, impaired 
by in-and-in breeding, and the result was a most happy 
and successful one. In this case, was the Short Horn 
