MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
THE NEW-YOKKEK.-AG, EDUCATION. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —I am so 
much pleased to see progress made in the 
diffusion of agricultural science, in eradica¬ 
ting the shameful ignorance that has pre¬ 
vailed so long, that I cannot refrain from 
this humble manifestation upon the estab¬ 
lishment of a weekly paper devoted to the 
cause. It must be clear to ever}^ reflecting 
mind, that while wonders have been wrought 
by invention and improvement in all the use¬ 
ful arts and sciences, Agriculture, first in im¬ 
portance, has been measurably left in the 
rear. I think, however, the signs of the 
limes clearly indicate that the business of 
cultivating the earth is beginning to receive 
at the hands of all ranks in society some¬ 
thing of the attention its importance de¬ 
mands. Perhaps the fact that a farm can 
be procured so easily, constitutes one great 
reason, why farmei’S generally depend on 
the native strength of the soil, and are sat¬ 
isfied with such products per acre as their 
predecessors have obtained. Hence if you 
approach one with a proposition, to lessen 
the ardor of his labor, and yet bring about 
the same or better results, by adding scien¬ 
tific aid—if you offer to add strength, effi¬ 
ciency and succes to plain muscular force 
—you are rebuffed with, “Pshaw! away 
with your book farming.” 
When the grand secret comes to be 
known to farmers (through just such papers 
as this of yours,) that this bugbear, book 
farming, is no more nor less than simply a 
collection of fiicts, observations and experi¬ 
ments from farmers themselves, from which 
men of science have made useful deduc¬ 
tions,—and when the objectors begin to test 
for themselves, some of the eternal truths of 
chemistry and mineralogy, as applied to ag¬ 
riculture,— then, instead of the objections 
M-e now hear, we shall see, Avhat we ox(,(jht 
to have seen, long ago,—a good agricultural 
paper every Aveek taken and read in eA'ery 
District School. 
The day is at hand, I think, Avhen the 
farmer and his profession Avill rank as they 
should. Would not the inhabitants do far 
more tOAvard diff’usitig useful agTicultural 
knoAvledgc by causing every district school 
teacher to have a good agricultural paper 
actually read by the reading classes every 
^veek—eliciting such comments as the schol¬ 
ars may have learned at home—than by es- 
mblishing the great College now being- 
mooted upon? That Avould be, beginning 
at the foundation of the supei-structure, in¬ 
stead of the top. 1 have been somewhat 
knoAvn in your vicinity as a Paidagogos, and 
experience has taught me that, if you can 
avail yourself of youthful curiosity, or any 
r.atural bent of human thought, the difficul¬ 
ty is surmounted — they AA’ill drink in knowl¬ 
edge like Avater. Noav we knoAv the sensa¬ 
tions that are gratified by the reading of a 
good paper; oxnuis aures, &c. Et'ery ear in 
a Avhole school Avould be all attention—not 
for once only, but always. 
When I reflect hoAV many are horrified at 
the thought, that soil is frequently made by 
(.lisintegration, attrition or dissolving of rocks 
— and that this solution becomes the food 
for the growth of plants,—that to knoAV the 
ingredient in this solution from AAdiich a giv¬ 
en fruit or grain is eliminated, is to knoAv 
exactly the kind of manure required, I have 
some misgivings at your proximity to Au- 
Ijurn — for Ave knoAv hoAv poor Gallileo 
fared. This stolid abhorrence of scientific aid 
in agriculture, I am satisfied does not re¬ 
sult from Avant of talent or mental capacity 
in the farmer. All he needs is light on the 
subject. Our travelers tell us that the Eng¬ 
lish peasant, (ground to death with eternal 
tithing,) a mere vassal to an over lord, pro¬ 
duces his sixty bushels of wheat per acre, 
and polishes his farm like a garden. What 
then might our country be, with the mighty 
poAvers of science, added to the noble pride 
man feels in the consciousness that he cul- 
tiA-ates his OAvn ground ? D. B. Crane. 
Albion, Calhoun Co., Mich., Feb., 1850. 
Wayne County Agricultural Socie¬ 
ty.—A meeting of the Board of Managers 
of this Society Avas held at Newark, on the 
6th inst., for appointment of judges, and se¬ 
lecting time and place of holding next an¬ 
nual Fair. It Avas unanimously determined 
to hold tAvo exhibitions. The Fair for the 
Eastern District is to be held at Clyde, on 
the 19th and 20th days of September— 
for the Western District at Palmyra on the 
2oth and 26th days of the same month. 
Money got by gaining, is like a pyramid 
built of snow. 
METEOKOLOGICAL ABSTKACTS OF 1848 & 1849. SHEEP.— VARIETIES OF THE MERINO. 
BV leasdek avethekell. 
The folloAving abstract is from tlie Meteorologi¬ 
cal Observations kept in Rochester, during the 
5 'ears 1848 and 1849. The city of Rochester is 
situated on the Genesee River, seven miles from 
Lake Ontario : latitude 43'^ 8' 17" ; longitude 77° 
51' West from Greenwich, London. Elevation, 
506 feet above tide water. 
1348. 1849. 
Monthly mean temp, of Jan., 30.66; do. 23.14 
« “ Feb., 28.56; do. 22.13 
“ “ Mar., 32.25; do. 34.57 
“ '• April, 44.70; do. 41.85 
“ “ May, 59.72; do. 51.10 
“ “ June, 67.63; do. 66.01 
“ July, 69.23; do. 70.05 
“ '• Aug., 72.81; do. 69.23 
“ “ Sept., 56.20; do. 60.20 
“ “ Oct., 49.33; do. 48.26 
“ “ Nov., 35.81; do. 46.66 
“ “ Dec., 34.35; do. 28.01 
Annual mean temp, of year, 48..55; do. 46.68 
Highest degree of the year.. 94.00; do. 95.00 
Lowest_ 0.00; do. * 9.00 
Greatest annual range. 70.00; do. 55.00 
Warmest day in the year_Aug. 16; do. July 10 
Coldest.Jan. 10; do. Feb. 16 
Winds—North, .17idays; do. 33 days. 
Northeast,.24i “ ; do. 36J “ 
East, .11^ “ ; do. 7 “ 
Southeast,.33 “ ; do. 25i “ 
South, .23i “ ; do. 28 “ 
SouthAvest,.62 “ ; do. 59 “ 
West, .67 “ ; do. 55.J “ 
Northwest,.126i “ ; do. 120^“ 
PreA'ailing w'ind of the year, NW.; do. NW. 
Number of fair days,. 188i; do. 162 
“ of cloudy days,. 177^; do. 203 
“ of days Avhich rain fell. 111; do. 119 
“ of days AA’hich snoAV “ 57; do. 69 
“ of days. “ rain & snow 23; do. 14 
Am’nt ofrain& melted snow 32.03 in.; do. 32.87 in. 
First frost in autumn,.-Sept. 27; do. Oct. 2 
First snow in autumn,.Sept. 22; do. Oct. 30 
Robin first heard.March 8; do. March 9 
Maple tree in bloom.Mar. 28; do. Mar. 27 
Mean temp, of tlie Winter,. 
“ “ “ Spring,- 
30.48; do. 
26.54 
45.58; do. 
26.54 
“ '• “ Summer 
69.89; do. 
68.43 
“ “ Autumn 
47.11; do. 
51.71 
Number fair days in Winter 
29L do. 
21 
“ cloudy. 
61i; do. 
69 
“ fair days in Spring 
50il; do. 
39 
“ cloudy. 
41i; do. 
53 
“ fair days in Summer 
65 ; do. 
64.] 
“ cloudy. 
27 ; do. 
27 i 
“ fair days in Autumn 
40 ; do. 
45.i 
“ cloudy.. 
51 ; do. 
45i 
Amount of rain and melted 
snow, in Winter,.... 
7.45 in.; do. 
6.79 in. 
“ of rain. Spring,_ 
7.03 ; do. 
7.60 
“ of rain. Summer,. 
10.07 ; do. 
8.89 
“ of rain, Autumn,. 
6.53 ; do. 
11.39 
Number of days on which 
rain fell during April and 
May, (£-rass seasorij ). - - 
Do. from May 1 to end Aug. 
26; do. 
31 
55; do. 
50 
Do. from June 1 to end Oct. 
69; do. 
59 
Inches of rain in April and 
May. 
5.26; do. 
4.25 
Do. from June 1 to end Oct. 
15.80; do. 
16,97 
Mean temp. April and May, 
52.21; do. 
46.48 
Do. from MaA' 1 to end Aug. 
67..35; do. 
64.10 
Do. from June 1 to end Oct. 
63.04; do. 
62.75 
* 9 beloAv Zero. 
Mr. Laaves, a contributor to the agricultural 
journals of England, say-s that April and May con¬ 
stitute the grass season, on the island of Grea^ 
Britain. The Avheat season begins AV'ith May and 
ends with August; the turnip season begins Avith 
June and ends Avith October. The grass season 
here is from the 20th of April to the end of June; 
the Avhe'at season. May, June and the first half of 
July; the turnip season, from July first to the 25th, 
to the end of Septemlier. 
THE TEA PLANT. 
A PLANTER at Greenville, in South Car¬ 
olina, is now experimenting Avith Tea Plants 
brought from China, and finds that climate 
to be Avell adapted to its cultwation, as it 
thriA'es to admiration. He says: “The ex¬ 
periment leaves me nothing to desire; my 
expectations are fully realized. This plant 
gxoAA^s Avell, buds well, and flowers well; there¬ 
fore I do not perceive the slightest reason 
to doubt that the Tea plant Avill soon cover 
the sunny fields of the south, Avith as luxu¬ 
riant crops as the cotton now does.” He 
has one acre in cultiA-ation, and intends tliis 
spring to increase to forty. H6 thinks the 
plant AA'ould, Avith a little care, flourish on 
Long Island. 
We see no objection to thegroAvthof this 
plant in our country, as we have all the dif¬ 
ferent climates that any part of China has, 
where tea is groAvn, and there is no import¬ 
ant variation in the soils of one countrj' OA^er 
another. The failure, if any, Avill be found 
in the cost of labor to gather and prepare 
the herb for market. The price of labor in 
China is only about tAA^o cents per day, which 
would not pay for the corn the slave of the 
south consumes; and hence Ave think the in¬ 
troduction of the plant in this country, as a 
source of profit, Avill prove a failure. 
Economy.—A farmer in Rhode Island, 
now 52 years of age, states that he lAed with 
his father till 22 years of age; that liisfath¬ 
er never gaA’-e him but six cents spending- 
money, and nothing superfluous but one pair 
of boots; that at the age of 22, he hired a 
farm, for Avhich he paid a liberal rent; at the 
age of 25 he Avas married and has brought 
up a family of 15 children, 13 of whom are 
now liAung, the youngest is two years old; 
that the children of sufficient age have had 
a fair education; that he has neA-er owed 
more than he could pay at an hour’s notice, 
and has neA’^er paid OA^er 20 cents interest 
money: and is noAV worth a little property, 
notAvithstanding he commenced Avithout cap¬ 
ital, and his health for the last ten years has 
not alloAved him to do a full day’s work.— 
Claremont Eagle. 
[From the Albany Cultivator.] 
We haA'e seA-eral times been requested to 
gh'e “the specific marks” AAdiich distinguish 
the Saxon from the Merino sheep. 
The impracticability of laying down strict 
rules in reference to such distinction, will be 
in some degree obAious, when it is under¬ 
stood that Avhat is called Saxon is but a va¬ 
riety of the Merino, as Avill appear from a 
brief notice of their liistorj-. 
The Menno is undoubtedly a race of great 
antiquity, and from the earliest times has 
possessed qualities quite different from any 
other sheep. Under different circumstances 
the characteristics of the race have been 
someAvhat modified, and varieties under dif¬ 
ferent names have sprung up ; but in Eu¬ 
rope, the term Merino is applied to all the 
branches of the orig-inal stock. 
The Merino race has, in modern times, 
been chieff}" disseminated from Spain; tho’ 
that counti-)U is not, probably, its original 
home. We are informed of the early in¬ 
troduction to that kingdom of sheep of sim¬ 
ilar characters; and the name Mareno sig¬ 
nifies beyond the sea.* Pliny, and other 
ancient Roman Avritei-s, describe various 
breeds of Spanish sheep, distinguished by 
different colors, as black, red, and tawny.— 
Those bearing a reddish fleece, found in 
Baetica, Grenada, and Andalusia, Avere con¬ 
sidered of the finest quality. They Avere 
probably taken to Spain from Italy, Avhere 
they had been long knoAvui and highly es¬ 
teemed under the name of the Tarentine 
breed. Their introduction into Italy has 
been attributed to the Greeks, by Avhom the 
breed had been obtained from Syria and the 
coast of the Black Sea. 
History informs us that Columella, a col¬ 
onist from Italy, and uncle to a Avriter on 
agriculture of that name, introduced more of 
the Tarentine breed into Spain, during the 
fii-st century of the Christian era. It is cer¬ 
tain, howeA'er, that Spain possessed sheep 
Avhich Avere celebrated for the fineness of 
their avooI previous to this period. But in 
reference to the extent of the improvements 
effected by Columella, it has been obsen'ed, 
that “as Spain was at that time highly civil¬ 
ized, and as agriculture Avas the faA'orite pur¬ 
suit of the greater part of the colonists that 
spread over the vast territory Avhich then 
OAvned the Roman poAver, it is highly prob¬ 
able that the experiments of Columella laid 
the foundation for a general improA^ement in 
the Spanish sheep—an improvement AAdiich 
Avas not lost, nor CA'en materially impaired, 
during the darker ages that succeeded.”! 
It may be remarked, in piissing, that there 
have ahvays been Coarse-Avooled as Avell as 
fine-Avooled sheep in Spain—the former be¬ 
ing principally called Chunahs. The Span¬ 
ish gdvernment, at-an early day became so 
convinced of the great value of the Merinoes 
that a special edict Avas passed, proliibiting 
their exportation Avithout royal license.— 
This prevented a general spread of the race 
till after the overthroAv of the Spanish dynasty 
by the French, under Napoleon. 
For several years, the most A-'aluable Me¬ 
rinos in Spain Avere in possession of the CroAvn 
and its dependants. The principal flocks 
were the Escurial, Guadeloupe, Paular, In- 
fantado, Negretti, Montarco, and Agueixe.— 
These varied in quality, according to the skill 
and care which had been bestOAved in breed¬ 
ing and management. The Escurial Avere 
deemed superior to all the others in fineness 
of wooLj; 
Origin of the Saxon Merinos. —The 
I first introduction of Merino sheep into Sax¬ 
ony, was made in 1765. They Avere obtain¬ 
ed by a grant from tho King of Spain to the 
Elector of Saxony. “ One hundred and nine¬ 
teen ewes and one hundred and ten rams 
Avere selected principally from the Escurial 
flocks, then the King’s priA'ate property, un¬ 
der the care and management of the monks 
belonging to the monastery of that name, and 
Avhich Avere considered the finest sheep in 
the kingdom.” II Spanish shepherds Avent 
with the sheep, and remained till the Saxon 
shepherds could be instructed in the details 
of management. 
These sheep Avere bred Avith great care, 
under the direction of commissioners appoint¬ 
ed by the Elector to superintend the man¬ 
agement of his flock, and after the expiration 
of twelve years, or in 1777, another impor¬ 
tation was made from Spain, consisting of 
one hundred and ten rams and eAves. Ac¬ 
cording to Mr. Grove, these were selected 
from the best flocks of Leon, Escurial, Ne- 
gretti, Montarco, <fec., and Avere of very su¬ 
perior quality. 
From these stocks, the pure Merino breed 
rapidly increased in Saxony, and was finally 
extended into the neighboring German states. 
Its progress was at first strongly opposed by 
the prejudices of the people; but by the 
perseverance of the Elector and other influ¬ 
ential individuals it became perfectly na¬ 
turalised, and after the lapse of several years, 
the fleece of the Saxon was brought to a de¬ 
gree of fineness excelling the best Spanish. 
It is thus seen that the Saxon is identical 
in blood Avith the Spanish Merino — that 
the former Avere, in fact, derived from a se- 
* Hon. Wm. Jarvis. fY’ouatt. 
t For particular description of these varieties, see 
letter of Hon. Wm. Jarvis, Cultivator (or 1844, p. 
127; Youatt’s Treatise on Sheep, p. 156; and Liv¬ 
ingston’s Essay on Sheep, pp. 47, 48. 
11H. D. Grove. 
lection of the finer specimens of the latter, 
and that the superior fineness of the avooI of 
the Saxons is attributable to the system pur¬ 
sued in their breeding and management.— 
And here the question arises — Could not 
such an improvement be made in this coun- 
tiy^ as aatII as in Saxony ? We ansAver, yes: 
there is no reason why the application of the 
same skill and care to the same materials, 
should not produce the same results in Amer¬ 
ica as in Germany. There is nothing in our 
climate or soil Avhich naturally tends to the 
deterioration of the fleece; and in the hands 
of some of our avooI grOAvers, the finest stocks 
that haA'e been introduced from Spain and 
Saxony, liaAT maintained their standard for 
many generations. We haA'e had the Es¬ 
curial and other Spanish stocks, from which 
the finest Saxon sheep Avere derived; and 
where fineness of staple has been the object, 
their American descendants have possessed 
the quality, in a degree ahvays proportion¬ 
ate to the skill to Avhich they have been sub¬ 
jected. 
It does not, therefore, necessarily folloAV, 
that because sheep produce wool that is finer 
than ordinary Merino, they are Saxons, or 
that any of their ancostoi*s came from Sax¬ 
ony. We might refer, by Avay of illustration, 
to examples in our OAvn country, such as the 
flock of the late W. R. Dickinson, of Steu¬ 
benville, Ohio, and other flocks in Ohio, Vir¬ 
ginia and Pennsylvania, Avhich were derived 
from this.* The great fact to be kept in 
vieAA’ is, that the properties of animals, (in¬ 
cluding wool,) are modified by the influen¬ 
ces which are brought to bear on them— 
as food, climate, shelter, and especially the 
rules obsen'ed in the selection of stock for 
breeding. Thus the Merino sheep, in the 
course of several generations, may be made 
to produce either finer or coarser, longer or 
shorter avooI, than tho original stock. It js 
not uncommon to find among the descend¬ 
ants of imported Saxons of the finest kind, 
sheep Avhose Avool is coarser than much Avhich 
passes under the name of Merino. There 
is evidently a tendency in the A'ariety to re¬ 
turn to its primitive condition—a tendenc)- 
Avhich the breeder, if he possesses the requi¬ 
site knoAA'ledge and judg'ment, may overcome. 
The inquiry has been made, whether the 
shape or turn of the horns, affords any mark 
of distinction betAveen the Saxon and Span¬ 
ish sheep. 
We are not aAvare of any such distinction. 
The first Saxon sheep brought to this coun¬ 
try, had generally Avide spreading horns; 
many of those lately imported, have their 
horns curved close to their heads. It is aa'cII 
knoAvn that the turn of the horns in sheep 
and cattle, varies Avith the caprice or fancy 
of the breeder. 
The French or Rambouillet Merinos. 
—The breeds of sheep originally belonging 
to France, varied in character Avith the face 
of the country, and the nature of the pas¬ 
ture; but until the introduction of the Me¬ 
rinos, they generally produced coarse avooI. 
It might naturally have been expected that 
as the country was only separated from 
Spain by the Pyrenees mountains, the valu¬ 
able Merinos would have supplanted the 
breeds above mentioned, at an early day; 
but such Avas not the case. In the begin¬ 
ning of the last century, hoAvever, the French 
statesman, Colbert, at his OAvn expense, con¬ 
veyed seA'eral Merinos across the mountains. 
Thirty years afterwards, a feAV more Merinos 
AA'ere introduced; but the prejudices of the 
people effectually prevented the spread of 
the breed; and nothing important was ac¬ 
complished toAvards their establishment in 
the kingdom till 1786, Avhen the French 
government took up the matter, and obtain¬ 
ed in Spain 376 Merinos. They Avere se¬ 
lected, according to M. Gilbert, (as quoted 
by Living'ston in his Essay on Sheep,) from 
a great number of Spanish flocks in differ¬ 
ent parts of the kingdom. Sixty of them 
died on the passage. The remainder Avere 
sent to Rambouillet, about forty miles from 
Paris, where the govenimenthad an agricul¬ 
tural establishment devoted to the improve¬ 
ment of domestic animals. Many of the 
sheep and lambs Avere destroyed by A'arious 
diseases in the coui'se of the first year. 
NotAvithstanding these disa.sters, the Ram¬ 
bouillet flock gradually increased. To fa¬ 
cilitate the spread of the breed, a publica¬ 
tion on the treatment of sheep, was draAvn 
up by M. Gilbert, under the patronage of 
the government; a practical school for the 
instruction of shepherds Avas instituted, and 
two other depots for Merinos AA-ere estab¬ 
lished. But Avith all these efforts, the in¬ 
troduction of the Merinos Avas comparative¬ 
ly slow; for AA'hen, (as stated by Youatt,) a 
census of the sheep in the kingdom was 
taken, tAventy-five years after the establish¬ 
ment of the Rambouillet flock, there Avere 
thirty millions of the native breeds, and only 
two hundred thousand pure Merinos. What 
has been their comparative increase since 
that period, aa'O have no means of ascertain¬ 
ing ; but as the French people enjoyed a 
long peroid of quiet and prosperity, and 
greatly increased their manufactures of eve¬ 
ry description, after the peace of 1815, it is 
reasonable to suppose that the Merinos arc 
now extensively reared in the kingdom. 
* For an account of tlie origin of Mr. Dickinson’s 
flock, see Cultivator for 1848, pp. 10, 11. See also 
accounts of the origin of the flocks of John H. Ew¬ 
ing, Washington, Pa., Talbot Hammond, Brooke 
county, Va., and Jesse Edington, near Wellsburg, 
Va., in the American Shepherd, pp. 414, 419, 429. 
The principal alterations Avhich the Me¬ 
rinos appear to have undergone in France, 
are increase in size, and in Aveight of fleece. 
What has been the average increase in these 
respects, we have no data to show. Some 
Avhich have been imported to the United 
States, have Aveighed 200 lbs. each, and 
haA'e produced fleeces, of one year’s groAvth, 
weighing, in the dirt, from twelve to four¬ 
teen pounds. An English Avriter, describ¬ 
ing the Rambouillet sheep, observes: “The 
Spaniards, entertained an opinion tliat a 
looseness of skin under the throat and other 
parts, contributed to the increase of fleece. 
This system the French haA'e so much en¬ 
larged on, that they have produced in this 
flock indiA'iduals AA'ith dewlaps almost down 
to the knees, and folds of skin on the neck, 
like frills, nearly covering the head.” 
It has been mentioned above that the 
French Merinos were originally selected 
from many flocks in different parte of Spain; 
and hence, according to Gilbert, “ they 
Avere distinguished by very striking local 
differences, which formed a medley disa¬ 
greeable to the eye, but immaterial as it af¬ 
fected their quality.” It is probable that 
the differences which at first existed in the 
flock, have operated to prevent an assimila¬ 
tion to a uniform standard in shape and 
size of carcass and quality of aa'OoI. 
Relative Profits of different Vari¬ 
eties of Sheep.— It is to be regretted that 
Avith all the controvei'sy and strife between 
the advocates of different varieties, little or 
no light is brought out in reference to the 
main points Avhich affect their relative prof¬ 
its. It is true that different varieties are 
adapted to different circumstances; and be- 
tAveen tAvo localities, for instance, differing 
widely in soil, herbage "and climate, it may 
not be difficult to say which of tAA'd breeds 
is best adapted to each. Nevertheless, 
there are situations in A\'hich the varieties 
kept in this country chiefly for the product¬ 
ion of Avool—Spanish, Saxon, French Meri¬ 
no, &c.,— may be deemed to meet on an 
equality. SucL situations are farms Avhich 
are Avell proA'ided AA'ith shelter, and AA'here 
summer, and AA'inter feed is abundant and 
Avholesome. 
Noav as regards the production of wool, 
Avhat variety would yield the greatest prof¬ 
it under these circumstances ? In answer¬ 
ing this question, it is not sufficient to refer 
to the AA'eight of the fleece, to the price it 
Avould bring in market, or to the aggregate 
amount in money Avhich each sheep annual¬ 
ly affords. Neither nor all of these can set¬ 
tle the point. Nor can it be fully determin¬ 
ed by a comparison of the net proceeds af¬ 
forded by the wool of different kinds, in pro¬ 
portion to the Aveight of the carcass—though 
it is admitted that this would be an approx¬ 
imation tOAvards the desired result. But 
Avho has eA'en made a fair and reliable trial 
of this kind? The true test, hoAvever, is 
comprehended in the question—What vari¬ 
ety Avill yield the greatest income in propor¬ 
tion to the land occupied, and the labor ex¬ 
pended in management ? It is in reference 
to the point here inA'olved, that we Avant 
light. Who has ever taken tAvo different 
parcels of land, of equal quantity and qual¬ 
ity, appropriated one part to one variety of 
sheep, and the other part to another—care¬ 
fully charging each Avith their respective ex¬ 
penses, and crediting the income. 
It seems to us important that measures 
should be taken to bring out inforfnation on 
this subject AA'hich can be depended on; and 
Ave Avould suggest that it is a proper ques¬ 
tion to be decided “by agricultural societies. 
In their hands, the experiments might be 
carried on free from the bias Avhich belongs 
more or less to individual rivalry. Let a 
committee of judicious and disinterested 
men be appointed, under whose superinten¬ 
dence and direction the trials shall be con¬ 
ducted; and, that the point aimed at may 
be fully ascertained, let the trials be contin¬ 
ued through a series of five years— the re¬ 
sults from year to year being made public 
under the sanction of the committee. 
Sun-Flowers and Bee-Millers.— Oui- 
homely old friend, the sun-flower, is likely 
to add another item to its useful qualities, as 
a protector to bees from the bee-moth. A 
scrap AA'hich avc find in the Michigan Far¬ 
mer, says: “ Last season I alloAved about 6 
sun-floAvers to groAA'near my bee-hives; when 
in floAA-er they attracted the miller, AA'hich 
fed on them late in the evening, appearing 
quite stupid, so much so that I could pick 
them off Avith my hands and deal Avith them, 
as I could Avish. I am now trying several 
experiments with my bees,” &c. <fec. 
The bees themselves like the broad shi- 
ney face of this jolly looking, old-fashioned 
flower; and if the bee-moth likes it too, 
enough to get drunk upon its sweets, and 
thus be kept out of the hives, it is Avorth 
AA'hile to plant them around the apiary for 
the double purpose of food and protection 
to the bees.— Maine Farmer. 
Receipt for a Rider.— Keep your head 
up, chin doAvn, chest forAA'ard, shoulders 
back, elboAvs in, hands doAvn, back in, belly 
out, fork forward, thighs fixed, knees in, legs 
close, heels doAvn, and toes in. Trot tAvo 
hours a day Avithout stirrups, loins loose, 
seat firm, hand tight, horse and rider well 
balanced, and then time and perseverance 
may make you a horseman. 
