those fields that most need underdrains — doing 
the work economical!}’ by the aid of ditching plows, 
as they have time to spare from other work, and 
without expensive outside help. But give me a 
farm, and we have many such in little Seneca, that 
rests on a loose subsoil, which is a perpetual un¬ 
derdrain, as the mechanical structure of such soil, 
particularly if clovered, is always perfect and hy¬ 
groscopic ; needing nothing but a little azotised 
manure to give vegetation that early start in spring 
time, so indispensable to the crop’s victory over 
cold May, wet June, and the hot, dry July and 
August of calcareous Western New York. 
Waterloo, N. Y., 1859. 8. W. 
AN EXPERIMENT IN STOCK-FEEDING. 
Eds. Rural :—At the request of some of my far¬ 
mer friends, I send you the results of an experi¬ 
ment recently made by myself in feeding a grade 
Short-horn cow, which shows a good profit, and is 
another instance in proof of the extraordinary ease 
and rapidity with which the Short-horns take on 
flesh. This cow was three-fourths blood, and was 
four years old last spring. Has bred three calves, 
was a good milker, and was in a good flow of milk 
at the time I began to feed her. Being of rather a 
vicious nature, and not on very good terms of inti¬ 
macy with some of my other cows, I concluded to 
“ dry her oft'” and fat her, which I began to do on 
the 15th day of October last. I commenced with 
feeding pumpkins lightly, and soon fed heavy.— 
She was allowed to run in the pasture with the 
other cows during the day, and was put up and fed 
at evening and morning, until the first of Novem¬ 
ber, when she was put into close quarters, from 
which she was not taken until slaughtered. Fed 
pumpkins 20 days, and then fed some soft corn 
with them, feeding corn and pumpkins alternately. 
First December changed feed to meal, ground from 
corn in ear. Part of cob sifted out. Fed all the 
good hay she would eat, which was very little.— 
Had water while fed meal. During time of feeding 
pumpkins she needed none. Was slaughtered 10th 
of January ; weighed and sold as follows, viz: 
Fore-quarters.424 lbs., sold at 5 c.$2120 
Hind-quarters.392 “ “ 6 c. 23 52 
Hide. 93 “ “ GXe. 5 81 
Rough tallow. 91 “ “ 10 c. 9 10 
Dressed weight.. .1,000 Total value—$59 03 
Value of cow and feed as follows: 
Live weight 1,100, worth.$30 00 
Pumpkins, say. 3 00 
15 bu. ears soft corn, worth 20c. per bu. 3 00 
20 bu. meal, worth 50c. per bu. 10 00 
Hay and pasture. 2 00 
Whole cost—$48 00 
Balance in favor of feeding—$11 03 
I charge nothing for labor of feeding and killing, 
f think the value of manure for farm, together with 
he offal, will pay for that. This is by no means an 
ktraordinary weight for a Short-horn cow, but 
onsideringhercondition before feeding—time, and 
mount of feed, I think she equals, perhaps, excels, 
lything that has come under my observation. 
Le Roy, N. Y., 1S59. C. K. Ward. 
-— —-- 
THE FARMER’S LIBRARY. 
r -• 
low can a genuine and thorough farmer think 
premises complete in all of its fixings and com- 
s without his library? Although it may be 
.11, yet he should have a library to which he can 
to find food for the mind, as well as to the 
ary for food for the body. The library may 
Jomprise within its walls all the classic lore of 
, bound in calf or morocco—its volumes may 
be numbered by thousands or even hundreds. 
They may be few in number, but if few, more care 
should be used in selection. There should be 
found on its shelves works in History, Biography, 
Agriculture, Literature, Philosophy, Chemistry, 
Encyclopedias, Lectures, Speeches, &c., &c.—and 
there should also be some books of stories in his¬ 
tory with a sprinkling of romance for a diversion. 
These all should have place in every Farmer’s 
home, for they are as essential to the life and com¬ 
fort of the inner man as food and raiment to the 
outer. 
The library, if of the right nature, will have a 
tendency to keep the family united in spending its 
leisure hours and the long winter evenings around 
the family hearth-stone. How pleasant it is to 
visit with that family who are conversant with a 
well selected library. Books are the dead and 
living communicating with us, as it were, face to 
face. We owe all we are and shall be to men, 
manners, and not a little to books. We read 
the biographies of great men, and we aspire to 
be great and good also. We read of daring and 
wild adventures and we long to be one who shall 
discover some new islands, or continent; or do 
some wonderful thing worth writing in books.— 
We read of the rise and fall of Empires and King¬ 
doms, and we are astonished and confounded when 
we contemplate the amount of lives lost, the pro¬ 
perty destroyed, the world of sin and misery in 
ages past—and with history we come down to our 
present time. In the library the farmer finds ma¬ 
terial for thought—the mechanic, the tradesman, 
the school-boy—all find food for the mind in hours 
of leisure. Let every family have a library if it 
contains not more than ten volumes, these will 
answer as a nucleus. Add to it every convenient 
opportunity, and in a few years you will surprise 
yourself at the amount of reading matter before 
you in the form of a library. 
Fluvanna, N. Y., 1359. II. A. W. 
Tub Secret of Wintering Stock.—I t is a great 
mystery tome how some farmers winter their stock 
as cheap as they do,—keep them on wheat straw or 
marsh hay, without stabling, exposed to the storm, 
wind and weather, and still they seem to thrive,— 
at least, do not gro w poor. I am inclined to think 
they occasionally get a few ears of corn, or a little 
meal, or a few roots of some kind; or, if kept on 
straw, guess it isn’t more than half threshed. My 
cattle have a warm stable, plenty of good hay, 
cornstalks, some grain, watered regularly, and 
worked very little, still they seem to grow lean 
every day. Now, what is to be done? I have 
owned quite a number of cattle, but never could 
winter them as cheap or as well as a good many 
do; still, I take a great deal of pains and delight 
in feeding and taking care of my stock. Will some 
one please give their experience? Perhaps they 
will advance some idea that I have not thought of, 
or practiced at all.—R. N., Jackson, Mich., 1859. 
FAST HUSKERS, AGAIN. 
Messrs. Eds. : — Your correspondent, “Solon,” 
in the first number of the present volume of the* 
Rural, is down upon the fast huskers, and were it 
not for the mistake you made in dating my com¬ 
munication at Lyons, I should not notice it. The 
phrase “ men of Lyons need not feel so pompous,” 
&c., is giving to the denizens thereof a notoriety to 
which they are not entitled,— and I know not that 
they claim to have any “ awful smart men;” still, 
no doubt, they raise good crops of corn, and husk 
from 20 to 60 bushels per day. My letter w'as 
dated at Rose, and stated that B. F. Sherman and 
Geo. Sherman, each husked 100 bushels and over, 
on the hill, in 12 hours—that R. D. Dickinson 
husked 75 bushels in ten hours, out of the stook— 
that the corn was all of the eight-rowed variety—the 
work fairly done—and the statements can be proved 
by good and substantial witnesses. Now, “Solon,” 
as you have tried your hand at husking, and own 
up, “ with humility,” that 35 to 40 bushels was 
your day’s work, and simply published the fact, it 
would have looked very well in the paper, but to 
retail the “ big stories” of what your “ sick men” 
can do “ that lay by all winter” — and “ the lazy 
farmers who meet at the stores on the corners” — 
comes with ill grace from one who cannot swallow 
simple facts. Geneva, Mich., must be a wonderful 
town. Your sick men should not take such over 
doses, but be treated upon Homeopathic principles. 
And now, my friend “ Solon,” as you put your¬ 
self upon your dignity in your closing remarks— 
“ our profession does not admit of this fast work ” 
— thus inculcating old fogy doctrines, a little jog 
from Young America would do you good. If we 
are to make drones of ourselves for the sake of keep¬ 
ing up the dignity of the profession, then let us cut 
loose and keep pace with the progress and improve¬ 
ments of the age, lay aside the old ill-constructed 
implements, and adopt the new, the go-aheads — 
“ educate the hands," and let it be understood that 
our profession is not to go in the rear, but always 
in the advance. Cast away your doubts and fears, 
“Solon,” —as you know it does not alter truths 
whether you can comprehend them or not—while I 
relate the fact that C. B. Sherman and three boys 
husked, in 65 minutes by the watch, 40 bushels of 
ears of corn, and two of the boys finding that they 
were a little too fast for the old man, and not know¬ 
ing which of the two had the best wind, caused 
them to try their hand for 12 hours, less time to 
take their dinners. 
In conclusion, let me say to “Solon” that we 
professional farmers lay great stress on pedigree, 
and the Sherman boys claim to be descendants of 
old Roger Sherman on the father’s side, and 
Etiian Allen on the mother’s side, and, of course, 
never give up. Mr. Dickinson, no doubt, has a good 
pedigree. He is your agent here—is “all alive "— 
and many think he is ahead. As to the husking of 
the Dent coni, 105 to 110 bushels, as stated by your 
correspondent, if it is as much work to husk that 
kind as it is the eight-rowed variety, then, cer¬ 
tainly, we are in the shade, and, according to agree¬ 
ment, shall try again. * E. N. Thomas. 
Rose, "Wayne Co., N. Y., 1S59. 
-- 
THE OSIER WILLOW. 
Messrs. Editors : — In a late issue of the Rural 
I notice an inquiry of “H. B. W.,” of Clarence, 
for Osier Willow Cuttings, &c. Your answer 
mainly accords with my experience, as to cultiva¬ 
tion, &c., but I would advise him, if he proposes 
to cultivate Willows for market, to be careful and 
get the right kind, or he will be as ready as I have 
been to curse the venders of miserable trash, by 
the time he has had a six months seige in grub¬ 
bing and pulling at the worse than useless 
“scrags,” that encumber his land, and harass his 
“pheliuks.” Two years last spring, I planted 
about three acres of willows, two-thirds Salix Pur¬ 
purea, (or S. Viminalis as some call it,) the balance, 
S. Triandra. Should have planted other kinds 
recommended, but they were not readily obtained. 
The result is S. Purpurea is every time, and under 
all conditions, good. S. Triandra, not worth the 
powder to blow it up, on any soil, being short, 
scraggy, and every year a little more so. 
Now, sirs, this variety, S. Triandra, with 
others, (some of which are nearly worthless,) were 
recommended to be “very valuable ” by some of 
the so-called “ standard bearers in agriculture.”— 
But they have proved in this, as in too many other 
cases, only deceptive Jack Lanterns, to befog and 
be-quagmire the unwary. Salix Purpurea is the 
only variety worth cultivating in this country. If 
your ground is too wet for this variety, better ex¬ 
pend your money in draining and fitting it, than 
for a variety of willow cuttings that you will wish, 
in less than two years, had been all concentrated 
in the Valley of Sodom on a certain occasion.— 
We have followed theory and guess work quite too 
long in agriculture,—let us have, in future, the 
stubborn facts by practical farmers. 
Fulton, N. Y., 1859. G. W. Thomas. 
CIRCULATION OF SAP. 
Eds. Rural: —There is not, to my feeble compre¬ 
hension, a subject so abstruse; so difficult of eluci¬ 
dation— and forming a rational and scientific 
explanation of causes — as the rising and circula¬ 
tion of sap in the vegetable structure. That a 
fluid, a little heavier than water, should leave its 
level and ascend one, or even two hundred feet, 
through the tubes and cells of an inert mass, un¬ 
endowed with any function of animal vitality — 
nothing analagous to the mechanical pulsation of 
the animal heart—is, indeed, a mystery. Equally 
inscrutable are the causes that force the sap, after 
reaching the top-most twig, to turn about and again 
descend to the extremest root to form the layer of 
new wood. 
Capillary attraction will not account for its rise, 
nor will gravity for its descent. What is the modus 
operandi — the cause — the prime agent of this 
peculiarity of vegetable nature ? 
It is a legitimate inquiry, as man, feeble man, 
labors to search the secrets of the arana of God’s 
creation,— from the atomic structure of a grain of 
sand to the specific gravity of the planet Neptune. 
Will some of the learned Pundits, either writers 
for, or readers of, the Rural, give their views of 
the natural causes producing the circulation of sap 
in the vegetable kingdom? 
Monroe Co., N. Y., 1859. L. B. Manly. 
MAD ITCH. 
Eds. Rural :—Seeing one or two articles on this 
disease in your paper, and having been a heavy 
loser by it, I have concluded to give you my expe¬ 
rience. Several years since I fed my hogs with 
green corn in my cornfield, where I had alotofcattle 
running. After I had been feeding them some 
weeks, my cattle were taken with what I after¬ 
wards found out to be Mad Itch. The first symp¬ 
toms arc a scratching and rubbing of the head, 
ears and neck; they will rub them until they 
become perfectly raw. In the meantime they suffer 
a great deal, which they show by running and bel¬ 
lowing in a piteous manner, after which death 
ensues. Before they die, their heads, necks, body 
and tongue swells, and the eyes become bloodshot. 
I think there is no cure for the disease, as I tried 
calomel, castor oil, lard, and all to no effect,—losing 
nine head in one week. The hogs chew the corn¬ 
stalks and get all the moisture out, when the cat¬ 
tle come along and cat the refuse, and it lodges 
in the manifold, becomes hard and dry, so that 
when you take it out and break it, you can press no 
moisture out of it at all. The manifold has two en¬ 
trances, about three or four inches apart,'both on 
one side, so that medicin e can pass through with¬ 
out interfering with this ^instance—and that is 
what kills them. I cut open a good many of my 
cattle, and was convinced of the cause and effect— 
and since that time I have had further proof. A 
neighbor laughed at me for saying that they were 
killed in that manner, for he had fed his hogs and 
cattle together for many years, and had never lost 
one. Since that he has lost six or eight head in 
precisely the manner I did. I have heard of their 
having it in the dead of winter, by half starved 
hogs eating the dry fodder and dropping it, which 
the cattle afterwards consumed. 
Saline Co., Mo., Jan., 1859. Border Ruffian. 
Remarks. —In a small work entitled the Cattle 
Doctor, Ex-Governor Vance, of Ohio, writes that 
“ the effect of cattle following hogs that are fed on 
green corn cut up and thrown to them when in the 
roasting-ear state, is very fatal. The hogs will 
chew the corn-stalk, and extract all the sap, and 
then throw it out. These fibres, thus thrown out, 
with all the sap extracted, will be eaten voraciously 
by the cattle. It contains no nutriment to give fer¬ 
mentation to enable the animal to ruminate; and 
it thus lays dormant and inactive in the manifold, 
or the stomach; becomes perfectly compact and 
indigestible ; creates fever, and in the end destroys 
the animal. Cattle destroyed by eating these fibres 
of the corn-stalk will first show the symptom by a 
wild stare of the eye, and in its first stages will fre¬ 
quently become cross, and even attack their keep¬ 
ers. They will then begin to rub the nose and 
head against the fence until the skin and flesh are 
torn and lacerated in a mosUrightful manner, and 
in the end die in great misciy. I have lost many 
fine cattle in this way, and have never been able to 
save one thus afflicted. The entire symptoms are 
similar to what is called the Madltch, which I have 
no doubt is created byflMB causeiby taking 
into the fouinifohls iilligcJjPMJ^Uw table of 
fermentation and rumination.™ 
-«.*.*- 
Inquiries cpV ^Insrucrs. 
Ticks on Sheep.— Will you, or some of your readers, 
tell me how to rid my sheep of ticks, which are, on 
some of the poorest lambs, taking their life by inches ? 
—J. W. Salsbury, Lyndonville, Orl. Co., A. Y. 
Keep the sheep in healthy condition by furnish¬ 
ing plenty of good food—let them be under cover 
or in the open air as they may choose, and if the 
ticks still “ cling closer than a brother,” give a lit¬ 
tle Scotch snuff. Linseed oil is said to so lubricate 
matters that they incontinently slide into “oblivi¬ 
ous waters.” Morrell reccmmends dipping in 
tobacco water—five pounds of poor tobacco will 
answer for 100 sheep. If the latter process is 
adopted, care must be taken that none of the decoc¬ 
tion passes into the eyes or mouth. 
Old Hay vs. New. —Will the Editor, or some of the 
correspondents of the Rural, give the reason (if any,) 
why old hay is better for cattle and horses than new hay 
—or in other words, what particular atmospheric causes 
operate on hay that has stood over one season to make it 
better for feeding all manner of stock than hay put in 
stack,—say in July or August, and fed the following 
winter. The ground is assumed that both crops have 
been harvested in like condition, well cured and stacked 
in the meadow, or out door—a universal practice in the 
West with all the principal stock raisers. 
All hay feeders in this country who are sharp enough 
to draw facts from experience, are free to admit that 
there is more nutriment in one tun of old hay, than one 
and a quarter new ; hence I venture the question, and 
hope that you, or some of your numerous correspond¬ 
ents will give us some reliable cause for what we believe 
to be an undeniable fact.—J. W. K., Marshfield, Ind., 
Feb., 1S59. 
Our correspondent assumes the fact, that old hay 
is much more nutritious than new. Are our West¬ 
ern readers agreed on this point ? Let us first as¬ 
certain whether it is a fact or not, before we under¬ 
take to account for it. 
Sour Wine. — Last summer I made about sixteen 
gallons of wine, of Elderberry, and as age increased, 
instead of finding it the delicious wine I had expected, 
it has more the appearance of vinegar. I would like to 
inquire through the Rural if there is a remedy? And 
if so, what? Or shall I count it among the lost?—E., 
Warsaw, N. Y., Feb., 1859. 
Your wine requires more sugar. There is not 
sufficient saccharine matter in the Elderberry to 
make wine without the addition of pretty large 
quantities of sugar. 
Osier Willow Cuttings. —In answer to an in¬ 
quiry in the Rural, about willows, a correspondent 
informs us that a poor blind boy — Wm. I. Carr, 
of Barrington, Yates Co., N. Y.,—has Osier Willow 
cuttings for sale at $2 per thousand, with full direc¬ 
tions for cultivating and preparing them for mar¬ 
ket. We hope that he will be benefited by this 
announcement. 
Fowls —(IF. G. JL, Milton, IFw.)—We have al¬ 
ready published most of the facts you want, and 
shall continue to give information on the subject. 
Inquirers will please exercise patience — their 
communications are filed, and will receive attention 
as space permits. 
Rural Spirit of tljc jpress. 
A. Kovel TJse for Twrnips. 
The last number of Life Illustrated is respon¬ 
sible for the following:—“Everybody may not be 
aware that nearly all the pretended wine in this 
market (New York city) is a spurious concoction 
of cider, whisky, sugar, water, and villainous 
drugs; and that much of the sparkling chani- 
paigne, which is sold at §2 a bottle, is manufac¬ 
tured of turnip-juice instead of the juice of the 
grape. A few days since a freight train of the 
Erie Railroad brought to this city 20 barrels of 
turnip-juice, which will soon, no doubt, find pur¬ 
chasers who will eagerly guzzle it under the hallu¬ 
cination that they are enjoying themselves on the 
choicest of the imported article, the guzzlers, how¬ 
ever, though cheated, are not robbed at all, for the 
turnip-juice article is actually the least injurious 
of the two.” 
Warning Water for Cattle. 
The Somerset (Mass.) Telegraph states that 
Mr. Peter Malbon, of that town, has devised a 
very curious and ingenious apparatus to warm 
the water for his cattle, as well as to prevent the 
ice from collecting in the tub. It consists of a 
small cast-iron chest, or box, about twelve inches 
square, made water-tight, fixed in the fire-place, 
in such a manner that one side of it forms so much 
of the back of the fire-place, and is exposed to 
the heat of the fire. The water of the aqueduct, 
in its course from the fountain to the yard, is made 
to pass into this box at one end, and thus becom¬ 
ing heated, passes out at the other end, and con¬ 
tinues to the yard, which is across the road, and 
about six rods from the house. Mr. Malbon, pre¬ 
vious to adopting this plan, had a good deal of 
trouble with the ice forming in his tub, but has 
very little of that kind now. He says that his cat¬ 
tle drink much more than they would if the water 
was cold, and he believes it to be more healthy for 
them. The calves enjoy it so much, that when let 
out to drink they will fight for the warm end of 
the tub. 
"What Kind of Slicep to Olxoope. 
A writer in the New York Chronicle, while 
discussing the merits of different breeds of sheep, 
argues strongly in favor of the Merinos, as fol¬ 
lows :—“ It has been a sort of fashion for a few years 
past, to neglect the Merino and introduce the Lei¬ 
cestershire, or some of the long-wool breeds. — 
Those who favor this course plead in its behalf, 
that there is a chance of selling the lambs at from 
three to six months old, which, they say, is an item 
of much profit in sheep-keeping. They hold that 
selling lambs at that age, is a great consideration 
in the business. It may be so, but would it not 
be more profitable still to keep these lambs till 
they arrive at maturity, when they’ would be worth 
from four to six dollars apiece? The increased 
price would well repay the cost of keeping them. 
A Leicestershire should yield six pounds of wool 
each year for three years, till it reaches its greatest 
value, which, at thirty cents a pound, would 
amount to five doinars and forty cents^ To this is 
to be added two or three dollars in the additional 
value of the sheep, making in all seven dollars 
and ninety cents, to say nothing of the lambs 
which it has borne in the mean time. If these were 
added to the value of the body and wool of the 
sheep, it would amount to more than ten dollars. 
One very strong objection to selling lambs is, that 
none but the best can be sold, and that causes a 
deterioration rather than an improvement of the 
flock. No Merino lamb should be sold. For three 
years, with the same keeping as the Leicestershire, 
they will yield eighteen pounds of wool apiece — 
which, at forty-five cents a pound, is six dollars 
and fifty cents. The increased value of the sheep 
meantime would be two dollars, which, added to 
the price of the wool, would be eight dollars and 
fifty cents. To which two dollars and fifty cents 
is to be added for the worth of the lambs, making 
in all eleven dollars from a Merino whose keeping 
has been one-third less than the Leicestershire.— 
Thus we gain both ways, in the cost of keeping, 
and in the amount obtained. The wool, body and 
lambs, from the Leicestershire, should bring $15,33 
to make the income from the food consumed, equal 
to that of the Merino.” 
TJnderdraining—“It "Will Pay!” 
In the fall of 1857, James R. Walker, of Spring- 
field, Yt., being the possessor of a “ piece of wet, 
cold, unproductive land,” asked the question — 
“Underdraining—Will it Pay'?” in the columns of 
the New England Farmer, and now, having exper- i 
imented, answers his own query, as follows:— 
“At that time I had a presentiment that it would 
not be a paying operation, but as the laud was 
nearly worthless, as it was, I resolved to under¬ 
drain it, which I did with stone, sinking the 
ditches about three and one-half feet deep. The 
bottom of the drains was constructed like an ordi¬ 
nary culvert, then filled with cobble stones to one 
foot of the surface; upon these stones, shavings or 
evergreen boughs were placed, to prevent the dirt 
from filling the interstices, then covered with dirt, 
reserving the sod for the barn-yard. The result, I 
will briefly state. The piece drained contained a 
little less than four acres. In 1857 it was mowed, 
and produced but two loads of poor, sour hay and 
brakes, hardly worth cutting, but it was an aver¬ 
age crop for the land. Last spring the land was 
dry, and we were enabled to work it early in the 
season. We plowed under about twenty-five ox¬ 
cart loads of barn-yard manure to the acre, and 
planted with corn the 15th day of May. The 
ground was dry and in good condition for receiv¬ 
ing the seed, while many pieces considered dry 
land were much too wet. The corn was planted 
three and a half feet apart each way, hoed twice, 
and received a top-dressing of plaster and ashes.— 
It was cut up the 10th and 11th of September, when 
it was found ripe and sound. We husked from 
the piece440 bushels of ears, all merchantable corn. 
My’ neighbors concur with me in opinion that this 
crop is worth more than the aggregate crops that 
the land has produced for the last fifteen years.— 
It is now in a condition to produoe abundantly for 
a series of years without any r extra outlay. This 
crop has paid me the whole expense of underdrain¬ 
ing, and I am so well pleased with the experiment, 
that I have had a number of ditches dug upon 
another piece adjoining, and intend to use drain 
tile instead of stone.” 
'Agricultural llliscdlann. 
New York State Agricultural Society. — The 
Annual Meeting of this Society was held at Albany 
on the 9th inst. The Society having been called to 
order by Mr. President McCoux, the usual order of 
business was transacted. The Treasurer reported 
the entire receipts for the year to be $18,356 27, and 
the expenses $15,705 34 —leaving a balance of $2,- 
650 93 on deposit at Albany Exchange Bank. The 
Society decided upon Albany as the location of the 
next Annual Fair, and elected the following Board 
of Officers for 1859 : 
President— A. B. Conger, of Rockland. 
Vice-Presidents— E. G. Faile, of New York ; C. S. 
Wainwright, of Dutchess; Herman'Wendell, of Albany ; 
H. W. Beckwith, of Washington ; B. N. Huntington, of 
Oneida; S. A. Law, of Delaware ; James O. Sheldon,of 
Ontario; T. C. Peters, of Genesee. 
Corresponding Secretary —B. P. Johnson, of Albany. 
Recording Secretary— E. Corning, Jr., of Albany. 
Treasurer —L. II. Tucker, of Albany. 
A resolution offered by T. C. Peters, Esq., of 
Genesee, requesting the Legislature to provide for 
the taking of Agricultural Statistics with the next 
Census, was adopted. Mr. Emery offered a resolu¬ 
tion asking the Canal Board to lower the tolls on 
Agricultural Implements and Machines to not more 
than two mills, which was referred to the Execu¬ 
tive Committee. A resolution offered by E. Cor¬ 
nell, Esq., of Tompkins, approving of the standard 
adopted by the Society in deciding Premiums on 
Cattle, and recommending a strict adherence to the 
scale, was adopted. We shall probably be able to 
give the awards of Premiums on Farm Crops, &c., 
next week. 
— Since the above was prepared for publication 
we have received the following from one of our 
contributors who was present at the meeting: 
The Annual Meeting of the State Ag. Society was 
not as largely attended as usual, but comprised as 
numerous a collection of the earnest friends of 
Agriculture as any previous year. Albany being 
the point selected for the next Fair, the officers 
were selected with reference to that location. The 
President elect, IIon#A. B. Conger, resides in 
Rockland Co., and is largely engaged in farming 
with reference to making it profitable. He has 
about one thousand acres in hand, and has made 
good progress thus far. He is a gentleman of 
wealth, education and refinement, and has filled 
important offices in the State. The Society will 
not suffer in his hands. 
The usual show incident to the Winter Meeting 
was good, and the bulk of the premiums were 
taken by Lewis County. Some important mea¬ 
sures were initiated. Among them, to procure a 
short, cheap work on the Forage Plants, and Nox¬ 
ious Weeds, so illustrated as to enable the farmer 
to know the names of plants on their farms, useful 
or otherwise. Also to secure through the Assessors, 
a more perfect census of the Agricultural products 
of the State. The plan has been adopted in Ohio, 
and works to great advantage. Premiums will 
(llso be offered: for the best ^experiments in feeding 
animals, and in using liquid manure. The time 
fixed for the Fair is in October; many of the Ex¬ 
ecutive Commitee thought it a month too late, but 
it is to be hoped that the wisdom of the majority 
will be fully demonstrated. Should the weather 
be favorable the indications are that we shall have 
the best Fair ever yet held.— p. 
Ontario Co. Ag. Society.—A t the annual meet¬ 
ing of this Society, on the 2d inst., the following 
persons were elected officers, to serve for the pres¬ 
ent vear:— President —William II. Lamport, Gor¬ 
ham ; Vice-Presidents— Benjamin F. Phelps, Bris¬ 
tol; John B. Cooley, Canandaigua; E. Bronson, 
East Bloomfield; G. Mason, Farmington; D. 
Picket, Gorham; M. Persons, Manchester; L. 
Chapman, Hopewell; D. D. Reemer, Naples; A. D. 
Yaudeusen, Phelps; Peter R. Pitts, Richmond; 
Jas. O. Sheldon, Seneca; Jas. Parmely, South 
Bristol; Peter Bennet, Victor; J. C. Peck, West 
Bloomfield; N. G. Iloppaugh, Canadice ; Cor. Sec¬ 
retary— Gideon Granger, Canadaigua; Pec. Secre¬ 
tary— J. W.Ilolberton, Canandaigua; Treasurer — 
Jas. S. Cooley, Canandaigua. 
Wayne Co. Ag. Society.—A t the Annual Meet¬ 
ing of this Society, held at Lyons, on the 22d ult., 
the following officers were elected forl859 Presi¬ 
dent—V ewii-t C. Van Slyck, Lyons. Vice-Presi¬ 
dent— Daniel Jennison, Galen. Secretary—Hemp 
P. Knowles, Lyons. Treasurer —Jas. Y. D. West- 
fall, Lyons. Directors — Hiram G. Hotchkiss, 
Lyons; B. R. Mummis, Sodus. 
Lodi (Tqwn) Ag. Society. — President —Du. 
Lewis Post; Vice-President —Stephen B. Smith; 
Secretary —S. B. Mundy; Treasurer —M. B. Ellison; 
Directors —Peter E. Van Yleet, Tunis C. Osgood, 
Stephen V. Minor, C. B. Yescelius, Richard Van 
Lew, Daniel Bramble, Jr. A Summer Fair, for ex¬ 
hibition and sale of stock, to be held June 8th. 
Dryden (Town) Ag. Society.—O fficers for 1859: 
Pres’t —John P. Hart; Vice-Pres't — P. V. Sny¬ 
der; Sec'y —A. Snyder; Treasurer —T. J. McEl- 
heny; Directors — C. Bartholomew and II. A. 
George. Next Fair to be held Oct. 3d, 4th and 5th. 
The Victory Ag. Society (Cayuga Co.,) held its 
seventh annual meeting Jan. 10th. There was a 
full attendance. Officers elected : — President — 
Philo Camp ; Secretary —D. L. Halsey; Treasurer 
— John T. Gregory. 
New York Horse Market.—A New’ \ork cor¬ 
respondent writes as follows of the horse trade:— 
“Few people have an accurate idea of the number 
of horses daily offered for sale in the horse markets 
of New York. Yesterday there were about 400 
stabled at one of the markets in Twenty-fourth 
street, and that is about the average number daily 
on the market. There is, just now, considerable 
stir among buyers and sellers, and active inquiry 
for horses worth from $125 to $225. Matched lior- 
scs _good ones — worth from $600 to $1,200, are 
also in demand, the demand being in excess of the 
supply- A large number of the horses arriving 
here by railroad are understood to be for Philadel¬ 
phia, to operate the city cars. Another portion, 
Canadian animals, cheap but good, are for Virginia, 
where there is considerable call for them.” 
