rrURE 
rttTgRIcultu.^f -■ 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 1865, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGIN AX WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
society and every social circle would decide that 
he had no tastes that decent people were bound 
to respect—a dietetic outlaw! And yet farmers, 
who some how contrive to pass for sensible men, 
do precisely a similar thing: do they not keep 
cattle on stalks, sheep on hay, and hogs on corn 
for weeks and months together? That this is 
in defiance of the just demands of the appetite, 
is beyond all controversy. 
All domestic animals, without exception, like 
variety. Give them the opportunity and they 
will pass from one place to another, cropping as 
they go — now they take a few bites of the fresh 
grass, now they try the quality of such shrub¬ 
bery as comes in their way, now they look wist¬ 
fully over the garden fence, and if they conclude 
to go in, they nibble a little at the beets, take a 
share of the melons, pass the onions in disgust, 
and tarry long among the sweet corn and cab¬ 
bage—beating a precipitate retreat on their own¬ 
ers approach, they rest awhile from their labors; 
towards evening they resnmc the circuit of the- 
fields to try in turn every variety of grass—low¬ 
land, upland, green, dry, long, short —stopping 
to crop the ripe pigeon grass with its rich seeds, 
they espy a bush hitherto hid by a stump in the 
fence corner; having Uuished that, they move 
quietly homeward to gratify again, on the mor¬ 
row, that love of variety implanted by our com¬ 
mon Creator in both man und beast, and which 
has the authority of a God-given principle. 
Are we at liberty to neglect this principle, and 
can we, with impunity V If we will not minister 
to this love of variety, the appetite fails, the 
requisite supply of nourishment Is not taken, a 
loss of condition fcueeoodH, (KiniiA^nonUy u loss 
of vital energy followed In many cases by pre¬ 
mature death. 
Admitting the animal to remain in fair condi¬ 
tion upon one kind of food, which is as much as 
wc have any right to expect, rapid growth and 
improvement is next to impossible, and upon this 
the profit upon stock frequently depends. What 
is required to merely keep them along is pretty 
much lost, while a proper variety of nutritious 
food would secure high condition, an early mar¬ 
ket, and a high price. 
It is not, however, merely a question of appe¬ 
tite— or rather the appetite is but the exponent oj' 
the animal's necessities. That wonderful organism, 
a living hod} - , that blends life and intelligence 
with dull matter, requires varied nourishment 
for its varied nu mbers. The hair, the skin, the 
bones, the muscles, fat and flesh differ in their 
component parts, as In the offices they perform. 
It is but reasonable to suppose that so complex 
and diversified a structure would contain ele¬ 
ments not abundantly supplied in a single article 
of food. If they are so supplied, why was such 
a variety created ? Why are our botanical cata¬ 
logues so bulky? Why such an endless profu- 
alone, (with plenty of good hay,) or in combina¬ 
tion with Indian meaL 
Mijcb cows do exceedingly well on the 6 Ugar 
beet; they are also excellent feed for calves the 
first fall and winter. The calf will gnaw them 
with seemingly as much satisfaction as a child 
does a lump of sugar. 
Boiled or steamed, tho sugar beet is good feed 
for pigs. A year ago our corn crop having 
failed, we wintered some small shoats mostly on 
them, and they flourished finely. Horses and 
sheep, after getting acquainted with the beet, 
become fond of it. 
The “White Rose Top’ is a very handsome, 
long, smooth beet, grows rbout one-third out of 
ground, and tapers from thence to its rosa 
crown. This variety will, I think, yield about 
one-third more to the acre 'ban the “ Imperial,” 
and about as much as the coarser mangel wur- 
zel. It is very sweet, but la flesh is softer, and 
is, therefore, eaten by stock readily without 
cutting up. It is a pleasnr: to see the 11 bounti¬ 
ful milker ” express her gratitude as the master 
approaches with one or twe mammoth speci- 
row around the first close to the outside rows. 
This leaves the beets exposed and easy to he 
pulled The team now passes to the next land, 
and the men proceed to pull and throw the beets 
Into a win row, following the team from land to 
to land. After having commenced a sufficient 
number of lands to keey the team and hands at 
work without waiting one for the other, com¬ 
mence again ut the first land and plow two or 
more farrows until the next row of beets is 
exposed and so on to the next as before, the 
hands following up. Thus when the crop is out, 
the land will have all been plowed. 
After digging as many as can bo stored away 
for the day, hitch to the wagon, drive along side 
of the winrows of beets and throw them into it, 
knocking off the dirt by thumping one against 
the other. Draw to the cellar, or place of stor¬ 
age, and dump in a pile. While part of the 
hands go with the team, the others may be cut¬ 
ting off tops and storing away. In this way, if 
the crop is good, three or four men can harvest 
200 bushels in a day. E. Holt. 
Wheaton, H!„ March. 1865. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE 
To Correspondents. — Mr. Randall’s address is 
Cortland Village, Cortland Co., N. Y. All communica¬ 
tions intended for this Department, and all inquiries 
relating to sheep, should be addressed to him as above. 
HENRY S. RANDALL, LL. D., 
Editor of the Department of Sheep Husbandry. 
SPECIAL CON'l'RLB'tn'OBS : 
P. BARKY, C. DEWEY, LL. D., 
H. T. BROOKS, L. B. LANGWOTHY, 
T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Tub Rural New - Yokkkb u designed to be unsur¬ 
passed in Value, Purity, and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor 
devotes hie personal attention to the supervision of Its 
various departments, and earnestly labors to render t^e 
Rusal an eminently Reliable Guide cm all the important 
Practical, Scientific and other Subjects tnlUuately 
connected with the business of those whose interests It 
zealously advocates. As a Family Journal It is emi¬ 
nently instructive and Entertaining—being 30 conducted 
that it can be safely taken to the Homes of people of 
Intelligence, taste aud discrimination. It embraces more 
Horticultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary and News 
Matter, interspersed with appropriate Engravings, than 
any other Journal,—rendering it far the most complete 
Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper In 
America. 
PAULAS MERINO PEDIGSEES. 
A press of matter from correspondents—al¬ 
ready deferred too long, to make room for the 
proceedings of the meetings of the New York 
State Sheep Breeders’ und "Wool Growers’ Asso¬ 
ciation, and of its Executive Board—will prevent 
us, for a week or two, from laying before our 
readers the proofs on which rest the pedigrees 
of the Paular Merino Sheep of the United States. 
In the meantime, we hesitate not to express the 
opinion that these proofs will be found as direct 
and reliable as those on which rest the pedigrees 
of any other sheep in our country, whether of 
fine or coarse wooled breeds. 
For the same reasons we defer some remarks 
on an article which appeared in the Country 
Gentleman, March 30th, and considerable other 
editorial matter. 
GLEANINGS FROM LETTERS AND PAPERS, 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page, 
Dwarf Broom Corn. — James Marford, Lick¬ 
ing Co., O., a broom manufacturer, writes the 
Rural that he finds the dwarf broom corn pref¬ 
erable to the larger variety lor several reasons : 
1 , It grows in a sheath and is not so liable to 
bend down. 2, It is a liner and tougher brush, 
more durable and easier worked. 3, The same 
hulk of it will make more and better brooms. 
.V,. -1 ybr .iintflL — A committee appointed 
by the Wisconsin State Sorghum Convention to 
examine and report upon varieties of Sorgho 
and Imphee, at the conclusion of their report, 
recommended ‘‘the growing of the large Sor 
ghum for the main crop;” and asserted that 
“the early Sorghum is valuable and almost 
indispensable to the grower and manufacturer, 
in order that the labor of securing the crop may 
be extended.” 
Importance of Care in Damsting Broom Corn .— 
A Licking Co. 0. correspondent of the Rural 
says the value of the brush of broom corn de¬ 
pends largely upon the manner in which it is 
saved. If allowed to stand until it is frost-bitten 
it is apt to be tender and black; but if gathered 
when the seed is in the milk state, it is much 
better. The length of the brush of any variety 
will depend upon the soil. It needs a good soil, 
but not too rich. 
Black Imphee Cane. —Some of the eane growers 
of Iowa and Wisconsin commend a variety of 
sugar cane highly, which they call the Black 
Imphee. It is said to make a thick, uniform 
sirup which keeps batter than the thinnersirups. 
it stands up better in the field than any other, 
and is softer and works better. It is also said to 
be sweeter aud better flavored. It is said by an 
Iowan to be fully four weeks earlier than Sor¬ 
ghum. It is thought to be a hybrid of other 
varieties, aucl uo one seems to know its origin. 
Heeling H hey to Swine, — On this subject a 
correspondent writes the Rural: — “I had a 
breeding sow in the year 1S62 that was fed 
exclusively on whey; she brought nine pigs, 
und all lived. I have fatteued hogs to weigh 
350 pounds on whey without one kernel of grain 
or meal. I think the reason hogs die when fed 
on whey is because they are kept so filthy. I 
know of several farmers who lost hogs last year 
because they were kept in a place so filthy that 
nothing could live iu it.” 
Fee.Wig Cows Whey. — An “Otsego County 
Farmer” writes the Rural that he believes 
feeding whey to cows decidedly beneficial; 
keeps a diary of 50 cows, feeds whey, aud bus 
never seen any had effects therefrom. He never 
made over 450 pounds of cheese per cow in a 
season before he commenced feeding whey, hut 
since has made 500 pounds. Feeds Iiu pails of 
whey aud a pint of shorts per cow per day. 
Has cows ten years old, which have always been 
feed whey, and their teeth are perfectly sound. 
English Blue Grass.—Q. B. Ryall : — We do 
not know what you mean by English Blue Grass. 
If you mean the Kentucky Blue Grass, or our 
Juue Grass of the North — l\\x pratensis — we 
tbiuk you can find seed enough for seeding 12 
acres at any of the larger establishments adver¬ 
tising with us. It should only he sown where 
permanent pasture is desired, because it does 
not get well established under two or three 
years. Stock is not allowed on it the first year 
after seeding, where it is sown extensively. It 
should be sown early in spring. Three or four 
quarts ot seed per acre are usually sown. 
CONDENSED CORRESPONDENCE, ITEMS. &c 
The “Imperial White” ift believe, so far as 
experiments have been m.,Tc in this country, 
the best beet from which t ? manufacture sugar. 
The prospect is that mals; sugar from "the 
beet will, at tho North, p v pasine^s 
at half, or even one-thin..r'cr^Psent price of 
that article. 
Culture —The greatest difficulty I have found 
in cultivating the beet is, that if sown late and 
the season proves dry, the young plants are apt 
to be eaten up, as soon as they appear, by a little 
black bug or flea. 
For this reason I prefer to plant early in May, 
bnt have grown good crops planted us late as 
Juno. Choose a rich piece of ground, snob as 
will produce good corn, an-. if the crop is de¬ 
signed for stock, the Und can hardly be too 
rich; but if for sugar, I should prefer a clay 
loam, dry, or well drained, aid moderately rich. 
The ground should have bein fall plowed, and 
just before planting, plow njfln Jine and deep. 
If the ground is quite dry. I usually go over it 
with a harrow and roller, 'hen mark ono way. 
I use a marker made by n iling thin strips or 
shoes across a wide plank Uo feet and a half or 
three feet apart, bolt on a ( ague pole, and put 
weight ou the marker suf.cient to keep the 
hack edge of tho plank stag to the ground, 
thus leveling down all iiujtuilitics of surface 
and leaving tho marks behinl smooth and dean. 
The marks should bo very shallow, as there is 
danger of getting too man soil on the seed, 
either when planting, or by heavy rains. Plant 
immediately after marking. Put three or four 
seeds in a place and brush alitUe soil over with 
the foot, stepping on each hi 1. The hills should 
be about fifteen inches apart in the rows. 
The beet, in order to prod tee good crops and 
fine specimens, must have jlenty of room, and 
it is much easier to cultiva e and harvest one 
root weighing from five to lifteen pounds than 
half a dozen small oues. 
In dropping the seed, especially if it is windy, 
I And it very convenient to use a tube to drop 
through (a piece of old e; 
MIXING DIFFERENT KINDS OF FEED 
Letting Oct Sheet vs. Managing them, Ax.— 
Charles L. Pease, Elba, Genesee Co., N. Y, wishes 
to know if sheep can be let iu the W esteru States for 
half the wool and half the increase. Such bargain-* we 
are informed, are often made in the far West, and 
enormously profitable as they are to the sheep owner, 
(if be can let to careful, responsible men.) the persou 
taking them, it is thought, does tnnch better than he 
would not to take them — provided he is not in a situ¬ 
ation where he can purchase sheep. Bnt after all If 
we were a young, energetic sheep farmer, " 31 years 
old," and determined to cast our iot and part among 
the great free sheep walks of the West, we should 
prefer to keep aud manage onr own sheep, until they 
increased beyond ou r power to do so. Then we would 
lei the surplus to good men, if wo could find them. It 
does not cost half tho fleece and half tho increase to 
keep sheep where the summer pasturage is free, and 
where corn for winter fodder grows as It does in oar 
Western States. Mr. Pease's ideas as to a proper 
western locality strike us as very sound. The articles 
referred to by ns on western sheep management, writ¬ 
ten by Hem. Mr. Grinnell of Iowa, and by Mr. Boakd- 
man of Logan Co., II!., will be found in the first annu¬ 
al Report or the Commissioner of Agriculture. Let 
Mr. P. write to the Congressman of his district to 
send it to him. 
avt-trough will do,) so 
I can stand erect, holding the tube in the left 
hand, drop with the right, laving the seed tied 
to the waist in an open bap. 
To prevent weeds from getting any start, I go 
through the rows with a boo. skimming the sur¬ 
face close to the plants as sjoil as they appear. 
If the ground is likely to be weedy it is best at 
the same time to go between the rows with a 
hoe or fine-toothed cultivator, 
Iu the course of a week op two, just after 
ruin, if it comes in time, the plants should be 
thinned to one in a hill. This jart of the work 
is somewhat tedious, but cau be gotteu along 
with pretty fast. The rest of tie work is easy, 
aud if there is qno plaut iu each hill, aud but 
ono, the prospect for a large erbp is easy to be 
realized. The rest of the cultivating consists in 
hoeing oftcu enough to preveqt weeds iu tho 
rows, and keep the ground mtllow by going 
through every few days with aJcultivator. 
Harvesting.—I usually harvest the last of Octo¬ 
ber or ihe first of November. This I accom¬ 
plish, if the crop is extensive, atd three or four 
men are at work, by dividing flic piece iuto a 
number of narrow lands, then plow a deep fur- 
THE SUGAR BEET 
VARIETIES, USE, CULTURE, AC. 
Gold Daor.— In the brief notice of Mr. Hammond’s 
Gold Drop, accompanying his portrait, which we pub¬ 
lished a few weeks since, we stated that his owner had 
reftised $10,000 for him, A correspondent, whose 
name we omit — because he evidently did nut unde 1 - 
stand who made themselves responsible for tin* above 
assertion, and therefore intended no impertinence, 
asks whetherjthis storyha true, or whether it is a "hum¬ 
bug?” That price was offered for the ram, bona fid 
by F. H. Dean and H. F. Dean, the well known 
breeders of Merinos, of We9t Cornwall, Vt. 
Malcom.— The gentleman who under this signature 
wrote the article some time since published by ns, on 
Sheep Lauda in Nebraska, and wffiose name has been 
so often called for by the readers of this paper, we are 
now allowed to say is the Rev. Samuel Acghey, 
Pastor of the Lutheran Church, Dakota City, Ne¬ 
braska. 
in 
Si 
iSUlSUB'l U 
