these days of peculation. Is more than can be said when cultivated in the light sandy soils ot the Mid- 
of many classes much less in mimbers. And now, die and Southern'States, as well as those which are 
if you lind it necessary to practice economy, be sure rich, and bids fair to become a valuable crop for 
and do it in the right place; as sowing poor seed, cattle and swine." In the Report of 1856, at page 
buying poor implements, or diminishing the feed of 7, it say?:— 111 Some three years ago a small supply 
your stock, is very poor economy indeed. of these roots was procured from Spain, and distrib- 
So. Gilboa, Scho. Co., N. Y., 1S62. 
C. A. F. 
WESTERN EDITORIAL NOTES. 
THE MICHIGAN SUGAR CANE CONVENTION. 
Unexpectedly prevented from attending this 
Convention, as I designed, I have taken some pains 
to learn something ot its proceeding?. I do not find 
that any new fact was elicited, beyond this:—The 
assertion of Mr. O. N. Bkainakp that these varieties 
of cane would hybridize with Indian corn or maize. 
If this be a fact, it is new and important. Tt is so 
positively assorted that 1 am not prepared to say it 
is not so; but if it were true, it seems to me certain 
that our canes -would have degenerated much more 
rapidly than they have. The opportunities for such 
hybridization have been constant. In hundreds of 
cases have I seen corn aud cane growing in the 
same field beside each other; and never have I 
found or heard of any evidence of such mixture. 
IMPORTANCE OF CHANGE OF SEED. 
This matter has been dwelt upon in certain inter¬ 
ested quarters to a considerable extent. There is, 
without doubt, valid cause for agitating this subject. 
There is reason to believe that sugar cane, if ex¬ 
posed, will hybridize with broom corn, dourab, and 
like members of this family of plants. But it is also 
a fact that there is not one locality in one thousand 
where sugar cane is grown in the West, that either 
broom corn, or donrah corn, or any other dangerous 
relative, is cultivated, unless it be, as it has suddenly 
been discovered, that maize has an ‘‘affinity” for 
sugar cane. It can be kept as pure here as in 
France, China, or Africa, with the above exceptions. 
Aud I am not prepared to indorse it as an exception. 
But as I intimated above, there are certain parties 
interested in the agitation of this subject. An 
ambitious young man—a good friend of mine- 
wants an opportunity to distinguish himself; aud he 
has no objection whatever to a trip to China and 
Africa, provided Uncle Sam will make it pleasant 
for him, and pay him liberally for going. Indeed, 
this seems to be the only opening consonant with 
his tastes, lie, therefore, tickles—with his pen—a 
member of the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, 
who has sheep to sell at big prices, aud says, “Now 
you tickle me.” Accordingly said sheep man offers 
a resolution indorsing the importance of the mission 
to China and Africa, and requesting the President 
to provide for it at once, and send this young man— 
my friend—whom the resolution also indorses. The 
resolution is adopted by the Board netn. con. But 
what did the Illinois State Board of Agriculture 
know about the qualifications of this young man for 
the execution ol such a trust? What had he done or 
what diploma did he show to prove that ho either 
possessed the practical or scientific knowledge 
necessary in the execution ol' so important a mis¬ 
sion. Armed with the indorsement of the Illinois 
State Board of Agriculture, this young man presents 
himself before the Adrian Convention. The “ You 
fickle me and I'll tickle you” process is repeated. 
Resolutions are offered, indorsing the action of 
the Illinois Board of Agriculture, and asserting the 
“fullest confidence” in said young man —my 
friend —and urging “his immediate appointment 
and dispatch upon this important mission.” He is 
getting in a hurry—not these men who voted for 
these resolutions. Doubtful if one in ten of those 
present knew or ever heard of him before this 
meeting at Adrian, 
And that is all such indorsement amounts to. It 
is simply a question of brass on the part of the 
party seeking indorsement. The metal goes further 
than the merit. 
Be it known, I have no hostility to said young 
man, personally: I shall rejoice iu any legitimate 
success he may win. 1 do not reflect upon his integ¬ 
rity of purpose; but I do doubt his qualification for 
such amission; and I believe my king acquaintance 
and connection with him give me a right, and make 
it my duty, to express such doubts; the more so, 
since the means taken to secure the indorsement of 
men in positions of influence smack so strongly of 
political log-rolling. It is not, in either case, a 
spontaneous indorsement by men who know he is 
eminently qualified. It is a managed indorsement. 
Be it further known. I have no ambition to secure 
for myself or any of my friends any such mission or 
place; hence no motives of interest or jealousy 
impel this writing. But if such a commission is to 
be sent to study the habits aud secure the seed of 
the best varieties of Impbee and Sorghum, it should 
be some one who has a practical botanical knowl¬ 
edge—a knowledge of the laws governing vegeta¬ 
ble life and growth—a knowledge of the laws of 
reproduction, hybridization, Ac. 
There are such men in the West who have long ; 
labored, gratuitously, in this field of scientific 
research, aud who have contributed very much of 
great practical value to agriculture—men who are 
familiar with our soils and the climate, and under¬ 
stand their relations to vegetation. The sending 
such men on such a mission could not fail to benefit 
agriculture, and would at the same time be a con¬ 
tribution to the scientific knowledge of the country. 
If our Government is to send anybody, let it be j 
some ©ne known to be eminently qualified to repay ^ 
the country the cost of sending him. Let farmers 
be careful whom they indorse. , 
uted in the usual manner. The experiment seemed 
satisfactory, and it appeared highly probable that 
this plant might become one of our permanent and 
profitable products. Recently many requests tor 
tubers have reached us, but upon inquiry none can 
9 he found here,” 
g Now, is it not rather singular that a tuber that 
j had naturalized itself in our climate, in 1855, should 
3 in one year become extinct ? As regards their ever 
5 becoming a substitute for almonds or chestnuts, for 
the table, it is all gas. They are not much better 
j raw than an artichoke or a potato. They might be 
, good for scurvy; and as for their being valuable for 
cattle or swine, any farmer can make his own caleu- 
, lation. It took me some three hours to dig and 
, gather about one peck; and according to myexperi- 
p ence, it would take about ten men to dig them as 
, fast as one cow would eat them. It might perhaps 
pay by “ Terra-Culture,” because any one digging 
them would work the top of the ground to perfec¬ 
tion, for the ground is full of them. [Mr, Rural, 
am I interfering with Comstock's patent?] A farmer 
would get esculents faster by digging timothy roots 
for feeding cattle. 
Now, dear Rural, it may be possible that our 
Government may, in a few years to come, want all 
of its loose change, and it is this individual’s private 
opinion that here is one small leak that might be 
stopped to good advantage; for are not many of the 
leports unreliable, and the seeds collected at so 
much expenee unprofitable as a whole? And could 
not any seeds worth cultivating be collected by 
private enterprise at much less expense?—for if a 
kind of gram or seed is truly valuable, it will cer¬ 
tainly be soon widely distributed. 
Troy, Mich., 1862. Wm. Coxa. 
-» 4- 
FARMERS’ CLUBS-MANURES, &c. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker. — The Farmers’ and 
Mechanics’ Club of this vicinity has had its socials 
for the last three winters, where we have inter¬ 
changed our views about fanning, and on the whole 
we have found them amusing and instructing. 
Our subject for a few of the last meetings has 
been that of Manures. There is nothing which so 
much demands the study of farmers as the prepara¬ 
tion and preservation of manures, and the subject 
cannot bo too often discussed among farmers. It is 
but a few years, comparatively speaking, since 
agriculture first engaged the attention of scientific 
men, aud at the same time it is a stubborn fact that 
scientific agriculturists—book-farmers—have repeat¬ 
edly built extensive theories upon false premises, 
aud thus led practical men astray. There is nothing 
remarkable about this, as other sciences have been, 
and still are, liable to suffer from similar causes. 
Experiments and investigations are often too hastily 
conducted. 
Investigation established the important fact that 
that which renders soils unproductive is not so 
much the lack of universal substances as it is the 
want of nitrogenous compounds. The elements 
which give muscle and strength to man and beast, 
also impart productiveness and strength to the soil. 
It is now known that ammonia is the most common 
form in which nitrogen is conveyed and found in the 
soil; hut no sooner was this fact- established than 
scientific men again ran to extremes, and farmers 
became alarmed lest the ammonia contained in farm 
yard manure should all escape into any place but the 
soil. The old-fashioned, time-honored dung hill is 
denounced as almost worthless, and farmers are 
instructed to mix muck, charcoal, plaster, sulphuric 
acid, Ac., with their manures, and thus have them 
in order to fix the nitrogenous gases which seem to 
possess au extraordinary anxiety to escape. It is 
true that the substances thus mixed with manures ! 
and conveyed to the fields are a valuable addition ! 
to the soil, and the muck itself, consisting ot decay¬ 
ing vegetable matter, is a prime application for the 1 
land; but the quantity of ammonia which, by the ’ 
various processes is fixed in manures, amounts lo 1 
little more than moonshine. 1 
The practice of piling the manures under the floor 1 
upon which the animals stand, is productive of the * 
most destructive effects upon the health of the occu¬ 
pants of the bam. Hook upon bam cellars, used for 1 
the preservation ol manures, as a nuisance. Manure, ( 
too, decomposes better when exposed to sunshine and 1 
rain, as heat and moisture are necessary to insure its 1 
proper fermentation. If mixed with a reasonable 8 
quantity of muck or straw, or other coarse vegetable ' 
matter, only a small quantity of gas will be lost, and 1 
if no more rain water is allowed to combine with it ( 
than that which comes straight down from above, (if c 
water does not run into the manure from the roofs 8 
of the buildings or adjoining elevations,) the process c 
is just what nature demands. p. 
Plymouth, Wayne Co., Mich.. 1862. s 
in their appropriate quarters, (which, by the way, 
will not be in the road,) and so of the other animals. 
Then let tbeground about the house be levelled down 
and sown with sweet-soented clover, or made into 
beautiful mounds for flowers, with convenient and 
tasteful walks between; let there tie plenty of 
shade frees transplanted; let the house be put in 
perfect repair, kept snug in all its parts; and how 
different the estate will look to the passer-by and 
dweller-in. Thai which looked dreary and bare 
before, now looks cheerful and inviting, as if the 
angel of bliss had taken up his abode therein. And 
this ornamenting with frees, flowers and green 
clover can bo done, in most instances, with but little 
ers, and will hold on until June. If fed out the first 
part of the season, they make the bowels loose, and 
lead to a lalso estimate of their value. Analysis 
shows that the mangel has nearly twice the nutritive 
matter contained in the Swedish turnip, and exper¬ 
iments in feeding confirm the results of the labora¬ 
tory. They will yield from fifty to a hundred per 
cent, more in quantity, under ordinary circumstan¬ 
ces, and are a much more profitable root to raise. 
(-‘are of Cows before Calving. 
The following extract from a Prize Essay on 
the “Rearing of Calves,” by TnoMAS Bowick, pub¬ 
lished in the Journal of the Royal Ag. Society, 
cost of money; it requires simply a little outlay of (Eng.,) is applicable to all latitudes: 
patience, time and taste, which is repaid, if not in 
gold, at least in an increase of happiness, which is 
far better than gold. 
In passing through the country, how frequently 
does the traveler pass these dreary, slovenly farm¬ 
houses. It always gives me the blues to pass one ol 
these concerns. 1 feel as il I should see the owner 
bobblingout, hatchet-faced, with long, skinny fingers, 
like vulture’s talons, used lor clutching gold—one 
whose thoughts by day are of gold! gold! and 
whose dreams by night are of gold, gold , gold! 
Reader, let us seek a little for beauty aud orna¬ 
ment, as well as for utility. 
Weedsport, N. Y April, 1862. 
F. I. Bell. 
“ The health and condition of the cow before calv¬ 
ing greatly influence subsequent results. A late 
milked, lean, raking, ill-cared for beast, has often¬ 
times an easier parturition than those that are better 
furnished iu these respects. But her after milking 
has a tale to tell of neglect somewhere; and the 
scraggy “set” condition of the calf throughout its 
after course, often arises more from this cause than 
from any other. Hence, we would say. dry the cow 
a fair time before calving, and see that she has 
something better than barley straw to live on, else 
the calf and its owner will assuredly lose by it. But 
what is regarded as a fair amount of time for being 
dry? If a cow brings her first calf when from two 
to three years old, — which the majority probably 
fUU'ftl spirit of tbl flo > ,,10U " h a11 will admit that it is too early-we 
should not care to milk her more than five or six 
Hints to Fowl Keeper*! months after calving. By this means she will grow, 
llT , a TI „ . ... „ . . „ and increase in size and value her second calf. But 
“B. S. II. gives, in the Pravrxe Farmer , hia „ . „ ... .. . r . ,, . . . 
method of keeping fowls, thus: a C °, W . ,r ° m lho fourt 1 to thc eighth year, if in good 
condition, need not be dry more than six weeks or 
U ^ wa y ^ k ee P my hens laying and healthy, is, t W o months before calving; i. e,, if fed with a thor* 
in the first place, by giving them plenty of corn and oughly liberal hand throughout the year. If more 
oats, also some buckwheat. Last fall I commenced sparingly fed, or if the cow exceeds the latter age, 
throwing out ashes from my stoves in a pile near then we should prefer her being dry three months 
my yard, so as to use in com pop ton the spring. I before calving. But, of course, there are exceptions 
soon discovered my hens came to the pile every lo be met with, which can npt come under any gen¬ 
morning as soon as light, (cold or heat,) through end rule, such as the case of animals whose flow of 
the winter. I hey would pickup and eat coal, from milk i s 80 strong as to continue almost up to the 
the size of a wheat kernel to a thimble. My hens time when a now lacteal secretion commences.” 
commenced laying in November, and have laid ever _^_ 
since They are last harvest's chickens. If they . , 
cannot have access to wood charcoal, pick up and ijUjS ami gtnmw. 
burn all the bones you can find, and pound them - 
fine, and place them where they can have easy access . ? ow ‘ i Tkat ? Cracking.—C an you, or some of you readers. 
, ’ ,, J J inform me what will cure cows teats that crack at the time 
to them.’ _ • of milking —J. B. 
Cleaning Vlilk Vessels. Kbkd for Bows.— I wish to inquire of your numerous cor¬ 
respondents the beBt feed for a sow with pigs, at this season 
A writer in the Cincinnati Gazette truly says, of year, without milk .—a Subscriber. Oneida Co., A' r 
there is no product of the farm that presents so nor llwaic Wan™>.-TIio plan of a hop house for the 
much difference as butter. This arises chiefly from produce of a twenty-acre yard is desired by one of your sub- 
using vessels for holding lb. milk, and „te„*il s in EEiS c™ TiETi'if” * i " 
making the butter, which are soured. In my notice -— - 
of the effects of havincr Rmired frrmoliP in ei,™,- • W.iat is t«k Matter with tub Cor,T«- I have a colt Mint 
oi me ent.cts oi Dating somea riougus in sugai is very troublesome about brilding. In the inside of its ear> 
making, I stated that acidity was fatal to good sugar > s “ white scale, Which is very.sore. Will you. or some of 
T , • __ - , ,, ,, your numerous readers please inform me of the cause, and 
making. It is not less so in buttei makiug. Milk also how it can be cured, wd oblige a subscriber?—J. H. tv., 
has a peculiar acid, very easily formed, which Waterloo, Semxa Co ., N Y, 1862. 
entirely takes away that rich, sweet, fine flavor, Cukaprst Momt op Undbrdraining.— I have taken the 
belonging to good butter. A very little soured Rural for the last year, and have sent, for it again the present 
milk or cream on vessels rapidly generates enough 
acid to take it away. To avoid this, great care is good many, other Waders. the best and cheapest way ofuuder- 
„ ... n. . ._.... draining. I am a young farmer, anil would like to drain some 
requisite. Cleanliness only is not sufficient, in to Bee it' it would pay.—P arks Poster, Amherst, l-wain Co-, 
having the milk vessels well washed, but they must 1882 _ 
be carefully washed iu boiling hot water, and should Fortahlk saw m ill.—P lease give through the columns of 
be boiled in it also. But as the cream is very apt to ■ 0,]V [ |fl |ior ail the information you may possess or can obtain 
... • , , . , ^ , relative to portable liorse power sawmills. I am the owner 
Stick, even in good washing, when the vessels are Of valuable hemlock timber, and wish to find a cheap horse 
boiled in water, some pearl ash or soda should be put f ,ow *' r sa '? ll *at !><• easily transported to the woods ami 
. ... , , , ‘ . used profitably and expeditiously in cuttingftneing material. 
in it, winch destroys any acidity that may be about Such a mill would prove of incalculable benefit to the farmers 
the vessels. They should then he well suuned. I Chautauqua county, ami perhaps to others. Ido not know 
, , .... , , , or any source of information so likely to prove satisfactory as 
have known some good butter makers who dispensed the rural.—t Parker. siurmtn. chaut. Co., a. y. 
with the sunning when soda was used, but both are -—- 
to be commended. Cotton Culture.—F lease he so kind as to inform me and 
Hot- House Wanted.— The plan of a hop house for the 
produrc of a twenty acre yard is desired by one of your sub¬ 
scribers at this place Will some one through the Rural give 
the information.—II. C. B., lirantford, C. IK. 1862. 
What is tHk Matter with tub Colt’—I have a colt that 
is very troublesome about brilding. In the inside of its ears 
is a white scale, which is very.sore. Will you. or some of 
your numerous readers please inform me of the cause, and 
also how it can be cured, and oblige a btpiscriber?—J. H. W., 
Waterloo, Seneca Co., A Y, 1862. 
Cheapest Mohr op Unorudhairiw}.— 1 have taken the 
Rural for the last year, aud have sent for it again the present 
Not seeing much about underdraining as yet. I would like to 
have some one of the readers, of the Rural inform me, and a 
good many, other readers, the best ami cheapest way of uuder- 
tJJ'ftinJng. I am a young farmer, and would like to drain some 
to see if it would pay.— Darks Foster, Amherst, Lorain Co 
Ohio, 1862. 
Portable SawMill.—P lease give through the columns of 
your paper all the information ^ mi may possess or can obtain 
rotative to portable horn* power sawmills. I am the owner 
of valuable hemlock timber, and wish to find a cheap horse 
power saw mill Unit can be easily transported to the w oods and 
used profitably and expeditiously in cutting fencing material. 
Such a mill would prove of incalculable beuefitto the farmers 
of Chautauqua county, and perhaps to others. 1 do not know 
Rural Notes anil Stems, 
Tstk Season, Here a.\7> West.— The universal testimony 
of both people and presa of this State, and also of the East 
and West, is that the spring is late and wet, preventing the 
usual plowing and seeding. The recent very cold, wet weather 
—extending over most of (he Northern and Western States — 
has greatly retarded agricultural and horticultural operations, 
and proved very discouraging in many localities, and even 
large sections of the country Western papers speak dolefully 
of the prospects of fanners, thc wet weather for weeks, and 
the scarcity of laborers. For example, the Chicago Journal 
of Saturday last says:—“ The protracted rainy weather is ren¬ 
dering our agricultural friends extremely uneasy. They 
ought to lmve been plowing and sowing two or three weeks 
ago, but. have as yet been able to do nothing. The rains 
descend and the floods come, and farming operations thus far 
have been impossible. In addition to the delay caused by the 
rains, the farmers in some sections are apprehensive that there 
w ill be a great lack of help. So many of the farm laborers 
have gone to the wars, that it will be difficult to find efficient 
men. The consequences will he. it is feared, that much less 
than an average breadth of land will be planted this season, 
and that there will be a large deficiency in the crops.” 
— We might fill a column with extracts from letters on the 
subject, from various parts, but will only quote from two, 
written on the same date, but in widely Separated localities. 
One dated Washington Co., N. Y, April 21, says:—“The 
weather iA cold, the ground froze quite hard last night. I 
have not plowed a furrow yet—some have just begun. There 
areplenty of snow drifts in sight. No grain sowed yet.” The 
other is from Marshall Co.. III., and says:—“ The season here 
is very backward Continued ruins interfere with farm opera¬ 
tions. But seed time and harvest are among God's promises, 
and wiU not foil us. We have a fine promise of fruit, all 
genera of which (save peaches and the finer varieties of thg 
pberry.i give promise of abundant crops.” 
Wheat Croc Prostects. — According to all accounts, the 
prospects of winter wheat are unusually promising through 
this State and the West A friend who has traveled much, 
and is well advised, says the winter wheat crop all over this 
State never looked better at this season, and is past, alt danger, 
except from the midge or rust Letters from the Western 
Slates, and our exchanges, speak very favorably of the appear¬ 
ance and prospects of thc crop. The Prairie Farmer of thc 
26th ult says:—“From every part of the country where fall 
[winter] wheat is cultivated, we have accounts of its flourish¬ 
ing condition. A late trip through Michigan and Indiana, on 
the line of the. M. 8. & N. I. B. R., showed us thousands of 
acres corerod with the dark, healthy green that speaks of 
well wintered plant* and a promising crop." But, wliilc the 
winter crop is so promisingly reported, the prospect for spring 
wheat (which is usually grown extensively both West and 
East,) is most discouraging, the cold, wet weather having pre¬ 
cluded the preparation of ground and sowing. The authority 
just quoted thinks that, from the present poor prospects for 
spring wheat, the surplus winter will find a ready market; and 
adds that a late, wet spring hns prevented the sowing of it 
altogether in many places, and where a little has now and 
then been got in in the mud, it has not yet germinated. 
Cotton Culture.—P lease be so kind as to inform me and 
the rest of your subscribers how to start, and cultivate cotton? 
1 wish to try a little with it, and see if 1 can induce it to come 
. • * to Anything. I have some seed, but do not know howto 
Shearing Sheep in A pr .1. .sprout it or raise it after it is sprouted—A. A., Farm School, 
We were much interested, says the Maine 1 m; ~ 
Farmer, in the statement of our correspondent, We refer *' A A '” to the issuos ofthe Ktoal for Jan. 25 
Henry P. Bridges, of Sheffield, New Brunswick, present voiume, for the iufo rmation dotfred. 
which he made in our last number, respecting GuotJ JN T1IE IIi:A „ 0K SnBKr _ My ne , ]lbor , ltt6 lost a 
shearing sheep in April. He slates that sheep number of sheep with grub in the head, and any information 
sheared then “do better, get clear of ticks, lose less a' VSsei t " i srat< ‘ fuUi recwVBd — i> Mackey, 
wool, and are prepared for ft storm when turned out , r „ 
,, ... , , , ,, , The grub is the larva of the <J‘.strus o»tf, or gad-lly. The 
to pastme. ie sheep sheaied thus early are presence of the grab does npt constitute a disease, but it may 
protected in waim stables or sheds, as they must lie |,e well to diminish their number*. When it has taken posses- 
so os tu lire through the cold weather such as we sion of the nostrils it may be dislodged by injecting tobacco 
always have in April and first of May, and such as smoko, the use of turpentine, &e. a correspondent of the 
our Sheffield friends must also have, we have no Farmer says the folio wing is a certain cure:— 1 “Take 
doubt the advantages he enumerates must accrue. one ' iu:irt of ' vl,Lsk - v a,,d tvvo onm ' VB o{ > ello ' v BUuff ; mix 
i iii.. „„„„ • __, . ,, • and warm to a blood heat. Let one man hold the sheep and 
We should like to hear more in regard to this svs- , ,, , , , 1 , , 
„ , , . „ ,, , ,, J . another take a small syringe and discharge about a teaspoonful 
tern of early shearing, for we think well of it, and of tlK . mistUre iato „ !lch u06triI .„ 
THOSE SLOVENLY FARM-HOUSES. 
PATENT OFFICE AGRICULTURE. 
THE CHUFA. OK EAETH ALMOND. 
Dear Rural: —Seeing a sketch in a recent Rural 
on “ Patent Office Agriculture,” and that the annual 
appropriation by Congress is some $60,000, it struck 
me forcibly that it might he policy, at some tuture 
day not far distant, for our wise heads who control 
the purse strings to cut off this great leak; for, as 
far as I know, most of the seeds distributed are 
such as are of no earthly use to the farming com¬ 
munity, many of the kinds of grain and rootshaving 
been raised here for years. 
Ens. Rural New-Yorker:— A good many farm¬ 
ers think that every thing that is done on their farm 
njust he done solely with a view to pecuniary profit. 
If they expend money or labor for any purpose, it 
is always with the view of reaping a return in dol¬ 
lars and cents. These persons have no “ soul for 
D(.'auty;” it is all utility, and must be coined at that 
Take, for example, a great farm — such as may be 
seen in almost any direction, iu a ride of irom three 
to ten miles— the house looking dingy, shabby aud 
uninviting; the dooryard filled with pigs and other 
animals; the ground, where might be flowers, rooted 
into heaps, aud used, perhaps, as a yard for piling 
lumber and for stowing away broken and worn out 
farming utensils, etc. It is true that, even on such 
a looking farm as this, there may be beauty in the 
fields of waving grain, and in the green pastures, 
where the sleek cattle graze and chew their cuds; 
but one cannot live all the time in the pastures, nor 
be all the while over the hill gazing upon the yellow 
grain and gleaming brigades of corn. Household 
duties require the presence of the wife in and about 
to pasture.” If the sheep sheared thus early are 
protected in warm stables or sheds, as they must lie 
so as to live through the cold weather such as we 
always have in April and first of May, and such as 
our Sheffield friends must also have, we have no 
doubt the advantages he enumerates must accrue. 
We should like to hear more in regard to this sys¬ 
tem of early shearing, for we think well of it, and 
can see nothing against it but the possibility or 
probability of the animals suffering from cold. We 
all know that sheep, especially long-wooled ones, if 
suffered to run until late before being sheared, are 
liable to shed wool—require to be “tagged,” suffer 
oftentimes from increase of ticks, and what is 
oftentimes worse than all, the wool becomes matted 
or “ cotted” together. Early shearing will prevent 
all these troubles. If the chances of death from 
cold if sheared in April are no more than from 
June rains, if not sheared until June, it is certainly 
advisable to practice the early shearing. 
How to Feed out lloota. 
From an article in the American Agriculturist 
upon the economical use of roots in lending stock, 
wo extract the following: 
Nothing is more common than for beginners in 
the business to confine an animal entirely to the 
use of roots. They go upon the principle that you 
cannot have too much of a good thing, and give one 
to three bushels of turnips in a day. The change 
in diet probably sets the animal to scouring, aud 
turnips are voted a humbug, when the humbug lies 
altogether in the ignorance of the feeder. All ani¬ 
mals like a variety of food in their diet, and hay 
or straw should always form a part of their daily 
fodder, no matter what else may he added. This 
course should be followed, whether we are seeking 
to make milk or beef, or merely to keep an animal 
in thriving condition, in fattening a bullock, a 
bushel or so -may be given, according to size, mak¬ 
ing out the rest of the feed in hay, with some kind 
of grain or meal. In feeding milch cows, the same 
quantity may be given, mixing the sliced roots with 
the cut hay, at three meals daily. The meal will 
add more to the quality than to the quantity of the 
Blind Staookrs.—C an any of your readers give me a rem¬ 
edy for the blind staggers iu slteep, and oblige — M. H. 
Brownell, Tomhannoc.k , Rens. Co., A. Y., 1862. 
Staggers is a terrible disease. The whole frame is strongly 
affected by it The animal acts as if a large dose of alcohol 
had been swallowed. The brain is deeply diseased. The 
animal becomes blind as well as helpless. A common cause 
of the disease, perhaps not the only one. is the following:—It 
is weU known that the shetp Jiy deposits its eggs in the nostrils 
of the Sheep, as the goad Jig does in the skin on thc hades ol’ 
cattle. These eggs hatch into maggots, which usually eat 
their way out and fall to the ground without injuring the 
sheep. Sometimes, however, they work their way upwards in 
the passages of the nose, and produce an inflammation which 
affects the whole brain. This is the cause of the staggers. 
Spirits of Turpentine, says a practical sheep breeder, power¬ 
fully operates on worms, maggots, and the like, and is often 
used by physicians for their destruction. A few drops iu the 
earn of the slice]) pass at once to the place of action, and may 
prevent the progress of tlib disease and, removing the cause, 
give health. 
To Cure Kicking Horses. —In No. 13 I noticed an inquiry 
about a kicking horse. If the horse stands betwceD two par¬ 
titions, bore a two inch hole in each, on a horizontal line, 
about one tutd a half inches above the horse’s hip; put a round 
gticlc in the holes, and put a pin in each end of the stick so 
that it will not foil; tie the horse pretty short, so that he will 
not back too far. He will try to kick, but will not be able. 
After a few ineffectual efforts he will give it up. After one or 
two years of such treatment the horse will bo cured. The 
horse can not hurt htmself, for the stick is too near his hips. 
I have two mares that used to kick. I tried this plan and cured 
them.— J. R., Cape Vincent, 1862. 
Lick on Calves.— T. C. B., of Austinburg, Ohio, wishes to 
rid his calves of lice. Calves which have proper food and 
care are seldom troubled with lice; but if they should get 
lousy, smoking them with tobacco, I think, is sure to kill 
them. It may be done in the following manner:—Bore a hole 
with a two-inch auger in a small block of wood, fill it with 
fine tobacco, fit on a cover, insert a tube on each side, blow 
Provincial Exhibition for 1862.—It is announced that 
the Provincial Agricultural Association of Canada West is to 
hold its uext Annual Exhibition in the city of Toronto, on 
Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st, 2d, and 3d, 1S62. Wo trust this 
announcement is incorrect, for the time named is the same as 
that Borne weeks ago designated for holding the New York 
State Fair. As thc State Fair is to be held in Rochester, we 
had hoped to see thousands of our Canadian neighbors iu 
attendance, as exhibitors and visitors, white many Western 
New Yorkers had anticipate ! a visit to the Provincial Exhibi¬ 
tion with pleasure, But if these important shows are to be 
held the same week — aud oil the same days, os announced — 
thc value and interest of each will he lessened, wlule hosts of 
Canadians and New Yorkers will be precluded the pleasure 
and benefit expected from witnessing both We trust a 
change of time will he made by the Association or our Society, 
as each will thereby be benefited, the cause promoted, ami 
the people of both Province and State accommodated. 
-—♦-<- 
Liberal and Wise— Currant and Grape Seed in Demand! 
—Au M. D. writes from Linn Co., Iowa, incloBing 15 cents in 
stamps, requesting us to send him some seeds. A part of 
his well written letter reads:—-' First, 1 want some currant 
seed. Red and White Dutch and White Grape; some seeds of 
the best variety of Rhubarb — some mammoth kind; and of 
Strawberries, Wilson's Albany, and, if you have it, some 
Delaware grape seed I” Our correspondent need not have 
added that he is “not acquainted with the Rural, merely 
having seen an advertisement of it,” for no reader of it would 
be so verdant as to send for seeds of the plants named. Sorry 
we cant, comply; but we do not sell those kinds of seeds, 
and if wc did, the five red stamps would hardly be an object. 
If thc Dr. is in earnest about procuring the currants, straw¬ 
berries, grapes, Jkc.. let hint send to some reliable nurseryman 
for cuttings, vines, d-c., (not seeds,) aud he may succeed. He 
will find the address of such a party, and more than one, 
among the advertisements in the specimen numbers of the 
Rural which we forward as per request at the close of his 
refreshing epistle 
Kentucky State Fair —The directors of the Ky. State Ag. 
Society have resolved to hold its annual exhibition this year— 
to commence Sept. 16, and continue five days. The Fair will 
be held on the grounds of the SoutbwesteruJAg. Society, near 
Louisville. A liberal premium list is to be published as soon 
as possible- Noticing the proposed Fair, the Louisville Jour 
nal says:—“ This movemeut looks like confidence in the early 
termination of our national difficulties, aud will have a cheer¬ 
ing influence upon the agricultural interests of Kentucky. 
There is every present prospect of plenteous croptj; and our 
stock raisers were never in a better condition to make fine 
exhibitions.” 
Micuigan Sugar Cask Growers' Association. — The 
recent Convention of Sugar Cane Growers, at Adrian, Mich., 
permanently organized “The Michigan State Sugar Cane 
Growers’ Association,” and elected the following board of 
officers for the first year: President — Robert F. Johnstone, 
of Detroit. Secretary — William Crego, of Liberty, Jackson 
Co. Treasurer — W G. Beckwith, of Cassopolis, Cass Co. 
fcut I took up my pen to discourse on one cele- the house, and there should be beauty for her eye to inilk. Stock cattle with plenty of hay and roots into one tube and the smoke will pass out at the other. Tie 
brated root, the “ Chufa, or Ground Almond.” I fall upon. 
will not need meal to keep them thriving. A good 
had a small package sent me by a worthy Congress- A great many well-meaning farmers take too little rooUcutter is indispensable in feeding out roots, 
man, and planted the same according to directions, pains to promote the happiness of their wives in this Then, as to the order in which the various roots 
and raised about a peck. 1 he plant is a species of respect. They think, if their fields are kept secure should be used up, we always begin with the white 
sedge. The roots grow similar to potatoes; the tops and their cattle and flocks are well to do, that their or soft turnips. These grow quickly and remain in 
look similar to common marsh grass, and are some 
eight or ten inches long. The tubers are a trifle 
larger than those of good, strong timothy roots. In 
the Patent Office Report lor 1855, at page 13 and 14, 
we read:—“ The Earth Almond,or Chnfa, (Cyj>erus 
escutentvs.j a small tuberous esculent from the 
south of Spain, has naturalized itseif to our climate 
and soil, and has proved very prolific in its yifeld 
duty is done, and they fall into this dreadful habit 
ol letting things look rough and slovenly about the 
house and outbuilding^. Broken carts, piles of 
lumber, logs, posts, and old trash, will be found 
lying about directly in front of their house, which 
have no more business there than they have in the 
middle of their wheat-field. 
Let the pigs be chasfed out of the yard and kept 
their best condition but a few weeks. By the first 
of January they begin to sprout, and lose something 
of their value. The ruta bagas and white French 
turnips keep w r oll through the winter, and may be 
used at anytime; carrots and sugar beets may be 
used as soon as they are dug. The mangel wurzel 
needs to undergo a curing process, and should not 
be used before February. They are excellent keep- 
viously cover the calf with a blanket, and the “ varmints " wifi 
- skedaddle ’ like the rebels when the Yankees are after them, 
Let T. C. B. try it, and if it don’t prove true every time, then 
write me down no prophet.— Addison Hunt, Russel, O. 
Cribbing Horses— Observing an inquiry in the Rural 
about cribbing horses, I would say to “Rural Reader,” if he 
will examine the horse's mouth he will find some of the front 
teeth shortened so that they can not meet. The remedy for 
cribbing is to file the teeth so that the front teeth will meet 
together.— A N,, Auburn, A. T, 1862. 
Warts in a Steeh's Nose.— A “Subscriber” will find a 
remedy-in the free and repeated application of Olive Oil to the 
wart—A. Nash, Auburn , A. Y., 1862. 
Directors — JUIiii Richards, of Teen much; Wm^lraft, of Ply¬ 
mouth; T F. Fowler, of Hillsdale. The objeelW^ the Asso¬ 
ciation are “to collect and disseminate information as to the 
most successful method of cultivating thc Sorghum and of 
manufacturing sugar therefrom.” 
-. ♦ -- 
Agriculture of Massachusetts.— We are indebted to 
Charles L. Flint, Esq.. Secretary, for “The Ninth Annual 
Report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Beard of Agri¬ 
culture, together with Reports of Committees appointed to 
visit tlie County Societies— with an Appendix containing an 
Abstract of the Finances of the County Societies for 1861.” It 
i* a handsome octavo volume of over 300 pages, and appar¬ 
ently entitled to a more careful examination and extended 
notice than we can give it at present. 
Gbeat English and Scotch Cattle Show. — It is an¬ 
nounced that the Royal Agricultural Society of England and the 
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland have jointly 
airafiged to conduct an International Cattle Show in London 
tids summer, and Battersea Pork has been granted for the 
purpose, where the necessary inclosure and buildings will be 
made. The show will Dike place during the week commenc¬ 
ing the 23d of June, 1862, and will no doubt prove 8 grand 
affair. 
-- ♦ -- 
TnE Union Ag. Societt of Palmyra Is to hold its next 
annual Fair in that village, Oct 6th, 7th, aud 8th. The 
officers for 1862 are: President — Abraham I. Carle. Vice 
Presidents — W P. Nottingham, Lemuel Durfee, Nahum 
Warner Cor Secretary —P. Tucker. Rtc. Secretary —James 
F. Palmer. Treasurer— G. W. Cuyler. Directors —Hendee 
Parslmll, John Strong, C. B. Bingham, I. V • Bradbury, Jacob 
Norris, P. M. Stvtpplebeen. 
-- 
Tub Pbnn. State Ag. Society lias resolved to bold a Fair 
during the ensuing fall, and invites proposals from different 
localities in the State. 
