RURAL LIFf 
’aGRicui TURr.ii 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1859. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
TERMS, IN ADVANCE: 
Two Dollars a Year — Sifor six months. To Clubs and 
Agents as follows: —Three w\>ies one year, for $5; Six, and 
one free to club agent, for $10: Ten, and one free, for $15; 
Sixteen, and one free, for $22; Twenty, and one free, for 
$26; Thirty-two, and two free, for $10, (or Thirty for $37,50,) 
and any greater number at same rate —only $1,25 per copy 
— with an extra copy for every Ten Subscribers over Thirty. 
Club papers sent to different Post-offices, if desired. As we 
pre-pay American postage on papers sent to the British Prov¬ 
inces, our Canadian agents and friends must add 12% cents 
per copy to the club rates of the Rural. The lowest price 
of copies sent to Europe, &c., is $2,50 — including postage. 
The Postage on the Rural is ocly 3% cents.per quarter 
to any part of this State, and G% cts. to any other State, if paid 
quarterly in advance at the post-office where received. 
i®“ All communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. I). T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
IimiTIEIE! 
AND NOTES, 
O-rvibs in tlxe Head of Slieep, <Sio. 
Will you, or some of vour numerous readers, in¬ 
form me through llio columns of the Rural if there is 
a remedy for grubs in the head of sheep ? If there bo 
one, I would like to hear of it. Also, which is the best 
hook in the United States treating on Diseases of Cattle, 
and where can it be procured ?—E. Cook, Clarendon, 
Vt., 1S50. 
The “ grub,” so called, is the larva of the (Estrus 
ovis, or gad-fly. This fly is led by instinct to de¬ 
posit its eggs in the nostrils of the sheep, which 
are immediately hatched by the warmth and mois¬ 
ture of the parts, and the young grubs creep up 
the nose, finding their way to the sinuses, where 
they attach themselves to the mucous membrane 
lining those cavities. The presence of the grub 
does not constitute disease, but it may be well 
enough to diminish their numbers. One mode of 
effecting this object is to plow up a furrow or two 
in the sheep pasture. Another, is to smear the 
noses of sheep with tar, which, it is supposed, the 
fly is not fond of, compelling it to seek some other 
place to deposit its eggs and carry out its desires 
for procreation. When the grub has taken pos¬ 
session it is dislogcd by injecting tobacco smoke 
in the nostrils, the use of turpentine, &c. To the 
second query of our correspondent we can only 
say there are two works (convenient in form, and 
low in price,) before the American people— 
“ Youatt on the Diseases of Cattle ,” and the 
“ American Cattle Doctor ” by Dr. Dadd. Either, 
or both, of the above will never be out of place in 
a farmer’s library. The price of the former is 
$1,25, of the latter $1,00, and may be procured at 
most of the bookstores through the country. 
it can be preserved under cover. This openaparf- 
ment, or shed as it is sometimes called, !■= 11 feet 
wide by 30 deep, and is marked G on the gtfound- 
plan. There is a large Root Cellar opening into 
the main hall or carriage floor, fifteen by twenty- 
three feet, convenient to both horse and cow stables. 
A blackboard on wall of carriage floor, is very con¬ 
venient for writing down amount of feed, &c. The 
horse stable has conveniences for six horses, with 
a cistern of water holding some 500 barrels. All 
stock can be watered without going out of the 
barn in coldest weather of the season. The cistern 
is covered with red cedar, 10 inches thick; sides of 
cistern are stone, and plastered. There is also a 
large Store Room for tools and implements, large 
enough to house all the farm implements. 
The Main Floor contains a Granary, large, 
and conveniently divided and arranged. From it 
are spouts leading to the- Carriage Floor of base¬ 
ment, so that tin- contents of the granaries can be 
received into a wagon below, or used otherwise, as 
may be convenient. There are two large bays, a 
large barn floor, 14 by 45. The Stables are sup¬ 
plied easily through trap-doors from the main 
floor, as shown in the plan. The scaffolds are 
reached by movable ladders, which maybe chang¬ 
ed to any locality desired. 
The windows of basement are supplied with 
pulleys, so as easily to be moved, and ventilate the 
entire lower floor. 
The Outside Finish is with good matched stuff, 
battened to the eaves, and the gable-ends are clap- 
boarded. The whole is finished with three coats 
of white paint. 
The Carriage Way is on the south side of the 
building, and is made of easy grade, whilst the 
floor of the barn upon the south side is about 10 
feet from the ground. This makes it convenient 
in stacking straw after threshing. 
This barn is so arranged that all parts are easily 
accessible, and when once in the building you can 
get to any part with ease. There is so much room 
that all the crops can be housed with ease, and with 
little labor. 
The Yard is supplied with water from a well 
about 80 rods off, by a syphon. 
The builder was Cormine Martin, of Avon, N. 
Y., and the cost about $1,500. 
[ We have another premium and several superior 
plans of Barns — such as were commended by the 
Committee, and others—for publication in future.] 
PLAN OF BASEMENT. 
A, Tool Room ; B. Root Cellar ; C, Cistern; D, Hall; 
E, Horse Stable ; P, Cow Stable ; G, Open Shed ; a, 
Mangers; b, Feed Box ; c, Stairs. 
This barn is situated in the town of Wheatland, 
Monroe Co., N. Y., on the farm of Ira Armstrong, 
by whom it was built, in the year 1855. It is 
located upon a level piece of ground, the entire 
building being above the surface. The size of 
the structure is 45 by 60 feet. 
The Basement Story is built of stone, and is 9 
feet high, with 10 stalls for cattle, and a place to 
throw manute out into the open apartment where 
plan of main floor. 
A, Granary, with openings for passing grain below; 
between this and the bay is a hall. The barn floor is 
large, with two openings for passing hay and feed 
below, for use in the stables, and on the right is the 
large Bay, 25 by 45 feet, in which may be stored an 
immense amount of grain or hay. 
YVlieix to Sow Canary Seed. 
I should like to inquire, through the columns of the 
Rural, how, and at what time, to sow Canary Seed? 
A year ago last summer I planted some in hills about 
the ninth of June, but it did not get ripe.—O. H., Schuy¬ 
ler, N. Y., 1S59. 
The culture of Canary Seed by the American 
farmer must, for a year or two, be looked upon in 
the light of an experiment. We have strong faith 
that it will mature in this latitude, and the com¬ 
paratively minute tests that have been made in this 
vicinity, and which have come under our observa¬ 
tion, fully confirm the belief. This cereal, should 
it be grown successfully, would take its natural 
position among our spring crops —would sow at 
same time as for barley. It is generally cultivated 
in drills. In England, where considerable depend¬ 
ence is placed upon the hoe, (an implement the 
worth of which is better appreciated abroad than 
with us,) the drills are set ten inches apart, and the 
land kept free from weeds. The ground should be 
in readiness as early as possible, the surface com¬ 
pletely comminuted by the harrow to the depth 
Broom Corn. 
I wisn to gain some information in regard to the 
raising of Broom Corn. First, what is the best kind of 
soil, and when is the proper time to plant, and what 
distance apart? Which is the best kind, large or small? 
At what stage should it be harvested, and what is the 
proper way for curing, and what is a common yield per 
acre ?—A Subscriber, Onon. Co., R. Y., 1859. 
The best soil for broom corn seems to be the 
alluvial flats, like those along the Mohawk river, 
and the Genesee, though it can be grown on any 
good corn land. Plant at the game time as In¬ 
dian corn, either in hills, three and a half feet apart, 
with eight or ten plants to the hill, or in rows, the 
same distance, and the plants in the row five or six 
inches apart. Some good cultivators think the 
brush is finer and straighter when grown in rows, 
or when the corn stands pretty thick in the hills. 
Cultivate the same as for corn, until the seed is 
formed and begins to ripen, then break the stalks 
some 12 to 18 inches below the brush, and bend the 
tops of two rows towards and across each other.— 
This is called tabling, which hastens the ripening, 
and is convenient for cutting. After remaining 
in this condition ten or twelve days, cut off the 
heads or brush, leaving about seven inches of stem 
attached. It can then remain tabled for a few days 
or be removed and spread out on the barn floor, 
those who raise large quantities generally provide 
The Water Ram. 
The inquiries and communications we have 
published on this subject, have induced several of 
our friends who have rams in use to give us their 
experience. We are thus enabled to lay before our 
readers reliable information. To bring out and 
spread before the world knowledge of this charac¬ 
ter, we deem to be one of the greatest missions of 
the agricultural press. Facts thus become generally 
known which otherwise would have been confined 
to a very few. 
Messrs. Editors: —In this day’s issue of the 
Rural, “D. J.,” of Oneida Co., says he has “ every¬ 
thing on hand ” to start a Water Ram, but lacks 
“ courage ” for the enterprise. My sympathy for 
one whose want of “ courage” compels him unnec¬ 
essarily to lose the use of funds invested in mate¬ 
rials, which, when properly placed where designed, 
will pay so abundantly and promptly as a water 
ram, prompts me to comply with the Rural’s call 
for facts founded upon experience in this matter. 
In the spring of 1855, at a vendue, I bought a 
No. 3 glass air-chamber water ram for $1, which 
had done service until the owner took it up as unfit 
for use, and put another in its place. Four hundred 
feet from my barn I had a valuable flow from tile, 
which cut off - and collected the water from a 
springy slopeofland,which was 13 ft. below the pres¬ 
ent issue in my cattle shed, and five feet above the 
Clyde river, into which it falls after running a few 
feet. I quickly saw my advantage, took “ cour¬ 
age,” repaired the leather valve of my $1 ram, 
| obtained half-inch pipe of the weight that proves 
cess the more elastic, lighter fluid, can be forced to 
give place to the heavier, through the same valve 
and at the same instant, or why and wherefore 
such change does occur? 
The water has been let out of my ram once in 
from two to three mouths. I have attributed this 
filling up to the imperfections of my old machine, 
but I learn it is not an uncommon occurrence, and 
would like to know why it is so, and how to pre¬ 
vent it, that the water ram may become a perpetual 
worker. 
My yarn is already lengthy but I desire to say to 
“ D. J.,” that could he see my “happy family” of 
tnooly-caiilQ, calves, colts, and sheep, confined in 
one small yard, surrounded by sheds, not required 
to go out this very stormy day after water, but as 
they desire may step to a warm corner, under 
shelter, and drink from a convenient reservoir, 
pure flowing spring water, to their satisfaction, I 
think ho would hesitate no longer, but take “ cour¬ 
age’’and put his “ everything on hand” in work¬ 
ing order immediately. Already by this conveni¬ 
ence have I saved more value in fertilizing matter 
than the whQle cost of my fixtures, which would 
have gone into the river had the stock been allowed 
to carry it there, and exchange it for the water 
they brought back, which is the natural process 
when thus watered. It is much easier to let the 
right, and 40 feet of inch drive pipe (all of lead.) j 
I used two feet fall for the drive pipe, and with the l 
help of my plow, and two men to dig, in one-half 
day put it in complete running order, and it has 
been on duty ever since, excepting when some 
freshets have caused the river to overflow the 
spring, and when that occurred the ram would 
work under water until the fall was reduced to 
about six inches from the tile to the river. 
The water is elevated 15 feet above the ram, and 
to ascertain if it would rise higher, the pipe, when 
cut off at the shed was put 12 feet above the present 
issue, where I held it a short time in my hands and 
could perceive no difference in the size of the 
stream from that which runs from the pipe into 
the reservoir, although it was then 27 feet above 
the ram. 
I cannot account for the stream not more than 
half filling the pipe, unless by small size of ram, or 
friction, or perhaps both—but six cows, six horses, 
and fifty sheep do not use one-fourth of it. 
This pet of mine which has done me so much 
good service for nearly four years, with no percep¬ 
tible prospect of failure for many years to come, 
all told, cost less than $35. 
My conclusion from observation is, that in pro¬ 
portion to the surplus power acquired by unneces¬ 
sary inclination of drive pipe over what is required 
to do the desired work, will be the length of time 
in which the air-chamber will become filled with 
water, and that there should be a proper balance 
between the propeller and issue. This is a problem 
for the “professors ” to solve, whether in this pro- 
Plaster and. Clover Seed. 
I would like to know what amount of plaster is 
best to sow on an acre of clover ? and if it is good policy to 
mix Timothy with clover seed when we wish to cut 
the crop for seed.—T. J. M., Mentz, Cay. Co. R. Y. 
What do farmers generally consider the best quan¬ 
tity of Timothy or clover seed to sow to the acre ?—B. F. 
From one to two bushels of plaster is used to the 
acre. Clover for seed should be sown alone. From 
15 to 20 pounds of clover seed is required for au 
acre, and from 12 to 20 quarts of Timothy. 
