ill ICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
, 'e\TDings"'^^;pc n 
we improve them de- 
fr success and prosperity. 
Spring, summer and autumn, the 
farmer has comparatively but little time for 
mental culture, and as such culture is as 
needful and important as that of the field, 
the opportunities now presented are very 
favorable. By rightly improving them he 
may gain a fund of useful information which 
will enable him to begin anew, when the 
season of toil comes around, with a degree 
of confidence and knowledge which will en¬ 
sure success and amply remunerate his la¬ 
bor in obtaining it. 
lie may bring to his own fireside the re¬ 
corded experience of others—of those who 
have struck out from the “old beaten path” 
and have reaped the reward of their toil, 
aided by science and thought, in trebled 
crops and improved fields. From this he 
can derive many a useful lesson, and with 
benefit to himself and without injury to 
them, can enjoy the fruits of their labor 
and thought 
Far too many of the tillers of the soil 
pass their evenings in the bar room — the 
grocery, or some other kindred haunt of 
the idle, where -no information is gained, 
new ideas acquired, or improvement made, 
and what is even worse, where vicious hab¬ 
its are formed which so far from preparing 
them for a successful and useful life, will 
render them unfit for its duties and enjoy¬ 
ments. It is from this class that education 
meets with the most uncompromising op¬ 
position; they are ever ready to cry hum¬ 
bug, and couple jeers and derision with the 
title of “book farmer;” but verily they 
have their reward. 
It is now too late to curl the sneer of 
scorn, when the aid of science is proffered 
unto us. It is indispensable—-we must 
have it, else we go half armed into the bat¬ 
tle of life, and giving to other classes the 
vantage ground, must ever stand in the 
rear rank’s of society. Our vocation is not 
an inferior one—it is the noblest of all, and 
if degraded in the eyes of those who follow 
the others, it is because of the ignorance 
and inefficiency of those who fill it. But 
happily, farmers have aroused from leth¬ 
argy— are combining the cultivation of 
mind with that of the soil, and those who 
discard the aid of science, will soon be 
obliged to “ take to the books,” or leave 
the calling for one which is yet farther 
in the background, and where that is to 
be found, is an enigma to me. 
It is not all of life and its enjoyments to 
“eat, drink and sleep,” and make provision 
for physical wants;— there are joys of the 
mind arising from the developement of its 
nobler faculties, which far outweigh the 
pleasures of sense. Then, brother farmers, 
let me urge upon you the importance of 
improving the long winter evenings. Think, 
study, and lay plans for the coming season 
—forget not to provide a stock of good and 
appropriate books. Subscribe for agricul¬ 
tural papers, (the more the better,) read 
and digest them. So will your knowledge 
and power be increased, and also your use¬ 
fulness to your fellow men. j. o. k. 
VVoat Dryden, N. Y., Dec., 1851. 
Bleeding of Grape-Vines.— When the 
grape is pruned in autumn, in winter, or 
very early in spring, the sap-vessels will 
close, and no flow from the wound will fol 
low. But where this needful work has 
been omitted at the right time, those who 
have an aversion to prune in consequence 
of the prodigious flow of the sap which 
takes place as the buds expand, may save 
themselves all trouble from this cause by 
waiting some days till the leaves are as 
a currant leaf. If the pruning is then 
performed no bleeding will take place. 
Pruned at this season, we have found young 
hardy vines to do as well as at any other 
time. The injury resulting from the flow 
of sap is, however, overrated; and by some 
experienced cultivators it is believed to pro¬ 
duce no injury whatever. 
The man who loses half an hour daily 
going for or hunting displaced tools, loses 
150 hours per year. 
lev 
fan^things, f? 
ng dust that choked the”^SHt'Fude ~o 
,nd near the fair ground, which might have 
been prevented for a trifle. A few men 
should have been employed during each 
night, and all the vexatious annoyance of 
dust might have been dispensed with. It 
was remarked fifty times I presume, in my 
hearing that “ this is the last State Fair I 
will ever attend;” and frequently, “ this is 
the first and the last” 
As to the selection of committees and 
judges, I concur with you entirely. The 
man who said he knew no more about the 
articles upon which he was called to decide, 
than a bear about crockery, spoke To the 
point, and many more might have made 
the same observation with great propriety. 
What does a lawyer know about a corn- 
sheller?—a doctor about a plow, &c. ?— 
Another thing should be corrected. In 
awarding premiums it is too often the case 
that the real usefulnesss of an article is en¬ 
tirely lost sight of, from the expense or the 
costly material and finish of its competitor. 
Again—no machine or instrument should 
ever be permitted on the ground without 
being put in practical operation, where the 
nature of it will possibly permit. We far¬ 
mers go there to witness practice rather 
than theory, although we are pleased with 
both. Again, the plowing match should 
always be very near the fair ground so that 
all can witness that important operation, 
upon which so much of the prosperity of 
the farmer and the nation depends; and it 
should be continued from day to day dur¬ 
ing the whole time of the fair. There 
should be a 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th and so on 
up to the 10th premium on most articles. 
I once obtained first premium on a thing, 
another the second, and that was all—the 
third and fourth men had articles as 
good as ours, (though not so costly,) and 
had they not been stout hearted fellows 
they would have cried from vexation—and 
as it was they declared they would never go 
to a fair again, and they never did. 
As to dividing the State Society it is the 
ardent wish of a great portion of those that 
I have heard speak of it—it is too ponder, 
ous, they say. It is like the boy that went 
to see the city—he said that the houses 
were so thick that he could not see it. The 
time should be at least a whole week, and 
the proceedings as near alike each day as 
possible, so that all may have an equal 
chance. Officers should be paid but not 
exorbitantly—’tis a great though a pleas¬ 
ant task to the lover of improvement in 
this go-ahead age and country. More 
anon. j.’h. 
Adams’ Basin, Dec., 1851. 
A SEVEN-ACEE WHEAT CROP. 
Messrs. Eds: —I send you a statement 
of seven acres of wheat, yielding forty-sev¬ 
en bushels per acre, and just sold at 80 
cents per bushel; and of the mode of til¬ 
lage, and expenses of the same. 
Broke up a clover sod of one year’s 
growth in August, eight inches deep, rolled 
hard, harrowed and cultivated, expending 
on each ajre about §5,00 worth of labor 
About the 15th °f Sept., sowed bushels 
of Soule’s wheat per acre, harrowing and 
rolling. Expense of seed, sowing, &c., 
§2,25 per acre. Harvesting and drawing 
in, §2,50, and §4,23 for threshing and mar¬ 
keting. Interest on land, §7,00 per acre, 
making in all $20,98. The wheat produc¬ 
ing and selling as stated above, amounted 
to $37,60 per acre, giving a profit of $16,- 
62 per acre, or $116,34 on - the whole. 
I plow but once for any crop where the 
land is smooth; then roll, harrow and culti¬ 
vate until it is mellow. 
Farmers should be cautioned about sow¬ 
ing herds grass on wheat in the fall. X 
sowed some, and lost half my crop; the 
grass got the start and kept it. 
M. C. Ciiapsey. 
Lockport, N. Y., Dec., 1851. 
Get everything ready for winter. Kill 
swine, and poultry designed for the holiday’s 
market See to all the live-stock. Any 
feeble lambs or other sheep should be put 
by themselves, and well nourished. 
t^ERN TOMPKINS. 
at drained by Hal- 
2 ^in an arc from near- 
from ten to twelve 
That others may com- 
5ml products, I propose to 
s, interspersing such hints as 
e interesting. 
Jout a mile from Cayuga lake, are 
tilT^t'aghannuck, or as they are known 
here, Goodwin’s Falls. They are often 
visited by parties of pleasure and 4th of 
July celebrations, and are worthy a visit at 
.any time, but more so, when spring fresh¬ 
ets pour over their rolling floods, bearing 
masses of ice or large trees, which project 
sometimes 50 feet over the precipice, ere 
they plunge into the abyss below, and, with 
thundering crash, are shivered to pieces.— 
I have been credibly informed that two 
persons whose names were given, under¬ 
took to scale the precipice at the fall, (which 
as described and pictured in the 85th num¬ 
ber of the Rural, is about 200 feet high,) 
but soon tiring, wished to descend, but this 
like the man at the Natural Bridge, they 
could not do, and were obliged to go ahead 
and finally attained the top. About 22 
saw, 6 grist, 2 oil and 2 shingle mills, be¬ 
sides other machines, are driven by the 
waters of this stream and its branches. 
The inhabitants are prospering, and 
many are becoming rich, at least if fine 
farms and houses, and costly dress and 
equipage are any signs When the labor 
of clearing is finished, that of ditching and 
other improvement is carried rapidly on. 
The amount f hay has not equalled the 
expectations raised by the dampness of the 
weather, and is merely an average crop.— 
Clover was generally injured by a long 
rain just after cutting. Timothy was se¬ 
cured in good order. The kinds of seed 
sown, are timothy and small clover for hay, 
and large clover for pasture. They are 
generally sown on winter wheat in the 
spring, but sometimes on oats. Meadows 
should be renewed every five or six years 
at the longest, to secure good yields. Some 
pieces give a good crop of grass many 
years, others soon fail. I know of one field 
that has been mown over 30 years, the 
grass of which, (Red Top,) is being run out 
by red clover, a thing thought to be unu¬ 
sual. Close pasturing, especially in the 
spring, is very injurious to meadows.— 
Meadows occupy 8 to 10 acres in the hun¬ 
dred. Mowing machines not used here. 
The wheat of our valley yielded much 
less than the average crop. Some fields 
were almost destroyed by winter’s cJd, 
others by the insect weevil, so that from 
some lots not two bushels from an acre 
were harvested. 
Some farmers think the weevil was in¬ 
troduced with barley, and it appears to be 
a fact, that it most injures the wheat of 
those who raise barley. In some localities 
Meditteranean wheat is mostly sown, be¬ 
cause of its supposed freedom from the 
weevil. In others the Soule is most used 
on account of its large yield. Hutchinson 
is going into disuse. The Blue Stem wheat, 
just introduced, is highly recommended. 
Wheat is generally sown on thrice plow¬ 
ed summer fallow, but this practice is yield¬ 
ing to the better one of sowing after sum¬ 
mer crops on ground well manured in the 
spring. It is rather discouraging to plow 
ground three times, harrow it four or more, 
and then after sowing two bushels to the 
acre, reap but three; but this is better than 
some have done. In some parts of Seneca 
.Co., the threshers in order to get pay for 
•their labor have charged $7 per hundred 
bushels, and unable to get it thus, charged 
by the number of sheaves. Reapers and 
drills are little used, but are being intro¬ 
duced. On an average 10 to 12 aci^s in 
a hundred are sown with wheat. Prices 
are so low that farmers refuse to sell. 
Arvillo. 
iTlfcyanic 5trls. 
t / 
EVERGREEN CORN. 
For boiling in winter the ears should be 
gathered when fully ripe, a n the huik 
should be tied at the nose to prevent 
drying, when the corn will keep soft, 
white and plump for more than a year if in 
a dry and cool place. At the dinner of the 
Managers of the Fair of the American 
Institute last year, we presented them with 
this corn of two successive year growth, 
boiled, and there- was no perceptible differ¬ 
ence between the two. This yel we sent 
to the Fair one stalk containing I ,ight full 
and fair ears, and could have s’ it many 
hundred stalks of six ears each. 
LIST OF PATENT CLAIMS 
ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 
For the week ending Dec. 9, 1851. 
To A. S. Beadlestono, of Au Sable Forks, N. 
Y., for improved revolving reverberatingfurnaces. 
To D. D. Hell, of Wawarsing, N. Y., for im¬ 
provement in potato diggers. 
To Cornelius Bogart, of Charlestown, Mass., 
for improvement in construction of sounding 
boards for musical instruments. 
To Jn. C. fr. Saloman, of Cincinnati, O., for 
improved carbonic acid engine. 
To J. S. Conant, of Lowell, Mass., for improve¬ 
ment in gas regulators. 
To John Ericsson, of Now York city, for im¬ 
provement in water meters. 
To Jos. Hyde of Troy, N. Y.,(assignor to Tlios. 
J. Eddy, of Waterford, N. Y.,) for improvement 
in chucks for lathes. 
To Clias. Ketcham, of Penn Yan, N Y., for im¬ 
provement in feeding logs in saw mills. 
To Sami. Porter, of Hartford, Conn., for im¬ 
proved arrangement of pans for washing ores, 
minerals, etc. 
To Ezra Ripley & E. L. Brundage, of Troy, 
N. Y., for improvement in car seats. 
To G. W. Tolhurst, of Cleveland, O., for im¬ 
provements in lath machines. 
To T. A. Davies, of New York city, for im¬ 
provement in running gear of Railroad cars. 
DESIGNS. 
To J. D. Green, of Troy, N. Y., (assignor to 
Backus, Bacon <fc Co., of Le Roy, N. Y.,) for de¬ 
sign for stoves. 
To Winslow Ames, of Nashua, N. Y., (assign¬ 
or to Hartshorn & Aines,) for design for stoves. 
DREAMS AND REVERIES- 
“I had a dream that was not all a dream.”—B yron. 
Mr. Moore:—I have been a dreamer all 
my days and have had visions of many 
things darkly, which anon, have blazed up 
before me in unmistakable reality’. There 
has hardly any thing of great utility been 
perfected for the last forty years, but what I 
have had dim foreshadowings cast on the 
speculum of my brain — even the daguer¬ 
reotype process, but my mind was directed 
to th~ fixing the object on the silvering of 
the glass, rather than by the present beau¬ 
tiful process. For this I claim no credit 
My workshop was always in the clouds— 
personally sluggish and inert, I never 
brought anything to a result. Ce't egal — 
let me dream on. 
It has been said, that the discoveries and 
inventions of the last sixty years, would 
find no parallel in any century, or even all 
time to come—that every thing that was 
useful to man was perfected—that there 
was no room or scope for improvements 
equalling those brought to light during that 
period—that all the laws that govern and 
control matter, were taxed to their utmost 
tension, and therefore the end of all things 
was near. 
And yet, and yet, there are many new 
things under the sun. The art of flying is 
talked of now as familiarly in France as 
ballooning, where some interesting experi¬ 
ments have lately been made. Tbe Ocean 
is about to be wired for a submarine tele¬ 
graphic communication. The annihilator, a 
mere boys pop-gun in appearance, is to stay 
and conquer the raging element of fire as 
if by magic. All the gases are to be solid 
ified into a liquid—a two oz. vial containing 
enough, if exploded, to “ to strike flat the 
thick rotundity of the globe.” Electricity 
is about to be harnessed to the iron horse, 
and drag all vitality and inert matter at its 
heels. Fulminating compounds are to com¬ 
pete with steam for all motive power. At¬ 
mosphere is to be catalized and used as an 
illuminating gas, and night turned into 
day, in mockery of the sun. 
The diamond is found not to be a simple 
substance, but a compound, which the art 
of chemistry can make and unmake. Gold 
may be a compound to be imitated and 
compounded in the laboratory. It will yet 
be found that there are but three simple 
substances; a triune of simples, and their 
isomeric compounds create all matter. All 
present received principles may pass away, 
and become as obsolete as Alchemy or 
Sunday laws. 
The learned philosopher who died fifty 
years ago, as little dreamed of the wonders 
of invention now as familiar with us as 
household words, as this generation does of 
the discoveries of the next half century. 
The Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of 
Life, and Perpetual Motion, for the discov¬ 
ery of which lives have been spent, are be¬ 
yond the speculations of the dreamer in 
the regions of undiscovered science. 
Who can aver but''such an energetic, vi¬ 
talized stimulant may be discovered, as to 
produce precocious salads and radishes, 
planted on the same day, for breakfast, and 
potatoes and turnips for dinner, and that 
every farmer may carry the manure for an 
entire acre in his breeches pocket; and 
then; yea, and then * * * * h. y. 
BY L. WETIIERELL. 
THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR. 
- \ 
Another year will close before the 
dawn of our next publication day. Like 
all its predecessors since the deluge, it has 
furnished seed time and harvest, and all the 
usual phenomena which delight the eye 
and cheer the mind of the conscious ob¬ 
server. The mind that is shut out from 
these enjoyments by blindness or deafness, 
either or both, is hot little worse off, than 
that which is bound in the shackles of ig¬ 
norance—though its possessor may have 
both visual and auditory organs. The 
number that have eyes and see not, and 
ears and hear not, is as in olden times, great, 
and we fear much greater than the num¬ 
ber born blind and deaf. 
Ignorance has been styled a rebel—and 
truly so, we think, because in our country 
it is mostly voluntary. In looking over the 
past, and if you go no further back than 
the first day of “ Old 1851,” now about to 
make its final exit, who cannot recount 
much misspent time, which, had it been 
rightly employed, would have removed 
from the mind ignorance and darkness, by 
ushering in the light and freedom of 
knowledge. 
Could all in balancing the accounts of 
the year, make a just estimate of the prof¬ 
its and losses which have fallen to their lot 
during 185.1, they would undoubtedly, find 
that the loss of time is the chief item.— 
And here is cause for regret—for deep re¬ 
morse. Who that has lived fifteen years, 
can look back upon the year and say, “ As 
for me, I have profitably employed and im¬ 
proved all its passing hours? I have 
wasted none of it in needless sleep nor 
recreation —but am conscious of havii.g 
rightly divided it so that I have done all 
that I could to benefit others and impfove 
myself ?” 
There are few comparatively, who find 
much pleasure and satisfaction in a retro¬ 
spective view, or looking over of the past. 
Time and opportunities for physical, mental 
and moral culture, neglected, spring up in 
the memory and cause a feeling of sadness 
to come over the mind which is anything 
but agreeable, and it consequently hastens 
to the future and loses itself as it were, in 
revery, rather than reflect upon the past, 
and seek to draw therefrom lessons which 
shall furnish it with a knowledge of that 
art which teaches man how to live. Very 
few live, as all should, so as to have none 
but pleasant reflections in reviewing the 
past 
It has been our constant aim as the 
weeks have run their course, to furnish 
something that should aid our readers in 
the great and good work of disciplining, 
training and furnishing their minds for the 
active work of life’s busy probation. That 
we have given some subjects that are de¬ 
nominated “ abstract and speculative,” too 
great prominency, and to others, called 
“ practical,” too little attention, may be true. 
We have learned that the word “ practical,” 
conveys different meanings to different 
minds. What may be considered as use¬ 
ful and practical to one, may he regarded 
as speculative and consequently of little or 
no importance to another. 
It will be found true of all, whether 
young or old, that the mind must first be 
entertained—its attention be avyakened, and 
arrested before it can be benefited much, 
either from reading or from instruction 
otherwise furnished. Sir Isaac Newton 
said, “ if anything caused him to differ from 
other persons, it was attention.” The great 
desideratum with all who labor to instruct, 
whether with the voice or the pen, should 
be, how to awaken mind to action. In or¬ 
der to do this we know no better way than 
to turn to the history of mind as contained 
in Biography. Here the living may learn 
both the follies and virtues of human life. 
Here, too, will be found the most powerful 
motives for shunning the one and pursuing 
the other. There are many good books 
which may be studied for this purpose— 
but ever remember that the Holy Bible is 
the best. In all matters pertaining to hu¬ 
man life and character, whether the past 
or future be considered, the Bible must be 
received and regarded as the Book of books. 
The writer’© labor makes the reader’s.ease. 
I 
(l 
