FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, OCTOBER 
MOOEE’S EUE^L EEW-TOEKEE, 
AX ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
HENRY 8. RANDALL, LL, D., 
Editor of the Department of Bheep Husbandry. 
E. BARRy, C. DEWET, LL, D., 
H. T. BROOKS, L. B. LANGWORTUT, 
T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
Tn* Rural New-Yoekke is designed to bo unsur¬ 
passed lh Value. Purity, and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful in A. P p earRtl0ei Conductor 
devoces ms personal attention to the supervision of Its 
various departments, and earnestly labors to render the 
Rural an eminently Reliable Guide on all the Important 
Practical, Sclentlllc and other Subjects Intimately con¬ 
nected with the business of those whose Interests It 
zealously advocates. As a Family Journal it U eml- 
nently Instructive and Entcrtabitop-belMr so conducted 
that It can he safely taken to the Homes or rrople of 
intelligence, taste and discrimination, It embraces more 
Horticultural, Scicntlflc, Educational, Literary and News 
Matter, Interspersed with appropriate Kngra vine*, than 
any other Journal,-rendering it far the most complete 
Agricultural, LutrrabT and Family Newscai-ks 
in America. 
Lit-iting me land get foul with weeds makes 
the cultivation more costly, and abstracts fer¬ 
tility that should go to the making of crops. 
Neglecting the shelter of tools and timely 
impairs buildings. They will thereby rot and 
make it necessary to employ more capital to re¬ 
place them, and further dividing the profits. 
Raising and feeding poor breeds of stock that 
consume as much food, require as much care as 
good ones, and sell finally for less money. 
Selling coarse grains Instead of feeding them 
with straw and hay, thereby decreasing the profit 
of feeding the latter, and diminishing surely the 
average fertility of the farm. 
Raising tobacco or any special crop that re¬ 
quires on a small piece of ground all the manure 
that the whole farm makes. 
Not having a well-matured system, or rota¬ 
tion, by which the farming maybe conducted 
for many years in advance. 
Timidity in expending money in valuable and 
paying improvements, especially underdraining 
where it will be of great benefit. When thor° 
ougbly dono there Is no permanent improve- 
luciu-Dxi tuc moneyit locus, Luut sausucs 
a man IL n this, when be6ces its results. 
Neglecting to keep a complete book account 
of expenses and receipts, in short, of all the 
business of the farm. The United States Inter¬ 
nal Revenue officers will teach us the value of 
such an account in a few years. 
Briefly, there is full scope and nlav in success¬ 
es^ For Terms and other particulars, see last paze. 
ORN HEIFER “ARZIE.” 
Hollow, Dutchess County, X. Y. Got by Royal 
Oxford, (18774.) Dam, Agnes, by Lord Brawith, 
(10465)—g, d. Alva, by Amateur, (3007)—g. g. d. 
April Daisy, by Beltshazzar, (1703)—g. g. g. d. 
by Abraham, (2D05)—g. g. g. g. d. by SimoD, 
(5134)—g. g. g, g. g. (i. by y oung George, 1 3885) 
—S- g. g- g- g. g. d. by (276.) 
UNPROFITABLE FARMING, 
If we were to leave off the first two letters of 
onr title, wc suppose it would be more attractive 
to the majority of our readers. Vtj like best to 
read about and study operations that pay — that 
increase our possessions. But it cannot be de¬ 
nied that very many have a different result 
Every man of middle age can find in the record 
of his business career some instances, in a pecu- 
inary view, of unsuccessful operations. These 
instances, as well as those of successful efforts, 
form part of what we term experience, and are 
valuable teachers when we plan what we intend 
to accomplish in the future. It is pleasing to 
think on schemes that ended triumphantly, but 
it may be more profitable to heed the warning 
conveyed by those thut terminated disastrously. 
Especially beginners in farming, whether com¬ 
ing from other pursuits, lured by the charms of 
the Rural Art, and bringing age and capital as 
their aids, or young men, just choosing their 
avocation, should beware of engaging largely in 
unusual and untried methods of farming. 
Experiment on a small scale should pioneer 
the heavy investment of Capital and Labor. In 
a farming community, a disastrous venture in a 
fancy line taints the soundness of one's reputa¬ 
tion for Judgment and reliability, and the odor 
can scarcely be dispelled by years of sober suc¬ 
cess. In the widest sense it may be wise and 
profitable to indulge in a moderate amount of 
fancy farming. We may call it experiment, and 
count It worth the cost if it prove a failure. 
And that is true, If it docs not absorb too much 
capital, or divert the farming from a well estab¬ 
lished and hitherto profitable course. But the 
majority of successful farmers uro made so by 
the steady adherence to the system of raising 
. uimais, nut they are freqiTontly furrowed and 
the grass roots often laid bare by surface 
washing. 
In this country we are no longer at liberty to 
waste our fertilizing elements. Impoverishing 
processes have proceeded 4 uite as far as a de¬ 
cent regard to onr agricultural responsibilities 
should permit. A very nn.t Jrial saving may be 
effected by cutting a channel halfway down our 
hills and slopes which shall control whatever 
surface water may flow Into it; in most cases 
this water could bo conducted on to some com¬ 
paratively level pasture or meadow where it 
could be detained for irrigating purposes. 
Frequent channels would seriously impede 
plowiug and cultivation, bat steep hill-sides 
should seldom or never be plowed, and on gen¬ 
tle slopes It is better to he troubled with occa¬ 
sional open drains than to do worse. This 
washing of the surface makes about alt the dif- 
terenco between onr sterile hill-sides and oar 
fertile plains. I mast not omit to add that 
nnderdramiug by passing muh of the water 
through the soil and thence awtv under the sur¬ 
face operates beneficially in a Very high degree. I 
I go for underdraining for this, if for no other 
reason.— h. t. b. 
C0TSW0LDS vs. MERINOS, FOR WOOL 
GROWING. 
b., Ltjca, N. Y., writes to us: 
" 1 disappointed at the result of the New York 
scouring test. The Merinoe produce leas scoured 
woo! than 1 had been led to expect. And on the 
contrary, the Cot6 wolds produced more. Mr. Gaz- 
lky s ewe produced considerably more scoured wool 
than any of the Merinos. The Cotawolds exceed the 
Merinos tn mutton; why then are they not the best 
sheep for wool growing purposes ? ” 
We cannot answer for what onr correspondent 
I bas “been led to expect,” but we had supposed 
that ‘’the New York scouring test” had resulted 
very triumphantly for the Merinos! Will “B.” 
tarn back to onr remarks aud figures on this 
subject iu an article headed “ Weight of Cleansed 
Fleeces,” published Sept. 2d. He will there see 
1, thut the prime American Merinos of the pres¬ 
ent day yield one li undred per cent, more cleansed 
wool than did their ancestors at the time of their 
importation from Spain; 2, that they yield far 
more cleansed wool than did the best American 
Merinos of twenty years ago; 3, that the Merino 
fleeces, scoured under the direction of the New 
York 8heep Breeders’ and Wool Growers’ Asso¬ 
ciation, (which are the ones referred to by our cor¬ 
respondent,) were mostly taken from sheep that 
had not more than half attained their growth. 
Eight of the fittcen were yearlings , six two-year 
olds, and oue four years old. And the last, the 
only mature sheep in the lot, was undersized. 
If the Cotawolds “ produced more” than “B.” 
expected, it only shows that he is not acquainted 
with the breed. Mr. Gazlet had those on the 
ground which would have far outshom the ewe 
selected for the test. She, too, was but a year¬ 
ling, and was selected, like the Merinos, not with 
SURFACE WASHING, 
Whoever will inspect a plowed field with an 
uneven surface, after or during a hard rain, will 
be surprized at the amount of soil carried off by 
the water. Sometimes deep channels are cut, 
and always, when the ground is mellow, the 
liner parts are removed by flowing water. I 
witnessed a new phase oi this washing and im¬ 
poverishing process during a heavy shower 
which overtook me the other day in the woods. 
I was on a gentle slope that extended quite a 
distance. When the rain reached its height the 
leaves uud some of the leaf mould began to 
move, uud in the course of their descent the 
waters and the floating materials increased in 
volume aud force, till they swept every light 
thing before them. I at once saw that, if this 
forest should stand ten thousand years, and 
draw sustenance trom the atmosphere to grow 
leaves aud timber and drop them on the surface, 
they would be carried dowu to fertilize other 
soils, or be lost in some watery depth. 
It occurred to me that if channels should be 
cut, say at intervals of twenty or thirty rods 
along the side of the slope, so as to desceud 
gently and terminate in one lurgu ditch, running 
up and dowu the hill, that the flow of water over 
the general surface would be greatly diminished, 
and the amount of soli and fertilizing material 
carried off very much lessened. 
The larger the volume of water, and the 
greater the force of the current, the more valu¬ 
able material is removed. By passing the water 
Into Channels, so constructed as to prevent the 
MAKE FARM LIFE 
*• Bv 1068 hard w °rk. F■'•rimers often under¬ 
take more than theycan do well.md consequently 
work too early and too late. 
A By more system. The farmers should 
have a time to begin and (flip labor. Tfaev 
should put more mind and maetinery into their 
work. They should theorize as .veil as practice, 
and lot both go together. Facing is healthy 
moral and respectable; and il the long run 
may be made profitable. Thd farmer should 
keep good stock and out of defct. The farm is 
the best place to begin and end No, and hence so 
many in the cities and professiotal life covet a 
rural home. 
3. By taking care of^he dth. Farmers have 
healthy variety of exercise, but oo often neg- 
lect cleanliness, omit bathing, -at Irregularly 
and hurriedly, sleep in ill-ventllat A apartments, 
and expose themselves to cold. Sine tenth*'of 
the human diseases arise from coll or intemper¬ 
ance. Frequent bathing is 
heavy fleece, but simply au unnsually heavy 
fleece in proportion to wight of carcass — that 
being the test established on this occasion. As 
we have again and again explained, a small 
sheep has more surface in proportion to weight, 
for wxxtl to grow on , than a large sheep, and oon- 
sequently if the length and density of the fleece 
are the same, the small sheep must always >e 
victorious in such a contest. 
In Ohio a different test was adopted-—the prize 
being offered for the heaviest scoured fleece, 
irrespective (aa we understand it) of weight of 
carcase. This muBt necessarily call out the 
largest fleeces. The Ohio scouring test, there¬ 
fore, will show a very different result—and toe 
shall learn what large, full grown Merinos produce. 
a. ny auormng the home. Not lug is lost bv 
a pleasant borne. Books, papers, j ftures, music 
and reading should all be brought t Dear upon the 
Indoor family entertainments; ant neatness and 
comfort, order, shrubbery, ttowe* and fruits 
should harmonize all without, tome should 
be a sanctuary, so happy and holy that children 
will love It, women delight in It, manhood 
crave ft, an d old age enjoy it. There would be 
less desertions of old homesteads if pains wore 
taken to make them agreeable. Ease, order 
health aud beauty are compatible with farm 
llle, and were ordained to go with it — Hr 
P' A ' - ~ »--v« mumivji 
tk) But perhaps ho has abstracted it directly from 
J.f intrinsic value of his land. The farm may 
SrnsutjfT 
