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ticut that may not be made to produce wheat 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY, & FAMILY JOURNAL, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
ASSOCIATE EDITORS I 
J. H. BIX BY, T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Special Contributors : 
T. E. Wotmork, H. C. White, H. T. Brooks, L. Wether ell. 
Ladies’ Port-Folio by Aziiji. 
ot such choice expletives as “ arrant nonsense,” 
“ poor, pitiful brain,” and “ stupid ignorance” 
—all which, we greatly fear, properly belong 
to the impudent perpetrator of such unreliable 
assertions as the one quoted. 
But we are digressing from our original 
purpose, which was merely to urge the impor¬ 
tance and necessity, as well as ultimate advan¬ 
tage, of timely and thorough culture. This is 
nothing new, we are aware, but it is seasona¬ 
ble —and moreover the attention and labor we 
advise will probably pay better dividends, this 
year, than heretofore. Sow and plant as lib¬ 
erally as you please, provided you can attend 
to all promptly and properly; but do not, we 
pray you, attempt surface scratching, not 
inaptly termed the skinning system —a process 
which not only skins one’s farm of all appa¬ 
rent valuable elements, but, consequently’ 
picks the owner’s pocket, while his conscience 
arraigns him for attempting to obtain goods 
(or crops) under false pretences ! There is 
land enough under the plow in this country, if 
properly manured and cultivated, to produce 
an annual surplus of breadstuff's and provis¬ 
ions sufficient to supply our own people and 
any ordinary foreign demand. And, as we 
remarked some weeks ago, if good culture and 
the liberal use of manures and fertilizers ever 
pay, they certainly ought to this season, and 
we think no judicious farmer will hesitate in 
regard to such investments. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be unique and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity 
and Varioty of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to make it a Reliablo Guido on tlio important Practical 
Subjects connected with the business of thoso whoso 
interests it advocates. It ombraces more Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and Nows 
Mattor, interspersed with many appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other paper published in this 
Country,—rondoring it a complete Agricultural, Literary 
and Family Newspaper. 
For Terms, and other particulars, see News page. 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT. 
CULTIVATE TIMELY A AI) THOROUGHLY. 
Now that the season for active operations 
has arrived, our injunction to cultivators is to 
perform every important item of labor at the 
right period and in the best manner,— timely 
and thoroughly. It is far better to prepare, 
plant and cultivate one acre seasonably and 
well, than two or three in a careless, hap-haz- 
ard manner, even in times of scarcity and 
high prices. The advice of the many to plant 
and sow liberally this spring, though appa¬ 
rently good, is not over wise and judicious, 
without certain qualifications. Much depends 
upon the means and circumstances of the far¬ 
mer—including the quality and condition of 
his soil, and his location as to market. One 
of the greatest curses of American farming 
consists in planting too much, and manuring 
and cultivating too little. Our farmers are too 
fond of “ spreading themselves,” and their 
crops, over a large surface ; whereas the true 
and profitable course would be to occupy less 
ground, tilling it well and seasonably. Like 
other classes in this go ahead, universal Yan¬ 
kee nation, they frequently attempt too much, 
and for that very reason often fail of realizing 
a commensurate return for money and labor 
The lack of time and laborers to 
INDIAN CORN- — PLANTING, &c, 
GROUP OF SHEEP- MIDDLE - WOOLED BREEDS 
a. Welsh Mountain Sheep. 6. South-Down Sheep, c. Dorsetshire Sheep, d. Black-faced Cheviot Sheep, e. Norfolk Sheep, f. Ryland Sheep. $ 
for description of above named breeds see last column of next page. 
cease to stick together. Recent writers re¬ 
commend coal or gas tar, but we have never 
found the common tar to fail in the desired 
effect. The tar should be but thinly applied, 
and the corn slightly soaked, or it will hinder 
ready germination. 
We have never said much of manuring in 
the hill, for the reason that we think it poor 
policy generally. The roots of corn extend 
over nearly the whole surface of the ground, 
and will find the manure, even if applied broad¬ 
cast ; and any special manuring, save in the 
way of a top-dressiDg to give the corn a start 
at first, will, as a general rule, scarcely repay 
the expense. Guano, even, will produce as 
good an effect if plowed in over the whole sur¬ 
face, and the same is true of other fertilizers. 
We would, however, by no means neglect 
the application of ashes immediately after the 
first hoeing, as recommended last week. It 
seems to enable the young plant to take up 
more readily the material within its reach, 
stimulating its early growth so that it is soon j 
invested. 
complete improvements begun, and cultivate 
seasonably and thoroughly crops planted, often 
proves disastrous—and thus, instead of count¬ 
ing profits, many are subjected to the painful 
necessity of reckoning losses at the close of 
the season’s operations. However, such soon 
learn, and remember, that in farming especial¬ 
ly, it is the policy of wisdom to undertake 
only that which can be thoroughly, seasonably 
and profitably accomplished. 
In the present and prospective season of 
scarcity, it is the duty of every cultivator— 
a duty which he owes alike to his country and 
his fellow man—to produce as large a surplus 
of grain and provisions as possible. In doing 
this his own interest will also be subserved.— 
But we are not of those who believe the de¬ 
sired result will be best attained by planting 
largely, without abundant time and means to 
prepare the ground properly and fertilize and 
cultivate sufficiently to insure profitable re¬ 
turns in autumn. Neither do we consider it 
the duty or interest of farmers to raise large 
crops one year at the expense of succeeding 
ones ; in other words, they should not impov¬ 
erish the soil, or change an advantageous 
course of rotation, for temporary gain. 
Nor is it wise to attempt to grow the more 
profitable crops on unsuitable, barren or un¬ 
productive soils. Because wheat, for instance, 
is now selling at a remarkably high figure, 
that is no good reason why people should at¬ 
tempt to grow it on soils, or in sections, which 
experience has time and again demonstrated 
caunot produce it profitably, even with all the 
accessories of improved culture and 
irequent recurrence of poor crops seems to 
indicate that we are already abundantly en¬ 
joying the fruits of our improvidence. I am 
warranted in saying that all our agricultural 
products ought to be produced from half the 
land now employed. 
My advice in the present emergency is this: 
I low and sow no more, and in many cases 
less, than usual. Find out by reading and ob¬ 
servation the best methods of tilling your 
land, and adopt them. Procure the best tools, 
and an abundant supply of labor-saving im¬ 
plements. Secure plenty of help. Work 
your ground thoroughly and in many cases 
ditch it without delay. At all hazards, and 
at any reasonable cost, be up with your work. 
Exterminate all weeds. Save, procure and 
apply to your land whatever will enrich it. 
Let all the slops of the house be used for 
watering the garden. Let all the villages and 
cities be ransacked for food for plants. Be 
diligent and trust Providence. h. t. b. 
[Our iriend Charles II. Walker, who 
exhibited at the Wyoming County Fair, to an 
admiring crowd, some very finely broke steers, 
has kindly consented to furnish the readers of 
the Rural with his process of breaking. We 
commend it to the attention of all whom it 
may concern. The time and the temper lost 
on ill-disciplined oxen is a serious matter.— 
H. T. B.] 
In breaking a pair of steers, first confine 
one of them in a yard 14 to 18 feet square, 
high fence, and strong enough to hold him ; 
then enter the pen with a switch three or four 
feet long, and with your pockets filled, not 
with “ rocks,” but with ears of corn, apples, 
carrots, Ac. Tame the steer by feeding him, 
and convince him that you mean him no harm. 
Having done this, I introduce my business to 
him by getting him into a corner with as much 
gentleness as possible. Here stroke him and 
Beef at One Year Old. — We copied in an 
early number, an account of the success of Mr. 
Crowell in rearing calves so as to fit them for 
the butcher at one year old. When a few days 
old he commenced feeding them on sour milk, 
keeping them on the same kind of food during 
the summer, taking good care to feed them 
uniformly, but not very abundantly, so as to 
keep them growing thriftily without forcing 
them too rapidly. In the fall they were put in 
the stables, and fed on hay, and a little meal, 
increasing the quantity of the latter gradually, 
with a view of fitting them for “ beef” in the 
spring at one year old or a little under. These 
calves at eleven months old. look like young 
oxen, and are estimated to weigh about 600 
pounds each alive. A correspondent at Caze- 
novia writes us that he has tried the same plan 
with equal success. 
science. 
Hence, the course of those who wrongly and 
blindly, if not wilfully, advise what is certain¬ 
ly unprofitable, if not impossible, cannot be 
too strongly deprecated. For example, a late 
number of the N. Y. Tribune —the largest 
circulated and perhaps most influential news¬ 
paper in this country—boldly asserts that 
“ there is not an old daisy field in all Connec- 
