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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND EAMILY JOURNAL. 
obtained also from vegetable matter con¬ 
taining nitrogen. The name Ammonia is 
derived from sal ammoniac, the muriate 
of ammonia, originally obtained in Lybia 
by burning the dung of camels at the tem¬ 
ple of Ammon. Hence the name Ammo¬ 
nia, which consists of 3 atoms of hydrogen 
and 1 of nitrogen; or hydrogen 17,64; 
nitrogen 82,36. 
“In the Pampas of South America, ex¬ 
isted, at the period of their occupation by 
the Spaniards, the same thirsty vegetation 
of the steppes as at present—excepting 
that the immediate vicinity of the towns 
-lias changed by the running wild of the 
great Pampas Thistle and the Artichoke 
— the same scanty population, the same 
quantity of indigenous animals that now 
wander over its desert plains. The Span¬ 
iards introduced the horse and neat cattle, 
and these multiplied in an incredibly short 
time in such profusion, that Monte Video 
alone annually exports 300,000 ox hides; 
that the military expeditions of (Jen. Rosa 
cost many hundred thousand horses, with¬ 
out any apparent diminution. 
“The native organic life and its quantity 
have, therefore, since the discovery by the 
Spaniards, not diminished, but greatly in¬ 
creased. and millions of pounds of carbon 
and nitrogen combined into organic sub¬ 
stances, have been exported in the trade in 
hides, without the land receiving the small¬ 
est appreciable return of organic matter.— 
Where could these masses have come from, 
if not from the atmosphere ? 
If we leave out of view all the other 
constituents of tea, China exports more 
than 300,000 lbs. of nitrogen in the half 
per cent of theine, without receiving any 
considerable return. From forooto main¬ 
tained in good condition, we annually ob¬ 
tain about 40,000 lbs. of dry W'ood per acre, 
which contains about 1,600 lbs. of carbon. 
But we do not manure the soil of the forests, 
and its supply of humus, far from being ex¬ 
hausted, increases considerably from year 
to year, from the breakage by wind and 
the fall of the leaf. The hay-maker of 
Switzerland and Tyrol mows his definite 
amount of grass every year on the AJps, 
inaccessible to cattle, and gives not back 
the smallest quantity of organic substance 
to the soil. Whence comes the nutrition 
of the grass of which the hay is made, if 
not from the atmosphere?” 
The plant growing on the Pampas of 
South America, in the dense forests of our 
own country, and upon the fastnesses of 
the Alps, must be supplied with ammonia 
and carbonic acid from the atmosphere.— 
“ The northern provinces of Holland, 
Friesland, Groningen and Drcnthe, export 
annually about a million pounds of nitro¬ 
gen in their cheese. They obtain it through 
the cows from their meadows, which re¬ 
ceive no manure but from the cattle gra¬ 
zing thereon. The meadows receive no 
return by this, since all that the cows pro¬ 
duce comes itself from the meadows.— 
Whence then, these enormous quantities of 
nitrogen? Perhaps Vesuvius, or Etna, or 
the great fire-abysses of the Cordilleras 
pour forth this abundance of carbonate of 
ammonia, which is carried by currents of 
air to the plants of the Dutch meadows, 
and then through the cows, becomes, as 
caseine, an object of trade and of delight 
to the palate.” 
Bossingault demonstrated by an exper¬ 
iment tried upon 5 acres of land during a 
period of 21 years, the same doctrine that is 
taught by Schleiden. The manure used 
by B. was carefully weighed—so was the 
crop taken from the given area every year, 
and the quantity of carbon, hydrogen, ox¬ 
ygen, nitrogen, and of ash were accurately 
ascertained by ehemical analysis. The re¬ 
sult of the experiment, that was on aver¬ 
age, the annual harvest gained from the 
soil, twice as much nitrogen, three times 
as much carbon and hydrogen, and four 
times as much oxygen, as had been given 
to it in manure,—admitting, which is not 
true, that the manure all entered into the 
organization of the plant. 
“ Since then,” says Schleiden, “ carbonic 
acid, ammonia and water form the food of 
plants, and we find that these matters never 
can be so combined as not to contain far 
more oxygen than the substances oecui- 
ring in plants, free oxygen gas must neces¬ 
sarily be set free in the vital processes of 
vegetation.” 
“ And thus as the final result of our in¬ 
quiry, we arrive at the following grand view 
LETTER FROM WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, DEEP PLOWING INCREASES FERTILITY. 
<7X2 
SEYMOUR’S BROADCAST SOWING MACHINE. 
Among late inquiries relative to drills 
and other seeding machines, we have one 
asking where the best Broadcast Sower can 
be obtained, the price, etc. In answer to 
this inquiry, and for the benefit of others 
who may wish information on the same 
subject, we give a figure of Seymour’s 
Broadcast Sowing Machine, (which is the 
best and indeed about the only one of 
which we have any knowledge,) and some 
particulars relative to its operation. 
This is a good machine, well known in 
this section, and highly recommended by 
practical men. Though not so popular as 
the drill manufactured by its inventor, it is 
preferred by some farmers. Mr. Seymour 
states in bis advertisement (see Rural of 
April 24, 1851,—No. 69,) that “ it sows 
correctly all kinds of grain [and any desir- 
of the interchange of matter between the 
three kingdomsof Nature. Decomposition 
and respiration set free all vegetable and 
animal substances, (diminishing the amount 
of oxygen in the air) in the form of car¬ 
bonic acid, ammonia and water, which dif¬ 
fuse themselves in the atmosphere. The 
plant takes possession of these substances 
and forms from them, accompanied by an 
incessant increase of the oxygen of the at¬ 
mosphere compounds rich in carbon and 
hydrogen, but devoid of nitrogen, such as 
starch, gum, sugar and the various fatty 
matters, and others rich in nitrogen, viz : 
albumen, fibrine and caseine. These com¬ 
pounds are for the service of the ani¬ 
mal, which builds up its corporeal frame 
from the latter and burns the former in the 
respiratory process, for the maintenance of 
heat. 
“ This theory stands now firm and un¬ 
shakable upon the facts which have been 
brought forward, and the naturalist is per¬ 
fectly correct when he says, that Man, 
through the mediation of plants in the first 
instance, lives upon air. Or we may ex¬ 
press it in this way; the plant collects the 
matters from the atmosphere, and com¬ 
pounds from them the food of Man. But 
life itself is but a process of combustion 
of which decomposition is only the final 
conclusion. Through this combustion all 
the constituents return back into the air, 
and only a small quantity of ashes remain 
to the earth whence they came. But from 
these slow invisible flames rises a new-born 
Phoenix,—the immortal soul—into regions 
where our science has no longer any value.” 
w. 
WHEAT-SELECTION AND PREPARATION 
OF SEED. 
On the selection of wheat for seed, a few 
general rules may be given, everywhere ap¬ 
plying with the same appropriateness,—for 
it is everywhere important that the varieties 
sown are those best adapted to the soil — 
that are hardy, early and prolific, —and al¬ 
so, that no foul weeds be mixed therewith. 
Be sure to sow no chess, and you will find 
every year less cause to believe in the 
transmutation of wheat into that pestiient 
grain, and if only pure wheat is sown, oth¬ 
er weeds will become less troublesome also. 
As a preventive of smut, all seed wheat 
should be brined and limed before sowing. 
Make a soak of common salt sufficiently 
strong to bear an egg, with which saturate 
your seed for 18 or 24 hours, by placing it 
in a heap on the barn floor and sprinkling 
the brine upon it, and turning or stirring it 
until the whole is wet alike. When suffi¬ 
ciently soaked, mix, as fast as you wish to 
sow, fresh slaked lime with it so as to dust 
over each kernel. Do not let it remain long 
uncovered or exposed to the sun and air, so 
as to dry, as it will retard its germination. 
Many other soaks have been tried and 
recommended, but we believe this to be the 
cheapest as well a3 the best and most ef- 
ective in the prevention of smut 
ed quantity per acre] from peas to grass 
seed — including wheat, rye, oats, barley, 
buckwheat, rice, hemp, flax, clover and 
timothy seed. Also plaster, lime, salt, 
ashes, bone dust, &c., &c. It is capable of 
dusting every inch of ground on an acre of 
land with less than a half bushel of plas¬ 
ter, and 30 or 40 bushels of lime may be 
thus evenly applied to the same amount of 
land if desired. It sows ten feet wide, or 
may be made narrower to order. This 
machine has been much improved by sub¬ 
stituting iron in several important parts in 
the place of wood, making it a veiy dura¬ 
ble article.” 
The machine is manufactured by P. 
Seymour, East Bloomfield, Ontario county, 
N. Y. The price is, we believe, $50—or 
was in April last 
EXCELLENT SUGGESTIONS. 
From Mr. Turner’s Address —the orig¬ 
inal manuscript of which has been kindly 
furnished us, and from which we recently 
extracted “Agricultural Chemistry” for 
our columns,—we copy the following beau¬ 
tiful passages: 
RURAL EMBELLISHMENT. 
I offer no architectural rules to tell you 
how to construct your dwellings. Variety, 
the very spice of life,—taste, natural incli¬ 
nation, will regulate this; as it will dictate 
the surrounding of them with shrubbery; 
the planting of trees by the road-side.— 
You duly appreciate how much this adds 
to rural scenery. He that has painted the 
lilv, mixed the colors of the rain-bow, ad¬ 
justed the plumage of the forest songster, 
scattered ornament so profusely in all His 
works—was not unmindful of these things. 
The rougher portions of rural embellish¬ 
ments accomplished, it remains for the la¬ 
dies to add the flower garden, the flower¬ 
ing shrub, <fcc., to perfect the rural farm¬ 
house landscape. Trifling as these things 
may seem, they are not without their use. 
They please the eye, and school the heart 
in kindly sympathies. If you would make 
home attractive — decorate it. The hearts 
and affections you would keep there, will 
not be prone to wander from a rural para¬ 
dise. 
COUNTRY CEMETERIES. 
“ And the field of Ephron, which was in Mac- 
phelah, which was before Mamre,—the field and 
the cave which was therein, and all the trees that 
were in the field—that were in all the borders 
round about were made sure. 
“ And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife, 
in the cave of the field of Macphelah.” 
It was a pure and praiseworthy rever¬ 
ence for the virtuous dead—the aged part 
ncr of his bosom, that actuated the vener¬ 
able Patriarch. The trees that were in the 
field—that were in all the borders round 
about, he made sure. Instead of the open 
common, or a partially enclosed, bleak, des¬ 
olate looking place by the road side—with 
broken down fences, and dilapidated palings, 
he chose the field of Macphelah. This 
was a rural cemetery. The spirit of the 
good hearted Patriarch has come down to 
our time. Our cities have their Mount 
Auburn, Greenwood, the “Evergreens,” 
Mount Hope, and other beautiful burying 
grounds. Our villages are preparing their 
rural cemeteries. Why, in every farming 
neighborhood, should not some quiet nook 
of the forest be set apart for the resting 
place of the buried dead,—where affection 
could pay its tribute, in the form of shrub¬ 
bery and flowers ? 
Never trim the hair from the ear of 
your horse. It is placed there by nature, 
to protect the orifice and drum of the ear 
from iusects, dirt, and sudden changes of 
the weather. 
Do not begin farming by building an ex¬ 
pensive house, nor erecting a spacious bam 
till you have something to store in it 
Friend Moore: —Having taken u jtoy 
residence in Allegany, and become some 
what acquainted with the farmers in this 
town and vicinity, I have often inquired for 
the Rural amongst them, but have not 
met with it in a single instance,—and to 
my knowledge it is not taken by any one 
in this section of county. Believing that 
any community, and especially a farming- 
community, will enjoy life better by read¬ 
ing the Rural than without, I have thought 
to ask, you to send me a few numbers of it, 
and I will endeavor to raise a club for it 
among the farmers of Venango. 
A few words in relation to farming, etc., 
in this town, may not be wholly uninterest¬ 
ing to your readers. Allegany embraces 
a territory equal to about eight miles square; 
its face is a succession of. Hills and dales, 
bordering on the Allegany river on the east, 
and possessing a variety of soil, clay, and 
some minerals. The famous Oil Creek 
Stone Ware is made in this town from its 
own clay, in the borough of Pleasantville> 
where also is made an article of Queen’s 
Ware. Minerals are not wrought to any 
extent in this town, but in some of the ad¬ 
joining towns the working of Iron Ore and 
Coal Banks is an important branch of the 
business. 
In this town wheat and the other grains 
form the staple. The soil is decidedly good 
for wheat and the other grains, producing 
fine crops of a good quality. It is emphati¬ 
cally oak and chestnut land; the timber is 
mostly oak and chestnut, possessing an ir- 
resistable tendency to sprout in newly clear¬ 
ed fields. This sprouting is a heavy draw¬ 
back on the farmer for several years. lie 
finds it necessary to cut the sprouts off ev¬ 
ery year, and still the roots remain green. 
Some white oak stumps have been known 
to remain sound and apparently green for 
fifteen or twenty years. 
The grain and hay crops have come in 
remarkably well this year. The season lias 
been very wet, but the farmers have suc¬ 
ceeded in securing their wheat in good con¬ 
dition notwithstanding. Corn is small, and 
promises but little; the potato crop has 
grown well, but is badly blighted. The 
corn and potato crops are little or no better 
through Warren county, Pa., and Chautau- 
que county, N. Y., through which I have 
recently taken a trip. It is suggested by 
some who have tried it, that scattering ash¬ 
es on the vines of potatoes plentifully, when 
the blight first makes its appearance, will 
prevent the rot. 
Wool growing receives but little atten¬ 
tion here yet among the farmers. There 
is, however, considerable wool grown in this 
town, but it is mostly of the "common and 
lower grades. The sheep are mostly of the 
native blood, tall, long legged, slim formed, 
and but ill adapted to the purpose of grow¬ 
ing wool, as their light fleeces prove. A 
few farmers are awakening to the subject 
of improving their sheep, and eventually 
we may venture to hope, the extensive and 
choice sheep walks of this part of Pennsyl¬ 
vania may be inhabited by some of the best 
sheep in the country. 
Bye the bye, the stockholders of the 
projected Railroad from Erie, Pa., to Little 
Valley, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., there to 
intersect with the New York and Erie 
Railroad under the name of Erie and N. 
Y. City Railroad (receiving its name from 
the Hon. R. P. Marvin,) were assembled 
in convention at Jamestown, Aug. 12, as I 
passed through the town, to organize a 
company, —there being a sufficient amount 
of stock subscribed to bring them within 
the rule to organize. Jamestown had taken 
over $30,000, Randolph some $20,000 and 
Harmony $20,000 of the stock. 
Yours truly, J. C. Stakr. 
Allegany, Venango Co., I’a., August, 1851. 
Remarks, — Although our friend may 
not have seen the Rural in his section, we 
have several hundred subscribers in Wes¬ 
tern Pa., and an abundance of room on 
our books for more. Thanks for his letter, 
and kind offer in behalf of the paper. If 
he succeeds as well as some of our Pa. 
friends have done, we shall rank him as a 
star indeed, and if the people in Us locality 
know not the Rural there is certainly need 
of some illumination. 
The foot of the owner is the best raa- 
niue for land. 
Drive your business before you and it 
will go easily. 
The following from a correspondent of 
the New England Farmer adds another to 
the proofs of the highly beneficial results of 
deep plowing. If the conclusions of Mr. 
Whipple are correct, agriculturists can 
add largely to the productiveness of their 
farms at comparatively trifling cost, and 
we hope they will avail themselves of the 
suggested improvement, and report the re¬ 
sults. 
We saw lately a striking instance of the 
benefits resulting from continued deep 
plowing, in the cultivated grounds of A. M. 
Whipple, Esq., on the banks of the Concord 
river, near Lowell. This land was natural¬ 
ly a sandy and light soil. His men were 
engaged in gathering in the crop of hay 
from an extensive field, which had yielded 
more than two tons to the acre. The in¬ 
quiry arose, by what means was the crop 
made so abundant, on land so shallow ? ’ His 
answer was, deep plowing, mainly. That 
for eight or ten years past, he usually 
plowed twelve inches deep. That he put 
on bis grounds but a light dressing of sta¬ 
ble manure, — made no compost whatever 
— but relied almost entirely on the im¬ 
provement of the soil, by turning the fur¬ 
rows deep. His crops were quite_equal to 
those we have been accustomed to see on 
strong land, highly manured, lie has lit¬ 
erally made more than two blades of grass 
to grow, where but one grew before, and 
this with no other expense than the labor 
of his teams. Similar benefits were appar¬ 
ent in the growing crops of corn and oats, 
i;i the lots adjoining. 
Mr. W. has also been very successful in 
bringing his adjoining swamps anb wet 
meadows into uood English mowing. He 
first cleared off the surplus water by ditch¬ 
es properly arranged, and then applied his 
system of deep plowing. In no one case 
does he presume to have his ground plowed 
less than twelve inches deep. lie was first 
led'to adopt this mode of plowing, by seeing 
the explanation made by the late Elias 
Phinney, Esq., of the vast quantity of vege¬ 
table to be found on an acre of grass land, 
within one foot of the surface— twelve tons. 
I think he proved by analyzing a single cu¬ 
bic foot of earth. Hence he reasoned, if all 
this vegetable matter could be decomposed 
and brought into active operation, crops 
would be in need of no other manure. Mr. 
W.’s abundant crops are a striking illustra¬ 
tion of the soundness of his reasoning. We, 
who have been accustomed to value highly 
the products of the compost heap, should 
have thought some application of this kind 
could also have been beneficially made.— 
Not that we would undervalue the utility 
of deep plowing, but would have it com¬ 
bined with liberal manuring. It may pos¬ 
sibly happen, that lands may be kept in 
productive condition, for a few successive 
seasons by deep stirring and fine pulveriza¬ 
tion of the soil; but that any modifications 
of the soil will supersede the necessity of 
feeding it with a supply of those elements 
that are consumed by the growing plants, 
we do not believe. p. 
A Large Calf. —I was yesterday at the 
house of Mr. John Marsh, of West Gaines, 
and he invited me to go and see a fine calf 
he is raising. He did indeed, show me 
one of the finest I have ever seen; said to 
be a cross of the Durham and Devon; the 
build is Durham and the color Devon, b; - 
ing a bright red; his weight at two months 
old was three hundred lbs. A more per¬ 
fect model of an animal, nat/ure has seldom 
shown. J. Sibley. 
Making Stone Fence. —With us the 
motto would be, wherever stones were re¬ 
moved from the field, put them into a wall. 
If ten rods cannot be made, make five, and 
the next time the field is plowed, and more 
loose stones appear, make five rods more, 
but do not throw th ,i m into the corners of 
the fence, nor into the street As to the 
kind of wall, we should like to see posts 
with two wires connected with a wall. If 
boards are put upon the posts, the wind 
frequently moves them and injures the wall. 
We feel confident that a wall with wired 
posts may be made one half a foot thinner 
than when the boards are used, and yet be 
more durable. The posts might be smaller, 
and the cost on the whole, much less.— 
Cidturist.and Gazette. 
Drilling in Wheat. —We believe it is 
the concurrent opinion of all farmers who 
have given it a fair trial, that the system of 
drilling in wheat, instead of sowing it as 
has heretofore been done, is a saving of 
seed and of labor, and produces at least 
five bushels more per acre.— Ed. Ger. Tel¬ 
egraph. 
We concur in the above, except the 
amount of increase in produce. Instead of 
‘’aying five, we should reckon two to four 
bushels her acre. 
Obtain good seed, prepare your ground 
well, sow early, and puy very little attention 
to the moon. 
