VOLUME IV. NO. 2. J- 
RO CHESTER, N. Y. - SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1853 
1 WHOLE NO. 158. 
MOORS’S RURAL NSW-YORKER : 
A QUARTO WEEKLY « 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper, 
CONDUCTED EY D. D. T. MOOSE, 
WITH AH ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
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 G uide on the important Practical Sub- 
jects connected vith the business of those whose interests 
it advoentos. It embraces more Agricultural, Horticul¬ 
tural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News Matter — 
interspersed with many appropriate and handsome engrav¬ 
ings— than any other paper published in this Country. 
$3^” Port Terms, &c., see last page. 
Progress and Improvement, 
FARMERS’ HOMES. 
We have long purposed to say a few 
words to farmers and residents in the coun¬ 
try, about their homes and the surroundings 
thereof. Farm houses, for the most part, 
are built with a view to convenience and 
comfort, though some farmers who have 
means in abundance, build too largo and 
too expensive structures for their purposes. 
The homo of the farmer, without being ex¬ 
travagant, should combine all that is useful 
and pleasant; for here himself and his fam¬ 
ily aro to spend much of their time and en¬ 
joy most of the comforts of life. 
Farm dwellings are often wanting in some 
of the niceties of taste and refinement, 
having been erected more with the idea of 
cheapness and comfort than for show. This 
is commendable, yet, too often, little care is 
taken to make them any better than is 
necessary to koep out the wot and cold and 
give them an air of respectability. Yard 
fences are of tho cheapest character, per¬ 
haps of posts and rails. The house stands 
exposed to the bleak winds of winter, and 
to summers’ scorching sun, with not a soli¬ 
tary tree to defend it from tho former, or 
to cast a friendly shado to protect it from 
tho latter. The effect upon its appearance 
is too evident and familiar to need more 
than a passing notice. 
With our pioneer settlers thoro was abund¬ 
ant excuse for a lack of attention to these 
matters. They wero wanting alike in time 
and means to devote to beautifying their 
dwellings. Now, however, it is far different. 
It is time a better tasto was cultivated, and 
put into extensive practice. There is a 
propriety, as well as use and beauty in so 
arranging yards and dwellings as to bo 
pleasing to the eye. The desire for such 
embellishment is increasing and should be 
encouraged, as a means of awakening, 
strengthening, and developing -the best af¬ 
fections of the human heart. 
In the dullest mind there is an apprecia¬ 
tion of tho boauties of nature. A tree, a 
shrub or plant aro objects of the deepost 
interest. A judicious arrangement of them 
around your houses cannot bo too strongly 
recommended. They not only adorn tho 
home, but aro useful in the influence they 
are calculated to exert. Tho lovo of nature, 
and natural scenery, warms and elevates the 
heart, rendering its sorrows more gontlo, its 
joys more abundant, and the emotions of 
pleasure more enduring. It serves to cor¬ 
rect and refino tho mind, control its pas¬ 
sions, and elevate its conception of the beau¬ 
tiful, tho good and the pure. It would bo 
an approximation to the bettor world, in¬ 
deed, if our moral sentiments wero trained 
to harmonize with the divine qualities and 
delicious harmonies of tho world of nature 
by which wo aro surrounded. 
To the lamented Downing and other kin¬ 
dred spirits, tho public are under many ob¬ 
ligations for awakening a conception of tho 
beautiful in Rural Architecture and Land¬ 
scape Gardening, and thus forming a tasto, 
tho good effects of which will not only be 
seen and felt, but which will grow stronger 
with the lapse of time, until our rural dis¬ 
tricts shall literally bud and blossom as 
the rose. 
May wo not thon, urgo upon farmers tho , 
propriety and importance of adorning their 
grounds with troes, shrubs and flowers tho 
verduro and the fragrance of which all so 
much admire? Nor should tho dwelling 
itself be longer neglectod. A coat of paint 
and good blinds, though not indispensable, 
are luxuries within tho reach of nearly all, 
and will abundantly repay tho necessary 
outlay. Though these, with smooth lawns 
and nice gravelled walks may seem unim¬ 
portant matters, they should not be lightly 
neglected. 
It is no uncommon thing to hear farmers 
complain that they cannot keep their sons 
at home. Despite all their efforts, there is 
an irresistible desire to seek some other vo¬ 
cation than the safe and wholesomo pursuit 
of their fathors, Why is this ? One rea¬ 
son is, that farmers, as a general rule, have 
boon at no labor to so instruct their sons in 
tho duties of tho firm as to imbue their 
minds with a love, or even respect for agri¬ 
cultural pursuits. Thousands of them not 
only furnish them no publications or papers 
devoted to their interest, but decry as the 
veriest humbugs, all thoso who conceivo 
there is such a thing as method and scienco 
connected with the daily labors of tho farm. 
All tho reading matter about tho house is 
calculated to create a distaste for rural 
pursuits, and leave the impression that of 
all things a country life is the most dull and 
insupportable. This is all wrong. If those 
who till the soil, would interest their sons 
in the same calling, steps should be early 
taken to unfold to them its interesting 
and instructive features. Geology, botany, 
and chemistry, are so nearly allied to farm¬ 
ing that a. knowledge of them enables far¬ 
mers’ sons to understand and appreciate the 
labors of the field. The formation and im¬ 
provement of the soil, tho germination and 
growth of plants, and every process in the 
great laboratory of nature, would lie invested 
with new beauties, and render their labor 
rather hours of delight, than mere tasks 
unwillingly performed. 
Again, thero is no effort made to render 
homo attractive. The mind of the young 
is ever pleased with that which wears a 
freshness and beauty. Contrasting tho 
farm residence in its primitive plainness, 
with tho neat, quiet, garden-embowered 
cottage of somo villago acquaintance, they 
very naturally conclude thero is some¬ 
thing connected with town or city life, or 
with' some of tho professions, which in them¬ 
selves furnish a cluo to all this beautiful 
profusion of trees, shrubs and flowers, which 
awakes in them such varying and joyous 
emotions. Judging from appearances, they 
at once decide that a country life, and par¬ 
ticularly the life of a farmer, is too dull, too 
tircsomo, to be congenial to them. 
These errors, for errors they are, should 
bo corrected. The place to begin is at home. 
Mako the homestead pleasant, by surround- 
it with evidences of cultivated taste, by 
placing in and around it, objects pleasing to 
tho eye and congenial to tho mind. Culti¬ 
vate a love for rural life and rural pursuits. 
Furnish tho means of fireside instruction 
and amusement. Make a good selection of 
books and papers, and our word for it, your 
sons will learn to lovo a “ farmer’s homo.” 
__ _ _ t 
Horace Geeely a Farmer.— About thirty 
miles from New York city, on the line of the 
Harlem Railroad, Horace Greely, of the 
Tribune, has a farm of thirty acres of bog 
swamp and mountain rocks, on which his 
future home is now building. It is near 
Chapaque, in Westchester county. Hero 
tho city editor will play the country farmer, 
and having monoy to spend, will doubtless 
enjoy himsolf in making, “the wilderness 
blossom as tho rose,” and reap profit in 
health and happiness, if in no othor shape. 
A Good Heifer.— Mr. John Mather, of 
Middlesex, N. Y., writes under date of Doc. 
G, as follows :—“ I had weighed this day a 
heifer, two years old last April. Her live 
weight is one thousand threo hundred and 
fifty pounds. She has nevor had any grain 
or extra care till within the last two months.” 
A gTtod heifer, that. 
AN ESSAY ON DRAINING-.* 
BY N. DAYIDSON REDPATH. 
Stone Drains. 
In situations whero stone is abundant, it 
is used to great advantage in making and 
filling up drains. Tho conduits at the bot¬ 
toms of tho cuts are made by placing flat 
stones 8 or 9 inches high along tho sides of 
tho drains, and over these are placed strong 
flat stones, for covers. In the majority of 
cases, the bottoms will not require to be 
flagged, (except, when the drains pass over 
a quicksand,) the ground, in general, will be 
found sufficiently hard for the purpose of 
the water course. After tho completion of 
tho conduit, tho drain is filled up with 
small stones to within about 12 inches of 
the surface; sods, turned with the grass 
side down, are laid immediately above them, 
to prevent the surface soil from penetrating 
downwards. Straw, stubble, &c., are used 
for the same purpose, though not with the 
same good effect, as these materials afford 
shelter for mice and other vermin, which 
frequently make their nests therein and 
carry down loose matter, which occasionally 
impedes the current of the water. The 
surface soil is thus filled in and the work is 
completed. Tho water percolating through 
the stones is received by the conduit below^ 
and thence carried away into the mains and 
ultimately voided into somo creek, river, or 
lake. These drains, if constructed with com¬ 
mon care, will run for hundreds of years. 
The following diagram rep¬ 
resents the section of a stone 
drain : — Four feet deep, two 
feet wide at top, and 13 inch¬ 
es at bottom; the conduit is 
9 inches high and 4 inches 
broad. In constructing the 
conduit of a drain tho height 
ought to be at least double 
the breadth, to prevent the 
lodgment of fibrous matter. The roots of 
wheat, which will frequently strike down 6 
or 7 feet below the surface, are particularly 
annoying in this respect. The fibers pene¬ 
trate through the intersticos of the stone in¬ 
to the water course beneath, where, in the 
fall, they rot off, and, matting together into 
large balls, will choke up the drains where 
sufficient elevation is not provided for their 
exit. 
Rumble Drains. 
Rumble drains are made similar to the 
common stone drains, just described, except 
that the conduit is dispensed with. In 
countries where small stones only are found, 
can these kind of drains be tolerated.— 
Having no conduit in tho bottom of the 
cut, they are apt, in a short time, to get 
choked up with sand and mud, and utterly 
defeat the object for which thoy are con¬ 
structed. Since tho introduction of drain 
tiles they have fallen into disuse. 
Brush Drains. 
Before the introduction of drain tiles, in 
some parts of the Old Country, where stones 
are scarce, or had been exhausted by drain¬ 
ing purposes, farmers were in the habit of 
filling drains with tho cullings of thick 
thorns, branches of trees, furze, &c. — 
These were placed in the drains (beginning 
at tho end,) in an oblique direction, some¬ 
what from the perpendicular, and sods or 
straw wero used to cover the brush to pre¬ 
vent the admission of the surface soil, as 
formerly explained. These drains, (if made 
up at the open ends with stones, so as to ex¬ 
clude the air,) have been known to run for 
a hundred years. In this country, whore 
wood of tho very best quality can be pro- 
cuaed in tho greatest abundance, and at lit¬ 
tle or no expense, this kind of drain, some¬ 
what improved, might be constructed for 
durability and efficiency little inferior to the 
best stone or tile drain, without increasing 
any other expense except that of manual 
labor. A conduit for tho bottom could be 
made of split wood, such as oak, or any 
other kind not subject to rot in water, after 
tho manner described under the head of 
Stone Drains. Or tho conduit could bo 
* Continued from page 5, last number. 
made after tho manner called “coupling,” 
that is, two pieces of split wood, say 12 or 
16 inches broad, and of any convenient 
length, may be placed at the bottom of the 
drains with their under edge resting against 
the sides of the cut, and the other edges 
brought together like the roof of a house, 
so as to form, when united, 
the figure of a triangle.— 
Above tho wooden con¬ 
duit, place good oak or other durable limbs, 
and finish as directed in the description of 
Common Brush Drains. It may bo proper 
to state, that the open ends of these drains 
must be finished so as to exclude the atmos¬ 
phere as much as possible. A drain finish¬ 
ed in this way would last for centuries.* If 
quick sands occur in the course of the drain, 
remember that the space must be covered 
by stout planks, placed as a bottom to the 
conduit, until the danger is past. 
Turf or Sod Drains. 
These drains are well calculated for the 
draining of swamps or marshes. The skill 
of the drainer will be called into exercise 
to discover the springs whence the water is¬ 
sues, from which one or two good drains, 
whero practicable, may be cut to carry off 
the surface water. Y arious experiments 
have been tried for this purpose, such as 
digging deep drains on the firm ground, 
around the margin of the swamps, sinking 
deep pits, &c., into which surface drains, cut 
in dry weather, aro made to run. 
In some cases a single pit will be capable 
of draining a considerable extent. Small 
drains should bo run in tho direction of 
these pits, or to a main drain when possible. 
These tributary drains are generally dug to 
the depth of about 2 feet, tapering to about 
6 or 8 inches at the botton. Thick sods ta¬ 
ken from the surface, or procured elsewhere, 
are placed, grassy side downward, on the 
bottom of the drain, but laid so as not to 
reach the bottom by 3 or 4 inches. A clear 
passage being thus afforded to the water, 
the surface mattor is filled in above the turf 
or sod, and the work is finished. 
Drain tiles will not answer in soils of this 
kind unless boards are laid along the soft 
bottoms, to prevent them from sinking be¬ 
low the level. In this country, perhaps, a 
better plan would be, after boarding the bot¬ 
toms, that the conduct should be made of 
split wood, after the manner called coup¬ 
ling, described in former part of this essay. 
*It may not be uninstructive to mention, especially to 
those who entertain doubts of the durability of brush 
drains, that iu Scotland, before the introduction of the tile- 
drain, and in the absence of better materials, drains were 
filled with furze, and frequently with straw.' and often¬ 
times with nothing at all / .' Cut a drain and simply fill it 
in again, and the water will he carried otf by this simple 
process for a long time! 
[ Concluded next week .] 
NOTES.-MUCK AS A MANURE. 
Thinking to economise in the article of 
manure, last season I used a muck compost 
on the half of a field with satisfactory re¬ 
sults. The muck was taken from open 
ditches and the residue from those covered 
—costing nothing but the hauling, besides 
leaving the banks of tho ditches in a clean 
and neat condition. One hundred loads of 
muck thus obtained was covered with 25 
of stable manure, and over this was spread 
200 bushols (6 loads) of unleached ashes— 
ashes from the salt works, containing a small 
per centago of salt, or chlorine of soda.— 
The pile was about SO feet square, and 3 or 
4 feet high. The past spring the compost 
was applied to the half of a six acre field, 
at the rate of about 30 loads to the acre; 
the residue of tho lot covered with half de¬ 
composed barn yard manure, in about the 
same quantity per acre. 
Both the muck and the manure were 
spread after plowing, and mixed with the 
soil by a wheel cultivator. The field was 
planted to tobacco. The season was re¬ 
markably dry, which gave some advantage 
to the muck; but making all duo allowance 
for the season, I was satisfied that the muck 
was much tho best, as it was the cheapest 
manure, as a few figures will show. 
Estimating the cost of muck at tho price 
for hauling, 100 loads at a shilling per load, 
$12,50 ; twenty-five loads of manure at fifty 
cents per load, $12,50, and two hundred 
bushels of ashes at two and a half cents, 
$5,00. Total $30, or $10 per acre. Of 
barn yard manure unequal number of loads 
at fifty cents per load, cost $15 per acre—a 
difference of fifty per cent.; while tho dif¬ 
ference in the crop was at least fifty per 
cent the other way, in favor of tho muck 
compost. 
So marked was the difference that it was 
noticeable to tho most casual observer.— 
Though I think the season had something 
to do with the marked disparity between 
the two kinds of manure, still I am of the 
opinion that the condition of the land is 
improved for a future crop whero the muck 
was applied, equal to the difference of the 
past season, in other words, that tho muck, 
&c., is possessed of tho organic and inor¬ 
ganic principles in the proportion of at 
least two to ono over tho barn yard manure. 
Yours, T. A. s. 
Syracuse, Dec. 24, 1852. 
FARMING A PAYING BUSINESS. 
Mr. Editor :—The repeated assertion that 
land will not pay or clear the interest on the 
money invested in it, at the present high 
prices, is my excuse for offering this article 
for your disposal. 
I do not deny that somo of the items in 
tho following statement aro by estimate, but 
tho main articles aro from actual measure¬ 
ment, such as wheat, See. I do not pretend 
to any extraordinary skill or management, 
knowing that there are others that go far 
before mo; being a young farmer—a novice 
in the business—just iu my a b abs, antici¬ 
pating great progress. In this statement, 
the great staple article was sold low. Nor 
is this a strained effort for ono year; I have 
now thirteen acres more wheat on the 
ground, all fallowed, and several acres more 
for cultivation next summer—and have pro¬ 
duced more some seasons before. But to 
the figures. 
Account of Receipts of Farm for 1852. 
1,800 bushels of wheat at 7s. 6d.$1,687 50 
35 toDS Timothy hay at $8 per ton,.... 280 00 
160 bush, potatoes at 31c. per bush. 50 00 
273 “ oats at 37j^c. “ 102 38 
7 acres of corn, (45 bush, per acre,) at 62c. 
per bush. 196 87 
Stalks from the above at $5 per acre,... 35 00 
Wool and lambs sold,._•. 129 78 
70 cords of wood for fuel at $1 per cord, 70 00 
600 lbs. of pork made on swill, grass and 
shack, at 7)Kc,. 45 00 
1,200 lbs. of beef at 5c. per lb., made on 
grass and pumpkins,. 60 00 
Keeping 3 cows one year for family,.... 4500 
Growth of 9 colts one year,. 150 00 
Fruit sold and for family use,. 35 00 
House and garden rent for one year,.... 75 00 
Amount received for pasturing,. 2138 
Use of horse for family to drive,. 10 00 
Oat straw, eggs, poultry, butter, ashes, Ac. 32 47 
Total income for current year,.$3,025 38 
Farm Expenses for 1852. 
For interest on capital invested in farm, 
210 acres, at $75 per acre,.$1,102 50 
Taxes on the above,. 40 00 
Interest on $1,500 invested in farm tools,. 
stock, Ac. 105 00 
Annual wear of plows, wagons, Ac.,_ 50 00 
Blacksmith’s bill,. 20 38 
Clover seed aud plaster,. 45 00 
Wear and tear of horses and harness,.... 60 00 
Expenses of haying, harvesting and 
thrashing,. 160 00 
My own time and labor,. 300 00 
20 tons of hay for stock at $8 per ton,.. 160 00 
200 bush, oats for horses at 37)kc. 75 00 
Amount paid for month help and board,. 280 00 
Seed wheat, oats, potatoes, Ac.,. 11650 
Incidental repairs,. 11 00 
Total expenses,.$2,525 38 
This taken from the income leaves $500 
clear profits. Nor is that all; the land is 
enhancing in value and increasing in fertility. 
The building of Railroads, — bringing us 
within 24 hours of the great city markets, is 
a guaranty that we are to have henceforth, 
remunerative prices — that tho business is 
coming up permanently. It is not yet fully 
appreciated, honored, or reduced to a 
science. Good grain land will continue to 
advance in price until it gets to at least $100 
