Sature 
BTflGRlCULTUR^ 
PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT 
POUR CENTS, 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-F0R THE WEEK EH DING SATURDAY, MARCH 16. 1861 
! WHOLE NO. 583. 
MOORE'S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEKKL7 
AGRICULTURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
small animals, ami strong enough to form a barrier 
against large ones, is very expensive,” 
The ease with which the willow is propagated, and 
its rapid growth, makes it particularly valuable for 
shelter from the sweeping winds. Cuari.es Rown- 
ixii says, 'a screen of twenty-five feet in height may 
be grown from willow cuttings in fire year .t, and at a 
slightly retarded rate of annual increase until a 
height of sixty feet is gained; thus almost immedi¬ 
ately affording that shelter which is so indispensable 
that there is no safety without it..” 
The Purple Willow ia said to bo the best variety 
that can bo grown, either for a hedge for protection, 
or a screen from the winds. It is also one of the 
best, and in fact the best that can be grown in this 
Country lor basket making. We know some of our 
readers have had experience in growing the willow 
lor hedging, and wo invite them to give their mode of 
treatment for the benefit of our correspondent, and 
all others interested. 
fat at this state; indeed, this 's’ate is injurious, as it 
predisposes them sometimes ‘.-i abortion; hut what is 
usually termed ‘good stove condition’ should be 
maintained through the whole period of gestation. 
It cannot he expected from feoy domestic animal a 
healthy offspring, in our rigero-ia climate, if the dam 
has been permitted to sufl'er the hardships of cold 
and starvation; therefore it will ho wise if the sheep 
husbandman will always hold up to view the apo¬ 
thegm, 'so the dam, bo the,^offspring.? There must 
be good condition to sustain the mother in the try- 
up, or kick, or lay down, and yet is under no more 
restraint when in motion, than in the ordinary 
harness. Who is the inventor, or why called Ameri¬ 
can, we cannot say. 
Having first called attention to the loss which, 
according to analysis, thus takes place in the dairy. 
In a little Handbook of Dairy Husbandry, published 
last year, his figures are Communicated by him thus: 
In 1887, 55 cows were milked; they yielded 31,700 
gallons, or 321,000 pounds of milk, besides rearing 
43 calves. From this quantity of milk 25,424 pounds 
ol cheese and 3,460 pounds of butter were made. 
Now the milk contained, by analysis, according to 
Mr. Harrison, 12,480 pounds of casein and 11,566 
pounds of butter, whereas the cheese and butter con¬ 
tained by analysis only 0,705 pounds of casein and 
8,306 pounds of butter, leaving 2,715 pounds of 
casein and 3,190 pounds of butter unaccounted for. 
A Chain Harrow. 
For several years we have seen notices of a Chain 
Harrow being exhibited at Borne of the English Agri¬ 
cultural Shows. It ia represented as a very effective 
implement for breaking clods, mellowing the surface, 
and covering small seeds, such as clover and grass 
seed, which it is said to do as neatly as can he done 
by the gardener with a hand-rake. It also collects 
the weeds on the surface, leaving them in rolls. 
Cultivation of Barley. 
.r<-',c 11 1. issue of the Royal Agricultural Jour¬ 
nal, we nnd an article upon Harley Culture, giving 
the experience of many years in regard to soils, 
manner of preparation, seeding, etc., with which it 
may ho well for our farmers to contrast their 
methods. The writer gays that the soils in which 
barley flourishes most luxuriantly 
loams, and it Is not 
distinguished as barley-laud 
Canonizing FInx. 
I.v a late issue of the Rural, you speak of flax being 
eottoniwl,—please tell us what is meant by that term Who 
has a jenny for spinning flax 1 ' In fart, tell us all about it.— 
A Constant Reaokb, Manchester, X r,, 1861. 
Y hkn Max is rotted and cleaned, the fibre appears 
in long threads, which, in the ordinary process of 
spinning, are twisted around each other. These long 
threads make up common flax, or hemp, and are 
shown under the microscope to consist of ohlon.. 
arc free-working 
uncommon for such laud to bo 
This preference arises 
from the natural habit of growth in the barley, 
which requires a considerable freedom of action for 
the dovelopcment of that bunch of fibres of which 
its root consists, fn the preparation of land for its 
growth this has to be remembered; for, if the char¬ 
acter of the soil ia not naturally of tlio description 
required, we ure compelled to adopt measures for 
rendering it as much so as possible. The firmness 
which Is so necessary for wheat is objectionable here, 
and the more completely it is destroyed, the better. 
Upon the lightest class of barley soils there Is great 
danger of the manure being washed through the 
soil; on such lands, therefore, the use of the plow is 
avoided in the spring, as the inversion of the soil 
wthiui Cay.-mt . ui manure, and the aid of a enf- 
th tp« greatest J tivutor suffices to loosen the soil for the seed-bed. 
—“®tie Chain | ^ther soils are brought Into a suCh' iontly loose and 
to break down atul fr*« condition for sowing by means of a single 
t performs the | plowing, but by far the larger breadth of our soiiB 
equalled by a J requires further preparation. No other kind of grain 
a land it saves sutlers so much in its quality as barley, from being 
ay, that where *oivn In an unfavorable seed-bed. 
ill'scutch, one Tt >® beat.qualities of barley, as well as the largest 
scutch into a crops, arc.produced from soils very free arid open in 
to teeth sharp- thcir character, and these indicate the condition to 
ce without be- 1 which we should endeavor to bring any soil upon 
j which this crop is to be sown. To promote the same 
freedom in the soil, the seed should always be sown 
INQUIRIES AND NOTES, 
CHAIN HARROW. 
■ Our engraving shows the appearance of this harrow, 
which is made ol' links of round iron, and in twe 
parts, so that it can be used with one horse or two, 
They are sewn leet si.v Indies in width. We cow 
rnemj tin-' harrow t , tho notice of imreeuieiTt mann. 
EUROPEAN A' RICULTURE, 
<db. Rural New-Yorker: —In looking over jour issue 
ef February 9th, I And »n article from a correspondent, on 
Osier Willows and their uses. Now, Mes-v*. Editors, I am 
enxluu- t<> learn more about the cultivation of the Osier 
' lVJ re— -" - - a..-,. L*nu -Uil. • 
-COV ' 8 •• *'•*«»•' ' u.n - iDUitin. in ji« y-nr, ft l» a deep 
muck, with clay subsoil, and A*h, Elm, Soft Maple, and com 
mou Willow, grow luxuriantly upon it. Will such land as I 
have described answer for Osier Willow? Where can cuttings 
be found? When is tho best, time to cut them-and also tho 
heat time to set them - spring or fall? Also, tho manner of 
setting them? I could plant best In tho fall, an my land Is 
dryer then than in the spring -W. (; , Jrvndequott, X. Y. 
Iue Willow delights in a moist, mucky soil, but 
experience has proved that it cannot he grown suc¬ 
cessfully in stagnant water. It requires depth of 
soil, richness and raoisjure,— a well drained swamp, 
therefore, is just the thing, and even if overflowed 
in the winter and spring, and occasionally in summer 
during heavy storm?, it may be used advantageously. 
Heavy, retentive upland soils, when deeply worked, 
aie suitable for the Willow. The deep prairies of the 
West seem prepared by nature fur the especial growth 
of the Willow. Some varieties will bear more water 
AiTnorOH there in t o <• ; difference bo- 
! twf ' l ' :l fTje Agmuh i. ..»o nd molcu, 
J *-Jmur Irena xarffA £t£0.n -nce.r. s>|. !- as *,ji, 
clfiaaW, maiketii, .V\ ; every yen: {hie drew- rrrrre is* 
growing less. One** our farms w*re new, and the 
soil rich and cheup-,evciy year an-additjon of a few 
acres was added to the cultivated land by the winter’s 
chopping and clearing. Then the experiments of 
English agriculturists with guano, orspecial manures, 
or even composts, and the talk of the importance of 
preserving the fertility of the land, seemed little less 
than nonsense t.u many. Now, with the exception 
of the more Western States, our farms are all cleared, 
and tlio land under cultivation. Farms sell at a high 
price, while the soil has been robbed of its virgin 
fertility, and manure has become a matter of almost 
as much Importance here as ia Europe, lu some 
sections of the country immense snms are expended 
by farmers for guano ami artificial manures, that a 
few years ago would not have found purchasers at 
any price. The communication between our own 
and the European Continent is now so perfect, tiiat 
London and Liverpool, for commercial purposes, 
neem like American ports, and are far more accessible 
than many of our own country. Europe, too, especi¬ 
ally Great Britain, within tho past twenty years, 
has learned to look to us for many of the products of 
the soil, for the support of her teeming millions 
engaged in manufactures. Thus, the agriculture of 
England and America is every year becoming assim 
ilated. Nor, is all the change with ns; for while the 
English may see little in our usually rude system ol 
farming worthy of adoption we have done much, 
by our implements and machinery, for English 
agriculture. 
So closely allied 
carded and spun by machinery like cotton, and is 
said to be " cottonized.” , 
We suppose that the jennies for spinning this cot- 
tonized flax are subject to all the general conditions 
of the spinning jennies for cotton, which are used 
only with profit in large numbers, witli machinery 
impelled by steam or water power. There is a manu¬ 
factory of couonlzed flax at Fall River, Mass., and 
others, wc believe, elsewhere. The process of sepa¬ 
rating flax into its ultimate cells has been known, 
according to the Patent Office Report for 1859, since 
1747. A similar process was patented in England in 
1801, and in this country in 1828. It is said to have 
been known in China for centuries. 
iron Sheep Trough on VVheels. 
We have given several plans of hay-racks for 
sheep, and now we present our readers with a sheep 
trough, made of wrought iron, on wheels, so that it 
can bo easily moved, for feeding roots, grain, Ac., to 
sheep, such as is used in England. 
Feeding Beans to Ewes — Scours in s>heep. 
Somk of my neighbors say that feeding beans to ewes 
during the winter months will cause the lambs to be weakly; 
others say not. Please tell me through the columns of the 
RtHAL, 
1 have a flock of yearlings which I keep separate from the 
old Hock, about 40 in number, which I feed one-half bushel 
per day of mixed beans and oats, about equal quantities, 
with what hay they will eat, and I find some of them scour¬ 
ing bu.tly, and nearly all of them tunning down. They have 
a warm shed Tell me tbroueh the Ilrrut. n.o 
are our agricultural interests, 
that the Agricultural Journals of England are highly 
interesting, and the practice and improvements of 
English farmers of the utmost importance to those 
of America. Our own Journils and improvements 
seem not to be less'appreciated by the Agricultural 
Editors, of Great Britain, for we seldom take up a 
foreign paper of this character, without observing 
articles from the American Agricultural Press, or 
American implements recommended to the English 
farmer. In a late number of the Irish Farmers- Ga¬ 
zette we find a description yf the following, of which 
we had not before heard! 
Patent American llorse Break. 
This is recommended as superior to any other 
horse break ever invented, and is said to have re¬ 
ceived especial commendation from Prince Albert, 
and many of the most prominent men aud largest 
horse owners in the country. By its use the timid 
and nervous horse is broken without injury or alarm; 
and the vicious one, bfiug subdued and rendered 
tractable, again becomes valuable to its owner, which 
is unattainable by any break in use. 
Tell me through the Rubai, what the trouble 
is—Youxc Kauai kb. Jtabama , X. Y., 1801, 
The subject of Feeding grain to breeding ewes has 
been discussed at considerable length in our columns 
by breeders, and the disputants have brought for¬ 
ward fact and theory in support of their respective 
views. Were the arguments summed up, it would 
show a pretty equal division of the forces. With the 
large majority, however, corn seems to have found 
special favor, and oats are deemed the most baneful. 
Our own opinion, as has been heretofore expressed, 
is that grain can be used without evil results follow¬ 
ing as a necessity, hut it must be given sparingly and 
with judgment. Until two or three weeks before 
lambing, breeding ewes need only he kept in good, 
plump, ordinary condition. In backward seasons^ 
or where the grass has not obtained a fair start at the 
period of lambing, careful flock-masters feed their 
ewes chopped roots, or roots mixed witli oats or 
meal, and the results, as exhibited by the flocks of 
this class of men, would seem to indicate that such 
course was excellent economy. If ewes were in poor 
condition when the feeding of grain commenced, 
and nothing but dry hay was given in connection 
with the grain, we would not be surprised at a great 
mortality among the Iambs,-if the ewes escaped 
IRON SHEEP TROUGH on WI! EKJ.fi. 
The engraving gives a very good idea of the con¬ 
struction of this trough. It is usually made about 
nine feet long, with a bar along the top, to prevent 
the sheep getting over or into it. It is highly recom¬ 
mended by farmers, as it prevents waste- of feed, and 
is said to save its cost in a single season. It is at 
least worthy the notice of American farmers and im¬ 
plement makers. 
tau-; uuw and heb keeper, 
As nothing I can say will so well describe Mr. 
Horse all’s method as his own words, portions of his 
eseay are here reproduced. He says, “ My food for 
milch cows, after having undergone various modifi¬ 
cations, has for two seasons consisted of rape cake 
five pounds, and bran two pounds, for each cow, 
mixed with a sufficient quantity of bcun straw, oat 
straw, and shells of outs, in equal proportions, to sup¬ 
ply them three times a day with as much as they 
will eat. The whole of the materials are moiBtened 
and blended together, and after being well steamed, 
are giveu to tho animals in a warm state. The atten¬ 
dant 18 allowed one pound to one and a half pounds 
per cow, according to circumstances, of bean meal, 
which he ia charged to give to each cow in propor¬ 
tion to her yield of milk, those in full milk getting 
two pounds each per day, others but little. It ia dry 
aud mixed with the steamed food on its being dealt 
out separately. When this is eaten up, green fo'-id, 
PATENT AMERICAN lKlRSB-BHEAK 
The engraving shows the construction, 
very simple, and it seems to us is well cal 
accomplish the work designed, as the hoi 
no injury to himself or the driver,—can n« 
■<>111930' 
