%cPicm tuhf 
autumn, Iu tin) efforts of cultivators to "head” 
the midge, several new varieties 'of wheat have 
been introduced into this section—from the South 
and Southwest, (Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, &c.,)— 
some of which are very promising. Wo have 
watched the growth of several of these varieties 
with much interest, and shall, ere long, give some 
facts and suggestions on the subject; meantime 
wc ask any of our readers who possess valuable 
information, to communicate the same for publi¬ 
cation. In a few weeks farmers must necessarily 
select their seed wheat, and the question as to 
which variety or varieties will probably succeed 
best, is important and worthy of early considera¬ 
tion. Therefore, facta now known only to a few 
may prove of great benefit to the many if pub¬ 
lished in season. We hope those who have 
experimented with the early and comparatively 
new varieties will give us the results of their ex¬ 
perience,—specially noting yield, quality, time of 
sowing, harvesting, &C .,—for the benefit of others 
interested. 
Making manure, or rather saving manure, in 
the summer season, is somewhat difficult in this 
country, and it pains us to see that most farmers 
allow the greater part to become destroyed and 
worthless. Manure that has become burned, or 
“ lire-fanged,” ia of but little more value burned 
straw, and yet most of the manure we see in tho 
country, la in this condition. Nothing answers 
a better pmposo in saving manure than muck 
from the swamps, and this can bo obtained by al¬ 
most every farmer. Have a large pile ready in 
the yard, and then compost it with the manure. 
If farmers intend to grow wheat largely, more at¬ 
tention must be given to saving manure. 
Turnips may be sown any time this month. 
allow the knife to pass through the skin. Sever 
the cord twice on each side, the cuts being two 
inches apart. Tut iu the pulleys, and the job is 
complete. 
There is a more humane way of setting up the 
tail of a horse than the foregoing, and as a finale 
to our remarks wo extract it from “Hints to 
Horse-Keepers:”—Weight the tail for a tew hours 
each day, in tho stall, until it attains the desired 
elevation. This is done by having two pulleys 
at the top of the stall, one at each side, through 
which are passed two ropes, which coma together 
and are fastened to tho tail, the ropes having at 
their other ends weights (bags of sand or of shot 
are very good for the purpose,) which must be 
light at first, and nmybe increased from duy to 
day. The weighting should be continued until 
the tail has taken a permanent position as de¬ 
sired. rt is true that this method requires a 
Bome.vhat longer time than that of cutting the 
muscles, but while it is being done the horse is 
never off his work, and he Buffers iuliuitely less 
pain. 
Dneking. —Quite a number use a docking ma¬ 
chine, or strong knife and mallet, and cutoff the 
tail with a single stroke; but tho operator often 
finds that he has severed one of the bones of the 
tail, leaving behind some projecting spicul®, 
which afterward have to lie removed. Cauteri¬ 
zation,—seating the stump with a red hot iron,— 
ia also practiced by many, but this painful pro¬ 
cess may be avoided by using a ligature in secur¬ 
ing the arteries. Cast the horse, and depress the 
lail to its natural position. Select the point of 
amputation, and having fv.lt a joint, commence a 
circular incision just posterior thereto, carrying 
the knife round to the point of beginning and 
down to the fascia. When this is done, draw the 
integuments forcibly upward, and disarticulate 
the joint by making an incision completely 
through it. Draw out the arteries by the aid of 
a pair of forceps, and secure with a ligature. 
The edges of the wound may now be drawn to¬ 
gether, and fastened with a few stitches. Dr. 
Dadd advocates the use of chloroform aftor the 
horse is thrown, and before the knife ia called 
into service. 
The after treatment is very simple; cold water, 
or some tincture of aloes, will complete the cure. 
Should profuse suppuration ensue, use pyroligne¬ 
ous acid, and give a dose of medicine. 
Nirking. —There are four cords iu tho tail, two 
upper and two lower, an l the last only are to be 
cut Procure a long, alender-bladed, and sharp 
pen-knife; insert the blade between the bone 
and under cord, about two inches from the body; 
place the thumb of the band holding tho knife 
against the under part of the tail, and opposite 
the blade; then press the blade toward the thumb 
an'} against thi-^ cord, f ^ r the cord, but do not 
The tail may be very useful in some respects, and 
in the good old times it was pc oitled to flourish 
as it grew, being only bound up when it troubled 
the horse's rider. But in times like these, when 
men clamor for freedom, and practice tyranny, it 
must be cut off.” 
Even Henry William Herbert, who, from his 
association with the fashionable horse-world, 
might be suspe ted of at least sympathizing with 
these practices, disapproves of them so entirely 
that be refused lie modes of operation the space 
they would occupv in bis “ flints to Horse-Keep¬ 
ers.” There uewr was a more thorough and 
experienced horseman among us, ami when he 
deprecates such m ion on the part of breeders, 
it is time to Rt.ay th hand and put up the knife. 
Tf the tail of the horse were given to him for 
no good purpose, and if it were not a design of 
nature that he should have the power of moving 
it forcibly to his sides, there might be some ex¬ 
cuse for catting it off within a few inches from 
his body; or for separating the muscles at its 
sides, and thus lessening its power. It was cus¬ 
tomary to crop the cars of the horse in England 
many years ago, and senseless as that practice 
may now BCem, it was not more so than either 
docking or nicking. 
We have been thus particular in referring to 
standard authorities, in the hope, first, that our 
Canadian friend, (although we furnish the infor¬ 
mation he desires,) will give up the idea of im¬ 
proving upon the handiwork of the Creator; 
second, because the line of the poet, 
“ Nature when unadorned, in adorned the most," 
is just as applicable to that noble animal, the 
horse, as to anything else in her kingdom; and, 
third, the interests .f humanity so demand 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
ax original weekly 
PJIK.AL, LITER Alt Y AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corp3 of Assistants and Contributors, 
Th* Rural New-Yorker is designed to be unsurpassed 
in Value, Purity, Usefulness anil Variety of Contents, and 
unique a to I beautiful In Appearance. It* Conductor devotes 
his personal attention to the supervision of its various de¬ 
partments, asd earnestly labors to render the Rubai, an 
eminently Reliable Guido on all tho important Practical, 
Scientific and other Subjects intimately Connected with the 
business of those whose interests it zealously advocates. 
As a Family Journal it is eminently Instructive nnd En¬ 
tertaining—being so conducted that i*. can be safely taken 
to the Hearts and Homes of people ol intelhgence, tnste 
and discrimination. It embraces more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary anil News Hatter, 
interspersed with appropriate and beautiful Engravings, 
than any other journal,—rendering it the roost complete 
Agricultural, Litbkajiy and Family Newspaper in 
America. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
SEASONABLE NOTES. 
Now that the midge has ceased, temporarily fit 
least, to materially injure the wheat crop of West¬ 
ern New York,—especially that portiou grown 
from early varieties sown early on good, properly 
cultivated soil,— there ia a general disposition 
among our grain growers to return largely to the 
culture of their favorite cerouL Indeed, many 
are already making preparations on a somewhat 
large scale, while others express regret that their 
land is so fully occupied with spring crops, as to 
prevent very extensive wheat sowing the present 
DOCKING AND NICKING HOESES, 
Will you, or some of the numerous readers of the 
Et Ihal, give the method of docking and nicking horses? 
I lave a span that 1 would like to fit thus, and would h- 
obllged for the necessary Information. —Farmer, Canada 
West, I860. 
Among the host of inquiries received by the 
Rural, not a few cause expressions of feeling 
and sentiment that certainly can not be considered 
complimentary to those occupying the querist’s 
position. Still we must light the candle of our 
neighbors, provided, always, we are not ourselves 
shrouded in Cimmerian gloom, and while em¬ 
ployed in thus furnishing the required informa¬ 
tion, can enter our protest. This is a privilege 
claimed, and exercised, too; and while we will¬ 
ingly respond to “ Farmer,” he will please permit 
us to characterize the practices by him men¬ 
tioned as barbarous in the extreme. 
Standard authorities upon the care and man¬ 
agement of the horse are opposed to both opera¬ 
tions, and we cannot better express our own 
views than by quoting Dr. Dadd. Relative to 
Docking, the Dr. remarks:—“P'ashion and con¬ 
venience seem to require that horses must sub¬ 
mit to have their caudal appendages shortened. 
Yet that fashion which condemns a poor, uncom¬ 
plaining brute to torture, merely for the caprice 
of his owner, is to be deplored, especially when 
performed after the horrid fashion of some who 
seem to pay no regard to the feelings of the sub¬ 
ject, while mangl:ug and searing sensitive tissues 
that arc as susceptible to pain as those in our 
race. It ia useless, however, to offer any argu¬ 
ments against a practice so long established; he, 
therefore, proposes to point out the best means.” 
Nicking receives no more favor at the Doctor’s 
hands, for this is declared to be “ another fash¬ 
ionable barbarism that very few horses escape. 
The world of horsemen have decided, no tail, 
no hunt, and if an animal does not describe an 
angle of forty-live degrees with his tail, he is 
said to carry none." 
Yocatt declares nicking to be a “barbarous 
operation, once sanctioned by fashion, and breed¬ 
ers and dealers even now are sometimes tempted 
to inflict the torture of it in order to obtain a 
ready sale for their colts.” 
The author of the “Stable Book” is not a whit 
less severe in condemning the practice of dock¬ 
ing tkau those from whom we have already quo¬ 
ted. “ In this country,” he remarks, “ the horse’s 
tail is regarded as a useless, or troublesome 
appendage. It was given to ward off the attacks 
of blood-sucking flies. But men choose to re¬ 
move it, without being able to give the horse 
any other protection from the insects against 
which it was intended to operate. They say that 
the long tail conceals the horse’s quarters, di¬ 
minishes Lis apparent height, heats him at fast 
work, and soils bis rider, it is also supposed 
that amputation of the tail renders the back 
stronger. These sage sayings have been promul¬ 
gated so extensively from one to another, that it 
seems to be universally decided that all horses 
must be docked. These, it will be observed, are 
very strong objections to a long tail. It is a ter¬ 
rible thing to hide the quarters, and to make the 
horse look lower by an inch than he really is. 
EvUb of such a nature are not to be suffered. 
“ A, seed box. B.tbe vibrating rods, which, by wires 
in their under surfaces, and from motion given by the 
wheels, agitate the gTain over the apertures through 
which it escapes. C, the indicator, which, adjusts the 
tire of apertures to the kind and quantity of grain to he 
sowed. II, 11 , are two revolving harrows, tho piniotia on 
each end of which nieab into the driving wheels, and 
which, when rotating an Hard, give a rev trie motion to 
the harrows. These revolve on an iron Imr, which pauses 
through both and ia connected by wooden arms to the 
axle, outside tho hubs of the wheels, and hold the har¬ 
rows firmly to their exact distance from the wheels. 
E, E, are perforated plates of iron, the lower ends of 
which embrace the ends of the bar on which the harrow 
An examination of this machine, and perusal 
of the testimony of experienced farmers in regard 
to its practical operation, have led us to form a 
very favorable opinion of its value and efficiency. 
Its novelty of construction and combination of 
important features will attract attention. We 
regard the machine worthy the special notice 
and examination of all interested — especially 
grain-growing farmers and manufacturers of farm 
implements and machinery. The inventor has 
furnished us the following description of the 
machine and enumeration of its advantages: 
The accompanying engraving gives a very 
good representation of a Combined Harrow , Clod- 
Pulverizer and Heed- Sotcer, mainly invented by 
Dr. Henry Hewitt, of California, and patented 
on the 27th of March last. This machine has 
been introduced and used to some extent in Cali¬ 
fornia, though not in its present improved form. 
It is designed to perforin the entire labor of both 
sowing and harrowing, at the same time fiuely 
pulverizing all rough, tenacious soils — a single 
team accomplishing the harrowing, pulverizing 
and sowing at one operation. 
on their upper ends, which pin projects from each end 
of the long crossbar of the triangular frame. These 
plates or lifts enable the operator to depress or elevate 1 
the harrow teeth iuto or out of the soil, as he may de¬ 
sire. The trlaogular frame i.i attached by hinge joints 
to the axle,and hasa caster wheel at its apex; its olliee is \ 
to impend the burrows, that only their teeth may pene- 
trato the soil—to gauge their depth, and by its caster j 
wheel enable the machine to turn short about or on its ' 
center, The hinge joint enable'. tLe frame to adjust the 
harrows to ‘dead furrows,’ or other inequalities of surface. • 
The advantages claimed for this machine over ail oth- 3 
era, are the following:—1st. It pulverires the soil better, % 
TWO DOLLARS A. YEAR.] 
“ IPROGrRICSS AND 1 Alt’ IUO VKIVLKNT.” 
[SINGLE NO. FOUR CENTS. 
VOL. XI. NO. 30.1 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1860. 
i WHOLE NO. 550. 
an - '.‘W * r 
5 - 
1TLVING, N Y 
