TWO DOX/LAllS A YEAR.] 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
VOL. IX. NO. m 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1858. 
{WHOLE NO. T50. 
IIOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE COKP3 £>F ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
The Ritrai, New-Yorker i3 designed to ba unsurpassed in 
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, 
thaa any other journal,—rendering it the most complete Agricultu¬ 
ral, Literary and Family Journal in America. 
§|jw- 
NEW 
YORK STATE 
■ J 
FAIR. 
THE ADDRESS. 
We have already devoted so much space to 
matters of interest connected with the Fair of this 
State, that we are compelled to make our synopsis 
of the address much more brief than we had at 
first designed. The subject was the Necessity of 
furnishing Farmers’ Sons the means of acquiring 
a good Agricultural Education, and was delivered 
by Hon. Joseph R. Williams, President of the 
Michigan State Agricultural College. Mr. W.spoke 
of the progress of Agriculture the last fifty years> 
the benefits derived from the dissemination of 
periodicals, the establishment of fairs, the general 
discussion of agricultural questions, the use of 
improved implements, &c., and when contrasting 
the past with the present said, now “offensive ex- j 
hibitions of poverty are witnessed only at long in¬ 
tervals, and, in fact, rarely seen at all.” We regret 
that we cannot assent to the truth of this statement. 
He then quoted from the census of 1850, showing 
the average production of crops in the State of 
New York, and remarked that this product could 
he doubled by proper culture. The loss on the 
deficient crop of wheat alone to this State annually 
was fifty millions of dollars. To aid in the work 
of raising maximum crops he recommended atten¬ 
tion to Botany, Geology, Entomology, and particu¬ 
larly chemistry. He did not attempt to show what 
great benefits had accrued to agriculture from 
chemistry, but after recounting what this science 
had done for the miner, in medicine, &c., said, 
“ Let us not discourage this science from delving 
into the earth, if such are the prolific results of her 
researches elsewhere.” 
The speaker then said that the young men of the 
country were unable to acquire knowledge of 
these sciences, as no schools were established ac¬ 
cessible to them. The census of 1850 showed that 
there were in the State of New York 250,000 young 
men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-twe. 
There were only 2,673 enrolled in all the colleges 
of the State. Allow nearly nine times this number 
to enjoy good advantages of education in ad¬ 
vanced schools and academies, making the whole 
number 25,000, and then allow for the class so 
irremediably stupid that they will not seek, and 
could not profit, perhaps, by education, and for 
those who possess such vitality and energy of 
mind a3 to overleap all barriers and drink in edu¬ 
cation as they live and move, 25,000 more, and we 
still have 200,000 of the young men of New York 
deprived of all education beyond that which the 
common school affords. The great desideratum, the 
great need, is a chance for the boy to aid himself— 
to study and work—to earn the means of educa¬ 
tion while being educated. The speaker most em¬ 
phatically used up the notion that labor and study 
are incompatible, by showing that the boy while 
acquiring the rudiments of an education at the 
common school was expected to work, and do the 
worst kind of drudgery; and that some of the 
greatest men in the world—those whose acquire¬ 
ments have shed a lustre not only upon their 
names but upon their country and their age—have 
gained their knowledge and their fame, while sup¬ 
porting themselves and families by the hardest 
kind of labor. That most of the Manual Labor 
Schools had failed, the speaker admitted. It was 
a new system, and in most new things, failure pre¬ 
cedes success. They had to contend with public 
prejudice, and this public prejudice has frowned 
down many a good thing. They had failed, too, 
because the labor required of the Btudents had no 
connection with their studies—their labor was 
mere drudgery—not labor and science united for 
one great object, as it is in Agricultural Schools. 
In some cases, too, labor was not general—only the 
poor students worked, and this formed classes and 
destroyed the institutions. 
The speaker gave an account of his own College 
and of the condition of the different States in this 
respect, also of the Agricultural Institutions of 
learning in Europe, and urged the claim of the 
agricultural interests to recognition and aid from 
government The good farmer exerted a good 
influence on all around him, and the ignorant an 
prejudiced participate in this benefit though they 
may not acknowledge it A friend called his at¬ 
tention to a Pennsylvania German who could 
hardly read and write, and had a great contempt 
for papers and books on farming, but was the best 
farmer in the neighborhood. The speaker told 
him he thought this basket would not hold water, 
and that this model farmer owed everything to the 
spirit of improvement abroad. His plow was a 
Troy plow instead of the old shaky implement, 
with wooden mould board sheathed with iron, with 
straight handles tipped with cow-horns, which he 
used when a boy. His implements were mostly 
light, graceful, elastic ones, of recent patterns.— 
His frust was budded and grafted from such as his 
neighbors had imported from the best nurseries.— 
Whatever superior cattle, or sheep, or swine he 
had, were obtained from neighbors at no extra 
cost. The nails he shingled his house with cost 
but one-third as much as those which his father 
used. When he got up in the morning, he lighted 
his fire in a second with a friction match instead 
tugging ten minutes with flint and steel and tinder 
box, and he complacently composed himself to 
sleep at night under sheeting that cost eight cents 
per yard, as good as that which cost fifty cents 
when he was a child. The story is told of 
Plato having described man to be a bird without 
feathers. Diogenes, the cynic, laid a plucked 
rooster before him and exclaimed, “Behold Plato’s 
man!” If our model farmer was deprived of all 
the benefits he had derived from that progress 
which he despised, if he was stripped of all bor¬ 
rowed plumes, he would be as innocent of feathers 
as Plato’s man. 
Inclosing, Mr. W. urged all farmers, as “like 
produces like,” to get the best cows, horses and 
sheep—to use the best implements—open their par¬ 
lors to themselves and their families—make home 
cheerful and instructive, so that their sons would 
not wander away in search of pleasure—to plant 
orchards and surround their homes with vines, and 
make the air fragrant with flowers. 
COMPLIMENTARY. 
At the close of the address, Mr. George Geddes, 
of Onondaga county, made a few remarks, claiming 
that the farmers of Onondaga had done something 
towards approaching the speaker’s standard of a 
good farmer. They had educated men engaged in 
tilling the soil, and ladies who were accomplished, 
and at home, either in the dairy or the parlor. He 
wished the speaker or other scientific men, would 
tell the farmers why it was that one plant in a cer¬ 
tain soil would produce poison, while another in a 
Bimilar soil, so far as the farmer could judge, 
would produce sugar. This was a rather hard 
question, a3 the wisest know but little of this mat¬ 
ter, and the foolish know just as much. He pro¬ 
posed a vote of thanks to the speaker, and that a 
copy of the address be requested for publication 
in the Transactions of the Society, which was 
unanimously adopted. Several votes of thanks 
were then proposed by different individuals, to the 
Jadges, Superintendents, the people of Syracuse 
and the Ladies, the Railroads, the Press, &c. 
A BANNER—MORE COMPLIMENTS. 
The managers of the National Horse Show, at 
Springfield, had offered a prize banner to the State 
Agricultural Society of that State whose citizens 
should enter for exhibition the largest number of 
valuable horses. It seems that the exhibitions 
made by New York and Vermont were so nearly 
equal, that it was decided to give a banner to each 
State. Solon Robinson was the hearer of the 
banner to our State, and everything being cocked 
for the occasion, made a presentation speech on 
Thursday afternoon, in which he announced him¬ 
self as “ the bearer of a trophy from a field of con¬ 
tention, where it was honorably won,” and so forth. 
He also read a letter from the President of the 
Association, having in charge the National Horse 
Show. Mr. McCoun, President of the State Ag, 
Society, responded, expressing his pleasure at be¬ 
ing the “receipient of the elegant banner won in the 
field, not of wars, but of civic honors.” 
The banner is made of blue silk, with a gold lace 
border, with fringe. On one side is Rose Bon- 
iiecr's picture of The Horse Fair, and “State 
Prize Banner,” in gilt letters; and on the reverse, 
“State Prize Banner.—Awarded to the N. Y. State 
Agricultural Society, at the Annual Exhibition of 
Imported, Blood and American Breed of Horses — 
Springfield, Mass., 1858.” 
After the address of the President, the Hon. T. 
C. Peters, of Darien, said he hoped the design on 
the banner would be engraved, and given in the 
next volume of Transactions, and also used here¬ 
after in the Diplomas of the Society which shall 
be awarded to horses. He offered a resolution to 
that effect, which was unanimously adopted. 
Hon. Harvey Baldwin, of Syracuse, moved that 
the thanks of the Agriculturists of the State be 
presented to Solon Robinson, for the manner in 
which he had discharged his duty. At this stage 
Mr. Robinson arose, and said he asked no thanks 
for the discharge of his duty, and made the strange 
announcement, that “it was a matter of history, 
and therefore no egotism on his part, to say that 
through his exertions was this beautiful banner 
awarded to the Agricultural Society of the State 
of New York.” Previous to this statement, we 
had supposed that the pi ze was fairly merited and 
honorably won by the bes-. exhibition of fine horses, 
and not secured through tin exertions of any indvidual. 
We have heard of some persons being “ half horse," 
and of others being a ‘-whole team," but Solon 
must have been a whole stud of horses, to have 
secured the prize for th«i best equine exhibition, 
to this State! 
EVENING DISCUSSIONS. 
A very laudable desire \ras evinced by the farm¬ 
ers in attendance at the S ate Fair to employ their 
evenings more profitably than in lounging about 
the streets and hotels, so it was announced that 
there would he meetings in the evenings to discuss 
agricultural subjects. T-ese meetings were not 
attended by the officers of the State Society, who 
were of course fully employed in their responsible 
duties, nor by any great men, but by a host of 
practical, hard-working tinners who did not at¬ 
tempt to make speeches, but told their experience in 
a common-sense way. The 
DETERIORATION OF fHE BARLEY CROP, 
and its failure in many puts of the country elicit¬ 
ed a very interesting discission as to the cause and 
remedy. Mr. Clark, oi Oswego, remarked that, 
formerly, when barley was largely grown in that 
county he regarded it as e.i exhausting crop, and 
thought that was the causf of the failure. 
George Geddes, of t’iuondaga, said that his 
county formerly produced more barley than the 
whole State of Massax} JS iettA He had found it a 
very sensitive crop, easiy affected by moisture and 
heat. It requires for swsiess a heavy soil, will not 
succeed well on light nd. The average emp now 
is about 20 bushels an acre; some raise 40, others 
but 15. Thought it would continue to decrease— 
the midge destroys it, and often when everything 
bids fair for a large crop about the time for the 
ears to form, dry weather will disappoint the ex¬ 
pectations of the firmer and dwindle his crop to a 
very small amount. About the exhausting nature 
of the crop he knew nothing, and therefore would 
say nothing. Left that to scientific men, and in¬ 
tended to keep up such a rotation as would con 
tinue the soil in good condition. 
Dr. Wells, of Seneca county, said many farmers 
in his /neighborhood had raised large crops of 
barley4-had heard of 70 bushels to the acre, on 
pretty good authority. The soil was mostly strong 
or cla 'ey. Some winter barley was raised in the 
count) and the largest crops were of this variety. 
Jo*ge Enos, of Mad; son county, said the farm¬ 
ers or his section of the State had done very 
poor}/ in raising barley the last three year3. He 
had iaised good barley for thirty years until the 
last iiree—now he could get but about 10 bushels 
to tbi acre. Raised the two-rowed of two varieties, 
one uf them being the Hess. The Hess had given 
himfcS bushels to the acre—now it is harder to 
raiab 10. Was in the dark as to the cause. Had 
fou^d no insect. The p ant seems weak and some- 
timls does not head on —in short, won't grow .— 
The soil is as good and cultivated iu the same way 
as formerly. Corn in the same ground will give 
as large a crop as evtr. Raised 75 bushels of 
shelled corn to the acre followed it with barley 
and only got 14. 
Mr. Brown, of Wayne, succeeded well with bar¬ 
ley after corn, if the soil was iu good condition, 
butinstanced a case in which he had signally failed 
in an attempt to laise barley after barley, although 
the soil was good, while the field adjoining, every 
way the same, except that it had borne corn the 
previous year, produced a good crop. 
Jcbge Enos replied that he had grown a second 
crop of barley of 60 bushels per acre, but he had 
well limed the laud before sowing. 
Squire M. Brown, of Elbiidge, had good suc¬ 
cess with barley until the two last years—now it 
fails—don’t know the (ause. Never sows barley 
two years in succession on the same land, but after 
well manured corn. Cnee could depend on 40 
bushels to the acre, niw could not get 20. Last 
year got in a piece of oarley in excellent order, 
and it looked well for a time, bnt one-half of it 
did not head out Could not tell the cause unless 
it was the heat. His barley this year weighed 46 
pounds to the bushel—-has had it 53 pounds.— 
Found great benefit firim the use of salt Used 
about a barrel to the i.ere. In one case tried an 
experiment with salt—gave five bushels an acre to 
eight acres, and left four acres cf the same field 
without salt. The result was 50 bushels an acre 
on the salted and 33 on the nnsalted piece. Mr. B. 
also recommended salt for manure heaps, to pre¬ 
vent burning. Some one objected to this in all 
cases as it might prevent decomposition, which it 
undoubtedly would. There was, however, a general 
feeling in favor of salr, which i3 not strange seeing 
we were assembled in the Saline City. 
W. A. Mills, of Livingston, said last year he had 
60 acres of barley which gave only 18 bushels per 
acre. Previously he' had grown 40. Attributed 
the failure last year, to the hot, wet summer—it 
rusted. Barley does best in a cold season, and last 
summer did tolerably well on tbe cold, dry hills.— 
Succeeded well with winter barley—35 bushels to 
the acre, of admirable quality—sowed two bushels 
to the acre the 15th of September. A neighbor 
sowed 10 days later, and lost his crop with rust 
and midge. 
C. Winegak, of Cayuga county, formerly bad 
good crops of barley, this year poor, but he at¬ 
tributed it to poor culture. Thought it best to 
grow some four-rowed variety, as it would sell 
higher. Geo. Clark, of Otsego, inquired how long 
it was customary to go between grass and grass.— 
Mr. W. replied his system was clover, corn, barley, 
seed again. Mr. Geddes said the usual rotation 
was sod, corn, barley, wheat, grass. 
Mr. Dunning, of Cayuga, preferred the two- 
rowed barley. Had tried the four-rowed and it 
fell behind ten bushels to the acre. His rotation 
was the same as that described by Mr. Geddes.— 
Depend upon barley as much as any crop. Last 
year only averaged 20 buBhels, this year 25, for¬ 
merly 40. This year found a maggot in the straw 
which he considered the cause of the failure. As 
the straw came through the machine found it full 
of maggots. Sow barley as early as possible in the 
spring—last of April or first of May. 
C. Winegar had injured his cattle by feeding 
them barley straw. Mr. Clark, of Otsego, had 
found barley straw good feed. He would recom¬ 
mend a change of rotation, to make barley follow 
wheat, with a summer-fallow to intervene. 
Mr. Danforth, of Cayuga, said he could not 
succeed in growing barley upon a clay soil—never 
got more than his seed. Mr. Geddes replied that 
in Onondaga they used the light land for oats and 
the most clayey for barley—still heavy and light 
land are relative terms, and what would be called 
light m ouo nouUor ref hotmtsy 
heavy in others. 
Mr. Bailey, of Kent Co., Michigan, had raised 
barley on new land for several years—three years 
ago got 30 bushels, last year 15, this jear eight.— 
The eight bushels this year grew on soil that gave 
last season 157 bushels of ears of King Philip corn. 
Had grown the two and /cmr-rowed side by side.— 
The two rowed was best. Charged the failure to 
unfavorable seasons. There appeared to be no 
substance in the straw. Did not despair. 
Col. Brewer, of Tompkins, lived on the hills of 
Enfield, in Tompkins county 1,016 feet above Cay¬ 
uga Lake. He had raised barley the last eight 
years and for seven years the crop had averaged 
more than 30 bushels. Sowed on clover sod. Barley 
was an excellent crop to seed down.with. Clover 
was his manure. Had made poor land “ too rich,” 
or given it too much vegetable matter by repeat¬ 
edly plowing in clover. Let clover lay only one 
year. His present farm when it came into his pos¬ 
session was so poor that it had been sold for $4 
per acre. Ashes had been useful on his land and 
plaster was almost indispensable. Had repeatedly 
tried salt and lime without the least benefit. He 
found it almost impossible to make clover seed 
take on clover sod, and thought there wa3 some¬ 
thing in the decaying leaves that injured the 
vegetation of the seed, just as the pine leaves when 
decaying in the soil injure vegetation, so much so 
that when cultivating new land he could tell where 
a pine tree had fallen and decayed as the form of 
the top could be traced in the growing crop. He 
was opposed to subsoiling and deep plowing, on 
his own farm, others could do as they found best 
Two-and-a-half or three inches was as deep as he 
found it beneficial to plow. Had tested this matter 
for fourteen j ear3—had experimented with 2J, 3 ; 
4, 5 and 6 inches deep, and found 2£ or 3 inches the 
best, 4 inches not as good, 5 inches still worse, and 
6 inches the worst of all. Some one asked Mr. B. 
if he ever raised 100 bushels of corn to the acre, 
with such plowing. He stated he had not. A voice 
replied “ no, nor never will.” Mr. B. said he did 
not expect such a crop on his land, and certainly 
should never get it with deep plowing. A good 
many seemed to think Mr. B. was pursuing and re¬ 
commending an improper system, but he Eeemed to 
have abright eye, and we have no doubt had learned 
in fourteen years’ experience what course of plow¬ 
ing was best suited to his mountain home. 
T. C. Peters stated that the best Isabella grapes 
ke had ever tasted were grown by the last speaker, 
and although he had no doubt that shallow plow 
ing was adapted to his soil, he wished Mr. B. would 
tell how he cultivated grapes, so that the audience 
might know that he did not believe in shallow cul¬ 
ture tor everything. Mr. B. replied that he dug a 
hole for each vine six feet deep, and the same 
width and length, and filled it with bones, manure, 
good soil, &c. 
Lewis Marshall, of Orleans, bad sewn winter 
barley in the spring, with good results. It was 
sown in March, and yielded over 60 bushels to the 
acre. When it does not winter-kill it yields well, 
if sown in the fall. Had been acquainted with 
winter barley more than eight years. When sown 
early in the spring it ripens as soon as though 
sown in the fall. Winter barley weighs about 50 
pounds to the bushel. 
Mr. Gowdy, of Lewis county, said barley suc¬ 
ceeded in that county. Usually sow barley after 
corn or oats. Get from 25 to 40 bushels. The last 
season the crop was poor. 
Dr. Yan Slyck, of Wayne, said since he first 
made his home in Wayne county, (12 years ago,) 
barley had been grown, and always with success, 
until last year, which was very wet. Barley re¬ 
quires as good soil as wheat. Many do not give it 
a chance, but make it a kind of “ catch crop,” and 
then wonder that they do not succeed. They turn 
over a sod, then corn follows, and wheat, and bar¬ 
ley last before seeding, when the soil is pretty 
badly exhausted. We find the better way to be to 
turn over clover, and sow barley first, and invaria¬ 
bly get from 20 to 40 bushels. Then follows wheat, 
&c. This year barley had been affected by the 
midge when sown late, or on a cold, damp Boil.— 
Winter barley is the most popular and yields from 
20 to 50 bushels of better quality than spring, and 
selling for 12 cents a bushel more. Clay soil is 
best, but any good wheat soil will grow barley.— 
Drill it in as it is less liable to kill out, in fact, drill 
in everything. 
VARIETIES OF INDIAN CORN. 
It is generally admitted that all our varieties of 
Indian Corn were derived from the same paren¬ 
tage, the Wild or Rocky Mountain Corn. There is 
now an almost incredible number of kinds in 
cultivation, of almost all shapes sizes and colors. 
Annexed we present sketches of twenty varieties, 
commencing with the original, and embracing 
some of the most highly prized sorts. 
1 and 2 Original Wild or Rocky Mountain Corn. 
3 . Rice Corn. 
4. Jersey White Flint. 
5. Tuscarora. 
G. Ohio White Flint. 
7. Kentucky White. 
8 . Virginia Golden. 
9. King Philip. 
10. Middle-sized eight-rowed Yellow. 
11. Samasoit. 
12. Improved Dutton. 
13. Ohio Dent. 
14. Small eight-rowed Yellow. 
15. Blood Red. 
16. New Mexican Black. 
17. Oregon Shoe-Peg. 
18. Canada Pop Corn. 
19. White Gourd-seed. 
20. Golden Sioux. 
The varieties of corn mix very readily, and it is 
rare to find farmers who keep any kind pure. In 
the interesting discussion at the New York State 
Fair, on the subject of corn culture, (which we 
shall give next week,) several times the speakers 
were asked what kind they cultivated, and the re¬ 
ply in almost every case was—“I have a mixed 
sort” Sometimes the farmer had given it a name, 
and the general opinion was, that these “mixed 
sorts" gave a better yield than any variety kept 
pure. We shall make some remarks on the subject 
when we give our report of the discussion. 
