“ The corn-fed breed,” says Quiz. 
“You are wrong,” says Skaats; “they never 
had an car of corn !” 
“ How do you keep them, then ?” 
“ I make a swill of sour milk, buttermilk, wash, 
waste food, &c., adding bran, canel, &c., and ap¬ 
ples, vegetables, or roots, and am very careful to 
feed often, regularly, just enough, and none too 
much. My breeding sow is always good pork. I 
do not allow her and the pigs to eat together; so 
she neither throws the pigs out of the trough, nor 
hurries down her own mess. I have a division in 
the pen, with a hole to allow the pigs to go to 
their own apartment, or return to the sow, at 
pleasure. I feed them as soon as they are old 
enough to eat—sweet milk at first, then mix a 
little sour milk and other feed with it, increasing 
by degrees. Being satisfied in this way, they are 
not constantly lugging the sow, neither are they 
squalling about for want of food. They grow 
right along, though they are not the corn-fed 
breed 1” 
I suppose he does not consider corn, when well- 
ground and cooked with other ingredients, in any 
degree injurious to the growth of pigs; but he 
manages to make the best pig pork with very little 
corn. **l.s**. 
Attica, N. Y., 1859. 
RACES FOR FEEDING SHEEP. 
Eds. Rural : —In a recent number of your valu¬ 
able paper I noticed several plans for sheep racks 
which are all, undoubtedly, good, and yet they 
have their faults. They are like some very good 
machines that are either so complicated, cumber¬ 
some, or expensive, that their common use is im¬ 
practicable. 
No. 1, the Hopper rack, I have tried and entirely 
condemn, except for bucks or other horned sheep. 
It is very heavy and inconvenient to move, and 
does not prevent the sheep from wasting the hay. 
The troughs are unsuitable to feed grain in, as they 
are always full of dust and dirt, and require sweep¬ 
ing, and the sheep do not distribute themselves as 
quickly as when troughs are by themselves. One 
other objection is, that the hay, unless very care¬ 
fully put in, does not come down freely, and the 
sheep are sometimes cheated of a part of their feed. 
No. 2, has some of the same objections, and does 
not prevent the seed from getting into the wool. 
No. 3, is too complicated and expensive for com¬ 
mon use, and is also open to some of the foregoing 
objections. 
No. 4, is a good stationary rack, but does not 
prevent the seed from getting into the wool. 
SSCTIOI! OP S1T)K VIEW. 
I send you herewith a plan of a rack which 1* 
avc adopted after trying several others. It is 
heap, strong, easily moved, and overcomes all the 
bjections enumerated the nearest of any that I 
lave yet found. It consists of four posts of 4 by 4 
cantling, 3 feet long, morticed near the top to re- 
eive the upper rail, which should be 2 by 4, or 1% 
>y 4, with the tenon facing outward, so that when 
iut together the face of the rail shall be one inch 
vithin the outer edge of the posts. The bottom 
ioard, 10 or 12 inches in width, is nailed upon the 
mtside 3 or 4 inches from the bottom of the posts, 
rhe upright strips, are 5 or G inches wide, 1 inch 
hick, and are nailed upon the outside of the upper 
ail and the inside of the board, with sixpenny 
lails, with about 6 inches space according to the 
iize of the sheep to be fed in them. The boards 
hould be plarted, at least the edges, to prevent the 
vool being torn from the sheep. A farmer with 
air mechanical genius and good tools can make 
me in a day that will accommodate 25 sheep, and 
t will pay for itself in a single year. 
From the 25th of October till the present date, the 
vibrations of the barometer, have not exceeded one 
inch, ranging from 28.9.5. to 29.9.5. This morning 
the mercury stands higher than at any other time, 
being 30.1.5. We have had no sleighing here yet 
this winter, but have now snow enough to make 
sleighing, about eight or ten inches having fallen 
within the last 48 hours. 
In my opinion it stands farmers in hand to econ¬ 
omize in fodder in every reasonable way, or we 
shall see hard times for stock before spring. Win¬ 
ter, and with it the necessity for foddering all kinds 
of stock, began nearly a month earlier than usual, 
and I venture the opinion, that about one-half the 
usual amount required has already been fed out, 
and the winter only about one-third gone. One 
“word to the wise is sufficient,”—any number will 
not suffice for the foolish and improvident—expe¬ 
rience only can teach them c. 
Sodus, Wayne Co., N, Y., Jan. 10,185S. 
KEEPING FOWLS IN THE CITY. 
Eds. Rural :—I have several times seen, in pub¬ 
lic print, statements made asserting that fowls 
could not be kept in cities so as to make them pay 
their way. Such statements I regard as untrue, 
and in order to controvert them and show that our 
citizens may keep fowls and have fresh eggs, and 
not lose thereby, I submit a balance sheet of my 
ledger, for nearly two years past, which will speak 
for itself on the subject: 
fowl account. Dr. 
Feb. 25,1857—To paid for 9 fowls.$2 25 
“ “ lumber for house and yard 
fence. 2 26 
Dec. 31—To paid for feed during the year. 5 45 
Total—$9 96 
March, 185S—To paid for lumber for repairs fence.$ 25 
Dec. “ “ “ feed during the year_8 6S 
Total cost for 1 year and 10 months—$18 89 
FOWL ACCOUNT. O. 
Dec. 31,1857—By 610 eggs at market price when 
laid..$ 8 35 
Dec. 31,1857—By 20% lbs. poultry at market rate 2 27 
Total—$10 62 
Dec. 31,1858—Bv 1,444 eggs at market price when 
laid.*.$15 76 
Dec. 31,185S—By 39 lbs. poultry at market rate .. 8 70 
Total—$30 08 
Dec. 31,1858—By 20 fowls on hand at 20 cts. 4 00 
Total—$34 08 
Deduct total expenses of keeping.$18 89 
Leaves a net profit of.$15 19 
The above account has been carefully kept from 
day to day, and each egg credited at the actual 
market value when laid, and the same in the case 
of poultry killed. I have raised each year 21 
chickens, and always keep my fowls shut up in 
their yard so as not to trouble the neighbors. I 
take extra pains to supply them with good pure 
water at all times, and occasionally change their 
feed. I find corn is good only to fat them, and 
will prevent their laying. 
Should any of your readers desire, I can give 
the detailed account of the above statement for 
each month, but its length would be objectionable 
here. n. j. e. 
Rochester, N. Y., 1858. 
RF.F. - KEEPING)- — FAILURES. 
Rural Spirit of tljc fhess. Agricultural Societies. Agricultural liliscellany. 
The advantages of this rack are that it is port, 
able, the seed does not get into the wool, the sheep 
cannot crowd each other, and all have an equal 
chance. No hay can be wasted —they are handy 
for penning sheep — they are compact, strong, and 
easily piled away for the summer. I think them, 
on the whole, the best sheep rack for practical use 
that I have seen. J. S. Beecher. 
Livonia, N. Y., Jan., 1859. 
LAKE SHORE NOTES.—FODDER. 
Ugh! Mercury 14° below 0 at 7 o’clock this 
morning, 10th inst. Surely the winters are becom¬ 
ing permanently more severe in this latitude. From 
1835 till 1856—during which period I have observed 
the changes of temperature on the shore of Lake 
Ontario—I never knew the mercury to reach a 
point lower than 7° below 0, and but twice as low 
as that. But since the last mentioned year, it has 
every winter reached that—and, with one excep¬ 
tion, from 8° to 14° lower. The lowest I have ever 
known it to reach at this place is 21° below zero. 
In extremely cold weather the average tempera¬ 
ture is about 10° lower on the line of the Erie 
canal, and Central railroad, than it is on the Lake 
Shore. In this region the fall and early winter has 
been somewhat remarkable. During the month of 
November there were but three clear days, and for 
the last twenty-two days of the month the range of 
the mercury in the thermometer, did not exceed 
10°—running from 30° to 40° at 7 o’clock A. M.— 
Cooked. IVood for Swine. 
Samuel II. Clay, of Kentucky, has been 
experimenting in feeding several lots of hogs, 
changing them from raw to cooked, and from 
ground to unground food, with the following re¬ 
sults :—One bushel of dry corn made five pounds 
and ten ounces of live pork. One bushel of boiled 
corn made fourteen pounds and seven ounces, of 
pork. One bushel of ground corn, boiled, made in 
one instance sixteen pounds and seven ounces and 
in another nearly eighteen pounds of pork. Esti¬ 
mating corn at 90 cents a bushel, and pork at eight 
cents a pound, we have as the result of one bushel 
of dry corn, 45 cents worth of pork; of one bushel 
of boiled corn, 116 cents worth of pork; and of 
one bushel of ground corn 136 cents worth of pork. 
Q.vialities of Beef. 
At the last International Cattle Show, in Paris, 
says the Maine Farmer, the judges on beef had 
specimens from each of the competing breeds 
brought to the table roasted, where they performed 
their agreeable labors in a very quiet and satisfac¬ 
tory manner. The result of tlieir deliberations 
was as follows: 
First quality to the West Highland Ox. 
Messrs. Eds.: —In a late number of the Rural, 
“ A Subscriber,” writing in regard to an article 
published some time previous, by Eugene Lewis, 
on the profits of bee-keeping, says, in substance, 
that failure as well as success on the subject, 
should be made public. As this side of the ques¬ 
tion has not been very extensively written upon, I 
will state a few facts in regard to failure in the 
bee line. A few years ago, in this vicinity, an 
apiarian and manufacturer of a well known patent 
hive, published that he had taken about 50 lbs. of 
box honey from each of a number of his hives, and 
considered sufficient left to winter the swarms.— 
The next season, although it was a good one for 
swarming, he failed to get any new swarms, and 
failed also to publish that fact. Another neighbor 
who wintered sixteen swarms a year ago, got but 
four new swarms from all. Nearly all of these 
hives were constructed with the convenience for 
taking box honey, and the owner made free use of 
that convenience. 
Now, I have observed that swarms from which 
any considerable amount of honey has been taken, 
if the bees do not starve outright they seldom 
amount to much. “ After a feast, a famine.” The 
most successful bee-keepers with whom I am ac¬ 
quainted use the common box hive and “ take up” 
the latest or smallest swarms, thus securing a por¬ 
tion of honey without the risk incurred from taking 
honey from hives intended to be wintered. From 
twenty years’ experience in keeping bees and with 
a variety of hives, I prefer the common hive with, 
however, more care taken in its construction. As 
the story “ all about bees” is a long one, I will not 
now give all the wliys and wherefores of the above 
conclusions, remembering the admonition, “be 
brief.” *• *• 
East Shelby, N. Y., 1859. 
BLACK QUARTER IN CALVES. 
E. E. Reynolds, of York State wishes a cure or 
preventive for the above disease. As Mr. R. has 
described the symptoms of the Black Quarter in 
the Rural of Dec. Utli, I shall therefore dispense 
with that part of the subject. Calves seldom take 
the above complaint until after mid-summer, and 
it prevails most when they continue in the same 
pasture until the second growth of grass after that 
period. This grass produces a superfluity of blood, 
hence the calves are more subject to the black 
quarter in such pastures. I never knew any cure 
for the disease. I will give you a tried and sure 
preventive. First, let your calves have nothing to 
eat all night—in the morning bleed them thorough¬ 
ly, after which give each calf the following dose in 
water gruel:—Two cent’s worth each of Myrrh, 
Mithridate, Calangal, Diapente, Fenugreek, and 
Longpepper. Mix these six together, and give 
each calf one when mixed. Let them fast one 
hour, after which turn the calves into a meadow 
lot from which you have taken your hay. After 
five or six weeks repeat the same if necessary. 
Once will do, without your calves grow too fast, or 
get in too good condition. I have tried this medi¬ 
cine and never know it to fail. J. <r. h. 
Bloomfield, Oak. Co., Mich., 1859. 
Second “ “ Devon Ox. 
Third “ “ French. 
Fourth “ “ Short-Horn and Angus Ox. 
Fifth “ “ Angus (Scotch) Ox. 
Sixth “ “ French Ox. 
Seventh “ “ Short-Horn (English) Ox. 
Eighth “ “ French Ox. 
So much for the roasted. For soups and boiled 
beef, they gave the preference to the Short-Horn 
(English.) 
Farmer, Spare tiiat Owl. 
Some one writing to the London Times, puts 
in sundry proverbial pleas in favor of the owl. A 
prejudice exists against this ungainly fowl, more, 
we fancy, on account of its unpleasant vocal char¬ 
acteristics and dismal personal appearance, than 
from any other cause ; but when its useful quali¬ 
ties are known, we are sure its life will be regarded 
by agriculturists as even more sacred than that of 
the robin. The writer in question, speaking of a 
destruction of wheat by mice, which came under 
his personal observation, says:—“Mice, as well 
as young rats, require vegetation and water. At 
dusk they come out, and out at the same time, 
comes the owl. No doubt owls were created by an 
all-wise Providence to keep these vermin under, as 
the rook is for the destruction of the wire-worm, 
and the toad for slugs. If it were not so, we 
should be eaten up. Tlrey know by instinct how 
to go about their calling better than we do. If the 
rook and owl do pilfer a little at times, when 
pinched by hunger, the laborer must have his hire; 
and with all our sagacity we cannot master them 
as they can.” 
Salt for Horses’ B'eet. 
The tendency of common salt to absorb moist¬ 
ure from the air is well-known to all. Mr. E. L. 
Gibbs, of Orwell, Ohioj|Bt(umicates to the Ohio 
Cultivator a new use pf tms property 
of salt; by applying it Jo ti* Wt>fs of horses :—‘V‘A 
horse that is driven upon a hard road is liable to get 
stiffened. I have seen valuable horses driven upon 
our own plank roads a few days get quite lame. I 
reasoned to myself of the cause, and produced a 
remedy which proved effectual. I have since tried 
it on foundered or hoof-bound horses, and with 
good results. I made a solution of salt and water, 
and applied it three ti*nes a day, by washing the 
legs and pouring upon the bottom of the feet, and 
holding them up a few minutes to let it strike in, 
and saw the wonderful effects in a few days. I ac¬ 
count for it in this way:—Salt will extract moist¬ 
ure from the atmosphere, which keeps the feet 
moist all the while; it acts nearly like melted 
grease upon the foot. The hoof becomes tough, 
yet pliable ; like a chunk of wood saturated with 
salt or brine, it is tough, yet moist, and so with a 
horse’s foot. Here let me add, that the practice of 
rasping a cracked hoof to toughen it is all folly.— 
Apply brine, and you will effect a cure.” 
J\_ Gtood. Crop of Corn. 
At the recent Annual Meeting of the Oswego. 
Co. Ag. Society, Jesse Babcock offered for a prem¬ 
ium a crop of corn raised by him the past season 
from one acre of ground. The following state¬ 
ment exhibits mode of culture, expenses, and re¬ 
turns:— The ground was accurately measured. 
The crop amounted to 190 bushels and 24 pounds, 
at 75 pounds per bushel, corn and cob, 194% 
bushels of ears, as measured in the basket. 
The land had lain in grass three years as a mea¬ 
dow. Previous to being laid to grass it had on it 
first a crop of corn, second a crop of wheat, third, 
one of oats. The soil is a gravelly loam, with 
gravel and sand subsoil, and some small stone 
The ground was plowed about the 15th of May, 
about ten inches deep. Thirty loads of manure 
were plowed under. It was cultivated and har¬ 
rowed lengthwise of the furrows, marked out with 
a chain, rows 3% feet each way, and planted May 
20 with a mixture of Dutton and small eight-rowed 
yellow corn, tarred and plastered; about the 20tli 
of June commenced cultivating; went twice in u 
row each way, and hoed on the 25th, then put on 
the hill a mixture of lime, ashes, and plaster, about 
six bushels to the acre. On the 15th of July, cul¬ 
tivated and hoed as before, and thinned out to four 
and five stalks to the hill. Cut up by the roots 
and shocked Sept. 20th and 21st, husked and 
measured on the 18th and 19tli of Oct, This crop 
of corn was part of a field of six acres, all treated 
as nearly alike as possible, and which yielded to 
the acre 100 bushels of sound corn, and about eight 
loads of pumpkins. 
crop. Dr. 
To one day's plowing. $ 4 50 
“ cultivating and harrowing. 1 00 
“ marking and planting. 1 00 
“ cultivating both times. 1 o0 
“ hoeing “ “ . 2 00 
“ cutting $1, husking $4. <>00 
“ seed and interest on land at $75 per acre. 5 50 
“ manure, drawing and spreading. 16 50 
$37 00 
crop. Cr. 
“ 100 24-5S bus. corn at 62% cts.$62 71 
By stalks and pumpkins. 7 00 
$69 71 
Balance in favor of crop. 82 71 
Connecticut State Ac.. Society. —The Annual 
Meeting of this body was held Jan. 12, and result¬ 
ed in the choice of the following officers:— Presi¬ 
dent — Ephraim II. Hyde, 2d, Stafford. Vice-Presi¬ 
dents —J. P. Barstow, Norwich; Robbins Battell, 
Norfolk. Corresponding Secretary —Henry A. 
Dyer, Hartford. Recording Secretary —T. S. Gold, 
West Cornwall. Treasurer —F. A. Brown, Hart¬ 
ford. Chemist— Prof. S. W. Johnson, New Haven. 
County Directors —Horace Williams, Hartford Co.; 
W. Webb, New Haven Co.; James A. Bill, New 
London Co.; J. Gould, Fairfield Co.; Peleg C. 
Child, Windham Col; Abijah Catlin, Litchfield Co.; 
W. G. Buell, Middlesex Co.; R. B. Chamberlin, 
Tolland Co. 
Illinois State Ag. Society. —Officers for 1859:— 
President — Lewis Ellsworth, of Du Page county. 
Vice-Presidents —C. B. Denio, of Jo Davies; W. 
II. Van Epps; John Gerard, of Vermillion; Alva 
Dunlap, of Peoria; J. W. Singleton, of Adams; 
Stephen Dunlap, of Morgan ; Wm. Kyle, of Edgar; 
S. B. Chandler, of St, Clair; H. S. Osborne, of 
Perry. Recording Secretary —John Cook, of San¬ 
gamon. Corresponding Secretary —S. Francis, of 
Sangamon. Treasurer —J. W. Bunn, of Sangamon. 
Vermont State Ag. Society'. —At the Annual 
Meeting, held at Middlebury, Jan. 5, the follow¬ 
ing officers were elected:— President —E. B. Chase, 
Lyndon. Vice-Presidents —Edwin Hammond, J. 
W. Colburnc, II. H. Baxter, Henry Keyes. Treas¬ 
urer —D. Seymour. Secretary —Charles Cumings. 
Directors —F. Holbrook, J. W. Vail, H. S. Morse, 
John Gregory, U. II. Penniman, J. Jackson, D. 
R. Potter, D. Needham, D. A. Benedict, and Elijah 
Cleveland. Mr. Needham, of Hartford, presented 
the following resolution, which was unanimously 
adopted:—That the Bill known as the “Morrill 
Land Bill,” has the hearty approval of this Socie¬ 
ty, and that it is due to the great cause of Agri¬ 
culture, that the passage of the Bill should be 
secured. The Treasurer’s report exhibited a bal¬ 
ance of $3,361 in the Treasury. 
Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agri¬ 
culture. —The Annual Meeting of this Society was 
held Jan. 5th, when the following persons were 
elected officers for the ensuing year -.—President — 
Craig Biddle. Vice-Presidents —A. T. Newbold, 
C. W. Harrison. Treasurer — George Blight. 
Corresponding Secretary —S. G. Fisher. Record¬ 
ing Secretary —A. L. Kennedy. Librarian —J. 
McGowan. Assistant Recording Secretary —P. R. 
Frcas. Executive Committee —John Larduer, Sam’l 
Williams, 1). Landretb, A. T. Newbold, John S. 
Haines, Craig Biddle. Library Committee —David 
Landreth, Craig Biddle, George Blight. 
Broome County Ag. Society. —Officers elected 
for 1859:— President —Maron W attles ; Vice-Pres¬ 
idents —Oliver C. Crocker, Wesley Jackson ; Secre¬ 
tary —Walter L. Peck; Treasurer —S. II. French; 
Directors— John E; Wentz, Mill ford Northrop, Gil- 
A Model Barn. —The next number of the Rural 
Yvill contain plans and full description of the Barn 
which received the first premium offered by us last 
season, in connection with the report of the Com¬ 
mittee. Unless we mistake this will prove the best 
plan of a Barn, (or at least one of the best,) ever 
published in this country. It will be accompanied 
with thirteen engravings, comprising elevation, 
perspective view, ground plans, sections, working 
drawings, &c., — thus enabling any good carpen¬ 
ter to construct a similar one without the aid of a 
professional architect, and imparting valuable in¬ 
formation and suggestions to those wishing to 
build on a modified or cheaper plan. 
— The premium and other plans of Farm Build¬ 
ings which will be given in this volume of the 
Rural will alone be worth many times the subscrip¬ 
tion price of the paper to those interested in the 
subject. All who purpose building should examine 
the plans given in the Rural. 
Thorough Tillage. —At one of the Irish Agri¬ 
cultural meetings, one of the speakers remarked— 
and the truth may be well applied in this country — 
“What brought out the immense agricultural 
wealth of Scotland ? and what enabled the small 
farmer in Belgium, who, on seven or eight acres of 
light, sandy land, Yvas able to do better for himself 
and his family, than we can do on twenty or thirty 
acres of laud in this country ? It was not by al¬ 
lowing three-fourths of a light tillage farm to re¬ 
main in poor herbage, and making the other por¬ 
tion pay the rent. It was because the farmers in 
those countries he alluded to, made agriculture a 
study, a duty, and a pleasure, and because the 
farmers till their land to the best advantage, and 
because no man there would keep one single acre 
of land more in his possession, than his capital and 
his means Yvould enable him to cultivate.’ 
The Farmers’ Library'. —It need not be large 
nor expensive. It need not be purchased all at 
once. The reading of it need not detract one hour 
from the important labors of the field. But every 
farmer should by all means have a library. He 
needs one for his own benefit. He should have 
some scientific knowledge of the various operations 
he is daily performing, both for his own enjoyment, 
and so as to be able to give a reason for every 
thing he does on his land. Ilis children should be 
taught the philosophy of agriculture, more or less 
thoroughly, that they may be attached to the call¬ 
ing, and may make improvements in it. 
The Butter Trade of New York. —We give be¬ 
low a single county’s shipment of butter for one 
week to New York city:—From Monday to Satur¬ 
day night, 8th inst., 302 loads of butter passed thro’ 
the Wilwick toll-ate, in Ulster Co., for N. Y. city, 
via Rondout steamers. These loads average twenty 
firkins. Calculate each firkin at 90 pounds, and 
we have 543,600 pounds, or over twenty-six tons of 
the best butter in the market, passing this one 
point. Its cast value, as prices now rule, is not 
less than $135/Ty- This relates to the businessjof 
but a single wecv.it one point, and from one county. 
Cayuga Co. Ag. Society — Officers for 1859.— 
President — II. W. Dwight, Auburn ; Secretaip — 
L. C. Mann, Auburn; Treasurer — II. T. Cook, 
Auburn. 
Chenango County Ag. Society.— Officers for 
1859 : — President — Horace Packer, Oxford; Vice- 
Presidents — Ira Crane, Daniel Beebe, Benadam 
Frink, Joseph Juliand, Jr., George Juliand, Augus¬ 
tus Ross, and David B. Parce; Secretary and Trea- 
urer —Jonathan Wells. 
Cortland Co. Ag. Society.— At the annual meet¬ 
ing of this Society the following officers were elect¬ 
ed : — President — Manly IIobert, of Homer; Vice- 
President —Joshua Ballard, Cortland Village; Sec¬ 
retary —II. B. Burr, of Homer; Treasurer —M. L. 
Webb, of Cortland Village; Executive Committee — 
F. II. Hibbard, W. P. Randall, A. L. Chamberlain, 
S. D. Freer, N. Kingman, J. Cross, N. Hitchcock, 
J. W. Stowe, A. Peck, W. E. Tallman, M. Kinney, 
II. McKevvet. 
Genesee Co. Ag. Society. —The Annual Meet¬ 
ing of this Society was held at Batavia on the 11th 
inst. A friend writes:—“ There was a very large 
attendance, and never has there been as much in¬ 
terest manifested in the Society since its organiza¬ 
tion, as the members were universally aroused to 
the importance of sustaining and progressing in 
the affairs thereof.” The following officers were 
elected for 1859:— President — John F. Plato, (re¬ 
elected.) Vice-Presidents —Nelson Parker, Charles 
Kendall. Treasurer —N. B. Keeney. Rec. Sec'y — 
Chas. Sprague. Cor. Sec'y —N. K. Cone. 
Jefferson Co. Ag. Society. —Officers for 1859 : 
President — Clift Eames, Rutland. 1st. Vice-Presi¬ 
dent—Wm. Rouse, Clayton; 2d, James Parker, 
Watertown; 3d, V. C. Warriner, Ellisburg. 
Secretary —A. P. Sigourney. Directors — E. G. 
Cook, Ellisburgh; George Webb, Pamelia. Audi¬ 
tors —T. H. Camp, Edward S. Massey, John A. 
Sherman. 
Onondaga Co. Ag. Society. —Officers for 1859: 
President — James Munro, Camillus. ls£ Vice- 
President—SWas Corey, Otisco. Secretary— Hiram 
Wiard. Treasurer — Charles Pope. Directors — 
Geo. II. Atwell, Delphi; P. D. Howe, Marcellus; 
Willard L. Adams, Salina; Luther Baker, La¬ 
fayette. 
Saratoga Co. Ag. Society — Officers for 1859.— 
President — Isaac Frink, Milton; Vice - Presidents 
— Chauncey Boughton, Samuel Hoyt: Rec. Secre¬ 
tary —E. J. Iluling, Saratoga Springs; Cor. Secre¬ 
tary—John A. Corey, Saratoga Springs; Executive 
Committee— two from each town. 
Skaneateles Town Ag. Society. —Officers, for 
1859: —President —L. W. Cleaveland; Vice-Pres¬ 
idents —Russell Frost, Joab L. Clift; Secretary —W. 
M. Beauchamp; Treasurer — W. J. Townsend; 
Directors —G. II. Bentley, II. Ellery, W. E. Clark, 
J. II. Allen, W. Clift, Edward Shepard, II. Fulton, 
J. Davey, Jr., Dor Austin. 
The Weather is unusually mild and pleasant for 
the season. Last week we were favored with three 
very bright, sunshiny days— more like June than 
January—and as we write (Tuesday, 25th,) the sun 
is shining brightly, while stoves and overcoats are 
at a discount. Though we have had cold weather, 
or “ snaps,” during the past two months, there have 
been only two days in which sleighing was good in 
this region. Altogether the winter has been unu¬ 
sually mild, with only a few days of really frigid 
weather. 
Virginia Farm Journal. —This is the title of a 
new weekly, in folio form, commenced with the 
present year, at Richmond, Va., by M. S. Crockett, 
at $2 per annum. The number before us makes a 
good appearance, and is well filled. e welcome 
the Journal to the ranks of Rural Journalism, and 
trust it will do good service in the cause of Im¬ 
provement in the “ Old Dominion.” 
Hon. Henry L. Ellsworth, formerly Commis¬ 
sioner of Patents, died at Fairliaven, Conn., on the 
27th ult. Mr. Ellsworth was widely and favora¬ 
bly known for his efforts to promote Agricultural 
Improvement while in the Patent Office, and since 
his retirement he has been extensively engaged in 
farming in Indiana. 
Nutting’s Fanning and Assorting Machine. 
It will be observed by reference to advertisement 
in this paper, that territorial rights of this ma¬ 
chine (which was illustrated and described in the 
Rural of the 15th inst.,) are offered for sale by 
Mr. Wallace Warren, of Utica, N. Y. 
Tioga Co. Ag. Society — Officers for 1859.— 
Wm. R. Shoemaker, Nichols ; Rec. Secretary—Wm. 
Smyth, Owego; Cor. Secretary — H. A. Beebe, 
Owego; Treasurer — T. I. Chatfield, Owego; and 
three Vice-Presidents and six Directors. 
Neyv England Rural Items.— A pig 16 months 
old, fed on whey through the summer, with corn 
meal added in the fall, weighed 641 pounds when 
killed, 13th inst., by Martin L. Cole, of Cheshire, 
Ct.; and a pig half as old, of Lyman Twining, of 
Tolland, Mass., weighed 383 pounds.- Charles 
F. Pond, of Hartford, President of the New Haven 
R. R., has gone into the improved stock business, 
and imported three heifers and a bull of the, A) i - 
shire breed from Scotland.- Leonard L. Lom¬ 
bard, of Barnstable, Mass., raised 48 barrels of 
cranberries on his farm last year, and sold them in 
Boston for $17 a barrel, or $S16.- William H. 
Dickinson, of Hatfield, gets $2,600 for tobacco 
grown on six acres the past season. One acre in 
East Whately produced 2,900 pounds ot tobacco.— 
A speculator bought a large quantity of tobacco in 
Hatfield for 12c., and the price now being 20c., he 
pockets a handsome profit, estimated in gross at 
$50,000._A. A. Swift, of Northampton, raised 
from one acre, manured with 17 loads of barn ma¬ 
nure and 100 pounds of plaster, 135 bushels of New 
Jersey premium corn in the ear, which yielded a 
half bushel and two quarts of shelled corn to the 
bushel of ears. 
