highest premiums to sheep hearing the finest 
wool, though the fleece should weigh only 1$ lbs. 
and the carcass not over 40 lbs,—for just such 
animals, covered with wool as fine as down, once 
cumbered some of our farmB! Such sheep may 
he profitable in Germany. But. does any practi¬ 
cal person in fine wool sheep matters, believe 
that such animals cowid now be rendered profit¬ 
able in this country. or does any such person 
desire to encourage their production to the 
extent implied by placing them first in our fine 
wool premium list ? And what would the prac¬ 
tical wool growers of our country say to a prize 
list containing a class of fine wooled sheep to he 
judged solely by “size and symmetry of car¬ 
cass ?” In such a class, mongrel Merinos and 
Leicester?, or mongrel Merinos and South Downs, 
ought to carry all before them, if allowed to 
compete! The plan of entirely divorcing the 
quality from the quantity of the fiecec—or either 
of those points from proper size and symmetry 
of carcass, in a Merino classification, or in any 
part of it, may possibly answer in Germany, but 
it will never go down with live 'Fankecs ! Such 
regulations would be laughed at by our viewing 
committees. 
A single good quality cannot make a good or 
a profitable sheep, or one fit to receive the 
premiums of an Agricultural Society. The 
finest fleece mnst have enough weight to ren¬ 
der it profitable in the wool markets of the country 
where it is to be s old. The heaviest fleece must 
have enough fineness and other good qualities 
to meet the same conditions. Either must grow 
on a sheep of a size which adapts it to profitable 
production and to the physical circumstances 
which it is to encounter. Arid possessing all the 
preceding qualifications, the animal is compara¬ 
tively worthless without that form which gives 
a good constitution — and that is the essential 
point of what constitutes “symmetry in the line 
wooled sheep!” 
THE PEDIGREES OF AMERICAN MERINOS. 
The Country Gentleman of Jan. 12, holds the 
following language in regard to onr American 
Merinos: * 
“ They all go back to a Spanish origin: and what¬ 
ever mav he the claims ol' this or that particular flock 
to parity of descent from any one Spanish source, the 
subject is, to sav the very least, surrounded with each 
obscoritv as to make a dividing line, upon the basis of 
descent.,‘apparently quite impracticable. It is much 
as though oar breeds of Long Wooled English sheep 
had been more or less confused or intermingled from 
time to time, all the way down for forty or fifty years 
—Leicester and Cotswoid and Lincoln, until—while 
one breeder was disposed to adhere to one name and 
another to the second or the third—to the great body 
of intelligent observers no distinct marks were per¬ 
ceptible on which the classification could be properly 
based." 
These statements contain an unqualified dec¬ 
laration of contrary opinions, in respect to the 
pedigrees of both our American Merinos and 
English sheep, from those avowed by us at the 
Rochester State Fair discussion, and in our 
article on the classification of sheep for prize 
lists of Nov. 26th; and as they occur in a com¬ 
mentary on our expressions on those occasions, 
they will probably generally be regarded as 
intended for a public contradiction of them. 
Not less are they a coni radiction of the accuracy 
of our historical account of the American fami¬ 
lies of sheep given in Fine Wooled Husbandry 
and in the Practical Shepherd. 
When we took onr place among the fraternity 
of Agricultural Editors, a little more than a year 
ago, it was with a sincere desire to avoid contro¬ 
versies with our contemporaries. We believed 
that each of them was doing a good work. We 
believed that work could be more effectually and 
respectably done by friendly co-operation than 
by bickerings and strife. We have steadily acted 
on that principle. We have never direetly or 
indirectly assailed or reflected on, or permitted 
any correspondent to use our columns to assail 
or reflect on, any brother journalist. We have 
found more than one occasion to allude to the 
Country Gentleman or its editors, and we have 
always hitherto done so In language implying 
good will and respect. The personal attacks of 
its correspondents on us have never tempted us 
to permit any retaliations in kind on if* editors, 
thongh they have been eagerly offered to our 
hands. And even the animus it displays towards 
us in those remarks which we have quoted in the 
preceding article, would have been passed by 
without comment, did it only affect ourselves. 
But when an Agricultural Journal of stand¬ 
ing, in attempting to throw doubt and suspicion 
on our statements, throws doubt and suspicion 
on the pedigrees of some of the most valuable 
families of American sheep — thus virtually im¬ 
pugning the veracity of the breeders of those 
varieties, and detracting from the salable value 
of their property — our duties as editor of this 
department, will not permit us longer to remain 
silent. 
The issue as now made up is as follows:— 
The breeders of the full blood American Infan- 
rado, so called, claim that their sheep trace hack 
to “ one Spanish source," viz., the importation of 
Col. Humphreys ; and they also claim that they 
have been preserved pure, and unmixed with 
any other flock or family, from the date of their 
importation down to the present day. The 
breeders of the American Paulars, so called, 
claim that their sheep originated in an importa¬ 
tion of Paular sheep made in 1811 or 1812 — that 
they were preserved from intermixture with any 
other families of Merinos until about the year 
1842— that then and subsequently they received 
some crosses of the blood of the previously 
named family, made for purposes of improve¬ 
ment— hut that they have not been crossed 
sufficiently to obliterate a distinctive family 
character or to forfeit their family name —that 
in the two latter particulars they occupy the 
♦ Our excellent contemporary does not appear, how¬ 
ever, to be entirely disposed to recognize them under 
this designation, which he 6eerns to regard as a coin¬ 
age of oui own. Bnt as the term has become common 
in this country, and in other countries where our Me¬ 
rinos are men'tinued, and as the New England Wool 
Growers’ Association the other day formally voted to 
recognize It, we trust the Country Gentleman will 
excuse us for continuing to uae it. 
, same position with the English Leicestere, Cots- 
wolds, etc;, of the present day, each of which has 
been crossed will) other families. The Country 
: Gentleman, on the other hand, speaking gener¬ 
ally of American Merinos and making no excep¬ 
tions whatever, declares that “ whatever may be 
! the claims Of this or that particular flock to 
purity of descent from any one Spanish source, 
the. subject is, to say the leasts surrounded with 
such obscurity as to make a dividing line upon 
the basis of descent quite i/npraclicablc," And it 
next virtually declares—again making no excep¬ 
tions— that the case of American Merinos is 
“ much as though 1 ’ their different varieties “ had 
been more or less confused ami intermingled from 
time to time, all the way down for forty or fifty 
years." 
The editor of the Country Gentleman has, we 
take it for granted, examined the “ claims " 
which he thus assumes to pass upon. They, 
and an outline of the testimony on which they 
rest, have been scattered through various famil¬ 
iar publications. We will now merely call his 
attention to the brief summaries of, and refer¬ 
ences to, the testimony on the subject, which 
are contained in the Practical Shepherd. Those 
in regard to the Infanlado or “Atwood sheep'’ 
will be found at page 2-8 and following. Those 
in regard to the Paular or “Rich sheep” will he 
found at pp. 30, 416 and following. We will 
merely here add that what we have there asserted 
in respect to the line of breeding pursued by Mr. 
Hammond and by the present Mr. Ricn, we have 
done on their own express authority, both writ¬ 
ten and oral, and therefore that they, not our¬ 
selves, are the witnesses of the facts. It is not 
necessary now to widen the surface of the dis¬ 
cussion by introducing other testimony to cor¬ 
roborate theirs— or to show that many other flocks 
possess the same blood which is claimed for theirs— 
but we give the editor of the Country Gentle¬ 
man distinct notice that wc are ready to intro¬ 
duce such witnesses in abundance—men of high 
and well known standing—whenever it becomes 
necessary. And having cited (to save the trou¬ 
ble of repealing) sufficient affirmative testimony 
to make out a ease, we “ rest ” for the present. 
Will the Country Gentleman now give the 
facts on which it has felt authorized publicly 
to assume that the above named and other 
American Merino breeders are making claims in 
respect to the pedigrees of their sheep, which, 
if its own positions are correct, arc not only 
false, but. must he kuown to he false by those 
making them? Will it, for example, furnish its 
proofs to show that the Infantado or Atwood 
sheep cannot trace a pure and unmixed descent 
toCoL Humphreys’ sheep imported from Spain, 
but that they have really been crossed with other 
families of Merinos “all the way down for the 
last forty or fifty years ? ” 
It will not do to say that the points at issue are 
unimportant, inasmuch as the real excellence of 
onr American Merinos has not been disputed. 
The editor of the Country Gentlemau appreciates 
the importance of the pedigrees of English 
sheep, and English cattle, and English horses, 
and even EuglWU hogs and English liens, quite 
too highly to sanction such a proposition. And 
to nothing more than to a pedigree does the 
maxim apply, “false in one (particular) false in 
alL" If Mr. Atwood and Mr. Hammond have 
deceived the public in respect to the origin of 
their flocks, or in asserting that they have not 
crossed where they have done so — if the 
Messrs. Rich have given an untruthful account 
of the origin of their flocks or of their crosses — 
then their whole pedigrees are of no more value 
than the old jokes in a comic almanac! If they 
have grossly, shamefully, and unnecessarily lied, 
in concealing certain crosses, what possible 
warrant can we have that I hey have not con¬ 
cealed other ones, say with Saxon, French, or 
even “native" sheep? What warrant have we 
that we have full blood Merinos, of any descrip¬ 
tion in the United States? The theory of the 
Country Gentleman docs not merely go to the 
destruction of the pedigrees of the Infantados 
and Paulars as distinct and established families, 
bnt equally so to the pedigrees of all American 
Merinos which wholly or in part partake of their 
blood — for if there was corruption of the foun¬ 
tain head there is corruption all the way down. 
And we do not chance to know a single flock of 
full blood American Merinos, which does not 
contain the blood of one or both of those 
families. 
We have had enough covert sneers at, or open 
attacks on, the pedigrees of onr American Meri¬ 
nos, from a class of newspaper correspondents 
anxious to advertise their own stock and pull 
down breeders of reputation to their own level 
But apart from their Insignificance, their senr- 
rility and indecent, disregard of truth, rendered 
it impossible, consistently with self-respect, to 
enter into discussions with them. But when 
a respectable journalist enters the ring to dis¬ 
parage the pedigrees of our American sheep, it 
is a good time to ask for proof, and to invite a 
candid and thorough sifting of the question — 
and to that work we now invite our contempo¬ 
rary. We shall probably hereafter invite him to 
sustain his theory, which appears to be advanced 
by implication, that the Leicester, Cotswoid 
and Lincoln Blieep have not been more or less 
crossed from time to time, for the last forty or 
fifty years. To save labor, and to enable the 
readers of both papers with their own eyes to test 
the accuracy oj quotations to the letter and spirit, 
we propose to the editor of the Country Gentle¬ 
man that where any authority is cited or quota¬ 
tions made by either of us the volume and page 
where they are to be found Bhall be distinctly 
given. 
Correction.— H. M. Boa roman, Rnshville, N. Y., 
writes ns:— "There is a mistake in your notice of the 
sale of Merino sheep by Mr. P. F. Myrtle of Wheeler, 
to D. Blodgett and myself which I will thank you to 
correct. Mr. B. purchased of Mr. Myrtle ten first 
choice ewe tegs; the balance were yearlings and pur¬ 
chased by us together.” 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE, ITEMS, &c. 
Srbkpas Improvers nr Land.—George Snyder, 
Rhinebcck. N. Y., writes:—“I bought some land so 
reduced that, it had been sown to buckwheat, and this 
was not harvested as it wonhl not pay for it. I put 
sheep on it without seeding. They had to work hard 
for a living the first year. The second year I put on 
plaster and the grass began to come in. T continued 
this two years and there wus a sod on the land. I fal¬ 
lowed the land, gave it a light dressing of manure, 
and put on wheat with grass seed. I had a good crop 
—and since have cut two tuns of hay to the ncre. So 
much for sheep." 
W AsrriNOTON Co. Sheet. —Several flocks of Merinos 
are starting in Washington and Rensselaer counties, 
N. Y. T. S. Steels of Shushau, in the former county, 
purchased five breeding owes of P EuTitAur of Brid- 
port, Vt., last winter, for $1,100, and two yearling 
ewes of S. S. Rockwell of Cornwall, Vt., last Octo¬ 
ber. for $900. Mr. Steele has now 14 full blood breed¬ 
ing ewes which are regarded as of superior quality. 
Profits of a Flock.— M. W. Weaver, Hume, Alle¬ 
gany Co., N. Y., says:—"I will state the amount I 
have received the last year from my flock of 23 ewes, 
bnt 1 do not consider it worth bragging about. I raised 
25 lambs for which I refused $5 per head, which 
amounts to $125. 1 sold 145 lbs. of wool for $137 75. 
Total $262 75. or $11.42 per head. 
Communications, <£tc. 
KIND TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 
One of the first requisites of success in raising 
domestic animals, we think, is kindness and gen¬ 
tleness. Proper shelter and suitable food may 
rank before kindness, though they are but. 
expressions of it. One may provide ■comforta¬ 
ble food and shelter for his stock, and still treat 
them roughly, thongh the reverse is, perhaps, the 
genera] practice. The man whose humanity and 
common sense will furnish nice barns and warm 
sheds for his stock, will probably consult his 
purse, so as to receive the largest profits. 
Among the poorer, unsuccessful class of farm¬ 
ers, stock doubtless suffer most from exposure 
and ill treatment. Perhaps their want of suc¬ 
cess arises, in a measure, from the neglect and 
abuse of those animals which may and ought to 
be a source of profit to them. Who has not 
been obliged to pass farms whose fences were 
broken down,— the house and bam sadly dilapi¬ 
dated— the windows broken and gone —bam 
doors bauging in the wind — and seen the lean, 
lowing kine grouped together in some field, to 
protect themselves from the bleak winds or piti¬ 
less storm. One cannot but pity the stock and 
the owner. Probably he does not take a good 
Agricultural paper—thinks he is not able, or 
knows enough already. If he should make a 
dry, warm stable for his stock, treat them 
gently, give them a few roots daily, a little meal, 
or even a couple of care of corn, at suitable 
times, pure water —card them daily, scatter 
under them a generous supply of bedding, when 
it is pleasant, let them out three or four hours 
in the middle of the day, he probably would be 
surprised to see how they would thrive, even on 
a small amount of fodder. 
As illustrative of the above suggestion, we 
have an instance in mind, near at hand. A few 
years ago, one of our neighbors said to another, 
“ He did not see how he kept so much stock on 
so small a quantity of fodder.” Some of the 
reasons were doubtless the following:—One ties 
his cattle under his bam, standing on the 
ground, the other lies his over the barn cellar, 
standing on a floor, which, we think, is prefera¬ 
ble ; one invariably turns his stock out. in all 
weathers—cold, snow or rain, and they must 
stand exposed until night the other keeps them 
housed, unless pleasant, when they are out a few 
hours; one feeds a portion in the yard, the other 
feeds all in the stalls: one raises roots—carrots, 
turnipsamt beets—some or all, and gives his Block 
daily, the other seldom raises any; one feeds some 
shorts and meal, the other seldom any; one 
cards his stock, the other not; one gives a vari¬ 
ety of food, the other keeps wholly, until spring, 
on salt and coarse hay and stalks; one consults 
the appetites of his stock, the other says they 
must cat that or none. The result is, one man’s 
stock came out in spring in good order, hair 
fine, eyes bright-cowe drop healthy calves, and 
do well through the summer; the other’s con¬ 
sume and wasto more feed, they are pot-bellied 
and their hair dull, perhaps have a touch of 
“horseuil,” “ee.ib,” &c. One, we think, an 
instance of klni treatment, and, beside the 
spirit it cultivates, does it not pay well? The 
other instance nay not be harsh treatment, for 
the stock have an abundance sucli as it is, ami 
yet, we do not rerard it human or profitable. 
It is rcmarkalle, too, how susceptible most 
domestic animals are to kind treatment. How 
often is the hone abused and sadly neglected. 
His playfulness and nobleness of character are 
cither restrained through fear, or benumbed 
through ill usage The cow is too often handled 
roughly. Would it not be wiser to keep the 
finger nails pared, set a mess before her, if tur¬ 
bulent, and treat tier gently? If such care will 
not subdue her, tt her for the shambles os soon 
as possible. Boyn and dogs ought not to chase 
cows, or stone thin. Lot them feed quietly and 
perfectly at homt. The pigs, we know, love to 
“ wallow in the mire,” but give them some fresh 
loam, and how tlcy will frisk and play! Thoy 
love, too, a clew, dry nest. Who conJd be 
unkind among tht sheep and lambs? An unkind 
shepherd could not surely lead his flock “gently” 
and profitably. No wonder that the advent of 
the 8avlor of the world was announced to the 
shepherds. 
But not to enumerate instances, kindness 
must originate iu the heart or understanding. 
Shall we not cultivate it V May not the “ bless¬ 
ing of the merciful” appertain to those who 
are “merciful to their beasts?” May not the 
remark of Soobates to an undutiful slave, “I 
would punish you if I were not angry," be a wise 
motto for the farmer? We keep stock for our 
pleasure, and profit, and they ought never to bo 
so contented and comfortable as when the 
farmer is among them dispersing blessings and 
kindness. C, W. Turner. 
Dighton, Maas., Jan. 10,1865. 
COMPARATIVE VALUE OF COWS. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker Two cows, 
Meg and Doll, of like age and size: — Meg 
yields ten quarts of milk, at an average, daily, 
for the year, and is worth $40. Doll yields an 
average of eleven quarts daily, and of equal 
quality. What is Doll worth, in proportion to 
the value of Meg? We suppose Meg is worth 
her keeping; then 365 quarts of miik at only- 
two cents per quart, is $7.30 a year, or the inUr- 
cst of $104.28. Now if Doll is not worth fully 
the $144.30, docs not this view of the ease show 
something of the principle on which the. com¬ 
parative value of dairy cows should be esti¬ 
mated?- A. B. Cone. 
Atlanta, Georgia, 1864. 
TREATING AN OLD MEADOW. 
Eds. Rural New - Yorker : — In your highly 
valuable number of the Rural New-Yorker, 
bearing date the 21st inst., is an inqniry from 
J. K. H., as to treatment of his old meadow. 
Please tell him, iu addition to vonr most valua¬ 
ble suggestion to “barrow, re-sced and top- 
dress,” to apply a liberal dressing of lime, salt 
or wood ashes, or all three combined, and be 
will not bo troubled with moss. The “cor¬ 
rectives" I suggest, will be found, on his make 
of soil, to be a most valuable and permanent 
invigorator. E. M. Bradley. 
East Bloomfield, N. Y., Jan., 1865. 
guvat £j>Mt of tt u Igwis. 
Why Scalded Meal is More Nutritious than Raw. 
The nutriment afforded to animals by seeds 
and roots, depends upon the rupture of all the 
globules which constitute their meal or flour. 
These globules vary iu different roots, tubers and 
seeds. Those of potato starch, for instance, are 
usually from fifteen ten thousandths, to the four 
thousandth part of an inch; those of wheat 
rarely exceed the two t housandth part of an inch, 
and so on. From experiments made on these 
globules by M. Raspail, the author of “ Organ c 
Chemistry,” and M. Bjot of the French Acad¬ 
emy of Sciences, the following conclusions have 
been drawn: 
1. That the globules constituting meal, flour 
and starch, whether contained in grain or roots, 
arc incapable of affording any nourishment as 
animal food, until they are broken. 
2. That no mechanical method of breaking or 
grinding is more than partially efficient 
3. That the most efficient means of breaking 
the globules is by heat, by fermentation, or by 
the chemical agency of acids or alkalies, 
4. That the dextrine, which is the kernel, as it 
were, of each globule, is alone soluble, and there¬ 
fore alone nutritive. 
5. That the shells of the globules, when re¬ 
duced to fragments by mechanism or heat, arc 
insoluble, and therefore not nutritive. 
0. That though the fragments of these shells 
are not nutritive, they are indispensable to di¬ 
gestion, either from their distending the stomach 
or from some other cause not understood; it 
haying been found by experiment that concen¬ 
trated nourishment, such as eugar, or essence of 
beef, cannot long sustain life, without some mix¬ 
ture of coarser or less nutritive food. 
7. That the economical preparations of all food 
containing globules or foeula, consists in per¬ 
fectly breaking the sheila, and rendering the 
dextrine contained in them soluble and digestible, 
while the fragments of Die shells are at the same 
time rendered more bulky, so as the more 
readily to fill the stomach.— Mass. Plowman, 
Ditching With a Plow. 
A correspondent of the New Hampshire 
Journal of Agriculture says:—In the first place, 
I plow two furrows, and throw them out; Ibis 
makes the ditch wide enough at the top. I then 
plow two more and throw them out. The ditch 
is then twelve or fifteen inches deep, and one ox 
can no longer walk in it with the other on the 
surlafce. 1 then take a stout piece of timber, five 
or six indies square, (a round stick would do as 
well,) and twelve or liftecu feet long. I lay this 
across the ditch, and hitch ayoko of oxen to each 
end, so that the timber serves as a long whiffie- 
trcc, with the plow chained in the middle; aud 
as the ditch grows deeper, the chain is let out 
longer In this way there would be no trouble 
in plowing six feet deep. Thu only difficulty is 
in keeping the oxen nearly abreast, as it is new 
work for them. But by taking light furrows at 
first, they soon learn, After running the plow 
through two or three times, throw out the loose 
earth and plow again. 
Best Mode of Piling Firewood. 
D. Currie, of Hull, writes: “As this is the 
season for laying up a supply of fuel for next 
year, it may benefit some of your readers to 
know that firewood, for next year’s use, is much 
better when piled with the hark side uppermost, 
lor wood piled with the hark side down tenot so 
dry as when the bark is uppermost; besides when 
you come to handle it again the bark is liable to 
fall off, and go to loss, owing to the wet in sum¬ 
mer getting between the bark and the wood.”— 
Canada Farmer. 
Sunflower Seed for Poultry. 
In a note oar friend, S. N. Taber of Vassal- 
boro’, writes:—“I want you to recommend sun¬ 
flower seed for hens. I have been feeding them 
for two seasons past as regular rations, with corn 
and barley, and the way the hens talk over them 
while filling their crojys is ample proof that they ; 
arc good.”— Maine Farmer. 
Rural Notes mti) (llucrics. 
The American Agricultural Press,— 8o far as we 
can perceive from qnr exchanges, enters upon the year 
1865 under far more favorable auspices, and with 
much better prospects, than anticipated. Most of onr 
contemporaries open their new volumes vigorously, 
and with indications of augmented success and use¬ 
fulness—at which we sincerely rejoice, for upon the 
. prosperity of onr Agricultural Jonrnals depends, in a 
great measure, the progress and prosperity of the 
great interests they are designed to promote. And if 
nLI zealously labor to do their best to enhance the par¬ 
amount interests of the Rural Population—ignoring 
all selfishness and jealousies, and each nobly striving 
to excel in usefulness—their efforts will be crowned 
with success, and provp largely beneficial to the agri¬ 
cultural community. Wo certainly trust that oachand 
ail of our contemporaries may not only be thus actua¬ 
ted—as the groat majority of them are—but that they 
may be fully rewarded for the important benefits they 
bestow upon individuals, families, communities and 
the country at large. 
We have bntfewchanges to noto. The most promi¬ 
nent (if not too only,) birth is that of Colman's Rural 
World and Valley Fcumer—a now semi monthly (eight 
page quarto,) by N. J. Colman, St. Louis, Mo., $3 per 
annum. May It prove a successful, as It appears to be 
a worthy, member of the Rural family.—The weekly 
Few Ragland Farmer , which was suspended a few 
months ago on account of the hard times for pub¬ 
lishers, re-nppears, under the auspices of It. P. Eaton 
& Co., with lion, Simon Brown as Agricultural 
Editor, and its return to life, activity and usefulness is 
cordially welcomed.—Tho Illinois Farmer, a monthly 
, published at Springfield, and for several years past 
edited by M. L. DuNLAr, Esq., has been merged in the 
I'ralrie Farmer. This gives brother Emery the only 
agricultural paper in Illinois, and we hope be will oc¬ 
cupy the field to advantage, though it may be difficult 
to keep all Eastern journals at a respectful distance— 
his strenuous efforts to the contrary notwithstanding. 
— The Canada Fanner dons a now and neat vignette 
heading, and gives other indication* of the success we 
prophesied for it a year ago.—7’A<! Working Farmer 
also has a new and appropriate heading, and refers its 
readers to it “ on the first page,”—fearing perhaps that 
its country friends would not otherwise discover the 
i locality. The agricultural editors of New York city 
, arc very generous ami condescending! — The Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist resumes its former size (from which 
it was reduced last year,) and advances its price to 
$1.50 per annum. It is worth the monoy.—These are, 
we believe, the only noteworthy changes among our 
contemporaries. 
Corn Husks for Paper.— Some two years ago it 
waB suggested lu the Rural that corn husks were 
worthy the attention of paper makers, and wo added 
a hope "soon to learn the result of experiments in 
their use as a substitute for rags,” And now we find 
this item in the N. Y. Tribune:—" Recent discoveries 
justify the belief that many thousands of tuna of the 
husks of Indian corn will hereafter be consumed year¬ 
ly in this country in connection with the manufacture 
of paper. The editors of the leading daily journals of 
the country have secured the control of the new dis¬ 
covery, so far as the same is applicable to the manu¬ 
facture of printing paper, and thoy respectfully invite 
proposals from every town, county aud State in the 
United States for eupplying dean, sound and well- 
dried husks, as the same are stripped from tho ripe 
corn; the husks to be baled in even hundreds of 
pounds and delivered at railroad stations. Address 
D. II. Craig, General Agent of the Associated Frees, 
New York City." 
- 
Tint Agricultural College Endowment in Ms.— 
Gov. Cony of Maine, in bis Annual Message, expresses 
the opinion that "the objects of the grant and the 
interests of the Stato will he best promoted by con- 
connecting tho proposed College with some of the 
literary institutions of the State, unless tho national 
grant is largely increased by private contributions." 
He says the fund to be drawn from the sale of such 
scrip will be inadequate to the support of an indepen¬ 
dent institution. The scrip has not been disposed of. 
-- 
Cheap Lands in Iowa.— Poople intending to settle 
in the West, and wishing cheap lands, are referred to 
the Circular of the American Emigrant Co., in ibis 
paper. Western papers speak very favorably of tho 
lands offered by this Company, and we think tho mat¬ 
ter worthy the attention of those of our readers in 
torested. 
Vermont State Ao. Society.—A t the recent an¬ 
nual meeting of this Society the following Board of 
Officers was elected for 1866: President —J. W. Col¬ 
burn of Springfield, Vio$ Prats.— John Gregory of 
Northfleld; Henry Keyes of Newbury; It. G. Root of 
Bennington; I). K. Potter of St. Albans. IWas.—J. 
W. Colburn of Springfield. Bee. Sec .— Henry Clark of 
Poullney. Cor. Sec. — Henry C. Boynton of Wood- 
stock. Directors —E. Hammond, Middlebury ; II. S. 
Morse, Shelburne; Wm. L. Brown, Falrliaven; Victor 
Wright, Wcybridge; E. Cleveland, Coventry; H. 
Cushing, Woodstock; ©CO. Campbell, Westminster; 
Hampden Cutts, BranJcboro; II. Haywood, Rutland. 
Wayne Co. Ao. Society. At the recent annual 
meeting of this Society, held iu Lyous, the following 
board of officers was elected for the ensuing year: 
President -J ohn Bkadi.k r, Lyons. Vice lYest. —A. P. 
Warren, Nodus. Sec.—C. Dcmmon, Lyons. Trees.— 
W. I). Perrine, Lyons. iHrectore William llooke, 
Galen; B. Whitlock, Lyons. The affairs of the Society 
are in an unusually prosperous condition. Between 
two and three hundred dollars have boon paid upon its 
debt within the past year, beside tho expenses of too 
exhibitions. 
-- 
Ui-stkr Co. Aa. Society. —Officers for 1865: Prest. 
— Silas Sxyder of Rosendalc. Viet Presl.— Wm. 
Masteu, Kingston. Treas.— J. llasbronek Sahler, 
Kingston. Bee, Sec.— C. 8, Stillwell, Kingston. Cor. 
See.— Daniel L. Decker, Kingston. Directors —John 
Vlgncs, Kingston; Jacob li. Davis, Itoscndalo; Jacob 
Brink of the town of Kingston. 
— - 
Seneca Co. (N. Y.) Aa. Society.— At the annual 
meeting tho following officers were elected : President 
— O. W. Wilkinson. Vice lYesident— Wm. Dnnlap. 
Sec .— Chas. Sentell. Treas.— John D. Coe. Directors 
—Joseph Wright, Peter Pontius, Ira Johnson, Lewis 
Post, John G. King, Josiah Rogers. 
Oswego Co. Ao. Society,— officers: President— H. 
W. Loomis, Vermillion. Vice lYest.— Cbns. S. Choover, 
New Haven. Sec.— Alva F. Kellogg, Mexico. Treas. 
Charles S. Webb, Mexico. IHreciors— Myron Everta, 
Wm. B Hutchinson, A. W. Severance. 
N. Y. State Ao. Society.— Tho annual meeting of 
tliis Society Is to bo held iu Albany, on Wednesday 
next, Feb. 8. We hope Western and Central New 
York will be properly represented. 
ws&m 
