VOL. XIII. NO. 18.1 
ROCHESTER, N.Y..-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MAY 3, 1862. 
S WHOLE NO. 642. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
TUB LEADING AMERICAN WEEKLY 
BUBAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
CONDUCTED BY D, D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
CHAS. D. BRAGDON. Western Corresponding Editor. 
Tith Rural Nkw-Yorker is designed to be unsurpassed in 
Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and unique 
and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes his per¬ 
gonal attention to the supervision of its various departments, 
and earnestly labors to render the Rural an eminently Reliable 
Guide on all the important Practical, Scientific and other 
Subjects intimately connected with the business of those whose 
interests it zealously advocates. As a Family JomtNAT, It is 
eminently Instructive and Entertaining—being so conducted 
that it can bo safely taken to the Heart? and Homes of people of 
intelligence, taste and discrimination- It embraces more Agri¬ 
cultural. Horticultural, Scientific, Educational, Literary and 
News Matter, interspersed with appropriate and beautiful 
Engravings, than any other journal,—rendering it the most 
complete Agricultural, Literary and Family Newspaper 
in America. _ 
t&~ For Terras and other particulars, see last page. 
the Granary Weevil, Celandria Grnnaria. This 
insect does not attack grain in the field, but after it 
is stored; aud in old storehouses we have seen hun¬ 
dreds of bushels rendered wort hless by their ravages. 
It has never been as injurious in this country as in 
moist, water the plants soon after setting as may be 
necessary. In about one week cultivate and hoe. 
In ten or fourteen days repeat the operation, and 
continue to cultivate so as to keep the weeds down. 
his goods of the manufacturer, he works up the raw 
material—he invests in labor, in manures, in seed, 
in stock, and must, know how to make or manufac¬ 
ture money out of it. My analogy would have been 
Europe, and the reasons doubtless are that our March 2d and 9th, last year. 
wheat is not usually stored as long; while our - 
store-houses being of wood generally, are more dry WESTERN EDITOR 
than those made of stone and brick, as is usually 
the case in Europe. 'We do not think tills an enemy H0W CAN F aimers omr a tm 
much to be dreaded by our fanners, yet its intro- Thb letter from which p ma 
duction by the government from Iiance is an in last Rural, closes with the t 
unnecessary work, for which they will receive no . .. . . 
thanks from millers and gram-dealers. Do not ftccU8e wn of fail it- fi ,uiing. 
The granary weevil, in its perfect state, is a small t ani m<0 a person in a darU rol(nit p 
beetle of a dark-red color, about one-eighth of an find the ilnor that ppens to a lighted 
inch long, with a slender snout slightly bent down- " As a general thing, farmer? wor 
ward, a coarsely-punctured and very long thorax, hands. When asked the reason, th< 
constituting about one-ball' the length of the whole ls ,l " >rc better way? How can fa 
body, and wing-covers that are furrowed, and do track?’ in a word, can you 
not entirely cover the tip of the abdomen. This nttaui K0 caeonsumma I J1 
little insect, both in its beetle and grub state, de- 1 prefer first to answer the 
vours stored wheat and other cereals, and often entering into a discussion c 
commits much havoc in granaries. caUse , 1 de ™ 1 U m ? re un J’°™ 
For more special information, see Rural of a better ono if I had compared him with the woolen 
r . • , .I i_• . i_e x_; 
NOTES AND INQUIRIES. 
Concerning Flax Culture. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:—W ill you, or some of your 
numerous subscribers, inform me as to the time of sowing 
flat seed, and the amount per acre to be sown?—S ubscriber, 
Chicago , 111.. 1802. 
Eds. Rural Nkw-Yop.kkr:— Will you please state in your 
journal the kind of soil best adapted to (lie growth of flax, 
and oblige —J. A. B., Onondaga Co., A", Y, 1862. 
The time at which flax is generally sown here¬ 
abouts ranges from the last week in April to the 
middle ot May. Of course the weather and condi¬ 
tion of soil govern. The amount of seed used 
varies in the views of cultivators. Allen recom¬ 
mends from sixteen to thirty quarts per acre if for. 
seed, and two bushels if sown for fiber. A Wash¬ 
ington Co., N. Y., correspondent of the Rural, in 
our Issue of tho 12th ult., and who seems to have 
been successful in growth of both seed and fiber, 
uses one bushel per acre. Much depends upon the 
quality and cleanliness of seed. Procu re the heaviest, 
of a bright brownish cast, and oily to the touch. 
Any good soil for corn will produce, a good erop 
of flax, provided, always, that the attention required 
be given. A Niagara Co. correspondent writes his 
experience, as follows:—“Flax succeeds well after- 
corn, or upon fall-plowed clover sod, if the requisite 
fineness of tilth can be obtained. An old sheep- 
pasture, well plowed, is a good preparation for this 
crop—sheep dung being the best of manures for flax. 
The best soils need the most seed.’’ Another flax- 
grower says, when selecting ground for this crop, 
“there are two things necessary to be obtained— 
viz., a rich soil, and one that is free from weeds, or 
thist les. Flax is a very delicate plant when it first 
comes up; is easily choked out by weeds, and if 
there are thistles among it the pulling is rather a 
serious operation. He gives it as his experience 
that flax does best upon moist land—that it will do 
well upon land too wet and cold for corn. 
As flax culture is exciting unusual attention just 
at the present time, we hope Rural readers will 
give their views through our columns. 
Farm Hedges—Honey I.ocnst. 
Eds. Rural Nkw-Yokkkr:— I wish to inquire of some 
one who has had experience in the matter, about the noney 
Locust for hedge?. I was recommended by a nursery firm to 
plant it for a hedge, and was told that in five years it would 
he an impassable barrier to man or beast It' so. why is it not 
spoken iA in the agricultural journals'? What are its chief 
qualific^ftis and objections? How far apart had plants two 
years ol^onglitto ba sot?—W. F. S., CanuUn, -V. F. 
AVe have, among other varieties, suggested the 
Honey Locust as a plant worthy of pretty general 
trial for a farm hedge. It is a strong-growing plant, 
forming, in its natural condition, a tree of good size, 
and, therefore, will require severe pruning to form 
a hedge. Some have tried it and failed, perhaps 
from too close planting. It requires considerable 
room, and if grown as close as the Hawthorn or 
Osage Orange, will become choked. Dr. Warder 
recommends it as the most promising hedge-plant 
we have; and Wn. Reid, Elizabethtown, New Jer¬ 
sey, who has many fine hedges, is satisfied, after 
twenty-five years’ trial, that it is more easily kept and 
better adapted for a farm fence than any other plant 
that has yet been used. Those, however, who 
expect to make a good hedge in a few years ,*of this 
or any other plant that we are acquainted with, will 
be sorely disappointed. 
The Granary Weevil. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —Inclosed you will find a sample 
of wheat which is labeled U. S. Patent Office—Noe Wheat, 
from France.” It was handed tno to sow last season, bur. too 
late for sowing. I put it up for thus season s use, and when l 
opened the bag to examine it, I found it as you see this sam¬ 
ple. Can you give rae any information of these insects? 
Would it be safe to sow it?— Moses Smith, Castile, N. T. 
Almost every grain of wheat sent us with the 
above has been destroyed by a little insect, the 
^ inside being eaten up and only the outside covering 
I remaining. The insects, too, are as numerous as 
| the grains, and quite lively. This is no new enemy 
| but one with which we have been long acquainted, 
Fig. 1 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 3. 
Fig. 1.—Granary weevil, magnified, and the natural size. 
Fig. 2.—Grain of wheat opened, showing the weevil at work. 
Fig. 3.—Nymph, or pupa of the weevil, magnified. 
After the sexes have paired, the female makes a 
hole in a grain of wheat and deposits an egg. These 
holes are not perpendicular to the surface of the 
grain, but oblique, or even parallel, and are stopped 
with a species of gluten of tho same color of the 
corn. Sometimes two eggs are deposited in the 
same kernel, and tlielarvse of the twins are just as 
plump as those who have the good fortune to have a 
whole grain to themselves. From tho egg is hatched 
in due time a small footless grub, which, during its 
growth, eats out the entire contents of the grain, and 
when lodged in the grain,is perfectly sheltered from 
all injuries of the air, because its excrements serve 
to close up the aperture; so there is no use of 
stirring the grain, as nothing can incommode it. It 
is very white—has the form of an elongated soft 
w?orm, and the body is composed of nine prominent 
rounded rings; it is nearly a line in length, with a 
yellow rounded head, provided with proper instru¬ 
ments for gnawing the grain. When the larva has 
eaten al 1 the flour, and it is arrived at i tsfull growth, 
it remains in the envelope of the grain, where it is 
metamorphosed into a uyrnph, of a clear white and 
transparent color: the proboscis and antennae can 
readily be distinguished; but it gives no sign of life, 
except when disturbed, and then but a slight move¬ 
ment of the abdomen. Eight or ten days after, the 
perfect insect eats its way out, and immediately 
commences preparation for another brood. These 
insects are effectually destroyed by kiln-drying the 
wheat; and grain that is kept cool, well ventilated, 
and is frequently moved, is said to be exempt from 
attack. _ 
Culture ol‘Tobacco. 
Eua. Rural New-Yorker:—I would like to raise two or 
three acres of tobacco this season, and as 1 am not posted, I 
desire some information about sowing the seed, and the soU 
best adapted to it; the manner ef cultivation, and curing and 
preparing for market, &e.—N. Gay. Perry, N. F. 
Tobacco plants should be started in a seed-bed 
prepared for the purpose, and transplanted as soon as 
the ground becomes warm and all danger of frost is 
over—about the first of J line. The seed-bed should 
be clean, or weeds will be very troublesome. It is 
best to prepare it in the fall, and sow the seed pretty 
early in the spring, about an ounce to a square rod, 
either in drills or broadcast. After the seed is sown, 
the bed may be raked lightly, and should be rolled; 
but no other effort should bo made to cover. If a 
frame and glass are provided for the seed-bed, in the 
manner ot a cold frame, it will be all the better, and 
in that case the glass should be kept on until the 
plants appear; afterwards it may be removed during 
fine weather in the day time, and replaced in cold 
days and nights. The bed should be kept moist 
and free from weeds. When the plants are from 
two to three inches in height, they are fit for trans¬ 
planting. 
WESTERN EDITORIAL NOTES. 
. - 1 
HOW CAN FARMERS GET OUT OF THE OLD BEATEN f 
TRACKS 
The letter from which I made tho extract given ‘ r 
in last Rural, closes with the following paragraphs: ( 
“ The same questions might be asked ill regard to wheat, j 
Do not accuse rue of fault-finding. I am searching after light. 
I am like a person in a dark room, groping his way around to 1 
find the tlnnr that opens to a lighted apartment. 1 
"Asa general thing, farmers work harder than their hired 1 
hands. When asked the reason, they exclaim, ‘ We have to!’ j 
ts there no better way? How can farmers get out of the * old ] 
beaten track?’ In a word, can you assist a young farmer to ( 
attain so desirable a consummation?” I 
I prefer first to answer the main question before j 
entering into a discussion of wheat culture; be¬ 
cause I deem it more important. And I do this at 
the risk of repeating what has already been pub¬ 
lished in the Rural on this subject. 
1 know of no other way to get out of the “old 
beaten track” than to educate yourself out of it. 
There are lew men who will swallow poison, no 
matter how palatable it may be, alter they have 
learned that it is sure and swift destruction to do so. 
There are few men who will not take the shorter and 
better road when they are in a burry to reach a 
certain point, after they know which that road is. 
There are few farmers who now dig laboriously with 
a hoe, for weeks, now that they have learned that 
the same results are secured in much less lime and 
at less cost with a horse and cultivator. Few men 
pound away all winter long, with a flail, who have 
learned to value time and use it; they employthc 
thrashing machiue. 
But there is much more to be learned yet before 
the farmer reaches the goal which gives him ade¬ 
quate pay for his labor and time; and as before said, 
it must be learned. 
No ono need hope to learn to farm it successfully 
without labor. No business succeeds without the 
expenditure of labor. But we may learn to employ 
and direct labor so as to secure a profit on it beyond 
its cost,—that is what the young farmer should learn. 
It is a simple lesson in political economy which is 
before him. The merchant purchases goods at rales 
by which he can sell them and make a profit. If he 
does not make a profit he fails. Farming is pre¬ 
cisely like a mercantile business, in so far as it 
relates to financial success; but the knowledge 
required is more complex. The money invested in 
land, stock, implements, seed, trees, fences, build¬ 
ings, and labor, must be made to yield a profit —at 
least must yield no loss. The farmer should know 
what that investment amounts to in dollars and 
cents. He should lake an inventory of his capital 
stock yearly, and so manage it as to make it yield 
him a profit. If he finds he cannot do this, and get 
well paid for his own time and labor, he bad better 
quit the business and invest in something else, or 
loan his money. 
That is the business way of determining his suc¬ 
cess—or the measure of his success—aud that is the 
only way that I know of. In order to do it he must 
know how to open an account with his farm, and 
with each crop, and each kind of stock he keeps on 
it If he does not know how to do this, I have no 
1 further advice for him until he has learned how. 
For l deem it precisely as essential in his case as in 
that of the merchant or banker. 
Having learned how to charge his farm and each 
, crop with what is given it, and credit, it with what 
i it produces, he is prepared to toarn surely what crop 
i or kind of stock yields him the greater profit Hav¬ 
ing learned this, he can discard those which yield 
[ the least profit, or apply his knowledge and skill iu 
5 the increase of the product of those least productive, 
j It is true, there are men who succeed who keep 
1 no book account with their farms; so there are slip- 
? shod merchants who have a measure of success; but 
r no one will pretend that success would not be surer 
, and more easily secured if system were introduced 
, in the management of the business. 
The successful merchant must know how, not 
\ not only to systematize his business, and how to 
buy at such prices as will enable him to secure a 
1 profit on his investment, but ho must know what to 
j buy—ho must buy goods that will sell—for which 
r there will be a demand; the kind of goods which 
1 will enable him to recover his money in the shortest 
t possible time. He must also know how to handle 
i goods; must be familiar with color, quality, tex- 
ture. He must study the market both present and 
prospective; in short, he must be familiar with the 
or cotton manufacturer; but the principle of busi¬ 
ness is the same in all cases. 
Now, if my correspondent does not know the 
laws of vegetable growth, and how to distinguish 
the different kinds of soil, detect their needs, and 
apply the same, he cannot manufacture successfully. 
The most successful manufacturer is the one who 
best understands the capacity of the material which 
he manufactures —Iww to make the most of it. He 
must understand its synthesis and its analysis—the 
relations of plants and soils—the requirements of 
the former, and the capacity of the latter. The 
mass of farmers can get out of the old beaten track 
by learning what I have indicated. Few, compara¬ 
tively, have ever made these matters a study. Hap- 
hazz.ard has been the guide of their practice, and it 
is not any wonder that they have had to work hard 
“ to keep soul and body together.” 
“ But we have no time, to learn all these things.” 
Have n't you? Take time! If you have a family and 
a farm, and are thus ignorant, and have no capital 
on which you can live until you educate yourself 
by giving all your lime to it,send seventy-five cents 
to the Rural office, or some book-seller, for War- 
ring's Elements of Agriculture. It is a neat little 
book, and will interest you, if yon are interested in 
learning your business. Read it carefully, thor¬ 
oughly. Read it through three or four times; but 
read it deliberately. On the margin of each page 
there are questions upon the subject matter of the 
work. Let your wife take the book and ask you 
these questions after you have read the book care¬ 
fully once or twice. This will fix the matter in 
your mind. Hasten slowly — that is, learn what 
you do thoroughly. Understand it; be sure you 
understand it. Note down for future research 
such questions as are suggested to you by your 
study. When you have thoroughly mastered this 
little work, send for Johnston's Agricultural Chem¬ 
istry, and read that as carefully. Be systematic in 
your reading. Devote an hour or more each day to 
it. You will soon acquire a taste for it; a spirit of 
inquiry will be developed, and other works will be 
required and obtained. Remember that all knowl¬ 
edge so obtained may be directly applied in prac¬ 
tice—either to give it a positive character, or to 
modify one previously adopted. While Agricul¬ 
tural and Horticultural publications are essential 
to t,l*} fanner, they do not and cannot supply the 
place of such standard works as 1 have named. 
From notices I have seen, I should think the 
Manual of Agriculture another good work. I have 
never perused it. 
But my article is getting too long; the subject 
will be alluded to again. 
MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 
Mr. Moore:—I n the Rural of the 12th inst. you 
make allusion to the Michigan State Agricultural 
College, and say you have “received no definite 
information relative to the institution—not even a 
catalogue—for many months,” and desire light and 
information respecting its present condition. You 
state, truly, that its experience has been varied. The 
As our correspondent is Superintendent of the Col¬ 
lege Farm, he of course speaks advisedly, knowing 
whereof he affirms. From a catalogue of the insti¬ 
tution, (just received from Mr. Tidbits,) we learn 
that tuition is free to all students from the State of 
Michigan, but those from other States are charged 
twenty dollars a year. Students are required to 
work on the farm or in the garden three hours a day, 
for which they receive adequate remuneration, the 
amount paid depending on their ability and fidelity. 
The number of hours may, however, be increased 
to four, or diminished to two and a halt. The labor 
is considered an essential part of the Educational 
System of the College, and none are exempt from 
it, except for physical disability. 
--» ■ t % - - — 
INDEPENDENCE OP THE FARMER. 
We are all more or less dependent upon each other 
in the various and changing scenes of life, but of all 
the pursuits of mankind tho farmer enjoys the 
greatest independence. It is true he must labor; 
but labor itself, if not excessive, conduces to health , 
and consequently happiness; for without health 
there can be little true enjoyment. His labor is to 
plow, sow, plant, tend, and finally gather in his 
crops. Always in the air and sunshine, with nature 
smiling on every side and daily unfolding new 
beauties to the eye of an attentive observer, how 
can he be otherwise than happy, unless he takes no 
pleasure iu the works of the Creator, “whose ways 
are past finding out?” For him the earth yields her 
abundant harvests in an ever-increasing ratio, if he 
nomishes instead of impoverishes the soil, as many 
do for present resulting advantages, without thought 
for the future. It is to be hoped that such farmers 
will grow “beautifully less” for the sake of their 
posterity, and that agriculture will be regarded as a 
science requiring skill and the closest scrutiny, that 
the labor bestowed may be conducted to a success¬ 
ful issue and the soil still be the gainer. 
The farmer has at his command most of the essen¬ 
tials of happiness, and can be happy it' he is only 
coutented, and does not strive too earnestly in pur¬ 
suit of some favorite scheme or phantom which 
may never be realized. He produces by his labor 
nearly all of the necessaries of life, and if he chooses 
he can, with little extra trouble, have many luxu¬ 
ries, the real value of which he can scarcely appre¬ 
ciate. Depression in commerce or manufactures, 
which occasionally convulses the country, affects 
him very little; he can make a living in the hardest 
times if nothing more, which thousands would be 
very glad to do if they had an opportunity. He 
can have, if ho pleases, plenty of books and news¬ 
papers. and cultivate the mind as well as the soil, 
and feel that he has been more than repaid in the 
increased knowledge and greater enjoyment of life. 
To the perplexing care and anxiety incident to some 
other pursuits of life he is nearly a stranger. True, 
“he has a thousand things to see to”—must go here 
and there — look after his stock of all kinds, and 
endeavor to sell every thing to the best advantage; 
while every thing must be done at the right time. 
But all this is part of his business, and he has no 
particular anxiety iu regard to the morrow, well 
knowing that fie has in abundance what sustains life. 
Qis business is multifarious, and practice is required 
to make him expert in the different kinds of labor; 
yet he changes, as necessary, without any particular 
misfortune of the institution has been that men of study, for it soon becomes habitual, and makes the 
but little practical experience in agriculture have very change a pleasure. 
had control. The consequence is, that while the 
Educational Department has been all that could be 
desired, tho farm has been sadly neglected. 
At the regular session of the Legislature in 1861, 
an act was passed reorganizing the institution, and 
transferring the control of it from the Board ot 
Education to a “ State Board of Agriculture. ' This 
Board is composed mainly of men of large practical 
experience in farming operations. As a natural 
result, a new order of things has been inaugurated; 
new life and vigor have been infused into the insti¬ 
tution, and confidence is again being restored. 
The College is situated on the banks ot the Cedar 
River, three and a half miles from Lansing, the 
capital of the State. The farm proper contains 
nearly eight hundred acres of heavily-timbered, 
rich, productive land, about two hundred of which 
are under cultivation. The State, a few years since, 
made a munificent donatiou of some four thousand 
acres of valuable marsh and swamp land, which are 
located withiu a few miles of the farm. The Scien¬ 
tific Department is under the supervision of as 
efficient a corps of professors as the country can 
produce. Several important changes and itnprove- 
The prosperity of a country depends, in a great 
measure, upon agricultural interests; and as the 
cultivators of the soil prosper or the contrary, so 
does the nation at large. To be a skillful farmer 
requires more talent than many of the trades and 
professions; and yet it a farmer has a boy ot good 
natural abilities, he must be educated for some pro¬ 
fession. “ Anybody can be a farmer,” is the popular 
idea; but if farmers would educate their sons as 
faithfully as they would for a profession, and then 
give them a farm, we should see much less poor 
(arming than at present. Instead of half-cultivating 
the soil and reaping proportionately, complaining 
of the season being too wet or too cold, they would 
endeavor to bring their farms under the highest possi¬ 
ble state of cultivation, applying such manures as 
the particular crop most requires, and giving it such 
attention as would secure the greatest results. 
Ordinary crops would not satisfy them if greater 
ones could be produced in this manner, as they 
would add much to their income, while the value of 
their farm would be proportionately increased. 
They would not expect to get a full crop by bestow¬ 
ing upon it half the labor really necessary, and con- 
menta arc to be made upon the farm the present gequently meet with few disappointments. 
To prepare the land, the manure should be applied philosophy of his business iu all its details. 
as early as the ground is dry enough to plow. The 
last of May plow and harrow again, so as to mix the 
manure well with the soil. Mark the land one way 
for rows, three feet four inches. Make hills by 
hauling up a few hoefiils of dirt, and press it well 
with the hoe. In taking the plants from the bed 
take care to keep the roots wet. Unless the ground 
So the farmer must not only know how to keep an 
account current with his farm, his stock, and each 
crop, but he must thoroughly understand the phi¬ 
losophy of his profession in all its practical details. 
He must know the laws which govern production 
as well as the relation of production to consump- 
season, and it is hoped that it will soou present an 
attractive and instructive appearance, and become, 
what it was always designed to be, a “model farm.” 
Perhaps no other institution in the country affords 
better facilities for acquiring a thorough practical 
and scientific knowledge of Agriculture and its 
kind red sciences th an this. We have at present neatly 
ninety students, drawn mostly from the hardy yeo- 
Farmers, then, enjoy a greater degree of independ¬ 
ence than almost any other class of men, inasmuch 
as they produce the staples most necessary to all 
mankind. They raise grain, make their own beef, 
pork, and butter, all of which are indispensable. 
Since the introduction of the Chinese Sugar-cane, 
there are but tow sections in which they cannot 
make their own sugar; and if cotton should remain 
manry ot the country, who would adorn and honor high, many will spin and weave flax and wool, as in 
any society or protession. We hope soon to see many 
take care to keep the roots wet. Unless the ground tion. He must not only be thoroughly familiar more of our noble sons availing themselves of the 
is quite damp, put a pint of water on each hill half with the market, but with the material which he advantages of this institution. J. t. Tidbits. 
an hour before setting. Make a hole, put in the manipulates. He is not only a produce merchant; A*. College, Lansing, Mich., April 21 st, 1862. 
root, aQd press the dirt close to it, all the way to the he is a manufacturer of the produce which he sells. Remarks.—I t affords us pleasure to receive and 
lower end. If any plant does not live, take care to He must know how to prepare the soil for the pro- publish the above favorable report concerning the 
Bet another. Unless the earth is wet, or at least duction of the material of trafic. Instead of buying condition and prospects'of the Michigan College. 
the olden time. True, it may not be very profitable, 
but home manufactures, in hard times, are by no 
means to be despised. All the products of tho earth 
which win grow in this latitude they can raise if 
they will. But a further enumeration is unnecessa¬ 
ry, as no class of men are as independent as farmers. 
Besides, they are pretty generally honest , which, in 
