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TWO DOLLARS A YEAR.] 
‘PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.’ 
[ SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
YOL. VIII. NO. 34. 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, AUGUST U, 1857. 
5 WHOLE NO. 398. 
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. 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS t 
PKOF. a DEWEY, 
L t M. F. MAURY. 
Dr. ASA FITCH. 
T. S ARTHUR, 
T. C. PETERS, 
H. T. BROOKS, 
EWD. WEBSTER, 
Mrs. M. J. HOLMES, 
LYMAN B LANOWORTHY. 
Thb Rural Niw-Yorker Js designed to ha imsnrpassed in 
Value, Parity, Dsofhlness and Variety of Contents, and unique 
and bountiful In Appearance. Its Conductor devoteB his per¬ 
sonal attention to the supervision of its various departments, 
and earnestly labors to render the Rural on eminently Reliable 
<3tilde on the Important PracUcal, Scientific and otber Subjects 
Intimately connected with the business of those whose interests 
It eealoualy advocates. It embraces more Agricultural, Horti¬ 
cultural, Fclcntillo, Mccnaolcal, Litorary and Newr Matter, 
interepereed With appropriate and beautiful Engravings, than 
any othor Journal,—rendering It the most complete Agricultu¬ 
ral Litrbary arp Family Journal In America. 
t.&~ All comma ideations, and bnsineSB letters, should be 
addressed to O. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
Fob Tsmira, and othor partioulara, see last page. 
ural 
NOXIOUS WEEDS. 
The carelessness, and we might add, the reck¬ 
lessness of farmers is as fnlly and frequently ex¬ 
hibited in the corners of their fences anil along 
the roads bordering on their possessions, as in any 
of the more important portions or departments of 
the farm. He who watches closely the seasons— 
plants his seed at the proper time and in the most 
approved rasneer— gives the requisite culture to 
the growing crops, and that whenever it is needed 
—harvests thoroughly and secures carefully—may 
be, in fact, a well-to-do, successful farmer, but if 
the weeds are allowed to ripen on his premises, 
and scatter their pernicious germs wherever the 
wind willetb, he has yet to study the rudiments of 
his profession. 
The season now passing has been peculiarly fa¬ 
vorable for the germination, growth and develop¬ 
ment of these pests—so much so, that in our 
memory, we have never seeo them in one-half the 
strength they now possess, nor a tithe of the pro¬ 
fusion with which they may now be found. Con¬ 
tinued rains early in the season while famishing 
the elements of growth prevented the use of the 
hoe or cultivator for the purpose of keeping them 
down, and when opportunity at last presented 
itself, the hay crop imperatively demanded the at¬ 
tention of the farmer, which, followed by harvest¬ 
ing, gave time for their maturity and for the ex¬ 
tended dissemination of their species. The in¬ 
crease in this respect during the year past has 
been enormous, and, judging from present appear¬ 
ances, tho tillers of the soil who desire freedom 
from such visitants and the consequences attend¬ 
ant npon their appearance are doomed to better 
disappointment. 
When we take into consideration the fact that 
the whole economy of a weed plant, so far as its 
• individual existence is concerned, is devoted to its 
reproduction, the causes for their wonderful 
tenacity of life and excessive fruitfulness of their 
kind are apparent Weeds by nature, annuals, if 
maimed and bruised will oftentimes preserve their 
vitality through a second year and complete 
therein the design of nature. The increase of a 
weed plant is so enormous as to almost stagger 
belief. From a series of experiments instituted 
by James Buckman, Professor of Natural History 
in the Royal Ag. College, Cirencester, England, we 
obtain tho following table relative to this pecu¬ 
liarity as exhibited by several specimens consid¬ 
ered only as medium in their reproductive powers: 
No. of flaw Ore No. of sends Total for a 
to each plant. 
to each flower. 
plant. 
Common groundsel, 30 
10 
300 
Corn-cockle, 
10 
40 
400 
Corn sow-thistle, 
25 
20 
500 
Fool's parsley. 
300 
2 
COO 
Wild carrot, 
600 
2 
1200 
Rod poppy, 
25 
SO 
1250 
The Professor further says: "In most plants the 
perfecting of the seeds does not occur simulta¬ 
neously; there is usually one set of seeds devel¬ 
oped from the primary or first flower, the which, 
if it bo perfected and sown, may increase ground¬ 
sel tenfold, corn-cockle forty-fold, red poppy fifty¬ 
fold. And this shows us that in dealing with 
seeds, we oannot be too careful of observing their 
natural history; for if our hoeing, for instanee.be 
delayed until these first seeds are ripened, the very 
process may cause the sowing of enough seeds to 
insure a future crop of the pest. Hence, then, the 
the whole facts connected with the seeds lead to 
the conclusions that, when practicable, weeding 
should be done as early as possible, even before 
tbo weeds nmy bo in flower, and if delayed until 
the Beeds be ripe, measures should be taken for 
tbe complete destruction of weeds’, which is best 
done, where practicable, by fire." 
Among the most pernicious of these weeds pro" 
vided by nature with wings, which enables it to be 
readily transported for miles, spreading its bane¬ 
ful effects, is tho Canada Thistle. A careless far¬ 
mer may keep the whole to wn in which he resides in 
constant trouble and be a source of almost never 
ending expense. This class are technically known 
as “ dirty farmers”—would that the deleterious ef¬ 
fects of slovenliness were confined to their lands 
as well as is their physical slothfnlness to their 
bodies! Individuals who permit these noxious 
weeds to infest their fields and mature thereon 
should be punished for so doing. Relative to the 
care of highways, the statutes explicitly declare 
what are the duties of overseers (pathraasters) in 
this respect, and we doubt not that the Common 
Law will sustain an action against any individual 
who, npon his private domain, will grow and scat¬ 
ter germs destined to become " workers of evil” to 
hia neighbors. The following is the law on this 
point:— 
CHAPTER XVI. 
Article 1. Sec. 6.—It shall be the duty of the overseers 
of highways in each town, 
To cause tho noxious weeds on each aide of the highway 
within their ro sportive districts, to he cut down or destroy¬ 
ed, twice in each year, once before tho first day of July 
and again before tho first day of September; and the requi¬ 
site labor shall be considered highway wort. 
PKV.lLTIBS O.V OVKK3KKRS. 
§ Id.—Every overseer of highways a ho shall refute or 
neglect, 
To perform any of the duties required by this chapter 
(16) or which may be enjoined on him by the commis¬ 
sioners of highways of his town, and for the omission of 
which a penalty is not hereinafter provided: 
Shall, for every such refusal, forfeit the sum of ten del 
lars. to ho sued for by tho commissioners of highways of 
the town; and when recovered, to bo applied by them in 
making aud iinprovaig the roads and bridges. 
§ 17.—It shall be the duty of the commissioners of high¬ 
ways of each town, whenever any person resident in Uieir 
town f fiat I make complaint that any overseer of highways 
in such town, has refused or neglected to perform attv of 
the duties enumerated iu the last preceding section, and 
should give or offer to such commissioners, sufficient se¬ 
curity to indemnify then against the costs which may bo 
incurred in prosecuting for the penally annexed to such 
refusal or neglect, forthwith to prosecute such overseer for 
the offence complained of. 
§ 18.—If such commissioners of highways shall refuse or 
neglect to prosecute for such penalty, they shall, in everv 
such ease, forfeit the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered by 
the person who shall have made such complaint, and given 
or offered such security. 
Along the line of onr railroads there is a large 
quantity of what might be termed waste land, and 
this for years has been the receptacle of fool mat 
ters. Here they have ripened without molestation 
and annually have given to the real estate on either 
side a full supply of seed for the purposls of pro¬ 
pagation, as well as furnished to the owners thereof 
many “a bard row to hoe.” We are not aware 
that there is any special provision in our laws cal¬ 
culated to protect the interests of the masses in op¬ 
position to these corporations nor do we think there 
toil! be as long as free pusses are plenty for a certain 
class whoso votes are always considered entitled to 
a quid pro quo, nor as long as legislators persist in 
being merchantable commodities. If, however, 
“in the course of human events” in onr legis¬ 
lative halls should be congregated men who 
are not "under the hammer" to the "highest 
bidder,” but who, forgetting self, will remember 
their constituents we may hope for a good time 
coming. The same general principle is, we think 
applicable here that governs individuals, and we do 
not believe—although these corporations have 
pretty effectually got tbeir fingers into the pockets 
of the producing classes—that, agriculturally, they 
can work to the detriment of the farmer with im¬ 
punity. In traveling upon onr railroads the ex¬ 
citement iu the atmosphere consequent upon the 
rush of the train sets such myriads of these 
winged seeds in motion that the air is literally 
tilled with them. We have no means of compu¬ 
ting the damage annually arising front this source, 
but if the labor thereby caused was directed in a 
certain channel it would be a moderate task to 
connect the "Land of Steady Habits” with the 
"Golden West.” 
^ e have adverted to the legal points which 
might be brought to bear upon a subject so irate 
and stubborn as may require a powerful incentive 
to locomotion in a right direction. We have no 
desire to see farmers appealtng the "sightless 
female” for protection against the carelessness or 
machinations of one of their number, but the old 
adage says “ birds that can sing and will not, must 
be made to,” and we have merely hinted the man¬ 
ner to compel tho music. I.et each of the progres¬ 
sives keep his own farm free, and we will guarantee 
a good effect upon the drags whom chance has 
thrown in his neighborhood. 
As regards tho extirpation of weeds it is useless 
for us to enter into any specialties npon the sub¬ 
ject—there are various inodeB for the work, all of 
which will doubtless accomplish the end desired 
provided they are completely performed. All 
labor la lost devoted to a task of this nature that 
is not thorough. Never trust to decay what should 
be given to the flames—there is neither safety nor 
security except in extermination. 
FACTS ABOUT PEN CINQ. 
If we could only get along without fences, what 
a blessing it would be. What a harbor they fur¬ 
nish for t.he mice and other vermin that prey npon 
onr crops, and destroy many trees in the orchards. 
The crop is seldom good near the fence, and in 
most cases for several feet nearly worthless. In 
many fields an acre of ground that has been cul¬ 
tivated and sowed is thus lost. Then there is a 
space of several feet more occupied with weeds 
and thistles and bushes that it is next to impossi¬ 
ble to eradicate without removing the fence.— 
These beep onr fields supplied with fool seed, and 
make the work of destroying weeds laborious and 
discouraging. Then the plowman who ventures 
too near the fence often encounters some ugly root 
that upsets his equanimity, if nothing more serious. 
Where the common Virginia rail fence is used, it 
is policy to remove it every few years, so as to 
plow up the ground on which it stood and destroy 
effectually all the weeds and bushes. 
In some parts of Europe fences are dispensed 
with, and in some places in New England, espe¬ 
cially in the Connecticut Valley, the traveler is 
snrprised at their absence from cultivated fields. 
Some of the advantages to he derived from this 
practice we have briefly alluded to, but one of the 
greatest, of coarse, is the saving of the heavy tax 
necessary to make fences and beep them in repair. 
We might give figures on this point that would as¬ 
tonish many, but as each farmer can figure the cost 
for himself, it would be hardly necessary orprofit- 
able. Where the land is not fenced, as a general 
thing stock must be kept ap and fed in barns or 
sheds, green crops being raised for this purpose; 
and under some circumstances, particularly where 
land is dear and meat an d produce high, this is no 
doubt the most economical method. In some 
parts of Europe, however, cattle and sheep are 
turned out in these nnfenced fields, but are placed 
under the care of shepherds, who, with the aid of 
well trained dogs, keep them in perfect subjection. 
The English practice of “ hurdling” might be pur¬ 
sued to advantage. These “hardies” are light 
moveable fences, and a piece is fenced off sufficient 
to afford feed for a flock of sheep for one or two 
days. They are then driven into the enclosure, 
where they remain until the food is consumed, 
when another piece 13 enclosed in the same man¬ 
ner. By this method the feed is eaten without 
much waste, and the land regularly manured. In 
the p;esent state of farming here fences are neces¬ 
sary, and we do not urge or recommend their 
destruction, but with some farmers there seems to 
be a mania on this subject, and they fence more 
than is either necessary or profitable. 
Last season we saw thousands of acres of both 
wheat and corn growing on the prairies of Illinois 
on land recently broken np and nnfenced. Seeing 
herds of cattle near, we inquired of the proprietor 
of a large corn-field containing perhaps one hun¬ 
dred acres, if he was not afraid the cattle would 
destroy his corn. He replied—" I have a dog that 
is better than any fence.” We passed on, hoping 
that he would not find himself a victim of mis¬ 
placed confidence. Another farmer on the Grand 
Prairie, in Illinois, of whom we asked the same 
question, stated that the cattle did some injury to 
his crops, but “be watched them pretty close, and 
as the feed was good on the prairies, they were not 
as troublesome to crops as a person from the East 
would suppose, but as soon as he received the 
money for his first crop he would fence as much 
as possible.” We never realized so fnlly the ex¬ 
pense and difficulty of fencing as when standing 
on those broad prairies, with a sea of waving 
grass, os far as the eye could reach, covering one 
of the richest soils on which the sun ever shone, 
and remembered that these lands could be bought 
at such a price and on so favorable terms that the 
poorest man conld possess himself of ahome; but 
that the cost of fencing was so great, many were 
compelled to seek a home in the timber, where 
years of toil are necessary before competence can 
be secured. Fencing iu many places costs far 
more than the laud, and not only is this true, but 
fencing must be paid for in cash, while the land 
can he bought on such terms that the money for 
the payments of both principal and interest can 
be realized from the land. The cost of fencing 
runst necessarily be high, as most of the lumber is 
brought from Green Bay, Saginaw, or some other 
timber region, to Chicago, and from thence is car¬ 
ried into the interior of the State by railroad. 
We do not feel prepared to propose any plan to 
relieve onr friends on the prairies of this heavy 
tax, but il the prairie farmers could devise some 
scheme to effect this object, it would advance the 
interests of the g r eat West, agriculturally, morally, 
and socially, and her fertile soils would soon be¬ 
come the garden of the land. Live fences are now 
grown to some extent, and before long they will 
become common, but as it requires five or six 
years with protection and cultivation to make a 
good hedge, they afford no relief to the new settler. 
This subject deserves, und we hope will receive, 
the special attention of our western renders. 
LIQUID ZALANTURE CART. 
The application of manure in a liquid state is 
now practiced by many of the best English and 
Scotch farmers. H. F. French, of New Hamp¬ 
shire, now traveling in England, visited Mechi's 
celebrated farm near London, and he writes that 
all the manure used on the farm is thrown into a 
large tank with water, where it remains until rot¬ 
ted, and is then forced by a steam engine, through 
iron pipes laid in the ground, to every part of the 
farm. This is, of course, an expensive operation, 
and not likely to be adopted even by English far¬ 
mers, for some centuries to come. The usual plan 
is to spread liquid manure from a cart constructed 
for the purpose, and we give an engraving and 
description of one of the best in use, called tbe 
Cylinder Car.'- 
It consists of a wooden or iron barrel revolving 
npon its axle. One side of the barrel consists of 
a perforated board, which is kept uppermost when 
not at work, and to set it to work it is only nec¬ 
essary to turn the barrel round. Thus valves and 
delivery pipes are altogether unnecessary; and, 
WILL FARMING PAY? 
This is an all-important question, and we answer, 
yes, farming will pay. It will not, however, pay 
those who are “ making haste to be rich;” it will 
not pay those who desire speedily to become 
wealthy regardless of the means. It will not pay 
those who are seeking transient and unmerited 
honors. It will pay the man who is satisfied with 
honest gains in an honorable calling. It will pay 
anywhere in onr country and everywhere; on the 
rich prairies of the West and the more sterile soils 
oi the East: in the extreme North and the South; 
on the Pacific coast and in the more central parts 
of our country- There is no part of our country, 
and scarcely any soil or climate, where crops can¬ 
not be raised at a fair profit if they are wisely 
adapted to the circumstances. The same skill and 
foresight in adapting crops to sol!, climate, de¬ 
mand, &e-, as is exercised by the merchant in se¬ 
lecting his goods to suit the demand, and the 
probable changes in the market and the mechanic 
in manufacturing such articles as will be needed, 
will insure success under circumstances that may 
be considered the most unfavorable. Much loss, 
doubtless, results from want of attention to this 
subject; and we have sometimes thought farmers 
were a little stubborn on this point. A farmer 
raises wheat, or some other crop, and by change of 
climate, deterioration of soil, or some other cause, 
it becomes unprofitable. Instead of changing for 
something more profitable, many continue to plant 
the same crop with a dogged perseverance that 
would be creditable was there no better way. At 
the late Trial of Implements at Syracuse a gentle¬ 
man from Kentucky sail speaking of the farmers 
of his own State, " we are wiser than our neighbors 
of Virginia, for aa soon as our land will not grow 
tobacco profitably, we put in something else that, 
will pay, having an eye also to the resuscitation of 
the soil, while they grow tobacco until the soil will 
not grow that or any other crop.” Whether this 
remark is applicable to the farmers generally of 
either State, we cannot say; it certainly indicates 
a wise foresight on the part of the farmers of_Ky. 
We have seen farms so sandy that they were 
once considered almost worthless, and that would 
not sell for one-quarter as much as others a few 
miles distant, made notoriously profitable by the 
cultivation of peaches and potatoes. We have 
seen, in a few cases, swamps th3t were considered 
a nuisance mace more profitable than any other 
part of the lam by the growth of willowa aud 
cranberries. We have seen ragged looking hill¬ 
sides bring their owners a fortune from the culti¬ 
vation of grapes. A little enterprise, a little 
thought and perseverance, a little tact in adapting 
ourselves to circumstances, is all that is necessary 
to succeed in farming iu almost any position.— 
Perhaps it is the possession of this tact that causes 
however hilly the land, or however empty the bar¬ 
rel may be, it will always adju3t itself by its own 
weight, and deliver its contents at a uniform rate. 
As a natural consequence of this greater sim¬ 
plicity of construction, the cost is small. The 
cart shown in the sketch, containing 100 gallons, 
weighs only 5j cwta. It may be made of any re¬ 
quired width, 3nd the delivery apparatus, which is 
simply a perforated board, can be varied at little 
ccst to Bait every description of drilled crop, and 
also to manure grass lands, &e., broad-cast. It 
has also been advantageously used in gardens and 
pleasure grounds, for watering lawns and flower 
I beds. There fc a cock from waich water or liquid 
manure may be drawn off into watering pots, 01 a 
flexible pipe or hose may be sorewed into this 
cock, or by fixing a small force pump into the air 
hole of the cart, the water can be forced to any 
desired height. 
In a future number we will give a plan of a dry 
manure cart, very convenient for both loading 
and unloading. 
mechanics and merchants to succeed generally in 
farming, when they engage in it in earnest as a 
business. We have known but few mechanics and 
merchanls who have really engaged in farming for 
profit, who have not made the most enterprising 
and the most succesafal farmers. It is far different, 
we know, when they merely undertake farming as 
a pastime. Farming is a business that requires a 
wise head and diligent hands, and those who un¬ 
dertake to make play of it, generally find it an ex¬ 
pensive game, and are not long in coming to the 
conclusion generally that they are “paying too 
dear for the whistle.” 
Some fifteen or twenty years ago farming land 
here was worth from thirty to fifty dollars an acre. 
Wheat, which was then almost the only article the 
farmer could sell for cash, was worth about 75 
cents a bushel, potatoes IS cents, and other things 
in proportion. Then it was difficult to make farm¬ 
ing pay, and farmers were often heard to say if 
they could only get a dollar a bushel for wheat 
and twenty-five centB for potatoes, they would de¬ 
sire no better business. Now double these prices 
are obtained, and the cost of cultivation has not 
increased by any means iu the same proportion. 
In conclusion, we will say that the same enter¬ 
prise that gives the merchant a chance of success, 
only, insures success to the iarmer. The merchant 
may labor for years with well directed energy—he 
may spend his nights in devising wise plans, and 
his days in their execution—yet disasters that the 
most searching ken conld not foresee, nor the 
greatest skill prevent, leaves him penny leas in an 
hour. Gains from cultivating the soil are not 
rapid—the farmer’s accumulations are slow, but 
generally sure. Losses occasionally occur, but. 
they are neither large nor overwhelming. 
-*—•»- 
Source of Fat. —During the past year, experi¬ 
ments have been made in France on a number of 
ducks, to prove that the fat may exceed the quan¬ 
tity which could be referred to the food they were 
supplied with. Some were fed on rice, a substance 
which contains only a few parts ot Fat in a thou¬ 
sand, Others fed on vice, with a certain amount of 
butter added. At the end of the experiment, the 
first were as lean as when placed upon the diet; 
the latter, in a few days, became positively balls of 
fat. Other experiments were made on pig*- I* 
was found as the result of several trials, that there 
was sometimes more fat produced than was con¬ 
tained in the food in which they ware fed. Food 
which, given alcne, has not the properties of fatten¬ 
ing, when mixed with a fatty matter acquires the 
property to an astonishing degree; and fattening 
articles of food, which Jo not contain much fat, 
always abound with its chemical constituents, the 
principle of which is azote, from whence the fat 
acquired is certainly derived. Ex. 
I 
