Jculture 
Agriculture 
“ Gold Mine" oat of a ewe bred by Harwood, 
which was one-eighth of Pnulur Blood. 
The two-year old ewe “ Long Wool ” was got 
by “Gold Drop,” dam bred by E. Hammond. 
We have bred onr ewes to pare blood Infantado 
rams of Mr. Hamword's stock, some of which 
we bought of him, and others bred onrselves. 
In 1S59 and 1860 we used Harwood’s “Sweep- 
stakes ” quite extensively. Onr dock now 
(April, 1365,) consists of seventy-two ewes and 
two yearling rams. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN OF.teiXAL WEAKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMIL NEWSPAPER. 
latter spread their mannre evenly over the field, 
and fertilize the knolls, by choosing them for 
their resting places during the night. But while 
horses are the hardest feeders, they are likewise 
the poorest fertilizers of the pasture in which 
they roam. 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
HENRY 8. RANDALL, LL, D., 
Editor or the Department of Sheep Husbandry, 
he*p piusBaalt 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORSI 
P. BARKY, C. DEWEY, LL, D., 
H. T. BROOKS, L. B. LANGWOKTHY, 
T. C. PETERS, EDWARD WEBSTER. 
The Rural Nkw-Toekrb Is designed to be unsur¬ 
passed in Value, Parity, and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful In Appearance. Its Conductor 
devotes ms personal attention to the supervision of its 
various departments, and earnestly labors to render the 
Rural an eminently Reliable Guide on al] the Important 
Practical. Scientific and other Subjects Intimately con¬ 
nected with the business of those whose Interests It 
zealously advocates. As u Family Journal It Is emi¬ 
nently Instructive and Entertaining—being so conducted 
that It can be safely talten to the Homes of people of 
Intelligence, taste and 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 
I n America. 
SDITSB 3 Y irSNKI S. RANDALL. LL. D. 
AUSTRALIAN WOOL EXHIBITION, 
N. & N. BOTTOM’S INFANTADO SHEEP, 
We learn from the Economist, published at 
Melbourne, Australia, that an “Intercolonial 
Exhibition of Merino Wool” took place at the 
wool stores of Messrs. Cunningham & Macre- 
die, Melbourne, in Jan., 1S65, on the following 
conditions: — The wool “ was to be divided 
into three classes, of which the first two were 
to determine the greatest value of sixty fleeces, 
whether washed or greasy; and the third was 
merely todetermine the highest value per pound. 
Eacn exhibitor had to state the time during 
which the wool had been growing; and as that 
exceded or fell short of twelve months, weight 
was deducted or added so as to put all the com¬ 
petitors on the same footing. Two bales were 
to be sent in for each class; one to be valued 
and afterwards sold by auction at Melbourne, 
the other to be sent to London to be valued 
and disposed of there.” 
The paper before ns, contains the reports of 
the Australian and London judges. We have 
not room for the tables of awards prepared by 
them, and shall only pick out a few frets which 
will possess most interest to American readers. 
We arc gratified to observe that the three flocks 
which are represented by sheep now in the 
United States,* stand high among the competi¬ 
tors. The Messrs. Learmonth drew the second 
prize on washed fleeces, and the first on un¬ 
washed, in Australia: and the same on washed, 
and the first on quality, in London. Mr. Shaw 
drew the second prize on unwashed in Australia, 
and the first In London. Mr. Currie obtained 
no prizes, but took a good 
standing among the compet¬ 
itors in all the classes at both 
places ol’ exhibition. 
a ir- -V-~- There are other diserepan- 
S 1 cies in the Australian and 
London awardsbesides those 
which above appear. There 
can be no doubt that each 
exhibitor made his fleeces 
which were to contend in the 
same class at the different 
places as near alike as he 
could, for the oriterions es- 
.. tablished in both cases were 
iff jgfej th e same. We entertain no 
doubt, therefore, that the 
want of correspondence in 
the awards is due as much 
— — at least to a non-concur¬ 
rence of opinions between 
the Australian and London judges as to a differ¬ 
ence in the wool. That both sets of judges 
j were disinterested in their action is made to 
appear from the fact that effectual precautions 
were taken to prevent their having any knowl¬ 
edge of the ownership of the different bales of 
wool. And we are bound to presume that in 
appointing judges for so important an occasion, 
| and in two of the greatest wool markets ot the 
world, none would be selected but persons 
equally eminent for skill and probity. We have 
called attention to these facts, and laid stress on 
them, for the especial benefit of a class of peo¬ 
ple at home, who, when their stock or products 
are beaten at a Fair, always charge favoritism or 
direct corruption on the awarding committees ! 
They cannot comprehend an honest difference of 
opinion; in other words, an honest dissent from 
their own opinious. 
The following will give our readers the product 
of some of the best Merinos of Australia, and 
the price obtained before exportation Jan. 12, 
1SC5,) by the grower for washed and unwashed 
wool of about the same quality. These furnish 
interesting points of comparison between sheep 
busbaudry in Australia aud the United States. 
We give the net weights of the bales from the 
Loudon tables (where they alone appear;) sup¬ 
ply the column of weights per head ourselves, 
(rejecting fractions of ounces ;) and take the 
other figures from the Australian tables. It 
* Dr. Kbnworthy’s . and his sheep were the pick 
of those flocks. 
Messrs Bottom of Skaftsbury, Yt., write to 
us: — In July, I 506 , we purchased of Edwin 
Hammond and Brother of Middlebury, Vt., 20 
yearling and one 2-year old ewe. In 1S52, Mr. 
FOOT-BATHING APPARATUS, 
roots enough to supply the lack in the frost¬ 
bitten and sour grass. 
That proper shelter and care have much to do 
in determining the profit of feeding, is so trite 
an observation that it seems useless to reiterate 
it. But the practice of neglecting these impor¬ 
tant requisites is equally trite. How large a 
proportion of the feeders of the country supply 
food and drink to their stock with clock-like reg¬ 
ularity,—keep them in clean, well ventilated, 
warm stables, furnish proper bedding; in short, 
surround them with all the circumstances that 
in any wise promote their thrift ? It has been 
demonstrated often that care and shelter alone 
will turn the balance from loss to profit. 
As au example of good feeding and it 6 results 
we cannot do better, at present, than to quote 
th® statement of Ml G. V. backbit, Seneca 
Falls. Tlilrteeu head of cattle were, on the first 
of September, put into pastures with good feed 
and running water. 
When the bath is removed, the foot should 
not be leit exposed to the a : . us the horn then 
quickly dries; it soon becomes harsh and brit¬ 
tle. When taken from the water the hoof 
should be encased in warm and air-proof band¬ 
ages, to retain the heat and prevent evaporation. 
To obtain the full benefit ol the bath the horse 
should enter it night and morning, and remain 
four hours each time. 
Lameness is one of the mou frequent diseases 
to which horses are subject . 1 Its cause is often 
not readily ascertained. Bit horsemen will 
readily perceive that when i' exists in the foot, 
this bath would be of gre 4,1130 in numerous 
Instances. 
HOW MUCH SHOULD CATTLE GAIN 1 
A correspondent from Lancaster, Po., in¬ 
quires if we cun inform him how much young 
cattle, from three to five years old, would prob¬ 
ably gain dnrlug five months of winter, if fed on 
good hay and from fonrto twelve quarts of meal 
per day. 
We do not propose to attempt giving a defi¬ 
nite answer to this ouestlon, but would prefer To 
give the replies of several practical feeders, and 
hope some of that class will favor us with their 
experience on this subject. And we will venture 
to assert that if fifty feeders should give us the 
actual results of fattening cattle, in definite fig¬ 
ures, verified by weight at the proper times, no 
two statements would coincide. So much will 
the various circumstances under which cattle 
are fed affect the general result. 
No other branch of farming requires more 
thorough knowledge, more sl(ill and judgment 
to be used, to attain the highest success, than 
does the fattening of 6 toc)c. If you put a dozen 
steers into the stable on the first day of winter, 
of nearly equal weight and condition, and feed 
them just alike for five months, it will be found 
on weighing them that some have gained much 
more than others—some have converted more 
of the food Into fat, others more into manure. 
This teaches the observant feeder that high suc¬ 
cess will depend very much on judicious selection 
of stock—he must got those that will convert a 
bushel of grain into the most meat. Again it is 
important for him to ascertain how much food 
each animal will consume with profit. Some 
feeders consider they are doing bestwhen they 
give a steer all the food its appetite demands. 
But experiments have shown that while an ani¬ 
mal may consume a certain quantity—say four 
quarts of meal per day—with profit, if the allow¬ 
ance be doubled, he will not increase in weight 
in proportion to the feed. 
“PRINCE OF GOLD DROPS." 
C. J. Benedict of Arlington, Vt.. purchased 
:15 ewes of the Hammond Brothers, and in the 
fall of 1850 we purchased two entire crops of the 
ewe lambs raised from them, 21 in number, la 
1857 we purchased of the late J. B. Harwood of 
Rupert, s ewes of puxre IIammond stock. Mr. 
Harwood made his purchases of Mr. Hammond 
in 1852, 1*53 and 1858. In the latter purchase 
was included the dam of Hammond’s “Sweep- 
stakes," and the dam ot Harwood’s “Sweep- 
stakes," which obtained the first prize at one 
WINTER CA 
ALTS. 
During the month of Octo¬ 
ber they were fed pumpkins which did not result 
to their benefit, as the owner thought, on ac¬ 
count of the effect of the seeds. During thembnth 
of November they were fed on the grass, one 
bushel each of roots per day. December third 
they were put into the stables and fed what hay 
they would eat, and twelve quarts ot corn meal 
ground with the cob, half in the morning and 
the rest at night. The first day of September 
the thirteen head averaged sixteen hundred and 
forty pounds each; the sixth day of February, 
when driven away they averaged nineteen hun¬ 
dred and seventy pounds each, having gained 
during that time three hundred and thirty 
pounds each. 
From this statement our correspondent may 
draw some inference of the probable result of 
good care and feeding. We should like com¬ 
munications from experienced men on this 
snbject. 
pasture through the summer. So when they 
are brought to the barn-yard, they must live 
at the straw stack, and on portions of fodder 
refused by other stock. Hstead of keeping 
their flesh and growing finely, they gradually fall 
away under this treatment. The coat becomes 
rough and staring; the ribs aid bones protrude; 
liee infest them, and often they have barely 
strength to totter to the ilebl vlieu grass grows 
again. This is a cruel and unprofitable way of win¬ 
tering colts. Their growth is checked and they 
never make as valuable auid lls as they would 
under more generous treatnunt. They do not 
gain strength and maturity so early, and conse¬ 
quently cannot be put tQ labor at so young an 
age, as If they had been veil kept. Their spirit 
is lessened, and frequently disease induced. 
The rule is, keep your colts thriving con¬ 
stantly until they are filly grown. They do 
not require food to fattci them like a steer, but 
to make muscle and hour. They should never 
be tied on a floor in a {table long at a time. 
Nor should they run in th? same yard with other 
stock among cattle, as Tluv are very liable to be 
gored, and when they it aster the cattle they 
drive them too mneh. They should not be tol¬ 
erated at all with sheep. If you wish to confine 
them in a stable, the bestway is to give them as 
much room as possible aofi not tie them. Give 
them the earth for floors, ind litter it plentifully 
with straw. Two or thru*, or more, colts may 
be kept together, if the worn be sufficient. In 
the spriag you will tiud t valuable bed of ma¬ 
nure nnder them. It is a good plan to stable 
them thus in the day timt when the cattle are 
out in the yards, and on 'ficasant nights when 
the other stock is in the stables, let the colts 
run in the yards for exedse, and to pick np 
fodder that may be left, aid forage at the 6 traw 
stack. They should, botever, have sufficient 
hay to keep them thrivife, and some ground 
oats In addition. Oats mke more muscle tuan 
any other grain, hence till- are the best feed for 
horses. It pays to feed them some ground 
grain if you diminish thfir other food in the 
meantime, and when thof are shedding their 
teeth it is difficult to keeflthem in good condi¬ 
tion without it. 
Colts are a necessary ctil on a farm. There 
is no other stock so costlyjto keep; so hard to 
confine within proper limis; so destructive to 
fences and enclosures ; si} uncertain of giving 
an ultimate profit, and si utterly worthless in 
case of being disabled byt accident. They are 
LAMENESS IN HORSES - FOOT-BATHING 
We present herewith an illustration of a foot¬ 
bath, and the method of applying it to horses, 
from Mathew's illustrated work. 
The author says that of all inventions in¬ 
tended to mitigate the sufferings of the horse, 
none, perhaps, is so generally useful as the foot¬ 
bath ; certainly, not one is so decidedly bene¬ 
ficial in its operation. It consists merely of a 
wooden or Iron trough, one foot deep; the shoes 
of the animal should, if possible, bo taken off 
before the hoof is allowed to tread within the 
bath; or, if such a measure be not possible, 
then the burden of the horse's body should bo 
counterpoised by menus of weights. This pre¬ 
caution is always prudent, for, should the shod 
horse occasion fracture or breakage, au alarm 
might be excited which probably would ever 
after prevent the employment of the foot-bath 
with the same quadruped. 
The water should always be mixed without 
the building; it Is never well to excite an ani¬ 
mal’s fears by allowing it to witness unnecessary 
Always have the heat of the water 
ascertained by a thermometer. Let the fluid in 
the first instance stand at 70° ; after the animal 
has entered the bath, gradually and without 
noise increase the temperature up to 90°. At 
that standard the water ooght to be maintained ; 
the hoof should remain soaking from four to 
six hours at each operation. It should be ren¬ 
dered perceptibly soft when the object is to 
relieve a painful lameness; the warmth and 
moisture should not only saturate the covering 
of the foot, but should also sooth t he internal 
structures. The pressnre of the horn may thus 
be mitigated, and the deep-seated inflammation 
likewise be ameliorated. 
PET AND BEAUTY. 
of the Fairs held at Penn Tan, Y ites Co., N. Y. 
In 1859 we bought five 2-year old ewes of E. 
Hammond, mostly in lamb by “ Sweepstakes.” 
In 1S62 we bought six pure Hammond yearliug 
ewes of Harwood. One of these whs iroin the 
dam of “ Sweeps takes,” and we have r.ost-il two 
ewes from her by “Gold Drop" In 1863 Mr. 
C. S. Benedict and ourselves purchased of F 
Hammond 'wo yearling ewes, from one of 
which we bred tbe raui teg “ Priuce of Gold 
Drops ” represented in tbe cut. He was got by 
“Gold Drop," dam bv “Sweepstakes.” 
In other words the 
animal system is able to manufacture a certain 
quantity of flesh or fat, if supplied with the 
requisite food; but if au overdose be given it 
will be rejected aud passed off with the excre¬ 
ments. The amount of weight gained in a cer¬ 
tain period of feeding does not depend so much 
on the quantity of food eaten, as it doeB on the 
capability ot the animal to convert that food 
Into meat nnder the favorable circumstances 
with which the feeder should surround it. 
No feeder ought to be satisfied either with his 
stock or bis management ol them, if when he 
does his best his stall-fed cattle will not gain, 
on an average, two pounds per day. On grass it 
is uot difficult to get this, and it ought not to be 
in the stable. But otherwise good feeders often | preperatioiu 
fail in practice on two important points; first, 
they let their stock run down in the month of 
November—between the period when the 
gross 
becomes frosted and sour, aud the time of 
stubliug—and second, they neglect feeding roots. 
It is a common remark among cattlemen that 
a steer will not weigh us much at Christmas, after 
A he has had two weeks feeding of bay and grain, 
Y as lie did on the first day of November. The 
.1 popular reason for this is, because he is changed 
P from a juicy to a dry food. The true reasou is, 
want of sufficient nourishment. He has begun 
b to starve. No steer would thus fall away if 
V giveu meal through November, together with 
LONG WOOL. 
The ewe teg “ Pet" (nearest the eye in cut) is 
by “Gold Drop," dam by Sweepstakes, grand 
dam by Harwood’s “Sweepstakes,” g. g. dam 
the dam of Harwood’s Sweepstakes. The ewe 
teg “ Beauty” was got by Percy & Burgess’ 
TERMS, $3.00 PER YEAR.] 
“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
[SINTG-EE NO. TEN CENTS 
VOL. XVI. NO. 50, t 
ROCHESTER N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16. 1865. 
f WHOLE NO. 830. 
