RURAL L1FR 
ROCHESTER, N.Y.,—FOR THE WEl-jv ENDING SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1859, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
the water will run; be pure and get it below the 
frost; sandy and gravayland freeze deep. 
How far it will “pa/ ”■ to convey water in this 
way, depends upon tin conveniences of digging, 
the expense of material, and the magnitude of ibe 
interest to be served. Expensive arrangements 
would not be justified ti give water to a horse ant) 
one cow, or to a very sfiall family, needing but a 
small supply. I know (f many cases where a very 
trifling expense would set the wa er to running 
through the house or ti> yard, and yet from mere 
inconsideration the cha ce is unimproved. In the 
hilly sections of New England and New York, there 
is scarcely a place to which wat. r may not be 
brought by going a milk for it. Where springs or 
streams do not appear, resolute digging into some 
of the neighboring hills will develop them. 
Free access to water s': .vd be considered an in¬ 
dispensable condition in .using stock. Occasional 
and semi-occasional supplies of water do not an¬ 
swer—a man drinks frequently and prodigiously 
some days—temperance men, too—at other times 
they don’t drink at all. So with cattle—let them 
have “the largest liberty” in this respect, and 
they will not abuse it. i was pleased to notice ex¬ 
tensive water arrangements made by Capt. Root, 
in York, Liv. Co. Ho used basswood logs, con¬ 
nected by iron sockets, and liis logs extend more 
than a mile. He says basswood logs have been in 
use in that town more than forty years, and are 
good yet. They absorb water freely, and are thus 
preserved. He splits them into convenient size. 
I hope he will furnish the Rural with the expense 
per rod of his conductoi s, Ac., by way of encour¬ 
agement to others. * n. t. b; 
unlike the others as to confound the best judges, 
were they called upon to name them. Potato 
plants taken up while in a growing condition, with 
some tubers almost matured, and others in the 
different stages, are not in the best condition to 
show their true character. 
Some time since, an intelligent farmer, who well 
understood how unpliilosophical was the idea that 
the tubers could become changed by growing near 
each other, was at a loss to account for the fact 
that the potatoes which he had been growing for 
a number of years, were very evidently and gradu¬ 
ally changing in their character. This led us to 
examine them, and make all the inquiries neces¬ 
sary to arrive at the facts. When first planted, 
about eight or nine years ago, they were of one 
kind, or nearly so, for he admitted that there 
might have been, in fact, there was, a slight mix¬ 
ture; occasionally a potato of another sort,though 
so few that it did not detract from their value or 
injure their sale. Iu a few years they were so mix¬ 
ed or changed as to affect their sale, the interlopers 
being of an inferior sort, which made it necessa¬ 
ry to procure others for seed. We had no difficul¬ 
ty in accounting for this without a change in the 
hill. The bulk of the potatoes, when first planted, 
were Mercers, a first-rate potato, but, like most of 
our good sorts, not very productive. The others 
were much inferior in quality, though more pro¬ 
ductive, perhaps yielding one-half more than the 
true Mercer. Supposing that when first planted 
one in twenty was of the poor sort, producing 
three bushels where the Mercer produced tivo, and 
that no pains was taken to select the seed, but all 
planted promiscuously, as produced; in eight 
years the proportion of each would be equal, and 
in fifteen years or-ly one in twenty would be of the 
original fteu -gv.fi son. Seed potatoes, mixed 
with a variety producing double the quantity of 
tbe true seed, and planted as before described, in 
four years the varieties would be equal, and in 
eight years but about, one in twenty would be of 
the original stock. This not only accounts for 
some facts which have caused many to think that 
potatoes mix in the hill, but also shows the ne¬ 
cessity of carefully selecting seed. 
Hybridization is effected alone through the sex¬ 
ual organs of the flower, the pollen or fertilizing 
powder of the stamens falling upon the pistils, and 
fructifying the half-formed seeds contained in the 
ovary or lower part of the pistil. The tuber, 
whether of the potato or artichoke, is but a thick¬ 
ened portion of an under-ground branch, the eyes 
being the buds, having no flower, and, consequent¬ 
ly, no sexual organs. As well might the branches 
of a tree mix and change their character as the 
branches of the potato. Were this so, then all 
our works on vegetable physiology must be re¬ 
written—we must unlearn all we have learned and 
commence anew. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be unsurpassed 
in Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes 
liis personal attention to the supervision of its various de¬ 
partments, and earnestly labors to render the Rural an 
eminently Reliable Guide on all the important Practical, 
Scientific and other Subjects intimately connected with the 
business of those whose interests it zealously advocates.— 
It embraces more Agricultural, Horticultural, Scientific, 
Educational, Literary and News Matter, interspersed with 
appropriate and beautiful Engravings, than any other jour¬ 
nal,—rendering it the most complete Agricultural, Lit¬ 
erary and Family Newspaper in America. 
83?~A11 communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
vents clover, stubble, manure, &c., from gathering 
in bunches in front of the same, and thereby en¬ 
ables the plowman to turn all such stuff under as 
evenly as it was on the ground before plowing. It 
of course avoids the vexation which often occurs 
from having to stop and clear the Coulter, and the 
expense of an extra hand to push away the stuff, 
as is always the case in plowing under such ma¬ 
terial as above mentioned; and thereby it is a 
saving of much time and labor, and does the work 
in a systematic manner. At the New Yoik State 
Fair for 1857, this Clearer was awarded the First 
Premium, in additiou to numerous other premiums 
and complimentary notices from the Press and 
scientific men.” 
For particular information relative to obtaining 
the Clearer or rights, address the patentee as above. 
Tiie above engraving is designed to represent a 
new invention patented by Mr. E. C. Bills, Jr., of 
Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y. We have not seen it 
in operation, but from an examination of a model, 
and the certificates of practical farmers and me¬ 
chanics who have used the Clearer, we are inclined 
to believe it a valuable improvement. 
The inventor claims that this Coulter Clearer 
“is just what every farmer needs to plow under 
clover, stubble or straw manure, which every 
scientific farmer has to do. Ii is simple, cheap and 
durable. It can readily bo attached to any coulter 
by a blacksmith, at a trifling expense. This Clearer 
i 3 so constructed that it is put in motion by the 
grass or straw rising against it, and thereby ie- 
moves all such obstructions as clog an ordinary 
coulter. This improvement upon the Coulter pre- 
ACMUlEWft 
DO POTATOES MIX IN THE HILL? 
This question was unhesitatingly answered in j 
i the negative a week or two since—just as we would 
I bavp answered had s ome one inquired whether 
i i different kinds of apples would mix M being ‘ 
grown in'the same orchard; or whether calves 
and lambs would mix by being turned into the 
same yard; or the children mix by being congre¬ 
gated in the same school-room. Thousands of po¬ 
tato cultivators are ready to say that they have 
not seen the least evidence of mixture in the hill, 
J j and yet one occasionally asserts that such things 
j do take place, and claims to have witnessed a per- 
1 feet demonstration of the fact. Our brief note has 
called out the following reply in the Pulaski Demo- 
j crat, and the author, or some other friend, forward¬ 
ed us a marked copy. 
“Do Potatoes Mix in the IIill?”—Mr. Editor : — 
In “Moore’s Rural New-Yorker” the above ques¬ 
tion is answered in tho negative. It is there averred 
that a irial for several years of Merino and Mexican in 
the same hill proves that no amalgamation occurs. 
Perhaps those two miserable varieties are so nvule ish 
as not to produce a new progeny. But / think good 
potatoes, legitimately descended from good ancestry, 
will mix in the hill. And you, Mr. Editor, with seve¬ 
ral other gentlemen of this village, have seen evidence 
of such fact. Now, what would our friend of the “ Ru¬ 
ral” say of that fact loft by mo at your office last fall, 
of three varieties actually on and grown upon one 
stalk? Tho year before I planted the “Carter” and 
the old blue, rough-skinned, rouud potato together, and 
last year nothing but Carter seed ends where this grew. 
Tho yield was three distinct varieties. On that one 
stock, you remember, there were one round, one all 
Hue, two common-shaped long pink eyes, three Carter¬ 
shaped pink eyes, and one Carter, ail of fair size.—W. 
B. Randolph. 
Our friend of Oswego County is not quite as 
careful in his statements as he might be, we think, 
or he would not call the Mexican a miserable po¬ 
tato. Although unprofitable on account of the 
small yield, yet, for quality, we know of no variety 
superior, if any equal; and we believe this is the 
general opinion of good judges. Then what two 
varieties could be selected more likely to “ mix,” 
were such a thing possible, as these: the Merino, 
a strong, vigorous, productive red sort, just the 
thing to impress its character upon the fine, white 
delicate, slender-growing Mexican, could such a 
thing be accomplished by anything short of a 
miracle. But, with all our experience with these, 
as well as other varieties, we have never seen a 
single fact to warranteven a suspicion of the kind. 
This morning (July 7th) we dug Small Early June, 
Mountain June and Buckeye, grown in rows side 
by side, within two feet of each other, and they 
were as true to kind as though grown miles apart. 
What, then, shall we do with the statement of 
Mr. R. ? Vegetables, fruits and flowers occasion¬ 
ally 11 sport,” that is, depart, in form, color or 
general appearance from the variety to which they 
^ belong, so as to appear like anew or different sort. 
,1 Then, though there is a general resemblance in 
r. toe different specimens to the variety to which 
j), they belong, no two is precisely alike. It is for 
these reasons that careful men, when called upon 
Y name a fruit, prefer to have several specimens 
I f ^ or exam 'ination, and, if possible, also the wood 
]w' ;u 'd foliage, and without these it is often difficult 
M to arrive at a correct conclusion. From a bushel 
(|§a P ot atoes of almost any variety, (though the 
characteristics are very strongly marked in some 
sorts,) we can generally select a few specimens so 
JSUXJ5B. 
is stored tiie material to bo used iu sustaining the 
growth of steed the next summeij Rut, when howl 
too early on a warm soil it forms mu®.-, 
and goes on to its second stage the first seasoD, 
forming flowers and seeds. The specimen brought 
us in flower the first of July, was evidently sown 
much too early. Could we be sure of showers in 
July sufficient to germinate the seed aud secure the 
rapid growth of the young plants, on a warm soil 
it would be better not to sow until quite Jate in 
June. On a cool, clay soil, earlier sowing would 
be advisable. Any one can force the turnip to 
form seed the first year, in several ways, but the 
most successful would be the following:—Sow the 
seed early and thick in a poor soil, allow all the 
recognition, aud more eupcoiulij mo if of 
tior.k are hreachy and disposed to stray. The ma- 
- markin'.' should be lampblack and lin¬ 
seed oil, or, as a substitute for the latter, hog’s lard. 
Let the lampblack be “killed,” as painters term 
it, by using a very little of spirits of turpentine, 
before the oil is mixed. It will not rub off' so 
easily if allowed to stand twenty-four hours before 
applied. It is common to use tar; but this is 
objectionable with the manufacturer, it being diffi¬ 
cult to separate by the cleansinj 
Painting Lightning Eons.—After having made re¬ 
peated inquiries of our savans, without receiving any 
satisfaction, I would like to know of you what paint or 
varnish is best for a lightning rod. Copal varnish is 
said to be a non-conductor, and will not do to apply to 
thejoints where parts come in contact; for in that case 
the point and tiie upper joints would be isolated by tiie 
non-conducting varnish. Is there any paint or varnish 
that is an electric conductor? An answer in the Rural 
might be acceptable to many others of your Western 
readers.—A Subscriber, Sioux City, Iowa, 1S59. 
Lightning rods may be painted with a paint of 
lamp-black and oil, as lamp-black, being charcoal, 
or carbon, is a conductor of electricity. Of course 
the white points of the rod need no painting. The 
joints should be too close for the paint to separate 
them; indeed the joints should be connected by 
screws. 
:g process. 
Randall gives preference to boiled tar — the 
boiling continued until it assumes a glazed, hard 
consistency, when cold, and a brilliant black color 
is given by stirring in a little lampblack when 
boiling. It is applied when just cold enough not 
to burn the sheep’s hide, and it forms a bright, 
conspicuous mark the year round. Boil it in a 
high-sided iron vessel (to prevent it from taking 
fire) on a small furnace or chafing-dish near where 
it is to be used. When cool enough, forty or fifty 
sheep can be marked before it gets too stiff. It is 
then warmed from time to time, as necessary, on 
the chafing-dish. The rump is a better place to 
mark than the side. The mark is about as con¬ 
spicuous on the former, under any circumstances, 
and it is more so when the sheep are huddled in a 
pen, or when they are running away from you. 
And should any wool be injured by the mark, that 
on the rump is less valuable than that on the side. 
Will not our sheep-breeders respond to the in¬ 
quiry of S. S. B., giving their mode, materials 
used, and experience? 
Thunder Souring Milk, «fcc. — Please to explain, 
through the Rural, why it is that heavy thunder will 
sour milk,—also why dead bodies are raised upon firing 
heavy cannon over the water, and oblige an inquirer 
after knowledge.—W. W. Chapman, Walton, Mich., 
1S59. 
The change in milk by a thunder storm is not 
understood very well. Assuming the change as a 
fact, some have supposed that the jarring by the 
thunder, when the temperature is high, was the 
cause. It is known that electricity passing along 
a wire through new milk, will cause a change in 
the milk so that the curd collects around the wire. 
Hence, some have supposed that the mere passage 
of electricity in a thunder storm, in greater quan¬ 
tity, causes the milk to thicken. Others have said 
that the change will take place in milk in a metal¬ 
lic pan sooner than in a glass vessel, which is a 
poor conductor. By such this is held to be proof 
that the motion of electricity does the work. Let 
W. W. C. try some experiments to prove or dis¬ 
prove, and give them to the Rural. 
Who knows that the firing of cannon will cause 
a drowned body to rise to the surface of water ?— 
Did W. W. C. ever witness the operation? I have 
known the explosion not to produce the effect.— 
The body had been under water only a few hours. 
If the explosion can produce such an effect, it can 
only be after the body has begun to be decom¬ 
posed, when the concussion may cause the gases 
to be liberated, and expand the body so as to be 
lighter than water. When the body rises of itself 
it is by such expansion being produced. Consult 
the Rural of 1857. 
WATER PIPE.—HOUSEHOLD DUTIES, ETC. 
Some tilings in this world are worth all they cost, 
—some things are worth less. Among the former 
may be numbered, as a general rule, arrangements 
for a full and convenient supply of water for the 
household aud for stock. 
Lovers of cleanliness value antidotes for dirt, 
and lovers generally would lighten the labor of fair 
hands. Suppose a person, or, to make the case 
stronger, a woman, has quite enough to do,—just 
enough to do,—well, that’s right, do it and be glad. 
Add something else thereto, that's a burden ; small, 
counted immaterial, infinitesimal if you please, 
added thereto it exhausts the vital powers, and is 
at the expense of health and enjoyment. In the 
long run we shall accomplish most by avoiding 
oppressive labors. By far the largest portion of 
what most people do is reasonable labor; it is no 
more than health and happiness require of us;— 
but the little too much, the added cares, make hard 
work of the whole. Instead of being free laborers, 
we look dismally upon our slavish tasks, count all 
labor drudgery, aud sigh for some other sphere of 
usefulness. 
Let this nineteenth century consider it—consider 
by what appliances industrious people (other kinds 
may look out for themselves,) may do their neces¬ 
sary work a little easier, making duty pleasure .— 
Pursuing this inquiry, “the century” will find 
among the possibilities, and in some cases, it gives 
me pleasur to say, among the actualities, arrange¬ 
ments for bringing water into the house, the fields, 
and the yards. 
Water has a habit of running down hill, which 
most people have doubtless observed; it will also 
accommodate you sometimes by running up hill. 
If you wish to bring water to any given point, all 
you have to know is that tlio spring, stream or 
reservoir that supplies you, is higher than the place 
you wish to bring it to, and that your conducting 
pipe does not in any place rise higher than the 
fountain head. Tut it down under these circum¬ 
stances, make the pipe tight and keep it clear, aud 
FARMERS’ BOYS. 
The season of the year involving the cultivator 
of the soil with most strenuous exertions, is now 
upon us. The preparation of the soil, the sowing 
of the seed, the cultivation of the growing crop, 
and the joyful ingathering of the same, follow each 
other in rapid succession; and, while each partic¬ 
ular partof the process is demandingour attention, 
we are to bestow on it the best efforts of our brains 
and muscles. 
In the excitement and interest which very nat¬ 
urally attend the hopeful and busy prosecution of 
our caDiugs at this season, there exists a few con¬ 
siderations of great importance which we are apt 
to overlook, because apparently not directly bear¬ 
ing upon the objects of immediate pursuit. 
Oue of these is involved iu the following propo¬ 
sition :— Most parents are naturally desirous of 
seeing their sons grow to habits of steady industry, 
frugality and thrift. This nearly all desire, and 
especially so those agriculturists who possess most 
eminently these characteristics themselves. Such 
are particularly anxious to imbue their sons with 
a thorough love of their own chosen avocation. 
How shall we accomplish this object? I piopose 
to make a few suggestions in answer to the query. 
The question is not how shall we make them intel¬ 
ligent, virtuous, useful men, but how shall we 
make them interested in their business? The 
answer to the first would involve us in a Considera¬ 
tion of all the means of social, intellectual, moral, 
and physical development and improvement. We 
are too busy just now to discuss these, but the 
they are registered. The process is a very simple 
one, easily and rapidly performed. The operator 
has a set of numbers, three of each, the face of 
which are small points which will make slight 
punctures in the skin, when pressed upon it. Sup¬ 
pose the sheep to be marked is No. 721, he sets 
these figures in a pair of pincers, and then rubs a 
little prepared ink, vermillioD, c** indigo, on the 
smooth skin of the ear, gives it a pinch, rubs it a 
moment with the finger, and 721 is fixed forever 
upon that spot. Thus changing figures, with a 
simple little machine, a sheep can be marked any 
number from 1 to 999,888,000. 
L. A. Morrell, in the American Shepherd, speak¬ 
ing of the uncouth and ludicrous manner in which 
sheep arc often marked, says that this can be obvi¬ 
ated by having the letter cut in pasteboard, and 
thereby some degree of taste and uniformity will 
result. If a letter is not indispensable, it will be 
better to have an iron formed to represent a ring, 
triangle, or diamond, with a handle attached ; then 
dip the iron iu the paint, which should be deposited 
in a shallow vessel, aud immediately apply it to the 
wethers on the right shoulders, ewes on the left, or 
vice versa, and the bucks on the rump. This is 
practicable, if others near by do not adopt the 
same mark. Such marks of ownership are quite 
I necessary, with a view to distant or more obvious 
Ruta Bag as Going to Seed. —Wliy do Ruta Bagas 
go to seed the first season instead of forming bulbs, thus 
destroying the crop and the hopes of the planter? Is 
the trouble with tho seed ?—T. J., Wheatland, A r . Y., 
July, 1S59. 
On this subject wo have several inquiries, and 
one gentleman brought to us about the first of July 
a plant in flower, and stated that all his crop was 
in about the same condition. The turnip belongs 
to the Brassica family, embracing the cabbage and 
turnip. These have been much improved by cul¬ 
tivation, but under unfavorable circumstances, 
seem to go back to their wild condition. Under 
good treatment the turnip forms a bulb, in which 
