RURAL LIFE 
aBR ICULTUSOS 
■ ■■ * I I. 
“ PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT, 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. -FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 1800. 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
an original weekly 
RURAL, LITERARY AND EAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
its speedy harvest, applied. Were we to con¬ 
dense into few wordB what seems to be the gov¬ 
erning principle of the own t, we would quote 
the Belgian maxim t—AV) grass, no stock; no stock, 
no manure, no manure, no crops.” 
We have thus detailed the opinions and man¬ 
agement of the possessor of a large farm, and 
will, a3 reflecting the same views, but upon a 
much smaller scale, give the expression uf one 
whose fee simple to the soil covers only eighty 
acres, situated within a mile of ML Morris. The 
latter gentleman seemed convinced that his 
domain was too small for profitable farming, 
because sufficient stock could not be kept there¬ 
upon to supply nutritive matter for enriching 
the soil. By the addition of twenty-five or thirty 
acres, and the increased facility thus afforded 
for the breeding and rearing of cattle,—judging 
from the experience of co-laborers In his imme¬ 
diate vicinity,—he would be enabled to keep his 
estate in an improving condition, and also exhibit 
a fair return for labor and money expended. The 
division of this farm was nearly as follows:— 
Wheat, twenty acres; Barley, ten acres; Corn, 
ten acres; Potatoes, five acres; Carrots, one acre; 
Buildings, Orchard and Garden, about five acres; 
thus leaving twenty-nine acres for pusture and 
meadow. The owner had never tried soiling, or 
root-growing, for feeding purposes,—to any ex¬ 
tent, at least,—as it would require the services of 
an extra laborer, and bis expenses were already 
all he was willing to look square in the face. 
It is not our purpose to review the "order of 
exercises” aa exhibited upon the two farms we 
have thus presented to our readers. Wo could 
theorize, probably, furnishing, upon paper, a bril¬ 
liant statement of what might tie carried forwuid 
to complete success; while practical men, view¬ 
ing the subject, might argue, and, perhaps, fully 
prove, that our notions of perfection were purely 
Utopian. The question is left for Rural corres¬ 
pondents to “reflect upon, and inwardly digest” 
We hope they will canvass it in such manner as 
Its importance demands, and, having arrived at 
a decision, drawn from observation aud experi¬ 
ence, will give others the benefit thereof. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors, 
The Rural Nkw-Yorker is designed to be unsurpassed 
in Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful in Appearance, its Conductor devotes 
his personal attention to the supervision of Its various de¬ 
partments, nsd earnestly labors to render the RURAL an 
eminently Reliable Guide on all the important Practical, 
Scientilic and other Subjects intimately connected with the 
business of those whose interests it cealouidy advocates. 
As a Family Jocknal it is eminently Instructive and En¬ 
tertaining - be me so conducted that it can bo safely taken 
to the Hearts and Homes of people of intelligence, taste 
and discrimination. It embraces more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary and News Matter, 
interspersed with appropriate and beautiful Engravings, 
than any other journal, — rendering it the most complete 
Agricultural, Lit shaky and Family Newspaper in 
America. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
STOCK, THE BASE OF AGRICULTURE. 
In all the callings to which the human family 
devote themselves, either for pleasure or neces¬ 
sity, there is, aud ever will be, considerable 
diversity of opinion. The profession of the 
farmer,—owing to the recent date at which well- 
conducted and thoroughly-tested experiments 
were instituted,—is, probably, more affected by 
this condition of afl'aits than almost any other, 
and disputants wax exceedingly warm in their 
attempts to sustain the various positions assumed. 
Each is eontldent that his premises are placed 
upon the rock, and will admit an error only when 
creeping from the ruins which the storm of argu¬ 
ment and experiment have piled above him,—the 
mistake has become apparent to the world, and, 
notwithstanding the obstinacy and pride of man, 
he is forced to acknowledge that his judgment 
was erroneous. 
We are led to these reflections by a communi¬ 
cation, (given on our second page,) in which the 
writer assumes the position that the farmers of 
Western New York are rearing too much stock 
to make their business profitable. The mode of 
reasoning, and the arguments educed, are diamet¬ 
rically opposite to those we have lately heard 
expressed by some of the most successful agri¬ 
culturists In the Genesee Valley, and we purpose 
giving their views in order that those interested 
may arrange the arguments, pro and con, and sum 
up the question for themselves. 
One of these gentlemen, the proprietor of a 
large farm, remarked that "could he grow for 
market an old-fashioned crop of wheat, (the 
number of acres cultivated before the advent of' 
the midge was 150, or thereabouts,) he would care 
little about selling any of the courser giaius pro¬ 
duced, except in the form of stock. The founda¬ 
tion upon which a farmer must erect his calling, 
if he would have it successful, is the manure 
heap, and this he can only create by the agency 
of stock.” Upon this farm could ho found all 
the spring calves, lambs, and pigs, despite the 
offers of drovers and butchers, who would pay 
good prices, for all were in the .best condition. 
The only sales of stock made before the animals 
arrive at any degree of maturity, consist of about 
one hundred lambs,—a cross of the MeiiDG and 
and South-DowD,—which are disposed of in the 
fall. llorse9 are reared from collhood until three, 
four, and five years of age; horned cattle, until 
they make promising two and three year olds; 
and the swine are slaughtered when they will 
produce pork which those who relish spare-rib 
or “ pork and beans,” could not but pronounce it 
excellent 
The mode adopted for keeping so large a farm 
in healthy condition, (the estate consisting of 800 
acres.) is the following:—The fields contiguous to 
the barns,—three in number, and at different parts 
of the premises,—receive the great bulk of the 
manure manufactured, while the extreme limits 
are pastured, portions, alternately broken up for 
a grain crop, again seeded down to grass, and the 
sheep turned in. And the mowing lauds are 
worthy of especial notice, for greater care seems 
to be given them than is customary among 
farmers. Draining has been resorted to consider¬ 
ably, stones removed, and every means that can 
be used to insure a good return in the yield, and 
LIVE YANKEE 
foaled May 14th, 1851. The thousands of Rural 
reaTeis who have seen Live Yankee need not be 
informed that he is a very handsome, spirited 
and muscular horse, lie is a natural trotter, and 
though rarely used on the track, is Baid to have 
been successful in every trial. He was awarded 
the first premium for style and speed at the Mon- 
roo County Horse Show in 1858. We are confi¬ 
dent, that the admirers of the Black Hawk breed 
of horses in this locality will be pleased to learn 
that Live Yankee is now owned and kept for 
breeding purposes within their reach. 
Loud, is as follows:—“Live Yankee was sired by 
the original Black Hawk, owned by David Hill, 
Esq., of Bridport, Vt.; g. sire Sherman; g. g. sire 
Justin Morgan. His dam was sired by Edward 
Long’s premium horse Eclipse; ho by American 
Eclipse, of New York; he by Duroo, and ho by 
imported Diomede; his g. dam was sired by 
Young Brutus, and lie by imported Brutus.” 
According to a certificate of David Hill, Live 
Yankee was bred by Jonah N. Smith, of West, 
Addison, Vt., and sired by Hill’s original Black 
Hawk, in Bridport, Vt., the season of 1850, and 
Many of our readers will probably recognize 
the above portrait of a Black Hawk Stallion 
which has been kept in this region for a year or 
two past. As “ Live Yankee” is now the property 
of Mr. Jarvis Lord, of this county, (who recently 
purchased him of Messrs. Smith & Spaulding, 
of Vermont,) we give his portrait, pedigree, etc., 
for the benefit of breeders and admirers of fine 
horses in Western New Yoik. 
"Live Yankee” is nine years old; color raven 
black; stands lt;£ hands high, and weighs 1,250 
poundB. His pedigree, as furnished us by Mr. 
EXPERIENCE IN UNDERDRAINING.—NO. II. 
The material to be used in underdraining— 
whether Stone, Tile, Brush, or other substances— 
has been a mooted question among farmers. 
Probably any would answer, and the selection 
should be made with reference to the varying cir¬ 
cumstances of different farmers. We have had 
no experience except with the first two, aud can 
commend either as making a good and durable 
drain. 
When we began to nnderdrain in 1854, (fall,) we 
did not think of using anything but stone, of 
which we had a good many. About tile we knew 
very little, and were rather prejudiced against it 
We Bhould have vehemently doubted thesanlty ul 
any one who should have told us how much 
“crockery” we have Bince buried, or else our own 
sanity in doing it But after a year or two Htone 
began to be scarce. The farm was not naturally 
very stony, and a good inaDy were already laid in 
walls, so that good “side stones” and “top 
atones” were not easy to be found. Ho we natu¬ 
rally began to think of tile, of which there whs a 
kilu about five miles from here. It took so long 
to lay stone drains right — as they should be laid, 
(of which more bye-and-bye,)—that wo begun to 
doubt the superior economy of stone over tile. 
Besides, we sometimes wanted to hurry a ditch 
through, in order to have winter or spring grains 
sown in good time. And so, in the fall of ’57, we 
used eight or nine hundred two and three inch 
(horse-Bhoe) tile. Bince then we have not used 
many stone, and probably shall not in future, as it 
is more trouble gathering thlm than to get the 
tile, and more value in time spent in gathering 
and laying than would buy the tile. 
In laying the stone drains, great care should be 
taken to chink all the holes, over the drain, with 
small stone. It will not do to throw in small 
stone, promiscuously, on the top stone, as some 
do, for the dirt will work down into tho center of 
the drain, and large holes at the surface will re¬ 
mind the farmer that something has “given 
way,” and digging down he will find the drain 
half filled with dirt and loose stones. There is, 
however, this to be said for stone drains, that, if 
sufficient Btone are used, some water will always 
manage to work through them to the outlet, how¬ 
ever slowly. But for large bodies of water, unless 
particularly well laid, they are not so reliable us 
tile. Care should also be taken to have the top 
stone rest evenly on all the side stones which it 
covers. We never fully understood this till the 
past spring, when we had to dig up some holes in 
HINTS ABOUT SELLING WHEAT 
seems of any importance. I have often felt vexed 
when I heard the merchants, and money changers, 
&c., say, “Money will he plenty when the farmers 
send forward their crops;” and I would respond, 
"If the pi ices are not remunerative, and they 
don’t send them forward, what will you do for 
money then?” The answer usually was, “They 
must send them forward; they cannot keep them; 
banks wont loan money to them to hold on to 
their crops, but will loan plenty to dealers to pay 
for produce.” 
Think of this farmers, everywhere, and arrange 
your plans so that yon will not be obliged to sell 
your crops until a paying price can be obtained. 
The mechanics and the merchants have their regu¬ 
lar, Btatcd prices, and you must cither pay them, 
or do without their services or their goods. Tho 
money lender must have the full interest, or you 
cannot have hiB money. And pray why may not 
the farmer set his own price— a fair, remunerating 
price —or hold his produce until he gets it, or 
Uuda there is a large surplus the world over, and 
he must take less? It 1ms been my conviction for 
many years that, of all classes of men, the farmers 
are most at the mercy of others. Every thing a 
fanner bus to purchase, ho has to pay the asking 
price for, even from a reaper and mower to a 
pound of sugar; and when ho carries his grain to 
the village, where there are only two or three 
buyers, they can arrange among themselves and 
generally make their own price. 
Now, it tho farmer would keep his produce at 
home until the buyer comes and contracts for it, (as 
we go to dealers when we want goods,) then he 
would know what he is to receive, Tho truth is, 
grain ought to he kept in the farmer’s hands until 
needed for actual consumption. There is no use in 
having mill ions of bushels and barrels stored in the 
great cities for six months in the year, and the pro¬ 
ducers should be set right on the subject If any 
other article for a yearly consumption wus to he 
thrown on the market in the course of a month 
or six weeks, it could never bring as fair a price 
as if sold when wanted for use- Men and brethren, 
are not these things so?—and am I not right in 
affirming that farmers, aa a class, should exercise 
the first ditch we dug, (1854,) and found two or 
three large side stones rolled into the center of the 
ditch. A good preventive of this, we think, 
would he to place only enough side stones for tho 
top stone to rest on, or to break tho top rtone till 
it should he narrow enough to rest on all. A bet¬ 
ter plan yet, where but a small quantity of water 
is carried off, would be to have but one row of 
side stones, and lay one cn l ol the top stones on 
the bottom of the ditch. Wat r enough could be 
carried off in this way for most drains. 
It is commonly supposed tbit while tile will 
carry oil' water running in at the nds, it will not 
soak it from the land. But this is a mistake, as 
we have abundantly proved, though wo at first 
had some doubts on the subject. Some even pile 
stone on the tile, but this is needless. he water 
will soak in fast enough through the j >i ‘ tAur, ft8 
some say, through the pores of the tile, l|>r^U-uc 
we often throw in a great many atone into du i tile 
ditches, but not so much to benefit the i-- iu as 
to get the stone out of the way. 
Stone drains are at the best, liable to be the 
refuge of rats, mice, muskrats, Ac., which work 
among the stones, and bring a good deal of earth 
and stones into the drain. To prevent this a 
heavy wire screen should bo placed at the mouth, 
especially of every large drain. We neglected 
this once, and a family of skunks made their 
home in one of our drains ; by placing a steel 
trap at the mouth, we caught seven, besides one or 
two killed near the entrance. The drain was a 
large one, about six cubic inches, aud the main 
outlet of a good many smaller ones, so that if 
they had closed it, or even half filled it with dirt, 
the injury oould not easily be calculated. We 
have never omitted this precaution to our stone 
drains since. 
While we shall probably continue to use tile, to 
which wc find no drawback whatever, except the 
price of the large sizes, we doubt not that many 
who have an abundance of suitable stone would 
find the latter tho more desirable material, coup¬ 
led as it is with the additional advantage of 
cleaning them from the land—thus accomplishing 
two objects at once.—w. j. f. 
Eds.Rural New Yorker: —Having long enter¬ 
tained the opinion that farmers do not pursue the 
most profitable plan in disposing of their wheat, 
allow me to express my convictions and offer a 
few suggestions on the subject, for the eonsidera- 
tion of the large class interested. 
Generally, ns soon as harvest is over, all the 
threshing machines are put in motion, hurrying 
the threshing of wheat at the rate of 250 to 500 
bushels per day to each machine, and by the mid¬ 
dle of November the great bulk of the crop is out 
of the farmers hands und in the possession or 
Control of speculators. It has always appeared 
to me that a different course would be better—that 
if farmers’ would only dispose of, say one-third or 
one-fourth of their wheat by the middle of 
November, another fourth or third by tho middle 
of February, and the balance by the opening of 
navigation, they might be better rewarded for 
their labor, while the cost to the consumer would 
perhaps be little if any more. There is not 
probably another country on the globe where the 
wheat is disposed of so soon after harvest as in 
this. Certainly there was no other cause than the 
hurrying it to market which caused it to decline 
three shillings per bushel immediately after har¬ 
vest lust year. There was then little stock on 
hand, and if farmers bad held the crop one month 
longer than they did there would have been no 
falliu price. The surplus will be trifling this sea¬ 
son, and what there is must be held in the city of 
New York. In several places in Ohio, and other 
Western and Southern States, the prices of wheat 
and Hour are about the same as in N.-w York city. 
Now, I am aware that this is unpopular doc¬ 
trine, but f write what I believe is for the good of 
the furmer. The banks, the merchants aud the 
money dealers are anxious to have the farmers 
send forward their crops to relieve the money 
market;—at least when there is any money pres¬ 
sure, the cry with such men is to have the farmers 
send forward their crops. The prettsure season 
(which usually occurs immediately after harvest,) 
appears to be about the only time that the farmer 
