have access to good, sweet pasture in summer; 
that they have water at will, and that they are 
freely supplied with salt; and that, if excellent 
butter is still required after the pasture is injured 
by frost, that pumpkins and meal be added to their 
fare. I have observed, that, in seasons when soft 
corn abounds, and the cows are fed freely with it, 
that late fall butter may be made of excellent 
quality, little, if any, inferior to that made in 
the choicest part of the season. 
The connection between the kind of food con¬ 
sumed by the cow, and the quality of the butter 
made from her milk, is as intimate as that between 
the food consumed by the bee, and the honey pro¬ 
duced. Old fertile pastures of timothy, white clo¬ 
ver, and June grass, or the aftermath of old inter¬ 
vale meadows, furnish a better pabulum for butter 
than fresh pastures of red clover. The last will 
be improved by a mixture of timothy, and the 
natural grasses. When the cows are fed on dry 
fodder, roots will increase the flow of milk; but 
for the production of excellent butter, experience 
has taught that grain is necessary. Indian meal, 
bran and shorts are good. For dry fodder, perhaps 
cornstalks are the best. It is very important that, 
in the winter, cows be kept in good condition, and 
not suffered to lose flesh, in view of both the 
quantity and quality of the butter made during 
the coming season. 
Exercise is essential to the good health of all 
domestic animals. In summer, roaming the pas¬ 
ture secures it. In winter, such an arrangement 
of yards, straw-ricks and sheds, should be con- 
odor, to come in close proximity to her butter bowl 
or milk table. 
The time during which the milk should remain 
set, depends upon the temperature, natural or arti¬ 
ficial, of the dairy apartment. Just long enough 
for all the cream to rise and no longer, is the rule, 
economically considered; yet if a sample of very 
choice butter is desired, regardless of economy, the 
cream may be skimmed off and churned sweet; 
this practice cannot be recommended as an ordi¬ 
nary one—it is wasteful. Again, if the cream is 
skimmed when the milk sours before it coagulates, 
or in the phrase of the dairy, becomes lobbard, 
choice butter may be made; but in order to obtain 
all the cream, it is necessary to wait till the milk 
coagulates. Very important is it that the cream 
be now removed before the milk and cream becomes 
wheyish; if this change occurs, good butter cannot 
be made. Itisthe want ofskill and attention atthis 
point, that causes much of the failure in making 
butter, in the practice of ordinary operators. The 
cream should now be stored in a stone crock; if it is 
to be kept till the next day, a small handful of salt 
added, and the mass stirred with a wooden spatula, 
kept for the purpose. When more cream is added 
on the succeeding day, the stirring may be repeated 
without further addition of salt. This process is 
to prevent the formation of whey. If the dairy is 
large enough, a daily churning will certainly be 
preferable; in that case put the cream in the churn 
as it is skimmed. In warm weather the churning 
should, in all cases, be performed as often as every 
other day. 
trived, as will insure a sufficient amount of exer¬ 
cise at that season. It may be “ regarded as estab¬ 
lished,” that stables in winter are the best shelter, 
with yards for exercise in the day time; yet, for 
a small stock, and where the capital of the hus¬ 
bandman is inadequate for greater outlay, such 
an arrangement of ricks, sheds and board fence, 
may be devised, as will furnish very cozy and 
healthy wintering places for cows. The shelter of 
shade trees in summer should not be forgotten. 
Dairy Salt. 
The dairywoman should with all earnestness 
insist on being supplied with good salt, as poor 
salt will injure the very best made buttei’. Liver¬ 
pool dairy salt, or the coarse solar salt made fine, 
are both excellent. If any doubts are entertained 
of the genuineness or fitness of the salt obtained, 
dissolve a little in a glass tumbler; if the brine 
formed is clear, the salt is good; if, on the con¬ 
trary, it is of a milky appearance, it should be re¬ 
jected. 
Millring tlie Cows. 
On the Western Reserve, (to their praise be it 
spoken,) mothers have taught the men to be care¬ 
ful of their wives and sisters; consequently the 
men almost invariably milk the cows. The mis¬ 
tress of the dairy should see that the milkers’ 
hands are clean, and also the cows’ udders at milk¬ 
ing time. I would advise her to occasionally visit 
the milking yard, in order to superintend matters 
there. She should know the cows by name, to¬ 
gether with the quantity and quality of each cow’s 
milk, and should advocate tenderness and gentle¬ 
ness in that department. The milking yard ought 
not to be a place for scolding and blows, where 
harsh language may be heard daily, night and 
morning, but a quiet inclosure, where the cows 
may chew the cud in happy complacency, and 
where the thoughtful milker may peacefully think, 
or the merry one whistle or sing, while drawing 
the lactean stream. The milking yard should be a 
permanent inclosure, containing a pen for break¬ 
ing heifers, and all fixtures necessary or convenient 
for the milking process; and as soon as the cows 
are milked, they should be turned into other inclo¬ 
sures for feeding or rest, so that the milking yard 
may be preserved sweet and clean, and but little 
trodden by their feet. I have been myself a 
milker of cows for more than thirty years, and I 
think it a scene worthy of a painter’s eye, when a 
herd of beautiful, sleek and well-trained cows come 
orderly and quietly into the clean milking inclo¬ 
sure, each one taking her accustomed place, and 
evincing that confidence in man or maid, who may 
happen to be there, that proves established ac¬ 
quaintance and tried friendship between them.— 
There may be here, as well as in other scenes of 
the farmer’s life, much of poetry, and those num¬ 
berless small sources of contentment and delight, 
which are unhappily often missed where they 
might be enjoyed. Milking may be so managed as 
to be a pleasant relaxation from toil, rather than a 
hateful chore. 
If, at anytime, the milk pans exhibit a sediment 
proving a want of cleanliness in milking, the 
mistress of the dairy should have authority in the 
case, without appeal. 
Dairy -A-pax-tment. 
The dairy apartment should be cool, airy and 
clean. If a cellar is used, it should be plastered, 
whitewashed, have a stone or cement floor, be fur¬ 
nished with wire-grated windows, and be appro¬ 
priated exclusively to milk, cream and butter. A 
dairy house built on the surface of the ground, 
scientifically constructed, and properly shaded, 
would doubtless be preferable to a cellar under 
ground; yet I do know that, all other things being 
right, very good butter may be made, in a good, 
well - ventilated cellar. Spring houses are out of 
the question, in very extensive localities, in our 
State. 
Care of tlie ATilli. 
Immediately on the receipt of the milk in the 
house, let it be strained into six quart tin pans, 
and set on a long, narrow table, or on the floor of 
the dairy apartment, as the temperature of the sea¬ 
son may indicate. For cleanliness and convenience, 
the table is preferable, but the floor may be used 
when the weather is very warm. A recent writer, 
whose essay has had a wide circulation in the 
columns of the New York Tribune advocates the 
use of tin pails, in preference to shallow pans, for 
setting the milk. I think his suggestion is not 
accompanied by sufficient experimental proof to 
change old established usage. The cream will 
doubtless rise more readily in shallow pans. 
It may here, once for all, be written down, 
that great cleanliness must be observed ever and 
always in butter-making. The atmosphere, the 
table, the vessels, the floor, everything must be 
kept sweet and clean. The neat dairy woman will 
not allow dusty coats, muddy boots, or tobacco | 
Winter Care of oVIillr. 
The winter care of milk differs somewhat from 
the above. On the approach of severe cold weather 
a dairy apartment should be provided, warmed in 
some way by artificial heat. The temperature of the 
room may be lower than will suffice to coagulate 
the milk. When the firm, leathery appearance of 
the cream, together w'ith its thickness, indicates 
that it has all risen, an incision may be made in it 
with the skimmer, and by dexterously holding the 
cream back, the milk may be decanted from the 
cream expeditiously and without waste. The milk 
should not, at any time, stand longer than three 
days without skimming. The cream may now be 
stored in a cold apartment, and treated according 
to previous directions. 
Churning. 
The kind of churn I leave to the fancy of the ope¬ 
rator. The kind I prefer is an upright cylindrical¬ 
shaped churn, made of oak; both extremities of the 
same size, and having a slight bilge, not in the mid¬ 
dle as in a barrel, but swelling a few inches from 
the bottom. In such a churn the dash nearly fills 
the churn from top to bottom, excepting the slight 
bilge, and all the cream is continuously and uni¬ 
formly agitated. The cream should be brought by 
cold or warm water surrounding it, or by such 
appliances as the ingenuity of the operator may 
devise, to the temperature of 62 deg. Fahrenheit, 
and at that temperature churned. I have known 
most excellent butter made by a skillful dairy- 
woman, without other thermometer than a little of 
the cream taken on her finger and touched to her 
forehead. Experience has proved that such a stroke 
of the churn-dash as will bring the butter in about 
SO minutes, makes the best butter. At a tempera¬ 
ture of about 62 deg. Fahrenheit, from 50 to 60 
strokes of the dash per minute will accomplish this 
result, if care is taken to strike the top of the 
cream and the bottom of the churn at every stroke. 
If the churn be filled so that the dash cannot strike 
the top of the cream, the operation can scarcely be 
accomplished at all. Rapid churning should be 
avoided at the commencement., though the motion 
may be accelerated after the cream curdles with 
butter. The butter, when sufficiently gathered by 
churning, should be transferred with a wooden 
ladle to a wooden bowl. 
"Working the Butter. 
Language, here, ceases to be adequate to the 
theme. Who can, with the pen, teach a young 
lady to spin? Who can, by language alone, de¬ 
scribe the peculiar feel in handling cattle ? Who 
can find letters to spell that sound used in driving 
horses, the nearest word to which is chirrup ? In 
like manner, who can give adequate directions for 
working butter? The writer who can do it will 
certainly deserve a premium larger than any yet 
offered. A mother’s counsel, precept and example, 
conjoined with one’s own experience and practice, 
are the best means by which this knowledge can be 
transferred. Yet the skeleton outline may be 
given. 
The amateur dairy mistress is very particular in 
the selection of her ladle—it must be delicate and 
artistic in its curve, light, thin and strong, as every 
gentleman knows who has endeavored to purchase 
ladles for such a wife, bringing them home and 
seeing them cast aside as unworthy of her hand, 
until the right one was procured. 
After the butter is taken from the churn, it 
should be skillfully worked until nearly all the 
buttermilk is out of it. And here arises the mooted 
question, whether cold water should be used in the 
process; whether the butter may be washed ? My 
decision is, that if the temperature of the dairy 
apartment is under the control of the operator, so 
that a low degree can be secured in warm weather, 
that working out the buttermilk without water will 
insure the most exquisite excellence as its result. 
But the buttermilk must be expelled at all events; 
and under ordinary surroundings, and with ordi¬ 
nary appliances, a free use of cold water will more 
certainly and speedily accomplish this object than 
any other means; and all other things being right, 
water-washed butter will be very good—perhaps I 
might venture to say, good enough. The keeping 
quality of butter without washing, is thought by 
many to be the best. I have for years visited at 
the houses of two highly intelligent and experienced 
dairy women, both famous, in their respective neigh¬ 
borhoods, for the excellence of their butter. One 
of them, who has obtained premiums at public exhi¬ 
bitions for the best butter, and who has supplied 
numerous regular customers, to their entire satis¬ 
faction, with crocks of choice butter for winter 
keeping, is a warm advocate for the free use of cold 
water in extracting the buttermilk, and she assures 
me that the good keeping properties of her butter 
have been fully tested. The other lady, whose 
numerous customers are always ready to attest the 
superior excellence of the butter made by her over 
that of ordinary sale, will not allow cold water to 
come in contact with cream or butter, except in 
extreme cases of oily softness. I have often eaten 
butter at their houses, and my judgment is that the 
unwashed butter is slightly superior in delicate 
aroma and marrowy sweetness ; yet to distinguish 
the difference, the taste must be set fine and the 
attention concentrated on the trial. 
When the buttermilk is pretty well worked out, 
such a quantity of salt should be added as suits the 
tastes of those who are to be its consumers. Tastes 
vary greatly on this head. The habits of some sec¬ 
tions require more salt than others. Some direc¬ 
tions give seven-eights of an ounce of salt to a 
pound of butter as a rule. Let the salt be thor¬ 
oughly incorporated with the butter at its first work¬ 
ing. The butter must be subjected on the ensuing 
day to a second working; these two may suffice 
for present consumption, but for butter, intended 
to be long kept, a third working on the third day 
will be necessary. Experience and practice can 
alone enable the operator to work the butter skill¬ 
fully, so as to completely exclude the buttermilk, 
without rendering the butter salvy. A machine 
called a butter-worker will very much aid in the 
second and third workings. It is to be remem¬ 
bered that butter will keep, and that butter-milk 
will not—conjoined, they will certainly spoil. 
Final Packing. 
For keeping butter, for family or neighborhood 
use, I know of no vessel preferable to stone crocks, 
containing two or three gallons each. In these 
crocks pack the butter in layers of such thickness 
as will be convenient for use, sprinkling a little 
salt between each layer; this sprinkling of salt is 
for convenience in extracting the butter for use.— 
Continue until the crock is nearly full; then cover 
with a fine muslin cloth, on which place a layer of 
salt half an inch thick; then fill with strong brine, 
and cover with a stone cover, and the work is done. 
If the directions given in this essay are followed 
with the skill and tact of practice, butter may at 
any time be extracted from said crock, that good 
judges will pronounce A No. 1. 
Even inferior butter may be long kept unchanged, 
if it be kept cold, and the air entirely excluded. I 
once, in very warm weather, suspended a package 
of once worked butter in a deep well; through ac¬ 
cident it fell to the bottom. Several years after, on 
cleaning out the well, it was recovered, and on 
scraping away the dirt which had gathered on the 
surface, the butter proved to be unchanged in 
quality. From this fact, a hint may be derived 
that to keep it cold and exclude the air, will aid in 
preserving the good qualities of packed butter. 
-*-».»- 
(Eonbcnstft (Eorrcsponbcncc. 
“ What Ailed the Steer?” —In the spring of’58, 
I had an ox sicken and die in a very short time. At 
first he appeared in great distress, and commenced 
bloating. I took him from the stable, tied him to 
the fence, in order to try and do something for him, 
and in his writhingshe j^^ned over the fence, fell, 
and died immediately. ,^^Fwas bloated as full as 
possible. In dressing, ^Bound, to all appearance, 
that no food had passefJBP' paunch ” for’the pre¬ 
vious 24 hours, perhaps longer, but all that he had 
eaten had lodged in said organ, and appeared to 
be harder than usual. Now, I wish some Rural 
reader would inform me what the disease was. I 
can find nothing in any books that will touch the 
case. Some of our neighbors call it “ Dry Mur¬ 
rain.” I wish also to know the remedy—and if 
anything could be of any avail. He died too soon 
to have anything take effect, unless it would act 
immediately—was dead in about twenty minutes 
after I found he was sick. I had been feeding some 
grain all winter, and he was in good flesh.— T. P. 
H., Farmington, Mich., 1859. 
Where should Bees be Kept? —We recollect 
reading in the Genesee Farmer, about fifteen years 
ago, an article detailing success in bee-keeping, in 
which the writer recounted an experiment of keep¬ 
ing bees in the garret of his house. He claimed 
that the plan was possessed of many advantages, 
which, judging from what we know of the instincts 
of the bee, we should consider true. The bee when 
left to select its own abode, fails not to locate it 
as high from the ground as possible. In this 
practice very many different species of bees and 
wasps join, although some species build upon the 
ground, and some even in the ground. We would 
recommend the trial of the experiment, believing 
it may result in adding valuable knowledge to our 
present fund of bee literature.—G., Out West, ’59. 
Culture of O.vioxs. —Last fall I noticed an arti¬ 
cle on the cultivation of onions, the manner of 
which I thought was not the best. Now, the best 
mode of doing things is what we want to know.— 
As far as my experience goes, I will tell Rural 
readers how they may raise good onions every 
time they try. Onions require a dry soil. Manure 
well, plow deep, level off with rake or harrow, and 
here comes the secret in cultivating: Make the 
ground hard on the top by stamping or rolling, 
loosen the surface so as to plant your seed in drills 
half-inch deep, and one foot apart. Keep free from 
weeds, and all the scullions you have next fall you 
can eat at one mess.—S. A. C., Smyrna, N. Y., '59. 
To Keep Eggs Fresh. —Here is a recipe that I 
am informed will keep eggs sound one year. I 
presume it will do it; but I wish to be positive, as 
I expect to lay down a large quantity the coming 
summer, if I can obtain a reliable recipe:—Boil one 
pound of salt and one ounce of salt-petre for ten 
minutes in five quarts of water. When nearly cold 
add four tablespoonfuls of good lime. Keep them 
in a cool place. Will some of your correspondents 
inform me with reference to the foregoing, or give 
me another recipe that will answer the purpose, 
and much oblige—A Subscriber, Bronte, G. W. 
To Cure Hollow Horn. —We are receiving much 
profit from the columns of the Rural, and would 
cast in our mite for the general good, by giving a 
sure remedy for the cure of hollow horn, or horn- 
ail, in cattle:—Dissolve a tablespoonful of copperas 
in warm water, and mix with the creature’s mess, if 
it is not past eating, if it should be, pour it down. 
This dose will seldom need to be given more than 
once. It has been our remedy for many years in a 
[ large dairy.—E. J. Stanclift, North Collins,N.Y. 
Rural Spirit of tljc JDrcss. 
Large vs. Small Horses. 
Our readers all know with what favor large- 
sized horses have been viewed by English farmers, 
and have read concerning the many experiments 
made to combine great bulk with perfection of 
movement and economy in keeping. The follow¬ 
ing article, from an English exchange, would seem 
to indicate a change of opinion and a seeking for 
good qualities only in medium-sized animals:— 
One of the principal mistakes of the present age 
has been the enhanced value set upon horses of 
great size. There is a standard of excellence which 
governs the size of all animals; those most essen¬ 
tially which are required for labor. It is often re¬ 
marked that “a good big horse is superior to a lit¬ 
tle one.” In theory it appears to be a just conclu¬ 
sion, but practice inquires “where the good big 
one is to be met with?” There is likewise some¬ 
thing more than power requisite to complete a 
good horse; that is, the will to give effect to the 
power. This excellent faculty is derived from the 
nervous excitability of the brain and nervous sys¬ 
tem, which influences the muscles of locomotion; 
and when this property exists extensively, unless 
it be counterbalanced by some physical inability, 
ill health, or want of sufficient nutriment, the ani¬ 
mal will possess equivalent good qualities. When 
the relative proportion of horses and mares is 
studied, it will be found that the horse is naturally 
of greater size; it is, therefore, by all means desir¬ 
able to seek for mares of the largest frame. Na¬ 
ture is an excellent monitor on such occasions, and 
and does not suffer her ordinations to be trans¬ 
gressed with impunity. Any oversized mare is 
very uncertain in her produce; one year she will 
give birth to a puny, weak, leggy foal, and the suc¬ 
ceeding one will, in all probability, be too bulky, 
inactive, and clumsy. 
Ravages of tlie Turnip Fly. 
Many devices have been recommended against 
the attacks of the Turnip Fly, but no absolute 
specific appears as yet to have been discovered.— 
Mr. Poppy’s scheme for escaping it consists in sow¬ 
ing alternate rows, or occasional patches of com¬ 
mon turnips in the midst of the Swedes, in the be¬ 
lief, to which his experience had led him, that the 
fly would confine itself to the former. He has 
since found that mustard attracts the fly from both 
common and Swedish turnips. Mr. Grey, of Dil- 
ston, Eng., has for some years planted field pota¬ 
toes in rows alternately with Swedish turnips, on 
land which had been worked, manured, and drilled 
up in the previous autumn, or very early in the 
spring, the potato seed being put it with the spade. 
This he did to preserve the potatoes from the prev¬ 
alent disease; and the turnips were always the 
best in the field. Lord Grey states his experience 
of the same practice thus:—“It is a curious thing 
that in one field, when I have tried your experi¬ 
ment of sowing two drills of turnips together be¬ 
tween the drills of potatoes, the turnips have en¬ 
tirely escaped the fly, though in all the rest of the 
field, sown at the same time, they are completely 
destroyed.” It would seem that the potato top is 
so distasteful to the fly, as to afford protection to 
plants of another kind growing in immediate 
proximity. Still another method has been furnish¬ 
ed the Canadian Agriculturist by a Canadian far¬ 
mer who has had considerable experience in rais¬ 
ing turnips, and has never wholly lost his crop by 
the attacks of the fly — and seldom indeed much 
injured. His practice is to sow very thickly, and 
as soon as the smooth leaves begin to appear, to 
scatter over the drills a quantity of quick-lime, 
dry wood ashes, and soot, intimately mixed; the 
proportion of lime being equal to the other two 
ingredients. 
A-bont Feeding Figs. 
One of the Marietta, Ohio, farmers writes to 
the Cultivator upon this subject as follows:— 
“Persons who have had much experience in rear¬ 
ing swine, have noticed the woe-begone appearance 
of young pigs, suddenly deprived of nature’s first 
food. Few persons, indeed, know how to wean 
pigs. I give you my experience for the benefit of the 
Cultivator circle. Provide yourself with troughs 
made of boards one foot in width, five feet long, 
with sides but two to three inches high. The idea 
is, to provide a trough that will be accessible to 
pigs as well as the sow. Each sow and litter, for 
manifold reasons, should have separate pens and 
ranges. Feed the sow sparingly for the first three 
or four days after farrowing. Afterward she should 
be fed in the shape of slops, all she can eat. It 
will pay, rest assured of it, reader. At the end of 
four weeks the pigs will take to the well-prepared 
slops, and consequently will gain faster and draw 
less heavily on the dam. At the end of seven or 
eight weeks, pigs thus fed, will look as Farmer 
Thrifty’s should, and can be taken from the dam 
without injury, continuing, of course, to feed 
nourishing slops. In this connection I must tell 
you how I fix my swill barrel to keep the contents 
warm in cold weather:—I dig a hole 18 inches 
deep, and 10 or 11 feet in diameter, fill it 18 inches 
with fresh manure, warm from the stable, set the 
barrel in the middle of the heap, and pile manure 
around it as high as its top, cover with two or three 
inches of dirt and the work is done. Your pigs 
will compensate you for this labor by laying on 
flesh even in cold weather.” 
Corn. Fodder. 
Says the editor of the New Hampshire Journal 
of Agriculture, “ let every farmer keep a load or 
two of fine manure to use for raising a patch o 
corn to cut up green in the fall. Those who have 
never tried it are not aware how much may be 
raised per square rod. After your planting is fin¬ 
ished and you get breath a little, plow up a small 
patch (plow deep,) harrow well, and with a common 
plow furrow one way two feet and a half apart.— 
Scatter in your manure an inch deep — scatter in 
your corn—at the rate of thirty or forty kernels 
to the foot and cover it up. When up about a foot 
high, go through with a plow and turn a furrow 
against each side of the corn, sufficient to cover 
weeds. The corn will soon have the mastery and 
no weeds will appear. When feed begins to fail, 
begin on the corn, and if your cows get it, they 
will tell of it in the milk pail, and if you have a 
large dairy, a few more pans will be needed. Some 
prefer the large sweet corn. Some of both kinds 
may be sown and then see which is the best.” 
Agricultural Jttisiellang. , 
The Frost.— Its Range and Effects .—Since our last, 
numerous letters and exchanges have furnished us ac¬ 
counts of the wide range and effects of the severe frost 
of June 4th. Many of the reports are conflicting, and 
it is impossible to arrive at any definite conclusion as to 
the extent of the actual damage, though it has no doubt 
been so great in Borne sections as to render the June 
Frost of 1859 memorable in the annals of Summer 
temperature. The frost seems to have prevailed over a 
wide extent of country, though, from the accounts re¬ 
ceived, the greatest damage occurred in Southern and 
"Western New York, Northern and ‘Western Pennsyl¬ 
vania, Northern Ohio, Wisconsin, and Canada. From 
various localities of the sections named we have mourn¬ 
ful accounts of loss, many of which aver that the wheat 
is destroyed. This may be true to some extent, but we 
think the cereal crops have generally escaped, and that 
the general average will not be materially diminished, 
(taking the whole country together, and considering 
that the frost has been beneficial in destroying insects.) 
True, the first reports from various sections stated that 
wheat, rye, Ac., were entirely destroyed—yet later ac¬ 
counts indicate that the extent of the injury was greatly- 
exaggerated. 
Com, potatoes, garden vegetables, Ac., were injured 
or destroyed to a considerable extent in portions of 
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, 
Wisconsin and Iowa; but, though untimely, the frost 
was not so late in the season as to prevent replanting, or 
substituting other crops, with the prospect of fair yield. 
Fruit has also been destroyed in some localities, yet we 
think tlie damage is not extensive. Viewed in the most 
favorable light, however, the frost has proved a great 
calamity, and calls for. the exercise of patience and 
resignation—remembering the promise of “ seed time 
and harvest ”—as well as industry and wise and prompt 
action in replanting crops destroyed, or substituting 
such as will be likely to prove most remunerative. Tho’ 
much labor is lost, if all affected act promptly and pru¬ 
dently, the calamity will be overcome, and the country 
speedily recover from its effects. 
— Another frost occurred on Friday night (June 10th;) 
which was somewhat destructive to tender vegeation, 
but so far as ascertained the damage was comparatively 
trifling in this vicinity. 
Season and Crops in New England. — Our New 
England exchanges speak very favorably of the season 
and crop prospects thus far. The N. E. Farmer of tho 
11th inst. says:—“The promise is at present strong for 
abundant crops. The hot days which we had about 
the middle of May brought the plants forward with 
great rapidity,—but the cooler weather since has given 
them a desirable check, so that they have grown stocky 
and strong, instead of aspiring to reach tho skies. The 
apple blossom has been full in this region. The cherry 
blossom only moderate, while we have met only tW9 
armers who have seen a peach blossom this spring! 
A copious rain fell here on the night of the 81st of May, 
and the ground is well wet below,—so that if little or no 
rain should fall before haying, the grass crop will be an 
average one. Hay still commands a somewhat high 
price, however, in consequence, we suppose, of the 
high price of grain, as it brings readily in our market 
from $1 00 to $115 per hundred pounds, according to 
its quality. Planting was somewhat delayed by tho 
northeast storm which occurred in the last half of May; 
but the crops were got in seasonably, notwithstanding, 
and the grain crops are up and appearing well. Oom 
has come up promptly, and looks well, and so do many 
fields of potatoes. Winter rye and winter wheat are of 
( good height and fine color, and have a fine start for rich 
^harvests. Spring wheat also looks well.” 
Eats take the Corn. —Illinois papers say that some 
sections of that State are greatly troubled with rata, and 
the plague begins to look as formidable as any of those 
which overran Egypt. The animals have increased to 
such an extent, it is said, that large corn-fields are en¬ 
tirely ruined by their burrowing in tho soil and eating 
the kernels, even after they have germinated and the 
plant obtained some growth. One farmer near Pontiac 
mixed corn with arsenic and spread it on the field. 
Tho result was a general destruction of the rats, six 
wagon loads of the dead vermin having been removed, 
120 out of one hole! These stories are rather huge, but 
are probably partially true. The people of Logan 
county have felt constrained to offer $100 in premiums 
to be paid at next County Fair —$50 for the largest 
number of rats killed, $80 for the second, and $20 for 
the third. Under this stimulant it is said one man has 
already killed nearly a thousand of the depredators. 
Western New York rs. India.—A letter just receiv¬ 
ed from a friend in India (dated Singapore, March 30,) 
says:—“ I might write to you of wide, smooth roads 
lined with bamboo hedges, interspersed with acacia 
t ree8 — 0 f fields covered with the sensitive plant—of 
groves of nutmeg and palm trees—of tho cocoa-nut, 
clove and chocolate tree—of the mango, and the man- 
gostive so white and delicate—of the Jack and bread 
fruit, Ac., but fear I should not write understandings, 
or so as to give you any definite idea. We have all 
heard somewhat about ‘ India’s coral strand,’ and ‘ air 
perfumed with spices ’—of delicious fruits and magnifi¬ 
cent flowers, Ac.,—but one whiff of old Ontario's breeze 
—one good-sized pebble on Genesee’s shore—one good 
Bartlett pear, or ripe peach, with the thermometer 
somewhat below toasting heat, would be a luxury." 
The Prize Essay on Butter Making, published in 
preceding columns, is a model in its way—being prac¬ 
tical, brief, and withal so comprehensive as to include 
every branch of the subject. In our remarks on first 
page, we ought to have stated that the Essay was writ¬ 
ten in competition for a Premium of Fifty Dollars, 
offered by the Ohio State Board of Agriculture in the 
following terms :—“For the best Essay on Rutter 
Making.—Thin essay is expected to embrace whatso¬ 
ever may be regarded as established respecting tho 
adaptation of different breeds of cattle for butter mak¬ 
ing, with influence of feed, exercise and shelter, and 
the whole process and rationale in making and curing. 
Notes on European Agriculture. — "We have the 
pleasure of announcing that a series of Letters ou 
European Agriculture will appear in the second ha o 
this volume of the Rural, commencing with Ju'D 
They will be contributed by Sanford Howard, Esq-, 
of Boston, who is so widely and favorably known as a 
sound, practical man, and able writer on agricultural 
subjects, that the simple announcement of his name is a 
sufficient guarantee that the letters will attract attention 
and prove interesting and instructive to thousam s o 
our readers. Mr. H. is now in Europe, and we ll0 P° 
receive an instalment of his Notes in time for the is 
number of our new half volume, July 2d. 
The Paper 'Weights, made of Grand Rapids Gyp¬ 
sum, cut and polished, and kindly sent us by Mr. i • 
Hammond, of the Mich. Central Nurseries, near >- • 
Johns, Mich., are very beautiful and especially »PP r ‘ 
priate for the Rural sanctum. They are both use 
and ornamental—keeping papers in their places, ai 
being much admired by friends. 
