VOLUME II. NO. 12. I 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.- 
-THURSDAT, MARCH 20, 1851. 
WHOLE NO. 64. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO 
Agricultaro, Horticulture, Mechanic Arts ancl Sci¬ 
ence, Education, Rural and Domestic Economy, 
General Intelligence, the Markets, &c,, &c, 
CONDUCTED BY D. B. T. MOORE, 
AS31STED BY 
J, H. BIXBY, I*. WETHER ERL, and H. C. WHITE. 
Contributors and Correspondents: 
!►, B. La no worthy, 
William Gardutt, 
8. P. Chapman, 
David Ely, 
Myron Adams, 
H. P. Norton, 
E. W. I.ay, 
T. E. Wrtmork, 
R, B. Warren, 
Archibald Stone, 
Chester Dewey, ll. d,, 
J. Clement, 
W. Wallace Shaw, 
R. O. Pardee, 
Samuel Moulson, 
Has. H. Watts, 
W. K. Wycko rr, 
W. H. Bristol, 
W. D. Allis, 
L. D. Whiting. a 
And numerous ottKrrs—practical, scientific, and literary 
writers—whose names are necessarily omitted. 
FK©<GiIS3ESS AND IMPSOVEKIENT, 
LETTERS OH 
EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE, ETC, 
BY M. M. RODGERS, M. D. 
FRANCE. 
Paris, February 12, 1851. 
D. D. T. Moore, —Dear Sir: Before 
writing anything on the agriculture of 
France, 1 intended to give you an outline 
of its Geology; bat not having had time to j 
arrange it in a condensed and systematic 
form, so as to make it intelligible, I shall 
postpone it until another letter. 
SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS. 
The soil in the vicinity of Bologne, in 
Artois and Picardy, is generally a light col¬ 
ored rich loam, containing a small propor¬ 
tion of sand and many organic remains, such 
as marine shells, fish and reptiles. The 
general face of the country is uneven, but 
not very hilly. At this place the cultivated 
fields are, some of them, from fifty to two 
hundred feet above the level of the sea,— 
and how the remains of marine animals 
came to be almost universally distributed 
through the soil, even at considerable depths 
from the surface and great distances from 
the sea, is not satisfactorily explained.— 
Several suppositions, some one of which 
must be true, are made to explain such ef¬ 
fects in all similar cases. 
On this soil, good wheat, grass, barley 
and fair root crops are produced. During 
the entire winter thus far, wherever I have 
been in France, the fields are green, and 
various hinds of roots, such as beets, car¬ 
rots, turnips, onions, and parsnips, as well as 
asparagus, celery, cabbage, brussels buds, 
cauliflower, lettuce, aromatic herbs, &c., are 
green and fresh, and some are in process of 
cultivation. Plants of the cabbage family 
are sown or transplanted some seasons, every 
month in the year. 
A leguminous plant called the lentil, is 
much cultivated here for the table, and also 
as food for animals. The seed resembles 
the common pea, excepting that it is flat¬ 
tened like a lens, and in some varieties 
covered with a green skin or envelope.— 
"When cooked, it has the flavor of green 
peas, and is an excellent winter vegetable. 
A small varie ty of cabbage, called “ brussels 
buds/' the heads of which do not exceed 
a small Madeira nut in size, is also much 
tultivated. Artichokes are much cultivated 
for pickles. The various species of clover, 
sainfoin, <fcc., form the principal hay in use. 
Indian corn is but little grown, the season 
not being sufficiently long and warm to 
produce the most perfect Peas and beans 
of many varieties are produced in great 
plenty and perfection. 
In this district there are many splendid 
farms, most of which are poorly cultivated, 
and not otherwise as well managed as wo 
at home might suppose, from the exaggera¬ 
ted accounts usually given of the beauty 
and luxurious productions of France. Tim¬ 
ber being scarce, and nearly all of small 
growth, there is little available material for 
fences,—-the farms consequently haye a 
naked, thriftless and inhospitable appear¬ 
ance. This destitution of fences, doubtless 
changes to a considerable extent, the char¬ 
acter of the agricultural products, and the 
economy of the farm. The few fences 
which exist, are made of posts, wire and 
small slats, with a few willow and thorn 
hedges, and some stone wall. 
In the vicinity of Neufchatel, in Picardy, 
the land is more flat and wet, and conse¬ 
quently requires thorough draining. This 
however, is much neglected,—there being 
few farms which haye the necessary num¬ 
ber of well constructed ditches, or other 
means of drainage. About Abbeville, the 
soil is also wet, but is of better quality, and 
under better cultivation,—yet here, also, 
draining is neglected to a great extent— 
There are here, a few handsome straight 
ditches, and better fences; timber being 
more plenty, the whole aspect of the coun¬ 
try is much changed. Less fruit and grain, 
aucl .more root crops are grown. 
About Amiens, the surface of the coun¬ 
try becomes more undulating, and chalk 
hills are large and numerous: the soil con¬ 
tains a large per centage of chalk and lime 
marl, which renders it rather poor and not 
well adapted to general cultivation. Be¬ 
tween Amiens and Paris, the soil grows bet¬ 
ter by loosing a large part of its chalk, which 
is replaced by silicious sand and clay. The 
farms are better, though by no means well 
cultivated, and some of the residences are 
both beautiful and comfortable, as well as 
picturesque. 
BUILDINGS, CLIMATE, ETC. 
The rural architecture of France resem¬ 
bles that of England, though inferior in 
neatness and durability. Perhaps more 
taste and fancy are displayed in the archi¬ 
tecture here, but more skill in combining 
utility, neatness and durability there. Most 
of the better buildings are stone or brick, 
with slate or tiled roofs; the castellated, 
gothic, half gothic and cottage styles, are all 
used. Out houses, gardens, parterres and 
ornamental moats, hedges and trees, are 
numerous about fine residences. The dwell¬ 
ings of the poorer classes of peasantry, are 
constructed of wood, stone or sticks and 
mortar, and roofed with boards, tiles and 
straw. They are built on, or near the 
ground, often very low and small, and badly 
lighted and ventilated. 
The climate being moist, and in summer 
cool; though sufficiently warm most of the 
year to dispense with fires, and fuel more- 
oyer being scarce, the inmates live much 
of the time in a damp and often cold atmos¬ 
phere. This, together with the use of linen, 
almost exclusively, for bedding and under 
clothing, produces colds, catarrhs, rheu¬ 
matism, scrofula and other diseases;—these 
become hereditary, and thus the inhabitants 
of this mild climate become degenerate and 
enfeebled to a considerable extent by virtue 
of their climate alone. 
A large part of the field work is done by 
women, as in Germany and the Netherlands 
—while the men are either idle or engaged 
in doing their teaming or marketing. On 
the fields may often be seen wooden toothed 
harrows or wheel plows, such as have been 
laid aside or recently patented in America. 
These are drawn by horses, oxen, mules and 
asses,—sometimes one or two,—sometimes 
all together in one team. The horses are 
mostly of smallish size, and of the varieties 
resembling the English cart horse, and what 
is commonly called the French horse. 
And while on this subject, I may men¬ 
tion the circumstance, that both men and wo¬ 
men, often take the place of horses in the 
labor of teaming. They may be seen al¬ 
most daily, both in country and city, har¬ 
nessed to carts and wagons as heavy as 
most of those used by our farmers, and 
drawing heavy Inafls of wood, wine, coal, 
vegetables and merchandize. The harness 
is made of strong leather, and attached to 
the body, and to the vehicle by traces, in a 
manner similar to that of horses. The 
peasantry daily bring their products to mar¬ 
ket in this manner—though perhaps more 
generally with teams of asses or mules;— 
often-times the proprietor of the load tugs as 
the cart with his donkey, who has too much 
patience or civility to complain, as he knows 
his worthy master aspires to.no state supe¬ 
rior to his own,—that is, merely to exist .— 
Thus they toil on to the end of their journey 
and the end of life;, enjoying all the bless¬ 
ings of animal comforts consistent with their 
physical organizations, and all the equality 
guarantied them by the ** Republic Fran- 
cais.” Thrashing is done mostly perhaps 
by the flail, but to some extent also by the 
machine. 
f IND-M 11, X. 3. 
A large part of the grain, on the sea coast 
particularly, is ground by wind-mills: they 
grind a very good quality of flour, but not 
as fine as our “ superfine” brands. Large 
quantities are exported in sacks of about one 
hundred pounds each, to Great Britain and 
other countries. From the unucertainty of 
the motive power and the small size of 
which these mills must necessarily be buil t, 
flouring in most of these districts is a 
branch of farming, and not an extensive and 
distinct commercial and manufac turing busi¬ 
ness, as in the American 'Mates, Many 
large farmers own a mill and do their own 
flouring, together with more or less custom 
work. These mills are usually about fifteen 
feet square, of light timber, and set upon a 
frame-work, which turns on a pivot, so as 
to adapt the sails or fans to«the direction of 
the wind. The fans are made of sail cloth, 
and attached to four arms, each about 15 
feet in length. The* fans are from six to 
eight feet in width and set slightly inclining 
from the plane of the arms, which last are 
attached to a horizontal shaft: this shaft is 
geared to a vertical one which turns the 
stones, which are of small size and revolve 
usually with less rapidity than those pro¬ 
pelled by steam or water. 
On many accounts, this kind of mill has 
advantages. They occupy but little space 
and require small investment in building 
and keeping in repair. The machinery is 
simple, and the motive power costs nothing. 
They may be built almost any where, and 
one man is competent to do all the labor ot 
running one,—and this may be done at a 
season of the year when there is the least 
to do on the farm. At this season there is 
fortunately, more wind, 'which is in favor 
also of the enterprize. Wind-mills are com¬ 
mon through the country and in the vicinity 
of Paris. 
FRUIT AND FRUIT TREES. 
Fruit of all kinds, excepting grapes, in 
the north of France, is of inferior quality 
and medium size. The appearance of the 
fruit trees alone, is sufficient evidence that 
the climate is not the most congenial for 
their perfect growth. They are nearly all 
of smallish size, scraggy, and covered with 
moss and other parasites: this is consequent 
upon the climate being moist and the 
weather in summer cool. The fruit is also 
fibrous and astringent, and wants the sweet 
juicy quality, which can only be developed 
by a long season of warm or hot weather. 
Apples, pears, plums, cherries, and goose¬ 
berries, are abundant: and even at this 
season of the year the market is well sup¬ 
plied with pears, apples and grapes. 
I have seen a few apples and pears here 
from the south of France, which were of 
enormous size and great beauty,—some of 
them measuring six inches in diameter: but 
as they cost several francs each, I concluded 
they were not common. I have lately had 
an opportunity of examining oyer 20 boat¬ 
loads of apples brought to the market, from 
the country up and down the Seine; they 
were mostly of the greening, gilliflower, 
spitzenburg and swaar varieties; and of 
small size and inferior quality. 
PARIS MARKET. 
This presents a widely different aspect 
from our own, particularly at this season of 
the year. Distinct markets are established 
for the sale of horses, cattle, calves, sheep, 
fish and vegetables, butchers meat, poultry, 
salt, grain, butter and cheese, fruits, flowers, 
eggs, milk, medicinal herbs, &e. Through 
the entire winter, the markets have been 
well supplied with various kinds of roots, 
salads, squashes, aromatic herbs, <fec., in 
profusion and perfect freshness. 
I give below the respective prices of va¬ 
rious articles as nearly as I can gather them 
from the journals, and by inquiry at the 
markets; they of course fluctuate at times, 
and differ somewhat in different parts of 
Paris. 
Wheat per Uushol $1; Hoar per hundred $2,- 
50; beef do. $10; mutton do. $7; veal do. $8; 
lard do. $12; tallow do. $10; pork do. $9; butter 
per pound 20c; cheese do. 20c; eggs per doz. 20c; 
potatoes per bushel 12c; apples do. 20c; onions do. 
63c; beans do. $2; peas do. $2; lentils do. $2; 
beets and carrots do. 50c; cabbage per hundred 
heads $3; turkeys, each $2; geese do. 75c; chick¬ 
ens do. 50c. 
In my next letter I shall give some ac¬ 
count of t.ho Veterinary College and Horse 
Hospital, at Alfort, and also of the linen 
blcacheries and porcelain factories of Sevres. 
ABOUT STRAW - CUTTERS. 
Eos. Rural New-Yorker: — Though 
young in the science of farming economy, 
I am old enough to believe that I want a 
good cutting box or straw-cutter, and that 
such an article is needed wherever there 
is stock to feed. 
“Well,” perhaps you may say, “go and 
buy one, and not bother us with the mattei.” 
Now, buying one is what I wished to talk 
about. I have made enquiries for some 
years past of the venders of the article, 
and find that they hold them at from $12, 
to $18. After what experience I have had 
in mechanical business, I am unable to 
bring myself to believe that the article 
should cost the above prices. Though I 
have never made a balance wheel or a cut¬ 
ting box, I think they could be afforded for 
less, and that the increased sale would pay 
better profits to manufacturers than present 
prices. If mistaken in their cost, I can only 
say that I must wait until I can afford to 
pay the prices asked. 
Those cutters that accomplish the best 
work with the simplest machinery, are to 
be preferred—and if they could be afford¬ 
ed at lower rates, many would be found 
where at present there is no probabiiity of 
their making their appearance. 
Yours, Ac., c- b. v. 
Lcxli, N. Y., March, 1851. 
Tomatoes a Cure for Scours in Pigs. 
—If your pigs are taken with the scours, 
feed them tomatoes, and it will cure them; 
at least, w T e have cured them in this man¬ 
ner. Some will not eat them alone, but if 
thrown in along with other food they will 
devour them greedily. 
"Worms in Swine. —A neighbor of ours 
has cured the disease in swine called kidney 
worm, repeatedly, by giving them corn 
soaked in ley. Breeders should give their 
hogs plenty of salt and brimstone and their 
swine will rarely be troubled with diseases. 
Leonade. 
PLOWS-THEIR FORM, & c. 
Plows at the present day, are 80 much 
improved over those in use a few years 
since, that there is hardly an absolute bad 
one now produced; but yet from its being 
the all important, and primary article of 
husbandry, it behooves every tiller of the 
soil to use all his sagacity, in procuring the 
best constructed, and those of the least re¬ 
sistance, that the country produces. 
Let the farmer think how he feels under 
the operation of a bad razor, a dull or 
hard cutting scythes, and consider that 
his horses do not possess the ability to ex¬ 
press thought, and articulate ideas, and he 
will see the necessity, and find it Li s duty 
and interest to think and choose for them. 
There is a great difference in the draft 
—the resistance of two plows doing the 
same quality of work. A good and easy 
running plow, should not have a tendency 
to run on its nose, nor require riding to 
keep it in the ground. 
A perfect plow, if there was no obstruc¬ 
tion, and the soil was perfectly homogene¬ 
ous, should require no holding; it should 
be so constructed that the resistance on the 
land side, should exactly balance the pre-s¬ 
ure on the mould board. But as ail. soils 
vary in their constituents, and contain more 
or less stone or other obstructions, this can¬ 
not be expected; yet that plow that comes 
the nearest to that requirement, an c. holds 
the easiest, is the best article, and will do 
the best work 
A plow should be long on the land-side, 
and if intended for sward plowing, long on 
the mould board, and of that curvilinear 
form, that equal advance of all its parts, sho’d 
produce equal elevation of the furrow slice. 
In plowing green sward, if it & desirable 
to lay the furrows flat, the plow should be 
set to take a slice wider than the heel of 
the share can cut, leaving a part to act as 
a hinge to turn upon; and when desired to 
lap the furrow, cut narrower and deeper so 
that the tail of mould board shall shove it 
a little out of place. 
The lapping process is altogether prefer¬ 
able, for the ordinary summer fallowing, 
and in all cases, except when the seed, fol¬ 
lows a single plowing; in which case the 
furrow cannot be too flat, and the grass 
edges too perfectly hid. 
No good sward plow is fit for cross plow¬ 
ing. It is another operation and requires 
a different plow—a shorter mould board, 
more sudden twist; as breaking and tho¬ 
roughly mixing and comminuting, is more 
important than simply turning over and over. 
A plow should never be used, (except 
among corn bills,) without a guide roller. 
It is one horse easier to the team, and 
makes far superior work, especially in green 
sward. Those plows with long and slim 
shares, or points, which have a spare blade 
cast on them, answer all the purposes of the 
most expensive coulters, and in some soils do 
better work, and are a far cheaper article. 
There, Mr. Editor, are my views on the 
subject of plows and plowing. If any of 
your readers wish to controvert any of the 
points laid down, the field is open to them 
on my part L. Manly. 
Orleans Co., N. Y., 1851. 
Chip Manure. —This is often thought of 
little value, and as often wrongly applied. 
The Mass. Ploughman remarks that “ Chip 
manure is not suitable for potatoes or for 
trees. It is very commonly full of worms, 
and when potatoes are manured with it they 
are rough and scabby. Trees should never 
have manure that is wormy. Chip manure 
is good for grass lands, as it keeps the soil 
pose and as there is not much loss from 
I evaporation.” 
