pTURE 
RlLflCRICULTURf 
ROCHESTER, K Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 
fWHOLE NO. 735 
MOORE'S KFEAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
CI1AKLE8 I>. B RACOON, Auoolate Editor. 
injure the remaining vines. Culture should 
cease from about the first of July to the first of 
August when the hops are forming. Ami pains 
should be token to properly distribute the male 
among the female plants, so that the latter may 
be impregnated by the pollen from the former. 
The male plant may be known by being striped 
with red. 
8 . “How large should the dry kiln be fora yard of 
from ten to twenty acres, and how const! acted?” 
We shall have to refer this question to some 
of our readers who have experience with yards 
ol that size. Any other information, whether 
of experience, practice, or figures will be gladly 
received. 
Too much Feed. —The writer above quoted 
writes still further and sensibly, when he says: 
“ It is a custom to give milch cows ns much food 
as they can eat—in fact more than they can 
consume. Thus two-fold evil results, viz., a loss 
of food, and a decided injury to the animal.” 
This injury is similar 10 that which results from 
over-feeding a child: or to one’s self from a con¬ 
tinual and inordinate cramming of the stomach 
with the very many good things which may 
tempt the appetite. 
Watering Cows —The ,-ame writer asserts 
that if cows are allowed to drink too much, as 
very many are, the consequence is a great dete¬ 
rioration in the quality of the milk. He says it 
is a well known fact that, the London milkman 
docs not require to add water to his milk, simply 
because he waters the food of his cows, and 
gives them large quantities to drink before milk¬ 
ing them. He thus obtains quantity, not quality. 
We do not publish this piece of intelligence for 
the benefit of the class who deliver their milk to 
cheese factories, and who may wish to in¬ 
crease the w eight they furnish without sacrifi¬ 
cing their peace of mind. 
Mr. MoD. says further:—“Cows in milk 
should have but little water; and in the morn¬ 
ings should be obliged to walk from their house 
some distance before drinking. They will then 
eat as they walk, and on arriving at the water 
will drink much less than they otherwise would 
do. Tlio result of this treatment will be cream 
like mine, of such a consistency that a spoon 
will stand perpendicularly in it in the middle of 
By this method I have obtained from 
In expressing these views to Mr. Rich— who 
fully concurs in them — I was gratified as weU 
as confirmed in my own opinion by the decidedly 
expressed acquiescence of Mr. Hammond, who 
was one of our party? We remained with Mr. 
Rich over night. Judge Wright dropped in, 
and a late hour of the evening found us discus¬ 
sing the “diseases of sheep ” and the “principles 
of breeding.” 
The next day we visited Wm. R. Sanford, 
Dav id Cutting, A. J. Stow and Merrll 
Bingham. We intended to call on Mr. Dean, 
but learned that he was absent from home. Mr. 
Sanford’s yearling ewes and ewe lambs are 
exceedingly choice. Mr. Cutting’s flock 
looked well, and he has a superior ram lan^b 
got by •* Sweepstakes.” Mr. Bingham showed 
good sheep in excellent condition. 
On the 23d, we visited Prosper Elitiiorp 
and Charles M. Hayward, of Bridport, 
both breeders of Infantados. and both owning 
good sheep. There are in the towns of Brid¬ 
port and Shore ham several breeders of good 
HENRY S. RANDALL. LU D„ 
Editor Deportment of Sheep Husbandry. 
KEEP HUSBANDRY 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS: 
P. BARRY, C. DEWEY', LL. D., 
H. T. BROOKS, L. B. LANGWORTHY, 
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 
The Ritual New-Yorker is designed to be unsur¬ 
passed In Value, Purity, and Variety of Coutents, and 
unique and beautiful In Appearance. Its Conductor 
devotes Ids personal attention to the supervision of Its 
various departments, and earnestly labors to render 
Uie Rural au eminently Reliable Guide on all the 
Important Practical, Scientific and other Subjects Inti¬ 
mately connected with the business of those whose 
Interests It zealously advocates. As a Family JOURNAL 
it Is eminently InstrucUve ami Entertaining—txdng so 
conducted that. It can be safely taken to the Homes ol 
people of Intelligence, taste and discrimination. It 
embraces more Agricultural, Horticultural. Sc 1 entitle. 
Educational, Lib rary and News Matter, Interspersed 
Being detained at Rutland over night on my 
return from \ ermont, T seize the opportunity to 
give a brief account of a fortnight's trip in this 
land of mountains and Merino sheep. Let me 
say, in advance, that it was not practicable for 
our party to visit ail the distinguished sheep 
breeders even of the part of the Slate which we 
were in, and, on the other hand, we called on 
others who can not claim that rank, because their 
residences lay in our route; because they had 
some particular sheep we wished to see; or be¬ 
cause some of our party had business with them. 
Perhaps I should further say that t do not propose 
to give descriptions of flocks, or to draw compari¬ 
sons between those of different owners. The 
first could not be embraced within the proper 
limits of a letter; the last would be founded on 
too brief inspections not to incur the hazard of 
doing great injustice to owners. 
We reached Middleburv, January 19th. Mr. 
Hammond’s sheep are looking particularly 
well. “Gold Drop,” contrary to the anticipa¬ 
tions of some, continues to improve the flock 
from that point to which if was brought by 
“Sweepstakes.” The ewe lambs of 1863 are 
i better, as a whole, than the ewe lambs of any 
preceding year. Henry Hammond’s sheep 
are also looking extremely well. His ram 
lamb, “The Colonel,” (by "Sweepstakes” out 
of his “ first choice of old ewes,”) is as superb an 
animal of the kind as I ever saw. He has 
refused $2,500 for him. I am almost ashamed to 
repeat a genuine offer of this kind, from the 
fact that so many “bogus” offers are made 
merely to give a fictitious value to sheep—or to 
enable a bragging sheep speculator to make 
a display of his pretended spirit iu purchasing 
choice animals. 
On the forenoon of the 20th. we visited the 
flocks of Edmund Hunger and Stephen 
Remelee. Each have good Infantados. In 
the afternoon, we called on VICTOR Weight. 
His flock sustains its well earned reputation. 
He has a couple of very choice ram lambs. 
On the 2lst, we looked at the flocks of Wm. 
Remelee, Henry Lank, Edwin Stowell, 
Reuben Hall, and then hauled up to dinner 
at the hospitable board of my friend M. W. C. 
Wright. Messrs. Kkmklee’s and Stow- 
eli.’s flocks are lnfantiulos, 3Ir. Lane’s Infan¬ 
tados, and some crosses between these and 
Paulars, Mr. Hall’s crosses between At¬ 
wood and Hammond Infantados, Judge 
3V right’s mixed l’aular and Infantado. All 
these flocks, with perhaps a single exception, 
show more or less prime ewes of the respective 
varieties. Mr. Lane hits a good grown ram, 
Mr. Stowell a superior yearling ram which 
received the first premium of the Vermont 
State Agricultural Society last fall, in the class 
of yearlings, in the afternoon we saw the 
flock oi Lo\ all Rkmelek and then proceeded 
to examine that ot' John T. and Virtulan 
Rich, at RickviUe. -Mr. Remelee’s flock con- | 
sists of Infantados, Paular's and crosses between 
the two, and it coutains some good specimens. 
Messrs. Rich’s old flock of breeding ewes 
have uot been summer housed, and, eonse- 
FARMER GARRULOUS TALKS. 
Y F.s, John, there comes the. L>eacon, and 
i’ll tell you what he wants. Don’t you see he 
has broken one of the irons on the end of one of 
liis wkiffietrees. As the boys say, “that’s what’s 
the matter.” He wants to look over my old iron- 
box and see if lie cannot find one to replace it. 
He has got in the habit of doing that thing when 
he gets in a fix. He don’t keep any box for old 
iron himself. And if lie wants timlter for an ax- 
helvo, a fork-handle, ox-bow or rake-tooth, he 
reckons Garrulous has got it, and makes the 
inquiry' as complacently as if he was doing me a 
favor. 
“ Don’t he save timber for i.irr.self?” Why no 
—he never thinks of it. I can pick up old rusty 
iron about bis farm—enough to stock a smith’s 
shop. And right about his door are oak. ash. 
fall. Unfortunately, our programme of arrange¬ 
ments did not allow us to visit the above propri¬ 
etors and flocks. 
On the 25th, we proceeded by rail to St. 
Albans, and were there met by my excellent 
friend, Silas G. Holy'oke, who earned us to 
his house. Mr. H. has a flock of Infantados, 
which originated exclusively from that of Mr. 
Hammond, and he has had the invaluable privi¬ 
lege of annually taking to his farm and using 
Mr. Hammond’s best stock rams, after their 
season at home was over. 
On the morning of the 26th, we called on 
Haskall Lewis, who has some good, full 
blood Infantados. We were here overtaken by 
Governor Smith and A. M. Clark— the first 
bringing an invitation to visit his stock imme¬ 
diately and his house in the evening—the latter 
an invitation to dine with him and to ride to his 
firms in the afternoon. 
Gov. Smith has an excellently arranged farm 
establishment. He is breeding horses, cattle, 
and both fine and coarse wooled sheep. He is 
about making the experiment of crossing the 
Alderney with his other cattle—having obtained 
an Alderney bull for that purpose. We saw in 
his barn a yoke of short-Horn oxeu which 
weighover i ,500 lbs. They r have the command of 
their limbs as much as an ordinary pair of young 
steers. His coarse wooled sheep are crosses be¬ 
tween the Leicester, Cots wold and Down. His 
nice little flock of Merinos were purchased of 
Mr. Hammond. 
We left Mr. Clark’s hospitable board and 
pleasant family with some reluctance, to “return 
to our sheep,” He showed us a flock of Infan¬ 
tados, at his house, containing some excellent 
animals—or, rather, they were principally shown 
to us by hi> son. Master Howes Clark, a young 
gentleman of teu years old, who knew every 
sheep in the flock, aud its history — decidedly 
winter. 
twelve cows five pounds more butter per week, 
and of far better quality than was before got by 
the old plan of feeding.” 
The relations of the Cow and Calf.— 
’’ There is a great analogy between a woman 
with a child, and a oow with a calf. Hosv many 
are the restrictions laid upon a woman, by a 
medical man, if she is nursing a gentleman’s son! 
He knows that what is injurious to the older will 
be, alike, to the younger. It is exactly so with 
a cow: it is injured by being allowed to eat im¬ 
proper and too large quantities of foot!, aud 
drink too much water; the milk is impoverished 
and unwholesome, and the calf, if it lives, is of 
a weak, debilitated constitution. Give, there¬ 
fore. less food and less water, and you will have 
far healthier stock and far better milk and 
cream.” 
HOP CULTURE. 
W E have inquiries on this subject, 
tliese inquiries are from the 'West 
such as these; 
1. “Will our river bottoms, that overflow occasion 
ally, be first-rate, ordinary or useless for hop raising?" 
2. “Areonr prairies, rich and dry, good, bad, or in¬ 
different for their culture?” 
Hops require rich, deep, dry soil. The upland 
prairies, deeply tilled, we should choose in pref¬ 
erence to the river bottoms, except where thor¬ 
oughly drained. There is no doubt that some of 
tiie Illinois river bottoms, especially such as have 
a gravel subsoil resting on rock, would yield 
enormous crops. But a flood might wash a wav 
the entire plantation. Jikh soil is important if 
the largest crops are desired, and deep soil is 
essential. 
8. “ Is there any difference in kinds —is one sort bet¬ 
ter than another?” 
There is a difference. But the distinction is 
not as much heeded by growers in this country 
as in England. There a dozen or more varieties 
are quoted in the market reports. In this State, 
in some of the Central counties, there is a variety 
known as as the English cluster, which is pre¬ 
ferred. 
4- “ How far apart must they lie planted?" 
There are two ways adopted. If the plants 
are to bo poled they are planted 5 by 6 , or 7 by 
7 or 8 feet apart. The latter distance is proba¬ 
bly best. Where wires are used, instead of 
poles to each hill, as is the case in some yards, 
the distance is increased one way and diminished 
the other-say -I by 12 or 14 feet. But on the 
prairies the poles will be found better than the 
wires, on account of the wind, 
5. “ How many plants are required to form a hill?” 
Usually four—two to each pole. The rule is, iu 
planting, “two joints to a root, and two roots to 
a hill." A hole is made in the ground where 
the hill is to be, with a dibble, and the roots in¬ 
serted and covered three or four inches deep. 
T he plants are put 6 to 8 inches apart. A small 
stake should mark the hill. 
6 “ What length of pole will answer the purpose?” 
1 he poles should he 13 to 18 feet long. If the 
soil is strong, as on the prairies, longer poles will 
be required, probably. They should bo set the 
next spring after planting—set firmly in the 
ground, two to each hill, the tops inclining from 
e.aeh other. In the prairie country, they will 
ueed to be of good material. We do not happen 
to know anything to be found in the limber belts 
there suitable, l’robably cedar from the North 
will lie found most available. 
7- “ What culltuv do they require?” 
Plant potatoes or beans or some other low- 1 
growing crop, and cultivate thoroua-bre i? u 
Some of 
Tbev are 
A WOODEN HINGE HARROW. 
C. C. Blodgett, of Watertown, N. Y., sends 
us the following sketch, which he patriotically 
dedicates to •• all creation,” in the following lan¬ 
guage: 
SPIRIT OF FOREIGN EXCHANGES, 
HOW A CIIAXGE OK FEED CM > \GES STOCK. 
Mi. Archibald McDonald, in the Uonwnjj 
Post, aft* r saying that a cow should never be 
caught a cold night, because a certain eonse- 
queno, - depreciation iu the quality of milk, 
saysi ft: t„ r; "But, I may be *-keel, is it not 
t Lcii i ii t be out at night ? u was; but bv 
l ’ le illi '' tin breeding (u inch has made 
thorn h - liar A ,1 and the artificial grasses they 
eat, it is longer so. A Highland cow eats the 
natural herbage of the bills, and knows for hours 
before a storm is coming, and w ill food on for a 
considerable distance till it reaches a place of 
shelter from the col.!. Bring that same cow 
I rom its uatural grass, feed it on ours, confine it 
in a field where it cannot obtain belter, and i L 
will soon be in a worse condition than when 
brought here. It mu-t be houst d at night *u u 
building completely inclosed irq properly ven¬ 
tilated.” 
Calv es from two years 6ld Cows.— 
The same writer says:—“ Another reprehensi¬ 
ble plan is to allow as is done In thousands of 
cases) animals to have calves before they are 
two years old. The constitution of the mother 
is thereby seriously impaired and the stock is 
weakly in consequence. If we get an epidemic 
among our stock, the loss from this system will 
bo fearful. They should never have a calf till 
three years old.” 
We think the above paragraph sound, and 
commend it to our readers who practice what 
this writer condemns. 
ana every body else, may have the “sole beuefit 
ot the invention. ' I take six pieces of tough 
elm scantling, fifth inches square and 33 inches 
long, except the center piece of either side, 
which I leave 4 Inches longer, to receive a hook 
and staple to hitch to, so that a team may be 
attached to either end at pleasure. 
I put in 30 teeth (5 in a piece of scantling) so 
that they will stand at right angles, 11 inches 
either way, from center to center. 
1 lie cross pieces -diouM be made of good lim¬ 
ber, 21 inches square, locked and bolted on 
firmly, and those on the near side, or side we 
hitch to, should bo placed buck of those on the 
off-side, so that they \\ ill hoar against each other 
as tiie harrow L dragged along, its shown in en¬ 
graving. A five-eight inch rod is sufficient for it 
to swing on, and to hold the w hole thing toget her. 
( Ralph Kraus rgt 
