\ which may be either a speech, or a suggestion, in 
i any form which shall lead to a discussion. The 
discussions are conducted in a social manner, like 
unto the light conversations at a tea or country 
quilting party. The talk is confined to agriculture, 
except when politics, religion, war, medicine, spirit¬ 
ualism, or some other subject is specially introduced. 
Atmany of the meetings during the past winter, liter¬ 
ary productions of some of the members have been 
read, which reflected credit on their authors. The 
most of the meetings during the summer season are 
held on the shore, or perhaps 1 might more appro¬ 
priately say upon the waters of Lake Erie. These 
meetings arc certainly very pleasant, if not instruc¬ 
tive. After a baptism (by immersion) and a cleans¬ 
ing ol the outer man, (man in the generic sense of 
the word,) a picnic dinner is usually served in a 
convenient grove. 
Thus much has been said concerning this club, 
because 1 think it is conducted differently from any 
other of which T have heard or read. There was a 
constitution adopted at its formation, but it. has 
scarcely been beard of since. The meetings have 
been kept up by the simple desire which farmers 
and farmers’ wives here fool to cease for a few hours 
at a time from the arduous duties of every day life, 
and let mind and body be rciuvigorated for their 
tasks by a healthful tlow of social feelings. Though 
its rival, the A. I. F. C.. has received a larger share 
of the public attention, it justly claims to be com¬ 
posed of reading and thinking members, who believe 
they have been benefited by these opportunities to 
compare notes. The farmers of the town have taken 
an active part in procuring the law which was 
passed this winter in relation to read cattle, and 
much of the interest on the subject has been 
awakened by the discussions of the E. F. C. One 
other evidence of the good taste and sound sense of 
the members of the club is that they take several 
agricultural papers, but think the Rural is the best 
of the lot. 
Leaving Angola on Monday, I came here, where 
I found vegetation much more advanced than even 
•at, Rochester,though for the past six days it has 
been nearly stationary. The peach buds are not 
yet killed, and appearances indicate a large crop of 
fruit of all kinds. This is the finest section for fruit 
I ever saw. There is a strip of land from two to 
five miles wide, along the lake shore, from Catta¬ 
raugus Creek to Erie, Pa., and as much further as 
you please, which seems especially adapted to fruit 
culture. The “ oldest inhabitant” recollects of but 
one failure of the apple crop, and that was at the 
time of the great frost of J uno 5,1869. Grapes are 
grown here quite extensively, and they arc said to 
be equal if not superior to the same varieties grown 
near Cincinnati. The Catawba is said to ripen per¬ 
fectly. The Delaware, Diana and Concord have 
not been thoroughly tested, but are being rapidly 
introduced, and promise well. Winter wheat is 
looking very promisingly. J. v. d. 
• North East, Fu., Stay, 1862. 
BUTTER-MAKING IN WINTER. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: — Having gleaned 
many very valuable hints and suggestions from the 
Rural, I deem it but just to add my mite for the 
good ot all concerned. My experience as regards 
butter-making in winter, has been this:—First, good 
cows. Second, good keeping,—that is, all they can 
or will eat of good wholesome food, and enough good 
water to drink. Third, good warm shelter and kind 
treatment. If your cows will not do well then, 
dispose ot them soon as possible, and procure better. 
We keep but one cow, and our neighbors often tell 
me, yon keep your cow to well,— she will bn no 
profit to you.—and these neighbors are dairymen, 
too. Last year we made 312 pounds butter and 
vealed her calf, aud this year she has commenced 
with far better prospects. This is nothing extra. 1 
am aware; but she was poor when we bought her 
last year j now she is what these dairymen would 
call in too high order. Her feed is all the good hay 
she will eat. with one daily feed of corn stalks, and 
one peck of routs and one quart of buckwheat bran, 
her milk, and slops from the house. She gives 15 or 
16 quarts daily, while these neighbors’ cows will not 
average 8. probably not more than 6 quarts. 
I do not like the plan of heating milk as soon as 
strained. 1 set mine in a cool room, say tempera¬ 
ture about 40° or below, for 2-1 hours, then set on the 
stove and warm gradually, just a little warm, so the 
cream will begin to wrinkle, (not too warm, for it 
spoils the butter;) then set hack and let stand 12 or 
24 hours longer, and if you do not have a cream 
worth taking off, your experience is not mine. I 
churn as often as twice a week. 1 grate up a good 
sized carrot for 5 ibs. butter and strain the juice into 
the cream before churning. The butter looks and 
tastes like May butter. Some put water into the 
carrot; I prefer the pure juice of the carrot. Some¬ 
times I wash and sometimes I do not wash my 
butter. 1 always find ready market for all I can 
make. I do not like to see farmers having plenty of 
hay to sell, and their cattle poor, their bones just 
pricking through the skin in the spring, and not 
able to raise themselves up without help. This is 
robbing Peter to pay Paul. s. w. 
Fairfield, Herk. Co., N. Y„ 1802. 
SORGHUM IN MICHIGAN. 
Eds. Rural New-Y'orker: — Having been en¬ 
gaged in the manufacture of sugar cane since its 
introduction into our State, though on a small scale, 
I have endeavored to gain all the information within 
my roach, for my own benefit and others, and I jot 
the same down for your journal. 
Experience has taught us that pure seed is an 
essential, together with good soil, for a paying crop 
of cane. It has been ascertained beyond a doubt, 
that sugar cane, when planted with corn, will mix 
so that the third crop will be worthless. The best 
soil with us is a sandy, gravelly loam, made rich 
with vegetable manure. All agree that cane should 
be cut before frost, also before dead ripe, but all are 
not aware that it is much better to stand ten days 
after it is cut before it is worked. There is a 
diversity of opinion here about apparatus to mnira- 
facture^ane into sugar. 
There are portable steam engines; and I would 
inquire through the Rural whether there are any 
bo arranged that the evaporator can be put over the 
boiler, taking the heat after it has gone through the 
boiler, and be a covering to retain the heat in 
the boiler, thus making one fire drive the engine, 
crush the cane, then with the exhaust steam convert 
the juice into sugar. If there is not, I make the 
suggestion, that some ingenious machinist may sup¬ 
ply the wants of the people. I want one such, and 
know of others that want the same, if they can be 
furnished at a moderate expense. When not used 
to work cane, we will take off our evaporator and 
put on a cover, and go about our other business of 
sawing wood, cutting staves, Ac. By having a 
portable apparatus, we save an enormous expense 
hauling cane. T. F. Fowler. 
Litchfield, Hillsdale Co.. Mich., 1862. 
BASKET WILLOW HEDGE. 
Ens. Rural New-Yorker: — I have received 
several letters of inquiry about my Basket Willow 
hedge, which remind me of the boy who, when bis 
companion had tickled him out of breath, after 
standing a short time to recover, said “Do it again. 1 ’ 
I supposed I had written all that is necessary, as 
regards description, to make a good fence from the 
Osier Willow, but if your readers desire to hear 
more about it, 1 am willing to -‘do it again.” 
First, set in early spring a single row of good, 
fresh, and large cuttings. Push them into well pre¬ 
pared soil, perpendicularly, thirty-three to the rod, 
leaving about two inches above the surface. If the 
soil is not rich, it should be well manured. Stretch 
a line to set by, in order to have the hedge straight. 
Keep down all weeds and grass. The willow, if 
set early on good soil, will give you a hedge four 
leet high the first summer. 
Cutall off close to the ground the second spring. 
Hoe once, if weeds appear, and you will have a 
growth, dense and pretty, eight feet high, the second 
fall. Form into hedge, by drawing a line through 
the center three or lour foot high. Cut off the rods 
that touch the line, and even on top by the line. 
These form living stakes, or standards, and should 
be about four inches apart, through which toe uncut 
willow is interlaced, according to fancy, finishing 
up with a sort of rope-like binding on top. The 
hedge is now complete, with the exception ol cover¬ 
ing it with thorns. This is done by cutting off the 
Osiers with a pruning knife, slanting each stub left 
on toe hedge, making a good sharp thorn. 
My first twenty rods of hedge were cut three feet 
from the surface. Wishing to have it higher, 1 pro¬ 
ceeded as follows:—Cut the Osiers at two inches 
above toe original top-binding,leaving one standing 
every three inches, in a straight line, toe whole 
length of the hedge. Commenced with the first 
Osier, passing it around the cedar stake at the end, 
bringing it forward, and passing it on the right of 
the first standing Osier and to the left of the next. 
So proceed the length of the Osier, which in mine 
was an average of about five feet. Bend the next 
Osier at about six inches above the top of the old 
line, and work it into line toe same as the first, and 
so continue through. Each Osier holds the one 
hack of it in place, and the whole forms a nice 
addition to the hedge, and adds to its strength. 
I like this hedge, because the willow bears any 
amount of freezing without injury, is not injured by 
field mice or rabbits, looks very pretty, and costs 
but little. One hedge furnishes the material for the 
next. It makes a paying lonce. Each rod, at three 
years old, will furnish the material for four corn 
baskets of two bushels each, without injury to itself, 
but be improved by toe additional thorns produced 
by cutting off the Osiers. I like it, because its 
general introduction will be of large benefit to the 
country, multiplying home comforts and stopping 
the importation of foreign Osiers. I like it, because 
! like to see the children happy; and what makes 
better sport for them than to harness “Fido,”and 
hitch him before the little willow wagon? 
Victory, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 1862. D. L. Halsey. 
SOWED CORN FOR FODDER. 
Eds. Rural Nkw-Yorrkr: —Last year we sowed 
a patch of corn for fodder. The result was a per¬ 
fect success. Befan to cut for cows and oxen about 
the middle of August, when pasture was getting 
short and meadows not fit to turn into, and con¬ 
tinued until frost in October. 1 had prepared an 
estimate of the weight grown on an acre, but it is so 
enormous that I forbear giving it, lest it should 
injure ray character for veracity. Fourteen head of 
cattle, were fed almost entirely upon the product 
of pur patch of one-half acre for more than two 
months. They preferred it to grass, ale up all the 
stalks aud leaves, and did finely upon it. I don't 
believe the hungriest, greediest ox could possibly 
have eaten the growth of a square rod in a day. 
Nothing that 1 am acquainted with will yield eo 
large a hulk of rich, juicy feed, as corn for summer 
and fall fodder. Corn, certainly, is king. We have 
not tried to cure any for winter use, but intend to 
sow 1 a larger breadt h, that we can do so the present 
season. 
Our crop toe past season was moderately man¬ 
ured and sowed in drills three feet apart, aud hoed 
once with the horse hoe. Some sowed it broadcast, 
but it is not so handy cutting, and some weeds will 
get up. We used at the Tate of three bushels of 
seed to the acre. Every man who keeps a cow 
should sow a piece of corn. It seems to he the only 
way to become independent of dry weather and 
short pastures. a. 
New Haven Co., Conn., 1S62. 
LETTER FROM WISCONSIN. 
Advantages of the West — The Season, Crop Prospects, rfre.— 
Wool Growing—Wheat in Stare—The Times and the Par. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker:— Your paper has an 
extensive circulation in the West, and a large num¬ 
ber of interested readers, and some excellent contri¬ 
butors; yet from this State and Illinois, 1 see but 
few articles on topics of general interest and inform¬ 
ation. We of the West feel proud of our part of the 
country, its great thoroughfares and unlimited re¬ 
sources. I am sure that our facilities and improve¬ 
ments are but indifferently well known by that, 
portion of the east who have never journeyed 
westward. They can hardly realize that Chicago 
and Milwaukee are the greatest wheat emporiums 
in the world. And they are not prepared to believe 
that corn cribs are measured by the mile in Southern 
Wisconsin and Illinois. And so cheaply can corn 
be produced, that it is used for fuel, being preferable 
to coal, or wood, and much cheaper than either, at 
six cents a bushel. But this is not a common occur¬ 
rence. Last year the yield of corn was remarkably 
large, aDd owing to the war, the demand limited, 
and prices a mere trifle. 
The spring with us has been very backward. The 
weather cold, stormy, and wet. Farmers have just 
finished putting in their spring grain and com¬ 
menced plowing for corn. The labor of putting in 
spring grain here is muoh lessened by doing all the 
plowing in the fall, which makes the soil lighter and 
better—when not beaten down by too heavy rains— 
and ensures better crops. All kinds of spring 
wheat are sown, but which gives toe greatest yield 
I am not prepared to say. For milling, Club has 
the preference, as it makes toe most flour, and the 
best. There is but little winter wheat sown in the 
Southern part of the State, but in the timber 
districts, in the Middle and Northern part of the 
State, it is the principal crop. Winter wheat would 
have done well any where iu Wisconsin this year, 
so far as going through the winter and spring is 
concerned, as both have been very favorable; the 
former on account of the great body of snow which 
lay in one unbroken sheet for months, and the latter 
being cold and wet The knowing ones predict a 
large yield of winter wheat this harvest, while they 
think spring wheat will be a light yield, because it 
was sown late. The criterion is a good one to judge 
by. for such has generally been the fact heretofore. 
But it depends in a measure upon ihe summer 
months; if June and July are cool and moist, toe 
prospect is still favorable for an abundant harvest. 
Considerable attention is paid to wool-growing in 
this part of the State, and it is found to be much 
more profitable than growing grain. Sheep do well 
here. The best Is a cross of the Spanish and 
French, both for wool and stock. The Southern 
part of this State is finely adapted for sheep, and 
farmers are giving more attention to wool growing 
than they have for years. 
There are thousands of bushels of wheat still in 
store here, and in the hands of the farmers. They 
are not disposed to sell at present prices. 
Some complain of hard times, and wish for a 
speedy and successful termination of the war, and 
the destruction of the enemies of the liberty of our 
country. We really are not suffering by the war; 
we have all heart could wish, and as a patriotic 
people, are ready to sacrifice the last dollar upon 
the altar of our country, in the defense of freedom 
and free principles. c. i. s. 
Bristol, Kenosha Co., Wis., May 7,1862. 
Spirit of tfto 
Hop Vines for Binding Grain. 
The editor of the 31aine Farmer suggests the 
use of hop vines for bands in binding grain, corn¬ 
stalks, straw, Ac. “They are strong, flexible and 
tough, and have the advantage of being longer than 
Osiers, if you wish them longer. Indeed, they may 
be cut of any required length, and may be keptand 
saved after toe hops have been gathered, cut into 
convenient lengths, and laid away until another 
year for the grain binding.” 
Tin? Potato Disease. 
J. B. Austin, of Warren, Mass., writes to the 
Boston Cultivator , that five years close observation 
and experience in regard to the potato disease, 
prove conclusively, to his mind, that the best rem¬ 
edy consists in separating the tops from the tubers 
as soon as the former show any evidence of disease 
or blight. This is done by carefully pulling the 
tops, the workman placing his feet around them so 
as to prevent the tubers from being drawn out. 
Ashes ami Plaster on Corn. 
We have been in the practice, for some years 
past, of applying a mixture of ashes and plaster to 
each hill of corn immediately after planting it. 
Take eight bushels of ashes and two bushels of 
plaster, and mix them together. This will suffice 
for an acre. 
Now place a handful of this mixture on each hill 
as soon as an acre has been planted and covered. 
The print of the hoe will show where the corn is 
covered. By dropping the ashes aud plaster at this 
time you will save one-half the labor compared with 
waiting till after the corn is up. You will keep the 
worms at a distance and start the corn earlier. And 
as weeds are not ready to start up throngh ashes, 
you will find the labor of hoeing much less than 
where weeds are found in the hills. So says the 
Massachusetts riovghrnan. 
Care Taken In Feeding Stock in France. 
A recent French writer, in speaking of the 
system of caring for the cattle in the department of 
La Vendee, says: 
“ A farmer would think all was lost if his cattle 
did not get food between four and five in the morn¬ 
ing. The day is one continual feeding-time; Llie 
cattle are scarcely allowed an interval of two con¬ 
secutive hours lo rest and ruminate. They get, 
successively, a small wisp of hay, then cabbage, 
then hay; they are then taken to water; then they 
get more cabbage, turnips, swedes mixed with hay, 
until they refuse to eat; and in the evening, about 
nine or ten o’clock, the racks are again filled. The 
turnips and all roots are w r ashed, scraped with a 
knife, and cut, as if intended for the broth-pot 
“These attentions of the Vendeans are only tri¬ 
fling; but what shall we call those ol the Gascons, 
who, it is said, sing during the whole time their 
cattle are feeding? When the singer stops, the cat¬ 
tle cease eating. I have never been able to ascer¬ 
tain it it was necessary to sing true or false, or if as 
many orpheonists were required as pairs of oxen; I 
am inclined to believe that this is the case, for I am 
assured each ox eats all his food from the hand of 
his attendant._ 
The Best Gate, and How to Make It. 
In the Ohio Farmer of February loth, one 
correspondent, on fencing of barn-yards, etc., 
says;—“The best gate is made of scantling and 
boards.” To this another correspondent re¬ 
marks:—“I say, as the Irishman (lid ot his friend’s 
dinner, which was meat and potatoes, ‘that it 
was just his, burrin’ the meat.’ So this gate is 
just mine, barrin’ the scantling. Formerly I 
used scantling, two by three, and two By lour 
inches, for the frame of my gates; but one time, 
now some twelve years since, I had no scantling, 
and therefore built my gate, which was ten feet long, 
frame with strips of board, one by four inches for 
the latch end, and one by eight inches for the hinge 
end of the gate; brace, one by six inches. My 
lower board, one by eight inches; next above, one 
by six inches; next two, each one by lour inches; 
the whole secured by wrought nails clinched, and 
hung with strap hinges. This gate is now, and 
has been all the time from its construction, in daily 
use. and has never sagged an inch. From that time 
to the present, I have always built my gates with¬ 
out scantling, and have found them equally as good 
barriers as those built with scantling, while they are 
lighter, cost less, and do not sag. Any one can 
build such a gate and hang itr-the posts being set- 
in two hours.__ 
Thirty Years in the Corn Field. 
A correspondent of the Country Gentleman 
thus details the experience accumulated during 
thirty years cultivation of corn: 
1, It is best to plow the land well before planting, 
because that will save work in planting and hoeing, 
although it does not usually increase tho crop; 
indeed, I have seen good corn grow on the same 
land for several years in succession, without the 
land being plowed at alL 
2. It is best (if planted in hills) to make the rows 
run both wavs, and then toe cultivator or plow will 
go both ways, and it will be but little work to hoe 
it It is also best to put a little quick manure in 
the hill, to give it an early start; but if guano is 
used in the bill, put it five or six inches one side ot 
the seed; if it is put under the seed it will kill it 
3. It is heat to try or sprout some of the seed 
before planting, to be sure it will grow. Do not get 
the hills too thick; three and one-half feet each way. 
four stalks on a hill, is right on my land; if I plant 
thicker, the ears will be small. It is better to plant 
some sort of corn which inclines to grow a cob 
longer than will fill out on toe tip end, as there will 
then be room on the cob for as much corn to grow as 
the strength of the laud will admit of. 
4. When hoeing, the top of the ground should be 
kept mellow and level, and free from weeds. When 
ready to hoc the last time, which should be the first 
part of July, scatter a very little turnip seed all 
over the ground, and if toe land is in good order, 
there will probably be a fair crop of turnips (or 
cattle, provided the corn is cut up by the roots as 
soon a- it is ripe enough; but if the corn stands too 
late, turnips will be scarce. 
5. It is hard to keep the same sort of seed a long 
time, because it I save for seed the ears which are 
first ripe, in a few years it gives a small, early sort. 
If 1 save the largest ears for seed, it only takes a 
few years to get a very late sort If I save such 
ears as. grow two on a stalk, I soon have a sort 
which will grow three or four or five ears on a stalk, 
but all small 
6. Corn will shrink by drying in the crib more 
than we are apt to suppose—probably 25 bushels 
out of 100. When I succeed in raising 100 bushels 
of well dried corn on one acre in one year, I intend 
to save the corn till all my neighbors can see it 
Sorghum in Indiana. 
Jonathan EnoEnoMB, of Lima, Lagrange Co., 
Ind., gives the Journal of the New York State Ag. 
Society toe following statement of his experience in 
raising toe sugar cane: 
“ Rev. Christopher Cory A Sons, of Lima, manu¬ 
factured my Sorghum Sirup from one-fourth of an 
acre, 683 hills, averaging about five stalks to a hill. 
The most of the suckers I cut out, but shall not do it 
again, as it causes the stalks to sucker out at the 
joints above. 
“ 1 stripped my cane while standing, and was par¬ 
ticular to strip off the base of the leaf which sur¬ 
rounds the stalk down to.toe joint, and to cutoff the 
top below the first joint from the top, and as the fall 
was favorable to maturing farm products, 1 did not 
cut up my cane until the last of October, and the 
cane was kept dry, and made by Messrs. Cory the 
first week in November, the cane being well 
stripped. Messrs. Cory said the juice was of a 
better quality than any they had manufactured, aud 
required less reducing. I had forty-eight gallons of 
first rate simp, thick, light colored, and fine flavor, 
eqnal to 192 gallons per acre. But, sir, if 100 gal¬ 
lons only is made from the acre, and 20 cents i3 
paid per gallon for manufacturing, it will then leave 
$30 per acre, at 50 cents per gallon, and that is 
better than wheat or corn growing. 
“ It will not mix with Indian corn, but will with 
broom corn. No broom corn should be planted 
within sixty or seventy rods of it on level laud, and 
for safety it better be a greater distance. The stalk 
of toe pure cane is solid, and yields juice largely, 
but by mixing with broom corn the stalk is porous 
and dry. I think good cane can be grown on the 
flats of the Hudson, Mohawk and Genesee rivers. It 
should be planted four feet apart, and no more than 
four seeds or stalks to a hill. 
“ The seed should he soaked twenty-four hours in 
warm-water a little below blood heat before plant¬ 
ing; plant at too usual time of planting corn. Let 
it stand as long as possible in the fall without freez¬ 
ing, (a light frost will not. hurt it,) and keep the cane 
dry and from freezing after it is cut up until it is 
manufactured. 
“ 1 shall plant sufficient next season to make two 
hogsheads. The sirup improves in flavor by giving 
it age.” 
gfttpijpifjg and gmsuw. 
Scraping ran Horns or Cattle — Will some one, through 
the eolumiiH of the Rural, please inform me whether the 
horns of cattle can be turned from their natural way ol’ grow¬ 
ing by scraping? On which side should they be scraped to 
cause them to turn inward?—E. S. Knowi.es, Canadicc. JV. 
K, 1862. 
What Ails thh Pigs?— Being a reader of the Rural, and 
having lost some pigs with a disease new to me, 1 wish to 
inquire through its columns what the disease is, and the rem¬ 
edy. if therei s any. The pigs ere taken with hard breathing, 
making a wheezing noise, ami die in twenty-four hours. They 
are taken at from four to six weeks old. They run with the 
sow —N. Walter, Milton 4 May, 1862. 
Lambs Dying — Information Wanted.— 1 have 53 sheep, 
aud have kept them in a good warm rhed. open to the south 
Only, with a small yard, in which I have fed them hay, and 
joining this I have another small yard, in which I have fed 
them their grain. They cun drink as they like. I have mixed 
corn and oats iu equal quantities, and have giveu them seven 
quarts every day regularly all winter, and all the good hay they 
wished. My sheep are In good couditlou, but from some 
cause I am losing nearly all my lambs. There are bunches in 
the throat, one each side of the windpipe. Some get up, und 
some do not—some live one hour, and some from that to 
twenty-four hours. The latter time is the longest any have 
survived after an attack. Will some of the many readers of 
tbe Rural please inform me if they know the cause, so 1 need 
not lose again?—E. It. U., Owego, A. V., 1862. 
Trouble in tub Flock — What is tup. Difficulty? —We 
have had bad tunes with our sheep the past winter, having 
lost 60 or 70 of our flock Of £20 by some disease, we know not 
wlmt. The first we discover of it, we sec them separating 
from the flock, then they become weak, notable to get op, and 
so they will remain for from three days to two or three weeks, 
their appetite usually good until they die. After taking the 
pelts off, wo iiml that the part* about the bowels arc mortified, 
or immediately turn blue or black. We think the disease 
must be in the bowels. We have also noticed in some of the 
sheep that their luugs were of two colors, one a natural, or 
reddish color, the other a dark, or bluish color,—perhaps one- 
third of them of flic dark color. The disease does not affect 
last year’s iambs as much as it, does tic ewes. The disease 
apparently commenced last fall, some time before grass was 
gone, and has been increasing since. If you, or any of the 
Rural’s readers can give us any information, you will confer 
a favor by doing no. Wild parsnip grows here, yet it does not 
affect other small flocks of sheep kept a little distance from 
us — P. G. Lamokpacx, Lansing , Mower Co., Minn. 
To Cure Cracks on Cows’Teats.—I n answer to J • B., 1 
would say, after milking, rub molasses on the teats and in the 
cracks. Apply it for two or three days, and your cows’ teats 
will b« all sound.—C. S. B., North Ridge, N. Y. 
Flax and its Culture.— As 1 am a fond Rural reader, I 
feel willing to present my humble opinion, the result of six¬ 
teen years' experience in flax culture, in answer to J. A. B., 
Onondaga county. Loam, clayey loam, is the best adapted 
to the growth of flax. Gravelly loam is good. Sandy laud 
produces thin, light fiber Muck and tnoist black sand may 
produce a great growth, but the flax is very apt to be attacked 
by rust, which destroys the fiber. In answerto “ Subscriber ” 
of Chicago, 111., 1 would say, time of sowing from the 26th of 
April until the 15tb of May, according to the weather and 
condition of soil. Last year I sowed as lute as tho 24th of 
May, and obtained a good crop. For seed and fiber, sow 
about 36 to 38 quarts per acre.—E. C. Crosman, Williamson , 
Wayne Co., N. Y., 1862. 
Rural Notes null Stems. 
The Season. —The weather of last week was mostly COc ; 
with slight frosts on the nights of the 23d aud 24th. Tl,„ 
present week opened warmer, and its first tliree days i laTe 
been seasonable. Rain is greatly needed, the earth being 
dry that seeds are very slow in vegetating The blossoms lm | 
foliage of fruit and forcet trees are about ob tornard 
were at this date last year, and some think the season earlier 
hereabouts, than it was then. This is very eucouraging, afp,,. 
the cold and unpromising weather which has prevailed f or 
weeks Farmers are very busy, the labors of seed time foil? 
employing the forces at command Com planting is nearly 
completed in this section, and the crop will probably he in w 
early as it was last season. The prospects are much more 
favorable at the close of May than could have been anticipated 
two or three weeks ago, and we congratulate all soil off. 
tivators thereupon. 
The Season in ths West— Chicago. May 23. IS63. —Tl.., 
greater portion of the week ending to day has. hero, been 
cold and wet But this condition of things has not extended 
in all directions in this State or tbe West Strawberries are 
now coming into market from lower Egypt—South Tass, and 
vicinity. At Champaign, tlie early planted com is lan.,, 
enough to work; but farmers are in the mid3t of the planting 
season. Crops of all kinds look well. Tbe fmit prospect 
from all quarters is gratifying. A frost of the 19th caused 
some apprehensions, and did some damage in gardens in some 
localities, but we hear no complaint of injury to fruit At 
this writing, the weather is deliglitfuL From all quarters we 
hear gratifying reports of the sales of trees and plants; and 
tbe season for transplanting, though short, could not have 
been better,—c. ». n. 
Going to tup. World’s Fair. — We understand that Col 
B. P Johnson, Secretary of tbe State Agricultural Society, 
has made arrangements to visit England and attend the Inter¬ 
national Exhibition. We are glad to learn that Col. J. will 
attend to any agricultural business Which citizens of tile loyal 
States may desire transacted. As lie was the Commissioner 
from this State to the great Industrial Exhibition held at. Lon¬ 
don in 1851. where he occupied a prominent position and 
rendered essential aid to American exhibitors, his experience 
and influence must, prove valuable to those who secure, Ids aid 
and services at the present exhibition. We refer inventors 
and other exhibitors at the World’s Fair who bavo inquired 
of us for a competent agent in London, to Col. Johnson. 
He sails for England to-day—May 31st—aud while there may¬ 
be addressed to the care of W. V. .Morgan, Arundel street, 
Londou, W. C. 
“King Cotton” coming North. —According to the N Y. 
Journal of Commerce of recent date, the amount of eottou 
already received at Uiat port from the rebel 9tates, and ginned 
for the benefit of the Government, is about 2,500.000 lbs, It 
also adds:—•* Nearly 1,000.000 lbs. have arrived within the last 
ten days. Only one small lot has yet come front Florida, and 
that is to be ginned for the owner, a strong Union man. Over 
forty machines of the Macarthy and Brown patterns are now 
employed by the Government on its cotton in South Brooklyn. 
Great care is taken to preserve the seeds of the finest lots, to 
be sent to the ground from which they came and replanted 
tbere.’ 1 
— Speaking of cotton, a correspondent of the N. Y. WorUl , 
assuming that the war will bo over by next midsummer, pre¬ 
dicts:—“ 1. That at least six million bales of American cotton 
will be available for the commerce of the world before tbe 
following spring. 2. That owing to the American war an 
unusually largo eottou product maybe expected from India, 
Egypt, West Africa, Brazil, and the Other cotton growing 
regions; and 3. As a consequence, that a cotton glut will 
succeed the cotton famine, and unusually low prices the high 
rates which have heretofore prevailed.” 
Rapid Incur ask of 8wlvb. —Very few new married people 
are so abundantly supplied with meat as were tbe couple thus 
told about by Mr. W. Allen, of Bcllefontame, Ohio — 
“Among the many marvelous things said about bogs of late, 
I have seen nothing that quite comes up to the history 1 wish 
to give of a little Suffolk sow owned by Mr. RoiittKT WooDfc, 
of Champaigu county, Ohio. This sow. when a pig, was a 
present to a young couple just commencing'married life and 
to struggle for themselves under somewhat adverse circum¬ 
stances. This little sow has, however, nobly performed her 
part in the way of supplying them with that necessary staple, 
pork, for she had, between tbe 16th of March, 1861 and the 
25th of February, 1862, (being 19 days less than one year.) 56 
pigs—two litters of 16 each, and one of 24. She was not able, 
however, to raise them all, but as many as the proprietor saw 
fit to have with her look fine and thrifty. The smallest one 
of the first litter was raised as a pet, and killed at seven mouths 
old. weighing 222 pounds net. If any of the hog men among 
your numerous Rural subscribers can beat this, we shall be 
glad to hear from them.” 
An Important Want. —An honest man is wanted as Com¬ 
missioner of the new Department of Agriculture. Many 
desire the iduee—we have had some urgent appeals to ' en¬ 
dorse” applicants—hut it is doubtful whether the right, runn 
will be appointed. It is said the President has nominated Mr. 
Newton, present chief of the Agricultural branch of the 
Patent Office; but, believing him incompetent, we concur 
with a contemporary in hoping ' the Senate will reject the 
nomination at once, and oblige the President to name some 
person who is lioncst and capable.” If we are to have a 
distinct Agricultural Department, let it be managed by some 
one who understands and appreciates the wants and interests 
of the agricultural community. 
-- • 
Movement and Export of Grain. —Immense quantities of 
grain and flour are moving to New York via the Erie canal, 
much of which is destined for export. The N. Y. Repress 
says:—" if, when the canal opened in 1861, an average of 56s. 
44 in Great Britain stimulated an average export of two 
million per week from New York, it w ill uot rot on our bauds 
iu 1862, with the. average nt 68a. lOd. To prove that these 
prices will attract our grain, it need only bo said that six hun¬ 
dred tlwusand baskets of wheat freights were engaged on 
Tuesday in New York, May 20th. We have millions of 
bushels of grain to sell, aud fortunately for us Great Britain 
must buy it, and if need be, pay iu gold.” 
Sorghum Sugar.—W e are indebted to C. Cory, of Lima, 
La Grange Co., Ind , for a sample of sugar of his manufac¬ 
ture which was awarded a premium at the recent Sorghum 
Convention at Adrian, Midi. It iB one of tho best samples of 
Sorghum sugar wc have ever seen. Mr. C. writes.—’ 1 On this 
subject (Sorghum) we feel assured that wc arc about out of 
the woods. The path now seems light and plain before us. 
We, in connection with multitudes of others, have got the 
first lesson, to wit., the culture of the cane and the manu¬ 
facture of the sirup, almost perfect, aud now entertain high 
hopes of securing nearly equal perfection in the manufacture 
of sugar. The specimen I send you is of our own manufac¬ 
ture from the Chinese cane.” 
-- 
Is there a Live Stock Insurance Co.?—A Minnesota sub¬ 
scribers writes us for the address of a Live Stock Insurance 
Co,, adding that he sees none advertised. We believe there 
is uot, at present, any such company doing business in tins 
country, those which were in existence some years ago having 
failed or ceased operations. If we ure in error, will correct 
on receiving proper information. 
Grover’s Draft Beam Plow, advertised in this paper, is 
worthy the attention of the farming community. We gave » 
cut and description of tiffs improvement in the Rct.al oi 
N ov. 10, 1861, aud remarked upon its advantage in lightness 
of draft, based upon a trial we had witnessed. We under¬ 
stand the invention is meeting with much favor from farmers 
in sections of this aud other States where it has been introduced. 
Severe Frost in Indiana.—A friend writes us from Nen 
Carlisle, Indiana, uuder date of May 20th:—“ Wehad n killing 
frost last night. My cherries, peaches, grapes, and, t think, 
strawberries, are all cut off, aud almost everytlffng above 
ground. Ice was found about a quarter of an inch thick.” 
The Advertisement* in this number are mainly such as 
will prove of interest to our readers. The announcements cl 
improved implements, machines, etc., are especially seasona¬ 
ble and worthy the attention of all interested. 
