398 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
Having seen inquiries in the Rural for in¬ 
formation on constructing underdrains, I 
thought perhaps I could give some useful 
hints in addition to what has already been 
placed before your numerous readers. 
I have about eighteen acres of land, three-, 
fourths of which was considered good grain 
land; the remainder was wet land, made so 
by numerous springs and swales. About six¬ 
teen years ago, I commenced draining with 
stone. Seeing the improvement it made, and 
the extra yield the drained land gave over 
that which I considered good grain land at 
that time without draining, I kept extending 
the stone drains for several years, until I 
commenced manufacturing drain tile and drain 
pipe. Since then I have used nothing but 
tile and pipe. I have now about 1,000 rods 
of drain on this eighteen acres, and when I 
have laid three or four hundred rods more I 
shall have all of it thoroughly drained, ex¬ 
cepting some dry knolls that have layers of 
sand and gravel in them that answer for 
drains until they come out on the surface. 
Now, I am satisfied that this outlay in 
draining, pays on an average 25 per cent, in¬ 
terest in extra crops, and some of it from 50 
to 100 per cent. Before I bought this land 
twelve to fourteen bushels was considered a 
fair crop of wheat on the dry part after a 
summer fallow. Now the crops of fruit, 
roots, grass, and grain, on this eighteen acres, 
has been worth for several years over $500 
per annum. 
Had I understood the principles of drain¬ 
ing as well when I commenced as I do now, I 
should have saved much expense and effected 
the object much more profitably than I did 
in the outset. Farmers, when they commence 
draining, generally begin in some swale or 
swamp, and that ditch is finally the main 
drain for many more, and i3 found too shal¬ 
low for a good outlet. Now my advice is 
this. Put your main drains not less than 
three feet deep, and four feet gives better sat¬ 
isfaction. My reasons for deep drains are 
these :—1st. A drain four feet deep drains a 
wider strip of land than one two feet deep, 
the materials for the deep drain costing no 
more. 2d. If the side drains extend from 20 
to 40 rods, and the land is nearly level, if 
you get the upper end 2% feet deep you have 
a descent of 18 inches by a deep main drain. 
Farmers need information in building stone 
drains; they think if they get enough dirt 
above the stone for the plow to work in, it is 
sufficient; hence they build a water course, 
and then fill up with loose stones, which are 
worse than useless there. 1st. They make a 
burrow for mice the whole length of the 
drain. 2d. If there is nothing but earth 
above the water course, the water filters so 
far through the soil and subsoil before it gets 
into the drain that it runs in clearer and 
moves less dirt with it to fill up the drain.— 
3d. If there is loose stone above the water 
course and the drain is nearly level, the dirt 
accumulates in the water course until it is 
full—then it passes among the loose stones 
and you have nothing but a rumble drain, 
which is sure, in most cases, to fill up in a 
few years. 4th. If the water is confined to 
the water course, the drain is more sure to 
keep a clear passage. I will add other hints 
next week. a- w> 
West Bloomfield, N. Y. 
STONE WALLS vs. RAIL FENCES. 
A field of six acres requires about 100 
rods of fence—and one of 11 ft. rails will 
cover about % of an acre,—allowing 8 ft. for 
the fence and 2 ft. for the whiffletrees in plow¬ 
ing. This is often so much waste land, where 
the plow cannot and the scythe will not go— 
often, too, a refuge for weeds which ripen 
their seeds and infect the surrounding fields. 
A black ash fence will last about 30 years. 
A stone wall is properly built thus :—Dig 
the foundation 2)^ ft. wide to the subsoil— 
the large fast stones which stop the plow, 
must be rolled into the bottom course — the 
large rolling stones which obstruct the har¬ 
row, and cluster the seed into bunches, form 
the second course — the meadow stones make 
levellers, &c. Flat stones of about an inch 
in thickness, from off the surface of a lime¬ 
stone quarry, form the proper tyers —split 
wood tyers are bad on account of being af¬ 
fected by moisture and fr03t unevenly, and 
thus budging and swaying the wall. Such 
stone can be quarried for 25 cts. a load, and 
may be bought at quarries for 50 cts. To 
return :—Great stones in th3 bottom 2},{ ft. 
wide, filled in with meadow stones one 
straight course ; second course large cobbles 
or rolling stones filled in similar manner.— 
Next course of flat stone tyers, and so od, 
tapered up to 15 in. wide at 4 ft. high—three 
courses of tyers in all. The third or top 
course of tyers must project 3 in. over each 
side, and a single course of large stones, such 
as a man can lift, be laid upon these. A 
man can dig the foundation and lay up nine 
rods per week—I can do it. 
Such stone wall, when the stone are found 
upon the farm, costs twice as much as a rail 
fence, but it takes up only half the room, and 
will last for GO years without repairs, and the 
material only needs to be relaid to be as good 
as new at any time. 
North Walworth, Wayne Co., N. Y. B. Ardleson. 
Remarks. —We think our correspondent 
overrates the room taken up by rail fences, 
and that there is no more difficulty in keeping 
them clear of weeds, than a stone wall.— 
Without doubt, the best use which can be 
made of the surface stones on a farm, is to 
make them into wall, if one only has enough 
for that purpose.— Eds. 
A TIME TO LEAD. 
A wise man of old declared many centuries 
ago, “ There is a time for all things.” This 
beiDg undoubtedly true, the time for farmers 
to read and study is during the winter even¬ 
ings, and with some, a part of the day may 
be thus employed. Almost every farmer who 
reads this paragraph, cau find leisure enough 
during the present winter, after reading his 
“ Rural,” and other papers, to read and 
digest some good treatise on manures, their 
uses, &e., or some work on draining or deep 
plowing, fall plowing, summer fallowing, on 
the best mode of wheat culture, on cultivat¬ 
ing the hop, tobacco, cranberry, willow, fruit, 
<fec., &c. The subject of stock-breeding is 
another matter of deep importance to every 
farmer. There are good books on this subject, 
whose reading will demonstrate not only the 
importance of keeping good stock, but how 
it may be accomplished. 
The time for reading having come, “ take 
it by the foretop,” as the saying is, and im¬ 
prove each and every opportunity in inform¬ 
ing and disciplining the mind, so that when 
spring comes, as it soon will, you can engage 
anew in your well chosen vocation, under the 
influence of that zeal which knowledge is sure 
to beget and foster. I heard a farmer say, j 
that he gained much useful knowledge by 
reading “ Nash’s Progressive Farmer,” dur¬ 
ing the winter evenings of ’53.—w. 
NORWAY SORLEL. -AGAIN. 
Eds. Rural :— In reply to my request 
about sorrel, E. S. H. accuses me of killing 
my land, and gives me a raking down for the 
same. But he draws his conclusion without 
premises. As I stated before, sorrel flour¬ 
ishes on our virgin soil; and this surely does 
not need manure. We used tuns of gypsum, 
but I am not aware that in any instance it 
has exterminated this evil. 
The statement of E. S. II., that “ any ma¬ 
nure ” will finally destroy it, is, in this case, 
erroneous. It will grow on an old barn-yard. 
The richer the land, the stouter the sorrel. 
As heavy a crop cf it as we ever raised, was 
under the following circumstances : A piece 
of good sward received 40 loads cf stable ma¬ 
nure per acre—which was immediately plowed 
in—then a top-dressing of lime and plaster. 
Corn was planted, which yielded 50 bushels 
per acre. The next season it was sown with 
wheat, and seeded. The grass took in spots, 
and then it lodged, and the sorrel with it, 
which was full knee high over the entire field. 
Our indigenous grasses will supercede it to 
such an extent that in many instances it is 
not to be seen. But plow the land again, and 
the nuisance, like the preacher’s possum, is 
still tlmr. 
I repeat my inquiry for a radical extermi¬ 
nator. w. s. B. 
Norway, N. Y., Nov. IS, 1856. 
MORE ABOUT MANURE SHEDS. 
As a general thiDg, I think we farmers do 
not attach sufficient importance to housing 
our manure. It ought to be done in every 
case, unless it be where we have large quanti¬ 
ties of coarse litter, which needs to become 
decomposed in a measure, before it is applied 
to the soil. In this case it might be better 
in an open yard, where it would be exposed 
to the falling rain, and the atmospheric influ¬ 
ences. But in every other case, it no doubt 
pays largely to erect shelter, especially to pro¬ 
tect the manure heap. 
A course which I have seen practiced 
where there has been no manure cellar, is this: 
Instead of throwing the contents of the stable 
directly out the door or window, to form an 
unsightly pile, take a wheelbarrow into the 
stable, and wheel the manure into the cow¬ 
shed—for it is taken for granted every farmer 
has an establishment of this kind appended to 
his barn-yard—and then every day or two 
level down with the fork, and scatter over it 
sufficient litter to make it comfortable for 
your stock. W. J. Pettee. 
Safisbuiy, Conn., Dec. 3, 1855. 
Self-Sucking Cows.—I have a very valu¬ 
able milch cow, which has got into the habit 
of sucking herself, and I have tried every 
method to break her of the habit, that I have 
heard of, but in vain. Some of the readers of 
your widely circulated and valuable paper 
may know of some method of preventing this, 
and by making it known would confer a favor 
to others as well as myself.— An Old Sub¬ 
scriber, Plielys, N. Y. 
MICHIGAN WHEAT vs. GENESEE. 
Eds. Rurai, :—You gave several weeks 
since a communication from Illinois,challeng¬ 
ing the Union to produce a better quality of 
wheat than was raised in that State. It was 
accepted by a Genesee farmer, and as an evi¬ 
dence in his favor, the Illinois gentleman was 
referred to the “ market reports,” in the N. 
Y. papers, which have, all along, quoted Gen¬ 
esee brands from 25 to 50 cents in advance of 
Western. During this controversy, Michigan 
was silent, although it is well known that 
some of the Michigan millers have received 
as much for their flour, for several years past, 
as any of the Genesee millers, quotations in 
the papers to the contrary notwithstanding. 
But some will ask, how can this be ? I an¬ 
swer, there are within my knowledge some 
two or three millers in Central Michigan who 
mark their flour “ Extra Genesee,” and the 
quality being equal to the best Genesee, of 
course the thing has not been detected. But 
now there is no need of a Michigan miller 
using any other brand but his own, (if his mill 
be a good one,) for I saw in the N. Y. Times 
of Nov. 10th the following :—“ A new fea¬ 
ture iu the wheat market, is the fact that the 
white Michigan is now looked upon as fully 
equal to the best Genesee.” 
Again, I have heard it universally remark¬ 
ed by housewives recently from the Genesee 
country, that the flour they get here i 3 quite 
equal, if not better, than that which they used 
before they came here. This I consider as 
good evidence as can be adduced, and quite as 
practical. I came from a wheat-growing dis¬ 
trict in Western New York, and can safely 
say that 1 never saw a finer quality of wheat 
in my life than, that which I have raised in 
Michigan. One reason why Michigan brands 
have been kept so low in market is, no doubt, 
from the fact that much of the Michigan 
wheat has been floured in Rochester, Oswego, 
and other places, after having been exposed 
to various storms on the lake, and in many 
instances perhaps considerably damaged.— 
However, there have been cases where Michi¬ 
gan wheat was mixed with Genesee at East¬ 
ern mills, and marked “ Pure Genesee ! ” and 
ws3 never detected by the inspector nor con¬ 
sumer. All these facts go to show that 
Michigan can and does grow as good a qual¬ 
ity of wheat as any State in the Union, and 
she is destined to become one of the best, both 
as regards quality and quantity—her soil be¬ 
ing more or less sandy, wheat is not apt to 
rust, and hence grows very plump and fair. 
BuriiDgton, Cal. Co., Mich., Nov.. ’55. N. J. Strong. 
MY SECOND CORN CROP. 
Eds. Rural :—This is the second year I 
have been engaged in farming, but I would 
like to give yon an account of my corn crop. 
The soil is clay loam, on sod ground, which 
had cut heavy grass for eight years past.— 
The lot contains three acres. It was plowed 
deep as soon as the frost was out in the spring, 
and when planting time came, harrowed 
thoroughly both ways, and got in in complete 
order. I measured one acre, and planted in 
drills or one way (tried the experiment to see 
if I could not get more fodder and corn from 
a little ground). I was net particular— 
planted from one and a half to three feet—and 
some pumpkins. The other piece of ground 
was two acres, lacking six feet in length. 
Marked both ways, and planted the same. 
Both pieces of corn were managed with 
great care, alike. After the corn was nicely 
up, I ashed it, severely, for I had plenty, and 
some older than is necessary. My one acre 
I plowed of course one way, from the hill, 
and hoed and plastered. My two acres I 
plowed both ways, from the hill, plastered the 
same. Then I turned the furrow to the hill, 
and hilled with the hoe, aud it was finished. 
Now for the result: I cut ray one acre 
last, and husked it first, and the corn measured 
sixty bushels of ears. Tnirty-seven soft and 
twenty-three ripe corn. From the two acres, 
I harvested one hundred and sixty bushels— 
one hundred and forty ripe, and twenty of 
soft corn. I will leave the footing up to new 
beginners. I had a very good crop of pump¬ 
kins, on the piece worked both ways. 
Schoharie Co., N. Y., 1855. W. B. 
RURAL NOTES FROM THE BAY STATE. 
Being among the farmers “ way down 
East,” I furnish some items that may interest 
Rural readers. Hay is selling in Worcester 
and Hampshire counties for $20 a ton ; cows, 
at auction, for $30 and more a head. Oxen 
are selling at very high prices, and few to be 
had. Fork is worth about $11 a hundred. 
Potatoes are selling for 40 cents a bushel; 
corn, at $1,25 ; rye, $1,50 ; oats, GO cents ; 
poultry, a shilling per pound ; wood, $4,50 a 
cord; butter 28 cents a pound ; cheese, a 
shilling ; eggs, 20 cents a dozen. 
These are about the average prices for 
which farmers are selliug their products.— 
Farmers that keep dairies have been doing 
exceedingly well for two or three years past. 
1 was informed a day or two since, that the 
town of Hardwick has sold about $40,000 
worth of cheese the present year, in Boston 
market. ..Hardwick cheese stands No. 1.— 
Notwithstanding these rural towns in central 
Massachusetts have decreased in population 
since 1850, their valuation keeps up, and in 
many instances increases. It is a good place 
to live, “ down East,” though it is not, per¬ 
il aps, so “ fast a place to make money ” as 
“ out West.”—w. 
Agricultural Stkdlauj. 
IUe American Herd Book,—C ontaining Pedigrees of 
Short-horn Cattle, with Introductory Notes, by Lewis 
F. Allen. Volume It. Buffalo : Press of Thomas & 
Lathrop—1865. 
Here is a work which should be in the 
hands of every breeder of short horns in 
America. It is a large and handsome volume 
of over 600 pages, illustrated with beautifully 
executed portraits of many of the finest Short¬ 
horns in the country. The first volume, pub¬ 
lished nearly ten years ago, contained the 
names and pedigrees of only 190 bulls,— 
whereas in this the whole number is increas¬ 
ed to 1,170, and the cows to about 2,000. In 
addition to the large number of Pedigrees, 
and fine portraits, the volume comprises an 
ably-written history of Short-horn cattle, no¬ 
tices of several early importations into the 
United States, and other important and val¬ 
uable information. On the whole, the vol¬ 
ume greatly exceeds our expectations in both 
style and contenta. It will prove almost 
indispensable as a work cf reference for 
breeders, and affio for Agricultural Societies 
which have Short-horns presented at their 
exhibitions. The work is furnished to non¬ 
subscribers at $6 ; if ordered by mail 45 cents 
extra is charged to pre-pay postage. Those 
who are unable to obtain it of booksellers, 
can do so by addressing Mr. Allen, at Buffalo. 
— The above work should have been noticed 
many weeks ago, hut was mislaid, or buried, 
while moving our office, and has just been 
discovered. _ 
Instructions for the Analysis of Sous, Limestones and 
Manures. By Jas. F. W. Johnston. Third edition.— 
C.eveland, Ohio : S. B. Siiaw —1836. 
This is a small work of about 100 pages, is¬ 
sued in cheap form. It was originally pub¬ 
lished as an Appendix to the author’s “ Lec¬ 
tures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geolo¬ 
gy.” The work professes to explain briefly 
the principles upon which analysis by meas¬ 
ure is fouuded—and is offered “ as a first help 
to practical and economical chemical anal¬ 
ysis.” 
The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural 
Affairs, for 1856—edited by J. J. Thomas, and 
published by L. Tucker & Son, Albany—is an 
excellent little volume, beautiful in externals 
and valuable in contents. It is profusely il¬ 
lustrated, and its matter of a useful and prac¬ 
tical character. Price 25 cent 3 . 
Satisfied Subscribers.— A Schoharie Co. 
correspondent says :—“A friend recently re¬ 
marked that one little recipe iu the Rural 
New-Yorker, had been worth double the 
price of the paper to him, let alone all its 
valuable reading matter. ‘ 1 can see him, and 
go ten better,’ and if any man doubts the as¬ 
sertion, I will show him the large fine apples, 
field carrots, beets, and rutabagas, whi ch but 
for the valuable instructions through this 
paper I should not have attempted.” He 
gives us some of his farming experience, and 
we shall look for more from the same hand— 
hints, perhaps, of as much value to some 
brother new beginner, as those he has received 
from the Rural. 
Sawdust for Bedding Horses. — The 
value of the manure heap will be largely in¬ 
creased by attention to the following hint 
from Frof. Nash’s Farmer : — “Such is the 
tendency of sawdust, saturated with urine, and 
mixed with horse manure, to violent ferment¬ 
ation, that, unless kept in a very moist condi¬ 
tion or mixed with large portions of muck, 
clayey loam, or charcoal (a little plaster would 
help the matter), it will lose much of its value 
(the ammonia going into the air), and will 
settle down a dry powder (fire fanged, as is 
said,) little better than swamp mad cr decay¬ 
ed turf — not valueless, it is true, but having 
only a small part of the value of a strong 
ammoniacal manure.” 
Sitting upon Horseback. —Commenting 
upon some ladies and their attendants sitting 
upon their horses at a Fair, listening to an 
address an hour long, Col. Harris, of the 
Ohio Cultivator, says :—“ It shows a shocking 
ignorance of good horsemanship, and had we 
been in the place of the gentleman who deliv¬ 
ered the address, the first thing we said would 
have been, 1 Ladies and gentlemen dismount!’ 
The bridge of a horse’s back is so constructed 
that it requires constant muscular action to 
support a burden, and when this is imposed 
while the muscles have nothing in the way of 
locomotion to keep up that action, the fatigue 
becomes intense.” 
The Ohio State Board of Agriculture, 
at its annual meeting last week, elected Wil¬ 
liam H. Ladd, of Jefferson county, President 
for the year ensuing. An excellent selection. 
Friend Ladd is a model conservative progres¬ 
sionist, and will discharge the duties of the 
position with honor to himself and credit to 
the Board and the State. 
Great Productiveness.— A correspondent 
tells of the product of a single stalk of buck¬ 
wheat, 1,388 grains ; which he thought a 
great yield until he heard of a neighboring 
farmer who had 4,200 grains from a single 
kernel sown. This was thought to go beyond 
everything, until they saw an account in the 
Rurai. of 7,250 grains raised from one, in 
Ontario Go., N. Y. These are large stories, 
but they show there is room for “ progress 
and improvement ” in production. 
Cause of Milk-Sickness.— A letter pub¬ 
lished in the Ohio Farmer , from Mr. Vermil- 
ya, of Ashland Co., attributes the disease 
called milk-sickness, trembles, dry murrain, 
&c., to the White Snake root, (cimicifuga 
racemosa.) This weed is plentiful in some 
parts of the West, especially where the milk- 
sickness, or trembles has affected cattle'and 
sheep. The statement is endorsed by Gen. 
Bierce, of Akron, Ohio. 
WILLOW CULTURE. 
Mr. M. D. Earnest, writing under date of 
Macedonia Depot, Summit County, Ohio, to 
the Ohio Farmer, says : — “ Last April I 
bought of Geo. J. Colby of Vt., 50,000 wil¬ 
low cuttings. We got through striking them 
the 15th of May, and now many of the sprouts 
are six feet long, and all will average about 
four feet. They will pay well this year, if 
there should be sale for the cuttings. My 
ground was only plowed, for the wet weather 
commenced before I knew that I should ob¬ 
tain any cuttings, but we were particular to 
put the cuttings clear through the sod, into 
the soil below, and only a few of them failed 
to grow. The best time to prepare the 
ground is in the fall, for most of the land, 
that is suitable for the willow, is too wet to 
till in the spring, early enough. It takes 
about three days’ work to stick an acre with 
the cuttings, it should be done early in the 
spring, before other work commences, so that 
it can be done well without costing too much 
per acre. 
i From what. I know of the willow trade and 
the cultivation of the willow, there is no 
doubt, in my mind, that farmers will find it 
very lucrative to grow them. Most every 
farmer has some land on which nothing but 
trash grows, which is just the land for the 
willow.” 
Small Horses.— The arguments may all 
be in favor of great size; but the facts are all 
the other way. Large horses are more liable 
to stumble and be lame than those of the mid¬ 
dle size. They are clumsy, and cannot fill 
themselves so quick. The largest of any class 
is unnatural growth. They have risen above 
the usual mark, and it costs more to keep 
them in position than it would were they on 
a level with their specie3. “ Follow nature,” 
is a rule never to be forgotten by farmers.— 
Large men are not the best for business; 
large hogs are not the hogs to fatten best; 
and large hens are not the best to lay eggs. 
Extremes are to be avoided. Wo want well- 
tormed animals rather than such as have large 
bones. Odd as it may be to the theorist, 
short-legged soldiers are better on the march, 
and officers say they endure hardships longer 
than those of longer limbs. On choosing a 
horse, take care, by all means, that his legs 
are short. If they are long and split apart 
like a pair of dividers, never inquire the price 
of the dealer. Make no offer.— Ind. Farmer. 
Improved Breeds of Swine —The Suf¬ 
folk is a hearty, quiet and thrifty breed; they 
grow rapidly, are docile, contented and good- 
looking. They are well-formed, compact, 
short-legged, hardy animals, equal in point of 
value, Youatt says, to the best of the Essex, 
and superior in constitution, and consequently 
better adapted for general keeping. 
The Essex is a breed highly esteemed by 
some—the best breeds are entirely black, and 
they will sometimes attain the weight of near¬ 
ly 500 pounds. Some prize them for their 
rapid growth and aptitude to lay on flesh, as 
well as for its excellence. 
The Berkshire is also a fine breed, with 
something of the general shape of the Suffolk 
Essex, but quite different in color and the 
length and appearance of the hair. The skin 
of the Berkshire is thin, the flesh firm and 
well flavored, and the bacon very superior._ 
The Berkshire aud Suffolk have been favor¬ 
ably mixed.— N. E. Farmer. 
Curing Fork and Beef Hams. —We have 
often tried applying the salt, etc., by rubbing, 
instead of a pickle or solution in water. By 
taking taking two or three ounces of saltpe¬ 
tre, made very flue, for a hundred pounds of 
meat, mixing it thoroughly with good tine 
salt, adding molasses sufficient to give the 
whole the exact appearance of molasses sugar, 
and rubbing your hams two or three times, 
—throe times if large,—at intervals of three 
cr four days, you will get a very fine article, 
provided you have a good peace of meat to 
begin with. But if your ham was taken 
from an old, hard working, half fed or half 
fatted animal., either of the pork or beef pro¬ 
ducing race, no subsequent treatment will 
remedy the evil.— Cult, and Gazette. 
Milk and Butter. —In answer to the ques¬ 
tion, “ how much miik does it take to make 
oue pound of butter,” a correspondendt of an 
English Agricultural paper states that, as the 
result of twenty years’ experience on dairy 
farms, he finds that it takes two gallons live 
and a half pints of new milk to make one 
pound of butter for the summer half year; or 
for the twelve months it takes two gallons and 
five pints of new milk to make one pound of 
butter, and two and a half pints of cream to 
make one pound of butter. The stocks from 
which the experiments were taken, were 
chiefly what are known as the well-bred Irish 
cow. 
