CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
assisted by 
J. H. BIXBY, L." WETHER ELL, and H. C. WHITE. 
Dr. M. M. RODGERS, Foreign Correspondent. 
Contributors and Correspondents: 
I, . B. Langworthy, Chester Dewey, m.. d., 
William Garbutt, J. Clement, 
S. P. Chapman, D. W. Ballou, Jr., 
David Ely, R. G. Pardee, 
Myron Adams, I. Hildreth, 
II. P. Norton, Jas. H. Watts. 
T. C. Peters, W. K. Wyckope, 
F. W. Lay, W. II. Bristol. 
T. E. Wetmore, Wm. Perry Fogo, 
R. B. Warren, S. Luther, 
Archibald Stone, L. I). Whiting. 
And numerous others—practical, scientific, and literary 
writers—whose names are necessarily omitted. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be unique and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to make it a Reliable Guide on the important Practical 
Subjects connected with the business of those whose inter¬ 
ests it advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News Matter 
—interspersed with many appropriate and handsome en¬ 
gravings—than any other paper published in this Country. 
KIT For Terms, &c.. see last page. 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION. 
Considering the subject one of much 
interest and importance, we take the liberty 
of publishing the subjoined letter by J. 
Delafield, Esq., the President of the State 
Ag. Society, addressed to the President of 
each of the County Societies, containing 
the excellent suggestion that a collection of 
minerals and soils from each County be 
made and exhibited at the next State Fair 
in this city. We hope this matter will be 
acted upon, and that our worthy President 
may see the specimens he desires brought 
in from every county. 
We publish the circular for the farther 
reason, that our so doing may induce a far¬ 
mer here and there, to inquire into the na¬ 
ture of his soils, and in many instances lead 
perhaps to the discovery of some mineral, 
salt or ore, rendering his farm more valua¬ 
ble than he at present dreams of. The dis¬ 
covery of a bed of Phosphate at Crown 
Point should instigate farmers to examine 
their possessions. One may find a rich 
carbonate another a valuable phosphate, 
others may find mineral ores; —either will 
richly repay the investigation. Not that 
he should neglect his manure heaps, for 
they are beyond price,—but that he may in¬ 
cidentally add to their value, thus using an 
important means to increase his income. 
The inquiry leads to a wide field, and we 
cannot doubt but good will result from it. 
No farmer can know too much relative to 
the constituents of his soil, and all who 
give the subject dttention may receive a 
commensurate return, in the increased 
pleasure and profit of its culture. A col¬ 
lection of specimens from different counties 
of the State would prove a most interesting 
and valuable feature of the exhibition, and 
we trust that individuals, as well as Socie¬ 
ties, will contribute to this department. 
Oakland, near Geneva, June, 1831. 
Dear Sir: —The application of science to our 
vocation as farmers, is producing results, interest¬ 
ing and important. Although the benefits are yet 
limited in extent, they are sufficient to excite our 
zeal, and induce us to seize every opportunity to 
extend, directly and indirectly, the advantage due 
and appropriate to our business. 
Allow me to call your attention to a branch of 
inquiry which I am induced to believe will be ad¬ 
vantageous to the farmers of your county. I al¬ 
lude to the changes which have, from time to time 
taken place iu the organic and inorganic substan¬ 
ces of your soils, and the influences which such 
changes seem to have exerted. This inquiry needs 
time and examination ; yet the movement will, I 
hope, lead agricultuiists into a train of observation 
both useful and profitable. 
As one step, connected with the inquiry, and 
which may be made at once useful to your Count}', 
and indirectly beneficial to the farmer, I would 
suggest that specimens of any and eterij mineral 
existing within your limits, be collected ; also, of 
all Earths and Clays of more than ordinary char¬ 
acter, and which are needed in the various arts 
and manufactures. Let them bo neatly arranged 
in cases, with the name of the County conspicu¬ 
ously placed on each case, and sent for exhibition 
to the approaching State Fair at Rochester, in 
September. 
Such exhibitions will attract the attention of men 
of science, of the artist and artisan, and tend to 
give a proper notoriety to places, which at present 
may be little known. 
If this suggestion is received with favor, I shall 
be happy to hear of its adoption, and will take 
measures for a suitable display of any contribution 
from your County to the State Fair. 
Respectfully yours, J. Dei.afield. 
WAYNE COUNTY COMING! 
GALEN TOWN FAIR-WAYNE CO. AT STATE 
FAIR—EGGS. 
Frined Moore :—Having a little leisure 
this morning I will while away the time in 
giving you a hasty sketch of the Cattle 
Show and Fair of the town of Galen, held 
in the village of Clyde, June 28th. The 
weather was fine, and the day a proud one 
for old Galen. The people were there in 
great numbers, with their fine animals, fruits, 
flowers, implements, &c., which made the 
show complete. The exhibition of horses 
and colts was good, embracing some very 
superior animals. The cattle were there in 
goodly numbers,— many pure blood Devons, 
and Durhams, Natives and Crosses being- 
fine specimens, and an honor to any county. 
The working oxen were on hand, well 
matched, and in good condition. Several 
pairs of fine steers were exhibited; one pair 
ot yearlings, owned by Mr. Macicie, being 
very large and fine red color—one a March 
the other a May calf, in 1850, 
20th Sept, last, their weight was_ 985 pounds. 
13th Feb. “ “ ..1,500 “ 
1st May, “ “ “ ..1,780 
28th June. “ “ •< ..1,943 
They are about three-fourths blood Dev¬ 
onshire, and should their weight come up 
to about 2,500 lbs. they probably will be 
exhibited at the State Fair. 
The sheep were few but of extra quality, 
both fine and coarse wool. The superior 
French buck of Isaac M. Gillet, was 
greatly admired. The swine were mostly 
of the Leceister breed, and of good quality. 
Floral Hall was spacious, and adorned 
with the fruits and flowers of the season.— 
Cherries and strawberries in abundance, 
and of superior quality. Needle work, 
fancy articles, flowers and all those little 
tixins usually found at such exhibitions, 
were on hand, and in their glory. 
Of butter and cheese, and agricultural 
implements, there was a full display. The 
plowing match did not go off. The mow¬ 
ing match created considerable excitement, 
and there was strong competition. The 
work was well done generally, but in too 
much hurry by some, and rather too much 
of a diving motion to appear graceful and 
easy while performing the work. 
The address, by Rev. M. Bellamy, was 
happy and to the point, and will he pub¬ 
lished. The reports of committees were 
read, the premiums awarded and paid, and 
the whole business done up in good time — 
and the day is long to be remembered as 
the beginning of their Annual Fairs. We 
hope that other towns may see the advant¬ 
ages of competition, and go and do likewise. 
And now, Mr. Editor, I will just say, that 
I expect Wayne county will be well repre¬ 
sented at the State Fair at Rochester. I 
have the impression, and I believe, that all 
other counties “acknowledge the cereal,” 
that Wayne is the best for fruit, or that it 
ships more fruit, than any other county in 
the State. And if the Sampsons and Mor¬ 
gans , with the many other good breeds of 
horses, together with the fine Devon and 
Durham cattle which are known to exist in 
this county, are exhibited, a full share of 
the prizes will be won. The farmers of this 
county know very well what they will have 
to contend with ; the great weight of ani¬ 
mals advertised to forestall, will not frighten 
them. They expect to make up in form, 
symmetry and beaut}', what they lack in 
weight. 
And now, by the way, I must say a word 
or two about eggs and close. My Dorkings 
(being of the Allen importation and ob¬ 
tained of Col. Sherwood,) are some; among 
the many large eggs they have laid, I give 
you the size of three. 
The eggs measured—1st, 5g inches and 7,J inches. 
2d, G£ “ “ '<& “ 
3d, “ “ 7f “ 
These specimens I intend to send you the 
first opportunity. Yours respectfully, 
Rose, N. V., July 7, 1851. 
E. N. Thomas. 
ON DRAINING.-No. 7. 
Laying out drains so as to have the la¬ 
bor expended produce the greatest profit, is 
a subject upon which farmers should be 
well informed, that, as a single rule will 
hardly answer for all parts of any field, 
they may be their own engineers in the 
work. The course the water takes on the 
surface must be nearly the course for the 
drain. —But theie are some general rules 
that should be kept in view in till cases. 
In the first place, the best outlet for the 
drain should be ascertained so as to give a 
good current to the water, when kept, as it 
should be at all times, free from obstruc¬ 
tions. When there is a freshet, all the main 
drain will be filled to the utmost, forcino- 
the dirt and sediment that accumulates in 
the drain to the outlet. But it should nev¬ 
er gather there, sufficient to make the water 
set back into the drain. If the surface 
of land is so large that the main drain 
will be unable to discharge the water at all 
times, care should be taken to lay them out 
sufficiently one side of the original surface 
water course, to prevent what water is 
forced upon the surface, while the storm or 
thaw lasts, from running directly over it, 
as it would be likely to wash away the loos¬ 
ened earth, forming a deep gully and per¬ 
haps spoiling the drain. 
In most cases the drain can be laid out 
quite straight, the surface water running- 
on either side, but its crossing the drain 
would do no injury. 
If the drain is sufficient to carry off the 
water at all times, then lay it out where it 
will benefit the greatest surface of land.— 
Where it is necessary to lay off side drains, 
they should run directly from the main 
course up as far as the land is wet, and if 
there is more breadth of wet land than one 
will drain, others should be laid from twen¬ 
ty-five to forty feet apart, as the soil may 
require, to collect all the springs together. 
And, in no case will it be found profitable 
to lay drains sidewise of the hill between 
the wet and dry land to cut off the springs, 
for it will be found that the water settles 
from the bottom of the drain and makes 
the land wet below as soon as it is level 
with it, and it will require others, till you 
reach the flat or main drain. If thus laid 
out, they soon fill up, and become useless; 
and in doing the work thoroughly, there 
will be no saving in the length required. 
In all cases it will be best to cover up 
the upper end of the drains and let the 
water filter into them, as on wet soils it will 
disappear on the surface one or more rods 
above this point Alvin Wilcox. 
West Bloomfield, June, 1851. 
Mr. Editor: —Will you allow a farmer’s 
wife to say a few w'ords to her sisterhood, 
through the columns of your excellent pa¬ 
per. We are aware that a farmer’s calling 
does not reflect as much honor on his com¬ 
panion as that of many other professions, 
but I trust the time is not far distant when 
a “farmer’s wife” will no more give one an 
idea of a coarse, red-faced woman, with no 
intelligence above her butter and cheese, 
than a “ lawyer’s lady” will fill one’s mind 
with a vision of loveliness and grace. 
But the most serious objection we hera 
girls urge against this life, is that there is 
always so much to do in a farm house, that 
no time is left for mental improvement.— 
Now, we beg leave to say,—this need not 
be so. Any woman, in good health, can do 
the housework and plain sewing, for four 
or five, and have at least one hour each 
day for study, besides all the little odds and 
ends of time, for books and newspapers; 
and surely a mind need not starve upon 
that. Any woman who cannot secure this 
amount of time to herself, and will still do 
without help, is doing what is not her duty, 
either to herself or family. 
It is a mistaken idea that a woman can 
discharge her household duties properly, 
without any education, or that doing house¬ 
work tends to deaden the sensibilities, or 
produce a disrelish for books. No such dis¬ 
taste is ever formed but by needless neglect* 
and any one who has ever tried it, knows 
that the mind must be ever on the alert, 
and that caring for and contributing to the 
comfort and happiness of those around us 
so continually, cultivates the most active 
benevolence. Thus, too, we are in a meas¬ 
ure responsible for the health of our family. 
If we do not know that poor bread, hot 
buns, rich pastry, hearty and late suppers, 
and meals at irregular intervals, are un¬ 
healthy ; or that a sufficient supply of clean 
bed-linen, or fresh air in the bed rooms, is 
as necessary to health as to comfort, then 
our ignorance is responsible for the dispep- 
sia and other diseases that may ensue. 
A little forethought often facilitates mat¬ 
ters wonderfully;—as with bread—if it be 
set to sponge at night it may be baked by 
the morning fire, thus saving the trouble of 
keeping a lire in the afternoon, and getting 
up from one’s reading or sewing to attend 
to it. There is another thing that takes a 
great deal of our time, and that is visiting. 
Not that I would discourage visiting in the 
© © 
least, but the parade attending it. We 
should visit our friends much oftener, could 
we “ drop in”—spend the afternoon, and 
take tea with the family, without giving the 
good mistress the trouble of preparing two 
or three extra dishes for our particular ben¬ 
efit, besides having an extra room to set 
right next morning. 
© © 
There is another fashion coming among 
us, which I suppose has traveled up from 
some city; that we shall not work when we 
visit,—as if we could not as well do some 
plain sewing or knitting, as do nothing but 
talk. But no, our grandmothers took work 
— it looks so old fashioned, and that is 
enough to shut the door of society against 
any thing. 
Finally, if any of our sister readers, that 
shall happen to glance upon this, can give 
us any hints to improve us in our art, we 
shall be most devoutly thankful, for we are 
young, as will doubtless be conjectured, and 
need all the information we can get. We 
are meanwhile, 
Most earnestly yours, Lucy. 
Remarks.— “Them’s our sentiment,” and we 
trust Lucy will write again if not often—and thus 
give an example, to others who ought to contribute 
to the pages of the Rural. —Ed. 
LONG ISLAND LANDS. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— The atten¬ 
tion of the public having within a short 
time been directed to the Long Island 
“Plain Lands,” it may not be amiss to lay 
before your readers, a few facts concerning 
them, collected during a short sojourn in 
their vicinity, from individuals who have 
spent their whole lives there, and some of 
whom have been, and still are engaged in 
reclaiming these lands from their unproduc¬ 
tive state. 
In description we naturally divide the 
Plains into two portions, called the Plain 
and the Bush. The former is covered with 
shrubs, some two feet high, and a species 
of wild grass,—the latter with bushes from 
four to eight feet in height. The Plain is 
called the better portion and is more easily 
reclaimed. The most level parts are the 
best. Ihe valleys and side hills of the un¬ 
dulating portion are said to be not worth 
cultivation. This is a circumstance I do not 
recollect having noticed before, that the 
ridges should be more productive than the 
low portions between. 
Tire surface soil is black, and of all depths 
to two and two and a half feet. The sub¬ 
soil is gravel or sand, which appears at the 
surface in the hollows. From which cir¬ 
cumstance it would appear probable, that 
at some early date a flood of water had 
rushed across the plain bearing with it the 
soil, and leaving its track a barren waste.— 
Hundreds of cattle, now as formerly, feed 
on the unenclosed portions during the fore 
part of summer. . These lands are fast be¬ 
ing taken up and brought under cultivation. 
The price of the land varies from $8 to 
$15 per acre, depending upon quality and 
location. A team of three yoke of cattle 
will break three quarters or an acre a day 
Then it requires the application of from 10 
to 20 loads per acre of ashes, which may 
be obtained at the sloop landings, on the 
north side, a distance of 8 or 10 miles, for 
$1 to $1,25 per load. It may be obtained 
at the railroad which runs through the 
plains at a little more expense, the carting 
not being considered. After the applica¬ 
tion of the ashes, if it be plowed once or 
twice during the season, it is in fine condi¬ 
tion for a crop of rye, then it may be laid 
down to clover and timothy. The proprie¬ 
tor then has an improved farm of the best 
quality of Long Island land. 
I forbear any further remarks, although 
much more might be said. Should any of 
your readers wish for further or more par¬ 
ticular information I shall be happy to give 
it, should it be in my power. 
Yours, &c., S. L. Shotwell. 
Cedar Swamp, Queens Co., L. I. 
ANOTHER LARGE CALF. 
The account, in No. 75 of the Nkav- 
\ orker, of a“ Madison Co. premium calf,” 
has called out the following, which it will 
be seen goes ahead of that fine animal so 
far, though we believe this calf has had 
more than one cows’ milk 
Mr. Selah G. Sanford of Barre, Or¬ 
leans Co., has a calf, “Johnny Bull,” winch 
weighed when born on the 10th of April 
last, 115 lbs. At two months old his weight 
was 290 lbs., and on the 9th insta T; 400 
lbs. His height is 3 ft 9 inches—his 
length, from nose to root of tail, 5 ft. 9 inch¬ 
es. His girth is 4 ft. 1| inches. He is 
out of a Durham bull—breed of cow not 
particularly mentioned—and will be at the 
State Fair most probably. 
Well-cured hay, is far more nutritious 
and valuable as food for stock than that 
which is sun scorched or shower-soaked. 
