ImmmI 
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TWO DOLLARS A YEAR ] 
“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
YOL. YIII. NO. 47A 
ROCHESTER, N. Y..—SATURDAY, NOVEMiER 7A, 1857. 
i WHOLE NO; 411. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AS OBIOIMA1 WKKKLT 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE CORPS OP ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
SPECIAL OONTIUBCTOR 81 
PBO». 0. DEWEY, 
(P* M. P. MAURY, 
Db. A8A PITCH, 
T. R ARTHUR, 
T. a PCTKRS, 
H. T. BKtXIKS, 
EWD. WEBSTER, 
Mrs M. J. HOLMES 
LYMAN B LANGWORTHY. 
Tkb Rural Nkw-Yokrer !•> d-siimed to bo nnirarpas«cd In 
Value, Pnrity, L’mfnln--* aud Variety of Content*, and unique 
and boantifn' in Appearance. Itn Cimdiictor devotee bi» per¬ 
sonal attention to the gnperrtjlon of its various departments, 
and earnestly labors to render the RtTRil. an eminently Reliable 
Onlde on the Important Practical, Scientific and other Snhjeers 
Intimately connected with tins bnMnora of thane whose mteresta 
R sealously advocates It embraces more Airricnltnral, Hortl- 
cultural, Scientific, Mechanical. Lltenuy and News Matter, 
Interspersed witn appropriate and beautilul Engraviiigs, than 
any other JonmO,—rendering It the most complete Aokicultb- 
sal Litkr*rt a»p Frsitt Jopural In Amerieo- 
CF All commnnlcations, and business I,-tiere, should be 
addressed to D. D. T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Trrms and other p.articnlars, see last page. 
Hural fRfa-IIorkr. 
AGRICULTURE-PAST AND PRESENT. 
Tup growth of everything valuable is slow. A 
century is required to mature the time-defying 
oak, while other trees of less Ytluo ma'ure iu a 
few years. The pages of history record the tri 
umphs of the warrior, the statesman, the philoso¬ 
pher, the sculptor, the jioet, ond the architect—all 
of whom left Imperishable monuments of their 
genius, which even jet excite admiration. The 
printers, the sculptors, the architects of the pres¬ 
ent day study the works of past ages,—are proud 
to imitate, and hardly dare Hope to equal, much 
1 ss excel the “masters” of antiquity. The agri 
outturist looks to the past in yaln fur knowledge to 
guide him in his avocation. He finds no Roman 
or Grecian models worthy of imitation. The rude 
Roman plow, harnessed to the oxen by tbe simplest 
contrivance imaginable show<ul a lack of thought 
and invention, and only excites a smile. The ag¬ 
riculturist cannot, look backward for bin glory, but 
onwards and upwards. Light and knowledge is to 
be g lined only by earnest thought aud well tried 
experiment®. New faotsare to be-developed, new 
modes or culture proveiLpAhful or discarded as un¬ 
wise, new machines to de vls#d to lighten 
labor aud Iobbou the coat of producing the neces¬ 
saries of li r e. A glorious cnVeer awai's the agil 
Guitarist of the present age, and he should be tru'y 
thankful that, he lives in a duy of improvement, of 
light and knowledge; honor awaits him, but it 
must be earned— fought for, labored for—a clear, 
active head aud a strong arm may secure the prize 
la ancient times agriculture was considered 
boiorable, for historians have recounted instances 
of warriors and statesmen engaging in this peace 
ful occupation. Cincinnatus when called to the 
head of the Roman nation was found at the plow; 
and it a little of the wi-dom for which he was fa 
moas, had been exercised in improving that use 
ful implement, his name might have been more 
hon ued, and lusting benefits been conferred upon 
community. But, In early times, as ba 9 beeu truly 
said, population bore but, an insignificant proper 
tion to the ex'ent of Inhabited country; so that 
men were not compelled then, as they are now, to 
cultivate infertile soils, or crop them sofr< qneatly, 
in order to 0 tain the necessaries of exi tcnco: 
they confined their simple operations to the rich 
alluvial laud which nature had prepared sges he 
fore, in auticipa'ion, as It were, of a helpless state 
of society, and which yielded its Increase from the 
most, itnperf cc cul ivation. Wnile, therefore, the 
philosophy, literature and fine «r s of the ancients 
h ive formed the basis upon which those of modern 
times have been roared, the art of cubivating tbe 
Soil has received little or nothing from ancient, ag¬ 
riculture to which i's present comparatively ad¬ 
vanced state can he es 'rilled; that advancement is 
to ne sought, tor, not among the relics of anriqoi'y, 
hut. among the materials priocipa ly furnished by 
a generation scarcely yet passed away. 
Had we sUli iont apace It. would be interesting 
to trace the ; rogr. ss of agriculture from the tine 
tint it first seemed to enter the minds of some 
men that it was susceptible cl improvement—that 
perhaps it was not the better way to plow aud sow 
exactly a* their f tth • rs bad doue. Tt was in l.vw 
that the first, anct etetful attempt was made in Eng¬ 
land to 00 lent the scattered fragments of agricul¬ 
tural knowledge. At that, time Sir Anthony Fitz 
UBRbkkt, published his “ Hooke of Hiubnndrit ” 
Although the author knew nothing of Chemistiy 
and its application to agriculture, nor of the rota¬ 
tion of crops, he did much good by pointing out 
prevailing bad practices, aud suggesting improve, 
rnents. Ho endeavored to impress upon hia read¬ 
ers the truth that "a husbandman cannot thryve 
by his come without caltele, nor by his cattele 
without corne.” 
In 1580 Thomas Tusskr, an agricultural poet 
pnhlfshed in verae “Five Hundred Points of Good 
Husbandry,' 1 This work contained many valuable 
practical hints, and pissed through several edi- 
tions. The author mentions carrots, turnips and 
cabbages then recently introduced as kitchen 
herbs. From 1600 to 1650 several hooks on agri¬ 
culture were published, among them “Tbe whole 
Artof Husbandry,’’ by Barnaby Goose, and "The 
Improver Improved,” by Bi.ythe. Cromwell, him¬ 
self a farmer, in early life was a munificent patron 
of agricnltnre, and Harttibb an agricultural au¬ 
thor received from him a pension, with in-truc- 
tions to devote his time to agricultural investiga¬ 
tions. Daring the next centary many agricultural 
works were published, hut nothing new or particu¬ 
larly valuable appeared until the time of Jethro 
Tull. He had observed in hia travels that in the 
vineyards where no manure was used, but the 
ground kept constantly stirred that the vines grew 
well and produced abundant crops. After labor 
and reflection Tull laid it down as a general rule 
that crops would grow well on poor soils without 
manure, if the ground was kept thoroughly pul¬ 
verized, and that the only advantage derived from 
mauure was in the pulverization of the golf by 
fermentation, and that this could be done by till¬ 
age without manure. He therefore recommended 
drilling and horse-hoeing. Although wrong in 
theory, muoh good was done by the investigations 
and labors of Tull. To no one. taking the age in 
which he wrote into consideration, is ngricnlture 
more indebted for its subsequent advancement 
and present position. 
Sir Humphrey Davy followed, and Liebio, giv¬ 
ing to agriculture the benefit of their scientific 
investigations. So that now, a’tbongh we have 
mnch to learn, we do not labor entirely in the 
dark. Every year new facta are developed and 
new theories formed. Ours is a day of progress, 
and he who does not strive to keep np with the 
times will find himself sadly in the rear. 
-*-*-- 
SHELTER FOR STOCK. 
As the inclement season of the year is about re 
visiting ns, the practical and cartful farmer, and 
each individual who baB the keeping of stock and 
is possessed of a heart composed of the right ma¬ 
teria), will look about him snd see whether such 
measures have been adopted as will protect his 
animals from the keen, searching blasts of Winter. 
Tbe sympathy that clamors loudly In providing 
homes for the homeless: that gathers friends for 
the friendless; that pratt s wisely concerning 
“man’s Inhumanity to man;” ant) at. the same time 
imposes torments upon tbe dumb snd helpless of 
the lower order of animal life—or by listless inac¬ 
tivity or mis-directed zeal permits them to suffer 
—is tit oaly for the precinct-, of Ave-Noodledum, 
where Natare is driven to the wall—where Ap 
pearances are worshiped by the giddy and thought¬ 
less—where the life-clock within each breas c mats 
only the hoots devoted to the tolly of ri-hiou or 
the formation and completion ot such plans as are 
born of selfishness and sordid drsire. 
Could our domestic animals give to their wants 
and their miseries the form ot speech, how fre¬ 
quently would they rebuke their owceis, and how 
soon would champions arise in their behalf, “ with 
thoughts that breathe and words that burp,” heap* 
tug denunciations upon the heads of their perse 
ontors. But a wise Providence has declared other¬ 
wise, and iu siteuoe must they submit to wrong — 
Your stook deserves bitter treatment. How pa¬ 
tiently have they borne the yoke—how unremit¬ 
tingly have they tolled at the plow —bow con 
stsntly have they a'ded in the progress and ful 
tilbieot of your designs and labors. AH the con¬ 
st Orations of humanity demand for them generous 
tri aiment at jour ham’s. 
On the ground of economy the whole question 
res fives lt*eir thus:—"One pound of boards vs. 
one pound of beef.” The orgm z i'ion of all farm 
a dmala belongs to the tl»ss termed warm-blooded. 
Nature has provided them with uu appartiins for 
generating, iu a certain degree, the heat required 
to keep them comfortable and the system healthy, 
The blood, in passing throngh the body is charg -d 
with earbor, which, on eu ering the lungs and 
coming in contact with 1 he oxygen lit the air they 
contain, is cousumed, changed into oatbonto acid 
ga®, and is then e carried awav by exhalation.— 
To keep this apparatus supplied with food for 
combustion is msu’s appointed task, and he who 
will apply himself with a desi'e to obtuiu informa¬ 
tion, and can experiment, will booh discover that 
an atdmnl comfortably housed will not require 
mar as much food as one exposed to cold and 
s'orin. Wbeu a winter provis severe, those who 
own cattle will tiud the undertaking to keep their 
animals in good condition without shelter_no 
matter what the amount, kind or quality of food 
furnished them—"love’s labor lost;” each day 
will witness the decrease of fatty matter—gone to 
keep np the animal heat—and spring will exhibit a 
herd, fit companions for the leaakindof Pharaoh. 
WELL, WHAT OF IT? 
“Thr banks have all failed!” 
S3? 
“The merchants have all failed!” 
Well ? 
"The manufacturers have all stopped!” 
Well ? 
“The railroads are everywhere bankrupt!” 
Well ? 
“ We owe a great foreign debt and the country 
will be drained yet more of its specie to pay itl” 
80 ? 
“ Universal ruin stares us in the face.” 
Pretty bad! 
u Yos air, ‘ so’ and ‘well’ and ‘pretty bad’ as you 
may, the country will not recover from this dread¬ 
ful blow for years to come.” 
Well, what of it? 
" I have no patience with yon.” 
Good. Then stop croaking, and not, like a herd 
of frightened swine keep running the wrong way 
because the rest do. Better stop and see what 
scares you. la not the country generally full of 
produce? 
“ Yes.” 
The past season has been uncommonly exempt 
from those great casualties which destroy by fire 
and flood Urge amounts of property? 
“ Yes.” 
The people ha»e been healthy, and thus enabled 
to avail themselves of all their labor in productive 
industry. 
“ Yes, remarkably so.” 
We arc at peace with a” the -rorld. 
“Yes, and the rest of mankind.” 
Have the farmers failed, or has the earth refused 
to bring forth from thalullcecathereof 2 
“ On the contrary the farmers were never so in¬ 
dependent in the older States than now, nor the 
produce of the earth for the sustenance of man 
more abundant.” 
Then the great heart of the country is sound, 
and while tbu®, there can be no universal ruin.— 
Seveu-eigh tha of the whole population are engaged 
in agricnltnre, owning nine-tenths of all the prop¬ 
erty which has a valuation in tbe nation. The 
other tenth is about equally divided between com¬ 
merce and manufacturing. Commerce is merely 
a broker, makiog its money oat of the necessities 
of the other two. Manufacture is a mechanic that, 
by his labor, adds value to material already pro¬ 
duced, and while doing so mast live upon the pro¬ 
ducts of agti ulture. 
Agriculture, therefore, is the only producer; the 
only one that adds to the real capital of a country. 
i\ hen she ia lank and out at elbow®, the country is 
poor. But when she is well-clad and looks fresh 
and vigorous, then '.he country must be prosperous. 
Banka are the creatures of Commerce, and grow 
out of its exigencies, and they rise or fall with 
their master. Th* y will always exist in acommer- 
cial country. And as no law can regnla'e the tidal 
Hjw of foreign oommerce, so no law, however 
stringent, can prevent the periodical suspension of 
all credit institutions. 
All wealth is local and individual, not national 
or absolute. Individuals may therefore be enrich¬ 
ed as to other individuals, still the average condi 
tion of a country remains the same, its real value 
consisting in the greater or less productiveness of 
its agriculture. Money may be cheapened, circa 
latiun may be enlarged and the creation of deb's 
facilitated by commercial transactions, but the 
bubble burs’s the moment it is necessary to balance 
accounts. Thus the affairs of every industrious 
and active commnuity are always revolving in « 
circle, limited on all sides by deuiaud and supply, 
and in traversing which, geueral credit passes 
through its periodical ebbs and flows. 
The condition of the bauks interest the public 
only as to their issue,—and as that of nil the free 
bauks iu this State is amply secured beyond all 
contingency of doubt, it is of lntle coii 9 i'qa"nee 
whether they suspend spei ie payments for w< tk* 
or mouths. Their lulls are a® good as gold if tb y 
do not readily command if, because 'hey represent 
the credit, faith and wealth ot the State, or ot the 
United S ates. Ilia the first instance lu the his¬ 
tory of bauks where their Issues have maintained 
a par valne, independent of their condition—'bin 
the bill waa iu Dei er credit than thw hack th*t i* 
sued it. The truth is, my friend, t ! ie banks have 
tieen fooed to a suspension by their depositors, 
and not by their bill holders. Commerce has been 
biting her own nose off. Are you satisfied now as 
to the Banks failing? 
“Yes, that spook has vanished.'’ 
The failure of the mercantile community is an 
incident of the credit system. The merchant buys 
ou credit, sells on credit, aud lives high upon the 
profits. But the accounts have to be balanced 
some day, when “pop goes the weasel,” and he 
finds a hole where he thought he had a pile. The 
great world merely turns its head say®, "Ah!” and 
keeps right ou. It is curionsly instructive to see 
how few individuals, cities, or nations have been 
successful, that have depended entirely uponcom- 
THE GUINEA T^OWL 
Thb Gainea-Fowl is a native of Africa, where it 
is quite abundant in a wild state, frequenting 
marshes and the banks of rivers, assembling in 
large flacks, which wander about in the day in 
search of food, and as evening approaches they 
seek the branches of trees and roost crowded to¬ 
gether. It received its name from the fact that it 
was originally brought from the Guinea coast g>f 
Africa. 
Our engravine gives a very good idea of tbe ap 
pcarance of the bird, snd therefore cur description 
maybe abort The legs arc bin, the eye Wak, 
prom'nent aud bright. The nluuiHgo, though not 
dtcorated with any bright colors is singul-rlv 
beautiful, being spaogb d all over wi*h wtrire spins, 
varying io size from a p^a to a pin’s pr int, on a 
merce. Thus Phoenicia, Tyre, Carthage, Venice, 
Genoa, the Haus Towns, atd Holland, are ea.'h and 
all monuments of the folly of any people expect¬ 
ing to be long prosperous who do not depend upon 
their own labor for their support and wealth. Do 
yon see any thing very alarming in the failure ot 
merchants? 
“ Why no, they didn’t keep water enough in the 
boiler. So it collapsed.” 
The manufacturer mast stop when he can no 
longer trust the merchant to sell h’a products, or 
when the demand thetefor ceases. Their suspen¬ 
sion therefore can only be temporary, if the cundi 
tion of the country be such as to warrant their 
existence. 
“ I see.” 
The bankruptcy of the railroads will only affect, 
to any great or serious extent, those who have 
loaned toeir money, or incurred deb:, for their 
construction. They have a permanent vilae in 
and of themselves, and to their creditors. That 
value is much below their cost, so that a large 
sam has been sunk. Still they have a great va'ue 
to the whole country much beyond their entire 
cost, though the couuiry and people most benefit¬ 
ed owe nothing of the debt Railroads have been 
built too rapidly. The supply has far exceeded 
tbe demand. Some day they will pay, but in the 
meantime a great debt will be sponged out And 
as a good portion o* this is owing in Europe I do 
not see bow there is to be any very alarming de¬ 
mand for gold to p ay up at present. ‘ It the stocks 
be not worth anything here, they certainly wont 
be returned in a Curry. 
In the mean time importations will cease, pro¬ 
duce will coma forward, debts wilt be r®p d y paid 
or wiped our, und some t,right suuchiny moru ng 
if we only use. a little common sense, aud faith, 
and forbearance, we shall wake up and tied our¬ 
selves all right, and going ahead better than aver 
Upon »he whole my excellent friend, don't you 
tbink you made very mauh of a Judy of yourself 
iu getriug up such a pant :? 
“ I only said what everynody did.” 
Exietly. Butin my opinion, for once, Mr Every 
body has made a very grea'-if hbuself.—p. 
SUMMER W ITH THE FARMER. 
Whew! that was a long heat—plowing, sowing, 
printing, ar.d gathering in, crowd e*ch other 
through the short season of latitude 42 c non", 
compelling the American farmer to be the busiest 
of men —editors of course ex :e ted* 
Fros's, tuiy.aud suspended anim ation give place, 
April Is', to tropujul peat with its vari.iitoi s; the 
seasons change tike au old fashioned comedy, I 
don’t say of *' errors.' 1 Everything seems to be 
ruuuing a race; the ash is tryiug to overnke the 
elm, aud the corn gallops by the barby ami toe 
oats. This week, its duties aud its >n nmodiug®, 
is quite unlike the la-t, aud calls tor new arrange 
ments aud uew forces to be applied. Due tniug i« 
n»t finished before auottier compels attention — 
The bis re promised when this should be c 1 m- 
plished wai's the completion of another job, atm | 
waits with faint hope. 
bluish black ground. The weight of the male ex- 
teeds that of the f male but vety little, and indeed 
it is somewhat difS. n't to distinguish them. The 
male attempts a more state’y strut than the female, 
but makes a failure generally. The hen makes the 
well-know cry "come back, 1 ' which it keeps up with 
the most persevering clamor. The note of the 
male bird is quite different- They pair like our 
domestic pigeons, so that an equal number of male 
and rimaie birds must be kept. 
The Gainea-Fowl is restless, turbulent and pug¬ 
nacious, ci-.Iik s confinement and generally man¬ 
ages to become rua.vte.» ot the j»ow\»ry y«rO, end 
Bkment says they will boldly attack the fiercest 
turkey cock, and generally gain the ascendency 
by the mere dint of petulant pugnacity. 
What cse of hot beds in America? Have we not 
stimulants enough everywtere? Does not every 
thing excite, animate, and propel? Soil, climate,in¬ 
stitutions, social usagep, and broad fields of enter¬ 
prise make the pulse quick, the step eristic and 
the masses everlastingly in a hurry. There is too 
much to be done to do anything well. There are 
brilliant conceptions and valuable discoveries, but 
imperfect executions—there is no time to elabo¬ 
rate and finish—our "manifest desiiny” is to go 
ahead. In these respects, however, lime is work¬ 
ing rapid changts, and ere long we shall present 
more of the vices and the virtuesof older countries. 
S 
American farming is not all alike—the graziers 
and the dairymen do not feel ihe pressure of busi¬ 
ness, to as great an extent as those who raise 
grain. The writer confesses to a sort of satisfac¬ 
tion when this years’ harvest seemed to settle the 
question that wheat, for the present at least, was 
not to be a leading crop in Western New York.— 
The men of Illinois aud Iowa are welcome to the 
labors, the excitement, the anxieties and the prof¬ 
its of extensive grain growing—they will do well, 
however, to indulge with moiicraiion, and so woik 
their land well, keep it clean and fertile, and not 
depress the market by overproduction. 
Farmiog on a moderate scale is healthful, plear- 
ant, improving; and in "the good time coming,” 
will be conducted with science, taste, discretion, 
with the aid of sn h ** modem conveniences” as 
will bear the test of time. Hitherto farmers have 
been too much the slaves of their busiuess, making 
it a burden rattier tnan a pleasure. This, in some 
cases, maybe remedied by redu< i gfafms to smal¬ 
ler dimension®, aud in otter cases by being satis¬ 
fied with reasonable! gains. At any rate tbe sum- 
1 mer is a busy season of the tear, and that, explains 
wny your readers have not heard for some time 
trom your correspondent— h. t. b. 
-- »- >- 
CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR. 
Thk Fourth Annual Exhibition cf the Agricul¬ 
tural Society of the Golden State was held at 
Stockton, September 2bh. 30tb, aud October 1st 
and 2d. From what we are able to glean in our 
exchances it would seem every department made 
creditable show, while iu some it would be tx- 
tremely diffi ;u!t to excel tbe di-play made. Stock 
ot ril descriptions was Drought forward in goodly 
lumbers, wh U iu each variety were some noble 
specimens. The show of Cereals was limited, but 
the quality was decl red to be superior. Iu the 
production of Vegetables, (-rtbe s eries of editors) 
al the world, aud "the rest if mankind” must 
give way to our Pacific sisiei—here 6he stands 
without a single worthy competitor. Oa this point 
we extract from the Ualiturnia Far nor the follow 
ing:—‘We copy the tollowing de-cription from 
the card on the mons'er t-qua-b, received yester¬ 
day in the Exhibition Hal : • Entered by P. S. 
Camp bull. Weight 2tS4 yoanrs; circumference, 
long way, eight feet; oircnnitereuce. short way, 
seven feet. Was raised by Mr. Asa Vkstal. on 
his farm, one mile from San Jose. The C nnnittee 
of the Santa Clara Fair, held at San Jose last week 
