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VOLUME IV. NO. 17. 1 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER : 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literal'}- and Family Newspaper 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AX ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
Tni! 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 Sub¬ 
jects connected with the business of those whose interests 
it advocates. 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. 
For Terms, &e., see last page. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. — SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 18-53. 
1 WHOLE NO. 173. 
) i Progress and Improvement. 
| K A HOLE IN THE POCKET. 
( ? Ah, Reader, a hole in the pocket! Are 
) (, you sure that yours has no rent in it,—no 
} ) fissure through which creeps many a hard- 
) <> earned gain ? Let us look at the matter. 
i J) IIow is it with tho cattle poaching the 
| meadow this soft weather? You think 
1 ; there is something gained by lotting them 
i roam at their pleasure ! Thero is not, but 
j) a t> ad hole in tho pocket is this, letting out 
l many a penny. Better keep the cattle out 
< tilG Helds till tho ground is settled and tho 
!< feed has a good start; and abovo all, bo sure 
\ the meadow is secure from their intrusion. 
) What is cropt now will be twice lost from 
l tho snath. Yes, stop this hole in the pocket. 
<j Ah, yonr years supply of wood is yet un- 
s cut in the tree. Well, you must submit to 
this loakago, and no small holo will you find 
Y it, it you take tho trouble to note the hours 
!j that wiI1 sli P through. Make tho best of it 
f nov D a nd profit in action hereafter. 
7 Took sharp at the fences; see that they 
( dro strong and that they will effectually 
) serve tho purpose for which they were in- 
\ tended. If you find a weak place—a rail 
> broken, a board off, a pickot loose, or a stone 
( down don t rest till tho repairs are thor- 
> oughly made. Stake and cap as much of 
> your rail fonco as practicable, for that will 
( save tuno, and keop it up against winds and 
j vicious animals. These things all well look- 
) od t0 > wi ^ savo you much in time and yield 
J a ? ood P rofi t. It is ono effectual mode of 
) “repairing the breeches.” 
i Hon t neglect tho garden, or you will find 
; a hole there too. Have a care for tho veg- 
) etables. They will yield you a rich return, , 
] g iy mg you an agreeable and healthy varioty ] 
> of food, which will save you much in health, i 
J enjoyment and tho purse. ’ , 
; Wa £° a vigorous war upon the weeds, 
briers and bushes, that love to steal on your 1 
crops and fill up tho corners of your fencos j 
and the waste places. It is bad policy to i 
permit thorn to got tho upper hand, for C 
thieves are they, that open wido the pocket a 
to the escape of many a dollar. By all 
means exterminate them, and then see what c 
a real pleasure it is to till tho land. But if o 
you let them suck out the fertility of tho e 
soil, don’t grumble at short gains, or no tl 
gains at all. 
Thero are many things about tho farm r< 
that may wear holes in the pocket and oat 
up the profits of its products, and which is 
may need more than tho watchful caro of T 
a prudent housewife to look after and head cc 
them off in time. But we have not time tl 
now to hint at all of thorn. It is quite as 
much of a virtue to savo as it is to earn, of 
and it requires quite as much capacity.— cr 
Have a watchful care, therefore, that there Tl 
he no outgoes but such as aro for legitimate tic 
and worthy purposes. So should we earn sp 
and ho careful of our oarnings, that wo be an 
not a burthen to others, and that wo may wc 
also act as good members of the brother- sti 
hood of man. an 
T) ® U. 
But thero aro other leaks of which wo 
might speak, that are not only holes in the shi 
pocket but in tho character also. One of th; 
those is an itching for political honors. Tho cai 
farmer, above all classes, should avoid too an 
gieat anxioty to serve tho “ dear people,” or aci 
to save tho Union.” Ono can look after b v 
his farm and the interests of his party at tho 
samo timo, no easior than he can “ serve 
two masters.” Besides, tho fruit which is 
so tempting proves too often like the apples 
of Sodom. Lot alone politics, farther than 
to keep yourself informed of tho political 
condition of tho country, and of the doings 
of “ tho rest of mankind.” Look well, 
however, that you givo your suffrages to 
good men and true. Scan tho character of 
those who solicit your vote. Bo a patriot, 
but not a politician. It honor smilo upon 
you, why, greet her with a becoming cor- I 
diality, but bo chary of first advances. 
Remember to keop the eye well guarded 
againstvall holes in tho pocket. So shall 
you have a plenty, in tho right enjoymont 
thereof; to bless yourselves and to make glad 
tho hearts of others. 
tium beautiful in theory.—What a labora- 
tory has Nature—and how little does man 
yet know ot what thero is to bo known of 
her doings therein.—w. 
WHY DO PLANTS CHANGE FROM ONE 
VARIETY TO ANOTHER 1 
GROWTH OF PLANTS-ASSIMILATION OF 
CARBON. 
The organic matter of plants is composed 
rd °f these four elements, to wit,—Car¬ 
bon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen. Tho 
plant drains those from both earth and air. 
It was formerly believed that humus yielded 
llk the principal aliment for the nutrition and 
)m growth of plants ; now it is looked upon as 
of secondary, as a source of supply,—tho at- 
of mosphere being now regarded as tho great 
ut reservoir of plant-food. 
Ilumus or vegetable mould is soluble in 
10 water, and thus is formed humic acid. It 
n - is found by experimenting, that but a small 
rn part ot tho carbon contained in tho plant is 
5t - thus furnished. If humic acid does not thus 
n- feed the plant, whence then hath it carbon? 
to It is said by writers or this subject, that 
id the quantitiy of carbonic acid in tho atmos- 
rs phere, averages 4 vols. in 10,000 vols., so 
it that every acre of land sustains a pressure 
of seven tons of carbon. It is estimated, 
■y that tho quantity of oxygen consumed an- 
y nualI y fiy tho breathing of 1,000,000,000 of 
]' porsons is less than a cubic mile, being about 
11 four fifths. A town of 7,000 inhabitants it 
o is estimated consumes, yearly, 551,000,000 
•- cubic feet of oxygen in the wood burned. 
'f Thus ai U porson will readily see ono 
11 fruitful source of carbonic acid. Add to 
J this tho respiration of all animals, and tho 
- decay of both animal and vegetable matter. 
J By analysis it is proved that the quantity of 
f oxygen in the air is not les now, than it was 
800,2,000, or 4,000 years ago. In view of the 
1 fact that such vast quantities of it are used 
- as stated, there must be some mode of sup- 1 
, plying or replacing what has been consumed , 
7 by combustion and respiration ; so also of 
, removing tho carbonic acid, the accumula- ‘ 
tion of which is fatal to animal life. 
, The plant effects this chango and supply. 
It absorbs carbonic acid, and evolves and ( 
: gives off oxygen. Tho quantity of carbon J 
' in tho atmosphero is estimated at 3.300,- x 
■ 000,000,000 of pounds, more than equal to J 
all the plants and coal on tho earth. 
Both the roots and leaves of plants absorb * 
carbonic acid. When exposed to the light 
ot tho sun, it is decomposed and oxygen is q 
evolved. In tho absence of the sun’s light, 
the reverse takes place. Some plants ab- ? 
sorb more oxygen than others. The oak is 
remarkable for the quantity which it absorbs. P 
The amount of oxygon supplied to tho air ^ 
L much greater than that which is absorbed. 
1 ho quantity of carbon which tho plant re- • * 
coivos from tho air is very much greater l 
than that furnished by tho soil. 
It is an interesting fact that the amount ° 
of oxygen in the atmosphero does not in- 
crease, neither does carbonic acid increase. 
Iho vegetable which contains animal nutri- ^ 
tion, discharges tho double fane tion, so to u 
speak, ol both protecting and supporting g 0 
animal life. It takos up carbonic acid which, W( 
were it permitted to accumulate, would do- th 
stroy animal lifo—and furnishes oxygen the * 
supporter of animal life. ' pu 
It is no more essontial that the animal Z\ 
should bo supplied with oxygen, than it is H 
that tho plant should bo well furnished with ' 
carbon. Oxygen is expired by tho plant P ° 
and inspired by the animal, whilo carbonic %■ 
acid is expired by the animal and inspired Z 
by the plant. This is no less true in fact, A 
fell, Triend Moore: — Your correspondent 
3 £ 0 ’* Hiel, in tho 16Sth No. of the Rural, 
r 0 £ asks a correct solution ot tho above question. 
.j 0 f. I am happy to discover a growing spirit 
p 0n of inquiry among the farming community, 
lor- Upon various subjects which have heretofore 
been considered as beyond their compro- 
j e( ] fionsion as involving inexplicable mysteries. 
^ ot there aro hundreds of practical farmers 
ont y h ° do nofc even suspect that all these 
lad " freaks nature,” as they aro pleased to 
torm them, aro the results of nature’s laws 
laws which are established beyond all 
'F conjecture, and which are as invariable in 
thoii operations as is the earth in its course 
:ed around the sun,—as sure in their results as 
ar- aro the seasons in their return. 
'ho To present a full elucidation of tho sub- 
ir. ject would requiro more time than I can 
ed spare at present, and more space than you 
nd would caro to occupy. But I will gi ve your 
as readers a few hints, which may possibly as- 
R- .sis: them in coming at a truo knowledge of 
ia t the facts in the case. 
1 lants are divided by Botanists into genera 
in and species, and again sub-divided into va- 
It rioties. All plants which bear a general 
1 esemblanco in all their parts, as for instance 
is tho Pear, Apple and Crab Apple, are placed 
in tho samo genus; the Pear is one specios 
y ' °f ffi at genus, the Apple another, and 
the dilferent kinds of apples and pears con¬ 
stitute tho varieties. Winter <?;ul Spring 
,0 Wheat are species of the same genus, and 
0 the dilferent kinds of winter and spring 
f wheat aro the varieties. 
It is a general law of nature that different t 
>f genera of plants neer intermix with each 11 
d other, and that different species rarely do * 
so; those changes are mostly confined to ^ 
tho varieties of the same species. For in- f 
stance, wo do not look for an intermixture ^ 
ot pears and apples—if we plant a pear seed ^ 
wo expect it will produco a pear tree, and 0 
vice versa; but we do not expect tho seeds 
• ot either to produce the samo kind of apples n 
or pears as those from which they were a 
s taken, if there are other apples or pear trees ” 
; in th o vicinity of those on which they are b 
* grown. p 
' Now for tho secret agent which produces ^ 
tho change. All plants when in flower omit P 
a fine, mealy dust, termed pollen. This is ^ 
very apparent on the tassels of Indian Corn. ^ 
A particle of this dust must reach the germ ^ 
of every seed, olse it will remain a mere *° 
germ, and produce no seed, or grain. In h< 
coin the silk is tho medium of transmission 
to the germ—we all know if tho silk bo de¬ 
stroyed as soon as it makes its appoaranco, °. r 
thero will bo no corn on the ear. A stalk s '* 
of corn which stands alone rarely produces ^ 
more than a few kernels, becauso the pollen ca 
doos not fall upon tho silk, but is blown te 
away. Yet who has not seen an intermix- an 
turo where two kinds of corn have been St< 
planted even several rods apart? an 
In many kinds of plants the pollen pro¬ 
duces its own kind, either in the first or lai 
second generation—in corn in the first, and ° b 
in wheat in the second generation. In most ^ 
kinds of fruits the product is a combination ° f 
of tho qualities of the two varieties inter- bo: 
mixed. shi 
Tho pollen of plants is so minute that in 
| man N cases it is wafted by the wind even lov 
tor miles; (some authors say there aro well 
authenticated instances where it has been Tb 
so carried more than 40 miles:) and here wh 
we shall probably find an explanation for COr 
the apparont change of your correspondent’s 
pure Hutchinson Wheat. Undoubtedly there " 
was a field of tho kind or kinds of wheat aS 1 
which that produced, not far off, and his puro ra ” 
Hutchinson had been impregnated bv the 
pollon of the other kinds. " P la 
If farmers wish to raise pure seed of any an<: 
kind they must bo careful to plant varieties 
at a considerable distance from each othor. ^ 
Alabama, March 21, 1853. K B w ’ f r0; 
FLAN OF A FARM HOUSE. 
Mr. Editor :—Notwithstanding much has 
boen published within the last ten years on 
the subject of Rural Architecture, it is be¬ 
lieved there is still some room for improve¬ 
ment—especially in that size and style of 
houses needed by the great mass of our 
farmers and mechanics. Perhaps three- 
fourths of tho modern built farm houses cost 
from eight to fifteen hundred dollars, yet 
tho plans of Downing and others, aro mainly 
tor other buildings—the peasant’s cottage, 
or the ridh man’s castle—buildings better 
adapted to the state of society in other 
countries than our own. 
BRAHMA POOTRAS. 
5Xll} It x ll 
8 X M * 5XU9 8X9 
A B | C 
14 X 20 J 10 X 14 | 14 X 20 
Plan of Ground Floor.—A, parlor. B, sitting-room and 
g vestibule. C. living and dining-room. I), D, bed-rooms 
, E, pantry and store-rooms. F, passage. G, wash-room. 
u H, wood-house- I, I, verandas. J, portico. K, princi- 
g pal stairway. L, back stairs. 
Tho accompanying plan conists of a front 
t two stories high, 38 feet long by 28 wide, with 
h a wing in the rear 28 feet long by 21 wide, 
0 including a wood-house. It is intended for 
0 families in which tho women do their own 
. housework, or if help is needed, the holp for 
3 the time being are members of tho family. 
I In noticing the conveniences of tho above, 
l over many others, wo see : 
3 lst - The living-room is in the front and 
. more pleasant part of the house. This is 
} as it should bo. Public opinion in many 
s instances has advanced ono step; it has 
3 brought the family out of tho back wing, and 
placed them in the rear of the main building. 
; ^ ow when it advances one step farther, and 
. places them in tho most delightful part of 
the building, it will have arrived at some¬ 
thing like consistency. IIow unreasonable 
that a man should toil and labor, perhaps 
for years, to collect moans to build him a 
house, and then doom himself and family 
exiles tor life to some dark cornor thereof. 
2d. The neat little sitting-room — large 
onough for all purposes for which it is de¬ 
signed, viz., to retire with two or three 
friends for business or conversation, as the 
caso may be — this, too, is pleasantly situa¬ 
ted, being lighted sufficiently from the front, 
and it is making the most of tho room, in¬ 
stead of having a vestibule nearly as large, 
and used merely as a highway. 
3d. The parlor, as well as living-room, is 
large, and tho principal rooms being of an 
oblong »hape, give more accommodations for 
tables, s'tovos, &c., than if the samo number 
of feet wore contained in a square form, ■ 
besides one does not feel so much liko being 
shut up in a box or pen. 
4th. There are two bed-rooms on the ( 
lowor floor; and this is important. In i 
many of tho plans ot houses thero are none. ^ 
There can be no excuse for this, except 
whore land is extravagantly high. Tho 
comfort and convenience of such rooms, -3 
especially for old people, are apparent. 
Ihero is no plan given of tho second floor, 1 
as that is loss important, and can be ar- ^ 
ranged by tho builder or owner, according 
to taste. The cost of tho above in this ^ 
place, where hemlock lumber is $5 per 1000 ^ 
and pino $20, is about $1,200. B. ( 
Hollow-Hill Farm, April 6, 1853. 
- S 
Plow deep if you would prevent injury p 
from drouth. ' w 
has 1 The public excitement in regard to this 
5 011 breed of Oriental fowls, has become more 
be- intenso, and if possible, more extensive than 
) vo- 18 regard to any other of the foreign varie- 
) of ties. ^ Brahma fowls have recently been 
our actually sold in this city, at $20 and $30 the 
■ee- pair. Now, unless men are affected with 
:ost monomania in regard to this subject, there 
yet must bo some extraordinary, intrinsic value 
My in this breed, to justify such prices. Thev 
,ge, far exceed tho current prices paid for the 
ter best specimens of the Royal Cochin Chinas 
her and Shanghais. It is worth tho inquiry 
therefore, wherein consists this extraordi¬ 
nary' value ? Does it consist in their extra 
size ? As to size, they are generally some¬ 
what larger than the Royal Cochins. The 
finest, select samples, are decidedly larger. 
But are they not coarser also ? Wo have 
seen specimens that were evidently of this 
cast. And are they not also as much more 
expensive to sustain, as thoy are larger ?_ 
Purchasers will, by and by, be able to give 
tho answer. Aro they more productive in 
eggs than tho Chinese? Certainly not; 
they cannot^ be. The Cochins and Shang¬ 
hais have laid all tho winter, and the Brah¬ 
mas can do no more. Aro they more 
beautiful in form 7 No judge will say so. 
Some of them, at least, do not even look as 
round, solid and plump, as the Chinas. Do 
they carry a more uniform and beautiful 
plumage ? Not at all; unless an array of 
the various blendings of black and white, 
frequent among tho common fowls of the 
country, can be considered more beautiful 
id tban tbe P ure white, the glossy bl^ck, and 
>s. the rich fawn of tho Chinese varieties. It 
■i- results, therefore, that they are decidedly 
inferior to the Chinese in beauty of plum- 
lfc a |e; only equal to them in the production 
1 of eggs,—but generally, though not always, 
” superior in size. Does there aught appear 
in all this, to establish the value claimed for 
n them ? Is there any thing here, to justify 
1 P a } dn g for them, three to six times the mar¬ 
ket price ot fine Royal Cochins or Shang- 
hais ? Lot the man of candor, tho man of 
sense and reflection, give the answer. 
But what is the history, and what aro tho ' 
s truo distinctive marks of tho genuine Brah- ! 
y ' mas,—the real “ Simon pures,”—for wo do J 
^ not quostion that there may be a few such? 1 
Dr. Bennet, who gives them their name, \ 
| describes them as an India fowl, imported < 
j. Lem the valley of tho Branma Pootra river; < 
a section of country bordering on the north- ( 
^ eastern portion of the Bay of Bengal. They \ 
] are a largo bird, and their true color is ; 
white, with black tails, and a slight shading ^ 
■ of black in the neck feathers. But Mil ; 
Burnham, of Boston, considers them noth- s 
ing else than grey Shanghais; a variety r 
that may have boen bought for years past, S 
at $3 tho pair in any market. In most < 
places where they have been reared, the ) 
white India fowls, with black tails, have < 
borne tho name of Chittagongs for four or ? 
five years, and have been worth $3 to $5 S 
the pair. Now the Brahma, unless recently 
imported by Dr. Bennet himself, is em- S 
braced in this list. It he is the grey Shang- r) 
hai, ho has been worth $3 the pair for years, ij 
and should bo worth that still. If the grey <j 
or white Chittagong, he has been worth $3 S 
to $5 the pair for years, and why should he < 
be worth more now ? But ■whether tho ( 
Brahma is, in fact, the grey Shanghai and ■ ( 
the grey Chittagong, lot Mr. Cornish, of / 
Connecticut, a gentleman occupying the > 
first rank among tho breeders of fine poultry, t 
testify. He advertises his entire flock of £ 
400 fowls for sale; and describes the Brah- ( 
mas as Chittagongs or grey Shanghais— 
Mr. Miner, of the new Poultry Book, how- V 
ever, demurs to this idea, altogether, and cj 
pronounces tho Chittagong a laxgo, coarse v 
bird, of litt le value except on account of size, c 
What claim then, have the Brahma Poo- ) j 1 
tras, to the high prices asked and obtained ( { 
for them ? What, but the Alchemy of a > < 
name, has transmuted tho familiar C,] 
Shanghai and Chittagong, worth $3 the ( ij 
pair, into the rare and costly Brahma, S Ic 
worth $20 to $30 the pair ? We show, that ( !> 
