TWO DOLLARS 
YEAR.] 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.' 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, FERRUARY 13, 1858. 
{WHOLE NO. m, 
SHELDON’S PATENT PORTABLE FENCE. 
The “ fence question,” always in order for dis¬ 
cussion and improvement among farmers, is again 
receiving the attention of practical men of invent¬ 
ive genius. The patents issued last yea'-, several 
of which were described in the Ritual, were wide¬ 
ly introduced, and as a natural consequence many 
persons have been led to investigate and experi¬ 
ment with the view of making still greater im¬ 
provements in the construction, convenience, util¬ 
ity and cheapness of portable and held fences.— 
Owing to the present and increasing scarcity and 
expense of suitable timber for fencing purposesin 
many sections of the country, the great mass of 
our farmers are directly interested in these im¬ 
provements, and hence we shall from time to time 
notice and describe those which seem most feasi¬ 
ble, whether patented or otherwise. 
Above we present a perspective view of an im¬ 
provement in Portable or Field Fences, patented 
by Mr. Wm. 1). Sheldon, of Huron, Wayne Co., N. 
Y., Jan. 19th, 1858. From an examination of the 
model, we are very favorably impressed with the 
simplicity and convenience of this fence, and be¬ 
lieve it possesses some decided advantages. We 
give a description of the improvement in the lan¬ 
guage of the inventor, as follows: 
“The great advantage of this invention consists 
in the mode of attaching the corners together in a 
permanent and cheap manner, without posts or 
stakes, which will support itself by sitting inazig- 
zag form—and at the same time each panel makes 
a perfect gate at any corner of the fence on the 
farm, which is an important item. The small cost 
of this fence is another advantage worthy of notice. 
The expense of building it does not exceed 38 
cents per rod. The amount of lumber in a panel 
12 feet long and 4 feet high, for a fence suitable for 
the farm, is not over 24 feet 
“This fence is found to be convenient for the 
prairies, cotton lands, stock pens, upon railroads, 
Ac. The wind has but little effect upon it, and 
there is no drifting of snow about it. 
“ The following extracts from my claim will, in 
connection with the engraving, further explain the 
construction and advantages of this fence: 
“‘My improved fence, like most portable fences 
w’hich are constructed without posts, has the zig¬ 
zag form. I construct the sections with simple 
rails and upright pickets. The rails project at 
both ends, a few inches beyond the end pickets, as 
represented in the engraving. These projecting 
extremities of the rails of the alternate sections 
rest upon those of the intermediate sections, and 
the top rails are provided with spikes, nails or pins 
projecting downwards from the lower sides thereof 
at a short and uniform distance from the end pick¬ 
ets, substantially as shown in the drawings, while 
the lower rails are provided with holes, or notches, 
at the same or corresponding distance from the end 
pickets of said sections for the reception of tiie 
nails or pins of the alternate sections. Instead of 
the upper rails being provided with nails or pins, 
and the lower rails with holes, the arrangement 
may be reversed—that is, the lower rails may be 
provided with pins or nails, and the upper rails 
with holes or notches. 
“‘The projecting ends may be notched of halved, 
so as to bring all the rails to the same height, or 
the rails of the alternate sections maybe simply 
placed upon those of the intermediate sections.— 
When the sections have thus been prepared, they 
are put together, and the fence straightened, till 
alternate projecting ends of the rails bear against 
the end pickets. This binds the whole lirmly to¬ 
gether, and makes a strong fence. 
“‘If it is desired to have both ends of all the 
rails bear against pickets, additional pickets may 
be attached at one end of the rails on the side op¬ 
posite to tiie regular pickets. Hut I do not con¬ 
sider them necessary. 
“ ‘ When a fence is constructed as above described, 
any alternate section may be readily lifted from the 
adjoining sections, or one end thereof detached, 
and the section swung round, like a gate, so as to 
allow tiie passage of a team, Ac. At tiie same time, 
the fence is not liable to be thrown down by cattle 
lifting any of the lengths from their positions, since 
the nails or pins may he made as long as desirable, 
and the binding pickets furnish long hearings for 
the projections of the rails which cannot be easily 
got over by animals lifting the sections. The con¬ 
struction also has another advantage over the sim¬ 
ple shoulders on the rails, because no such accu¬ 
racy of construction is required to make the fence 
firm, so that both cheapness of construction and 
efficiency are thereby promoted. 
“I wish it to be understood that I distinctly dis¬ 
claim the use of notched shoulders on the rails in 
connection with coupling pins, or their equivalents; 
nor do I claim the employment of the pickets in 
other combinations to assist in locking the fence; 
but what I claim as my invention is the combina¬ 
tion of the end pickets of the sections of the fence 
with coupling pins or spikes, substantially as de¬ 
scribed, so tiiat the fence may be put together or 
taken apart by simply hooking on or lifting off the 
alternate lengths or sections for the purposes spe¬ 
cified.’ ” 
Further information relative to this improve¬ 
ment, and also the purchase of rights, can be 
obtained by addressing the inventor as above, or 
J. F. Sprague, Huron, Wayne Co., N. Y. A model 
of the fence may be seen at the office of the Rural 
New-Yokkek. 
YOL. IX. NO. 7.1 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AX ORIGIXAL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary mid Family Newspaper. 
CONDUCTED BY J). D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AH ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be nnsnrpassed n 
Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and unique and 
beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes his personal atten¬ 
tion to the supervision of its various departments, and earnestly labors 
to render the Rural an eminently Reliable Guide on 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 beautifu 1 Engravings, 
than any otheT journal,—rendering it the most complete Agricultu¬ 
ral Literary and Family Journal in America. 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS t 
Proy. 0. DEWEY, Ivr. M. F. MAURY, 
T. C. PETERS, H. T. BROOKS, 
T. S. ARTHUR, Mrs. M. .1. HOLMES, 
Mms E. C. HUNTINGTON, Miss C. A. HOWARD. 
JENNY MARSH PARKER. 
t'-y/' All communications, and business letters, should be addressed 
to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
THE RECORDS OF EXPERIENCE. 
An exceedingly large proportion of what maybe 
called Agricultural Literature is mere theory. The 
brain teems with ideas, opinions, propositions, Ac.; 
these find their way to the public through the 
agency of the Press, and are received as probable, 
or rejected as wanting principle, just as the fancy 
of the reader may dictate. This is all well enough, 
for the reason that inquiry is awakened, a spirit of 
investigation aroused, and a desire quickened to 
know concerning the thousand and one intricacies 
connected with the farmer’s vocation. And yet, 
we fear, that the inquiry, the spirit of investigation, 
and the desire die out long before any practical 
result has been obtained — before a light that shall 
dissipate the darkness has been created. The 
study, labor, and time necessary for the entire de¬ 
velopment of any unsettled question are not fully 
given by the majority—they tire ere they have 
solved the riddle, and, seeking repose for body and 
mind, awake amid the obscurity from which they 
had just emerged. Others press forward seeking 
the prize, and—not satisfied with the slow working 
process of nature — mentally reach forward and 
grasp at the conclusion, exclaiming, “Eureka! I 
have possessed myself of the philosopher's stone!” 
An examination is made and the Jewel turns out to 
he a worthless bauble, even the glitter that led 
astray having vanished. The revulsion is so great 
that this class sit down, and ever after, neither faith, 
hope, nor love can ruffle their immobility. Another 
class still—and these are the lights of the agricul¬ 
tural world—though few in number, keep moving 
steadily forward, very slow but also very sure, and if 
we ever settle “disputed points”—ever put a qui¬ 
etus upon any of the questions that distract the 
agricultural press it will be done by their assist¬ 
ance and by it alone. 
We have before us a communication upon one 
of the most important subjects to the American 
farmer—the liability of wheat to winter-kill under 
certain circumstances and on certain soils—a sub¬ 
ject that has attracted a large share of attention 
and about which much has been written, and a 
great proportion of such matter it probably were 
better had never seen the light. To the elucida¬ 
tion of the occult causes that so often have destroy¬ 
ed the hopes of the wheat-grower, our correspon¬ 
dent gives the experience and reminiscences of 
thirty-three years. We do not cite this instance for 
the purpose of giving our confirmation of the 
views expressed by the writer, but to exhibit the 
amount of labor that he is willing to undergo for 
the purpose of arriving at a satisfactory, and, to 
his own mind, a rational conclusion. Had the sci¬ 
ence of agriculture an army of such men, what 
would they not accomplish? What the obstacle 
tbat would set limit to their progressive movement, 
saying “thus far shaft thou come and no farther.” 
In the devotion of years to ascertaining and de¬ 
monstrating practical conclusions neither time nor 
labor is lost. From one experiment, or from half 
a dozen, it is not safe to draw finalities. In no one 
department of human toil and skill do we more 
frequently observe the justice of this statement 
than in agriculture; for the theories and dogmas 
that are based and promulgated one year—upon 
what are supposed to be facts, Jixed truths—are ex¬ 
ploded the very next, and classed among the rank 
errors of the past The causes of this are the 
multiplicity of elements that must enter into the 
test—infinite variety of soils, constantly varying 
weather, different kinds and qualities of manure, 
&c.,—and these often seem to counteract the efforts 
of the closest and most careful experimenter and 
to render null and void all the action he has taken. 
A thorough and constant following up of means, a 
steady and continued application of these means to 
ends, are the necessities to a clear and comprehen¬ 
sive understanding of any department of farm 
economy. The results of each year should be ac¬ 
curately preserved for reference, and, when the ex¬ 
periments have been conducted for a series, com¬ 
parison will solve many of the doubts that have 
cast themselves about the operation. In arranging 
these facts, nature of soil, kind and quality of ma¬ 
nure used, time of the year at which experiment 
commenced and ended, temperature, moisture, dry¬ 
ness, mode of cultivation, etc., should be carefully 
and correctly detailed. By such means we may ex¬ 
tract some truth from the mass of error in which 
it is now buried. 
There is no other way for the farmer to advance 
except by experiment, and he, himself, must be a 
worker in the laboratory. If his course of labor is 
better or worse than bis neighbors, experiments 
will give a true test; if he moves slowly and falter- 
ingly because of the doubts amid which' he toils 
and the disappointments he lias been compelled to 
meet, trials will dissipate the one and enable him 
to meet the other; if he desires to move forward 
i and at the same time to move sure, there is but 
one lamp to guide his feet, that of experience. He 
who will use faithfully the means that are at his 
hand, and will apply alL the new agencies that con¬ 
stantly spring up in his path, will perform an act 
at once serviceable to his country and honorable 
to himself. Who among our readers will institute 
a series of labors, the ultimate end of which will 
be the accumulation of beneficial knowledge, and 
when obtained, will share with fellow-workers the 
good things that are chronicled in their Records 
of Experience? 
DRAINING HEAVY LAND. 
Tiie attention of some of our readers having 
been called to this subject by the discussion at the 
late meeting of Fruit Growers’ in this city, we can¬ 
not better answer inquiries addressed to us on the 
best method of draining heavy lands, and particu¬ 
larly the proper depth for drains in a clay soil, than 
by condensing the remarks made at the January 
meeting of the London Fanners' Club, by men, who 
in addition to excellent opportunities for observa¬ 
tion, freely gave their experience. 
Mr. Mechi said it was 1G years since he began to 
drain. He had at first made his drains 12 feet 
apart and 2 feet 8 inches deep, on a very tenacious 
yellow clay. Subsequently lie had drained other 
lands of the same character 4 and 5 feet deep and 
from 23 to 50 feet apart. After 10 years practical 
experience his laborers told him they could always 
plow easier and work with one or two les 3 harrow- 
ings on land drained 12 feet apart and 2 feet 8 inches 
deep, than on land drained 4 or 5 feet deep at wider 
distances. Owing to the ventilation of that soil, or 
to some circumstance which he could not explain 
there was an equality in the crops and an evenness 
in the yield that afforded unmistakable evidence of 
thorough drainage. 
R. Raker had drained a field, partly with tile 30 
inches deep and 18 feet apart, partly 3 feet, and an¬ 
other part 4 feet deep, and no one could see any 
difference in the appearance or working of the soil. 
Mr. Thomas, of Lidlington, said the discussions 
and his experience tended to two practical conclu¬ 
sions. One was that no depth coul3 compensate 
in the case of homogeneous clays for too great a 
distance between the drains. The other, that in 
the case of friable and springy soils they could 
hardly go too deep. He had often seen grass 
lands over-drained. What they wanted was that 
the land should he sufficiently dry for the cattle 
and at the same time sufficiently moist for the pro¬ 
duction of grasses, and that object was not always 
kept clearly in view. 
Mr. Hatfield, of Euston House, Stamford, said 
he had had some experience in draining upon a 
retentive clay soil. At first pnt drains 30 inches 
deep, and afterwards increased the depth to 3G 
inches, and for 10 years had found that 36 inches 
would drain the ground most effectually, and had, 
therefore, adopted that depth, as a standard for his 
drains. 
W. Bennett, of Cambridge, had farmed some of 
the strongest lands in England for a considerable 
portion of his life, and had found that drains from 
15 to 21 feet, and from 2| to 3 feet deep were the 
most effective upon retentive soils. 
Mr. Trethewy, of Silsoe, would not recommend 
deep or shallow draining, as a system. Three feet, 
or less was called shallow draining, and more than 
3 feet, deep draining. His idea of draining was 
not only to get rid of the water, but also to act up¬ 
on the surface and substance of the soil as much as 
possible. In draining for grain and grass lands 
different objects were to be kept in view. In grass 
lands they wanted to keep up a continuous verdure, 
hut that was not the case with arable lands, and he 
maintained that the latter needed to be more drain¬ 
ed than the former. 
Mr. Wood, of Sussex, had the misfortune to farm 
that kind of soil which all would regard as a bona 
Jide clay, and he had expended a good deal of 
money in draining land which would require 50 
per cent, of sand to bring it to a fit state to make a 
brick. When he commenced, eight or ten years 
ago, 2 feet deep was advocated by one party, and 4 
feet by another. Being of a prudent turn of mind, 
thought he would adopt the middle course, and 
consequently made his drains 3 feet deep, and 1GJ 
feet apart. Found tiie soil furthest from tiie drains 
the most wet, and the soil and crops above the 
drains and nearest to them looked the best If his 
drains were 8 feet apart he thought the change 
would be very beneficial, if he could make drains 
4 feet deep at the same expense as 3 feet, would 
prefer that depth; but having regard to expense he 
would adhere to a depth of 3 feet 
Mr. Shaw, of Northamocn, felt no hesitation in 
saying that. 3 drains 4 feet deep, were more bene¬ 
ficial than 4 drains at 3 feet 
Mr. Parkinson, of Nottinghamshire, had found 
from experience in draining that practice was far 
more valuable than theory. He worked a farm 
that was drained by his predecessor 30 years ago, 
with drains about 30 inches deep. The person who 
put them in was very much laughed at, at the time, 
for burying his money; hut he persevered, and his 
neighbors first became convinced he was right in 
1829, when he was the only person in the district 
that had not a rotten sheep. The land was a strong, 
tenacious clay, and was now as well drained as any 
land could be even though it were drained 4 feet 
deep. 
Mons. Treuonnais, of France, considered the 
discussion very valuable from the fact that it rep¬ 
resented different parts of England, with differences 
of geological formation and soil, while he appeared 
to represent France. On his farm in France, he 
was engaged in extensive draining operations last 
winter, particularly on hilly land. He was obliged 
to lay his drains across the dip of the land, having 
been tanght by observation and experience that 
the practice of laying drains up the hill would not 
prove satisfactory. 
C. V. PmwK'.L. of r riii id t’w'y wove nearly all 
progressing more and: more towards 4 foot. He had 
seen a good deal of draining done at that depth 
and he did not know a single instance connected 
with strong clay lands in which experience was not 
in favor of a depth of 4 feet. He hoped that in a 
few years they would all adopt a minimum of 4 feet. 
C. Stokes, of Kingston, had seen a good deal of 
draining in Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. Did 
not know of a single failure at a depth of 4 feet.— 
When that system was first adopted by a few every¬ 
body laughed at it; now no one scarcely drained at 
a less depth. It was a great mistake to suppose 
that water would not percolate at that depth. Lot 
the air get into the land and that will make a way 
for the water. With regard to what had been said 
by Mr. Thomas about the over-draining of grass 
lands, he fully admitted that for a year or two grass 
lands might appear to have been over-drained, the 
water having been taken away that produced a 
coarse kind of grass. The remedy for this, how¬ 
ever, was manure, and the advantage of draining 
would soon be visible in the production of grasses 
of a better description. 
At the close of the discussion the following reso¬ 
lution was unanimously adopted:—“That in drain¬ 
ing land no depth of the drains can compensate 
for too great width of the intervals; that porous 
soils should be drained at depths and intervals suit¬ 
able to their respective characters; but that reten¬ 
tive clays require drains at more moderate depths 
and distances.” 
SHAM. 
“ Strike, it is old iron.” 
Wishing to bend a piece of cold iron, I raised 
my hammer to deal it a blow, then paused, in doubt 
whether it would bend or break. “Strike,” said a 
bystander, “it is old iron.” 
A sharper sarcasm on “the age in which we 
live,” could not he uttered. It was old iron, and 
therefore tough and reliable—dating back to the 
better days of the republic, it was inferred that it 
was honestly made — were it the manufacture of 
yesterday, we would expect it to be as brittle as a 
pipe-stem. In sober truth, we have fallen upon 
times when things are not what they pretend to be. 
Sham pervades the works of man to a fearful extent. 
The man who can get into a modern carriage for 
a ride, without visible tremor, would pass for a 
hero even in the regular army. Suppose the tire 
don’t come off, and the wheels don’t go all to 
smash, suppose the pole don’t break, and the axle- 
trees hold up, do you think you are safe? There 
is the harness, with its multitudes of straps, tanned 
in hot hemlock in two months; there are the bits 
and the buckles, notoriously frail and treacherous 
— can a man hope to escape from all these? A 
sword suspended, has been a favorite illustration of 
danger and uncertainty; better frighten folks by a 
pair of well-fed horses held by modern reins. I 
bought a pair of new lines, and about the first time 
I used them was in driving a colt; he plunged a 
few times, and the buckle tongue on one side 
pulled through— away we went, till by pulling on 
the other rein, which happened somehow to hold, I 
brought up against a high fence, having escaped 
being knocked to pieces against its corners. 
The only safety is in the temper of your steeds. 
A horse with spring-halt and spavins, that can’t 
possibly get more than two miles in three hours, 
ought to command a premium; you might then 
have some feeling of security, for, if worse comes 
to worse, you can get out safely when your team is 
running away. 
Riding along one day in a buggy, on a brisk trot, 
all unconscious of danger, my vehicle all at once 
plunged madly to the right, then to the left, then 
(like an office-seeker, getting desperate) it jumped 
back to the other side again, landing wrong side up 
in a ditch — myself ditto. Rubbing my battered 
limbs, I awoke to a painful consciousness that there 
must be a “screw loose somewhere”—it proved to 
be the screw that Listened one side of the thills. 
Have you any idea what a good wagon is; made 
of tough, well seasoned oak; put together snug, 
and ironed with good “Russia iron,” the nuts and 
screw r s made to fit? Such a wagon Jesse Sprague 
made for Mr. Allen, thirty years ago, and it is 
doing hard service yet Such a buggy Henry 
Crittenden made for Mr. Cameron, and it ran ten 
years before it cost twenty-five cents for repairs. 
Machinery is being extensively introduced into 
husbandry, but it requires all the Christian graces 
to tolerate its imperfections. For instance, I was 
using a reaper, when the wheat was suffering to he 
cut; a bolt broke just after dinner, which it took, 
at that distance from the shop, the whole afternoon 
to get mended; the field was some distance from 
home, and the men, for want of tools, did little the 
rest of the day. I estimate the damage caused by 
the delay at $10. The bolt that broke was brittle 
rolled iron—it should be the best kind. I estimate 
that the manufacturer saved by a cheap bolt one 
cent and three-quarters, while I lost ten dollars and 
probably more. I never suspected but what our 
reaper and mower manufacturers charge enough 
for their wares, but if they don’t, then let them raise 
on the price, and let the thing be right in all its 
details. 
The man who consoled himself when his new 
cutter smashed up, with the remark, that he could 
