T I Cu t 
VOLUME VJ. NO. 
Utoow’s $lural |icto-§otIitr. 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY, <1 FAMILY JOURNAL. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
ASSOCIATE FDrrORS • 
J. H. BIXBY, T. 0. PlJrEBS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Special Contributors : 
I, E. Wssmorm, H. C. White, ELT. Brooks, L. Wmhbkkll. 
Ladies’ Tort-Folio by Ams. 
Tots Rural New- Yorkfjr Is designed to be unique and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to make it a Reliable Guide on the important Practical 
6«bjccts connected with the business of those whose 
interests it advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Meohanical, I.lteiary and News 
Matter Interspersed with many appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other paper publi-hed in this 
Country,—rendering it a complete Agricultural. Lite¬ 
rary and Family Newsp.,ksr. 
For Terms, and other particu’ars. see News page 
ROCHESTER N. Y.-SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1855. 
{WHOLE NO. 288. 
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PROGRESS AND IMPROVEM3DNT. 
FENCING THE FARM. 
Our article on the above named topic in 
last week’s Rural, promised & farther consid¬ 
eration of the subject, which promise we. will 
now endeavor to redeem. 
The best possible material for fence posts, 
next to iron or stone, is red cedar ( Junipervs 
Virginiana.) This tree is abundant in many 
localities of the Northern States and Canada, 
particularly on the islands and shores of the 
great lakes. Immense quantities are at the 
present time shipped eastward for fence posts, 
and for other uses, where, from its position, 
wood is liable to decay. We heard a joiner 
say a few days since, that, in teaiing up a set 
of outside steps to a house in this city, all the 
timbers near the surface of the ground were 
entirely rotted away, except a subsill of red 
cedar that la'd in the very worst position in 
the frame, and that was as sound aDd fresh in 
its organic structure, as on the first day it was 
laid down. This pair of steps had been in 
position over thirty years. Red cedar fence 
posts are expensive, too much so, probably, 
for ordinary fencing; but the man who can 
afford to use them, will have the oomfortable 
assurance that they will outlast a lifetime. 
For yards, gardens, and elegant enclosures 
around the domicil of the villager and the 
farmer, these pests are cheap at almost any 
price now asked. They are sold here at two 
to three shillings each. Yellow cedar is 
cheaper in price, and will last extremely welL, 
but is not equal to the red. White cedar is 
sold at much lower rates, makes a durable 
post, but is not worthy of comparison with 
either of the other two. 
The IiOcust ( Pseudo Acacia) is said to be 
one of the most durable of woods. We have 
never teen it tested, but have no doubt of its 
value. The tree, however, has not succeeded 
iu this region, and is fast being displaced, 
even as au ornament. At the West it thrives 
better, and in the prairie regions of Illinois 
and other localities, large groves of them 
planted by the settlers are fast rising to the 
dignity of forests. The oak comes next 
among the woods as a valuablo post material; 
the swamp variety, (Qicercus Bicolor,) stand¬ 
ing first, and the white, ( Qucrcus Alba,) sec¬ 
ond in the list. These are excellent, enduring, 
and generally more abundant. They will 
last much longer split than sawed, but do not 
make so elegant a post. For farm purposes, 
such trees' as are sufficiently straight-grained 
to be split with wedges should never be taken 
to the mill, a split post in point of durability 
bearing the same lelation to a sawed one, that 
a riven and shaved shingle does to one cut 
with a saw. No man who desires to put a 
decent roof upon a building, will take sawed 
shingles when shaved ones can be obtained • 
for with the former he may expect to be called 
upon to renew the covering of liis house in 
twenty years, while the latter, properly laid on, 
will last au age. For fencing boards, pine is 
far superior, and generally used, although 
other woods will do good seiviee. Our limits 
will not permit us to specify in this particu¬ 
lar, neither is it so important a= in the case of 
posts. 
The granite of New England is frequently 
split into posts for fence ; a couple of bolts 
inserted to fasten the rails, to which pickets 
are then attached in the ordinary way. Many 
enclosures around the better class of New 
England houses, the writer has seen fenced in 
this way. It is too expensive, however, for 
general farm purposes, at least for the present 
The time may come when the innumerable 
quarries of this admirable stene will be called 
into general requisition for this purpose.— 
With a little care and skill, it splits into bolts 
of almost any required sizi, from a fence post 
to a gigantic pillar, as the Boston Custom 
House, and the New York Merchants’ Ex¬ 
change, most clearly prove. 
Much was said a lew years since of the 
value of wire fence ; but it dees not at present 
meet with gieai favor, and in the form ihen 
used, may be pronounced a failure. The 
small size of the material did not render it 
sufficiently conspicuous to the eye, and hence 
frolicsome and mischievous animals, especially 
colts, were apt not only to ruin the fence, but 
also to injure themselves by coming iu con¬ 
tact w ith it. The best safeguard against 
these accidents was to use at least a top rail 
of wood, and to stretch the wire below. A 
New England firm are now manufacturing an 
iron network, which they advertise for fence. 
For the purpose of transportation, it is rolled 
up like a piece of carpet, and can thus be car¬ 
ried by railroad or other freight conveyance 
to any required distance. Of the value of 
iron ns a fencing material ia some form, there 
is not the least possibility of doubt—the only 
question under existing circumstances being 
its availability in regard to c$st, Heretofore 
it Las been used only as an ornamental picket 
for the enclosure of parks, pleasure grounds, 
and the yards of costly dwellings; but we 
may reasonably expect in the natural progress 
of the arts, that when other and cheaper ma¬ 
terials fail us, iron will play even a more con¬ 
spicuous part than at present in all the econo¬ 
mies of the farm. Ii is indispensable now in 
some form, either as wrought, as cast iron, or 
as steel, iu nearly every household and farm 
implement and tool. It lias driven wood out 
of many a stronghold, and is yearly extending 
its conquests. The wedge is entered, and 
who can tell when it will be driven home._ 
As the log fence gave way to the rail, as the 
rail has been displaced by the board fence, the 
picket, and the wall, so in time may they be 
superseded by a metal, of which nature fur¬ 
nishes an inexhaustible supply, with an equal 
amount of coal in close proximity to work it. 
That the iron fence is making progress, there 
can be no doubt. About the first one iu this 
country, (and it was a costly structure.) en¬ 
closes Boston Common. It was a wouder at 
the time of its construction, surrounding, 
as it did and still does, forty-seven acres 
of ground, and it made some of the tax¬ 
payers of the city groan ; but it was a worthy 
example, and has been imitated and improved 
upon by others. At the present moment 
many first-class houses in this and other cities 
have their grounds enclosed with iron. The-e 
fences are tasty, enduring and beautiful, tut 
of course too costly to lie used where utility 
alone is consulted. The plainest iron fence 
with which we are familiar, put up more for 
use than show, is the one which feuces off a 
portion of Brown Square in this city for the 
track of the Niagara branch of the New York 
Central Railroad. It is built of wrought 
iron, three-fourth inch square pickets, with a 
spike picket alternating and rising four inches 
above the lower rail. The rails are also 
wrought iron, and the fence measures four 
feet in lurght. Such a force costs a dollar 
and a half io two dollars a foot, which neces¬ 
sarily precludes its nee upon a furm. But its 
cheapness, compared w iih the more elaborate 
patterns, indicate that the prices of iron fence 
are tending downward.and may in time come 
within the catalogue of farm economies. Its 
durability is beyond all question. 
One thing is certain ; an exigency which 
seemed to throw a barrier across Ibe path of 
human progress never jet arose, but that hu¬ 
man ingenuity found the means to remove or 
overleap it. Coal for fuel, steam as a motor, 
rails as a means of transportation, and the 
telegraph for transmitting intelligence, are 
illustrations in point. 
The duty of farmers in regard to fencing, is 
to husband the present resources, and exercise 
an intelligent foresight in order to find a sub¬ 
stitute when present modes and materials 
shall fail. That wood for such purposes will 
fail, any one can see. Buildings and ships, 
railroads and fire-places, with ten thousand 
ucenumerated recipients, are eating a clean 
way through our forests with fearful rapidity. 
Setting aside fuel for the locomotives, the 
railroad wages destructive war upon our tim¬ 
ber lands. The ties alone, which for a single 
track are six feet long at least, and placed 
within three feet of each other along the en¬ 
tire line, make over five thousand every mile, 
without including turnouts and side tracks. 
These must be renewed every few years. Is 
it not then, in view of these facts, a grave 
question what shall be done ere long for fenc¬ 
ing materials? 
Another paper will close our considerations 
upon this subject. 
HOW TO KEEP HARNESS IN ORDER. 
[In answer to aa inquiry for information as 
to the best mode of cleaning and oiling har¬ 
ness, See., we re-publish the substance of an 
article given in a former volume of Rural ] 
Observing the good condition and fine ap¬ 
pearance of the harness of Aid. Baker, propri¬ 
etor of the most exteusive livery establish¬ 
ment in Rochester, we requested him to im¬ 
part to ns, for publication, the modus eperan- 
di by which so desirable an object was 
achieved. In compliance therewith, he stated 
the course adopted as the best and most eco¬ 
nomical, after twenty years’ ex’peiieuoe in a 
business which required considerable attention 
bo tackling apparatus. His process of oiliDg 
aud washing harness is substantially as follows: 
Take Neats Foot Oil, and Ivory or Patent 
Black—the latter well pulverized, or to be 
made so before using. Mix thoroughly— add¬ 
ing the black until the oil is well colored, or 
quite black. Iu cool weather the oil should 
be warmed somewha f , before mixing. With 
a sponge apply a light coat of the mixture— 
only what the leather will readily ab¬ 
sorb, unless the harness is very dry, in which 
case a heavier coating may be necessary. Af¬ 
ter the harness is dry—which wili be in from 
two hours to half or a whole day, depending 
upon the weather and previous condition of 
the leather—wash thoroughly with soap suds. 
In making the suds use good Castile soap and 
cold rain-icater. (Warm water should never 
be used on harness leather.) Apply the suds 
with a sponge. Rub off with buckskin. This 1 
will give your harness a nice, glassy surface', 
and the leather will retain a good color and 
continue pliable for mouths. If it becomes 
soiled with mud or sweat, an application of 
soap and water as above directed, (without 
oiling,) will be sufficient to give it a bright 
appearance. 
Two applications of this oil and black mix¬ 
ture a year, (or once every six months,) will 
be sufficient to keep harness, as ordinarily 
used, in good order. It may be necessary for 
livery men, and others who use harness con- 
s:antly, to apply the oil oftener—but in most 
cases two oilings a year, and washing with 
suds when soiled, willl keep a harness in good 
trim for sight and service. This process will 
pay a large dividend in extra service aDd du¬ 
rability,—to say nothing of improved appear¬ 
ance. 
Aid. B. assures us that the same, or a very 
similar, application is just the thing for car¬ 
riage tops which are made of to-p-leather. The 
only difference in treatment is, that less oil 
should be used, or rather a lighter coating ap¬ 
plied—and it should be washed off before dry¬ 
ing in, top-leather beiDg thin and much more 
penetrable than harness. Of course this mix¬ 
ture would not answer for enameled leather, 
of which some carriage tops are constructed. 
RAVAGES OF THE GET WORM, 
— 
Mr. J. C. Goober, an intelligent farmer of 
Adams, Jefferson county, informs us that the 
Cut Worm is proving very destructive in 
Northern New York. In Jefferson county, 
particu'arly, it his of late years become the 
most fearful enemy agaiust which the farmers 
are obliged to contend. It is so universally 
prevalent and destructive in the old meadow 
and pasture lands, that it is almost impossible 
to produce on such ground—meadow or pas¬ 
ture sod—either spring wheat, barley, cats, or 
ludian corn. Mr. C. is of the opinion, form¬ 
ed after considerable observation, that at leas 
three-‘ourths of the corn plauted on turf sod 
the past spring, in Jefferson county, has been 
destroyed. In some instances the worms have 
not only taken the entire crop, but every other 
green thing in the fields. On his own firm, 
la-t year, a field of fifteen acres of corn wa3 en¬ 
tirely destroyed. This year, Mr. Sherman, of 
Rutland, ha3 had about fifty acres of spriug 
wheat so completely riddled that he has sown 
the field to oats and buckwheat. Oats, l 
ley and corn ar3 destroyed by the field,—and 
even the pastures and meadows are nearly- 
ruined in some localities. The damsge this 
season to the farmers of Jefferson, from thr 
ravages of this worm, must prove immense,— 
for Mr. C. asserts that thousands of acres of 
spring crops have been completely destroyed. 
Our informant considers starvation, by sum¬ 
mer fallowing, the only remedy against the 
voracious depredator,—and even fallowing, ex¬ 
cept In dry seasobs, does not always prove ef¬ 
fectual. Various o'ker remedies have been 
tried, but proved worthless. Mr. C. has made 
liberal use of salt, ashes and plaster, in the 
hill on planting corn, but found the application 
of little or no avail ia heading the tenacious 
“ varmint.” In dry seasons, the worms some¬ 
times starve after destroying a crop. An ex¬ 
ample in point. Early in May past, Mr. C. 
plowed up au old meadow, and planted the 
same to corn. The corn came up finely, but 
was soon devoured, root and branch, and also 
every spear of grass. Two or three weeks 
subsequently (and after some very dry weath¬ 
er.) Mr. 0. discovered, while sowing a portion 
of the field to peas, that many of the worms 
had died of starvation—finding seores of “ dead 
heads” in the loose seds lying upon the sur¬ 
face. Having swept the field, there was not 
sufficient vegetation to prolong their lives un¬ 
til the Auwi-bug or fly stage of existence. 
— A letter just received from a subscriber 
in Hume, Allegany Co., N. Y„ states that 
the cut worms are making terrible havoc in 
the corn-fields in that vicinity. The writer 
says he has endeavored to eradicate them by 
using lime, plaster, salt, Are., but to no pur¬ 
pose—and “consequently wishes to hear from 
some of the numerous readers of the Rural, 
through its columns, on the subject.” We 
shall be glad to receive and publish such rem¬ 
edies as are known to be effectual, and hope 
readers who have succeeded in heading the 
enemy will communicate the results of their 
experience. 
State Fatk 3, 1855.—The following table 
gives the time and place of the several State 
Fairs of the present year, as far as yet decided 
upon. Others will be added, and the blanks 
filled, when the proper information is secured : 
Connecticut, at Hartford.Oct. 9, 10, 11, 12 
Georgia, at Aulanta.Sept. 10,11, 12 
Illinois, at Chicago.Oct., second week 
Indiana, at Indianapolis.Oct. 16, 17, 18,19 
Kentucky, at Paris.Sopt. 25, 26, 27, 28 
Maine, at..Sept.- 
Maryland, at Baltimore.Oct., last week 
Michigan, at Detroit.Oct. 2, 3, 4, 5 
New York, at Elmira.Oct. 2, 3, 4, 5 
New Jersey, at Camden.. 
New Hampshire, at..Sept. 12, 13, 14 
Rhode Island, at Providence,.Sept. 11 to 15 
“ “ Horse and Cattle, do.Sept. 11 to 15 
North Carolina, at Raleigh..Oct. 16, 17, IS, 19 
Ohio, at Columbus.Sept. 18, 19, 20, 21 
Pennsylvania, at Ilarrisburgh.Sept. 25, 26, 27 
Vermont, at Rutland.Sept. 11, 12,13 
do (East) at London.Oct. 23, 24, 25 
Tennessee, at Nashville.Oct., first week 
Virginia, at Richmond.. 
do (Western) at Wheeling.Sept. 26, 27, 38 
Canada Ea.-t, at Sherbrooke.Sept. 11, 12, 13, 14 
Canada We^t, at Cobourg.Oct. 9,10, 11, 12 
