134 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
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Conuimnicatimis. 
THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. - NO. II. 
Oats—(Avena Saliva.) 
No grain that is cultivated will adapt itself 
to so many soils, different localities or extremes 
of climate, and pay for cultivation, as the oat. 
It will thrive on cold, barren soils which will 
produce no other sort of grain: it will also 
grow and produce heavy crops on the richest 
and hottest soils; in fact, there is no soil too 
poor or none too rich, none too cold or none 
too hot to mature the oat. The oat has fewer 
enemies to contend with than any of the grains 
that we cultivate; and let the season be wet or 
dry, hot or cold, on well prepared soils we reap 
a good crop. The worst enemy that they have 
to contend w'ith is the farmer himself, who 
gives less attention to the proper preparation 
of the soil for this than any that he cultivates. 
On good soils, well cultivated, the yield is al¬ 
most invariably large, from 60 to 100 bushels 
per acre. The oat when sown early and thin, 
tillers more than wheat or barley. 
I once tried the experiment of planting single 
grains, and hoeing them. The number of stalks 
thrown up from one kernel reached as high as 
180, and gave an increase of over 20,000 per 
cent, thatiis, from one seed sown I had a yield 
of over twenty thousand grains. The best soil 
for oats is a deep, rich, heavy loam, not too 
dry or too wet The best time for preparing 
the soil is in the fall or early in spring. They 
should be sown as soon as the ground can 
be worked in the spring and got in fine tilth, 
for the best crops are those sown first on good 
soil. The quantity sown per acre varies from 
2 to 4 bushels. The best farmers agree that 
from 2i to 3 bushels per acre is the right 
quantity. I have raised good crsps from sow¬ 
ing 2 bushels, and have known a large crop to 
be raised from sowing but \ \ bushels. The 
black and red oats, being hardier and coarser, 
may be sown two weeks before the best varieties 
of white. The red or Egyptian oat is a winter 
oat, and is sown in the fall in some of the South¬ 
ern States, and fed off till spring. 
The varieties of oats are many. Loudon de¬ 
scribes 9 which are well defined and entirely 
distinct, besides which there are many local 
and sub-varieties. Lawson describes 37; and 
$4 varieties are deposited in the Highland A g¬ 
ricultural Society’s Museum of Scotland. The 
natural classification by the ear is obvious.— 
One kind has its panacles or flowers and 
branches spreading, and equal and tapering 
like a cone; another has them unequal and all 
on one side. An example of the first is the 
common white, and of the second the Tarta¬ 
rian or Horse-mane oat 
A second classification would be by the col¬ 
or of the grain, such as white, black, gray, blue 
and red. 
A third classification would be by the size 
and shape of the grain; the one round, plump 
and shortish, like the Potato oat; the other 
longer and thinner, like the common white or 
black. " 
A fourth classification and the most common 
is by name. The first is the common ivhile, 
and is the most extensively cultivated in West- 
ern New York of all the varieties, and is known 
by its white husk and grain. The black oat 
is known by its black husk and grain; this kind 
is but little cultivated in this section. The 
brown or reddish brown has a red or brownish 
husk, and a thinner and more flexile stem than 
the common white or black, and the grains are 
firmly attached to the end of the branches.— 
This variety is well suited to windy locations, 
and is earlier than the common. 
The Dutch or Frizland oat is known by 
its plump, thin-skinned, white grain, and I think 
is the kind that is cultivated and sold here un¬ 
der the name of Poland oat, from which it 
differs in having a thinner skin and grains 
mostly double, and is a superior variety. This 
kind weighs from 40 to 56 pounds per bushel. 
The Poland oat is known by its pure white 
husk, and solitary grains which are short and 
plump. It has a short stiff straw, and delights 
in a rich, warm soil. The Black Poland re¬ 
sembles the white except in color, and is a val¬ 
uable oat. The Poland oat, in a suitable 
clime and soil, is a very prolific oat, yielding 
large crops, and the grain weighing from 40 to 
50 pounds per bushel. The Potato oat has 
large, plump, rather thick-skinned, white grains, 
which are double and often treble. The straw 
is longer than either of the Poland or Dutch, 
and is more liable to lodge, but is a good vari¬ 
ety in a suitable soil, and is more extensively 
raised in some parts of England and Scotland 
than any other. They are said to have been de¬ 
rived from a single grain found growing among 
potatoes in England in 1778. The Black Tar¬ 
tarian is supposed to be a distinct species.— 
The white Siberian is similar, except in color. 
They are distinguished by the grains being 
mostly on one side, and are frequently called 
Horse-mane oat They yield well but are con¬ 
sidered coarse. The Egyptian oat is sown in 
the fall, and requires a warmer climate than 
Western New York. It tillers well, and pro¬ 
duces a large quantity of food for cattle. 
Marion, Wayne Co., N. Y. 1854. P, A. CLARK. 
GRASS HEAD-LANDS. 
Those farmers who contemplate breaking 
up any of their old meadows the coming sea¬ 
son, will do w T ell, I think, to practice a different 
course than that usually done. Those who cal¬ 
culate to seed any of their fields, will find it 
to their advantage to be a little more nice in 
their manner of doing it. And those who 
have not concluded to seed any portion of their 
farms, either to Clover or Timothy, will, if the 
circumstances are favorable, derive a great 
benefit from the course I am about to describe. 
If your fences are permanent, in good repair, 
and free of all obstructions; and the surface 
of the ground is good, and well seeded; I 
would not plow nearer than one rod of the 
fence. In preparing a field for seeding, I would 
render it as nice as it could possibly be done, 
for at least a rod from the fence, before seed¬ 
ing; and every field that could be brought 
within these requirements, I would seed for at 
least one rod in width from the fence, though 
the remainder, in the usual rotation of crops, 
could not be seeded for years. 
The benefits to be derived from such a 
course, commence with, and continue through¬ 
out the year. If a field treated in this manner 
is in wheat, it can suffer but very little from 
snow drifts; either from depth in winter, or 
long continuance in spring. If it is to be 
spring plowed, it can be commenced from three 
to five days earlier. It can be plowed better, 
harrowed better, sown better, especially with 
the drill; it can be rolled better; it can be har¬ 
vested better, more particularly with the reap¬ 
er. The meadow border can be used as a road 
in spring, if the fences need repairing, when it 
would be almost impossible, to say nothing of 
the injury, to go on any other portion of the 
field. It makes an excellent place for horses 
to turn in plowing, and also the other opera¬ 
tions in the culture of the field; but more par¬ 
ticularly the drill and reaper, which need such 
a place for commencement and finishing. The 
grass can be mown usually twice, and will never 
need manuring; there being enough on the 
border to render it an object, whereas were it 
narrower, it would occasion much trouble to 
obtain it, and, as a general thing, be lost alto¬ 
gether, and give a good chance for weeds to 
get a foot-hold, and look very unsightly and 
slovenly into the bargain. 
Grain that grows near the fences, is usually 
too rank to fill well, even if it does not lodge 
and rust. Fences will last better in such situ¬ 
ations, from reason of less violence by imple¬ 
ments, and wood fences of any fashion, by being 
kept cleaner, will be less liable to rot. There 
are many other reasons why this system ought 
to be adopted, which will suggest themselves 
to those who choose to think. h. d. l. s. 
Pompey, N. Y., April, 1854. 
Remarks. —In Hertfordshire, and some few 
other counties of England, the plan recom¬ 
mended by our correspondent, has been adopt¬ 
ed from time immemorial. There are some con¬ 
veniences attending grass head-lands around 
arable fields, but on the whole, we think they 
are not sufficient to pay for the loss of land.— 
In most cases, on these old head-lauds, we have 
observed that the grass was hardly worth the 
trouble of mowing and gathering. We never 
met with an intelligent farmer in these counties 
but would admit that he thought them unne¬ 
cessary and unprofitable. We shall be glad 
to hear the views of correspondents.— Eds. 
POTATO ROT AND MR. BRIGGS’ OPINION. 
After advancing a multitude of theories, 
and after trying numerous experiments, the 
world is yet left in the dark in relation to the 
real cause of the potato rot. Mr. I. W. Briggs, 
it would seem, has come out with his theory, 
and writes this to the JYew York Tribune :— 
“ That the potato disease, so called, is not he¬ 
reditary, but entirely dependent on the nature 
of the soil and the elements. That a plant, 
whether from a sound or an unsound potato, will, 
under circumstances at all favorable, produce 
sound potatoes.” 
So far as Mr. Briggs’ theory goes in refer¬ 
ence to the potato rot not being her edit an/, 
we agree with him, but cannot conceive what 
he really means about the elements. 'There are 
several kinds of elements, and we think that 
Mr. Briggs should have been a little more ex¬ 
plicit m respect to his theory concerning “ the 
elements.” And so far as the nature of the 
soil goes towards producing healthy potatoes, 
we are of opinion that you about as often get 
good roots from one kind of soil as you do from 
another and a different kind of land. We have 
known potatoes to decay on sandy soil, the 
vepy kind of soil which people maintain will 
produce potatoes freest from the rot; while, on 
the other hand, loamy and peat soil has been 
known, through our own observation, to yield 
as fine and healthy potatoes as the country is 
capable of producing. We must dissent from 
Mr. Briggs’ theory in respect to soil and the 
elements, for it does seem that all kinds of soil 
are capable, and do produce sound potatoes. 
Our observation has plainly told us this, while 
we are of opinion that the atmosphere and 
slate of the weather, at certain seasons of the 
year, have more to do with the potato disease 
than all other things combined. It is evident 
that our seasons are different from what they 
were a few years since, even in Ireland and En¬ 
gland, and other parts of the world. Can it 
be denied that changes do not take place in the 
atmosphere? Can it be denied that our sea¬ 
sons do not change? Certainly not And 
now we conclude that the potato rot is caused 
by reason of the change in the seasons, and be¬ 
cause of a change in the atmosphere, unless we 
acknowledge without legitimate proof, that a 
new and poisonous element has sprung up 
among us, the nature of which is destructive to 
the potato. And it would seem that this po¬ 
tato rot is not alone confined to the potato, 
but makes its appearance in fruit and other es¬ 
culents. The peach, for instance, rots; so do 
other things. The rot of the peach seems to 
be similar to that of the potato, &c. Mr. 
Briggs would confer a favor on a large class 
of readers by explaining more definitely in re¬ 
lation to his new theory, either through the 
Rural, or Tribune. W. Tapp an. 
Baldwinsville, N. Y., April, 1854. 
CLEAN CULTURE. 
Eds. Rural: — It is a fact, that ground, 
which is kept from vegetation, will not dry up 
so much, as that on which a crop is grown.— 
There are many who doubt this, but if they 
will make a proper examination, I think their 
doubts will be removed. Make an experiment: 
take a piece of ground in your garden, or else¬ 
where, where it is free from vegetation, and 
hoe it every day, or often enough to keep all 
vegetation from starting. Sow another piece 
adjoining with grass, or some kind of grain.— 
After a drouth of two or three weeks, examine 
them by digging into them with a shovel or 
spade. The earth of the grass or grain plat 
will be found dry, like ashes, to the depth of a 
foot or more, while the other plat will be found 
dry to the depth of only two or three inches.— 
Below that it will be quite moist. Or if there 
is a tree in your field, see if the ground is not 
much dryer near it than on similar ground out 
of the reach of its roots. The fact is, the roots 
of vegetation bring the moisture from a far 
greater depth than could be done by simple 
evaporation. Now from all this we deduce 
the following argument in favor of clean cul¬ 
ture: that is—a culture which permits no use¬ 
less vegetation to grow among cultivated crops; 
the advantage of which would be to give the 
whole benefit of the moisture and nutriment to 
the crop, instead of giving apportion to worth¬ 
less weeds. In a dry time we frequently hear 
farmers say, it will not do to 'work my corn or 
potatoes; they need all the grass and weeds to 
keep them from drying up. Now as we have 
shown, this is at} a mistake; the grass and 
weeds make it dry faster and deeper. But it 
is alleged that corn has been injured by work¬ 
ing or plowing in a dry time; we admit that it 
is true under the following circumstances: If 
corn has got too large before it is worked, in¬ 
jury is then done. The reason is, the roots are 
extended and the plow cuts off so large a por¬ 
tion of them that there is not enough left to 
support it, and it soon withers. 
But it is only when the roots have become 
widely extended, and are torn and mutilated in 
the operation of working it, that any such con¬ 
sequences follow. If it is worked, as it ought 
to be, while small, no fears of injury need be 
entertained. p. k. 
LIVERPOOL vs. ONONDAGA SALT. 
Eds. Rural: —I noticed some two months 
ago, in your paper, an article recommend¬ 
ing Daily men to use our State salt instead of 
Liverpool, &c. I would agree with you pro¬ 
viding we could gc-t the right kind; the most of 
the salt I purchase by the barrel, of State man¬ 
ufacture, is only fit for cattle, hay, and straw. 
I am under the necessity of paying seven or 
eight dollars annually, for Liverpool salt, and I 
would much prefer our State salt, were it made 
as clean and pure as it might be, for I should 
expect some little saving of expense, and much 
less trouble in obtaining it. I have seen as 
pure salt from Onondaga as I ever saw from 
Liverpool, but there is no dependence on it for 
dairy use. I frequently purchase three or four 
barrels at a time, and I may find part of a bar¬ 
rel clean enough for butter, while quite a por¬ 
tion of it is not fit to salt beef. 
If any person will make it a business to 
manufacture dairy salt by the barrel, and make 
it acceptable, I have no doubt in a few years 
it would be the means of driving a great por¬ 
tion, if not all of the imported dairy salt, from 
our State. There may be establishments that 
make clean and pure salt. If so, 1 should like 
to know it, and who to address, for I have seen 
but very little of it in Chemung county. I 
have seen small sacks of 20 to 25 lbs., called 
Dairy salt, and Table salt, and have used con¬ 
siderable of it for table use, and finishing out 
my dairy in the fall, (being out of Liverpool,) 
but they are too small. Most of the dairies in 
this county want from one to five barrels a 
year for butter. I might say considerable 
more on the subject, but am in hopes others 
interested, will turn their attention to it and 
make an effort to remedy the deficiency. 
Horseheada, Chemung Co., N. Y. S. C. S. 
^frimltoral AHbtdknni. 
MAPES’ SUPERPHOSPHATE OP L13IE. 
The Maine Farmer says we must have ta¬ 
ken him for a goosy in chemical lore, in sup¬ 
posing him to assert that sulphate of ammonia 
would be decomposed by the addition of sul¬ 
phuric acid, and that he did not say so. We 
beg ten thousand pardons for entertaining, even 
for a moment, the supposition he attributes 
to us. We certainly had no intention of mis¬ 
quoting him. He said:—“The sulphuric acid 
combining with the bone dust decomposes the 
carbonate of lime; * * the sulphate of amrno- 
niaisalso decomposed, yielding additional quan¬ 
tities of ammonia.” We supposed, in our ignor¬ 
ance of languages, that the sulphate of ammonia 
was also decomposed by the addition of sul¬ 
phuric acid, and yielded additional quantities 
of ammonia in consequence. There is not one 
word said about any other means being used 
to decompose it, and we had no other alterna¬ 
tive but to believe that the meaning of the sen¬ 
tence was the one we adopted, silly though it 
was. We are, however, glad to find that we 
were mistaken, and are especially happy that 
the Maine Farmer agrees with us that there 
can be nothing gained by mixing sulphate of 
ammonia with superphosphate of lime—lliat^ 
is to say, that sulphate of ammonia and super¬ 
phosphate of lime, sown separately, would 
be just as good as though they were mixed 
together. 
Y alue of Corn Stalks. —At a recent far¬ 
mers’ Club in New York, Judge Van Wyck 
speaking of a farmer in Westchester County, 
said: 
Corn stalks, he thohglit, made an excellent 
fodder, most kinds of stock are fond of them, 
especially milch cows; they must be got in 
good order, and well taken care of. He con¬ 
sidered them nearly as valuable as hay. Last 
year he fed them out rather freely to his stock 
the first of the winter, and he was afraid he 
would run short, and about the first of Februa¬ 
ry he put them on hay, and his cows in two or 
three days fell off full one-third in milk; he put 
these again on stalks, and they soon recovered 
a part of their loss. 
Five Calves at a Birth. —The London 
Veterinarian gives a well attested and unpre¬ 
cedented instance of a cow giving birth in one 
day to five live healthy calves, all of which, a 
few days afterwards, were “ alive and vigorous, 
and have every appearance of continuing so.” 
They are all very nearly of a size, and are 
larger than could be supposed. 
Pulse of Various Animals. —The pulse of 
several of our domestic animals, as given by 
Vatel, in his “ Veterinary Pathology,” is near¬ 
ly as follows: 
Horse, from 32 to 38 pulsations per minute; 
Ox or Cow, 25 to 42; Ass, 48 to 54; Sheep, 
70 to 79; Coat, 72 to 76; Dog, 90 to 100; 
Cat, 110 to 120; Rabbit, 120; Guinea Pig, 
140; Duck, 135; Hen, 140. 
“KEEP OFE THE GRASS.” 
All around the walks of our city parks we 
see posted up in flaming capitals, “ Keep off 
the grass.” We should like to see one of these 
placards put near every fanner’s cattle yard at 
this reason, with a little alteration, so that it 
would read, “keep the cattle off the grass.” It 
is a pretty sure sign of bad management, if an¬ 
imals are seen roaming over the fields, before 
the grass is so forward as to furnish an abun¬ 
dance of food. So long as they are kept en¬ 
tirely away from tasting green food, animals 
will not lose their relish for dry. But let them 
out for a few hours, or suffer them to crop by 
the wayside as they are driven to and from 
water, and for hours after they will scarcely 
touch their dry food. 
Tramping upon the fields before the ground 
has been thoroughly settled, is very detrimen¬ 
tal to the future growth of grass. The first 
shoots are tender and are easily killed, while 
they contain little nourishment compared with 
an equal weight or bulk of more advanced 
growth. It is economical to purchase dry 
food for a week or two longer, and let vegeta¬ 
tion get a good start before an animal sets foot 
upon it. 
Feeding Poultry. —Professor Gregory of 
Aberdeen, in a letter to a friend, observes:— 
“ As I suppose you keep poultiy, I may tell 
you that it has been ascertained that if you 
mix with their food a sufficient quantity of egg¬ 
shells or chalk, which they eat greedily, they 
will lay twice or thrice as many eggs as before. 
A well-fed fowl is disposed to lay a large num¬ 
ber of eggs, but cannot do so without the ma¬ 
terials of the shells, however nourishing in oth¬ 
er respects her food may be; indeed, a fowl fed 
on food and water, free from carbonate of lime, 
and not finding any in the soil, or in the shape 
of mortar, which they often eat on the walls, 
would lay no eggs at all with the best will in 
the world.’ 
Cure For Scar in Sheer. —I beg to send 
you a certain cure for scab in sheep, as I have 
triedit this winter, with the happiest effects, in 
some cases that resisted the most approved 
washes. The following is the recipe:—One 
part black antimony, two parts powdered nitre, 
four parts sulphur, a small quantity of powdered 
ginger, and as much yellow soap as will make 
the mass of a proper consistence for making it 
into balls- A drachm of this substance given 
to each sheep four times a week, will ef¬ 
fect a cure in a fortnight or three weeks, accor- 
dingto the state of the sheep. Keep them in at 
night, in winter.— Samuel Roberts, England. 
fnquirks ait!) 
Culture of Flax.: —Will you, or some of your 
correspondents, have the kindness to give ns 
some information in regard to raising flax?— 
What should be the quality of the soil, whether 
sod or stubble ground,—what the best kind of 
manure and the degree of tilth necessary,—the 
time of sowing, and the number of pounds of 
seed required per acre, when it is raised princi¬ 
pally for the seed ; and also, the yield per acre 
that may be expected, with good ground, tillage 
and manuring ? What other information you 
may give will be thankfully received.— John L. 
Mandeyille, Motts * Corners, Tompkins Co., A. Y. 
The soil best adapted for the growth of flax, 
is a dry, deep loam, with a clay subsoil, and as 
a general rule, all soils need underdraining for 
its profitable, production. The preparation of 
the soil is of great importance. Flax requires 
emphatically clean culture. A wheat stubble, 
harrowed or cultivated, as soon as the wheat 
i3 off, so that all small seeds may germinate, and 
then plowed in the fall and left rough, exposed 
to the meliorating effects of frost, is the plan 
we should recommend. Many good cultivators 
prefer sod ground plowed deep, very early in 
the spring, harrowing and cultivating till it is 
quite mellow. If cultivated for seed alone, one 
bushel of seed will be sufficient, as thin sow¬ 
ing causes the plant to throw out branches 
which bear abundance of seed. The more fer¬ 
tile the soil, the less seed should be sown, as 
the plants will tiller more. If the object be 
flax, two and a half bushels (126 lbs.) is about 
the proper quantity, varying less or more, ac¬ 
cording to the richness of the soil. The object 
of so much seed, is to prevent the plant from 
branching out, and to obtain a tall and slender 
stem. In selecting the seed, choose that which 
is shining and slippery, not too plump and of a 
brownish red color. The earlier it is sowm in 
April, if the weather and soil are favorable, the 
better. Ten bushels per acre of seed and 400 
pounds of flax, is a good crop. There is no 
better manure for flax than well rotted barn¬ 
yard dung. Peruvian guano is also very good, 
and has the additional advantage of being free 
from all weeds. Two to four hundred pounds 
per acre may be sown broadcast and harrowed 
in. We trust our experienced readers will 
give us their views on the culture of flax, its 
comparative profit, &c., &c. 
Swamp Land.—A s I am a constant reader of 
your valuable paper, I take great interest in the 
part assigned to agriculture, and more so, as I 
am about to commence in that laudable and 
pleasant occupation ; and as there are frequent 
inquiries through your paper, by farmers, I 
would like to ask, for my benefit, one or two 
questions respecting farming. I have a field of 
sonie five acres of swamp, black muck land, 
that I have made dry by drains, so that I can 
plow it; but a part of it appears to be a decom¬ 
position of timber and vegetables, and seems to 
lack strength to produce a good crop of corn or 
potatoes. I would like to inquire what kind of 
a fertilizer would be proper to give life, so as to 
produce a crop.— J. Abbott, Portagcville, N. Y. 
Lime and unleached, or leached ashes, would 
probably greatly benefit such a soil. Rut one 
hundred bushels of lime on half an acre of it, 
and see what effect it has. Apply it as soon 
as possible, and plow it in, and report the re¬ 
sult. 
Broom Corn. — Will you, or some one of 
your correspondents, please give us some infor¬ 
mation in reference to raising broom corn V We 
should like to be informed whether it is or is 
not, when it grows well, a profitable crop ?— 
What soil and what seed shall be employed to 
insure the best crop ? Also, what time should 
it be planted ?—Van, Sodus, A. Y. 
We would refer our correspondent to the 
valuable communications we published on this 
subject, in the. current volume of the Rural, 
and also, to the article on the first page, this 
week. On proper soil, with proper cultivation 
and management, there can be no doubt but 
that broom corn, under favorable circumstan¬ 
ces, is one of the most profitable crops grown. 
Peach tree Worms. —A correspondent at 
Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y., in reply to the 
inquiry of “ K,” in the Rural of March 25th, 
says:—“My father has peach and apple or¬ 
chards in Indiana. To preserve the roots of the 
trees, he is in the habit of putting about half 
a bushel of the stems of tobacco around each 
tree. He lays the stems around the root of 
the tree on top of the ground, once in two 
years. This plan has never failed to protect 
roots from all insects, &c.” 
Hydraulic Cement.—I saw a piece in the Ru¬ 
ral, last fall, describing a method of laying 
down water-works with water lime and gravel. 
I have a spring that I wish to bring to my 
house. I have heard that there is a patent for 
hydraulic cement, and would like to know if I 
should be infringing on that claim by using the 
water lime, as I have found different opinions 
on the subject.—A Subscriber, April, 1854. 
Y ou will infringe no patent by adopting the 
method referred to in the Rural. 
Underdraining. —Will you, or some of your 
correspondents, inform me through the pages of 
the Rural, the manner of laying tile—and also, 
the manner of digging the ditch for tile ?—G. 
W. Irish, Ealduinsvillc, N. Y., 1854, 
