MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER I AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
or produced in the County, by the person 
offering them. It would bo to reward a 
man for using his money, in purchasing a 
fine animal or a fine article, instead of rear¬ 
ing or producing it himself. Such articles 
may be placed on exhibition, but should not 
be permitted to compete for premiums with 
those reared in the County, at the expense 
of time, labor and money, by the person 
offering them. Injustice has been done to 
breeders, as I think, by allowing stock ob¬ 
tained through the range of the State, and 
purchased in view of such exhibition, to 
compote for County premiums. An exten¬ 
sive dealer, who never bred an animal, or 
roared a fowl in his life, through the influ¬ 
ence and publicity of premiums thus ob¬ 
tained, might command abroad the reputa¬ 
tion of a skillful and responsible breeder, to 
tho detriment of actual producers, while he 
might bo tho last man to merit such repu¬ 
tation. 
We by no means realise hero, all the bene¬ 
ficial results that should bo connected with, 
and flow from, either the state or county fairs. 
A prominent object if not tho paramount 
object of tho Fairs in Europe is, to furnish 
the best opportunity for effecting sales, and 
making purchases, of the most valuable and 
desirable stock and products. This object 
seems to bo entirely overlooked here. All 
kinds of valuable property, both of the far¬ 
mer and mechanic should bo exhibited with 
lowest prices attached, so that those who 
wish to seo and buy, can do so at the time, 
and those who wish to purchase at a future 
tiino, will know where to look for articles 
desired. This ought to bo made one of the 
loading, as it might bo ono of the most use¬ 
ful objects, of the county fair. 
To facilitate such object in all its details, 
each County Society should have a place 
for its annual exhibitions; at least a couple 
of acres,—on lease or in its ownership,— 
eligibly situatod; suitably enclosed,—having 
convenient fixtures, with plain, cheap sub¬ 
stantial sheds and buildings for stock and 
products, and manufactured articles; these 
could be brought in, registered, located and 
arranged at convenience. An opportunity 
would thus be offered, to persons wishing 
to purchase, for a leisurely examination, on 
the day previous to that on which the judg¬ 
es are to act; thus preventing hurry and 
confusion on that day ; and remedying also 
tho necessity to those who resido at a dis¬ 
tance, of removing their stock and articles 
from the exhibition, on that day at an early 
and inconvenient hour. Being in charge, 
of persons, entrusted with their custody by 
tho President of tho Society, articles so de¬ 
posited, would be securely watched and 
pi’Otected, night and day. 
If these suggestions should avail in bring¬ 
ing this subject, in all its bearings, to the 
consideration of tho County Agricultural 
Socioties at their annual meeting, and re¬ 
sult in progress and improvement, it will 
gratify your correspondent. Farmer D. 
Monroe, County N. Y. Nov. 1853. 
THE POOR SOIL OF NEW ENGLAND. 
The address delivered before the Plym¬ 
outh Co., (Mass.) Agricultural Society by 
Sanford Howard, Esq., Editor of the Boston 
Cultivator, contains many excellent sugges¬ 
tions on tho cultivation of the poor soils of 
tho eastern Atlantic States. The West has 
much the best soil, but the eastern States 
have tho best markets close at their own 
doors. To compete with them, tho speaker 
said, we must meet them with their own 
weapons. Cultivate the best soil we have .— 
But what shall we do with tho poor soil'— 
Devote it to wood. White-birch, Scotch- 
larch, pitch and white-pine, chestnut and 
silver-poplar are recommended for planting. 
In the cultivation of crops, wo must con¬ 
sider what is most needed hero, what can bo 
most readily produced, and what is obtained 
with most difficulty from abroad. Bulk 
and weight rather than tho pecuniary value 
of articles, regulate tho cost of transporta¬ 
tion. Tho actual cost of transporting a ton 
of hay, a thousand miles, is as great as that 
of transporting a ton of wood the same dis¬ 
tance, while their actual value bears no 
proportion. Hay and grass for feeding la¬ 
boring animals and milch cows always com¬ 
mand high prices, and are tho most profi¬ 
table crop to raise. Indian corn stands 
next in profit. Vegetables and fruits gen¬ 
erally afford a remunerate profit. In cran¬ 
berry culture Mass, need not fear competi¬ 
tion. It can bo produced no where else 
cheaper than here. Tho disputed point 
as to whether the production of moat to a 
greater extent would be profitable is dis¬ 
cussed and the opinion advanced that sheep 
kept not merely for their wool, but for mut¬ 
ton would prove highly remunerative.— 
Mr. H. mentioned a farmer in N. Y. who had 
practiced sowing turnips, after clover or rye, 
about the middle of October, and feeding 
off with sheep confined by hurdles on small 
portions of the field at a time. In this way 
the sheep if in tolerable order at commence¬ 
ment will got fat, and tho ground get rich. 
THE PASSENGER CAR, TIME, 
WINTER TRAIN OF THE 1853 RAILWAY. 
December 1st. 
Now screams tho whistle of tho self-wil¬ 
led monster, admonishing passengers that 
they are starting for the last station on this 
company’s track, preparatory to changing 
cars on a new line and broader gauge. 
IIow tho mist of its panting breath streams 
through the frozen air. Away wo go.— 
What a long train it is. How all sublunary 
things flit by like tho gorgeous pageantry 
of a dream. What a congregation of hu¬ 
man limbs and muscles, most wonderfully 
and fearfully made. What a cargo of the 
quintessence of dust—a struggling world 
rushing to its doom. What is this vast 
multitude in search of, or where bound :— 
Their present object, that unknown and fairy 
region called Happiness, which all aro in 
search of, and so few attain—and bound to 
that region of hope and fearful uncertainty, 
tho great gulf of Sleepy Hollow, in tho far 
off land of Futuria—tho entrance on tho 
broad and endless continent of eternity. 
This train is sure and without error, or 
variation in time, chance, or destiny—noth¬ 
ing stops, or detains its motions or period 
of arrival; though many fail and perish by 
the way—are dropped and engulphed by 
the Lethean waves of forgetfulness : but on 
sweeps the train, and will not vary tho ono 
consecutive part of a second in reaching tho 
depot of the 1854 road. So “ look out for 
the cars ivlien the bell rings,” and see that 
your baggage is ready. Look over tho log¬ 
book of memory and see that every duty is 
performed for a long and perilous voyage. 
Is the wood-shed filled and tho cellars 
banked, and all tho perishables properly 
housed and secured—the animals protected 
against colds and storms, and the fattening 
swine kept clean, warm, dry, and well fed. 
Racks and feeding bins ready for foddor- 
ing, to avoid the tramping of cattle and des¬ 
truction of one half tho feed. Are all the 
summer-used tools under cover, and every 
thing picked up and put in their places, 
preparatory to winter snows and sleets and 
rains. 
Have you a good bag of Dutton or JVhile- 
jlint meal, cheek by jowl with tho flour 
barrel. It is twice as cheap and much 
more nutritious and healthy. Look at the 
butter-faced, chubby, red-gilled, roly-poly 
saplings of humanity that cluster and can¬ 
ter around tho log cabins of tho poor in a 
new country. Superfino wheat bread and 
tho noxious pastries are innocent of all this 
health and hardihood—Potatoes and Jonny 
cake aro the great specifics—tho grand 
panacea that cures dyspepsia and produces 
this robustuous outpouring of life and joy¬ 
ousness. 
Aro all the little responsibilities shod, pant¬ 
ed and jacketed, and to school in time, and 
tho school library books duly thumbed and 
dog-eared by use. 
Have you really kept Thanksgiving, or 
only eaten a fat turkey and forgotton the 
poor. This is a casein foro conscicntiae, we 
pause for a verdict. If it is all right, whoop ! 
for a merry Christmas—a happy New Year, 
and a pleasant and safe arrival at the grand 
Depot of the new rail-way line, 1854. 
Prompter. 
CONSUMPTION OF OATS IN LONDON. 
For the year ending Sept. 3, 1S53, tho 
consumption of oats in London amounted 
to tho enormous quantity of 11,446,300 
bushels, or thirty thousand eight hundred and 
Jlfly-lhree bushels per day. Of these ten 
per cent, were grown in England, seven in 
Scotland, twenty five in Ireland, and fifty- 
eight (more than half) woro imported from 
foreign countries. Statistics aro given for 
tho last 14 years from which it appears that 
for tho year ending Sept. 4, 1840, tho con¬ 
sumption of oats was but 7,914,336 bushels 
or twenty-one thousand seven hundred and 
forty-ono bushels per day, or nine thousand 
bushels per day less than in 1S53. 
We recollect, grumbling, old English farm¬ 
ers, declaring that the introduction of rail¬ 
way traveling would be very injurious to 
their interests, by lessening tho demand for 
horses and horse food ; and oven somo in¬ 
telligent American farmers were somewhat 
of the same opinion. But the experience 
of this country, as well as of England, as 
shown by the above statistics, proves that 
cheap mechanical modes of traveling on 
the long routes, so amazingly increases tho 
amount of staging on tho short routes in 
cities that tho introduction of the iron horse 
so far from lessening tho demand for his old 
fashioned, muscular brother, has had the 
opposite effect, and a good horse is worth 
more now than ho ever was in the palmiest 
days of staging. Tho same fact is observed 
to attend the introduction of every labor 
saving machine. It always, in one way or 
another, increases tho demand for manual 
labor. Hence every ihvontor is a public 
benefactor, and should receive all possible 
encouragement. 
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GROUND FLAN OF O. S. FOWLER S OCTAGON nOUSE. 
THE GRAVEL WALL, AND OCTAGON MODE 
OF BUILDING. 
Fowler & Wells have recently issued a 
work entitled, “ A Home for All, or the 
Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building.” 
Its two leading features aro tho gravel 
wall, or, concrete mode, and tho octagon 
form of building, applied to domestic archi¬ 
tecture. It gives specific directions for se¬ 
lecting, proportioning, mixing, and deposit¬ 
ing the materials, erecting tho requisite 
boxes or moulds, and putting on the out¬ 
side finish ; so that, by following them, in¬ 
genious persons can erect their own houses, 
and fit them for occupancy, almost without 
aid from mechanics—doors, windows, roof¬ 
ing, and plastering excopted. Especially, 
it tells tho poor man, the very poorest, how 
to proceed to make a comfortable cottage, 
at a trifling cost, except his own labor, of 
from.$30 to $50, including a plan for adding 
to it afterwards, as time and moans may al¬ 
low, without losing tho part first built, be¬ 
sides applying these modes to barns and 
out-houses. It also throws out numerous 
observations, and suggestions, applicable to 
all forms mid kinds of buildings; shows how 
to make fixtures, green-houses, flower-pits, 
chimneys, &c.; makes some judicious ob¬ 
servations respecting fruit culture, and de¬ 
scribes the board wall and plank wall plans, 
besides introducing the hexagonal form, 
and othor miscellaneous matters of groat 
practical value. Progress in building is 
just as possible as in other departments of 
human industry and comfort; and our au¬ 
thor has taken several steps in the right di¬ 
rection—that of cheapening, bettering and 
multiplying human homes in general, and 
tho laboring man’s cottage in particular.— 
All who intend to build should give this lit¬ 
tle work a careful examination before com¬ 
mencing. 
In building on this principle tho first ob¬ 
ject is to select the right material. And, 
fortunately this abounds in some form on 
nearly every square mile of the earth’s sur¬ 
face. 
All that is wanted is stono and limo. The 
stone requires to bo of various sizes, from 
tolerably fine sand, all the way along up 
to stones as large as you can well deposit 
in your Avail. There must, however, be 
enough of tho fino to connect tho coarser 
stones together. 
All that is required, is something solid 
for tho limo to adhero to. The more fino 
sand you have, the more lime will bo re¬ 
quired, tho more coarse stones, tho less, and 
the more solidly tho materials are compacted 
together, tho thinner will that Avail need to 
bo. Probably the very bost materials will 
be found in those gravel knolls which 
abound throughout our country, which aro 
composed of all sizes, from middling fino 
gravel, all tho way along up to stones the 
size of the fist or head ; and wherever such 
a bank can bo had, all required is to mix 
tho limo with it, and throAv it right into the 
wall. 
Tho excellent engraving on the first page 
gives the elov r ation of the author’s residence 
and needs no explanation. Tho description 
of the accompanying ground plan cannot be 
given better than in the author’s own lan¬ 
guage : 
My houso is located on an oval knoll, dig¬ 
ging off the top of which furnished me with 
nearly all tho stones, large and small, used 
in putting up its walls. All my cellar, 
therefore is above ground, except two holes, 
C L and M, alongside of my ice-house. 
My ice-house consists of two stories—the 
upper one for ice, the lower, a room kept 
cool by tho ice and its drippings, a prosorv- 
atory for keeping fruit, butter, eggs, fresh 
meat, fish, bacon, pies, etc. Its structure 1 
is simple and as follows : 
Erect studs as for a wall. Lath and plas¬ 
ter both sides, and finish tho outside as you 
do your house. This furnishes a placo for 
dead air —tho best non-conductor in tho 
world—superior, says Professor Silliman, 
to tan-bark, or even charcoal. In tho plas¬ 
tering use a little cement. Then erect an¬ 
other set of studs, first having nailed on 
your lath before they aro raised ; then raise 
and fasten them, and plaster from the in- 
sido. or between the studs; this gives two 
confinod air-chambers. Then lath on the 
inside of theso studs, and plaster, and you 
have three air-chambers all around your 
ice-house and preservatory for both stories. 
Next lay your floor to tho bottom of your 
ice-house and top of preservatory, and 
mako it water-tight, by caulking, or plaster¬ 
ing with cement, or in some othor Avay; 
and having this floor descend a fow inches 
from tho middle each Avav, so as to carry 
off the water, and resting this floor on rows 
of studs below, which servo both to support 
tho ice and fasten shelves to, and to the out¬ 
side toav of studs lath and plaster with ce¬ 
ment, so that the ice drippings may run off 
behind this inner wall of tho preservatory, 
or bet\A'een it and tho two rows of studs 
above described. Your preservatory is now 
perfectly dry, and of ono temperature the 
year round. Its bottom should also bo 
double, so as to bo dry, yet let water pass 
under it. In mino the ice is gathered at 
the door, under Avhich it runs through a 
lead pipe, bent upward like a new moon, 
which alloAvs water to pass out, but prevents 
air from passing in. It passes into this col¬ 
lar C L, and my milk closet M, which also 
has two stories, tho lower for preserves and 
what elso avo want to keep, yet do not think 
worth tho trouble of going into tho preser¬ 
vatory, and the top for milk, having two 
floors, which admits the cold air up into the 
milk-room, yet prevents tho dirt from de¬ 
scending by tho loAver ono catching it. 
All required to mako this floor is, having 
laid your floor timbers, nail a floor to their 
under side, leaving a space an inch or two 
Avide at ono side, and a shelf over this crack 
will provent much dirt from getting down, 
and then nailing another floor to the top of 
theso timbers, having another opening on 
the other side of the floor. 
M for milk ; the cold air passing up from 
I the bottom story, into which tho water runs 
from under tho preservatory, both having 
shelves. A like arrangement at C L gives 
tAvo largo cellars, ono above tho other, on a 
like principle. 
Tho entrance to my presorvatory is with 
two stairways leading to it, ono from the 
side toward tho kitchen, for tho cook, and 
the other larger, for tho gardener to tako 
down barrels of beef, fruits, and the larger 
articles. Thus all tho cold of my ice is 
savod, and cools five rooms, tho presen r ato- 
ry and tho other tAvo double-storied rooms 
contiguous. Even the cold Avhich escapos 
in opening the preservatory door passes in¬ 
to theso rooms, besides cooling the room 
marked A P, for apples, potatoos, etc., and 
that marked K S, for kitchen stores, both 
of Avhich aro fitted up wdth shelves. 
In the closet C, ono anglo S carries up a 
stove-pipe hole, made out of that very ma¬ 
terial described for making tho wall, and 
drawing up, as you filled up, a round stick 
the size of tho flue desired—a cheap way of 
making chimneys, and as good as tho very 
best. A wash-boiler is stationed in the ad¬ 
joining room, W R, having a cistern, C I, 10 
by 10—it can easily bo made larger or 
smaller—which receives tho surplus water 
from tho cisterns above, and tho roof having 
at one cornor throe straight walls, ono of 
which extends from bottom to top of tho 
cistern, made of this same wall material, or 
of brick, and cemented both sides, having 
holes at tho bottom. Tho other tAvo aro a 
foot or eighteen inches high, and say a fix t 
on each side of the other, also cemented, 
and tho spaces between them and tho high 
wall filled in with charcoal and coarse grav¬ 
el, so that the water rising to this low wall 
runs down through this filtering charcoal 
through those holes at tho bottom of tho 
high wall, then up through charcoal and 
coarso gravel on the other sido, and thus 
doubly filtorod, makes the very best drink¬ 
ing water in the world. 
At the left of this cistern is a dark cellar, 
C, for sauce, or whatover you wish to keep 
from freezing; cool in summer, becauso ex¬ 
cluded on all sides from tho sun, and on tho 
sido joining the two-story cellar, C L, and 
the cistern on another, and. free from frost 
in winter, besides being easily aired by its 
two doors. And this airing of cellars is all 
important, for, otherwise, decaying vegeta¬ 
bles infect and poison the rooms above, by 
finding its way up through the floor. Stiil 
tho main body of the farmer’s vegetables 
should bo stored under his barn floor, so 
that ho can drivo his cart to the hatchway 
and dump right into his potato, cabbage, 
carrot, ruta-baga, beet, parsnip, and other 
cellars or bins. 
By tho side of this is another room. L, 
which may bo used for storing bodstcads, 
lumber, barrels, and such rubbish as gar¬ 
rets usually contain, tools included, Avith 
this advantage, that it is handy, and just 
whore you want it, whereas the garret is 
very bad to got to and from. Or any oth( r 
use can be made of it the proprietor chooses. 
Between it and tho wash-room, and at the 
end of tho cistern, is a storo-rooom. S T, 
somo 7 by 10, just tho placo to put family 
stores, sugar, molassos, flour,pork, etc., also 
furnished with shelves and somo drawers.— 
A small closet off the applo-room, from 
which also starts another stack of chimneys, 
completes this, the north half of my houso. 
How it would suit the reader I care little, 
since it suits its plannor and ownor to a 
charm. 
Next comes the entry. It consists of two 
parts. That lino running nearly through 
it, and terminating in two octagonal pillars, 
is tho central wall of tho house, running 
from bottom to top, while the two Avails on 
each sido of it aro for this story only, and 
are eight inches thick, Avhiie tho middle one 
is a foot, and built like tho outside walls.— 
Tremendous pressure comes on parts of it, 
yet it stands. F E is tho front entrance, 
where stangers will naturally apply for in¬ 
gress to tho house ; and tho tho room R R 
is for a common receiving room, hat-stand, 
reading-room, etc., and that pillar in tho 
entry has an elk’s head and horns, and some 
doer-horns masoned into it, on which to 
hang hats and cloaks. 
Tho othor side of tho centre wall is a 
through entry ; serves every purpose of 
ono, and is just whoro you want it. 
Passing through this entry we enter tho 
kitchen, K, tho great stomach of tho houso. 
Two pantries, C L and P, connect with this 
kitchen and ono another, and one with the 
adjoining room, W D. At tho back end of 
tho closet. C L, is a dumb-waiter, which 
goos from tho bottom to tho top of tho house. 
Those angular stairways, erected on tho an- 
glos of the ice and groen houses, and an off- 
sot both for receiving in—there being an out¬ 
side entrance to tho ico-houso here—and 
for landing from and entering tho carriage, 
completes tho main features of this story: 
which is submitted not to builders and men 
meroly, but especially to women and prac¬ 
tical housekeepers, for such approval or 
criticism as they may award it. That it 
cannot be bettered is not asserted, but that 
it is far superior to any basement arrange¬ 
ment before invented is maintained. And 
mark to what extent the octagon form con¬ 
tributes to this end. Building reader, is not 
this plan worthy general adoption ? 
THE PRICE GF GRAIN IN 1854. 
Tiie Mark Lane Express thus concludes 
an able articloon tho “ influence of war up¬ 
on agriculture and tho grain markets of 
Europe:” 
“ We arrive, therefore, at tho conclusion 
that war between Russia and Turkey will 
havo but little influence upon tho agricul¬ 
ture and corn markets of England, or Wes¬ 
tern Europe, eithor as to the present crop, 
(1853,) or succeeding ono (1854.) America 
making up for any short-comings of the 
Danubian provinces. Should tho Princi¬ 
palities bo occupied for twelve months, 
under offensive operations, there cannot bo 
a doubt but they will experience a deficient 
crop next year, as avoII as tho adjoining 
provinces of the belligerent parties; so that 
during 1855 tho provinces of the Black Sea 
may require their own wheat, if not some¬ 
thing more, if they can get it. But under 
AA T ar wo cannot see how either Turkey or 
Russia can import corn so as to havo any 
iniluenco upon othor exporting states for 
want of capital, even should they require it. 
Tho blockade of the Russian ports will set- 
tlo tho ono sido of tho question, on Avhich 
account her ordinary exports of rye, oats, 
and Indian corn may find a homo market 
this year. We are moro afraid of tho bad 
weather now experienced at home, and tho 
consoquencos of last year affecting our mar¬ 
kets, than the warlike attitude of tho oast; 
and hero our transatlantic neighbors will 
neither neglect their own interest nor over¬ 
look ours. Bad weather and disturbances 
in Europo hold out very flattering prospects 
to them to break up a fow million acres of 
prairie and bush lands extra to aration, and 
even increase the breadth of whoat on old 
reclaimed lands. Independent of tho extra 
crop in America this year, tho surplus corn 
of 1852 is likely to carry us over ono-fourth 
of tho period of consumption of crop 1853, 
thus balancing its deficiency, and keeping 
down tho price, independent of crop 1854 ; 
and if the latter is early, it may appear in 
tho market with a good stock of old wheat 
on hand, both in England and Ainorica. 
