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TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
YOLUME YIH. NO. 14. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 1857. 
{WHOLE NO. 378, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN QflftPAL VVREKtT 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE CORPS OK ASSISTANT FIlITORS. 
SPECIAL CONTKI It IITOKS s 
Prof. C. DEWEY, T. C. PETERS, 
I.T. M. F. MAURY, H. T. BROOKS, 
Dr. ASA FITCH, KWD. WEBSrER, 
T, S. ARTHUR, Mrs. M. J. HOLMES, 
LYMAN B. LANGWORTHY. 
Thk Rural Xkw-Yokkkr !s designed to bo unsurpii'scd in 
Value, Purity, Usefulness ami Variety of Contents, and imlt|ilo 
and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes liia per¬ 
sonal attention to the supervision of it* various departments, 
and earnestly labors to render (he Rural an eminently Reliable 
Guide on the important Practical, Scientific and other Subjects 
intimately connected with the business of thou: whose iulere‘l* 
it lenlously advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News Mutter, 
interspersed with appropriate and beautiful Kngravinge, Ilian 
any other Journal,— rendering it the most complete Agrjccl- 
TUIIA!„ LlTKRAttr ami FsjuJjt .LitUN 11 in America 
(Jet”" All communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y 
For Trusts, anil other particulars, sec last page. 
SUN-FLOWER CULTURE , 
As a Preventive of the Ague and Fever, i 
BY LIEUT. K. K. MAURY. 
Every experiment that has for its object the 
solution of any question in the affairs of man is 
instructive. Whother the experiment V*a tv 
ful or not, it is not the less inetrui Live, for expe¬ 
rience is acquired by the failure as well as by the 
success of experiments. livery tiller of the earth, 
from Aoam down to the whistling p!ow-boy that 
saw bis first furrow not longer ago than last au¬ 
tumn, has been glveu more or les9 to the making 
of experiments. A tanner “ tries ” this crop, or 
thut plan, and his experiments are the ground¬ 
work of the experience which gives intelligent 
direction to his husbandry. 
None of the great industrial pursuits is more 
fruitful of experiments than that of Agriculture; 
and if all the experiments that have been and now 
are making in this branch of industry had been 
systematically conducted, and if proper accounts 
of them had all been collected and published, what 
a valuable and instructive work should we have 
had! Take the Chinese Sugar Cane as an example 
for illustration. How many thousands of farmers 
intend to make ft "trial'' of it this year? — and 
among this great number, how many, think you, 
will give for the benefit of agriculture any account 
of their experiment and its results? I’erhapa a 
dozen or two. The aggregate experience of all 
the rest will be lost to the agricultural community 
—and yet, if collected and embodied together, it 
would be of incalculable value. 
I have been led into this train of remarks in 
consequence of an experiment that I made last 
year, with the cultivation of Sun-flowers as a pre¬ 
ventive or protection against ague and fever, and 
if you will publish an account of this experiment, 
with an explanation of what was sought to bo ac- 
complishedTiy it, and the results obtained, perhaps 
some of your many thousand readers will join and 
assist in carrying it out, for with such assistance 
a sanitary question of great importance may be 
satisfactorily settled one way or the other, in a 
little while. 
The dwelling of the Superintendent is adjoining 
the Observatory, which is Bituated on a hill on the 
lelt bank of the Potomac, in lat. 33° 39’ 53'. Ttis 
94 feet above the low water of ebb tide, ami about 
400 yards from the river. The grounds pertaining 
to it contain about 17 acres, inclosed by a brick 
wall on the east, south and west sides, with apick- 
ettc fence on the north. The south wall runs 
along nearly parallel with the river, and so does 
the west. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, fringed 
by a single row of syeamoresof some twenty years 
growth, separates the wall from the river. In fact 
the river, with its marshes at the foot of the hill, 
encircles the grounds of the Observatory half way 
round, viz., from S. E. by way of 8. to N. \V. Thus 
you perceive wc are in a sort of bend in the river. 
Most of the marshes are just “ a’wasb” at low 
water, parts of them are bare when the tide is out, 
and all of them, in the early summer, are covered 
with a rank growth of grass ami weeds, which be¬ 
gin to decay in August. This is the commence¬ 
ment, too, of the sickly season, and a few minutes’ 
walk about the grounds of the Observatory after 
sunset, has bceu found sufiicient to bring on upon 
strangers an attack of ague and fever. The place 
is so unhealthy that my family are compelled to 
desert it lor four or five months every year. Last 
year they broke up early in Muy, arid did not re¬ 
turn till November. 
Now 1 am not going into a dissertation concern¬ 
ing malaria or miasm, for, be the seeds of the 
pestilence what they may, those of these intermit- c 
tents are supposed to be due in a great measure to t 
the marshes of the Potomac. The decay of the v 
vegetable matter upon them infects the air with t 
impurities of some kind, which predispose to chills t 
and fevers—such is the popular belief, at any rate, r 
This brings me to the history of the sun flower t 
experiment. A process of reasoning like the fol¬ 
lowing led me to try it:—If it be the decay of the g 
vegetable matter on the marshes that produces the e 
sickness on the hill, then the sickness must be i 
owingto the deleterious effects of some gas, miasm e 
or effluvium, that is set free during the decompo- t 
sition, and if so, the poisonous matter, or the basis c 
of it, whatever it be, must have been elaborated c 
during the growth of the weeds, and set free in c 
their decay. Now, if this reasoning be good, why s 
might we not, by planting other vegetable matter t 
between us and the marshes, and by bringing it j 
into vigorous growth Justabont the time that that t 
of the marshes begins to decay, bring fresh forces t 
of the vegetable kingdom again to play upon this [ 
poisonous matter, and elaborate it again into veg- t 
etable tissue, and so purify the air? 1 
This reasoning appeared plausible enough to 
justify the trouble and expense of experiment, and t 
I was encouraged to expect more or less success i 
from it, in the circumstance that everybody said, t 
“plaut trees between you and the marshes—they c 
will keep off the chills.” But a3 fo the trees it so t 
happens that at the very time when the decompo¬ 
sition on the marshes is going on most rapidly, the , 
trees, for the most part, hive stopped their growth f 
to prepare for the winter , am! though trees might ] 
do some good, yet a rank growth of something , 
got up for the occasion might do more. Hops 
climb high; they are good absorbents, and of a 
rank growth, but there were objections to hopaon 
.itcoutit of a take a, poles, A c, T recollected tha, I 
bad often seen sun-flowers growing about the cab¬ 
ins in the West, and had heard, iu explanation, > 
that it was “healthy” to have them. This was 
so much more in favor of making the experiment 
with sun-flowers. 
An acre of sun flowers will absorb during their 
growth many thousand gadons of water more than 
are supplied by the rains. They are great absorb¬ 
ents. They arc of easy cultivation, are more rank 
than hops—they require no poles, and the seed are 
very valuable. I paid $8 a bushel for them. This 
plant therefore apparently offered to fulfill all the 
conditions required to satisfy the problem; for it 
the supposition that the ague and fever poison be 
imparted to the atmosphere by the decaying veg¬ 
etable matter iu the marshes, and if this poison 
were set free during the process of decay, why 
should not the suu flowers in their rank growth 
absorb it, and again elaborate it into vegetable 
matter, and so fix it, at least for a while, and until 
cold weather? I Consulted upon this subject with 
one of the most useful men this country ever pro¬ 
duced—the late A. J. Downing, of Newburg—and 
he thought the idea a good oue. 
Finally, 1 resolved to make the experiment at 
the risk of spoiling the looks of a beautiful lawn. 
Accordingly, in the. fall of 1855, the gardener 
trenched up to the depth of 2.J feet, a belt about 
45 ieet broad around the Observatory on the 
marshy side, and from 150 to 200 yards from the 
buildings. The conditions of the theory I was 
about to try, required rich ground, tall sun flowers 
and a rank growth. Accordingly, after being well 
manured from the stable yard, the ground was 
properly prepared and planted in sun-flowers last 
spring. They grew finely; the sickly season was 
expected with mure than the usual anxiety. Fi¬ 
nally it set iu, and there was shaking at the Presi¬ 
dent's House and other places us usual, but for the 
first time since the Observatory was built the 
watchmeu about il, weathered the summer clear 
of chills and fevers. These nun, being most ex¬ 
posed to the night air, snth-r most, am] heretofore 
two or three relays of them w ould lie attacked du¬ 
ring the season—for as cue falls siik another is 
employed in his place, who, in turn, being attacked, 
would in like manner give way to a fresh hand.— 
Atid last year, attacks of ague and fever were 
more than usually prevalent in the neighboring 
i parts of the city. 
Here is encouragement, not discovery or proof 
—but it is worth further trial at any rate. Accord¬ 
ingly the gardener is now making ready to try the 
t experiment again this year, but with variations.— 
The seeds are not to be planted quite as early, as in 
■ the first instance; and, in the next place, there are 
, to be two plantings, so that the lust crop may be 
I caught by the frost while yet the plants are flower- 
• ing; and, therefore, in full and vigorous growth 
• during the season of active decuy iu the marshes. 
Suppose the fact should be established lhata 
r hedge of sun-flowers betweeu the dwellings of 
i farmers and the ponds or marshes and standing 
3 pools, would generally Keep ague aud fever away, 
i The discovery that such a simple contrivance 
t would constitute an impassable barrier to “the 
- pestilence that, walketh in darkness,” would surely 
be an achievement worth recording. 
“The destruction that wasteth at noon-day” may 
8 form the subject of another communication if you 
can find room for it. Indeed, other remaiks upon 
the subject in hand are suggesting themselves, but 
with your leave, T will reserve them for the next 
number of the Rubai., In the mean time I hope 
that all who can, but especially those who live in 
noted ague and fever districts, will prepare to try 
the snn-llower experiment, this summer. 
The readers of the Rcual are mostly iu the re¬ 
gion of westerly winds, arid that the results of 
each experiment should throw lightupon the rest, 
it is desirable to know, approximately at least, in 
each case, the situation of the dwelling, its dis¬ 
tance from and height above the supposed region 
of miasma, as well as its distance trora the hedge 
of son-flowers, their height, &•;. We know that one 
of the offices of the vegetable kingdom is to pre¬ 
serve the purity of the atmosphere; and that du- 
ring their growth, mer.y plants take up from the 
air and fix for awhile, various noxious vapors. In 
the southern country it is common to see among 
the negro quarters sun-flowers growing about the 
pig-sty; and the negro, if asked why he plants 
them in such a place, will reply, “ He make it 
healthy, Massa.” 
The Rural boasts of the intelligence of its pa¬ 
trons, their cleverness and love of the useful, and 
why should not those of them who are in a condi¬ 
tion to do so, try this experiment, and so let 
each have the benefit of the experience of all the 
re3t to guide us next year. 
F. S.—Since writing the foregoing I have been 
conversing with Mr. Watt, the gardener, upon the 
suuject. He informs me that many years ago simi¬ 
lar experiments were made iu France w ith like 
success. Accounts of them have been published 
in the Cultivator. With these facts and other cir¬ 
cumstances to which I L ill allude in my next, 
still further to inspire hh’- in the proposed pre¬ 
ventive, 1 hope ah of jo -r “ague and lever”read- 
erswill be encouraged to try this simpie sun-flower 
experiment. Those who live upon the prairies in 
the ague and fever districts of Illinois and other 
Western States would do well to surround their 
dwellings w ith the* plants, having the thickest part 
of the hedge on the west side. 
A COTTAGE OF ONE STORY. 
MANAGEMENT OF MANURE. 
To secure to the farm the greatest benefit from its 
available sources of manure, is an object worthy of 
careful consideration and unceasing attention on 
the part of the cultivator of the soil. Some re¬ 
marks under the above heading, telative to cow 
and horse manure, have been already offered; we 
now take up as proposed the winter management 
of the excrement of sheep and sw ine. First, let 
us quote some authorities on their characteristics 
aud value. 
Sheep Manure. — “This," says Johnston, “is a 
rich, dry manure, which ferments more readily 
than that of the cow, but less so than that of the 
horse.” Stockh Aiuvrsays, " It contains more nitro¬ 
gen and less water than that of the horse. For this 
reason it is tolerably easy of decomposition, al¬ 
though possessing a closer and more conipacttex- 
ture than the latter. The food being being more 
finely masticated, it is also richer in nitrogen than 
that of the cow, and according to Girakdin, con¬ 
tains, in a lucent state, of 
Water.68 71 
Azotize*! matter_____23.16 
Saline matter.......8.13 
In comparing this substance with other manures, 
BoussingaULT considers 3t5 parts of the excre¬ 
ment of slu cp, to be equivalent in fertilizing ef¬ 
fects to 100 parts of farm-yard dung. “ These 
soils,” says Johnston, “in which a considerable 
quantity of vegetable matter is already present, 
are r ost benefited by sheep’s dung, because of 
the readiness with which they absorb the volatile 
matters it so soon begins to give off.” 
It will be seen from these statements, that sheep 
manure is at once, of itself, fit for application to 
the soil. In winter, if shelter is provided for the 
flock, and this is kept well littered, the manure 
may remain unmoved without deterioration until 
applied to the crops in the spring. It is important 
thut shelter and litter be provided, otherwise, the 
urine—of nearly equal value w ith the solid excre¬ 
ments— will he lost by leaching aud evaporation, 
aud the mass remaining, will lose largely from 
over decomposition. The litter supplied as au 
absorbent, muy be straw, dry muck, saw-dust, or 
even loam, but these should by all means be dry, 
so as to absorb the surplus liquids. It would be a 
good plan to cover the surface of the fold or shed, 
with a layer of muck in tin* fall; if would absorb the 
urine, and by proper care, when removing the 
deposits in the spring, might be incorporated with 
the more active portion above it, and become fully 
equal as a fertilizing material. 
Sheep manure should be plowed under as soon 
as spread upon the sol). It is quick to act, and, of 
course, exhausts itself' by action. 
Hog Manure. — "Pig’s dung,” says Johnston, 
“ is colder and less fermentable than that of the 
Rural readers have herewith the design of a j 
very pretty one-story cottage. We need not say 1 
it is neat and tasteful—all can see this. This cot- i 
tage must have been recently built, for the honey- t 
suckles and running roses have not yet grown half t 
way up the columns, and the porch is entirely hare, i 
The artist, perhaps, was more anxious to show the j i 
manner of construction, than how beautiful the j i 
cottage could be made to appear by the graceful 
drapery of nature. He had, however, an «>ye for i 
the beautiful, for how much of life and grace, is 
added to the picture, by the little group of sport¬ 
ive children—these flowers of the family—the 
rosebuds of the gardeD. The influence of a taste¬ 
ful abode npou the minds and manners of chil¬ 
dren, aud even upon the tempirs of ±il tiie tnmates, 
is a matter well worthy of attention. Who would 
look for anything but peace and quiet, and the 
kindliest affection — the joys of home — in such a 
pretty cottage? 
We give this design rom Village and Farm Cot¬ 
tages, in answer to several iuquiries from our 
friends on the prairies of the west. A cottage of 
on!j' one story, is of conrse less influenced by the 
wind; the rooms are all on a level, and therefore, 
the “ house-work” is more easily done, without the 
tiresome climbing up stairs, which, in many ill-ar¬ 
ranged houses, doubles the labor of the house¬ 
wife. There is no danger, either thattbc children 
will fall down stairs or from the chamber win¬ 
dows. There are some positions, too, in which 
such a low cottage would look better than one of 
two stories. 
These are the principal advantages of a cottage 
of one story; hut it must he borue in mind that 
they are not economical, as the same foundation 
and roof are required as for a two-stoiy house — 
The same amount of room is therefore obtained at 
a less expense in a house of two stories. 
cow. It is a cold, saponaceous substance, charac¬ 
terized by au exceedingly unpleasant odor, which 
it has been thought to impart to plants grown on 
soil manured with it.” According to Girardin’s 
analysis, 100 parts consists of 
Water___73 00 
Az’>tize.i mute.-____20.15 
Saline matter .____ 4.S5 
100.10 
Boussisgault estimates that 034 parts of the ex¬ 
crement and urine of the pig, are equivalent to 
100 parts of farm-yard manure. Its value, how¬ 
ever, varies largely according to the character of 
the food supplied to the animal. 
All writers agree with Johnston, “that pig’s 
dung is best employed iu a state of mixture with 
t ie other manures of the farmyard.” Theireffect 
is heightened and its own enhanced by so com¬ 
posting it, "it does not ferment and mellow so 
well in the earth, when used alone,” says Browne, 
“as wben mixed with the dung of cattle and 
horses, and it is so rich and stimulating, that it is 
difficult to spread it thin enough when applied by 
itself.” 
Not decomposing very readily, perhaps hog ma¬ 
nure would sutler little less duriug cold weather, 
however managed, nnless exposed to long wash¬ 
ing by rains. But to prepare it for its best app i- 
cation in spring, it should be incorporated with 
horse and cow manure iu the barn j ard, or the pens 
should be supplied with a large amount, of muck, 
leaves, turf, or other vegetable refuse, with which 
I too animals themselves would take care to mix 
the excrements aud uriue. A large amount of 
valuable manure will thus lie manufactured, giving 
’ largely toward refunding the cost of keeping and 
* fjeding store swiue. Fattening swine would j ield 
manure of the richest character, and it would be 
1 still more important to employ it iu a compos e l 
state. It would well repay the trouble to remove 
it to the stock yard as thrown from the pen, iu- 
1 stead of allowing it to remain, perhaps nuder the 
1 eaves of the budding, or to be scattered over the 
ground by pigs running at large, as is too often 
, the case. 
8 If hog manure is spread unmixed upon the soil, 
In building a house with sleeping rooms on tho 
lower floor, we would advise that it be at least one 
foot above the natural surface of the ground, and 
that proper means be taken to well drain and ven¬ 
tilate the cellar, and to carry off all stagnant water 
from the grounds immediately around the house, 
as nothing is so injurious as sleeping in a damp 
and impure atmos{ here. The late sickness at the 
National Hotel, Washington, caused by bad drain¬ 
age, is another warning on this subject. 
8 R Q 6 
B.R 
6 6 X1010 
P 
12 i t4 
8 R 
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L.R 
12 J14 
The above plan shows a very fair sized parlor and 
living room, two bed rooms, kitchen, wash room 
and closets. The kitchen, we think too far from 
the living room, and altogether too small, but it is 
impossible to get all desirable conveniences in so 
small a house. 
it should be at once plowed in, for a drying wind 
would evaporate its most fertilizing value in a 
single day; on the other hand, a gentle rain occur¬ 
ring at the time, would wash it into the soil. But 
mixed as above advised,it woulc lose this volatile 
character, and its effect be far more permanent, 
and, on the whole, increased. In conclusion, let 
us repeat the assertion, “that the labor of saving 
manure —of increasing its quantity and improving 
its quality—is the most profitable the farmer can 
perform or employ.” 
Communications. 
HOW TO TAME WILD COWS. 
There is not to be found a more inexorable 
master than habit. This fact is daily illustrated 
by intercourse with our own species. The tobacco 
chewer, soon learns the habit of filling his mouth 
with an nnrelishable narcotic, aud enjoying its 
nauseating juices as much as he would the choicest 
meats. The tippler, t.oo, soon forms the habit of 
drinking his alcoholic portion, as much to satisfy 
thirst as ho would nature’s beverage. If, then, 
habit is strong enough to role the man, may we 
not look fur something of its power over the brute. 
Who that witnesses the patience with which the 
gentle cow submits to the process of milking, but 
admires her habits. The good and gentle cow 
chews her cud during the operation. Her habits 
are fixed, and if gently or kinuly treated she will 
not depart from them. The wild cow has ft great 
variety of tricks, most prominent, among which 
are running, springing, or moving away from the 
milker. This with her, 19 as much a habit, as it is 
with the good cow to be kind and gentle. The 
good cow may be learned to start and run by using 
her harshly, and running after her and clubbing 
her when she starts. The contrary will tend to 
make the wildest cow gentle and kind, but alter 
bad habits are once learned, it is very difficult to 
overcome them. Nothing can do it but the most 
untiring perseverance, care and good treatment. 
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