*nsulated wire on the ridge, having numerous 
upright pointers, and one end plunged deep in 
the ground, what could the “bolts of Jove” do 
towards hitting a building thus guarded ! They 
would never undertake it, or if they did, this cute 
contrivance of man would give them such an 
angular slant as they little dreamed of, and send 
them, hissing and chopfallen, into the bowels of 
the earth! The argument was so conclusive that 
the writer went into it, or rather, the humbug 
went into him, to the amount of two or three 
hundred feet. 
A little while after, a rod that ran down the 
gable end of the barn got severed in twain some 
six feet from the ground, and it would have been 
instantly repaired but for the opportune sugges¬ 
tion of a friend, that the electric current was 
sprightly, and could jump that short distance 
with all ease. So I let it go. When the rods 
were put up, I objected to more than three up right 
pointers, believingthat number would be sufficient 
to “draw;” but the gentleman having the job 
claimed that each spire of the height used would 
only “ protect ” a radius of six or seven feet, and 
hence, that at least five were necessary, the ridge 
being sixty-six feet in length. And the five went 
up. Efforts have from time to time been made to 
keep the whole string “ on guard,” but they fre¬ 
quently get out of the perpendicular. While I 
write, two of them lie horizontally w'ith their tips 
south, which political friends consider ominous, 
but which they ought not to so long as three of 
them—the larger half—continue to point heaven¬ 
ward. There is trouble also with the rod which 
runs along the ridge. The little bone or horn 
insulars,” not being good to stand the weather, 
have crumbled and worked loose from the iron 
fastenings, so that the metal of mysterious power 
to convey the subtle fluid when properly adjusted, 
lies along loosely on the roof. At the first thought, 
it seemed to me that this position was not entirely 
safe for the building; but reasoning that if the 
little rod had force enough to draw down the 
lightning from the clouds, it would also have the 
requisite ability to hold on to it in spite of the 
shingles, (unless, indeed, wood had greater attract¬ 
ive power than had hitherto been ascribed to it,) 
I concluded to make no serious efforts to keep the 
insulation perfect. 
The whole thing, on both barn and house, may 
go to the Onondaga advertiser of sorghum sirup 
for a few, a very few, gallons of a good article of 
his own growth and manufacture in this year 
1859, he to do the exchanging. And thereafter, 
for security against lightning, I shall only trust 
the God of Storms, whose bolts are neither hurled 
by chance, nor thwarted by any Heaven-defying 
three-eights wire, but always and certainly accom¬ 
plish the exact purposes which His wisdom 
designed. w. b. p. 
Prattsburgh, N. Y., 1S59. 
--. 
ERADICATING MILKWEED. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— Sometime since I 
saw an inquiry in your paper concerning the 
best manner of eradicating the “ milkweed,” by 
which name, the inquirer probably means the 
“ A&clepias Cornv.ti,” of Linn as us. I have seen 
this pest killed in two ways. One of my neigh¬ 
bors put a large flock of sheep in a field overrun 
by it, and kept iliem there all summer. There 
were about twice as many sheep as the pasture 
would support, and to avoid being starved, the 
sheep ate the milkweed as fast as it appeared. 
The same treatment was pursued the next sum¬ 
mer, and there has been no milkweed there since. 
This method Dearly killed the sheep also. The 
most profitable way of killing milkweed, is to 
plow deeply and have a boy, (or boys,) follow the 
plow closely to pick up every root; putting them 
into a basket carried on one arm. When the 
basket is full, the roots can be thrown out into the 
corner of the fence, or any place where they will 
not get covered by soil. The creeping “rhizoneas,” 
or root stems of this plant, are so tenacious of 
life that they will only multiply by plowing and 
cultivation, unless they are entirely removed 
from the soil. A neighbor of mine eradicated the 
milkweed from a field of ten acres, in three or 
four times plowing, and carrying off the roots in 
the above manner. 
The surest way is not to let the enemy get a 
foothold. It is a worse weed than Canada thistle, 
and, like that, its sole use seems to be to point out 
the absence of good farming. 
Westfield, N. Y., 1559. D. A. A. Nichols. 
SPECIAL PLACES FOR WINTERING BEES. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— It is presumed the 
bees are snugly put in winter quarters before this. 
The main object is to have them so wintered that 
the stocks will be strong and healthy in the spring. 
In order to accomplish this they must have suit¬ 
able warmth, dryness, and sufficient upward ven¬ 
tilation to carry off the vapor arising from the 
bees. If bees are kept in a dark room, or cellar, 
which is neither too warm nor too cold, they remain 
almost dormant and consume much less of their 
winter store than they would if exposed to atmos¬ 
pheric changes, or disturbed in any way. In order 
to bring about the full benefit of a special depository 
you should give the bees that are kept in a cellar 
or dark room, a very little ventilation at the bottom 
of the hive. If the hives have holes through the 
top, for a passage into the surplus honey boxes or 
chamber, leave them open so that the vapor can 
pass off freely. In common box hives bore from 
two to four inch and a quarter holes through the 
top, near the sides of the hive, and leave them 
open. If put in a chamber or garret where they 
would be somewhat exposed to the light and the 
atmospheric changes of winter, give them a little 
air at the bottom, and place the honey boxes on 
■the top of hive so that the vapor or dampness 
arising from the bees can pass off freely into them. 
If a box hive, bore holes, as above stated, and 
place a box over the top seven inches deep and 
large enough to cover the holes. If the room or 
garret is not too cold, you can nail screen wire over 
the holes and leave the boxes off. 
If the air becomes, from any cause, too dry 
where the bees are kept, water must be given them 
as they cannot raise their broods without it. They 
commence their brood usually in January, in 
strong stocks, and water is indispensable to keep 
them and their brood healthy. From the first of 
January till the time they are placed in the open 
air you can give them water by injecting it with a 
quill, or small syringe, through the holes in the 
top of the hive in small quantities at a time — or 
place it in a sponge or shallow vessel where they 
can have access to it without being chilled. One 
strong healthy stock in the spring wiil yield more 
profit in honey than half a dozen weak ones. I 
am persuaded by what is known of the habits of 
the honey bees, that they can be more successfully 
wintered in the open air, in hives rightly con¬ 
structed and protected against the cold and the 
north and west winds — and that bees continue 
more healthy aud vigorous than when placed in 
special depositories. Such has been my experi¬ 
ence. E. Kirby. 
Henrietta, N. Y., Dec., 1559. 
FACTS ABOUT POTATOES. 
A Goon Yield. —For the benefit of those who 
believe in using a large quantity of seed, please 
publish the following: I planted a half bushel of 
large sized potatoes, last spring, on dry sod, 
broken deep. I cut them in pieces, one eye to a 
piece, and two pieces to a hill, making seven 
hundred and twenty-four hills. Some hills miss¬ 
ing when dug. * I obtained from the whole, fifty- 
three bushels, good measure. From ninety-seven 
of the hills, separate from the rest, I obtained 
eleven bushels.—C. G., Parke Co., Ind., Nov. 
1859. _ 
Will Potatoes Mix in the Hill? —My expe¬ 
rience is that they will. I am a farmer, and I 
grow twenty-one different varieties of potatoes. 
I was awarded the first premium for the greatest 
variety of table potatoes by the Livingston County 
Agricultural Society, the present year. It causes 
a great deal of care and trouble to keep each 
variety separate from the others, it being neces¬ 
sary to plant them side by side, and stick a stake, 
with the number and name written on the stake. 
1 find by continuing to plant the different varie¬ 
ties side by side the finer varieties degenerate, or 
partake more or less of the flavor and color of the 
coarser varieties. To fully convince myself that 
potatoes would mix in the hill, last Spring I 
planted two hills of potatoes, and put a set of the 
Blue Mercer, and the Long Pink Eye in each hill. 
On digging them this fall, I found one potatoe in 
each, one half of which was Blue Mercer, the 
other half Long Pink Eye. The potatoes were of 
good size, and the division run lengthwise of the 
potatoe. I shall experiment further on these two 
potatoes.—F. Kellogg, South Avon, Nov. 1859. 
In experimenting on this point it is best to 
plant varieties as different as possible in form, 
color, and other characteristics. Then, be sure 
that there are none self-planted, that the potatoes 
which appear different are really attached to the 
same stalk, and that the difference is really such 
as distinguish different varieties. There is 
always a good deal of difference in specimens of 
the same sort which are doubtless pure. 
The White Meshanock. — I notice in the 
columns of your valuable paper, that K., of 
Niagara Co., wishes for a description of the White 
Meshanock potato, and for his benefit, I would 
describe to him through your paper the only 
genuine White Meshanock potato, and the one 
that has been the favorite of my family for many 
years. It is very early, has small tops, resembling 
those of the Clouded Meshanock, is of a long, 
round form, smooth surface, prominent eyes, 
extending to about the general surface, and an 
average-sized one has from eighteen to twenty- 
four eyes, is perfectly white both inside and out, 
whether cooked or not, and when cooked is of a 
mealy nature, and if baked the most desirable 
potato I ever saw; when boiled is very tender 
and quite likely to crack or fall to pieces. It is 
probably as liable to rot as any other kind, still in 
our country it seldom ever fails. They yield well, 
and in our market are eagerly sought for, and 
generally sell from six to twelve cents per bushel 
more than any other kind raised in our country.— 
W. S. Curtis, Fairwater, Green Lake Co., Wis. 
RURAL LETTER FROM IOWA. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker :—I believe those who 
write to you about their crops, tell of wondrous 
achievements in agriculture, but I suppose there 
is a corner somewhere for a letter from the farm¬ 
er’s wife who can only tell the story of the majority 
of farmers,— medium crops. 
To-day in Iowa is a fine sunny day, such an one 
as we did not expect to see after the cold of last 
Sunday; the weather has been very favorable for 
securing fall crops. I think I never knew so 
pleasant a November. The wheat on our farm 
yielded nineteen bushels to the acre. Just after 
harvest it was 50 cts. per bushel,— that, it is said, 
will just barely pay expenses,— it is now 74 cents 
per bushe 1 . There was a report in one of the city 
papers, from every county in the State, giving the 
proceeds of the wheat crop, and proving that it 
will not pay to raise it in this State. Oats 
were 30 bushels to the acre, and corn sixty, some 
acres as high as eighty or ninety—it is selling 
at 20 and 25 cents per bushel. Many farmers say 
that the most profit may be realized by feeding the 
corn to hogs instead of selling it. 
Butter and cheese-making cannot be made as 
profitable here as in the East where they have 
tame grass, and where the cows are fed vegetables 
in fall and winter. From w r hat I hear I should 
think that cows in the West do not give as many 
quarts of milk as they do in the East. I know the 
same amount of butter cannot be made from the 
same number of cows. During the summer it 
ranged from S to 10 and 12 cents per pound. Very 
little, if any, is packed for sending away, and such 
quantities are brought to the market that it is very 
cheap—now it is 15 cents. Some people are of the 
opinion that as good butter cannot be made here, 
where the cows eat wild grasses. I am sure we 
have made as good butter as I ever tasted, but we 
have not the conveniences in the way of spring- 
houses, and cool, proper cellars, such as are found 
| in older States. I think, however, that more dif¬ 
ference is made in the butter by the cleanliness of 
pans, pails, cream-pots, churns, &c., than in any 
thing else, for I fancy that when I wash every dish 
myself that the butter i3 a great deal sweeter.— 
Then, the working of the butter may be done in 
such a way as almost to spoil it, making it greasy 
— there is a right way, which we can hardly ex¬ 
plain, but if any beginners would like to witness, 
we can give an example, and that, Mr. Editor, is 
said to be better than precept. There is one advan¬ 
tage, however, it costs very little to keep cows as 
they run upon the prairies during the summer. 
I wonder if Iowa can ever become a fruit-grow¬ 
ing State, some say it never can, because fruit 
trees need the protection of timber — that a tim¬ 
bered country is the best. Ido not think sufficient 
attention is paid to setting out orchards, as but 
few fix upon a permanent location,— the idea of 
selling out at a bargain is too much in mind.— 
Time passes on, the ordinary crops of corn aud 
potatoes are attended to, and ail the little adorn¬ 
ments and comforts of a beautiful farm which 
make the home so pleasant and desirable are ne¬ 
glected. We do not realize that every tree planted, 
every improvement made, adds to the value of the 
farm in dollars and cents. How many exclaim— 
“ It takes so long for an orchard to produce fruit.” 
What of it? Does it not look beautiful while 
growing?—can we not eDjoy noting the growth of 
the trees, and shall we not plant, that the ripe, lus¬ 
cious fruit shall crown the board on our children’s 
wedding day? Luella Morris. 
Tulip Hill, Nov, 1359. 
-«•»-*- 
SAVING FODDER-FARM MILLS. 
Some useful hints about saving fodder, from a 
farmer in Chautauqua county, are published in this 
week’s number of the Rural New-Yorker. He 
speaks of the Sanford Mill, which I have re christen¬ 
ed by the name of the “ People’s Mill,” and am now 
manufacturing of different sizes and capacities, as 
“not grinding but breaking the grain, but at the 
same time making fine meal.” This is not pre¬ 
cisely the operation, because it both crushes and 
grinds the grain, on a new principle, with less 
power, with great rapidity, and does not grind all 
the life out of the meal. 
I make this correction, for fear a wrong impres¬ 
sion should be made upon the public mind. I 
intend that the People’s Mill shall deserve its 
name. Having pioneered the way for cutting 
grass, by the manufacture and sale of many thou¬ 
sand of Ketchum’s Mowing Machines, I have now 
added to my list of manufactures, this People’s 
Mill, the adoption of which and general use among 
farmers, wiil add more to the wealth of the country 
than any agricultural implement ever invented, 
except the plow. Farmers now feed in fattening 
one hog, from 60 to 75 bushels of corn in the ear, 
but if they would shell and grind the same quan-. 
tity of corn and feed the meal dry in a trough 
where it could not be wasted, it would fatten three 
hogs instead of one, and make 1,200 pounds of 
pork of much better quality, instead of 400 pounds 
of inferior quality. Here would be saved more 
than the cost of the largest size of the “ People’s 
Mill,” which isonly $40. These facts have been 
demonstra|e<®Ty .actual experiment. THe same 
astonishing ro=ult3 would follow, in feeding stock 
of all kinds. R- L. Howard. 
Buffalo, Dec. 8,1S59. 
Remarks.— The above is a “first rate notice,” 
or advertisement, and hardly aamissable; yet, as 
it is in reply to a correspondent—a correction— 
and from one entitled to respect from his position 
and efforts in an important branch of improve¬ 
ment, we insert, even at the risk of establishing 
a bad precedent. 
-♦ # -- 
Inquiries anfr 2lnsu)crs. 
Best Spring Wheat.— Will some of your correspond¬ 
ents name the best variety of apriug wheat, and the 
best time for sowing, in order to escape the midge, and 
also the rust, on our hills in Madison county ?—L. G. D., 
Morrisville, N. Y., 1859. 
Cheese— Inquiries .—Although the time for making 
cheese has gone by for the current year, still the keep¬ 
ing safely during the winter is no inconsiderable item. 
While my hand is in, let me ask a few questions about 
the whole subject of cheeseology. What is the most 
approved method of preparing, saving and using 
rennet? What quantity of salt should be used in mak¬ 
ing, say twenty cheeses? What U the practice of 
cheese-makers who make double curds ? In rubbing 
cheese during the curing process, is any other ingre¬ 
dient used than butter? Finally, what is the most 
approved way of keeping cheese over winter? Being 
green in the cheese line, I will be infinitely obliged to 
some old hand if he or she will respond through the 
farmers’ vade mecum, the Rural New-Yorker.—Fre- 
donia, Marshall, Mich., 1S59. 
A Cheap Root Cutter. —T. S., of Orleans Co , 
in the Rural of Nov. 26tb, wishes “a simple and 
cheap Root Cutter which farmers can make them¬ 
selves.” Please tell him to make an old fashioned 
Cabbage Cutter, and he has it. It is simply a plank 
with a knife fixed across diagonally, (an old 
scythe will make half a dozen,) leaving an opening 
much like that for a plane iron, for the slices to 
fall through. Then, make a square box as large 
as the width of your plank, letting two of the sides 
go below far enough to fasten cleats on, under 
your bed peice, so that the box will slide back and 
forth, fit a follower, with a handle, into your box, 
and the thing is done. Two knives, the edges in 
opposite directions, will work faster.—A. S. C., 
Pittsford, N. Y., Dec., 1859. 
Wood Ashes for the Pea-Bug. —If it would be 
of use to any one, I would say that a sure cure for 
the pea-bug will be found in wood asbes. Wet 
the seed, then put in ashes enough to dry suffi¬ 
ciently for sowing, and your crop will be free from 
them, as I have proved more than once.—L. G. 
Dean, Morrisville, N. Y., 1859, 
Errata. —In your issue of Dec. 3d, you make 
me say (what probably I wrote) “you buy a buck 
of Messrs. Mock, Corn & Co., of Vt.” That is not 
the name of the firm. It should be Black, Corn & 
Co. Block, Head & Co. bought the buck, and live 
farther West.— h, t. b. 
Rural Spirit of tf)t jprtBS, 
Foot-Rot in Slieep. 
Foot-rot is essentially an inflammation of the 
softer parts of the foot, about the horny covering 
of the hoof, which is contagious; so if it once 
appears and is not checked, the whole flock is gen¬ 
erally injured. The disease may be known by the 
following symptoms:—The animal limps, walking 
as if the feet were painful; the hoofs are hot, and 
the skin adjoining swells with symptoms of fever, 
ordinarily being alternately hot and cold by spells. 
The inflammation is partly in the cleft of the foot, 
partly in the toes under the hoof, and partly under 
the edge and thin part of the hoof. The appetite 
fails as soon as the fever appears. If the fever 
abates and the appetite returns, it will go well 
with the sheep, unless the decay of the bones 
(caries) sets in, which symptom attends the most 
malignant form of the foot-rot. On the second or 
third day following the appearance of the disease, 
the hoofs and adjoining parts lose their reddish 
color, and become at first whitish and then pearly 
color, the skin in the cleft of the foot meantime 
being redder, more like the natural coloL Then 
follows a watery discharge of exceedingly offensive 
odor, the skin separating from the parts beneath, 
and the foot becoming more painful as the lame¬ 
ness increases. The inflammation continues to 
increase, and extends farther under the hoof and 
deeper into the flesh, and affects more extensively 
both parts of the foot, on both sides. The cleft 
becomes gradually deeper by the dividing of the 
flesh ; the tender flesh that unites the hoof to the 
bones of the toe3 softens, and results in the hoof 
falling off entirely in about three or four weeks. 
Remedy. —As soon as the true malignant rot i3 
discovered in the flesh, the diseased sheep must be 
separated from the healthy ones, and the stable3 
must be cleaned. The best remedy for this disease 
that I have found is butter of antimony, ( butyrum 
antimonii, or chloride of antimony ,) and spirits of 
hartshorn. The spirits of turpentine and blue 
vitriol mixed together are also very good. The 
animal must be turned upon his rump, that the 
feet may be thoroughly examined, and all the dead 
parts cut away with a sharp knife down to the liv¬ 
ing part; if it ble’eds a little, that does no harm. 
The foot must then be smeared with the mixture 
of turpentine and blue vitriol. It is sometimes 
well to bind up the foot in a linen bandage. The 
animal must not be allowed to go in any soft or 
dirty place, but should be kept on dry straw litter. 
Every fourth day they must be carefully examined, 
one by one, and the remedy again applied, as long 
as is necessary. If this is strictly adhered to, in 
the course of a month the flock will be entirely 
sound again, the appetite will return, and the 
animal in a short time be in good condition.— 
Carl Heyne, in N Y. State Ag. Transactions. 
'WTiite-SKin.ned. Fowls. 
A marked preference is shown by many poul¬ 
try dealers for yellow-legged and yellow-skinned 
fowls, a preference easily traced back to their cus¬ 
tomers, a3 dealers generally buy most largely that 
which sells most readily. Wilson Flagg says, in 
the England Farmer, that some years ago he 
heard a Frenchman icuj,..!. 
better quality was a mistaken idea — that the 
reverse was true. “In France,” he added, “the 
yellow-legged chickens are considered unfit to be 
raised. Their flesh is dry and stringy, compared 
with that of the blue, black and white-legged 
fowls, whose flesh is by far the most tender and 
juicy.” 
Mr. Flagg says that he has taken considerable 
pains to test the above remark, and ha3 found 
them to be correct. “The yellow-skinned fowls 
have commonly either green or yellow legs; those 
with black, blue or white legs have a white skin.” 
There are some exceptions, but they are not nume¬ 
rous. “ I raise,” he adds, “ a great many chickens 
every year for my own table, calculating to supply 
it weekly with one pair from July to February. 
They are all raised and fed in the same way, yet 
the yellow-legged individuals have almost always 
been found inferior to others with white skins. 
The last are most tender, delicate and agreeable.” 
ISl an gold W xirtzel. 
In a recent lecture before the Farmers’ Club 
of London, (England,) a Mr. Burnet made some 
statements respecting the raising of mangold 
wurtzel, from which it appears that fifty-five tuns 
per acre of this root have been obtained, at a cost 
of $36 for various manures. In the month of 
November the tops are hauled out into the cow 
pasture, and serve to increase the milk consideia- 
bly ; the pigs revel for a month in the article, and 
the sheep turned on to the field to finish the ciop, 
so that nothing is lost. Mr. B. estimates their 
value for feeding purposes, when compared with 
other crops, as follows:—1st, potatoes; 2d, pars¬ 
nips; 3d, carrots; 4th, mangold wurtzel; 5th, 
Swedish turnips. They are preferred after hav¬ 
ing been stored through the winter, as when fed 
just after digging they are liable to scour animals 
fed on them. An ox fed on mangolds gained 
sixty-five and a half pounds of flesh per tun, while 
the same animal gained only forty-eight and a half 
pounds per tun, fed on turnips. 
Feeding Slieeyj. 
There is no season of the year when sheep 
are more liable to lose nearly all they have gained 
than in November and December, and if they do, 
theie is an end to the hopes of a crop of wool; for 
the want of food has the effect of stopping the 
growth of the wool, and the moment the growth is 
stopped, the end of the fibre is completed, a 
change takes place, it becomes dead, in a manner 
analogous to the stem of ripe fruit, and a renewal 
of good feed after these months, and after the 
growth of the wool has been once stopped, only 
prepares the skin to send forth a new growth that 
pushes off the old fleece, and causes it to be lost 
before shearing time. So says the Michigan 
Farmer. 
13 riiie Poisonous to Animals. 
The Kentucky Turf Register says a gentleman 
at Lawrenceport, Indiana, recently emptied brine 
from a pork barrel into the yard. A number of 
hogs, and also one horse, partook of it. The re¬ 
sult was that the horse and seven hogs died in less 
than six hours after the barrel was emptied. 
^.grimltnral JHisrttam 
Rural Matters in the Metropolis. — New York 
city is not great agriculturally, yet comprises some 
institutions designed to advance the interests of our 
Rural Population. Several of these we have had the 
pleasure of visiting within the past ten days—such as 
the Ag. Book Publishing House of Saxton, Barker & 
Co., the offices of the American Agriculturist and 
The Horticulturist, the rooms of the American Insti¬ 
tute, &c. We found Messrs. Saxton & Co. amiable 
and smiling—indices of what we cordially wish them, 
prosperity and happiness; while our friend Judd and 
his associates were apparently “enjoying the same 
blessing,” and we presume as deservedly. We rejoice 
in the success of all honest and sincere laborers in the 
cause of Rural Improvement, wherever located, and 
regret that any should exhibit a spirit of envy or jeal¬ 
ousy toward those whose best energies are directed to 
the accomplishment of laudable objects. Surely the 
field of effort embraces “ ample room and verge 
enough ” for all wise and devoted laborers, and instead 
of one depreciating the efforts of another, each should 
nobly strive to excel in his sphere, and present a record 
worthy of emulation by his peers and contemporaries. 
Of the “institutions” and managers alluded to we 
would say more did time and space permit, for our 
interviews, though comparatively brief, were pleasant 
and instructive. We must, however, defer or omit 
extended remarks. During our sojourn in Gotham, we 
also had the pleasure of meeting Col. Johnson, Secre¬ 
tary of the State Ag. Society, Mr. Quinby, the Bee 
Culturist, Messrs. Robinson and Olcott of the Tribune, 
Mr. Mead of The Horticulturist, Mr. L. E. Berckmans 
of Georgia, and other prominent promoters of Rural 
Improvement. 
A Canadian Plowing Match.— The award of Pre¬ 
miums made at the Annual Plowing Match of the 
Branch Ag. Society gave rise to a spirit of emulation 
between the towns of Seneca and Oneida, (Seneca 
securing seven of the prizes—Onqjda four.) and, in order 
to settle the vexed question of superiority, a contest was 
instituted between their respective representatives. 
Five were chosen on a side, and on Tuesday. Nov. 
29th, the trial was made. “ Owing to the frozen state 
of the ground,” remarks the Haldimand Tribune, 
“ plowing could not be commenced until late, conse¬ 
quently it was almost nightfall when it was concluded. 
The judges being unable to examine the whole of the 
work sufficiently before darkness set in, put off a deci¬ 
sion until the following day. The whole of the plowing 
was executed in a masterly manner, and so nearly 
equal was it, that every one predicted that the judges 
would have a most difficult task in assigning the pref¬ 
erence. On Wednesday morning the judges having 
chosen an umpire, visited the ground, and, after in¬ 
specting the plowing, awarded the premium to the 
Seneca plowman.” An excellent mode in which to 
settle “disputed points”—will notour Societies adopt 
it, and thus put fault-finders “ on their muscle ?” 
A Move in the Right Direction.— In compliance 
with a wish expressed in a late issue of the Rural, we 
have received the following from a Town Ag. Society 
in Niagara Co.:—“ As you desire to have the doings of 
Agricultural Societies- and Clubs furnished you for 
publication, we will state that, at a meeting of the Wil¬ 
son Ag. Society, it was resolved to hold meetings once 
in two weeks, at the district school-house in the village 
of Wilson, or such other place as the Society shall 
select, for addresses, essays and discussions on Rural 
subjects during the winter. The next meeting will be 
on the evening of the 12th‘ inst, at which time 
the Sercetary is to deliver an address, after which the 
-xTromion ‘ What crops can be most advantageously 
grown in an orcharar is io uo y,j mem¬ 
bers—farmers’ club fashion.—E. S. Holmes, Secretary.” 
How many of the farmers comprising the Rfral’s 
parish will do likewise? 
Ladies and Agriculture.— 1 There is a great deal of 
mock modesty in this world. Some people make such 
pretensions to refinement that they cannot bear the 
sight of a matchless bull or a model cow, without 
exclamations of wonder. We don’t believe in such 
modesty as this. God gave man dominion over the 
lower orders of creation, undoubtedly, wilh the expec¬ 
tation that he should see and know them, and whoever 
ignores this fact, ignores a fundamental law of creation. 
There is nothing unwomanly in the idea that a lady is 
able to “ converse wisely and wittily” with a gentle¬ 
man on agricultural topics. Ladies ought to be posted 
on the subjects which deeply interest their fathers, hus¬ 
bands, brothers and beaux. Every woman should have 
an intelligent sympathy with her husband’s calling and 
render him all necessary co-operation. Reading agri¬ 
cultural books is full as healthful to the mind of either 
sex as reading novels, and walking in the fields full as 
profitable as shopping for exercise. So saith the 
Springfield Republican, very sensibly. 
Barley and Oat3 in Maine.— The Maine Farmer 
states that “ Mr. Henry N. Johnson, of Vassalboro, 
raised, the past season, on two acres and five rods, from 
five bu&heis sowing, one hundred bushels of barley: 
and on one acre, from three bushels sowing, seventy 
bushels of oats.” An opportunity is afforded for 
farmers living nearer sunset to “enlarge upon the 
subject,” and the editor of the Farmer, in his inter¬ 
rogatory,—“ Can the West come up to this?”—cordially 
invites competition. 
Arabian Horses for New York. — We learn it at 
Ex-Gov. Seward was presented in Alexandria with 
three superb Arabian horses, which will be shipped to 
this country. Two of them will be presented to the 
N. Y. 8tate Agricultural Society. The State Ag. Jour¬ 
nal expresses the hope “that these horses will arrive 
safely, and, if placed in charge of the Society, they will 
be in a situation where the farmers of the State wiil 
have the benefit of them.” 
Manufacture of Steam Plows. — The Scientific 
Artisan (Cincinnati, O.,) sajs that Miles Greenwood 
<fc Co., of that city, have obtained the right of Mr. 
Fawkes to build his plows, and it is the intention of 
Mr. Greenwood to have one of these machines at work 
on his farm early next spring, and to exhibit all its 
points in great perfection. Several improvements ha* e 
been suggested, which will doubtless be adopted. 
ne Stock for Texas.— During the past week, Maj. 
W. Leland, formerly of the Metropolitan Hotel, 
- York, started for his immense stock farm, consist- 
of 17,000 acres, in Western Texas. He took with 
some Hue Saxony sheep, raised by Mr. Hull, of 
; Lebanon, which took the premium at the State 
■, at Albany, also a mammoth Jack and full blood 
gan stallion. 
[aj. E. G. Eastman, late Secretary of the Agricul- 
il Bureau of Tennessee and editor of the Nashville 
on and American, died on the 23d ult. The Lash- 
e papers contain resolutions of the State Bureau 
oh eulogize the ability and virtues of the deceased 
ic highest terms. His funeral procession is said to 
e been the largest ever witnessed in Nashville. 
