TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
barometer is highest at Groningen. This rule is 
nearly without exception. Those relations will be 
alittle modified when we observe in other countries; 
in France, in England, or in America; but I am 
sure that in all countries the force of the wind may 
everywhere be predicted by the preceding differ¬ 
ences of the barometric pressures. So my expecta¬ 
tions are realized which I expressed in my ‘Change- 
ments de temperature. Pourquoi montre-t-on tant 
empressement a receuillir les observations magnet- 
iques simultane<>8 a les comparer a en calculer les 
deviations. (Test a fin d’atteindre ce que poursuit 
aussi la Metdorologie. p. III. * * * * > 
“By inspecting the annals of this Institute, one 
will see immediately that the greater the differences 
of simultaneous pressure the greater the force of 
wind that follows. So one may conclude: — If a 
ship at Heldcr knows the difference of barometric 
pressure with Maastricht in the morning, she will, 
<if the difference is^bove 4 millimetres, be warned 
not to sail, and not to leave the port; but if the dif¬ 
ference is under 2 millimetres, she may in all safety 
do so. She has, moreover, great probability of 
good weather if the difference Helder—Maastricht 
is positive, even though at Heldcr the barometer 
may be three, four, five millimetres higher than at 
Maastricht, but not so in the contrary case. And we 
may add: 
“The relations of the difference of barometic 
pressure and following force of wind must be 
studied likewise in America and in England, — in 
every country; for in the like manner there a ship 
in port will be warned or encouraged by the knowl¬ 
edge of the simultaneous difference of barometric 
pressure in the interior of the country. Therefore, 
the barometric heights must be communicated by the 
telegraph. 
“ Unfortunately, the ships already at sea cannot 
get notice of the difference of barometric pressure at 
other places. Nor is it yet possible to communi¬ 
cate it across the seas; but were it s#, it would be 
of the highest value to the shipping; for the knowl¬ 
edge of the difference of simultaneous 
made in shortening routes since I last re¬ 
ported upon the labors of this Office concerning 
the Winds and Currents of the Sea. 
Respectfully, Ac., 
M. F. Maury, Comm’dr U. S. Navy. 
Hon. Isaac Topcey, 
Secretary of the Navy, Washington. 
AX ORIGINAL WKKKI.Y 
Agricultural, .Literary and Family Newspaper. 
Tm Rural New-Yorkkr is designed to be unsurpassed 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 beautiful Engravings, 
than any other journal,—rendering it the most complete Agricultu¬ 
ral Literary and Family Journal in America 
COMPARATIVE NUTRITION OF FOOD. 
Nothing can be of more importance to the 3 i 
farmer than a knowledge of the comparative 
value of food. This should be his guide in many 
of the operations of the farm. Where wheat, 
oats, or other products are sold at the market 
price, of course their real value, as indicated 
by the nutrition they contain, is a matter of no 
particular consequence. But all our farmers 
raise some stock, for the benefit of the soil as 
well as for the pockets directly, and this branch 
of rural industry is greatly increasing. Every 
farmer is surrounded with a goodly family of 
horses, cows, pigs, sheep, &c., which look to him 
for their daily food. How he can obtain suste¬ 
nance for them in the best and cheapest way 
is, therefore, a matter of no small moment— 
A proper understanding of this subject will not 
only direct the intelligent farmer as to what crops 
will produce the greatest amount of food, but will, 
in many cases enable him to apply it to the best 
advantage, and to determine its proper Relection 
for the different species of animals and for the 
purposes for which they are kept. 
It is the importance of this question that has re¬ 
cently aroused such a general discussion in our 
columns of the comparative value of corn, hay and 
roots, and to aid as far as possible in throwing 
light on this question am, directing investigation 
in the proper channel, we* present a few facts for 
the consideration of all who are in search of truth, 
regardless of preconceived notions or theories.— 
That there is need of light on this question, all will 
admit. Few thorough experiments have yet been 
made in this country, and we have to derive our 
knowledge from European sources. Who, among 
all our American farmers will honor themselves 
and their country by instituting a series of experi¬ 
ments, so thorough and convincing as to become 
unquestionable authority on the subject 
For the present we shall pass over some thoughts 
on the adaptation of food to different objects, and 
that most suitable for animals in different condi¬ 
tions, as working, fattening, milking, Ac., and pro¬ 
ceed at once to the consideration of the value of 
food as determined by the best authorities. There 
are two ways of estimating the nutritive value of 
food; first, by the amount of nitrogen it con¬ 
tains, as shown by analysis; and second, by careful¬ 
ly conducted experiments, the animals and food 
being regularly weighed, and such changes being 
made, as to test their comparative value in keeping 
an animal in good condition, or in obtaining a pro¬ 
portionate increase. The union of the two plans, 
one serving as a check upon the other, is undoubt¬ 
edly the best, and this was first attempted by Bous- 
singault, who made a table of the value of differ¬ 
ent kinds of food as shown by analysis, and then 
instituted the most rigid experiments to test its 
correctness in practice, comparing also his own 
experiments with those of others. In doing this 
he often found his experiments to be at variance 
with theory, and he came to the conclusion that 
the amount of nitrogen in a subtance must be re¬ 
garded as one important evidence of its value, 
though not infallible. 
We might mention several reasons given by 
chemists for the difference between analysis and 
practice, but will confine ourselves to one or two 
practical points. Of course, in estimating the 
value of any variety of food, no allowance is made 
for difference in digestibility. Yet some sorts of 
food are easily digested, while other kinds being 
hard to digest, one-third or more passes through 
the animal without doing it any benefit Corn fed 
SPECIAL CONTHIIUTTOItS t 
Pro*. C. DEWEY, Lr. M. F. MAURY, 
T. C. PETERS, H. T. BROOKS, 
T. a ARTHUR, v Mrs. M. J. HOLMES, 
Musif'K. C. HUNTINGTON, Miss C. A. HOWARD. 
JENNY MARSH PARKER. 
For Tbrms and other particular*, see Inst page. 
METEOROLOGY 
FOR THE LAKES AND THE LAKE REGION. 
A, Cervical Vertebra:. 
B B, Dorsal Vertebra:. 
0, Lumbar Nertebra:. 
I), Sacrum. 
E E, Concygeal Bones. 
F F, Ribs. 
G, Costal Cartilages. 
II, Scapula. 
I, Humerus. 
K K, Radius. 
L, Ulma. 
M. Carpus or Knee. 
1, Scaphoid. 
2, Semilunar. 
3, Cuneiform. 
4, Trapezium. 
5, Trapezoid. 
6 , Os Magnum. 
7, Unciform. 
8 , Pisiform. 
N N, Large Metacarpal or 
Cannon. 
O, Small Metacarpal. 
P P, Sesamoid Bones. 
Q Q, Phaln nges. 
1, Os SulTraginis or Past¬ 
ern Bone. 
2, Os Corona:. 
3, Os Pedis. 
R, Pelvis. 
1, Ileum. 
2 , Pubis. 
3, Ischium. 
S, Femur. 
T, Patella. 
U, Tibia. 
V, Fibula. 
[Hock of the Ox and 
Sheep. Rudimentum Fi¬ 
bula:.] 
W, Hock. 
1, Os Calcis. 
2, Astragalus. 
3, Cuneiform Magnum. 
4, Cuneiform Medium, 
o, Cuneiform Parvum. 
6 , Cuboid. 
3, 6 , Cubo Cuneiform. 
X, largo Metatarsal. 
1, 2, 3, Phalanges. 
Y, Small Metatarsal. 
Z, Head. 
1, Inferior Maxilla. 
2, Superior Maxilla. 
3, Anterior Maxilla. 
4, Nasal Bone. 
6, Malar. 
6, Frontal. 
7, Parietal. 
8, Occipital. 
9, Lachrymal. 
10, Squamous ) 
11, Petrous ( Ten 
BY M. F. MAURY, U. S. X., LI- D. 
Obskuvatoky, Washington, ) 
4th February, 1858. 5 
Sir: — I have often urged the importance of 
extending to the land the system of Meteorological 
cooperation and research which has done so much 
for commerce and navigation at sea. The advan¬ 
tages of such extension would be many, and the 
benefits to the people immediate. In urging It I 
went so far as to venture the opinion, that, by a 
proper use of the magnetic telegraph as a meteoro¬ 
logical appliance, warning of the approaching 
storm might be given to the shipping in port and 
the laborer in the field, several hours in advance, 
and quite in time to save annually to the farmer, 
merchant and mariner, life and property not a little. 
I am happy to inform you that such extension of 
the system has been made in Holland, and the re¬ 
salts already obtained promise to justify the opinion 
I have expressed. The Dutch Government, through 
the Meteorological Institute of Utrecht, has ever 
since 1853 been in active and zealous cooperation 
with this Office in its investigations concerning the 
winds and currents of the sea. This noble Institute 
has extended its investigations landward also; and 
I have just received from M. Buoys Ballot, its 
Superintendent, a communication announcing as a 
discovery a relation between differences of baro¬ 
metric pressure and of force of the wind, which, 
should further observations confirm, will prove of 
the highest practical importance to the industrial 
pursuits of every country, — by land as well as by 
sea. I beg leave to call the attention of the De¬ 
partment, and through the Department the atten¬ 
tion of mariners and meteorologists, to this dis¬ 
covery as announced by Professor Ballot, to the 
end that it may be put to test on this side of the 
Atlantic. 
By extending the Dutch meteorological investi¬ 
gations from the sea to the land, and inaugurating 
thereupon a series of simultaneous observations, “I 
lia\e, says M. Ballot, “been led to the discovery 
Bulky food is necessary to the health of rumina¬ 
ting animals. All the nutritive matter required 
may be given in a concentrated form, as in corn 
meal, and the result will be far from satisfactory.— 
The same quantity given, in part, in a bulky form, 
as in hay, roots, straw, corn-stalks, Ac., would pro¬ 
duce much better results. 
With these facts before us, w'e are prepared to 
consider the comparative value of different articles 
of food, as shown by the most careful analysis and 
thorough practical experiments. This we shall 
endeavor to do in our next number. 
the ox are straighter than those of the horse, much 
less speed being demanded. The ribs of the former 
are both longer and larger than those of the latter, 
greater protection with sluggardness of movement 
being required. 
In the head of the ox we find the two plates or 
tables noticed in the horse; in the latter, however, 
they lie close together, while in the former, as in 
all horned animals, there is considerable space be¬ 
tween them. This diversity creates a number of 
cells, having bony ridges passing from the inner to 
the outer plate, which secures the firmness of the 
parts. These cells form roomy and strong sockets 
for the horns. The cavity containing the brain of 
the ox is about one-fourth the size of the other 
parts of the skull; the organs of mastication and 
those of smell taking up the remaining portions. 
The difference in the appearance of the head of 
the ox and the horse is caused, principally, by the 
varied extent and form of the frontal and parietal 
hones. In the horse, the frontal bones extend but 
little more than half way from the orbit of the eye 
to the top of the head, and, above them, the parie- 
tals, thickly covered by the temporal muscles, form 
the arch-shaped roof of the skull, while in cattle 
the frontal bones extend from the nose to the su¬ 
perior ridge of the skull, presenting a flat, irregu¬ 
lar surface, totally bare of any muscular or fleshy 
covering. The weapon of defense and offense em¬ 
ployed by cattle is the horn, and nature has secure¬ 
ly based it and rendered it effective by this expanse 
of the frontal bone. 
In an English work on “Cattle, their Breeds, 
Management, and Diseases,” this peculiarity, as re¬ 
markably exemplified in the head of the hull, is 
spoken of as follows:—“A deficiency here argues 
deficiency of constitutional power, and materially 
diminishes his value as a stock-getter; we do not 
know of an exception to this rule, and, on the 
other hand, we have rarely seen a cow with a large 
head and broad forehead that had not, in other re¬ 
spects, lost the most valuable points of the femi¬ 
nine character—she was neither a good milker, nor 
a good mother, nor did she often fatten kindly; 
there was a coarseness in her whole form, and her 
very flesh was coarse when she came to be slaugh¬ 
tered. As regards the smallness of the head in 
the horse or mare, however it may he considered a 
point of beauty, is very questionable in its hearing 
on the temper and actual value of the animal; but 
we believe there is no point more generally assented 
to by breeders than this,—that a fine, small head, 
tapering towards the muzzle, usually indicates a 
good milker, a good feeder, and a good temper 
too.” 
This expanse of bone if it were solid would he 
an enormous burden for the animal to convey, and 
its great weight would soon fatigue and wear it out 
To obviate this there are the sinuses or cells, as 
described in the head of the horse, (see Rural Jan. 
30,) but these extend through the whole of the 
bone, and even through the parietal and occipital 
bones. There is the same division in the centre of 
the frontal sinuses as in the horse, hut the perfec¬ 
tion of division between the nostrils is wanting. 
Commencing about half way up the nose, the sep- 
pressure is 
far more valuable than the knowledge of the abso¬ 
lute height of the barometer at the place of obser¬ 
vation. 
“I have found that strong winds frequently ac¬ 
company and follow a high barometer, and that 
often a low barometer is not followed by a strong 
wind; and moreover, that small differences are 
never followed by a strong wind. “ I do consider,” 
says he, “this relation not only as of practical 
value, hut also of theoretical consequence; for it is 
an instance of the utility of simultaneous observa¬ 
tions in all parts of the globe, — especially since 
Lieutenant Maury has taught us so much concern¬ 
ing the climatology of the seas, and the Army Me¬ 
teorological Register and M. Blodget, so much on 
the climatology of the land,—in order that we may 
compute everywhere the difference of simultaneous 
barometric pressure.” 
The five stations in Holland embrace but a small 
area, and yet an expansion of this beautiful system 
of research is so fruitful of results that the gentle¬ 
man in charge proclaims that good has already 
come of the experiment even on so small a scale. 
We know that storms, atmospherical disturbances 
and barometric waves do traverse not only this 
broad land, but the broad Atlantic also. We know 
that the ingenuity and appliances of the age for 
scientific research are great; we know that for no 
subject of philosophical inquiry has there ever been 
enlisted such a corps of observers, such fleets of 
ships and such national cooperation as we now find 
engaged upon the meteorology of the sea; and that 
never has such a system of physical research been 
conducted at so little cost Though thousands of 
ships are engaged night and day in all parts of the 
navigable ocean in making these observations, yet 
the national treasury has never been called on for 
one cent to pay for the making of them. 
With a proper system of daily weather reports 
through the telegraph, the people and the shipping 
of this country might have timely warning of every 
storm that visits our shores. 
The loss of life and property on the lakes is stated 
by a correspondent of the Ogdensburgh Jirumal to 
be for the last four years: 
1854, life, 119 souls. Property $2,187,825 
1855 “ 119 « « 2,796,838 
1856 “ 407 “ “ a (138 MX 
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.—THE HEAD. 
In our former article we considered the structure 
of the head as exhibited by the horse and the 
sheep. At present we will refer more particularly 
to the formation of this portion of the body as in¬ 
dicated in the anatomy of the ox. We also give 
the second of our series of “skeletons of domestic 
animals,” and it would he well for those who desire 
to gain information concerning the “ frame-work” 
of these emanations of an All-wise hand, to com¬ 
pare the skeleton of the ox with that of the horse, 
(published in Rural of Jan. 1G,) and ascertain the 
principal points of difference in their construction. 
Each illustration is taken from actual skeletons, 
and both are drawn to the same scale. 
SKULL OF THE OX—VERTICAL SECTION. 
a. The nasal bone. b. The anterior maxillary or jaw 
bone, having no teeth an in the horse, e. The frontal 
bone, of far greater extent than in the horse, and having 
two plates, between which is the frontal sinus, extending 
to the extremity of the horn. d. The parietal bone, hav¬ 
ing, like the former, two plates and a cavity between 
them, by which the brain is secured from injury. «. One 
of the horns formed of bone, being, in fact, a process of 
the frontal bone, exhibiting the same cellular structure.— 
/. The cranial cavity, g. The Bphenoid hone, which sup¬ 
ports the brain. A. The occipital bone. f. The ethmoid 
bone, through the olfactory nerve passes, j. The supe¬ 
rior maxillary or jaw bone, furnishing the sockets of k. 
The molar teeth. 1. The maxillary sinus, n n. The tur¬ 
binated bones, rolled up, as it were, like a turban, and 
covered by the membrane ou which the olfactory nerve is 
spread out. 
In comparing the skeleton of the ox with that of 
the horse, we can readily perceive the difference in 
the length of limb and neck possessed by the lat¬ 
ter. Speed seems to have been an object at the 
creation, and as the body was elevated the neck 
needed proportionate length in order to feed. The 
body of the horse corresponds to a square, while 
that of the ox to a long rectangle. The limbs of 
and precaution been used. 
Now suppose Ballot’s discovery to be verified 
by observation in this country, what a boon to lake 
navigation! By extending this system of meteoro¬ 
logical cooperation and research to the lakes and 
the lake country, vessels might not only he warned 
not to quit port, but many already out upon the 
lakes might be told by signals from the shore, of 
the approaching storm in time to reach shelter 
from its fury. 
I shall in a few days have the pleasure of submit¬ 
ting a statement showing (he progress that has been 
