The wool market is dull. We have heard of bnt 
few sales. From twenty t.o<thirty cents ia the range; 
thirty-five to twenty-eight cents for medium grades. 
There is no competition, and what few buyers there 
are have it their own way. A neighbor told me this 
morning that he had sold his wool for 30 cts — last 
year for 45 cts. Presume most of the amall clips will 
be bought at present prices, but the large dealers will 
wait for an advance. If they are waiting for a 
demand for army cloth, to raise the price of wool, we 
fear, they will be disappointed,'as present prospects 
seem to indicate more of a rise in shoe leather. 
Genoa, S. V., July 22, 1891. A 
KANSAS-CROP PROSPECTS, &c. 
Eds. Rubai. New-Yorker : — Occasionally I pee 
short communications from farmers In different 
localities, giving the crop prospects, etc., of their 
several sections, which no doubt prove very inter¬ 
esting and gratifying to the readers of your very ex¬ 
cellent journal. As I aee no one as yet has spoken 
for Kansas, I bavo concluded to do bo, and will say 
that our prospects for abundant crops in Western 
Kansas, (and in fact in every portion of our young 
State, from which I have any information,) cannot be 
excelled any where. Onr wheat and oat. crops are 
harvested and cared for. Our fall wheat Is very 
good. Some Bpring wheat was rather light, owing to 
its being sown too late; early sown is a fair yield. 
Corn, potatoes, aHd vegetables generally promise an 
abundant yield. Heretofore I have been acquainted 
some with farming in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and 
Illinois, and am certain I never saw better crops 
grow any where than in Kansas the present season. 
As to pumpkins, melons, squashes, and the entire 
vegetable tribe, their number is legion —as no soil 
within my knowledge surpasses Kansas soil in the 
production of those articles. 
It seems as though the drouth of the past season 
will have a beneficial influence on the Kansas far¬ 
mers, for it baH had a direct tendency to stimulate 
them to u.ore vigorous action in the Science of Agri¬ 
culture. It seems every foot of available land was 
-tie present season brought under cultivation. Thou¬ 
sands of acres of the “virgin soil” were broken and 
planted, and the result is a large amount of our land 
is placed tinder cultivation, and our farmers seem to 
vie with one another who shall have the largest and 
best cultivated crops. Another important item ia, all 
onr seed the present season was obtained from differ¬ 
ent localities, and mostly of an excellent quality. 
This will enable our farmers not only to produce u 
large surplus, but afford a favorable opportunity to 
test the different varieties. I will say now to the in¬ 
dustrious and go ahead people of the East, who 
design removing West, that Kansas, unsurpassed for 
health and fertility of her soil, presents inducements 
to the farme', mechanic, and laboring man, greater 
than any of her sister “Far-Western States.’’ We 
shall have a large surplus of grain and provisions, and 
thousands of seres of as fertile lands ns ever lay 
out of doors are yet unoccupied,— well watered, 
plenty of timber and stone, for building purposes, 
and more healthy than any of the Western States, 
with a rich and boundless pasturage, uncqualed any 
where. 
Kansas is destined to he a great horticultural and 
stock-raising ceuutry, as well as an agricultural one. 
Plums, grapes, raspberries, goosebefrics and mulber¬ 
ries grow wild here in profusion. We say, then, to 
the industrious and energetic people of the East, {I 
mean farmers, for we have plenty of lawyers and doc 
tors,) come out and examine Kansas for yourselves 
and see whether this is an exaggerated account of it 
vi uol. Wm. U. McKinley. 
Kenton, Kansas, .1 uly IS, 1 Sill 
CHEESE-MAKING IN ONEIDA COUNTY. 
Eds. Rubai. New-Yokkeh:— In looking over my 
Rural 1 saw an article headed “ llow Swiss Cheese 
is made,” and thiuking perhaps some of your many 
readers were not aware that similar establishments 
existed In this country, I send the following account 
of one which may not prove to them uninteresting. 
At a place called the “Ridge,” lj miles from the 
village of Rome, John 0. Fka/.ke and JosiaH Cuosav 
have erected a Cheese Factory . This Factory is at 
the bottom of a small bill, from which gushes one of 
the coldest and clearest springs in the county of 
Oneida. They are making up the milk of 30 different 
dairies. The milk (about 1,000 gallons per day) is 
brought to the Factory morning and evening, and 
emptied, by means of tin tube-, into a largo’ can 
where it is measured, and then conveyed by auother 
tube into two large tin vats below, holding over 500 
gallons each. These tin vats are set in wooden ones, 
leaving a space of about 2 J inches, under and around 
which flows the water. The milk is cooled down to 
68 degrees before leaving them, and is then consid¬ 
ered safe, the water being left running all night.. 
The morning's milk ia emptied, in the same manner, 
with the milk of the previous night. 
We learned from Mr. and Mrs. .1. C. Smith, who 
have charge of the making and curing of the cheese, 
and are classed among the best cheese makers in the 
State, the following particulars in regard to their 
manner of making cheese. The milk is set at 83 
degrees, rennet enough being put in to have the 
cheese ready to cut in 15 to 50 minutes, when it is 
cut in blocks about au inch square, to allow the whey 
to rise. They scald three times — the first scald is 
88 ‘, the second 04°, the third 98°, which is the 
highest they ever scald. For every loo lbs. of curd 
2J lbs. of salt is used. The curd when done is dipped 
into a large sink, which stands upon a railway, and 
run into the press room, (which adjoins the work 
room,) and dipped into the hoops eight in number, 
(that being the number of cheeses now’ made per 
day.) The work room is 26 feet square and very airy. 
The cooking of the curd is done by means of a steam 
engine, the steam being conducted through iron 
pipes, which run into the wooden vats containing the 
water. The pipes after entering the vats branch off, 
running down either side, holes being pierced in the 
pipes, allowing the steam to escape so as to produce 
an even heat the whole length of the vat. 
The Caring House is 100 feet long by 26 feet wide, 
and two stories high, with open basement, to allow a 
free circulation of air. On the lower and upper 
•floors are n number of trap doors for ventilation, the 
draught from the basement driving the foul air 
upward, through the latticed cupolas on the roof of 
the building, leaving the cheese free from mold. 
There is now in the room over 500 cheeses, weighing 
from 100 to 185 lbs. each, — 88 lbs. of cheese being 
made from 100 gallons of milk, mn> measure. Each 
person is credited daily with the amount of milk 
brought, and also the cheese produced, and in the 
fall, when the cheese is sold, each person gets his 
share of the price, in the proportion his milk bears 
to the aggregate amount of cheese made. The 
Factory gets one cent per pound for making up the 
cheese. The cheese produced ia of the best quality, 
and must prove a good investment to those sending 
tbeir milk to be made up. Dairymen, and all others 
interested in cheese, would do well to pay this 
Factory a visit. a. h. 
Roms, Oneida Co., N. Y., July, 1861. 
FATTING SWINE. —WATER FOR SHEEP. 
Eds. Rural New-Yobkeb: —Supposing you like 
to have every one’s experience in all things pertain¬ 
ing to farming, I give mine in relation to fattening 
hogs. Last fall I saw in the P.ural that a farmer 
said he had proved by experience that hogs would 
fatten faster, and on a considerable less amount of 
corn, without drink, so I thought I would try the 
experiment. I fed Bixteen shoats on dry corn for 
nearly two months without water. They acted like 
crazy creatures, and a common rail fence would not 
stop them. They ate hut little corn, and I think 
did not gain a pound. 1 then gave them all the 
water they wanted, and I could see they commenced 
gaining immediately, and were as contented as any 
hogs. I have proved, to my satisfaction, at least, 
that fattening hogs require water. 
I ain a young farmer just beginning with a large 
flock of sheep, and have been to considerable expense 
to furnish them with water in winter. Now I wish to 
inquire of sheep-breeders through the Rubai, whether 
sheep will do as well in winter without water as with, 
and whether It is the general practice to supply them 
with it, or not. A New Bubhckibek. 
Dodge’s Corners, Wis., 1861. 
Those movable Frnmes Again. 
Eds. Rural Nkw-Youkbk: — A great deal of 
discussion has of late been had, through various 
channels, in reference to the validity of the Lang- 
stroth patent upon Movable Frames for bee hives. 
Not long since an article in the New York Tribune, 
referring to a suggestion of Mr. Solon Robinson, 
published in the Albany Cultivator in 1840, looking 
In the direction of movable frames for single sheets 
of comb, has excited some interest More recently, 
a writer appears in the Rural, laboriously striving 
to show that Mr. Lanostkoth only is entitled to the 
credit of introducing movable frames, Ac. 
Since there appears to bo a question in the minds 
of some as to who first invented movable frames for 
single sheets of comb, I purpose to devote a few 
moments to the subject, quoting such authorities as 
are at hand, including Mr. Eanostboth himself, so 
that your many bee-keeping readers who are not 
interested in a patent may he able to judge in the 
matter for themselves. 
In the first place, it Is conceded that a bar hive has 
been in use for more than a hundred ycurs. These 
bars were made exactly like the top piece of Mr. 
L.*B frames, and resting on rabbets precisely as they 
do. The bees, in working down from these bars, 
attached the combs to the sideB of the hive, which 
attachments had to be severed in order to remove 
the combs. This difficulty, Mr. Lanohthotu tells 
us (see pages 13 to 15 , 3d edition of his book), led 
him to iuvent the frames on which he obtained a 
patent. On page 148 of the same work, Mr. L. de¬ 
scribes the Huber Hive as follows;—“Huber’s hive 
consisted of twelve frames, each an inch and a quar¬ 
ter in width, which were connected together by 
hinges, so that any one could be opened or shut at 
pleasure, like the leaves ol a book. Hubkk recom¬ 
mended forming artificial colonies, by dividing one 
of these hives and adding six empty frames to each 
half,” Ac. After remarking tbhtj the bees fasten 
these frames together with their propoHs, rendering 
it difficult to open them, Mr. H. goes on to say (page 
149):— “If he (Hitbek) had contrived a plan lor 
giving them the requisite play, by suspending them 
on rabbets, instead of folding together like the 
leaves of a book, he would have left much less room 
for subsequent improvements.” It may be here 1 
remarked as a little singular, that no mention is 
made of the frames used by Bkvan, from whose 
work a great deal is quoted. It was published in 
London more than sixty years ago, ami describes a 
frame strikingly similar to those used by Mr. Lang- 
Btkoth. Hut again: On page (of Langstboth) 209 
and 210 , will lie (bund a note upon “ ignorant bee¬ 
keepers,” from which is quoted the following:—“I 
have before me a small pamphlet, published in London 
In 1851, describing the bar and frame hive of W. A. 
Mvjnn, Esq. The object of this invention is to ele¬ 
vate the frames, one at a time, into a case with glass 
sides, so that they maybe examined without annoy¬ 
ance from the bees.” How a frame could be con¬ 
structed so as to be elevated, without opening the 
hive its whole length or depth, into a glass case for 
inspection, without being a movable frame, leaving 
Mr. Langstbotii the Inventor and sole proprietor of 
the broad idea of a movable frame for having practi¬ 
cally put it first into use in this country fifty years 
after its appearance in Englaud, the dear public 
would be pleased to be informed. But enough— 
there is no question about it. Mr. L„ and at least a 
dozen others, have invented frames to bee hives, 
and not only frames, but hives. Whose style is best 
is the only question. 
Mr. Lanostrotji is justly entitled to much credit 
for the compilation of the best work upon the honey 
bee yet published in this country. Without doubt 
his efforts, because of that work, have done more to 
advance the interests of bee-keepers than any other. 
Hut be should not now, after enjoying for years the 
fruits of the labors of others, set up the cry of “stop 
thief,” especially as some of the frames and hives 
now in use are as far in advance of his as is his own 
an improvement upon those of Huiikii, Rkyan, 
Munn, Robinson, or the many bee-hunters who, at 
least ten years before his hive was known, cut sticks 
and tied around the combs taken from a hollow tree, 
and suspended them in the common box hive, by 
inverting it. Maktin Metcalf. 
Grand Rapids, Mich., July, 1861. 
Our correspondent is at least very much mistaken 
in his statement that we laboriously strove to show 
that Mr. Langstbotii only is entitled to the credit of 
introducing movable frames. All we attempted to 
show was that the hive of Mr. Robinson, as suggested 
in the Tribune, was similar to the hive of Hubkk, 
and very different from what he proposed in 1840—a 
hive with tin eases. Hue-keepers wished to see the 
article of 1840, as Mr, R. claimed in that to have 
given the pnblic free use of the movable frames, 
such as have since been patented. We therefore 
published it with such remarks as we deemed neces¬ 
sary. We did not state, ranch less attempt to prove, 
that Mr. Langstbotu could sustain his patent. On 
the contrary, we said that “much discussion has 
arisen as to the validity of Mr. Langsthoth’s patent.” 
After giving the articles of Mr. Robinson, we further 
stated that they “left the vexed question as unsettled 
as before.” Bars were used before Langstboth in- 
l vented his frames, and combs were removed; frames 
were also used; so reaping machines were used be¬ 
fore McCormick invented his machine, with knives 
for cutting the grain, hnt he has sustained bis patent; 
and now we have a score of patent reaping machines. 
We have no interest in any hive, or patent of any 
kind, and if it can be shown that frames like Lano- 
btroth’h were used before his claimed invention, 
we shall most cheerfully publish the facts. But, if 
Bevan described a frame like Langstboth’s, as is 
intimated, why does not Mr. Metcalf give us a 
drawing, or at least a description? This would settle 
the matter. We have Bevan’s work before us, and 
may describe his frame in another number. We like 
to get at the point of a controversy. We have no 
sympathy with those who would rob an inventor of 
the results of his ingenuity, toil and labor, nor with 
meanness and extortion on the part of an inventor. 
There is a coarse that is just and right, and in the 
end the best for all concerned. If Mr. Langstboth 
is really the first and original inventor of the frames 
now used in his and other hives, and can sustain his 
claim to their exclusive use, then we hope he will 
put the price so low that all bee-keepers in the 
country can use them. If this claim cannot be sus¬ 
tained, then the movable frames are public property, 
and should be adopted generally in all hives. We 
have three different paient hives, all with movable 
frames, would use no hive without them, and we are 
anxious that the question should be settled. It was 
with this view we investigated the articles of Solon 
Robinson, hoping that they would furnish some 
important facts heretofore lost sight of, and not for 
the purpose of sustaining the patent of any one. 
Our correspondent should remember that an idea 
cannot be patented, no matter how “ broad” it may 
be. The one who first puts it into practical nse is 
the one to secure a patent on his plan. Another 
may carry out the Bame idea, and accomplish the 
same end in another way, either better or worse, and 
he may claim a patent on his method. 
Hli-iiinrd Honey. 
Mr mode of extracting honey from the comb is 
this:—Take a tin pan and lay two sticks or rods 
across the top, and set another pan on top, with holes 
in the bottom or Bides. Then take the comb, and with 
a sharp knife cut the cells in two, or least cut the caps 
off bo as to let the honey run out, and put it in the 
upper pan, and so on until the pan is nearly full. 
Then put it near or over the stove, bo as to keep it 
about lake-warm, and it will drain out nearly all. I 
then pnt it out, and let the bees take the rest. I 
sometimes use an old server, and pnt the comb on It, 
and set it a little slanting, and the honey runs out 
over one side Into a dish below. I never press or 
strain It, as that causes the bee bread to mix with it. 
Marcellos, 1861. A. Willson. 
ef 
In the Ritual, “F. A.,” of New Haven, inquires 
how to strain honey. I give my way. First, 
uncap the cells by passing a knife just beneath the 
surface of the comb. Second, put the comb thus 
prepared in a common meal selve, place it in a warm 
room to drain, without the least pressure. 
The advantage of this over the old squeezing 
metl\pd is that honey is far more palatable, it 
being wholly free from liee-bread.— Hattie, Skane- 
ateles, N. Y., 1861. 
Edr. Rural New-Yorker: — Having seen an 
inquiry in your paper for the best method of strain¬ 
ing honey, I send yon mother’s way, which may he 
worth trying. Cut off the caps and break the comb 
in pieces. Put in a colander, and set over a larger 
dish, and place the whole in a warm oven. It will 
all drain out very fBelji.-r- Libbie, Ekanea teles, N. 
V.. 18f 1. ) W*- * 
Y., i»n. ) , Try* > _ 
Ben IlurvcMtM. 
There are for the bees three harvest seasons 
in every year—spring, summer and autumn. If 
only one of these yield abundantly, the bees will 
secure a supply for all their prospective wants; 
and so likewise if all three are only moderately 
good. When they can gather plentifully during 
two of them, they secure a supply and a surplus; and 
when all three yield amply, there will be a supera¬ 
bundance of stores. Ab a general rule, destitution 
and starvation will only occur among bees which are 
diseased or mismanaged; especially when by im¬ 
proper or excessive pruning in the spring, they are 
constrained to use for comb-building the avails of 
the early harvest, and the later ones prove to be 
meagre.— Am. lire Journal. 
Ifural spirit o i Urns. 
Roland Hogs. 
(I. W. Miller, writing to the Prairie Farmer, 
describes the Poland hogs as a very superior breed; 
hardy and healthy, very prolific, bringing from eight 
to fourteen pigs at a litter, good nurses, and of a 
quiet disposition. They fatten readily at any age, 
will weigh 100 pounds at three months old, if well 
kept, and 300 to 400 at a year old, gross weight. 
Some of the males grow until two years old, when 
they will double these figures. They are a dark col¬ 
ored hog, with ronnd bodies, deep full chests, small 
head and ears, short necks, stand up well on their 
legs, and give tbe best hams of any known breed. 
“Their qualities for taking on fat at any age,” he 
concludes, “ and for early maturity, cannot he equal¬ 
led by any breed that grow as large as the Poland 
hogs do.” 
Roots—Nutrition and Digestion. 
S. W. soys, in the Country Gentlemen, that experi¬ 
ment has fully proved that roots aid in that nutrition 
which is not denoted by their chemical elements. A 
mass of roots to a bovine does not save the stomach 
much work, but it aids the digestion of the hay, pre¬ 
venting much of it from passing offin a half digested 
state. 
It is said by those who have tried it, that hay cut 
fine will go much further in feeding animals than 
long hay; this also must be due to the labor-saving 
to the animal, and to its more perfect digestion when 
cut fine. 
But apropos of potatoes, as being worth twice as 
much in flesh-forming matter (nitrogen, I suppose,) as 
parsnips, these tables also bIiow that parsnips are 
richer than potatoes in starch, sugar and fat; sub¬ 
stances that, assimilate well with the gluten of early 
cut, well cured hay; hence it may be supposed that 
wurzels or parsnips, with a little more hay, would be 
the equivalent of potatoes. John D. Coe, the treas¬ 
urer of the Seneca County Society, who has tried 
tbo experiment, avers that wurzel beets will make a 
cow give more milk than the same weight of pota¬ 
toes. Ho rarely fails to grow a patch of beets for 
milch cows. 
On a heavy loam, beets are much more easily culti¬ 
vated than parsnips or carrots. They may be grown 
on a small bed and transplanted, even when half an 
inch in diameter, by merely clipping the leaves: at 
harvest, the transplanted will be as large as those left 
in the bed; then as they grow out of the ground, and 
very large if planted two feet apart, they are much 
more easily harvested than carrots or parsnips, to say 
nothing of the extra trouble of thinning and weeding 
the latter. There is another advantage in growing 
these root3 in preference to turnips; they have no 
insect enemies. 
Hanging the Scythe. 
Judging from the immense quantities that are 
annually brought into Chicago, and distributed, the 
Prairie Farmer thinks this old instrument is not yet 
obsolete. Yet many that nse them do not do so to 
the best advantage, for the want of proper care or 
knowledge in the hanging or grinding of them. We 
belieVb a light cast steel scythe of good temper Is the 
cheapest to purchase, for it requires so much less 
time and labor to keep it in order. In grinding, first 
and always, care should he taken to grind equally on 
both sides and oBly up to the edge, ho as not to turn 
(or feather) it and unnecessarily wear it away — when 
well and carefully ground it is not necessary to finish 
it off by immediate whetting. In banging the scythe 
and adjusting the “nibs,” the lower nib should be 
placed the full arm and finger’s length from the heel 
of the scythe — that js, place the lower end of the 
snath at the pit of the arm, and the nib so the ends 
of the fingers will just touch. The second one such 
distance trom the front that the arm from the inside 
of the elbow to tip of fingers will just reach it; then 
adjust the lower nib so that the whole will balance on 
the outer end of it and the scythe will hang level. 
The edge of the Bcytbe should be adjusted so that by 
sighting across the base of the upper nib the edge 
will be perpendicular to it. To our notion, this iB 
the perfection of hanging a scythe, so as to insnre 
the greatest ease in using, and insure the scythe the 
most against twisting and breakage. 
“Well Rotted Manure.” 
This, says the Massachusetts Ploughman, is a 
favorite expression with many farmers. Well rotted, 
or wholly rotted, manure, works so quick that the 
purchaser thinks he shall have quick returns from it. 
Many farmers put a shovelful of this in each hill of 
corn and potatoes—and in June they point to the 
advantages they are having over farmers who use 
manure before it is well rotted. 
Other farmers spread on manure and let it rot in 
the field—trusting to its doing some service while 
the operation of rotting is going on. Many farmers 
dislike to carry manures into their fields till they 
have beoome fine enough, by rotting, to he well 
incorporated with the soil—not considering that 
green manures arc continually giving out matter 
which will enrich any soil in the operation. 
Farmers are now complaining of the depredations 
of worms among their corn. Are they aware that 
well rotted manures harbor twice as many worms as 
manures that are carried directly from the barn and 
yard before they have had time to ferment—to heat 
and breed worms? 
On our own fields we cannot perceive that the 
worms have done any more mischief than usual. 
We never put rotted manure* in the bill. But we 
place a handful of ashes and plaster on each hill 
before, the com comes up. 
The s ed for an acre of corn costs but very little 
compared with potatoes—therefore, we can afford to 
drop six or eight kernels in a hill, and let the wormB 
have a share. • 
Choice of Pasture by Stock. 
M. T. Johnson, of Harrison Co., Ohio, writes 
thus to the Field Notes '.— “I have three pastures 
nearly in a row; one presents a southern face, the 
middle one faces the east and west, being on each 
aide of a stream of water, and well set in many 
places with the best kind of grass— but not quality. 
This is a pasture in the woods. The other pasture 
looks principally towards the north. If I put stock 
of any description in the woods pasture, no matter 
how tempting the grass may look, in less than twenty- 
four hours we can hear the lowing, bleating, neigh¬ 
ing. or squealing, according to the nature of the 
brute, and if somebody don’t attend to them they 
will be out If possible, and if they are made to stay 
they will dwindle. But just let the fence down be¬ 
tween them and the sunny field, and general rejoic¬ 
ing ensues, and let stock once get in the field, the 
gap may remain open a month and they will never 
cross it. There is half an acre of shade and running 
water through it, in the snnny field; on this half acre 
cattle especially spend nearly half their time in hot 
weather, and if they are supplied with salt they come 
right along. 
“ The north field has about an acre in woods in one 
corner, and about two acres just over the branch that 
faces the south; the grass on these two acres is kept 
very short, while on the northern portions of the 
field it is quite plentiful. When the sun shines and 
weather is a little raw, the stock may be seen by the 
side of the fence surrounding the sunny piece, and 
in hot weather you will find them up to their knees 
in water that is in the shade. The last remark refers 
to cattle; horses and sheep are satisfied with the 
shade, without standing in water warmed by the sun. 
Take it altogether, stock in this last field does toler¬ 
ably well, but nothing like bo well as in the sunny 
one.” 
- 1 — ♦ ■ 4 - 
guquirifSf ana 
Posts Heaving on a Wkt Soil.— Will some of the numer¬ 
ous correspondents of the Rural inform me through its col¬ 
umns a remedy or preventive for the heaving of posts on wet 
and heavy soil, and oblige — A Constant Reader, Danen , 
N. Y., 1801. 
Reclaiming old Meadows. —Being a young farmer, I 
solicit information of some of your older "and more i-xpert- 
meed correspondents, through the medium of the Rural 
I have seen it stated frequently, in agricultural journals, that 
a thorough harrowing and top dressing would greatly 
eohance the value of old meadows. Now, I wish to know if 
the harrowing without the top dressing—whieh I am unable 
to apply—would be a benefit, or must I plow the land* This 
would be very unsafe, ns it ia liable to be overflowed, and the 
soil would wash away. Would the sowing of timothy seed, 
after harrowing, he advisable? Will some one answer and 
oblige—M. A. II., Auoea, N. Y, 1861. 
Queries fob Dairymen. — Will you allow roe, through 
your columns, to a»k dairymen a question or two, which 1 
have been looking to find answered in the many pieces on 
dairyiugyou have lately published, but to which J have seen 
do reference made? Is there any method of taking care of the 
cheese afxu made, which will prevent files from working on 
them? What kind of doth or canvass ia used tor Covering 
the cheese? 1 tried last hummer canvassing with common 
fmuslin) cotton cloth, hut the flies wonlri pierce the cloth, 
and lay their eggs oo the cheese under the cloth, thereby 
occasioning a heavy Iona 11' experienced hand* will give me 
the desired information, they will greatly oblige—J. Andrews, 
Iowa, 1861. _ 
Mixing Soils.—1 lately noticed an article in your journal 
about mixing soils. My own attention has been, at different 
times, called to this subject, and, so far as I have experi¬ 
mented. results have been satisfactory I have tried ehaog 
ing soil from one place to another, both on grass and plowed 
land, and in each case have seen much difference in the 
yield of crops from ground served in this way’, and adjoining 
not thus prepared. I have become well satisfied of this fact, 
viz. New soil, or muck from the low, wet marshes, or 
swamps, scattered well over grass land, will more than repay 
1 the farmers for his extra labor.— Upsilon, Hermitage , N. Y. 
Rural Jsotcs an& Items. 
The Wheat Harvest is rapidly progressing toward com¬ 
pletion in this and adjoining counties, with prospects of a 
better yield than anticipated. Reports from Livingston 
Ontario and Wayne counties are quite favorable aa to both 
quality and yield — the crop exceeding the expectations of 
growers. According to accounts many farmers will be happily 
disappointed in the result of the harvest. 
— The recent warm weather haa been favorable to spring 
crops, and com, barley, oats, etc., are more promising, while 
vegetables have partaken largely of the general improvement 
and upward tendency—rapidly recovering from the “ repulse ’’ 
occasioned by tbe late agueish temperature. 
N Y. State FAtR—At a meeting of tbe Ex. Com. of the 
State Ag. Society, held in Watertown, some days since, 
Superintendents, .lodges, be... were appointed, and other 
arrangements made for the Fair. The Secretary report* tb&t 
tbe poeal] Committee have commenced their erection* for 
the Fair, and the moat gratifying assurances are given that 
the competition in the various department* will equal former 
years, and the attendance likewise satisfactory. The farrnen 
of Northern New York will be likely to make a fine show, 
especially of Improved Stock and Dsiry Product*, while 
many Canaria breeders and farmers will undoubtedly become 
exhibitors and competitors—onr Fair at Watertown being far 
more easily reached by those residing near the foot of Lake 
Ontario and St. Lawrence River than their own at London. 
— Tbe State Fair Show-Bill, just received, is very attrac¬ 
tive and somewhat expansive. We have also copies of the 
List of Premiums, Regulations, be., in pamphlet form, for 
distribution. 
Anothkr Agricultural College— An interesting and 
enthusiastic meeting, having in view the establishment of an 
Agricultural College, was recently held in Springfield, Mass. 
It was attended by a number of prominent and public-spirited 
gentlemen—Including Marshall P. Wilder, R. S. Fat, and 
Prof W 8. Clark. A fund of between forty and fifty thou¬ 
sand dollar* is already, or soon may become, available toward 
the establishment of the enterprise, and there is a reasonable 
prospect of doubling the amount within a year, without con 
sidering any endowment from the State. Some urged that a 
commencement be made at once—favoring the immediate 
selection of a location, tbe purchase of a moderate farm, and 
the erection of temporary buildings, to be enlarged as meant 
increased and public favor justified. Our Massachusetts 
friends aeem to be in earnest, and it is probable they will 
soon succeed in establishing the proposed institution. 
Massachusetts Agricultural Report—W e are indebted 
to Charles L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Massachusetts 
Board of Agriculture, for his Eighth Annual Report of 
it* Proceedings — comprising also report* of Committees 
appointed to visit the County Societies, with an Appendix 
containing an abstract of the Finances of said Societies for 
1860. The volume i8 a handsome octavo of about 240 page;, 
and contains several interesting and valuable report*. Con¬ 
siderable space is devoted to the Cattle Disease (pleuro¬ 
pneumonia.) which caused such alarm in New England last 
year — giving the action of the Legislature and State Board, 
and the reports of Commissioners and Committees on the 
subject. 
A Willow Crop.—A Warsaw (Wyoming Co., N. Y.) paper 
notices the shipment from that place of two loads of willow 
withes, of one year’s growth—from 6 to 12 feet long—strip¬ 
ped from the hark and tied up nicely in large bundles. “ Mr. 
Smallwood sells them by the tun to some company in Buf¬ 
falo engaged In the manufacture of willow ware of all 
descriptions. He bad over two tuns for this shipment, and 
we understand that he get* $90 per tun for them." 
A Mammoth Trek.—S eeing that some aie reporting their 
big cow* and other wonders in York State, I will tell of one 
of the big things we have In Ohio, My father has an oak 
that measure* It feet VK inches In circumference 4 fi-et from 
the ground, and 14 feet 4 Inches at the height of 60 feet from 
the ground, w hich is the height of the first branch. It ia a* 
straight aa a candle. Heat it if you can. — M. S. Summers, 
Vermillion, Erie Co., Ohio, 1861. 
Fink Oats.—S ome of our farmers are “showing their 
oats" — presenting superior samples of growing crops. Mr. 
Mason Hall, of Greece, ha* shown ua extra specimens of a 
Scotch variety of oat*, and Mr. Jacob Bunn, of Chili, (on 
Widow Spoor’s farm,) a superior sample of the Black Main — 
each iu the straw, (unripe,) but promising an unusual yield, 
tbe stalks being over five feet long and grain large and heavy 
-• ■» « 
Minor Rural Items.—T b« N. H Journal of Agriculture 
has paraed Into the bands of F. B. Eaton, by whom It will 
be conducted iu future. It is a good paper, and we wish it 
increased usefulness and success.-According to English 
paper*, the International Exhibition of Industry (or World’s 
Fair) for 1862 promises to be greater than that held In 1861 
It is said the applications already made for space by British 
manufacturer* alone, if granted, will require a building three 
times the oixe of the one now being erected,-The Califor¬ 
nia wheat crop promises a greater yield lhau was obtained 
last year.-The army worm ha* recently made it* appear 
ance in various parts of New England, and proved very 
destructive to the growing crops.-The time and place 
fixed for the World'* Fair of 1862, is from the 1st of May 
until the 10th of October, in London. A guarantee fund of 
$1,250,000 for the building and exhibition Las already been 
subscribed.-The Heece ol a Cashmere goat (bnck) recently 
sheared by J. S. Coe, of Fayette Co,, Pa., weighed 2 lbs. 8 
or.s., and that or a doe 2 lbs. 12 o*s. They were bred from 
stock imported by Col, Petek*, of Georgia,-Among tbe 
patents recently issued we notice one to E. P Barton, of 
Batavia, and R. W. Toole, of Bath, for au Improvement in 
Hay Rake*; and one to F. A Morlby, of Sodus Point, for an 
improvement in Potato Diggers.-The army worm has 
appeared on Long Island, and iB making Bad havoc with the 
rye and barley crops, also among the vegetables in various 
parts of Suffolk county. 
The Fermentation ok Milk—A ccording to the experi 
meuts of M. Hoppe, milk contains it* peculiar ferment read)' 
formed, which is destroyed at the temperature of boiling 
water, but is again formed by the action of atmospheric 
oxygen; and also that the fermentation, once begun pro 
ceeus spontaneously, wilhout the a-Mstaoce of atmospheric 
oxygen. Hoppe's investigations further show that tu**h 
ini Ik, in contact witb the air, takes up oxygen and gives "3 
carbonic acid, and that the volume of this carbonic acid u 
larger than that of the oxygen absorbed, This change pro¬ 
ceeds very rapidly at the common temperature, during the 
find twenty four hours; aDd tbe toilk left in contact «dh 
more than "it* own bulk of air, is able to take up, within three 
or four days, the whole ol tin- oxygen of that quantity of ur 
— ♦ ^ i---- 
Pasturing Meadows.- An old fanner, writing to the lim- 
ton Cultivator, gives several fact* from hi* experience, u ,ln S 
to show that newly-seeded clover does best when pastured 
down id the fall, and that “ old fog ” meadows never produce 
as valuable bay as they would If fed down moderately Uj 
autumu. Tbe grate, ought to start close to the ground, aim 
not from the btalk* left by the scythe, a* in that ca^e the 
sprouts do not get sap enough to support then:, and give that 
quick growth that Is required tor good hay. He ados, mso, 
that ‘ he never knew good corn to grow on land that bad 
been mowed several years, and the hay carried off, and the 
old fog left on the land unfed.” 
Baulky Fob Poke-Making.—A t a Farmers' Club in Illinois, 
reported in the Farmers’ Advocate, inquiry was made lor 
experience in feeding barley to hogs. One member bah leu 
it, but without comparison with corn as to value:— ‘ it 
the best sweet me*!, and free from the oilinese so coroni"u t 
corn Ted pork.’’ Another thought barley double the vaiue or 
corn for rattening purposes. The iuquiier said his attention 
was called to it by the great success of HO eastern farmer in 
fattening pigsou gronnd barley anu milk, getting 800 pouu.a 
dressed weight at nine month* pld. 
How to Make Horses Shine is thus told, in horse Latin, 
by au exchange. All the ingredients are warranted he 
ful—forming a panacea for all tbe ills that horses are luur u. 
Recipe —BrusbuB et curricombus, ad libitum; elbow greesus 
quantum Hufficins; Wanketisn6, first ratus; * taolus (.n win . 
warmus; fodderus, never say dletns, hut mealus el oh , 
exercisus, non compromisus. The effect will be. Goa 
shinus; appetitug, wedfitus; muscularitu.n, two forty-uug. 
Crops in Erie County, Ohio.- Pktkr H°. f 
Milan. Erie Co.. Ohio, write-, July 24th:-“ Wo are having^ ft 
cold and dry summer. Indian corn I never knew 
promising in this vicinity, yet bo occasional piece o P> 
mellow well worked soil, is doing pretty well, ! 
