In the following winter fed roots and had no 
Mr. Pitts of Ontario—Never had any eases; few 
sheep men in niy vicinity are troubled with it. 
He enoke of a centle'men. who. two or three 
biiv-jy mivi" iu J ' t'.i'Mi'l u !>■ > 1 « i v v*. n i ni I «/• 
He spoke of a gentlemen, who, two or three 
years ago bought a flock of yearling ewes, and 
kept them very close, bnt giving them little ex¬ 
ercise, and he lost all but one. 
Mr. Chainpliu of Steuben — Had never bad any 
cases in his tlock. Others about him had. Some 
of them attributed it to clover hay and the use 
of plaster. lu the town of Bath, one breeder 
had given np raising sheep on account of this 
disease. His land was a clover soil and on this 
character of soil there was the most trouble. 
Some of'tbe neighboring flocks, on some kinds of 
soil, were free from the disease. 
Mr. Heath of Chittenango — Some winters 
feeds grain and in others not. Have bad the 
disease in my flock. The sheep rnn in open 
sheds, through the winter, and were not fed 
grain. In the spring, when thelambs commenc¬ 
ed coming they had bunches ou their necks, and 
out ot 77, only saved 0. They were a very cu¬ 
rious looking lot. Of lambs. Some were all head 
and no body,’others were all body and no legs ; 
Alley were in all imaginable shapes. The sheep 
were sheared in the following June, and I ob 
6eivod no signs of the disease. In July, two 
ewe.- hud urge bunches on their necks, another 
flock was attacked in same way, and t he disease 
run tbnrjHflMbout half my sheep. Procured two 
jugs ot tleetHre ol iodine, sheared the wool from 
the necks, and commenced applying the tincture 
to the partS'iu?fcetcd, and continued the use of the 
application tori*! weeks, handling the sheep over 
ouec a week, and there were no new cases, Alter 
applying it in %H|fe wav for 7 weeks the hunches 
begau to disappear, and in September made a 
thorough examinat ion of the flock, and but two 
sheep showed signs of the disease. Since that 
time have bad no trouble, except in one in¬ 
stance, that of a buck, which I purchased having 
the disease, f was not afraid to buy this buck 
and to use hit. My sheep were kept in good 
condition, and Ivoperly housed, and ever since 
have had good Jttv.iv with them, 
Mr. Kinney ol <Iy>ngnga—Have had no experi¬ 
ence with this dis\se in my own flock. One 
sheep that was purebred had it, but no others. 
Mr ncaly of Steubovuavu U ot. been troubled 
with this disease to any t rcat extent iu my own 
flock; perhaps 8 or 10 cavg haveootureddurina- 
the. lost few years. Four ;ears ogo bv reason of 
a hhrh wind, that blew closvi the fence, dividin’' 
the bucks and owes, my lamfecameat an improp¬ 
er time. Tins flock was divid'd, the yearlings be¬ 
ing put m the barn, and fed onhuy and main' The 
lambs irom this portion of ti e ffioek, were- the 
ones diseased. Some wore nurekbags of waier 
with limbs like pipe stems. Tuo other north.,, 
ot the flock that had an open shed (md range of 
dropped lambs that were strong and 
th , a ’ thos< ‘ “ost alHict- 
ed with this, malady, were sheep which had been 
eonhned, and kept, high ou dry food. I give my 
flock the range of a ten acre lot, feed roots, and 
ke, n Sr !' ui ’> imd btlk ‘ ve lt a htx - practice to 
m u J' 0n £ ra , irl > *«• Trefer beets 
milk bCBt 1U ° d l0r P rodUL>in g good, healthy 
Dr. Randall. — A cross cannot be kept up by 
breeding from half-blood ewes and half-bipod 
rains. There is not a good and e&tftbUaed flock 
in the State of this character. Pure blood must 
be resorted to for keeping up a cross, and no 
uniformity can he had without it. And even 
then, you cannot keep one generation like 
Mr. Tucker for courtesies shown us and facili¬ 
ties given, by which wc were enabled to take full 
notes of the discussions at this most interesting 
and most profitable meeting of the Wool Growl¬ 
ers of the State, x. a. w. 
another, unless you keep the relative portions 
of each different, blood the same. If you put a 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE, ITEMS, Ac. 
exaggerations He. suggested that cvmy sliccn 
book, for the pur- 
c " J " uuvjiv, juj Mlti T)Ur* 
wnung down all unusual facts concern 
.‘ 1S fi b®ep as they occurred. Much more 
S?i b A flCCt $ d h ! l - Ws wa - v > lha,) when obser- 
mrmo. v * V WOn ‘ Li r U - bo written out from 
munoiy. fen worJ| written at, this time, win, ■ 
fc — “ f »« ™>- *&* 
I, Leicester ewe to a Merino ram, you have a half 
e blood. If yon put the hulf-biood ewe to a 
r Merino ram, yon have.a three - quarter-bred 
s Merino and one-quarter-bred Leicester, and so 
» ou. Thus you arc constantly advancing nearer 
to the characteristics of one of the breed's of the 
f cross, and receding from the other. To remain 
stationary aud obtain uniformity yon must use 
5 the pure Merino ram and the pure'Leicester owe 
. iu each cross. Crossing is legitimate w here the 
i object is to merge one breed in another. It, is 
i legitimate to obtain temporary results, particu¬ 
larly in the production of meat; ami this is 
generally the object of it in England. It may 
even be profitable, temporarily, to obtain De¬ 
laine wool, as has been suggested, but nothing 
of permanent value has ever grown out of so 
violent a cross as that between the Merino and 
the Leicester. 
Mr. Noyes.— Pure blooded animals on the 
male side, must undoubtedly be used to get the 
bust results in crossing, lie gave an instance 
where a manufacturer had said that lie never 
saw a fleece that would clean six pounds of wool. 
Mr. Ten Eyck of Madison.—Do not believe 
that, eoarse-woolcd sheep can be kept together 
In large numbers, 1 bought a few, and put 
them iu atloek of 1,500. They did not thrive, 
though the pasture was good, A cross must be 
made with tine-wooled rams. 
Ellis.—You cannot, flock coarsc-wooled sheep; 
they will not herd in large numbers. The 
Merino produces longer and better wool than it 
did 20 years ago. With judicious crossing there 
was no difficulty in keeping up DelaineVoois. 
The Delaine men use wool in lengths from 2 k; 
inches and upwards. Had known Merino wool 
brought to his ( Ellis’) store, that measured three 
inches in length. If a ram having this character 
of wool was used for crossing, longer wool would 
be the result. I used to have ho difficulty in 
having my tine-wooled wethers go up to 115 
pounds, which I call a good strong sheet). 
Would never use a cross-bred ram. 
Mr. Hiusdale of Onondaga.—Have had some 
experience in breeding from crosses ancl find it a 
perfect failure. The second generation yielded 
a light fleece and the flock was spoiled. 
Dr. Randal! spoke of samples of pure blood 
Merino wool recently received by him from Aus¬ 
tralia. It was of exquisite quality. It, had a 
beautiful lustre and style generally, and lie 
thought it had a rqftness which no American wool 
possesses. Many of the samples of but a year’s 
growth, were about four inches long I Here was 
Delaine wool of unequalled value for fabrics of 
luxury. Here was no crossing! He bad for¬ 
gotten to bring these specimens to the hall. 
They were at life hotel, lie invited members to 
call and examine them. 11c said he would ex¬ 
hibit to them at the same time a fleece sent from 
Spain as a specimen of one of its present superior 
flocks, and they would see how very ordinary 
it was compared with American Merino wool. 
I hc sheep which bore the splendid Austral ion 
specimens were on their way to the United 
iMales. They started in December, and lie hud : 
strong hopes they would be exhibited at the i 
oheep Show ol this Association in May next. i 
Mr. Ellis.—There has been an exaggeration in 
regard to (he quantity of cleansed wool which 1 
some rams will yield. The fleeces gave more < 
cleansed wool than had been named. 1 have no , 
doubt but that some animals li ,Ve turned off ten 
_ . a _..li .. t 
Tin? Country Gentleman.— The Editor of the 
Country Gentleman has courteously offered us expla- 
nntiousou the subject of personal controversy between 
us. which will in due time be made public, and which 
preclude the necessity of farther controversy in that 
direction. 
attention to any one thing, never forgetting to 
have a proper number of hogs for market and 
family use. Such persons have no fear of the 
tax gatherer uor of hearing the good wife 
complain, about haying or harvesting time, 
that the house is minuB of meat and shorten¬ 
ing-two very necessary things in preparing 
dinner at that season of the year. 
Walworth Co., Wig., 1805. John Jeffers. 
Hural Notes ani> (flhtcries. 
GREAT FLOOD! 
GLEANINGS FROM LETTERS AND PAPERS 
Sales of Grade Sheep.— C. W. Ball, Victor, N. 
Y., writes:—“There have been a number of sales of 
grade sheep in this vicinity. A neighbor sold 72 three 
year old ewes for $25 per head. In another case the 
owner picked ten aud the buyer one. The latter paid 
$75 for the ten and $150 for the one.” The sample of 
grade wool sent by Mr. Ball is excellent. 
Communications, <£tc. 
REMEDY FOR POLL EVIL. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —Last spring a 
friend of mine purchased a valuable horse, which 
60 ou became unserviceable ou account of poll 
evil. He tried several remedies with no good re¬ 
sults; he then tried an experiment with May- 
apple (Tbdophyllum peliatum) root. He took a 
pint of the root., sliced very thin, and fried them 
onch our, in a pint of cleatrflard. He washed the 
sore with suds, made with scd|L soap, every 48 
hours and then applied the grease. The sore 
soon healed, and has shown no signs of reappear¬ 
ance. As fistula is nearly allied to poll evil, I 
think it might be used with the same success. 
Will some one who has a diseased horse, try the 
experiment and report through the Rural ? 
Quitman, Mo. 1865. W. II. Feankum. 
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF HOGS. 
u, - "T i uuu IJJ5, XU tuai 
locality were healthy. 1 
Mil fen Eyck of Madison, whose sheen farm 
t - 1 f -...... t -» i * . i. .. .. . ,, , * 
„ ! a row a, said hie sheep were generally healthy, 
, lTK } mot troubled with this disease. 
To t,i(S question of how much salt, should he 
given to it was answered that all the salt 
the flov AV0Q ld take was given. Some kept it 
in half . ’Hurds, where it, was accessible to sheep 
at all tiL , 
Mt. P.i im stated that au estimate had been 
made by • ^ r - Grinuell ol Iowa, in which four 
quarts of s. dt per week, were deemed sufficient 
for one hiiL drod sheep. 
Crossing Dillbmnt Breeds of Hlieep. 
Mr. Ellis, 5V 001 Merchant and Wool Manufac¬ 
turer of Ononft a .~ a - The wools that are now 
most valuable in " ur markets are produced from 
a cross of the Merino on the Leicester, or any 
long-wooled Engluffi sheep. Ho had come to the 
conclusion, thnt'any 7 set of farmers, resorting to 
this cross would be amply repaid, Those wools 
were worth more to-day for Delaines than could 
be obtained for the flrujgt wools. There was a 
great do-maud for them. The quantity of wool 
yielded by such Shtfep was very large.’ He had 
seen fleeces weighing between 1:2 ami 18 ponuds, 
that would give 10 pounds of clear wool, and he 
frequently found fleeces weighing 8, y or 10 lbs. 
each. The only trouble was that the quantity 
produced in the. country was not large enougli 
to make it an object so that Delaine men could 
get it. Had seen fleeces from the cross breeds, 
nearly as line as that from the Merinos. The 
cross*should be made by using the Merino rani 
on Long-wooled ewes. A successful cross could 
not be nihd.' by reversing this mode. 
Mr. Avery of Fulton. — A friend in Saratoga 
has for a number of years been crossing Long- 
wooled ewes with Merino rams, and he gets us 
handsome a lot of wool as we would wish to see, 
and it sells for a very high price. The fleeces 
are heavy, and after an experience of 12 years’ 
crossing be pronounces it a perfect success! 
Mr. Wentworth of Onondaga, said a friend 
had a nice flock of sheep. They were Leicesters, 
crossed with tine-wooled buck, uud they pro¬ 
duced the best mutton. The sheep were finer, 
and the fleeces better, than other breeds. He 
lud had a good many years’ experience, and was 
satisfied with results, 
Mr. Noyes of Ontario.—This is a subject of 
vast importance, f have been of the opinion 
that, cross bred sheep are better and worth more 
than even tine wool sheep for the common 
farmer. Put a Hammond ram on Long-wooled 
sheen and you get an animal that may be de- 1 
pended on for profit* Fancy breeders can do 1 
well in breeding tine-wooled sheep, but farmers 1 
cannot go into this business with equal profit. 1 
1 feed from four to eight hundred sheep; they I 
arc three-lburths Merino. They make bettor > 
mutton, the butchers will buy them quicker, 1 
and they are worth more iu market than the 1 
other breeds. The fleece of the grade is worth 1 
more, and the sheep are hardier than the Long- 1 
woolcd breed. It will not do to put a coarse 1 
ram on tine-wooled sheep, as the flock will soon ( 
run out, but in thu other way the best results 
are obtained. By using a thorough-bred Merino 1 
ram on the hail bloods, further improvement is ( 
made f 
Luther EL Tucker.—From English experience c 
it would seem that the cross is the batter animal. L 
The prizes have gone to crosses of cattle. Tim 
idea there was that the first cross made a good 1 
feeding animal, and it was a question whether to 1 
continue the breeding would be expedient. If t 
a Cross breed is to be kept up lor 18 years, new t 
blood must be brought in, and the cross approx- i 
imuter nearer and nearer to the flue wool, lie 1 
desired to know when a cross is started, what t 
was the best way to keep it up; by pure blood 
from the Merino, or otherwise '! S 
i&'erown anywhere, is grown in this State and 
it Onondaga county, hut the great trouble is the 
> bad condition in which the larmerg get it iuto 
3 market. 
Mr. Kellog, a manufacturer of Onondaga, 
said, in reference to securing wool, he once luid 
a ram’s fleece that weighed iy pouuds, and when 
washed it produced but 5 pounds 7 ounces of 
, wooL The flue wools shrink 60 per cent. Do 
' not say that they all shrink t oat, but they usually 
do, and that too of Che best blooded wool of the 
country. Wool of the blood shrinks to per 
cent, and common wools 25 per cent. Some 
farmers put up their wool in a dishonest wav; 
he had taken Irom one fleece 38 feet of cord. ’ 
Mr. Ten Ecyk said he had taken from one 
flOCee 3 pounds of gravel; he called ou the man 
from whom it was purchased, and tilled out a 
check, which the fellow signed without a word. 
Mr. Greer of Ohio, said that in 1803, at the 
West there was a st rong disposition on the part 
of some to regard sheep'washing as of no benefit, 
A meeting was called, at whieu all parties con¬ 
cerned were invited to take part, in order to 
test the question whether the deduction of 88-*; 
per cent for not washing was right or not. Au 
arrangement was made with Mr. Pope, the well 
known woolen manufacturer ot Cleveland, for 
scouring the wool. He (Greer) scut 25 unwashed 
fleeces Irom thorough-bred sheep, and 10 fleeces 
Irom grades, to Mr. Pope, uud the wool pro¬ 
duced alter scouring was 51 per cent ot the 
ormiual weight of unleashed wool from the pure 
blooded, and 58 per cent from the grades. Mr. 
Pope is a gentleman widely and favorably known, 
and his statements are regarded as ‘perfectly 
trustworthy and reliable. The wool growers 
after this feet were anxious to wash their sheep/ 
Mr, Kellog said the Ohio wool was lighter 
than New r l'brk wool. 
Mr. Ellis.—Borne fleeces will average tt pounds 
when in good condition, others welgu 4 pounds. 
There was no difficulty in washing wool, but the 
practice of letting the sheep run six weeks after 
washing was objectionable, because more extra¬ 
neous matter was collected in the fleece alter 
washing t han It contaiued before. He advised 
the wool to be clipped as eoou utter washing as 
the fleece became dry. in his own former prac¬ 
tice he had let sheep run ten days alter washing 
and then sheared; hut generally they had not 
run so long as t his. IJis sheep, kept in good 
store order, averaged from 8>/ to 3Jy pounds of 
w ool. 
Dr. Randall said there wore remarkably 
strong Inducements for farmers tu continue to i 
raise such sheep and to wash and shear in tills 
manner, when it appeared from Indisputable and ■ 
undisputed record that for the 35 years that * 
preceded this war, our light fleeced American j 
Baxony wool averaged iu market just seven and , 
a half cents more per pouud than our heavy 
fleeced American Merino wool, though t he latter 1 
weighed nearly twice as much to the fleece; and, 
all things considered, it perhaps did not cost • 
mom to grow the heavy fleece than the light 
mi p I ' I 
Mr. Greer gave un amusing account of the 
abandonment of Saxon Bheep by Mr. Hammond 
ofVt., when, With.a considerable lot of Buxon 
and American Merino wool, he found himself 
compelled to sell the former within three cents 
of the price ot the latter! 
Various other remarks of u rather desultory 
character were made, the Chair permitting this 
departure from the question us the Iasi regular, 
topic ol the evening had been discussed, aud us 
the members appeared tu be deeply interested 
in the replies wim h were made to their various 
iuterognioriec.. Finally, at quite a late hour in 
the evening, the Association adjourned stnedUi. 
Our thanks are due to the officers of the 
Society, Dr. Randall, D. D. T. Moore, and 
us- Editors Rural New-Yorker :—Having been 
a a reader of the Rural for the past year, I could 
iol not ' bu ^ no, ‘' ce that while our various domestic 
r’s auimals have had their advocates and friends, his 
ras hogship has been almost forgotten iu the eol- 
umns of your paper. From the silence of your 
,H. correspondents on this subject and the occasional 
to anathemas hurled against the whole race and 
x ' their friends, one would be led to think, were 
or there no other evidence, that the public mind 
ry had gone back to the old Mosaic laws, and lost 
->!• its taste for ham and eggs, sausages, etc., etc. 
‘”j But such is not the case, 1 assure you. A large 
iul majority of your readers not only retain their 
lie former inclinations for the above good things, 
. but. feel very much interested in the Improve- 
q, ment of the different breeds of hogs, and are 
re doing all they con Urriytrodueo new breeds that 
1U may tend to their hnpDjk’ftient. Amongst that 
Iiuinher l?ie wHtcrVpi^^^nself. 
>iy objt, t nc,e > “ , ' tl pving 
Ls ray experience . .iTi’ 5 e rent breeds, is not 
d f 0 mn< ’b to instruct others us to receive informa- 
ic tiou from the experience of others through the 
0 columns of the Rural, Amongst the various 
breeds that have claimed superiority, my expe- 
d rienee has been mostly confined to the Lei- 
n cestersbires, the Suffolks and Chester County 
d Whites. 
y The Leicertershlres I found in many respects 
e a very superior hog, taking on flesh readily and 
[ well for the amount of food consumed; but 
? they required age, and should be about eighteen 
months old before fattening for market; and 
when kept still longer I Jound them thriving 
i better, but to fatten at thf age of eight to ten 
1 months I found them not the thing with me; 
. they will not grow and latl’lt for the butcher at 
t the same time. This, to rrivniind, was an objec- 
■ tiou that I could not overUok. ‘ 
| So, at the first appcarailec of the Suffolks, I J 
was quite ready to wclcoBie them to my pen, ( 
thinking that I had found iu them oil the quaii- J 
. ties that were necessary for a perfect hog. Here t 
again I was disappointed; for, although they t 
have many good qualities,'.hey are not without -I 
their faults, even worse than the Leicestcrshires. 1 
One grout objection to this breed is their lack of f 
covering to protect them frtutt the scorching sun ' J 
of summer aud the cold of winter; often their 
skin will blister and erndk open — especially y 
when young—from the effects of the sun, which e 
to them is a very great injury. Again, they are a 
too small boned in many ewes, the strength of - s 
hone not being able to support the carcass, thus ,! 
breaking down before the owner is ready to * c 
market them. One other Objection I have to 11 
the Suffolks L. the soft, oily condition of the 1 
pork resembling that made! an bcachnutu. 
The Chester County Whiles I have kept for 0 
the last t wo years, und from v. hat I have learned 
of them in that time, I coniidcr them the best p, 
breed, all things included, that bus ever come m 
under my observation. Tilly are well covered D 
with hair, bone heavy tnot^lj to support car- fo 
cltss, wall fatten as well M the Suffolk when T1 
young, while at the same tlm if kept till proper 
age, they can be made to wfgb from 850 to 400 
pounds quite easy. The flesl ol this breed is of 
the best quality, the fat and .can being properly |y 
divided uud distributed. _i 
The above is briefly ray ixperience in part L. 
with the different breeds of jogs. I should he C. 
pleased to hear from others \ho have had expe- u - 
rienee iu this lino, for I thin. the hog question liJi 
worthy of fur more attention Ilian it has received f 
of late from writers in our Ag iculturol journals. me 
At the prices pork has born the past season, cie 
and is likely to bare for quite a time to come, 1 — 1 
know of no business t hat is ttorc worthy of the Slc 
attention of the Western farffer. 
Experience has taught rnaiy of us that the Rnt 
time lias co»c when wc must keep more stock 
aud sow less wheat. While tome are turning llK . 
their attention to sheep, others to cattle or p n 
horses, the more prudent aud wise, I think, are n 0 
mixing the thing up, not giving their whole Tn 
Wearing Stalks from the Cornfield. — In the 
t, Inrgo fields in the West this i6 no inconsiderable 
>f task. “Rural” in the Chicago Tribune, tells 
c how he docs it: — “ For this purpose we use a 
c railroad rail eighteen feet long. A chain is 
d attached to each end and Urns drawn over On¬ 
field, but always when the ground is frozen aud 
. the stalks dry. This will break most of them 
off at the surface. They are raked into wiu 
rows by the use of a large rake, the head of 
which is some eight feet long. This is placed 
- behind a wagon and balanced over the hind 
axle by a large pole inserted into the head, so 
that it can he readily dumped when sufficiently 
a filled. Stalk fields that have been fed down 
i through the winter can be plowed without 
1 much trouble, and seldom need raking over. 
- We never allow cattle in our stalk fields* in the 
n inter, A6 the poaching of the soil by tramping 
v seriously injures it lor the next crop.” 
\ -4 bout Cms . — John Dalancy of Kane Co. ,111., 
i 1* informed that any good corn or wheat land 
l win g row P ea s — that they may be sown as soon 
as the frost is out of the ground, or as late ns the 
last of May. Two crops are often raised on the 
same ground by sowing early. Sowtwo to three 
' hu&licls per acre, depending upon variety and 
size of seed. They are most generally “ hooked 
up,” or rolled with a scythe. We have seen 
them raked np (pulled) into winrowa by using a 
strong revolving horse-rake. This should be 
done as soou as the peas are mature, and before 
the pods have become so dry as to crack easily. 
After raking, they may be left iu the winroivs 
until dry enough to thresh. Wc should think 
thirty bushels per acre a much larger yield than 
the crop averages. The ground should be rolled 
after seeding. Let our readers give their expe¬ 
rience with varieties. 
Cement for a Cistern. — J. B. McB., Canons- 
burg, Pa., asks for a cement for plastering a 
cistern, and how to mix and apply it. SayiThe 
used Robinson’s Hydraulic Cement ou a cistern, 
but it did not. harden. He docs not toll us 
whether his cement is applied to brick, stone or 
earth. The best way we know of to make a 
cistern cement, is to buy pure, fresh ground 
water-lime, and get good pure sand. Use equal 
parts of each if it is to he applied to earth, mix 
but little at a time, and apply with a trowel at 
once. Some use one part lime ami two parts 
saud, where it is put on brick and stone. It 
iLouM 0,. ■> - — »—><-. ia JVC III ||,im. i, j, 
will scale off if the ft-oat gets to ii. 
Climatic Boundary of Sugar Bet Culture. — A 
gentleman who is a native of France lias recently 
written to a New York paper that the beet can- ! 
not be grown for sugar south of a certain cli¬ 
matic limit. In France, where he says this fact < 
has been established, its southern limit, is a little t 
north of the Olive tree region,— south of the ' 
Loire it is too warm for the beet to keep sweet 1 
and an important part of the saccharine matter 1 
is transferred into potash before the root attains ! 
Its complete maturity. The writer does not 1 
attempt to define the southern limit, in this 8 
country. r 
Tms region has just been visited by the greatest 
flood known since the settlement of the country. It 
commenced up the Genesee Valley on Thursday, and 
reached its height here ou Friday night and Saturday 
forenoon. The Genesee river was overflown, the 
water at ScottevUlc reaching three feel higher than 
ever before known. In consequence the Valley and 
Rochester wore Inundated—bridges, buildings, fences 
and in many instances horses, cattle, sheep and other 
animals, being swept invayl Many of the principal 
streets of tho city were submerged from two to six 
feet, and lu some the current was so rapid that boats 
were swamped while their occupants wore endeavor¬ 
ing to rescue people and property. 
The loss has of course been immense—so great that 
it cannot at present he estimated with nuy accuracy, 
in the city the undermining and falling or sweeping 
away of buildings with their contests, mid loss of 
goods lu dwellings, stores. Ac., especially 111 base¬ 
ments -the destruction of sidewalks, pavements, Ac., 
—are among Lhe prominent features of the flood. 
But there Iirb been much suffering during the trying 
ordeul. Thousands of people passed sleepless nights 
and weary days in bouses partially inundated or sur¬ 
rounded by water, and many had neither fuel nor pro¬ 
visions, Many were relieved by venturesome men in 
boats, yet tho anxiety and suffering must have been 
great iu numerous Instances. 
The calamity is a great one, and now (Monday) as 
Lhe water is subsiding we can begin to realize the 
damage to our beautiful City and Valley. It is fearful 
to contemplate, though It is believed but one or two, 
if any, human lives were lost. But we will cot dwell 
on the subject, though wo could All pages of this 
paper with interesting incidents, lmlr-breadthescapes, 
Ac. The cause of tho calamity to the city Is attribu¬ 
table to tlm contraction of the natural channel of the 
river by buildings and bridges, and the washing away 
of the cauat banks, allowing the river torrent to pass 
into the canals and thcuco over a large portion of the 
city and its suburbs. 
The press rooms of the several newspaper offices 
were submerged for two days, and could hardly be 
reached by boats. The Rural office, opposite the 
Court House, could only be visited by boats on Satur¬ 
day, and of course all labor was suspended. The first 
Bide of this paper which should have been put to press 
on Fridaynoou, wae not on the press until Monday, 
and hence there w ill lie some delay in issuing, though 
we hope to be nearly up to time. 
Tho railroads have of course been obstructed and 
communication severed. The Central R. R. bridge 
over the Genesee iu this city was swept away, aud 
several bridges and culverts are down on both branch¬ 
es of the road east,—between here and Syracuse. Tho 
Genesee Valley and Erie railroads have suffered 
much greater damage then the Central. We are in¬ 
formed that the Valley road (from this city to Mt. 
Morris, Corning, Ac.,) cannot be put In running order 
for several weeks. 
— The flood has caused much damage in other parts 
of rbl- 8 tnle «« wc learn by telegraph 
~,l ^exchanges, b-t we can give no particulars 
gflrmitturnl 
New England Ao. Society.— The annual meeting 
of this Society was held March 2 d. The Treasurer’s 
Report showed unpaid bills, $ 3,479 &t, on account ol 
the Springfield exhibition, which ware at the expense 
of the guarantors, and wifi leave $1, 8 (X) of membership 
feeB etUl In the treasury. A nominating committee of 
two from each of the six New England States was ap¬ 
pointed, who reported the following list of officers; 
President—Hon. George B. Louing or Salem, Mass! 
Flee Prtsle.— S. L. Goodale, Saco, Me.; Frederick 
Smyth, Manchester, N\ II.; Henry Clark, Pultnoy, Vi.; 
T, 3. Gold, West Cornwall, Conn.; Ammoi Sprague 
Cranston, R. I.; William II. Priucu, Northampton, 
Mass. Secy.— Chas. L. Flint, Boston. Treas. Isaac 
K. Gage, New Hampshire. Also five Trustees ftoru 
each State. The Constitution of the Society was 
amended tu provide for the election or an assistant 
Secretary and assistant Treasurer to be residents in 
the State in which the Annual Exhibition may be 
located. On motion, the trustees were empowered, if 
in their judgment they deemed it proper, to hold an 
exhibition next fall. 
The Wheat Crop.— Contrary to the anticipations 
of many the wheat crop presents a fine appearance. 
J'ii. Fresldenl of lh»N. Y. 8 tata Ag Society, iron. T. 
C. Peters of Genesee, who called upon us to-day 
(March 20 ) ou liis way east, says the wheat looks bet¬ 
ter than it has at the same season for many years. 
The Indications are certainly very favorable, but it is 
yet too early to make positive assertions, us the crop 
is liable to injury by heaving. Tlie freezings and 
thawings of the next three weeks may possibly affect 
it seriously, though the gronud has settled so rapidly, 
and is so free from frost, that little damage Is likely to 
result. Til* prospect is that we shall haw JtJUle frost 
and an early spring, iu which cii-o the wheat will es¬ 
cape tlie injury so generally feared. A larger breadth 
of land wae seeded to wheat lust rail in this cereal, 
growing region, than in any previous season for a de¬ 
cade or more of years. It may be proper to add that 
the wheat on drained lands was seeded in much better 
condition than that on the uudraiued, and now pre¬ 
sents far the finest appearance. 
Choice of States. —A. F. 11., Prydcn, N. Y.: There 
is no one man, nor dozen meu, living whocau tell you 
“Which or the three States-Missourl, Iowa, Minne¬ 
sota—offer the best tudneements to emigrants who 
wisli to make agriculture and horticulture their busi¬ 
ness." In any one of them there are good opportuni¬ 
ties for securing success that ought to satisfy any man. 
The best way to settle such questions Is to go aud 
look ami judge for yourself. We have no space to 
give to free advertisements from land agents in these 
Butes. 
Applyino Manure to Fall-Plowed Lands.—H ow 
will ii. do lu spread manure on fall-plowed lands, which 
are to be planted or seeded in the spring? A:* labor is 
- * . 7 7 ’ ♦ *10 iciuur is 
very scarce aud Inch, It will la-lp along the sprin" 
work so to have It duue. - J. II. II., Smith vide, N. Yf 
Delaware Co. Ao. Society. — President — IHram 
Olm.-tbad, Walton. Flo; Prests.— O, A. Frost, Delhi; 
Alex. Stone, Bovina; E. M. Smith, Meredith; ll.O, 
Hawley, Hamden; M. 8 . Kellogg, Franklin; W. g, 
Foote, Hobart; Ralph Dewy; Sidney. Sec. Ckc.-E. 
M. Kellogg, Franklin. Cor. See. — Porter Frisbee, 
Delhi. Treas. — George W. Hanford, Walton. The 
foregoing officers were elected the 4th of January, 'Co. 
The next Fair of this Society will be held tin the 20 ih, 
87tli and 88 th days of September next at Walton. 
It will do well so to apply manure, especially if it 
has bceu well composted, or Is line. We should not 
apply coarse manure In that manner to plowed lauds. 
“ Gun Young Folks."— E. M., Blair, Mich., wishes 
us to give the price of this excellent magazine for 
young people. It is $2 a year, us several times adver¬ 
tised in the Rural. People should read the advertise¬ 
ments before asking us such question*. 
CiiAUTAuquK Co. Cheese Manufacturers' Asso¬ 
ciation.— This Is the name of un organization recent¬ 
ly effected. The following are its officers: President 
—Calvin Hutchinson, Frcdoula. Rios Prists.—l)r. 
L. ('lark, Gerry; AsahelBurnham, Arkwright; Henry 
C. Sossions, llamlet; J. F. Ilurlbut, ForcBtville; D. 
11. Gouldltg, Sheridan. Secy.— L. Courtney Baldwin, 
Laoiui. Treat. Olmnncoy Abbey, Arkwright, 
Buuson s Bi.sukr. —S. Thompson: We do not know 
where this binder is now manufactured. Judging by 
inquiries received, it would pay the proprietors to let 
their whereabouts be known through our advertising 
columns. 
Illinois State Fair for 1865.—Tho Illinois Stbte 
Fair is to be held at Cliieago, on the grounds of the 
Chicago Driving Park Association, September 4th to 
Oth inclusive. 
St. Josei-h Co. (Mien.) An. Society.—A t. the annual 
meeting of this Society tlie following officers were 
elected: President— Henry Tkaot,S tnigls. Secretary 
— Lewis Talbot, Centerville. Treasurer- Edmund 
Steers. Directors—J. W. Botsford, Pawn River; Jno. 
Lomison, Sark; J. B. Dimick, Florence; Win. C.Bry¬ 
ant, Burr Oak; N. S. Johnson, Mention. 
To Prevent Wkdoks Rkboundinu.—“ A Wood¬ 
man ” writes that he insert's some dry hark iu the spot 
from which a wedge has bouuded, aud thereafter it 
sticks. 
Sizino for Floous.—W ill you, or some one of your 
readers, inform me of a mixuire that may be applied 
to old rough floors, before pututlug, to prevent tho ab¬ 
sorption ot so much oil?— Mrs. A. W. D. 
Tabor (Iowa) Au. Society.— At the annual election 
the following persons were elected officers for 1865 . 
President— John II. Hunter, yiee Proste— Ilcli W. 
Howard, James K. Gaston. Secy.—8. P. McCormick. 
Treas.—A. C. Gastou. 
Write Guinea Fowls,—C an you, or some of your 
correspondents, inform me where 1 can procure white 
Guinea fowls y H, a. Hunt. 
Flax \\ heels Wanted.—C an you inform me where 
Flax Wheels arc manufactured -M. M, F., Qrten- 
bush y Mich. 
