VOLUME VI, NO. JO. 
Utom’s fuiral ftriii-fjmrkr. 
A QUARTO WEEKLY 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY, 4 EAMILY JOURNAL. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOOSE. 
.ASSOCIATE SUITORS : 
J. H. BIXBT, T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Special Contributors : 
T. E. Wbtxohb, E, C. White, H. T. Brookg, L. Wsthkksll. 
Ladies’ Port-Folio by Azit.e. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be nniqno and 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor 
to make it a Roliable Guide on the important Practical 
Subjects connected with the businass of those whose 
Interests It advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, 
Horticultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News 
Matter, interspersed with many appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other paper published in this 
Country,—rendering it a complete Agricultural, Litr- 
easy and Family Newspaper. 
For Traits, end other particulars, see News page. 
Jterai 
PROGRESS ATTD IMPROVEMENT. 
FARMING IN NIAGARA COUNTY. 
Coming east from Lockport on the old 
“Lewiston Road,’’ about five miles out, the 
traveler will observe a line of thrifty maples 
stretching along the road, with fine farms 
behind them,—and among the finest is that 
of our youDg friends, Messrs. S. B. & L. T. 
Foote, of Royalton. On our Thanksgiving 
trip to the old homestead we had the pleasure 
of visiting them, and were much interested 
by some facts gathered from their farm-book 
and conversation. We need make no apology 
for presenting these to our readers, for those 
who know tho brothers will be glad to hear 
of their prosperity, and those who do not will 
be pleased with such examples of profitable 
agriculture. 
The farm lies just over the north slope of 
the slight elevation between the large marsh 
from which the Eighteen Mile Creek makes 
out and the Mountain Ridge, (some three 
miles apart, and both well known features of 
Niagara Co.,) and contains some 230 acres, 
200 under cultivation. The soil is of variable 
character, but mostly a gravelly loam, though 
some part is low and mucky, and inclined to 
clay. 
Wo had observed during the summer afield 
of stout barley, and now inquired into the 
particulars of the sixteen acres devoted to that 
crop. The soil was a gravelly loam, in corn 
the year previous—ten acres manured before 
planting, the remaining six without manure. 
The six acres—the lowest part of the lot—was 
plowed last fall, and cultivated this spring 
with the wheel cultivator before sowing. No 
manure was given to any part of the lot this 
season. The ten acres was plowed and sown 
from the 25th to the 27th of April inclusive— 
the remainder a few days afterwards. Har¬ 
vested about the 20th of July, and the whole 
field yielded about alike—making fall-plowing 
equal to manure on previous crop. The pro¬ 
duct was 500 bushels of barley, or 314 bushels 
per acre. There is a small orchard on part of 
the field, which gave 80 barrels of good 
apples, and 50 bushels of inferior fruit. 
The account of this lot stands as follows— 
man and team being put at $2 por day, and 
the straw valued equal to cost of harvesting, 
threshing, &c : 
Dr. Plowing, sowing and harrowing...$27,50 
61 bushels of seed barley.51,00 
Interest on land at $50 per acre.56,00 
Total expense.$1-14 50 
Cr. 600 bushels barloy at $l,12>i per bushel. .$502,60 
80 barrels of apples worth in orchard 50c. 40,00 
60 bushels “ atl2j£c. 6,25 
Total receipts.$608,75 
Which leaves a profit of $464,25, quite satis¬ 
factory, considering the amount of the outlay. 
Deducting the value of the apples, we still 
have $418 loft, or barley raised for 29 cts. per 
bushel, very nearly. 
Twelve acres of oats sown the first week in 
May, on a mucky soil with loamy knolls, 
(showing a loamy subsoil,) producing 51 bush¬ 
els per acre. We believe this was an old 
pasture, recently logged up, and plowed this 
spring. Its account stands: 
Dr. Plowing, sowing and harrowing.$18,00 
89 bushels seed 60o por bushel.. 19,68 
Intcrost at $50 por acre.42,00 
Total expense.$79,50 
Cr. 612 bushels of oats at 60o.$306 00 
showing a profit of $226,50, or at 40 cts., the 
ROCHESTER, N. Y—SATURDAY. DECEMBER 15, 1855. 
{WHOLE NO, 310. 
present price, $166,50. This oat crop cost 
very nearly 13 cts. per bushel. 
Another and smaller field of oats shows a 
still better result. Four acres, soil gravelly 
loam, barley last year, manured for corn the 
year before ; plowing, &c., done between the 
15th and 20th of May : 
Dr. 3 days plowing.$6,00 
16 bushel3 of seed.8,00 
Sowing 50c., harrowing $4.4,60 
Interest.14,00 
Total expenses.$32,60 
Cr. 320 bushel oats at 50c.$160,00 
piling up a profit of $127,60 on four acres, or 
at 40 cents, $95,59. These oats cost a trifle 
over 10 cents per bushel, and the profit per 
acre, at the lowest figure, is about $24. Four 
bushels of seed per acre, was sown on this lot. 
We did not obtain exact figures on seven 
acres of com, yielding 700 bushels of ears, or 
of the wheat crop of the Brothers, this year— 
with those around them — a failure from the 
midge and wet harvest. They had 25 acres 
sown, and the product was but 35 bushels, 15 
less than the seed sown. Their farm is fully 
stocked with cattle, sheep and horses, and 
they stated that their sales and profits on live 
stock had been about equal to that on their 
grain crops. But enough for the present, 
though we hope to make many another visit 
to our enterprising farmer friends. 
This town has some very productive land,— 
we heard a fairly authenticated account of a 
crop of oats yielding one hundred bushels per 
acre. It was on “ black-walnut” land, near 
the village of Middleport. We have known 
some very large yields of wheat there in 
former years, and these figures show that 
other crops pay equally good profit. 
WINTERING FARM STOCK. — COWS. 
Almost every family, especially in the 
country, keep one or more cows, that they 
may have a constant supply of milk ; an arti¬ 
cle of prime necessity to every housekeeper. 
Those who would make these animals a source 
of profit, should not forget that succulent and 
nutritions food is needed to keep up the flow 
of milk in winter. It is poor economy to de¬ 
pend for this upon dry fodder alone. 
Milch cows should be stabled, especially at 
night and in unpleasant weather. T his is too 
frequently neglected, the milch cow receiving 
no better care than those not in milk, and 
other cattle belonging to the farmer. This is 
a mistaken policy, if milk is the object de¬ 
sired. The more comfortable they can be 
kept, the greater the product from a given 
amount of food. But we scarcely need dwell 
on this subject. Every one that keeps a cow 
knows that their comfort is worth looking 
after—and that the best management is the 
cheapest in the end, and certainly the most 
satisfactory. 
Good hay may well form a part of the win¬ 
ter food of cows, but they need something 
more. Carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, po¬ 
tatoes and apples, are generally well relished 
by cows, and promote the flow of milk and 
the health and thrift of the animal. Carrots 
are highly esteemed for this purpose, and are 
generally thought better than beets or tur¬ 
nips. Parsnips are little used, but those who 
have tried them speak in their favor. Pota¬ 
toes have of late been too high to be much 
employed, and apples have received little at¬ 
tention. They deserve further trial, aud 
their great plenty this year, will prove a fa¬ 
vorable time for going into further experi¬ 
ments. We think that they will bo found 
nearly equal to carrots, as a part of the food 
of milch cows in winter. 
Whan roots or apples cannot be had, the 
coarser grains ground and mixed with chop¬ 
ped hay or straw may be fed to cows, or they 
may be employed in connection with the arti¬ 
cles first named. An occasional change of 
food is much relished by oows as well as other 
stock, and promotes both health and appetite. 
Oats and barley, or oats and corn, mixed to¬ 
gether and ground, form a good provender or 
meal for this purpose. Corn meal alcne has 
a tendency to dry off the milk,— its greatest 
value is for fattening rather than milk-mak¬ 
ing purposes. Give cows what hay they will 
fully dispose of, and a peck or so per day of 
shorts or provender, properly wet and sea¬ 
soned with a little salt, and they will con¬ 
tinue in milk nearly as long as though roots 
were given them. 
Regularity both in feeding and milking, 
are necessary to the comfort and thrift of a 
cow. We hardly need add that kind and hu¬ 
mane treatment is ever due to this faithful 
servant of man. We should study her habits 
and character, that we may be able to supply 
her wants and minister to her necessities, her 
part will net remain unfulfilled. 
WORK FOR AN OPEN WINTER. 
Should the present winter be characterized 
by light snows and comparatively mild weath¬ 
er, it will present a favorable opportunity for 
pushing forward various improvements on our 
farms,—long ago projected, perhaps, but as 
yet, never found time for. Among these are 
the clearing and draining of marshes, subsoil¬ 
ing and the removal of stumps and large 
stones from fields under cultivation. 
Clearing marshes can be perfomed in winter, 
when the snow is not deep, better than at any 
other period of the year. We have in mind 
those covered with alder and other bushes, 
and which are generally as free from water at 
this time, as at any season, save the busy one 
of autumn, when harvesting the different 
crops demands the entire force and attention 
of the farmer. These hushes can be cut out 
by the roots, when the ground is frozen, and 
then the leaves and herbage are not in the 
way of the work. In most instances this 
method of clearing is the best which can be 
pursued, and unless the bushes are very large 
and thick, it is no very serious job to cut and 
pile the alders, willows, and other brush, of 
an acre. We have seen it done with ten days 
work, and when burned off early in June, a 
fair crop of oats has followed ; or later, of 
fall turnips. 
Unless the ground is frozen very deeply, a 
good deal can be done at draining marshes in 
an open winter. The crust of frozen turf can 
readily be cut with an axe, and the muck un¬ 
derneath dug with ihe same facility as in sum¬ 
mer. There are marshes which should be im¬ 
mediately cleared and drained for the profit of 
their owners, and we hope if a favorable op¬ 
portunity occurs the present winter, it will be 
improved to the utmost. 
Those who are adepts in subsoiling and un¬ 
derdrawing say that much of this work can 
be done in an open winter. They say they 
have done much at it, and we have no reason 
to dispute their word. We know that often 
the ground is frozen to but a slight depth be¬ 
fore February, and that it is softer and easier 
to dig than in almost any other season of the 
year. That it matters not what month it he, 
if the plow can go, keep it going,—too little 
of fall plowing and far too little of subsoiling 
has yet been done, for the best profit of our 
farming population. 
There is no better time than the present for 
removing large stones from our tillage and 
pasture fields, and especially from those de¬ 
voted to grain crops. If they are plentiful, 
break them up and make walls of them, if 
they are few in number it is the greater reason 
why the field should be cleared entirely of 
everything which can stop the plow. Some 
may be undermined and buried, others may 
be blasted and broken, others still may he 
broken by building a fire upon the surface and 
keeping it up for several hours. When a light 
snow falls a stone boat will run easily, and is 
readily loaded and unloaded. As to the 
stumps, work away at them whenever oppor¬ 
tunity occurs—and such will occur, should 
this be an open winter, to many a farmer. 
Other works of improvement, such as draw¬ 
ing out manure, and gathering materials for 
the same, relaying fences, and “ slicking up” 
generally, is work for an open winter. But 
cattle, sheep and colts are apt to sutler from 
neglect in such seasons, because there is much 
to tempt them to the fields, and they do not 
receive the attention and care at the bam 
which should he bestowed upon them. Shut 
them up in their yards and stables—keep them 
at least where they will have sufficient food 
and shelter. 
-—- — - 
POTATO CHOLERA. 
— 
This inscrutable disease has greatly pre¬ 
vailed in this region si gain the present year, 
and it is almost an absurdity to speculate on 
its cause, as every suggestion as yet on that 
subject proves unreliable and futile. The 
preventive nostrums which have been time 
and again proposed by speculators and inves¬ 
tigators, are at a dead fault. If Rochester 
knockings and spiritual mediums are to be of 
any benefit to mankind, they should be in¬ 
terrogated, and settle this much mooted point. 
There has, perhaps, been double the usual 
breadth planted with potatoes this year, 
owing to high prices during the winter and 
These plans need no further explanation 
than that with which they were accompanied 
by our correspondent. We think them neat 
and well arranged, and therefore valuable.— 
L. W. L., of Grand Rapids, Mich., says :—This 
is the ground and chamber plan of a dwelling, 
designed to give as large an amount of every¬ 
day convenience and accommodation as possi¬ 
ble, at a very moderate cost; being estimated 
to cost here, built of wood, $800. 
The elevation is a story and a half, and can 
he modified to suit different tastes. Yet with 
a neat verandah in the centre in front, a 
pretty hold gable directly above it, broad 
overhanging eaves and large airy windows, 
the exterior would present an agreeable regu¬ 
larity, without falling into that box or barn- 
like style of architecture, so common in all 
parts of the country. 
A CHEAP FARM COTTAGE. 
Explanation.—Z>, Drawing Room ; Z, Liv¬ 
ing Room ; K, Kitchen; W, Woodhouse ; B, 
Bedrooms ; P, Pantry ; S, Sink; II, Hall ; V, | 
Verandah; A, Outside Cellar Stairs; R, 1 
Stoves; C, Closet. % | 
spring—and many of them very late and in 
situations where it was too wet for corn un¬ 
til its period was passed. It ha3 been a year 
of much rain, which, with late planting, is 
generally supposed to be provocative of the 
disease. In proof of which supposition, all 
those planted early and on high, light ground 
have mostly escaped infection. 
Early varieties, like the Early June and 
Manly, which ripened before the appearance 
of the curl on the leaf, have entirely escaped, 
and if we are to be annually visited with this 
pestilence, it would be well for farmers to 
turn their attention to this variety, as it pro¬ 
duces fair crops and is as edible as any of the 
yellow-fleshed kinds. 
The great bulk of the loss this fall has oc¬ 
curred since digging and burying, and many 
large pits in three or four weeks became a 
perfect undistinguishable mass cf rot and de¬ 
composition—particularly those buried wet, 
while those thoroughly dried and put in small 
lots in the cellar, have not materially in¬ 
creased in the affected parts. 
We should like to hear from any of our 
readers, if they have tried either of the two 
leading nostrums recommended the past year, 
—one the cutting off the vines close to the 
ground on the first appearance of the curl, 
and the other thoroughly drying the tubers, 
after cutting, at a heat near to scaldiug water 
—both very strongly asseverated under hand 
and seal of the discoverers. We are not able 
to conjecture any reason why the cutting off 
tho tops or vines should not arrest the growth 
in an immature and imperfect state, greatly 
reducing the quantity and injuring the qual¬ 
ity. The generally received opinion of vegeta¬ 
ble physiologists is, that the virus causing the 
disease is received through the leaves—the 
lungs of plants—and distributed by means of 
the circulation of the sap or tho prepared 
pabulum for the increase of the tuber. The 
potato tuber has no roots—no spongioles 
whereby nutriment is procured to increase its 
bulk, and its sustenance is only derived from 
the single umbilical cord attaching it to the 
roots of the vine. 
The leaves of all plants are almost perfect¬ 
ly analogous to the lungs of the animal being, 
through which a great portion of our diseases 
are derived, particularly the febrile and con¬ 
tagious ones, which sustains the probability 
that the potato rot has its origin from that 
source—some invisible miasm in the atmos¬ 
phere, that chemical science has as yet been 
unable to detect. It may be a fungus—a mil¬ 
dew—a filiform gossamer, on which rides the 
destroying angel—cholera. 
LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 
Tub Encyclopaedia Britanica defines the word 
Legumen as follows A species of seed 
vessel, which has two valves or external open¬ 
ings enclosing a number of seeds, which are 
fastened along one suture only. Leguminous 
—an appellation given to all plants, the fruit 
of which is a legumen.” 
It will be readily perceived that peas and 
beans come within the above definition, and 
are therefore leguminous plants. These two 
indeed include in their varieties all of the 
leguminous plants with which the American 
people are familiar. There are others of the 
family, such as the Tare or Yetch, the Lupin, 
&c., which are highly esteemed in Europe 
both as green food for cattle, and as green 
manure for lands ; hut in this country their 
profitable cultivation is at least problematical. 
Theoretical writers on agriculture, especially 
those who have been nurtured in Europe, and 
have brought to this country their precon¬ 
ceived notions of rural economy, have a good 
deal to say about the profitable cultivation of 
vetches for soiling cattle, and of lupins for 
green manure; but while such wide ranges 
for cattle as the prairies of the great West re¬ 
main only half occupied, and the virgin soil 
of untilled fields invites the plowshare, neith¬ 
er the soiling of cattle on vetches, nor the 
plowing in of lupins for green manure, will 
be practised to any great extent. Besides, 
the experience of farmers in this country is 
decidedly in favor of corn stalks, millet, and 
clover, for green food, and of the latter crop, 
buckwheat, &c., for green manure. 
The bean and the pea, however, are of 
great value in this country, and are worthy 
of much more extensive cultivation than they 
at present receive. Nearly every garden has 
its patch of beans and peas for household use 
as green sauce, and most farmers manage, as 
an incidental and secondary crop, to raise 
sufficient of the former for a limited use in 
the family through the year ; and of the lat¬ 
ter, occasionally as an auxiliary to the corn 
crop in fattening pigs and poultry; but very 
few go farther than this, or think of making 
either beans or peas a crop worth raising for 
the market. 
The price of beans and peas is usually 
about that of wheat, although for a couple of 
1 years past they have not come quite up to 
the figures for the latter grain. They are 
economical food, however, even at that price, 
| for there is no vegetable product raised in 
this country so rich in nutritive properties.— 
Even wheat flour, divested of its coarser and 
innutritious covering, is scarcely superior to 
the bean taken as a whole. In a table at our 
hand, the author of which is not named, it is 
stated that while the nutritive properties of 
oatmeal is 75 per cent., rye flour 79, rice 86, 
barley meal 88, and wheat flour 90, white 
beans are set flown as containing ninety-five per 
cent, of matter available for the production 
of flesh and blood. 
This statement of the value of the bean as 
food, is probably too high ; as Einhof’s anal¬ 
ysis gives to the field bean 151 per cent, of 
water, and 16.2 per cent, of husk, while wheat 
flour has about 12 per cent, of water and very 
little other innutritions matter. When we 
compare, however, the bean or pea with 
wheat in the grain, either of the former is 
considerably the superior; for while the husk 
and water of the bean and pea are set down 
at about 30 per cent., that of winter wheat is 
sat down at 52 per cent. The cultivation of 
the bean and pea will be further considered 
in a future paper. 
