j : 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
whole embryo suffering; and each of the limbs 
become visible at the fit moment. How as¬ 
tonishing must it appear to an observing mind, 
that in the substance of the egg there should 
be all the vital principle of an animated being ! 
that all the parts of an animal’s body should be 
concealed in it, and require nothing but heat 
to unfold and quicken them ! that the whole 
formation of a chicken should be so constant 
and regular! that exactly at the same time, 
the same changes will take place in the gener¬ 
ality of eggs ! and that the chicken, the moment 
it is hatched, is heavier than the egg was be¬ 
fore ! 
THE GRAINS AND GRASSES.-NO. I. 
Oats — (Arena Saliva.) 
When we consider the importance of the oat 
crop of the United States, we are surprised at the 
little care there is taken in procuring the best 
seed and saving such seed pure for farther prop¬ 
agation. This crop, when taken in connection 
with the grass, is one of the most important 
that we cultivate. The oat forms not only a 
superior food for farm stock, but in many parts 
of Europe is extensively used as food for man. 
This is especially true of Scotland, and the 
north of England and Ireland. We know lit¬ 
tle of its history, but it is known that oats 
have been cultivated since the days of Pijny, 
and were then accounted a superior diet for the 
sick. The most common variety is said to 
grow wild on the Island of Juan Fernandes.— 
Oats resembling the common are found grow¬ 
ing in California. There are also found in 
other parts of the world, grasses growing, close¬ 
ly resembling the oat. The oat is said to 
have been introduced into the North Ameri¬ 
can colonies soon after their settlement by the 
English. It was sown on the Elizabeth Isl¬ 
ands in 1602 by Goswold. In 1622 it was cul¬ 
tivated in Newfoundland, and in Virginia prior 
to 1648 by Berkley. The oat is now culti¬ 
vated extensively in many parts of the world, 
and in various climates. We find it cultivated 
in all the inhabited parts of Europe, the 
northern and central portions of Asia, even as 
far south as the 25th degree of latitude. It is 
also cultivated in Australia, southern and 
northern Africa, in nearly all the cultivated 
parts of North America, and a large part of 
South America. 
The oat is cultivated principally in the 
Middle, Western and Northern parts of the 
United States. The varieties cultivated are 
the common white, the black, the gray, the im¬ 
perial, the Hopetown, the Polish, the Egyp¬ 
tian and the potato oats. The yield varies 
from 20 to } 00 bushels per acre. The Egyp¬ 
tian oat is cultivated south of Tennessee. It is 
sown in the autumn, and fed off by stock in the 
winter and spring, and then yields from 10 
to 25 bushels per acre. The oat is not much 
cu't'vated for malting or distilling, from the 
f ret, I think, that the malting or fermenting is 
not so easily accomplished as that of barley or 
other grains. The amount thus consumed is 
said not to exceed 60 or 70 thousand bushels 
in the United States. But a small quantity of 
oats are exported, say from 60 to 100 thousand 
bushels annually. By the census returns in 
1840, the total quantity raised was 123,071,341 
bushels, and in 1850 it was 146,678,879 bushels. 
I. A. Clark. 
Marion, Wayne Co., N. Y., April, 3854. 
SOWING CLOVER AND TIMOTHY. 
This important part of farm work can now 
be done, if not already accomplished. The 
freezing and thawing at this time of the year, 
is favorable to its vegetation. Wheat fields that 
were sown with timothy in the fall, should be 
examined, and if not thick enough, should be 
resown with from two to four quarts per acre; 
or, if a large crop of timothy and clover is de¬ 
sired, sow from two to three lbs. of large clo¬ 
ver per acre, in preference to the resowing of 
timothy. I prefer timothy and clover mixed 
for my own feeding, but for market clean timo¬ 
thy is best, and always commands the highest 
price. There is another gain besides increase 
in quantity of hay by sowing in clover, that is, 
the after feed which will be nearly double.— 
Some hold it to be poor management to feed 
meadows, and it may be, but my experience is, 
that it is not. My meadows that are fed an¬ 
nually in the fall, are better than when not fed. 
They never should be fed in the spring—and 
cattle instead of running at large as soon as 
the snow disappears, as I have often seen, 
should be kept in the yard till grass has a good 
Start and then turned to pasture. 
Wheat fields that are intended to be plowed 
for,next spring crop should now be sown with 
from ten to twelve lbs. medium clover per acre, 
and that will, by September, make excellent 
pasture for cattle, horses, &c. I think the feed 
is worth double what it costs to seed it If the 
land is intended for corn, there will be a heavy 
crop of clover to plow in by the 20 th of May, 
and it will he next to a good coating of manure 
for the corn. Naked stubble to me looks very 
poor in the fall, and I would not have it unless 
the clover failed to grow. 
It is very important that sowing be well and 
♦evenly done. I have thought that the hand 
was the best machine for sowing, until this 
spring, I was induced to try the timothy and 
clover seed sower, advertised in the Rural of 
March 11th, and must say unhesitatingly that 
it worked to my perfect satisfaction. A man 
can easily sow twenty-five acres per day, and 
sow any quantity, from two to sixteen or more 
quarts per acre. It sows timothy and clover 
equally well, and distributes it evenly over the 
surface, by working a small lever with the 
right hand. E. S. IIaywaro. 
Brighton, N. Y., April 3, 1854. 
CALOMEL TO RILL LICE. 
Eds. Rural: — 1 have recently tried a new 
way of killing lice on cattle by the use of cal¬ 
omel. Part the hair on the top of the head, 
and drop a little on the skin just back of the 
horns. This is all there is to be done, and the 
animal will be totally rid of vermin in a few 
days. The rule I adopt is, to apply about the 
bulk or quantity of a barley-corn each for 
grown cattle, and half as much for calves. I 
have tried this method repeatedly, and to my 
satisfaction, (sometimes I have put on a little 
more than the above, but think that rule is 
sufficient,) and found it sure to do the work.— 
It is both cheap and effectual, and its conve¬ 
nience will recommend its adoption, if consid¬ 
ered safe, to farmers in general. 
Now the question arises, Will it injure the 
animal, and weaken the constitution? and this 
I wish to present to the readers of the Rural. 
I am no friend to the medicine, having often 
witnessed its deleterious effects on the human 
system, and maintain the belief, with many oth¬ 
ers, that it should be given in small quantities, 
if ever, and would not think it advisable to 
dose or feed it to cattle ; but whether a little 
upon the skin will prove injurious, is what I 
propose for the counsel of your readers. But 
a small quantity is requisite. I have known 
physicians to deal more at one dose to a pa¬ 
tient than I would use at once on three yoke 
of oxen; and why it produces such an effect 
over the entire surface of the skin, is truly re¬ 
markable. 
There is on the head of most cattle a small 
hollow place, close to the horns, which furnish¬ 
es a very neat receptacle, where it will not be 
liable to rub off or blow away. And here let 
me add what I forgot in the above rule, that 
the operation should be repeated three times, 
five days apart, in order to catch the nits that 
become lice after the first application. 
Will some of the readers of the Rural fa¬ 
vor us with their opinion on this subject ? 
Alex. Daniels, Jr. 
McDonough, Chenango Co., March 27, 1854. 
SPRING WIIEAT. 
Ens. Rural : — I notice an inquiry in the 
last Rural, concerning spring wheat. I have 
had considerable experience with that crop, 
and conclude that very much depends on the 
nature of the soil. What variety should be 
sown? If the soil is a warm, dry, sandy or 
gravelly loam, I should sow the Italian, or 
Canada Chide-, if it is a rich vegetable mould, 
inclining to be moist, I would sow the Labra¬ 
dor, Black Sea, or Siberian. 
My favorite method of cultivation is to ma¬ 
nure a piece of sward land liberally, with long 
or unfermented manure, and turn it neatly un¬ 
der, about the first of May. Depth of first fur¬ 
row, 5 inches. Follow with another team, and 
plow in the same furrow 5 inches deeper. The 
second plow should be narrower than the first. 
Perhaps a proper subsoil plow would be bet¬ 
ter. Then, roll, harrow, cultivate and harrow, 
and plant to corn; cut the corn up at the root, 
and the next spring plow, harrow, and re-plow. 
Wash the seed in strong brine, mix one bushel 
of slaked lime to two bushels of wheat, and sow 
as early as possible, and be sure to cut the 
wheat before the berry is hard. Under this 
method, my crop has been not less than 25 
bushels per acre, and has reached 44£ bushels 
per acre.— Rufus S. Ransom. 
Swallows Kill Bees. — I noticed in last 
week’s Rural, an article purporting that the 
swallow was a very harmless bird, “ one whose 
cheerful note and glancing wing enliven the 
rural scenery of all our country dwellings.” I 
wish to say in reply to this, we had a great 
number of them about here last summer, and 
as soon as they had hatched their young ones, 
they commenced their depredations upon the 
honey-bees by hundreds, and from the fact 
that we had no swarms last year, we began to 
think something was the reason. A neighbor 
happened in, and he said they would catch 
bees, for he had taken a young swallow from 
the nest before it could fly, and upon opening 
its crop, found it crammed full of bees. I 
think we shall try to keep them away from 
here this year, for they seem to be quite an an¬ 
noyance, besides materially disfiguring the 
face of the buildings.—D. N. Glass, Pavilion, 
JY. Y., April 3, 1854. 
We have never heard this charge made 
against swallows before, and even should it be 
well founded we are inclined to think the 
good they do in other respects, much more 
than repay the loss of a few bees.—E ds. 
^jrialtoal Utiscellaitj. 
TO BREEDERS OF IMPROVED STOCK. 
The editors of the Wool Grower and Stock 
Register wish to ascertain the name and post 
office address of every person in this country 
who breeds improved stock for sale—together 
with brief description of same. They are fre¬ 
quently in receipt of inquiries from persons in 
various parts of the United Slates, and British 
Provinces, who wish to purchase Horses, Cat¬ 
tle, Sheep, Swine, Poultry, &c., and wish the 
above information, (which will be carefully 
booked for reference,) in order to respond 
properly. As they propose to do this for the 
mutual benefit of breeders and purchasers, 
without fee or reward, it is hoped those inter¬ 
ested will comply with the above request—ad¬ 
dressing “ Editors W. G. and S. R., Rochester, 
N. Y.” 
Agricultural and other papers will confer a 
favor, and perhaps benefit many of their read¬ 
ers, by publishing the above. 
Jersey Cattle. —The Journal of Agricul¬ 
ture, in an article on the subject, states that 
the best herds of Alderney cattle are in the 
hands of R. L. Colt, of Paterson, New Jersey, 
John A. Taintor, Hartford, Conn., Samuel 
llenshaw, Boston, Mass., and Thomas Motley, 
Jr., of Jamaica Plains, Mass. It further states 
that the animal improves in this country; and 
that there is no reason why further importa¬ 
tions of this or other breeds already among us, 
should be made. 
At the recent National Poultry Show in 
New York, there were 215 exhibitors, 700 
coops and 4,000 fowls. The total number of 
visitors was 30,000. The Society propose to 
have another Exhibition next fall, probably in 
October. 
The Silver M edals awarded by the Mon¬ 
roe Co. Ag. Society, at its last Annual Fair, 
are ready for delivery to those entitled—at the 
Seed Store of J. Rapalje, & Co. The Treasu¬ 
rer of the Society will be in attendance at the 
store on Saturday, April 15. 
SPRINGFIELD (OHIO) CATTLE SHOW. 
In our notice of the action of the Executive 
Committee of the United States Agricultural 
Society, upon the application of the citizens of 
Springfield, we said that it was “ Ordered, 
That no junction with other associations be 
made, except by the recommendation of the 
State Society where such proposed exhibition 
is to be held.” Dr. Warder informs us that 
this order was »tot adopted, but that “ the Ex¬ 
ecutive Committee did pass an order, that they 
would accept the invitation to Springfield, if the 
members of the State Board of Ohio, or its 
Executive Committee, gave their assent and 
approval.” 
This does not in our view affect the condi¬ 
tions of the proposition, but we give it public¬ 
ity. Our Executive Committee were in session 
last week and gave their “ assent ” to the pro¬ 
posed exhibition, provided it be held after the 
middle of October. Dr. W ardor says the show 
will go off, “ patronage or no patronage. The 
best patronage is already secured—the money 
to cover all liabilities.” We glory in the 
spunk of the Springfielders, and have no doubt 
of their success. 
A word about World's Fairs, National Ex¬ 
hibitions, <fcc. We have seen a tolerable 
Worlds Fair in Hyde Park, and a very poor 
speculation of one on Reservoir Square; a JYa¬ 
tional Horse Show at Springfield, Mass., made 
up from Bay State and Hudson River stock, 
while the best Vermont homes staid at home; 
a National Poultry Show in Barnum’s Muse¬ 
um, supplied from Albany, Rhinebeck and the 
great Metropolis. Now we have propositions 
for a National Sheep Show in Vermont, a Na¬ 
tional Home Race at New Orleans, and a Na¬ 
tional Cattle Show at Springfield, Ohio; and 
most of the agricultural papers have published 
a circular from J. S, Wright, of Illinois, calling 
for a National Trial of Reapers, “to go 
through the entire harvest” from South to 
North. This may all be very harmless verbi¬ 
age—in keeping with the spirit of the times, 
and it might be equally harmless and progress¬ 
ive to invite competition from Saturn and ad¬ 
jacent parts; but after all, it does not amount 
to any particular sum. Let every tub stand 
on its own bottom.— Ohio Cultivator. 
AMERICAN WOOL. 
The British Commissioners of the Great Ex¬ 
hibition of 1851, have determined to form, in 
London, a grand universal trade-museum. Mr. 
Solby, their agent, has applied to Mr. P. A. 
Browne, of Philadelphia, to ascertain how they 
will be able to procure for it all the leading 
varieties of the best American fleece; and Mr. 
Browne has recommended this direct appeal in 
their behalf to the sheep-breeders and wool- 
growers of the United States. Any one dis¬ 
posed to countenance this laudable design will 
be pleased, with as little delay as possible, to 
forward specimens to Mr. Browne, post-paid. 
Each sample ought to be accompanied with 
the name and address of the donor, and also 
of the breeder, where he is not the donor; the 
name of the gpecies, variety, or breed of both 
parents or ancestors of the animal from which I 
the specimen is taken; the age, sex, probable 
weight, and amount and date of last clip, and 
the number of the flock to which he belongs, 
&c. All specimens, when practicable, should 
be drawn.out, (not cut,) and betaken from the 
back, six inches in the rear of the neck. 
Editors of agricultural periodicals and of 
newspapers are respectifully requested to in¬ 
sert this notice. 
PROFIT OF KEEPING SHEEP. 
It has been frequently demonstrated that a 
farm which will support four to six cattle will 
support forty to fifty sheep at the same time, 
with very little increase of labor, when the 
horned cattle could not be increased with any 
profit. Sheep eat, both summer and winter, 
much that neat cattle will not, and it appears 
to be a settled fact that pustures are improved 
by them, and their droppings iu winter furnish 
valuable manure, particularly when fed on tur¬ 
nips and grain, as they always should be. 
Every man who can keep a cow can also 
keep half a dozen sheep, for they will eat what 
cows will not touch. Even hemlock boughs 
are devoured greedily in winter, and it is 
thought that an occasional feed conduces to 
their health. 
One flock master in Michigan calculates the 
income of his sheep in the value of fleece and 
increase at $2 10 per head He estimates the 
cost of wintering at only fifty cents a head, lie 
feeds wheat straw, and wheat bran and 
shorts. We are satisfied that sheep can be 
wintered at the west for less than fifty cents 
each. The great difficulty upon all new farms 
is the want of suitable shelter. This destroys 
many valuable animals. Sheep are as subject 
to colds as the human family, and many die 
with similar diseases.— Ohio Farmer. 
MANURE FOR HOPS. 
A friend inquires what is the cheapest and 
best manure for hops? The best manure is 
undoubtedly good animal manure from the 
barn, but it is not the cheapest. The cheapest 
and best is probably a compost made of muck, 
ashes, leaves, &c. Our reasons for this are 
these: 1st. We have tried it on a small scale 
and found it was good for hops. 2nd. This 
kind of dressing is more natural to the hop.— 
The hop plant is found native in many of our 
swamps and low lands. Not in those which 
are always wet and water bogged, but in those 
called among us as intervals, and which are 
made up of loam and occasionally overflowed. 
In such places we have often seen the hop vine 
growing with great vigor and luxuriance, and 
where there was a good supply of vegetable 
matter, decayed leaves, &c., they exhibited 
great strength and fruitfulness. Hence, we 
have inferred that decomposed muck was the 
cheapest and best manure for hops.— Maine 
Farmer. 
Y alue of Acorns. —The editor of The Ad¬ 
vocate, Claiborne, La., has gone into a minute 
calculation upon the value of one crop of 
acorns in that parish—equivalent to our couu- 
ties. He says that 1,800,000 pounds of pork 
will be consumed there in the year 1854, by 
the 12,000 inhabitants, and that the whole of 
it comes from the crop of acorns, and is worth 
the snug sum of $90,000. Besides this, he 
thinks an equal value has been added to the 
stock hogs. Lie thinks also that that parish 
grows $35,000 worth more cotton than it 
would if all the planters had to depend upon 
the corn crop for their meat, so that the actu¬ 
al value of a crop of acorns is $215,000. 
Singular Stock. —Robert Scott, Esq., of 
YVoodford county, Ky., who owns one of the 
splendid farms of that region, has a large pond 
of water upon his domain, by which he has 
half domesticated a flock of wild geese. He 
first procured eleven and cropped their wings, 
which reclaimed them for the season. They 
migrate northward in the spring, and return in 
the fall with their full-fledged young. — 
The flock now numbers two hundred and 
eighty, and it increases annually.— Louisville 
Democrat. 
Longevity of the Game Fowl. —A corres¬ 
pondent of the Pa. Farm Journal states that a 
neighbor of his had two game liens, which 
lived to be eighteen years old. It was known 
that they were of this age, as he raised them 
from eggs. Both laid during the last year of 
their life. Game fowls have often been known 
to live to the age of twelve to fifteen years.— 
The writer has known at least two, bred by 
Mr. Deniston, of Albany, one of which was 
fourteen and the other fifteen years old, and 
both laid and reared chickens at that age. 
Brood Mares in Foal. —Animals iu this 
condition should not be solely fed on hay, straw 
or fodder, as is too often the case; but should 
receive at least two feeds of oats daily, in or¬ 
der that the materials may be thereby furnish¬ 
ed to keep up the supply of bone, muscle and 
flesh, in the mothers, and yield the wherewithal 
to the young to form it out of. Thrice a week 
the mares should receive one or two ounces of 
salt or the same quantity of the salt, oyster- 
shell, lime, and ashes mixture. So recommends 
the American Farmer. 
Foreign Seeds. —Advices have been receiv¬ 
ed by the Agricultural Bureau of the Patent 
Office from Com. Perry, in command of our 
East India Squadron, that he has transmitted 
several varieties of rare and useful seeds, pro¬ 
cured in and near Canton and Shanghai. The 
list comprises spinach, turnip, mustard, Chi¬ 
nese cabbage, large and small peas, hempseed, 
Chinese rice, Chinese cotton seed, wheat, beans, 
melons, &c., all of which are expected to ar¬ 
rive in New York very shortly—and will be 
duly distrbuted from this bureau. 
It is now, we believe, a universally conceded 
fact, that the agricultural capacities of Califor- | 
nia are equal to those of any other part of the 
world. The geniality of her climate is only 
equaled by the fertility of her soil, and its ex¬ 
traordinary adaptation to nearly every variety of 
vegetable and farinaceous production. 
Seeds. —Prepare seed corn, potatoes, peas, 
beans, and all other seeds you intend to 
plant, and make it an invariable rule to se¬ 
lect the best of whatever kind you use. Great 
improvement may be made in the quality of 
crops, and probably in the quantity too, by the 
strict observance of this rule. 
Inquiries anil ^itsiwra. 
Subsoil Plow, Ac. —I am satisfied that my 
land, which is a heavy clay, lying on the west 
side of Seneca Lake, needs subsoiling. Can you 
inform me which is the best subsoil plow, where 
it can be had, price, Ac.? I saw a piece in the 
Rural, a short time ago, of a farmer using the 
common plow to subsoil, with a clevis made so 
as to change, Ac. I wish to know more about 
it,—how it stands, Ac. I also wish information 
in regard to Osage Orange for hedges—where 
can the seed be obtained, price, and how it 
should be prepared, Ac.? There are many the¬ 
ories respecting the cause of the potato disease. 
The best remedy I have found is charcoal, ashes 
and lime. I put about a pound of fine charcoal 
and a handful of ashes and lime in the hill, and 
plant the potatoes on the top of it, covering 
them with soil.— Levi French, Eddyloicn, Yates 
Co., N. Y, 1854. 
The best subsoil plows now in use are those 
manufactured by Ruggles, Nourse, Mason & 
Go., and which may be obtained at any of the 
Agricultural Warehouses. The No. 2, which 
is the better size for common farm use, and suf¬ 
ficiently heavy to perform well, sells at about 
twelve do 11 are. There is a plow in use known 
as the Michigan Subsoil or Double Plow, 
which does well where it is designed to cover 
sod for planting spring crops. The object of 
a subsoil plow is to break up the subsoil deep¬ 
er than can be done by a common plow, and 
too deep to have it thrown to the surface. It 
is narrow and strong, and has been used with 
most excellent success in all tenacious soils 
where it is desirable to have a better drainage 
and deeper tilth. Our advice to friend French 
would be to use one freely. 
Osage Orange makes good hedges, if prop¬ 
erly trimmed. It is a very free grower—more 
so than almost any other hedging shrub known 
with us. It stands the weather in Western 
New York well, with some little protection fur 
the first winter. We know some very tine 
hedges, which have been made within the past 
three and four years. For information about 
seed, growth and other matters, see an advertise- 
,meut upon the subject in this week’s Rural. 
Council Bluff. — Information Warded. —Will 
you, or some of your western correspondents, 
have the goodness to give us through the Rural, 
a topographical sketch of Council Bluff, Iowa? 
Please inform us relative to the location, popu¬ 
lation and growth of this “ultima ihule ” of the 
western wilds. Is it mostly government land 
in the vicinity?—and if not, what is the cost of 
land per acre ? What is the quality of the soil, 
and to what crops best adapted? Ac. If by any 
means you can enlighten me on the above sub¬ 
ject, you will greatly oblige—A Subscriber, 
Keuka, N. Y., April, 1854. 
Can our correspondent at Bowen’s Prairie, 
or some other Iowa friend, answer the above? 
Clinton Grape, Guano, Ac. — Is the Clinton 
grape more subject to the depredations of the 
brown rose-bug than other species, and what is 
a preventive ? I have tried various things, 
and could do nothing with them except by ta¬ 
king a pail of suds in one hand and with the 
other poking them into it, and this must be done 
in the cool of the morning or they will fly away 
Is guano to be had in Rochester, and at what 
price ?—W. B., West Bloomfield, N. Y. 
Peruvian Guano, we believe, can not be had 
in Rochester. We have just purchased two 
tons from Longett & Griffin, 25 Cliff St, 
New York, at $50 per ton. 
Planting Corn with a Machine. —Will some 
of your correspondents, who have used the ma¬ 
chine for planting corn, inform me whether it 
does as well as that planted by hand in the or¬ 
dinary way? Also what distance apart should 
it be dropped in the rows. — P. Parks, Victor, 
Out, Co., A. Y. 
Rone Dust on Corn. —Several correspond¬ 
ents ask if bone dust is a good manure for 
corn, applied in the hill. We have never so 
used it, and should be glad to hear from any 
who have. 
(D. R. W., Springwater.) You will obtain 
all the information desired about the machine 
you want—a combined reaper and mower—by 
addressing IT. C. White & Co., at the Buffalo 
Agricultural Warehouse, Buffalo, N. Y. 
(T. Ripley, Conesus Liv. Co., N. Y.) Brown’s 
or Miner’s ^Poultry Book would furnish you 
the best information on the management of 
poultry, &c. 
Hop Y inks.— Our correspondents who have 
written us about hop vines, are referred to the 
advertisement of W. I). Congar, in last week’s 
Rural. 
(I. T. C., Chappaqua.) You will find Ketch- 
um’s Mowing Machine to be all they are rep¬ 
resented. They may be obtained as above. 
Dung without tillage can do little; with 
some tillage it does something, but with much 
tillage it pulverizes the soil in less time than 
tillage alone can do: but tillage alone with 
more time, can pulverize as well.— Tull. 
Forty thousand hogs’ bladders were sold 
a few days since at Louisville, at 2J cents each, 
to fill an order from Europe. They are used 
to hold snuff, and for other purposes. 
j*rr..v 
