into rows or bunches before the plow. But the 
drill is the most perfect method of sowing and 
covering Avhich can be employed. 
If the seed is infested with pea-bugs, immerse 
it in boiling water, for two minutes, then dry in 
ashes, before sowing. The water will not af¬ 
fect the vitality of the seeds, and the adhering 
ashes will have some fertilizing effect. Plaster 
may be employed for the same purpose, and it 
is sometimes sown upon the vines, when a few 
inches in height, with good results. 
The value and uses of this crop are well 
known, but are scarcely sufficiently appreciated. 
Peas are highly nutritious food, both for men 
and animals. “The pioportion of nitrogenous 
or muscular matter which they yield on an¬ 
alysis, is much greater than that given by any 
other kind of grain,” and mixed with oats and 
ground, they form a favorite “provender” for 
horses and swine, especially the latter. Boiled 
or soaked, they are often fed to swine unground, 
and with good fat-producipg results. For ma¬ 
king pork they are as cheaply raised as any¬ 
thing which can be grown, and before the pea- 
bug became so prevalent, were largely employed 
for that purpose in Western Few York. When 
well saved and properly cured, the haulm or 
straw, is valuable for fodder and is readily eaten 
by sheep, horses and cattle. 
As to peas as an article of human food we 
confess to a great liking, both for green peas and 
pea soup. Both are excellent, and the latter 
should be a frequent dish in every family. We 
think them superior to beans for the table, tlio’ 
they are less used than the latter. Their 
market value is often less than that of beans, as 
indeed it should be, when cost of raising is 
taken into consideration. It is a known fact 
that the crop of “ pure Mocha Coffee,” has a 
considerable bearing on the market for peas ; 
those who roast and grind can tell Avhy—we 
have our suspicions. 
The varieties of peas are numerous, espocially 
in the names on seedsmen’s-catalogucs. We are 
not sufficiently acquainted with their differ¬ 
ences to enter into any extended remarks on the 
subject. The Canada field pea, and the Mar¬ 
rowfat, are the best known, and are both excel¬ 
lent varieties. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY JOURNAL, 
terlock and serve as a mutual support. The 
proper period for this process is just after the 
seed has passed the milk stage and before it is 
fully ripe. Should a frost occur, it needs to be 
done immediately. The peculiar benefit aris¬ 
ing from thus bending the stalk is, the brush 
keeps straighter than if permitted to attain ma¬ 
turity in a perpendicular position. When fully 
ripe cut six inches below the brush, place it 
under cover, and spread so that it may dry 
thoroughly. 
The seed is separated from the brush with 
what is termed “a hetchel”—made by placing 
upright knives close together—and passing the 
brush between them. This instrument is in¬ 
tended, however, only for hand work. Where 
the crop is extensively raised, a machine driven 
by some power will be necessary. Those in 
operation are composed of a cylinder similar to 
a thresher, except that the teeth are four or five 
inches in length. The product is from 500 to 
800 pounds per acre though in many instances 
1,000 pounds have been obtained. Its market 
value varies from five to ten cents according to 
to demand. 
The seed is very difficult to cure, and if 
intended for use, it should be ripened by expo¬ 
sure to the sun, or kiln-dried. From tAventy to 
thirty bushels is the average product of an acre. 
As an article of commerce, it is worth from 
twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel. To feed 
it out to sheep, or grind and mix with other food 
for either cattle, horses or hogs, will be found to 
the general farmer the most economic disposi¬ 
tion that can be made. * 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
CONTRIBUTORS! 
Prof. C. DEWEY, 
L. B. LANGWORTHY, 
I, T. E. AVETMORE. 
SPECIAL ( 
H. T. BROOKS, 
T. C. PETERS, 
H. C. WHITE, 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to bo unique and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed In A r alne, Purity and 
Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor to make it 
a Reliable Guide on the important Practical Subjects connected 
with the business of those whose interests it advocates. It 
embraces more Agricultural, Horticultural, Scientific, Mechan¬ 
ical, Literary and News Matter, interspersed with many appro¬ 
priate and beautiful Engravings, than any other paper published 
in this Country,—rendering it a complete Agricultural, Lit¬ 
erary and Family Newspaper. 
*»* The postage on the Rural is but 3J^ cents per quarter, to 
any part of the State (except -Monroe County, where it goes free,) 
and cents to any other section of the United States—payable 
quarterly in advance at the office where received. 
£J2r*All communications, and business letters, should be ad¬ 
dressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Terms, and other particulars, see last page. 
SHORT-HORN COW, “DUCHESS.” 
Winner of the First Prize at the Hew York State Fair, held at Elmira, 1855. 
Above we present a portrait of one of the 
best Cows in Mr. Chapman’s celebrated herd of 
Short-Horns. The pedigree of “Duchess,” is 
as follows: 
White ; calved June 25th, 1849: bred by and 
the property of S. P. Chapman, Esq., Mount 
Pleasant Farm, Clockville, Madison Co., N. Y. 
—Got by Duke of Wellington, (3654); dam 
[Matilda] by White Jacket, (5647); gr. d. [Hart] 
bred by and imported into America by the late 
Thomas Hollis, formerly of Blythe, England.— 
(See Am. Herd Book, voL 1, page 201.) 
PEAS.-CULTURE, ETC. 
Peas were among the field crops of tlio 
Greeks and Romans, and are supposed to have 
been indigenous to the south of Europe—but 
they are also among “ the antiquities” of India, 
China and Japan, and this impression may have 
bepu derived from the fact that they were in¬ 
troduced into England from Italy. In the time 
of “Good Queen Bess,” the most delicate vari¬ 
eties were brought from Holland, and Duller, 
an old writer on Husbandry, remarked “ they 
were dainties fit for ladies, they came so far and 
cost so dear.” At first their culture was prin¬ 
cipally confined to the garden, but it soon ex¬ 
tended to the field, and has continued to in¬ 
crease in importance. Peas were introduced 
into this country by the first settlers, and are 
mentioned among the cultivated products by 
our early historians. 
The soil best adapted to the pea -erop is that 
of a loamy character, rather inclining to clay— 
such, in fact, as is called a “good wheat soil.” 
Good crops of the smaller kinds may be grown 
on sandy laud, but hot and dry weather is more 
apt to prove injurious, than on soils of a moister 
character. Green manure affects the yield un¬ 
favorably, giving a large growth of vine, with a 
tendency to blight. Fall-plowed green sward 
on land of a loamy character is considered a 
favorable situation. A soil of medium fertility 
is all that is required, for the pea takes largely 
from the atmosphere, and is an ameliorating 
rather than an exhausting crop, as it leaves the 
ground in a clean and mellow condition, and it 
is often and successfully adopted as a “ green 
fallow” for winter grains. 
The preparation of the soil should be tlie 
same as that for other spring grains. Fall- 
plowed sward should be worked into fine tilth 
with the harrow or cultivator, and the same is 
true of stubble land. If any manure is applied 
it should be well-rotted, and thoroughly mixed 
with the soil. In garden culture bone dust is 
often used with excellent effect. 
The amount of seed, varies with the size of the 
peas and the character of their growth ; some 
are of a more spreading habit than others.— 
From three to four bushels is the usual quantity. 
When thickly sown the ground is more perfectly 
covered, and is left in a cleaner state, but if too 
thick, they lodge too soon and fill imperfectly. 
Their value to the soil, depends largely, how¬ 
ever, on the freedom from weeds, which thick 
sowing ensures. 
Early sowing generally gives the best crop, 
but if injury is apprehended from the pea-bug 
(Bruchus pisi) it is recommended to defer until 
the fore part of June. This will not always 
prevent their attacks, hence it is the custom of 
some farmers to sow early, and feed the peas in 
the vines as soon as ripe to swine, which it is 
desirable to fatten. In this way the full value 
of the pea is secured, as the hatching of the bug 
does not take place until late in the season, and 
the peas are not eaten by them until that time. 
The covering of the seed is a difficult matter 
unless drilled or plowed in. The gang-plow is 
one of the best implements for the latter pur¬ 
pose. Sow on the furrow without previous bar-, 
rowing, then harrow lightly and follow with 
the gang-plow, so as to cover about four inches 
deep. The harrowing prevents their rolling 
it will be accomplished in less time and with 
less trouble. Many farmers cut the millet straw 
and feed it with the seed, without threshing.— 
Those who practice the best economy thresh out 
the seed, have it ground, and put it on the straw 
finely cut. The seed is of little value fed 
whole, as the coating is hard, the seed about 
the size of mustard, and is voided by cattle 
without being digested. "When ground it makes 
a rich feed, in value about midway between 
corn and oats. The weight established by cus¬ 
tom is fifty pounds to the bushel. ¥e are as¬ 
sured it will yield from three to four tons per 
acre, and at the same time, if threshed, furnish 
20 to 30 bushels of seed. The seed is seldom 
all ripe, and it is difficult separating the imper¬ 
fect from those that are ripe and perfected. 
Cattle and horses eat millet straw with great 
relish, often leaving fine hay when both are 
accessible. Milkmen who sell milk in this city 
use it as food for milch cows in winter, with the 
most satisfactory'results, increasing the flow of 
milk. It is rich and inclining to yellow, which 
gives the milk and cream a better and more 
natural hue than carrot juice or annato. We 
have no data of its value in increasing the 
yield of butter, though from the appearance of 
both milk and cream we have used, judge it 
will be found valuable to butter-makers. 
We have long been persuaded that farmers 
devote too much land to meadow, having be¬ 
come satisfied that if divided judiciously be¬ 
tween millet, corn sowed broad-cast, and the 
different root crops—as carrots, ruta-bagas, sugar 
and mangold wurtzel beets, <fcc.,—more and bet¬ 
ter forage may be obtaiued from less than half 
of the land now devoted to meadow. The ex¬ 
periment costs but a trifle, and is well worth 
trial by scores of farmers. h. c. w. 
Buffalo, May, 1856, 
The direct appeal in the Rural of May 3d, 
renders some facts about the cultivation of mil¬ 
let necessary at this time, in addition to their 
being very seasonable. 
Much lias been written and more said about 
this grain, and, as is too often the case, a portion 
of this “ large talk” has been of a character to 
prejudice the article with plain practical farm¬ 
ers. There is a strong disposition to over-rate 
the good qualities of new things, in rthe hope of 
reaping a higher reward in their sale. This has 
been the case with millet, inducing unthinking 
cultivators to suppose they had discovered the 
philosopher’s stone, and that a erop of millet 
was but another phase for a crop of gold. Not 
meeting with the success they had been led to 
expect, they abandon and decry the crop, not 
having the patience to test by repeated experi¬ 
ments what others had over-estimated and 
mis-stated for their pecuniary benefit. 
The best information we are able to obtain 
from practical cultivators of the soil, who have 
grown millet year after year for home consump¬ 
tion, satisfies us that it is every way worthy of 
a more general and extended culture. The 
most congenial soil for millet would be warm, 
sandy, rich, and well pulverized to a good depth. 
As the growth of straw and seed to be profita¬ 
ble should be large, it becomes a matter of the 
first necessity that the roots should have ample 
space in which to search for and obtain food.— 
Shallow plowing and cultivation answer little 
purpose in the profitable culture of this as well 
as most, if not all, other crops. Green sward 
plowed in the fall, rolled and harrowed in the 
spring, makes a good field lor millet, and with 
some farmers on rich sandy, or gravelly loam, it 
succeeds admirably on fresh turned sward.— 
Fair crops are grown upon old, strong clay fields, 
but as a general rule it does not succeed suffi¬ 
ciently well to render its cultivation desirable. 
Upon low, wet lands it does still worse, though 
in a favorable season good crops have been 
grown even on unsuitable fields. 
In England millet is sown in May and cov¬ 
ered slightly. American farmers sow in May 
and in June, using eight to sixteen and -is high 
as thirty-two quarts to the acre. If the object 
be to raise large, fine, perfect seed, use about a 
peck of good clean seed, sown in drills or broad¬ 
cast,—the latter is the universal custom —and 
harrow in as you would wheat or oats. The 
general purpose for which millet is sown being 
as food for cattle and horses, we should recom¬ 
mend half a bushef at the least, and would 
prefer a bushel of seed to the acre broad-cast. 
When thus grown, the grass will be much finer 
and make a softer, better bay. For good feed, 
little reference should be bad to its seeding.— 
Cut it when one end of the panicles or beads 
begin to turn, or if seed is wanted to some ex¬ 
tent, let it get ripe about half the length of tlie 
head. Cut and cure as you would bay, though 
BROOM CORN 
are in the same boat. They are of such easy sol¬ 
ubility, that the first rain puts them horsde com¬ 
bat —beyond the reach of the roots of the plant. 
There is no soil, even pulverized glass, but 
what, with a sufficient addition of vegetable 
manure, and at a proper age and state of de¬ 
composition, will produce vegetation. Water, 
in proper quantities, is the great secret of veg¬ 
etable growth. It is the solvent and the vehicle 
of transportation of the entire contribution of 
the soil, as is evidenced by the tremendous 
crops raised by irrigation—eighty-four bushels 
of wheat being the average, on a ten acre field, 
produced last year in California by this process. 
All plants are supposed to derive one-half of 
their subsistence from the .atmosphere. There, 
are several that will grow, increase and blossom 
hung upon a nail in the house. The peculiari¬ 
ty of one region to be adapted to wheat, anoth¬ 
er to corn, and another to the peach, <fcc., is 
probably more referable to climate than tp soil. 
From all which, we infer that very little bene¬ 
fit is derived from the chemical analysis of 
soils ; at any rate we have never observed any. 
Every farmer knows that a heavy plastic clay 
is improved by a mixture of sand, and aleachy, 
porous sand by clay. 
Manure your land highly with everything 
vegetable and animal, with the addition ol 
plaster and ashes, and if not the analysis, it will 
prove the synthesis of a good soil. 
The cultivation of this crop has not received 
the attention it merits from farmers. We ven¬ 
ture the assertion that no one product has, for 
the last two or three years, paid so well and 
will continue to do so, (unless it receives much 
more extensive culture,) than broom corn.— 
During the period referred to, the demand has 
greatly exceeded the supply, and as a conse¬ 
quence prices have ruled high. A great breadth 
of land has been devoted to its growth in the 
West, but the corn is not as fine nor as tough 
when the product of new land as from that 
which has, for a series of years, been under cul¬ 
tivation. 
The best soil for its perfect growth is one 
that is rich, warm and loamy. Any land that 
will raise a good crop of its Indian namesake, 
will be suitable — clay lands, or those of a te¬ 
nacious character should be avoided. A green 
sward turned over late in the fall has been 
found most productive. 
In the preparation of the soil, hog manure 
will prove a beneficial application. About 
eight wagon loads to the acre, placed in the 
hills, is a sufficiency. Leached ashes, used in 
the same manner, fifteen bushels per acre, will 
be found a valuable addition. The ground 
should be deeply plowed and well harrowed.— 
Stake the hills about three feet apart; if sown 
in drills three and one half feet. We should 
prefer hill planting, as the labor, by such pro¬ 
cess, is considerably lessened. Bury the seed 
from one to one and a half inches. Ten or 
twelve thrifty plants is all that should be al¬ 
lowed to each hill. The time of planting de¬ 
pends on the season,—the most judicious period 
is as early as you can ensure the Crop from frost. 
As soon as the plants are up, run the cultiva¬ 
tor between the hills or rows, following with 
the hand hoe. At this stage of growth the 
weeds must not he allowed to take precedence 
of the crop. After a thorough going over with 
the hoe, the cultivation can be done with a 
horse-hoe, cultivator or small plow — either of 
which it would be advisable to run through 
several times during the season. 
In harvesting, pass between the rows, and 
break the tops about one foot below the brush, 
bending towards each other, that they may in-' 
SOILS-THEIR CONSTITUENTS, 
The soil, drift or diluvium that covers the 
entire globe, is the result of the disintegration 
and pulverization of the rocks, and was distrib¬ 
uted by or deposited from water, which once 
covered the whole surface for an immense pe¬ 
riod of time. 
There is not so radical a difference in the 
composition of soils as many imagine. Three 
simple materials—sand, (silex,) clay and lime, 
compose more than nine-tenths of the entire 
earthy matter, which, if evenly distributed over 
the globe, would not form a covering more than 
three feet thick, on the solid rock compos¬ 
ing this planet. Neither is there so great a 
difference in its producing qualities as the ana¬ 
lytic chemists would have us believe. The soil, 
in fact, has but little agency in furnishing ma¬ 
terial for the growth and construction of the 
vegetable fibre. It, to be sure, furnishes some 
potash, silex, lime, and a trace of a few other 
earthy matters, as alimentary food ; hut its great 
use is as a material for sustaining the plant in 
an upright position, retaining moisture and 
causing the decay and decomposition of vege- 
Commit nitaftOHS 
INDIAN CORN. 
Editor Rural New-Yorker :—As the time 
for planting this important crop is at hand, and 
as the farmers in this section of the country are 
yearly devoting more attention to its impor¬ 
tance and cultivation, the experience and ob¬ 
servations of those who have successfully 
cultivated it, may be acceptable to the numer¬ 
ous readers of your excellent and deservedly 
popular journal. The spirited and intelligent 
discussion which has been carried on in the 
Rural concerning its vast importance and the 
best mode of cultivation, as well as the best 
varieties for the different localities and climates, 
TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
1 
“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[ SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
Y0LUME VO. NO. 20.} 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, MAY 17, 1856. 
i WHOLE NO. 332. 
