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“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[ SINGLE NO. FIVE CENTS. 
vol. vm. 
NO. 50 j 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1857 
{WHOLE NO. m. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
A3 OBJGl’.AL WEEKLY 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
WITH AN ABLE CORPS OF ASSISTANT EDITORS. 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS! 
PROf. C DEWEY, 
Lr. XL F. MAURY, 
Dr. ASA FITCH, 
T. & ARTHUR, 
T. C. PETERS, 
U. T. BROOKS, 
EWD. WEBSTER, 
Mrs. M. J. HOLMES, 
LYMAN B. LANGWORTHY. 
Thb Kttrai. N*w-York*k U detfgnoit to bo tinsnrpacdod tn 
Value, Puriij, Usetnlnes® vid Variety of Contents, and unique 
and beantifn' in Appealn::. o Iu Conductor devotee hie per¬ 
sonal attention to the enn-rvltion of its various departments, 
and earnestly labors to reu-I-i the Kcmr. an eminently Reliitbie 
Golds on ton Imnortutit Pnwttrat, Scientific and other Subject* 
intimately conneeted with tao business ot those whoso Interest* 
It tealonsiy fidvocatra It nmhrncos mum Agricultural, Horti- 
cnltnral. Sciontitli', Mechanical, Literary and News Matter, 
Interspersed with appropriate and benatlftil Enjrruvings, than 
any other Jonmol,—rendering it the rnoat complete Aokic.CITO- 
RiT (jraiURY aan Fairitr Jock* an tn America. 
or All commnnicutlons, and business letters, sbonld lie 
addressed to D. D. T. MOOKK. Roch«st«r, N. V. 
For Tirmj and other particnlars, see last page. 
fhiral Itffo-UwfeET. 
CATTLE AND PRODUCE MARKETS. 
Our system of buying and selling cattle and 
other prodm-ts of the f irm is poor and antiquated, 
expensive aqd troublesome to the buyer, unfair 
and often almost rnlnious to the seller. With the 
exception of New York, Boston and a few of the 
principal cities, we have no regular cattle or pro¬ 
duce market*. If the farmer wishes to make an 
addition to his stock for breeding or fattening he 
makes inquiries among hiB neighbors, or goes on 
an exploring expedition, until he finds what salts 
him n becomes discouraged in the search, and 
concludes to get along without It. For the supply 
of onr largo market*, speculators or their agents 
travel all over the country where at? ck can be 
bought cheap, call upon the farmers and purchase 
wherever and whenever they esn get a good bar¬ 
gain. The same is true of butter, cheese, eggs, Ac, 
and at certain Bessons of the year there are per¬ 
sons in many localities traveling from farm to farm, 
purchasing wherever they cao do so at prices to 
suit themselves, the spare produce of the dairy. 
For the supply of the smaller cities and villages 
in the interior the farmers in the vicinity usually 
carry their produce to town and sell to the retail¬ 
ers, but agents or “ runners” arc often sent out by 
tbe dcaieis, especially when any particular article 1 
is scarce, to purchase of the farmers at their 
homes or to meet them on their way to marki-t and 
make a purchase before they reach town. But we 
need not describe the way iu which the farmer 
markets bis produce. Our readers are all familiar 
with this matter. The plau might have been well 
enough wbeu cur country was spare?'y settled, and 
a large territory had to be traveled over to collect a 
few animals,bntof late it has become an intolerable 
evil. Tn many cases farmers are sadly imposed 
upon by being unacquainted with the market 
value of hia stock, Ac., while in others the dealer 
is compelled to pay a fair price. All contrac's 
are made privately so that no reports of gales aud 
prices are tarnished to the papers, and the farmer 
has no opportunity to learn the prevailing rates, 
and it is next to impossible for him to know 
whether he iaohtiining a lair price fur the articles 
he ia disposing of or not. His neighbor the or 
ten miles off may have Hold for maoh less, or 
more, ami be ia none the wiser for the fact. Of 
one thing, however, he is pretty certain, that the 
purchaser understands bis business, ia well “post¬ 
ed,” and will buy only on such terms as will afford 
him a good round profit over all expenses. Tu 
the New York and Boston papers we have every 
week a full report of the ptices paid by the batch¬ 
ers to ft <• drovers, for beef, mutton, pork, Ac., but 
who knows what the drovers paid the farmer?— 
Who takes the pains to ieqniro? or how could the 
facta he learned, except from the account hooka ot 
the drovers? It was only a few days since that a 
farmer from Bodua informed ub that on com ug to 
this city with his load of batter, be met a dealer 
some three or four miles out of town, ami aa lie 
offered him some three centB per pound more than 
he cou.d obtain at home, sold the lot, mid found, 
when he r< ached tho oily that he had lost two cents 
a pouud by aelllug before be reached the market. 
The evil of this system, or want of system, is ap¬ 
parent o all our readers, and has been sorely felt 
by many. We liud hoped that our County and 
Town Agricultural Boric tbs would do something 
towards inaugurating a different state of things 
and that ealea of stock, Ac,, would not only bo 
made on the days of the Fair, but that it would be 
found expedient in every county to eabiblish regu 
lar markei days, where stock, produce, A ;., could 
be bought and sold, and prices become known and 
published. 
The English have regular marmots on specified 
days in all parts of the country, for the sale of 
stock, gram, and almost all other form produce. 
In a recent English journal, giving an account, of 
the principal markets, or fairs, as they are called, 
we counted over one hundred, some of them held 
only once a year, while others as often aa twice a 
week. Each of thes fairs have some special fee- 
Inves which are known by all farmers and dealers. 
Some of the fairs are almost entirely devoted to 
certain kinds of stock; for instance, the Weyhill 
fair, in Hampshire, is the moat celebrated for sheep 
of tbe English markets, particularly for ‘ Cotswold” 
and "Downs,” 200 000 head often changing bands 
on a Bingle day. There are other markets and 
days devoted exclusively to horses, where those 
in w>:nt of an animal can find hundred* from which 
to select. The Northallerton maiket, in York¬ 
shire, ia one of the principal horse markets, and 
not only the British Government, bnt foreign pow 
era often send agents to this market for the par- 
chase of horsta for cavalry purposes. Some horse 
markets are principally confined to heavy teams 
suitable for agricultural purposes, while at others 
lighter animals suitable for carriages are princi¬ 
pally shown. Other markets continue several days, 
one day being appropriated to sheep and hogs, 
another to fat cattle, a third to horses, Ac. The 
convenience of such an arrangement for both buy¬ 
ers and sellers ia apparent, aa there can be no 
doubt about the best place either to buy or se-I.— 
Persons desirous of buying Hereford beasts, know 
they can fiud a good supply at most of the markets 
in Hereford connty. Devons are also found in 
greatest numbers in the county of Devon; aud 
Bhort-horns ia Yorkrhire and the North of Eng¬ 
land. The common breeds of cattle are found at 
the Barnet fair iu Hertfordshire, and the Scotch 
b-eeds of cattle are moat abundant at the North 
ampton fairs. Down sheep are offered at all the 
lairs in the South of England; Leicceters are taken 
to mah.ftt in the Nt>rt'-§« and Middle Counties; 
some Downs, but principally half breeds, are found 
Iu the Middle Counties; and Cotswold sheep in 
fleretordanlre and Glonces ersnire markets. 
With a general knowledge of these facts, the 
buying and eelling ia gre .tly facilitated, and the 
expense lessened. Tho-re who boy and taose who 
sell, meet on equal terms. There ia no chance for 
deception or fraud—no ignorance or doubt about 
the mai ket price—no running from houss to house 
and farm to farm at great expense aud trouble, to 
pick np a cow here »md an ox there—no tempta¬ 
tion to teli wrong storieB about what waa paid Mr. 
Jones a lew miles back for his oxen or Mr. Smith 
for his pigs. Every one with his eyes and ears 
open cun tell the fair market value of what he has 
to dispose of. He can, if he chooses, attend a 
neighboring market a week or two previous and 
le«rn how prices are ranging, and then decide 
whether it is advisable at the ruling rates to drive 
his stock to market. Tbe papers, too, will give 
full reports of these markets, so that all can learn 
the riit.es, and wbt ther it is advisable to bay or sell. 
We oauoot hope for any thing like a similar state 
of things in thiB country for may years to come, 
but something should be done at once towards cor 
reeling ihe evils under which we are suffering. A 
commencement si.ould be made; and no subject 
better deserves the attention of Agricultural So¬ 
cieties mid the Agricultural Press. Let r.his mat¬ 
ter be fully aud freely discussed the present 
winter, and before lung we hope to be able to re¬ 
cord some movement, which shall be the model lor 
others, and the forerunner cf a general aud simul¬ 
taneous awakening to the subject all ovei the 
oonutty. 
-- 
THE STATE PAIR. 
HOGS, COARSE GRAIN, AND OTHER ITEMS. 
I embrace a leisure moment to answer some 
questions asked me about hogs ,—waiving tor the 
present any personal objections I may have to 
being so otteu associated in a public way with 
those animals. 
When l was appointed by the State Agricultural 
Society “Superintendent of Swine” at the Buff do 
Fair—like other ambitions persons, l pitched in 
wiihout much consideration; H was an "office," 
ami teat was enough,— would It pay? was I tit for 
it? won'd it really immortalize me? I dlduotstop 
to inquiie. I h-vo been told confidentially by nn u 
who have held public stations, that such things 
look a great deal bigger than they are before you 
get into them,—so l think. 
Well, 1 wrote back by retnrn mail, (I am not apt 
to do that by a lung shot,) to Secretary Johnson, 
that “I was profoundly diffident of my own abili¬ 
ties, but aa / did not feel at liberty to disregard the 
pub,ic welfare ill so important a matter, I would 
accept, and l would bring to the discharge of my 
official datiaa all the z-al for 'the cause/ and all 
the fitthfuluea. in the publio service, that usually 
chara terites people iu high official stations.” 
This . leuge l literally kept by coming to the fair 
alter Mr. Wainwrioht had put the pigs into the 
pens, aud everything was ready to look at. 
Ttie show of swine was not very remarkable. 
There were some good Snffolks, and some pretty 
good LelceBtershires—Lwtgshires, I don’t know 
exactly what,—they were b-g enough to crib bait 
an acre of poor cere,— and the man who should 
undertake to fat them should be abundantly gifted 
with faith, patience, and provender. 
Touching the best breed oi bogs, a remark may 
apply, which is equally pertinent to ail other 
breeds of animals; it jf quite aa important to make 
a good selection from any particular breed, as to 
make tbe right choice of the breed. I know Dur¬ 
ham cowa ot rare excellence for heel and butter, 
aud I know animals of the same breed not as good 
aa average natives; so of Devons and Hereford^ 
foe Battilks 1 agree with my friend Taacott in 
admiriDg, bnt I recollect that Col. Morris, of New 
York, who was kind enough to serve at my request 
as Oiie of the Judges on Swine at Buffalo, (to fill a 
vacancy,) remarked that the quality of t te Suffolk 
meat was inferior to that of the Berkshirea It is 
claimed that the lean and tat are better blended 
ia the latter than tire former. However, Suffolk 
pork will do pretty well, if we can get it. The 
Sufiolks are docile, take Hash readily, and mature 
early, which are the three main points. The Berk¬ 
shire ia a capital hog; bnt a judicious breeder that 
has always inado tbe besi cro*B he could, will have 
animals that be will not easily better, even though 
he can’t call them by any popular name, and 1 
think now that I coaid select iu Wyoming eoauty 
a hundred breeding sows equal to aDy breed in 
England or America for real profit. They would 
be a cross of Byfield, Berkshire, Suffdka and other 
good bree Js. upon the beat atock or the country. 
Touching the question o? "feeding out ” coarse 
grains rather than selling them of!' the farm, that. 
I think, should depend on cirenmstancea. Grain 
may be tf latively much higher than meat It may 
be better prlioy for Illinois to put corn into pork, 
to save bulky transport u»«>o, than for New Yors 
to do so. Suppose corn ia the State of New York. 
owlngtoaligM crop and a foreign demand, should 
be worth one dollar a bushel, wmle it sas worth to 
pnt into beef or pork only fifty cents a basket._ 
would the manure from a bushel of corn pay tue 
other fifty cents? I think not. Not that I under¬ 
value rnauare,—it is everything to the tamer, but 
I would get it as cheap as I could. I would try 
clover, mix swamp muck with barn-yard manure; 
use ashep, plaster, lime, gaano— anything that 
would, on trial, prove the cheapest. Bat I am 
clearly of opinion that, although as a general rale 
coarse grain, hay and straw should be fed on the 
land where they grew, there are many exceptions 
to the rule. I have known men let straw rot down, 
with very little benefit from feeding it, rather than 
sell it for $2 a load; while at the same time they 
could buy as much manure as a load of straw 
would make for two shillings. It is unfortunate 
that we have not more reliable data to base our 
calculations upon. We want to know better than 
we do, how much our provender is worth put into 
beef, pork, wool, Ac., and what is the real, aud the 
market value of the manure we get from feeding 
the Bume. Careful observation and experiments 
on these points, will be of essential service in 
girding our action. This much, however, must 
be takeu for granted—by one process or another— 
we must enrich our farms. h. t. b. 
-- 
RABBITS-HABITS AND TREATMENT. 
Everything depends upon the attention Rabbits 
receive, whether they arc a donree of pleasure and 
profit, or an injury and a nuisance. Nothing is 
more annoying than two or three rat bits tanning 
around a yard and injuring or destroying every 
vegetable and scrub within their reach; yet when 
properly cared for they will repay for the labor 
bestowed. In our youthful days the rabbit was 
our pet atul hobby. Every hour we could spare 
from school—every holiday—was devoted to their 
welfare, and many a score of miles have we trav¬ 
eled over delds and meadows, iu search of their 
favorite food, the milk thistle. We commenced 
with two, expending our last copper in the pur¬ 
chase, and iu a very short time h»d over a hun¬ 
dred. Then it became necessary to dispose of a 
portion in some way, so r pid was the incresee. 
and we found no difficulty in selling them, a por¬ 
tion of the proceeds being invested in bran and 
hay lor winter feed, while a good balance was 
left in the “money box.” In addition to these, 
scores were used iu tho family every year, and as 
many more given away as presents to friends. We 
kept them in " hutch- s,” made of rough boards, 
about four feet long and two feet wide, and the 
same height, with a division in the middle, con¬ 
taining an opening for passage from one spartmeat 
to the other. One apartment waa tight, with the 
exception of a few auger holes for ventilation, and 
in this the nest was made; the other apartment 
was open, the front and sometimes an end being 
ida!& Each apartment should have a door, for the 
purpose of cleaning. With all the improvements 
that have been suggested, aud all the books writ¬ 
ten on the subject sinoe, we mast confess we know 
of no better way of keeping rabbits. 
A RABBIT PIT. 
The food of the rabbit is entirely vegetable.— year, 1 
They feed upon grass, clover, bay. pea nod be^n provi: 
vines, cabbage, and are particularly fond of lettuce line it 
Turnips, carrots, Ac., make an excellent food, bm shouic 
a little oats, bran, Aa, ib desirable wtien fatteni og. some i 
They will consume all sorts of vegetable tops md nurain 
parings, as well as all weeds from tbe garden, ana better 
will thus turn into valuable fieah and fur that which her. 
would otherwise be thrown away. five dt 
Many of onr readers, no doubt, think this rather take o 
a small subject, almost beneath notice; yet in they s! 
many parts of the world it is a matter of no small The 
magnitude pat ticulorlj to the poor, whose almost sort d< 
entire subsistence is derived from the breeding and fch 
and sale of rabbits. A recent writer says:—"In an op 
England the rabbit formerly held the rank of to ind 
‘farm-stock, - and thousands of acies were exdu accon 
sively devoted to its production; families were rather 
supported, and rents, rates, and taxes were paid small 
from its Increase and sale. I remember visiupga elesur 
farm of Lord Onslow's, in Surrey, containing about r nndi 
1,400 acres. It was in the occupation of anemi- some* 
nent flock-master and agriculturist, who kept some engrm 
hundreds of hutched rabbits for the sake of their or five 
manure, which he applied to his turnip cro;-: ad- the ra 
ded to this, their skins and carcasses were quite nes-ta. 
an item of profit, notwithstanding the care of Our 
them required an old man and a boy, with & doa- we giv 
key and cart” the 8ti 
In Germany rabbits are kept in many of the color t 
stables and feed on the hay, grain, Ac., dropped by but is 
the animals. With a little care, and without any n t bu 
material expense, ia three years all onr markets am -nj 
may be as well supplied with fine, fat rabbita as refuge 
they are now with chickens, geese and turkeys— auima 
The doe breeds during the winter, as well aa tbe <3 -es (. 
summer, and will produce six or seven litters in a iag tb 
year, having from four to eight at each birth. If 
provided with hay,*h« will n akea warm nest, and 
line it witu fur from her own body. The buck 
should be kept from the does, or he will annoy, »nd 
some say, destroy the young ones. When she is 
nursing, the doe mn^t be well fed, aud nothing 
better than bran, oats and carrots, can be given 
her. Rabbita are born blind, and remain so for 
five days. Ac a month old they eat alone and par¬ 
take of food with their mother. At six weeks old 
they should be weaned. 
The English wild rabbit, from which our tame 
sort-doubtless originated, burrow? in sandy ground^ 
and the t.tme rabbits will burrow when they have 
an opportunity. Keep r* sometimes allow them 
to indulge this propensity by terming pita for their 
accommodation, and we give aa engraving of a 
rather ornamental struct are of this kind, from a 
etna*! hook called Fanning for Ladies . The en¬ 
closure is about twenty feet in diameter, sur¬ 
rounded with pickets or palings, and protected 
somewnat from rains by the roof, as shown in the 
engraving. In the center a pit Is dug some four 
or five feet deep, and through the sides of this pit 
the rabbits burrow ten ortwelve feet to make their 
nests. 
Our common American Gray Rabbit, of which 
we give an engraving, from the Natural History of 
the State of New York, resembles very much, in 
color aud appearance, the wild rabbits of Europe, 
bur ia unl'k.i ihem in some ol its habits. It does 
n t burrow in the ground,but seeks a hiding place 
unr>ng the brush and tall grssa, sometimes taking 
refuge ia hollow logs and the barrows of other 
animals Its habits are nocturnal, and it often 
d *es great mischief to young orchards, by gnaw¬ 
ing the bark from the trees. 
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THE AMERICAN GRAY RABBIT. 
FAIRS IN CALIFORNIA. 
Eds. Rural: —Our State, acd most of onr County 
and District Fairs are over for 1857; and truth will 
not only allow, bnt demands, that I say they have 
exceeded the expectations of the most intelligent. 
First came the great Union Fair of the Mechanics’ 
Institute and the State Horticultural Society. This 
was held in a pavilion erected for the purpose, by 
the Institute in the city of San Francisco. The 
bailding was, in form, a Greek cross, each bar be¬ 
ing 60 by 180 feet, the centre surmounted by a 
lofty dome,—the usnal decorations of flags, ban¬ 
ners, ensigns, Ac., Ac., floating sbont in the Bea 
bree&e, from the various points of the building, 
gave its exterior the appearance of a “thing of 
life.” Directly under the dome was a fountain of 
magnificent proportions, elegant design, aud ex¬ 
quisite wotkmanship, done in whits maihle, at a 
cost, in Italy, ot several thousand dollars. Above 
the fountain and beneath tbe dome, w«* the great 
chandelier, which with its multitude of Jets of gas 
gave to the dome, at night, an exterior appearance 
at once unique and beautiful beyond description. 
In the department of machinery we had, of Cali¬ 
fornia manufacture, everything, from the powerful 
steam engine to the delicate gasometer; from the 
ponderous quartz crusher to the miniature butter 
churn. For exactness of working, delicacy of 
movement apd perfection of finish, nothing could 
excel many of the specimens. A large engine 
