54 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
FEB. 13 
pick up “putty near enough from the ruins to buy a 
new one,” was certainly fortunate, and equable in his 
temperament. Modern implements are well painted 
and polished; in symmetry and shape they are 
admirable; but look out, they are too hard or too 
soft, they will bend or break, or come to pieces, 
most likely. 
Thus much on one side of the question. It is 
but just to say that there are many manufacturers 
and dealers who do their customers the best justice 
they can; and as I am pledged in this matter to tell 
the whole truth, I will say we have ourselves to 
blame for many of the imperfect articles that are 
made and sold. The passion to buy cheap may be 
peculiar to the Yankees, though 1 have certainly 
seen traces of it in the Irish. It is but too obvious 
that wares hive depreciated in value to suit custo¬ 
mers who are determined, at all hazards, to buy for 
a shilling less. The deaf lady was a representative 
woman. She asked the price of an article, and was 
told that it was thirteen shillings. “Eighteen shil¬ 
lings, I will give you fifteen.' 1 '' “Thirteen shillings,’ 
shouted the clerk. “ Oh! I will give you eleven.'’ 
I recollect when good hoes cost ten shillings, 
somebody offered them for eight. All unsophisti¬ 
cated as we were, we thought we had gained two 
shillings. 
“ To-day is so like yesterday, it cheats, 
We take the lying sisters for the same.” 
We took the lying eight for ten —in truth, it was but 
six. Then hoes went to seven shillings, then to six, 
Jive, four, three. Alas! alas! they would crack or 
come out of the handle before you got across the 
lot, and finally they died out from mere exhaustion. 
Going into Bixby & Carpenter's one da}’, they 
8 aid—“B. do you want to buy some good hoes at a 
dollar?” I purchased, and made a good bargain; 
but i am fearful they are selling again at seventy- 
five cents. A hat for $2 was a very funny idea—till 
the hat got wet Shoes, I am tempted to believe, 
are often poor without being cheap, which is super¬ 
erogatory entirely. Wool made of cotton will per¬ 
haps wear well, but new cloth made out of old is 
questionable. Indian meal may be a nutritious as 
ginger; but sand will not sweeten coffee. I have 
ever been perfectly cool on the subject of hoops, for 
1 had an abiding faith that they would soon collapse 
through the treachery of the material. 'The moral 
of all this is, that we ought to get good substantial 
wares and merchandize, and ought to pay their full 
value— ,h. 'r. b. 
WHEAT - “ WINTER-KILLING,” &c. 
Eds. Rural: —There are in this State, and I pre¬ 
sume elsewhere, large tracts of land—amounting in 
some instances to whole townships—adapted to the 
culture of wheat, yet liable to one serious drawback 
on the cultivation of that crop,— namely “winter- 
killing.” Spring-killing would he a more appro¬ 
priate name, as the injury is accomplished by the 
freezing and thawing attendant upon the protract¬ 
ed breaking up of winter. The soil of these tracts 
is clay, the surface generally level, the original 
timber was principally beech. Naturally fertile, 
they produce, under favorable circumstances, large 
crops of wheat; but under the influence of adverse 
seasons, frequently occurring, the hopes of the far¬ 
mer aie doomed to disappointment. 
Some years since, when to raise wheat exten¬ 
sively was more the aim of the farmers of Northern 
Ohio than at present, and before the Wheat Midge 
had made its appearance, my business required me 
to perform frequent journeys through some of 
these townships, at all seasons of the year. As I 
was myself a wheat raiser, I was alive to whatever 
causes indicated failure or success in that branch 
of agriculture. I observed in the fall large breadths 
of land sown with wheat and appearing well—again 
at mid-winter they still appeared promising, but in 
the spring frequently would be apparent a wide¬ 
spread scene of desolation; the wheat being largely 
winter killed. But 1 occasionally observed except¬ 
ional fields, occuring rarely and at lengthened dis¬ 
tances from each other, which were exempt from 
the common desolation, and where the wheat ex¬ 
hibited good promise of an abundant harvest. My 
attention was fixed by these oases in the desert, and 
my curiosity excited to know the why and where¬ 
fore. I found, on inquiry, that in every instance 
the successful field of wheat had been sown on land 
that when the cultivation for the crop commenced 
was an old tough Timothy sward. Summer fallow¬ 
ing in such a case had killed the sod, but it was 
only partially rotten, and in consequence the soil 
was full of vegetable fibre in a decaying condition, 
thereby the texture of the soil was, for the time 
being, changed, and the exemption from winter- 
killing obtained. One farmer, by whose fields I 
passed, appeared always to enjoy this exemption. 
1 conversed with him—he said, “If I can secure an 
old tough Timothy sward, I am almost certain of 
wheat” 
In confirmation of this theory I remembered, 
that thirty-three years ago, when I first became a 
resident of Ohio, the prairie, which commences a 
few miles from my residence, and stretches to the 
west in almost interminable ranges, was new, and 
was then in process of being broken up. This 
breaking up was a serious matter, arid was accom¬ 
plished by a long string of oxen attached to a huge 
wooden plow, turning a furrow 8 inches deep, and of 
great width. The furrow slice, when turned over, 
in texture and consistence reminded one of an 
oaken plank, so firm and unyielding was it to the 
tread. It was a very tough sward, very full of hard 
vegetable fibre. Now, on the score of winter-kill¬ 
ing, perhaps no soil in the world is as uncertain as 
the prairie,—or rather, I should say, none more 
certain to have the wheat sown upon it winter-kill¬ 
ed; yet the early settlers raised wheat upon the 
tough sward I have endeavored to describe, with 
very uniform and invariable success. Large yields 
per acre were not obtained, but the yield was not 
capricious, but very uniform. 
Of drainage I am not competent to speak from 
experience. My lot as a farmer has been cast on a 
river bank, on a farm in great measure naturally 
drained, having a soil, the natural texture of which, 
exempts it from winter-killing in the most .un¬ 
favorable seasons. But I think I have indicated a 
cheap and efficient method whereby the raising of 
wheat on clay land may be rendered more certain. 
The farmer to whom these suggestions may be new 
and interesting, will probably infer, lhat notonlyis 
a tough sward necessary, but the cultivation should 
be such as to secure a just medium between a fine 
tilth, and the preservation of the vegetable fibre 
undecayed. Sowing on the first furrow might in¬ 
sure the last, but it would also insure a light yield 
per acre. It is scarcely necessary to add, and yet 
the practice of some intimates the necessity of say¬ 
ing that surface water and good wheat are two in¬ 
compatible things. v. n. 
Milan, Erie Co., Ohio, 1858. 
THE SORGHUM IN OHIO. 
The following statement relative to experiments 
with the Chinese Sugar Cane by I). A. Pease, M. 
D., of Hamilton, Ohio, will have especial interest 
to those who intend to devote time and land to the 
culture of the Cane the coming summer. A sam¬ 
ple of the syrup produced by Dr. D. we have thor¬ 
oughly tested, and must say that it was a very su¬ 
perior article, equal to the best “Sugar-House 
Syrup:” 
One year ago last month I sent to Georgia for 
$25 worth of seed of the Chinese Sugar Cane. In 
the month of May, between the 10th and 18th, I 
planted about seven acres of bottom and upland, 
embracing clay, black loam, and sandy soil,—all of 
the best quality,—and took great pains in planting, 
having it furrowed, then filling the furrow where 
each hill was to be planted before dropping the seed. 
Thus, you perceive, each hill was a little mound ex¬ 
posed to sun and air, which enabled the seed to 
spring up and grow evenly ahead notwithstanding 
the cold, wet spring. I had the satisfaction to see 
all of it ripen well, even the smallest suckers. It 
should be planted at the same distances as com and 
well tended; it does well on all kinds of soil, but it 
is best to plant on a warm soil, inasmuch as it 
comes forward sooner and you have longer time 
to work it into syrup. 
I found that frost, sufficiently heavy to kill the 
leaves, was no damage to it in making syrup. I 
even made a number of barrels of syrup after that 
heavy frost in November. The cane cut like a 
frozen turnip, and yet ten days afterwards it made 
good syrup. Seven days after the cane froze solid, 
I cut 50 of the best, from which I obtained G£ gal¬ 
lons of juice, and from 80 gallons of juice 8 days 
after the frost I obtained 10 gallons of good syrup, 
which, you will perceive, was one gallon of syrup 
from 5 of juice, the juice being richest after the 
frost Before the cane froze it took 6 to 7 gallons 
of juice from the most perfect cane to make a gal¬ 
lon of good merchantable syrup. 
I found it impossible to make good syrup from 
green cane; it ought to be well matured, and after 
the juice is pressed and clarified, ought to be boil¬ 
ed rapidly until it is finished, if you expect a good 
article. The first I made was not very good,—I 
took too much pains with it and settled it when it 
became thin syrup; by letting it cool before finish¬ 
ing gave it a bad taste. I made 1,100 gallons of 
syrup, and had enough cane left for four or five 
hundred more, which I fed to stock. Many that 
did not understand manufacturing the syrup have 
made a poor article, and quite a number who plant¬ 
ed late in June, and did not tend it well, also made 
poor syrup out of the green cane. This has had a 
tendency to prejudice many against it, but I am 
well convinced that we can make a very fine article 
of syrup, and there is no doubt, in my mind, but 
the North are independent of the South as regards 
sugar and syrup after this. d. a. r. 
Hamilton, Butler Co., O., 1858. 
CORN vs. ROOT CROPS. 
Ens. Rural: —I have been interested in the re¬ 
marks in your paper on the comparative importance 
of root and com culture, as the means of feeding 
stock. I know but little of the productive quali¬ 
ties of the lands in your vicinage, having always 
been doomed to toil on the rock-bound shores of 
Massachusetts, in the eastern extremity of the 
State. Here, we find, with proper care ani atten¬ 
tion, double the value of feed, can be produced 
by the culture of roots—such as carrots, beets or 
turnips, as can by the culture of Indian com .— 
Rarely is there grown more than eighty bushels of 
sound corn to the acre, under the best of tillage, 
while from twenty to forty tuns of roots may be 
grown by the application of the same labor. Un¬ 
questionably, Indian corn is one of the best articles 
that can be grown, for the feed of man or beast; 
but it is true, also, that men and beasts will live 
and thrive on vegetables when properly prepared. 
Sixteen hundred bushels, or forty tuns of carrots, 
to the acre, I have seen grown the past season— 
thirty tuns is not looked upon as a large or un¬ 
common crop. I am not aware of any more uncer¬ 
tainty about the maturing of this crop, than there 
is about the maturing the crop of corn—vigilance 
and faithful culture are useful to both. Ourlotis 
cast in a clime so barren, that without these appli¬ 
ances we have little hope of success in any cul¬ 
ture. J. tv. p. 
Essex Co., Mass., Jam, 1858. 
SOILS.—BEST ROTATION FOR CLAY. 
Eds. Rural: —Your series of papers on “The 
Soil,” meets a want of your readers, in giving in¬ 
formation, and calling the attention of writers 
to the subject You truly remark, “scores of ex 
periments reported in the agricultural journals, 
that should have conveyed valuable information, 
have not only been useless, but have sadly misled 
the readers, from want of knowledge of the charac¬ 
ter of the soil on which they were tried.” 
So, also, it is with systems of culture and crop¬ 
ping recommended. Often nothing is Eaid of the 
soil to which they are suited, or the specification is 
too general in its character to give the definite in¬ 
formation desired. I have been reminded of this 
in my search for light on the management of clayey 
lands, and the object of the present writing is to 
propose a question for discussion in your columns, 
viz: 
What is the best system of rotation of crops, for 
the improvement of a clay land farm? 
Do not tell us first to “ underdrain ” such lands; 
for in many cases the owner has not the capital 
necessary for such an undertaking. What is the 
best system of rotation within the means of a farmer 
who depends upon his crops, and daily labor to 
keep himself square with the world ? What culture 
and what crops are best in his circumstances,—the 
most profitable, and, at the same time, tending to 
the improvement of the soil? 
Niagara Co., N. Y., 1858. A Young Farmer. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 
Specific Food for Plants. —Tn the Rural of 
the 23d ult., is a good article on the potato culture, 
by E. Mason of Detroit. The direction to cut the 
potatoes before they sprout, and to sprinkle plaster 
on the cut edges and let it dry before planting, is to 
the point. But Mr. M. quotes Liebig to prove that 
the mineral elements found by analysis in the ashes 
of plants, “ are the true food for such plants.”— 
This doctrine was promulgated by Liebig, before 
any experiments in the premises were had, to prove 
a theory formed by the learned chemist, as soon as 
he had ascertained from analysis, the simple ele¬ 
ments contained in the ashes (inorganic matter) of 
plants. But of late the reverse of Liebig’s theory 
has been proved by consecutive and often repeated 
experiments. For instance, the ashes of wheat 
contain five times as much phosphoric acid as the 
ash of turnips; yet phosphoric acid is the specific 
manure for turnips, while it has very little effect 
compared to nitrogen on wheat. Again, peas and 
beans contain three times as much nitrogen as 
wheat, yet experiment proves that they require 
much less nitrogen than wheat for a minimum 
crop.—S. W., Waterloo, N. Y, 1858. 
Do Bees Select a New Home Before They 
Swarm? —There seems to be such a diversity of 
opinions on this subject, I thought I would relate a 
circumstance that happened here last summer. I 
have kept bees for several years. Last winter I 
had one swarm that lost a greater part of its colo¬ 
ny, and I suppose its queen also,—for in the spring 
they did not work any and there was but few bees 
but plenty of money. I suspected the other bees 
of robbing it, and concluded to remove it some 
distance from where it stood—but the few bees and 
the honey finally disappeared, and I turned up the 
hive, broke out the coinb and set it up again. A 
short time after this I passed the empty hive and I 
saw a few bees around the entrance. The next day 
I was out in the yard and heard a swarm of bees— 
they soon came in sight and passed me and went 
directly to the empty hive and went in as uncere¬ 
moniously as tho’ they were at home. They work¬ 
ed well and are now doing well. I put them in my 
cellar and believe they are raising a young brood as 
I have seen several young bees on the bottom 
board.—A. Buckley, Jacksonvile, III., 1858. 
The Potato Rot. —Can any Rural reader in¬ 
form me how to prevent the potato rot? Last year 
I planted at different times—from the middle of 
April until the last of May—and on different kinds 
of soils, and the result was, that the early planted 
on dry rolling land, yielded the best and were en¬ 
tirely free from rot, while the late planted, whether 
on dry or moist soil, had the disease. The latest 
planted and the dampest ground was the worst.— 
From what I can learn in this region, early plant¬ 
ing, early harvesting, and thoroughly drying before 
burying, saved the crop, especially if planted on 
ground so rolling that water never stands upon it 
The infected potatoes here are sound inside, some¬ 
times, and sometimes one end is rotten, while the 
other end seems to be healthy. It is not the same 
kind of rot, so prevalent some years ago. Indeed 
an unpracticed eye would not detect it, without 
cutting the potato open. Will it not be well for 
farmers to give their okj^qrience to the public that 
others can have the berJ flitV it?—C. G., Parke Co., 
Indiana, Jan., 1858. 
A War of Colors—“White” Pigs vs. “Blue.” 
—In the Rural of Jan. 30th your correspondent, 
Simon Rouse, gives the weight of five “Blue ” pig-» 
that he killed when ten months and twenty-three 
days old, the total weight of which was 1,525 lbs. 
He closed by saying:—“If there are any larger or 
heavier, weight for age, I would be glad to learn of 
their whereabouts.” The 11th day of Nov., 1857,1 
killed five “White” pigs, eight months and six days 
old, that weighed, respectively, 302, 291, 28G, 278, 
2G9 lbs.; total, 1,426 Ills. In the summer they were 
allowed to run in the pasture, and were fed all the 
sour milk they would eat, until about the middle of 
August, when Indian meal was added to the milk, 
with a few' apples. They were fed from eight to ten 
times in twenty-four hours.— S. A. Dewey Delta, 
Oneida Co., N. Y, 1858. 
Keeping Cabbage. —Although the season has 
passed for burying the cabbage, I will give you the 
Yankee method of preserving it, that your readers 
may know, while taking out the decayed article 
now, how’, hereafter, to take out the fresh and 
sound. Dig a trench north and south, of such 
depth and width as will admit the stumps of the 
cabbage. Pull them and put the roots in the soil 
in the trench. Place two boards in roof-form over 
the heads, but so as not to press upon them. Throw 
on straw and dirt sufficient to keep out the frost, 
leaving the south end open, which is to be filled 
with straw during the coldest of the weather. This 
is for ventilation—it also gives access to the article 
at all times.—S. C., Sandstone, Mich., Jan., 1858. 
Knox Corners vs. Baldwinsville.—I noticed 
in your issue of January 30tli an article by a 
correspondent at Baldwinsville on large pigs, 
alledging that his were the largest pigs, of their 
age, killed this season. D. Stilson, one of your sub¬ 
scribers, drove upon my hay-scale a li ve pig !) months 
10 days old, of a Suffolk cross, and it weighed alive 
425 lbs.; after being dressed 3G5 lbs. You will see 
he w r as 8 lbs. heavier than your Baldwinsville 
friend’s heaviest pig, and 1 month 13 days younger. 
Please give the banner to Knox Corners.— James 
C. Knox. 
P. S.—This pig never sucked the sow’, but was 
fed with a teaspoon until it learned to drink. 
Essex Savine.—A letter received from Darwin 
W illson, Noble Centre, Branch Co., Mich., informs 
us that he is possessed of Essex pigs, bred from 
stock imported by L. G. Morris, Esq. Although 
such matter more properly belongs to our adver¬ 
tising department, w r e give publicity to the fore¬ 
going, and add that the price is $10 each, well 
boxed, and delivered on cars of Mich. Southern 
and Northern Indiana Railroad. 
Wood Dealers. —“Subscriber, Red Creek, Wayne 
Co., N. Y.,” w'ho inquires as to wood-merchants in 
Rochester, is informed that LI. A. Palmer, C. Phil¬ 
lips, and C. F. Hart are engaged in the business. 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. —The 
State Board of Agriculture met at the State House 
on the 2d inst., and continued its sessions through 
Wednesday and Thursday. At the commencement 
of the session Gov. Banks made a brief address on 
taking the chair, in which he expressed his willing¬ 
ness and desire to do all in his power to promote 
the agricultural interests of the State. A large 
portion of the time of the Board was occupied in 
considering the report of the committee to visit 
the State Farm at Westboro, and report a plan for 
its management One fact brought out on the re¬ 
port, and it was corroborated by the members of 
the Board, w r as that the labor of the hoys was a 
source of great expense to the Board, rather than 
of profit It takes double the number of men to 
carry on the farm with the boys which it would 
without them. The subject of holding another 
State Fair this year w r as brought up and consider¬ 
ed, and action upon it was delayed until the meet¬ 
ing of the Board in April. The thanks of the 
Board were voted to the Mass. Society for the Pro¬ 
motion of Agriculture, for their co-operation and 
aid at the recent Fair in Boston. A highly com¬ 
plimentary vote of thanks w r as also passed to Hon. 
Marshall P. Wilder, one of the members at large 
of the Board, whose term has expired. The Board 
meets again the first w’eek in April. 
Vermont State Ag. Society. — The Annual 
Meeting of the Vermont State Ag. Society, was 
held at the Court House, in Middlebury, on Thurs¬ 
day, Jan. 21st. From the report of the Treasurer, 
as published, we learn that the balance in the treas¬ 
ury, Jan. 1, 1858, was $3,30G 19; that the amount 
secured from members, and for admissions at last 
Fair was $3,4G2 88. Interest, account $190 03, in 
all $G,959 10. The expenditures of last year were 
$3,567 13, exceeding the receipts from the mem¬ 
bers and at the Fair, by $104 25. A resolution was 
passed recommending the location of the Annual 
Fairs for a term of years. The following persons 
were chosen officers for 1858:— President — Fred¬ 
erick Holbrook, Brattleboro’. Vice Presidents — 
E. Hammond, Middlebury; J. W. Colburn, Spring- 
field; IL II. Baxter, Rutland; E. B. Chase, Lyndon. 
Secretary —Chas. Cummings, Brattleboro’. Treas¬ 
urer — E. Seymour, Vergennes. Directors —LI. S. 
Morse, Slielburn; J. W. A r ail, Bennington; U. II. 
Penniinan, Colchester; II. Keyes, Newbury; H. 
Hollister, Marshfield; D. R. Potter, St. Albans; N. 
Cushing, Woodstock; I). Hill, Bridport; D. Need¬ 
ham, Hartford; J. Gregory, Northfield; J. Jackson, 
Brandon; H. W. Lester, Rutland; Geo. Campbell, 
Westminster; R. J. Jones, Cornwall; Elisha White, 
Brownington. 
New Jersey Ag. Society. —The Third Annual 
Meeting of the New Jersey State Ag. Society was 
held at Trenton, on the 19th ult. The Report of 
the Treasurer exhibited a deficiency in the funds 
of the Society amounting to $1,455. During the 
progress of the meeting various individuals came 
forward and tendered contributions in shape of $50 
and $100 —about SI, 000 was thus given to aid the 
Society in its present difficulties. Resolutions au¬ 
thorizing the purchase of land, erecting buildings, 
<tc., in some central location at which hereafter to 
hold the Exhibitions of the Society was, after a 
long and spirited debate tabled by a vote of 20 to 
18. The officers chosen for 1858 are as follows:— 
President — Isaac It. Cornell, Somerset Vice-Presi¬ 
dent —Dr. J. It. Sickler, Gloucester. Cor. 4’ Rec. 
Secretary —W. M. Force, Trenton. Executive Com- 
mittee —Dr. Pool, New Brunswick; J. R. Cornell, 
Weston; Dr. J. R. Conover, Freehold; David San¬ 
derson, White House; Peter A. Voorhees, Six-Mile- 
ltun, Middlesex. 
Maine State Ag. Society. —The Annual Meet¬ 
ing of the Maine State Ag. Society was held on the 
2Gth ult., at the Agricultural Rooms in the State 
House, Augusta, for the choice of officers. The 
meeting was more fully attended than heretofore. 
The reports of the Trustees as well as that of the 
Treasurer, gave a good account of the Society, both 
in regard to its operation and its finances. The 
following officers were elected for the ensuing 
year:— President — Samuel F. Perley, Naples.— 
Vice-Presidents —Each President of the County Ag. 
Societies. Secretary —E. Holmes, Winthrop. Treas¬ 
urer —W. P. Means, Augusta. Tmslees —Thos. S. 
Lang, N. Vassalboro’; Seth Scamman, Saco; Job 
Prince, Turner; Calvin Chamberlain, Foxcroft; D. 
Lancaster, Farmingdale. 
Ohio Board of Agriculture. —The Officers of 
the above Sbciety for 1858 are as follows:— Presi- 
dent —John M. Milliken, Hamilton, llec. Secretary 
—D. N. S. Townshend. Cor. Secretary —J. IL. Klip- 
part, Columbus. Treasurer —L. Buttles, Columbus. 
Wisconsin State Ag. Society —Officers for 1858: 
President —J. F. Willard, Janesville. Secretary —D. 
J. Powers, Madison. Treasurer —D. Atwood, do. 
Ontario Co. Ag. Society. —At the Annual Meet¬ 
ing of this Society the following persons were 
chosen officers for 1858:— President — Wm. IL. Lam¬ 
port, Gorham. One Vice-President from each town. 
Rec. Sec. — J. W. Holberton; Cor. Sec. — Gideon 
Granger; Treasurer- —Jas. S. Cooley. The report 
of the treasurer places receipts for 1857, at $2,710 
47; expenses $2,170 16; balance to new account 
$540 31. At the winter meeting the following 
premiums were awarded:—Best field Indian corn, 
93 12-60 bush, shelled corn per acre, L. W. Smith, 
Farmington, $7; best 4 acre Beets, 905 bush, per 
acre, E. M. Bradley, East Bloomfield, $5; best l acre 
Carrots, 1,030 bush, per acre, same, $5; greatest 
quantity of Clover Seed per acre, 5 13-60 bush., P. 
F. Babcock, Hopewell, $7; best acre of Peas, 40j 
bush, per acre, Amanda Newton, E. Bloomfield, $5. 
Orleans Society. —This Society has re-organ¬ 
ized under the act of 1855, and is in a flourishing 
condition. President —Timothy C. Bailey; Secre¬ 
tary—11. S. Goff; Treasurer —Arad Thomas. 
Susquehanna Valley Ag. Society. —The fol¬ 
lowing named gentlemen were elected officers for 
the ensuing year:— President —David Siver; Vice- 
Presidents —David Hough, C. S. Rogers; Secretary — 
P. P. Rogers; Treasurer — C. I. Hayes; Directors — 
Wm. Dewey, Robt. Courtney, Ira E. Sherman, S. G. 
Cone, Wm. McClelland, David Lee. 
Acknowledgments. —We are indebted to authors, 
publishers, officers of Agricultural Societies, and 
others, for various works on Agricultural and kin¬ 
dred branches, Transactions of State and other 
Ag. Societies, Addresses, Nursery and Seed Cata¬ 
logues, Ac., the most important of which will be 
noticed hereafter. 
U. S. Ag. Society’s Trial of Implements.— 
The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder has our thanks 
for a handsome pamphlet of over 100 pages, con¬ 
taining the detailed and final Report on the “Field 
Trial of Reapers, Mowers, and Harvest Implements, 
by the U. S. Agricultural Society, at Syracuse, July, 
1857.” The Report embraces much statistical and 
other information, with diagrams, Ac., of an inter¬ 
esting character. We shall endeavor to publish in an 
early number the most important statements of tho 
Committee, in tabular form,—exhibiting the rela¬ 
tive draft, direct and side, weight, quality of work, 
Ac., Ac., of the various machines tested. 
Value of Peat. —Prof. S. W. Johnson, chemist 
to the Connecticut State Ag. Society, states in the 
report of his last year’s investigations, that he has 
analyzed sixteen specimens of peat, some of which 
contained three to three and a half per cent, of 
potential ammonia, in their air-dry state. He esti¬ 
mates that five tuns of such peat would be as valu¬ 
able as a tun of Peruvian guano, which costs $60. 
This kind of guano has sixteen per cent of am¬ 
monia, and Prof. J. thinks that this substance 
comprises three-fourths of its value. 
High Price for a SnEEP.—A sheep raised by 
Geo. Mills, of Mt. Morris, was sold in the New 
York market, last week, for $27. The Tribune 
says:—“We hope Mr. Mills will take courage and 
persevere, and his neighbors strive to imitate his 
example. Such sheep are worth raising, and the 
producer entitled to notice.” 
“Under”-Draining. —It is sometimes the case 
that swamps have clay bottoms resting on a gravelly 
subsoil. Of one such, Mr. Davis, of Tioga, says in 
the State Transactions that he cut a ditch and a 
hole to the gravel, and filled it with stones. Into 
this the pond soon ran, and the spot is now the best 
land on his farm. 
A Slight Difference. —A common adage pro¬ 
claims that “there’s as much difference in people 
as anybody,” the truthfulness of which we will 
briefly and speedily demonstrate. Two of our con¬ 
temporaries exhibit the marked difference in their 
fairness, liberality and courtesy by the manner in 
which they quote and comment upon, a declara¬ 
tion in the first number of our present volume. 
One, who is evidently of the ilk that can make even 
the Scriptures prove any desired doctrine or posi¬ 
tion, quotes only part of a sentence, — and then, 
having endeavored to deceive his readers by sup¬ 
pressing the most vital part of the text, makes 
some very edifying remarks “by way of improve¬ 
ment.” Here is the fair, dignified, magnanimous 
pronunciamento, issued from the seat of agricultu¬ 
ral wisdom and capital of the Empire State, verba¬ 
tim et literatim, el punctuatem — viz., namely, to wit., 
that is to say, as followeth: 
The editor of a Journal, which, by carrying the 
flag of an “Agricultural paper,” has circulated within a 
few years past a great deal of very readable miscellany 
through the western part of this state and elsewhere,—in 
his introductory leader for tho year 1858, remarks that 
his “ object has not been to fur'iish either an Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary or News 
Journal.” The avowal appears in many respects so frank, 
but at the same time to the careful reader so unnecessary, 
that one would think it must have slipped from bis pen 
unawares, were it not for the prominent position it occu¬ 
pies as the sum and substance of the “platform” of our 
cotemporary for the future as well as the past. 
Now, with all due deference to our venerable 
contemporary, we submit that such a production— 
such a “lame and impotent conclusion”—though 
perhaps characteristic of him, is entirely unworthy 
a genuine city or country gentleman. But we’ll let 
the garbled text and worst context pass—yet re¬ 
mind its author that on starting his genteel journal, 
a complimentary letter bearing his autograph in¬ 
formed us that it would be “ in imitation of tho 
Rural New-Yorker!” We therefore conclude 
that his semi-quotation is a mistake, and that his 
comments “'must have slipped from his pen una¬ 
wares” —for assuredly no sane man would condemn 
his model! It is am ng the possibilit es, however, 
that the large circulation of the Rural in the Cen¬ 
tral and Ea^Jern, as well as “ through the Western 
part of this State and elsewhere,” may have con¬ 
fused his thoughts. So much for our fatherly con¬ 
temporary—in age at least. 
The other proof of our position is furnished by 
the Editor of Drew's Rural Intelligencer, who, in 
issuing his initial number, manfully and publicly 
avowed that it was an imitation of the Rural New- 
Yorker, instead of doing so privately — a course in 
marked contrast with that of the one who started 
silently and has not since dared to either fairly and 
openly criticise or commend this journal. A recent 
notice in friend Drew’s paper, including ••lie entire 
sentence embracing our “platform,” readeth thus: 
Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. — This excellent and 
popular Journal entered upon its 9th Vo]., on the 2d inst. 
“ Excelsior” is its motto, and it does go on from excellent 
to more excellent every year. We confess we legard it 
as the pattern Family paper for Rural Life in the land, 
adapted more perhaps to Western New York latitude, 
than to New England, but yet like a Boston Almanac, will 
answer well for “ the adjoining States.” Its whole char¬ 
acter may be expressed in Ihe following paragraph from 
the Editor’s New Year Salutation: 
As we have said before on a similar occasion, our object 
from the commencement of the Rural New-Yorker lias 
not been to furnish either an Agricultural, Horticultural, 
Scientific, Educational, Literary or News journal,—but 
rather to combine all these, and thus present a paper un¬ 
equalled in Value, Variety, and Usefulness of Contents.— 
Our earnest desire has ever been to make it an honest, 
independent, reliable and eminently usefdl Rural Lite¬ 
rary and Family Newspaper— correct in its teachings 
on Practical Subjects, instructive and entertaining to 
members of the Family Circle, of high moral tone, and 
entirely free from deception and quackery even in its ad¬ 
vertising department. 
This week we have received its Prospectus [Show-bi’l] 
for the current year, the most beautiful tbiDg< f the kind we 
ever saw in print. We are under many aDd renewed ob¬ 
ligations to Mr. Moore and his Rural for assistance at 
this end of the fine, and most heartily wish great and 
deserved—it will be great if ascending to desert—success to 
the Rural New-Yorker. Price only $2 a year, in advance. 
