D3 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
than a shallow one. Last year was a dry 
season, and your corn suffered from the 
I drought—it might almost as well have been 
| planted on three inches of soil spread on 
a floor of rock, so hard and shallow is the 
field in its present state. 
F.—But. my friend, my boys are young, 
I have but little help and a light team. If 
I pursued the course you recommend I 
could not work half my farm. 
D.—Very well. But by taking that course 
you would raise more produce upon one- 
l half, than you do now upon the whole.— 
Take this six acre lot for instance. If you 
! plowed but one half of it. thoroughly break- 
I ing it up eight or ten inches deep this year, 
you need but half the seed to plant it—it 
will be but half the labor to till it, and if 
you get the same or a greater crop, as I am 
sure you will—you will not lose anything, 
though three acres lay idle and unfilled.— 
The motto, “o little farm well tilled,” is 
worthy the adoption of many a farmer who 
now skims over the surface of a large farm 
—half doing everything—and getting not 
half paid for all his hard labor. 
F.—I am sure I have toiled hard and with 
but poor success. What you say seems 
founded on reason. I must turn out my 
team now, and after dinner, I must try it a 
little deeper. Stop and take dinner with 
us ? 
D.—Thank you, I must hasten on. Good 
bye. 
\ F.—Good bye, Mr. D. r. n. t. 
Mnple Hill, N. Y., Feb., 1S52. 
CORN AND POTATO CULTURE. 
j Mr. Moore : —As I am much interested. 
and often benefited, by the experience of 
j others related in your pages, I will, with 
your consent, reciprocate the favor by giv- 
| ing a plain, simple statement of the way in 
which I cultivate the corn and potato crops. 
I go for order as well as profit in all farm¬ 
ing operations. Let the field be laid off at 
right angles, and then in marking the rows, 
let the lines be straight and the spaces uni¬ 
form. To effect this I have constructed 
what I term a corn-guage, having three 
broad teeth, three and a half feet apart in a 
horizontal shaft, and having a round four 
feet in length passing through two posts 
firmly set in the shafts by which to manage 
it, so that in guaging my field for corn, and 
having been once across, I can hold the 
guage with one tooth in the last furrow by 
standing near that side, and casting my eye 
forward am enabled very readily to straight¬ 
en every curve, and thus render a field reg¬ 
ular and beautiful as well as profitable.— 
This being accomplished, I cross-mark the 
field in the same way, which, if the ground 
has been properly fitted, gives a furrow of 
the right depth for planting corn. 
For a corn cultivator I have a one-horse 
harrow, V shaped—better by far than all 
the thousand and one cultivators which del¬ 
uge the land. It is about four feet in length 
and two and a half in width, with fifteen 
teeth. One stroke perfectly pulverizes the 
soil, leaving no furrows—and there should 
be none, or hills either. I take teeth from 
my large harrow, so the expense is small 
compared with that of other cultivators.— 
But the soil must be rightly prepared to 
commence with. 
I turn over green sward eight inches at 
least in depth, with much care, so that all 
the grass is underneath, and will remain 
there while the harrow and cultivator are 
passed over the surface, until it is perfectly 
mellow. When the corn appears I com¬ 
mence with the harrow, which works close 
to the corn without injury, and pass each 
way alternately every week or two, until it 
is three or four feet high. I also go through 
with the hoe, so as to keep down the weeds 
in the hill by throwing around sufficient 
dirt to cover them. Let every one who has 
not tried tho harrow and smooth tillage make 
the experiment. 
In cultivating tho potato my mode is as 
follows: 
Having selected and fitted a clean piece 
of ground, I make the rows in the same 
manner as above, and plant as early as prac¬ 
ticable. Immediately after planting drop a 
handful of plaster and ashes (two-thirds 
ashes) on each hill, by which tho yield is 
much increased, and the rows made so plain 
that they may be cultivated before the vines 
appear, if getting weedy. As soon as the 
plants begin to break out of tho ground I 
pass each way between the rows with the 
harrow, and then with the hoe cover each 
hill about threo inches deep with mellow 
earth. This effectually destroys all the 
weeds in the hill, and gives tho vines when 
thoy appear in three or four days, a rank 
and thrifty appearance. If the yield is not 
increased by this mode, it has the advantage 
of keeping down the weeds, which in the 
common practice overrun the crop before 
it is large enough to hoe. I have managed 
my potatoes thus for a few years past, and 
can assure potato growers that it works to 
a charm. A double mould board plow run 
between the rows each way, when the vines 
are a foot high, and a slight brushing with 
the hoe, will finish the culture. 
A field of potatoes can be hoed in this 
way at least one-third quicker, because you 
can cover a hill in half the time it takes to 
hoe one when the vines are eight or ten 
inches high.—and when the digging time 
comes, not have to mow a crop of weeds to 
find the whereabouts of Paddy’s lemons. 
Phelp*, Ontario Co , March 10, 185-2. M. 
THERMOMETER AND BAROMETER, 
Every farmer needs, and should have 
both a thermometer and a barometer; the 
former to determine the temperature, and 
the latter the weight of the surrounding at- 
MULES FOR GENERAL FARM PURPOSES. 1 PLOWS SHOULD PULVERIZE THE SOIL. 
GILES’ CHURNING MACHINE. 
The above cut represents an application 
mosphere. If I were compelled to do with- of horse-power to the laborious work of 
out a clock or a thermometer during the churnin g- For lar S° dairymen it seems 
season for farm work, I should say take the to be a Taluab, ° invention, and at the 
clock but leave the thermometer. For I P resent P rice of butter ; one wbich thc y 
can guess the hour of the dav or night, can web afford. It consists of a simple ar- 
whether cloudy or fair, nearer than I can ra ngement of gearing, so that by means of 
judge of tho exact degree of heat or cold as a Iever ’ wlthout sto PP in S tbe horse : a11 the 
indicated by tho thermometer, though a chan S es in motion re( l uired in tbe different 
dailv observer for about ten years. sta S es of churmn g can be effected. It is the 
", , . . , invention of Mr. Jas. Giles, of Etna, Tomp- 
The thermometer is no more essential to , . A 
, . . „ , kins Co., and is manufactured by Wheeler. 
determine the temperature ot the atmos- ,, 0 „ ,,, ,, 7 
, , , , 1 . . Melick & Co., Albany. Further particu- 
phere, than the barometer is to determine , , ’ ^ 
, ’ . , , „ lars as to price &c., wall be given hereafter, 
whether wind or storm is to be looked for. . , 1 . : ,. , ’ 
, . „ .. , in an advertisement which we are unable to 
There is no other class ot citizens whose 
_ , , . , . „ , publish this week for want of room, 
profit and loss account is so much influenced _ _> _ 
by the state of the weather as the one en- ANALYSIS OF SALT, 
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Consequent- 
lv there is no class to which these instru- ^ bo sub j e< ff sa ^ appears to be at- 
in an advertisement which we are unable to 
publish this week for want of room. 
----- 
ANALYSIS OF SALT. 
As the subject of salt appears to be at- 
I ments are so really indispensable as to the * rac ^ n g some attention, it may not bo out 
tillers of the soil - of place for me to state a fact that was mado 
The cost of these two instruments does known to mo several years ago, of which I 
not exceed sixteen dollars. They are made bave heard nothing since that time. Agen- 
and furnished by Kendall & Taylor of tleman by tho name of Al\ ord, then resid- 
tliis city. No better instruments of the * n o Onondaga county, consulted mo sev- 
kind aro manufactured in this country.— oral times in regard to a new “ Salt boiler,” 
Their barometers have been compared with wb * cb bo was ^' na ^ time engaged in plan- 
the Smithsonian barometers, and are found n * n §> which he afterwards completed, and 
by good judges, not only equal but superior 
to them. 
Thus, may tho farmers in Western New 
York furnish themselves with these indis- 
for which he filed a “ Caveat” in the Patent 
Office, at Washington. 
His plan, (which ho explained to me,) was 
simple, and efficient; and he assured me that 
pensable instruments, of a superior quality be c0ldd take the natui al brine, from the 
and at a low price, and without going Springs, and produce an article of salt 
abroad for them. Every one hereafter, who far excellin g in P U1 %> the very best of that 
desires a set of meteorological instruments manufactured at the " Salt W orks; and 
can obtain them here with far less risk than tbat bo bad taken some of tho Superfine 
he can from New York city. And I am Onondaga Salt, (which I believe is equal to 
confident that no farmer who uses the ther- an - manufactured in our country,) dissolved 
mometer and barometer for one vear, would ^ bl A ' a ^ er and eva P ora t e d **. m b * s machine, 
be without them for twice their price. and separated a large per contago of impu- 
T , , . . .. „ rities from it; and I had no reason to doubt 
I have prepared some instructions for , . TT , . , 
., „ his statements. He conversed with some of 
those who have these instruments, as well as , . , ,, , . , .. 
, , . the salt manufacturers on the subject of m- 
tho others necessary to complete a set for , , . , . , . 
..., troduemg his machinery into use among 
meteorological observations. These will be , , ° .... , . & 
, TT . , , them, but they discouraged its introduction 
published (D. V.) next week. L. w. jxUi.-i. ui. , , 
_ . _on the ground that it would be attended 
“DESTRUCTION OF QUACK GRASS.” with so great a sacrifice to those already en- 
- gaged m the business, as most of their pres- 
Eds. Rural : On noticing the article of ent machinery would have to be thrown aside. 
L. A. B., in your paper of the 4th inst., I I do not kuow his present residence, but 
thought I could add an item on thedestruc- suppose it can easily bo ascertained if de- 
tion of Quack — having made some experi- s j ra ble. * H. 
“DESTRUCTION OF QUACK GRASS.” 
ments for that purpose the past season.— 
What I wish to communicate, however, is a 
mode of destruction, equally efficacious and 
more economical than that suggested by 
L. A. B. 
He savs—“ When the roots had accumu- 
Dovvn East, Nov., 1851. 
STOWELL'S EVERGREEN SWEET CORN. 
This variety promises to be something de¬ 
sirable. I received a small quantity from 
Prof. Maizes last spring for trial. It fully 
lated on the top of the ground so as to be e( l ua ! s what has been 6aid of in regard to 
troublesome [after the use of the cultivator] g r0 " ‘ n g and t> ear i n g qualities. It boars full 
I put on a wire tooth rake, operating both twic0 as man y ears as tho ordinary sweet 
ways, leaving the roots so that when dry, corn—ripens early enough to escape frost 
they could be easily burned.” In my experi¬ 
ment, being a new beginner, I was not in 
—has a large tall stalk, thickly set with very 
broad leaves, and must bo an excellent vari- 
J. CULVER. 
lack of advisers ; and among various modes t0 fcOW ^ or ^ odder wben tbe seed becomes 
suggested, burning was most commonly m01 e P^ ent y- 
recommended. But acting upon the rule To Preserve it in a fresh and plump state 
that it is well to take advice, but not to be the ears aro to be P lucked when ri P°’ tbe 
governed by it, I thought I would try to husks at the sma11 ends t,ed wifch a strin g> 
make the quack pay for its own destruction; and ke P fc 111 a dr - v ’ c ° o1 cellar - 
and am happy to say that 1 succeeded.— ---—_ 
More than this, the roots have not only FOUL IN THE FOOT, 
been converted into manure, which pays the Ag thig ig the sca ^: hen cattle are U8U _ 
expense of raking and carting off, but have ;i Hy attacked with this disease, which is one 
been equally valuable as food for swine. of the worst to which neat stock is subject, 
Instead of a summer fallow my field was a PP e »ff tbe following protection against 
worked with a view to spring planting-go- Attacking a ging f e animal< it sometimes 
mg over the ground twice with the cultiva- spreads to the whole herd, occasioning great 
More than this, the roots have not only FOUL IN THE FOOT, 
been converted into manure, which pays the Ag thig ig the Bca ^: hen cattle are U8U _ 
expense of raking and carting off, but have a n y attacked with this disease, which is one 
been equally valuable as food for swine. of the worst to which neat stock is subject, 
Instead of a summer fallow my field was ^append the following protection against 
worked with a view to spring planting-go- Attacking a sing f e animal< it sometimes 
mg over the ground twice with the cultiva- spreads to the whole herd, occasioning great 
tor, following each time with tho wire tooth loss, inconvenience and trouble to tho own- 
horse rake, and carting the gathered roots er > an( l much suffering to th.e poor animals 
off the field, and depositing them in a tern- themselves The disease is undoubtedly 
occasioned by the animals traveling through 
porary yard adjoining the hog pen. The the mud, urine, and manure of the yard; 
swine devoured them as they would green this collects between the claws and gathers 
corn—rooting over tho mass till the last about the foot and leg until this obstinate 
live fibre and green blade had passed be- and sometimes fatal disease is generated, 
tween the masticators—and mixed with and ? is legitimately in the farmer’s work 
. . , T y C . , r for March to prevent it. Keep the feet of 
their own excrements. Long before winter I yQur animals and there will bo little 
had as fine a bed of compost as might bo danger of the disease. Its first appoarance 
desired. Thus I have made the quack pay is generally between the claws in the form 
“ the expense of the war,” at a double rate, °1 a crack; this is followed by inflammation 
and that too without loss of the use of tho and th e discharge of a yellowish matter or 
, , „ , T , , _ . , pus. “Sometimes a little swelling appears 
land for the season. Indeed, I am inclined on the coronet between the hair and the 
to add a third profit; as I doubt not the hoof, which dischargse offensive matter.”— 
thorough use of the cultivator and the rake, Foul in the foot is a most serious disease, 
more than compensated for the additional and demands immediate attention when tho 
labor, in the better amelioration of the soil, 
and consequent improvement of the crop. 
Yours, t. a. s. 
Ra-ab Sehagy..March 8, 1852. 
A rich soil will produce good crops with¬ 
out manure, but will soon tire. 
first symptoms are discovered. Attacked 
in March, oxen are sometimes rendered un¬ 
fit for any spring work, and cows shrink 
rapidly in milk and flesh. If not checked 
early the foot becomes greatly swollen, in¬ 
tensely sore, and the hoof in bad cases drops 
off. It may all be prevented by care and 
cleanliness. 
Mr. Editor. —There is one subject which 
should claim the special attention of our far¬ 
mers in Pennsylvania; but which, for some 
unaccountable reason, has been strangely 
neglected. I refer to the introduction into 
more general use, of that valuable animal, 
the mule, for farm purposes. 
For some years I have been a practical 
farmer, and like most farmers in their no¬ 
viciate, I purchased such horses as to me 
appeared best adapted to my purpose. Lit¬ 
tle attention was paid to the quantity of 
grain necessary to keep them in decent con¬ 
dition from year to year. After using horses 
four or five years, I came to the conclusion 
that my farm work could be done as 
well and as quickly, and that nearly one-half 
of my horse feed might be saved; and I hoped 
to accomplish all this by substituting mules 
for my horses. 
For a year or two previous to the intro¬ 
duction of the mules on my farm, I urged 
upon my neighbors the expediency of using 
them. I did this on the ground of their 
superior activity, strength, hardness, cheap¬ 
ness of keeping, longevity, &c. But my 
neighbors, like the generality of farmers, 
had adopted tho prevailing opinion that they 
were hard to manage, vicious and unruly. 
This slander upon the mule seems to have 
had its origin in the fact that iron masters, 
canal boatmen, and others who employ mules 
largely, entrust them to merciless hirelings, 
who inhumanly abuse the poor animals, by 
beating, whipping, &c., until fright, &c., 
producing something like a feeling of self- 
defence, drives them to desperation, and 
viciousness ensues. If gentle means were 
used, and the mule treated as every useful 
creature should be, with a proper degree of 
humanity, they would become as quiet and 
tractable as the horse. 
To those who would desire to purchase 
mules, I say, select and purchase them be¬ 
fore they are broken to harness, at the age 
of three years. Place them, one at a time, 
in harness beside a gentle horse, and work 
for a day or two. Let the most soothing 
means be used. If the mule becomes re¬ 
fractory, instead of beating him into sub¬ 
mission, try the power of kindness, and my 
word for it, in a very short time he will work 
well wherever you choose to place him. 
For the purpose of illustration I will give 
you my own experience in tho matter. I 
have now in my possession, a pair of dun 
mules, three years old, that ten months ago 
never had bridle or harness on. These 
mules are as perfectly broke to single or 
double harness, as any of the horses that I 
have wmrked for years. This was accom¬ 
plished by gentle treatment, and I am satis¬ 
fied that the same course, if generally pur¬ 
sued, would soon redeem the character of 
the mule from the unjust censure so freely 
heaped upon him by those who have always 
treated him harshly. 
The mules above referred to, were award¬ 
ed a special premium at the late State Fair. 
They are not only gentle and kind, but I can 
do more plowing with them in the same space 
of time, than with any two horses I ever had; 
with this advantage in favor of the mules, 
that they keep sleek and fat on one-half the 
feed required for the horses. 
Another argument in favor of mules is, 
the comparative ease with which they can 
be reared. With such a soil and climate as 
Pennsylvania, tho cost of raising a mule 
need not exceed that of a three year old 
steer. The mule at that age, even though 
an ordinary one, will command one hundred 
dollars, and if a first rate one, from one hun¬ 
dred and twenty to fifty dollars; while nine- 
tenths of our horses at three years old. 
are not worth more than eighty dollars, al¬ 
though the cost of feeding and attention is 
nearly twice as great.— Samuel Mumma, in 
Penn. Farm Journal. 
A GOOD CELLAR. 
The following directions for making a good 
cellar, possess merit, and we therefore give 
them a place in our columns. A good cel¬ 
lar is a most important advantage, especial¬ 
ly to the farmer. We find the article in the 
Granite Farmer. 
“ A good cellar is almost a luxury, at any 
rate it is a very important item to every 
dwelling house. Having a very poor one 
myself, I determined to make it better if I 
could. The walls were laid with cobble 
stone mostly, and seemed to defy the me¬ 
son. The bottom was upon the upper edge 
of the strata of a very soft rock, quite un¬ 
even and very wet most of the year. A 
plank floor would last but a little while and 
was always in a state of decay, producing a 
damp, unhealthy atmosphere, wholly unfit 
to keep anything sweet many days. 
In the first place I procured a quantity of 
lime from the liiners of a tannery. To this 
I added about equal parts of sand, making 
«. tolerably even surface. I next covered 
the bottom from 6 to 12 inches with small 
field stones, leveling the surface with small¬ 
er pebbles as well as I could. I then pro¬ 
cured two or three casks of water cement, 
(now a common article, costing about §1.50 
per cask in Boston,) with this a simple mor¬ 
tar was made and spread as smoothly upon 
the stones as possible to the depth of 1 £ 
inches. In a few months this floor became 
almost as hard as the “ nether millstone,” 
and is very easily washed and kept clean 
and sweet. No rat or mouse can gain ad¬ 
mittance, and it is so dry that I may lay my 
apples upon it if I choose, or other vegeta¬ 
bles, or casks, without any injury from 
dampness. It is now in fact a first rate cel¬ 
lar.” 
Bountiful crops are more profitable than 
poor ones. Make the soil rich, pulverize it 
well, and keep it clean, and it will generally 
be productive. 
Young ladies who have the good fortune 
to become farmer’s wives will find it more 
profitable to know how to make Johnny 
cake and cheese, than to play on the piano. 
The pulverization of the soil—or especial¬ 
ly tenacious soil—is of great importance to 
the development of its capabilities for the 
support of a crop. Hence in plowing, it be¬ 
comes a matter of the highest consequence 
to obtain the implement which will most 
perfectly effect this object. In the trial of 
plows by the New York State Agricultural 
Society, in 1850, this was regarded as one of 
the most essential points, for “ stiff soil,”and 
we are glad to see that it is receiving much 
attention in England. Mr. Peter Love, an 
English farmer of considerable distinction, 
has written a letter to the Mark Lane Ex¬ 
press, in which he makes some excellent re¬ 
marks on the action of plows in reference 
to the purpose alluded to. He says: 
“ If it be the fact that the primary object 
of cultivation for tho production of the 
various agricultural crops, is a well pulver¬ 
ized soil and porous subsoil, then the far¬ 
mers ought to draw out the ingenuity of our 
agricultural mechanics, by giving prizes for 
those plows that will invert without smooth¬ 
ing and smearing the under strata, and most 
effectually pulverize the greatest quantity 
of land a given depth with the least amount 
of power, instead, as the present practice is 
by all our agricultural societies, awarding 
prizes to those plows that cut out a furrow 
with all three of its cut sides well smoothed 
and smeared up, and turned over in as un¬ 
broken a state as possible, so that it will 
shine from one end to the other, like a well 
moulded piece of concrete, and the bottom 
of the furrow well polished over by the fric¬ 
tion of a broad soled landside and wrest, 
thus rendering the under strata almost im¬ 
pervious to either air or water. t 
If we could have a plow so made that it 
would, in the act of inverting the furrow- 
slice, break it into pieces, and pass over the 
bottom of the furrow without the friction of 
any smooth surface of iron or other materi¬ 
al being drawn over, closing up all the pores 
and fissures in the under strata, I think 
there is little doubt but such a plow’s cul¬ 
tivation would approach (when performed 
at equal depths) fork cultivation. 
There are a great many of the best farmers 
who are of opinion that it is a great advan¬ 
tage to have the furrows turned as com¬ 
pletely over as possible. But the great evil 
is that when the plow is set to turn the fur¬ 
row so, the solid furrows require so much 
harrowing to prepare the land for the dib¬ 
ble or the drill; but such would not be the 
case if we had plows that in the act of turn¬ 
ing over the furrow would well crack, rent, 
and break it, and completely invert it, and 
cut it up from the under strata without 
smoothing the bottom of the furrow, closing 
all the pores and fissures thereof.”— Alb. 
Cultivator. 
FOLDING SHEEP.-ANIMALIZED MANURES. 
The folding of sheep, says Skinner’s Ele¬ 
ments of Agriculture, though not much 
practiced with us, is very general in some 
countries, and is attended with many ad¬ 
vantages. The system is best adapted to 
light, sandy lands, and to places difficult of 
access to the manure-carts. The fold is 
usually made with netting or light scant¬ 
ling, so arranged as to be easily taken apart. 
The form is square. The sheep are driven 
in every night, and the fold is removed when 
tho ground occupied by it is sufficiently 
manured. 
Among animal manures, we may mention 
flesh, blood, bones, horn, poudrette, etc., as 
all being exceedingly valuable. 
When a horse, a cow, or a sheep dies upon 
the farm, it should never be left to taint the 
air by its decay. It should be covered with 
mild lime, and then a heap of earth thrown 
over it of some eight or ten times its own 
bulk. The earth becomes saturated with 
the fertilizing gases, and furnishes a load 
or two of manure, well worth the trouble of 
making. 
Bones have been known and used as a ma¬ 
nure for a long time past; and on the lighter 
soils, to which they are adapted, they con¬ 
stitute the most valuable auxiliary fertilizing 
substance that has yet been discovered.— 
The bones are reduced, in a proper machine 
to the size of half an inch, and strewed upon 
the land at the rate of twenty bushels to the 
acre. The effect on favorable soils is great 
and lasting; and they succeed best on all 
light lands, on limestone soils, and on the 
lighter loams. On all lands, whether clays, 
damp loams, or moist gravels, they do not 
pay. The inference from this is, that bones 
are best suited for dry seasons and dry cli¬ 
mates. 
Reclaimed Land. —John Shipman, of 
Amherst, gives the results of his labors in 
reclaiming fifty acres of swamp land, in a 
report made by him to the Amherst Agri¬ 
cultural Society. This land, when com¬ 
menced upon, more than twenty years since, 
was a regular peat swamp, and worth com¬ 
paratively nothing. In 1849, forty acres of 
it produced 10,000 bushels of potatoes. At 
various times, eight acres of it have pro¬ 
duced 600 bushels of corn; ten acres, 2,500 
bushels of potatoes; broom corn at the rate 
of 600 pounds per acre; and last season, 
fifteen acres produced more than 1,700 
pounds ot tobacco per acre. The present 
worth of the land is §6 500—considered a 
low estimate; net profits, §4,831. 
Is there Nothing in Improved Stock ? — 
Thirty-one wethers, from the farm of tho 
late Clayton B. Reybold, were sold in Phil¬ 
adelphia, last week, at seven cents per lb., 
live weight, and they averaged 220 pounds 
each. Fifteen dollars and forty cents for 
each sheep. 
John Reybold sent to Philadelphia on 
Monday last, 104 sheep, eighteen of which 
were wethers only two years old this mouth, 
and they averaged about 150 pounds, at 
seven cents per pound.— Salem Standard. 
