joth®*, 
■v. 
ROCHESTER. N. Y-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1855. 
{WHOLE NO. 268 
thcr, that officers and managers are generally 
charged with more sins of omission and com¬ 
mission than the facts warrant — yet when 
abuses exist, they should be exposed, in order 
that proper correction may follow. That 
there is abundant room for, and imperative 
need of, adopting reformatory measures in its 
management', the waning popularity and sink¬ 
ing treasury of our Society painfully manifest. 
But we trust the days and years of its use¬ 
fulness are not numbered. An institution 
which has accomplished so much for the 
credit of the State and the benefit of its peo¬ 
ple, should not be allowed to diminish in influ¬ 
ence and usefulness, or be surpassed by similar 
organizations in other States. And we 
are glad to know that many prominent agri¬ 
culturists not only concur in this opinion, 
but are disposed to make proper efforts to ren¬ 
der the Agricultural Society of the Empire 
State again worthy its noble objects, and as 
useful and popular as it was in the days of its 
palmiest reputation. We presume the meet¬ 
ing now in session is more numerously attend¬ 
ed than any similar one for many years, and 
we trust that, for the honor of the Society and 
the State, its proceedings will be characterized 
by a spirit of conciliation, wisdom and reform 
which shall result auspiciously—tending to 
place the Society upon a basis promising con¬ 
tinued and increased prosperity and usefulness. 
•J. R. Page, of Sennett, Cayuga Co., says 
he last spring “ procured from Wisconsin one 
barrel of Spring wheat; this Was sown in the 
same enclosure with a piece of Winter wheat, 
—Soule’s variety. The Wisconsin was cut six 
days later than the Soule’s, the injury by midge 
hardly noticeable, while the winter wheat was 
nearly ruined. Spring wheat succeeds best in 
this neighborhood when sown about the 25th of 
May—after corn planting. Without doubt 
Western spring wheat can be procured of the 
Rochester millers. I know of none for sale.” 
J. L. McD., of Chemung, N. Y., procured 
some Spring wheat last season, from Wisconsin, 
and sowed the same, April 10th, on a rich 
warm soil. This grew well, but, like his win¬ 
ter wheat, suffered severely from the weevil, 
though some of his neighbors who sowed from 
the same lot of seed, and on soil of like charac¬ 
ter, were not troubled by its ravages. 
S. Pettit, of North East, Pa., says he 
raised a noble crop of Spring wheat last year 
entirely free from the weevil, weighing CO lbs. 
to the bushel, and making excellent flour.— 
Name of variety unknown. 
S. H. Ainsworth, of West Bloomfield, has 
raised a nameless variety of Spring wheat, not 
injured by the weevil, and nearly resembling 
Winter wheat. It yields in that neighborhood 
from 25 to 36 bushels per acre. 
These extracts show that the experience of 
farmers is very variable on the subject; and that 
generally Spring wheat proves a safe and 
profitable crop. 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY, & FAMILY JOURNAL, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
ASSOCIATE EDITORS : 
J. H. BIXBY, T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Special Contributors : 
T. E. Wktmorr, H. C. Wiiitb, II. T. Brooks, L. Wktukrki.i. 
Ladies’ I’ort-Folio by Amis. 
Tub Rural New-Yorker is dosignod to be unique and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed inValuo, Purity 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to mako it a Rollable Guide on tho im[X>rtunt Practical 
Subjects connected with tho business of tlioso whose 
interests it advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News 
Matter, intersporsod with many appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other paper published in this 
Country,—rendering it a complete Agricultural, Literary 
and Family Nkwstapkr. 
For Terms, and other particulars, seo last page. 
AN ITALIAN COUNTRY-HOUSE 
A “ country-house” may be either a farm- With the intention of entirely discarding 
house, or any dwelling in a spacious village or such monstrosities, and combining neatness 
in the suburbs of a city, and is distinguished 
only from the city house, which from necessity 
must be squeezed out of due proportion by its 
narrow space in the closely-packed row. 
The prevailing expression, at the present 
moment, among exclusively fashionable houses, 
is (like fashion in dress at all times) that of 
the outlandish. A gothic erection, with bread, 
elaborately-carved verge-boards, and all other 
sorts of redundant ornament, with an excess¬ 
ively steep roof and short posts,—like a tall 
extinguisher on a short candle-stump,—with a 
profusion of gables ; these and other similar 
distortions are eagerly sought by those whose 
chief aim is to be fully up to the times, and if 
possible, a little ahead of them. Downing 
introduced many good things into our rural 
architecture; but an appreciation of neatness 
was not largely infused into his taste in these 
matters, and, as a consequence, some of his 
designs, more particularly his farm-houses, are 
certainly strange productions. Those who 
never think for themselves, and who believe 
that true taste, and especially fashion, consists 
in following Downing, exaggerate his errors 
and overlook his beauties. As a single illus¬ 
tration of queer taste, we copy accurately the 
annexed figure of a Gothic Cottage, from a 
THE STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY- 
“ WnAT can be done to sustain our State 
Agricultural Society, and keep up its Fairs?” 
is a question frequently propounded of late, 
but not easily answered. Many active and 
zealous friends of Agricultural Improvement 
see the necessity of instituting some measures 
to maintain and increase the interest of the 
masses in our Societies and Exhibitions—both 
State and County. They have witnessed with 
regret the deterioration of attendance at, and 
interest manifested in, our State Fairs during 
the pastfew years—indeed, the partial failure of 
each exhibition since the one held in this city 
in 1851—and anticipate a complete failure, 
unless efficient and sufficient action is taken in 
the right direction. Yet, notwithstanding 
many realize the urgent necessity of devising 
and adopting improvements in management, 
few, if any, have recently discussed the matter, 
except in private conversation. We therefore 
introduce the subject, for the purpose of elicit¬ 
ing the views of others rather than offering 
our own opinions or suggestions. Indeed, 
while other journals have remained silent, or 
non-committal, we have heretofore called at¬ 
tention to the importance of reform, and speci¬ 
fied wherein we believed it was most requisite 
and essential to the perpetuity and prosperity 
of the Society. 
The above paragraph was penciled in our 
pocket memorandum book, during a moment 
of leisure some months ago, with the intent of 
publishing—but, like many other items noted 
at similar periods, failed to receive benefit of 
type, ink and paper. Singularly enough, it 
has just fallen under our eye, on this 14th day 
of February—while the annual meeting of the 
N. Y. State Ag. Society is (as we suppose) in 
session at Albany. We will therefore improve 
what some would style the “ singular coinci¬ 
dence” by completing the article before the re¬ 
sult of the meeting can be ascertained. And 
inasmuch as we are unexpectedly prevented 
from attending said meeting and participating 
in its deliberations and discussions, we may 
be excused for briefly expressing our opinions 
before a larger audience. 
With due deference to its senior managers 
and officers — to whom we concede, what we 
WATER 
CLOSET 
SPRING WHEAT.—THE W EEVIL, &c. 
PANTRY 
The inquiry of our Parma correspondent 
relative to Spring Wheat, its culture, product¬ 
iveness, &c., has called out several responses 
from different parts of the country. We 
have not room for all in full, and so give a 
condensed statement of the information kindly 
furnished, though we must be excused from 
advertising the different varieties, prices, &c., 
in this form. Those who wish to purchase can 
obtain further information by applying either 
gentleman 
LASTING EFFECT OF RONES, 
DINING 
ROOM 
Bones, in their natural and uncrushed state, 
show little immediate effect, in consequence of 
their power of resisting decomposition ; but if 
mixed in large quantities, in a crude or semi- 
pulverized state, with the soil of a field, the 
benefit would undoubtedly be extremely lasting. 
The effect would not be manifest in the re¬ 
markable increase of any one crop, but in the 
moderate production of many crops through a 
series of years. Any one who has ever taken 
pains to study the subject, cannot have failed 
to observe the slow decomposition of uncrushed 
bones, as from year to year they are turned 
up by the plow from out the soil of the garden. 
They may not have been placed there inten¬ 
tionally to answer the purpose of a manure, 
but have been thrown out from the kitchen 
into the most convenient place for getting rid 
of them. The bones in this position slowly 
decompose, yielding up their constituent ele¬ 
ments to new combinations, the earthy parti¬ 
cles at the same time crumbling into dust. 
A man should not labor solely for his own 
immediate benefit, but he should look to the 
benefit of future years; and hence, if there is 
no conveniencies at hand for converting bones 
into superphosphate of lime, or of crushing 
them to dust, they ought by no means to be 
wasted. Their incorporation, in an uncrushed 
state, with the soil, will greatly add to its last¬ 
ing fertility. 
We know of a field in an adjoining county 
that has been cropped for thirty years, and is 
now in a high state of fertility. The sur¬ 
rounding fields are nothing like it, and with 
similar cultivation would by this time have 
been utterly impoverished. The former is the 
site of an old Indian burying ground, and 
when the country was first settled, was indent¬ 
ed with graves within six feet of each other, 
all over its surface. The dead were buried in 
a sitting posture, not over two feet below the 
surface, and the writer, when a boy, filled bis 
pockets many a time with beads and arrow¬ 
heads, turned up by the desecrating plowshare. 
The half decayed bones of the aborigines are 
this day to be seeu mingled with the soil, and, 
sad as it may seem, furnish food to successive 
crops of grain and grass. If the soil at any 
time gave signs of impoverishment, the occu¬ 
pant merely ran the plowshare a few inches 
deeper, and turned tip a few more Indians !— 
A goodly number of the readers of the Rural 
will recognise the place referred to, and can 
vouch for the truth of the above statement. 
The melancholy truth cannot be gainsayed, 
that the ashes of a former race of men are to 
this day enriching many of our fields, and the 
fact is thereby established, that animal re¬ 
mains, and especially bones, are of lasting ben¬ 
efit as an element of fertility. 
NURSERY 
ROOM 
in person, or 
named below. 
Myron Adams, of East Bloomfield, has 
raised Spring wheat for sixteen years. He 
says:—“ Last year, owing to the backward 
season, I sowed on the 25th of April, not fin¬ 
ishing until the sixth of May. I procured four 
bushels of the Fife wheat—but it was very 
foul, not better than three bushels of pure seed. 
After heading out I noticed it had a peculiar 
appearance, so much resembling Soule’s wheat 
as to be called such by all who saw it. It 
promised to yield well, and be earlier than the 
Italian growing beside it, and I therefore took 
the trouble of weeding all the oats and barley 
from it before cutting. It was harvested the 
28th of July, and The yield was fifty-three 
bushels. The Italian also produced well, as I 
got thirty-two bushels from two bushels sown. 
As to insects, I do not know as any variety 
is proof against them. Hist year they did no 
damage to my Spring wheat, and no very se¬ 
rious damge to my Winter wheat. I don’t in¬ 
tend to relinquish the sowing of either Winter 
or Spring wheat, on account of insects, as 
long as I can get a yield of twenty-five bushels 
to the acre.” 
J. B. Koon, of Auburn, N. Y., has raised 
a variety called the Tea wheat, for two years. 
He says:—“ The first year I raised over 30 
bushels to the acre. Last year it yielded 
about twenty-five, not coming up to the year 
before, which I consider owing entirely to the 
drouth. For the two years that 1 have raised 
it, I have not discovered any sign of the wee¬ 
vil, neither has it been known to rust. It is a 
bearded wheat, resembling the Mediterranean 
wheat when growing and in the berry. It 
weighs over 60 lbs. to the bushel, and 1 con¬ 
sider it equal, if not superior, to the Mediter¬ 
ranean in quantity and quality of flour. It 
can be raised on any kind of land where oats 
or barley will grow.” 
N. W. Cady, of Yates, Orleans Co., raised 
the Canada Club wheat last season, and found 
it not affected by the weevil, though winter 
wheat was nearly destroyed, only three rods 
distant. The Mediterranean wheat, raised on 
the same soil was very severely visited—he 
found “ sixteen of the little yellow gentlemen 
hugging one kernel, with most destructive af¬ 
fection.” lie has the Fife and Worden'wheat 
from Canada, but has not tried them yet. 
PARLOR 
LIBRARY 
The plan requires but very little explana¬ 
tion. The usually desired shape of dining¬ 
rooms—namely, length with moderate breadth 
—is fully attained, and free access from this 
room to the cellar is had by placing the cellar 
stairs directly under the hall stairs. Closets 
and a bath-room may be made adjoining the 
nursery, by occupying a small portion of the 
“passage,” and leaving a space between this 
room and the library. The length of the hall 
and cellar stairs, gives them a remarkably 
easy rise. Folding doors may be placed be¬ 
tween the living-room and parlor, by placing 
the chimney nearer the hall, or by building 
separate chimneys for these two rooms, uniting 
the stacks in the garret. The plan may be 
reduced in extent, by omitting the present 
kitchen, and using the dining-room for that 
purpose. It should be remembered that the 
flat Italian roof is best adapted to a metallic 
covering. * 
late American publication on rural architec¬ 
ture, in which the reader will perceive that 
the eaves are precisely one-fourth of the whole 
height of the building. The ladies’ head¬ 
dresses, a few centuries ago, which were three 
feet high, will not compare with this, for at 
the same corresponding height, the head dresses 
should be certainly as tall as a liberty pole. 
Commit niotbiis 
on a green swan], in the spring, and then 
plowed it under to the depth of eight inches.— 
He passed over it with a roller, and harrowed 
it thoroughly, and at the time of planting he 
manured in the hill, with compost manure .— 
Notwithstanding the drouth, he harvested, as 
he says, sixty bushels per acre. When asked 
the reason why his field withstood the excess¬ 
ive drouth, he ascribed it to the effect of the 
coarse manure and turf which he plowed 
under. 
Now if this hypothesis be true; all fields 
of a similar soil, and receiving similar treat¬ 
ment, ought to yield a good crop also, in spite 
of the drouth. But Mr. Bartlett says, 
“ there was not half an average crop raised in 
this vicinity.” Is he then an exception to his 
brother farmers? Was he the only man in 
the section who plowed under a heavy coat of 
manure, with turf for corn? I wish Mr. 
Bartlett had given the results of a few other 
fields, treated in the same manner with his 
own, in the “ vicinity ” where there was not 
“ half an average crop raised.” 
ROTATION OF CROPS—MANURING—AGAIN. 
In a recent communication I advanced the 
opinion, that where a farmer practiced a reg¬ 
ular rotation of crops—say corn on green 
sward followed by barley or oats, and then 
wheat, he would receive more benefit from his 
manure to apply it to his wheat in the fall, 
than he would to draw it out from his barn¬ 
yard in the spring, and plow it under with the 
turf. This has not yet been contested to my 
knowledge. But one of your correspondents, 
Mr. Bartlett, takes exception to one of the 
reasons which I gave, viz :—•“ that if a severe 
drouth happens to prevail, the coarse manure 
that was plowed under in the spring, is not 
only no benefit to the corn, but is a positive 
injury.” Now, in opposition to this he gives 
the result of a single experiment made by 
himself. 
He spread a heavy coat of coarse manure 
; 
