his business. A plow should never kick, nor should 
it be assisted to turn the furrow by compelling the 
plowman to walk on it to keep it down ; the draft 
from point of cutter or shear, and the centre of 
clevis at end of beam, should be in such a position 
that when the plow strikes it will lift or jump per¬ 
pendicular, and not side ways, so as to take a fellow 
in the ribs or breast with the point of the handles. 
Your plow should run square and true, just land 
enough and no more, and if anything a little too 
deep, because there is less danger in plowing too 
deep than not deep enough; besides, if your plow 
runs too deep, it is easy and natural for a good plow¬ 
man to rest himself by bearing down slightly upon 
the point or end of the handles; it is much easier 
to bear down than lift up. I know it used to be 
the complaint in an earlier day, in plowing rough, 
stony, or hill-side land, that many were hurt in 
various ways, in the ribs and shins especially, by 
the plow; but this was a quarter and half-quarter 
of a century ago, when our parents were our age 
or less. When our plows had wooden moldboards 
and heavy and large beams, as if all the strength 
and qualities of the plow laid in the size of the 
beam. Were plows manufactured now as then, 
they would not sell at one-tenth the cast of making. 
There is as much improvement in the make of a 
plow as any tool a farmer has to use; and if H. K. 
F.’s plow is in the habit of breaking ribs, I would 
advise him to get one of more recent make, for it 
is no small matter to have a rib broken. Why, if 
you had an animal that was in the habit of kicking 
you every time you went near him, you would rid 
your premises of the same as soon as possible.— 
Why not, then, rid yourself of a kicking plow, (for 
it is equally dangerous,) and get a good one—one 
that is at least one-third lighter in weight, and that 
will perform a third more plowing with more ease 
to man and beast ? Let mechanics live, also. 
Your having a heavy and good sized team, with 
a heft in proportion to your work, is all right; it 
is no use to plow heavy plowing with a light one. 
You talk, too, of having the ends of the lines of 
cloth, or something that will prevent friction 
around the neck. I always had a horror against 
carrying the lines around one’s neck; it always 
looked too much like hanging. I don’t believe I 
could stand hanging with any kind of a string. 
This putting the lines around one’s neck, or fasten¬ 
ing them around the wheel, or carrying the ends 
forward to hitch, is bad farming as well as bad 
practice, and many accidents happen in conse¬ 
quence thereof. Why not drive a horse team, in 
the plow especially, without a line, the same as an 
ox team, or stand without being hitched ? 
Marion, 0., 1859. Ohio Railroad Farmer. 
ABOUT CHEESE AND CHEESE-MAKING. 
Eds. Rural: —Is it not a fact that a large por¬ 
tion of the cheese made in this country which 
finds its way to our markets, is far from what it 
should be in those qualities so desirable to all 
lovers of good cheese ? The labor and expense of 
making a poor article is the same as that of pro¬ 
ducing a good one, as all dairymen will acknowl¬ 
edge. There is a best way for doing everything, 
and all admit the importance of doing things in 
that way in their particular branches of business, 
yet it seems that many dairymen lose sight, in 
great measure, of that word “Excelsior” in prac¬ 
tice, and thereby lose much in a pecuniary point of 
view. 
Look at the different gradations in the price of 
cheese in market, and see if the producer of poor 
cheese does not suffer in comparison with his 
neighbor who may have an article that will out-sell 
him by far. The time has come when the old way 
of making cheese should be abandoned. Dry, hard 
cheese, that will crumble almost at the touch, is not 
what most of people want in these days when bet¬ 
ter can be had, that is, more moist, richer, finer 
flavored and pleasant. I think many salt too 
much, which has a tendency to harden cheese and 
make them crumble; seasoning too high will make 
it tough and tasteless. It is a nice point to know, 
and to acquire the experience to meet all the vari¬ 
ations necessary to produce an even dairy the sea¬ 
son through. The changes of the weather from 
heat to cold and back again. A certain amount of 
heat in scalding to-day may not answer for to¬ 
morrow. In very warm weather the tendency of 
the curd is to harden and become sour, and then 
less heat should be used because the whey and curd 
are more seperated and in a more advanced state. 
Less salt should then be used. I think there are 
no set rules that can be given to make good cheese 
without practice to accompany them. The changes 
required are too many, yet a few suggestions may 
be valuable to new beginners. Any information 
that is wanted on this subject through the columns 
of the Rural I will give as far as I can. 
I would inquire if any one knows the cause of 
rennets being so poor and almost worthless with 
us — many others in this vicinity complain of the 
same. M. b. w. 
Apulia, N. Y., June, 1859. 
HOW TO SHEAR SHEEP. 
Eds. Rural: — In your issue of June 11th is 
an article from the Ohio Fai'mer, headed “Sheep 
Shearing.” The writer gives very good directions 
till he comes to the “mode of shearing,” which I 
think may be improved. I was so fortunate as to 
secure the services of a scientific shearer, Mr. 
Edmund Belknap, who sheared a small flock for 
me to-day. I soon saw that he handled sheep 
adroitly, and thought I might benefit some of your 
readers by communicating his mode , and accord- 
ingly, pencil in hand, I noted down as correctly 
and minutely as I could, the operation, by watch¬ 
ing the motions of the shearer. I send you the 
result. My notes are approved by Mr. Belknap. 
Have a stool just knee-high to the operator, 18 
inches square, of soft wood planed smooth, or 
covered,—a dry good’s box that height will answer. 
Place your right foot on the stool, set your sheep 
so that his back will rest against your right thigh, 
with your right arm forward of his fore legs; com¬ 
mence at the brisket, with your shears across the 
sheep, shear the belly, quite down, trimming the 
tags, &c. The belly wool must be laid aside to be 
done up with the fleece,—that done, place your left 
foot on the stool, with the left side of the sheep 
resting on your left leg, back to you; commence at 
the point of the right shoulder, and with a curve 
backwards, open the wool with the shears to the 
back of the neck, nearly, and ending at the back ot 
the right ear. Shear the shoulder, and the neck 
lengthwise, and forward to the under side of the 
neck. As the operation progresses, turn the sheep 
gradually to the right, till the back rests on your 
thigh, with the right side to you, shear around the 
neck, (lengthwise,) and down on the left leg and 
shoulder, (the neck being the first finished,) then 
downward along the side, hind leg, and ham, then 
lengthwise upward and backward till the backbone 
or spine is passed a little. Now gather the fleece, 
holding it against the back and unsheared side, 
turn the sheep on his haunch bones, as on a pivot, 
to the right, place your right foot on the stool, 
resting the left side of the sheep against you, with 
its back on your right thigh, shear down the right 
thigh and ham, which finishes the operation. In 
this way you roll the sheep out of his fleece, rolling 
the sheep to the right and the fleece to the left. 
I think there are important advantages in this 
method. Sheep require an easy position, or they 
will be restless and often unmanageable. No posi¬ 
tion is more uncomfortable to a sheep than flat on 
his side, and none easier than the sitting posture— 
though kept on end during the whole shearing. 
The position is changed often enough to keep the 
sheep from being restless; for you are turning 
him nearly all the time to the right,—he wants no 
holding, his feet or legs should never be touched, 
and he will scarce ever move them,—if he does, he 
cannot touch the fleece,—that is all the time out of 
the way of his feet, to the left. If handled gently, 
and not kept too long on the stool, he seems to 
enjoy the luxury of being divested of his fleece in 
warm weather. The lower point of the shears should 
be leveled a little, so that they will run easily over 
the skin without catching, and the wool should 
never be pulled, for the skin is raised with it. To 
smooth wrinkles, draw the skin with the left hand. 
Gentleness will make the sheep lie quiet. Finally, 
why not suppose this the ancient mode of shearing? 
I never was so fully convinced, of the aptness and 
force of the passage “ as a sheep before her shear¬ 
ers is dumb, ” than when watching the motions of 
Mr. B., while shearing our sheep. S. S. Bates. 
Titusville, Craw. Co., Pa., June 20th, 1S59. 
CULTURE OF CARROTS. 
Messrs. Eds.: —As I have had some experience 
in the raising of the above named root, I will, 
with your permission, give it to the readers of the 
Rural. Perhaps I shall tell nothing new or valu¬ 
able to farmers who have been in the habit of rais¬ 
ing them, but it may be of some use to new begin¬ 
ners. There are few, if any, crops that will yield a 
greater number of bushels to the acre than carrots, 
when well cultivated. They are less affected by 
the worms and insects, are easily harvested, and 
keep well through the winter. Many animals, 
especially cattle, are very fond of them, and will 
thrive well when fed on them. I have heard that 
they will kill calves, but never saw any calves 
killed by them, or any that there was any signs of 
their dying or being hurt, and believe that there 
is much more danger of their being killed for the 
want of them. 
The carrot thrives best in a deep, rich, sandy 
soil, or asand and clay mixed. The ground should 
be plowed deep, fine manure well mixed in, and 
all sticks and stones removed. They can be sown 
from the first of May to thefirstor middleof June, 
according to the weather and situation. In this 
State they do best when, sown on sandy soil, the 
first of May. Sow in rows or drills, from a foot 
to sixteen inches apart, according to the fancy of 
the raiser—I generally have the rows about four¬ 
teen inches apart. The seed should be sown thick, 
as some of the seeds will not grow, and many 
plants will be destroyed by worms and insects. 
After the young plants have attained a sufficient 
size, the ground should be hoed between the rows, 
and all the weeds destroyed. This process should 
be repeated through the Summer, and the plants 
thinned to about two or three inches apart in the 
rows. This is all the culture they will need. 
They will grow until hard frosts come in the Fall, 
when they should be dug and put in the cellar, or 
a pit dug for them—they usually keep well either 
way. W. H. H. Pearson. 
Pitcairn, St. Law. Co., N. Y., 1859. 
SEEDING TO GRASS.-LIGHT WANTED. 
Messrs. Eds.: —Having failed in securing a good 
catch of grass seed for some years past, I write 
this in hopes to receive some advice and sugges¬ 
tions for further trial. In the first place, I will 
state what course I have taken, with the result. 
My land is a low, flat piece, (not marshy,) heavy 
clay, with from three to five inches black soil, or 
vegetable mold, on the surface. I first planted to 
corn, (it being an old meadow,) had a fair crop. 
The spring following sowed to barley—the next 
spring sowed to oats, and ten quarts of Timothy, 
with two of clover seed, per acre. Harvested a fair 
crop of oats, but the grass being in spots, and too 
thin at that, I plowed up one-half and sowed to 
rye the 20th September, with twelve quarts of 
Timothy seed per acre. This time the grass seed 
came up and looked as well as any I ever saw at 
the commencement of winter, but the spring fol¬ 
lowing my prospects were blasted by finding the 
grass in one loose mat, completely thrown out. I 
then sowed twelve quarts per acre more, and ob¬ 
tained a meagre catch. In the spring of 185S, I 
sowed the other half to oats, with twelve quarts 
of Timothy seed per acre, harvested the seed light¬ 
ly, but, as usual, not one-third of the grass seed 
came up and matured. Not wishing to plow the 
land again in the month of March last, I sowed 
eight quarts of Timothy and eight quarts of red 
top per acre, and this time it came up tolerably 
well, but the dry season here has nearly used it 
up again. 
Now, I feel-pretty well used up in the grass seed 
line, and as the land is uncertain for winter grain, 
I am thinking of trying once more by putting on 
buckwheat, and, sometime during the fall, harrow¬ 
ing over the ground and sowing to grass seed 
again. Will others, having experience and better 
judgment than I, be good enough to advise me 
through the Rural what course to pursue, oblig¬ 
ing the writer and perhaps others ? h. J. b. 
Hector, N. Y., 1S59. 
WHERE ARE WE DRIFTING! 
Eds. Rural : —During the pressure of ’57—’58, a 
prominent Senator predicted that the business in¬ 
terests of the country would revive as speedily as 
they were prostrated. The sequel has not verified 
the prophecy. On the contrary, we notice a gen¬ 
eral quiet soberness as compared with the mad 
excitement which everywhere prevailed two years 
ago. Then, with a wild hurrah, we were bent on 
business, progress, wealth, improvement, etc.— 
Now, men are confused, and seem to be waiting for 
something to turn up that will bring back the 
swimming prosperity that was so suddenly checked. 
The propheciers of “ smooth things ” told us a year 
ago that the annuaf erop, soon to be harvested, 
would set everything in motion again and make all 
right, but did it prove so ? Let our idle shipping, 
our comparatively light railroad receipts, our 
diminished canal revenues, the dearth of new en¬ 
terprises, and the general stagnation, answer!— 
And the same hope is being again indulged. A 
splendid crop is being garnered—a very superb 
crop, the farmers having made a determined effort, 
—and this, assuredly, will set everything agog. 
The same old story,, you perceive, to be followed, 
perhaps, by a similar disappointment. 
Our difficulties lie too deep to be quickly cured. 
As a nation we have been “fast,” and have boasted 
of it; and, as sometimes happens with young 
sprigs to whom that term is applicable, so we have 
got into trouble. In our haste, we have forgotten 
the Giver of the increase. We have magnified 
material progress. We have worshiped images 
which our own hands have made. We have sought 
to contravene the established j aw 0 f q. od that we 
shall eat our bread in the sweat of our brow. We 
have glorified our so called labor-saving inventions, 
and have imagined that in their perfection and by 
their use, we were all going to get rich surely and 
with ease. But lo ! when all was ready, when the 
land was filled with reapers and mowers, and the 
thousand and one improvements of modern con¬ 
trivance, and threaded with multitudinous lines of 
railroad, &c., to convey the products of the soil to 
market, and covered with a net-work of wires 
whereon to flash the latest pricies in our centers of 
trade, what do we hear ? Why, that the nation is 
in debt to Europe hundreds of millions of dollars 
for articles of necessity and of luxury; that our 
Government is a borrower in the market for mofiey 
wherewith to keep its wheels moving; that one- 
tenth of the denizens t>f some of our cities are sup¬ 
ported, in whole or in part, by charity during a 
portion of the year; that the prisons of the State 
of New York need enlargement; that the whole 
vast sum of railroad stocks in the country is verg¬ 
ing towards nothingness; that over extended tracts 
of the Northern States the standard fruits are fail¬ 
ing; that flood and frost, drouth and tornadoes, 
rot and weevil, and the whole insect race are doing 
their dreadful work beyond anything dreamed of 
before the distinctive age of progress commenced; 
that our soil—evciy^j^bltpil yvhicli the poor pre¬ 
tence cannot be set upfhat‘it has been made sterile 
by the foot of the bond-man—does not produce as 
much per cultivated acre, or as much per laboring 
man, as it did when the condemned implements of 
olden days were in use, while virgin prairies of 
unsurpassed richness ire ari the time inviting and 
receiving cultivation; and that the general mass 
of American farmers are growing neither rich nor 
happy from tilling the soil! 
Is it not well to stop and think of these things, 
and to ask if prosperity may not lie quite in the 
opposite direction whence we have looked for it?— 
Whether human progress is not really downwards ? 
Whether the highway to national greatness is not 
quite away from creature exaltation? Whether, 
in short, we may not profitably turn away our 
eyes from beholding vanity, to Him in whom our 
strength is? But such views are not relished.— 
Human nature greatly prizes human sagacity, and 
rejects, as sheerest nonsense, the truth that man’s 
wisdom is folly, and his strength weakness in the 
every-day business of life. w. b. p. 
THE JENNY LIND POTATO. 
Messrs. Eds.: —One of your correspondents, Wm. 
C. Mills, Silver Creek, N. Y., makes inquiry 
through a recent Rural about the potato called 
the Jenny Lind. I have grown the variety of po¬ 
tato described by Mr. Mills for the last four years. 
It is very productive in this locality, and yields 
more to the acre than any other potato I am ac¬ 
quainted with. It does not rot in the field, but is 
very subject to dry rot in the cellar unless thinly 
spread. It is a late potato, and wants the whole 
season to come to maturity. The vines will be 
fresh and green until hard frosts in the fall. I 
came to the conclusion last winter that the dry rot 
was partly, if not wholly, in consequence of the 
potato not being fully ripe when dug, and I planted 
them last spring two or three weeks earlier than 
formerly, hoping by so doing to avoid their rottiDg 
in the cellar. Jenny Lind is the only name of this 
variety of potato. It was introduced into this 
place a few years since from the east side of the 
Iloosick Mountain, and said, by some, to have 
originated from the seed ball of the Merino, but it 
more nearly resembles the Rohan potato. 
About the first of April last, not having seen 
any notice of the Jenny Lind in the Rural, I put 
up a small package of that variety and of one other 
variety, which I think better of, to send to you, in 
hopes you would give both a fair trial in your lo¬ 
cality, and make your report in the fall, but I failed 
of the expected opportunity of sending them to 
you in time for planting, but shall send you a 
sample of each kind next fall or spring. By the 
other variety I mean a kind, a few tubers of which 
came to this place from Boston a few years since, 
called the St. Helena potato. It nearly answers to 
the description you gave some months since of the 
Prince Albert potato, but whether it is the same 
or not, it is one of the best potatoes for our locali¬ 
ty. It is very productive—does not rot at all— 
grows very smooth—is more easily prepared for 
cooking than the Jenny Lind—is quite as good for 
boiling, and better for baking. 
Williamstown, Berkshire Co., Mass. S. Hosfoud. 
-•-»-*- 
Eve with Buckwheat.— Allow me to inquire of the 
Eural readers what has been their experience in sow¬ 
ing Winter Eye with Buckwheat? We propose to try 
it this season, and would like a little information of a 
practical nature on the subject before we sow, if pos¬ 
sible.—I. W. B., Macedon N. 37,1S59. 
Rural Spirit of itjc jjrcss. 
How to Cure Clover. 
The following mode of curing clover is recom¬ 
mended by the Ohio Valley Farmer: —“In the 
curing of herbs, where it is desirable to retain all 
their virtues, we endeavor to have them go through 
the drying process without exposure to the heat of 
the summer sun. And if you would secure the 
best of hay from your clover, it should not be per¬ 
mitted to remain spread upon the ground only 
long enough for the leaves to become partially 
wilted. Then put it up in small cocks, say three 
feet in diameter and four or five feet high. Thus 
put up, the air will circulate through the same, 
and cure it sufficiently for the stack or the barn. 
Every farmer should, however, provide himself 
with cloth caps. To do this, take cheap muslin, a 
yard wide, and cut it up into yard lengths. These 
should be spread over the cocks, and the corners 
made heavy by fastening a stone or piece of brick 
in them, so that the wind will not blow them off. 
Clover, timothy or grain may thus be protected 
against foul weather. If the clover can remain a 
week or ten days, it will be all the better. If, 
however, there is an ample supply of bright, dry 
straw on the farm to mix with the clover, the lat¬ 
ter may be removed from the field after remaining 
in the cock only one or two days. In stowing it 
away now, a layer of clover should be followed by 
a layer of straw, and so on, alternating the one 
with the other. This is an excellent plan, and 
when opened in the winter, the straw itself will 
be found superior fodder, besides having preserved 
the clover from heating or moulding.” 
A^alue of tlie Earth-Worm. 
The new edition of the Encyclopedia Erittanica 
speaking of the earth worm, remarks:—Though 
apt to be despised and trodden on, it is really a 
useful creature in its way. Mr. Knapp describes 
it as the natural manurer of the soil, consuming 
on the surface the softer parts of decayed vegeta¬ 
ble matters, and conveying downwards the more 
woody fibres, which there moulder and fertilize. 
They perforate the earth in all directions, thus 
rendering it permeable by air and water, both in¬ 
dispensable to vegetable life. According to Mr. 
Darwin’s mode of expression, they give a kind of 
under-tillage to the land, performing the same 
below ground that the spade does above for the 
garden, and the plow for arable soil. It is, in 
consequence, chiefly by the natural operations of 
worms that fields, which have been overspread 
with lime, burnt marl, or cinders, become in pro¬ 
cess of time covered by a finely divided soil, fitted 
for the support of vegetation. This result, though 
usually attributed by farmers to the “working 
down ” of these materials, is really due to the ac¬ 
tion of earth-worms, as may be seen in the innu¬ 
merable casts of which the initial soil consists. 
These are obviously produced by the digestive 
proceedings of the wornjis, which take into thpir 
intestinal canal a large quantity of the soil in 
which they feed and burrow, and then reject it in 
the form of the so-called casts. “In this manner,” 
says Mr. Darwin, “ a field manured with marl, 
has been covered, in the course of eighty years, 
with a bed of earth averaging thirteen inches in 
thickness.” 
Scare Crows. 
Although a little behind the season, we think 
the following article from the Maine Farmer is 
worthy the space it occupies, and we consequently 
put it “ on record.” “ This is the time of year for 
our cornfields to exhibit all sorts of artistic inge¬ 
nuity, in the shape of old clothes statuary, and a 
very odd and expressible tableau, as well as a 
great amount of never-ending twine, glittering 
pieces of tin hung on poles, by ever twisting and 
twisting strings, old coffee-pots and dilapidated 
hats,—all to intimidate that very sable, but saga¬ 
cious bird, the crow. Mr. Crow generally laughs 
in his sleeve at all this expenditure of cast-off 
toggery, and takes the corn he wants before the 
farmer is up, or in the house at his meals, or gone 
to meeting, or absent from the premises from some 
other cause. The best mode that we ever adopted 
to keep this inveterate poacher from pulling up 
our corn, was to surround him with assailants of 
his own kind. Make bird fight bird. We once 
set up a couple of martin-boxes on poles in our 
cornfield. These were occupied by families of 
martins, and woe fell on every crow’s devoted 
head that dared to show itself anywhere near the 
premises. They were out as early as Mr. Crow 
himself, and ready to give him battle all summer, 
or until their young had flown and they got ready 
to migrate South. There was many a battle 
fought over the field, but no corn was pulled up 
that year.” 
Tail Baric For ^Potatoes. 
This subject is brought before the farmers of 
England, by a communication in the Mark Lane 
Express. Mr. R. B. Bamford claims thirty-five 
years’ practice and experience in this matter; and 
has issued a pamphlet giving his method of using 
it, which is brief in the following:—He does not 
cut his potatoes for setting, but sets them whole, 
and the largest he can select. The rows are thirty 
inches apart, and the potatoes are put nine inches 
from each other in the row. The land is plowed 
only eight inches deep, treads the manure firmly 
in the furrows, puts in the tubers, and covers 
them in with tan refuse, nine inches deep, instead 
of earthing up. In this way he reports that in 
1857 he raised 675 bushels of potatoes—not a rot¬ 
ten one among them — to the acre, with nothing 
but waste tan as a covering. This is of great im¬ 
portance, the tan refuse being of little or no value, 
and if it can be put to so important and advanta¬ 
geous a use as in this case, it should be widely 
known and practiced. 
Alanagement of Horses. 
Never attempt to clean or otherwise disturb 
your horse while eatiDg his meals, unless you want 
him to bite and kick. But when you clean, take 
him out of the stall, and make a business of it. 
Tie your horse in the center of the stall, unless you 
want him to do, as most horses do, drive more on 
one rein than on the other. Horses that are liable 
to cast themselves in their stalls, should be tied 
with neck-halters, giving them much more freedom 
of the head than the nose-halter. Gentleness, firm¬ 
ness and moderation will subdue the most obdu¬ 
rate. So says the Few England Farmer. 
(Agricultural ifliuctllang. 
The Weather of the past week has generally been 
quite favorable for vegetation, with copious rains in 
this region. The crops are looking better, though the 
hay crop must be very light. Harvest will be com¬ 
menced hereabouts this week, considerable wheat and 
barley being ripe enough to cut, and we think the yield 
will be better than was anticipated a month ago. 
The Horse Snow of the Monroe Co. Ag. Society, on 
Monday, comprised a fair display In the various depart¬ 
ments, and the attendance, though not as large as 
anticipated, was quite respectable. The weather was 
unusually fine—as favorable, for such an exhibition, as 
could be desired. We are unable to give any particulars 
as to the awards of premiums, or financial result, until 
our next. _ 
Trials of Mowing and Reaping Machines are now 
the order in various parts of the country. Many are 
simple tests of a few machines, without premiums or 
committees, before neighborhood companies of farmers 
—while others are formal trials before judges, in compe¬ 
tition for premiums. We are often requested to publish 
the results, but the trials are so numerous that we are 
unable to make room for even brief notices of all, and 
shall therefore only chronicle the decisions in the more 
important and complicated cases. Though it would 
afford us pleasure to accommodate personal friends so 
far as consistent, we cannot discriminate between friends 
and strangers in this matter, and must treat all ordinary- 
trials alike—with equal publicity or silence, 
An Informal Trial of Mowing Machines— that is, 
one without premiums or awarding committees—was 
held on the Fair Grounds of the Monroe Co. Ag. Soci¬ 
ety, last Thurday. Ten machines were tried on the 
light grass of the grounds, (nearly twenty acres,) and 
worked to the general satisfaction of spectators. The 
machines operated were— Ketchum’s double and one 
horse mowers, (two machines;) Wood’s mower; Man¬ 
ny’s combined machine, with Wood’s Improvement; 
Kieby’s combined machine; two of Aultman & Mil¬ 
ler’s combined machines, as made by Williams of 
Henrietta; Burrall’s combined; Parkhurst’s com¬ 
bined. Most of the machines did good work, and sev¬ 
eral were so nearly equal that it would be difficult to 
attempt to discriminate. The one-horse mower of 
Ketchum’s patent worked admirably, and wa3 pro¬ 
nounced a decided success by many practical men who 
witnessed its operation. 
The Homestead announces that Mr. Geo. D. Rand 
has purchased the proprietary interest of Mr. Weld, its 
former publisher and associate editor, and assumed the 
business management of the paper. Mr. W. is retained 
in the Editorial Staff, no change being contemplated in 
that department. We believe Mr. Rand is well quali¬ 
fied for the position and duties of publisher or editor 
(or both) of a rural journal, and therefore cordially wel¬ 
come him to the the field of labor and usefulness he has 
chosen. Excellent as the Homestead has been in the 
past, we are confident it will be still better in the future, 
and sincerely wish it, Mr. R. and his associates, a pros¬ 
perous and successful career. 
Plowing by Steam. — As we have already noted, 
several different steam plows are in the Hold this sea¬ 
son, and the experiments inaugurated must tend to a 
favorable result — the success of plowing by steam. 
The Scientific American learns that a company has 
been formed in Chicago, with a capital of $50,000, for 
introducing into practical use the Traction Locomotive 
Rotary Tiller of Thomas Kiddy, (heretofore noticed in 
the Rural,) of which it says:—“ Kiddy’s steam plow 
is a locomotive that carries its own endless railroad to 
prevent sinking into the soil, and thus it is intended to 
save the power that would otherwise be expanded to 
drag itself. Its tillers are not common plowshares, but 
double vertical revolving screw cutters, for cutting and 
stirring up the soil, and they appear well adapted for 
this purpose. Every American steam plow that has yet 
been brought before the public, embraced the locomo¬ 
tive principle of the engine moving over the entire 
field, dragging a set of plows, which is quite different 
in its nature from Fowler's, the one which has been 
most successful in Europe. The engine used for operat¬ 
ing a steam plow should also be capable of being ap¬ 
plied to threshing, grinding and other operations of a 
farm, as none of our farmers can well afford to keep an 
engine for plowing exclusively. In hilly countries the 
steam plow will never be able to supplant the horse; 
but in such a State as Illinois, where the farms are very 
large, the soil mellow and the fields nearly level, and 
where fuel is abundant, the steam plow appears to be 
invited to success.” 
’lows and Plowino.—A member of the Club named 
tes us substantially as follows: —“ The Farmers’ Club 
East Maine (Broome Co.) having at their meetings 
eussed at some length the merits of the different 
ds of plows in use by its members, it was agreed 
t the only way to find out was to try them all side 
side, and let each farmer decide for himself. A 
idard of depth and width was adopted, (suited to 
locality,) and at a specified time and place the trial 
ae off, each plow working on its own land, but held 
any who wished to try it. A great number of plows 
re on hand, and were fully tested, each farmer judg- 
for himself. But the work being done by so many 
'erent hands the Committee were unable to judge of 
merits of the different plows. Another trial was 
refore resolved upon, which resulted in a regular 
wing match, the owner of the land plowed furnish- 
dinner for all, and also a cash premium for the three 
t specimens—after which the draft of the different 
ws was tested, and much useful information obtained, 
e plowing was good ; in fact there is a marked im- 
ivement in the plowing this season within the influ- 
:e of the Club, and as the farms grow older and 
nit of a finer cultivation, the farmers are wide awake 
1 ready for every improvement within their reach. 
griculture in Ohio. —The editor of the Ohio Cul 
tor disproves the truth of the oft-repeated assertion 
the “ wheat crop of Ohio has fallen off one-half, 
shows from statistics that, for the last four years, 
e wheat crqp has been tending upwards, and this, 
in the face of its insect enemies, before unknown, 
also in the face of the fact that while the early set- 
i occupied only the best lands, the later fields have 
a made from the second and third-rate lands, wliic i 
ices the average per acre, without involving tie 
icr in the censure of mismanagement.” 
arts. —A correspondent asks how to euro 
iswer him, and benefit others also, ve 
sdy given by T. II. in the Ohio 1 armer • 
ing literally covered with warts, I ^ 1C 
commended cures, with no good e cc ’ 
ed some muriatic acid. A few a PP lC 
nitting needle to the top of the war 
ed the whole of them in a few days, wi > 
y sore or pain.” 
or Virginia have 
