order to have the bunches, when they are placed on 
the cock, lie in such a position that they will not 
conduct the rain towards the middle ol the cock. 
The same principle holds equally good and im¬ 
portant in cocking hay. A skillful laborer will 
put up cocks of l.ailey or hay so that they will turn 
a good shower of rain, while another man, who pays 
little or no attention to the principle alluded to 
here, will put it in cocks which will not turn the 
rain at all. 
How Flnx is Elarrested. 
Ai l reports seem to indicate that a much larger 
breadth of land has been sown to flax the present 
year than is usual, hence we give from the Scientific 
American the following practical description of the 
mode of pulling the crop: 
The flax plant is of rapid growth, and it usually 
commences to flower within two months after its 
green spears first appear above the ground. It is 
generally agreed that the fiber is in the highest con¬ 
dition for manufacturing purposes before the seed 
becomes quite ripe. But a small quantity of seed 
can be obtained from the flax that is designed for 
the finest fiber. When both seed and fiber are 
required, which will generally be the case with our 
farmers, the flax should ftnnd until the seed has be¬ 
come plump and shiny. The fiber of the ripe flax is 
not so line and strong as that of partially green flax, 
still it is the very kind which may be used for most 
coarse fabrics, either to mix with cotton, or tor 
making mixed linen and woolen cloth. 
In Belgium, where fine flax culture has long been 
practised with distinguished success, a full grown 
plant is selected, and the best matured and ripest 
capsule is taken. This is cut across with a sharp 
knife, and the section of the seeds examined. If 
they have become firm inside, and the outside has 
assumed a deep green color, the plant is considered 
fit for immediate pulling. At this time the entire 
plant will exhibit signs of approaching maturity, 
the bottom of the stalk will be Been to have assumed 
a yellowish tint, and have become mncb harder to 
the touch than it was before—good indications of an 
interruption to the circulation of the juices of the 
plant If this altered condition be allowed to go 
on by the plant remaining in the ground, the change 
of color will rapidly make its way up the stem until 
it reaches the capsules, and then the seeds will be 
found to be fully matured, quite hard, and to have 
assumed the dark color with which we are so 
familiar in the market samples. The next stage of 
the plant would be the bursting of the seed vessels 
and direction of their contents, but to preserve both 
seed and liber, the plant should be harvested at the 
earlier state, at which time the fiber is at its best 
condition. If left until the seeds are quite matured, 
the stems get hard and woody, and the fiber is apt 
to get much broken in the subsequent process of 
separation. Long experience has proved that this 
is the most profitable time to pull flax. 
In order to get the greatest length of fiber, which 
is a matter ot great importance, flax is pulled up by 
the roots. The flax is pulled by band, each singly, 
grasping a small handful carefully by the neck, just 
below the seed vessels, and drawing it up out of the 
soil, and laying it in rows across one another. 
These are allowed to remain lying open on the 
ground for a certain time, generally one or two 
days; they are then collected together, and bound 
into small sized sheaves or bundles, care being 
taken that the band shall be placed just under the 
seed heads of the plant, and the bottoms or butts left 
unconfined and open. If the crop has been irregu¬ 
lar in its growth, and the stems are of unequal 
lengths, it is desirable, as far as it can be managed, 
to pull them in different bundles, according to their 
length, as both in steeping and scutching much 
fiber is otherwise lost. It is also desirable, In bind¬ 
ing Them, that the butts should be gently pressed on 
the ground, in order to regulate the length of the 
different stems. After the sheaves, or “ bundles," 
as they are termed, are bound, they are arranged in 
small stooks, usually of four, five, or six each, 
placed in a circle, the butts being well spread out, 
so as to admit the air freely to their centers—the 
weather, and the condition of the crop when pulled, 
of course regulating the period they have to remain 
on the field. 
will pay his wages to his wife the first of every 
month, just as though he was still in your service. 
Indeed, he is really in your service, and doing a 
harder and more dangerous work, than if plowing 
and hoeing your fields. Call him your representa¬ 
tive. See that the wood-pile is kept up at his house, 
and those little things attended to that only a man 
can do. 
In ten years from now some men will feel ashamed 
of their present meanness and cowardice, while the 
noble deeds and sacrifices of others will make them 
heroes, and all men will delight to do them honor. 
We have got through looking back to ’7G for our 
glory. The heroes of America ure now to be those 
of >02,—this is the time that will try men’s souls. 
Your boys want to go. God bless them for the 
noble, manly impulse. Who can blame them? Do 
you wish them to be cowards in a nation of heroes? 
Do you want them to stifle their impulses and dis¬ 
grace their manhood? Give your consent, of course; 
encourage them by your own spirit. Tell them you 
can get in the rest of the crops, that you are aching 
to do something for the cause, and go to work. 
Those joints will grow supple again, and in a few 
days you will renew your age and teel like a young 
man. 
This is a day in which every one must be up and 
doing. Even the women and children can do some¬ 
thing, and have done a good deal towards providing 
restoratives and comforts for the sick and wounded. 
We must all work or fight; and whether we work or 
fight, it must be lor the same object — our country’s 
good. Individual interest must be lost sight of, 
and the greater interest absorb all our thoughts, 
hopes, desires and labors. Old Farmer. 
Rural Notes anb 3tans 
longer, all will be secured in good order. The Hes¬ 
sian fly is in some of the earliest sown fields, but 
has done no material damage, except to make it 
lodge; and the midge is in some of the late heads, 
yet I think it has caused no material injury to 
winter wheat, but has nearly annihilated spring 
wheat in these parts. There is on all wheat that I 
have seen a purple or red insect, (louse,) which is 
something new here, at least I have never noticed 
it before. They are innumerable,—literally cov¬ 
ering the ground. After binding and removing a 
bundle, they can be seen by thousands. Spring 
wheat and oats are also full of them. tVhat they 
are. or whether it is another enemy to grain, I don't 
know. [We presume it is the Grain Aphis, de¬ 
scribed in a late number of the Rural. J Grass is 
heavy, and oats a full medium crop., fruit in 
abundance.—W m. Coxe, Troy, Mich., July 28. 
How to Tan SUinn. 
T wo correspondents of the N. E, Farmer give 
the following directions: 
1. Take two parts of saltpeter and one of alum; 
pulverize finely, mix them, and sprinkle evenly 
over the flesh side of the skin: then roil the skin 
tightly together, and let it remain a few days, ac¬ 
cording to the weather; tbeu scrape the skin till it 
is soft and pliable, I have tanned skins in this way 
so that they are as soft and white as buckskins. 
2. A reader wishes to kuow the mode of tanning 
coon and fox skins with the fur on. I will give 
him my mode of operation. If the skin is green 
from the body, scrape all the flesh from if; then 
pulverize equal parts of saltpeter and alum, and 
cover the flesh part ol the skin with it: put the skin 
in such a manner as to hold the brine when dis¬ 
solved; then lay it away in a cool place—say the 
cellar—and let it lie four or six days: then cover 
the flesh part with soap, and wash oil with clean 
water; dry in the shade; roll and pull occasionally 
while drying; then roll and pull until soft and pliable, 
The Season and Chocs.— Since our last report the wea 
has been warm and pleasant — very favorable f or |, arvffR 
operations. Most of the crop of winter wheat has I 
secured in good order, contrary to the anticipati 0 „ g 0 f |f) 
farmers. The average temperature of last week (cur 
August 2.) was TO 14. but that of the present, bids fair u 
much higher, the heat of the first three days being oppr,, 5l 
The thermometer marked over 00 in the shade on g UI| 
ami Mon day. Good for the com crop, which is improv 
We continue to receive favorable reports concerning D 
crops, from almost every section, near and distant, —- 
‘•The awards have just been made, and we (America! 
received fifty-four medals and thirty-one honorable, mentioi 
for our ninety eight contributors—a far larger proportion tu'.! 
to any other country. McCormick's Reaper mid Wo,„c” 
Reaper and Mower, each awarded amedAl. Russell ,v T re 
main and Kirby & Osborn have four honorable ini-mi,,,.?’ 
Our Kire Engine. Pease s nils, of Buff.ln, Hotchkiss' IV|,,„. r 
mint Otis, are suecesstul, and SteinWay & Sons, and Hiisl sil , m , 
of New York, have medals for Pianos-a great triumph ,, V L 
the Londoners. Our articles are attracting ns they desen e 
much attention. I will send you a full list of awards in 0Hx l 
steamer. All oui 5« w ing Machines are awarded prizes ” 
— The ceremony of awarding the premiums at the j nter 
national Ex hibitiotl in Loudon took place on the 11th ult* 
the Puke of Cambridge officiating in the place of the Queen' 
A grand procession was formed in the Horticultural Gardens, 
and moved to the Exhibition Buildings to the Pound of music 
Mr A dams represented the United States, and all the digni- 
tarles of England were present. Earl Granville made an 
address to the international representatives, and Lord Taun¬ 
ton then delivered to the Duke of Cambridge a report on the 
verdict of the Juries Award. The number of medals voted 
by the juries amount to nearly seven thousand, and the hon¬ 
orable mentions to about five thousand three hundred. The 
proportion of awards to exhibitors is greater than in the 
International Exhibition of 1851, but less than in that of 1855. 
The English papers publish the awards to British exhibitors, 
which alone till half a dozen columns of small type. 
A Connecticut Sheep Story.— Eds. Dural:— 
I will give you a sheep story as a specimen of what 
is done in that Hue here in old Connecticut, Mr. P. 
B. P kck, ol' North Windham, a Rural subscriber, 
informed me, in a conversation I had with him a 
short time since, that fifteen years ago he had one 
sheep, and since then he has sold over 100, killed a 
number for mutton every fall, and now has a very 
handsome lot of 20, and all from one sheep. lie 
also tells me that on the loth of May. 1801, lie had 
3 ewes, and that in one year they had increased to 
21. One of them died, but be has now 20 fine sheep 
and lambs, and all from the 3 ewes and their proge¬ 
ny in one year. This looks a little like the story 
the man told about ids corn, when ho said that alter 
manuring a Hill of it with some new kind of fertil¬ 
izer, he picked 33 ears from the stalks, and a stake 
that he had placed near it also bore several hand¬ 
some ears. But friend Peck is a gentleman whose 
veracity none who know him doubt. He explains 
their increase to me in this way: The 3 original 
sheep had 7 lambs — 2 of them bad twins, the other 
triplets —4 ram and 3 ewe lambs. Before the year 
came around, they lambed a second time and had 
8, and the 3 lambs of the first lot also had lambs, 
thus making 21 in all. Twenty of them are now 
alive and in fine order. If any of your readers can 
beat this, let us hear from them.—G. C. R., Mans¬ 
field Center, Conn., 18G2. 
Economy ofrimnll Farms, 
The Maine Farmer, in an article on Chinese 
husbandry, deduces some conclusions in regard to 
the economy of small farms. 
1. The term small farms may need some qualifica¬ 
tion. In France the majority of farms do not aver¬ 
age more than five acres each; but here a farm of 
from fifty to seventy-five acres would be called a 
small farm. And we believe there is more profii in 
working a farm of t his size, considering the expenses 
attendant upon it, than in carrying on a farm of 
three hundred acres. Eventually, all our farms 
will be reduced in size, partly for the purpose of 
conducting them (o more profit, and partly because 
agriculture will ultimately be the leading profession 
engaged in. 
2. We learn another lesson from their methods of 
saving fertilizing materials to apply to the soil—a 
lesson of the greatest importance, and one which 
we could use to good advantage. Were the same 
economy in saving manure practiced here as is 
common in China, we could support a population 
double our present number, send men enough to 
war to put down every rebellion, whip England and 
France, pay all our taxes, and leave everybody rich. 
3. In the application of manure and irrigation, 
another lesson is taught tis. There is no doubt that 
manure in a liquid form is the best food for plants 
that can be applied. It comes in direct contact 
with the rootlets, and in a form readily to be availa¬ 
ble for their growth. The more liquid manure we 
use, and the more irrigation is practiced—where 
practical de—the greater will lie our crops and the 
more sure our success. 
Eds. Rural New-Yorker: —As my wife is a 
subscriber to your paper, (and she being a very 
tine woman, allows me to read it,) i thought.! would 
take the liberty to address you, for the purpose of 
benefiting some of your readers with regard to the 
best mode ol curing horses that have vicious and 
disagreeable habits, especially the “kicker.” As I 
have liven strictly a horse man for the past ten 
years, and have tried many experiments with that 
class of horses, I think my view of the subject will 
interest those having to do with that noble animal. 
Undoubtedly, when the All-wise Creator gave 
man dominion over the beasts of the field, he de¬ 
signed that man should subjugate the horse, and 
make him a kind and faithful servant. Notwith¬ 
standing the ox, the camel, the ass, the goat, and 
the sheep were all domesticated a number of thou¬ 
sand years before the horse, the latter has been 
found to be the most uselul animal given by God 
to man, and yet, perhaps, the worst abused—over¬ 
worked, whipped, spurred, and half starved. 
'• The galled ox cannot complain, nor supplicate a moment’s 
respite; 
The spent horse hideth his distress, till he p&neth out his 
spirit at the goal; 
Also, in the winter of fife, when worn by constant toil, 
If ingratitude forget his services, ho cannot bring them to 
remembrance. 
Behold, he is faint with hunger; the big tear standeth in his 
Emery's Cotton Gin. — We understand that Mr. Horace 
L. Emery, of the firm of Emery Bros., Albany Agricultural 
Works, and the inventor of many valuable machines, has 
recently gone to England for the purpose of exhibiting hi? 
new Cotton Oin and other machinery at the World's Fair, and 
to introduce Ms inventions more generally in Europe. Mr. 
E lias devoted much time and attention in perfecting his Cot- 
ton Gin. and is said to have made great improvements upon 
the rude invention of WiiitnrY. The N. Y. World say« lie 
expects to introduce it to the great cotton fields springing up 
in Asia and Africa, and believes its superiority will give him 
a monopoly of the sale of ginning machines in that quarter of 
the globe. The same authority, after describing the new gin, 
states that Mr. Embry has had a machine in operation in that 
city recently, and that the cotton was ginned beautifully 
“The seeds, picked bare us grains of barley, fell out under 
the hopper, the sand and dirt caught in a revolving wire 
screen, and were deposited in another place, while the ginned 
cotton came out at the extremity of the machine in most 
beautiful hakes." We think our friend will find a good field 
for lus enterprise in Great Britain and her Colonies, and trust 
his visit will prove eminently successful. 
From North-Eastern Wisconsin.—Crops. Ac. 
Our corn crop is backward; mow* so, I think, in Ibis 
region, than at any former period for the last eight 
years. Some pieces are so very small that they give 
little hope of a crop of any value. Others have 
been greatly damaged by heavy showers that have 
badly washed the soil. While in a majority of 
pieces the corn stands well on the ground and is of 
good color, under the most favorable circumstances 
the crop must fall below an average one. Oats are 
middling. Potatoes bid fair for a full crop. The 
wool crop is generally marketed and sold at remu¬ 
nerating prices, varying from thirty-seven to forty- 
seven cents per pound. 
We are now in the midst of haying, for which the 
weather, until the past few days, has been very 
unfavorable. Instead of moderate showers, we have 
had rain in torrents, which has fairly deluged the 
country, greatly damaging large quantities of hay 
not stacked, and in some instances sweeping it from 
the low grounds into the streams, entirely beyond 
reach. I think it, safe to estimate the loss sustained 
in grass cut ami uncut at one-fourth the entire crop, 
which promised to beafall one. In fact, timothy and 
clover, which had uot been extensively grown here, 
have done remarkably well this season, many fields 
being fully equal to any ever grown in Western 
New York, affording a very encouraging future 
prospect for farmers in this section. 
Of garden fruits we have not a great variety. 
Currants are abundant, and the making of a little 
domestic wine is the order of the day. Apples are 
not so plenty as last season, yet we shall have some; 
the trees look healthy, and are. growing finely. The 
wheat crop, always subject to many contingencies, 
has this season been injured somewhat by the great 
rains, rust, and chinch bugs. .Still it promises to be 
something like a fair, average crop. Some few 
pieces may do to cut this week; but it will be a full 
week before wo shall bo fairly in the harvest field of 
battle. We feel greatly (he want of help. The 
harvest is great, but the laborers are few.— J. C. B., 
Danville, Dodge Co., Wis., July 28,18C2. 
Tlic Art of Catching Horse*. 
A correspondent of the Valley Farmer truly 
remarks that there are few things more aggravating 
than to be in a hurry to go tp some place, and have 
great trouble to eutd) a horse. I have sometimes 
made the assertion AaQa horse which I raise will 
never be hard to catch, no less some one else spoils 
him. The way I mana^e.is to keep them gentle 
from colts, handling il^eru as often as convenient. 
When young horses are running to gi ass, give them 
salt occasionally, and let them fondle about you. 
making as little show as possible of trying to get 
hold of them. There is nothing surer to spoil a 
horse forever than to ran as if trying to hem him in. 
and yelling at him authoritatively, or scolding; he 
can Bee. just as well as you know, that he is out ol 
your reach. To put on the cap sheaf, whip him 
severely for causing trouble, and my word for it. 
the next time you want to catch him he “ will not 
listen to the voice of your charming, charm you 
never so wisely.” 
Horses learn a great, deal by signs. In beginning 
to teach them to be caught, go toward them on the 
near side, slowly and cautiously, making no demon¬ 
strations at all. If the animal begins to walk off, 
stop, and whistle, or other wise manifest indifference, 
until be becomes quiet again, then approach as 
before. When you are so close as to be confident he 
will not escape you, speak kindly, and hold up one 
hand, ready to touch him on the withers, and thence 
pass it along the neck until you can get hold of his 
head, but do not seize him with a grab, as this tends 
to excite fear afterwards. By practicing this course, 
using the sign. viz,, holding up the baud when yon 
are a little further away each time, a horse may be 
taught to stop and be caught, even when in consid¬ 
erable glee, (playing,) simply by holding up the 
hand and using some familiar phrase, such as whoa 
boy , &c. By way of caution, however, watch his 
actions and intentions closely during his tutoring, 
and if at any time or from any cause, you see that 
he is going to run, do not by any means say any¬ 
thing or hold up your hand, as the sign given and 
disobeyed a few times will almost inevitably pre¬ 
vent your making anything out of it in future. 
What a Cow has Done for thr War. — The Albany 
Journal relates the following interesting incident, which, it 
truly says, should make some of the rich men blush who are 
subscribing their paltry fives and tens to the recruiting funds 
of their several localities:—“ A few days since, subscriptions 
were set on foot in Orleans county. A farmer of moderate 
tneuns contributed $50 and a cow. Every one conceded 
that this was liberal; but it occurred to a friend that the cow 
might he turned to excellent account. Lots were to be cast 
for her. and 205 tickets, at ?1 each, were distributed and paid 
for. This, practically, brought up the farmer's subscription to 
$265. But the cow was destined to do still better. The 
winner put tier up at auction, and 330 more were added to 
the fund—making the aggregate 5285. But it was deemed x 
pity that a cow, so thoroughly patriotic, should bo sold to 
cheap; ami the result was that 315 were added to the purchase 
money—making the cow's aggregate contribution to the fund 
$250, besides the $50 from her original owner! There are a 
great many rich wen. ail over the country, who will not do 
half as much for the war as this cow.” 
Bis skin Is sore with stripes, and lie tottcreth beneath his 
burden; 
Ilis limbs are stiff with age, his sinews have lost their vigor. 
And pain is stamped upon his face, while lie wrestleth une¬ 
qually with toil: 
Yet once more mutely and meekly endureth he the crushing 
blow; 
That struggle hath cracked his heart-strings—the generous 
brute is dead! 
Livcth there no advocate? for him no judge to avenge his 
wrongs? 
No voice that shall be hoard in his defense? no sentence to be 
passed on his oppressor? 
Yea, the sad eye of the tortured pleadeth pathetically for him: 
Yea, all the justice in heaven is roused in indignation at his 
woes; 
Yea. all the pity upon earth shall call down a curse upon the 
cruel: 
Yea, the burning malice of the wicked is their own exceed¬ 
ing punishment. 
The Angel of Mercy stoppeth not to comfort, but passeth by 
on the other side, 
And hath no tear to shed when a cruel man is damned." 
With regard to the V>est mode of teaching a horse 
not to kick in the stable, I differ materially from 
Mr. Youatt, notwithstanding he is a graduate of 
the college, while I am only a graduate ol the 
stable. While he recommends cruelly, 1 use kind 
and gentle means. If the horse kicks- it is because 
he thinks he 1 ms reason to do so; it is because be 
first iritis to kick, and then carries out his design by 
applying his feet, to some frightful object,—a course 
which he undoubtedly deems very necessary to self¬ 
protection. Perhaps there is no object to frighten 
him; if so, it is very easy for him to imagine that 
he is in danger, especially after he has once acquired 
the habit—all which gops to show that it is an act 
of the mind, and not of the heels; and if' so, why 
not operate upon the brain, instead of torturing the 
flesh, as Mr. Youatt recommends? A person won Id 
naturally come to the conclusion, by the reading 
of the quotation in the Rural from Youatt. (in 
answer to ihe inquiry made by a Manbasset, Queens 
Co. subscriber, with regard to “kickers,”) that the 
horse’s brains lay in bis heels, instead of his head, 
for he recommends a very cruel and barbarous 
operation, such as letting him kick against the thorn 
bush, the furze, the log, the block, and chain, all of 
which help to irritate the mind, aud in some cases 
so much so that Mr. Youatt says he thinks the 
animal must be crazy, aud it would not be wonder¬ 
ful if such treatment were to make him crazy. I 
think euch treatment is sufficient to make a mule 
insane. 
In order to break a horse of any vicious or disa¬ 
greeable habit, we have to convey an idea from our 
mind to bis, which cannot be done by inflicting pain 
upon the flesh; therefore we lay the whip and the 
spur aside, and .use kind and gentle means, teaching 
the horse to have confidence in his master. Then 
i it is a very easy matter to teach him the principles 
of subordination, without using brute force. Now 
let me say to your Queens connty man, il you want 
to break your horse from kicking at “ nothing." just 
give him nothing to kick at, and the way to do it is 
this; Hitch him on the barn floor, where there is no 
stall, and then swing a smooth pole, by means ol 
ropes, on either side of him. Let them hang about 
even with his stifle, and then let him “fall in.” 
While he is kicking at one the other is close after 
him, and he kicks under them, and fails to hit either. 
Thus he soon finds out that he is not hurt, and that 
when he kicks he only does so against the wind; 
and hence soon comes to the conclusion that it 
won’t pay, gives it up, and goes to eating, or lies 
down and behaves himself. I have tried this a 
number of times, and never knew it to fail. 
Kendullville, Ind., 1862. Albert W. Ski.dun, V. S. 
California Crops, &e. — Under date of San Jose Valley, 
July 8th, 3862, Mr. John Hashinger writes to the Rural as 
follows:—-' The props in this Valley tins season are very large. 
Some fields of wheat will average as high as sixty bushels per 
sere, and barley as high as one hundred bushels. The g-4u 
will be v ery heavy and plump. We have got to sowing our 
grain in this V alley very thin, not more than from thirty-live 
to forty pounds to the acre, in order that it may spread, t 
have counted as high a* one hundred stalks from one root, 
each having a perfect head of eighty grains to the head — so 
you see our increase is something over ore hundred fold. 
Farmers, this season, have to full back to the old method of 
harvesting by using the reaping and in some instances to 
mowing machines, the grain being too much down for the 
heading machines.” 
Mr II. sends extracts from the San Jose Mercury of the 3d 
ult., one of which, among other huge things, says:—“Mr. 
Bottsfgrh has succeeded in raising 225 bushels of barley to 
the acre, on a field of ten acres, from once seeding aud thrice 
harvesting.” 
aitrt 
Harvesting and Thrashing El ax.—W ill you. or some of 
the Rural readers, please give me some information as to the 
best method of harvesting and thrashing llax, where the 
object is to save both seed and fiber?—S iuisgribkk, Susijension 
Bridge, iY. Y. 1802. 
“Subscriber" is referred to an article upon this topic from 
the Scientific American, which may he found in “ Spirit of 
the Ag. Press." present issue. W r e would be glad to publish 
the views of such of our correspondents as have had experi¬ 
ence in flax culture, and hope they will respond with the 
information desired. 
WAR OR WORK, 
Eds. Rujul New-Yorker:— This is an import¬ 
ant and solemn era in tbe history of our country. 
It calls lor the exercise ol all the means, aud all tbe 
energies of our citizens, mental, moral and physi¬ 
cal. Every man should feel that fie is an active, 
and not a sleeping, partner in this great and glo¬ 
rious association, the United States of America, 
establisfied to secure liberty and good government 
to all its members. Each man should consider him¬ 
self a host, and feel that upon his patriotic action 
depends the salvation of the country in this time of 
sore trial. This is a time that calls for sacrifice of 
time, ease, money and life; and unworthy is ho to 
be a citizen of this noble country who is not ready 
to make the sacrifice, and make it cheerfully. 
I am. Messrs. Editors, among those whose age 
excludes them from draft, and whose gray hairs 
would hardly be permitted to be covered by a sol¬ 
dier’s cap, even by the most anxious volunteer cap¬ 
tain seeking for recruits; yet, thanks to a kind 
Providence and a temperate life of toil. I am yet 
able to bear some of the burthens of the Govern¬ 
ment, and if it should become necessary, might yet 
5o something at making rebels run, though I would 
"be bad on a retreat. But those who. like myself, 
are laid on the shelf so far as fighting is concerned, 
can do a good deal towards putting dow n a rebel¬ 
lion. We can talk,—and the old are fond of talk¬ 
ing,—and show our young men tbe right way. We 
can urge them to a prompt performance of their 
duty, and we can take care of the wives and the 
little ones, and see that while the father fights our 
battles, the mother and the children are made as 
happy as possible, by our kind words and acts. 
Their lot is u hard one, but we can make it lighter 
if we will, and he that will not do so is a hard¬ 
hearted. soulless lellow. thatoughtnotto be allowed 
to live with civilized people. Then we can work. 
Some of us have been resting a long time,—think¬ 
ing we had earned a little repose for our declining 
days,—and telling what big days' works we used to 
do, and how, even now, we could beat the degen¬ 
erate young men of the present day. Well, we now 
have a chance to try again. The hired man wants 
to go. but his contract with you is not out until 
spring. Now, show ~z~ay patriotism. Let him go; 
pay him up promptly for all he has done, to buy 
conveniences to leave with his family, and if you 
have a heart as big as a walnut, say to him that you 
“Stop my Paper." —We gratify the writer of the subjoined 
by publishing his essay entire — being sure to “follow copy” 
throughout, except in omitting name : 
MrD DT Moore Dear Sir I have sent two short pieces to you 
requesting you to publish the same I have not yet seen either 
of them in thecolums of your Paper neither have you given 
any reason for not doing so one was headed our l’et the other 
was headed What my Pig done the first that t sent you win 
written in Sixty one if you publish that please State when it 
was written new Mr Moore I want those pieces published the 
story of my l’ig at any rate and unless you make up your 
mind to do’so in your next you need not send another Copy 
of the Uural tomy address 
Speedsville July 27th 62 
Yours in haste —, —,- 
_In reply to the above we beg respectfully to state that 
we have never yet "gone and went and done” so mean. a 
tiling as to publish a ridiculous or foolish thing to procure or 
retain a subscriber, and reckon the time for such action has 
not arrived — and will not so long as we can cut cord wood or 
unearth potatoes fora livelihood. “ This is a free country 
yet, we believe, and so long as “this deponent” edit* the 
Rural, “pets” and “pigs” will be discussed or told about 
with proper discretion, and upon sufficient authority, only 
Meantime, and perhaps for a longer period, the paper will 
be furnished at ttie usual rates, aud the copy mailed to our 
modest friend discontinued when his subscription expires. 
Wn at is the Matter wits my Hups?—Last fall I could 
boast of six as fine shouts as any of rny neighbors, but this 
last spring they commenced to be lame in their hind legs. 
The lameness seemed to he caused by a disease in the kidneys 
or small of the back Some could not stand on their hind 
legs at all. I fed corn mostly. Will the editor, or some one 
of the Rural readers, please give the name, cause, aud cure 
of the disease, and much oblige—U. S. Dieftunuacher, 
Liberty, Tioga Co., Pa.. 1862. 
Skinner, in his “Diseases in Swine ,"says there is a fatal 
disease among our swine in the West called the kidney worm, 
which causes a weakness in the back, and finally a falling of 
the hind-quarters, which they will drag around for months, 
until they become the most loathsome objects Hint you can 
conceive of. Arsenic in small portions, mixed with their 
food, will generally prove effectual, if given in the first stages 
of the disease; and the best preventive medicine is ashes and 
sulphur, mixed witli their salt, for hogs require as regular 
salting to keep them healthy and in good condition as do 
cattle or horses. 
The Way to Cock Barley. 
S. Edwards Todd, writing to the Country Gen¬ 
tleman, gives the directions as to the proper manner 
of conducting this portion of the labors of the farm: 
If barley be properly cocked, it will stand a very 
hard rain, without being wet but very little; whereas, 
if it be thrown together in a bap-hazard manner, 
almost every straw will be wet through the entire 
cock, during an ordinary shower. If the cocks are 
to be covered with bay caps during a shower, it 
matters little how the bunches of barley are placed. 
But m case barley must remain in the cock during 
a storm, unprotected by caps, it should lie so cocked 
that it will shed rain. If the straw is long, the cocks 
should be about one-third larger iu diameter than 
the length of the straw. Then wo Bbould always 
endeavor to keep the middle the highest, by placing 
the heads near the middle of the cock, with the 
straw slanting in a direction to carry the rain from 
tbe middle. Let the cocks be “ trimmed up,” as we 
usually say, by raking them off smooth, and terming 
a very conical top. Now, take a gavel of short 
barley and spread it over the top of a cock, by walk¬ 
ing entirely round it, placing the straws in such a 
position that they will conduct the rain away from 
the middle of the cock. The rain will be conducted 
along the straws, if they do not lie entirely level; 
and it the straws have a littleindination, the greater 
proportion of the water that falls—unless it should 
rain very hard—will all be conducted oil’, and the 
barley will be wet but little. But when a good 
portion of the straw slants inwards towards the 
middle of the eoek, the water will be conducted 
inwards , and the cocks will be well saturated with 
water. 
Farmers should show their awkward boys and 
unskillful men, how to handle the gavels or bundles 
1 of barley, with skill, when they are cocking it, in 
Bloody Milk. —“A Subscriber” wants to know what will 
cure heifers that give bloody milk. I have cured a uumber 
that gave bloody milk, the same as lie says lus do, and have 
ofteu thought of sending the recipe to the Rural. It is a 
sure cure, and is as follows: Give one pound of sulphur one- 
fourth pound at a time, four days in succession, unless tbe 
third dose effects a cure. Give in bran, or meal, or anything 
the COW will eat. As a cure for the garget, this is the best 
thing 1 ever tried.—N. 8., Castile, N. I’, 1862. 
Davy’s Devon Herd Book.— The Journal of the N. Y. Ag 
Society says that Mr. John Davy, the Editor of the Devon Bod 
Book, has just issued a circular announcing Ids intention ol 
publishing the fourth volume as soon as practicable after the 
forthcoming trial at the worlds fair. He will publish all P e( b 
igrees sent him of thorough-bred Devons, giving pedigrees (f» 
accordance with the rules established by the NrW York Stats Ag¬ 
ricultural Society ,) for subscribers to Ids volume at teI ‘ 
lings sterling. The volume will cost American subscribers 
with charges not to exceed $3.60. He especially desires that 
whereever any animal has taken a premium the same should 
be stated, and that all lists both for bulls and heifers should be 
arranged, by those sending them, alphabetically, so as to sa' e 
him great trouble in editing Ids work. 
Agricultural Fairs, &c.—The next Annual Fair o 
Allegany Co. Ag. Society U to he held at Angelica. Sept 
and 24tli. The officers are: President — E. Y. Wjllstt 
geliaa Vice P.— Robert Ken wick, Belfast. Secretary 
M. Alba. Angelica. Treasurer —J Lockhart. Angelica - 
Union Ag Society has been organized in the border tow 
the counties of Oneida, Otsego, Cheuangq, Madisoi 
is entitled the Brookfield Union Ag. Society, and will ho 
first Annual Fair at Brookfield, on the 24th and 25th ot 
Fair of Columbus, Chenango Co., will be 
-The Town 
October 13—15. 
