MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO 
Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanic Arte and Sci¬ 
ence, Education, Rural and Domestic Economy, 
General Intelligence, the Markets, &c., Ac. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
A9918TED BY 
J. H. BIXBY, L. WETHERKLL, and II. C. WHITE. 
Contributors and Correspondents: 
products and modes of culture of England, draining and spading practiced in the barberry, &c. Clover succeeds well here WIRE FENCE NOT A BANDONED YEff 
I must give a brief view of its geological country. . as on all sandy soils,—so also, do potatoes, number vl 
character. The climate is mild and not subject to which are sound, very large, and when " , T . 
„ , , ,, , , -i , , , , ° t»„. _ . Messrs. Editors: — Althougu I hare no 
geology of englanix extremes of heat and cold; 1 he average or boded, mealy and of good llavor. Hut most . T . 
, , . . b , , . , , . . , , , . , disnosition to abandon Wire Fences, 1 m- 
This includes specimens of the whole mean temperature in summer is 42 ' F., and of this land is devoted to garden vegetables . e 
„ 1 . „ 1 n „ vr , , . T j , . n 11 i tend to stop writing about them before 
series of rocks, from the primary found in in winter 02° K Near the sea the climate for the London markets. Cabbages here , b T , 
. ’ , v \ . ...... , i ,i | . .1 t i your readers become satiated, but I have 
the mountains of the west, to the lowest is very humid; this circumstance, although occupy the ground almost the whole year J . . . 
, ’ „„ . „ J ■ . . ... " A , r .-l • . • something to say as to the size ot wire best 
tertiary, found in the south-east parts. The it favors the growth, does not facilitate the in one way or another. In this vicinity are ^ ^ in-ikin r of fence When the 
intermediate strata are found between these ripening of most vegetables. For this rea- also some large fens and bog lands, with g rs{ n ^ be t . d j. ed 0 f the im- 
two points. In Cornwall and Devonshire, son the soil produces the most luxuriant here and there a sand hill or strip of dry re8g j n w . ls vor general that small wire 
are points at which granite, serpentine, fel- herbage, roots and all garden plants. The land. These lands are now being recovered, ^ anBwer ^ Durp0 se and many ex- 
NUMBER VL 
Messrs. Editors: —Although I hare no 
I>. B. JLanoworthy, 
William Gardott, 
K. P. Chapman, 
David Ely, 
Myron Adamr, 
II. P. Norton, 
F. W. Eay, 
T. PL Wktmore, 
R. B. Waurrn, 
Archibald Btonr, 
Chester Dewey, ll. d., 
J. Clement, 
W. Wallace Siiaw, 
R. G. Pardee, 
Samuel Moulson, 
Jah. H. Watts, 
W. K. Wyckopp, 
W. H. Bristol, 
W. D. Allis, 
h. D. Whitish. 
And numerous others—practical, scientific, and lilwory 
writers—whose names are necessarily omitted. 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
LETTERS ON 
EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE, ETC. 
BY M. M. RODGERS, M. D. 
BNOLAND. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
London, December, 1S50. 
D. D. T. Moore, Esq., — Dear Sir: In 
commencing a series of letters on agricul¬ 
ture and other subjects connected more or 
less directly therewith, a few general re¬ 
marks are necessary in order that the 
sequel may be correctly understood and 
comprehended. The agriculture of most 
European countries, is in many respects 
widely different from that of the United 
States of America. The Southern States 
to: cxampk\ produce rice, cotton, cane, and 
tobacco, which can never be cultivated as 
successfully in any part of Europe. The 
Middle States produce Indian corn, whicli 
is little cultivated here. The Eastern States 
yield as good butter, cheese, and wool as 
any in Europe; but perhaps no country, 
Chili excepted, yields more luxuriant pot 
vegetables than England. This is owing 
to its having a humid and mild climate.— 
From these peculiarities of products, the 
modes of farming are of course different in 
many respects. Pot herbs and roots, in this 
climate, occupy the ground a greater part 
of the year, and admit of a different rotation 
from that required in wheat farming. The 
cheapness of human labor and the. high price 
of animal labor, also give a different turn to 
the economy of the farm here. Spade till¬ 
age of course will never be much resorted 
to in a wheat growing country, where manual 
labor is high: hence, in Europe, particularly 
in the vicinity of cities, roots and garden 
vegetables are more profitable than any 
other crops. 
The high protective tariff, which is placed 
on the importation of certain articles of farm 
production, gives en ouragement to the dif¬ 
ferent branches of .rming, and thus a 
different direction from what it might other¬ 
wise assume. The market has also an 
important different in determining the kind 
of products of p . ular localities, and even 
whole States. 
The leasehold id tenantry system liere > 
also, have their inllucnce in changing the 
original agriculture of the country. An- 
othei cause which has a more important 
influence than one could believe, who has 
never vim ed Europe, especially England, is 
the apparently inherent taste of Englishmen 
foi j.'irticuta; branches of farming, and for 
athle tic pu aits. His love of dogs and 
horsi c. in'.tees him to breed, train, and 
educate them to greater perfection than 
perhaps any other civilized people. His 
passion for flowers causes him to cultivate 
th. cm wherever a blade or shrub will grow. 
Bat tie. most important point, with the 
exception perhaps, of climate, in determining 
the! capabilities and agricultural products of 
anu country, is its geological structure. In 
Oft r therefore, to give a better idea of the 
spar and porphyry occur, with slopes of timber which is left standing is of sturdy and becoming valuable. periments were tried with wire varying in 
different varieties of slate resting on them, growth and great value; the forest trees are The bogs contain peat and humus suffi- ^ from 1Q ^ 24 Bu( . nQW j- thinfe 
This granite is largely used for paving in oak, beech, elm, ash, chestnut, sycamore,, cient to cover the sandy surface and furnish t onden cy is to the other exteme. X 
London. The Welsh mountains are mainly poplar and willow. The vine was once cul- the organic matter necessary,—and the tried all wires from No. 5 to 24. and 
varieties of slate, with volcanic rocks, such tivated, but now only in small patches, the sand hills are dug down and carted away bay ^ bad rep i a( . e jj} sm aller than No. 12 
- 1 a _ _ __ ! _ „ i .1! IV _j. nlirwnlA if 41 a rx w iLol intn rvuiruLfuJ ir\ fill fLom n n • iLlU . _ 
one hundred miles long and five to ten and peas. Turnips, potatoes, beets, carrots and underdraining are necessary. All the ^ mucb more 2i a ble to be scaly and 
broad. The northern range of mountains and ruta bagas are cultivated most success- brush and shrubs growing in the fens and . ^e finer kinds. I am confident 
consist mainly of slate rocks, with one of fully;—hemp and flax to some extent. Pot on the dry lands, are cut and saved for fuel 1 q wd j be f oun( i tlu* most prdfita- 
granite in Westmoreland. Between these herbs grow in great luxuriance and variety, and wicker fences for the new fields. After an d sufficiently strong for all fences in 
two ranges runs a strip of lower secondary. The fruits which thrive best are the apple, this is done, and the little rubbish left be- ^ interior of the farm 
containing rich coal fields, which extend pear, cherry and plum. And last of all, hind is burnt, a moderate dressing of ashes, A writer in the Cultivator Almanac re- 
from Exmouth through Bath, Gloucester, England produces nearly one hundred thou- lime, plaster and barn manure, make it an coramends jj () 7 'for all street fence T ful- 
Leiccster, Nottingham, Tadcaster, to Stock- sand acres of hops annually, which are excellent soil. The expense is of course j co j nc jj (l w j t }j ^hat this No is tie■ 
ton on the river Tees. These coal beds mainly used in that heaven forsaken busi- great, and the process slow,—but still it most BU i t . l } ) ] e f or t j le two U pp Cr wires 
have made England the richest manufac- ness, the manufacture of malt liquors; and pays abundantly so far as yet tried in the answer f or a n p> e low them. X 
turing country in the world. The eastern on this very circumstance depends much of vicinity of good markets. This is not the i iave tried twisting four wires (No 12 ) to>- 
parts of Durham and Northumberland are the misery of the poor as well as other classes only process of recovering waste lands, but „. et j i0r where a strong wire was wanted for 
also rich in coal. Another coal field whicli of the population of many States of Europe, the only one we can describe in this place. railint** to a side walk, 
supplies Manchester, extends from Maccles- The Isle of Wight, off the coast of smithfield market. a g ^ M wpll . . nw T 
near Liverpool. Another large field ..n ] on g by 13 wide. It has a mild climate, 01 g rouna > ucany in me centre 01 London, 
Staffordshire, supplies Birmingham. like that of England, and some very beau- an ^ on vei 7 where the famous 
To the east of a line from Exmouth tiful scenery. It is mostly high open downs martyrdom ot John Rogers, took place.— 
to Bath, extending thence through Glou- in the centre and bold cliffs on the shore. It is partitioned into several hundred per- 
supplies Manchester, extends from Maccles- The Isle of Wight, off the coast of smithfield market. And ^ f may ^ weU tell how j cftme 
field to Oldham, and thence to Prescott, Hampshire, south of Knr’r.M. is 23 miles This market place contains twelve acres j ^ ^ h ^ %o; . , ^ 
near Li-'crpool. Another large field u lon^r bv 13 wide. It has a mild climate of ground, nearly in the centre of London, rt ’ r , 
0 „ . .. ,. , wu{, ujf ro wiue. xi uw » uuiu uimait, ? . , , . built my first line of street fence, I became 
Staffordshire, supplies Birmingham. like that of England, and some very beau- and on the vei 7 P lace where the famous annoved with v il| at r C 00 W a,— 
To the east of a line from Exmouth tiful scenery. It is mostly high open downs martyrdom of John Rogers, took place.— ^7. wou ] d sta ^ t out j n t b e morning in 
to Bath, extending thence through Glou- in the centre and bold cliffs on the shore. 1S partitioned into several hundred per- bands of bf tcen or twenty and as Uu-7de- 
cester, Lecicester and Tadcaster to Stockton, These cliffs are in some places chalky and manent pens for sheep and cattle;—here at pend wholly upon their stealings for a av- 
arc found rocks of secondary formation, broken, and exceedingly picturesque. On stated days each week, are brought all the . ^ soon become exceedingly adroit at 
such as red sandstone, red marl, limestone, the west end of the Island are some per- animals slaughtered in London. On the t j ie ’ buginee& Tb ey would inserUheir heads 
clay oolite, green sand and chalk. In pendicular spicula of chalk rocks separated first market day after my arrival I saw five between ^ wireg) some balf doiaea 
connection withered marl, are found large from the main land, called “ the needles.” thousand seven hundred and ten head of ^ tbem a dine and wdb un jted force 
strata of rock-salt, which is dug in Cheshire This land is highly cultivated, and yields beef cattle, and thirty-one thousand three 8tri ve to reach the -rowing corn, which as 
and WoT&stershire, for domestic purposes, the same products as England. It has two hundred and fifty sheep,'—all of fine quality. ow ta.ller leaned toward the fenc ‘ md 
Between Dorsetsliire and Yorkshire are enterprising villages or towns—viz., Cowes Large as this number was, nearly all of ithin dieir reac h. They never^broke 
found many remains of large extinct species and Newport, which are delightful summer them were sold before twelve o’clock in the ^ ^ ^ w i r es—but it was 1 con star - an.- 
of saurian reptiles. The oolitic limestone resorts. The Queen has .Jso one of her morning. The cattle were mostly oxen, of ^y ance to see tbem reaching after ever .' 
of Portland is extensively used in building, summer palaces here, called the “ Osborne the Durham, Hereford and Devon breeds, * , , b . * , 
of them at a time and with united force, 
strive to reach the growing corn, which as 
it grew taller, leaned toward the fence and 
came within their reach. They never broke 
any of the wires—but it was a constant an¬ 
noyance to see them reaching after every 
blade of corn or grass that gew along the 
The chalk exists everywhere south-east of House.” with a few Holderness and curly haired fence rfh eyen ^ ^ pW3J[)km 
a line commencing near Dorchester, and , The soil in the vicinity of Southampton, Welch varieties. Their value ranged from v j np(j within their reach Short p>.st 3 of 
passing through Welts, Berks, Norfolk, and is a rich sandy loam, and produces fine crops ^5 to $250 each. ., incb b;md iron were p i aced onca m 
so or. to Flamborough head, excepting in of grain. Here are some of the best farms The sheep were mainly Southdowns, f eetj and fastened to each wire by winding 
Sussex and Kent, and the bed of the river I have ever seen. They are perfectly clear Lincolnshires and half breeds,—very large ^ aP w j fe around tbem both This poet 
Thames, near London, where it has been from stumps and stones, and beautifully, as and fine, and sold for $6 to $25 each. j extended up to the fourth wire and 
carried away by denudation, and thus ex- well as durably fenced with thorn hedges, Many sheep dealers prefer the half breeds | n te nde d only to prevent howspresamg 
posing the Wealdean group and some ter- which are trimmed and trained with the to all others—they are large, and have fine between the wires The cows inserted their 
tiary clay beds. Vertical beds are often utmost uniformity and neatness. On these Iontr wool. The Southdowns, shown here, . , , . .. nww | . 
" . . .. J A . , ,,. , b , „ . , . heads above these snort posts, ana were not 
found m the granite of Cornwall; these larms are seen no waste land, no rubbish, were much smaller than any other variety. ^ re8tl . a j ned b them 
mines have been wrought since before the no indication of poverty or neglect; all is The English rather eclipse the Americans a At this ‘uncture I bethought me of \ 
Homan conquest Copper Is also exten- order, tlirift and beauty; even the thatched in raising animals,—but they do it at a great —h j n T a sidewalk Posts were placed 
sively found in this district in veins, in cottages of the tenantry, who do the work, expense, and whether it pays well or not is s ;vt v feet at the distance of six feet 
connection with tin ore, and sometimes lead, are comfortable and neat, and often orna- a question that can hardly be answered, f ro m the fence and on one side of mv lane 
zinc, and antimony. A large mine of cop- mented with flowers, vines and shrubs. even here. ^ strained a larg 
per ore in the Isle of Anglesea, has long Near Winchester, on the road from South- In ra y next letter 1 sha11 S Ive y ou 80me y ther side I twU 
been wrought, but is supposed to be now hampton to London, the chalk hills show account of the Smithtield Annual Fair and th These 
nearly exhausted. Iron is next to coal in themselves above the surface, so that at Cattle Show, which I had the good fortune , 
vines within their reach. Short posts of 
J inch band iron were placed once in five 
feet, and fastened to each wire by winding 
a small wire around them both. This poet 
only extended up to the fourth wire and 
was intended only to prevent hogs pressing 
between the wires. The cows inserted Shexr 
At this juncture I bethought me of a 
railing to a side walk. Posts were placed 
once in sixty feet, at the distance of six feet 
I strained a large wire, No. 5, and on the 
other side I twisted four wires of Na 12 
together. These wires were about three 
nearly exiuuisteu. iron is „c« to coal... themselves above the surface, so that at Latue ™x nau u ,e goou.orvnne fe = ^ ^ answered ^ 
.mportance, and » extensively diffused thro'- these points the soil is too thin to produce to attend last week. It was a splendid af- for a whae> the cow. began to 
out England, but is chiefly wrought in the anything worth cultivation; only the poorest f,ur ' ““ Pr ",7 Albert, and P „1 under them, and then I placed anoth- 
..laalwali_ \ - 1 __1 r *a _ _ _ . . rvinntr nlhDr nnhlDQ tinmro/1 (Jrnrom onH “ 7 * 
this, may yet nearly all be recovered and this kind of soil is oak, pine and poplar; dds and hope to sec something 
, j ,, . , . . . . . 1 /• 1 w • . about it soon in the Rural. j. e. b. 
made productive by the thorough system of with an underbrush of hazel, ferns, jumper Henrietta n y Feb m isti 
Yours, &c., Myron Adams. 
Ea»t Bloomfield, Feb. 19, 1H51. 
... - J -O ’ - J -I--- ,, , 1 n 111 J CniWl IU1UCX UlCUl. »uui a ljic*v.e,ui 
vicinity of coal beds, on account of its use crop of grass can be grown,-and this, per- ma ^ other n ° bleS ’ fi f red ^ er one foot below the first wire—and the 
in smelting the ore. The principal iron haps hardly sufficient to sustain one goose r "‘ . aw ‘ ly - J '' cu,e * or cow , own ed up beat and passed by. 
districts are Staffordshire, Worcestershire to eaoh m The so a here as seen at the ob,amin 8 ““f 1 Me “ It roav be said that this adds quite an 
and Yorkshire. In Staffordshire clay is edges of the clifls where they crumble away greet as I could wish. I have invitations to ; ^ „f a wire fence-and 
extensively used in pottery, bricks and tiles, is only from one to three inches in thickness spend some time on a model farm, and also P in re i that I had 
The great south-east division of England is and plowing, in most places, impracticable; an experiment at a farm a few miles eMmi(s to contend Had 
nearly level, with a soil in which clay or m yet the British small farmer will in from Ij0mlon - . 1 sl,,J1 ">y*M «f been such that I could have 
chalk prevails, according to the character of som e way, inconceivable to an American, opportunities m spring, if Providence will ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ of earth „ Je6crlbeJ[ 
the substratum: a few sandy tracts arc dis- d i g from such a soil, a comfortable subsis- P< '-- ; n the second number of these letters, I 
persed oyer this division. In the mountain- tencc. Sweet Potatoes.— Mr. Moore: I saw lt wou J d have obviated the necessity 
ous districts the soil is such as results from Near London, in this direction, the chalk in No. 3, of the present volume, an article () f ^his extra expense, 
the disintegration of the rocks beneath;— disappears and the soil becomes sandy, and on “the sweet potato,” by a correspondent Here let me say to all those intending to 
in the north this has a mixture of peat. rather light and poor,—yet, by good tillage in Macedon, N. Y., proposing to inform try tboir band at a w | re fence, not to make 
Englandhasas a general rule afertilesoil, and constant rotation and manuring, good your readers of a successful method of rais- a fence for the first experiment It ia 
—about eight-ninths being arable and only crops of almost all kinds are produced.— ing and keeping this delicious esculent. I tefe} hoped t^ a t no farmer keeps bis own cat- 
one-ninth incapable of tillage,—but even Here, as in the United States, the timber of f °r one, should be glad to know more ol 8 ham set as these village cows we. 
xt- __ .a .... i ii i. . i • i • i <* •, • i i i this matter, and hone to see Komethimr 1 1 ° 
