ered the very best food for cows and goats; 
and horses in some places are fed entirely on 
them, from the end of August till November. 
Horses so fed, it is stated, will travel 60 miles 
a day without being fatigued. (Bose.) In 
Sweden, Norway and Lapland, the inner bark 
is ground for the purpose of mixing with oat¬ 
meal in years of scarcity. 
The bark of the willow, and also the leaves 
are astringent; and the bark of most sorts may 
be employed in tanning. That of S. Capren is 
used both for tanning and dyeing black, in 
Sweden, the north of Scotland, and Switzer¬ 
land, (Walker.) A substance called salacine 
has been extracted from the bark of the 'S. 
Helix, and some other kinds of willow, which 
Prof. Burnett states to have been “proved to 
be equally efficient with the Peruvian bark, 
and he remarks on the wise provision of Provi¬ 
dence, in placing the remedy for agues, and 
other fevers, exactly in those moist, marshy 
situations where these diseases are most preva¬ 
lent."—(See Burnett’s Inaugural Address to the 
Medico Botanical Society, Feb., 1831, p. 12.) 
This new principle was first discovered by M. 
Leraux; and M. Majendie, states that he has 
known three doses of six grains ol bark stop a 
fever; which is nearly the same quantity as 
would be required for the same purpose of sul¬ 
phate of quinine. Salacine is in the form of very 
fine whitish crystals, perfectly soluble in water 
or alcohol. 
In Pliny’s time, willow wood was in request 
for the fabrication of shields, on account of its 
lightness, and in the present day, in England it 
is, for the same reason, preferred for making 
cutting-boards for the use of shoemakers and 
tailors. It is also used for whetting the fine 
steel instruments of cork-cutters and other me¬ 
chanics. It is in demand for turning, and for 
shoes, shoemaker’s lasts and toys; for dyeing 
black, in imitation of ebony, as it takes as fine 
a polish as rosewood, and for a great variety of 
minor purposes. The wood of the larger trees, 
such as S. Alba and S. Russelliana, is sawn in¬ 
to boards for flooring and rafters, in which last 
situation it has been known to have lasted cen¬ 
turies. The straight stems of young trees, 
when split in two, make excellent styles for 
field ladders, on account of their lightness.— 
The boards are well adapted for lining wagons 
and carts, particularly such as are intended for 
coals or stones, or any hard material; as willow 
wood, like other soft woods, is by no means 
liable to splinter from the blow of any hard 
angular substance. It is also valued for the 
boards of paddles of steam vessels, and for the 
shouds of water wheels, as it wears in water 
better and longer than any other w r ood. It is 
much used in Scotland for building small ves¬ 
sels; and especially for fast sailing sloops of 
war, by reason of its lightness, pliancy, elastic¬ 
ity and toughness. 
SOWING CLOVER SEED. 
8 or 10 bushels of clover chaff (I prefer to 
raise my own seed and sow it in that way,) and 
four quarts of Timothy seed to the acre. It is 
poor economy to leave one-lialf the land bare 
for want of seed, and the other half to produce 
coarse, rank grass that makes neither good 
pasture nor good hay. The question is often 
asked me, “ How do you keep so much stock 
on so little land?” Here, then, is the answer. 
The land is always in grass when not occupied 
with grain crops or in preparation for the same. 
Grass improves, the land, aside from furnishing 
food for stock. Stock makes manure, and ma¬ 
nure makes grass and grain. This keeps both 
stock and land in good condition. If the 
course here recommended was generally prac¬ 
ticed by western farmers, their lands would 
be more productive and profitable, and in my 
opinion it would be a long time before they 
would have to resort to artificial manures to 
keep up the fertility of the soil. 
Troy, Feb. 2‘2d, 1854. LINUS CONE. 
^griraltraul 
UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
SHADE-TREES. 
Eds. Rural: —On the score of profit, if for 
no other reason, it is important that all our 
improved land should be in grass, when not oc¬ 
cupied with other crops, or in preparation for 
a crop. In most cases it will well pay to seed 
to clover with every crop of small grain, even 
if the land is to be entirely devoted to raising 
grain. The pasture afforded in the interval 
between one crop and another, will pay the ex¬ 
pense of seeding and the plaster that it is ne¬ 
cessary to put on, leaving the fertilizing matter 
contained in the grass and roots to be plowed 
in, a clear gain. This is not all, it will prevent 
the growth and propagation of weeds, which it 
would take much after labor to exterminate. 
Farmers generally are not particular enough 
upon this point—they leave too much laud un¬ 
occupied and unproductive, when it should be 
storing up the elements of fertility for succeed¬ 
ing crops. There is no doubt but that much 
more land would be annually seeded to clover, 
if it were not that so much seed fails to come 
up, or the young plant so often destroyed by 
what are termed unfavorable seasons. But 
these failures ought not to prevent any from 
sowing the seed—it should direct attention to 
the cause of those failures, that a successful 
effort might be made to prevent them in fu¬ 
ture. There may be some little risk in sowing 
clover seed late in the season, with spring grain, 
but when it is sown early, either with spring 
grain or on wheat, it is as sure as any other crop, 
provided the soil is good, and has been made 
deep, dry and fine. At least such has been 
the case with me, on a clayey soil, having never 
lost a crop when the land was in proper con¬ 
dition, and the seed sown at the proper time. 
Clover seed should always be sown on wheat 
as early as the month of March, and then, or 
soon after, have a top-dressing of plaster, for 
both clover and wheat Plaster, unless sown 
early, will not benefit the clover at the time 
when it most needs it, and it often injures 
wheat when sown late, by causing too rank a 
growth about the time the grain is coming 
into maturity. When land Is seeded to grass 
with spring grain, a roller should be passed 
over it after seeding. In addition to late seed¬ 
ing there is another prevailing error, and that 
is sowing too little seed. When clover seed 
alone is used, eight quarts to the acre is 
little enough. My practice has been to sow 
Mr. Editor:— There has been much written 
in Agricultural papers about setting out shade- 
trees by the side of the highway. It has been 
recommended, time and again, as being useful 
and ornamental. During an excursion in the 
south part of Oneida County, in October last, 
I had an opportunity of passing along high¬ 
ways which were lined on each side for more 
than three miles with lofty maples. They 
were of uniform size and height, and I should 
think must have been growing there over fifty 
years. They were about one rod apart, fifty 
or sixty feet high, twenty inches in diameter, 
and every way a beautiful tree, and as fine a 
specimen of an avenue lined with trees as one 
could desire to see. It was one of those calm 
and beautiful days in October, when the sun 
shone in splendor, the air was soft, and nature 
clothed in all the beauty of an Indian Summer 
—just the time to enjoy a ride through forests 
and woodlaud scenery. But I very soon be¬ 
came weary of the ride. A\ hat was the mat¬ 
ter? I tried to rally myself. I was in good 
health and spirits, and had good horses and 
carriage, and plenty of good company. Surely, 
thought I, this is the most beautiful avenue I 
ever saw, and I am just in circumstances to en¬ 
joy it. 
I began to analyze the subject, to find out 
why this disappointment. Each tree by itself 
was beautiful, and pleasant to look upon; and 
so was each line of trees, extending away in the 
distance almost as far as the eye could reach. 
From any stand-point without, where “fields 
and flood and wood ” could all be embraced in 
one extended view, the eye could scarce be 
satisfied with seeing. But the traveler here 
has a very restricted vision. The thick foliage 
of the trees shuts out an extended view of the 
fields. He can see ahead, 1 gleam of sky 
whittled down to a mere point. The pleasant 
light of the sun is shut out—the air is chilled 
—the road is bad, always bad, for nothing is 
worse for a highway than a continued shade. 
How much like, is this, to a dreary ride 
through forests, in the Genesee country in oth¬ 
er'’times, when settlements were sparse, and 
new roads were cut through the woods in one 
long and extended’line, only sufficiently wide 
for a wagon path! I have always loved the 
forests, and have often roamed through them 
while in their native beauty, before an axeman 
had committed sacrilege upon them. Each 
The Second Annual Meeting of the United 
States Agricultural Society, was held in the 
Smithsonian Institution, on Wednesday, leb. 
22nd; Hon. M. P. Wilder, of Boston, Presi¬ 
dent of the Society, in the chair. 
The President, after calling the meeting to 
| order, alluded to the fact that this was the an- 
I niversary of the birth-day of Washington, and 
suggested that, in token of respect for the day 
the meeting should be adjourned. The motion 
was seconded and carried. 
On Thursday the President delivered his 
annual address, which was referred to the Ex¬ 
ecutive Committe for publication. 
Prof. Mapes, of New Jersey, had in his hand 
a head of wheat, part wheat and part chess, 
which he wished to offer. It was placed in 
his hands by a farmer of Livonia, Livingston 
county, New York. He had also a new sub¬ 
soil plow of his own invention to bring to their 
notice. 
Mr. Denton Offutt, of ^exington, Kentucky, 
moved the appointment of a committee on 
Animal Physiology, and the general improve¬ 
ment in all "respects of domestic animals. It 
was a subject of high interest and importance. 
Mr. Calvert testified to the influence, to him 
wonderful, whatever it was in itself of M r. 
Offutt’s power over at least one animal, the j 
horse, lie had been an eye witness to a scene 
leaves, however, are broad, and are greedily I 
eaten by cattle; the fruit is very abundant, and 
occurs in short pods containing two or three 
beans; these are oblong when green, but round 
when dry. They will not be valuable for ta¬ 
ble use when green, but are liked by most who 
have tried them, boiled, or as soup when ripe 
in winter, and must prove of great value, es¬ 
pecially in the Southern States; succeeding 
well on all soils in which they have been plant¬ 
ed. Their great value will be as food for cat¬ 
tle; they are easily threshed out when ripe. 
In planting give them ample room; for the 
greatest effect, say at squares of three feet; 
cultivate as corn. 
On Friday, Prof. Fox, of Michigan, deliver¬ 
ed a lecture on the best means of extending 
Agricultural Education in the United States; 
B. P. Poore, one on Agricultural History, and 
Dr. Eddy, one on Bees and Bee Culture. 
Inquiries attir ^ttstoers. 
Improved Superphosphate of Lime. —A 
correspondent of the JYew England Farmer, 
of March 4th, from Colebvook, Ct., has used 
the improved superphosphate of lime, for two 
years in succession, on “ all sorts of vegetables, 
from the aristocratic corns-talk, down to the 
humble squash vine, skipping alternate rows 
and hills, but never could 'perceive any differ¬ 
ence in the growth .” He concludes that his 
“ soil must be very ungrateful, or that the 
manufacturers must he deficient in conscien¬ 
tious samples.” A correspondent of the Coun- 
atThe Maryland State Fair, which may be 1 try Gentleman of March 2nd, from Rahway, 
mesmerism, or magnetism, or what not; but m. J., who asserts that he had great faith in 
Mr. Offutt reduced almost instantaneously a j Mapes, states that he has used two tons, or 
nes^and‘trartabluty * 118 ifUwamty kSS j ««* w*. ° f “ M -‘ ras ’ im P™ ved If# 
the molirn of Mr. Offutt. ' j l> lrate ° r limc0,1 <“ ts ' c0 ™’ * c " mlk °" t an ? 
Messrs. Browne, of Pennsylvania, Earle, j benefit, and he says he “ can name at least six 
of Maryland, and B. Perley Poore, of Mass- 0 f pjg neighbors who can give similar testimo- 
achusetts, also bore witness to Mr. Offutts ex- j « correS p 0n dent of the Boston Culliva- 
traordinay powers in this respect. _ 1 
The motion was carried, and a committee 
of three, consisting of Messrs. Browne,. Earle, 
and French, was appointed by the Chair. 
An invitation from Mr. Glover, of New 
York, to visit his collection of models of fruits 
at the Patent Office was then read. 
Gen. Worthington spoke in warm commen¬ 
dation of Mr. Glover’s labors and high success. 
The Recording Secretary explained it to be 
the wish of Mr. Glover to extend his collec¬ 
tion, so as to include at length all the esculent 
fmtts and vegetables, and he was desirous that 
Congress should purchase his collection for na¬ 
tional purposes. 
The invitation Of Mr Glover was accepted, 
and a committee appointed on behalf of tli 
society to examine the collection in the Patent 
Office" ., . 
The Chairman then offered for consideration 
the contents of two communications confiden¬ 
tially committed to him. One was from Mr. 
Joel Hitchcock, of St. Lawrence county, New 
York, on the subject of a remedy for the po¬ 
tato rot; the other on the subject of a remedy 
for the devastations of the curculio on fruits, 
by Mr. Matthews, of Coshocton, Ohio. The 
object of the parties seemed to be to get their 
tor also reports similar results of experiments 
with the improved superphosphate of lime.— 
Yet, in spite of all this, Mapes is constantly 
reiterating his assertion, that it is cheaper to 
give him (Mapes) $50 per ton for this fertili¬ 
zer, than to draw barn-yard manure two miles, 
even if you get it for nothing. * 
CHARCOAL DUST FOR POTATOES. 
remedies te&fecf by the society through com- 
Tiie antiseptic properties of charcoal are 
well known. Since the prevalence of the po¬ 
tato disease, it has frequently been recommend¬ 
ed as a preventive of the rot, and many experi¬ 
ments have been recorded, showing a satisfac¬ 
tory result. We have ourselves used the small 
dust from coal heaps for this purpose, with 
| success. In the “Survey of Essex County," 
Mr. Whallon gives the following testimony 
to the value of coal dust. After speaking of 
its value as a manure for wheat, and particu¬ 
larly for grass, he says:—“I have also used the 
dust on loamy and intervale land with the po¬ 
stering the series of yearn in which 
Fence Posts.— Will you, or some of your sub¬ 
scribers who may have experience in the matter, 
have the goodness to inform me through the col¬ 
umns of the Rural, what is the effect of charring 
upon the durability of fence posts, or other tim¬ 
ber set in the ground ? Some are decidedly of 
the opinion that by this process, their posts are 
rendered more durable, yet comparatively few 
adopt it in their practice. And of this number, 
a large share, I apprehend, would fail to give a 
reason for their opinion. It is with them the re¬ 
sult of observation. But if it is true, that by 
this easy operation, our fence posts may be made 
to last indefinitely longer, it certainly should be 
known, as every thing relating to economy in 
fencing, is becoming of vital importance in this 
region. If it be a fact, myself, and, 1 doubt not, 
many of your readers, would be glad to know 
it, and also upon what principle of philosophy 
it is founded.—A. M., Lima, N. Y 
A friend, who has had much experience, to 
whom we handed the above, has kindly fur¬ 
nished the following answer: 
There cannot be any doubt, indeed it is a 
well established fact, that charring wood adds 
to its durability, and well pays the extra labor, 
particularly with all the hard woods. 
The rationale of the operation, consists in 
rendering the outer portion indestructible, as 
charcoal never rots, and by destroying the 
sugar gum of the wood, the fermentation and 
decomposition of which, by the agency of 
water and air, is the cause of decay, and also 
by disarranging the lateral pores of the wood, 
whereby water is absorbed. 
We should have great faith in dipping posts 
in boiled tar or melted pitch, which could be 
effected with a trifling expense, in comparison to 
the loss in the tumbling down of expensive 
fences. 
If a post was bored with an inch and a half 
auger, from the bottom to four inches above 
where it was set in the earth, and six inches of 
a saturated solution of blue vitriol or copperas 
poured in, and a tight plug drove into it and 
allowed to be absorbed, it would produce all 
the effects claimed by Kyanizing or Payniz- 
ing. Both these salts are powerful antiseptics, 
and strongly antagonistical to ercmacausis , or 
rot and mildew. 
From the already felt scarcity of fencing 
timber, and the almost entire exhaustion of the 
red cedar forests, the farming community will 
have to resort to the use of board fence to se¬ 
cure their crops; and it is an item worth look¬ 
ing after and experimenting upon, to discover 
a method to make the ordinary timber of the 
country durable and lasting. 
f + 7r ! tato crop. 
mittees ot the same, and reports made at the , ^ rofc almost ru i ne d the potato crop, I scarce' 
meeting of next year. 
The question on the reference of these pro¬ 
posals gave rise to a very animated debate, in 
which views of very opposite character in res¬ 
pect to the probable value of the alleged dis¬ 
coveries were elicited. Mr. Browne, ot Penn., 
sooke strongly against entertaining any propo- 9 
hitiou of a secret nature, and held that all sub -1 readers used it, and with what success . 
jec.ts should be open to all members alike. 
The Chair vindicated Mr. Hitchcock from 
any secret or selfish aim. All he wished was 
that a competent committee of the society 
should give the matter the benefit of their in¬ 
vestigation, and report accordingly. 
Mr. Worthington said the discovery, what- 
ever it was, is the property of Mr. Hitchcock, 
and if the test to be made of it were success- 
ly lost any potatoes from that cause, and sup¬ 
posed it was owing to the coal dust I used.— 
My manner has been to drop the seed and 
cover it with a. small shovel full of dust, and 
then cover with earth.” Have any of our 
An Ohio Corn Crop. —The Ohio Cidtiva- 
Stretches in Sheep;—I should be much ob¬ 
liged if you could give me a remedy for st retches 
in sheep.— W. P. Brand, Varysburg. N. V. 
The following method has been recommend¬ 
ed by a practical farmer who has had experi¬ 
ence with this disease:—When you first see 
them stand, stretching, catch them and take 
them up by their hind legs, raising them their 
full length from the ground; then give them 
three or four smart jerks up and down; then 
give them some salt, and in ten minutes give 
tor contains a statement of a corn crop raised i them some tar, and if they will not lick it 
by A. H. Thompson, of Union County, Ohio, 
which is the biggest story of the biggest crop 
we have found going the rounds of the papers 
for some time. On a field of 20 acres, a clo¬ 
ver sod, an average of 100 bushels per acre 
_ . . , 
one lias its own identity ; their aspects vary as | t j ie communication just read be received and . 20, in a cove “in the second bottom, wincn 
the human face; no two are exactly alike. 
I could not rid myself of the idea that this 
avenue was unpleasant—that these trees, once, 
perhaps, the pride and boast of the town, had 
become in old age a nuisance. They spoiled 
the road—they injured much land each side of 
it—they had outlived their beauty. 
At a certain point the road diverged from 
this avenue. It appeared the good people had 
concluded to travel in another direction, and 
the avenue was fenced up; but there the trees 
stood, extending through the fields a half a 
mile or more. The owner of the land was 
probably in a quandary—having a mind to cut 
them down, yet hesitating to destroy that 
which had cost so much labor and care. Had 
these trees been planted in clusters on some 
broken spot of land, or so as to hide a ravine 
or unpleasant object, their age would only have 
increased their value. I am aware that very 
much depends upon the location of avenues, 
and that a cultivated taste would be a suffi¬ 
cient guide whether to plant trees in long ex¬ 
tended lines, or in clusters. If we copy from 
dature, we cannot greatly err, and nature never 
uses straight lines in the culture of her do¬ 
mains. Adams. 
Feb. 15th, 1854. 
referred to the Executive 'Committee to test.! plowed about ten inches deep in the winter;- 
the mode proposed, and that they report to 1 
the next annual meeting of this society.” 
Further discussion was pursued by several 
o-entlemen when the previous question w as 
Fondly called for. On being put, the motion 
of Mr. Worthington was carried. 
The Chair then presented a written commu¬ 
nication from a gentleman in Ohio requesting 
that a committee of three be appointed to in¬ 
vestigate the subject of the remedy for curcu- 
Mr. Browne opposed this and all such secret 
methods of operation. He adopted the same 
line of remark as above on the potato rot. 
His remarks met with a pretty general cheer¬ 
ing. 
Mr. W. S. King moved a select committee 
of three on the subject, of which the I’resi¬ 
dent of the Society should be chairman. This 
was carried, and Messrs. N\ ilder, Brinckle and 
Birckman, appointed. 
about the first of May, harrowed my sod en¬ 
tirely loose ; furrowed my ground two feet 
each way, and had three stalks to each hill ; 
plowed three times each way, once in each 
row ; the com was gathered the first of Octo¬ 
ber, and measured in a large basket, and an 
average basket-full shelled in my presence — 
the amount was 185 jj bushels. The remainder 
of the lot was only measured by the wagon¬ 
load.” 
Wheat, Flour and Bread in London and 
Park. — The highest quotation of wheat of 
the first quality, at present in Baris, is $2,48 
per bushel, and in London $2, 1 2. It follows 
therefore that wheat is 14J per cent, higher in 
London than in Baris. Flour of the first qual- 
MrUBradford, of Delaware, read a memorial ity is worth in Baris ^10,62 per sack ol 280 
to" Coma ess from citizens of Delaware, pray- lbs., and in London $18,00, or 8£ per cent. 
Female Servants in England. —The Mark 
Lane Express says:—Go where we may, we 
hear the universal cry of, w T hat is to become of 
the ‘ Misses?” Emigration and abundant em¬ 
ployment have given to the servants at home, 
the upper hand as 'completely as if they were in 
Australia. On all sides we hear complaints of 
the difficulty of finding, and of retaining when 
found, a cook who can roast a leg of mutton 
and make batter pudding or pea soup. 
ing the' interposition of Congress, either by 
purchase of one of the Chincha Islands or by 
negotiation with Beru, to put a stop to the ef¬ 
fects of the operation of the Anglo-Beruvian 
monopoly, by which the price of guano has 
been raised and kept at the extravagant price 
of $54 her ton. 
Mr. Bradford then pressed tins subject on 
the attention of the society as one ot primary 
concern to the agriculturists, and in lact the 
whole people of the country. On his motion 
a committee of five was apointed in relation to 
the matter. 
A communication from Mr. James Bederson, 
on the subject of introducing the Alpaca or 
Beruvian sheep into the United States, was 
then read. 
Dr. J. A. Warder presented a quantity of 
Japan peas, and described their nature and 
value. They were introduced in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Cincinnati three years ago, and have 
been widely distributed. There is not a pea, 
nor a vine, but has a stiff woody stem; the 
, higher in London than in Baris. Bread of the 
1 first quality in Baris sells for 14 cents per loaf 
! of 4 lbs., and in London 23 cents, or 65 per 
cent, dearer in London than in Baris. 
O. M. Barber, Gaines, Orleans Co., N. A., 
states in the Batent Office Report, that the 
butter produced from cows eating green corn¬ 
stalks is of a very superior quality, and as hard 
as beef tallow, in midwinter. He thinks corn 
for soiling purposes, superior to any other 
crop. 
Wheat in England.— The deficiency in the 
wheat harvest in 1853, is estimated at twenty- 
four million bushels. The average imports are 
forty million bushels. Hence Great Britain 
will require, this year, sixty-four million bushels 
j of imported wheat. 
themselves put some in their mouth and hold it 
till it is dissolved. 
Spring Wheat, Tobacco, <tc.—Will some of 
your correspondents experienced in raising Spring 
Wheat inform me which is the best kind, where 
procurable, and time of sowing <fcc., to avoid the 
weevil? 
Also can I learn through your columns the 
best kinds of Tobacco suited to northern culture 
—price of seed, where procurable, and all the de¬ 
tails of its raising from the plant to the packing? 
—A Subscriber, Canajoharie. 
Yellow Water in Horses. —Will some of the 
correspondents of the Rural give us a receipt 
for the cure of yellow water in horses. J. P.— 
Columbus, N. Y. 
Blowing Clover in for Wheat.— In the sum¬ 
mer of 1849,1 had a small field of4£ acres in clo¬ 
ver which I pastured a while, and then let the clo¬ 
ver grow until it was fit to cut for seed. With 
a large plow and three strong horses, I plowed 
it in, then harrowed it effectually, and let it lie 
until 28th of September, when I seeded it.— 
The yield was 165 bush., or 36 i bush, per acre. 
It, is proper to state that the crop of wheat 
that was on it before the clover was plowed 
down, did not exceed ten bushels per acre. 
—J. W. in Farm Journal. 
Night Soil. —Now is the time to haul out 
your night soil. It can be done easily and 
without offence. Remove that old dead horse 
“ below the road,” and take those dead lambs 
from the top of the shed and the apple tree.— 
'There they will be offensive to passers by, but 
if hauled into the field and buried under a 
good coat of loam, they will soon be trans¬ 
formed into excellent manure. A dean horse 
is worth more than a cord of the best stable 
manure. ^ 
The Price Current publishes a statement 
of the hogs packed in Ohio, Kentucky and 
Tennessee this season, embracing all the princi¬ 
pal points. The whole number is 1,265,555, 
against 975,978 last year, being an increase in 
the number of 289,577, and in the weight five 
per cent. It is supposed that Indiana, when 
reported, will not vary much from last year.— 
Nothing definite has" been received from the 
far west. 
