MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
AUGUST 7. 
it a wind, but rather a tide of the atmosphere, all of 
which seems moving towards the south east. — 
Many of our days are very warm, and the heat seems 
to us more oppressive than in New England, but 
while this is the case by day, we should give a 
wrong impression if any should suppose there is 
no relief. By night the air is always cool. We 
need nearly as much bed-clothing in summer as in 
winter; and the reason of this is no doubt because 
of our proximity to the broad Western OceaD. 
The cool air pours over the coast range of moun¬ 
tains which runs parallel with the coast, rising tier 
upon tier as you recede from the ocean, until, at its 
summit, they are from one to five thousand feet 
high. This chain of mountains runs from Wash¬ 
ington Territory south through the whole length of 
Oregon, Upper and Lower California, or about 
twelve hundred miles. Over this raDge of moun¬ 
tains, and through its interstices into the great 
valley of the Williamette, the air, cooled by the wa¬ 
ters of the ocean as they come down from Behring’s 
Straits, pours, day by day, to fill the space left va¬ 
cant by the rising and rarified air, as it passes off 
from the great heating valley which lies between 
this and the Cascade range of mountains. This 
valley is not much less in area than the State of 
A assachusetts; and upon it the sun pours its rays 
almost incessantly by day, from Jane to Septem¬ 
ber, and the constantly rising tide of heated air 
forbids only a small portion of this cool air from 
reaching the valley, but by night it at once spreads 
its cooling influence over the whole valley, bathiDg 
its inhabitants in a most refreshing atmosphere 
during the hours of sleep. This cool night air, 
checking partially, each day, the ripening of the 
grains of the valley, give them a plumpness and 
weight rarely found anywhere else. Wheat is very 
heavy, and forty-two, and even forty-five pounds is 
not an unfrequent weight for a bushel of oats. By 
looking at the isothermal lines, as determined by 
the Smithsonian Institute, it will be seen that the 
average summer heat at the Williamette valley is 
the same as the city of New York, while our 
average winter heat is the same as that of North 
Carolina, and the average of the year is that of Nor¬ 
folk, Virginia. * 
Salem, Oregon Ter., June 22, 1858. 
EAST AND WEST. 
Men who leave the East and settle at the West, 
and at once begin to decry their native hills, merit 
decided scorn. A very few of this sort of people 
we meet with, who are so enraptured with western 
life, that it seems impossible for them to speak 
otherwise than contemptuously of the locality that 
gave them birth. Young sprigs come back after a 
brief absence, with their eyes distended and their 
heads considerably back of the perpendicular—the 
burden of their speech all the while being the 
West, the West! Occasionally one is so enthu¬ 
siastic as to say that he would not take the best 
farm in this or that town as a gift, with the condi¬ 
tion that he should occupy and cultivate it But, 
somehow, through the very thin gauze which 
covers their bragging, you can always detect 
something which makes you mindful not to tender 
them a farm on those terms, even among the hills 
of Southern New York, lest perchance they might 
accept it! 
The West has advantages over the East, and the 
East has abundant counterbalancing advantages 
over the West. True, their inexhaustible prairie 
soil has not its counterpart with us to any general 
extent; but do these silly boasters suppose we 
don’t know it? And, on the other hand, do they 
think we over estimate the value of our timber, 
our crystal brooks, our deep, cold wells, and our 
better markets? For me, no farm in the whole 
broad west, with stagnant, turbid, brackish water, 
has, or can have, compensating advantages for the 
single lack of such a well as that the rattling of 
the pump in which attracts my ear as I write — a 
perennial fount which, under the scorching sun 
of summer’s noon, yields up that best of Nature’s 
beverages — clear, cool and sparkling — at the 
temperature of 45° Farenheit. 
“ Water, pure water, bright water for me." 
And- anything that is wet and juicy for these 
boasting prairie men. So do tastes differ. 
Some of the class described have occasionally 
spoken through the columns of the Rural, and 
thus made more public their forgetfulness or con¬ 
tempt of the land that bore them. 
“ How sharper than a serpent’s tooth 
Is an unthankful child.” 
Of now and then one, it may not be inaptly said, 
"he left his country for his country’s good.” Of 
others, it was not here known for what particular 
purpose they were created, until they set up their 
new trade of boasting of Western enterprize, in 
which they have precious little share. And yet 
others were victims of visionary speculative 
schemes, when, after exhausting their own ambi¬ 
tion and damaging father’s purse beyond cure, 
they fled to new fields, where to display their 
peculiar talent for descanting upon the slow-coach 
ways and satisfied poverty of the mountain rangers 
of the East. While they are elated with their 
change of residence, it may be gratifying to them 
to know that the pleasure is mutual. We shall get 
on as we may. 
But these characters are a moiety of that great 
army who have from time to time turned their 
faces towards the setting sun. The mass of them 
perceive, and have the good sense to admit, that a 
beneficient Creator has been munificent in his 
bestowments, all along the track of emigration, 
from Plymouth Rock to the Pacific, and that all 
the good things are of course concentrated on no 
single spot between. And while they enjoy their 
more easily cultivated farms on the prairies_ 
gardens of the desert, boundless and beautiful, ac¬ 
cording to Bryant— they do not make asses of 
themselves by turning round and kicking the land 
of their birth, and the home of their boyhood, 
because of its hills and hard soil 
Prattsburgh, N. Y., July, 1858. yy. jj, p_ 
Ayrshirbs in Lower Canada —The Montreal 
Witness observes:—"A vessel now in the port 
of Montreal has brought six fine Ayrshire cows, 
selected in Scotland by a French Canadian farmer 
for and on account of French Canadian farmers in 
this vicinity. This is an instance of enlightened 
enterprise which demands special notioe and com¬ 
mendation.” 
HAND-HOEING WHEAT. 
Dear Rural:—Jethro Tull, who lived about 
a hundred and thirty years since, advocated the 
idea of hand-hoeiDg wheat. Last fall I planted 
some wheat which I hoed and kept only partially 
clean. I planted five rows, at distances apart, vary¬ 
ing from eighteen inches to three feet; thinned it 
out (a part of it) to six inches in the row. On 
gathering this fall I found the heads producing, 
at the least, seveDty-two grains to the head, and 
from that to one hundred, and on an average 
thirty-one and eight-thirteenths heads to each root 
At this rate (if I have not made a wrong calcula¬ 
tion) an acre of wheat planted at two feet apart in 
rows each way, aDd four grains to a hill will pro¬ 
duce near one hundred and sixteen bushels of 
wheat This (assuming that there are a little over 
eight hundred thousand grains to the bushel) is 
about correct It gives over two thousand bushels 
from one, taking but a trifle over five pounds of 
wheat to the acre. Now I wish some of the read¬ 
ers of the Rural to make the experiment this fall, 
and it must be soon planted, as if put in after the 
first of September it is most liable to rust Let 
them try an acre, or half acre, or even a few hills 
in the garden, and if it does not produce more 
than two thousand fold, then they may say Doctor 
Brackett is mistaken. 
Figures must tell the truth. I have assumed 
that thirty-nine grains of average wheat weigh 
one scruple, and this gives eight hundred ninety- 
eight thousand five hundred and sixty (898,5G0) 
grains to the bushel of sixty pounds. Four grains 
planted every two feet, and giving say thirty stalks 
(less than the average of mine) to the root and 
seventy two grains to the head, (the least that I 
counted) makes two thousand one hundred and 
sixty fold (2,160)— allowing 43,560 feet to the acre 
makes over one hundred bushels of wheat My 
wheat, as to the heads, appeared as thick as if sown 
broadcast, even vhere the rows were three feet apart. 
Planted in the way spoken of above, gives one 
grain of seed to each foot of surface, and over 
thirty stalks to each foot, and these stalks with 
heads from six to seven inches long. In factthere 
is the same difference that there is between sowing 
two bushels of com broadcast to the acre—from 
this you get from ten to twenty bushels of nubbins 
aud from the same two bushels of corn planted on 
sixteen (16) acres you get from eight to twelve 
hundred bushels. 
Now, about the time of sowing wheat (or plant¬ 
ing it) I think the sooner it is in after maturity 
the better. Some farmers say it will joint the same 
fall and kill by the cold—t tried it last year. I sowed 
wheat the fourth day of July, 1857. Now that 
wheat is the plumpest I ever saw and was not in¬ 
jured by frost, or by standing long after it became 
perfectly ripe and dry. Nearly all poor wheat is 
from late sowing, at least in Hoosierdom. This 
nearly, or quite all, millers and farmers will tell 
you. Hoping this may induce many of the farmers 
to try the experiment to prove or disprove my po 
sition, I close by subscribing myself your advocate 
of cultivating wheat. Charles Brackett. 
Rochester, Fulton Co., lad., 1858. 
THE HOG PESTILENCE. 
Messrs. Eds. : —Nearly fifty years ago a pestilence 
broke out among the swine of our neighborhood, 
which, in a few weeks, destroyed half, or more, of 
that kind of stock in this part ef the country.— 
Being entirely unknown hitherto, for awhile no 
remedy was discovered, and an attack was certain 
death to the animal. It pervaded every descrip¬ 
tion, from the fatting hog in the pen to the sucking 
pig, the only distinction being that those in good 
condition were the most liable. It was so conta¬ 
gious, that when it broke out in a pen, or even a 
herd, unless the well were speedily removed from 
the 6ick it would sweep the whole. The first 
symptoms were a severe attack of the scours, with 
an effluvia so excessively nauseous, that a pen was 
soon converted into a pest-house—loss of appetite 
—prostration of strength—a burning fever—the 
skin of the ears became white from loss of blood 
in the system—then the whole neck began to swell, 
until the underside became nearly even, from the 
breast to the jaws — the animal would stand with 
its mouth open, struggling for breath, wheezing 
like a person with the asthma, finally becoming so 
weak that it could only raise itself upon its fore¬ 
legs, sway ing from side to side, emitting alow sound 
between a squeal and a groan, when it would fall 
over and die with suffocation! 
Now, is not this disease, which, for want of some 
known name was called among us "the throat dis¬ 
temper,” identical in its symtoms and progress with 
the “ hog pestilence,” which has, for the past year 
or two, raged in the West, and as I perceive by the 
papers, now prevails in Western New York? Be¬ 
lieving that it is, I offer to the public, through that 
invaluable Agricultural Telegraph, The Rural, 
what I know from long experience to be a sure and 
certain remedy; and if I can thus save the value of 
one good porker to some worthy son of toil, I 
shall be amply repaid for my trouble, although the 
stiffening effect of time makes writing a severe 
labor. 
On the occasion above referred to, when every 
remedy that could be thought of had failed to pro¬ 
duce any beneficial effect, and the whole commu¬ 
nity had looked to nothing less than such a total 
extinction of their swine as the midge has since 
produced upon wheat, it was ascertained that the 
disease had first broken out in some of the North 
Easterly New England States, and by a progress of 
about forty miles annually, had thus reached us— 
and also, that where it first appeared, a remedy had 
been discovered which effectually arrested its 
ravages whenever applied. The recipe was, first 
secure the hog’s mouth open by a gag—then, un¬ 
der the tODgue, near the root, would be discovered 
a swollen vein filled with dark blood—with an awl, 
or any suitable sharp point, open this vein freely, 
when only a few drops of black blood would be 
discharged. Next, aud which is the main point, 
take any stout cloth—a piece of an old bag, for in¬ 
stance—cut it of a suitable breadth to fill the space 
between the hog’s breast, and his jaws—and long 
enough to wrap moderately tight around his neck, 
with a sufficient addition to lap over the top, in a 
way that it can be securely sewed od, so as not to 
get loose un il it wears off, or is no longer wanted. 
Then smear the inside of this cloth, most thor¬ 
oughly with pine tar, all over its length—apply it, 
tarred side to the neck, and stitch the flap. The 
woik is now done, and nothing but a little nursing 
with light feed, as soon as he will eat, and the ani¬ 
mal is saved, beyond a peradventure, so far as the 
disease is concerned. With this treatment, uni¬ 
versally successful, all panic among the owners 
soon subsided, and in a few weeks scarce an in¬ 
stance of its occurrence was heard of in our 
vicinity. 
In after life I have frequently had cases among 
my herds, but by taking them in time had little 
trouble. Thinking that the small quantity of 
blood, obtained from the tongue, could afford very 
little material relief, in my subsequent practice I 
have omitted it altogether; finding that in ordin¬ 
ary cases the tar plaster was entirely sufficient— 
But if the case was very severe when I first dis¬ 
covered it, I have generally considered it advisable 
to bleed the animal, by cutting off his ears and tail, 
or tail only; as the excessive fever has dried up 
his blood so that the ears will yield but a few drops 
of a pale, watery fluid. Still, from the location, 
and as an alterative, the operation may relieve his 
throat, in some degree, and it is well to try it— 
This disease has long since ceased to be formidable 
in this region, but it has never entirely left us 
since its first introduction, before mentioned, and 
almost every season it appears to some extent, but 
always yields promptly to the old treatment. 
Thup, Brother Farmers, I offer you a remedy for 
this scourge—a sure, a certain remedy—I charge 
you nothing for it. Will you try it, or will you 
refuse, because it is so simple—so easy? Is it more 
simple than that prescribed for Naaman, to which 
he objected on that account, and had thus nearly 
lost the benefit? I feel fully justified in being so 
positive; for in the course of a long life, I have 
known .more than 100 cases of this disease, and 
never knew one to recover without the tar remedy 
—and never one to die, where it was applied. 
Saratoga County, N. Y., July, 1858. A. S. 
ARTESIAN WELLS, AGAIN, 
Eds. Rural: —Reading the remarks on Artesian 
Wells, in a late Rural, I send the inclosed, setting 
forth my views. At what elevation, height, or 
level is the water of the earth at rest, in obedience 
to the law that tends it downward? The earth is 
full and matter rests its weight in the scale, or 
tends its weight to the centre. Water is a fluid 
and seeks a level according to its weight Was 
matter classed according to weight, the land would 
be nearest the center and the water would cover 
the surface, but the land is broken up. 
Has the water gone down to lose its level, or 
has the water a level according to weight ? Its 
level is not the plane of a true globe, but varies 
with the land. Water seeks an elevated level in 
and around the land. A plumb suspended by an 
elevation of land is drawn from its downward di¬ 
rection towards the land. The land has the same 
influence on the water it has on the plumb. The 
atmosphere resting on the earth supports a column 
of water 32 or 33 feet in the suction pump. The 
land resting above the water has a like bearing and 
the water rises to an equilibrium in the land as in 
the pump. 
It is the land resting above the water that causes 
the water to rise in the Artesian Well, and to have 
the water rise to the surface in these wells the 
well has to be sunk until the difference between 
the weight of land and the weight of water will fill 
the broken surface of the land to the plane of a 
true globe. All matter resting above a plane, or 
line drawn at the bottom of the well, at right angles 
with the perpendicular shaft to the surface of the 
earth, has a bearing inverse its distance from the 
well. Wm. M. Mason. 
Polo, 111., July, 1868. 
Our article on Artesian Wells, in the Rural of 
July 24th ult., contained a query—relative to the 
place of purchase of the instruments used in their 
construction—which we could not at that time an¬ 
swer. A correspondent, W. H. P., Batavia, N. Y., 
clips an advertisement from a Toledo (Ohio) paper, 
in which the Street Commissioner, E. McLeary, of¬ 
fers for sale the engine and apparatus lately used 
by that city. The gentleman who desired the in¬ 
formation can obtain it by addressing a letter as 
above.— Eds. 
LEACHING OF SANDY SOILS. 
Eds. Rural:— In your issue of July 10th, I read 
an inquiry of Levi Treadwell on the leaching of 
sandy soils, and also your remarks, from which I 
gained some information which no doubt is cor¬ 
rect I am induced by your closing remarks to 
give my opinion, founded on an experience of 
some twenty years on a sandy farm. Like T., we 
have been frequently told that our soil would leach 
and that manure would be of little use, and cer¬ 
tainly of no lasting benefit I have now a field to 
corn, one part of which, (3 acres,) six years this 
coming fall, was manured with barn-yard manure, 
at the rate of about sixteen loads to the acre, and 
harrowed in when sowed to wheat The season 
following was dry, and no perceptible difference 
could be seen on account of the manure. The 
next season after wheat was harvested, it was plant¬ 
ed to corn, and the manure paid a good dividend. 
Next season it was planted with potatoes, which 
also gave good evidence of the manure. The next 
season it was summer fallowed, sowed to wheat and 
stocked down to clover, which grew luxuriantly 
and yielded as much hay as could well be cured on 
the land; and now, the appearance of the corn in¬ 
dicates the good effects of the manuring. From 
present appearances I should judge that the manur¬ 
ed part of the field will yield one-third more than 
the part which received no manure, other things 
being equaL 
I am not a scientific farmer, but, when such 
plain facts as the above are before me, I cannot en¬ 
tertain for a moment the idea that manures on light, 
sandy soils are leached away by every rain that wets 
mother earth. This is not an isolated case. My 
whole farm is sandy, and wherever I have applied 
barnyard manure, in every instance have seen 
beneficial results, and evidence of its lasting effects 
in sandy Boils. I have yet to learn that any ever 
applied has leached down beyond the reach of the 
roots of plants for the benefit of which it was ap¬ 
plied. At any rate, with confidence I would say to 
Mr. T., and others seeking after light, that if they 
are possessed of sandy land and a manure heap, 
unite them, and they will receive the reward of 
taeir labor In abundant crop. Hiram Brown. 
North Plains, Mich., July, 1858. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE. 
The Hooks or Haw. —I send you a simple rem¬ 
edy that I have frequently seen used with success 
in cases like that described by Mr. Bell. Take 
honey and lard, equal parts, mix and rub in the eye. 
I have known it to remove films of months stand¬ 
ing. It is accessible and safe, at least.—I. J. T., 
Adrian, Mich., July 26th, 1858. 
Timber Drains. —Some one inquires in a late 
Rural about timber drains. I make mine thus:— 
Dig the ditch two feet wide and not less than three 
(3) feet deep, (the deeper the better,) in the bottom 
lay good oak rails at each side, cover these with 
pieces rived, or split of good sound oak or other 
durable timber, cover with brush, straw, or sods 
inverted or all in the order named, and lastly with 
the fine dirt, and you will have a ditch that will 
not disappoint you, and last I can’t tell how long. 
—C. Brackett, Rochester, Fulton Co., Inch, 1858. 
Was it Milk Fever? —Tn a late Rural, one of 
your readers states he lost his cow with a disease 
which he thought to be Milk Fever. From his de¬ 
scription, I think the disease was inflammation of 
the uterus. It is of frequent occurrence when the 
cows are in high flesh and the weather hot, after 
they arc in years. I never knew a heifer to be at¬ 
tacked with this disease with the first calf. An 
excellent remedy, if given in time, is one table¬ 
spoonful of spirits of turpentine with the yolks of 
two eggs, and some water, beat together. Give 
this every two hours, and pour cold water on her 
back and loins frequently. Keep her in the shade, 
I have cured several in this manner. 
I have seen several remedies in the Rural for 
hoven in cattle. Mine is tar (pine tar) dropped on 
cornmeal, rolled into a ball the size of a butternut, 
and put down the throat of the animal. This is the 
quickest remedy I ever tried. Put it back on the 
tongue, and the animal will swallow it—A Sub¬ 
scriber, Ohio, 1858. 
Railroad Horse powers. — I observe in the 
Rural some inquiries, by Asa Williams, of Bloody 
Rud, Pa., in relation to railroad horse-powers, and 
horses, and as “you request the farmers who have 
tried them, to speak to the question,” I offer a little 
of my own experience in the matter. I have fol¬ 
lowed the business of threshing grain (in its sea¬ 
son) for twelve years in succession, and much of 
the time have run two machines. I have used both 
the sweep and tread powers, and have had much 
the best success with the latter. Almost any kind 
of horses that work on a farm will do well on the 
treid after a few hours’ careful practice. If they 
are afraid to go on and off, blindfold; if they 
crowd, shift them. If they are well cared for, they 
will not be stiffened any more than at other hard 
labor. I know of one horse used thirteen seasons 
on an iron tread, and his limbs are yet good. 
Horses of mature age and good constitution, that 
will weigh from eleven to twelve hundred pounds 
each, have performed the best for me.—B. F. Lang¬ 
worthy, Alfred Centre, N. Y., June, 1858. 
INQUIRIES AND ANSWERS. 
Velvet Bearded Wheat. —I would be glad to 
inquire through your columns who has raised, 
this year, the Velvet Bearded Wheat. Also, an ac¬ 
count of the crop as to rust and midge, &c.— Ethan 
B. Kellogg, Clyde, N. Y., July 30, 1858. 
Cure for Warts. —Having for some time been 
troubled with warts, I come to you as a last resort, 
hoping that you, or some of your subscribers, will 
inform me, through the columns of your excellent 
paper, of some quick and sure remedy.—P. Q. R, 
North Hempstead, 1858. 
Remarks. —A paste made of the ashes of Willow 
bark and vinegar, and put on the warts once or 
twice a day for a week or so, will cure them. A 
very little nitric acid put on a wart once or twice 
a day, for a few days, is a sure cure in every case, 
without soreness or pain, unless the acid is used 
too freely. Whittle out a stick about as large as a 
knitting needle, with a fine point, dip this into the 
acid, and just touch the top of the wart with it. It 
is better to get on too little than too much. The 
cure is certain, but the danger is in getting on so 
much as to cause soreness and pain. 
Bloody Milk —A Remedy. —I would like to in¬ 
quire through the Rural a way to prevent a cow 
from giving bloody milk. I have a fine young 
cow that is troubled in this way. She came in the 
first of June and has given bloody milk more or 
less ever since. If you or some of your readers 
will inform me of a remedy I will be very much 
obliged.—C. M. Ward, Le Roy, July, 1858. 
As there are many inquiries in the Rural for a 
cure for the garget, and many prescriptions have 
been given; and as I have tried many of them and 
find that they do not effect a cure, I will give you 
a short sketch of my experience with the garget 
I probably have had a dozen or more cows affected 
with it, that I have had to dry up and turn to beef, 
because I could not affect a cure. Four years 
ago I had an excellent cow that was troubled with 
it. I looked over my agricultural papers, which is 
no small pill, for I have taken them for 25 years, 
but I could not find anything that would cure her, 
but some things would relieve for a short time. I 
happened to meet with an English herdsman that 
told me to give her saltpetre—a piece the size of a 
small hickorynffl, once a day for a week. I did so, 
and I kept her six months after, and she was not 
troubled with it afterwards. The man that owned 
her two years after said that she never was trou¬ 
bled with it while he owned her. I have had occa 
sion to try it since with perfect success. This 
knowledge may be a benefit to many of the readers 
of the Rural. H. Paign. 
Lockport, N. Y., July, 1858. 
Corn Soiling. —The editor of the Springfield 
(Mass.) Republican has been experimenting with 
Southern corn for soiling purposes. He says:— 
“ About the middle of May last we planted the seed 
in rich heavy loam. By the middle of July, it had 
grown nearly five feet in height. We cut some of it 
close to the ground and some of it twelve to 
eighteen inches high, in order to test its ability to 
produce a second crop from one sowing. We find 
that that cut close to the ground does not start, 
while that cut higher grows at the rate of about 
three inches a day. The younger the corn the 
lower it will do to cut it We anticipate cutting 
repeated crops, of course each time higher up, 
until frost comes.” 
Announcements of Ag. Societies. —We have 
recently received pamphlets containing Premium 
Lists, &c., of various State and District Ag. So¬ 
cieties, as follows:—Premiums and Regulations for 
the Ninth Annual Fair of the Ohio State Board of 
Agriculture, to be held at Sandusky, Sept. 14th to 
17th, inclusive.-Premiums, &c., for the Fourth 
Annual Exhibition of the New Jersey State Ag. 
Society, to be held at Trenton, Sept 14th to 17tb. 
Also the Annual Report of the Society for 1857.- 
Schedule of Premiums, Regulations, &c., of the 
Maine 8tate Ag. Society, at its Fourth Annual Ex¬ 
hibition, to be held at Augusta, Sept 21st to 24th. 
-Premiums for the Third Annual Fair of the 
St Louis Ag. and Mech. Association, to commence 
Monday, Sept 6, and continue six days. The Asso¬ 
ciation offers $16,000 in premiums, and individuals 
over $4,000.-Regulations, List of Premiums, 
Committees, &c., of First Annual Fair of the Vir¬ 
ginia North-Western Ag’l Society, to be held on 
Wheeling Island, Va., Sept 14th to 17th, inclusive. 
— We are also in receipt of the announcements 
of numerous County and Town Societies in this 
and other States, which (with other information,) 
will enable us to give, in a week or two, a very 
complete list of Fairs to be held during the ensuing 
three months. 
Another Steam Plow. — Notwithstanding the 
frequent failures of attempts to plow by steam, 
many inventors are still experimenting, and we 
think the object will ere long be accomplished. A 
trial was made near Troy, in this S ate, on the 
19th ult., with a new machine invented by Mr. 
Chas. F. Mann, of that city. A Troy paper says, in 
noticing the trial—which was witnessed by hun¬ 
dreds of spectators, including Committees of the 
State and Rensselaer County Ag. Societies — that 
the practicability of propelling the plow by steam 
is no longer an open question—that the experi¬ 
ment was successful, and has put the matter beyond 
a doubt It is said that the machine “accomplish¬ 
ed all that the inventor appeared to aim at; that 
was that he could plow with steam power. His 
machine, in its present shape, is an odd looking 
beast, clumsy in shape, awkward in gait, and rolling 
along with an irregular, furious rattle bang-gorum 
movement that excited many a loud horse-laugh 
among the lookers-on. It is merely a locomotive 
with grappling-hooks in the rear, to which may be 
attached a.plow or several plows to the number of 
six or eight, a roller, a planting machine or what¬ 
ever else requires the power of locomotion. But 
it may and will be improved.” 
The Wheat Crop of the West. —Most of the 
letters we have received from the West during the 
past week — especially those from Michigan, Illi¬ 
nois and Iowa—speak unfavorably of the wheat 
crop, and we are inclined to believe that the in¬ 
jury caused by rust will prove extensive. V. R. 
Rowe, Esq., foimerly of this city, sends us samples 
of very poor, shrunken wheat, and writes (under 
date of Davenport, Iowa, July 26,) as follows:— 
“ In the last number of the Rural you express 
doubts as to the condition of the Wheat Crop of 
the West. Herewith I send you samples of wheat 
taken from eighteen different fields indiscrimi¬ 
nately, within ten miles of this city. This is no 
doubt a fair average of the quality in this State, 
and probably of all the prairie country of the North¬ 
west, so far as I have been able to ascertain. The 
yield will not exceed eight bushels to the acre, and 
much of the crop will not be harvested. The oats 
in this State are badly damaged with rust. In a 
journey of fifty miles into the country, last week, I 
did not see a field that was not badly injured.-— 
Probably there will not be more than half a crop. 
Corn, though late, generally looks well, and with a 
favorable fall, there will be an abundant crop.” 
The Art of Horse-Taming. — Some two months 
ago, in a notice declining to insert the advertise¬ 
ments of those who desired to impart “the whole 
secret of Horse-Taming ” on the receipt of $2 or 
$5, we intimated, for the information of all inter¬ 
ested, that the Art of Taming Horses would ere 
long be fully discussed and explained in the Rural, 
and added—“Hence, our readers will be likely to 
learn the modus operandi of Mr. Rarey and other 
tamers, without the necessity of making a special 
investment for that purpose.” This promise has 
not been forgotten, though its fulfillment has been 
delayed longer than we anticipated, and we shall 
soon give a lucid and reliable expose of the Art as 
practiced by Mr. Rarey and other proficients in 
Horse-Taming. 
Changing Pastures. — A milk dairyman near 
Boston has his pasturing in four lots, and enumer¬ 
ates the following among other advantages in the 
division:—More stock can be kept by one-eighlh 
on a given number of acres, by keeping on each 
one week at a time; when the fourth is turned in 
the grass is fresh and large, (and so of each field 
through the season); the cattle are quiet and 
peaceable, much more than when kept uniformly 
in one lot. His experience made him a believer 
in the old saying—“ A change of pasture makes 
fat calves.” 
The Crops in New England. —The crops in 
New England never promised better at this sea¬ 
son. Indian corn is in fine condition, of a deep 
dark green and luxuriant, and quite as forward as 
usual. Potatoes are thrifty, and an abundant sup¬ 
ply of fine quality is now daily coming into mar¬ 
ket If the rot keep off, the yield of this esculent 
will be very large. The crop of grass is abundant, 
and is likely to be secured in good condition. 
Sale of Short-Horns. —It will be observed by 
an announcement in our advertising department, 
that Mr. S. P. Chapman offers his fine herd of 
Short-horns for sale. This is a rare opportunity 
for breeders and others to secure superior animals, 
as Mr. C.’s herd has long been known as one of the 
best in the Union. 
The Black Tongue. —The Darlington (S. C.) 
Flag says that the “black tongue,” which has 
made such havoc amoDg the cattle in our Southern 
and Western States, has made its appearance in that 
section, and the disease is spreading rapidly in 
every section of the South. 
