TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS, 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
An analysis of the parsnip, by .Hebmbstadt, 
shows its component parts to be as follows: 
Water.... 79.04 
All the interstices between the particles of earth 
being filled with water, air is necessarily absent, 
except that small quantity which is dissolved in 
the water. In this way, plants are deprived of the 
moat essential part of their food. Bat when the 
water is removed, air takes its place and holds in 
suspension as much water as roots can thrive upon; 
for it is notwmter in a 
calf. Care should be taken to feed regularly, and 
about the same quantity—too much is worse than 
too little, as it makes the calf ill-shapen and proper 
ruminating habits are not acquired. Good pastur¬ 
age should be pvovided, and water should also be 
furnished as the calf learns to feed on grass. 
Calves are sometimes raised on sour milk en¬ 
tirely. after the first few days. Others let the milk 
stand 12 honrs. then skim and heat blood warm, 
and add a handful of shorts to each mess. Others, 
still, give bat little milk, mixing mashed, boiled 
potatoes and fine bran with water added. Flax¬ 
seed and hay tea is also employed. The former is 
prepared by boiling a pint of flax-seed in four to 
six quarts of water, diluting with hay tea until 
rather thicker than milk, and feeding it milk 
warm. Hay tea is made by boiling a pound of 
good clover hay in six quarts of pure water. As 
the calf becomes older, meal of any of the differ¬ 
ent grains nmy he added, scalded. 
T.ast season we reared four calves in the second 
described way, and very successfully. They had 
the run of the orchard, and as the season advanc¬ 
ed began to eat apples considerably, and were in 
fine order for wintering. We found thick, sour 
milk acceptable and healthy, after two month's age 
was reached, although the authority before quoted, 
says milk should never be allowed to become sour, 
or be fed cold. 
ments in regard to species on whose economical 
value some diversity of opinion has prevailed. 
Aorostis.—S everal species of this genus are 
met with in this country, but the Agrostis vulgaris— 
Red-top, Herds-grass of Pennsylvania—is the only 
one in general cultivation. Of this there are two 
varieties, which maybe designated as major and 
minor. 
Starch and fibre 
Albumen, 
SPECIAL CONTRIBtJTOKS I 
Phot. C. DEWEY, T C. PETERS, 
Lt. M. F. MARRY, H T. BROOKS, 
Dr. ASA FITCH, KWD. WEBSTER, 
T. S ARTHUR, Mrs. M. J. HOLMES, 
LYMAN B. LANGWORTHY 
fluid state which plants pre¬ 
fer: it is when it is in the state of vapor that they 
feed upon it best. The reason why drained land 
gains heat, and water-logged land is always cold, 
consists in the well-known fact that heat cannot be 
transmitted downwards through water. Both ex¬ 
tremities of plants feed on air, the roots more than 
the leaves.’’ 
It is a fact that we have often seen exemplified, 
although seemingly contradictory, that a well- 
draiued and deeply-tilled soil is both drier and 
moister than an undrained shallow soil—drier in 
wet weather, and moister during a drouth. This 
fact a few years since we saw beautifully illustra¬ 
ted in one of the counties just ea3t of this. We 
examined two fields of corn adjoining each other, 
the one thoroughly drained and subsoiled, the 
other merely plowed in the ordinary manner, and 
not drained. The corn in the drained field was 
about twelve inches high, regular, green 8nd 
healthy. That on the umlrained field was not so 
high by several inches, weak, yellow and somewhat 
irregular, evidently suffering from the cold, wet 
spring. The surface of the drained field was so j 
dry that we could walk on it comfortably, but the 
umlrained soil was soft and muddy so as to make 
walking quite unpleasant The philosophy of this 
is, that deep tillage permits the rains to descend i 
into the subsoil, instead of running off the surface; 
the drains carrying off all excess. As the surface 
becomes dry the witet arises from below by capil¬ 
lary attraction, just as it rises in a sponge when 
one end is dipped into water, or in a flower pot of 
earth when placed in & saucer of water. 
The Rural New-Y orker is dt-Hlgned lobe miBurpanscd in 
Value, I’nrity, Usefulness and Vnri..-tj- of Contents, and unique 
and beautiful in Appearance. It* Conductor dovotes his per¬ 
sonal attention to the supervision of its various department?, 
and earnestly labors to render the Rural an eminently Reliable 
Guide on the important 1’raotloal, Scientific arid other Subject? 
intimately connected with the business of those whose Interests 
it sealonsly advocates. It embrace? more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Scientific, Mechanical, Literary and News Matter, 
Interspersed with appropriate and bountiful Eiigrarlngj, than 
any other Journal,— rendering it the most complete Agricul¬ 
tural, Lit* tt art a.vp Family Journal tu America 
rsr All communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y 
For Terms, and other particulars, see last page. 
BOOT CHOPS.-PABSNIF3 
Except as a product of the garden, the parsnip 
has received bat little attention from the Ameri¬ 
can farmer, while their use has been confined al¬ 
most wholly to his tables The reason for this 
neglect is a matter of conjee tare—it. cannot lie on 
account of any peculiar difficulty in their produc¬ 
tion, tor we believe thorn to < e as easily grown as 
the carrot—nor beenuse of their inferiority to other 
roots for the purposes to which crops of this na¬ 
ture are usually designed—those most experienced 
in their use, for stock-feeding, consider them su¬ 
perior to either the carrot, or turnip—nor even on 
the score of profit, for they can he mads In pay as 
welt, if not /letter, than any other mot. We can con¬ 
ceive of no other ground upon which to base this 
seeming objection of our agriculturists to their 
production, than a lack of knowledge as regards 
their good qualities, and we hope, that those who 
have never tested them will now do so—will place 
them in the balance with similar esculents and 
judge for themselves as to whether they are 
wanting. 
Like the onion, carrot, and turnip, the parsnip 
s a biennial; it seeds and dies in two years. It is 
a British plaut, and is found growing wild by the 
wayside, in calcareous soils. There is but slight 
difference between the gurden parsnip and the 
wild plaut—the former has smooth leaves of a light 
yellowish green color, and the flavor oftho root is 
milder, while the leaves of the latter are a dark 
green and hairy. 
Ot varieties Loudon gives fonr, the Common , 
Guernsey, Hollow-Crowned and Turnip-rooted .— 
Two only of these are recommended for culture_ 
the Guernsey for field growth, and the Hollow 
Crowned for the garden. The Guernsey grows to 
a large size—in its native country it is often found 
four feet in length, and in soils adapted to its 
growth averaging two feet. The Hollow Crowned 
is of more uniform growth, of a whiter and cleaner 
tuber, is better flavored than the former, and at 
the same time possesses equal hardiness. This va¬ 
riety is easily recognized by the leaves rising from 
a cavity In the top or crown of the root. 
The soil most genial to the parsnip is one of a 
sandy character, light, deep aud free from stones. 
Well decomposed manure is generally applied, but 
when not attainable reeeut droppings are used ad¬ 
vantageously by burying at considerable depth. 
In garden culture the ground should bo dug at 
least twenty inches deep. 
In selecting the seed, care must be observed to 
procure that which is fresh — its germ I noting powers 
are much injured, if not totally ruined, when it is 
more than one year old. No preparation of the 
seed is necessary. It takes considerable time for 
it to sprout, but If it is fresh, the exercise of a little 
patieuce on the part of the cultivator only is need¬ 
ful, as no other seed is more sure of germination. 
The quantity generally used is four pounds per 
acre. Time for sowing, as soon as the ground is 
in readiness. Deposit in drills 12 to 16 inches 
apart and thin out to about 8 inches. The after¬ 
culture is similar to that given to carrots—see 
Rural of l*th ult One thiiig, however, we would 
impress upon the mind of the producer, viz., the 
necessity of keeping the land free front weeds.— 
Success iu the production of crops of this class de¬ 
pends very much upon the care thus giveu. 
In the culture of this root, those who do not 
possess an abundance ot room for storing derive 
considerable advantage from the fact that frost 
does not injure them. Remove in the fall what 
are needed for winter use, and store iu the cellar. 
Those thus put away should bo covered with earth 
as exposure to the air or even moderate heat 
wilts them. 
GRASSES AND HERBAGE PLANTS. 
A few years since produce was so cheari in 
many parts of our country, while labor was so 
scarce aud so dear that there seemed but little to 
encourage farmers to engage in thorough systems 
of culture demanding much labor. A practice 
profitable U.; pe, with land and produce high, 
and labor cheap, might, and indeed, generally 
would be unprofitable bere, where an entirely dif¬ 
ferent state of tilings existed. If, thin American 
fanners have not made as much progress in im¬ 
proved Hud expensive systems of agriculture as 
their European brethren, it is not because they are 
less intelligent or that, they lack enterprise, but 
because they have been very differently circum¬ 
stanced, as regards the price of labor, land and 
prodace. The farmer, like the merchant and me¬ 
chanic, labors not for the love of employment nor 
to gain an honorable name, as a skillful and scien¬ 
tific farmer, but for c no Fir. It would be unwise, 
therefore, for him to pursue any system of culture 
that would not be remunerative—that would not 
pay well for the labor and capital expended. If 
the farmer invests a dollar in capital or labor, he 
should at least receive his own with interest. It. 
must be remembered, however, that in making 
permanent improvements, like draining, only the 
interest and an installment of the principal should 
be expected from each crop. 
Of late years produce in all parts of the country 
has sold at highly remunerating prices, suffi¬ 
ciently so to excite every enterprising farmer to 
great exertions to increase his salable produce 
by all judicious means. For this purpose gua.'io 
has been freely used, the amount and cost of 
which we gave our readers in an article on the 
subject, in the Rural of Jannary 31. With wheat 
at $2 or more per bushel, its increase by the use 
of guano would probably pay; but when wheat is’at 
$1 per bushel, every additional bushel raised by 
theuseof so expensive a fertilizing material would 
cost the farmer more than it would bring in the 
market To make wheat growing profitable at 
this price, a manure costing the farmer less than 
guano must be used. Potatoes of the best varie¬ 
ties are now selling in Rochester at $1 25 per 
bushel, a rate so high that farmers can afford to 
use guano, or pursue almost auy system of culture 
that will increase the crop. When potatoes sell at 
2.5 cents per bushel the farmer cannot afford to ex¬ 
pend much labor in raising a crop, but at present 
prices a few days extra labor is of but little ac¬ 
count, if thereby the crop can be increased. 
Deep Plowiho and Thorough Draining are 
plans pursued for the purpose of increasing the 
products of the soil. Of the. former, which is not 
a costly operation, we spoke last week. Draining 
BY SANFORD HOWARD. 
■" As the season is approaching for the growth and de¬ 
velopment of grasses and forage plants, we commence the 
publication of >i caloabu) paper rV-crtbiog and illustrating 
various species and varieties—Mr. Howard’s Prize Essay 
on Grasses and Herbags Plants, n « B the last vol¬ 
ume of Transactions of X Y. State Ag. Society. The Essay 
will be continued in two or three future numbers — the 
column or two given in each making an interesting article.] 
The grass rop—including under this head the 
plants used for hay and pasturage—is the most 
valuable of the crops produced in the United 
States. It has been estimated that the hay grown 
in 1*55, was 15,000,00(5 tans, worth $150,000,000.— 
The va'-ne of the pastura -e is considered of equal 
amount, making an aggregate of $300,000,000 for 
the grass crop of a single year.* In the Northern 
States, the crop is entitled to a prominence far in 
advance of any other. New York leads in its pro¬ 
duction—the census of 1850, crediting her with 
3,723,797 tuns, annually. The importance of the 
crop is therefore sufficiently evident without an 
elaborate argument 
AGROSTIS VULGARIS MINOR. 
The A. Vulgaris major is popularly distingushed 
as Large Red-top, Western Red-top, and in some 
sections as Rhode Island or Burden-grass. It 
grows from a foot t,o upwards of two feet in height; 
favors rather moist soils, and will grow better than 
most cultivated species on cold, wet upland. It is 
frequently sown with Timothy (Herds-grass of 
New-Eagland,\ the two species flowering about 
the same time. It yields a large bulk of hay 
—rather light in proportion to bulk—and although 
of inferior quality 3s a pasture grass, compared 
with some species, it is readily eaten by cattle 
aud horses, and produces a pretty large and regu¬ 
lar growth through the season. PerenniaL 
The .-1. vulgaris minor is known in the Eastern 
States as small Red-top, Fine-top, Ac. It appears 
to correspond to the common Agrostis, or Fine 
Bent-grass, of English authors. The Plymouth 
colonists doubtless brought it from England. It 
is more common in the territory of the Old Col¬ 
ony than in any other part of this country. It is 
there preferred to the Large Red-top, which is less 
cultivated. It seldom exceeds one foot in height, 
and the stalks are very slender, but they olten 
stand thickly on the ground. It yields a less bulk 
of hay than the larger kind, but it is much heavier 
in proportion to bulk and of better quality, being 
highly esteemed for feeding working oxen. Its 
greatest advantage over the large kind, however, 
is that on dry soils it grows better and lives longer. 
Hence it is the most common grass in the pastures 
of this section. The two varieties may be readily 
distinguished—the major having a broader and 
lighter-green leaf, while the leaf of the minor is 
narrow and dark-green. Perennial. 
The Agrostis stolonifera —Fiorin—is occasional¬ 
ly seen here. It requires a moist soil. Its habit 
of spreading rapidly by means of numerous stolons 
or lateral shoots, and the firm network which it 
thus forms, would seem to render it a valuable 
grass for the banks of water-courses, which might 
thus be protected from washing. Perennial. 
MANAGEMENT OP CAI.VES 
Different methods of management are pur¬ 
sued in the rearing and disposal of calves—varying 
with the object to be attained, and the views of 
the dairyman or o wner of the cow. Fattening for 
veal, raising the calf for future use; or, if the milk 
is the groat object, disposing of the calf at once 
require different methods of feeding and care. 
Jn milk dairies, it is sometimes thought best not 
to raise the calf at all, but to kill, or sell it for 
what its skin is worth, within the first two orihree 
days of its life. Here, the management is simple, 
indeed. 
Fattening for veal may be done as economically, 
perhaps, in' regard to feed and care, by keeping 
the calf shnt up a small and rather dark stable, 
and allowing it to suck its dam twice a day as 
much as It will take. The more quiet it is kept, 
which confined room and snbdued light promotes, 
the more rapidly it will fatten. Cleanliness and 
pure air should be attended to, and if the cow 
.rives less milk than the calf will consume, gruel 
or linseed tea may be used to supply the deficiency. 
From four to eight weeks is the usual time of 
feeding—the latter gives veal of a far better 
quality. 
Rearing for stock is managed in different ways. 
Allen in his Domestic Animals, says, “ the safest 
and least troublesome manner of raising calves, is 
at the ndder of the dam; and whenever the milk 
is converted into butter und cheese, we believe 
this to be most economical. The milk of one 
good cow is sufficient, with a rnu of fresh, sweet 
pasture, to the feeding two calves at the same time, 
and if we allow the calves to arrive at three or 
four months of age before weaning, we may safely 
estimate that one good cow will yield a quantity 
of milk in one season, fully equivalent to bringing 
up four Calves to a weaning age.’’ We suppose 
the writer means to recommend this method in 
large dairies, and that by “ the ndder of the dam,” 
he means that of any new milch cow, for a cow is 
generally the dam of lmt one calf at u time, and 
not of two or four. 
Auother method, and the one we prefer in small 
dairies, or where from one to ten cows are kept, is 
the following:—When the calf is one or two days 
old, take it from its dam, and learn it to drink new 
milk, warm from th ‘ cow. This may usually be 
done by inserting the fingers in the mouth of the 
calf and placing the nose in the milk, for the first 
few days, after which time it w ill generally helpii 
self. Continue the new milk, morning and even¬ 
ing, regularly for five or six weeks, and then com¬ 
mence adding skimmed milk, first warmed, in 
place of a portion of the new milk, gradually in¬ 
creasing the former until it constitutes the entire 
food of the calf. At this time two month's age 
shouid be reached, and cold inilk may soon be 
given, also sour, after a few weeks. As the animal 
Icarus to eat grass the quantity maybe diminished, 
though in butter dairies it is generally kept up 
until late in the fait, when the calf will wean itself, 
li desirable to wean earlier it may be done, but 
with more trouble, and a small feed of oats would 
be useful to keep up the flesh and spirits of the 
Eds. Rural :—Noticing in a late number of the 
Nbw-Ygkkek an article on the culture of the 
sweet potato, and having, of late years, had some 
experience in the growth and preservation of this 
interesting and valuable veggtable, I felt inclined 
to correct some mistakes, as I think, iu the article 
alluded to. Tbe writer admits he has never been 
able to keep the potato overwinter, in which I 
have had no difficulty since adopting the plan 
which I will relate after a few words on its growth. 
I generally select for seed, potatoes of a medium 
size, (say about an inch, or an inch and a half in 
diameter,) and not very long. The hot-bed is pre¬ 
pared as for any other purpose, and the potatoes 
laid in rows, not cut as our friend proposes, as this 
will increase tbe danger of rotting before sprout¬ 
ing. They should be set far enough apart to ad¬ 
mit the introduction of the hand between each 
row, for the purpose of removing the plants, as from 
time to time they become sufficiently large and 
we21 rooted to bear transplanting and the danger 
of frost has past. The potato should not be re¬ 
moved from the hot-bed in order to separate the 
\u.k.co.Ai.aiH:fc 
AGROSTIS VULGARIS MAJOR. 
A knowledge of grasses,—as regards their speci¬ 
fic distinctions, the qualities and habits of different 
species and varieties, their adaptation to different 
localities and soils, and their relative value for 
different animals—is therefore a subject which de¬ 
mands the farmer’s attention. That it has gene¬ 
rally been too ranch neglected, might be shown 
by various examples. 
The following remarks are not intended as a trea¬ 
tise, but are simply designed to furnish a few hints 
in regard to some of the grasses and other forage 
plants known in the northern section of the coun¬ 
try. Strictly scientific descriptions are not at¬ 
tempted, the leading object being to give sugges¬ 
tions which may be practically useful. It has 
been deemed important to present reliable state- 
*Gov. Wright's address before the New York Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, at Elmira. 
lew inches or good surface earth. Much of this 
subsoil is so cold and so wet that the roots or 
plants can hardly live, and certainly cannot thrive 
in it. By draining, the excess of water is carried 
off, air takes its place, und the soil becomes much 
warmer, for it is a fact that the warm air that pen¬ 
etrates the soil increases its temperature several 
degrees. It Is also a fart well known that heat 
cannot be well transmitted downward through a 
stiff' water-soaked subsoil. On this subject, Dr. 
Lindlky remarks lu the London Gardener's 
Chronicle :—•*' It, is by perfect and skillful drainage 
that underground climate is improved, and by that 
alone. Why is laud improved by good drainage? 
Many believe the whole advantage consists in re* 
moving water; but water is not in itself an evil; 
on the contrary, it is the food of plants, and its 
absence is attended with fatal results. But uu- 
drained land is not merely wet, it is water-logged. 
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