the will of Ills constituents, or resign his 
trust The great difficulty heretofore has 
been with the farmers themselves, and not 
with their representatives. And especially 
has it not been with profe,ssional men, who 
we sometimes charge with hostility to the 
welfore and interests of the former. ■ This 
charge has been not unfrequently preferred, 
but we believe in nine discs out of ten, 
most unjustly. Our own obseiwation and 
acquaintance among both professional men 
and formers, has convinced us that for any 
advantages wiiich are expected to be de¬ 
rived from the funds or encouragement of 
the State in aid of apiculture, a leffislaturc 
of professional men, is much sooner to be 
relied on, than if composed exclusively of 
fonnei-s. Indeed we scarcely know an ex¬ 
ception to the spirit of liberality and good 
will, which evciywherc prevails among mer¬ 
chants and profes-sional men, towards the 
great cause of agricultural improvement. 
In this respect they have been for in ad¬ 
vance of practical formens, but the latter, 
we are hajjpy to say, now' generally enter¬ 
tain more' enlightened view's, and are 
quite disposed to join in the efforts at ad¬ 
vancement, in w'hich a few have so long, 
and so faithfully labored. Such has been 
the change upon this subject that unless w'e 
greatly mistake the tone of public senti- 
mcTit, it is clearly and unquestionably on the 
side of the effbi-ts now' so j)ei'severingly 
made, in behalf of the great business of the 
nation. 
With this im])roved state of public sen¬ 
timent, and w'ith the successful result of 
the exhibitions of agricultural and rural in- 
dustiy, W'hich have been witnessed in almo.st 
every county in the State, and more espe¬ 
cially at Syracuse at the Show' of the State 
THOUGHTS ON THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 
NUMBER II. 
Ik resuming my “thoughts” on the coun¬ 
ties of Allegany and Cattaraugus, and 
their vicinity, permit me, friend Moore, to 
suggest that, if at any time during the heat 
of summer, 3'ou should feel w'earied and un¬ 
nerved with the perplexities and anxieties of 
your business as Editor of the “ Rural,” 
that you should take a ramble into these 
sections, and get awny, for a few' da^'S, from 
the piles of “exchanges” and the heat of 
the city, where there is nothing to b'j seen 
but “ houses and steeples.” It Is a delight¬ 
ful country, in the summer season, for one 
w'hose chafed and ■wearied S])irit seeks obli\'- 
ion from the w'orld’s cares and anxieties— 
w'herc you can find repose among the for 
the question if I did not think that grazing 
w'as more profitable than grain growing in 
Monroe Co. I alw'ays answ'ered, “ No, I 
think not.” Where land is as dear as with 
U.S, I tliink we cannot successfully compete 
with the southern counties, where land is 
cheap; and as long as our lands are adapted 
to grain growiiig and fruit raising, I think 
Ave should principally confine our attention 
to these and leaA'e the dairy and stock rais¬ 
ing. other parts. F. W. L.xy. 
Greece, Jan. 5 , 1850. 
ANALYSIS OF THE BRAN OF WHEAT. 
GENTLEMEN FARMERS. 
THE NEW-YORKER.—EDUCATION. 
Agricultural Society, a feeling, w'e doubt 
'o’ 
not pervades the minds of legislators which 
will result in the pa.ssage of any laws, and 
I the ajiprojiriation of anj' reasonable amount 
) of aid to agricultui-c, whether in the shape 
I of education or the encouragement of do- 
> mestic industiy and skill. The former is 
' most in need of the fostering care and at- 
- tention of tlie government and Ave hope 
I to see some satisfactory plan adopted for 
j affording to agricultural education tlie prop¬ 
er and nece.ssaiy aid. The plan reommend- 
cd by the Commissioners w'ho luiA'e had 
that subject under consideration, (but Avhich 
tlie wiiter lias not yet .seen,) AviU, it is 
hoped, be such as to receive the united 
support of all friends of the caase. e. c. 
VALUE OF WOOD. 
It ma^' not be uninteresting to the read¬ 
er, and especially if lie is a farmer, to learn 
the amount of heat Avhich is given out by 
the A'arious kinds of Avood and coal lie is in 
the habit of using for domestic and othei 
purposes. They' vary in proportion to the 
amount of carbon Avhich each contains 
that Avhich has the largest amount of car¬ 
bon entering into its formation, gives out 
the most caloric during combustion. Accord¬ 
ing to Mr. Bull, of Philadelphia, the sub¬ 
joined table represents the projioi-tion — a 
cord of shell bark hickoiy being equivalent 
to 100: 
Shell-tark hickory,. _100 
White oak,.-.81 
Hard maple,. 60 
White beach,. 6.5 
Wiitepine.... 42 
I.ehighcoal, (a ton of 2^140 lbs.). 99 
l.ackawaxen coal,... 99 
.Schuylkill coal,.108 
This table seems to have been adopted by' 
scientific men, in preference to those of 
CraAvford, Lav'osier, Dalton, Rumford and 
Davy. From this the reader can judge of 
the real value of the species of w'ood above 
enumerated, for the purposes of fuel; and 
those who are compelled from the nature 
of their basiness to purchase large quanti¬ 
ties of w'ood or coal, may derit'e a profita¬ 
ble hint from the above. At least this is 
the opinion of the writer. ^ 
* 
Great Crop of Cork.— Tlie Erie Co., 
JPa.) Agricultm-al Society,-give their first 
Hjjiium to Gen. John Kilpatrick, of Har- 
|ok, for the best acre of com, produ- 
iJiels of shelled corn. The 
Goard Seed 
ests, shaded by their thick foliage;, fanned 
by' the fresh breezes, and lulled by'the soft 
murmurs of the bubbling brook as it me¬ 
anders Avith a rapid current over the pebbly' 
soil. One feels that there is much of beauty’ 
, and loveliness in this earth, if man Avill only' 
appreciate it. Surely’, the man must be of 
a less romantic disposition than myself Avho 
AA'ould not, after such a ramble, return to 
the busy’ scenes of life with gTcatcr zest and 
acti\'ity’, and look back on his tour as one of 
the bright spots of his exirstencc. But 
enough of the romantic. 
In my opinion, no part of the State offers 
as great inducements to those AVishing to 
embark in the dairy business, as do these 
portions. The land is reasoiuible in price, 
A'ery fertile, and Avhen the Erie Railroad is 
completed, the facilities of cheap and ex¬ 
peditious transportation to the great empo¬ 
rium, Avill be nearly equal to any' other part 
of the State. The soil is almost inexhaus¬ 
tibly fertile; this can be seen by the tall and 
dense forests of timber, AA-ith Avhich the coun¬ 
try’ abounds in its natural state. I think, 
that in no part of the w'orld I have CA'er 
visited, Avere the trees of .such height and 
.size as on these hills. Where the sugar 
maple aboimds, the soil cannot be surpassed 
for fertility’, and if the climate Avas only suit¬ 
able for it, no better grain groAving section 
could be found. The soil seemed to me to 
be very much like that of the best w’heat 
sections of this country' — a dark, aluminous 
earth, in sectionsyvhere hard w'ood timber 
abounded, and inclining to sand Avhere the 
pine is to be fomid. These parts Avere set¬ 
tled by' emigrants from the older sections of 
our OAvn country, piincipally' from Ncav 
E ngland and the old dairy counties of our 
own State, and but few foreignei'S are to be 
found among them. Along on the banks 
of the Allegany river and its tributaries, 
w'here the principal business is lumbering, 
the people are mixed up with all classes, 
but in the dcury districts the society .is gen¬ 
erally excellent 
In my rambles through those pails I tried 
to inform myself of the methods pursued 
by the best maiuifacturei-s of butter and 
cheese. Having ahvays lived in this grain 
groAving and fruit producing county’, and 
almost my whole ideas centering in Avheat 
and apples, I knew’ but little about daiiy 
products; but in conversation Avith many 
extensiA'e dairy’men and produce dealers, I 
learned much of the minutise of butter and 
cheese making. The milk rooms are gene¬ 
rally placed in a seperate building, entirely 
above ground, and placed if possible over a 
cool spring or running bi-ook, and so con¬ 
structed that a nearly uniform temperature 
in warm and cold w’eather can be obtained. 
But the principal thing insisted upon by all 
Avas, that all the A’essels in wliich milk Averc 
to be placed should be perfectly SAveet and 
clean, and the dairywoman neat and tidy’. 
One thing mentioned by a friend, struck me 
as new. He churned his milk and cream 
together; and after churning some 20 or 30 
minutes, let it stand for an hour or tAvo be¬ 
fore finishing it. He thought the butter was 
of better quality, and more in quantity, than 
w'hen churned as it -usually is. I inquired 
if they usually put sugar into it at the time 
of salting; I found some approA’cd of it and 
some did not 
One man informed me that it wasju con- 
I HAVE before me a volume of the Ag¬ 
ricultural Transactions of Seneca County 
for the last y'car. There is food for consid¬ 
eration in most of its pages. At page 91 
AA'c find a statement of the amount of water 
contiiincd in Avheat and other grain, and in 
jlour made from European as Avell as Amer¬ 
ican Avheat The subject is important to 
the farmer, as it has much to do Avith the 
heeping qualities of his grain, as Avell as its 
A'alue for flour. Heartily commending the 
pamphlet to all farmers of this region, I 
pass to another constituent part of the grain 
of w'heat, novel perhaps to many’, if not to 
OA'cry American former. I take it from a 
French paper, “ The Annales de Chiniie et 
Physigned’ folio aa's: 
“ The corticle by’ AA'hich grains of Avheat 
arc enveloped, is formed of wood, to Avhich 
other matters so closely' adhere that no me¬ 
chanical means cun perfectly separate them 
from it. The husk Avhen removed, alway’s re 
tains some amylaceous matter,giving aAvhitish 
appearance to its inner surface, and Avhich 
is detached by’ Avashing Avith cold Avater. 
Since the Avood cannot be separated alone, 
there is thus a loss, in the process of sifting 
or bolting, of the nutratiA'e substances ad¬ 
hering to it. fl.’he amount taken UAvay of 
husk is equal from 15 to 25 parks out of a 
100 of the coarse farina. 
The removal of the husk causes a con¬ 
siderable loss in our Avheat and other grains, 
the husk being comparatively’ of little es¬ 
teem. It is supposed to be nourishing only’ 
to cattle. The consequence is that the 
more the farimi is sifted, the higher the 
price of flour and of course of bread. It 
Avas to ascertain the proportions of hu.sk 
(bran) to flour in Avheat from various cli- 
mate.s, Avhich led to the facts Avhich folloAv: 
I’he amount of wood in hard Odessa 
wheat of 1847, is___1.25 per cent. 
Do. in soft Odessa wheat of 1347,. 1.58 " 
Do. do. Northern do. do. . 2.:38 “ 
Experiments A5;erc then made to estab¬ 
lish the azote and gluten in the bran or 
husk, Avhich resulted as follows: 
Ist Experiment—100 parts gave 15.1 of gluten 
or albuminous matter. 
2d Experiment —100 parts gave 2.35 of azote and 
14.68 of gluten. 
Upon an examination of coarse farina, 
100 parts gave 2 of azote and 12.48 of gluten; 
and a further examination of fine sifted flour, 
100 parts gave 1.02 of azote and 12 of gluten.” 
Here avc arrit'e at the .singular fact, that 
the bran or Intsk contains more azote and 
more gluten than fine flour — in other 
words, that bran is rnore nutritious than fine 
flour; and this is precisely in accordance 
W'ith the examinations and deductions of 
Mr. L. C.. Beck, as given in the Seneca 
County report This result agrees also 
Avith experiments made by’ Dr. Magendie, 
of Paris, w'ho ascertained that “ a doff eatino- 
O O 
at W'ill of w'hite bread made from pure 
wheat, and drinking as it liked of common 
Avater, lived only’ 50 days, Avhile one con¬ 
suming exclusively the coarsest garrison 
bread, remmned in good condition, and in 
health altered in no w’ay’.” 
These experiments and results may Avell 
induce our fixrmers to examine more closely 
into their systems of feeding their families 
and their stock. Old Farmer. 
Dr. Holmes, in his report on the Berk¬ 
shire PloAving Match, amusingly describes 
a class of men Avho often figure as farmers, 
particularly' in the neighborhood of towns 
and A'illages. Merchants, bankers, and pro¬ 
fessional gentlemen, at ease in their circum¬ 
stances — ignorant of farming, its toils, and 
the eternal vigilance and economy necessary’ 
to ensure success — are apt to fancy it fine 
fun, to groAv corn and cabbages and raise 
calves, pigs, and poultry’; but unruly’ cattle, 
runaAA'ay horses, thistles and red-root, pig- 
Aveed and pidgeon grass, are more than they 
bargained for. The lady’ farmer has no 
company to her taste; the dairy Avhich look¬ 
ed so enticing in the distance, is a mirage. 
To her and the young ladies, if there be 
any, the inhabitants are louts and cloAvns 
one wild stormy' day and their cake is all 
dough — horrors and hypo reign supreme 
in the family’, and the ne.xt movement is, 
the piano’s and Turkey’ carpets are, toted 
back to the city and the Avhole concern voted 
an unmitigated bore. 
The Doctor thus Avittily’ hits off this class 
of farmers as serving on committees at a 
Countv Fair: 
“ PloAv-shares are to him, shares that pay 
no dividends. A coult-cr, he suppose.s, luis 
something to do Avith a horse. His notions 
of stock were obtained in Faneuil Hall Mar 
ket, Avhere the cattle look funnily’ enough, 
to be sure, compared Avith the living origi¬ 
nals. He knoAvs, it is true, that there is a 
difference in cattle, and AA’ould tell you that 
he prefers the sirloin breed to all others. 
His children are equally unenlightened. — 
They knoAv no more of the poultry yard 
than what they’ have learned by’ haA’ing 
the chicken pox and playing on a Turkey 
carpet. Their small amount of knoAvledge 
of Avool-groAving is Zami-entable. 
The history of one of these summer A'is- 
itoi-s shows that his rural education must 
be very imperfect. He no sooner estab¬ 
lishes himself, than he commences a series 
of experiments. He tries to drain a marsh, 
but only’ succeeds in draining his OAvn pock¬ 
ets. He offers to pay' for having a compost 
heap carted off, but is informed that it con¬ 
sisted of corn and potatoes in an unflnished 
state. He soavs abundantly’, but reaps little 
or nothing, except A\'ith the implement he 
uses in shaving, a process Avhich frequently 
is performed for him by’’ other people, tho’ 
he pays no barber’s bill. He builds a Avire 
fence and paints it green, so that nobody 
can see it But he forgets to order a pair 
of spectacles for each of his coavs, avIio, ta¬ 
king offence at something else, take his fence 
in addition, and make an invisible one of it, 
sure enough, in no time. And finally, hav¬ 
ing bought a machine to .chop fodder, Avhich 
chops off a good slice of his dividends and 
tAA'o or three of his children’s fingers, he 
concludes that, instead of cutting feed, he 
will cut farming, and so sells out to one of 
those plain, practical farmers, such as you 
have honored by’ placing on y'our commit¬ 
tee, Avhose pockets are not so full Avhen ho 
starts, but have foAver holes and not so many 
finders in them.” 
! P’riend Moore : — I am glad that you 
are about to undertake the publication of a 
neAv paper. Not especially because there 
is a deficiency of Aveeklies (in numbei-s) 
sen'cd up to the reading public; the great 
defect is in the quality rather than the 
quantity. In an intellectual soil so fertile 
as that of the Amei'ican people, Ave never 
need fear the Avant ot a luxuriant growth 
of some kind, any more than the farmer of 
our rich valleys and sunny hill sides need 
fear but something, either the rank thistle, 
or corn and tender pasture, ax'!!! clothe his 
fields. 
The fruits of actiA C minds and bu.sy hand.s, 
have yielded no more spontaneous produc¬ 
tions than in periodicals and ncAvspapcrs.— 
True, there are many A'ery A'aluable ones, 
the fruits of talent; deA'oted to the cause of 
immortal truth. In this, I rejoice; but Avho 
Avill deny that most of the more attractive 
sheets are the offspring of minds sadly over- 
groAvn Avitli “no.xious AA'ceds,” tending to 
soAv seeds of corruption in the hearts of their 
readers—especially' the younger portion of 
them. And, to pursue the figure, the rc^ui- 
er learns to admire the rank thistle, Avith its 
pointed thorns and poisonous breath, or the 
flaunting bramble, rather than the fragrant 
rose and tAvining jasmine. Thus the taste, 
as Avell as the affection, is perv'crted. 
No one, on Avitnessing the outset and pro¬ 
gress of most young men and w'omen of the 
presefft age, can fiiil to observe a sad de¬ 
ficiency’ in Avhat constitutes true education. 
The y’oung man leaA'es his academic or col¬ 
legiate course, Avhen ho has become able to 
go through the conjugation of a Greek verb 
flu^itly’, or giA'e the proper quantities to a 
fs^y lines of some heathen poet—AA'ithout 
stopping to study' for a moment the har¬ 
monious connection between the principles 
of science and the daily business of the 
farmer or mechanic — and thus a “great 
gulf” yaAvns betw'een him, (standing on 
the pinnacle of know'ledge,) and the lowly lot 
of the farmer, Avhich but fcAv have the hardi¬ 
hood to cros.s, and almost all of this few, 
(from a Avant of proper education, and cor¬ 
rect taste,) are destined to suffer the morti¬ 
fication of a foilure. The condition of the 
young Avoman on leaving school, is not much 
better, and thus educated, both cla-sses are 
emban-assed and perplexed. But this point 
deserves a longer notice than I can give it. 
Permit me to add, that the pages of the 
“Genesee Farmer,” since you haA'e con¬ 
ducted it, are a A'oucher to us, that the pa¬ 
per Avhich you propose AA-ill not foil to bo a 
source both of pleasure and profit. May 
success attend you, and it. 
\oui's truly, Gurdok Evans. 
De Ruyter htstitnte, Dec. 12, 1849. 
BREAKING STEERS. 
PiiiLOSOPiiv OF Farming.— -Here is the 
secret of good farming. You cannot take 
from the land more than you restore to it 
in some shape or other without ruining it, 
and so destroy your capital. Different soils 
may require different modes of treatment 
and cropping; but in every’ variety of soil 
these are golden rules to attend to. Drain 
until you find that the Avater that falls from 
the heavens docs not stag-nate in the soil, 
but runs through it and off it freely. Turn 
up and till the land until y’our foot sinks into 
a loose, powdry’ loam, that the sun and air 
readily pass through. Let no Avecds ocfflpy 
This is a favorable season for sledding, 
and Ave presume many of the boys are try’- 
ing experiments in breaking steers. Here 
is a plan (communicated to the Southern 
Cultivator,) Avhich appears quite practical 
and ea.sy. It is this: 
“Make a yoke four feet longer than usual; 
give room to put four boAvs instead of tAvo, 
as represented in the annexed figure.— 
Hitch a pair of Avell broke steers, one at 
each end of tho yoke, leaA'ing tAvo middle 
bow's for y'our unbroke steers. Noav hitch 
to your cart or sled, and put them at Avork, 
all four iji the same y’oke, and abreast.— 
They may cut some antics at first, but they 
W’ill soon find it best to obey the AA’ord of 
command. 
'I 
A B C D 
A D, old steers. | B C, y’oung steers. 
Don’t suffer them to be Avhipped, as is 
common i n breaking mules and oxen. Treat 
them gently Avhile you have them, hitched 
together, and you can break them with or 
Avithout lines. You will find this plan to be 
much better than having a half-dozen 
persons about them, beating and thumping, 
Avhooning and bawling for a Aveek or tw’O, if 
South Doaa’n and Leicester Sheep.— 
The tw'o most popular breeds of sheep in 
England, are South DoAvns and Lcicesters. 
C. Hilliard, an experienced farmer and 
breeder, suggests to the Council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society, the propriety of offer¬ 
ing a prize for sheep produced by a cross of 
these breeds. He uses the folloAA’ing arg-u- 
ments in favor of the proposition:’ “The 
South DoAvns do not come to sufficient 
Aveight of carcass in proportion to the quan¬ 
tity and value of the food consumed, and the 
Leicester do not produce a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of lean meat to the fat. By' an admix¬ 
ture of the two breeds—by putting a pure 
bred South Doavii ram to pure bred Leices¬ 
ter eAves, I haA'c, in the space of .six years, 
established a breed that I find yield a better 
profit in feeding than either the South Downs 
or Leicesters. Tho mutton is as fine as can 
be eaten, and the fleeces are of greater A'alue 
than either South DoAvns or Leicesters.” 
A Beautiful Extract. — Labor! — 
Why man of idleness, labor rocked you in 
the cradle, and has nourished y’our pam¬ 
pered life; AA'ithout it, the Avoven silks and 
Avool upon your back Avould be in the silk- 
w'orm’s nest, and the fleeces in the shep¬ 
herd’s fold. For the meanest thing tliat 
ministers to human Avant, saA'c the air of 
heaA'en, man is indebted to toil; and even 
the air by' God’s Avise ordination, is breathed 
with labor. It is only the drones Avho in¬ 
fest the InA'e of the active like masses of 
corruption and decay’. The^ ^rds of thq/ 
earth are Avorkingmeii ’ - - / 
njist doAA'ii at then 
