lorn's gral $foto-g0rktr: of the rain water; so that, while the heavy- 
A quarto weekly ^ land farmer is under the necessity of perform- 
Agricultural, Literary, and Family Newspaper ’ n » much more heavy work, and of raising 
- fewer crops than his sandy-soil neighbor, yet 
CONDUCTED EY D. D. T. MOORE, he is not necessitated to use so much manure, 
ASSISTED BY , . 
JOSEPH HARRIS, in the Practical Departments: alld rea P s frequently as much profit in One 
EDWARD WEBSTER, in the Literary and News Dep’ts. Crop as the Other does in two. 
Corresponding Editors : The summer fallow we are speaking of, is 
J. H. Bixby, — H. C. White, -T. E. Wf.tmore. either that practiced in Great Britain—break- 
Thk Rural Nkw-Yorkkr is designed to be nnique and k S ll P k the alld plowing, with harrowillgs 
beautiful in appearance, and unsurpassed in Value, Purity aild rollings, twice Or thrice durino- the Slim- 
and Variety of Contents. Its conductors earnestly labor mcr 
to make it a Reliable Guide on the important Practical 
-or that adopted here, and which, for this 
fcv imitve it i* \Tumv; uu iuo uupurutui r radical . 
Subjects connected with the business of those whose in- Climate, is undoubtedly the best, of plowing up 
terests it advocates, it embraces more Agricultural, iiorti- early in the spring, and once in the summer, 
cultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News Matter, r , , , r . 
. , .... . , :. . ’ and again immediately before sowingt On 
interspersed with many appropriate and handsome engrav- 0 J o 
ings, than any other paper published in this Country,— Sandy soils Such a preparation for wheat is un- 
reudering it a complete Agricultural, Literary and wise, but Oil heavy clays we think experience 
Family Newspaper. - and science show it to be the best system. 
r^FoR Terms, &c., seb last page, But what shall we do with the sandy soils?— 
- Sow them t0 cloveri pea?i beanS) leiltilg) rape> 
Itrn f ^itJWk AVV &c ” and either I)low thera iu or feed them ^ 
fi'A II I Hi JM/l UJ - %J U l II I t + cattle and shee P> and return back the manure; 
__tins way the plants take up the ammonia of 
) V Q/Y ( i V y &c., and either pi 
tilli til Jm ill ~ PGX !itt\ cattleand shee p> 
y in this wav the nl 
SUMMER FALLOWING. 
Progress and Improvement. rak > and thus it is retained on a sandy soil just 
as it is by the action of the double silicate of 
SUMMER FALLOWING. alumina and soda in the clay soils. On medium 
# soils, in which the clay and sand are in about 
J he two principal objects of summer fal- equal proportion — such a soil as predominates 
lowing are, to clean the land, and to convert, j u 0 ur ovvu highly favored Western New York 
by the admission of light and air, and by the j ail d Western Canada—a blending of the two 
comminution of the particles of the soil, its methods of preparing the land for wheat, would 
inert matter into available food for plants.— appear judicious. This would be by growing 
Ihe action of light and air on the organic mat- as nuich clover as possible, eat-in"- a good por¬ 
ter of the soil, and the effect of the gases, acids, tion of it on the land, and breaking up about 
&e„ generated by its decomposition, upon the the last week in June, simply cultivating to 
mmeral or inorganic substancesof thesoil, form keep down weeds and render it mellow This 
an instructive and interesting study ; but we practice is becoming more common every year, 
are not aware that a knowledge of them sug- and found much cheaper and better than 
gests any different process of tillage from that several plovvir?gg> as wa8 formcrlv the custom . 
commonly adopted by intelligent practical Even 0 n heavy clay land, many of our best 
tanners. In light, sandy soils which admit the , v - psl „ rn xw .• . mQ „. a .1 
0 . . , \v estern ^New lork tarmers—and there are 
air readily,— and in which, consequently, there iu:. „ „ , 
\ better qnjhis or the other side of the At- 
is but little inert matter capable of speedy de-* P . , , 
.. , ,, , . f . .. * lantic— prefer to plow under a good crop of 
composition by the admission of light and air, 1 , . , , . . ° p 
P u ■ ■ „ ?, , . clover when in bloom, simply cultivating the 
tnllminnrr k> nnf fal lrknmrl MriUnt 7 i J 
— summer fallowing is not followed by that in¬ 
crease of crops so observable on rich clay 
loams, which, without constant working, are 
surface of the soil afterwards, as a preparation 
for wheat, to braking up early in the spring 
and twice plowing before sowing. The clover 
impervious to the atmosphere. Farmers in , , , r n 1 , , ,, °’ ‘ 
ii . . , , , , i . Keeps the land light, and the gasses generated 
old countries, taught by long experience, un- , ■ ° ° 
i + i • , ,, b ° u . ’ , during its decomposition serve not only to en- 
derstaud this better than the cultivators of the v, 4 + % r . ,, , 
• i . . , , - XT ,, _ rich but toameliorate the soil. This s doubt- 
rich virgin lands of the IS ew World. It gen- A i , . . 
I, i ° , , . ° less a good practice, but how fiir it is capable 
crally happens that sandy laud produces better e ,. .. . „ 
p p , / . , of superceding the summer fallow proper in 
crops for a tew years, when first tilled, than ... . , F 1lu F r < 1U 
, , .... . , pulverizing clay soils, experience a one can de¬ 
clay land,— and a summer fallow on such land ^ /, . 1 ,, 
u e .. A1 cide. Our cold winters and hot summers, and 
gives better results for a few years than on „ ,, . , , . , . . ’ 
L.ii .own,. ....r above a11 the westerl y dry winds which con- 
heavy loams; but after the organic matter of 
these soils is removed, as it soon will be under a 
system of summer fallow, the increase from 
this process is materially lessened. Summer 
fallowing on sandy soil, is simply accelerating 
the decomposition of organic matter and other 
elements of plants in the soil, rendering them 
available, without, in any way, increasing the 
quantity, and is, therefore, an exhausting sys¬ 
tem of culture. British farmers have discov¬ 
ered this to their sorrow, and the fact is grad¬ 
ually forcing itself on the public mind in this 
country; while summer fallow on heavy, dry 
land, is held in as high estimation as ever. 
stantly prevail, and which so greatly astonish 
all Europeans in licking up moisture, render the 
pulverization of the soil in this country a com¬ 
paratively easy task, and enable us to dispense 
with much of the labor necessary on a Euro¬ 
pean, and especially on a British farm. Such 
are the differences of climate, that we are more 
and more satisfied that no European system of 
rotation or of tillage is applicable to this 
country, and that the only advantage to be 
derived from the experience of the “old 
country,” is from studying the principles on 
which their systems are founded: and thus, while 
° * we mav not be able to grow their turnips, rape, 
It will bo readily perceived that the necessi- vetchcSi &C i and are not lhe nccessi 
ty ot summer fallowing would render the farm- of a(iopli „ g tl,eir long or summer fallow, we 
ei o neat; e ays incapable of competing with ma y [,nil,I np a system of agriculture adapted 
tie cultivator ot light soils, were there not to our different circumstances, and having for 
othei circumstances which tend to equalize the jt s foundation the same great laws wdiich gov- 
cost ol cultivation. Sandy soils are compara- ern the processes sanctioned by the experience 
tively poor in organic matter, and other food ofages. 
of plants, while clay soils, as a general thing, --- 
contain an inexhaustible amount of all the ele- BREEDS OF CATTLE. 
ments of crops. Besides, the most expensive - 
of all fertilizers, and the one most needed on ADArTATIf,x 0F DI ™™ S T ° MILK ’ BKEF 
all wheat farms, is ammonia; it exists in the *_ 
atmosphere, and is brought down to the earth At one of the Agricultural Meetings held 
in every shower of rain. Clay soils have lhe in Boston, last winter, the subject of the value 
power of retaining this ammonia as the water of the various prominent breeds of cattle, as 
Jilters through it, but sand has not this power, adapted to different purposes and parts of the 
or, at least, only in a very slight degree.— country, was discussed in a very interesting 
When a good underdrained clay soil is sum- manner. Sanford Howard, who has a very 
mer fallowed, the food of plants locked up in extensive knowledge of all stock matters, open- 
it are decomposed and rendered available ed the discussion with a succinct history of the 
while, at the same time, the ammonia of the Domestic Ox, its origin, kindred species, differ- 
nun is retained, and helps to iucrease its for- cut varieties, &c.; displaying a considerable re- 
tility; while a sandy soil, especially one which search, and a full acquaintance with the sub- 
has been long under such a system of tillage, ject. We have not. seen the lecture in full, but 
gains comparatively little from the decompo- gather our remarks from condensed reports of 
sition and disintegration of inert matter, and the same. 
retains but a small proportion of the ammonia, The Origin of the .Domestic Ox is lost—it is 
found nowhere in an original wild state—the 
so-called wild stocks of several countries being 
only descendants of ancestors formerly domes¬ 
ticated. The Bison and the Musk Ox are dis¬ 
tinct species, and are different from our native 
cattle, which must have originated on the 
Eastern Continent. There are many breeds or 
varieties of the Domestic Ox, some of which, 
being of untraceable antiquity, may be called 
original. Breeds may be classed as natural 
and artificial; the peculiar characteristics of 
the first are the result of natural causes, those 
of the last are the result of man’s interference. 
Mr. H. instanced the Merino, and Scotch 
Black-faced sheep, the West Highland and 
Devon cattle as examples of natural breeds; 
the Leicester and improved Cotswold sheep, 
the Ayrshire, and Short-horn cattle, as exam¬ 
ples of artificial breeds. 
Breeds of cattle should be chosen according 
to the situation in which they are to be placed, 
and the purposes for which they are designed. 
Cattle are wanted for milk, beef, and labor.— 
These qualities are somewhat antagonistical, 
particularly fattening and milking. The fat¬ 
tening animal should posseas, as much as pos¬ 
sible, a rotundity of form, with a broad chest, 
and an even balance of the fore and hind 
quarters; whereas the milker should be char¬ 
acterized by flatness rather than ronndness, and 
a considerable preponderance of weight in the 
hind quarters. The animal, too, which has the 
greatest tendency to fatness, has insufficient 
muscle and nervous energy for labor. Some 
farmers think a stock should be obtained which 
will combine all qualities, but this is unreason¬ 
able. No farmer expects to get his clothes, 
shoes, farming utensils, &c., all made by one in¬ 
dividual; and on the same principle he should 
rear stock for particular use.. A 
Opinions as to the comparative merits of 
breeds for this section of country, (or this 
country indeed,; must be in a great degree 
conjectured, because no adequate experiments 
have been made in this matter. Different 
breeds are required for different localities, and 
we must be guided here, as well as in selec¬ 
tions for different purposes, by what is known 
of their characteristics. On this basis, Mr. 
Howard submitted the following list as the 
best he could recommend: 
“As Dairy Stock, 
1. Ou poor and rough soils, the Kerry breed, 
indigenous to the mountains of Ireland, and 
combining remarkable hardiness of constitution 
with superior dairy qualities, especially for but¬ 
ter. 
2. For better soils and milk-selling estab¬ 
lishments, the Ayrshires. 
3. For cities and towns, the Jerseys, at the 
satne time testing them by fair trials as to gen¬ 
eral adaptation. 
4. A selection from the JYative or common 
stock, to be subjected to a systematic course 
of breeding. 
5. Crosses of the Ayrshire and Jersey with 
the common stock, the offspring to be kept 
separate for a sufficient period to ascertain 
their qualities. 
As Fattening Stock of Secondary Value 
for the Dairy, 
1. For poor and rough soils and severe cli¬ 
mate, the West Highland Scots. 
2. For somewhat better soil, the Galloivays 
aud Devons. 
3. For medium soils, Herefords. 
4. For the best soils, and a milder climate, 
the fattening variety of Short-horns, tried also 
in comparison with Herefords. 
For Laboring Cattle, 
The Henfiords, West Highlands, and Dev¬ 
ons, are excellent draught cattle.” 
In our climate, owing to the extremes of 
heat and cold, strength of constitution is an 
important requisite in cattle that are obliged 
to undergo more or less exposure at all seasons, 
and this isjone reason why Short-horns have so 
seldom succeeded in New England. The 
Western Highland breed is a very hardy one, 
and fattens as readily the third year, as any 
other variety. In England it is considered the 
model in the improvement of all other breeds 
as to form; aud on account of these intrinsic 
properties Mr. H. advocated their introduction 
into this country. 
“An important principle iu reference to the 
ME. BQWESTS PEIZE HEEEFOED HEIFEE, “WOODBINE.'’ 
The accompanying figure is, we are assured, j Fair, September, 1853. She was bred by W. 
a good representation of “ Woodbine,” a Here- | H. Sotham ; calved Feb. 26, 1851 ; got by 
ford heifer owned by H. Bowen, Jr., of Sen- r l romp, dam [Ellen] by Trojan 2d ; g. d. Rose, 
nett, Cayuga County, N. Y. Woodbine won by Sir George (405) — gr. g. d. Perfection, by 
the first prize in her class at the N. Y. State Major, a son of Noble (238.) 
improvement and profit of animals,” Mr. H. re¬ 
marked, “is a proper supply of food, and 
proper shelter. Until due attention is paid to 
this, it is of but little use to talk of breeds, for 
although there is a great difference in the nat¬ 
ural propensities of animals of the same 
species, they may be kept so badly that all 
are unprofitable. Immense loss is annually 
suffered from insufficient feeding. Every 
living animal requires a certain amount of 
food to supply the waste of the system— 
to keep it in life and health. It is only 
when the supply is beyond what is necessary 
to support the waste, that the animal can re¬ 
tain anything in the shape of milk or flesh, or 
extra muscular exertion. Now if we have a 
given amount of hay and grain, it may be fed 
to so many animals—or the time of feeding 
may be so prolonged—that it will all be con¬ 
sumed in keeping up the daily waste which the 
vital organs occasion. Farmers frequently keep 
two cows on the food which barely keeps them 
alive, but which if given to one would be half 
returned in milk. A similar error is often 
committed in keeping a large animal instead 
of a small one. The pasturage may be such 
that a large animal has to graze constantly to 
obtain a scanty supply for its system, when a 
small animal, requiring proportionably less food, 
could lay by a surplus.” 
Mr. B. Y. French, Mr. Lincoln, and other 
gentlemen, took part in the discussion, but the 
information presented by Mr. Howard we con¬ 
sider of the greatest importance to the general 
reader.— b. 
TEACHING BUYS TO MOW. 
Eds. Rural :—It is very important that 
every farmer should be a good mower. Mow¬ 
ing is the most pleasant, joyful and delightful, 
yet laborious employment, that a farmer has 
to engage in. There is nothing in which a 
good farmer takes more satisfaction in doing, 
and doing well, than mowing; because it is 
literally “ reaping his harvest.” It is lament¬ 
able to see so many stout, able-bodied farmers 
who are poor mowers. Why is it so? Simply 
because they were not trained right the first 
summer that they commenced to mow. I 
know this to be the principal reason, from ex¬ 
perience. The first summer that I commenced 
to mow, I was fifteen years old—old enough to 
have taken a narrow swath and kept uo with 
the men, if I had been fitted with a good “ rig¬ 
ging.” Being a boy, and working one month 
for 87, my employer gave me an old worn-out 
scythe and snath, and told me ‘ to mow what I 
could, when there was nothing else to do.’ My 
scythe was soft, consequently it cut well for a 
rod or two, before the keen edge was worn off. 
Being ambitious, and determined to try to 
‘ keep up,’ I soon lamed my side, which I am [ 
troubled with to this day when I mow. Two 
years after, 1 commenced mowing again. The 
man that I worked for, took it upon himself to 
whet and grind my scythe for me; and when 1 
told him my scythe was dull,” he would fre¬ 
quently tell me, in a harsh way, “ You are dull, 
not the scythe.” I would bite my lips, and 
mow on, when it seemed to me every time I 
swung my scythe, that it would rend my side. 
The following Theory almost every man will 
instill iuto the mind of the new beginner, viz.: 
“Stand nearly erect; stand up to your grass, 
and let the heel of your scythe swing as close 
to the ground as possible. Don’t carry your 
scythe too much. When you swing your 
scythe back, swing it no further back than 
even with your body. Mow your grass close. 
Point out well. Don’t whet your scythe round¬ 
ing, &c., &c.” 
The best way to learn a boy of a suitable 
age to become a good mower, is, 1st, Provide 
him with a light, stout snath, and one of the 
best of scythes. Let the snath be quite crook¬ 
ed uear the heel. Let them be well hung, and 
put in good order. 2d, Teach him the theory 
of mowing. 3d, Let him whet and grind his 
own scythe generally; when he is discouraged 
or tired, whet it for him. 4th, When he grinds 
it, if he does not grind it enough, finish it for 
him. 5th, If your company numbers only two 
or three, let him take his turn and mow with 
the company. When he gets tired, either let 
him sit down, or engage in some other em¬ 
ployment in the field until he is rested. If he 
complain that his scythe is dull, don’t tell him 
that he is lazy; but say to him kindly that you 
will sharpen his scythe for him (i. e., if he feels 
discouraged, and thinks he can’t sharpen it.) 
and mow a few clips on his swath with it.— 
When he mowg well, praise him a little.— 
There are but very few boys but what are glad 
to be praised, if they think you mean what 
you say. Occasionally help him on his swath, 
if he lags. Don’t require him to mow too 
long at a time. Require him to mow befoi e 
sunrise, and allow him a nooning after dinner. 
To the new beginner I would say, strive to 
put the theory in practice; imitate your seniors 
(if they are good mowers;) leam to strike 
quick, and mow with the heel, as well as the 
point of your scythe; don’t mow when your 
scythe is dull; keep good courage, and you 
will become a good mower. 
G. A. Hawley. 
Skaneatelas, N. Y., July, 1S54. 
Muck or Peat should be thrown up during 
the summer months to dry, and then, by com¬ 
posting it with fermenting manures, it is ulti- < 
mately converted into an excellent fertilizer.— J 
This is a better method than decomposing it < 
with lime or ashes, as they have a tendency to ) 
liberate ammonia. $ 
