VOLUME I. I- 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1850 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, ■ 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY. 
Office in Burns’ Block, corner of Buffalo and State 
streets, (entrance on State,) Rochester. 
and openings, a section of country is pre¬ 
sented of surpassing beauty and fertility, 
and one which ought, in our opnion, to sat¬ 
isfy the most anxious seeker after fine farms. 
Garden Prairie, Hock Prairie, Jefferson 
Prairie, and others, would seem to be the 
perfection of farming lands. Allowing for 
all drawbacks, and there are many to be 
considered, we regard this as a magnificent 
country, and one which may well attract 
the attention of persons desirous of settling 
in the west, but who are not williner to en- 
counter the inconveniences of an entirely 
new country. There are many opportuni¬ 
ties for purchasing fine prairie farms in the 
immediate neighborhood of pleasant villages 
and good society, for from four to eight dol¬ 
lars per acre. These lands are of the finest 
quality, and are moreover ready for the 
plow and for immediate cultivation. These 
lands are generally owned by non-residents, 
having been entered at government price 
many years ago. Considering the advan¬ 
tages of schools, of society, of churches, and 
of public improvements in progress or pros¬ 
pect, there are many inducements to locate 
in this section in preference to the cheaper 
lands in the far Avest . The great drawback 
of bad roads and remoteness from markets, 
is likely, in a great degree, to be overcome 
by the construction of the numerous plank 
roads already projected, and the Chicago 
and Galena Railroad, the Milwaukee and 
Mississippi Railroad, and the numerous 
branches to connect the villages in the in¬ 
terior with the mail lines. Thcsc improve¬ 
ments once completed and the farmer of the 
Rock River country is in direct 
PROGNOSTICS OF THE WEATHER. 
Weather prognostics are numerous and 
various, and are the result of long and pa¬ 
tient observations made by farmers, gard¬ 
eners, shepherds, travelers, fishermen and 
sailors. These different classes of 
rain in the forenoon, it creeps to the top, 
and remains there till the weather is settled. 
Previous to wind, it keeps in rapid motion, 
and seldom rests, till the wind begins to 
blow. If a remarkable storm of thunder 
and rain is to succeed, it lodges some days 
before continually without the water, and is 
very unea.sy and convulsed. In frosty, as 
well as in clear weather, it lies at the bot¬ 
tom- and during snow or rain storms it keeps 
at the mouth of the phial.” 
The swelling of wood, the sweating of stone 
and iron, and the snapping of the strings of 
musical instruments, are signs of rain. 
Thus have Ave attempted to enumerate 
some of the very numerous prognostics of 
the weather. The ability of foretelling the 
weather is generally connected with some of 
these or of similar indications. He who ob¬ 
serves with the greatest accuracy will be¬ 
come weather-wise. Sailors, shepherds and 
farmers are usually, if intelligent men, good 
prognosticators of the weather. The barom¬ 
eter Ave regard as the best weather-glass or 
foreteller that man can have. This instru¬ 
ment is noAv sold for a A'ery low price; and 
no farmer, after having one in his house for 
six months, would be without it for tAvice 
its cost. 
CONDUCTED 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 tlie Wool Grower,) 
of Genesee County. 
Educational Department by L. WETIIERELL. 
O’ For Terms, &c., see last page. JJ) 
persons, 
spending most of their conscious hours in 
the open air, become toeatlier-wise. Indi¬ 
cations of changes in the weather are fur¬ 
nished by instruments, such as the ther¬ 
mometer, barometer and hygrometer,—by 
the sun, moon and stars,—by the atmos¬ 
phere,—by vegetables and animals of va¬ 
rious kinds, and many other local signs too 
numerous to mention. 
Dr. Forry, a celebrated meteorologist, 
says that “the barometer usually rises 
the morning till 9 or 10 o’clock, and in 
then falls till 2 or 4 o’clock, to ascend 
again. Any contrary movement indicates 
a change of weather. If the mei’cury sinks 
loAv in warm Aveather, it is a sign of a storm. 
In winter a high rise indicates cold weath¬ 
er ; if it falls it is regarded a sign of a thaw. 
The direction of the wind should be noted 
in connection with these observations.” 
Solar and lunar halos, mock-suns, or sun- 
dogs, as they are sometimes called, mock- 
moons and other like appearances are indi¬ 
cations of rain. “A red evening and a 
gray morning are sure signs of a fair day.” 
Clouds assume various forms which indi- j 
cate either fair or foul weather. The cirrus \ 
or mare’s tail forebodes wind and rain.— ! 
The cirro-stratus is a thin gauze-like cloud, I 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
TIGHT vs. OPEN BARNS. 
“ A penny saved, is as good as two pence earned." 
The Agricultural journals of the present 
day are well calculated, (if properly read 
and judioiouoly- followorj,) to rendor (artaa 
and larm labor productit’e. But what pro- 
fiteth it to a farmer to be able to raise many 
and large crops, if he does not know how to 
save them? 
There is a great diversity of theory as 
well as practice among farmem in regard to 
open and tight barns. One class will keep 
all their barn doors open during haying and 
harvesting, and for some time after, to let 
the air circulate through, and carry oflF the 
warm vapor or steam from their mows of 
hay and grain. Another class, will make 
their barns tight, and keep all the doom 
shut as much as possible, to prevent the 
cold air from condensing the warm vapor or 
steam before it can escape from their mows 
of hay and grain — knoAving, as they say, 
that if the contained air is kept confined it 
will become quite Avarm, and the vapor from 
their hay and grain will rise in it, and find 
its way out at the top of the barn: where¬ 
as, if the cold air is allowed to come in con¬ 
tact Avith their mows, it will condense the 
vapor at or within the surface, thereby pro¬ 
ducing ruinous consequences. 
Now, Avhich of these two classes is most 
correct in theory and practice? In my 
opinion, the former class could not adopt a 
better Avay than their own, to defeat their 
object. It is well known among farmers 
that it is necessary to have hay dried more 
for stacking, than for putting it into barns; 
but the true reason Avhy it is so, is not so 
well known. I Avill attempt to ffive a^rna. 
communi¬ 
cation Avith the best market and his lands 
nearly doubled in value. 
We have alluded to the drawbacks upon 
successful farming in the section of country 
under consideration. They are perhaps nu¬ 
merous, but the most prominent are—1. 
Want of an adequate market for farm pro¬ 
ducts, at remunerating prices, near home. 
2. A lack of timber for fencing and build¬ 
ings; and 3. A deficiency of water in many 
places. The ansAver to the first we haA’e in 
a considerable degree anticipated. Altho’ 
there is every Avhere at the Avest a scarcity 
of capital, the Railroads referred to will be 
constructed at no distant day and will afford 
ample outlet for all the vast products of this 
region. Plank roads are being constructed 
from the lake shore to the.interior at seve- 
tops of the hills. Its appearance along 
streams of water soon after sunset is a sio-n 
. ® 
of fair weather. 
“An evening red and morning gray, 
Will set the traveler on his way ; 
But an evening gray and a incrning red. 
Will pour down rain on a traveler’s head." 
A rainbow, or thunder, in the morning, 
is an indication of foul Aveather. If there 
be no deAV in the morning, in the summer, 
look out for rain before night; and if the 
deAV be so heavy as to drop from the trees, 
you may expect rain within three days.— 
Clouds moving in different directions, and a 
high wind, are fore-tellers of a storm. 
The vegetable kingdom is not Avithout its 
prognistics of rain. The closing of the floAv- 
ers, on a dull day, of the anagaUis arvensis, 
has caused it to be called the Poor Man’s 
Weather-glass; the common name of this 
plantis Scarlet Pim-pernel. The Tragopo^ 
gon and Calendula merit the same name. 
Animals furnish many indications of 
changes of the weather. The frequent leap¬ 
ing of fishes above the surface of the water 
—the SAvallow’s skimming near the surface 
of land and Avater—the crying of owls and 
peacocks during the night—the snuffing of 
the air by cattle, and licking just above the 
forefoot—the frisking of the hogs—-the hast¬ 
ening of bees to the hive, tfec., &c., are sigTis 
of rain. Chronic pains are more violent than 
usual just before a storm. A disagreeable 
languor is the precursor of thunder shoAvers. 
“The leech, kept in a common eight ounce 
phial, three-fourths full of water, (changed 
once a week in summer and tAvice in win¬ 
ter,) and covered Avith linen cloth, is a sure 
prognosticator of the alterations in the 
weather. The folloAving are its indications: 
In fair Aveather it lies rolled up at the bot¬ 
tom, in a spiral form. When it is about to 
or even glance at its agricultural condition, 
will find at the close that he has done jus¬ 
tice, neither to himself nor the g'reat sub¬ 
ject before him. This letter—commenced, 
as its date indicates, in Wisconsin, and fin¬ 
ished in Chicago, on the Fourth of July, 
amid the din and confusion of a celebration 
of our National Independence, and with 
the numerous military companies of Chica¬ 
go, Mihvaukee and Cleveland here congre¬ 
gated, performing their evolutions directly 
before our window — doubtless partakes in 
a good degree of the rambling and disjohit- 
ed circumstances under Avhich it has been 
Avritten, and should be read under the ex¬ 
ercise of a liberal spirit of charity. To our 
readers Ave simply promise in closing not to 
inflict upon them another of equal length 
in many a day. c. 
Mk. Moore: —I saw, in No. 19 of your 
valuable paper, a method to prevent ants 
from troubling bees. I think I have tho’t 
of a A'ery good plan. Make a bench with 
four legs, to set the hives on. Place each 
leg in a small crock of Avater. This Avill 
keep all creeping things from the hive. 
Wm. Laverick. 
llulberton, Orhans Co., 1850. 
A Fact for Dairy Women.— Mr. J. B. 
Philbrook, of HardAvick, Vt, kept upon his 
farm, last year, three coavs, from AA’hich his 
mother, a lady ninety-three years of age, 
with his assistance, made in nine months, 
nme Imndredpounds of butter, 800 of which 
Avere sold. 
