VOLUME 1. J- 
MOORE'S RURAL NEAV-YORKER, 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY. 
Office in Burns’ Block, corner of Buffalo and State 
streets, (entrance on State,) Rochester. 
CONBITCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
(Late Publisher and Associate Editor Gen, Farmer.) 
L. B. LANGWORTHY, Associate Editor. 
Corresponding Editors: 
ELON COMSTOCK, (former Ed. Central N. Y. 
Farmer,) of Oneida County. 
T. C. PETERS, (Editor of the Wool Grower,) 
of Genesee County. 
Educational Department by L. WETHERELL. 
[O’ For Terms, &c., see last page XI] 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-THURSHAY, JUNE 20, 1850. 
PROGRESS AND IRIPROYEMENT. 
CAUSE OF THE WESTERN PRAIRIES. 
; A WRITER in HunVs Merchants' Maga¬ 
zine, takes the ground that the cause of the 
Prairies, and the absence of timber, is attri¬ 
butable to the exhaustion of the pabalum 
or food natural to and required by forest 
trees, and the surcharge of the soil, with the 
excrementitious matter, or refuse of the 
roots, and absorbents; whereby the trees of 
the forests have become extinct. He quotes 
the opinions of geologists, that great chang¬ 
es have taken place, in the vegetable pro¬ 
ductions over the globe—that once gigantic 
ferns (brakes) had sole possession, wliich 
gave place to trees, and after they had ex¬ 
hausted the soil, grasses were the next in 
succession. 
Now. geologists know no more about the 
revolutions that vegetation has undergone, 
since the present fixed state of the soil, than 
any other observers, and the fern.s they 
speak of flourished, during thd^arboniferous 
period and coal formations, long antecedent 
to the creation and deposit of the present 
soil. The evidences that the vegetation of 
the old world, has not materially changed 
since its inhabitation by man, or since the 
earliest records, are abundant 
The wood found in digging wells in the 
Ridge Road, which has laid submerged 
since the recession of Lake Ontario, is of 
the same varieties that are now growing in 
that region, and there are some presump¬ 
tive reasons to show that that period was 
from 3,300 to 3,600 years ago. The whole 
theory of the exhaustion of food, and of the 
excreta of trees and plants, which is obnox¬ 
ious and fatal to their existence, may with 
great propriety be doubted, and there is 
nothing known during the experience of 
man, that warrants this supposition. In 
truth, it is an exploded theory. 
The fact that another Variety of trees 
succeeds the ones destroyed by winds or 
fires, or the axe, proves nothing to substan¬ 
tiate this doctrine. The change is mainly 
owing to the ability of certain seeds to lie 
inert for a long period and of others to des- 
tribute themselves over large tracts, by the 
winds, taking root in open and cleared 
places. 
On the Connecticut river, onions have 
been raised on the same spots for 60 to 75 
years. There are now plenty of meadows 
in various parts of the country, that have 
been mowed for the last 60 or 60 years, 
without change or diminution of grass. In 
the valley of the Sciota, corn has been an¬ 
nually taken from the same fields for 40 
years, without manuring or failure; and, in 
tliis county, we know of two instances where 
wheat has been taken from the same ground, 
one for 17 and one for 20 years, without ro¬ 
tation or manure or any falling off of crop. 
If the writer’s doctrine is correct, why is 
it there are no prairies, or naked country, 
east of the great Lakes ? Over this whole 
woody region there are evidences in the age 
of standing trees, in the lying and decayed 
ones, and the hummocks of a long peceding 
generation, that carries the forest state back 
1,000 or 1,500 years, and yet there is no 
decrease or feebleness of the forests—no 
loathing! or rejection of the pabulum the 
soil furnishes. 
The cause of the naked prairie land, is, 
in our view of the subject, attributable to 
it* being the hunting grounds of large and 
populous tribes of Indians, and being the 
range of immense heards of buffalo, elk and 
deer, and the destruction of the timber by 
fires to bring in the grasses, for-feeding- 
places for the animals. They are now an¬ 
nually burnt where the Indians hunt, and 
have been from time immemorial—at least 
since the Frenchfirst passed up the Missis¬ 
sippi, more than 200 years ago. 
The present white settlers on the margins 
of great prairies, to confine their cattle so 
that they can be found when wanted, as 
soon as the grass gets a little old, turn two 
fun’ows round a 10 or 20 acre space, and 
set back fires, and burn the grass entirely 
off. In the course of a few days, the new 
grass spring-s up, and all the cattle of the 
neighborhood are found on the burnt dis¬ 
trict; these furrows prove as good as a 
fence, the cattle never crossing them as long 
as the new crop lasts. 
The same process would be equally suc¬ 
cessful with wild herbiferous animals; and ' 
we have no doubt that this is the true cause 
and explanation of those immense naked 
plains, every where covered with grass and 
perenial weeds and flowers. 
WASHING BUTTER. 
There is no peculiarity in the manipula- 
tiono of buttoi' making, wliich is held with 
as much tenacity among the feminine pos- 
»essors of the art, as the good and bad ef¬ 
fects arising from Avashing butter after 
churning and before packing. One set of 
laborious, pains taking housewives insist up¬ 
on the necessity of Avorking the Avhey and 
curd out by the butter ladle, and honestly 
think that a drop of water used would ruin 
a lump as big as Chimborazo; while anoth¬ 
er equally reliable portion of the “ last, best 
gifts ” insist, that there is no way so good, 
quick and certain, as thorough washing with 
pure, cold water, Avhich can be done in any 
weather, and Avith one-half the labor of the 
ladle faction. 
On looking at the subject philosophically, I 
we incline to the washing theory, for many i 
reasons. In the first place there can no 
bad effects arise from the use of clean, cold 
water. Butter is strictly an oleageanous 
compound, in no way soluble in water, while 
♦very part of the residuum, after the butter 
is consolidated, is decidedly so, and by di¬ 
luting it with water, any particles left are 
not as concentrated and liable to decompose 
and pass through the cheesy fermentation, 
as if in their original state. Second: it 
matters not how much water is used, as it 
does not enter into combination Avith the 
oily mass of butter; and if the Aveather is 
hot and the water cold, it is in a state of 
hardness in a few minutes, to express all 
the Avatery fluids, and finish the operation 
at once—which, in the ladle process, re¬ 
quires a day or more of dool exposure.— 
Thirdly: the labor is incomparably less, as 
there is little harder work than butter ma¬ 
kers are subjected to, in Avorking it pure 
without the use of Avater. 
If any of our lady readers doubt our con¬ 
clusions, let them lay down a stone pot by 
each process, honestly and fairly done, and 
a pint of strong brine kept over the surface 
—and if on the first of May next, the hy¬ 
dropathic process is not the best, or as good, 
we will pay a round quarter for every pound 
of it. 
The weather is fine and favorable, and 
we have cheering reports concerning the 
crops in various sections of the State. 
THE COLD SUMMER OF 1816. 
Persons are in the habit of speaking of 
the summer of 1816, as the coldest ever 
known, throughout America and Europe. 
Having in our possession some facts relative 
to this subject, Ave propose to give them, in 
order to revive the recollections of such 
among us as remember the year Avithout a 
summer—also to furnish correct information 
for such as feel any interest in matters of 
this kind. We shall therefore fdve a sum- 
O 
mai-y of each of the months of the year 
1816, extracted in part from Peirce on the 
Weather” : 
January was mild—so much so as to ren¬ 
der fires almost needless in sittincr rooms. 
December, the month immediately preced¬ 
ing this, Avas very cold. 
February was not very cold—with the 
exception of a feAv days, it Avas mild, like its 
predecessor. 
March was cold and boisterous, the first 
half of it—the remainder was mild. A crreat 
freshet of the Ohio and Kentucky rivers, 
that caused great loss of property. 
April began Avarm and grew colder as 
the month advanced, and ended with snow 
and ice, Avith a temperature more like win¬ 
ter than spring. 
May, like the one just ended, was more 
remarkable for froAvns than smiles. Buds 
and fruits Avere frozen—ice formed half an 
inch in thickness—corn killed and the fieWs 
again and again re-planted, until deemed 
too late. 
June, the coldest ever known ia this lati¬ 
tude. VrAct and ice, fi'icl -ulDAV '.’.-ere com¬ 
mon. Almost every green herb killed.— 
Fruit nearly all destroyed. Snow fell to the 
depth of ten inches in Vermont — seA'eral 
inches in the interior of Noav Hampshire 
and Maine; and it fell to the depth of three 
inches in the interior of this State; it fell, 
also, in Massachusetts. 
July was accompanied by frost and ice. 
On the morning after the 4th, ice formed 
of the thickness of common window-glass, 
throughout Ncav England, Ncav York and 
some_ parts of Pennsylvania Indian com 
nearly all killed—some favorably situated 
fields escaped. This was true of some 
of the hill farms in Massachusetts. 
August was more cheerless if possible 
than the summer months already passed.— 
Ice was formed half an inch in thickness. 
Indian corn Avas so frozen that, the greater 
part of it was cut down and dried for fod¬ 
der. Almost every green thing was de-' 
stroyed, both in this country and in Europe. 
Papers received from England said — “It 
will ever be remembered by the present 
generation that the year 1816 was a year 
in which there was no summer.” Very 
little corn in the New England and Middle 
States ripened. Farmers supplied them¬ 
selves from the com produced in 1815, for 
seed in the spring of 1817. It sold from 
four to five dollars a bushel. 
September furnished about two weeks of 
the mildest weather of the season. Soon after 
the middle it became yerj cold and frosty— 
ice forming a quarter of an inch in thickness. 
October produced more than its usual 
share of cool weather—frost and ice common. 
November Avas cold and blustermcr.— 
o 
SnoAV fell so as to make sleighing. 
December was mild and comfoi-table. 
We have thus given a brief summary of 
the “ cold summer of 1816,” as it is called 
in order to distinguish it from other cold 
seasons. The Avinter was mild. Frost and 
ice Avere common during every month of the 
year, ^ry little vegetation matured in the 
Eastern and Middle States. The sun’s rays 
seemed to be destitute of heat through the 
summer; all nature was clad in a sable hue, 
and man exhibited no little anxiety con¬ 
cerning the future of this life. w. 
NOTES FROM HERKIMER COUNTY. 
Havino a few hours leisure, some days 
since, they Avere employed in visiting the 
rich and beautiful valley of West Canada 
Creek, in this county. The improving spirit 
of the age having graded the hills, filled up 
the hollows, and strqAvn the road Avith a 
coating of hemlock plank, the ride was 
pleasant and agreeable. LcaAing the Val¬ 
ley of the Mohawk at Herkimer, the high¬ 
way follows the course of the beautiful 
stream, called a creek, but Avhich should 
have been dignified by the title of riA'er. — 
I Our senses Avere feasted by the luxuriant 
I growth of the bottom lands, the diversified 
and picturesque scenery of the hills, each 
alike dotted by the unostentatious, though 
comfortable farm houses. 
Herkimer county has a Avorld-Avide rc- 
noAvn in her rich daries. It is indeed a 
goodly sight to view the large herds of cows 
quietly grazing the fresh grass—or more 
contentedly chewing the cud, while yielding 
the lacteal treasure to the gentle presure of 
the blooming dairy maid. More inviting 
and agreeable still, to enter the well arrang¬ 
ed dairy house, lined Avith large, well-formed 
rich cheese. To many of your readers, ac¬ 
customed to think only of a good crop of 
wheat as yielding Avealth worth seeking, a 
view and a knowledge of the richness and 
profits of the dairy, would be surprising.— 
In no portion of our State can dairies be 
seen to better advantage than in this lovely 
valley of the Konnedieyu River—the name 
by Avhich the stream Avas knoAvn among the 
Indians. Even her«i it may ju.stly be ques¬ 
tioned whether the best and mesrprofitaiblo 
system has been adopted. The cows are 
generally of the native breed, and too little 
regard given to the selection of even those. 
It is conceded that it costs no more to keep 
a cow of the best class, than a poor one; 
and it must be apparent that thousands of 
dollars are every year lost from inattention 
to this subject These remarks do not ap¬ 
ply to all dairymen, but it is feared it is true 
of too many. 
A strong prejudice seems to exist among 
the dairymen of the Mohawk agamst the 
innovations of improvement; especially in 
matters of farming and the dairy. It is 
perhaps not far from the truth to say that 
not a dairy exists in this district, made up 
of any of the improved breeds of cows. The 
only cause to be assigned for this lack of 
advancement and experiment, is to be found 
in the fact, that not one in five of the farm¬ 
ers or dairymen take an agricultuarl paper, 
or give any attention to the subject. Could 
the Rural Neav-Yorker be placed in eve¬ 
ry farm-house, a marked improvement might 
be expected, and with good promise of 
success. 
Another thmg should claim the attention 
of the tillers of the soil in this coimty—the 
subject of draining lands. The surface of 
the whole country’is somewhat broken, and 
dejeending toward the rivers. Hundreds, 
yea, thousands of acres, are springy, wet 
and foul, yielding little or no grass, or that 
of the poorer kind. This must be bad 
economy where grazing lands are worth from 
$30 to $50 per acre. Nearly all of this 
waste land could be reclaimed by proper 
draining and the use of the sub-soil plow, 
and more than $50,000 be added to the 
value of the farming lands m this one county. 
This is wandering wide of the mark of 
describing the valley of the “ Konnedieyu,” 
which must be postponed for another note. 
j^Iohuiok^ 1850b h. c. w. 
Correction.—I n the first article in our 
last number, an error appears in the para¬ 
graph relative to the Weevil. It should 
read—“ The Wheat Worm, erroneously 
called Weevil,” &c. 
-! NUMBER u. 
LETTER FROM VIRGINIA. 
Friend Moore: — Absence from home, 
on business, has prevented me from re¬ 
deeming my promise as promptly as I 
wished. I am much pleased with the 
Rural Neav-Yorker, and hope it will 
obtain the patronage which I am sure it 
deserves. The lectures of Prof. Johnston 
alone are worth many times the subscription 
and without them the paper is decidedly one 
of the best which I have seen. I should 
rejoice to see the day, when we can have 
such papers in this region. If Ave can pnly 
induce those of your farmers, who are 
swarming off from your thickly settled 
districts, to come to this fine region, and 
cultivate our noAv idle and waste lands, we 
could soon compete Avith you in your pub¬ 
lications and agricultural shows; and I 
verily belieA'e outstrip you in nearly every 
production of the soil. 
Solon Robinson, the traveling agent of 
“ Allen’s Agriculturist,” has seen much of 
the country. He has visited this region two 
or three times, and in the last number of 
that paper says:— 
. “ Taking into account the fertility and all 
the conveniences of navigable Avaters, and 
the products of the same, which add to the 
comforts and luxuries of life, and also the , 
mildness of climate, I believe the tide water 
region of Virginia offers the cheapest lands, 
according to their intrinsic value, of any part 
of the United States. Lands, that, imder. a 
moderate state of improvement and cheap 
system of fertilising by lime, marl, clover, 
or peas, o: by an application of 200 lbs. of 
guano to the acre, can bo mado to avera.go 
at least 12 bushels of wheat, or 30 bushels 
of corn to the acre; which can be bought 
at from $10 to $30 an acre, with good 
buildings and fences, within two days’ sail 
of New York, I hold to be very cheap,— 
Thousands of acres of timber land, or ‘old 
field’ land, in the same region, can be bought 
for $1 to $5 dollars an acre. I was lately 
offered a very productive, well-improved 
farm upon the ‘Glo’ster Low Grounds,’ 
lying upon the navigable waters of the 
Severn, for $25 per acre. This farm is all 
underlaid with rich marl only a few feet 
from the surface. 
“The ‘flat lands’ of the Rappahannock 
are worth from $10 to $20 an acre. The 
‘hill lands’ or ‘forest,’ are worth about half 
that sum, according to the state of improve¬ 
ment or locality. 
“ As to the quality of the people, it may 
be gathered in a great degree, from the fact 
that neither doctor, lawyer, judge, justice, 
sheriff, clerk, nor constable can five by his 
profession. In the county of Caroline. Avith 
20,000 mhabitants, for instance, I was told 
that a suit in court was almost unknown.— 
The sherifl’ has not had a Avrit in his hands 
this year, nor has a suit, either civil or 
criminal, been instituted in the justice’s 
court. 
“ I do not think that emigrants from any 
of the northern States have any more to 
apprehend on account of health, than they 
would in the west The condition of agri¬ 
cultural improvement may be imagined, 
when I tell my readers that nine-tenths of 
the plows used are the old ‘Freeborn pat¬ 
tern,’ little one-horse plows, and that land 
that is planted with corn one year, and 
sowed with wheat and weeds next, and then 
corn again, without manure, and yet people 
live, and the land does not become absolutely 
barren under such an exhausting system.— 
No wonder that land is cheap—for the 
OAvners don’t know its value.” 
This description will apply to the whole 
tide-water region of this State, while the 
advantages offered on the York and James 
Rivers, are even superior to those on the 
